Stairway to Heaven

Posted on Tue Jun 23rd, 2020 @ 1:13am by Cailus Griffin & Ensign T'Kemi & Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant John Sandoval & Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri-Smith & Ensign Emmanuelle Larose
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:21pm

Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: Shuttle / Paradise

A Mission Post by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Cailus Griffin & Lieutenant John Sandoval & Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri & Ensign T'Kemi & Ensign Emmanuelle Larose
Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: Shuttle / Paradise
Timeline:
Thu Nov 15th, 2018 @ 4:20am

The Captain's Yacht slowly made her way across the Exclusion Zone surrounding Paradise, the crew inside all consciously aware the Outpost had impeccable security that was watching them intently. The small shuttle was close to reaching the open docking point, but none of them could relax until they had actually arrived. Breaking through the silence however was the barrage of noise from the local communications channels, with constant hails from other ships still stuck in traffic around the station. They were quite loudly declaring their disgust that the Federation ship was being allowed to dock ahead of them, or trying to find out how the Pandora managed to be granted an invite.

"Every few seconds there's another hail." Nyx murmured as he sat in the co-pilot's seat next to Lieutenant Griffin, tapping away at his console. "We've got a Ferengi ship wanting to offer us a bribe to arrange a deal for them on Paradise. It's intense out there."

"Intense is one word for it" Krysia was finding it hard to relax, the ramped up emotions going on around them were impossible to shut out no matter how hard she tried. "The sheer numbers of people combined with their....dislike of us, is causing quite a stir." She sat massaging her temples trying to ignore the headache it was giving her.

"We'll just need to make certain that the Irokari mission goes smoothly," John said, sitting in the aft of the Captain's yacht, satchel bag on his lap and cane between his knees. He reached into the bag and retrieved a small holo-imager. He gave it to Krysia. "Counselor, if you can be responsible for this, please?" he asked. "Captain, for your awareness, we've pre-written a release for the Federation News Service, which I recommend we also share with any media outlets present on the station. It details the humanitarian mission of the Pandora on Paradise Station. Accompanied by a photo of you, Ms. Katya, and the head of the Irokari delegation, it should help improve our standing in the system. Happy to show it to you or to Commander Nash before transmitting it."

"Wonderful." Nyx smiled, turning back to look at the Chief Diplomat. "Let's hope the meeting goes as well as your press release. I got the impression from Katya she will be a hard one to win over."

"Perhaps" Krysia nodded. "But to be in charge of this place I'd imagine she has to be extremely cautious and very careful who she deals with. I think being on a station run by a female might make me feel right at home!" She smirked. "My home planet is a matriarchal society."

At the helm, Cailus simply focused on flying the yacht, not engaging in the chatter. "Docking clearance granted," he said finally, reading out the brief text message from the station. Paradise itself was immense now, filling the forward viewport with its bulk as the yacht slowly eased into the open docking bay.

Docking clamps latched onto the yacht and the shuttle came to a gentle halt. They were inside of a small bay, clearly made for small crafts only, though there was no attendant to greet them. The hull doors closed behind them automatically with a near inaudible swish. Everything ran incredibly smoothly

“Let’s go.” Nyx nodded to the others as they filed out of the yacht.

Krysia stood and filed out of the shuttle mid group, she was curious to say the least, as to what reception they'd receive.

The group moved forward the front of the bay and the doors slid open. Instead of coming out onto the station, however, they were greeted by another small room. It seemed to be a clear cube inside of white shell. As soon as the last person entered, the doors slid closed again and polite female voice began to speak to them.

“nuqneH maS Hol Sep!” It said, followed by another sentence in another language. “Thov lub xeev nej cov lus dua!” She stated. “Sanoi fupa s' ish-veh gen-lis.” The voice continued to repeat the same sentence is a series of different languages. “Aeh state ieiuqh doaege!”

“Mr Sandoval, any guesses what they want?” Nyx asked, raising an eyebrow.

Krysia looked at Sandoval, she had to admit she wasn't sure what the voice was asking. "Maybe it's asking us to state a preferred language? It seems to be giving is a variety just not ours."

“I get that impression as well, Captain,” replied John. “I recognized the Klingon word for ‘language’ in there. And the voice asking the question seems friendly enough.” John took a step towards what he assumed was the front of the room. Emmanuelle was at his side and tried to step forward with him, but he signaled her to stand away. “Greetings from the United Federation of Planets. We thank you for your courtesy. Our preferred language is Federation Standard.”

“Federation Standard accepted.” She replied, though the station’s voice interpretations were a little disjointed. “Welcoming you at Paradise Outhouse. Please will you remain peaceful as your shipment commences.”

The wall ahead of them parted and the small room began to move forward, the glass cube acting as a transport vehicle. They emerged to see a series of similar cubes passing back and forth around the docking ring of the station, along a highway of clear tunnels. Occasionally one cube would stop, the walls would part and it would disappear into somewhere unknown. The whole process appeared to be completely automated and seamless.

All Krysia could do was marvel at the experience. It was amazing how everything ran so seamlessly, it was almost like a turbolift journey but without the see through walls. It was fascinating to see how everything worked.

Eventually their cube slowed down and then descended several levels into a dark tunnel, before coming to a complete stop.

“You are arrived.” Came the announcement, as the wall opened. “This is the Atrium Level.”

Ahead of them appeared a wide open promenade, with two levels of glass and silver walkways. Spotted along every few metres were a series of small curated trees from different origins, and one very large tree in the centre of the boulevard. The Atrium Level appeared to be for high-level officials, as it was sparsely populated with only a few distinguishedly dressed people walking around. As the doors to the cube opened allowing the crew to depart, a Paradise Security Guard stepped forward.

“Please identify the weapons we have detected.” Came the voice from behind several layers of armour and a round silver helmet so clean they could see their reflections in it.

Cailus stepped forward, putting himself inbetween the armoured guard and the others. "I am Lieutenant Griffin, responsible for the security and safety of this delegation," he said formally, putting his hands behind his back in a respectful gesture. "We were not told of any weapons restrictions before boarding the station."

“Paradise regulations restrict all visitors from carrying weapons on to the station. You were scanned during your transport from the docking ring.” The guard replied, their voice seemingly passing through a translator that gave it a computerised auto-tuned sound. The guard’s body did not move as they spoke, remaining perfectly still in front of the crew. “We have detected weapons.”

"Very well," Cailus said with a bow of his head. "I, Ensign Larose, Crewman Heinz and Crewman Dibbi each have one type-2 Starfleet phaser, a directed energy sidearm. We are the standard security escort for Captain Temple and Lieutenant Sandoval, as per Starfleet regulations. Our weapons are used only as a last resort in self-defence."

"You are guests of Chief Katya." The guard stated rather than asked. "As this is your first visit, no offence will be recorded. Your weapons will be disarmed." Immediately there was a flash inside the cube, like a small pulse of energy. It caused their skin to tingle for a moment. "Weapons disarmed. Follow me."

The guard turned and started walking through the promenade. Nyx gave a concerned frown but followed soon after. He moved to walk next to the Guard, who maintained a quick pace. "I am the commander of this group, and Captain of the Pandora." He stated.

"Welcome to Paradise." Came the curt reply, the guard never missing a step.

They were now walking through the quiet boulevard, there was a light sound of music and small chatter around the airy promenade. A couple of the dignitaries on the second level paused to look down at the new arrivals, then spoke in hushed tones to each other. There seem to be a fabricated scent of the forest permeating from somewhere as if the station was trying their hardest to replicated a planet-based location. The room was brightly lit as if it were daytime, with the projection of a sun beamed onto the roof above them. In the distance was the sound of running water, which grew louder as they walked.

"Out of curiosity, what usually happens when unauthorised weapons are detected?" Nyx asked as they continued.

"Your transport cube is vacated at the nearest available airlock." The guard answered.

"Vacated... out to space?" Nyx frowned again.

"Correct." The guard said.

"Good thing we're invited guests then." The Captain remarked. The guard did not reply.

John worked hard to maintain the pace of the guard and the Captain, but found it increasingly difficult. He was glad his fancy cane was as sturdy as his functional one. Emmanuelle was right alongside him. She flashed John a warm and encouraging smile. In the two days since they met, she made it her mission (as an implied part of her assignment to keep the diplomatic team safe) to get him fit and ready for whatever came next. She was confident that he wasn’t feeling any worse for wear after their exercises necessitated a call to the doctor, and she was glad.

“You doing alright, sir?” asked Emmanuelle.

“Fine, Ensign,” John replied, making a bit of a pained face as he said it. “Thank you.” He looked around as they tried to keep up. “This place is beautiful.”

“It is indeed” Krysia looked at Sandoval. “Are you sure you’re alright Lieutenant? You’re in a considerable amount of pain with your leg. That much I can feel.”

“I’ll be fine, Lieutenant Kaleri,” John replied. “I can’t imagine we have much further to go. The transit system we took must have brought us reasonably close to our destination.” He looked at the Counselor. “Thank you, though.”

Finally the group came to a four metre high waterfall that was pouring out from the second level and into a square, silver-lined pond. Interestingly, the water was a vibrant pink colour. Not backlit by special lighting, but the very water itself was coloured. As they stood watching the waterfall, it subtly changed colours to purple, then yellow, blue, green, and back to pink again.

"That's... very impressive." Nyx said, feeling as if they needed to comment on it.

"Yes." The guard replied.

After this, the water began to part in the middle, splitting the waterfall in two. The wall between the two streams of water then pushed backwards and quietly slid to the side, revealing a brightly lit room behind it. Inside the pond, a silver gangway skimmed across the surface of the water, creating a pathway to the room. Without speaking, the guard continued forward and crossed the bridge. The Pandora crew dutifully followed, and Nyx couldn't help but marvel at the showmanship that had gone into creating the effects.

He turned his head and spoke to Griffin softly. "It's all very flashy but I think that's just to disguise their high security measures. Everything is a distraction."

"Among other things," Cailus replied under his breath, eyeing the spectacle with concern. "It's one hell of a psychological impact."

Arriving in the room, the guard looked to the group and said, "Wait here." Before disappearing back through the entry way, which closed behind him. It was a pretty nondescript room, much like the space they had arrived in after disembarking from the yacht. The walls were white with silver circles, three large ones on each wall. There were no discernible doors or features apart from the circles. After a moment, a group of eight silver cylinders emerged from the floor and rose to around waist height. Nyx prodded one tentatively, finding it sturdy and safe.

"Have a seat, I guess." He shrugged to the others before planting himself down on one of the stools.

John moves as quickly as he could into the seat to the Captain’s right. He breathed a sigh of relief as his weight shifted into the cylinder chair. Emmanuelle gave him a pat on the shoulder as she sat behind him.

Krysia took a seat on one of the stools as well, right now she was wishing James was with her to witness everything she’d just seen. “So far everything we’ve seen has shown us, shall we say ‘the upside’ of the Station? I’m just wondering what the downside is.” She looked at the others. “You don’t normally get one without the other.”

"It would be safe to assume we're being watched right now." Nyx said in a way of response, lest they say something offensive to their hosts.

"Indeed you are." Came a voice in the room. One of the silver circles ahead of them shimmered into life, as it was apparently a display screen as well. Appearing on the screen was Katya, still sitting in her office. "We have no downsides on Paradise." She smiled. "We're just very good at managing a station."

"This is unlike anything we've seen before." Nyx replied, getting off his chair and stepping forward. "We're just unused to it."

"I take it the Federation doesn't put much effort into presentation?" Katya asked, her tone playful though tinged with critique.

"We prefer functionality over spectacle." Nyx said with a shrug. "I thought we were on our way to meet with you, though, Chief Katya?"

"And you are." She answered simply. "We are just waiting on the Irokari to arrive to begin your discussions."

Nyx gave a small turn to look at Griffin and Sandoval, as he said. "Will we not conduct the mission in person?"

"I told you before Captain, these are dangerous times." Katya answered, the smile dropping from her neon face. "That includes holding all meetings with unknown people in seperate rooms. It's for everyone's safety." She looked over to something in her hand. "I didn't realise the Federation brought mind-readers to negotiate aid programs?"

Krysia suddenly felt like she was under a very large microscope. "That would be me." She stepped forward slightly and nodded politely to Katya. "I'm Lieutenant Kaleri, my position aboard ship requires me to advise the Captain when needed. Lieutenant Sandoval requested I assist with the negotiations. That is what I'm here for. Nothing more." She hoped her explanation would suffice.

John, with pained effort, took back to his feet, and looked to Katya. "On Earth, my homeworld and capital of the Federation, we have a saying," he began. " 'Trust, but verify.' We are here to conduct negotiations to provide aid to people who need it. We will do our best to reduce the suffering of the innocents of Irokar. But we must ensure that the aid we provide actually goes to those who need it. That no one with ill intent has somehow gotten their way onto the Irokari delegation. That no one will steal the aid between when it leaves our cargo holds and arrives on Irokar. We trust that those who will meet us are honorable beings, but we would be fools to assume it." He took a step forward. "We hope that you trust that we will act honorably on your station. But you would be foolish to simply assume it. The security measures we've seen so far prove that you are no fool. That you, too, believe in the idea of Trust But Verify."

John continued to stand, looking at Katya's image in the eye. He would wait until acknowledged until he sat back down.

Katya cocked her head to the side as she considered the diplomat's words. "Very well. But until the Irokari arrive, I would like to make a request. Call it a show of good faith. I will require Lieutenant Kaleri's abilities to assist with a security matter. Should you be so willing?"

Krysia looked at Nyx, then at Sandoval before moving forwards to the front of the delegation. Nodding politely to Katya. “I would be willing to help. Just tell me what you need me to do.”

Nyx tried to hide his concerned glances, though he couldn't help but feel like they had no choice but to agree. There was an unspoken weight of control fostered on them since arriving at the station, and they were completely in Katya's hands. "We would love to help. So long as Kaleri is back for the negotiations."

"Of course." Katya replied casually.

At that, Cailus glanced at the two security crewmen who had thus far been hanging at back while Cailus and Emmanuelle stuck close to their assigned subjects. The security chief didn't say anything, but his look between them and Krysia was enough for them to understand his meaning and both men nodded in acknowledgement.

As the Counsellor and two security officers left the room, Katya spoke again. "I have perused our records for human dietary choices. Someone will be in shortly to serve you while we wait for the Irokari."

With that she was gone and the Pandora team could do little else but share knowing looks between them.

OFF