Bringing the Turing Home

Posted on Fri Mar 13th, 2020 @ 1:45pm by Captain Enalia Telvan & Lieutenant Mona Gonadie & Emergency Medical Hologram (Adam Power) Mk X & Kodria Mizu & Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Lieutenant Commander Sonak & Lieutenant JG Tovanna Mah
Edited on on Fri Mar 20th, 2020 @ 4:01pm

Mission: Dedjoy System Mystery
Location: Leaving the Dedjoy System
Timeline: 2397

In the busy sickbay of the U.S.S. Hera, Captain Marnia DeVonis of looked none the worse for wear as she walked among the biobeds of her crewmembers. The away team from her own ship, the Oberth-Class Science Vessel, the U.S.S. Turing, had received injuries during their ill-fated investigation by Shuttlecraft of the planetoid now known as the composite, crystalline lifeform called Sia.

In her heart, the carmel-skinned human woman was a scientist. And while her people were saved by the timely arrival of the Hera and the brave actions of her crew, she still lost a crewmember in the crash of their shuttle on the planetoid, and the loss stung the explorer hard. Science officer S'aken was Vulcan, and succumbed quickly to the debilitating effects of the crystaline life's attempts to communicate that negatively impacted all sentients who were psi-rated. As such, he had not been able to strap himself in properly when their shuttle decompressed during the crash, getting him blown out where his fall to the planet's surface killed him.

His body was recovered, but she knew enough about Vulcan ceremony to hope his Katra was safe for the return trip she would be taking to Vulcan to bring his body home.

The Caitian Exobiologist, Flures, was recovering from burns and internal bleeding from the crash and was in good spirits, all things considered. In truth, it was something of a miracle that the rest of her party were otherwise fine: Flight officer Shing, Doctor Garcia, Geologist Ka'Tang, and Petty Officers Nunes, Klobuncher and V'rass. Though all were still waiting for more through checkups from the Hera's remarkable medical staff. A staff that was a little overextended taking care of some of their own as well.

The human Captain had found that the Hera was... unique. Her commander, an unusual throwback to another era in her vintage gold uniform bearing the command delta of a bygone age. A crew of distinct personalities that all worked together to save her and hers from their own curiosity, with no thought of their own safety. The Starfleet way, shown in remarkable style.

Taking up some of the biobeds, were members of the Hera's own crew that had suffered minor injuries or psionic damage from SIA'S attempts at communication. Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox sat with an impatient expression on a biobed waiting to be cleared for duty. "Seriously, I have had far worse hangovers, Doctor. I'm fine."

Next to her, her avian wife Mona Gonadie patted Dox on the back and soothed her minor irritation. The brilliantly plumed pilot was also there to be checked out as she, and many of the Hera's crew possessed some degree of psionic sensitivity and all suffered an extended period of mental pressure that resulted in irritability and headaches. DeVonis' own crew had suffered the same effects, but much worse for much longer as the Turin lacked the enhanced shielding that blocked much of the stronger effects of Sia's communication signal. Many of DeVonis' people were in stasis back on the recovered Turing, awaiting transport to the nearest Starbase for medical treatment.

Which was where both ships were now headed under high warp. It was only a few hours to the nearest Starbase, and the Hera was escorting the Turing to ensure it's safety. But that left Marnia DeVonis feeling like a child being handheld by an elder who clearly knew it's way around the galaxy better. This mission was a hard lesson for her to swallow.

Stepping over to Commander Rita Paris, who was standing vigil over her husband, the Vulcan named Sonak, who had suffered the hardest impact of the psionic interference and had put himself into a healing trance to protect himself, was still unconscious. "Commander. How is he?"

Retracting the helmet of the Science blue EVA armor through a PaDD she was holding, Paris made eye contact with the Turing’s captain. “I believe he’ll be fine, but we’re about to find out. This may be a bit violent for you, but trust me, it’s what needs be done. Sonak? We’re aboard the Hera, we are safe, and I need for you to wake up, now.”

With those words spoken, tenderness clear in the Human woman’s tone, she reared back with her right hand and drove a hard slap across the handsome chiseled features of the unconscious Vulcan, then followed it up with a backhanded slap of similar force.

The EMH, Doctor Power, was only a couple steps away and raised his hand and looked like he was about to say something, but immediately thought better of it and turned around to help another patient.

Meanwhile, Captain DeVonis's eyes went wide for a moment as she opened her mouth to say something as well, but paused and waited. It was certainly unorthodox, but so far what wasn't where the Hera was concerned?

The third slap was caught in midswing by a precise, steady hand.

''Thank you, Commander. That was most effectively done.''

Sonak sat up on the biobed. His wife, however, would be the only one to notice how deliberate this simple act was, even for a Vulcan. She would also notice that his grip on her wrist was not as powerful as it usually was; and that he had to take a moment to completely focus his gaze on his surroundings.

But for that, her familiar, beautiful features proved to be perfectly adequate, as her face formed into a gentle smile.

Thank you, Thy'la his mind sent to hers as he let go of her arm only then.

You came back to me… as you always do, my love, she responded through their telepathic link, while aloud, she remained professional. “As always, Commander Sonak, your Vulcan healing trance has preserved you until such time as we could get clear of the immediate danger to you. I’m pleased to see the intense physical stimulus required to rouse you was sufficient. I believe Doctor Mah would still prefer to examine you after your ordeal, if you are amenable to a brief stay in Sickbay?”

Sonak nodded.

''It would be illogical not to do so. Although I seem to have effectively shut my mind off this psionic assault, there might be residual effects I am not aware of, or some unfelt damage that could have later consequences. And regulations are there for a reason, which is not to be ignored, as some might illogically state.''

Dr. Mah came in after checking on the collective readings from the new patients as well as her own progress as the baseline. The disruptions from whatever was coming at them was making Theta wave creation in all species a problem. It meant whatever they were facing was actively causing distress to rest cycles to everyone on board. She looked up to Commander Paris. "I would like all children placed into a shielded area if possible. We have no idea how to stop this at the moment, but we do know that rest cycle interruption in children can cause long term harm and will further agitate any parental figures who already going to be running on borrowed strength. For their safety I recommend a quarantined area for all crew under the age of 20 and their primary caregiver."

"Ah, Doctor... we actually managed to communicate with the lifeforms on the planet, the Sia. They're a crystalline hivemind, which I'm sure is going to make for some fascinating study when the Turing returns to study and continue the first contact work. The Theta waves you're mentioning was them attempting to communicate with us. They know it's harmful to us now, so they're learning to isolate their communication more... less shouting, more speaking, I suppose? But we're headed for Starbase 129... wow, we have that many starbases now?" At that Paris paused and chuckled. Throughout the explanation she had her hand resting on Sonak's shoulder. "At any rate- good call, good precaution, but the situation has changed and the danger has passed, Doc."

Dr. Mah nodded, "Excellent," she updated the mountains of data she had running on her PaDD, "I still want all of the children run through check-ups, the younger the higher up on the priority list. Developing brains are highly susceptible to interruptions in any brain cycles, even the tiniest harmful levels can lay in future neural pathways leading to unseen issues." She looked at Commander Paris with all seriousness when it came to the well-being of the tinest passengers.

She looked back at her PaDD and the patient in front of her. "Commander Sonak, how is your body reacting to the current input you are sensing?" She was obviously used to dealing with Vulcans in sickbay, not bothering to ask him 'how do you feel' as many might.

''I have my normal mental barriers operational and they seem to suffice perfectly in the current circumstances. I am not currently opening myself to sense paranormal activity. In recent months, my original level of psionic power has been slowly starting to reassert itself for reasons not yet fully established. I have a working hypothesis but, at this point, it is preferable to be cautious.''

Dr. Mah nodded at Commander Sonak, "Your recovery should be solid with another day of rest as long as you have a solid night of sleep. If you find you have trouble finding rest for any reason please let me know and I will have something brought to you. I fully agree with keeping your mental faculties closed for at least a week until you can come in for a scan to ensure your show stable levels again. Until then you are free to take your leisure free from sickbay." She nodded professionally to the Commander moving on to the next patient while flashing Commander Paris a quick smile.

''Acknowledged, Doctor, '' the chief science officer of the Hera responded.

He stood up and faced his shapely wife. There was but a second of silence between them; it was more than enough for Rita to understand his recognition of her actions on his behalf, which to her mind needed no recognition.

''With your permission, Commander, I will return this suit to it's proper holding area and head back to our quarters after filing my report of the mission.''

“Absolutely. Thank you for your service, Commander- your contribution to this mission was invaluable. I will rejoin you shortly,” Paris replied, although he could sense the concern she felt. Aloud, of course, she kept it professional, as they had for many years now. Regardless of her personal feelings, when they were on duty they were all business.

The piratical Trill captain, Enalia Telvan chose that moment to make her sweeping entrance into sickbay with the intent of checking on those they were treating. "Captain DeVonis, it's wonderful to have you and your crew aboard. How's everyone doing?"

"Ah, Captain Telvan." DeVonis turned to address the Hera's mistress, offering her hand and a genuine smile. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I do wish the circumstances of our being here had not been what they were, but my people are in recovery here and back on the Turing and I have you and your extraordinary crew to thank for that."

Returning the handshake, Enalia smiled brightly. "I'm just happy we got there in time and were able to find a way to communicate with Sia before we lost anyone more. By the way, I've made all of our files relating to the system and the mission available to you so you can review them at your leisure."

At that Captain DeVonis's eyes fell slightly and her shoulders stiffened as she thought of her Science chief who was lost on the landing party, but in truth, the casualties could have been far worse, not that that reduced the sting of that sense of loss or failure. But the Starfleet captain quickly recovered and returned a smile to her counterpart. "Thank you, Captain. That should provide ample data to research and pour-over. A welcome bit of news for any Science team, to be sure."

"We had a good dozen crewmembers who were adversely affected by the psionic signal. Frankly, I've never been quite so happy to have failed a test so thoroughly at the Academy as my PSI rating." DeVonis chuckled lightly as she looked around. "I'm pleased to see your Lieutenant Commander Sonak recovering. And it appears your shield modulations kept your PSI sensitive crewmembers from much of the worst of the effect." The Turing's Captain said, looking over at the various crewmembers being looked at, as Doctor Power gave Dox a scan at the biobed.

"Indeed. Then again, we're used to dealing with... The unusual. When things go bump in the night..." Rather than expanding upon what she meant by that, Enalia switched to another topic, her voice softening as she rested a hand on the arm of her Starfleet counterpart. "Is this the first time you've lost a crewmember?"

"No." DeVonis replied. "But no matter how much Starfleet Command training tries to prepare you for it, I find that it never really gets any easier. Perhaps when it does, it's time to retire." 

"Though, between us and Commander Paris, I would be lying if I said that being... rescued like this wasn't a bit of a splash of cold water on our collective faces. A reminder that we are just a science vessel in a very big galaxy." the Turing's commander shook her head and looked down slightly. "Starfleet will likely be reevaluating if I'm really ready for the big chair after this, I'm afraid."

"Hey, everyone needs rescuing now and then. Amend that to being just one starship in a very big galaxy and remember that the Hera, at her heart, is still a science vessel as well." The Trill captain got serious as she spoke, her voice still soft, but an experienced and reassuring undertone filling it in. "And just because we're some fancy intel modded science vessel the size of a small starbase don't think we haven't needed rescuing before either. We've been towed back to base twice now by Oberth class haulers. Besides, you did the best you could with the information you had and our reports will reflect that."

"And remember. We're Starfleet. That means you're never alone." Enalia leaned in and gave Captain De'Vonis a meaningful look as she said those words to drive her point home. "Same crew, same fleet, we've got each other's backs no matter what."

"Thank you, Captain. And, of course, it is much appreciated." DeVonis said, giving Enalia a nod.

“Besides,” Paris chimed in, stepping in beside her captain. “if your Lieutenant hadn’t gotten that beacon up, Lieutenant Commander Sonak and I would likely still be down there. Your decisive actions and finding ways to deal with the situation saved us both… and for that, I’m deeply grateful, Captain.”

With that said, Paris offered her hand, genuine gratitude written across her face. Meanwhile, from the biobeds, Dox groaned slightly at the continued tests being administered on her.

"Really, Doctor? I feel fine. The headache is gone. Can I please be dismissed?" The red-headed pilot protested with a groan as the ship's touchy EMH continued to scan her head for lingering effects of the crystal's psionic communication while Dr. Mah came over to look the data over as well, reviewing everything to make sure the crew was recovering properly.

Doc Power held up a hand in protest even as he kept scanning with his tricorder. "As soon as we can ensure that there are no lingering effects that will interact with your wife and unborn children. Speaking of which, Lieutenant Gonadie will have to stay for at least another eighteen hours of observation, maybe longer."

Looking across at the bed next to her where Mona was sitting, Dox nodded in consent with an anxious smile for her wife and bond-mate who, on the surface, seemed okay now that the crisis had passed.

"Uh... of course, Doctor." Mona and the three chicks were extremely psi-sensitive at the time, and while they were off duty during the incident and went to sickbay almost immediately, there was still a legitimate concern that reminded the anxious Romulan woman to calm down and do as she was told. "Is she... are they okay? I know that during her pregnancy, her natural abilities are extremely heightened."

"Miradonian and Romulan biology are both quite resilient so I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, however..." The holographic doctor paused a moment as he glanced over a PaDD for a moment. "The stress has not been kind to them."

"They refuse to sing," Mona clarified softly for her bond-mate, her voice quieter than usual. "It feels like we've had a planet-wide orchestra in our heads for days and... I think we just need some rest."

Wanting to get up to hold Mona and share her love with her, Dox bit her lower lip slightly and restrained herself for a moment, which was profoundly difficult. "Doctor, our bond. Our empathic bond. It's... it's always been something we've been able to draw strength from. To help each other. But considering what just happened, do you think it would be helpful or harmful right now?"

Doc Power could only sigh and tuck the tools of his trade away before clasping his hands in front of him. "Unfortunately, I can only venture an educated guess at this point. That educated guess is that the bond you share can never be bad as long as there's love involved. Sappy introspection aside, I advise caution and a semi-silent mind while sharing said bond."

With the scans over, Dox got up and stepped over to Mona's biobed, sitting down next to her and putting one of her arms around her wife, while taking Mona's hand with the other one. Gently, they leaned into one another and smiled as they renewed their bond and smiled.

As Captain Telvan stood by, watching the recovery in Sickbay, Commander Paris sidled up beside her, hands clasped behind her back. “Well…. we rescued a science expedition that discovered more than they bargained for following up on one of more unusual adventures. We made contact with a new life form, and established good relations with them. We saved an Oberth class and got her out of peril, and we managed it with only one casualty. All in all, a good day in Starfleet?”

"I would agree and rate it as one of our better missions. On top of that, many of us got experience in things we aren't used to." Enalia had her hands on her hips as she was wont to do, but she surveyed the sickbay with a look of concern rather than her usual grin or queenly looks. "In fact, Commander Dox did very well in the big chair. I think she's actually been listening to all that command training we've been throwing at her."

“I’ll have to take your word for it, but I think Lieutenant Commander Dox has had good tutors,” Paris replied, wondering if today would be the day she would lose Dox to the Artan fleet. Enalia already seemed ready to promote her again, she had her own starship command and the Artans were in the process of trying to attach a fleet to her. All of which served to remind Rita that she could feel Starfleet’s losing hand in the struggle to keep Dox in Starfleet.

Dr. Mah approached Commander Paris, "Is there a central nursery where the children go regularly? It might make exams a bit faster if I went to them instead of trying to bring them all to sickbay. I know exactly what I am looking for and with parental permission I can bring plenty of lollipops during my games for them to enjoy." She looked quite delighted at the idea of spending time with a group of kids.

"Central core, one deck down, Dr. Mah. There is a complete nursery, preschool and some family quarters, and Deck 14 at the central core has the intermediate educational schools. We've very few children onboard, only about 33 at last count, but you may note we have a great number of pregnant crew members. We should probably have a talk about that sometime soon, now that you mention it..." Paris trailed off enigmatically, with a knowing nod.

Dr. Mah nodded while looking at her PaDD, "Deck 14, 33 children, on it." She looked up from her instrument however at the tone in Paris' voice as she stepped away with a serious note to ask what the mischievous Security Chief wasn't telling her as she wandered to the turbolift and accessed the med record count for the number of patients she had. If one watched closely they could see the poor doctor turn around on the turbolift, her eyes go huge and the doors hiss shut with a slight echo of, "What the..." as she was swept away to her destination.

The Trill captain chuckled softly and booped Rita on the nose. "I recommend taking her with you the next time you go to see Hera. Make sure that aura inhibitor is working as well, please? I'd rather not have the entire crew pregnant. It's bad enough that over a quarter is in the family way."

"What aura inhibitor...?"

Listening, Captain DeVonis smiled a little bit at the remarkably unorthodox ship and crew that had saved hers. In a few hours, she and the rest of her crew and her ship would be dropped off at the nearest starbase. Reports would be filed and hearings would be convened and with any luck, there was even a chance that she might even keep her ship. But that was a problem for later. For now, her ship was in once piece and her crew had suffered far fewer injuries and losses than it would have thanks to the Hera's arrival. And for the moment, she was happy for that.