Tomcat Upgrades - ERROR

Posted on 10 Jul 2024 @ 7:03pm by Lieutenant Leland Hawksley & Lieutenant Colonel Alexandria Somers & Lieutenant Commander Paul Sharpe & Lieutenant Karyn Somers & Staff Sergeant Lilliana Hawksley

4,054 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: General Sim Postings
Location: SB51/Various
Timeline: 3 days after Tomcat Upgrades - The Suprise Gift

[ON]

- Shipyard SB51 -

the retrofit and upgrade of the Tomcat were well ahead of schedule, it seemed using the Exo Comps was a boon, they had stripped the ship both internally and externally and the sponsons and warp pylons and nacelles were quickly reassembled, the upgraded torpedo pods were slimmer and more efficient and the point defence system was improved upon. The largest change was the saucer section, it was made a little bigger to accommodate the new drop pods installed, everything looked like it was going to be finished ahead of schedule, but then all of a sudden the station alert sounded and alarm.

- Sharpe's/Somers quarters - 0330 hrs -

Paul was sleeping soundly when his Commbadge sounded, groggy from a deep sleep he blindly moved his hand around to locate it, and when he had he tapped it =/\= this better be worth it! =/\= he said in exasperation.

=/\= Sorry to disturb you Commander, but there has been a failure on the tomcats, something has gone tits up and set off the alert alarms =/\=

*groans* =/\= affirmative, seal the area off I am on my way Sharpe out =/\= he said and closed the link as he got out of bed, his wife was sound asleep, she did not even flinch at his sudden movement, oh to be a Marine and be able to sleep almost anywhere. He got out of bed and went over to the refresher splashed cold water on his face, wiped it and then proceeded to get dressed.

- Shipyard SB51 - Control room -

Paul finally arrived at the control room "SITREP" he said to the on-duty engineers.

"The ship is all but complete physically, but there was a failure between the nacelles, warp core and computer systems, the error was quickly detected and secured, and the Exo Comps were recalled to their recharging stations, but as of now, all work has stopped" they reported.

"Both of you starting at the bridge scan the systems and ships from the top down, check for any other errors note them down and report to me," Sharpe said, both engineers nodded, he watched them leave and sighed and made his way to the ship.

- Tomcat Main Engineering - 0400 hours

Paul arrives in the main engineering at a disaster area, the connecting conduits and coolant tubes that led to the nacelles were scorched, the warp core had auto shut down and the console and surrounding computer area connected to its operation were also blackened husks. "oh shit!" Paul said sighing, he walked over to the consoles and tried to activate them but his visual assessment was confirmed, he pulled off the front panel and was greeted by smoke coming out of the innard, he went over to one of the hatches to check the warp core and coolant tubes and was greeted with a stench the made Sulfur smell sweet. He knew what he had to do and did not like it so he tapped his Commbadge =/\= Sharpe to Hawksley =/\=

=/\= Hawksley here…=/\= rolled away from Lilli’s side in their bed, checking his wristwatch. 0400 Hours. =/\= What can I do for you, Commander? =/\= Hawksley stated low so as not to wake Lilli if she already was not.

=/\=I need you down here ASAP Leland we have an issue with the Tomcat upgrades, I will brief you when you get here =/\=

=/\= I’m on my way. =/\= Leland took little more than three minutes jumping from his bed to the shower and throwing on his closest pair of khaki shorts and a grey sweatshirt, the least he could do at 0400 hours. Giving Lilli a gentle kiss, Hawksley watched her sleeping face. He wondered what she was dreaming about.

- Tomcat Main Engineering - 0409 hours –

Leland finally arrived looking as dishevelled as Paul was "Sorry to wake you Leland, but the power conduits and such running from the warp core to the nacelles has developed some faults as has the warp core, safeties shut the incident down, the on-duty engineers called me after silencing the alarms. I took a quick look and the damage is extensive, also the failure is damaged surrounding computer systems, the error report is on this Padd" Sharpe said handing a Padd with the relevant data. "If you could sort the Warp core, conduits to the nacelles problem, also I read something about a Deuterium problem, so if you get on that I will deal with the computer systems" Paul said and sighed "I got a feeling this is but the first of many issues Leland, so prep your body for some out of hour shifts" Paul added.

Leland nodded as he looked around the room, the various alerts and on-screen prompts awaiting intervention. “Yes Sir!” Hawksley barely got through the alarms.

With that Leland headed to the nearest console to deal with the Warp Core and Deuterium issue and Paul went to the door next to the warp core it was an auxiliary room where the ship's computer and functions could be accessed, due to the fault the door remained open he sighed and got to work.

When Leland entered the Tomcat Main Engineering, a secured boom complex had exploded. Level 5 alerts, level 3 alerts, criticality events, and caution alarms were all sounding off.

“Computer.” Leland’s first action was to shut off all the alarms. They were alerted. “Pause alarms.”

Just then, the whole room went silent. There was a wave of relief, if only for a few moments, as another alarm sequence alerted a new cascading failure in the WPS breach.

Opening a COMM to the broader Engineering complex and crew at the station, Leland took the matter into control. =/\= This is Lieutenant Hawksley, Chief Engineer of the Tomcat, in Berth #3. There has been a catastrophic WPS failure, requesting emergency tugboats for stand-by critical events.

Hawksley’s eyes were busy on the Master Systems Display as he lined through the coding with his large, calloused Engineering fingers.

“I see the problem.” Leland acknowledged Sharpe’s need for this emergency.

“Computer. Valve off deuterium feeder lines 3, 3.2, 4, 4.7, and 9.” Hawksley barked to the computer.

=/\= Feeder lines valving off in 3…2….1… Deuterium flow zero.”
“Computer damage control systems report quad 4, enhance visual,” Leland called up the various external and internal explosions to the WPS.

“Computer.” He watched back at Sharpe. “Safe any systems are posing a further danger to the Tomcat. Computers assess WPS damage and collateral damage to ship structures and systems. Seal off hull breaches and interior inhabitants. Ensure that all skeleton personnel are accounted for…”

Hawksley paused, watching the Tomcat from an external view. Now was not the time to ask what went wrong. They were in the critical moments of stemming the WPS failure and subsequent station assets nearby.

=/\= Now hear this, now hear this. =/\= The Starbase 51 Docking Master was instituting a station-wide code yellow. =/\= Code yellow has been enacted. USS Tomcat, Berth number 3 is on a turnaround countdown, Mark. T-90 Minutes, Enact. =/\=

“The core constrictors are lowering core temps. We are now in the safe zone.” Leland reported that, as he punched in codes to the interface, his forehead formed beads of light sweat from the surprise so early in the morning.

From where he was Paul had to speak up "Keep at it Leland, you doing great so far" Paul said as he returned his attention to his work and used his tricorder to locate the damaged area, sighing he went to the terminal and pulled up the report and sighed again, he walked over to the area and pulled off a large maintenance door and was greeted with billowing of smoke "dammit!" he exclaimed quietly, so he proceeded to decouple the power connectors to make sure the first section would not shock him.

"Leland the Computer is not looking any better, I will put all my attention to this, you make sure the Warp Core and conduits to the Nacelles are okay," he said loudly as he finished his initial task and removed the outer circuit panel and on the other side was a blackened half-melted thing which had affected those further in "Leland there two on-duty engineers should be somewhere on this ship doing a scan of the areas they can access looking for faults if you need to pull one off to help do so" Paul said.

“That is good. Oh my god.” Leland narrowed his advanced analytic left-eye prosthetic. “Hold up…” Hawksley saw a build-up of plasma radiation pooling in the conduit in front of Sharpe.

As Paul pulled off the inner panel, he remembered something that he used to dream about years ago, it was always in slow-motion, now as a newly ruptured plasma conduit that was next to the computer section he was working, burst a toxic cloud of superheated plasma mist and liquid shot out at him, to everyone who would be watching it was fast. But to him, it was slow-motion, he had a rebreather which he quickly put on, but he did not know if it would do any good. Then the heat and fumes hit him along with the pressure wave knocking him back, his last thoughts before blackout was of Alex and the Kids.

Leland jumped the display table, his left hand planted atop it, lifting himself up and over, body checking Sharpe hard and fast to hit the floor.

The explosion flashed a bright blue in the room of highly charged conduit Sharpe was working on…

“THUNDDDDDDdddddddddddddddd!!!” Hawksley was deafened by the static charge now shooting out a lightning net like a Tesla Coil. The power discharge arched the computers in the room, sending unit after unit offline.

Soot. Burned metal. Heat and fire were the first thing Hawksley noticed. His eyes opened slowly. That’s when he felt the break in his back. “AGGGGGggggHhhh!!” Hawksley growled out. The pain made him feel anger.

“Paul..” Leland breathed. His back was broken. He smelt fires burning in the large control room, filling with billowing smoke. The emergency fire detectors were NOT enacted.

“Computer!!!.... Fire alert!!” Hawksley shouted, giving his last breaths of air, which was no good since the computer fire suppression system was shot by the exploding conduit.

That’s when Hawksley reached for Sharpe, who was out cold. Through his analytic prosthetic implant, Leland sensed Sharpe was still alive as his heat signature showed his heart pumping, a cloud of fuzzy energy in Leland’s vision.

He was yanking a metal bollard post off Sharpe’s leg, freeing him. Hawksley used his body, his strength; damn, he was happy to be a large strapping lad. As he tugged, inch by inch sliding, Paul, along with Leland’s broken back, was closer to the control room doors. Breathing in soot and coughing as the room was now half filled with darkness, Leland used his last best effort of muscle strength to reach upward. The doorway panel had to be there. He knew the room inch by inch with his eyes closed if he had. Slapping the doorway access panel, the doors suddenly groaned, relenting a laboured slow open and releasing the room to a new fresh source of air and safety now as Hawksley collapsed with Sharpe outside the doors to the entrance of the Tomcat Operations room.

That is when Leland blacked out beside Sharpe.

As Paul came to, he could hear alarms sounding and he started coughing, the rebreather unit did little so he removed the now damaged unit, he took a moment to gather his wits then with agony he sat up, looked at his leg and saw blood "dammit!" he exclaimed, then he looked over at Leland out cold, he pulled out a scanner and scanned him, he did not know how he got this far from the destroyed computer interface conduit, then he guessed it was Leland, shifting his position ignoring the pain he pulled out his tricorder and switched its mods to Medical, it was not as efficient as a dedicated Medical one but it told him enough.

"Hmm, cracked ribs, bruised spinal column damn he must have thought his back was broken! " Paul exclaimed just then the on-duty engineers came in and looked shocked "You pair to get the Exocomps to help get this fire and damage under control," he said and both engineers nodded.

"You okay sir?" one asked.

"Do I need to answer that one crewman?" Sharpe asked angrily as pain shot up his leg.

"No Sir, we will get to this" the rating said and followed his companion.

Hawksley's consciousness faded in and out. The last sight that he managed to hold onto was the shattered remnants of the once pristine conduit, now a twisted, mangled mess of metal and cables.

And with that haunting image imprinted in his thoughts, the Engineering Officer succumbs to the darkness, surrendering to the unknown depths of unconsciousness.

Sharpe tapped his Commbadge =/\= Commander Sharpe to Medical, prep trauma teams, prepare for two injured one with spinal injuries =/\= he said as he put his tricorder away.

=/\= Affirmative Commander, teams are waiting =/\= came the response.

=/\= commencing site to site transport, Sharpe out =/\= "computer emergency site to site transport two to Main Medical, energize" he said and the transporter quickly claimed them.

- SB51 Medical -

The pair arrived in medical, "Lieutenant Hawksley has a spinal injury of some sort, I have a damaged leg" he reported as the medics got Leland up onto a bio-bed still face down, then they got him on a bio-bed "Can someone notify my wife please" he said.

- Somers/Sharpe quarters -

Alex was awake a few moments before her Commbadge sounded she looked at the clock it was around 0430 hours in the morning and Paul was not in bed with her, something had gone wrong she felt it and jumped as the badge sounded, she picked it up and activated it.

=/\= What has happened to Paul? =/\= She asked.

The voice on the other end paused =/\= This is Medical Colonel sorry to wake you up, but there has been an explosion in Engineering Bay and in the Tomcat, something exploded, injured two, Commander Sharpe and Lieutenant Hawksley, the Commander has a damaged leg the Lieutenant is in not so great shape, Commander Sharpe asked for you =/\= the Medic said.

=/\= I am on my way, Somers out =/\= she said worriedly as she got out of bed and summoned the on-duty nanny as she got hurriedly dressed and just as she was leaving the nanny showed up who took one look and nodded and entered as she left without saying a word. Alex headed to the neared turbolift and entered.

"Main Medical" she said the moment the doors closed and the lift whisked her to her requested destination, while on route she tapped her Commbadge =/\= Colonel Somers to Lieutenant Somers =/\= she said.

A moment later a sleepy Karyn woke up and activated her Commbadge =/\= What is it, Alex? You do know it is not six am, yet =/\= she said.

=/\= Sorry Sis, I need you to assemble an investigation team something exploded on the tomcat, two were injured, one was Leland, the other Paul, I need to know if there was any sabotage involved, also there is bound to be duty engineers on down there find out what you can, then when you done there come to Medical, perhaps by then Leland will be awake and we will know more =/\= Alex said.

=/\= You do know you are not security Alex =/\= Karyn moaned as she sat up.

=/\= No but I am currently the only awake ranking officer =/\= Alex rejoineded and heard her Sister sigh in resignation.

=/\= Okay, will keep you updated on my findings, Somers out =/\= Karyn said and closed the link.

Then the doors opened up on Medical and Alex shot out of the lift and into MEdical where she was doctors working on Leland and one on Paul she rushed over with a worried look on her face as she hugged him, then stepped back and slapped him.

"What the bloody hell did you think you were doing?" She asked angrily.

Paul looked at her with haunted eyes, "We have a setback on the Tomcat upgrades, it seems Leland got it worse than I did, nice to know you care" Paul said rubbing his cheek as he smiled.

Alex's anger left her, she could never stay mad at Paul so she just hugged him.

Leland gasped, breathing inward hard, getting air as he was injected with Hytropropoline. His back arched upward as he lay on his chest with a vast, loud, painful growl.

"ARrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaHHHHH!!!" He shouted from the now surgical biobed he was being ushered into the Surgical Suite.

Leland overheard the surgical doctor and nurse scanning his spine and having to prep for surgery...

Leland feeling the pain medication hitting him. His mouth starts to drool. "Lilliiiiiiiiii....." He moaned. Right now all he wanted to see, while he just got the excrutiating pain from his back numbed, was to see his beloved Wife.

"Who is that?...." The Surgical Doctor, halfway prepping the scanner to expertly transcan out the metallic pieces of shrapnel in Lelands spine. It was a medium risk surgery, but with the right Doctor, and the best of them on the Starbase 51, Leland would have a great prognosis, full recovery.

"It is Lt. Hawksley's wife. Staff Sergeant, Marine Medic, Lilliana Hawksley."

"Inform her please before we start. Her husband is about to go in to surgery." Doctor Radcliff, Head Surgeon calmly stated.

"Yes Doctor." The nurse replied. As she touched the com panel next to the bio bed. =/\= Mrs. Hawksley are you awake? =/\= The nurse stated.

- Hawksley Quarters -

Lilli was still awake, a sense that something bad had happened had woken her from a light doze =/\= Hawksley here. What’s wrong? =/\=

=/\= We have your husband in the Main Starbase Sick Bay. Leland is about to go under for surgery. Leland and Commander Sharpe were involved in a blast, working on the Tomcat. They are stable at the moment... =/\=

Lilli was out of bed in a shot. =/\= I’m on my way, Hawksley out. =/\= rushing around she quickly headed for Starbase Medical to see just what was happening with Leland.

- Starbase 51 Medical -

Rushing through the doors Lilli headed straight for the surgical suite, she was a medic so she knew just where she was going. She’d be at Leland’s side no matter what.

Sharpe was sitting up now, his injuries not so bad, Alex saw Lilli enter "Lilli, the doctors will give you more info, but there was some explosion with the systems on the Tomcat and Leland saved Paul's life, but apparently he injured his back, badly if he is going into surgery" Alex said.

Sharpe looked at Lilli "yes he is a hero and a brave man, I will make sure the Captain knows of what he did this day, his sacrifice will be acknowledged, do keep us updated on his progress Lilli please?" Sharpe said.

Lilli nodded her concern evident. “I will, thank you.”

With that Lilli rushed to her husband's side while another Medic approached and scanned him with the Medical tricorder "It seems Mr Sharpe you were lucky, you have some minor fractures in your cheekbones and some epidermal scarring from the flames, but we can soon fix that" the Medic said.

"So that explains my pain then!" He said in a dry Sarcastic wit which earned him a look from the Medic and a gentle tap from his wife "Ouch, injured here" he said chidingly looking up at his wife who smiled.

With lightness in his voice, the Medic spoke "I will get the bone regenerator, and a pain killer, then I will give you your immediate orders Mr Sharpe" the Medic said and Sharpe simply nodded.

Leland lay on the medical bed. He was still dizzy, his ears ringing loudly from the explosion. The medication had now left him limp. As the transcan surgery devices were ready, they had to clear the surgical suite.

Doctor Radcliff turned to Lilliana. “It should not be long—15 minutes. I will do a respectable job.” With that, the surgical suite door hissed, slowly closing off the suite to the rest of the Sick Bay.

Leland woke up in the step-down care of the Sick Bay. He first noticed the brilliant, blinding lights in the ward.

His eyes squinted shut, open, and then a hard shut again. He raised his hand to cover his eyes, only to find that there were no extreme shooting pains in his back. As he focused now, the bright white lights slowly began to haze away, revealing Lilliana. Leland stared forward as he lay on his right side on the biobed.

“Lil…” Leland spoke. Her face was in his sight, seated right beside him. This simple gesture had warmed Leland’s heart deeply as he stared into her face, angelic and kind, always nurturing him. Immediately, Hawksley became concerned. Whether it was the drugs in his system or something else, he felt a fear that he had caused great concern to his Wife. Leland didn’t want this for Lil as she was already stressed enough carrying their baby boy!

“Lil. Babyy…” Hawksley spoke slowly and quietly. Figuring out the words to express his concern. “It's all over now… It's all good.” He reached out his large hand to touch his Wife’s hand, her forearm, or anything he could. “The baby. Please don’t stress.” Leland expressed himself, his eyes searching Lilli's eyes.

Lilli held onto Leland’s hand, her concern was evident as she looked into his eyes. “I’ll try Imzadi, but you have a lot of healing to do, I guess that means we’ll get to spend more time together!” She wiped away a few stray tears.

Leland listened to Lilli speak. She was right. He needed time to heal and rest. “I… I feel good.” He smiled.

Lilli offered a warm smile, at least the best one she could muster. “You won’t be saying that when the pain relief wears off.” She gently brushed his hair to one side with her hand. “Recovery is going to take time, but I’ll be with you all the way, I promise!”

"I understand.." Leland seemed to enjoy the warm caress. His wife was so tender and understanding.

Having finally been given painkillers and orders Paul with help from his wife walked over to the Hawksley "How is he doing Lilli?" Alex asked.

Lilli took a deep breath as she looked towards Paul. “He has a long road of recovery ahead of him.” She held onto Leland’s hand. “He’s going to need physiotherapy and rehabilitation.”

*Nodding in understanding* "If the spinal injury was as bad as my preliminary scan indicated, it will be a tough road, remember Lilli there may come a point when he refuses to do physio, you must force him to keep at it, otherwise, he will be medically discharged and thus ending a promising career" he said and walked over to Leland.

"Get better soon Leland, we have an investigation ahead of us, one what happened with the upgrades," he said.

“Thank you Sir” Lilli offered Paul and Alex a smile.

"Sounds good, Sir. I will be prepared." Leland looked from Lilli to Sharpe. He gave his superior a salute showing his strength already. "You take care of yourself too, Sir."

Moving away supported by his Wife Paul turned to face the pair "will be seeing you around" Sharpe said as his Commbadge sounded and a voice on the other end spoke.

=/\= Commander Sharpe please report to Commander Smithson's Office, news on current events =/\= the Comms went silent Paul and Alex shared a look of worry and sighed as they left Medical.

"I don't like the sound of that, Lil." He frowned.

[OFF]

 

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