((OOC: Usual disclaimer, opinions of the characters are not those of the writer. I sort of assumed that Kessler was heading towards a bigger display of paranoia here, but also T'Fearne might just be over-reacting to the situation.))
((Torpedo / Probe Magazine Bay, Deck 09, USS Compass Rose))
Some scuffs of footfalls and muffled suit chatter were audible for several moments early to her sharp ears, or ear, one seemed to be partially blocked, a lingering effect of the warpcore explosion.
Kel: Hello?
Sure enough, Commander Kel and Ensign Roop appeared through the hatch and made their way into the bay. Kel had mentioned he was on his way to them, and she felt a sense of relief warm her. A senior officer had arrived, one with advanced medical training and a close friend of Kessler's, to help him and stabilise the situation. She walked over where they could see her through the stacks and waved them over.
T'Fearne: Commander, Ensign. ::nodding in greeting:: Sir, I can report the torpedoes have almost all been neutralised. Captain Winters and Chief Kessler are just extracting the antimatter from the last ones now. We had to disable all the torpedoes in the process. The Rose is defenceless except for phasers, if they are even operational? We do have this crate of antimatter warheads currently in stasis containment. It could be beamed off-ship or held until repairs are possible. We were just discussing what could be done with it. An engineering opinion on the stability of containment would be appreciated, Ensign Roop.
Roop: Aye, Sir. ::beginning scanning the crate with his triPADD:: The Rose’s phaser banks are non-operational, Sir. ::glancing side-eyed at T’Fearne with the report::
She gave a small shrug, hiding her disappointment. She had hoped for some defensive capability, but considering the ship’s power and computer failures, it wasn’t likely. A fleeting, insane idea danced in her mind for an offensive weapon, but a whole lot of factors would have to line up to pull it off. For now, the Ronin was taking care of them, and she kept her notion to herself.
Kel: I was hardly going to take her into a firefight.
Winters / Kessler: response
The young security officer looked slightly abashed at her actions, even though she felt they had been necessary. Her tone softened slightly as she turned back to Kel.
T'Fearne: I did think it was necessary to disarm the Chief, sir. The ACMO advised it might come to that. The hypo seemed… the lesser of evils. ::turning, meeting Kessler’s eyes:: You seemed reluctant to entrust me with your weapons, Chief. You were aiming your phaser rifle at non-existent targets in a bay full of volatiles. It just seemed like an out-of-character risk, sir.
Winters / Kessler: response
Kel placed his med bag down and approached Kessler with a hypo.
Kel: I need to take a blood sample.
Winters / Kessler / Roop: response
Growing concerned at the Chief’s reaction, T’Fearne stepped closer, ready to intercede if necessary. Winters had said she’d done something to his weapon to render it inert, but that wouldn’t stop a highly trained and experienced TacSec officer from acting if he wanted to.
T'Fearne: Sir, please comply. We are trying to help you.
The commander seemed shocked by Kessler’s reaction.
Kel: I'm your oldest friend Jack. You know you can trust me. ::pausing:: What would Nesre say if I told her you weren't cooperating?
Winters/Kessler/Roop: Response
She watched Kessler like a hawk, and when he began to react to V’Len, she used the momentary distraction. T’Fearne swiftly drew her phaser, aiming squarely at his centre mass, her other hand discreetly palming her akai stick. She knew he probably couldn’t use it to fire, but she didn't want him to use it like a rock either. Her akai flicked out, striking at the phaser he’d tried to use, breaking his grip. She tried to control the force she used, but a small, ominous crack reached her good ear. She winced, hoping it was just sprained, but fearing she’d just accidentally broken her new boss’s wrist.
oO No, no, no! Great Fire! Oo
While Kessler was reacting to the pain, T’Fearne helped Winters hold him steady for Kel to take a sample. Knowing that if she were in his position, she would have been very angry and possibly frightened at what he must see as a betrayal. She attempted to hold him still against any attempt to lash out at his own friend and the man who was trying to save his life. His emotions, Kel’s and Michele’s, battered at her mental defences. Even with her half-Vulcan strength and Michele's experience, he was still a highly trained handful.
Kel began to scan the sample with his tricorder.
Kel: ::puzzled:: He's better off than he should be. ::moving to a pile of goo:: Shoot this ::pointing to the goo:: Lt. T'Fearne, just like you did Lt. Kessler.
T’Fearne’s eyebrow arched up as she stared down at the remains of one of the Roses crew and then back up to Commander Kel with thinly veiled incredulity. He wanted her to desecrate the remains of a Starfleet officer? But he had said it like he had an idea, and if it was something to help Kessler, she would do what she could. Though she still didn’t really understand what he wanted. Before, she had hit Kessler in the neck with a sedative-filled hypo from the med kit.
oO Does he want me to repeat what I did or shoot the remains on a stun setting? Oo
T'Fearne: ::giving Kel side-eye:: We didn’t use phasers in the bay at all until the active torpedoes had been neutralised. A stray shot of energy could have been enough to set off even one torpedo, it would have created a chain reaction that imploded the ship. I hit him with a hypodermic sedative. Like this.
Nodding to Michele to see that she had the Chief secure, she couched over the remains and sprayed a sedative mist over it from the hypo. She highly doubted that he had read her previous sims ;) was what he wanted, so she aimed her phaser pistol and stunned the goo for good measure.
Winters/Kessler/Roop: Response
The Commander scanned the goo once again.
Kel: The nanomachines have been destabilized. They're reorganizing, but it takes time.
T'Fearne: Commander, regarding the molecular machines…. I’m no scientist, but if you have some now gifted from Chief Kessler, ::gesturing meaningfully at her boss:: then could you redirect the machines to become the hunters? Re-program them and send them back in to target the plague itself, then self-destruct. Create a Kessler-specific countermeasure? They seem naturally drawn to the pathogen already, correct? If so, could they seek it out and purge it from his system?
Winters/Kessler/Roop: Response
Kel: Let's get moving. We have people we need to find and assist.
He meant to stun people and/or sedate them. It was a good thing that they had already been doing that to several of the crew.
T'Fearne: ::neutrally professional: I will gladly assist with this, Commander. Stun all the crew we find for medical purposes. We should perhaps provide the Chief with another dose, as the Doctor ordered? oO And hope he doesn't remember anything about this mission. Oo, and we should also tend to these three. Ensign Roop, would you assist with this?
She returned to the three Rose crew members they had stopped from setting off fifty torpedoes, who were already sedated and cuffed with restraints. She helped check that transporter tags were secured to each. She and Roop gave them all a stun on the lowest setting, and then she assisted the ensign with organising their transport to the triage area set up in the main shuttlebay on deck 03.
Winters/Kessler/Roop: Response
[Tags / End of Act 2 for JG Lt. T’Fearne]
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Security Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
R240107T14