Of What Help Can We Be?

Posted on Thu Mar 26th, 2020 @ 3:47am by Captain Gary Alexander & Lieutenant Commander Nicholas Kincaid & Lieutenant Ciara Perlit & Lieutenant JG Alexandra Campa & Karina Tell & Lieutenant JG Talia Flowers

2,016 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Mission 2 - Encounters of a First Kind
Location: Meeting Room
Timeline: 2168/07/27 1250

The walk to the meeting room was not long. The Captain was gracious but was mutually intrigued by the aliens and Talia Flowers who clearly had established a rapport with these creatures. The contact with these creatures, it would be wrong to call them aliens, as Horizon was truly the aliens here, could be critical to their understanding of this galaxy and a potential way to allies. They had to be bold and yet cautious.

Once at the meeting room, the doors opened and Gary went to his chair at the end of the table. He motioned for everyone to sit in their respective places, with KAT being right next to him, ready to take notes.

Talia stood with the newcomers (not sure what else to call them at this point) and waited for the doors to open to the Meeting Room.

It was then that Fornen and Kense took a collective sigh of relief and exchanged glances. Words that meant what they said... perhaps these aliens might be trustworthy. But it was far too early to rely on that... every interaction was a test. For them as well, they were sure.

They hesitated at the doors while they looked around the room, and then, after an encouraging nod from Talia, stepped through. Talia stepped back from the doorway as it slid closed behind them. Surprised, Fornen stepped backward and it automatically slid open again for them. He did this another couple of times to make sure that this was going to happen again and placed his hands on Kense's arms.

"So, my friends. I will not hold this like a traditional meeting. I am as curious as anyone else here. We would like to know more about you and why you thought our ship was salvage. Can you tell us where we are or what is here? We are lost."

"Lost." Fornen's nose crinkled as though trying to understand the word. 'Unsure of their surroundings. Unsure of their location. Unsure of how to return to their place of origin.' His mind worked through these rapid translations as he struggled to answer in terms that they might understand.

"You are here." He took a small item from his belt and set it on the table between them. A holographic image of the unknown system took shape before them in mid-air. A small dot flashed right beside a rather large marking and lighter colored area surrounding the space.

"Beside the Korflidia Targon." His hands gestured through the area and it rippled a little as though the very air around them suspended the image. "Dangerous place."

Fornen nodded sagely and crossed both pairs of his hands across his abdomen. "Ships here... abandoned." Was it fear? Or simply some other thing that deposited death around the place? He didn't question... he simply accepted it as truth and survived so far by doing just as he was.

"My people have salvaged here for many times." Talia listened and tried to find a similar system of time measurement that might be comparable. Instead, it was just this unknown quantity with no known reference. She imagined it was generations of their people, but not knowing their expected life spans... so much to learn! Talia was so very excited about these new opportunities!

"No lives onboard ships. And no debris left behind that was worth currency."

KAT logged everything with insight and objectivity. Her aspirations of being an Ambassador took a backseat to the needs of the ship. And its Captain. Besides, Ensign Flowers had this part down: communication was key. But that didn't mean that she might be 100% correct... KAT kept an eye on everyone to make sure that body language was consistent with the words. As much as she could decide that the body language was similar to their own... what else did any of them have to go on?

Gary asked the immediate questions that came to his mind, "What is the Korflidia Targon and why is it dangerous?"

Ciara only sat and listened. She wasn't quite sure what to make of all this. She loved the science of being somewhere new but at the same time she didn't.

Nick listened intently as well, but felt the need to interject to support his Captain. "New friends, please assume that we know even less than you might think we do. We truly are lost, and new to this area of space. We've never heard of the Korflidia Targon, and we don't recognize the system on your map."

Fornen nodded and listened, then moved towards the window in the conference room. "There." He closed his eyes for a moment as though it might disappear from his nightmares if he could no longer see it. But he knew that it was there.

"Korflidia Targon." Talia wondered why the words weren't translating. And then she realized that it was a proper noun. A name.

"Down there." He swallowed reflexively and looked at each of the faces of the people in the room. Kense closed her eyes as well, but for a whole other reason... she knew that her partner was going to do his famous narration... she had heard so many times that she had almost memorized it as well.

"People don't come here." He let the words settle between everyone and then he began to speak. Slowly. Warming up to his subject matter like a fine snifter of heated brandy. "Not anymore."

Kense settled back on her legs and rested her back against the wall. She felt like this was going to be quite involved.

"It was the time of the First Conflagration, when War had ravaged this part of the rim." He sighed softly and looked almost as though he was going to take a pull from a non-existent pipe. "The place you see before you was once a bustling place of trade and commerce." He gazed down at the planet and then turned back to the room. "But what happened was so dark..." He paused for effect. "So unbelievably horrible..."

Kense coughed politely, interrupting her partner's momentum. You could see Fornen deflate slightly at the sound. "It's quite simple Cap. Ten. And not Cap. Ten." She nodded at Nick who has also asked. "Korflidia Targon, also known as "The Tar" was a prison planet."

"And now, it's a place where no one goes." Fornen interjected, trying to win the audience back. "Because they never come back!"

Alex sat and listened curiously. She looked to the other members of the Away Team, wondering if they were the first to have returned. It was a question she did not ask out loud.

"So that planet," Nick remarked, trying to get the details right, "was where the galaxy's worst criminals were exiled. But there's no one there now, it seemed. We found no one, aside from the giant worm."

Fornen deflated slightly and Kense's lips curled upward in what could only be described as a grin. "So, you were there," she said to Nick. "And you lived." She looked at Fornen deliberately. "So, your story will have to change, won't it?"

Fornen didn't miss a beat. "I am honored to be in the presence of such formidable creatures!" The worm. Not just any worm but a GIANT worm. "To overcome such a foe. You must be great warriors!"

Kense was sure there had to be more than one worm because rarely does life occur singularly and without purpose... or mate. A wise idea not to set foot onto the surface of The Tar again. She smiled politely, seeming to echo her partner's belief. But if that were the case... what would they want with them?

"I wouldn't calls us warriors," Ciara finally said, speaking up a little, her accent thicker than normal for whatever reason. "We are explorers."

Fornen and Kense looked for Ciara to each other and exchanged confused looks. "Ex. Plo. Rahs?" Then they turned to Talia. "What is this ex. plo. rahs?"

KAT jumped in and said easily, "People who are searching. Looking. Seeking."

The aliens' faces discolored slightly. "Like us?" Kense's voice was soft, wary.

“We’re not looking for things,” Nick clarified, “like salvage. We search for knowledge. We visit new places to learn all we can about them.” He smiled at Fornen. “Some of us have fought, though. We had to defend ourselves against a terrible enemy some years ago, but that is behind us.”

Fornen leaned forward slightly to speak directly to Nick, "How far behind?"

Kense rolled her eyes upward, perhaps evolution had managed to keep this look of disdain crossing wide expanses of the universe. "Fornen. Dearest. Shut. Up."

Kense looked around the room anxiously and surveyed each face slowly and intently. "What do you need from us, Cap. Ten?"

Nick smiled at both Fornen’s interest and Kense’s attempt to move the conversation forward. He leaned forward toward Fornen. “We’ll talk later,” he assured their guest.

"Need?" asked Gary to Kense. "We are far from home. We came here by accident from another galaxy. We don't know how to get back or if it is possible. Any help that you would be willing to give us in terms of maps, or the beings out here, would be appreciated."

"Ah." Kense nodded and sighed, stepping aside for Fornen. He was in his element and she? She knew when to get out of his way.

"Maps." He tapped his belt, indicating the small sphere. He had pulled it out when trying to show where The Tar had been. It was a prized possession, one he had to trade heavily for. "Do you have any way of copying this information?"

That, at least, was a start.

Nick looked at the sphere being held in front of them. It was, by definition, very alien. But he’d made alien technology work with Starfleet systems before. “With your help, I’m sure we could make an adaptor.” He looked to Ciara. “I’ll want your help with this, too.” Ci’s experience with sensor technology could be useful. He looked at his Captain. “Worst case scenario, Serenity and I can copy the information manually.”

"Wonderful!" Gary told everyone. "Let's make that a priority. And make our guests welcome." He turned to Fornen. "While you're doing that, though, can you tell us anything about the governments or beings out in this galaxy? Any places where we might find assistance? Might you want to come with us?" Gary paused and said, "I know that is a great deal of questions but we appreciate your help."

Fornen looked at Kense and indicated the sphere. "Go with them," he said. "It's of great value, and worth at least 5 of my ships." Anything that could provide a map to the various systems, as well as the varying lines of trade, commerce, and territory. Turning back to the Captain he said, "I do not need her here to tell you about the system." He didn't ask if it was all right, he simply sent Kense with his property. It seemed to be custom. Or perhaps overly careful planning.

Turning back to the table, he nodded at each person and said, "Let me tell you of the place you find yourselves, and then you can determine whether or not you wish us to accompany you." And also, Kense could determine whether it might be of mutual benefit for them to accompany the Horizon as well.

Clearing his throat, he reached into his belt to pull out a small flask. "To help soothe the voice." He warmed to his audience. "This could take a while..."

Nick looked at Kense and gestured to the door. “Main engineering is a few decks down. If you’ll come with me and Ciara, we can leave Fornen and the Captain to talk.”

Kense nodded and said, "I think that's best." She made a strange clucking sound in her throat that turned out to be laughter. "He wasn't exaggerating about it taking a while." If Kense knew anything, it was that Fornen was not afraid to talk. A lot.

 

RSS Feed