Mission 4: Behind the Mask

Bridge

Andrew Sheridan wondered if it had worked, but there was no time to think about it now.

"Lower the shields...make it seem as if they had just fizzled out.  Keep weapons on standby, but I want those shields back up if their weapons so much blink in our direction," Andrew stated before he took a breath.  Time was still not on their side, but he needed to think.

=/\= Apologies, Captain.  I had to deal with something rather quickly.  I believe I have given us some time up here against the President, but I suspect that with us supposedly out of the way...you all may be in more danger. =/\= Andrew paused when he heard something come through the channel that didn't sound good. =/\= Captain? Security detail on standby. Recalling all personnel. =/\= Andrew stated over the comm to his CO.  

That said, the young Ops officer nodded for the signal to be given to recall all personnel, and Mr. Keldar swiftly acted upon that signal.

Planet Surface

Every Starfleet officer's comm badge beeped, and the following signal came in to those not directly attached to the Captain's team with Ensign Kellek:

=/\= All personnel to return immediately. Condition Red...all hands return immediately. =/\=

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

The communication from Lieutenant Sheridan back on the Phoenix had Archangel worried.  Why was the president attacking the ship?  The only reason that she could come up with would be that they were hiding something.  Well, they were.  You're standing in it.

Setting her jaw, she turned to the rest of the away team.  "I'm calling this scouting session short, ladies and gentlemen.  Everyone, back to the surface.". Tapping her commbadge, she went to call the ship.

"T'Koris to Phoenix, we're heading back to the surface, prepare to-"

Her communication was cut short as she heard something outside.  Far too close for comfort, a couple of explosions sounded, followed by the rumble of falling stone.

[Undercity]

Just what the hell is it, Gabriel thought, as Archangel sprang to action and the commlinks crackled with life, with us and problems in *caves*? If they lived through this, he'd never suggest going spelunking again. Ever.

"Cave-in," he said, doing a quick assessment of the condition of everyone in their little party. Especially his wife, though he'd never let her know that. "Stick close, people! We still have the backup of a Nebula-class starship. Rescue ain't an 'if', it's a 'when'! We should check and see if any of these poor people got hurt," he said to Archangel, and then back to Rellek. "Julia, did you see where Hope went?"

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

=/\= All personnel to return immediately. Condition Red...all hands return immediately. =/\=

[Planetside]

Chira's eyebrows raised sharply as the call from the ship came over her and Zero's commlinks. It appeared as if their little foray into human interaction was going to be cut short...but, why? "Red alert? God, even on shore leave," she said, standing up and trying to act casual about it.

All that ended, however, when she sighted two very officious-looking men in flak helmets, both of them scanning the area. If the call from Sheridan hadn't been enough to let them know that something was wrong, the looks on their faces would. "Zero. We need to get the hell out of here, and fast." She firmly grabbed hold of the Augment's upper arm. "This way," she said, their pace steady but still calm.

Chira Abols wrote:

[Planetside]

Chira's eyebrows raised sharply as the call from the ship came over her and Zero's commlinks. It appeared as if their little foray into human interaction was going to be cut short...but, why? "Red alert? God, even on shore leave," she said, standing up and trying to act casual about it.

All that ended, however, when she sighted two very officious-looking men in flak helmets, both of them scanning the area. If the call from Sheridan hadn't been enough to let them know that something was wrong, the looks on their faces would. "Zero. We need to get the hell out of here, and fast." She firmly grabbed hold of the Augment's upper arm. "This way," she said, their pace steady but still calm.

[Planetside - Cabana]

Zero was very quickly aware of the security personnel scanning the happy bar patrons, seeminly on the lookout for particular people. Security officers tended to to have a look about them that was universal across all planets, and this group wasn't even trying to hide the fact. She swallowed hard, tamping down on an element of fear that threatened to creep over her, sliding off her barstool and following Chira's lead.

"What have we done in error?" She asked, confused when her mental scan of everything that they had done on the surface yielded no answers.

[Planetside]

Jiseth had handed her commbadge to one of the curious women interested in the device. Unfortunately, it shot from her startled hands when the message from Sheridan came through and after hopping from another's head and several times along the pavement. The Romulan was in midair when the mischievous star-shape cartwheeled into a sewer drain.

Suddenly she found herself surrounded by her sponsors or captors or whoever they were. Overly chatty and infuriatingly friendly. At least her hood was down to conceal her face and the green flush in her face of embarrassment. Jiseth found herself pulled up off the ground from behind as a slight hush came over everyone.

Back on her feet, a figure moved around and bent down over the opening in the pavement. He was clad in a light body armor and held a flashlight to peer into the darkness below. Slowly a few of the group began to move near him and see as well.

"Well, I don't see anything. Whatever it was, probably don't want it back now."

With that he stood and resumed walking in the opposite direction. Jiseth held her breath however. There was a temptation to ask for assistance. Some how get back to the ship, but what could she do? She still had yet to be reinstated and there was nothing to warrant any concern where she was. The decision was made for her when the short man with spectacles pulled at her sleeve.

"Better get going. Something's up with him."

"What do you mean?"

"That officer patrols this block. He usually sticks around and talks to people, but he's off to look for something. Or someone."

"I don't suppose you know of a place I could stay?"

"With us of course!"

"H-how big is your place? You seem to have quite the extended family-"

"We all live next to our workshop. It's the family business. Name's Ginohem by the way."

"Jiseth."

"Right this way then! You're one of the family now!"

Though among a safe group, Jiseth felt suddenly uneasy. Luckily, she decided not to wear her Starfleet uniform, but that there were other concerns. Communication for one. All she had on her was her personal cloaking device, tricorder and disruptor. The latter was a habit that Starfleet had not yet broke at least when she was out of uniform. She felt naked without it.

When they reached the large residence building attached to the even larger warehouse, there was somewhat of a sigh of relief after she had gotten inside and felt it was alright to remove her hood. People bustled around her and soon she was escorted to one of the living rooms and offered refreshments so long as she provided tales of the stars beyond. Jiseth suddenly found herself in a strange mood. One unfamiliar in recent months. Happy.

Gabriel Arthur wrote:

[Undercity]

Just what the hell is it, Gabriel thought, as Archangel sprang to action and the commlinks crackled with life, with us and problems in *caves*?  If they lived through this, he'd never suggest going spelunking again.  Ever.

"Cave-in," he said, doing a quick assessment of the condition of everyone in their little party.  Especially his wife, though he'd never let her know that.  "Stick close, people!  We still have the backup of a Nebula-class starship.  Rescue ain't an 'if', it's a 'when'!  We should check and see if any of these poor people got hurt," he said to Archangel, and then back to Rellek.  "Julia, did you see where Hope went?"  

[Undercity]

Pardek had been mostly silent, distracted by her own judgements of the conditions that the underground people lived in. It stirred some instinctual feeling of revulsion in the Romulan's side. She absoloutely loathed how double-sided people could be. How dare this planet's president have come to the Federation with ideas of joining... all the while hiding all this?

The situation went from mild to intensely serious, however, when the cave started to shake and collapse in places. Were they going to be trapped underground? She was getting the distinct feeling that they were. "Is there a viable way out of here?" she questioned aloud. "If any of these people are severely injured, it is not much use if we cannot get out."

Gabriel Arthur wrote:

[Undercity]

Just what the hell is it, Gabriel thought, as Archangel sprang to action and the commlinks crackled with life, with us and problems in *caves*?  If they lived through this, he'd never suggest going spelunking again.  Ever.

"Cave-in," he said, doing a quick assessment of the condition of everyone in their little party.  Especially his wife, though he'd never let her know that.  "Stick close, people!  We still have the backup of a Nebula-class starship.  Rescue ain't an 'if', it's a 'when'!  We should check and see if any of these poor people got hurt," he said to Archangel, and then back to Rellek.  "Julia, did you see where Hope went?"  

[Undercity]

Seriously, what now? Julia throught to herself as the caverns shook. She then quickly turned to address Gabriel. "I'm not sure sir, She was just right here!" Panic fell over Julia's face as she began to frantically look from side to side for signs of the child. She ran outside and caught a familiar glimpse. She saw Hope sitting under an overhang about 50 meters from the group. The overhang was a attached to one of the seemingly endless run down shacks. Hope ssat clutching a pole use to support the overhang. A look of terror on her face. Her eyes closed. Julia's heart sank all over again for this poor child. Julia wanted to drop everything to find her mom but she knew, in that moment, there was nothing to do but get the hell out and sort it all out later.

Julia ran from the group over to Hope's location and extended her hand. "Honey, I know you're scared and its okay. I'm scared too. But its not safe here. We gotta get out of here. Take my hand. I promise we'll look for your mom when this is all over." And Julia wasn't lying to make the child feel better; she genuinely was afraid. She was doing her best not to show it, but federation scientists aren't accustomed to these conditions. This was all so new to her. She just focused on her work and tried to block the fear out.

[Cave-in]

"Everyone stay calm," Gabriel said, his voice flooded with more confidence than he felt at the moment. That little white lie was one of the things about command that they didn't cover in the recruitment literature. He noted that Rellek ran off by herself again. While it was understandable due to the circumstances, he'd have to have a talk with the girl about it. Something like that could get a person killed in these kind of situations. "There's likely more than one way out, no matter what Hope knows," he said, in answer to Safefta's question. "If these people have a source of water, and they'd have to, to survive...it comes from somewhere. If it's a stream or a river, it has a point of egress."

The rumbling had slowed, but not fully stopped. As much as he hated it, they should probably wait for the cave-ins to cease before venturing further. "Let's hear some options, folks."

Gabriel Arthur wrote:

[Cave-in]

"Everyone stay calm," Gabriel said, his voice flooded with more confidence than he felt at the moment.  That little white lie was one of the things about command that they didn't cover in the recruitment literature.  He noted that Rellek ran off by herself again.  While it was understandable due to the circumstances, he'd have to have a talk with the girl about it.  Something like that could get a person killed in these kind of situations.  "There's likely more than one way out, no matter what Hope knows," he said, in answer to Safefta's question.  "If these people have a source of water, and they'd have to, to survive...it comes from somewhere.  If it's a stream or a river, it has a point of egress."

The rumbling had slowed, but not fully stopped.  As much as he hated it, they should probably wait for the cave-ins to cease before venturing further.  "Let's hear some options, folks."

[Undercity - Cave-in]

Archangel ran her hands over her hair, which was starting to look as if it had gained sentience, and tried to think of what they could do. She had one ensign running off on her own, a frightened child that the ensign seemed to have almost adopted, and a cave in that had, as far as they knew, trapped them down in the bowels of the planet.

"It's likely that communications and transporter signals can't get through the rock. I'm sure Sheridan would have tried to contact us, but all I've got is static. As the commander said, we need options, and I'm open to all ideas right now. Alex, you used to be S and R. Any thoughts?"

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

Bridge

Andrew Sheridan wondered if it had worked, but there was no time to think about it now.

"Lower the shields...make it seem as if they had just fizzled out.  Keep weapons on standby, but I want those shields back up if their weapons so much blink in our direction," Andrew stated before he took a breath.  Time was still not on their side, but he needed to think.

=/\= Apologies, Captain.  I had to deal with something rather quickly.  I believe I have given us some time up here against the President, but I suspect that with us supposedly out of the way...you all may be in more danger. =/\=  Andrew paused when he heard something come through the channel that didn't sound good.  =/\= Captain?  Security detail on standby.  Recalling all personnel. =/\= Andrew stated over the comm to his CO.  

That said, the young Ops officer nodded for the signal to be given to recall all personnel, and Mr. Keldar swiftly acted upon that signal.

Planet Surface

Every Starfleet officer's comm badge beeped, and the following signal came in to those not directly attached to the Captain's team with Ensign Kellek:

=/\= All personnel to return immediately. Condition Red...all hands return immediately. =/\=

[Bridge]

Nodding his approval, Derek received an update on his display, turning to notify Sheridan. "Sir, we have two shuttles ready for launch, the runabout will be ready in 15 minutes. I'm thinking that we could use the transporters on the shuttles still onboard to start beaming people back onboard as well, it would speed up the process."

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

[Undercity - Cave-in]

Archangel ran her hands over her hair, which was starting to look as if it had gained sentience, and tried to think of what they could do.  She had one ensign running off on her own, a frightened child that the ensign seemed to have almost adopted, and a cave in that had, as far as they knew, trapped them down in the bowels of the planet.

"It's likely that communications and transporter signals can't get through the rock.  I'm sure Sheridan would have tried to contact us, but all I've got is static.  As the commander said, we need options, and I'm open to all ideas right now.  Alex, you used to be S and R.  Any thoughts?"

[Undercity - Cave-in]

"Lot's of thoughts." Alex replied, pulling out two palm lights and handing one to Archangel. Asides from the couple phasers that they had already taken out, there was only a medkit and a handful of rations left in the pack. "Not many which are useful. Generally, I'm on the other side of the rockfall. With phaser drills and the like."

Clicking on his light and shining it around the dank room which Hope had called her home, Alex frowned, eyeing the grimy blanket. "Well, we could always go back to the cave-in, see how much rubble is down. Could try and dig our way out the old fashioned way. Turn these phasers into shaped charges to help, but we don't have many of them. Best option would be to find another way out...that entrance which we came through looked like a natural rock formation, it wasn't something that the settlers made. Chances are, there are other openings like it, somewhere. If experience has taught me anything, it's that kids find things which adults walk straight past...Rellek's little friend might have the answers we need. And, maybe find out just who the hell they all are while we're at it."

Bridge

Static was all that came through after Andrew gave his report, and the sound of explosions erupted on the other side of the communication. Worried now deeply for the safety of his people down below; Andrew had to think fast.

"We need to find out what happened to the Captain's team. That is top priority. It sounded like they were under some kind of attack. Derek, I need a favor. I want you to personally go down to the bay, and take over the runabout. Then, I want you to personally lead that team to find our CO and her people. We know pretty close to where they were when we lost them. Good luck," Andrew stated, and then closed his eyes for a moment to rub the bridge of his nose from he headache he was getting.

Once that was taken care of; he had the current shuttles already on duty begin using their transporters to get people back up immediately. Of course, the ship's transporters were already hard at work. He couldn't just start a war...though he had a strong desire to just beam the President to a holding cell and end this mess. However, that would likely not have helped at all. The Federation wasn't here to make problems, but to add a member to their coalition. To continue the hostilities was foolish, and to escalate them further was against the code. So, what was there to do other than get the family home....?

Bothering the Admiralty about what was going on was not an option. He had been placed in command, and that meant making the big decisions when it counted most. Now was that time.

"We need a perimeter for the Captain's team. While Chief Black is getting the runabout finished; we need to secure the area. I want a two full Security teams to beam down to the coordinates closest exit where the the team was at. Their job is to play defense and rescue the away team. Under no uncertain terms are they to take the offense. Secure the area only, and coordinate with Chief Black," Andrew ordered Crewman Kattell, the Cardassian woman manning the Tactical console.

"Teams already on standby, Sir. Transporting them down now. Chief Deela is already nearby, and will take command of the ground teams," she answered him, and Andrew nodded...not even daring to ask how the Security Chief had managed to be so close by when it all went down.

Zero Alpha wrote:

Zero was very quickly aware of the security personnel scanning the happy bar patrons, seeminly on the lookout for particular people.  Security officers tended to to have a look about them that was universal across all planets, and this group wasn't even trying to hide the fact.  She swallowed hard, tamping down on an element of fear that threatened to creep over her, sliding off her barstool and following Chira's lead.

"What have we done in error?" She asked, confused when her mental scan of everything that they had done on the surface yielded no answers.

[Planetside]

"Nothing...but let's move, nonetheless." Chira had always slightly resented the Betazoids who went into the counseling profession. They were damn empaths, and that certainly gave you a distinct advantage when dealing with emotions and the mind! However, the fact that she was as psionically-gifted as a river stone didn't matter much today, considering that the intentions of those guards were as plain on their faces as if it was writ large in calligraphy.

Speaking of which, one of those guards looked in their direction. "You there! Hold! By order of the President! Hold!" Chira looked at the guard, then to Zero. "Bet they're under strict orders not to shoot anyone in public," she murmured, considering the fact that he'd asked them so many times instead of just shooting. Desperately hoping for her babies' sake that she wasn't wrong, Chira took off, dragging Zero behind her. "Move your ass, Alpha! Let's go!"

Chira Abols wrote:

[Planetside]

"Nothing...but let's move, nonetheless."  Chira had always slightly resented the Betazoids who went into the counseling profession.  They were damn empaths, and that certainly gave you a distinct advantage when dealing with emotions and the mind!  However, the fact that she was as psionically-gifted as a river stone didn't matter much today, considering that the intentions of those guards were as plain on their faces as if it was writ large in calligraphy.

Speaking of which, one of those guards looked in their direction.  "You there!  Hold!  By order of the President!  Hold!"  Chira looked at the guard, then to Zero.  "Bet they're under strict orders not to shoot anyone in public," she murmured, considering the fact that he'd asked them so many times instead of just shooting.  Desperately hoping for her babies' sake that she wasn't wrong, Chira took off, dragging Zero behind her.  "Move your ass, Alpha!  Let's go!"

[Planetside]

Sometimes things were bad, and sometimes things were really bad.  Zero was pretty sure that this situation was rapidly approaching the latter.  Still unsure of the appropriate behaviour in this kind of situation, Chira taking off, her hand still clasping Zero's arm, came as something of a surprise.  

She stumbled after the counsellor, quickly regaining her balance as she heard the heavy footfall of the guards starting to give chase.  The Augment quickly calculated inside her head, then slammed on the breaks, pulling her arm out of Chira's grip.

"Flee!  I will distract them," she ordered, pushing Chira onwards before yanking off her boot and throwing it, with rather accurate aim, at the guards, hitting one on the helmet before yelling as she turned and ran in a different direction: "You are low-bred amoeba on the bottom rung of the evolutionary ladder!"

[USS Phoenix - Bridge]

Once the ship had entered Red Alert status, Selva had wasted no time in getting from the Science Labs up to the bridge. She was supposed to be off duty, but...going down to a "beach" with her fellow officers hadn't really appealed to the CSO. Besides...any sun other than the mother sun of Vulcan seemed a pale imitation, no matter how Terrans seemed to romanticize a beach.

She had relieved Ensign Walking Proud, but it was not a condemnation of the woman's abilities. In fact, she found Walking Proud to be quite adequate. However, in an emergency situation, her place as department head was on the bridge.

"The virus," the Vulcan said, as the bridge had grown quiet for a few seconds, "has been effectively nullified...for now. Our attackers were clever to piggyback it onto the comm signal, knowing that all communications went to some database, in the ship's permanent memory. It is a self-replicating code that hijacks critical systems." Selva paused for a breath, continuing. "However. We have placed the code in quarantine, "feeding" it a holodeck program while surrounding it with mirror programs that reflect the code back onto itself."

Unaware, or more likely uncaring that she'd flooded the bridge with exposition, Selva nodded and went back to her work.

Alexander Wu wrote:

[Undercity - Cave-in]

"Lot's of thoughts." Alex replied, pulling out two palm lights and handing one to Archangel. Asides from the couple phasers that they had already taken out, there was only a medkit and a handful of rations left in the pack. "Not many which are useful. Generally, I'm on the other side of the rockfall. With phaser drills and the like."

Clicking on his light and shining it around the dank room which Hope had called her home, Alex frowned, eyeing the grimy blanket. "Well, we could always go back to the cave-in, see how much rubble is down. Could try and dig our way out the old fashioned way. Turn these phasers into shaped charges to help, but we don't have many of them. Best option would be to find another way out...that entrance which we came through looked like a natural rock formation, it wasn't something that the settlers made. Chances are, there are other openings like it, somewhere. If experience has taught me anything, it's that kids find things which adults walk straight past...Rellek's little friend might have the answers we need. And, maybe find out just who the hell they all are while we're at it."

[Undercity]

Julia had returned holding Hope's hand after successfully wooing her from her hiding spot. Look at that. Alex, minus the sarcasm. Nice change of pace. Julia thought to herself. She was genuinely relieved to hear that some of that seemed to dissipate when faced with real emergencies. After Alex finished speaking she turned to the rest of the team to add to his thought. "Good idea, if Hope can get us closer to the surface we can likely activate the homing beacons on our Comm Badges and help Lieutenant Sheridan locate us."

Julia turned to Hope and knelt down. "Hope do you know of any other ways out of these caverns? Any openings of any kind.... Even a little one?"

Julia Rellek wrote:

[Undercity]

Julia had returned holding Hope's hand after successfully wooing her from her hiding spot. Look at that. Alex, minus the sarcasm. Nice change of pace. Julia thought to herself. She was genuinely relieved to hear that some of that seemed to dissipate when faced with real emergencies. After Alex finished speaking she turned to the rest of the team to add to his thought. "Good idea, if Hope can get us closer to the surface we can likely activate the homing beacons on our Comm Badges and help Lieutenant Sheridan locate us."

Julia turned to Hope and knelt down. "Hope do you know of any other ways out of these caverns? Any openings of any kind.... Even a little one?"

[Undercity]

Hope clung to Julia's hand, still a little intimidated by the number of adults in uniform standing in her tiny excuse for a home. She looked close to tears as the science officer crouched down in front of her, looking away.

"Mommy knew where all the exits were. She never showed me."

NPC wrote:

[Undercity]

Hope clung to Julia's hand, still a little intimidated by the number of adults in uniform standing in her tiny excuse for a home.  She looked close to tears as the science officer crouched down in front of her, looking away.

"Mommy knew where all the exits were.  She never showed me."

[Undercity]

Julia stood up and looked to the group. "Well so much for that idea. Time for plan B." Julia was stuck on something Gabe had said moments earlier. Water. If there is a water source it has to come from the surface. Julia thought. "If we can find water we can likely find a breach. Lieutenant Sheridan should be able to locate our homing beacons and transport us out through any hole." She flipped her attention back to hope. "Honey are there and streams, rivers, waterfalls? Any kind of water?"

Julia Rellek wrote:

Julia stood up and looked to the group. "Well so much for that idea. Time for plan B." Julia was stuck on something Gabe had said moments earlier. Water. If there is a water source it has to come from the surface. Julia thought. "If we can find water we can likely find a breach. Lieutenant Sheridan should be able to locate our homing beacons and transport us out through any hole." She flipped her attention back to hope. "Honey are there and streams, rivers, waterfalls? Any kind of water?"

[Undercity]

Unclipping the phaser from his belt, Gabriel thumbed the thing on, checking to make sure it still had a full charge.  Thankfully, whatever had messed with the transporters (and likely the Phoenix's sensors) hadn't drained the damn phasers.  He hoped they wouldn't be needed, but he was in agreement with Alex - an overloaded phaser could certainly make a handy door in just about anything.

He listened to the sounds of the outside, noting that the rumbling had slowed, if not come to a complete halt.  That was good, since it meant they could start working in earnest to get out of this hole.  This 'hole' where hundreds, if not thousands, of people are herded like animals, Gabe thought.  It would be hard not to turn the ship's guns on Gorova when they got back.  A photon torpedo up the ass end would change just about anyone's outlook on life...

"Help...help!" a voice called from outside of the hovel area.  "My wife...she's hurt in the collapse.  Her legs!"

Bridge

With the entrance of Lieutenant Selva taking over at Science; Andrew was thinking extra help had arrived. When, however, the Vulcan made a report about the virus instead...he was puzzled. In the end, he chalked it up to the report being simple Vulcan efficiency, and nodded in acceptance.

However, it did little to solve the current problem. They needed to get their people out of there, but time was running out. His people down there were in trouble. Yet, all he could do was keep waiting for the Security team he had sent down to rescue his Captain and people. Static still came from the comm channel open to the away team. There was still no sign of it improving.

Then, something hit him, and he suddenly knew exactly what to do. Why it had not occurred to him sooner was beyond his ability to comprehend, but now was the time for action.

"Lieutenant Selva, I want you to adapt the frequency of the communication system to match the temporal phase shift we detected earlier. Use a tachyon variance to better force past the temporal phase cloak. I suspect they have increased their power down there to cut us off from our people," Andrew ordered the Chief Science Officer.

Only time would tell if the idea worked...

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

"Lieutenant Selva, I want you to adapt the frequency of the communication system to match the temporal phase shift we detected earlier.  Use a tachyon variance to better force past the temporal phase cloak.  I suspect they have increased their power down there to cut us off from our people," Andrew ordered the Chief Science Officer.

Only time would tell if the idea worked...

[Undercity]

With Hope looking absolutely terrified and claming up on them, Archangel knew that they were starting to run out of options if they were ever going to get out of the Undercity alive. She couldn't force the child to give them the answers they needed, that was for sure.

"Alright, someone get a tricorder, start scanning for any running water and-" she stopped, frowning slightly. She thought that she had just heard a burst of static from her commbadge. Tapping it, she spoke again:

"T'Koris to Phoenix, can you hear me?"

Bridge

Lieutenant Sheridan was overjoyed at hearing his CO's voice come through the comm. It still came through with a bit of static, but clear enough to where he could comprehend her.

=/\= This is PHOENIX, Captain. What's your status, Ma'am? =/\= he asked her while only partially keeping the relief out of his voice. "Get a transporter lock on her position, and find the rest of the away team. I want to be able to pull them the moment she says to," he ordered Mr. Keldar and Lieutenant Selva.

His first instinct was to just pull them out immediately, but something told him to hold on. After all, he didn't know their situation down there. The Captain might simply need aid in a different way. He needed to be sure first, but preparing to pull them was not a bad thing.

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

Bridge

Lieutenant Sheridan was overjoyed at hearing his CO's voice come through the comm.  It still came through with a bit of static, but clear enough to where he could comprehend her.

=/\= This is PHOENIX, Captain.  What's your status, Ma'am? =/\= he asked her while only partially keeping the relief out of his voice.  "Get a transporter lock on her position, and find the rest of the away team.  I want to be able to pull them the moment she says to," he ordered Mr. Keldar and Lieutenant Selva.

His first instinct was to just pull them out immediately, but something told him to hold on.  After all, he didn't know their situation down there.  The Captain might simply need aid in a different way.  He needed to be sure first, but preparing to pull them was not a bad thing.

[Undercity]

"Lieutenant!" Archangel replied over the comm channel, her own relief leaking through into her voice. The connection was staticky and probably not as stable as she would have liked, but it was a connection. That's what mattered. "You have no idea how good it is to hear a friendly voice right now. We're in the Undercity, but there's been a cave in. All the exits we know about are sealed."

Gabriel Arthur wrote:

[Undercity]

Unclipping the phaser from his belt, Gabriel thumbed the thing on, checking to make sure it still had a full charge.  Thankfully, whatever had messed with the transporters (and likely the Phoenix's sensors) hadn't drained the damn phasers.  He hoped they wouldn't be needed, but he was in agreement with Alex - an overloaded phaser could certainly make a handy door in just about anything.

He listened to the sounds of the outside, noting that the rumbling had slowed, if not come to a complete halt.  That was good, since it meant they could start working in earnest to get out of this hole.  This 'hole' where hundreds, if not thousands, of people are herded like animals, Gabe thought.  It would be hard not to turn the ship's guns on Gorova when they got back.  A photon torpedo up the ass end would change just about anyone's outlook on life...

"Help...help!" a voice called from outside of the hovel area.  "My wife...she's hurt in the collapse.  Her legs!"

[Undercity]

"Commander," Alex made for the door, tapping Gabriel on the arm as he passed. "I could use your help." Outside the hovel, a rockfall from an unstable overhang had fallen onto a small cluster of ramshackle sheds. A steady stream of bystanders gathered, mostly around one edge where a man was desperately shifting loose rocks from a crumpled figure on the ground.

At Gabriel and Alex's approach, an uneasy murmur started amongst the crowd, quickly rising in volume, and anger. Slowing his pace, Alex raised his hands, trying to show he meant no harm. "We're not here to hurt you, we're here to help." He turned minutely towards the XO as the murmurs continued to grow. "I think...they might be looking for someone to blame for this."

Alexander Wu wrote:

"Commander," Alex made for the door, tapping Gabriel on the arm as he passed. "I could use your help." Outside the hovel, a rockfall from an unstable overhang had fallen onto a small cluster of ramshackle sheds. A steady stream of bystanders gathered, mostly around one edge where a man was desperately shifting loose rocks from a crumpled figure on the ground.

At Gabriel and Alex's approach, an uneasy murmur started amongst the crowd, quickly rising in volume, and anger. Slowing his pace, Alex raised his hands, trying to show he meant no harm. "We're not here to hurt you, we're here to help." He turned minutely towards the XO as the murmurs continued to grow. "I think...they might be looking for someone to blame for this."

[Undercity]

Gabe nodded quickly as Alex passed him, following the man toward the sound of the piteous yelling. He was comfortable with Wu taking point on this, since the man had the most S and R background...though Gabriel himself had always made it a point to keep up on his first responder certs. A byproduct of having a wife that randomly re-appears with bruises, cuts, broken bones...

He quietly tamped down the rage that invariably flooded his soul at the thought of the various forces that seemed to want to hurt Archangel. There were more immediate concerns...ones he could do something about.

"Whether they like it or not, I don't see any of these rubber-neckers jumping in to help. I guess we'll just have to lead by example. Alright, folks," he said, raising his voice, "make a hole! Either help us take these rocks off, or clear out!" Reaching down, Gabe picked up a rock about the size of a medicine ball, grunting as he rolled it aside.