This is How You Treat Guests?
Posted on Mon Jun 8th, 2026 @ 9:20pm by Lieutenant JG Varinity Atoro & Lonian Royal Sovereignty & Captain Gary Taylor & Commander Alicia Kelea-Salik
Mission:
MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Pomei. Planet side.
Timeline: MD4
2439 words - 4.9 OF Standard Post Measure
Gary was doing some casual Intel gathering a Pomei. A local spot visited by a good portion of the population and the perfect spot to gather Intel. His method of gathering information consisted mostly of people watching as they went about their daily activities, People were in all shapes and sizes. Some moved with urgency some just moved leisurely and a few just sat on benches scattered around the area. he had brought Alicia with him so she could 'read' the crowd see if there was anything to be concerned about.
Alicia was looking around curiously, it was nice to get off ship and get some fresh air, but she wished Savar could be there. Turning to Gary she offered a smile. “There are so many different races and species here, it’s obviously a popular destination.”
Gary nodded at Alicia's observation. "You are absolutely correct Alicia. This area is buzzing with activity, so its a good place to observe the locals as they go about their day as well as take in the sights."
About half of the aliens in the market were Lonian, and the other half consisted of easily two dozen other species. Many of them were taller than the Lonians, which wasn't a difficult standard to exceed. Some of the tallest, comparable to S'hib, were a trio of Endarans, unique blue striped patterns marking their tanned skin where it was visible from under their light blue attire. Their hindlimb-like legs clicked along the street with a deer's delicate gait, and devices on their head covered where one would assume their ears were. A pair of guards in dark blue uniforms casually patrolled, conversing with each other as they made their rounds. A group of Cavaarans, a lizard-like species, passed by inspecting the wares. One picked up something from a table and enquired about it. Children wove through the crowd, playing tag and bumping into passersby.
Alicia grinned at the children’s antics as she watched them before looking elsewhere. “We should take a walk, have a look around and see what there is. We’re tourists so we should at least add to the economy here, we might find some interesting foods to take home.”
Gary nodded at Alicia's suggestion. "An excellent idea and you are right we are tourists so we should act the part and as you correctly pointed out we may find some foods to bring back to the Elysium."
As they started walking Alicia looked at the various market stalls and offerings, she had to admit there was a lot of interesting souvenirs as well as food, she could have quite happily shopped until she dropped. “This stall looks good” she pointed to a vendor selling various fruits and vegetables, amongst other items.
Gary looked where Alicia pointed at the different fruits and vegetables. he saw one fruit that had the coloring of an orange but shaped like a cucumber and another that looked like a watermelon but had spots all across it. "It sure does, let's take a closer look."
The Lonian at the stall gave the visitors a friendly smile. "Greetings, my name is Velon. If you have any questions, I will happily answer them," he said.
Gary smiled at the vender. "Just looking over your selection. Could you please tell us about this?" He asked pointing at the orange colored cucumber. "And this one as well." He added pointing as the spotted watermelon fruit?
Velon nodded approvingly. "Both are very versatile in cooking." He reached beneath the table and grabbed a datapad to present to the one who had spoken. On it were recipe suggestions, and Velon had focused the screen on recipes containing the foods in question. "The orange one is best in bite sized pieces, because the more it's chopped the more of its flavour is released. It's a savoury taste but it starts to become bitter when it's finely chopped. The other one, a maavi, is sweet. I actually have samples for the maavi, if you'd be interested in trying it?"
Alicia nodded. “Yes please, I like sweet so it sounds interesting.”
"May I have a sample as well?" Gary asked politely. "I am also fond of sweet."
"Of course," Velon responded with a smile. Reaching under the table, he grabbed a sampler from his refrigeration unit and presented it to the two. "I think it's best served cold."
Alicia took hers sampling it with a nod of her head. “Mmm that’s lovely, definitely good cold. I’d like to take some of those please.”
"As would I." Gary added, "LL would love these. They will make a good snack for her."
Velon nodded enthusiastically as he prepared some takeaway containers. "How many would you like?" He asked them.
Knowing his daughter's love for snacks Gary replied, "I think twenty four will be perfect if you please."
“I think the same for us, I can always come back for more” Alicia smiled warmly.
It didn't take long for Velon to package up their respective quantities. The 24 fruits took up considerable space, so he looked to Gary. "Do you, er... have a means of transport, or would you prefer to have this sent directly to your vessel?"
"If i can leave them here with you for brief time, I'll arrange to have transported to the ship." Gary replied hoping Velon would agree to his request.
Velon smiled and nodded before handing over a small device. "Just press this when you're ready. It's programmed with the container's ID so you can transport it. Once the transport is complete, it will return itself to me via transport."
“Thank you” Alicia smiled warmly. “So where to next do you think?” She looked at Gary curiously.
"That is a very good question and I am open to suggestions. Anything or anywhere you want to see or go?" He asked Alicia.
“I don’t mind just walking along here, it’s interesting” Alicia smiled.
Varinity had seen enough. After Damien, she watched the guards approach two more Elysium crew and transport away with them, and the feeling of unease in her gut only grew. She would have dismissed it if it weren't the only thing that bothered her about this place. The pillars. The guard presence. The plainclothes officers she caught hovering in areas where the crew were relaxing. No wonder she felt like she was being watched; there was a good possibility that it was true.
She would have dismissed it if she hadn't made Damien promise to use their Academy-era drink code.
The paranoid side of her had a feeling that sounding the alarm right away would be risky. Other guards were still nearby, and she did not want to put a target on her back for alerting the Elysium to what she believed they were doing. So she instead returned to the transporter pad and went to Pomei. She could at least blend in there. Once in the crowd, she discreetly asked Avalon to locate the nearest commanding officer on the planet, and it reported that Gary was nearby. Surprisingly close, even.
The relief she felt when she spotted Gary was only brief when she saw guards approaching him and Alicia. She broke into a run, weaving between people as she hoped to get to them before the guards could take them away...
The two guards who were on patrol looked at a datapad, as if a message had come in, then changed course to approach Gary and Alicia. "Forgive the intrusion, are you two from the Elysium ship?"
Gary turned at the guard's unexpected presence and question. "Yes, we are. What can we do for you?" He asked a quizzical look on his face,
Alicia gave Gary a concerned look before sensing someone familiar.
"We are conducting an investigation into someone who arrived on your vessel, a Teevs Dosivi," one of the guards explained, handing over a datapad showing a familiar face. "If you are familiar with this individual, are you able to accompany us to the precinct to answer some questions?"
Varinity was close enough to hear the question. No, not them, too. "Captain!" She came to a stop by him, hands on her knees as her chest heaved from running. After a couple seconds, she sucked in a breath and stood upright. "There you are! You two are going to be late for your meeting!" Her heart was pounding in her throat. Her legs felt like rubber after the hike and her running.
Gary hadn't even looked at the picture on the datapad instead turning to look at Varinity's arrival. "He noticed her appearance and rushed breathing and concluded something was amiss. "Yes, here we are Lieutenant." He said looking over at Alicia before turning back to Varinity. "The meeting? Yes, we completely forgot about we were busy shopping." He handed the datapad back to the guards. "Sorry gentlemen, my Commodore is expecting us and she doesn't like to be kept waiting." He gave another glance at Alicia before saying, "Lead the way Lieutenant. Let's not keep the Commodore waiting."
Alicia breathed a sigh of relief, sensing something obviously wasn’t right. “I thought I sensed someone coming, we don’t want to be late getting back.”
"Quite right Alicia." Gary replied as the trio began to move away from the guards.
Thank god they caught on, but Varinity couldn't relax yet as the guard attention turned to her. "Sorry," she said, anticipating the question. "I need to go with my captain. I'm... his note taker." The hiking attire certainly did not fit the fake role she promoted --demoted?-- herself into, but she was hoping the guards wouldn't question it.
The guards looked between the three people, taking an extra few seconds to eye Varinity after her claim, before putting the datapad away. They almost looked disappointed. "We won't keep you. Thank you for your time," the one guard said. Then, the two wandered off to resume their patrol.
Gary watched as the guards turned and walked away and soon disappeared among the crowd. Only then did he turn back to Alicia and Varinity as the trio walked farther away from the vendors and guards putting as much distance as possible between All while maintaining a relaxed attitude.
Once the guards left, Varinity fought to maintain her composure, but concern leaked into her expression despite her efforts. She eyed one of those surveillance pillars that happened to be nearby as they passed. God, were they being watched, even now? Once they got sufficiently away from the crowd and into a side alley, she tapped her communicator. "Atoro to Elysium, three to beam up." The ship was the only location she'd trust to be secure in this star system.
Gary kept silent as he felt the transporter beam wrap around him and transport him, Alicia and Varinity back to the Elysium.
Once they appeared in the transporter room, Varinity exhaled as if she had been holding her breath and put her hands behind her head to open up her chest to let her breathe. Maybe it was good that the counselor was with Gary, because she definitely needed someone to keep her sane. She looked... spooked.
Gary looked at Varinity saw the look on her face, she was scared. "What is Lieutenant? What has you so,,,, rattled?"
“My question exactly” Alicia looked at Varinity. “What’s going on?”
Varinity's chest expanded slightly as she took a deep breath. Yeah, rattled was a good descriptor, but she was still a Starfleet Officer. She mentally reminded herself to pull herself together. Lowering her hands, she shook out her arms before wrapping them around her midsection. "Lieutenant Blackford and I were hiking, and guards intercepted us as we were coming back. They said that Teevs had been accused of treason and asked if we would answer questions for their investigation. But something wasn’t right. They were tense and looking around. I thought I was being paranoid, with all the surveillance on the planet, but..." She took a breath as if breathing were suddenly a new concept to her. "I told Damien to check in if he was going to go, but he never did, and I haven't been able to reach him for the last hour. That's not normal for him. I saw two others go with guards in a similar manner before I found you."
“Oh that’s not good” Alicia gave Gary a worried look. “Perhaps we should see if the ship’s sensors are picking up all of our people?”
Gary listened to Varinity's story and when she was finished he wore a concerned look on his face, "I agree that isn't good and it definitely needs to be looked into." He looked back to Varinity, "Anything else you remember? Do you know who the other crew members who went with the guards?"
Varinity thought for a couple seconds. "A pair of engineers from beta shift, I believe. How the guards approached you two is exactly how they approached Damien and I. I think they knew more about us than they let on." She glanced to Alicia, "a sweep is a good idea. If we can't get ahold of people, maybe we can figure out where the guards took them. I could do it from the security suite." The only reason she didn't mention the bridge was because the space intimidated her. She looked back to Gary for guidance. "Three near-identical interactions in barely an hour is concerning, to say the least."
Gary met Varinity's gaze. " This is no coincidence, This is well thought out and coordinated. We'll go to the security suite, no need to alert the entire ship. We also need to bring in the Commodore and Commander Reece, let them know what is going on as well as the seriousness of the situation. Along with you and Alicia."
Varinity nodded, though inside she was anxious. Summoning Phoenix and Kyle was certainly the right move, but it raised stakes; if she was wrong in her assessment of the situation, an earful for disrupting shore leave was probably the generous outcome. With what she had observed, however, she was willing to risk it. "Considering the situation, Captain, it might be best to summon them subtly, in case they may be interacting with guards. I hope I'm just being paranoid, but I don't want our alert to cause an escalation."
“We understand that Varinity, and your suggestion is a good one.” Alicia added. “Let’s just hope we don’t have any more missing people.”
