Resurgens Actio Pt 4
Posted on Sat Mar 12th, 2022 @ 12:30am by Commodore S'thenosis Gorgox & Commander Finchley Kerr & Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Commander Dean House & Lieutenant Commander Sandra "Phantom" Risa & Lieutenant Commander Thriss Kla'ren & Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali & Lieutenant Niali Korial MD & Commander Jennifer Baldric
Mission:
Paranoia Nebula
Location: USS Sunfire
Timeline: Current
Meanwhile one of the Ferengi ships within the creatures belly began to break down into its base components, yielding the energy the creature craved. It's body flushed with renewed energy. Though temporarily restored, it's hunger was unwavering.
Sandra had followed House onto the bridge and at that moment she ducked and pointed up at the ceiling. "Look out there are flying amoebas....duck they will kill you," she screamed and hit the deck. Clearly, the entity had control of her mind.
Meanwhile, in sickbay, Dr Sarah Wilson struggled to keep up with the influx of patients. It seemed her neural inhibitor was having a better effect on some than on others. People were still hallucinating and if they weren't treated in the early stages, they were going into shock.
"Dr Niali, got any brilliant ideas?" She called from a nearby biobed.
Niali looked at her, “Actually I do, infrasound we could try that. Let me speak to Commander Savar? She tapped her com =/\= Dr Korial to Commander Savar =/\=
Savar answered instantly. =^= Go ahead Doctor=^=
=/\= Captain I have had an idea. Perhaps we could try infrasound, I think it might counteract the buzzing that appears to be a sign of the approaching delusional state. It would have to be initiated from the bridge, possibly Commander Finchley could initiate it. We can no longer control it, the crew are running free bout the ship, there is no security. I am also going to have to sedate Lieutenant Vali =/\=
"An interesting proposal Doctor. I will speak with Commander Kerr onnthis." he paused and continued. "I understand with Lieutenant Vali, I know you will keep her and the others safe."
Meanwhile Aurora was deteriorating fast, sitting on the biobed she was rocking back and forth humming a tune to herself, trying to block out the madness that was threatening to consume her. It wasn’t long before she started hallucinating, thrashing out at something that wasn’t there.
Niali saw Aurora begin to escalate and moved over whilst waiting to Savar to reply, she was going to have to tell him the news that she was sedating his wife. She gave her another shot of neural blocker and waited to see if it would help.”
Aurora calmed for a few moments becoming a little more lucid as she looked towards Niali. “Hungry ... it’s so ... hungry!” She looked around before shaking her head. “It’s coming! ... can’t you see?!!”
Niali began to set the sedation in anticipation, “Aurora what can you see?” She asked.
Aurora gazed at Niali her eyes wide, her forehead covered in perspiration. "It ... it's a monster!! It wants us ... the ship ... all of ... of ..." She said nothing more as she collapsed back onto the bed her body convulsing violently.
Niali used one of the last biobeds, set a forcefield and injected her with the sedative “sleep well” she whispered. The sedation stopped all brain activity and Aurora was now on life support.
[Bridge]
On the bridge, one of the Junior officers suddenly began shaking.
Finchley caught sight of them and said "Ensign, are you alright?"
A couple of seconds later, the Ensign stopped shaking, turned to him and said "You are energy."
"I'm sorry?" Finchley asked.
"You are energy" the Ensign repeated with a blank emotionless look on their face.
Gut instinct told Finchley this wasn't the Ensign speaking, but something else.
"Captain Savar, Sir, I think we may have something here" Finchley said.
Savar looked over to Kerr. "Yes, Mr. Kerr? You have something to share?"
"The Ensign Sir, listen to the Ensign" Finchley replied to Savar, pointing the Ensign who'd spoken.
Again, the Ensign spoke "You are energy, we will consume you, you shall sustain us."
Finchley turned to Savar "Sir, this could be the answer to what the Commodore was after, only, whatever that thing is has contacted us!"
" A possibility." Savar answered.
[Sickbay]
Sandra laid on the deck convulsing badly. The entity had her and suddenly she laid still. She had a catatonic expression etched on her face, eyes glassy, barely breathing. In her mind she saw a monster worse than hell itself. Letting out a blood-curdling scream, she convulsed once more and fell into unconsciousness.
"Captain to Niali, I am having Commander Risa transported to Sickbay. She has fallen victim and is unconscious." He informed the CMO as Risa was engulfed in a transporter beam and vanished off the bridge.
Niali received Commander Risa, injecting her with a standard anticonvulsant and preparing yet another bio bed. Someone, she did not know who helped her lift the Commander onto the bed and began the sedation process.
She called cross sickbay, “Dr Wilson the neural blocker does not now seem to be working. I have suggested the bridge try flooding the ship with infrasound to try to block the signals from the entity. How many biobeds do you have left over there?”
"Four, and I've got the beta team working on setting up the cargo bay as an overflow" Sarah replied as she took a quick glance around the room. They needed a solution, the neural blocker was only partially effective and they couldn't keep sedating everyone, they'd run out of space and they couldn't tend to the needs of so many unconscious people. "Let's hope the infrasound works"
[Bridge]
On the bridge, Savar spoke with Kerr, "Flood the ship with infrasound and let us see if it has affect on the creature as well as any new reports of crew being affected."
"Aye Sir, immediately!" Finchley replied and turned to carry out the order. As he reached for the control, the Ensign raised their arm, palm towards where Finchley stood. An azure blue light emanated from their palm as they said "You shall not stop us getting what we seek!" and the light flew in an arc from their palm and slammed into the console, causing it to burst into flames. Finchley automatically dived for cover as the arc came his way. Rolling to the side he immediately stood up and reached for a small box on the wall. The lid fell as he hit the top of it, revealing a phaser within. Grabbing it, he turned and swiftly made his way forward, getting himself between the Ensign and where Savar and the Commodore stood. As he did he called out "Commander House, Sir, please get the Captain and Commodore to safety!!!"
Savar refused to move. "My place is on the bridge." He said flatly.
S'thenosis remained still, an old familiar trick. Stay still, be small, don't attract attention. The 'thing' was obviously trying to comunicate, but also more dangerous than previously thought.
[Sickbay]
=/\= Niali to the bridge, how is the infrasound coming?=/\=
She felt herself becoming agitated. She saw a nameless crew member walk into sickbay carrying his head under his arm so she ran towards him and stopped, her practical side knowing that was impossible. She looked at Sarah and she seemed to change into a shapeless green nebulous monster. She drew her weapon, “stop” she cried and aimed it at her.
" Whoaaa there Doc!" Sarah set down her tricorder and slowly raised her hands, showing the CMO she was unarmed. She cursed herself for not having a phaser on her hip in these situations but this was sickbay, her role was to keep people safe. "No-one's going to hurt you, put the weapon down. "Her voice was calm and even although it held an authoritative tone. Hopefully, Niali's weapon was set the stun, she was about to find out either way.
Niali cursed and her vision returned to that of Sarah, she looked at the phaser in her hand and put it quickly away. “I’m sorry, I’m okay now, it was just momentary. I took the phaser with me to get to the bridge.” She explained. “How are you doing, any ‘visions’ yet?”
"Not as of yet, the neural blocker seems to be working for me. It's a bit hit and miss as to who it works for though. Everyone is reacting differently" Sarah said sagely, wondering if it was just a matter of time before she started to go mad like everyone else. " We can't keep sedating people though or there'll be noone to run the ship"
“If you can maintain the chaos here I’m going to the bridge to see what is happening to my infrasound. I asked for it a while ago. If all else fails we will have to start stunning people” she said half jokingly.
"Take some boosters with you, it may buy them a little time to get the job done" Sarah tossed a handful of hypos in a medkit to her boss.
Niali grabbed the bag nodded “good luck, if you have to lock the doors, I mean it.” She exited for the bridge un-holstering her phaser and checking it was on stun. The corridors were now pretty full of crew members sitting on the floor, lying down screaming and jabbering. She was trying to push back her own fears but felt inadequate for not being able to help her crewmates. Even though she had not met many of them she felt a definite affinity for them. She entered the bridge, “where is my infrasound?” She called and then saw what was happening.
[Bridge]
"Doctor Korial, may I suggest you move rather slowly and carefully, we're not quite sure what we're dealing with here, but we do know they can be violent" Finchley said, moving back a few steps and repositioning himself so he was still covering the XO, Captain and Commodore, but now also the CMO.
As he backed up, he whispered to Niali "Do you have a sedative with you right now that can fell a rhino in one fell swoop?"
“Yes I do Commander.” She dialed up the hypo in her hand and withdrew it from her pocket.
"Good" Finchley said, "Can you carefully take it out and prepare it please Niali. I'm going to charge that Ensign, hopefully catch them off guard, and bring them down to the ground, and when I have, I need you to pump them full of...your 'jungle juice', just make sure it's strong enough to keep the sedated for a while!"
“I am ready when you are.” She said quietly and evenly.
"Ok then, here we go" Finchley said to Niali. Stepping forward, Finchley held up his hands and said to the Ensign "I need the Doctor here to have a look at the crew who are ill, can you understand what I'm saying?"
The Ensign stared unblinkingly back at him and did not move or make any kind of reply.
"Good...good" Finchley said as he approached the first officer who was unconscious on the floor. Pretending to attempt to turn them over, Finchley suddenly gave a guttural roar and charged the Ensign who was only about five feet away. He slammed into them like bulldozer and they both went crashing to the deck. Quickly, Finchley was on his knees and grabbed the Ensign by the scruff of his tunic top. His punches reigned down on the Ensigns jaw, but each time the Ensign didn't react and again stared unblinkingly back at Finchley. Then their hand rose into the air and Finchley could see the azure blue hue begin to form in the palm of their hand.
"Doctor, now would be a good time!!!!!" Finchley shouted out for Niali.
Niali threw herself down beside the pair and injected all the sedative she had into the Ensign’s carotid artery. Immediately the sedative took effect and his hand dropped and his eyes closed. “It worked” she said sitting back and looking at Finchley. “Now Sir, where is my infrasound?”
Finchley looked at Niali, and even in the seriousness of the situation they found themselves in, he couldn't resist an attempt at humour. Pointing to his console he laughingly said to her "Here's the prize you could have won!"
“Shit!” Was all she said, the old Earth epithet seemed appropriate. “Maybe this is the answer if they destroyed it on purpose!”
"None of the other bridge consoles have the ability to carry out the infrasound, so I'm going to attempt to do it from the Operations center on deck five, which can double up as a backup bridge. You're free to come with me if you don't think you're needed here right now, but we need to get going immediately if you are."
“I am with you Commander, I am needed everywhere” she pressed her comm =/\= Niali to Wilson, I’m sorry I am sending you another unconscious patient. Please keep him well sedated and within a security forcefield. I will be back as soon as I can Niali out=/\= she ordered the transporter and the unconscious crew member disappeared in a beam of blue light. “Ready when you are Sir!” She checked again that she had her phaser. “
"Right let's go Niali" Finchley said "With the situation, and in regards to the fact that your duty being significantly more important than my own, please allow me to take the lead, I need to get you there in one piece."
She nodded more than happy to let him do so, for a second she wondered when he had begun using her first name. She began to follow him making sure her phaser was as close to her hand as possible.
Then there were two. As Finchley and Niali focused on the infrasound to free the crew from the effects of the Nebula creature, S'thenosis remained focused on the creature itself. She watched in awe as the creature had tried to communicate it's intentions through the poor ensign who was going to have one helluva headache when they aroused. It was hungry and looking to feed.
As Finchley and Niali left the bridge, she turned to Savar. "The thing is clearly hungry and like any being, driven solely to fulfill this singular desire. So, how do we satiate it's hunger without sacrificing ourselfs in the process?"
Savar spoke clearly," We proceed logically. If you are hungry but do not wish to ruin or appetite for the main course. You snack on something that sates your appetite. We do the same with the creature. Give it something to satisfy the hunger it has while we work on a way to escape/defeat it."
Internally she could not help but feel that the Ferengi ships had been the appetizers and the Sunfire was now the main course. Now it was up to those who understood feeding the young to come up with a plan for feeding this Nebula 'thing'.
[Sickbay]
Sarah continued to work in sickbay, feeling close to being overwhelmed with patients. The Cargo was still being converted and the beta team were becoming affected themselves. She had a bad feeling about this.
TBC
