An Acerbic Arrival

Posted on Fri Dec 31st, 2021 @ 2:34pm by Lieutenant Noa'Shienne Oasis

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: The ACDF Typhoon en route to the Elysium
2134 words - 4.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Warrent officer Gen'tetra Crystalcliff carefully adjusted her Uniform , taking care to not rupture any of the Cooling coils that were embedded into her Uniform. While not strictly necessary for her survival at the Temperatures aboard the ACDF Typhoon, They were essential to her comfort while out of her Climate controlled room. To her the ships NCO Briefing room was unbearably hot, though she knew in reality the majority of the Rooms aboard this ship, and Any of the Federation's ships were Considered comfortable by most species. She silently cursed the Genome project from centuries earlier that had decided to Alter Genetics rather then attempt to terraform the sister planets of Tellacha. Her gaze drifted away from Her Bulky Ruggedized PADD, her ears twitching with annoyance at herself. She'd Arrived to the briefing room a whole half hour early just so she could review both her patient files, and her mission orders one last time before briefing her civilian attache on the dual nature of their Transfer to the USS Elysium.

When the Warrant Officer arrived into the Briefing Room, she would find it empty. Of course it was. The esteemed Xenobotanist was on her way though. Noa'Shienne Oasis strolled down the halls on the ship, her eyes trained on a data pad in her hand. She wasn't watching where she was going, she knew the Typhoon like the back of her hand now. She rounded the corner and entered the Briefing Room a mere three minutes after her colleague, and looked up at the other vixen. She was dressed in a rather typical manner for a Dunepaw on a ship with other species, long, flowing garments of deep earthen greens and browns, covering most of her body up to the neck. Sure, she'd survive in the cold without these garments, but she liked to stay warm. The most identifying thing about her were the two turquoise studs in her ear, a tradition of her clan that she followed.

"Ah. Good, you came early too." Noa said, striding into the room past Gen'tetra, long, bushy tail swaying just a bit now. "I assume you're here to go over everything?"

The Taller vulpine flicked her ears, her dense white fur pressed into the usual Armored Uniform that the ACDF Favored for the Subspecies, the dull Grey's and blue's of a science officer marking out. Her tail swayed slowly as she cast her ice blue eyes onto the Dunepaw. "I'm here to Brief you, yes," she said with the Usual bland efficiancy that the Snowrunner's were known for throughout the confederacy. "Introductions of course," she added as she moved to take a seat, her posture stiff, even by the rigorous standards of the ACDF. "I'm Warrant officer CrystalCliff, And I'll be assuming command of our Diplomatic Transfers aboard the USS Elysium." she said, her voice dripping with the elegant accent of the southern regions of Cordia. "Our First contact aboard the vessel is Warrant officer Reo'thanra Sandtail, he's been there a little over a year," she paused and quickly consulted her PADD. "You and I specifically are to offer what ever aid we can to the ships medical team, it appears their Assistant Chief of science is worse for ware following an experiment...though the details of which have been classified, we do know that Her DNA is suffering some form of Terminal deterioration."

Noa crossed her arms at the somewhat tepid introduction. Well, she could respect that, they needed to get down to business after all. "Noa'Shienne Oasis, Co-chair of the Artanian Ecology Administration, and lead Xenobiologist. A pleasure to meet you." she said, taking a seat opposite to the taller fox. She set her pad on the table between them now. "I've reviewed all the information that was made available for civilians, but it wasn't that much to go on. Now that I'm officially on your team, I assume there's information I wasn't privy to. What is the nature of this deterioration?" she asked, getting right to business herself.

"Star Fleet has classified the Cause of the Deterioration, and Sandtail wasn't close enough with the Individual in question to pry the answer from her," Gen sighed as she relaxed her posture slightly. "Patient records we were allowed to see showed that her Telomeres were Longer then any recorded humans, possibly, and probably as a result of her own experimentation." She let out a soft sigh and tugged at her Uniforms collar. "But...Our mission doesn't end with the patient." she added. "We're assisting with the diplomatic Envoy process...as well as conducting Force Recon should the confederacy Council Decide to Not allow The federation to Annex us."

"Telomeres... How strange, I don't know why that would cause any of degradation At least not on the scale we're talking." she said, grumbling to herself. "Damn humans, you'd think they would turn over the records immediately so we could study in depth and possibly have countermeasures in mind. If they want to save one of their own, they're doing a poor job of it." Noa said with annoyance. She did perk up her ears now and shook her head. "Hold on a minute, I didn't sign up to do any sort of recon. I'm not a part of the ACDF, you can do that recon yourself!" she said. Granted, getting ahold of the medical and biological database of a Federation Starship could help her research... So she wasn't going to out any potential espionage. Besides, it might not even be espionage if diplomatic relations went well. Heck, to smooth things over, she might want to re-enlist in Star Fleet... Was that why she was approached in the first place? Well, if it was, lucky them, she already had it in her head to do just that for her own research purposes!

"I'm not asking you to perform any Recon Miss Oasis," Gen said with a slight smile that crossed her muzzle. "Since you are correct, you're just here as my attaché for the Medical Program." she shook her head, her pale white and grey mane swaying with each motion. "I suppose you can also keep Sandtail company...since you'll be sharing a section, the only part of the ship adjusted to the Temperature you're accustomed to."

Noa seems to pause a moment, seemingly deep in thought now. "Well, I wouldn't mind that little comfort. It's appreciated, but unneeded. I used to serve on a federation ship." she said. Honestly, she likely would side with her people. But she didn't want to be put in that position. She just wanted to do her job, and study plants! It could be the very thing that saved her people from their own planet! "Alright. Is there anything else you can tell me before we arrive?" the Dunepaw Arten asked, resting her chin on her hand slightly. It wouldn't be long now before they arrived.

Gen was silent for a moment, her expression difficult to read before she gave a long slow shake of her head. "Nothing Relevant beyound the staff you'll be working with, all of which are detailed in your mission briefing of course."

The Dunepaw looked down at the pad in her hand, then tossed it lightly. It landed on the table now with a clatter, leaving Noa looking a bit frustrated by this lack of information. "Very well. Thank you Warrant Officer CrystalCliff. You've been most helpful." she said softly now.

The snowrunners ears folded back, her expression finally cracking from her blank mask into one of genuine concern. "I...is there...something wrong Miss Oasis?"

Noa looked up now before frowning some. "I don't know if it's you, the Federation, or the ACDF, but I hate when i know i'm not being told the whole story of a situation I'm stepping into. But, since there's nothing I can do about it, I'll do my best to keep my frustration in check. I'm sorry." she said, sighing and rubbing her temples a little bit.

"I'm fairly certain its the federation..." Gen muttered her eyes darting away. "Sandtail overheard a Rumor that the patient was conducting some kind of Illegal experiment that Starfleet is trying to sweep under the Rug.., but this only a rumor he's heard."

"Of course. Well, I'll play this game for now. But only because this promises to help my own research. As for the rumor, well, I'll hear it from him when we arrive I suppose." Noa said. An illegal experiment, oh that was juicy. She went quiet for a moment, not sure what to say now that their briefing seemed to be finished.

Gen shifted in her seat both in awkward discomfort and genuine discmfort at how warm the room felt to her. "if you'd Like...I suppose we could get to know eachother a bit more while we're on final approach," She said, her ears perking up. "I..ah..do apologize though, I've been rather..." she trailed off her gaze drifting away as she searched for a word. "Isolated with my work most my life..."

Noa seemed to pause still, shivering a bit despite herself. The room felt way too cold, and with the mutual awkwardness at the situation, it only seemed to make it worse. "It's fine. I'm a bit of a workaholic myself. What kind of work do you do, if you don't mind my asking? After all, it appears we will be working together for a while."

"My primary focus with the fleet is in subspace Research with practical applications, though I also did take Genetic Engineering as a secondary specialty," Gen said with a warm, fanged smile. "Lots of stuff like Channel listening, Or Ultra long range Telescopes, Even things as out there as Espionage and Stealth tech,"

"Ah... How fascinating. I admit, I never really understood the nature of subspace. It's not as simple as Botany." Noa said in an offhand manner. "I major in Xenobotany, with an emphasis on Cellular Biology and Modification, but i had a secondary in General Medical Practice myself. So we'll likely be working together on several different projects."

Gen giggled soflty. "If anyone tells you they understand subspace, they're either a liar trying to impress you, or a vulcan," she laughed out. "Botany is an interesting focus to hear," she added with a slow tilt of her head. "At least...coming from one of us colony brats," she added.

Noa chuckled at this now and nodded. "The captain of this ship tried to explain it to me once, but it went way over my head. He didn't sound like he was too confident either. Of course, Vulcans don't have that problem. They can feed you a line of complete bullshit, then make you feel stupid for daring to question it." she said with a wry chuckle. "And... Well, being a colony brat is WHY i'm studying plants. If something isn't done, my home will become completely desertified and become unable to support life in the next few millennia. I'd rather that not happen."

Gen gave a nod, her tail swaying slowly behind her as she thought it over. "I've heard the only reason Cordia isn't entirely frozen over yet is because out Research complexes dump enough heat into the oceans to keep it a slush ball...but I don't...really believe that..." she shuddered. "But Artania is something else..." she added. "So...what do those Dune Beetles taste like?" she asked with genuine interest. "I've always thought that they'd taste similar to the Iron Crabs we have on Cordia.."

Noa paused a little bit now, thinking on it. While her research was definitely one way to stabilize Artania's climate, Cordia was another story. Maybe she could develop hardy plants to help warm it a bit? She'd have to look into that... After she finished with Artania. "I couldn't imagine living on that ball of ice. Ugh, it's too cold in here." she said, shivering a bit. Soon, she paused now and made a face. "Ugh, I've always hated the Dune Beetles. Too gooey. Give me a fresh Cactus salad any day."

Gen gave a dissapointed look for a brief moment before a her thought was cut off by a loud Claxon from the ships PA. "looks like we're coming in..." She said once the alarm quieted itself. "We could go get our things ready for transport, I have a feeling we're going to be going straight to work on this one..." she muttered. "I look forwards to working with you,"

Noa flattened her overly large ears at the noise overhead now. "Oh good. I was getting tired of waiting." she said, standing up slowly. She walked toward the door now, before pausing. "Yeah, probably. I look forward to working with you as well. Let's hope we can save our patient."