Meeting of a fellow crewmate

Posted on Mon Oct 31st, 2022 @ 6:03pm by Ensign Kitiuas Thenis & Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell

Mission: Planet of the Dinosaurs
Location: Smoke filled Jefferies Tubes
Timeline: Current-ish

Kit sat and sprayed at the fires as they resprouted from ruptured pipes. She was beginning to wonder if her communications made it through to the bridge, with that thought she made up her mind. In her metallic voice she called crewman Hussein to take over for her duties, instructed Chief Warrant Officer Nigel-Timmons to assume command of the containment of the fires. She informed the fire teams she was going to make her way to the Bridge to either get relief for them or more crew to assist in the containment and clean up.

Kit then shut her hose down and made her way slowly to the diagonal Jefferies tube. She found it very difficult to move up the tube with the lack of use in her right arm. With great effort and extreme pain, she made it to the main Jefferies tube. The tube was still a surreal landscape of darkness and moving swirling dark smoke.

She grabbed a hold of the original firehose she and her team dragged through the tubes and slowly made her way back to the point of origin they had begun the journey towards the fire. Upon making it to that point she bypassed the diagonal leading down, but instead continued forward towards where the central ladder lead upward towards the bridge or continued toward the Holodecks.

As she slowly crawled forward the smoke was slowly getting less thick and the battery power emergency lighting in the Jefferies tube provided some feeble lighting, adding to the headlamp off her suit. She thought she saw a figure ahead off her.

When she was young, small spaces were fun. Pillow forts and hiding under linen tables thrilled her and made her papa laugh. Since Bonnie had grown up, somewhere along the way, she had lost that desire to be in a small dark space alone. She had no headlamp and the red emergency lighting was fading as the power was beginning to drain. Coupled with the smoke and the overall sense of loneliness, she began to wonder what possessed her to venture off alone.

But she proceeded, one hand in front of the other, constantly checking her surroundings where her own vision failed her. With no tricorder and no computer she was relying on memory and her own internal compass to carry on. Without warning her hand went forward and found nothing to support it. Losing balance, she toppled forward into the J-tube junction where she rolled and landed on her back, with an "omph" and an "owe." When she looked up, however, she was surprised to see a face looking back at her that was not her own.

Kit crawled forward, her right arm dragging, towards the figure she saw. Her head lamp on her fire protective suit lite up Lieutenant Durnell. Kit was not sure why the Lieutenant was in the Jefferies tube system, as far as she knew she was not on one of the fire team’s. to make matters worse she was not wearing a respirator unit, or a fire protective suit.

In a metallic voice she inquired “Sir, what the hell are you doing in a Jefferies tube without a respirator or fire protective suit?” Kit sat back as she asked this question. Her silver fire protective suit covered in black gooey strands from melted materials, ash and light pink of fire retardant foam. There was an approximate four inch rip in her fire protective suit on her right shoulder that was oozing green blood and was charred black around the outer edges of the suit and wound.

Kit was exhausted, but she struggled to pull her hood up and take off her respirator. Coughing she handed it over to Lieutenant Durnell “Here take a few breaths with this. Sorry it is sweaty and be careful it may have a little of my blood and spittle in it.” Kitiuas face was swollen and dried blood was around her nose and mouth. Her hair was plastered to her head from sweat.

Coughing some more she smiled, “Picked a hell of a time to come sightseeing Sir, where did you come from and is anyone else with you?”

Staring at the offered mask for a moment, Bonnie contemplated her need for oxygen versus her desire to taste blood and spittle, before realizing one meant life and death and the other was not. Besides it would have been rude to refuse. Bonnie took two slow breaths of fresh oxygen before giving answers. She noticed there were a number of familiar scents permiating the mask.

The scent of cinnamon, roses, vanilla, lilac, and thyme were on the mask from Ensign Thenis, but surprisingly only a little smear of blood and spittle. The mask was extremely damp though from her sweat, were the smells seemed to emanate from.

"We were in the holodeck when the explosion occurred." She started. "I tried to convince the others to follow me to the nearest cross section, but they had other plans. Besides the section was blocked. I've spent the last 20 minutes trying to find a hatch that will let me out, but they're all blocked."

She stopped and looked Kitiuas up and down. "You look like you've been through Hell yourself, are you okay? Why are you crawling through the tubes, bleeding and injured like you are?" Her face showed genuine concern as she handed the mask back.

“Well, just in case nobody bothered to keep you in the loop,” Kit said feeling a little mischievous “it would appear someone thought it was a brilliant idea to see what would happen when you take an Akira-class starship; which is not meant to do atmospheric landings, and slam it into said planet.” She said with a smile and small chuckle.”

Getting serious now Thenis looked at Lieutenant Durnell she replied “I and a very understaffed fire suppressant team have been dancing with the Red Dragon. A fire erupted in in Jefferies tube 17 and in the corridor and offices of the main environmental controls. I had just eight crewmembers to battle the blaze, had one of the gas or plasma lines decide to blow out; took crewman Kane out of the fight; I pray to the Thousand Gods she is still alive, Commander House beamed her out to medical, he has yet to cut the lines leading to Jefferies tube 17 and surrounding areas.” As she finished this statement the piping in the Jefferies tube they were in shuddered and moaned.

“So I left what was left of my fire suppressant team to get some more help. We have it under control, but until the lines are cut and rerouted it continues to burn.” She paused and looked at her “You said you were on the Holodeck when we crashed and those who were with you didn’t follow your orders?”

Lieutenant Bonnie could hear the anger in Ensign Thenis’s voice. “Gisjacheh and the Thousand Gods, I am going to wring every single one of those that were in that Holodeck with you, necks.” There was a flash of fire in her eyes and she suddenly had an adrenal rush of energy. “Malingering gisjacheh’s” with that said she looked at Lieutenant Bonnie, “Let’s get to the bridge, there is a diagonal up ahead, we will get you a respiratory and make our way Sir; then I am going to find me some Gisjacheh malingerers.”

With that Thenis indicated to Bonnie to take some deep breaths from her respirator and then she let it hang down on her chest as she started crawling down the Jefferies tube; small drips of green blood hitting the deck.

Grateful, Bonnie was just glad she had found someone willing to help, though she was more worried for Kits' sake than for her own. She took the offered air and inhaled the oxygen along with the intoxicating aroma of vanilla and lilac which immediately sent her mind reeling to the familiar days of her mother, and the cinnamon, her papa's cooking. After handing back the breather she started to follow Ensign Thenis when she noticed the spots of blood hitting the grates beneath her hands.

While those in the holodeck hadn't followed her request, which she hadn't really exercised her authority in making, perhaps she could at least get Kit to do so. Bonnie stopped, "Not the bridge. We need to get you to the med bay. Down, not up." She added a stern tone to her voice which was how her papa exerted his authority oh so many times.

Thenis stopped a second, "Mother you know how much I hate going to the med bay and seeing doctors. I will only go if you bake me a baker's dozen of your famous Adorian Butter Rum and Bavarian chocolate chips." she said in a delirium haze. She then staggered crawled to the diagonal Jefferies tube "Iff, I Rember correcllyyy thisss leadsssss to thee deckk below...." with that stuttering statement she tumbled down the diagonal and landed on the corridor of deck four below.

The fall was sudden, intense and immediate. There was a series of smaller thuds followed by one final THUD as Thenis hit the deck below. Eyes wide in horror, Bonnie scrambled out of the tube and down the diagonal shaft after Thenis. She was in bad shape. Bonnie ascertained Kit's position, and looked both ways down the corridor for a sense of direction, they were close now.

She bent down, wrapped Kit's arm around her own shoulder and lifted Kit into a standing position, well sort of. *cough* She let out a cough and could hear the wheeziness in her own throat even as she fought back the idea Why did Kit smell so damn good? Orion yes, but Bonnie had met other Orions and never experienced such sweet smells. "Alright, hand in there. I promise two dozen cookies if we can get you to the Med bay." There was no answer as Thenis was out of it now, but Bonnie knew she wouldn't mind. "Here we go."

Like maneuvering a sack of shifting sand down a path to avert a flood, every step was a carefully choreographed movement of kinetic energy, back and forth while maintaining a forward driving momentum. There was smoke in the air. The lights were fading as the batteries began to run dry. But, they were nearly there. Nearly there. Minutes later the doors opened to chaos within.

Bonnie flagged down a nurse and delivered the details before finally handing Kit off to the med team.

TBC