Ensign Jaran Jira - Rats In A Maze
Jira Jaran
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.
Jira couldn't have said it better themself and nodded along.
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.
Eos: That’s the only thing that has made sense from this inferior since she first spoke, Captain.
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.
Cole: Then let's move before we get ashy.
Eos and her team were already moving. Jira followed the captain as she did likewise.
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...
Not for the first time, Jira wondered what would drive someone to these extreme actions. They shook their head.
Jaran: ::muttering:: What kind of idealogue...
Cole: Response
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.
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.
Jaran: Not to rush things, but :: looking at tricorder:: we really do need to get a move on, too.
Cole: Response
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.
A Nascaik scientist stepped forward, but Dr. Bancroft intercepted.
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.
Cole/Eos: Response
Bancroft nodded and gestured for Jira to begin preparing the inoculations.
Bancroft: These will prevent the worst of any Thalaron exposure we may experience. ::a beat:: But we should still move quickly.
Jira pulled a vial from their medkit. They'd placed it in an easily-accessible location as a precautionary measure, since they had known radiation was a danger here. They inserted it into their remaining hypospray and set the dosage. Unfortunately, this was a situation where too much of a good thing was just as bad as what it prevented.
They treated themself first so that the Nascaik could see that it was not an attack. It seemed prudent. Then they stepped forward.
Jaran: Volunteers for next?
Cole/Eos: Response
Jira and Dr. Bancroft moved among the party, treating everyone who consented. Jira saw the captain being treated by one of the Nascaik and mentally commended her for the diplomatic gesture.
A klaxon blared, causing Jira to fumble their hypospray and nearly drop it.
MacKenzie: I'm reading a massive spike in thalaron generation...
That was all Jira needed to hear. Thankfully, the last Nascaik had just been treated.
Jaran: Treatments are all administered. No excuse to hang around here, though.
Bancroft/Cole/Eos: Response
MacKenzie: We've got to hurry. You said we need to head through these doors?
Jira slid their hypo back into the 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.
Bancroft/Cole/Eos: Response
Captain MacKenzie unholstered her phaser.
MacKenzie: Let's go.
They didn't need to be told twice. Jira moved through the door as it opened.
Bancroft/Cole/Eos: Response
They were moving quickly up the slant. It was steeper than it looked on the tricorder, and Jira was already feeling it in their calves.
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.
MacKenzie/Bancroft/Cole/Eos: Response
oO Way to be all doom and gloom. Oo
Jaran: ::huffing slightly from the exertion:: Correct. Thalaron radiation isn't easily shielded against. The usual suspects don't do the trick.
MacKenzie/Bancroft/Cole/Eos: Response
The corridor came to a split. To the left, a short walk and a staircase down. To the right, a gentle slope upward. Right it is.
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 Jira spoke those last words, they turned a corner and nearly ran into a sealed door. Pressing the control panel seemed to have 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?
MacKenzie/Bancroft/Cole/Eos: Response