Into the Unknown Fire Part 3

Posted on 22 Jan 2018 @ 10:03pm by Captain Jasmine Somers FCapt & Captain Maia Sterling & Lieutenant Commander Alexanderia Cahill & Lieutenant Commander Remington Dodd

2,927 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: S02 Episode 3: When Realities Collide (Main Story)
Location: Tomcat/Various
Timeline: Mission 4 Day 59 to 65

[ON]

- Bridge -

Jasmine stepped out onto the bridge and looked around at the busy bridge then at Taggert in the Captain's chair she looked at the engineer "Report Lieutenant Taggert?" Somers asked.

She jumped up out of the chair as if a snapping turtle had bit her in the rear. "Captain, welcome back. We're approaching New Xindus under cloak; we will arrive in about 12.5 hours, present speed." Her long blonde hair was up in a bun, not a hair out of place, her uniform still crisp and clean, even though it had been a good while since the captain had placed her in charge on the bridge.

Nodding with a smile, "Excellent Lieutenant, please return to the aft bridge engineering station," Somers said, then she looked harder "Something else Lieutenant?" she asked.

Maia entered the bridge from the turbo lift and took her position at the science station. Sensors were active and they were getting telemetry.

"Only real thing we've come upon is a freighter, 22 life signs," Taggert reported. "It's hanging out at the edge of New Xindus's territory. Our readings are preliminary at the moment, but it looks like its engines and Comms are offline, life signs are present. Should we investigate it?"

Paul turned to face the captain from the helm and asked "Do you wish for me to Launch a few fighters to do the investigation, Captain?" as he knew that they would be quicker and faster than the ship could get there.

This was something she had not expected. "Lieutenant Jekkar, what is the tactical status around that freighter?" she asked her Chief of Security/Tactical Officer.

Looking down at his display then back up "It looks all clear Captain, but I would proceed with caution" Jekkar advised.

Nodding, "I see." She then turned to Winchester, "Yes Lieutenant, launch a flight of four fighters, they are to remain under radio silence until they get within effective scanning range of the freighter. Their mandate is to get there, get scans and as much information as possible, and get back, they are not to engage unless required to get away and will only transmit their data in burst format should trouble arise. "I want you to lead that flight Lieutenant, so take sections of the 102nd and get me information," Somers said.

"Aye Ma'am, that we will do," he responded getting up from the helm and began to head towards the turbo lift, He tapped his Commbadge, =/\= Ensign Jordan, this is Winchester, have my fighter ready to go and have Raiders 1 through 3 ready to go. =/\=

Lauren replied =/\= Copy that Lieutenant,=/\= as her voice came over the com, she continued,=/\=" the pilots are ready and waiting for your arrival sir,=/\=

Paul replied, =/\= I'm on my way, Winchester out =/\= as he stepped into the turbo lift and said Hanger deck," as the doors closed behind him, now he had a chance to see what these pilots could do.

As a relief pilot took over from Winchester she turned to K'Muss "Ensign, keep a listen out for communications from One flight of the 102nd" Somers said.

"On it." the captain said.

Nodding as she looked at Taggert, "On second thoughts Lieutenant get down to Engineering and work with Lieutenant Dodd on getting a command shuttle and troop shuttle fitted out with stealth material for our next leg of this journey, I am sure Mr Dodd would appreciate the help" Somers said to Taggert.

She gave a nod to understanding, "Aye, captain. We'll get it ready within the 12 hours." She entered the turbo lift and paused as the captain addressed her again.

As the Assistant Chief Engineer stepped into the turbo lift Jasmine turned to face her "Mr Taggert, good job on standing in on the bridge, while I was below decks," she said.

The young Lieutenant smiled, appreciating the compliment, "Anytime, captain. I like the centre seat, but it's good to get back to working with my hands below decks."

When the doors closed she tapped her Commbadge =/\= Somers to Dodd, I have sent Lieutenant Taggert back down to help you out on the shuttle project, also you have just over twelve hours to get the tasks done =/\=

=/\= Aye, ma’am. I am sure she will a great help. Materials are already replicated and tested. We will be able to start the application process soon. Shouldn’t take us the full twelve hours but we will be thorough and complete. =/\= Dodd replied.

=/\= Excellent Mr Dodd, Somers out =/\= she tapped her badge to make a dual connection =/\= Commanders Sterling and Cahill how goes the search for a way home going and how foes the allocating of food and medical supplies? There is a time limit on getting those supplies ready as we will be at our target in just over twelve hours =/\= Somers asked.

Down on the lower decks, Dr Cahill responded as she tapped her Commbadge, =/\= The relief supplies are ready to go when the green light is given. Plan to beat them in a place where they are easily found and then come back to Tomcat. Beaming them done at night will allow the shuttle to do it and return without being seen or detected Captain.=/\=

She wondered not for the first time did some of her crew have them selective hearing, this puzzled her, but still it was a stressful time =/\= Negative Doctor, the Tomcat will be too far out to use transporters, this is why there will be a troop transport shuttle kitted out for stealth, that will ferry the supplies down. So when we arrive to make sure they are taken to the shuttle bay Doctor =/\= Somers said.

=/\= Cahill replied, "Understood Captain supplies have been loaded and I am standing by to make the delivery myself. I plan to try to not make any contact with the planet inhabitants. So our presence is not discovered here in the time of space." =/\=

Suddenly a distress call came over the Comms and the Klingon fighter Squadron and the rest of Rebel Squadron were launched to aid Winchesters flight, they were currently just around six hours away from the New Xindus Sensor Perimeter, Somers had the ship drop to warp and then news came in they were on their way back with some damage.

=/\= Mayday, Mayday, Throttle has opened up and I’m coming in Hot =/\= came the shout from Winchester over the bridge Communications.

Turning to the on-duty tactical officer "Ensign Jansen de-cloak the ship" she said then turned to Barker the relief Helm Officer "Mr Barker brings us to a full stop" she added.

"YES SIR!" both said as one, the damaged fighters were brought aboard first, Somers opened a Comms channel =/\= Bridge to Doctor Cahill I want you to take a Med team down to the flight deck it seems Lieutenant Winchester has been hurt, he has called a Mayday =/\=

=/\= Cahill replied, "On it captain. =/\= Dr Cahill went to the flight deck and they were ready. They also took up a position in a place where if something exploded it would protect them. The fighter came in hot and was on fire, they let the fire suppression team do their stuff and remove the pilot. They then moved in to check on LT Winchester.

=/\= Captain his injuries are serious, I will have to remove his arm and put on an artificial one. He will live and still be able to continue as a fighter pilot along with his other duties.

=/\= Understood doctor, keep me appraised on the Lieutenants condition and such, Somers out =/\= as she closed the link she spoke aloud "cloak the ship and set heading to our destination warp six"

"Yes Captain," Barker said and turned to face forward

"Aye, aye Keptin, cloaking Wessel now," said the Russian born native earther.

"Captain we are being scanned". Maia said watching the sensor telemetry. "Scanning beam is coming from New Xindus".

Looking shocked "We are cloaked, but they probably detected our launches, the moment the fighters had launched we will cloak again and move on, so as they do not get a good read on who we are" Somers responded and the moment the fighters had exited the ship the Tomcat cloaked again.

- Counseling offices -

Iria had stepped out to stretch her legs walked down to the arboretum and back. When she walked through the door the reception desk was deserted, the other office doors were open though no one was within either. Iria shrugged and stepped into her office and was bombarded with the sounds of raised angry voices.

Iria crossed her arms and waited. Just watching how Tamara, Jorie, Samuel, and Rhett argued in raised voices hands gesturing. It went on for a good five minutes before she was noticed. Tamara did a double take and froze her mouth hanging open, Jorie turned cursed and then covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide. Samuel and Rhett turned around and blushed before they lowed their gaze to the floor.

"Whatever is going on I don't care right now but you can each give an explanation later after your help in Sickbay for the next hour." She didn't yell Iria just said it and pointed to the doorway. Each person met her gaze with a variation of embarrassed guilt. She would hear them out later. There was still work to be done for all of them, including herself.

- Sickbay -

Lauren opened a com channel and said =/\= Ensign Jordan to the Captain, report of Lieutenant Winchester,=/\= as she knew it was bad as she continued on, =/\= is that he is being prepped for surgery and is in a bad way,=/\= as she looked back at Shakram next to her.

On the bridge Jasmine was startled as her Commbadge came to life so tapping her Commbadge to make the return connection =/\= Acknowledged Ensign until he returns make sure the repair crews do their job and keep the morale up down there =/\= Somers said.

=/\=Will do captain, Jordan out=/\= replied Lauren as she knew that she had to keep the crew down on the flight crews morale up as their commander was now on the injured list and now was about to lose his arm.

- Engineering -

Below decks, Taggert got back to the Chief, having finished her tenure in the centre seat.

"Teela, good to see you again," she said with a smile. The purple ensign's tail swished, showing her happiness that she was back.

"Nikki, good to have you back," she smiled. "We've got a big job ahead. I'll let the chief explain it to you," she said, gesturing to Lt Dodd, who walked up to give her the lowdown.

"Well, that is what you look like. You have been gone from here so long I forgot what you looked like. Glad to have you back." Dodd opened. "I have a team working on the shuttle camouflage project with PO Pril overseeing it. They have replicated the material to cover the shuttles and are starting the application process. One of them is to work on getting the engines adjusted as well as compensate for the exhaust. In their testing of the material, all reports came back with flying colours, but I told them that once it is on the shuttles it may change the results. As I am glad you are back, I would feel much better if you would pop in on the team and give me your feedback along with providing them with any assistance they may need."

"Wow, that's a lot of work, Chief," she said, as she let the gears turn in her mind. "Applying stealth panels, checking for sensor profile reduction, making sure no signal reflections bounce back, verifying all the panel welds, reducing the engine subspace resonances, reducing the impulse exhaust products....we definitely have our work cut out for us."

"I know it will be lots of work, and if you feel that some extra hands would help once you check in on the team, go ahead and take a few more engineers. However, Nelson and Machado are still primary for overseeing the cloaking device so they are off limits." Dodd added.

The enlisted officer, Lauren Southern, chimed in, "Lots of work, chief. Let's get to it so we can get the heck out of this whacked-out dimension!"

- Sickbay/Bridge -

Dr Cahill left Sickbay and headed to the turbo lift. She went to the Bridge and got off the turbo lift. She went to Captain Somers and gave a report on LT Winchester.

"Captain, Lt Winchester is out of danger and is resting comfortably. I had to remove his arm and put on an artificial arm. Once he gets used to it he will be able to return to full duties to include flying fighters. You can pass along the information to the other pilots and let them know he can have visitors. I also told him he needs to see LT Walon for some care as well. He is down but that is normal after a catastrophic injury like this and will need time to adjust."

Jasmine turned to face the Doctor "Thank you for that Doctor, but I do not want you to clear him for duty until he has had sufficient rehabilitation for his loss of limb, I will leave that judgement up to you Doctor, but I am glad he is okay, we will be arriving at our destination soon so make sure all is prepared for the supplies and such for the Remnant and make sure my CAG is in top form before you release him, got it?" Somers asked.

"If he does not agree to see Walon as I asked I will order him to go. As CMO I can at my discretion order anyone to come for treatment that is necessary or to be counselled if needed. He will not fly till he does what is necessary. Also, I have had the relief supplies loaded on one shuttle when Engineering is finished doing the refit. I will go to deliver them myself. Plan to use my one security personnel to keep everything at a minimum so we can do it without making any contact if at all possible."

Looking at the Doctor with a raised eyebrow "I agree, as the ships Chief Medical Officer your responsibility is to the health an safety of the entire crew of the ship, I will make a note to mention about the counsellor when I visit him, we do have more than one counsellor on the ship. As for the relief supplies, Commander Sterling and another medic and two security officers will accompany you, as you will have to make contact with the inhabitants, but you are all to wear appropriate civilian attire for the mission, I do not want to tip them off that there is a fully armed and healthy Heavy Cruiser in the area, we also have the Dominion patrols to worry about" Somers said.

She watched the Doctor leave the bridge to return to medical to do what she had to do, suddenly she realised that she had not seen Lucy in some time, probably visiting Winchester in medical, something that she would need to do soon.

- Counseling offices -

Jorie had overheard Dr Cahill telling Winchester he would need counselling over the loss and replacement of his arm, while she and the others had been helping in Sickbay to make up for the mess and fight they had, in Iria's office. She figured letting Iria know of a possible avoidance patient was a good idea and she wanted to start off on her own apology to Iria for the scene she'd been part of earlier. She ran the chime on Iria office door.

Iria stood up from the floor where she'd finished picking up the pieces the miniature cherry blossom tree and planter it had been in. There were other plants she needed to finish picking up as well. She was shocked at the mess in her office. "Come in and mind your feet there's a mess in here." She said as she walked to the replicator to let it reclaim the bits and pieces of the plant and planter, dirt.

Jorie walked in and winced at the mess anew. "I just wanted to let you know we might have a patient that is going to avoid sessions," she said softly after the door closed behind her.

"Oh, whom is it?" Iria said softly, concerned as she faced Jorie at the doorway.

"Lt Winchester just received a pretty bad injury and needed some serious surgery to correct and needs counselling for it," Jorie said as she started to move further into the office she had helped make a mess of.

"I will check on him shortly. I can get this mess cleaned up, I want you and the rest keep helping in Sickbay for now. I will call you when I need help.' Iria didn't want anyone else in the office right then that didn't need to be...

[OFF]

Captain Jasmine Somers
Commander Officer
USS Tomcat

Commander Maia Sterling
First Officer/Chief Science Officer
USS Tomcat

Lieutenant Commander Alexanderia Cahill MD
Chief Medical Officer/ACSO
USS Tomcat

Lieutenant Solan Jekkar
Chief of Security/Tactical
USS Tomcat

Lieutenant Remington Dodd
Chief Engineer
USS Tomcat

Lt. Jg Iria Walon
Chief Counsellor
USS Tomcat

Lt. Jg Nicole Taggert
Assistant Chief Engineer
USS Tomcat

Ensign K'Muss
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Tomcat

Lieutenant JG Paul Winchester
CAG/HCO
USS Tomcat

 

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