Meeting the Marine

Posted on Wed Mar 25, 2020 @ 9:53am by Lieutenant Alanna Wells & Captain Lazanos Torena
Edited on on Wed Mar 25, 2020 @ 3:17pm

1,111 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Et In Arcadia Ego
Location: Science
Timeline: MD02

ON

Alanna was pleased to hear a new Marine CO had arrived on the station. As he would be over the Marines on Pangaea, she wanted to meet with him and get his measure. She also wanted to see what ideas he had for improving security.

As Captain Soran had suggested, Lieutenant Wells was one of the first senior officers he wanted a word with. She was the one that could give him a better idea of what they were dealing with on Pangaea, and it seemed like they’d be working closely together. Even more than that, from what Laz had read in his briefings, she had a personal experience with the portals that would be useful. He came to find her in the science department, and was briskly ushered towards her office. “Lieutenant Wells? Marine Captain Lazanos Torena.”

She stood when she saw the man enter. "Hello. I was planning on coming to see you later today. Please, have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?"

“Sure, coffee’s fine. Cream and sugar,” Laz said. “I talked to Captain Soran earlier today, and she suggested you be one of the first people I hook up with. You’re the expert on Pangaea, and I need to get caught up yesterday.”

There was a coffeepot in one of the labs, but Alanna first checked the replicator. Since it was working, she replicated a coffee for him and a cinnamon tea for herself. She brought both cups to the table and set them down. "Sure. What do you want to know?"

“Whatever you can tell me that I’ll halfway understand and won’t make my head explode,” he replied. “For starters, how likely do you view it that we’ll get incursions through these portals? Is there any way to know?”

"There's no way to know." She gave him a sympathetic smile. "Sorry. Not all portals show from the other side, and those that do don't always look like portals. Sometimes they're in a circle of rocks." She remembered the portal from the other Risa and how it looked like an ancient fey circle. "So incursion is not always intentional. Someone will come through eventually. The problem is, we don't know when or from where. All we can do is monitor and hope to catch them before they wander around too much."

A series of inter-dimensional doors with no locks on them. That sounded just great. “And how do you know you’re sending them back to the right place, if somebody comes through?”

She chuckled. "That depends on the portal. Some are fixed. They always go to and come from the same place. Some are random and changed every time you use them. And others seem to do nothing." She shook her head. "I say seem to because sometimes one of those portals suddenly become active."

He nodded at that, letting out a half-surprised short. “Better and better. Okay, well, I appreciate you bringing me up to speed on that, Lieutenant. It sounds like a hell of a job. How many times have the portals activated and sent something through?”

"Only a few times. Most notably nine months ago. We had a group of freedom fighters come through, followed by the Vulcans chasing them. We...ended up taking them back through the portal. It was destroyed getting us back." That was a mild way of explaining the events, but she didn't think the captain wanted the full nine yards.

Laz nodded. He’d read the official reports about the incident, and knew that Alanna had been briefly held captive by the Vulcans. The reports had been a largely dry debriefing by command staff, but he’d done his share of hostage rescues. She seemed to be coping well after the fact, and he didn’t intend to open old wounds, whatever they might be. “It’d sure be nice if we could find the instruction manual, right? Maybe a remote where we can switch them on and off whenever we need to. That channel’s no good, let’s watch this one instead.”

"I wish." She laughed appreciatively. "If there was one, it got lost in the transition. It may take a few years, but we'll get it figured out. Hey, nothing worthwhile is ever easy."

“So people tell me. I want to go down and get a look at the planet and those portals ASAP. Do you have somebody you can send down with me to walk me through it in the next few days?”

"I could, or one of the Marines already in the complex," she said. "I've been going down to the planet on a semi-regular basis of late."

“I’d definitely like to get the Science department version of the tour,” he said. “I’m always open for learning something new, if I can. Especially about anything that might spit something out that shoots at me.”

She smiled at the mental image. "You can also see how the site is set up, which may give you ideas for improving security, since you're in charge." She was curious to see what he thought of the portal complex. "I'll set something up and let you know when and where."

“I love it,” he said, taking a big drink of coffee. “I’ve seen the pictures and the sensor data, but I learned a long time ago that pictures never tell you as much as having your boots on the ground will. Kept me alive more than once.”

"Me, too." She replied. "Scientists have a habit of getting ourselves into trouble. Having first-hand knowledge of a site is crucial--especially here."

“Yeah, I get that sense. Whenever you get the time free to go down, let me know, and I’ll be there with bells on. Is there anything you need from me? We’re gonna be working close together for a while, I gather, I’d like to start it off right.”

"Nothing at the moment, but I will want to talk about security after you see the portal complex," she said. "I think like a scientist, which may or may not be a good thing. For now, we can plan on the day after tomorrow, if you're amenable."

“I will be just as soon as I look it up in the dictionary,” he joked, finishing his coffee. Laz stood up and offered his hand. “I look forward to it, Lieutenant.”

"As do I, captain," she said, shaking his hand. "See you in a few days."

____
OFF

Marine Captain Lazanos Torena
21st MEU CO
Deep Space Five

Lieutenant Alanna Wells
Chief Science Officer
Deep Space Five

 

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