Darkness Revisited

 Episode Name:  Darkness Revisited

   Written By:  Eidolon

         Cast:  Eidolon, Green, Harris, Hurley, Laco and Torin.

  Produced By:  Starfleet

  Directed By:  Eidolon

     Aired On:  Sat Apr 23 20:46:34 2005

     Stardate:  54918.4

Time: Sat Apr 23 18:10:28 2005

Stardate: 54918.1

Far beyond the reaches of any star system in the Dulcais Sector, a comet tumbles through space -- tumbling slowly through the eternal void and absolute darkness of interstellar space.

The runabout Cape Fear from Station 419 drops from warp near the icy mass, but its interest is not on the comet itself -- it's what's within.

A lone mechanical construct juts from the cometary mass at an odd angle, but its shape identifies it as a warp nacelle, and its markings are still clearly visible (at least under a spotlight): 'NCC-1765 -- USS Bainbridge -- United Federation of Planets'.

"Captain's log, Stardate 54918.1." Harris sits at the mission commander's position, watching the slowly tumbling comet. "In an effort to reconcile events we record having occurred versus what has actually happened in the new timeline, we've been dispatched to investigate the disappearance of the Federation starship Bainbridge, recorded as MIA in 2287. We've managed to find her, as the last mission team did, enclosed in a cometary mass and drifting through space. Our orders are to board the vessel and investigate what happened."

With a flick of his thumb, Harris taps the log recorder off. "Alright, give me full sensor sweeps. Let's see what we're up against."

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

Laco says, "I'm not detecting anything peculiar, other than the fact that emergency power is still active. But perhaps that is just a testament to Federation engineering. Life support is offline."

Green settles the shuttle to follow the comet, keeping at more or less the same distance from it. She tilts her head to listen, but she's busy maintaining a more or less steady course with the tumbling mass of rock and ship.

The hairs on the back of Hurley's neck are already standing up and she looks slightly apprehensive as she gazes towards the comet on the viewscreen. Drawing in a deep breath that's slowly released in an attempt to maintain composure. "It's been awhile," she murmurs to herself, eyes casting back over towards the terminal she's near while she mentally, and phyiscally, recalls information.

Torin absently keeps an eye on the reactors, and engines, specifically as they drop out of warp. Absently calling up the diagnostics and those small troubles like heatings and coolings and such for the warp drive as it powers down. The science Ensign seems quite content to keep an eye more on the internal workings of the shuttle rather than that which is outside. With Harris around one never knows when the engines might blow up.

The cometary mass continues its slow tumbling, silent and calm beyond the viewports.

Harris pushes to his feet. "I understand that there was some kind of creature," he offers to the assembled team. "Ensign Hurley, see if you can track that down. The rest of you, let's get suited up and prepare to go aboard."

GAME: Hurley spends a courage point.

. o O Green thinks, "Just what we need. More creatures. The universe is infinite, but sometimes I wish it weren't so creative."

<CONTEST> Hurley (claiming advantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Communications) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

Laco inquires. "What sort of creature? The kind that will try to eat us, or the kind that will teach us something meaningful about ourselves, before it disappears forever?"

. o O Torin thinks, "Or the kind that will unlock the hidden sentience in your simian friend. Just remember Mo, no offering the aliens bananas."

Green glances sideways toward Harris, then taps to set the Fear to automatic before rising. "Issuing weapons, sir?" She crosses her fingers as she rummages for an environmental suit.

Hurley's eyes narrow, eyebrows furrow, and she goes into her geek coma a little earlier than normal. This is the kind of expression that can only be caused by lack of success at what she expected to be an easy task. "Nothing," she notes to herself, but for Harris to overhear as well. "There's /nothing/ on the expected frequency. I don't understand. This is the subspace frequency the energy creature used to communicate on." And there's no doubt in her mind. Her tone is /absolutely positive/. "Maybe it's not talking yet?" Laco's question strikes her and she glances in his direction. "When we .. recovered this ship awhile back, you know, before the universe decided to have an identity crisis, we found an.. energy or subspace creature trapped in the ship's systems. Lieutenant Foster ... accidently .. flushed it out."

. o O Green thinks, "A draining effect."

Torin studies the ship displays for a few more moments and then nods as he goes to begin sliding into an environmental suit. He offers, "I swear, I've been living in these things for months." He smiles though not seeming to mind over much as he slips into the suit. He arches a brow at Hurley and the comment about accidently flushing it out. He doesn't ask though just changes.

"It was hostile, according to the mission report," Harris adds, on top of Hurley's commentary. He shimmies into his environmental suit, then adds, "Type IIs all around, although I'm not certain what a phaser will do to an energy creature."

. o O Harris thinks, "Bloody hostile creatures."

Laco proceeds towards the suits at this point, presumably to put one on. "So, search and destroy is the name of today's game?"

"Destroy?" Tay looks toward Laco, quirking an eyebrow, before moving to unlock the weapons bin. Phasers are tossed in the men's direction before she settles one on Chris Hurley's console, and takes one for herself, checking it over. "Ensign," is finally aimed at Torin, "Check my suit, I'll check yours?"

"It was hostile," Christine points out gently, "because it'd been trapped in the ship's computer systems for nearly a century with no way to be released. There was no hostility noted once it was 'flushed' from the systems. Now we know we can communicate with it - we didn't know that then or even *what* we were dealing with, which *might* make all the difference in the universe this time through." She pauses and offers one of her typically radiant and confident smiles at Harris. "Shall I suit up, too?"

Torin blinks at that as well. He hrmms as he continues into his suit. He offers, "Well in the fields the best time for experiments. Not very controlled admittedly." He pauses at Chrissy's words and looks thoughtful then nods to Tay. Quietly tugging on his gloves after slipping the phaser into whatever Environmental suits have for holsters. He then begins to check Green's suit quietly examining seals and all the needed things before giving her a nod and a thumbs up and beginning to turn to let her check his out.

"Search and destroy? Maybe, maybe not. The beautiful thing about jumping timelines is not what's remained the same, but what's changed," Harris replies to Laco as he seals his helmet and activates the commlink. It's not certain if he's joking or not. "We're just going to investigate and find out what happened. If we have to deal with an insane subspace creature that wants to eat our faces, we will, but... I'm keeping my mind open for new possibilities. Suit up, Ensign... and let me check your suit once you're in, Lieutenant Laco."

Laco starts pulling on the suit. "That's a shame, I've gotten fairly good at tearing vicious energy creatures to shreds, lately." He plunks the helmet into place, and waddles over in Harris's direction.

Green murmurs her thanks to Torin, checking his suit over carefully before finally giving an approving nod and a thumb's up. "Right as rain, Ensign." Eyes a bit a-gleam, she turns to offer a suit and check to Chris Hurley.

. o O Green thinks, "Back in action! God, I've missed this."

A quick nod from Hurley and she grabs the PADD she'd laid next to her console, a headset and the weapon supplied by Green so she can scurry off to suit up with the others. It takes her a little longer than the others, considering her tardy preparations, but the suit is pulled on, helmet over her headgear, weapon secured, PADD, tricorder and even an engineering kit are grabbed with a quick grin is flashed towards Green. She may not *be* an actual engineer, but she can certainly look the part.

Torin nods at at Green, and then at Harris listening. Quietly he checks on the ship again, and then glances towards Laco as well. When there's something strange, and it don't look good. Who you gonna call? Energy creature-buster Laco?

The suits are checked, the equipment is packed -- everything's a-okay. Rather like an old story from Earth, the officers beam off the Cape Fear, two by two...

...and straight into history. The emergency lights and alert tracers still flicker in the Bainbridge's transporter room as they materialize on the transporter pad. A mummified Andorian corpse in a maroon Starfleet uniform hangs over the transporter console, whatever hope anyone may have had of saving him or her ninety years in the past.

That's, however, where the similarities to the last mission to the other timeline's Bainbridge ends.

Scorch marks from phaser blasts pockmark the walls, having burned through the bulkhead in places. A dark maroon smear spreads from the transporter console to the door, and presumably into the corridor beyond. Whatever happened here, it wasn't good.

Harris wrinkles his nose as he activates his magnetic boots to keep from drifting from the transporter pad before clomping forward. "If it's still the creature that did this, I'd say it's hostile, all right."

Laco pulls out his tricorder and begins to scan. "Well, that makes things easier. Though, I'm not sure how an energy creature would cause somebody to bleed. Unless it bisected somebody with a door, perhaps. Though, being the wily creatures that they are, energy monsters don't always conform to strict rules of what they can and cannot do."

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

Green starts to float off the transporter pad, and old training makes her thumb a tab to turn on her own boots, floating gently back down to the floor. Gaze shifting in a sweep across the room, she notes the smear and the corpse, and her hand twitches toward the phaser on her hip. Instead of taking it in hand, though, she merely moves forward to make room, and to stance beside the chamber's door.

Hurley was expecting no gravity, thus, her gravs were activated immediately after transport. No sense in getting seasick twice. She was also expecting everything to stay the same, so, the appearance of the Andorian corpse is an expected sight, but the rest... "Mind the arm," she murmurs aloud as her eyes move to the dark maroon smear pointing the way to the corridor and eyebrows furrow. "That wasn't there last time," she states and brings her tricroder up to scan before being instructed.

Torin winces at the sight, a faint sigh in his helmet as he looks around, keeping the phaser and tricorder in his hands for the moment as he takes the area in solemnly. The Ensign remains quiet keeping his eyes about for movements and things while he waits for orders. The lack of gravity doesn't seem to trouble him, though he does activate the magnetics on his boots to let him stand as well.

GAME: Hurley spends a courage point.

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

Static suddenly crackles across the speakers in everyone's helmets, but clears after a second or two.

<CONTEST> Harris contests his Intellect (Perception) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

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

<CONTEST> Laco contests his Intellect (Perception) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

<CONTEST> Torin contests his Intellect (Perception) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

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

Harris frowns at the static, waiting until it clears to speak again. "Well, there's nothing we can do to help any potential murder victims now," he points out, shining his light over the corpse. "Mo, the engine room is going to be off to starboard, three or four doors down. Do you have your history book with you?"

Laco proceeds immediatly towards a control panel, and tries to turn it on.

Green presses a hand against the side of her helmet, over her ear, at the static, her brow furrowing slightly. After a moment, she glances toward Harris. "Then who's asking for help?" The woman pauses, glancing around. "Y'all did hear that call for help amidst the noise, right?"

"*It's* asking for help," Christine says rather flatly in response to Green, eyes lifting and looking straight ahead as she unlocks the PADD from her side. "And now, I look for the frequency it asked for help on." Her eyes flicker towards Harris. "This is how it tried to communicate last time. The exact message. The exact method." Clearing her throat, she announces, softly, "For the record, all transmissions are being recorded." Confidence is waning, however, as she glances to the trail of blood leading to the corridor once again.

. o O Hurley thinks, "Ok. Let's see. What are the differences? There wasn't a streak of blood last time. Gah, that's a lot of blood. And... oh, yeah. The arm broke off. That hasn't happened yet. So, it isn't as brittle as it was last time. Static transmission with the subtle request for help is the same, but it's not on that frequency. Why isn't it on that frequency?"

Torin blinks, "History book, sir?" He turns towards the starboard bit, and looks a bit more pleased, "Engine room sounds good." He blinks then and arches a brow at Green and Chrissy, "Help? I just heard static." He admits though carefully.

The control panel Laco attempt to access flickers to life for a moment, then fades into darkness -- along with the few lights that were active in this room.

"I didn't hear anything but static," Harris replies as he turns toward the door. "History book, Mister Torin -- you know, for fixing old things?" He pauses, then shakes his head. "Just forget it, it's old people humor." Onward and outward, eh?

Laco says, "How did it get flushed out last time?"

Green glances toward Hurley, arching an eyebrow slightly, then she nods. "Nice to know I'm not hearing things." Toward Torin, she says, "It... they... said 'help us'." The pilot adds in general, "I'll cover the rear."

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

"Caleb pushed a button," Hurley responds to Laco, still eyeing where the trail of blood was before they were all consumed in darkness plus helmet lights. Eventually, though, her gaze drops down to her tricorder. "Five zero nine six five point four." Randomness from the comms officer and she inputs a few commands into her PADD and tricorder. "I think we might be able to communicate with it now, Sir."

Torin deadpans, "I thought that's why we brought you, sir." He grunts as lights go off and grunts, "That's always a good sign." He reaches to turn on the flashlight on helmet or phaser or whatnot. "You think it's worried if the power goes out, and the core shuts down it'll die, sir?" He asks thoughtfully reaching his hand up as if trying to tug his ear, and blinks as his hand hits helmet, he lets out an absent grunt.

The door shudders open at Harris' approach, revealing a dark corridor beyond. The far bulkhead has a bloody handprint on it, but otherwise, looks to be in fine condition.

This condition lasts for all of five seconds, and then a Klingon corpse drifts through the doors, locked in a death-grip with what may have once been a human officer. They bump off the bulkhead, then get to floating around the room.

<CONTEST> Harris contests his Presence (Willpower) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Hurley (claiming advantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Communications) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

<CONTEST> Harris contests his History (23rd Century Starfleet) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

Laco steps away from the console, and activates his helmet lights. "Well. Where are we headed?"

"Lieutenant Commander," Harris notes flatly as he catches sight of the rank insignia on the Starfleet corpse. "Sogh'la," he adds for the Klingon before stepping into the corridor. "Engineering, I think, would be our best bet. We'll get to the computer core, download the records, and see if they tell us what happened -- although I think it's fairly clear that they had a Klingon boarding party."

Green's helmet light flashes over the corpses very briefly. To hell with it- her phaser is in her hand. Just in case.

. o O Green feels soooooo less naked now.

Hurley's jaw tightens as she -glares- at her PADD. "Last time," she notes for all interested, "the creature tried to gain control of our ship through its frequency - and succeeded. It started draining power while we frantically were trying to free it. I... I came up with a plan to cease its tranmissions, but.. it was flushed into space before I enacted it." She draws in a deep breath and continues tapping at her PADD, tricorder balanced against her body. "Which is probably good. I think my method may have.. irritated it."

Torin watches, another wince and a grim sigh, "Engineering." He repeats Harris' comment, eyes flickering back and forth again, studying the outlay and the bits of the ship to try and get him back into the mindset of repairing ancient equipment. He glances back at Hurley's comment and wets his lips faintly. That's not a good thought. Irritable energy beings aren't fun.

The corridor is littered with the further debris of battle -- a bat'leth attached to a severed arm here, a Starfleet phaser floating aimlessly there. Bodies -- Starfleet and Klingon -- litter the deckplating, all having evidence of having met violent deaths at the hands of their opponents. Harris' light plays across a panel that reads 'Main Engineering'. The engine room is, apparently, only two doors down.

"Ensign Hurley, is there anything that I should know before I open this door?" Harris asks as he eyes the doors before him, hand on his phaser.

Laco puts the tricorder away, and gets out the phaser.

Green glances around briefly, but she's still covering the rear and all that her phaser quite out and at the ready.

"The creature was confined to the ship's systems," Christine responds to Harris, still tapping furiously at her PADD. "And, I'd like to point out once again that it was only hostile because it had been trapped for nearly a century. If.. if we can figure out how Lieutenant Nilee flushed the creature into whatever system he did and Lieutenant Foster released the creature from the ship, we *shouldn't* have a problem." She speaks without looking up, which means as she walks, she's entirely at the mercy of those in front of and behind her to know when to stop and start moving. "Of course, there are differences here. There *weren't* Klingons on here when we came last time. Obviously the creature ended this fight. Somehow."

. o O Harris is steely cold inside. Crime scenes, murder, and evil aliens really don't sit well with him.

Torin offers quietly, "Well lets just hope, it realizes we're it's way out, and that we don't need to end up like all these poor souls." He looks around the area once again shivering in his environmental suit and looking at the engineering door eager to be inside.

"Alright, then," Harris replies flatly before stepping forward.

The doors to Engineering slide open at his approach, revealing a cavernous and dark chamber beyond, lit by only the occasional flicker of the emergency lights. Another burst of static sounds in their helmets, but once again fades out rapidly.

<CONTEST> Harris contests his Intellect (Perception) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

<CONTEST> Torin contests his Intellect (Perception) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

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

<CONTEST> Laco contests his Intellect (Perception) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

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

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

Harris wrinkles his nose, waiting for the static to clear. "Alright, Mo, get me some power if you can. Lieutenant Laco, Ensign Hurley, you two are on computer detail. Lieutenant Green and I will stand watch."

"Yeah yeah, we're working on it." Laco mutters. Commanded, he starts heading for the computer core.

Green nods and moves to take a stance inside Engineering near the doors. She turns into a beacon, her helmet light sweeping across the chamber. "Did anybody else hear-" She glances toward Laco, then finishes, "That 'help me' this time?"

Hurley reluctantly hands her engineering kit over to Torin, claps her tricorder back to her side and heads towards the computer with Laco. "Cape Fear comms secured." A *look* is tossed in Harris' direction just before her attention falls on the computer. "Oh. And, just to warn you," she says softly to Laco, "when we arrived, that Andorian? Yeah, inspections last time indicated she was welded to the console. A short, theoretically caused by the creature. So, uh, watch yourself." Not that a warning like that does anything but make everyone else anxious, but at least he's been warned. "Sir," she says a little louder. "We should be able to communicate with it now if you'd like to give it a go. And, yes, Tay. It's still asking for help. You can assume that any burst of static will have that, or a simiar, message. Even if you don't hear it."

Torin shifts at the static, "I heard it that time." He offers to no one in particular, he moves a bit quicker now as he glances around for a main engineering console, "On it sir." Looking for a way to check on the power status, and a way to keep the systems they need online, taking off ones they or the energy beings hopefully won't need. He studies carefully, "Hmm, the reactors not on, I'm not sure what's keeping the lights on. I hope that's not what's draining those voices. Did we bring any power supplies on the shuttle, otherwise I can see what I can get from the lights or things that are in the system, or my Padd." He hrmphs frowning as he studies a console and the area taking it in, "It's old enough...maybe they have a combustion generator somewhere." He places his PADD and Phaser on the console and begins to open it up even as he waits to hear if there are other suggestions.

Suddenly, all their helmets come to life with noise once again -- and this time, there is no abundance of static.

"Captain's log, Stardate *static**crackle**fuzz*rendezvous with the Exeter near Dulcais Prime. Captain Riley beamed aboard and we had a long talk about the recent Klingon incursions across the Neutral Zone near Bak'TUR. Kevin seems to think that it's...*static* Chang. We're going to *static* flagship. End log."

"Captain's Log, Stardate 8927.4. We've encountered*static* lifeform. Commander P'lirca seems to think that it's feeding off the energy in our *static**crackle* core. We've attempted to communicate with it, but all our attempts seem to have failed. We're going to keep trying. End*static*"

"Captain's log, Stardate *static* Moving to intercept a Klingon vessel detected in this sector. Our new friend seems to be coming along for the ride, and we can't shake it from our computer systems, no matter how hard we try. Science *static* thinks that it's trapped in the FTL processor of the Engineering core, but hasn't *static* free it."

"Boarding parties! We've got Klingons on decks 5-9, and they control the lower...*crackle*"

"Massive discharges of *BRZZZT* throughout the ship. 50 crew dead. It's attacking us, and we can't seem to... AGGHR!"

"Help us."

"Help us."

"-Help- us."

"FREE US NOW!"

The last is extremely ominous and... well... unhappy sounding. The console Torin stands at flickers to life. On the central display, it flashes -ALERT: CONDITION RED- several times before the screen ticks over to display -HELP US NOW- repeatedly.

<CONTEST> Laco (claiming advantage) contests his Computer (Research) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Succeeds!

Harris looks around for a moment. "I hear it too," he murmurs. "Ensign, if you can, get me a channel to it."

Laco digs his way through the computer core's files. "Well, isn't that something."

Green listens hard, then her gaze and light zip toward that console, though she ducks her head slightly so as to avoid blinding poor Moroko. "Hmmm, Lieutenant?" is inquired absently in Laco's direction.

"Done," Hurley states after a brief command keyed into her PADD. "But, be warned, it didn't have patience last time, either. It wants freed and it wants freed about ninety years ago." Attention turns back to the computer as she takes advantage of the sudden flicker of power.

<CONTEST> Laco (claiming advantage) contests his Computer (Research) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

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

. o O Green thinks, "Oh man. I wish Alek were here."

<CONTEST> Torin contests his Systems Engineering (Computer) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

Torin grumbles absently, "Always want it yesterday or ninty years ago." He doesn't waste time though beginning to run the diagnostics on the panel he offers absently, "Well at least the system seems in good shape. Fortunately, all it seems like we're going to have to do, is...oh Bloodu...blood and bloody ashes. Find a system or some way to dump them from subspace energy into bloody realspace. I don't suppose anyone packed a spare Lepton bomb?" He curses a few more times, which involve a few more derogatory terms and Leptons.

<CONTEST> Harris contests his Dodge skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

Another console starts to come to life, displaying what looks like a hull schematic of the ship before it flickers over to display -RELEASE ME- in big, red, blinking, let me out -NOW- letters.

"This is Lieutenant Robert Harris from the Federation Station 419-Upsilon. We're working on releasing you, we just ask that you stay calm," Harris says quietly over his commlink as the others work. "We're all friends here."

The creature, apparently, doesn't like that answer at all -- a lightning bolt of energy blasts from a broken console, and Harris only just barely manages to get out of the way. "RELEASE US NOW! NOW!"

Laco tucks his PADD away, and steps back from the computer core. "Okay, maybe it is time to return to the Cape Fear and call in the Paine."

. o O Harris thinks, "That was too close."

Green ducks automatically at the bolt of energy flashes. She moves, rapidly, to put herself between the mission commander and nearby consoles. "Or blow this bloody ship," she nods shortly in agreement with Laco.

This is one of those 'Oh no you did nont' moments as Hurley looks up sharply towards the rolling Harris, then to the console weapon. Tricorder comes up again and she murmurs, darkly, "Or blow up where-ever it's hiding itself."

GAME: Torin spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Torin (claiming advantage) contests his Systems Engineering (Communications) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Succeeds!

Torin grumbles like every good engineer muttering, "WAste of power, as if it isn't bloody hard enough. Now the damned things going to waste all my bloody power using, bloody lightning bolts." His fingers slip along the console and he offers, "I can maybe try and dump it out through the subspace communications array. It looks like it's in good enough shape to do it. But anything else will be dumped out as well, and whether that will keep it in one piece, no idea. Reverting from subspace to realspace is bloody painful. On the bright side it's feeding me quite a bit of power." He offers helpfully to Harris the lightning dodger.

A third console displaying weapons status struggles to life, forming a rough sort of triangle around the away team with the other two. "RELEASE ME," thunders the voice from the speakers once again.

"Do it!" Harris calls to Torin as he works on getting his feet planted back on the deck. "I'm pretty certain it's going to make us all dead if we don't."

Laco levels his phaser at the smallest of the three consoles, and ramps up the power high enough to turn it into a nice metallic vapor.

<CONTEST> Hurley (claiming advantage) contests her Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

Green glances sharply at the third console. "Oh lovely," she mutters. Personally, she likes Laco's response, and she turns to aim at the remaining console that doesn't have a Torin standing near it to follow the mission specialist's example.

"There!" Hurley declares very suddenly, pointing her body, gaze and tricorder all at the processor assembly. "It's in there! Mo, get it out!" But, even as she speaks, her PADD is dropped to pull her phaser out to train it on the indicated equipment.

GAME: Torin spends a courage point.

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

Torin hmms at the calls out, he works, almost calmly fingers flickering over the console. He doesn't act discriminately, the Ensign simply dumps the processor information into the ships communications and tells it to transmit. Not the most precise of actions, but perhaps effective, "I really need to work on communicating with Energy beings. It never goes well." He takes a few steps back from the console once he's done, whether he's worried about lightning or phasers...well.

A howl escapes the comms systems, and then all the consoles go dark, while a whisper floats on the air. "Freedom..."

And then, silence settles on the Bainbridge's engine room once again. After a few moments of darkness, the lights come on to their emergency levels, and the consoles flicker on, displaying ship's status reports, as they should. Apparently the unhappy subspace creature was hoarding all the power that the ship's batteries had left.

Harris pushes to his feet, his boots securing to the deck once again. "Let's get what we came for and get the hell out of here," he orders flatly before taking a deep breath and releasing it.

Laco doesn't need to be told twice. He starts heading for the exit, content to take point if everybody else is going to goldbrick.

Green glances briefly after Laco, but she doesn't move, still warily half-crouched. "Nice work, Ensigns," she offers after a couple of seconds.

Hurley pauses long enough to reattach her phaser to her side then retrieve her PADD from the deck. Turning to the computer, she works on transferring data to the Cape Fear.

Torin eyes the console as it brightens up warily. He tries to scratch his chin, and frowns absently at the helmet again, mumbling. Slowly the Ensign approaches it again offering an embarassed look at Green, "Sorry it took so long...old equipment." He offers, as he does his best to make sure the computer and log bits have power, and checking the usual diagnostics.

Once their task is complete, the transporter of the Cape Fear gathers her crew. Moments after that, the runabout spins on its axis, warping away for home.

For the first time, and yet, once again, the ghosts of the Bainbridge are left to the silence and darkness between the stars.