Lost in Translation

Posted on Fri Jan 19th, 2024 @ 12:19pm by Senior Chief Petty Officer Thral Skrit & Commodore Jacob Kane

Mission: The Trojan Horse
Location: USS Athena - Sensor Lab
Timeline: MD-02
809 words - 1.6 OF Standard Post Measure

The Athena sensor lab was less occupied than the Marine Sergeant expected. Having been partly assigned the task of readying the special operations team's infil and exfil plans, he figured that this was the most appropriate place to begin at least understanding the conditions surrounding the planet. The Tamarian, however, noticed rather quickly that he wasn't alone; an Andorian was already working at a station.

"Ah! Zelkar, the ripple in the tranquil pond!" he exclaimed, lifting his hands in a customarily apologetic gesture.

Thral didn't look up as he squinted at the final relay he was replacing in the tertiary bandwidth calibration manifold, his antennae had shifted position to inform him of a new arrival to the room, and from the voice he doubted it was an officer. "'kin right mate, but I'm almost..." he smiled at the satisfying click of the manifold slotting back into place "...done". His antennae did twitch when he heard the device powering up without the command to do so, and concluded he'd forgotten to turn the power supply off in the first place when stripping the component down. 'Ah well...' he said to himself as he stretched out a hand to the Tamarian marine in front of him. "'ows it bubblin' and blowin' mukka?" he asked.

Va'Shon smiled in return and accepted the handshake. "Vilarna, at the dawn." He paused momentarily. "Pleased...to meet?" he added, face contorting slightly at the unfamiliar expression.

"Thral" the Andorian responded with a big grin. "Err... Yeah, um... Thral, at the gate, open..." he gestured with wide arms and winked to his compatriot. "Wos your Zakdorn game then mucka?" he asked with his continued smile.

"Vorath, weaving the threads in twilight!" Va'Shon responded brightly, showing the Andorian a PADD with the proposed plans for the marines' deployment. He looked over Thral expectantly, wondering if the man was in a position to support.

Thral took the PADD and flicked through the main diagrams and text blocks. "Crikey 'ell of a roarin' fan this aint it?" he remarked, going over the general idea. He clicked his tongue as a few ideas came to him which might assist the greenies. "'ow can I be a bit o' Martian Kelp then?" he asked.

"Selkath, their faces hidden." Va'Shon swiped to a diagram indicating the atmospheric entry aspect of their deployment. His finger pointed to some of the indicators of the planetary atmosphere as well as the complications it would bring.

"Hmm" the Andorian engineer responded, his antennae twitching in concentration. "Yeah mate if we 'av an 'irogens 'ook at that for a sec...." he retook the Padd in one hand as his greenie colleague held the other side like a mirror of himself. "Yeah look...stray ions in the old n' dear...some bleedin' wicked sorry n' sad storms I'd wager...". He released his own grip on the PADD and used his hands to animate his discussion as usual; "We needta bombard 'em wiv positive ions, butcher's 'ook like a proper baddun, that way you lot can slip n side in plain sight as you pinch n' poach the entry point".

"Ah." Va'Shon nodded thoughtfully. "They will be in...'barney'?" he said, an eyebrow raised at the Andorian.

"Too bleedin' right mate, proppa barney". Thral looked over the data again, he could certainly offer his expertise technically but really it was the orifcers which needed to establish and order a plan of action. "If I were you, I'd ship in tow this to Leftenant Ryan...then they'll really be in barney". He winked at Va'Shon as he gestured with his hands and feet; "Kidnapping bastards, their arses, kicked" he chuckled as he followed through with an exaggerated sweeping of his right foot as if he were kicking a ball.

The Tamarian nodded his understanding, then waved his hand as though to correct the Andorian. "Thral, and Va'Shon. At Naghel." He said, patting Thral on the shoulder with affirmation.

The Andorian chuckled and slapped the Tamarian on his shoulder in return; "No mate, Thral and Va'Shon, at Naghel, when the 'ostages were noble deed." he grinned and burst out laughing.

Va'Shon made a face as if to say 'that is exactly what I just said' but returned the laugh himself. "Gylthor, with the songs," he said with a nod. "Xarlon, his hand outstretched?"

"Too bleedin' right" Thral answered, summoning one of the deck petty officers over to him. "Oi mucka" he started, "if the boss asks tell 'er I'm workin' on a inter-departmental relations project, awight?". The bemused deck hand stared in a sort of blank but obedient fashion, as Thral slapped Va'Shon on the back as the pair turned around to head for the exit. "So 'owd you wind up in the ole daily treat anyway then..?" he asked the Tamarian, as they headed purposefully towards the bar....