Operator, Operator

Posted on Tue Dec 22nd, 2020 @ 10:54am by Commander Ichiko Gail & Lieutenant Commander William Gunnison & Cole Gunnison

Mission: Enforced Intermission
Location: ICS Tantamount

Through the hustle and bustle of the suddenly very active cargo bay turned medical reception, there were many people, many walks of life. Some on blankets, free to roam and walk. Some on cots, encouraged to relax at least for a little while to regain their composure. Some on beds, with medical teams around them working to ensure the next few hours were stable.

Escape pod after escape pod, crew would be recovered and brought in directly, familiar faces soon all around. Through it all, the rabbit-like Ts'usugi were diligent in ensuring everyone had a warm meal, a warm drink, a warm place to relax, and were safe.

After a bit of searching, a young Ts'usugi female found her way over towards William. A bowl in one hand, and a PaDD of sorts secured under an arm. It took a moment for her to find her words, but she had a soft smile on her face before she spoke, "Pardon, are you Mister Gunnison? My name is Liri, I'm an analyst attached to the operations and logistics division of the Tantamount. I was wondering if we could talk about the Astraea? While the events are fresh." she then offered the bowl, "Some soup? To keep you warm."

It was a little chilly in the makeshift triage camp. Though, given how large the average cargo bay was, that might just be expected.

"Thank you," Will said, taking the soup. "I'll answer what questions I can, though I don't know how much information I can provide. A question first, if I may. Have you had a chance to pick up any of the civilians from the ship yet? I'm looking for my son."

The ops officer seemed to perk up, "A son? Oh, well we've recovered everyone in all the accounted pods. Please, could you describe him, or provide his name?" Liri brought up her pad, and would bring up a list of the recovered personnel. She'd find a match, "Right here. Right over there." she motioned in a direction, where indeed there was a child being entertained by one of the crew. The advantage of looking like a big rabbit.

"Family first." she offered a hand to help them stand, and lead Will over to his son.

"Dad!" Cole said upon seeing his father. The two rushed into an embrace. "I remembered what you told me, Dad," Cole said after a few moments. "I didn't panic, and made sure to meet up with the nearest member of the crew for instructions. I did grab a few things from our quarters first, though, the stuff that couldn't be replicated, including your sword." He indicated the sword laying nearby, next to a duffel bag. "I know you said you didn't want me handling it yet, but I figured you wouldn't mind."

"I think I'll overlook it this one time," Will said. "I'm really relieved that you're all right."

"I'm a little shook up," Cole admitted, "but I'll live. Us Gunnisons are strong."

"We are indeed," Will replied, before gesturing to Liri. "If you don't mind, this lady wants to talk to me for a bit," Will told Cole, who nodded. To Liri, Will said, "Is this as good a location as any, or would you prefer somewhere else?"

At the question, and after witnessing the embrace, Liri gave a soft smile, and moved to sit on the blanket. "Honestly, right here seems as good a place as any. You have a very clever son. Quick thinking and well educated." she complimented. "Our investigation is probably going to be similar to your own. If you would, a recap of the events leading up to the unfortunate incident. The distress signal we received was brief but urgent, and we're hesitant to access the files in the core dump of the computer core pod if the trigger was a computer failure." a pause, "Even though your systems and our systems are probably completely different, why take a chance you don't have to?"

A pause, and then the Daughter of Ts'usu gave a soft smile, "Also, while we start off with soup, can I get either of you something to drink? Or something light to snack on? We'll be in condition violet soon, I imagine, and I'd rather your first time be with a light stomach." she paused, "Condition violet, it's the call to prepare to dive into what you'd call Warp."

"Nothing here," Will said, and Cole indicated the same.

Will then described what he knew about the virus and its early detection and how he and Tamarack had initially thought that they'd dealt with it, but that it seemed that what they had dealt with was actually a dud designed to distract them from the real virus. Every attempt to deal with the virus had only ended in failure.

"It was a good idea not to access the computer core pod," Will said. "We don't have any real idea of the virus or who made it, so we really don't know what it's capable of. Better to be safe than sorry."

Liri gave a nod, a rather energetic one at that. "It's standard policy not to touch a data source before knowing exactly what happened. There was one time an Ops crew had to rescue a Dalacari cruiser where their Thinking Engine had started to malfunction, and they didn't follow protocol and connected right in. Well, needless to say, they had to call for a rescue crew... FOR the rescue crew." she gave a bit of a giggle, shaking her head, "Oh, no one lets them live that down."

She composed herself a bit, "So, we're talking an unknown potential virus, I'll mark it down. We'll connect it to a virtual system, and put in for a Dalacari data cruncher. Should have that virus taken care of. Also, might help that the virus is probably tailored for your file systems, not ours or theirs. We'll have your data in no time." she offered a soft smile. "Not just the technical aspects, mind you. Family images, simulator files, we'll try to salvage everything. That's our job."

She paused for a moment, then turned to include young Cole into their discussion. "I'm terribly sorry, my manners. I forgot to introduce myself. With your permission, of course, Mister Gunnison?"

"It's all right," Cole said. "Things are a little bit crazy right now."
Cole

Liri gave a nod, "They're very hectic, but you and your father are handling the situation very well. He must have learned how to keep his composure from you." she commented, to keep the child at ease. "My name is Liri, and if I guess the functions of each ship properly, your father and I have similar roles." before she turned her attention back to Gunnison, "Over the next few hours we'll be scrubbing the data on the recovered core. If we need your direct assistance we'll certainly call you but for now, I think you and your son can relax. Can I get either of you anything before I return to the task at hand? Something to snack on perhaps?"

"Nothing here," Cole said.

"I'm fine," Will added.