Star Trek: Theurgy

Day 02 [1415 hrs.] Putting Her Back Together

[ William Robert O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. Nolak Kalmil, Sithick, Suq-Reylin-Efreya Xan (and Morgan Song?)

It was a new day.  The emergency repairs of yesterday had been done, but now it was time to repair the ship properly.  Temporary, or “spit and bailing wire” repairs were like “screwball” surgery, they merely kept the patient stable until proper reconstruction could be done.  In the morning, Acting Chief Engineer Master Chief Petty Officer William Robert “Billy Bob” O’Connell, newly assigned Assistant Chief Engineer Suq-Reylin-Efreya Xan from the Resolve and former Acting Chief Engineer Master Chief Petty Officer Nolak Kalmil had a meeting and reorganized the Theurgy’s engineering department.  Although Billy Bob would have preferred to make Nolak the Diagnostic Chief, the Deltan had volunteered to take Billy’s old job of Maintenance Chief since it would give him a chance to get out of propulsion and deal with nearly all of the other components of the starship.

The day had been quite a grind, as repairs in the field after a battle often were.  To their credit, nearly everyman resisted fatigue (both mental and physical) during the dangerous and grueling hours that followed.  Engineers and technicians that Sickbay had released that day volunteered for the most onerous of duties in order to prove to both themselves and their shipmates that they could do the job. 

Amazingly, Billy Bob found himself coordinating from main engineering on deck 25 rather than getting his sleeves dirty in the trenches.  Suq and Nolak started out assisting him but quickly got cabin fever and volunteered for more hands on duty.

Nolak, having Billy Bob’s old job naturally chose to execute one of Billy Bob’s old duties:  Repairing the hull.  After a mishap with one of the Azure Nebula’s many pockets of combustible sirillium gas cost two people their lives and put three more in sickbay, Nolak decided that a more experienced hand was necessary.  Billy Bob wasn’t about to argue.  It had been a rookie mistake, there should have been runabouts and shuttles using their tractor beams and bussard scoops to keep even the smallest trace of sirillium gas away from the hull.  Despite O’Connell’s misgivings, Nolak Kalmil put on an EV suit and went out to join Starfleet’s finest.

Suq in the meantime was having a rough time giving the orders from his HQ at the Vector 02:  warp core on deck six.  Finally, he put the propulsion chief he brought with him from the Resolve in charge and crawled into the Jeffries tube to fix the antimatter injectors himself.

O’Connell kept in contact with them, alternating between his office and the master systems display so he could keep up with their work and troubleshoot when the inevitable problems showed up. “O’Connell to Kalmil,” he said as he tapped his combadge. “How’s the weather out there, Nolak?”

---

OOC:  After Nolak responds Billy will call Suq.  I’m assuming that Sithick will call when he finds the torpedo and that if Morgan Song has been cleared by Sickbay (and Auctor Lucan) for duty he'll report to Billy in Main Engineering.  After Billy contacts Suq, things should be a bit more free flowing.

Added mentions by Auctor Lucan 2017-07-15: @MasterRat @Kaligos @FollowTomorrow @Hastata-Nerada

[ MCPO Nolak Kamil | Outer Hull | USS Theurgy | Vector 03 ]

The nebula’s massive bellowing gaseous clouds surrounded him; the ship; and seemingly the entire universe. The brilliant merger of colors ranging from deep reds to light orange with clusters of dense  gas and other particles created the appearance of purple blue ‘clouds’ amid a universe sunset. These massive dark clusters may someday condense down and create new stars in this star nursery. Hidden within the nebula there were several young stars obscured directly from view but their light illuminated and excited the gasses and atoms with their solar winds creating this breathtaking painting among the universe.

The entire deck of the hull was bathed in the warm colors from the surrounding nebula’s light giving the ship an almost angelic aura. The hull landscape was massive from his perspective. The horizon was a flat checker board of defensive armor plates, each section up close had their own slight color difference from the vast amount of resources used to construct the ship during USS Theurgy infancy in space dock. Uniformly they were all nearly the same shade of light gray giving the ship a sleek look from afar, but walking upon its outer hull appeared nothing like a spacecraft, just a desolate flat metallic plain with majestic towering spires of the nacelle engines jutting out in the far off distance. For the most part the ship’s hull appeared unscathed from the battle a couple days earlier, the whitish surface reflecting the warm hues of the nebula around them. However, there were areas that took a direct hit, and the once smooth surface appeared jagged and frayed. From these areas the internal gasses from within the ship leached out and interacted with the vacuum of space. Gasses that normally would be invisible to the naked eye such as the breathable oxygen, instead created the illusion of steam or smoke like appearance over these blacken sections of external damage. A surrealistic image of volcanic vents crossed Nolak’s mind as he slowly made his way towards his first primary target, the blast that had knocked out the internal dampeners during the battle.

Silhouetted against the backdrop of the nebula Nolak could see the other two Vectors of the ship, as he walked across the outer hull of Vector 03. The ‘Helmet’ Vector 01 loomed overhead as it performed it’s various sensor sweeps, while it monitored the overall progress of events around it. He and O’Connell both delegated several repair crews to check out the locking mechanisms among the three vectors to check for battle damage. He had been concerned that merger of the ship as a whole was dangerous without a proper inspection of all the locking clamps, and airlocks. From the battle readouts, Vector 01 perhaps took the blunt of the battle’s direct assault as it assisted the USS Resolve during the engagement.  Yet, it still looked rather unscathed mostly due to its shielding deflected and held off the barrage surprisingly well. Vector 02 also faired rather well during the engagement, its shield also held off the vast majority of the direct hits it took. Vector 03 however, suffered the most physical structural damage when during the battle a glitch in the shield matrix failed and exposed the ships’ bottom hull to direct fire. The only saving grace that saved the ship was most of the attention was focus on both the ‘Helmet’ and the Resolve. Also the diligent protection and sacrifice the fighter squadrons provided, bought time for the glitch to be fixed although the shields were severely under power, and deflected some of the direct hits it withstood during the final stages of the battle.

The only sounds that occupied Master Chief Nolak as he traversed across the hull, was his own breathing and noise within the extravehicular activity suit (EVA), as the internal noise from the magnetic boots audibly clicked and clamped itself to the hull. Every once in the while his quiet peaceful jaunt would be interrupted as other crew members scattered elsewhere would report their status on the communication channels , but for the most part he was alone with his thoughts.

Nolak made his way across the deck marveling at the beauty from the vastness of the surrounding nebula. He was still thinking down his checklist of tasks and other duties he was out to perform. Nearby he watched as a shuttle craft traveled overhead, no doubt monitoring the activities of the repair crews, and the dangerous present of sirillium gas, which had already cost the lives of two engineers, and injured several others. Earlier in the morning a serious malfunction had occurred when less experienced crew members fumbled about and nearly started a chain reaction. In a worst case scenario the event could have engulfed the entire ship in a fireball from the unstable sirillium gas peppering throughout the nebula. Luckily the event was isolated, but it was the driving factor that gave him the excuse to be out among the stars.  Being outside the ship he felt completely at peace, and free from the strict confines of cramped quarters and the cluster of people constantly roaming around the ship. It was only him, the ship, and the stars, the three reasons he joined the Federation.

Once he reached the damaged section of the hull Nolak had to be ever mindful of where his placed his footing. The ‘crater’ left behind from the torpedo blast was a twisted landscape of melted metal, and exposed internal layers of the hulls thick defensive barrier.  The depression had dug in deep into the outer hull and left a wake of destruction. Although it wasn’t a complete hull breech, the concussion from the blast was severe enough to have rattled the ship and knocked the alignment of the damper field. Piping and various other areas within the damage zone, was seeping out the atmosphere from the ship, even though the ships force field in place to prevent that was operation at full capacity. The physical damage was extensive enough to leave small gaps in the force field.

His EVA suit was protected with various layers of harden materials protection from the many harmful elements and radiation exposure from being in open space. Yet he still had to be extra careful when working out in Zero G environments.  Only a thin layer of armor like shell truly protected him from the vacuum of space. He thought of this as he secured a crate filled with repair equipment he’d been carrying down onto the hull before surveying the full extent of the damage.

His comlink sprang to life as the familiar voice of O’Connell chimed in, “O’Connell to Kalmil.  How’s the weather out there, Nolak?”

Nolak smiled slightly and looked up and away from the hull of the ship into the colorful nebula. “Well, Chief, the clouds above us appear to be brewing an awe inspiring sight, with a trace amounts of sirillium gas. But it’s not concentrated too dense here at the moment. All in all, I doubt anything outside this nebula should be able to detect us with any ease. Hell anything within it probably can’t see us. So be sure to remind those shuttle pilots not to stray too far away.”  He said taking a small rest from his walk. “I just reached my first objective and it appears this torpedo blast truly did knock us off our feet.  Over.”

He closed the connection to O’Connell, then he open a channel to all crew members and pilots, “This is Master Chief Kamil, to all repair crews. Make sure to watch your step. Don’t want you to start drifting into space and have one of these space jockeys come in to pluck you up. Can’t give them one more thing to brag about, be safe out there. Over, and out.” He closed the channel and chuckled to himself as he leaned down and began to get his equipment ready to start work.

[ William Robert O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy  ]  Atten:  FollowTommorrow

Nolak’s voice was a reassuring presence to O’Connell.  "Well, Chief, the clouds above us appear to be brewing an awe inspiring sight, with trace amounts of sirillium gas. But it's not concentrated too dense here at the moment. All in all, I doubt anything outside this nebula should be able to detect us with any ease. Hell anything within it probably can't see us. So be sure to remind those Shuttle pilots not to stray too far away."

O’Connell laughed bitterly before responding.  “Ah’ll be sure t’ do thet.  How’s your progress?”

"I just reached my first objective and it appears this torpedo blast truly did knock us off our feet,” the Deltan replied.  “Over."

“Ah’ll let yuh git back t’ work then,” Billy Bob drawled.  “It’s time fur me t’ see how Suq’s doin’.  Over an’ out.”  He tapped his combadge again as he left his office to amble out into the massive chamber containing the warp core.  “O’Connell t’ Lieutenant Xan,” he drawled as he ignored the fact that the thrumming of the warp core would be heard on the Efrosian’s end as the acting chief engineer strolled past and headed to the master situation display table.  “How yuh doin’ there Suq?  Got any idea when Vector Two’s antimatter injectors will be back online?”

---

OOC:  Once again, I’m assuming that Suq will simply report in and that nothing exciting will happen until O’Connell hangs up the phone.

[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Vector 02 Warp Core | Deck 06 | USS Theurgy ]

Screwball surgery was practically his middle name. Suq Reylin “Screwball Surgery” Efreya-Xan. That sounded horrible put together, it fell down the tongue the way a piano falls down a cobblestone-paved hill, but it was true. He spent a lot of time on the Resolve performing unconventional repairs. Slowly, his specialty leaned more and more towards materials expert. More and more, he found himself analyzing alien compounds from their encounters, testing them, and replicating them in the industrial replicator for use elsewhere on the Resolve. His favorite invention was a spray-on alloy that reacted with oxygen at high temperatures to solidify. He used it to repair cracks and holes in the plasma conduits in a pinch. Just spray and go. It could even be used to repair the hull of a ship. Spray, apply plasma torch, and you're done. It was messy, ugly, and not a permanent solution, but it'd hold long enough to give engineering time to make a permanent repair. Highly convenient!

But that was back on the Resolve. He had a whole tool belt full of things that he in specific, needed. The canister of spray-on alloy, the plasma torch, a modified coil spanner, his favorite hyperspanner, a perfectly average, regular spanner...No, all that was left behind. He couldn't even recall the specific compound he used to make the spray-on, that was always stored on the ship computer. There was just no way he could remember the complex formula, chemistry wasn't even his best subject.

So here he was, the soles of his boots just resting on the ladder he used to get here, his body bent over the antimatter piping into the warp core holding himself up with his upper body strength so he could get into a crevice with a hairpin crack that he detected just a few moments ago. Quite a number of hairpin cracks, actually. Chances are, this thing hadn't seen any love in a long time.

Shame Suq had no love for the Theurgy.

He grumbled and complained to himself about his work, his life, anything. Nobody was listening, so he could grouch freely. The warp core was big and loud and used to be scary, when he was brand new. His sensitive ears picked up on every sour note and unhappy threat. Now, whenever he heard an off-key thrum, he scolded the ship;
“Pipe down your complaining, I wouldn't be doing this if you weren't such an energy drain. I've designed spaceworthy vessels out of a backyard grill and an old human car and it was still more energy efficient than you...I've met Klingons who fart with more energy than you put out. Now don't you make that sound again or I'll call those Klingons up, maybe have 'em teach you how to do, you hear me in there? I'll knock sense into you.”

He had the access panel to the warp core open. His arms were inside, he was twisted oddly so he could reach around the newly cleaned and repaired injector into the warp core and re-attach the overglorified pipe. The core was loud, but it had many overtones and undertones that took a trained ear to appreciate. She spoke—not like a person would, but like a spirit would, if Suq could apply religion to it. But it wasn't Thea, nope, not that evil holographic goblin-wizard...

When he heard his combadge go off, he thought for sure O'Connell had heard him calling Thea names, even though those were just thoughts. He jumped hard, losing his grip on the injector and knocking himself in the forehead with it. He found himself on the floor with stars on the edges of his vision. He placed his hand on his combadge to activate it.

“Doing alright, I'm just attaching the first one and I'll get started on the second soon as I'm done. They're not as bad as they looked, I'd give it... an hour tops? And that's if things are really bad. Start lining up another job for me to do is all I'm saying.”

[ Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Warp Core | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]Adjusting her optic modifiers to regulate the amount of light she was receiving, Sinead O'Riley trailed Suq quietly, stealthy from habit more than desire. She also habitually checked for a pulse phaser pistol at her waist that was no longer there, because she was no longer on the Resolve, nor was she in security. All things considered, she should be more at ease, but she couldn't help feeling naked, and frequently panicked, searching for a weapon, looking behind to see if she'd dropped it before remembering that she had turned in her weapon with Theurgy Security. Wearing a gold-necked uniform again, she was quite at ease in tight spaces. It was like being back in the tunnels and caves of Bringloid V.

She was rather glad for the change of position back to Engineering. It was like being on holiday, and if she was really lucky, she wouldn't have to kill anyone anymore. But she didn't hold her hopes up. After hearing the briefing yesterday, then today, about the virus (that crazy pilot Meony probably had something to do with it) being released and the Theurgy crew was now contracting it...things were likely to happen that would force her hand.

She worked hard to keep her reputation and moniker of the Grim Reaper behind her. A difficult task considering her inability to lie. Fortunately, most of her former crew knew she was a private person who largely kept to herself. Of course there was that incident back when they were still only a year into their voyage home. But it was in the past now, and they'd grown to trust her, understand her, and she them.

She smiled to herself, listening to Suq's tirade at the ship, and his response to their superior, William Robert O'Connell.

“But Suq,” said O'Riley suddenly, almost directly behind him, “what other work would you be best suited to? And I can verify the energy output of a Klingon's fart; however, I fail to understand how that can suitably compare to a starship of this magnitude.”

She was not being humorous, and completely serious.

[ PO2 Sithick |  | USS Theurgy | Jefferies Tubes Near Forward Torpedo Bay | Vector 02 ] Attn:  @Doc M. @FollowTomorrow @Triage
[Show/Hide]
A regular human found these tubes cramped Sithick was much more broad than the average human, a full two inches taller, and his hands and feet scratched the floor as he moved through them. His claws tapping and pulling against the grated ground. One would have thought that these halls would have been padded considering that most of the time you were forced on hands and knees. With such little space between the decks and so much wiring and piping running along side it was a small wonder that Sithick didn't find himself at all claustrophobic.

In truth these reminded him of more simple times. Klingon ships, and the ships used by the Orion Syndicate were small, cramped and poorly built. He would have even less room when he was a child, but he had grown up inside the innards of ships. He hadn't even step foot on the soil of a planet till he was six. In short these tubes made the lizard feel nostalgic. He sniffed the air feeling the heat of the small corridor as he went. The added climate, the hissing of steam vents all made these tunnels feel at times more comfortable than the actual ship. All of it reminded him of his youth.

If he had told that to a counselor he may have gotten a strange look. Why would anyone be nostalgic for the days when they were a slave, and a soldier? Why would anyone even choose such confinement over a career where he was given choices and a good bed? It wasn't the kind of nostalgia where one would want to go back, but there was something fond about those old ships, constantly falling apart, There had always been something to put back together. In Starfleet he had his fair of hard shifts, but ever since the domion war and his placement aboard black opal there had been no sense of adventure or danger.

Till now, now he was getting to travel down thea's intestinal tract to find the radiation leak. Playing a game of Lizard and Cat with some anomaly that had cropped up with the last fight. He wasn't exacty sure what he was going to find down here, but he kept going. His tricorder bleeped like a canary in an old mine. He had programmed it to inform him when Radiation levels would be too dangerous for other creatures. He had just passed the point that would have been acute radiation poisoning for a human. After this was all said and done he would have to report to sickbay and get a full body scrubbing to make sure he didn't accidently give anyone cancer. The inoculation for that one was apparently very painful. Thankfully Gorn were built stronger than other creatures.

After a bit longer wondering from tube to tube, and tracking the anomaly, wondering if he would ever get too see the outside of these tubes ever again, his mind started to drift from thoughts about lunch to Doctor Lhakesis, and Jaya. His new found friends. He supposed there was a chance that he would get to see the doctor at the end of his shift, but that was a long time from now Jaya he had no idea what she would be up too, and in truth between the two there was a part of him that wanted to see the doctor more. There was something so unique about the vegetable girl, she smelled entirely different from the rest of the crew. He was convinced it was just an odd fascination, or maybe even...

He paused to brush that aside. He had never had a crush or anything of the sort before. The doctor was kind which was why she got to occupy his thoughts it was little more than that.

As he crawled his Tricorder let out another beep, this time the sound was different and he actually had to squirm around a little to dig out the thing. Reading it the leak seemed to becoming from right above him now. Opening up the next hatch what he came face to face with gave the lizard a lot of pause. looking to the tools he had brought with him, he was no longer sure that it was going to be enough.

There was a pulsing red light, a black casing that was slightly cracked. His years working aboard black opal he must have signed for and delivered hundreds of these. He recognized the casing in an instant, along with the hole it had come from. They were lucky they hadn't blown the ship apart. His hand slowly went to his badge.

"Sithick to boz." The lizard sounded shaken as he spoke still trying to get a good view of what he was dealing with. Pho-Torp, the mark and serial number were burned, but he would have to figure them out to log into his report. "Boz, we has a torpedo that has been lodged into a Jefferies tube. Iz broken, emitting radiation very deadly, and armed.... please advise tactical not to use forward torpedo bays."

Oh he hoped they didn't get into a fire fight in the immediate future. At least not while he was anywhere near this place.

[ William Robert “Billy Bob” O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy  ]  Atten:  FollowTommorrow, Hastata-Nerada

"Doing alright, I'm just attaching the first one and I'll get started on the second soon as I'm done. They're not as bad as they looked, I'd give it... an hour tops? And that's if things are really bad. Start lining up another job for me to do is all I'm saying."

Billy Bob laughed out loud as he reached the master systems display table.  “Don’t you worry ‘bout that Suq.  After a while, you’ll find out that yuh never run out a things t’ do.  Iffen you’re not fixin’ t’ have any time to yerself you’ve come to the right place.”

At that moment, he heard the disembodied voice of the only Gorn in Starfleet.  "Sithick to boz."

“I reckon Ah’ll let yuh go, Suq,” Billy Bob sighed.  “Ah’ll call yuh back in an hour.  O’Connell out.”  Tapping his combadge, contacted the reptilian repairman.  “O’Connell to Sithick.  Whut kin Ah do fer yah, Petty Officer?”

"Boz, we has a torpedo that has been lodged into a Jefferies tube. Iz broken, emitting radiation very deadly, and armed.... please advise tactical not to use forward torpedo bays."

“Understood,” Billy Bob muttered as his large meaty fingers tapped on the master systems display table and brought up the schematic of torpedo tube Sithick was repairing.  As he repeated the information, his voice went from professional disinterest to borderline panic.  “You’ve got a torpedo lodged in Jeffries Tube 213166AA, and its broken?  Emitting deadly radiation?  And armed?  ARMED?!  Tarnation, Sithick!  Are you pullin’ mah leg?  Don’t answer that!  Do yuh reckon you kin scan it?  No wait!  Don’t scan it!  Just use visual only, jus’ lahk back in th’ early days before tricorders!   A too intensive scan might set it off!  O’Connell out!”

He glanced at his propulsion chief, Chief Petty Officer Lavar Manfredi, who was at one of the duty stations near the master systems display table.  “Manfredi, inform tactical that we got an armed but unexploded photon torpedo lodged in the Vector Two’s forward torpedo tube!”

“Aye-Aye Master Chief!” the coffee colored propulsion chief replied as he rose from his chair.

“Who we got not doin’ anythin’?”

“Petty Officer Song, boss,”  Manfredi answered.  “Sickbay released him early so he could help out so I put on light duty assisting diagnostics.”

“Well he’s gonna be assistin’ explosive ordinance disposal now!” O’Connell declared.  “Have him report to me on the th’ double and tell him to bring a PADD!”  He tapped his combadge again.  “O’Connell to Sithick, hold on there son!   We’re gonna talk yuh through this.  Back off an git yerself some protection from th’ radiation in the meantime, but help is on th’ way!”

---

OOC:  Now that the action has started everyone feel free to get the ball rolling on each engineer's emergency and don't forget to call Billy Bob at the most inconvenient time possible.

[ PO1 Morgan Song | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
Morgan’s body ached as he walked into engineering and approached O'Connell. He had to admit, this was an unexpected turn of events, as apparently in the month he had been under, the senior staff of the ship had radically changed hands multiple times, and it was something he was going to have to get used to. Still, despite being enlisted, O’Connell very much outranked him, and Morgan was able to take some solace in the fact that he was still able to comfortably call the chief of engineering “sir”.

Morgan stood at attention and saluted. “Petty Officer First Class Morgan Song, reporting for duty Sir.” He said, as he kept his posture straight and at the ready. He clutched a PADD in his non-saluted hand, the purpose of which he could only speculate at. Aches continued to rack his body from his fresh interment in stasis, and he hoped that whatever O’Connell had in mind did not involve him crawling around in the jefferies tubes. Hopefully without any other new surprises as well, but given how things had been going thus far, he wouldn’t be surprised if the day ended with him being cooked alive on a pre-warp planet of teddy bear aliens. One way or another, he would find out soon enough.

[MCPO Nolak Kamil | Outer Hull | USS Theurgy | Vector 03 ]

With a tricorder in hand Master Chief Kamil, stood at the edge of the damaged torpedo blasted outer hull. Using the small device he performed a sensor sweep of the damaged area gathering information of structural integrity. After gaining a better understanding of where the hull needed the most attention he attached the tricorder to a tether.

Leaning down to his crate of tools he grabbed a cutting torch and a metal grinder, and began the slow process around the entire circumference of the crater cutting and smoothing the jagged twisted hull. Beads of perpetration rolled down from his bald head and saturated his collar of his uniform. He even nearly compromised his life as one such bead rolled into his eye and instinctively reached up only to smack the protective visor of his EVA suit. The minutes slowly converted into hours before the once saw tooth landscape once again looked smooth, only the depression from the impact blast stood out. He worked mostly under radio silence only responding to O’Connell every once in a while for a status update or checking in on his well being.

He’d been saving any piece of metal larger than .3 meters (1 foot). The entire area after he was done had tiny bits of metal and dust spinning and drifting away reflecting the light around him and looking like some glitter confetti party had happened. With the spare bits of hull he’d been collecting which he tethered together, now looked like a wicked medieval weapon on a giant scale. He carefully made his way into the impact area itself. With an arc torch welder and cutting tool he patched up and sealed the venting atmosphere from the ship using the scraps of metal he had collected. This took some time but finally he finished his work and made his way out of the crater and scanned it one final time with his tricorder. He smiled and liked the readings he received and looked at his handy work. The once ‘volcanic steam vent’ now looked smoothed and a patch work job.

He chimed into O’Connell, “Nolak here, the job here is nearly done. All that remains is a replacement outer hull panel from storage, if any are available. Honestly I haven’t checked inventory in over two months. That said, if none are available this spot is sealed and sound.  Over.”

[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Vector 02 Warp Core | Deck 06 | USS Theurgy ]
The constant noise of the warp core concealed the usual tell-tale signs of someone approaching. There was no footsteps or breathing to go by, so Sinead's appearance was met with Suq's standard response; life threatening terror.

Three things all happened in unison, or so quickly one after another that it appeared to be in unison to the naked eye. He screamed, first of all. There was no dignity in a scream, and having two voices made it sound like an actual demon was rising up from hell, but it was a valid way of letting everyone around you know something was happening and that something was not good.

Secondly, he dropped the injector a second time. This time it hit the floor with an even louder and more worrying clang than before. Something had come loose, something that was not supposed to come loose. After the clang were several smaller tink-tink-tiiiiings, of metal rolling around on the ground. The injector lay on the ground, sad and abandoned, no longer connected to it's proper junction in the access panel.

Thirdly, Suq fled. Specifically, the little man jolted up from his feet, still slightly concussed from his earlier hit to the head, and bolted for the nearest Jeffries' tube with the speed that no man with legs that tiny should posses. If Sinead had a gun, she would not be able to shoot him, he vanished around the other side of warp core way too fast.

He swung open the entry to the tube and hurtled himself inside. If he was on the Resolve, he would've known where to go. He kept little caches hidden in the tubes for emergencies, first aid kits and an extra phaser or two. But that was gone now, and he hadn't been through these corridors yet.

There was a good reason he had not been through these corridors yet; because he didn't fit. He was a small, small man, but even he had his limits. He only got so far in the tubes before he realized this wasn't really a Jeffries tube, this was way too cramped! It had to be a ventilation sort of tube, or maybe it was for wiring, maybe for plasma conduits? Whatever it was, it was not made for crawling around in. His own panic was enough to get him to go straight up, but he could not get around the ninety degree angle. He was stuck, head and shoulders bent forward and the rest of him flopped around the bend. He could feel his heel caught on whatever footing he used to get up here, but he was pressed pretty hard from the upper paneling.

It gave him the time he needed to stop, breathe, and think. Though he squirmed, he didn't panic anymore, he could process what he heard and where it came from, more specifically, who...
“Sinead! For fuck's sake,” He gasped, more exasperated than angry, “Don't sneak up on me when I can't hear you! I thought you were a Romulan!” He laid his head down on the metal in front of him, it was warm. Funny, he doesn't remember any sort of access tubing being this warm. Not that he minded.
“Are you still down there? I can't see behind me!” He called out, hoping she was still around. And also hoping she wouldn't comment on how out-of-proportion his fear response had become.

[ William Robert “Billy Bob” O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy  ]  Atten:  FollowTommorrow, Hastata-Nerada

Billy Bob looked up from the master systems display table to address Petty Officer Morgan Song.  "Song!  Whut do you know about photon torpedoes?” he shouted in his ‘chief voice’.  He shook his head.  "Never mind!” he barked as he interrupted any reply Song might make.   Previous experience had taught Morgan that getting a word in edgewise when in conversation with the master chief was a feat that few enlisted men could accomplish.  "Jest look up whut yuh can and contact Mister Sithick so’s he don’t blow hisself up!  If he does, he could take out half th’ Sword,” he added, referring to the Theurgy’s Vector Two stardrive section.  "Help him git the torpedo casing open so he kin deactivate th’ torpedo and talk him through it until I kin git someone from tactical t’ take over!   Do y’ think you kin do thet?”

After the petty officer responded, O’Connell clapped him on the shoulder and said "Good man.”  He was about to tap his combadge to contact the tactical department when he got a call.

"Nolak here, the job here is nearly done.  All that remains is a replacement outer hull panel from storage, if any are available. Honestly I haven't checked inventory in over two months. That said, if none are available this spot is sealed and sound.  Over."

O’Connell was grateful that Nolak was working on the third stardrive section of the Theurgy known as the stallion.  If the torpedo in the sword section blew there was a chance that the people on the exterior of Vector Three would be safe.  Of course, in a region filled with volatile gas safe was a relative term.  The problem with a nongravity environment was that there was nothing to stop slivers of debris from moving at the speed of sound in all directions.  But they weren’t there yet.

"Uh… that’s great Nolak.  Ah’m a mite busy raight now so maybe it’s time fer yer team t’ take a break and go in while you see if we still got some hull plating t’ spare yuh.  Somethin’s come up on Vector Two an’ Ah gotta give, Ah say Ah gotta give it mah undivided attention, gotta focus on it, that is…  Call me back when yew git yer team inside, O’Connell out.”

[ PWO Rihen Neyah (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Rihen_Neyah) | Vector 01 Hull | "Helmet" Exterior | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]Blinking away the salty egesta from her eyes, Rihen Neyah tried to breathe deeper. Nonetheless, the nausea remained.

"I'm... almost done," she said inside the helmet of her EVA suit, chiding herself because she wanted to repair her allotted hull damage and not just quit because she was feeling a bit ill. The skin of her nose was rubescent by the heat, glistening with perspiration, and her eyes were dry like paper no matter how much she blinked. Likely a fever peaking after having felt fine when she began the shift. Her arms, as weak as a newborn's, still moved when she made them, but she felt that her entire body was slick with sweat inside the suit. Of course, she'd heard about Virus 117, but she was in denial. Well, perhaps she wasn't - already suspecting she had contracted it from the Resolve crew. Yet even if she had, she was not about to leave a job half-finished. She was almost done, and even if it seemed like the gloves on the suit were getting stiffer around her fingers, she could still push her thumb down on her plasma torch's trigger, and that was good enough. "Just a little more..."

Suddenly, the hull became brighter, and Rihen raised her heterochromatic gaze to the nebula. The vertigo or the motion almost made her eyes roll. The crepuscular sky above Vector 01 was filled with cloudy maelstroms - moving on winds unlike she'd ever seen in Suraya Bay or Nimbus III. Desultory, her eyes next discerned the umbrageous surface of the hull before her, whereupon spectres of malign fire danced. An explosion? How could she not hear any susurrous anlage of fire? She had momentarily forgotten that she was in space, and that there was no sound. Then, she saw the origin. Her mismatched eyes widened to the sight; fiery effluvium expanding, a silently roaring ebullition larger than her, and the sinuous motions of the molten flames. 

A pocket of sirillium gas had just detonated, expanding towards the surface of the hull she stood on.

"Oh, no..." she said, but before she managed to contact anyone, there was a voice heard inside her helmet.

[This is Crewman Fok in Work Bee Zero-Nine to all engineers.] The voice sounded brittle, as if on the verge of carefully contained hysteria. Fear barely tethered. [I represent the Devoted, and h-here are our demands. Unless Captain Ives resign, and Sarresh Morali is m-made new Commanding Officer of the Theurgy, I will detonate all the sirillium around the hulls. No more can we fumble blindly, dying because of Ives' ignorance. Let Morai thwart the enemy... and lead the way home.]

Screaming, Rihen had dropped her torch from her hand and started to run away from the firery cloud, but her legs weren't working as they should. Perhaps it wasn't her suit that was stiff, but her limbs swollen. "Neyah to Kalmil!" she panted, reporting to the only Chief outside the ship, "I can't get away!"

[Inform the Captain that h-he has ten minutes, but that's all. We are listening on this channel.]

Rihen cast her brown and blue eyes back once more, realising it was too late, and threw herself down unto the hull. Yet that meant her boots were no longer magnetically sealed to the surface. Still screaming, the shock wave of the conflagration swept her off the hull, leaving the back of her EVA-suit burning - the air trapped inside the suit's layers set alight.

[ Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Warp Core | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]Sinead O'Riley was accustomed to quite a few things. Suq's excitable nature, his horrific voice (when he screamed the way he just did), and his tendency to run like hell whenever she spoke to him without first announcing her presence. She had thought he would have gotten used to her after all these years. Then again, some people never did. Even Meony had wheeled around to judo-chop her once, back on the Resolve. If not for her own speed and readiness for battle, she likely would have been knocked unconscious by such an attack. As it was, all O'Riley merely arched an eyebrow at everything that happened, though her head did bob down to look at the injector, before turning back to look at where Suq went. He was like a rocket-powered mouse of a man when suitably inspired.

“......” The Bringloidi settled into a crosslegged sitting position, deciding to wait it out until Suq had suitably calmed, before following. Always best to let him run the course of his panic attacks. If she had given chase, she would have been slightly outmatched in tubes like these. Though she was accustomed to small spaces, having lived in caves and learnt tunnelling, she still couldn't move the way Suq did. He was a regular hamster. On coffee. Lots of it.

When he shouted at her, she uncoiled and moved with serpentine grace, easily following the path the Efrosian had taken, until she was staring at his lower torso sticking out of what looked like a ventilation tube that was too small even for him. Folding her arms under her breasts, she observed him quietly for a moment before replying, “I am here. Romulans have a high likelihood of shooting you first if they had the opportunity to take you by surprise, Suq,” said O'Riley, “Nevertheless, I apologize for startling you...again.” This would have been the umpteenth time. “You should consider a long shore leave, I believe you are becoming particularly nervous even for you. Can you come out? Are you stuck?”

[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Vector 02 Warp Core | Deck 06 | USS Theurgy ]

Shore leave, good spirits, he'd murder for shore leave. Anything to sleep for 16 hours in a comfortable bed, in a room that didn't have the constant hum of a warp core to remind him that it could explode any minute.
“You know, if I had my way, we'd park this fat baby on Risa and have a month off. Maybe a year.” He sighed. The idea was so enticing...but no, he was not on leave. Not yet, maybe not ever.
“I'm stuck, I'm stuck in here pretty good too. The last time I did that was like..a week after we first got lost? This is tiny thing...” His legs dangled below him. He could search around for the footholds that he used to get up here in the first place, but he knew when he was very, thoroughly stuck, and this was it. Something about the panic must've given him the extra power to wedge himself in there firmly. He couldn't twist his shoulders around enough to match the weird angle of this vent. Is it a vent? Normally they don't twist like this. The metal looks warped.

“What is this anyways? The opening was built just like a vertical Jeffries, but this is all...weird.” He ran his hands over the metal. Very warm. Although the paneling felt mostly smooth, he could feel imperfect twists in it. And it creaked when he tried to wiggle out too, lord how it creaked, Sinead had to hear that over the din of the warp core.

Something about this tube gave him a bad feeling.

“Hey uh, can you go look up schematics and tell me what kind of tube this is supposed to be? I don't think this is ventilation...”

[ PO1 Morgan Song | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Kaligos
[Show/Hide]
Morgan tried to respond, “I know a bit-” before O'Connell cut him off. He had forgotten that this was O’Connell he was talking to, let alone that O’Connell was now the chief of engineering. This would take some getting used to. Straits had to be dire if they were down this many engineers. Not that he didn’t respect O’Connell, but still, Morgan had assumed that the original chief might still be around. As O’Connell barked orders at him, Morgan brought up the schematics for various models of photonic torpedoes. He also wondered to himself who the hell this Sithick person was. Either a crewman he never met or someone new, most likely the latter.

“Got it Chief, I’ll walk him through it.” He said, as O’Connell clapped him on his shoulder. Without wasting any time, Morgan picked up his PADD and tapped his combadge. “Morgan to Sithick.” He uttered into it. “Are you able to safely remove the outer access panels of photon tube, or read what mark it is?” If it was one of Acheron’s then it would most likely be one of the latest mark iv quantum torpedoes. Morgan called up a schematic of the internal specifications while he spoke. Quantum resonator, fusion thrusters, deuterium canisters, antimatter canisters, intermix chamber, the list went on. The whole thing was like a miniature warp core waiting to breach. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Morgan’s head as he thought of the destructive potential which the small package could unleash.

[MCPO Nolak Kalmil | Outer Hull | USS Theurgy | Vector 03 ]

After receiving the message from O’Connell, his immediate reaction as the former Master Chief was to request a status report on the situation. Yet doing so would only delay the younger MC from his focus duties. After extreme self restraint he just answered with a quick, “Good Idea, I could use a break, also my O2 levels are getting low. Inform me if you need any assistance. Over.” He then opened a channel to all his working crew members, “Nolak here, you guys have been doing a great job, finish whatever action your working on at the moment then pack up and head on in for some R&R. We can continue inspection of the hull after we get some rest, over.”

He gathered all his work tools for the day and placed them back into the crate. After one final glance at the repaired hull he worked on, he glanced upwards to marvel at the nebula they were hiding in. Looming over head was Theurgy’s Vector 01 ‘Helmet’. It’s dark sleek form was a stark contrast the warm glows from the surrounding gas and dust cloud the ships took refuge in. He still wrestled with the thoughts in his head over the Theurgy Class ship, a concept he remembers arguing against back years ago when he sat on the Starfleet Engineering Council, when he worked at the Academy.  He was filling in minor details to his memory which was still a jig-saw mess from the time shift that happened while he was out of action. As he continued to ponder over the ‘new’ yet old memories, he’d been staring at Vector 01 half heartedly when a flash of light caught his attention. Then his comlink buzzed into action.

[This is Crewman Fok in Work Bee Zero-Nine to all engineers.] The voice sounded brittle, as if on the verge of carefully contained hysteria. Fear barely tethered. [I represent the Devoted, and h-here are our demands. Unless Captain Ives resign, and Sarresh Morali is m-made new Commanding Officer of the Theurgy, I will detonate all the sirillium around the hulls. No more can we fumble blindly, dying because of Ives' ignorance. Let Morai thwart the enemy... and lead the way home.]

Moments later heard the panic words from Rihen Neyah, “Neyah to Kalmil, I can’t get away!”

He immediately open a channel to Neyah and said, “Don’t panic girl. Keep your breathing in check. Help is on the way.” He said keeping his own voice calm talking over the remaining Fok message.

He then opened a channel to all the shuttlecrafts monitoring the repairs, “Master Chief Kamil here, all ships report towards Vector 01, now. Crewmember Neyah, is in jeopardy. She may be injured and adrift in space. Here’s that chance to be a hero.  I’m now reporting to the bridge, over.” He closed the channel to the space jocks.

“Bridge, this is Master Chief Kamil here. What appears to be a sirillium burst on your outer hull has placed the life of Rihen Neyah in serious danger. Due to the interference and extreme nature of this Nebula our options are limited with the transporter. I’ve informed the monitoring shuttlecrafts of the incident but we may still need to go the extreme route and send jumpers. Best to get a couple members suited up ASAP.”  He then flipped a couple switches on his comfreq and encoded the rest. “It also appears some extremist named Foc, has commandeered a Work Bee suit Zero-Nine and threaten to ignite the whole nebula sirillium gas around us destroying everything with it. His only demand is to replace the Captain with some person named Sarresh Morali as Commanding Officer of the Theurgy. I have no clue who these people are but inform Captain Ives of the matter. I’ll do my best to coordinate things from here, over.”

[ PO2 Sithick |  | USS Theurgy | Jefferies Tubes 213166AA | Vector 02 ] Attn:  @Doc M. @FollowTomorrow @Triage @Absinthe @MasterRat @Hastata-Nerada
[Show/Hide]

Sithick listened to Williams words and quickly put away his tri-corder. Working without one was going to be a pain, but he was right if this thing was as sensitive as they thought then any scans he took of this thing would have the potential to cause an explosion. Sithick would be fine, vaparization would be rather painless.

But the rest of the sword? The ship would likely be destroyed, or more likely start to break apart after the fact causing a lot of destruction and a lot more death. It was with that in mind that Sithick started to think. He could handle the radiation, and he couldn't beam out for the same reason he couldn't scan the bomb. He would be fine to work here for maybe an hour before he started getting sick. He would have to trust that medical could fix him after that point.

"Sithick to boz." Sithick leaned back from the bomb he was going to have to disarm trying to find some way to get comfortable in the clustered tubing while he worked. Since the torpedo was slightly above him the best he could do was to find an area above the torpedo by crawling up a different intersection and finding his way back to the lodged weapon. His feet holding him so that the large reptile could see more as he suspended himself upside to take a look at the thing. The position was Bazzar, but oddly comfortable.

"I am going to begin visual inspection, but I would like to request  that a shield be put up around the tubes. If bomb goes off, we should try to funnel the explosion out of ship." Sithick took a deep breath as he started looking at the torpedo, but another idea came to him. Pressing his combadge again for a different communication.

"Sithick to Medical." The oddly feminine voice of his translator kicked in. "I am beginning an inspection of a torpedo that is emitting deadly radiation. I can not be beamed out because it may move the torpedo. Could you send one of your smaller doctors to my location at jefferies tube 213166AA, with an inoculation against deadly radiation poisoning?"

When Morgan chipped in with his message Sithick slowly nodded his head listening to him. From his location he could see the model, and serial numbers fairly well. "It's a photon, Model Number, TS3V901, Serial number 800813SMKU," That should give Morgan more than enough information to look up the torpedo, and get back to him.

~~~

OOC: Another post with Jack will be up probably late tonight.

[ Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Warp Core | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]O'Riley allowed herself a small smile, at Suq's remark of taking a year-long shore leave. That would be his notion. The Bringloidi wasn't sure she needed a whole year off. She would get bored within a few days. Her smile dropped when he stated that he was stuck well and good. That was cause for concern, and she immediately prepared for action, inspecting the position and plotting how to extract him without causing him any injury or breaking anything apart. Damages sustained could cause complications, and it occurred to her right about the same time as it did to him that they ought to have a look at the schematics.

“Just a moment, Suq,” said O'Riley, and she pulled out a PADD, keying in data into it and requesting for information. What she saw nearly made her face drain of all blood. As it was she turned quite pale, “we need to get you out of there quickly.”

Pocketing her PADD, she wrapped one arm around one thigh as she spoke, “It is not ventilation. You are in a plasma conduit, a broken one.” She began to pull, gently but firmly, on his leg, trying to ease him out from the trap. “When we first got lost, at least it was just a tube of sorts when you got stuck. This thing will cook you, possibly soon. Try wriggling your body as I pull you out. See if it helps.” She made the moves again, trying to dislodge him without causing him injury.

[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Vector 02 Warp Core | Deck 06 | USS Theurgy Attn: @Triage

Yes, of course. He would be stuck on top of a plasma conduit about to burst. He laid his head down on the metal and sighed in exasperation. Fear welled up in his chest, but it was well controlled by now. He'd been in much worse. If he began to smell burning flesh though, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to stay so cool. The memory of the scent was enough to make him nauseous again...

 “Right. Uh, Sinead, shouldn't we be more worried about the conduit? I mean...correct me if I'm wrong here, maybe they do the newer ships differently, but if there's a conduit under this panel, and this panel is all swollen and welled up like this, that means the conduit's burst.” It made sense to him. He's seen it before, but he's never been on a ship that's on the bleeding edge of technology like this one. He half expected the swollen metal he now laid on to part of some fancy new omnidirectional conduit conjunction, or maybe it's full of bees, or maybe Thea is punishing him. It's probably the latter.

 “See if you can get the conduit shut off through here. And can you call in to O'Connel, I kind of...can't reach my badge.” He wiggled, as if to prove it. Then he allowed himself to flop once more, a victim of gravity. He was smiling though, it sounded in his voice.  “Don't worry too much about me burning. Won't be the first time, won't be the last. I just don't want to move wrong and burst the bubble under me or something. Because then you'd be atomized, and where would engineering be if you were gone?” He tried to sound goofy, not quite cheerful but not taking this too seriously.

As he laid still though, he could feel the heat, and if he paid close attention, he thought for a second he could feel the metal rise under his hands. It wasn't bending, not quite, but something under the panel was hot enough to curve, and force the paneling—and Suq—up. He couldn't quite see over the lump of metal in front of him, but if he lifted his head up high enough, he thought he could see that the seam between the first and second panel was broken. They were tilted up. If he didn't know better, he'd say his panicked scramble to get up here is what knocked the last few bolts out in the first place and got him stuck. And now that the metal below was free to rise unimpeded, so would everything above it, and it would heat up a great deal in here too. It was an emergency, but struggling with getting him out would waste time that could be used to stop the plasma leak.

 He should have been afraid, but ultimately, it failed to come. It didn't even try anymore. Fear knocked on his door, then said 'At least I tried' and promptly gave up. Fear went home to take a nap. This is how he remembers handling trouble, not so burdened by guilt or trauma. He was all smiles, despite the inherent danger against his and Sinead's lives.
“If you can confirm it's a plasma buildup, we'll try to siphon off the extra plasma, and then get me out. Then you can be a hero and sweep me off my feet. Deal?”

[ William Robert “Billy Bob” O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten:  Anyone playing a character in the tactical department, such as Striker N7 or DocReno 

“O’Connell to bridge, patch me through to the tactical department,” Master Chief O’Connell called out.  “We got what you might call a sitchiation in Vector Two.”

"Sithick to boz."  Billy Bob’s combage rasped in the Gorn’s reptilian hiss. "I am going to begin visual inspection, but I would like to request that a shield be put up around the tubes. If bomb goes off, we should try to funnel the explosion out of ship."

“Excuse me please hold,” O’Connell murmured contritely before tapping his combadge so he could speak to the Gorn. “Yer woosh is mah freakin’ command Sithick,” he bellowed in his ‘master chief’ voice as he turned back to the master systems display table and tapped on the display.  “Koizumi!  Arex!  Zol!” he shouted at a trio of engineers manning the consoles on the wall starboard to the master systems display table.  “Strengthen the structural integrity field around the sword’s torpedo tubes and activate the forcefields in the forward Jeffries tubes on Decks Nine through Twelve,” he ordered.  “Coordinate with th’ bridge an’ the folks on Deck Six an’ make sure if that torpedo blows the explosion is directed away from the main hull.” 

“Aye-Aye Master Chief,” Petty Officer Tenchi Koizumi  from Earthnodded before he turned and joined Petty Officer Zil Arex  of Bolarus IX and Petty Officer Eetak Zol of Ktaria VII in carrying out his orders.

O’Connell nodded back and leaned over Petty Officer Morgan Song to speak to him in a quiet conspiratorial voice.  “Song have you got the data on photon torpeda’s yet?”

"Got it Chief, I'll walk him through it."

“Good man,” O’Connell nodded as he clapped him once again on the shoulder and walked away from the master systems display table.  O’Connell drew a deep breath as behind him he heard Song to go work.

"Morgan to Sithick.   Are you able to safely remove the outer access panels of photon tube, or read what mark it is?"

O’Connell walked further away from the master system display and tapped his combadge.   “O’Connell to bridge, I need t’ contact someone in th’ tactical department,” he announced, “specifically the leading expert in photon torpedoes.”

---

OOC:  Yes, I know that I screwed a little with the timeline but Kaligos missed Hastata-Nerada’s last post in this thread and this was the best fix I could come up with.  Kaligos, Morgan Song is talking to Sithick right now, so don’t forget him!

[ PO1 Morgan Song | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Kaligos
[Show/Hide]
"It's a photon, Model Number, TS3V901, Serial number 800813SMKU,"

A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Morgan’s cheek as he looked over the schematics of the torpedo which Sithick listed. It was a recent model of photon torpedo, good for detecting the gaseous engine trails left behind by the ion engines of cloaked ships if you wanted it to, and it could blow up at any moment. Aches still racked his body but in that moment they were of little concern. All material problems vanished as he looked upon the plans, trying to identify the way to disable the torpedo.

“Okay,” He said. His voice betrayed none of the nervous tension he now held within the entirety of his form. His muscles protested as he stood poised over the PADD in his hand, but they were of no concern. The thought of lying in a stasis pod again suddenly seemed very appealing to him. “If you can remove the casing there should be a grey wire near the primary firing sequencer, if you start by cutting that it should disable the connection between-” Morgan’s eyes widened as he flipped to another page in the schematics. “Wait, wait, WAIT, not that wire!” he shouted into his combadge, panic beginning to edge into his voice. “Not that wire, the blue wire, blue!” A fresh bead of sweat came to life on the other side of his head and began its slow creep downwards. “That should disconnect the ODN relays that it uses to assess targeting information… I think…” He hoped that Sithick, whatever he was, had the same cells in his eyes that allowed humans to discern color. He also in that moment reflected on the fact that he might have wanted to wait a few more hours before reporting, as he was faced with both physical problems and existential dread. He wondered if there was a treatment for those symptoms.

[ Captain Ives (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Captain_Jien_Ives) | Corridor | CO Ready Room > Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide](https://uss-theurgy.com/w/images/c/c8/CUT-AWAY-VIEW-01.png)

When the sirillium gas above the saucer section of the Theurgy had been lit, making the liquid detonation in space roll across the hull, the fiery malestrom had passed outside Ives' viewscreen. Immediately, she had gotten out of her seat and walked up to the view of the nebula outside the window. She could still see the sinking sediments of the conflagration, as well as shuttles changing course in reaction. It was not the first time it happened, she knew, but she hoped there were no more casualties...

[Bridge to Captain Ives, I... think you better come out here.] It was the voice of Jonas Arisaka, currently manning the tactical station. Ives was already moving before he finished.

"On my way," she said, and then she emerged on the bridge. She passed by Lieutenant Masuda Yukimura, who stood by the Mission Ops holo-display table, and Arisaka was waiting for her by her chair when she rounded the corner. "What's going on?"

Arisaka seemed like he had far too much to relay in too little time, eyes darting between her and the viewscreen and then towards somewhere towards the aft. "It's the Devoted, Ma'am. They have made a move. Detonated a sirilium cloud above this Vector, and while there are shuttles inbound to try and secure a crewmember that was caught in the blast, the residues may interfere with transporters. Chief Nolak Kalmil recommended personnel suited up an-"

"Then do so immediately, and bring whoever is in the security checkpoint with you. Yukimura, please, continue. Did they do it? Then what do they want?"

"The Devoted demand you resign, Captain, and put Junior Lieutenant Sarresh Morali in Command. There is one of them in a work-bee out there, claiming he represent them. Crewman Foc, ma'am. We have not confirmed it yet, but he might have detonated the sirillium gas."

Of course they did, thought Jien bitterly and seated herself in her chair. "Did they give any time-frame to this demand?" she asked quietly, oaken eyes upon the tactical display hologram in front of the CONN and Ops stations, showing Thea in her current MVAM mode and the shuttles moving around her.

"Unknown, Captain. Chief Kalmil is coordinating the shuttles to converge on the crewman in need," said Yukimura, relaying how if the Devoted had, the Chief was quite preoccupied.

"Yellow Alert," said Jien and began to tap her fingers against her armrest, meanwhile the alert was sounded all over the ship, from Engineering on Vector 03 to the dorsal airlock on Vector 01.

[Nicander to bridge,] came a voice on the intercom, the exotic accent of the Chief Medical Officer heard.

"This Ives, we have a bit of a situation here," she said with her jaw clenched, already at odds with the CMO.

[I already know about the torpedo, Captain, that's why I am contacting you,] said Nicander, almost derisively, [The requirements - not to mention the situation in all three med bays - prevents me to get the right personnel to the location. The smallest medical officer I have - that's not in surgery - is in the brig. I hereby demand Doctor Maya to be released so that she may save Petty Officer Sithick's life.]

"Request denied, Doctor," said Jien, lips thin while she tapped her fingers against her armrest. She could not guess at the critical nature of the situation yet, but she had a feeling she would learn soon. Were the Devoted coordinating a second threat?

[Captain, please. Given the report from her interrogation, evidence suggest it wasn't even her doing that led to Acreth's release. Give my officer the benefit of the doubt, and let her prove herself reliable. Even Ensign Cir'Cie has said she can be trusted again.]

Jien did not like it one bit, but she was already preoccupied. "Fine, Doctor. Coordinate with Thea and Security to get her there."

Yukimura then called for Jien's attention, patching through another call. [O'Connell to bridge, I need t' contact someone in th' tactical department,] announced the Chief Engineer from Vector 03, [specifically the leading expert in photon torpedoes.]

"This is Ives, Lieutenant Commander Marquez will contact you immediately," said Jien, and she did not just answer O'Connell, since the former First Officer of the Resolve had just entered the bridge from the security checkpoint. The man was one of those she had just summoned from her armrest, and her eyes had met his when she spoke to O'Connell. "Yukimura, brief Mister Marquez and have him coordinate communication with O'Connell. I also want to know how many shuttles are out there, and who's on them."

Jien could not shake the feeling that it seemed unlikely this Devoted would have detonated the sirrilium gas from a work-bee. Doing so without a phaser array was practically suicide.

"Patch me through to this representative of the Devoted, and keep trying to get a transporter lock on the victim of the blast out there. Rewind the tactical logs and show me the time of the blast," she said to Ops and Tactical both, folding her fingers in her lap with her eyes straight ahead. Her tone of voice was like crystal cutting silk. "This is Captain Ives. Please repeat the terms of your demands."

Meanwhile the Devoted repeated himself - stammering his words on the intercom for the bridge - Jien hoped to buy time. Time, for the injured crewman's life to be secured, and for the reports on the shuttles coming in. Time to learn more about the torpedo. All the while, her eyes remained on the tactical display hologram, watching the movements of the shuttles as they flew backwards, meaning to see which one of them had truly detonated the gas...

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OOC: Attn: Any security officer who will get into an EVA suit and jump out of the airlock on Deck 01 together with NPC Jonas Arisaka. @Jm Von Cat and Varder, perhaps?

@Striker N7 , with Marquez arriving on the bridge, and @Doc M. to have Maya released, briefed and on her way. Can this be arranged with Security NPCs if no other PC can be made available?

@Even Angels Cry , in case you want Jaya Thorne on the USS Thames?

[ Jonas Arisaka (NPC) | Main Bridge > Security Checkpoint | Corridor | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]Jonas moved quickly and with a defined purpose at his captains words with a muted "Yes Ma'am" as he headed to the Security Checkpoint's door, a goal he reached in a matter of a few brisk steps. Once inside he turned his attention to a mildly surprised looking officer and in short order relayed the captains instructions, "You're with me, EVA suit prep." Then just as quickly he was out the other door and heading down the access corridor without waiting for the response, his pace altered to a jog as he made his way to the EVA suit storage and changing room. He did however briefly slow his pace as he saw Marquez, offering a "I'm heading outside with the security officer." Accompanied by a brief over the shoulder gesture as he continued to move, his pace gaining once more after a reply was given.

[ PO1 Varder Ridun | Security Checkpoint > Corridor | Eva Suit Storage/Changing room | Airlock | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]Ridun quickly shook off his initial mild confusion, pushing himself to his feet he hurried after Jonas. He was able to stay only a short distance behind the man, in part due to his slowing to acknowledge a Commander he did not recognize, as they both jogged down the corridor towards the fourth room on the left. He was barely thinking about exactly what was going on, but nether the less half shouted a question towards Jonas. "Exactly what is going on?" There was an underlying tone of urgency and curiosity, a slightly strange mix but it was otherwise hard to explain. It must be something significant, the man had that look about him and it showed in his pace and movements.

Then came the reply, which was still being spoken even as the two entered the Eva Room. "A crew-member outside needs help, gas and Devoted, otherwise its Captains orders." It was not hard for Ridun to guess and grasp at the unsaid words and importance behind what the other man had said. It was certainly not an amazing looking situation and he felt the mans urgency more keenly now that he knew a life was on the line, questions quickly buzzed in and out of his mind. Why not transport them? No one else? What is happening in full? He pushed all these and more away, it was information he did not need to know or he could figure out if he took a second to think about it.

He quickly glanced around, EVA suits. No time for idle questions not if he was to put one on properly in any timely fashion, then again, to fast and he could miss something important. A quick breath, his head shaken out as he grabbed for the first pieces of equipment. His phaser and holster discarded, or more accurately stashed away, a few seconds of time lost to do so. Piece after piece the suits of both men are pulled and pushed into place, assistance offered either way as needed. Even so, a few precious minutes drift by as they prepare, their movements made awkward and labored by the partially donned suits.

Helmets, the last thing to go on even as both men head towards the antechamber. On-board computers run checks, systems blink their status as affirmative even as both pat down and visually inspect the other. Perhaps a needles undertaking, but it continues even as the two step through the door between antechamber and airlock. Everything seems like its working, the room is pressurizing, "Varder, comm Check." shortly trailed by, "Recived. Comms cleared.".

Then the doors opened, the two shared a quick, almost unnoticeable nod due to their helmets. The vastness of what lay outside seemed that much closer all so suddenly. "On your lead..."

[ Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Warp Core | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]Even as she laboured relentlessly to free her Efrosian friend from the clutches of the angry conduit, O'Riley heard Suq's concerns and answered him to the best of her knowledge. “I have studied as much of the schematics of the Theurgy-class starship that I could get my hands on. The engineering design is most unique compared to other starships. The plasma conduits in particular have secondary and tertiary bypass safety features and a universal lock to prevent a spread of plasma in the event of critical damage. But if it is welled up like you are saying, then it has already gone through all safety protocols, and you might be cut in half any moment now.”

She gently but firmly tugged at Suq's legs again, wrapping her arms around both his legs at the thighs, “Have you gained weight recently? I believe you are approximately three ounces heavier than the last time I personally measured your weight.”

At his suggestion to try shutting off the conduit, she tried exactly that. Looking about for a control panel, and at the same time slapping the badge above her left breast without looking, “O'Riley to O'Connell, we have a situation in the Warp Core, Deck Six, Vector Two. Lieutenant Junior Grade Suq has become trapped inside a burst plasma conduit, and it is on the verge of an explosion, with the man right on top of it. All safeties have been bypassed, and the final feature might attempt to close, cutting Suq in half. Can the conduit be shunted into another valve?” She tapped the nearby console, calling up schematics for all the pipelines, “There is an unused plasma feed going through to line four-oh-five, and it leads to Deck Seven. I think I can safely siphon the feed momentarily there if you would override the ablative shielding and keep Suq from being dismembered.”

She looked at Suq's rump and allowed a moment of anguish to leak into her words, “If I were atomized, Suq, at least I will be with Tristan,” she gritted her teeth and held back a tear, not even realizing she had addressed the late captain by his first name, and possibly confirming the relationship she shared with the man over the last three years. They even had plans when they found their way back, to Starbase 84. He was going to retire, follow her back to Mariposa. They were...it was no matter now. He was gone, she lingered. And letting her emotions slip did nobody any good. Suq needed her full attention. “do not talk about atomization. We are living now, and we must aim to stay that way. Besides, where would engineering be if you are gone? I am transferring the plasma feed now.”

She pressed her combadge again, “O'Connell, sir, I am siphoning the feed, stand by.”

She looked at Suq again, or his rear anyway, “Your plan is of sound logic. Now let us try to get you out.” She began pulling at his legs again. She could hear the sound like a rushing wave as the plasma was vented through an alternate feed.

[ Commander Trent | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @Brutus

Twin columns of light appeared at the Bridge's aft end, and as soon as they resolved themselves into the XO and Chief Operations Officer the tall Commander turned instantly towards Lieutenant Yukimura just as his ears were registering a stammering voice on a comms channel.  However, the man he'd taken on as his aide in addition to Lieutenant Commander Dewitt as his adjutant, even in a short time had become accustomed to the XO and walked up to him and handed him a headset, and started speaking quietly, and swiftly relayed the information at hand. 

Apparently, the initial damage control survey had missed an armed torpedo wedged into a Jefferies tube.  And that alone was a crisis in its own right.  But a matter at hand that was even worse was this Crewman Fok out in one of the work pods, threatening to detonate pockets of syrillium gas in the immediate vicinity of the ship unless the Captain resigned hir command and passed it on to Morali of all people. 

So far as the Commander had been initially concerned, the Devoted had been little more than a minor annoyance that hadn't really impacted ship's operations.  But since one of them murdered Edena Rez, things had gotten out of hand.  And now they were threatening to destroy the ship lest their demands were met. 

Once Fok was done, he closed the channel, stating he would grant the Captain time to make the arrangements. 

Only then did Trent speak beyond quiet acknowledgements of what Yukimura had been telling him.  "Captain, we need to get a mass driver out there, and a firing solution on that work bee.  If Fok is going to act on his threat, we need to stop him, without risking igniting the gas ourselves.  And we need Morali up here."

[ Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Bridge | Deck 1 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: 
[Show/Hide]
One minute the holodeck grid was pulsing a bight yellow that dampened the black walls. The next thing she knew, bright, sparkling motes of pure energy surrounded her as she felt her whole body seize up for a moment. There was just that slight, subtle shift in air pressure, and then the focusing beam released her and Natalie's vision refocused on the deeper blue glow of the Mission Ops table. They'd beamed right out of the Holodeck and onto the bridge proper, Cmdr. Trent deeming the alert a reasonable necessity for site-to-site transport.

The timing could have been far better, of course. Natalie was still something of a visual wreck, and took a moment, while she caught her bearings, to fix her hair into something professional looking. She raked her fingers through her waves, pulled the mess into a tight tail at the base of her skull, and pressed her hands to her cheeks, briefly. A quick glance in the reflective surface of an empty auxiliary console was sufficient to confirm that she was as about as well put together as she was going to get in the short amount of time she had. They weren't at red alert, so Natalie made no move to go to Ops until after the conversation over the comms cut off.

Instead she took the time to listen in - professional snooping  - and turned back to the Master Display table. Sure enough, there was a flashing indicator to note the un-detonated torpedo, and floating between the vectors was a tiny indicator for the worker bee. The holographic representation painted a nasty picture indeed of what the crew was going to be dealing with. Rubbing her finger against her chin, Natalie felt her frown deepen.

Only when the comms cut off and Trent began to speak did she straighten the hem of her skirt and make her way past the table, pausing at the threshold between Mission Ops and the wider bridge, turning her head back to stare blatantly at the first officer. Her brow furrowed for a moment, before giving a small nod.

"In theory, the impact from a mass driver would not ignite the gasses in the nebula," she concurred, for what her opinion was worth at the moment. The concept of just shooting the man out of the sky didn't exactly sit easy on her conscious. Then again, holding the whole damn ship hostage didn't sit well with her either. Swatting crew down like flies in the corridor didn't sit well.

None of this sat well with her.

With that in mind she sashayed down past the tactical station and moved in to relieve her Orion Assistant. Despite all of Trent's coaching in the past half hour or so, the fact remains that, in this state of alert, her place was behind the console unless, and until the Captain or XO ordered her elsewhere. As such, she settled down, in front of and to the right of Captain Ives seat, Natalie gestured to Zeshyr, having the woman pause and lean down. She whispered a few orders and the green skinned girl gave a tense nod before heading for the lift. From there, it was a quick reset of the console to her preferences, calling up a stored procedure to do just that, and Natalie then began compiling all the data she could on the situation.

[ William Robert “Billy Bob” O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy  ]  Atten:  Triage

Why was it so gorram hard to get ahold of the bridge?  Were they dealing with another emergency or something?  It seemed like an eternity, but in reality O’Connell had less than ten seconds to wait.

"This is Ives, Lieutenant Commander Marquez will contact you immediately," Captain Ives’ female voice assured him.

“Aye-aye Ma’am, standing by,” Master Chief O’Connell acknowledged.  He glanced over his shoulder to look at Song; hard at work, but then a second female voice came over the comm system and broke his train of thought.

"O'Riley to O'Connell, we have a situation in the Warp Core, Deck Six, Vector Two. Lieutenant Junior Grade Suq has become trapped inside a burst plasma conduit, and it is on the verge of an explosion, with the man right on top of it. All safeties have been bypassed, and the final feature might attempt to close, cutting Suq in half. Can the conduit be shunted into another valve?"

“Say Whut?” Billy Bob sputtered.  O’Connell thought he had an idea what that second emergency was.  “Ah mean, Ah copy O’Riley, stand by,” he acknowledged.  “Dang it Suq, what kinda trouble you in now?” he muttered to himself as he turned and jogged back to the master systems display table to check the schematics for Deck Six.  “Hang on O’Reilly, Ah’m goin’ threw th’ Theurgy’s plans now!” 

O’Reilly was already one step ahead of him. "There is an unused plasma feed going through to line four-oh-five, and it leads to Deck Seven. I think I can safely siphon the feed momentarily there if you would override the ablative shielding and keep Suq from being dismembered."

“Ah read yuh O’Riley,”  he called back.  “You jest hang on an’ don’t touch nothin’ ‘til Ah give you th’ okay!”  He turned around and called out to his propulsion chief regardless of the probable damage the volume of his voice was doing to Morgan Song’s eardrums.  “Manfredi!” he barked in his deafening ‘chief voice’.  “Ah need yew t’ override th' emergency conduit hatches in in Jeffries tube B0636343!  If th’ ablative shielding seals it off it’ll cut Mister Xan in half!  In the meantime prepare conduit line four-oh-five to receive plamsa!  That’s where we’re redirecting the conduit flow, yuh get me?  Now move lahk you’ve gotta purpose!”  

"Aye-aye Master Chief!" the coffee colored propulsion chief shouted back before turning to a group of gold collared enlisted men.  O'Connell could hear the orders being given but he could see the men working at their stations.  Finally Manfredi turned away from his team and shouted back to O’Connell.  "Emergency conduit hatches have been overridden, we’re ready to go Master Chief!" 

“Good work!” O’Connell shouted back before turning away and tapping his combage.  “We’re ready on our end O’Riley, anytime you’re able!” 

"O'Connell, sir, I am siphoning the feed, stand by." O’Riley replied. 

Now there was nothing else for Billy Bob to do but pray.

[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Vector 02 Warp Core | Deck 06 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triage

Sinead was strong. Of course, everyone in Starfleet had to have a level of strength, but when you're Starfleet, you sometimes forget about those sort of things. It isn't until you've got someone trying to pull you out of a cramped tube, nearly dislodging your shoulder in the process that you really appreciate the strength of people around you. That was the sort of strength Sinead had, a reminding sort of strength. She reminded Suq that she could probably kill him if she was inclined.

“I hope I have.” He admitted, when she commented on his weight, “The weight-gain program sickbay had me on—that's my shoulder!” He cried out as it twisted in a way that shoulders were not meant to twist. Relief washed over him when she let go, and sadness soon after. He could hear in her voice, and in how she used his first name, that she missed him. He could relate, though maybe, not as much as her. Maybe they should...talk? Later, of course.
“Nobody's getting atomized. Or sliced in half.” He tried to console her, knowing that he had no right to promise either outcome. His ears were filled with the sound of plasma rushing in another direction, meaning Billy Bob and Sinead has successfully begun siphoning the plasma away. He thought he could feel the metal cooling under his skin, and he sighed in relief.
“It's working! It--”

But his voice stopped. Sinead had a good hold of his leg and began pulling again, but he heard a new noise. One that he should not be hearing. A whistle, high pitched and yet faint, it reminded him of a dog whistle. He's heard it only a few times before, when he was very, very close to a microfracture in a plasma conduit.
“She's cracked, get back Sin!” He shouted. It was a warning, but not a fearful one, despite the situation. Just outside the bend of the tube, near one of Suq's legs, the metal began to weaken substantially and glow with the sudden heat. In just a matter of seconds, the plasma flame bursting out from the microfracture in the conduit would melt through the metal and cause a jet of plasma to spray between the two.

He had to scramble, and he did not like the direction he had to scramble in. Instead of going backwards, away from the hot and bulging metal, he was pulling himself towards it. He had himself curled up uncomfortably, just on the incline of the bulge, and it burned. His uniform offered him maybe a quick second of protection as he scrambled over the swell, pulling the rest of his body over the bulge. He had to twist his spine and hips just wrong and when his hands touched the top of the bulge to pull himself forward, it hurt. It smelt like—no, he wouldn't think about what it smelt like.

“Pressure exchange, must've turned the microfracture into a not-so-micro fracture.” He called out, but he was no longer sure if Sinead could hear him. To Suq, the sound of rushing plasma was very loud, but he realized Sinead might not be able to hear those upper frequencies that Efrosians can. “Can you hear me down there? Are you okay?”
He spoke as he winced in pain, hoping it didn't show in his voice. He was over the swelled metal, he felt his hands and his thighs sting. If he thought about it too long, fear would rise up and take over him, and he'd do something stupid again, like pull himself through another damaged tube. No, he had to keep control, for himself, for Sinead...

“Okay, I'm okay Sinead, I just need to know you are.”

[ Lt. Commander Leon "Striker" Marquez | Bridge | USS Theurgy ]
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After his speech earlier that morning, Lieutenant Commander Marquez had systematically visited some of Vector 01's vital decks to evaluate what variables he had to work with. He was housed here, but there was more to see than he could bother anyone else for a tour for, so he switched seats with Lieutenant JG Arisaka as he made his initial evaluation, which was as much for his own sake as well as those he commanded; he wanted them to see he was one of them and wanted to personally encourage them to do their best without interrupting their at-hand missions. Content with what he learned on his inspection, he casually looked around every corner, somewhat on the hunt for potential Devoted.

A report in the Torpedo bay by the new chief had given Marquez the opportunity to visit Vector 02 to read about his new torpedo arsenal. Marquez internally grinned when LtJg Arisaka gave him a brief summary on the subject before informing Marquez that the incumbent warrant officer in charge of torpedo control had been recently replaced, so the Chief Tactical officer took the time to talk to the new WO, Hirrentz.

Striker hitched a ride on the first shuttlecraft to the second Vector, taking in the impressive signt of the "Sword"; the vector alone was an impressive vessel in and of itself, particularly given its strike carrier heritage. Over a decade ago, Striker would've loved to have been a Runabout pilot on one of these, but his helmsman days were over, even if he'd assimilated his callsign into his official name registry.

During the ride over, he didn't announce himself until he'd found the section tactical office, identifying Hirrentz, who was hurriedly busy issuing orders to the department noncoms.

"Move it, people, you heard the CTO! Forth! Onward! And secure the warheads, we don't want any of these cult of whackos getting ahold of the ordnance-- what are you doing, new guy, there's a situation here, grab a toolkit or get the hell outta here."

Marquez' back was turned as he faced a wall panel with a readout of the worker bees and shuttlepods between the vectors. When called out, he casually turned around,"Sorry." Marquez turned around to face the Warrant Officer. "I'm new here." His accent was identifiable at once. Hirrentz tried to compose himself and apologize, but Marquez instead offered handshake and received a quick one. "I'm Striker Marquez, Chief Tac. You're doing a good job, Mister Hirrentz, and time is currency. You'll find I'm a greedy sum'bitch in that regard-- but I share with everone."

"Aye sir, how can I help you." Hirrentz stifled a chuckle at his new boss's blunt sense of humor, but was all business.

"From what I gather about these torpedoes, they may be vulnerable to sabotage or theft. In case you haven't been informed, we've received multiple reports of mutineers loyal to Lieutenant Morali. They're cultists, so they can't be reasoned with. I don't know if you've ever taken a counter-terrorist course, but please understand that ordnance safety is a top priority during threats like this. The opposing force might have an endgame to spite our attempts to stop them." Marquez was neutral but clear, he knew this was Hirrentz's first job on the assignment, but had to act in the ship's interest. "Report anything out of the ordinary immediately: Suspicious crew, unauthorized access, even vandalism-- cultists love graffiti."

"Understood, sir." The Warrant officer affirmed-- when just then, there was a sudden rocking of the vessel with the faint sound of what could only be the audible equivalent of a thunderclap.

"What the hell!?" Marquez at once got to a monitor and reviewed the external sensors, seeing only the aftermath of some sort of detonation and a fluidic mass of energy blanketing the ship. A torpedo detonation? Striker rewound the footage and noticed an explosion in the nebula and magnified as effects of the detonation seemed to spread a cloud over Vector 01; he grimaced at the thought of several vulnerable crewmates, some of them likely to be Resolve survivors out there, and more than that, if the explosion had been detected by any of their pursuers.... but the next minute happened more suddenly than he expected.

The Yellow Alert had been activated, and the alarms in the office went off. "Hirrentz. There's no time, just get me your torpedo reports; I gotta rule out this was one of ours-- if it -was- a cultist, this may have been to get our attention." Striker stated while the Warrant officer got to work at once, producing the most updated information about the Theurgy torpedo manifest and report. Still witnessing the explosion from the ship's external sensors, Marquez nodded when the ranking Torpedo officer provided him with the padd at the same instance the ship's computer summoned him.

[Lieutenant Commander Marquez,] said the ship's A.I. in a disembodied voice on the intercom, [Captain Ives has requested your presence on the Main Bridge.]

Marquez reactively responded, [Acknowledged, Computer. Lock onto my location and energize when ready.] Marquez concluded his observation, tucked his padd into his arm, adding "Carry on, Warrant Officer." before he pinged Thea on his combadge.

[Acknowledged, please stand by,] replied the A.I. [Transporter protocol initiated. Establishing transporter lock. Energising.] The transporter beam hummed a high pitch as the transporter beam collected the Chief Tactical Officer out of Vector 02 to the area outside Vector 01's second deck, from the indicator outside the nearby turbolift, which he strode into as soon as the diamond-like transporter beam subsided.

A moment later, he was in the security checkpoint outside the bridge, passing Arisaka and a Bajoran security officer. He had only a moment to make note of them as they strode past in a hurry, but nodded to Arisaka, adressing the lieutenant by his surname as they passed; Arisaka returned the favor.

Marquez arrived on the bridge and made his way to Captain Ives' side overhearing the statements made to the CO. In the moments following his beam-in, he made a note of Hirrentz's reports (and those of his predecessor, who seemed to be plainly disorganized for someone of such an important role); but the suspicious discrepancies had been highlighted in orange, rather than the otherwise-uniform blue font, making it clear something was afoot. The orange discrepancies were moved squarely to the top of the torpedo manifest. As he feared by looking out on the Tactical display, which replayed the same grizzly blast earlier, there were too many lives out there, and Marquez wondered how many could get beamed out if the explosion had been detected by someone else.

Those people and vessels could be picked off for sport if one of Sankolov's ships appeared-- unless of course Striker were to leap over to his seat and engage if so ordered. For now, the imminent threat stemmed from the voice outside.

"Captain." Marquez reported to her in the tone of a murmur so he too could hear the saboteur's claims. If it were up to him, Striker would've triangulated the speaker and beamed him somewhere to have this discussion where he could get answers instead of threats. Clenching his jaw as he listened to the Devoted representative, there was a part of the CTO who wanted to simply send a statement to the devoted with the tap of a phaser console, but the Padd in his hand contained a more effective weapon against them, or so he hoped: information.

[Lieutenant Commander Marquez, there is a channel for you from Master Chief O'Connell in Engineering.] Marquez responded to the Ship's A.I. by responding from his workstation, opting for an earpiece than a full screen.

"Striker here, what's going on?" Earpieces were practical, and could be just as soon configured to various frequencies and channels. The appreciacion for the device lasted only the moment it took Striker to activate it before O'Connell briefed him.

[ Jaya Thorne (https://orig05.deviantart.net/12e0/f/2016/300/a/4/imgpsh_fullsize_by_auctor_lucan-damefg0.png) | Runabout USS Thames | Above Vector 01 of the Theurgy ] Attn @Auctor Lucan , @Striker N7 , @Doc M. , @CanadianVet , @Jm Von Cat , @Brutus , @MasterRat
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Jaya felt like hell.  She attributed this to the copious amounts of alcohol she'd imbibed the evening prior, but she rarely got hangovers.  Even if this was a hangover, her symptoms were all wrong.  Sure, her head felt like it might explode and her eyes kept blurring up on her, but her fingers were all tingly too.. like they were on pins and needles.  That was definitely not normal.  And a hangover usually lasted her a few hours.  This, whatever this was, had been going on since she woke up. 

Actually, now that she was thinking about it, she'd had a headache the night before.  She'd also had a pretty bad concussion.  What had that nurse said about symptoms?  Something like 'come back if you have a headache'? That couldn't possibly be right.  Jaya always had headaches.  She was told it was from frowning too much but she didn't believe it.  Happy people got headaches too, they just chose to suffer alone behind their mask of a smile.  Well, whatever it was that she was supposed to do, Jaya could always ask Thea later.  Right now, there were more important matters to attend to.  Like work.

0800 hours came entirely too soon for Jaya's liking.  Thankfully her shift had been exceedingly dull.  She had been cleared for flight duty as of this morning, and sent to the USS Thames straightaway.  While the repair crews risked their lives walking the surface of the Theurgy to repair the ship, Jaya's job would be to keep them safe by 'vaccuuming' away any sirilium gas pockets that ventured too close.  Technically, what she was doing out there was way more specific than that, but in spirit, she was on space clean-up duty.

But hey, at least she was flying again.

So of course she didn't mention to her CO that she had a headache or her vision was mostly blurry.  Of course she kept it to herself when her fingers began tingling, and then her toes followed suit sometime later.  She didn't want to risk the chance of her wings getting taken away.  She already knew what would happen.  She'd be sent to sickbay, the docs would check her out and send her home with instructions not to work until her symtptoms cleared up.. oh and every few hours Thea or some other medical holo-program would check up on her.  Boring!  She'd rather be out here, flying and doing her part, than stuck inside following some doctor's orders.

As far as runabouts went, the USS Thames wasn't bad.  It was a fairly standard little ship with all the necessary bells and few extra whistles, if any.  And her work could hardly be called work.  Jaya was literally flying at slow impulse around the Theurgy and using the Bussard collectors on her runabout to collect and disperse the gas pockets.  Which meant, to the naked eye she was just flying a ship around that happened to have glowy red bits on it, much like tiny red nacelles.  In reality, the Bussard collectors were expending a tremendous amount of energy to collect the volitile gasses and turn them into useable fuel and resources that would be stored in the holding tanks of the runabout.  Hooray for chemistry doing all the work!

Jaya's shift was a little more than halfway over when the flare burst into life above the Theurgy and swept it's way down her glistening, battle-worn hull.  She hadn't made it to that bit of space yet because there were other pilots out in workbees doing essentially the same thing.  "Shit."  The curse echoed in her cockpit as Jaya sprung into action.  There was nothing she could do about that fireball, but she could fly over and clear the gas pockets in that area.  She was on her way when the first alarming news was heard over the coms.

["Master Chief Kamil here, all ships report towards Vector 01, now. Crewmember Neyah, is in jeopardy. She may be injured and adrift in space. Here's that chance to be a hero.  I'm now reporting to the bridge, over]

She wasn't trying to be a hero.  Jaya was just doing her job.  She hadn't known that a crewman's life was at risk when she headed over initially, but it definitely altered things.  Jaya opened a channel.  "Master Chief Kamil, this is Petty Officer Thorne in the USS Thames.  I am closest to the crewmember's position and already en route.  Recommend that the other ships nearby prioritize gas pockets surrounding crew members on the surface."  Her voice was steady because despite the blood pumping faster through her veins, this was something she'd done a million times before.  Granted, those were simulations and holo programs and this was real life where a woman's life was at stake, but she had trained for this very moment a hundred times over.  That and if she didn't stay calm, her vision would become so blurry that she'd be unable to see.

As Jaya raced to Crewman Neyah's position, another disturbing thing happened.  Her feet went numb.  She tried willing her toes to wiggle within the confines of her shoe and even banging her feet against parts of the ship, but nothing worked.  For all intents and purposes, it was as though everything south of her ankles on both feet no longer existed, or more appropriately, no longer supported any weight.  This wasn't a huge problem, so long as crewman Neyah was able to maneuver herself into the shuttlecraft.  If she needed help, that is where the trouble would arise.  But Jaya couldn't see the crewman, not yet.  All she could see was a hurling ball of fire....

[ Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Warp Core | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]It happened so quickly. One moment, O'Riley was pulling at the Efrosian, and she could hear the elation in his voice, matched by her own relieved smile, not that he could see it, but then...it went so horribly wrong. When he yelled at her to get back, she loosened her grip around his legs for an instant, and the diminutive man took the opportunity to pull himself further into the hole, “SUQ WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?” She reached out frantically to grab his ankles, and as he moved, his motion caused the backs of her fingers to brush against the metal and she cried out, releasing her hold on him completely.

Her fingers burned!

Suq was lying on this and he was going further in. “I can hear you, Suq, I am all right, but you are not.” She paused to listen carefully to what he had to say, and then she frowned, feeling a welling of annoyance borne out of her concern for her friend's well being. He was not making sense with his statement. The heat was probably getting to him. “That is lie, Suq. This conduit is burning, and you are directly on it. I can get you out quickly, but you need to stop going further inside.”

Time was running out for them. She slapped the badge on her breast, “O'Riley to O'Connell, Suq just pulled himself further into the conduit. The pressure exchange exacerbated the fracture of the structure significantly. He is burning!” She couldn't keep the panic quite completely out of her voice, “Can Thea perform a transport? I do not think I can dislodge him without causing greater harm any more.”

She looked at Suq's feet, “I will get you out of there, Suq. Do not die.”

[ William Robert “Billy Bob” O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy  ]  @FollowTomorrow @Triage @Absinthe @MasterRat @Hastata-Nerada

"Striker here, what's going on?"

Stryker?  Who the hell was Stryker?  Why wasn’t Commander Marquez, the chief tactical officer available?  Blissfully unaware of Leon Marquez’ history as a fighter pilot aboard the USS Hornet, Billy Bob assumed that he was speaking to a member of the Resolve’s tactical department who was now serving aboard the Theurgy.  He was technically correct, even if he was totally wrong.

“Well Mister Stryker, we got ourselves an armed torpeda’ stuck in one of our Jeffries tubes that we gotta disarm,” Billy Bob drawled.  “It’s a mark, what is it again Song?” he asked as he looked over petty officer’s shoulder to read the label at the top of the schematics.  “Mark Twenty-five,” he continued.  “Hold on there, Mister Stryker, Ah’m a gonna transfer yuh t’ the feller at th’ scene.   Won’t be two shakes of a lamb’s tail,” he informed him as tapped his combage.  “O’Connell to Sithick, Ah’m patchin’ a feller from th’ tactical department through, with a little luck he kin talk yew through this,” he said before tapping his combage again.  “Okay, Stryker, yew should be talkin’ t’ Mister Sithick.  Good luck, an’ break a leg.” he finished glumly.

He glanced down at Song and clapped a fatherly hand on his shoulder.  “Well, it’s out of yer hands now Mister Song,” he sighed.  “Ah guess yew kin relax.”

At that moment a female voice was heard.  "O'Riley to O'Connell, Suq just pulled himself further into the conduit. The pressure exchange exacerbated the fracture of the structure significantly. He is burning!"

“Understood O’Rielly!” O’Connell yelped before tapping his combadge yet again.  “O’Connell t’ transporter room three!  Kowalski, I need yuh t’ lock on Lieutenant Xan’s combadge and beam him t’ sickbay!”

At that moment a shout was heard across main engineering.  “I’m having a hard time getting a signal,” a male voice replied.  “There’s something shielding him from the internal sensors.”

“The conduit he’s on must be shielded,” Billy Bob muttered.  “Git Thea t’ help you, we gotta git him outta there.”

“Will do,” Kowalski’s masculine voice replied.

“All right, everybody freeze!” a male voice cried from the warp core.  O’Connell turned to see two young men in gold collared uniforms standing at the warp monitoring station, the workstation closest to the warp core.  One of them was Petty Officer Sirch Karmak of Andoria, but the other fellow took a second for Billy Bob to recognize.  It was Ensign Sean McGee, an engineer from the Resolve who was as human as Billy Boby was.

“Karmak, Ah say, Karmak, jest whut in Sam Hill do yuh think yore doin’?”  O’Connell demanded.  “And McGee, yer supposed t’ be part ‘a Suq’s team!  Yer not even suppose ta be in Vector Three at all!  Whut the hell do yuh think you’re doin’ here?” 

”I’m uh, putting in some overtime,” McGee muttered weakly.

“Mister McGee, don’t make me angry,”  O’Connell warned him coldly as he marched in the direction of the warp monitoring station.  “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” 

“Belay that Master Chief!” the young Andorian shouted back as he stepped aside to reveal that a disk shaped metallic device that appeared to have the circumference of a dinner plate was sticking to the warp core.  “We got a plasma charge attached to the warp core and unless Captain Ives relinquishes control of this ship to Sarresh Morali we all go up together!  And there’s no point shooting us, because McGee has got it on a dead man switch!”

Billy Bob froze in his tracks.  “Now hold on boys,” he drawled as his face lost most of its color and he raised his placating hands before him in a belaying gesture.  “Y’all don’t want t’ do anythin’ rash now…” 

”Oh yes we do!” McGee called out as he stepped away from Karmak and held up his fist to reveal the dead man switch.  ”For starters, you can contact the nearest Starbase and negotiate your surrender!”

“McGee, what are you doing?” the Andorian bawled.

”I’m getting out of this nuthouse!” the ensign retorted.  ”This farce has gone on long enough and I’m not having any more of it!  Starfleet Command being taken over by parasites?  A time traveler from the future turning into a god?  Every single person on this ship is completely insane and I want no part of it!  We didn’t survive three years out there just to betray the Federation and everything it stands for!  I want to go home!  Now get away from me you nutcase!  I only agreed to help you because when I came aboard you crazies beamed my phaser away!  Now that we’ve attached the explosives, I don’t need you anymore!  Get away from me, right now!”

“ I got, I say I got t’ say, this boy is as fidgety as a bubble dancer with a slow leak," Billy Bob muttered.

---

[ Doctor  Maya (http://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Dr._Maya) | USS Theurgy | Jefferies Tube 213166AA | Vector 02 ] Attn:  @Kaligos

In the meantime, in a cramped and darkened service hallway on Vector Two, a short figure in an environmental suit materialized in a shower of sparks.  Lieutenant (junior grade) Maya of Vulcan, M.D. checked the equipment she brought with her before she started in the direction of the great behemoth wearing what appeared to be a Starfleet uniform hunched over a torpedo casing in a damaged section of the Jeffries Tube.  The heads up display in her helmet identified the creature as Petty Officer Sithick, or at least something that wore Petty Officer Sithick’s combage.  A gloved hand tapped the combadge that was permanently attached to her suit.  “Maya to sickbay, I am in Jefferies Tubes 213166AA.  I see the patient and am heading towards him now.”  She said as she moved closer to the creature that was apparently some kind of reptilian hulk whose scaly clawed feet were exposed to the deck.  It was unwise to surprise someone tinkering with the insides of a photon torpedo, so she revealed her presence immediately.  “Petty Officer Sithick, I am Doctor Maya, I am here to help you,” she announced as she approached him. 

---

OOC:  I added Kowalski’s line about interference so FollowTommorow and Triage could decide exactly how and when Suq gets rescued.   I decided that the odds of a Resolve officer making an ultimatum at the same time the Devoted were was astronomical but then I realized that since the Resolve officers had their weapons beamed away meant that they wouldn’t have access to weapons or explosives and would need help obtaining them.   McGee just piggybacked his act of desperation onto the Devoted’s act of terrorism and is making his play now because this is the only time he can.

[ Captain Ives (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Captain_Jien_Ives) | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]With her oaken eyes remaining on the tactical display hologram in front of the Ops and CONN stations, Jien heard Marquez on her right side, establishing communications with Engineering. She also heard Trent and Stark, suggesting that a mass driver weapon wouldn't ignite the gas. Indeed, it could be used to neutralise the threat that the Devoted posed to the ship.

Instinctively, she wanted to dismiss the option, knowing what kind of repercussions it might have for crew morale and the chain of command if she would condone such measures. Still, the Devoted were not giving her any options. She liked to think that the majority would understand the situation, but she did not know enough about those new in her crew. Regardless who would replace her, there would be some who would think she'd do anything to keep her captaincy instead of acquiescing to the demand of her stepping down.

Using her armrest, she was playing the recording of the blast several times, rewinding and repeating the display - the shuttles moving backwards and then normally once more. Her eyes were trained on the area above Vector 01 as she pursed her lips. "Let's hope it won't come to that," she said quietly, then turned her head a little towards Yukimura behind her. "Mission Ops, do we have any wolves in the air, and how far out are they?"

"Five minutes, ma'am, at emergency warp speed. Two Valravn fighters." He made the addendum since they had mass drivers as standard armament.

"Order them back here," she said, then she raised her eyes. "Thea, do we have anyone from security on the hull of Vector 01?"

[Yes, Captain. A single officer. Petty Officer Varder is our there with Lieutenant Arisaka. They just cleared the airlock.]

"Still no Transporter lock on anything out there?"

[Negative, the detonation of the sirillium gas is still causing too much interference.]

"Can you beam something out?"

[Yes, Captain.]

"Then I want you to coordinate with the Armory and have an Accipiter rifle beamed out to Petty Officer Varder, and if he's not had any training with it, I want someone from Security to talk him through it. He has no designated target yet, however, and must stand by for my command. I repeat, only on my order may he open fire."

[Acknowledged, Captain.]

Jien would take the full responsibility of giving such an order. "Captain Ives to all shuttles," she said next, opening a channel to the all the auxiliary crafts out there, suspecting that some of the Devoted might hear her too. "Weapons hold. Do not open fire under any circumstances. If you do, you may ignite more of the gas. Take care of the wounded." Having said this, she rose from her chair and stepped forward, coming to stand behind Stark's right shoulder as she watched the holographic image of Vector 01 at the moment of the gas detonating. She looked towards where Work-bee 09 were at... and then towards one of the Runabouts.

"Stark, check the sensor log. Immediately prior to the blast, was there any spike in nadion particles in that area?" She said this as she leaned down beside her quite young Chief of Operation, pointing towards the holographic image. If there was, Stark would be able to confirm that it was not the work-bee with the Devoted that ignited the gas... but the Runabout USS Tigris.

Then, it was only a matter of verifying who was aboard it with the duty roster, and they would know who were the real threat. The young officer in the work-bee was only bait, and it would explain why he sounded so frightened. She turned around to look at Commander Trent. "Brief the inbound Valravn fighters about the situation. Weapons tight until I say otherwise."

[Be advised,] said Thea suddenly, [a request to remove the shielding around a ruptured plasma conduit near my Vector 02 warp core had been issued. While measures have been taken to mitigate the risk, should my conduit rupture, the core is too close to the blast. The request was made in order to extract the two individuals repairing the conduit, Officers Suq and O'Riley. The risk of rupture is lowered, but still currently estimated to 29,453 %. If the core is compromised, the damages to all my Vectors would be catastropical. Should I lover the shielding, Captain?]

Clenching her jaw, Jien knew that if she denied the request, it meant the two Resolve officers at that conduit might be lost. "Stark, evacuate the immediate area and override the hologrid's security protocols. My authorization, Ives-Beta-Two-Niner. Thea, assist directly if needed be. You have full access to the hologrid, and I want forcefields in place immediately. The lives of the officers are, however, the priority for your projection. Understood?"

[Aye, Captain, such a request has already been made. There is also a situation in Main Engineering developing as we speak. Ensign Sean McGee and Petty Officer Sirch Karmak has taken my warp core hostage, threatening to detonate a plasma charge, yet they seem at odds on what their terms are. The Petty Officer is repeating what Crewman Fok has demanded, that you relinquish control of this ship to Sarresh Morali, but Ensign McGee is the one in control of the plasma charge, and he is demanding you contact the nearest Starbase and negotiate our surrender.]

Jien glanced towards Leon Marquez, knowing the Ensign was from the Resolve, but there was no reason to think the new CTO was involved. She knew she should be phased by the dire development, with threats on several fronts, yet after all they had been through, there was only so much surprise left behind the fortifications she'd raised around her heart. "Security to Main Engineering," she ordered via comm, easing her hand open after she'd made it into a white-knuckled fist. "Thea, inform Lieutenant Commander Wenn that he is to deal with this personally, and brief him on the way there."

There was a chirp of acknowledgement, before another voice was heard.

[Doctor Nicander to bridge, Doctor Maya has visual on the engineer.]

"Acknowledged, Doctor. Keep us posted," said Jien quietly and seated herself in her chair, trusting that Marquez would inform them about the development with the torpedo, and that Cinn would give her an accurate assessment of the situation in Main Engineering. As for the Devoted on the Tigris and in the work-bee, she wanted to know that Petty Officer Varder was armed and ready, meaning to use every second of the fifteen minutes she'd got. "Has anyone reached Junior Officer Morali yet? I want him here immediately. Thea, beam him here if he's not on his way already."

[Aye, Captain. Establishing transporter lock.]

The imitation of a heart in her chest beat hard as the seconds passed. Clenching her jaw, Jien watched the tactical display, seeing how someone had already set a timer in the corner of the viewscreen.  Thirteen minutes left.

---

[ Thea | Plasma Conduit Adjacent Auxillary Warp Core | Deck 06 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]Behind Sinead O'Riley's back, Thea materialised in her golden chameleon bodysuit, and she answered her directly instead of using the intercom.

"Negative, the rupture is a security risk and has been shielded - preventing transporter lock," she said in her British accent and stepped past the woman from the Resolve, crouching down as she looked down the conduit. As she spoke, she was raising more layers of forcefields to contain a potential rupture. Briefly, she turned her brown eyes to Junior Lieutenant O'Riley. "He will need medical assistance. Request the EMH while I assist Junior Lieutenant Suq. As soon as he clears the turbolift, his vital signs may need to be stabilised."

Her eyes returned to the sole emitter installed above the hole of the conduit, knowing that it might an inferior projection angle, and that she might not reach Suq. With her uninhibited access, however, she might be able to aid him in his repairs. If only her new mobile emitter had been assembled, then the task ahead of her would be more simple. The emotion chip was feeding fear to her, for the lives of the officers that were evacuating the area, and for the two present ones. She feared for herself too, for what might happen to her Vector, but her projection was not at risk. It was the sole advantage of not using her mobile emitter, not risking having a second one destroyed.

"I'm going down there, please stand ready to extract him, Junior Lieutenant O'Riley," she said, and without futher a due, she dropped into the conduit - her projection made by the overhead emitter as she vanished into the dim light. Once down, she looked around, getting visual on the Efrosian officer, and called out to him.

"Suq-Reylin-Efreya Xan, I am under orders by Captain Ives to extract you. Forcefields have been raised to contain the rupture, and more will be up as soon as you are out. Retract your movements to me, and I will aid you. There is nothing more you can do here. Please, if you remain, you will not survive."

If there was... she was not sure she could help him given the limited angle of the emitter over the conduit.

---

OOC: Here goes:

@Arista , Wenn Cinn is ordered to Main Engineering to deal with the mismatched officers by the warp core's main duty station. Ejek could be asked to come along as well by Cinn, since she might reach through to Resolve officer Sean McGee?

@SummerDawn , if you read above, you will see that Ryuan Sel has orders relayed to her by Thea, where she needs load a battery into an Accipiter in the Armory and watch it being transported out to the hull by Thea. She also asked by Ives, via Thea, to instruct Petty Officer Varder Ridun how to use the weapon, especially the mass driver firing mode. I figure you might only need to post once in this thread, but its a great way for Sel to aid in the current situation, right?

@Jm Von Cat , you post after SummerDawn, getting the Accipiter and the instructions, but not much more in terms of briefing, so use Arisaka if you need to coordinate communication with the bridge or with Thea as you see fit. Does that work?

@Kaligos , if Hi'Jak is on the USS Thames with Jaya Thorne, he might see Rihen Neyah tumbling through space through a viewscreeen. She is flailing, her suit is on fire, and there is only a small airlock on the side of the Thames runabout if they are to catch her with it. Bear in mind, however, that if there is air added to the airlock after she is caught, not only will the burning pockets of air in her suit flare up, but her oxygen supply might detonate as well - killing everyone on the Thames. Let @Even Angels Cry  do the fancy piloting after your post, before she is inside the airlock, if that is what you decide to do. There might, however, be more solutions than the airlock. :) Oh, and remember that you are up with Sithick as well.

[MCPO Nolak Kamil | Outer Hull | USS Theurgy | Vector 03 ]  Attn:  Even Angels Cry

The oxygen warning light indicating his O2 tanks were low in his EVA suit had been on for a while now prior to the explosion, began to flash. He’d had lollygagged a bit too long working on repairs. Now with a crisis at hand with the crate filled with repair tools along with of him, he had to slowly walk across the outer hull of Vector 03 heading towards the nearest airlock his eyes rarely leaving Vector 01 looming above.  He while he scanned the surrounding space around him everything was still a bit too far to focus on the whereabouts of Ensign Neyah adrift in space, but he did see the much larger runabout as it did its standard routine gas clearing run.

He was about to open a channel to that runabout when his own communication com sprang to life, “Master Chief Kamil, this is Petty Officer Thorne in the USS Thames. I am closest to the crewmember’s position and already en route. Recommend that the other ships prioritize gas pockets surrounding crew members on the surface.”

Nolak Kalmil smiled to himself as he responded, “Excellent news Petty Officer Throne, focus your attention solely on rescue of the crew member if possible. However, also be on the lookout for the renegade Work-Bee that may have been the cause of this explosion. Don’t engage the craft with your conventional weapon platform, because of the nature of this Nebula. If you do get a sensor lock on the craft relay the information to the Bridge and continue from there. I’m running out of oxygen and heading towards the airlock. Stay safe up there PO Thorne. Over and out.”

He closed the channel to the runabout, and then opened a channel to all monitoring ships. “Chief Kamil here, USS Thames is focusing on the endangered crewmember. The rest of you continue to do your gas sweeps and minimize the danger around Vector 01. Good work guys and stay safe. Over.”

The warning light for his CO2 levels turned on as soon as he closed the channel to the surrounding ships. Damnit I thought I had more time, he thought to himself as he continue towards the airlock still some distance away.

[ PO2 Sithick |  | USS Theurgy | Jefferies Tubes 213166AA | Vector 02 ] Attn:  @Doc M. @FollowTomorrow @Triage @Absinthe @MasterRat @Hastata-Nerada
[Show/Hide]
Sithick had done his first visual inspection, and then the second. All the while he had been noticing just how much heat was being emitted from the lodged torpedo. He had found the cracks along the casing where the warmth and radiation was coming from the small cracks at the head of the torpedo. His first visual inspection had been to confirm that he was in fact dealing with a photon torpedo, the second was to see if there was anyway to remove the casing without using a cutting tool.

He didn't want to use a cutting tool to crack this thing open for fear of cutting too deep and causing an explosion aboard the ship. So finding the lines where he could try and get into the Torpedo took a moment. Working his claws along the thin lines and cracks he was able to remove the casing slowly one flake at a time as he cracked it around the outside edges, like one would peel away an egg, before there was a loud split and the two sides cracked open.

His celebration was short lived as he gently lifted the he casing away, and put it aside, as he was hit with a wave of heat, and nausia, his tricorder let out a beep and then died. Oh that's not good. Petty officer song's voice came in over the radio.

"If you can remove the casing there should be a grey wire near the primary firing sequencer, if you start by cutting that it should disable the connection between-"He paused for a moment wanting the full instructions, and was rewarded for his patience.

"Wait, wait, WAIT, not that wire!"

"Not that wire, the blue wire, blue!"

"That should disconnect the ODN relays that it uses to assess targeting information... I think..."

Sithick blinked as he thought about it. His own ordinence training was far too away in the back of his mind. Despite having helped in the development of new weapons for the Federation he was a little lost on the older photon torpedo. He sort of wished that this one of the valkyries micro torpedo's both because he was more familiar wth it, and he could have also kicked that out into space.

Sithick did his part to disconect the wire, and then pause as he examined what happened next. "Sithick to Song, I have disconnected the wire, and now I have a blinking orange light. Is the blinking light good or bad?"

He had to admire his com badge, his tricorder was fried, but his com badge and translator were both still working. He himself however was getting hot under the collar, normally outside tempatures didn't affect him too much, due to him being cold blooded, but this was starting to feel like being boiled alive.

When sithick heard a voice he turned towards it. He had ordered forcefields put around this thing so that he could avoid destroying the ship if he messed up, however now he had a doctor, he was glad that the doctor was small though as he needed to fit himself this torpedo, and her into this room. He was less pleased that it was a woman, and a little pang of regret in his stomach made him wish it had been Lahkesis. Still a vulcan would do fine.

"Greetings doctor,  I advise standing back, this torpedo is still armed, and dangerous." As he spoke he moved towards her.

"This is emmiting deadly radiation, and hot, I suggest monitoring the situation from a distance." He used the the junction to turn around in the jefferies tube his face coming around to face hers. Most would have described him as monsterious in appearance, and in the small dark passage of the jefferies tube it was even more so, his yellow eyes practically glowed in the dark his green scales and sharp teeth glinting. He moved closer to Maya. Offering her one of his long arms, that ended in three rather viscious looking claws. "Please vaccinate, and then monitor my vitals I will need someone to pull me out if the radiation spikes past the point that transporters are inoperable."

~~~

OOC: Post with Jack at later time Sithick's post was large enough.

[ Doctor  Maya (http://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Dr._Maya) | USS Theurgy | Jefferies Tube 213166AA | Vector 02 ] Attn:  @Kaligos

“Very well,” she said as she handed Sithick a pair of thick oversized goggles.  “Put those on and extend your hands please,” she added as she pulled out her hypo and adjusted the setting so that it could administer medication not just through his uniform, but through his incredibly thick skin.  She pressed the hypo against his wrist and it made an audible hissing sound.  “Please place these on your hands,” she said after she put her hypo back into her medical pouch and she handed him a pair of oversize gloves of dull metallic color.   She then removed the bulky package that she had strapped to her back.  She unrolled it and revealed that it was some kind of oversized vest that was the same color as the protective gloves she had given him. “This will protect your torso,” she informed the Gorn as she handed it to him.  “I have a spray that will protect your face,” she added as she removed a canister from her belt.  “It will eliminate the necessity of your wearing a mask.”

---

OOC:  Maya is providing the basic minimum for safety gear when it comes to working with radioactive materials.  She is in an EV suit but poor Sithick is practically naked!

[ Ryuan Sel (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Ryuan_Sel) | Security Center (Armory) | Vector 2 | Deck 7 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Jm Von Cat

[Then I want you to coordinate with the Armory and have an Accipiter rifle beamed out to Petty Officer Varder, and if he's not had any training with it, I want someone from Security to talk him through it. He has no designated target yet, however, and must stand by for my command. I repeat, only on my order may he open fire.]

Down in the armory, one of the most secure places on the ship aside from the bridge, the drama playing out around the ship and outside was one more of watching and monitoring using the display that she'd installed on the wall. Mistress-at-arms was one of the less exciting duty stations on the ship, Sel rarely if ever was assigned to escort VIPs, patrol the ship, or generally put herself in harms way, but it was still important in the grand scheme as her lockers, this room, contained the single greatest concentration of handheld firepower on the ship. This was what Sel guarded, shepherded, and generally babied every day. Without these weapons, her comrades in Security could not fight the good fight on behalf of the ship. And that was what Sel had sworn her life to protect, and in spare moments for training, practiced and planned for potential breaches of the weapons lockdown area. But in moments like this, she would just watch and wait.

So it was the message from the Captain, relayed directly via Thea to her, that changed up the pace of the afternoon. "Understood." she responded back through the comms. So the captain wanted that weapon (http://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=The_Accipiter) readied. Given the power of the Accipiter, she wondered what he had planned that needed such a powerful weapon brought out of storage. Orders were orders and while it would take a few minutes to prep the weapon for Varder, she had some time to mentally go over procedures for use, making sure that she could give him the rundown on the use of the weapon.

The weapon itself was actually two weapons, both an energy based weapon designed primarily for disabling shielding, and a kinetic energy weapon that could effectively damage anything short of a heavily armored target, most Federation equipment and facilities were not so armored. In tests she'd run on the holodeck, basically simulations as she couldn't risk discharging the weapon, the device could at full power, push a kinetic energy round with enough force to penetrate the hull of a starship, three inches of duranium and various alloys melting and spraying through like molten shrapnel in the process.

Aiming the weapon was easy enough, the tetryon discharge coils had aiming logic built in much like the phasers did so even slight off aims wouldn't prevent the target from being hit. The railgun component however, did not have the same aiming subsystem but given it's apparent intended use, that was not really a concern, it's targets weren't fast moving.

Keying her code into the locker, Sel pulled the weapon off it's rack and set it down on the table, prepping the weapon for Varder.
---

@Jm Von Cat Feel free to jump in at this point and receive the weapon via transporter.

[ Lt. JG Hi'Jak | Runabout USS Thames | Above Vector 01 of the Theurgy ] Attn: @Even Angels Cry & @Auctor Lucan
[Show/Hide]
Jack leaned back in the cockpit of the Thames. His enviromental suit was partly off with the helmet between his legs. His punshment was to be a lackey for the engineering department. Ever since he had stepped out of Trent's office with a confused understanding of the man he had been running tasks, and when the Thames had started to act as a transport he had climmed aboard to get taxi'd.

It wasn't all bad his company was one of the cutest pilots he had seen in a while, though she seemed to be nursing a headache, because despite his prying he had only managed to get her name, rank, and a few basic questions out of her. He wasn't exactly looking for a repeat of yesterday and his own head would probably prevent him from taking a romantic partner for a little while, but the girl was charming to look at.

When the sky ahead of them lit up like fireworks he blinked. Hearing that someone was in danger he got that look of 'okay what can we do to help' and when he realized that it was to be suspended in Zero G, well he wasn't going to let someone die but it was on his list of things that he could very easily complain about.

"Can you get us to the woman?" He said getting his environmental suit on. "Here's what we do, You fly us as close as possible, I step outside and grab her. Bring her into the decompressed airlock, shove the burning parts back into space, Compress the chamber and then we revive her after exposure to space."

When he lined up the tasks needed to accomplish the task it almost sounded easy,  but things like this never were. A lot could go wrong when someone talked about swapping out their air supply in the cold midst of space.

[ William Robert “Billy Bob” O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy  ]  Atten:  FollowTommorrow

Billy Bob O’Connell wiped the sweat off his forehead as he tried to process what had happened.  Why didn’t things ever run smooth?  

“Dammit, McGee, what about the cause?” Petty Officer Sirch Karmak of Andoria bawled.

”What about it?” Ensign Sean McGee, formerly a propulsion officer aboard the USS Resolve retorted.  ”Did you think for one moment I believed some guy I never heard of was the chosen one?  You’re all crazy, every damn one of you!”

Somehow the cult worshipping Sarresh Moralli calling themselves the Devoted had gotten ahold of a plasma charge and attach it to the warp core as part of a coordinated effort to convince Captain Ives to relinquish command and let the man from the future call the shots.  To complicate matters, Ensign Sean McGee, one of their newest converts, wasn’t exactly converted and had merely gone along with them in order to find a way off this ship.  Deep down, Billy Bob couldn’t blame him.  After spending three years parsecs from nowhere it was hard to accept that a conspiracy of alien parasites out of H.P. Lovecraft’s nightmares had taken over Starfleet and were plotting against both the United Federation of Planets and all of sentient life as we know it.

What to do?  Not a lot of options.  With that deadman switch in McGee’s hand, any attempt to subdue him or beam him to the brig would interrupt the signal and cause the bomb to go off.  Even if it didn’t destroy the Theurgy, it wouldn’t do anyone in main engineering any good.  And now that Petty Officer Karmak found himself alone and betrayed, he was liable to be a random element in an already volatile situation. 

“Now hold on here gents," Billy Bob drawled as he held his hands up in a placating gesture.  He was halfway between the master diagnostics display table and the warp core, too far away to get physical with either one of them even if that was a good idea.  “Let’s not git ourselves too riled up now…"

”Stow it O’Connell!” the ensign snapped.  ”And Karmak, you back away from me!  Get the hell away from me right now, that’s an order!”

Hesitantly the Andorian complied, but neither Billy Bob nor Ensign McGee liked the look in his eyes.

O’Connell cleared his throat.  “McGee, mind if Ah ask…"

”Call me ‘sir’ Master Chief!” the ensign snapped.  ”I’m an officer, and you will address me as such Mister!  Why the hell is an enlisted man the head of a department anyway?  Lieutenant Xan should be the chief engineer!”

“Yuh got a point there sir," Billy Bob acquiesced as he glanced nervously from McGee to Karmak and back.  “Before we proceed yuh mind if Ah ask yew a li’l question?"

”Make it quick, Master Chief,” McGee growled.

“Yes sir," O’Connell nodded.  “Petty Officer Karmak, is he still part of yer team sir?" he asked delicately as he nodded at the Andorian.  “‘Cause iffen he ain’t Ah’d lahk yore permission t’ remove him from th’ equation afore he does somethin’ rash an’ gits us all blown up now."

”Sure,” McGee nodded as he cast a suspicious glance at this one time partner.  ”I don’t care."

“Thank you sir," O’Connell nodded.

“Say what?” the rogue Andorian protested.

“Yew heard ‘im Karmak; he don’t give two smegs about yuh," the Master Chief drawled as he tapped his combage.  “O’Connell to Transporter Room Five.  Lucas, lock onto Petty Officer Karmak’s combadge and beam him directly to the brig," he called out.  “Ah’ll take full responsibility."

“Aye-Aye Master Chief," the voice of Chief Petty Officer Curt Lucas, formerly of the starship Harbinger replied.  “Locking on him now," the transporter chief reported.

Karmak sputtered in disbelief as his role in the Grand Plan of the Devoted collapsed around his antennae.

“Energize,Chief," O’Connell ordered.

Too late, Petty Officer Karmak’s hand reached for his combadge as a quiet electronic hum was heard and the Andorian vanished in a shower of sparks.

“Okay now Mister McMgee," O’Connell said in a conciliatory manner as he raised his hands so that the palms were facing the ensign.  “Ah’m well aware thet beamin’ yew aout would break th’ signal and detonate the…"

”Step down Master Chief,” McGee ordered.

“Say whut sir?" Billy Bob blinked.

”Step down,” McGee repeated.  ”From now on the engineering department is going to be run by a proper Starfleet officer or I take this filthy pirate ship down right now.  As of now, Lieutenant junior grade Suq-Reylin-Efreya Xan is the chief engineer.  And you better hope that your ship full of crazies didn’t do anything to him and that he’s still in one piece.”

The blood rushed out of O’Connell’s face as he thought of poor Suq trapped by a damaged plasma conduit.  He didn’t know if Suq was breathing, let alone capable of talking McGee down.  Heck, he wasn’t even sure if the addled Efrosian wouldn’t take his ensign’s side.  But it wasn’t like he had a lot of cards to play with.  Sean McGee didn’t trust Billy Bob any more than he’d trust a drunk Klingon with his penis and a pair of scissors. 

“Understood  sir," the master chief gulped.  He tapped his combadge.  “O’Connell to Xan, this is an emergency, please respond," he said weakly.

---

OOC:  It’s possible that FollowTommorrow and I might need to JP the dialogue between Suq and McGee.

[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Vector 02 Warp Core | Deck 06] Attn: @Doc M. @Triage @Auctor Lucan
Sinead was talking. He's pretty sure that was her voice. It sounded like burnt flesh. Wait, no, that's not it—she sounded like Sinead, worried and concerned. He smelt burnt flesh. And he heard a whistle, he was sure of it, but Sinead, she said it was a lie. Did that mean there was no hairpin crack...? But he heard it, he heard burnt flesh—no no no, a whistle, that's what he heard. A whistle, plasma leak, he could hear it clear as day.

Maybe she was right though, and the whistle he heard was something his mind made up. He slept not at all last night, nor the night before, and it wouldn't be the first time that he, in his panic, had began to suffer from illusory sensations. Momentary flashes of light, whispers in the silence, high pitched whistles, the smell of burnt flesh...

”No, don't think. Don't think at all. Thinking is bad.” He thought, staying very still in his cramped, bent up Jeffries tube. His hands and thighs ached. His hips too. It was all so dull and distant though, as if it was happening to another body that he didn't own.
”I won't die Sin. It's going to take more than a plasma leak to kill me.”. He called back, still sounding unafraid. He had many emotions right now, fear was one of them, but if he could ignore the source, he could bury it again.

Now that he was over the bulged metal, he was effectively stuck, and the plasma leak would block the way out. If he listened close, he thought he could hear the whistle coming from right below where his crotch rested a moment ago. Spirits were guiding his hands today, and he was grateful for them. They helped him swallow down the smell, the fear. For a moment, he felt back in control.

"Suq-Reylin-Efreya Xan, I am under orders by Captain Ives to extract you...”

His breath hitched. He knew who this was, just by looking at her. It was the ship. The entire ship, right here in front of him, talking to him and telling him things. She wore engineering gold on the strangest suit he had ever seen. She was terrible, beautiful, all in one, because he knew just how much information the ship had on him at any given moment, and the great power she wielded over every single living individual on this glorified hunk of metal.

He remained in the cramped area, his face draining of blood and leaving it a weird muted brown. He was suddenly very aware of himself, his body. The open, raw flesh across his hands and thighs, his uniform stuck to the new wounds and the sensation made all his nerves scream. But worst of all was the smell, the smell of the dead and dying, he was dying, right here in this tube. The ship would kill him. He was already dead.
“No...” He managed to croak out, before being interrupted by a sound that made his heart jump into his throat.

"O'Connell to Xan, this is an emergency, please respond," He thumped his chest immediately, his eyes would not leave Thea but he would not address her further than that. He regarded her with the same look one would regard a 20 foot long alligator.
“I'm responding, boss." He tried to summon more strength to his voice, but he couldn't. His secondary voice crackled and provided his main voice nothing in the way of support. It was the polar opposite of what his voice sounded like not five seconds earlier. “What do you need of me?”

[ William Robert “Billy Bob” O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten:  FollowTommorrow

“Suq!" Billy Bob gasped.  “Thank Gawd yore still in one piece!  Lissen’ we got a situation here, an’..."

”Boss it’s me!” Ensign McGee called as he tapped his combadge to join in on the conversation.  ”Sean McGee!  Boss this is our chance to get off the pirate ship…”

“Megee’s got a plasma charge attached tuh th’ warp core!" O’Connell interjected.  “He’s threatenin’ t’ detonate it lessin’ we give ourselves up and turn ourselves over at th’ nearest Starbase!"

”Captain Ives stepping down and letting Commander Marquez take command will do!” the ensign interrupted.  “Anything to stop these maniacs and get us back home!”

“Suq, he won’t lissen t’ me!" Billy Bob explained.  “Personally Ah don’t reckon McGee’s taken a shine t’ anyone who ain’t served on th’ Resolve, so it’s up t’ yew Suq.  Ah cal’culate thet yew know ‘im best!"

”Darn right he does!” McGee snapped.  ”I was his propulsion officer; we kept that ship going for three years with everything in the cosmos trying to tear it apart!  Boss, this is our chance to get out of here!”

[ Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Bridge | Deck 1 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: 
[Show/Hide]
Working through the data backlog on her console, Natalie began to bring up the replay of the last few minutes, during the time that she and Cmd. Trent had been down in the holodeck. She wanted a better view of what had occurred to bring them to this point. It was fortuitous that she had, as she felt Captain Ives step right up behind her. She felt the (currently) other woman's hand press down on the back of her seat as the Captain bent forward ever so slightly, clearly directing her words at Natalie. With the comm channel down there was no chance of a devoted hearing - anyone on the bridge at this point, Natalie assumed, was either loyal to Ives, or not stupid enough to make a move. She hoped they weren't that stupid, in any case.

"Stark, check the sensor log. Immediately prior to the blast, was there any spike in nadion particles in that area?"

"Aye aye, Captain," the COps replied, never once letting her eyes drift from the logs already in play. She readjusted the playback point, out before the explosion of gas that swept across the vector. Further back than her original query. Natalie allowed herself to lean forward, pouring over the data, tuning out other conversations on the bridge, while still being aware of the presence of Captain Ives. Now what all is going on here... she started to ponder, before the Captains voice cut through again. She knew that Thea had let out an alert, but focused as she was, Natalie had missed most of it. But with Ives hovering over it, it was impossible to ignore the Captain.

"Stark, evacuate the immediate area and override the hologrid's security protocols. My authorization, Ives-Beta-Two-Niner. Thea, assist directly if needed be. You have full access to the hologrid, and I want force-fields in place immediately. The lives of the officers are, however, the priority for your projection. Understood?"

Oh dear, she thought to herself. The Operations chief opened up a second channel and began ordering evacuation protocols. At the same time, her fingers flew across the surface in front of her. Between her own authorization codes, and the verbally acknowledged code from Captain Ives, she was able to release the safety interlocks for the hologrid. With these barriers removed, Thea's avatar would have full tactile access to assist in the retrieval of Lt. Suq.

"Access restrictions revoked. Thea," Stark murmured, just loud enough for the Captain next to her - and the ships ever present AI - to pick up. "Full access is yours. Godspeed." Another look to confirm that the evacuation protocols had been properly enacted. Satisfied that personnel were out of the immediate threat zone, Natalie resumed her playback and analysis. She saw the cloud of fire wash out over the vector. No i need earlier, she thought, punching in a few commands, pulling it back again. Focusing on the worker bee....nothing. Now that was damned odd.

"Captain," Natalie spoke up again, turning her eyes upward to glance back at the dark haired woman. She kept her voice low, quite low. She figured the conn officer next to her would hear her, and the Captain would as well. Doubtful anyone else would - including any open comm channels.

"There was a spike, ma'am," Natalie confirmed, drawing a line with her finger over the logs. The visual representation on her screen confirmed her initial shock. The pulse did not originate from the worker bee. "Regretfully...the USS Tigris is the guilty party. The runabout triggered the explosion, Captain. Not the worker bee." She frowned, softly adding, "The poor man in that bee is just...bait, sir." It was a lot easier to sympathize with someone thrust into that situation, even if she were personally furious that the Devoted could be so brazen as to attempt to over thrown the Captain.

[ PO1 Varder Ridun & Jonas Arisaka (NPC) | Vector 01 Hull | "Helmet" Exterior | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SummerDawn
[Show/Hide]It seemed like an age, but in reality very little time had passed since Ridun and Jonas had cleared the airlock en'rout to locate and hopefully save an as yet unknown to him crew-member. The brief thought flicked through his head that zero gravity was probably not what the medical staff meant when they said "Light" activities only, he probably would have let out a possibly insane sounding laugh had Jonas not stopped and spoken.

["Change of orders, Captains having a Accipiter Rifle beamed out for you. Stressed that you have no target yet and may only fire on hir order"]

Varder was quick to respond, unconsciously inclining his head towards Arisaka as he spoke. Force of habit, nothing more and not that it particularly mattered. If the man would normally notice there was plenty of reason he might be distracted from such invisible details now. Especially those hidden behind an EVA suit.

["acknowledged, stand by for weapon and hold fire until explicit order"]

The train of previous thought derailed, and vanished into the void as it was quickly replaced by new thoughts surrounding this most recent change, one key thing bugged him, but only for a brief moment before Jonas spoke once more. It seemed rather clear now that he was repeating instruction from someone on the bridge. A deep breath seemed to echo in Ridun's helmet, much to loudly, it seemed there was a lot more going on than he had expected.

["Do you know how to operate the Accipiter?"]

["Negative"]

The name in itself was foreign, never mind the usage of such a weapon. The fact he did not know of the weapon was something he found strange, clearly it was nothing Starfleet issue. Unless it was something top secret on board or some higher rank fluff like that, whatever the real reason it seemed like it might cause an issue out here now.

["Another security officer will talk you through once the weapon is out here"]

["Understood"]

Brief answers, no need to waste words. Not when things are getting heated and just one word could decide everything relevant to the pair at this precise moment, all that they needed to do was keep calm, and keep moving. The pair continued to move, if only to gain distance from the airlock. Although Varder was constantly looking up, or what he considered to be up as he scanned for shuttle craft and work bees. It was not to hard to guess exactly what his target might or might not be. Out here though distance really ate time, soon Thea's voice echoed in both men's helmets.

[Weapon is ready for transport, are you ready to receive?]

["Affirmative"]

[Beaming now]

The weapon materialized only a bare few inches away from Varder, well within arms reach. A reach he promptly used to secure the weapon, although it may have been a rather uneasy hold he now kept upon this unfamiliar piece of equipment. Now for the next part, Varder quickly knelt before speaking once again.

["Varder to armory, requesting instruction"]

[ Commander Trent | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]

From his position at the rear of the Bridge, the Executive Officer was absorbing all the information as it was being sent his way.  Yukimura was filling him in, and with the recall order of the fighters, he had brought up their return course onto the plot over the Mission Ops table, along with icons to represent the various auxiliary craft out there, the crewman going Dutchman, and the Runabout going after her.  And over course, there was the offending worker bee as well.

On a separate screen, he was watching the sensor picture that Stark was analyzing and deconflicting, but he was not interfering with it, save simply changing points of view and some filters in a purely local mode, not affecting at all the data the Chief Operations Officer was massaging to yield actionable intelligence. 

And at the same time, he was relaying the Captain's orders to the fighters as they had been recalled, but with the tactical picture getting cleared up, the XO would start taking some initiative that would still fall within the limitations Captain Ives had outlined; and besides, it would be good training.  "Commander Marquez, start tracking the Tigris and calculate firing solutions for minimum round count bursts from the fighters for a soft-kill that would prevent them from igniting any more of the gas, and updated every twenty seconds; then send the data to Mister Yukimura.  Lieutenant, you will send the information to the fighters along with necessary course corrections so the incoming fire will not risk hitting us or any assets we have out there other than the intended targets.  And I emphasize, re-state that the fighters are to be Weapons Hold until the Captain gives the word."

And, with that said, Trent brought his attention towards the issue of live ordnance where there was supposed to be none.  Normally, he would call for selective forcefields to be raised, to create a path of least resistance for the blast so some of its destructive power could be channeled out of the hull.  But the risk to the crew out there, and to ignite more of the gas, was simply too great.  So it would mean redirecting it within the hull itself... it would be costly if it came down to it, but it would beat losing the whole Vector, or the whole ship if it came down to it.  "Commander Stark, start working on a backup plan if disarming will not work.  I need you to raise forcefields and reinforce structural integrity in such a way as to create a channel through the hull to try and redirect and contain the blast if need be.  Evacuate all affected sections and bring in additional damage control and casualty relief teams from the other vectors to augment currently available personnel."

[ PWO Rihen Neyah (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Rihen_Neyah) | Vector 01 Hull | "Helmet" Exterior | USS Theurgy ] Attn: 1) @Even Angels Cry 2) @Kaligos
[Show/Hide]Tumbling through space by the inertia of the blast, Rihen Neyah suffered a waking nightmare.

She was on fire, already beyond panic, her blood-curdling screams for help heard on whatever frequency she was patched into. Desperately, she was failing at the liquid flames that ate the air in the layers of her suit. Even if the suit was compartmentalised and there was a chance that the many holes that were being burned it would not kill her immediately, that rational part of her brain was shut down in her fight and the searing pain. Vaguely, she did recognise that the flames might just as well enter her oxygen supply, and then it would be all over.

In the mental rictus of her terror, she saw images of Suraya Bay and Paradise City, the flames that licked her helmet reminding her of the burning blades she used to juggle in her father's circus. All she had wanted to do on Nimbus III was to recreate her home, missing Risa in her exile. Instead, she might die in the worst possible ways, either burned alive or spaced, this while fighting a battle she did not chose, against an enemy she didn't understand. Faces of her family flashed in mind, of Lin Kae, O'Connell, Tovarek and Vinata Vojona, of Eve Jenkins on the hull crane, trying to save her. The Calamity hologram, killing everyone in the Theurgy's shuttle bay.

Little did she know that the USS Thames was on an intercept course.

---

OOC: Waiting for @Triage to reply with O'Riley to Thea's request, and for @Brutus  to have Sarresh Morali get beamed into the bridge or walking in on his own. Then I will reply with Thea and Ives again. :) @SummerDawn , you are up in replying with Ryuan Sel to Varder Ridun's request too. @Striker N7 you are next with Marquez too, right?

[ Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Warp Core | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow, @Auctor Lucan, @TrexelCat & @Doc M.
[Show/Hide]Although she had been briefed about Thea, the ship's self-appropriated name based on the name of the Theurgy, to see the AI materializing the way she did was...jarring, to say the least. Her right hand had momentarily gone for her missing pulse phaser pistol when she thought she heard the sound of someone beaming in. It was too much like some of the close encounters she'd had back on the Resolve. Once she got over the shock of Thea's appearance, and how she had chosen a particularly beautiful form to be her representative avatar of self, she could process what the ship was instructing her to do, and she agreed with the sound logic. Likely the ship had far greater strength and control than even O'Riley did.

“Okay,” said O'Riley, and she slapped her combadge, “O'Riley to medical, requesting the assistance of an EMH, Lieutenant Junior Grade Suq-Reylin-Efreya Xan is in need of immediate attention.”

She then returned to watching as Thea moved in and attempted to extract her friend from his precarious position. And then of all things, O'Connell contacts him. Frowning, she strained her ears out of curiosity, to listen in. She thought she heard Sean McGee's voice interjecting over the Theurgy's chief engineer. What was that about getting off this ship? Marquez take command? What had gotten into that man's head? She had her palm halfway to her combadge, getting ready to jump in on the communications, but she kept her eye on Thea and Suq. She wanted to make sure the Efrosian was safely extracted first, then she'll see about McGee.

[ Thea | Plasma Conduit Adjacent Auxillary Warp Core | Deck 06 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] 1) @FollowTomorrow 2) @TrexelCat 3 ) @Triage
[Show/Hide]All Thea got from the Efrosian in the conduit was a 'No', denying her to carry out the orders to extract him. She could not reach him physically either, to forcibly grab his ankle and pull him clear. The emitter overhead, in the area Junior Lietuenant O'Riley was in, would not allow Thea to reach farther. If her mobile emitter hadn't sustained a phaser blast in the reactor room of Starbase 84, she would have been able to move in without restriction. Options were limited, Thea quickly surmised.

"Listen to me, Lieutenant," she said, her emotion chip instilling a degree of urgency in her tone. "I have been given the authority to lift the shielding on this conduit so that I can beam you out of there, but if I do, my auxiliary warp core might be caught in the potential blast, and the chain reaction would kill everyone on this Vector and severely damage my other two. It is your life or a current minimum of 349 other officers. You only have two options. Either you are able to preform the repairs now, immediately, or you retreat back to me so that you may be extracted from this area."

Thea did notice how O'Connell requested aid from the Efrosian as well, and she could but advise and hope he understood the priorities set before him. "I am monitoring the situation in Main Engineering. It is less critical than the repairs you need to make. Do you understand, Lieutenant? Focus on the task at hand, or come back to me so that you may aid O'Connell."

Tilting her head back, Thea looked up at O'Riley. While the digital urgency she felt she sought alternative options. "You need to evacuate this area now, but may I have your assistance in speaking with the aggressor in Main Engineering? Unless he decides to come out, the Lieutenant needs to finish his repairs. May I can beam you to O'Connell side?"

While she spoke, she thought she could see the shimmer of the EMH materialising close to O'Riley.

[Lt. Jg. Suq | Vector 02 Warp Core | Deck 06] Attn: @Doc M. @Triage @TrexelCat @Auctor Lucan
In the bowels of the Sword's warp drive, the injured Efrosian could hear the harried voice of his propulsion officer Ensign Sean McGee.

"I was his propulsion officer; we kept that ship going for three years with everything in the cosmos trying to tear it apart!  Boss, this is our chance to get out of here!"

Sean McGee was supposed to be in working in the Theurgy's secondary stardrive section, the part of the ship referred to as the "Sword" or Vector Two, under his superior officer, Lieutenant (junior grade) Suq-Reylin-Efreya Xan. Nearly all of Suq's team were former engineers from the Resolve; it was thought that if they worked alongside their familiar shipmates none of them would break from the others and do something desperate. That was a nice theory but reality had other ideas.  Unwilling or unable to accept what had happened to Starfleet during the Resolve's star trek, Suq's friend and shipmate Sean was rejecting his situation and holding the third stardrive hostage.

But McGee wasn't the only voice in Suq's head.  He could also hear a second one, this one belonging to the ship's artificial intelligence, the sentient program known as Thea:  "Listen to me, Lieutenant," the heavenly hologram implored him to come with her now, the situation with McGee wasn't as important as the situation here. The whole ship risked death. She was right, and he knew it.

As he heard them both out, processing two voices at the same time, he felt even more fear. It was like one of his nightmares. He was trapped, the spirits loomed over him, he was to die here, a miserable cur in an EPS conduit, cowering. A miserable cur that someone wanted to stage a rebellion for, why am I talking down to myself like this?

"Good spirits, McGee, you're taking the whole ship hostage. You know that, right? The whole ship...just for me? Spirits be. I'm so proud to wear your color, Ensign." He was still spooked, the Thea in front of him making his voice shake, but the situation was starting to become totally unreal now. He wasn't even sure if he was still in reality. Boy, was he the wrong person to talk anyone down, especially since he was just so flattered that anyone would want him back in the CHENG saddle. "McGee? You're still with me? If you've got a few moments, I'd like to, well, chat, I guess. Over comms, not in person, I'm a little stuck where I am, but you know what I mean."

"Do they got you at gunpoint Boss?" McGee asked in concern.  "'Cuz I swear to God, if they do..."

Back at the Vector Three warp core O'Connell drew in a ragged breath and the look of alarm on his face would have been comical if not for the danger they were all in.

“No no, not gunpoint. Just...stuck. In a conduit. Long story, you'll get the full story when we have some time to sit down, but basically, even short people get stuck sometimes. Just...just hold on a moment.”
He adjusted himself, so that he could face Thea more fully. She was the embodiment of all his fears right now. She was the ship, she was fate, she had a great power and he could not trust her with it, or anyone else deemed 'Theurgy' for the time being. He wasn't sure if he was strong enough to face her, but right now, he had no choice.
“L-look, T-Theurgy...” He stammered, having no idea how to address the embodiment of the entire ship. His voice felt like it wouldn't work at full strength.
“I...Sean McGee is one of my men. I...I have a...a duty to him. Right now, h-he needs me. Look, if I...if I somehow don't make it out of this,” He tried to put strength in his voice as he spoke. He had no guarantee that Thea would listen to him as it was, so he had to convince her. To do that, he needed to focus on the here, the now. His fingers dug into the burnt palms of his hands, the sharp pain jolted him back out of the nightmare and into the waking present.

“I'm sure McGee will, ah, take it very hard, if you understand what I mean. If..If I...actually, you know, l-listen to you, y-you have to understand, I need to be the one to talk h-here...Sinead, she's wonderful, but this, this is just...just my time. I'll work and talk. The core—it's not hard, really, once you know how.” Even as he spoke, the procedures came back to his mind easily. Leaks were common, enough, and though severe, their frequency almost brought him to a point where he didn't appraise them with the right amount of seriousness. Thea already had force fields raising, they were probably almost done by the time Suq spoke. All that would be left to do would be to shut down plasma flow to the area, remove excess plasma, replace the conduit, and start it back up again. ”Let me work and talk to McGee. Then I'll..I'll go with you.”

He finally managed to lift his eyes up at her and stare at her. It was hard to make that sort of promise. She terrified him, and it took skills that Suq didn't have to hide that sort of terror. Right now though, one of his own needed help. The drive to do what is right was stronger than his fear.

[  William Robert O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy  ] 

”Do they got you at gunpoint Boss?” McGee asked in concern.  ”‘Cuz I swear to God, if they do…”

"No no, not gunpoint. Just...stuck. In a conduit. Long story, you'll get the full story when we have some time to sit down, but basically, even short people get stuck sometimes. Just...just hold on a moment."

There was good news, bad news, and worse news.  The good news was that Suq was still alive and still capable of speech.  The bad news was that his life was still in danger.  And the worse news was that his friend and shipmate, Ensign Sean McGee was still holding the Stallion’s warp core hostage with a plasma charge and a deadman’s switch.   Suq-Reylin-Efreya Xan was busy preventing an explosion on Deck Six, so it was up to Master Chief William Robert “Billy Bob” O’Connell to stall.

”Ah kin tell yuh th’ full story,” Billy Bob chimed in.  “Well maybe, Ah say, maybe not th’ full story,” he corrected himself when Ensign McGee cast a withering glance in his direction.  “but Ah kin shed some light on Suq’s sitiachion Ah kin tell yew that.” 

McGee gave O’Connell a blank look before asking “Do I gotta beat it out of you?”

”Well sir, it seems thet Mister Xan is dealin’ with a crisis of his own raight now,” O’Connell drawled, ”an emergency, that is.  Seem’s he gots hisself stuck repairin’ the main EPS conduit an’ he needs tuh keep it from explodin’ and disablin’ the Sword’s warp drive… an’ blowin’ up a significant portion of the Sword, an’ the people in it, includin’ hisself.”

“Don’t you have someone else to deal with it?” McGee asked impertinently.

”Beggin’ the ensign’s pardon sir but that wouldn’t be much help,” Billy Bob retorted.  ”Mister Xan has got hisself trapped an’ he can’t git out, not even with a transporter.”

“You’re making this up,” McGee snorted.

”No sir, Ah ain’t,” O’Connell shook his head.  ”Why else did Ah have Chief Manfredi override th' emergency conduit hatches in in Jeffries tube B0636343?  As fur havin’ somebody else handle it somebody else should’ve handled it, only his propulsion officer decided t’ go AWOL sir!” O’Connell snapped.  ”So now Suq is in danger of losin’ his life to a risk that someone else should’ve took!”

“Wait a second, are you saying it’s my fault?” McGee protested.  From the tone of his voice O’Connell had struck a nerve.

”No sir, Ah’m jest sayin’ thet Suq’s in an awful fix and it sure would’ve been real nice if he could depend on everyone on his team, all hands to the battle stations that is,” the master chief replied.  ”With such an emergency in the ship’s secondary warp drive he could’ve really used yore help that’s all.”

It was then that Billy Bob realized that he didn’t know the ensign’s endgame.  Sure he said that he wanted the Theurgy to surrender itself at the nearest starbase or let the crew of the Resolve flee but did he really expect to get those things?  Or was he just not able to take it anymore and was looking for someone to talk him out of committing suicide?  Yesterday Suq had been in such sorry shape that O’Connell could see the Efrosian taking such a desperate measure himself and so it shouldn’t have been a surprise for any of his shipmates to do the same.  And getting confrontational wasn’t exactly making things better.  For all Billy Bob knew, his bonehead move may have been all it would take for McGee to talk himself into setting off the explosive.

”Um, that is, what Ah meant tuh say sir…”

“It’s not my fault!” McGee shouted.

”Ah’m shore it ain’t sir…”

“I didn’t abandon him!” the ensign cried.

”Ah know yew didn’t sir…”

“How was I supposed to know that he was going to need me?” McGee shouted.

”There wuz no way tuh predict thet sir,” Billy Bob assured him.  ”Boy do Ah wish there was a counselor here,” he muttered under his breath, ”in danger uh gettin’ blowed up instead uh me…”  He tapped his combadge.   ”Suq, Ah don’t mean, Ah say Ah don’t mean tuh interrupt but do yuh have a moment tuh chat ol’ buddy?”

[ Lt (jg) Sarresh Morali (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sarresh_Morali) Trubolift | In Transit| USS Theurgy | Vectr 01 ] Attn: @Hastata-Nerada @Auctor Lucan 
[Show/Hide]
The grinding of his teeth were almost audible at that point, in the narrow confines of the turbolift. The car was swiftly ascending from Deck 07, where the junior Lieutenant had been in the middle of a ...heated discussion about the sheer stupidity of members of the crew, and the galling belief that he could do something about it. This had been carried out with Simon Tovarek, playing the role of mediator, and (at least in Sarresh's mind) the other occupant of the turbolift car, Lt. Cmdr. Vivian Martin. His new superior. For what little that matters, Morali thought darkly.

Oh, he was fairly certain that Martin was competent. She wouldn't hold the rank she had if she were anything less that useful, or so he'd hoped. She was an unknown, but then, so were most people on the ship. She was attractive, for a human woman, but Sarresh barely paid her any mind. He had eyes for one woman at this point, a realization cemented the evening prior. Just the thought of that curled his lip into a wry smirk, that he suppressed reluctantly. He didn't want to appear in a good mood the second he walked onto the bridge on Thea's summoning. And he certainly didn't want to seem like he was amused at Martin. He understood her issues with the ....the cult.

Bunch of fucking idiots, he thought darkly, crossing his arms tighter. They had attacked the new Science Department Head. That would make anyone bitter. What he took issue with was her lumping the whole damn thing on his shoulders. I never told them to go form a fucking cult around me. Of all the stupid ass, illogical - His train of thought broke as the turbolift arrived at its destination.

[Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 |  USS Theurgy]

Moments later Sarresh stepped onto the bridge of the Theurgy and let his eyes dart around at the scent unfolding. He picked up various and sundry readings from the crew, all fo them tense. On the screen, the tableau of the nebula spread out before them, and the scientist in Sarresh took a moment to enjoy the view. Something that he had not done nearly enough of, since coming to this ship of the damned. And here I am, damned right along side them, while trying to save them all. He felt eyes on him, disdain, that put him on the defensive as he stepped out of Martin's way. He started to cross his arms defensively, then stopped and instead snapped one fist hard into the palm of the other, behind his back.

"Lt. Morali, reporting as ordered." Crisp. Professional. Academic almost. No hint that he felt the anger coming off of some of the staff, placing the blame for this situation h his shoulders. Fucking try and pin this on me he thought.

[ Ryuan Sel (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Ryuan_Sel) | Security Center (Armory) | Vector 2 | Deck 7 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Jm Von Cat

Ryuan Sel heard the request over the comms, a direct link to her location in the armory, a request for operational instructions. She'd known Varder a while so knew the man would take instructions easily enough. Pulling up a virtual copy of the weapon on a holodisplay, Ryuan mentally made notes of what she wanted to say.

"The Accipiter is a multi-system weapon and has several firing modes. Modes are activated using a selector switch to the front of the trigger guard. A secondary switch behind that acts as the weapons safety. Primary mode - marked one - is a railgun system. The rifle replicate 7 mm tungsten carbide bullets, which are magnetically pushed up to speeds of Mach 15 at a 1500 bullet per minute maximum. Useless against shields, though, unless you use the secondary mode. It has a a tetryon based energy discharge similar to a traditional phaser, only really good at disrupting shields. You fire this to ensure the target is unprotected. Third mode is a kinetic energy concussion blast, where you dry-fire the warp field generator used for the rail gun system and push away the target. Mind the recoil in this firing mode, though."

"Lastly, number four, where in thanks to the targeting sensor in the scope, it is possible to use the tetryon emitter to mark targets, making for a near permanent weapon lock on that target as long as it remains within a 20 degree angle in front of the muzzle. This unique feature allow for continual target lock even when other sensors could no longer pick up the target due to obstructions. For all firing modes, it's just point and shoot. Using the kinetic energy mode, however, you don't have any auto-fire option."

Turning away from the hologram of the rifle, Sel added, "Only other main point to note; operation inside a confined space is highly discouraged owing to the significant pressure waves produced by the concussion mode. Also, when not using the tetryon beam, ensure the area behind the target is clear, as unlike phaser beams or bolts, neither the warp field concussion blast nor the tungsten round will likely stop upon hitting your target. Useful if you have to shoot through a target though."

[ Lt. Commander Leon "Striker" Marquez | Bridge | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide] 

"Copy that, O'Connell. Put 'em through."  Marquez Listened in. "Striker here to jeffries tube...'feller' Sithick." Enjoying a moment of callsign misconception to tap into the Chief Engineer's term, Marquez opened up the Mk-25's torpedo from the database at his console and pulled up the weapon's cross-sections and looked over the weapon's schematics, searching for the best way to manually disarm or neutralize the Mk-25 torpedo and provide systematic information as he was placed in touch with the 'feller' that O'Connell had mentioned. Marquez pulled up the manifest and raised an eyebrow at seeing a Gorn aboard. Now wasn't the time to think about his Cestus Arena holoprogram.


At Sithick's location, Marquez's voice chimed in. "This is the CTO, To Mr. Sithick. I'm transmitting you a visual reference guide to the torpedo you're defusing. If you need anything beamed directly to your location, a tool, a kit, a second pair of hands, just let me know and I'll have it sent to you as soon as possible. And Sithick? Focus, but be careful; I'll have someone prepare to beam you up should it be necessary. If we have to beam it out, we will, but You're in good hands. And so are we." Marquez would've gone himself but was needed on the bridge at present.

"Computer: relay these schematics on an encrypted frequency to Sithick's position. Use tactical encryption protocol 3-2-2-4." It was a fancy way of asking Thea to pull up the same readouts he was looking at on one of his personal screens to show Sithick a concise holographic readout of the weapon and zero in on specific cicuitry in real time. Tarsi was a heavyweight in this field, but she was at present on another vector. Naturally, Marquez used an encryption only he and department chairs (and Command Officers) could otherwise access, not to give the cultists any advantages if any of them were savvy at hacking into comms.

Just then word came to the bridge that a familiar name, Ensign McGee had done something Marquez never imagined he'd face: one of his own had mutinied. Marquez's Jaw fell and he glanced at the captain in disbelief. He risked a suggestion to the captain, "Sean McGee." They both suffered from extreme homesickness, and talked about it once on the Resolve but McGee knew how to really hurt a ship. Especially if the poor devil had finally snapped at last.

   "Commander Marquez, start tracking the Tigris and calculate firing solutions for minimum round count bursts from the fighters for a soft-kill that would prevent them from igniting any more of the gas, and updated every twenty seconds; then send the data to Mister Yukimura." Commander Trent ordered.

"With pleasure, Sir." Marquez replied. As his XO was giving orders, the CTO wasted no time acquiring a solid lock on the Tigris, before configuring the fighters' phasers to fire for minimal impact. Using the scanner, he aimed for the Tigris' maneuvering thrusters and the hull separation flange on the Danube-class, which would harmlessly disable the craft's helm control panel without a direct hit to a vital system such as life support. There would need to be multiple synch-timed shots from at least one other fighter, though the phasers from Theurgy could do the same in just three keystrokes. Marquez's cadet and ensign years were dedicated to the Danube-class, it was almost sad to have to destroy one; a next-generation shuttlecraft would have to replace the old runabout.

"Target tagged. Trajectory plotted. Lieutenant, keep us posted. Remember to check your fire: it only takes one match to burn the house." An ex-Danube pilot, Marquez had already painted the USS Tigris where it could be precisely hit with minimal kinetic damage to the command pod and any aboard. A specific computer screen was dedicated to calculating the phaser vectors converging on the runabout's precision weak spots; two blips indicated a target lock, while a third would align in a few moments to ensure a synchronized trio that would neutralize the Tigris with more efficiency on a timed shot, even more if a fourth vector would be used in concert in roughly 30 seconds. "Captain has the trigger." Marquez cast Ives an almost-questioning glance at the center seat.

[ Lt.Com. Vivian Martin | Turbolift | In Transit | USS Theurgy ] Attn:
[Show/Hide]
It was clear to Martin that this man, Sarresh, wished that this cult, these “Devoted” had never cropped up in the first place, judging by his very audible grinding of teeth could be heard above the whirring of the turbolift. The turbolift car swiftly made its way to the bridge as she reflected on what had just occurred prior. Martin felt that she could have perhaps handled the situation better, but in all honesty there were very few instances when she did not feel that she could have handled something better. Needless to say she was mad nonetheless. The cult had attacked her several hours earlier and their actions in deification of the man standing next to her made Martin bitter to say the least.

There was no doubt in her mind that Morali despised the cult, but it remained to be seen whether or not he would take any action. As the lift arrived at the bridge, Martin stepped out into the unfolding chaos. To one side of her the nebula stretched out like a painting of blues, like an expanse of azure dies had been mixed together and tossed unto a canvas. It briefly occurred to Martin that up until a couple hundred years ago, such a beautiful sight was beyond the wildest dreams of humanity, back when her species was still a fledgeling race bound to a little blue dot in the eternal blackness of space. But for now, business called, and Martin readied herself at attention and announced her presence.

“Lieutenant Commander Martin reporting,” she said, glancing about at the bridge. “What seems to be the issue exactly?” she already had some idea, but it helped to establish exactly what was going on before taking any action.

[ Captain Ives (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Captain_Jien_Ives) | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Jm Von Cat 
[Show/Hide]When Natalie Stark confirmed her suspicions, Captain Ives raised her eyes to the tactical display hologram - her oaken eyes centring on the USS Tigris shuttle. Found you.

While she stared at the holographic image of the Runabout shuttle as it slowly circled Vector 01, she heard her First Officer and Lieutenant Commander Marquez providing her with firing solutions. She pushed away from Stark's chair and walked back towards her seat, her countenance grim. She looked towards Yukimura on the way there. "What's the ETA on those fighters, Lieutenant?"

"They are still three minutes out, Captain."

They might be too late, she thought, slowly sitting down in her seat. She put her arms on the armrests and steepled her fingers, looking at the large hologram in front of the CONN and OPS stations, thinking.

"Lt. Morali, reporting as ordered," said Morali, finally having arrived, followed by his new superior officer. "Lieutenant Commander Martin reporting. What seems to be the issue exactly?"

"The Devoted are attempting to take the entire ship hostage in order to see me resign from my position and give command to Mister Morali. Thea, show the security officer. Varder Ridun. Where is he at, and does he have the Accipiter rifle yet?"

"Armament confirmed," said Thea, and a flashing, yellow indicator showed Mister Varder's position on the dorsal side of Vector one, just aft of the airlock. Looking at it, she determined that he was in a good firing position to hit the Tigris. It would not be an easy shot... but she believed she had a plan.

"They don't know we are aware that the Tigirs caused the first detonation, hiding on it and using another of their ilk as bait in a worker bee," she said quietly, then she looked towards Morali. "If you have any choice words to say to your cult, now will be the time. When I have a channel opened for you, it will be your duty to make them stand down to the best of your ability. If you can't make them stand down, I have no other option than neutralising the threat that they pose. Do you understand, Lieutenant? You can no longer be silent while we loose officers aboard this ship. Too many have fallen victim to them already, but today, this will end. One way or another."

Turning her eyes away from Morali, she rose to her feet anew. "Thea, I want a direct line of communication with Varder Ridun," she said.

[Communication link established.]

"Mister Ridun. This is Captain Ives. I hope you are enjoying your walk, regardless the circumstances," she said, stepping past the Ops station so that she was right in front of the hologram with Thea's three vectors and all the movings crafts around her. "If you look directly above you, you will see the Runabout Tigris passing by within the minute. It was the officers aboard this shuttle that detonated the sirillium gas, and the person in worker be zero-nine is a diversion. They are part of the cult - the Devoted - and we need you to paint the Tigris with a tetryon marker. Doing so, we can minimise the risk of detonating the gas, ensuring that all available weapon systems on all Vectors, fighters and shuttles only target the Runabout. Stand ready, and light up the target as soon as you have a clear shot. Ives out."

---

[ Thea | Plasma Conduit Adjacent Auxillary Warp Core | Deck 06 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] 1) @TrexelCat 2) @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]Before Officer O'Riley could confirm the suggested beam-out, the Efrosian in the conduit asked her not to send the woman to Main Engineering, claiming that he was better suited to speak with officer McGee. She listened to him explaining, saying he could speak and make the repair at the same time. Even as he said this, O'Connell was contacting him again, demanding him to devote more time to the disruptive element down in engineering.

[Suq, Ah don't mean, Ah say Ah don't mean tuh interrupt but do yuh have a moment tuh chat ol' buddy?]

Meanwhile, the leak was threatening the core, and all the lives yet to evacuate. Thea's emotion chip made her grind her teeth. Meanwhile, the LHM materialised next to Sinead O'Riley, and Thea raised her eyes to the other hologram. "You have a patient down here, when he comes out," she said, then looked towards O'Riley. "There is an element aboard me that is distracting Mister Xan from finishing his repairs. The alternative solution is clear: Eliminate the disruptive element. Stand ready to beam out of this area, and please assist me in this task."

She did not ask permission. There were too many lives at stake, and the senior staff were occupied on the bridge. Lin Kae had unshackled her will, and she now acted on calculated risk assessment and possible success ratio. Within the three seconds, she and Junior Lieutenant O'Riley dematerialised...

---

[ Thea | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] 1) @Doc M.  2) @Triage
[Show/Hide]...and rematerialised on Vector 03 - guided by her internal sensors in terms of their new location.

While O'Riley materialised at some distance away from Sean McGee, close to Chief O'Connell, the sound of O'Riley beaming in masked the sound of Thea materialising directly behind the former Resolve officer. While her image was still being sequenced, Thea reached out and seized the hand and the detonator that McGee was holding in both her own hands. Her body being light captured in a forcefield mesh, she fused her hands together on top of the dead man's grip, sealing the officer's hand flush around it.

Doing so, Thea's brown eyes met the disruptive element in Main Engineering... before she head-butted him across the face. Even as he he sunk down on his knees, Thea rounded on O'Riley and O'Connell.

"Now would be a good time to defuse the plasma charge on my warp core," she suggested O'Connell, before turning back to the organic beneath her, who was bleeding from his nose and didn't look entirely sure what had happened. With Thea still having her hands fused around the hand and the detonator, she drove her knee into the officer's face as well, which rendered him entirely unconscious.

"O'Riley," she said and turned back to the woman she had arrived with, "could you please inform the Assistant Chief of Engineering that he should proceed with his repairs of my conduit now, before it is too late, and we might loose one of my Vectors."

[ Jaya Thorne (https://orig05.deviantart.net/12e0/f/2016/300/a/4/imgpsh_fullsize_by_auctor_lucan-damefg0.png) | Runabout USS Thames | Above Vector 01 of the Theurgy ] Attn @Auctor Lucan , @Striker N7 , @Doc M. , @CanadianVet , @Jm Von Cat , @Brutus , @MasterRat
[Show/Hide]

It took seconds for Jaya to realize that the hurling ball of fire was a person and not just an explosion.  "Shit shit!  People should NOT be on fire like that!"  Seriously, it was bad for their health.  Jaya kicked the runabout into a higher impulse gear as her crewmate.. Jack?  Yes, Jack.  As Jack offered up a partial solution.  It was a terrible idea but she was in no place to argue.  The numbness had reached her calves and her fingers were so stiff that it took all her effort to move them.  Thankfully the Thames had sensitive touch screens, but it was still a struggle.

"Just for the record, this is a terrible idea.  Like literally anything would be better.  But since I'm a little busy with piloting this mess, you get to decide how recovery is done.  To be honest, I was just gonna decompress the rear bay and attempt to 'catch' her, then close the door and leave her there until the flames went out.  So Actually, your idea might
 not kill her.  Mine probably would."  Either way, that crewman would need resuscitated once she was safely aboard.  But first, how on earth were they going to do that?

Jaya had learned a hella long time ago that objects in motion tended to stay in motion until they were acted upon by an unbalanced or outside force.  Physics, yea!  In the case of space, and for this stunt, it was a vacuum and thus there was no other outside force to act on that crewman once she gotten away from the Theurgy's hull.  Inertia had taken hold and because of the centripetal force applied to her upon liftoff, she was tumbling instead of soaring.  But she had nowhere to go except away.  Not only did Jaya need to get to the crewman quickly, she had to calculate a trajectory so she'd be near enough to perform the rescue.  Thankfully, with the help of the onboard computer, Jaya was able to scan the distressed crewman and obtain a velocity.  When she input that along with the destination that the poor woman had vacated, Jaya got a trajectory.  And with both trajectory and velocity handy, she was able to have the computer predict her whereabouts along that line for any given time.  In this case, Jaya needed to overshoot the crewman in order to have time to catch and thus save her.

"Moving to intercept!  115 seconds to destination.  Whatever you're gonna do, you better get moving.  Just tell me what you need and You've got it!"

[  William Robert O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy  ] 

O’Connell thought he was going to faint when Thea appeared out of nowhere and dealt with Mc Gee.  He dashed over to the duo before Thea’s words registered.  “Th’ bomb!  Raight!  Jest be two shakes of a lamb’s tail,”  He grunted before heading to the plasma charge attached to the warp core.  “Song!” he called out to the petty officer at the master display table.  “Git me uh agneton scanner, uh tricorder, an’ uh isoliner spanner!”  He then looked at the tiny control panel on the plasma charge and noticed that it was still functional.  “Whut th’?  There’s no way,” he muttered.  “It cain’t be this easy!”  He protested as he pushed some buttons on the explosive and was rewarded by seeing the blinking lights on the little control panel go dark.  “Well Ah’ll be!  Looks lahk we won’t have t’ disarm this sucker after all!” he declared as he seized the handles on the sides of the device and pulled it off after one or two experimental tugs.  “Jest needed t’ turn the dang thing off!  Ah reckon yore presence ain't needed in engineerin' no more McGee!”

Ensign McGee's only response was a miserable groan.

[ Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow, @Auctor Lucan, @TrexelCat & @Doc M.
[Show/Hide]Had she been a less calm person like she used to be before her time on Vulcan, O'Riley very likely would be a cross-eyed mess right now. As it was, she was barely keeping her cool as so many things unfolded around her. Suq was still stuck, but now, in addition to being in pain - she could guess from his strained voice - he was dealing with McGee and trying to fix the ship, who was presently trying to extract him from his entrapped position, while the EMH materialized nearby. She had been about to speak when Thea addressed them first, directing the EMH to help with saving Suq's life when he was done with his task, as the Efrosian decided he could still complete his task despite his tenuous position, and the distraction of McGee, which Thea had something in mind for handling.

She agreed with the ship A.I.'s logic, and had time enough just to say to Suq before she disappeared from sight with Thea, “Do not die, Suq.”

That familiar sensation of mild nausea quickly passed as she was beamed close to O'Connell. Seeing Sean McGee, she was already moving even as Thea took down the man and prevented him from triggering the explosive. O'Riley finally paused as she observed the ship's effective methods, and nodded when instructed to inform Suq that he can now focus on repairing the conduit without anymore distractions. Sparing one last moment to glare at McGee's unconscious form, she noted that the bomb was turned off by O'Connell and slapped her combadge, “O'Riley to Suq, McGee has been incapacitated, and the bomb has been deactivated, please proceed with repairs to the conduit quickly. And no more dilly-dallying after that. You will let the Emergency Medical Hologram assist with extracting you from there once you are finished.”

She turned to look at Thea and nodded, then turned to O'Connell, “What can I do to help?”

[  William Robert O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy  ] 

What was Lieutenant O'Riley doing here?  Why wasn’t she helping Suq?  O’Connell wasn’t really wild about anymore of the Vector Two propulsion team leaving their assigned stations.  Ensign McGee had done so and look at the trouble he had caused.  “Keep Mister McGee calm until security comes to put him in the hoosegow, the brig, that this.  I suppose that normally he’s a nice boy, but he’s got more nerve than a bum tooth!”  He considered handing her the plasma charge but after Ensign McGee’s breakdown he wasn’t going to hand an explosive to a Resolve officer.  Not today.  “And while yore at it ma’am, Ah say while yore at it, give me some details as tuh whut’s happened tuh Suq and whut we can do tuh git him outta his sitchie-ation.  Dagnabbit,” he muttered before shouting so he could be heard by everybody in main engineering.  “Could somebody please take this an’ fetch someone from security? ” he demanded as he gestured with the plasma charge in his hands. 

Ensign McGee groaned and placed his hand that wasn’t being held in Thea’s iron grip to his injured forehead.  “Cybertron and its moons belong to me…” he moaned deliriously. 

[ Sinead O'Riley (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sinead_O%27Riley#Personality_Profile) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan & @Doc M.
[Show/Hide]“Okay,” said O'Riley, turning to take over keeping watch on McGee from Thea, but O'Connell had more to say, or rather, ask. “He was startled by my approach and fled like th' devil was on his tail. Wee bit on th' jumpy side, if you know what I mean. Wedged himself but good inside the conduit, and ye know the rest. He has suffered first and second degree burns from what I can tell, and he will need to cooperate with whoever tries to get him out.”

She arched an eyebrow at him when he demanded someone take the explosive. Considering that she was right there with him, she supposed that he would pass it to her to deal with, but he seemed unwilling to do so. Perhaps, given the fact that McGee, herself and Suq were from the Resolve might have something to do with it. But she could do something about the security officer. Slapping her combadge, she said, “O'Riley to Security, request assistance to escort Ensign Sean McGee to the brig.”

[ PO2 Sithick |  | USS Theurgy | Jefferies Tubes 213166AA | Vector 02 ] Attn:  @Doc M. @Auctor Lucan

Sithick dressed quickly in the minamum protection that he had been provided by the doctor. The innoculation helping to cool his veins from the effects of radiation. Normally he would have disliked anything cool, but as it was, with the torpedo opened up in the way it was, the entire area felt like it was burning and gaining heat. Sithick was sort of wondering if they could be cooked alive because of the torpedo, but the more likely situation was that the thing would explode if they let it get too hot. Which was why he had to get back to his work and go about it as quickly as possible.

Normally he was all too happy with working a new puzzle, however in truth this time he had been a little more concerned with what could happen if he failed to actually disarm the weapon. The thing was practically taunting him. Thankfully the chief tactical officer gave him a holographic layout of the torpedo.

Not all the jefferies tubes had holo-emitters. Sithick had seen the map of the ship and seen the layouts of where such things where, mostly they were used for Thea's body when she was aboard the ship, and thus only key areas really needed to be connected with them. However the junction point where the torpedo was lodged was more valuable a location. Connecting the forward weapons bay, and the command decks of the sword, so when he gave the order for the holo-display to turn on, it functioned flawlessly.

Sithick was able to disect the torpedo in real time with the new found information, seeing the visually distinct connections that held the warhead. His yellow eyes taking in the new information with rapid understanding. Turning he motioned to the doctor to step back a little further, pulling himself back up to the torpedo. He could see that the orange light had started to blink slower, he used a hand to feel the radiating heat, following it up the lines, gently disconnecting wires along it's way. When he reached the round core of the lodged warhead, he touched it and felt his hand burn slightly to the touch, but with it's connections broken, it was starting too cool. lifting the orb gently out of the torpedo's casing he used a claw to sever the last few housing connections.

Holding the warhead he closed his eyes, it was now completely inert, but transporting it away could still be bad, the mixture of gas in the nebula, could just end up causing it to become a mine. Besides warheads were useful, in it's current form it just needed a new casing, and they would have a weapon they could trigger at a later point.

Taking it, and placing the weapon in a secure box so that it couldn't leak any more radiation he let out a sigh, and tapped his com badge. "Sithick to Marquez. I has warhead, please lock onto casing and transport it to available cargo bay. I will be taking the warhead for logging, and repair Could still be unstable better to move it by hand. Please lower shields, and have security ready to receive me."

He turned towards the doctor, moving towards her. "Thank you doctor." He held up the claw that was damaged by holding the heated metal. "If you could take a look, it's started to hurt."

[ PO1 Varder Ridun & Jonas Arisaka (NPC) | Vector 01 Hull | "Helmet" Exterior | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan
[Show/Hide]As Ryuan Sel's words rang through the comms in his helmet Varder was busy checking over the weapons functions as they were brought to attention.
Railgun system,
Tetryon disruption,
Concussion blast And target marker.

An impressive list, and one he distinctly felt unsure about. He would have to ask around later, for now there was more at hand as he deftly shouldered the weapon to get more of a feel for it. He spoke a brief sentence as Sel's voice faded from the comms.

["Operational instruction understood, Appreciate it Sel."]

As fate would have it there was next to no wait for the next set of instructions as the captains voice echoed directly into Varder's helmet.

["Mister Ridun. This is Captain Ives.."]

It was a little surprising, the circumstances however seemed to dull the effect somewhat. The captains next few words were much to the effect of recognizing that, although the humor was something he found a little dry, not that he would say so. The captain continued to speak, relaying her orders Varder whom complied in tandem, selecting Tetryon marker as the fire option. The movement's taking him a second longer than it otherwise might have, due to the still unfamiliar nature of the weapon.

["... light up the target as soon as you have a clear shot. Ives out"]

["Acknowledged Captain"]

These last two words were joined by the movement of Varders left arm, gesturing for Jonas's attention before he spoke. A technically unnecessary action, habits however are hard to break. Having got the attention of the other man he gestured above them, further coupling this movement with words.

["Tigris will be overhead within the minute, call out if you spot her, target identification, Captains order"]

["Understood, looking star-ward"]

Both men were scanning the stars for signs of this rouge runabout, thoughts flicked though Varders mind. Perhaps not all aboard the runabout were Devoted? It was not something he could help one way or another, it was just one of those thoughts that drifts through ones mind. The waiting, it was only about thirty seconds. Not that either man would know, tension and time don't ever mix well on the mind.

That was before the Tigris drifted into sight, as the Captain had stated, near directly over them. A difficult angle to get a shot at, complicated further by pockets of gas, unless...

["Jonas, hold my shoulders back and steady, as if I were laying down"]

It was fortunate the two were standing close enough together for this to be done in some timely manner, a couple heartbeats, a brief few seconds drifting past.
The Tigris seemed almost lazy in its flight as Varder brought the Accipiter first to his shoulder, secondly to bear on the runabout. More heartbeats, faster.
The runabout nearing, pockets of gas seemed almost inert, a window wide open overhead. Perhaps a trick of the mind or an actual fact, a strange sensation.
Just a little more now,
Thud.
Thud..
Thud...
Mark.

The trigger pulled, the marker was in play painting the underside of the Tigris.

["Marked!"]

["Bridge, target mark"]

[ Doctor  Maya (http://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Dr._Maya) | USS Theurgy | Jefferies Tube213166AA | Vector 02 ] Attn:  @Kaligos

Maya watched as the hulking reptile placed the photon torpedoes warhead in a secure box and contacted the bridge.  "Sithick to Marquez. I has warhead, please lock onto casing and transport it to available cargo bay. I will be taking the warhead for logging, and repair.  Could still be unstable better to move it by hand. Please lower shields, and have security ready to receive me."

Almost as an afterthought, Petty Officer Sithick loped over to the diminutive Vulcan . "Thank you doctor." He held up the claw that was damaged by holding the heated metal. "If you could take a look, it's started to hurt."

“You should leave that for ordinance disposal Petty Officer,” The green blooded physician replied as she searched his scaly paw for a wound that would allow the hypospray to penetrate his thick hide.  “I recommend that you beam directly to sickbay.  The sooner you are treated the less damage the radiation will do to you.”

[ Lt (jg) Sarresh Morali (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sarresh_Morali) Bridge | USS Theurgy | Vectr 01 ] Attn:
[Show/Hide]
The pools of false light that served as his eyes snapped wide as he took in the measure of the crisis, listening as Ives listed out to him the situation as she saw it. Of all the stupid, fucking things they could do! He silently bemoaned, his teeth grinding once more. But he could no longer keep his mouth shut when the Captain brought up duty. Those artificial eyes blazed with sudden fury and indignation as he clipped out, "I do not need a reminder of my duty captain. I know why I am here, and have been attending to such duty ever since the timeline forked again. Sir." The words were stone cold as he forced himself to turn away.

Duty? You call me to task on Duty you hypocritical beast? I know my duty. Duty so great that here I am, among you fools, memories ripped away to try and patch something that's hopeless now. Duty kept me at my desk long into the evening. Duty stole me away from the bed of my lover in the morning. Duty? My duty is to find a solution, a way to correct the aberration of the time stream. An aberration made worse by that doctor's inability to stop the parasite from going back. Duty stayed my hand when you told me to toe a line but let the fools have their hero to cling to. How dare you try to tell me my duty!

Not a word of it passed his lips as he stalked across the room towards the situation table, where the holographic projection of the scene playing out on the view screen hung. He paid no mind to anyone else, eyes darting across the display. Tracking the runabout. The worker bee. The sound of the others becoming background noise.

How to put this to an end? he asked himself, his nose scrunching up in a snarl. He shut his eyes tight for a moment, shoulders hunched, then looked back up, working his jaw from side to side. A finger darted out, pressing and manually opening a comm channel. To hell with waiting for Ives to open it for him. He heard the security officer call in, and could see a small, flashing light on the representation of the runabout. Tigris he thought darkly.  There was a faint beep as Morali broadcast out, towards the devoted, workerbee, on an open channel. He knew the others would be listening in.

"To those of you that claim to know my will," his voice flare from commbadges and panels, cold, collected. His rage behind a wall of ice. "Those that walk my path." Sounded stupidly religious. Close enough, Sarresh thought. "Those that wish to instill me upon the center seat of this ship, and suborn the command of Captain Ives in favor of my leadership. Do I have your attention? Good, because I want you to listen closely."

Pause for dramatic effect. Idiots like these drink this up, he thought as he harnessed the anger he felt for Ives, for Martin, for his situation, and for these damned fools, letting it coil tight around his heart. "Do any of you really think for one moment that if I wanted to be in charge of this ship - if that were the best way to see my mission accomplished, and shepherded you all to a place where the darkness no longer encroached, and where the horrors were washed From the face of the galaxy - that I WOULD NOT HAVE ALREADY DONE SO???" He bellowed that out, anger lacing the words.

"We are dealing with forces that none of you understand. But I do. I know the danger. I know the way the time stream forks. The way the enemy wishes to use us. And how this kind of desertion plays into their hands! You want to enact my will? To follow my path. Then do your thrice dammed jobs. And let me do mine. Which is not taking precious time away from my research to run a ship!"

---

OOC: Let me know if that's enough or if we need a bit more of a monologue from Sarresh.

[ Lt. JG Hi'Jak | Runabout USS Thames | Above Vector 01 of the Theurgy ] Attn: @Even Angels Cry & @Auctor Lucan
[Show/Hide]
"The fire is already burning in the vaccuum of space we can assume that it won't stop burning until it's fuel sorce her air is gone." Jack said knowing full well that this was a bad idea, but he didn't want anyone to die, and he certainly believed that he could manage this task as he put on his own EV suit.

Zero Gravity was one of those things that Jack didn't really like to deal with. IT was rare for him to have to step outside of the starbase where he had spent the last four years of his career. So most of his training came from the academy, and the drills he had been forced to run back on Qo'Nos, zero g combat training was probably the worst thing anyone had ever invented.

Taking a tether and attatching it to himself as he went to the back of the ship he was still listening to Jaya. "I know it's a bad idea, to be honest with you the majority of mine are bad. Just be ready to depressurize and repressurize on my mark."

Taking a deep breath he turned off his boots magnetic locks aiming himself at the doors  as he closed the back shuttle airlock and got ready for her to blow the hatch. "Mark."

A moment later he was in the darkness of space a line securing him to the shuttle for an easy way back as he floated up to the young woman who was burning in space. Putting an arm around her he pulled on the line to start bring him back.

"Listen closely. I'm going to remove your air supply and  leave it in space, the moment we are back on the ship we will repressurize." Jack's voice was calm as he walked her through the plan he had come up with.

"This means you will be exposed to the vacuum of space for about six to fourteen seconds. It's going to hurt, you are going to pass out, you are going to feel like you are boiling, and you are going to scream but basically choke on your own lungs. None of this is pleasant, but you will be revived after the fact, and as long as we stay under the fifteen second mark you will sustain no lasting damage so you can't fight me on this plan. If we pressurize before your air supply is off the ship you could blow up killing everyone."

"You are going to have to trust me on this one I know what I'm doing, I'm a scientist." He said softly thinking of a joke as he brought her back towards the rear of the shuttle.

"Wanna hear a joke?" He said offering something to take her mind off what was going to likely be the most painful experience of her life. "How many klingons does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Two, one to change the light, the other stab him and take the honor."

With that horrible piece of joke in the air, he hit the button to disengage her air supply ripping it off and tossing it into space. "Mark Jaya get her some air!"

[ Crewman Fok (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Engineering_NPCs#Crewman_Dom_Fok) | Work Bee Zero-Nine | Above Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @Jm Von Cat
[Show/Hide]"No..." Even on the limited sensors of the Work Bee, Dom could see what had happened.

Captain Ives had delayed in his answer, and somehow, they had spotted that it was the Tigirs that lit the sirillium cloud above Vector 01. Even worse, they had managed to paint the Runabout a target with a tetryon marker. Now, Dom's likeminded on that shuttle could be targeted from a sector away, and he knew that Ives was not shy on the trigger. The Chameloid had killed hundreds on the Orcus, and that was just the latest of starship crews that had fallen victim to the Theurgy and the mad shapeshifter in command. Dom could not believe it.

"It has to stop!" he said, fearing they would loose the chance. His brown eyes blurred as he looked through the visor of his helmet and down towards the shooter, a lone figure on Thea's hull standing next to an unarmed officer, both in EVA suits. He had seen that the one with the big rifle had painted the Tigris. Ives would not dare fire Thea's phasers with all the gas around the hull, but if that was an Accipiter that the shooter carried, Dom suspected he was looking straight at the person that would get the order to kill everyone on the Tigris, unless there were fighters on the way too...

"It has to stop..." Numbly, he set his Worker Bee in motion, swallowing. He had made the decision unconsciously, feeling ill at the thought. He could not let those who believed in Morali die, because there were too few followers left. He remembered what he had done under the will of T'Rena's mind meld. He had killed a lot of people already. Killing two more to save all the people on the Tigris, and ensure that Morali's voice would be heard... what was that compared to what he'd already done? And if he failed? Well...

...perhaps the justice of his demise was in Morali's vision too.

Barrelling down towards Vector 01's hull, Dom levelled out just a couple of feet above Thea's plating. He throttled up his Work Bee, going straight towards the two figures in EVA suits, meaning to hit them before the shooter got his sights aligned. With his thumb, he activated the plasma cutters on the arms of his small craft, and gritted his teeth together - tears running down his cheeks.

"It has to..."

---

OOC: I will post separately with Ives and Rihen tonight. :) Heading home from work now.

[ Petty Officer Dylan Cobb (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Engineering_NPCs#Petty_Officer_Dylan_Cobb) | Runabout Bridge | USS Tigris ]
[Show/Hide]Dyan Cobb bared his teeth when the sensor readings revealed the Captain's ploy. The Petty Officer swore and pushed away from the controls, rounding on his likeminded on the Tigris.

"The shapeshifter marked us!" he snarled, denying the fear that fuelled his vehemence, just as he denied the festering fear that he shared with the four people in front of him. He drew himself up, curled his upper lip. "Thea's sensors must have spotted what we did... But it changes nothing. We can still open fi..."

Then, the voice of their prophet was heard on the bridge, and Dylan became utterly still, as if drawing a breath might steal away the words. The five of them hung on every word, yet as he spoke, Dylan Cobb began to breathe heavily, for he knew what truly happened. Surely, the Prophet would not squander the access they might give him? No, the truth lay in how they had been marked for death by Captain Ives, and Morali spoke to them precisely then. The Captain had gotten to Morali first, holding a phaser to his head, no doubt, making him read a conjured message. Surely that was it.

"Cobb," said one of his likeminded when the Prophet had finished speaking. Their words would not carry to Thea's bridge, and Dylan turned towards the speaker, hearing the hesitation in his voice. "That makes sense, kinda. Perhaps we..."

"No..." said Dylan and returned to the controls of the Runabout. He switched to the Tigris' tactical controls. "Don't you see? Ives got to him. We can't give in now. Regardless what Morali was made to say, he needs us. He is just trying to protect us. We still have higher ground..."

That was when Captain Ives' female voice was heard on the Runabout, but Cobb hardly listened while his fingers leaped across the tactical controls.

---

OOC: Ives section still unfinished and its getting too late to think, so it will be a separate post tomorrow. :) Sorry for the slight delay!

[ PWO Rihen Neyah (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Rihen_Neyah) | Vector 01 Hull | "Helmet" Exterior | USS Theurgy ] Attn: 1) @Even Angels Cry 2) @Kaligos
[Show/Hide]Still tumbling through space by the inertia of the blast, Rihen Neyah's waking nightmare was coming to its end.

Her voice was raw from screaming, more between a shrill sound deep down in her throat and a staccato whimper. Her strength had abated, the panic still lingering, but her limbs too weary from flailing. She should have passed out, but the pain was not the kind to let her. The searing flames that ate through the layers of her suit, melting into her flesh, it frayed her nervous system. Whatever remained, laid bare to the nebula, felt the cold that came after. Gradually, her suit flaked open, baring more skin. Soon, it was at the edge of her helmet, and she knew that the oxygen inside would ignite. She knew not if the safety filters would prevent the fire from entering her small air tanks, and she almost hoped it would, just to end the pain.

She realised someone put an arm around her, and try as she might, she could not focus her mind to listen - to hear what he said. Vaguely, she registered that she was trying to make her calm down, but she was beyond that point in her terror. She didn't recognise the voice, or the flashes of a face behind another visor. She saw only the liquid fire as it ate her suit, climbing her neck through the liquid heat insulation and pressure-restraint layers. What was he saying? Removing her air? No!

Feebly, she tried to fight him, but she was too late. He had already disconnected her oxygen, and the fire entered the combustive air in front of her mismatched eyes - the very air that lingered inside the seal of her helmet catching fire. The pain and brightness of the conflagration was the last thing she saw, searing skin, eyes and hair, before she choked on her scream. The transition between burning air and the vacuum of space ceased her mind, and blissful oblivion claimed her at last.

---

[ MCPO Nolak Kamil (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Nolak_Kalmil) | Outer Hull | USS Theurgy | Vector 03 ]
[Show/Hide]Almost at the airlock, Nolak was frowning in concern, still hearing Rihen's plight over the comm channel. Since the people on the hull were hostages, and going inside might provoke the Devoted to act prematurely, he had stayed, even if his air supply was getting low. He was looking up towards the Helmet and trying to see the Thames as she made her way towards the tumbling white figure of the Risian engineer.

"Come on... She is dying," he muttered, his Deltan heart beating loudly in his ears, fearing that another would die on his watch. There had already been accidents during the night, and it seemed they would not make it through Alpha shift either. This was no accident, however, but an act of the Devoted. As much had been made clear by Fok. He was too far away to make out details, and not patched into the right comm channels to hear the development. What he did hear, however, was when Rihen abruptly stopped screaming. "By the Deltan plains..."

He could see that there was another figure next to Rihen, far up there, and tethered to the Thames. "They cut her oxygen... Hurry, get her aboard!"

So distracted was he that he did not see when the Tigris opened fire.

The flare of the phaser beam, a golden lance lighting up the nebula, it went straight past him. His pupils dilated, trying to adjust to the brightness, but no more had he turned his head before the closest gas pocket ignited behind him. He tried to raise his arms to protect himself from the shockwave, but it mattered naught. He was too close, and the conflagration stripped both suit and flesh from his bones. Whatever was left was scattered by the shockwave. There was no sound, but the last thing he saw was Thea's hull being scorched, plating torn away like wallpaper - scattered into the nebula along with his limbs.

The only mercy was that he hadn't even realised he was about to die. He didn't feel any pain before he was gone.

---

[ Captain Ives (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Captain_Jien_Ives) | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @CanadianVet @Striker N7 @Brutus @Hastata-Nerada
[Show/Hide]Evidently, Sarresh Morali claimed he hadn't been idle since the battle the day before, saying that there had been another fork in the time-steam. His behaviour bordered on insubordination, yet he remembered to address her properly before he left to take in the situation. Jien had stood from her chair, about to order a comm link opened to the Tigris, but the Temporal Affairs Officer did so in her place - speaking up to his Devotees.

Frowning, Jien turned to look at him, but she made no motion to stop him. She had yet to hear from the other Vectors, making her wonder if the situations there were being resolved. At the end of Morali's emotional proclamation, Jien turned to look at the tactical hologram in front of the Ops and CONN stations, watching the Tigris in wait for a reply. Morali's message had been clear enough, but the former Ash'reem had yet to explain the tetryon marker, and its significance. Therefore, Jien soon spoke up after Morali.

"This is Captain Ives," she said, refraining from saying much of what she wanted to. "Stand down now, and you will not be harmed. If you ignite the gas again, however, we have no choice but to..."

"Captain, the worker bee..." said Yukimura, looking up at Jien, "...it is moving - fast - towards officers Varder and Arisaka."

"Thea?" said Ives, havning to close the comm link and turning her head to look at the two markers on the hull of the Helmet, and the movement of Worker Bee Zero-Nine.

[Warning sent,] said Ship A.I. in reply, her intuitiveness setting her apart from other Starfleet computers. Varder and Arisaka would know they were about to be attacked. Since Varder had the only present mass driver, the fighters still a couple of minutes out, Jien hoped that...

Her oaken eyes widening, she saw on the hologram the Tigris opening fire, and someone on the bridge gasped. The first gas pocket they pierced with a phaser beam was down at Vector 03, close to the hull. The second one was just off the bow of Vector 02. Evidently, the Devoted on the Tigris wasn't even willing to listen to their Prophet. Jien clenched her hands into fists at her sides, and knew she had to act. There was no other recourse. No last resort. Not beyond the means they had already used.

"Talk to them again," she said to Morali, her voice cutting and clear, "make them believe I agree to their terms so that the fighters can get here."

She turned her eyes to her XO next. "Tell the inbound fighters that they are weapons free upon arrival. They should shoot to disable and to blind their targeting sensors. If they are too far out, scramble two more wolves from the fighter bay, same orders. Keep an eye on Arisaka and Varder out there too."

Then, she turned to Lieutenant Commander Marquez, and idea having come to her, "We do have two mass driver torpedo defence systems here on Vector 01. PSM Modules Alpha-Two and Beta-Two," she said, indicating the second modules on the starboard and port sides embedded into the outer ring of the Helmet. "Disengage the point-defence program and activate manual targeting. Lock on to that tetryon marker and take out the Tigris. Disable her if you can, but she must stop firing at the gas."

Turning to Stark, Ives continued. "Get the other shuttles to a safe distance, and all the people walking the hulls inside the airlocks, now." If the Tigris had opened fire already, they were no longer hostages, but people they needed to get inside.

---

Loose PO:
Thames: 1) @Even Angels Cry 2) @Kaligos
Vector 01 Hull: 1) @Jm Von Cat  2) Auctor Lucan
Bridge: 1) @CanadianVet 2) @Striker N7 (in reply to both Sithick and Ives) 3) @Brutus 4) @Hastata-Nerada  (though Martin can speak up earlier too)

Did I forget anything? lol R.I.P. Nolak Kalmil, and the die is cast with Rihen Neyah...

[ Commander Trent | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]

From his station at the Bridge's aft end, Trent was monitoring not only the pair of fighters that were making their way back to the ship as fast as the could in the soup that was this nebula, but the movements of all personnel and craft outside the hull.  After all, they were part of his battlespace, so to speak, and he had to keep up his situational awareness where it was needed: out there. 

And, frankly, he needed to make sure that fire from Theurgy and the notional incoming fire from the pair of Valravn screaming back would not connect with anyone out there they didn't mean to.  After all, this was no conventional engagement where a miss would mostly only be a threat to another active participant in the fight, not completely unprotected personnel and unarmoured auxiliary craft. 

In such a situation, minutes, even seconds, seemed endless.  And things looked under control until the Tigris opened fire.  Immediately, he spoke into his boom microphone even as damage report icons started flashing before him.  "Damage control teams to affected sections.  Shift radiation shielding from the affected emitters to the next ones in the cue.  Engineering, auxiliary power to structural integrity.  Rescue teams, stand by to recover personnel that may be stranded."

Trent found not being at Tactical both a blessing and a curse.  Not having his own hand on the trigger, he could not respond to Tigris' fire on his own, but at least it left him free to focus on the strategic picture.  And then, the word came, and, without directly acknowledging the Captain, he opened up a channel to the fighter bay's speakers directly.  "This is Mission Ops.  Launch alert fighters.  Immediate targets are Runabout Tigris and a Worker Bee 09, approaching at maximum thrusters.  You are weapons free with your mass drivers; end the threat."

No sooner was he done speaking that the hangar deck exploded in activity.  Wolf-09 and -10 were already lined up on the flight deck, their power systems hot, hardpoints loaded and engines ready to be lit up in a hurry.  The longest part of the process of getting them into space had been to close the cockpit before they accelerated out of the fighter bay as fast as safety precautions allowed.  And no sooner had both Valravn cleared the bay that they came about and their tactical systems, already linked up with Theurgy's plot, picked up the targeting information that was immediately confirmed by their own sensor suites, and they brought their own mass-drivers to bear. 

But Trent was not done.  "Wolf-10, be aware, we have personnel on the hull in the worker bee's path.  Protect them by whatever means necessary."

And this was it.  Orders had been given. 

[ Lt. Commander Leon "Striker" Marquez | Bridge | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide] 



The torpedo's readouts were conveyed directly to Sithick, and while in constant PaDD-to-PaDD communication with Gunnery Chief Tarsi, Resolve's torpedo expert, Marquez was able to render concise multi-colored readouts, taking into consideration Gorn night vision as the schematics were sent to him across an encrypted channel. After giving Sithick his assurances, Striker had since prepared contingencies in the event of a sudden mandatory detonation.

Leon only hoped the AI could do something about the warhead. Detonated outside, it would obviously ignite enough of the Nebula to disable or wipe at least one vector. As with any loyal officer, he had his bets placed on the Captain's orders, but prepared for anything, including the chance of a contained blast in one of several cargo bays. He left the possibility open for a detonation contained by a forcefield before he was summoned.

"Sithick to Marquez."

"I copy." Marquez affirmed.
 
"I has warhead, please lock onto casing and transport it to available cargo bay. I will be taking the warhead for logging, and repair could still be unstable better to move it by hand. Please lower shields, and have security ready to receive me."
 
"Understood. Compu-- Thea?" Marquez deactivated the shielding at the Gorn's location then caught himself in the old habit of what he had always simply called 'Computer'; Once he'd witnessed the personification of a ship's computer handle the McGee incident with startling efficiency, it was apparent he was dealing with a next-level development in holographic technology. "Recommend an immediate evacuation of a cargo bay that meets those requirements to receive the package."

"Marquez to Klex: assemble a security team and render any assistance to Mister Sithick. Whatever he needs. That includes a thank-you from us all." The Chief Tactical Officer stifled a relieved smile that lasted a second before turning to his other screen which manually targeted the runabout Tigris. The Vector's firing arcs moved in real-time as the runabout settled into the range of the Theurgy's foreward-facing weapons. Dotted lines of the various available weapons lit up the tactical station and the holographic table as Vector 01 came about, coming into the firing arcs. It was here where he was made aware of the new point defense mass accelerators. According to some of the light reading he'd received from his friend in sickbay, the weapon was summarily considered a 'Gatling gun', but Striker preferred the term CIWS <"Sea-Wiz">.


Then... He... arrived on the bridge. Marquez had called that man's 'followers' Morali-ists once. Striker didn't break his composure, communicating with Sithick and Klex respectively as he regarded Morali's arrival for an instant, keeping note of his presence on the bridge. The LtJg Temporal Affairs officer would either be a cure for at least one crisis; or He could be a Trojan horse. It was obviously not the CTO's place to judge, only to expect the unexpected, and if possible, act accordingly. The Resolve's former First Officer listened through a clenched jaw at Morali's speech. For now, he bided his time until given explicit orders from Ives--and no one else.

... Of course, with time loops and the nagging sensation of inter-dimensional tactical 'cheating', Marquez had to consider the consequences of the orders he was issued by his rightful Commanding Officer. Noticing the Temporal affairs officer avoiding the gazes of the bridge crew, Marquez's regard (as he carried out his duties directing those in his department in whispered tones) towards Morali was one of, If you stab us in the back, I'll snap your neck., and it was difficult to conceal as he occasionally glanced questioningly at Ives, though in such a body language equivalent to a whisper. Fortunately for Morali, he was in line.

"This is Captain Ives, Stand down now, and you will not be harmed. If you ignite the gas again, however, we have no choice but to..."

The Tigris' holographic display read out in an orange-colored read out as a buzzing alert chirped on the holographic tactical display as Morali concluded. "They're powering weapons, Captain." -- Then it was too late. A red human-shaped favicon appeared on the holographic display at the morbidly- beautiful explosion outside. Striker winced.

"Man down, Captain." he growled, remaining focused at his station, hand on the proverbial trigger on the MPS weapons suite. "Weapons hot, Captain." Marquez reminded the Captain, his tone unchanged, as there was nothing glib for him to add under the circumstances.

"Talk to them again, make them believe I agree to their terms so that the fighters can get here."

Marquez wondered if Kendrick would've returned fire by now, but held his tongue. The Project Eagle veteran was itching to enact the needs of the many crewmates in need of imminent justice over the few cultists or the one Morali; but Lieutenant Commander Marquez wasn't going to defy his Captain. Friends of his were aboard the other two Vectors and vessels between them; with little hesitation, he was going to blast that treasonous craft out of his sight. At the Captain's recommendation of the Mass Driver cannons. Distinctive corresponding weapons trajectories synchronized to the Chief Tactical console's crosshairs, as if asking to be fired.

The trigger key istelf was one of those manual control columns Striker had been very familiar with in his lieutenant years, making the ensuing weapons fire guaranteed to knock out the Tigris without obliterating the vessel or personnel aboard or so he hoped. There was no accounting for the lack of safety harnesses worn by those aboard... their survival would have to be a test of their faith. Cleared to engage, Striker opened fire with the surgical precision of the disable orders he'd been given to hit the rogue runabout.

...

Marquez timed and fired his attacks to avoid a direct kill order, but knew his weapons brought the hostile craft to at least 20% hull integrity as its counterpart on the holograpghic interface tumbled out of its position like a fly that had been swatted silly. Fortunately, for those aboard, Marquez was fond of the Danube, and as such in bittersweet irony, he tried his hardest not to wipe it out as the kinetic weapons fire lanced across the Tigris's hull. Much like Morali's followers, there was probably some chance at redemption after all. The First Officer's directions to the fighter squadron now had the initiative.


[ MCPO Klex Sonden (NPC) | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]

"Understood, Striker. Stay frosty up there and shoot like you mean it; Klex out." Klex chided before securing a toolkit into a knapsack, which included an archaic battery-operated power drill. The Denobulan ex-constable formed up a three-person team, including a Resolve survivor, Krukov.

"Shouldn't Ordnance Specialist Tarsi be on this mission? She can keep her calm, especially with McGee going --" around that time, an explosion rippled outside, like a sailboat in a rough storm. Krukov reached for his sidearm reactively before Klex stopped him assuredly, despite the brief shower of sparks. "External impact. It wasn't the torpedo." Sergei Krukov reported, after a loud sigh of relief as the team found their footing.

Klex activated his earpiece to overhear the cacophany of damage reports, getting the pulse of the situation. Fortunately, the earpiece comm unit was adaptable for Denobulans with the use of a small species-friendly clip. "McGee was an isolated incident. He expressed forms of stress disorder when off duty. I looked the other way when it happened. It looked like just stress and desperation, nothing out of the ordinary... certainly no one could've seen him snapping like that." Klex shifted his knapsack and diverted some of the fear and doubt out of the immediate task at hand.  The Denobulan and his party rounded the corner to the turbolift and stood aside as the team summoned the lift, nodding their way with a look of assurance.

"At any rate I'm convinced this ship's bound to have a good counselor. Don't worry, Sergei. Just keep your eyes front, keep your skivvies dry, priorities in order, and stay on target." Klex advised as they entered the turbolift. Ironically when Klex arrived at the double quick to Doctor Maya's and Sithick's location, that sentiment was tested at the unexpected sight of a species that had been known on occasion to be... aggressive towards humanoids. A fellow Alien, and much less-easily-phased war veteran was much more prepared to speak.

"Master Chief Klex." The Denobulan introduced himself in a curt salute to the Vulcan Doctor, and if not for the Gorn's visible injuries, the MCPO would have offered a handshake, but instead nodded with a respectful lawman's bow and eager confidence. "With the CTO's compliments. Has the warhead been secured?"

[ PO1 Varder Ridun & Jonas Arisaka (NPC) | Vector 01 Hull | "Helmet" Exterior | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan
[Show/Hide]
Seconds drifted past, Varder held his aim at the rouge runabout awaiting further potential orders. Something was happening, of that anyone could be sure. But only a select handful had anything near the big picture, patience.

Then came the warning, Theas voice echoing through their helmets with a warning. [Warning, hostile craft inbound, bearing nine mark four.] The urgency of which was somewhat understated by her voice, yet was not lost on the two men once they turned their attention to the stated location.

This was followed only seconds later by the Tigris firing once more, the detonations they caused seen and felt rather than heard in the hollowness of space. Vibrations shook the pair to no major effect, the flashes glared across their faceplates, but only for the briefest of moments. These blasts had no effect on, nor did they pose as intimidate a danger to the pair as the inbound work bee.

Varder was able to rather nimbly re-position himself into a crouch, twisting his torso and providing the room and ability to bring the rifle to bear on the inbound vessel. A brief pain swept over his chest, he grunted with the sudden sensation and attempted to brush it aside. Ideas flickered through his head, none of which ended well for the man within the craft. Options, choices.. time was not going to wait and nor was that pilot... but, what if..

Nimble hands quickly played with the fire selection his mouth moving, speaking to Jonas, not much is said. ["Jump, get clear."] even tone, no time to over think, no time to get emotional. Time to play a risk, aim just of the left.. wait for the distance to close, this has to be just right...
Jonas is clear, moving steadily away, this observation is made as one small packet of information. One part of the whole situation, observe, wait.

This is the only picture that matters.

Distance is closing fast, meters go by.
Almost, its almost right.
Almost time.
Squeeze.

The Accipiter fired, a warp bubble flew off to the side of the work bee the detonation altering its trajectory, making it spin and slowing its approach. Varder jumped as this happened, releasing the magnetic grip of his boots and shifting off the the side with the assistance of the suits propulsion systems. The result left him with a view of the side of the work bee, a handful of seconds, change the mode,
a flick of the thumb,
Aim,
Breath,

Fire.

A single shot from the rail-gun sped towards the unprotected and exposed rear compartment of the work bee, the backdrop was clear. All that was left was the effect this would have upon the target. The intent was disabling, the reality may not be so clean.

[ Jaya Thorne (https://orig05.deviantart.net/12e0/f/2016/300/a/4/imgpsh_fullsize_by_auctor_lucan-damefg0.png) | Runabout USS Thames | Above Vector 01 of the Theurgy ] Attn @Auctor Lucan , @Striker N7 , @Doc M. , @CanadianVet , @Jm Von Cat , @Brutus , @MasterRat
[Show/Hide]

Jaya's hands shook as she struggled to depressurize on Jack's mark. It took tremendous effort and both her hands pressing together to force the action.  Beads of sweat rippled on her skin as the shuttle indicated that the desired chamber  was depressurizing and a tether was outside her craft.   Jaya exhaled her relief that the plan was working.  If she could just hold herself together a little longer, just until Jack reached the girl, everything would be alright.

From what she could see, the crewman would be pretty beat up and there wasn't anyone else on this shuttle.   The girl would have to rely on Jack to treat her burn wounds until Jaya got them back to the ship.  She hoped for crewman Rihen's she that Jack was good with field medicine, because she had her hands full flying the ship.  Literally.

Suddenly, Jack dropped his second mark and Jaya pressed her hands once more into one another to reactivate the pressure in the airlock.  But there was no sensation.  She pushed then tighter, harder, but she could feel nothing.  She swung her foot forward in frustration and heard her boot ping off of the underside of the control station, but registered no motion beside the perpetual tingling numbness.  Her brown eyes opened wide with sudden fear as the realization hit home.

If she couldn't repressurize the airlock,  there was no way to get Rihen the air she desperately needed and the girl would suffocate to death within the very shuttle sent to save her.  Not only sent, volunteered.  Jaya had asked that all the others nearby clear away the remaining gas clusters.  She'd taken this rescue upon herself and everyone, everyone was depending on her to see it through.  She couldn't let that happen!

"NO! No no no no no!!! Activate goddamnit!!" Jaya screamed and frantically smashed her numbed hands into the console.  She couldn't feel anything anyway so what difference would it make?  Multiple panels lit up simultaneously, but none of them were the right ones.  She kept bashing the console as tears formed in her eyes.  This crewman was going to die because she couldnt perform her job properly. Because she allowed her own stupid pride to override common sense and didn't report her malady to her CO.

"Nooo!!  Help!  HELP!!! Jack!! I can't get it to repressurize!  I've lost the feeling in my hands!  Jack!!"  Her voice pleaded in the cockpit as she smashed her arm into her chest to activate her com badge. Maybe he would hear her. Maybe he could get here in time and crewman Rihen woud be ok.  But she wasn't going to stop trying.   If her hands didn't work, then she'd use her forearm or her elbow, whatever she could.  But her forearm gave worse results than her hands had.   The depressurized airlock door opened and closed again. Lights went on and off. A klaxon blared over the intercom for a full second before stopping. It wasn't working. Nothing was working.

As she leaned her abdomen into the console, a new thought emerged in her muddled mind.  If she could just get the shuttle to the theurgy and in a bay, the injured girl could be treated there.  But there was no way she could fly without her hands.  She'd still need to input headings and adjust the speed unless Thea could do it for her.

Unless Thea could do it for her!

Jaya gasped and shouted for the ship's A.I.  "Thea!!!  Please tell me you're here!!  I need you to take control of this shuttle and repressurize the rear airlock with crewman Rihen in it.   While you do that, I need you to fly it into the nearest bay right now at the fastest speed available!  I can't and a woman will die if we don't do this right now! Please tell me you are here and you can do this!!"  It was Jaya's last desperate plea.

And it worked. Sort of.

[Acknowledged. Activating remote helm control and plotting a course back to my Upper Shuttle Bay. Without a functional holoemitter aboard, I am, however, unable to repressurize the rear airlock. The shuttle bay crew has been alerted and a medical team requested.]

At least they'd make it back.  Jaya had to hope it would be in time.  With Thea flying, the sick pilot tried again to repressurize the chamber.  She leaned her upper body heavily on the console and jabbed her elbow into the right area. It took two tries.

[Rear airlock repressurizing.]

"Oh thank fuck!!"  It was all Jaya could think to say in the moment.  The real question remained to be seen. Was Rihen alright or had it taken Jaya too long? She wanted to go check, but Jaya couldn't feel her feet, so how was she supposed to get there?  The shuttle bay was well within her sights now and Jaya found herself too scared to ask the all-important question.  Had she killed a crewman? 

She needed to know.

"Jack? Is she.. ok?"

[ EVE Program AK-1 (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=EVE_Program_AK-1_DMSA-656) | Above Suq's Position | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] (NPC) Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]After the EMH materialised next to Junior Lieutenant O'Riley, she had spoken.  "Please state the nature of the Medical Emergency."

Then, had turned his eyes down to the Ship A.I. whilst it gave instructions. Evidently, the patient could not be reached, but the EMH had used the information provided to make an assessment of the overall situation, and had understood enough to act. "Acknowledged," he had said flatly and climbed down towards where Thea was, before the Ship A.I. had dematerialised, making a site-to-site transfer to Vector 03 in order to deal with the threat in Main Engineering. Junior Lieutenant O'Riley had vanished as well, and the EMH was alone with the Assistant Chief Engineer, an Efrosian from the Resolve. When he got in a position where he could see the engineer, some time had passed. During which the man could continue doing whatever repairs he was doing in the conduit. As far as he could determine, the repairs were essential, at the risk of his patients health.

He did not have much time to offer advice, or ask for an assessment of his bodily damage, because O'Riley's voice could be heard echoing from the Efrosian's combadge. [O'Riley to Suq, McGee has been incapacitated, and the bomb has been deactivated, please proceed with repairs to the conduit quickly. And no more dilly-dallying after that. You will let the Emergency Medical Hologram assist with extracting you from there once you are finished.]

Evidently, he did not have to ask for that very thing. The Efrosian male already heard it from O'Riley. "I am awaiting you here, since I cannot reach you. The emitter above prevents me from getting any further towards you. I advise you crawl back to me as quickly as you can when you are finished, so that I can treat your wounds. Please try to not loose consciousness before then."

[ [ Lt. Jg. Suq | Vector 02 Warp Core | Deck 06 | USS Theurgy ] @Auctor Lucan @TrexelCat

“No! No, you won't eliminate anything!” Panic siezed Suq. 'Eliminate' meant kill, and he couldn't take another death, and another betrayal He thought to move, to get out of the tube, but before his brain could send the signals to his hands to move, he heard the sounds that typically accompanied the transporter. She de-materialized too quickly. The ship was spinning and he span with her, helpless to control his direction and velocity. He prayed he wouldn't puke again.

The sensation of “I fucked up” took over his whole body and mind. It was his existence, a fuck-up. It made his legs shake, or maybe that was just the pain. The only thing that was louder than that was his fear. He could hear the whistle that came from the leak, a little bit farther away than he had thought previously. Delirium muddled his mind though, he thought about throwing himself at it, throwing himself back over the burning metal, about screaming and maybe throwing up on it. None of these solutions would work, of course.

He heard Sinead's voice somewhere, it broke the constant whistling in his ears that so resembled screaming. She was gone, not supposed to be here, but there was her voice alright. He heard it as if it was right in front of his face. Or rather, somewhere just below his face and within the vicinity of his breast. Sean, Sean, Sean..he had a job to do. But Sean, Sean McGee...

The EMH had materialized within the chaos. He hadn't heard him do so, but he was overwhelmed, there are lots of things he probably missed. He was waiting for him, try not to faint. So fate was written for him.

His thoughts began to fade. He heard nothing anymore, not the whistle or the warp core. Ejek had told him over and over that resigning himself to a state of utter helplessness to the situation and reverting to a robotic, autopilot-like state was awful for his mental health and he should stop doing it, he did it anyway. It let him work even under high stress.

He had a seam ripper second-to-last pocket on his right, gloves in the front pocket. He slipped his (slightly too large) gloves over his hands and powered up the ripper. Switch setting to solid plating, scoot back some feet, and start cutting open some of the paneling over the healthy part of the conduit, while it was still there. The rest was walled off by force field and cut off by the main power anyway, and he needed an access point that was not currently too dangerous to go near. There was a collector, fifth pocket on his right---no no, sixth in this belt. He reached for it, switched it to plasma collection, and began to slowly drain the conduit of whatever plasma it had left. His hands shook, but not enough to make his job impossible. He wondered why they shook so, though.

He listened for the whistle, too high pitch for most people, but just enough to be annoying for Suq. It lowered in tone, signaling a slow loss of pressure that came with the collector. From there, he could remove the collector from the conduit. Out comes the scanner, set to plasma detection. He could see all lines around him, and some wafting, drifting clouds just in front. If they degraded the warp core's outer shell, and they would do that, then the ship would explode. His collector stated it had enough room for just a little more, so collector-first, he began his very slow, cautious way out of the jeffries tube, over the now-cooled bulge in the metal, out the bend, back onto solid ground...

On the ground, the EMH could now get a better scan of Suq's vitals as he ever so kindly ignored his existence entirely.
[Show/Hide]He carried on collecting plasma around them, trusting his scanner to show him what he couldn't see and his collector to protect him. He made no attempt to interact with the EMH, or even make Eve's job easier by slowing down. The signals of pain that his hands sent up his spine when they were used just never made it all the way to his brain, or if they did, he just didn't care.

When his scanner reported back acceptable levels of plasma, (it wasn't all gone, but the ventilation system was hardy enough to handle the rest), Suq could get to work finding replacement material for the conduit. He was oblivious to the hellfire that scorched the ship around him, the shuttle attack, the chaos in everyone else's lives. Right now he was just some sort of autopiloted emergency-repair engineer, just as he always was. He could get it done in less than fifteen minutes. Find spare conduit material, fuse to healthy conduit, run checks, re-activate conduit system in this area, replace paneling, carry on with every day life. No feelings, no problem. Who needed to fully participate in life anyway.

[ Lt. JG Hi'Jak | Runabout USS Thames | Above Vector 01 of the Theurgy ] Attn: @Even Angels Cry & @Auctor Lucan
[Show/Hide]
Once the burning equipment was out of the back of the Thames Jack only had the power to count seconds, grabbing a tricorder, he muttered under his breath keeping track of the count in his head. Exposure to the vaccuum of space was not the way you wanted to go, a lot of people thought that death was caused by suffocation but if that was true victims exposed to the void would have minutes before they would die, no the truth was far worse.

It wasn't freezing, sure the void of space was cold, nothing was colder than space, that's what made revenge so sweet out here. The touch of space onto flesh would indeed cause freezing, after you're dead. No what killed you, and what Rihan would be experiancing for those twenty seconds were the gasses in her body expanding, and what that expansion caused would be incredibly painful as they caused the body to boil.

Prior to modern space travel few people ever actually died from exposure to the vacuum. It was mostly noted on animals sent up in the original spudnick programs, but those craft were never designed with proper shielding or with the intention to bring many of the animals shot into space back down to earth.

In the 20th century before warp flight only one human being had died from vacuum exposure. It was an explosive decompression chamber failure aboard a submarine and the poor bastard had been exposed for more than 30 seconds, the average kill limit was about 20.

Hypoxia, bubbling in the blood formed quickly, and spread to the brain causing massive nervous system failure along with collapsing of the lungs. It was an incredibly painful death, but not the comical explosion one saw with old or bad holo novels.  Rather the body falls still and goes into shock. Jack had never seen it personally, but he knew it well enough to fear space.

So every second wasted on the vacuum as Jaya panic'd was one that Jack could stand over the body of Rihen, working to get her suit off, so that when the pressure came back on there would be nothing to obstruct her breathing.

Life or death would be the difference of five seconds here, as he started to feel the air return to the Thames he sighed and closed his eyes.

Taking the tricorder he checked the vitals of the woman. If she was alive, she wouldn't need CPR, the body could reset it's self after several seconds, but once the brain boiled there was nothing that could be done, so the only question was time.

[ Crewman Fok (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Engineering_NPCs#Crewman_Dom_Fok) | Work Bee Zero-Nine | Above Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @Jm Von Cat
[Show/Hide]Fok's small craft wasn't built for speed, but the momentum he carried doubled the force with which the crewman collided with the concussion blast. The impact was jarring, glass shattering, and sent the worker bee spinning. The subsequent shot, precisely timed, did shut down the engine of the worker bee, but this was not something Crewman Fok noticed.

For the glass that shattered was not just the worker bee's, but also the thinner kind in Fok's helmet.

He had worn no constraints in his seat either, since with inertial dampening, that wasn't any need for such whilst conducting repairs. Therefore, choking, and blood beginning to boil with the exposure to space, Fok had been hurled through the shattered glass of the spinning worker bee. Surrounded by a horizontal rain of shards that travelled with the inertia, Fok only knew pain for a couple of seconds, before his widened eyes turned lifeless. He no longer saw the glass shards that travelled with him out into the Azure Nebula.

Far behind him, the worker bee gently collided with Thea's hull, before it also began to drift away. This, was when two Valravn fighters shot past it, heading straight for the USS Tigris.

The flares of their twin-mount turrets flashed brightly against the cloud of glass and Thea's hull, and the two fighter pilots hit the tetryon mark painted on the Runabout's hull with unfailing, automated targeting. Then, a third stream of automated mass driver projectiles joined the ones from the fighters, this time coming from the point-defence system mounted on top of the ring of Vector 01. Another second, and another point-defence turret opened fire.

The incoming projectiles, thousands of tungsten rounds tearing towards the USS Tigris, might not have set the sirillium glass ablaze... yet nor did any of them reach the hull of the Tigris either.

For the Tigris had raised its deflector shields, foregoing the shield harmonics that protected against the radiation in the nebula. The blue shields were just as effective against space dust at impulse speeds as it was against projectiles hurled at it. It was the very reason why the mass drivers were more effective for torpedo defence than shielded targets, and why directed energy weaponry were the mainstay of all battles in the 24th century.

The two Valravn fighters passed the Tigris without having made any visual effect. This, however, was not entirely true.

---

[ Petty Officer Dylan Cobb (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Engineering_NPCs#Petty_Officer_Dylan_Cobb) | Runabout Bridge | USS Tigris ]
[Show/Hide]It was both delta and thermionic radiation that forced the Theurgy, her shuttles and her fighters to utilize a special shield setting to withstand it. This was the same shields that protected the repair teams that walked Thea's hull. The shield harmonics prevented the use of regular shields in battle, but it had enabled safe passage through that part of the nebula.

Yet when Dylan Cobb had seen the inbound Valravn fighters, he had meant to protect himself and his likeminded by raising the real shields of the Tigris, thus protecting the Runabout from the incoming tungsten rounds. The short term survival was obvious, but once the two fighters had passed, the Devoted aboard the Tigris found themselves at the mercy of the Azure Nebula. Dylan felt the vertigo hit him first, and he had to put a hand against the helmsman's seat to steady himself. Everyone on the Tigris were shouting, at Dylan, at the helmsman, trying to be heard, and the quietude that began to settle over them was the sign of the radiation. They began to cough, to vomit, and to loose their balance. Their sense of sight was loosing cohesion. Dylan's mind blank, immobilised in panic, he heard the voice of Sarresh Morali over the comm channel - their saviour.

[Morali to the Tigris! Listen to me! The Captain agrees to your terms. Do you hear me? He will resign command to me, as long as you cease firing at the sirillium gas. You've won. Do you understand? Now stand down and return to your shuttle bay. You will not be harmed.]

For all the planning, all the sacrifices, Dylan Cobb thought it all worth it. He grinned, even as he felt more sick by the second. On some level, he knew that it might be cellular disruption because of the extreme delta ray exposure. He reached out with a shaking hand to answer the hail, and saw his nosebleed dripping against his pale, numb hand. "Morali... Is it true? Will you lead us to safety?" he croaked, "Will you s-save us?"

[Yes...] said Morali, his voice strained. The voice of the new Captain. [I will save you all.]

"Thank y-you," he said, and since neither Thea nor the fighters were firing against the Tigris any more, Dylan Cobb returned the shield harmonics to what they were before. Then, with shaking fingers, he plotted a course back to the Theurgy, automating the landing sequence. His work was done.

As he sunk down on the deck of the small bridge, he saw the rest of his likeminded on the deck plating as well, in various states of unconsciousness. Their sacrifice was his own, and he felt proud to have done right by Morali, and saved the ship from Ives' madness. Unable to keep his head up, he sunk down to rest.

For all the people that had to die for Morali's sake, Dylan Cobb was proud of his achievement.

---

[ Captain Ives (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Captain_Jien_Ives) | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @CanadianVet @Striker N7 @Brutus @Hastata-Nerada
[Show/Hide]On the Main Bridge of the Theurgy, the silence had settled over the gathered officers. On the tactical display, the Tigirs was lazily flying towards the Lower Shuttle Bay on Vector 03. They all knew what had happened on the Tigris, but Natalie Stark confirmed it from the Ops station.

"Only one life-sign remains aboard the Tigris, sir," she said quietly.

Ives, in his male form, clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. "Dispatch medical and security to the shuttle bay. I want a full damage report, and an account of who fell victim to the gas pockets around Thea's hull. Tell Arisaka and Varder to return here, and have CONN collect all bodies before they drift too far." Then, he turned to Morali, who looked like he had plenty to say, but felt too sick to utter a word. "Dismissed, Junior Lieutenant. We shall speak at length soon."

Whatever reaction Morali had, Ives had already turned to Trent and Marquez, to whom he had given the order to cease fire as soon as the Tigris no longer had posed any threat. The extremes that the Devoted resorted to in their faith had already been known before that day, but the esteem they put into Morali's word had not been proven until Morali himself spoke to them. Yet that they risked exposure to the radiation in this part of the Azure Nebula? Just to continue the fight for their icon? It left Ives speechless, even if it had been one of the possible outcomes of opening fire against the Runabout.

It was either the radiation, or being neutralised by the mass drivers. This way, they didn't loose the shuttle, but it still made Ives feel ill when thinking about the fate of the officers aboard the Tigris. As pragmatic as he was, the fact that things had gone so far left a sour taste in Ives' mouth. It still felt like defeat.

"Have the wolves return home," he said to Trent, and then, to Marquez. "What is the status on the torpedo, is it neutralised yet?"

---

[ Meanwhile | PWO Rihen Neyah (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Rihen_Neyah) | USS Thames ] Attn: 1) @Even Angels Cry 2) @Kaligos
[Show/Hide]Staring lifelessly into Hi'Jak's eyes, with her once beautiful face discoloured and marred by vacuum exposure and fire, Rihen Neyah's vital signs were there to be read on the tricorder. The only thing recognisable was her heterochromia, where one eye was blue and the other brown. Beyond that, there was no sign of the woman she used to be. Gone was her laughter, and her wholesome spirit. Her wish to help people, and to make them smile.

On the tricorder above her, it read clearly in the section describing her anomalies:

2nd and 3rd degree burns:
- 60 % of body surface
Hypoxia:
- Critical internal haemorrhaging
- Lung cohesion: 23 %, declining...
- Cerebral cohesion: 95 %, declining...
Heart beat: 20 bpm, falling...
Cardiac arrest estimated within 1 minute, 12 seconds...
...1 minute, 11 seconds...
...1 minute, 10 seconds...

What the tricorder didn't reveal, however, was the mental scarring of her experience, should she ever wake again.

---

OOC:
I NPCed Brutus' character with his permission.

Remaining Posts:
Thames: @Kaligos (Ends scene with Rihen being beamed to Sickbay, and Sithick disarms the torp?)
Vector 01 Hull: 1) @Jm Von Cat (Ends scene by returning to the airlock)
Bridge: 1) @CanadianVet 2) @Striker N7 (in reply to both Sithick and Ives) 3) @Hastata-Nerada  (though Martin can speak up earlier too)

[ Lt. JG Hi'Jak | Runabout USS Thames | Above Vector 01 of the Theurgy ] Attn: @Even Angels Cry & @Auctor Lucan
[Show/Hide]
Jack regarded the scans of the woman He wasn't surprised at the damage. No one ever said this moment of life was going to be comfortable for her, but he was surprised that she was still alive, at least in the common sense of the word. Cardiac arrest and the rest of the damage would catch up to her shortly. He hit his combadge. "Jack to Theurgy, Lock onto Rihen and perform an emergency medical transport."

Watching her vanish Jack slumped against the wall for a moment, feeling a wave of tiredness wash over him as he looked at the place where she had been laying, and then looked to the cockpit. He wanted out of this EV suit, and back into a lab.

The next time i get off this ship I should seriously consider not coming back. He thought just feeling tired. When he walked back to Jaya in the cockpit Jack collapsed into the chair a feeling of miserable tiredness washing over him for a moment. "She's alive... for the minute."

"I need to find some fun on this ship." He glanced towards Jaya. "You wanna catch a drink after my shift?"

[ PO2 Sithick |  | USS Theurgy | Jefferies Tubes 213166AA | Vector 02 ] Attn:  @Doc M. @FollowTomorrow @Triage @Absinthe @MasterRat @Hastata-Nerada
[Show/Hide]
Sithick held the removed torpedo head. He looked at the doctor who had helped him.  She had a good point. he was tired, and his body was not immune to radiation sickness, it was strong against it the simple durability of his body reduced the chance of stray harmful mutations and his immune system was powerful enough to burn anything that came his way. Though cancer was still a bitch it was an innoculation away from being fixed.

The burns on his claws were a common problem he had faced as an engineer. Still he couldn't leave them untreated, and the weapon was locked up and no longer a threat to the crew of the ship.

"Fine I shall go to the bay of the sick." It was in all actuality the last place he wanted to go. Chances were good that there was at least one doctor on duty whom he did not wish to see right now. leaving and locking down the tube that they had been crawling through so that another team could come along to clean up he tapped his badge.

"Sithick to Operations, the warhead is secured, requesting the removal of the forcefields, please dispatch a weapons disposal team to my location, and if you would beam me to sickbay." He looked at Maya, he didn't know where she had come from before this incident but he was glad for her assitance. "Thank you tiny doctor."

[ PO1 Varder Ridun & Jonas Arisaka (NPC) | Vector 01 Hull | "Helmet" Exterior | Airlock | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]Numb detachment.
That is all Varder really felt as he realized the true extent of what had just occurred in this small little picture before him. The drifting Worker Bee came gently into contact with Thea's hull, two Valravn fighters soared past in that moment, heading overhead towards the USS Tigris. All of this was noted in some off pocket of his mind as he watched the lifeless body of Crewman Fok lazily drift off into the Azure Nebula. The attack run overhead occurred, but Varder held no interest in such at this moment. Seconds drifted by as he simply floated in place above Thea's hull.

Then came Jonas's voice, relaying the instruction to return to the ship. This was accompanied by a ["...Is everything alright?"], Jonas himself had already returned to the hull of Thea with some assistance from his suits propulsion systems. ["Yeah.. everything is fine, lets get inside."] Came the response from Varder, short and somewhat curt. It was only a few moment before he reached the hull beside Jonas, the walk back to the airlock took only a minute or so, then there was re-pressurization. Throughout it all Varder was stoic, going through the motions required.

Now into the changing rooms, removing the EVA suits, some helping hands required from one another. Recovering his phaser within its holster, clipping it back into place as the accipiter hung heavily from his shoulder. After setting off at a brisk pace he palmed his combadge, "Varder to armory, I dont think I will be needing this rifle for bridge duty." A short exchange for the return of the weapon took place as he returned to the seat he had been at a few short minutes ago.

A brief few minutes ago Varder had never killed a starfeet officer.

[ Doctor  Maya (http://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Dr._Maya) | USS Theurgy | Jefferies Tubes 213166AA | Vector 02 ]

"Thank you tiny doctor."

“You’re welcome Mister Sithick,” the little Vulcan replied with a tiny nod as a quiet electronic hum was heard and the hulking Gorn was covered in a shower of glowing sparks.  In less than a moment, he had disappeared and with the view unobscured the greenblooded physician spotted three red collared enlisted men heading to her location.  They had halted their progress to stare at the Gorn as he was beamed away but now approached Maya and the torpedo.

"Master Chief Klex," the oldest one, a  Denobulan introduced himself in a curt salute to the Vulcan doctor. "With the CTO's compliments. Has the warhead been secured?"

“Yes, and the technician who defused it has been beamed to sickbay,” Maya replied.  “I am Doctor Maya.  If you don’t need me, I should be getting back myself,” she added.   “With your permission gentlemen?”

After they acknowledged her intention to depart the little Vulcan stepped away and took a moment to stare at the empty Jeffries tube before her.  Had she really crawled through these tunnels in order to infect the ship with the disease that was the enemy?   The facts seemed unverifiable, but there was one fact that she couldn’t deny:  There was no reason for her to roam free anymore.  

Standing up perfectly straight, Maya blinked slowly before touching the button on the chest of her EV suit.  “Maya to transporter room, the patient is stable; I am ready to return to the security center.”
 
For the safety of both her shipmates and herself, it was time to return to her cell.

---

[  William Robert O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy  ] 

Back in main engineering, William O’Connell emerged from his office, his face as pale as an Aenar’s swimsuit lines.

“What happened boss?” Chief Petty Officer Manfredi asked him.

“I wuz talkin’ the folks in th’ CIC,” O’Connell muttered.  “We lost a lotta good friends outside.”

~FIN