Posted by Captain John Tiberius Glen (Captain) in Main Sim - Alstair Prime - Landing Party Arrival
[snip]

As the transporter dematerialised the Landing Party, a random and localised space-time distortion field briefly interferes with the transport. Just for a moment, the signal lock configuration around Cadet Lucas Coleman loses its tight focus, and as a result he never arrives at his destination. Try as he may, Lieutenant Hunnicutt is unable to reverse the transporter discriminated field and modulate the reverse field to bring the Cadet back to the Merrimack. Hunnicutt tries everything in the book, even an emergency temporal phase discrimination modulation down to 0.004%, and a refinement of the transporter’s targeted annular confinement beam (ACB) before repeated attempts at Coleman’s rematerialisation, but all with no luck. Such are the real and present dangers of transporter technology in the 24th Century.

As the away party rematerialized they found themselves in a lush stone lined courtyard with fern like plants growing from the tops down the bottom following cared for lines and thin waterfall path. It was quite lovely a sight, calming and soothing all at once. As they watched a doorway opened in a nearby similar lush stone/plant lined building which matched the old style colorings yet was clearly more modern. There stood four more female Alstair dressed in silver-green jumpers of a more regal nature.

Hal said, “I’m dismayed that we seem to have lost our cadet! I’ll have security do a complete search of the ship in the event that he re-materialized somewhere else on board.”

Damn! thought Glen, It’s been 287 days since our last transporter malfunction. This will ruin my next Starfleet health and safety report to the Commodore!

Glen did a quick check that the rest of the landing party had made it, “Please make a thorough check for him, and if you can’t find him, then open an investigation and don’t rule out foul play! Do you have a junior officer aboard qualified to do that for you? I’d prefer you to remain with us.”

Hal took in the scenery and said, “I think that I’d rather stay here, too, Captain. I can have security do the search. That will take some time. I don’t really feel like taking the risk of beaming up if we have a maybe malfunctioning transporter.”

Glen could see that he would need to inform Saark that there would be a likely increase in cases of transporter phobia if it turned out that any harm had come to Cadet Coleman. Hopefully he would be found safe and well somewhere on the ship, and not with his matter disassembled at the atomic level and then reassembled over a larger volume of space. “I do understand your concerns Lieutenant, but for the sake of the efficient operation of the ship, can we play down this incident and make those enquiries quietly. As far as the rest of the crew believe, there are never any transporter malfunctions on the Merrimack and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Now we must put that behind us and prepare to meet this delegation,” Glen announced.

The Alstairs approached with a curious look to their stance while behind them a fifth in even higher regal like garb of silver-green-blue colorings followed. The first four it seemed were an honor guard and dutifully flanked the path to the fifth as they approached. Again the appearance of males seemed quite an interest to the so far female only society, not to mention that many from the ship earlier and here looked shared similarities.

Bowing slightly, the fifth female Alstair spoke through a translation device on their hip. =/\= Greetings to you party members of the USS Merrimack. I am known as First Space Minister Lodu. On a deeply humbled personal note I must thank you and your ship for rescuing the First of our ship. For she and several of the ship’s crew are my daughters..=/\=

Glen replied, =/\= I am Captain John T Glen of the starship Merrimack. I come here representing the United Federation of Planets. Our mission is to explore new worlds, and to seek out new life and new civilisations, and to establish peaceful relations with them. We were happy that we could be of help. This is my First officer, Kord, my communications officer, Inola, my Chief of Security, Hal and junior officers, Willickers and Sherry. =/\=

Kord inclined his head when introduced.

In turn polite nods and bows were given to the landing party. =/\= I have read the short brief from the First of our ship. Your Federation and this surrounding region of space seem filled with life even more then we suspected. But greetings to you all. If you will follow me we have assembled the Tri-Council members and their advisors in the regal meeting hall not far from here. =/\= Lodu said with a gentle gesture of their arm for the team to follow.

Glen indicated his permission for the landing party to follow Lodu, but he himself fell behind to walk with Inola. He wished to gather her thoughts so far. “What does your intuition tell you, Inola,” Glen asked. “This First Space Minister has a name, Lodu. Am I correct in thinking that the others aboard the ship only had titles? And does Lodu translate as anything significant… you know, like on Earth we have the flowers ‘Rose’ and ‘Daisy’ as personal names, but then we also have names that translate as ‘radiance’ or “warrior’ or ‘intelligent’?”

Inola could remember that the translator was still having some trouble with names. So perhaps this was the factor in the lack of names till now. As for the translation of Lodu she lacked enough local dialect to fully answer that, but in part she could say it was something to do with ‘light’ perhaps.

“Well sir, those on the ship may have simply chosen not to offer their names. In addition, the translator has a tendency to simplify words fully, and will run translatable names through, instead of leaving them as names.” She got addressed as Black vulpine animal often enough because of it. “Lodu has some similarities with words for light.” Inola was silent for a moment. “Perhaps members of this culture have to earn their names.” Inola shrugged, almost imperceptibly. “Cultures have different rules about names, even among humans.”

“Yes… yes,” Glen replied, “I’m sorry, I’m anthropomorphising them, aren’t I? It’s just that it is vital that this all goes well, because of the bottle-nosed dolphin debacle. I thought that any additional information about them will help us understand them better, but I’m over-thinking. I wish I hadn’t mentioned that there had been galactic wars, but at least I’ve been honest with them, and it does underline the importance of an institution like the Federation in preventing war, promoting peace and co-operation, and political liberties. I’ll need to stress those points if I’m questioned any…” Glen’s voice fell away as they neared the meeting hall entrance, and the assembled the Tri-Council members and their advisors. Glen walked back up the head of the landing party where Lodu was leading them.

• Glen, CO

Kord nodded to glen as he came up to the front.

“Are you ready?” Kord asked.

• Kord, XO