[Mission Start!] Cmdr. Karrod Niac - Out of the Frying Pan
Karrod Niac
((Administrative Center, Landing City, Grus Beta Three))
Karrod coughed again as the increasingly foul air tickled his lungs and burned his throat. He'd been in motion for nearly the last twelve hours and took a moment to duck into one of the waiting runabouts to grab himself a drink and a lungful of air that was mercifully free of toxins. Lt. Cmdr. Carpenter had become his shadow since beaming down, never more than a few meters away even while assisting the colonists onto the runabouts or loading equipment that had been marked as vital. She had quietly taken up a protective stance just outside the runabouts airlock and was offering a variety of glares to any random colonist who tried to skip the evacuation queue. When he realized he still had a few minutes before his meeting with the Colonies chief administrator he plunked down behind a console and tapped at the computer.
//Captain's Log, Stardate 240101.10
Responding to an urgent distress call from the unaligned colony on Grus Beta Three, the Ronin has been presented with a humanitarian crisis and a bizarre mystery all in one. Approximately four days ago a large and high intensity wildfire broke out on this planet's southern continent and has been making it's way steadily outwards in all directions ever since. All local attempts to contain or extinguish the blaze have failed and projections currently show the firewall will begin consuming the outer edges of the colony in a matter of days. The local government has asked for help fighting the fire and to begin evacuating civilians, efforts which have been significantly stymied by unusual atmospheric interference created by the dustclouds being kicked up by the fires. The interference is affecting transporters, communications and most of our long range sensors so I have deployed Lt. Cmdr. Alieth and her team as close to the leading edge of the fire as I can in an attempt to gather more information. With the transporters unreliable, the Ronin's flight wing has been engaged to get people off the ground while I coordinate the firefighting and evacuation efforts with colonial administration. Lt. Cmdr. Raga is presently in command of the Ronin and while he's relaying as much information as he can from orbit, our intermittent communications are making even basic tasks a challenge. While I'm confident we can get the civilians out of harm's way in time our resources are going to be stretched to the absolute limit, both here and in space.
//End Log
Rubbing sooty grime into his skin as he tried to loosen up the muscles of his neck he looked over to his protector and signaled for her to step into the runabout.
Niac: We've got a few minutes until we meet with the colonial administrator again, how are you holding up Lieutenant Commander?
Carpenter: Response
Karrod shook his head but smiled tightly. You could take an officer out of the Marines but you could never quite take the Marine out of the officer. At the moment, Karrod was glad for it.
Niac: I appreciate that but if my lungs feel like sandpaper I suspect yours do as well. Have you spoken to Doctor Kel and Ensign Beck lately? They were assigned to the colonies medical center to assist with triage when we got here and I haven't had a chance to check in with them since.
Carpenter: Response
Karrod nodded and decided to try the comm.
Niac: =/\= Niac to Kel, can you hear me? =/\=
The channel was crackling and distorted but the voice of the ships CMO carried though well enough.
Kel/Beck: =/\= Response =/\=
Niac: =/\= We've got a meeting coming up with the colony's leader, I'd like you and Doctor Beck to attend if you can pull yourselves away for a few minutes. =/\=
Kel/Beck: =/\= Response =/\=
Karrod nodded to himself, unsurprised by the answer.
Niac: =/\= I know Doctor...trying to move this many people in this little time isn't going to be easy. Consider this a well-earned break...it might be the last one you get for a while. I'll meet you two outside the administrator's office in a few minutes. Niac out. =/\=
Karrod took a few more deep breaths of the runabouts air before coming to his feet.
Niac: Alright Lt. Cmdr, lead the way. Hopefully the administrator will have some good news for us.
Carpenter: Response
Karrod's chuckle died as he stepped beyond the airlock and felt his lungs being assaulted again. Even though it was midday the light outside was growing dim and the sky had become hazy and tinged with orange and red.
Niac: Maybe they'll give us some good news just for the sake of variety.
Carpenter: Response
Tags/TBC!
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Commander Karrod Niac
Commanding Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
V239509GT0