LtJG Jovenan – Let's safe the day
Jovenan
((Sickbay, Deck 7, USS Artemis))
Sadar: Well, regardless of how we’ll mitigate the gas, it’s neither here nor there if the gas is still trapped through Deck 7. How will we move it into the quarantine suite, Sir? Through vents or through Sickbay itself?
That was the next step in their plan. They had gathered the bulk of the gas from the upper decks to this area, and now they’d need to pump it to a place it could harm nobody. While the question on how to treat the affected people or how to render the gas non-dangerous for good was still to be solved, the venting part of the plan was not out of their reach right now.
Jovenan: The sickbay has independent environmental controls, so venting the gas in should work. We should be able to suck it in and release it into the isolation suites.
She went to the closest interface and started working. The isolation suites were empty, luckily, so she sealed them off. Then she had all the air sucked out of them, creating large vacuum containers within the ship. As the decompression was in progress, the Captain approached them.
MacKenzie: What do you think? How are we looking?
Jovenan: We’re ready to remove the gas from the corridors. That should clear this deck for good and trap the gas from the upper decks to a smaller space.
The Captain nodded.
MacKenzie: We can proceed when you’re ready.
Jovenan nodded in response and began initiating the venting process together with Sadar. She couldn’t hear it, but as she pressed the button, she could imagine the wheeze of the gas getting sucked into the vents in the corridor and getting directed to the vacuum chambers.
Sadar: Venting the gas now, Sir.
After they had mostly finished, Jovenan turned back to the Captain and Commander Yalu.
Jovenan: Do we have any information about the situation on the lower decks?
MacKenzie: Not that I’ve heard…
The Captain turned away and walked to a console. She seemed to have some trouble activating it, and Jovenan could see her give the device a whack repeatedly before resorting to interface it with her tricorder. On the side, she spotted the Andorian Ensign bumping into the Trill Crewman. That didn’t look like an accident. She wondered what that was about. Were they friends or something?
MacKenzie: I assume that Lieutenant Silveira found Commander Dakora’s team. They appear to be gathered around the Intelligence Suite and we can only hope that they have our intruders pinned down in there…
Oh, that was good news. Jovenan felt relieved to hear that Commander Dakora, Lt Osuna and Hiro wouldn’t be fighting alone but had Lt Silveira’s team to back them up.
Yalu: Every second they keep them contained is another second we have to get the ship back.
Jovenan nodded. Their work was far from over.
MacKenzie: We have to hurry. I can’t tell, but it looks like the Berlin is under attack – I can’t surmise why they’d be firing their phasers and risking igniting the plasma otherwise.
Some good news, and now some bad news. The Berlin potentially fighting the pirates’ ship alone was a terrifying thought. For how long had they been struggling for their lives out there? Sadar was working on with the gas, expressing her thoughts with a silent voice.
Gila: ::mumbles to herself in a quiet droning:: Increased oxygen intake. Binds to biological tissue, increasing absorption rate. Heat? Force them to-
Yalu: Once the gas is vented, we can move freely about the upper decks, right?
Jovenan: Um, yes, sir. I can’t promise there aren’t any pockets lingering in some spots, but it should be mostly safe now.
The Captain had a deep breath.
MacKenzie: Doctor, Lieutenant, can you formulate an antidote? If we can’t disperse it, we’ll have to settle for having vented the gas. We have to get back to the bridge and help the Berlin, and hope that Commander Dakora can take care of the intruders. We’ll have to worry about the rest of the crew later if we can’t help them now.
Jovenan turned to Sadar. This was the Doctor’s field of expertise, and while Jovenan could give her a hand, she couldn’t tell how long it would take them or if it was even possible without outside help.
Sadar: Given some time, yes. Right this moment? No. I have a complete analysis of the Felicitine strand used in the gas, so it would likely take 30 minutes to an hour of experimentation, and then another hour at least, preferably two, of control-group testing to verify safety and species compatibility, before we’d have a viable antidote that’s safe for ship-wide distribution.
She nodded again. They needed to evaluate what was the biggest issue for them right now: the pirates, the Nebula or the lingering effects to the exposed crewmembers. If they could treat the crew later without significant risking their health, then they should join the fight. Should the Berlin or the pirates somehow ignite the entire area with plasma or hit their vulnerable parts, the quest for medication would be pointless as they would all be dead regardless.
MacKenzie: Response
Sadar: Yes sir, that would be possible.
Yalu: Does this mean we can take the turbolift?
Please, no more Jefferies Tubes!
Sadar: Yes sir. Decks 5-7 are gasfree, including the turbolift shafts.
That was the best thing she had heard in ages.
((Bridge, USS Artemis))
Jovenan stepped out of the turbolift with the others. Here she was again, on the bridge, where she had spent most of the mission. Somehow, it was a relief to get here, further away from the boarders and the large rooms filled with the anaesthetic cocktail.
Commander Yalu was quick to walk across the bridge to the helm. Meanwhile, Jovenan deactivated her magnetic boots for a while as she flew from the turbolift back to her chair by the Science station.
Yalu: I’m scraping together every bit of sensor power to figure out what Berlin is shooting at.
She took her place by the station. This time she didn’t wrap her legs around the chair but anchored herself to the floor by activating the magnetic boot once again. That should hold her there for a small shake, although massive tremors could still whisk her away.
MacKenzie: Response
Jovenan: Aye, sir! Sending that data to the helm!
Sadar: Response
Yalu: The concentration of gas in those isolation suites was off the charts. Heh, if only the Suliban were trapped in there. Even with their superior respiratory systems, they’d be out like a light.
Jovenan raised her eyebrows. It would be cruel to trap someone in a place like that and an unusual punishment for any crime, something not warranted by the Federation laws nor the Starfleet regulations. She didn’t stop to think what an appropriate punishment would be for a person who did such a thing, as her duties required her full attention.
MacKenzie: Response
Jovenan: Sir, the Berlin doesn’t seem to be firing anything. They even avoid hitting plasma pockets and other hazards. Other than avoiding dangerous spots, their firing seems… random.
What were they doing? Had they found a ship in the middle of all this, or were they having their own issues?
Sadar: Response
Yalu: I think I’ve found something. We’re way too far away, and we’re in no condition for a firefight. But there’s a disturbance in the nebular cloud that looks an awful lot like a spacecraft.
Jovenan turned her attention to the area Commander Yalu had been analysing. There was indeed shimmering, some energy readouts and trace chemicals that didn’t normally exist in the Nebula. It was certainly something.
MacKenzie: Response
Jovenan: Can confirm, sir! It’s likely a vessel with thrusters engaged.
Sadar: Response
It was difficult to get a proper lock on the mostly invisible vessel, but the Berlin’s firing seemed to be way off even for a manual shot roughly to the right direction. Hadn’t they noticed the ship? No, not likely. What were they doing?
MacKenzie/Yalu/Sadar: Response
The vessel changed its course. That was not a typical manoeuvre for a ship just hanging around.
Jovenan: Sir, the vessel is approaching the Berlin! They might be attacking!
MacKenzie/Yalu/Sadar: Response
TAG/TBC
----
Lieutenant JG Jovenan
Science officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11