The dangers of silence part three
Posted on Tue Mar 12th, 2019 @ 2:09am by Crewman Recruit Kerja Aanyo & Major Charlena Dilucca & Captain Xalanth & Commander Thorrin & Lieutenant Kimoni Jexen & Lieutenant JG T'para & Flight Lieutenant Sandy "Ghost" Shannon
2,929 words; about a 15 minute read
Mission:
[ USS Shanghai] S1E8 Light of the past.
Location: Planet/Ship bridge
Timeline: MD001 14:40
It was obvious that the captain was in a bad mood as he paced across the bridge. Every piece of him was telling him to be down there. His mate, the mother of his children his other piece was down there in danger and he was stuck up here. He barely heard the comms woman announce the launch of the two shuttles with marines to try and withdraw the away team or the fact that the second team had successfully returned with the crescent shuttle.
He closed his eyes running his hand down his face. Breath in breath out. " Cadet Aanyo i need a list of every ship that's left the colony, i need that list sent to starfleet command and i need someone up the chain of command to explain why the alert hadn't gone off when collecting artifacts were found." He said his command returning in an instant. His mate knew what she was doing.
"Yes, sir," Kerja said as took a vacant work station to get the requested information to relay to starfleet command.
" Commander Thorrin check on the crescent shuttle see if engineering can pull it's data logs." He said to his first officer
"Aye sir..." From the XO's console Thorrin sent a message to engineering. He smiled as the news that was returned was good. "Sir Engineering will have the data logs within the hour. They are removing them and then they have to decrypt them."
" Captain Shannon have your men managed to ID the incoming ship?" He asked into the open channel.
"Yes we have and unfortunately it is Crescent. Your orders captain?", Sandy said quickly. She was not happy with the sight of the Crescent ship knowing the capabilities of it and out here in open space.
Xalanth yellow eyes blinked as the data showed up on the bridge screen. " I don't believe it. It's one of the ones we fought before. I recognize the torpedo hit I put in its side. Looks like they've only had a chance to do minor repairs. Keep your fighters at a safe distance and monitor Shannon. We don't know if their ships have any fighter capabilities."
"Understood captain", Sandy said. Switching com frequencies
to keep the fighters tied in with the bridge for direct communication, " Ghost leader to Ghost Squads 3 and 4 keep your distance. Monitor for any and all movement indicating fighters. At first sign of fighter movement from boggie turn for home and form fighter defense Alpha 85-Zulu", she stated and from her groups came the acknowledging mic clicks.
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Down on the planet, the away team had found a location to hold up in. T'para was now looking over the Orion as the security and Major had begun dong there best to fortify the door which was the only way in.
" Well, all the data in my scanner show she hasn't been assimilated into the collective. Her brainwaves appear normal with no signs of the hive mind. " She said before she pulled up her own phaser as she joined the others all aiming their weapons towards the door.
"Since our return has been delayed, can you tell me what is going here? You mentioned something about a collective of light?" Charlie inquired. She rather knew what they were facing than operating in the dark.
" I'll do my best, but even when i was a part of it i didn't find out much. The collective of light was a psychic collective that existed 20000 years ago. Unlike the borg they assimilated by using tricks, manipulation and just plain lies to get people to willingly join them. They nearly wiped out most advanced civilizations back then when they got into a war with the collective of dark in which they ended up wiping each other out. "
" A few of there artifacts did survive some of which the USS Strangelove ended up finding on mantis prime. One of them being a necklace like this." She said pointing to the Orions necklace now clipped to her belt. " To make a story short we activated it and started assimilating the away team including me. Then they tried to take the ship and beat the collective of dark who had also been activated as well. Thankfully members of the crew were able to find out a way to pull people out of the collectives and we were able to retake the ship. We were even able to find out the leader of the two collectives had been a couple before they were assimilated and we were able to use the love they once held for each other to get them to shut down the collectives. Thisbe the light overseer had said she'd shut down any remaining collective tech that was lying around in the galaxy."
The hybrid pushed as a bang smashed into the door. " Though given our current situation she may have lied. Though this doesn't match their tactics. " She said as a clawed fist smashed through the door. It was immediately hit by a few phaser shots causing it to scream before it withdrew.
Charlie looked around. "Well, that's bad. Could you tell if the artifact was activated or not?" She was in thought a moment. "What if the Crescent done something with the artifacts? Like they did with the switch device?"
" Maybe, but the federation hasn't been able to get any of this stuff to work. Besides this doesn't look like it's one. The necklace are meant to play a psychic song that only those who's brain waves can take the overseers consensus can hear." the hybrid said as she fired her phaser as another appendage punched through the door. This one was a mass of tentacles hair and insect legs and the scream it made as it was hit sounded like an avian species.
"That's curious," Charlie said as she heard the scream. "Doctor, can you tell something about the species, or do you think these are species native to this planet?"
" According to the colonial reports, nothing had survived the mass extinction event on land. The only life they found was bacteria, some fish that had survived in the city's underwater reservoirs and some life int he planets ocean which is four hundred miles away. " T'para calmly replied as the banging on the door stopped. The hybrids eyes were on her scanner, but it didn't look good.
" Looks like there pulling back to try and find a way around. ETA on the evac?" T'para asked into her coms.
" Two munites out. We're having to be careful those things are trying to jump onto the shuttles. Some of them have wings. Captain Shannon can you keep them off us." Came the shuttle pilots gruff voice.
"Oh hell! Ghost Lead to Shuttle, we"ll ne right there", she said
"Ghost Leader to Ghost squadron 1, break break, 6 and full burn to planet, follow me!", she barked and Sandy and six of her fighters turned and flew full throttle for the planet.
About a minute later Sandy and her group broke through the atmosphere into what could only be dedcribed as a hell hole. Locating the shuttle quickly she brought her pilots down and laid down cover fire with the pulse cannons, scattering what ever they were, making them retreat for cover. Ghost 2's six fighters came in escorting the reinforcements and without any hinderance. It was sureal for sure, to see 6 fighters flying like they were fighting a WWII aerial battle. It was Sandy's love of history and the learning of its battles that had given her the brains to teach her own pilots the same maneuvers. Who would have guessed that here in the 24th century, 20th century air combat techniques would work, but they did.
Charlie took a deep breath. "Right, that's our cue. We have to head back to the shuttle, which is the rendez vous point. We can't stay here either." She tapped her badge. "Ghost lead, when you're done, can you give cover fire to clear our path. We're...." she looked on her scanner compass. "5 clicks from the command center."
"Charlie, Ghost Lead, understood. We will make staffing runs just ahead of you. Keep your heads down...Ghost Lead out", Sandy said. "Ok group standard straffing run on the ground clearing a path for our people. Watch what you fire at, we got friendlies there", she said and banked left and headed for the rendevous spot.
T'para nodded as she followed the team extending the medical shield of her armor as they ran thought he formerly empty corridors. The things were everywhere seemingly coming from every nook and cranny. Her phaser ejected another power pack which caused the hybrid to reach for another. Only to find her belt was empty of spare power packs. " I'm out." She called still keeping pace with the team.
As one of the officers tossed her another power cell something caught the hybrid's eyes. One of the creatures that had jumped at the group was now lying on the floor it's body steaming from the phaser hits. Amount the appendages sprouting from it's chest was the remanents of what was clearly the uniform of the vulcan science academy.
Suddenly what the creatures became very very clear. " Major these things are likely the colonists." She called out as they approached the extraction point.
Kimoni knelt and lined up her next shot, the experiences of past hosts taking over. She watched her target's head loll to one side as it fell.
"That would explain a lot." She said as she reached into her science kit and grabbed a hypo spray. She slammed an empty vial home and took a blood sample from the creature she'd just taken down.
"Something tells me we don't have much time and... their is the possiblity that this was caused by an airborn pathogen
so it'd be best if we quarantined ourselves, at least until we know we're not infected with anything." She added before placing the hypo back into her kit before lining up another shot.
T'para could feel her heart pounding inside her chest as they moved. She could see multiple of the beasts staggering back up only minutes after having been struck with the heaviest phaser stun. She could feel the power draining from her rifle with every shot until she heard the click which showed it being out of power. Thankfully the bright lights from the shuttles were overhead using there heavier phasers to keep the now tide of tentacles, arms, legs and body's back.
One descended opening it's rear ramp to allow the team in whilst the two onboard security officers provided covering fire. Now down to her hand phaser the hybrid kept firing as the team one by one made it onto the shuttle. Down to just her, Dilucca and Jexen the three of them formed a semi-circle as the horse continued to overwhelm them.
A slight movement out of the corner of the hybrids eye as wheeled around. Among the horde of random body parts stood a lone figure. It still had a distinctively female shape and it it's pitch black hands it held a silver metallic sphere. " " Look..." She began before a silver blast fired from the sphere smashing right into the armor clad doctor.
Charlie grabbed T'Para before she could fall. She turned to Kimoni. "Get on board! Now!" She shouted. As she picked up the Vulcan and hurried for the shuttle to get on board. Once on board. "Lieutenant.." She called to Kimoni as she dropped on a bench still holding T'Para. She was panting heavily. She looked outside through the front as she saw the shuttle ascending. She tapped her badge. "Captain, we made it on board. But the doctor..." She fell silent as she looked to Kimoni.
Kimoni fired almost wildly into the crowd as Charlie got T'Para onto the shuttle, she looked at the figure with the silver sphere. She wanted to get a scan of that sphere but she knew she didn't have the time. Shaking her head she set her Phaser to overload and tossed it towards the female and turned, running towards the Shuttle. Her hand slammed the door controls as soon as she was onboard.
"I do believe we've overstayed out welcome here." She said as the door closed.
T'para had felt pain before. She'd given birth once before so she thought she knew what pain could be. The voices and sounds of the shuttle seemed dull and muffled as her own voice screamed through the comms channel as her very being seemed to shift, squirm, melt and reform. All while she was still wide awake and feeling everything. The back of her armor and front of her helmet exploded as appendages that hadn't been there an hour before forces themselves through the armor sending broken electronics and metal flying across the shuttle.
The pain continued as her armor bent and ruptured around her waist and feet as three appendages burst through the armor and her feet broke through her boots.
Just as she thought the pain would never end it stopped and her body felt as if it had returned to normal. Breathing in heavily the hybrid pushed herself up from the floor as she stood up. She felt groggy and what she saw in the reflection made her jaw drop.
Her head now sprouted two sets of purple horns along with her blue eyes becoming a bright purple. At her back and her waist were now two sets of wings with the top ones being larger than the waist ones. A tail sprouted just below her waist wings and her feet had become pointed sharp and purple.
" Well, that's different." She said looking around at the away team who had backed away with two of the guards pointing phasers at her.
Suddenly wished she'd kept her Phaser, Kimoni stepped back and pulled out her tricorder. "T'Para?" She asked, Running a scan as she slowly stepped back towards T'Para. She held out a hand as she scanned the Doctor. "How are you feeling?"
Meanwhile Charlie was standing between the doctor and the guards. "Do not fire! That's an order. It's still the doctor. And we are the Shanghai crew, we do not leave our own behind, even if they are compromised. Hold your weapons aimed. On stun! Do not fire unless I tell you to!"
" It's okay everyone I'm still me. Everything feels different and wrong, but it's not hurting. I think that thing I was hit with must have been a dna resequencer only one far more advanced than anything we've encountered. " the doctor replied keeping her hands still.
Charlie slowly walked up to T'Para. She believed her of course. "Everyone, lower your weapon!" She then turned to Kimoni. "Lieutenant?"
Kimoni turned to face Charlie, a look of concern on her face. "Best as I can tell without a full science lab, it would seem she's correct. T'Para's DNA has been modified beyond anything I've seen before, although i'm not sure how she's been able to keep her own personality, given the people we've just met i'd say that's not normal." She replied.
"T'Para, I'd like to take a blood sample, if that's alright with you."
"Of course just be careful I don't know where my veins are anymore." The doctor replied as she pulled part of her now broken armour of her arm.. " As for me still being me maybe it was the armor I was wearing prevent me from getting a full hit from that thing? "She added.
Greatly relieved to see the shuttle take off from the surface, "Ghost leader to Charlie, How did your people fair?", she asked. "It looked like there was a mess of I don't know what you call them but it was weird and bad".
"Charlie to Ghost leader, we are all alright. We just have an officer infected. Lieutenant Jexen is taking blood samples now." She hoped everyone on the bridge was listening in. "Have sickbay prepare the quarantine chamber. The team will have to be quarantined. "
Xalanth had been listening to the reports as they came in. He was gripping the captain's chair so hard you could hear the material started to break. Even still he breathed in and remained professional. " Very good major. Please ensure everyone goes directly to quarantine. That includes the pilots that entered the atmosphere. Until we can confirm what caused this we can't take any chances. I'll have the flight crew do a full decontamination of the fighters and shuttles. "
"Understood, captain, I will see to it that everyone on the away teams gets quarantined." She wasn't looking forward to it, but she was the last person not to follow protocol.
Sandy had already figured out that the fearsome 12 would have to be decontaminated. "Ghost Lead to Ghost 12, guys we got quarentine protocols in place. All fighters and pilots that enteted the atmosphere must decontaminate their ships and ne uarentined. This is a direct order. Anyone disobeying this will be punished or worse", she stated. Again the acknowledging radio clicks came back. Satisfied, "Ghost Leader to Captain, Ghost Squadron understands quarentine protocols. Bringing them home sir, Ghost Lead out", Sandy said and began the landing of her fighters.
END
Commander Xalanth
CO USS Shanghai
Lieutenant Commander Thorrin
XO USS Shanghai
Major Charlena Dilucca
Chief Security/Tactical officer and Second Officer
USS Shanghai
Lieutenant Kimoni Jexen
Chief Science Officer
USS Shanghai
Air Captain Sandy "Ghost" Shannon
CAG
USS Shanghai
Lieutenant JG T'Para
CMO USS Shanghai
Officer Cadet Kerja Aanyo
Yeoman
USS Shanghai
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