The Time Capsule Part II
Episode Name: The Time Capsule Part II Written By: Fortunae Cast: Absyn, Alarcon, Cross, Fortunae, Havaris, Medes and Nilee. Produced By: Starfleet Directed By: Fortunae Aired On: Thu Jul 31 03:19:37 2003 Stardate: 53399.8
Time: Wed Jul 30 20:30:47 2003
Stardate: 53399.2
Last Time, on Star Trek: Anomaly --->
Moving alongside in an elegant interecept trajectory course, the USS Amazon is dwarfed by the Asteroid that if in a steady obbit around a planetary body would likely be classified as a moonlet.
"Helm," Havaris notes aside to the missus, "keep us steady in adjusted orbit. Automate if you can, I may need your hands in a moment."
Medes says, "Now in adjusted orbit around AX-83744. Automating primary flight functions now, sir."
"About one kilometer deep into the rock, I am detecting what appear to be Class M environmental conditions. The scan for weapons systems and power supply, that's running now. With a km of rock between us and whatever's inside, I can't get possible crew numbers. I'm going to queue up that long strata resonance scan Absyn suggested next, pending the results of the scan that's running, so perhaps we can indeed find a passage within." Alarcon's eyes are narrowed, and she is peering down at her console.
Nilee quirks his lips to the side as he quickly skims more of the information, "Well... we're talking several thousand years ago, so we can't exactly isolate their tactics. Though I would suggest not using the word 'Federation' in your initial greeting. That apparently was their ancient enemy, and if there is anyone alive down there... well, they might think we're them."
Cross frowns at the words that he sees on the door, muttering low over his com channel. "Auxiliary Access Dock Final Menegerie." His gloved finger fit the BIO button, searching for life form readings. Luckly, his tricorder is in his right hand, so he doesn't reach for the phaser. The 25 meter range detects no life close besides theirs.
The Ancient doors rumble and part after Havaris runs his bypass... faint light from the failing lumiscence systems filter in from the corridors beyond at a level not unlike star light. Warm, moist air is read on the suits systems... and within the once surely decorative walls seem to be over run with what is likely some sort of mold... but silence is the true ruler here ultimately. The silence of a tomb... which makes the Starfleet officers the ones to break it's intertial solitude.
The dim lit darkness, and the answers they seek both await beyond the threshold into the lost Second Imperium.
And now ...
Helmet and wrist lights pierce the ancient darkness, playing across walls who's original designs were surely a point of pride, but are now blackened with long dead molds and mosses in ugly patches... but where there is not dead fungus.. the cleverly engraved walls flash with metallic gold.
When the doors finish their cycling and the mist rolls around the legs of his suit, Havaris swallows rather hard inside of his helmet and shifts the beam from his rifle's light about the too-large interior of the complex. His voice crackles over the com, "Stay close. Stay sharp." Quite as though this place weren't 35,000 years dead, but rather much crawling with the likes of Jem'Hadar or Cardassians. He steps forward slowly, continually shifting his body around for a clean 180 degree firing arc as he takes point in leading the team inside. This is how Aliens started, you know.
Alarcon moves into the room with all attendant caution, as well, eyes flickering between her creepy surroundings and the comforting glow of her trusty tricorder. "Roger that," she agrees. "Close and sharp, everyone." Clearly the shiny screen with its reassuring glow isn't picking up any horrible alien scourge... yet. Isobel continues further into the room with caution, pointing her tricorder this way and that.
The chamber beyond the doors is clearly in fact a corridor... it heads off to the left and to the right...
GAME: Medes spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Medes (claiming advantage) contests her Systems Engineering (Engineering) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
Tap. Tappity. Tappita. Taptaptaptaptap. "Ahha!" Medes points her tricorder down one of the hall's branches. "Here. Look. Okay. This way. I think I've god a lock on a relay feed, here. Should lead us to a systems junction at the least, maybe the administrative CnC." She nods her head inside her EVA helmet, still fiddling witht he feed.
Cross follows slowly into the room. The lights of his helmet shinging off the glossy texture of mold. He looks to his tricorder, now in his left hand, checking the bio readings in the room. In his right, the phaser is up and aimed for the walls. He stops for a second and looks. Did the wall move? He shakes his head in his helmet before continuing. He looks slightly to Medes as she speaks up before his eyes continue to watch the enviroment.
GAME: Nilee spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Nilee (claiming advantage) contests his Systems Engineering (Engineering) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
Nilee continues tapping at his tricorder controls, his concentration completely set on the instrument before him. After a long pause he stops his advance, "Sirs... I've just gained access to the subroutines that operate the door opening mechanisms around us. I can open and close the doors here at will now... should we come across any more."
Absyn moves over to one of the walls and blinks slightly, a hand brushing at some of the moss, "Intreasting.. these walls are solid gold..." shakes his head a little bit as he eyes the large edifice before continuing on with the group, looking around watching for anything.
Havaris turns in the direction indicated by Medes, advancing cautiously down that section of corridor at a pace that is no doubt appreciated by the science officers behind him. Slow means lots of time to scan things. Also, it means progress isn't exactly rapid where getting out of here is concerned. Which is self-defeating, really. "I'm more interested in the fungus. Molds. What have you. The atmosphere is safe, but what about the life within it? This air is likely thick with spores and... Prophets know what."
The Mossdust brushed by Absyn explodes in its disintergration at his touch, littering the floor around his feet in the dust that falls in a slow shower.
GAME: Alarcon spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Alarcon (claiming advantage) contests her Life Sciences (Biology) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
"This hasn't been alive for thousands of years," Isobel notes, brushing a sample of the mossy stuff into her tricorder tray for closer analysis. "No cellular activity at all. Granted, I wouldn't imagine we'd enjoy breathing it, but at least it's not alive, nor is it trying to send showers of reproductive spores." The tricorder goes about its scientific business, and the results, when they flash up on her screen, seem to surprise her. Pausing in her slow stroll down the hall, Alarcon notes, "Absolutely no contact with this atmosphere at -all-, folks. It may seem hospitable, but this moss..." She shakes her head. "It's not in my tricorder database, but we might be able to look it up on the Amazon. Its biochemical analysis, however, indicates that it could be used to manufacture... well, what would probably turn out to be a ridiculously powerful narcotic. Were it alive. So as noted? Let's not breathe it in."
"Ew." Medes wrinkles up her nose at that news. "Right, so, helmets on. Gotcha. Keep going this way, sirs." And she continues to read her, well, readouts as her tricorder blinks and beeps merrily.
Cross slowly to a stop and puts the phaser away finally. He switches the tricorder back into his right hand, his finger returning the scans back to MET. "Hmm..I don't recalling seeing signs of a subspace field from the Amazon. I wonder if the crew or population might be still alive in stasis pods." He looks up to Alarcon before his eyes looking at the dust that was created.
<CONTEST> Nilee (claiming advantage) contests his Systems Engineering (Engineering) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
GAME: Medes is now set IC.
Nilee quirks his lips as no one notes his announcement. Shrugging, the science officer continues tapping at the controls on his tricorder, he smiles as he gets more results, he's starting to enjoy this, "I've just isolated the subroutines for life support... I have control over basic life support functions now as well... air refreshers... thermostats..." He nods his head a few more times as a couple more subsystems pop up under his control.
. o O Nilee thinks "I'm hacking the systems of a 35,000 year old giant spacecraft. Janzon never saw anything like this."
Havaris glances aside at Isobel's report, shaking his head ruefully behind his visor. "Glad I asked," his voice crackles over the com, "no. Really. I am." Eyeing the mold on his boots, Havaris turns to glance briefly at Medes, bellowing out an unheard sigh and a faint grin. "Ironies," he finally observes of his current predicament. And without further ado, resumes course along Medes' indicated course.
The helmet makes it difficult to tell that Alarcon's grinning, but it's evident in her tone across the com. "Great work, Nilee. That sets my mind a bit more at ease." She continues to scan as they head along, tricorder in one hand, phaser ready in the other. Her helmet nods in Havaris' general direction, then, and a question crackles across the com. "Medes, how much longer will this take us, do you think? Even just an estimate would be helpful."
"Averaging about 3 km an hour in our suits... prrrrrobably about half an hour," Medes replies, shaking her head inside her helmet at Havaris's statement of ironies. "Thus, naturally, about a kilometer and a half for those of us who passed basic division, which should be everybody, at least I hope so." Ahem. "Nice going, Mister Nilee." Impressed? Continually.
Reflexively, Cross turns his head in the direction of Nilee's voice. Of course, all he see is the inside of his helmet. Still, he smirks slightly to the man. "Don't get yourself transfered out just yet, Nilee, I just got a chance to meet you." He says while he continues to follow after Medes as she becomes their guide through the maze. He considers and starts to tap at his tricorder, working on his theory.
<CONTEST> Nilee (claiming advantage) contests his Systems Engineering (Engineering) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
Nilee taps away at his tricorder, he's far too engrossed in hacking the systems of a 35,000 year old spacecraft to really notice the praise now. Who would have thought engineering could be fun. It's a good thing Medes is only Human and can't hear that thought either. "There!" He exclaims finally, "I have lighting control now as well! With your permission sirs, I could give us some light to make our navigation a little easier...? I can keep it toned down to our immediate area if you wish, I won't light up the whole asteroid."
And so they set off at a steady EVA suit shuffling pace, the science officers taking scans as they go finding that this is much less a ship and much more a "colony" or station as they do. They pass through ancient lounges with dried fountains, and as they navigate along pick out more clues to the organization of the area, different color classifications likely breaking the facility down starting with the least classified areas of Red classification as they move closer to the area that Medes is sure is C-n-C a Violet classification. After passing through the yellow spectrum Nilee's door control apparatus fails and Havaris is required to use security bypasses more frequently slowing them down, but the lights in the inner circles seem to be more functional leaving them in a distinct twilight of illumination until they arrive at the center hub of Final Menegerie, a door labeled in the millenia old script as "Existence Control". The doors, wide enough for them to walk through four abreast where they open, are closed and suggest a level of heavy reinforced resistance to any intrusion....
Havaris is having a harder time of it the further on they go. Each section passed through seems to bring a higher level of paranoia out of the Bajoran. And by the time they've reached the latest block in their progress, Havaris is visibly sweating bullets behind his visor. His right hand is twitching on his rifle's handle, and his lack of smalltalk over the coms is now, rather much, apparent. He stares up at the doors for a long moment before finally speaking over the comlink. "Isobel," his voice seems to shiver, "do we have a medkit? I need a hypo. If not, you need to relieve me. I can't do this."
<CONTEST> Alarcon contests her Law (Starfleet Regulations) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Havaris contests his Law (Starfleet Regulations) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
Absyn shuffles the over the shoulder kit off his arm, "I have it right here, sir."
"Absyn has... right." When Absyn steps forward with it, Isobel lets that trail off, takes the kit from the ensign. "What is it you need from the medkit to continue, Havaris?" she asks, simply, turning so that she can get a good look at the other officer. "I don't want to have to relieve you. But we're going to have to proceed through that door. And since my scans are bouncing back at me, I don't know exactly what we'll find when we do. I need every member of this team capable and functional... and ready as you can all be for whatever's in there."
Medes clips her tricorder to the belt of her EVA suit and moves around to stand next to Havaris, that slow-motion sort of walking. Clunk. clunk. She's sweating, though not as badly as Havaris, and seems more than a little nervous, if the darting of her eyes here and there is any indication. It's like she thinks she's going to have a ghost jump out at her at any moment. Boo! Nothing is said, she just moves over next to Havaris and is there. Visible presence of Alethea. Right here.
While they are currently stopped, Cross has his tricorder up, scanning in the direction of the walls. He frowns and taps it again, but is finding nothing. He sighs heavily before speaking. "There must be some heavy shielding behind this wall." He mutters. He looks to the rest of the away team. "Are you getting anything?"
Havaris settles down onto the ground beside the corridor, getching the PADD from his hip to draw up his medical records. As much for his own reference as Isobels. He hands it over, hilighting his prescription entry. "Thoroteroremeticyclene. It's a neural inhibitor. An. An anti-psychotic. For my anxiety. And. It helps me stay focussed. I have a pill form that I take, but I can't break suit-seal. Isobel, this place... it isn't right. It isn't right at all. We need to go. The Pagh is all wrong, the Prophets don't /like/ it when you upset tombs. There were people here once, and now they're gone. We need to go. /Listen/ to them. They are /watching us/." Even more encouragement from Morale Officer Havaris.
Nilee is busilly working with his tricorder, but that work is all but forgotten as he listens to Kusto's words. His eyes go wide as he turns to stare at the Bajoran blankly for several seconds. What it was that triggered this reaction, is hard to tell.
. o O Nilee thinks "Kusto... you're my friend. This is huge though... we can't... turn back now. Spirits and ghosts..."
Medes doesn't /say/ anything, she just sort of stands beside Havaris for the time being, looking as uncomfortable as she undoubtedly feels. That's the thing about Thea: you don't need to be a Betazoid to read her emotions, nine times out of ten. Uncomfortable and conflicted.
. o O Medes thinks "It'd be breaking a General Order not to go on, wouldn't it? But he's right, the Prophets don't like it when we disturb tombs. Make me useful, Prophets. Tell me. No. I can't. Pray that. What. To what do I owe greater loyalty right now?"
GAME: Alarcon spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Alarcon (claiming advantage) contests her Command (Starship) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!
Alarcon hands Havaris the medkit after glancing at his records for approximately half a second. She never even takes the PADD out of his hand. She does, however, crouch down before the now-seated officer, tilting her head forward a bit, inside her helmet, and looking seriously across at him. "Kusto. Hypo with your meds if you need to. If you need to be relieved, I can do that, too." A slight pause before her voice crackles across again, a pause during which a deeply-drawn breath can be heard. "But I am going inside. I'm leading this team inside. I don't like it. I don't want to do it without you. But I don't have a reason to turn us around. If I turn us around without a reason, I'm violating a general order. We have no proven evidence of danger. In fact, the only life we've yet encountered has been dead for thousands of years, and a certain particularly capable Science officer already has established control over some of the vital systems of this ship. So... we forge on. And either you do what you must to accompany us, or I relieve you, and you return to the runabout." None of this is said unkindly. But it certainly isn't coddling. It's Isobel's best effort at being a leader, and being calm in the face of what she, too, feels is a distinctly... disturbing situation.
Cross walks over to stand beside Nilee. He simply watches the three command officers quietly, trying to keep himself busy with the scans. Through his faceplate, he looks to his fellow science officer with concern.
Havaris glances about the faces of the team, particularly up at his wife, then back to Isobel with a small shake of the head. He bends down to tap his faceplate against his rifle a few times, mustering up some sort of reply that he can stomach. Finally, he taps the security code into his suit and extends the hypo port to Isobel. His voice crackles over the com again. "Sorry I fell out of line, Sir. Never happen again."
The blank stare on Nilee's face is finally broken when Alarcon speaks, and the Trill visibly relaxes. Oddly, he's having near the opposite reaction to the surroundings as everyone else. After all, scientists aren't supposed to believe in ghosts... right? Letting out a breath, Galen looks back down at his tricorder, shaking his head slowly, he looks over at Cross briefly and then looks back to Kusto, a sign of concern in his eyes, even after the Trill's reaction to the Bajoran's words.
<PROVE> Havaris has the flaw of Mental Disorder at -3.
Medes watches Havaris with an intense sort of expression on her face; she worries her lower lip with her teeth and looks at the door nervously. Once Havaris extends the hypo port toward Alarcon, she briefly rests her hand on the Bajoran's shoulder before taking out her tricorder again; she does not, however, scan the doors, but the surrounding area of wall, ceiling and floor.
Alarcon takes the hypo port back, hands kit and all back to Absyn to put in order and carry again. "Understood, Kusto. No need for apologies." Rising from her crouch, she turns to face the door once more. Her hands are full again, phaser in one, tricorder once again in the other. "Okay. Once the locks on this door are bypassed, we go in with Havaris and myself shoulder to shoulder. I want Nilee and Absyn in the middle, and Medes and Cross at the rear. I want everyone to be ready and on their guard, phasers set to stun. Vigilance, people--this is the nerve center of this place. Here's hoping all that's inside, honestly, is more dead psychotropic moss. Let's go."
Her tone is all business, once she rises.
GAME: Havaris spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Havaris (claiming advantage) contests his Security (Security) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!
<CONTEST> Ancient Defenses contests his Energy Weapon (Ancient Defense Systems) skill vs Havaris's Dodge skill (given advantage) and Fails!
<CONTEST> Ancient Defenses contests his Energy Weapon (Ancient Defense Systems) skill vs Alarcon's Dodge skill (given advantage) and Fails!
<CONTEST> Ancient Defenses contests his Energy Weapon (Ancient Defense Systems) skill vs Cross's Dodge skill (given advantage) and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Ancient Defenses contests his Energy Weapon (Ancient Defense Systems) skill vs Nilee's Dodge skill (given advantage) and Fails!
<CONTEST> Ancient Defenses contests his Energy Weapon (Ancient Defense Systems) skill vs Medes's Dodge skill (given advantage) and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Ancient Defenses contests his Energy Weapon (Ancient Defense Systems) skill vs Absyn's Dodge skill (given advantage) and Fails!
GAME: Alarcon spends a courage point.
GAME: Nilee spends a courage point.
GAME: Medes spends a courage point.
Havaris grabs hold of Medes' arm to help foist himself and his EVA suit back to his feet. He slings his rifle and cracks his neck within his helmet, moving up to the doors to eye the relays. He brushes away the mold and examines the panel for a few moments before tapping at it. No luck. He then draws the panel open to expose its guts, fiddling with wires and swapping connections. In the end, he's answered with a series of sparks and no luck whatsoever. Then all at once, Kusto's head pops up. "Oh no." Too late to be of much good, Havaris springs to his feet and starts moving the hell out of the way, "EVERYBODY DOWN!"
*GGGzzzzzzzzz-ksshkkkCHOWWW!* Arcs of charged plasma erupt from the door frame filling the immediate corridor environs with unbridled ancient fury! One blue white tendril sweeps just over the twisting and falling back form of Havaris Kusto, and missing that target strikes the chest plate of his wife's EVA suit and lifts her like a balloon from the floor and up crashing against the wall to writh a moment before being dropped back down, smoke roiling off the standard issue equipment.
Another arm at the same time lashes whip-like at Alarcon and Nilee who dive to either side and down, leaving cross to take the full brunt of the arcing energy and be hurled head over heels in two complete rotations six meters back down the passage where he lands with a rough crunch, face down, likewise smoking.
A third tendril clutches at Absyn, hits his tricorder but not himself as he backsteps and trips over the deleberately down Nilee and falls, just in time to avoid being blasted.
Then the arcing stops... there is a moment of intense silence... and the doors?
The open slowly as if nothing at all had occured.
Havaris dives forward and slides across the floor as the plasma hisses over his back and straight into the breastplate of his wife's EVA suit. Whatever he screams behind his visor isn't broadcast, though he's scrambling to get himself upright even as the energy continues to sizzle the air. By the time he's upright, it's all over, and his attempt to -- perhaps -- put himself between the plasma and Medes doesn't go quite as planned. He winds up catching her with his body and toppling to the ground with her. EVA suits are heavy, dropping Medii as well. He rolls her onto her back and peers around, his voice crackling over the radio, "Thea's hit!"
Alarcon dives out of the way of the plasma, as well, and is immediately back up, at least to her knees, and scanning around for team members, eyes wide, face washed out, pale. "It looks like... Cross is down. Cross?" She manages to keep her voice just this side of steady, only a slight tremor there. Her gaze darts from person to person to person to doorway to person to... you get the idea. "Status, everyone. Nilee? Absyn?" She's struggling to her feet, now, trying to gauge the damage to the team... and occasionally eyeing the now-open doorway with alarmed suspicion.
. o O Medes thinks "PROPHETS! Ow. Oh, that hurt. That really hurt. Oh, son of a syphillitic Nausicaan whore..."
She should really /thank/ biobed three. Really. Medes should hug biobed three tight and whisper sweet words of muscle-regenerating and bone-knitting love to that bit of mechanics, because it's only by the grace of her extensive time getting injured, getting better, getting injured again, and getting better that she's built up the ability to brush something like this off... well. As much as she's brushing it off. "I'm okay. Kusto. Really. I'm okay. Just... kinda stings. Holy... " She cuts off her suit's comm, but some of the assorted curses wander out into the hallway anyway, courtesy of her... breached. Uhoh. "My suit. Lieutenants. My suit's breached." Breathing deeply from the sting of the hit, she coughs once. "Ow." That's it. Just ow. See? Getting electrocuted, shot, thrown into things, blown up and dying DOES HAVE ITS GOOD SIDE! Honest! "The blast. Look. The moss is gone." What?
Absyn rises carefully to his feet, reclaiming is now dead tricorder. "I am unhurt," he reports.
Cross coughs out hard, both from being slammed by the plasma bolt and then hitting the ground hard further down the hall. He grunts in pain before he gasps out for oxygen, his lunges emptied from the blows. He blinks a few times before he looks forward to see his faceplate his cracked open. "Oh, great...I'm here..I've got a breach." He mutters, not sure if his com was still working. He frowns as his can smell the musty interior, knowing his lunges are filling with spores.
Nilee rolls over onto his back, well, as best one can in an EVA suit. Once over, he pushes himself up, answering the call as he does, "I'm fine... suit's intact, I managed to avoid the energy." He pauses, other's suits are broken though. He immediately grabs for his tricorder which skimmed the ground to land a few feet from him, "I'm going to see if I can get the atmosphere refreshers working... atleast get some of the spores out of the air..."
Without saying a word, Havaris reaches for Medes' phaser and clips it to his side. Then her PADD. And then her tricorder. Divesting her of her equipment. He doesn't say anything about it, likely because he doesn't have to. Straightening up to a knee, Havaris notes back to Isobel over the com, "Sir, if this air contains spores that have psycholitic effects? I reccomend relieving Mr. Cross and Mr. Medes of their weapons and equipment. Until we know what this stuff is, what it does, we can't risk it. It's also my reccomendation, Sir, that we get these two back into stasis on the Amazon at once." With that, Kusto looks back down to Medes, "Need a hand up, Lieutenant? Where's your breach? Can we patch it?"
From beyond the now open doors, those looking that direction can see a tiered circular array of descending monitors and stations with a large throne like seat in the lowest middle section... ghostly blue light fills this otherwise dim chamber as the systems seem to be coming on and starting preoperation diagnostics modes automatically...
. o O Havaris thinks "Get us. The /HELL OUT OF HERE/." Ahem. "Sir."
<CONTEST> Alarcon (claiming advantage) contests her Command (Starbase) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!
"People." Isobel's voice crackles strongly across the com system. "There are -no spores-. Zero spores. The air does not contain any spores. The moss has been dead for tens of thousands of years, quite literally. It has not attempted to reproduce since that time. There are not going to be mosses growing out of your lungs. I would advise that you do not lick the walls, or bend down to snort up some of the ashes of the moss--which, as Medes has helpfully pointed out, has been neatly incinerated by the plasma, but there is nothing in the air that will harm those of you with breaches. None of my bioscans have indicated any such thing. The plants themselves contain a chemical that is a powerful psychotropic, but the plants themselves are relatively simple forms of life." Her voice is smooth, now, her tone firm, but not unkind. "If the breaches can be patched? We patch them. You start to experience anything at all out of the ordinary, you tell me -immediately-. I have absolutely no reason whatsoever to believe the air is actually harmful, now that I have analyzed the composition of the plants." She reaches Cross, which has been her destination all along, begins summarily checking him over.
"Not without my engineering kit and tricorder it's not," Medes replies somewhat drily, offering Havaris a wry half-smile from inside her EVA suit's helm. Glancing at the autodiagnostics on her helmet HUD, she adds, "Sir. But if you give them back, I'll see what I can do about repairing this breach on the left side of my chest carapace." She pauses to listen to Alarcon's speech, and nods her head slightly. "Right. Thank you, sir."
Havaris isn't so much inspired by Alarcon's speech as frustrated by it. In that he believes it. And his reason for bugging out back to the Amazon has been shot neatly in the foot by Alarcon's politely sciency discourse. He actually scuffs his boot across the floor with a mutter before handing Medes back her equipment a piece at a time. "Understood, Sir."
GAME: Medes spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Medes (claiming advantage) contests her Material Engineering (Personal Equipment) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
Cross turns and slowly trying to climbs to his feet, grunting out. He listens to Alarcon's words and sighs out with relief. At least that little worry is gone...hopefully. He raises a brow, mutter to himself. "psychotropic?" He suddely remembers protocol. "Sorry, Sir. Understood, Sir."
Absyn nods, "Understood sir."
<CONTEST> Nilee contests his Shipboard Systems (Environmental) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
Medes accepts her equipment back from Havaris a piece at a time, cracks open her engineering kit and makes a nice by-the-book field patch. LIttle lights come on in her helmet, all nice and green. Hooray! "Right. So long as I don't go trying to jig around in the vaccuum, I'll be fine. Lieutenant Cross, you want to sit back down so I can reach the breach in your suit, please?" Tall people. Sheesh. She hauls herself back up to her feet and begins perambulating in Cross's direction, not all that hindered by having been recently shot, just a wince now and then.
After some adjustments by Nilee on his tricorder... the sounds of the environmental systems kicking into a higher level of operation is clearly noticed as wall vents slat and dialate and the local air is sucked in and replaced by fresh stores of stale oxygen, now sans the ionized smell left after the arc plasma attack...
Nilee makes those adjustements on his tricorder during Alarcon's speech, he listens, but he's also working. Nodding to himself as he hears things kick in, he finishes standing up and dusts off his EVA. Eyes turning towards the open door ahead of them.
Nilee adds after standing, "Yes, sir."
Havaris observes Medes' work for a long moment before pacing back towards the open doorway, peering into the interior of the command and control center with a small frown. Once more he readies his weapon and simply bides his time for the team to form up and continue on their way, as per their orders.
As Havaris approaches the door jam and peers inside, without entering of course, the lights and machines continue to cycle washing out the chamber with blue and white lights while the screens scroll ancient Orion text of unknown meaning to him... and around the chair at the bottom, more light shines as a black orb in the cieling above it starts to project a cone of light down upon it that is busy with swirls and pixels.
Alarcon sags, slightly, with relief when Cross stands up... and is prompted instructed to sit back down. With a faint smile, colour returning to her face, Isobel turns back to the rest of the team... and then, after another carefully evaluatory moment, past them and into the room beyond. Shaking her head slightly, she moves back to rejoin the rest of the assemblage. "Okay. Medes and Cross. Are you both okay to continue? I mean, once Cross' breach is repaired, of course. Thank you, Mister Nilee. Excellent work with those ship systems."
Medes is occupied with assessing Cross's suit breach while all of this is going on. "I'm going to need you to take your helm off, Lieutenant. I need to take a thermal glazer to this crack in your visor." While she says this, she's busy extracting what she needs from her engineering kit. "This is going to take a couple of minutes, sir, but shouldn't take much more than that.
"
"And I'm fine. I've survived worse, easily," Medes adds absently.
Cross looks both to the Lieutenant and to Medes as they move to help him. He nods and painfully sits back down on the ground. The damage to his faceplate is visible to everyone. He reaches up and releases the hatches before slowly pulling it off his head to hand it to Medes. He looks to Alarcon and gives her a nod. "Good to go, Sir, once my helmet is repaired." He tries to breath the fresh stale air calmly.
<CONTEST> Medes (claiming advantage) contests her Material Engineering (Personal Equipment) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Havaris contests his Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Nilee contests his Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
As Havaris and Nilee both start scanning the chamber beyond the doors, the lights around the throne coalesce into a Hologram of what looks like... well, an Orion, but of much more Militant even imperious mean that those of the modern era. It seems to be wearing a white crisp uniform with the left sleeve all in violet. It immediately starts speaking, "Chosa doglava nochee brinto quch moso binpo gruchezoco kara'sim."
It is at that moment that Nilee notices that his tricorder is not infact pulling up data for him, but now seems to be dumping it's entire database into some other systems that is accessing it.
The Hologram continues, "Noposaba, chintozara bik dokto riiiiiiiiiim klgot klago dosruuum... Bajora, gijeneedo tokto Tr'l cajakataga hosolim brprek chano.
<CONTEST> Nilee (claiming advantage) contests his Physical Sciences (Mathematics) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!
Nilee, completely innocently, begins doing tricorder scans of the room that they were only moments ago halted from scanning by very large doors. He starts scanning, and then is distracted. A holograph? A holograph of an Orion? Watching the apparition for a few seconds as it speaks, Galen misses the change in his tricorder from the taking to the giving of data. Looking back down, it doesn't take long for the fact to be realized by the science officer. "Ohh, that's bad." He doesn't even take the time to explain as he begins tapping vigorously at the controls on his tricorder. For a split second Nilee lifts his gloved hand up and thumps the top of his helmet, ohh right, in an EVA suit... can't wipe the sweat out of my eyes. "It's draining my tricorder's database... I'm trying to encrypt the data..." The Trill mumbles as he quickly starts tapping at the tricorder again.
GAME: Havaris spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Havaris contests his Fitness (Strength) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
Abysn moves closer to Nilee to vicariously study what is going on with his tricorder since his own is terminally slagged.
Havaris eyes the aparition for a long moment as it starts speaking. His head tilts to the side as he works at poking at his compin for a few moments. "UT's aren't--" He trails off at Nilee's report, then glances down at his tricorder with a mutter. "Ah." Kusto glances about for a moment before noting the wall. Witness Bajoran problem solving. Weighing his tricorder for a moment, Havaris winds up and throws the thing against the wall with an arm neatly honed from Sprinball. The tricorder obliges by breaking into several useless pieces as a result. Havaris straightens up and notes somewhat brightly, "And they say I'm no good with technology."
<CONTEST> Alarcon contests her Physical Sciences (Mathematics) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!
Glaring down at her tricorder, Alarcon murmurs, "No one's accessing mine." Pressing buttons, she advises, "Try and encrypt your data, if you can, everyone who... still has a tricorder. Check whether or not you're being accessed."
Medes is busy over here, and so misses pretty much all of this. She's got this glazer, see, and this field patch? And that's pretty involved work. The 330th century BC Orion goes riiiight over her head as she continues her work. Work work work. The patch goes on the transparent aluminum, the glazer gets applied, the herd of metaphorical elephants goes a-thundering by... "... what?"
With Medes busy with his helmet, Cross grabs his tricorder and flips it open. "Mine neither." He comments before trying to encrypt his tricorder as the Liuetenant instructed. He looks at Medes for a second and smirks, blinks his eyes a few times with his head out in the air.
The hologram starts speaking again, "Language context files updated from portable PCUs. Attention sentients, you have entered a restricted area of the Final Menegerie facility. Internal scans indicate no Orions remain on station. Consultation with databanks identifies your species and Bajora, Tr'l and Aegyptine. Cross references with your portable computers indicates your species are all part of the Federation. Inference: Your species have allied against us with the First Federation. Speculation: You have killed all members of this bio-weapons development and storage facility and have come to secure the control databanks. Conclusion: You will not succeed. Resolution: Unleashing Ambulatory Hunter Killer Bio-forms to clean sweep facility resulting in your emminent termination of life functions.
In the distance... echoing in the maze of passages within the asteroid... a howl unheard in 350 centuries sounds...
It seems it is feeding time at the zoo...
