Now we get to see the crew operate under stress. Nice transition from laid-back routine to crisis situation. The mystery remains, though - what's loose at Cold Station 47?
Star Trek: Tales of the Annapurna "Cold Station 47"
- Thread starter tenmei
- Start date
Some of that reveal will be coming in the following installment - or at least hints towards what is loose at Cold Station 47. It's certainly going to be interesting writing the relatively happy-clappy crew of the Annapurna contending with something unrelenting and dangerous.
So the action is afoot and a disaster is happening. I wonder what the role for the crew will be in trying to stop it.
Thanks for the comments. I am glad that you're all still enjoying it - and am forever grateful to TLR for allowing me to make Darcy an alumnus of the Bluefin. I'm hard at work on the next installment in the saga - there's a staff meeting (in which we meet the final member of the Annapurna's command staff) and the mystery behind Indeskar's research project deepens.
Some writers like to set their stories on massive megaships and some prefer the little cozy border cutters but I like that you've chosen the subcompact of starships. That's definitely giving this story a very unique flair.
I also like Kidder. She may not be the first reluctant first officer in Starfleet but she sure is the most tight lipped one. She's got secrets and I'm eager to find out what they are.
I also like Kidder. She may not be the first reluctant first officer in Starfleet but she sure is the most tight lipped one. She's got secrets and I'm eager to find out what they are.
I'm liking what I've read so far-and you've got me eager to learn what's loose on the station. Kidder reminds me of another reluctant officer I once read about... 
The ship is interesting, too. You've developed the cramped feeling very well. You may want to remember that in such close environs elbows are going to bump things and if the ship sees action that anyone tossed around is as likely as not to hit something important-its not like a Galaxy-class where getting thrown to the floor means that's all you come in contact with, y'know? Now, hurry with the next bitr, please. I really am curious....
The ship is interesting, too. You've developed the cramped feeling very well. You may want to remember that in such close environs elbows are going to bump things and if the ship sees action that anyone tossed around is as likely as not to hit something important-its not like a Galaxy-class where getting thrown to the floor means that's all you come in contact with, y'know? Now, hurry with the next bitr, please. I really am curious....
Please note, the Annapurna is now referred to as a vessel of the Hillary Class. It's too late for me to edit the earlier references to her being a Ramjet Class but in future she will be referenced as Hillary Class.
USS Annapurna NCC 70000
En-route to Cold Station 47
The Annapurna didn't have a Briefing Room per se. Briefings on the Hillary Class vessels usually took place on the Bridge or, when a larger attendance was required, in the ships Mess. Such a meeting was being conducted at present - with the six members of the vessels command staff in attendance in addition to Doctor Abigail Lang and her assistant, Samuel Tolliver.
This was the first time that both Ensign Kalen Oak and Lieutenant Nina Kidder had seen the entire command staff, the first time that they had met several of them despite both being familiar with all of them from their personnel and medical files.
A table in the Mess had been commandeered for the meeting. Darcy sat at the head of the table, Kidder to his left and a bald headed Deltan female that Kalen identified as Lieutenant Jg Orra, the ships Ops Manager and Second Officer.
Kalen himself was sat next to Orra and on his other side was sat his roommate, the ships Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Jg Bilal Patanjali. On the other side of the table, next to Kidder, sat a Human man with longish brown hair and a stubbled chin. That was Lieutenant Jg Hans Santoro, the ships CONN Officer.
Finally, next to Santoro, sat Samuel Tolliver and, at the opposite end of the table to Captain Darcy, sat Doctor Abigail Lang.
The atmosphere in the room was tense. Everyone had been given the chance to view the message from Doctor Persis Indeskar at Cold Station 47 and everyone would be given the chance to feedback and provide any information or ideas.
Darcy sipped at his cup of tea and placed the cup back onto the saucer.
"Shall we begin?" he asked, there was a murmur of ascent around the table so he continued. "You've all seen the message from Doctor Indeskar. I've invited Doctor Lang to attend because she was the intended recipient of the message and in the hopes she may be able to provide us with more information ..."
Lang nodded.
"To be honest, guys," said Lang, "I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be. I wasn't privvy to the details of Persis' research project. All I know is that she was involved in the field of biological research."
Kidder leaned forward. This was going to be interesting, thought Darcy, was she going to bring the same front to her professional behaviour as she did to any extracurricular interaction.
"That seems to be a running theme," revealed Kidder, reviewing the PADD. "I was able to contact Starfleet about Doctor Indeskar's research, but it seems that her actual research is classified. I couldn't find out anything."
"Classified? Who by?" asked Darcy.
"Starfleet Intelligence," said Kidder, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.
Kalen raised a hand, nervous about putting his point of view forward on his first staff meeting.
"Something occurs to me, Captain," ventured the Bajoran medical officer. "Why haven't Cold Station 47 sent out an official distress call ..."
Darcy smiled. The medic definitely had promise. Patanjali nodded in agreement with his roommate.
"Kids got a point. Why haven't they sent out an official distress call?"
Orra shrugged.
"We have to assume that either their personnel were compromised or that their equipment was," conjectured the Deltan Ops Manager. "Which means the damage to the station could be more widespread than we'd previously considered."
Lang interjected.
"The message that Persis sent me was terribly degraded, it's always possible that the official distress call was to degraded to make it out to anyone."
"So, we're looking at a possibility of mass casualties?" Darcy asked.
"I've already put in a call to Starfleet and the colonies in the Fold," announced Kidder. "The Antiem will head towards our location with other vessels on standby should we need them and several of the Fold colonies have put their medical facilities at our disposal ..."
"But we're prepared for dealing with casualties?"
Kalen nodded.
"As ready as we'll ever be, Captain," offered the Bajoran. "With permission, I'd like to brief those crewmen with field medic training so they can assist on the ship whilst I'm down on the planet."
"Permission granted, Ensign," said Darcy. "Are there going to be any other issues we can anticipate beforehand?"
Orra nodded.
"From our long-distance scans and the regular updates that the station sent out, we've got the possibility of a strong electrical storm that's going to hamper the use of the transporters. We're going to be looking at operating using the shuttles ..." she offered.
"I'll have the crew prepare the Herzog and the Lachenal for use," offered Lieutenant Santoro.
"Thankyou, Hans. XO, I'd like you to lead the mission down to the station. A bit of a baptism of fire, but it'll do you good to get stuck in," said Darcy. "Your discretion on your team, however ..."
Kidder nodded.
"I'd like to join the team that goes down, Marius ..." said Lang.
Darcy exchanged looks with his First Officer. She'd come out of her shell and had conducted herself well during the briefing so far, it seemed that when on duty she was all professional. Although he believed Lang had a place on the mission, he'd just entrusted the landing party to her and he didn't want to stick his fingers in.
For her part, Kidder took a moment to consider the request before nodding.
"You can come down, Doctor, but you need to understand that when I give you an order, it needs to be obeyed," said Kidder to a mute nod of acknowledgement from the scientist.
"If there's nothing else we need discussed, we should finish preparing for our arrival at the station ..."
USS Shackleton NCC 78302
The Federation Border
Captain Barbara Montoya shifted in the chair of her Ready Room. Her vessel, the Shackleton, had been monitoring activity along the borders of the Federation. Ostensibly operating on behalf of Starfleet, the vessel was at the beck and call of those in charge of Starfleet Intelligence.
And it was one of the chiefs of that institution who had requested to speak to her. Her monitor activated and Admiral Seeley Brandon appeared on the screen, his face creased in a frown and his fingers steepled in front of him.
"Tell me, Captain Montoya, how much do you know about the Sanctuary Fold ?"
USS Annapurna NCC 70000
En-route to Cold Station 47
Lieutenant Kidder decided she ought to check in with Captain Darcy before arrival at the planet that harbored Cold Station 47. The ship was now mere minutes away but her time had otherwise been occupied with supervising the preparations for the upcoming mission.
Kidder rang the door chime and Darcy beckoned her into the room where he was sat behind his desk, running through information that had been made avaliable on the scientists at CS47 and their projects. It had, thought Kidder as she had skimmed the same information, made rather interesting reading especially the continued marked absence of any information on Persis Indeskar's project.
"I've made my selections for the mission," announced Kidder. "We'll be using both shuttles. Myself, Kalen and Doctor Lang in the first. And with your permission, Santoro, Kelly and Marcus in the other alongside Lang's assistant, Samuel Tolliver ..."
Kelly and Marcus usually manned CONN and OPS respectively on Gamma Shift but both had recieved specialist tactical training allowing them to carry out security duties when needed.
"Sounds about right," said Darcy. "Lieutenant, back in the briefing. I know you don't want to be here, that much is abundantly clear, but if you continue carrying out your duties professionally then I can't fault you at present."
Kidder nodded, absently let a smile cross her lips.
"Thankyou, Sir."
The intercom beeped.
"Captain, this is the Bridge. I just thought you'd like to know we're entering orbit above Cold Station 47 ..." came the voice of Lieutenant Orra over the comm channel.
Darcy tapped his communicator.
"The XO and I will be right up, Orra."
Darcy came out from behind his desk, exited his cabin into the corridor and walked the short distance to the Bridge where Lieutenant Orra was standing behind the command chair watching the crew work their stations.
And on the screen at the front of the Bridge was the sandy planet that held Cold Station 47 and, a swirling mass of grey and black and blue and electrical yellow denoted the electrical storm currently creating havok above the research station.
Darcy lowered himself into the command chair.
"You're green to go when you're ready, XO," he said.
Kidder nodded and exited the Bridge.
USS Annapurna NCC 70000
En-route to Cold Station 47
The Annapurna didn't have a Briefing Room per se. Briefings on the Hillary Class vessels usually took place on the Bridge or, when a larger attendance was required, in the ships Mess. Such a meeting was being conducted at present - with the six members of the vessels command staff in attendance in addition to Doctor Abigail Lang and her assistant, Samuel Tolliver.
This was the first time that both Ensign Kalen Oak and Lieutenant Nina Kidder had seen the entire command staff, the first time that they had met several of them despite both being familiar with all of them from their personnel and medical files.
A table in the Mess had been commandeered for the meeting. Darcy sat at the head of the table, Kidder to his left and a bald headed Deltan female that Kalen identified as Lieutenant Jg Orra, the ships Ops Manager and Second Officer.
Kalen himself was sat next to Orra and on his other side was sat his roommate, the ships Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Jg Bilal Patanjali. On the other side of the table, next to Kidder, sat a Human man with longish brown hair and a stubbled chin. That was Lieutenant Jg Hans Santoro, the ships CONN Officer.
Finally, next to Santoro, sat Samuel Tolliver and, at the opposite end of the table to Captain Darcy, sat Doctor Abigail Lang.
The atmosphere in the room was tense. Everyone had been given the chance to view the message from Doctor Persis Indeskar at Cold Station 47 and everyone would be given the chance to feedback and provide any information or ideas.
Darcy sipped at his cup of tea and placed the cup back onto the saucer.
"Shall we begin?" he asked, there was a murmur of ascent around the table so he continued. "You've all seen the message from Doctor Indeskar. I've invited Doctor Lang to attend because she was the intended recipient of the message and in the hopes she may be able to provide us with more information ..."
Lang nodded.
"To be honest, guys," said Lang, "I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be. I wasn't privvy to the details of Persis' research project. All I know is that she was involved in the field of biological research."
Kidder leaned forward. This was going to be interesting, thought Darcy, was she going to bring the same front to her professional behaviour as she did to any extracurricular interaction.
"That seems to be a running theme," revealed Kidder, reviewing the PADD. "I was able to contact Starfleet about Doctor Indeskar's research, but it seems that her actual research is classified. I couldn't find out anything."
"Classified? Who by?" asked Darcy.
"Starfleet Intelligence," said Kidder, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.
Kalen raised a hand, nervous about putting his point of view forward on his first staff meeting.
"Something occurs to me, Captain," ventured the Bajoran medical officer. "Why haven't Cold Station 47 sent out an official distress call ..."
Darcy smiled. The medic definitely had promise. Patanjali nodded in agreement with his roommate.
"Kids got a point. Why haven't they sent out an official distress call?"
Orra shrugged.
"We have to assume that either their personnel were compromised or that their equipment was," conjectured the Deltan Ops Manager. "Which means the damage to the station could be more widespread than we'd previously considered."
Lang interjected.
"The message that Persis sent me was terribly degraded, it's always possible that the official distress call was to degraded to make it out to anyone."
"So, we're looking at a possibility of mass casualties?" Darcy asked.
"I've already put in a call to Starfleet and the colonies in the Fold," announced Kidder. "The Antiem will head towards our location with other vessels on standby should we need them and several of the Fold colonies have put their medical facilities at our disposal ..."
"But we're prepared for dealing with casualties?"
Kalen nodded.
"As ready as we'll ever be, Captain," offered the Bajoran. "With permission, I'd like to brief those crewmen with field medic training so they can assist on the ship whilst I'm down on the planet."
"Permission granted, Ensign," said Darcy. "Are there going to be any other issues we can anticipate beforehand?"
Orra nodded.
"From our long-distance scans and the regular updates that the station sent out, we've got the possibility of a strong electrical storm that's going to hamper the use of the transporters. We're going to be looking at operating using the shuttles ..." she offered.
"I'll have the crew prepare the Herzog and the Lachenal for use," offered Lieutenant Santoro.
"Thankyou, Hans. XO, I'd like you to lead the mission down to the station. A bit of a baptism of fire, but it'll do you good to get stuck in," said Darcy. "Your discretion on your team, however ..."
Kidder nodded.
"I'd like to join the team that goes down, Marius ..." said Lang.
Darcy exchanged looks with his First Officer. She'd come out of her shell and had conducted herself well during the briefing so far, it seemed that when on duty she was all professional. Although he believed Lang had a place on the mission, he'd just entrusted the landing party to her and he didn't want to stick his fingers in.
For her part, Kidder took a moment to consider the request before nodding.
"You can come down, Doctor, but you need to understand that when I give you an order, it needs to be obeyed," said Kidder to a mute nod of acknowledgement from the scientist.
"If there's nothing else we need discussed, we should finish preparing for our arrival at the station ..."
USS Shackleton NCC 78302
The Federation Border
Captain Barbara Montoya shifted in the chair of her Ready Room. Her vessel, the Shackleton, had been monitoring activity along the borders of the Federation. Ostensibly operating on behalf of Starfleet, the vessel was at the beck and call of those in charge of Starfleet Intelligence.
And it was one of the chiefs of that institution who had requested to speak to her. Her monitor activated and Admiral Seeley Brandon appeared on the screen, his face creased in a frown and his fingers steepled in front of him.
"Tell me, Captain Montoya, how much do you know about the Sanctuary Fold ?"
USS Annapurna NCC 70000
En-route to Cold Station 47
Lieutenant Kidder decided she ought to check in with Captain Darcy before arrival at the planet that harbored Cold Station 47. The ship was now mere minutes away but her time had otherwise been occupied with supervising the preparations for the upcoming mission.
Kidder rang the door chime and Darcy beckoned her into the room where he was sat behind his desk, running through information that had been made avaliable on the scientists at CS47 and their projects. It had, thought Kidder as she had skimmed the same information, made rather interesting reading especially the continued marked absence of any information on Persis Indeskar's project.
"I've made my selections for the mission," announced Kidder. "We'll be using both shuttles. Myself, Kalen and Doctor Lang in the first. And with your permission, Santoro, Kelly and Marcus in the other alongside Lang's assistant, Samuel Tolliver ..."
Kelly and Marcus usually manned CONN and OPS respectively on Gamma Shift but both had recieved specialist tactical training allowing them to carry out security duties when needed.
"Sounds about right," said Darcy. "Lieutenant, back in the briefing. I know you don't want to be here, that much is abundantly clear, but if you continue carrying out your duties professionally then I can't fault you at present."
Kidder nodded, absently let a smile cross her lips.
"Thankyou, Sir."
The intercom beeped.
"Captain, this is the Bridge. I just thought you'd like to know we're entering orbit above Cold Station 47 ..." came the voice of Lieutenant Orra over the comm channel.
Darcy tapped his communicator.
"The XO and I will be right up, Orra."
Darcy came out from behind his desk, exited his cabin into the corridor and walked the short distance to the Bridge where Lieutenant Orra was standing behind the command chair watching the crew work their stations.
And on the screen at the front of the Bridge was the sandy planet that held Cold Station 47 and, a swirling mass of grey and black and blue and electrical yellow denoted the electrical storm currently creating havok above the research station.
Darcy lowered himself into the command chair.
"You're green to go when you're ready, XO," he said.
Kidder nodded and exited the Bridge.
Good scene showing the crew's preparation for landing on Cold Station 47. Certainly an ominous note learning of the involvement of Starfleet Intelligence (hopefully not a faction involved with Section 31). Glad to see Kidder get past her funk and function as a proper XO. Landing in that storm certainly won't be fun. Kalen shows he has a good head on his shoulders and Darcy thus far seems to be a cool and collected C.O.
One question - why change the class of ship to Hillary? Not a criticism, just curious.
One question - why change the class of ship to Hillary? Not a criticism, just curious.
The mystery deepens, and now that SFI is involved, literally anything is possible.
Darcy's showing admirable patience with Kidder, who's keeping it professional even though she's evidently not pleased with her assignment. Like he says, so long as she does her job, he'll work with her.
Here's hoping whatever awaits the Away Team on the surface won't be too horrific.
Darcy's showing admirable patience with Kidder, who's keeping it professional even though she's evidently not pleased with her assignment. Like he says, so long as she does her job, he'll work with her.
Here's hoping whatever awaits the Away Team on the surface won't be too horrific.
Glad I'm still keeping you entertained - unfortunately there won't be an installment tonight as I'm venturing out into the world today with some friends, so the next installment will be tommorow night.
I'd borrwed the Ramjet Class name from a ship design that I liked that had been proposed for Star Trek Online and used the name because of that. As the Annapurna moved away from resembling that ship and into more of a TNG-ised version of the Archer Class seen in ST:Vanguard, the name remained - but I thought I ought to change it so I could develop my own ship class more.
The Hillary Class is named after Sir Edmund Hillary and the Herzog and Lachenal after two other mountain climbers, the two who scaled Annapurna first, in fact.
Maybe, maybe not. I'm remaining tight-lipped on that.
It's more the fact that he's the Chief Medical Officer and although, as we saw in the original encounter between Kidder and Kalen, she doesn't want to get to know the crew on a personal level and be their friend, she's perfectly happy to carry out her professional duties to the highest standard whilst waiting for her transfer order to be filed.
And the team seemed to fall into the professional duties category.
I'd borrwed the Ramjet Class name from a ship design that I liked that had been proposed for Star Trek Online and used the name because of that. As the Annapurna moved away from resembling that ship and into more of a TNG-ised version of the Archer Class seen in ST:Vanguard, the name remained - but I thought I ought to change it so I could develop my own ship class more.
The Hillary Class is named after Sir Edmund Hillary and the Herzog and Lachenal after two other mountain climbers, the two who scaled Annapurna first, in fact.
Maybe, maybe not. I'm remaining tight-lipped on that.
It's more the fact that he's the Chief Medical Officer and although, as we saw in the original encounter between Kidder and Kalen, she doesn't want to get to know the crew on a personal level and be their friend, she's perfectly happy to carry out her professional duties to the highest standard whilst waiting for her transfer order to be filed.
And the team seemed to fall into the professional duties category.
There should be an entry somewhere in the Starfleet Operations Manual that you shouldn't use both your shuttles on an away mission. Annapurna sounds too small to have any more and if something goes wrong on the surface (and we know something will) who's gonna come for help?
Personally I'm looking forward to see how you may answer that question.
Personally I'm looking forward to see how you may answer that question.
And, here's the next installment - in which our heroes finally arrive at Cold Station 47.
USS Annapurna NCC 70000
Geo-stationary orbit above Cold Station 47
Kalen snapped the environmental suit harness into place and picked up his helmet, this was the first time outside of training that he'd had to wear one of these environmental suits. It wasn't comfortable and it was going to geat sweaty real quick despite the anti-persperation circuits that were built in.
He watched the other crewmembers snap their suits into place and then crossed over to Samuel who was struggling with the body-piece, helped him pull it over his head and snap it into place. The environmental suits were like the EVA suits of the previous decade - the headpiece was just less awkward.
He was beginning to wish he hadn't made the suggestion of wearing them now but he'd rather be safer than sorry. Still, at least Kidder hadn't brushed his suggestion under the table like he'd expected her to.
Maybe she wasn't as bad as he had first thought. Could she be as nervous about her new position as he was about his? If she was, though, she definitely didn't show it.
The Lachenal and the Herzog rested in the shuttlebay. A mix between the design of the Type 9 and the Type 11 shuttlecraft - they had one main compartment with room for four people and a cargo pallet, or the cargo pallet area could be fitted with room for four more crew. In this event, there were only going to be three people on the Lachenal and four people on the Herzog so the regular set-up was left intact.
Once everyone had fitted their environmental suits, the team began to go onboard the shuttles. Kidder would fly the Lachenal and the Annapurna's CONN Officer, Lieutenant Hans Santoro, who was also security trained, would fly the Herzog.
Kidder watched everyone board, saw Kalen approach her. She sighed, this had better be business, she thought, hoping he hadn't mistaken her agreement about the environmental suits as an overture to friendship.
"Yes, Ensign?"
"I was wondering if we ought to have all the security personnel on the Herzog. It would make more sense to swap Marcus and myself around, I think ..." the young Bajoran volunteered.
She weighed up the suggestion. He had a valid point though she was sure that it was also motivated by the fact that Samuel Tolliver was on the Herzog. She might have been avoiding making friends but she couldn't have avoided the friendship between the two young men that was bubbling into something much stronger.
"Good point," said Kidder. "Swap with Marcus."
Kalen rushed to the Herzog and soon Ensign Marcus emerged, stepping into the Lachenal. The doors to both shuttles sealed and the drop-bay doors opened up, allowing the shuttlecraft to descend into open space and begin their descent down to the planet and the science station.
Shuttlecraft Lachenal, Assigned to USS Annapurna NCC 70000
Descending to Cold Station 47 from orbit
Doctor Lang sat in the passenger seat of the shuttle whilst Kidder took the helm and Ensign Marcus rode shotgun. Kidder, although an engineer by trade, was also trained in flying a shuttlecraft. Although shuttles generally flew themselves, there were situations such as the one they found themselves in where someone who was capable of manually flying the vessel was a definite advantage.
Marcus remained silent as the shuttle rode through the storm, getting shook up by the turbulence buffeting the craft. Lang began to look a bit sick but just as it looked like she could throw up - they cleared the storm and hit clear air. Searchlights from the shuttle clearly illuminated the landing pad and the shuttle came down to a smooth landing, the Herzog close behind.
Shuttlecraft Herzog, Assigned to USS Annapurna NCC 70000
Descending to Cold Station 47 from orbit
With one extra person onboard, it had been down to Kalen and Samuel Tolliver to sit in the passenger seats. Santoro was, of course, at the helm whilst Ensign Daniel Kelly, coincidentally one of Santoro's deputies when he wasn't pulling security duty, rode shotgun.
Santoro was intent on the controls, he knew he could guide the shuttle through the storm with zero issues. He'd piloted other shuttles that had gone through much worse perpetual storms on far-flung alien planets. He prided himself that none of his passengers had ever suffered so much as a jippy stomach and he wasn't about to allow that to happen now.
Behind the two pilots, Kalen Oak and Samuel Tolliver were strapped into their passenger chaits. The pair exchanged a smile, since the hand holding on the Antiem mere days earlier, he had enjoyed every moment that he had spent with the scientist and was looking forward to spending more time with him in the future.
He hoped Samuel felt the same.
He didn't have much time to ponder the future of his relationship though, because soon the Herzog broke through the storm and, behind the Lachenal, came in to land at the landing pad that flanked Cold Station 47.
Cold Station 47
Somewhere in the Sanctuary Fold
The shuttles came in for a landing on the landing pad - the storm rumbled over their heads, occasional lightning bolts providing more illumination than was coming naturally or being provided by the flickering lights of the research station compound.
Kidder handed out torches to each member of the team, ordered Lang and Tolliver to remain towards the back of the group with Ensign Marcus bringing up the rear with her phaser rifle.
Everyone checked their equipment. Kidder led the way with her tricorder held out in front of her, scanning the surrounding area. The electrical storm was making it incredibly difficult to pick-up anything outside of the immediate area, she couldn't pick up anything inside the science station and she couldn't pick up any life forms.
Cold Station 47, from the outside at least, appeared relatively intact. Whatever had happened, she surmised, it hadn't been an explosion which got her mind thinking through what it could have been.
Suddenly her tricorder beeped, there was something approaching them from the direction of the research station. The life signs were fritzing in and out, the sensors still getting interference from the storm.
She looked up at the station.
A figure shambled in their direction from the entrance to the research station but as Kidder looked down at her tricorder, she realised that there was something distinctly wrong with the life signs - they weren't reading as Andorian, in fact they weren't reading as anything remotely familiar to the Federation database.
As the figure closed on the group, it became clear in the light from the lightning bursts and the torches that the figure was an Andorian wearing the smock of a scientist.
The Andorian lurched towards them, its arms awkward and its legs horrifically bent, there was a vacant yet feral look on its face as it advanced on them and blocked off their entrance to the science station.
With a look of horror passing across their faces, every single member of the away team looked back towards the shuttles as a possible place of refuge but found their way blocked off by other scientists, of various races, their bodies crippled and deformed in the same way the Andorians was.
"Looks like we're up ein nebenfluss without a paddle ..." Santoro voiced, saying what they were all thinking as the group placed their hands on their holsters and fingered the triggers of their phasers.
USS Annapurna NCC 70000
Geo-stationary orbit above Cold Station 47
Kalen snapped the environmental suit harness into place and picked up his helmet, this was the first time outside of training that he'd had to wear one of these environmental suits. It wasn't comfortable and it was going to geat sweaty real quick despite the anti-persperation circuits that were built in.
He watched the other crewmembers snap their suits into place and then crossed over to Samuel who was struggling with the body-piece, helped him pull it over his head and snap it into place. The environmental suits were like the EVA suits of the previous decade - the headpiece was just less awkward.
He was beginning to wish he hadn't made the suggestion of wearing them now but he'd rather be safer than sorry. Still, at least Kidder hadn't brushed his suggestion under the table like he'd expected her to.
Maybe she wasn't as bad as he had first thought. Could she be as nervous about her new position as he was about his? If she was, though, she definitely didn't show it.
The Lachenal and the Herzog rested in the shuttlebay. A mix between the design of the Type 9 and the Type 11 shuttlecraft - they had one main compartment with room for four people and a cargo pallet, or the cargo pallet area could be fitted with room for four more crew. In this event, there were only going to be three people on the Lachenal and four people on the Herzog so the regular set-up was left intact.
Once everyone had fitted their environmental suits, the team began to go onboard the shuttles. Kidder would fly the Lachenal and the Annapurna's CONN Officer, Lieutenant Hans Santoro, who was also security trained, would fly the Herzog.
Kidder watched everyone board, saw Kalen approach her. She sighed, this had better be business, she thought, hoping he hadn't mistaken her agreement about the environmental suits as an overture to friendship.
"Yes, Ensign?"
"I was wondering if we ought to have all the security personnel on the Herzog. It would make more sense to swap Marcus and myself around, I think ..." the young Bajoran volunteered.
She weighed up the suggestion. He had a valid point though she was sure that it was also motivated by the fact that Samuel Tolliver was on the Herzog. She might have been avoiding making friends but she couldn't have avoided the friendship between the two young men that was bubbling into something much stronger.
"Good point," said Kidder. "Swap with Marcus."
Kalen rushed to the Herzog and soon Ensign Marcus emerged, stepping into the Lachenal. The doors to both shuttles sealed and the drop-bay doors opened up, allowing the shuttlecraft to descend into open space and begin their descent down to the planet and the science station.
Shuttlecraft Lachenal, Assigned to USS Annapurna NCC 70000
Descending to Cold Station 47 from orbit
Doctor Lang sat in the passenger seat of the shuttle whilst Kidder took the helm and Ensign Marcus rode shotgun. Kidder, although an engineer by trade, was also trained in flying a shuttlecraft. Although shuttles generally flew themselves, there were situations such as the one they found themselves in where someone who was capable of manually flying the vessel was a definite advantage.
Marcus remained silent as the shuttle rode through the storm, getting shook up by the turbulence buffeting the craft. Lang began to look a bit sick but just as it looked like she could throw up - they cleared the storm and hit clear air. Searchlights from the shuttle clearly illuminated the landing pad and the shuttle came down to a smooth landing, the Herzog close behind.
Shuttlecraft Herzog, Assigned to USS Annapurna NCC 70000
Descending to Cold Station 47 from orbit
With one extra person onboard, it had been down to Kalen and Samuel Tolliver to sit in the passenger seats. Santoro was, of course, at the helm whilst Ensign Daniel Kelly, coincidentally one of Santoro's deputies when he wasn't pulling security duty, rode shotgun.
Santoro was intent on the controls, he knew he could guide the shuttle through the storm with zero issues. He'd piloted other shuttles that had gone through much worse perpetual storms on far-flung alien planets. He prided himself that none of his passengers had ever suffered so much as a jippy stomach and he wasn't about to allow that to happen now.
Behind the two pilots, Kalen Oak and Samuel Tolliver were strapped into their passenger chaits. The pair exchanged a smile, since the hand holding on the Antiem mere days earlier, he had enjoyed every moment that he had spent with the scientist and was looking forward to spending more time with him in the future.
He hoped Samuel felt the same.
He didn't have much time to ponder the future of his relationship though, because soon the Herzog broke through the storm and, behind the Lachenal, came in to land at the landing pad that flanked Cold Station 47.
Cold Station 47
Somewhere in the Sanctuary Fold
The shuttles came in for a landing on the landing pad - the storm rumbled over their heads, occasional lightning bolts providing more illumination than was coming naturally or being provided by the flickering lights of the research station compound.
Kidder handed out torches to each member of the team, ordered Lang and Tolliver to remain towards the back of the group with Ensign Marcus bringing up the rear with her phaser rifle.
Everyone checked their equipment. Kidder led the way with her tricorder held out in front of her, scanning the surrounding area. The electrical storm was making it incredibly difficult to pick-up anything outside of the immediate area, she couldn't pick up anything inside the science station and she couldn't pick up any life forms.
Cold Station 47, from the outside at least, appeared relatively intact. Whatever had happened, she surmised, it hadn't been an explosion which got her mind thinking through what it could have been.
Suddenly her tricorder beeped, there was something approaching them from the direction of the research station. The life signs were fritzing in and out, the sensors still getting interference from the storm.
She looked up at the station.
A figure shambled in their direction from the entrance to the research station but as Kidder looked down at her tricorder, she realised that there was something distinctly wrong with the life signs - they weren't reading as Andorian, in fact they weren't reading as anything remotely familiar to the Federation database.
As the figure closed on the group, it became clear in the light from the lightning bursts and the torches that the figure was an Andorian wearing the smock of a scientist.
The Andorian lurched towards them, its arms awkward and its legs horrifically bent, there was a vacant yet feral look on its face as it advanced on them and blocked off their entrance to the science station.
With a look of horror passing across their faces, every single member of the away team looked back towards the shuttles as a possible place of refuge but found their way blocked off by other scientists, of various races, their bodies crippled and deformed in the same way the Andorians was.
"Looks like we're up ein nebenfluss without a paddle ..." Santoro voiced, saying what they were all thinking as the group placed their hands on their holsters and fingered the triggers of their phasers.
Things are going downhill quickly, aren't they? Something terrible has happened to these scientists, changing and deforming them into something apparently hostile. Do the landing teams open fire? You've certainly left us at a critical moment. 
Again, Kalen shows he has a good head on his shoulders with his suggestions re: the environmental suits and spreading the security personnel to both shuttels. Kidder, though keeping tightly in her shell, is smart enough to recognize and act on a good suggestion. That speaks highly of her command ability.
Looking forward to the next installment as the mutated scientists lurch toward the crew. Why is Michael Jackson's "Thriller" going through my head?
Again, Kalen shows he has a good head on his shoulders with his suggestions re: the environmental suits and spreading the security personnel to both shuttels. Kidder, though keeping tightly in her shell, is smart enough to recognize and act on a good suggestion. That speaks highly of her command ability.
Looking forward to the next installment as the mutated scientists lurch toward the crew. Why is Michael Jackson's "Thriller" going through my head?
Ah nice stuff - like that the meeting had to be held in the mess - makes sense given the size of the ship, and Cpatain Darcy given Kidder room to flex her XO muscles and see how she comports herself - taking the doc along is the first good step she seems to have made.
Like CeJay, I'm wary of both shuttles being used for the mission and so far the dire circumstances appear to confirm that feeling. However, I'm liking the way that ups the ante of the story. Likewise the contagion or whatever isn't a straightforward plague, seems like it turns people into zombies [a good enough reason to keep it secret
]
Wonder just what is the extent and the purpose of SI involvement. Things have already gotten quickly complicated and that's without SI making a move. Good stuff.
And thanks to TLR I now have Thriller going through my head ...
Like CeJay, I'm wary of both shuttles being used for the mission and so far the dire circumstances appear to confirm that feeling. However, I'm liking the way that ups the ante of the story. Likewise the contagion or whatever isn't a straightforward plague, seems like it turns people into zombies [a good enough reason to keep it secret
]Wonder just what is the extent and the purpose of SI involvement. Things have already gotten quickly complicated and that's without SI making a move. Good stuff.
And thanks to TLR I now have Thriller going through my head ...
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