The Way Down

Posted on Wed Aug 5th, 2026 @ 8:06am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Commander Christine J'Oh & Emilie Temple & Lieutenant Jarok

Mission: A New Day at Midnight
Location: Turbo Lift
Timeline: After "The White Diamond Nebula"

ON:

Nyx had excused himself from the Bridge after they had discovered the Scout ship in the midst of the Nebula. He left Cale in the Command Chair to oversee the Pandora's positioning to bring the Scout into the Shuttle Bay. Nyx decided he was going to oversee the Scout's docking himself, so he was going to Deck 15 himself. As the lift doors shut in front of him and Nyx called for the computer to send him down to the Shuttle Bay, he relaxed a little. The loud sounds of the Bridge died down, and it was just the gentle hum of the lift's movements in his ears now. The trip through the Nebula had been fraught with tension, shaking, and the constant pings of alerts, so he was glad to have a moment's peace.

As Captain, he wanted to be present to welcome the new arrivals on board himself; something he had always tried to do whenever there was onboarding senior officers. The circumstances of Frost and Lashmore's arrival had been especially unique, given the Pandora had seemingly stumbled across them in the middle of this nebula; the two apparently being arranged to rendezvous with the ship in this unusual location, both as they head towards Omipro. Starfleet liked to do things backwards sometimes. But from the quick scan of the credentials he had seen, Nyx was pleased by the appointment, as strange as it was. Having two more additional Chief officers, especially in the Security and Intelligence departments, was a big positive for the ship.

The lift had only descended a couple of decks before it came to a soft stop on Deck Five. Nyx was a little annoyed as time was against them, but his annoyance quickly faded when the doors opened and he saw it was Emilie and Katrine waiting in the corridor. His wife was holding a bloodied towel to his daughter's face; the child's eyes reddened with anguished tears very recently shed.

"Oh no. What happened?" Nyx called out as they entered, his 'Commanding Officer' voice immediately code-switching to his gentle parent tone.

"Oi fuff my whips." Katrine complained, her words muffled by the towel.

Nyx kneeled down and tried to hide the smile on his face, as he looked to his daughter's sorrowful expression. "What, honey?"

"She split her lip." Emilie spoke for her with a parent's patience. "Little miss was trying to get a better view of the Diamond Nebula so she climbed onto the window in the Observation Lounge. Despite me telling her that it was unsafe to do so." She looked over the panel and called out, "Deck Six." To the computer.

"Uh huh-ta uh buffuh fook." Katrine whined.

Nyx had to suppress his laugh now, looking up to Emilie who was doing the same thing. "Sorry?"

"She wanted a better look." Emilie translated. "Unfortunately, the ship rocked a little hard and Katy went flying into the bulk-head."

"Ah, so that's when you fuffed your whips." Nyx couldn't help but smirk.

"Da-phf!" Katrine scowled. She tried to pout but that only brought her a stinging pain, and she held her hand to the cloth. "Ow!"

"I'm sorry, darling, I don't mean to make fun." Nyx said gently, placing a hand on her shoulders. "But you should have listened to your mother."

"Uh noof." Katrine nodded.

Emily could only shake her head, "We're going to see Medical now. It doesn't look too deep, hopefully they can fix her right up." The doors opened onto Deck Six and Emilie sighed, "Ah good. Is.. everything okay? I notice we've stopped?"

"It's fine." Nyx said, "We're picking up some new crew."

"Ah." Emilie nodded, taking that in, but then the unusualness of the situation dawned on her and she frowned, "Wait.. Out here?"

Nyx shrugged. "Apparently."

"Mmm-hmm!" Katrine protested, eager to get going and get her wound fixed.

"We'll see you later. I'll send a message when she's done with Medical." Emilie said, taking the hint. "William's in day care, he's fine. Will we see you for dinner?"

"Not sure." Nyx frowned a little, as he tried to put on a smile for Katrine. "Hopefully." He said to her.

Nyx's 'hopefully's were always the addendum to any promise he made; the qualifier that used to work when the kids were little and Nyx knew he was unlikely to make it. Katrine understood what 'hopefully' meant, enough that she only nodded quietly in response.

"Okay." Emilie nodded, she understood the demands of the job that her husband had; he didn't always make it home in time for meals. But she knew that he would always try.

Just as Emilie and Katrine were about to disembark from the lift, there came a hurried cry from out in the corridor. "Hold the lift!"

Lieutenant Commander Christine J'Oh bustled inside, carrying two metal Triage cases in both hands and one tucked under each arm. "Oh hello Temples." She breathlessly smiled. Nyx instinctively took possession of two of the cases, giving Christine some relief from her overburdened arms. "Thank you, Captain."

"Christine, we were just coming to see you." Emilie explained, looking down at Katrine. "But you're busy?"

"Very." Christine sighed. "Ensign DeVine is on duty though, she'll see to you."

"You hear that, honey? Raven will help you." Emilie said broadly to her daughter.

"Whooo." Was Katrine's muffled replied. Katrine loved Raven, she always thought she was like a magical princess from her storybooks come to life.

"We should go." Emilie said, patting Katrine on the shoulders, "See you, J'Oh. Love you, Nyx."

"Luff hoo." Katrine waved as the two exited the lift.

As the doors closed, Christine smiled bashfully to the Captain, "Sorry about all this. I'm just trying to get everything ready for the Medical Away Team in the Transporter Room. Deck Eight." She instructed the computer.

"We have a team for this." Nyx remarked, raising his eyebrows. "You don't have to do everything yourself."

"Ugh, I know. I need everything prepped and organized, the way I like it." Christine shrugged; her passion for making a checklist always coming second to her passion for completing that checklist. "And everyone's busy. I have triage in Medical cleared out and ready, the private rooms are prepared for intensive care cases, and all Medical staff are on duty."

Nyx nodded along, knowing Christine was saying this more for her own benefit than his. "Good, good."

"I'm setting up non-urgent medical self-serve treatment for the crew in the research lab, I've utilized Deck 5 to handle any stable, recovering patients in the Eclipse Lounge." Christine continued, unabated. "I haven't decided whether to activate the EMH in case we need additional hands just yet. It'll depend on what we're looking at when we get there."

"You're ready." Nyx said pointedly, looking his friend and officer in the eyes. "You are."

"Thank you, I think so." Christine smiled back. "I'm assuming there's been a total collapse of their medical infrastructure, worst case scenario. Hopefully this won't all be necessary, but you never know."

"Never hurts to be prepared." Nyx agreed gently.

The doors opened onto Deck 8 and Christine took in a breath. Nyx helped to slide the cases back under her arms.

"Right." She started towards the door and then stopped, looking back at Nyx, "Did you say we have new crew members coming?"

"Two new Chief Officers." Nyx nodded happily.

"Chief Medical?" She asked hopefully, wondering if there was the possibility that someone else could come help her.

"Security and Intelligence." Nyx answered with a shake of his head.

"Damn." Christine sighed. "Oh well. Back to it." She huffed as she trundled out of the lift and towards the Transporter Room.

The lift doors closed and Nyx smiled to himself. He was damn lucky to have such a diligent and knowledgeable crew; they weren't wasting a second being prepared for this mission. And that is why, he had realised to himself, Starfleet had chosen the Pandora for this new mission type. Because Starfleet Command knew that the Pandora crew could handle something like this; that they would respond with haste and efficiency no matter the incident or emergency. He was proud to have a crew so dedicated and prepared. He made a mental note to thank them once the Omipro crisis was over.

As the lift reached Deck 12, Engineering, it came to a stop again, the doors opening once more. Nyx was only three decks away from where he needed to be. Lieutenant Jarok was patiently waiting in the corridor outside. Nyx nodded respectfully to him as the Vulcan's eyes came upon him. Nyx couldn't help but look over to the panel, wondering when this lift ride was going to reach his destination.

"I apologise Captain, are you in hurry?" Jarok asked plainly, sensing the Captain's hesitance, and he refrained from entering the lift.

"No, not really." Nyx stood aside to allow Jarok to enter. "We're still positioning ourselves to bring the Scout onboard."

"A difficult task in our present environment." Jarok stoically said as he stood in the lift, arms clasped behind his back. "I am sure Ensign Milkovich will perform the task carefully."

"He will." Nyx smiled.

"Deck 17." Jarok called out to the lift. "I myself was assisting in Engineering. The damage has been minimal, however our journey through the Nebula has been taxing on our energy reserves."

"We'll need to get our shields back up to their full strength as soon as we exit the Nebula." Nyx remarked, "I'll have Lieutenant J'Oh take care of it."

"Indeed." Jarok remarked. He looked across to the Captain, "One of the new arrivals will be taking the Chief Intelligence role?"

"Yes, Lieutenant, thank you for stepping in as Acting Chief while the Pandora got underway." Nyx said earnestly, looking to the Vulcan. "I was not expecting Lieutenant Frost to arrive this way, but I'm grateful the department will have two strong leaders."

"I was appreciative of the opportunity to lead the Intelligence Department, if only for this short time." Jarok responded. He paused then tilted his head. "If I may speak candidly, Captain. I found it to be a... strain. Specifically, on my time with my daughter."

"Ah, yes." Nyx smiled knowingly, "I get that."

"We are only beginning our bonding and serving as Acting Chief was detrimental to my parenting abilities. Especially as a single parent." Jarok continued, explaining the logic behind his thoughts. "I am grateful that there will be a permanent Chief now, so that I may dedicate more time to raising Sha'El."

Nyx merely nodded.

"I do intend to hold a Chief position in the future." Jarok quickly added on, "I do not wish to derelict my career. However, as Sha'El and I are learning to live together and co-exist, I must find a satisfactory balance between duties and family."

Nyx put a knowing had on his shoulder, "Jarok, please. I completely understand. My daughter, right now, is in Medical after she split her lip open. I know the struggles of balancing. Believe me. I don't think less of you as an officer for wanting to step back down again at all. In fact," He shrugged, "I think it makes you a better officer."

Jarok nodded plainly, accepting the Captain's word. "I do hope your daughter is okay."

"Nothing they can't fix, I'm sure." Nyx shrugged, "She takes after me, unfortunately. Always climbing up somewhere, adventuring. She has no fear."

"Sha'El is more interested in her reading." Jarok replied, carefully. "I wish that she would play more."

"Then, by all means, let's organise sometime between them." Nyx said warmly, "I'm sure they could teach each other a thing or two about life as a kid."

"That would be acceptable." Jarok replied.

Finally, the lift reached Temple's destination on Deck 15. The doors parted and Nyx nodded to the Lieutenant.

"Let's get through this mission first, and we'll make it happen." He said, genuinely hopeful.

"Indeed." Jarok nodded.

Moving out of the lift and into the corridor, Nyx was feeling a little boost from his conversations; he had initially wanted some peace and quiet; but the interruptions had proven to be insightful. He clapped his hands together loudly as he walked out into the Shuttle Bay.

"Let's get that shuttle inside!" He called out loudly to the team.

OFF