Season 2, Mission 2: Ariadne and Her Thread

[Bridge]

Jaden scratched a bit more, slightly unsettled now, but still ignoring it.

"If I might recommend, Captain, we should remain at yellow alert." he chimed in.


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(Out of Character: Apologies for my absence recently, I'll try not to allow that to happen too often.)

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

"Go.  You can bring back a report on the injured engineer while your down there, but in the event that we go to red alert, I need you back up here immediately."

[Bridge]

A Klingon feared nothing - laughing at pain, courting death like a familiar old lover - but the surest way to inflict torture on one?  Put something between them and their honor.

So it was that Raynor stood on the bridge of the Phoenix, hands clenching and unclenching once, twice.  A moment of indecision touched with agony, before nodding curtly to the captain and storming off to the turbolift, his face a thunderhead clouded with hooded rage.  It was tinged with concern, though.  He knew Ilana wouldn't call him from his assigned duty just because she was lonely or needed help figuring out cross-pollination.

[Sickbay]

Sweeping in, Raynor knew his footfalls were heavier than any Starfleet officer's - the armored toe of his boots making sure of that.  "Lana," he said, with an added slight softening of expression.  "What is it?"

Raynor Hughes wrote:

Sweeping in, Raynor knew his footfalls were heavier than any Starfleet officer's - the armored toe of his boots making sure of that.  "Lana," he said, with an added slight softening of expression.  "What is it?"

[Sickbay]

Almost as soon as she heard the heavy footfalls that could only be Raynor, Ilana found that she regretted having asked him to leave the bridge and his duty to come and talk to her. Turning to face him and taking in his expression compounded that regret. Oh, that expression did soften slightly when he saw her, but there was still a strong undercurrent of anger there as well.

"S-s-s-sorry f-f-for p-p-pulling y-y-you a-away," she said quietly, playing with the cuff of her sleeve rather than looking up at him. "K-K-K-Kintiss s-s-said... I w-w-wanted... I j-j-just..." Why was she having such a hard time telling him the bad news? She certainly couldn't back out of it now, not when he was standing in front of her and irritated at being called away from his post. Substituting something else would just make him angrier.

The young Cardassian took in a deep breath and blurted it out as fast as she could before the words could get stuck in her throat again. "M-m-my s-s-system's r-r-rejecting th-th-the i-implant a-again."

[Sickbay]

Sigma had intended to go back to main engineering as soon as they finish delivering their diagnosis. However, things have gotten rather hectic fairly quickly. Between the different orders flying around and the sudden news of a badly hurt casualty in engineering, Sigma had found themselves frozen in place until they heard the heavy clanging of boots outside sickbay's door.

Raynor. He'd certainly gotten down here fast. Sigma decided right there that they weren't going to show how startled they were by this giant looming Klingon that looked like he was about to put a bat'leth through any bearer of bad news. They listened to Ilana give her explanation of the situation before offering their own stilted interjection.

"I'm sorry that we have to make your day worse with this kind of news..." They said hesitantly. "But we think there's ways to fix it and I'm sorry that I'm talking so much and.. Uh..." the Deltan trailed off. "I should probably mention that I was the one who found the damage just in case you're wondering what this Ops idiot is doing rambling in your face.."

Kintiss wrote:

[Deck 23]

Stepping out of the turbolift, Kintiss didn't have to search hard for the medical emergency. The crewmen were more than happy to point him towards Jeffries Tube Alpha. He just hoped he wasn't too late to act.

When he reached the entrance, he looked inside, spotting Kaz, an unknown crewman, and Lieutenant Commander Arthur. Somehow, this emergency had become even more important. Not only did he have to worry about getting Arthur to safety and patching him up right, if he messed this one up, it was likely the Captain herself would hang him.

"Kaz!" he called into the Jeffries Tube. "Can you move him?"

Leela looked down to his lifeless body as he lye on the floor unconscious. "Doctor!" She yelled down the Jeffries tube and turned her body to see if the doctor was coming. "I don't think I can. You better come take a look first." She yelled again.

Raynor Hughes wrote:

[Bridge]

Raynor could practically feel the dislike rolling off of Buris (or Kejal, however the hell Bajoran names worked).  The feeling was mutual.  By legend, Klingons could read intent in the eyes, but it didn't take a blooded warrior to sense how they both felt about each other.  Did the Bajoran have the cutthroat in him?  Likely so, if he was a resistance fighter.  Raynor would have to be on guard.  Not for his sake, of course.  He did not fear his own death, nor did he think the Bajoran could deliver it.  However, for Ilana's sake...

Whatever Raynor thought of Kejal, the Ops officer at least knew his job.  The band narrowing had done the trick to make that distress call a little clearer.

*FZZzzz* is the Zephyr, a cultural research passenger liner outbound from Regulus to the Chelis Field.  Our mission is one of historical survey.  We have suffered a drive systems failure, life support is on backup battery only!  We are neither Federation nor Romulan in sympathy.  We only require any aid rendered.  Repeating, this is the Zephyr...

"Captain," the Klingon said, turning back from the forward viewer.  "I recommend full tactical alert.  We --"



Blinking, Raynor realized he was standing mid-sentence with his mouth open.  It took him a moment to realize that the comm system automatically filtered out Ilana's stammer.  Then it hit him - she knew very well that he was serving as tactical adviser on this mission.  If she was trying to call him away...it must be for a damn good reason.  He felt a man torn in two - his sworn duty in a possibly dangerous situation, or a situation in sickbay.

"...Permission to investigate Ensign Telak's problem?"

Julia sat in her chair and listened to the unfiltered message as it come through the bridge's communication system. She was hopeful that this wasn't a ruse but a legitimate call for aid.

While the Captain queried about the situation in engineering Julia saw to a few precautionary measures. "I agree. Lieutenant Pardek, yellow alert. Shields up. Lieutenant Kejal, see if we can open up two way communication with that vessel."

She looked down to the front of the bridge. "Ensign M'Rai, what's our ETA?"

Gabriel Arthur wrote:

His eyes briefly fluttered open, all daydreams of lazy late spring days replaced by pounding pain.  It still felt as if plasma voltage was flowing through his veins instead of blood.  In fact, just as soon as he opened his eyes, Gabriel felt his grasp on consciousness rapidly fading.  Reaching up, he gripped Miller's sleeve cuff.  "Get it fixed," he said through clenched teeth, passing out once again.

Leela Kaz wrote:

Leela knelt down next to Gabe and saw his eyes flicker for a moment. "Gabe, its okay, we'll get you out of here." She shifted her attention to Bradley and his plan to move him out of the Jeffries tube.

"No Commander, we are engineers, not medics. What if we use our tricorders to cut through the interference from the power systems? I bet we can get a transporter beam to cut through so we can get him to sickbay or at least out of this conduit? I'm afraid to move him. There is no telling what kind of damage has been done."

Leela didn't typically dish out orders like that but having been a doctor in a past life she knew moving him could be the riskiest thing to try. Something best left to trained medical professionals.

Kejal Buris wrote:

"Bridge Operations to Section J-23-Forward, status report.  We saw you contacted Sickbay, do you require further assistance at this time?

“Uh … uh …” Bradley briefly froze, too much information coming in all at once. Normally calm and efficient under pressure, Kaz’s second guessing of his need to get Gabriel into the hallway threw him off of his game. In the time it took him to run his hand through his hair, his brain worked into overdrive, being fueled off of the adrenaline given through fear.

Don’t move him … don’t move him? Why wouldn’t we move him? We need to get him to sickbay as soon as possible. That’s hard to do from a Jefferies Tube. The only reason we wouldn’t move him is if a bone was broken. He has burns. Burns are epidermal, they’re not broken bones.

The emotional half of Bradley’s brain screamed at him to get going and move his friend to expedite his transfer to sickbay. The rational half of his brain pondered the probability that Gabriel did have a broken bone. Bradley’s hand was half way through his hair.

Transport? I hadn’t thought about that … I shut down the EPS conduit … we could transport him … there’s no interference now … should we-

At that moment, the doctor arrived on scene. Somewhere in the background, the bridge was trying to contact them.

Kintiss wrote:

[Deck 23]

Stepping out of the turbolift, Kintiss didn't have to search hard for the medical emergency. The crewmen were more than happy to point him towards Jeffries Tube Alpha. He just hoped he wasn't too late to act.

When he reached the entrance, he looked inside, spotting Kaz, an unknown crewman, and Lieutenant Commander Arthur. Somehow, this emergency had become even more important. Not only did he have to worry about getting Arthur to safety and patching him up right, if he messed this one up, it was likely the Captain herself would hang him.

"Kaz!" he called into the Jeffries Tube. "Can you move him?"

Bradley’s hand had just finished it’s short journey through his hair as the doctor arrived on scene. Bradley’s line of sight shot upwards and spotted the blue uniform. That sight, combined with him hearing the word move sprung him into action.

Leela Kaz wrote:

Leela looked down to his lifeless body as he lye on the floor unconscious. "Doctor!" She yelled down the Jeffries tube and turned her body to see if the doctor was coming. "I don't think I can. You better come take a look first." She yelled again.

Bradley immediately began taking off the outer jacket of his uniform. Without knowing names but not wanting to be rude, he did his best:

“Lieutenant, with your help I can move him but the Ensign here has brought up a good point. If he’s got broken bones, especially any on his back, moving him will only hurt him more. I don’t think he broke anything, I think he’s just got the burns, but I don’t know for sure … It’s your call.”

He looked back at the Ensign, his face set in determination. There was no aggression or anger in his eyes, but none-the-less a fire burned inside them that didn’t leave any doubt about how passionate he was right now … about how he was sure he was gonna’ do everything in his power and more to get what needed to be done, done.
Meanwhile, he was now shaking his recently-removed jacket, trying to lay it down flat on the floor in an act that could have looked like he had spontaneously become a crazy person. His torso was now only covered by the standard skin-tight tunics that everyone wore under their jackets. His crucifix-necklace that he always wore underneath his jacket dangled from his neck, an expression of the now-nearly-forgotten Christianity.

“I hate to pull rank on someone I’ve just met, but if the doctor says we move him, you stay here and replace that EPS conduit. I’ve taken out all of the flow from this entire section so nothing will blow up here anymore, but the bridge needs that conduit fixed and right now that’s not happening. After it’s replaced, do not restart the flow until you are out of this section. It shouldn’t happen again but I’m not taking chances. Either way, keep me posted with updates at least every two minutes. If he says we transport him, I’ll be right here with you.”

He inverted the arms through the jacket and then put his arms back through them the wrong way. With a final quick movement, he spread his arms apart until the jacket became a flat, square piece of cloth in-between them. He shimmied the makeshift stretcher beneath Gabriel’s torso, one of Bradley’s arm on either side of Gabriel’s unconscious body.

“And thanks Ensign … I hadn’t thought about the possibility of transporting him … thanks for having my back.” He flashed her a quick smile before turning back to the doctor.

“I’m ready Lieutenant. Move or transport, it’s your call.”

If the doctor said move, Bradley was ready to hoist as soon as someone got Gabriel's legs. If the doctor said transport, Bradley could remove his arms from the jacket in two quick seconds to get to work on replacing the EPS conduit ... his mind was still working at top speed as he awaited the decision.

Bradley Miller wrote:

“I hate to pull rank on someone I’ve just met, but if the doctor says we move him, you stay here and replace that EPS conduit. I’ve taken out all of the flow from this entire section so nothing will blow up here anymore, but the bridge needs that conduit fixed and right now that’s not happening. After it’s replaced, do not restart the flow until you are out of this section. It shouldn’t happen again but I’m not taking chances. Either way, keep me posted with updates at least every two minutes. If he says we transport him, I’ll be right here with you.”

[Deck 23 - Jeffries Tube]

Leela was calmed as Commander Miller pulled rank and took charge. As she sat worried about Gabe, his proverbial cold water in the face was precisely what she needed in that moment. "Aye sir." She nodded as she moved to follow his orders without hesitation. "As soon as the doctor secures Commander Arthur, we can clear the area. I'll replace the conduit and vacate the section before restoring power."

Leela Kaz wrote:

Leela looked down to his lifeless body as he lye on the floor unconscious. "Doctor!" She yelled down the Jeffries tube and turned her body to see if the doctor was coming. "I don't think I can. You better come take a look first." She yelled again.

[Deck 23-Jeffries Tube Alpha]

Oh, of course he was going to have to climb inside the Jeffries Tube. And to think, Starfleet had advertised this job as glamorous and exciting! Well, they got the last bit right, at least.

Bradley Miller wrote:

“I’m ready Lieutenant. Move or transport, it’s your call.”

It was a split-second decision.

"Ssssstand by, I'm coming in!" he called as he clambered into the Jeffries Tube, making sure he didn't hit his head as he moved. He inched closer to Lieutenant Commander Arthur, reaching into his medical kit and prepping a hypospray to stabilise him. As he pressed the spray to the Lieutenant Commander's neck, Kintiss breathed a sigh of relief. At least now there was a decreased risk of him dying on them, and he liked it when there was a decreased risk. Still, there was always a chance Arthur's condition could worsen if he was moved, so Kintiss decided to play it safe.

"It'll take too long to move him," he observed as he examined the burns with a medical tricorder. "We'll have to transsssport."

Kintiss wrote:

[Deck 23-Jeffries Tube Alpha]

Oh, of course he was going to have to climb inside the Jeffries Tube. And to think, Starfleet had advertised this job as glamorous and exciting! Well, they got the last bit right, at least.



It was a split-second decision.

"Ssssstand by, I'm coming in!" he called as he clambered into the Jeffries Tube, making sure he didn't hit his head as he moved. He inched closer to Lieutenant Commander Arthur, reaching into his medical kit and prepping a hypospray to stabilise him. As he pressed the spray to the Lieutenant Commander's neck, Kintiss breathed a sigh of relief. At least now there was a decreased risk of him dying on them, and he liked it when there was a decreased risk. Still, there was always a chance Arthur's condition could worsen if he was moved, so Kintiss decided to play it safe.

"It'll take too long to move him," he observed as he examined the burns with a medical tricorder. "We'll have to transsssport."

Leela looked to the Doctor and nodded. "Acknowledged Doctor. I'll have operations lock on and move him to sickbay."

She tapped on her communicator. =/\=Ensign Kaz to Operations. Please lock on to Commander Arthur's comm badge and transport him to sickbay. Doctor Kintiss has approved moving him."=/\= She worried. She knew that Captain T'Koris would overhear the report.

Buris had to actually stop himself from physically cringing when the report came in from Kaz - he'd been expecting it and already had the point-to-point system tied to his panel. Internal sensors were fixed on the section and had been for some time now; when a ship's Chief Engineer was down, you monitored the situation carefully. "Got it, Ensign. Stand clear, I'll get Dr. Kintiss there along with... the patient."

He wanted to avoid saying the name, but the next report made it impossible. He had to tell Sickbay who their patient was. But he thought of who was down there... the Klingon wasn't the problem. It was the demonspawn down there that bothered him. He couldn't trust the Klingon to stop her from butchering him... and that was why he wanted Kintiss there immediately. He figured, as much as he despised Telak, he had to make the good-faith gesture in front of the Captain after Kaz had just blared Commander Arthur's name across the open comm. Damn, he missed the earpieces now. He tapped the medical comm channel button and responded. "Report acknowledged, Sickbay. The on-site medical staff have determined that we'll be beaming Commander Arthur directly to Sickbay. Stand by for transport of patient and doctor. Have the burn unit ready for Doctor Kintiss' use on arrival."

And pray whatever lizard-Prophets you believe in he lives - or it'll be on your spoony head, and your Klingon won't be able to stop me, he thought - but had the good sense not to say.

In brighter times he would have suppressed a smile at Kyano's report or at least smirked. Now, it was simply a single light in the darkness. "At least we have that. We're going to be engaging point-to-point transporters on two commbadges. Watch that damned EPS flow once the ACB locks on. I've never lost someone in transport yet, I refuse to start today."

He barely glanced at Rellek when she told him she wanted communication with the ship. He couldn't even think about some damn ship out in space; a crewman would die if not transported to Sickbay. "Aye, sir, give me a minute. The life of a father comes before a communication. Even a distress signal."

Tapping the comm stud, he got ready, taking one last breath. "Kintiss, stand by for transport. I'm sending you along with Commander Arthur, so you can get started on him immediately."

His fingers were moving - the point-to-point transport system was controlled from the Bridge usually, rather than the larger transporters run from the Transporter Rooms belowdecks. His voice was calm as he called out each step in the transport process, and the crew might realize it was his way of controlling a process that could go very wrong. "Transporter buffer online. Biofilters engaged. Heisenberg compensation field at destination point confirmed, annular confinement beam locking onto Target 1. Target 2, I have them. Heisenberg field online, dematerializing to buffer now. Rematerializing at assigned coordinates, disabling ACB, disabling Heisenberg. Commander Arthur and Doctor Kintiss have been successfully transported to Sickbay."

But his part was the easiest. Sit in a cozy chair, away from the action. He wasn't smelling the charred flesh. Seeing the man fight for his life. But it was the job he had to do. "Ops to Kaz. They're in Sickbay."

He looked back at the Captain, the first genuine expression she'd ever seen on his face. It was actual sorrow, and sympathy. He'd kept the knowledge from her of who it was that had been injured intentionally. She'd done the right thing and so had he. That didn't make it feel right, though. If she looked, there were actual beads of sweat on his brow - he'd been nervous about the transport. He felt like he'd deceived her... but what could he have done differently. He wanted to say something, and it took a moment of watching her before he realized he didn't have much to say. "Captain... I can continue to monitor his life signs, if you want."

He turned back to his panel slowly, working on the frequency. This was easier than beaming a plasma burn victim out of a Jeffries tube with a potentially faulty relay - if any one of a million factors hadn't gone their way, Commander Arthur would already be a dead man. Not so with a simple comm channel. Sure, it was a distress signal, they needed help. But it wasn't so touchy. Between the Ops work and Raynor, they'd cleaned up the incoming signal. The channel encryption was simple enough, civilian. He sent the 'ping' signal to the other ship and received a satisfactory response signal. But when he spoke, his voice was subdued. He felt awful for what he'd kept from the Captain. What he'd had to do; to ensure that she did the right thing. "Channel to the Zephyr is... ready to open on your mark, sir."

He couldn't look up from the board. He'd only met Commander Arthur a few times. Why was he so worried about the man's life? It had to be the daughters. The very idea of three children rendered fatherless because of some stupid mistake at once terrified and enraged him - and he had done everything he could to defy that fate. He knew what it meant to lose a parent. He never wanted them to feel it.

Kintiss wrote:

"It'll take too long to move him," he observed as he examined the burns with a medical tricorder. "We'll have to transsssport."

Bradley responded with only a simple nod of his head as he began taking his arms out of the makeshift stretcher.

Leela Kaz wrote:

=/\=Ensign Kaz to Operations. Please lock on to Commander Arthur's comm badge and transport him to sickbay. Doctor Kintiss has approved moving him."=/\= She worried. She knew that Captain T'Koris would overhear the report.

As soon as Ensign Kaz gave the order, Bradley was already free and clear from the man and just about ready to start working on the damaged conduit. He heard the shimmer of transport at the same that he picked up the tool that Gabriel had been using to remove/fix the conduits in place. It was backwards, so he flipped it around with a quick twist of his wrist at the same time he turned his head to face the bulkhead in question.

“Ensign, the new conduit is back at the entrance of the tube, grab it please and I’ll make this quick.”

He would have done it himself, but with her being the last to enter, she was simply closer to it. Plus, the Jefferies Tube didn’t leave much room for people traveling more than one wide, and he didn’t think their present scenario merited climbing over the woman he was next to.