Fighting to Survive Part 2

Posted on Fri Feb 2nd, 2018 @ 3:17am by Ka'see 'Cassie' Anderson (*) & Jasper Offermans & Johnathen Anderson Jr

Mission: Ishimura
Location: USS Ishimura, Deck 10
Timeline: T Minus 20 minutes to the end
1187 words - 2.4 OF Standard Post Measure

ON::

As the group walked into the small transporter room a voice yelled. "Stand down!" It was the Captain yelling at two officers who were about to attack the incoming group. The Captain looked haggard and just as blooded as the rest of the crew. The willowy man was bent over the transport console working on something with a desperate look in his eyes.

CO looks like crap Hal thought as he entered the room.

Like those two officers who almost attacked his newly-formed band of survivors, Andreus Malko entered the transporter room phaser-first. At the Captain's orders and the relaxing postures around him, Malko lowered his phaser too. Holding it to his side, his eyes turned to the mechanics of the transporter system, hoping to find them in working order.

"Andreus...Cassie... I need your help" The Captain said relieved seeing the man and then seeing the other young science technician that he forgot to use there ranks or surnames. It wasn't the time or place to worry about that. Sebastian Deauvuex didn't look like his normal calm self at all, hundreds of men and women under his command were lying drained and dead all over his ship. He knew that it was risky out in space but he had never heard of anything like this happening before. He needed to find a way to save what remained of his crew, the small pocket of people still alive in the very room he stood.

John couldn't believe the state of the Captain! The man had always seemed like a rock. Nothing ever seemed to get under his skin. Now, he looked...almost...terrified. Of course, the current situation would terrify even the staunchest warrior. "Captain," he began, "Is there anything I can do to help? We just left the hangerdeck. The Cloud thing was there, consuming everyone in the shuttlebay. I..I think we are all that's left."

"Jonathan..." Sebastian was surprised by the mixture of the people that had survived and made it there. They were certain a ragtag bunch all human apart from the small hybrid woman who was stood off to the side. "I think I have a way to save us," He said his science brain working away.

"How so, Sir?" The young helmsman asked as he made sure everyone got inside the transporter room. The sooner they were away from this nightmare, the better.

Jasper made his way over to the controls with a look a mixture of frustration and concentration , "you mind sharing it Captain sir," he questioned as he began working on the console. The man glanced over at Sebastian, "are you thinking of trapping us in a transporter loop?"

The Captain looked at the small group and nodded. "I can store you in the pattern buffers. Starfleet Command will get our distress beacon and come looking." He didn't doubt that for a second, they always came looking for ships in distress. They just needed time, he could give the young crew that, they deserved that they were all still at the beginning of there careers.

"You?" Cassie demanded looking at the man she had known for three years.

"Just set the timer sir and you can be stored with the rest of us," Jasper offered letting his brow furrowed in concern. Beads a sweat had formed on his forehead and trickled down his left temple. There was a minor scratch on his left forearm he had gotten when hastily making a COM link in a Jefferies tube to initiate a repair. Although the fabric of his uniform had not been torn a tiny line of red could still be seen through his tunic.

Sebastian shook his head and pointed at the blinking console. "It was damaged when the Engineers were killed. It is my duty as Captain to go down with the ship." He said sadly thinking of all the crew who had died in the process of just getting the small ragtag team to where they were.

Jasper looked back at the controls and shook his head, "I can...." He stopped and let out a sigh, "no time, the best I can do is set up the data path to be stored in the science labs, there isn't enough time to fix the local memory banks."

Hal shrugged his shoulders. All this transporter loop stuff didn't really seem possible to him. Then again, he was just a SO, engineering was out of his line.

"You can't fix this." Sebastian wasn't a fool. He had known deep down his trip away from Earth and known space was a one-way trip, he had already said his goodbyes. He looked at Malko and nodded at him, the man was now the senior officer in charge of the group no matter what happened.

Johnathen half listened, as he was helping people up onto the transporter pad. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He started to smell that horribly now-familiar smell. Looking over to the Captain, he whispered harshly, "Sir! The cloud! It's getting close! I can smell it!!!"

"I'm almost done," Jasper commented. He glanced towards the doorway as if the cloud needed to use it to enter then headed towards the platform suddenly realizing he was limping slightly, "we have to get this done before it gets here."

The Captain sighed. The younger officer just wasn't getting it, the Captain wasn't coming along and time had run out. He would do his duty and go down with the ship and save the crew he could. Sebastian raised the phaser that he was still clutching and pointed it at Jasper. "I am sorry Jasper but you will forgive me one day." The man said stunning the man to the floor. He looked at the people gathered daring any of them to argue but no one did, he supposed they knew it was the only option. "Take him," he ordered the Science Officers between Cassie and Andreus they got the Operations Officer on to the platform.

"but the...," Jasper protested as he was dragged though he didn't resist. Things should work, he knew that though not as well as he would have liked. He straightened up and stood on one of the glowing disks dutifully glancing around at the others doing his best to remain calm.

The old Earth song We gotta get out of this place flashed through Hals' head as he heard the news. Needless to say, he was getting rather anxious. The transporter loop appealed to him more and more as the seconds passed.

Standing on the rearmost pad, Johnathen watched helplessly, hoping that the trick worked. He really did not want to die. Especially not the way his friends and shipmates had.


OFF::

Ensign Cassie McAvoy
Science Officer - Biology
USS Ishimura
(PNPC Gregnol)

Lieutenant JG Jasper Offermans
Operations Officer
USS Ishimura

Lieutenant Andreus Malko
Chief Science Officer
USS Ishimura
(PNPC Theroh)

Ensign Hal Detan
Seceurity Officer
USS Ishimura

Ensign Johnathen Anderson Jr.
Junior Helmsman
USS Ishimura
(PNPC Robertson)