User blog:Noah Masterson/Masterson Personal Log 201502.15

Feeling somewhat apprehensive about her current decision, she left the engineering hangar and took her time walking to Ops. The fresh air helped ease her mind and clear her thoughts. If things were not planned out perfectly and one mistake was made, it could cost her her outpost. However, deep down inside she had a feeling this was the right thing to do.

Approximately twenty minutes later, she sauntered into Ops. “Missed you at the meeting, Chief,” she said with a wink as she joined Masterson.

*

"No disrespect was intended, Captain," Noah began. Since the spatial anomaly, he'd had a more noticeable sense of dread or foreboding.

"But I do feel I have to point out the speed at which with this project is progressing with seemingly no thought to any consequences."



"We could be doing something here that is very foolish and dangerous. No trap in history has ever declared itself. They usually look rather inviting," Noah explained.*

The Kronucian took a seat next to Masterson and swiveled the chair to face him. "What is to say this is a trap? We did not experience any negative effects from the anomaly. Why would they leave 'impending doom' for us to encounter? Perhaps this gateway will lead us to find new, unexplored life," her voice was soft.

*

The Kronucian took a seat next to Masterson and swiveled the chair to face him. "What is to say this is a trap? We did not experience any negative effects from the anomaly. Why would they leave 'impending doom' for us to encounter? Perhaps this gateway will lead us to find new, unexplored life," her voice was soft.

*

Anika could not help but snicker slightly, "did you not enjoy your time without technology, Noah?" She teased him.

She knew everyone had a rough time during that time, some more than others, but toward the end of it all, she found it quite pleasing to be away from all of the tech. Although, it was good to be back to normal.

*



Noah couldn't help it. A wry grin crossed his face at the Captain's joke.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">"Actually, Captain, I enjoyed that bit. But let's be honest here: this is OPX. Nothing big that happens here is, historically speaking, 'good'. Thomas almost blew up the planet, twice; the Gorn did their level, damn best to erase us, twice; and the Orbs gave us quite the fun trip. Need I mention the tree expedition," Noah said. He was a bit put off by the fact that the Captain was so...nonchalant about this.*

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">Anika laughed, "and that is because you have only been with us a short time, Noah. OPX has definitely had its share of action but we always somehow manage to come out of it. We have our share of scars and bruises, but they are our adventures, our mistakes, our victories. It is what makes us... us."

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">She glanced at the chronometer, "care to join me for breakfast? I would love to hear more about this conspiracy of yours against Commander Kyle..."

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">"Breakfast sounds great, Captain. But in the interests of full disclosure, much of that theory was my fault and the result of way too much caffeine and not nearly enough sleep," Noah smiled through the explanation.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">“I do not recall you ever visiting the Embassy,” a soft smile came across the Captain’s face as the locking mechanism unlatched and the massive door began to slide open revealing the main foyer.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">“Welcome, Chief. Please make yourself at home,” she led them to the turbo lift located on the right-hand side of the foyer. The Captain placed her index finger on a pad located next to the door. After the scan cleared, the doors to the turbo lift slid open allowing them inside. “The fourth floor is considered my ‘living’ area.”

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">*

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">"No, I've been meaning to give this a walk-through but...something always comes up," Noah explained. He looked around the empty shell of a building, wondering if it couldn't be used in some fashion.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">"Did we not have Senior Officer's Quarters available, or did you prefer to continue living here, ma'am," Noah asked. *

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">The soft hum of the turbo lift subsided as it came to a halt. The doors slid open to reveal the Captain’s living quarters. All of the walls facing outside were covered by windows, giving a view to the Ambassadorial Gardens, part of the outpost mountains, and in the distance, the ocean sparkled underneath the morning sun.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">“It is a long story as to why this building came to be. Perhaps I will give you a tour after breakfast. I think you will be pleasantly surprised,” she signaled to the breakfast nook located near the windows overlooking the Ambassadorial Gardens.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">*

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">Noah barely heard the Captain's explanation as his attention was drawn to the view of the mountains before him. He'd climbed some since he'd been here but he'd never seen this face before. He made mental notes of the topography, good places to rest on the climb...all the things that a climber notices.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">"Sorry, what was that, Ma'am...the view distracted me," Noah said sheepishly.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">*

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">“There is a direct access to that peak from the Ambassadorial Gardens. I have been told it is quite a climb,” she winked as she made her way to the replicator near the nook. “What will you be having this morning?” *

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">Noah looked down at the Gardens and noticed a distinct path, although it was rather cleverly hidden. He'd have to try this climb and soon...

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">"Uh, whatever's on the menu, ma'am...as long as its served with Russian Caravan tea," Noah said, still staring out the window.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">*

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">The Captain ordered two baked florentine omelets, a Russian Caravan tea, and an earl grey with lavender tea. “One of my kids found this recipe in the databanks and ever since, it has become a family favorite. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do,” she set the plates and cups on the table.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">“So is it safe to assume that the persecution for the ‘Bringer of Doom’ has come to an end?” Her smirk hid behind her tea cup as she enjoyed her first sip.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">*

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">Noah smiled.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">"I think so, but I can't speak for Mister Thomas. He was the true believer on that front; I simply looked at the data and the...correlations that he'd made and agreed that it made sense. But you have to admit, all of the elements are here: a stranger who shows up, ready to change everything; chaos, in this instance embodied by Thomas himself; a planet that seems to suck in 'negative' events and the mysterious anomaly. It made sense to me..."*

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">“Well, rest assured, Commander Kyle’s Starfleet record does not contain anything that correlates with him being... evil. Now, as for the portal, you have disclosed your reservations as others have,” she paused to take her first bite.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">“I would like you to look into those data packets that included upgrades for our entire systems. Perhaps they left those behind knowingly. There may be some useful updates for Ops and Security.”

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US"> Sometime later

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">Noah walked out of the Embassy and found his sight drawn to the Engineering hangar that had been designated as the test area. He had had some difficulty articulating to the Captain about his sense of dread and doom but he knew that it had settled on him at about the same time that the outpost had come out of the Temporal Anomaly. But it was there, and every one of his Academy instructors had pounded the mantra of “Trust your instincts,” into his subconscious. What was he to do? Ignore something so intrinsic in his training because of the gain that it represented? He frowned as he rolled the dilemma over in his mind. But then he recalled the oath he took when he’d been commissioned as well as the orders that had seen him posted as Chief Of Operations. Neither one was ambiguous in terms of protecting the occupants of Phoenix, civilian and Starfleet alike. Part of his responsibilities as Chief of Operations was to ensure that there was an outpost to operate. That meant protecting it, didn’t it, he asked himself. If he’d been on a ship, he would have been a Tactical officer and part of their mission was ensuring the safety of the ship. Why should it be different here, he wondered. It wasn’t. Captain Bonali gave her officers quite a lot of latitude when it came to accomplishing their mission and, in the absence of a Chief of Security, Noah had been arranging everything. It was his responsibility alone, he decided.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">He nodded and headed for Operations at a brisk, determined pace. He made a mental checklist of everything he’d need to get ready. First, he’d have a word with the Security teams assigned to Portal duty. Next, he wanted to speak to the head of the SCE crew that had assembled the Portal. Lastly, he’d have to write up everything for the Captain’s authorization.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">Several Days Later

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">Noah was in the Hangar supervising the last of his Security implementations. The Security teams had been hitting the range, the holodecks simulators and the combatives range quite frequently since Noah had spoken to the OIC. He’d made it clear to the officer that those teams present were the first and potentially only line of defense that the rest of OPX had should something unfriendly come through the Portal. Noah had also taken the liberty of having the SCE crews install several old-fashioned shaped explosive charges about the frame of the Portal and around the base as well. Noah reasoned that blowing up Starfleet property to save lives was a no-brainer: lives won out every time. Now that everything was in place, he had the largest task at hand: convincing the Command Staff that these weren’t the preparations of a lunatic but rather of a rational, logical person intent on protecting his post and the people here.

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">

<p lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US">OOC Note: This was a joint log between Captain A. Bonali and Masterson