DAY 01: SAR Away-Mission [1150 hrs.]
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | Outside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04 ] Attn: Stark, Maya & S'Iti
With a brisk pace, Lieutenant ThanIda zh'Wann entered the Allegiant's dimly lit launching bay. She had heard that Declan Vasser met his end on the gangway that led to the yacht's airlock, and that Cinn had been the one that shot the mutinous augment. In the back of the head, no less - the high-risk situation demanding it. Ida's blue eyes and her antennae swept the small bay area, seeing that she was first to arrive. It was just as well, since she had been given the launching codes and access to the airlock, so she stepped up to the control panel... where she paused with a frown.
The control panel looked... askew.
She tilted her head, seeing that it had been torn open, and then she stepped up to it. It looked like someone just had put the top back in place and left it there. Non priority repair, perhaps. She tried a few commands on the glass surface, seeing that nothing happened. She sighed. "Thea, are you there?"
[Yes, Lieutenant zh'Wann.] Her tone was... reserved. Perhaps it was just Ida's imagination, but she thought that the Ship A.I. might resent her for the fact that she had ordered to ram the Calamity and destroyed her daughter. It was a bit unnerving, to say the least, thinking that the A.I. of her very own ship might... hate her, but then again, Ida was quite used to being hated since the Niga Incident. She dismissed the notion since the A.I. had not brought it up yet, and if she wouldn't, then Ida was surely not about to do so either. The humans called it 'a can of worms', and it was a fitting saying. The sense of guilt for the act had not nearly manifested itself in her. THe Calamity had killed too many of her crew. People close to her.
"It would seem I can't get inside the Allegiant because the control panel is... damaged." To say the least. "I have received deployment orders from the Captain. Assignment: Search and rescue. Authority: zh'Wann-Gamma-Five-Epsilon."
[Please stand by,] said Thea, and the next moment, the lights in the whole bay area lit, and the Allegiant started to power up. The access doors to the aft compartment swung open, like arms opening to embrace its inbound crew. [Awaiting decoupling command to open docking latches.]
Not having dropped the duffel bag she carried over her shoulder, Ida had started to walk towards the opened airlock before Thea finished speaking. "Thank you."
She did not get any answer, but she tried not to make anything of it. Instead, she focused on her duties, beginning to run inventory checks and ensuring that nothing was out of ordinary aboard the yacht. Soon, the other mission companions of hers would arrive, and she busied herself with the pragmatic tasks in order to not think about much else. Her face was still a bit bruised from the beatings she had suffered at the hands of the very crew she was about to bring back to the Theurgy, but she had been cleared by medical, and it was not like she was going to say no to the mission when Wenn Cinn and Captain Ives both thought she should go.
Furthermore, she had orders concerning the assigned pilot of the yacht. Orders... and her own interpretation of them.
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Outside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04] Atten: zh'Wann Maya & S'Iti
"Make a decision, any decision," Natalie once more repeated the words back to herself as she left the turbolift and crossed down the corridor towards the Allegiant's bay, small pack tossed over one shoulder, carrying her gear for the mission, a small array of technical gadgets, mixed in with the standard away mission gear git for overnight operations. There was every chance that, given the area mapped out to patrol on the PADD in her right hand, that the SAR mission could, and likely would, eat into the next day, if not longer. They had to balance time out here, against the risk of being detected, and getting back to the Theurgy in time to make their departure for Starbase - 84. All of which came down to Natalie, making decisions.
And she had made plenty of them, in the intervening time between leaving Cmdr. Trent's office and walking into the docking bay, now. Chief among them, unfortunately, was to set aside the commanders suggestion about additional personnel. After a more detailed conversation with the Chief of the deck and a -very - brief chat with the Captain, it became readily apparent that, while it would be good to have the escort, it simply wasn't an option. The threat of detection had to be weighed against the convenience of additional shuttles to help with the rescue effort. In the end, stealth won out. It would fall to Natalie's proven talents with the transporter for creative....boarding of rescued survivors. Especially if any of them happened to be of an inclination to take over the Allegiant by force.
Mind, that's what Lt. zh'Wann was coming along on the ride for. But anything that Natalie could do to make the Security Deputies job easier, would in turn make her own job easier. And likely make their mission a success. So! That was that.
Natalie rounded the corner and into the bay proper, coming to a halt. The lights were already on, and the airlock had cycled open to allow crew to board. Resting her hands on her hips, jutted to one side, she chewed on her bottom lip for a moment in contemplation. The truth was, she had hoped to be the first one on the ship. It was not, by any means a huge matter of importance, but still, impressions being impressions, she had wanted to make a good one. There was also the question of who, exactly, had boarded. Realistically speaking, it would have to have been either herself, or Lt. zh'Wann that got the ball rolling. Dr. Maya would not have been given access codes and Natalie was sure - as a result of her conversation with Cpt. Ives and his additional instructions - Cpo, S'Iti would not have been authorized to start things up either.
Of course, none of this guaranteed that someone else hadn't somehow covertly gained access.
There is caution, and then there's paranoia, Nat she told herself, taking a deep breath through her nose. She tapped her combadge, and quietly spoke into it. "Thea, please confirm whom is aboard the Captains yacht."
"Lt. zh'Wann is the current occupant of the Allegiant lt. Cmdr. Stark," the muted reply came back through her combadge, and therefore likely not heard throughout the bay and the interior of the ship beyond. Which had been Natalie's goal the whole time - discretion. Satisfied with the report from the ships AI, and that she had thought to ask, the COps rattled off a quick "Thank you, Thea," before killing the comm line. Not everyone thanked their ships computer - not every ships computer was a sentient being in her own right. Given the uniqueness of Thea's existence, and her own committed stance to the AI's continued freedom, as a person, well, Thank you seemed right.
Immediate concerns put to rest, Natalie resumed her stride, through the airlock and into the ship itself. She hadn't spent all that much time on the Captains private yatch that had been shipped out with the Theurgy. She knew that like everything else on the Theurgy-class vessel, the Manta-class Advanced Scout was top of the line, and a classified prototype. And the evidence was all around her, as Natalie made her way down the main corridor that branched off from the Aft Airlock, heading towards the bridge of the small ship. For now, she avoided the quarters section, and instead focused on getting to the bridge.
Walking through the security check point, Natalie had to smile. There wouldn't be anyone manning this small station on the mission, but it appeared that the diligent Security deputy had already gotten this little room up and running all the same. Per protocol, she too keyed in acess codes, by hand, and allowed. "Authorize, Stark- Sigma-Delta- Niner." Similar to the process that Ida had undertaken to start the ship up as a whole, the command crew would each be required to identify themselves here to ensure bridge access during the mission. The yachts computer responded with, "Stark, Natalie. Lt. Commander. Currently assigned Mission Commanding Officer, Allegiant. Welcome aboard"
With that, the bridge access doors slid open and Natalie was able to walk onto the cramped command deck. "Lt.," She called out, seeing the Andorian, as she mentally told herself to look confident and calm, taking a few steps to the command chair and letting her free hand rest atop the back of it.. "How do we fair?"
OOC: Took a few liberties with placement of characters, references to conversations not actually played out, and interactions with AI's. Let me know if anything needs to change.
The Cardassian Conn officer walked into the boarding room where the dock between the Theurgy and the Allegiant was and smiled as she approached the small but powerful captain's yacht. "Theurgy, this is Chief S'iti" she asked the computer console. "Is the MCO on-board the Allegiant?"
The computer replied back with an affirmative and the MCPO keyed in her access codes into the now repaired entrance pad. Keying her combadge she spoke up. Chief S'iti reporting for duty Commander Stark. She said as she walked down the small corridor before reaching the security checkpoint and keying in her sequence. "Authorization, S'iti Tango Kilo Four."
The computer replied with a monotone, "S'Iti, Aisha. Master Chief Petty Officer. Currently assigned Pilot and Recovery Liaison, Allegiant. Welcome aboard."
She nodded towards the computer not knowing it it payed attention to such things or if it was as self aware as Thea was but in her own way thanking it as she walked towards the door which opened to the cockpit. "Orders commander?" she asked not wanting to assume anything about how the OPS chief wanted to go about the various preflight preparations.
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | the Captain's Yacht Allegiant | Deck 04 ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
To say that Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) found the mission inconvenient was somewhat of an understatement. She had spent nearly all of last night deprogramming T'Rena's victims and had spent the morning checking up on her patients. She had expected to spend the rest of the day in a deep trance to excise the angst of the week from her psyche and maintenance and reorder the contents of her mind but instead she was being sent out to recover survivors from the Harbinger's lifeboats. She has accepted the assignment without complaint. The martyr like instinct that 22nd century Vulcan's sexual surrogate program had drummed into her didn't go away easily. Besides, her traditional Vulcan upbringing had taught her that it was unbecoming to display dissatisfaction towards a task that needed to be done. Out of all of the people that Nicander had in his department, Maya was the logical choice, and like every other department head he was shorthanded. Perhaps after recovering the Harbinger's surviving crew the Theurgy would be a little less shorthanded.
When she reached the Allegiant's shadowy launching bay, she paused as she noticed the damage to the control panel near the space yacht's open airlock. Scuttlebutt indicated that Captain Vasser had met his end here, and from the look of things hadn't gone quietly. Maya raised an eyebrow but gave no other indication of distress. "Maya to Stark," she called in a calm professional tone as the hand that wasn't carrying her duffle bag tapped her combage. "Reporting for duty as ordered." She paused to stow her duffle bag, her tricorder and her medkit in the little portside cargo bay before gliding down the corridor and entering her security code into the console by the door. ""Authorization, Maya Beta Niner Foxtrot."
"Maya. Ensign. Currently assigned Mission Medical Officer, Allegiant. Welcome aboard," the Allegiant replied in Thea's voice as the door slid open and allowed the little Vulcan access.
"My apologies for my tardiness," she murmured to the others when she reached the cockpit. "I presume that I will be taking the comm station?" she asked in a casual but respectful tone.
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | Captain's Yacht | Bridge ] Attn: Stark, Maya & S'Iti
Standing at the Tactical station when Commander Stark entered the Bridge, Ida turned her head and antennae towards the human and inclined her head in greeting. She was young for her rank, Ida had noticed well before the misson at hand, and she had thought Lieutenant Commander Hendrick's protegeé hadn't been ready when she assumed the position of Chief Operations Officer after the Niga Incident. Given the ease in which she seemed to conduct herself at the onset of the away-mission, Ida gathered that the past months had forced them all to adjust to the demands of their positions, the pinkskin included. The greatest respect Ida held towards the woman was her efforts before the ascent from Theta Eridani IV's surface, where she had saved more than a hundred people by storing them in the Theurgy's transporter buffers - something which might be key to accomplish their current mission.
"The Allegiant is fully stocked with necessary equipment and the replicator has been modified to not require any rations," she said and resumed the inspection of the scout's tactical system settings while she spoke. "The lockers contain minimum required field equipment if we need to hike on foot to find some of the crew. Serving as EVA-suits, there are four Tactical Conn Exosuits available if we need to do a space walk and repair the Yacht at some point. All systems are online and Thea is waiting for the decoupling command."
After Ida had finished, the two last members of the team arrived in short order, an Ida raised her eyes and antennae to nod in greeting to both of them. She was just as little familiar with the Cardassian and the Vulcan as she was with the Pinkskin, not having said two words to either of them before then. Naturally, Ida wondered how much they knew about her actions during the Niga Incident, and if they held her pollinated self accountable still for what she had done. An errant thought, best ignored. She did not have to prove herself.
"We are ready to depart, Lieutenant Commander."
OOC: Would you mind launching the Yacht in your next post, Brutus? Then I can post again where I move the hands of time forward and set up how they have their first encounter.
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Outside the Captain's Yacht | Deck 04] Atten: zh'Wann Maya & S'Iti
The Lt. Cmdr had the distinct impression that Ida zh'Wann was sizing her up. Natalie took that in stride, doing the same to Ida in turn, with a small smile after. It seemed that both women were willing to work with the other, and that while neither were telepathic, both came away with a sense of respect for the others abilities in their particular fields of focus. Whether or not that respect would grow during the mission would remain to be seen. She listened with rapt attention as Lt. zh'Wann walked through the ships status and that, as far as Thea was concerned, they were good to go. "Excellent, thank you, Lieutenant."
Having barley finished acknowledging Ida's report, Natalie heard the doors slide open behind her. She stiffened up just a little bit, as the Cardassian addressed her. It wasn't at all fair to Aisha, but the COps couldn't help but remember Cale Winterbourne when she saw the flight ops officer, and remember how the grey skinned woman had taken over for Cale after he had been gunned down during the mutiny. Then again, Aisha had come to her rescue, later on during the same day. So she forced a smile onto her face, and taking her hand off the back of the command chair, she gestured to the helm.
"Take your station, Chief, and get us through the pre-flight check; take it from the top and work us through. I want to get underway as soon as we're all aboard." Sure, Thea considered them ready, but Natalie had yet to meet a pilot that didn't want to go through the checks themselves, to put their own minds at ease. And no sooner had she given the order than the last of the crew hailed her. Natalie's combadge went off, as, Dr. Maya, announced herself. She would be their medical department on the small ship for the duration of the journey, and Stark took the moment to respond with a simple, "Acknowledged, Doctor. Come on aboard." Maya arrived with the typical stoicism that the younger brunette had come to expect of the Vulcan race, delivering a soft apology for her timing, and then a suggestion about stationing.
Natalie tilted her head for a moment as she considered the diminutive Vulcan's words. It seemed as reasonable a position for the doctor to take as any, at least for the initial duration. "Very well, Doctor. The communications station will work just fine." She paused, and then smiling, "However, once we are underway, I'll want to take a look at the Medical bay with you. We'd be poor rescuers indeed if we weren't prepared to accept injured." She was sure that the Allegiant's med bay had been prepped already, but it paid to get a bit more hands on familiarity with it. Plus, she'd never worked with the Vulcan. It would do good for her to observe the other woman.
Once everyone was in their stations, Natalie took a long look around the bridge. Nodding to herself, she glanced to Maya, "Open a channel to the bridge," she ordered softly, as she gripped the chair back tighter. They were ready, but there were forms to follow still. She spared a glance to Aisha, confirming that they were clear on the pre-flight check. Once she received acknowledgement that audio channel was open, she took a breath.
"Theurgy, this is Allegiant, requesting permission to disembark." She had expected the mellow, whisper tones of the First Officer to answer back over the open channel, but it was the more reserved, if lighter female tones of Captain Ives. "Allegiant, you are clear to disembark. Good hunting, Commander."
"Thank you ma'am," Natalie responded. She nodded then, to Aisha. "CPO S'Iti, take us out," she gave the order, and eased herself down into the command chair at the same time. It seemed to mold to her back, and she could barely feel the shudder as the docking clamps were released. Out the bow windows, she could see the metal of the ships hull break away, replaced with the expanse of space that surrounded their mothership. She drummed her fingers along the small command panel on the right hand arm rest, bringing up their mission flight plan. "Come about, bearing 227 mark 4, full thrusts." The ship slid forward, and Natalie watched as they passed under the saucer of the Theurgy. "Once clear, go to warp, factor 5." And then she crossed one leg over the other, and simply said, "Engage."
[ Aisha S'Iti| Captain's Yacht | Bridge/Cockpit] Attn: zh'Wann, Maya, Stark, and Ives
The Cardassian nodded replying a simple, "Yes Ma'am" to the order to go through the preflight checks. Working her way through she verified all the various safeties and system status messages as she readied the small ship to be separated from its mothership. "Computer, please transfer engine system readings to the copilot console." As the information began to show on the screens beside her she silently went over the check-list within her head. Both Deuterium tanks and Antimatter cells full, both dilithium crystal mass and integrity optimal, all four containment chambers showing no deterioration, both intermix chambers primed. "Engine systems showing green across the board boss, bringing the twin cores online and sending power to all necessary systems. Preparing to sever power umbilical and open the docking hatch once the doctor is onboard. She said as she began the process of bringing power systems online within the ship smiling as she heard the soft noise as the twin warp cores fired up sending a steady stream of power throughout the ship giving the ship the ever so slight resonating vibration.
Mere moments passed before the Doctor was arriving on the bridge and by that time the rest of the preflight checks were proceeding just as planned. As expected of a Captain's yacht, the Allegiant had been kept in primed condition and there was not a thing aside from the broken console on the outside that was amiss on the ship. For lack of better terms it was as if the ship was fresh out of the shipyards and prepared for her maiden voyage. Aisha smiled as she finished a double check of the last of the preflight checks and looked to the mission commander. "Commander Stark, the docking hatch is open and the power umbilical has been released. All that remain are the docking clamps, awaiting launch orders Ma'am."
"Open a channel to the bridge," Aisha heard her Commander say, hearing the drawn breath and softly inhaling a bit herself, "Theurgy, this is Allegiant, requesting permission to disembark."
Aisha smiled as she heard the voice of their Captain's female form reply. "Allegiant, you are clear to disembark. Good hunting, Commander."
The scaled woman nodded her own thanks despite knowing she was unable to be seen by the captain as her commander thanked her for all of them. "Thank you ma'am." Aisha nodded when she heard her superior's command, "CPO S'Iti, take us out."
"Yes Ma'am, Commander." She said in an eager but still subdued and tempered tone. It was clear that she had been waiting for the order and was more than ready to carry it out to the letter. But not so overzealous to fail to do things by the book. "Docking clamps released, dorsal thrusters at 10 percent and... we are clear of The Theurgy's ventral hull Commander. Bringing the impulse engines online," she said feeling the soft thrust as the impulse engines began to propel them forward just enough to begin overtaking their inertia from separating with their mothership.
"Come about, bearing 227 mark 4, full thrusts."
"Course adjusted." She said quietly speaking into the console logging the necessary information so it would be in the records as she watched the engine status showing on the consoles in the seat beside her. "Engine systems reading all clear we are safe to bring the warp field online." She continued to herself and to the computer.
"Once clear, go to warp, factor 5."
"Warp engines fully online warp field bubble stable." She continued quietly listening to her commander waiting for the command.
"Engage"
The Cardassian smiled softly to herself as she entered in the command and watched as the lights of space began to stretch and move by as if they were now speeding past star after star. Of course they weren't. It was merely an optical illusion caused by the many factors of the interactions between the warp field barrier itself and the barrier of space on its outside and the bubble subspace which the ship was present within. No matter how many ships she had been on there was always a certain wonder that filled her heart and mind at the sights of FTL travel. Despite knowing how it worked and understanding nearly every facet of the theory and having put said theory into practice on uncountable occasions the actual sight as the theory and action came together with reality was never less than awe inspiring to her.
[ Aeron-2514 | Equator | Escape Pod 87 | 1310 hrs. ] Attn: 1) Brutus 2) Doc M. 3) IronFerrox 4) Auctor LucanEnsign Abner paused to wipe the sweat from her blue eyes. It felt like Aeron-2514 was even hotter than the scans had made it out to be. At least that was how it felt. The hard baked clay of the dried riverbed that their escape pod had landed in only served to reflect the heat of the dual suns back up at her. She desperately wanted some water, but knew they had to conserve the meagre supplies of the pod as best they could. Who knew when they might be able to expect rescue... if it ever would come?
Gripping with both hands the crude wooden pole that Edgar had managed to craft, she set about once more trying to chip her way through the hard crust of earth. She did it so that she could erect the shaft as she had done two others so far. A loose pile of emergency blankets lay on the ground nearby, waiting for her to finish so that they could be stretched from the pod to the poles, creating some extra covering so that they would not have to crowd into the escape craft to escape the suns.
Nearby, Edgar had broken through, and was forcing his pole into the sandy soil that lay beneath. He had slipped his uniform free down to the waist, his dark skin glistening with sweat she saw. She longed to do the same, but at least until she had some shade to work with, her pale skin ruled that out. Degara had made that mistake yesterday, and now he could hardly walk. So bad were his burns.
The staccato rhythm of their work continued - the crust defying their strikes. Abner swore as the staff broke in two. She'd had it, or at least she needed a break. Angrily she threw the two halves aside and walked away. She stalked past the opening of the pod, taking a quick glance inside as she passed. Peter Hildebrandt was still laid out on a crude stretcher; Hebert slumped over in sleep beside him. Herbert had been up all night fighting to keep the other man alive, and his efforts had finally paid off. Abner knew it was a well-deserved rest, but she could not help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the man sleeping. Degara was finally asleep as well.
She made for the section of the riverbed's banks that they had been using to climb out. A few roots jutted out at random intervals, which made fairly decent steps and handholds, even if the tree from which they stemmed had died when the river dried up. A few moments later, she had reached the top.
A rare breeze touched her face, making her blonde hair flare out in the binary sunlight. As far as she could see, there was naught but dried out grass and a few horribly stunted or dead trees. She did not know what had happened to the river, but clearly it had been the lifeblood of this area. Looking west, she could see the trio of crewmen that she had sent out exploring. They were making their way back. They looked to be in good shape, but sadly, empty-handed again.
She glanced to her right at the rough grave they had been forced to dig yesterday. There lay Anders and Durmalach. The escape pod only had six seats, and in panic, there had been ten of them when they had ejected from the
Harbinger.
It could be worse, she decided.
At least the eight of us are still alive. For now. Sighing, she turned back to climb down to the crashed pod. That was when she saw it, catching the sunlight right in the middle of the sky.
"We've got company!" she called, and soon, the three men in the distance came running with their phasers out, and Edgar was kicking Degara and Hebert awake down in the pod. Ensign Abner narrowed her blue eyes at the approaching shuttle, making fists at her sides to find courage. She was wondering which of the two Captains were alive to mount a search for them... or if it was a Reaver that came their way to end their lives.
OOC: Reposting this since IronFerrox did not chose to jump to 1150 hrs. and Allegiant's arrival to Aeron-2514. It would be odd to have this post before his now. I am at fault here, however, since I may have posted the destination scenario a bit too soon. Now, I have moved the hands of time forward, so please don't post anything more about when they leave the Theurgy otherwise we will be stomping in the same place and the mission will take forever. :)
I also changed the posting order so that Brutus is next, having Stark give orders about what they should do as they descend towards the damaged escape pod. Maya is second, and the it's IronFerrox turn again. I will be posting for Ida as well as the people on the planet, but feel free to NPC them as much as you want to in your posts. Here is the basic info on the Harbinger crew and the pod (which I added now):
Escape Pod 87
Image & Pod Information:
(https://orig12.deviantart.net/9a0b/f/2015/274/7/4/untitled_drawing_by_auctor_lucan-d9bjear.png)
Escape pods are embedded throughout the hull of a ship. The Akira-class starship's escape pods are fitted with single-use deflectors, flash warp drives, and beacons to facilitate escape and rescue. Even with such measures, the use of an escape pod can be harrowing. Food and water rations are typically sparse; more abundant are medical supplies to treat injuries sustained while abandoning ship. Corrosive clouds or interstellar shock waves can destroy escape pods as soon as they eject. An asteroid, comet, or other celestial body can also wind up having several pods warped directly into it as the automated engines make fatal miscalculations.
The single-use deflectors and the flash warp drive are small, underpowered means that utilize a stored battery charge to warp a short distance before they run out of power. Usually, they only manage a few seconds of Warp 1, enough to travel perhaps a million kilometers and little more. This is typically enough to get the escape pods out of immediate danger.
Each pod is further fitted with an emergency beacon. This beacon transmits distress signals across fluid routers, theoretically allowing rescue parties to pinpoint the exact location of the escape pod and retrieve it. These beacons can be turned off and on as necessary for the safety of the occupants. In the case of Escape Pod 87, the pod is damaged and they have no means of communication.
CPO Jacques Hebert Medical
PO1 Peter Hildebrant Security (injured)
PO3 Edgar Rowland Science
CWM Luther Ford Science
CWM Degara Moon Operations
CWM Morgan Meyers Operations
CWM Russell Rodriquez Engineering
CPO Anders Gayle Operations
PO3 Durmalach CONN
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Bridge - USS Allegiant | Descending into atmosphere, Aeron-2514| 1310 hrs] Atten: zh'Wann Maya & S'Iti
The group had been ar warp for some time, when they picked up their first emergency beacon. Natalie had, in fact, been in inspecting the engine room, when Dr. Maya had called back to her through the comms, summoning her to the bridge. As the closest thing the crew had to a chief engineer, it feel to Natalie to check in on that department, as well as command the mission.
She swept back into the bridge with little hesitation, nodding her thanks to the Vulcan at the comm station. "Lock on to the signal, and bring us out of warp, on approach vector." The orders came out, hopefully sounding natural, as Natalie looked from the Cardassian pilot to the Andorian security chief at Tactical, back over to the Vulcan at comm's, taking assessment of each of her team with a glance. "Report. What are we dealing with?" Asking the question, Natalie watched as the Allegiant dropped out of warp, and an arid, harsh looking world was brought up on the view screen.
She waited for the team to take their scans and file a report, one more taking the center seat. What do they do to these things to make them so damn comfortable? she wondered, the errant thought unpressed. "So the signal is coming from the planets equator," she repeated the information, frowning. She didn't like that there was interference coming up from the planet. Some nasty mineral in the rock was making it difficult for sensors to pinpoint the number of lifesigns down there, but it was clear that there were life signs.
"We're going to have to go down into the atmosphere," she muttered, looking at the readings that Ida has forwarded to her small control panel, built into the command chair. She tapped out the coordinates, pulling up a visual - too garbled to make out sadly - then swiped the location over to CPO S'Iti. "Bring us in slow, but high. Let them see us coming," she ordered the flight officer, then leaned back into the chair. The brunette took a slow breath, and laced her fingers together, two pointers tapping against her chin, elbows resting on the chair arms.
"All right, I want options, people," she said, as she looked around the group. Make a decision, any decision she told herself yet again, repeating the words like her own new personal mantra. Whatever they suggested, it would be her call in the end, and she would stick by it. "Aisha," she said, turning to face the pilot. "These are your people, when we bring them on board, i want you on hand to greet." Whether they beamed the refugees up, or landed and let them in on foot remained to be seen. "Doctor, it goes without saying that we will need to be prepared for injured. I just hope that we don't have to add to the injury list, ourselves."
On the screen, the picture was clearing up. The Allegiant had cut through the atmospheric barrier and was on its approach. She could just make out figures below, in what appeared to be a dried up river bed. They were high enough up that the refugees looked like ants, but all the same, her heart seemed to freeze and rise up into her throat, all at once. These were her people. Sure, they came from the Harbinger but they were fellow officers in distress. She looked to Aisha, as she listened to her officers chime in, and wondered, if the Cardassian could see the concern in Natalie's eyes, and if it were mirrored in Aisha's heart.
OOC: Feel free to chime in with suggestions, everyone. Natalie will consider everything that yall have to contribute. I know which way I'm leaning, but she wants input first. And note, Natalie has not yet ordered the ship to attempt to hail the survivors.
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | the Captain's Yacht Allegiant | 1310 hrs.] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
The Allegiant soared through the empty reaches of space, searching for any sign of survivors from the Harbinger’s collision with the Calamity. It wasn’t until 1310 hours that they found something. Ensign Maya who was sitting at the mission operations/communication system was monitoring sensors, just like everyone else on the bridge.
Not everyone was on the bridge, however. The mission’s commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Natalie Stark (https://orig15.deviantart.net/880b/f/2015/160/5/3/natalie_stark_01_by_auctor_lucan-d6neqei.png) was inspecting the ship. Normally such an inspection would have been made before takeoff but with the Theurgy being shorthanded, Maya didn’t know when the Allegiant had been inspected last.
It was Maya, who was at the comm panel, who contacted Commander Stark. “Commander, we have picked up an emergency beacon. It has been confirmed as a transponder from one of the Harbinger’s escape pods. Your presence is requested on the bridge.”
When Natalie Stark entered the bridge, she wasted no time before she started giving orders. "Lock on to the signal, and bring us out of warp, on approach vector." she instructed Master Chief Petty Officer Aisha S’Iti (https://orig02.deviantart.net/4540/f/2013/215/9/4/aisha_03_by_auctorlucan-d6gheqm.png), who was manning the helm. "Report,” she ordered as she took the captain’s chair. “What are we dealing with?" she added as the Allegiant dropped out of warp.
“The signal is coming the surface of an M class planet listed in our records as Aeron-2514,” Maya replied as her long spidery fingers played across her LRCS panel. On the viewscreen, a khaki colored world could be seen in the distance. The desolate world seemed to expand as the Allegiant approached it. “Oceans only cover roughly forty percent of its surface leaving the majority of its surface barren and arid by Federation standards. The signal seems to be coming from a location in what would be considered its tropical zone.”
"So the signal is coming from the planets equator," Stark nodded.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Maya acknowledged with a single nod of her own. “Lieutenant zh'Wann (http://img00.deviantart.net/6a1a/i/2015/211/7/7/thanida_zh_wann_portrait_by_auctor_lucan-d6ghiqn.png) is forwarding you our scans now.”
"We're going to have to go down into the atmosphere," Stark murmured as she glanced down at the miniature LRCS screen installed in the arms of her command chair. She tapped at her console, frowned before sending the coordinates to the Cardassian in the pilot’s seat. "Bring us in slow, but high. Let them see us coming," she said to Master Chief S’Iti before leaning back in her chair.
Maya’s eyebrow rose as Stark took a deep breath while making a gesture that Maya had been told was called ‘here is the church, here is the steeple.’ The gesture seemed frivolous, yet if Maya’s peripheral vision was accurate the expression on Natalie Stark’s face was not jovial. Maya had seen the gesture on three occasions: twice in movies that she had watched in the 22nd century and once in a 24th century holonovel. Apparently the gesture was both ancient and cultural.
"All right, I want options people," Stark announced. "Aisha, these are your people; when we bring them on board, I want you on hand to greet."
Maya considered the situation. It standard procedure for Starfleet personnel to lay down on their stomachs and spread their limbs when rescued by Starfleet Pararescue teams but it was unlikely that the Harbinger’s survivors would allow follow regulations. They believed that Starfleet was hunting them with shoot to kill orders. Maya was drawn out of her diagnosing when Stark addressed her.
"Doctor, it goes without saying that we will need to be prepared for injured. I just hope that we don't have to add to the injury list, ourselves."
“And that possibility is likely,” Maya acknowledged with a tilt of her head. “The Harbinger’s survivors believe that Starfleet is hunting them, and their opinion of the Theurgy’s personnel is unknown. It is likely that our passengers will need to be tranquilized to prevent them from attempting to overpower us and hijack the yacht.”
In the meantime, the Allegiant had entered the atmosphere and was approaching the planet’s surface. “I’m locking on to ten combadge signals,” Maya reported. “Putting them on the screen.”
The main viewscreen displayed the image of a dry river bed and the tiny dots that were the images of the castaways seen from the air.
“I am reading only eight lifesigns,” Maya announced as she studied her console. “They must have sustained two casualties,” she reported in a brisk businesslike tone.
[ ThanIda zh'wann | USS Allegiant | Bridge | Descending towards Escape Pod 87 ] Attn: Stark, Maya & S'Iti
Ever the keen eye and sharp tool, Ida observed the readings on her console while the Allegiant descended towards the landing site - mind bent on risk assessment and a sound tactical approach. Lieutenant Commander Stark was asking for their advice, and the Vulcan provided a count of survivors and the option to subdue them all up front - supposedly via a stun-setting on the Yacht's phaser strips. Sound advice, especially coming from a Doctor, Ida thought, but then again, Maya is Vulcan after all. It was the logical solution to the problem, eliminating the risk to the mission.
"It would not be the most diplomatic approach, but the Vulcan's idea is what I would recommend as a last resort," said Ida quietly, antennae bent and still as she watched the main screen and the faces next to the dots. Her eyes lowered to the back of the Cardassian's head, and Ida wondered what the pilot might have in mind now that the number of Harbinger people aboard the Allegiant might increase. Ida trusted the Doctor and Stark to have Ives' interests a priority, but from what she had understood, Chief S'Iti was a clear risk element. The pilot could not be allowed to hijack the Allegiant, so Ida would not let her out of her sight. Therefore, she did not offer any solution that would leave the Cardassian alone aboard the Allegiant.
"The ship has an external PA-system," she reminded Lt Cmdr. Stark in her focused, eerily calm way, and she turned her head and antennae towards the pinkskin. "I would recommend the familiar voice of Chief S'Iti speaking to them first, explaining our intent, and telling them to surrender all their weapons before we set down on the riverbed. My readings say the ground there is as solid as stone, so the Yacht won't get stuck."
Nodding towards the Cardassian at the helm, Ida continued. "She being the liaison of this mission, I also suggest Chief S'Iti walk out to meet them together with you, Commander. Doctor Maya, you should preform the mind-melds as soon as possible, at least before any one of them set a foot aboard the Yacht. Personally, I will have to be out there too, armed, and covering you all from a rear vantage point. From such a position, I could make sure no one tries to board the Yacht ahead of time, and I can stun anyone that makes a false move against either of you."
Having offered her suggested tactic, Ida glanced towards the Cardassian, wondering if she would comply to it, or if she had ideas that would grant her opportunities that she could not be allowed. It was the Lieutenant Commander's call, and Ida would abide to her given orders, yet she would not risk the Allegiant and their lives if Stark made a bad decision.
[Aisha S'Iti | USS Allegiant | Bridge | Descending towards Escape Pod 87 ] Attn: Stark, Maya & Ida
Aisha nodded hearing their suggestions. "I agree with Lieutennant Zh'wann on this, but not fully. I am not particularly keen on the idea of placing the Commander in a position of danger as she is the current captain of this vessel. As such I believe it would be advisable for someone to remain on the bridge just in case. If Commander Stark were to remain on the bridge then she would be kept out of the most dangerous situation and the bridge would still be manned. Aside from modifying the plan to keep the commander safe I believe we should pretty much follow her plan to a tee." she said looking around the room. "What I need to know is who do we tell them sent us? Are we being honest, or are we gonna make them think we were sent by Vasser?" she asked.
She then added, "Secondly I would advise a Beam down approach while maintaining an altitude of 10 meters rather than a landing. After I address them via the external PA I would suggest beaming down an emergency water and food rations container. I believe that gesture alone may do more than a familiar face or voice ever could as it shows an intent of rescue and medical treatment as the priority of this vessel's mission." she said as she began to level the shuttle off putting it in slowly lowering hover within clear eyesight of the survivors turning the shuttle so as to reveal the silhouette of its profile and so that at least the forward weapons weren't being pointed aggressively at the survivors as the small vessel descended.
Hearing the suggestions from the Cardassian, Ida was content that she had not offered advise that might compromise the Allegiant. If anything, she had offered suggestions that lent more precautions to the way they would approach the situation. Not landing did present a slight difficulty to what Ida had to do, so she felt she ought to explain her suggestion to land and offer her suggestion as to what Aisha ought to say.
"The safest way would be to avoid immediate hostility and not mention that we are under Captain Ives' orders. We need not say who sent us, but let your voice and your name make them assume we were sent by Vasser and T'Rena." Ida then considered the COps' positioning.
"As for whether or not you remain here, Commander Stark," said Ida and turned her head and antennae towards the pinkskin, wondering if she'd jump at the chance of avoiding a direct confrontation, "that is your preference, but with you aboard, and the Allegiant still in the air, you would have to pilot the Yacht, operate the transporters and the tactical systems in case they retrieve their weapons and open fire against us. Our lives would be in your hands since you would not only be our cover fire but our sole means of escape."
Ida had not seen the pinkskin in action, so she had no idea if she had that kind of skill piloting a shuttle. "The reason I suggested we'd land the Yacht is because of my rear vantage point. Your backs would be in my line of fire, so I want to climb on top of the Yacht with my rifle. That way, I can have a clear shot at all eight of them while you talk and Doctor Maya deprogram their minds. In the end, it's your call, Commander. I see merits in all three suggestions, depending on how diplomatic we want to be, and if you'd prefer to head out there or not."
Or rather, if Stark had enough hours of shuttle training, and could fire those phasers without hitting them as well. Being Andorian, Ida was sensitive to phaser fire - even a stun setting dangerous to her. Perhaps Doctor Maya's suggestion was the best after all, since that would pose the least risk to the four of them and the mission. Opening fire, however, would provoke an immediate hostile response.
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Bridge - USS Allegiant | Descending into atmosphere, Aeron-2514| 1310 hrs] Atten: zh'Wann Maya & S'Iti
Leaning back in the command chair, Natalie listened to each officer in turn, weighing the merits of their suggestions. She tried to channel the calm she often saw Cpt. Ives summon up from within, the ability to look at an officer, show them through his/her gaze that they were drinking in every word said, without comment or interruption. How much she managed to succeed was beyond her ability to judge. She didn't fret on it though, but to her credit, focused on what was being said.
"Thank you," She finally said, after everyone had said their piece. She turned first to Ida, not realizing she'd sucked in her lower lip between her teeth while she thought about her next words. Her lip was slightly flushed from the bite when she spoke, "Lt. zh'Wann - our goal is to bring these people home as peacefully as possible, without risking this ship in the process. For better or worse, your actions in saving the Theurgy have likely made you less then popular with the Harbinger survivors. Those that fully embraced Vasser's machinations, or succumbed to T'Rena's tender care." Natalie pulled no punches, she didn't sugar coat her words, nor did they hold an ounce of reproach. She was just being honest, "You're not a face they are going to want to see right away. Hell, I'm probably not one they'll want to see, not recognizing me. I want you keeping this ship in the air, and keeping the phasers trained on those people, and that pod." She hadn't forgotten the phaser strip each escape pod came equipped with.
Her gaze flickered to Aisha and Maya, then back to Ida, "Let me be clear - I do not want to start a fire fight with any of them. They've been through hell, and we have no idea how hard its been here for them - they've clearly lost some of their own," she added, reinforcing the fact that while there were 10 badges, there were only 8 life signs. "But I am not going to be foolish enough to think that everything will roses and lollipops just because we want it to be. I trust you to know when to pull that trigger, Lieutenant, if it comes to it." She held the Andorian's gaze for a moment longer and then turned to Aisha and Maya.
"Ladies, it'll be up to the two of you to get the ball rolling. For the moment, I am going to be manning transporters. You two are going down there to start the evac. If it looks like we'll need an extra hand, or if landing is a safe option, then that's what we'll do. But I'm hoping that the two of you will be our....least threatening welcome party. We're not going down there with phaser's drawn - we'll have to hope that no one puts two and two together and realizes they aren't needed with the Allegiant still in the air."
Standing up from the chair she continued. "Doctor, open up the PA system," the ship had come into the hover position at the Cardassians control. "Take the food and water with you, its a solid idea, and judging by the reading's we've seen on the way in, they'll be thirsty. But make it clear, we're here to get them off this planet. Be as discreet as you like as to who one - it's your call. But I want those mind melds started asap," that last part, she said to Maya, looking directly at the Vulcan, "IF we can do it on the surface before they board, so much the better. I'm trusting your judgement on that, Doctor. I've only ever been on the receiving end of mental probes, and none have been pleasant for me. " She repressed the shudder that threatened to run down her spine with that reminder, "Either way, lets get the ball rolling. Chief, say hello to our friends down there."
Even as she gave the order, she turned and gestured to Maya, "Doctor, get your kit and get to the transporter room," she whispered her orders, as Aisha was already addressing the survivors, "I'll meet you and CPO S'iti there shortly." Perhaps in hind sight, not as short as she'd hoped. Natalie listened in on the exchange between the Cardassian pilot and her former crew mates and fellow survivors, keeping her features schooled. make a decision, any decision. Well, she'd made her decision, as she moved into the transporter bay behind the security check point. Ida zh'Wann was now alone on the bridge, but with an open comm line to monitor all activity. Natalie stood at the transporter controls, as Dr. Maya and Cpo S'iti joined her, each taking a platform.
"Here we go," she said softly, meeting each woman's gaze, before initiating the transport to send the duo - along with a crate of emergency supplies - 10 meters down to the surface below. Over the internal comm she called out to Ida, "Dr. Maya and CPO S'iti have beamed down successfully. I'll stay here and maintain the lock for now. Route a copy of the external feed to the wall monitor here, Lieutenant. Let's see how this plays out."
ooc: hopefully I didn't steamroll anyone. Plan from here is down to the planet we go.
[Aisha S'Iti | USS Allegiant | Bridge | Descending towards Escape Pod 87 ] Attn: Stark, Maya & Ida
She nodded regarding her orders and upon the PA system being open addressed the group below. "Harbinger survivors, This is chief helmsman Aisha S'iti. A doctor and myself will be beaming down momentarily along with a crate of emergency and medical supplies.Please remain calm and prepare to receive supplies and medical attention. S'Iti out." She said having sent the quick address to the crowd below before closing the communication.
She listened to the general plan as best as she could as she did her first job before making her way to the transporter room. "Ready to beam down Commander. she said taking her place on the transporter pad.
Mere moments later Siti felt the synthetic footing of the pad give way to the feeling of natural soil under her feet and the sterile scent of a ship's life support systems gave way to the scents of far from ideal atmosphere clearly drier than her species was ideally adapted to. Now the real challenge began.
[ ThanIda zh'wann | USS Allegiant | Bridge ]Ida had objections about using the tactical systems of the
Allegiant since she was far better with a Type III assault rifle if it came to stunning moving targets on the ground, but she reserved herself from commenting on that - accepting the pinkskin's orders with a quick acknowledgement. "Understood."
Stark had made a good call, she admitted, for while having considered the kind of impact the sight of herself might have created, she would have been the only one armed. She had thought she'd act as a deterrent towards any sudden ideas from the
Harbinger people. Aisha made the announcement, and while she could appreciate the methodology for its merits, she had her concerns about the idea of not immediately demanding that the
Harbinger survivors surrendered their weapons before the Cardassian and the Vulcan beamed down there. If the mentally warped people down there were still armed, the risk that they would take Ida's people hostage and demand passage was paramount to the benefits of the survivors being more at ease.
Nonetheless, when the three other women left the
Allegiant's bridge, Ida slid past the Cardassian on the way to the pilot's seat - eyes meeting for a moment. It was not just the survivors that she would have the two starboard phaser arrays locked on, for if they only took Doctor Maya hostage, Ida would know who gave them the idea. "Computer, transfer tactical controls to the helm. Lock on the heat signatures of the people on the ground and include the phaser strip facing the Yacht. Maximum yield for the the latter, and high stun for the soft targets. Arm the starboard arrays and designate all targets by number on the screen. Give me a keypad and await firing commands."
Giving the instructions, a chirp acknowledged her, numbers appearing above the people down there. [Targets acquired. Standing by.]
She had little to no faith in the computer to hit anything... but she would give it a fair chance before she solved it her own way.
[ Aeron-2514 | Outside Escape Pod 87 | 1310 hrs. ] Attn: 1) Doc M. 2) IronFerrox 3) BrutusEnsign Carla Abner had climbed down from the edge of the riverbank and taken position twenty feet before the opened hatch to the escape pod, and the rest of her people had gathered behind her except for Hildebrant, who was still recovering from his injuries inside the pod. They had already seen that it was no Reaver descending from the skies, but the
Theurgy's prototype scout. As it approached, a voice resounded from it in the dusty air.
[Harbinger survivors, this is chief helmsman Aisha S'iti. A doctor and myself will be beaming down momentarily along with a crate of emergency and medical supplies. Please remain calm and prepare to receive supplies and medical attention. S'Iti out.]It did sound as Petty Officer Durmalach's superior officer, and had he been alive, Abner was sure he would be relieved to hear it. Aisha S'Iti was a known name on the
Harbinger, and she had taken the helm of the
Theurgy when Vasser made his move, but why was she here? Why would they send her to recover them? Was it because of the chance to fly the Manta-class prototype? Abner had to be cautious, but she did not find any immediate cause for alarm.
"Lower your phasers... but don't holster them," she said thoughtfully, narrowing her blue eyes against the sheets of dust that the thrusters of the craft whipped up in their faces and into their hair. The approach made their dirty uniforms flap around their legs too, and Carla felt dust escape down her unbuttoned collar. She raised an arm to cover her nose and mouth, but her eyes never left the aero-wing shuttle that had come to their aid. It wasn't landing... as if in a hurry, or to keep them from running aboard on their own. That aft air-lock was large enough to accommodate a quick boarding, but they were denied shelter from the binary suns. "Doctor Hebert... Go into the pod and prepare Hildebrant for transport. I will send this doctor to you with some water, and... in case this is some kind of foul play... power up the phaser strip while you're there."
"Yes, Ensign," said the gaunt Frenchman and broke away from the gathering, returning to his patient. Then, the shimmer of two individuals appeared on the hard surface of the dried up riverbank, and Abner raked back her blonde hair from her face, hoping the development was just as good as it seemed. She wanted to hope, but she was not about to take any chances. As thirsty as she was, she did not want it to cloud her judgement.
"It is Chief S'Iti," said Luther when the shimmer died away, and indeed, there was their Cardassian Marquis pilot... but the Vulcan at her side was unknown, most likely being a
Theurgy physician. Luther's words echoed their collective thoughts. "Who is that?"
The supplies that had been beamed down to them compelled Abner to overlook the presence of the
Theurgy woman, to just go there and drink her fill... but she had obligations. "Good to see a familiar face, S'Iti. I trust T'Rena and Vasser sent you because we need genetic diversity where we're going, otherwise I would never blame you for leaving this sorry lot of poor survivalists behind." That drew a chuckle from her people, then she looked to the pale Vulcan. "As for you... I don't recognise you. Mind giving me your name? Then, actually, you should go into the pod. We have an injured officer inside that needs to be seen to. Jacques is there too and he will tell you what happened to him."
Abner wanted a private word with the Cardassian almost as much as she wanted to make sure Hildebrant made it through alive. She had to know what happened to the
Calamity and the
Harbinger, the latter having been set to self-destruct before they ejected. She also wanted to know who was on the Yacht, still hovering in the air for some reason...
Why beam supplies down... if we could just as well have been drinking our fill in the temperate conditions inside that hull? It just seemed wrong that it hadn't landed already and allowed them to get out of the sun, and her thoughts had to be running through the minds of the others too, looking between the hovering scout and Aisha S'Iti.
OOC: Next poster is Doc M., followed by IronFerrox (and then Brutus if required at that point)
Here is the list of surviving NPC:s again:
ENS Carla Abner Engineering
CPO Jacques Hebert Medical
PO1 Peter Hildebrant Security (injured)
PO3 Edgar Rowland Science
CWM Luther Ford Science
CWM Degara Moon Operations
CWM Morgan Meyers Operations
CWM Russell Rodriquez Engineering
Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | Aeron-2514 | Outside Escape Pod 87 ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
It wasn't until after she stepped on the transporter pad that Maya considered the flaws in Stark's plan. Perhaps flaws were too harsh an assessment. It would be more accurate to call them gaps. The plan needed details. For example: What were they going to say to these people that would placate them? They were no doubt paranoid and hostile, guaranteed to be suspicious of anybody who hadn't served aboard the Harbinger. The situation needed diplomacy and guile, two things that Maya had never possessed in abundance.
The plan, as Maya understood it, was not to let any of the survivors aboard the Allegiant until Maya had insured they were free of T'Rena's influence and were themselves again. This meant deprogramming them one at a time. How Maya was going to get each of them alone to diagnose and treat them was a mystery. She only hoped that S'Iti had brought along a ball that she could get rolling. After all, Commander Stark had reminded her twice.
Maya's body tingled as the Allegiant's tiny transporter room vanished in a shower of sparks to be replaced by the hot arid surface of Aeron-2514. The heat was refreshing and low level of moisture in the air was comforting. For a brief moment, the little Vulcan entertained memories of her home world that she had left over two centuries ago.
Anything close to entertainment left Maya when she saw the bedraggled survivors heading towards them with phasers in their hands. As expected, trust was nearly nonexistent. A blonde woman whose fair skin had been reddened by the sun was the spokesperson. Her torn and dirty uniform had a gold color and had one rank pip. If the identification transponder in her combadge was accurate she was Ensign Carla Abner.
"Good to see a familiar face, S'Iti," Ensign Abner greeted. "I trust T'Rena and Vasser sent you because we need genetic diversity where we're going, otherwise I would never blame you for leaving this sorry lot of poor survivalists behind."
That remark was troubling. It indicated that Abner and the majority, if not all of the castaways had been mentally conditioned by T'Rena to accept Vasser's plan to flee known space and create an army of eugenic supermen. That meant that their morals and ethics were compromised and that they were capable of unspeakable crimes their rational minds couldn't conceive of. It would take a very glib tongue and quick wits to keep control of the situation. Unfortunately, Maya had never possessed what was known as 'people skills'. At least she did have an impressive 'poker face.'
"As for you," Ensign Abner addressed Maya, "I don't recognize you. Mind giving me your name?"
Before Maya could speak Aisha spoke for her.
"Anyways yes this is Doctor Maya," Aisha chimed in, not wanting to be interrupted.
Maya nodded respectfully.
"Then, actually, you should go into the pod," Abner nodded at the escape pod that had gotten them to this planet. "We have an injured officer inside that needs to be seen to. Jacques is there too and he will tell you what happened to him."
"Very well," Maya replied with a respectful nod. "Chief," she murmured with a nod at Aisha.
Hearing what was said after that, Maya raised an eyebrow after having moved through the suspicious castaways towards the pod. Aisha had chosen a 'cover story' and it was a masterstroke. As the little Vulcan passed the Harbinger survivors her large hazel eyes took in their race, age, rank, and visible injuries. By the time she reached the escape pod she was confident she could match faces to the names she had read off their combadge transponders when she had been manning the sensors aboard the Allegiant.
[Aisha S'Iti | Aeron-2514 | Outside Escape Pod 87] Attn: Stark, Maya & Ida
"Then, actually, you should go into the pod," Abner nodded at the escape pod that had gotten them to this planet. "We have an injured officer inside that needs to be seen to. Jacques is there too and he will tell you what happened to him."
Knowing their mindset regarding their loyalties Siti already had an idea on how to deal with the situation. Making sure he Vulcan doctor was within earshot she nodded, "Well the Commadore and Captain were very clear on the need for diversity but that is hardly the only reason," she said in a lighthearted tone. "Anyways yes this is Doctor Maya. She will be making the decisions on who gets beamed up and when, per the Captain's explicit orders. On to business though Ensign. As we discuss that though can you please assist me in dispersing the water packs and rations?" She said tossing the Ensign some of ration packs knowing that catching them would require putting away the phaser. She herself grabbed a large canister of water making sure to keep her other arm free in case the phaser had to be drawn.
Her voice then took a much more serious tone directing her words to the Ensign still making sure the doctor heard her making her understand the ruse so they could remain on the same page. "As you may have guessed the Captain is rather busy and given the reports of insurrection aboard her ship before its destruction. She wants to ensure no one comes back without being properly indoctrinated. As such everyone, starting with your injured comrade and Jacques, will receive a mind meld from our doctor prior to being beamed up to ensure that there are no insurrectionists returning to the Theurgy. All those resisting being shown the path, or who choose to think they do not have to be shown again, will be dealt with similarly to the example what was made of the Theurgy's former helmsman. Do I make myself clear Ensign?" she said adding a little force to the last words as her com channel remained open.
If the people being rescued chose to panic and attack them it would at least be clear that the attack was made as an act of defying Vasser and hopefully Ida would only retaliate as lightly as possible. If she was going to put herself in the line of fire it would be in the process of exposing the survivors as loyal to Ives instead of the other way around. Besides, those loyal to Ives she figured would likely resort to stuns as a means of attack then the killing shots Vasser's revolutionaries were now known for using.
[ ThanIda zh'wann | USS Allegiant | Bridge ]
On her viewscreen, Ida could practically see the paranoia oozing from the pinkskin in charge of the Harbinger survivors. She was eyeing the Allegiant, no doubt wondering why it had not landed and let them into the shade. Ida curled her upper lip, thinking that this plan was not going to work. She would have to stun them all and Stark would have to beam Maya and S'Iti out of the cross-fire. She was just about to tap her own combadge and tell Stark as much... when the Cardassian began to speak.
Slowly, Ida lowered her hand from her combadge. The pilot was resourceful, an able liar, and she had come up with a way to allay their suspicions. Listening to what was being said through the combadge on Aisha's chest, Ida resumed to hold her fingertips over the firing controls.
[ Aeron-2514 | Outside Escape Pod 87 | 1310 hrs. ] Attn: 1) IronFerrox 2) Brutus
Carla Abner listened, and frowned all the more when it was revealed that the Vulcan was supposed to give leave as to who could get into the shade, the only thing stopping her from raising her voice in protest being that it was - supposedly - on Captain T'Rena's orders. Something was wrong. S'Iti said that T'Rena wanted to ensure they didn't come back without being properly 'indoctrinated'. The word... It did not sit right with Abner. They were not 'indoctrinated'... T'Rena had merely shown them the indisputable future, and without other recourse, they were left to do the only thing they could. Fall back, regroup, breed and mobilise for taking back the Alpha Quadrant when they had the numbers. The pure-bred numbers.
She clenched her jaw, not liking it one bit, but she had caught the ration pack thrown to her with her free hand. Turning it over and looking at it, she gave the situation some thought. Rationally, she could understand that T'Rena did not want any more resistance from Ives Loyalists, but they had not even been on the Theurgy, Ives no more than the strange Chameloid who would rather sacrifice the lives of the crew than break rules not meant for battle against their own former fleet. They had escaped the Harbinger, so why would there be Ives Loyalists to weed out among them? In the end, she decided to not give challenge just yet. Her first - personal - priority was to get on that scout, and bringing the survivors under her happenstance command on it as well.
"Very well," she said quietly and holstered her handphaser. She tossed the pack to Degara, who was a bit worse for wear because of the sun - needing sustenance the most. "Moon, Ford and Rowland, you have at it first. Dig in. Rodriquez, Meyers and I will eat and drink second, instead preparing food and water for Hebert and Hildebrant, not to mention gathering whatever we need from the pod's storage compartments. Holster weapons and be quick about it. The sooner the Vulcan clears us, the quicker we'll be out of the sun."
Having her people set in motion, Abner walked up next to Chief S'Iti and began to dislodge ration packs and water bottles and distributing them on to the others. Meyers started to collect an armful to bring to the pod and to the two men there, but Rodriguez was already following in the Vulcan's wake - heading into the pod so that he could get any supplies or gear left inside.
As she worked, she took one of the water bottles and sipped it... then she took a big mouthful. Before long, she found herself gulping down water and spilling it over her dirty yellow undershirt. In the end, she was pouring it over her own head, making it run down her collar - feeling it trickle down her back and between her breasts. Had she really been this thirsty before the Yacht came? When the worst of her thirst and had been slaked and her body temperature restored, Carla turned to the Cardassian - dirty lips wet as she spoke. She meant to ask if the Calamity had been claimed or destroyed, but the question she asked surprised even her when it came, as if begotten by someone else. "Why did you say that we were 'indoctrinated'? Sounds rather unflattering for being enlightened about what will come if we would remain in Federation space."
Having said this, Carla accepted the question as her own... and watched the Cardassian keenly when she answered.
[ Meanwhile | Inside Escape Pod 87 ] Attn: Doc M.
Opening his eyes, Peter Hildebrant had to blink a few times to make out where he was. Even when his vision was restored, he couldn't tell. Looked like the inside of an escape pod, and he wasn't alone. Hebert, one of the nurses that hadn't been transferred to the Theurgy was there, and he... he looked like he had been living in a desert without water. Speaking of desert, why was it so warm, and where was his clothes?
"What is going on?" he rasped, seeing that his lower body was covered in a thinn med kit blanket. He propped himself up on his elbows, joints cracking as he moved. It hurt too, skin stretching taught across his chest and his side, as if newly treated with a dermal regenerator. His left leg hurt too, something fierce. He ground his teeth against the pain. "What happened? Jaques, do something with my leg. It's killing me."
Last he remembered, he had been pursuing Duv, Slayton and that blue bitch named zh'Wann down the corridors of the Harbinger. They had put up quite a fight, and in the end, it had just been him and Husker. The fucking traitor. He just couldn't remember how it... Damn, but his leg hurt.
"Jaques! Now! Please..."
Nurse Hebert did react in the end, standing there in the doorway of the pod and looking at something outside. He turned around and came to Peter's side. That was when he realised he was lying on a stretcher, perched between two overturned chairs and clear of the dusty ground. Why?
"I'm sorry, Petty Officer. There was nothing I could do. The blast took it, and I had to cauterise what was left. Spent the whole night by your side, but you'll liv-"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" said Peter irritably and moved to sit up, but as he turned to set his feet down, his right leg slipped out from the thin blanket... and to his horror, there was only a stump there - ending well above where his knee would have been. He did not know what kind of undignified noise he made, but he could feel his eyes dry up as he stared in fright at what had become of him. He remembered then, Husker throwing something, and now he could guess what it had been. Either a phaser set to overload, or a phaser grenade.
That was when a new figure appeared in the sun-lit doorway. A Vulcan. One of the Theurgy Vulcans. The enemy. Fight-or-Flight mode having set in, he rolled out of his stretcher, away from the woman. He banged his head in the short fall, got dust in his mouth. All he could hear was his rapid breathing. He was hyperventilating, and he was trying to find some means to protect himself. Exoscalpel. Yes, it was at least something.
"Peter, calm down! You have started to bleed again! You are bleeding out through the bandage! Doctor!"
OOC: Rodriguez will be entering the escape pod roughly 20 seconds after Maya does. Meyers is due to arrive there in a minute with water and rations.
[ Aisha S'Iti| Aeron-2514 | Outside Escape Pod 87] Attn: Lucan, Brutus, Doc M
As they spoke and the ensign handed out supplies and drink Aisha got to work putting together the makeshift that was with the kit. withina few minutes there was what could best be compared to a kind of temporary gazebo with the water and rations at the center of the structure not providing at least a degree of shade while the translucent top still allowed those in the shuttle above to see through it and the survivors to still see the shuttle above. still it was shade and she hoped that a chance to be out of the sun would do something to ease their present discomfort.
Hearing the question she nodded noticing her suspicions, "Oh, yes." she said understandingly, "To be honest I don't really know the right way of saying how you see things, due to certain aspects of my species, particularly the physiology of my skull and brain, I have not been able to share in your... enlightenment? Mild melds don't work particularly well on my kind after all. Still T'rena was able to find a job for me. Given my skill in piloting and how it is merely my word on my loyalty aside from the same assurance she has from her preferred method, It was determined that if the worst were to happen loosing me would be, an acceptable loss. I can't say I like having the suspicion that I am more than usually expendable, but at least the mission she gave me got me in the pilot seat of that sexy little ship so I can't complain there. Still, I can understand how my lack of "true-understanding" can seem a bit unnerving."
She paused. "I suppose you want to know why T'rena has her own suspicions regarding survivors on the life boats though. Some of those who were not "on the path" apparently led an insurrection on-board the Harbinger. As such T'rena knows there is the distinct possibility there are some who never received the mind meld in the first place among the survivors hence the doctor's mission to assure everyone's loyalty."
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | Aeron-2514 | Inside Escape Pod 87 ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
That was the first voice Maya heard as she entered the escape pod, followed immediately by a mournful whine guaranteed to cause horripilation on the skin of any creature with a greater intellect than a housecat. To the uneducated ear, the noise didn't sound human, but to Maya's sensitive Vulcan ear, the sound was all too familiar. A young man with visible second degree burns on his skin was thrashing on a stretcher that had been made into makeshift cot and had tried to get to his feet, only to discover that he had lost half of his right leg.
To Maya's professional eye, Petty Officer Hidlebrant's response was textbook: Hyperventilation, heart palpitations, trembling; it was to be expected. The sense of loss Petty Officer Hidlebrant was no doubt suffering for both his ship and his limb made Maya grateful that she had been raised on a planet that trained their children to suppress their feelings. It was time to practice her bedside manner.
"Hello," Maya greeted. "I am..."
In an instant Petty Officer Hidlebrant fixed his eyes upon Maya and the expression on his face was one that the Vulcan was all too familiar with after enduring the mutiny: Peter Hildebrant considered her a threat. He rolled away from her and Maya heard an alarming thump and a short stifled cry.
"Petty Officer Hidlebrant, you will injure yourself," Maya began as she glided forward.
"Peter, calm down!" A man whose blue collar and rank pin indicated that he could only be Chief Petty Officer Jacques Hebert implored him. "You have started to bleed again! You are bleeding out through the bandage! Doctor!"
By the time Maya reached him, Hildebrant had opened a medkit and extracted a scalpel. Before he could turn around, the green-blooded physician's long spidery fingers were at the base of his neck, applying pressure to the trapezius nerve bundle. Hildebrant jerked and collapsed as paralysis and unconsciousness temporarily overtook him just as a gold collared crewman entered the pod.
"A nerve pinch can be a drugless anesthetic," Maya explained as she moved the crippled and comatose Hildebrant back to his makeshift cot. She hoped her calm and tranquil demeanor would keep the survivors from interpreting Maya's action as an attack on a helpless invalid. What would Doctor Nicander say? He was good with people, skilled at using humor and sarcasm to defuse a stressful situation. "He had seized a scalpel and might have hurt himself." That was as dry as a bone left in the Eithnir Province's desert. She needed to say something witty to defuse the situation, like Nicander would. "I had to act; he didn't have a leg to stand on," she added as a second crewman entered carrying water and rations.
[ Aeron-2514 | Inside Escape Pod 87 ] Attn: Doc M.
Jaques Hebert being a nurse, he had no immediate inclination to resort to hostile means towards a fellow Starfleet Officer, not even when she subdued Hildebrant with her Vulcan nerve pinch. This Doctor Maya had acted in the best interest of the patient to keep him from hurting himself, and he even moved to help the Vulcan to return Hildebrant to the stretcher. That was when Rodriquez walked in.
"What if going on here?" he said, shifting his stance and his hold on his phser - browridge drawn down over his coal black eyes. "What happened?"
"Oh, stand down," chided Jaques and gave the buffoon an irritable look. "Peter tried to get up and he might be bleeding out. Doctor Maya here merely made sure that he would hurt himself, or us for that matter."
The large man with the dark eyes did not look like he was entirely convinced, but his trust to the frenchman won out, and he holstered his phaser. Meyers arrived as well with the rations and the water, waling past Rodriguez. "Fine. Fix him up while I collect the gear then. We are ready to be screened after that, Ensign."
With so many things that could have gone wrong inside the pod, it seemed fortune and Doctor Maya's quick thinking had saved the day.
[ Aeron-2514 | Outside Escape Pod 87 | 1310 hrs. ] Attn: 1) IronFerrox 2) Brutus
The water in Abner's hair was quickly drying up while she listened to Chief S'ti, and she vaguely remembered hearing something about Cardassian's being immune to the the kind of visions that Captain T'Rena had given them. It had still seemed an odd choice of words, but from the chief of the helm, it might appear that way.
Then there was the mentioning of what had happened on the Harbinger, something Abner was quite familiar with. It seemed the Andorian, the CMO and Husker had put her and the rest of the survivors in poor light, and the need for more precaution was required. It was, Abner supposed, a warranted order to have them screened before being allowed back.
"What is taking them so long?" murmured Abner and dropped the issue, looking towards the escape pod where Rodriquez and Meyers had gone. And just when she did, Meyers stepped out, rubbing his head. He shaded his eyes from the binary sun. Something was... odd about the look he gave her, but Abner could not tell what it was. The man simply waved to the people up in the makeshift shelter. While it had been built, Doctor Maya must have screened the people inside the pod.
"One at the time, she says," called Meyers across the short distance, and he stepped away, walking out across the riverbed and putting some distance between the pod and himself - appearing thoughtful. Abner looked at him, and she supposed that just like the first time, when T'Rena had showed them the vision, it was an overwhelming experience.
So far, her suspicions had been allayed... so she waved for the next man to head to the pod.
And so they went, one by one, until it was her turn. In the end, they were all proven how wrong they had been...
[ USS Allegiant | Bridge ]
During the procession, where the survivors headed into the pod one by one, Ida had been vigilant -. ready to fire the phasers, but when the last one emerged from the escape pod, and she saw how the blonde pinkskin sank to her knees on the riverbed, she knew it was over. The survivors filed out of the escape pod one by one, all of them looking like they had just eaten something foul.
"Commander Stark," said Ida after tapping her combadge. "We have secured the survivors. I am setting down the Allegiant so that they may step inside through the aft airlock. As much as could have gone wrong, your plan was good, and made all the better by Maya and S'Iti. Good call."
There were, however, more escape pods out there. Hopefully they will be just as lucky the next time.
OOC: Now, it would be great if no one posted in direct reaction to what has happened in this post of mine, but turn the hands of time forward 30 minutes, where Hildebrant is in Medical with Maya (he wakes up in your post and I play him), Stark speaks with the rest of the survivors inside the Captain's quarters, reassuring them that they won't be put to trial for their actions while under T'Rena's influence (I play Abner and the rest). I also want a one-on-one between Ida nd Aisha on the Bridge. Looking forward to your posts!
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Medical Bay | 1350 hrs. ] Attention: Hildebrant (NPC)
"A marg of prevention is worth a ag'emarg of treatment." That was one of the oldest idioms of Vulcan's medical profession and one that applied to difficulties other than medical issues. Chief S'Iti had been brilliant when she had come up with her solution. The deception was simple and yet Maya would not have imagined possessing the audacity to suggest it, let alone the creativity to come up with it in the first place. She had always considered herself a free thinker back home; now she knew how unimaginative she really was.
One by one each member of the escape pod's survivors entered and one by one she made contact with their minds and freed them of the programming that T'Rena had infected them with. She saved Petty Officer Hildebrant for last. Touching his mind indicated that resentment towards zh'Wann and Slayton might linger but for now Maya concentrated on undoing any mental tampering rather than initiating any of her own. Whether she should modify any emotions or memories was Doctor Nicander or Counselor O'Conner's call and not Maya's, she would not take the responsibility after what T'Rena had done.
"Petty Officer Hildebrant's condition has stabilized," she informed Chief Herbert after they finished treating the comatose security specialist in the Allegiant's medical bay. "I will head to the bridge and send his medical information to the Theurgy so they can begin constructing a biosynthetic replacement for his leg. Monitor the patient and contract me if there is any change," she murmured, but before she could leave her patient awoke. Without a word, the green blooded physician moved to his side and waited for him to speak.
[ Aisha S'iti |USS Allegiant | Bridge ] Attn: Ida
She sighed as the ship settled into its course the impulse engines humming softly as the ship only so very slightly vibrated from the work of the engines. They were far too close to the next closest escape pod to use warp drive would be wasteful given the things that needed to be squared away before encountering the next group of survivors. A 10 minute period at warp 1 would just put them getting there before they were ready to rescue the group. But going at impulse for 30 minutes in that amount of time thy could get everything done needed and wouldn't have to waste any additional energy on bringing up the warp engines. Besides if there were Federation ships looking for them the last thing they needed to do was engage warp engines every couple of minutes. Impulse was far safer for this mission and allowed for a lot more effective stealth.
Thinking about all the things that could have happened during the mission and how close they came to having to resort to violence instead of trickery she just breathed deeply with relief as she turned around in her chair looking to the only other left on the bridge, the Andorian Security officer, "So..." she began with an exasperated sigh. "That could have went horribly wrong." she said not looking forward to having to report to Ives that the rescue mission ended up having to be built on trickery and lies. 'OH well,' she thought to herself, 'better than building a rescue on assaulting them with phasers.'
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Captains bunk - USS Allegiant | en-route to next pick up| 1400 hrs] Atten: Abner
Natalie had monitored it all on the video feed, with the ships computer pumping in the audio from CPO S'Iti's comm-badge. She knew that Ida would be hearing the same thing that she was, and both women would be hanging on every word said. It had been an amazingly nerve wrecking experience, that had left Natalie's palms coated with sweat. Thank god for service kits with rags in them she'd thought, having the foresight to use one to dry her hands off as Lt. zh'Wann brought the ship down to the surface, before meeting the first of the survivors as they slowly trickled on board. It had been touch and go, but they had pulled off their first pick up.
Now she stood in the Captains cabin on board the Allegiant. She hadn't expected to have access to the room but Cpt. Ives had seen fit to grant her the honor as mission commander. t wasn't the worlds largest cabin by any means, but it was sizable enough, especially in the more cramped confines of the Captains Yatch, where space was a premium. She tried to rationalize it away as freeing up one extra bunk for an injured survivor, but in all honesty she couldn't say for sure what the reasoning was. It was just a small aside from the woman during her very short briefing before the mission - as Cmdr. Trent had handled most of the pre-mission work.
Making a mental note to put them all in for accommodations (especially the fast thinking Doctor Maya) and then equally chastising herself for thinking that far ahead, given that they still had a lot to do, Natalie moved to unlock the cabin door and beacon the surviving - and no longer brainwashed - members of the Harbinger they'd picked up of of Aeron-2514's dry desert surface. With Ida and Aisha busy getting the ship out of orbit and on their way back to the patrol route, now was the prefect time to address the motley group waiting outside.
"Please come in," she said, addressing the ragged group. They'd only been in the air for 30 minutes so far, and not all had had the chance to change, though they would all be afforded that luxury, and anything else the small ship could offer. She looked around at the group as they crowded in around her, filling the room easily enough. Not all were present - those too seriously injured - as well as Nurse Jaques Hebert - were in the small med bay or sedated in the crew quarters (the nurse assisting Dr. Maya as needed). The rest however, were here with her.
Her blue eyes stood out on her pale face, hair pulled back into a tight tail as she surveyed the reddened, sandblasted faces before her. Stark contrast she thought cynically, not the first time she'd made a pun out of her own name, though perhaps this was the most serious case of it. She took a slow breath, chest rising and falling in her clean uniform, at odds with most of those here.
"My name is Natalie Stark. Some of you may recognize me as the Chief of Operations for the USS Theurgy, and some may not," she started off, "I - heh, I had a speech all prepared but I think I'll just toss it out the airlock." She let out a sigh through her teeth and she relaxed her pose. "Look, I'm not going to pretend to know what you are going through right now, at least not the specifics. I've....had my mind messed with before, but not quite the same way you have." Understatement, "The point is, the first point that I absolutely want to make clear to you, is I - and more so, the Senior staff of the Theurgy - do not hold anyone brainwashed responsible for what happened, or their conduct. I could quote Starfleet protocol regarding the care, treatment and punishment or lack there of for officers under alien influence all night, but that doesn't' matter."
She fixed them each with her gaze, one after another, finally resting on the leader of the group, Ens. Abner. "There will be no trial. There will be no witch hunt. You were not yourselves while under that influence. You are not responsible for your actions. What you are responsible for, is what you - what we, do next." Her hands were clasped behind her back, as Cpt. Ives often did when addressing the crew - Natalie didn't even realize she was emulating her CO, she simply did it, trying to project the same kind of confidence the shape-shifting captain often did.
"We're resuming our scanning patrol to try and find more survivors. Not just because we need the personnel, but because I refuse to leave anyone else behind if I can help it. And I cannot say what state the rest of your fellow crewmen and women will be in when we find them. We are going to need your help, ladies and gentlemen, plain and simple."
OOC: Seems like a decent, mid speech point for possible interruptions
[ USS Allegiant | Peter Hildebrandt (NPC) | Medical Bay | 1350 hrs. ] Attn: Doctor Maya
While he had barely come to, Hildebrandt had trouble recalling whether or not the Vulcan had been a part of a nightmare, a dream where he had lost his leg. Any such hoped vanished quite fast, for as he came to, he heard the initiative to request a prosthetic leg for him. So much for a nightmare, and the chilling reality overcame him where he lay. This time, however, he did not lash out in fear, even if he could feel his heart beating fast and shiver in sudden cold sweat.
He turned his head, swallowing, and saw the Vulcan again, along with Nurse Hebert. As it were, he knew nothing besides his own body's fate. Last he was conscious, he had been in a firefight with three unbelivers that had escaped from the Harbinger's brig. He did not even know where he had been when he first saw the Vulcan, much less where they were now. He knew they had entered warp on the Harbinger, and that the Calamity had found them in the Class-9 nebula...
"The Calamity, did we get her?" he asked, voice dry as paper from thirst, "did the mines on the Theurgy do her in? And where am I?"
He had a splitting headache, and he thought it might be from all the questions he had.

[ USS Allegiant | ThanIda zh'Wann | Bridge | 1350 hrs. ] Attn: Aisha S'Iti
When the Cardassian spoke, Ida looked up from the tactical console she was at. She was running calibrations of the weapon systems of the Allegiant and familiarising herself with their response time - system diagnostics showing the kind of delay that could be expected after issuing a fire command on the touch panel. Her antennae shifting in thought, she wondered what the CONN officer meant. Did she mean that it could have gone worse if they had gone with Ida's suggestion, or that anything could have gone wrong.
"Personally, I think the risks would have been more manageable if the survivors had been asked to lay down their weapons before we approached them in person. Your idea to justify our actions in T'Rena's name would have fit perfectly too. Yet sufficed to say, we were fortunate."
After giving admittance to the survivors from Escape Pod 87, doing so only after Doctor Maya had said they were all restored to their proper wits, Ida had made herself scarce from the back compartments before they filed in. She was not inclined to show herself before they spoke to Commander Stark, fearing she might ignite a reaction that was unfit for the close compartments they were all working in. It was better if they head it all from her and thus preventing facts to become misinterpreted.
Recognising that the time and opportunity was good, Ida stepped away from the tactical station and walked to the helm. She sat down in the co-pilot seat and looked at the Cardassian's profile. Ida did not trust her yet, but she had another assignment to fulfil, so she did so without further a due.
"Captain Ives has informed me you are interested in earning a rank as a Line Officer instead of the enlisted position you now hold," she said quietly, antennae studying the other woman as carefully as her eyes did. "Your choices down there gave you merit, for I have great respect for those who ensure the safety of the crew, but I wonder about your motivations. Who are you trying to prove your worth for? Those who disfavour former Marquis, yourself, or the Captain?"
Stark, Maya and her had been asked to speak with and evaluate the Chief CONN Officer, and Ida would be the first to do so.
[ USS Allegiant | Carla Abner | Captain's Quarters | 1350 hrs. ] Attn: Natalie Stark
After learning what T'Rena had done to them all, sometimes with the help from the other Vulcan on the Theurgy, Abner had felt sick. She felt like she had been betrayed on such a profound level that she did not know what to say when the Lieutenant Commander spoke to them.
They had been... undone. Warped into something else than themselves and not recognising their motivations. Much less, they'd had no means to question their own motives - not giving their own conduct a second thought. Reduced to something less than human, lacking in good judgement and critical thinking, they had only the goal in mind - the promise of paradise and the mobilisation of a pure bred army paramount to all other ideas.
Personally, Abner could not remember having done anything of greater guilt, but Hildebrandt had been involved in the handling of the Andorian - the woman who had broken out and made Commander Trujillo order the self-destruct sequence. Little did she know that the very same Andorian was aboard the Allegiant.
"What happened to the Calamity?" she asked after a couple of seconds, voice still worn after the days out in the sun, blonde hair unkempt. "Did the gravametric mines take care of her?"
[ USS Allegiant | Aisha S'iti | Bridge | 1350 hrs. ] Attn: ThanIda zh'Wann
She sighed as she looked over a few of the navigational readouts for a moment. Listening to her question she sighed, "You know, I don't know if it's really a question of proving my worth," she said thinking a moment. If she wanted to prove something about the Maquis all she had to say was the word Voyager and that would shut whoever was being judgmental up. Chakotay was captaining the damn thing now, and his Maquis crew had worked amazingly with the Fleet crew in getting the ship back home. Proving her worth to herself, not really she felt she was good at what she did she had been a captain in the Maquis. She didn't need to prove to herself that she "could" captain a Federation ship her ship was a Federation vessel, a Starfleet Condor-class Raider.
Prove to Ives? Maybe that was part of it, sure he offered her a job as a helms-person but down she knew she could one day do more. "I think it's more that I just feel that I am at the end of progress right now. Here I am Master Chief Petty Officer. Highest possible noncom rank, Chief helmsman on what is it now this is my third ship I've done it on. Part of me has a chip on my shoulder cause of what I was told in private about the consequences of not staying "in my place" but I think it's more than that. What's there to really aspire to when you have climbed to the top of your respective mountain? Most would only dream of getting as far as I have but it's my previous experience in the Maquis that gave me the abilities beyond the noncom ranks that caused my accelerated promotions. I mean when you've captained a Condor class and spent years navigating dangerous nebulas and avoiding enemy fire all to evade much more powerful ships, getting to Master Chief at piloting in the more calm waters of Federation space tends to be a cushy desk job. Most noncoms take a whole career just to get to where I am and by the time they are nearing retirement they Might get their Master Chief patch. I'm still young enough to have half of my career ahead of me and I'm sitting on the capstone of a retiring veteran's career with nowhere to advance.
She paused a moment. "I guess it's more just knowing I can do more as a line officer and knowing I will never be able to do it where I am. Still I guess if anything in the short term goes I do want to prove to the Captain I can be an asset above what my current rank suggests. She then paused and laughed softly adding, "I guess there is a bit of an urge one day to get ahold of those 4 pips I had back when I was running "The Fantine" though. Once you've sat in the big chair for real it's a feeling you never want to let go of. There's just something special about the feeling of responsibility you get being there, I imagine it's like being a parent but in a completely different way."
OOC: Finially decided to name the ship she was in charge of in the Maquis. I decided that since Chakotay's ship was the Val Jean and hers was of the same class it was only suitable to name it for a famous female character from Les Misérables
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Medical Bay | 1350 hrs. ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
"The Calamity, did we get her?" Peter Hildebrant asked, "did the mines on the Theurgy do her in? And where am I?"
Bending over her patient lying on the biobed, Maya's large hazel eyes flicked back and forth as she considered his questions. Was he unaware of what had happened to his ship? Maya had assumed he knew, but if his injuries had incapacitated him prior to his evacuation, than perhaps he wouldn't. It was conceivable that in his delirious state he had been unaware that he had left the Harbinger.
This was a problem. Petty Officer Hildebrant's physical and mental condition was very delicate right now. The news of the Harbinger's destruction could break him even more than the loss of his leg. Unfortunately Maya wasn't skilled in deception. Although she could tell a lie without the psychological tells common to Hildebrant's species, it was the actual invention of them that Maya found challenging. She simply didn't have the imagination to tell a white lie, and honesty was second nature to her.
"You are in the medical bay aboard the USS Allegiant, the captain's yacht. The Calamity has been destroyed," Maya informed him. "The Harbinger sacrificed itself by colliding with it to ensure its destruction. It was the only way defeat a superior opponent with foreknowledge of the future. I offer you my condolences."
[ USS Allegiant | Peter Hildebrandt (NPC) | Medical Bay | 1350 hrs. ] Attn: Doctor Maya
Allegiant... Captain's Yacht... Peter searched his muddled memories for the name, and soon realised that the ship belonged to the Theurgy-class ship they had encountered outside the Hromi cluster, and which crew they had shared a week of repairs with down on Theta Eridani IV before the Calamity found them the second time. T'Rena had showed him that the poor crew was being led to their deaths by their Captain, and that it was imperative that Ives' madness was put to an end. The only way that they could prevail against the conspirational enemy was to fall back, regroup, and build their pure-bred numbers to retake Federation space with better odds on their side. Strange, how the vision the Winter Queen had shown him seemed so distant... So unreal. Even implausible. He chalked it up to his physical condition, unsure what to make of anything that was going on.
Through the haze of pain and foreboding, regret about the loss of the Harbinger and relief that the Calamity was destroyed, new questions came to him, and he voiced the most pressing ones. "What happened to Ives and his closest officers? Are they in the Theurgy's Brig?" He paused, blinking as he propped himself up on his elbows and looked between Jaques and the Vulcan. He remembered Husker and the Andorian, the CMO that he had planned to make the mother of his pure-bred children, and his second question addressed the three that had escaped the Brig. "Ensign Slayton, Doctor Duv... and that Andorian woman, did they survive?"
His question was rather... pointed, he realised. Husker had taken his leg away from him, and he meant to pay him a visit if he still lived.
Jaques spoke up. "Why don't Doctor Maya show it all to you, joining her mind to yours?" he said, and something seemed... off about Nurse Hebert. Peter hadn't known the man to suggest solutions, instead just going ahead with them. Especially when it came to some sort of treatment. Then again, perhaps Vulcan mind-melds were not the most common of them. Perhaps that was why he was being so hesitant, as if threading on nails.
Peter looked towards the woman, not entirely convinced about her and he did not say anything to accept the mind-meld until he heard her answers to his questions.
[ USS Allegiant | ThanIda zh'Wann | Bridge | 1350 hrs. ] Attn: Aisha S'Iti
Listening to the Cadassian speak, Ida could not help but draw the conclusion that her own motivations held no regard for the future or the hope for survival. While Chief Si'Iti strived to one day be a Captain in her own right, Ida had no such visions for herself.
"Like I told our new First Officer in the Brig after I stunned him, ensuring that he was - indeed - not like Sonja Acreth, you should know that the safety of the crew is my primary concern, not my bloody career on that outlaw ship." She finished another calibration before looking up towards the scaled woman at the front of the Allegiant's bridge.
"I have no hopes about my own advancement or glory. I am not like my Keth back home on Andoria; pompous arses with political gain in the forefront of their minds. I serve Wenn Cinn and Captain Ives, and I do so at my best capacity, addressing any threat to our cause and ensuring that the mission is accomplished, but most importantly, that our crew make it through this. I care not whether I am promoted or demoted as long as we don't surrender."
Starting a new calibration of the port and aft phaser array, Ida continued, eyes dropping to her console. "My choices should not reflect on others, however, for I do not belittle those who harbours hopes about the future. I just can't vest my focus on what is to come... when protection and perseverance is so often about the day, hour and moment of my duties - when timing is the difference between life and death."
The past, however, is an entirely different story... Images of the Niga Incident flashed before her eyes.
"What I do take into risk-assessment over time, however, is leadership. While not my finest hours, I have both threatened and questioned my superior officers, put their flaws into light. Not because I yearned for their positions, but because them being in command could endanger the lives of the crew I swore to protect. Even the shuttle pilots and navigators need a leader, not to mention the ones who are at the helm when you are not. So I feel compelled to ask... what kind of leader would you be to them?"
As she asked her question, her blue eyes had flicked up to meet the Cardassian's - the impromptu trial suddenly evident in the atmosphere of the bride.
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Medical Bay ] Attention: Hildebrant, Herbert.
From Petty Officer Hildebrant's questions, it was apparent that Maya's earlier attempt to undo T'Rena's programming may have been unsuccessful. That was hardly surprising, giving his delirious state and the fatigue Maya experienced after freeing the minds of his shipmates. There was also the possibility that Hildebrant would continue to follow Vasser's agenda of his own free will after sacrificing so much for it. The loss of his leg, combined with the pain of his injuries and the loss of his ship could very easily make the man that T'Rena had programmed unrecoverable. But was Hildebrant still a loyal to Vasser's misguided mission? It was possible that the unvarnished truth would invoke a reaction that could make a diagnosis definite, even for one who had difficulty reading faces as much as Maya did. The little Vulcan looked at her hands as she massaged her long spidery fingers before turning her large hazel eyes to the patient and speaking.
"Captain Ives has regained control of his ship," she informed him. "The Theurgy took many casualties during the mutiny, but fortunately survivors from your ship are available to fill the gaps. Fortunately Lieutenant zh'Wann, Doctor Duv, and Ensign Slayton were recovered immediately after the battle. They are alive and well and have been cleared for duty."
[ USS Allegiant | Natalie Stark | Captain's Quarters | 1350 hrs. ] Attn: Carla Abner
The question for Natalie was how to handle that question. She eyed Abner, looking over the worn blonde with her unkept hair, and nodded once. There would be no sugarcoating then, just forthright honesty. The Ensign and her group had earned that right. Behind focused eyes she saw death of the Calamity in her mind once more, saw the Harbinger crash into the last vector of that hellship, like a flaming arrow shot from some god's bow, living up to its name as it explded and drove Callie from the universe with the firey death of a warp core breach.
"There is no Calamity" Natalie began, her eyes sweeping over the crew before her, "But the mines weren't enough. The ship was caught by them and they worked, but the holographic warship managed to keep one of its vectors intact. A nasty fight ensued, but," she paused and glanced at a bulkhead. Through that wall, across the ship, was Ida zh'Wann, whom had held the conn of the Harbinger as the ship rammed itself into the Calamity, "It wasn't going well. You know however, that your own vessle had already been set to self destruct, yes?"
Waiting until she got a round of nods she then continued, "A mixed group of crew from both of our ships piloted the Harbinger into the remaining Calamity vector. The collission and following detenation of the Akira-class' warp core was sufficent to wipe Calamity out of existence. For now, we are only being pursued by all of Starfleet, not some demon ship from the future as well."
[ USS Allegiant | Aisha S'iti | Bridge | ] Attn: ThanIda zh'Wann
With her words a realization dawned on Aisha that she had not even contemplated on. Leadership, something she had felt she had left behind for so long was what she had essentially tried to thrust herself back into. She thought herself a pilot, a person who steered a ship. Never had she been considering her post outside of that to her the rank meant potential to be considered qualified for more difficult duties outside of her post. Perhaps the option to voice her opinion on the best way to get to a place or even hat the bst option n where to go would be rather than just being the highest ranking person with the power to steer the ship where the captain told her to point it.
But, she in her trying ways the Andorian brought to light something Aisha had not even thought to notice. To the pilots who wore red rather than white she was the senior officer. She was the one they would look at as an example in this post whether she were an officer or a senior Non-com. However there was a difference in ho those blow often looked at their superior when in the differing roles. With a senior noncom the superior was viewed as experienced someone you should learn from about the field but not necessarily the person you were told you should emulate on a daily basis. A senior noncom could be a bit more rough around the edges. even more outspoken and uncouth. But as a senior officer when your staff looked at you they expected a paragon of Starfleeet. You were the person they were supposed to not just look up to and learn from but thy expect your actions to be what they are supposed to emulate.
Aisha looked up trying to respond to the Andorian's question but really there was only one thing that seemed to come to her mind. She knew it wasn't an answer to the question but it was the only thought she seemed to be able to vocalize at the moment. "For now, I just hope, I can fill the void that Winter left behind."
[ USS Allegiant ]
And so the Harbinger survivors aboard the Allegiant learned - bit by bit - what had happened in the battle against the Calamity. How Commander Trujillo had set the Harbinger to self-destruct, and how loyalists to Ives had rammed the Akira-class ship. Even the fact that ThanIda zh'Wann was aboard was brought up, but the Andorian did not leave the bridge to confront the crew that had put her into the Brig.
Perhaps it was for the better, since they had a mission to accomplish, and the next planet was coming in on long-range sensors.
[ Escape Pod 19 | Atmospheric Entry | Two Days Ago ]
"Hold on!" Lieutenant Cody yelled. The escape pod rattled and creaked.
"If we don't kill the engines now the whole thing is gonna burn up!" Chief Petty Officer Curt Lucas screamed. The lights flickered briefly then shut out. The screams of six terrified humans filled the small, dark space as it plummeted down into the unknown. Even though he was an engineer, Curt couldn't do one damn thing.
Helpless in the face of death, swallowing his fear... closing his eyes and praying in fiery free-fall.
[ Planet KE 286583 S - "Varcae" | Crash Site | Two Days Ago ]
Soft, yellow light filtered through the holes and cracks in the escape pod. One by one the crew woke up. Lieutenant Jacqueline Cody; Science Officers Amy Jenson and Loclan Tsan, a botanist and a chemist respectively; Nurse Harry Pitt; Cadet Adam Knott; and Chief Petty Officer Curt Lucas. The only one who didn't wake up was Melanie. Ensign Melanie Konzola would never see that light or any other. Strapped to her seat, a part of the metal casing of the pod was sticking out through her abdomen. She'd taken her last breath during the crash. Curt had looked at her, but he hadn't seen her - his thoughts deriving how the emergency thrusters on the pod must have saved them all.
The rest of the crew were comparatively unscathed. Obviously, there were cuts and bruises and no end of aches and pains but nothing life-threatening. Lieutenant Cody, the black woman from Tactical, she had quite a bad limp but Curt heard Nurse Pitt assuring her that it was just a couple of broken toes and a twisted ankle. Cadet Knott had lost a good deal of stomach lining after he had seen Melanie. None of them had quite known how to cope with Melanie as they scrambled out of the wreckage. They had a lot to process as they stood, hurt and confused, taking in their surroundings while Nurse Pitt assessed them with a medical tricorder. Curt noticed, absently, that Pitt seemed to be the only one able to pull himself together enough to be of any use right then.
The planet they stood on was anything but familiar. All they knew was that the pod's navigation systems had tagged it as 'Varcae' before they entered the atmosphere. Tall, pale green plants towered over them like soft, swaying trees. They were vine like with fine hair on their surface and had big leaves at the top that looked similar to venus fly traps. These plants reached up into a yellow sky and sprouted from soft, crumbly, orange soil. The ground was comprised of this soil, interrupted occasionally by strange hollows in the ground. The hollows were like inset metal dishes, a few feet wide. They were coppery, like shiny pennies of yore, with small green patches. Even the air was strange; it was warm and smelled faintly of sulphur and metal. Tiny birds flew through it up in the sky.
"Well, you're all fine for now. I don't know how long that will last though, this air doesn't smell particularly healthy." Nurse Pitt said. He had a brisk, authoritative manner but there was an edge to his voice that hinted at inner panic.
"Yeah, what is that smell?" Curt asked. He saw that Science Officer Tsan scrambled to get his scanner. Jenson was busy stroking Cadet Knott's back and trying to calm him. The boy was only eighteen and was nearly hyperventilating.
"On it," Tsan mumbled, taking readings.
"Well?" Lieutenant Cody asked, cocking a hip and folding her arms under her chest. "Are we all going to die right now or will we have to wait a few days until we starve?" She was clearly irritated, not just from her pain but the situation overall. So mad that she forgot proper conduct for her rank.
"Jackie, please! That won't happen. We should be able to scavenge enough from that..." Curt pointed a thumb at the wreckage of the pod next to them. "...to at least send a distress call."
Science Officer Tsan coughed politely. "Looks like the air is just barely breathable, but I can't tell how it will affect us in the long run. This planet is weird though - highly unstable. From my readings, it would seem that the water has higher levels of sulphuric acid than would be expected and most of the land is copper based. The area we're in at the moment is stable but we'd better hope it doesn't rain." Tsan said.
"What happens if it rains?" asked Cody, her dark brows drawn down.
Tsan looked uncomfortable. "One hell of a chemical reaction. The acid rain will cause corrosion of any exposed copper. You don't want to breathe in the fumes from that. Plus I'm not sure how strong the acid rain would be but I'm guessing it would sting more than a little if you got caught out in it. "
There was a moment of silence as the others processed this information.
"We'd best get a move on before there are any little showers then, I suppose. I don't fancy getting choked or melted." Cody said with a humourless laugh.
Curt threw her a disapproving look but nodded in agreement. "We'd best see if we can salvage any of the communication system."
"Before you do…" They turned to look as Science officer Jenson spoke. She'd moved away from Cadet Knott, instead scanning one of the plants while the others had been talking. "There's something you should know about these big plants."
"Are they going to make us melt too?" The limping lieutenant asked.
"Not exactly. They're not exactly plants either. They're more like animals than plants. They have copper based blood like vulcans and if my scans are right…" She trailed off as she looked up at tops of the green vines. The others' gazes followed hers. As they watched, they saw the leaves at the top of the plant open wide and snap one of the little birds right out of the air. Jenson gulped.
"They're carnivorous."
[ Present Day | 1420 hrs.] Attn: 1) Brutus 2) Doc M. 3) IronFerrox 4) Auctor Lucan
Two days had passed. Two horrible days. A lot could change in that time.
The survivors were residing in a cave, none of them in good shape. Tsan was seemingly mute. The journey to their makeshift shelter had not gone well. The plants had left them alone at first, not really registering their presence until Science Officer Jenson had the great idea of trying to take a sample of their flesh to test for edibility. The plant let out a banshee's screech and all hell broke loose. They lost Lieutenant Cody to the plant creatures as they ran. She just couldn't keep up. The things could lunge and whip like enormous tentacles.
Next, the wildlife had found them. Nightmarish beasts that looked like a combination of hyenas and reptiles. They secreted some kind of oily substance that made them virtually invisible at night. They never saw them coming until it was too late. Whenever his mind strayed, Curt couldn't stop himself from hearing Cadet Knott's screams - the unfiltered fear and echoed agony as he was dragged off into the darkness. Torn to pieces while still alive. Harry Pitt had his jugular torn out right away. At lest the Nurse hadn't screamed.
Eventually, Curt and the two surviving scientists had fond the cave to take refuge in. It seemed that the predators were not as active during the day, but the cave was as much a trap as a refuge - death awaiting right outside. Tsan seemed like he had given up. Curt couldn't remember when the chemist had spoken last. Amy Jenson was, perhaps in desperation, doing her best to remain calm, but asking questions all the time.
In their cave, they waited for rescue. They'd found enough parts to jumble together a device that was sending out a weak distress call. The transmission probably wouldn't get far but they would just have to hope that luck would bring another ship close enough to receive it. Curt Lucas hadn't told Jenson and Tsan how unreliable and weak his device really was but he had a feeling that they had guessed.
Amy had grabbed some containers of water before they left the crash site, but it wasn't enough to last the two days that they'd been waiting. They would just have to wait, faint from hunger and dizzy from thirst as the wildlife awaiting outside their barricade.
As Curt sat near the entrance to the cave, looking out over the jagged mountain terrain, he grimly noticed something that might prevent them from dying from thirst or hunger.
The sky was clouding over.
Wait... What is that?
OOC: The acidic rain will sweep over the mouth of the cave in five minutes. The comm signal fluctuates, making exact triangulation and contact through the makeshift device difficult. Transmissions will be loud, voice-like static, almost incomprehensible. The source of the distress signal can be determined within 300 meters from the air. The mountains and the ground is jagged, making landing difficult. Best LZ option is 100 meters out from the cave.
Brutus (or IronFerrox?), descend and give orders or suggestions on approach.
Here is the list of NPC:s. Crossed names represent dead people:
ESCAPE POD 19 - VARCAE SURVIVORS
LT Jacqueline Cody Tactical
CPO Curt Lucas Engineering Officer
CWM Amy Jenson Botanical Scientist
CWM Loclan Tsan Chemical Scientist
CWM Harry Pitt Medical Officer
CWM Melanie Konzola CONN Officer
CDT Adam Knott Operations Officer
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Bridge | 1420 hrs ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
In the meantime, the USS Allegiant soared through the air high above the clouds. Sitting in the mission op/comm seat to the left of the captain's chair was Ensign Maya. Her patient was currently left in the care of Nurse Herbert, leaving the green blooded physician free for bridge duty.
"Scanning the surface of Planet KE 286583 S now Commander," the little Vulcan reported as her long spidery fingers dance across her LCARS panel. "The planet is class L, and was named 'Varcae' thirty-six years ago when it was discovered that the native life was carnivorous. Nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere with strong traces of carbon dioxide and sulphur. The soil in the mountains beneath us has a large amount of copper laced with kelbonite that is interfering with our scans. Metrological activity indicates that rain is imminent in the area, causing a chemical reaction that will render the air toxic. The precipitation itself will contain traces of sulphuric acid, although how concentrated that acid will be is variable."
Maya looked up from her readings to send what she thought was an apologetic glance at Natalie. Maya thought her expression was apologetic anyway. To most people she just seemed to be staring. "My apologies Commander, but I cannot pinpoint the signal. It is very weak and the kelbonite deposits combined with the metrological interference is causing it to fluctuate. I cannot even lock on to any combadges. The survivors, if they exist, must be in a shielded area of some kind."
The sad truth was that Maya was a medical doctor, not a science or tactical officer. Perhaps one of the others knew a technique that would shrink the search area.
OOC: If we've only got five minutes I've made the assumption that the Allegiant has the right planet and hemisphere. If we're supposed to have more information, I'm confidant that another character can provide it. (I'm also making the assumption that the transpoders in the combages of the dead people are no longer working and that the weather combined with the cave itself is preventing Maya from locking on to the survivors.)
[ USS Allegiant | Aisha S'iti | Bridge | ]
The young woman looked down at the topographical sensor data she was receiving from the flight sensors and remembered an old trick from her days with the Maquis, if you cant pinpoint something then eliminate everywhere it cant be and take a guess from what's left. "Hey doc, I got it!" she said bringing the ship to a stop mid air. at a point where they were receiving the signal but still couldn't pinpoint it. "Computer, overlap current meteorological, and geological data maps and highlight all points where a signal like the one we are receiving could be transmitted from, and still be received by us." The computer highlighted a large section of the map. "Now eliminate all points that would allow for a signal that you could derive the signal's position from." A much larger section of the map was eliminated but there was still a large section that the signal could be from and canvasing the entire area would take too long. She began to think looking down at information about the planet and the topographical data. "Of course!" she thought aloud. "Being exposed is suicide in this environment. Too many predators," she considered. "Computer, eliminate all locations that are not within or within 10 meters of cave like structures." All but one location disappeared.
The Cardassian smirked. "We're coming for ya." she said as she plotted the course and engaged the engines. "Computer give me a topographical readout of the location around the mouth of that cave I'm gonna need a clean LZ as close to it as I can. Doctor, Direct all communications scanning equipment at our current heading. I'm going to do a low to ground flyover of the area if the transmitter is down there we should be able to pinpoint it at close range. Once we get a communications lock send a general ID transponder so thy know we are from the Theurgy and inform them to prepare for an immediate combat zone Evac." she turned to the the Commander of the mission "I recommend we get a few type threes ready, native fauna may be hostile. They will be expecting a combat evacuation so our weapons shouldn't alarm them. We don't have time to screen them before letting them on board so I recommend they be quarantined within the aft cargo bay until Maya can tend to them. one by one in the med bay. Recommending we keep the bridge locked to all but Stark until all crew are deemed safe. Shields can take the acid rain just fine so once all are on board all we need to do is raise shields and we will be safe so an immediate launch is not a priority. Recommending myself and Ida for Ground EVA. You will remain in command here on the bridge and Maya will remain on ship to tend to medical needs once they are on-board. If you feel she would be an asset, Abner may also be a useful addition to EVA ops, or may be useful aiding Maya as a nurse."
[ Natalie Stark | USS Allegiant | Bridge | 1420 hrs ] Attention: Maya, Ida & S'Iti.
Tension was high on the cramped bridge, as Natalie looked over her left shoulder towards Dr. Maya. She rested her chin on the top of her left hand - curled into a fist - and tired yet again to project a steady aura of calm. Whether that worked or not was anyone's guess however. Her head had turned from the viewscreen, that showed the planet Varcae, to give the vulcan her full attention. She listened dilligently and nodded, masking her own dismay over the presence of kelbonite - a mineral she was rather familair with.
"Thank you, Doctor," she quietly said, but before she could continue the Cardassian pilot spoke up -
""Hey doc, I got it."" drawing the attention of the bridge crew forward to the helm.
"Beg pardon, Master Chief?" Asked Natalie, leaning forward now, no longer leaning on her hand. She added no more inturruptions of her own as she listend to Aisha rattle off a series of filtering orders to the ships computer, nodding slowly as she grasped what the other woman was up to. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but quickly faded. She could follow the read out as well as the rest of them could.
"I agree in principle with what you're saying, Master Cheif," Natalie replied after a moments consideration. "We're going to need to bring the ship down about there. A hundred meters out," she pointed to the map, standing and approaching the screen that they all could see. "Bring us in fast, doing a fly over of the cave, and set us down ready to go, Miss S'Ithi, then yes, gear up and go with Lt. zh'Wann." She shot the Andorian a glance and a sharp nod. "Doctor," she turned to Maya, "Get that message out to them as best you can. I know there's interfeerenc, but start blasting it on all channels. If you can blast it out of the hull speakers when we do the fly by. Every little bit."
She moved back to sit in the chair, and resisted the urge to scowl. Yet again she was going to have to stay back with the ship, but she knew that was the tactically sound choice. "Computer, enable access restriction to the bridge, Level 8 clearance." That would bump up the restrictions so that only she could allow anyone in or out. Bleatedly realzing that she may have needed to wait until after landing, she added, "Set security for entering only. Free disembark. Authorization Stark - Sigma-Delta-Niner." It was an awkward way to word it all, but it got the job done.
"Ensign Abnder," she called out as the ship came about, descending towards the surface, "We're about to pick up a few more of your friends. Landing zone is likely hot, and we're going to need your support in bringing our missing people home safe. Report to Lt. zh'Wann in the aft loading bay. Stark out."
She didn't wait for an answer from the blonde refugee, beore adressing MCPO S'Iti, "Time till arrival?" She asked, leaning back in the chair and trying to project that aura of calm.
OOC: Little rambly but I think it does the job of portraying someone trying to convey a sense of calm when they are anything but.
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | USS Allegiant | Bridge | 1420 hrs ] Attention: 1) Maya 2) S'Iti 3) Brutus or Auctor Lucan
"ETA thirty seconds. If S'iti is to come along, she will have to plot the landing for the computer and join me in the armoury at once. Every second count, and we need to arm ourselves," replied Ida instead of Chief S'Iti, and the Andorian Deputy stepped away from the tactical station, heading for the exit. On the way out, she locked eyes with the Vulcan doctor, "By Lor'Vela, make them leave their shelter and come out into the open. They will need to meet us halfway there or we'll not make it back in time."
Leaving the bridge, the Cardassian soon at her heels, Ida's brisk pace led them to the Allegiant's sole weapons locker, where she tapped in her code and deftly withdrew two Type III assault rifles, one each, slinging one over her shoulder. Putting one hand on the Cardassian's hip to keep her still, she then holstered a handphaser on the other hip, then she added two photon grenades in the loops below the holster before arming herself with the same gear. There was no time for talk, nor to think. Better to not think about how they were about to risk their lives, perhaps getting caught in the rain between the Allegiant and the survivors' hiding place. If there had been more time, they would have donned the exo-suits. As it were, they only had a couple of minutes before the effects of the rain would suffocate the survivors in their hiding place. Then again, at least they would not have to feel their skin melt off them before they died.
"Let's go," was all she said, clapping the Chief on the shoulder before getting a third rifle and taking point down the corridor- heading out to the aft air-lock . On the way there, she made sure the power cell was fully charged in both the rifles she carried and set them on the highest kill-setting. She was not going to take any chances with Varcae's wildlife.
Ensign Abner was already in the aft loading bay, and as soon as Ida arrived, she tossed the third rifle to the blonde pink skin. "Protect the loading bay and give us cover fire if possible. We don't want anything sneaking up behind us. Open the bay door." Ida could only hope Maya had got all bad ideas out of the woman's head.
"Aye, Lieutenant," said Abner and took position next to the air-lock, pushing up against the bulkhead with her rifle ready. She entered a command into the control panel, and then the whoosh of Vercae's barely breathable air filled the loading bay, and Ida narrowed her eyes against the yellow light. The Allegiant was still in the air, about to touch down, and while the sweeping vista outside the bay doors compelled her artistic mind, she knew it to be treacherous beauty. She tapped her combadge.
"zh'Wann to Bridge, I'm keeping this channel open. We're moving out!" With a couple of meters left before the Allegiant touched the ground, Ida leapt out of the loading bay and landed on the relatively smooth stone ledge of the LZ. Without pause, she took point, traversing the jagged terrain at a break-neck pace towards the suspected cavern - set deep in the base of a soaring cliff-face. No errant thought was spent on the fact that she might die in just a couple of minutes. She could not afford to think on it, just focusing on getting the survivors to the Allegiant in time.
"Come on!" she called to the Cardassian, and leapt to hoist herself up on a ledge, then rounding on the woman and extending a hand to help her up. That's when she spotted the movements in the mountainous terrain - the starved creatures of Varcae coming to greet them with their blood-thirst. There were far too many of them. "We've got company..."
That was when the fight for survival began, with no time to loose their pace. Abner had already opened fire to protect herself and the loading bay. There was no chance they'd get any cover fire from her. Ida bared her teeth in refusal to the realisation that they would never make it back - not yielding to her doubt. Fighting together with Aisha, time and hope quickly bled away without reaction from the barricaded survivors.
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Bridge | 1420 hrs ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
"Doctor," Commander Stark had said to Maya, "Get that message out to them as best you can. I know there's interference, but start blasting it on all channels. If you can blast it out of the hull speakers when we do the fly by. Every little bit."
Maya had acknowledged the order and complied by broadcasting the Allegiant's location as well as identifying the ship's yacht as a 'rescue ship' to make it obvious that that this was indeed a rescue and not a hunt for fugitives. When zh'Wann and S'Iti had disembarked, Maya was monitoring their progress from the mission op/comm station.
"zh'Wann to Bridge, I'm keeping this channel open. We're moving out!" ThanIda zh'Wann's disembodied voice reported.
"Acknowledged, zh'Wann, we are tracking your progress," the little Vulcan replied.
Currently most of the seats on the bridge were empty. None of the survivors they had plucked off Aeron-2514 were trained for bridge operations with the possible exception of Ensign Abner and even if they had Lieutenant Stark had given no indication that she was willing to give any of them bridge access. As a matter of fact, Maya had been surprised to discover that they were willing to give Carla Abner access to a phaser rifle. She approved of the decision, despite not giving any indication either way. Arming Ensign Abner meant that the Harbinger survivors were being accepted as shipmates aboard the Theurgy, regardless of the betrayal of the Harbinger's captain. The sooner the survivors became assimilated into the Theurgy's roster, the better.
The main view screen displayed a topological map of the surrounding area with an icon representing the Allegiant in the center. Two smaller arrowhead shaped icons were moving away from the center, representing the transponder signals coming from the combadges worn by zh'Wann and S'Iti. So far the rain hadn't started, but it was just a matter of time. Based on what she was hearing from the away team's combadges, the native lifeforms would kill them before the storm hit.
Suddenly, an epiphany struck the little Vulcan. "Commander the lifeforms found on this planet are similar to creatures found in the Sa'Kir region of my world," she reported as her long spidery fingers danced across her console. "It is possible that we could broadcast a frequency that would disrupt their nervous systems and render them temporarily harmless. Unfortunately, such a broadcast would also disrupt Lieutenant zh'Wann's sense of balance."
[ Aisha S'Iti | USS Allegiant | Bridge | 1420 hrs ] Next post: Brutus or Auctor Lucan
Quickly plotting in the landing vector S'iti jumped from her seat and quickly caught up with the Andorian security officer. Feelingthe hand at her hip to still her movements the cardassian remined still as the security officer armed her. Out of her own instinct she checked the settings and power cell before doing the same with the type two on her hip as she made her way to the back of the ship where the loading bay was.
Hot on Ida's heels Siti found herself with by hostile life forms incoming from two separate directions and was soon in a firefight she had not seen in ages. Luckily her training hadn't went away completely as she quickly raised her rifle and took a knee. Soon Aisha and Ida were facing each other and essentially covering each other's backs when she heard the hail from the Vulcan doctor. "Roger that, Ida go prone and use my shoulder like a tripod. if you focus like you are at a steady gun emplacement it'll help with your balance." She said going still and limiting her movement to angle her shots using arms more than movements of her whole body while covering Ida's rear as she trusted Ida to cover hers dispute the likely implementation of the impromptu sonic weapon. Hoping the disruption would allow the survivors to get to their location so they could fall back to the Allegiant.
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Captains bunk - USS Allegiant | en-route to next pick up| 1400 hrs] Atten: all
As the ramp lowered, the ship tilted slightly before realigning itself. The main view screen showed their descent, but a small corner of it was reconverted to display the feed from the aft bay. Abner taking the rifle, and then Ida leaping out of the still moving ship. They set down as the Andorian ran ahead, and Natalie could feel the jarring affect the landing. The computer did not perform nearly as smooth a descent as Aisha S'iti was clearly capable of conducting.
Instead of ordering someone else to reconfigure the view screen, Natalie did it herself from one of the control consoles built into the arm rest of the center chair. The display reconfigured to show Ida and Aisha racing across the ground as the wildlife all around them attacked. Her fingers dug into the arm rests and she ground her teeth slowly. This wasn't working she told herself.
Doctor Maya broke her train of thoughts with a possible solution to their violent flora and fauna issue. Natalie listened as first the Vulcan, and then the Cardassian chimed in, and weighed the odds. Make a decision. Whatever you do, make a decision. There was her mantra again, and so that's exactly what she did.
"Do it Doctor, and be quick about it. Lieutenant, brace yourself," she added to Ida, her tone clipped, concise, no hint of despite, nerves, or apology in her voice. Just concise command, as she too braced herself, waiting to see the effects of the sonic waves on the locals - and Ida zh'Wann. She could only hope this worked, and that it didn't adversely impact the Andorian Security Deputy. Or any of the survivors they hoped to rescue. Too late to worry about that...
ooc: Just a small post to move things along a bit
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Bridge | 1420 hrs ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
"Aye-aye Commander," Maya acknowledged as her long spidery fingers danced over the LCARS panel. The action was sound in theory. The hostile vegetation was uncannily similar to the Hir'ka'deth's in the Sa'Kir region in Vulcan's southern hemisphere. Back when Maya was a girl, her people had handled them by broadcasting a frequency outside the range of human hearing. This allowed naturalists to get close to them, despite the headaches that frequency caused. Maya was unfamiliar with what they did in the Sa'Kir region nowadays. She had focused her academic pursuits on topics that were not native to Vulcan.
The trouble was, back in the 22nd century the Vulcan High Command experimented with the procedure as a potential weapon against the Andorians. Although no Andorians were ever subject to involuntary tests, tests on animals from Andoria indicated that the blue skinned species would be susceptible. While most anthropomorphic species used the semicircular canals of the ears for balance, the Andorians used the exterior antenna protruding from their skulls. For some reason the exposed antenna were more susceptible to the sonic frequency than interconnected tubes inside the Cardassian or Vulcan ear.
The important thing was not to make the broadcast so strong that it damaged the hearing or the nervous system of the Starfleet personnel outside on Varcae's surface. Moderation was the key.
"Transmitting broadcast in five, four, three, two, one, mark," she murmured as she activated the signal. She listened closely to the away team's reports to ensure that she didn't turn it on too loud.
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | Varcae ] Attention: 1) S'Iti 2) Stark 3) Maya
Hearing Maya's new tactic, Ida curled her upper lip while she fired against the creatures that came at her and S'Iti. Her personal compunctions aside, the fact that the survivors had not emerged from the cavern yet and because of the pending rain, she was not sure the Vulcan's method would be enough since they still had to get the survivors to the Allegiant. The short-term solution of immobilising the wildlife was, however, first priority.
"Acknowledged," she said through her teeth when Stark gave the order. The cacophony of snarling beasts overrode the precursor wind for the rainstorm. Doctor Maya was already counting down on the Allegiant. S'Iti wanted for them to remain, but Ida shook her head while she shot another creature that was leaping towards them. "Negative! We must get the survivors out of there! They might have barricaded themselves against the creatures! I will lean on you if I have to but we must keep mov-. Arrgh!"
When it came, it was like she had been hurled head-first into a bulkhead. Ida went down on one knee, almost falling over. She swore and covered her eyes as she pressed her fingers into her temples. It was like Maya was drilling two holes into her skull with a pulse phaser, right where her antennae sprouted from her head, and from the sound the creatures around them made, they were not too keen about the frequency either. That was all that mattered. Baring her teeth, Ida reached out, fumbling for a hold on Aisha so that she could straighten up and move. She caught the Cardassian's waistline and pulled herself up so that she could wrap one arm around her shoulders. She squinted against the yellow light, breathing heavily, but she was not about to fall back. She hissed through her teeth, trying to steer their step in the right direction. "Move it, spoon-head... No time..."
Ten quick steps she managed, then the terrain became too much of an obstacle for Ida's painful vertigo to continue, stumbling and loosing her hold on Aisha as she did. She ended up on her side, but she kept her rifle from slamming against the bedrock. "Not... working. too slow.. you have to go..." she growled, picking herself up and slinging the rifle across her back, drawing the handphaser instead. Tears of pain ran down from the scowl she wore. "Go! I am... slowing you down... and you need to get them out! Run!"
Hissing her breaths through her teeth, she began the tumbling trek back towards the Allegiant, handphaser raised before herself to shoot any creature that might move her way despite the sonic broadcast. Her footing was unsure. The wind made her hair get in the way for her aim, and she had to catch herself against whatever she could lest she'd fall over. The screeching beasts barely noticed her, but the ones that did were promptly vaporised. Blinking away tears of agony, denying the existence of her fear, Thea saw Abner in the distance. The pinkskin was abandoning her post in the aft bay and coming towards her - running as quickly as she could towards Ida with the obvious intent to help her getting back aboard the yacht. The implications of Abner meaning to help her despite the risk to her own life did not escape Ida...
...but the sight of the acidic rain washing across the landscape caught her attention - raising toxic clouds no more than fifty meters behind the Allegiant. The hard wind had cut their time short... and they were all going to die out in the open. "It's too late... The rain is coming..."
[ Meanwhile | In the Cave ] Attn: S'Iti
"It is our only means to escape! We have to get to that shuttle!" shouted Curt with his face twisted in a mix of anger and fear, his phaser raised towards Tsan. The chemist was shaking his head in answer behind the sights of his own phaser, tears in his eyes. Amy Jenson had backed up against the damp wall, shaking, unable to decide who was right between the two men with the phasers.
"We won't make it..." said the Science Officer, Tsan breathing quickly in the panic that permeated the air in the cavern, "they will tear us apart... just like they did to the others! I can't let you pull down the barricade, Curt! You are not alone in this. The air inside here might last, but out there, we will either get caught in the rain or get eaten!"
"They have come to extract us, you fucking idiot, but we have to go now!"
"They were too late! The rain is sweeping in now!"
Curt felt the seconds bleed away in futility, and while they argued, his makeshift communication device on the floor was transmitting the garbled message from the Allegiant, a recording of a passionless voice repeating itself - a static screech for them to come out and show themselves. Nerves frayed and at the end of his wits, Curt gestured. "Amy, you must save yourself. Remove the barricade and let them see you, and you must run to the shuttle. Its phasers will protect you."
"If you go out there, Amy, you will die. Don't listen to him! Don't you dare take down the barricade!"
Amy took out her own phaser, and Curt narrowed his eyes at her for a moment. "What are you doing?"
"Shot him, Amy!" said Tsan, hands shaking, but she was still balancing the knife's edge between hope and despair, crying in fear. She looked ready to put the phaser to her own head, convinced that they they were all going to die. Perhaps that was her answer, to kill herself swiftly instead of suffocating on toxic air, melt in the rain, or get torn to shreds by the demons outside.
Finger trembling on the button of his phaser, Curt realised that he might have to stun Tsan and leave him to die if he wanted to survive, and he was not sure if Amy would follow him. He had never killed anyone before, but he might not have a choice...
[ Aisha S'Iti | Varcae ] Next post: Stark
"Move it, spoon-head... No time..."
"Not... working. too slow.. you have to go..."
"Go! I am... slowing you down... and you need to get them out!
Run!"
Aisha nodded accepting Ida's choice before doing as ordered but as she ran she hit her combadge. "Siti to Allegiant Ida sent me out alone to the survivors. Keep this com line open. If I can get the survivors out of their hideout you can cut through the interference and beam us out, not sure there is time to RTB before the rain hits." she said running through the brush rifle at her shoulder catching one of the predatory creatures, she couldn't tell if it was one of the animals or one of the plants but whichever it was she didn't stop to consider before she pivoted and opened fire sending two bolts into its midsection before breaking back into a run towards what appeared to be a cliff face.
Now that she was nearer the cliff face was far from a strait edge but there was a overhanging roof of rock coming out about 4 meters in front of the entrance of a cave. A cave that she heard voices arguing within and soon saw a barricade in-front of her as she turned on the light on the phaser rifle. "Annoyed that they hadn't did as ordered and evacuated, she shouted, "Stand back from the barricade, and move your asses when it's gone! We ain't got time for this shit." she added muttered to herself as she pulled one of the grenades and sat the timer on it placing it at the center of the barricade. as she placed the device she shouted through the barricade. "Photon grenade primed 5 sec delay" then added. "Fire in the hole!" before and running back out of the cave and placing her back to the wall outside. A bright flash of light illuminated the cave and she ran back in seeing the red glow of rock that had been nearly melted in places and an exactly 1 meter radius hole of nothing centered at where the barricade once was. "I said Move!" she shouted at the group within the cave again making it clear that she was in no mood at all to wait.
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Bridge - USS Allegiant | Varcae] Atten: all
Shit Natalie thought to herself as she monitored the storm coming in. Ida went down, and Aisha kept on running, making her attempt to get to the survivors - hopefully there were survivors! - trapped in the cave. She listened to the Cardassian bark out orders and get no response. She listened to Ida, gasping as the vertigo washed over her, trying to get back to the ship.
"No time..." she whispered, then sprung into action. Make a decision, any decisions and she did, slipping into the pilots seat fingers flying, bringing the ship up off the dirt. "We can't leave them out there, we have to tyr something else," she said, as if explaining her decision, justifying it to herself, or perhaps Dr. Maya.
"Bring up the transporters," she ordered. "The interference is too great to target the caves but as we pass over Ida and Abner, beam them both up, and get ready to do the same with CPO S'iti." That time it was an order she barked out, swinging the ship back down in a shaky descent. The storm was on their heels, and she had to time this just right, or her people were going to have the skin melted from their bones.
Triggering the external comm's she called out, hoping that someone inside that cave could hear her - she knew Aisha and Abner would, but she had no idea if Lt. zh'Wann was capable of comprehension at this point. "We're coming in hard an fast, be prepared to board stat. The rains right on our tail. If you don't move, now, you are as good as dead!"
She couldn't stress it any more then that. The Allegiant blew past the horde of local fauna, over top of the security officer where she struggled and Ens Abner ran to her rescue. Natalie could only hope the transporter picked up both women, and that the sonic assault kept the rest of the beasts from her. Her fingers danced, faster than she thought possible, wipping the ship around and firing retro thrusts - hopefully not blasting Aisha back from the cave entrance in the process. Natalie forced the ship to lower and slow, back door hanging open.
ooc: Let me know if this works for y'all
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Bridge ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
"Bring up the transporters," Lieutenant Commander Natalie Stark ordered. "The interference is too great to target the caves but as we pass over Ida and Abner, beam them both up, and get ready to do the same with CPO S'iti."
"Aye Ma'am; transferring control of the transporter to the bridge," the little Vulcan replied. Underneath Maya's graceful digits, the LCARS panel changed its configuration. "Maya to medical bay," she called in a slightly louder voice. "Mister Herbert, please head to the transporter room to assist personnel beaming up from the planet," she instructed as the Allegiant left the ground and banked through the air. "We need to keep the transporter pads clear."
"Yes Doctor," Chief Petty Officer Jacques Hebert's disembodied voice replied. "Understood."
"We're coming in hard and fast, be prepared to board stat. The rains right on our tail. If you don't move, now, you are as good as dead!" Natalie Stark announced to the away team as the yacht approached Ensign Abner and the helpless Andorian.
"Kelbonite deposits interfering with sensor scans," Maya murmured as her long spidery fingers danced over her console. "Relying on visual. Locking onto zh'Wann and Abner now." If Maya had any anxiety regarding this unorthodox method of using the transporter or the time constraints involved, she didn't show it. Her agile hands didn't shake and her calm mezzosoprano voice didn't falter. If anything she seemed to be exhibiting as much emotion as an android. "Beaming them aboard now," she reported as her fingers slid down the three touch sensitive light bars that were the sequence indicators.
Down on Varcae's surface, zh'Wann and Abner vanished in a shower of sparks.
"Mister Herbert, are they aboard?" Maya asked as she trained the yacht's visual scanners on the cave.
"Aye Ma'am," they're aboard," Herbert's voice replied. "Moving them off the pads now."
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | Varcae > USS Allegiant ] Attention: 1) S'Iti 2) Stark 3) Maya
With her blonde hair whipping back and forth on the foul wind, Ensign Abner ran to Ida, and once she got to her, Ida used her shoulder for support to remain on her feet. They were in the midst of Varcae's fauna, and while they were disoriented and confused, some of them still saw the two women - leaping forth to satisfy their hunger. Ida and Abner opened fire, the Andorian setting her hand phaser to wide dispersal and the human firing phaser bolts into the snarling, clawing mass that encircled them. The rain was coming in fast, and Ida anticipated the first drops to hit them any moment.
Meanwhile, the Allegiant had taken off and was coming towards them. Lieutenant Commander Stark was calling to the survivors via the PA speakers on the yacht as it swept past above their heads. The hull of the Captain's Yacht cast them in shadow momentarily, but when the shadow passed, they were surrounded by the shimmering light of the transporters, and they vanished before the maws of the beasts could reach them,
When Ida materialised, the broadcast frequency that had accosted her senses was gone, and the stabilisation combined with the transport made her stumble off the transporter pad and into the arms of Jaques Hebert. Ida had to support herself on on the human's shoulder as she doubled over and retched on the floor. Even as she did, she was waving with her powered down phaser for Abner to get to the loading bay. "Help them... get aboard..."
The Ensign didn't have to be told twice, running out of the room and down the corridor.
[ Meanwhile ] Attn: S'Iti
The three survivors in the cave looked between each other when they heard the familiar voice of Aisha S'Iti outside their shelter, and neither of them spoke when she primed the photon grenade and told them it was time to blow. The ultimate decision that had driven a wedge between them had instead been made for them, and they were left with little choice but to take cover at the back of the shelter they'd found. Curt powered down his phaser and laid down flat on the stone floor, protecting his head. Then came the explosion, and while he'd had the sense to cover his ears, the cave was filled with smoke and he could not see anything.
"Amy? Tsan?" he called, coughing and covering his mouth and nose to not get the stone dust into his lungs. He holstered his weapon and flailed about to try and get a hold on either of them. Blinking rapidly, he tried to locate the light from the mouth of the cave. Vaguely, he thought he heard another female voice, an echo from the outside urging them to board, and he could use the sound as a sense of direction to find his way towards the mouth of the cave. As he emerged, the Cardassian was there, and the large shuttle was backing up against the cave with flaring retro thrusters. He saw the bedrock beyond the cave hissing as the rain hit it, raising smoke into the yellow light of day. Amy stumbled out of the cave as well, Tsan soon emerging as well.
Ensign Abner from the Harbinger appeared beyond the opened loading bay doors, and she leaned down with an outstretched hand. "Come on!" she called, eyes wide in a face kissed by the sun. Drops of rain hit Curt's clothes, and he felt pain from the top of his head, but he did not let it delay him as he climbed up and pulled Amy with him. Tsan leapt and caught Abner's hand, and he also managed to crawl aboard. Curt doubled back to the edge of the loading bay and laid down to grab for Aisha's arms, to try and help the Cardassian up as well.
"S'Iti!" His called to override the howling wind. He felt hands grabbing a hold of his clothes and legs behind him, keeping him from falling off and ready to hoist him and Aisha out of the rain. "Jump!"
[ Aisha S'Iti | Varcae ] Next: 1: short post with Ida (feel free to edit my post for inject Ida's actions Lucan) then 2: Stark 3: Maya 4:Ida / NPCs
The Cardassian braced herself to the cave opening when she felt the shuttles retrothrusters sending a force of what felt like dry hot air over her. Bracing herself in the artificial wind she ran back into the cave. "Transport inbound; Move out!" she shouted over the din before spotting a few of the creatures rushing towards the now open cave. Taking a knee she brought the phaser rifles scope to her eye and took aim before sending three bolts down range and into the nearest creature putting it down Sweeping to the side she spotted a small herd of them seeming to run in a blind disoriented rage even if she had a type 4 phaser turret there was no way she would be able to hold the stamped that was imminent. A last desperate idea came to her mind before taping the com badge. Ida, Bridge! Charge forward phasers and roast these monsters!"
It was then that she felt the first drop of searing moisture hit her shoulder "shit!" she cursed under her breath through gritted teeth as she threw the Phaser up into the opening of the ship so she could help load the rest of them in. One after another climbed into the ship as S'iti covered her mouth as best she could but soon felt her eyes begin to burn as a small wave of the sulfuric acid gas hit her. Coughing she could barely hear the voice of Curt Yelling at her to Jump as she tried to open her eyes enough to barely see. closing them again the pain from the gas becoming liquid acid on contact with the moisture of her eyes she blindly jumped and felt hr hands meet his as he began to pull her upwards and into the ship.
It was then that she had the moment to try and breathe that she was able to fully realize the intense pain. Her chest began to feel as if it were on fire from the inside as the arosolized sulfuric acid began to bond with the water within her body and the inside of her lungs began to sear with pain as the acidic gas became a mist of liquid acid contacting and searing her lungs from the inside causing her to begin violently coughing. she was barely aware enough to notice that she was far from the only one on the ground debilitated by the same intense and potentially soon to be fatal pain.
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Bridge ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
Back on the bridge, Maya suddenly became animated. "The air in the entryway has become contaminated," she announced. "Traces of sulfuric acid detected. Cycling the air in the airlock now. Activating fire suppression system on chemical burn setting," she continued as her long dexterous fingers danced across her panel. "Releasing aerosolized saline into the air to counteract the acidic gas that has entered the lungs."
She tapped her combadge. "Mister Herbert, you have at least four patients suffering from sulfuric gas inhalation in the airlock," she announced. "Bring sufficient quantities of tri-ox compound (http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Tri-ox_compound) to oxygenate their blood until we can determine the damage to their respiratory systems. I shall be joining you shortly."
She turned and stared at Natalie with her large unblinking hazel eyes. "Commander, I request permission to leave the bridge."
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Bridge - USS Allegiant | Varcae] Atten: all
She should be in a near blind panic; at least, that's what one tiny part of her mind felt. There was so much at stake, so much to balance - her foolish choice to send CPO S'iti and Lt. zh'Wann off on their own, the need to fly out and rescue Ida, and Ensign Abner - whom abandoned her post, but really, Natalie was not about to come down on the other woman for her actions, not a chance.
But she didn't have time for that panic. Maya beamed the human and Andorian aboard, and while Natalie allowed herself a small sigh of relief, there was still too much to do. Too much to relax. "Come on come on come on," she muttered under her breath, anxious for the survivors to respond, to show up to do anything! Her fingers flew across the controls, pulling the ship into position as best she could while it was buffeted by the cross winds. The rain was right on their tail, acid that could eat away at whatever survivors remained from the ill fated Harbinger. The Lieutenant Commander tried to lower the ship further, but couldn't risk actually setting down, and had to hope that the Allegiant was tilted at such an angle to make jumping aboard possible. It was all she could do.
And then they were on board and Natalie could shut the loading bay door, hopefully keeping the worst of the gasses from entering the ship. She began to pull the ship up, barely noticing as Ida zh'Wann stumbled onto the bridge to take her post, the Andorian having heard the suggestion to 'roast the monsters' that were rushing towards them. Even as she did this, Natalie eased the ship up, feeling it rocked by the winds and the rain. Shields snapped into place, but still she remained taut, like a stretched rubber band about to snap.
Too much to do.
Over the comms the brunette could hear the surviving nurse - Herbert - acknowledge Maya's orders as he began to move the injured from the loading bay and into the small, cramped medical room the Captains Yacht afforded them - a luxury beyond that which a standard shuttle, or even most runabouts could claim, and one that would see more action than Natalie had hoped it would. And all because she'd ordered two of her officers to run to the rescue, instead of trying to get closer.
Introspection later, lift off now.
"Permission Granted, Doctor," Natalie snapped out as Maya made her request, and then turned, and offered her a very tight smile, "Well done, by the way. Now go help our people." In what she hoped wasn't too abrupt, she turned right back around and dismissed any thought of the Vulcan, focusing on getting the ship out of the atmosphere. Only once they were breaking out of the cloud cover did she look over to Ida zh'Wann, and very softly - secure in the knowledge that no one else was on the bridge just then, said, "I'm sorry, Lieutenant, to put you through that. Thank you, for helping to get them back." She would have to do the same, take that moment to thank Aisha S'iti - once they were clear of the system and on their way to the next rescue point.
Assuming of course, that Doctor Maya and Nurse Herbert could in fact save the Cardassian.
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | USS Allegiant | Bridge ] Attn: 1) Maya 2) S'Iti 3) Stark
Still feeling the after-effects of the dreadful frequency that Maya had advised, Ida had not had the opportunity to 'thank' the Vulcan for the initiative. At her current state, it was a dubious feeling of gratitude, that was for certain, but rather feeling sick and about to fall over than eaten alive by Varcae's fauna, that was a certainty.
Instead, Ida had been focused entirely on getting to the tactical station despite herself and to open fire against those creatures that were less affected than others - a horde unaffected by the rain and the acid smoke but vulnerable to sound. They were vulnerable to the Allegiant's direct fire-power as well - pulse phaser cannons and phaser strips lighting up the deadly mist in front of the yacht while Stark began ascent from the dreadful planet. The Lieutenant Commander thanked her for her efforts, and after swallowing down the bile in her throat, Ida replied - heart still beating in her ears and all the way up to her antennae.
"There were hardly any margin for second opinions, and the survivors needed to be saved," she said, breathing through her nose and closing her eyes a moment - clearing her head. She straightened where she stood at tactical, restoring a modicum of her usual integrity. "I would likely have made the same call, if the roles were reversed. Fact of the matter is that we managed to extract them, and I - despite my weakened state - did not fall prey to the vermin down there, and that is what counts. Had I not made it..."
Ida made a rueful sound in her throat. "You would not have had to worry about my complaints either. I just hope that the Vulcan and that pinkskin Hebert can treat our wounded... In fact, I recommend that we wait a bit before we get the next pod."
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
"Permission Granted, Doctor," Natalie Stark snapped. "Well done, by the way. Now go help our people," she added in a softer tone as ThanIda zh'Wann staggered onto the bridge and plopped down into the seat at the tactical station.
"Yes Ma'am," Maya replied as rose from the communications/mission operations console with an eerily smooth movement. As she darted off the bridge, it was the first time either woman could recall actually witnessing the little Vulcan hurry.
Before heading to the entry way, Maya made a brief detour to the medical bay to pick up a medkit and a breath mask. When she arrived at the aft airlock, she paused to use the console by the door to take an atmospheric reading: All clear. She removed her breath mask and made her way to the coughing and reeling patients. "Mister Herbert, report," she ordered as she crouched next to a human female whose combadge identified her as Crewman Amy Johnson.
"They're all in terrible pain," Chief Petty Officer Jacques Hebert reported as he crouched at Aisha S'Iti's side. "They inhaled some of that sulfuric acid and it doesn't take a lot to do a lot of damage!" he added as he examined the coughing Cardassian with a pulmonary scanner (http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Pulmonary_scanner). "The tri-ox compound is helping..."
"Understood," the green blooded physician replied curtly as she attempted to place a black rubbery mask over Crewman Johnson's mouth and nose. The woman was struggling and coughing out blood. Maya responded by pinching the trapezius nerve bundle and was rewarded when the girl went limp. "Set their respiratory masks to atmosphere rating two point four six nine," she ordered as she placed the onyx mask over Johnson's face and pressed the buttons on the little screen over the mouth. "Then administer ten milliliters of trioxin (http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Trioxin) to stabilize them until we can return to the Theurgy."
The Allegiant's medical bay was sophisticated for its size but it was no substitute for the Theurgy's sickbay. Hopefully the respiratory damage was superficial and surgery wouldn't be necessary.
[ Aisha S'Iti | USS Allegiant ]
She loudly coughed as air began to feel water bathing her body. Knowing that her body had been hit in several places by the drops of acidic rain she grasped at her uniform and pulled at it hard trying to get it off, so much so that it nearly ripped, not that it wasn't already a complete loss with the acid marred holes burned in it. Despite the relief she should be feeling from the water she grasped at her chest and throat feeling the searing pain from the acid eating away at her insides. It wasn't long before she felt a slight bit of relief as through hacking coughs she was forced to inhale through reflex and felt her lungs retch.
She violently continued to cough before feeling a intense surge from her abdomen as she watched a mixture of stomach acid and this mornings breakfast spill from her and splatter over the deck. Despite the disgust her throat felt a bit better though and she son felt a hypospray being forced against her skin. In a surging cough she bent over and a small bit of water seemed to drip from her nose. causing her to cough again as a bit more water was ejected from her lungs and to the ground.
Mere moments later she realized she was in the sickbay. Despite feeling like she had the worst heartburn ever she could already tell the doctors did their job. She breathed out heavily and felt her eyes water as a mixture of water and mucous began to drip from her nose as if she had nearly drowned. She blew what water she could still feel out of her nostrils as she forced herself up. Still painfully coughing she made her way up and stumbled to one of the walls. Looking at a small medical replicator she looked down at her hands and saw a few spots of blood. 'Not surprising,' she thought knowing a bit of first aid. "Inhalant, Bronciodialator." she said before grabbing it and then making another order, "Inhalant, Pulmonary analgesic." grabbing it she grasped at the first and used it before the doing the same with the second.
Taking a deep second breath she gasped loudly then screaming a moment as a quick pain seared through her lungs before starting to dissipate. She grasped at the bed she had be in and looked to the doctor before setting down the bronciodialator and keeping the analgesic. Asthma inhaler. Forced the lungs to open up before I used the painkiller one. Hurts like hell for a second but at least now I can go back to work. she said grabbing a patient gown and throwing it on and heading to he door. "Don't worry I'll be back in here once we are in orbit." she sad heading out the door and heading strait for the bridge after grabbing the combadge from her ruined uniform on the way out.
Tapping the badge she coughed a bit more speaking up. "Siti to bridge, Open up Commander. I wanna make damn sure we completely off this rock."
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Bridge - USS Allegiant | Varcae] Atten: all
While she hadn't expected it, the words from Ida seemed to ease the weight that was crushing Natalie's chest, the guilt from her command decision. They didn't absolve her completely, in her mind, but the pressure - mental, all of it - seemed to let up, just enough. She nodded, just a dip of her head, as the ship climbed up higher. The brunette could feel the vessel vibrate as the weapons discharged, raking the last of the beasts that had attempted to swarm the team when they were on the ground.
Before Natalie could agree with Ida, about the outlook for the rescued survivors or the next course of action, the comm dinged a notification, and a raspy voice called out from behind the bridge access door.
"Siti to bridge, Open up Commander. I wanna make damn sure we completely off this rock."
"Are you out of your mind?" Natalie snapped back, but she opened the doors all the same. She wasn't quite sure how her tone sounded to the other women as she shifted seats, turning control over to the Cardassian but also taking over the Co-Pilot position. "You should be on a biobed. Probably having your lungs rebuilt," she added, with more than a little concern.
As the ship pulled away from the planet, Natalie finally turned back to Ida. "Considering that we're not picking up any other active distress signals from pods in this area, I am inclined to agree with you. We don't know how long it will take to find the next pod." If there are any pod's left to find she silently added, before continuing. "We're going to have to do this next part the hard way."
A sigh left her lips as she looked at the two officers on the bridge with her, and she reached up, rubbing her forehead. "Given the launch of the pods while Harbinger ship was still at warp, we have a large search grind to begin combing through, now that there appear to be no active signals. And we will search it. But that means working in shifts. And, Chief," she finally addressed the Cardassian again, "That means you will be spending the next few hours, minimum, in sickbay. And if needed, you as well, Lieutenant." She added, addressing the Andorian as well.
Once she satisfied herself that the two other woman understood her position on their health, Natalie punched up a comm channel, "Stark to Abner." Of the Harbinger crew, the Ensign was the one showing the most promise, "We need some extra hands up on the bridge to begin the next phase of the search and rescue; someone to help man the science station. You know your people better than I do. Please designate a few to rotate out of the next...12 hours?" She bit her lip, "Send the m up here once you're satisfied. We have a long night left ahead of us."
The Cardassian nodded as she ran to the pilot chair bringing up the life sign sensors and pointing out what appeared to be a large mass moving their way. "Can't stay," she gasped a bit "Saw something in the rain." She pushed past what pain she felt and brought up every bit of engine power she could before swinging the ship around and angling it skyward. Less than a minuite later they were safe and in a stable geosynchronous orbit around the planet. She looked to her commander and nodded her head. "I'll be going back to that biobed now." she said softly. "I believe I misjudged when I said we would be safe even in the storm." She said getting up from the seat and taking the inhaler and inhaling another puff of the pain killer. "When I was getting in the ship I saw a large mass in the clouds according to the sensors my fears were right. There's something dangerous that lives in those acid-storms and I didn't want to stick around to find out how much of a threat it actually was."
OOC: for those curious about the life forms what I imagined was a large swarm, plague like proportions, of large insectoid creatures. I imagined them as having strong insect like wings and being roughly the size of a pack animal such as a mule. Their bodies would be covered by a strong acid resistant chitin allowing them to survive within the storms and adapted to feed on matter partially devolved in the storm's acidic rains (think of the rain as functioning as their primary means of digestion.) I imagine these would be the ALPHA predators of this world and are also the carnivorous plants primary pollinators and seed distributors while the predators previously encountered trapped within storms tend to be the prey of these creatures. (yea on this planet those things we faced are the midlevel nuisance predators and these things are the TOP of the food chain. As for the Allegiant as a swarm they could have potentially overwhelmed the shields enough to cause scratches to the hull sufficient to cause the acid rains to eat through parts of the hull and cause multiple small hull breeches. damage would likely result in the need to Return to Base rather than continue the mission. Theoretically if they scratched the right parts they could damage a critical system through acid rain exposure causing the shuttle to crash. Definitely a significant danger.
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | USS Allegiant | Bridge ] Attn: 1) Maya 2) S'Iti
At the tactical station, Ida spoke up. The trepidation that had come over her when she checked the heat signatures of the oncoming storm might have touched upon her tone. "S'iti was right. 'Something' was indeed there. Several of them, in fact. All of them with mass enough to eact this scout ship whole," she said quietly, gratified to leave the planet Varcae behind. Hopefully to never set her foot there again.
"Aye, I will have Doctor Maya check on me as well since I still feel nauseus, but I will remain with you until she - or mister Hebert - can come here instead. I am not prepared to leave you alone on the bridge with the Harbinger crewmen just yet, ma'am. I mean no disrespect, it's just protocol," she said when Stark wished for her to go to Sickbay. She would not be doing her job if she compromised the integrity of the mission. Ida could head Ensign Abner's voice on the intercom as she answered Stark.
[Understood, Lieutenant Commander. I will send them your way. Abner out.]
"With your leave, I will go out and let them through the security gate," Ida said, and she waited on the Cardassian before stepping out, meaning to help the pilot if she suddenly fell over on the way down to the small medbay. Since the Allegiant was placed in orbit around Varcae until another lead on the next pod was found, Ida was confident Stark could manage on her own on the bridge. The pinkskin had pulled through and even flown the yacht on her own, after all. She just wasn't prepared to trust all of the Harbinger crewmen yet, and she didn't think she was too biased in her opinion because of what had happened on the Harbinger before it was destroyed.
"Well fought out there, Chief," said Ida to the Cardassian while she collected the weapons from the woman, meaning to return them to the armoury. She said it while inclining her head briefly in respect. "Thank you for not hesitating about leaving me behind, making the survivors your priority. I am pleased you were confident enough in my abilities to think I would be able to defend myself despite my weakened state. If not, I am merely pleased that you obeyed orders, even if you thought you left me behind to die. If you would have stayed, none of us would have made it back aboard."
Having said this, Ida gave the woman a once-over after she returned their weapons to the locker - stepping up to the former Marquis. "Not that I mind..." she said with a faint smile, her artistic eye finding the effect quite fetching in its own way, and especially so given the canvas, "but you could use a change of uniform. If you didn't bring a spare one, I am sure you'll be permitted to use the replicator."
Ida came to stand at the security gate station, about to admit the people Abner sent forth, letting Aisha go on ahead to the medbay. Surely, the small place was busy at that point, with the three survivors to tend to, and to lift T'Rena's mind-meld from as well. Hopefully, the vulcan was able to use the loading bay area as a triage centre, and Abner would likely be there to aide her as best as she might.
OOC: Doc M. next with the treatment of the injured, Abner an NPC there to help. IronFerrox could post next too with Aisha heading down there as well. Regardless, this would be the opportune time for a scene between Maya and S'Ithi. I will check on the two of you when you feel it is time to post with the last Escape Pod scenario (already written and finished to post), but the sensor-search will last through the night. Just let me know when you guys don't want to write your scene any more.
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Medical Bay ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
At that moment Maya was moving Crewman Loclan Tsan into the medical bay. Chief Petty Officer Curt Luca and Crewman Amy Jenson hadn't inhaled as much of the caustic gas as Tsan had, so Maya left them in the loading bay under the care of the only other medic aboard, Chief Petty Officer Jacques Hebert. She had enlisted Crewman Luther Ford and Crewman Morgan Meyers to move Petty Officer Hildebrant to the bunkroom where the Crewman Degara Moon was recovering from the sunburn his time on Aeron-2514 had inflicted upon his sensitive and reddened skin.
"Get me forty milligrams of pulmozine and twenty millgrams of inaprovaline," the little Vulcan ordered as she and Crewman Russell Rodriquez moved the unconscious Tsan from the anti-gravity stretcher they had carried him in on to the biobed. "They will stabilize him until we can begin."
"Um... doc," the apologetic Rodriquez stammered. "You know I'm an engineer right? I'm an isoliniar technician, not a trained nurse."
"My apologies Mister Rodriquez," the little Vulcan acknowledged in a tone that implied haste more than contrition. "Your services will not be needed," she added as she unpacked the surgical support frame from a compartment in the wall and placed it over Tsan. "Kindly return to the bunkroom and inform me if Hildebrant or Moon require aid," she instructed as she adjusted the settings.
As Rodriquez left the medical bay, Doctor Maya tapped her combadge. "Mister Rowland, are you familiar with basic first aid procedures?" she asked as her long nimble fingers filled a hypospray.
"Yes Doctor," Edgar Rowland's disembodied voice replied.
"Head to the loading bay," she instructed. "Nurse Hebert will give you instructions." She tapped her combadge again. "Mister Hebert, I require your assistance. I'm sending Mister Rowland to monitor Lucas and Jenson. Please give him instructions he requires and meet me in the medical bay."
"Aye-aye Doctor," Hebert's voice replied.
Maya only needed Hebert's assistance for a moment, but in the meantime time was of the essence. The sooner they could begin pulmonary regeneration, the sooner Tsan would start to recover.
OOC: I don't imagine the procedure taking too long. Maya will keep the conveyor belt moving. I've left Abner free in case Stark wants her on the bridge.
[ Aisha S'Iti | USS Allegiant ]
"Well fought out there, Chief. Thank you for not hesitating about leaving me behind, making the survivors your priority. I am pleased you were confident enough in my abilities to think I would be able to defend myself despite my weakened state. If not, I am merely pleased that you obeyed orders, even if you thought you left me behind to die. If you would have stayed, none of us would have made it back aboard."
"Little from column A, little from B." she said with a mild shrug. The mission took priority obviously but more importantly if our roles were reversed I would have expected the same of you. Besides, figured you were far enough away from the caves that Stark could get you out in the transporter. All things considered one of us getting to the survivors was the priority of the mission. Ordering me to leave you behind was the only option that had a chance to accomplish the mission." she stated objectively. "Besides those creatures were experiencing the same effects you were. Since you were equally impaired figured you could still take them." she said with a soft laugh that caused her to cough a bit again noticing a small spot of blood on her hand when she down looked at it.
"Not that I mind...but you could use a change of uniform. If you didn't bring a spare one, I am sure you'll be permitted to use the replicator."
She smiled hearing the implied compliment on her looks. "Ironically if we hadn't been so pressed for time i would'a been able to have slipped into the excursion suit (https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/9/9a/Starfleet_excursion_uniform.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20061217085626&path-prefix=en) i brought along," she said making her way to one of the biobeds and nodding to the security officer. "And, I'll guess i'll have to make sure you see a little more next time." she teased as she climbed up onto the bed and laid back trying to relax despite the pain that was beginning to come back.
A few minuites later
Once Ida was off to preform her duties and the doctor seemed to have a moment of calm in the bay Aisha spoke up now her voice barely audible from the damage to now somewhat eroded vocalfolds. "when ya get a moment, I think I'm ready to be worked on." she said knowing that in order to get back to work she would need a pretty intense round of pulmonary regeneration as even she could tell there was damage all the way from her oral and nasal cavities to the alveoli deep within her lungs.
[ Aisha S'Iti (https://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/7/b/aisha_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n6e.png) & Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Medical Bay | 1510 hrs ] A Joint Post by Doc M. and IronFerrox
"When ya get a moment, I think I'm ready to be worked on," Aisha declared hoarsely in a raspy voice that was nearly too soft for human hearing. Fortunately Maya was not human, and her hearing was as acute as any of her green blooded species.
"Of course, Master Chief," the little Vulcan replied in a conversational yet professional tone as she stepped aside and let the injured Cardassian into the medical bay. "You'll need to step aside and allow Chief Herbert to take Crewman Tsan to the bunkroom," she added as the enlisted nurse used the antigravity stretcher to carry the comatose Tsan out of the medical bay to the cabin being used as a recovery ward directly across the hall. "Sit down on the biobed and take a deep breath," the little Vulcan instructed as she fetched a pulmonary scanner began prepping it for the diagnosis.
Aisha, nodded doing as asked before placing the inhaler that she had taken onto the equipment table near the biobed. In a hoarse but not so painful whisper she spoke knowing the Vulcan doc could hear her, "Sorry for taking the meds like that, Maquis trick I cobbled together when we got caught in a cardie gas attack back in the dmz. Bronchodilator to force open the lungs followed by a strong pulmonary analgesic to numb the pain. Only works once whatever you got hit with is gone and it's been flushed out of your lungs, but the pain is dulled enough to get yourself back on your feet and fight long enough to get the hell out."
"Experience is often the best teacher," Maya commented while tilting her head to the right instead of nodding. For a brief moment she recalled the 'improvisational medicine' she had employed during the Earth/Romulan War. "Now try not to talk unless you need to," she admonished. "Lie back on the bed and take a deep breath, letting the air out slowly if you can.
Upon laying down fully on the biobed Aisha, noticed the scanner being brought to bear across her chest and she forced herself to begin breathing deeply as possible sucking in a painful breath as Maya's left eyebrow rose a centimeter.
When Jacques Herbert returned to the medical bay the doctor spoke up, "Mister Herbert, prepare the patient for level one pulmonary regeneration," Maya instructed the blue collared human. She leaned over Aisha and attempted what was known as 'bedside manner.' "There is no need for concern Master Chief; we should have you back on the bridge within eight to twelve hours," she assured her.
Deciding now was not the time to stress her lungs any more Aisha just replied with a smile and a simple thumbs up gesture and did as best as she could to relax. Her body was in the capable hands of the ship's doctor and the rest of the team selected for the mission were plenty able to do without her at the helm.
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Bridge | 2000 hrs. ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
At 2000 hours, Maya and Aisha returned to the bridge. "I am happy to report that Master Chief S'Iti's recovery was faster than expected," the little Vulcan announced as she took her seat at the mission operations/communication station. "Chief Lucas and Crewman Jenson are also responding to treatment. Crewman Tsan, on the other hand, needs to be treated aboard the Theurgy. It is unlikely that his condition will improve given the resources we have."
[ EL734 Nova Arctys | Somewhere on the Northern Hemisphere | 2000 hrs. ]
Checking the level of oxygen in her EVA-suit again, Yvette Conway hoped the storm would abate soon. With bitter mirth, she thought that it would be quite ironic if she was to run out of air after all that they had survived so far.
Their escape pod had come crashing down hard into a frozen bank of snow. What looked like snow anyway, for what qualified for snow on Nova Arctys was like nothing on Earth on a chemical level, but it was close enough. It certainly was cold, - 220 degreed Celsius in the midday, so in lack of another term, she would stick to 'snow'.
The impact had been quite severe, though the hull of the pod remained intact. This was good as the atmosphere consisted of mostly hydrogen and helium, and it would not be breathable without an EVA-suit. In the event of a breach, the remaining crew would have perished quickly. The shock of the impact, however, had been catastrophic. Of the eight who were aboard, two were instantly killed by being ripped out of their restraints and being thrown across the interior. One was Lucy Rasmussen, who suffered blunt force trauma to her head when she slammed into one of the bulkheads. Jonathan Ramos' fate was even worse, he hit his neck against a console and his spine was severed. His head and body appeared roughly intact, but they sat at odd angles to each other connected by the torn fleshly tube of his ruptured neck. It had taken minutes for him to die, screaming while they had tried to do something, but none of them were medical officers.
Afterwards, it took a while for the rest of the crew to even be in a position to evaluate what had happened. Fang Zau, Loraine, and Haruko were completely unconscious. The rest had surveyed the damage. Yvette had help from Kalen Jinnai and Ere'Ket, and they slowly ambled around to find the dire news. Life support was intact and most of the supplies had made it too, but the most important component, the distress beacon, was a total loss.
It had been two days after they crashed. At this point the dead had been left outside in shallow icy graves. Yvette had ordered some brief expeditions outside the pod in the EVA-suits, but aside from some interesting mountains, barren icy caves, and vast frozen planes, there was little to be found. It did not seem as though anything could live here, nor was there anything much of use outside of the pod. This did not bode well for the survivors from the Harbinger, who in addition to being unable to contract anyone, appeared unable to gather many necessary resources. The worst had been yet to come, Yvette now knew for a fact, as the crew had not seen the most extreme conditions the unknown planet had to offer.
The temperature had continued to drop, it was - 280 degrees Celsius outside. Strange clouds had appeared to Yvette and Kalen Jinnai, the old CONN officer she had brought with her since he was the most physically able. Harsh winds threatened to pepper their suits with razor shards of ice. They had run into a deep icy cave for protection, and that was where they were stuck. Even the short-range comms they had salvaged were useless in those conditions, only allowing them to talk to each other through the suits. All she and Jinnai could do was wait and observe the weather. So, they sat on the cave floor and watched through their helmets as the winds whipped the landscape. The nearly horizontal razor hail was deafening. It was too much for words at first, just staring outside, observing in an awe. Much like that of early human life on Earth, as if they were cave-dwellers witnessing their first hurricane. Yet this silence gave way as they had remained trapped for hours. All there was to do was to talk amongst themselves or go crazy being stuck in such a situation.
The situation getting to her, Yvette broke the silence with an abrupt opening subject. A blunt question to the elderly Bajoran she shared the cave with, but one apropos to their current predicament. "Jinnai... are you afraid to die?"
Kalen Jinnai sat and thought for a bit, then said in his usual, stern and cold voice - distorted by the static of the comm. [No, the first step one must take as a warrior is to kill the fear of death. Even if the Prophets forget me, I know I lived an honourable life, and that I was strong. Death is just a part of our journey, and the proud end of a life of strife.] As a Bajoran, Kalen Jinnai did not at all seem to be swayed by the philosophical sticking points that plagued mankind since time immemorial. Chiefly the fixation on one's fate after death. Then again, like an orb experience, Yvette suspected it was a personal thing and not something a Bajoran talked about.
Yvette shifted into a cross legged position on the floor, arms folded around her waist in an uncharacteristic posture of vulnerability. "I- I just..." She began. "Ever since Lucy and Jonathan, I've been thinking more about it than I ever have. I don't know if I'm ready to be like them. I want to bear the children that Vasser will lead to victory, just like T'Rena showed us. Anything is more meaningful than being lost." She finished flatly, thinking about the dismal fate of the two dead's final and frozen resting place. Unknown corpses, rapidly being devoured by the layers of relentless frost, likely never to be found again.
[What they were is not here anymore,] Kalen Jinnai said in what probably qualified as conciliation for him, speaking of the dead. [Those shells are now meaningless. We are more than that, and were more than a mere legacy of dead flesh. All we can do now is to live as proudly as we can given our diminished circumstances.]
It seemed as though things were getting to him too, though for different reasons. The spirit of T'Rena's vision could only grant them so much courage.
[ Two Kilometres East | Escape Pod 09 | 2000 hrs. ]
Meanwhile back in the escape pod, the resident engineers, Ere'Ket and Haruko were trying desperately to make any use of the distress beacon. Though they had mended the short range comms, after two days of struggle, this seemed hopeless.
"It just won't work, we need parts we simply don't have. This is hopeless." Ere'Ket barked, quite unusually of him. It seemed even a Vulcan could succumb to frustration at times.
"Calm down, Ere'Ket." Said Haruko Kimara, whose eternal optimism was beginning only now to wear thin, not that she was about to show it. She was pouring over the schematics of the escape pod, and trying to figure out how much they could scrap without losing essential functions. She did so while twirling a lock of dark ahir between her fingers.
"Yes, be silent, Ere'Ket." Loraine Norton chimed in tersely. She was a science officer and was trying to figure out what kind of place they had landed themselves in using the scant readings she could gather with the busted sensors and rough field data from the crew's tricorders. Unlike Ere'Ket, she was irritated by their situation, but unfazed. So far, she had only established that they were likely on Nova Arctys, a small planet registered yet uncharted by the Federation because of its weather conditions.
"I wonder where Conway and Kalen are?" Fang Zau said to the room in general in a distant tone. He had just been sitting there all day, listless, and this was the first thing he had said in hours. He had taken a beating in the crash and was still sore and grieving the loss of Lucy, a close friend.
"I'm sure their fi--" Haruko began but was cut short by the sudden noise. A cacophony that was like rain striking a tin roof with a distinct metallic whine. Like some sort of cosmic artillery was raining down upon them.
[ Two Kilometres West | Inside the Cave ]
Back at the cave, Yvette and Jinnai witnessed the fantastic event first hand. First it was the relentless razor hail, then came insane methane thunderstorms, lights and sounds they had never witnessed before, forcing them deeper inside their shelter. As the storm reached its apex, what they could see outside the cave was a steady stream of brightly flashing objects, hitting the ground hard and fast. It was blinding and beautiful as it was terrifying. The answer to what was pouring from the sundered alien heavens came as one such missile bounced into the cave and buried itself next to Jinnai. He looked to Yvette, took out his tricorder and checked the readings. [Diamond.]
After a long while the diamond rain came to an end, the methane clouds and the lighting that were the forge for such a spectacular event moved on... and at least there was a clearing. Yvette and Jinnai left the cave in stunned silence in the sparkling landscape. The vista was breath-taking, only ruined by the chirping warnings of their EVA-suits. They were running out of air, so they had to make it back. Yet in her heart, Yvette harboured fear for what they might find.
"Come on," she said, heart beating in her ears, mimicking the sounds of her suit.
Soon, the distant sight of to the diamond encrusted pod told them what had befallen the others.
Hitting hard enough to embed themselves in the hull, the onslaught had eventually ripped the pod open. Each step took Yvette and Jinnai closer to the carnage, and the details were made plain in the waning light of day. The others were all dead, reduced to minced meat around layers upon layers of sharp diamond projectiles. There was not even any way to tell the bodies apart. Moreover, all their equipment was destroyed, and the rations inedible, but since there was no way for Yvette and Jinnai to remove their suits any more without dying from asphyxiation, eating those rations had become impossible anyway.
Yvette sank to her knees in front of the glimmering remains of the pod, and whatever shred of hope was left in her drained out of her frame. Twilight fell, and with it, the the nocturnal storms would likely scythe them down. Given what had just happened during the day, the night might be the worst yet, and the only consolation was that their suits would run out of air well before then. Kalen Jinnai stood behind her, silent in his stoic acceptance, while their EVA-suits beeped in count-down towards the end.
"We search... for whatever we can find... then we take shelter again," she said quietly and unholstered her phaser, looking down at it. "If that's what it takes for someone to find us... we'll ignite the methane storm once it comes. Pray to your Prophets that it will work... for it will be our last chance."
OOC: In your upcoming post, Brutus, answer Doctor Maya and then move the hands of time forward a bit, and then, the conflagration will be spotted by Stark or someone of the NPCs. That's where we go from. Here are is the list of people who were in this pod, few as they remain:
Escape Pod 09
LT JG Yvette Conway Operations Officer
PO2 Kalen Jinnai CONN Officer
PO3 Fang CONN Officer
CWM Ere'Ket Engineering Officer
CWM Haruko Kimara Engineering Officer
ENS Loraine Norton Science Officer
PO2 Jonathan Ramos Science Officer
PO3 Fang Zau Security Officer
CWM Lucy Rasmussen Operations Officer
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Bridge - USS Allegiant | 2000 hrs] Atten: all
Once the replacements Ens. Abner sent up had arrived, and once Ida was satisfied, Natalie caved to the need to take advantage of the the small luxury afforded her as mission commander. With orders to come get her if anything showed up, the brunette left the ship in capable hands - both those that she'd brought with her in the form of Ida z'Wann and members of the recently rescued Harbinger crew. Natalie shambled back to the one place assured to grant privacy on the small vessel - the captains quarters, to get some much needed rest and be fresh.
Jien Ives didn't have to give her the access code; it would not be at all uncommon for the commanding officer of a ship to assign a crew to a mission on the Captains Yacht and keep their personal cabin off limits. Natalie didn't know if Ives was being nice, trying to booster her morale in herself by showing her a bit of favor, or if it had never crossed her CO's mind not to give the mission commander access, but Ives had, and Natalie was perfectly selfish enough to make use of the spartan room and its privacy with no guilt at all.
Well, almost no guilt. Certainly not enough to keep her from sleeping. and sleep she did. Surprisingly well, considering how touch and go things had been so far. She'd recorded a brief log entry into the ships computer (now that she had the privacy of the small cabin) and then slipped out of her uniform jacket and boots, leaving the rest on in case of an emergency.
But thankfully, none had arisen during the time she slept, and by the time that Dr. Maya returned to the bridge several hours later, Natalie had also come back onto duty. As well rested as one could be with approximately 5 hours of sleep, she'd relieved the others on the bridge that had held down the fort for the previous duty shift. She nodded to Ida, and glanced at the view-screen, looking at the reports on hand. They had a mapping of the local star field as well as multiple feed's for scanning results based on the search grind patter they had established prior. There was also a report waiting in the command chair (on a PADD) that went over in detail the scans taken during the previous hours.
She'd sat down, PADD in hand when Maya returned to the bridge and gave her report, followed shortly by Chief S'Iti herself.
"Thank you for the update Doctor. Excellent work over all, and we will have to keep an eye on Tsan until we can get them back to the ship," she paused, digging out the name from her memory, and then, "Please pass that along to Nurse Hebert as well. And Chief S'iti, glad to see you up and about. The helm is yours, of course."
[ Approx 20 minutes later ]
It was the flare that the scanners picked up - the sudden burst of ignition in the atmosphere of one of the planets just within their current search grid. Natalie, buried deep in the reports from earlier, almost missed it, having glanced up at just the right moment. The little notification beep had nearly been lost in the background noise of the various and sundry consoles, the quite working of the four women manning the small ship's bridge.
"Computer, magnify scan results, sector 2275. Expand and extrapolate," she gave the order, watching as the view screen shifted accordingly. The scan results were magnified and she was able to look through it. "A methane explosion in the upper atmosphere of-" she leaned forward further to read the name of the planet off " EL734: Nova Arctys...?" A frown passed over her face, before she turned to address the diminutive Vulcan at the mission ops station.
"Dr Maya, take a look at our records for this planet - what do we know? Is what we're seeing something common?" Before she got a reply she also addressed helm, not missing a beat, "Chief, go ahead and lay in a course. We'll keep scanning on the way, but this is the first thing of notice that we've seen in," she checked her chronometer, "almost 7 hours."
OOC: I seem to be apologizing for delayed posts a lot lately. Hopefully that'll be changing now.
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Bridge | 2000 hrs. ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
"Aye Commander," the little Vulcan replied with a respectful nod as she turned her attention to the data appearing on her console. "We are currently passing above the northern hemisphere of planet EL734 Nova Arctys, a class C world with a mostly frozen atmosphere. Volcanic activity in the southern atmosphere has caused a thaw temporarily creating a gaseous atmosphere in the south that is creating turbulent weather in the north. To the north the atmosphere is solidifying into solid precipitation that would be deadly to witness from the surface. Escape Pod Nine's beacon has stopped transmitting and although I'm still reading five combadges there are only two life signs. They are in EVA suits, and they are armed. I am detecting a discharge of hand phasers and the ignition of methane."
She looked up from her console to focus her large hazel eyes on Stark. "They have lost the majority of their party and their psychological state is undetermined. Should we try to contact them?"
[ Aisha S'Iti | USS Allegiant | Bridge ]
And Chief S'iti, glad to see you up and about. The helm is yours, of course."
Aisha nodded, "Thank you Commander." she said simply as she took her station aboard the ship's small bridge.
[ Approx 20 minutes later ]
"Chief, go ahead and lay in a course. We'll keep scanning on the way, but this is the first thing of notice that we've seen in almost 7 hours."
Aisha heard the order to engage on a course and didn't think twice as the large scout banked and knowing how close it was and how time has been critical on the last pickup. KNowing it would be hours at high impulse but mere minutes engaged at warp.
Dropping from warp Aisha reoriented the ship and laid in a course to place the craft in a geosynchronous orbit near the epicenter of the now burning atmospheric disturbance. Aisha began to dial in the atmospheric readings trying to have a better idea of the kind of situation they were up against and gasped. At what she was seeing. 'Deadly is an understatement those are reading as shards of compressed ultra-heated carbon glass. It's literally raining giant diamond knives down there.' she thought looking around at the Readouts seeing where the to life signs were coming from in relation to that particular part of the storm. Near but not directly on top yet.
"Escape Pod Nine's beacon has stopped transmitting although I'm still reading five combadges but only two life signs. They are in EVA suits, and they are armed. They have lost the majority of their party and their psychological state is undetermined. Should we try to contact them?"
"Commander, ETA of that storm on the survivor's location is less than 5 minutes. The EVA suits on the harbinger have onboard com system's if we ignore the badges and attempt to lock onto the EVA suit com signal we can use the suits like com badges for purposes of a transporter lock. My Recommendation is we remotely raise a forcefield around the Transporter pads and establish a solid com channel with both suits. Once we have a solid lock with comms getting a transporter lock shouldn't be too hard and with the forcefield in place they won't be able to cause any damage to the transporter room in case they are currently psychologically unstable."
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | USS Allegiant | Bridge ] Attn: 1) Brutus, 2) Maya 3) Aisha S'Iti
Partaking in the sensor readings from her tactical station, Ida saw the same things the Vulcan and the Cardassian women saw, and she agreed with the latter's sentiment. There was no point entering atmosphere unless they wished to risk their shields and their hull to that storm. Far more advisable to beam any survivors up, and take precautions whilst doing so. She looked up from the readings and chimed in.
"On your word, I can raise a forcefield and go get a phaser rifle," she said to Lieutenant Commander Stark, "I will dissuade them to do anything unwise and have them part with their weapons before I lower the field. I urge precaution if we are to beam them up, since they are likely still afflicted by the Vulcan mind-meld. Trickery might have been successful on Aeron-2514, where we picked up Ensign Abner and the rest from Escape Pod 87, but now they will be aboard the Allegiant, and I urge that we do not take such chances again - not when we don't know what kind of condition they will be in."
Having given her advise to supplement the Cardassian's suggestion, she waited for the pinkskin to give her orders and to contact the two survivors down on Nova Arctys. Ida calibrated the settings on a forcefield that would be raised around the transporter pad in the meantime, hoping that Stark would see reason in disarming these Harbinger survivors right away. Subterfuge was all well and good, but not whilst gambling the lives aboard the Allegiant by letting armed people aboard. This time, however, Ida trusted the Cardassian to not stage a mutiny, her concern primarily about the weaponry of the survivors and what they might try to do.
She raised her eyes towards the pinkskin once her calibrations were complete, ready to act on orders given, but a glance was spared towards Aisha S'Iti - hoping she would reason the same way Ida did and not advocate dangerous deceit.
OOC: Suggested posting order and just some suggestions for a sequence-of-events, just for sake of efficiency:
1) Natalie Stark (gives orders, adding how Ida has raise the forcefield and leaves the bridge, and then makes a hail to the EVA suits. After the hail, she goes to join Ida in the transporter room or stays on the bridge), 2) Maya (beaming them up and then either going to the transporter room herself, her presence needed to remove T'Rena's touch 3) Aisha S'Iti (joining the rest in the transporter room too, putting the Allegiant on auto-pilot or something, alternatively staying on the bridge) 4) I write the survivors and Ida in the transporter room
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Bridge - USS Allegiant | 2000 hrs] Atten: all
As much as it pained Natalie to need to take such precautions with people - with fellow Starfleet officers - whom had suffered so much, the brunette Lieutenant Commander understood all too well the absolute need to do so. A forcefield around the transporter pad would be the most efficient option they had. After all it was anyone's guess as to the state the remaining survivors would be in. Especially with what appeared to be the mother of all storms Natalie had ever bore witness to.
What kind of desperation drove someone to attempt to ignite the atmosphere of a planet as a call for help?
Trusting the advice of her officers, she nodded once, sharply. "Lets route the signal through the suits then. Aisha, put us in a parking orbit as best you can above our wayward...friends. Maya, lets get them on the comms and let them know the cavalry is here." She stood up and looked to Lt. zh'Wann, "Ida, prep the force field and then bring them up, I'll join you shortly.
She watched with pride as the women under her command executed her orders with precise skill and talent. It was hard not to smile, but the situation was grim enough that a smile - she felt anyways - would be out of place. Jien Ives wouldn't smile just now. Neither, she imagined, would Carrigan Trent. Emulating the two officers that she had to look to as role models, she kept her features calm, neutral.
When the Vulcan Doctor let her know the channel had been established, Natalie spared the woman a small nod of thanks and took a deep, calming breath. "To the survivors of the USS Harbinger," she started off. "My name is Natalie Stark, commanding USS Allegiant, sent from the USS Theurgy" She wasn't mincing any words this time, just straight and to the point.
"Suffice to say we saw your...beacon. We're here to get you off the planet. Our sensors show that you have approximately 3 minutes before the leading edge of the next storm washes over your location. Please stand by for transport," A pause, and then, "We're bringing you home."
She didn't wait for a response after that, she addressed the women in the bridge, "Beam them up, and then if you please, Doctor, your skills will likely be needed with Lt. zh'Wann and I in the transporter room." It would be a tight fit.
"Chief," she added as she began to leave, "Make sure the bridge is secure. Your call if you think your presence would help or hurt things," she trusted the Cardassian's opinion on the matter. And with that she left the bridge and joined Ida in the soon to be very full transporter room.
"Let's meet our latest guests, shall we?"
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Bridge ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
"Let's route the signal through the suits then," Natalie Stark decided. "Aisha, put us in a parking orbit as best you can above our wayward...friends. Maya, let's get them on the comms and let them know the cavalry is here." She stood up and looked to Lt. zh'Wann, "Ida, prep the force field and then bring them up, I'll join you shortly."
"Aye Ma'am," the little Vulcan replied as she complied with her orders. "Hailing them now." She was silent as Commander Stark informed the survivors of the rescue party's intentions before receiving another order from the CO.
"Beam them up, and then if you please, Doctor, your skills will likely be needed with Lt. zh'Wann and in the transporter room," Stark instructed.
"Aye-aye Ma'am," Maya acknowledged as her long spidery digits danced across her panel. The Comm/Ops screen vanished to be replaced with a transporter console. "Locking on now. Beaming them up," she added as the fingers of her right hand moved down along the three bars on her screen. If memory served, there was a way to depower energy weapons held by subjects during transport, but she was ignorant of the procedure. She was a physician, not a transporter operator, but there was still a precaution she could take until she knew the forcefield was up. "Holding them in the buffer," she reported. "We can complete transport at any time."
"Chief, make sure the bridge is secure. Your call if you think your presence would help or hurt things," Stark called over her shoulder as she and Maya left the bridge to join the Andorian in the transporter room. When they arrived, zh'Wann was waiting for them. "Let's meet our latest guests, shall we?" Stark suggested.
"Aye Ma'am," Maya replied as she operated the console. "Releasing them from the buffer."
On the transporter pads, two humanoid silhouettes appeared in a shower of sparks before solidifying into two figures clad in environmental suits.
"I will dissuade them to do anything unwise and have them part with their weapons before I lower the field. I urge precaution if we are to beam them up, since they are likely still afflicted by the Vulcan mind-meld. Trickery might have been successful on Aeron-2514, where we picked up Ensign Abner and the rest from Escape Pod 87, but now they will be aboard the Allegiant, and I urge that we do not take such chances again - not when we don't know what kind of condition they will be in."
Aisha nodded in agreement, listening to the security officer. She was right subterfuge could work in some cases but in this situation the more blunt methodology was for the best. She for moment wondered what her role would be aside from getting them in orbit and by the time the commander spoke again she had brought the ship to their orbital "park" and began watching the display as the survivors were securely brought aboard.
"Chief, make sure the bridge is secure. Your call if you think your presence would help or hurt things,"
"Yes M'aam," she said getting up from her seat and walking over towards the commander before they left the bridge. she said, "Bridge door will only open per your authorization Commander she said before walking over to the door andentering in a sequence of louckout codes enabling only the commander to override it as they left.
Once alone on the bridge she smiled softly and placed her right hand on the back of the captains chair and looked down at the seat. She stared at it for a few brief moments contemplating the stuation, this was the first time she had been this near the big chair since the beginnings of the dominion war. this moment was one she had waited on since she had been taken into custody from the bridge of her old raider, The Fantine.
Smiling softly she stepped around the seat and sat down transferring the helm control to the chair controls and assigning the other arm to the multitude of sensors the ship had available. Reaching out with the sensors and correcting their course to the ideal location orbiting the planet where their sensors transmissions would be masked the most while still getting the best reception she made sure to reach out with the ships sensor package in a final attempt to find any other pod beacons. From the eerie silence it was more than clear that this would likely be the last pod they would recover.
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | USS Allegiant | Transporter Room ] Sugg. Posting Order: 1) Brutus 2) Doc M. 3) Auctor Lucan. IronFerrox, ad hoc.
The force field had been raised at Stark's command, and Ida was glad that S'Iti had seen reason in the precaution that she'd suggested. So, when the Pinkskin and the Vulcan arrived to the Allegiant's transporter room, Ida had gone to the armoury and armed herself with a Type III rifle. She stood with her shoulders squared and stretched her neck, preparing herself mentally for the situation at hand.
Turning her head, Ida followed Maya with her steely gaze as the Vulcan took position by the controls. Then Ida looked towards Stark, and she gestured towards a spot on the floor a bit further out to the side. "Over there, Lieutenant Commander. We shouldn't stand close together. Better to spread out and have them fire three times to take us all out... should they make the attempt."
The Vulcan completed the transport sequence next, and Ida was ready. She brought her rifle up to her shoulder and stood prepared to take swift aim, but she did not raise the muzzle of her weapon towards the two shimmering figures on the platform. With the force-field in place, the threat-level did not merit that direct protocol, yet she still stood with one side forward, legs slightly bent to lower her point of gravity, and the stock of her weapon remained firmly against her shoulder. She breathed as slowly as she could, ready to hold her breath if she had to take aim and open fire at short notice.
The figures that appeared behind the forcefield were indeed in full EVA suits, but the pristine white that were Starfleet issue had taken on a hellish appearance - as if they had emerged out of fire and brimstone. The glass of their visors were more black than transparent, and they both had phasers in their gloved hands. One of them was large, male in stature, and the other very likely a female.
"Surrender your phasers," said Ida, and her tone did not suggest any openings for negotiation. "Put them at the edge of the forcefield and back away to the wall, and keep your hands raised until told otherwise. You may, however, remove your helmets first - slowly - in case you are low on oxygen."
And that they did, the woman more quick about it than the larger survivor from Nova Arctys. They had likely been in their suits for some time, and the faces that appeared was that of a middle-aged ridge-nose and a pinkskin with dark hair and comely features. The woman was taking deep breaths, but the Bajoran seemed unfased by the ordeal they'd been through down on the planet. Yet more so, Ida recognised the man, and he clearly recognised her - the edge of a shadow passing over his face as he met Ida's eyes.
Him...
The Bajoran was one of those that had beaten Ida on the Harbinger. This was before she had been thrown into a holding cell and teamed up with Duv and Husker, but Ida had committed all her assailants' faces to memory. She had gotten through it with her modesty preserved, dissuading the group that had assaulted her from trying to get underneath her uniform, but the cowardly beating she suffered was remembered too often... and with distinct clarity.
The two were silent, cautious, moving far too slowly as far as Ida was concerned, but it appeared that they were going to do as they were told. The woman looked towards Stark, asking a question, but the man never looked away from Ida, and she did not avert her eyes for a moment either.
"Are you here on orders from Commodore Vasser and Captain T'Rena?" she asked quietly - cutting straight to the chase.
OOC: Remember that they have not stated their names or ranks yet, just so that we don't forget introductions. The introductions will actually lead perfectly into what I had in mind next... *grins* Brutus, you are next.
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Transporter Room - USS Allegiant | 2000 hrs] Atten: all
"Over there, Lieutenant Commander. We shouldn't stand close together. Better to spread out and have them fire three times to take us all out... should they make the attempt."
With the solid advice of Ida zh'Wann still ringing in her ears, Natalie clasped her hands behind her back and squared her shoulders, placed far enough apart from the others in the transporter room to satisfy the Security officers sense of propriety and caution. Once again she pictured the cool, controlled features of Jien Ives and tried to emulate them as she waited for the wayward souls to materialize on the cramped transporter pad. It was something of an effort to keep from tapping the fingers of hand against the palm of the other, but she managed, somehow.
She imagined she would be something of a stark contrast - the pun not lost to her - when compared to Lt. zh'Wann, weapon in hand and ready to spring into action.
With the door to the bride secured to her authorization only, and Aisha S'iti manning the bridge, Natalie was able to push some of the worry aside. She had not had much direct, one on one interaction with the Cardassian but there was little doubt in her mind of the other woman's capabilities, nor where her heart was at. She'd certainly already made plenty of sacrifices during this mission, and Natalie intended to make sure that Cpt. Ives and Cmdr. Trent were made well aware of such in her mission report and debriefing.
Frankly, she had nothing but praise for all of those assigned to her command for this rescue mission. But praise would have to wait, as she watched the sparkling waves of light coalesce before her, and Ida tensing off to the side. Don't get ahead of yourself, Natalie. Focus on the task at hand first.
Letting the Andorian lead the initial contact between the survivors and the crew of the Allegiant, the brunette Lt. Cmdr allowed herself to observe both parties with what she hopped was detached , objective clarity. Oddly, Natalie was almost sure that there was a flicker of recognition from Ida as the two from the Harbinger did indeed remove their helmets - but it was hard for her to tell. She'd not yet mastered the art of reading the Andorian woman by the way her antenna swiveled, but there was something in her gaze, her stance....
The way the female survivor sucked down air drew Natalie's gaze back to their two would be refugees, and certainly seemed to justify the suspicion that both survivors were indeed low on oxygen. Her nose wrinkled ever so slightly as she smelled some of the stale air escaping the suits and mixing with the recycled, purified atmosphere of the Manta-class yacht.
"Are you here on orders from Commodore Vasser and Captain T'Rena?" The woman called out to Stark, and the Lt. Cmdr in the golden yellow uniform repressed the urge to frown.
Blunt it is she thought.
"As stated over the comm's, my name is Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Stark. I am in charge of this rescue operation," she stressed the word rescue, to remind the duo on the pad that they were alive thanks to her team. Continuing in what she prayed was a calm tone, she answered the question at hand, "Captain Ives made it abundantly clear when he ordered us out that we would not leave anyone behind, regardless of their allegiance one way or another."
They had their answer, and now Natalie wanted one of her own, "Who are you, exactly? Unfortunately I do not know all the crew members of the Harbinger by sight." Though I am sure that Ida could tell me the name of at least one of you...
OOC: Hopefully that gets the introductions started. I see no need for Natalie to tell these two the names of her people until she gets a little quid pro quo from their new friends.
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Transporter Room ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
If Maya was pleasantly surprised when the two castaways followed Ida's instructions and placed their phasers on the floor, she didn't show it. She had adopted the catlike expression of polite curiosity that her people were (in)famous for. Currently her large hazel eyes were scanning the duo for any clues to their psychological and medical condition. Although frightened and distrustful, they seemed rational, something that T'Rena's mental tampering had appeared to negate based off Maya's previous observations. Would they remain so once they discovered that Captain Vasser and his cause were dead? Maya's pressure point unarmed martial art style was useless against subjects wearing bulky environmental suits. Should the duo decide to resist, Maya intended to step aside and let Stark and zh'Wann restrain them. Only if they needed assistance would Maya intervene.
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | USS Allegiant | Transporter Room ] Sugg. Posting Order: 1) Brutus 2) Doc M. 3) Auctor Lucan. IronFerrox, ad hoc.
When Stark revealed that Captain Ives had sent her, it was as if the air left the woman. Ida saw how she looked between the three Ives Loyalists beyond the force field in disbelief, unable to give the realisation that Ives was still in command of the Theurgy any credit. The Bajoran, however, remained perfectly still, not looking away from Ida where she stood with her rifle. If he felt anything in regard to what Stark had said, it did not show. The only thing that moved was a slight fasciculation in the corner of his eye - a slight twitch that almost looked like a second heartbeat. Perhaps a disorder, perhaps a sign of stress. Either way, Ida did not mistake it for weakness.
At first, it seemed the woman hesitated about letting them know her name, not sure how to proceed, but eventually, she conceded. "I am Junior Lieutenant Yvette Conway," she said, and gestured to the big Bajoran next to her, "this is Petty Officer Kalen Jinnai. We were on the Harbinger, shadowing the Theurgy while the Calamity pursued it - the defence plan with the gravimetric mines underway."
When that name was mentioned - the name of the Bajoran - Ida almost stopped listening to the pinkskin female - eyes narrowed and antennae angled forth towards the ridge-nose. She knew that name, because she had been warned of him. Only now, she could match the face of her abuser to that name, and it was the same man that Ensign Slayton had warned her about - just when Ida was heading off on the mission.
...if you run into a Bajoran male who seems to be a little bit twitchy for the lack of a better word, use a heavy stun setting because that's Kalen Jinnai and he's stronger then he looks... Husker's words came back to her. She had no doubt about what she'd learned. She had felt the bite of Kalen's knuckles before. The forcefield between them, Ida told herself not to change the setting of her rifle just yet. It would seem hostile, and undermine the delicate situation at hand. She only wondered if she would have the time to do it before she might be required to stun the two survivors from the Harbinger. Dared she take the chance and wait? Still, her eyes were locked with the ride-nose, as if he also knew her thoughts...
"We had prisoners in the brig, and they escaped." Yvette continued, oblivious to the tension between her companion and the Andorian that faced them. "Security guards tried to apprehend the prisoners, but they failed. Next thing we know, the Harbinger was set to auto-destruct, and it could only have been Commander Trujillo that gave that order - not about to let our ship fall into your hands." She was referring to those loyal to Ives, and still, she did not seem to fully accept the fact that the Chameloid Captain had been reinstated. Kalen Jinnai said nothing, still staring at Ida - eye still twitching while Ida did not move a muscle.
"So, we abandoned ship - our escape pod taking us here," she finished, her hands still raised where she stood. "We are the only survivors from the pod... but what about Commodore Vasser? What about Captain T'Rena? What about her vision of the future, and the army we need to raise? Surely Ives must have seen reason. It is the only way to win this war against Starfleet and the Federation. You can't just ignore the reasoning behind it, that we need a tactical retreat... Ives just wants to kill us all by heading to a fully armed starbase with untold numbers of starships within it. We would be throwing our lives away at the hopes that our mere word on the ether would be enough. We would forfeit any chance of victory on a fool's errand, can't you see that? Please, you must heed Vasser! You must let T'Rena show you how we have no other recourse but to regroup..."
Yvette Conway spoke with great conviction, and even greater dismay about the situation. Kalen Jinnai, however, was still looking at Ida - as if he was a coiled spring about to leap at her. Ida, on her end, did not shift a muscle, debating whether or not she should change the setting on her rifle. She had no idea what the ridge-nose was thinking, but he was surely up to no good. Ida let Stark and Maya answer, for she could not loose focus - trying to foresee what the Bajoran was up to...
OOC: Some counter-arguments to fan the flames in this scene? Heh heh...
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Transporter Room - USS Allegiant | 2000 hrs] Atten: all
Natalie would have to be blind to miss the tension in the duo behind the forcefield. And while her specialty was more machines then people, even she could tell that Ida was on edge. Given that Natalie deduced that Ida was one of the prisoners that had escaped, well, the brunette could understand why the Andorian Security Officer was more than a little on edge. For her part, Natalie took a slow breath through her nose to keep her own emotions calm. She uncrossed her arms, and clasped them behind her back, shifting the weight of her stance to favor her left foot a bit while she listened on, and resisted the urge to shake her head.
Clearly Lt. Conway is having a little trouble adjusting. Then again, they've been through Hell, never mind the fact that their side lost. Oh, and that she's been brainwashed. Can't forget that, Nat, she thought, with a bit of cheek in her own mental tone. Thoughts that were born out by what Yvette said next. It was quite a heart felt plea, and despite her best efforts, Natalie's expression must have let something out - pity perhaps, or the anger that left a knot in her stomach from when T'Rena had threatened to do unto her mind what she'd clearly done to Lt. Conway.
"Captain Vassar and Commander T'Rena are fortunately no longer in a position where they can enact their plan, Lieutenant," Natalie began, once again channeling what she hoped was a bit of Ives into her bearing. "Vassar's machinations, his desire to impregnate the crews of both ships died with him." Harsh, perhaps, but there was no pussyfooting around the issue, and Natalie couldn't quite keep the anger in check at what had almost happened to her, and her fellow crew members.
"I understand that, at the moment, you believe that was our best course of action, for the future," she continued, with more sympathy as she closed the distance between the two, no doubt to Ida's dismay. Natalie had faith in the field that crackled between the two refugees and herself. "But the longer we wait, the more the Federation falls into the hands of the enemy. The more minds that are eaten away, controlled," Just like T'Rena did to you Natalie almost said, but she bit the words off, clenching her jaw for a moment as her blue eyes bore into Yvette's. She then swept her gaze to the Bajoran, Kalen Jinnai. "Both you and Petty Officer Kalen have been through a horrible ordeal. Both with being stranded on the planet below, but also, with everything that had happened on the Harbinger" She sighed softly and straightened her shoulders a bit, taking a step back.
"Shortly, you'll understand. And for whats been done to you, I am truly sorry. I can only promise that you are safe now, and very soon, you'll be able to rejoin the remaining survivors. Perhaps they can help put you at ease," The ones that aren't traumatized themselves, at least. Glancing at Ida, she then added, "Right now, I think its best that we let Dr. Maya take a look at you. I can only imagine that the conditions below have left you in serious need of a medical exam - at the very least, you need rest, water, and food. All of which we can provide in the med bay. Please take a step back, towards the wall. Dr Maya, if you would be so kind, please lower the force field," again, another look to Ida - nothing need be said of course. She trusted the Andorian to watch her back. The darting eyes were mostly for the two on the transporter pad to keep in mind that they were under the muzzle of a phaser.
"Once I take care of those," she gestured down to the weapons the duo had placed on the deck, "then we'll get you over to medical, and on the road to recovery."
That last order Natalie gave as she moved to crouch down and recover the weapons, once the diminutive doctor was ready.
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | USS Allegiant | Transporter Room ] Sugg. Posting Order: 1) Doc M. 2) Brutus 3) Auctor Lucan. IronFerrox, ad hoc.
Stark had given her answer, offering the survivors from the Harbinger their helping hand, and carefully neglecting to mention what the Vulcan was about to do to them. When the Chief of Operations stepped forth, Ida's eyes darted sideways to her for a moment, and she shifted her weight to take anew position. Doctor Maya was given the order to lower the field, and perhaps it was her focus upon the Kalen Jinnai that belayed her step, but the field came down much too quick. Ida had not had the chance to move to the side. "No!"
Stark was right in her sights, and Kalen Jinnai saw it - leaping much quicker than a man his size and age should. He dove for the weapons that Stark were reaching for, which put his bulk behind Stark's figure. Ida was already moving, grabbing for the back of Natalie's uniform and tearing her out of the way. With the same step, she twisted her hip and launched a sideways kick across the surface of the raised transporter pad - sweeping the two hand phasers away from Kalen's fingers.
The weapons clattered off into the far corner of the room, but the noise was unheard - the roar of the greying Bajoran overriding it. The guttural noise rose as he had sized Ida's calf, and he unbalanced her - yanking her up on the transporter pad. Ida was completely disoriented, aim wide as she rolled sideways over the glass-like surface. Once she got her bearings, the first thing she saw was Kalen bearing down on her, like a demon sprung from the flames that had scorched his EVA-suit, and he was reaching for her rifle. She tried to discharge her weapon before he got to her, but the iron grip of his calloused fingers seized it, and he sought to tear it out of her hands. The blast hit the ceiling with a rain of sparks over the crowded transporter room.
Baring her teeth, Ida was not about to let go. The parasite-head Sonja Acreth had tried to remove a rifle from her grip down on Theta Eridani IV, and she had refused to let go. She was not about to let some bloody ridge-nose get the better of her. She snarled in defiance and kicked into the man's massive frame, tried to strike her elbow across his teeth, but the struggle continued still - the Bajoran barely flinching with his death-grip on the weapon.
In her peripheral vision, she saw how Yvette Conway had not hesitated about going for the phasers that Ida had kicked aside - pouncing for the weapons before Maya or Stark got in her way. Stark might still be struggling to get back on her feet, but perhaps the Vulcan had the presence of mind to act... Otherwise, the survivors might end up the only ones with access to weapons aboard - setting the terms on the Allegiant.
Kalen Jinnai was tossing her around with his grip on the rifle, but still - despite the strikes he lay across her face - she did not let go. She would not let go. Tasting blood, she continued to wrestle with the grey-haired beast - dealing him whatever strikes she could land without surrendering her weapon.
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Transporter Room ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
'Then all Hell broke loose.' It was an idiom describing chaos that had been in Terran parlance for centuries. Maya had heard the expression when she had served aboard the NX class USS Discovery over two centuries ago and she had heard it used during conversations with Terrans in the current century. It seemed a fitting description to what happened in the transporter room after she let down the force field.
Natalie Stark had given the order for the force field to be deactivated. Maya had acknowledged the order and complied. And then the Bajorian, the one identified as Petty Officer 2nd class Kalen Jinnai lunged forward with the speed of a le-matya. Commander Stark was in Lieutenant zh'Wann's line of fire; the Andorian didn't have a clear shot. Zh'Wann was forced to pull Stark out of the way and kick the phaser pistols out of the belligerent Bajorian's reach. Petty Officer Kalen roared like a sehlat and caught ThanIda's leg, pulling her onto the transporter pad so he could try to wrest the phaser rifle out of her hands.
There was no point attempting to send the newcomers back into the buffer. Immediately after zh'Wann and Kalen began their struggle over the phaser rifle, it discharged a glowing beam of energized nadion particles into the crystalline disks above the transporter pads, damaging the molecular imaging scanners and primary energizing coils installed in the ceiling. Using the transporter was no longer an option.
As Maya's mesiofrontal cortex reacted to the excitement, the little Vulcan went into her people's version of a Terran's "fight or flight" reflex, in her case, a bizarre combination of tachypsychia, hyperawareness, and near instantaneous analysis. Faster than human thought, Maya's neurologically advanced Vulcan brain scanned the belligerents in the room for weaknesses:
'Petty Officer 2nd class Kalen Jinnai, species: Bajoran. Approximate Height: 2 m, Approximate Weight: 51.3 kg, Biological Age: over fifty standard years. Handedness: left-handed. Diagnosis: Strength and speed greater than expected of his species and age, possible genetic, biomechanical, or pharmaceutical augmentation. Age far greater than average age of enlisted ratings of petty officer rank indicating unique personal history or possible imposture. EV suit protects nerve clusters and interferes with observations, precluding analysis. Summary prognosis: Too many unknowns, opponent's physical power combined with protection conveyed by environmental suit renders hand to hand combat with opponent foolhardy. Chance of restraining opponent: Unlikely.'
After ThanIda had kicked the duo's type 2 'phaser pistols' out of Kalen's reach Lieutenant Conway only hesitated for a split second before diving for them.
'Lieutenant (junior grade) Yvette Conway, species: Terran. Height: 1.6 m, Weight: 59 kg, Biological Age: mid-twenties. Handedness: right-handed. Diagnosis: Despite obfuscation caused by EV suit, displays signs of fatigue and early stages of dehydration. Movements uncoordinated yet capable, threat potential exponential if in possession of a phaser. My advantage: Her fatigue and emotional disorientation. Her advantage: Her EV suit protects her nerve clusters from attack and lessens the impact of blunt force trauma. Summary prognosis: Capable of sprints rather than marathons, vulnerable to being physically overpowered, even with nerve clusters protected.'
With the agility of a cat, the little Vulcan grasped the transporter console and rolled over it like an Olympic gymnast, launching herself at Conway to land on her back. If Maya's calculations were correct, the human lieutenant would be pinned to the floor long enough for Maya or Stark to wrest the phasers away. If Maya was wrong, a surge of adrenaline would allow Conway to shrug the petite Vulcan's aside like the featherweight she was. Maya's short slender form wasn't an asset when it came to overbearing.
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Transporter Room - USS Allegiant | 2000 hrs] Atten: all
The first warning the brunette had was Ida's sharp cry of, "No!" as the field came down. Natalie was confused, she'd ordered the field down, and was unsure of what was wrong. She was reaching forward, only to have her hand pushed aside by Kalen, as he too went for the phaser's. Anger welled up in Natalie's chest and she opened her mouth to dress him down, preparing to do something - anything - when suddenly she found herself hauled backwards.
"Whhaaa-opmh!!" Air was knocked out of her stomach as she crashed back across the small transporter room, sliding into the console with a loud crack and a sharp cry as pain rode from her tailbone up her spine. Stars flashed for a moment as Natalie shook her head and tried to get her bearings. She could see blue flesh entwined with the darker tones of the Bajoran and it clicked that Ida had thrown the Chief of Operations out of the immediate threat area. Sparks were flying all over the room from above as the pulse of orange shattered conduits in the ceiling, causing Natalie to raise her hands above her head to protect herself from the spray.
She felt a breeze blow over her head, and looking up, her blue eyes went wide as Dr. Maya lept over the console to come crashing down on Lt. Conway. It left Natalie slightly stunned, watching the diminutive Vulcan soar in like a precisely targeted missile, but sure enough, she was on target, and the two women rolled with the impact. It shook Natalie out of her stupor and she was up on her feet, slightly shaken but otherwise fine.
Yvette was reaching for the phaser again, despite the weight on her back. Perhaps the EVA Suit had helped protect her during the impact, or perhaps it was adrenaline but it was clear that even with Maya's throughouthly impressive efforts the former Harbinger Lieutenant was determined to get a weapon. Natalie was having absolutely none of that, and she strode over fast, ducking out of the way of Ida' and the Bajoran PO's struggles to first kick at the hand reaching for the weapon, and then, as she'd been taught, spinning around and bringing her other foot down towards the woman's head with a crushing heel kick.
It jarred her up her leg, and Natalie danced back, but kept her footing. While she hadn't had many lessons yet, that was one that seemed to stick, and she idly wondered if Captain Ives would be proud that at least some of her training was being put to use. Not waiting to see if she'd knocked the other woman under Maya out or not, she bent and swept up one of the phaser's into her hand, looking over towards where the Andorian and Bajoran struggled...
OOC: let me know if this works or if I missed something.
[ Aisha S'Iti | Bridge - USS Allegiant | 2000 hrs] Atten: all
An unexpected alarm brought the Cardassian out of her focused search for distress signals. She looked down at the ship monitoring display and gasped seeing the alert. Weapons fire in the transporter room. looking up at the window which doubled as their viewscreen she quickly commanded the computer. "Viewscreen give me the transporter room security feed." She said quickly watching the situation unfold and trying to reach a decision on how to respond to the problem. Eyeing the officers, one face of the two was quite familiar. Kalen Jinnai, though she didn't know him well, she knew he was CONN which no matter how things were sliced gave her one distinct advantage. She had been his superior officer. The chief of his department who Vasser had seen fit to deem essentially the CONN chief of his prospective fleet.
Thinking things through, she made another realization. On this ship she was the highest ranking member of the harbinger crew having been given Lieutenant level access due to her place on the senior staff. This afforded her a unique luxury. Her voice could potentially override some harbinger equipment. More importantly though there was a danger in that room. Not just of the Vasser loyalists escaping the room with the only weapons accessible on board but both they and members of the Theurgy crew were in danger of physical harm. Seeing the possibilities she knew she had one duty. There would be no more casualties from the war that Vasser started. Activating internal controls she knew the biggest danger onboard were the phasers.
"Computer activate an anti-nadion dampening field in the transporter room." she said knowing once the dampening field activated every phaser in that room would be rendered useless. More than that she knew when the dampening field activated there would be an announcement by the ships computer within the transporter room alerting everyone within of how useless phasers now would be. This would mean that Stark Maya and Ida would be weaponless as well, but more importantly a stray shot wouldn't injure anyone and the situation would now be melee combat of a bajoran and a human against a Vulcan expert on pressure points and muscle relaxation, a human who likely had taken a few lessons from their captain, a skilled martial artist himself, and an Andorian with a previous life in her peoples own military. In the realm of hand to hand combat the odds and skills of the Theurgy personnel more than made up for whatever protection the eva suits gave. More importantly, if necessary there were a few others Siti trusted would serve as reinforcements to back up Stark and her crew if needed.
Speaking into the PA system she sent a hail to one of them. "Ensign Abner please report to the bridge entrance security checkpoint." If the uselessness of phasers didn't even the playing field she had two other cards she could possibly play and Abner was the other half of her second available plan.
Before she could put any plans into action there was one other thing she knew had to be done. "Computer, activate the "Moonlight Acquisition" protocol and give me manual input for the course and speed, Authoriation S'iti-Omega-4-6-Delta-5."
Quickly Aisha made her way to the piloting console and began to input the necessary details, plotting the quickest course while maintaining the necessary stealth to remain undetected but getting them back home as soon as possible. On its own the ship lowered power emissions and disabled communication systems having by now sent the Theurgy an encoded signal informing them of the situation. Then the ship activated maximum jamming systems on-board making them all but physically cloaked. Returning to the captain's chair she spoke again. Computer, lock systems and Bridge entrance, override is only to be accessible to the following personnel, Aisha Siti, Commander stark, Doctor Maya, Security officer Ida, and Command level personnel of USS Theurgy." She paused a moment as the non-necessary systems powered down before speaking up one last time from the chair. Computer, Access CONN desk control information. Engage"
The ship now entering warp she made her way over to the door she pushed in the exit sequence and the door opened. She stepped out to meet with Ensign Abner who she had asked to come moments before.
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | USS Allegiant | Transporter Room ] Sugg. Posting Order: 1) Doc M. 2) Brutus 3) Auctor Lucan or IronFerrox
The damnable ridge-nose was strong, yet aside from her Andorian physique, Ida was determined to not yield her weapon regardless of personal injury. Kalen Jinnai could try and hit her all he wanted, for she would not let go - her sense of duty forbidding any kind of surrender. Her white-knuckled, blue hands were like twain vices around the phaser rifle, and she snarled into the Bajorans face as she denied him the weapon. For each kick and strike he laid unto her, it only made her more determined, and she answered in kind, writhing on the glass surface of the transporter padd so that she could deal him elbow-strikes without loosing her hold, and to drive her knee into his unguarded ribs. The seconds wore on, and the strikes rained down upon her. She could not see anything, be it from his massive frame, the sparks that rained down into her face, or translucent blue blood in her eyes.
[Anti-nadion dampening field activated,] said the disembodied voice of the Allegiant's computer, which held the same voice audio-files as the Theurgy. It was as if Thea should be aboard, but she wasn't. A false sense of safety. The message, however, was not lost on Ida, whom derived the meaning, and the implications. She trusted Thea's ghost... and she let go.
The sudden release of her hold made Kalen Jinnai stumble backwards, falling off the transporter pad and barrelling into Natalie Stark. Ida struggled to get back on her feet, fingers slick with blood, and went after the Bajoran. She did not have time to see how Stark fared, but she saw Kalen raise the rifle he had finally acquired where he laid propped up against the bulkhead. Baring his sanguine teeth, he fired against Ida as she bore down upon him. Nothing happened when he squeezed the trigger. With the dampening field in effect, he might as well be holding a stick. He tried to scramble to his feet in time, but Ida laid the first strike before he was up - her knuckles splitting against his jaw. He rolled with the blow. It was as if he was made of stone, coming around with the rifle - wielding it like a meele weapon and striking Ida across her upper arm. The force of the blow drove the air out of her lungs and sent her sprawling against the edge of the transporter pad. Was her arm broken? No time to tell through the haze and the pain. The blood in her eyes.
She saw, however, as Kalen struggled to his feet at the same time as she did, that Yvette Conway was also bleeding from her face. Yet as if animated by the convictions that T'Rena bestowed upon her mind, she had rolled over and was striking with her fists against Maya in order to get back up. Though when she saw that Natalie Stark had been hit by Kalen Jinnai when he fell, she switched from dealing strikes against Maya to try and strangle her - shrieking like some animal.
[ Meanwhile | Outside ]
[Ensign Abner please report to the bridge entrance security checkpoint.]
Hearing this, Abner was on her feet - already having heard the commotion and the distinct sound of a phaser being fired aboard the scout. "Remain here," she told the people that were with her, and she bolted out into the corridor - heading to the checkpoint as told. She met Aisha just when she appeared from the bridge, eyes searching the Cardassian's to foresee the intent and the orders to be dealt.
"What do we do?" she asked, the commotion from the transporter room still heard through the bulkheads.
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Transporter Room ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
Maya landed squarely on Conway's back, knocking her flat on the floor and causing the human to accidentally push the phasers out of her immediate grasp. Before Maya could press her advantage she was almost immediately knocked off the compromised human by the kicking feet of ThanIda zh'Wann, who had been lifted into the air as she struggled with the herculean Kalen Jinnai. Conway darted for the discarded phaser pistorls, but Natalie Stark kicked her in the head buying time for Maya to twist and launched herself back at the prone human. Unfortunately the Stark's kick had rolled Conway over on her back and the pain ignited a frenzied defense that Maya could barely cope with. When the greenblooded physician attempted to pin the human to the deck, Conway met her with flailing blows, fists flying in uncoordinated strikes to drive the little Vulcan back.
'Incoming assault feral and desperate,' the analytical part of the greenblooded physician's alien brain silently observed as the little Vulcan blocked. 'Use her momentum to counter.'
[Anti-nadion dampening field activated,] Thea's disembodied voice announced as a frenzied blow connected with Maya's porcelain face.
In the meantime, the Andorian surrendered the weapon she and the Bajorran were fighting over. Kalen Jinnai fell off the transporter pad and onto Stark when ThanIda released the phaser rifle, but the green blooded physician had no time to truly appreciate the turn of events as the irrational Conway continued her attack on the little Vulcan. Maya's training took over as she blocked her frenzied blows before grappling the lieutenant to grip Conway's shoulder joint and paralyze her arm. No effect. Lieutenant Conway's environmental hardsuit was a suit of armor. Maya's thumb went to the interior of the human's elbow joint and pressed down like a vice. Still no effect other than making it difficult for Conway to strike Maya with her right hand; Conway's arm wasn't paralyzed or in any discernable pain. Stark couldn't help her for Kalen's body was blocking the commander's access to Conway. Soon it was Maya who was on the defensive, and the little Vulcan struck a blow at the only unarmored part of Yvette Conway, her face.
For a split second it appeared that Conway was stunned, her glassy eyes glancing sightlessly around the room at everything but her opponent. Then with a primal scream, she seized Maya by the throat and squeezed it shut. Maya's pallid face flushed green before becoming almost completely colorless.
Maya's thumbs dug into Conway's wrists, or rather they attempted to. Instead of involuntarily springing open, Conway's hands continued gripping and soon the little Vulcan couldn't take a breath.
'Arsenal running dry, adjust strategy, target vulnerable areas,' the analytical part of Maya's consciousness thought as her released Conway's wrists to strike at the homicidal human's face, or rather her eyes, a part of the human body that was more susceptible to pain than any other. A strike at Conway's eyes should be incapacitating and cause the human to involuntarily release the Vulcan's throat to protect her face. Currently Lieutenant Conway was irrational; there was no reason not to assume that instinct wouldn't trump determination.
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Transporter Room - USS Allegiant | 2000 hrs] Atten: all
Getting plowed into by a muscular bajoran encased in an EV suit had certainly not been on Natalie's list of things to do that day. True, it came with the territory but that didn't make it any easier, nor did it make the impact any less painful. And it was painful.
Kalen connected with her legs as he went down, and took her out in turn, sending her sprawling out behind him. She flailed as she went down in an undignified heap of limbs, wedged between the Bajoran and the bulkhead behind her. It dove the air from her lungs inf a sharp "Whump." The pressure built as she squirmed to the side, and then broke off into a gasping breath of sweet air flooding her lungs again. She rolled to her knees and coughed, then whimpered, sharp pain flaring in her left leg from where the Harbinger survivor had collided with her.
By that point, Kalen was back up on his feet, swinging the incapacitated phaser rifle like a Cestus made baseball bat, connecting with Ida's arm in a sickening thud. Natalie shook her head and looked over, hair falling in her face, towards where Dr. Maya and Lt. Conway brawled. She'd hoped the kick to the other woman's head would have dropped her, but it seemed not to be the case as she wailed on the diminutive Vulcan.
With Ida forcing Kalen out of her way, Natalie worked to struggled back to her feet. She winced as pain again flared in her left leg, near her knee. She didn't think it had been broken, likely just strained, but that hardly mattered. Pushing through the agony of the torn tendons and stressed muscles, the COps Hobbled forward. She watched in horror as Yvette Conway gripped tightly down on Maya's throat, and saw the brunette claw at her assailants face to no avail. With little recourse left to her, Natalie did the one thing that came to mind - she hurled herself at Yvette, hoping to dislodge the armored woman at least long enough for Maya to get her breath back.
She tried not to think about just how much that suit would hurt when she hit the other woman....
[Aisha S'Iti | Security checkpoint | Main Corridor | USS Allegiant | 2000 hrs] Attn: Abner
She looked to the ensign and shook her head for a moment. "I am not 100 percent certain what to do myself." she said sighing for a bit. "So, I asked you here cause you are two very much needed things. One you are the ranking officer among the recovered survivors who are no longer under T'renna's mind control. As such you have an insight into what it is like to be under her influence. Is there anything you can think of that had you been told would have convinced you to give up on Vasser's plan? Is there anything you can imagine that may have convinced you to see beyond Trenna's logic and perceive other possibilities as viable options? I need to know if there is anything that would make someone brainwashed by that Vulcan witch give up on Vasser's plans and possibly rationalize that Ives and by extension his crew, are not the enemy." She said explaining that the real thing she needed was to come up with anything that might possibly defuse the situation or at the minimum possibly cause them to question the absoluteness of their convictions to Vasser."
After a momentary pause Abner asked the obvious question, "And the other reason?"
The Cardassian simply stated, "If I had to kick down the door cause it looks like its about to come to that, I wanted backup."
((OOC: Since Abner is an NPC I was hoping you didn't mind me puppeting Abner for the one sentence of dialogue.))
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | USS Allegiant | Transporter Room ] Sugg. Posting Order: 1) Doc M. 2) Brutus 3) Auctor Lucan or IronFerrox
With the Bajoran back on his feet, he ambled in towards Ida with a double-handed grip around the barrel of the rifle. With the kind of force that Kalen Jinnai could deliver a strike with, the weapon was still deadly despite the dampening field. Ida blinked away both the blood in her eyes as well as the images of him cracking her skull open with his next swing. She had her guard raised, or at least as best as she might with her right arm almost limp and numb. She dared not rake her sticky, white hair out of her eyes lest she'd failed to predict the Bajoran's second swing. He was following her up unto the transporter pad, her edging backwards to draw the Bajoran away from Stark and Maya.
In her peripheral vision, Ida saw how Maya dealt attacks to Conway's eyes - turning the fearal scream into one laced with pain. Whatever ghost of T'Rena that animated her still held on, however, not letting go even as she tried to twist her face away from the small Vulcan's. Gradually, she had worked to put the Vulcan underneath her, but her grip then slipped, likely granting Maya some air. The grip came off completely when Stark barrelled into the Harbinger survivor, knocking her over with Stark ending up on top of her.
Ida then felt the bulkhead against her back, the cramped transporter room not granting her more distance from the greying Bajoran. Through the fiery rain of sparks from the ceiling, he came at her - the swing levelled at her head. She went low, diving underneath, and she drove her elbow into his ribcage. His metallic EVA-boots scraped backwards on the transporter pad with the momentum she gained. Still protected by his suit, he leaned over her and seized her around the waist with one arm, lifting her feet off the floor. She was able to twist around and deal him a backhand blow across his face before he rammed her down into the pad - driving the wind out of her lungs. She kept her head away from the impact against the pad, her shoulder taking most of the blow - cracking the glass surface. While her endoskeleton kept her alive, it would not be able to take another blow like that, and Kalen Jinnai was already raising his rifle to end her life - the overhead strike about to descend against her face.
In the moment of finality, Ida saw Conway grabbing a hold on a phaser, and instead of firing it - despite how her eyes were swelling shut - she tried to strike Natalie Stark's head with its handle.
[ Meanwhile | Outside ] Attn: IronFerrox
Blinking, Abner tried to think of anything. It was a complicated question and certainly not with any definitive answers close at hand. She had no idea what might pierce the veil that had been laid across the eyes of her fellow crewmembers. With the commotion in the room next to her and S'Iti, it was hard to think clearly too - the urgency in which Stark and the other two needed help cutting her efforts short.
"I got nothing. We should get inside," said Abner after a couple of seconds, regretting that they had no access to the armoury. "Can you bypass the door?"
Standing ready to rush in, Abner stretched her neck and loosened her shoulders a bit, gearing herself for what awaited them.
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | USS Allegiant | Transporter Room ]
The rifle came down.
Guided by instinct alone, Ida rolled sideways and scissored Jinnai's legs as she did. Crying out, she twisted her hip to push against the bend of the knees - toppling the Bajoran over unto his face. The rifle had broken apart against the fractured glass of the pad, and as she crawled onto of the struggling Bajoran, she seized the largest part with bloodied fingers. With bared teeth, she wrapped her arm across his forehead from behind and pulled him towards her chest. He was already rolling over to his back, and pinned Ida against the floor, but she did not let go once she had his head pulled back against her. With no other options viable, she meant to drive the metal part she had in her hand into his throat, but it was stuck between the shattered floor and the bulk of her opponent. She tried to wriggle it free, cutting her wedged hand, but the adrenaline in her veins made her numb to the bite of the glass. She fed on the trepidation - the fear for her life - as she kept Jinnai from getting up...
...and tore it free.
With a fiece cry, she drove the dislodged metal into the Bajoran's throat. Once, twice, and then let go of his forehead so that she could push the rifle part deep into his neck with both her hands. He trashed on top of her, managed to seize her white hair with flailing hand, but she did not relent. Letting go of the metal piece, she wrapped both her arms around his skewered neck, squeezing with her whole body. She just had to hold on, either choking him out or waiting until he died from the blood-loss - his iron-laced redness pumping out over her. She told herself, through the fog clouding her mind, that there had been no other recourse. It had been either him or her. She just hoped that he left behind neither loved ones nor children, people who would lament that she'd not been able to restrain him so that Maya could make him the man he once were.
Once he let go of her hair... she knew it was over, but she had not the energy left to push him off herself. So she lay there, her cramping arms still locked in the final embrace around his neck, and she could but hope that Conway had been dealt with by then.
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Transporter Room - USS Allegiant | 2000 hrs] Atten: all
Over and over they rolled, Natalie's weight dragging Yvette off of Maya's body, and sending both scattering across the small room. Somehow, the Theurgy officer ended up on top, her legs spread down on either side of the would be refugee. She hoped there was enough to her weight to help keep Yvette pinned, but the marred woman struggled as if possessed by the devil himself.
She bucked with the other woman, riding the motion of her hips - it could have been erotic, save that Natalie hadn' really thought of women like that, and the sheer danger to her life at the moment. She tried to push the other woman down, shouted at her to surrender. That wasn't working, not at all, so Natalie tried boxing the maimed woman's ears, bringing her hands down on either side of Yvette's head.
That helped for a moment, but only just, as Lt. Conway thrashed about, clasping her hands and then scrambling for something else, anything - and getting her hands on the phaser. Natalie didn't recognize the danger the disabled weapon posed, until Yvette swung it in with all her might connecting with Natalie's head and causing the Lt. Cmdr to see starts, sending her crashing towards the deck as disorientation and nausea waged war within the brunette.
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Transporter Room ] Attention: Stark, Ida & S'Iti.
Despite the pressure that Maya put upon the Lieutenant's eyeballs, Yvette Conway refused to let go of the little Vulcan's throat. The EV suit had interfered with Maya's diagnosis, resulting in a fatal miscalculation. Conway wasn't acting out of instinct. Instinct was overridden by a fanatic compulsion to fight for a lost cause. Left to her own devices, Lieutenant Conway would probably collapse but T'Rena's mental domination from beyond the grave would push her victims past the point of exhaustion to their deaths unless countered.
And speaking of death, Maya's vision became blurry and her hearing became almost nonexistent. Her uncanny control of her body left her as her Vulcan nervous system made involuntary adjustments to her biochemistry in order to keep her alien brain from suffering oxygen deprivation. Maya's body became weak and clumsy; she was unable to prevent Conway from rolling on top of her. Maya was forced to use both her large spidery hands to grip Conway's and attempt to pull the homicidal human's hands off her throat. A momentary lapse of the human's grip allowed Maya a gasp and before Stark managed to tackle Conway, forcing the deranged lieutenant to roll off the injured Vulcan and give her compartmented mind enough oxygen to create a new strategy.
'Mental programming overriding the needs of Conway's body,' the analytical part of the greenblooded physician's alien brain silently calculated. 'Conventional countermeasures ineffective. Apply Offensive neuropressure to neutralize opponent using vulnerable points available.'
Maya's blurry vision cleared enough to the little Vulcan to see Conway grasp a phaser pistol and knock Natalie Stark's off of her with a blow to the head. Moving like a marionette, Maya rolled off her back to a crouching position behind Conway, snaking her long spidery fingers of both hands into fanatical human's collar, pressing on the trapezius nerve bundles on both sides of the hardsuited woman's neck. Conway shuddered before collapsing on the deck.
Exhausted, Maya glanced around and saw Kalen Jinnai lying on top of ThanIda zh'Wann, the blood of both species discernable to Maya's nostrils. The Bajoran's blood was perfectly visible to Maya's eyes, even though one was swelling shut. It was obvious that one or both needed immediate medical attention and it appeared to be too late for the Bajoran. 'Common carotid artery pierced,' the rational part of Maya's compartmented mind analyzed. 'Exsanguination extensive. Cardiopulmonary system shutting down, brain damage in three minutes, brain death in five. Possibility of Petty Officer Kalen Jinnai's survival: nil. Possibility of rendering aid to prevent a fatality: impossible.'
At that moment, the compartmented parts of Maya's mind let down their barriers and the parts of her psyche united into a single consciousness. The pain from the blows she had taken was crippling. Her face and neck ached as olive green bruises appeared on her deathly pale skin. She gasped for breath as she fought to stay conscious and lucid as every whump, bump, and blow registered on her petite and battered body that temporarily wasn't following her commands. She let loose a quiet moan before closing her eyes and slumping to the deck.
Maya's going to need a moment. Now that whatever Vulcans use for adrenaline is wearing off, she's feeling it just like everyone else.
Aisha S'Iti | Security checkpoint | Main Corridor | USS Allegiant | 2000 hrs] Attn: All
For a moment the sounds of the commotion within the transporter room stopped and Aisha looked to Abner. "There goes any possibility of surprise amidst the chaos" she said looking to the door and considering her options since the option to breech the door and use the chaos of the ongoing fight to at push things into her favor via surprise.
There was forcible entry and not knowing what awaited behind the door, not particularly the best idea if what awaited were two already angry and brainwashed pawns of Vasser. Then of course there was just leaving the door as is and waiting for word from the inside. Of course if her fellow crew from the Theurgy or either member of the harbinger crew were injured this would mean leaving people to whatever injuries there were and just hoping for the best. There of course was a third option. She could find out the situation via the combadge. It would provide her with Intel and not force her to enter a room that could allow hostile forces to attempt to overtake the ship.
Tapping her combadge she spoke up. "S'iti to Stark, what's the situation Commander." Whether the commander or someone else responded or even if there was no response the results would at the very least give her more information than the silence behind the door that gave her no clues at all.
[ ThanIda zh'Wann | USS Allegiant | Transporter Room ]
Gradually, the fact that the transporter room lay silent settled into Ida's thought as she caught her breath. It was over, but she had no idea how the others had fared. She half expected Yvette Conway to step into her vision as she lay there, but instead of movement, a sound was heard from Stark's combadge off in the distance. It was Aisha S'Iti, asking for the situation. When Stark did not answer, Ida was compelled to move. To act regardless of the toll the fight has taken on her. For as the adrenaline thinned in her veins, all the pain and the soreness of the beating she had taken was being processed by her nervous system. Her cut hands hurt, and her face felt like it had been beaten to pulp. The Bajoran had struck her torso as well, and she hoped her ribs would be intact, else getting up would be too much to handle. Already, she was light-headed. Any more and she might pass out.
No, she couldn't allow herself the luxury. Hissing a breath through her teeth, grinding them together, she heaved Kalen Jinnai off her, making him roll over face first into the shattered glass of the transporter pad. She rolled the other way, struggling to get up on her hands and knees. She coughed, stilling the vertigo that seized her, before climbing back on her feet. She tapped her own combadge as she did, looking around at the prone bodies on the floor. "zh'Wann to S'Iti, bring that doctor in here..." she rasped, swallowing the bile in her throat, "Computer, unlock the door..."
With slow, careful steps, showered by sparks from the ceiling, she made her way off the transporter pad. She almost stumbled and fell as her feet touched the floor, but she caught herself on the bulkhead with a bloodied hand.
OOC: I suggest you post again, IronFerrox. :)
[Aisha S'Iti | Security checkpoint | Main Corridor | USS Allegiant | 2000 hrs] Attn: All
Immediately responding the Cardassian turned to Abner, "You heard the lady," As Siti crossed the threshhold of the transporter room door seeing and smelling the first signs of the carnage the ensign sent out a call on her com badge ordering CPO Hebert to the transporter room.
The former Maquis ran over to the worst injury she could see and took a knee at Ida's side then looked over at her now unmoving bajoran assailant. "I'm not a doctor but I know a black tag when I see one." She said referring to the triage coding system. quickly she made her way over to the Vulcan doctor and felt for a pulse which was strong though decreasing in rate. speaking to herself she noted "Strong pulse decreasing just a bit." she then quickly made her way over to Stark. "got a pulse but she's out cold. Wouldn't surprise me if she has a concussion." Finally She made her way to the other member of the harbinger crew and felt for a pulse she quickly noticed a heavy bruise on both sides of her neck near the collarbone. Recognizing the bruises for what they were she looked to Ida. "nerve pinch marks, She'll sleep it off."
About that time Nurse Hebert walked into the transporter room carrying a first aid kit and a medical Tricorder.
"The Bajoran is near dead," the Cardassian advised knowing that what the nurse most likely would need would be a basic triage report. "I don't think he can be saved." she added "the wounds look extensive and near irreparable. Ida is conscious I am unsure of what injuries are sustained, Stark is probably the worst off immediately. She is out cold and my ration credits are on a probable concussion. Doctor Maya's pulse is solid and slightly decreasing, I would say she probably fainted from overexertion, I've seen Vulcans faint like this when they push themselves past their already extreme physical limitations. The other mutineer has met the bad end of two simultaneous Vulcan nerve pinches based on the telltale bruising near the Trapezius nerve bundle."
[ Maya (https://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/219/e/7/maya_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n3n.png) | USS Allegiant | Transporter Room ] Attention: Stark
Maya's hazel eyes fluttered open and closed several times before the little Vulcan finally stood up and staggered to her feet. She put a hand on Abner's shoulder to steady herself before staggering off the shattered transporter pad to cling to the console. "Mister Herbert, five milliliters of asinolyathin please," she murmured in a weak and distracted voice. "I shall be useless to you otherwise."
Without a word, Herbert filled a hypospray and placed it against her neck. A short hissing sound was barely audible and Maya let go of the console to stand at her full height one hundred and fifty seven centimeters. Taking a deep breath she made her way to the fallen Bajoran, who had bled out in the meantime. "Petty Officer Second Class Kalen Jinnai pronounced dead at 2012, Stardate 57088.1," she announced as she placed the fingertips of her left hand against the back of Kalen's neck. She rose and delicately made her way to the unconscious Stark. "Ten milliliters of inaprovaline," she ordered after placing her hand on the back of Natalie's neck. Herbert administered the drug and Stark's blue eyes fluttered open.
"Are you well, Commander?" the little Vulcan asked.
[ Lt Cmdr Natalie Stark | Transporter Room - USS Allegiant | 2000 hrs] Atten: all
Blackness swam before her eyes, faint colors of purple bleeding in from the nothingness, swirling in some kind of cosmic dance, only to fade back out once more. And then there were voices, and the sharp pain returned. Red replaced the purple, as she became aware of the sharp, throbbing of her own pulse. She blinked her eyes, focusing on the image hovering over her face. The blur resolved itself into the face of Dr. Maya, dispassionate as ever. She took a moment to process the question, and then slowly replied.
"I feel like I got nailed in the side of the head," Natalie lamented, slowly, slowly sitting up. "Which, all things considered, I'm guessing I did." Her eyes shut for a moment as the room spun briefly, then subsided. Whatever the doctor had administered was helping. "I am...as well as can be expected, Doctor. I take it that," she looked, saw Yvette, unconscious, and the added presence of Aisha S'iti, "I take it we were successful?" She noted the lack of breathing from the Bajoran, "Mostly successful."
With a little help, she rose to her feet, and processed what everyone had to say, and then nodded. "Well done people. Get this cleaned up, and yourselves. Chief, take us home."
[a few hours later]
Captains log, USS Aliegiant. Lieutenant Commander Natalie Stark, commanding.
We have completed our last sensor sweep and are on our final approach home. Perhaps more shaken and weary than anticipated - we've all had a rougher ride than hoped for, to say the very least. We came out here to rescue fallen comrades, to return them from the dark depths of space. Not all we sought survived, despite our best efforts, and I know that will haunt me.
At the same time, I would be a fool to not to admit that there were many places where things could have gone far, far worse. And would have, if not for the actions of this crew. I cannot speak highly enough of Doctor Maya, Lt. zh'Wann, and Chief S'Iti. Nor can I ignore the actions of Ens. Abner and Nurse Herbert, of the ill fated USS Harbinger. Of all the survivors of that doomed ship, those two shouldered the backlash and rose to the occasion more so than any other, as befitting true Stafleet Officers.
I wish these logs here to reflect that praise.
All of my command crew are eager to return to the Theurgy, however I cannot say the same for our guests. Dr Maya has done and admirable job of working to undo the mental tampering of Commander T'Rena, but I can imagine just how hard a time many of the Harbinger survivors will face in the days and weeks ahead. If we last that long.
After all, what awaits us back home but the very mission that caused the mutiny in the first place.
No, that's not fair. Captain Vasser and Commander T'Rena bear sole responsibility for the mutiny. It was his megalomania and her adoration of him that lead to the attempted over throw. The planned mission to Starbase 84 was just the match they decided to latch onto, for starting the fire. The blame lies with them, and those few that needed no manipulation to follow along in Vasser's mad quest for a genetically selective legacy. I won't pretend my personal feelings on the matter have not affect on my judgement here - what they would have had of me will be the stuff of nightmares.
What comes next however, is duty. Duty to the people of the Federation. Duty to the core tenements of the oath we took. To every being that lives under our banner, and even those without. We must succeed on this mission. Running away and hiding, breeding an army is not the solution. We must make sure the truth is heard.
I'm waxing poetic. Clearly, I took a bit more of a hit to the head than I realized. Regardless, we have managed to rescue many from our lost sister ship. I can only hope we succeed in our next objective as we have succeeded here today.
End Log