Priapus (Part I)

Posted on Thu May 9th, 2024 @ 12:45am by Commander Grace Vetur & Lieutenant JG Peri Valeri & Lieutenant Commander Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii & Lieutenant Commander Anahera Chernova & Lieutenant Commander Aaron Marcus & Lieutenant Amanda Rose & Lieutenant Percival Bálor Ph.D
Edited on on Thu May 9th, 2024 @ 2:57am

1,435 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Standing By
Location: Briefing Room
Timeline: MD01

ON

The admirals were safely on their way and all seemed to be back to normal...mostly. Haruna was still under the care of Doctors Marcus and Rose and one of her junior engineers was the temporary head. They'd even received their first assignment post Elijah. Now all she had to do was brief the senior staff and head off to investigate. It was, to her, a new start and she hoped it would be a good one.

Amanda walked into the room, her face unusually solemn. She greeted the Commander politely and then took a seat wondering what the next bit of trouble was going to be.

PADD in hand, Yiv strode into the room, a spring in his step. He was looking forward to a new assignment for the ship. Hopefully something slightly less stressful this time. Nodding to everyone present, he noted Amanda's grave expression as he took his seat.

'Why so serious, Counselor?'

Grace had noticed Amanda's mood, but wasn't sure if it was caused by the doctor or Haruna and waited to see if she'd answer Yiv.

Counselor? There was a time where he would not have been so formal with me. she mused. "I have a lot on my mind," she responded simply.

Lieutenant Percival Bálor had walked in with a warm mug, of tea and the expression on his face. The first briefing where Grace was in charge without Elijah Michaels' shadow lying dormant in the background. He of course took an available seat closest to Yiv.

He looked at Amanda. Sourpuss as ever he thought. He had considered recommending that she see a counselor, but better judgment told him not to throw water on this grease fire. "Thank you," he said instead. "For trying to take care of Haruna. You and Doctor Marcus." Percy thought it best to say that before Haruna arrived, if she were invited.

"It is my duty," Amanda responded simply and solemnly.

"Still, I appreciate it. Haruna is like a sister to me, a really young, sometimes annoying, awkward sister," said Percy. Haruna would sometimes braid his hair. She could be sweet yet also a real pain.

This explains so much. They're both juvenile and play the victim when they are confronted with their poor behavior, Amanda considered to herself.

Smiling at Percy in acknowledgement, though his feelings about Haruna were far from the same, Yiv turned back to Amanda and asked, 'is there something we can help you with? You're not normally this ... glum?'

Now he shows concern for me? Where was it when he was.... No, you can't think like that. He warned you that they were not generally monogamous, but still.... "I'm fine, thank you," she answered simply. "I just have a good deal on my mind."

'Alright Counselor,' Yiv replied, twirling a finger through his beard absent-mindedly, 'keep your secrets then. But my office door is always open if you need to unburden yourself.'

"They're just thoughts, Commander," Amanda replied, emphasizing the word "Commander" heavily. "Besides, I'm sure you have enough unburdening towards you, as is."

Anahera entered the room, a cup of coffee in one hand. She acknowledged those present with a series of nods.

Grace nodded in return.

Percy looked at Grace. "Are the you know who gone?" He asked referring to the admirals. "I don't like when the big brass just shows up. It's unnerving" he added.

"They are," she confirmed without adding any additional information.

The doors of the briefing room opened and a rather nervous engineer walked in. He looked a little 'out of his depth' to be representing engineering. "Erm..." he said trying to find the words. "Lieutenant Nishikata, representing Engineering..." he said simply whilst only taking a single step into the room before stopping. "Chief Mizuhara is on medical leave so I'm told..."

As much as Percy was hoping for Engineering to fall in the hands of some engineer with a generic name like Steve, he could settle for Nishikata. At least in this case it wasn't a Haruna clone. Percy looked at the man. "Yes, it would seem Engineering is yours for the time being. Have a seat, get settled in, Lieutenant."

The absolute worst thing about being assigned to a starship was briefings in Aaron's opinion. As such when he received the notice to report for a briefing he purposefully made himself busy. He would be the one of if not the last to arrive. He would make sure that unless medical was needed for these meetings he would not be summoned. During his rovings and busywork, he stopped in to see his patient Haruna. Some progress had been made but he knew better than most that there was a long road ahead. Eventually Aaron ran out of things to keep him busy so he made his way to this briefing.

Upon arrival the doors swished open and Aaron's cane entered first, he took a rather large hobbled step into the room. "Nobody get up, lord knows I don't want to be standing." He said to all assembled and took an empty chair. There was no further greeting or acknowledgement of anyone present. Although Aaron took notice of the Counselor's dour mood and inwardly smirked.

Contrary to Marcus' expected reaction, Amanda brightened when he walked in. "Ah, Doctor, I saved a seat here just for you. After all, we do need to collaborate some more on our joint patient."

Without a word Aaron took a seat farthest away from Amanda. The Counselor had the right of it, they would need to collaborate on Haruna's treatment. However, this was neither the time nor the place for that. In fact, Aaron was sure he would rather be anywhere but in this Briefing Room.

As Zero was delayed, Peri slipped in and took a seat closest to the door so she could leave when her boss arrived.

Grace looked around at her senior staff. "An archaeological team doing field work on Priapus has gone silent. We've been asked to make sure everything is okay and to help as needed. To give you a better idea of the planet and the work being done there, I've asked Lieutenant Bálor to tell you more about it."

Raising an eyebrow, Yiv gave a sidelong glance at his paramour as he waited for the report. This should be interesting.

Taking a bit of a breath to prepare himself, Percy knew attention was on him now. Got to get used to this if you want to be in command someday he lectured to himself. "Ah yes, Priapus. Let it not be confused with priapism," joked the half-Tellarite Chief Science Officer giving a playful nod at Doctor Marcus. "Although the planet itself does seem rather stimulating" added Percy.

He would breakdown the planetary information first and foremost. "Priapus is a Quaris-class planet. For those of you not as versed in Vulcan categorization, Q class planets are known to have conditions that vary wildly. Regions on the planet with extreme temperatures and weather conditions. The Federation does not encounter these planets often, one notable example being the 'Genesis' planet in the Mutara Sector. Priapus isn't known to have any death defying properties, but it has been fascinating enough for Federation scientist and researchers to set up a presence there."

[CONTINUED] "In the safest area of the planet, subtropical conditions. Expect hot and humid" Percy informed them. "Priapus was charted first by the Federation during the Dominion War, but the star system is located in a no man’s land close to the fringes of the Romulan Star Empire. We waited well after the war to start sending people down there. It has ruins from an ancient civilization that we still know very little about, but a deep cavernous system is lined with starithium and deposits of iridium."

Percy pressed on "We've lost all contact with the Federation Archeological team that was down there. The iridium isn't much of a concern, but the starithium is a problem. It's a metallic ore with sensor deflecting properties. Even in orbit, our sensors won't be reliable at locating the archeologist, especially if they are down in th

(To be continued...)

Commander Grace Vetur
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Amanda Rose
Chief Counselor

Lieutenant Commander Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii
Executive Officer

Lieutenant Percy Bálor
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant Commander Anahera Chernova
Chief Security/Tactical Officer

Lieutenant JG Nishikata
Acting Chief Engineer
(NPC by Haruna Mizuhara)

Lieutenant Commander Aaron Marcus
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant JG Peri Valeri
Assistant Chief Operations Officer

 

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