LtCmdr Alex Blair: On Firmish Ground
Jeremy Shaffer
((Shuttlecraft Scott, Surface of Garridon V))
::Alex was frustrated, more so than he could remember being for a long time. In fact the only time he could remember being so frustrated was when he first came aboard the Gemini and saw Main Engineering completely torn apart. He had been thrust into an away mission on a planet they knew little about, during the worst systems of storms he had ever heard of, and had an ensign with him who was borderline out of control. To top it all off, as much as he liked Oliver Weston, the man’s attitude towards the group that was sent to help added to Alex’s frustration.::
oO Just keep you cool. It won’t do anyone any good for you to blow up. Oo
::As he tried to force himself to stay calm, Alex pressed on with the information exchange.::
Blair: Once we establish contact with the ship we can
arrange for more personnel, supplies, or whatever else is needed. For now we
need to know the situation.
Weston: We need pilots like Shayne shuttling down every bird we've got,
and I think that window is closing fast.
Nicholotti: How many are hurt?
Blair: And what about that thing that tried to maim Moore?
Weston: :: Oliver glanced over his shoulder to Nicholotti. :: None.
Bartholomew: You're Moore? ::without thinking:: What the frak were you
thinking?! There's a frakking lightning hurricane out there!
::Before anyone knew what was happening, Moore had hit the man. Deep down Alex
knew he needed to step in as the first officer, but he stood motionless for a
moment.::
Moore: I find a good slap cures hysterics on the spot.
Bartholomew: Uh, Oliver. You might want to handle this.
Weston: Moore I take it?
Moore: Stephanie Moore.
Weston: :: Oliver shook the proffered hand and gave a placating nod to
Pete. :: Nice to meet you. But he's right. You're bloody cracked
jumping into a storm like this unless you have durasteel bones. Don't get
me wrong, it was a helluva jump and you probably helped Shayne here even if you
defied physics to do it.
Shayne: Response?
Weston: But that :: He gestured with his chin to the red mark on Peter's
cheek. :: isn't helping.
Nicholotti: This isn't helping us, how about you tell me how many wounded you
have, where they are, and what we can do to help here. Otherwise I'm quite
happy to return to the comfort of the Gemini.
::Alex was ready to step in, but as he knew it wouldn’t help chose to wait until a later time. When the time came however, Moore had quite a talking coming to her.::
Weston: :: Oliver turned to face her, showing her the bleeding wound on his
cheek. :: You're right, it isn't helping, but I told you, none. We
have dead and we have missing. So if you can fly and want to help, please
waltz over to that Danube and take fifty people out of here before the most
apocalyptic storm in meteorological history hits this outpost. That's
what we need most. Two hundred and forty civilian's are inside, and an
army of those monsters are outside. We need to protect them and get them
off world.
::Alex knew that Weston was right, they needed to get the civilian off the
planet and they needed to do it quickly. By his calculations, they didn’t have
much time before the storms would make travel through the atmosphere
impossible.::
Weston: And it looks like we've got the muscle to do at least the second
bit. Here's the sitrep; They're poisonous, capable of some flight
if the wind is low, and they hate bright light and fire. They can be
shot, stabbed, run over, they die just like us, but they're bigger and
durable. The fact that my flare killed one is incredible however, so fire
might be a bigger asset then I thought. Our people are spread between
four buildings. :: He gestured right behind him. :: The command and control
centre has the lions share, and the twenty odd Starfleet on the planet.
The other three out buildings are there there and there. :: He gestured to each
through the bulkhead of the Scott.
Blair: Evacuations are our priority, but I don’t think we have much time in which to do them. Will the creatures be a problem while getting everyone to a shuttle?
T’Mar/Shayne/ Mayne/Inde/LarsonNicholotti/Moore: Response?
Weston: The ground is a quagmire, even the steel paths are sinking.
We'll have to defend every group of survivors to the life boats and protect
them from the creatures.
T’Mar/Shayne/Carr/Mayne/Inde/Larson/Blair/Nicholotti/Moore: Response?
::Alex looked at the security officers.:::
Blair: Carr, Mayne suggestion?
Carr: :: Without averting her eyes from the door:: If these creatures are photophobic, a brightly-lit landing area would be doubly beneficial. We should also consider cannibalizing equipment from the base to provide the evacuating groups with powerful light sources operating on batteries.
Weston: Good call. We can definitely try to do that. It might
help keep them away from the groups.
::Alex agreed.::
Blair: Inde, forget about the pattern enhancers, come up with a plan to salvage some parts. I want this landing area as brightly lit as the sun.
T’Mar/Shayne/ Mayne/Inde/Larson /Nicholotti/Moore: Response?
Blair: This storm seems to be getting worse. Any idea how
long we have to get these shuttles off the ground?
Weston: That window is closing. At this point I'm not sure we even
have five minutes, but we can get a clearer answer once we move into Cee and
Cee. We have people monitoring the stormfront.
T’Mar/Shayne/ Mayne/Inde/Larson/ Nicholotti/Moore: Response?
Weston: Honestly I think now is the only time we're going to get a good
shot at getting two boatloads out of here. If the Scott and the Danube
can each get full evac out of here before the big one hits...well that's nearly
one hundred souls out of the storm. But we'll need doctors on both boats because
those things won't let us get our people there unmolested.
Blair: Agreed. Once the first bunch is on their way, we can come up with a plan b in case the atmosphere becomes too turbulent for another trip.
T’Mar/Shayne/ Mayne/Inde/Larson/Nicholotti/Moore: Response?
Carr: I would respectfully advise securing the landing site first. Sending its coordinates to the Gemini could also enable them to send more shuttles to evacuate
Weston: Alright. :: He turned towards the exit and looked outside
warily. Those things were waiting out there, held back by the lights and
a lack of targets. :: Oh, and if you get split up, don't hide. They are
using some kind of echo location...we think. Just run.
T’Mar/Shayne/ Mayne/Inde/Larson/Nicholotti/Moore: Response?
Blair: Carr and Mayne you stay here and keep this area clear of creatures.
Carr/Mayne: response
Blair: Inde get to work on those lights. Coordinate with the ‘locals’ to get the supplies you need, but get those lights up quickly.
Inde: response
Blair: ::turning to Moore:: Ensign you’ve caused enough trouble for now. Stay aboard the Scott with Mister Shayne, you are going to be his co-pilot. And I mean stay inside this time.
Moore: response
Blair: T’Mar, Larson, Doctor we’ll go with Weston.
T’Mar/Larson/Nicholotti: response
Weston: Everyone ready?
::Alex looked toward the other man draped in a cloak.::
Blair: My shuttle’s at your disposal. Load as many of your people in it as you can. We don’t know how many of these trips we will be able to make.
Bartholomew: response
Blair: Okay Oliver, lead the way.
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant Commander Alex Blair
First Officer
USS Gemini, NCC-80564