NRPG:

*dinnng* *dong* *ding* *dong*
*dinnng* *dong* *ding* *dong*
*dinga* *dinga* *dinga* dinga* *dong* *dong*
*dinga* *dinga* *dinga* dinga* *dong* *dong*
*dinnng* *dong* *ding* *dong*
*dinnng* *dong* *ding* *dong*

*giggle*  Hee..... I'm fine.  Really, I am.  Two places, one day.....  hee.....

Today's Compile Index is brought to you by the sounds of Liberty:

Day 12

(USS Boudicca - Sickbay - MO Ens(Jg) Dr. Jahlen - 1645)
(USS Boudicca - Sickbay - ACEO Ensign Lorimar -1646)
(USS Boudicca - Sickbay - MO Ens(Jg) Dr. Jahlen - 1647)
(USS Boudicca - Engineering - ACEO Ensign Lorimar 1745)
(USS Boudicca - Bridge - aFO Lt. Cmdr. Aleksander Stolev - Day 12 - 1746)
(USS Boudicca - Deck 15 - Deflector Control - ACEO Ensign Lorimar 1810)
(USS Boudicca - Deck 14, Section 10 - ACEO Ensign Lorimar - 1815)
(USS Boudicca - Bridge - Exeter MCO Col. Joseph Patten - Day 12 - 1816)
(USS Boudicca - Jeffries Tube between Deck 1 and 2 - aFO Lt. Cmdr Stolev - Day 12 - 1818)
(USS Boudicca - 10 Forward - MO Ens(Jg) Dr. Jahlen - 1818)
(USS Boudicca - Bridge - aFO Lt. Cmdr. Aleksander Stolev - 1941)
(Starbase Valhalla - Subsection 14- AOPS, Lt. Tollian Yalix- 2008)
(Starbase Valhalla - Long Term Holding - Ens (jg) Carlyle Deston - 2012)
(Starbase Valhalla - Subsection 14, Temporary Command Center - Ensign Mia Simmons - 2014)
(Starbase Valhalla ­ Boudicca Temporary Command Center - Ens (jg) Carlyle Deston ­ 2042)
(Starbase Valhalla - Subsection 14, Temporary Command Center - aCO Commander Archibald Stakes - 2045)

RPG:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Mission: The Fires of Heaven, Day 12
Stardate: 2407.07.09
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

(USS Boudicca - Sickbay - MO Ens(Jg) Dr. Jahlen - 1645)

Things were well in hand with the transfer of Sickbay to Ten Forward and Jahlen was gathering up portable equipment to take with her when she heard Mr. Lorimar calling out to her from across the sodden room.

"Doctor Jahlen? May ah go please? Ah'm needed elsewhere..."

Hurrying over to him she told him to lie still while she scanned him again.

"It all depends how your ribs are mending, Mr. Lorimar, and to what extent, so please lie still while I find out." She said in an authoritative voice.

(Reply Lorimar iyw)

The tricorder scan didn't take long, his bones were 50% healed, she quickly calculated how long it had taken for the knitter to accomplish that, and estimated how much longer it would take for the task to be completed.

"You may leave in ten minutes, no sooner Mr. Lorimar. I will inform a nurse to remove the device at 1656.  So lie as still as you can so the knitter can do its job."

(reply Lorimar)

"Yes, I understand that there is work to do."  She swept an arm around the room to indicate the hustle and bustle of the medical team.  "I have work to do too, but I assure you I will not change my mind about the time needed to mend your ribs."

Jahlen smiled as she patted his shoulder.  "I also know what it feels like to have so much to do and be unable to get it all done."

(Posted by Sal)

(USS Boudicca - Sickbay - ACEO Ensign Lorimar -1646)

Bob lay on the soaking wet but working biobed in sickbay. He had just called across the room for permission to leave; he knew how Doctors were, and respected their work greatly. Even though he was badly needed back in engineering, he wouldn't dare leave without getting his Doctor's permission. There would be Hell to pay if he did... and Bob had no desire to annoy the harried medical staff. After all, they had all sorts of sharp pointy things they could use upon him if they wanted to...

Dr. Jahlen appeared at his bedside, and busied herself with a medical scanner. "It all depends how your ribs are mending, Mr. Lorimar, and to what extent, so please lie still while I find out."

He did his very best to comply, not even speaking lest it disturb her work. It didn't take long.

"You may leave in ten minutes, no sooner Mr. Lorimar. I will inform a nurse to remove the device at 1656.  So lie as still as you can so the knitter can do its job."

"Yes, I understand that there is work to do."  She swept an arm around the room to indicate the hustle and bustle of the medical team.  "I have work to do too, but I assure you I will not change my mind about the time needed to mend your ribs."

Jahlen smiled as she patted his shoulder.  "I also know what it feels like to have so much to do and be unable to get it all done."
Bob smiled at her. "Ah thank ye kindly Doctor. Ah've had some experience wie the bone knitter, so ah know the drill. Ah'll dae mah best tae be a proper patient. Wouldnae dae tae bite the hand of the healer now would it? "

(Reply Jahlen IYW)

(USS Boudicca - Sickbay - MO Ens(Jg) Dr. Jahlen - 1647)

Jahlen smiled and patted Lorimar's shoulder while telling him she knew what it was like to have so much to do and being unable to accomplish it all.

Engineer Lorimar smiled at her. "Ah thank ye kindly Doctor. Ah've had some experience wie the bone knitter, so ah know the drill. Ah'll dae mah best tae be a proper patient. Wouldnae dae tae bite the hand of the healer now would it? "

Jahlen looked at him seriously, "that would be highly inadvisable, this healer bites back when bitten.  We also have real needles for our more difficult patients."

(reply Lorimar iyw)

A big grin replaced the severe look, and with a nod she turned on her heel and resumed supervising the exodus.

(USS Boudicca - Engineering - ACEO Ensign Lorimar 1745)

Rushing around, but with purpose. The ordered chaos of Main Engineering was soothing to Lorimar. After his stay in Sickbay, it was a comforting return to normalcy. Well... such as it is during battle. At least Bob was contributing... doing his best to help the rest of the crew keep the ship together. He was monitoring Warp Reactor power output when his commbadge chirped.

=^= Johnson to Lorimar =^=

"Go ahead Lieutenant."

=^=I think our spy may have tried something else again on Deck 14.  Can you come up here?  I'm at section 10.  You'll want to put on a suit before
coming.=^=

Bob frowned and looked quickly around. The CEO was buried in work. All three Petty Officers were fully occupied, as was the senior chief. He just couldn't leave unless it was an absolute emergency. He sighed heavily before replying. "Lieutenant, ah'm sorry but if this isnae an absolute emergency ah just cannae be spared right at the moment. Just as soon as I can free someone up tae take mah post ah will be with ye directly."

(Reply Johnson IYW)

(USS Boudicca - Bridge - aFO Lt. Cmdr. Aleksander Stolev - Day 12 - 1746)

=^= Bridge, this is Lieutenant Johnson.  Deck 14 is producing a Class H environment.  We’re trying to shut it down, but we may need them to put on their EVA suits until we can get the situation under control. =^=

Stolev looked up at this unexpected call from the OPS officer.  He opened his mouth to reply, but Stakes beat him to it.  "Mister Johnson, Commander Stakes. Reverse the situation and investigate the cause. Keep Commander Stolev appraised of the results. If you can't reverse it quickly, leave it be and seal off the area. We can't spare the personnel to spend too much time on it. Stakes out."

Stolev frowned, but then turned his attention back to his console, where he was monitoring the battle as best he could.  Suddenly, the screen flashed to indicate an incoming message.  Stolev raised an eyebrow when he noticed that it came from Stakes, sitting right next to him.

It read: "Commander, look into this, unobtrusively. A sudden plasma fire on Deck 9, close to the torpedo lockers, then overflooding in Sickbay and now environmental systems on deck 14. They could be non-linked but three 'accidents' in a day is a bit much. And just what we can't use at a time like this. We need our crew to remain focused on the task at hand. But least said the better. If there are nefarious activities going on, I don't want them to know that we know."

Stolev resisted the urge to look sideways at the aCO.  A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth despite himself as he recognized the irony of receiving this message from a man whom had been identified as the master spy controller for Doenitz's forces a few months prior.  No further evidence had been uncovered to corroborate or refute the claim found buried in a dead spy's log files, so no further action had been taken.

He tapped a simple reply -- "Acknowledged" -- into his console and pressed send.

(reply any)
(posted by Aaron)

(USS Boudicca - Deck 15 - Deflector Control - ACEO Ensign Lorimar 1810)

The medical team had arrived to take care of Crewman Carpenter's remains. Lorimar had sent Enright back to engineering with the news for the CEO, and he was just about to return himself when he remembered Lt. Johnson's request. 'Put on a suit', he had said. ~Damn... sorry to have taken so long laddie... but I havnae exactly been sittin on mah hands...~

He temporized a moment. It would be quicker to go directly from here, rather than doubling back to engineering. He walked over to an emergency equipment locker. Finding a radiation/contaminated environment suit within, he dropped his toolkit and phaser belt and struggled into the suit. When he finished he strapped his phaser back on, slung his toolkit and headed for the meeting with Johnson.

(USS Boudicca - Deck 14, Section 10 - ACEO Ensign Lorimar - 1815)

Bob approached the section as quickly as he could manage. Thankfully he had heeded Johnson's warning about the environment, or he would be breathing poisonous muck by now. ~Either the environment controls have gone cuckoo in this section... or Donald was right, and the saboteur is still up to his tricks.~

He tried scanning with his tricorder. Unfortunately, all he had was his usual engineering model and it was all but useless in looking for life signs. "Lorimar to Johnson."

A long pause, with no reply. "Ensign Lorimar to Lieutenant Johnson."

No reply again. Bob became both worried and suspicious at once.

"Computer, locate Lieutenant Johnson."

[Unable to comply.]

"Why not?"

[Environmental abnormalities preclude scanning in this section. Internal sensors offline.]

~Great... just great!~

Lorimar continued down the corridor carefully. He decided not to call out to Johnson... if he had heard or were able to answer, he would have. Something was definitely wrong. The eerie battle illumination did not help matters either. Just then, something caught his eye; a stain at the bottom of a closed door. Bob switched on his radiation suit's headlamp and looked down. Not again. He thought he had used up all his emotional reactions already, but clearly he had not. Under the 'normal' white light, the stain was clearly a small pool of blood. Drawing his phaser he popped the control panel open, and hit the override switch to open the door.

It slid open noiselessly, revealing a crumpled and bleeding figure in an environment suit. Johnson, it had to be. Bob crept quickly to the body and the wash of light from his suit revealed Johnson's face inside... unnaturally pale, and certainly unconscious. He was breathing however--

A flash of reflected light saved Lorimar. He whirled and fired at the approaching figure. The flash of light came from some type of blade. Vicious looking. His shot may, or may not have grazed the intruder but it had the desired effect. The figure ducked behind some equipment. Bob fired another long burst in that direction, hoping to keep his/her/its head down.

~Now what do I do??~

Thinking quickly, he realized there were several things that must be done as quickly as possible. Security, medical... the cavalry!

"Ensign Lorimar to security! Intruder alert, deck 14, section 10. Lieutenant Johnson has been attacked, he's badly injured. Need any available assistance, and a medical team!"

(Reply Any)

Bob thought he could hear movement behind some equipment; the audio sensors on his suit were at least as sensitive as his own ears. He loosed another short phaser burst in that direction just for good measure. Suppression fire... at least he hoped it was.

~Only one way out of this room... the way I came in. Perhaps I can trap the intruder... but Donald first!~

Another phaser blast, then he holstered it and grabbed Donald under the arms. Supporting his helmeted head as best he could, he dragged him quickly and carefully out the door, then set him down gently. He swept another long phaser beam across the room at waist height, little caring what it struck as long as it bought him time. He reached for the override controls, and quickly closed the door again. If the intruder wanted out, he was going to have to blast his way out with a weapon.

Bob turned his attention back to Donald. His suit had been pierced, a jagged tear from which blood and breathing air were escaping. He couldn’t remove Donald's suit; that would surely kill him. He chose the next best option. Reaching into Johnson's suit repair kit, he slapped a self sealing patch onto the tear with one hand and pressed hard. He hoped the direct pressure might slow the bleeding enough to keep him alive. Bob holstered his phaser, needing both hands for what he was about to do. He connected the emergency breathing gas line from his own suit to Johnson's, twisted the 'purge' valve on Johnson's suit and hoped. He twisted the supply valve on his own over to high flow, and heard the hiss of escaping gas from Johnson's suit. Bob hoped that he was creating a positive pressure condition in Donald's suit, which *should* purge the poisonous atmosphere and help him breathe.

(Reply Any)
(Posted by Russ)

(USS Boudicca - Bridge - Exeter MCO Col. Joseph Patten - Day 12 - 1816)

"Got it!" exclaimed Kori as he tapped in the last of the override commands.  The door swished open and Seville and Boleor stormed out of the turbolift and onto the bridge, only to unexpectedly collide with a force field and be flung back into the turbolift.

Patten watched the ship's CO turned in his chair and smile at them.  "Gentlemen," he said with a nod. "How nice of you to drop in.  Unfortunately this means that for you, as they say, the war is over."

Suddenly all the lights flickered and then went out in the turbolift.  "No power," confirmed Kori.

"There are at least four level 10 force fields between you and me. I would reckon that if you were good, you'd be able to bring down each force field in about two to two and a half minutes. So we would be able to shake hands in eight till ten minutes."

He looked down at his console and keyed in a command.

"Unfortunately I have just activated a level seven explosive device, which has been placed on the back wall of the turbolift shaft which will detonate in 3 minutes. There are several trigger wires running from the device to the turbo lift wall so any attempt to burn your way through it to get to the device will lead to a very loud death."

Patten glanced at Kori, who checked his HUD and nodded.  "He's not lying, sir.  I'm not sure how I missed it."

Patten sighed and nodded, while the Boudicca's CO continued to address them.  "But as we are amongst friends I will offer you a way out. Drop your weapons and take off your BDU's and surrender to our forces and you will be humanely and fairly treated. But I would suggest you to make your decision quickly, the clock is ticking. As I said, for you the war is over. Whether it is as a corpse or as a prisoner will be up to you. Gentlemen."  He then nodded at Patten specifically, then turned to ask his conn officer about the time to intercept.

Patten nodded in response, then set down his phaser rifle and began to slowly remove his BDU, motioning for his compatriots to do the same.  Before he was quite finished, he heard an unfamiliar voice next to him.

"Uh, captain...  help?"

Patten turned quickly and looked at this unexpected voice, which came from a man standing before them, holding a phaser rifle, and in all other ways completely naked.

"Crewman Nighy!" exclaimed one of the other officers.

"Is he one of ours?" asked the CO.

"Unfortunately he is, Sir. He's not the brightest in the pack, if you know what I mean. He means well, or I think he does, but he is a bit accident-prone. Four of my officers have already refused to serve with him in a team."

The CO shook his head, then examined the group behind the forcefields.

"Now that you are there, Mister Nighy, I would suggest you collected the weapons from the others and put them to one side and have the marines stand near the forcefield."  He then adjusted his gaze until it rested on Patten.  "Colonel, I assume we have your formal surrender?"

Reluctantly, Patten nodded.  "Yes.  We formally surrender, Commander.  Not that it matters a great deal in the grand scheme of things.  We'll all die soon enough, anyway."

"A..a..a..gainst the forcefield!" said the oddly naked Mr. Nighy.  With a rueful smile prompted by the absurdity of the situation, Patten complied.

"J..j..just stay there." said Nighy, but Patten paid him no mind.  At least, not until he shouted "Woah!" and a phaser went off, the stun beam sending one of his marines sprawling.  Another beam issued forth, hitting more marines.  "Duck!  No, don’t!" he shouted as he apparently scrambled to keep from dropping the phaser that he kept firing randomly.  Patten reached for him to try to steady him when Nighy actually stepped on a phaser, setting it off and into his foot, with the rest of the beam glancing off the left side of his torso.  "Owww" yelped Nighy, as he lost his balance and grabbed a hold of Patten, pulling them both to the floor.  "Help" he said weakly from under the large marine before passing out.

Patten looked up as the force fields dropped and three security officers entered the lift.  They were promptly escorted to the ready room -- fortunately, Mr. Nighy was sent elsewhere.  With little other option, and half of his remaining squad either groggy or still unconscious from the stun blasts, Patten leaned back against a bulkhead and waited for whatever was to come next.

(reply any)
(posted by Aaron)

(USS Boudicca - Jeffries Tube between Deck 1 and 2 - aFO Lt. Cmdr Stolev - Day 12 - 1818)

Stolev was reaching for the next rung on the ladder when his comm badge sounded.  =^="Stakes to Stolev. Commander, the boarders have been apprehended, including a Colonel. =^=

"Excellent news, sir," replied Stolev, the muscles in his back relaxing ever so slightly.  "Were there any casualties?"

=^= No, no losses on our side apart from a self-inflicted phaser stun. Send a squad up here to assist with guarding the prisoners then make your way to Engineering and assist with the boarders there. Stakes out. =^=

Stolev looked back at his team.  "Well, you heard the man.  Get to the bridge."  He slid to the side as the rest of his group heading up to the deck 1 access hatch, then he climbed back down to deck 2 and ran for the nearest turbolift.

(reply none)
(posted by Aaron)

(USS Boudicca - 10 Forward - MO Ens(Jg) Dr. Jahlen - 1818)

The medical personnel had done wonders converting the lounge into a secondary sickbay.  Long hours of drilling in scenario holoprograms had proved now to be hours well spent, despite the complaints Jahlen had heard from some of the team members.  They had worked efficiently and quickly like a well maintained warp core and Jahlen was proud of them all.

~If we survive this, there's going to be some kudos handed out.~  The doctor vowed.

She found that a quick change of clothing had done wonders to alleviate some of the exhaustion she'd been feeling earlier, that and a shot of stimulant to keep her alert and many of her co-workers who were doing the work of ten people each.  Jahlen had been literally running from bed to bed to treat some of the more severe injuries, in an attempt to keep them stabilized until they could be operated on.  The inflow of injured was practically none stop, and she couldn't help but wonder where she was finding the reserves of energy she needed to keep up with the workload.  There had been no time for a break of any kind.

=^=Security to Sickbay, a medical team is required urgently on deck 14, section 10.=^=

Reflexively Jahlen acknowledged the call and assigned some personnel to hurry to deck 14.

(Reply Lorimar iyw, Any)
(posted by Sal)

(USS Boudicca - Bridge - aFO Lt. Cmdr. Aleksander Stolev - 1941)

They had done it, but at a steep price.  Valhalla's shields were down, and the marines were now fighting to secure a boarding area aboard the starbase.  A quick glance around the bridge told Stolev that they'd likely all be joining the marines aboard the base sooner rather than later -- it was no longer a question of if the ship would be completely out of commission, but when.

As if on cue, Stakes activated the ship-wide comm.  "All hands, this is the Captain speaking. Abandon ship. All hands, abandon ship. This is an order. Abandon ship. We will rendezvous at the starbase, make for the openings created by the marine dropships. All hands, abandon ship."

Stolev jumped out of his chair and went over to the OPS console, which thankfully still had power.  "Get to your escape pod now Mr. Johnson, that's an order," he said.  It was his job as FO to see to the safety of all hands.  He watched on the status readout as the various escape pods were launched; he set one console to rotate through the ship, reporting on any life signs remaining on board.  He noted gratefully that Eva and Sevant made it to their pod and ejected safely.

In short order, all life forms aboard had made it to the escape pods, except for himself and Stakes.  "All hands safely off the ship, sir.  After you?" he said, indicating the route to the nearest remaining escape pod.

(reply Stakes iyw, any)
(posted by Aaron)

(Starbase Valhalla- Subsection 14- AOPS, Lt. Tollian Yalix- 2008)

~4 ensigns, 40 crewmen. About half of those walking wounded.~

"Lieutenant, I think you should see this, sir." Ensign Forester said with a tint of urgency.

Tollian excused himself from the security ensign he had been speaking with. The perimeter was set and at the moment Tollian had no idea where he was in relationship to the rest of the Boudicca's command crew. What he did know was that the majority of personnel on this station were Doenitz Loyalists and that made them the enemy.

He strode across the floor very much in command of the situation, or at least that was the impression that he tried to give. So far it seemed to be working.

"What is it Mister Forrester?" he asked when he reached the junior engineering officer.

"Supplies sir. All sort of supplies." came the reply.

"Show me."

The door to the storage room opened and Tollian would have gasped if he could have done so. The room was large for a standard compartment, but not for a cargo bay. The crates and containers were stacked as high as a man in many places. The supplies were obviously stowed here as overfill.

He walked through the labyrinth of the supplies. His eyes noting the various Marine and starship routing designations clearly stenciled on the outsides of the containers.

~Foodstuffs, medical supplies, mobile field replicators,  crates of phaser rifles, power packs.~

The list of went on and on.

"There's enough stuff in here to supply a demicompany for a couple of weeks, sir." Forrester said. "What do we do with it?"

Tollian considered the man's question, then his commbadge chirped

=^=This is Commander Archibald Stakes to all Boudicca crew. Report in your position and when possible make your way over to Deck 54, Subsection 14 where we have established our temporary command center. Repeat: this is Commander Archibald Stakes. Report in your current position and make your way over to Deck 54, subsection 14 where your friends will be waiting. If you are unable to approach due to enemy action, inform me and we will send out a squad to assist where possible. We will be waiting for you..=^=

~Only two decks away!~

"It seems they we'll have our answer soon, Ensign." Tollian replied then smiled. "Advise Nurse Carzal that we have medical supplies and tell her to come retrieve anything she needs to treat the wounded. Also inform Ensign Versalis to send someone in here to distribute some of these rifles and power cells as needed."

"Yes sir."

Tollian waited until Forrester was gone and the door closed behind him. He tapped his commbadge.

"Yalix to Stakes. Sir, reporting my position as Deck 52, section 14 with 44 crew, most are injured and some are not ambulatory at this time without a doctor. Additionally sir, my group has control of a large number of supplies. Request assistance in conveying any needed materials to your position or transport if possible. I have in my possession, mobile replicators, weapons, medical supplies and combat rations as well as several other supplies I have not yet cataloged."

(reply Stakes)

(posted by Daniel Greene)

(Starbase Valhalla - Long Term Holding - Ens (jg) Carlyle Deston - 2012)

"HEY OUT THERE!!! A LITTLE HELP?!" Deston hollered, as he pounded on the security door. Which opened abruptly, revealing the business end of a phaser rifle hovering prominently in front of a very serious-looking Marine. After a moment, some synapses managed to fire in Deston's brain, and as he dropped his phaser and slowly raised his hands he said, "Well, at least you're not one of the guards..."

The marine soon processed Deston - ~I never thought I'd ever actually have to do the "name, rank and serial number" thing...~ - and in a few minutes presented Deston to a tall Andorian marine wearing sergeant's stripes. She was talking to another of his fellow detainees, a young woman. In short order, she turned to Deston.

“Ensign Deston?” asked Sgt. K’nan. “How long have you been held here, sir? Do you require any particular medical assistance?” queried K’nan.

The relief on Deston's face must have been painfully obvious. No longer alone, no longer a prisoner, finally amongst allies. "I think about two weeks, give or take a couple of days. I had no contact with anyone since I was detained, so I can't be sure, sergeant. Other than that, I think I'm all right. I'm a little bruised from an explosion a while back, but nothing serious."

Just as K’nan had finished speaking to Deston, K’nan’s communication officer walked over and handed her a padd. K’nan scanned the padd and said, “Verified?”

The comm. officer nodded. “Very well, get everyone ready so we can make our way to the command center.” ordered K’nan.

“Well, Ensign, we’ve been ordered to meet up with the captain of the Boudicca, the ship that we are assigned to. They have set up a command post a few decks up, so let’s get going.” said K’nan.

"You're kidding, right? The Boudicca?" Deston said, incredulously. The sergeant looked at him. "That's my assignment - I was on my way to fill a post in the Science department on the Boudicca when I was detained here!"

(Reply any)

(Starbase Valhalla - Subsection 14, Temporary Command Center - Ensign Mia Simmons - 2014)

"According to this you did," he said after a while. "It lists you as Ensign, which means that you must have graduated. Congrats on that, Mister Simmons. Now then, do you have any skills? Any usable skills, that is?"

He extended his hand for a hand shake.

Mia took his hand and was careful not to brush webbed fingers against his in a way that seemed to give normal humans the heebie jeebies. Not that she was sure he was a human, he could be any number of human looking races and.. Oh, right, he was looking at her expectantly. "Well, happy to hear I graduated.  Thank you Sir. I'm afraid outside of a fighter, shuttle, or ship, I'm not much use to anyone. Can navigate any 3D environment with or without gravity or vessel, hold my breath for seven minutes, breath either carbon dioxide or oxygen, can hit the broadside of a barn with a phasor when I'm standing it two times out of three and I'm an eternal ray of sunshine and happiness and supposedly good for morale."

(Reply Stakes)

(Reply any present)
(Posted by Lorna)

(Starbase Valhalla ­ Boudicca Temporary Command Center - Ens (jg) Carlyle Deston ­ 2042)

It had been a tense journey, as K’nan’s squad had spread itself around the former detainees to protect them. There just weren’t enough weapons to give out and she didn’t want to waste any weapons on unreliable personnel. Fortunately resistance was not as bad as she thought it would be. It was more intense as they drew near the command center. They lost a half dozen people on the way in, but the majority made it. “Stay here,” she told the rest of the squad and the escapees.

Shortly afterwards, Sgt. K'nan returned with a commander in tow; Deston snapped to full attention. The man - Commander Stakes, apparently - spoke briefly with each of the detainees, until only Deston was left. "You must be Ensign Deston, then, I presume," he said extending his hand. "Welcome. Now how can you help us here?"

Slightly nonplussed from the almost surreal changes in his recent life, not least of which was discovering his rescuers were his assigned shipmates, Deston shook the Commander's hand. "Yes, sir! Starfleet had me assigned to the Science department on the Boudicca, but... I can handle a phaser all right, and I grew up assisting my family fixing things, from computers to people."

(Reply Any)
(posted by John O'Neill)

(Starbase Valhalla - Subsection 14, Temporary Command Center - aCO Commander Archibald Stakes - 2045)

Archibald noticed the woman taking his hand carefully as not to touch too much of it. ~Afraid to get too close to others?~ he thought, "Or do I offend her?" but by then she had replied.

"Well, happy to hear I graduated. Thank you Sir. I'm afraid outside of a fighter, shuttle, or ship, I'm not much use to anyone. Can navigate any 3D environment with or without gravity or vessel, hold my breath for seven minutes, breath either carbon dioxide or oxygen, can hit the broadside of a barn with a phasor when I'm standing it two times out of three and I'm an eternal ray of sunshine and happiness and supposedly good for morale."

Archibald regarded the pilot for a few seconds, making sure he didn't show his disappointment. A ray of happiness wasn't really what he imagined would help secure the area or help organise the crew that were still coming in. But still.. And where did she think they would be facing enemy barns? Better keep her away from the armoury, then.

Archibald nodded to her and made how way over to the other, until he reached the last one in the line. Having 'welcomed' the Ensign, he replied with : "Yes, sir! Starfleet had me assigned to the Science department on the Boudicca, but... I can handle a phaser all right, and I grew up assisting my family fixing things, from computers to people."

Archibald smiled softly. He would have probably reacted the same if he had been cooped up for a long period, getting ready for action. And perhaps exaggerating his abilities just so that he could prove his worth, finally. On the other hand, they were in a desperate situation enough, and any help would do

"Right," he said after a few seconds. "Esme!"

He waited for his daughter to come running in from the back, looking quite distraught.

"Esme," he said when she had finally made her way over to them. "Ensign ....Simmons here can help you with distributing the food packages and cold tea that we found. And Ensign ... Deston could probably give a hand with fixing some of the equipment in the infirmary. We are still a bit short  on Engineers. Now, what's the matter?"

Esme looked at the officers and nodded once to them before to turning to face her father. She sighed once.

"They died, Sir," the Yeoman stated, after swallowing a few times.

Archibald knew immediately who she had spoken off, the three bridge officers that had been brought in after their escape pod had been severely mauled by the starbase's defenses.  Matthews, Laroon and Kea, all three brought in with severe burns when there was at that time only one biobed available in the infirmary, the rest too heavily damaged.

He closed his eyes and swallowed once himself, but then looked up again.

"Te...." he cleared his throat twice before starting anew, this time stronger.

"Tell Sickbay that I will not allow any more deaths." he said then turned and looked at the newly released prisoners. "You have your orders, if you will excuse me."

Without waiting for a response, Archibald walked back to the entrance of the room and drew his phaser, checking it for power.

"No more deaths," he mumbled before he took his place in the thin line of defenders.

(Reply by all, any)
(Posted by Adrie Geuken)

NRPG:

Uh, oh....  I think he's starting to crack...  What's that smell???  Is that Turkey.....  Where there's turkey there's stuffing....  Hmmmm


-USS Boudicca, NCC 49901
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