Alcyone Brennan Posted May 13, 2023 Posted May 13, 2023 This was a great scene and I am very much eager to read more about Antonova Well done! @Talos Dakora Quote ((Da'al Ministry of Science - Vdam - Meranuge IV)) As Talos waited patiently for the receptionist to return with someone higher up the food chain, he pretended to examine the decorative, large model of the Meranuge System that stood in the center of the room with convincing interest. He had a part to play here and while the blue shoulders of his replicated Science Officers' uniform helped, he had to try to act the part of an infinitely curious scientist. After a few minutes, the receptionist finally returned with a flustered-looking Da'al woman wearing a white linen lab smock. She was tall-- maybe just a bit taller than Talos-- and her skin had the same silvery tint to it that most of the Da'al had. The receptionist pointed to Talos and attempted to make an introduction. Receptionist: Doctor Keyun, this is Lieutenant... Apologies, but your name was? He trailed off, seemingly forgetting the alias Talos had provided him. Smiling broadly, Talos stepped forward grasping the Doctor's hand and shaking it in an extremely human fashion. Dakora: Lieutenant Daniel Calais, but you can call me Danny! ::He finally released the scientist's hand.:: I'm with the Artemis' Let me just say, Doctor Keyun, that I'm very impressed by your facility here. The pair of hazel contacts he wore, a slightly too-large uniform, and some subtle changes to the way he carried himself helped breathe life into the legend that he and Mila had devised for this operation. Talos could feel Keyun's uncertainty about the whole situation swirling around in her mind as she spoke. Keyun: It is a pleasant day to make your acquaintance, Lieutenant Calais- ::She paused.:: Danny. Minister Erbil informed us that members of the Artemis' crew would be visiting various locations here on Da'al, but I'm afraid we were not prepared for your arrival... Talos smiled broadly, a hopeful glint in his eye. Dakora: Oh goodness, I'd really hate to be an inconvenience, but I was hoping to maybe get a tour of your research facility... The receptionist returned to his desk and Talos appeared to wait eagerly for Keyun's response. After a few moments of consideration, Keyun nodded slowly. Keyun: I suppose I have a few minutes to show you around, though we're a bit short-staffed at the moment. ::Her face darkened slightly.:: Some of our personnel were attending a conference in Tecra when... well. ::She cleared her throat.:: Most of them are still unaccounted for. Talos gave a somber nod in response. Dakora: I understand. ::He allowed his frown to gradually dissolve into a more neutral expression.:: I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy day, then. With Keyun seemingly accepting Danny Calais for the planetary sciences specialist his credentials presented him to be, she motioned for him to follow her. Keyun: Right, then let us get started. ::She smiled, seeming to accept her temporary charge as a tour guide and continued.:: We'll start in the exobiology lab. As Talos began to follow along behind her, he heard another voice; one that only he could hear, thanks to the nano receiver that was implanted under the skin behind his right ear. It was yet another piece of Starfleet Intelligence technology that LtJG. Mila Antonova had employed for this hastily planned operation. From Talos' admittedly narrow understanding of the tech, the tiny comms device worked by vibrating the bones of his skull near his ear in a way that allowed him to hear incoming messages clearly while remaining undetectable to anyone else in the room with him. When she spoke, her characteristically nervous voice seemed to come from within his head and Talos thought it felt oddly reminiscent of a telepathic conversation. Antonova: =/\= Good. It, um, seems like she's buying it. Next stop after Exobiology is the Advanced Materials Lab. You'll need to get her to let you into the Planetary Sciences Facility so you can plant the R.A.T. =/\= Talos looked down and to the right in response, the pre-determined non-verbal positive reply, which she was able to watch from the live feed streaming from his contact lenses. As they entered, Doctor Keyun began to give him the tour and Talos did his best to pretend that he understood most of what she was saying. After showing him several pieces of complex-looking analysis equipment, to which he had responded with some variation of "Oh wow" it seemed that Keyun had come to the most important piece of gear. Keyun: And this ::She pointed to a huge console that dominated most of one wall.:: Is our state-of-the-art subspace mass spectrometer. This technology was critical to our exploration of our system and remains one of our proudest achievements. Dakora: Very Impressive. Keyun's lips pursed just a little and Talos could feel a growing unease starting to take root. Mila's voice broke in over the implanted receiver. Antonova: =/\= She's expecting more of a reaction than that. Um, ask her what distances they are able to measure mass-to-charge ratios effectively, then act very impressed by whatever she says. =/\= Dakora: How far out are you able to measure mass-to-charge ratios effectively? Her expression shifted into a broad smile as she clasped her hands together in front of her like she was about to blow his mind. Keyun: This unit represents our latest generation model and has a readable range of up to 1000 light-years! Talos let his jaw fall open in shock, despite the fact that he knew practically nothing about anything either of them had said in the past few seconds. Dakora: That's incredible... I... I think that may even exceed the Artemis' range! Her smile turned just the slightest bit smug as she motioned for him to follow her through the next set of biometrically coded doors. Antonova: =/\= You're welcome. =/\= Glancing down and to the right to acknowledge her comment, he followed behind Doctor Keyun as she showed him around the advanced materials lab and eventually with a little more help for Lieutenant Antonova, they'd made it to the doors of the Planetary Sciences lab. Keyun turned to face him, an apologetic look on her face. Keyun: Unfortunately, our tour is going to have to end here. As I mentioned before many of our Plan-Sci personnel are still unaccounted for and we've been urged by the Ministry of Security to minimize unnecessary disturbance to the space. Talos willed his face to appear crestfallen as he opened his mind to her thoughts. Keyun: oO and I'd have to get permission from Director Denofa and he's been rather volatile as of late. Oo He let his artificially hazel eyes find hers, trying his best to employ a bit of charm. Dakora: Oh my, that's a shame. ::He sighed a little.:: When the Artemis' Science Chief spoke to Director Denofa, he mentioned that it wouldn't be a problem for me to look around. So long as I didn't touch anything. Her eyes narrowed for a moment before she replied. Keyun: You spoke with the Director? And he said it was alright? Talos nodded. Dakora: My superior officer did, yes. And that was my understanding. She seemed to think about it for a moment before shrugging and placing her hand on the biometric panel. Keyun: Well, in that case I don't see the harm. ::She turned back to him, her face turning a bit severe.:: But really, DON'T touch anything. Talos nodded enthusiastically and followed her through the doors. Antonova: =/\= That was smooth. I, Um, hope you don't read me like that, Sir. =/\= Quickly, he glanced down and to the left as he approached their ultimate target. Doctor Keyun gave the tour as he'd asked, but she seemed intent on watching him carefully, presumably to make sure he followed through on his empty promise to keep his hands to himself. As the tour neared its end, Talos felt a bead of sweat form at his temple as the whole operation hung in the balance. The console was right in front of him, all he needed was a distraction. Rapidly running out of time, he hooked his toe under a thick loop of cable that lay on the ground behind one of the workstations, and fully committed his body to a trip-and-fall, intending to sell the whole thing as convincingly as possible. Dakora: Whoaaaaa! He stumbled forward, dragging whatever was attached to the cable with him as he crashed in the general direction of the Central console, aiming his body for the knee space under the large terminal. Keyun called out in alarm. Keyun: Lieutenant! Please be careful! The effect was more dramatic than he intended, as the cable managed to pull a piece of medium-sized equipment off a desk and send a stack of padds that had been resting on it skidding across the floor, but it had worked. In the moment after his body had crashed down under the console, he slapped Mila's R.A.T. (Remote Access Tool) onto the underside of the console, a single blink told him that it had made a positive connection. Sheepishly, Talos crawled out from under the console and dusted off his blue uniform. Dakora: I'm ok! ::He moved to help pick up the PADDs:: Terribly sorry about that... I didn't see that cable... Clearly distressed by his clumsy display, Keyun simply raised a staying hand. She took a deep breath before gesturing for him to follow her out of the lab. Keyun: It's fine, Lieutenant Calais. This area is clearly hazardous. Let me walk you back to the lobby. Mila chimed in his head once again. Antonova: =/\= That wasn't exactly orthodox, but, um, well, it worked. We're in. Pouring over the data now. =/\= Relieved that his pratfall hadn't been for nothing, Talos followed Doctor Keyun back out to the lobby. Her annoyance with him registered plainly to his empathic senses and he couldn't help but feel sorry for her unknowingly finding herself in the middle of all of this. Once they had made it back to the lobby, she turned to face Talos but he spoke first. Dakora: Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to show me around, Doctor Keyun. My colleagues on the Artemis will be-- He trailed off as Mila's voice came through over his embedded commlink. Antonova: =/\= Sorry to interrupt, but we may have a problem here. = The silver-haired Da'al scientist shot Talos a funny look, waiting a moment before interjecting. Keyun: Indeed. I really must get back to work. ::She offered him a forced smile.:: It was a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant. Trying to process the two disparate conversations occurring inside his head and out, he returned her smile, bowing his head slightly. His mind scrambled to try and simultaneously think of what Danny Calais might say in this situation and worry about whatever problem Mila had uncovered. Dakora: And you as well Doctor. Farewell. He turned and began walking at a very brisk pace towards the exit. As soon as he felt safe to do so, he spoke quietly to himself. Dakora: Ok Mila, what's wrong? The Tech Ops specialist's voice came through slightly more nervous than usual. Antonova: =/\= Ok, where to start. Um, we're still processing everything, but it's looking like there was a command override that specifically excluded the approach vector of the asteroid, specifically. ::She paused.:: We're still working on it, but from what we can tell the override seems to have come from the Office of the Interim Security Minister... =/\= Scowling at this new development, he stepped out onto the street outside the Da'al Science Ministry, looking for a safe place to finish the conversation. Again he spoke aloud, seemingly to himself, letting her live feed from his smart lenses pick up the audio. Dakora: Ok. Lets work on firming up that lead. I'm guessing that's not all? Antonova: =/\= No, Chief, it's not. There is, um, one other location that they seem to have specifically blocked out as well. ::She paused.:: La'sko Canyon. =/\= Talos closed his eyes for a moment, rubbing his right temple against a headache that was trying to form. Jovenan had mentioned La'asko canyon as a possible lift-off site for the ship that had diverted the meteor. It was now looking to be a bit more serious than that. Dakora: Shit. ::He gritted his teeth.:: We need to warn Ensign Jovenan before she goes on her trip. A moment passed and Talos felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Antonova:=/\= They, um, they left several hours ago. I just checked. We can't raise them on Comms, possibly because of the kelbonite... or... =/\= She trailed off. Talos had heard enough and tapped his badge immediately. The fact that he would be delivering more bad news to MacKenzie was the least of his worries. There was a gaggle of Ensigns that might be unknowingly walking into a very dangerous situation. Dakora:=/\= Lieutenant Dakora to the Transporter Room, I need you to beam me to the bridge, right now. =/\= TBC ======//////======> Lt. Talos Dakora Chief Intelligence Officer USS Artemis-A O238811CD0 3 1 Quote
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