Ensign Meris - Comms, Clamps, and Chaos

[Meris/Brian]

(( Holodeck 3, Deck 222, DS 224 ))

 

From their vantage point above the rest of the Damage Control team, Meris watched as first Tho'Bi, then Bancroft, and finally Storm entered the junction. Each did so in their own unique way: Tho'Bi used his height to drop straight into the room, narrowly avoiding smashing his helmet visor into the deck plating. Roy Bancroft took a different tactic - making no attempt to avoid smashing his helmet into the deck plating at all. And then there was Alex Storm, who dropped down with the finesse of an action figure or superheroine.

 

oO That woman is a wonder. Oo

 

When the three righted themselves, Bancroft looked up and waved. Without thinking, Meris returned the gesture.

 

Bancroft: ::garbled comms, cheerfully:: =/\= Deck... tact... team safe...

 

That was good, Meris thought. The team needed to be safe.

 

Storm: ::Making an "O" and a "K" with her hands, raising them to her shoulders to ask if everyone was uninjured::

 

Meris responded with a thumbs up.

 

Tho’Bi: Response.

 

Bancroft: =/\= Stellar wo- ::comms static:: buddy! Rea- ::comms static:: ‘ice’ save. Than- ::comms static:: getting us outta that eas- ::comms static:: bake death tube. =/\=

 

The J'naii's mouth twitched downward in a frown. The comms situation was getting worse. Looking at Bancroft, they made a cutting motion across their throat, followed by several taps to their ear, to signal the Doctor that his messages were not coming through.

 

Storm then motioned for Meris to join them and pointed the whole team towards the way out, shooing them forward with her hands.

 

Meris waved Storm off. The team's objective was Main Engineering, and that was exactly where Meris was standing. Leaving now made no sense.

 

Tho’Bi: Response.

 

Storm: =/\= ::comms static:: et’s try ::comms static:: engineering. =/\=

 

Meris watched the team below try to figure out how to reach the J'naii's position. They pounded on the wall of the Jefferies Tube and motioned toward the ladder nearby. The team could climb up - they just needed to get through one door at the bottom.

 

Storm/Tho’Bi: Responses.

 

Storm made her way to an adjacent hatch on their level and tried to turn the wheel. It refused to budge. Knowing Andorians had a greater strength-to-mass ratio, Alex gestured to Tho’Bi.

 

Storm: =/\= Can ::comms static:: turn ::comms static:: =/\=

 

Meris watched as Storm stepped back to let the Andorian Engineer try his hand at the hatch.

 

Tho’Bi: Response.

 

Storm: =/\= Is ::comms static:: danger ::comms static:: phaser on door? =/\=

 

This, Meris could help with. They looked at the phaser in their hand. Waving their arms to get the team’s attention, they realized it wasn’t working. They banged on the wall again, then tossed the phaser toward them. Their aim wasn’t great, but somehow it struck Bancroft squarely on the side of his helmet. Meris had to admit - they couldn’t have planned it better if they’d tried.

 

Storm/Tho’Bi: Response.

 

While the others worked on the hatch, Meris turned back to the team's original orders: get to Main Engineering and eject the warp core. They were in Main Engineering now, so it might be up to them to finish the plan. Moving from console to console, they tried to orient themselves. They’d never been inside a Luna-class main engineering compartment before, and while most layouts were similar, each had its quirks - including where certain controls were located.

 

Finding the automatic controls, the J’naii accessed the terminal - thankfully still functioning - and disengaged the magnetic constrictors. The plasma conduits and EPS taps feeding off the core sealed automatically to prevent backflow, and a structural integrity field snapped into place around it.

 

Crossing to the railing, Meris peered down several decks toward the ventral ejection port. It had opened automatically when they began to sequence. All that remained was to release the core retention clamps. Returning to the console, they activated the clamp release and watched... nothing happen. Their heart sank.

 

Meris: =/\= Automatic eje- ::comms static:: ...stem is not... ::comms static:: ... core. =/\=

 

Storm/Tho’Bi/Bancroft: Response.

 

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Ensign Meris

Helm Officer

USS Artemis-A

A240207M14