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CH. 3 S [Day 01 | 1315] Growing New Roots

[ PO1st Artimis Saugn | Main Shuttle Bay | IKS Kolath ] @P.C. Haring
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For as big and tough as Klingons were, they were laughably unhelpful when it came to moving large pieces of luggage. This meant that it was Artimis herself who moved her large trunk down the corridor of the Klingon ship and into the shuttle bay. She gave a heave as she pulled it through the large double sliding doors and the small ledge that separated the two spaces. She sighed and pulled it a few more feet into the shuttle bay before she sighed and flopped down on the large trunk. Inside were all the tools she needed for her assignment as well as the usual things required to sustain her own life, she had even included a few light-absorbing skinsuits to allow her to remain clothed, but still get as much light as possible.

She had only been sitting for a few minutes when she spotted the Starfleet shuttle and could have bloomed she was so delighted to see it.

She had not enjoyed her time with the Klingons. They tended to be hard-living people and she liked things a bit softer, though she had found a number of nooks and crannies to set up camp on her especially boring nights. It had allowed her to pass the time more easily. Her small camping kit was amongst the many things she considered a necessity.

As the shuttle landed she sprang to her feet and began heaving the trunk toward the shuttle, more than ready to get off the Klingon ship and back into a great deal more comfort.

Re: CH. 3 S [Day 01 | 1315] Growing New Roots

Reply #1 –
[ Lt. Reggie Suder | Shuttle craft Faraday | en route to IKS Kolath ] @AbsintheDeux‍ 

It wasn’t the most glamorous of duties, Reggie realized, but she also understood that beggars could not be choosers.  No sooner had she gotten Wolf-13 back online and reported up to the bridge that she and Logan were ready to go at a moments notice, did she receive orders to power down, grab a shuttle and head over to the IKS Kolath to pick up a new crewman.

The Faraday was a nice change of pace and flying the type 11 was a relaxing change of pace, she decided, though it worried her to be away from Wolf-13 if there were to be an attack.  Fortunately she had a plan for that and Athen would launch 13 with a deck crew pilot and they’d do a transporter swap.  Still, she didn’t expect any real issues.

Navigating from the Helmet to the Kolath was easy enough, though she had to make a couple of course corrections to avoid crossing a patrol route for a squadron of Birds of Prey.  A certain part of her wanted to go toe to toe in her fighter against one of the Klingon ships and she made a mental note to simulate it the next opportunity she got.

Her nav system indicated she’d approached the outer marker assigned to the Kolath.

“Shuttlecraft Michael Faraday to IKS Kolath.  I am on approach and request permission to dock for crew pickup.”

It took a bit of a minute for the response to come in.  [Federation Shuttlecraft.  Your visit honors us and you are clear to land.  Reduce speed to thrusters and approach.]

Reggie rolled her eyes.  How the Klingons loved their honor.

“The honor is mine Kolath.  Reducing to thrusters and aligning for final approach.  Faraday out.”

The landing bay seemed to swallow the shuttle as she approached and already, she could make out the form of a Starfleet officer, if through no other means of identifying her than by the violet hair.  She didn’t know any Klingons who colored their hair purple.

Bringing the shuttle about 180 as she descended to land the Faraday touched down with a gentle nudge.  Reggie secured the shuttles systems, and cycled them into standby mode. Before opening the rear hatch and disembarking.

“Petty officer Saugn?” she asked as she approached the only one 0in the bay, other than herself, who was wearing a Starfleet uniform.  “I’m Reggie Suder.  It’s nice to meet you.”

She offered her hand and, after the peasantries were exchanged. 

“If you’re ready, we can depart for the Theurgy right away.”

Re: CH. 3 S [Day 01 | 1315] Growing New Roots

Reply #2 –
[ PO1st Artimis Saugn | Main Shuttle Bay | IKS Kolath ] @P.C. Haring
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The memory of a data PADD filled with personnel files flashed through Artimis's mind as the name was spoken. Details about the person flooded from her memory and she smiled as she was curious how this interaction would play out.

It had been noted in several cases that telepathic species were unable to detect those of the Teslyliac species. It had been surmised that at some point most telepaths learn to filter out the thoughts and emotions coming from non-mammalian species and as the thoughts and feelings of the Teslyliac were encoded not dissimilar to those of a simple house plant, most Teslyliac duplicates were able to slip by all but unnoticed. It was an advantage, but it was impossible to predict how each intividual telepath would react and how deeply they would search when they discovered a mind like hers. She would have to be careful, though it was a possibility she was trained and prepared for.

All the same it would be interesting to see how this specific Betazoid would handle her unique physiology and brain wave pattern. Either way She made it a point to keep her surface thoughts pleasant and all thoughts of her assignment buried deep, albeit her focus of more childish thoughts would likely ensure even a skilled telepath would only detect her innocent nature.

"I don't suppose you could give me a hand with this," Artimis said springing to her feet and patting her hefty trunk. She knew full well that if she had to heave it into the shuttle herself, it would take at least another ten whole minutes before they would be able to take off. Some of her kind were designed with strength in mind, she was not one of them.

Re: CH. 3 S [Day 01 | 1315] Growing New Roots

Reply #3 –
[ Lt. Reggie Suder | Shuttle craft Faraday | IKS Kolath landing bay ] @AbsintheDeux‍ 

On the surface, Artimis Saugn seemed a pleasant enough individual, but there was something about the woman that left Reggie a bit unsettled.  She had only just met the Petty Officer, so the pilot wrongly assumed that it was just a matter of initial nerves.  As such, the Betazoid pushed down whatever unease she felt and channeled her efforts into being as pleasant as possible.

“I’d be happy to help.  Can you grab one end and I’ll grab the other?”

It took them an extra minute or two to load the trunk, but once the gear was secured in the Faraday’s hold, Reggie took her seat, strapped in and began running pre-flight.  She had left the main engines on line, as she hadn’t planned to be staying any longer than necessary so in this case the pre-flight checklist was somewhat short, though none the less important.  Even so, Reggie allowed herself to take the list a little more slowly than normal if for no other reason than to allow Saugn enough time to settle in.

The Betazoid jumped, startled by the normal noises her passenger made as she took own seat and strapped in and it was in that moment when she realized why she felt so unsettled.

She couldn't read Saugn at all.

Stay calm, she admonished herself. 

It was not like this was her first time around someone she couldn’t sense.  There were many species in the galaxy who were telepathically mute, Ferengi for one and while she had long since come to accept that inevitable fact, it had always left her feeling a bit… empty.  Without trying, betazoids were always able to, on some level or another, sense and discern the thoughts and feelings of those around them and while she, like every other of her race, had learned at a young age how to filter out the telepathic ‘noise’ when so desired, the sounds of others had always brought her comfort even just knowing they were there in her presence.  Telepathic ‘mutes’ had likewise stuck out like a sore thumb; a cloud of darkness in an otherwise bright array of minds and thoughts.

[Faraday, standby for departure clearance,] came the voice of the Klingon over the comm.  He did not comment on the nature of the delay, but given the circumstances, Reggie suspected there was traffic along her departure vector back to the Helmet.

“So,” she finally said.  “What brings you to Theurgy?”

It was a horribly awkward question, Reggie knew, but without any sense of how Petty Officer Saugn felt at the moment, it was the best she had to go on.

Re: CH. 3 S [Day 01 | 1315] Growing New Roots

Reply #4 –
[ PO1st Artimis Saugn | Shuttle craft Faraday | IKS Kolath landing bay ] @P.C. Haring
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Once the trunk was safely secured in the rear compartment Artimis Saugn made her way to the forward section and took a seat. As with standard launch protocol she strapped in and in doing so made the first real sound since she had come to the forward section. She noted the reaction of the pilot and inwardly smiled. It was more than likely she was telepathically invisible and she liked it that way. It was easier to process information quickly when she did not need to keep her thoughts cluttered.

"I have been assigned to the Theurgy to learn about the nature of the parasitic life-form and any possible connection to the prototaxites stellaviatori mycelial network," Artimis explained flatly. It was the simplest version of her assignment that was of public knowledge, her purposes beyond that were strictly need to know. She knew there would be questions about her presence aboard the ship and even though her position was menial, her nature was something of an outlier among the crew, not to mention her physical appearance.

She smiled sweetly. "Kind of a clinical way to say that I'm here for the same reason any of us are here, to beat the bad guys." She held up a fist and beamed in a truly adorable manner. She looked about as threatening as a infant saber cat,

Re: CH. 3 S [Day 01 | 1315] Growing New Roots

Reply #5 –
[ Lt. Reggie Suder | Shuttle craft Faraday | IKS Kolath landing bay ] @absinth‍ 

Reggie chuckled at the gesture and turned her attention away from the conversation and back to the controls.

“Shuttlecraft Faraday to IKS Kolath, requesting departure clearance.”

[Standby Shuttle Faraday]

Reggie was unsure as to why the Klingons were keeping them from launching.  Her sensors did not indicate anything that would be immediately in her flight path nor did she detect any other threats.  But in her experience, especially in matters that were not considered critical, she found Klingons could often be a little lax in their protocol.  She did not sense anything wrong per se and since she was in no real hurry for now, she was content to sit and wait.

“What exactly is this  ‘prototaxites stellaviatori mycelial network’?  I’ve heard the reference here and there,” she said referring mostly to her academy days when she heard it mentioned once or twice in the science labs, “but I know very little.”

Then her basic science caught up with her.  “Wait… Mycelial..  Is that related to Mycelium… as in Fungus?”

Re: CH. 3 S [Day 01 | 1315] Growing New Roots

Reply #6 –
[ PO1st Artimis Saugn | Shuttle craft Faraday | IKS Kolath landing bay ] @P.C. Haring
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"I'm afraid I cannot be too specific, the exact nature of the prototaxites stellaviatori mycelial network is both highly debated and highly classified, which makes it hard to talk about it unless there is some common knowledge already. Really, that's thanks to the events of the last time there was experimentation with the network," Artimis replied and shrugged. "It's the kind of thing that if you know, then you know, and if you don't know then it's more than likely well above your clearance." She offered her pilot a kind smile and shrugged once more. "My mission, if I can get to the point where I can usefully fulfill it, is really the same as yours or anyone else's on the Theurgy..." She paused for effect and then beamed, "Beat the bad guys!"

"On a non-classified note, I am very much looking forward to meeting more of the crew of the Theurgy. Desperate times tend to bring out unique personality traits in a number of species and I have not really interacted with many humanoids outside of the lab and the Klingons that brought me here," She said trying to find a topic that would not get her into trouble for talking about.

Re: CH. 3 S [Day 01 | 1315] Growing New Roots

Reply #7 –
[ Lt. Reggie Suder | Shuttle craft Faraday | IKS Kolath landing bay ] @AbsintheDeux‍ 

[Shuttle Faraday. You are clear to depart. May Kahless guide you.]

Reggie turned back to her controls and throttled up the engines.

“Shuttle craft Faraday departing. Thank you for your hospitality Kolath.”

Reggie wasn’t sure what to think about the cryptic response the Petty Officer had provided her but she also knew that she might be treading on dangerous ground if she asked too many questions about something classified.  Still, it was beyond her how something related to fungus could be considered classified.  Even so, she couldn’t help but chuckle at the ‘beat the bad guys’ comment. 

“Good enough for me,” she replied.

She maneuvered through the departure grid as Artimis commented on meeting other humanoids.  There was something about this girl that just seemed weird.  Granted, she was a non-comm but how she hadn’t met many others through the course of her Starfleet career confused the Betazoid.  Pushing it out of her mind, she decided that maybe it was just nerves.  PO1 Saugn would not be the first crewman she’d ever met who had trouble controlling her nerves.

“I’ve only been aboard a few weeks myself,” Reggie conceded.  “And already I’ve met some amazingly talented individuals.  Given the nature of our mission and the high level of stress it carries, the crew are good people and I think you’ll find no shortage of unique personalities once on board.”

Her voice trailed off as she adjusted her course to avoid intersecting a patrolling bird of prey. 

“Speaking of unique,” she said in a poor attempt to pivot the conversation.  “I’m not complaining or anything, but can you help me understand something?  When we got word you were ready to transfer over, the Klingons said something about how their transporters are incompatible with your species.”  She took a breath.  “I’m curious to know what that was all about.”

She chastised herself for asking the question and hoped the Petty Officer wouldn’t be offended.
 
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