One Of Our Officers Is Missing

Posted on Thursday, 10 September 2020 - 7:04am by Captain Barret Stillwater & Lieutenant Alex Kingsley

Mission: Operation: Dreamweaver
Location: USS Standing Bear | XO's office
Timeline: 2393 - MD 03

{ON:}

Don't panic.

Once, many years ago, Lieutenant Kingsley remembered a book in her father's library had those exact works in huge print on the front cover. It had always struck her as odd as her father had never been one to panic, rather to look at a problem with a cool head and seek for solutions. Which was precisely what she was attempting to do now. With so many questions - and so many fears - running around in her mind she needed facts. She needed information to be able to look at this logically. Calmly.

For his part, Bones had curled up on the couch with big sad eyes and an occasional whimper. The dog had watched as Grol left the room briefly to find a tricorder, which Alex promptly took from him and scanned first the uniform jacket and then the room itself. Which had been frustratingly unhelpful, she might add. What she did no for certain was that the stain on the uniform was indeed blood although she was quite sure of that already. Yet there was no unusual readings that the handheld device could detect. Either because there was none to detect, or whatever there was had by now dissipated. Or the tricorder just was not equipped to detect whatever she was looking for - whatever that was. Beside a stubborn Vulcan having a bad case of nightmares...

She was scanning the room again when the door finally opened and she felt a flood of relief to see the commanding officer of the Standing Bear in the doorway. She knew her message had been somewhat cryptic, yet she did not want to announce what had happened to anyone within earshot and start rumours. Or panic.

"Sir. Its Soral. He's missing," she blurted out, holding out the ruined uniform jacket towards him, the green bloodstain on the back not to be missed. "According the computer, this was his last known location on the ship but that was some time ago. We found his office like this, and the jacket -"

She paused to take a breath and calm herself as she realised she was speaking at warp ten. "The ship has no record of him leaving, we are not missing any support craft or escape pods," she added at a more measured pace. "I've scanned the room, twice, but there is nothing unusual and I'm guessing our internal sensors didn't either if no alarms were raised on the bridge. I don't understand how he can just disappear into thin air. And the blood on the uniform? Does it mean there was a struggle of some kind? Is he hurt?"

Grol was impressed with Alex's ability to seem calm. If his mate had been taken he'd be a wreck, he knew that for sure. He waited off to the side letting Stillwater process everything before he dropped a bit of news that he was going to tell Soral.

Number One is missing thought Commander Stillwater as he listened to the woman report and as he examined the room with his eyes, his gaze fell upon Lieutenant Kingsley as she started firing off questions that she nor he had answers to. "Lieutenant, we will not know anything until we begin an extensive search ship-wide and have a forensics team in here" replied Barret Stillwater swiftly and calmly. Though he was concerned with the unknown whereabouts of his First Officer, now was not the time nor place to allow negative thoughts to burden him.

He glanced over at Grol. "Petty Officer Grol, please see to it that Security begins an extensive ship-wide search, all decks, all crevices, leave no stone unturned," Stillwater said to the Yeoman. It may not have been the normal paperwork sort of work that Grol was used to, but Stillwater knew Grol's organizational and communication skills would be crucial in coordinating search parties.

"I sir." Grol said. He pulled out a date PaDD that he carried and made some notes.

Commander Stillwater quickly proceeded into the XO's Office and searched Soral's desk, finding a control panel of use. Tapping the necessary controls to open a ship-wide coms channel almost reminiscent of the era of Pike and Kirk. "All hands this is the Captain," he began. "Helm, full stop!" he shouted over the open comm. "Alert condition yellow until further notice" he added before severing the channel.

"I can have a team scan every inch of the room and begin working outwards if necessary," Kingsley stated as the coms channel closed. She frowned, "Sir, I don't know if it is related or not but Soral was intending to meet Doctor Rose today. He's been having nightmares but - it sounds insane - but he was sore from injuries in the dream. And when he woke this morning, a bruise had appeared on his back. At the same spot as the blood on his uniform. I have no idea what it means. If it means anything at all."

Stillwater listened to what Alex Kingsley had to report about Soral's sleep behavior recently. "That is peculiar, and something to add to the evidence. It is possible that he caused the bruise himself somehow. Perhaps sleepwalking? We are all under a lot of stress lately. I had a meeting with Soral in which he and I shared a sense of lack of sleep lately. I've been increasingly irritable" noted Stillwater. "We may want to make use of Doctor Rose, Doctor Alexander, and Lieutenant Vali."

Grol looked at the two officers. "Sir may I interject here."

Stillwater nodded. "Of course, Grol" replied the Commanding Officer.

"I have noted that several crew members are feeling irritable due to lack of sleep. It seems that lateness is running rampant as is the nightmare phenomenon. Also, there is a crewman in the brig ... he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly but he swears that people are disappearing. At first ... it was thought he was drunk however in light of the disappearance of the XO I suggest that we run a computer inquiry to ensure nobody else is missing."

"Given the disappearance of the researchers that we already knew of, that seems a wise idea," Alex agreed.

Stillwater grumbled something, not offensive toward either of those present. It was simply something about venturing into the unknown. "They lost a research team on a shuttle. We're possibly losing people on a starship. This is beyond unsettling" replied Stillwater. "I want a full count of everyone present. If anyone other than Soral is missing, we have more on our hands than a simple missing persons case."

"Aye sir," He said. He saluted both and headed to the door. He then stopped at the door. "Sirs we should probably put in place a temporary XO until Commander Soral is found and...a succession plan in case he is not."

“Noted,” Alex said quietly, her look one that could kill.

Grol paused. "I'm sorry Lieutenant...I am not being insensitive but it is a possibility. It is my job to bring it to your attention." He paused. "I guess I should give you this." He walked back over handing her a box. Soral had bee working on it for weeks and finally it was done. A gift that was appropriate for her as she was recently promoted. Inside the box was a hand mate necklace with a heart pendant. A Vulcan fire stone.

“Keep it safe for him, he can give it to me himself when he’s back,” Alex said firmly and with a resolute confidence. It was that or fall to pieces which would help nobody and have Stillwater questioning having her on the crew with Soral at all, she was sure. Yet it was clear that try to or not, his words had cut deep. “For now we need to focus, find him and make sure others aren’t missing too.... Commander, Lieutenant Vali May be a good start if there has been insomnia and nightmares amongst the crew. People may have gone to her?”

"I concur," replied Stillwater. "Grol is also correct. I'm only one person and a Captain without an Executive Officer is at an extreme disadvantage. Soral and I had not yet come to a decision on Second Officer, but with your recent promotion that leaves Hobbes and yourself as the next highest ranking officers after myself. Hobbes is needed in Engineering and what we have is a scientific mystery on our hands. Lieutenant Kingsley, you will assume the position of Acting First Officer until we locate Soral."

“Sir?!” Alex blurted out, not for a moment expecting for Stillwater to settle on her. Save for some time commanding the ship during the graveyard shift, she was as green around the gills as anyone. Find Soral while also being him... there was a dark irony to it. A dark, twisted irony. Yet she knew Soral would expect nothing less than for her to take on the challenge and excel. Taking a deep breath she nodded, “aye Sir. I won’t let you down.”

Or Soral, she added inwardly.

"I know you won't, Lieutenant," Stillwater replied "I would not let Talarn down if I were in your place. You are an impressive scientist, a fine officer, and you will serve well as Acting First Officer."

"Thank you," Alex said softly, nodding. "But I do intend to make sure your actual first officer is found safe and well. And soon. I hate paperwork and he has lots of it..."

"Welcome to command," Stillwater replied. "Sometimes, we have lives to save, missing starships or personnel to locate, Federation assets to protect, and borders to patrol," Stillwater said somewhat proudly. "Humanitarian crisis response, evacuating people from unsafe locations and exploration. These are all the bullet points bolded on a brochure and embroidered into the uniforms we wear. What they neglect to inform us when they speak highly about the command track at the academy is the reality of all the damn paperwork."

A small smile played at her lips, “I’ll remember that for future.”

{OFF:}