Arrival at Mellon

Posted on 11 Dec 2024 @ 9:48pm by Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Ensign Ronin Tetnel & Lieutenant JG Sunni Wallace & Crewman Nicholas Foy & Story Teller

1,430 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Cover of Darkness
Location: Mellon
Timeline: July 2, 2390 || 1130 hours

Mellon looked like a typical M-class planet from above. Its skies were mostly clear, revealing a lush forest world below, rich with mountain trails and oceans. Few satellites peppered the sky, most of them former Starfleet probes and buoys. From the low orbit that the Flotsam had just now entered into, it was easy to see a cleared area on one of the continents near a mountain range. This quarry would be the home to a colony, the Flotsam's current destination.

"Okay, everyone," Camila said as she brought the Flotsam down for a gentle landing at the cleared away strip. "Look alive and get what you can. If you hear any word about birythium alloy, it'll be our only lead."

"You got it," Sunni said as she began to mentally prepare herself for the next part of their journey.

Nick simply gave the Commander a curt nod and let her do her thing before he got up out of his chair to do anything.

The crew of the Flotsam were not alone for long. Very little had been shared with them regarding the inhabitants of the Mellon Colony, so it might have been a surprise to see that their greeter was none other than a human. He wore a wool overcoat and a scarf to protect himself against the crisp air, and his silver hair was slightly disheveled, showing that he had been performing a different task prior to the Flotsam's landing.

"Welcome to Mellon," he said with a distinguished British accent. Looking at the brunette in front of the group, he said, "Are you the Massara that Toma has been telling me about?"

"Thank you," Camila said. "Francisca Massara, at your service, and you are?"

Ronin stepped out of the runabout, his Intel tricorder passively scanning everything around them. The air smelled fresh and unrecycled unlike the air they had been breathing for days in the Flotsam.

"A pleasure to meet you, Francisca Massara," the elder man said with a smile and a gentle nod. "I am Richard Carter, and I represent the Golden Stars." He looked to the craft, taking note of its clear Danube shape and its rugged condition. "I think you and I can both relate to having seen better days."

It took Camila a moment to recall the name of the founder of the Golden Stars. It had been before her time on the Black Hawk and she had read about it in the ship's logs when she was just getting settled into her new role as the Chief of Security. She gave a lopsided smile when she saw him look at the Flotsam. "She gets me where I need to be, Mr. Carter. This is a beautiful world you have here, but I hear you could use some supplies."

Richard chuckled. "If you were here for any other reason than to play courier, then I would certainly find you suspect," he replied. "I can have a couple of hands join us with some antigrav carts if you would kindly open your hatch."

"There's no need for that," she said as she raised her right wrist to her mouth and spoke into a comm device on it that was linked to the Flotsam. "Massara to Flotsam. Beam Shipment B to this location," she ordered.

A moment later, the rest of the crates of supplies appeared in a glittering shower of transporter energy, along with four probes of various classes. "Will this help soothe your suspicions, Richard?" She asked, choosing to use his first name to establish some familiarity.

Another chuckle escaped the man's throat, though this particular one sounded more like a grunt. "My dear, if you've lived the life I have, you would always find anyone suspect. I am not granted the benefit of absolute trust. Still, I am grateful for your patronage, and your willingness to operate as a courier."

Sunni, now known as Ainsley among the group, watched as the two interacted. Her attention was mostly on Richard, though, taking in every detail and making note of his mannerisms. Until she was spoken to, the young woman planned to stay silent for the the moment.

"It's understandable and I'm trying to build a reputation out here," Camila said. "Supplies are starting to loosen up and the Federation is learning that they don't control everything."

Richard didn't comment on the Federation. He cared little about the organization of which most of his species were a part, even though his few encounters with them were favorable. "Out here, reputation is everything. Perhaps there is a way to forge new reputations together. And, hopefully, our birythium will help us do that."

Nick had walked out of the cockpit of the Runabout not mere moments before when he heard Camila talking to someone, specifically using the word "Birythium." Nick made a mental note of that word, as it was one of the leads that they had within this colony. Nick walked over to stand between Camila and where the supplies were beamed in to get a better listen into their conversation.

"I have a modification on my transporter that lets me haul goods without taking up room in my ship," Camila has. "I stored all these and a load I dropped off earlier." She indicated the crates and probes thad had been beamed nearby. "Most stations don't check the buffer."

"That's all fine and good," said Richard, slightly impressed. "But we are mining a fair amount of birythium here, and we'll need to transport entire loads that are at least ten times the size of your ship there. How well does your tractor beam hold?"

Sunni mentally perked up at the mention of birythium. So, the colony here was mining it, and it seemed that they would soon know where it would be transported to. It was unlikely there would be enough to report back to the Black Hawk yet, but perhaps they would know more in time.

"I can tow a ship about three or four times the size of mine," Camila said.

"Excellent!" beamed Richard. Two pairs of footsteps approached behind the new arrivals, prompting Richard's smile to remain. "Francisca, allow me to introduce two members of my family. First, my wife, Alice," he said, gesturing to the older blonde. "She oversees our mining operations. With her is my daughter, Emily, who manages our distribution."

"A pleasure," Alice greeted the newcomers with a nod. "I'm afraid I'm here to borrow Richard. We are about ready to crack into a new vein, and he wanted to be a part of that."

"Indeed I do," Richard confirmed. "In which case, we will leave you in Emily's care. Demand is rising, and she's been preparing our next set of orders."

"Which, at our current rate of production," Emily said, looking over to Francisca, "means that the next shipment will be due to leave tomorrow. You don't mind staying a short bit, do you?"

Camila greeted each of the women and nodded to Richard before she responded to Emily. "We can certainly do that and we can sleep in Flotsam so we don't take up any of your space or resources."

Ronin looked over at Emily and smiled. "I could go for sleeping outside here if there's no dangerous predators."

"I think I could, too. It will be nice to be surrounded by fresh air," Sunni said.

"Yeah, it'd be nice to get some fresh air for once instead of being stuffed into a metal tube for days on end. I'm down," Foy answered after hearing everyone else talking. He had been a bit lost in the beauty of the planet itself for a brief moment.

"Excellent," Richard said. "I will not stop you from sleeping wherever you like, but I will insist that you join us for dinner. Perhaps we can discuss the particulars of this arrangement and get to know each other better?"

Camila smiled inwardly as her team opted to stay out to get more information. "Outside it is and we'd be happy to join you for dinner," she said. "Do you have time to show me the mines, Emily?"

Emily smiled and gestured to her left. "I think a tour can be arranged, but we'll have to keep the group small. The mines aren't exactly meant for visitors."

"Then let's go," Camila said as she looked at Ronin and Sunni. ":We'll catch up to you later. You're with me," she pointed to Foy and turned to go.

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