[End Act II] Ensign Velik - Aiming for The Stars (Specifically The Ship Parked Up There)
Fenris
(( Wiener-mobile - Vellum Highschool Sports Field))
MacKenzie: If she wants the kid, why don't we let her have him?
Breys: He’s really the only bargaining chip we have against a vengeful god ::almost forgets:: Sirs.
Munro: I don't know :: Ava tried to think :: He was scared of her enough to lock her out of the simulation. That was what corrupted his file in the first place. He had the power to kill everyone and he didn't.
Silveira/Wieçek: Response
Velik: ::bangs head on seat as he rises:: I belie- ow! I believe the term is 'do not negotiate with terrorists'. False person or not, this Aesop seems to be the key to any solution we might find to the state the simulation we find ourself in currently. ::He returns to rooting around:: Handing him over would be tantamount to either suicide or trapping ourselves here permanently.
He saw her shake her head as lowered again to search, clearly at a loss.
MacKenzie: I would love to entertain a better idea if any of you have one.
Jovenan: The Mother has activated the Joy Imperative. For as long as it remains active, her control over the town remains strong. I don’t know who the heck any of you are, but I’m the Sheriff of this town, so I’ll remain here to defend it. ::nods towards Aesop:: The Mayor is also needed for the deactivation.
Bergmen: We should pull their power plug. No energy, no tomfoolery…
Breys: The consequences are just too vague. We don’t know what will happen to people who don’t remember the Artemis.
Bancroft: Breys is right. We don't know what that power is actually holding up. Could be the scenery. Could be half the crew's brains.
Silveira: Response
Munro: :: taps her PADD :: I might just have a solution to that problem. I recovered this from the memory room and Mrs. Bellinger may have tried to use my memories against me but I also remember hers. She knew what was in the PADD - the location of all the memory rooms. They must act as back up interfaces with the simulation.
Wieçek: Response
K’Wara: A transporter.
Velik felt his ears perk as his head snapped to look over at the proclemation. What about a transporter?
K'Wara: Guys, a transporter!! ::looks between their faces:: There's a single transporter PAD down in the Memory Room! I remember the other Tamio seeing it before Ava gave me my memories back! It may still be functional!
Oh. Oh that changed things quite drastically.
Jovenan: The Mother has activated the Joy Imperative. For as long as it remains active, her control over the town remains strong. I don’t know who the heck any of you are, but I’m the Sheriff of this town, so I’ll remain here to defend it. ::nods towards Aesop:: The Mayor is also needed for the deactivation.
Breys: Maybe we can still slip someone out? Having a contact on the ship could be a boon.
o0 Indeed. If nothing else it would mean less likelihood of death-by-lightning. 0o
Bancroft: Hang on. I mean, yes, slip someone out, but… this kid is the mayor?
He'd be just an incredulous if he wasn't already deciding to throw out any attempts at understanding past the basics of the situation already. Child mayor? Certainly. Ship is an angry goddess? One must suppose given the circumstances.
Silveira: Response
Munro: The Captain. We should transport her back to the Artemis. It's home turf and she might be able to :: looked at Librarian MacKenzie:: She might be able to do something if we get her memories back. She has the command codes.
MacKenzie: Big if. What do I know about a spaceship?!
Wieçek: Responses
Velik: ::rising from the floor, more carefully:: Here, this seems basic but should have enough to make continued treatment easier at least. ::reaches to hand over small emergency kit:: For now I would suggest we focus on keeping the child stable and finding somewhere we can set up as well.
Roy took the kit without moving from beside Aesop.
It was a small thing, but he hoped it contained at least something of use.
K'Wara: We can't set up anywhere that's safe while the Mother has control over the weather grid like this... ::looks up at the stormy weather:: There has to be some way to disable it.
Bergmen: So should I turn it to this Weather Grid Station? (beat) But someone would need to tell me how to get there…
The sounds of Bancroft shuffling through the tiny medkit and the striking of the storm outside as Artemis continued her deadly pursuit were the only real markers that time was passing now. The situation dragged as they all continued to scramble for ideas on how to proceed. Another sharp turn, another harsh push into the seat, another point of pain up his injured back.
What a mess.
Bancroft: I don't know where it is. Keep us moving. Whoever does, tell Ollie where he's going.
Silveira: Response
Wieçek/Jovenan: Response
Velik: Artemis seems disinclined to release us from the simulation, clearly, and there is still the vast majority of crew unaccounted for likely still suffering from memory alteration. My understanding is this Aesop is in control of the situation. Of the two, he is more likely to be helpful, as he isn't currently trying to kill us.
K'Wara: If Ava can't restore their memories without another Memory Room, finding one of those is of a pretty high priority, I'd say. ::considers:: Velik, give me your tricorder.
The tool is tossed over with no fuss; it was of little use to him currently given he had no idea what was needing to be looked for, nor what factors he'd have to filter out of any readings that did come in. Better it go to someone with at least any level of understanding of what was happening past the quick run-down he'd only just received.
Breys: That much data on technology of this era means magnetic tapes. If you can scan for strong magnetic fields, we might have some direction.
Silveira: Response
Wieçek/Jovenan: Response
The bus lurched violently as something seemed to implode on the far-side of the vehicle, throwing him into a seat again with a thud as it fishtailed, another blast of lightning having pinged the mobile sausage again. Another punch of pain crawled down his spine and he slumped in the seat - holding himself up is an agony he cannot push past at the moment. The wetness from smearing blood is back, warm and painful. Looking out the window momentarily shows the weiner-mobile has dragged itself off the grass-field and onto pavement, traversing the various stretches of asphalt around the school with alarming speed.
It feels like the vehicle is off-kilter now that it's on fully-flat ground. One of the tires was out from the feel of it. Their get-away sandwich was still going, but it's borrowed time was now ticking away that much faster.
Velik: ::grunting, pained:: Putting distance between us and Mother will give us time to plan. Hopefully one involving a less easily-spotted means of escape.
The insistent throbbing of his wounds was slowly becoming mirrored by the pain coalescing in his head as almost a dozen voices all tried to clamber over each other in argument. Velik was not enthusiastic about his prospects at things quieting down enough in the near future to avoid a blinding headache. Such was the suffering of a sausage-riding son-of-a-shepard ensign he supposed.
K'Wara: Bingo!! ::shows the tricorder to Ava:: This seems like a good place to start the search, don't you think? It's a bit of a drive, but it's on the way to the Weather Control Station.
The increasingly frantic shouting from the crewman driving their absurd get-away vehicle was not helping his ability to soldier on through events, but he couldn't blame them either. Even a simple conversation would be difficult to hear with so many bodies packed together in this rolling tube.
Bergmen: Search quicker! And think even faster! The dashboard already glows like a shore leave tree!
Breys: Just towards the control station! That way!
Silveira: Response
Velik: Control station? Controller for what?
o0 Though at this juncture, control of anything would be beneficial. 0o
Wieçek/Jovenan: Response
The ride continued to be a bumpy mess as the dog was slung across grass and pavement, lightning chasing after their wake. An idle thought passed that it was somewhat good fortune this was apparently some form of simulation or else whatever groundskeepers the school kept on hand would have a terrible time fixing the mess they were leaving. The thought was then ruthlessly tossed into the pile of 'to deal with later' considerations he'd amassed in the last several hours.
The woes of simulated lawn-caretakers was not a priority when faced with the slow pursuit of a wrathful goddess (spaceship? the details were still fuzzy, and the continuing pressure of his oncoming headache was not of great help).
K'Wara: Commander, I suggest we send Vitor and Velik through the Transporter with the Captain. If what you say is true, and she managed to lock down key parts of the Artemis against the AI incursion, her presence on the Ship would simply be too enticing an opportunity for the Mother. She would be distracted, and unable to focus us down like this.
Breys: It could definitely work. Only dealing with one AI would simplify everything greatly.
He nods his head in acquiescence of the directive. Far be he to be the Vulcan to argue that one would be less than two after all.
Bancroft: ::without looking up from Aesop:: Remember how much you loved telling everyone what to do in the park? Now you get to do it on a Starship. Trust me, you’ll love that even more.
He could however perhaps be the Vulcan to argue against riling up their clearly less-than-convinced Captain. More arguing would do nothing for either his incoming migraine or their circumstances.
Silveira: Response
Munro: Do it. The Captains safety is the priority. No heroics. Get back to the ship, no detours. I hope your instincts will be right Tamio.
Addison sat straight up.
MacKenzie: Now wait just a minute-
Velik: ::Nodding with a wince:: Affirmative; I will leave my comm badge with one of the groups staying ground-side to facilitate communications should we gain access to them ship-side. The rest of my gear can stay as well - it will be of more use that way.
o0 Hopefully if we make it onboard the armory will still be accessible for replacements. 0o
Wieçek/Jovenan: Response
K'Wara: Where would the Joy Imperative be disabled from, Lt. Commander Jovenan?
The question were straying to topics he would be of no use in answering, so he turned his attention back out the window and the task of keeping an eye on the terrifying floating visage slowly chasing the hot dog they occupied. Artemis was indeed still in steady, if oddly slow, pursuit. It was helpful if bizarre how glacial her pace was. A mystery he'd be more concerned by if it wasn't to their benefit.
Bancroft: I'm not Commander Jovenan – obviously – but... the park would be my guess. Everything about the Joy kept ending there. The parade, the Choice... all of it.
Silveira: Response
Munro: Breys and Bancroft you go with Jovenan. It's likely a lot of the Artemis crew members will be going to the park. If I remember correctly you designed the structure Roy?
His eyes stayed trained out the window, but even he could tell the tension inside the bus was not entirely from the outside threats. Velik of course knew very little about the events that had transpired prior to his being ported into the scenario, but he had to surmise it was unpleasant. Interpersonally as well as in a general sense if tones of voice indicated anything.
Bancroft: I’m… familiar with the schematics, yes.
It was never a good sign when even the Vulcan in the hotdog bus sensed sarcasm was afoot.
Velik: The clouds are convalescing again. I estimate another close strike will occur within less than two minutes if that.
He doubted he could do much to resolve whatever interpersonal tension this place had imposed on the rest of the crew, but he could at least tell them about the weather. The horrifying, probably-controlled-by-their-ship-turned-psycho-goddess weather. Hmm.
The Ensign feared this would be difficult to explain in his letters home once they got out of this.
Wieçek/Jovenan: Response
Breys: Aye, sir.
K'Wara: Aleks, Olliver - once we've dropped the others off, the three of us will be heading for the Weather Control Station.
There was some kind of movement ahead of him on the bus and he glaced away from the glass to see it was the newly onboarded Bancroft working to keep the supposed AI child stable. Velik was glad someone was seeing to it in the midst of the warcamp happening around them.
Munro: Take Aesop with you. And I'll go here.
MacKenzie: ::flatly:: We're all going to die…
His mouth set's in a grim line, and he rolls his shoulders, trying to shake away the worst of the tension as he prepped to leave the bus and attempt their madcap plan of reaching the ship. Dying here was not on his five-year career plan and he wasn't about to make changes to that now.
[End of Act II for Velik]
TAGS / TBC
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Ensign Velik
Security and Tactical Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240309V11