Refugee Becomes Crew: Samantha Knight

Posted on Thu Apr 27th, 2023 @ 6:56pm by Captain Charlotte Rhodes & Lieutenant Steven Edgeware & Doctor Samantha Knight, DSci.

1,477 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: Runner
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 4: 1600 Hours

Captain Rhodes sat at the briefing table of her Ready Room, reviewing the new duty rosters. The survivors of the USS Howard Carter were all being informed of Starfleet and the Federation Councils responses, and they had finally gotten to the civilian on the list. Given their status only a day away from the Eta Halix system, if someone wanted to leave, now was the time.

Rhodes slid the padd over to Lieutenant Edgeware, himself barely acquainted with the ship. "Sorry for dragging you into this mere hours after your own arrival. We're just short on time before getting to Eta Halix. This briefing is the one regarding Doctor Samantha Knight. She was one of the lead archeologists assigned to the Vela IV dig site before the pirate attack almost 2 weeks ago. Brilliant mind. She was the one who cracked the translations on the ruins there. The Federation Science Council has granted dispensation for her to remain aboard as a civilian attaché for our science team. But...well, she's not Starfleet. So not sure how receptive she's going to be. She's been aboard for a bit, so she knows the ship. Whether she wants to stay long term is the question."

After a pause, she added, "Also her brother is the XO. My understanding is that they are close though, so it shouldn't be any issue."

Steven kept his hand steady as he took the padd from the Captain. But inside he was not so calm. Pirates. On his last posting he had encountered pirates. They murdered the ships Chief Medical Officer. The memory of his late mentor and friends severed head just being left on the floor that a disregarded ball had been the reason for his change from medical to science.

“I have heard of Doctor Knight it sure would be a boost to have her as part of the science team. This is incredible those runes are the most complicated I have ever seen. I would like to speak with her on how she did it. Truly amazing.” Steven said as he read through the padd.

"Agreed," Charlotte said with a nod. "Well, let's invite her in."

She tapped the comm terminal on the table. "T'Raya, can you send Doctor Knight in?"

Samantha entered Charlotte's ready room and paused to look at Steve. She stepped forward and held out her right hand. "Doctor Samantha Knight, at your service."

Steven shook her hand.

“ The honour is all mine Doctor Knight. I have heard so much about you it’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am. The way you solved the runes on Vela IV was inspirational. How did that come about?” Steven asked.

Samantha shook her head and released a soft sigh. "You give me more credit than is do. I barely translated 5% of the runes found at the site. The relics we recovered were supposed to go to the archeological research facility facility at Starbase Arcadia. I was going to probably spend the next year working on deciphering all the tablets and video images of the castle walls we took.

“I suppose those the Pirates stole them thinking they would be of value.” Steven replied sourly.

Charlotte leaned in a little. "Speaking of which, Doctor. Any idea why they might have been interested in those artifacts? I know archeological finds sometimes fetch a pretty penny on the blackmarket, but even some of the most valuable aren't worth destroying a Starfleet ship. That seems like a very poor return on investment given the heat that could bring down."

Samantha gave a long sigh. She had a vague theory that the planet had been visited by a technologically superior race, but the team had found no hard evidence to support the theory, at least not enough to warrant extending the expedition. "Some of the text I was able to translate indicated the native population had been visited by demons from the sky. It was only recorded a few times in what I could determine. Hypothetically, an advanced civilization has done this to subjugate planet's, enslave the indigenous population, and strip the planet of resources. The problem with the theory is that Vela IV was still rich in mineral resources, had a thriving ecology, but...the population had completely disappeared. No explanation as to why much less how."

“Fascinating…For what it’s worth, I would have preferred a completed version of your expedition,” Charlotte said, as she let the implications sink in. “In the meantime though, I wanted to raise the subject of your immediate future plans. Have you settled upon a new assignment?”

Samantha shrugged. "Haven't given it much thought. I am usually doing research at a university following an assignment. However, lack of artifacts and relics. I guess the Science Council doesn't know what to do with me right now.

“Well, actually,” the Captain began. “We reached out to the Science Council regarding this topic. We don’t presently have an Anthropologist or Archeologist aboard, and you’ve more than proven your worth. We’d like to ask you to stay, and the science council has approved an assignment to Defiant…if you would be interested.”

“ I would be absolutely honoured to have you on our team Doctor Knight. I would love to hear more of your studies of Vela IV you say they completely vanished? Not even any corpses?” Steven asked

Samantha looked back and forth between Charlotte and Steven a few times. She finally settled her gaze upon Charlotte with a slightly quirked eye and mischievous grin. "Ryan suggested that." She shook her head as a slight chuckle escaped her. "Well, I suppose the Science Council could have just fired me and it gives me something to do until a better gig comes allow."

"I'll settle for having you as a temporary guest," Charlotte replied with a laugh.

Samantha faced Steven, a more serious expression on her face. "Like I said, I don't have any evidence to support this theory, but I believe the population of Vela IV was taken off world, probably as a form of slave labor."

Steven shook his head.

“That’s terrible. Could the pirates have been involved? I know it sounds more likely another race did this. But sometimes pirates work in league with someone else.” Steven asked

Samantha shrugged. "That I can't say. The pirates or tomb raiders who stole all the artifacts spoke of a translation key, but there wasn't one. If we ever recover the artifacts...."

"Then we might just get a chance to learn what really happened," Charlotte finished. "We've been monitoring local chatter, looking for a ship like the one you described. It seems the woman you encountered, Vestra, is a bit of a small time player who suddenly has come into a bit of power. I'm afraid we don't know a lot yet. But if you're sticking around, we might just get the chance to unravel some of this."

Steven considered this.

“ That is interesting. A translation key you say? Maybe it was hidden in runes. I remember reading once that a very ancient tribe in central Africa on Earth. Used to write their messages to each other in code. The message would contain the cypher that would help decode the message. All you had to do was to know where on the message it was hidden.” Said Steven.

Samantha pondered Steven’s hypothesis. He could be on to something. It would definitely be worth investigating, provided they ever recovered the artifacts. It dawned on her that she hadn't given a solid answer to the question of her remaining. She turned to Charlotte. "I will stay." A line from one of her favorite movie classics from the late 20th century came to mind and she grinned. "Until I'm dead or you find somebody better. Besides, not to often I get to torture my baby brother, so there is that to."

Charlotte gave a nod. "Glad to hear it. The part about staying, that is. I'll let Commander Knight resolve that second part on his own. If you are serving with us, I'll officially be placing you under Lt. Edgeware's command. You are not Starfleet, so it's not the same as if you were an officer, but ultimately he is in charge of the division so approvals will need to go through him." She turned to the Science Chief. "Sound like a plan?"

“Oh yes. It will be an honour to have you with us Dr Knight.” Steven said

"Well then." Samantha rose from her seat. "If there is nothing else, I will go take a look at the archeological and anthropological facilities and see what changes need to be made to get them up to my standards." She turned and left without another word.

Charlotte let out a little chuckle at the doctor's unceremonious exit. "Well...we'll work on decorum."

 

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