Lieutenant Serala: Command decisions are never easy.
Jim Davis
(( Main Cargo Bay, Korri freighter, Jenatris Cloud ))
Serala: What in the name of the Elements? :: she muttered :: Hello, is everyone alright?
:: The words seemed to echo for quite some time as the Korri all slowly turned their attention to the new comers. She noticed that the dozen or so Korri were gathered around a single spot, but she couldn’t see what they were surrounding. They had the look of complete raving maniacs. Some kind of fluid seemed to be marring the faces of the few that were in clearer light than the others, but the room was too dimly light for even her Romulan eyes to discern details at this distance. ::
Serala: I am Lieutenant Serala from the Federation Starship Atlantis. We’re here to help.
:: She couldn’t tell if they understood her, but they were staring at her like she was their next meal. Considering what she was now able to see through the slight part that had been created when they shifter their attention to her, she wondered if that wasn’t close to the truth. ::
Spurlocke: Lieutenant, might I recommend we casually make a half moon formation. Something tells me these Korri aren’t in a talking mood.
Serala: I’m counting a dozen crazies, Mr. Spurlocke. Do you think that formation will be sufficient against that many adversaries?
Spurlocke: I count about ten, we should be fine as long as we keep the perimeter.
Serala: Very well, you take right flank, I will take left. Mr. Termine, Malko, take the center. Phasers on stun.
:: Slowly the party made a half moon around the doorway they had just entered from, the Korri no more than ten feet away intently eyeing them. ::
Serala: Everyone stay sharp. I don’t know what’s going on here, but let’s not take any chances.
Spurlocke: Any bright ideas, Mr.Malko?
Malko/Termine: We should be careful not to seem intimidating. :: Speaking in a louder, but calm tone towards the Korri :: Your ship has suffered a great accident. We want to bring you to safety. How can we help?
Raga: =/\= Away Team :: Static :: Team Two. Serala :: Static :: copy? =/\=
Serala: =/\= Raga, say again. You’re breaking up. Repeat, you’re breaking up. Please repeat your last communication. =/\=
Raga: =/\= I can barely read you. Be advised, many of the crew from the ship you're on were evacuated...is one. :: A heavy static burst rattle through the channel a second :: ..symptoms from the...oud.....ome....hostile....be careful... =/\=
Serala: =/\= Raga. I didn’t copy that. Say again. =/\= Mr. Termine, is there any way to clear up the interference?
Termine: Uhh, I’ll see what I can do but.. :: Dante looked down and tapped at his tricorder ::
Raga: =/\= The crew on your ship is likely to be afflicted by the cloud's gases. Some may be hostile, be on guard. =/\=
:: And it was just that moment that one of the Korri decided he was hungry. He lunged forward, and it seemed to trigger something in all of the others. ::
oO Now he tells me! Oo
:: They came at the team all at once. Serala levelled her phaser at the lead Korri and fired. She noticed the others doing likewise. She took note of the fact that despite the fact that she had her phaser on heavy stun and it should have taken the Korri out for quite some time, he kept coming. She had to fire two more times before she finally took it down. She was able to take down a second Korri before a third finally closed with her and grabbed her around the neck, her webbed hands closing around Serala’s throat like a vise cutting off the Romulan’s air. Serala didn’t have time to look around at her fellow away team members, but she did know that they had each fired several shots of their own. ::
Malko: These phasers aren’t strong enough! They’re resisting stun…
Termine: We can’t keep this up. And we’re drawing way too much heat. Not every life sign was coming from this bay. If we get flanked we’re through. We’ve got to
:: Fortunately, Serala was an expert in martial arts, having achieved master level in more than two dozen styles and proficiency in another dozen. She quickly broke the Korri’s choking grasp on her and managed several quick strikes on her before she finally subdued the amphibian. Once again, she noted that it took more effort to take it down than it normally should have. She took a look around to see how the others were faring against their foes. ::
Spurlocke: Responses
Malko: Understood. Firing for effect.
:: Several more phaser shots were fired. Suddenly, Serala noticed Termine take aim and fire at a control panel. By this point, the team had managed a fighting retreat into the corridor just outside the bay. Suddenly, an emergency bulkhead began screaming down just in front of them. She noticed that it stopped just short of the deckplates, having sliced one downed Korri in half and lodging in another underneath the first. ::
Serala: Report.
Termine: This is obviously abnormal behaviour, Korri don’t go space-crazy and they definitely aren’t an aggressive species. Something has affected them.
Serala: Analysis, Mr. Malko. What’s wrong with them?
Malko: Some type of temporary insanity, it’s driving them to lash out and ignore their survival instincts. Their reception of pain is being over-ridden by some other compulsion. Uncertain if this is a symptom of the Cloud, or something else they were exposed to.
Spurlocke: Responses
Serala: Let’s find out, Mr. Spurlocke. If there is something on this ship driving the Korri mad, and based on what we just saw and Lieutenant Raga’s report just prior to the attack, it seems there is, then we need to know what it is and fast. We especially need to know if we are at risk ourselves. Theories?
Malko: They seem to have ingested - or inhaled - a substance. You can see the reside around their mouths, and dried up along their exhale slits - here. ::Malko pointed with a pinky at the crystallized resin that lined their jaws, back where many humanoids would have their ears located. :: Can you tell what that is, Commander?
:: There was that term again. She could live with it, but it seemed eerie to her to be called by the same rank as her own mother. Especially since it wasn’t her own rank. ::
Serala: No, Ensign. But, I am only a Security and Tactics specialist. I never was very good at the sciences. Perhaps you should collect a sample. We can take it back to the Atlantis and analyze it.
Termine: I’d suggest you take your samples post-haste doctor. :: Dante held up his tricorder :: I’ve got multiple new life signs fast approaching from multiple directions, including up THROUGH other decks. They’re climbing through the wreck like a jungle gym. Commander, I’d still like to see if I can worm my way down to the computer core - I still think it’s our best shot at making sense of all this - but it’s only accessible via Jeffries tubes. I’m a quick crawler but I’m going to need a distraction of some sort.
oO Time for my first real command decision. Split the team up or stay together for safety. Mother always said command decisions were never easy. Oo
Serala: I don’t really like the idea of us splitting up in these circumstances, but you might be correct. Be careful. I don’t want to lose anyone on my first away mission as team leader. The rest of us will do our best to keep the others occupied. I want suggestions on how to subdue them without harming them any more than necessary. We’re here to rescue them, after all, not harm them.
Spurlocke/Malko: Responses
Serala: Sounds like a plan. We’re already inside the Atlantis’ shields, we can beam them to the ship. Let’s warn them first, shall we? =/\= Serala to Atlantis. We have a bit of a problem here. The crew has been affected by something. We’re not sure what, just yet. We have nine subdued for now. We’re going to beam them over to you. Recommend Medical evaluate them and report to us. There are still more than a dozen left over here and I would like to know what is going on. =/\=
Tel-ar: =/\= Response =/\=
Serala: =/\= Understood, Commander. We’ll load them in the shuttle and I will have Lieutenant Spurlocke transport them back. They should stay unconscious long enough. =/\=
Tel-ar: =/\= Response =/\=
Serala: =/\= Acknowledged, sir. Serala out. =/\=
TBC/TAGS
USS Atlantis NCC-76482
A239412S10