Paradise (Part 5 of 7)

Posted on 03 Jul 2019 @ 2:57pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Marisa Wyatt & Lieutenant JG Tris Shizn & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Petty Officer 1st Class T'Lin & Petty Officer 3rd Class Peregrine Steele
Edited on on 06 Jul 2019 @ 12:53pm

3,281 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: Latari B III - Surface, Shuttlecraft Vincenzo
Timeline: MD 01, 0602 hrs

Previously, on Paradise (Part 4)...

Blake was grimly of the opinion the situation was too far gone for minor distractions to make any real difference now. And with the shuttle in such bad condition, she wasn't willing to sacrifice another valuable tool. "Blake to Shizn, do we have transporters yet!" the strain in her voice made it obvious that she was running and half jumping at some speed.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Waverider Crash Site

Steele was sitting at the science console when the call came in. He turned to shout at the Lieutenant, "Sir! Getting a distress call from the rest of the away team. I still have red on thrusters."

Tris closed his eyes in frustration as he knelt by the transduction stabilizer for the thrusters. This was not at all going well. The pilot lifted his head and yelled back, “Alright. Let me get over to the transporter. We should be able to filter out the radiation and make it happen.” Shizn then got up on his feet and moved to the transporter controls.

Steele ran his hands over the board. "Working on it," he said and then shook his head. "We can filter only so much, not sure we can do multiple transports. You should have sensor ability as well sir."

“I’m scanning for life signs,” Lt. Shizn explained as he coordinated the scanner and the transporter. “Oh . . my . . “ Shizn exclaimed slowly. “There is some kind of massive life organism or something near them.”

"Yeah and it is very close to the rest. I am going to boost the circuits sir to try to filter." Steele had just gotten some of the circuits back and now having taken a beating already he was going to have to overload again. Even so, he knew that the transporter was only a two pad transporter. Either they would have to gather a third someone or two would have to be very close, like hugging together and even then it was not certain the beaten and damaged circuitry would hold. "Now or never sir!" Steele called.


Surface Team

The crumbling ground continued to shake as the giant crystal-shaped entity seemingly shifted its location through the low-viscosity lava. It appeared to be following the Starfleet cadre, intent on some form of pursuit. Despite its towering formation and lack of visible lower appendages, it moved at a surprisingly fast speed and would soon overtake them. The orange crystalline hand which had attempted to crush them now pulled back and prepared for a second attack.

"Shizn, we could do with that emergency beam out any minute now!" the laboured breathing from Blake's unwavering sprint added to the urgency of her message back to the shuttle. She didn't have time, or breath, or the spare energy to fully recount what was happening...and frankly, she wasn't even sure exactly what *was* happening. All she knew was that she couldn't let the Goliath creature get any closer to them.

“We are bring the power to the transporter,” Shizn called back over the Comm. More frantically he called out, “I can not get a signal lock. You have to get closer. That lifeform may be causing some interference.”

Blake forced her body to speed up as they approached an expanding, jagged split in the ground, jumping over it before turning in time to see Rice following close behind. She half caught her arm as she landed before pushing the slight woman to keep her running forward. Blake's breath caught as a wave of air rushed across her with the movement of the arm-like stone that was swiping down their way. A large, golden globule dropped from the crystal and Blake threw herself backward just in time to avoid it dripping on her, the huge droplet of lava sizzling on the ground close to her feet as she scrambled away from it.

Blake rolled onto her front with a tight breath of effort, using her feet and hands to launch herself forward and up into a low run, barely avoiding the crystal shaft that collided into the ground behind her. She didn't even have time to consider how lucky an escape she'd had, her concentration taken up by the effort of staying on her feet as the powerful tremor from the crash of rock rippled through her. She somehow managed to run harder and faster; the only way to stay on her feet, by keeping up with her body weight that was lurched forward.

Marisa paused for a second to scan the lava that dropped off one of the crystalline creatures. She only felt that she could because the focus seemed to be on Blake at the moment. Still, she didn't want to give them a chance to target her, so as soon as she had a clear scan, she hurried on.


Waverider Crash Site

Frantically working the adjustments, Shizn yelled over his shoulder to Steele, “Cut all other power except to the transporter and Comm!”

"Yes sir!" Steele sounded frantic as he tried to route power through just barely holding together circuitry. "Duct tape and baling wire is all that is holding most of these circuits together but go ahead and give it a go sir. Now or never!"

After a few seconds the Andorian called out, “I’ve got a lock on them.” He knew there would be an issue with the 2 Pad transporter. Into the open Comm, “Commander, grab someone tightly! “ Shizn couldn’t wait for a response. The transporter lock was slipping at different moments. He had to take a chance.

Steele worked the panel trying to help the sensors get the transporter lock. When the Andorian said he had a lock he cut the power to the sensors and then routed it to the transporter discrimination.

Activating the transporter, the machinery audibly groaned under the strain of the power transfer. Shizn then activated the slides the second time causing the room to fill with blue shimmering light as the transporter effect took place before him.

Sparks began to fly here and there as overloaded circuitry began to give up. The forms wavered on and off as the transporter surged between rerouting of circuits and the filtering that was needed. At one point it seemed they almost had them before a circuit let go and the forms faded. Steele felt like he was playing a concerto in D major running his hands and fingers frantically tapping and then finally got the group yet again.

Tris had flinched as the sparks showered upon him when those relays blew. He glanced over at Steele, seeing hands frantically move across the controls rerouting power and diverting to secondary relays. Shizn could see that they still had their personnel in the buffer, but they would not stay stable for long. He reset the transporter’s integration program and activated the slides a second time.

Marisa was half-carrying, half-pulling Aria along when she felt the transporter lock. "Oh, thank goodness," she thought. Then it was gone. A sudden upthrust of rock caused her to stumble and almost drop Aria, but she grabbed tighter and turned so that if they fell, she would be on the bottom. Then they were caught in mid-fall. This time, when the transporter shimmer faded, she was on the shuttle. The two women fell forward deck plate.

Marisa waited for a moment to make sure Aria was okay, then she got up and checked to make sure she still had everything. The last thing she wanted was to get back to the shuttle and find she'd lost her bag, or her tricorder. But both were safely with her. "Thank you," she said to the two.

She gave Aria a hand so she, too, could stand.

T'Lin arrived clutching Blake. There had been a momentary pause it seemed and it had been a scary one at that having the ground just about open up with that creature all but on top of them.

Steele just sat back in the chair shaking a little. The adrenaline still going strong but he counted three persons and all seemed to be in alright shape at least from here. "We won't be doing that anytime soon," he said to no one in particular. "Pretty much fried out the circuitry."

"We're alive, thanks to you," Marisa replied.

She turned to T'Lin and Blake. "Are you two okay?"

Blake simply nodded, brushing off the concern quickly with her mind already back on to the danger they could still be facing. After taking a quick glance around the rest of the team to make sure they were all in one piece, she pulled her tricorder free, opening it up to scan.

"I am functioning, commander," T'lin replied in her dry Vulcan way.

Tris had gripped the side of the console with both hands, heart pounding loudly in his chest, feeling the throbbing effect in his ears. He watched as the three arrivals stumbled, but he was caught up in something, still clenching the console. He had piloted many a ship. Some had been small vessels in time of danger and battle, but somehow this had been different. He forcibly pulled his arm to release his hands. He flexed his fingers as he took a few steps back away and into a bulkhead. His hands had been numb, but feeling and flexibility were slowly returning. He didn’t understand what had happened to him. It all only lasted seconds, but that mental delay had seemed much longer. Looking down at his slowly flexing fingers he wondered why he had reacted this way. After another second he went to help Lt. Sandoval.

"Shizn," Blake motioned to the controls, moving to lean against the panel as she took a critical look over them. Just how much damage did they still have to fix? "Are we able to keep track of that creature? Make sure it's not getting close?" she asked, knowing he would likely have the best grip on what was and wasn't up and running of the shuttle's systems.

Marisa smiled her thanks to Tris for wanting to help before he went to do as the commander asked. She peeled off her EV suit and hung it up to be cleaned and stored. Even with the climate control it smelled like sweat. Then she went to the science station to make sure her data was still intact.

Following the Commander’s instructions, Shizn refocused mentally and stepped to the sensor display, flexing his fingers as he went. With focused intent Shizn spoke factually, “The Life-form seems to be moving from one side and then turning back and moving the other direction.” The Andorian looked up at the others, “If I were to guess, it is looking for you, not understanding where you have gone.”

"Good. Let's hope it doesn't figure that out," Marisa said, mentally calculating how far away they were from the lava field and what the odds were it would move that far from its current home.

"Agreed, set up a proximity alarm, I want a warning if it does figure out a way to find us," Blake agreed, nodding to Marissa as she pushed herself back from the panel with a frown. "Is everyone okay?" at least, okay as they could be in the circumstances, she thought, but didn't add out loud.

"I am unharmed," Marisa said, checking the backup of her data as she checked the shuttle's power to see if she could use the ship's resources for a proximity alarm or if she'd need to manually set it up. After a minute she decided the power usage would be minimal enough to use shuttle power.

Blake held her breath tightly to resist the urge to sigh. What a mess. This was the kind of thing Academy training was meant to prepare an officer for. Nothing was like the real, cold shiver that came with a truly bleak situation. "If we can't get anywhere, then all we can do is report in," she motioned to Shizn. "Let's see if we can get in touch with the Galileo," she motioned to the console.

Lt. Shizn gave a confirming nod to the Commander and turned to face the Comm unit on his left. He confirmed power to the system and its active function. He took a hesitant breath and began, “Shuttlecraft Vincenzo to USS Galileo. Galileo are you receiving this transmission?” He pulled his hand to his chest and waited. He knew it could take seconds before a response came. Tris was about to send another message when the speaker began to crackle and provide static. He attempted to boost the signal on his end.

A slight frown managed to get past Blake's guard as she slid up closer to him at hearing the disquieting noise. She leant in, reaching to help him try and get a better signal, her arm arcing over his as she tried to manipulate the system. She glanced to Shizn, her frown deepening at the lack of luck in getting contact with the ship.

Steele worked on the systems a bit more and then shrugged. "Sorry commander, as far as I can see things are working on our end. Maybe your weird friend spat a bunch of rock at the comm link satellite. I just don't know."

"Could the Galileo be out of comm range?" Marisa asked. If the comms were working on their end, that was the most logical explanation. At least the one she preferred.

"The comm satellite should be able to reach across the system. It could be that someone is actively blocking the signal from reaching the Galileo, the Galileo has been destroyed along with the Trial or the ships have left the system or otherwise engaged." T'Lin offered.

Tris looked grim, hoping that the last consideration mentioned was not true in any way, shape, or form. The Andorian thought through what other possibilities could be done. What else do we have on hand? He thought to himself before pulling up a manifest of items on the Waverider. His eyes brightened with possibilities. “Sir!” Tris began a little more excited than he had anticipated, “Ahem, Sorry. I’ve confirmed that we have a Rescue Buoy that could broadcast a beacon for us.”

"It's salvageable to use? From down here?" Blake asked with something of a skeptical tone, but only because it seemed like they weren't catching any breaks. She wouldn't be surprised to find out it had been completely wrecked on landing with the way their luck was going.

“Well Commander,” Shizn began and turned back to the display with details before him, “I can remove it from the wracked magazine. Then with some assistance modify it with a long range sensor to launch off the ground and get into orbit.” He looked to Blake with a confident expression. His eyes darted to the others trying to see their approval or not for the idea.

"If we can make it work, then it's worth a shot," Blake nodded with a thoughtful frown, her hands settling on her hips. "Without immediate contact with the ship though, we have to assume we're on our own until we hear from them again. Right now, I want to get more distance between us and that...lifeform. We still haven't found any sign of survivors, and we're not going to stuck here either."

T'lin thought for a moment and spoke up, "Moving away from the creature is a good idea, besides there are islands and such upwind of the eruption it may be that some colonists fled in time. While the Waverider might not be flight worthy perhaps it might be sea worthy at least in a calm sea. If we can ensure enough hull integrity to prevent sinking we might with minimal thrusters be able to 'hovercraft' the Waverider over the sea. As we go we can scan for boats or perhaps some of the islands for survivors. I can check hull integrity while helping the lieutenant to get the buoy."

Blake held T'Lin's eyes intently for a long moment. The look was intense, but in truth it was simply because of how much her interest was piqued by the idea. She finally nodded, a calculating look in her eye before she turned her gaze to Shizn. "Do you think it could work?" she asked quietly, knowing that he likely had the best grasp on just how bad the state of the shuttle was.

Shizn frowned in deep thought as his eyes flickered about as if going through calculations in his mind. With a very concerned expression the Andorian looked up at Cmdr. Blake, swallowed nervously, and replied, “With a little work we could by-pass the safety protocols so that we could just use thrusters and move the Waverider. I would recommend removing the buoy and other parts from the lower hull first. Just in case.”

Shizn’s eyes glanced over to T’Lin, then back to Blake, “I wouldn’t trust the WaveRider to ‘float’.” He let that definite opinion hang in the air a second. “The weight to displacement ratio is too great. We would be more likely to be floating only 10% above the surface.”

"Should we launch a probe with our findings in case we have more problems?" Marisa asked. She had complete confidence in Tris and the others, but getting the data to the Galileo was crucial.

Blake took a moment to assimilate the information the team had pitched in. She considered the options....as if she hadn't already made her mind up. Because in truth, she already had. Blake had never been, and never would be, a 'sit tight, hope for the best and see what happens' kind of person. "Okay...Sandoval, Rice, we're going out to get that buoy and reconfigure it as Shizn suggested. We'll use it to get a full situation report to the Galileo, along with the data we've collected," she nodded to Sandoval on that point.

Blake motioned to Shizn with her next order. "Meanwhile, Shizn, T'Lin and Steele, you'll work on getting this shuttle...sea worthy." Blake took a breath as she arched an eyebrow; that wasn't an order she'd expected to have to give. She straightened up, hands resting on her hips as she looked around the small team with a firm nod. "Let's make our own luck."

"Very good commander," T'Lin simply replied. She went to fetch scanners to check the hull and got to work.

"Yes, ma'am," Marisa said. She put her samples away and went to help Blake with the buoy. She was grateful for the chance to do something productive. She had confidence the Galileo would come back for them, but they did have to stay alive until then.

“Yes, ma’am,” Shizn parroted the last comment quietly as he was already considering what he needed to do to make the shuttle even more airtight in addition to getting better thruster control.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

PO2 T'Lin
Science Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Warraquim]

LT Marisa Sandoval
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Tris Shizn
Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Aria Rice
Security Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Vansen]

PO3 Peregrine Steele
Science Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Warraquim]

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