Lt. Commander Ayiana Sevo - Flying Trill
Aaron Schimmel
((Field Hospital, Darime Colony))
The trap was set; now all they could do was wait. The communications suite had been set up to send fake data up to the Gorkon who would modify the signal to make it look like it was having trouble getting through the storm; a lie that was not far from the truth. Hopefully, it would draw out the saboteur.
Ayiana had nearly nodded off from boredom when she heard the rustling of the tent door. Suddenly wide awake, she gripped her phaser tight, ready to jump into action. The footsteps were quiet, much too quiet for armored troops. She surmised it must be the saboteur who came alone.
Sevo: :: Quietly double-tapping her combadge and whispering. :: =/\= Got something in here. Footsteps. Is the turret ready, Pira? =/\=
sh’Qynallahr: =/\= I’m reading movement near the tent, stand by. =/\=
Marshall: =/\= Don’t take any risks. =/\=
On cue, the makeshift turret hidden in a corner by the door lit up. Ayiana could hear the sounds of the phaser blasts and the light momentarily flash in the tent, followed by a couple of grunts and a thud. After waiting a few seconds, hearing nothing, Ayiana peeked around the crates, phaser level and ready. L’rann crouched behind, her own Type 2 phaser as backup. Slowly, Ayiana creeped up to the unconscious body on the ground.
Sevo: =/\= Well damn, I wasn’t expecting it to be them. =/\=
Pira quickly arrived and the two looked over the prone body. What surprised Ayiana was that it was a Starfleet officer! Or at the very least, someone dressed in a gold security uniform. He was a Vulcan, or possibly a Southern Romulan, based on the pointed ears and lack of forehead ridges. She tried not to assume the latter based on her prejudices until a judgement had been reached.
sh’Qynallahr: I don’t recognise this man. I’m familiar with the Gorkon’s security personnel, but not this man.
Loxley: A Starfleet uniform makes a good disguise. The medical staff down here will assume he came down on the shuttle, I’d imagine.
Jo entered the tent, from whatever her hiding place was. She immediately saw the downed Pointy-Ear, and crouched down next to him. They managed to roll him over and Ayiana could see clearly he was a Vulcan. Jo frowned in frustration.
Sevo: I probably would have, too. I don’t know everyone on the ship. Does anyone recall him coming off the shuttle?
Pira removed the man’s badge whilst restraining him with a rope she acquired somewhere.
sh’Qynallahr: Can someone run the ID on the combadge for me? Once we have a little more information, we’ll wake him up and ask some questions.
Marshall: Ayiana, can you handle that, please? You should be able to link into the shuttlecraft database.
Ayiana nodded as Pira tossed the combadge over to her. The group continued talking as she pulled out her tricorder. A few taps and a connection to the shuttle was opened. She pulled up the crew roster and placed the combadge on the screen. Her tricorder matched the serial number in the badge to the roster and who was supposed to own it.
Loxley: Odd. Heart rate and blood pressure are unusually high for someone unconscious. What stun setting did you use?
sh’Qynallahr: Response
Sevo: Well, the badge is registered to a Lieutenant Adan, Bajoran. :: She looked at the ears. :: He’s clearly not a Bajoran.
Loxley: He should be out cold, but… ::The hybrid trailed off as he adjusted his scan.:: I’m picking up high levels of cryptobiolin, a combat enhancer.
Jo stood back up and looked at Loxley’s tricorder over her shoulder. Ayiana pocketed the combadge and listened. Who was this man? Why would he use a combat stim?
Marshall: What would a Vulcan need combat enhancers for? Maybe expecting to find someone in here and take them out...
Sevo: Seeing as how we pushed back the attackers, and received reinforcements, maybe he wanted to be more prepared.
sh’Qynallahr: Response
Loxley: Wait, there’s more. Cervaline? That’s strange.
sh’Qynallahr: Response
Sevo: And for those of us who don’t know what that is?
Loxley: It’s only used to prevent the rejection of transplanted tissues. And… ah, crap.
Transplanted tissues could mean undercover surgery; or illegal genetic experimentation. Loxley’s outburst caused everyone’s eyes to turn to him. He suddenly looked very serious as he looked up from his tricorder.
Loxley: He’s infected.
Ayiana took a couple of steps back, as if that would stop the spread of any particles. Jo crossed her arms and exhaled a breath. The momentary silence was palpable as everyone processed the information, and a few short, silent breaths.
Marshall: Well. ::She hooked an eyebrow.:: Shit.
sh’Qynallahr: Response
Loxley: Exactly, so either he’s a Pelian in a very impressive disguise, or he encountered the same thing they did.
She couldn’t imagine how a Pelian could get a disguise like that. Some sort of advanced robotic prosthesis? It didn’t fit.
Marshall: What does that mean for us? We’ve been exposed now. Lox, you’re half Vulcan.
Sevo: Could mean the disease is adapting to multiple species, which throws my “one-species-at-a-time programming” hypothesis out the window. Or it’s smarter than we thought and realized it’s dealing with multiple species and adapted accordingly.
sh’Qynallahr: Response
Suddenly, the unconscious Vulcan was not so unconscious as he groaned and writhed lightly in his binds. Their eyes darted down.
Loxley: I should have mentioned that cryptobiolin is also pretty good for counteracting the effects of a phaser stun.
oO NOW he says that! Oo
Jo thrust out her arm in front of Loxley, like protecting a child. Ayiana was more stunned as she watched the man wriggle amidst the rope. He had just taken a phaser stun, but was already coming around, thanks to the cocktail of combat stims and other chemicals running through his body. Out of the corner of her eye, Ayiana saw Jo dive for a phaser rifle, while Ayiana’s hand went for the one on her hip.
Sevo: Um...
sh’Qynallahr: Response
The Vulcan roared as he stood up, snapping the rope with nothing but his chemically-enhanced muscles. Ayiana’s eyes widened with a mix of horror and surprise as he did so. The uniform was small on him; most likely “borrowed” from the real Lt. Adan. Then her more intellectual brain caught up: Vulcans didn’t yell, or even display rage. Perhaps the chemical cocktail was interfering with his emotional control, or wasn’t even a Vulcan at all.
Marshall: Ohhhkay, let’s not do anything hasty right now. Just back up slowly.
Loxley/sh’Qynallahr/Sevo: Response
Ayiana backed up about two steps before an arm the size of a shuttle nacelle swiped out, grasping her tunic at the collar, and she dropped her phaser. He casually lifted her by the scruff with one arm, her boots dangling nearly a meter off the ground, and pushed her over the biobed. The collar of her tunic was quickly pressing against her neck. He turned his head to look at, or rather through, Ayiana, nothing but blind rage on his face.
Sevo: *hurk*
Marshall: Or backup quickly. That’s a better option. Drop her! Bad Vulcan!
Sevo: N-no! D- *hack* -don’t drop! Bad choice- *hurk* -of words!
She pummeled uselessly at the man’s forearm in a vain attempt to release him, but she only felt his hand tighten further. A few stars danced around her eyes; she didn’t even need a telescope to see them! They were pretty, and multiplying.
Loxley/sh’Qynallahr: Response
Sevo: N-no! *hurk* Don’t shoot him! :: The blast might spread from him to Ayiana. That would not be fun. ::
Marshall/Loxley/sh’Qynallahr: Response
With a roar, the Vulcan lifted Ayiana even higher, then tossed her halfway across the tent. Her legs clipped a biobed as she flew, adding a frightful angle to her trajectory. She slammed into another biobed on her back, then bounced off onto crates nearby, finally rolling off onto the ground.
Marshall/Loxley/sh’Qynallahr: Response
The stars in her vision had turned to spots which looked very similar to her own. Maybe they were nebulae! As the vision problems diminished, so did the adrenaline masking the pain. And Gods, was there pain. It felt like every bone had been shattered, her muscles ached, and she could smell the metallic tinge of blood, probably her own.
There was a commotion back by the entrance, but Ayiana’s throbbing ears and fiery nerves were too distracting. It took a few moments for Ayiana to regain awareness of things around her. She carefully and painfully pulled herself up to her knees, tossing her arms on the biobed and peeking up over it’s edge. She could feel the slick of blood on her mouth and out her nose, one eye felt swollen, and no doubt her hair was unkempt.
Sevo: D-did anyone get the registry number of that starship?!
Marshall/Loxley/sh’Qynallahr: Response
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Lt. Commander Ayiana Sevo
Mission Specialist
U.S.S. Gorkon
Image Collective
Wiki Ops
Investigating Diversity and Inclusion Committee (IDIC)
V239109AS0
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