The Eye from on High

Posted on Mon Mar 21st, 2022 @ 6:48pm by Commander Ichiko Gail & Lieutenant Commander Ebrin Valek & Captain Abigail Laurens

Mission: Double Bind
Location: Main Bridge, USS Astraea

From the relative safety of his place on the Astraea's bridge, Valek continued to monitor the situation unfolding below them. He watched carefully as readouts at his borrowed workstation shifted and changed with the evolving storm fronts. It was unlike anything he'd seen before and, though he was no atmospheric scientist, he knew enough to recognize it wasn't going to be good for anyone caught underneath on the surface (including his colleagues and shipmates).

Although the storms were everyone else's main focus at the moment, the Bandi would occasionally look away from these displays to glance at another screen. This one showed what appeared to be an empty patch of space not too far from the Astraea's current position. But Valek knew better. He knew that, even as they were focused on the surface, someone else was watching them.

"There's a notion in Ts'usugi education, and later on in life, that everything is a test." Ichiko commented, noticing Valek's glance at the seemingly empty monitor. "The Federation is a relatively new around here, and after negotiations broke down, of course we'd be under observation in a situation like this."

She nodded to the monitor, "Meet the observation. It's a recon craft, no doubt. Here to watch and observe. How the Astraea reacts, or doesn't react. Who they call, or don't call. Everything is part of the report." a pause, "I'm sorry that you have to be involved in Ts'usugi nuance."

She paused again for a moment, "It's a stealth technique, but not like the cloaking devices you're used to. It's no threat to us, tactically. It's all part of the test."

Valek nodded. He remembered when she and the captain had first called him in to brief on the situation. The captain, in particular, had been very clear about the nature of the situation and how she intended to deal with it (at least, for the time being). As far as Valek was concerned, it made sense from a strategic point of view. It just...didn't really help with the nerves.

"I understand, commander," he said, turning to look at hear instead of the screens, "I guess I'm just not used to being on this side of it, is all. Usually we're the ones watching others..."

"Everyone watches everyone, we just all like to believe that there's no one further up the chain that us." she offered. "Once we realize that it's not a line but a ring, everyone watching everyone, then the game gets interesting." she offered now with a smirk, "Let's do a check in, how's the storm looking down there?" she asked to the assembled crew of the bridge. "Sensors, visuals at this point I won't turn away gut feelings and trick joints."

"You would really trust indigestion and acid reflux to solid sensor data?" Styveck asked in his normal monotone, sometimes the humans made such illogical choices.

"Hunches have an infuriatingly high percentage of being right." She offered.

"Fascinating, Styveck replied smoothly.

"In Ts'usu's distant past, great warlords employed sages to interpret signs and portents to determine the future. Everything from how many marbles land color side up to why a cloud looked like a fish. We were very superstitious in our youth. Superstitious and violent." she mentioned. "Now, I cannot in good faith say we're no longer superstitious, but we no longer base state policy off of cloud shapes." she smirked.

She took a breath, "If we need more hands and more help with this storm, I'll contact them for aid. Otherwise, if the Captain opted not to contact them, I'll abide by her design."