Talking Over Options (part 1)

Posted on Mon Feb 3rd, 2020 @ 9:55am by Commodore Samantha York & Lieutenant Commander Damion Wolfe & Major John Kayhill & Lieutenant Aenar Torek & Lieutenant Dwight McCabe & Lieutenant JG Teenah Spartacus

1,066 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Food for the Gods
Location: Conference Room

ON

As soon as Sam reviewed the report about the underground city she called together a few of her department heads to discuss options about retrieving Shan and Ronnie.

Walking in through the doors, Aenar caught sight of the fact that only he and the Commodore had arrived so far. Making his way down the conference table, he assumed that most of the senior crew would have their preferred spots along the table. The dark-haired Bajoran picked a seat about halfway down setting his padd in front of him. I'll probably still have taken someone's spot though.

He nodded at the Commodore in greeting.

Sam smiled. "Sit anywhere you like."

'Thanks,' replied Aenar with a smile.

The echo of heels precede Spartacus through the doors; her uniform pressed and tailored to fit by ESHa as usual she moved towards the Commodore.

"Samantha, sorry I am late I had a bit of trouble winding a session down." She took a seat to the right side and third down.

Dwight cleared his throat through the opened doors. As the new physician on board, he still haven't had the chance to meet the senior officers here except for the Commodore. He gave his mutual smile, feeling like a stranger at the moment, and quietly took a seat.

"Welcome, Doctor."

"Thank you, ma'am." He made contact with his eyes and a nod, then glanced at each person at the table. At some point in time, he will get to know them either in sickbay or on the away missions.

'Doctor,' Aenar nodded politely in the direction of the Chief Medical Officer. They'd met earlier when he'd had his medical check up.

Dwight smiled at him with a nod.

John slipped in quietly and took a seat.

Damion walked into the Conference Room, a mug of coffee in his hand, and a tried look in his eyes. However, sleeping was the last thing on his mind with his wife in the situation she was in, but also his duty as an officer. He was torn between being her husband and following his orders which were currently against his personal feelings for the current situation. If he had to go it alone, he would, and he would suffer the consequence. As he took his seat he avoided eye contact and just took a sip from his mug.

Sam nodded to Damion. She could tell how he felt, and knew that if it was Damon down there, she'd be feeling the same way. She checked the chronometer, then began.

"Lieutenant Mira reports that the two missing officers were sent into the pyramid along with baskets of supplies and provisions. She also reports that the machine Lieutenant T'Pral and Commander Munich are working on is connected to another machine three miles below the surface. We don't know what's down there, but it is safe to assume that there are other machines. I propose taking a team down to investigate and to retrieve our personnel."

"No one will ask it... so I will." Damion said firmly, looking around the table, before locking eyes with Sam. "Is there a concern for the Prime Directive or this society as a whole?"

"On the surface, yes. Underground...we don't know yet. We won't until we get there, but the fact that there is a working machine, and possibly more, leads me to believe that the Prime Directive may not apply to whatever is down there."

"Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't the Prime Directive apply to warp capable species?" Damion looked over to Sam quickly. "There is nothing down there that implies that these people are warp capable or, even, if the technology is theirs. We could be dealing with something that was left behind or has been there before their was life on the planet. For God's sake... our own culture is surrounded by ideas and conspiracies that advanced people showed up long before we were warp capable. Whose to say this isn't another planet who was visited by such a species?"

"Those who created that machine were warp capable," Sam said. "The inhabitants are sending tribute to providers through the pyramid. That clearly indicates that the pyramid is not just an ancient relic that was there before any of the people on the surface. The first team went down as observers, to find the machine and repair it--without exposing themselves to anyone," Sam reminded him. "I have no intention of interfering with the natural progression of the culture on the surface. However, I do believe that whatever or whoever is underground is part of the civilization that built the pyramid and the machines. And even if you're correct, I'm not going to leave people behind."

"Neither do I." Damion replied softly and calmly. "However, we don't know how embedded this technology is to their society. The distress call came from the machine, not the people, so caution is important to maintain our secrecy and not alter anything that may bring the Prime Directive into play. I have just as much, if not more, to see our people back Captain. However, I do know that I would prefer it be done without breaking a fundamental believe, and oath, we all took when we put these uniforms on and stepped into service. I just don't want us to break any rules or draw any unnecessary attention to ourselves by the people who inhabit this planet and those we serve. That's all, Captain."

"Thank you for the reminder," Sam said to Damion. She turned to the others. "Any other suggestions?"

"If it is a distress call, I would assume the worse scenario even if it is a machine making the call...for the people that are in need? I have experience with using primitive medicine without the technology if we are so worried about the prime directive," the Chief Medical Officer said.

Aenar nodded and chipped in, 'the machine may be running on autopilot for all we know, and there's nobody beneath the surface anymore. Or they've forgotten how the machine works and have tripped a switch that's sent out the signal.'

(To be continued...)

Commodore Samantha York
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Aenar Torek
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant JG Teena Spartacus
Counselor

Lieutenant Dwight McCabe
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant Commander Damion Wolfe
Chief Security/Tactical Officer

Major John Kayhill
Marine CO

 

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