Bug Hunt

Anomaly TrekMUX Episode 09/01/01 (#02-015)

Ten minutes ago, the five of you were summoned to the shuttle bay: Prepare for a away mission, is all the communique said. The Commander is standing in the shuttle bay as each junior officer arrives. His hands are clasped before him in a parade rest.

Laco steps into the shuttle bay, pinning on his pip. His hair is wet, he looks out of breath.

Leah walks in hurriedly, then slows, stopping an appropriate distance from Balin and clasping her hands behind her back.

McAnally follows almost on Leah's heels, stepping out away from the Cadet to stand on her right side, tall and ramrod straight.

Dade enters a few moments behind McAnally, uniform immaculate with her hair done up in a tight bun. Her stoic mask betrays very little aside from a hint of nervousness, but the effect is overall somewhat severe. She takes a place in line, clasping her hands behind her and standing tall with perfect posture.

Ashida steps into the shuttlebay with measured strides. He comes to a halt several paces from Balin, falling into 'line' near the others, and stands, straight backed but with surprisingly little tension in his posture.

. o O McAnally feels nervous and excited.

. o O Laco isn't particularly nervous, but is somewhat annoyed.

. o O Leah is distinctly lacking in strong emotions at the moment, probably supressing them.

Balin nods to each in turn as they arrive. "At ease," he says to them all. "If everyone will step on board the runabout, we will disembark and I will brief you en route. Ensign McAnally, you will be the pilot." He gestures up the embarkation ramp of the runabout USS Cape Fear-B.

Laco wipes his hands on his uniform, then heads into the shuttlecraft.

. o O McAnally feels nervous eagerness.

Leah loosens up somewhat, and enters the runabout as ordered, taking an available free seat and leaving all the main positions for her more senior officers.

McAnally says, "Aye, Sir," and then clambers into the runabout, making her way to a seat at the controls.

Dade somberly steps up the ramp into the runabout and takes a seat near the back, deferring to the others.

Ashida's posture doesn't seem to change much in response to Balin's 'At ease.' although his hands fall out of line with the seams of pants. He up the gangplank into the runabout, ducking under the doorframe with a minimal bob of his head and twist of the shoulders. He nods to McAnally, then looks to Balin. "Station, sir?"

Leah pages: Just letting you know, I have a stable connection now, so no disconnects unless there is something really wrong... and I have no limit on how long I can be on either, so I'm in for the whole shibang. :)

. o O Ashida is relaxed but feels ready.. Patiently waiting until more of the situation is revealed perhaps.

Balin states to Ashida, "Co-pilot, Lieutenant." He sits down in one of the side seats and begins the briefing. Fimdari has reported a brief Siinogan distress call coming from a moon in their system. Since all of the craft in that area are currently freighters, given the nature of recent Siinogan hostilities, we will be searching for the craft and any survivors that remain. Contact with the distress call was a mere ten seconds before it ended. Are there any questions?"

. o O Laco annoyance melts away, and becomes excited, almost giddy.

Leah sits straight in her seat, eyes and ears open.

McAnally reacquaints herself with runabout controls, but looks up again at the Commander. "None here, Sir." Glancing over at Dade, she offers the quiet woman a reassuring smile.

Dade catches McAnally's smile, but she does not return it. "Hostilities, sir? Are we in any danger?" She keeps most of the waver out of her voice.

Ashida takes the empty seat beside McAnally, configuring the control console for his assigned task. He glances at McAnally's console and starts a pre-flight system diagnostic/warmup protocol. He then begins to reference 'Fimdari' and 'Siinogan' from the files and turns his attention back to Balin while that's searching...

Balin looks to Laco and nods once. "Yes, Ensign. Sensors are all yours." He regards Dade for a moment before nodding to her. "The potential exists. While the Siinogans have been openly hostile toward the Klingons, they've shown no interest in war with the Federation. Let's see to it that that policy doesn't change."

Laco takes a seat at one of the rear consoles and brings up some sensor controls.

Leah leans back into her seat, clasping her hands in her lap. "No questions, sir."

McAnally lays in a course for Fimdari and its moon, inputting the heading into the flight controls. "Cape Fear to Ops," she says crisply. "Requesting permission to depart."

Dade sits silently.

Ashida nods when Balin outlines the Federation/Siinogian policy, as if saying to himself, 'That answers that question'. He turns his attention back to the control console.

Balin regards Dade. "Ensign, contact Fimdari Prime, have them transmit the sensor data from the freighter that received the signal. I want you to go over the logs and see if you can glean anything from the information. Ensign Laco, while we are en route, I want you to set up a sealed section of the aft bay, to prepare for any possible salvage." "You are cleared for departure," reports Operations to McAnally's request. Commander Balin nods to her. "Take us out, Mr. McAnally."

Laco cannot help but grin, "Salvage sir? Aye aye."

Leah glances to Balin, clearing her throat. "Sir, should I help Ensign Laco?"

McAnally powers up the thrusters, and slowly pulls away from the Shuttle Bay. As the station is cleared, she asks the Commander, "Shall I set a specific speed, Sir?"

Dade rises over-quickly from her seat and takes up a position at the science station. "Aye sir," She says simply as she starts reconfiguring some of the science stations controls for Communications. "I am hailing them to establish a link now." Meanwhile, she prepares some standard data analysis protocols so she will be ready when the data starts to flow. Her voice has lost its waver now that she is distracted by work, and she sits much more self-assuredly.

Ashida, with a glance towards Dade, nods approvingly to himself while continuing to monitor their in-flight telemetry and systems status.

Balin glances back to Leah and shakes his head. "Your role is to observe, Cadet."

<CONTEST> McAnally contests her Vehicle Operations (Shuttlecraft) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Ashida contests his Vehicle Operations (Shuttlecraft) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Dade (claiming advantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Dade contests her Computer (Simulation) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

The Cape Fear slides out of the bay and into the cold blackness of space. Soon, McAnally and Ashida have kicked the warp drive into gear and the little craft shoots toward Fimdari at warp speed. Laco has set up his containment unit in the back and Dade has completed her analysis of the sensor data.

Laco returns from the aft compartments and slides back into his seat. He glances at the sensors to make sure nothing is amiss, then swivels toward Balin, "All set up, COmmander. If the salvage is dangerous, I'll have to make some modifications, but it should be ok."

Looking perhaps a little uncomfortable not doing anything but observing, Leah chooses to watch the pilot and co-pilot. Every once in a while she glances at Balin, expression neutral.

McAnally pays close attention to flight controls, scanning sensors in all directions for any possible obstacles.

Dade glances up from her station, consternation on her face. "Sir, I've completed analysis of the sensor information, if you'd like to take a look. Its, umm... there wasn't much to work with... pretty sparse."

. o O Leah 's inner emotions are clouded, but on the surface she's a mixture of indignant and curious about the Commander.

"Anything of note back from long range yet?" Ashida asks, not looking away from his control console except to glance out the forward screen, where bits of minute debris streak off the deflector like rainbow colored tracers. He studies one of the readouts a moment, taps in a string of commands. "Steady as she goes." He says quietly to McAnally, or perhaps just to himself.

Balin looks to Dade and says, "A report will be fine, Ensign. I'm not a scientist."

Leah stands to stretch her legs and approaches McAnally and Ashida, "Everything alright, sirs?" She smiles at the two.

McAnally turns to look at Leah over her shoulder. She grins, crinkling her freckled nose somewhat. "Piece of cake," she declares.

Dade nods at the order, "Aye sir. Sensor data is sparse. The ship was fairly small and whatever cut off the transmission was fairly abrupt. I can't tell much about the moon itself... but records say its fairly barren with a thin atmosphere. Honestly, I'm a bit suspicious of the accident."

Balin asks Dade, "Suspicious, how so?"

Dade screws her nose up at the screen of her station, "It just hits me the wrong way... I mean..." Turning back to Balin and the rest of the crew, "Well... if the ship simply crashed into the moon, it'd have already had to be fairly close to the moon... I mean, assuming it lost engines somehow, its far more likely to have hit the planet... its a much bigger gravity well. And if a ship has lost thrust and its in orbit, it should start screaming for help. The transmission was so brief... I mean... well, for the cutoff... there's only really two possibilities..."

Laco attempts to access these sensor logs from his own terminal.

Dade takes a long breath, "Either the ship lost its ability to communicate during the crash... meaning they didn't realize something was wrong until seconds before they crashed... or the ship's communications were cut off by something external."

McAnally glances over at Dade and the Commander as the Centauran woman deciphers the sensor logs. She watches the usually shy woman suddenly start speaking volumes.

Dade says "And that latter... I don't see any reason to believe something natural did that... barely an atmosphere... and I didn't see any interference. It just stopped.""

Ashida swivels his seat around towards Leah, and returns the smile politely, although the expression doesn't quite 'reach his eyes'. "Yes, I believe so, Cadet." He studies her for a moment then, with a singular intensity. Then he relaxes his focus, turning his attention towards Dade's report.

. o O McAnally feels proud of Dade.

<CONTEST> Laco (claiming advantage) contests his Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Laco contests his Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Leah grins back at McAnally and gives Ashida a wink before glancing over her shoulder to Dade. "They could also have deliberately done this as an ambush as well, couldn't they have... sirs?"

<CONTEST> Laco contests his Computer (Simulation) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Laco tapity taps..."Looks to me like it wacked something in the atmosphere. Possibly an asteroid, maybe some kind of satellite. In any case, I'm pretty sure where it landed."

Leah tugs at her jacket, then returns to her seat, strangely quiet.

Dade immediately looks a little more sedate when Laco speaks. She sneaks a glance at McAnally, and gives a nervous smile.

Ashida glances towards Balin to see if the most ranking officer has anything to say. He doesn't add anything of his own, but after following the conversation for a time, he turns back to his console and acesses something. Again leaving the comand to execute, he pivots back around to face the cabin and his crewmates.

Balin nods to Laco and Dade. "Thank you, Ensigns. You'll both make Admiral yet," he says and smiles to them. He glances up toward Ashida and McAnally. "Course clear to the Fimdari system?"

. o O Leah 's a little nervous, but she's trying very hard not to let it show.

McAnally performs another sensor sweep before replying. "Appears to be all clear, Commander."

Ashida double checks McAnally's telemetry, but it must look ok, as he doesn't add anything to her response.

Ashida's executed query returns, a few brief lines of text and a sparcely lined graphic. His brow creases and then he relaxes, lifting his eyebrows slightly before assuming his more usual countenance.

. o O Ashida experiences a very mild 'ah-ha!' sensation which soon drops back down into the still waters of his emotional state.

Leah pouts for a long minute, then speaks up, "I really wouldn't put anything above the Siinogians, sirs.... They have a strange sense of what's right."

Balin nods. "The Cadet is right. Give us a report on the Siinogans, Cadet. Let us know what to expect should we encounter them."

McAnally ensures one last time the course telemetry looks fine, before turning to devote her attention to Cadet Leah.

Ashida says quietly, "Can you send me the basic telemetry on the moon along with the projected coordinates for the crash site, Mr. Laco." It's not quite a command, but not really a question either.

Dade also listens to Leah, for the moment, casting her own worries aside.

Without a word, Laco sends Ashida the requested data.

Ashida turns his attention towards Leah, looking curious.

"They are a theocracy... at the center of their worship, and thus their government, is the Queen." Leah speaks up, quoting from memory now. "They chose to declare war after the first official battle was fought... the destruction of the klingon colony of Bak'Tur... thusly, it can be reasonably inferred that they would commit some act of war against us first, rather than discuss other options."

. o O Ashida is indeed mildly curious. He hasn't yet displayed any extremely strong emotion during the mission however.

McAnally speaks up from the pilot's chair. "Could this be a lure? Or do the sensor readings pass scrutiny for authenticity?"

Balin looks to the others. "They are insectoidal race. Each one of them are bred to fulfill a specific role in their society. They are highly intelligent, but as Mr. Leah pointed out, their mental processes are different than ours." He glances up to McAnally, then to Dade and Laco. They're the experts after all.

Dade speaks up softly, "I still don't like the sensor data... and I don't think I could believe it were an 'accident' collision... even a pea-sized rock falling through an atmosphere spews out a lot of infrared radiation... its unlikely they could miss something like that on sensors. As for satellites... well, if there were satellites around the moon, for whatever reason... well, satellite orbits are predictable and trackable. Unless... they hit something whose presence was a secret... in which case, we could still be flying into something... dangerous. I want to know why they didn't see what they hit and couldn't avoid it. And we still don't know why the transmission stopped so soon and so suddenly."

Dade says "Is the moon habitated at all? Do we know?"

"I don't follow completely agree with that line of inference, as stated. I'm not discrediting an attribution of agression to the Siinogians, but the Federation is not the Klingon Empire. If their society and psychology are sufficiently different from ours, it may prove difficult to predict their probable actions." Ashida states, but then shrugs, and looks to Balin. At Dade's question, he gives Laco a nod.

Laco says "Well, have you ever accidently bumped into someonein a corridor? Maybe they weren't paying attention to their scanners?"

McAnally says "So close to a planet?"

Dade says "A corridor is a lot smaller than orbital space. And if you are flying in orbital space that has satellites... you don't stop watching. As for something else... well, what about automated proximity sensors. The ships navigation computer is always watching for things in the way."

Leah nods to Balin, then shrugs at Ashida, crossing her arms over her chest. "All I am saying is that -if- they chose now to change the nature of their relationship with the Federation, we likely wouldn't receive any warning."

Laco says "Anyway, whats the difference? We were sent to investigate this, we can't exactly head home because we got a little spooked..."

Dade frowns and glances at her commander, eyes going a little more focused for a second, as if concentrating. "Commander... can I ask a question?"

Balin nods once to Dade. "Go ahead."

Ashida consults the data he recieved from Laco's station. "To answer your previous question, Ensign Dade, the planet appears devoid of life: no atmosphere and desolate. And I too would like to ask a question."

Dade says "Did we have information about the size of the ship or its cargo before hand?"

Dade says "I'm a little confused about our mission goals."

Ashida looks to Balin, as if ready to answer that question as well.

Leah shakes her head, looking down at her boots.

Balin nods to Ashida, since the young man appears to have the insight.

Dade says softly, "Are we going to retrieve something specific...?"

Ashida says "There's very little information about the Siinogians ships or technology in general. The information regarding this particular vessel or its cargo is essentially nonexistant beyond what we presumalbly already know." He stops, looks to Balin again, appearing to be choosing his words carefully and gauging the other's reaction. "I do not believe we are going to 'retrieve' anything specific, although I think Starfleet would like to increase its knowledge of the Siinogians, as to further our knowledge is one of the foremost of our goals."

Balin nods once to Ashida. "Very perceptive, Lieutenant. Our primary mission is to search for survivors. Secondary is salvage." He looks to Dade then. "And I agree, Cadet. Discretion, today, will be the better part of valor. Mr. McAnally, bring us out of warp a comfortable distance from the moon. Lets get scans of it before we get too close. Mr. Laco, are your preparations complete?"

McAnally says "Aye, Sir"

Laco nods, "I'd like to get a detailed scan of anything we plan to bring aboard before we do though, sir."

McAnally powers down the runabout's engines, the white streaking past the front window gradually slowing until it becomes a normal field of stars.

Laco begins some scans, starting with surrounding space, then the moon, then finishing with an attempt at the crash site.

<CONTEST> Laco contests his Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Leah becomes a bit more alert, watching the crew operate.

McAnally makes a few minor corrections to course trajectory in an attempt to better enable a good scan of the moon's surface.

Dade turns her attention back to the science station. She also begins taking some scans, but with a more paranoid stint. Specifically, she is looking for any signs of masked signatures or dampening fields that might be used to conceal surprises, especially around the crash site.

Ashida spins his chair around to face forward, resuming his monitoring of the flight systems. "Thank you, sir." He says to Balin. He taps another secondary request into his console, checking the runabout's equipment inventory- particularly the number of EVA suits on board.

Balin stands, quietly, behind McAnally and Ashida. He nods once to the Lieutenant and looks out the viewport at the distant planet. "Report, Mr. Laco?"

Laco says "I found the crash site, can't tell much about the ship from this distance though. A lot a leptons around, possibly they are used in Siinogan ship designs, and were released when the vessell was damaged."

Standing again, Leah moves to stand to the side of Balin, glancing out the viewport.

Dade sits silently, considering the data and pondering.

<CONTEST> Laco contests his Physical Sciences (Physics) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Ashida says "Effects of the ambient environment on our ship or ourselves? Anything look likely to pose a threat?"

McAnally is very slowly guiding the runabout toward's the moon in question.

The Commander watches the viewport. He lets his crew talk.

Laco turns to Balin, "I don't see anything in the surrounding space, perhaps we should go in for a flyby, sir? The Lepton radiation is interfering with sensors, getting closer should help."

<CONTEST> Dade (claiming advantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

"I'm going to slip an EVA suit on, just in case. Better to be prepared." Leah comments, heading for where the suits are stored.

. o O Laco's excitement, which tapered off slightly during the flight, begins to return. He begins to feel anxious about something as well, though.

McAnally looks to Balin, waiting for confirmation of Laco's suggestion.

Dade, in the course of her own sensor sweeps, would also like to know if the leptons are higher in concentration around the crash site or if its an ambient field. Do they seem to have a source?

Dade frowns, "Sir... I am not reading any life signs, but about the lepton interference... its more concentrated around the ship. So getting closer may not help. They may be flooding space with leptons in order to hide themselves."

. o O Laco's anger flares for a second.

"Why would they send a distress call and then try to hide." Ashida muses. His tone doesn't contest Dade's statement, nor is it overly querelous- more like he's just considering things.

Balin looks to Laco, then Dade as they give their reports. He nods toward McAnally. "Take us closer, Ensign. Nice and gentle."

Laco, having tensed up a little, relaxes when Balin gives the order to move in closer. He goes back to scanning the crash site.

Leah concentrates on putting on the EVA suit, sitting on the nearest available perch to pull on the boots. She glances towards the front of the runabout once, silently, then goes back to her task.

McAnally nods once to Balin, then turns and gradually increases the Runabout's speed, accelerating gently as instructed. As she does so, she murmurs to Ashida who sits beside her, in answer to his musing, "...If it was a lure."

Ashida nods to McAnally, answering with a quiet, assured tone. "Then it's either not a very effective one, or it's becoming just that." He furrows his brow again.

Balin hmmms. "Mr. Laco, scan for any debris in the atmosphere."

<CONTEST> Laco contests his Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Laco does as Balin says, "Hmm, looks like some scattered hull debris of siinogan manufacture. Not sure what to make of it, though."

. o O Laco is racked by another wave of anxiety.

Finishing with the boots, Leah continues with her final checks of the suit, verifying the atmospheric mix, the charge in the suit, and all of the air-tight seals. Smiling to herself, she says softly, mostly to herself, "Better than my Academy time..." The helmet she holds in her hands, ready to secure.

McAnally says "Should we establish orbit, Commander? Or full stop here until we can interpret the debris data."

Dade listens to the conversation and conjecture going on around her, remaining silent for the moment.

Ashida continues to monitor things at his station, checking the systems displays as they cycle thru their sequence, and bringing up an updating graphic of the shuttle's postition relative to the moon, with the crash site represented by a bright spot- a lighter shaded patch around those coordinates must represent the leptons...

Balin looks back to Laco, and walks to his terminal. "It looks like a spent torpedo casing. See the debris configuration? As if a torpedo made out of Siinogan hull struck the ship. Odd." He orders Laco, "Scan it for lepton radiation. Mr. McAnally, proceed to enter a high orbit. Keep a watchful eye out. Shields up, Mr. Ashida."

Laco pauses for a second, staring at his screen, then scans the casing.

Leah walks back up towards the front of the runabout, helmet still tucked under one arm. She makes sure her phaser is secure, then glances to Laco, waiting for his analysis.

McAnally brings the Cape-Fear B into high orbit around Fimdari's moon, as instructed. As well, she vigilantly watches all sensor readouts being generated at her console.

Dade sits at her station, keeping a watchful and suspicious eye on the long range sensors for anything incoming. Any other lepton fields or sources in the area?

Quickly complying, Ashida taps his console. "Shields up. I'm establishing a devoted power relay should we need to bring weapons online suddenly." He states, then begins to study the sight before them. One can almost see the various possibilites that could lead to the situtaion being assembled and weighed in his mind.

GAME: Laco spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Laco (claiming advantage) contests his Shipboard Systems (Transporter) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Succeeds!

You have all suited up and beamed down to the surface of the planet. The surface is rocky and dust blowing about obscures distance vision. The wind catches up against you, and even though you can't feel the biting cold air through the suit, you can feel the pressure of its gale force. Laco and Dade have secured pattern enhancers for the beam-back to the runabout, and Commander Balin has remained behind. You are all armed with Type II phasers and tricorders. The tricorders, while operable, have a hard time cutting through the interference, but you know the general direction of the debris, about a dozen meters away but shrouded in murky gusts of dusty wind.

Ashida materializes in a 'ready' position, phaser in hand- although it's pointed up, rather than horizontally 'at' anything. "Look alert, people. Leah, McAnally.." He gestures, indicating they should take up positions somewhat forward of the flanks of the party. "Mr. Laco, Dade, begin scanning." His voice is slightly scratchy over the EVA suit's comline. He himself takes a position between the science officers and Leah, looking around watchfully.

Laco opens his tricorder and begins to scan the obscured wreckage before him. He starts off slowly in that direction, seemingly oblivious to those around him.

Leah materializes just to Ashida's right and as he gives his orders, she takes a quick survey of the nearby ground, picks a spot and takes up a flanking position. She holds her phaser out and ready, set to stun.

<CONTEST> Laco contests his Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

McAnally materializes to Ashida's left, and mirrors Leah's movements, moving slightly ahead and off to that side, phaser in one hand, tricorder in the other.

<CONTEST> Dade (claiming advantage) contests her Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

<CONTEST> McAnally (claiming advantage) contests her Personal Equipment (Equipment Tricoder) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

Dade unfolds her tricorder and begins scanning, moving a little closer to McAnally as she does. "Sir, the lepton emissions are going to interfere with our tricorders... and also communications. We should stay close or we might lose each other. And... even in EVA suits... we have about 30 minutes before exposure becomes dangerous." She frowns, staring off at the ship. "...um... sir, I think we might be expected. But this isn't a lure... if I can suggest a theory."

Ashida nods. "Let's hear it." There's a slight, routine hiss from his suit as it repressurizes against his breath.

As the party approaches the wreckage, they can see it was about the size of a runabout. The light, tough material that the Siinogans use (regurgitate would be a better word) for their hulls is strewn across the landscape. It took a massive hit on its nose, and most of the rear portion of the strange, bug-like looking ship is intact.

Laco continues heading for the wreckage while scanning, apparently in his own little world.

GAME: Leah spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Leah contests her Intellect (Perception) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

<CONTEST> Leah (claiming advantage) contests her Intellect (Perception) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Leah gives the ship a visual once over as she moves closer to it. Once she is closer than ten meters, she pulls her tricorder from her waist and tries to scan for lifesigns.

McAnally moves ahead slowly to the left and slightly ahead of the party, looking about and attempting to scan with her tricorder, though the interference is too great.

Dade stays close to McAnally, also trying to cut through the scan interference. "Sir... obviously, they had an accident. Massive enough to cripple their ship... so they crash on the moon. They can't choose not to send a distress call, but they don't want to be found... by klingons and they are probably not to keen on being found by us... so they send a short burst and hope it goes unnoticed. Just enough so that Siinogans would know it was them and where they were. Then... in case the distress call is picked up by someone else... they flood the area with lepton interference and then eject debris into the atmosphere to make it appear that they were destroyed... and hope that we either would pass them by or wouldn't risk exposure to the radiation... or maybe the radiation is from the accident... they are insectoid so they are probably very resistant to it..."

What Leah didn't see, and what McAnally and the others aren't positioned correctly to see, is sudden movement near Ensign Laco. An insectoid creature, like an enormous black praying mantis, leaps onto the oblivious scientist and starts biting at his suit.

Ashida nods. "That's a reasonable conjecture, Ensign. A.." His reply is cut off as he responds to the seeming attack on Laco. The thin atmosphere will not carry much of a cry, and he does not attempt it. He steps forward, moving with surprising speed for the encumbrance of the suit, and fires a shot towards them. He's not aiming /at/ the 'bug', but near it- if accurate, the beam should cause a bit of the rock to explode, and perhaps distract it a moment.

<CONTEST> Laco contests his Unarmed Combat skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

A high pitched shriek is heard over the suit radios as Laco is tackled by something. Once he hits the ground, he tries to roll into a fetal ball to protect himself.

Leah hears the sounds of struggle over the suit's com and turns, spotting the bug tackling Laco. She doesn't hesitate to approach Laco and try to encourage the insectoid to leave the scientist alone.

<CONTEST> Leah (claiming advantage) contests her Unarmed Combat (Starfleet Martial Arts) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

The giant bug bites into Laco's suit, exposing him to the elements. Ashida fires a shot across its bow, a boulder exploding spectacularly nearby. The black critter is distracted, but only for an instant as it gets a solid kick by Leah. This makes it turn to regard Leah, and start skittering after the Cadet. Laco's arm starts to bleed where the thing bit into him with the mandibles. McAnally and Dade are next to act... What will they do?

McAnally wields her Type I Phaser.

McAnally wields her phaser, checking to make sure it's set on stun, then fires it at the critter as it skitters towards Cadet Leah.

<CONTEST> McAnally contests her Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Dade watches with growing horror as the scene unfolds. She drops her tricorder and gropes clumsily for her phaser, pulling it from its holster. But she doesn't even look at it. She just clasps it tightly before her and takes a few steps behind her, shrinking back.

McAnally fires her phaser at the thing, but just as the beam reaches where the bug was, it has leapt onto Cadet Leah and has started thrashing at her. (OOC: Leah, contest your unarmed combat/<not-kicking-things but defending against bug attack things> vs moderate.

<CONTEST> Leah (claiming advantage) contests her Unarmed Combat (Starfleet Martial Arts) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

The bug jumps at Leah, and hits her, but she has managed to bounce it off of her. It stands about three feet from her now, a clear shot for just about anyone.

With a little luck and some intention from Ashida, all the movement in the last couple seconds has by now placed Ashida nearly between the alien lifeform and the officers behind him.. Hoping to provide Leah time to evade the beastie, and with an expression of distaste, fires a stun beam at it. "McAnally! Tend to Laco. Dade! How long to get the pattern enhancers working?"

Laco wraps his hand around the gash in his suit, gasping for breath. "SOmeone shoot that thing!"

Leah somehow manages to dodge the insectoid's teeth, and backs off less than a yard. Still full of fight (and adrenaline), she raises her hands in a defensive posture.

McAnally runs over to tend Laco as instructed, but really has no expertise in either medicine or EVA suits, so simply tries to grab hold of the gashed material and eliminate any leaking, either in or out.

Dade yells, "Wait... don't shoot it! Just raise your hands... everyone stop fighting! Its probably just scared of us! We don't have to hurt it!" She screams this frantically into her comm, between labored breaths. She seems not to have heard the order.

GAME: Ashida spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Ashida (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

The five foot tall, six-legged insect topples over and skids a few inches from the blast. It twitches a moment, then lies still.

"Fiesty critter..." Leah comments off-handedly, then starts looking around for any more creatures. "Thanks for the save, Lieutenant," she says non-chalantly, peering through the atmosphere.

Ashida pulls out his tricorder and scans the creature for lifesigns.. "That was.. regrettable. But I saw no other course of action. The efects of a low level phased energy beam don't usually cause permanent damage, Ensign." He says to Dade. "Now, how long to set up the pattern enhancers? We need to transport Mr. Laco immediately."

Laco tries to break McAnally's grip on the suit, and get to his feet.

McAnally tries to help Laco to his feet without letting more of the atmosphere into his suit.

Dade stands staring at the collapsed, twitching insect for a long minute before she finally breaks out of her seeming trance and runs quickly to the pattern enhancers. Pale and still breathing heavily into her comm, she starts to set up a transport zone.

Laco gets to his feet, helped by McAnally, "No, we need to get....scans of that wreckage first...sir!"

McAnally looks Laco over as he stands. Despite the blood and breathing difficulties due to the atmosphere, he looks alright.

"Can't see a blasted thing..." Leah mutters softly, turning several times to see around her as best she can. Hearing Laco, she speaks up, talking to Ashido, "I can do that, Lieutenant..., sir, I'm uninjured."

Ensign Dade quickly sets up the transport zone in a triangular pattern and readies it for transport. Ashida checks the creature and discovers it is indeed still alive, merely stunned.

Dade says "Ssir.... we're okay to transport..."

Laco says "Gotta...get scans...We need...information *COUGH* on the Siinogans."

Ashida nods, stows his tricorder. He keeps his phaser out and glances around often. "At least we know the crash was survivable. As was my phaser shot. We'll need to establish a comlink to the Cape Fear. And I would like to at least attempt to make contact with the alien vessel. Mr. Laco, you may continue to scan the wreckage until a transport can be made. Then you are returning to the Cape Fear.."

Having lost his tricorder when the bug pounced, Laco turns to McAnally, "May I see...your tricorder...?"

McAnally unholsters the tricorder and hands it over to Laco.

<CONTEST> Laco contests his Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Leah contests her Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Dade works on using her suit comm to establish a communications link with the Cape Fear. "Ensign Dade to Cape Fear.. respond?" She says this now and again as she adjusts the communicator.

Laco says "I think....thats the only bug....maybe we should beam it....back to the runabout...too....If we...leave him here...the brass will have our...heads."

A staticked voice responds over Dade's comm badge. "This is.. ape Fear.. our signa.. .. istorted."

Dade looks in Ashida's direction, "Partial communications with the Cape Fear... sir....do you..." Hearing Laco's suggestion, she gasps, "... so they can decide we have a war prisoner? We should just repeat their distress call a few times and let them come for him..."

Laco says "If they were coming...they would have....been her long before...us. We're in...their back...yard."

"Dade, McAnally, Laco, carry on. Leah, is this lifeform, in your estimation, Siinogan or of Siinogan origin, in your estimation?" He pauses, then continues to relate some information. "It will be regaining consciousness soon and the radiation exposure, so all of this will need to be carried out quickly. I'd also like to make a final scan for other possible survivors." Being the first to begin on the second stage of his orders, Ashida takes out his tricorder again and starts scanning.

<CONTEST> Ashida (claiming advantage) contests his Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Succeeds!

Leah shakes her head at Dade's proposal, but doesn't comment. "Yes, sir... I don't know what caste exactly." She pouts, though no one can see that because of the helmet, "Maybe if we investigated the ship a little closer, we could eliminate some of the interference...?"

<CONTEST> McAnally contests her Intellect (Perception) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

McAnally looks around, squinting into the dusty wind while Laco scans using her tricorder. Leaning forward, she pauses, looking fixedly at a particular point, then disengages slightly from the group and walks toward it. Moving aside some debris, she unearths something that looks like a small torpedo. "Lieutenant, I've found something!" she calls out over the suit's crackly comm line.

Dade speaks into the comm, panic giving way to frustrated consternation in her voice, "Cape Fear... lock onto this location and hold for transport, please?"

Commander Balin responds to Ensign Dade, "Ca.. ear stan.. by."

Laco says "Hmm...wait..."

Ashida nods. "I'm not reading any more lifesigns." He frowns. "Although the scan is not entirely reliable with this interference." He checks his chronometer. "We've only got a couple minutes so lets make it brief. And then we and our friend here are beaming back to the 'Fear, whether we've found anything further or not." He moves to check out McAnally's find.

Laco steps off toward McAnally, to see what she's got. Once there, he scans it.

McAnally shows Ashida her find: a small torpedo wedged under some debris.

The thing that McAnally spotted is tubular shaped, about three feet long and made of the same carapace as the hull. It has a rather evil-looking barbed business end, and what appears to be a propellant end. It looks like a tiny torpedo.

Laco says "Sir this....looks like a Siinogan...weapon of some kind...if we salvage...anything from this trip....it should be this."

Ashida nods. "Very good. Check it out as best you safely can, and secure it for secondary transport."

"We have a containment field strong enough to protect us from it exploding onboard the Cape Fear?" Leah asks, a little aprehension in her voice. She keeps her eyes open, making sure to pay attention to the stunned alien.

Laco says "No, we dont...but we can't pass up the chance to...get something like...this"

Leah doesn't like that one bit, "Maybe we could tow it." She suggests, then walks over to the 'rescued' bug.

Ashida says "I would suggest using a secondary transport stage to beam it a safe distance off our bow where we can study it further and, if need be, tow it back to the station using a tractor beam, Ensign." Again he checks the chronometer. "Ok. We're at exposure. Everyone assemble." He fiddles with his communicator. "Lt. Ashida to Cape Fear. Six lifeforms to beam up."

McAnally moves into the transport triangle, giving Dade a weary smile as the group moves in together.

Dade checks the pattern enhancers and confirms a good lock. "I will keep the pattern enhancers active so we can get a lock on the... for the secondary transport... then we can beam them out."

As Leah shimmers in the transporter beams, she sighs, then asks, "What are we going to feed it?"

The transporters engage. They take a moment longer than expected, and since the runabout can only handle two at a time, it's slow work. But in a few minutes, everyone, including the hostile, stunned bug, is on board the Cape Fear. Commander Balin engages the transporter one last time, and seals the torpedo in the protected room that Laco set up. "Good work, everyone," says the Commander. "Mission accomplished."