Meet The Colonists, Part 1

Posted on Fri Sep 9th, 2022 @ 7:05pm by Lieutenant Commander Diane Doctrine & Lieutenant Jaya Thorne & Lieutenant Talsi Carey & Lieutenant Commander Aalis Rinne & Lieutenant Sky Jansen-Carey & Ensign Jordan Peterson

Mission: The Colonists
Location: Runabout Cuyahoga, in orbit of Tuhvon IV
Timeline: current

==Runabout Cuyahoga==

The ride was a quiet one but they finally reached the planet the colony was located on.

"Standard hailing frequencies," Diane announced, "Let's announce ourselves so we don't freak anyone out."

“Good idea” Sky smiled. “Last thing we need is a hostile reception.”

Looking through the read outs there was nothing that was nefarious standing out like a beacon in the night. However, Aalis new to be prepared for anything that they might run into and to scan alternative frequencies to determine if maybe there was something hidden that the normal sensor reading wouldn't pick up. In tandem, she opened all channels and nodded to the Commander.

“Greetings. This is Commander Doctrine from the Federation starship Resolution. I’ve been ordered by my captain to deliver some supplies to your colony. Is there someone in charge I can speak to about this?”

"Commander, would be better if you reach out to Mitchell Peterson, he will be the one to help you. He's the leader of the three colonies in this sector." Jordan replied hesitantly, he tapped a few buttons. "Their personal computer, onscreen in 5...4...3.."

Within seconds, a middle aged man, and woman appeared, arguing whether they should answer it.

"They never cared for us before, why should we..."

The woman looked at her husband. "They are here, they have supplies. We need the supplies. Let us hear them out, we can still say no."

"Fine..."

"Mom... Dad...."

Pausing, the two turned. "Jordan?"

"Listen to what these officers have to say. then we will leave."

Both looked at each other. "Fine." The father replied. "At least we will see you again."

Diane listened carefully. When the conversation on the other side of the comm died down she asked, "Are you Mitchell Peterson?" As an afterthought, the name 'Peterson' rang a small bell in the back of her mind but she kept that nugget to herself for the time being.

"I am.... and I suppose you want a parlay with out council here on the planet."

"No parlay is needed. We're simply here, at my captain's request, to drop off supplies and a message," Diane replied as diplomatically as she could. "Are you willing to accept?"

"I will make note that you are guests of my son, no trouble will be brought on, while I talk to the council. I cannot accept without their approval."

"Just contact us when you're ready. Thank you." Diane closed the comm line with an uneasy tap of the console.

CJ shifted in his seat, something felt off and he'd been trained to go with his gut.

"Commander something's off here I volunteer to stay with the shuttle and cover our exit." Boucher said.

"Talk to us Lieutenant," Diane shifted in her seat to look right at him. Something was not sitting right with her either. "What's on your mind? Because, truth be told, I'm a little uneasy myself."

“You’re not the only ones” Sky looked at Diane and CJ. “There was something there, I got the feeling she was holding back. It might just be because they’re not happy about us being here, I can’t really say for sure.”

"By giving the landing clearance for a visit from Ensign Peterson only gives the plausible deniability if anything unpleasant happens to us. I suggest we sit tight until they agree to an official meeting, even so someone should guard the shuttle." CJ explained. "Colonists are good people, but they will do what they believe is necessary to protect what they've built."

"Agreed," Diane admitted. "We can leave the runabouts in orbit and just beam down until we get the lay of the land and a better feel for how these people will deal with us. Another option might be to just beam down the supplies and keep talking to them over the comms. In either case, someone needs to stay with the runabout." She then looked to Ensign Peterson, "Is there any light you can shed on this situation Ensign?"

"They are attached to this land. My father would prefer to take the very last breath fighting for it than give it up. I would suggest not suggesting it right away."

Diane put her tongue in her cheek as she thought a moment. “We don’t have a lot of time. Captain Carey said to push the limit attempting to get these people to agree to leave. The Resolution will be here in three days to pick up anyone who won’t fit in the runabouts. I also have a reliable source that says there is, in fact, a very high probability the Cardassians and Dominion are planning to try and take over this sector.” She let that information sink in a moment.

Then she continued. “Perhaps we should just beam down the supplies and send the message to the general population and see what the people say? Those who want to stay can stay and those who want to leave can leave. Anyone have any better ideas?”

Sky shook her head. “No better ideas here.”

Having been quiet to listen to the dialogue and assess the situation, Aalis was in agreeance with their general accords of the situation that they had found themselves in. "I would say that leaving the runabouts here and only keyed to our commbadges is the most extreme way to go. If we leave someone in orbit, it may look suspicious that we aren't all present for this meeting. We could leave our pilots aboard the other runabouts and beam down the supplies and a small landing party to show that we are no threat, which we aren't. I've dealt with colonists before, and yes, they can be very territorial. As much as we had hoped to land the runabout, I'm thinking that should be off the table for now."

She added after a slight pause, "People that leave the Federation and have been on their own for so long will require tangible proof that there is an immediate threat and extreme danger ahead. Us saying that there is a very high probability that the attacks are coming in their eyes could be fabricated. If we were to take their leader or representative on a scouting mission to see it to believe it, they could still say that it's the trick on the sensors. This, unfortunately, may come down to it that if we can't convince them that the immediate threat is there, and they don't want to leave, we'll need to let the other runabouts go with the Resolutionwhen she arrives, and then we have one runabout remaining with a small evacuation team when the threat is on their doorstep."

Diane tapped her lower lip with her fore finger as she processed Aalis' thoughts, "Well, to your first point, they don't know how many of us there are. I think I'd prefer to leave someone up here in orbit. I do think we should make the landing party, if they allow it, a reasonable size... to your second point, I have some intelligence information I can give them offering proof of an imminent invasion. It's a data packet I've been authorized to give them detailing ship and troop movements in Cardassian territory." She folded her arms across her chest, "All we can do is let them look at it and see what they do. I do think you're right, however, about them and their independence. They left the Federation for a reason. They aren't going to want to come back. Captain Carey doesn't want to leave them to get wiped out either."

"But with intel of the Dominion... they don't stand a chance do they." Jordan inquired. "My whole family is down there, I have no one else."

“Would your family listen to you?” Sky looked at Jordan, “Will they volunteer to leave?”

"I broke tradition and joined fleet... they accepted but never fully... I doubt it."

Sky nodded. “Would it be worth trying? Even if we contact them from here?”

"Knowing my family... no."

"What if we beamed down there," Diane asked, "Would seeing them in person help? I could hand them the data and they could verify it."

Paige had been sitting silently, for some time, thinking about the situation. "Farm colonists are some of the most stubborn individuals in the Federation. Think about it this way, would you pack up everything in your life, because someone you don't know came and told you had to? Maybe..." she trailed off clearly having an idea percolate through that wasn't quite formed enough to come out in words.

Diane thought she might know what Paige was getting at. "Do go on... we have to try save as many of them as we can."

"Maybe the invasion plans aren't what we need to show them. Troop numbers and plans might not mean anything to these people. Maybe.. maybe we should show them what will happen if they stay. The atrocities that have happened in the past, from our side and theirs. It's important to show that we're not unsullied by this conflict."

Diane nodded slowly as she explained, "I hadn't thought of that angle... it makes sense." She turned and began tapping the console of the communications array. "It shouldn't take too long to get some video and pictorial documentation to show them." She finished her request at the console and turned to face the rest, "It shouldn't take to long for it to download from the Resolution."

Jordan sighed as he leaned back. "Perhaps I go down alone. My home is down there, my family. I can message you when I am sure there isn't any ambush..."

"Are you sure?" Diane asked, "I don't think you should go entirely alone. At least go with one security person... or me."

"They are family. Although they were against my leaving, they were supportive nonetheless." Jordan replied

Jaya chewed her lip while she sat in the pilots seat of the runabout. Her job was to fly, not to participate in lengthy and most likely futile politics. Still, it didn't seem smart to send down only one person. "You should take someone with you, Ensign. We can monitor whomever goes from here. We could keep a transporter lock on you too. Just in case. And if anything goes awry, we beam you both out and we jet."

"I'd like to volunteer to accompany the Ensign down to the planet." CJ said confidently. "I'm security but I'm also from a colony world and I understand how colonists think. We should take Miss Bryant as well, I hear she's a colony girl too. Besides a science officer officer can probably bring up points towards evacuation that matter me or Peterson would think of."

Diane thought about it for a moment. “All right,” she said at last, “but keep comms open so we can monitor your progress.” Then the console beeped, “The information about the previous attacks on colonies has just finished downloading from the Resolution. I’ll put it on a PADD so you can take it with you to show them. Give them the supplies, do your best to convince them to evacuate, we’ll keep a transporter lock on you in case things get hairy. Sky, go with them and monitor the colonists mental state, if they try anything crazy perhaps you can give us a heads up about it. Any questions?”

“No questions” Sky offered a smile as she looked towards Diane, then at CJ and Paige. “I’ll do my best to help ward off any problems.”

Jordan was surprised they were going with his suggestion, he was a lowly ensign. Sure he knew the people down there, this was his home. But they had every reason not to take his idea. He picked up a rifle, standard procedure, but shouldered it rather than hold it.

"All we need now is permission from their council to beam down," Diane mentioned, "Remember, we're not here to force anyone into anything but we do need to strongly, and I can't emphasize that word enough, recommend they evacuate. If they want to talk to me personally, I'll beam down but I think you can handle this."

The console beeped again, and Jordan's fathers face came on. "Commander, the counsel and I Have agreed to listen what you have to say. We have heard rumblings on what's been going on with the situation with the Cardassians and the new threat... we want to know what offer you have."

Sky looked at Diane, offering a nod to say she believed what they were saying was the whole truth.

"There is more than just rumblings," Diane started, "We have hard intelligence data that indicates a high probability that a Cardassian and Dominion alliance will invade this entire sector. I have all that information and more on a PADD I can share with you. Would you allow some of us to beam down and speak face to face?"

"We will listen. Village square, Jordan will give you the coordinates."

"We'll be down shortly," Diane answered.