[sb118-ronin] Ensign Kai Sims - Week of Hell
Lucas Jones
Ensign Sims muttered quietly under his breath as the lighting continued to flicker. Usually emergency lighting would kick in, but Sims knew from his brief time on the Ronin not to take anything for granted. Well. He was beginning to take pieces of the ship suddenly falling apart and imploding around him for granted. He had just arrived from the academy a few short weeks ago after being posted to the Ronin, and he didn’t even have time to get settled into his quarters or meet his department head (or anyone else for that matter) before all hell had let loose and things had started exploding around him and the ship had started tearing itself apart.
He found it ironic that he had been the only one in relative safety during his training exam – running sensor sweeps from the bridge on the Centris, while the other cadets were wandering through a destroyed outpost infested by some genetically engineered monster that had slaughtered the entire crew. And now, here he was. Walking through the debris-clogged ruin formerly known as deck six with nothing but his grime covered uniform, his engineering kit, and a flashlight. Okay, maybe the flashlight was not exactly necessary – the lighting was still currently working on deck six – but he had been working on repairs down on deck five earlier when the lighting had suddenly gone out, and he had been fairly certain he was going to die down there after stumbling into, over, and against several pieces of debris, including a particularly sharp and pointy protrusion.
Continuing down the corridor, Sims dove to the ground as one of the electrical panels in front of him exploded and showered fiery embers and metal fragments in the immediate area. Seconds later, the flickering ended as the lighting completely died out. Rising to his feet, Sims ran a hand through his thick hair to remove any embers before pulling out his flashlight and illuminating the path ahead. Although he usually tried to keep his hair cut short, the stress of the last few weeks had allowed his hair to grow thicker than normal, and his usually clean-shaven face was now host to a thin but shaggy beard.
Absentmindedly running his hand over his now-aching old scar, Sims began to wonder if there was a reason there were so many positions in engineering open on the Ronin.
oO Either there was a sudden wave of people wanting off the ship or… oO
Sims snapped back to reality as he stopped in front of the turbolift doors and summoned the turbolift. He had considered taking the Jefferies tubes up to the bridge instead but decided he really did not want to be climbing if the ship started shaking again. Moments later the turbolift arrived but the doors stayed sealed requiring Sims to manually force them open. Stepping inside the dimly lit turbolift, he requested to go to the bridge and was whisked away – or that was the plan at least. As is, he had to ask several more times before the turbolift finally started to move.
Stepping out of the turbolift and onto the bridge, deck six was suddenly a whole lot more appealing. Sims eyes took in the shattered remnants of exploded consoles, burst conduits, and a thin haze of smoke that covered the room and made breathing more difficult. Looking toward the somehow still intact viewscreen, Sims saw the remains of several destroyed starships larger than he had ever seen before burning brightly in the darkness of space.
A nod from one of the individuals – the ship’s captain, if he
remembered right, caught Sims attention as yet another piece of the ship fell
to the floor. Although Sims had no medical experience even he was fairly certain the captain needed immediate medical attention.
Niac: Good of you to join us, Ensign Sims. I regret your first visit to
the bridge is...less than auspicious. I'm sure Chief Tucker is waiting
for your damage report. He's the Lieutenant over there who looks like his
uniform might be smoldering. And that slightly overcooked tactical
officer is Lt. Cmdr. Carpenter but you may want to give her some space, she's
angry enough to climb onto the hull with a hand phaser at this point. Not
that I blame her. What's the situation below?
Tucker/Carpenter: Response
Sims glanced at each of the bridge officers as the captain introduced them and gave an acknowledging nod. It seemed like an improper time for a friendly greeting with the ship literally falling apart around them.
Sims: Damage to deck six is worse than originally thought, sir. Main power just went down a few moments ago following a power surge, and It’s going to take quite a bit of time to make repairs with all the debris that will need to be cleared out first. Both evacuation transporter rooms and one of the force field generators went down along with the power to that deck.
Carpenter/Niac/Tucker: Response
Sims: Damage to the damage control center is a bit more substantial unfortunately. An EPS panel blew and started a plasma fire. The room was sealed off, and the fire should be contained, but no one can assess the damage to the room itself with the levels of plasma radiation in there.
Carpenter/Niac/Tucker: Response
Sims: No sir. At least..not from what I saw from the upper level of the shuttlebay.
Tucker: Response