At the End of the Garden Path

Posted on Fri Jun 17th, 2011 @ 8:34pm by Captain Benjamin Byrne & Lieutenant JG Elizabeth Jones & Lieutenant JG Mykel Owen & Lieutenant JG Dylan Tyler & Provisional Lieutenant Commander Narayn Ballard
Edited on on Wed Jun 29th, 2011 @ 11:19pm

Mission: Kingdom Come
Location: USS Endeavour - Bridge, Outer Edge of Nevarra Cluster
Timeline: MD09 1130hrs

Mykel flexed his hands and shoulders methodically, again glancing down at the timekeeper. Looking back he says "We have arrived at the Nevarran Rendezvous Captain."

"All engines, full stop," Benjamin ordered from his command chair at the centre of the bridge, watching on the overhead screen as the streaked lines of warp travel rapidly morphed into the more static view of the pin-point background of stars as the behemoth of a ship slowed initially to sublight speeds, before coming to a gentle rest in space. The view of the Cluster ahead of them was certainly a spectacular one; the Cluster was a dense group of stars and planetary systems, and had a good dosage of nebulae and other stellar phenomena thrown in there with them, and the vastly populated nature of the region was evident visually; the dust and gases that hung around in space within painted a fantastic vista before their eyes, and Benjamin doubted that any near a forward-facing viewport would give the opportunity to gaze out at this region a miss. "Someone remind me to get a picture before we leave," Benjamin commented, the corner of his mouth arcing up in a smile.

The first officer drew in breath as he regarded the cluster. It barely seemed possible that so many systems could exist in such close proximity to each other. He crossed his legs and checked his sensor panel. There didn't seem to be anything overtly interesting besides the natural form and structure of the cluster.

Mykel cocked his head slightly at the cluster, still holding his right hand above the thrust controls.

"Captain I am adjusting shield harmonics to compensate for the interference of the surrounding system." Liz said trying to ignore all the emotional reactions of the crew.

Dylan regarded the phenomenon, making mental note to his paranoia that it would be an ideal place for an ambush. But of course, we were here on a peaceful mission. Though, it never hurt to be prepared. Dylan would have to study the cluster very closely and check the sensor readings when he had time to.

Dylan looked down at his panel as a ship came up off the starboard bow. "Captain, Nevarran ship bearing 846.1 off our starboard. It's hailing us, sir," Dylan said seeing the comm channel blinking.

"Put them on-screen," Ben ordered, as he stood and donned a diplomatically friendly smile, hearing the doors towards the back of the bridge open. Instinctively he knew that it was to admit their two guests, the negotiators.

"Sallan, Endeavour." The Nevarran on the other side of the communications line bowed his head in respect towards the Starfleet crew. The Nevarrans were mostly humanoid in appearance, with a bit of terran ape added in to the bunch, evident primarily in their noses, with the large, forward-facing nostrils. Their lips were very thin, with the skin of their face pretty much going down to the edge of their mouths. Their eyes were deep-set, and overlaid with very large brows, with deep wringles running across the forehead. This particular Nevarran was bald, though Byrne knew from reports that this was not universal to the species, and many did support hair, usually more-so than humans.

"Sallan," Benjamin responded, reciprocating the Nevarran's greeting with a slight bow of his own. "I am Captain Benjamin Byrne, commander of the Starship Endeavour."

"Bann Edan Finn," the figure responded. "Of the Bannorn of Westerdell, and of the Nevarran Craft Anorevin. I've been sent by King Aengus to escort you through the Cluster to the homeworld."

"Please, Bann Finn," Benjamin said, recognising the noble title of 'Bann' as he held out his arm ahead of his body. "Lead the way."

"Please," the nobleman responded. "Edan. I am a Bann of the Nevarra, and not of the Federation, so I won't hold you up on our protocol," the man responded with a smile. "If you'll follow us, we'll proceed at a stately warp 2." Edan inclined his head towards the screen as the view cut out, showing the crew the ship he was on, the Anorevin. Nevarran ship building was reportedly bulky, with many of their craft being reportedly block-shaped, but Byrne could see that style was not devoid in the starship's design. The large, chevron-shaped front section - like a long cuboid bent in the middle - extended vertically infront of a long body, which concluded with an array of four engine pods - two either side. Though not as streamlined as Federation or Romulan designs, Byrne feld that it bore a resemblance to a mixture of a terran hammerhead shark on its side and a Klingon Vor'cha cruiser.

"Well, he certainly seems to be an amiable fellow, doesn't he?" Ben asked of the crew as he resumed his seat.

"Like an over-enthusiastic waiter I once came across," Ballard replied under his breath.

"Something like that..." Mykel said quietly, leaning back into the seat.

"According to the reports, Bann Finn is one of the supporters for more contact with the Federation," Byrne commented. "I wouldn't say it would be too unusual for him to be accommodating when sent to escort a diplomatic mission from us to Nevarra."

Dylan smirked at the waiter comment. Though, and it was probably Dylan's paranoia, the man seemed awfully accepting. Dylan decided that he would take the time to look over the sensor readings of the cluster while they were in warp. He also took the advantage to take a look at the ship as it came about. The design was not perfect, but it was suitable to its purpose. "How many people are on board, I wonder," Dylan said as he looked over the scans of the cluster and the ship itself.

"According to Scans ensign, it could easily accommodate over 1000 crew, however there hull is made of a material that distorts our sensor scans. Would you like me to try and compensate captain?" Liz turned towards the captain as she kept feeling uneasy, unknowing if they were her feelings or the gleamed feeling of others she tried to ignore them.

"I think we can allow them that bit of privacy for the moment, Lieutenant," Byrne said, looking around and smiling at his engineer. "Afterall, I believe one of the events that is scheduled for us while we're here is a tour of some of their facilities; I'm pretty certain that we can arrange an educational trip onboard one of their ships amongst that as well."

Dylan smiled, "I would certainly find a trip aboard that vessel educational," he said somewhat under his breath. Dylan continued to look at the ship's exterior and also over the sensor readings. Dylan would be intrigued on Science's findings on the material that ship is made of.

"Okay, Mister Owen. You heard the man. Match course and speed." Ballard ordered. "Keep a safe distance."

Mykel nodded, "Aye Sir" and slid his fingers across the faceplate of the console, bringing the twin main impulse engines online, banking the ship 30 degrees into the arc, before coming up a little past 1 klick off their right flank and matching speed.

---------------------------
Captain Benjamin J. Byrne
Commanding Officer

Lt. Commander Narayn Ballard
First Officer

Lieutenant JG Elizabeth Jones
Chief Engineer

Lieutenant JG Dylan Tyler
Chief of Security

Lieutenant JG Mykel Owen
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Endeavour NCC-86105