Whispers in the Darkness I

Posted on Wed Mar 11th, 2020 @ 12:48pm by Ahreva Malana & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Lieutenant Commander Thex sh'Zoarhi & Lieutenant JG Tovanna Mah & Ensign Weiaex & Ensign Briaar Gavarus & Petty Officer 3rd Class S'Rina Wil'I'Ams & Petty Officer 3rd Class V'Nus Wil'I'Ams
Edited on on Fri Mar 20th, 2020 @ 4:02pm

Mission: Dedjoy System Mystery
Location: U.S.S Hera, U.S.S. Turing
Timeline: 2397

In the main flight deck of the U.S.S. Hera, Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox was pacing a bit anxiously. Commander Rita Paris and Lieutenant Commander Sonak had just departed in the Cyclone Curiosity to examine the actual structure of the cone-shaped planetoid know as Primordious, and the Captain had ordered a second away team to take a Runabout to the Starship that they were there to investigate the disappearance of in the first place, the U.S.S. Turing.

The Oberth-Class research ship sent out an emergency beacon just before vanishing from sensors a few days ago, but thanks to the modifications that Yeoman Ila Dedjoy had developed that enabled the Hera's sensors to cut, at least partially, through the unusual phenomenon of energy absorption that was occurring in the region where all ambient radiation seemed to be pulled into the maw of the former star eating Titan, the Hera had found the USS Turing.

The Starship was adrift and seemed to only have partial life support at best, listlessly floating in a very wide, decaying orbit around Primordious. When the Hera had approached the system, the Turing had been in the apogee of its orbit on the far side of Primordious, and therefore blocked from the ship's sensors. But now, the crew had found Starfleet's missing vessel, and the Captain had given orders to investigate, determine what had happened, rescue any survivors, and repair the ship if possible. 

The Runabout THOR was the most robustly armored small craft in the Hera's fleet of support ships, and Lieutenant Commander Dox was currently running her through a systems check while Engineering assistant Ensign Briaar Gavarus was tucked under the main console with a tool kit. After a few moments, the portly Porcine crawled out and grunted as she stood back up, which was no small task for the two-meter tall, 190-kilogram Tellarite. As she did, the slightly anxious Romulan Flight chief spoke. "How are we looking, Miss Gavarus?"

"I installed the hardware from Yeoman Dedjoy, for the sensor enhancements and the shield frequency boosters. Everything is reading as green, so the Thor here should have the same boosted shields and sensors so that she can fly through that energy drain effect no problem." As the two women were still alone on the support craft, the temperamental Tellarite cricked her head as she watched Dox run another full system check. The two women weren't exactly close, but they respected each other, even if Briaar was still slightly afraid of Dox's physical combat skills. But she was also picking up on her superior officer's nerves. "So... uh... sorry, but... are you okay L-C? You seem... tenser than usual?"

Distracted for a second, Dox got up and paced slightly in the flight deck of the Runabout. "Huh? Oh, yes. I'm fine, Miss Gavarus. I'm just... a little anxious about having to stay on the Hera while this mission is happening. Plus, I have a bit of a background headache. But thank you for asking. I'm fine, but if I'm projecting enough for you to say something, I guess I need to relax a little."

"C'mon. There's nothing else us re-working the systems are going to do except create a problem that doesn't exist. I'm just being anal-retentive. Let's let the away team do their jobs," Dox said as she lead Gavarus off of the Runabout just as the actual away team was arriving on deck.

"Nervous because Commander Paris always does her own flight checks and she wouldn't let you look over the Curiosity?" Gavarus raised an eyebrow and leaned over to Dox conspiratorily.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Ensign. None, whatsoever." Dox replied with the slightest hit of a grin cracking her otherwise serious Romulan facade. Of course, that was just a part of what had ramped up Dox's anxiety. Another aspect was her nerves being on edge being stuck on the Hera as two away missions were heading into danger.

Walking up to the Thor, was the away team, decked out in re-fit EVA suits that had also been modified by Yeoman Dedjoy to resist the energy-draining effect that had been detected in the system. At the head was the Hera's Andorian Second Officer and Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Thex sh'Zoarhi, who would be in command of the mission to repair the Turing, to try and get it's engines back online and modify her shields to resist the energy drain. Behind her was the literal mountain of a woman, the Ashravenan biologist, Ahreva Malana. On Malana's left was the Edosian pilot, the orange-carapaced Ensign Wieaex, who would be flying the Thor.  In the middle, was the Hera's new Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Tovanna Mah. Bringing up the rear were the Klingon security sisters, Petty Officers V'Nus and S'Rina Wil'I'Ams, charged with protecting the away team. 

Handing a PaDD to Thex, Dox offered her superior officer a light nod. "The Thor is prepped and ready, Commander. All modifications installed and reading green on the checklist. She's all yours. We will be in constant communication, assuming the system and the modifications we've made allow for it."

"Glohhaasi' mnekha, Commander sh'Zoarhi." Dox said as she and Gavarus went to leave. It was an old Romulan phrase that meant 'good hunting', as 'good luck' wasn't a concept in that particular culture. As she stepped back to defer to Thex, she winced ever so slightly again. "Sorry. Just a headache. Have a safe trip."

Dr. Mah noted the comment about a headache and flipped open her PaDD to follow up on it when they returned from their mission. From the point the mission was assigned until it was over she always took notes after 60 years of dealing with reading one too many reports where things had gone wrong and simple clues were key to a patient's survival.

"I'm sure we will, Dox," the Andorian nodded as she checked the PaDD, thinking it was an odd coincidence as Tathaa also had a headache this morning. Probably just the twins giving her quad a bad night. "Look after the ship until we get back, right?"

"Aye, Commander. We'll keep the lights on for you." Dox replied in kind as she nodded and headed to her office while Ensign Gavarus returned to the R&D Department.

"Okay, people," Thex nodded as she turned to her team. "We have a ship to fix and people to save. Make sure your gears working and let's get to work." She said to her team, keeping her speech brief. The burly Klingon women moved to the rear of the craft, settling in and strapping down. Away missions to starships without power tended to be grisly affairs, and the sisters were mentally preparing themselves to guide the away team out of trouble.

After a quick check to ensure their gear was operational, the away team boarded the Thor, and got ready to go. Ensign Wieaex, the three-armed and three-legged Edosian pilot took her place at the helm, as chatty as she generally was. "Okay. Looks like the systems all checkout, and we're good to go."

Tapping the consoles comm panel, the outgoing Edosian continued the pre-flight check with two of her free hands. "Hera flight control, this is the Thor, requesting clearance. Over."

As they waited for clearance, the literally stone-faced Malana took the science and operations seat and pulled up the sensor readouts. The Thor didn't have the best sensors of the support craft the Hera carried, but they were still far from the weakest. They were just normally tuned for tactical readouts so it took Malana a few moments to pull up the recon and rescue configurations.

"This is Hera flight control, you are cleared for departure on takeoff vector 5, Thor. be careful out there," came the reply from the Hera's flight deck.

After a moment, the smaller support craft was cleared and quickly moved into open space towards the adrift Turing in the distance. Moving slowly, the skilled pilot monitored the situation as they approached the darkened Starship. "That is just creepy, watching it roll around like that, isn't it? I'm on one-quarter impulse. Even with our shields holding, there's occasional turbulence from the energy waves coming off that ice cream cone of doom out there. Even this far away. Okay, looks like we're about 381 thousand klicks from the object. What's our move, Commander?"

Thex was looking at the ship thinking of the best place to insert her team. " Take us into the port side airlock. We'll dock there and proceed to engineering." The Andorian decided. " We'll use the ship as a buffer."

Calling up the Oberth-Class schematics on her helm control with one hand, Ensign Weiaex brought the runabout around on a steady approach. "Will do, Commander. Bringing her around now."

As she did, she flipped on the external guiding lights to better see where she was going but even the ambient light from the floodlamps flickered and wavered in the radiant energy absorption effect just outside their ship's shields. "Yeah, that's not ideal. And also extra creepy. Yeah, gonna bring her in on pure instrumental... thank you Chief for the extra sim training... okay everyone. We're backing into the airlock port, hold on to yer butts."

Very slowly, Thor's rear inched into the indent of the Turing's port side airlock as Thex ordered and there was a light shudder as the skilled pilot threaded that proverbial needed perfectly and the docking clamps sent a dull clanking sound that reverberated throughout the cabin. "Locked and docked, Commander."

Okay, let's do this. Thex thought to herself as she took her position at the lead of the team. " Okay, everyone. I'll lead the way, Mah and Malana in the center and the Wil'I'Ams sisters bringing up the rear. Wieaex, stay with the ship and keep her safe. Seal the hatch behind us and only open for our ID codes. We don't know the state of our fellow fleet members so keep phasers on stun. " She said calmly.

Pulling out her phaser, Petty Officer V'Nus checked the weapon and her own Heads Up Display. And even with the enhanced shielding in place, the data she was getting was lean at best and her phaser's power supply, equally shielded, still seemed to be fluctuating. And even though the Klingon woman was no officer, she decided to speak up. "Commander sh'Zoarhi. With the energy-draining effect permeating this vessel, it's possible our weapons may not reliably function. May I recommend Petty Officer S'Rina and I taking up positions at both the front and the rear until we have cleared the entry point as safe?"

"Permission granted," Thex replied as she moved her position in the team giving her phaser a final check before giving the go-ahead. "Let's do this, people."

With a flick of her wrist, a bronze gladius appeared in Petty Officer S'Rina's hand as she moved to take the lead, nodding in unspoken agreement with her sister. As the more aggressive of the two, she would take point, while the more perceptive of the duo would bring up the rear. There was a very low likelihood of trouble and a high likelihood of casualties, so S'Rina set the stage.

"This is an adrift vessel. There may be decompressions and... physical remains of such events." It was the most clinical way the Klingon security officer could explain that decompression deaths in zero-G left spectacularly messy corpses. "There may be sections with no artificial gravity, but the maglocks in our boots should keep us secured to the deck. The atmosphere may or may not be breathable. Do not take that chance. There is modified shielding on our EVA armors that we have been assured will work, but be prepared for that to fail in the face of the unexpected. Stay together and focus on our objective- as the Commander said, first we get to engineering and secure it. Now, is everyone buttoned up and ready?"

At the rear, Petty Officer V'Nus materialized a long staff from her bracers and nodded, as they looked to the ship's doctor and biologist to ensure they were ready.

The civilian biologist Ahreva Malana finally sealed her suit but left the air supply off before nodding to signal her readiness. "As I do not require air for more than speech, I will conserve mine in case it is needed for emergencies. However... I feel something... watching... Not unlike how my own race watches. So I will maintain the integrity of my suit."

For her part, Tova nodded and took note of the comment on remains, "If there are remains I will obviously need a look to determine cause of death, and who was lost. We can't assume decompression is the COD, it may merely be the final result of some other issue." She looked at the crew to see if further justification and reasoning was needed. She wanted everyone that began this journey together leaving together, and knew sometimes you had to learn from the mistakes of others to avoid making them as well with the same results.

With a few nods, the team activated their magnetic boots and opened the airlock seal from the Runabout Thor into the drifting Starship Turing. There was an eerie hiss as the door opened into the darkened corridor into the Turing. With S'Rina at the front, weapons at the ready, the team slowly stepped into the pitch-black space.

Once clear, Ensign Wieaex nervously closed and sealed off the Thor as ordered, leaving Thex, Malana, Tovanna, S'Rina and V'Nus alone as they worked their way in step-by-step. The Turing's blueprints overlaid in each officer's heads-up-display enabled them to see where they were going in the almost total darkness. Helmet-mounted flashlights cut through the murky blackness a bit, but with the energy absorption effect, it seemed to somehow almost eat the light ever so slightly, making the ship's corridors feel that much more claustrophobic as they advanced, magnetic boots clanking through the stale remnants of the remaining air in the space.

Suddenly, a sensor warning went off in the HUD's of the Klingon security sisters, as a rhythmic beep indicated the presence of something moving towards them in the corridor ahead of them.

“Incoming,” S’Rina growled as the contact moved closer and closer, then rounded the corner, only to launch themselves at the burly Klingon warrior.

Unencumbered by a spacesuit, shirtless and feral, a bald humanoid male with blonde eyebrows launched himself at S’Rina, clawing at her faceplate with his chipped and broken fingernails. As he literally frothed at the mouth, she withstood his tackle, taking a step back to hold onto her balance, but bearing the additional weight of the crazed crew member with relative ease. As the madman scrabbled at her armor, trying to find some purchase for his nails or teeth, the petty officer waited for her moment, then drove a fist across the lunatic’s jaw, staggering him. Another blow followed, this one an uppercut into the sternum that lifted the madman off the deck by a dozen centimeters or so. Then another right cross, and the gibbering humanoid fell to the deck, clearly unconscious.

“He tried to impale himself on my sword,” the Security officer grumbled, stepping over him to eye the corridor around the corner. Where there was one, there were bound to be more.

"Madness." V'Nus replied, eyeing the unconscious man on the floor, his breathing still sharp and erratic as if he were still raging within his own mind. Looking him up and down for a second, she stepped aside to cover the Hera's Doctor as she commented on an observation. "Those pants and boots as Starfleet issue. Likely a crewmember."

"Excellent work ladies, let's see what is going on with him." Dr. Mah was on the downed man in an instant, sedating him to keep him down, then she started running diagnostics on the crewman in record time. "What in the name of all the galaxy?" She saw the extensive wounds, broken teeth, cerebral swelling, and neurological output. She immediately did a scan for biological components in the brain; parasites, viral infection, bacterium, hemorrhage, or aneurysm. Nothing was coming up but the Theta wave activity was being disrupted. She looked up at the group confused and looked over the results for the man's genetics to see if they played a part in his issues or if it was merely exposure without a suit that caused his deterioration.

Thex opened her coms back to the shuttle. " Weiaex we have encountered one of the crew. They are openly hostile and may be contaminated. Have the Hera have a decontamination team on stand by in case we need to bug out quickly. " She said to the shuttle before looking again at the downed crewman. " He's bald. Deltan perhaps?" she said getting her own suit to run through a list of the ship's crew to see if any matched.

Dr. Mah nodded in confirmation at Thex once she had full readouts, "Indeed, he is not just a bald human. I'm looking at the Theta wave disruption and what could be causing it, wait even these highest ranges of the Deltas have been affected." She looked from her tricorder to Thex, "I've crossed off all internal biological issues, microbial infections....his hormonal reading are reflective of someone under prolonged stress, like his body is in overdrive. This has to be external, but what?" She looked at the rest of the crew, "Do NOT take off your suits, that's medical orders. In the meantime we need to figure out what the hell is causing these disruptions." She looked over the crew doing a quick rundown of susceptible parties still cautious.

The stone woman, Malana, spoke up as she too crouched to inspect the Deltan crewmember. "My people communicate in a manner similar to telepathy but in a much slower manner... Perhaps... This is the cause of the feeling of being watched I've felt for some time now. As if my people were staring at me from afar."

To Be Continued...