New assignment

Posted on Wed Feb 3rd, 2021 @ 8:02am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Hope Ross

Mission: The Gauntlet

ON

Hope and a small research team had gotten lost in their work. The mission was planned for three months, but that three months felt like it flew by in a matter of weeks. The small team had grown pretty close on the planet they had been sent to study. "I'm going to miss y'all" Hope smiled as they started packing up all their equipment and disassembling the temporary structures. However it didn't take them long to clean up and erase their presence as much as possible and the team were at warp.

"This old girl gonna hold together?" Hope asked with a smile trying to joke with the man who was flying the small craft.

"Oh I think she'll do just fine" he set the runabout to it's maximum cruising speed and laid in a course for the USS Pandora.

--4 days later--

"Well it was a pleasure to get to work with you on this project" Doctor Ross smiled a shy smile at the man who had been flirting with her for the last few days. "I've got to drop my things off and meet with the Captain" she started down the corridor and let out a breath when she heard someone call for the gentleman from the opposite end of the hall. It didn't take the Lieutenant long to find her quarters and she was already enjoying the Luna Class Starship. "Here we go" Hope checked herself in the mirror after putting her things away and was quickly out the door headed to the bridge for her meeting with the ships Commanding Officer.

In his office, Nyx was trying to balance out the Pandora.

"Left!" Nyx cried, and the Pandora dipped slightly.

"Too far!" He groaned as the ship almost went nose-first into a deep dive.

"Up! Up! Up!" The Captain commanded, lifting the Pandora back up again.

"There!" He proclaimed proudly as the Pandora was now sitting perfectly level.

Nyx stood back and smiled as the small statue of his ship rested on his newly-installed shelf. The last metal model of the Pandora had fallen off after a skirmish with the Talarians and the Captain had been meaning to fix it for some time. Finally with a moment spare and a few tools stolen from Lieutenant Mindo, Nyx had repaired the shelf and re-installed the ship model to it's rightful place. He looked at it with proud eyes, so lost in the moment he almost didn't hear the door chime when it sounded.

The door had slid open so Lieutenant Ross made her way inside and stood still with a slight smile on her face during all the commotion. "Doctor Hope Ross, reporting for duty Captain" she gave a slight nod and waited for the CO's response.

Nyx turned suddenly to see the Medical Chief standing in the doorway. "Oh! Lieutenant Ross? I'm sorry I didn't hear you come in. What do you think of my ship?"

"The Pandora is quite impressive Captain" the Lieutenant gave a smile and tried not to let out a giggle. "Thank you for having me" the Lieutenant presented a PADD with her transfer orders and then folded her hands behind her back.

The Captain took the PADD and reviewed the orders with a quick glance. All was presented and accounted for. Though he had been surprised by the Doctor's sudden appearance, he had been expecting her arrival and was eager to get started. The Pandora was facing many challenges - from outside and within - and a Chief Medical Officer had been a high priority in his requests to Starfleet. Thankfully they had delivered.

"Please, take a seat." Nyx replied as he indicated to the chair in front of his desk, while he sat down in his own. "You've come at an interesting time, Doctor."

"Oh?" Hope asked with her eyebrows raised and took the offered seat.

"We're in the middle of a dangerous journey back to Federation territory," Nyx explained, "We will likely need to be on Yellow Alert until we make it back to safety. That means you'll have only a quick introduction to your team and start running a Yellow Alert roster. We have to be prepared for attack at any moment."

"I'll have sickbay ready" the doctor assure the Commanding Officer.

"Good, I'm sure you'll be able to handle that." Nyx replied with a firm nod. He leaned back in his chair and took a moment. "There is also a more delicate matter. One that, I admit, will be difficult to deal with. We have a former crew member onboard, Sasha Vieers. She defected from the crew during a previous mission and killed a fellow officer, as well as causing another's death. She was put under arrest and held in the Brig until we were originally supposed to return to Starfleet. However, we were sidelined into a mission deep in the Expanse on a planet called Hesiod Green."

Nyx frowned, "After one of the Away Teams lost contact with the ship, I utilised Sasha to help find them. While it was unwise to use a traitor and murderer for such a reason, Sasha had incredible infiltration skills that were exactly what we needed at the time. She had shown significant personal growth recently, and a desire to make amends for her actions. So, I sent her to Hesiod Green. Unfortunately, she became captured by a Hesian native and as a result, was exposed for a very long time to the dangerous toxic atmosphere of the planet. She has been battling the effects of this exposure for weeks now, with very little progress. Her body is failing her. We're doing everything we can to keep her alive, but as we're still some time away from Federation territory, her prognosis does not look good."

"Of course I'll look into this right away sir" Hope said this was quite concerning to the physician.

"Well there's a complication." Nyx said quickly. "Sasha is aware that her condition is not getting any better and has requested that we cease treating her. She's aware that this will result in her death so she's effectively asking us to end her life."

"Oh my" Ross said her mouth a gape.

Nyx leaned back in his chair, "That's pretty much my reaction too. I have compiled reports from the medical team and Chief Counsellor, and we're going to send it to Starfleet Command to make the decision. I'm not asking you to make any judgements yourself, however you are free to enter your own prognosis on the situation. I am asking everyone to stick purely to a medical opinion and the facts before us on Sasha as a patient. She's in our medical care and we have Starfleet regulations to adhere to."

Hope didn't have a personal opinion on the matter as she had never met Sasha or really any of the crew for that matter. "I will be glad to take a look at the case and give you my professional opinion Captain."

"Thank you," Nyx nodded in reply, "Is there anything you need from me before you get started?"

"No sir, I'm sure the medbay is well equipped" the doctor replied with a smile.

"That it is," The Captain smiled, "You'll find Deck Six has everything you need for treatment, research, and patient care."

"I'm looking forward to it sir" the doctor smiled.

Temple and the Doctor said their goodbyes and Nyx felt pleased that he had a new Chief Medical Officer to help them out. Especially during this arduous journey back to the Expanse. He smiled appreciatively at the door, feeling like the ship was becoming "full" again, and he was eager for the new officer to get acquainted with the family that had grown here. He was hopeful that Lieutenant Ross would fit in well with the tight-knit community on the ship.

Nyx's happiness was short lived however as he turned back to his statues and noticed the Pandora was slightly askew. "What are we going to do with you?" He said aloud, shaking his head.

OFF