Ensign D'tin Breys - Mysterious Woman
Bea S
The clock had run out. The box was collapsing under its own energy. Nothing was left to do but to see what was inside.
Breys: I think the only way we’re going to find out for sure with the time we have left is opening the box.
Tarsan: Let’s do it, I think I have the last of the sequence
Cole: ::looking at Vitor:: Unless there’s anything you can think of, We’re as ready as we can be Sir.
Bancroft: All containment protocols are active. I can’t promise this is safe – but we’re out of better ways to find out.
The starfleet way to do things was sometimes pull the lever and hope you don’t get blown up.
Silveira: Proceed.
The Ensign held her breath.
Tarsan nodded and entered a final code into the seal, the box slid itself open to reveal an alien monstrosity of technology. It was flashing and strobing and pulsing, all at set intervals. The whole thing was contained in a wrap of chaotic space that made you feel sick to look at it. Wires dangling upwards and sideways, parts bowing under the pressure of differential gravity. The whole thing was a mess.
Tarsan: I’ve… never seen anything like it. Everytime I try and look directly at it it’s like my mind tries to comprehend the space and just goes… nope.
Cole: That makes two of us. I looked at it for three seconds and now my brain wants to speak with the manager.
Bancroft: Use the instruments, not your eyes – we need to stay sharp.
Silveira: It’s just a tool, an instrument. Keep your focus, people.
Breys: This computer, it's beyond me, but I can tell you the forces being exerted on the different vertices of this… place are all identical. It’s incredibly stable, I’ve never seen manipulation of space so sophisticated.
The blinking began to slow. For some reason Breys saw it as a fading heartbeat.
Tarsan: I don’t think our power can keep it going for much longer… we can’t just let it die! Any luck on that signal?
There was rapid work on all sides of D’tin.
Cole: Working on it. ::typing faster:: I’ve got… Seventeen more percent to go. How close are you Breys?
Bancroft: Pocket coherence is dropping with the signal strength. If those two are linked, we are about to lose both the message and the mechanism.
Silveira: Compensate.
Breys: I think I’m close but I’m not a transporter operator, I’m doing everything I can!
Tarsan: Response
The beat was fading more, Breys kept her eyes locked on the monstrosity while she ran her tests. This machine had a secret it was hiding.
Cole: Gavrin, can you squeeze any more power, we’ve almost got it.
Bancroft: Increase in increments if you can. The regulator is already bleeding excess energy into the containment matrix.
Silveira: Don’t let it overload but keep at it.
Breys: I want to repeat, I really don’t know if the structural forcefields will hold if this shuts off.
Tarsan: Response
The console to Breys’s side let out a happy noise as she finished her work.
Cole: Great Job Breys, What changed?
Bancroft: It’s… I think it’s preparing to transport something. I don’t know if it can transport through the HML’s forcefields… if it can, I’m not sure we can stop it.
Silveira: Increase forcefields and containment.
Cole: Aye Sir.
The security officer cranked up the containment fields and placed herself between D’tin, Tarsan, and the pulsing core.
Breys: Dr. Bancroft is right, something is coming. I can see something more coherent in the buffer now. It’s… a person?
Tarsan: Response
The Hazardous Materials lab was suddenly screaming with energy. There was some kind of signal refracting off of the containment field until it found a point to concentrate. There was a pure point of golden light, and from it came a Romulan with a grievous wound. She didn’t stumble out, or beam in the standard pose, she more collapsed as she was brought into being.
Bancroft: Romulan. Severe hemorrhage. Abdominal disruptor trauma. Someone get me a medkit now!
The doctor dropped to one knee and immediately began triage. D’tin had no experience with treating Romulans, and now felt like a bad time to start. She gave Bancroft the space he needed as Silveira grabbed the medkit before she could act. Simultaneously, Cole found something on the ground. It seemed to be some form of data rod. The security officer immediately scooped it up.
Romulan: ::weakly:: It… was… a mistake…
Silveira: What? What was a mistake? Who are you?
Cole turned to the two Ensigns, letting Bancroft do his work.
Cole: Breys, Tarsan is there any indication of anything else attempting to teleport through?
Breys: No, and antineutrino counts are lowering. The shielding might stabilize at this rate, and if it does we can save the box without a collapse!
Science could often get D’tin too excited. She briefly had forgotten the gravitas of the situation. She felt awful for a moment, talking about saving or not saving the box when there was a person dying next to her.
Tarsan: Response
Bancroft: ::silencing his tricorder:: She’s gone.
Every lead they had crumbled in their hands. Even the ones that they tried everything they could to save.
Silveira: I want a damage report and status of the containment and forcefields. We won’t move until we are sure everything is in order.
Breys: The containment field took the hit and is still holding strong.
Tarsan: Response
Cole: She dropped a data rod, I’ve isolated it from our already isolated system and I’m working on decrypting it now. We should have some kind of intel shortly.
The box had quieted some, and Silveira stepped closer to the core. He was clearly interested in what was still possible for it to do.
Silveira: Secure all the information we can, full scans on the box and make sure it’s contained. It looks like it’s still active…
Cole: I’ll keep working the rod. If it ties back to the box or the Afalqi, we may finally have something useful.
Breys: I’m running a full scan of the internal components now, it’ll take some time due to the nature of the space. What’s the chances we can keep this held together? I don’t know if I have the time to do this.
Tarsan/Bancroft: Response
Breys: Please, I just need a little more time!
Silveira: If we can’t find anything else, shut it down. Keep under the forcefields and compile all relevant data.
This left D’tin nothing but frustrated, this problem seemed solvable, but there wasn’t any time left. She continued her scans until the system died, which was much too soon for her liking.
Cole: Understood. Let me see if the rod tells us what the box was moving or where it was meant to send our departed visitor.
Tarsan/Bancroft: Response
Silveira: Let’s examine the body and learn as much as we can before I report to the Captain.
Cole: Got it. I’ll work on the data. If there’s anything on here about the ship, the box, or anything else, we need it before this trail gets any colder.
Breys: ::to Cole:: Watch for any signs of Klingon encryption at this rate. I don’t think they’re working with the Klingons, but we saw it before and it seems like they’re using something from everyone.
Tarsan/Bancroft: Response
Cole: She wasn’t just carrying information. She was carrying instructions.
Breys: What type of instructions?
Tarsan/Bancroft/Silveira: Response
Cole: my engineering experience is limited, but if I’m reading these skimmer correctly, there are a minimum of two areas of the Afalqi that have been modified as hidden systems. ::turning to Tarsan:: Tarsan can you take a look at these to make sure I’m reading them correctly?
This was almost certainly a moment to be quiet and let the engineer talk.
Tarsan/Bancroft/Silveira: Response
Cole: I think the rods helped give us a trail to follow, at least something real to brief the Captain on.
oO Oh no, talking to Mackenzie. Oo
Tarsan/Bancroft/Silveira: Response
Breys decided that aiding in an autopsy was almost certainly a better task than talking to Mackenzie. She kneeled next to Bancroft.
Breys: I don’t know anything about Romulan physiology, but I’ve worked on Bajorans for almost a decade. How can I help?
Tarsan/Bancroft/Silveira/Cole: Response
She placed her hands where she was told and followed instructions closely.
Breys: I think I see.
Tarsan/Bancroft/Silveira/Cole: Response
While the chatter of how to move forward filled the room, something was so clearly wrong that even D’tin could notice. A strange object that she couldn’t make out was clearly surrounded in scar tissue, buried in the Romulan.
Breys: That isn’t supposed to be there, is it?
She pulled out her tricorder and began a closer scan.
Breys: The area around this tissue shows markers for other species, but it seems like it was being rejected.
Tarsan/Bancroft/Silveira/Cole: Response
TAG/TBC
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Ensign D’tin Breys
Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240301DB4