ON: <<Conference Lounge - Deck 3, USS Malinche, MD03, 1330>>
Will and Joey (NPC) made their way down the corridor, having already checked the main computer core for Lt. Peters. One of the technicians mentioned something about the chief engineer having gone to catch some shut eye.
"Honestly, you two have been working yourselves to the bone," Summers said as the two approached a nearby conference lounge, "I'm surprised one of you hasn't ended up in sickbay yet from sleep deprivation..."
"When duty calls, we have to answer," Will said, "It's just a matter of squeezing it in where you can."
The doors to the conference lounge hissed open, but the only light in the room was a square that came from the open doorway and illumined very little of the interior.
Peters didn't stir as the doors opened. He was lost in dreamland, chasing a phantom power fluctuation, which had manifested itself as a giant mosquito, through the corridors of the Malinche.
Summers tapped Lt. Schulz on the shoulder and motioned silently toward where Lt. Peters was stretched out on a few chairs he had pulled together. "I wonder how long he's been sleeping," Summers whispered, "Maybe we should leave him be."
"He hasn't eaten since this morning at least," Will replied in a low voice, "I think it would be better to invite him along. The worst he can do is say no." Summers shrugged and looked back at the sleeping engineer.
“Computer, lights to 20%," Will said, not wanting to blind the man. He reached over the back of a chair and gently shook Peters by the shoulder. "Lieutenant," he said in a medium voice.
"Deck 5, section eight!" Peters exclaimed as he jumped awake. Looking around, he saw that he wasn't really running through corridors and rubbed his head. "That nap wasn't nearly long enough. What can I do for you, gentlemen?"
"Sorry for waking you, but Lt. Summers and I were planning to go for lunch," Will said, "Would you care to join us?"
"I'm starved," Peters replied as he motioned towards the replicator on the wall and the table at the center of the room. "But no need to go anywhere... full service kitchen and dining room, right here."
Summers glanced at Will, who shrugged and moved to the wall. "What'll it be, lieutenant," he asked.
Peters thought for a minute as he tossed the PADD he'd brought into the room with him onto a nearby chair, then sat at the table. "A steak, medium well, with fries and ketchup... And A-1 steak sauce... and LOTS of coffee."
Will chuckled as he placed the order, followed by Summers, then his own. Balancing the three trays precariously, he made his way to the table and slid them to their respective owners.
"So," Summers said, taking a bite of his lunch, "How's things on your end, lieutenant?"
"I'm starting to think this ship hates me," Peters replied. Looking at his chronometer, Peters nodded. "Hopefully my team will finish the preparations to restart the computer soon."
"If not, at least we have a chance to catch our breath," Will said, taking a sip of his milk, "We should tell the captain to stop scheduling ship emergencies at 0200 hours."
"If you think it would help," Peters grinned.
Will chuckled again and Summers let out a short laugh. The small joke was just enough to break the tension that all three of them felt from the work that they had done so far and the work they still had to do.
Peters was just finishing off his steak and about to start on his fries when his commbadge chirped. "Lieutenant Peters, this is Lieutenant C'eltor. We're ready to proceed with the computer restart."
With a shake of his head, Peters picked up his plate and took it back to the replicator. "Well, no rest for the weary, or at least, not any more than we've already gotten."
The two other officers got to their feet as well, deposited their half-finished meals, and started for the door. Silently, Will hoped they would be able to find rest after this restart. He wasn’t sure he could spend the rest of the mission holding the Malinche together and chasing down phantom glitches.
OFF
A JP by
Lt. Todd Peters
Chief Engineer
USS Malinche
And
Mission 12: When In Rome
Moderators: Tournneau, Korath, Kersare
On, Sickbay 1400 hours
Renna finally found something for her headache. She didn’t dare take something that would make her relax, there was a danger in that. Something had been beating on her shields for hours now. She usually had no problems keeping shields up, but ever since they had gone though that asteroid field, something or someone was trying to get in.
As an empath, let alone anything else, she kept pretty heavy shields up, as most Humans never guarded their thoughts. They could not hear mentally but they sure could send. While on Earth she had to carry the heaviest shields she ever had to, not even Mikhail was that bad. She had finally gone to get something to eat, thinking that the headache might be low blood sugar, but that did not help. Old fashion Headache relief with aspirin, Acetaminophen and Caffeine did though.
When she returned to the sickbay, found the headache relief, she hid in an empty Darkened Private Room until the headache faded, then she went to look in on her patient.
He was still unconscious but his vital signs were much better, eventually she felt he would return to a normal sleep pattern, but until they could replace the bone fragments he had to be carefully tended. Portions of his brain was not protected.
Finishing that, she went looking for the CMO, so she could report that she felt there was something in the ship, or following closely to the ship, trying to get into peoples minds which could not be a good thing, and she didn’t know who else to tell.
Off:
---------------------------------
Tag, Lieutenant JG Timothy Cullen ,Chief Medical Officer
Renna finally found something for her headache. She didn’t dare take something that would make her relax, there was a danger in that. Something had been beating on her shields for hours now. She usually had no problems keeping shields up, but ever since they had gone though that asteroid field, something or someone was trying to get in.
As an empath, let alone anything else, she kept pretty heavy shields up, as most Humans never guarded their thoughts. They could not hear mentally but they sure could send. While on Earth she had to carry the heaviest shields she ever had to, not even Mikhail was that bad. She had finally gone to get something to eat, thinking that the headache might be low blood sugar, but that did not help. Old fashion Headache relief with aspirin, Acetaminophen and Caffeine did though.
When she returned to the sickbay, found the headache relief, she hid in an empty Darkened Private Room until the headache faded, then she went to look in on her patient.
He was still unconscious but his vital signs were much better, eventually she felt he would return to a normal sleep pattern, but until they could replace the bone fragments he had to be carefully tended. Portions of his brain was not protected.
Finishing that, she went looking for the CMO, so she could report that she felt there was something in the ship, or following closely to the ship, trying to get into peoples minds which could not be a good thing, and she didn’t know who else to tell.
Off:
---------------------------------
Tag, Lieutenant JG Timothy Cullen ,Chief Medical Officer
Ensign Renna Samport
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche
<<Ready Room, 1000, Day 3>>
It was still early, relatively, but it seemed more like afternoon or evening to Britney (PNPC). Luckily she had at least been able to get some sleep. That had certainly helped, but things were no less crazy now then they'd been before.
Britney had seen Isabel earlier - the Captain looked exhausted. She'd politely suggested that Isabel try to get a little rest at least, especially after Isabel told her that they would be waiting for the main computer to be restarted. Eventually the Captain had agreed.
Now Britney was trying to make her way through the latest PADDs. At least she could look forward to her dinner - or was it a date? - with Caleb (NPC).
Gathering up the PADDS, Britney took a seat. Her eyes moved quickly as she skimmed through reports from some of the Departments. Also, a transfer request she hadn't seen before was amongst the pile - a Mark Grayson apparently came aboard at the last moment before they left the Starbase.
Britney bit her lip gently, lost in thought. She was glad she decided to join the Malinche's crew, although she did get homesick at times. And she was a good organizer - that was one of her duties back on Direidi. At the same time, she felt like she was missing out. Reading the reports, Britney couldn't help but feel that she wasn't all that useful.
Right now she felt like a secretary. Normally she played a specific, vital role. Here, though, Britney felt like she should be contributing more. Of course, she didn’t have the proper training to help out in any specific department…
She sighed. Maybe once the Malinche got to Ivor Prime she’d talk to Isabel about it and see what thoughts she had.
For the time being, she’d just do the best she could as Yeoman. At the very least, her experiences would make great stories to tell. Britney smiled.
Speaking of which, she wondered what was becoming of the ghost stories circulating the ship. Britney hadn’t heard any more ghost rumors in the past few hours, but that could be due to everyone being so busy.
Finally finished with the PADDs, Britney sorted them by importance. Standing she scooped them up and sat them on Isabel’s desk.
OFF:
Crewman Britney Liras (PNPC)
Captain’s Yeoman
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
played by:
It was still early, relatively, but it seemed more like afternoon or evening to Britney (PNPC). Luckily she had at least been able to get some sleep. That had certainly helped, but things were no less crazy now then they'd been before.
Britney had seen Isabel earlier - the Captain looked exhausted. She'd politely suggested that Isabel try to get a little rest at least, especially after Isabel told her that they would be waiting for the main computer to be restarted. Eventually the Captain had agreed.
Now Britney was trying to make her way through the latest PADDs. At least she could look forward to her dinner - or was it a date? - with Caleb (NPC).
Gathering up the PADDS, Britney took a seat. Her eyes moved quickly as she skimmed through reports from some of the Departments. Also, a transfer request she hadn't seen before was amongst the pile - a Mark Grayson apparently came aboard at the last moment before they left the Starbase.
Britney bit her lip gently, lost in thought. She was glad she decided to join the Malinche's crew, although she did get homesick at times. And she was a good organizer - that was one of her duties back on Direidi. At the same time, she felt like she was missing out. Reading the reports, Britney couldn't help but feel that she wasn't all that useful.
Right now she felt like a secretary. Normally she played a specific, vital role. Here, though, Britney felt like she should be contributing more. Of course, she didn’t have the proper training to help out in any specific department…
She sighed. Maybe once the Malinche got to Ivor Prime she’d talk to Isabel about it and see what thoughts she had.
For the time being, she’d just do the best she could as Yeoman. At the very least, her experiences would make great stories to tell. Britney smiled.
Speaking of which, she wondered what was becoming of the ghost stories circulating the ship. Britney hadn’t heard any more ghost rumors in the past few hours, but that could be due to everyone being so busy.
Finally finished with the PADDs, Britney sorted them by importance. Standing she scooped them up and sat them on Isabel’s desk.
OFF:
Crewman Britney Liras (PNPC)
Captain’s Yeoman
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
played by:
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
<Bridge, 1020, MD03>
“Ensign?” Jack said to the Communications Officer, “Can I borrow you a second?”
Logan just stared at the man for a moment, forgetting his place for a moment, “Oh, yes Lieutenant...” he’d be damned if he was going to refer to Hawkins as ‘Sir’.
“I’m trying to maintain an uplink to Starfleet Intelligence but I’m not having much luck, I was wondering if you could take a look?” Jack asked, he was currently standing at the Tactical console a short distance from the console assigned to Communications.
“I’ll see what I can do.” Logan replied walking over to the tactical console, “Excuse me?” he said to gain access to console.
Jack stood aside, between what had happened in the holodeck and his little excursion this morning he was confused and wanted answers, to that end he was trying to see if Starfleet Intel had any record of the research base that he had seen, the ships database either held nothing of use or was still corrupted from the mornings goings on.
Logan tapped away at the console, shifting to carefully obscure what he was doing, he accessed the communication request to see what it was the Lieutenant was looking for; he froze briefly when he saw what it was...
“Anything you can do Ensign?” Jack said, snapping Logan back to reality.
“Erm I think so....” He worked quickly to delete the search request from the transmission and place a fake transmission log into the file; it wouldn’t hold up to much scrutiny but he was gambling Jack wouldn’t check.
A few moments later he spoke again, “All sent Lieutenant, but I’ll warn you that it might take a while to get a reply, the comm system is still all messed up...”
“Thanks Ensign.” Jack replied, he was eager for answers but would just have to wait for the reply to come through.
“No Problem...” Logan replied before heading back to his station. He sat down and opened a new communication file, he was going to have to write the reply to Jacks request himself...
OFF
A JP with me...
starring
Ensign Simon Logan [PNPC]
Communications Officer
and
“Ensign?” Jack said to the Communications Officer, “Can I borrow you a second?”
Logan just stared at the man for a moment, forgetting his place for a moment, “Oh, yes Lieutenant...” he’d be damned if he was going to refer to Hawkins as ‘Sir’.
“I’m trying to maintain an uplink to Starfleet Intelligence but I’m not having much luck, I was wondering if you could take a look?” Jack asked, he was currently standing at the Tactical console a short distance from the console assigned to Communications.
“I’ll see what I can do.” Logan replied walking over to the tactical console, “Excuse me?” he said to gain access to console.
Jack stood aside, between what had happened in the holodeck and his little excursion this morning he was confused and wanted answers, to that end he was trying to see if Starfleet Intel had any record of the research base that he had seen, the ships database either held nothing of use or was still corrupted from the mornings goings on.
Logan tapped away at the console, shifting to carefully obscure what he was doing, he accessed the communication request to see what it was the Lieutenant was looking for; he froze briefly when he saw what it was...
“Anything you can do Ensign?” Jack said, snapping Logan back to reality.
“Erm I think so....” He worked quickly to delete the search request from the transmission and place a fake transmission log into the file; it wouldn’t hold up to much scrutiny but he was gambling Jack wouldn’t check.
A few moments later he spoke again, “All sent Lieutenant, but I’ll warn you that it might take a while to get a reply, the comm system is still all messed up...”
“Thanks Ensign.” Jack replied, he was eager for answers but would just have to wait for the reply to come through.
“No Problem...” Logan replied before heading back to his station. He sat down and opened a new communication file, he was going to have to write the reply to Jacks request himself...
OFF
A JP with me...
starring
Ensign Simon Logan [PNPC]
Communications Officer
and
Lieutenant Jonathan "Jack" Hawkins
Acting Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
On
Deck 8, Science Lab 2
14:20/ Day 3
Her first mission upon returning to active duty was certainly shaping up to memorable. Like last time she found herself wondering if they would make it out alive and if not, would anyone know what happened or would they join the list of crews that just simply disappeared?
The quote on the Osprey’s dedication plaque was taken from a man by the name of Peter McWilliams and the more she thought about recent events the more it seemed to apply.
"To use fear as the friend it is, we must retrain and reprogram ourselves…"
That was only a partial quote and the full quote was prominently posted in the messhall which had allowed Reyna to memorize the quote in its entirety.
"To use fear as the friend it is, we must retrain and reprogram ourselves...We must persistently and convincingly tell ourselves that the fear is here--with its gift of energy and heightened awareness--so we can do our best and learn the most in the new situation."
How that applied to the current situation on the Malinche, she wasn't sure. What she did know was that she couldn't let her fear of a mission failure control her and her actions.
It was like the humans were fond of saying, 'what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.'
Jeffries Tube
Deck 4
Not trusting the turbolifts, Reyna was taking the jeffries tubes on her way to the messhall. As she was doing so she somehow lost her grip falling several feet before hitting a closed hatch.
She had fallen several times during gymnastics but the gym mats were softer than the inside of a starship.
Trying to stand up, she quickly nixed that idea and tried to figure out her next course of action as she was pretty sure she broke her leg again. She was about to ask for the status of transporters when a couple security officers came crawling her direction apparently sharing her distrust of the ship's systems. Enlisting their help, she risked the turbolift and hobbled her way into sickbay. Thanking the security team, she waited for someone to notice her.
Off:
Ensign Reyna Ward (NPC)
A&A Science Officer
USS-Malinche-A
TAG:
Medical
Deck 8, Science Lab 2
14:20/ Day 3
Her first mission upon returning to active duty was certainly shaping up to memorable. Like last time she found herself wondering if they would make it out alive and if not, would anyone know what happened or would they join the list of crews that just simply disappeared?
The quote on the Osprey’s dedication plaque was taken from a man by the name of Peter McWilliams and the more she thought about recent events the more it seemed to apply.
"To use fear as the friend it is, we must retrain and reprogram ourselves…"
That was only a partial quote and the full quote was prominently posted in the messhall which had allowed Reyna to memorize the quote in its entirety.
"To use fear as the friend it is, we must retrain and reprogram ourselves...We must persistently and convincingly tell ourselves that the fear is here--with its gift of energy and heightened awareness--so we can do our best and learn the most in the new situation."
How that applied to the current situation on the Malinche, she wasn't sure. What she did know was that she couldn't let her fear of a mission failure control her and her actions.
It was like the humans were fond of saying, 'what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.'
Jeffries Tube
Deck 4
Not trusting the turbolifts, Reyna was taking the jeffries tubes on her way to the messhall. As she was doing so she somehow lost her grip falling several feet before hitting a closed hatch.
She had fallen several times during gymnastics but the gym mats were softer than the inside of a starship.
Trying to stand up, she quickly nixed that idea and tried to figure out her next course of action as she was pretty sure she broke her leg again. She was about to ask for the status of transporters when a couple security officers came crawling her direction apparently sharing her distrust of the ship's systems. Enlisting their help, she risked the turbolift and hobbled her way into sickbay. Thanking the security team, she waited for someone to notice her.
Off:
Ensign Reyna Ward (NPC)
A&A Science Officer
USS-Malinche-A
TAG:
Medical
Lt. Aaron Steele
Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
On Sickbay Day 3- 1440
Renna came back into sickbay, saw A women standing on one leg by the doors. "Hello, I am doctor Samport, may I help you?"
Reyna sat down on the bio-bed closest to the door. "I think I broke my leg, again." she said with a sheepish smile on her face
"About a month and a half ago during an away mission. I had a metal beam fall on my leg. It should be in my medical file." She left it at that, hoping the doctor didn't want her to go into more detail.
"And how did you break it now?
The doctor seemed to be one to get straight to the point, which could be useful in this situation. "I ah, um. I slipped while climbing through the jeffries tubes."
Starting to run the tricorder over the leg, "Did you hit something or what did you do to break it?"
"I landed wrong after I fell, the inside of starship isn't real forgiving. Especially on the body upon sudden impact." Reyna was a little embarrassed the she didn't 'stick the landing' but as the Doctor probably wasn't aware of her gymnastics training it lessened the embarrassment.
"Your bones seem to be a bit brittle too, which didn't help matters. Ok, we can reduce the time you have to be disabled from 6 weeks to about 6 days to be sure this doesn't happen at that spot again."
Turning she called to a Nurse to come help, then they moved her so the leg was supported on the bed. Renna then send for a bioregenerator unit and a large scanner. "How bad is the pain?"
Reyna winced. "How bad is the pain? On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd say about a 6 or 7." She didn't know much about the bioweapon she picked up Mortlock 5 but wondered if it was connected to the brittle bones. She would have to ask Dr. Thompson about that as she was the only one onboard aware of the incident.
"Would you prefer to be unconscious when we set that or just no pain?"
It was a no brainer. "If you can deaden the pain but keep me awake I would prefer that."
Giving her a larger shot of Relxin, "You will become drowsy but you can stay awake if you want to, but the pain should be much less. I can't actually deaden the pain and complete the healing."
"That's fine, I can handle some pain. Besides I like being awake for medical procedures if at all possible. It's hard to explain why but I assure you it's not because I don't trust doctors." Reyna laid back on the bed and let the doctor continue the procedure.
Positioning the scanner over the bed, they started scanning the leg and isolated the break. When it got to the point that Reyna was more nodding off than awake, they positioned the break in the correct position and splinted it in place. Then they positioned the Bio-Regenerator over it and started it.
“Reyna, just lay there and relax, this has to be for an hour now, then a 6 hour rest in a private room and then another hour. We will do this for the next 24 hours, then once a day for the next 5 days, you can leave after 24 hours, with crutches so you don't put weight on it. I will say all this again when you are more awake."
She heard enough of the doctor's instructions to get the gist of it. Nodding groggily she managed a response. "One day in sickbay, got it. Lt. Steele will be informed right?"
"Yes, I will be sure he is right now."
=/\= Sickbay to Lt Steele, we have Ensign Reyna Ward (NPC) in sickbay with a broken leg, she will be here a bit." =/\=
Turning back to Reyna, See there it is all done."
"Thanks doc. I don't want them wondering where I'm at. You said my bones were slightly brittle, any idea why?"
"When we get you a bit better, we will run some tests, might just be a calcium shortage. You just lay here and rest for the next hour, while the Bio-regenerator unit does its work. Then we will move you to a private room so you can rest."
OFF: TBC
JP by
Ensign Reyna Ward (NPC)
played by...
Lt. jg. Aaron Steele
Acting Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
Renna came back into sickbay, saw A women standing on one leg by the doors. "Hello, I am doctor Samport, may I help you?"
Reyna sat down on the bio-bed closest to the door. "I think I broke my leg, again." she said with a sheepish smile on her face
"About a month and a half ago during an away mission. I had a metal beam fall on my leg. It should be in my medical file." She left it at that, hoping the doctor didn't want her to go into more detail.
"And how did you break it now?
The doctor seemed to be one to get straight to the point, which could be useful in this situation. "I ah, um. I slipped while climbing through the jeffries tubes."
Starting to run the tricorder over the leg, "Did you hit something or what did you do to break it?"
"I landed wrong after I fell, the inside of starship isn't real forgiving. Especially on the body upon sudden impact." Reyna was a little embarrassed the she didn't 'stick the landing' but as the Doctor probably wasn't aware of her gymnastics training it lessened the embarrassment.
"Your bones seem to be a bit brittle too, which didn't help matters. Ok, we can reduce the time you have to be disabled from 6 weeks to about 6 days to be sure this doesn't happen at that spot again."
Turning she called to a Nurse to come help, then they moved her so the leg was supported on the bed. Renna then send for a bioregenerator unit and a large scanner. "How bad is the pain?"
Reyna winced. "How bad is the pain? On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd say about a 6 or 7." She didn't know much about the bioweapon she picked up Mortlock 5 but wondered if it was connected to the brittle bones. She would have to ask Dr. Thompson about that as she was the only one onboard aware of the incident.
"Would you prefer to be unconscious when we set that or just no pain?"
It was a no brainer. "If you can deaden the pain but keep me awake I would prefer that."
Giving her a larger shot of Relxin, "You will become drowsy but you can stay awake if you want to, but the pain should be much less. I can't actually deaden the pain and complete the healing."
"That's fine, I can handle some pain. Besides I like being awake for medical procedures if at all possible. It's hard to explain why but I assure you it's not because I don't trust doctors." Reyna laid back on the bed and let the doctor continue the procedure.
Positioning the scanner over the bed, they started scanning the leg and isolated the break. When it got to the point that Reyna was more nodding off than awake, they positioned the break in the correct position and splinted it in place. Then they positioned the Bio-Regenerator over it and started it.
“Reyna, just lay there and relax, this has to be for an hour now, then a 6 hour rest in a private room and then another hour. We will do this for the next 24 hours, then once a day for the next 5 days, you can leave after 24 hours, with crutches so you don't put weight on it. I will say all this again when you are more awake."
She heard enough of the doctor's instructions to get the gist of it. Nodding groggily she managed a response. "One day in sickbay, got it. Lt. Steele will be informed right?"
"Yes, I will be sure he is right now."
=/\= Sickbay to Lt Steele, we have Ensign Reyna Ward (NPC) in sickbay with a broken leg, she will be here a bit." =/\=
Turning back to Reyna, See there it is all done."
"Thanks doc. I don't want them wondering where I'm at. You said my bones were slightly brittle, any idea why?"
"When we get you a bit better, we will run some tests, might just be a calcium shortage. You just lay here and rest for the next hour, while the Bio-regenerator unit does its work. Then we will move you to a private room so you can rest."
OFF: TBC
JP by
Ensign Reyna Ward (NPC)
played by...
Lt. jg. Aaron Steele
Acting Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
Ensign Renna Samport
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche
ON: <USS Malinche, Primary Computer Core, Day 3, 1355>
Peters led the way into the Computer Core's main access room. He was still tired, but not nearly as tired as he had been just 2 hours ago. The nap and meal had helped immensely. "Okay... let's get this done so we can all get back to what we should be doing."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Will said, taking a seat at one of the workstations. Summers (NPC) was closer to the main computer core, tricorder in hand to monitor the progress.
"Ready when you are," he said, glancing over at the lieutenants.
"Remind me to never complain about boring shifts again," Peters said as he tapped his commbadge. "Lieutenant Peters to all hands. The computer core restart will commence in three minutes. As a reminder, gravity will stay on, but lights will be spotty for a few minutes. All systems should be back online within fifteen to twenty minutes."
Tapping his commbadge again to close the channel, Peters nodded to Schulz and Summers. "Initiate Main computer shutdown."
Tapping his commbadge again to close the channel, Peters nodded to Schulz and Summers. "Initiate Main computer shutdown."
“Alrighty," Will said, "fasten your seatbelts ladies and gentlemen, cause here we go." His hands danced across the console, activating the shutdown routine. It was set to occur in stages so that no one system would overload the other. Only in an emergency would Will consider an immediate shut-down and this was not an emergency...yet.
Peters waited patiently along with the others as the computer shut down one system after another and the room grew more and more quiet around him. Finally, after what seemed like ages but couldn't have been more than five minutes, all the systems were shut down and the display panel in front of them started showing the computer's own shut down sequence. "Let's just hope the LCARS system wants to play nice on the restart."
"One can only hope," Summers said solemnly from across the room, "Core status reading complete shutdown." The only light in the room came from Summers' tricorder and the lamp that sat atop the workstation. Other than that, it was silent and dark.
"I've heard horror stories of ships that developed critical faults in their operating systems which weren't detected until the next Starbase layover," Cadet Altin chimed in from across the room.
Peters gave the Cadet an amused look. "Most of those are just stories passed around the Engineering classes in the Academy. It DOES occasionally happen, but it's rare. LCARS has, after all, been in use for decades and is designed for continuous operations for up to twenty years between reboots or even updates. Try starting her up, Schulz."
Will nodded, then remembered that some of them might not be able to see him, so added, "Here it goes." Tentatively, he entered the activation sequence. This time, the systems went in reverse and at a much slower rate, just to be sure everything was in working order.
"Memory scan's running well," Peters remarked after a minute. The system was already through nearly two thirds of the available storage media and had only had to fix three minor errors in partitioning.
"All clear here," Summers reported, holding the tricorder up between him and the computer core. Will was fully engrossed in the data scrolling across his screen, trying to keep his eyes peeled for any sign of anything slipping through.
"We've got LCARS start-up," Peters said. "It's running slowly... wait, there it is... and the Anti-Virus with it. Let's see how this scan goes."
"Hmm...definitely strange," Will commented as he watched the computer track the intruder, "Have you seen anything like that before?" He turned to look at Lt. Peters for a reply.
"No, but as long as it doesn't impact the systems we can let the AV worry about it for now. It's not rewriting the software or anything," Peters grinned. He looked back to his screen and noted that the communications system software was coming online as well. "We can talk to people again, it looks like."
Will, hand poised above his commbadge, looked over to Peters and gave a half smile. "Here's to no Klingon Opera," he said. Tapping his badge, he waited a moment, then said, "Schulz to Crewman Thomson (NPC)."
=/\= Thomson here =/\= a voice replied =/\= Was there something you needed, sir? =/\=
"Just testing the communications system," Will replied, keeping eye contact with the chief engineer, "Thank you, crewman. Schulz out."
Peters grinned again. "Looks like things are coming along nicely. We'll still need to monitor for a few more minutes, though. The engine monitoring and control systems are a bit cranky when they wake up."
Summers laughed at the engineers joke, but kept his gaze on the tricorder in his hand. Everyone in the room knew enough not to let their guard down until the job was done. Will did managed to relax a bit as things continued to progress smoothly.
Peters watched the screen for the remainder of the process, occasionally pointing out a critical system or a small glitch that would need looking into. Finally all systems were back online and, supposedly, operating as they were supposed to. "Alright, anyone see anything screaming for immediate attention?"
"Nothing here," Summers said, flipping his tricorder closed and stepping back toward the workstation.
"Everything looks good to me," Will replied, "What do you say we clear this with the captain, leave the next shift to our assistants, and take a break? Maybe even some holodeck time."
"You can go to the holodeck. I'm going back to sleep," Peters replied. "But it sounds like a plan to me."
Will got to his feet and tossed a PADD to Summers, who managed to catch it before it clattered to the deck. "I'm going to take a few off," he said, "Try not to schedule anything crazy for the next few hours."
OFF
A JP by
Cadet Greg Altin
Structural/Environmental Systems Specialist
USS Malinche
Played by
Lt. Todd Peters
Chief Engineer
USS Malinche
And
Lt. JG Joey Summers (NPC)
Operations Officer
USS Malinche
Played by
Peters led the way into the Computer Core's main access room. He was still tired, but not nearly as tired as he had been just 2 hours ago. The nap and meal had helped immensely. "Okay... let's get this done so we can all get back to what we should be doing."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Will said, taking a seat at one of the workstations. Summers (NPC) was closer to the main computer core, tricorder in hand to monitor the progress.
"Ready when you are," he said, glancing over at the lieutenants.
"Remind me to never complain about boring shifts again," Peters said as he tapped his commbadge. "Lieutenant Peters to all hands. The computer core restart will commence in three minutes. As a reminder, gravity will stay on, but lights will be spotty for a few minutes. All systems should be back online within fifteen to twenty minutes."
Tapping his commbadge again to close the channel, Peters nodded to Schulz and Summers. "Initiate Main computer shutdown."
Tapping his commbadge again to close the channel, Peters nodded to Schulz and Summers. "Initiate Main computer shutdown."
“Alrighty," Will said, "fasten your seatbelts ladies and gentlemen, cause here we go." His hands danced across the console, activating the shutdown routine. It was set to occur in stages so that no one system would overload the other. Only in an emergency would Will consider an immediate shut-down and this was not an emergency...yet.
Peters waited patiently along with the others as the computer shut down one system after another and the room grew more and more quiet around him. Finally, after what seemed like ages but couldn't have been more than five minutes, all the systems were shut down and the display panel in front of them started showing the computer's own shut down sequence. "Let's just hope the LCARS system wants to play nice on the restart."
"One can only hope," Summers said solemnly from across the room, "Core status reading complete shutdown." The only light in the room came from Summers' tricorder and the lamp that sat atop the workstation. Other than that, it was silent and dark.
"I've heard horror stories of ships that developed critical faults in their operating systems which weren't detected until the next Starbase layover," Cadet Altin chimed in from across the room.
Peters gave the Cadet an amused look. "Most of those are just stories passed around the Engineering classes in the Academy. It DOES occasionally happen, but it's rare. LCARS has, after all, been in use for decades and is designed for continuous operations for up to twenty years between reboots or even updates. Try starting her up, Schulz."
Will nodded, then remembered that some of them might not be able to see him, so added, "Here it goes." Tentatively, he entered the activation sequence. This time, the systems went in reverse and at a much slower rate, just to be sure everything was in working order.
"Memory scan's running well," Peters remarked after a minute. The system was already through nearly two thirds of the available storage media and had only had to fix three minor errors in partitioning.
"All clear here," Summers reported, holding the tricorder up between him and the computer core. Will was fully engrossed in the data scrolling across his screen, trying to keep his eyes peeled for any sign of anything slipping through.
"We've got LCARS start-up," Peters said. "It's running slowly... wait, there it is... and the Anti-Virus with it. Let's see how this scan goes."
"Hmm...definitely strange," Will commented as he watched the computer track the intruder, "Have you seen anything like that before?" He turned to look at Lt. Peters for a reply.
"No, but as long as it doesn't impact the systems we can let the AV worry about it for now. It's not rewriting the software or anything," Peters grinned. He looked back to his screen and noted that the communications system software was coming online as well. "We can talk to people again, it looks like."
Will, hand poised above his commbadge, looked over to Peters and gave a half smile. "Here's to no Klingon Opera," he said. Tapping his badge, he waited a moment, then said, "Schulz to Crewman Thomson (NPC)."
=/\= Thomson here =/\= a voice replied =/\= Was there something you needed, sir? =/\=
"Just testing the communications system," Will replied, keeping eye contact with the chief engineer, "Thank you, crewman. Schulz out."
Peters grinned again. "Looks like things are coming along nicely. We'll still need to monitor for a few more minutes, though. The engine monitoring and control systems are a bit cranky when they wake up."
Summers laughed at the engineers joke, but kept his gaze on the tricorder in his hand. Everyone in the room knew enough not to let their guard down until the job was done. Will did managed to relax a bit as things continued to progress smoothly.
Peters watched the screen for the remainder of the process, occasionally pointing out a critical system or a small glitch that would need looking into. Finally all systems were back online and, supposedly, operating as they were supposed to. "Alright, anyone see anything screaming for immediate attention?"
"Nothing here," Summers said, flipping his tricorder closed and stepping back toward the workstation.
"Everything looks good to me," Will replied, "What do you say we clear this with the captain, leave the next shift to our assistants, and take a break? Maybe even some holodeck time."
"You can go to the holodeck. I'm going back to sleep," Peters replied. "But it sounds like a plan to me."
Will got to his feet and tossed a PADD to Summers, who managed to catch it before it clattered to the deck. "I'm going to take a few off," he said, "Try not to schedule anything crazy for the next few hours."
OFF
A JP by
Cadet Greg Altin
Structural/Environmental Systems Specialist
USS Malinche
Played by
Lt. Todd Peters
Chief Engineer
USS Malinche
And
Lt. JG Joey Summers (NPC)
Operations Officer
USS Malinche
Played by
Lt. JG Aaron Masterson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer & 2XO
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
<<USS Malinche, Zeral’s Office, 1130, Day 3>>
Despite her original plan to head for the Bridge, Nora found herself back in her office, shuffling through a stack of pads as though it was another ordinary day. Life, or at least paperwork, always seemed to go on, and with no new supernatural discoveries to report to the Captain, an hour or two spent in her office seemed like an entirely appropriate course of action.
A few new PADDs in hand, Jacob (NPC) knocked on the door to Nora’s office. If she hadn’t been there, he would’ve just gone in and left them on the desk, but the Chief Counselor was in her office, so better to knock first.
Absorbed in her work, Nora was momentarily startled by the knock on her door. Sincerely hoping that she hadn’t forgotten some sort of an appointment, she hastily called, “Come in!”
Hearing Nora’s words, Jacob walked in, smiling a bit meekly.
“Jacob, how nice to see you,” she smiled, exhaling in relief. “I’m glad to see you’re still in one piece. How are you enjoying our journey into the unknown so far?”
“Why wouldn’t I be in one piece? All we have are ghost rumors and ship problems…” He sighed, “Well, I’d feel better if there weren’t so many things going wrong. What do you think?”
Rising from her chair, Nora gestured for Jacob to take a seat and settled herself on her favorite couch. “I can’t disagree with you there. Take this anyway that you like, but I’m afraid that ghost rumors and ship problems may be the least of our worries.” Shaking her head slowly, she smiled sheepishly at him. “Maybe I’m overreacting, but… I really don’t know, Jacob. I guess you could say that I just have a bad feeling about all of this.”
He took a seat across from her and leaned back, setting the PADDs on the arm of the chair. Hearing what Nora said, Jacob felt nervous, “What kind of bad feeling? What do you think it could be?”
Nora could sense his trepidation and immediately regretted her hasty admission. The last thing she wanted to do was to make anyone feel more anxious than they had to with all of the strange happenings on the ship. Still, not only was he her colleague, he was her friend, and he deserved no less than to hear her true feelings on the matter. “On the Bridge last night I sensed a presence of some sort,” she told him frankly. “It started as nothing more than an uncomfortable feeling, but for one moment it seemed like I made brief contact with…something.”
She chuckled humorlessly, threading her fingers together in her lap. “I haven’t felt it since, and as to what it was—or is—I really haven’t the faintest idea. I really don’t.”
“Hmm, well, I’m not one to doubt your abilities. Now I’m rather curious as to what exactly it was though. Did it seem…dangerous?” Jacob frowned slightly, maybe those weren’t the right words for it.
Now there was an excellent question, and one that Nora had been pondering for some time. “Not overtly, but I can’t really be sure. I just don’t like it. I could have sworn that for that one moment, it knew that I was there, too. And now it’s almost like it’s hiding from me,” she sighed, clearly exasperated. “Maybe I made a mistake. Telepaths aren’t perfect, by any means.” Why, then, did she feel so much dread whenever she thought about it?
“I could use a second opinion,” Nora confessed. “I’m afraid that I’m missing something crucial, but I’m also afraid that I’m somehow overreacting. What do you think about all this?”
Jacob nodded, “I think you need to trust your instincts, for one thing. I don’t think you made a mistake – it’s better to be safe and be prepared than to just ignore something like this.”
“Right you are,” Nora agreed with a smile. “If we’re really lucky, whatever I sensed is long gone by now.” She didn’t particularly sound like she believed that, but it was the thought that counted, she supposed. “And how are you doing, Jacob? You haven’t experienced anything strange, have you? Well, besides all the problems with the ship, of course.”
“Can’t say I have, at least not yet. There do so seem to be an increasing number of crew experiencing headaches and some brief memory loss, though. Some have both, some just one or the other. That’s actually why I initially came in,” he replied, picking up the PADDs and placing them on the coffee table.
“Headaches and memory loss?” Nora reached over to scoop up one of the PADDs. “What on earth can that mean?” she muttered to herself, briefly looking over the information held in the PADD with a deepening frown. “I’m glad you told me. This is…strange, to say the least. Does Sickbay know about this?”
Shaking his head, Jacob replied, “No, not yet. I just had four people come to me in the last hour or two about it.”
“I’d better let them know. No time like the present,” Nora determined as she stood up. Holding up a PADD, she added, “You don't mind if I borrow one of these, do you? Keep me updated if you get anymore of these complaints. Oh, and Jacob…” Smiling gratefully, she offered him a hand up. “Thank you. You don’t know what a relief it is to have such wonderful counselors and friends to work with.”
He returned the smile, “My pleasure Nora. If there’s anything I can do, let me know. If I hear anything else about these types of complaints, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
OFF
A JP by:
Warrant Officer 3rd Class Jacob Trelani
Counselor
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
Played by
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
and
Despite her original plan to head for the Bridge, Nora found herself back in her office, shuffling through a stack of pads as though it was another ordinary day. Life, or at least paperwork, always seemed to go on, and with no new supernatural discoveries to report to the Captain, an hour or two spent in her office seemed like an entirely appropriate course of action.
A few new PADDs in hand, Jacob (NPC) knocked on the door to Nora’s office. If she hadn’t been there, he would’ve just gone in and left them on the desk, but the Chief Counselor was in her office, so better to knock first.
Absorbed in her work, Nora was momentarily startled by the knock on her door. Sincerely hoping that she hadn’t forgotten some sort of an appointment, she hastily called, “Come in!”
Hearing Nora’s words, Jacob walked in, smiling a bit meekly.
“Jacob, how nice to see you,” she smiled, exhaling in relief. “I’m glad to see you’re still in one piece. How are you enjoying our journey into the unknown so far?”
“Why wouldn’t I be in one piece? All we have are ghost rumors and ship problems…” He sighed, “Well, I’d feel better if there weren’t so many things going wrong. What do you think?”
Rising from her chair, Nora gestured for Jacob to take a seat and settled herself on her favorite couch. “I can’t disagree with you there. Take this anyway that you like, but I’m afraid that ghost rumors and ship problems may be the least of our worries.” Shaking her head slowly, she smiled sheepishly at him. “Maybe I’m overreacting, but… I really don’t know, Jacob. I guess you could say that I just have a bad feeling about all of this.”
He took a seat across from her and leaned back, setting the PADDs on the arm of the chair. Hearing what Nora said, Jacob felt nervous, “What kind of bad feeling? What do you think it could be?”
Nora could sense his trepidation and immediately regretted her hasty admission. The last thing she wanted to do was to make anyone feel more anxious than they had to with all of the strange happenings on the ship. Still, not only was he her colleague, he was her friend, and he deserved no less than to hear her true feelings on the matter. “On the Bridge last night I sensed a presence of some sort,” she told him frankly. “It started as nothing more than an uncomfortable feeling, but for one moment it seemed like I made brief contact with…something.”
She chuckled humorlessly, threading her fingers together in her lap. “I haven’t felt it since, and as to what it was—or is—I really haven’t the faintest idea. I really don’t.”
“Hmm, well, I’m not one to doubt your abilities. Now I’m rather curious as to what exactly it was though. Did it seem…dangerous?” Jacob frowned slightly, maybe those weren’t the right words for it.
Now there was an excellent question, and one that Nora had been pondering for some time. “Not overtly, but I can’t really be sure. I just don’t like it. I could have sworn that for that one moment, it knew that I was there, too. And now it’s almost like it’s hiding from me,” she sighed, clearly exasperated. “Maybe I made a mistake. Telepaths aren’t perfect, by any means.” Why, then, did she feel so much dread whenever she thought about it?
“I could use a second opinion,” Nora confessed. “I’m afraid that I’m missing something crucial, but I’m also afraid that I’m somehow overreacting. What do you think about all this?”
Jacob nodded, “I think you need to trust your instincts, for one thing. I don’t think you made a mistake – it’s better to be safe and be prepared than to just ignore something like this.”
“Right you are,” Nora agreed with a smile. “If we’re really lucky, whatever I sensed is long gone by now.” She didn’t particularly sound like she believed that, but it was the thought that counted, she supposed. “And how are you doing, Jacob? You haven’t experienced anything strange, have you? Well, besides all the problems with the ship, of course.”
“Can’t say I have, at least not yet. There do so seem to be an increasing number of crew experiencing headaches and some brief memory loss, though. Some have both, some just one or the other. That’s actually why I initially came in,” he replied, picking up the PADDs and placing them on the coffee table.
“Headaches and memory loss?” Nora reached over to scoop up one of the PADDs. “What on earth can that mean?” she muttered to herself, briefly looking over the information held in the PADD with a deepening frown. “I’m glad you told me. This is…strange, to say the least. Does Sickbay know about this?”
Shaking his head, Jacob replied, “No, not yet. I just had four people come to me in the last hour or two about it.”
“I’d better let them know. No time like the present,” Nora determined as she stood up. Holding up a PADD, she added, “You don't mind if I borrow one of these, do you? Keep me updated if you get anymore of these complaints. Oh, and Jacob…” Smiling gratefully, she offered him a hand up. “Thank you. You don’t know what a relief it is to have such wonderful counselors and friends to work with.”
He returned the smile, “My pleasure Nora. If there’s anything I can do, let me know. If I hear anything else about these types of complaints, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
OFF
A JP by:
Warrant Officer 3rd Class Jacob Trelani
Counselor
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
Played by
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
and
Commander Nora Zeral
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
<Communications Array, MD03, 1540>
Logan glanced down the corridor both ways making sure no one was near and pulled out his tricorder and began overriding the door locks. The array was a secured area and while he could easily enter his command codes to get in it would result in his name appearing on the door log.
The door control beeped and the door slid open, the darkened room within lighting up automatically as Logan walked over the threshold, it was a small room, a control room that served as a anteroom before you would enter the main array.
Logan walked over to a console and placed the PADD he was carrying down, the PADD contained the reply he had fabricated to Lieutenant Hawkins request, while he could block the reply from his bridge station, he would need to use the main override system to place the fake message in the communications log.
He worked quickly and efficiently, even after all these years of covert ops he was still worried about someone walking in on him, it was a rush that he relished and it was maybe what made him so good, he was never over confident.
The confirmation appeared the message appeared in the logs ready for Hawkins to see next time he checked his messages at a terminal; Logan smiled at the thought of Hawkins face when he sees the reply.
The two men went back a long way, hell, he once considered Jack a friend but now when he looked at Jack, he barely recognised him. Obviously Jack didn’t recognise him anymore but then that was hardly surprising...for several reasons...
Logan gathered up his PADD and tricorder and deactivated the control console before heading towards the door, he used the tricorder to check no one was outside and pressed the door control, smirking as he left.
----------
Ensign Simon Logan [PNPC]
Communications Officer
Logan glanced down the corridor both ways making sure no one was near and pulled out his tricorder and began overriding the door locks. The array was a secured area and while he could easily enter his command codes to get in it would result in his name appearing on the door log.
The door control beeped and the door slid open, the darkened room within lighting up automatically as Logan walked over the threshold, it was a small room, a control room that served as a anteroom before you would enter the main array.
Logan walked over to a console and placed the PADD he was carrying down, the PADD contained the reply he had fabricated to Lieutenant Hawkins request, while he could block the reply from his bridge station, he would need to use the main override system to place the fake message in the communications log.
He worked quickly and efficiently, even after all these years of covert ops he was still worried about someone walking in on him, it was a rush that he relished and it was maybe what made him so good, he was never over confident.
The confirmation appeared the message appeared in the logs ready for Hawkins to see next time he checked his messages at a terminal; Logan smiled at the thought of Hawkins face when he sees the reply.
The two men went back a long way, hell, he once considered Jack a friend but now when he looked at Jack, he barely recognised him. Obviously Jack didn’t recognise him anymore but then that was hardly surprising...for several reasons...
Logan gathered up his PADD and tricorder and deactivated the control console before heading towards the door, he used the tricorder to check no one was outside and pressed the door control, smirking as he left.
----------
Ensign Simon Logan [PNPC]
Communications Officer
Lieutenant Jonathan "Jack" Hawkins
Acting Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
<< Jeffries Tube 14, deck 10, 1600, day 3 >>
"We're going to check the whole ship, he said", muttered Mark, crawling through the Jeffries tube. "I shouldn't know the XO wasn't saying really 'we', but more 'you', when he said that."
So far, Mark had check two deck and nothing strange or out of ordinary had happened. Not that he expected to see anything. That whole thing of 'ghosts' and supernatural stuff were merely legends. Like the Bermuda Triangle back in Earth.
Mark's humor had darkened a bit when he noticed the lights going out in that section of the tube. "Odd", he muttered as he crawled towards a junction. Being the paranoid that he was, Mark opened the junction box with a tool and kept his flashlight steady.
He was no Ops officer, but he knew enough to know that wasn't anything wrong with energy grid. There was no rational reason for the lights to go out. He pressed his badge. "Grayson to Bridge", he said.
Silence. He pressed again. "Grayson to Barret." No response. "Grayson to anyone in this deck", he insisted. No answer.
"Ookay", he muttered turned his flashlight around, iluminating the tube. Nothing seemed to be happening. "This is so damned predictable", he complained. "Now I will turn my flashlight this way and some kind of sighting will appear, making me jump and run like an idiot."
He turned the flashlight the other way and there wasn't nothing. He shrugged. The light blinked twice and all of the sudden he was in the dark. "Hrm. I didn't see this coming", he muttered, as he hit the flashight with his palm. The light blinked on.
In front of him, just a few centimeters from his face, a dead cardassian stared at Mark, with his broken face and dead eyes. Mark yelped and fall on his back. He crawled back fast, looking at that familiar face. A face he had helped to break in that way. A man he had killed.
Mark shook his head. "This isn't real. This is just a projection of my mind", he repeated to himself.
"MURDERER! Look at what your work and regret!"
"Just shut up! You are dead!", cried Mark back to the whatever that was. "Get out of my mind!" he howled.
There was a long evil laughter and Mark felt chill in his spine. All of the sudden the lights were back and everything looked like it should be.
The Spook felt the ship tremble and wondered what was happening. Then he realized that it wasn't the ship that was trembling, but him. He forced himself to stop and let a long sigh escape his lips.
Whatever had happened, it had been too real. Too damned real. Mark feared that was just the begnining.
"This I didn't predict either", he whispered, crawling to the nearest exit.
OFF:
"We're going to check the whole ship, he said", muttered Mark, crawling through the Jeffries tube. "I shouldn't know the XO wasn't saying really 'we', but more 'you', when he said that."
So far, Mark had check two deck and nothing strange or out of ordinary had happened. Not that he expected to see anything. That whole thing of 'ghosts' and supernatural stuff were merely legends. Like the Bermuda Triangle back in Earth.
Mark's humor had darkened a bit when he noticed the lights going out in that section of the tube. "Odd", he muttered as he crawled towards a junction. Being the paranoid that he was, Mark opened the junction box with a tool and kept his flashlight steady.
He was no Ops officer, but he knew enough to know that wasn't anything wrong with energy grid. There was no rational reason for the lights to go out. He pressed his badge. "Grayson to Bridge", he said.
Silence. He pressed again. "Grayson to Barret." No response. "Grayson to anyone in this deck", he insisted. No answer.
"Ookay", he muttered turned his flashlight around, iluminating the tube. Nothing seemed to be happening. "This is so damned predictable", he complained. "Now I will turn my flashlight this way and some kind of sighting will appear, making me jump and run like an idiot."
He turned the flashlight the other way and there wasn't nothing. He shrugged. The light blinked twice and all of the sudden he was in the dark. "Hrm. I didn't see this coming", he muttered, as he hit the flashight with his palm. The light blinked on.
In front of him, just a few centimeters from his face, a dead cardassian stared at Mark, with his broken face and dead eyes. Mark yelped and fall on his back. He crawled back fast, looking at that familiar face. A face he had helped to break in that way. A man he had killed.
Mark shook his head. "This isn't real. This is just a projection of my mind", he repeated to himself.
"MURDERER! Look at what your work and regret!"
"Just shut up! You are dead!", cried Mark back to the whatever that was. "Get out of my mind!" he howled.
There was a long evil laughter and Mark felt chill in his spine. All of the sudden the lights were back and everything looked like it should be.
The Spook felt the ship tremble and wondered what was happening. Then he realized that it wasn't the ship that was trembling, but him. He forced himself to stop and let a long sigh escape his lips.
Whatever had happened, it had been too real. Too damned real. Mark feared that was just the begnining.
"This I didn't predict either", he whispered, crawling to the nearest exit.
OFF:
Lieutenant Mark Grayson II
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
"O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands." - Sun Tzu
[Mission 12.3 - Who You Gonna Call?]
<<Corridor, 1404, Day 3>>
Sneaking out of Engineering hadn't exactly been easy, but it was necessary. He was overdue to meet up with Eldon, and he was fairly certain his tardiness wouldn't go over well. However, he had to keep up with appearances. Rounding a corner, he slipped through a doorway.
"You're late," Eldon responded. He looked up from the PADD that he was holding at the person that entered the room. "Did anyone see you?"
"It's not exactly easy to sneak out of Engineering during his shift, you know. I made up some excuse about having to check on some of the biogel packs in the warp systems, so I'm covered if people did see me," Alex replied. "What about you, how'd you get out of his shift?"
"I said that I was going to check into the secondary sensor arrays," Eldon responded.
"Have you heard from any of the others yet?"
Alex shook his head, "No, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything...some may have been in and out."
"We're going to need all the help we can get if we want to get them back where we want them."
"I already set something up to help our plans. Depending on what you have in mind, it may come in handy..." Alex grinned.
"I think I can reconfigure the sensor array so that they don't realize they are turning around, that's assuming that you can access the navigational array," Eldon responded.
Alex grinned, "Not a problem." He moved over to a nearby access console and started typing in commands. Still not nearly enough protections - at least not for someone who had been a StarFleet Officer and had immediate access to someone's access codes. With satisfaction, he stepped to the side, "Entirely too easy."
Eldon smiled, at least things were starting to look up. Although he really hated being dropped in this man's body, it was so unlike his own that it was very annoying. He had always wished that he could have had the luck with the ladies that this body did but was disgusted about the man's apparent lack of focus.
"If you'll excuse me," Eldon stated, moving toward the same access panel.
Moving aside, Alex paused just to the right to watch what his old crewmate was doing.
He hooked up his tricorder and went to work, luckily the body that he was in had a host of knowledge about the ship's sensor systems. Within a few moments he had completed his program, disconnecting the tricorder he smiled before placing it back in his pocket. "As soon we're ready I can initate the course change with the touch of a button," Eldon smiled.
"The computer restart should be nearly done, if it's not already. I put another little surprise in - I have an override in the system for the engines," Alex laughed. "Between the two, they won't have a choice but to go where we want."
"You always were one for being thorough," Eldon responded.
Alex nodded, "Send a message through when you're ready and I'll release the engines. For now though, we should probably get back before they realize we were gone."
"Yeah, they have proven to be observant on occasion."
OFF: Oooo...
Eldon (NPC)
played by:
Lieutenant Jason Barrett
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
and
Alex (NPC)
played by:
<<Corridor, 1404, Day 3>>
Sneaking out of Engineering hadn't exactly been easy, but it was necessary. He was overdue to meet up with Eldon, and he was fairly certain his tardiness wouldn't go over well. However, he had to keep up with appearances. Rounding a corner, he slipped through a doorway.
"You're late," Eldon responded. He looked up from the PADD that he was holding at the person that entered the room. "Did anyone see you?"
"It's not exactly easy to sneak out of Engineering during his shift, you know. I made up some excuse about having to check on some of the biogel packs in the warp systems, so I'm covered if people did see me," Alex replied. "What about you, how'd you get out of his shift?"
"I said that I was going to check into the secondary sensor arrays," Eldon responded.
"Have you heard from any of the others yet?"
Alex shook his head, "No, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything...some may have been in and out."
"We're going to need all the help we can get if we want to get them back where we want them."
"I already set something up to help our plans. Depending on what you have in mind, it may come in handy..." Alex grinned.
"I think I can reconfigure the sensor array so that they don't realize they are turning around, that's assuming that you can access the navigational array," Eldon responded.
Alex grinned, "Not a problem." He moved over to a nearby access console and started typing in commands. Still not nearly enough protections - at least not for someone who had been a StarFleet Officer and had immediate access to someone's access codes. With satisfaction, he stepped to the side, "Entirely too easy."
Eldon smiled, at least things were starting to look up. Although he really hated being dropped in this man's body, it was so unlike his own that it was very annoying. He had always wished that he could have had the luck with the ladies that this body did but was disgusted about the man's apparent lack of focus.
"If you'll excuse me," Eldon stated, moving toward the same access panel.
Moving aside, Alex paused just to the right to watch what his old crewmate was doing.
He hooked up his tricorder and went to work, luckily the body that he was in had a host of knowledge about the ship's sensor systems. Within a few moments he had completed his program, disconnecting the tricorder he smiled before placing it back in his pocket. "As soon we're ready I can initate the course change with the touch of a button," Eldon smiled.
"The computer restart should be nearly done, if it's not already. I put another little surprise in - I have an override in the system for the engines," Alex laughed. "Between the two, they won't have a choice but to go where we want."
"You always were one for being thorough," Eldon responded.
Alex nodded, "Send a message through when you're ready and I'll release the engines. For now though, we should probably get back before they realize we were gone."
"Yeah, they have proven to be observant on occasion."
OFF: Oooo...
Eldon (NPC)
played by:
Lieutenant Jason Barrett
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
and
Alex (NPC)
played by:
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
<<Engineering, 1418, Day 3>>
Walking into Engineering, he blinked. Caleb (NPC) paused just inside and glanced around the room. Frowning slightly, he moved back to the station he'd been working on.
He looked at he system display - 1419 hours. Time was flying, it seemed. The last he remembered it wasn't even 1400 yet. Caleb shook his head slightly and closed his eyes tight; it'd been a long time since he'd had a headache. Maybe after his shift he would stop in Sickbay. For now he'd be fine though.
Looking down at the display, Caleb tried to remember what he was working on. The warp systems' diagnostics were already complete. Tapping at the console, he brought up the last efficiency diagnostic results. All within normal range, though perhaps some improvements could be made.
Caleb paused to rub his temples as another wave of pain from the headache swept over him. As he looked up, he briefly wondered what he’d been doing the last half hour. Probably just so involved in work that he didn’t remember. Tended to happen when he was really caught up in things.
Speaking of which, he needed to plan dinner for the evening with Britney (PNPC). Everything had gotten so crazy that he’d nearly forgotten. The one thing Caleb did know was that he needed to make a good impression. Luckily it wouldn’t take too long to prepare – he already had some ideas in mind.
As Caleb’s thoughts drifted back to his work, he felt something nagging at him. He wasn’t quite sure what… Something he needed to do? Something he did do? Whatever it was, it made him uneasy.
The headache reared up again, inspiring him to look at the time again. Still a few hours til he was off and could go talk to a Doctor.
OFF:
Warrant Officer Second Class Caleb Corrin (NPC)
Warp Systems Specialist
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
played by:
Walking into Engineering, he blinked. Caleb (NPC) paused just inside and glanced around the room. Frowning slightly, he moved back to the station he'd been working on.
He looked at he system display - 1419 hours. Time was flying, it seemed. The last he remembered it wasn't even 1400 yet. Caleb shook his head slightly and closed his eyes tight; it'd been a long time since he'd had a headache. Maybe after his shift he would stop in Sickbay. For now he'd be fine though.
Looking down at the display, Caleb tried to remember what he was working on. The warp systems' diagnostics were already complete. Tapping at the console, he brought up the last efficiency diagnostic results. All within normal range, though perhaps some improvements could be made.
Caleb paused to rub his temples as another wave of pain from the headache swept over him. As he looked up, he briefly wondered what he’d been doing the last half hour. Probably just so involved in work that he didn’t remember. Tended to happen when he was really caught up in things.
Speaking of which, he needed to plan dinner for the evening with Britney (PNPC). Everything had gotten so crazy that he’d nearly forgotten. The one thing Caleb did know was that he needed to make a good impression. Luckily it wouldn’t take too long to prepare – he already had some ideas in mind.
As Caleb’s thoughts drifted back to his work, he felt something nagging at him. He wasn’t quite sure what… Something he needed to do? Something he did do? Whatever it was, it made him uneasy.
The headache reared up again, inspiring him to look at the time again. Still a few hours til he was off and could go talk to a Doctor.
OFF:
Warrant Officer Second Class Caleb Corrin (NPC)
Warp Systems Specialist
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
played by:
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
On:
Messhall
USS Malinche
14:30 hrs Day 3
Czarina (NPC) had been in the service industry long enough to know that crew morale was low. He didn't understand all the technobabble but he got the gist of it and knew the crew was concerned about a safe conclusion to the mission. Looking over the group in the messhall he noticed that a majority of them had only a few years experience in Starfleet and this was probably the 'worst' mission they had experienced. There had to be a way to get their spirits up but he wasn't sure what would work. A few reassuring words from the Captain usually did the trick but he was sure she had more important things to worry about. After giving it some more thought, Czarina pulled out the list he kept of crewmembers with various talents and contacted several who had musical abilities.
Aaron entered the messhall, violin case in hand and was greeted by Czarina.
"Glad you were able to come. The group's setting up over there."
Aaron followed the bartender's directions and took a seat. Not only would it calm the nerves of those in the messhall but it would also help take his mind off everything that was happening if even for a short while, and maybe even give him some sort of insight as to how to solve the problem. Suppressing a yawn, as he had been up since the last alert at 03:00, he took his violin out of its case and started tuning it.
The group started with one of the more popular instrumental pieces and the noise level in the messhall quickly dropped as conversations stopped or quieted down to better hear the music. Czarina gave them a thumbs up, at least one thing on this ship was working properly.
Off:
Messhall
USS Malinche
14:30 hrs Day 3
Czarina (NPC) had been in the service industry long enough to know that crew morale was low. He didn't understand all the technobabble but he got the gist of it and knew the crew was concerned about a safe conclusion to the mission. Looking over the group in the messhall he noticed that a majority of them had only a few years experience in Starfleet and this was probably the 'worst' mission they had experienced. There had to be a way to get their spirits up but he wasn't sure what would work. A few reassuring words from the Captain usually did the trick but he was sure she had more important things to worry about. After giving it some more thought, Czarina pulled out the list he kept of crewmembers with various talents and contacted several who had musical abilities.
Aaron entered the messhall, violin case in hand and was greeted by Czarina.
"Glad you were able to come. The group's setting up over there."
Aaron followed the bartender's directions and took a seat. Not only would it calm the nerves of those in the messhall but it would also help take his mind off everything that was happening if even for a short while, and maybe even give him some sort of insight as to how to solve the problem. Suppressing a yawn, as he had been up since the last alert at 03:00, he took his violin out of its case and started tuning it.
The group started with one of the more popular instrumental pieces and the noise level in the messhall quickly dropped as conversations stopped or quieted down to better hear the music. Czarina gave them a thumbs up, at least one thing on this ship was working properly.
Off:
Lt. Aaron Steele
Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
<<USS Malinche>>
<Deck 8, Computer Core, Day 3>
Jason didn't like what was happening one bit, reports of people behaving oddly were coming in from all over the ship. Adam (NPC) had talked to him not long ago about Joey (NPC) and his actions earlier in the mess hall. That didn't sit well with him either, although that was hardly proof that something strange was going on.
"Are you sure you contacted Hawkins?" Grayson asked, looking around.
"He'll be here shortly."
The door slid open as Jack approached, “Evenin’ Gents!” he said, affecting a mock cockney accent... “well...morning....” he corrected. He had been called to the computer core and found himself with the ships new First Officer and the man who had been Jacks superior when he first arrived on board, his mind flashed back to their first meeting in, what was then, Grayson’s office, it hadn’t gone well.
Jason was well aware of how the two of them reacted to each other the last time they were on the ship together. That was part of the reason that he wanted them all to work together; hopefully it would foster a better relationship between the two. If not, well then at least Jason had given it another go.
"Mr. Hawkins, good to see you," Jason smiled. "Welcome to our little mystery."
“I do love a good mystery,” he smiled before switching to deadpan, “I’ve got my money on that Reverend Green, he looks a shifty fellow...”
Jason arched an eyebrow at the comment and smiled slightly, although he noticed that Grayson didn't appear to respond at all to the comment. Not that it surprised Jason, Grayson was, as usual, all business.
"Regardless, I think that we should start here. I am going to start by going through the computer log, why don't you two start scanning for anything out of the ordinary," Jason reported.
“Aye Aye” Jack replied before heading to a nearby equipment locker and pulled out a tricorder. He activated the device, the small scanner head flipping over and the large screen bleeping on, “I’ll start scanning to check there’s been no signs of tampering, unlikely but best to double check I say?”
Jason nodded, although he figured that signs of tampering should be fairly easy to spot. Then again, he had been wrong about that before. Jason turned to the nearest access display and began calling up computer files.
--------
A JP Featuring:
Lieutenant Mark Grayson II
Chief Intelligence Officer
and
Lieutenant Jason Barrett
Executive Officer
and
<Deck 8, Computer Core, Day 3>
Jason didn't like what was happening one bit, reports of people behaving oddly were coming in from all over the ship. Adam (NPC) had talked to him not long ago about Joey (NPC) and his actions earlier in the mess hall. That didn't sit well with him either, although that was hardly proof that something strange was going on.
"Are you sure you contacted Hawkins?" Grayson asked, looking around.
"He'll be here shortly."
The door slid open as Jack approached, “Evenin’ Gents!” he said, affecting a mock cockney accent... “well...morning....” he corrected. He had been called to the computer core and found himself with the ships new First Officer and the man who had been Jacks superior when he first arrived on board, his mind flashed back to their first meeting in, what was then, Grayson’s office, it hadn’t gone well.
Jason was well aware of how the two of them reacted to each other the last time they were on the ship together. That was part of the reason that he wanted them all to work together; hopefully it would foster a better relationship between the two. If not, well then at least Jason had given it another go.
"Mr. Hawkins, good to see you," Jason smiled. "Welcome to our little mystery."
“I do love a good mystery,” he smiled before switching to deadpan, “I’ve got my money on that Reverend Green, he looks a shifty fellow...”
Jason arched an eyebrow at the comment and smiled slightly, although he noticed that Grayson didn't appear to respond at all to the comment. Not that it surprised Jason, Grayson was, as usual, all business.
"Regardless, I think that we should start here. I am going to start by going through the computer log, why don't you two start scanning for anything out of the ordinary," Jason reported.
“Aye Aye” Jack replied before heading to a nearby equipment locker and pulled out a tricorder. He activated the device, the small scanner head flipping over and the large screen bleeping on, “I’ll start scanning to check there’s been no signs of tampering, unlikely but best to double check I say?”
Jason nodded, although he figured that signs of tampering should be fairly easy to spot. Then again, he had been wrong about that before. Jason turned to the nearest access display and began calling up computer files.
--------
A JP Featuring:
Lieutenant Mark Grayson II
Chief Intelligence Officer
and
Lieutenant Jason Barrett
Executive Officer
and
Lieutenant Jonathan "Jack" Hawkins
Acting Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B
The Devil is in the details
[USS Malinche, Autopsy room, Day 3, 1500 hours]
ON:
"Hmmm..."
"The wound extends from the left sternocostal head of the pectoralis major, all the way across to the external abdominal oblique muscle. Cause of death appears to be massive blood loss," Tim said to the sickbay recorder. Switching it off, he muttered, "Understatement of the bloody century, that."
The doctor switched the recorder back on. "There appears to be blunt trauma to the back of the head, just above the occipital bone, which is consistent with the injuries sustained falling from a standing position. Close sensor examination of the wound indicates particles of a metal alloy. Those particles are being cross referenced with the ship's database to try to determine the weapon used. My initial opinion based on my own experience and examination of the wound is that this was caused by a sharp, bladed weapon, wielded by an expert."
Head Nurse Moira Sagawa looked up sharply at the doctor's words. When Cullen noticed her expression, he switched off the recorder and regarded her silently.
"Doctor, how can you be sure of that?" Sagawa asked.
Tim smiled and gestured her over to the corpse. "Note the clean line across the chest, and the lack of tearing at the outer edges of the wound. Also, it extends down cleanly into the sternum, and through the articular capsule." He shook his head firmly. "No, I think when the metal analysis returns, you will find that this was caused by a bladed weapon, used by a master." The doctor levelled his gaze at his Head Nurse and when he spoke, it was with a seriousness Moira had seldom heard before. "This was no random attack my dear. This was an assassination."
Moira went white and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, an incessant beeping indicated that the computer had found a match. Raising an eyebrow, Tim moved across to the computer station.
=/\= Analysis complete, =/\= the computer intoned. =/\= Metal fragments match the composition of those used in the construction of a Klingon bladed hand weapon known as a 'Mekleth.' =/\= On the screen an image of a oddly shaped sickle-like weapon appeared.
"Bloody nasty looking thing isn't it?" Cullen asked no one in particular. Beside him, Sagawa repressed a shudder. "Computer, how common are these weapons?"
=/\= Mekleths, like other Klingon weapons are family heirlooms and are not sold on the open market. The Klingon High Council has enacted an automatic death penalty on any non-Klingon owning one of these weapons. The Federation-Klingon treaty has a clause which states that ownership of one of these weapons by a non-Klingon is a crime on most Federation worlds. Planets currently appealing this ruling include Xentiliar VII, Hartell, Beta Carindii III -- =/\=
"In other words," Cullen said, cutting off the computer's recitation, "The odds of this weapon being wielded by a non-Klingon, who ALSO happens to be an expert in its use are very, very slim, correct?"
=/\= The probability is approximately 15,432,743.332 to 1 against, =/\= the computer said after a moment.
Sharing a look with Sagawa he said softly, "Sounds close enough to impossible for me. Computer, compile all data gathered in this autopsy, Code One Medical Classification, accessible by myself and the Captain only. Authorization: Cullen Seven - Seven - Three - Tango - Beta - One,"
=/\= Acknowledged. =/\=
Tim stood and turned to his all too silent 'patient'. "Well my friend, now we know how you were murdered, what remains to be discovered is by whom, and more importantly, why?"
Moira watched the Doctor work, impressed by both his intuition and his skill. Moving to his side, she said softly. "We should go, you have an appointment with Ensign Drexlar."
Cullen rolled his eyes and nodded. "Just when I was enjoying this new training progam. Computer, end program," he said irritably and watched the 'corpse' and the rest of the lab disappear to reveal a hologrid. "Lead the way my dear. Heaven forbid we keep our resident hypochondriac waiting. Maybe I'll tell him he has Ebola..."
"Doctor!" Sagawa cried with mock horror as they left the holodeck.
OFF:
ON:
"Hmmm..."
"The wound extends from the left sternocostal head of the pectoralis major, all the way across to the external abdominal oblique muscle. Cause of death appears to be massive blood loss," Tim said to the sickbay recorder. Switching it off, he muttered, "Understatement of the bloody century, that."
The doctor switched the recorder back on. "There appears to be blunt trauma to the back of the head, just above the occipital bone, which is consistent with the injuries sustained falling from a standing position. Close sensor examination of the wound indicates particles of a metal alloy. Those particles are being cross referenced with the ship's database to try to determine the weapon used. My initial opinion based on my own experience and examination of the wound is that this was caused by a sharp, bladed weapon, wielded by an expert."
Head Nurse Moira Sagawa looked up sharply at the doctor's words. When Cullen noticed her expression, he switched off the recorder and regarded her silently.
"Doctor, how can you be sure of that?" Sagawa asked.
Tim smiled and gestured her over to the corpse. "Note the clean line across the chest, and the lack of tearing at the outer edges of the wound. Also, it extends down cleanly into the sternum, and through the articular capsule." He shook his head firmly. "No, I think when the metal analysis returns, you will find that this was caused by a bladed weapon, used by a master." The doctor levelled his gaze at his Head Nurse and when he spoke, it was with a seriousness Moira had seldom heard before. "This was no random attack my dear. This was an assassination."
Moira went white and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, an incessant beeping indicated that the computer had found a match. Raising an eyebrow, Tim moved across to the computer station.
=/\= Analysis complete, =/\= the computer intoned. =/\= Metal fragments match the composition of those used in the construction of a Klingon bladed hand weapon known as a 'Mekleth.' =/\= On the screen an image of a oddly shaped sickle-like weapon appeared.
"Bloody nasty looking thing isn't it?" Cullen asked no one in particular. Beside him, Sagawa repressed a shudder. "Computer, how common are these weapons?"
=/\= Mekleths, like other Klingon weapons are family heirlooms and are not sold on the open market. The Klingon High Council has enacted an automatic death penalty on any non-Klingon owning one of these weapons. The Federation-Klingon treaty has a clause which states that ownership of one of these weapons by a non-Klingon is a crime on most Federation worlds. Planets currently appealing this ruling include Xentiliar VII, Hartell, Beta Carindii III -- =/\=
"In other words," Cullen said, cutting off the computer's recitation, "The odds of this weapon being wielded by a non-Klingon, who ALSO happens to be an expert in its use are very, very slim, correct?"
=/\= The probability is approximately 15,432,743.332 to 1 against, =/\= the computer said after a moment.
Sharing a look with Sagawa he said softly, "Sounds close enough to impossible for me. Computer, compile all data gathered in this autopsy, Code One Medical Classification, accessible by myself and the Captain only. Authorization: Cullen Seven - Seven - Three - Tango - Beta - One,"
=/\= Acknowledged. =/\=
Tim stood and turned to his all too silent 'patient'. "Well my friend, now we know how you were murdered, what remains to be discovered is by whom, and more importantly, why?"
Moira watched the Doctor work, impressed by both his intuition and his skill. Moving to his side, she said softly. "We should go, you have an appointment with Ensign Drexlar."
Cullen rolled his eyes and nodded. "Just when I was enjoying this new training progam. Computer, end program," he said irritably and watched the 'corpse' and the rest of the lab disappear to reveal a hologrid. "Lead the way my dear. Heaven forbid we keep our resident hypochondriac waiting. Maybe I'll tell him he has Ebola..."
"Doctor!" Sagawa cried with mock horror as they left the holodeck.
OFF:
Lieutenant JG Timothy Cullen
Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B