Lt JG Braya - Now You See Me

[Braya of Clan Ralnek]

((Fuel Line Corridor, Deck 496 | Igirni))

The area was so tremendous in size that the thought of tracking down a sign of sabotage was foolish, at best. And Braya’s attempts to crack the shell of their maintenance man to reveal something a bit more interesting beneath had thus far met with only failure. So it was with a feeling of being, yet again, rather useless that she crossed her arms and wrinkled her nose in displeasure. 

Tanner: ::Looking up further ahead at some marks on the wall.:: You sure we can’t touch anything?

Lim: ::To Tanner:: Please don’t injure yourself on accident.

Frinn: As long as you keep your hands off the fuel intake, you should be alright.

Glancing up at what she presumed was a fuel intake, a monstrous thing that she’d have to get the entire team to stand upon one another’s shoulders to reach, Braya wondered why such precaution needed to be vocalized. 

oO Given the amount o; support these workers seem to be gettin’, mayhaps that’s what they are doin’ themselves. Standing in one another to get the work done. Oo

Falt: What about scans? ::Holding up his tricorder:: Our devices are quite efficient and non-invasive. If we can compare our results to those schematics, it would be even better!

Frinn: That sounds acceptable too.

Lim: Mue has the ability to sense chemicals and wavelengths that most species can’t. It’s not even invasive.

Narrow eyes flicked to the creature, and away again. The idea it could provide something which a tricorder could not made her uneasy. 

Tanner: ::Almost despondent:: I bet this corridor goes on forever.

Another tremor jostled the squad, spiking Braya’s disquiet to a new lever. 

Falt: ::Looking back at the others:: You mentioned lurches like this are not uncommon?

Frinn: They are not… although two this close together is… especially with the engines down already.

Tanner: Well, that places it into the concerning category for me.

Braya: Maybe there be somewhere a little less…shaky for us t’be walkin’?

Falt: ::Jokingly:: Well, I hope someone checked the supports on this gangway recently!

Frinn: Trust me… if this ship ever falls apart, this will be the last bit standing. Those engines are heavy, and when active, produce enormous thrust. So rest assured they built this segment to withstand the most destructive power.

With the lack of resources, information, and abetment from the potenantes in their levels of privilege, Braya hardly believed any of what Frinn had just said to be true. The maintenance man was simply too indoctrinated to see what was plain in front of his face. 

Frinn: Or so they should… if this part is already screeching, I bet other systems are in much more danger.

Falt: ::trying to keep his voice calm:: A little help?

Lim: You had to tempt fate!

The drama of Falt nearly tumbling down a yawning chute came and went in a moment, leaving Braya and Tanner blinking at the rear of the group. 

Frinn: Tempt fate?

Braya: Means takin’ a risk. 

Falt: Response

Lim: That was too close for comfort.

Frinn: You are not wizards, are you?!

Tanner: Assuming that word translates the same, the answer is no.  The Commander was simply a victim of whatever is happening around us.

It was all Braya could do not to bounce Frinn’s head off the bulkhead to try and knock loose whatever two brain cells he’d had when awarded his position. 

Braya: It’s y’er ship breakin’, not our doin’. Maybe if y’er autocrats gave a damn about y’all down ‘ere…

Catching herself before she spoke too openly again on the state of affairs on Igirni, Braya shut her mouth and gnashed her teeth. 

Falt: Response

The ship lurched again, making Braya question just how stable the entire construction was, under the shearing stresses of the singularity. 

Lim: Is there somewhere we can go so I can treat his hand?

Frinn: I assume you brought supplies to help our injured? Won’t that help your own kind? If not, I can escort you to an aid station.

oO We didn’t come ‘ere to ‘elp y’er injured, ya’ daft fool. No one even told us nothin’ about injured folk. If people need helpin’, where the hell are they at? Oo

Taking an angry step toward Frinn, she reached for his collar, just before he shouted and ran. 

Frinn: RUN! This way!

The hairs on the back of Braya’s neck rose, and her hand closed around the marlin spike as she looked around for a threat. 

Frinn: Do not linger! The fuel line is about to break! We have no time!

What, exactly, had given Frinn that impression was unclear but inconsequential. Braya bolted with the rest, and dove through the bulkhead door as Tanner hit a panel, sealing it shut. 

Tanner: Will this hold? ::As if they had a choice.::

Frinn: Response

Braya: ‘Ope this door’s seen more care than the catwalk. 

If it didn’t safeguard them from a leak, the team would at least have mercifully little time to lament their situation. 

Lim / Falt: Response

Tanner: What a reckless place to have us if your fuel lines are so fragile!

Finally, Braya grinned, someone else was willing to speak out against the sheer lunacy of these circumstances. 

Braya: If I were prone to paranoia, the timin’ would seem awful convenient. 

oO Someone ain’t ‘appy that we’re ‘ere tryin’ to ‘elp. Oo 

Frinn / Lim / Falt: Response

Tanner: How long before your bridge manages to cut off the section and make it safe? I’d like to look at the condition of that served fuel line.

Braya: As if the engines didn’t ‘ave enough problems already, eh? 

Looking around the chamber they’d sheltered in, Braya separated from the others, walking the room’s perimeter, staring absently at bulkheads and conduits, maintaining her promise not to touch anything at all. 

Frinn / Lim / Falt: Response

As the others huddled and spoke, focused on the immediate issue of how to proceed and who to contact, Braya stepped into one of many smaller alcoves, each fitted with hammocks strung wherever there was room to anchor them, and small shelves with worn boots and stained blankets. 

Investigating another, and another, it seemed clear that this was the living space of a great many workers, but it was an afterthought; something they created for themselves only after the purpose of the room had been determined. Low piping crowded the ceiling, and fluids dripped from corroding ducts directly where these people were meant to sleep. There was no privacy, and a dented cup was the most noteworthy item she could spot among the meagre belongings. 

Then, in the far end of one of the narrow alcoves, Braya caught the hint of a voice. Stepping further into the dim apse, brushing past a hammock and a stack of scorched coveralls, she pressed her ear to the far wall, closed her eyes, and listened. 

Braya: ::Loudly, but out of sight:: Commander Falt? I think I hear -

A bulkhead shifted. Reptilian hands, strong as iron, emerged from the dark beyond and closed around Braya. One clamped across her mouth, cutting her off mid-sentence. Others pinned her arms to her sides. There was only time to tense up, eyes wide with shock, as she was yanked backward through the opening. Before the others could so much as turn, the heavy panel had slid shut, and Braya was gone. 

Tanner / Frinn / Lim / Falt: Response? 

TAG / TBC

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Lt. JG Braya of Clan Ralnek

HCO

USS Eagle

E240205B13