Posted by Lieutenant Seddk Vock (Chief Medical Officer) in Conference Room- Senior Officer Briefing (The Sands of Tenra)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Stephen Stous (XO) in Conference Room- Senior Officer Briefing (The Sands of Tenra)

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Vora Zorell (Scientist) in Conference Room- Senior Officer Briefing (The Sands of Tenra)
Posted by… suppressed (12) by the Post Ghost! 👻

SNIP

Vora drew a breath inward and nodded. She had half-way expected him to confirm she was being irrational, but somehow his acknowledgement of her anxiety made everything somehow easier. “It’s not like it was years ago when I first came aboard this ship. Yes, there are things I’ve done I deeply regret, but I don’t feel shame over it anymore, or at least very little. I don’t mind talking about my experiences, since I will a little in the way of a caution when we get there, but the rest?” She smiled. “I’ll be learning right alongside everyone else who the Tenraith people truly are, and I have to admit I’m kind of excited.”

“Good,” he said simply. “I’m hoping to learn more about them myself.”

A minute later they approached the door and she braced herself before stepping through. Zorell moved to lean against the wall near the display screen rather than take a seat at the table, as much out of convenience as it was a need to not be sitting still.

OOC: This is open to all Sr. Staff…

~Vora Zorell, Sciences

Johann took a seat at the head of the table. He was not giving the briefing, but would act to facilitate it if necessary. He took advantage of the fact that nobody else had arrived yet to glance up-and-down at Vora and give a small, supportive thumbs up.

OOC: Was just waiting until you reached the room to jump in :)

IC:
The XO was already sitting across the room, quietly reading from a PADD. He glanced up as Vora and Johann entered, meeting them each with a nod and a rehearsed greeting.

“Captain.” A turn of the head. “Lieutenant Zorell. Good to see you again.”

~ Stephen Stous - XO

“Mr. Stous,” the Captain acknowledged. He adopted a more professional posture.

Cassidy slipped in wearing a neutral expression, her movements relaxed as she took her normal seat. She wasn’t going to make this more awkward for Vora and certainly wasn’t surprised to see her best friend at the briefing given the topic. “Good day everyone.”

Abrams, COS

“Miss Abrams,” the Captain again returned the greeting.

Marsh walked in spying Cassidy. Moving into the space he mumbled a stock pleasantry and took a seat at the table waiting for the meeting to begin.

Marsh CSO

Mister Abrams, Johann thought, but did not say. “Mister Marsh.”

That left Doctor Vock and Mister Ducote…

– Johann Dvorak, CO

The CMO walked in at that moment, PaDD in one hand. He inclined his to the group as a whole and said “Greetings. Please excuse my delay.” and offered no further explanation. He took a seat near the opposite end of the table from the Captain an set the PaDD down, puled out a stylus, and prepared to take notes.

Vock, CMO

Mathys rushed into the corridor. Rapidly clipping feet narrowly dodged personnel as he reached the briefing room. Pausing at the door, he pulled his shirt straight and then entered. He tried his hardest not to think about the obvious grease stain on his side when he spoke.

“Apologies for the tardiness,” he quickly took his seat.

-CE, Mathys Ducote

“You guys aren’t that late,” the Captain said. “It’s not like we had to invoke the five minute rule.” Still, he thought that the desire for everyone to be punctual was a good thing.

He turned to Lieutenant Zorell. “Feel free to start.”

– Johann Dvorak, CO

They were still missing Nox, but Vora also knew that the counsellor knew more about their destination than many so she would catch up. Pushing off the wall, she gave Dvorak a nod and tapped a couple keys on the display screen. A planet appeared showing blues, greens and large swaths of tan.

She gazed deeply at the planet. “Beta Zorcal Four, also known Tenra and my homeworld,” Vora said before focusing her attention back on her colleagues. “It’s the fourth of seven planets in the system and it has two moons. The Tenraith population sits at one point three billion people who are spread out over one main continent and some islands. There are the typical biomes you will be familiar with but the average temperatures on Tenra are higher and we have no polar caps. Across the equatorial regions are two biomes that are specific to Tenra. Feverlands are areas that average 60 degrees in the day Celsius and usually drop to 30 at night. Few living things can survive there, so it’s not exactly your average vacation spot and most people don’t both going there unless they have protection and a reason.” She tapped a key and zoomed in on the middle regions. “The Tenraith word for this area translates to Funrnaceland. We have myths, ancient folklore about this place and it amounts to a living nightmare, if you live that long. The only people who dare go out there are researchers with extreme survival equipment and Cortallo, who likes to dump their enemies out there,” she said matter-of-factly. “But as a hot world, Tenraith civilization evolved around the collection and conservation of water. It was a necessity for survival for much of the planet not located in a biodiveristy rich region. There are also some extraordinary subterranean areas with flora and fauna that will amaze certain people in this room, even if one of them switched uniform colours,” she said, smirking in Abrams’ direction. The security chief had been a botanist before after all.

Vora gestured to the screen. “First contact with the Federation happened in 2327 though we were understandably… skittish given that prior to that our only interaction with an alien species was with the Tholians. It did not go well and the Tenraith didn’t venture out too far for a long while. Interactions with the Federation were sparse but positive. Later in 2381, a scientific collaboration was established that still exists today. And it is that collaboration that is a part of why we are being assigned to Tenra for the next month. The USS Galileo has to move on to a different assignment before its replacement ship, the Cassini, can arrive, and since we are a science ship and available, we are able to fill that gap. There are long-term scientific and medical projects that Tenra is conducting with Starfleet and frankly Starfleet’s presence in recent years has been more of a deterrent to the criminal organizations than previously. Our assignment is very simple: we are to lend help and expertise to the various projects going on and continue building a positive relationship with the government. This will be a mix of diplomatic work and R&R. There’s lots to do and see and we have plenty of time there to get a feel for the planet as a whole. And before I get into the more personal reasons for our our visit and some things I need to warn you about, any questions so far?”

OOC: If you haven’t seen it and want more info (including maps), I have a doc on Tenra & the Tenraith you can look over.

~Vora Zorell, Sciences

“Can you elaborate on the nature of these ‘projects’?” Vock asked.

Vock, CM

Mathys resisted commenting to the Captain that his mother would’ve disagreed. She was a punctual type during his childhood and taught him the value of time. In her book, being five minutes early was on time. Instead, his attention turned to the debriefing for their current task. He had never heard of the planet until now.

“I’ll admit, I’m curious about that too. Especially since I’m not familiar with this planet at all. However, the fact you have to warn us about some things also concerns me.”

-CE, Mathys Ducote

Stephen raised his hand somewhat timidly. “I agree with Commander Ducote - it seems odd not to have heard anything about a planet the Federation permanently stations a vessel with. I’m also curious, is there any activity on the moons? I’d imagine they at least affect our geostationary orbit.”

~ Lt. Cmdr Stous - XO

Vora took in the questions with an understanding nod. “First question first, while I don’t have all the details, as I understand it, there is one project in Kemmori which has a large area of feverland. There are few things that survive there, but using specialized shelters and equipment, they are studying the effects of longer durations spent out there to understand how Tenraith and species from other hotter worlds have evolved to handle such extreme temperatures. There’s another joint science-medical project studying ancient Tenraith medicine from our temperate and tropical regions. It extends into a related science project studying the thousands of bioluminescent flora and fauna species in our subterranean regions that Tenraith for generations have known about and in one case there is a fungi that is known to cure a particular childhood illness that used to kill thousands of children every year but the old clan stories spoke of this cure and it was rediscovered early in the partnership. And don’t think engineering isn’t going to be interested either. My people have been surviving with little surface water for a very long time. We might not be as technologically sophisticated as the Federation, but we are experts in survival,” Vora said with a bit of pride that surprised even herself. “I’ll come back to the question about the moons in a bit but the other question will take some time to explain and discuss.”

Now came the hard part. Zorell took a deep breath and steadied herself, glancing briefly at Johann for reassurance.

“There are… reasons our relationship with the Federation is so far just scientific collaboration so far. It’s uh, not a secret that I myself came from a rather rough upbringing. But I recognize that while it’s common knowledge for many on the ship, others here are new and this is new to you.” Breathe, Vora, she reminded herself.

“Tenra is at a tipping point. It’s reached the milestones of an elected planetary government and wrap drive, but there are many societal challenges the planet have been facing still. Things that have escalated in recent decades. We are, not to put too fine a point on it, dealing with things that places in the Federation haven’t dealt with in hundreds of years. I mentioned Cortallo in the beginning, partly as a joke, but they are the concern I have. They are, as some of you got to have first hand knowledge of, an organized crime syndicate that originated in Kebbran, our capital. You name a crime your mind associates with organized crime, and Cortallo likely engages in it. They’ve corrupted a lot of systems on the planet and their reach is deep and far, at least on the planet. Though, a few years ago they made a play for a partnership with the Orion Syndicate. Fortunately, it did not get very far.”

Vora swallowed. “It would be easy to hear some of the horror stories from Tenra related to Cortallo and ask why the Federation would be involved. But what you need to understand and what I myself have to remind myself of, is that Cortallo is not Tenra, and the Tenraith people are not Cortallo, as much as Cortallo would have you believe to the contrary.” She turned her gaze out the windows for a moment gathering her thoughts. When she returned her maroon eyes to the people gathered around the table, there was a fierceness present that Vora rarely displayed. “I grew up in Kebbran in the neighbourhood that Cortallo controls and originated in. It was impossible to exist there without their influence. My story is not unique. I knew so many that also fell into drugs and alcohol and other incredibly difficult things. Cortallo told me who I could be, what I could do and that at the end of the day I was worth nothing if that was what they decided. But I did the one thing as far as I know to date has never happened… I left Cortallo. With help, I got out before any number of things killed me. Most people who try to escape do die.” She shrugged. “It was our reality.

“But I’m not telling this because I want your sympathy or pity, but because my going back to Tenra right now is my choice. Before today I had been adamant that I would never return, and that I would do anything to keep my son away from Cortallo. But things have changed. I have family I never knew about that I have the opportunity to meet. And for someone whose experience of a planet came from ten square kilometres of a single city, I’ve realized I don’t know my own planet, or my people. I’m about to get to know it for the first time, just like you. The difference is that for me, it’s risky. And I understand that I am inviting a measure of risk into our visit. It would not be fair to ask you to get to know Tenra without being aware of that risk. As I said, Cortallo’s reach is deep. Even if I took every precaution to avoid my presence being public knowledge, I am the only Tenraith living in the Federation and in Starfleet. They will know soon after I set foot on the planet. However, for… reasons, I actually don’t think they will do anything more than let me know that they know I am there.” She gestured for them to go ahead, knowing the myriad of questions that might now arise.

~Vora Zorell, Sciences

Stephen took a few moments to take in what Zorell had just said, hoping someone else would say something. Soon no longer able to withstand the silence, he half-raised his hand. “I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like for you. Is there any chance that history could send Cortallo attention our way? Do we need an increased surface security presence?”

~ Stephen Stous - XO

Vock spoke up after considering the issue. “Logic would indicate that your presence on the planet is an elevated level of risk to both you and those around you… as well as the projects being discussed. I do understand the desire to meet one’s family, however. Would it not be safer for all involved to have you stay on the ship and bring your family to you?”

Vock, CMO

Vora drew in a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, of course, you’re right, that would be easier and less risky and on fronts. But… and I cannot stress this enough, Cortallo had too much of a say in my life for far too long. They dictated what I did, who I could interact with, how I was allowed to express myself.” She shook her head. “No more. I’ve worked too hard for too many years since I left Tenra to figure out who I was, who I wanted and could be. I know I’m asking a lot here, but maybe not because I’m asking you to help me live my own life and not have my first instinct always to be worrying what Cortallo might or might not do. I took refuge in the Federation to reclaim my life for myself, and in the end too, for my son. Don’t ask us to go backwards.”

She gestured to Cassidy. “But Lieutenant Abrams and I have spoken a lot over the years about all of this and I know she has some thoughts on the security end.”

~Vora Zorell, Sciences