SD 241401.18 | "Welcome Mat" | CO & XO | Capt Landon Neyes, Cmdr Ivanova, LtCmdr Almar Dahe'el

Posted on Wed Feb 19th, 2014 @ 8:05am by Captain Landon Neyes & Admiral Rochelle Ivanova

1,219 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: In the Dark
Location: Vindicator Camp
Timeline: The morning of the 2nd day

=/\= Vindicator Camp =/\=

The morning hours had given rise to a new definition of peaceful beauty. Like a picturesque fantasy-land, Notura’s pearly white landscape glistened as the dim sunlight started to shine over the mountains at the edge of the valley. Like little divots, the tops of the oddly familiar trees poked upward, rolling down towards the center of the circular valley. The Vindicator camp sat at the edge of the mountains opposite the Noturan city, which was just barely visible at this distance, and they could not have chosen a more serene position.

Landon rubbed his hands together pleasantly, trying to recapture the warmth of the runabout he’d left after waking just 30 minutes before. Still relatively dark for a morning anywhere else in the galaxy, the trim lights of Ivanova's runabout lit up the snowy ground underfoot. He walked tiredly up to the entrance of the Liberty, and was quickly welcomed with her heated environmental systems. The crisp Noturan air had certainly assisted his sleepiness however, as he was now wide awake and holding his hands to his face to warm up.

The first order of business was to check in with his first officer, and see where she was at with preparing her team for departure. If the Noturan delegation didn’t arrive soon, he was going to send her out with the mining team anyway. The mission to survey the crude matter was more important than playing a game of ‘hurry up and wait.’

Rochelle sat sentinel near the controls and panels lit up with virtual displays of the planet. Even the weather was being monitored and watched with great interest by the redhead who kept her hands tucked around the warmth of an early morning cup of coffee. She could hear the footfalls coming closer, see the Trill from the corner of her eye. "Good morning, sunshine." She greeted him, pressing a button to bring the screen of swirling weather patterns up to the forefront.

"I trust these runabout sleeping arrangements treated you well last night, Commander." Neyes said, taking a seat next to her.

Rochelle nearly grunted in response, turning her head to the side to stretch out her neck. "I assume you notice the size of the room? I don't think I could have been more comfortable if it was filled with a downy soft lining and filled with puppies."

Neyes turned as the door down the corridor opened once again to the cold exterior.

"Commander Dahe'el, how did you sleep? I hope the camping beds weren't too uncomfortable." Neyes said, welcoming in the engineer.

The Cardassian simply grunted as he installed himself in the warmest place he could find, the cold weather was playing havoc with his body, he was feeling sluggish and unresponsive and it took all the willpower he had to drag himself out of the camp bed, "Weather, uncomfortable." were the only words to pass his lips as he huddled down next to a heater.

Landon cringed. He hadn't paid much attention to the plight of the Chief Engineer the night before. An attacking creature from the dark of the forest had naturally taken precedence. Still, he felt responsible for bringing the man into such an inhospitable environment in the first place. "Cardassians. Rochelle it's nearly minus fifteen degrees Celsius outside right now. We're going to need to find a way to keep him warm if we expect the be able to mine out the crude matter."

Neyes grabbed another blanket from storage and draped it over Dahe'el. He knew it wasn't going to make the difference, but he needed to express the gesture. Having not connected the dots between the cold, hostile environment and the cold-blooded Engineer was almost as inexcusable as not realizing it was a problem until the second day. The blanket was a simple Starfleet issue beige, and almost camouflaged itself in the man's skin. Landon noticed it was a touch grayer than normal, however. "Computer, increase temperature five degrees."

The Cardassian gave a slight nod as he felt the blanket fall across his broad shoulders, he had augmented his standard winter uniform with a second complete uniform, giving him a rather impressive bulk, his natural height combined with his hunched form making him appear extremely large.

Neyes turned to his XO and held out his hand, arm reaching the distance between himself and Rochelle. He held his hand, palm up, and looked at the cup of coffee she was holding.

"Huh." She said, not looking up from her readout.

"Give it up. You don't look like you need any more caffeine, anyway." He teased, his boyish grin lighting up his face.

Ivanova shot him a dramatic look of pained distaste, "How dare you. Caffeine is the nectar of the Gods, Captain." She looked to the Chief Engineer and grimaced, "It looks like he needs it more than I do, though. Take it."

With a playful bow, he accepted the coffee from Rochelle and carefully put it into Almar's frozen hands. "If you don't like coffee, at least hold it to warm up. How's the work on the tricorders coming? Any progress?"

"Made some..." Almar replied before he took a sip of the coffee and shivered slightly as it sent warming feelings down his spine, "Shielding, internal components... re-calibrate matrix."

"Good. Maybe we can figure out where the hell we are when we get moving. I'd like to avoid getting lost in the woods if we can help it." Neyes said.

A slight buzz came over the comm line. Even if someone was outside the entrance of the runabout, it was far enough for the magnetic interference to cause havoc with the signal. "Captain, someone is approaching the camp." A nameless voice reported.

Neyes looked to Rochelle, "Looks like the Noturans are finally here. Game face on, Commander." He turned to the Chief Engineer, "Warm up, Almar. Even if the commbadges and tricorders aren't perfect, the mining team is going out anyway. Work out of the runabout until we leave for the Noturan city.

He paused. "At least I hope that's where they want us."

"Have three tested..." Almar replied as he fumbled around inside his uniform pockets and pulled out three commbadges, their backs removed and a significant blocky device attached to them, "Not perfect, should work enough, tied into shuttle communications."

Grabbing her coat, Rochelle threw it over her shoulders as they sped out the door.

The door to the runabout opened quickly as the two command staff rushed out to greet the incoming Noturan delegation. It was just as calm as it had been yesterday, despite a relatively heavy snow-fall which had continued throughout the night. Landon could make out eight or nine humanoid figures walking through he newly-fallen snow on their way towards the Vindicator camp. Had it taken them all night to cross the forest and greet them, Neyes wondered. Or if the treacherous hazards of the planet would have forced them to wait until morning, which is exactly what Landon would have done.

Landon and Rochelle walked up to the edge of camp, meeting the Noturans just outside the larger of the camp structures they'd erected last night.

=/\= TBC =/\=

Captain Landon Neyes
Commanding Officer

Commander Rochelle Ivanova
Executive Officer

Lt. Commander Almar Dahe'el
Chief Engineering Officer
USS VINDICATOR

 

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