Captive State: Approaching System 569701 Part 1

Posted on 09 Dec 2021 @ 3:54pm by Lieutenant Commander Remington Dodd & Lieutenant Commander Alexanderia Cahill & Lieutenant Lamia ‘Mia’ Kildare & Captain Patrick Jackson & Lieutenant Matthew Thompson & Lieutenant Paul Winchester & Lieutenant Leland Hawksley & Lieutenant JG Ted Silver & Captain Mazal Falk & Lieutenant Alexandra Lee
Edited on on 10 Dec 2021 @ 12:28pm

4,034 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: S03 Ep 04 Captive State Part 1 (Main)
Location: USS Tomcat/Various
Timeline: S3 Ep 05 MD 0001

[ON]

Moments after LTC Somers and her SAR team have departed the ship, Dodd was assessing the situation. He was taking note of those on this ship that could benefit from serving on the away team he knew would be needed for the investigation on the planet. He was given more information about the mission in an encoded file from Starfleet Intelligence that came from the observation team that was sent to Planet 569701-D almost 25 years before.

"Commander, you have the bridge," Dodd stated to Cahill as he stood up from the captain's chair and approached the ready room.

Aye Commander, as she moved to the command chair and began to check out all the reports coming. She looked and the helm officer and smiled.

As Dodd entered the ready room, he was not keen on sitting at the desk so he merely picked up his encoded PADD and access the data on it. It provided him with more specific details on the observation team and what data they had transmitted to Starfleet before all data stopped almost ten years ago.

After a thorough review, Dodd decided to call a staff briefing to go over the more detailed expectations they had for this mission.

=/\= Attention would all department heads, acting department heads and deputy chiefs please report to the briefing room at 1300 hours, Dodd out. =/\=

Finally, the mission briefing had been called and Paul walked and the room with a hot mug of coffee and a PADD in the another as he knew from the last memo that his acting assistant had been promoted to full Lieutenant which had irked him somewhat, but he had wished her good luck on her next assignment. As he took his seat, he hoped that Ensign Trenton would take the place as his acting assistant. Paul said "Morning all."

Calmly, Nicci walked into the briefing room, holding her flexible PADD under one arm, and a steel coffee mug with a lid in the other hand. She had few vices, but coffee was one. She sat at her usual spot when Dodd was the Chief Engineer out of habit, and unrolled her PADD and took off the stylus. It was about the size of a normal piece of paper, but acted like a regular PADD, taking stylus input. She preferred writing notes, musing how she wrote left-handed now, rather than right-handed before her capture. Her hair was up in a high bun, and she had very light make-up on, trying to stay professional. Once she was settled, she smiled and gave a polite "Good morning y'all" to everyone there.

Lamia was in her office getting Counselling appointments organised when Dodd’s voice came over the comms. Putting away her PADD she picked up a new one to take notes on, before heading out to the briefing room. It didn’t take long to get there as she entered the room she made for the nearest seat and sat down.

Cahill gave the com to LT Davis and went to the Briefing Room. She took her place at the XO seat and waited while drinking some coffee.

Ted entered next and greeted them next as he took his place.

“Hello, Commander,” he said.

Mazal arrived, taking a seat at the table. She was a bit quiet; her thoughts were on the Colonel and the SAR mission. She greeted those who were there already, "Morning." giving a brief smile. Mazal was going to be on her best behaviour and not do any snarking at anyone. She did look towards the door to see if Jackson was going to arrive soon.

The Marine Captain was already sitting at the end of the table when Mazal arrived. He was a few decks below and had done his morning workout very early. With nothing to occupy him, he went to the meeting well before start time and brought his reading material. He was reading off his padd and his response to her "morning" was lost in the response of mornings. He glanced up at her a little surprised she did not acknowledge him directly. He could see she was here physically but was on autopilot. Where the rest of her was, he was not sure, but it was not at the meeting. Lots of things on the mind for sure.

Matt entered with a PADD in his hand. He took his seat and waited for the briefing to begin.

The briefing room was well attended. Hawksley had entered at the right time, having checked his wristwatch ensuring he, indeed, was not late. Spotting an empty seat, he had crossed over to take the empty spot.

Taking a seat, he couldn’t help but arch his back shoulder blade a moment and flex it, the kink releasing. Relieved, he closed his eyes and shook his head a bit before paying attention to his padd, silver mug of hot caffeinated water. His sip was enough to become a quiet slurp.

After allowing the proper time, Dodd himself moved to the briefing room.

"Greetings all, I know I am the last to arrive, but I felt this would be the best way to talk to you all about what is ahead of us on this mission."

Dodd took his place at the head of the table and remained standing. He was nervous but he felt confident in himself and thus he knew he could handle this.

"We are approaching Planet 569701-D. This planet was discovered by a deep space probe over forty years ago and the data suggested that it was home to humanoid life. An observation team was sent to the planet almost 25 years ago to do research on what humanoid life may have been like at the time very early in the Industrial Revolution on Earth. Then about ten years ago, the data from the observation team stopped. It has now come from Starfleet that something needed to finally be done to find out what happened," Dodd stated as he then stepped to the side to make sure the viewscreen was fully clear for all to see.

"This is the last satellite image of 569701-D, which the people of the planet actually call Arth. From the data that was provided by the observation team, the locals are human but apparently, they were transplanted to this planet in the distant past. They have evolved slower than they were just to a point of industrialization when the observation team got sent to create an observation post and gather data. From what we know, the cultures that were apparently transplanted were Egyptian, Greek as well as some Anglo-Saxon, and Ming Dynasty. The cultures apparently merged for survival and thus the genes have all been merged over the centuries of evolution. The native animal life on the planet is nothing like what we know from Earth. The animals that the Arthlings have domesticated are amazing and we will get more into that later."

"There are no native primates on this planet so humanoids never would have evolved here. Those that transplanted the humans to 569701-D did have some purpose for putting all the people in close proximity to one another. The oceans on this planet do have large amounts of life in them included some large air-breathing creatures similar to Earth's whales but they are not warm-blooded. The reptiles in this world never grew as the dinosaurs did and the mammalian life that is known never evolved into water-dwelling creatures. So there is a lot to learn here. Avian life is abundant and insects as well. It is reported that a species of arachnid on this world almost wiped out the humans about a hundred years after they were transplanted here. The records were hard to interpret as the mixed languages made early record keeping interesting. But the people are now a healthy mix of all of Earth's races with some added bonuses in their quality of life due to the ecosystem."

Dodd took a pause. "I am wanting to give you all the background of Arth. This will build you up for what is to come. Any questions so far?" Dodd asked.

"What's their government structure like?" Taggert asked. She knew that some governments could be more open or more oppressive of speech and thought than others, making people more fearful of outsiders, thinking them government spies. That could factor into their technological development too, as there could be additional surveillance measures that would need countering if they were a more oppressive government. "Is it a planetary government, or do they simply have nations vying for resources?"

"At the time of the last report the government of the populous of Arth was similar to the old Greek City-States with a unified central government that had representatives from all the cities so that they all had a voice, but within the cities, the laws varied and that made some hostilities between some states," Dodd replied.

Dr Cahill spoke up, "Where are their medical resources at right now? Are we talking 19th or 20th Century medical practices? Or is it newer or older? If medical needs to go we need to be sure we don't expose them to medical services they do not comprehend."

"Last known data was that all medical, scientific and technological advancements are what Earth was like pre-19th Century. We will have to be very careful of what we do while involved with this culture. They likely don't realize that they are out of time compared to the rest of humanity." Dodd replied. They do not have aircraft or such as far as the reports state. They do have large seafaring vessels and steam-powered train-like transportation which is primitive compared to early Earth trains."

Lamia looked towards Dodd. “It’s pretty obvious but we’ll need to avoid them coming into contact with any non-humanoid species. Those of us who look Human can get away with it, but anyone else will need either temporary facial alteration or will need to remain behind.”

"This mission's away team will need to be human or human-like in appearance to participate. I can't have anyone who has to wear covering over physical features on this mission. Betazoids could pass on this planet as some of the people have developed similar optical appearances but anyone with non-human eye colours would be my alternate team member. The last reports from the observation team state that these people are very adaptive and so that is something to watch for if you are on the away team." Dodd added in response.

Nicci smiled to herself, imagining Teela on the away team oO I'd love to see her down on the planet with her purple eyes covered with contacts or glasses. Oo

Lamia nodded as she listened, she wasn’t sure whether to be nervous about the thought of possibly joining an away team or not.

Mazal raised her hand, "Adaptive, does this mean they are quick to adopt the ways of another culture and catch on to advanced technical equipment. If so, we'll have to not be equipped with anything related to our current timeline. This means firearms, swords, daggers, clubs and staff-like weapons. We may still need to have a phaser but hidden somewhere that can't be seen, but only if in an emergency." Mazal offering suggestions.

"From the reports, the population were able to adapt to the new world and each other quickly but took a long time to advance from the stone age. According to the reports, they advanced so quickly after discovering electricity and that is why as of a little over ten years ago they were in their version of an industrial revolution. So from what I can see in the data, their level of technology is likely to equal to mid 19th century Earth. I will authorize minimal weapons and they must be concealed or disguised to mimic more primitive weapons. Tricorders are also going to need to be concealed as we don't want to pollute the culture." Dodd added. "As I read the reports, I noticed that the data indicates that the population seem to pick up data quickly and run with it but yet it took them a while to advance the infrastructure to support global expanse but I believe they are a unified government that keep things as equal as possible. The data does show that there are urban and rural communities but they all seem to have the same advantages afforded to them. This will be interesting to get some insight as that is not how Earth evolved."

"So I Can take my swords and Dagger on this mission?" asked Paul looking at the Tomcat's Executive officers he wondered about attire, he asked, " what is the Attire for Gents and the ladies?" as for the costumes that they would need to use.

"I am impressed as the attention to the mission details. Details for attire will be made once we get to the planet and can scan the surface and maybe get an updated idea of the culture as it has been over a decade since the last report and contact was lost. I would think that it would still be similar to late 19th or early 20th century Earth attire and we would need to blend the attire as a fusion of all Earth attire from that period. But as for your weapons, I will work with you Lieutenant Winchester to get phasers modified to look as local as possible and you could likely pack a dagger or small weapon but no swords for now."

"Fair enough, Thank you, Commander," replied Paul as he took a sip of his coffee, as he needed to know how many would be needed to modify, but that would be for later, He thought to himself oO this sounds so easy, but I'm going to have to have back up planned Oo as he also knew things could and usually do go wrong.

oO, I hope this means Taggart will be sent. It would make sense… Oo Leland leaned back in his seat. “Do we know if the industry of Arth, their advancements follow a pollution output?”

"As it stands, we only know that the planet had just entered the industrial era a little over a decade ago so I do not know if they are globally concerned about pollution at this point," Dodd replied. "Good point to bring up, this lower level of technology would be good to see and will help with less interference for our tricorders."

Silver had read a historical book about Earth of the late 19th to early 20th century. He was a little concerned. If these people were like humans of that decade. How would they react to a group of strangers? He raised a hand to speak.

“Are these people-friendly towards strangers? Even if we all look the same as them. We'll still be a group of new faces.” Ted asked

Lamia nodded in agreement. “I have to agree, strangers are going to stand out down there. We’re going to have to make sure we all have the same cover story as to where we’re from.”

Movement beside Mazal caused her to start, then she realized that Jackson had arrived earlier and was seated next to her. She had been concentrating on what was going on in the briefing that she hadn't even noticed. Probably due to just how she was positioned. Mazal blushed slightly, she felt embarrassed by this. She looked over to her left giving him a nod and whispered, "What do you make of this?"

Patrick scooted his chair in and brought his hands onto the table. He saw the slightest twitch from his XO. He surprised her, but her reaction was subtle. Few at the table would have caught it. He chuckled a little inside. He leaned over to her and matched her whisper. "I'm not sure yet. No contact for a decade means Intel is essentially worthless for details. We have basics, but a decade is a long time. Pre I.R. tech shouldn't change too much, but city layout will, seats of power can change, and standing military could be anyone's guess." He paused. "And 10 years without contact and they are just now sending a search party out? If we even find survivors with that cold of the trail, I wouldn't be happy it took that long to send someone to find me."

"Or maybe they don't even care as they may not even know we exist. All depends on how much exposure has come into play as per Federation." Mazal replied.

Then Mazal looked towards Dodd. "How many will be going down at a time? If we send down a large group at once, we could be considered as invaders. Also, adding on to Lieutenant Silver as well as Lieutenant Arderne's perceptions. Where will we be transporting down to? On the outskirts of a large city or out in the countryside, or out in the country and make our way into the larger city. Plus will there be a rendezvous site for us to go to if we are needing to make a quick exit?"

"Good question, the answer is I was advised to send an eight-person team but I feel a ten-person team would be better. I am to have the team beam down to the site of the duck blind from over twenty years ago. Once we arrive at the planet, we will scan the surface and if the duck blind works that will be the place, I will have all of the away team locked on the sensors to have an emergency beam out if necessary. I do not want to lose any members of the crew on my watch. But if the duck blind location is not good we will likely beam the team down just outside of the central town in a lowly populated location. While the away team may resemble the locals, we have a lot to learn quickly to fully blend in with the locals. The transponders all of you will on the team have, will also contain universal translators so that you can at least understand what is being said to you, but hopefully, they speak a language we can figure out quickly to help the cover of the away team."

Mazal nodded, "I am hoping that there might be a common tongue spoken there. I do have another question, how many days until we reach the planet?" the Marine XO looking at Dodd intently. She was rather focused on getting as much information as she can.

"I am anticipating arriving in a very high orbit of Planet 569701 D in about three days as we travel at warp 3," Dodd replied. "I do not feel we need to rush there as there are several things to work out ahead of our arrival. Taggert and Winchester, I would like the two of you to test the transponders for connectivity and the ability to lock on to the signal and beam someone up as quickly as possible. Jackson and Falk, I want the best of the rifles advised of the situation we are likely to face. I can't have lots of weapons on the away team, but I want a good hand to hand combat skills in the rifles on the team. Silver, Thompson, Arderne, Lee, Hawksley, Ze and Cahill, I would like all of you to refresh your hand-to-hand combat abilities in drills with a variety of small weapons that would be easy to conceal on your body if needed." Dodd stated. "I will dismiss this meeting and call all the members of the away team to a briefing when we are one day out from our destination. Dismissed."

Understood replied Cahill.

"Aye Sir," Matt replied.

Lamia stood offering Dodd a polite nod as she walked past him, they’d manage to clear the air between them, but it still felt odd being around him, especially since she knew the truth regards his feelings for her.

Dodd gave a friendly smile and a nod to Arderne as she passed, and he knew she was awkward from what happened when last they had a private conversation. He knew that if he had not had that conversation when he did, things would have been harder for him than necessary and this way they could better keep the tensions low when working together.

Back at the engineering station, Nicci got a little warning light on the port sensor quad. "Damn," she exhaled with a little frustration. She got out of her seat, and opened up the panelling underneath her engineering station, and took a look as the auto-lighting turned on. She looked through the isolinear chips, giving them a visual once-over. oO Everything appears okay...sensor reporting software is good from a storage drive perspective...Oo She flicked the ODN wiring a few times...no difference.

"So let's see what's going on..." she said to herself. =/\= Hawksley, can you grab a team to check out the port sensor array? It threw a warning light temporarily. Might be nothing, but better safe than sorry. Could be a faulty ODN conduit or something with the hardware itself. Don't want any mistakes while our team's down on the planet. =/\=

Leland near the turbo lift had stopped and turned, hearing Nicci speak. Hawk listened.

"Port Sensor quad relay Lieutenant. Got it." Hawksley had his orders. The sensor array may need re-calibrating, and this would have to be done in EVA with a small team on the outer hull of the Tomcat.

"I will be EVA with my team." Leland checked the silver wristwatch that his father had given him years back. "In twenty minutes." Hawksley had started to hit his coms badge and give orders to his engineering co-workers to meet for a spacewalk.

Dodd was actually enjoying being in command and yet he was also hoping that this mission would be over sooner than later as he felt the big chair was still a little out of his league. Being the XO was a high honour and he felt he was better as the right hand and not the main brain.

"Taggert, you had a sensor glitch, didn't you?" Dodd asked of the chief engineer.

"Yes sir," she said as she looked at a few of the data relay boxes within the engineering console. oO Maybe it's just a console glitch, Oo she thought. oO But if our sensors don't catch a ship coming upon us or a missile from the surface or something... I'd hate to be the guy who didn't catch it when I could've stopped it. Oo

"I should have said something about that to you before," Dodd replied. "It happens a lot and nothing ever seems to be wrong, but great catch and if you can fix it great."

"Thanks, Commander," she said with a smile, leaning up from under the console to reply, having to look over her endowment to see the XO from his position, leaning on an arm to do so. "Just want to make sure we don't have any surprises while we're in orbit, in this holding pattern. Idle hands need to stay busy, you know."

"No worries, Lieutenant," Dodd replied. "I was wondering how long it would take you to detect that flaw. I challenge you to fix it and I have faith you will even when no one at any overhaul or refit facility could do so." Dodd stated to his Chief Engineer with truth in his voice.

She raised a single eyebrow in response, as skilled as any Vulcan would. "Challenge accepted," she replied. "I love a good puzzle."

[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Remington Dodd
First Officer

LCMD Alexanderia Cahill
2XO/CMO

Lieutenant Alexandra Lee [P: Dodd]
Science Officer

Lieutenant Matthew Thompson
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant Lamia Arderne
Chief Counsellor

2nd Lt Mazal Falk
Marine Executive Officer, USS Tomcat

Lieutenant (JG) Ted Silver
Deputy chief science officer

Ensign Treton [P: Silver]
Security,

Lieutenant Jg Leland Hawksley
Assistant Chief of Engineering

Lieutenant (jg) Paul Winchester
Chief Security/Tactical

M.Captain Patrick Jackson
Marine Commanding Officer

Lieutenant, JG Nicole Taggert
Chief Engineering Officer

 

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