Lt. JG Ollie Bergmen - All this has happened before, but it will all happen again?
CPT Arianus
(( Holodeck 3, Deck 222, DS 224 ))
As the lieutenant secured his helmet, the heads-up display activated and began to provide him with all the information. For his eyes, however, those were just a bug at the edge of his vision. His focus remained on the MSD, watching the pulsing red outline of Main Engineering, which flickered beside a radiation symbol, now already without any measurable readings. This could only mean one thing: the sensors intended to detect the radiation had already burned.
Bergmen: =/\= Listen up, team. As we exit this room, turn into the corridor to the left, and anyone we meet, we send up or mark for intraship transport, ok? But our primary goal is to get to Main Engineering and try to solve the breach or eject the core. Understood? Let’s go! =/\=
Cole: =/\= Response? =/\=
His team prepared and lined up next to the door as Bergmen signaled for Storm and her team to go. The second team rushed out of the door in an instant to the right, followed closely by Bergmen and his team, who proceeded to the left. Ollie had expected a lot: screams, the crew trying to reach their positions, evacuate, or take cover. But reality shocked him when the first few meters revealed a deserted corridor, illuminated only by emergency lighting.
Imril: =/\= The rads in Main Engineering are already hot enough to burn out the internal sensors. The bioneural gelpacks will go next; cooked to useless bags of very inedible soup by the time we get there. A slower computer means fewer options. =/\=
The lieutenant nodded slowly, understanding the ensign's point. They were essentially larger, more operational biogel sacs, nestled in slightly better shielding. Did those whom they portrayed realize what was happening as they did? Bergmen didn't know.
Bergmen: =/\= The standard procedure during an intermix chamber coolant leak is to evacuate the engineering, right? We saw that the core was shut down, so that gives us some time. Irradiated coolant in the room atmosphere will be the problem once we are inside, but engineering is shielded and cut off from the rest of the deck now, so the leakage outside on the deck is contained and minimal. =/\=
Cole: =/\= Response =/\=
The lieutenant knew that what he just said was a lie and tried to instill in Imril and Cole the beliefs the Vancouver bridge crew held at that time. It wasn't anyone's fault; the bridge crew simply didn't know what was happening on the engineering decks in those first few minutes.
(( Flashback – Corridor near Upper Engineering, Deck 18, USS Vancouver ))
((( Fourteen years ago, T+35 minutes after warp core failure )))
Voice: =/\= Who is it? =/\=
Ollie knelt beside the body lying face down and carefully turned it over. The suit indicated that it belonged to a member of the original Damage Control team, but beyond that, there was little information to be gained. The visor was opaque, making it impossible to identify the individual by their face. Bergmen glanced at the nametag on the chest of the suit.
Bergmen: =/\= Maxwell. Main or aft? =/\=
The tricorder beeped behind Bergmen's back as his buddy scanned the body they had found. To Ollie, the tricorder sound was muffled, unlike the clear voice in his helmet's comms.
Voice: =/\= Main… ::pause:: Crewmen, step away from the body. Now. =/\=
Ollie quickly stood up and backed up against the wall behind him, staring at his buddy in horror. He instinctively looked down at his hand, where a passive dosimeter was attached to his standard EV suit. The black, web-like markings began to crawl across the already darkening surface, answering an unspoken question he had feared to ask.
(( End of Flashback ))
(( Holodeck 3, Deck 222, DS 224 ))
((( Present )))
The investigation report on the Vancouver accident had many gaps regarding the immediate events in and around Main Engineering - as next fifteen minutes were recounted solely through the testimonies of those on the bridge, supplemented by an "educated guess" summary from the attached post-factual expert opinion report by Starfleet Engineering drafted after the Vancouver had been towed to the dock and the tomb of what its engineering hull became was opened. The lieutenant knew what was happening “up there” now from the report, and knew how it ended, but he wasn’t there to tell his officers in the team, nor indulge them with a vision of the future he lived through and into which they were now heading towards.
The corridor in front of them ended at a four-way intersection, shrouded in the shadows, barely illuminated by emergency lights. But it wasn't unlit for long before they were suddenly blinded by sickly yellow-green flames emanating from the right arm of the intersection. The lieutenant knelt down and bowed his head to shield himself from the intense glare of the flames. Although his helmet muffled most of the noise from the explosion, it failed to fully suppress the scream they all heard.
Bergmen: =/\= Cole, extinguish those flames. Imril, check their vitals and mark them for transport if you find one. =/\=
Cole: =/\= Response =/\=
Without hesitation, Ensign Imril rushed forward, yet there was nothing they could do to help. Ensign turned his head away, and Bergmen nodded in understanding. Ensign glanced back and through the corridor, from which the explosion came.
Imril: ::Raising their tricorder:: =/\= The plasma conduits overheated and blew out. I’m reading another power build-up headed this way. =/\=
Bergmen approached Imril and confirmed for himself. He trusted Imril's measurements, but he wished for more time. His eyes tickled to the chronometer. The briefing on the bridge, where they informed the captain about the failure of procedures that should have fully shut down the warpcore, will soon conclude, and the decision to vent all that plasma will be made. And from that point on, things only went downhill back then.
Bergmen: =/\= Options? =/\=
Cole: =/\= Response =/\=
Imril: =/\= If we don't seal this part of the grid off or even better shunt the power somewhere else, we won't make it to Main Engineering. Because this half of the deck will tear itself apart and us with it. ::Moving towards the nearest viable control panel:: I say we divert the plasma to the impulse engines. The boost of speed will kick the ship clearer of an exploding ejected warp core. If it comes to that. =/\=
Lieutenant nodded.
Bergmen: =/\= Do it, now. Cole, check the corridor ahead for possible obstructions or casualties. Wait for us at the next intersection. We will follow you as soon as we are done with the transfer. =/\=
Cole: =/\= Response =/\=
Lieutenant joined Ensign Imril at the control panel and began to enter the plasma transfer instructions. It was a good idea, but it soon became clear that they were running out of time.
Intercom: This is… We had… malfunction… core… Measures… taken… Remain… stations.
The lieutenant turned to look in the direction of the announcement and then back at Ensign Imril.
Bergmen: =/\= How much additional plasma do we need to transfer? =/\=
Imril: =/\= Response =/\=
Cole: Response
Ollie tried to expedite the transfer, but they ran out of time. The panel stopped responding to his commands, overridden by those from the bridge. The lieutenant angrily struck the panel.
Bergmen: =/\= We are being overridden from the bridge. They are transferring the remaining plasma to the nacelle's warp coils and venting it out. ::pause:: Let’s go, Ensign. We need to catch up with Cole and continue to Engineering. =/\=
Imril: =/\= Response =/\=
Bergmen turned and headed down the corridor toward Ensign Cole. As he approached her, he allowed his face to contract into a brief smile, knowing from that moment on, they were headed into the unknown. They could have succeeded, and the scenario changed. They may have failed anyway, and plasma still spilled onto the deck below during venting and fried the core ejection system, as happened on Vancouver. But for the first time in this drill, he didn't know.
Bergmen: =/\= Report, Ensign Cole. Is our route to Engineering clear? =/\=
Cole: =/\= Response =/\=
TAG/TBC
–
Lieutenant JG Ollie Bergmen
Operations Officer
U.S.S. Artemis-A
A240009JC1