Lieutenant JG Ras El'Heem - A Problem for later
Ras El'Heem
((OOC: Going to tie a nice bow on this scene so we can open it back up next shoreleave.))
((Room 147, Deck 14, USS Khitomer – docked at DS33))
The past few minutes had been a lurching, disjointed whiplash of a mess. There had hardly been a chance to breathe. Ras still felt the recoil in his thoughts. The sudden appearance of “The Other” followed by another sudden appearance of an ensign threw the Kressari for a loop and for a few moments he wasn’t exactly sure on next steps.
Michaels: Certainly. ::To Ras:: This group is doing something.
Lera moved off to check the terminal as Richard had asked. The brief absence was enough for the four of them to funnel out of the strange room and back in to the common area where it had all began.
Michaels: ::To Richard:: There has not been a significant power fluctuation.
Richard: Okay stand still one more test, Michaels can you stand by Ras, please?
Ras squinted at Richard, still breathing heavily and adrenaline coursing through him. Somehow Richard was calm, cool, and almost casual. How could the man be so unfazed by the fact that something so unquantifiable had just stood before them? He had just enough time to run through the logic tree of possibilities while Lera hesitantly took her place beside him:
Either Richard was jaded from his past encounter with interdimensionality, or he’d wrapped himself in a shell of sarcasm so thick, nothing penetrated.
He wasn’t sure, which was better, but the man needed therapy.
Michaels: I am capable of that. Group photos? I did not realize you could take photographs with a tricorder. Are we all making faces or silly poses for this one?
El’Heem: ::shaking the disquiet from his voice:: Richard. Is there a point to this beyond prolonging the escalation required of the situation?
Reht / Charles: Response
Richard: Hmm, didn’t see this coming, but :: He twisted around to stare at the door to room 147, holding up his tricorder and frowning :: How is that possible now. Kiran, what were you up to?
Michaels: I am sorry. I joined this party late, so I am not fully up to speed. I have a question. Who is Kiran? What is happening here? What were you doing, and why are you doing it in a room that has been sealed off for a significant amount of time?
The fear and confusion were starting to drain from Ras and was quickly being replaced by frustration. There was too much discussion and not enough urgency and he was almost starting to think the whole thing was in his head.
Reht / Charles: Response
Ras cross his arms and deferred to Charles as the ranking officer, though the look he shot him said plainly, “Do not entertain this.”
Richard: I know you have questions. I’ll try to answer them all as best I can later. For now, though, we have to work quick. Michaels! We’re going to need to generate a low-intensity subspace field around this room, possibly extended by a few feet. Can you do it?
Michaels: To say I have questions may be the understatement of the millennium. :: long pause :: If you are trying to contain whatever was in there before we started whatever it is we are doing, then all we have to do is turn on the field that has been containing it back on. Assuming it has not already escaped. If this was a security issue, then I will need security clearance to alter the field.
Richard: Lieutenant Matthews can help you, :: He turned to Matthews :: Highest ranking officer, highest ranking clearance. Can you please give Michaels whatever approvals she needs?
His patience was wearing thin. Whatever was in there wasn’t going to sit politely and wait for them to finish debating. The fact that it had paused its grand entrance at all was baffling. Ras tapped his foot as the expression on his face tightened.
Charles: Response
The warning did not land, and Richard pressed on anyways, feeding Michaels more details.
Richard: While Michaels does her thing and works a miracle. We’ve got to be quick and figure out what that thing in there is. Because whatever it was. It wasn’t an AI.
Michaels: This is a relatively simple task, but this is not a low-intensity subspace field. These are serious field emitters that have been designed to completely seal this compartment from the rest of the known universe. Floor, ceiling, walls. The transmitters around the cells in the brig are not as strong as these. These are comparable to the ship's exterior shield transmitters. :: beat:: I am surprised that you managed to get into this room.
Reht: Response
Richard: :: Nodding :: Figured you might clue in on that. When I was running scans, I noticed that the quantum state of subatomic matter in your RNA was off. It was the same for both of you. Me too, we weren’t resonating at the same frequency at the quantum level with the rest of the room.
El’Heem: Richard.
The bass in his voice was growing.
Reht: Response
That was enough. His stump ached and so did his jaw from clenching. His eyes had shifted a roiling crimson, a sure sign that his composure had fractured, if anyone had even bothered to look at him to see it. Without another word, Ras turned on his heel and stalked toward the turbolift.
El’Heem: Deck 16.
The lift doors closed and dropped the two decks far too slowly for his liking. Richard should’ve known the protocols. The others might not, but Richard should have.
When the doors opened, Ras cut through the corridor without slowing and ignored greetings from those who hadn’t seen him all shoreleave and were probably pleased to see him out of his room. He would make amends for that. Later. Right now, however, was not the time to stop and chat. He headed straight for the science lab. He passed the main chamber and entered the biohazard containment storage room vestibule. The doors closed behind him and locked with a hiss.
El’Heem: Science Security key Romeo-Echo-Zero-Eight-Zero-Nine-Nine-Nine, authorize biohazard protocol Delta-Zed-Eighty-Eighty.
The overhead lights clicked and shifted to red as the door sealed and the room filled with a decontamination mist.
El’Heem: ::under his breath:: No time. ::louder:: Computer, override decontamination.
The mist cut off, dispersed by the vents that shot open at his command. The inner door unlocked and slid open. Ras strode to the shelves and scanned their contents until-
El’Heem: Where is it…there.
He pulled down the quantum containment kit, cradling it against his hip as he sprinted back to the waiting lift.
El’Heem: Deck 14.
The lift shot upward, bypassing Deck 15 thanks to the biohazard protocol in effect. He quickly returned to find the others still outside room 147 which now had a glowing energy field blocking the doorway. Ras fell to his knees, dropped the kit to the deck, flipped the latches, and pulled free four compact emitters.
El’Heem: Those shield emitters aren’t going to cut it Lera. They’re tuned for particle impacts and energy dispersion, not phase variance. It’s like locking a brig cell to keep in a plasma fire. Or ::pausing and looking up at them with a raised eyebrow:: locking a ghost inside a shield…
Ras stood and handed one emitter each to Richard, Charles, and Reht.
El’Heem: As Richard said, whatever’s in there resonates at a shifted quantum frequency. Standard shielding won’t contain dimensional bleed, no matter how unexpectedly strong. ::to Charles:: Per Biohazard Containment Directive Delta-Four-Alpha, I’m assuming Senior Science responsibility for this compartment. I know you outrank me, but this needs to be done now before that thing finds a way out.
Charles / Reht / Richard / Michaels: Response
El’Heem: ::to Michaels, polite but firm:: Ensign, I appreciate the assist, but you’re outside the clearance tree for phased-biohazard work. ::pausing and turning to Erzan:: So is Reht for that matter, but they’ve already been exposed, so they’re staying. You, however, need to clear the deck until Science finishes deployment.
Michaels: Response
El’Heem: That’s not a suggestion ensign. That’s an order.
Charles / Reht / Richard / Michaels: Response
El’Heem: Richard, after you place your emitter, run full diagnostics. See if the Other found its way out. Lieutenant, ::to Charles:: uhhhh, facilitate while I finish setup.
Charles / Reht / Richard: Response
El’Heem: ::waiving stump:: One hand here. If I’m multitasking, we lose time. Once the barrier’s active, re-restrict access to this compartment.
Charles / Reht / Richard: Response
Ras worked with quiet urgency and before long the emitters came online in sequence, their hum deepening as the barrier’s field stabilized.
Richard: Response
El’Heem: Good. That’s all we can do for now. The captain needs to hear about this. We’ll brief Amelia, then inform the bridge. Charles, loop Ezra in so we can get this on the docket of things that need to be exorcised from this ship. ::beat:: it should be the only thing on the list, but you’d be surprised. ::long pause:: Roth’mar M’rathyr. ::sighing:: here’s going to be so much PADDwork.
Charles / Reht / Richard: Response
El’Heem: It’s not going anywhere any time soon. Reht ::looking at the Trill and pausing:: Welcome to the Khitomer. You’re going to need to find a new room.
((OOC: Feels a bit rushed, but I discussed with the ghost busters and got their blessing to end this quickly.))
TAGS/END
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Lieutenant JG Ras El’Heem
Science Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
K240106RE3