How Doth The Little Crocodile

Posted on Fri Aug 30th, 2019 @ 5:23am by Commodore Jane Saulitis & Lieutenant Commander Angus Murphy & Commander Dominic Aldrich & Lieutenant Sandra Adamson

Mission: For Whom The Bell Tolls
Location: Observation Lounge
Timeline: MD08, 0900
3118 words - 6.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Jane made sure she was first in the room. She had to block what was going on in her personal life and focus on the task at hand. She was a starfleet officer and that's what was expected of her. It was ingrained in everyone that moment they graduated the academy but with Jane it went farther back, back before the divorce when she saw the sense of duty in her father and the silliness of the life her mother led. She didn't want to end up without a life of purpose and so she had pushed herself from the moment she'd decided to apply.

The doors opening behind her made her smooth down her hair and turn away from the view of the stars. "Good morning," she said simply.

"Good morning Captain," Sullivan walked through the door. Compared to the last few days, there was a little extra energy in her step. A concerted effort had gone into looking as fresh as possible that morning - freshly pressed uniform, polished boots, hair tamed in a tight bun - but Lilith's appearance was a far cry from how she was feeling.

"Can I get you anything ma'am? First cup of the day is the best cup of the day," Sullivan remarked as she made her way towards the replicator.

"No, thank you lieutenant. I've already had one." The truth was that she'd had so much lately she was afraid she's start twitching if someone asked her too many questions. She hadn't wanted to go to sleep, despite Hak's warmth and presence. Too many things were on her mind and too many unknowns were bothering her.

Vannan was coming into the conference room with her Assistant Chief walking with her. Vannan had her padd in one hand and a sweet hot tea with lemon in the other as she and M'Jart S'Rem moved to seats near the middle right side of the table.

"Morning Captain, Lieutenant Sullivan, Hope you are both ready for the new day, sort to say?" Vannan asked. " This is my new Right hand in OPS M'Jart S'Rem." She introduced.

"Good morning," Sullivan waved to the members from Operations. The replicator came to life and produced a steaming hot mug of her favorite go-go juice which she happily retrieved before moving to take her seat. Slowly but surely, the room was beginning to fill with the first gathering of staff since her arrival.

"I don't believe we've met before. I'm Lieutenant Lilith Sullivan, it's nice to meet you," she extended a hand as she approached M'Jart.

"We have not, ma'am." M'Jart replied accepting the offered hand and shaking it. "I would like to respond in kind, but since we have just met, I would not like to miss lead you." She explained.

"That's fair enough," Sullivan nodded, finding herself slightly taken aback. "Perhaps more accurately stated, I hope that the opportunity to get to know you better comes soon. Welcome to the Majestic."

"I can concur with that." M'Jart said. "And thank you, ma'am."

"You're very welcome," Lily smiled before turning to take her seat. No sooner had she done so before the doors parted to admit the next arrival.

Lieutenant Aldrich entered the room with a PADD in hand. Taking in the room he gave a simple, "Good morning, everyone." He made his way to the table and began to pull up the notes he had made on the recent issues on the ship. He hadn't had the time to run them through any real analysis, but that would likely change after this meeting. His face was stoic as he simply observed the room and thought.

Lieutenant Commander Murphy entered next, oblivious to everyone else's chit-chat as he moved around the table to his open seat and dropped into it. He hated staff meetings as a general rule, but this morning he was in a particularly bad mood.

Lhaes avoided the Captain's gaze as he walked in, feeling very self conscious for some reason. He mumbled a good morning as he took his seat, giving off a vibe of not really wanting to be in public. So he sat and all but buried his face in his PADD.

Cassie walked in a few moments later, rubbing her eyes. She had gotten up much later than usual, and had only had time to quickly put herself together, grab the appropriate PADD, and go. She smiled and nodded at all the officers present, and made a bee-line to the replicator. It soon shimmered, leaving a warm bowl of café au lait in its wake. Tucking her PADD under an arm, she carefully grabbed the bowl with both hands, relishing in the drink's aroma for a moment, and sat at an open seat near the far end of the table.

Tadez came in quietly with his PADD in hand and no rakijino to stimulate him as he had been working fervantly to get the plans laid out for a diplomatic session the following day. He sat at the mid point along the table and wait with a neutral expression.

Sandy came in, padd in one hand, and cup of coffee in the other. She took a seat at the table, as she put the cup and padd down. She nodded to everyone present and waited for the meeting to start.

Shev came in, half asleep with a thermos of coffee in one hand and a padd in the other. He'd been burning the midnight oil to basically stay busy. That and to avoid waking up in a weird place

Captain Saulitis tapped the PADD in front of her. "I'm sure you're all aware that there are unusual occurrences going on in this ship. We so far have no scientific explanation or the injuries, illnesses or strange behavior exhibited by some of the crew." Jane deliberately avoided Lhaes's gaze. "We are making every effort to find answers. If you have any information to add about these incidents then please see Commander Aldrich or Commander Sommers.

Dominic nodded, "I do have a running log of events. I am also working on a theory, but I'll need to meet with Dr. Adamson and Mr. Sommers to flesh it out."

"I'm sure we can plan some time to do that," Lhaes answered almost instantly.

"And when the answer or answers are found, I would love to put my name down towards the top of the list for the cure," Sullivan's voice was laced with a hint of desperation. "In a similar vein, I would like to take the chance to formally apologize to any and all present that I have affected with my admittedly erratic behavior over the past few days. Thank you to those that have helped me, you know who you are," she tilted her head in acknowledgement.

Jane allowed the rather odd confession but blinked in surprise at the outburst. "I'm sure a lot of people are engaging in behaviors they regret. I don't think we'll hold anyone to our usual standards for the time being lieutenant."

"Understood, and thank you ma'am. I just hope we're able to get to the bottom of all of this," Sullivan nodded.

Sandra just nodded as she was listening to everyone at the table. "I do have notes and medical reports. Looking forward to discuss them." She just added.

"Our second topic of discussion is of course the Claddin Empire negotiations. We will be arriving tomorrow and are expected to act as a neutral party to hear their grievances. This means that whatever you are feeling, you need to put it aside or remove yourself from duty if not able to perform those duties. There can be no distractions during such an important negotiation. There are delegates from each party who will be meeting on the Majestic as well as on the space station orbiting Claddin V. They are some different species from what we are used to seeing but we're going to make every effort to make them feel welcome. Do you have anything to add?" Jane looked to Cassie and Tadez. "Any suggestions on how to behave? or perhaps in the case of this crew, what not to do?" It might have sounded as if she were chastising them but in her mind it was a humorous comment.

'The thing to remember is our reason for being out here?" Tadez stood. "To meet new lifeforms and cultures and boldly continue this process. It is a simple fact we are going to help curb a dispute and find mutual understanding between races. The Majestic is one large Diplomatic Mission Statement. How we present ourselves is key." He look abut the room as he spoke. "We have diversity on this ship and nothing is really pointed out about the exterior of any of the races presented here; we accept and work together." He said simply. "Treat the Delegations with the same respect you do for other members of the crew different from yourself ; learn about them and share yourself with them. Treat them as you would any other member of the Federation upon first contact; do not make snap judgments and be aware that there are Telapaths among thee CLadden Races. Keeping you thoughts friendly and non-threatening or repulsed could be the one thing that give our negotiation a real chance of success. The Cladden Empire has not achieved what the Federation has but hey have the potential." Stopped at the Captain. "Display friendship we have in the Federation to all races and the diplomatic part of this will go easier ." He bow slightly. "Thank you." and sat.

"Resist urges, also." Jane wanted to hide her face when she said it. But there was an increase of well . . . .hookups happening on Majestic at the moment.

Cassie set down her bowl of café au lait. "While making the members of all delegations feel welcome and included is encouraged, it goes without saying that I strongly advise against any intimate contact with any of them, as tempting as it may be. The Felev's plumage can be particularly enticing," she noted.

"Yes, that's what I was trying to convey, thank you Ms. Reed." Jane rubbed her forehead. She had a headache. Was that because of what was happening to her crew or because she was now being affected by . . . whatever this was. She didn't know.

Sullivan sat in her seat and glanced around the table before she buried her face in her mug of coffee, keeping it there for far longer than any sip would've taken. If half of the rumors going around the ship were true, then the warning was prudent and necessary. From behind her mug, Lily smirked as she watched from whom and to whom the eye contact was being made, all while being careful where her own eyes settled.

Shev nodded as he was taking notes.

Without missing a beat, as if unaware of the curious looks she was now getting, Cassie continued on. "On another note, Lieutenant Tadez is meeting with the Crustillian representatives soon after our arrival, and I've taken the liberty of setting up individual interviews with the Felev and Bordere representatives prior to the official start of the negotiation proceedings. Sort of a meet and greet thing, getting a feel for things, their general mood and such. Nothing too formal."

She glanced the notes she had written on her PADD. "Catering has been arranged by our lovely aide Jennifer, and a loose schedule for the next few days has been determined, subject to adjustments if any unexpected events arise. This, of course, will be distributed to everyone for perusal. Finally, I expect that by the end of the proceedings, we'll have found a beneficial solution for all parties, and everybody can go home happy," she concluded.

"I would like to interject for a moment," Lilith raised a hand briefly. "This kinda ties back into the first thing, but do we have any assurance that whatever is causing our issues here isn't contagious? I mean, I still don't know how I ended up with something in my brain."

Commander Aldrich spoke up, "I have gone over piles of data. I have worked myself to the point of exhaustion looking over sensor data including micro-particulates. I can't guarantee that there is nothing contagious, but I don't think whatever this is would be a normal, airborne contagion."

"Thank you Commander. And as long as we're all agreed to continue with these negotiations, I'm happy to offer flight control's services however we may be of help," Sullivan replied as she looked around the room. "I get the feeling it's mostly going to be ship tours and executive transports, but if you need an extra set of hands or eyes or I'm forgetting something, let me know."

"Perhaps medical should blow a kind of hormonal inhibitor through the systems," Lhaes suggested quietly, a hint to his tone suggesting that it wasn't altogether serious, "that way people are keeping their lust in check?"

"Not a bad thing to explore." Jane said as she thought about it for a moment. "However, I don't think whatever this is airborne. Not everyone is getting it and some people have reported injuries rather than odd behavior. Could it be two unrelated things? Yes, but I find it suspicious that everything is happening at once. I feel there is a connection we haven't determined yet."

"From a security point of view, for everyone's safety, especially that of those who may be our guests, we should at least consder the option," the Romulan answered, a little more serious now. "As for those who are accident prone, perhaps they should be restricted in their duties until we discover what causes this. Removing those implants should have a priority."

Jane's mouth fell partly open. "What implants?" She asked sternly. "I wasn't informed anyone found an implant."

Dominic sat up straighter, wanting to listen. He too was not aware of any implants that were found. He felt himself getting internally frustrated. It was odd for him, but not totally unreasonable having been left in the dark about potential answers.

"Perhaps Doctor Adamson can better explain what she discovered," Lhaes proposed.

Sandy was looking at the padds she was holding earlier. "Well, with everything going on, and all the reports coming in to sickbay of crew experiencing weird things I simply hadn't had the time to contact you, captain, which is of course procedure. This meeting happened before I could come to you." She put the padd down. "The first report I have on file of a strange happening was that of Doctor Sekat. I brought him to sickbay, it was then I discovered a weird electrical signal coming from his brain. It was then I thought to scan his brain more closely when I discovered a small device latched to his cerebral cortex. When Commander Sommers and miss Sh’ezhinnir walked in with their story. I thought to scan their brains as well. I did find the implants in Commander Sommers and miss Sh’ezhinnir were different from Doctor Sekat's device. But they were all latched on to their cerebral cortex, which would explain their odd behavior."

"These imparts, what are they using as a power source?" M'Jart asked out of interest. The diplomatic stuff bores her, but this was something she could sink her teeth into.

"Abject misery. Sleeplessness. The tears of the innocent," Lilith offered her explanation.

"Without actually having examined them, it seems that they could be drawing chemical energy from an area of the brain like the amygdala that would overproduce stress hormones when the person is under increased sleeplessness and emotional overload," Dominic offered to the room. "My original theory included the amygdala since the behaviors were basic reactionary responses, but it is just a theory at the moment."

"And how do you explain physical changes? Like decalcification of bone structure?" Lhaes pointed out, "I have no doubt that poor yeoman is the only one with physical rather than physiological changes?"

"Well," Dominic began with a nod to Lhaes, "I agree it doesn't fully explain it. However, if these implants are in fact using hormones as a source of fuel somehow, it stands to reason that the pituitary would also be affected and normal functions such as bone density would be affected. However, to have it happen so rapidly is alarming."

"And this is why we have these little meetings." Jane had kept her voice calm but she really was angry, and she rarely got that way. Did she have some kind of strange device implanted in her too? She hadn't been running around sleeping with anyone but her new husband and she generally didn't feel any different than she normally did. Perhaps a bit tired but with the wedding, the extra family members on board and the negotiations to think about she'd brushed it off as just the usual stress of the starship captain.

"We can speculate all we want in here on what is happening with these implants," Sandy said, "But we won't know for sure until we safely remove one of them and examine it. The brain is a great big nerve center. We can't just poke around. We don't know how much attached these implants are, and I don't even know the EM pulse would have any effect on it. We just don't have enough information. Maybe we should speculate on how to remove them." She sighed looking at her padd and then continued, "We could open up someones head, do a preliminary surgery, figure out what these devices are, scan them. And maybe we can figure out a way to remove them safely."

"That's our top priority ladies and gentleman, along with not making a fool of ourselves with these negotiations. Please keep us informed doctor. Anyone have anything else?"

"One of the major races we will be interacting with is Telepathic." Tadez interjected. "We should be aware of what you think as it might be 'sensed' by those around you. SO in an Earth phrase, just think happy thoughts if possible."

"Somehow, I don't think that will be a problem for most of us," Jane quipped.

---

Lieutenant Sandra Adamson
Chief Medical Officer

Cassandra Leblanc-Reed
Civilian Diplomatic Officer

Chief Petty Officer M'Jart S'Rem
Assistant Chief Operations Officer

Lieutenant Commander Angus Murphy
Second Officer/Chief Engineer

Commander Shev Th'aziavak
Executive Officer

Lieutenant Lilith Sullivan
Chief Flight Control Officer

LtC Lhaes Sommers
Chief Security/Tactical Officer

Captain Jane Saulitis
Commanding Officer

Chief Petty Officer M'Jart S'Rem
Assistant Chief Operations Officer

Lieutenant Commander Dominic Aldrich
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant Neenyo Tadez
Chief Diplomatic Officer
PNPC by Vannan