YE/D04 - Security Complex

[Paul]

==

[Leo Alden]

<< Crew Quarters <<

Five minutes before the start of his shift, Leo stepped into the security complex, sipping his second cup of coffee of the morning. Despite security being a 24/7 area of any ship, this office was still on a skeleton crew, a likely result of being in dock. He supposed the science and engineering departments must be starting to fill with people as the ship made its preparations to leave the dock soon.

A lone officer rolled his shoulders as he stifled a yawn while another tapped away absent-mindedly at a computer, likely counting the minutes to shift change.

“Good morning,” he said aloud, not directing it at anyone in particular.

A handful of officers moved in and out, exchanging quick status reports, logging final entries, and preparing for the transition between shifts. Taking the opportunity to settle in, Leo introduced himself to a couple of his fellow officers, this time with far more composure and proficiency than the ceremony had allowed.

He had a rough idea of the ship’s next mission but wasn’t about to start making guesses on the details. That was far above his rank. As gamma shift personnel filtered out, he returned their nonchalant goodbyes with a nod before making his way to one of the terminals.

He knew how to use security terminals, the Academy and his Cadet Cruise had drilled that into him, but these were slightly different. The interface, the software, even the responsiveness of the keys were different and all had their own quirks. Rather than waste time later with unfamiliar tech in the middle of something important, Leo figured now was the best time to at least get familiar, if not proficient.

As he scrolled through the system, attempting to get used to the layout, a question popped into his mind:

I wonder if d’Tor’an is coming here first, or is she starting her shift on the bridge?

[Artemis d'Tor'an]

Artemis looked around and felt like everybody had coffee. Either in open mugs (frowned upon), in casual-looking travel mugs (better), or tactical-like giant thermoses, it was clear that they had just been given a mission. Not to be left out, Art went up to a food replicator and told it her complicated order.

“Computer, thermos. One order: Double peppermint mocha raktajino, extra mint, extra mocha, extra caffeine. Hold the whipped cream, hold the chocolate shavings.”

In the moment that it took to materialize the liquid into the mug, Art felt slightly as if the computer was mocking her. Well, she was the Security Chief, and if the computer gave her any attitude, she could just rip out some cables. She worked just as well in the pitch dark with a phaser rifle with a light attachment.

Logging into her usual console, Art just stared at it. It would probably be a cold day in Sto’vo’kor when Jen Braggins gave a senior staff mission briefing, and so the COS was back to her usual guessing game of what exactly was going on. She knew what time they would be getting underway, and she knew where (roughly) they were headed. But why were they going there? Were there to be any guests they were bringing with them? She hadn’t even had her first sip of coffee yet, and Art already felt herself grumbling into a bad mood.

The temperature was perfect. The chocolate was creamy, but not too heavy. The extra caffeine’s bitterness was cut by the chocolate’s flavor. And the mint… the mint swirled in Art’s mouth, the overpowering flavor an exquisite finish to the mouthful. The young Klingon closed her eyes and just took a deep breath through her nose to enjoy it all.

Maybe today would be a good day, after all. It was certainly off to a delicious start.

“You’re a little later than usual, Chief.”

Or not.

“My god, shut up, Gary.” Art said, her tone a fake version of exasperation. “I’m the freaking boss here, cut me some slack, okay?”

“Is that mint I smell? Mint, Chief?!”

Art was almost laughing now as her Alpha Shift leader razzed her. “I will cut out your guts and eat them, Gary!”

“Yeah, yeah, big scary Klingon.”

It was the way they said good morning to each other; it was well-known in Security that if you were getting made fun of, you were probably liked. If you were left alone, you were not thought of. And if you were complained about… you would not last long. It was a seemingly-backward way of communicating, sure, but that was somehow just how it had always been.

“We do have a guest, by the way.” Gary said, logging into the console across from Art’s. “So yeah, of course you were right. No one knows about them. One guy on Gamma shift was the escort, and he’s definitely passed out by now.”

Art growled, and held back her biting remarks about the Captain and her lack of communication. Instead, she sipped her coffee, growling and grumbling into the thermos. She watched her console’s screen as Gary sent her what little information they had: the guest’s species, assigned sex, chosen gender, and room assignment. She gave a frustrated grunt now, still an animalistic sound, but a sound that was a way of thanks.

Gary, in his wisdom, nodded a welcome and moved on.

[Leo Alden]

His tongue sticking out slightly to one side, Leo’s sheer concentration painted quite the hilarious image. Getting used to the new computer system wasn’t too difficult, but after some fidgeting, poking, and prodding at the interface, he discovered it adapted to the user’s preferences. He adjusted the layout a few times until he was somewhat comfortable. He'd have plenty of time for more personal refinements later.

Hearing a conversation, he looked up from his console to see Artemis, not that he’d dare to ever call her by her first name, talking to Gary, whom he’d met briefly upon arrival.

“Morning, Chief. Didn’t see you come in.” He said sounding a little too cheerful.

Is that mint I smell? Klingon coffee, yeah sure. But mint?

Leo pushed the thought aside and nodded to Gary as he went about his business.

Satisfied with his console’s new layout, Leo leaned back slightly in his chair, only to realise, a second too late, that he was staring at d’Tor’an. The gears in his head whirred.

Doesn’t do crowds, fine, neither do I. Doesn’t like the Captain. Dislike or hate? And mint coffee? She’s a complicated woman. Even without the half-Klingon part.

Catching himself hopefully before she noticed, Leo sat forward again, putting his best foot forward.

“I know there’s a briefing in a bit, though I’m not sure why the newbies have been invited.” He kept his tone casual, trying not to overstep.

He schooled his expression into neutrality. Not eager, not a people pleaser, just ready. He wasn’t one for idle hands, and while his father had drilled punctuality into him, standing around waiting for a meeting wasn’t his style.

“But did you need me to do anything beforehand?”

== Tag ==

[Artemis d'Tor'an]

“Morning, Chief.” spoke one of her Midshipmen. “Didn’t see you come in.”

Then pay better attention. Art thought, amused. But she chose not to say that, and decided to be mean and intimidating later. For now, there was coffee to drink, and new personnel files to re-read. A couple new Humans, a few Vulcans, one Risan – Art would have to ask that one if the planet was really all the rumors said it was.

“I know there’s a briefing in a bit,” the same Middie interjected, “though I’m not sure why the newbies have been invited.”

That line made Art turn away from her work. She held her coffee with both hands, close to her body, directly under her nose. If she wasn’t going to drink it right away, the least she could do was enjoy the smell of it.

“That’s definitely a Braggins order.” The Chief replied. “Jensen would never–” She stopped herself before she could go on about how she thought Peter was a better officer. “The room is going to be way too crowded.” Art said instead, shaking her head and sipping her coffee again. “There’s no point in guessing why Captain Braggins does the things she does - I’ve tried, and it all just turns into chaos anyway.”



==Alden tags!==

==Tag GM: Please provide the requested information via computer for the Yeager’s guest:
-species
-sex assigned at birth
-chosen gender
-room assignment

Thank you.==

[Leo Alden]

Leo caught what looked like a flash of annoyance on d'Tor'an's face after he admitted he hadn't seen her come in.

I was tinkering with the console, but yeah, that's no excuse. You're in security for goodness sake, pay attention.

D'Tor'an looked up from her own console at the mention of the briefing and began to speak only to stop herself.

There was definitely something there, after his brief chat with her at the ceremony last night and that slight dig, Leo could only guess at what issues lurked in the command structure, but knowing it often wasn't worth his time or trouble, he let the thought slide.

“The room is going to be way too crowded.” She said as she shook her head and sipped her coffee. “There’s no point in guessing why Captain Braggins does the things she does - I’ve tried, and it all just turns into chaos anyway.”

Crowded? Aren't briefing rooms quite big? How many people are going?

All feasible questions, ones that would answer themselves soon enough, so once again, he pushed his overactive mind back into submission. Feeling a bit more confident today, he tried on some light banter, most of the security personnel spoke that way, maybe it would benefit him too.

“Not a fan of chaos Chief? Thought that was standard issue in security.”

== Tag ==

[GM-04]

The information request flashed before D'Tor'an in a beautiful display of holographic information.

[Name: Darpen Tomer
Species: Trill (Unjoined)
Gender: Male
Age: 30
Room Assignment: VIP Quarters; Room One, Deck Two]

The information request also recalled Tomer's Starfleet career, brief as it was. He had joined Starfleet Academy in the piloting track, had been consistently in the bottom third of his class, and had been voted "most likely to wash out" three years running. His record did note, however, that he demonstrated great skill in debate and persuasion, which had managed to keep him from expulsion due to the sale of contraband and bringing unregistered "guests" onto Academy Campus on several occasions.

Graduating 399th out of his Academy class of 400, he completed one assignment as a Cargo Shuttle pilot before a crash landing sent him hurtling off to space in a misfiring escape pod, earning him the moniker "Escape Pod Tomer". Following a subsequent assignment as a Logistics Officer, he retired from Starfleet at the rank of Ensign and entered diplomatic service as an assistant. 

This would be his first assignment as a diplomatic attaché.

[Artemis d'Tor'an]

“Not a fan of chaos, Chief? Thought that was standard issue in security.”

Art looked to Alden, a smirk forming on her face. “I do like the chaos.” She admitted. “But only when I’m in control of it.”

She turned back to her screen, the read-out giving her more questions than answers. So, this Trill was brought onto the ship in the dead of night, with no heads-up to the Security Chief, and was put in a high-level VIP room. Her first guesses were that they were a senior ambassador, and she had to double-check to make sure that one line said Unjoined due to their age. There was also a Starfleet section of the file, which she went to, and her face fell.

“Looks like our VIP guest is a Starfleet dud.” She told Aldren. “No idea why he’s been put on this mission; he must have family in high places. Diplomatic assistant though, I wonder who he’s an assistant to?”

[Jensen to all senior staff, as well as Midshipmen Alden, Bowman, Bremner and Campbell, report to the briefing room at once.]

The Chief turned to another officer, nodding for him to come to her console and look at the read-out. “I want you to see if you can find out who we’re supposed to pick up – this guy’s a nobody, but looks like he’s an assistant to somebody. If you need my Command codes, just let me know.”

Turning back to the Midshipman, Artie steeled her facial expressions for the conference with Captain Braggins. “Let’s go.” She said simply, tersely.


>> Briefing Room >>

[Leo Alden]

She looked at him with a smirk and said, “I do like the chaos. But only when I’m in control of it.”

Leo felt a bit better, the banter had landed. Not too strong, not a total flop. A win. But now wasn’t the time to revel in it.

Control and chaos. Bet that’s a fun balancing act. He kept the thought to himself. No sense in risking his first real step toward camaraderie.

The chief looked back to her console, some information she looked for must have collated he guessed but he looked at her and saw what he could only interpret as mild confusion. She appeared to flick up and down at her screen, double checking some information maybe, before she spoke to him once again.

“Looks like our VIP guest is a Starfleet dud.” She told Alden. “No idea why he’s been put on this mission; he must have family in high places. Diplomatic assistant though, I wonder who he’s an assistant to?”

[Jensen to all senior staff, as well as Midshipmen Alden, Bowman, Bremner and Campbell, report to the briefing room at once.]

“Well this is going to be fun,” he replied dryly. “An unknown ambassador and an assistant who has potential family connections.” The final words of his sarcastic remark were filled with annoyance.

Leo put Jensen’s order aside for a moment, watching as Artemis beckoned another officer over. She didn’t look pleased. In fact, she seemed determined to get to the bottom of it. Offering her own command codes, while not uncommon for ships' security, still implied, at least in his head, that she was now on the hunt.

D’Tor’an looked back at him, and this time, Leo caught the slight change in her expression. Was she hiding her feelings about the unknown guest? Mentally preparing herself for the Captain’s briefing? He had no idea and wasn’t about to ask. Instead, he grabbed a PADD and stood at her abrupt words.

“Right behind you.”


>> Briefing Room >>

[Leo Alden]

== Hijacking done with permission ==

<<< Briefing room <<<

His chief had stood up and thrown a gaze at Leo that was filled with what he assumed to be severe irritation, so he did as he knew she was wordlessly telling him and followed her out of the briefing room and tucked his PADD full of hopefully useful information under his arm as he did so. Now being more mindful of his surroundings, he caught a slight tug at the corner of Art’s mouth. He could see she was thinking about something and it had to be either a clever plan or something devilish by the momentary and unconscious half smile.

She’s either thought of a way to get back at Tomer, or she's thought of a way to punish me for stepping out of bounds.

The short walk from the room to the turbo lift was filled with silence and she didn’t even look twice at Leo. Leo’s mouth dried up quicker than the Sahara and his heart skipped every third beat. He knew he wasn’t in serious trouble, but he sure felt like it. The turbo lift down to Deck 4 was just as awkward, but more confined and the remainder of the walk back to the Security Office began to fill Leo with dread as he started thinking of the possible ways that his Chief would punish him using only that second long smile she had as a basis for its severity. As they entered the office, a few other security members were working hard assisting the Officer that she had earlier ordered to find out about the pompous attache’s boss.

As Artemis sat at her computer, Gary, whom Leo had met earlier, handed her a fresh cup of coffee but this time, Leo couldn’t smell any mint. Gary sat down at the opposite console to Art and Leo instantly saw what working together should be like. He watched as Gary first looked at him and then back to Art followed by a tilt of the head and a minor facial expression, wordlessly asking, ‘How was it? Did he behave?’ to which she only threw another gaze at Leo and gave a short, sharp growl.

He didn’t want to say anything. He didn’t want her experienced intimidation to be staring at him. He knew he did wrong by speaking up against the attache but it brought some debate on what would be expected of them during this First Contact, and even showed Leo that while speaking up and asking questions was a good thing, he should maybe wait for a bit more information before he did so. Standing there before his Chief and the shift leader, he prayed that his words wouldn’t sound sarcastic. Leo cleared his still dry throat and spoke.

“With the little time that we have for training, would you like me to go ahead and set up a survival program on the Holodeck for you or find Commander Jensen so I can get used to working as a team with the rest of the Midshipmen first?”

== Tags ==

[Artemis d'Tor'an]

==Pre time skip==

As she and the Midshipman walked back to Security, Art let herself get deep in thought regarding just how dangerous this could be for the young man. This was his first assignment, and Braggins thought it wise to send him off on his own? He wasn’t much younger than she was, but at least she had experience - age wasn’t the issue here.

Then there was the issue of the “Ambassador”, and how much his own hot-headedness could endanger the lives of the Away Team. Did he think he was going to be on that racing pod with them? She would fight tooth and nail to prevent that from happening. The last thing a bunch of inexperienced officers needed in a tense situation was an unpredictable civilian. That thought alone made her want to growl.

Silently, Art sat down at a console, bringing up what information the Yeager had been provided on these Wairarans. Her regular training exercises wouldn’t do, since most of them were foot-based. She had little selection when it came to programs regarding flight, let alone racing. A fresh cup of coffee appeared next to her, and she didn’t move her eyes from the screen as she lifted it and took a slow sip.

A glance up at the Security that surrounded her, Art did let a small growl loose before turning her attention back to the screen. This was Braggins’ M.O.: little information, big action. Had it not been for Peter, Art would have started wishing again that she was assigned to another ship.

“With the little time that we have for training,” Alden spoke up, “would you like me to go ahead and set up a survival program on the Holodeck for you? Or find Commander Jensen so I can get used to working as a team with the rest of the Midshipmen first?”

“Yes.” Art said curtly. “To both.” She paused and took another sip of coffee; it wasn’t her usual preference, but at least Gary the Gauche hadn’t served her lavender tea. “Load up a program, and then go find Jensen, tell him the program’s waiting, and see what he wants to do. At the very least, you can run through it yourself and I’ll join you in a bit if you don’t finish it by the time I get there. Try to find something… race-y.”

She then looked up suddenly, realizing what she said. “Race-like.” The Chief clarified, staring at the Midshipman hard. ”Race-like.” Art aimed her disgusted look at the computer, thinking to herself that she needed to be more careful with her English.


==Post time-skip==

Artie knew it was too good to be true; Braggins got them there sooner rather than later. If she ever got a smidgen more clearance, curiosity would have the Chief look into Braggins’ record, just to confirm that the woman had never been a security officer, since it showed. She was clever, sure, but never thought to put safety or preparedness first.

Almost pacing, Art glared at the large screen that she used to monitor what happened on the Bridge. Half of it showed the viewscreen the Bridge had, and the other had constant read-outs on what she deemed relevant.

“Alden!” She said sharply, summoning the Midshipman to be at her side. “What do you make of all this?” Art indicated the read-outs. “And what do you remember from classes about neutrinos? All I know,” the Chief confessed, “is that they’re an indicator of a cloaked ship.”


==Tags to Alden==

==GM, strap in:
What is the type of star in this system? Can you tell me any more about the comet? Does the intended race track go through the asteroid belt? Will the neutrino storm’s trajectory take it through the race track? Will the “white hole” be infringing on the track, as well? And to top it off, what do we know about these people besides 'they like racing'?==

[Leo Alden]

== Pre-Time Skip ==

Leo spent whatever time that he was not on shift, eating or barely sleeping, in the Holodeck. He ran numerous simulations based on what Artemis had deemed necessary and played through countless variations of each survival scenario she had provided or had programmed. When he wasn't, attempting to survive in those programs, obviously not all of them had gone to D'Tor'an's high expectations of him, he ran through countless Tactical training scenarios at Commander Jensen's behest. Although his Tactical minor from the Academy aided him slightly, the non stop simulations had thrown him off balance and was beginning to struggle with keeping up. His inexperience was showing more and more each day and he had to force himself to stop after making several foolish 1st year cadet mistakes but continued his training after a full day's rest. His solo training had pushed him further than even he thought possible, although scenarios where he failed would constantly nag him and whether he could put that training into practical use when the time came remained unanswered.

== Post-Time Skip ==


“Alden!” The tone alone had him practically materialising next to his Chief.

“What do you make of all this?” She asked, pointing at a screen. “And what do you remember from classes about neutrinos?”

D'Tor'an's voice faded a little as his brow furrowed slightly as a deep search of his memory began. He wouldn't admit that he hadn't heard the end of her sentence, the cogs in his head had started whirring to quickly and he didn't need that kind embarrassment after some of the stupid mistakes he'd made during his week of training.

He spoke softly as he tried to speak at the same time as recalling more information.

“Well, I don't remember much from my science lessons other than they travel close to the speed of light and they can be used in the study of stars such as the Earth’s sun. But neutrinos can be used in lots of ways. From a tactical view, they can reveal cloaked ships, neutrinos are often released from antimatter reactors and warp drive explosions, they are often found in some ships and craft's nacelle emissions and can be used to track them.” 

He paused for a moment and tilted his head before continuing. “There was a study into whether a highly concentrated beam of neutrinos that are put into a state of oscillation can be used to sweep or scan an area even with a high degree of interference for ships, weapons and even debris and then, rather famously, the Bajoran Wormhole emits an elevated level of neutrinos just before it opens.”

He breathed out, as quietly as he could, gleeful of the fact that he'd managed not to ramble or stumble on his words. Despite his growing tiredness from the last week, he was getting a touch more comfortable around the crew, he'd even met a few new officers in the mess hall and that sense of beginning to fit in was helping him massively. He wasn't quite there just yet, but he'd made headway. All he had to do now was get a good night's sleep at the end of his shift, whenever that would be, and prove himself on the upcoming mission. He took another breath as he read the information floating up the screen next to what had to be the bridge's view screen and he took note of what seemed important while he waited for Art to ask more questions.

== Tag d'Tor'an ==

[Kal-Geal Beinn]

==post time skip==

Kal-Geal walked into the security office from the direction of the holodecks. Dressed in full Klingon battle armor, and wearing gauntlets that appeared to have duranium claw tips, the Child of San-Tarah went straight to the back of the armory to lock up the gauntlets before looking over at the pair hunched over the security station.

"Whoever last used the holodeck for survival training left it set on Starfleet survival mode difficulty. Had to restart halfway through to up the difficulty."

His hearing picked up the words of 'neutrinos' and 'cloaking device' so he headed over,

"Klingon cloaking devices use a shielded filter to prevent neutrino emissions from the warp reactor from revealing their position. Romulans I believe do the same, but older models of cloaking devices emitted tachyons as part of their operation, making them easier to track."

Kal-Geal had attended the Klingon Academy, and had more information on cloaks than most officers, but his was limited due to being medical track at the KA.

==tag==

[Artemis d'Tor'an]

Almost like he was reciting a report in front of the class, young Leo Alden told Art what he knew of neutrino particles. Some of it was purely scientific, some of it piqued her interest. Sensing and de-cloaking ships she knew about, though she wondered if they could use that to their advantage. It sure would be helpful to disappear from your opponent’s radar - a trick that both Romulans and Klingons loved to do. Of course, they did not have the moral high ground that the Federation so firmly made it a point to stand on.

The study sounded interesting, if not perhaps slightly too brainy for her to comprehend on a first read. Had they had the time, Art would have had Alden try and bring up the research papers for her to read, but they had hours, days, not weeks and months. Then of course there was the Bajoran wormhole, and Artie wondered how close this “white star” and the wormhole had in common.

Her mind was spinning with how they could use neutrinos to their advantage, and how a shuttle might fare against a storm of these tricky buggers.

Someone not in a Security uniform walked up, and Art was admittedly a little disappointed it wasn’t someone from Science. She could have used someone to bounce her half-cocked ideas off of, even if they weren’t tactically viable.

“Klingon cloaking devices use a shielded filter to prevent neutrino emissions from the warp reactor from revealing their position.”

Art murmured a “hmm” in agreement with the reminder of how her people operated.

“Romulans I believe do the same, but older models of cloaking devices emitted tachyons as part of their operation, making them easier to track.”

Her mouth quirked to one side, debating on whether the Romulans were actively trying to move away from that method of cloaking, as the Klingons had decided against. The question had been posed, of course, because Romulans were nothing if not sneaky, but engineers had supposedly widely agreed that it was just too damn hard. For some reason, Art seemed to remember that a Romulan ship had tried it, only to have their warp core blow up spectacularly.

“Tachyons…” the Chief muttered, crossing her arms. After a moment, she threw a glance to the giant wolf-like humanoid, formally acknowledging his presence. “nuqneH.” She said in the native tongue they both shared. “Alden, this is our CMO if you haven’t met him. Beinn. His people are a part of the Klingon Empire.” She dared not say more for risk of offending the man. It wasn’t his fault that the Klingons had taken over governance of his people long ago, and it was nice to have someone else who spoke Klingon on board.

==Tags Alden & Beinn==

==Going to give the GM more than one day to answer my six billionty questions before I post something more==

[Kal-Geal Beinn]

“Alden, this is our CMO if you haven’t met him. Beinn. His people are a part of the Klingon Empire.”

"pagh DaH" came the response from Kal-Geal. He looked at Alden, towering above the midshipman by a little less than a full foot.

"Lieutenant Cassidy has taken that position. I am just your liaison from Medical Sogh d'Tor'an, and combat medic for the time being. After all, my specialty is battlefield medicine courtesy of the Klingon Academy."

Kal-Geal finished locking away the battle claws in the armory, and went back over to where Art and Alden were.

"I thought I read something about the Cardassians also having cloaking devices, but there's very little other than what Pioneer Station reported."

==tag==

[GM-04]

The Wairara star, Yun, was a Class K Main Sequence star, slightly smaller and cooler than Sol.
The comet was on an elliptical orbit that took it within the star's chromosphere before slinging it back out towards the edge of the system. It was a fairly standard comet in terms of composition.
As the course for the race has not yet been announced, and the current race seemed to be passing between a series of mobile marker buoys, it was impossible to tell whether the course would go through any of the anomalies. The current race did not, however.
Aside from the information presented during the briefing, the only information that was available was that the Wairara were humanoid, breathed an Oxygen/Nitrogen atmosphere, and were proficient in engineering.

As the Security officers talked, the ship rocked violently. A muffled "boom" echoed through the hull, and emergency sirens began to wail as the ship immediately went to Red Alert. Reports came to the main desk that there had been an explosion and fire in the Aeroshuttle dock. At least two people were reported to have been in the area prior to the explosion, and were currently unaccounted for.

[Leo Alden]

Leo was nearly finished listing science facts and tactical applications when a large, hulking figure entered the security complex. The newcomer strode to the back of the armory and secured what could only be described as metal claws into a locker.

"Whoever last used the holodeck for survival training left it set on Starfleet survival mode difficulty. Had to restart halfway through to up the difficulty."

He probably hadn’t meant it as an insult, but it still hit like a gut punch. This guy had increased the difficulty—while Leo had barely scraped by at standard settings. While Leo felt a little smaller, Art seemed to be considering his words on neutrinos when the rather hairy person approached and spoke up about his experience on the matter.

Artemis muttered something under her breath, shifting her stance before finally acknowledging the newcomer. “nuqneH.” she said in Klingon to the man before talking to Leo again.

“Alden, this is our CMO if you haven’t met him. Beinn. His people are a part of the Klingon Empire.”

Leo tore his gaze from the monitor and finally looked at the massive figure who had, until now, been just a presence in his peripheral vision. And somehow, he felt even smaller than before. Leo had met Commander Jadaris in the briefing room a little over a week ago, and even for a Gorn, he was large. But now, this, Beinn stood next to him and he towered. Leo observed that the man bore a striking resemblance to Earth’s historical depictions of werewolves in fiction. 

“pagh DaH” the man replied before looking down at Leo.

I know basic Klingon. I've used it before. But would he take offense if I butchered it? I need the practice... but if I screw this up, which one should I be more afraid of? d’Tor’an or Beinn?

As Leo’s doubts settled in about his choice of language, the large wolf-like man spoke again. "Lieutenant Cassidy has taken that position. I am just your liaison from Medical Sogh d'Tor'an, and combat medic for the time being. After all, my specialty is battlefield medicine courtesy of the Klingon Academy."

Leo glanced between d’Tor’an and Beinn, his thoughts darting from scientific and tactical speculation to recalling the most basic Klingon phrases. Grateful that Commander Trent from the academy had insisted he choose linguistics for his second Minor, he took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and went for it.

“majQa’. batlh boq jupwI’ ‘oH vum’e’.”
(Very good. It is the honored cooperation of an ally and friend.)

He knew he’d stumbled, missed a word, botched an inflection, but he’d tried. Hopefully, that was enough. Hopefully, he hadn’t just embarrassed himself in front of two senior officers... or worse, shattered his own confidence.

"I thought I read something about the Cardassians also having cloaking devices, but there's very little other than what Pioneer Station reported." The Lieutenant said aloud. This was why experience often outweighed intelligence. Leo was fresh out of the Academy, and the idea of Cardassians having cloaking tech was new to him. But experience only came from learning, so he spoke up again.

“We know that neutrinos can be used to locate cloaked ships, but are we expecting some during the race? The only possibility I can see at the moment for neutrinos would be the area around the temporal particle stream within the system”

Leo pointed to one corner of the large screen, where a heavily magnified image of a ‘white hole’ was displayed, an earlier screenshot from the bridge’s view screen.

“That readout shows Chroniton Particles, but wouldn’t that whole area be flooded with neutrinos too? They’d be easier to pick up on sensors, right? And travel faster and further away from the anomaly than the Chronitons?

Just as Leo finished his sentence, the ship pitched violently, nearly taking some of the security staff off their feet. He barely caught himself against a desk, fingers gripping the edge as a deep, gut-rattling boom reverberated through the walls.
The deck lurched, lights flickered, and then Red Alert sirens shrieked through the security complex. The dim pulsing emergency glow cast jagged shadows over the armoury, pulsing in time with the alarms.
Reports were already coming in. Explosion. Aeroshuttle dock. Fire. Two missing.
Leo barely had time to process it before the next wave of adrenaline hit.

== Tags ==

[Kal-Geal Beinn]

“majQa’. batlh boq jupwI’ ‘oH vum’e’.”

Kal-Geal smiled at the Midshipman and replied,

"HumanmeH majQa' tlhInganlIjwL."

(Your Klingon is very good for a Human)

When the shockwave hit, Kal-Geal's ears flattened and he audibly growled as the reports began to display. The medical officer grabbed for his tricorder and looked at Leo and Art.

"d'Tor'an. The aeroshuttle bay is five decks below us. If there's still a fire, we should grab some fire suppression gear before we head down there. Also, spare oxygen supplies, as if the fire suppression system has failed, there is the risk that the Chief Engineer will decompress the bay to prevent further damage. Internal sensors will likely be unreliable however, given the failure of the fire suppression fields."

==tag Leo and Art==

[Leo Alden]

Leo steadied himself against the desk he had barely managed to grasp the edge of as he heard the wolf-like male growl. The growl from Beinn sent a shiver down Leo’s spine. It wasn’t fear, not exactly, but something primal in his brain registered the deep, guttural sound as a warning. It was an instinct he didn’t have time to dwell on.

The red emergency glow pulsed against the bulkheads as Beinn spoke. The aeroshuttle bay was five decks below them. A fire. Two missing crew. Suppression systems might be failing. Decompression was a possibility.

Leo swallowed, nodding quickly. “Right. Fire suppression gear, spare oxygen.”

Never having been in a real emergency, he faltered slightly as his training kicked in. His hands moved before his thoughts caught up, moving to the nearest emergency locker. It was muscle memory from the Academy, though he had never needed this gear outside of holodeck simulations. That didn’t stop his pulse from hammering in his throat.

Was this what a real crisis felt like?

He forced himself to focus. No time for self-doubt. He grabbed an oxygen supply unit and checked the seal. Then another and another. Tucking the 3 units under one arm before he lifted up a fire suppression cylinder from the bottom of the locker and inspected the integrity seal on its valve at the top before placing it by his feet and grabbing another cylinder.

Will Beinn need a cylinder? He won't have time to do that if he’s helping the injured.

Leaving the locker open, he mustered every ounce of finger grip strength as he heaved the items back to where Beinn and Art still stood. Placing the cylinders on the floor and proffered an oxygen mask to each of them keeping his own under his arm for the moment.

SPARE! He said spare!

He ran back to the locker and grabbed a couple more oxygen masks, now much easier to carry without two fire suppression cylinders, and raced back once again. He wasn’t sure if he was actually panicking but it sure felt like it. Leo second guessed every minute detail in everything he was doing. Was that right? Is this right? What did that person say again? All thoughts that where going to cost valuable seconds and possibly even a life or two if he didn’t get his head together.

He glanced toward Art, waiting for her orders, he knew what was expected to happen but why assume. He stood at the ready and looked at both his seniors.

“Any report on the two missing officers yet?”

== Tags ==

== GM Input - Given that the internal sensors may not be working too, as the fire suppression system failed, has there been any attempt at a life sign sweep/search for the 2 officers and if so, what was the result? ==