[Archived] Act 2 — The Gods of Coxa II

[max_vale]

LCDR Dale Collins; Helmsman


Dale keeps a watchful eye and ear out and briefly eyes the strange woman and stranger fruit; but keeps his mind on his duty....

[Grognardsw]

Ensign Abbot patiently watches the scene.

[ybn1197]

Captain Dillon Wyse

"I'm sure you know who we are by the looks on your faces when you walked in and discovered us. Now, please return the favor and tell me who you are and why you are here on a protected planet."

[Starbeard]

The woman catches Mr. Costello and Mr. Collins in her eye, and smiles politely until she realizes that their attentions are directly mostly at the fruit she carries. She tosses it back into the bowl uneaten, offering the contents to the men with a sardonic gesture of the eyebrow. It is then that they notice a small hand phaser, type-1, resting in something like a tea cozy beneath the fruit bowl. Set to its lowest power, the phaser is on and warming the bowl. In fact, they realize that the evening has grown a bit chilly outside of the phaser's area of warmth.

Seconds of silence follow as her mutable expression betrays her internal dialog. The expression of concern eventually wins the debate, and with a brief scan of the room to ensure they are outside of earshot, she leans forward and whispers conspiratorially at the three of them. "Moore. Leigh Moore, xeno-archeologist and historian. I trained at the Lunar University. We didn't mean to ignore the Federation's General Orders, honestly. It just sort of turned out this way."

Seeing that they don't quite understand, she hastens to explain. "We're here looking for artifacts. Not from this species, from a species that inhabited this planet as an outpost long before the Coxans evolved. During one of my previous projects I had determined that somewhere on Coxa II is a potentially very important site of that civilization's ruins, and we—that is, the doctor and I—formed an expedition to locate it. You have to understand we had no intention of disobeying the Prime Directive. It was a terrible accident, but now that it's happened, the doctor and I have been taking every precaution to ensure that no external factors are injected into their beliefs or knowledge. They have adopted us as the manifestations of their gods, and we can do nothing more than embody the personas and truths they already believe us to have. Even you have to admit that there's little else we can do; once the damage is done, we can only contain it in a way that does not undermine this planet's current understanding of reality. What's more, through these villagers we should be able to locate the ruins very quickly, and then be on our way. Please don't make us leave now, not until we find the site! It's important!"

The sounds of revelry in the room beyond become louder as though people are drifting closer to the entryway.

[Starbeard]

Ned waits patiently as Fantor uses his kit to treat the patient. He goes through much the same actions as Ned had, and after a short time, perhaps surprisingly, Hemda begins to breathe deeply and peacefully, her eyes fluttering open as if drowsy. The burn marks on her body appear to have faded significantly.

Fantor studiously returns his equipment to his satchel, running his hands through his hair as he speaks his verdict. "This woman suffered quite a shock. Most of the internal damage has been contained, and the rest will heal itself shortly. As you can see, her burns are already beginning to heal—they should be gone by tomorrow, and her internal organs good as new within a week. Try to keep her from performing too much extraneous activity until then."

Brushing imagined dust from his silver suit as he stands, he hesitates and then declares to the acolytes in the room, "Fantor has spoken," while self-consciously avoiding the eyes of the Star Fleet officers. The Coxans respond in unison, "Praise Fantor!".

"If you'll excuse me," Fantor says to the officers with cough, and attempts to leave the room.

[Inferno]

Commander Nadix Ar Eth, Science Officer:

"Be careful. He's armed." Nadix murmurs softly to his colleagues.

Without the Captain to defer to, the Edosian looks up from his tricorder as Fantor tries to leave. "One moment please, Fantor. We would have a private word with you."

[Grognardsw]

Ensign Costello takes a fruit, bites into it, and waits to see what the Captain says.

[Grognardsw]

Ensign Abbot clutches his phaser, but doesn't raise it, waiting for Fantor's reaction.

[Starbeard]

Ensign Costello takes a fruit, bites into it, and waits to see what the Captain says.

It might be the best thing Costello has tasted since joining the Space Service, and not just because it's real food.

Everyone:

"…They have adopted us as the manifestations of their gods, and we can do nothing more than embody the personas and truths they already believe us to have. Even you have to admit that there's little else we can do; once the damage is done, we can only contain it in a way that does not undermine this planet's current understanding of reality."

Please make a 3D6 roll vs MN. You may add Contact Theory to your MN if you have that skill.

Ensign Costello's MN is 10, with 1 rank in Contact Theory (presumably why he was selected for this away mission).

[ybn1197]

Captain Dillon Wyse

[3d6] = 7 vs. MN (11) + Contact Theory (4)

"Every precaution?! I think you failed miserably when it comes to that. You are portraying their gods here. How can you not think this will have an effect on their cultural development?! You have completely corrupted their societies development. Now we have to figure a way out of the mess you two have created."

[max_vale]

LCDR Dale Collins; Helmsman


Dale shares his Captain's anger at Ms. Moore, but he kept his mouth shut as it wasn't his place to criticize the researcher. He kept his attention on the surroundings and doing his best to ensure that the revelry wasn't being used as a distraction for anyone attempting to spy or sneak up on the Captain, Costello or him....


OOC: Note, I can't access the dice roller on this site at work (I have NO idea why...but I used the dice roller at the site listed below and here's Collins' roll results. He does NOT have the Contact Theory skill.

1d6 = 1 1d6 = 5 1d6 = 2

Total of: 8

Site used: http://www.brockjones.com/dieroller/dice.htm

[DadsAngry]

Dr. Ned Ryerson:

As Commander Nadix Ar Eth gets the attention of Fandon, Dr. Ryerson slips to Hemda side. He checks her vitals and the almost healed burns.

[Grognardsw]

Ensign Costello takes another bite of the succulent fruit.

Costello [3d6+1] = 11+1 = 12 vs MN

[Starbeard]

Nadix politely orders Fantor to stay for questioning. He makes a motion to ignore the Edosian, but the presence of Ensign Abbot behind him clutching a phaser at his side is enough to cause him to think twice.

"Hemda requires peace and rest," Fantor says across the room to the handful of Coxan acolytes in the background. "And these beings require my attention. Please, see that no one enters the room." They obediently vacate the area, leaving the landing party alone with Fantor.

"Yes?" he says, now turned to face the group, his free hand dangling close to the belt under his silver tunic. His voice carries a strong sense of temerity around the edges.





Ned Ryerson sits down by Hemda and performs a quick check of her vitals. His quizzical expression is enough to confirm to those around him that Fantor's treatments and final diagnosis were indeed correct. Her various ailments do seem to be healing more rapidly than they should.

Fantor notices Ryerson's incredulity and smirks. "The Rod of Life," he explains, pointing to the alien object on the altar. "They call it that because of its insoluble properties. While it sits on that altar, it emits a short-wave radiation that causes certain biological functions to accelerate in plants and animals. The Coxans have had little need for medical advancement, as this 'Rod of Life' ensures that all but most grievous of wounds will heal naturally, in time."

[Starbeard]

Ensign Costello partakes of the fruit heartily, recalling with a shudder that exam he barely passed back at the Academy, in Judge Lagerqvist's Level-1 course on General Orders Regulations and Contact Law. As it is, he can only recall the basic, often quoted summary of the Prime Directive, found in Chapter 1, Article II, Paragraph 7 of the Articles of the Federation:





Dale keeps an ear on the conversation at hand while sauntering cautiously into a position to observe the exits.

The Captain and Ms. Moore duel over the finer points of contact theory. "Well anyway, it wasn't my idea!" she argues, her cheeks growing redder with indignity. "I insisted on posing as deities, that's true—but there's nothing in the General Orders that forbids that, it only forbids against providing information that would alter their current technological limitations or cultural beliefs. Posing as figures from their myths and legends will at least avoid having to explain what sorts of creatures we are, and I've ensured that we only use technologies that they already associate with those mythological figures." Her incensed breathing wafts her bangs. "Anyway, it doesn't matter, since we're all civilians, and the General Orders are a Star Fleet matter."

CPT Dillon Wyse and LCDR Dale Collins:

In addition to the basic summary of General Order #1, the two senior officers also recall to memory several key points from the Order's ever-expanding list of subsections and qualifying remarks, as well as a key court case or two often cited in relation to contact law.

They also both recognize that the General Orders are technically Star Fleet laws, and can only be strongly encouraged on the citizenry, rather than forced upon them. This has been challenged in the past, though, especially since General Order 1 is summarized in the Articles of Federation as well as the Star Fleet Regulations. Non-citizens, of course, cannot be held accountable for the law, since Coxa II is not within Federation territory.

These murky areas are one reason why Star Fleet uses monitor beacons like the one orbiting Coxa II, so that they can always fall back on charging someone with violating general traffic laws that forbid traffic through the system.

Whatever the case, it seems apparent to them that this woman does in fact value the Prime Directive, and is truly ambivalent to her team's disregard for it.

[ybn1197]

Captain Dillon Wyse

The captain shook his head. How can she not realize that what they were doing was affecting this society's overall development. If there are no gods, then how will this alter their society? "I'm not going to mince words with you Ms. Moore. The General Order is upheld by both the Federation, of which you are a member, as well as Starfleet. What we need to do now is extract you with as little further damage to this society as possible. Where is your craft?"

[max_vale]

LCDR Dale Collins; Helmsman


Dale notices a figure behind the curtains, but does his best to look away and not give-away that he's alert to his/her/its presence. He keeps his attention on the Captain and Ms. Moore as he begins to casually walk around the room, his back towards the curtain. When he gets close enough, he'll attempt to shoot out his free hand and yank the eavesdropper into the room. If successful, he'll point his phaser, set on stun on the individual; and no matter what happens, he'll call out; "Captain, we've got a snoop!"


OOC: Not sure what roll, if any is needed here; but let me know if anything is needed

[DadsAngry]

Dr. Ned Ryerson:

"Your "Rod of Life" is what caused my antibiotic compound production to mutated no doubt. And it's most likely the source of radiation that we detected. Do you realize the range this thing has? How can you be so sure that device doesn't cause the rapid growth of cancer or shorten one's life span? What knowledge do you have on it that assures it can be used safely as a medical device?"

[Grognardsw]

Ensign Abbot gulps. He's too young to get cancer. Someday he'll be captain, he dreams.

[Inferno]

Commander Nadix Ar Eth, Science Officer:

They obediently vacate the area, leaving the landing party alone with Fantor.
"Yes?" he says, now turned to face the group, his free hand dangling close to the belt under his silver tunic. His voice carries a strong sense of temerity around the edges.

The Edosian says calmly, politely and dispassionately, as two of his three arms just happen to rest near his palm phaser, "Mr. Fantor, it appears there are egregious violations of the Prime Directive present here; of a severity beyond which I have never before witnessed. While you may be a civilian, we are not. I'm afraid we are duty bound. On behalf of the United Federation of Planets, we have no choice but to apprehend you temporarily for questioning on these grave matters. I must ask you to please restrict your movements.
"Mr. Abbot? Mr. Gareb? Would you please disarm our guest? Mr. Fantor, it will be necessary for the limited duration of your detainment. I'm sure you understand."

If Fantor yells to alert the Coxans, Nadix will have no choice but to quickly stun him with his palm phaser.