Playing Catch up

Posted on Thursday, 30 April 2020 - 2:37pm by Commander Soral & Commander DeVala Victrix Ph.D
Edited on on Thursday, 30 April 2020 - 4:11pm

Mission: Operation: Recall
Location: USS Fontana | Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: 2393

{ON:}

Soral looked at the time. He had an appointment with Victrix in twenty minutes. He was in his quarters now preparing the final reports. It had been an eventful time and since she'd returned they'd had little time to catch up so this appointment to have lunch and chat in her ready room was good.

He quickly changed into his uniform and sorted the data PaDDs. With all that done he picked up Bones, who seemed to have developed a linking to Victrix and headed out arriving exactly on time. He rang the chime and waited.

Lieutenant Commander Victrix had the element of surprise on Soral who was standing outside the Commanding Officer's suite, standing there waiting for access to enter the Captain's Ready Room for the meeting they had. He was on time as usual, but Victrix was running literally a bit late. Grey tank top and maroon athletic shorts, DeVala Victrix exited the turbolift and saw her Vulcan XO standing there with his back to her.

They had a significant sense of hearing, but with the business of the bridge abuzz with life and constant chittering, tapping, and chattering of controls and crew, Victrix seized the opportunity. She swiftly charged towards the man and grabbed his shoulder towards his neck, relatively close to the area one would apply a Vulcan nerve pinch. "Gotcha!" she said chipperly with a bit of a giggle. "Sorry, I never was able to master the nerve pinch" added Victrix.

Soral had been going over a few final equations in his mind and with the bridge buzzing he hadn't heard her approach. The moment he'd felt a hand on his neck he'd reacted. Grabbing the arm he'd flipped the woman forward but noting who it was in mid air he'd caught her in and wound up with the commander promptly in his arms in a threshold carry. He raised an eyebrow. "Indeed. Four point five millimetres to the right and you could have caused an internal hemorrhage. I can teach you the technique."

She pursed her lips and bit as if to express she was contemplating it. "Hmm" she began and smirked a bit. "That does sound like a much better plan than having to explain to Doctor Rose how I managed to inflict a hemorrhage in my XO" she added.

The bridge had gone deathly quiet by this point. Nothing that he still held the commander as if ready to carry her over the threshold he promptly put her down and studied her attire. "I could come back if you wish..."

"Oh no it's fine" she said dismissively. "The crew needs their entertainment and this will make for excellent scuttlebutt" she added with a small giggle and snort. She stood at the door and waited for the extra layer of security devices to scan her and authenticate that she was indeed who she appeared to be. The doorway parted and she crossed the threshold, gesturing Soral to follow.

Immediately, she detoured to the replicator and ordered herself an iced coffee. She took a sip and let out a small sigh of relief. It was refreshing. "Racquetball," she said explaining her attire. "It helps keep me in shape" she added.

"Indeed." He sat down an started sorting his PaDDs. It had been an interesting few days for him to say the least.

Bones who'd watched the whole scene and who'd run in as soon as the door opened gave an enthusiastic bark and ran to Victrix.

"Apologies but Bones for some reason does not like to be alone. I have taken to bringing him to the bridge. The crew seems to find him amusing and he seems to like being there."

"Well, if Bones wants to position of provisional morale officer," she said with a smile following. "So, how are we doing with everything. What do you have for me, Commander?" she added as she proceeded towards her desk and taking a seat.

"Engineering is still completing a few to be fixed items while all the other departments are doing well. As you know I had a team leave on an exploration mission. Lieutenant Kingsley has some interesting findings from the sensors and we were able to map two-thirds of the nebula before the crew lost consciousness."

"Oh dear, are they all alright? Two thirds?" replied Victrix pleased to hear the crew had the opportunity to do some scientific exploring but was concerned with the report of unconsciousness. "Small nebula" she deduced by the amount they had been able to map out with sensors.

"The crew is accounted for and all have recovered. They do, however, all report experiencing various nightmares but it's probably because the they were hit by a temporal wave. Shuttle one was damaged but Lieutenant Yolen has been working with Engineering they have repaired it." He paused. "The nebula has some interesting features."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "It would be a bit of a hindrance but we can afford to be down a shuttle. We cannot afford to lose a few valuable members if the crew" she replied, though glad repairs were made. "Interesting features aside from rendering the crew unconscious and producing nightmares?" she inquired. "I'm all ears" added Victrix.

"The Nebula is a Heminal Helix. It takes the shake of a DNA strand upon which a temporal wave travels. The wave's outcome is thusly different for anyone hit by it. It is a feature that Denobulans have studied. I took the liberty of having them send their information. We've over laid it and the nebula is similar. Thusly some of our crew, while unconscious, was able to see the past, some the present, some the future and some an alternate reality. The strength of the wave is controlled by the gravity of several unstable wormholes that are formed as the wave travels the helix thusly always different by pattern."

"This is not the safest nor smoothest region of space" replied Victrix. She was interested in what the nebula held. "Those wormholes could be a means of getting out of here, if we can make it through safely, and not end up stuck in the Delta Quadrant or worse."

"I will work with the Chief Science Officer to see if one of the wormholes can be stabilized enough for the ship to go through." He paused a moment. "There is also the Borg drone that was retrieved." He said. "The crew is uneasy about having it aboard."

"Nor am I" she responded bluntly. "I do not take kindly to anything Borg being brought aboard" she added. "I have nothing against ex Borg, that I assure you; however, a ship of only one hundred souls when at full crew is not the place for Borg tech, especially a drone."

"I would not have allowed it but the drone is Lieutenant Vali's mother. I though it best to allow her that. I would however like to get the drone off the ship. Perhaps ... you might speak with her to hold a memorial. I am not the most...emotionally inclined person to be doing so."

"We randomly come across a Borg drone and it happens to be her mother?" replied Victrix who then looked at her glass of iced coffee. "Should have warned me. I would have gotten something stronger. What the hell are the chances of that .0000001%?" she added though not seriously asking.

"I assume the drone is inactive?" she inquired.

"Actually the odds are one in three point one four billion," Soral deadpanned. "The drone is quite dead. Chief Eyelaya was able to harvest some nano parts for Lieutenant Vali should they become necessary. She is no threat." He paused. "The drone I mean not Chief Eyelaya. I am still attempting to assess her threat level." He raised an eyebrow.

"If you keep hot liquids away from her then you decrease the threat" countered Victrix with her own humor. "I see. Well, a 'dead' drone is less of a threat that one that's active. Still, knowing a Borg carcass is aboard is not going to boost morale. We will need to rid ourselves of it as soon as possible. Do you know if her mother had ever served in Starfleet?"

"No. I understand she was assimilated while on a Vulcan ship. There are...several factors to take into account Betazoid and Vulcan particularly because she was a wife to a Vulcan citizen. This will be a delicate situation." He paused. "You are delicate. I am as delicate as what Human's call a bull within a shop of plates."

"Sure, call the woman who almost caused a hemorrhage delicate" she replied trying to make light of the situation. "I'll handle it. Fortunately, both worlds are part of the Federation still. That will make things easier, though each has its own cultural matters. I'll speak with the lieutenant and find some fair ground to work with."

He gave a nod. He paused. "How is the new crew settling in that we've obtained. Do you require me to do anything to assist?"

"I will handle both matters personally if you can see too it that the departments are ready. Both require a touch that I am not sure you will be able to handle at this time. I have a rapport with the young man we have aboard or at least I am trying to" she added. "Do you have anything else to report? If not, I'll throw on a uniform after a quick sonic shower and tend to the Borg matter."

He paused a moment. A hesitation. "That depends on if you'd rather have observations or concrete proof," he said.

"I do love concrete proof," she replied. "What do you have for me, Commander?"

"Well with respect to myself I have begun experiencing some symptoms. Headaches, dreams, all that have presented as an overworked telepathic portion of the mind, however, I have not used telepathy since boarding the ship. It does not interfere with my duties and doctor Rose is monitoring me. The other issue is the Chief."

"Could the issue be related to the nebula?" she inquired. "Maybe as we put some distance between us and it, your symptoms will subside?" she added. "What is the issue with Eyelaya now?"

"I believe it could be the nebula. I will endeavour to find out. As for the Chief I believe that she is hiding something. I have noted, after a detailed look into her records that there were some surgical removals that I cannot account for. It could be nothing however I would like your permission to investigate."

Victrix held up a hand in protest. "I can't permit a violation of her privacy" she replied. "What we can do is present it to Doctor Rose. He can try to track down records for any unaccounted procedures" added Victrix.

"I have asked Lieutenant Vali for assistance. This is nothing to do with medical more records related. I strongly believe that Lieutenant Vali and I will be able to get to the bottom of this. Also when we took her on you clearly stated she was my responsibility. If this is to endanger the ship in any way it requires investigation. As a former security officer I have resources I can call on."

Victrix just cleared her throat. "Surgical removals," she said echoing his own words. "Those are done through medical means. Last time I checked, Psychologists don't perform surgery" noted the woman. "If she had those procedures done outside of the Federation, records may not be all in order. If it was done...by alternative means, you'll find no records. I won't stop you from investigating at this point, but cross any lines and I'll testify on her behalf at a court-martial" warned Victrix and she meant it.

"Ah, I see I did not mean surgical in that respect. I meant in her background file there were removals done so well they were almost a surgical purging of information."

"I see" replied Victrix. "So, what you are saying is you have evidence that portions of her personnel file and additional dossier materials are not 100% congruent. There is evidence of tampering, distant echoes from the void that something used to be there?"

"Yes. In some places left out and in others removed with only minor hits at the removal." He held out a PaDD. "Starfleet regulations allow us to investigate these inconsistencies. I do not wish to pry but if this endangers the ship or the Chief we must make the attempt."

"Starfleet regulations have been murky for quite some time" she replied but nodded in agreement. "Proceed, but proceed with caution. Word of advice, Soral...things do not typically get retracted or removed from official records without going down the rabbit hole. Don't look far if you cannot find the bottom, or I may not see you again."

"I see. I have one questions ... perhaps two Commander."

Victrix looked at him curiously. "What are those?"

"I was not aware that records removal was done within a rabbit hole. Is there a particular one? Also if once cannot find the bottom then perhaps those that altered the records are still there and perhaps if there was a climber clamp to secure those descending the would come back up. I have mountain climbed and climbed in caves I am certain that I would find my way out. Also, do you have knowledge of the hole dimensions?"

"A human expression," she said standing from her seat and patting the man's shoulder. "A dangerous one at that. I cannot discuss this any further, Soral. I cannot provide you with the answers that you seek, and I have political careers to keep safe my own and others."

"I see." He stood. "Very well." He began to walk to the door with Bones trailing after him. He stopped, turned. "Commander permission to speak freely and directly."

Lieutenant Commander Victrix nodded.

He cleared his throat. "Vulcans, although they do not show emotion and choose to suppress them, have them. I would like to share mine, they are most illogical but I find myself wishing we do not find Commander Stillwater. It will signal your departure and I find that although I have not gotten to know you that well you are an honourable woman who perhaps does not see her own worth or ability as a CO. I am grateful that Commander Stillwater is missing because if he were not I would not have had the privilege of knowing you. While I can logically deduce you have political motivations I have no doubts that should those motivations be realized you will handle them with honour and skill."

A warmth came to her cheeks long after the sweating from her racquetball workout had subsided. For Soral to be openly discussing emotions was not something common for a Vulcan, even one who was not entirely a pureblood. It touched her somewhere metaphysically at least. "I too appreciate the opportunity that we have had to serve together. This is a unique crew, but one uniquely brought together for a special assignment, and I believe Stillwater to be an honorable man. Perhaps, more than me even. He will likely do his best to keep as much of this crew together as he can" she added. "I have served my purpose here and will continue to do so until we find Stillwater, but Commanding a starship was never in my deck of cards...just something extra bestowed upon me for a blink of an eye."

"Nevertheless the bestowal was warranted. You are a leader to be respected." He gave a small bow. "With your permission, I will return to duties."

She nodded once more at a loss for words. Instead, she changed the subject. "Yes, please do. I kind of need to sonic shower...if not, I'm going to start to smell like a Klingon."

{OFF:}

Lieutenant Commander Victrix
Acting Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Commander Soral
Executive Officer