Fighting the Red Dragon, Part Two

Posted on Wed Oct 19th, 2022 @ 10:45pm by Commander Dean House & Ensign Kitiuas Thenis
Edited on on Thu Oct 20th, 2022 @ 1:04am

Mission: *CD*
Location: Jefferies Tubes 15,16, and 17
Timeline: current

Thenis sat with the nozzle of the hose aimed with her left hand, sweat and blood flowing down into her pants from all over her body. She hurt horribly, her right arm was numb and seemed to not be working right. She was barely keeping the flames back and was anxiously waiting for crewmen Randall and Hussein to reach her. Her combadge chirped great, now what? she thought.

She heard Commander House on what appeared to be an open com link =^= Alright..I got you. I can do it; Sorry, going out is going to have to wait. Place to go, people to see; I'm beaming down to Auxiliary and getting that one to the field hospital in the Cargo Bay. You can walk me through it once I get there.=^=

Thenis was confused, who in the nine blazes was he talking to, her or someone else. She reached up with her right arm and almost vomited in her respirator from the pain, and tapped her combadge, in a tin can voice she said =^=”Can you repeat last transmission Sir. Was that directed towards me or another crewmember?”=^= the pain she was experiencing coming through her communication. Kit heard Commander House’s reply to her query

=^="Yeah..sorry. I'm beaming down to the Auxiliary area. You and your wounded to the Cargo Bay. If I can't figure out what I need to do to shut that junction off, then you can walk me through it from there."=^=

Thenis immediately returned a reply in the tin can voice of the respirator =^=”Belay getting me out Sir, just get crewman Kane out, she is a critical injured. I and the remainder of my team are needed to continue with the fire suppression efforts here as it appears at least one of the plasma conduits and even an EPS conduit or two have ruptured. We are tackling this thing with a severely undermanned crew. Triple tapping crewman Kane’s combadge so you can identify her. I believe one of the crewmen in my team will be able to help in instructing how to bypass the shut off valves to the plasma conduits, EPS conduits, and gas lines.”=^=

Kit sat back for just a moment to catch her breath, her right shoulder was killing her; she looked down and could just barely see the rip and wound through the hood visor of her fire protective suit. She let out a small laugh, reached down and grabbed a red hot piece of deck plating. She brought it up to her shoulder this is going to hurt like the nine hells she thought; then slammed the red hot metal against her shoulder. Blooming white hot streaks of pain flooded her body as she cauterized her shoulder wound; with the shrapnel still in place. She dropped the metal she used to cauterize her wound and slumped back against the wall of the Jefferies tube. She had almost passed out well one good thing about that abusive SOB of a genetic male donor of DNA was he made me one tough SOB she thought. She checked on the fire, it was still there but had not advanced down her way to much.

Looking at crewman Kane she said in a metallic voice ”Hang in there kid, the cavalry is on its way. Sounds like the command staff has decided to use some precious power to beam you out to medical help.” Kit was not sure the crewman heard her, but she wanted to let crewman Kane she was still here with her. Through the thick swirling dark smoke she seen a small sliver of light and heard a small tin voice call out ”Sir, are you there?” it was the voice of crewman Randall.

She replied back in a joking, tin voice ”Sure took your sweet time getting here crewman; what did you and crewman Hussein do, stop to smell the flowers?”

Crewman Randall let out a small tin can laugh and replied How did you know Sir? as he and crewman Hussein appeared, as out of nowhere.

Crewman Randall suddenly became extremely concerned upon seeing both crewman Kane and Ensign Thenis; in the metallic sounding voice of the respiratory he inquired ”Sir , you appear to be injured and have a suit compromise, and is crewman Kane dead?”

Kit sighed and replied in a calm but tin sounding voice ”No crewman Kane is not dead, yes I am aware of my injury. I need one of you to stay with crewman Kane. The other one will continue with me to get this thrice damn fire put out. Now is either of you an Environmental Control Specialist or Engineer?’

Crewman 1st Class Adara Hussein spoke up in a clear metallic voice ”I am an Environmental Control Specialist Sir. I and Chief Warrant Officer Nigel-Timmons were headed to the mess hall when the ship fell out of orbit; most likely why we survived.”

Thenis could hear the sorrow and pain in her voice; but did not have time to pep talk her up, she made a mental note to try and inform Lieutenant Vali of the need for grief counseling for the young woman. ”Okay, here is how we are going to work this. Crewman Hussein you will stay with crewman Kane and monitor her condition. Commander House will be beaming her to medical care soon, if we still have power to do so, if not then you must get her to care yourself. Also you may need to assist and talk Commander House in how to reroute the plasma conduits, EPS conduits, and gas lines from the areas around Jefferies Tubes 15,16. 17, 18 and 19. That way we can beat this Red Dragon Devil of a fire. Stop feeding it and we can defeat it. Crewman Randall your with me, we are going to continue the assault, you have the hose drag and ensure no kinks, I have the nozzle and spray. Once crewman Kane is beamed out crewman Hussein follow the house forward to our position, hopefully by then we can add a new house with crewman Randall manning one nozzle and me the other with you pulling double duty in hose drag and in ensuring no kinks. Questions?”

There came a unison chorus of tin can feed back “No questions, Sir. Orders understood.”

Kit smiled and tapped her combadge, her tin voice sending out her message ”Commander House be advised Crewman Hussein will be with crewman Kane, who needs the evac, and will also be your point of contact for bypassing the plasma conduits, EPS conduits, and gas lines from the areas around Jefferies Tubes 15,16. 17, 18 and 19. Myself and crewman Randall are going forward to tackle this Red Dragon Devil of a fire.” With that Ensign Thenis inquired in her metallic voice ”Ensign Thenis to Warrant Officer Nigel-Timmons, status of your teams?”

There was short pause then Kit heard Warrant Officer Nigel-Timmons tin voice We are holding our own Sir, fire has not advanced nor grown, however we have been unable to knock it back. We need hoses from your end and it sure would help if someone woke up the Auxiliary Environmental Control folks and tell them to get off their respective butts and reroute and bypass plasma conduits, EPS conduits, and gas lines to this bloody area. Hard enough to fight this fire undermanned Sir.”

Kit smiled and let out a small chuckle and replied back in a tin voice Understood Mister Nigel-Timmons. Myself and crewman Randall are moving our butts forward, and I am sure that COMMANDER HOUSE is doing all he can to reroute and bypass plasma conduits, EPS conduits, and gas lines to the area.”

Ensign Thenis again allowed herself to smile as she imagined the look on Chief Warrant Officer 2nd Nigel-Timmons face as she told him who was working the reroute and bypass issue. Okay crewman Randall let’s get a move on, sounds like Mister Nigel-Timmons and his crew are not happy we stopped to have Tea Time.”

Kit thought she heard a couple of tin snickers escape from her crew. She began to slowly move forward, pain shooting from her right shoulder, she would stop every few paces and spew out the fire retardant foam into the flames. The smoke was heavy every time she hit the fire, the there would be the roaring glow of the Red Dragon’s return. The deck plating became slicker with each burst of fire retardant foam, she could hear the occasional muffled and tin sound of crewman Randall as they slowly worked there way forward. The emergency lights had long gone out in the Jefferies Tubes where the fire was, Thenis mused that the batteries must have been damaged by the fire. Suddenly she came to a junction where there were two diagonal tubes leading down and one going forward. Fire was roaring from all three tubes. Kit paused and began blasting back the fire from all three sections okay here comes the fun part need to get the crossbridge Jefferies tube fire contained by manually shutting the hatch, then I take one diagonal tube down and crewman Randall access the fire hose at this juncture and takes the other diagonal tube. We then combine our forces and start hitting the Red Dragon pushing it towards the other team.

She turned and in her tin like voice spoke to crewman Randall ”Okay, time to shut the hatch crossbridge Jefferies tube, that should snuff the flames in that tube. Then you need to recover one of the fire suppressant hoses and attack the fire on the left diagonal Jefferies tube and I’ll take the right. Work your way down. Once we reach the deck push the Red Dragon towards the other team. Be damn careful and steady with your steps. I am unsure how much the deck has been damaged.” Crewman Randall responded in his tin voice ”Aye, aye Sir! Ready when you are.”

Thenis nodded then realized he couldn’t see her nod ”Okay let’s get this done, and done right.” she replied in the metallic voice of the respirator. With that she blasted the diagonal Jefferies Tubes forcing the fire back from those and then proceeded to attack the crossbridge Jefferies tube. As soon as Ensign Thenis hit the crossbridge Jefferies tube crewman Randall crawled forward to the manual hatch release and began the process of closing the hatch. The heat was blast furnace hot and it was nigh near impossible to see what he was doing, with the fire suppressant foam coming down his hood and visor. The hatch release was slippery but he managed to finally get it down.

In the meantime the fires began coming back up the diagonal Jefferies tubes licking at both his and Kitiuas’ s fire suits. Kit quickly dosed both flames and she and crewman Randall retreated a few feet back. ”Damn I could use a drink of water right about now” replied crewman Randall in a tin like voice. Kit did not respond, but had the same sentiments as the crewman. She was having extreme pain in her should and could no longer feel her arm, hand and fingers in her right arm. Her throat was parched and she couldn’t remember when she didn’t feel so damn hot or when her universe didn’t seem to be some version of a Smoke filled Hell. She heard a voice come over her combadge =^=

"Okay, okay. I've got her locked. Transporting. You really should go also but since you're not going to listen. I'm here Thenis, Hussein. Bonnie, you still with us also?"=^= Thenis grimaced a second then let out a breath “Damn straight I’m not abandoning my crewman.” She whispered to herself.

Crewman Hussein watched as crewman Kane dematerialized from sight, as soon as she saw her dematerialize she reached down and felt the hose, she crawled along the Jefferies tube making her way to the rest of the team. She was scared, had been since she entered the maze of Jefferies tubes. Now that she was alone in the swirling, pitch black smoke she was beginning to panic, she reached up hit her combadge and in a tin can metallic voice replied to the commander ”Crewman Hussein here sir, I am working my way towards the rest of the team. Is the Auxiliary Environmental Controls still functioning?”

Meanwhile Ensign Thenis replied in her metallic respirator voice =^=”I am here also, little busy fighting this fire right now, Sir. You may want to make a ship wide announcement to shut the Jefferies Tube hatches to lessen the smoke from the fire.”=^= Just as she finished her statement another explosion could be felt and heard in the ship. =^=”Bloody Hell, the crossover Jefferies tube leading to the Main Environmental Controls just blew out into the corridor, unsure if it has affected the Second Seck corridor. Got to go Commander, have work to do. Crewman Hussein walk his butt through in reroute and bypass plasma conduits, EPS conduits, and gas lines from the area.”=^=

She quickly asked in her tin like voice “Both teams sound off, now. I’ll start Ensign Thenis present.” One by one the metallic sounding voices came through Crewman Randall present, Crewman Hussein present, Crewman Furan present, Crewman Ruiz present, Crewman Pelesky present.” Then came Chief Warrant Officer Nigel-Timmons response Chief Warrant Officer Nigel-Timmons present, damn that was a close one. Good news, bad news. Good news the blowout did not appear to go through to the Second Deck or through to the Fourth Deck. Bad news we definitely have a Plasma Fire outside main Environmental Control. Any word on whether Commander House has succeeded in routing the plasma and gases?”