Shuttle Hades: Religiously Speaking

Posted on Saturday, 23 May 2020 - 2:44pm by

Mission: Operation: Recall
Location: Devotion
Timeline: 2393 - MD06

{ON:}

Eyelaya had dressed in simple civilian garb. She was to meet Vadoma a young Lieutenant in the shuttle bay. They would get Hades. An odd name for a shuttle and perhaps a bit ominous. She wondered what Devotion was like. It would be something new to her and as nervous as she was, she was excited about going.

Lieutenant Laviana Vadoma was standing by the shuttle looking over the pre-flight inspection data when the Chief arrived. Her gaze departed from the PaDD and shot upward toward Eyeleya. "Chief, I was just going over the pre-flight inspections. Everything looks to be in order and our supplies have been loaded up for us. It appears the planet we are going to is peacefully rural" the woman reported though she suspected Eyelaya was privy to the same details. "I brought standard type II phasers per protocol, but out of sight out of mind seems to be the best approach with these people. I'd rather not be walking around with phasers holstered to our waists. I stored some type-I crickets aboard. They are dated a bit, but easier to conceal."

"My oh my. Are you expecting trouble?" She asked. She disliked phasers of any kind but understood their necessity on away teams.

"Expecting, no" replied Laviana "However, to go completely unarmed would be incredibly reckless and against protocol. We are going into a region of space that is frequented by Orions. I needn't remind you that aspects of the Orion civilization are beautiful yet other aspects such as the syndicate are known for raiding vessels and taking hostages for ransom and slave trade."

She sighed, "I guess you're right." She paused a moment. "Um...Lieutenant I have to point something out before we head out."

"That you are eccentric and have a tendency to cause accidents?" asked the woman. "You have a notable reputation with the crew" added Laviana. "Though I don't hold any of that against you."

"Oh..." She was a little taken aback that Laviana knew what she was going to say...and perhaps a little hurt that the crew thought of her as accident prone although she was. Eccentric she could handle. It was a lot kinder then she'd been called in the past. "Yeah." She finally said. She turned to the controls as the pre-flight status changed to green. Before she could say anything a voice came on.

"Bay to Hades, shuttle cleared for launch."

Eyeylaya smoothly hit the coms button. "This is Hades shuttle. we acknowledge. Open bay doors." She turned to her seat mate. "Would you like to take her out?"

Lieutenant Vadoma smiled, but started the leave her seat. "You're in Engineering, Chief. I imagine you're a competent shuttle pilot" the lieutenant said rather warmly. "How about you do us the honors. I'll keep an eye on everything else."

She gave a nod as she slipped in behind the controls. She pressed the manual button and slowly she took the shuttle out being careful to keep it hovering steady. Once out and sufficiently away she touched the coms. "This is Shuttle Hades. We are clear of the nacelles. Impulse ready. See you when we get back."

She shut the coms off. "Away we go." She said as she set the navigation and the shuttle jolted to impulse and then smoothly transitioned to warp.

"Between the two of us, Chief, I think we got the easiest assignment" Lieutenant Vadoma said. "I've read the dossier on Devotion and the Federation files about the planet. It's completely peaceful. Communities are somewhat small and spread a part, but these are just spiritual people like Bajorans mixed with cultural beliefs similar to that of the Ba'Ku."

"Well that sounds interesting!" She loved learning about other cultures. "But it also means pride. People like that don't accept help easy. I'm excited about learning about them."

"This is true and why any supplies we have medical or otherwise will likely be of no worth to them. So, if anything, we may just get a cultural experience, a look around, stay the night and report there's nothing here."

"Well let's look around a bit and basic medical supplies will be okay. I made sure I stocked up on those." She shrugged. "Who knows what we'll find." She looked at the read outs. "We should be there in a few hours. You can rest if you like," she offered.

Laviana nodded. "You're probably right, Chief. A little shut-eye will be useful. I want to keep alert when we are on the planet. Not that I'm expecting any trouble here, but it's in my nature to be alert. If there's so much as a blip of a ship on sensors, let me know."

"Yes ma'am."

The rest of the trip was long and uneventful. Eyelaya had listened to music quietly while Laviana slept. When they were ten minutes away she did an all stop and walked back to wake the young woman. "Lieutenant Vadoma." She said quietly so as not to startle the woman.

Laviana awoken to her name being called. She rolled over and saw the younger woman. "How long have I been asleep? Are we there?" she asked.

"We are ten minutes away. You've slept for a few hours."

The woman got herself into her feet again. "Excellent, find a good place to set us down and we will meet the local folk" she replied. "If Intel is good, we won't be met with porch forks."

Eyelaya smiled, "I believe you meant pitchforks." She laughed. "I hope not." Slipping into her seat she started the shuttle forward. "Ohhhh on the southern hemisphere third continent. There is a place just outside the city."

"Yes, those" the lieutenant said laughing at the slip of her tongue. "Or at least what constitutes as a city here, I think you meant village but the looks of these life sign readings" she added.

"Well ever city starts somewhere." She smiled. The landing didn't take long and it was smooth. "We're here!" Eyelaya enthusiastically said.

"Open the hatch," ordered the lieutenant. She stood by the area as the hatch opened and proceeded to exit the shuttlecraft. "Oh Chief, you need to come see this. Rolling green knolls as far as the eyes can see...and a few buildings in the distance."

Eyelaya looked around in awe. "Wow. This is beautiful." She said looking around. "Paradise."

"We probably won't want to mention the name of our shuttle" the tactical officer noted. "Given their Human roots and deep religious origins and such."

She laughed, "That's true enough." She wondered out loud, "I wonder if there are any Bajoran pockets here?"

"I'm not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised" replied Lieutenant Vadoma. "They seem to send out missionaries of sorts to other worlds, but their religious beliefs are from Earth's history, Abrahamic in nature."

"Well let's go. We have people to meet!" She walked beside the Lieutenant deciding that she liked the woman. "It'll be about twenty minutes until we hit the settlement. What would you like to talk about?"

"You're Bajoran," Vadoma said though it wasn't much of an observation. "Would you say that you're a spiritual person yourself, Chief?"

"I'm part Bajora and part Cardassian...I know it's hard to tell that but I am. I was raised, most of my life on Betazed. I've never thought about it. I've always wanted to be spiritual but...I never understood it all I guess." She looked at her companion "How about you?"

"Born on Earth. All Human. Very boring" replied the tactical officer. "My family is from a region with religious roots in Hinduism, but I do not know anyone in my family who still practices the religion. We just sort of culturally accept it as part of our history."

"Maybe this will awaken something in us both." She said. Eyelaya stopped in her tracks "We have company." She said pointing at the two women walking towards them.

"Yes, we do" replied the tactical officer. She immediately placed herself between Eyelaya and the two women tactically. Her background was security and keeping Eyelaya safe was part of her duties, especially on this mission. "Good day to you both," the woman said with caution, but her tone pleasant. "We come as travelers and we mean you no harm" added Lieutenant Vadoma.

The two women bowed slightly. "We greet you with light and love. Find respite in the arms of our leader. Please follow us." They turned and began walking. Eyelaya whispered so that only the tactical officer heard. "Thank god I brought extra phasers in my pack."

"Under his eye" replied Lieutenant Vadoma softly. It was a literary reference from Earth's 20th century. Something Eyelaya likely would not have gotten. "Maybe they are just eerily friendly."

"And I can overload a phaser eerily fast." She grinned. "When in Rome I guess. Maybe we should ..... attempt to reach our inner crazy here."

Vadoma let the two women get a few steps ahead and held Eyelaya back for a moment. "Chief, they are abnormal to us, but this is their life and their livelihood. All joking aside, let's try to respect that and meet with their elders or whoever runs their.. village."

"Okay." Eyelaya said. They followed the woman and soon reached the village.

The woman turned. "Any weapons you have must remain here. Any technology you bring must remain behind as well. Only present yourselves as you are."

Eyelaya bit her lip. She'd let the security chief handle it.

Lieutenant Vadoma was not thrilled about those instructions, but her orders were pretty clear. Avoid a diplomatic disaster was rather boldly put. "We will remove our weapons and scanning devices to respect your customs, but these" she said digging out the coms badge she had placed in her pocket "These cannot hurt you or anyone. They don't scan anything, but we do need to keep them on our person."

"A compromise." Both women said at once. "Of course."

Eyelaya didn't like it but she complied. "Just so you know," she began. "My hand to hand sucks."

"How's your shovel to shovel?" teased the lieutenant. "I don't expect we will need hand-to-hand, Chief. Just keep your head cool and eyes sharp."

"Yeah...about that...I tend to be hot headed. Surprise!" She said in her dry manner.

"I would have never guessed" replied the lieutenant with sarcasm.

The women led them to a home and stopped them. "The elders are inside. When they are ready to receive you someone will call for you."

Woodened furniture adorned the place and it was clearer now than before that these people were truly smiths in the old sense. Lieutenant Vadoma took a seat in a wood chair, running her hands across it, she looked at the Chief. "These were hand made. I think everything in here was" she surmised by the craftsmanship. The room was illuminated, but with the bare minimum.

"Indeed. Great work." She said looking around. She didn't sit. She still felt a little off about being here. She didn't like the unknown too much and this was the unknown.

"Chief, sit. You are making me nervous" said the lieutenant. "Calm down. That is an order if I have to make it one" she added. "These people are just going to meet with us. We will ask them questions, answer theirs, offer them some basic supplies and we can either find sleeping arrangements here tonight or take refuge back in the shuttle and decide if we want to head back to Fontana late tonight or early in the morning."

"There is something ... I am not comfortable here so if it is alright I can sleep on the shuttle."

Before she could say anything else the door opened and a woman motioned. "The elders will meet with you now." Eyeleya let the security officer lead the way. The moment of truth had come.

In the room sat several gentlemen, and no women. Okay...off to a great start thought the lieutenant who was starting to remember that Abrahamic religions had a tendency to place men in the forefront of all decision making. She shot a look to Eyelaya to basically be well behaved...very well behaved. "Elders, please forgive us for traveling this far to your world, but we come in search of assistance. Information primarily, and we do not wish to impose anything upon you. We have entered this home with our weapons cast aside and our technologies mostly surrendered. We have come with medical supplies, very basic ones that may be of use to your women in tending to injuries and sicknesses."

The man who sat at the head of the table looked at the women. He knew heir ways were different and while others may have issue with speaking he had none. "We have nothing to offer that you do not have. We are a simple people."

"We are looking for a man. He may be called Stillwater, darker skin than mine. He is a friend that is lost and we need to find him. We think he might come here sometimes and get food and supplies? He might even bring things to trade."

There was a pause. "I shall ask the other settlers. Do you have an image of this man?"

"That is where our technology would be useful" replied the tactical officer. ""I don't be have a picture on me."

Eyelaya had planned ahead. "I have one." She'd replicated it before they'd left from a file they'd all been given to keep an eye out for the man. She handed it to the tactical officer.

The tactical officer presented it to one of the elders "Barrett Stillwater" she said. The picture was a handful of years aged. Stillwater was a clean shaven officer.

The elders murmured for a few moments. The elder with the picture handed it back. "He looks different now, but this man has come here before. He comes by shuttle, but it is not his. It belongs to the Bakersville space port...a rental I believe is what he has called it."

Lieutenant Vadoma looked over at Chief Eyelaya. "One of the shuttle teams is bound for Baker's World."

"Indeed."

Another elder stepped forward. "You may rest here. We cannot take any technological devices but basic medical supplies perhaps bandages."

Eyelaya stepped forward now. "I have standard med kits loaded bandages, scissors, tweezers."

"That sounds good" replied Lieutenant Vadoma. "Chief, escort them back to the shuttle and help them unload the supplies they will need. We will rest here for the night and head out at the crack of dawn and lay in a course back to the Fontana" the lieutenant ordered. "If you'll excuse me, I am going to find some paper and a pen and write down a log entry" she said trying to hold back the giggle she felt coming on.

Eyelaya gave a nod.

"Thank you, Chief."

{OFF:}