Getting to the bottom

Posted on Tue Nov 1st, 2016 @ 3:58am by Commander Bertrand Cuprum & Captain Elijah Michaels & Commander Cor Cordale & Lieutenant Sara'draphia T'eseri & Lieutenant Odelle Lin

Mission: Smoke and Mirrors
Location: Temporary Housing

In the end it was decided that the best place to have a meeting was in the back of the temporary housing that was also serving as Wade's makeshift pub for the locals. At least they could be assured of privacy and not being overheard.

When the heads of staff had all gathered, including the new Science officer from the ship, Bertrand got the meeting started.

"As you are becoming aware, things down here are not quite what they were first reported to be. We have reports of seismic activity, but damage and injuries which is inconsistent with an earthquake. We have reports of spot raids from 15 different species, but no evidence or bodies from those attackers. We have unaccountable hallucinations in the mines. And everyone I talk to is convinced their telling me the truth. We also have reports from Vulcans and Betazoids of sudden onset headaches, usually in areas of high technology. What we don't have is anything that links all of this together. Have I missed anything?"

"At last count, my teams have only received 20 fatalities, 3 of which had signs of combat. That's three out of the hundreds we've processed. It would seem that these attacks are rarely fatal" Sara explained, not happy with being pulled away from her work.

"For that reason alone, I am unwilling to credit the reports," Bertrand agreed. "The idea that a Klingon force would leave no casualties is... well, incredible."

Cordale sat uncharacteristically still, his usual coffee in an unfamiliar generic mug in his prosthetic hand. His living hand had something of a twitch to it, like a shiver from the cold. "I didn't..." he paused, and took a breath to steel himself, "I didn't see any earthquake damage during my inspection of the mine." A long swig of coffee followed. The Thux knew in his heart that when Bertrand called his report 'Unaccountable' it wasn't him calling the Engineer a liar. It was that no one else saw what he saw, and in that he was grateful as he pretty much had a glimpse back into Thux Hell. He hadn't been that afraid in a while, that he'd admit anyway.

"As crazy as it sounds, that sounds pretty spot on. The medic at the mine inspection camp told me Anderson was blabbing about Romulans, and he was pretty confident in his hallucinations. The medic didn't go into the mines, though, so I think his report is credible. I haven't read it myself though." another sip of coffee.

"Nutmeg...." Kevin said quietly, snapping his fingers.

He suddenly realised the room of people had gone quiet and were looking at him. Pushing himself off of the wall he'd been leaning against, he coughed slightly to hide his embarrassment.

"I eh...when we first arrived, there was a slight scent in the air every now and again" he began "At first, I thought it was just something localised to where I was standing, but, as I moved around, I kept smelling the same scent now and again, sometimes strong, other times not so strong. I searched the places I'd been to see if there was anything common to the locations, but there wasn't. I know it sounds odd, but something was nagging me about the smell but it didn't hit me till just now what it reminded me off....now I do, it's nutmeg!"

There was more silence, so he carried on "During my studies at the Academy, I had a penchant for cooking whilst I studied, and one time I'd invited some student friends around for a meal and a study night. I was making a dessert, and one of the ingredients for it was nutmeg. As I used it, one of the students warned me not to use to much because it could cause hallucinations. They were joking of course, as the amount I was using was to small, but, it got me curious, so I looked it up. Sure enough, used in large amounts, nutmeg could act as an hallucinogenic. Now, I'm not saying those affected by whatever it is they imagined they saw were eating copious amounts of nutmeg, but 'what if' some kind of local plant or food did exactly the same thing, only it's used in gaseous form?"

"The questions is, if this is what's happening, is it deliberate, and if it is, why?" Kevin asked.

"You make another point that has been glossed over till now," Bertrand added. "All of those I have spoken to have referred to events they are familiar with. The person who saw Klingons had fought with Klingons before. Anderson served on the Romulan Neutral Zone. The entire colony had suffered a major quake a decades ago. Cor's encounter was... well the point is, they are all seeing things they are familiar with and remember strongly. It as if they are all prone to doses of extreme paranoid delusion. Have you noticed how quickly everyone jumps to the conclusion here that it was some sort of plot against them, even those that believe what happened was an Earthquake?"

"So," Bertrand continued, "To follow up on Kevin's question; what is causing it? These people have been living here for 200 years without this effect. So what has changed for them very recently?"

"Captain, are you able to access the Colony records with Kevin? Try and find something that has changed in the last few months; a new trade partner, a different way they prepare food, anything."

"My encounter with the Colony Assembly wasn't too pleasant but I think we can work around it Number One." Elijah turned to Kevin. "What do you think Lieutenant?"

"Assembly's are notorious for slowing progress or even attempting to stop it Sir, however...I'm more than happy, if you wish me to, accompany you to try and speak to them once again" Kevin replied "and there are ways to circumnavigate their bluster if you gather my meaning Captain?"

Elijah nodded. "My thoughts exactly."

"Cor are you able to escort Science back down into the Mine to see if they can detect anything that may have caused so many... incidents?"

Cor was silent for a moment after Bertrand asked him. Almost to the point where Bertrand might have guessed that Cor didn't hear him, but there were enough subtle body quirks to show that Cor had indeed heard him. There was a slight upwelling of concern, possibly even fear, in the Thux's mind, but a solid wall of determination pushed it all aside. After that long silence, Cor gave a nod, "Consider it done."

"I'll grab my equipment and we can get started right away." Lin replied.

"Medical can continue to treat the injured, but I want you to take some more in depth readings. Find if there is anything strange in the bloodwork, or brain patterns. Again, anything might be useful."

Sara nodded, "understood" she said, planning out how she would work in these new procedures into her standard treatments.

"Mr Wade, any insights from you would be greatly appreciated also. I am going to be doing some digging around some of the security data for patterns. Meet back here at 18:00 hours."

Elijah waited for everyone to be given their briefs before chipping in. "Whilst we all have jobs to do and a mystery to solve, I would advise caution to each of you." He said looking round. "There may be a logical explanation for all of it, but there may be an insidious element. Any problems contact myself or the XO."

"Might not hurt to have a buddy system." Cordale chipped in, "No one goes anywhere alone. If one of us starts rambling about tribbles with disruptors, then we know it's these hallucinations. If we both start rambling about it, then it's another story. Plus, if one of us starts going in too deep, the other can call for help." he paused, "I'd probably have beaten someone half to death by now if it wasn't for Anderson."

Elijah nodded. "Agreed, I'll allow you to choose who you pair up with." The Captain said with a nod at Cor. "Keep Phasers close by but set them on Stun, if they question it remind them it's standard procedure and to direct any objections to me."

"Sirs, request permission to confine all medical personnel to the treatment area or the ship. I cannot afford to have my staff running around loosing their minds" Sara asked, responding to the buddy system idea.

Elijah nodded. "Agreed, I'll see to it they have a Security Escort assigned to them just to be safe."

OOC: Read the mission discussion so you can know what it is we are all going to find.