Away Team III
Posted on Wed Jul 13th, 2022 @ 1:37am by Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell & Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Lieutenant Ashlesha 4827/A & Lieutenant Chester "Duo" Maxwell & Lieutenant Commander Thriss Kla'ren & Lieutenant Anna S. Thesia M.D. & Lieutenant Jessica Holland
Mission:
New Harrington
Location: Weather Platform
Timeline: current
Deep in the bowels of the master weather platform, the system was running another set of analyses. It had successfully protected itself against the last three intruders, however they had been smaller and less trained numbers. This would prove a formidable foe, and it was determined to protect itself again.
With Savar's permission Bonnie had created her code and introduced it into the system. They watched on baited breath as the virus took the bait. It detached itself from the code matrix of the station in order to spread into this new area of code leaving the communications network empty, at least momentarily. What went unnoticed was even though the majority of the virus moved, it had left a small bit of itself attached and was already multiplying as it now had more fuel for growth.
The comms crackled to life allowing the station crew a sense of false hope. This is when Savar and Aurora started talking about feeling a presence beneath in the bowels of the platform. Savar mentioned that everyone should go and immediately Bonnie cringed at the idea. She felt her place was better suited at the computer terminal, always the hacker in the van sort, rarely the field agent. She was just about to protest when Savar said 'everyone' and her heart sank.
Ashlesha had seen the flash of emotions across Durnell's face and felt some sympathy towards her. Once they headed out the technician would be dependent on everyone else to protect her since she was more a danger to them with a phaser than the enemy, it seemed. Ashlesha gave the woman an encouraging smile and said, "Chances are you might have to do your trick more than once while we navigate the station. Besides, haven't you ever seen any of those ancient horror films; the person left behind always gets killed first."
Bonnie half-smiled, despite her fears, "I've, uh, seen enough to know running gets you know here and hiding upstairs in a closet or under a bed gets you dead." She clutched her tool kit close to her chest but kept her tricorder open. She was actively scanning the internal circuitry to map just what systems the virus had spread itself into. More concerned with the digital rather than the physical dangers which lay before them.
Savar, spoke to Bonnie, "Quite correct Bonnie. Are you able to provide any more information on what systems are infected?" He then turned to Maxwell, "Mr. Maxwell, please look at me and not your tricorder. Have you been able to pick up any life signs? In addition, I believe now would be a good time to draw your phaser."
She nodded, "I'll try. Mostly it seems to be 'feeding' on the code that controls the life support systems. I'll be able to tell you more as we get closer to those systems, I think."
At Savar's command Duo looked up from his tricorder. There were still no life signs in the immediate area. His training and experience told him that scans never gave the full picture. He exchanged a glance with Savar and with a nod he drew his phaser and walked to the door. It didn't open at his advance. He noticed a panel next to it and tapped a random button. The door hissed open revealing a long corridor. "Remember team, there should be friendlies on the station...emphasis on the 'should' part." Duo gave a half smirk, half smile in an attempt to reassure some of the less enthusiastic members. Judging by their return expressions, it had mixed results.
Duo turned his attention to the corridor ahead of him. It was the familiar Federation standard station scheme. As he took his first steps, a series of sensations overtook him. First was the chill than ran down from the pit of his stomach and seemed to freeze his bones. That always happened just before he did something dangerous. But quickly after, came the warm rush of adrenaline. Like a fire it rushed over him and enveloped him in a familiar embrace, like an old friend or lover. In many ways it was.
His life had been a series of dangerous events and he knew the sensation well. He proceeded down the corridor with his tricorder in his left hand and phaser in his right. Scanning for clues and listening for audio alerts on the tricorder. Every few meters, he would glance back at the Away Team, just to make sure everyone was still behind him.
During the war, the Jem'hadar would conceal themselves with their shrouds and wait until a unit had passed and then sneak up and pick off the members of the patrol one-by-one with their wicked blades. There weren't any Jem'Hadar here, but somethings learned the hard way, left their mark on you forever. They began making progress.
Within another part of the station the three previous teams gasped for air, their life support running out and their hope all but gone. They were destined to die, there was no hope for a rescue. In this shielded location the A.I had confined them and offered nothing other than the barest threads of oxygen.
As Bonnie walked with Ashlesha her mind raced through the potential dangers. Always thinking about the possible outcomes, she had been often called an over thinker. She felt that was a positive thing. In order to take her mind of the flickering lights and creepy ness of the empty corridors, she asked Ashlesha, "Do you mind if I ask you a few personal questions? You know to break the silence?"
"Not at all," Ashlesha replied absently as she kept half her attention on her tricorder. She smiled slightly, "I expect a lot of people have questions for the new guy."
"Well, first, I may be overstepping, but I detected a quantum entanglement with quantum filaments and just wondered if that was how you are able to, you know, be three people at the same time?" Bonnie asked sheepishly. She was observant of new and interesting things. 'Always curious, always vigilant' her father would say. "That is, if that is, you know, how you can communicate with your counterparts?"
"Well yes, there is a quantum filament between my three brains," Ashlesha replied, "There is a group of three scientists on Jupiter Station devoted to figuring out how I work. They send me a 'happy birthday' every year, a semi annual request for a biopsy of my brain."
She grimaced, "Some of their other requests are a little-" she blinked, her face took on an alarmed expression.
"Commander," she said to Savar, "There is a green cloud drifting towards the planet, it is also threatening the Sunfire!"
"Oh? Oh. Oh!" Bonnie responded in succession as it dawned on her what Ashlesha was talking about. She never fully understood the fascination with sex or why humanoids we're so driven by it. She was also a bit naïve but not stupid and she realized now was not the time to ask further questions. Though she did want to know more, mostly about how her senses were interconnected and what would happen, say, one of them lost a limb; or one whole part of themselves.
But this was neither the time or the place for such things. She read her tricorder and then stopped, turned towards the wall panel and scanned more intensely. The virus was following them or at least it looked that way. It was also growing as it fed on the code matrix.
The A.I regarded this new threat. There were more than the previous teams that had beamed on board, but their biochemistry was similar. It had several options available, deprivation of air, heat and gravity to name a few. It ran another series of computations to ascertain the best way to 'play' with these new threats.
Deeper within the platform
"Did you hear that? I swear it was footsteps" Mo announced, ear to the deck plates. It was cold, they were starving and there was little air to breathe but this time he swore he could hear something other than the drone of the platform.
"You're delirious again" Bo retorted, depressed and had given up all hope. He closed his eyes and waited to die.
"Nope, I can definitely hear something," Mo said, hope ringing out in his voice - not for the first time. " HELP! We're in here!" He banged the sealed door causing a loud painful ricochet in the small room they were trapped in.
Duo's tricorder picked up the vibrations and alerted him with a series of chirps. "Commander Savar. I'm picking up a series of vibrations that seem to be man-made in origin. It could be some of the missing crew. If they are still alive, they are no doubt in trouble."
As the Away Team had proceeded down the passageway, they had become spaced out slightly in the middle of a four-way junction. The AI took advantage of this fact and activated a force field, separating the Away Team into two groups. Duo gave a sigh and scanned it. "Looks like what we would call a level 9 force field. Glad I didn't try and test it with my hand."
"It appears that whoever...or whatever is in control of the stations doesn't want us to be together anymore."
TBC
