ORIGINS: USS Hood September 2009

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ORIGINS: USS Hood Story Posts
Last Updated: 2262.059

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[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Unofficial Tour

by Andy Catterick

Jack walked the corridor a happy man. He had spent the previous evening and part of the morning contacting the families of the crewmembers who had given their lives to repel the Klingon boarders. It was the hardest thing he had ever had to do and what made it even worse was he knew that one day he would have to do it again. Once he had completed that duty and finding he couldn’t just sit in his cabin he had begun an unofficial tour of the ship. It hadn’t been anything more then an opportunity to stretch his legs while he pretending to review departmental readiness.

As the captain that had dragged his people into a nasty fight that had left their feollow crewman dead had expected a cold reception. One which he fully deserved. But instead he saw a growing sense of team and pride in themselves and the ship and most surprisingly, their captain. Yes, they had been successful against the Klingons but if he had been better at his job they wouldn’t be missing 13 people. But the crew just didn’t seem to see it that way. It had culminated when he found his way into one of the lower deck Messes just as breakfast was concluding. Their had been a pause as the crewman and NCOs wondering why an officer and the captain himself had invaded their refuge. But it had been a brief one and then someone shoved a cup of coffee into his hand and someone else invited him to join his table.

He had spent hours there chatting with the rotating crewman about the ship and their jobs but mostly about life. Why they had joined Starfleet was a popular topic as well as mutual acquaintances. Jack had met a number of crewman who had crossed paths with on previous commands. IF there was a way to reenergize himself this was certainly it and he vowed on the spot that he would not be one of those commanding officers who felt there had to be a ‘professional distance’ between captain and crew.

So now as HOOD sailed out towards the frontier ready to explore the unknown she was a happy ship. The crew was meshing together, they had faced a test and over come it and the confidence they had in themselves, the ship and even their captain was growing. With no crisis ahead, at least none specific, he cold enjoy his new command for the first time.

Pausing at the junction he decided to head for the Officer’s Mess to see who was about.

<<<NRPG>>> Just some minor CD.

Respectfully,

Andy

CAPT Jack Steele

CO, USS HOOD NCC 1703

ASR ORIGINS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Transfers

by Andy Catterick

SD: 2260.246

Scene: Captain Steele's Cabin

"Steele here." Jack said as he jabbed the white comm button with his thumb in response to the page.

[Merrick here captain. We've just received a transmission from USS VALIANT.]

"Pipe it down here Sean."

[On its way. Bridge out.]

Once the computer had finished decrypting it Jack dropped into his desk chair and called up the transmission. "Damn." He said before reading it through a second time in case he had missed anything. Little chance of that he thought to himself, the orders were fairly terse and as was usually the case, without explanation. He hit the comm button again. "Bridge."

[Bridge here.] Commander Merrick replied instantly. No doubt he was curious about the communique.

"Commander lay in an intercept course for VALIANT best speed. I'll meet you and Mr. Ventura in Conference One in five minutes. Steele out."

Scene: Conference Room One

When the captain arrived he found Sean and Chance already seated. "Whats our ETA Commander?"

"We'll rendezvous with VALIANT in 6 hours 32 minutes. Problem sir?"

"Just some Starfleet bureacracy at work I'm afraid." He took his seat and looked at his helm officer. "It seems Mr. Ventura that you've been transfered."

"Transferred captain?" The young officer asked confused. "I don't understand."

"Nor do I. My orders are to rendezvous with USS VALIANT where we will take on one Lieutenant Li Chen who will assume the role of Chief Helmsman. As for you Mr. Ventura you will transfer to VALIANT where you will presumably receive your new orders." Jack paused for a moment then leaned forward. "You didn't put through a transfer request without me knowing did you Chance?"

"No sir. I'm surprised as you are. I have no desire to leave HOOD."

"And I have no desire to lose you but it seems Starfleet's desires trump our own." Jack Stood and the Chance and Sean followed suit. "Very well. Consider yourself off duty as of now. You can gather your belongings and say your goodbyes. We'll meet in the transporter room once we make the rendezvous point.

Scene: Transporter Room

The VALIANT is signaling they're ready for transport." Chief Gillis announced.

Jack looked up at the pad where Chance stood with his duffell. "Good luck Mr. Ventura."

"You too sir."

"Energize." Steele ordered.

Seconds later Li Chen stepped down off the pad. "Permission to come aboard."

"Permission granted. I'm Captain Jack Steele, welcome aboard lieutenant."

"Thank you sir. I'm glad to be here."

"My first officer Commander Merrick." Steele gestured to Sean. "Commander I'll leave the lieutenant in your capable hands. In the meantime I'll head back to the bridge and get us back on course."

<<<NRPG>>>

Alan: POst when ever you're ready. Chen's journey here or after the the arrival...whatever works for you. Send to the HOOD yahoo group at uss-hood@yahoogroups.com and to the ASR group at starfleet-rpg@yahoogroups.com In the subject line please use [ORIGINS]USS HOOD: POST TITLE

All; Please join me in welcoming our new Helm officer Lieutenant Li Chen played by Alan Tang. Alan has 7 years playing in a variety of Sims so I'm glad to have such an experienced player join our team!

Respectfully

Andy

CAPT Jack Steele

CO, USS HOOD NCC 1703

ASR ORIGINS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Always Wear a Bio-suit

by Steve Apple and Brian V. Mansur

SD: 2260.245

Scene: Archeological Dig, Colony Velorum 4

The obsidian pyramid reached an impressive 150 meters into the sky. Its long black flanks forged from the blood of the planet made for a truly awesome sight to the Federation Archeological Team. Everyone on the dig sensed that it was an invaluable gateway to understanding the Ancients who had once inhabited Volorum 4.

The fidgety chief archeologist for the colony, Barton Fisk, was pacing furiously. He desperately wanted to get inside that structure as soon as possible. It helped little that he intellectually understood the necessity for the dig crew to certify the site as safe. After several nerve racking minutes, the lead excavator finally walked out of horizontal hole they had dug.

“Dr. Fisk," the crew chief said with a broad smile, "We’ve reinforced the outer structure of the tunnel, but thought it only appropriate that you break the seal.”

Beside Barton, a sweet feminine voice exclaimed, “Oh Bart, it’s just like being Howard Carter at the Tomb of King Tut.”

“Much better than that Alicia," Bart replied as he made his way into the mine-like entrance. "Carter only unearthed a human pharaoh. Today I'm opening up a whole new alien culture.”

He took the laser hammer from the crew chief. With assistance from the chief, Fisk chiseled through the final centimeters of rock. As he broke through, air gushed out causing all near to the breach to catch their breaths and back into the rough stone that made up the sides of the pyramid's outer seal.

When the wind had died down, the unsettled excavation chief looked over at Fisk. “I wasn’t expecting that to happen.”

“Never mind that." Fisk coughed. "What I didn’t expect was that the air smelled fresh. It should be foul after being locked away for so many millennia.”

“I don’t know about that doc.” The chief said. “It smelled to me like the air on the colony ship: stale and recycled.”

Fisk ignored the comment and tossed a glow stick into the chamber, lighting it. What he could see through the whole was amazing.

“What’s it look like inside Bart?” Alicia whispered excitedly while trying to push her way past the excavation crew.

Fisk gasped, “It’s amazing! Opulence like nothing I’ve ever seen before! The tombs of the pharaohs ... there ... there is no comparison!” In awe, he stepped back so that excavators could open the rest of the passageway.

Fisk of course made sure that he was the first to enter the tomb. As he stepped across the threshold, the chamber illuminated on its own.

Scene: CMO’s Office, USS HOOD

Corbett sat in his office with Sean Merrick. Between them were two bottles of tequila, one empty and the other slightly less than half full. Both men were leaning back in their chairs, feet propped on the desk, puffing leisurely away on two authentic Cuban cigars.

“I tell you what Sean. That Lt. Yarith, when not in panic mode mind you, is quite the passionate woman.” Corbett said blowing out a smoke ring.

Merrick looked askance at his drinking buddy. “It seemed to me that she hated you.”

“There is a fine line between love and hate sar, but in all truth I think she dug my hat.”

“Stile please tell me you didn’t wear that while you…”

“Sar a gentleman does not speak of such things.” Corbett answered sternly.

“So where does that leave you.” a sarcastic voice said as the door to Corbett’s office swished open.

“Ah, Captain Jack. It is always a pleasure to entertain our CO.” Corbett said not missing a beat.

“Jack” Sean said with a nod.

“I see you two are comfortable.” Steele said smiling with a slight nod toward the bottles.

“Where are my manners,” Corbett said handing the bottle to Steele. “I am sure the burden of command has left you parched.”

Steele took a healthy swig of tequila, coughed once, and then said. “I’m glad you’re both here. We just received an automated distress call from the colony on Velorum 4. They have a medical emergency.”

“Did they say what the nature of that emergency is?” Corbett asked sobering a bit.

“It seems several members of the colony including their doctor have died of a previously unknown disease.” Steele answered then took another pull from the bottle. “The problem is that their message was bizarre.”

“Do you think it’s a hoax, maybe a distraction tactic from the Klingons?” Merrick asked.

“I don’t think so Sean. The message was very strange to say the least. The Comm. Tech sounded like he could barely talk, but he did manage to get out that the doctor was trying to reach someone named Hutchinson just before he died. Make any sense to you doc?” Steele asked.

“Unfortunately no, can you have that message sent down here?” Corbett asked as he pushed his hat to the back of his head.

Steele went to activate the comm. unit on Corbett’s desk, but thought better about it and hit the audio only button instead. He didn’t want any junior officers to see these two half drunk and smoking cigars. “Steele to Bridge.”

[Ensign Baxter here sir.] The Communications Officer on duty said.

“Relay that distress call down to Dr. Corbett’s office. Steele out.”

Steele waited a moment until the yellow button on the desk unit began to flash then pushed the button to start the playback.

“This is Velorum,” A man’s voice said, then paused as if in thought. “Velorum 4,” after another pause he continued. “Our doctor says we have a medical emergency. Wait that’s not right our doctor died yesterday didn’t he.” This time the pause was a little longer than before “I think we need help. People here have caught a bug and have died. Our doctor is searching for, what was his name ... Hutchinson, yes that was it. Gil, no I think it was Gilford Hutchinson.”

Corbett pressed the stop button then turned to Steele. “It only came across an audio message?” He asked.

“Seems strange since they’re only 3 days away at warp 5, but then again these colonies are not always outfitted with the best working systems.” Steele answered.

“Didn’t his voice seem a bit odd?” Merrick asked. “It was almost as if he had to think about where he was.”

“I agree, if I didn’t know there was an age limit for colonists I’d say he was suffering from an advanced form of dementia.” Corbett said.

“Any idea who this Gil Hutchinson is? Is he another doctor?” Steele asked.

“I don’t know,” Corbett replied. “But that name sounds familiar. I just can’t place from where.”

“Well you got 3 days to think about it.” Steele said then took another swig and headed toward the door. “Don’t get too drunk and for God sakes don’t let the junior officers or enlisted see you.”

“Aye sir,” they slurred in unison as the door swished closed.

NRPG: I know this is a repost, but Brian and I had some e-mail issues and this was the one that should have gotten posted. We apologize for any confusion, or inconvenience this caused. Brian did a great job making it come alive and his input is always awesome.

Respectfully Submitted,

Steve Apple

Stile Corbett, MD

CMO, USS HOOD NCC-1703

ASR ORIGINS

Brian V. Mansur

LCDR Sean Merrick

FO, USS HOOD NCC-1703

ASR ORIGINS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Names from the Past (JP)

by Daniel Belin and Andy Catterick

SD: 2260.247

MD: 1.2300

Scene: DeSimm's Quarters

DeSimms was bored out of his mind, not that he didn't expect to be bored. He had been confined to quarters enough times to know about the sheer boredom. Corbett had already been by to talk to him about controlling his anger. He waited, for what he did not know. Suddenly, salvation arrived through the door chime and DeSimms joyfully said, "Enter."

Captain Steele came in and sat down at DeSimms desk. Before saying anything, he took a look around. Every manner of antique weapon seemed to have a place on the wall. He wished that he’d made more of a point at collecting things through his career. His cabin looked decidedly bare when compared to his security chief and he found with a grin that it actually bothered him. "How many of these work, DeSimms?" Jack asked, gesturing towards the artifacts.

"The Colt Python and the Kalashnikov are the only ones that really work, and I just ran out of ammo for both of them," said DeSimms. He smelled the Captain's breath and detected faint traces of alcohol on it. He said, "Sir is there anything you want?"

"Yes. We've received a distress call from from an archeological site on Velorum IV. There’s been some sort of incident, and we're being sent to investigate. I’ve forwarded a copy of the transmission to all department heads so you should be able to pull it up. I imagine by now our diligent science officer has appended the little information we have on Velorum IV to the distress call. In the distress signal, the man mentioned someone named Hutchinson, Gilford Hutchinson. In fact, he was frantic about trying to reach Hutchinson. I did a quick review of the computer banks and while there were dozens of G. Hutchinson’s none jumped out as having anything in common with the dig. I have the computer looking to see if anyone on the dig has any sort of relationship with any of the Hutchinson’s listed. It could be nothing but Velorum is still three days away and I’d like to have as much information as possible before we get there.”

"So you want me to dig up this Hutchinson guy? The name sounds familiar, but there’s a lot of Hutchinsons out there. I'll see what I can do."

"Excellent. If you find anything let me know."

DeSimms looked at Steele. Before the captain departed, DeSimms asked, "One for the road, sir?" Out of nowhere, DeSimms produced two shot glasses and a bottle of clear liquid.

Steele looked at them and said, "How did you sneak your booze on?" Does everyone on this ship drink?

"Tricks of the trade, my dear Captain. If the Doctor can sneak aboard a case of tequila, a former Special Warfare Unit member can sneak aboard just about anything."

"Well, it couldn't hurt," said Steele, taking one of the glasses filled with liquid. He drank it and remarked, "This is vodka, isn't it?"

"Yep, the only good kind, Russian vodka," said DeSimms, draining his glass.

Steele said his goodbyes and left the room. DeSimms poured himself another shot, and turned on the computer console. He said, "Computer, tie-in to central Starfleet Computer."

Two Hours Later

The captain walked into the room. He saw that the bottle of vodka had a considerable amount gone. He looked at DeSimms and asked, "What have you got, Lieutenant?"

"It turns out I do know Hutchinson, sir. He served in SWU with me, and I don't know why. He was a brilliant doctor, should have been at Starfleet Medical or something. He transferred out about the same time I did."

"Go on," said Steele, "Where is he now?"

"Unknown sir. The description for his current assignment is 'Starfleet Medical' and we are told to contact Admiral Forward for more information," DeSimms turned on the monitor and continued, "This means hes probably doing some sort of secretive work, maybe with Intelligence or R&D."

<<<NRPG>>>

Forgot to add in my last post that the Helm transfer took place before we received the distress call…not a big deal…just some minor continuity. ;-)

A joint post from

Daniel Belin

John DeSimms

SEC OFFICER

USS HOOD, NCC 1703

and

Andy Catterick

CAPT Jack Steele

CO, USS HOOD, NCC 1703

ASR ORIGNS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: I Swear its True

by Andy Catterick

SD: 2260.247

MD: 2.0630

Scene: Captain’s Quarters

Jack rolled over and groaned. Apparently tequila and vodka didn’t mix. Or at least didn’t mix as well as they used to when he was younger. Swinging his feet around he dragged himself out of bed and headed for the sonic shower. It was tempting to head down to the gym and indulge in a real shower with real hot water but the thought was too embarrassing. The gym would be busy and he didn’t want the crew to see their commanding officer hung over. Likewise he had no plans to head down to sickbay to have the doctor alleviate the pain. It was a matter of pride. Besides it wasn’t that bad, certainly Sean and Stile had to be feeling worse.

The shower over he pulled on his uniform. Heading out into the corridor he turned for the officer’s mess. Some breakfast and coffee would do the trick.

“I’m telling you my buddy’s on the ship and he saw it.” An excited young ensign was telling his table mate as Steele walked in.

“Let me get this straight this creature can change itself into anyone and it eats salt. Sucks it right of your body?” He asked incredulously.

“My buddy saw it.” The ensign answered. “Its got these long hands, paws, I don’t know what’d you call them. Anyway they’re covered in these things that look like suction cups. They suck the salt right out of you and you’re dead.”

“Rogers you are so gullible its sad.” His table mate said as he shook his head.

“My buddy wouldn’t lie.”

“Well I’ll tell you one thing, if we run into one of those things it can suck my phaser.”

Jack tried his best not to spill his coffee as he chuckled at the response. The even funnier thing was he’d seen the report and new the ensign’s story was more or less true. He shuddered at the thought as he took a seat at a table with the Chief Engineer. “Morning.”

“Good morning captain. A pleasant sleep?”

“Pleasant enough.” Jack lied. “How’s things in engineering?”

<<<NRPG>>>

Scott: Tag

Respectfully,

Andy Catterick

CAPT Jack Steele

CO, USS HOOD NCC 1703

ASR ORIGINS.

USS HOOD: older then old...

by David Martens

SD: 2260.247 MD: 2.1430

Scene: USS HOOD, Ready Room

Hemux nodded to the rest of the Senior Officers gathered. It had been more then a day since they had received the distress call from Velorum IV and she had done some research on the colony ands the Velorum system. She had asked the Captain for a meeting to share her findings withg the rest of the officers.

She gave them a big smile "Thank you for comming. AS you all know we have received a distress call from the colony on Velorum IV. Since this is not a typical star system I wanted to share our knowledge with the rest of you."

The room turned dark and a tri - D hologram showed up in the centre of the table, it showed a star system from a distance. In the centre a big star was shining nearly blue - white, around it circled no less then 16 planets.

"This is the Velorum system, it's a binary system, this means a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is known as the companion or secondary star."

The image zoomed in on the binary stars in the centre "Alpha Velorum is the biggest and brightest star, it is a type B star, a sub - giant. Beta Velorum is the companion star and a type F star. This also implicates that the system's radiation levels are much higher then those in the Earths Solar system. For the helm and the safety of the crew it means we should keep a great distance between the ship and the sun." She waved her hand to the doctor "I am sure the doctor can give us more details on the risks for our health and the precautions we should take."

(tag Steve)

Hemux zommed out again to show the whole star system. "Velorum has 16 planets, the three closest to the sun are gas giants and inhabitable, then we have Velorum IV, a earthlike planet, meaning it consist mostly of rubble and stones, has an atmosphere and contains water. And then again we have two more gas giants to hot for life."

"Wait a minute." One of the officer interupted her "I am not a scientist, but if there are five gas giants on a row, all to hot for life and then suddenly in the middle, there is a earthlike planet, thne something is not right."

She smiled and have him a smile "That's a perfect conclusion, a kiss from the teacher, that would be me, and a drink after this meeting! Indeed, under any normal situation this is impossible. Hemux too a PADD and read "...the first conclusion in our investigation is that this is an artificial planet, created by unknown means and with unknown technology..."

That was the conclusion of the first deep space exploration team that discovered Velorum IV. Later expeditions found the remnants and ruins of a highly sophisticated civilisation. Initial it was placed no less then 150,000 years ago, but closer and more detailed research has placed this even near the 200,000 years old."

Murmurs and rumours spread across the room "Are you serious ? You mean they lived two hundred millennia ago?"

Again ARr'Rhiana nodded "no, the ruins where that old, traces of the civilisation showed that it had been there at least 50,000 years, blooming and thriving. Then all the sudden it ended, disappeared. No traces of violence, no bombs, no signs of war or an attack from an unknown race. It seemed as if civilisation ended and stopped from one day on the other."

Hemux projected a planet "This is Velorum IV. The red dot near the equator is the colony. Star fleet decided to set up a permanent colony to investigate Velorum IV and the star system. That colony was there for almost two years and doing permanent archeological digs and excavations. Everything seemed normal, they reported regularly, there where numerous objects they found and tried to classify and so on."

A image of a huge pyramid was shown and she pointed to it "This is what I think causes the problem: the last confirmed report before the distress call was that they had found an unusual object : a 400 feet high pyramid shaped building, floating a few feet above the floor. No traces of any energy field, anti -grav units or engines that kept it floating... The head of the archeological team, Dr Barton Fisk, reported they where going to penetrate what seemed to be the entrance and gain access to the pyramid. And the rest, well I guess we all know the rest..."

ARr'Rhiana turned of the projection and turned on the lights again. "That is what I could dig up in the archives and files from Star Fleet. Some parts of of the Velorum files are classified and sealed to Alpha - level security only. Any questions ?" she said and sat down again on her chair.

<<<NRPG>>>

Hi All,

Some information about the Velorum system and adding some things to the storyline.

Respectfully,

David Martens

Lt ARr'Rhiana Hemux

CSciO , USS HOOD NCC 1703

ASR ORIGINS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Briefing Continues

by Andy Catterick

SD: 2260.251

MD: 2.1430

Scene: Conference Room

<<<old>>>

Hemux projected a planet "This is Velorum IV. The red dot near the equator is the colony. Star fleet decided to set up a permanent colony to investigate Velorum IV and the star system. That colony was there for almost two years and doing permanent archeological digs and excavations. Everything seemed normal, they reported regularly, there where numerous objects they found and tried to classify and so on."

A image of a huge pyramid was shown and she pointed to it "This is what I think causes the problem: the last confirmed report before the distress call was that they had found an unusual object : a 400 feet high pyramid shaped building, floating a few feet above the floor. No traces of any energy field, anti -grav units or engines that kept it floating... The head of the archeological team, Dr Barton Fisk, reported they where going to penetrate what seemed to be the entrance and gain access to the pyramid. And the rest, well I guess we all know the rest..."

ARr'Rhiana turned of the projection and turned on the lights again. "That is what I could dig up in the archives and files from Star Fleet. Some parts of of the Velorum files are classified and sealed to Alpha - level security only. Any questions ?" she said and sat down again on her chair.

<<<new>>>

“Did the pyramid just appear?” The captain asked. “I mean I know it’s a big world but you’d think they’d notice a 400 foot pyramid.”

Hemux nodded. “The planet has been scanned numerous times both by this expedition and the previous. The problem is that most of the planet, including the area in question, is generally cloud covered. Add to that the lack of any type of emissions coming from it and it would be extremely hard to see especially if you aren’t looking for it.” She raised a hand to halt Jack’s next question. “According to the team’s report they did begin to re-examine the past planetary scans to see if they missed it or if it wasn’t there but by the looks of it they only did a quick scan they were more interested in conducting their tests on the structure itself.”

Jack frowned at that. He supposed he couldn’t blame them but he’d like to know if the pyramid was an ancient structure or if it had appeared recently.

“Any chance of cracking out the Alpha files.’ The first officer asked.

Jack nodded. “I’ve sent in the request but so far no specific responses.”

“Specific response?”

“I get the impression that a number of the higher ups know something but officially they don’t. I can’t seem to narrow it down to a branch that even wants to admit to putting the classification on. Our fleet commander has jumped in with both feet. But for now we need to operate on the assumption that we’re going to have to go in blind.”

“Hopefully the archeological team will be able to fill in the blanks.”

“If any of them still live.” Gar added. They all hoped that members of the team had survived what ever disaster had struck. But after repeated hails since the initial distress call there had only been silence.

<<<NRPG>>>

All: Feel free to add your characters thoughts or questions or add additional info.

Respectfully,

Andy Catterick

CAPT Jack Steele

CO, USS HOOD NCC 1703

ASR ORIGINS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Contemplating Mysterium

by Brian V. Mansur

SD 2260.252

MD 2.1435

Scene: Briefing Room, USS HOOD

Sean Merrick *hated* his lack of self control. He especially loathed himself now that he had to now heroically exert it just to be presentable in the briefing. Every 5 seconds he had to forcibly command his hand to refrain from rubbing his eyes or neck or vulcan nerve pinch cluster ... anything at all that would betray the hangover he had earned from downing TWO BOTTLES of hard liquor.

Every time his eyes wandered over to Dr. Corbett, he fought the urge to facetiously mouthe out, "You bastard."

Captain Steele, mangificient bastard that *he* was, looked as fresh as the morning dew.

Maybe he doing drugs. No other reasonable explanation for him to look so professional and pain free. Except perhaps that he hadn't drunk as much the night before and was probably over the worst of his hangover.

Self-controlled Bastard.

Like a snapping twig, Merrick suddenly felt very sad. Thoughts drifted between the details of what would have otherwise been an interesting technical brief and his daily nightmares.

Figuring prominently into them was that cute asian from communications who'd died right in front of him on Monil IV. For some reason, she'd replaced the visions of Jeri dying on Vulcan. The woman had possessed a beautiful exotic name that was difficult for him to pronounce. He had already forgotten it. Somehow that didn't seem right.

The crazy pious Klingon had also been in his dreams. His whole long-winded apologetic treatise had replayed in high bandwith fidelity. That's what he got for being raised in a theistic religion.

Sorry to disappoint you God, but I still don't believe in you.

There had been a time that he had. In those days he'd found providence in every good run of luck and rebuke in many a stroke of bad. It was laughable superstition he now felt. And yet he figured he had been happier somehow that way. Like a kid who still believed in Christmas.

And what did he say to that? Tough luck? That's just the way the universe sucks? There was a label for that way of thinking: Stoicism. It was a stark, unsatisfying label. When he tried to ignore the problem and just be happy about what he could get out of life, he knew he was playing out another label: Hedonism. He knew how gratifying that could sometimes be. But the party always ended, the rush always faded, and the cold hard reality of his lonely life eventually returned. And then everyone eventually died.

Pathetic.

Wasn't there something better? Perhaps there was. Perhaps he'd had it once and could go back to it.

Right. Sure. Whatever. And what about Jeri? And that comms chick? And 3 billion Vulcans etc etc etc? But if the answer was not in what he had once believed in, what then?

NRPG: Character Developement.

Respectfully Submitted,

Brian V. Mansur

LCDR Sean Merrick

FO, USS HOOD NCC-1703

ASR: ORIGINS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Hangovers and Briefings

by Steve Apple

SD 2260.252

MD 2.1435

Scene: Sickbay, USS HOOD

Corbett knew he needed coffee, hot and strong. He also knew that there was no stronger coffee than that available to sickbay personnel. Even the swoosh of the door sounded amplified a thousand times as he entered sickbay.

“Rough night eh cowboy?” Lt. Commander Grey asked with a smirk.

“It seems I may have gotten a little carried away with my vices last night. I am in dire need of coffee madam so please tell me you have brewed some.”

“It’s in the conference room.” She said.

“Also if you would please put together that recipe I gave you should just such an occasion arise I would be ever so grateful.” He said pulling his hat down in front of his eyes.

She gave him a dark look as she stood and walked over to the dispensary cart. “By the way we need to talk about something.”

“Thank you Mother.” He replied as he shuffled toward the conference room ignoring her last comment.

The coffee looked and smelled terrible he thought as he tipped the pot and watched the thick liquid fill his cup. The taste was bitter and the acrid smell was overpowering, it was exactly what he needed. As his shaky hand held the cup to his lips, out of the corner of his eye he saw Mother approach him with a hypospray.

“Why don’t you just drink synthehol?” She asked as she injected him.

As the coffee and drugs hit his blood stream his hangover ebbed enough for him to gather the energy to become indignant. “The distilling of alcohol to its purest form – tequila, took man thousands of years to perfect. Do not suppose that science with its reorientation of an OH group could do anything other than ruin its texture, taste and above all its effect.”

“Ah huh. What about the headache, nausea and vertigo of a hangover?” She quipped.

“It is the duality of its nature and should be embraced as reparations for ones over indulgence. A wise man named Homer Simpson once said in a toast ‘Here's to alcohol... The cause and solution to all of life’s problems’.

“You just keep thinking that way slick,” she said frowning at him. “Which brings me to another aspect of your behavior that is disrupting my routine and pissing me off?”

Corbett was feeling better, but wasn’t sure he was up to placating his head nurse at the moment. “I am sorry Mother I won’t do it again. I promise.”

“Don’t try to placate me with empty words, besides I doubt this is a promise you could keep Cowboy.”

His headache fading he was now intrigued by her words. “Alright I’ll bite, what horrendous thing have I done now to upset you.”

“You’re little girlfriends are constantly coming down here looking for you and disrupting my staff.” She said frowning.

“That seems like a bit of an exaggeration.” He said with a sigh.

“Does it now.” She answered sarcasm dripping from her words. “Let’s see, while you were off getting drunk with Commander Merrick. Lieutenant Powers came down here followed by Ensign Flores, Yeoman Vail, Crewman Boyle, and my personal favorite Commander Thompson. So you better nip this in the bud now, or I’m going to let them know about each other.”

Corbett wasn’t sure he should smile, or frown as his nurse ran off that list of names.”My apologies Mother, right after the Captain’s briefing I will have a talk with the ladies in question and ask them to refrain from visiting sickbay unless they are ill.”

“You better Cowboy, or so help me…”

“Sorry Mother,” He said cutting her off. “But I have to go, or I’ll be late for the Captain.” He said as he bolted out of sickbay.

Scene: Briefing Room, USS HOOD

Corbett sat in the briefing room across from Merrick. The man looked terrible, his eyes were red and his face had a slight green tinge that spoke volumes. Every time the man would look over at him, Corbett would smile and lift his coffee cup in mock salute. He knew the Commander was cursing him under his breath and gained immense pleasure from taunting the man. He liked Sean and knew he would come clean with his friend and tell him about the chemical remedy that made him look right as rain, but that would be later.

< Snip from Lt ARr'Rhiana Hemux “Older Than Old”>

The image zoomed in on the binary stars in the centre "Alpha Velorum is the biggest and brightest star, it is a type B star, a sub - giant. Beta Velorum is the companion star and a type F star. This also implicates that the system's radiation levels are much higher than those in the Earths Solar system. For the helm and the safety of the crew it means we should keep a great distance between the ship and the sun." She waved her hand to the doctor "I am sure the doctor can give us more details on the risks for our health and the precautions we should take

Corbett was caught off guard by her question, no one told him he was expected to talk.

“Ah, well the shields will need to be up at all times in order to deflect the radiation from this type of star and keep it from permeating the hull and causing health issues to the crew. The planet is another matter altogether. When on the surface of the planet the landing party should be able to operate without protective eyewear and clothing. As a precaution I think the landing party should be given a combination of Hyronalyn and Kelotane before beaming down.”

As Hemux continued Corbett could see Merrick shoot him a dirty look and mouth the words “Smart Ass”.

NRPG: Character Developement.

Respectfully Submitted,

Steve Apple

Stile Corbett, MD

CMO, USS HOOD NCC-1703

ASR: ORIGINS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: You Know What This Means Right?

by Brian V. Mansur

SD: 2260.263

MD: 5.0900

Scene: Bridge, USS HOOD

"Standard orbit," Steele ordered as the HOOD swung in toward Velorum IV and cut out of warp.

Steele felt unimpressed at the bright, brownish yellow and gray sphere on the view screen. It certainly wasn't a pretty world. Just the kind of place archeologists would love to putter around naturally.

Hemux was already eagerly processing sensor data. Steele let her work for a minute before she uttered an ominous "Uh oh." At once, Steele was at the science officer's station.

"Report."

Hemux was visibly concerned. "I'm not picking up any signs of the archeology team from the colony site." She turned the gain on her dashboard and punched in a few filters. "Nothing. Nothing is alive down there, captain."

"Communications?"

Powers spoke up. "No comms traffic, sir. I'm picking up a smattering of automated beacons and telemtry from survey satellites."

"What about the pyramid?" Steele pressed.

"It's there. I'm picking up the dig site. No visuals due to the soupy atmosphere overhead. I think we'll have to beam down in any case because nothing at all is reading from that pyramid except hard stone."

"Could the radiation from the suns be interferring with sensors?"

"Don't believe so sir. Unless they have gone into the pyramid or some other underground shelter ...." she trailed off, not wishing to state the uncomfortably obvious conclusion.

"Freakin ghost planet," Merrick quipped. Steele shot his first officer a smirk.

"Take along the usual suspects Sean. Get us some answers."

NRPG: Just a quick post to get us going again.

Respectfully Submitted,

Brian V. Mansur

LCDR Sean Merrick

FO, USS HOOD NCC-1703

ASR ORIGINS

ORIGINS] USS HOOD: "I've Got a Bad Feeling About This..."

Posted by Scott Lusby (LCDR Gar Th'elenth)

SD: 2260.271 MD: 2.0630 Setting: Officer's Mess, E-Deck, USS HOOD

<<snip- from Andy's post, entitled "I Swear it's True">>

"My buddy saw it." The ensign answered. "It's got these long hands, paws, I don't know what'd you call them. Anyway they're covered in these things that look like suction cups. They suck the salt right out of you and you're dead."

"Rogers you are so gullible it's sad." His table mate said as he shook his head.

"My buddy wouldn't lie."

"Well I'll tell you one thing, if we run into one of those things it can suck my phaser."

Jack tried his best not to spill his coffee as he chuckled at the response. The even funnier thing was he'd seen the report and new the ensign's story was more or less true. He shuddered at the thought as he took a seat at a table with the Chief Engineer. "Morning."

"Good morning captain. A pleasant sleep?"

"Pleasant enough." Jack lied. "How's things in engineering?"

<<end snip>>

Lieutenant Commander Gar Th'elenth put down his cup. "As well as can be expected; those Klingon devils gave us more of a beating than I care to admit," he grumbled. "But my teams have things squared away; everything's running to spec again," he said. Then, he shrugged, and added, "Well, almost everything."

Now, Steele put his cup down and raised an eyebrow. "'Almost,' Commander?"

Gar shook his head. "It's these new warp engines, Captain- they're so bleedin' new...they hardly underwent any meaningful testing before they slapped 'em on these ships, you know--"

Steele cut his chief engineer off. "Wait a second- who have you been hanging around with? Since when do Andorians employ interjections like 'bleedin' in their speech?"

The blue-skinned engineer downed the remainder of his coffee. "When they run out of expletives in their native language, that's when," he quipped. After a brief pause, he continued. "I'm working on it, Captain. It's probably some tiny miscalculation in the intermix equation, or something in the harmonics that is making the port engines run closer to red-line than I'd like. No imminent danger...but if pushed too far, it could go bad in a hurry."

Steele sipped his own coffee. "Keep me posted, Chief," he said, and left it at that.

Gar glanced over at the two officers behind him who had been talking about the salt creature, and nodded. "You know," he said, "I heard that the crew of the new FARRAGUT was nearly wiped out by some mysterious cloud that drained them of their hemoglobin after enveloping them." He paused, then added, "Some stories, huh?"

Steele smiled at his chief engineer. "Welcome to deep space," he said, draining his own cup.

SD: 2.0941 Setting: CO's Office, Starbase 6

Vice Admiral Joseph Carstairs was completely exasperated.

He leaned forward and, glaring at the officer on the screen, he lifted his arm up. "Do you see dese cuff braids? Dose make me a Vice Admiral, COMMANDER," he said, making sure sufficient emphasis was placed on the junior officer's rank to make his point. Combined with his thick Brooklyn accent, it was usually most intimidating.

"Do I make myself clear, COMMANDER, or do I need tuh make another call to get them AND end yer career?"

To his credit, the officer on the screen did not fluster easily; though he shuffled in his seat visibly, his face, unfortunately for Carstairs, did not waiver. [[[I AM sorry, Admiral,]]] he said, his tone taught and stiff, [[[but if you want that information on the Velorum Project, you'll have to get it some other way; my orders come from someone with more cuff braids than you.]]]

"I'll do just that, Commander," Carstairs huffed. "Carstairs out."

As the small viewscreen on his desk went black, the admiral leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. "These people make me want to drink heavily," he mumbled, lifting a tablet off of his desk.

The problem was, he didn't know WHO he could contact that would loose the information on Velorum for him; it was locked up under such tight security that no one seemed to even know who had jurisdiction over the project...

He'd tried civilian channels first- the Department of Colonial Affairs, who at least SHOULD have had initial jurisdiction- but they knew nothing. Then he tried Star Fleet Intelligence, figuring if something odd or dangerous was uncovered, they may have classified everything; SFIA denied everything. They could be lying, of course...but somehow, he didn't think so. Not this time...

Joe rocked slowly in his chair, and pondered this Velorum mess. HOOD was heading straight into that mess- they'd be there in a few days- and he had nothing to give them.

If he were Jack Steele, he'd be pissed about now...

MD: 2.1430 Setting: Main Conference Room, A-Deck, USS HOOD

<<snip- from Andy's post, entitled "Briefing Continues">>

"Any chance of cracking out the Alpha files.' The first officer asked.

Jack nodded. "I've sent in the request but so far no specific responses."

"Specific response?"

"I get the impression that a number of the higher ups know something but officially they don't. I can't seem to narrow it down to a branch that even wants to admit to putting the classification on. Our fleet commander has jumped in with both feet. But for now we need to operate on the assumption that we're going to have to go in blind."

"Hopefully the archeological team will be able to fill in the blanks."

"If any of them still live." Gar added. They all hoped that members of the team had survived what ever disaster had struck. But after repeated hails since the initial distress call there had only been silence.

<<end snip>>

Gar pushed his blue lips together, and his antennae stood straight up on his head. He was concerned- very much so: the very fact that they had a distress call from the colony on Velorum, and have heard nothing since, gave him an icy-cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. On Andoria, bad news frequently came by way of snow or ice; he had a feeling the ice ball inside of his gullet was bearing similar news about the colony.

"When will we arrive on scene?" he asked.

"Three days," replied Hemux. He glanced at Steele. "We should be ready with a full rescue-and-recovery team when we get there- just in case."

Steele nodded. "Make it happen," he said simply. "All departments, we've got three days to get ready- dismissed."

As everyone got up from the briefing, there was a definite change in tone with regards to the crew's feelings towards Velorum. Before, it was a planet of great mystery, which naturally sparked visions of excitement and adventure; now, it had all the feel of a large graveyard, a tomb for a failed colony that maybe dug just a little too far.

One question continued to eat away at Gar's senses: What exactly had the team unearthed?

MD: 5.0900 Setting: Bridge, A-Deck, USS HOOD

<<snip- from Brian's last post, entitled "You Know What This Means Right?">>

"It's there. I'm picking up the dig site. No visuals due to the soupy atmosphere overhead. I think we'll have to beam down in any case because nothing at all is reading from that pyramid except hard stone."

"Could the radiation from the suns be interfering with sensors?"

"Don't believe so sir. Unless they have gone into the pyramid or some other underground shelter ...." she trailed off, not wishing to state the uncomfortably obvious conclusion.

"Freakin' ghost planet," Merrick quipped. Steele shot his first officer a smirk.

"Take along the usual suspects Sean. Get us some answers."

<<end snip>>

At that moment, Commander Gar stepped from the turbolift. "I'm ready, Commander," he said, approaching Merrick. "Never know what an engineer's eyes and ears- and antennae- might find," he said, shrugging."

<<Brian/Andy?>>

<<TIMELINE>>

2.0630- Gar and Steele share some interesting tales over coffee. 2.0941- Admiral Carstairs tried quite unsuccessfully, to wrest the Velorum Papers free from Star Fleet's grasp. 2.1430- Gar has a bad feeling about the fate of the colonists as the briefing breaks up. 5.0900- Gar volunteers for landing party duty.

<<NRPG>>

All- Sorry for the long silence- professional and familial demands kept me quiet for far too long. I think I've worked out a comfortable balance now, however, so I am hoping this means I am back for weekly posting.

Andy/Brian- one wary Andorian reporting for landing party duty...

Respectfully Submitted,

- Scott Lusby

/\ LCDR Gar Th'elenth

Chief Engineer

USS HOOD NCC-1703

AND

/\ VADM Joseph Carstairs

Commander, Starbase 6

ASR: ORIGINS

[ORIGNS] USS HOOD: The First Discovery

by Andy Catterick

SD 2260.272

MD: 5.1300

Scene: Bridge, USS HOOD

Captain’s Log supplemental,

Commander Merrick and the Landing Party have just signaled they have successfully beamed down to the planet surface and are enroute to the dig site. As a precaution Sean decided to materialize one kilometer away in the hopes that should there be anything dangerous they will have time to react rather then dropping into the middle of things. If there is something nasty down there I hope the team’s personal tricorders are able to detect it but I’m far from convinced they will. Dr Corbett and Lieutenant Hemux spent the better part of the day scouring over sensor readings and beaming down a multitude of probes and test kits. Unfortunately we have not discovered a trace of where the archeological team has disappeared too, or what may have caused the initial panic. In the end it looks like the Mark One Eyeball will be the test that counts. Hopefully.

As for the rest of us we’re using our time to conduct scans of this system. It is remarkable in its uniqueness and the science departments are all fighting each other for sensor time. At least they have something to do. This waiting for results may kill me.

End log.

Scene: Planet Surface

Crewman Gene Lowl was like a kid on his birthday. This was his first Landing Party duty and it was everything he thought it would be. They were alone out in the middle of nowhere, scouting through a strange world trying to solve an unsolvable puzzle. And he was part of the team that would do it. As a security officer his primary function was scouting and defence but Commander Merrick had made it clear that his opinions and thoughts carried as much weight as the medical and science members of the team. He didn’t want to let the X/O down and he really wanted to be the one to discover something important first so he was doing his best to keep his eye on his tricorder and the terrain ahead. As if on cue his tricorder beeped and he quickly brought up the report.

“Commander!” He said coming to a halt and turning back to look down the dry river bed. “I’m picking up three humanoid bodies 50 meters ahead. They’re given off readings I don’t really understand but it looks like their dead sir.”

Two minutes later a crouching Dr. Corbett looked up at Sean. “It seems I have to concur with Mr. Lowl’s diagnosis. These poor bastards have been dead for several days.”

“What killed them doctor?” Merrick asked.

Stile rose from his crouch and snapped his tricorder closed. “I have no idea.”

<<<NRPG>>>

Hi gang, the short version: We had a good start, don’t let it die out now. POST!

I hope to get another one out before Friday as I will be away from The 2nd through to the 15th. Not there will be anything that can’t wait but should there be some sort of crisis then Brian will provide the answers. J

And in case I didn’t mention it: POST!

Respectfully,

Andy Catterick

CAPT Jack Steele

CO USS HOOD NCC1703

ASR ORIGINS