Where'd They Go? (part 1)
Posted on Sat Feb 12th, 2011 @ 2:17pm by Commodore Samantha York & Lieutenant JG Ronnie Wolfe & Colonel Damon Raine & Lieutenant JG Tramira Kyt
1,042 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
The Forests of Mythraeli
Location: Various
Timeline: Current
ON
Samantha sat in her chair on the bridge waiting for the first report from the away team. They'd been gone nearly an hour and she was eager to hear what they'd found so far.
If she were honest, she half wished she could be down there with them, but after the problems on the last mission she'd promised herself -- and Damon -- that she'd stay on the ship this time. At least for the first trip. If all went as she hoped, she would go down later and have a good look around.
"Captain," said the Ops officer. "I've lost contact with the away team."
"What do you mean, lost contact," she asked.
"I mean we've lost communications."
"Scan the planet. Can you locate the?" Sam asked, sitting up straighter.
"Negative. No sign of either the away team or the shuttle. They've just... vanished."
"Yellow alert. Have O'Connor, Nava, Bowen, Kyt and Raine meet me in my ready room in five minutes. Continue scanning for any signs of the team."
Kyt quirked an eyebrow. "Yes ma'am." She said, from the tactical console. She was punching the targeting scanners for information. They were less than helpful. She punched it again for effect. The machine, for it's part, did nothing more than bruise a knuckle. A soft, and quietly spoken Bajoran cursive word was muttered, so the translator wouldn't pick it up.
Damon was quick to respond to the call this time and he headed directly to the ready room. "Trouble in paradise?" He asked as he took a seat.
"Yea. We've lost contact with the away team. There's no sign of them anywhere, either," she told him softly.
"I'm getting signal interference, with the targeting scanners, Captain." Kyt stated. "We can't seem to find any comm-badges, or even basic life signs. Maybe Science will have better luck."
Damon thought for a moment. "Have you tried Marine frequencies? The radios we carry work off a different system then the Fleet variety."
"Yup. Nothing." Kyt said, from underneath her console, looking for faulty connections. She bit back the added What? Did you forget I would know this already?, and instead bit her lip to the point where it almost bled.
"Are the signals being jammed?" Damon asked.
At that, Kyt's lip did start bleeding. She mentally counted down from 20. At 7 she cleared her throat. "Yes, so it seems." Kyt stated. Hence why I said... getting signal interference?
Damon shook his head. "Is it natural or artificial?" He talked slowly as if to draw out more information from the tight-lipped security officer.
"Can't tell. I'm getting signal interference on everything." Kyt stated. As I've stated already. And, as I've also stated, maybe science would have better luck with their fancy-dancy scanners. She held her sleeve against her lip, trying to stop the bleeding.
Damon picked up on the unnecessarily deprecating tone to her words and clamped his mouth shut. He was done talking with her. He resolved to have as little to do with her as possible from now on.
"There's nothing wrong with him asking," Sam stated. "He has valid points. You're new to tactical. He's just making sure you've checked the less-than-obvious."
~She's new. Be patient with her while I break her in,~ Sam told Damon telepathically.
"Science might be able to break through the interference. That's why I asked Lieutenant O'Connor to join us. If he can't make contact, he can conceivably determine if there is interference and if so, where it's coming from."
Kyt scowled at her sleeve, but refrained from adding audible comment. I'm capable of my job, damnit. She thought to herself. I just hate repeating myself
"Ensign, it might behoove you to not think so loudly," Sam said, trying not to wade into the middle of this one.
"I either think it loudly, or say it loudly, ma'am. I think it's safer if I stay in my head. Your transmission quality is not of my control." Kyt retorted.
Damon looked over at Samantha and quietly wondered how insulted he should be over the Ensigns thoughts.
~Not insulted,~ she assured him. ~Kyt just thinks you keep asking the same question over and over. If it's any consolation, I don't agree with her.~
Kyt banged turned around, and opened another panel, looking for shorts, or loose wires, or cables, pretending to not pay any further attention to the two in question. She wished there was a silent way she could summon a relief officer, without attracting attention, but she was only 2 hours into an 8-hour bridge shift.
Sam noticed what Kyt was doing, but chose to say nothing. The woman was entitled to be frustrated at the current situation. "Ensign, do you have any suggestions?"
Kyt quirked an eyebrow. "Two. One, either lower our orbit, so we can try our equipment from a closer range, or send a shuttlecraft into a lower orbit, and do the same."
"Either a shuttle or a fighter," Sam said. "Smaller and more maneuverable close to the planet. I don't want to risk the Calypso causing trouble."
Ronnie Lancaster walked into the room. "Sorry I'm late. Lieutenant O'Connor is in the middle of a problem and can't get away."
Sam raised an eyebrow. The Chief Science Officer seemed to be busy far too often for her likes. "Have a seat, Lieutenant. Does science have any explanation as to why we lost contact with the away team?" Sam asked. "And why every scan of the planet looks exactly like every other?"
Ronnie blinked. "Shouldn't the scans look alike if they're of the same planet?"
"Yes, but these feel wrong. I really can't place it," Sam said. "It's like when a place is too quiet. I'd like you to look into it."
"Yes, ma'am." Ronnie said, taking notes on her PADD.
Sam turned to Damon. "Send a request to Engineering. Have them double check the scanners to be sure they're working properly."
(To be continued...)
Captain Samantha York
Commanding Officer
USS Calypso
Lieutenant Colonel Damon Raine
Acting XO
USS Calypso
Ensign Tramira Kyt
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Calypso
Lieutenant JG Ronnie Lancaster (PNPC)
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Calypso
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