Eps 3 Act 1: A Break In Routine

[Sjet]

Starbase 42
Pilex Star Syetm
The Shoal

“So…” Captain Santra said, knife in his hand swiftly coming down“…let me get this straight.”

The loaf of bread never stood a chance. Steam erupted from the golden crusted loaf, and with quick efficient cuts the doctor had dissected it into a number of large chunks. These he arrayed on a plate, before turning back to the table and eyeing his assortment of officers. He walked slowly towards them, slipping between Emerald and Zuub to place the steaming sliced bread in the centre of the table. The scent of the bread soon mingled with the spicy tang of the goulash that had been prepared to go with it, a rich dish of paprika and garlic doing its best to bolster cubes of freeze dried vegetables and ‘maybe meat’.

“On what was suppose to be a mission to retrieve or purchase a power plant for the station, along with other needed supplies, it would be fair to say that all objectives were accomplished.” he gestured to the light fixture burning brightly above their heads “We now have full power, meaning that the stations industrial replicators can now begin to produce the necessary spare parts from their memory flies. This means that the engineering crew no longer requires emergency rations.”

As he spoke the Elderly Bajoran had walked a ways down the table, picking up a ladle and tapping it against the large stew pot.

“E-Ration packs might feed the body, but they are poor food for the soul. Fortunately I do not travel without some means of providing for the latter, and what you see here is the result of my input to the stations survival. I am no engineer, and my science background is somewhat..slanted…into certain specialised fields. What I am though is a passable biochemist.” he began to ladle out the stew to the bowls before each senior staffer “A little smokey paprika, roasted garlic and a dash of powdered onion can go a long way to turning a ration pack into a passable meal. In your absence I even attempted to make a chilli that was well received so I am told.”

He smiled, walking to the front of the room in which they had been brought and deposited. It was a conference room, one of the larger ones the station boasted in its administration level, with one wall devoted to a large quazi-diamond viewing window. It was through its partially closed metal slats that the gas giant of Tangerine rolled and boiled below the station, casting the room in a warm autumnal glow.

“I will not even begin to tell you how hard it was to make fresh bread on a space station that didn’t have a replicator, or even a proper oven.” he chuckled to himself, before turning back to look at them: Emerald, Zuub, Gil Lukat and Ryler.

“But no doubt it would be a much easier story to swallow that the one about how you somehow managed to destroy a black market den of thieves, rescued a supposed dead man from slavery, and return to the station onboard a vessel I have been informed does not exist by Starfleet.” the old Bajoran said jovially, before sitting down across the table from them on the same side as Gil Lukat. He reached out and snagged one of the cut slices of bread, before breaking of a chunk and dipping it into the stew.

“I find these debriefings go better with good wine.” he said, chewing thoughtfully on his bread as he nodded at the sauces taste, shrugging as he did so “Alas the Tim Allen went down with two crates of Antarian sapphire pinot that would have done this meal a great service. Oh well. Continue.”

TAG-All.

GM Aside Note

Alas P’Trell and Sai’tan’s writers have left the game. I wish them well where they land, and would like to think we’ve parted on good terms. I aim to have fun when I write, and sometimes that means I don’t post for extended periods: after all being in the mood to write is also a key. I will not tell you all that my posting will increase given events, but what I hope to do is provide you a place to tell your stories and have fun: if ever thats not the case let me know, and we’ll look into solving that problem as a team. So if any of you have ideas, thoughts, or concerns PM me here or on Facebook.

[Ciara Mei]

[Amanda Rose]

[Aoife]

Emerald touched the delicate strand of gold that was fastened around her wrist. A soft smile curved the edge of her mouth. Not all of what had happened had been.. bad. She slid the bracelet up underneath the cuff of her uniform. She nodded in thanks as she helped herself to the repast before them.

"The vessel is interesting," she commented. "A number of the files had been scrubbed from the memory banks. I couldn't get in very far before I hit some serious big black holes in information."

TAG

[Sjet]

"Deleting the Captains Log and code books was standard operational procedure during the Dominion War, in case a ship was boarded and taken. Perhaps this 'Quam' had a similar automatic arrangement in case of crew fatalities." Santra mused, before looking at Ryler and Zuub "And whilst the idea that ship could possibly have come from a source beyond the Federation, I have been assured it is an unlikely event. There are elements to its design, the HoloCloak and ECM suite, that my source back on Earth was quite certain had been lifted off of their drawing boards."

He took a spoonful of his stew, pondering it seriously.

"So either we have a prototype that got away from its handlers, or someone's been selling secrets that Starfleet has yet to put into production." he took his bite, chewed and then continued. "Speaking of things that should not be. Dr Zuub I took the liberty of going over your patient notes for our returned cast away. Malnutrition, dehydration and extreme exhaustion were the common effects f rough treatment I was expecting. But I did not expect to find he was as high as a kite. Might explain why he is still unconscious."

He chuckled a little darkly.

"From the preliminary lab work I saw you could lick a slide with his blood on it and be seeing space lobsters for a week. Very powerful stuff." he looked over at Gill Lukat "Tell me Gil, does Cardassia have any rampant narcotics problems? Or is there an issue Shoal-wdie we are not yet aware of?"

TAG-All

Captain Santra Arron
SB42

[Amanda Rose]

[Sjet]

"Well coached doctor. Though the active agents I was seeing in the chemical analysis would suggest a very powerful narcotic. Something that would leave holes through the higher reasoning functions." He took another sip of his stew, "The prolonged effects might not be entirely useful for a repeat consumer base...but maybe the drugs design is not for recreational purposes?"

He thought for a moment.

"No...no the line between space lobster juice and performance enhancing chemicals would be a narrow one indeed. Perhaps you might want my aid in synthesising a reverse engineered sample?" He nodded and a pointed a spoon at Emerald "Miss Jones has some knowledge in this area I believe? You have a back ground in chemical fabrication?"

Tag All

Dr Santra Arron
CO Sb42

[Amanda Rose]

[Sjet]

[Ciara Mei]