USS Rosenante Compile Some Time Away 5 ==================== Some Time Away Day 5 Stardate: 2414.06.21 ==================== (Rosenante, ACEO Office, Lieutenant Gan Nolar, Day 5, 0742) (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, Captain Sanok, Day 5, 1011) (SB Geneva, Temporary Officers Quarters, LCDR Steven Matrix, Day 5, 1014) (Rosenante (Docked) LCDR Tom Jackson, 2O/CSec, Day 5, 1015) (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, LCDR Steven Matrix, Day 5, 1030) (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, Captain Sanok, Day 5, 1035) (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, LCDR Steven Matrix, Day 5, 1045) (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, LCDR Steven Matrix, Day 5, 1101) (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, ACEO Lieutenant Gan Nolar, 1102) (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, 1O/CEO LCDR Steven Matrix, 1103) (SB Geneva, Temporary Quarters, aCMO Ensign jg Paul Scudder, Day 5, 1105) (SB Geneva, Geneva OO Office, ACEO Lieutenant Gan Nolar, 1109) (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, LCDR Steven Matrix, Day 5, 1113) (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, aCMO Ensign jg Paul Scudder, Day 5, 1115) (SB Geneva, Danube-class Rubicon, ACEO Lt. Gan Nolar, Day 5, 1252) (SB Geneva, Danube-class Rubicon, ACEO Lt. Gan Nolar, Day 5, 1330) (Haley P5 System - Ark Outpost - CMO Ensign (sg) Ailyn Andersen - Day 5 - 1450) (SB Geneva Launch Portal 5, Shuttle Rubicon, LDCR Tom Jackson, Day 5, 1500) (SB Geneva Launch Portal 5 –Shuttle Rubicon - LCDR Steven Matrix, Day 5, 1505) (SB Geneva Launch Portal 5 – Shuttle Rubicon - Ejg aCMO Scudder, Day 5, 1507) (Shuttle Rubicon - LCDR Steven Matrix, Day 5, 1610) ==================== (Rosenante, ACEO Office, Lieutenant Gan Nolar, Day 5, 0742) The last four days had been rather boring. If they had allowed him to visit the ship and prepare his quarters, he had since be forbidden to look over the ship during the repairs. The Starbase Geneva engineers working on the ship didn`t wanted anyone moving near them while they were working. Gan had suggested to help them out but it was declined. So rather, he had been obligated to resume his social skills at the Starbase Geneva bar, at the exception that with so many officers from the Rosenante on the station, he had to be careful with his actions and words. Any wrong behavior and it could reflect on his future affectation. Without much drinking and flirting, there was not much to do. Luckily, on the fifth day since he had learned of his new affectation, he had been allowed, at least, to settle in his new office : the assistant engineer office. After having replicated several shelves and desks to help him class documents and isolinear chips, he had revised the different engineering teams that he would be commanding. It was astonishing to see the number of different specialization and studies each of these officers has taken. One was specialized in fusion reactor, the other in propulsion, another in computer, etc. Despite all in engineering, they had close to 63 different specializations. Gan wanted to be ready for his new affectation. So was he. (Reply no one) (Posted by Nick) ----- (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, Captain Sanok, Day 5, 1011) Sanok had not expected how busy he would be as captain of a starship in space dock that was being repaired, with the crew on leave. There were conferences and briefings with admirals, transfers to approve, meetings with the repair supervisors, inspections of the ship, and reports to read and write. Sanok welcomed having so much to do; it kept his mind occupied. Truth be told, he was also finding the work to be most agreeable. Starfleet service was what he wanted for his life, and though it might not be with Ben anymore, it was still the path for his life. The door chime rang. "Enter." The door opened and a young ensign stepped into the office. "Captain Sanok, sir. This just arrived for you. It's marked as urgent." He set a PADD on the desk. "Thank you, Ensign. That will be all." "Yes, sir." The ensign left the room. Sanok activated the PADD, using the proper passwords and codes. After reading it, he frowned and set it back onto the table. He tapped his comm badge. "Lieutenant Commanders Matrix and Jackson, report to my temporary office immediately." (reply Matrix and Jackson) (posted by Bob B.) ----- (SB Geneva, Temporary Officers Quarters, LCDR Steven Matrix, Day 5, 1014) Matrix was up early and had spent the morning looking over the repair orders for the Rose. Things were progressing nicely, but the yard master made it clear that Matrix wasn't to interfere with his crews, 'not even a suggestion.' He did just that. Since the tour days ago, Steve hadn't been aboard the Rosenante. It wasn't his ship at the moment. Sipping his now cold coffee the Captain ordered he and Jackson to his office. ~Interesting and unusual. I wonder what's going on?~ thought Matrix. He put down his coffee and tapped an acknowledgement and proceeded to see the Captain. (posted by Steve) ----- (Rosenante (Docked) LCDR Tom Jackson, 2O/CSec, Day 5, 1015) Tom was glad the refit and repair period was ending. Like sailors of old , he longed to get underway. He was still a bit overwhelmed with his new duties. His predecessor was going to leave a big pair of shoes to fill! His com badge came to life and he heard a familiar voice. "Lt. Commanders Matrix and Jackson, report to my temporary office immediately." Tom tapped badge and replied "on my way Captain". Tom secured his pads and headed off . (Reply: None) (Posted by: Bill W.) ----- (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, LCDR Steven Matrix, Day 5, 1030) The trip to the temporary office where Captain Sanok had been assigned was nearly the opposite end of where Matrix's quarters were. He had to stop and ask for directions twice. There was a time when Matrix could tell you exactly where every office, stateroom, power conduit and docking port was. The time away from the Geneva left him with vague memories of where things were sectioned. Finally locating the Captain's office Matrix adjusted his uniform before entering. "Good morning Captain." said Matrix. (Reply Sanok) (Posted by Steve) ----- (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, Captain Sanok, Day 5, 1035) When Matrix and Jackson arrived, Sanok got directly to the point. "Gentlemen, I was just informed that we may have a problem. Four days ago, Ensigns Signos and C'nell requisitioned a shuttle and left the station together. They are now a full day late from their destination. They have not been seen. They did not make contact with anyone, nor have they responded to hails. Scans of the area have not located them. I'm sending the two of you to search for them." Sanok handed Jackson a PADD. "This is the flight plan they filed. A runabout is being prepared as we speak. Leave as soon as it's ready. Contact Geneva when you find out anything." Sanok looked at his command team. "Find our people and bring them back." (reply Jackson and Matrix iyw) (posted by Bob B.) ----- (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, LCDR Steven Matrix, Day 5, 1045) Matrix left the Captain and headed to his temporary office and studied the flight plan that Signos and C'nell had filed for their trip. The journey didn't seem to present any hazardous conditions for the two Ensigns. Matrix's first thought centered around some sort of problem with their shuttle or an unexpected encounter with some undesirable characters. =^= Matrix to Lieutenant Nolar. Please report to my temporary office aboard the Geneva immediately. I've got an assignment for you. =^= (Reply Nolar) (posted by Steve) ----- (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, LCDR Steven Matrix, Day 5, 1101) "Enter" replied Matrix. "Ah...Lieutenant thank you for coming so quickly. Captain Sanok has ordered me and Commander Jackson to retrace the voyage that Ensigns Signos and C'nell made a few days ago. They haven't reported to their destination and no word has been heard from them. The Geneva shipyard is preparing a Danube class shuttle called the Rubicon for our mission. I'd like you to take charge of inspecting the shuttle and outfitting it for a rescue mission. Include temporary housing, standard issue tools, extra power conduits and field class weapon assignments for four people. Please get with Doctor Paul Scudder and see that he has any necessary medical supplies for this mission. Understood?" continued Matrix. (Reply Nolar) "Very good Lieutenant. Let me know when the shuttle is ready for departure." said Matrix. (Reply Nolar) =^= Ensign Scudder please report to my temporary office aboard the Geneva immediately. =^= (Reply Scudder) (posted by Steve) ----- (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, ACEO Lieutenant Gan Nolar, 1102) Gan was happy to leave his office for his first task. As soon as Matrix contacted him, he left his office and headed to Matrix office on Starbase Geneva. "Enter" replied Matrix. "Ah...Lieutenant thank you for coming so quickly. Captain Sanok has ordered me and Commander Jackson to retrace the voyage that Ensigns Signos and C'nell made a few days ago. They haven't reported to their destination and no word has been heard from them. The Geneva shipyard is preparing a Danube class shuttle called the Rubicon for our mission. I'd like you to take charge of inspecting the shuttle and outfitting it for a rescue mission. Include temporary housing, standard issue tools, extra power conduits and field class weapon assignments for four people. Please get with Doctor Paul Scudder and see that he has any necessary medical supplies for this mission. Understood?" continued Matrix. Gan was already reflecting on the kind of changes he would be doing on the shuttle. He already had an idea. "I understand you may encounter enemies. It will be done sir, and I promise your enemies will have no chance." "Very good Lieutenant. Let me know when the shuttle is ready for departure." said Matrix. "I will, sir." Gan replied. "How soon do you need it ready?" (Reply Matrix) (Posted by Nick) ----- (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, 1O/CEO LCDR Steven Matrix, 1103) "I will, sir." Gan replied. "How soon do you need it ready?" Matrix smiled, "As soon as you can Lieutenant. The longer we're aboard the Geneva and not out there looking for our crew mates it may jeopardize lives. You are authorized to add any resources you need to get the rescue shuttle operational in the least amount of time. Ideally I would like to leave within a few hours." replied Matrix. (Reply Nolar) (Posted by Steve) ----- (SB Geneva, Temporary Quarters, aCMO Ensign jg Paul Scudder, Day 5, 1105) =^= Ensign Scudder =^= — Paul startled, interrupted by the chirp of his communicator. =^= Please report to my temporary office aboard the Geneva immediately. =^= Over the past few days the new doctor had been familiarizing himself with the crew's medical histories and the sheer volume of data and sleepless nights had given him a ripping headache. He tapped his combadge. "On my way, Commander." (posted by Mark V) ----- (SB Geneva, Geneva OO Office, ACEO Lieutenant Gan Nolar, 1109) The meeting with Lieutenant Commander Matrix completed, Gan headed to the starbase shuttle bay to meet with the starbase operation officer in office. On his way, he prepared a pad with the specs he wanted. "Greetings Lieutenant. I have been asked by my superior, the USS Rosenante first officer lieutenant commander Matrix, to prepare a danube-class shuttle for a rescue mission. Here are my authorization. I would need to look over the types of modules you have." explained Gan. The lieutenant smiled. "Lieutenant, we have all the different types of modules you could want. A rescue operation. You will want the propulsion module with the quantum torpedoes weapon module?" "For a start." Gan smiled back. He handed the padd. "Lieutenant, you do realize there won't be enough space in the Danube-class shuttle to contain all those specifications. We can only install half of your list." said the Geneva OO. "That is why I will need your permission to bring several modifications to the shuttle. I ask permission to modify a science module." replied Gan. "I will need to clear this out with my superior. Those modules are normally not made to be modified." explained the OO. "Lieutenant, life are at stake here. I suggest you do it quickly." replied Gan. the lieutenant examined him. Perhaps it was the cardassian look that made him unwary. All that Gan knew was the fact only 6 minutes later, he had the authorization to proceed. With all the specification required by lieutenant commander Matrix, Gan knew from the beginning he would have to sacrifice the luxurious space of the danube-class lounge. So he replaced the lounge module by a science module, the sensors system being helpful to help track the missing officers. Keeping two of the four computer on the right side, he removed the two other computers on the left side and installed a replicator as well as a very small table and four small chair where the crew could eat. He then reinstalled the two other science computer into the small crew quarters, to save again more space. In the other module, the extra power and shield generators gave a considerable boost to the shuttle shields and propulsion. He brought a few more modifications to improve them even more. With the bulk in two of the four small crew quarters, he had anticipated the need to have six people on board. He checked life-support to make sure they could support as much people for a long period. The easiest things done, he was left with the more complicated work to do. Since he had modified a module, he had to completely redo the ODN and EPS system between so that everything would be operational. For that task, he had requested the help of three other engineers from the Rosenante. Having spend an hour just to meet one of the starbase OO, and then be given the shuttle, modules, equipement and rooms to make the necessary modifications, he had hoped to complete the modification within one hour, to be ready for 1300. Alone, that would have been impossible to do, but four, it was a tough, but realistic time frame. (Reply no one) (Posted by Nick) ----- (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, LCDR Steven Matrix, Day 5, 1113) "Enter" replied Matrix hearing the door chime. "Doctor Scudder I assume? I didn't get the opportunity to meet you when you arrived as part of the Rosenante's crew rotation. Welcome." said Matrix. (Reply Scudder) Matrix sat back in his chair, "Please doctor have a seat. I'm Lieutenant Commander Matrix, I'm the first officer and chief engineering officer of the Rose." (Reply Scudder - IYW) "We have a few missing crew members that Commander Jackson and I will be trying to locate as soon as a shuttle is ready for departure. I want you to accompany us on this mission...we may need your services and I like to be prepared. I've asked Lieutenant Nolar to get with you on any provisions you need for this mission. Please detail any medical supplies, equipment, anything you think we might need. I don't know what we'll find...hopefully Ensigns Signos and C'nell will be unharmed when we find them. Please take the opportunity to look into their medical profiles and adjust anything you may need, blood, medicines, etc. " said Matrix as he handed the Doctor a blue PADD. "This PADD contains the mission outline and access codes necessary to review the Ensign's medical records. I suspect Star Fleet records haven't caught up with you're new assignment so this will get you access to the records you need. Any questions Doctor?" asked Matrix. (Reply Scudder) "Thank you Doctor." replied Matrix. (Reply Nolar, Scudder) (Posted by Steve) ----- (SB Geneva, Temporary Office, aCMO Ensign jg Paul Scudder, Day 5, 1115) Paul was frowning as he arrived at the LCDR's office. ~The brilliant doctor of a starship. Has a headache.~ He hadn't dared to stop en route to get an analgesic. "Enter" replied Matrix hearing the door chime. "Doctor Scudder I assume? I didn't get the opportunity to meet you when you arrived as part of the Rosenante's crew rotation. Welcome." said Matrix. Paul stood at attention and nodded. "Thank you, sir," he managed. Matrix sat back in his chair, "Please doctor have a seat. I'm Lieutenant Commander Matrix, I'm the first officer and chief engineering officer of the Rose." Paul sat and noted the seemingly affectionate, and quaint, pet-name for the Rosenante. "On their own, each a demanding role for a single officer, Commander." Paul spoke with unusual casualness. (reply Matrix IYW) Matrix briefed the doctor on the planned rescue mission before handing Scudder a blue PADD. "This PADD contains the mission outline and access codes necessary to review the Ensign's medical records. I suspect Star Fleet records haven't caught up with you're new assignment so this will get you access to the records you need. Any questions Doctor?" asked Matrix. Paul received the PADD fluidly, dropped his gaze to the screen. The doctor had already expended great effort, and a little manipulation, getting his access codes immediately upon receiving his assignment, and he'd been making much use them during Gamma shifts in the Rosenante's sickbay—but perhaps better not to contradict his new First Officer just now. "I'll review their files and be in touch with the Lieutenant with a list of provisions within the hour, sir." Looking back up to Matrix, Paul managed something close to a warm smile: "Though yes, I'm certain the Ensigns will not need my expertise." Having echoed Matrix's hopefulness, Paul's expression then once again became flat. He stood. (reply matrix iyw) "Thank you Doctor." replied Matrix. Paul again nodded and, leaving the office, promptly made his way to the starbase's sickbay. Maybe he'd skip the Gamma shift tonight, and instead of a headache get some sleep for once. (Posted by mark) ----- (SB Geneva, Danube-class Rubicon, ACEO Lt. Gan Nolar, Day 5, 1252) The EPS conduits and ODN were, as always the least interesting work to be done on the Danube-class. Since he had moved a lot of stuff, they had to be redone for the most part. Hopefully, he was helped by a few engineers. Together, they had completed to install all the network at 1252 exactly. Gan was about to tell the news to commander Matrix. ~They might be injured~ Gan started thinking. The focus having been made on sensors, weapon and habitats, it only had the basic medical kit. There would be no operating table, or anything like that. Could he give the shuttle this way? What if they were injured, the medical officer would probably not have the necessary tools to save them. It was his first task and as such, Gan wanted to make sure to be up to the task. He needed to have it done quickly, yet efficiently. Sitting on a chair not far from Geneva Shuttle Repair Bay C-01, his mind was working, trying to find a way to get a little more medical stuff in. ~Unless I use one of the crew quarter. If I could install a retractable surgical table,...~ After one or two minutes, Gan was back with his engineers working inside the danube-class shuttle. At first, the engineers had been quite surprise when Gan had ordered them to take off the plating on the right wall from one of the quarter. As he realized, there was no waste of space. Not only was the plating very small, but the only space available was filled with gel-pack and ODN. He couldn't remove them. ~The hell with aesthetic~ Gan finally concluded. Rather than having it hidden behind a wall, he would have to fix it to a wall. To save even more space, it would probably be better to change the current computer with one that could operate the surgical table and work as a normal computer. With his engineers, they started the work. (Reply no one) (Posted by Nick) ----- (SB Geneva, Danube-class Rubicon, ACEO Lt. Gan Nolar, Day 5, 1330) Gan was looking at the time. Already 1330 and it wasn't ready yet. He was already 30 minutes late from his 1300 target. "Have you checked the computer? Does the medical operation plateform work properly on it?" he asked to one of the engineer. "The interface work perfectly. I still need to check the operating time. Without a ship large main computer to operate for it, I'm concern it won't be able to process the most complicated operations." replied the engineer. "What they need is to keep them alive until they reach the station. If it can operate the most common surgeries, that should be fine. It's only a danube-class. We cannot hope it to be a sickbay." The engineer nodded and continued his work. Gan examined the room. Personally, he would never want to live in such quarter. With the medical equipment filling half of the storage compartment and an surgical table that could hardly be missed despite it was retractable and could be pushed along the wall, it looked more like a mini sickbay rather than a quarter. The medical officer assigned to the mission would certainly have the feeling to be sleeping at work. If his bed was not bad, he could not guarantee the officer would be without trouble sleeping. But considering the several needs for the mission and the little space and time he had, that was more than could be hoped for. "How long do you need?" he asked to the other engineer. "Max thirty minutes if nothing go wrong." he replied. Gan nodded and opened a communication to commander Matrix. "Commander, the danuble-class shuttle will be ready in about thirty minutes. I will have it moved to Shuttlebay C01 and ready for your departure." he said. (Reply Matrix) .Once the communication done, Gan heard the officer swear. "A problem?" he asked. "Exactly what I feared. The computer processor and memory are not strong enough to do all those operations." the engineer explained. Gan wanted to ask if adding a gel-pack would solve the problem, but refrained. The engineer was specialized in medical computer. If it was just a problem of gel-pack, he wouldn`t even had mention it. It was a more serious matter. The improved tactical module gave all the additionnal power and computer strength necessary. The problem was the ODN. The strongest ODN were only linked to the Danube-class cockpit, the weapons, propulsions and shields. Now, they would need to install a large ODN to connect the medical computer directly to the danube-class computer. It meant removing all the floor plating and completely reinstalling a new ODN. As it would be larger than the first they installed, it also potentially mean moving other stuff to create space. That job would require close to an hour. His superior and his rescue team would be there in less than that. The 'Self-Controlled Panic Mode' was now on. Gan gave order to the first two engineers to start removing the floor plating from the quarter and the main corridor. The third engineer was responsible for removing the small ODN that was connecting the quarter with the computer. The most competent engineer was ordered to detect and create the space necessary to install the new more powerful ODN system. As for Gan, he immediately left to find the correct ODN size to manage the level of operations that the surgical bed required. He just hoped his superior would not arrive at 14h10 exactly.. (Reply no one) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Haley P5 System - Ark Outpost - CMO Ensign (sg) Ailyn Andersen - Day 5 - 1450) "Ensign Ailyn Andersen's personal log, stardate 2414.06.21. Current location: Scion Nebula, Haley P5 System, Ark Outpost." "Yesterday, at 2000 hours, we have been secretly transported to the Cerberus, and a Captain, our sympathizer, made sure his crew never suspects anything. We have been given a place to stay for the trip, a specially designed container with us was hidden deep under several other large containers in a cargo bay. The Cerberus gave us a lift to the Haley P5 system, in the vicinity of the outpost, all in a guise that they had to install a listening post in the area. Then we were transported through the listening post's array directly to the outpost. Since the first moment I stepped on that outpost, I knew there had to be something foul about it." "An outpost that supposedly flourished with visitors attracting all kinds of shady sellers and buyers in this part of the quadrant, stood dead silent. At first, there didn't seem to be anyone around, but the whole place looked rampart. It took us about an hour checking all the rooms that were unlocked. Eventually, however, we managed to reroute the life support system, allowing us to remove our EV suits, and rerouting door mechanism, making us possible to go deeper." "What we found down there was a horror we did not expect to see. We did not have the time to prepare for the necessary procedures. I did not see it in time, and perhaps, without Taylor's help, I wouldn't be able to deal with the situation at all. At any rate, it was obvious no one was mentally prepared for what was to come." "We passed several decks, in eerie silence. I generally remember the feeling I was having being extremely uncomfortable. There was this constant feeling of malice between these walls... the way things were destroyed, the way everyday living things of these people in the sleeping quarters were thrown down, destroyed, it told a tale. These people did not have anything else in their lives, this old outpost was their home, their job, and the other sellers were their family, and also worst enemies. However, I doubt anyone living here would do this intentionally. But that wasn't the horror we found." "Eventually, moving through the decks, we managed to find an security console and Scorch easily cracked the system, getting the recordings. We wanted to see how much people there were here and what really happened to them. For all we knew, all this could have been a trap, made to catch trespassers with ease. With a little bit of time, and reminders of patience within the group, we managed to find all the older video logs, but weren't able to find the last several. We knew the number and we know that only about two day before, there were over fifty people on this small and old outpost. We also found out that the last logs existed - until someone erased them. We knew not who did it, but we figured at least someone was with us on the outpost." "At about 0800 in the morning, we finally managed to kick-start the auxiliary generators we found on deck 7. At last, we could see without using the flashlights. We restarted the local system, and the access to the 5 lower decks was available. Barging in hastily, we didn't even put our EV suits back on. We found the crew. At least majority of them. Each and every one of them... they didn't make it... they were dead. Lying on different places, different poses. The scene findings led us to believe they were all victims of foul play. Many seemed to succumb to some kind of blunt force trauma. The places they died, however, seemed too random to be any kind of systematic and linked homicide. A good number of the victims were found in a defensive posture. Further examination led me to find a rather strange wound on the lower part of the neck, right bellow the cerebellum. It was as if something created an trauma to this part of the body. Judging from the T.O.D. from all the people tested, it seemed likely they all perished around a day ago. Further testing of the unusual wound revealed that in all cases, it happened before the blunt force trauma, yet it wasn't the cause of death. The wound, while narrow in it's size, seemed as a raw puncture originating from the outside. It wasn't a clinical cut. However, at the time, I had no idea what kind of weapon, or a tool would be able to do such a thing." "Despite my new friends said they were mercenaries, seemingly prepared for anything, prepared for 'worst things', I could see the hesitation for the current situation, high levels of stress, and general fear. Something definitely put them out of their comfort zone." "About an hour later, the decision to check out the remaining of the rooms on the same deck was brought, and Ramirez and Razer were tasked with it. When Razer came back, he reported that barricades were brought up on the stairs leading deeper to deck 9, but that as he was checking more, it seemed the barricades were put to keep something from getting outside of deck 9, rather then keeping something from going in." "When Ramirez came back, he reported finding a room with the deck plans. The order came to switch our point of interest to that room. Inside, finding the deck plans, we could see that deck 9 had an medical suite with sufficient technology for further analysis of the victims, and that there were long range transmission system that needed repairing on deck 10. Our mission was to find anything we could about the new technology. While we didn't have the solution for our original objectives, Taylor thought we needed to use the situation and find out as much as we possibly could for the cause of deaths of the victims and the strange wounds they had, so we don't go home empty-handed. We also, eventually, had to go down to deck 10 in order to repair long range communication device and send a subspace signal to earth, relaying our message to General, so we can be picked up by a ship." "Ramirez decided to show his discomfort with the mission objectives early, stating that it's obvious there's something alive down there. However, he was ordered for the first time by Taylor to get back in line. At the time, it seemed to me that Taylor did not believe there's anything sinister still at the outpost. At the time, I did not know if she really believed that or if she was only saying it to keep us all a little bit more cooler-headed." "At about 1230, we started to descend to the lower deck, after we once again checked the deck plans, as the outpost was larger on it's lower decks, deck 10 was larger and longer then deck 9 or any higher deck. Razer and Ramirez were tasked to check the longer, darker corridors at the sides of the main one, Scorch was sent further down the length of the deck, while Taylor escorted me to the sickbay and a morgue. Checking if there's any threat inside, she went in first and after checking every nook and cranny gave the green light. Luckily, there were several victims with the same cause of deaths, and the same neck wounds as on the upper decks, so I did not needed to go up to get any of the others I checked." "I worked fast, and with the help of Taylor, half an hour later, I came to several very unusual conclusions. First of, the new victim T.O.D. was only about two hours earlier, while we were on one of the higher decks of the outpost. The man had fresh laceration injuries on his hands, that he suffered after death. When Taylor heard this, she called in everyone back, and while Ramirez and Scorch answered, Razer was silent. When the three mercenaries were reunited in the morgue, I was left alone, armed, in the morgue, while they left to look for Razer together. This gave me an opportunity to test the subject further." "Trying hard to find any trace evidence on the wound, the tricorder actually found a sludge looking substance in a very small amount deep inside the wound. The bone seemed chipped as if something very small chewed on it. This did not made any sense at all." "At about 1320, the mercenaries brought back Razer, unconscious, he was loosing a lot of blood through the neck wound, but this puncture seemed different, it was lower, and to the left, much shallower too. It seemed as if it was done in haste. However, this provided an excellent opportunity to study the fresh wound. Again, we managed to find sludge, but this time a large number of nanoprobes were also very present in Razer's wounds, easily picked up by tricorder. Scanning the wound using the bed inside the sickbay, we got a better idea of both of these things. The sludge was a waste product of a very known cause inside the computer's memory, being documented several times in history, created by a small single-cellular organism called Naegleria, and the nanoprobes were present in the sludge in high amounts. These three things had no similar connection, but I was already seeing why exactly was I sent on the mission. Once again, Taylor helped me, this time with cleaning Razer's wound and waking him up after administering several different antibiotics and painkillers. He was dizzy, disoriented, and suffered from almost every other known effects of brain inflammation, although nothing could be found wrong with his brain on any scans, prompting Taylor to order to put him back to sleep, and I added IV to fill up his body with fluids and additional anti-viral medicines - but before we did, he muttered that he managed to hit it and 'kill' it, whatever it was." "With Razer on Ramirez and Scorch's shoulders, Taylor took the lead and we went lower straight to deck 10. The lights were still down on this deck, so we had to use our flashlights again. From the first few corridors, it became obvious to both me and Taylor that something was following us, we often made little stops and to check behind us, but each and every time we could see nothing. Eventually, we managed to make our way to the auxiliary engineering to repair long range communications. Didn't seem like a hard task but certain parts were burnt out, and it took Ramirez and Scorch additional thirty minutes to patch up the device enough to send a coded signal. We used listening post's own array to boost the signal further and send it on a fast subspace carrier wave towards earth. We knew no signal would come back because the device could only send and not receive, but we used narrow but high frequency signal, making sure our signal pops up on the monitors in front of those walking brains in General's office." "Taylor said she didn't know if any ship was in vicinity and that, at worst, it would take a full day for a ship to get to this system from the first closest starbase. The only thing we had to do now, was get up to the higher decks, and wait. While Ramirez wanted to sweep the outpost for any potentially hostile element, Taylor clearly explained we weren't sent for killing, but for getting the technology. I have managed to extract the substance with nanoprobes from Razer, and with this, our mission for a success here." "While we were getting up, I thought more and more, and only one logical conclusion came to mind. While I didn't have enough time to test the nanoprobes, I was told they were created to be compatible with almost any living being. Could they, perhaps, be compatible with small single celled organisms? Even better question, how is it possible that such a small organism grew so big that can take on a human? Eventually, I understood that these people killed themselves, the blunt force trauma, some of the bodies seemed to ram the walls, or some kinds of blunt objects, others were found in defensive position, with the same causes of death. The Naegleria must have mutated, and the only reason I could find for the attacks was that whatever thing was doing it, somehow wanted something from the humanoid brains. Maybe it was some kind of an enzyme. I understood though, that everyone killed themselves on the outpost because of the awful pressure they felt inside their head, which would eventually make them kill others, if they somehow managed to fight against their own urge to destroy their brain - this was clearly evident from Razer's scans, the nanoprobes somehow modified Naegleria so that it attacks the brain directly, forcing the victim to relive horrible pressures and pain, and ultimately kill themselves, and kill others with the same symptoms." "Interesting thing is, this situation tells us that the nanoprobes act as a parasite themselves, changing the host further. If I had to guess, I would say that somehow the invading single cell organism was infected with nanoprobes, that mimicked how the organism worked to the best possible way they could. This is the reason why we only found traces of the substance of waste products of the Naegleria, not the organisms themselves. When I confined my opinion to Taylor, she finally decided that we will deviate from our mission for this one thing, and actually lay a trap for whoever or whatever was doing this. Scorch had interesting gadgetry, he had a personal cloaking device of a kind. I was ordered to be a bait, seemingly trying to help Razer at the middle of a low-light corridor. Scorch was right next to me, while Taylor and Ramirez were in the room next to us, hidden away from plain site. We waited for almost an hour, when I finally heard a faint sound of whispers, and in front of me, I could see a shadow slowly turning into an figure, a large creature, walking on two legs, completely in armor, turning more and more visible as closer as he was getting to me. The large-framed humanoid had something in it's hand, looking like a phaser, but having a edged and beveled long thick needle at the end. Right before he could come to me, I heard a single shot, and the shadow fell down right in front of me. It was Scorch that took that shot, Taylor and Ramirez came right in, but right after they turned the body to see how it looks like, Taylor yelled to run as fast as we could, three of us grabbed Razer and went straight down the corridor, then as we entered the next, I could hear an ear-splitting explosion, we fell down to the floor. When the anti-fire system turned on, we went back to check for anything that was left, but there weren't even a trace. We went up to deck 1, there we once again established our seat of operations while waiting for the ship coming to pick us up." "End of Log." Taylor, that was peacefully and patiently waiting for Ailyn to finish, smiled to the doctor for a second, then she turned serious again, sitting near Ailyn. "Ailyn... I feel like we're friends by now, and we're alone here so no one else managed to hear you talking but... it is against our rules to record the logs. This is highly classified. I should report for that, but I really don't want to, Ailyn." Taylor explained trying to look that she's really hating what she's doing at the moment. Ailyn smirked, looking down to the floor, she understood how Taylor must feel, but she also understood her loyalty. She had what she was sent for. "Can you tell me at least one thing before?" Ailyn asked, looking directly to Taylor's eyes. "I will tell you as much as I can, Ailyn." "Did he knew about all this?" Taylor smiled, but it was an forced smile. "We have what we came for, that's all that matters now." Ailyn looked at Taylor disappointed, then she sighed. She admitted to herself that she's starting to hate Taylor for the things she wasn't to blame. She was only listening to orders. She looked at the PADD she had in her hands, all she just said went straight in it but she couldn't keep it. "Delete all logs." (Reply: None) (Posted by: Lani) ----- (SB Geneva Launch Portal 5, Shuttle Rubicon, LDCR Tom Jackson, Day 5, 1500) Tom had arrived before the other two and sat down in the Pilot’s see. He ran through the pre-flight check list in short order. He eyed the modules that had been added. Tom was glad that a weapons module was included. He hoped that it would go unneeded but it was a wise form of insurance. Tom noted with satisfaction the medical supplies. Again, another form of insurance that he hoped would not be needed. Jackson smiled as his two fellow crewmates arrived. He allowed each to get settled in and then spoke. “Hello Steve – Dr. Scudderâ€? Tom said. (Reply: Steve/Paul) “Any last minute thoughts or ideas before we shove off?â€? Tom asked. (Reply: Steve/Paul) “We will launch shortly. Steve could you contact Departure Control and get us permission to launch?â€? Tom asked his friend. (Reply: Steve) Departure Control was prompt in their reply. “Dr. Scudder, buckle in – we’re going leave nowâ€? Tom told the Medical Officer. (Reply: Paul) Tom sent Departure Control “Shuttle Rubicon is departing on filed flight planâ€? =^= Roger Rubicon – Safe Journey =^= came the reply. “Thanks Geneva – Rubicon outâ€?. Jackson closed the link and they left on their search. (Reply: None) (Posted by: Bill W.) ----- (Starbase Geneva Launch Portal 5 –Shuttle Rubicon - LCDR Steven Matrix – 1505) The launch portals aboard the Geneva were huge by any standard. Certainly larger than any he had seen first hand on any station. As Matrix entered the portal the Rubicon was already powering up and crews were checking its exterior and loading materials. Dr. Scudder was looking over the supplies as Matrix entered the command cabin with Jackson already in the pilot's seat. “Hello Steve – Dr. Scudder” Tom said. "Hello Tom, Dr. Scudder." replied Matrix as he took the second seat. Looking over at Tom, "Anxious to get going?" continued Matrix smiling at Tom. “Any last minute thoughts or ideas before we shove off?” Tom asked. "Just hoping we find out people safe and sound." said Matrix. (Reply Jackson, Scudder) “We will launch shortly. Steve could you contact Departure Control and get us permission to launch?” Tom asked. "Absolutely...Departure control this is the Rubicon requesting permission to depart from portal 5 immediately." queued Matrix. Within a few minutes the Rubicon cleared her moorings and made the 12 second exit route into open space. Matrix monitored the propulsion systems and acknowledged the Geneva immediately after clearing the station. Navigation sensors were already tracking a number of other ships in the area heading toward the Geneva. "Okay gentlemen here we go." said Matrix. (Reply Jackson, Scudder) (Posted by Steve) ----- (Starbase Geneva Launch Portal 5 – Shuttle Rubicon - Ejg aCMO Scudder – 1507) Paul tapped a PADD furiously while walking at a somewhat distracted pace toward the launch portal. A number of personnel dodged a collision with the new doctor and others glared as they impatiently maneuvered to get past him. Paul finally looked up as he reached the launch portal. He saw the Rubicon and a crew busy loading cargo. Paul boarded the shuttle and had a crewmember direct him to the medical containers. On his PADD he immediately began comparing his checklist to the actual cargo -- when Commander Matrix walked past him and into the command cabin. “Hello Steve – Dr. Scudder” -- Paul heard Tom Jackson's -- he hadn't realized Jackson was even there. ~Did he walk right past me?~ "Hello Tom, Dr. Scudder." replied Matrix. "Commanders," Paul replied, nervous to be on his first mission with the both of them. ~Why not throw the captain in there, too?~ Paul heard Steve and Tom continue somewhat indistinctly and focused on his task. Within a few minutes the Rubicon cleared her moorings and made the 12 second exit route into open space. Paul heard Commander Matrix from the command cabin: "Okay gentlemen, here we go." Paul slipped his PADD into his medical bag and, without thinking what the protocol might be, moved toward the command cabin and a view through the front window. He'd of course seen the view from a launching shuttle before, but this gave him pause. This wasn't a holodeck simulation with imaginary persons stuck under imaginary rubble; there were two real crewmembers out there. ~And I'm a real doctor,~ he thought. ~Why does part of me wish this were a simulation, too?~ (Reply jackson/matrix iyw) (Posted by mark) ----- (Shuttle Rubicon - LCDR Steven Matrix, Day 5, 1610) The Rubicon had been retracing the journey of Ensigns Signos and C'nell for over an hour. Their flight path was followed as they had filed it and nothing had yet appeared out of the ordinary. There was too much time between their departure and that of the Rubicon to scan for ionized signature of their shuttle so they had to rely on direct scans and blind luck in the mean time. Matrix has been focusing on the communication channels while Tom Jackson flew the craft. There were a few anomalies that Matrix had detected, but none were significant enough to pursue. Still he marked the telemetry data for reference just in case. Steve yawned and stretched out in the second command chair and looked back at Doctor Scudder. "You okay back there doctor?" asked Matrix. (Reply Scudder) "We may have a few days of travel before we even have a lead of where they might be. We'll scan any M class planets we encounter and the surrounding space in case they are adrift. " continued Matrix. "Tom how are you doing...I'm getting rather hungry...I think I'll get the replicator working on something. Can I get you anything?" asked Matrix as he stood up from the second chair. (Reply Jackson) "Doctor can I get you anything while I'm at the replicator?" asked Matrix. (Reply Scudder) "Very well." said Matrix as he made is way to the back of the Rubicon stepping over the supplies that the good Doctor and Lieutenant Nolar packed aboard. ~I think I need to be more specific next time...I think they packed too many supplies.~ thought Matrix. (Reply Jackson, Scudder) (Posted by Steve)