Miner Breathing Problems

Posted on Tue Nov 9th, 2021 @ 1:10am by Commander Marisa Sandoval & Captain Xavier Carey & Lieutenant Commander Aalis Rinne & Lieutenant JG Diana Morrison-Johnson

Mission: The Mentarin Effect
Location: The Mines

ON

Once the other team moved off to look at the equipment, Sandoval nodded to their guide. She wanted to scan the minerals and check the air filtration system in the mines to see how they could be improved. So far, everything she'd seen was less than adequate for the needs of the colonists and she was pretty sure the mines would be sub-par as well.

"What is your honest opinion as of right now, Commander." Tremain asked, seeing her reactions to what she was shown, the answer wasn't something he was going to like he knew.

"Honestly?" Marisa shook her head. "The equipment is grossly out of date, inadequate for the size of the mines, and lacks the proper filtration and ventilation for the offgassing."

"The time to upgrade the machines would delay the agreed shipments to both the klingons and the federation. We would have to shut all operations down for a significant amount of time. Which was unacceptable. We have determined that it would take six months just to do inside the mines, thats not even the outer portion of it."

Rick furrowed his brow, "I don't think the Federation, or even the Klingons, would mind if the upgrades aided in keeping your population safe."

"I don't think the Federation or the Klingons were aware there was a need to upgrade," Marisa said. "There are always ways around the time factor. And if not, a six month delay if it means better production and healthy workers is worth it."

Diana looked around the equipment that just from viewing would not pass Federation standards. Pulling out her own tricorder the air down here wasn't suitable for breathing. "I'm honestly shocked that your people haven't experienced more health issues."

"Our people has a heartier immune system than humans."

It still wasn't good enough to justify the conditions. But now was not the time to argue. Now was the time to get as much data as they could for further analysis--and to prove the Orions were treating these people like slaves. Marisa was growing more and more certain of that as she went through the mine.

Aalis had been watching everyone scan and looked around. She herself was looking around, not at what was in front of them, but the corners that most people didn't look at. "There are a lot of vulnerabilities with the structure in here," she commented, pointing at a couple of the structural members. "We'll want to make sure that we get those points looked at." She was still using her tricorder to scan around the area. As much as she wasn't an engineer, she was trained to root out weaknesses, whether it be with the network or physical surroundings.

"It just doesn't look safe," Rick commented, "Like it was all put up in a hurry."

"Have there been any earthquakes?" Marisa asked. They often accompanied mining. Especially if there were explosives involved.

Aalis nodded to Rick as he mentioned how unsafe it looked. she concurred with his assessment and she wasn't the engineer. Her husband would have a field day if he saw what they were currently looking at. She was quiet as it was confirmed that there were earthquakes, or as he called it tremors. "We might want to bring another engineering team down here to stabilize this to ensure that those quakes don't destroy what equipment is here."

"I'm no engineer, but I'm gonna bet on that being a real good idea," Rick mentioned while looking around the with a frown on his face.

Tremain nodded. "What ever you can provide to help us. Is welcomed. However i do not want to put your safety in jeopardy."

"How dangerous, then, is it for your people in the mines?" Marisa asked. "Specifically, that is."

"It is accustomed, it is mandatory that all abled bodies spend one week per month in the mines." Tremain replied. "Danger is known, but how dangerous is it when someone joins the military."

The further they got into the mine, the worse the air quality and the more over-worked the apparatus. It was a miracle it worked at all, Marisa thought. She could tell the new minerals from the older ones by the odd metallic tang in the air and the whine of hte equipment. It wasn't loud, but to Vulcan ears, it was like nails on a chalkboard. Finally she stopped. "I think we've seen enough. We'd like to go back now"

Tremain paused, "I apologize, did I say something wrong.'

Diana could clearly tell how irritated Marisa was becoming. "No Tremain. I believe that we have gotten a pretty good idea on what the situation is."

"Indeed." Marisa smiled. "We have seen enough for a preliminary assessment---unless there is something further down you think we'd find of interest."

Tremain paused a moment, "There was a new vein that we recently opened up, different characteristics, this illness became more serious once we started working that vein."

"Maybe we should analyze some samples?" Rick asked the other away team members.

Marisa nodded. "An excellent idea."

She turned to Tremain. "Can we?"

"We have the new ore stored nearby."

Marisa nodded. "Lead the way." She knew her team had taken the appropriate precautions to not get sick from whatever gasses were coming from the minerals or the mine itself. If they could identify the cause of the illness, they could work on a treatment and a cure."

Nodding Tremain turned and headed to the storage location. "Tell me, how many times have starfleet forgotten about people they were to help."

"It happens," Marisa had to admit. "But not often. Not as often as some of our enemies claim, either."

Aalis had fallen quiet, observing and soaking up all the details of everything going on. Hearing that the New vein has caused part of the illness intrigued her. "Was there anything unusual about the new vein?" She asked in effort to bring the conversation away from the negative line of inquiry it had gone down.

"Different characteristics. Several biological chemicals we found inside the ore itself."

"Biological?" Marisa asked. "And has your medical department investigated this?" They needed a sample to test on the ship. "Can we take our own scans of these minerals?"

"Scan all you want Commander, if it helps beam some to the ship."

Marisa smiled. "Thank you. I think I will." She stepped away to make a quiet call to the ship to arrange for a shielded area to beam up some ore for study. That would be better than scans alone. When she had confirmation that the ship was ready, she returned. "All set."

"I am sorry we couldn't get you to the rest of the facility without meeting your satisfaction Commander."

She raised an eyebrow. "Did you think we would?" Marisa didn't think much would meet with her satisfaction, but then, they were here because the colony needed help.

"No. But I feel the need to say it. I guess I really wanted something to be satisfactory here. Despite what things go wrong here, we are still proud of what we provide. We know no other way."

"You should be proud," Marisa said, smiling. "That you've managed to accomplish so much under these circumstances is remarkable."

"Lots of on the job injuries, deaths, and whatnot. I suppose you are right considering." Tremain replied as he looked around. "On behalf of my people, I want to thank you. I know Rotush is going to bring help to us. Despite his losses."

Marisa gave him a Vulcan half-bow. "That is our hope as well. Now, if you will show us this new area, we can get some samples sent to our ship." She was hopeful that between Starfleet and the Klingons, they could bring positive change to the colony.

"Right this way." Tremain gestured as he turned down a path towards the mines. "Besides the samples, is there anything else you require."

"I'd like to have a look at your air filtration system and the supports you use in the tunnels," Marisa replied. "I like to get as much information as I can before making any assumptions."

Nodding, Tremain just went silent as they approached what could only be described as a shack next to the mine entrance.

Rick didn't like the look of the shack. His alertness went up several levels and he made himself ready to protect his away team partners.

Sandoval scanned the shack to make sure it was sturdy enough. It was, as long as they didn't get a sizeable earthquake.

With calmness about the Trill, Aalis looked around their surrounding area and comparable to what they had seen before, the shack seemed more run down than anything that she was expecting. She knew that it wasn't necessarily their fault that they had been given the short stick, but she felt that it was something that stood out more than usual. Scanning the Ridgeline discreetly, she turned back to the away team as they finished checking in with the foreman.

The team followed Tremain into the mines. There weren't enough hardhats for all the miners, let alone any visitors.

"We won't go any further in, there are samples in here, where we measure for quality, amount of the ore in the actual sample is viable."

"This will be sufficient," Sandoval said, smiling her thanks. "Give us a few minutes to scan and collect samples and we'll be ready to go back."

Tremain smiled nodded. He turned to stare out the small window that the shack had.

Marisa scanned the room, the minerals, the air, and the equipment. The more she saw, the more concerned she became. No one should be forced to work in these conditions. She wondered how things had gotten so bad; but she remained silent, having asked enough questions for now. The rest would be taken up in the negotiations. When she'd taken thorough readings and had several samples tucked away, she turned to the others. "Whenever you're ready."

Nodding slightly, Aalis concurred that she too had seen enough to know that these people needed more. While she wasn't in operations, she knew that the ship would be able to provide some assistance, but really the assistance was going to need to come from Starfleet proper and they needed a colony administration delegation sent out here to help them get what they needed. The problem that they were going to run into is making sure that they didn't step on the Orions' feet with the changes that were needed to be made here. Then again, maybe this was what they needed to do. "Ready," she stated quietly.

Marisa nodded and looked to the others.

Tremain escorted the group out. If there was anything else, it would be brought up probably at the meeting between the three groups. "Please convey my gratitude to all the parties involved."

"Thank you for your time," Marisa said to Tremain. Then she led the team back to where they would meet with the others.