Ensign Tho’Bi - Hey Roomie! I Think I Died. How'd You Do?

[Tobi]

(( Holodeck 3, Deck 222, DS 224 ))

((OOC: Team Imri/Meris and Team Tho'Bi/Bancroft are still both in Main Engineering. They can see each other. Comms will be shaky. Terminals reliable. Tho’Bi's Comms are damaged and do not function.))

The Andorian led Ensign Bancroft at a dash to the Antimatter Pod Assemblies. The decking shuddered under their rushing feet. Golden sparks spat from compromised power relays and conduits, like cobra venom, threatening to hot-solder through their Radiation Suits. All they could hear was their own breathing and clunk of their feet.

The Antimatter Pod Assemblies were located under protective floor panelling set into the deck at the aft of Main Engineering. There were identical locking mechanisms mirroring each other, at either end of the protective floor panel. The Andorian Engineer positioned himself in front of one of the locking mechanisms.

Tho'Bi: ::points at the opposite locking mechanism:: 

The Doctor nodded, dropped into position, and waited.

The locking mechanisms were set into the panelling. Chunky circles with a broad flat grip designed for hands in gloves to operate.

Tho'Bi: ::kneels down:: ::gloved fingers around locking grip:: ::turns 180° anti-clockwise::

Ensign Bancroft mirrored the motion exactly. Twist. Click.

The protective floor panelling popped up with a clunk. An electric blue light spilled out from beneath it. With alarming ease the Andorian slung the large flat slab of protective panelling to one side. It clattered to a halt against the back wall.

The three Antimatter Pod Assemblies were hexagonal hulks of reinforced heavy-alloy. Each one had a set of microfusion initiators designed to accelerate the pods away from the ship at a rate of 40m/second. These needed to be primed first, before unlocking the two retaining bolts, positioned at either end of the Pods.

 

The locking mechanisms were a simple cylinder/chamber design. Press and twist the cylinder 360° anti-clockwise, to cause it to pop up, then remove.

The microfusion initiators-primers were not so simple. A coded sequence had to be inputted by hand on a small keypad built into the top of the Initiator. 

The crack on the young Andorian's visor spidered-spasmed outward, triggering a yellow alarm within his helmet. The visor was losing integrity. He checked his Engineering Tricorder. Three minutes.

Tho'Bi: ::gestures with three fingers::

Bancroft: ::holding up three fingers, then a thumbs-up confirmation::

The Andorian knelt down in front of the first Antimatter Pod Assemblies. 

Tho'Bi: ::gestures to Bancroft to watch:: ::enters primer sequence:: 8 1 2 8 7 2 4 0 2 0 8 2 0 ::presses confirm button::

The microfusion initiators hummed into life, sending a tremor through the bulk of the Antimatter Pod Assembly.  

Tho'Bi: ::presses and twists retaining cylinder 360° anti-clockwise:: ::removes cylinder:: ::points at cylinder nearest Bancroft::

The Doctor scrambled into position and mirrored his actions.

Shunt! The Antimatter Pod Assembly disappeared down the Ejection Shoot.

Tho'Bi: ::points at one of the two remaining Pods:: ::starts working on the other pod::

Ensign Bancroft rolled to the unclaimed pod. 

As he keyed the primer sequence in his Pod, the young Andorian Engineer glanced over to check on the Doctor's progress. 8 1 2 8 7 2 4 0 2 0 8 2 0. The microfusion initiators hummed into life on the two remaining Pods. Hard part over, he thought. 

The Andorian Engineer turned his attention to the retaining cylinders on his Antimatter Pod Assembly.  

Tho'Bi: ::presses and twists retaining cylinder 360° anti-clockwise:: ::removes cylinder::  

Two minutes.

There was no point in informing the others. They would either finish the task in time or not. Informing them would only waste precious time.

The Andorian leapt from his crouched position to the other side of the Assembly. He made the distance easily, but as the boots of his radiation suit landed with a heavy clunk, tremors shot up both his legs, opposite and equal reactions travelled up his torso to his neck, and finally, his head and helmet. The world before him fragmented kaleidoscopic, shards of existence, held together by the habit of structural integrity. 

Ping …. Ping …. Ping …. Ping ….

Red …. Red …. Red …. Red ….

The token gesture alarm of imminent failure. Zero percent. Anytime now.  

Tho'Bi: ::presses and twists retaining cylinder 360° anti-clockwise:: ::removes cylinder::

Shunt! The Antimatter Pod Assembly disappeared down the Ejection Shoot.

Ping …. 

Red ….  

 …. Koba

Shunt! The final Antimatter Pod Assembly disappeared down the Ejection Shoot.

The Doc had done it. Through the mosaic mess of catastrophic visor failure, he looked across at the Doctor.

Ensign Bancroft threw a double thumbs-up in his direction. It was scattered, jigsawed into scraps, but the Andorian recognised it, decoded it.

Ping …. 

Red ….  

 …. Yashi

Tho’Bi: ::double thumbs up::

One minute.

It was up to the others now. Nothing to do… but wait.

His antennae sensed the Doctor moving to join him. He felt the Doctor grab his shoulder. Through the scramble of visor mishmash he extrapolated that the Doctor had lent it.

Bancroft: ::mouthed:: ::WHAT NEXT?::

Ping …. 

Red ….  

 …. Maru.

Stardust confetti. Visor shards. Falling snow.  

Radiation swelled. Atomic rearrangement. Organic Synthesis.

Zero.

The red of red alert vanished. The terminals, displays, and consoles, gone. Decking and bulkhead diffused into nothing. Even smoke and smell rendered memories. 

The young Engineer looked around through the exploded hole that was his visor. Yellow crisscross on black, walls, ceiling and floor. Holodeck.

Tho’Bi: How did we do?

Bancroft/Storm/Bergman/Imril/Meris/Cole: Response 

The Andorian smiled at the news and then looked across at his roommate Ensign Cole.

Tho'Bi: ::to Cole:: Hey, Roomie. …I think I died. ::beat:: How'd you do?

Cole: Response 

Bancroft/Storm/Bergman/Imril/Meris/: Response

TAG/END OF SCENE FOR THO’BI 

((OOC: I've sort of assumed we managed to solve the problem. Buuut… if anyone wants to go catastrophically bleak… Tho’Bi's smile could be a smile of resignation… so either outcome works. 

Antimatter Pod Assemblies design based on Star Trek The Next Generation Technical Manual 5.4 Antimatter Storage and Transfer. (p. 68) ))

   

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Ensign Tho’Bi

Engineering

USS Artemis-A

A240203T11