(USS Arcadia) Post Number: 46 *Away We Go*

Posted on Wed Oct 23rd, 2024 @ 2:53am by Captain Marius Pontmercy & Commander Jordan Haines & Lieutenant Commander Michael McMahon & Lieutenant David Chambers & Lieutenant Jude Haines & Lieutenant Amanda Hemsley & Lieutenant Marty Stokes & Lieutenant V'Lar & Ensign Erin Couldis & Ensign Ewan Barker & Ensign Freya Locklyn & Ensign Dot and Dash & Ensign Timor Kyl & Master Chief Petty Officer K'Ral De Bruinhiena
Edited on on Wed Oct 23rd, 2024 @ 2:53am

3,075 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Out from the Ashes

On:

::Away Team One::

As Michael and the others approached the large building ahead of them, he couldn't help but notice how sparse everything was. There was hardly any noises, either people talking or animals, and what people he did see hurried into their homes or nearby shops. It reminded him of the old Western movies where the villagers would disappear when an enemy came into town...except they had been called there. He glanced at Marty and Haines with raised eyebrows, and then pressed forward.

The main government of Alphias III consisted of a model that was similar to the United States on Earth in the 21st century. There was a main leader, Praetor D'nall, and he had a cabinet who reported to him and and advised him. The term was checks and balances, if he recalled that correctly. He was reflecting on this as the came to a stop in front of a large gate that prevented them from entering the large grounds. Glancing around, he spotted a comms box to the left, and approached it.

"State your business," a voice demanded coldly.

"Captain Michaels of the USS Arcadia, I am here for a scheduled meeting with Praetor D'nall."

"One moment." It was in fact several moments before the voice returned.

"The Praetor will see you now," came the gruff reply. Seconds later an alarm sounded and the gate began to move inward.

"Let's go," the Captain ordered.

As they entered the building, Michaels was again struck by the seriousness and unfriendliness of the few people they saw. This was an extreme difference to the openness and excited conversation he had held with the Praetor only days before.

"I hope you both are ready for this," he whispered under his breath.

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Marty replied quietly as she looked around at all the unfriendly glances thrown their way.

The corridor they were led down was stark and undecorated, and left one feeling cold and unwelcome. Then again it could have simply been the way they had been received. Alexander chose to not comment on that fact, but rather go where they were led in hopes of some answers.

“Not a very friendly bunch are they?” Marty whispered to Alexander.

"Indeed," he replied, his wariness growing. As the corridor emptied out into a closed door at the end, he looked at their guide. "Is there any particular reason for all of this cloak and dagger," he asked? The man didn't reply, but motioned for them to proceed forward. This wasn't good.

"Alright then," the Captain grunted, and walked forward and the door slid open. Although the room was dark, there was enough light leaking through to outline a man standing in the far corner. As he opened his mouth to speak, he noticed armed guards that had been hiding in the shadows step towards them. All ten of the assembled held weapons, and they were trained on the Starfleet Officers. "Well shit," he muttered.

Marty gave the Captain a raised eyebrow as she was grabbed from behind and held while another guard took her weapon and tricorder. “Watch it!” Marty said when one of the hands swiped her chest obviously looking for more weapons. “I don’t carry anything in there but what’s supposed to be there!” She said kicking her leg back into his knee after that the guard gave her a wide berth.

"What the hell is going on," Alexander demanded? He had had his own weapon confiscated and was being restrained like the other two officers. "We were supposed to be meeting with the Praetor."

"The Praetor is dead," came the only reply.

“Well shit,” Marty said under her breath. The guard still had a hold on her and started to pull her toward the door. “Where are you taking us!” Their comm badges were confiscated as she uttered the words, and a man sneered.

"We found you standing over the body of the Praetor, and your weapons match the one used to murder him. Where do you think you are going?"

Michaels looked at Haines and Stokes, watching them react to the obvious lie. So it was a setup...perfect. Well he would just have to hope that the Arcadia could beam them out. His hopes of this were dashed, however, when the man continued to speak.

"We have raised shields around the complex, so you will not be able to be retrieved by your vessel. We cannot allow such heinous killers to escape."

Jude had his weapon pulled and aimed. If he and a chance he would fire, if given the order. Alexander knew that they were surrounded, and with himself and Stokes' weapons already being taken, they would be certainly killed.

"Stand down," he ordered. He could only hope that the Arcadia and the other away team would come up with a solution to get them out of this. The trio, already bound, were led down a dark hallway, and forced into a small cell. Without a word their captors locked them inside, and walked away.

“Can they really do this to us?” Marty asked once they were alone.

"I don't think they're asking for permission," Alexander said as he did his best to peer through the bars. Sighing he stepped back. "Alright, let's think. There has to be a reason for this. Thoughts?"

“They’ve got to be hiding something,” Marty said leaning against the wall. “If the Praetor is really dead, then why pin it on us except to draw attention away from what they’re really hiding.”

"Only time will tell," Michaels said, hoping they'd have the chance to find out the truth.

::Away Team Two::

The trek to the mine had been thankfully uneventful, which was a good thing considering the environmental suits they were wearing, the question still loomed large over them though - just what were they dealing with? Deuridium poisoning? Something naturally occurring or a weapon? And if it was a weapon then whose was it? V'Lar didn't know it but her thought process was very closely resembling that of her team back on the ship, there were things that just didn't add up here. The good news though was that it wouldn't take long after getting to the mine to know just what they were dealing with.
Mike followed the group his tricorder out, phaser at the ready just in case. Lord only knew what they were going to come into contact with, he also had his emergency med kit with him as always. He followed closely behind Walsh and the rest of the group.

Couldis glanced from side to side, her vision impeded slightly due to the environmental suit, but until they knew what they were dealing with, it was better safe than sorry. She glanced down at the tricorder in her hand, so far the readings seemed normal, but she knew she couldn't take that at face value. She'd need soil samples, air samples, and blood samples as well if she was lucky. It was a mystery, and one she hoped they could solve.

V'Lar looked around and raised an eyebrow as she lowered her tricorder "No bio signs, for a mine that's supposed to be operational that's odd." she said "And all the machinery looks intact, though I'm no expert." she glanced at Erin "Are you seeing anything that would suggest a Deuridium leak?" Erin glanced down at her tricorder again to confirm what she already knew to be true.

"None whatsoever. Whatever this is, I do not believe it was caused by a Deuridium leak." The Science Officer frowned, not liking where she felt this was leading.

Mike looked over at the Science Officer -"What are your readings showing?"

"I'm seeing nothing to indicate toxins, poisons, or any leaking gases or fumes. I'll need to get a soil sample to be sure, but I'm not seeing anything that would cause the illnesses that were described." Erin glanced up, her face registering the confusion she felt.

Mike nodded. "I tend to agree. We need to get a safe soil sample and see what is going on. My readings are the same as yours." He looked at Commander Walsh, "What say ye?"

While the conversation had been continuing V'Lar's eyes finally figured out what had been bothering her for the last few minutes, it was absurd it had taken her Vulcan mind this long to get there "If there's no Deuridium leak..." she said slowly "Then this mine is operational." she turned around scanning with her eyes one last time "And we're the only ones here... so where are the Starfleet miners?"

Chambers had been studying the cavern walls, because he'd been staring at his tricorder for an ungodly amount of time. "Has anyone noticed the airflow patterns here?"

Lieutenant Hemsley went over de results of her tricorder scans one last time. "I'm not picking up any airborne pathogene at all. No virusses, no bacteria, nothing. Which is weird. If it's some kind of bioweapon, it would neccesitate some kind of airborne pathogene." she reported. "For me to shed any light on this, medically, I would have to evaluate the patients. Right now, I have nothing."

Commander Walsh spoke after he listens to their evaluations. “It seems to me that if it is operational and we find no signs of life that this could be a trap or…we are being set up.”

"There were four possibilities when we came down" V'Lar said "First a Deuridium leak which we've ruled out, secondly a naturally occurring illness or contagion, we can't rule that out without examining patients as the Doctor has implied. Third a biological weapon, without seeing the bodies we can't do an examination so we can't determine that. And then there's the fact that we've not seen a soul since we've been on the surface apart from ourselves, no Starfleet miners, no local medical personnel, no one in apparent need of help, the city we beamed down to is a ghost town, there are two ways that happens assuming an outside force - there are Borg technologies that could account for that but there is no suggestion of Borg activity in this sector or there are weapons such as disruptors or phasers set on the highest settings that can vaporise the target. The fourth possibility is our favourite word of the day a trap. This feels like a trap to me right now, no patients to be seen, no evidence of a contagion, no bodies of casualties, if this was an illness or a weapon those things would exist and we've seen no evidence of them." she took a breath before looking around "I recommend we have the Arcadia begin sensor sweeps for tachyon emissions in the system, if this is a trap of Romulan design that'll give us an idea as to whether there are cloaked Romulan ships nearby. If it isn't the Romulans then we have to consider other possibilities."

“Thank You, Lieutenant,” Brandon replied after V'Lar had finished. “I will contact the ship and order them to begin the sweeps.” He thought it was an excellent idea, the Lieutenant was thinking quickly. “Keep your eyes open to anything.” Brandon stepped away and made the call to the ship waiting for Paul to answer.

While he was doing so, Couldis continued to glance about, her mind whiring at the possible explanations. Her tricorder never changed, everything seemed normal and safe.

"Should we alert the Captain," she asked?

“Yes.” Brandon nodded. “Let him know our situation and if he has any orders or information for us.”

V'Lar went back to wandering around the cavern, assuming that this was a trap, whose trap was it? What sort of trap was it? Why lay a trap for them in the first place? And why here? Every possible answer gave rise to more questions.

Erin tapped her comm badge.

"Ensign Couldis to Captain Michaels," she said. When no reply was forthcoming, she tapped it again. "Ensign Couldis to Captain Michaels, come in please." She glanced over at the Commander. "Ensign Haines? Lieutenant Stokes?" Each time she was met with silence. "Um...Commander? I can't reach the other away team."

McMahon checked his readings. "Sir... They are still on the planet in the complex. And the shields around it seem to be up."

V'Lar whirled around as Chamber's comment about the airflow suddenly made sense "We need to get out of here now." she said.
Without hesitating, Couldis closed her tricorder and followed the Vulcan woman. Her tone left no room for argument, and she trusted her judgement. Erin glanced at Commander Walsh, seeing his look of concern written all over his features.

"Were you able to reach the Arcadia," she asked?

"No answer yet," the Commander said. Just then, a static filled reply came through.

"Eschanauer, the Captain's away team has been taken and a force field has been arrested around the facility. I know we can't beam them out, but can you read anything?" Erin watched the Commanders face, his worry echoed in her own feafhres.

“What did they say?” Brandon asked Erin. He was interested in her reply. The mission had taken some unexpected turns which happens from time to time.

It was a good thing that despite appearances V'Lar wasn't entirely Vulcan, it was also a good thing she didn't entirely subscribe to the logic side of things. Paranoia was rampant, the second guessing constant, this whole situation screamed trap the shields around where the other team were were evidence enough of that but still the question remained - who had set the trap and why? Vulcan logic would suggest the Romulans and if that were the case then any second now they'd be hearing about some tachyon readings. If it was someone else then they'd know soon enough. As for motive well again logically if it were the Romulans then the motive was war related, a Starfleet Captain did make quite the prize in intelligence terms as did the senior staff and a top of the line vessel. If this was more local then it was probably still for leverage reasons. Either way all the answers were somewhere else.

Mike spoke up. "I believe we need to stay on constant comms with the ship for now, and search around to see what is happening."

“Brandon thought quickly. “I am going to split our team and a few of us will go after them. We will keep in touch hourly.”

"I'd recommend running the soil and air samples before we make a move, it may take a few minutes or so but if Ensign Couldis can say that this isn't an environmental factor then we're left with ruse or weapon, at which point we may be able to ditch the environmental suits which in turn increases our options." V'Lar said "That said what do you have in mind Commander?"

The Commander thought for a moment, and then shook his head.

"We can't be reactionary. Let's return to the Arcadia and regroup. We will run the tests there, and come up with a plan." He tapped his fomm badge. "Walsh to the Arcadia. Beam up away team 2 immediately."

::USS Arcadia::

Eschanauer made his way to the bridge to report in for his shift. It was eerily quiet without most of the senior staff on board. He logged into his terminal and started reading through what happened while he was not on shift. Basically a lot of nothing. Which was good for him.

*Meanwhile, In the Hall of Justice... I mean the Lower Decks*

Master Chief De Bruinhiena couldn't be happier with how things had managed to turn out after the hard reset of the ship's computer system. Since it now meant that internal coms were actually syncing for once, the Os could finally get accurate updates on what was going on without the need of resorting to using the replicators to generate physical printouts. Of course, there were still a few systems here and there that were being problem children, but that was normal. Ships and stations weren't built by gods after all, they were built by mortal beings with flaws. Even if those flaws had were 0.00000000000000000001%, it still meant that Production Control and Quality Control were gainfully employed.
Humming to himself, or at least what was the hienian approximation of a hum (which usually made the more homonid crewmen show a bit of concern if they'd never been around the more caniform or feliform species in the Federation), the Master Chief headed towards the bridge.

Eschenauer continued to check the systems to make sure everything was running as it should. He hadn't heard from the away teams except when they landed. They all had a required check in time. He was just waiting.

The Master Chief flicked his ears as he wandered onto the bridge. For the most part, officers rarely paid attention to any enlisted personnel that passed through the bridge, which was perfectly fine with the Chief as he made his way over to Lt Eschenauer.
"Everything all right here, sir?" Karl inquired as he moved in behind the officer.

"Yes Master Chief. All is good. The away teams have their scheduled check in times and we aren't there yet. All systems are running normal and good." Paul replied.

The Chief looked around. "There any wood fittings here? Need to knock on some so we don't get jinxed."

Paul held up a finger as he got the comm from Walsh. "Eschenauer here Commander. How can I help you?"

"Sir!" Freya said from the small little alcove station at the back of the bridge, it was officially a general one but unofficially was marked for the intelligence department "We just lost our lock on the Captain's team, looks like some sort of localised jamming field, not getting any bio signs and I'd bet we won't be able to communicate with that team either."

As if magically, knowing what was going to be asked, he had his reply to the Commander. "No sir, we've lost our lock and bio signs. It appears our signal is being jammed." Eschanauer replied to the Commander.

After a few minutes, the Commanders voice returned, ordering the immediate return of their away team. The crew complied, and within seconds they had materialized back onboard, three members fewer and with a thousand more questions.

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