What Lies Beneath (Part 4 of 4) [18+]

Posted on 27 May 2025 @ 4:25pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant JG Serran & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Lieutenant JG Nusien & Ensign Mimi & Lieutenant JG Hovar Kov & Lieutenant JG Binea & Ensign Amanda Turell & Chief Petty Officer Katja Becker & Petty Officer 1st Class T'Lin
Edited on on 27 May 2025 @ 4:28pm

4,325 words; about a 22 minute read

Mission: Episode 21 - Helix
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 1, Bridge; Deck 2, Transporter Room 1; Deck 3, Multi-Purpose Lab
Timeline: MD 07, 0614 hrs

Previously, on What Lies Beneath (Part 3)...

Hovar's adrenaline was still in high phase as he gazed with fury upon the monster. It was wounded, and there was no point in Hovar going into going for the kill. The Klingon slowly but surely backed up off of the transporter pads, more appropriately, he was limping off of the area that...thing can be transported away from the ship. His breathing was heavy, and his heart was pumping in his chest. His warrior pose was also defensive, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Then again, he had no idea if he had anything left in his tanks.

"Will somebody please get this thing off the ship?"

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

Delainey barely had time to register the creature’s retreat before she spun as quickly as she dared on her heel to attend to Hovar. She needed to get the hell out of there with him, just in case the creature decided to come alive for another round, but she felt torn about leaving her fellow officers in harm’s way. She also had a feeling no matter what she threatened, she would not be able to convince Hovar to leave until everyone was safe, and she, despite her adrenaline rush and determination, knew she did not have the physical strength to bodily maneuver him out of the room and to sickbay. Instead, she eased him in the furthest corner of the room before she opened her tricorder in one hand and reached for a specialized pressure bandage in the other. She knew she had to stop the bleeding and quickly.

Katja didn't take her eyes off the...whatever the heck it was as she raced over to Delainey and Hovar. Now that someone with a weapon that could be set to 'kill' was here, she figured her hypospray was unnecessary. Besides, it appeared as if it might be coming under the affects of the meds she had pumped into the thing if the drooping appendage was any indication.

Crouching down, Katja looked over Hovar and saw that Delainey had already slapped a pressure bandage on the gaping wound of his leg. "With respect, sir...you're going to have to tell me all about the Klingon battle tactic of eating your enemy."

To Delainey, she said, "What are you seeing on the scans, ma'am?"

Carlisle shook her head in frustration. "These readings aren't right. He's getting weaker and more unstable for some reason even though I'm working to stop the bleeding." Delainey swallowed a lump of frustration. Hovar's readings were all over the place, which was to be expected given the adrenaline coursing through him, but his vitals were dropping. What was she missing?

Allyndra was still hovering, but taking in the scene. She thought she figured out Hovar wanted to do. "Force that thing back onto the transport pad and then as soon as it is there, energize, deep space scatter," she ordered. Before that could happen the thing collapsed.

Hovar's body was feeling the battle, yet he refused to take care of himself. With a grunt, his leg still obeyed his commands, but with severe protest. Everyone could see that something was not right with Hovar, that he was not himself. His voice weakly spoke as he went up to his defeated foe. On the inside, this memory was going to stay in his mind.

Carlisle exhaled in frustration as Hovar refused to stay still. His words were in keeping with the context of events, if a bit melodramatic, so was this more evidence of poor health or evidence of stubborness? He didn't strike her as someone who would be deliberately insubordinate even in his impulsiveness.

"As the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love."

Hovar, with all of his remaining strength to grab the enemy...whatever it was...onto the transporter pad, Hovar's mind raced to remember the verses of Saint John. His voice grunted, his lungs begged for more air, yet it seemed none came. As he pulled the...thing...onto the pad, Hovar's voice growled.

"If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have kept my Father's commandments, and do abide in his love."

When the job was done, he almost fell in the blood. His voice became strained, his wounded leg going no further. He hit the pad hard, relying on the rest of his body to get away from the transporter pad, to walk away alive, yet not well.

Delainey watched him stumble and immediately came behind him. She knew she could not absorb all of his weight if he fell, but even if she could absorb some of it and help to avoid further injury, she would. She thought of sedating him outright, but without knowing how his battle with the creature had fully impacted his health, she didn't dare suppress his functioning any further.

"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be filled," continued Hovar.

As he cleared the transporter pad, he nodded to everyone, anyone, who knew how to operate the transporter to beam it out into space, to get rid of this violent foe, to get rid of the thing that could kill almost everyone on board.

"That is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you."

His voice was barely above a whisper, yet they filled his mind with the absolute confidence that so many thought he used as a crutch. None of it was a crutch, it was a reminder. The words of his Lord were a commandment, a standard, a goal that no mortal could fully achieve, even if they were sainted. It gave him strength to push on, even when his body begged to lay down. It resonated with him as a Klingon; death before dishonor, duty above all, victory always.

With what he thought would be his final breath, he remembered all of the crew that he swore to protect, even those who swore did not need his protection.

"Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

With those words, Hovar fell.

Allyndra pressed her comm badge. "Prepare for site to site to sickbay."

The Andorian had been stabilized and if she made it through the next twenty four hours she would live. Not a bad day for Sick Bay or so Nusien thought, then his thoughts were inturrupted by the XO's call. He tapped his comm badge. "Acknowledged Commander."

Nusien made his way to the surgical bed and signaled one of the nurses to join him. An emergency cart was brought to the bedside and he already held a tricorder in one hand. They were as ready as they ever would be.


Deck 1, Bridge

In comparison to the unseen chaos currently unfolding in the transporter room, the atmosphere within Galileo's bridge remained quiet and calculated. Tarin discreetly adjusted her seated posture within her chair at the center of the command well while impatiently waiting for the comms channel to Enus Station to somehow reopen; and for some form of update from the first officer regarding their in-progress rescue attempt. Time was ticking and the ship's chronometer now showed almost four minutes had passed since the beam-up cycle completed. What was taking so long?

A sudden internal threat alarm sounded from the aft alcoves of the command chamber where the operations personnel were situated. The tone was distinctive and one which prickled the hairs of every command officer whenever they encountered it in simulations.

Serran muttered something under his breath. More than likely, it was Vulcan, but that was just a guess; his voice was pitched so low.

Then he turned to fully face Tarin, raising his voice to a normal level. "Captain, our internal sensors detect phaser fire in the transporter room."

Hearing Serran's call of weapons fire in the transporter room Mimi quickly trained the internal sensors directly on the transport room. "Mosti dipris???" She said quietly. "There are five life signs in the transporter room, four are ours, the other is... I do not know."

Tarin's back arched when she scooted to the edge of her seat and swiftly slapped the commbadge atop her breast. "Transporter room, bridge, report! What's happening?"

Allyndra got the captain's inquiry. "Part of some alien aquatic life form came on board with the transport and attacked Lieutenant Hovar. It was extremely aggressive. I called for security with a phaser as we had nothing else. I was ordering the aquatic form to be beamed off, but it has collapsed. I need more security and a site-to-site beam someplace it can be restrained. Rescued life form transported to sickbay. I don't have a full status on the lieutenant, but he appears highly injured."

The sense of urgency became palpable within Tarin. A firm push of her hands atop her chair's armrests helped her rise to her feet before swiveling her head to the rear of the bridge. "Stand by, I'm en route," she replied over the comm before locking her sights on the blond-haired Vulcan operations manager. "Lieutenant Serran, you have the bridge. Get that comm channel with Enus Station open as quickly as you can," she instructed while releasing the small and discreet armament locker beneath her chair and retrieving a Type-2 phaser. "I'll be in the transporter room."

"Aye, Captain," Serran instantly responded. He didn't move from his position just yet but reached out once more to the station below.


Deck 2, Transporter Room 1

After quickly but gently extricating herself from underneath Hovar where he managed to fall not entirely on her, Carlisle scrambled to continue scanning him. She didn't need a tricorder to tell her Hovar's respiration had worsened and the only remaining explanation was one she knew she had to, but didn't want to consider. "His respirations are dangerously decreased and there's other signs of paralysis elsewhere. That bite must have exposed him to some sort of toxin. We need to get him to sickbay now." The call for emergency transport took little time, but it felt like an age before she saw the sparkles and felt the tingling sensation she always did before transport.

A shimmer of bright transporter particles enveloped the figures of both the chaplain and counselor, and their presence in the transporter room vanished within three seconds. What remained was the after math of a mild catastrophe - liquid mixtures of multiple blood types and Enus V's sea water coated the room and the walls, their splatterings prominent while dripping down each bulkhead. The entrance to the room suddenly hissed open again and this time Tarin's familiar tall figure appeared with a compact phaser clutched in her right hand.

Galileo's captain slowed her steps then came to a momentary halt while surveying the scene before her. The strong scent of internal bodily fluids and sea water permeated her nostrils and was accompanied by the stench of something else. Her hazel eyes locked on to the alien life form which had infiltrated her ship - to the tentacle tip which had seemingly managed to produce chaos.

"What...is that?" she angrily whispered out loud while raising her arm and phaser toward the throbbing tentacle-shaped piece of life.

Amanda almost turned as the transporter room doors opened but kept her eyes and phaser trained on the tentacle. "A tentacle of some sort," The others were better at giving the biological things than she was so kept her report to tactical. "Heavy stun didn't affect it but it did retreat after a few seconds of exposure."

"A...tentacle," the words from the security officer registered but seeing the 8-foot specimen of aquatic life didn't give the description its due justice. It slowly coiled itself into what appeared to be a defensive posture; thick, leathery gray skin adorned its topside which had been punctured and now oozed a lime green substance from its wounds. It was large. Massive, and Tarin could only speculate as to the size of its host life form. It was awe-inspiring to view in many respects but also terrifying in its predatory nature.

"Right flank, ensign," she ordered Turell before looking up at the winged first officer who hovered above the creature. "Top flank, Number One...I'll take the left side. Approach on my command. Prepare to execute." Tarin then gestured her head toward the platinum blond medical officer. "Chief, get down to a science lab and prepare a biological sample containment array. Big enough to house this thing. You have 60 seconds...go, now!"

Katja gave herself a lot of credit that she managed respond to the order in the only answer that was allowed regardless of what it might mean for her. Already the muscles in her thigh began to twinge in morbid anticipation. "Aye sir-" 60 seconds. A flat-out run. A containment array for the Lovecraftian horror. Why some days it just didn't pay to get out of the bunk.

The doors to the transporter room hissed open and Katja was off. The order had been given; it was now her problem to figure out how to obey it. Step one? Run like hell...

Amanda didn't take her eyes or her phaser off the creature but nodded slightly to show she'd understood the Captain's instructions.

Allyndra hovered once more above and near the thing wondering what the heck was she supposed to do. She had no weapon on her.


Deck 3, Multi-Purpose Lab

It was so interesting what one could accomplish in the rush of adrenaline. Time slowed, the heart sped, and the razor sharp focus she experienced was far more consuming than any physical discomfort. It was the best pain-killer. Yee-haw!

The trip to deck three passed by in a blur as she zenned her way to one of the multi-purpose science labs. Luck was on her side, the doors parted and there stood a...wow, a blonde Vulcan! Her eyes darted to the woman's collar then back to the science officer's face. "PO1. Help. Now." Katja barked - finding complex speech to be rather challenging in the moment. "I need a biological sample containment array. We gotta house an aquatic hitchhiker that was able to overpower a Klingon. We have less than a minute to do so - lives are at stake."

T'Lin raised an eyebrow. "Interesting, just how large of a containment?" She held up her hands and spread them to about half a meter.

Katja laughed in response, not knowing what exactly about all of this was humorous, but unable to help herself. "Oh wow, no. More like ah...two-and-a-half meters? That number is close enough for freighter work."

"Aquatic? That is going to be problematic." T'Lin turned and went to a cabinet to fetch stands for a force containment. "I am not so sure we can generate enough water, perhaps beam some from storage." She hand some of the stands to Katja. "We need six there, and I'll put six here. That should be enough, though we might have to reinforce depending on how much water."

"By the Great Bird, nein! No water! We could barely stop the piece of creature in the transporter room with a distinct lack of moisturization; To think of it in water?!" Katja looked mildly horrified as she quickly began to deploy the stands, moving with a jittery swiftness that only adrenaline could bring. "No time for hydration, let's just worry about making sure this thing is Klingon-eating tentacle-proof."

"As an aquatic life form, to be without proper environment would and could be considered a form of torture which would violate Fleet ethical standards," T'Lin responded in a typical Vulcan dispassionate way. "However, once contained we can then consider the ethical portion." She positioned her hands. "That should be sufficient."


Deck 2, Transporter Room 1

Only three crew members now remained within the blood and salt water-splatted transporter bay, along with one seemingly-wounded alien tentacle. The chaplain and counselor had completed their emergency transport to treat the Klingon's injuries suffered in combat, and the primary rescue patient was already in sickbay hopefully being tended to after suffering severe wounds from the sub-aquatic life form. The blue-collared chief petty officer? Hopefully well on her way to establishing a containment chamber for whatever this intruder was.

Tarin widened her foot stance then bent her knees into a mid-crouch. Her small hand phaser remained extended toward the tentacle while she confirmed the positions of Turell and Warraquim in their respective spots. "Number One...I need you to get closer to it - make it expose itself...its front side. Turell, set maximum stun and when it uncoils, shoot the lower base half. I'll do the same to the top half. Don't waste your phaser charge on hitting its outer shell." The backside of the tentacle appeared to be composed of a reinforced and leather-like epidermis which, compared to its softer and more dangerous underside containing sensory organs and fangs, was not a prime target.

Allyndra was still wondering what to do to distract the thing. She was not armed. Finally, she figured to take off her boots and as she got the first one off, she flung it at the creature.

A soft thud from the footwear denoted its insignificant impact upon the Enusian creature. The boot bounced off its form as if it had impacted a tritanium bulkhead then fell directly in front of it. Perhaps it was the scent of the shoe, or the texture or composition or any number of other properties, but its sacrifice quickly came to fruition. The tentacle's physique rippled then it uncoiled, raising itself high in the air again and opening its carnivorous underside to lay its numerous eyes upon the flying fleshy insect prey. It's multiple rows of fangs dripped with some form of salivary fluid then snapped open just before it lunged forward at the first officer.

"Fire!" suddenly echoed Tarin's sharp and urgent order to the security officer. Her elbow locked and she matched her shoulder alignment to the tentacle's movements before depressing the trigger on her hand phaser and holding it. A bright tangerine stream of phased energy particles erupted from the tip of her weapon accompanied by the high-pitched sound of its discharge. The phaser beam impacted the upper torso - 'portion' - of the aquatic life form then spread in continuing waves across its membranes and physical shape.

A few moments after Tarin's phaser beam struck the tentacle Amanda fired too aiming for a section lower down on the creature, she hoped that this time against what looked like a more fleshy section of its body the heavy stun would be effective.

Allyndra hovered away. She realized she was much faster than it. This wasn't liquid space, but dry. It had to be starting to dehydrate. The twin beams of the phaser fire erupted as it attempted to reach for her. Though the first boot had no effect, and she doubted the second one would either, she tossed it to try to add to the distraction.

The dual beams of weapons fire began to coalesce against the large creature then merged into a continuous-frequency pulse. The tentacle halted its attack and stiffened before recoiling away from the first officer where it withered to display a more muted and defensive behavioral posture. Six long seconds passed before Tarin released her thumb from her phaser's trigger and lowered her arm to observe the effect of their work. It appeared...placated. No, wounded. Discombobulated for lack of a better observation. Now was the time.

"Transporter room to Becker," she called into her commbadge after giving it a quick slap, "I hope you're ready. We've momentarily subdued the life form - stand by for transport." Tarin then pointed to the large standing transporter console within the room and locked her focus on Warraquim. "Get over there and beam that thing into the containment chamber!"

Becker heard the shrill voice of the captain erupt from her commbadge and looked across the containment set up. The area would be large enough for the 'specimen,' but would it be strong enough? Only time would tell.

"We are as ready as a minute can make us, sir. Beam away."

She looked to the Vulcan 'egg-head,' and stated, "I hope this thing will keep our guest inline...otherwise, might I suggest running?" She looked around and really wished she had a weapon. Things like this were far easier to deal with during the war...

"We could always ask whoever is transporting it to put it into buffer until we can reinforce. Panic at this juncture would be highly illogical." T'Lin touched her comm badge. "We are ready, signal on the stands."

Allyndra heard the reply and landed. It took a second to coordinate the signal and then with a push the transporter went to work. In a shimmering phase of air the thing vanished. "On its way."


Deck 3, Multi-Purpose Lab

An airborne manifestation of transporter particles quickly materialized within the ship's science lab and specifically inside of the hastily-constructed containment chamber. The dimensions were...tight, for when the large portion of the alien tentacle arrived, there was barely room for it to move. Its flesh was smushed against the confines of its container, and though visibly subdued, began to react to its new prison by attempting to maneuver and uncoil. Unsuccessfully.

"The containment is holding for now. We should do scans and attempt to determine how much longer this creature will be able to endure. I am at a loss currently of how long out of an aquatic environment this life form will last before suffering irreparable harm," T'Lin said cocking her head and moving slightly closer to observe their newly contained specimen.

"Considering it has been cut off from it's body, is the longevity of the...limb really a...ah...priority? I mean, I watched it eating the egg-head we beamed aboard and then munch down on the Klingon priest. I would have been far happier to have spaced the thing...but I only work here." Becker's eyes never left the containment field as she spoke to the Vulcan scientist, not trusting the situation enough to let her guard down even in the slightest.

=/\= Captain, we have containment, but it's a bit tight. Not sure how long it'll be able to survive at such low gravity and lack of hydration...=/\= Becker's voice trailed off; she wasn't certain what the endgame would be with this thing, but she'd much rather get herself back to sickbay than to hang around and find out whether or not it could bust out of the containment field.

T'Lin had gone to get a tricorder. She figured to get some readings on the thing so she could determine if it was dying, surviving or what was going on. There was still fluid leaking from it and that concerned her.

"Stand by," the comm channel propagated Tarin's voice into the science lab. "I'm on my way with Ensign Turell."


Deck 2, Transporter Room 1

The coil whine from the pad's primary energizing apparatus subsided then left the transporter room and its three occupants in temporary silence. Tarin slowly lowered her phaser hand then holstered her weapon into her belt's small pouch. Her hazel eyes had turned severe during the brief combat encounter and their focus now darted across the pools of fluids on the floor before traveling up to her fellow officers. "Turell, Number One...are you both okay?"

"I'm good Captain." Amanda said, she holstered her phaser and took a deep breath. "I guess I can check strange tentacle creature off the list."

Allyndra landed barefoot. She gingerly picked up the footwear and went to a recycling station. "I am fine, but I am definitely not wearing those again."

Both of Tarin's hands raised up to her forehead before traveling down across her face to wipe the sweat and invisible adrenaline from her body. "We'll have to personally commend Commodore Fetah from Uniform and Supply the next time we return to HQ." It was the best the captain could contribute to help dissolve the lingering stress of combat.

"Get back to the bridge as soon as you're clean and continue trying to re-establish communications with Enus Station," added the captain to Warraquim. "And get a biohazard team in here to sterilize the transporter room. Turell, you're with me - we're going to take a closer look at our 'guest' in the science lab."

"Yes, Captain," Allyndra replied. She gingerly stepped around the various puddles of biological fluid. As soon as she got into the hallway. "Ops, I need a complete decontamination of Transporter Room 1 on Deck 2. Consider it biohazardous."

Serran, without taking his eyes off of the screen in front of him, tapped the ship's intercom system /=\This is Lieutenant Serran. We need a biohazard team to Transporter Room 1, Deck 2. And also a security team to restrict access until the clean up team has completed their job."

[OFF]

--

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

CMDR Allyndra illm Warraquim
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Hovar Kov
Chaplain
USS Galileo-A

CPO Katja Becker
Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Becker]

LTJG Nusien
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Delainey Carlisle
Chief Counselor
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Binea
Researcher
Enus Station
[PNPC Mimi]

LTJG Amanda Turell
Security Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Mimi]

LTJG Serran
Operations Manager
USS Galileo-A

ENS Mimi
Deputy Operations Manager
USS Galileo-A

PO1 T'Lin
Science Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Warraquim]

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