"Align us for a jump back. If we need to run, we must do so ourselves. They would catch a probe ..."
Higs adjusts the microphone and speaks into it.
SS Martha McTavish to approaching ships...Greetings...we seek peaceful contact..we will broadcast this message on a repeating loop using a variety of methods. Please respond if able
And then he puts the message on loop using radion, laser, ladar (if we have it) and tachyon (same).
Almost an hour later, the ship's comm system registers a response.
"Attention intruder, you are in the space of the Sovereign Star Empire of Lisandren. Entry without permission is a violation of Imperial Law. You will stand down and prepare for boarding. Any attempt at hostilities will be met with deadly force. Rear Admiral Chin Li Clay, Commander of Imperial 5th fleet, over."
Higs stares at the coms for a moment. Then calls out Captain, what's our response?
The situation was perilous - but not imminently dangerous. It would take a while for the system fleet to arrive and they had managed to establish contact. So far, so good... Nodding to Hig, she made her decision. "Make ready for a voice transmission. 'Attention 5th Imperial fleet of the Sovereign Star Empire of Lisandren. We bear no ill intent. We are the surveying ship Martha McTavish, of the Second X Exploration fleet. Your jump node was not logged in our charts. We will comply with your boarding request, but would prefer if your battleships and dreadnought kept its distance. Warships so far out of our weight-class makes us nervous. Be advised, we will be sending an unmanned messenger probe back. Insurance, if you will. Captain Viktoria Ceres, over.' How did that sound? Review it and make sure nothing unintentional slips by, then transmit. And get working on those logs!"
An hour or so later, the voice returns. "Agreed, we will dispatch a pinnace to rendezvous with your ship. My fleet will maintain a distance of 250,000 miles."
A day and a half later, the fleet slows down and comes to a relative stop with relation to the McTavish. A pinnace detaches from the dreadnaught, a ship nearly half the size of the McTavish. It closes to the McTavish.
As the pinnace closes, it comes in range of the McTavish's primary sensors.
The AI beeps. "Alert, identification positive. Pinnace Fleet designation 4829A8478RT, last known assignment to USFA2384 Hildebrant, Redoubtable class Dreadnaught. Decomissioned 3230, assigned to Frontier Fleet, Grendelbane Reclamation Yards."
hmmmm thinks Higs [b]searching for that ship reference in our data base, Captain[b]
And he also transmits any final boarding instructions / notifications / etc to the pinnace, as appropriate.
USFA2384 Hildebrant
Classification : Redoubtable class Dreadnaught.
Decomissioned 3230
Last Assignment : Fronteir Fleet, Grendelbane Reclamation Yards
Current Status : Unknown
Redoubtable Class - Originally designed in 3016, Redoubtable class Dreadnaughts formed primary ships of the wall until 3210, when replaced by the Remus Class. Redoubtable class known for heavy armor but light weapons loadouts and heavy defensive missile/laser batteries.
Remus Class - Redesigned Redoubtable Class established in 3198. Officially replaced Redoubtable class in Fleet Order 319800004A. Long range armament showed high increase over Redoubtable Class, at the sacrifice of defensive missile/laser batteries.
The two profiles of the two classes are nearly identical without a detailed scan. The Remus appears to have been a major overhaul of the Redoubtable's armament, electronics, and power systems, but the overall armor and frame seems to have been the same.
Vathan scours every inch of the McTavish with his Security crew inspecting everything prior to boarding. They look for anything that would tie them to home and look odd for a surveying crew. The mission had prepared for this eventuality, so they use their checklists. They also ensure that the crew is ready to fight but don't look ready for a fight.
The day-and-a-half of waiting was thrilling - but also filled with hectic activity. They couldn't afford that anything would go wrong. She had confidence in that Vathan and his security forces would make sure of that, but she couldn't help but double and triple check her own commitments.
_________________Arrival !_______________
"Hmm. If it shows up in our database assigned to a decommissioned ship - the odds are looking greater and greater that they are a lost colony too. Or a different splinter then those whom sent our ship to us ... Could it be that they don't even know about the node-shift? That would certainly explain the response in force ..."
Holt spends the next day or so with Petty Officer Samus McMurry, double and triple checking the warp engine to reduce even the smallest chance of possible engine failure right when they might need it. Of course, part of this is to keep her mind focused on something other than just idle speculation: her own curiosities and fears of this situation shifting inside of her, just as they probably were in the rest of the crew.
But there was work to be done.
- - - - -
A few hours before the Pinnacle arrives, despite her intense longing for her simple jumpsuit, Holt puts on clothes more befitting the first-mate of a merchant/exploration vessel: stylish but functional black pants, tall boots, a blue heavy-cotton blouse with silver buttons and embroidery, and a many-pocketed black vest.
Is it odd that this event, what could possibly be us reconnecting with a long lost piece of humanity, has me more frightened than traversing that hunk of radiated metal did? Is it because my excitement has been tempered with experience? Or is it the possible human element in all of this?
With a final look over her form, she nodded and left to head for the bridge.
No matter how this goes, today we (re)make history...
Several hours before arrival as per the checklists, Vathan performs a dress rehearsal playing the role of boarding party. He finds a couple of minute things that they probably wouldn't catch anyway. Mostly, it was for the crew to be more relaxed during the real show.
The pinnace finally makes connection, and seals hiss as the umbilical clangs against the hull.
"Airlock cycling..." The AI intones.
Finally the airlock opens and two humans emerge wearing blue and brown uniforms. A tall dark skinned man and a slightly shorter pale skinned dark haired woman. Both have sidearms on. Their eyes take in the welcome party, as well as the ship itself. Both sport a pair of force fields over their faces, springing up from the collars around their necks, rendering their faces lit from close up, giving them a bluish tinge.
The male steps forward, both maintaining a rigid stance, and talks first. "I'm Commander Terrence, this is Commander Reed." The woman nods as her name and rank are given. His accent is odd to the crew, and a bit hard to follow at first.
For the occasion, Ceres is dressed in her 'captain clothes'. Which would be a red longcoat with epaulettes, signalling her rank, worn over her ordinary clothes and a pair of somewhat polished boots. It felt like some sort of uniform, which helped her resolve. Still, she couldn't help but fiddle with her hands as the airlock engaged.
As the otherworldly (technically anyways!) humans stepped aboard, Ceres took a moment to absorb it all. The speech took a little longer to process then usual, but the pause between Terrace introduction wasn't long enough to be awkward. She hoped. At a slow, deliberate pace, she replied.
"I am Captain Viktoria Ceres. This is my first officer, Ophelia Holt. This is my second officer Fender Hig. And this is my security officer O'Cyrus Vathan." She nods to her staff in turn. With a small bow, she finishes "Welcome aboard the Martha McTavish!"
Vathan calmly stands near the captain in her finery. He wears his usual clean and pressed gray ship suit with his name on it, except under it he wears his thin bodyguard mesh armor. The only outwardly atypical accoutrement is his weapons belt, which sports his sidearm, extra magazines, cutlass, and small ready bag comfortably resting in the small of his back. He also conceals another snub pistol and extra magazines in his favorite pair of boots, but he wears these every day.
He nods to the visitors when Ceres introduces him.
At first, Holt finds herself staring at their seemingly human guests, but she corrects herself and instead focuses on following Ceres' lead.
People. In real uniforms. And how different are we from them? How quickly have we diverged?
She nods when her name is called, trying to keep herself from either staring or losing herself in thought. She decides to focus on Ceres, being unsure of how to act in these situations, and bows in time with the the Captain.
Higs stands to the back of the group, dressed in a clean uniform. He listens carefully to the visitors, and wonders why they both have the same rank. That seems a bit odd in a Navy - so one is probably Navy and the other something like Intelligence. Or so his inexperienced mind thinks.
He hopes all the effort the crew put into getting the ship ready was not wasted.
And he hopes the engines are ready to go, but if a Dreadnought is 250,000 miles away, escape could be difficult.
He remembers his research on the Dreadnoughts - one possibility is that it is heavily defensive with (relatively) weak weapons, or the refit class with stronger weapons at the cost of some defense (but still probably a far stronger defense than the McTavish could probably affect).
He also considers that the ship class is old, having been decomissioned 520 years ago. He wonders just what might still be functional on such an old ship, and thinks that maybe the McTavish has a chance after all, and these guys are just running a scam.
The black man nods. "I'm with the Navy, Commander Reed is with Imperial Customs Enforcement." He adds, somewhat confirming Higs' idea that they are in different branches of service, even if they are wearing the same uniform. Although they do have different shoulder flashes.
Reed nods, and her contralto has a different accent than her companions. Her's is much more nasal, with pinched off constanants, and her method of speech is much faster, without the drawl. "I'll need to see your medical information for all crew, and any organics you're carrying. I'll also need samples from the crew and of any organics you have. We'll have to scan for anything that's contraband, the typical, weapons, drugs, slavery." She eyes the ship, and finds it looking clean and well maintained, and seems to find that reassuring.
Terrence nods. "I'll need to inspect your ship's logs, your engineering section, and any weapons you have installed. You said you're an exploration team, we'll need to know who you represent, your orders, and your authorizations. We won't be able to let your ship land on a planet until official communication channels are established between our peoples. But we can let you dock with one of our space stations that aren't in planetary orbit. We have one in this system that fits that criteria, it's used for transshipment of ore and fuel from the larger of the two gas giants."
Both seem to be hiding something, although that's not entirely unexpected. Terrence in particular seems to be not telling the entire truth. But again, that's not terribly unexpected.
"Aye." Ceres nods. Their demands made sense. Most of it anyhow... "We have a cache of personal weapons on board, since not all worlds are hospitable to humans. As I am unfamiliar at where you draw the line - I'll have my security officer give you a tour of the armoury. Our ship's doctor, Shellie MacVole, can assist you with the medical paperwork and sampling. She'll also give you a rough run-down of our medical supplies. Some of the stronger painkillers and broad-band cocktails are narcotics, but once again, probably not in quantities that will be trouble."
"As a surveying ship, our logs are precious to us. But new trading routes are more valuable then most precious rocks..." She dared herself to smile slightly. "My first and second officers would be more then pleased to give you the technical tour."
Vathan slightly nods at his name again but does not catch anything else.
Holt nods slightly again at their guests, waving a hand, and says "If you'll please follow us, we'll lead you to engineering."
As they walk away she begins to bite her lip, finding the initial silence uncomfortable. She has so many questions, and so many concerns. But again she tries to focus on one step at a time, just like they practiced.
I hope Hig is holding up better than I am.
Higs will go with the group inspecting the weapons and the engineering spaces.
He introduces himself to Commander Terrence Hello, Sir. I am LT Higs, and I am in the engineering team. I have some passing familiarity with weapons and piloting and astrogation as well - on such a small vessel as the McTavish we must all cross train to some degree
As he tags along or leads the inspection (as the case may be) he tries to judge how much Commander Terrence actually knows about the systems he is inspecting. If Higs suspects he isn't really in tune with everything, he will try to toss in something minor to judge if the Commander can catch it.
(not sure what skill to use - Higs is +10 on ship's propulsion and weapons, and +8 on astrogation, +13 on leadership, and +6 on Navy knowledge - please add the appropriate skill to the test as necessary).
Terrence goes over the ship, giving a light whistle at the weapons loadout on the small ship. He checks the logs.
He spends a long time looking at the logs, and making notes on his arm comp (what notes he makes is impossible to see due to how the screen cover is designed to only allow the user to see it). He also spends a lot of time looking at the ship's computer (the physical object, not the input screens).
He asks a few pointed questions about the systems the McTavish passes through, and the ship's home system, of both Holt and Higs.
-------------------
Vathan, meanwhile, shows the armory to Reed, and the woman checks over the weapons with a surprisingly professional manner. She appears to have a good grasp of how the weapons work, and how dangerous each is. She nods. "Good, was half expecting neural whips or C40 military explosives." The C40 had been nixed by the mission planners, as overkill.
She then let's Vathan bring her to MacVole, who gives her information on the crew, medical status, what they had as far as broad spectrum vaccinations, and what they have with regards to drugs on the ship.
The woman nods and notes 3 or 4 drugs that the ship's doctor will have to specifically claim on entry into the system, and then prove they either still have it upon leaving, or prove it was used medically. Nothing they have is forbidden. Reed also informs her that the entire crew will need to give blood samples, and also accept a vaccination against the local bugs.
Everything seems to go well, although Reed goes over the medical records for some time, asking pointed questions about home planet environment, mutations, and other questions.
-----------------------------
MacVole takes Ceres aside as the two inspectors begin to finish up their inspection.
"Captain, as I told you before, I'm with PsiCorp. I'm not as.. versatile... as your previous PsiCorp representative, but I think you'll agree I'm rather more stable. That's not uncommon, I'm afraid, those who are versatile tend to be less stable. I am, however, a much better Telepath than your previous rep. Neither of the two inspectors were Psis, so I was able to get some surface thoughts. It was easier to read the woman than the man. He has had training to resist interrogation, and he naturally compartmentalizes his thoughts. He was very careful not to think about anything other than what he was doing. All I can tell you is, he's Naval Intelligence. Not a field grunt, he's a spook."
She pauses, and then continues, once the captain has a chance to respond if she chooses. "The woman is what she was introduced as. They do have trade with other systems, but I only got a vague idea that there were two other groups or systems, I'm sorry, she didn't think about details, only about two other groups. One she didn't even name, just referred to them as 'them' in her thoughts. The other group was the 'Zealots'. The connotations on both were negative, and she was relieved we didn't seem to be like the Zealot's or 'the others'. She does suspect us, I'm afraid we're not experts on hiding things, and she's noticed some discrepancies in our medical records and the tech on the ship, probably unavoidable. Our drugs and weapons were lower tech than the ship. I suspect that Terrence also noticed the Mylthani modifications to our computer, as they don't look human at all. He did let slip 'computers gotta detail computers' when they met up again. He wanted to get Reed to look at them, but couldn't think of a legit way to get her to look."
She then lowers her voice even more. "The girl was extremely nervous whenever I asked about her ships and medical tech. they don't want us to get a good look at their capital ships. Not a little, not at all. They only want us looking at their pinnace, and their 'old' space station, although she thought 'old' really hard, as if she were reminding herself it was the 'old' station, and not the new station. Did we ever get a good sensor reading off their ships?"
Vathan provides an average tour, not excellent or volunteering any information, but also not leaving out anything important. He only nods a bit with a slight grunt at Reed's comment. He studies her every move for clues about her true nature and tech.
While the inspection occurs, Ceres makes sure to keep tabs on both the inspectors. She didn't really feel comfortable having them poking around on her ship, but she didn't want to interfere and slip up either. As such, she settled for monitoring the internal comms and eavesdropping trough them.
The second part was more interesting. Two other groups. That probably meant they weren't in touch with the galaxy at whole yet. 'Them'. A dehumanizing way of thinking of others - perhaps they were not humans at all then? Or perhaps it was simply a case of conflict ... The suspicion was of course to be accounted for. It would have been hard to completely fake a higher tech level - but arguments could be made that we prefer 'old but resilient' equipment on such expeditions. A thin excuse perhaps .... What she hadn't thought of was the Mylthani computer. But it was only logical that they would notice it. Luckily, only one of them had seen it - so they could probably deflect it as a 'mistake'.
And thirdly - they were hiding something. Something we wasn't supposed to see. Are they feinting strength or weakness? If they have to convince themselves that their station is *old* - it could be that they do not have the tech to properly produce things. Hmm - could it be that our ships tech-level frightens them? If they too lost plenty of capabilites, they might fear re-absorbation or subjugation ... Her mind swirling with thoughts and ideas, she paced back and forth a bit before actually speaking up.
"No ... We did not get a good look. But we might be able to arrange for it. Hmm. Report back to the meeting room as soon as the inspectors have left, but keep this to yourself until then!"
Higs keeps up with the tour and is helpful on the technical stuff. He plays super geek / shy guy with questions about home and etc.
He wonders about Terrence's examination of the McTavish weapons and computer. So was he surprised at such small or inefficient weapons, or amazed we have MkIV pulse lasers because he hasn't seen a functioning one in years?
Once the inspections are finished, the enemy fleet informs McTavish that it will be a day or so while command makes the decision on whether they are allowed in the system. They are to await that decision where they are.
Of the ships, all but one begin boosting back toward the inner system. One of the frigates stays out to mind the McTavish.
After about 38 hours, the Frigate hails the McTavish, and indicates that they can follow it to the transient station. Information on said station is transmitted. It appears to be a large, sprawling, Class C station in orbit around the gas giant. Most likely used as an ore and fuel processing plant for the system. There's a steady stream of small craft on sensors buzzing around it and the moons of the gas giant.
The Frigate immediately begins boosting toward the station as it transmits the message, taking the McTavish in a slightly circular path. If the McTavish follows the flight profile and speed requirements transmmitted, it won't be able to get within 225,000 miles of the Frigate until they reach the station.
The McTavish heads along the indicated route, and follows the ships to the station. Along the way, they get a download of the system, which basically points out the station they are going to, another one around the inhabited planet, and gives some information on the FFI system (Friend/Foe Identifier) they have in use. It's not the one the McTavish is used to, nor is it based off a previously used Imperial one.
As they close with the station, the escort ship contacts the McTavish, and indicates that they are being pulled off escort duty to perform some emergency services to a ship that is in trouble on the other side of the gas giant from the station. The McTavish is within range of the station's weapons by that time, but still not in scan range of the frigate. They are handed off to station control, and the Frigate accelerates around the gas giant.
On screen, a woman in her 30's with an accent like Terrances comes on the comm system. "Attention Martha McTavish, please proceed to the indicated docking collar. The station is an old design, so it's using centrifugal force for gravity. You'll have to dock at the core, and then take a car down to the Rim. Please dock at Docking Bay 7, I hope your crew can handle zero-g. You'll be met by some security officers and a couple of doctors who will ensure you have all your shots before any of your crew is let on station." She smiles. "Welcome to the Lisandra System, Captain Landers out."
"Thank you Captain Landers! We are coming in at the indicated docking collar." With a chuckle she hopes doesn't sound too forced, she adds. "Don't worry about the gravity. In a behind-the-times ship like this, one have to make some 'outdoors' maintenance quite often ... Captain Ceres out!"
Hig spends a little time gathering some basic tools into a simple backpack. Nothing major - a diagnostic electric / comp meter, a multi tool, maybe a small wrench set.
He also spends a little time reminding folks that we don't have to see a spinal particle accelerator to know a ship has one - how the power system is arranged, and the amount of energy it is sized to carry (based on cable dimensions) can tell you that something large needs energy.
Or the opposite is true as well. Lack of power or computer networks can imply a lack of weapons or shielding.
Or how much energy is used in their oxygen systems can tell you how many crew can fit on board a vessel or station.
He will make sure he briefs all the crew on some of the basics.
Higs spends an hour or so during the approach giving people ideas of things to look for. Most of it they knew, but some of them make obvious 'Oh!' faces as something they didn't think of pops up, and some make comments that make other's nod unexpectedly.
|
Ceres takes the Martha McTavish in, but sadly not as smooth as she should. Perhaps it was nerves, perhaps it was the fact that her mind was in a million places. If I bump into something, I'll blame the station for not having proper landing assistance protocols! Maybe they get second ideas about why this ship is 'high maintenance' .... Sigh.
The ship manages to dock, but it's a rough docking, with a couple of heavy clangs. The captain turns bright red as the docking crew come over the line with "Docked.. and merged, someone get out the cutting torches in case they want to leave sometime in the next few weeks..."
When the crew selected for the first round of shots and such steps out of the airlock, they step from gravity into zero G, and a pair of military folks with sidearms give odd shoulder based salutes (right hand touches the left shoulder), and the officer in charge of them (a younger looking woman who is probably a low level officer, ensign or J.G) gives a similar salute. "I'm Ensign Rellig. If you'll follow me, we'll head over to sickbay for your shots." As they lead the crew through a central hub area that's slowly turning, she asks for names, ranks, and some form of ID # for reference purposes. The hub runs about 200 ft for the docking spire, and has hubs split off it every so many ft that radiate down toward the station proper.
The crew is loaded onto an elevator car which begins to drop toward the second tier of the station, accelerating as it gets farther from the hub. When it stops, the Ensign nods. "We're at 1/3rd gravity at the Beta deck. Be careful. The Delta deck, the outer ring, is at 2/3rds gravity." She informs them as she ushers them off the elevator.
Before Ceres attempts docking, Vathan asks her in front of others, "Captain, what are we going to do about these shots? They would be best way to render us docile to take our ship and interrogate us. Besides incapacitating us, couldn't they also insert something in us like tracking mechanisms? I've seen my share of movies. How can we be sure what is those shots?"
Entering the space station, Vathan is dressed the same as first contact. He wears his usual clean and pressed gray ship suit with his name on it, except under it he wears his thin bodyguard mesh armor. The only outwardly atypical accoutrement is his weapons belt, which sports his sidearm, extra magazines, cutlass, and small ready bag comfortably resting in the small of his back. He also conceals another snub pistol and extra magazines in his favorite pair of boots, but he wears these every day.
When Vathan exits the ship, the security guards put their hands on their weapons. The Ensign shakes her head. "Sorry, we can't allow foreign nationals on the station armed. I'm going to have to ask you to leave the hardware on the ship, or not to exit the ship if you can't."
Holt nods at Higs recommendations and adds "Of course, all of that flies out the window if they are sufficiently advanced compared to us. Historical records indicate that we had much better electronics and power generators before the darkness, which were both smaller and more efficient." Turning to look at the display of the approaching station, she adds "That said, I don't think hyper-advancement is going to be a concern on this one."
She prepares her own bag, just as Higs does. Her's contains some minor tolls for examining and repairing small machinery, including a large spanner. She worries about the possibility of this being some kind of trap, but like most of her career so far, it seems like they will be jumping in feet first. Not that she can think of a better way.
Back on the bridge, she nods at Vathan, adding "I've been thinking about the same thing. Perhaps we could get some agreement to analyze the shots before allowing them to be injected? Or perhaps to let only one of us be injected and then we can be quarantined to our ship for a time to observe the effects?"
- - - - -
Holt looks around the inside of the station, somewhat amazed at how... old it is.
We've been in the dark for quite a while... but we still managed to maintain grav engines. Have they been dark longer than we have? Did they fall dark earlier? Or are they a splinter of the original human empire that never grew as advanced? Or is this all a show for us, to make us underestimate them?
"First, we will bring our own doctor with us. She can monitor the process and - given her talents - hopefully detect foul play. Secondly, We'll only expose parts of the crew to it at times. But we can't be sure the shots are harmless, and I'm not sure how we could do that without analysing a sample ourselves. Might be able to request that ..."
Vathan shrugs to Ceres. "Maybe you should leave some standing orders in case something happens to us. And how to leave us here if things get fuzzy."
===============================================================
Vathan shrugs and steps back in the McTavish. He hands Gunny his weapons belt with his holster and cutlass. He then digs out the snub pistol and magazines from his boots to hand to him. Finally, he adjusts the ready bag in the small of his back and steps back into the station with a nod to the ensign. "Better?"
The ensign nods. "Yes, thank you sir. Not to be rude, but I thought I should warn you that they'll do a scan on us when we enter the elevators, so if it's possible you forgot something... you might want to double check and make sure you didn't..." She looks pained not to sound as if she's accusing Vathan of maybe trying to sneak in a concealed weapon.
Higs shows his backpack to the Engsign Excuse me, Mam...I assume these sort of things are allowed? I don't consider any of them weapons, just the normal sort of stuff I carry with me all the time - but thought I should check just in case?
Higs counts on his (vastly overestimated) ability to improvise, should the need arise.
Vathan smiles to the ensign like the Cheshire Cat.
During the brief hiccup, the captain crosses her arms taps her feet and rolls her eyes, displaying a mix of annoyance and amusement. The troubled expression on the poor ensign and Vathan's grin enhanced both feelings. But mostly the amusement part. But she couldn't let only that one shine trough!
Higs brings no weapons and nothing much larger than a multi tool w/ a small blade in the assortment of tools, a meter or two and a hand comp of some kind.
Once on Beta deck, the crew is ushered out of the elevator and off into an area of the station that looks very utilitarian. Nothing brightly colored except warning signs, all fairly typical of things to be wary of, such as pressurized coolant or heated steam pipes.
They are then led into what looks like an assembled sick bay, probably an effort to quarantine the newcomers from the regular station folks until their shots are up to date. A doctor and assistant are there, and within a few minutes MacVole and the doctor are trading stinging barbs in a foreign language while pointing to a display and gesticulating.
Or maybe they're just calmly discussing the vaccinations using medical jargon and Latin, it's hard for the lay people to tell...
After about 15 minutes, and after MacVole has looked at something that looks like abstract art and made many pointed Latiny barbs (or asked really complex questions?), she finally nods and rolls up her sleeve, accepting an injection.
Holt continues to examine the station in detail, looking for anything unusual or interesting.
The medical discussion turns out to be interesting. Holt smiles at the interaction, despite having no idea what is being discussed, the way it is being discussed brings about a sense of... normalcy to all of this, as if they were back home and not talking with potentially long lost brothers from their ancient ancestors.
After the injection, Holt's first instinct is to ask MacVole is she is ok, but she realizes that the question is a bit... dumb, considering that the Doctor is probably concentrating on determining just that, that she would have said something if she wasn't, and that she might just be reading the other Doctor's mind.
Vathan observes the station like a new environment on safari. In the sick bay, he starts to plan several options to subdue the guards. When MacVole rolls up her sleeve, he slightly relaxes and rolls up his sleeve and accepts the injection.