Dilemmas, solutions, decisions and risks

The medical team swiftly removed David Roger's environmental suit as the captain removed his own helmet and quickly explained the essential details of what occurred to the leaders of the medical team. He could see Doctor Nasaro-Myth giving a momentary I warned you look, but the Deltan did not state anything other than medical orders to his staff.

Within a matter of seconds the staff had Rogers secured on the biobed while different medical team members was running through a series of tests and assessment simultaneously. While this was going on, Elliago leaned over and quietly assured the captain that the preliminary readings looked good and that there was really nothing more he could do here in sickbay.  Syntron accepted the doctor's prognosis and soon exited sickbay; that is once the doctor reassured him that he would continue to send an update on the engineers's progress.

As he entered the corridor, the captain engaged his uniform's combadge.

"Lieutenant Friedman. Meet me in my Ready Room in thirty minutes."

As he closed the connection, Syntron headed into the turbolift and directed it to deck two.

He arrived into the captain's quarters moments later, removed the rest of the environmental suit and slung it over a chair. After replicating a cup of tea, the captain took a seat at his terminal and engaged the device. He then activated his combadge once again.

"Lieutenant Stephanie Decatur, report to my Ready Room in twenty-seven point five minutes. Captain out"

Below in one of the science labs, there was a slight but audible yelp heard emanating from a very nervous Trill nanotechnologist.

                                                                                                                                                         *             *             *

Onboard the alien spaceship and the caverns surrounding it the away team Commander Riker was overseeing the away team's return to the ship.  Waving his hands and yelling his commands Riker ran through the caverns navigating the teams departure.

"Move out ...everyone move out."

As the hum of transporters filled the corners of the caverns Riker it was only drowned out by the clicks and snaps of containers being closed and cases being locked.  Watching two crewman struggle to carry a case together Riker leaned in and lifted the case on his shoulder.  The crewman stood for a moment shocked by the strength of their first officer before he broke the tensions with a subtle joke.

"I got this one grab the heavy one over there"

As the two crewman ran off Riker walked a few meters and placed the container within a circle of pattern buffers tapping the container and nodding to the two crewman Riker watched as the group disappeared under the hum of a transporter beam.  Turning his attention towards the back of the area Riker saw several security personnel being directed by Josh Vincent.

"That is the last of the science teams are all your security personnel accounted for?"

Vincent nodded the affirmative as he directed the rest of his team into the transporter area.  Leaning over Riker directed his security chief

"Go ahead Commander I will finish up here.  All that is left is the final beam out with the buffers"

"Aye sir"

As Josh Vincent stepped into the area where the pattern buffers were located the security team beamed back to the ship.  Walking over and grabbing one of the pattern buffers Riker placed it in the middle and followed with all the others.  As the buffers were now ready for final transport out Riker did one final look around the cavern seeing something off in the distance glittering in the dirty floor below.

Walking over to the object Riker noticed it was a small container that was starfleet issue for sample collection, but appeared empty.  Noticing that the lid was a bit loose Riker tightened it back down and placed the item in his pocket.

"I guess we took an air sample" Riker thought to himself

Placing the container in his pocket Riker walked over the connected pattern buffers and contacted the ship.

"This is Commander Riker, lock onto the pattern buffers and beam the entire section and myself back to the ship."

The hum of the transporter filled the cavern one last time as Commander Riker beamed away materializing onboard the ship with the pattern buffers.

*             *             *

Sitting in his chair in the Ready Room twenty-one minutes later, the chime was actuated from the other side of the door.

"Enter" the captain commanded as he continued entering information to his file.

With obvious trepidation, the diminutive Trill scientist hesitantly crept her way into the room and stood looking downward about five meters from the captain's desk. She eventually broke the awkward silence.

"You asked to see me captain?" she inquired, tying not to allow her voice to crackle as she spoke.

"Lieutenant Decateur, please have a seat" Syntron stated without yet making eye contact, his focus still on the display as he continued entering data into his file.

Stephanie Decatur was feeling a sense of Déjà Vu as she half-heartedly inched her way up to a chair and slithered her tiny frame into it. The last time she was sitting in this position the captain had asked her to served temporarily as the chief scientist until a replacement was found; which much to her enormous relief, was fulfilled by Kalynda Hunter. Prior to that the captain had pursuaded her to run her implementation of the nanites on this ship, out in space, rather than from her familiar lab on the starbase. There was a pattern occurring here that made the Trill even more nervous than she normally was, which in her case was distressed; even in the calmest of circumstances.

As typically stoic for a Vulcan, Syntron unemotionally announced "It would seem that some of your nanites had escaped into the nebula while we were in the process of cooling our over-heated systems while disengaging the quantum slipstream drive."

The captain then shifted his glance from the display into the eyes of the downcast Trill, who's mouth had involuntarily gaped as she slunk even further down into the chair, yet not a sound was uttered.

The captain continued without hesitation.

"Normally Lieutenant, this would not have been catastrophic, much less a priority or concern. However, your nanites have now made their way into this planetoid's automated system and are currently wreaking havoc on all of its systems throughout this developing world."

Just as those words were spoken, Lieutenant Kathleen Friedman activated the chime. Stephanie's face meanwhile turned a mixture of pale and blushed, as if she couldn't decide whether to faint or run out of the room as the Draylaxian stepped inside to join them.

((input from Friedman))

"We have a dilemma before us. We are almost ready to depart this planetoid but cannot do so in good conscience knowing that nanites released previously from this vessel have unintentionally impacted the alien systems below. Lieutenant Friedman here" the captain gestured "would like to lead a team that would remain here to study this intriguing world and it's potentially emerging life forms to a much greater degree. However, these nanites have accelerated the terraforming process and thus have negated the opportunity for either of these options to occur."

The captain then stood up from his chair and walked over to the replicator.

"May I offer either of you a beverage?"

The Trill barely shook her head horizontally while a million or more thoughts competitively raced around her overactive mind.

((response from Kathleen?))

He then replicated a cup of Vulcan spiced tea and resumed his position in the captain's chair.

"While I was on the alien ship, a psionic link was established with an artificial intelligence created from a species among those designated to be re-established, once this planetoid becomes habitable for them. An "agreement" was reached in which I affirmed that we would eradicate the nanites from their systems before any further damage was inflicted."

Syntron then drew his attention the two officers sitting before him.

"This is where the two of you come into the equation of working toward reaching a practical solution. Lieutenant Decatur, being the designer, creator and resident expert on these nanites, you are hereby being placed in charge of eliminating all traces of these nanites within the alien systems."

Stephanie's eyes opened so wide it looked as if they would simply roll out of her head and continue traveling along the spotless floor.

Syntron ignored the reaction and turned his attention to the Draylaxian.

"Lieutenant Friedman, this will be your opportunity to show me what you and your assembled team can accomplish down there. You will lead this mission and work with Lieutenant Decatur to complete this objective as timely and thoroughly as possible. All non-essential personnel will be removed from the site prior to your arrival back down to the surface.  Commander Riker will also be present on the surface to oversee everything that occurs."

He then looked seriously at the Draylaxian.

"Succeeding with this obligation, coupled with the thoroughness and plausibility of your proposal will be paramount in any decision made about the possibility of long-term away mission Lieutenant."

The captain then leaned back slightly in his chair as he inquired.

"Are there any questions regarding this mission?" 

((questions/responses?))

The discussion continued for several minutes after all of the preliminary questions were answered, although Stephanie Decatur mostly nodded and attempted to smile as the details of the alien ship and the experiences of the captain and Commander Rogers were summarized. The last thing that she wanted to encounter was some powerful alien entity seizing her mind and controlling her.

Once the meeting was adjourned, Stephanie and Kathleen went their separate ways but were committed to meeting in the main transporter in thirty minutes. This would allow time for each of them to prepare any equipment or materials that they would bring to the surface. Stephanie would also need to have an environmental suit replicated for her, which would probably look like a child's suit due to her small frame.

Stepping onto the transporter pad thirty minutes later, Stephanie tried desperately to look calm and collected while she struggled not to hyperventilate within her helmet. Her eyes closed as the beam began to dematerialize her atoms and molecules, and they stayed closed even when she had rematerialized within the main cavern chamber of the planetoid. That was until Kathleen had tapped her helmet several times and her eyes popped wide open and then darted from side-to-side.

While standing on the transporter pad before transport, Stephanie had adjusted her helmet's visor to 245 nm, into the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum as Kathleen Friedman had recommended. However, the Draylaxian had not prepared her for the brilliantly glowing color display that she would experience upon their arrival. It was like something she would experience in the deepest REM cycle, only even more vast and vivid. She cautiously began to walk around the mesmerizing panels, displays and glyphs in awe.

"Oh my... what have I gotten myself into now?"  the diminutive Trill wondered to herself over and over again, as she continued gazing around the cavernous room filled with glowing alien technology.

((continue on...))