One of Our Scientists Is Missing (Part 2)

Posted on Wed Jan 6, 2021 @ 3:32pm by Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca & Commander Caleb Ryan & Civilian Jason Haines & Civilian 'Arrival' Roger Templar & Lieutenant JG Ace Cannon

1,196 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: DS5 & Pangaea
Timeline: MD -01

[Previously in Part 1]

"It is quite interesting. However, postponing for a day will not be a problem. Calaban will also prefer that you go to Pangaea." T'gan saved her work and closed out the computer console. "Please let me know what you find."

"I will." Brianthe didn't wait to walk out with T’gan. She was more interested in getting a shuttle down to the planet now that the Vulcan agreed there was something amiss.

[Continued...]

Brianthe was focused more on how best to acquire a shuttle and pilot to get her down to Pangaea so she wouldn't have to take one of the commercial shuttles and walk than she was of where she was going. That is, until she rounded a corner and ran into someone.

"I'm sorry," she said reflexively. Then she looked up and saw who she ran into.

Ace looked down at Brianthe and grinned at her. "Are you now?" He paused dramatically and asked in a purring voice, "And how do you propose to make up for it?"

"I'm not." She wasn't in the mood to deal with Ace right now. "I'm on my way to Pangaea to find out why I haven't heard from Alanna and why she missed a meeting yesterday."

"Not doing anything to apologize is rather inappropriate, don't you think?" he asked before getting serious. "Alanna? The short, pretty blonde part Betazoid science officer that was with you in the arboretum?" he asked. "What do you mean that she missed a meeting? That does not seem like her. She's way too serious. And why Pangaea? Can you slow down for a moment and help me take this from the beginning?"

She sighed and gave him her full attention. "She's taking some time off to work on an archaeological site on Pangaea, but she's still the Chief Science Officer, so she was supposed to meet with me yesterday. She didn't show up. She's not answering her combadge, and the portal facility hasn't heard from her, either. So, I'm going to find a shuttle to go down to where she was working and see what happened to her."

The moment that Brianthe mentioned that Alanna was the Chief Science Officer, he went rigid. He had no problem flirting with women or bedding them, but to know that he was hitting on Jason's girlfriend went against the bro code. "Alanna is the Chief Science Officer?" he asked slowly and purposely. "Her boyfriend is Jason, right? Just recently left Starfleet, right?"

"Yes. I'd ask him if he'd seen Alanna, but he's currently not on a comm system." She looked at him quizzically. "Why is that a problem?"

"It won't be," Ace replied confidently. "So, I'll tell you what. I'll help you find Alanna, and after I do, we finally have our dinner. Deal?"

Brianthe was desperate enough to take him up on it. "Okay, but just dinner."

Ace grinned. "Of course. That is your only obligation. Anything else would be completely your choice." He gave her a secretive wink. Getting more serious, he continued, "So, what do we know besides that Alanna went down to Pangaea? Does she have any recordings or notes as to why she left?"

Brianthe paused. She hadn't thought to give him that information. "She's on a two-week sabbatical to study some ancient ruins. She's staying in a cabin near them. At least she arrived there. I don't know what she did after that."

"Did she say anything further about the ruins? And good to know that she arrived. That's something."

"No. Just that she was plotting out a grid to start analyzing what to do where."

"The two of you are rather methodical, aren't you?" Ace asked a tad exasperated.

She looked at him, surprised that he had to ask. "Of course. We're scientists."

"And I'm in Ops, but I don't make that method part of my entire life," Ace replied with a small laugh. "Life needs to be experienced!"

She just smiled and shook her head. Plants were her work and her hobby, so she saw nothing wrong with it.

Petty Officer Travis Nottingham from Security was in the turbolift when they entered. He nodded respectfully to the two officers. “Problem?” he asked, noting the troubled look on Brianthe’s face. He didn’t know her well, but she was friends with his partner Ensign Jessica Mayhew.

Brianthe started a bit at the question. The man was vaguely familiar, but once he mentioned Jessica, she knew who he was. "No. Yes. Maybe. Lieutenant Wells missed a meeting yesterday and I can't reach her by combadge. I'm going down to her research cabin and see if she's okay. At least, that's what I'm hoping to do. Lieutenant Cannon is coming with me." She glanced at Ace. "It'll probably be nothing, but you're welcome to come, if you'd like."

Ace gave Brianthe a reassuring glance back. "The more the merrier," he replied nonchalantly. He then told Brianthe, "I can check the transporter logs and pattern buffers to see if there was any degradation or other oddities in her beaming down." He paused briefly to gather some more thoughts. Oh, that would put a serious damper on dinner if there was anything wrong. You really didn't think this through, did you, Ace? Well, we will figure out how to deal with that problem if it is a problem. Maybe a comforting shoulder would be all that was needed anyways. Putting on his best face, he chuckled, somewhat forced, "I'm sure that nothing like that happened, but better to start with the stuff up here, right?"

"She has her own shuttle, but we can make sure there are no reports of it being damaged somewhere," Bri said, hoping Alanna hadn't been in a shuttle accident. She hadn't considered that possibility.

"And we know she took a shuttle?" Ace asked. "I suppose she might, considering ruins." He sighed. "She would have had to record a flight path. I will check and see if there were any deviations from it or whether there were anomalies associated with her flight times."

"She has her own shuttle. It's easier because the site isn't near the colony or the portal site," Bri replied. "And it's hidden from sensors, so you have to know where to find it."

"A cloaked shuttle? Well, if you have the schematics, I'll find it," Ace told Bri. He gave her a small wink and told her, "I always find what I'm looking for."

"Her cabin is cloaked, too," Bri admitted. "I don't have the schematics on the shuttle, only Alanna does. Or maybe Jason, too. I know the coordinates of the cabin, though."

"Not having another person with schematics could be damn inconvenient if she happened to get her shuttle in a heap of trouble. But there's more than one way to find a cloaked ship. Why is Alanna so damn secretive?" Ace wondered aloud. Perhaps that's why Jason liked her and they were dating. He certainly played the intrigue game well himself.

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca
Assistant Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant JG Ace Cannon
Assistant Chief Operations Officer

Petty Officer 3rd Travis Nottingham
Security Officer

 

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