Accepting Striel's Invitation

Posted on Sat Aug 9th, 2025 @ 4:19pm by Lieutenant Commander Harrison Knox & Lieutenant Juliette Barnes & Lieutenant Stormy Knight & Ensign Kivo Dak & Captain Rylan Gray
Edited on on Sat Aug 9th, 2025 @ 4:20pm

1,956 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: A Silence of Friends
Location: Medical Complex, Guran III

As the haze of the transporter beam faded, the away team found themselves standing in a large room, underground if the lack of windows and slightly stale circulated air were any indication. A ball drone rolled across the floor and came to a stop before a wall console; something similar to feet appeared, to anchor itself in place, while appendages appeared which it used, presumably to bring the unit online since moments later, the room lit up. "This is a medical facility," Striel said. As the lights came on, the team could see a half-circle of workstations facing something that looked like a bank of screens in varying sizes. "Used primarily for research. The door on the far side of the room leads to a corridor. At the end on the right are stairs that go down and at the bottom is the morgue. No damage is to be done to anything here but you are free to investigate."

Lieutenant Commander Harrison Knox looked to Stormy and gave a nod. "Have at it, Stormy" he said gesturing towards a console in the half-circle of work stations. This was an opportunity to learn as much as possible.

"Yes, sir." As she headed to the nearest console, Stormy added, "Thank you, Striel." She took several minutes to familiarize herself with the station, then began to search for information on what killed the previous inhabitants. It didn't take long as there were very few records after the extinction event. Soon, data began to scroll across the screen. Slowly, she began to isolate the information she needed and put it in a separate file. At first there wasn't much, but then there were more medical records, more tests, some genetic information. Then...nothing.

The young Helmsman closed his eyes in a quiet thanks to the Prophets for keep his molecules arranged in the correct order. He'd never much cared for transporters, rated safe or not. The questions were simple but lingering: how did his Pagh know where to go without his body? But he quickly opened his eyes and flicked open his tricorder. Then he double-tapped his commbadge to begin its tracking mode so the Thunderbird could keep tabs on them.

"Striel, part of the equipment my Chief Engineer has brought with her is a generator. With your permission, I'd like to install it here and have it interface with whatever has been keeping you operational. It will ideally extend your existence."

Striel considered between one blink and the next, analyzing the data it now knew from its contact with their starship, and evaluating that against his own vast knowledge of his systems. "Agreed. You may continue."

Knox looked at the other two. "Lieutenant, Ensign," the man added. So far his approach and good will was getting them further than waving a phaser at Striel.

“It’ll just take a few minutes,” Julie promised, already moving to set up the generator. She handed a phase diagnostic oscilloscope to the ensign while she worked with the actual generator. “Keep an eye on the levels once I power it up,” she instructed him. “Don’t want to blow it- or anything else here.”

"Understood," Kivo replied in his even, slightly adenoid resonance. He took it with at least a rudimentary understanding of its purpose. He was no engineer, but growing up in refugee camps, one tended to have to diversify. With a single Vulcanesque eyebrow raise, he waited for the diagnostic tool to hum to life. It soon did and he checked its systems. With a squint of an eye, he took a moment to survey this place. It was alien to his eyes, sterile and... rather brutalist in its plainness.

After a few minutes, the generator was ready. “Powering up,” Julie said, and pressed a small panel on the side. The generator whirred to life and several lights came on at once. She frowned at a light that remained out and kept her eye on it. Finally, it spluttered, then came on, spluttered, then stayed steady on. “It’s working so far,” she said. “How are the levels, Ensign?”

The Bajoran replied, "They look fine from here." He tilted his head, "Not optimal... but fine. We are floating near the bottom end of satisfactory."

Stormy went back over the data she collected, looking for something she could use, but there wasn't enough to put all the pieces together. She copied what she had, then sat back. "Striel, does this facility have stored samples of Gurani DNA I could use to help find a cure," Stormy asked. She figured it would be better to ask than to start looking around and upset the AI or make it think they were trying to steal anything.

"Recalculating language and mathematical parameters. The morgue contains two Gurani. One prepared for burial, the other has not," Striel answered. "Beyond that, no DNA remains in the system. Records indicate that it was removed four hours, twenty-three minutes before I was shut down. Notations were not made as to why."

That was...interesting. "Excellent. I'm going to look at the bodies and extract several small samples to use in creating a treatment. Once that has proven efficacious, we'll share it with you in case there is ever another outbreak." Stormy hoped they'd be able to come up with a cure using the DNA, but she didn't want to give Striel false hope.

"Stormy, be careful," Knox said swiftly. It was out of concern and caution. They needed to be mindful of where they were. He knew that if anyone could be delicate and respectful of the deceased, it would be his Chief Science Officer.

"Of course." Stormy knew that if she crossed any lines, she'd be in trouble. She found what she needed and headed for the morgue.

What happened to the Gurani was awful and having it relived aboard the Thunderbird's Sickbay was unsettling to say the least. Though his time under pressure had made Knox think more about chess, being a few steps or moves ahead of any opponent was crucial. "Striel, tell us more about the Gurani. You were constructed to protect the planet, correct? If something were to happen...an attack or something like what appears to have happened, what were the contingency plans? Did the Gurani have any colonies or anywhere they would go?"

"The Gurani empire extends across three systems," Striel answered as a map displayed itself on screen. "Repairs to the communications network are at seventy-three percent. No answers to hails as yet. Trinda IV is outside of network's range. Repairs continue."

"Extrapolate" replied Knox. "Striel, why would there only be two bodies in the morgue? Does that not lead to evidence that surviving Gurani left this world...evacuated and sought refuge elsewhere?" Knox hypothesized.

Perhaps this Tirinda IV or another world thought Knox.

"Analysis indicates one vessel is missing from nearest spaceport," Striel responded. "Ship design is classified. Unclassified records indicate that the ship can hold twenty individuals. No flight plan was logged before its departure. Attempting to track emission signature."

"Good, do that, and run an analysis on safety and evacuation procedures. Let's say twenty individuals left this world on that ship. I want to know where they were more likely to go" added Knox.

The silence was longer as Striel did an analysis and weighed that against his directives. "Unable to comply."

Knox opened a comm channel. "Knox to Knight. You doing alright down there in the morgue? It appears there's a vessel missing according to Striel. Probably about twenty people, possibly survivors that evacuated. We're trying to work out where they may have gone."

"I'm good. Found the bodies and am taking the least obtrusive samples I can." She paused while she put the last sample in a specimen case and closed it. "Done. As soon as I put the bodies back, I'll rejoin you in a minute. Is there any sign the shuttle went to the other side of the planet?"

"Good," replied Knox. He knew she knew what she was doing.

"Striel, you're a highly sophisticated, complex, and very advanced artificial intelligence," stated Knox. "This world may have been crippled, but there may be Gurani still alive. They need protected."

"All Gurani need protection," Striel answered.

"Help them, Striel. Protect. We are here to help them, but only you can make that happen. We need to know where they went."

"They are not within range of my protection," Striel answered. "Attempting hand-off."

"Thank you" replied Knox. There was sincere gratitude from him towards Striel. He understood what Striel was programmed for and there was some overlap in their mutual goals.

Stormy rejoined the others and quietly went to the console she'd been working on to enter in the DNA and send it directly to sickbay on the Thunderbird. Then she began to separate out what she would need to check against the plague. It wasn't the same as working on the ship, but she could get some preliminary data to help the medical staff.

"Striel, I suspect you have coordinates for where they may have gone. To hand-off we could use those. Will you provide them to me? To my starship?"

"Hand off complete," Striel said. "Fate of Gurani has been confirmed. All are dead. You must leave now, Commander Knox. Final orders scheduled for execution in six hours."

Final orders? Stormy didn't like the sound of that. She quickly copied any other data she might need in case this meant they wouldn't be able to return to the planet. "Maybe, if we stop the plague, Striel will still let us send people here to study."

"Striel, even if there are no more Gurani here, history is alive and well. You can still protect that. You can continue to exist. Its still an ongoing mission if you let it be one" Knox said to Striel.

Striel didn't answer; instead, a countdown, for their benefit displayed on the largest screen.

Knox let that sink in. He looked at Stormy, but what he said next was applicable to all of them. "Twenty minutes. Download everything we can, scan whatever you can. Document everything. Let's hope we uncover something useful to save our Captain and crew."

Stormy didn't even bother responding. There was so much she wanted to copy and document. She began another download, then went back to get more samples. When that was done, she checked the download, added more, and started scanning. She would save everything she could while she could--although her first priorities, after the samples, were science and history.

Final orders sounded distinctly ominous to Julie. She hadn’t come across anything in the files she had gathered before, but she had been mainly focused on technical docents, schematics, and history. She would let the others worry about the orders. Right now, she had to make an adjustment to the generator. “Keeps you on your toes, doesn’t it?” she commented to nobody at all.

Yeah. It definitely did, Stormy mentally echoed. It made her work with more determination. Finally, just before the twenty minutes was up, Stormy had all she wanted most of the science and history and what she needed of the medical. She wanted everything, but that would take days.

Twenty minutes was not a lot of time, but it hung heavy on Harrison Knox's shoulders. When time elapsed, he rounded up the away team to a centralized location. "It's time to go" he called out and gave this world, this complex one last gaze. Striel's countdown had some time left, but Knox and crew had done what they could on Guran III.

He tapped his communication's badge. "Thunderbird, we're ready for extraction. Beam us up."

 

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