Those Left Behind 2
Posted on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 @ 1:21am by Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell & Lieutenant Commander Thriss Kla'ren & Ensign Kitiuas Thenis & Lieutenant Thomas Haldeman & Senior Chief Petty Officer Ronson Mitchell
Mission:
Planet of the Dinosaurs
Location: USS Sunfire - Decks 1 - 10
Timeline: Current-ish
SCPO Ronson Mitchell was a man of many talents, he could make the best coffee in the world, organise the impossible amount of paperwork that was required on a daily basis to keep a starship running, and moonlighted in half a dozen different bridge rolls just to keep things interesting. Currently he was working on eeking the most out of the ship's batteries until they could deploy the sail.
Tom was at the Ops station, seeing what he could do before they began venting the smoke and putting out the small fires still going on inside the Sunfire. "Mr. Mitchell, how goes it?"
"Not well Sir, the batteries are nearly depleted, I'm shuffling what Incan to help power the emergency water pumps for Kit and Bon" he advised, his fingers deftly plying what was left of the computer panel.
Ensign Thenis was at the diagonal access Jefferies Tube and had opened the Emergency Fire Fighting Hatch. She knew from experience there would be suits and equipment inside. She took out a Respirator Unit and Silver fire Fighting/Blast Suit. She then turned and looked over at Lieutenant Durnell. “I know the Academy gives very basic training on these suits and respirators; do you need assistance in donning these?” As she asked the question she reached in and took out a Halligan Bar.
She hated asking for help, always had. Her papa always said that was a trait her mother carried. but as Bonnie tumbled sideways, while trying to put on a pair of pants with some weird straps, she had to admit she was struggling. "This is a first for me, so maybe just a little help wouldn't hurt." Then she stuttered, "But I... I promise to learn quickly and not be a hindrance." She liked her computer core, her comfort zone and this was far from it. There was that cinnamon smell again, but sweeter than before.
Thenis smiled and reached over, in a gentle whisper that only Lieutenant Durnell could hear, she said “Relax Lieutenant, remember what I said about working on your confidence?” Kit then began adjusting straps on Lieutenant Durnell. “Okay, the hood pulls over your head and snaps here and here and adheres here and here. Make sure your respirator is a snug fit. There is a lamp in the hood and take this wrist lamp. Like I said it will get dark and the smoke can be thick to where you cannot see your hand in front of your face.
Also, remember the smoke swirls and flows about, creating optical illusions. Good news is you will not need to drag a hose yet, bad news, no hose to use as a guideline, therefore I am doing a hook-in with you.” With that statement Kit attached a cable to Lieutenant Durnell. “Follow behind me, if you feel panicky or lose sight of me just tug the line and I will stop; there is approximately one point five meters of distance on the cable, which is fireproof.” Kit then smiled at her. “Ready to go into the breath of the Red Dragon?” she inquired, lifting the Halligan Bar in her left hand.
Bonnie hung on her every word as though it meant life or death; because it could potentially mean just that. She didn't squirm when Thenis got close, nor did she feel fear as the green girl talked about the fire and smoke as though it were a Dragon. She simply listened and nodded and wondered how she could ever explain that it wasn't confidence she was lacking, not really. For Bonnie, being accident-prone was a way of life. She was the black cloud and she had learned long ago to just roll with it.
They entered the J-tubes and began proceeding to the first junction. Deck one had not experienced the fires from below and the smoke was minimal. Bonnie passed the time by counting paces and amusing herself by trying not to look at Kit's butt as it waggled in front of her face. Cute as it was. They had a long way to go to reach the first vent point so Bonnie asked, not realizing they were on open comms, "So, how did you become so proficient at fighting fires?" Her voice inside the mask, muffled, metallic sounding.
Kit chuckled and replied in a tin can voice due to the respirator, "Well as you probably know the Science Division's job during a 'Red" Alert situation or battle is usually to assist the Medical Division. I, however, have one small issue, I tend to have a MAJOR issue with Hospitals and sickbays. So, in my Junior year, I took the Basic Fire Fighting course. In my senior year, I was permitted to take the Advanced Fire Fighting course and certify as a Fire Fighter Teak Lead."
She stopped suddenly and turned to the Jefferies tube wall on her left. She placed her hand on the wall. "Okay, first smoke vent. Watch what I do." With that Kit again felt the panel on the wall, she then gently took the Halligan Bar and placed it in two indentations and pried open the panel. "Okay come here and take a look. See the panel here, it is the control panel for the vent. Press these two indicators, it will activate the batteries and vent fan."
Thenis then pressed the indicators, and the sound of whirring could be heard. Suddenly the smoke seemed to flow like ghostly bodies into the vent. "Okay one down nineteen more to go on this deck." As she said that a dull, hollow groaning sound could be heard throughout the Jefferies tubes. "That is the gas and plasma lines making that noise, they have been jostled loose from their moorings."
Bonnie could understand why Kit had issues with hospitals, but she was instantly curious to know more. But she focused and paid attention to what needed to be done in order to process. They had a long way to go if they were going to vent ten decks worth of smoke one vent duct at a time. As soon as Kit said nineteen, she began to formulate alternate ways to accomplish more with less.
Her thoughts turned to what Kit had meant by 'jostled loose'. "Are you saying the plasma lines have broken free from the housings?" She asked, her mask partially fogging up from the moisture in her breath. "What if we could do this smarter?" Her eyes lit up and she sat back on her haunches in the tube, her head bent to the side like. She pulled out her tricorder and scanned, up, down, then in a 360 pattern. Then, like a fire lit within, she let out a sort of excited giggle shriek thing before getting in real close with Kit to show her the tricorder.
Ensign Thenis replied in that eerie tin voice the respirators made “Yes, some of the plasma and gas lines have broken free from their housings. It was one of them that got crewman Kane as she tried to cut off the supply of plasma going through the line. It exploded the panel out and into her and sent a shrapnel piece into me. Nasty business fighting a fire on a starship when all the fail-safes, mysteriously fail at the same time without being in an all-out battle.”
"Okay, follow me on this, right? The ship came to rest at a 20-degree angle, yeah? So, if we release the vents, here, here and here, plus make sure these hatches stay open..." She said while showing a 3d topographical map on the tricorder, "That should create a wind tunnel and channel the smoke up and out in one big plume." She looked at Kit, "Right?" Bonnie wasn't a firefighter, but she was a student of engineering and understood thermal dynamics.
Kit looked at what Lieutenant Durnell was showing her. She did some calculations in her head. In her tin like voice, she replied “It would clear most of the smoke but fail to get the heavy element gases. Also, there is the captain’s order to seal as many hatches as possible to keep out the ‘guest’ this planet has. Finally, we still have to search each deck for any fires that may still be burning. I say that we go with the idea as it will minimize some of our work, by allowing us to concentrate on the lower engineering sections.”
Bon smiled with her heart happy Kit had agreed to her suggestion. It also amused her that Kit did something she did all the time, over think everthing. "Okay, three left on this level, then we can systematically work our way down."
Bonnie moved around Kit, careful not to get entangled. She crossed the gap, entered the next section and easily found the next vent. Using what she had learned she checked the wall surface first, though she wasn't sure what she was feeling it for. She opened the panel, inserted the Halbard Bar in the holes and rotated. This opened the hatch and activated the vent fan. There wasn't a lot of smoke left, but what was there whooshed past and quickly shot out which made her happy. "Two down. A lot more to go."
Kit shrugged; the sweat was building up again as she took the lead again. She felt the next panel and felt extreme heat coming off it. ""Damn the Thousand Gods, okay we need to back track a little to the last diagonal and pull a hose." Just as Kit said that there came another rumbling sound from the wall and a blueish green flame flickered from the wall paneling. "BACK NOW!" snapped Thenis as she crawled backwards grabbing Bonnie and pulling her along. A spilt second later the wall panel blew out with a belching flaming green blue fire licking at the far wall and black smoke billowing out behind it. The entire Jefferies tube became midnight black.
TBC
