Lieutenant JG Ollie Bergmen - Nothing burns like the cold

[CPT Arianus]

(( Armory - Deck 3 - USS Karnack ))

MacKenzie: =/\= This is Captain MacKenzie - can anyone hear me? =/\=

Breys: Do you think the uplink worked in engineering?

Olliver knew that so many things could go wrong. The script was rushed, the system code he worked with was a hodgepodge, and the fact that the ship was far from flightworthy even before it crashed on this planet definitely did not help. But he believed in his own abilities, and Munro's help wasn't in vain either.

Bergmen: It has to work…

K’wara: =/\= LT K’Wara here? =/\=

Ollie smiled at Breys. That voice was music to his ears…

MacKenzie: =/\= What's your status, Lieutenant? We're pinned down in the armory and could use a distraction for the dark things… =/\=

K’wara: =/\= We’re working on shielding Decks 1 to 3 in a modified shield, and then we’ll move to the Shuttlecraft Control Room to work on the Deflector and forward thrusters. Main Engineering’s warded against the Things, for now. Imril’s turned the temperature down far enough the Things should be thinking thrice about going in there, but it won’t work forever. =/\=

And that was all. Channel closed.

Munro: That's it Captain :: regretful :: I've shut it down.

Breys: Still. ::she looks around with a sliver of a smile:: It feels like we’ve made a lot of progress, and knowing what they are working on will make our jobs a lot easier. We just have to stay ahead of those Things.

MacKenzie: I think we're going to have to fight our way up to Sickbay.

Ollie didn't feel the Things like Munro and Breys did, yet still, his own fleeting memory of those eyes still sent shivers down his spine.

Bergmen: It's not going to be a bed of roses.

Munro: But at least now we know Imril has temperature control but that will only work in the areas of the ship we have connected to the core. We know they are attracted to heat, right? I always think that you get better results with positivity than negativity. Let's give them what they want. Captain, I suggest we set off controlled explosions in the armoury, which should raise the temperature in this section of the deck, it should be enough of a distraction for us to get to Sickbay? From Sickbay we do the remodulation and then get to the Bridge? And then off this planet.

oO Controlled explosions, Cole would love this... Oo

Ollie glanced at Brey, noticing that she seemed ready to say something.

Breys: Sir, explosions could cause more damage to the hull, why don’t we create a radiant heat source instead.

Bergmen: That could work, but it brings with it a completely different set of challenges…

Ultimately, it was up to the captain to decide on the next steps. Bergmen certainly didn't envy her for having to bear that burden.

MacKenzie: I'm inclined to agree, I don't want to do anything that might compromise the integrity of the ship any more than it already is. Other thoughts?

Breys: We could cause a hairline rupture in one of the exhaust sections of an EPS conduit. That should allow us to create a plasma jet hotter than any explosion could get, but still small enough that it won’t cause significant damage to the ship, even if it gets a little out of control. The fire suppression network can put it out once we restore power to secondary systems. If we do this I wouldn’t come back in here til after we restore those systems though.

Bergmen nodded, looking confident.

Bergmen: Yeah, that can we definitely make to work.

Munro: Response

The captain exchanged glances with each of them. She seemed to be considering the said, and after a while, she finally nodded her approval.

MacKenzie: Let's hurry.

Breys: I’ll get right on it, sir!

Brey took the initiative and moved to set EPS.

Munro: Response

MacKenzie: When you're ready, Ensign.

Breys: Ready when you all are! This place is a button push and ten seconds from making whoever comes in here ready to be plated and served.

Bergmen double-checked his rifle to ensure everything was in order, then nodded to the captain to signal that he was ready.

Munro: Response

MacKenzie: Bergmen, get the door. Breys, you count it down.

Bergmen nodded and moved to the door, hand ready on controls as he glanced at Brey.

Brey/Munro: Response

The countdown reached zero, and Ollie let the door slide open. The captain fired from the phaser rifle into the beyond the door as the officers met with the terrifying, guttural scream of the menacing Dark Thing lurking for them. Yet the echo of the creature slamming against the corridor wall was a good sign.

oO So the rifle works against them too… good. Oo

The captain stepped out of the door.

MacKenzie: Bergmen, you take up the rear.

Bergmen nodded and let others pass out before he closed the ranks. As he glanced at the body sprawled in the corridor, he froze for a brief moment. He expected to feel something—thoughts, fear, curiosity—but instead, his mind was blank. He wasn't sure whether this was due to the adrenaline pumping through his veins or to the overwhelming stress that had simply emptied his thoughts. He shook his head to clear this void he felt and quickly caught up with the others as they moved through the corridor.

MacKenzie: Ensign, did those EPS conduits rupture as planned?

Breys/Munro: Response

Ollie checked with eyes the ceiling and corners for any signs of a leak from the rupture, which could endanger them. Just to be sure.

MacKenzie: Good, let's hope that draws some attention. Sickbay should be nearby, and just one deck up, I think... ::stopping long enough to toss her tricorder to Munro:: Which way?

Breys/Munro: Response

Bergmen nodded and followed. Once more, the size of Karnak played into their hands, and locating the correct corridor and doors to Sickbay took only a couple of minutes.

Bergmen: Do you not hear it too? It’s too silent, everything. ::turns to the team:: The door?

Breys/Munro/MacKenzie: Response

He expected the door to be already open, but it seemed not to budge. He bit his lip, nervously, as he glanced into the corridor length and the far intersection, covering that way. And then he saw it, a slight outline that was drawn against the wall of the branch. Seven eyes glancing at him, glancing into depth of his soul. He felt the rifle butt pressing into his shoulder, yet he didn’t feel he was holding the rifle, nor was he sure if his finger was on the trigger, as his hands were cold. So cold.

He closed his eyes, and a heartbeat later, he opened them once more. The monstrous outline of the head that had been peeking around the corner was gone, vanished, along with the cold he felt inside himself. He turned to Commander Munro. Bergmen: Did you... He didn't finish his words as fourteen eyes in the commander's face blinked in answer to his glance. He blinked back, and she was...normal again. He smiled. Bergmen: Just bypass the matrix and turn the polarity; it resets the lock.
Breys/Munro/MacKenzie: Response


TAG/TBC

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Lieutenant JG Ollie Bergmen
Operations Officer
U.S.S. Artemis-A
A240009JC1