287: Help is On the Way- Part Two

By: Commander Salvek and Keiran O'Sullivan
80515.1000
After Away Team 1 departs from the Sera

Given the choice of which of Sera's shuttles to take, Hok decided upon the one called Fortune. He was new to the crew and didn't really know how the relationships among those on the senior staff worked, still, he felt a tension in the air that he couldn't quite quantify.

Commander Salvek seemed to display the usual quiet, businesslike manner of a Vulcan in the execution of his duties, so Hok didn't expect him to be particularly chatty on the trip down from the ship to the planet. He had expected a bit more chatter among the Hewmons, however, and was not sure if he should try to break the silence that hung in the air between them, as the burly Chief of Security stared off into space in one direction, and the chief medical officer stared off in the other.

Salvek stood silently behind the new pilot, partly to observe his performance and partly to observe his behavior. It was simply in his nature to keep a watchful eye on new crew members. From what he had seen, Hok was clearly a professional and skilled at his duties.

"Gentlemen, your sidearms," O'Sullivan said from behind them. Hok observed O'Sullivan extending his arm, and handing Breaux a phaser without even looking at him. Breaux took the weapon and holstered it without looking back.

"I see you prepared the weapon's locker for this mission," Salvek said. He took the phaser and clipped it to his belt. He personally cared not for the weapons, but understood the Starfleet procedures on situations such as this, were clear. If you are entering an unknown or unstable situation, you carry a weapon, set to stun, for security.

"Can ye handle a sidearm, lad?"

"Of course, Commander. Basic weapons training is a required course at the Academy." Hok examined the weapon, content that if nothing else, it appeared to be set to stun.

Salvek thanked O'Sullivan and sat down in the co-pilot seat next to Hok.

"We need to find a reasonably obscure place to land. The people of this planet will no doubt want to acquire the shuttlecraft for a power source."

"I've already scanned the surface, Commander." Hok reached over to Salvek's panel and tapped the controls. A scan of the surface appeared, with the destination, the medical center, highlighted in a red box. The map panned northeast over a few buildings, to an industrial area. "This warehouse is not in use. The main bay is large enough to conceal the shuttle, and only five minutes walk from our target."

"That bay is only half a meter wider than the shuttle." Salvek's statement was meant as a question.

Avery Breaux and Dane Cristiane joined the conversation, as O'Sullivan quietly adjusted the settings of his phaser, in the rear.

"I think what the Commander means, is how are you going to fit us inside of that thing?" Cristiane added, a bit more sarcastic in tone than Commander Salvek or O'Sullivan cared for.

"As you said, the bay is a half meter greater in width," Hok said.

Salvek looked at Breaux for his opinion. Avery simply nodded. Both men had served as chief engineer and knew that, as long as the thrusters and sensors were perfectly calibrated and the pilot flawless, there should not be a problem.

"Gentlemen, I would like to take the point during the walk from the landing site to the hospital." O'Sullivan said. "Mr. Cristiane, as much as it pains me to say it, you are the logical choice to bring up the rear, lad. Any objections, Commander?"

Salvek would have preferred the point himself, but he understood O'Sullivan's logic, that the commander of the mission should not be put in a position of vulnerability. Salvek accepted this as the most reasonable course of action, and agreed to O'Sullivan's plan.

"We are sixty seconds from the landing site." Hok said.

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Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012

and

Keiran O'Sullivan
Chief of Security
USS Serendipity NCC-2012