Ensign Xilva Marsek - Just Worry About Them!

[Xilva Marsek]

((Cosmozoan Care Facility, The Reef))

((ooc: Lots of handwavy science/translation to hopefully help draw this to a close. Apologies for the hurried writing!))


Marsek: Oh Prophets...some of them are still alive!


The knot in Xilva's stomach twisted further, and she paled as the notifications blinked, oblivious. Alive. Unconscious. Stasis. 

oO I know exactly who did this, too. What happened. It has to be... Oo


Cerisor: Alright, Marsek. We need to figure out which ones are still alive. Commander, Lieutenant, is it possible for you two to get down on that deck? ::He unslung his medical kit and held it out:: Once you're down there, Marsek and I can tell you which ones are still kicking. If this console has any information on how to treat them, we can relay that to you through our commbadges.


Raga: Can do. ::he studied his tricorder:: I think there’s a stairwell nearby but from the looks of these readings it's in the section that’s completely dead. I don’t know how traversable it’ll be.


Morgan: I did bring a couple portable power cells, though I’m pretty sure trying to tie them into these systems. But we have them if we need them.

Xilva stared as the other two hurried downstairs - while she was glad that the others realized the seriousness of the situation, she also felt a strong sense of foreboding as the pair headed towards the stairs. At least it wasn't her - but instead she was stuck with worse. Who wanted to be around an overeager young doctor?

It was definitely not her.

Raga: I’m not sure how easy these are going to be to descend. Looks like part of the stairwell has collapsed.


Morgan: We’ll just have to be extra careful then.

Xilva's thoughts were interrupted by the far too eager doctor - while personally, she would be focusing on the cosmozoans, he seemed to be far more interested in his pretend Bajoran patient.

Cerisor: Listen, Marsek. I don't know what you've been through. You're clearly having a response to something. But right here and now, I'm here with you. Those cosmozoans need us. You and me need to figure out which of these cosmozoans are alive, and what we can do for them. I'll handle communicating with the others, alright? You just focus and talk me through what you're seeing. How can we identify them?

Marsek: ::flat:: Don't even start with the 'I'm here' talk. The only thing I care about right now is the truth. ::scrolls through the console again and checks her pad:: There are six alive, it looks like. They're the furthest from the door, according to the monitor. Their tube numbers are quite high.

Cerisor: ::nodding to Marsek and pressing his commbadge:: =/\= Commander. We are seeing six living cosmozoans. They seem to be grouped together, furthest away from the door. Can you see them? =/\=

Raga: =/\= Understood. For clarification is that furthest from the door we just came through or the hangar door? =/\=

Rache used her tricorder to see if she could get their bearings.

Morgan: It looks like from us, Commander. I could send my marbles up to check it out.

Marsek: Good, they're headed to the right ones. If we're lucky, we aren't too late.

Cerisor: Marsek, can you see anything about their status in particular? Any idea? I need to know how we can get them conscious.

Xilva's flatness took effect again as she scrolled through her endless symbols and wobbly translations to see just what was happening with the struggling animals. Unfortunately, with a quick glance at the cylinder behind her and another at her PADD, her suspicions were confirmed.

oO They probably tried to kill them because they weren't perfect. Disgusting. Oo

Marsek: ::quiet:: Something went wrong with their tubes - well, right. The cosmozoans were fed some sort of chemical combination to kill them. For some reason, their tubes were either twisted or blocked in some way that only kept them in a stasis rather than killing them with the full combination. 

She continued watching while Cerisor seemed to consider the situation

Raga: =/\= Raga to Cerisor. We’ve found them. What do you need us to do? =/\=


Morgan: I..I just don’t get it, what happened here? A extinction level event? Or damn near it. : :she put her hands on her hips::

Cerisor: =/\= Commander, Lieutenant. You need to remove the tubes from the cosmozoans. Whatever happened to the station didn't seem to get all the way through to their tubes, so it was keeping them in stasis. It's almost like they're in an induced coma. We need to remove them from it and purge whatever they're getting loaded with out of their system. =/\=

Xilva forced herself to look through the window again to see Morgan and her devices moving through the sea of bodies to the ones still alive. They were all different shapes and sizes, different species, she thought. None of them looked to be the same as Narhelion, but she had been very wrong before - and she hoped she was wrong now.

Raga: =/\= Copy that, doc. That may be easier said than done. One of these lovelies is half the size of the Ronin. We may have to find some controls to remove the tubes from it. See if you can find anything. The icon should look like two circles with a wavy line that extends away from them. =/\= ::he turned to Rachel:: Alright, start with the little ones. I’ll handle the larger ones since those look bulkier and we’ll meet in the middle.

Morgan: =/\= Ensign Marsek, my drones are transmitting data on those tanks of goo now—or whatever that gel-like substance is. Can you help clarify what we’re looking at inside them? =/\=

Without another word, Xilva moved to the engineering console. She hadn't noticed the gel tanks before, and hopefully she could find another column on the console to figure out exactly what was in it.

Marsek: ::takes quite a while to answer while she translates:: =/\= It's an organic composition, Lieutenant. The console isn't giving me an answer to what it's made of, but I'm seeing the symbol for sleep-- =/\=

She stopped abruptly, not sure if it was a coma or something more permanent sitting in those vats.

Cerisor: Response


Raga: Morgan! The connector base needs to be rotated counterclockwise twice before you can safely remove it.

There was another rumbling coming from below of old, rusted equipment being freed for the first time in centuries. Would it work? All she could do was hope.

Morgan: =/\= Hey Ensign Marsek, I’m bringing back a physical bit of the goo for you to do your science thing, and maybe find out a lot more about it. =/\=

Her...science thing. Her 'no, I do not do science things' science thing. But just like her tour guide assignment, just like going through the door--she was outranked.

Marsek: =/\= Thank you, Lieutenant. =/\=

Cerisor: Response

Raga: =/\= This is Raga. I’ve gotten two of them tube free. What’s your status, Lieutenant? Ensigns, any luck with the umbilicals on that big one? =/\=

Morgan: =/\= Two down over here Commander. =/\=

Marsek: He needs to open them carefully. The pressure in the tubes is still high. One false move and they're both knocked out.

Cerisor: Response

Xilva winced at the noise and the sick thump of human colliding with cosmozoan. She sighed quietly - of course this would happen while she was on the Reef. 

Of course. She could never have a nice quiet day.

Raga: =/\= Well, I guess you found the controls. Is everyone alright? From what I can see, the ones we just disconnected are alright. =/\=

Morgan: ::still on her rear:: =/\= Hey, a little warning next time..please?=/\=

Marsek: ::mutters:: I would think that someone who considers themselves an engineer would know not to try to force old, heavy equipment.

Raga/Cerisor: Response

Morgan: =/\= So now what? We’ve disconnected them, but they still seem to be just hanging on. Is there anything I can do from an engineering standpoint? I could try and use the power packs I brought and maybe, I dunno ::she shrugged:: jump-start them? =/\=

Xilva did another check on the engineering console and frowned - something was missing. She had a feeling that the controls were separated, just like she had seen back in the corridor room. It seemed odd that they were so far away from each other, but she also didn't understand the logic of long-dead civilizations who created life - and deemed themselves worthy to destroy it.

Marsek: =/\= Lieutenant Morgan. Can you please check for a console? There should be one for engineering and another for medical. That should help flush the tanks. =/\=

Raga/Cerisor: Response



Morgan: Okay, I’ll see what I can do. I see a couple of consoles down here; I’ll try accessing one. Though I could use some help with translating or guessing, I’ll take either one at this point.

While she hated to admit it, the translation was in her wheelhouse.

Marsek: =/\= Engineering should be on the left side of the hangar, Lieutenant. The Caretakers tended to mirror their consoles for some reason. ::glances back at her work:: The medical is on the right side. =/\=

She decided not to suggest that Raga take that one - it was always easier when commanders thought it was their idea.

Raga/Cerisor: Response

Once things were in place, Xilva checked her translation again - and her eyes widened at what she saw.

Marsek: =/\= Please check the far right side of each console. Do you see a symbol with two circles inside each other? I believe that's purge. =/\=

Purging would be the next step. Whatever sleep chemical was in that goo would probably be harmless to them; they'd simply have to risk it for the cosmozoans. Wasn't that what they were supposed to do?

Morgan/Raga/Cerisor: Response

Marsek: ::nods and gestures for Cerisor to take the medical console:: =/\= We need to switch the tube diverters - there's another tank that I think has the waking chemical. After the diverter, then there's the release. It won't be pretty down there, but if we douse the cosmozoans, it should wake them from their stasis. Maybe this was when some of the Caretakers realized they shouldn't have tried to destroy their imperfect cosmozoans. =/\=

oO I can't keep my big mouth shut! Everyone knows how much Commander Raga well -- idolizes the Caretakers! Oo

Morgan/Raga/Cerisor: Response

Xilva grit her teeth and focused back on the work at hand.

Marsek: =/\= I can't read all of it, and my translation of what I have isn't good. But it might be our only chance. I think I know the sequence - and I can input it on your mark, Commander. =/\=

There. Perhaps with deference, false confidence, and absolutely false competence, she'd get the others out of their clearly misplaced concern. She was going to be transferring off soon, after all.


[tags/tbc]

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Ensign Xilva Marsek
Science Officer
USS Ronin NCC-34523
R240305XM1