Ensign Ayhan - "Old Things are New Again" (Tags: Aurora / Arrington / Turner)
Ensign Ayhan
((OOC: Thank you again for your patience and working through this back-sim to bring us more in alignment with the current situation. If I missed a tag or important piece of information, please let me know as sorting through all the subsequent posts made things run a bit together at times…))
((Surface of the Prison Planet, Future Timeline))
::Debris continued to rain down from above the group after the initial burst as dust and dirt that had accumulated on the starship panels over the decades was violently discharged into the air. The atmosphere crackled with electrical charge, the tachyon burst and now subsequent missile strikes filling their nostrils with ozone. It was a place of combat and not conversation though the Thunder’s crew attempted the latter in loud, staccato bursts::
Adarnis: Ensign, the probe that Science have orbiting the planet. Is it still functional?
::Ayhan thought for a few moments before bringing the tricorder up in front of him. He was unsure how this pertained to their current plight but, his usefulness at the current moment being low, acquiesced to the request::
Ayhan: According to my scans, it is operating at 97% efficiency.
Adarnis: Can we use it to get a bounced transport back to the ship?
::The Vulcan immediately understood the Marine’s request and began working furiously on the portable screen and input device. Why hadn’t he thought of using the satellite to boost the teleportation signal to evacuate them all from the planet? True, some might suggest that his rank of Ensign might have something to do with it but given his already decade-long enlisted career in Starfleet and his time before that, the idea should have at least occurred to him.
::Mentally chastising himself and making a future appointment to redouble his studies and meditation time, he finally found the information that he sought::
Ayhan: Affirmative. I…
::Before he could complete his sentence, tachyon energy landed amongst the group, sending more particulate into the air and sending a wave of coughs from the crew and groans from the metal that was barely protecting them. If he were human, he would be slightly perturbed that he was unable to finish his thoughts without being interrupted. Regardless, time was of the essence::
Adarnis: Can you get an arc wide enough to take everyone?
Ayhan: Yes, I have already created the necessary nodal inputs and coordinated with the Thunder’s transporter relay. I recommend that we leave with due haste. ::To say that Ayhan was a master of understatement would be one as well::
:: Another blast from the machine sent sparks and rocks flying into the air. A thunderous explosion from the shattered shielded dome lit the yard up in a bright blue haze for a second, illuminating those faces in the dark.
Waltas: Ensign get us out of here if you can. The Marines will form up on me and we go out after everyone else has been transported. Clear?
Adarnis: On your signal.
::The engineer nodded in response to the two Marines and input the appropriate sequence to begin the phased transport. Given the distance involved and the use of an intermediary device, however, the process did not occur immediately. Unfortunately, snaked tendrils of missile projectiles were hurtling toward the shielded dome now barely holding it together, carving their path out along the black sky. As they hit the shielded covering, the ground beneath their feet cracked and split, opening up the cavern in the center.::
::Screams pierced the air with shrapnel aside as bodies were washed in a blue glow. The Vulcan was unsure if he were indeed falling as his vision faded from the courtyard, to black, to blue and then re-filled with the not-so-familiar image of the transporter room. As he fell the remaining two feet to deck, his mind was momentarily…pleased that he had sufficiently programmed the satellite and transporter signal to retrieve them. That pleasure, however, was quickly replaced with the pain of impact. True, he could not have foreseen their falling and compensated for it in the sequence but the…shame of causing additional injury to the crew beyond what surely had already been suffered was a far different sting than the flooring::
::Standing, he assisted the awaiting security and medical personnel with bringing a majority of the away team to their feet before they were again rocked to their knees, the ship lurching beneath them as the lights flickered, died and then returned again at less-than-full capacity. A pulsating yellow band illuminated at shoulder level caught his attention as it indicated an engineering damage control team was needed immediately. Ayhan rushed to the nearest open console and after only a few strokes, determined that the port nacelle had been damaged to such a state that warp speed was impossible. Sure that Lieutenant Commander Pandora had her synthetic hands full with other matters, the Vulcan quickly made his way to the damaged section.::
::Crewmembers, blown out panels, smoking isolinear conduits and other various detritus littered the corridors as he closed in on the most critical section. Ayhan attempted to open a Jefferies tube access panel but the bulkhead had warped in such a way that removal was nearly impossible. With his hands.::
::Kicking the panel several times, the thinner material buckled enough so that he could get his fingers inside the gaps and pry it loose. Upon satisfactorily gaining entrance, the Vulcan positioned his large frame in the narrow area and began making repairs in earnest. It was not before long, however, that his body and mind simultaneously began feeling the odd sensation that he was to identify with the QSSD, his repairs obviously enough to allow FTL travel. The feeling, however, was superimposed with one in which his memories and essence was being “unraveled”, the memories of an additional 35 years being plucked away like stitches from an old wound. Sounds, sights, relationships, lives, deaths; all played in a rapid reverse motion, a holovid stuck in the wrong direction. Then, as soon as it had started, it was complete::
::Ayhan “lay” upright in the tube, his mind searching out for the already faded memories as one tongues sockets of long-removed teeth. Minutes? Hours? Time marched as he thought, repaired, and thought again before Fleet Captain Turner’s voice penetrated his revere. Shore leave? Truly it was deserved and he would finally have the time to investigate the embassy and area where he would spend the majority of his time. Unfortunately, that time would have to wait… he was on Bravo shift.::
((Duronis II, Embassy Shipyard))
::The Vulcan engineer looked up as footfalls approached the Charybdis and stopped outside the main cargo door. As he was the only one inside, it was logical to assume that someone was here for him so he secured his tools, stood and turned to walk down the gangplank.::
::Before him stood a tall and slender young human woman that was not un-pleasing to the eye. Her black hair flowed down to her shoulders and framed her face well, dark blue eyes set against her white skin. His glance moved to her gold collar and enlisted rank before returning to her gaze::
Ayhan: Yes, Master Chief?
Aurora ::Handing him the PADD in her hand:: I'm Master Chief Aurora Elliston and I’m here to conduct a health and safety inspection of the ship in your possession
::Ayhan took the PADD and reviewed its contents with several sweeps of his fingers. “Health and Safety” inspections had been the bane of many of his co-enlisted crewmembers existences in his “prior life” and were not unlike the contraband inspections Starfleet forces carried out in the Badlands with ships friend and foe alike in a life before that. He understood why they were conducted but chaffed under the idea that items in-and-of-themselves were “bad” or “good”. Were they not amoral, lacking intrinsic worth outside of that which its owner/user has now given it? Why was it that humans (and, unfortunately, more and more other races and even Vulcans) so adamant to restrict things rather than behavior or (even better) the results of said behavior? Glancing up, he saw that now was not the time to re-hash his thoughts on item control and handed the PADD back::
Ayhan: Understood. Given the size of the ship and lateness of hour, might I assist you in this endeavor?
oO He's pleasant enough... So far Oo
Aurora: Sure, if you want. I don't expect anything to find anything interesting
Ayhan: If that were the case, Master Chief, we would not need to conduct the inspection. ::The Vulcan’s response was not condescending but bordered on bemusement::
Aurora: Have you met the Captain?
Ayhan: Only in passing during our mission and from what I hear he is quite the…eccentric.
Aurora: Sounds... Interesting? ::She laughed awkwardly, she had no idea how to talk to Vulcans:: Can you, um well, do you... That is... ::She paused to compose herself:: I'll start over here.
Ayhan: Of course.
::Ayhan left the mainframe search to Elliston while he focused his efforts on a physical search, one in which he felt far more suited than his counterpart. Contraband was something that was a specialty of his some time ago and the movement of said items was a very intricate dance between searcher and seeker. Hidden panels, recessed access ports, shielded holds, mis-labeled containers, holographic cargo…all this and more was used to move things and people where they were not legal or desired.::
:: Suddenly, the Vulcan’s intimate knowledge of smuggling (though not the ship in particular) produced a very unexpected result. He called out to Elliston who had just completed her scan of the ship’s computer core::
Aurora: Watcha got?
Ayhan: I think we need to converse with Captain Arrington immediately…
***
Ayhan: =/\= Captain Turner, I believe that you and Captain Arrington should join me at his ship…an inspection has revealed something that demands your . =/\=
Turner: [TAG]
Arrington: oO Uh oh Oo
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Ayhan
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
USS Thunder / Duronis II Embassy