Planet Fall

Posted on Wed Jun 22nd, 2011 @ 4:22pm by Captain Nathan Cowell MD

Mission: Too Close for Comfort...
Location: Various
Timeline: Following 'Flight of the Curmudgeoneers'

The Runabout Phoenix made planet fall about an hour after leaving the shuttle bay of the USS Arizona, which was about right given the distance between the two points. The expert piloting of Lieutenant Idrani had given the team a nice landing, smack dab in the center of the large space port that the locals had designated for their arrival. The architecture reminded Nathan of some of the more ambitious of Terran building designs, which made it all the more puzzling that a race so closely mirroring humanity out in the Delta Quadrant would be so abrupt in their detachment to their peers. Already Nathan was beginning to feel the effects of paranoia setting in. This was going to be an interesting adventure.

When the runabout finally settled down to the ground and their pilot announced that it was safe to depart the craft, Commodore Nathan Cowell was the first up out of his chair, making it nearly out of the craft before the next individual in the craft could even un-ass their seat. As Nathan was climbing down the stairs, a small procession of ornately garbed individuals made their way from the central complex of the space port to the landing pad the Phoenix had been sent to. It was obvious who some of the individuals were, given their dress and position in the procession, others were not so easily distinguishable. While Nathan wasn't overly studious in matters outside of medicine, he had taken the liberty in the absence of a diplomatic officer of becoming marginally familiar with the locals. Having already mastered the matters of physiology thanks to his centuries of medical practice, the only thing he'd needed to bother with was their hierarchy and the names that went with it.

As the team piled out of the landing craft, Nathan was finally able to make out the first person in the procession, a strikingly beautiful woman by Archadian standards. She bore the title of First Minister and her name, if Nathan hadn't misread the information, was Kala'Shen. It had been rather interesting to note that the Archadian were matriarchal in development, meaning among other things, their women were the larger, more powerful sex in the population. While he wasn't against women in power, Nathan wondered how it would have worked on Earth all those centuries ago if a woman had been in power during some of the more difficult periods in history...

A rather small looking man suddenly broke from the pack and came within a few meters of Commodore Cowell. At first he had thought it peculiar that anyone would have done so, in light of the fact that the planet's leader was among them. It wasn't until he started to make the formal introductions in the planet's customary manner that it started making sense. He went through and introduced the First Minister, the capital city's Governor, the military leader, and several other dignitaries that oversaw matters of daily life on the planet.

Nathan clapped his hands, which startled more than a few people on both sides of the fence, "Right, I'm Commodore Nathan Cowell, the second in command of Starfleet forces here in the Delta Quadrant. This is a small portion of my crew, I'm sure you'll get to know them all very soon... Anyway... It's an honor, a pleasure, and all that other niceness... Shall we head somewhere a lot more friendly to conversation?"

While the Arizona crew was used to Nathan's rather abrupt methods, the Archadians gave him puzzled and shocked looks... everyone except the First Minister that is.

"Commodore... you do have a way with words. I suppose it comes with the job you hold," the woman smiled.

"No, I think it comes from being six hundred years old and being an impatient old bastard," the old man shrugged.

Finally Nathan drew out the awe in her. Kala'Shen had never met a human older than perhaps fifty years, and even by Archadian standards that was fairly venerable. Nathan was pushing ancient!

"I did not realize humans grew to be so old..." the First minister practically breathed in surprise.

"They don't. I'm El-Aurian, and unless someone knocks me off, I'll probably live to be a million or more," Nathan corrected her. She didn't need to know that after a few thousand years, most El-Aurians joined the Q continuum...

"I see... Then today is a day of firsts for us. It is a pleasure," the woman smiled genuinely, "I believe we can indeed take this inside. I'm sure you are all weary from your travels. My Chief of External Affairs shall escort you. Once you are all settled, I shall have you brought to the Central Ministry Complex where we can discuss whatever matters you bring with you. Until then."

The woman gave Nathan a slight nod before turning back the way she and the other members of her procession had come. The aforementioned Chief of External Affairs stayed behind to do the First Minister's bidding. He was a fairly tall, younger looking Archadian. He was also a man of few words and even few smiles.

"Follow me..." was all he said before leading the team off the landing strip into the city at large. The walk to the complex where they were being given housing for the interim wasn't far from anything. In fact, the city they had landed in seemed to have been deliberately constructed with the goal of making everything accessible from everywhere else. A marvel that even Earth hadn't managed to do until the advent of transporters. Once outside the rather grand looking housing complex, the Chief of External Affairs informed the Commodore and company they would be fetched in two hours. That gave them all plenty of time to go forth and be nosy.

"Alright people, you heard the monotone man. Two hours, asses back here. Until then, go forth and stick your nose into it. I'll need one person to stay with me, the rest of you can mill about in teams of however many you want. Just no going solo until we get a feel for things. In fact, Aix, you stick around with me, the rest of you, beat feet and get!" Nathan snapped.