Ensign Delphina Wren- Phasers and Radiation probably don't mix
Grace McDermott
((Reactor Room, The Lid, Moon Sigma in orbit of Gas Giant A, Ross 580 System))
Wren: It’s a bit of a stretch, but that looks like the core at the bottom of the pit. If it’s stable, we might be able to warp it directly into a star. It’ll ignite, and burn up.
Shortrith: What impact will that have on the sector? ::To Rurat'dari:: We're here to help. Two of your colleagues have already likely passed on.
Delphina hadn’t thought about that, but there had to be some way to get rid of the….problem. It was getting harder and harder for her to pretend the Jem’Hadar wasn’t there, and it took all she had to just continue sorting through the pile of irradiated garbage. As she went through the parts, she could see that it was…. Well, professionally speaking it was kind of slap-dash. It looked like someone had found half of this equipment in a junkyard. It wasn’t just the age, it was the make and model too. The memory bank she was currently holding had been out of production for almost fifty years. oO No wonder this place came apart. Sure, everything’s built to last, but something this huge is asking a lot of these parts. And that’s assuming they were top of the line when the project started…Oo
Rurat'dari: So what? The investors don't care.
O’Connor: Maybe they don’t …but we do. No one else needs to die here.
T’Fearne: Response
Investors? Delphina straightened up, not making eye contact with the Jem’Hadar as she held up the memory bank piece.
Wren: oO You have to talk to her. Maybe she doesn’t know how bad it is? It doesn’t matter that you’re uncomfortable, you’re not about to let someone die just because they’re spooky Oo ::tersely:: You’re working with spare parts here, ma’am. Even if they’re containing the radiation for now, whatever your ‘investors’ provided you with isn’t even remotely prepared to take care of this…
Shortrith: The radiation levels are way too high to be safe - what are you even trying to do here?
Rurat'dari: We're… experimenting.
O’Connor: Yeah, well, ::gestures at the hole in the roof and the pit in the floor:: good job.
T’Fearne: Response
Shortrith: You have to leave. You're going to die if you stay here.
Rurat'dari: No. I'm not leaving. I'm making too much progress.
Delphina could feel everyone’s frustration mounting, tangling with her own anxiety in a mess that she didn’t have time to sort through right now. Her eyes roved the room desperately, trying to see if there was anything intact. Anything they could- oO There. There’s a monitor over there that’s still running, if I can connect to it… Oo
O’Connor: Oh, for the love of::sighs, catching himself:: C'mon. Experiments over.
Wren: ::clutching her tricorder to her chest:: If…. you give me a minute I can transport your data to our ship from that monitor. It won’t be all of it, but once we’ve looked it over you would still have it.
T’Fearne/Rurat'dari: Response
Shortrith: Are your supervisors the Lattice Alliance?
The tension in the room reached a tipping point, and Wren frowned, confused oO Is the Dominion working with the Lattice alliance now? Or is this more of a mercenary position?.... Maybe I could… Oo Cautiously, Delphina tried to use her telepathy to push through, to find out, but she was met with a mental barrier that felt like shoving her hands into a thornbush, and she quickly pulled back.
Rurat'dari: What does it matter to you?
O’Connor: ::glares:: I like to know what we’re dealing with and also it may help us to contain the mess you’ve unleashed.
Wren: ::surreptitiously plugging her PADD into the monitor, hoping she goes unnoticed::..... ::very quietly::... okay… hello there, beautiful, let’s see what we’re working with here….
T’Fearne: Response
Shortrith: Let's just say we were almost attacked by some Tholians.
Rurat'dari: Can neither confirm nor deny.
O’Connor: Cute.
Delphina bypassed the security system waiting for her, a little surprised that it was still operating. One would think that being in a room full of deadly radiation would be enough to shut down the security procedures.
T’Fearne: Response
Rurat'dari: Look, if it matters to you that much, just leave. I don't care whether I'm going to die, I've come this far. I'm finishing this project.
O’Connor: I’m thinking that it’s quite the opposite. This project is finishing you.
Shortrith/T’Fearne:Response
Wren: ::glancing up in surprise to hear she’s hurt:: oO Oh, that looks…. Bad…. By the four. Doesn’t she feel it? I-oh, the download is ending. Oo
Rurat'dari glanced at her arm, noticing some swelling and infections.
Rurat'dari: So what? It'll go away eventually.
O’Connor: So will life.
Wren: ::unplugging her PADD, shuffling back, and sneaking it to Shortrith:: There’s no reason to stay here. If the core becomes unstable again, it could destroy everything in the room, including your data. The radiation in this room is already unstable, we don’t know what will happen if something ignites it.
Shortrith/T’Fearne: Response
Rurat'dari: No. This is too fascinating to leave.
oO I am so glad I never had to do an oath to do no harm, because I swear- No. No, that’s not helpful. You’re being negative… Oo
O’Connor: I don’t know if fascinating is the word I’d use. I doubt your de-aged or dead colleagues would think it's fascinating.
Wren: We’ve managed to save the de-aged ones we’ve found thus far. Maybe you could help us find a way to undo what happened using your research? ::awkwardly glances in the direction of T’Fearne and O’Connor, before looking away so it doesn’t look like that’s her sole concern::
Shortrith/T’Fearne/Rurat'dari: Response
O’Connor: Look, we don’t have time for this. There are others we still need to try to help and I can’t let you stay here and continue your “fascinating experiment” My patience has reached its limit here. :: levels his phaser:: Preferably, you can come willingly…or if you want to be difficult…I can stun you and drag your unconscious form along with us.
oO Wait, he’s going to what? Oo
Wren: Wait, the rad-
Shortrith/T’Fearne/Rurat'dari: Response
O’Connor: Yeah, okay I get it…the hard way then.
Delphina flinched as O’Connor pulled out his phaser, feeling the energy in the room spike again. The room was currently flooded with radiation. She didn’t know if a phaser would ignite it, and she'd given her PADD to Shortrith, which would have at least given her a hint. However, as he tried to fire, nothing happened.
O’Connor: What the… ::Smacks side of phaser and tries again::
oO I don’t know who’s watching over us…. But thank you for that. Oo
Shortrith/T’Fearne/Rurat'dari: Response
He frowned at his phaser and shook it trying to fire yet again.
Wren: ::quietly and awkwardly:: Sir, please be careful. We’re in a room filled with radioactive energy, and I don't know if weapons fire could ignite it….
O’Connor: Radiation or maybe the containment field must be…
Delphina was about to speak again, when she heard a sound that could best be described as the sound of glass rubbing against sand. She paused, curiosity overcoming her as she turned, eyes widening as she saw Tholians. Fully grown.
Wren: Oh, that’s-
She didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence before one of them erupted into a flurry of furious clicks and squeaks, rearing up, front legs raised. oO Oh, god they’re going to attack and I still don’t know if the room’s clear. Oo Then a slightly worse thought occurred to her oO Oh god, they’re going to attack and our security officer is currently a teenager Oo
Shortrith/T’Fearne/Rurat'dari: Response
For a split second, Delphina’s mind went completely blank as she looked at the two creatures in front of them. Aside from the little shrimp that they’d met earlier, she’d never seen a Tholian up close before, and the holographic images she’d seen at the academy hadn’t done them justice. They were terrifying up close, but there was something about the crystalline structure surrounding them that was almost beautiful in its own way.
But that beauty was pretty inconsequential as they rushed the room. Instinctively, Delphina jerked to the side, getting tangled with T’Fearne in the process, and they both went down behind a small pile of wreckage.
Wren: Sorry, I’m sorry! I- are you okay?
Shortrith/T’Fearne/Rurat'dari/O’Connor: Response
Wren: I don’t know what’s stalling the weapons, but I have to make sure it’s safe to even fire them before I get started on that. I need to get back to the monitor, my PADD is with Shortrith
Shortrith/T’Fearne/Rurat'dari/O’Connor: Response
Wren: Hang on, I know a trick, it’ll give us a couple seconds. ::pulling out a tricorder from her bag, fiddling with it a little:: Okay. Cover your ears and count to five oO Sorry Shortrith and O’Connor Oo
She poked her head up above the pile of garbage, throwing the tricorder in the direction of the Tholians. The second it hit the floor, a high-pitched beep exploded out of it, loud enough for Delphina to hear through the suit and her hands.
Shortrith/T’Fearne/Rurat'dari/O’Connor: Response
TBC/Tags