[b][u]Hangar Bay, [i]HMS Tempest[/i][/u][/b]
Dr. Ishpetyr stared at the chunk of metal. It might have been a wing section once; it had that teardrop-shape look to it. Then again, this was an unknown alien spaceship. It could be part of the captain's bed, for all he knew. He'd have to get xenobiology on it. And double check to see if there were any competent acheological xenopoligists on board. And then he'd let the materials scientists take a crack at it. Beyond that, it'd have to be shipped off Earthside.

For now, however, he was just looking at it. He and Dr. Bishop had more than sufficient skill to give the debris a more thorough scan. They were overqualified, really. It didn't take much to set up a few instruments, calibrate them, press a few buttons, and wait. Yet, he wanted Dr. Bishop here, so he could get a preview of the man's personality. That, and one of the privelages of his position was that he could damn well look at whatever he wanted for as long as he liked. And occasionally, field work was good for you.

The first instrument was an electromagnetic field detector - nothing more than a very fancy camera, really. Abel heard Dr. Bishop's footsteps approaching.

"Well Doctor. This looks like we'll learn a lot from it. I have a PhD in studying pieces of burnt metal you know..." Dr. Bishop said, chuckling slightly.
"Ah, indeed. Rather prestigious degree, isn't it?" Dr. Ishpetyr said, returning the humor in kind. "And while I'm sure we've both got more experience than this job requires, I thought that you might like to see the first piece of alien wreckage brought aboard the Tempest. Let's take a few readings, and then I'll get the proper departments to have a go."

Dr. Ishpetyr started calibrating the electromagnetic field detector. He casually asked, "Your first time working with explosive debris?"

~o~0~o~

[b][u]Bridge, [i]HMS Tempest[/i][/u][/b]
Lt. Cmdr. Creon considered drilling the crew. They could (always) use a shove in their backside, but they also needed to recover from the excitement of the last few hours. He'd spring a decompression drill on them in half an hour or two. It'd help rebuild the crew's confidence, and remind them that they'd trained for any eventuality for months. And then maybe they'd stop carrying on about what might be planetside and remember that their jobs were shipside - where there minds were supposed to be, too.