Gathering the Pieces

Posted on Sun Nov 28th, 2021 @ 8:52am by Commodore Jacob Kane & Commander N'Garzi Zora & Lieutenant Commander Michael Ki & Lieutenant Commander Finnley Keating VII & Lieutenant Resigned

Mission: With Gleaming Eyes
Location: USS Athena - Conference Room
Timeline: MD-03 0900
1394 words - 2.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Kane looked around the room at half of his command team. After more than 12 hours of picking through records, examining patients and dealing with some sort of mining disaster, a few of them looked fatigued. Yet they also looked professional, which was one of the things he appreciated about his people.

"So, day one," he began dryly. "Seems we have learned a lot about the situation, but are left with a lot more questions too." He looked firstly at Dr Ki. "Medical. Let's hear about this virus; what are we dealing with and how dangerous is it?"

Michael stood up. "Thus far we have learned the history of the virus, which is good step toward containing and curing it. It seems that the virus is a naturally occurring virus on the planet. It is of the Marburg viral strain, which thrives deep underground and is transmitted through direct contact. The Metis that were sent underground to mine, were issued poor protective equipment and came in contact with the virus. Now, if the Metis were treated properly we would not be here right now. However, the virus was allowed to spread exponentially among their population. When the virus came in contact with a hybrid it has seemed to have mutated and became even more infectious in people who are of mixed heritage. We are attempting to learn how and why it mutated at this time. I recommend that anyone going to to the surface that is of a mixed heritage should take pandemic level precautions or be ordered to remain aboard the ship for their own safety."

"What about the hybrid staff that have already been affected?" Zora asked, a concerned look on her face. "What is their prognosis?"

"As it stands now they are in what can only be identified as phase one. Which means there is a greater chance of their recovering from this. However, there are some proverbial wild cards still. The biggest one being that the virus has never come in contact with either of their species, at least not to our knowledge. So we do not know fully how it will react. We are keeping them comfortable and treating them accordingly. For the safety of the ship they both must remain on the surface until they are cured." Michael spoke clearly and concise with very little emotion. For him both Jerant and Xavier were patients just like all the other patients that were on the surface.

Having wrapped the medical aspect of things, Kane looked at Keating.

"Why is it that whenever there's something blowing up and causing even more trouble it's my chief engineer and operations officer?" he asked pointedly. "Fill me in on the mine. Is it connected to the rest of the problems they're having down there?"

To be fair, it'd be pretty weird if medical was the one always involved when something was blowing up, Finn sarcastically remarked to herself before briefing the Captain. "The mines are in a stable condition now, minus some radiation fallout. A forcefield has been set up around the entrance to keep anyone from getting in. It's clear that the pressure build-up was no mistake. Or maybe it was a mistake at first, but no one did anything to stop it even though it was a simple fix. I'm not sure how connected it is to the rest of the problems they're having on the surface, but I'd like to return to investigate. The only thing we know for sure is that they were tapping into the core of the planet, anything else is pure speculation at this point."

"Deep core mining has been known to be dangerous. Praxis springs to mind." Kane mused on that for the moment. "If you can guarantee the equipment down there is safe and the operations are not a danger to our people, then that's enough for me," he noted.

"I can't guarantee anything," Finn gave the honest truth. "That equipment is ancient and they weren't following any recommended protocols when it comes to mining anything, let alone the core of a planet. That said, I do believe it's in stable condition and I can keep it that way while I investigate. It won't be a danger to anyone on the surface."

"Good enough. Keep monitoring it for any further issues. He paused as she acknowledged. "I met with Gul Dara. She seems...compliant?" Kane observed. He flicked a look at Bolingbroke. "I get the sense that there's plenty going on behind the scenes here. How are we fixed if this goes south with the locals?"

"Short answer, we're not" Bolingbroke replied. "We presumed the Cardassian presence was a cooperative effort with the Metis but from what we have discovered, the society is considerably more complicated than that.

Apparently, the Metis used to have a Caste system, those in the lower orders were called Menials they did most of the manual labor tasks. When the Cardassians came they seem to have integrated with the high castes, there are mixed families and interspecies relationships at that level. But the menial castes are still being kept at the bottom and do all the mining, farming and service work.

Clearly there is dissatisfaction and hostility amongst the menial group, not just towards Cardassians, but any Off-Worlders whom they seem to see as all being allies of the Cardssians, including us!"

"Thank you. We'll continue as we are for now, but I want regular updates. Let's try not to stick around here long enough to outstay our welcome. Dismissed." Kane waved his team leaders off, but motioned for N'Garzi to remain.

Michael nodded to the Captain when he was dismissed. He headed for his lab and the synthesis of a cure that awaited.

As the crew departed and they were left alone, he fixed her with a stare, still trying to get the measure of his new XO.

"Your thoughts?" he asked slowly.

"Too many thoughts," Zora said in her usual calm tone. "There's clearly more going on here than the Cardassians are willing to admit, however the Prime Directive needs to be considered, how much can we help these people without retaliation from the Cardassian government?"

"We're here on an invite. The Prime Directive doesn't necessarily apply, but I'm certainly concerned about political ramifications," Kane replied.

Zora nodded, as she continued. "The PADD that Administrator Sitem Rize 'gifted' to me indicates that there are at least two factions growing in power and popularity on the planet. One wanting the planet for the Metis only and the other wanting an independent state, for both the Metis and the Cardassians. Clearly only one side will be triumphant causing some kind of civil war or rebellion. I fear the longer we stay here, the more chance there will be that the Athena gets dragged into the conflict."

"Believe me, staying here is not on my list of priorities. I'm used to shooting problems, not peacefully mediating." Kane frowned. That was more likely a job for Zora, in all honesty, but he didn't want to put that on her.

Zora arched an eyebrow at the Captain's comment, but chose to ignore it. "The PADD also indicates that a third party may be involved in escalating the conflict," Zora continued, "however, Rize's limited resources haven't discovered who these mystery aliens are at this point."

"Wonderful. Maybe Lt P'rel knows something. I'll check in with her later." He paused. "Gul Dara seems...reasonable. Talkative, too. I'm not sure if that's part of a game or if she genuinely feels the way she claims to."

"She seems to like you," Zora said with a smirk. "Maybe you can get some more information out of her, if she is playing games then you can shoot her," she added jokingly. "With your permission I would like to send an away team over to the relay station in orbit? Maybe its sensors, as limited as they are, picked up something with this alien involvement, a ship or a transporter signature, something that will help us identify them."

"Go ahead. Keep it quiet, though. Let's not do anything the Cardassians might start getting too curious about," Kane nodded. "I'll keep pushing on Gul Dara. Carefully, at least. Maybe something will shake loose."

"Yes Sir," Zora replied as she turned and left the room.