Touchdown on Skunil - Part I

Posted on 07/10/2020 @ 10:10pm by Lieutenant JG Larissa Syndel

Mission: S2E1: The Skunil Incident
Location: Shuttlecraft Flying Hawk | Skunil
Timeline: Day 38 at 1315

The Federation shuttlecraft, Flying Hawk swiftly cut through the mesosphere transitioning into the stratosphere of the planet Skunil. It was an agricultural world situated in the alpha quadrant and had been colonized by a mixture of Bajoran and Human settlers. Lieutenant Jodon Joral, Executive Officer of the USS Crazy Horse had brushed up on the basics of the Bajora faith; however, he was not sure how many of the settlers held on to those beliefs and traditions. A small settlement like this? It was anyone’s guess what they prescribed to and for how long especially coexisting with Humans as they had been.

It had been a relatively small colony when initially settled, nothing more than the population of a small town on Earth. Colonists were always known to be interesting folk, individuals who often by choice wanted to get away from the ordinary, isolate themselves in some cases, and try to make a civilization sprout out of barely anything but a few seeds of people and wealth of knowledge. Scientists were often gung-ho to be colonists, farmers who lived with minimal technology tended to also be keen on the idea, then there were always the rugged frontiersmen who came with a plethora of problems and personalities. Somehow, these colonies either took off and went extraordinarily well or they sank into chaos fast. Worlds such as Turkana IV that was home to the New Paris colony fell into the latter category.

J.J. was not the most experienced pilot, but his symbiont’s previous host had been an accomplished helmsman, a decent tactician, and ultimately a robust bridge commander rising to the rank of Captain and serving as a Commanding Officer for years. J.J on the other hand had a background in the sciences. So, as nervous as he was about taking an away team down to Skunil, he was also trying to control some excitement; however, what had made him increasingly on edge was the lack of communication. Skunil was non-responsive, but with the Flying Hawk passing over the civilization, buildings were standing. This was clearly Skunil, but why the silence?

“Lieutenant Syndel, doublecheck those landing coordinates before I set us down” the First Officer of the Crazy Horse ordered, seeking confirmation before he tried to set the shuttlecraft down somewhere it shouldn’t have been.

"To the starboard side of the main square there is a small hangar, land there." Larissa said after checking the sensors scans matched what the database was telling her.

“Nachtgeist, what do we know about the present condition of the colony? Any problems or confrontations between the Skunil colonist and species in the region?” inquired J.J.

Kieran looked over from his station at the communications relay, swaying his head as if listening to silent music. Visibly in a good mood, he refocused his attention from the console in front of him to that of the officer addressing him. The one which had nearly crushed him drunkely falling out of a tree no less. "Frontier world, far out of Federation territory, and well beyond our capacity to reasonably protect. It's wedged between the Breen and Sheliak -- both highly territorial in their own right, but only the former are hostile. Both have a strict code of honour though. If they've seen activity out here, it's likely Skunil has something they want." He paused, listing his fingers over the interface to once more pull the file up as he shot it over to the holo-display where Joral was sitting.

"Last note was that initial colonists reported back to mineral surveys on the Federation Development Council. Pergium deposits. A mineral which hasn't been widely in use since between the 2100s and 2200s. Other than that, the planet doesn't have anything discovered which is out of the ordinary suspects this far out. Just be careful of the ion storms."

"Navigational nightmares," he replied to Kieran. "We will have to keep an eye on those. If they move in on us, we may have to wait for a window clearing before we take off again" he added.

His mind thought about worse case scenarios. He found himself calling out to the doctor. "Doctor O'Hamlin, do we have ample medical supplies aboard?"

"Unless you plan on beating the tar out of about a hundred people and expect me to patch them up, we have plenty," replied Chet without a hint of jocularity.

J.J. appreciated the quick wit but did not waver from his focus.

Tahlin called over from her station, "Sir, no sign of weapons fire, but I am seeing possible signs that they've been attacked..." She frowned at her readouts. "I don't understand this--it's like the people have vanished, no comm signals, and yet... No sign of how..." She half-turned from the panel to the executive officer. "Also, I hate to bring this up, and at the risk of sounding very Bajoran, but we can't discount possible Cardassian involvement... We're somewhat close to their border, and something... Doesn't feel right."

"Ghost town," J.J. replied "Or more aptly put in our case, ghost colony," he said as he continued to pilot the shuttle over. "I know how you feel. A colony this close to Cardassian border...and they have not always been the sort to honor borders" the Trill noted. "I do recall the 'Border Skirmishes' being a thing" he added. He was awaiting something in the way of their diplomatic officer.

Mulling over the circumstances, the diplomat peered towards the viewscreen. "Doubtful. Anything is possible, but after the war the Cardassians were struggling to rebuild. Something which still continues today. The Breen however, are not unknown for taking captives, if it falls within their code of honour. Which would suggest if that were the circumstance that something violated it. I can't think of anyone notable they're at war with right now, save perhaps the Tholians. But who aren't the Tholians aggressive towards?" He drummed his fingers across the console he was stationed at. "Rather than speculate it would be better to get hard evidence and begin investigating. No doubt this is eerie for some of you, but I'd rather rely on something we can ascertain rather than hearsay."

"I agree," responded Tahlin to the marine, "but memories are long, and even those born in the areas where Cardassians weren't all that prevalent..." She trailed off, looking to her readouts. "No energy signatures consistent with transport technology, or particle weapons, but the ion storms could have scrambled things before we got here."

J.J. listened to the chatter and with the coordinates confirmed by Lieutenant Syndel, he made the 'final approach' towards the landing coordinates. "Alright, everyone gets seated. It has been a while since I've actually landed one of these" he said half-teasingly. He was confident enough in his abilities to land the shuttle successfully and began to bring the shuttle down a bit, it's 'nose' dipping slightly and he soon leveled off once more.

"Syndel, prepare landing gears," he said to the Orion woman. She was an Operations officer and essentially his co-pilot aboard the shuttle as far as he was concerned. J.J. was not entirely sure what to make of his away team, but he was the one who picked them. He did so intelligently as far as he was concerned though. They each brought something he felt was needed for this mission.

"Gear is down, ventral thrusters ready." Larrisa reported, she glanced over at the Trill, despite his comment he looked confident enough.

J.J. brought the shuttle down smoothly.


A Post By:

Lieutenant Jodon Joral
Executive Officer

1st Lieutenant Kieran Nachtgeist
Chief Diplomatic Officer

Lieutenant JG Larissa Syndel
Chief Operations Officer

Lieutenant JG Lae'Or Tahlin
Chief Security/Tactical Officer

&

Dr. Chester O'Hamlin
Chief Medical Officer