Lt. JG T’Fearne - Razor’s Edge
Teayl Thorn
((Engineering, Deck 04, USS Compass Rose))
The engineering deck thrummed faintly with residual power, a hollowness where once the warp core had burned bright. The two-deck chamber, lit only by auxiliary systems still fighting to keep the dying ship alive.
T’Fearne: Sir, I strongly advise against using the Luster or its computer anymore, at least until someone checks it over for contamination. That transporter ‘miscalculation’ nearly killed us. If there’s a virus loose in the Rose’s systems, it might already have spread to the shuttle.
Roop seemed to be taking a moment to re-centre, putting his engineer’s mind to the problems at hand.
Kel ::taking a deep breath::: Agreed Lt. T'Fearne. We're not tying in the Luster. Is there any way to assess what systems we have working currently. You mentioned we have some time with the Gravity, SIF and IDS systems.
Nakada: Response
She listened keenly to Nakada’s comment.
T’Fearne: We need a new shuttle, not one already compromised.
She closed her eyes for a moment, just resting them and recalled that the Akira class had at least two additional T9 shuttles in her bays, the Oliphant and the Brik…the Berzerk? Something else. The names didn’t matter—what mattered was getting one here intact.
T’Fearne: Have Ronin auto-pilot the Oliphant over, I think it may be even older than the Luster, probably more compatible with the Oberth class systems. And either I or Kessler, or Decon have to go to the Torpedo bay. Someone with ordinance handling training has to manually deactivate these. Or we beam them a safe distance away now…or detach the outrigger…leave the Roses’ weapons and most of its fuel storage behind…
She gestured below, to the outrigger, its curved hold full of activated, deadly, explosive torpedoes.
Roop: We could use the Life Support’s intruder neural gas on the outrigger decks to put a stop to the crew from annihilating themselves. It would be equal to a stun, but save them. ::briefly looking to Keneth:: Or, we can beam to the Deflector array in front of the Torpedo room. I can reverse the subspace field coils and set up a graviton mirror with an antiphase signal on a tight beam. We then use the distortion amplifiers to emit a whopping EM pulse in that beam, which will feed back on itself and render every electronic device in the aft Torpedo compartment useless, including the torpedoes. As well as anything electronic to stern for a hundred kilometres.
Under other circumstances, she would agree with both of those suggestions, but here, with the Rose’s crew in the condition they were and with what little was left on the ship that still worked, both the gas and the EMP seemed like a last resort. They weren’t quite there yet.
Kel: The outrigger stays, there's no way around that. We can beam the torpedoes away or we can beam to the torpedoes and disarm them. Thoughts?
Nakada: Response
She braced herself, hand brushing the phaser on her hip, an unconscious gesture of reassurance.
T’Fearne: It’s your call, Commander. But unless we can come up with an alternative to how to get rid of them, I’ll volunteer to go.
If Roop needed backup, then she would provide that also. Time was of the essence, and the ship seemed to be falling apart quicker than they could patch the holes.
Roop: ::agreeing with T’Fearne:: Sir, the Rose will kill itself if we don’t stop this cascade of suicides, and everyone will die when they set those torpedoes off.
The air in the room grew still, even with the injured ship groaning around them.
Kel: Alright. Nakada, Roop. Contact the Ronin's flight control center and ask them to send the Oliphant over ASAP ::hitting his combadge:: =/\= Kel to Syrex. =/\=
Nakada: Response
Syrex/Deacon/Kessler/Om-Zora: =/\= Response =/\=
Kel: =/\= We have active torpedoes in the outrigger. I need Deacon or Kessler to meet T'Fearna there to disarm them. We can use the Luster's transporters. =/\=
T'Fearne: :: arching one slanted brow :: Sir, with respect, I’d rather not risk the Luster. I’ll climb down the maintenance shaft of the pylon to the Outrigger if I have to. :: Tapping her comm :: =/\= Chief Kessler. Sir, where should I meet you? =/\=
Nakada/Roop: Response
She couldn’t be reassured.
Syrex/Deacon/Kessler/Om-Zora: =/\= Response =/\=
Kel: =/\= Alright. Kel out. =/\= ::turning to T'Fearne:: Be careful and check in with me every 15 minutes.
T'Fearne: Understood.
Nakada/Roop: Response
She gave the Engine Room one last sweeping glance, then backed toward the starboard passage doors.
Kel: So where the hell is my shuttle?
T'Fearne: :: over her shoulder, voice steady :: Watch your backs. I’ll return when I can. :: slipping into Vulcan :: 1Kunli tor du.
Nakada/Roop: Response
((Some Minutes Later – Jefferies Tube Outside Torpedo/Magazine Bay, Deck 09, USS Compass Rose))
She swiftly made her way starboard to the strangely archaic pylon that gave ingress to the outrigger hull. Its diagonal personnel trolley rail stretched down into shadows, an old-fashioned transit option now silent and useless. Ignoring the dead system, she swung into the Jefferies tube that ran parallel to it, beginning the long, slanted climb meters down into the gloom.
The tube was claustrophobic, its walls sweating with condensation from non-functional systems. Her boots scraped against the narrow rungs as she descended, the ship groaning faintly all around her, as though resenting her presence. Distant clangs echoed like phantom footsteps, disorienting in the dark.
Halfway down, the comm crackled alive with static, a broken voice stabbing through the silence.
Holley: ::Still delirious, and suddenly feeling an indescribable pain:: =/\= Captain Holley. Anyone anyone. Make it stop. Make it stop! =/\=
The voice on the comm sounded broken and very young, another member of the Rose’s crew needing help. The plea clawed at her focus, but she pressed on. The torpedoes came first. Without neutralising them, there would be no one left to save.
She dropped into the junction outside the Magazine Bay on Deck 09, landing lightly in a crouch, tricorder and phaser already sweeping the corridor. A familiar comm signature registered ahead. A figure was waiting at the crossway.
She approached, gave a brief hand gesture of greeting to Kessler.
T’Fearne: :: quietly, earnest :: Sir… how are you holding up?
She scanned his face, keeping the internal wince at the clumsiness of the question off her face. She knew it was not helpful and only served to remind him of his situation, but she couldn’t help asking.
Kessler: Response
She swallowed, throat dry, and nodded.
T’Fearne: I’m detecting three lifeforms clearly, and fifty active torpedo signatures. How do you want to handle this?
Kessler: Response
Her hands brushed the T2 phasers holstered at her thighs, then fell away reluctantly.
T’Fearne: Agreed. We should probably do this quietly and stealthily, not shock and awe. One stray energy bolt, even a stun beam in the wrong place, could be enough to set things off.
Kessler: Response
T’Fearne drew a slender cylinder from her pocket. A flick of her wrist extended it into a telescoping baton of matt black alloy. The soft “snick” as the akai stick locked into place was swallowed by the oppressive silence of the corridor. Letting the baton rest at her side, its familiar weight a comfort.
T’Fearne: Then low-tech it is.
Kessler: Response
She let herself breathe into the moment. A surge of calm washed through her, from her own discipline or perhaps something steadying flowing from Kessler’s presence. Either way, it centred her.
For the first time since boarding the Rose, she felt clarity. This was the razor’s edge she had trained for and, in some ways, exactly what she was meant for.
[Tags / TBC]
((OOC: 1Kunli tor du - Vulcan - Luck to you! ))
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Security Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
R240107T14