Vortifications (BACKPOST)

Posted on Sat Jan 27th, 2018 @ 9:03pm by Captain Enalia Telvan & Ahreva Malana & Lieutenant Vaemyn

Mission: When Iconians Deserve to Die
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: Just before entering the Nightmare Lands

Before entering the Nightmare Lands, the Hera had to rendezvous with one last ship to synchronize data and take on a couple more crew before heading in. They were alongside a Vulcan survey ship now, performing the last of the classified data transfers before getting underway and Enalia was in her ready room awaiting the report of the two new specialists Command had assigned her.

One was a Vorta.

Sighing heavily, she leaned back in her chair and decided to look over the other file for a while at least and was instantly creeped out by what she found in it. Was this a sentient Vulcanoid science doll? Command sure did know how to pick them...

Meanwhile, the two individuals in question were beaming aboard. They couldn't have been more different. The Vorta lieutenant was plainly in a good mood, his grin forming even as the shimmering blue sparkle faded away, and he looked around the transporter room with a cheerful, bright-eyed manner. However, even Vaemyn's grin dimmed a few watts at the stony Malana standing beside him.

"Are you okay, Malana?" he asked politely, adjusting the strap of his carry-on. "You look a bit...er...stonier than usual. Did the transport have an adverse effect?"

"Negative, the air is just a bit drier and the shift was less than kind to my skin." Malana turned her unblinking, large, reflective eyes towards the Vorta like a couple of surveillance domes as she spoke in a near emotionless voice. "I'll have to remember to moisturize more often during this assignment, it seems." She then held up a PaDD with her orders on it and stepped off of the transporter pad. "Shall we proceed to the Captain's ready room then?"

"Um...okay," Vaemyn replied with a bemused smile as he followed her. He had a high tolerance for weird, even Vulcan weird, but Malana was a different kettle of fish entirely. He mused that it could be something unique to Ashravenen culture, but hell, even the most stoic Jem'Hadar was a cheerful conversationalist compared to her.

Soon enough, the two scientists made their way up to the ready room with only the occasional odd glance from passing crewmen. After they walked out of the turbolift onto the Bridge, Vaemyn glanced at Malana's doll-like features, shrugged, and tapped the ready room chime.

"Come in," Enalia called, prompting the door to open. She'd seen stranger officers than the two that now graced her office - she couldn't think of them right now, but she was sure she'd seen them before. Thus she did her best to pretend nothing was out of the ordinary that a Vorta and an Ashravena were now about to be speaking with her at the same time. One from a former enemy of the Federation and the other from a race so self-contained and introverted, it took diplomats thirty years of looking at rocks to open a dialog. "Excellent! Just the two people I was waiting for. Please, come in. May I offer you a drink?"

Stepping inside, Vaemyn smiled at his new CO, pleasantly surprised by her friendly demeanour. “I would appreciate that, captain, thank you. To make it all official: Lieutenant Vaemyn, reporting for duty.”

Malana also introduced herself, though without the accompanying smile. "Ahreva Malana, at your service, Captain. I would... also appreciate a drink. Perhaps lemonade? I acquired a fondness for it while on Earth."

"Welcome aboard. Please, both of you have a seat. Lieutenant, what can I get you?" Enalia asked as she punched in an order for a glass of lemonade and a glass of water for herself from her desk replicator. She waited to hear from Vaemyn before punching in an order for his drink.

Sitting down, Vaemyn shrugged at the question, still smiling. “Oh, lemonade for me too, Captain, if you would. It’s been a long time since I had an Earth beverage. Whatever one might think about the humans, their homeworld has an astonishing variety of food and drink.”

"Indeed they do, though the same can be said about many worlds. However, Earth tends to have the least issues with allergies across the most races that I've seen and does tend to be the easiest to reproduce." Punching in the second lemonade, Enalia slid both glasses over to her two guests before taking her own glass of water.

Sitting down as well, Malana took her lemonade and sipped it before chiming in. "Indeed. It must be difficult to find replicator patterns that fulfill the dietary requirements of so many races. Having glanced at the database of Earth delicacies with some personal adjustments on a case by case basis, it may not be a daunting task. My race has some minor dietary requirements which I believe a modified diet of Earth beans and rice seasoned with red clay will compensate for."

Sipping his lemonade, Vaemyn froze mid-motion, his violet eyes glancing at Malana in amazement. "I...uh...can't say I'm familiar with clay as seasoning. But I guess people look at me weird when they see me sprinkle arsenic on my food, so hey, no judgement Malana."

Malana nodded. "Indeed. Clay and arsenic are not part of the common dietary intake of most races and can be extremely harmful when ingested for some, if not most."

Clearing her throat, Enalia set her glass of water aside. "I hope the two of you have read over the classified data on the Master and black blood that I forwarded to you. Also, due to unforeseen circumstances, our Science Chief had to leave for an emergency, so instead of being Assistant Science Chief, Lieutenant, you'll be the actual Science Chief as of now."

"Wait, what?" Vaemyn said, stunned. "Really?"

"Really. Congratulations. Do you need a few moments for that to sink in?" Enalia asked, a lopsided grin on her face as she tapped her desk.

"Um..." Vaemyn trailed off, before shaking his head. "Uh, no captain, it's fine. It's just amazing. Not that your old science chief had an emergency, that's not amazing, that's bad, I mean the promotion, and...er...you get my drift. Thank you very much. I won't let you down."

"Excellent. I look forward to your work then." Enalia pressed a few buttons on her desk terminal, hoping the conversation could move forward to more pressing matters.

Grinning self-consciously, Vaemyn hurriedly changed the subject. "In regards to the 'Master' and the black blood, yes, Malana and I discussed them a little on the trip here. The black blood is a fascinating substance, as is the 'Master" and the beings you have encountered. They certainly seem to have characteristics closer to that of the Organians, or the wormhole entities, than mundane beings like us. It's all really quite awe-inspiring. Terrifying and crazy, yes, but still awe-inspiring."

"We believe the Master is an Iconian and possibly some sort of demon version of one, considering other data that we possess. We had a demonverse version of myself aboard for a time and she displayed almost identical characteristics and abilities. It took three tricobalt devices and the destruction of an entire planet to kill her. We're hoping to kill him with far fewer casualties and cure our people. Unfortunately, that may require the aid of ancient beings that humans used to worship as gods. We've made contact with a couple of them and have two weapons that should harm him significantly, but we still need to find him. Hopefully he's at this hidden lab of his inside these so called nightmare lands."

"The nightmare lands," Vaemyn repeated, his grin fading as Captain Telvan explained the full nature of their threat they faced. "So we're hunting an evil, superpowered perversion of one of the most powerful technological species in known history. It sounds like a fun ride, assuming we don't get blown up by the aforementioned evil superpowered...Iconian...demon. Okay, it sounds even weirder saying that out loud."

At that, Vaemyn shrugged it off. "Anyway, I'll have a closer look at all of your past research, Captain, with your permission. Starfleet classified the majority of the hard data until Malana and I actually got here. My people studied the Iconians extensively and all of that research was programmed into my brain at my creation, so I may be able to combine Federation and Dominion knowledge to attain some new insights."

"That's one of the reasons you're here. That and you're both specialists in your respective fields, from what I've heard." Enalia grinned even wider. "I think with you two and Crewman Ila Dedjoy we finally have the perfect science team for combating this black blood issue."

"Yes ma'am," Vaemyn said with a warm, confident smile. "I know that there isn't much time before we hit the nightmare lands proper, but we'll get to work with Ila Dedjoy as soon as we can. We'll also redouble the investigation of this 'black blood', to try and cure this ailment before anyone else is hurt. Now, the people who were infected...have they deteriorated much? I understand that one of them is still onboard?"

Enalia nodded. "Yes, Staff Warrant Officer Nexi is in stable enough condition to perform her duties within limits as long as she wears an inhibitor belt. The computer is monitoring her status constantly as well. As for Commodore Meowlith... She's on a medical transport ship in quarantine until a cure can be found. She's much further along."

Interlinking his fingers, Vaemyn was quiet for a moment. "I know that the Staff Warrant Officer has to be sick and tired of tests, but I suspect they'll be inevitable to neutralise the black blood without harming the host. Hopefully she'll be amenable."

"Thankfully we've been able to streamline the testing process to just blood samples and daily scans for now." Enalia had taken that into account as well, hence the consideration. "But if there are any tests you need to run I'm sure she'd be happy to help."

“Yes sir, understood,” Vaemyn answered with a nod. “We’ll do everything we can to help her and Commodore Meowlith, preferably without more of those...uh...demon dogs...popping up.” He shook his head, chuckling incredulously. “It’s going to be a while before I can say that with a straight face.”

"I just hope none of them come out of our people." Enalia leaned back in her chair and clasped her hands together as she thought back on when Farenia Meowlith was attacked and infected. "When the Commodore was attacked, those dogs ate her entire support crew. Many of them were good friends of mine. Their Captain was my younger sister. I had planned on leaving a good portion of the family business to her care when she was more experienced. I suppose that it's a good thing that that happened while we were on shore leave."

Vaemyn’s purple skin briefly turned pink, his eyes widening as he realised his faux pas. “Oh. Right. I’m sorry, Captain. Not a laughing matter.”

"Indeed not," Enalia confirmed. "Do either of you have any questions so far? Or would you rather get the rest of the data from Commander Eneas, Crewman Dedjoy, and the computer for now?"

“Nothing else springs to mind, ma’am,” Vaemyn said more seriously, his earlier good cheer gone. He’d known that the mission was important, certainly, but actually meeting someone who had been so profoundly affected by it all...that gave him a newfound determination to help the Hera’s crew win. This wasn’t some dry research project, all maths and hypotheses; this was very, very real, with lives hanging in the balance. The captain wasn’t showing any trace of it affecting her, just like any other good CO, but Vaemyn knew that she had to have a serious emotional stake in this mission.

Glancing at Malana, Vaemyn rubbed his hands together. ”Well, shall we get to work, Malana?”

Malana was motionlessly staring at Enalia. "You and Commodore Meowlith were lovers at one point, were you not? And your younger sister was lost in her defense? Captain Telvan, are you emotionally compromised by these events?"

Enalia stared back wearily while she composed an answer in her head. When she spoke, every word was intentional and the tension in the air was thick enough to be cut with a phaser. "Commander Xustos took command of the ship while I came to terms with the loss of my estranged sister and the injury of my academy lover. This was while we were on shore leave. I am not currently experiencing any more emotional stress from this than I would for any member of my crew. Understood?"

"Clearly." Satisfied for now, Malana finished her lemonade and turned to Vaemyn, lighter in mood, if it could be said that a porcelain doll carved from granite could be. "Ready when you are, Lieutenant."

Vaemyn stood, nodding at the captain soberly as he set down his empty glass. "Thank you for bringing us aboard, Captain. We won't let you or the crew down."

"I'm counting on it. Welcome aboard." As the two science officers left, Enalia finally let herself relax for a moment. Maybe these two could get a little further in this case.