Lt. Corey Wethern - Red Runs the River.

[Corey Wethern]

((San Francisco District – StarBase 118 Ops))

Drex: People need help, but... what we can do for them is to create a grid to localize the hypothetical source, if it exists and it’s on the station. They need doctors, but also security officers before panic spreads out.

Dr. Wethern brought out his tricorder as well and started to scan the area.

Wethern: No airborne pathogens, there is a strange vibrational frequency but it could be background.

Voss: Could just be the thunder and lightning shaking everything. I imagine these buildings weren’t constructed with hurricanes in mind...

Drex: Not hurricanes, but this is a starbase, and as far as I know, the materials used to construct anything aboard a space station can withstand far more than a planetary hurricane. ::Keeping his eyes on the people.:: Anyway, most of these people may not know when they are. Some may not even know where they are. And in the worst-case scenario... they’ll assume the worst.

Wethern: You are right they do need help but unless we get to the bottom of this we are all in trouble.

Another crash split the sky above them, so loud it felt as if the very structure of the starbase had cracked open.

Drex flinched before he could stop himself. His expression tightened instinctively, his eyes narrowing and his jaw setting as a faint crease formed between his brows.

He lifted his gaze despite the noise, studying the sky stretching impossibly far above the district. It looked so real. Clouds layered upon clouds, dark and heavy, swallowing the upper structures in shadow

Voss: ::with a sidelong look at Drex:: Kind of terrifying to think we apparently signed up for this, huh?

Drex: I haven’t sign anything I remember of ::He raised his voice to be heard over the storm::

Wethern: Anything out of the normal you guys are seeing fresh set of eyes and all that?

Voss: Well... the Constitution picked up an electromagnetic emission from their artifact, which is helpful because you can track it over a farther distance than chronometric radiation. What’s less helpful is that we’re really looking for the echo of an electromagnetic emission, especially if we’re working under the assumption that this was more-or-less a singular event and not a continuous thing. I don’t see active emissions that match the Constitution’s patterns, but... I’m not sure how to compensate for the echo. Maybe if we had the wavelength the guy on your comm badge mentioned?

Drex: We came here looking for answers, but honestly... This is just a consequences. The first help we can give these people is to stop the rain.

The Architect doubted the doctor had heard him; Wethern was already striding out into the rain, the young ensign quick to follow.

Drex drew in a slow breath, watching the sheets of water cascade from the impossible sky above the street. So be it. He had faced worse than getting wet. He stepped forward, resigning himself to being soaked to the bone. Perhaps Starfleet uniforms had some hidden waterproofing woven into their advanced fibers. It took exactly two steps into the downpour to prove they did not.

Wethern: Maybe we should go for more of a swim and see if we can find the others.

Suddenly the wind hit.

It came without warning, a violent gust that shoved against him hard enough to force his boots half a step sideways. His grip tightened instantly, shoulders squaring as he regained his balance. He saw the ensign nearly lose her PADD and reached out on reflex, though she managed to keep hold of it. The force of it stirred something old and familiar in him. Not fear, but awareness.

Voss: *Veck’a thell!* This is ridiculous!

The architect stepped closer to the nearest structure, testing the shelter it offered. The wall broke the worst of the gusts, giving him a narrower front to manage. He raised his voice over the storm.

Drex: If we want to proceed, we need to walk along the walls!

Voss: Please tell me we don’t have to go much farther!

Drex: Along the walls, it may be easier.

Corey nodded 

Wethern: At least I won't need a shower for a few weeks.

Voss: Wait, if we can’t track the wavelength of the emission, could we start looking for ferroniobium? Or at least... I mean, iron is probably everywhere, but niobium is rarer, right? Could we scan for that and narrow down the search radius?

Drex: Niobium is rarer, yes... but not rare enough on a starbase to make this simple. It’s used in structural alloys, superconductors, and shield components. If we start scanning blindly, we’ll light up half the station. ::He frowned slightly.:: Ferroniobium, though... that’s more specific. The ratio of iron to niobium would matter. If we tune the sensors to look for an anomalous concentration pattern, something inconsistent with standard construction materials, we might narrow the radius.

Wethern: Let's do it anything that can give us a lead. 

Drex dragged his soaked sleeve across his face like a makeshift windshield wiper, far less effective than he would have liked. Why are we still standing in this? He squinted through the curtain of rain, trying to make out anything beyond the shifting gray wall.

Drex: We need to get out of here! This is a base, right? ::He stomped his boot against the deck, water splashing up around it.:: Aren’t there any maintenance corridors down here?

Wethern: There should be an access conduit a bit further up which will get us closer to the other team

 Voss: ?

Drex: It’s very simple. If we don’t have to fight the water, we can cover the area much faster. ::He glanced down at his soaked boots:: Or maybe the tricorders can’t read through the floor? If they can’t, then they won’t get past the building walls either.

The Denobulan shook his head, sending rivulets of water flying from his hair, and tried to focus despite the relentless downpour.

Wethern: if we could get to a terminal we could use the internal sensors to boost the scan. 

Voss: ?

Drex’s hand clenched briefly, water dripping from the edges of his sleeves onto the street.

Drex: Why don’t you give a call to whoever can reach the weather control room and ask if they can make the sun shine?

Wethern: Until we get somewhere quieter no one can hear the comm links in this weather. 

Drex/Voss: ?

Corey frozen for a second as he saw a rivlet of red close to an alcove thet could get some shelter. Had the storm claimed the first life. The red liquid ran diluted by the storm. 

Wethern: I hope that isn't what I think that is. 

Drex/Voss: ? 

They rounded the wall and saw the disastrous sight......two cadets at a replicator overriding the overflow function with an endless supply of red slushy coming out of the machine. 

Corey felt his father channel through him and he breathed out. 

Wethern: Hey, replicators aren't toys beat it! 

Drex/Voss: ? 

The two cadets ran away giggling and soaked. 

Wethern: Looks like ages isn't a factor. 

Drex/Voss: ?

Corey shook his hair like a dog in the dry alcove. 

Wethern: We should be able to access a terminal here and also dry off a bit. 

Drex/Voss: ?

Tags/tbc

Lt Corey Wethern

Chief Medical Officer 

Starbase 118 Ops

O240007CW4