Ensign Alok Munshi - Same As It Ever Was
Alok Munshi
((Exterior Hull, near Shuttle Bay 5, StarBase 118))
The viewport of the Work Bee offered a jagged, claustrophobic view of the Zambezi’s underbelly. Alok’s hands were steady on the control sticks, but his mind was a battlefield. A rhythmic pulsing—mental static—beat against the back of his eyes, a cognitive fog trying to settle over his present variables.
oO Focus. ShiKahr baseline frequency. One-one-eight is the current coordinate. Astraeus is a closed log. Focus. Oo
He utilized the San-v-tarak partition he’d built on Vulcan, pushing the "static" into a corner of his mind where it couldn't touch the thruster controls.
Munshi: =/\= Ensign, keep your hands away from the helm. I’ve got you. Commander McLaren, the Bee is in position. I am attempting to stabilize the Zambezi before the hull integrity drops below the safety threshold. I suspect we’re going to need a second Bee and an EVA team for the extraction. =/\=
McLaren: =/\= Already ahead of you, Ensign. Look up. =/\=
sh'Sonora: =/\= mmmm yeah… no problem. Hands off the controls. Gotcha, ummm… Mister and Missus Starfleet? =/\=
Alok tilted the Bee’s nose up slightly. Floating against the backdrop of the stars, a lone figure in an EVA suit was positioned directly in front of the runabout’s cockpit. Lt. Commander Solaris McLaren. The boss was already in the vacuum, a fixed point of command in the chaos.
oO Visual confirmation. A fixed point. Oo
The sight of the Commander in the void acted like a physical anchor for his thoughts. In a station where identities were drifting like unmoored shuttles, her presence was a data point he could verify.
oO Fact: Commander McLaren is on EVA. Fact: I am in the Bee. Oo
The static in his head receded just a fraction.
Munshi: =/\= Acknowledged, Commander. I have visual. I’m moving the Bee into a primary clamping position on the ventral structural ribs. I’ll provide the counter-torque; can you keep an eye on those duranium welds. They’re popping like kinetic rounds. =/\=
McLaren: =/\= They’re already prepping another workbee now... but it'll probably take a few minutes. =/\=
sh'Sonora: Good, because this is…. ::She holds back a sniff.:: I’m scared.
Alok winced as the mental static flared. He felt a phantom memory of Mumbai—the smell of rain—trying to overwrite the smell of the Bee’s recycled air. He clamped down on the logic. Fact: You are in a vacuum. Fact: The pilot is regressing. Fact: If you drift, she dies.He eased the Bee forward. The manipulator arms extended, the magnetic pads locking onto the runabout with a jar that vibrated through Alok’s seat. Metal groaned against metal—duranium meeting duranium.
McLaren: =/\= How are you doing Ensign sh'Sonora? =/\=
sh'Sonora: =/\= Missus Starfleet Officer ma’am, how much trouble am I in? =/\=
oO Only minutes ago, she was an officer discussing 'redundancy.' Now, we are ghosts to her. If I allow the 'emotion' of her loss to breach my partition, I will lose the frequency. Stay clinical. Stay technical. Thakaya Oo
McLaren: =/\= What is the last thing you do remember? =/\=
sh'Sonora: =/\= Missus Starfleet Officer ma’am, I just left my afternoon classes at the Courtesan’s Academy to take my first solo flight and I sort of… ended up here. I swear I wasn’t flying anywhere near a Starfleet facility! Look, I’m really sorry, I don’t know how I got here! =/\=
McLaren: =/\= Ok, ok, Mi'shune. Once the other work bee gets here we'll get the runabout extracted and get you safely back aboard the station... then try and figure out what happened. =/\=
sh'Sonora: =/\= Yes please. Missus Starfleet Officer ma’am… you’re going to tell my parents, aren’t you? =/\=
McLaren: Response?
oO Logic dictates to treat her like a damaged sensor array: provide the input she needs to remain stable, but do not integrate with the feedback loop. Her 'scared' tone is an environmental variable I have to compensate for, nothing more. It’s a little harder now. Thakaya… Oo
Munshi: =/\= No, Ensign. There are too many unresolved variables for a status report. For now, I need you to focus on the internal environment of your cabin. Is your oxygen mix stable? =/\=
sh’Sonora: =/\= Ummm… Starfleet? This isn’t Andoria. Where am I? =/\=
oO FOCUS! STARBASE 118! WORK BEE! SAVE COMARADE! HULL DAMAGE! Oo
Munshi: =/\= You are at StarBase 118, a large spacedock complex located on the border between the Trinity Sector and the Serellan Sector at coordinates 20-08-10 =/\=
He spoke the numbers with a rhythmic intensity. To Alok, coordinates weren't just navigation; they were reality. If he could define where they were in the three-dimensional grid of the universe, he could keep his mind from slipping into the 'where' of his past.
oO 20-08-10. This is the now. Thakaya Oo
McLaren: Response?
sh’Sonora: =/\= I’M IN THE WHAT SECTOR?! =/\=
sh’Sonora: =/\= ::hiccuped:: At least I’ll have an excuse for why I’ll be late for class. =/\=
oO Ensign sh’Sonora is not in control of her mind right now. It seems she too is suffering from a memory fog I am starting to experience, this is not good… not good at all…. Oo
Munshi: =/\= Class has been... rescheduled. Your only requirement right now is to remain stationary. =/\=
McLaren: Response?
sh’Sonora: =/\= You’re not mad at me, are you? I mean, I broke your space station and your runabout, but I honest to the gods don't remember how I got here! =/\=
oO That’s right! Focus! Keep talking! Astraeus, past! Present coordinates: Starbase 118… Sokar…..Oo
Munshi: ::voice softening, despite the technical strain:: =/\= No one is mad, Ensign. We’re just performing a standard system recovery. Keep your hands away from the helm. I’ve got you. =/\=
He checked his HUD. The torque was peaking. The Zambezi wanted to lurch to port, to grind deeper into the "gash" McLaren had identified earlier. Alok applied a steady, 15% burst to the Bee’s starboard RCS.
Munshi: =/\= Commander McLaren, I have a firm clamp on the ventral ribs. Counter-thrust is engaged. I'm holding her steady, but the structural resonance is climbing. How are those seals looking from your side? =/\=
sh’Sonora: =/\= Is anybody hurt? I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, really! Oh gods, this is heavy. =/\=
McLaren: Response?
Alok watched McLaren through the viewport, then shifted his gaze to the panicked Andorian in the cockpit. The mental static was louder now, a high-pitched whine of "unresolved variables," but his Vulcan training held. He was the anchor.
Munshi: =/\= We are holding, Ensign. Just stay with us. =/\=
oO Cthia….. Kaihdt… Thakaya…Oo
McLaren / sh'Sonora / Any: Response?
TAG / TBC
OOC: Tried my best to include all tags and maintain the storyline. Sorry, if I omitted any tag or dialog, feel free to edit in your next sim.
P.S.: > Alok is utilizing a human-adapted version of the Vulcan mental discipline San-v-tarak (Thought Partitioning).
"Cthia" (Reality-Truth): Guided logic based on objective reality.
"Kaihdt" (What is, is): Acceptance of current variables over emotional reaction.
"Thakaya": A meditative focus used to filter mental noise.
Sokar: Just an old friend of Alok’s on Vulcan.
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Ensign
Alok Munshi
Engineering Officer
StarBase 118 Ops
A240204AM1