Spaceworthy (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 03 Feb 2020 @ 4:07pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Marisa Wyatt & Lieutenant JG Tris Shizn & Petty Officer 1st Class T'Lin & Petty Officer 3rd Class Peregrine Steele

3,383 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: Latari B III - NW Island Colony Site, Maintenance Hangar
Timeline: MD 04, 1452 hrs

Previously, on Salvage...

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.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Two days of nonstop maintenance on the Starfleet shuttle had born fruitful results for the once-doomed Waverider. While the Starfleet team and colonists rested and worked on other tasks during the previous 72 hours, the rag-tag colony engineers had been hard at work replacing bulkheads and power relays to bring the atmospheric shuttle back to operational status.

It was still early afternoon when the first systems checks began - a prideful moment for all of the colonists involved in the repairs. A chance to see the fruits of their labor even if they themselves weren't meant to travel in the craft back to orbit.

A sharp whistle pierced the air and Duke addressed the entire repair bay. "Anyone seen the Andorian? Or the Vulcans? Someone go get them so we can get this started!" A couple colonists near the exit exchanged glances then shrugged and headed outside to find the Galileo crew members.

Marisa had fallen into the habit of taking naps since there was so much to do, and so much to study, before leaving. She was awakened by one of the colonists. "Thank you," she said, smiling as she sat up. She quickly put on her shoes and headed to the shuttle.

She walked in, her smile growing broader. "You are all marvelous."

Lt. Shizn entered the warehouse just a few steps behind Lt. Sandoval. The last several days had really worn on him. His white hair had been pushed several different directions. So, he had gone to clean up and replace the small power-cells in the personal cooling system before returning to the warehouse. Stopping beside Marisa, “I hope I am not to late for all the ‘pageantry’.” The last word was emphasized to the silliness of the event.

"No, you're right on time." Marisa flashed him a smile. "Glad you made it."

T'Lin had gotten the notification but had not hurried. There was little she was an expert on in matters of engineering. She had gone over and mulled the data over and over but she could not draw any further conclusions.

Observing the Waverider, she thought it looked space worthy, but again the experts were already here. "It looks acceptable." The statement was flat as some of the things the colonists called flapjacks.

Steele was not with them, seemingly more interested in the colonists and he had simply stated, "someone should stay here to observe and make these folks not look like we are abandoning them." T'Lin had to agree with the logic.

Shizn looked curiously at the Petty Officer, wondering why the covert concern, but didn’t say anything.

T'Lin turned to the Andorian. "I am no expert on such things, there are still some scares, but does the craft look space worthy to you?"

Tris turned to the Vulcan, nodding his head slightly as he considered his reply. “I’ve monitored the overhaul and everything is space-worthy, . . it’s just not the most attractive as her former self.”

T'Lin then nodded to the senior lieutenant and added, "Mister Steele has requested that he stay here. He feels that someone from Fleet should be here with the remains of the colony so they do not feel abandoned and besides he says he can monitor activity of the entity as well. I cannot disagree with his logic but I am not the senior person to make the request of."

"Neither can I," Marisa said. She wanted to stay as well, to learn more about the colony and the creature, but she needed to go back to the Galileo and report her findings. T'Lin would do an admirable job in her place if she stayed, but two scientists reporting their findings would add validity to the data. And there was Luke. She missed him terribly. "As long as Commander Blake doesn't object, we can come back and get him, or leave him here until others can take his place."

Tris looked somber. The idea of leaving the Commander here worried him for some reason, though nothing defining that fear.

Duke approached the Starfleet members and waved a burning cigar in the air. "Good, you're here. We just ran a power test on your shuttle and Enrique says all the relays are holding."

"...Yeah but only at 70 percent," clarified the colony's chief engineer who approached them from their peripheral. "It's not good, not terrible, but it'll get you into orbit with basic flight ops as long as you don't get crazy." Enrique scratched at a patch of beard stubble on his cheek while looking back to the Waverider. "And don't count on docking with your ship...we had to replace the housing around your whole dorsal airlock and didn't have time to cut it to your specs. Now we just need one of you to input your command codes to run a full diagnostic."

"It's your shuttle," Marisa said to Tris. "Do you want the honors?"

T'Lin listened to the colonist. They had done a wonderful job considering the damage. She hoped the comms were sufficiently working so they could contact the Galileo-A. She had been estimating in her mind how much longer the major volcanic eruption would be before shrouding the planet and choking off the sunlight. One week, she calculated for complete shrouding, then approximately six months while cooling occurred and an ice age began to set in. The island and its tropical vegetation would be gone from frost 4 months before that. There was time to still evacuate the remaining populace, but the longer it took the faster they would have to go.

Marisa entered the shuttle, looking at the damage, and the quick and dirty repair job. As bad as it looked, she was amazed they'd been able to make her space-worthy. "I wish there was something we could do to reverse the damage to the planet. If nothing else, we need to help evacuate the colonists. We owe them that much."

She took her seat at what was left of the science station and looked over the active systems.

T'Lin followed the others after a moment still looking around the outside. She took her place on a seat that was obviously sourced from someplace else at the auxiliary console which she had used previously. There were panels still wrinkled and a couple were still missing but as she brought the system on line it seemed that the status was pretty well green across the board. No shiny looking things here but at least it seemed functional.

"I see that word of our reassembled shuttle is not exaggerated," Blake said to no one in particular as she moved inside, having caught up with the others. The expression on her face made it clear she was impressed. She even reached out to pat the hull as she made her way to her seat.

Marisa nodded to the commander when she entered.

Lt. Shizn made his way finally to the pilot’s seat. He glanced over his shoulder to see if someone was at the Engineering console. The Andorian entered his command codes and activated the ship’s internal systems. Power storage was at 53%. “Sir, we are ready to run system diagnostics.”

T'Lin nodded slightly, "Auxiliary appears good as well, transporter function is indicating green status." At least for right now they could beam out if need be.

"Sensors and communications are functional," Marisa added. They weren't great. If a relay blew, they'd go down, but for now, they were good enough to get the job done.

T'Lin went through more of the readings. "Impulse is green and holding at a eighty two point three percent of nominal. Hull integrity is at seventy eight percent. I would recommend not going over Mach 6 in anything below the Mesosphere. The colonists did well but this ship is still showing signs of its ordeal."

After a quick check Shizn commented, “All micro-thrusters and stablizers are responding and confirm 98% active.” Tris grimaced that one on the lower bow was still not operating. He would have to pull the panel and replace the module.

T'Lin nodded and made a note. She might be able to patch a set of others to help the bow. "Sir," T'Lin nodded to Blake. "Once we establish contact with the Galileo-A then we can begin to beam the colonists off the planet. We have only a few more days before volcanic winter freezes the planet."

"Did someone say volcanic winter?!" came Duke's incredulous voice from around the corner. The colony's security chief had made his way inside the Waverider cigar in hand, and glanced around at the impressive LCARS displays lining the walls of the main cabin.

"Yes. That's what you're facing," Marisa said, answering the security officer. "As soon as we can contact one of the ships in the convoy, we need to start evacuating you to another planet."

"It is unfortunate, but the creature or the crash has made a severe connection to the mantle and possibly down to the outer core of the planet. The eruption is severe and will continue for quite awhile which will shroud the planet. If this island was not just about as far from the normal winds you would already be feeling most of the effects." T'Lin laid out a simplified version.

Duke wasn't well-versed in the studies of atmospheric science, but understood the prognosis was apparently dire. The impact from the meteorite had undoubtedly changed everything for he and his people, and there was no denying the constant volcanic presence in the near horizon. Still, he flinched at the thought, not wanting to accept it. "Can't you just...fire some photon torpedoes at it? Or pull it out of the ground and into space with a tractor beam?" Surely there had to be another way.

"Even if such a course of action was possible, logically the damage has been done geologically to the planet. It will be approximately..." T'Lin thought a moment and shook her head slightly, "approximately thirty million years before this planet returns to something like it is now. I am sorry without more data that I do not have an exact projection for you."

Frowning and shaking his head, Duke took a stern step forward and put his hands on his hips. "So that's it? You're just going to write our planet off and 'relocate' us? All the work we've done settling here has been for nothing?" His voice was now raised and he was visibly agitated. "No, it doesn't work like that - we spent years training for this world learning the topographical charts, climate studies, and doing simulations. Hell, just scouting our original colony site took eight months," he protested. "You can't ask us to just...abandon everything we've built here without even trying to help.

"We are trying to help," Marisa assured him. "T'Lin is right. If we could reverse the effects, we would. If we could stop them, we would. Think of the Proto-Tholian like a tree with roots that go down a hundred meters to a water source. The roots don't just go straight down, they spread. It's almost impossible to get every piece of root up without causing damage. And, even if you do, the ground won't be the same as it was before the tree grew. That's what you have here. First, you have the volcanic activity. Even if the volcano stops today, you'll have atmospheric contamination for decades. The area will take hundreds of years to be habitable. And with the prevailing winds, it won't be long before the entire planet is blanketed with ash and smoke. Nothing will be able to live on here. So, you have two choices. You let us help you get to a new colony--even if it's temporary--or you find a really deep cave and settle there for the next five hundred years and hope the Proto-Tholians don't multiply and take over the planet. I'd opt for evacuation." It was harsh, but he needed to understand how critical the situation was.

Sandoval's blunt assessment of the situation silenced Duke, but only for a short moment. Looking down to his boots, he started to ponder the logistics of such a quick feat. How could he and the others get the entire population of their colony ready to leave the world on such short notice? "There's over a thousand of us and you said your starship is a Nova-class. How can you take us all?"

"There are other ships in the convoy. If we can contact them, they can assist," Marisa replied. "I will do all in my power to help you get somewhere safe."

A verbal commotion in the background suddenly started to occur which momentarily distracted Duke. He turned to walk back out of the shuttle to observe the scene only to be quickly rushed by a small and muscular woman who attempted to enter the Waverider while dragging two mechanics behind her.

"Isabel, stop!" yelled one of them who was trying to pull her away by her collar.

"...No you stop...lying to me! WHERE IS MY HUSBAND?!" she shrieked in return, muscling her way up to Duke who now restrained her at the rear of the shuttle.

"He's dead, Isabel. We already went over all this..." Duke replied in an attempt to placate her and push her back out of the shuttle. "I'm sorry."

The middle-aged woman managed to push her head underneath Duke's arm and look at the Starfleet officers in the cockpit. "Where is he? You took my husband! ...Elegy Reiko!" she exclaimed. "WHERE IS HE?"

T'Lin turned in her seat and replied in that cool Vulcan way, "Ma'am the name is unfamiliar to me. We have taken no one that is a part of the colony and we need to effect a rescue. If you are referring to an earlier group I am afraid that ship was destroyed by Tholians. If your husband was aboard then he was lost and you have my sympathy for your loss. And yes," she observed Duke and the rest, "there are signs that Tholians have been in the area."

"Don't lie to me! I was there, I followed him to the crater and saw him vanish in one of your transporters! ...Where else would he have gone?" she demanded as her voice choked. Her husband. Dead.

Marisa went over to the woman and took her hand to console her. "I'm so sorry. T'Lin is correct. We are the first from our ship to come here. The Franconia was destroyed by the Tholians. They are likely the ones who beamed your husband aboard."

Duke echoed the half-Vulcan's sentiment. "I'm sorry, Isabel. It's time to go," he said, slowly pressing her out of the shuttle with his large body.

"...No, he can't be dead!" the woman protested. "Not my Elegy, I know he would find a way to live." Her dejected eyes suddenly lit up with hope as Duke was forcing her out. "...What about survivors?! A shuttle, an escape pod??"

T'Lin made a small tilt of the head, "There was one person from a life pod recovered from the Franconia. I do not know the details nor a name. However, ma'am, if we continue to delay there will be many more lives lost if we cannot begin to affect an evacuation of this planet."

"That must be him!" Isabel exclaimed with renewed energy as she pushed back against Duke. "Take me with you...please!" she begged.

T'Lin looked to the higher ranks but she was already shaking her head. "This vessel is still not fully functional. Extra weight may mean failure to achieve orbit."

Marisa looked at the woman, then at T'Lin and Tris. She mentally calculated the woman's weight and body mass. While T'Lin had a point, she thought the added weight was within safety margins. "You do realize we may not get back to our ship. We may only get out far enough to send a message, then lose containment? And that we will do everything in our power to get you and the others off this planet regardless?"

Isabel's reply was intense and succinct. "Take me to my husband!" Duke paused at the airlock and looked back to the Galileo team as if to discern their acceptance. The woman he held in his large arms was one of his, a colonist, but had a recent history of mental instability. She'd claimed shortly after the meteor impact that her husband had been abducted by aliens, yet she cerebral state was often unintelligible. He had no idea whether or not to let her stay or go.

"No." Marisa's tone was kind but firm. "We are not going to look for your husband. We are going to contact our ship and arrange for her to come here to aid in your evacuation. It is unlikely we will be able to rendezvous with her, so your chances of seeing your husband--if he is even alive--will be greater on the planet than with us." She had been willing to let the woman come with them, but her determination to find her husband above all else could cause them more harm than good if they had to return to the planet after sending their message. The important thing at the moment was to make contact and let the captain know of the state of the planet.

Several curse words flew from Isabel's mouth at the Starfleet team. She managed to wiggle her arms free from Duke's grasp and flailed at the Vulcan from several feet away with futility. Duke finally gave up and grasped her by her waist to hoist her over his shoulder, then carried her out of the Waverider back into the hangar while she continued to scream in protest.

"I apologize," Marisa said to the others. "I wanted to give her a chance." If the woman had been more cooperative, she might have agreed to her coming aboard to help. But if her husband was alive--and the odds were against this--she would hopefully meet up with him later.

"Okay," Scarlet let out a long, tight breath, shaking her head lightly as she looked to Tris, the atmosphere still tense after the unexpected outburst. "Let's go."

“Aye Sir,” responded Lt. Shizn as he brought the power up to 50%, activating inertial dampeners and anti-grav thrusters. The shuttle rose slightly off the deck. With no apparent issues yet, a hesitant smile crossed Tris’ face.

"Mr. Shizn, take us up," Marisa said when they were all ready.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lt. Tris Shizn
Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A

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

Duke
Security Chief
Latari B III
[NPC Saalm]

Enrique
Chief Engineer
Latari B III
[NPC Saalm]

Isabel Reiko
Colonist
Latari B III
[NPC Saalm]

LT Marisa Sandoval
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

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

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