Salvage

Posted on 17 Dec 2019 @ 3:16pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Marisa Wyatt & Lieutenant JG Tris Shizn & Petty Officer 1st Class T'Lin & Petty Officer 3rd Class Peregrine Steele
Edited on on 17 Dec 2019 @ 3:18pm

2,604 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: Latari B III - NW Island Colony Site, Maintenance Hangar
Timeline: MD 01, 1813 Hrs

Previously, on The Colony (Part 4)...

"Once we get their shuttle back," Duke started to propose, "we can tap into their comm array. Probably get a more powerful signal that can punch through the atmosphere."

Robles excitedly raised his hand and stepped forward. "Yes, yes. A good idea. I need to be there to inspect the shuttle and its capabilities." He craned his head to look at Blake and the rest of the away team. "I don't suppose you have a technical manual of your shuttle I can study?"

"Can I get a copy of your data first?" Marisa asked. "I'd really like to learn who created that creature." She wanted to get off the planet, and get the colonists somewhere safe, but she couldn't lose the opportunity to get a copy of the data they'd acquired.

A lot had been said, and for Lt. Shizn, he knew to stay out of the discussion. But now he thought he could help, looking to Robles, “I don’t think we have the technical manual you need, but I would like to help with the shuttle situation.”

The offer from the Andorian was a welcome gesture which didn't go unnoticed to the colonists nearby. A short pause of silence ensued while Vasquez and Duke exchanged silent facial expressions, shrugs, and hand gestures. Finally, the colony commander turned back to the away team.

"Fine. It's a deal. Access to your shuttle in exchange for our science scans of the alien," Vasquez offered.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Not long after the Starfleet away team and colonists broke up into separate teams, reports started to come in regarding the state of the beached Waverider shuttlecraft. Duke, a small team of engineers, and Lieutenant JG Shizn were all on their way to the colony's mechanical repair bay when their comms chirped.

"Hey boss, it's Enrique," said a male voice over the channel. "We raised the shuttle and we're towing it out now. It's too big for one sled, so we're going to take it slow. Give us two hours."

Duke squeezed the small communicator on his wristband and brought it up to his chin. "Make it fast, it'll be dark in an hour. Take the creek bed trail," he instructed to expedite the transit.

"Copy."

Coming to a stop at the repair shed, Duke turned to Shizn and gestured to the entrance. "After you. We got some time to kill. Almost time for dinner, too. Don't know about you but I'm starving."

“Thanks,” Shizn commented as he walked past adding, “Umm yes. I could use some food as well.” Turning back to Duke while entering, “How are they bringing up the shuttle or am I misunderstanding the task?”

The door to the small hangar creaked as it slid open, revealing a large two-story rectangular room approximately 75 yards long. It was constructed from one of the original reusable colony ship modules and was spacious enough to house several workbees and a couple shuttles. Main power appeared online as evidenced by the bright overhead lights. Currently the shop was occupied by two agricultural tractors, four sleds, and two small escape pods suspended from the ceiling on mechanical arms. It was nowhere near as fancy as a Starfleet shuttlebay, and had a much more rural appearance.

After stepping a few steps inside, Tris came to a halt, just a touch overwhelmed by the size of their hanger area. “My! This is much larger than I expected.” Shizn looked left, up, and over to the right, taking it all in.

Duke followed the Andorian inside then stopped next to him to pull a fresh cigar from his pocket. "This is our vehicle bay. And maintenance shed, and mess hall," he explained with a wide gesture. "It's constructed from one of the original reusable modules deployed from our colony ship when we arrived. It's designed to be collapsible, so we were able to deconstruct it and take it with us when we evac'd."

“Ah,” the Andorian responded, “I see. Quite a good use of the materials initially provided.” After looking about what lay across the deck once more, “So, how will the Waverider be moved to this location?” Lt. Shizn asked turning toward Duke, his right antenna angling toward the Engineer.

"We have a few anti-grav sleds equipped with tractor beams. The hard part is navigating the terrain. Like you saw, it ain't nothing but jungle between us and beach." Duke cut off the end of his cigar then brought it to his lips and lit it. "Lucky for us, there's a shortcut down the creek bed. Can't hike through it on foot, but our sleds can move above the water."

“I see,” replied the Andorian with an expression of concentration, thinking through just how powerful that sled would need to be to lift the shuttle for that distance.

Duke let out a sharp whistle then bellowed to the other end of the hangar. "What's on the menu?"

A colonist in the distance looked up and waved back to Duke. "...Fresh bluetail!”

Tris turned toward the voice, raising a curious eyebrow.

Looking back to Tris, Duke gave the blue-skinned Starfleeter a hefty slap on the back while he puffed his cigar. "Now we're talking. Co'mon. Hope you like alien venison."

“Venison?” Shizn queried. His antenna angled forward, “From a wild animal?” Lifting his eyes in amazement.

Duke smirked. "Yeah, an animal. What else do you think we eat around here?" He glanced suspiciously at Shizn. "Don't worry. It tastes like chicken with enough seasoning."

Tris thought, Wild animals? Chicken? His antennas angled out and down in a mood of disgust.

When they arrived in the makeshift dining room, plates of cooked meat and steaming vegetables were handed to both Duke and Tris. They sat in a couple nearby vacant seats around the grill pit and started to dig in.

The scents within the room soon began to captivate Tris’ oral-factory senses. His eyes began to widen as his mouth grinned. “Oh my. That does all smell wonderful!!”


2008 hrs

Following the meal and as they sat relaxed at their seats, Shizn heard a loud ‘CLUNK’. He looked up to see a massive door in the side of the building begin to move.

The hangar's main door slowly retracted to reveal two anti-grav sleds towing the large Waverider from the front with a third behind it bringing up the rear. Despite the late hour and dark night, Vincenzo was illuminated by several spotlights and the soft glow of pulsing blue tractor beams.

Colony personnel nearby began to clear the way and help guide the Starfleet shuttle into the center of the bay. The craft was virtually a mess, slowly leaking water from all of its orifices with a cracked windshield and giant hole in the aft compartment. Its once-shiny metallic hull was now covered in alien seaweed and a light coat of oceanic slime.

"There's your baby," Duke commented.

Tris stood silent as the shuttle was brought in and soon came to rest. All his energy seemed to be drained from him, with his antenna drooping similarly to his anguished frown. He spoke softly, “You poor thing,” as he watched liters and liters of water drain upon the hanger deck. He thought, It must have been full of water to still be draining at this point.

"Ah, don't worry, we can fix her," Duke replied to Shizn after seeing the Andorian's body language. "Right, Enrique?" he said to the head mechanic.

Slowly walking around the exterior of the shuttle, Enrique closely inspected the hull breaches with a bright flashlight. "...Well...both of these hull sections need to be replaced...and most of the starboard wing frame is bent," he said as he assessed the damage. "Also got to rewire the power grid and all the conduits." There was a short pause. "Two days, maybe three with a full crew and we can get it in the air."

Tris’ eyes scanned over the vehicle confirming the damage mentioned. His mind began to calculate the time to do the repairs mentioned, also confirming the time for that repair. Thinking, If they have the parts and the knowledge.

Three blue Starfleet uniforms now appeared in the distance, signaling the arrival of Lieutenant Sandoval and her science team.

Marisa finally had all the data she wanted from the colony's computers to satisfy her need for information. It was just in time, too. The commotion and chatter as talk of the shuttle arriving pierced her concentration. She stored her data chips in her pack and followed the others to see what condition it was in.

She stopped in the doorway and watched the shuttle.

T'Lin and Steele had come along as well. Steele was not happy that the bay was less cozy than the village and he was butt arsed tired. The site of the shuttle thought helped as it represented getting away from this POS rock. The Vulcan was typical Vulcan, like nothing had happened over the last day or so.

T'Lin waited until the broken shuttle was brought to a halt and then moved toward Lieutenant Shizn and asked, "What do you think? Is she salvageable?" She said it loud enough so that any of the colony engineers could hear as well.

The expression of concern from Lt. Shizn changed one of confidence before replying, “Yes Petty Officer.” Shizn turned to look at the Vulcan, “I believe the Engineer’s assessment is close to accurate, but we won’t know for sure until we get started.”

Enrique added to the Andorian's answer. "We'll start working soon - after everyone's got a hot meal." The chief engineer could smell the grilled meat in the air and was starving after a long day of salvage through the jungle.

"Help yourselves," Duke said to the new arrivals, motioning to the grill pit surrounded by colonists where the food was being served.

Marisa let the others eat first, then got herself some food. She took the opportunity to listen to the chatter around her and answer a few questions.

After Shizn had walked about the shuttle twice taking in the exterior damage, he turned toward the food being laid out. Tris really wanted to get inside and check the interior damage, but the hatch had not been opened yet, probably for good reason. But, the scent of the food was definitely stimulating and was glad to pick up and fill a plate with small pieces of different items. Most he didn’t recognize, so he was going to do a bit of taste testing before eating too much of anything.

T'Lin mostly just piqued and eyebrow at the offerings. A lot of fish and bits of some animals, but a couple of fruits that would be alright. The other enlisted, Steele, had tucked in with gusto. While she preferred to be working on getting the shuttle flight and space worthy, logically complaining about the importance of eating would be lost on most of the current group. Diplomacy indicated that silence was best.

T'Lin made her way over to the Andorian navigator. She liked him and he seemed nice for an Andorian. She knew that their people had a long and somewhat sordid history. She asked though, "Mind if I eat with you?"

Tris glanced up from his plate, being balanced with one hand, to see T’Lin. “Of course”, Shizn replied sliding over a bit on the low crate to give her more room to sit next to him. Knowing some Vulcans had issue with different foods he asked with concerned tone, “Were you able to find something there . . suitable for you?”

"I did," she replied quickly and then said, "it is quite interesting and yet confusing the data that the colonists have on the creature. It seems a new arrival and yet something that may have been here or something like it long ago. We are still trying to assimilate the data."

Tris just smiled. For a second he thought she was talking about the food, then realized it was about the creature in the sea. His eyes glanced up to see Sandoval approaching.

T'Lin waved at the Lieutenant. "Lieutenant Sandoval, I have been telling Lieutenant Shizn here a little of the data we gathered on the creature and thought you might like to put your thoughts to what we have found."

Marisa smiled and joined the other two. "Thanks, I'd like that." When she was settled, she turned to T'Lin. "The data is still inconclusive, but the current theory is that a pod was launched from the direction of the other colony containing Tholian DNA or proto-matter and a terraforming accelerant. When it crashed into the planet, it either activated remains of the Proto-Tholian or it grew one. The accelerant, for lack of a better word, caused the creature to grow, connect to the magma layer and begin to feed. That caused the volcanic activity and destruction of the colony. Now, we need to find a way to reverse the process, remove the Proto-Tholian, or evacuate the planet." She turned to T'Lin. "Is that about it?"

Shizn’s expression changed as he began to think through the concept of something feeding on the energy of the planet’s mantle. He was curious if this creature was in anyway related to the Horta known to the Federation for over a hundred years.

"You have summed this up nicely Lieutenant," T'Lin replied. "What is interesting is the geologic data seems to indicate that something like this creature existed here a very long time ago. I cannot help but speculate with the activity of the Tholians and the relationship that it seems that both the current creature, the remains found in ancient layers and the Tholians match closely that perhaps the Tholians evolved here. If so, this system is actually their ancestral home and we are the invaders."

"It's quite possible," Marisa said. "At least the data seems to support that theory."

Tris raised an eyebrow and one antenna in an expression of uncertainty of their deductions.

Steele was tucking into the food which was pretty good and certainly better then what they had been going on. He was leaning against one wall and shooting the breeze with the colonists while it seemed the rest of the group were busy talking about shop again.

"You would think they would at least take a break," Steele nodded his chin around a mouthful of food. "The only thing I can think of is getting the replicator back online again and making up some beer. Might not be the best, but for helping us out at least a bit of reward."

Shizn looked to Steele and rolled his eyes just prior to looking away. He thought, Although some Aldeboran Whisky might be nice.

Work on the shuttle was progressing, and now most of the damaged pieces of hull plating had been removed along with one of the wing manifolds. Colonist techs were busy cutting the damaged metal down into smaller pieces for the alloy recycler, and as the hour grew later, it was clear there was still much to be done.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

Lieutenant Marisa Sandoval
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

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

Lieutenant JG Tris Shizn
Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo-A

Duke
Colony Security
Latari B III
[PNPC Saalm]

Enrique
Colony Engineer
Latari B III
[PNPC Saalm]

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