Acid Rain, Pt. 3-The Evil Lives Here
Posted on Mon Dec 16th, 2024 @ 9:43pm by Captain Dr. Nairut Noxi & Lieutenant Paisley F'rar & Lieutenant JG Elysian "Elly" Clarke & Commander Damian Morgan & Lieutenant Commander Mira Napier & Lieutenant Commander Andrew "Drew" Chandler & Lieutenant Commander Lae'or Tahlin & Lieutenant Valok Larel & Captain Neyin Vessk & Lieutenant JG Rose Andrake & Lieutenant JG Mike Barton & Ambassador Devon Harrison
4,960 words; about a 25 minute read
Mission:
To Boldly Go...
Location: USS Deliverance, Captain's Ready Room; Nade Planet
Timeline: Md16
On:
Noxi sat in the Ready Room, a cup of coffee in one hand, and a PADD in the other. She had recalled the Away Team, mostly to prep for evacuations. Rachel Chandler and Dr. Peck were working with the Ambassador to arrange for the refugees to be relocated to the nearby colony of Nade III; indeed, they'd be welcomed. The Nadean III inhabitants struck Noxi as odd, but who was SHE to question?! Now, she'd called all the Department Heads together plus the Away Team to regroup.
“I’d love to know what’s going on down there , Captain. The resettlement has been agreed upon, but something just doesn’t feel right. I’ve worked on this kind of thing before, and our Nadean friends are a little off-putting. Especially the “elders”, Morgan said.
She nodded. "Yes, me, too," she said. "I don't trust the one leader-Larris? Was that his name?" She nodded.
Rose was among the first to show up, as a member of the second away team and the de facto sciences lead, she had gathered a cornucopia of data on the planet's health and its diagnosis. Most of which had already been disseminated to experts to further elaborate on what she and Elly had found. "Captain, why am I still the de facto Sciences head?"
Noxi chuckled. "Because Starfleet is Starfleet," she said. "I sent another personnel request, on high priority, but we're out here in no-mans land, and it's not a prime posting. If you get a chief, they're not going to be the cream of the crop," Noxi noted. As much as she hated that she couldn't hand pick her crew like other captains-field promotions didn't come with that perk. "And for now, you're the highest ranking officer with the most time in rate," she said, yawning lightly. Her off-work activities were starting to affect her sleep. She'd need to tell Devon to dial it down a TINY bit.
"Three months time in grade is not seniority, Captain. But fine, I'll keep cleaning up the file architecture and making sure my boys get their work alongside their extra training done and keep harassing my ensigns and petties about their self improvement courses. You know my application was a joke, right?"
"Yes, but I am keeping it on my priority list, just in case thy don't send us anyone for a bit. They recomm us as an exploratory ship, but leave out the most important person to that end." She shook her head. HQ HAD to be kidding. Surely, they were sending the best person in the Fleet, right?! She had half a mind to take her Yacht to HQ and just steal someone, but she assumed that wouldn't go over as well as she wanted.
"Mm. Betcha five credits they leave you on read for a week and tell you they sent a disgraced freighter captain before saying if you want better, transfer to a Luna class or bigger."
Neyin would show up to the ready room in full battle rattle. "The marines and I are ready to go planetside and ID settlements and industrial centers, Captain." He stated calmly, looking between the two women while drinking the last cup of coffee.
"Thank you," she said, "Lt. Vessk, but I don't think we need an ENTIRE contingency," she said. "But I will keep it in mind. What I DO need you to do is coordinate with the Ambassador when he shows up," she said. "He's only a civilian, so his hands are tied in some aspects," she said. "For now. I promise you'll get some action on the planet," she said.
A pre-coffee Rose looked to Neyin, then the empty coffee pot behind him as her face remained stoic. But something changed, some deep, unnatural wrongness stirring with the taste of blood and a hunger radiating off her like the stink of torn flesh. Just for a moment, before it settled back to imperception like a specter as she took a small breath. "Neyin, could you be a darling and make more coffee if you're drinking the last cup, please? Also, I handed off some atmospheric charts and surface maps to your intel guys. Anything in those points of interest?"
A strange, inky-haired woman, appearing both Cardassian and Bajoran at the same time, appeared at the doorway. "Captain Noxi?" She asked.
Noxi made a face. "Nairut," she corrected. "Bajoran," she explained. The newcomer nodded.
"My apologies, ma'am. I am Lt Junior Grade Paisley F'rar. My shuttle just arrived and they told me you had called the Department Chiefs to a meeting. I am your new Chief Engineer," she said. She smiled lightly and waved an open-hand at Neyin and Rose. She sat down, settling a PADD and a clear bottle of what appeared to be water down in front of her. It was water, she needed hydration after her shuttle ride.
Neyin about choked on his coffee before answering. "Sorry miss andrake but I don't know how to make coffee." After hearing the captains response he responded with, "Oh so you didn't untie his hands from the other night I take it?"
"Oh, you gonna learn today." Rose offered Paisley a quick glance and a warm smiling nod before she moved to the coffee pot, beginning the process of making a fresh pot. She's cute. Gonna have to look up her file, but this ship's got a bad habit of putting Junior Grades in the hot seat. "And you do that again, I'll start going to PT with your Marines and making sure you make them a fresh pot after they put you through the workouts."
Neyin chuckled "is that before or after the shared galley duty?" He turned and nodded his head to F'rar as they entered before turning his attention back to the captain. "So Captain whats on the plan Ma'am?"
Dr. Baker walked into the room....late as usual. "Sorry. Had a slight medical emergency." He sat down, probably the first time he hasn't been on his feet in days. Sleep deprived and he hasn't been to his quarters since coming back to the ship. He wonders how the girls on getting on in his absence.
Shit, what day was that? What day is it? When was the last time I slept? I've been running myself ragged with this data and the arboretum project and that spa day... Am I on galley duty tonight? Is our galley duty tonight? Shit! I don't even know what I'm cooking... Fuck it, I'm doing soupies! And goddamn it this is the decaf pot! Right. Gorn can't have caffeine... Gods, I'm an idiot. Rose's face didn't betray her thoughts as she finished with the coffee pot and poured two cups from the real coffee. "After, I think. And I gotta agree. Captain, have you read my team's report or do you want me to present the team's findings? Doctor. Just idle chat till we get everybody in here. Also gonna want to talk at you offline later. At your convenience."
Neyin looks down when it seems she forgot about it. before placing a hand on her shoulder giving it a slight squeeze. "Relax Rose, Drink some coffee and relax you've been more ragged than a mother with no sleep. and we need you at the top of your game for this."
Noxi smiled. "Lt. Andrake. Please, sit down. I have read the reports, but I wouldn't like to discuss them until the others arrive," she said. "Particularly Commander Morgan; I forwarded the reports, but we haven't had a chance to touch base since the Away Team beamed back, and he and I met with other Captains," she explained. It was this kind of thing that threw the Bajoran for a loop-the meetings, and maintaining a professional atmosphere-just a few months ago, she would simply be bullshitting with everyone. Not anymore.
Drew entered the conference room while reading a PADD. He glanced up as he took a seat. He nodded briefly at the other officers. He returned to his attention to the PADD. He was formulating a recommendation based on the data gathered by the away team and the scans made by the ship.
Devon arrived only a moment after Lieutenant Commander Chandler. His brow was furrowed in frustration. Things were just not adding up with what was going down on the surface and the response of the ruling council. He felt as if the council's response was inappropriate with the conditions he had witnessed on the surface.
"Thanks, Neyin. Really. But you're reading my mind again. Don't look too deep. Bad for your mental health." The creature under her mind twisted again, making its presence known with a flash of intrusive thoughts like a grinning mass of fang and venom. She offered the great reptile a soft squeeze of her hand on his shoulder as she passed, responding to the Doctor, next. "If the Captain knew how I feel that in my soul, we'd have Bajorans learning how to cast La Chancla, doctor." Rose took her time pouring herself a mighty mug of coffee. Then and only then did she plop herself down in her chair, already leaning it back and resting her mug on her belly.
Neyin nods his head, "I mean if the coffee doesn't cheer you up, after this mission we can go to the spa and hottub again, I know you like that. " he says while doing a tongue flick. Looking around he waves at Mira trying not to seem too scary.
Mike was sitting there very quietly. He didn't alert anyone to when he arrived, but he waited for the Captain to start the meeting. He smirked a little with the conversation so far. With mira being planet side, he made sure to make notes for her to read from. She was still with the commander.
"I will give the others a few minutes, but if they're late, that's between them and me," she said. Really, she ran a fairly loose ship-you'd think people could show up on time for a meeting.
“Remind me not to get on your bad side,” Morgan joked.
"I mean, easiest way would be to send them to the struggle bus. Departments will share, especially the lower ranking guys, and by the end of it, the only one with egg on is face is--" She had finally processed that was Morgan's voice as she stiffened. "Oh, gods where did you come from you sneaky fucking human?!
"Alright, I think everyone who needs to be here is," Noxi said, once Rose had settled in. "Let's begin. Captains Gavin and Johnson have prepped to receive up to 250 refugees each; they're both larger ships than we are," she said. "And the help of the use of the Nadean's shuttle should make it a fairly easy, short job," she said. "We can onboard 150 people," she said. "Lt. Andrake, what's the status of your experiments with Lt. Clarke?" She asked. "Ambassador Harrison, I need you to coordinate with Counselor Drylo on the Intrepid; she's very good at this sort of thing, Johnson says," she said. Then she turned to Morgan. "I need you to lead an exploratory team. As the Nadeans are being evacuated, find whatever you can. Take Commanders Chandler and Naiper with you, and Captain Vessek," she said. "I will finish here, and start working with Engineering and Ops to arrange the transporters to increase maximum capacity," she said. "Finally, Dr. Baker-frankly, you look like hell. Let the EMH handle the rest of it from here out, and get some rest," she said. "That's an order," she said. She waited for Rose's response before letting the staff go.
"Still waiting on data coming back from extra departmental experts. But what I can say for certain is that the acid rain is not a natural occurrence. But I'm not exactly concerned about that. Especially that given we drop a couple photon torps on the mines spewing the pollutants, based on the technology level of the average person down there, the ecology will restabilize within fifteen years, with the ozone layer repairing itself fully within twenty. Teach 'em how to use sunblock, they'll be fine. More important, though." Finally, she dropped her feet from the table, setting her coffee mug down before tossing a vial on the table.
"That is what worries me. One of the Old Guard is paying some Nadean kids to spray that on the fields claiming it's a simple pesticide. However. Clarke and I went down there and gathered samples at every stage of this stuff's application, alongside sweet talking a Nadean father into giving a sample. We also found evidence of a resistance effort down there. So. Something's up. The pesticide itself... I believe it's a weapon. Not a defoliant, but it is actually a pesticide. Highly mutagenic and penetrates cellulose like water through a sieve. The pest just happens to be whoever eats anything treated with this chemical. When the people don't trust the crops, they'll buy from outside, meaning more land and workers for the mines or industrial centers. Plus the workers' growing reliance on outside crops is going to allow addictive chemical contamination to make them reliant and docile. We saw it on Earth not long before the third world war. Standard progression with likely outside accelerant. Xo, you want me going down there? I took the time to learn Nadean, I think I can speak it at a basic level. Especially given I went ahead and snagged a language codex provided by that resistance and scanned it into the computer. We should have an updated language model."
Noxi nodded, seriously. "Ok. Can you and Clarke work with your Chief on some kind of antidote or way to reverse it? Is that possible?" She asked. "Some kind of science regenerator?" She shrugged. She'd let the science folks do that; she'd just muddle it all up.
"Oh. That's the easy part. Burn the crops and run 'em on e-rats for a year. Or I do something really stupid and dangerous with a cargo transporter and replicator and transporter theory." Throwing back the last of her coffee, she gave a smirk. "And I am the chief till the new guy shows up. So yeah. Already got the bio boys working on it. Need to borrow a geneticist and a pharmacologist from Medical. I'll give 'em back. Promise."
Baker looked at the captain and acknowledged the order. "Thank you, captain."
The door opened, revealing a Bajoran in Sciences blue, Lieutenant Commander's pips on her shoulder. "Captain Nairut--my apologies." She held out a PADD in one hand, the other moving up to a salute posture. "I got bumped in the Intrepid's transporter backlog--not literally, just... Anyway, Lieutenant Commander Lae'or Tahlin, reporting for duty. I heard you needed a new Chief Science Officer, so I volunteered." She looked at the others. "Sorry--bit nervous. Heard a lot about this ship and crew. Wish I could have been here sooner." She gestured with the PADD. "May I enter? I have my transfer orders, and would like to get started."
Valok entered the room and quickly found a seat. He had been doing as much as he could to catch up since he'd come aboard, but was still a bit in the dark about the whole situation. Listening carefully, he began processing the enormity of the situation on the planet.
"Welcome aboard," she said. "Sorry we had to meet this way; the Commander and I would like to meet you with you later on. Right now, we're dealing with a first contact situation gone South," she said. "I'll let Lt. Andrake here fill you in on your part. I was just asking her if it's possible to come up with some kind of process or chemical or something to undo the effects of a highly-poisonous pesticide," she said, with a smile. "And Captain Johnson let me know you'd hitched a ride with them," she said, with a nod.
"Anyone else?" She said.
Tahlin nodded, entered, then handed the PADD to the captain. Taking a seat by the other woman in science blue, she started--vaguely recognizing her, the Bajoran vowed to get the full story later.
Rose looked to the new Bajoran as the door opened, her thoughts ringing out for the barest instant. Familiar. Odd. "And thank fucking God. Aight. I'll brief the rookie later. Then. I'm outta Noxi's hair. And probably spending more time in the brig. And the next time I get even an interim department head slot before the ranked of Lt. Commander, I will wait till I can feel what you do at night and then beam into your room with leave paperwork.
Nodding, Valok replied "No problem Captain, I look forward to meeting with you both officially." Turning his attention to Andrake, he added "I loom forward to being brought up to speed after the meeting Lieutenant."
Noxi nodded. "Excellent. If there's nothing else, feel free to go. Commander, get your team back together and regroup. Ideally, we'd have the evacuations underway within the hour," she said. "Everyone, use Comms channel 3, as per Captain Johnson; his channel Two is being repaired," she said in a tone juuuusssst south of exasperated. Men. Ridiculous.
"Roger that, cap'n. You really want me on comms? Or you want me checking the logs from that replicator Elly and I dropped planetside with very specific instructions to feed it the poisoned crops and use the output substitutes? Cause I feel like I was a bit... Sneaky. I put a tracker in the casing and set it to ping me if it loses power, gets moved, or if the settings are changed by anyone without my personal ID code. Which... Well. If there are any psykers down there, they'd have had to get past my parasite. Anyway." She took her carafe of coffee as she stood and glided towards the door. "I'll get our new CSO up to speed and ask the engineer out later."
Noxi gave her a LOOK. "You can't check those from the same computer system used throughout the ship? If not, then..do that first, and then hop on the COMMS," she said. She was a little exasperated now--Noxi hated being idle, and she hated staff meetings-because she viewed them as idle time.
"Oh, I can, but you have no guarantee I won't be... Well... Me. In front of your esteemed captainly peers? I didn't know you had a humiliation kink, Captain." Rose turned, mirroring the energy with a look of her own. At least until she broke into a wide grin, revealing her bait as just that. "No worries, Cap'n, I'll be a good girl."
Noxi sighed. "Frankly, I don't care what either of those men think," she said. "But thank you. I would appreciate you getting the Chief up to speed as quickly as possible. You did well in the interim," she said. Noxi would make sure to make a note of it for Rose's future file.
"Of course, ma'am. If you want me to go whole hog, I can demonstrate why I earned a command at sixteen. Or I can head down and do some research. Keeps me out of the way of the evacuation. Let me know. I gotta go steal my outside experts and get you that there antitoxin." With that, Rose breezed out the door, still holding the coffee pot.
Mike finished the report on the padd. He had nothing to report on the ship side, because half to much of the team were on the surface.
Tahlin looked to Noxi. "Should I be keeping an eye on her, Captain? She seems... A bit of a mavrick, although good at her job."
Noxi laughed. "She is, to both. She'll be just fine," Noxi said. "Good luck down there; I understand that it's the botanist you'll need to look out for. One of those easily distracted types," she said.
Tahlin gave the other woman a brief grin. "I've got that covered. My wife and eldest are both easily distracted--I'm well-used to it."
-----
Down on the planet, Larris had already gathered a group. The Old Guard had requested to evacuate last-Larris would take the first group-the loudest of the rebels, and deliver them to the nearby colony. The trip was short, just a few hours at Warp. The gathering of the tall white aliens was enough to unnerve anyone unfamiliar with the race, but Larris was set on his mission. He watched carefully as the five boarded, and then toured the outside of the shuttle-to make sure it wasn't tampered with or something.
He didn't want to wait for the Starfleet people, and instead, he climbed into the cockpit and started the engine. They were airborne, finally, but only a few kilometers into orbit when the shuttle exploded.
From the ground, Celethe watched. That wasn't supposed to happen. She looked to the others.
"The Guard," came the collective responses. She nodded.
"So. We wait." She assumed that the Guard were sending a message-leave, and face a similar fate. Would they be so bold as to attempt to sabotage the large starships? She didn't know. She knew Larris had meant to be taking the Guards later-strange that they'd sacrifice their biggest supporter.
-------------------
Noxi had given command to Morgan, and now waited by the Transporter with further orders. She wanted to be there with them, but instead, she was going to have to stay behind to finish coordinating the evacuation. The hells of being the CO was that sometimes, you missed out on the fun.
"Alright, Chandler, Morgan, and Naiper-find that mine, and see what's up. I don't care if you have to blow it up, or whatever, do what you need to. I understand that this is technically a first-contact situation, but it's not sitting right with me. Science, I need you to see what you can do with reversing the acid rain. Security, begin evacuation protocols. Finally, I need Harrison to get with the woman called Celethe. See what she knows. Go bad cop if you need to. I can assist from here. T'Rea, six to beam out," she instructed, and watched as the away team evaporated. She nodded at the Transporter tech, and then returned to the Bridge. "Good work, people. Thank you for stepping in, Lt. F'rar, for the few minutes I was with the away team. Please return to Engineering and carry on with...whatever you were doing," Noxi said, settling into her seat. Her yeoman had already brought her coffee. Thank the Prophets!
“Hoping it won’t come to that, Captain. The whole scenario is getting more and more worrisome. I’ll keep you updated of our progress,” Morgan said
Noxi nodded. "Me, too. Good luck."
"Wait, I was gonna go by shu--" Rose was cut off as she beamed out, foolishly having thought she would be able to get her space suit and take the shuttle. On the ground, the instant the team beamed in was broken with a gagging, retching noise and a wet splat as half a pot of coffee and a breakfast burrito hit the ground. Instants later, she followed, choking on the air as tears stung her eyes. She didn't know where she was, the clean smell of the ship and the gentle thrum of the reactor was gone, nearly ultrasonic oscillation of gravity plating replaced with a constant force that never failed to throw her nerves into a panic. Ringing ears, stinging skin all too aware of the fibers of her uniform and a hot sweat that sapped her strength caught Rose off guard as always, and she would have preferred some privacy, or better, to have taken the shuttle and be spared this. In stead, she was left with her world spinning, using what little of her not insignificant strength to cradle herself in a white knuckle grip, forcing down bile and sensory overload as she curled up on the ground, where she would have to stay for a few moments. "Fhuuughk... Someone kill me."
Tahlin went over the the human in her department, trying to look non-threatening. "Transporter sickness... Great..." She turned to the sky, almost absently extending a hand for if and when the unfortunate Lieutenant wanted to get up. "Once you're back on your feet, tricorder out--who is our contact on the ground?"
"Some lady named Yve, not sure," Rose grumbled from her place laying on the ground. Slowly, she began to uncurl and breathe through the nausea and overwhelming sensations. She didn't take the hand just yet . "Just gimme a moment. Fucking feel every time I get transported. I'll be fine."
“This is a routine for us at this point, Tahlin. Get used to it. Andrake is as tough as she looks. She’ll be alright.”
"Appreciate that... Lieutenant, I know you can't control it, but for Prophet's sake, try not to puke on my boots. I hate recycling perfectly good boots... Botanist--Lieutenant Clark, sorry--try not to wander off. Hell, this stuff is toxic, so I wouldn't touch it unless you have to."
As if Rose's words were a beacon, the young woman Yve appeared again. "Hello," she said, in the same sort of tinny, sing-songy voice the Nadeans used. "I am Yve," she said. "There's been a development, where is your...what do you say? Leader," she said, looking around for Commander Morgan. "Celethe has requested a private meeting," she said. "Come." With that, she simply turned to lead the team down the same path they were now used to, falling silent once more.
“I’m here, Yve,” Morgan said as he announced himself. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather be accompanied by one of my colleagues. Mr. Chandler, you’re with me. Napier-stay close. Keep the area secure with Vessk and Andrake. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Morgan gestured to Yve.
The strange looking alien simply nodded once. She didn't think Celethe would mind; they understood about security in strange places.
“Lead on,” he said.
Yve led them forward, down the same path they usually took.
"Easy for you to say, sir, you never seen a sky shatter." Finally taking the hand, Rose let herself be hauled to her feet, forcing herself to look away from the sky as though she would watch it crumple away and tear to reveal the cold and hard truth of the howling void, that her home and the home of every living being existed in a sea of death in its purest, coldest form. That the illusion would fall away and she would see again that the only thing holding this world together was mass, weight, an quirk of physics that could snap to normalcy with the same ease as old aluminum could crack or a rivet shear. She knew logically that it wouldn't. That she should trust a sky over a solid hull she could touch, feel, inspect. Combined with the scents of open air, dirt, people, animals... Not the warm and musty rust and surity of an old starship hull, she felt naked, exposed, and with only one option. Fight. "I'll fight your God and fuck his mistress in front of you! I'm from space. This place ai'normal!"
But her aggression hid something deeper, some deep wrongness she hadn't felt since she was a child that would fade with her sick.
Tahlin helped the human to her feet. "Andrake, focus... Breathe in, out, in... Good... You heard the Commander--start walking the perimeter." The Bajoran pulled out her phaser, made sure it was on stun, then paced away, steadying those in the significantly larger away team. Honestly, she would have expected some smaller force, given the size of the Dilligent-class's crew, but still, that couldn't be helped.
"Easy Now" Napier said, looking to Rose and Neyin. Some reason, she wasn't feeling all that great.
Neyin stood hunched beside Rose, his scaled chest rising and falling with deep, strained breaths as waves of transporter sickness churned his stomach. His dry heaving echoed faintly in the confined space, his clawed hands gripping his knees for support as he tried to steady himself. The faint shimmer of the transporter effect still lingered in his vision, but he forced himself to focus. With a final shudder, he straightened just enough to meet the expectant gazes of the marines surrounding him.
His voice, though strained, carried an authoritative tone. “I need three marines to head with the team going to the mine,” he managed, pausing to catch his breath before continuing. “I’ll remain with the science team.” Though still bent over, his resolve was evident, his sharp, amber eyes flicking between the marines to ensure his orders were understood.
"Aye, sir," came the reply from the Marines. Lahki Bakshi led the others away, towards the direction of the three going to the mines.
Mira gave a wary look, "We need a regular security member with the science team as well to keep with protocol." She wasn't feeling all that well and was starting to show it.
-------------
OFF.
A Mission Post by:
Capt. Dr. Nairut Noxi
Commanding Officer
USS Deliverance
&
LtJG Paisley F'rar
Acting Chief Engineer
USS Deliverance
&
LtJG Elysian "Elly" Clarke
Botanist
USS Deliverance
&
Lt. JG Rose Andrake
Astrocartography
USS Deliverance
&
Lieutenant Commander Lae'or Tahlin
Chief Science Officer
USS Deliverance
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Lieutenant Commander Mira Napier
Chief Security Officer
USS Deliverance
&
Lieutenant JG Mike Barton
Security Officer
USS Deliverance
&
Lieutenant Commander Andrew Chandler
Chief Strategic Operations Officer
USS Deliverance
&
Commander Damian Morgan
Executive Officer
USS Deliverance
&
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