The White Planet Approaches...

Posted on 02 Nov 2020 @ 10:04pm by Captain Mallory Thorne

934 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Ab Intra
Timeline: OOC: This is roughly two days after the plot ending log. There will be OOC notes in chat!

"USS Odin, you are cleared to dock at bay three-forty-two-alpha. Your crew is granted visitor-level security clearance."

The voice coming from the other side of the open channel sounded melodic in that soft, professional sort of way. The way a person develops when working with so many people over so long that they almost detached from themselves to become a professional, sweet version of themselves that handled all of these matters until the shift ended. Either that or some sort of AI who had been programmed to sound that way. It was pretty much impossible to tell from just the voice, at least for one with human hearing.

"Thank you, Albus Ring," Mallory replied. Her voice had yet to develop the artificial professional saccharine, so she didn't even attempt it.

With a chirp, the channel closed and the helm console lit up with incoming coordinates to direct the ship--both out of time and out of place--to the bay they were cleared to dock at. The bridge crew watched on the viewscreen as they flew around the giant circular ring-shaped station (hence the name) the was kept in orbit with the planet Albus. Given the transporters were outlawed, the station acted as the gateway for space down to the planet. Ships docked with the ring, which had hundreds of bays for that purpose, and then entered the station. There was a central space elevator to send people from space to the planet.

Now, the crew of the USS Odin was being granted the chance to have this experience for themselves.

"Captain," Colonel Reyes said from where she stood beside the three chairs in the center of the bridge. "This planet had no native humanoid life and was colonized by the Union. So, the majority of the persons you find on this planet will be human, with a healthy mix of other members of the Alliance mixed in. I would..." She hesitated. "Vulcans are not exactly a favorite species of the Alliance of Worlds. I would recommend that if any of your Vulcan personnel wish to go to the ring and to the surface, they perhaps wear their uniforms or only go with other non-Vulcan crewmembers to assure that everything is kept explained and peaceful."

"I will inform my Vulcan crewmembers," Mal said. She didn't like the blatant racism but she appreciated that Reyes was trying to be...as considerate as she could be, while still being realistic. This wasn't their universe, after all, so they would need to play by the rules of this one. For now. Further, she didn't want anyone else on her crew damaged or traumatized any more than they all already were. She would take the suggested precautions to keep everyone safe.

The ship finally found its assigned bay and made the umbilical connection, a long tunnel connecting the Nebula-class vessel to the docking ring.

Mal pressed the buttons on her armrest console to open a ship-wide channel. "This is the captain speaking," she began. It had been two days since they had blasted the electro-beings out of the bodies on board, but there was still a sense of hushed hermitude aboard. "We have arrived at Albus, a Terran Union and Alliance of Worlds planet that has granted us shore leave. Remember that this will not be like the worlds we are used to visiting, so I am sending a brief to every crew member. Please read this and heed the advice and cautions before disembarking to the ring and then the planet. We will respect their customs, as is the Starfleet way.

"We've had a rough time lately. It seems like one thing after the other, doesn't it? I hope that we can all take a little time to rest and recover. Enjoy yourselves. You deserve it. Thorne out."

There was another chirp for another channel closed. Mal blew out a breath and nodded at Lieutenant Sabine, manning the ops station, to dispatch the relevant information regarding their stay here, which included the method of getting to the planet, Vulcan-related cautions, and other pertinent details. Settling back in her seat, she continued to stare at the image on the screen. Albus looked a lot like Earth, she reflected. The same blue, green, and brown tones of the usual Minshara-class planet. Swirling white and gray in the atmosphere. The landmasses looked different, of course, but still. It was close enough, and a welcome sight.

She heard Reyes speak up a moment later. "Will you be joining everyone the surface, Captain?" There was a note of something in that voice that Mal couldn't quite identify. Concern? That seemed unlikely...yet it sounded like it was in the same family. Interesting.

Mal offered the Union officer a faint smile. "Perhaps," she said. "I haven't decided yet." Truth was, she trusted Reyes by now just enough to not steer them down to a planet that would kill them, but there was a very large part of herself that didn't feel comfortable leaving her ship. She needed the break just as bad as anyone, and the idea of going to a real planet to put her feet on real dirt sounded divine, but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to overcome her innate protectiveness of the Odin to separate from it.

Yes, the ship's captain was suffering from the idea of "separation anxiety."

"You should," Reyes said. She nodded once and left the bridge.

"We'll see," Mal said quietly, leaning her head back and closing her eyes for a moment. Sending a prayer to whatever god might be listening that nothing went wrong here.

 

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