Lt Alex Storm - On Death's Door - Or Maybe Not?
Karen Morris
((Nascaik Genetic Research Lab - Underground facility, Kurtûl III))
Alex listened as the group tried talking with the terrorist. The terrorist who had blown up a Nascaik ship and killed everyone on board. And here he stood threatening them. Threatening them with Thaleron. Her eyes swept from her position to his, judging the distance, discerning whether or not she could make it in one bound. oO I can, but it will be close. Oo Her move was quick, pinning his arm to his side.
Storm: I don’t want to hurt you!
Jovenan: ::fuming:: Lieutenant, what is— Doctor, go help her!
The other Betazoid joined her.
Storm: Just release the hammer.
Havun: Response
Jovenan: Ensign, be ready to—
Two against one, they had the upper hand - both women working to subdue the man. There was no way, but yet a split second later, she stood amidst shards of broken glass.
Sirens screamed. The sound reverberated off the walls, amplifying the noise to a deafening level.
Jovenan: Lieutenant! Doctor!
Alex took a breath, expecting it to be her last. oO I love you, Cassie. Always know I love you. Oo Then, she pictured a brown-haired doctor, and a shadow of a quiver slipped across her lip. oO I’m sorry, Roy. Oo
But she wasn’t dead. She blinked her eyes again. Force fields flickered into place, and Alex took another breath. And another.
Breys: I’ll try to find out which pockets the thalaron particles are isolated in.
Ikaixar: Lieutenant, how do you feel?
Storm: Surprisingly not dead? I thought Thaleron killed nearly immediately.
Havun: Response
Sierin held the medication in her hand, vial loaded into the hypo, anticipating something would give.
Jovenan: It’s not fully potent thalaron radiation, otherwise you would be dead already. Are you alright? Havun, what is this?
Breys: I’m seeing the same thing, how would you even cut it down like this?
Alex took a deeper breath, searching her body for signs that she had been affected in ways of which she was yet unaware, but she felt surprisingly intact. oO For now. Oo
Storm: As long as we continue breathing, I’m just thankful he has.
Havun: Response
Breys: It seems like Doctor Ikaixar is safe for now, the other two are right next to the breach, even with the forcefield sealing it, they’re exposed with it already trapped in their field. ::To Havun:: Why would you do this?
With some relief, the Betazoid slid her open medkit closer to her with her foot.
Ikaixar: How did you do this? My readings show the radiation was dangerously close to ripping her cells apart, how did you even get it so precise?
Storm raised her eyes to Havun. He wasn’t going anywhere with the forcefield up. She wasn’t on the verge of death - as far as she could tell, but she also didn’t feel the need to restrain the fugitive at this juncture.
Storm: I am sorry your wife is ill.
Heat pushed up into her chest and her cheeks. Her jaw tightened, and her fists clenched. But a sound past Havun drew her eyes. Falon was still lying on the table, and the pitiful sight of the woman lying supine and immobile softened her muscles.
The only way to get to the most dangerous treatment would have been through the door beyond the safe, better-known, and ineffective treatments. Pity surreptitiously crept into her heart.
Jovenan/Havun: Response
Breys: What are you talking about? What does this have to do with The Great Impact? ::gestures to Falon:: What’s wrong with her?
Storm: How long have you been trying to treat her?
Jovenan/Havun: Response
Breys: We still need to get you all out, there has to be a way to mitigate the radiation.
Storm: Hasn’t the inner forcefield lessened it - at least for us?
Alex gestured to the two of them that were between the forcefields.
Jovenan/Havun: Response
Breys: The other team! They were exposed to larger amounts of radiation, maybe they had an inoculant on them. If we can enter safely, we can disable the forcefields and inoculate Havun and Storm as well.
Ikaixar: I inoculated Lieutenant Storm when I beamed down, along with the rest of you. But you ::glancing to Havun:: please tell me you have extras for yourself in the lab.
Alex scrutinized Havun. For someone who could drop dead any moment, he looked frustratingly healthy. Alex’s black eyes narrowed, and a half smile crept across her lips.
Storm: You’ve already inoculated yourself, didn’t you? That’s why you weren’t afraid of using the hammer. You were never at risk.
Jovenan/Havun: Response
Ikaixar: I can help him with what I have, but the radiation needs to be shut off if he, or we, even have a chance at survival. Inoculations won’t stave off the sicknesses for long, especially with how disruptive the doses of radiation can be.
Breys/Jovenan/Havun: Response
Storm: Havun, we can shut it down from in here, can’t we? Either shut it down or tell me how to do it.
Ikaixar: ::pointing to Falon:: There’s still a chance she can be saved, but everyone here, including you, are my priority. I need you to tell me exactly how you’ve been treating her.
Storm: The only way to get her help beyond you - and I’m guessing you’ve done all you can, is to lower the forcefields and let the Doctor through.
Breys/Jovenan/Havun: Response
Once the forcefields melted away, the doctor was at their side quickly. Alex turned her head exposing her neck. She felt a coldness press against it and heard the hiss of the hypospray.
The doctor produced a small, forked device from the medkit, it seemed to almost resemble a Vidiian device, without the sharp prongs at the ends. She handed it to Alex.
Ikaixar: It’s calibrated to slow down cell death, keep the prongs pointed at Havun and hold down the button on the top.
Alex followed the doctor’s instructions, keeping the prongs pointed toward Havun, and her thumb depressed the button.
Storm: What exactly does this do?
Breys/Jovenan/Havun: Response
Alex might as well have been tethered to Havun, needing to stay so close to him.
Storm: You didn’t have to do this alone, you know.
Breys/Jovenan/Havun/Ikaixar: Response
She might have been forced into stillness by the necessity of holding a medical device, but that didn’t mean that she needed to be inactive.
Storm: I know you must have felt alone to do something this desperate. But why, of all people, did you turn to the Romulans?
Breys/Jovenan/Havun/Ikaixar: Response
There was another question that had occupied an entire group during their chase, and they deserved answers.
Storm: How much of a hand did the Romulans have in all of this?
Breys/Jovenan/Havun/Ikaixar: Response
~*~
Tags / TBC!
~*~
Lt Alex Storm
Tactical Officer
USS Artemis
O240103SK2