Bridge Crew Pt 7

Posted on Sun Aug 7th, 2022 @ 11:04pm by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Commander Dean House & Lieutenant Ashlesha 4827/A & Ensign Kitiuas Thenis & Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell

Mission: New Harrington
Location: Bridge

The Sunfire pitched hard as the virus cloud erupted, the deck feeling as though it vanished beneath the Captain's feet even as she stood. The crew tumbled, their bodies impacting anything in the way. Rhenora let out a yelp as she hit the railing surrounding the central section of the bridge, hoping that no significant damage had occurred as the mighty Sunfire struggled to right herself.

" Inertial dampeners at 50%, artificial gravity fluctuating" Came a call from the rear of the bridge.

" Divert power and get us stable again" Rhenora ordered, finding her feet and making her way back to her chair. Below them the atmosphere in one region of the planet seemed to be on fire - a chain reaction no doubt that would hopefully self exitinguish before any permanent damage was done. Her gut clenched, Remal and Sarah were down there, hopefully they were still alive. There was nothing they could do to stop the reaction in the atmosphere - apart from prey to whatever deities they believed in.

"Captain - the reaction is decreasing, now localised to 50 square kilometres over the northern region sea" Another crewman announced. The Captain dared to breathe but resisted the urge to check on Remal.

Gray and Green's eyes squeezed shut as it felt like white hot spikes shot through their brains. Ashlesha felt a sense of almost violent disassociation, her stomach lurched.

"Ah...Captain..." Gray and Green said in stereo, "I...seem to have lost my connection to Violet..."

Gray turned to look at the console, "And...it looks like the station's orbit has destabilized and has...maybe twenty minutes before it burns up..."

With me in it, she thought privately as she forced down the urge to panic, to grab a shuttle and go to save herself...

Ensign Thenis did immediate scans of the planet, "Captain I am detecting heavy amounts of radiation spreading across the globe in the upper atmosphere. Looks like the Southern city and continent is going to finally get that moisture they needed, but it is going to have some serious radiation in it. The mega hurricane has dissipated and now region is dealing with heavy radioactive rain. Entire globe will be covered by radioactive cloud cover in approximately thirty minutes, followed by heavy radioactive precipitation. As for the virus I am detecting no signs of it. All satellites within a one hundred seventy-five-kilometer radius are lost either in decaying orbits of blown free of orbits." Thenis voice lowered to a near whisper "I am detecting at least five Islands in the area of the atmospheric incident, populations where approximately forty thousand, I am no longer detecting any viable life forms in that region." She wiped some blood out of her face and tears were in her eyes.

"Medical team, report to the bridge" The Captain ordered, hoping the comm-system was still working. Her bridge crew were battered but not quite broken, hopefully they could get through the next few hours.

"Damn" Rhenora hissed at the loss of life, silently berating herself for not foreseeing this terrible turn of events. If they weren't careful there wouldn't be a planet left to save.

"Captain, it appears some of the remaining weather stations are rebooting and are entering some kind of 'caretaker' mode. I'm no longer detecting the virus and some regions of the planet are stabilizing. The radioactive rain has been neutralized.

Dean had been tossed around as much as anyone, but he could handle it more. Not without he was going to have some bumps or bruises later. "Confirmed."

Having pulled himself back up, "The radiation pockets that the rain have already made we can probably fix by reversing the polarity of the isotopes. A multiple different of delivery methods." Dean glanced to Ashlesha, "Violet is still there I'm sure."

Gray gave a shaky nod and focused on her job, anything to take here thoughts away from the idea she might have lost part of herself. A call was coming in from the planet: that administrative assistant, the jumped up secretary. She took the call and assured them that all was well and progress was being made, then cut the line before they could take up more of her time...

Kit was softly mumbling under her breath “It’s my fault for not recognizing the virus would react to the quantum energy the way it did. All that energy absorbed and the hive mind disconnect caused a cascade chain reaction which lead to the explosion. Each virus bereft of the hive mind had to release the energy, but with no cohesive plan. All those beings dead because I failed to recognize this pattern.”

"Dean, reverse the polarity of the isotopes to prevent any more radiation falling to the surface" Rhenora ordered, moving over to stand behind Kit and placing a hand on her shoulder. "This isn't your fault. No one could have predicted what that virus did" she tried to reassure the Ensign.

"Ops, see if you can hail both the away teams"

Green had found a vacant station and had begun re configuring it for Operations when the captain gave the order. Both Gray and Green called out, "Yes, sir!". It was both reassuring to hear her voice echoed in her own ears, yet at the same time it reminded Ashlesha part of her had been torn loose.

Work, she thought as she set about attempting to contact both away teams...

The Captain headed over to where Green was sitting, the medical team hovering nearby. "Are you ok?" She asked quietly.

Ashlesha hesitated before answering, she was aware of the medical team due to them being in Gray's field of vision. That fact alone reminded Ashlesha of what was missing, "As long as I have something to do I am fine. If I get more than a few seconds to ponder the implications what might-"

She gritted her teeth, "I need work, distraction. Sir," she glanced up at the captain, "I can still do my job, sir."

Her smile felt alien on her face, "I still have two pairs of hands and enough brains between me to operate them..."

"We'll get you back together again" the Captain reassured, not knowing the full extent of Ashelsha's unique biology and connection. If the Lieutenant said she was ok, then that's what they would run with. The Captains gut twisted as they still struggled to re-establish communications with their missing people. She had no idea if they were still alive or not.

"I know a friend I could call, she could take care of it also." It took Dean a moment, looking over some calculations. Actually going to make use of the tractor beams instead of phasers. He'd have to change each burst for each spot though depending on the concentrations. Setting them up to become 'burst cones.' Using -1.36 MeV polaron beams, thus scattering the negative isotopes into themselves. Firing at two second intervals.

Kit, nodded at the captain’s words, flinging even more blood down her face. She knew that she needed to get medical attention, but something was niggling at the back of her mind. She also still felt like it was her fault, perhaps that was why the niggling feeling was there, something about the way the virus reacted to energy, then she had it, the nanonite chlorophyllin converted energy to other forms of energy. So the quantum torpedo had released its energy and was absorbed by the virus chains, which disrupted the hive mind and each virus released their energy build up in a random pattern. The question was did it really “kill” the virus or was each individual virus in the “hive” still there and trying to reform with the “mind” of the hive? She did a quick scan of the radiation fall out in both the planets atmosphere and the surrounding space. Sure enough there appeared to be some radiation particles moving towards a central area over the islands in the atmosphere and another movement towards the decaying orbit of the main weather station platform. Her hormones increased; cinnamon, roses, vanilla, and now lilac wafting all around the bridge, “Captain, I am not one hundred percent positive, but I do not believe we killed our friend the ‘virus’. It appears it merely converted and released the energy it had stored, but with out a ‘hive mind’ to direct it all of it was done by individual virus parts of the ‘hive mind’ causing a cascade explosion of magnitude unknown, without the exact count of viral load, quantum radiation. I am sure some of the virus was killed, but it would appear that two areas have an unusual formation of radiation pockets, over the islands and the primary weather satellite platform. She said in a muffled and pained voice.

"Those pockets of radiation should neutralise when we reverse the isotope polarity - Dean's working on it" The Captain replied, her hunch was that they were just about to turn the tide on this crisis.

"Actually I've already started. I never said it would happen instantly." Dean glanced to Kit, then to Rhenora.

"I'll take happening over not happening any day" Rhenora quipped as she motioned the medical team towards Kit. "Any word from the away team?" She asked, wanting to know if they were still alive or not.

Reaching up Dean scratched the back of his neck a moment. Letting that first batch to keep on working. Hopefully it will get it all If not, enough would work. Switching to see about if working through the interference would work. "Maybe. This little blip could be them, or just something automated." Focusing the view screen to that spot on the tactical map.

The Captain took what hope she could from that blip and knew that as soon as comms to that region were functional again they would have contact. The isotopes were working and it appeared Savar's team were stabilising the weather platform's descent. They too were alive. Maybe, just maybe they'd all get out of this in one piece.

One of the medics from the medical team came over to Ensign Thenis just as her display on the science console began displaying what appeared to me a miracle, the polaron beams seemed to have caused the active radiation pockets to reverse, anywhere the active radiation pocket touched the atmosphere seemed to repair itself and the weather around it became calm. Air purity levels where better than the air on the Leto. As she was reviewing the data her console again beeped for attention, she shooed the medic out of her way, information began to flow onto her screen about the head of the weather control system for New Harrington; a Doctor Sperruc, a Half Vulcan/Orion. Born to Tivyk of Vulcan and Zherovo of Pi-3 Orionis III. Studied at the Vulcan Science Academy and was a researcher there in Environmental control systems. Worked at Jupiter Station on planetary Environmental control systems, was asked to leave after he continued down research on enhanced nanonite virus for usage in weather control systems, even though the research to date showed it was an unstable usage.

She turned to the captain "Good news captain, it would appear the polarn beams have caused the radiation nanonites to start doing their jobs of repairing and stabilizing the atmosphere and weather patterns. I also have finally gained access to the head of the weather control system for New Harrington, a doctor Sperruc, he is considered a radical and the Vulcan Science Academy, Federation and Starfleet have banned him in his research and development. Starfleet Intelligence has lost track of his where abouts." She then allowed the medic to attend to her injuries.

Ashlesha tried not to think about Violet. What would happen to her third body if it lost contact? Would it develop it's own personality? Would trying to re-integrate it be a crime? Could it exist on it's own? Could-

"Captain!" she exclaimed in stereo, "I have contact with both the surface and the station!"

"Thank the Prophets" Rhenora whispered to herself as contact was made with their missing away teams. "Ask them for a status report and send them a data burst of everything we know so far"

"Yes, Sir," the Ashlesha's replied simultaneously. Gray murmured, "Surface team, this is Sunfire. Please provide a status update. Do you require assistance?"

Meanwhile Green hesitated, then swallowing stated, "Commander Savar, this is Sunfire. Can you provide a status update?"

Am I still alive over there? Ashlesha wondered...

Tbc