Lt. JG Natasha Cole - History Almost Repeats Itself
Natasha Schell
(( Previously Abandoned Underground Facility, Kurtûl III ))
Jaran: I suggest we move before this reaches a dangerous level. Levels are rising as we speak.
Cole: Survival is as good an incentive as any to cooperate.
She kept her hands out to her sides as she slowly squatted and grabbed the sling of her phaser rifle and placed it over her shoulder, being incredibly careful to not move her hand towards the rifle itself.
Eos: Our orders are to prevent an incident with the Thalaron radiation. I hope that I don’t have to explain to you the level of destruction we are facing. We have nine worlds that rely on the trade routes through this sector of space. That is billions of Nascaik lives.
Bancroft: Three of the four of us are physicians. Healers, not soldiers, ma’am.
Natasha looked at Roy, was he trying to take some of the proverbial heat from Dota Bundara Eos? She made a mental note to ask the Captain if she should be worried about all the apparent documentation Eos’s archivist was taking on her. She wasn’t exactly comfortable with the fact that they took her picture earlier.
Bancroft: We understand the danger. Preserving lives – Nasciak, Federation, Da’al, anyone caught in the path of this – is not peripheral to our mission. It is the mission.
Cole: You don’t need to agree with us. You don’t need to even like us, but you have to see we’re all in the same blast radius.
Nat was trying really hard not to get frustrated with Dota Bundara Eos. Up until now she had no experience with the Nascaik people. Aside from the basic info she had access to, which didn’t seem to be a lot She had read over a USS Resolution after action report from one of their Security Officers, Aine Sherlock.
Eos: That’s the only thing that has made sense from this inferior since she first spoke, Captain.
She was getting tired of being referred to as inferior, either using her rank or position would be fine, she could do that with Captain MacKenzie. She reminded herself that the Nascaik had a complex relationship with the Federation and that level of bias and prejudice wasn’t something easy to combat.
Bancroft: Jira, how are the levels looking?
Jaran: Rising steadily. We're at about... 8 minutes of reversible exposure, unless something changes.
MacKenzie: ::consulting Jaran's tricorder:: It doesn't look like there's been a massive spike yet. We might not be too late, but we have to hurry.
That seemed to break the combined stubbornness of everyone involved. Best case scenario it was an open maneuver towards some kind of peace, but it was just as likely a passing armistice. Either way she needed to get the MacKenzie, Roy and Jira out of there alive.
Cole: Then let's move before we get ashy.
Eos and her team had been moving slowly presumably out of concern of other enemies, or perhaps to offer a bit of an olive branch, Or more likely because of her own distrust of the group of Starfleet officers. Nat had the feeling that if Eos could get away with it, she’d find herself “accidently” falling down the steps.
Eos: Straight ahead. There’s a stairwell that leads to a lower section. We suspect that whatever experiments have been happening here, they’ve been using Thalaron :: cursed under breath :: That's where they store it.
Eos paused as they neared the shaft.
Bancroft: If that is where they store it, then we should assume containment is either compromised or soon will be. We should also assume Havun knows exactly what that means.
MacKenzie: No doubt, and he's now found himself between a rock and a hard place...
Jaran: ::muttering:: What kind of idealogue...
Cole: ::to Jira:: Love, it’s one of the strongest motivators outside of hatred. Hatred is great for survival or defiance, but love possesses an enduring, gravity-defying momentum.
Eos: I must insist that you return to your ship, Captain. This is not posturing :: looked to Cole :: This is our battle and you may not want to believe this, but the Nascaik are not your enemy here. Never have been :: again, looked at the aggressive ones :: I don’t want to see you or your team killed.
There was something behind her eyes when she made eye contact with Natasha, sincerity perhaps. In spite of their prior interaction and… abrasiveness, she believed her. At least she wanted to. That decision however was solely up to MacKenzie.
Bancroft: Dota, our own people are down here somewhere – not for violence, but for the same reason you are. To prevent thalaron from destroying lives beyond counting. We are duty-bound to support them. And if we leave now, we abandon both them and the chance to help you stop this before it becomes the incident all of us are trying to prevent.
MacKenzie: I wouldn't leave our people behind any more than you would - the only way out of this is to work together if we have any chance of getting out of here alive.
That was what she expected to be MacKenzie’s stance. It was one of the many reasons she reelected the Captain, outside the obvious amount that came due to her position and rank.
Jaran: Not to rush things, but :: looking at tricorder:: we really do need to get a move on, too.
Cole: ::looking at MacKenzie:: Orders Captain?
Eos: :: sighs :: Very well but do not fire weapons down there. You’ll kill us all. Your doctor should treat you for the radiation. If they aren't capable, I can have my scientist do it.
Was Dota Eos, or was her full position Dota Bundara Eos? Either way was she trying to see if she could provoke a reaction. Don’t take the bait, just breathe… casually, you don’t want to get another note about exhaling too hard.
Bancroft: That’s a very generous offer, thank you. It is appreciated. We brought prophylaxis, but I would value coordination with your scientist. Would you consent to Dr. Jaran and me working in partnership with them to keep everyone here as safe as possible?
MacKenzie: Agreed, but let's hurry.
Jaran: ::looking at tricorder again:: Yeah, time is, as they say, of the essence.
Eos: Response
Roy and Jira got to work preparing the inoculations.
Bancroft: These will prevent the worst of any Thalaron exposure we may experience. ::a beat:: But we should still move quickly.
Nat watched as MacKenzie stepped forward to get her inoculation from the Nascaik scientist. For a brief moment she considered protesting, but realized it was her way offering her own olive branch and a show of faith. Clearly Dota Eos knew Starfleet’s rules and regs. She considered following the Captain's example when Jira caught her attention.
Jaran: Volunteers for next?
Cole: ::stepping forward with a slight smirk:: We gotta stop meeting like this Doc.
Eos: Response
The corridor suddenly exploded in a mix of flashing red lights and a horrendous klaxon that sound like it blared throughout the complex. MacKenzie instinctively reached for her tricorder, flicking the device open with alarm.
MacKenzie: I'm reading a massive spike in thalaron generation...
Jaran: Treatments are all administered. No excuse to hang around here, though.
Cole: Response
Eos/Bancroft: Response
MacKenzie: We've got to hurry. You said we need to head through these doors?
Jira finished packing their medkit and pulled out their tricorder.
Jaran: The radiation seems to have its source somewhere below us. The corridor through there slants up, so it's the best option to get some distance.
Eos/Bancroft: Response
Nat followed MacKenzie’s lead and lifted her phaser rifle at a low ready position, finger placed along the side of the rifle to prevent what would surely end up being called the Cole-Nascaik incident.
MacKenzie: Let's go.
Nat stepped forward and looked between the Captain and Dota Eos before speaking.
Cole: Sir, General order 15, I’m going to have to insist I go first.
Eos/Bancroft: Response
Nat was moving quickly, setting a steady pace. She didn’t know off hand the Nascaik had in regards to endurance, but she knew that burning through what she had would lead to not having it when they would inevitably need to escape.
Jaran: Ok, the three rules of scary radiation: time, distance, and shielding. We limit the time we're exposed, we put the most distance we can in between us and the source, and we put anything we can between us and the source.
A memory of their radiation damage control drill from last year came to her mind with a slight shiver.
Cole: Good reminder. And call out if you see anyone suffering from the more psychological side effects. ::to herself:: I don’t need to revisit that individual crisis anytime soon.
Eos/Bancroft/MacKenzie: Response
Jaran: ::huffing slightly from the exertion:: Correct. Thalaron radiation isn't easily shielded against. The usual suspects don't do the trick.
Cole: I’ve heard stories, nasty stuff, not to be trifled with ::beat, inhale:: My father had a strange sense of what was appropriate bedtime stories.
Eos/Bancroft/MacKenzie: Response
They came to a y split in the corridor, left or right? To the left, a short walk and a staircase down, which likely lead to a higher level of Thalaron radiation. To the right, a slope upward, to the right it was.
Jaran: Well, not necessarily. Thalaron radiation also has a relatively short effective range. Assuming we don't get trapped anywhere, we should be able to outrun it.
As they turned the corner they nearly ran into a sealed door. Jira pressed the control panel with no effect.
Jaran: Umm as I was saying, if we don't get trapped, we'll probably be ok? Anyone have a key for this?
For a brief moment Nat considered pulling the same trick she did on Galaris IV, but with the Thalaron radiation, she did want to risk it. She stepped towards the control panel and ran her fingers along the edge. She started to reach for her boot, but stopped.
oO right stopped carrying that Oo
Cole: ::looking back to the group:: Anyone have a knife or a flat tool?
Eos/Bancroft/MacKenzie/Jaran: Response
She held her hand out accepting the knife from Dota Bundara Eos. See progress, or she was hoping Nat would fall on it or something. Either way she was planning on getting this door open.
Cole: Thank you, Dota Bundara Eos.
She carefully slid the knife along the grooved edge of the panel's casing and managed to pry it up enough that she could get her fingers behind it. Giving it a strong pull exposed what her Grandpa Dorian would call a rats nest of wires. No wonder it didn’t open.
She carefully grabbed the knife by the blade and handed it back to Dota Eos. Those scout lessons ran deep.
Cole: Thanks.
Eos/Bancroft/MacKenzie/Jaran: Response
She got to work pulling wires and tapping them together to override the door controls. Imril probably would have been able to just look at this mess of wire and pin point the wires to do it from the start. After the third set finally she heard what sounded like the gears for the door engaging. As she stood up the door stopped with a gap of about fifteen centimeters.
Cole: Here, can someone hold these wires together, and someone help me pull these doors apart further.
Eos/Bancroft/MacKenzie/Jaran: Response
Tags/TBC
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Lt. JG Natasha Cole
Security Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240205NC4