Ensign Richard Matthews - A Walk to Clear Your Head
Matthew Gough
((Deck 16, Science Lab, USS Khitomer))
He turned after keying in a few quick commands. On one of the screens the Constellation class USS Eridani was displayed.
Matthews: The USS Eridani, possessed by a juvenile of a non caporal species we discovered. Named Junior. I don’t think what we are seeing is the same thing. But there could be correlations to the entities that can possess star ships and what is possibly controlling the nebula. ::He shrugged:: Unless it is the nebula. That said, well, guys this isn’t good is it.
El'Heem: No Matthews. It’s not good. The nebula is outpacing us. ::long pause:: Melville-Kilpatrick, try to run some more scans. Look for biomarkers outside typical parameters. If the cloud of pink is a living entity, it’s very obviously not anything Starfleet has ever encountered before. Matthews, what else can we try?
See, it would have been more efficient to say ‘MK run more scans’ shaving off Ras’ command time by a second or two. It was all about efficiency. Who knew when a few extra seconds could save a life! Or something.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Scanning now, sir.
Matthews: ::Shaking his head:: I can only speculate. But I think, if we can somehow link up to one of the Alliance ships and start reading their logs. We’ll find that they had discovered this creature and tried to capture it. ::Richard glanced to Ras:: Chief, could I work on trying to get a link to one of the ships while MK works on puzzling out what the nebula is?
El'Heem: Astute thinking, Matthews. Do that but keep it targeted. I don’t want any sheliak viruses worming their way aboard.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Viruses, I can handle. Unless you meant a computer virus...
He was a little out of practice with the medical virus type. But in either case, bring it on, Richard thought, chuckling to himself. Bending over the console he got to work. Tuning back in when Ras got a little hysterical. Not unusual for his excitable friend but considering the situation.
El’Heem: ::frantically:: Oh boys. BRACE. The nebula is on us NOW.
Red lights and loud noises assaulted his senses. The klaxons were the absolute worst part of dangerous situations. How were you supposed to think with them going off like a kid with pot covers making a racket in the morning when you were suffering from a hangover?
Matthews: I must have pissed off a nebula in another life.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Was that...was that a crash?
Not a crash. This was more like being enveloped. Grabbed forcefully? Maybe you could say that the nebula crashed into the Khitomer when it attacked them?
Shoot, he was playing semantics again to try and keep from panicking. And kind of losing the point.
Naxell: =/\= Attention all hands, this is the captain. We are, currently, trapped by some unknown force. But we won’t stay that way. Keep your heads, keep working, and we’ll get out of this together. =/\=
oO The beatings will continue until moral improves Oo
El’Heem: Alright. That confirms a few things. If it’s alive, it’s eaten us and we don’t know how much time we have left until it’s digested us. If it’s being controlled by someone, the outcome is just as bad. Matthews, our timeframe just moved up. We need the sensor data isolated into something useful. Melville-Kilpatrick, check atmospherics and ensure the Khitomer is going to hold it’s own and keep us all alive.
Melville-Kilpatrick: ::turning back to the system and pressing quite a few buttons:: Checking atmospherics...
Matthews: Isolate the data we don’t have yet. Got it.
El’Heem: Matthews. Now.
He didn’t look up. Pointing out that Ras’ general highstrungness was a little worse than usual. Might get him shot. He did make a mental note to gift his friend a few holonovels on relaxation techniques. He might need them. The stress might give him wrinkles!
El’Heem: Captain.
Who?
Melville-Kilpatrick: ::standing:: Captain.
What?
Matthews: :: Straightening up and turning :: Captain.
Oooooooh that was what. The new captain, who unfortunately due to events outside of their control, Richard associated with the loss of their first captain and first officer. While he couldn’t have an opinion on the guy yet. It was too early to say if he liked the guy. The guys arrival was already saddled with a little baggage.
Best to bite his tongue and not speak. That usually saved him a lot of trouble then.
Naxell: At ease. ::to E’Heem:: Your assessment, Chief?
El’Heem: Not much but…we launched a probe to gather preliminary data that our sensors couldn’t gather. The probe was lost on contact with the cloud. ::beat:: it’s not behaving like a cosmological entity. Not a gas or debris field. At least not conventionally.
Nope, even if the nebula wasn’t alive itself. Something was puppeting it.
El’Heem: It’s not homogenous. And it’s not random. We can’t tell you yet what it is, but we’re working on it.
Melville-Kilpatrick: ::glancing at a readout:: Atmospherics...don't look good. I can say that much. I don't think that we can hold out forever.
Naxell: As I feared. To understand this cloud, we’re going to need a physical sample, and that means someone’s going to have to go out and get it. ::looking to Matthews:: Are you up to date on your EVA training, Ensign?
The irony was that he could answer a yes to that. But because of events on shore leave and not any previous mission. Dang it. There was no pawning a space walk on someone else either. He glanced at Ras, who he couldn’t even in good conscience try to guilt into doing the walk.
Matthews: Unfortunately, yes, yes I am.
El’Heem: There’s significant risk, but it hasn’t exactly damaged the ship yet either. I’ll be right there on comms with you and Melville-Kilpatrick will be monitoring your vitals.
Melville-Kilpatrick: I've got that part down, I promise.
Matthews: Confidence, you fill me with it.
Eh, MK was safe. If Richard died it was Ras he would haunt anyway.
Naxell: Response
Melville-Kilpatrick: I should be able to keep track of everything from here.
Matthews: We have a few uplinks to sickbay from here. You should have access to your stations from here. If that helps. I know for me it’s kind of easier now to work from the science labs and if not actually be here. Still utilize the specific systems.
Naxell / El'Heem: Response
Melville-Kilpatrick: Ideally, I'd be able to notice before anything went...too wrong.
Matthews: :: Pressing a few buttons and getting ready to leave :: Oh, but I do like surprises though.
Naxell / El'Heem / Melville-Kilpatrick: Response
OOC - okay the space walk seems too fun. I’m moving Richard out of the scene to start writing that tonight. But feel free to have him on comms if this scene is still going on.
TAGS/End Scene for Richard
_________
Science Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A238908RM0