SIM LOG NARRATIVE - SD 201907.05

Announcements

The Penumbra welcomes back Lt. Aaron Riedinger, our Assistant Chief Engineer from a long Leave of Absence. ¡El mustachio regresa!

Also, Lt. Cmdr. Dean Spearhose has begun his Extended Leave of Absence. For our story, he has been temporarily reassigned as the Commander of the Janosian Resistance and Rebuilding Effort.

Bridge

The Penumbra remains at Red Alert even though we are far from any active hostilities on the far side of the planet Janidor from the Kyrathian infestation. All systems are at normal operating conditions.

The Captain had concluded his efforts with Krigeth's beetle-like people and they have agreed to lend assistance by having some of their younger members "slide Nishara" (their strange way of moving nearly instantaneously between locations) and "spread their scent" (their pheromones). We have to wait and see whether this will repel the Kyrathians the way it did the Aslans.

Capt. Zak Taylor was returning to the Bridge, and as he arrived, Lt. Cmdr. Relok jumped to his feet, calling out, "Captain on the Bridge!"

Zak waved at his Vulcan Science Officer, "Relax, Commander. I just want to have a seat, been a whirlwind of activity for me."

Relok moved over to the Executive Officer's seat as he said, "It's been quiet up here for a change, sir."

The Ensign who was filling it at Ops, Ens. Filler, called, "Uh, Captain, we're getting a call from some ship whose name I can't pronounce ...," he trailed off.

Zak looked up, "Is it . Aslan, maybe?"

Filler replied, "Maybe, sir . I think so. Want it on the big screen?"

Zak rubbed his temple and muttered, "How can I be missing Tabby already?"

Relok raised an eyebrow. "It is a bit soon, sir. I could stand for a little longer."

Zak cleared his throat, stood, and said, "Yes, Ensign, on screen."

The human-sized cockroach of an Aslan Commander appeared on screen. It click-thunk-buzzed and the Universal Translator said, "We have destroyed the last Colony Ship in orbit, but we lost three of our own ships. It was a hard fought but glorious battle!" . Zak lowered his gaze a moment then replied, "That's bittersweet news, Commander. I'm happy that you've won the day, but troubled by the losses it took. Thank you for your service."

Relok muttered, "Now if we can just get them off the planet and keep them from bringing more."

A few minutes later, a call came from Lt. Col. Patterson on the Cerberus, "Cerberus to Penumbra. Situation report."

Filler answered, "Oh, hey, Colonel. We're fine here, how are you?"

Zak cut his eyes at Filler and said, "That's not exactly a 'situation report', Ensign."

Filler shrugged. "It reported the situation, Captain, right?"

Patterson's voice came back over the comms, "Ensign Filler?" There was a pause before the Colonel continued, "Captain, Marine Recon has been scouring the waters for the past hour now and haven't found signs of Kyrathian activity. Delta Flight confirmed that the Kyrathians seem to be withdrawing back to the cities and have stopped their advance. Not sure what you did, sir, but they also claim to have spotted 'beetle-men' popping on and off of sensors."

Zak replied, "Good news, I think Krigeth's people have caught their attention. Are you coming aboard?"

Patterson answered, "That would depend, sir ... are the chatterboxes on the Bridge currently?"

Zak grinned. "Both Tabeshk and Carter are on an away mission. It's just me and Relok and ... Filler. Mostly quiet."

Patterson chuckled, "Then I'll be aboard shortly. Cerberus out."

A couple more minutes passed and then the comm system chirped, followed by Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter's voice. "Away Team to Penumbra, medical emergency! Ensign Kalawai'a has just inhaled a large amount of methane gas and is showing respiratory distress. Requesting emergency beam-out for all but myself. I'm inside the shuttle."

A second later T'Lin's voice came through, "Penumbra, we need evac, NOW!"

Filler turned to look at the Captain, "Uh, sir, Carter is calling for emergency evac ..."

Zak snapped back at him, "Hell, Ensign, don't tell me about it! Do it!"

"Aye, sir!" he said as he engaged the transporter. The Resource Team (minus Carter) were instantly beamed to Sickbay.

The Captain tapped his commbadge. "Shadow," he called Dr. K'Trevala in Sickbay, "did you get our Away Team?"

Shadow's voice came back, "Aye, sir, and getting them in the tank now."

A moment later Carter's voice came back over the comms, "FedEx to Penumbra ... can we get a full maintenance detail to Shuttlebay One, sir?"

Zak glanced at Relok. "Now what?" He answered the comm, "What'd you do to the shuttle, Carter?"

Carter's voice answered, "Sir ... you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Best you see for yourself in a few minutes. Carter out."

FOB, Cerberus:

Lt. Col. Travis Patterson was on the ground at the Forward Operations Base in the staging area, prepping the men for their search-and-destroy mission. Once he'd given them their instructions he tapped his commbadge, "Godfather to Havoc. Situation report."

Mst. Gunny Hines, designated as "Havoc", answered, "Havoc here. We've begun our movement to Phase Line Alpha. ETA 2 minutes. No signs of Kyrathian activity yet."

Patterson nodded, then glanced around a moment. He saw everything was under control and suddenly he realized his place was no longer on the ground with the men, but back on the ship. He was no longer a "grunt" but a senior officer, heck, he was the Executive Officer. He had to leave things in the capable hands of Lt. Cmdr. Spearhorse and Mst. Gunny Hines. He boarded the Cerberus and lifted off, climbing back into orbit.

Once in orbit, he opened the comm system, "Cerberus to Penumbra. Situation report."

It was Ensign Filler who answered, "Oh, hey, Colonel. We're fine here, how are you?"

Patterson blinked a moment before responding, "Ensign Filler?" He shook his head then continued, "Captain, Marine Recon has been scouring the waters for the past hour now and haven't found signs of Kyrathian activity. Delta Flight confirmed that the Kyrathians seem to be withdrawing back to the cities and have stopped their advance. Not sure what you did, sir, but they also claim to have spotted 'beetle-men' popping on and off of sensors."

Zak replied, "Good news, I think Krigeth's people have caught their attention. Are you coming aboard?"

Patterson answered, "That would depend, sir ... are the chatterboxes on the Bridge currently?"

Zak grinned. "Both Tabeshk and Carter are on an away mission. It's just me and Relok and ... Filler. Mostly quiet."

Patterson chuckled, "Then I'll be aboard shortly. Cerberus out."

A few minutes later and the Cerberus had landed within the refitted "Flight Hangar" and Patterson was striding quickly towards a Turbolift headed for the Bridge.

Main Engineering:

Down in Main Engineering, Lt. Cmdr. Bevin MacArdry was working to make sure the foul blue "cotton candy" they had removed from Nacelle 3 was all cleared out and it was "sparkling clean".

Lt. Aaron Riedinger approached her, "Hey, Jefa, I'm back! I finished fighting those damn bugs!" He smirked, referring to a nasty illness he'd been suffering the last several days. "What was going on down here?"

Bevin paused her scan long enough to give Aaron a hug, then spoke in her heavy Brogue, "Jist haed same fan clainin oot the Nambir thray Naisail o same stuff tha aippaired tae be cawttin caindy."

Aaron asked, "Candy?" Then in his best "Yoda" voice he said, "Very delicious, that sounds!"

Bevin replied, "Och, Aye, iffin ait wernae sae tawxic!"

Aaron grimaced, "There always has to be a negative consequence, is not it?" He caressed his mustache, "Do you need help, Jefa?"

Bevin nodded and gestured towards a console, "Aye, kin ye chaik tha ithir Naisails tae mak shuir tha we dinna hae a priblim wi thaim? Ye dinna naid tae gae autside inlaiss thay naid clainin."

Aaron logged into the console, saying, "Do not worry, we have wonderful little computers that can scan them quietly ... personally, I'm not a fan of the EVAs!" He began a Level 3 diagnostic.

After a few minutes Aaron reported, "Well, the subspace displacement field looks between normal parameters, that's cool. I'll still checking, though."

Bevin acknowledged, "Tapadh leibh, Thaink ye, Aaron," and continued her own scan.

Aaron caressed his mustache again while he waited. Finally, the diagnostic concluded and Aaron said, "Hmm, that's weird." He logged out, saying, "I will be back ASAP," and ran off in search of something.

Bevin called after him, "Ailraight, Aaron, be keerfil!"

Aaron called out just before the doors slid shut behind him, "Do not worry about me, I'm already dead!"

It was several minutes later when he returned, breathing heavy from running and waving a PADD in his hand, "Although ... oh man, that was fast! Well, although warp nacelles are attached to the ship with extremely strong housings, they are shored up by structural integrity fields. I think there is an algorithm that triggers when you make attacks or sharp maneuvers against the nacelle to protect those fields ... and it seems that it is not working properly!"

He returned to his console and brought up another diagnostic routine, this one specifically on the protection algorithm for the nacelles. He muttered, "Now, if God is good .."

While Aaron worked, Bevin noticed a call for emergency power, and tapped a few buttons on the main control console to transfer a few more gigawatts from the engines.

Finally, Aaron looked up as the diagnosis finished. He stroked his mustache as he spoke. "Not cool. It seems that structural protection algorithms on the nacelles are failing; they are not activating when they should, causing vulnerabilities in the integrity and shape of hulls and bulkheads against the extreme stresses, AKA bugs against our shields near the nacelles."

Resource Team:

The Captain had sent an Away Team out to determine if there were necessary metal and mineral resources to be taken from a mountainous area near the center of the Safe Zone island. Due to the fact that the Penumbra was holding geosynchronous orbit over Krigeth's island half-way around the planet, it was determined they would take one of their cargo runabouts, the Federation Express (or "FedEx" for short). Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter would pilot the shuttle and be in command of the Away Team while Lt. JG Tabeshk Tibris, the Operations Officer, would prioritize the resources needed; Lt. JG T'Lin, the Science Officer, would perform analysis on the scans to determine levels of purity; and Ens. Lea Kalawai'a, the Engineering Officer, would determine methods of access and extraction.

As the shuttle landed, the team dispersed from it and began scanning the area. Lea was sticking close to T'Lin and Tabeshk since this was her first Away Mission. Carter called out, "T'Lin, what've we located?" . Carter's voice startled Lea and she jumped, "Oh! Didn't see you there, sir."

Tabeshk was the one who answered, "Mountain, sir. Nothing but rock."

T'Lin replied, "Carter, we have only just landed."

They wandered a moment, each of them scanning with tricorders and sweeping the area. From orbit, Lt. Cmdr. Relok had determined the structure of the mountain should lend itself to having the materials Tabeshk had requested, but he couldn't get enough details to know exactly where they would be, hence the need for a Resource Team to go down and take an on-the-ground survey.

Eventually, Tabeshk wrinkled his nose. "Ugh, what is that smell?"

Lea gave a wry smile, "It's what my dad would call 'The Great Outdoors'. Don't understand what's so great about it."

Carter sniffed a bit and pinched his nose. "Sulfur?"

T'Lin also sniffed and responded, "That would most likely be it . could be ...," she trailed off.

Tabeshk pointed out, "Hey, we need sulfur. I just wish it didn't smell like rotten eggs."

T'Lin commented, "Well, Tabeshk, that would be unreasonable, since that is what sulfur smells like."

Carter was scanning with his own tricorder, a highly advanced science department scanner (how he'd acquired such an advanced instrument has not yet been determined). He said, "I'm picking up trace levels of methane gas in the caves off to the east. Might have magnesium deposits there." Magnesium was also on their list of desired materials.

Lea said, "Well, let's not split up yet." But, T'Lin moved off anyway, apparently not hearing the suggestion. Tabeshk wandered in the same general direction as T'Lin. Lea was studying her tricorder and thinking the others were with her, and continued in the direction she had been going, not realizing it was she who was wandering off from the group.

Tabeshk mused as he wandered, staring at his own tricorder, "You know, T'Lin, the order my father followed, we followed those who bent traditions . a female warrior bends tradition."

T'Lin paused and faced Tabeshk a moment as she answered, "My tribe has only ever had one male ruler, and he was thrown out quite quickly."

Tabeshk quickly added, "Not that female warriors didn't exist . it's just not common according to Klingons."

Carter completed his scan and straightened, calling out, "All right. T'Lin, Tabeshk, there's some deuterium alloy deeper in the caves towards those methane pockets. See if you can find some and tag it for transport. Kalawai'a, there's sulfur hexaflouride pockets emanating from these sulfur nodes. If we can refine those gases, it'll help stabilize our nacelles and help prevent any further clogs ... right? The heavier gas of the hexaflouride should theoretically keep any debris from free-floating in the coils ... theoretically speaking ...," he trailed off.

Lea shrugged, "Should work . theoretically, of course."

T'Lin nodded at Carter, "Understood," and turned towards the caves he'd indicated. They reeked of sulfur and methane. She gestured at Tabeshk, "Very well, Tabeshk." She adjusted her gear and waited as Tabeshk did the same.

Carter added, "Oh, and T'Lin, five minute exposure, maximum. Don't need to be getting any other sick crewmembers. Get in, tag it, get out, all right?"

Lea commented, "We've got gas masks, right? We could just ask them to beam us down a couple rebreathers, sir."

Carter apparently dismissed Lea's suggestion as he said, "It shouldn't be more than a couple minutes to go in and place down a transporter tag, and the levels weren't in severe ranges. Just be safe. If you can't actually touch it ... just get the tag close. We can sort through everything back on the ship." He turned to Lea, "We've got the more difficult job, honestly. We have to capture a vapor."

Lea muttered, "Isn't 'like catching smoke' supposed to describe something impossible?"

Carter smirked, "I've done experiments where we 'poured' gases. We've got capsules with one-way valves for a reason, right? Find a vein, and press the capsule to it for a few seconds. We can replicate and refine when we're back at the ship. Just need to get a few canisters."

Lea nudged him with an elbow, "Let's check out those sulfur deposits, huh?" They wandered off a ways. Feeling edgy, Lea pulled her phaser and commented, "Do you know how to make this thing fire without igniting the sulfur? I don't want to get us blown up by firing this thing if we're ambushed."

Carter moved off a short ways, taking a knee beside a larger vein of material. "Sulfur hexaflouride isn't inherently combustible on its own. If you mix it with phosphate, though ... pretty big explosion. Slow burn, though."

Lea mused, "Hmm . let's hope it doesn't come to that." She kneeled down herself beside a deposit and prepared a capsule. As it filled, she turned the valve, causing the gas to condense inside the clear tube.

Meanwhile, T'Lin and Tabeshk entered a nearby cave, aiming to get close to sources of minerals and tag them. But as they entered, T'Lin's scans indicated a potential problem. She tapped her commbadge, "Carter, the source is surrounded by various minerals, it will make extraction difficult. We may very well have to resort to manual mining." Suddenly, she stopped, listening to a small noise from inside the cave that her Vulcan hearing had picked up. She gestured towards her ears and whispered, "Tabeshk?"

The half-Romulan, half-Klingon had also heard something and responded with a whispered, "Yeah, just enough. Growling?"

T'Lin whispered, "Tabeshk, out, now!" She grabbed her spear, activating it to expand to its full length.

Tabeshk bristled but kept his voice at a whisper, "Oh, heck no." He reached for his batleth across his back. "That's where I draw the line, T'Lin. You may be a warrior but you don't seriously believe I'm helpless!"

T'Lin checked her tricorder then tapped her commbadge again, speaking softly, "Carter, detecting one possible life sign inside the cave, growling at us, but the minerals could be manipulating my scans."

As she finished that report she returned her attention to Tabeshk, continuing their whispered "discussion". "I did not assume so, Tabeshk. I am saying to back out of the cave slowly."

Tabeshk retorted, still struggling to keep his voice at a whisper, "And do what? Leave you here to take all the glory? Pfft, I'll pass."

Carter called back, "T'Lin, withdraw back to our position immediately. Leave a transporter tag at your current location."

T'Lin responded, "Understoo-," she cut off as the sounds of scraping and clacks against the stone interrupted.

Tabeshk tensed suddenly, "What was that?"

T'Lin urged her companion, "Tabeshk, we must leave."

The half-Klingon grumbled, "Fine." He put away his batleth and started backing out, placing a hand on his daq'tagh instead.

T'Lin dropped a transporter tag at her feet as they backed away. Suddenly, a large shadow moved in the darkness at the back of the cave.

Lea glanced at Carter, "Everything all right over there?"

Carter nodded curtly, "Finish up with the canisters. I gotta check on the other two. They think they found something. Stay in contact." He turned and took a few steps towards the caves, but didn't want to leave line-of-sight of Lea.

Lea nodded with a tense, "Gotcha," and continued to extract the resources they'd come for. She switched canisters and moved to the next closest deposit.

Carter reached the cave to see T'Lin and Tabeshk edging out, T'Lin with her spear extended and Tabeshk with a hand on his daq'tagh. He immediately drew his Type 2 Phaser - the only one of that type the Away Team had brought, "What is it?"

T'Lin hissed, "Slowly, Carter, move slowly." She nodded toward the cave, "I believe this is their cave."

From her somewhat more distant vantage point, Lea noticed Carter drawing his phaser, and drew her own Type 1 Phaser - the only one of that type the Team had brought (since T'Lin and Tabeshk had preferred their own hand-to-hand weapons).

Carter pulled his tricorder and scanned again, "Methane gas, right? What else was down there?"

Tabeshk wrinkled his nose again, "Sulfur, Carter, lots of sulfur."

T'Lin answered, "I am not entirely sure."

Lea completed her sample and put the canisters away, heading over to join the rest of the group near the cave.

T'Lin gestured as Lea arrived, "Slowly . back . away." The Ensign does so, her backpack heavy with canisters and her phaser drawn and set to stun.

Suddenly, a loud roar erupts from deep in the cave and a huge gush of methane bellows from within. Carter dived for the shuttle, ducking behind one of its nacelles. T'Lin cried out, "Go, people!"

Tabeshk barked out, "Just what the hell is in that, a dragon or something?"

But Lea was caught in the methane gust and started coughing heavily. The Vulcan and half-Klingon were stouter than the Human and were not as badly affected, and Carter was some distance away at the shuttle. She began to stumble towards the shuttle, finding it difficult to breathe.

From his safe vantage, Carter called, "Back to the shuttle, people. Now!"

T'Lin shouted, "Go!" and ran, backwards, towards the shuttle, her spear still pointed towards the cave.

Tabeshk noticed Lea in distress. "Lea, don't breathe it in! I'll be there in a sec!" As he reached her, he grabbed for her and Lea put an arm over his shoulder, moving with him towards the shuttle, her legs beginning to drag.

Carter saw the situation deteriorating. He tapped his commbadge, "Away Team to Penumbra, medical emergency! Ensign Kalawai'a has just inhaled a large amount of methane gas and is showing respiratory distress. Requesting emergency beam-out for all but myself. I'm inside the shuttle."

There was another roar and suddenly the methane ignited! A column of fire began racing out of the cave towards the Away Team!

Tabeshk tossed Lea over his shoulder, "Hold on!" he took off at a sprint for the shuttle.

Lea coughed, "I'd ask (cough) how you're carrying me (cough), but the ears (cough) and the forehead tell me (cough) all I need to know!"

Tabeshk grunted, "Oh, shut up, Lea!" but he chuckled in spite of himself.

T'Lin tapped her commbadge, "Penumbra, we need evac, NOW!" She turned and ran for the shuttle, tapping her badge again to change the channel, "Shadow, prep the med bay. Ensign Kalawai'a inhaled methane gas."

Shadow's reply came back, "Understood! The hyperbaric chamber is standing by."

Lea struggled to add, "Yeah, I'm . I've got . the .," and then she slipped into unconsciousness as the three of them were beamed directly to Sickbay.

As the others were caught in the transporter beam, Carter ducked inside the shuttle, hitting the button to close the hatch and calling out, "Computer, shields!" He felt the shuttle rock from the sudden burst of methane gas and the fireball that had just blasted into its sides. Luckily, the shields had engaged in time.

"Christ!" he exclaimed and then he climbed into the pilot's seat and began emergency liftoff procedures. He grumbled, "C'mon you fat piece of .."

As he cycled through lift off, a twenty-foot long reptilian creature with three eyes, six legs, and huge teeth came rushing out of the cave towards the shuttle. He finished the cycle and kicked in full impulse power while charging the phaser banks. "Open wide, you big ugly friggin' fire-breathing komodo!" he snarled as he fired phasers down the lizard's throat.

The gigantic lizard exploded, spraying body parts all over the FedEx as the shuttle launched itself skyward, climbing quickly towards the Penumbra. Carter instinctively covered his face as the gore splattered the shuttle, then realized he was inside the shuttle. He hit the comm button, "FedEx to Penumbra ... can we get a full maintenance detail to Shuttlebay One, sir?"

The Captain's voice came back, "What'd you do to the shuttle, Carter?"

Carter heaved a sigh as he answered, "Sir ... you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Best you see for yourself in a few minutes. Carter out."

Sickbay:

Dr. Shadow Wind K'Trevala, the Penumbra's Assistant Chief Medical Officer, was working in Sickbay, checking on the injured Janosian and using his innate empathic healing talent to further the growth of the replicated skin grafts used to repair the burns he'd suffered.

As he took a break to recover his energy he heard a call from Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter and the Resource Team down on the planet. "Away Team to Penumbra, medical emergency! Ensign Kalawai'a has just inhaled a large amount of methane gas and is showing respiratory distress. Requesting emergency beam-out for all but myself. I'm inside the shuttle."

A second later T'Lin's voice came through, "Penumbra, we need evac, NOW!" She paused only briefly before adding, "Shadow, prep the med bay. Ensign Kalawai'a inhaled methane gas."

Shadow tapped his commbadge. "Understood! The hyperbaric chamber is standing by." He quickly pressed several buttons on the chamber to get it powered up and ready to receive his patient.

Ens. Lea Kalawai'a's voice, weak and raspy, added, "Yeah, I'm . I've got . the .," and then she slipped into unconsciousness.

A mere second or two later, all of the Resource Team except for Carter (who had to bring the FedEx shuttle back from the surface) was beamed into Sickbay.

As they rematerialized, T'Lin glanced at Tabeshk, "Grab her legs. We'll lift her into the chamber." She grabbed Lea under her shoulders as Tabeshk grabbed her legs.

The Captain called from the Bridge, "Shadow, did you get our Away Team?"

Shadow replied, "Aye, sir, and getting them in the tank now."

T'Lin made eye contact with Tabeshk and said, "Three, two, one, lift!" And together they hauled Lea's body up to the hyperbaric tank and Shadow literally crawled in with her and sealed it. Shadow read the stats from the monitor, "O2 stats are nearly 100% in the tank at 10 atmospheres, driving the methane out of her body and blood."

Lea's breathing began to stabilize, though she remained unconscious.

Tabeshk watched helplessly a moment then said, "I need to get back to my station on the bridge. I have a funny feeling that people miss me and can't do their jobs right. Am I clear?"

Shadow hardly lifted his gaze from Lea as he said, "Git, Tabby, they probably need you up there."

T'Lin was scurrying around the medical bay, helping in any way she could without actually getting in the way. She turned her head to Tabeshk and waved at her, "Go, Tabeshk, tell Relok I will be up shortly."

Tabeshk nodded, "Yes, ma'am, sir." He turned and hurried out of Sickbay to the Turbolift.

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