The Enemy (Part 2 of 8)

Posted on 18 Sep 2013 @ 8:54pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Commander Scarlet Blake & Lieutenant Commander Dea Mialin & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Commander Andreus Kohl & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Lieutenant Commander Amynta Markos & Lieutenant Ammar Fahad & Lieutenant Lilou Zaren & Lieutenant Jared Nicholas & Lieutenant JG Victoria Crawley & Ensign S'Ranna T'Srrr'Kharh & Ensign Im'er Mor'an & Lieutenant JG Jacrux & Ensign Ariadne Fleming & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Tarishiana Barel & Alexander Iella & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Arthur Willis & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexion Wylde & Senior Chief Petty Officer Keval zh'Erinov & Petty Officer 1st Class Victarion Jaqen & Petty Officer 1st Class Gabriel Stark & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm & EMH Mark X-C "Shirley" & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Amon Mormont

2,434 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 04 - Exodus
Location: USS Galileo - Main Bridge, Various
Timeline: MD 03 - 0115 hrs

Previously, on The Enemy (Part 1)...

"The new surface relays we installed should be able to redirect our power through the Galileo's hull and back into the impulse engine without overloading it," a woman's voice echoed out of the access vent above their heads. A moment later, the grate shifted and Lilou Peers poked her goggled face out, peering down at them, bug-like. "We haven't run a full test sequence on them, but trying it might be better than just waiting to explode. Just a thought." She shoved the goggles up to her forehead and rubbed some sweat from her cheek, replacing it with grime. "Chief," she nodded to Quinn. "Chief," she glanced at Fahad. "I could scuttle out to the hull if you need."

Ammar nodded, surprised to see her appear. He had yet to meet Galileo's former Chief Engineer, but he recognized her from her photograph. "If you can avoid going EVA, that would be best. But, yes, let's try that."

"Can do," she gave him a small salute. "I'll try to access them by squeezing through the inner shield tracts. Give me just a few minutes. I'll be on comm." Her head disappeared back into the access vent. For a few seconds, it sounded as though a large mouse was scurrying over their heads. Then nothing.

Galileo's newest chief engineer frowned. Things were not going well at all.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Bridge

Back in the primary command center, Lirha gritted her teeth with frustration while the main viewscreen flickered and fizzled in and out of a clear picture. There was apparently something within this particular section of the nebula which was interfering with Galileo's sensors more so than usual, and though it hopefully provided a bit a defensive shield from any possible enemies, it was making her life very unpleasant. Without being able to get a good read on what was in their surroundings, she was ill equipped to take any defensive or offensive measures should the Borg probe decide to return anytime soon.

Jared bit his tongue to keep from pounding the console in front of him. "Damnit to hell!" he exclaimed angrily, "Ma'am, er mean sir, there is too much interference coming from the nebula. I need some help here to try to figure out how to adjust things, I am sorry."

Victoria swore at the console as she fiddled with the controls. The sensors were going crazy and she was having a difficult time fixing them. Well this is fun. Something beeped and she swore again. If you break the ship, you're an idiot. After a few more seconds of messing with the controls and a few choice words, she finally was able to clear out a little bit of the interference, at least, enough to get a vague idea of what was going on around them.

Aria frowned as she looked at what she was doing, swallowing. "I am getting some weird readings in front of us...it looks like another ship," she said and glanced around.

Lirha frowned and looked down at her console when the tactical officer reported a possible sensor contact. She still couldn't get a very good picture beyond a few hundred kilometers in front of them, and she hesitated for a brief moment to contemplate a course of action to take.

Before she could utter an order, a disturbance in the nebula suddenly appeared in front of them on the still-flickering viewscreen. The thick stellar dust and particles began to move in an outward puffing motion, then suddenly a massive black and speckled green cube-shape appeared directly ahead of them, moving terrifyingly fast towards Galileo. Lirha's brain processed the image with utter horror -- it was a Borg cube, of the tactical variety if she wasn't mistaken and most likely the one which had turned USS Venture into a floating cluster of debris. Her heart began to beat through her chest as panic set in, and she shouted the only thing she could think of.

"Helm, evasive manoeuvres! All hands, brace for impact!" she yelled as her voice boomed across the comm on all decks of the ship.

Jared was following the Captain's orders when the ship shifted violently to port. He was just able to catch himself and avoid being thrown to the deck, though he did hear a ligament pop in his elbow. He winced slightly then put the pain out of his mind. He had a job to do.

Scarlet found herself flung to the deck for the second time, her already throbbing head hitting hard. She rolled onto her side with a gasp of pain, blinking through it as she pushed herself up, her dark hair escaping the pins to half fall down. She grabbed the chair, dragging herself back up into it to try and get what reports they had coming in. She had to assume they had even more people unable to man their posts now.

Victoria lurched to the side and caught herself on the console before she could follow the captain's orders. Pulling herself up she looked around at the chaos and swallowed when she saw the Borg cube. She took a deep breath and said a silent prayer before turning back to the console. Her hands shook slightly, but she ignored it and set back to work.

S'Ranna was visibly bristling with fright: fur frizzed, tail stiff, mane ruffled, claws gleaming, eyes wide, ears upright. Still, in such a case her deeply ingrained instincts kicked in, and rather than curl up in the sobbing ball she so desperately yearned for, she leapt to action, paws a blur as they programmed in new evasive patterns to confuse the Borg sensors. She brought the Galileo up in a sharp bank sweeping across the bow - as much as any of those bleak black-green walls could be considered such - of the Borg cube.

But they were moving at a dread slow pace, S'Ranna mewed to herself sorrowfully.

Galileo performed what could only be described as a miracle manoeuvre thanks to its expert helmsman, and managed to roll then pitch its tiny hull to the side to avoid a devastating collision with the giant cube. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of seconds before the diligent Borg drones aboard their vessel noticed the Nova Class, and a powerful green tractor beam struck out and latched itself onto Galileo's shields, jolting the ship and crew.

"Captain," Mor'an called, her voice uncharacteristically laced with an undertone of apprehension. "The Borg have us in their tractor beam. They are pulling us in."

The tell-tale shudder brought a cry of dismay from the Caitian helsman. She attempted to break the ship free, but the propulsion systems were far too damaged to outrun such a powerful tractor.

Aria swore, hitting the controls. "They're draining our shields! The bastards are draining our shields!" she let them know, shaking her head. She was helpless to do anything.

"I'm trying to remodulate them!" Victarion said, his blue eyes wide. He shook his head, working hard...but not sure if he could. It did not look good. In fact, he was struggling to keep up with it all.

Jacob alerted the Science Lab, "If you all have created a final draft of that computer virus we've been working on, now would be the time to use whatever you've added or modified, we have to send it now."

Jared looked up from the console, his elbow still smarting. "Sir, I've been ready for the past three minutes. Just awaiting your word."

Victoria looked down at the various numbers and symbols littering the screen on the console. It wasn't nearly finished, but it was enough to send to the Borg and that's all that really mattered. She jabbed a button on the console. "The virus is sent; they have it now."

Tarishiana wasn't too worse for wear. She had been knocked from her chair, but the baby was still happily kicking her in the rib. Her fingers danced across the console in front of her. "I have the communications infiltration bypass prepared and loaded. Ready when you are."

Ariadne sat up, dazed. She had been knocked from her chair to the floor, banging her head against the decidedly uncomfortable metal wall. Her head throbbed with a maddening intensity, as if every nerve impulse in her brain was clamouring for attention. She squeezed her eyes shut, and, upon opening them, remounted her chair, absentmindedly tucking her hair-how damp and stringy it was-back behind her shoulders. "Is anyone hurt?" she called faintly to her comrades.


Main Engineering

Quinn held onto a rafter with his cybernetic hand as the ship's SIF strained to keep up with the wild manoeuvre that the Helmsman performed to avoid the collision. HE looked at the console and his stomach fell to his feet. "Shit! Lieutenant. They have us in a tractor beam. A damn Cube that came from I don't know where has us!"

Ammar paled. Their shields had failed completely. First came tractoring, then came assimilation. "Arm yourselves!" He looked down at the console, thinking furiously. We've got to find a way to get us out of their grip," he muttered.

"Now maybe a good time to modify a Class-One probe's running shields to a multiphasic band and mount a warhead to it and launch that bitch at its max warp speed right into that Cube." Quinn stated to the Chief Engineer. You think the Skipper will go for it?"

Willis pulled himself up from the fall he took and looked at his system screen. "I could run a quick program change to a probe and change its modulation is a few seconds."

=^=Quinn to Bridge! Can you have a science and operations officer rig up a Class - One probe to the specs Willis is going to be sending up?=^=

=^= I'll see who we've got that can get on it, =^= Scarlet replied quickly, her voice sharp with concentration as she patched the request through to Science and Ops to see who they could spare.

Ammar was grateful to have such a competent team. Clearly Quinn had earned his posting as CoB. His experience was invaluable. "Do what you can with that probe. Willis, get it done. In the meantime, everyone else, let's get power back to the shields as soon as we break free."

=^=Peers to Engineering. Do you read?=^= Lilou's voice echoed from the Main Engineering console. =^=What the hell is going on? I've got hands on the inner shield track modulator. I'll turn the relays on at your word.=^=

Fahad looked at the system stats. =^=Peers, we're caught in a tractor beam. Our shields are down. We need to shake them. Do whatever you need to do!=^=


Triage Cargo Bay One

Allyndra felt ready to drop. It was never ending series of people coming in and she could only after a point either give them something and send them on their way. Only the most severely injured remained the ones that she could not send on or were going to be known fatalities.

She was just finishing a rather nasty removal of a shard of bulk head that had pierced a femoral artery when the ship moved violently. She lost her balance and fell. For a race that flew, one learned instinctively to relax rather than tense. The floor came up hard, but fortunately she found herself bruised but not hurt badly. Allydnra scrambled up remembering the patient and was greeted by several pulses of bright red. She said a few impolite things in Akkadian as she worked to staunch the flow.

It was touch and go for a few moments but she finally got the bleeding under control. She felt the hot stickiness on her hands, and dripping down her face. She could not help but lick her lips. The taste was rich, and had a distinct musky like flavour that spoke male. It had been a long time since she had eaten and an even longer time since she had something not replicated. She closed her eyes for a moment savouring the taste of the stuff before shuddering knowing she should not be enjoying this.

=^=Allyndra to the Bridge. We are going to lose a whole bunch of patients if that keeps up. The structure in Triage is not all that sound either let alone shaking critical patients like a Terrier=^=

Lirha's voice replied over the comm with much agitation. "We are trying, lieutenant. We have just encountered a Borg cube -- stand by and secure that deck!"

Allyndra cursed again in Akkadian. The Guild Mother would have whipped the hide off her knuckles for the words that came out of her mouth. A cube, her mind processed that and looking across the sea of injured, all at once a feeling of what was she doing trying to help these people went through her. More than likely many would not survive being deemed to 'damaged' to be used and the rest a life of servitude.

She then remembered the 'scissors' but that would only stave off things for a bit. Hope, Allyndra, she reminded herself, try to hope.

=^=Attention! Everyone in Triage. We must evacuate the area. The structure is weakening.=^= She grabbed the tray of replicated hypos filled with 'scissors'. =^=All medical personnel, and any of those that are helping with the severely injured, take one of these. In case Borg attempt to board these will prevent assimilation.=^= It was somewhat of a lie, perhaps for a time but it might even give the collective pause if their ease of assimilation was interfered with.

"Twins, if we only had that bipolaron." She realized her comm was open and then shut it down.

Allyndra began directing the evacuation as the ship continued to jerk and she could hear the groans of the structure around her. She stopped one orderly trying to wrangle with a bed and shook her head in the negative. She pulled him aside, "Some of these we will not have time to help, we must class as fatalities, help what we can." He looked at her but sometimes it was that hard call of field hospital work that one had to draw that line. It hurt, it hurt deeply to have to make that call.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

All Player Characters
All Positions
USS Galileo

RSS Feed