Day 6 - Pulling Rank

[Amanda Rose]

Gary stretched. In no time at all, he was certain that KAT would be here for his morning briefing. And if he was fortunate, perhaps he would have time for a debriefing as well. He smiled mischievously at the thought. He was grateful for having KAT. If it was not for her, he was pretty certain that he would not be able to maintain his calm. Wells had become paranoid and was carrying a gun everywhere because the crew was blaming her for their predicament. On top of that, Arkady was bordering on mutiny. He seemed to be keeping things together but he would have to watch him and the crew for more signs of becoming unhinged.

At least he had his new and eccentric guides to this area of the universe. That would be a definite boon to their expedition. Hopefully they would be able to find a suitable base for a "homeworld" for Horizon. Something with adequate resources to explore from and be able to repair Horizon should it ever become damaged. Maybe a place to raise family. After all, when the crew would realize that they were irrevocably trapped here, people would inevitably pair off.

Gary mused at that. Perhaps as Captain, he would have to make new laws regarding relationships. After all, if the human population were to survive, genetic variation would be required so that the human race would not have a genetic bottleneck. Yes, his engineering mind considered, that would have to be the way that it would have to be presented. Even Arkady could not reject that logic, could he?

tag - KAT

Gary pulled KAT quickly in and kissed her quickly. "How are you this fine morning, KAT?"

tag - KAT

Before Gary could do anything further, he had a call from the bridge. Was it Flowers? Or someone else? He could not tell over the static. What he could make out was enough to put together this: The transmitter array was transmitting the first contact signal on all frequencies and in all directions and it was not turning off.

He looked at KAT and asked, "Thoughts on this before I head to the bridge?"

tag - KAT

Upon arriving at the bridge, he called out, "Ensign Flowers, Lieutenant Perlit," report!

tag - Flowers, Perlit

[Ciara Mei]

[Sjet]

“Do not mistake my quiet tone for one of approval.”

Arkady ran his hand over his jaw, the gritty pull of the stubble there rubbing against his calloused palms. The irony that hands made hard by the labours of the Martian mines, were now the hands of a physician and healer were not lost on him. He looked at his hand, turning it over to see the blood that speckled the hard ridges of his knuckles.

He then looked over his bloodied fist at the man being held up against his natural inclination to fall down. Arkady had avoided the face as best he could, but his anger at awakening to find his plans derailed had over boiled slightly. A punch to the gut could be hidden, the bruising along the back ignored: but an eye swollen shut with a blackened shine? Questions would be asked as to why Electrician's Mate 2nd Class Findlay had sabotaged the communications transmitter and then been beaten.

Findlay tried to say something, but the words came out in a mish-mashed muddle of sounds that resonated with a grinding click.

“You have a broken jaw you idiot, do not speak,” Arkady growled, eyeing the two other engineers who had brought their over zealot compatriot to him. Both were of the same mind as Arkady in regards to the current leadership standing, and both men could be trusted to act in accordance with one man’s will.

“Keep him here. And keep him quiet. This durachit' has accelerated our plans, and now I must make sure no other thread is free for Gary and his harem to find.” Arkady addressed the two guards, and then gripped Findlay’s broken jaw and pulled his mewling face up to look at him. “If this all goes well I will do my best to forget you, my friend. But if this begins the end of what must be done, then I will ensure you will not find an easy passage to Hell.”

With that Arkady turned and left the store room, sealing the door behind him and making sure the ‘DANGER: Vacuum’ warning light had turned back on. Who would look for a missing man inside a store room with no air or pressure inside? He then began to slowly make his way towards sickbay, passing by a few other members of the crew with whom he nodded the time of day. No one was panicking, which meant Gary had his hand clamped down on the events.

This was good. And so he returned to his place of work, to begin the morning ritual of report reading. After all, what was a humble Doctor to do in such a trying time as this?

[KendleRJ]

Gary stretched. In no time at all, he was certain that KAT would be here for his morning briefing. And if he was fortunate, perhaps he would have time for a debriefing as well. He smiled mischievously at the thought. He was grateful for having KAT. If it was not for her, he was pretty certain that he would not be able to maintain his calm. Wells had become paranoid and was carrying a gun everywhere because the crew was blaming her for their predicament. On top of that, Arkady was bordering on mutiny. He seemed to be keeping things together but he would have to watch him and the crew for more signs of becoming unhinged.

At least he had his new and eccentric guides to this area of the universe. That would be a definite boon to their expedition. Hopefully they would be able to find a suitable base for a "homeworld" for Horizon. Something with adequate resources to explore from and be able to repair Horizon should it ever become damaged. Maybe a place to raise family. After all, when the crew would realize that they were irrevocably trapped here, people would inevitably pair off.

Gary mused at that. Perhaps as Captain, he would have to make new laws regarding relationships. After all, if the human population were to survive, genetic variation would be required so that the human race would not have a genetic bottleneck. Yes, his engineering mind considered, that would have to be the way that it would have to be presented. Even Arkady could not reject that logic, could he?

Smoothing her hair and ensuring that everything looked quite put together despite the challenges of maintaining it, she clutched her PADD in hand and pressed the door chime. She was expecting a bit of a wait, or even a 'Come In'...

Gary pulled KAT quickly in and kissed her quickly. "How are you this fine morning, KAT?"

Flushing and blinking in some surprise, she looked around behind her to ensure that the door was firmly closed. "I'm well, thank you, Gary." She was about to open her mouth to continue the conversation...

Before Gary could do anything further, he had a call from the bridge. Was it Flowers? Or someone else? He could not tell over the static. What he could make out was enough to put together this: The transmitter array was transmitting the first contact signal on all frequencies and in all directions and it was not turning off.

He looked at KAT and asked, "Thoughts on this before I head to the bridge?"

"Odd," she said briefly. "I wonder if something has shorted out somehow..."

Upon arriving at the bridge, he called out, "Ensign Flowers, Lieutenant Perlit," report!

Hearing her name, Ciara looked up from the console she was at. She'd gotten to the bridge early in hopes to get some work done in peace, but it turned into more than that.

The transmitter array was going off, and as far as she knew no one had kicked it on. But it was transmitting the first contact signal in every possible direction. As they tried to get it to turn off, it wouldn't. They couldn't get it to stop the transmission, no matter what they tried.

Her eyes turned from the others on the bridge, over to the captain. "We can't stop ze transmitter, sir. It has been going about fifteen minutes, and we don't know what started it. I could make assumptions on what happened but...they'd be just that at this point."

Flowers shrugged as she leaned over her console, deep in thought. It wasn't even the message she had been working on or even something they could trace back. "The message is from the archives, Captain," she said as her fingers flew over the keys. "I'm not sure how it was activated, but I believe that Security or Engineering could trace the initiating console and might even be able to see why it's not stopping."

She didn't have the clearance for that... and wasn't about to breach a lot of security in order to provide a more thorough answer. One thing she learned about Starfleet: There were protocols. And if she did something against them? She would be in a lot of trouble... even out in the middle of nowhere.

"I'm not sure if the question should be who, though," she continued, musing aloud. "But perhaps, why." Why would anyone want to bring attention to their ship? And where were the new additions? Would they gain anything from this maneuver? And for that matter, who would?

Tags all

[Amanda Rose]

The bridge's communicator had a voice interrupt the discussion. Whit cried out, "Cappin', I tawt we 'ad an arrangement? Dis is going to attract Congo. None of us 'ere want that, do we?"

Gary responded, "There appears to be a malfunction with our ship. We're sending a repair crew to look into this." He cut off communications to where Whit and Dolly were located and turned to Flowers, his eyes ablaze with urgency, "See what you can do to get that turned off."

tag - Flowers

"In fact, take the Lieutenant with you. IF you have to take a space walk to correct it. Do it. Understand? Just be careful."

tag - Ciera and Flowers

He called over to sickbay, "Doctor, would you care to join me on the bridge?" Gary's tone of voice made it clear that this was not a polite request but an order.

tag - Sjet

Gary looked over at KAT and said, "I have a bad feeling about this."

tag - KAT

[Ciara Mei]

Frowning towards the captain, Ciara gave a slight eye roll, hoping no one saw it. Space walking was not her favorite thing to do. She knew this was urgent, but that didn’t mean she wanted to go walking around on the outside of the ship.

“Yes, sir,” she stated, looking towards Flowers. She wasn’t an engineer, what did she know about repairing communications issues? She was a bloody scientist. But she had to do what she had to do.

Tag: All/Flowers.