Chief Petty Officer Barberra - Brain Invasion Headache

[Wil Ukinix]

((Deep Space Imaging, SRC - Amity Outpost))

 

Barberra: Sirs, with your permission, I’d like to get this gravsled to the train system before it shuts down, and to temporary Ops. I’ll make sure they set up an area for science consoles.

 

Taelon: Granted.

Varati: ::in thoughts:: Yes… there is not a moment to lose! Hopefully these “voles” don’t cut any important connections…

With a push, the grav sled moved forward, towards the exit doors..

 

Almost cleaning up a rushing Command Ukinix in the process.

 

Ukinix: Woah.

 

Barbera: Commander look out---

 

They somehow managed to miss each other. Annamae shifted the gravsled away from the Commander, making it hit the door, causing some of the contents to fall off.

 

Ukinix: Sorry.

 

Barberra: ::Palms up:: No harm, no foul, I got it.

 

As the Chief Petty Officer began to restack some of the items on the grav sled, Wil rushed into the room.

 

Ukinix: Report, everyone?

 

Taelon: The storm is a neutron storm, a shockwave-type, most likely having picked up material from nebulas and other stellar features. It’s, um, high in gamma radiation and the first wavefronts will hit in less than 5 minutes. Most worrying is the subspace fractures we’ve detected, as well as several objects in the second wavefront. It’s going to hit us hard.

Varati: Aye… As Lt. Taelon reported, we are still trying to determine whether these are purely temporary fractures and what lies behind these other anomalies. It's hard to imagine anyone "hiding" in such a storm. The danger of being destroyed by a level 5 neutron storm is far greater than the chance of sneaking up on us undetected.            oO and hopefully no time-travellers aboard the HMS Bounty… Oo       If I remember Professor Gaßner's lecture correctly, Quark- or Hyperon stars could also form there. But in that case... Wait, argh, my terminal is really slow today! Is it Update-Wednesday?

While the conversation was going on, Annamae heard a whisper. It was brief, it lasted for half a second, and she couldn’t understand what was said. She looked around, but didn’t see anyone so she dismissed it, returning to stacking the sled.

 

Ukinix: Bloody hell. ::inhales through grimaced teeth, crosses arms:: Well, we can ready weapons, but that will take power draw away from other systems. We’d better talk to Commander Rosek-Skyfire, it might change our systems profile a bit.

 

Varati: Uh, well, maybe we need torpedoes not to hit the fractures, but to shoot the energy spots and cause the energy levels of the fermions there to "tip over," so that they transform into bosons, creating a "Runaway" and allowing the neutrons to relax and decay normally within 15-30 minutes!?

Taelon: Well - if that’d work...I was more worried about… ::He trailed off and paused, considering her suggestion. Shooting a subspace fracture was too dangerous, in his mind, but -:: I was thinking we might be able to divert some of the wave with timed explosions. We don’t have a hope of diverting the storm as a whole, but we might force the worst of it into a wake around us. Maybe.

Once again, she heard a small whisper. It sounded a little closer. She looked out in the hallway before looking back into Deep Space Imaging.

 

Barberra: Did you hear something? Like... a whisper?

 

Varati: Wait… What?! A whisper? No..?! I can only hear the faint whirring of the ventilation, the humming of the terminals... otherwise, one might already feel the slight vibrations of the storm when the dampers are no longer working at full capacity?

Taelon: Um, I didn’t, no…?

 

She could see Varati’s slight alarm, and Taelon’s confusion. A little light humour to put them both at ease--

Barberra: Maybe it was one of the voles.

 

Ukinix: ::Surprised, incredulous:: Voles?! What?

 

Varati: Commander Iko reported that a pack of Voles was apparently hiding somewhere and that they were currently trying to ‘neutralize’ them…

Taelon: They seem to be shooting then, from what we heard. They might, um, need your leadership, Commander.

 

Out of the corner of her eye she watched Commander Ukinix put his hands on his hips, and look down. It was his classic “well can this day possibly get any worse gesture”, and it made her have to supress another smirk, because very likely, it probably would for all of them. oO Self fulfilling prophecy? Oo

Galanis: ::mostly to themself:: Where there’s a will to use a phaser, there always seems to be a way…

oO “There’s a Wil right here with a phaser” Oo was the line that almost came out of her mouth, but she let it pass-- now wasn’t the time. Which made it the perfect time... except this time.

Varati: But if someone or something is still hiding behind the panels or in the Jefferies tubes, then we should sort this out immediately. We can't afford any more problems today -

Annamae simply looked down the curved corridor, first left, then right to see if she could see anyone.

 

Galanis: We don’t have time. The storm’s impact is imminent. If anyone chooses to remain in hiding instead of evacuating, then the consequences of that choice belong to them. People have had to hide in inactive warp nacelles to survive a storm of this strength.

 

Commander Ukinix quickly pulled his tricorder from one of his two holsters, the other holding a phaser-- and unusual sight for him.

 

Ukinix: ::Checking tricorder:: Agreed, but just be thankful you’re not the CO who’ll be ultimately responsible if they are. ::Tricorder error chirps:: Bloody thing.

 

Barberra: ::Handwave:: Then, forget it. Lieutenant Taelon is right, we should get out of here.

 

The gravsled was loaded up. It was time to get to Level 7, and the train stop.

 

Varati: Argh! That was to be expected... we don't have time for a recalibration now! ::to Annamae:: Where exactly did you hear this "whispering"?

 

It seemed that Lieutenant Varati had the same idea as Commander Ukinix by checking her tricorder for life signs.

Taelon: And, um, did anyone else hear anything…?

She felt Lieutenant Taelon’s and Lieutenant Galanis’ eyes on her,

 

Galanis: If there’s something underhanded afoot, we’ll have a lead. There aren’t many places on the station where you could ride this out.

 

Barberra: Aye, sir. So um... ::pointing thumb over shoulder:: shall we leave now?

 

Ukinix: Is there anything else before we go? We won’t be able to come back down here.

Varati: ::to Cmd. Ukinix:: Perhaps we really should focus on activating the torpedoes? Regardless of whether we are dealing with extraordinary energy fields or hidden dark forces. ::pause:: I have a couple of new drones down in the lab... they haven't really been tested yet, but we could still send them straight to the anomalies – after all, it's just metal and technology. If we can save lives with them, whether our own or others', then we should keep that option open, but we need to get them up here immediately before the lights go out!

 

Lieutenant Varati was an excellent science officer, and sometimes that was highlighted by the firehose of wisdom that sometimes came out of her mouth. Annamae, of course, was the opposite, “don’t say many words” type of person (she suspected that was one of the things Bec liked about her).

Ukinix: Torpedoes we’ll work out with Lieutenant Moore. The drones, D’Cyra that sounds risky given how close the storm is. Are you sure?

Taelon: Launch the drones, then, and let’s get the hell out of here…? ::He trailed off into a suggestion, then remembered and steeled himself.:: We need to go.

 

Wil nodded in agreement. That was enough for Annamae, she swung the gravsled around, and pointed it towards the direction of the turbolift.

 

Varati: Yes, we have to go! All of us! Maybe you can check out what that mysterious whispering is all about as we're leaving. Perhaps it's just a draught?

Galanis: It’s… yes, agreed, sir.

 

Barberra: The whispering, I’m doubting myself on it. Don’t worry about it.

 

Ukinixi: No, no, Starfleet deals with all sorts of weird phenomena on a daily basis. Never discount these things. We’ll keep an open mind and take it on notice, and perform more scans when we get up to Robin’s apart-- um, temporary Ops.

 

Taelon: Varatri, launch your drones. We’ll take the console’s data and keep it running as long as we can. Barberra, get the sled to the train, and let’s get the hell out of here.

 

That was good enough for Annamae. She pushed her legs back, and pushed forward, to get the very full gravsled starting to move.

Varati: ::to Taelon:: Like I said, they're in the lab... and I have to go down to “The Cellar”, Level 3, Shuttle Bay 4. From there I can launch them... and that's the problem: the shields protect us for a while. But then what? I can't get the drones to the shuttle bay on my own. Launching them isn't a problem. But at the latest on the way back – and we have to assume that the turbolifts and the corkscrew train might not be working anymore – the storm and therefore the radiation will catch us. None of us have received radiation protection yet… My body can withstand the radiation for a while, but what about you?

 

Taelon: Whoever is doing the whispering can either make themselves known, or deal with the gamma radiation. We don’t have - ::He struggled a moment. He did have the image of a lost child in his mind, a stranded engineer, but their reality was stark.:: We don’t have time to search for them.

 

Varati: Aye. I can't decide that; I have to go down now, and someone has to at least help me load the drones onto a gravsled – from there on, I can manage on my own. Let's use the EV-suits; there doesn't seem to be any other way.

 

Galanis: We’ve done all we can. There’s only so much time.

 

Ukinix: Lieutenant Varati, it’s took risky. Just come with us.

 

There was a rumble and the whole floor vibrated when the first shockwave hit. It sent a rumble through the hull and bulkheads. Annamae stopped the gravsled, and placed a palm against the wall.

Taelon: Everyone to the train. Now!

Varati: I'm going down; I'm aware of the danger. ::pause:: Please ensure that the turbolifts and the train in the SRC are operational until the very last possible moment! A few floors on foot are no problem, even with an EV-suit, but almost thirty? Nobody can endure that under these conditions. And beaming up with this level of radiation is not a good idea…

 

Galanis: Yes, sir!

 

Ukinix: Lieutenant Varati, I don’t think it’s a good idea.

 

Annamae looked back in the room, and saw D’Cyra getting into an EV suit in a hurry.

Varati: Okay, I'm ready - who's coming with me?

 

(OOC: Later dialog has Taelon going with Varati, so that’s why Wil is sending him, See Varati’s sim for the drones scene tags)

 

Ukinix: ::Sigh of resignation, To Varati:: Lieutenant, we better get good information from these drones. ::Turning to Taelon:: Lieutenant Taelon, accompany Lieutenant Varati, give her a hand.

 

He threw him his remaining hypo.

 

Ukinix: Use that first before you head down.

Taelon: Response

D’Cyra grabbed one of the standard phasers and one of the outdoor tricorder PADDs.

 

Varati: Let’s go! ::to the others:: See you later. We only need power for the lifts and the shuttle bay. Once we're done, we'll let you know and the systems can be deactivated one by one.

 

Taelon: Response

 

Barberra: ::Pushing gravsled again down corridor:: That’s it, I’m leaving for the train.

 

She pushed the gravsled toward the turbolift, while Wil walked next to her, trying to get his tricorder working - seemingly scanning for life signs.

 

Galanis: Is someone…?

 

She turned for a moment to see Niev, looking confused, before rushing to catch up with her and Wil.

 

 

((SRC Level 9 - Main Entrance & Train Terminal))

 

Thankfully the turblolift ride had been mostly okay, apart from the variations in power and the lights dimming at times. She wondered how long before they were useless.

 

And she had to admit the thought of being trapped in the turbolift with two other people and a gravsled, stuck while the storm was passing through, would have been hell. oO Amazing. Oo

 

But the storm was good enough for some excitement, so that was okay too.

 

Galanis: A little over a minute before we’re experiencing the full brunt of the storm, sirs. We’re going to need to be quick about evacuating Lieutenant Taelon and Lieutenant JG Varati.

 

Annamae was loading the gravsled onto the empty train, guiding it carefully so that it didn’t hit the seats and knock the PADDS, phaser and phaser rifles, and battery packs off again.

 

Ukinix: Agreed. I’ve overridden the train’s automated controls, it’s stopped here until they’ve come back.

 

Varati’s voice crackled through comms, apparently the storm was starting to interfere with them.

 

Varati: ::to the others of the SRC Team:: =/\= We're almost ready, the drones are ready to go. As soon as everything is safe here, I'll come up too. =/\=

 

Taelon: =/\= Response? =/\=

 

Galanis: =/\= Think about your safety first. Anything inanimate is replaceable. =/\=

 

Ukinix: =/\= Agreed. Just get up here you two. =/\=

 

There was several moments of silence. Annamae took a seat, and once Wil noticed, he took a seat of his own, next to a panel where a PADD had been plugged into a cable connected the train’s innards in the wall.

 

Varati: =/\= Ok! I'm done! The drones are on their way and the gates are closed again! Now I just need the lower lifts and then the train! =/\=

 

Taelon: =/\= Response? =/\=

 

Ukinix: Oh, thank Goodness. ::To Galanis:: How are you holding up, you two?

 

Galanis: Response

 

Barberra: ::Shrug:: I’m good.

 

Varati: =/\= I... I... You can... the train... upstairs... now! =/\=

 

Taelon: =/\= Response? =/\=

 

Annamae spotted Varati, who looked like she was ill, or had been out all night at a party in an EV suit, or both. She was dragging herself along the ground, towards the train.

 

Barberra: ::standing up:: Lieutenant!

 

Wil turned his head, then followed Annamae out of the train.

 

Ukinix: ::To Taelon:: What happened?

 

Taelon: Response

 

Galanis: Response

 

Ukinix: Let’s just get her on the train, the quicker we get to Archer station, the quicker we can get her medical attention. ::taps combadge:: =/\= Ukinix to Ops. =/\=

 

Another shockwave ran through Amity, the whole outpost vibrated, and a loud “boom” sounded throughout its interior.

 

Wil’s combadge simply responded with buzzing noises. He tapped again a few times, but with the same result.

 

Ukinix: Crap, comms are down. Let’s get up to the Habitat Ring. Everyone on the train, help me with D’Cyra. Annamae, unlock the train controls and run it express to Archer.

 

Barberra: ::rushing back onto train:: Aye Commander.

 

Taelon/Galanis/Varati: Response

 

 

((Somewhere between MEEO and Main Engineering stations, Blue Line train cabin))

 

Nine train stops.

 

They’d made it through five so far.

 

The train, which was now shaking as it rode along the “tracks” (or more accurately, floated along them) was now in darkness. Emergency lighting dimly lit up the cabin, in a tunnel of darkness in the corkscrew system of Amity’s outer hull as lighting systems shut down.

 

Annamae sat in the seat where Wil had hooked up the PADD, manually controlling the train, ensuring it did not stop at any stations.

 

Ukinix: How is she?

 

Taelon/Galanis/Varati(?): Response

 

Barberra: Sir, we’re just about to pass through Main Engineering, four stops to go.

 

Another shockwave hit, this time making the whole train sway. Annamae held on to the back of her seat, so that she didn’t slide off.

 

Ukinix: Everyone okay?

 

Taelon/Galanis/Varati(?): Response

 

Annamae suddenly felt a sharp headache, like someone was trying to invade her brain. She squinted her eyes shut, and placed her hand on her forehead.

 

Barberra: ::hand on forehead, eyes squinted shut:: I feel... weird. And not normal weird... like, weird weird.

 

Taelon/Galanis/Varati(?): Response

 

 

 

 

Tags/TBC!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Commander Wil Ukinix
Starfleet attache and Commanding Officer
Amity Outpost
V239511WU0