USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202011.06 Announcement: . This is the second sim in T'Lin's story plot (though she was absent this week). Bridge: . The Penumbra had just skipped and bounced its way along the walls of a Slipstream Corridor after having received a couple of grazing shots from the strange Android's Warbird's polaron-enhanced disruptors and one powerful quantum torpedo. Dazed and dinged, they limped to an orbit around the Kyrathian Homeworld. . Capt. Zak Taylor panted in the Command Chair (still covered with an unusual seat-cover with patterns resembling crawling cockroaches). LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke gripped the edges of the Tactical console and shook his head. "That ... was not cool ... at all." . Ens. Proxy Filler, manning the Helm, announced, "I have a Standard Orbit, sir." . The Captain breathed a sigh. "Good, Filler, nice job, by the way. And ... thanks, Tabby, for helping out. Let's see what we've got." . LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris grunted, "Welcome, sir." He relaxed back into his seat at Operations and started checking their systems. After a moment, he headed over to the Science console that Ens. Jackson Carshel had smashed in his frustration. . Tabby crawled underneath the Science station. He'd seen LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry working on it earlier, but just wanted to double check. As he opened the underside of it he muttered, "Please ship, for the love of everything holy, don't fry me again." . The Artificial Intelligence known as MAX shimmered onto a nearby pedestal, though his face kept flickering in and out. His voice remained steady, however, as he reported, "I am detecting 70.14% power failure to primary system operations. I am able to reroute 22.41% of those functions through secondary subroutines." . Tabby called from under the console, "Understood, MAX. I'll see what I can do, just give me a bit."

. MstGny. Derek Hines stood at the Primary Reconnaissance Station. He reported, "We don't have any of our reconn systems working right now." Some of his screens were dark and others flickered as they tried to reboot and failed. . Zak turned towards his Tactical Officer, "Den, how's shields holding up? If that Warbird was able to track us, we'll need them." . Den shrugged. "As well as to be expected at the moment." . Zak turned again and began, "Relok ... um, T'Lin? Uh ... Carshel?" He turned and noticed the Science area was devoid of senior personnel. "Damn," he muttered, "where is everybody?" . About that time Carshel stepped from the corridor, having made his way back up from Sickbay. He flexed his hand. He'd had some cut ligaments and micro-fractures, but though Dr. Shadow K'Trevala had healed it, it was still a little tender. "So, I'm guessing you still have questions, huh?" . Zak turned and noticed Carshel approaching the Science station. "Oh, Carshel, see if we have any working sensors. We might as well try to scan the planet for the Evil Vine since we're here, but ... well, if sensors are working." . Carshel nodded, "I will try, sir, but ... my hand is still quite tender." He rubbed it as he turned to his station. . Suddenly, Tabby flinched under the Science console, banging his head. Zak flinched in sympathetic reflex to the half-Klingon's resounding head bang as Tabby barked out, "Pat's back! I can feel him!" . He was referring to LtCol. Travis Patterson, who had taken his Reconnaissance Fighter, the Cerberus, to draw off the Warbird to allow the Penumbra to escape. At almost the same moment Tabby had spoken, a small Slipstream ripple had manifested not far from the Penumbra. The Cerberus came ripping out of it, tumbling in a sort of corkscrew fashion, it's lights off, apparently without power! . The ripple was barely visible on the main viewscreen, which flickered erratically due to the low power situation.

. Tabby jumped up from under the Science console and jogged back to the Ops console. As he sat down he asked, "Shall I attempt contact, sir?" . Zak followed Tabby's run to the Ops console with his eyes, then finally realized what he'd said. "Patterson?" He turned his chair, "Den, is the Cerberus out there?" . But neither Den nor Tabby were able to respond as a staticky signal came over the comm system. Though full of static and cutting in and out it was clearly the Colonel's voice. "Pa...son to Pe...a. C... you re... me?" . Tabby responded, "Yes, Pat, I can, though your staticky. Are you okay? Where are you?" . Patterson's response was still broken up. "Har... tell with ... tumble... Star... aft... to your... nacelle..." . At the Auxiliary Medical Station, Lt. Katarina Hawke had been standing quietly. At the sound of Patterson's voice, though, she came to life, checking his vital signs through the short-range sensors. She turned and said, "I'm suggesting we beam him directly to sickbay." From the sound of her voice, and the urgency of her suggestion, it was apparent Patterson wasn't in top condition. . Tabby answered, "I'm ... not sure if we have the power. Checking now." He started assessing their situation on his Operations board. He shook his head, "Transporters currently unavailable." . Den tried to interpret what Patterson had said, "I think something about he's starboard aft of our nacelle?" . Tabby also tried to interpret. "Have to tell? With tumble ... star aft?" Suddenly he realized, "He's tumbling behind us! Captain, behind us, he's careening out of control." . Hines at the Recon Station focused their limited sensors down on the starboard aft sector, closer to the nacelles, looking for the Cerberus. After a moment he grunted, "Yep, I see him." . Den had an idea. "The shuttle's transporters are independent from ship's systems."

. Zak turned slightly. "Good idea, Den." He tapped his commbadge, "Bridge to Carter, get one of the shuttles to beam over Patterson." There was no immediate response. . Tabby asked, "MAX, how much power do we have to spare?" But the AI didn't respond. . Kat was pacing at her station. Finally she asked, "Captain, permission go to Sickbay?" She wanted to give Patterson a piece of her mind for putting himself at risk like that, but only after helping to take care of whatever damage he'd done to himself ... or maybe while doing that. . Zak turned and nodded to the Assistant Chief Medical Officer, "Go, Kat." . Zak tapped his commbadge again, "Bridge to Carter, respond please." Again, there was no response. . Den nodded, "I got it, heading to the shuttle bay, Captain." . The siblings stepped towards the Turbolift but Zak pointed at the corridor exit. "You'll have to use the gangways, Den. Turbolifts are offline. It's a long haul." . "Guess I better hurry," Den said as they exited. . Hines turned as Den stepped towards the exit and took over the Tactical station. As he did he said, "The Cerberus is in pretty rough shape ... I don't think I've ever seen it adrift before." . Tabby called Patterson, "I can try to use Grabby Hands to stop you from spinning. Hang on a sec." . But the Captain asked, "Do we have power for Grabby Hands?" . Tabby checked, a slight frown on his face, "Barely enough, sir." . But the computer gave more information as it said, "Estimated power levels are not sufficient for Grabby Hands. Tractor beam capacity will only hold for 1.4 seconds." . Tabby grunted, "I can stop his spinning, but ... not sure if I can do much else." . Zak nodded, "Give it a shot, but don't burn up all our batteries. Bevin hasn't rebooted our warp core generators." He turned towards Tactical, "Hines, any sign of that Warbird?" . Hines shook his head, "It's long outside of our limited sensors, Cap."

. Zak grimaced slightly then said, "Hines, stand down from Red Alert. Make it Yellow due to our power levels. At least the damn crazy Android isn't chasing Patterson here!" . Hines nodded and downgraded the alert, "Yellow alert, sir." . Tabby muttered, "Once again, I told you so." Then he asked, "MAX, where can I pull power from?" . MAX's face flicked over to the Master Systems Display as he said, "Processing ...." . A call came from Sickbay. Dr. K'Trevala had been monitoring things and decided to chime in. "Tabby, pull it from Sickbay." . Tabby replied, "Are you sure, Shadow?" . The doctor answered, "All our tools are powered for right now, we're running our emergency generator. Should give you enough to get Patterson on board." . Tabby nodded, "Pulling power now." . Shadow responded, "Understood, will be waiting for him." . Filler was still holding a death grip on the flight sticks at Helm. Finally he mumbled, "Um, sir, we don't have any ... uh ... autopilot settings right now, and ... um ... holding a stable orbit is, uh, not easy." . Tabby glanced at him. "Filler, do you need me to assist? I have flown this ship a few times. I'm no Carter, but I might be better off then how you are right now." . Zak stood from the Command Chair and walked over to stand beside Ops. He gestured at the board, "Kill the lights in the hydroponics bays and waste processing, we can turn all that back on once we've rebooted." . Tabby looked up at him. "Understood sir." He toggled a few switches then said, "Shall I let you have some fun at my station while I fly this beast?" . Zak smiled at his Chief of Operations. "It's been years since I actually ran an Ops station, Commander. Thanks for offering, but, no, you do your job, I'd be lost with the new operating systems." . Tabby smirked. "You do realize I'll be right next you, Captain, I can guide you." . Zak patted Tabby's shoulder. "Manage Operations, Commander."

. As the Captain said this, Filler had been watching the two. He flexed his fingers, rotated his neck, and his face set in a firm line. He would fight on. . Tabby turned his attention back to his own thing. He called Patterson back, "Just hold on, Pat, getting the power to help." . Patterson's voice came back, still somewhat broken up. "Any time... out here... with no air... suit only... so much O2." . Zak called the Colonel, "We're working a plan, Colonel. Sit tight." He gave a smirk as he knew how tight that flight harness could be. . MAX's face reappeared on a pedestal near the Operations console and addressed the Captain. "We could depressurize and shut down the flight deck, deactivate waste processing, and bypass the nacelles on power circulation. We will lose warp capability until power is transferred back to the nacelles, but it will bring power to the remainder of the ship back up above 62%." . Tabby smiled, "I like that idea! Have it be so, MAX ... uh ... if the Captain agrees, even though ... I am a senior officer these days." . Zak just smiled and moved back to the Command Chair. MAX transferred power from the nacelles and said, "Warp nacelles are power drained. Auxiliary systems are coming back online." . As the Captain sat down he asked, "Did we ever hear back from Carter?" He realized they hadn't and said, "Computer, locate Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter." . The computer trilled in response and then said, "Lieutenant Commander Carter is in Turbolift 5." . Zak turned his chair, "Hines ... where is TL 5? Why didn't Carter respond?"

. Tabby said, "Captain, this might sound weird to your ears, but I need to know how my chair buddy is. But," he paused and then explained, "I plan on contacting a certain someone in his native language." He opened a commlink, "Tabby to Khal'Gon," and then began speaking in his native Klingon. "nuqneH Carter? 'ej ghaH Daghov'a'? DISvam vISuq." What he asked was, "How is Carter? Have you found him? I am worried about him." . Hines glanced up at Tabby, then over to the Captain, then back to the Tactical board. He said, "Turbolift 5 is reading Deck 8, but there is an emergency shutdown in place." . Zak looked at Hines, "He didn't make it to the Flight Deck?" He tapped his commbadge, "Bridge to Flight Deck. Is Carter with you?" . A voice of one of the crewmen working the Flight Deck answered, "No, sir. We thought he was on the Bridge." . Zak responded, "Acknowledged. I think he was stuck in the Turbolifts when we started bouncing." He tapped his commbadge again, "Bridge to Sickbay. Carter may be in trouble in the Turbolift near the Flight Deck." . Suddenly the lights brightened noticeably and the computer announced, "Emergency Transporters 1 and 2 are re-established. Main deflector back online. Auxiliary power restored." . Zak smiled and tapped his commbadge again. "Good work, Bevin! Keep it up!" . Tabby added, "Thanks, hon! I love you!" . Bevin responded in her Brogue, "Lave ye, ailso, mo croidhe!" . Tabby asked, "Should I try to get Patterson via tractor beam?" . At almost the same moment another call came over the comms, this one from Den. "Initiating transport." . Zak shook his head at Tabby. "Stand by, Tabby. Den's going to transport Patterson off. See if you can grab the Cerberus though, I'd hate to lose that little ship." . "Yeah, yeah," Tabby said, "I got it, Cap. Tractor in three ... two ... one ...," and he grabbed the tiny ship and hauled it towards the Hangar Bay.

. With power restored, the autopilot became available and Filler was finally able to relax as they established a stable Standard Orbit around the Kyrathian Homeworld. Cerberus: . LtCol. Patterson and his tough little fighter, the Cerberus, had taken a heck of a beating from the huge modified Romulan Warbird. Patterson was fighting the controls to maintain the Slipstream Corridor to get back to the Penumbra. Thankfully, the small, streamlined craft was fairly easy to hold course. . "AEGIS," Patterson addressed the AI in the small ship, "emergency shutdown. Cut life support systems and purge oxygen in the cabin. Stabilize the singularity. I'll take it from here." . He needed to purge the oxygen because there was a fire in the aft cargo area of the ship. And the last blast from the quantum torpedo that had started that fire had also set the tiny singularity core out of balance again. . Finally the Cerberus came ripping out of Slipstream near the Kyrathian Homeworld, tumbling in a sort of corkscrew maneuver with no power. . Strapped into the cockpit in his flight harness and with no power to his ship, Patterson hoped the Penumbra was within range of his combat armor's communications system. He called out, "Patterson to Penumbra, can you read me?" . He heard the familiar voice of LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris, the Chief of Operations of the Penumbra. The signal was filled with static and broken up. "Yes, I ... staticky ... you okay? ... are you?" . Patterson grunted at the restraints of his harness and chair. They were locked in place, giving him very limited mobility. He called Tabby again, "Hard to tell with this tumble. Starboard side, aft of your starboard nacelle."

. There was several long moments of silence. Finally Tabby's voice came back over the broken comms, "... try ... Grabby ... stop ... spinning. Hang ... sec." . It was longer than a second. Longer than several seconds. Eventually Tabby called again, "Just hold ... getting ... power ... help." . Patterson replied, "Any time, I'm just out here with no air, relying on my suit only, with only so much O2." . This time it was the Captain's voice that came back over the staticky comms, "... working ... plan, Col- ... tight." . Patterson knew the Captain had just told him to "sit tight", and he could just see the smug smirk on the Captain's face as Patterson struggled with the locked tight flight harness of his chair. . Another minute or so passed as the Cerberus continued to tumble slowly in space. Then the Penumbra reached out with a tractor beam that grabbed the tiny ship for only a second. The tumble stopped but the tractor beam flickered off. . Patterson began noticing frost building on the windows and computer screens. He conserved his breath by not speaking and consciously slowing his heart rate and breathing. He heard the voice of LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke then, "Stand ... transport." . And then he dematerialized from the cockpit of the Cerberus. Flight Deck: . GnySgt. Khal'Gon, the Klingon-Nausicaan hybrid, and ChfWrnt. Tony Sandoval were all set in Delta One on the Flight Deck. They had scrambled to launch against the Warbird, but never got the chance. And, no-one had yet told them to stand down, so, there they sat. . Khal'Gon glanced at the pilot, "Wasn't Carter heading down here, Sandy? He sure is taking a long time." . Sandoval just grunted and shrugged. Khal'Gon unbuckled his harness and stood up. "Something's wrong," he said, "Carter should've been here by now." He slipped out of the Delta Flyer and headed for the Turbolift doors.

. When he got there, he noticed the door wouldn't open and all the lights were out. He opened the emergency override hatch and started working the manual pneumatic pump. Once the doors were open far enough he stuck his head in and noticed the Turbolift was lodged about a deck and a half above him, and the stabilizers in the shaft were obviously damaged. "Damn it!" he cursed. . His commbadge chirped. It was LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris at Operations on the Bridge. "Tabby to Khal'Gon," and then he said in Klingon. "nuqneH Carter? 'ej ghaH Daghov'a'? DISvam vISuq." . Khal'Gon spoke Klingon, of course, and knew that Tabby had asked, "How is Carter? Have you found him? I am worried about him." But Khal'Gon didn't answer because he'd already entered the Turbolift shaft and started climbing up to the Lift. . Around that time, LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke finally made it to the Flight Deck, emerging from an emergency hatch to a Jefferies Tube. He'd hardly started walking across the Deck when the alarm came on, "Warning! Depressurization in progress. Thirty seconds to depressurization." . Den cursed, "Well, crap!" He knew he'd better get into a shuttle quick, because, it would suck to be turned inside out! He broke into a run, hustling towards one of the larger runabouts. . He got to the runabout and pressed the hatch access code, but when the door began opening it was just too slow. He frantically pushed the button, as if that would make the door open faster. "Open, you damn door!"

. As soon as there was at least enough room, Den jumped in and hit the console to close it. He could already hear the last hisses of air leaving the Flight Deck. "Okay then," he muttered to himself. He took a breath to calm himself, then opened a commlink, "Patterson, I'm in, stand by for transport." He moved to a console and logged into the transporter. . A comm signal chirp came through and a technician in the overwatch room above the Flight Deck behind reinforced windows answered heard the Captain's voice, "Bridge to Flight Deck. Is Carter with you?" . "No, sir," he responded. "We thought he was on the Bridge." . "Acknowledged," the Captain said, "I think he was stuck in the Turbolifts when we started bouncing." . Khal'Gon reached the floor of the Turbolift and pressed on the emergency access plate. It was heavy, but Khal'Gon was a powerfully built Klingon-Nausicaan hybrid Marine. He shoved harder and the door gave as a weight rolled aside. He climbed in to find Carter unconscious and with several obviously broken bones and dark purple bruises. The Chief of Flight Operations had apparently been inside the Turbolift when they'd started skipping along the Slipstream Corridor's walls, and been flung from one wall to another (and possibly even ceiling to floor), several times before they'd come out. . Khal'Gon looked up as the lights suddenly flickered as auxiliary power was restored. But this Turbolift was going nowhere with the damage to the stabilizers and shaft. He tapped his commbadge, "Medical emergency. Site-to-site transport Gunny Khal'Gon and LtCmdr. Carter from TL 5 to Sickbay." . In the runabout, Den opened the commlink, said, "Initiating transport," and activated its internal transporter. Patterson materialized and quickly popped the seam on his combat armor's helmet and took a slow, deep breath. Then he said, "About damn time!"

. Den stared at Patterson a moment. He'd thought he was beaming him directly to Sickbay, but maybe the runabout couldn't handle site-to-site transport. "Hang on," he said as he set the transporter to beam from the shuttle to Sickbay. He set it to delay long enough for him to step up beside Patterson and the two of them dematerialized from the runabout and reappeared in Sickbay. Sickbay: . In Sickbay, Dr. Shadow K'Trevala was hard at work treating the many people that had been injured by the rattling the ship had taken in their bouncing passage through the Slipstream Corridor. . One of those injured was LtCmdr. Relok, the Chief Science Officer, who had suffered a severe concussion and was lying on a biobed semiconscious. He moaned, "Yes, Father, I found the Fang. Are you proud of me?" . Shadow made his way to his Shayana. The word was from Shadow's language and meant something like "Wing-Brother" or "Oath-Brother". Shadow had used it to refer to the unique bond that had developed between Shadow and Relok after Relok had performed a mind-meld between the two of them and a powerful incorporeal spirit that had possessed Shadow. . The doctor was a gifted empathic Healer who could absorb injuries and illnesses, but he chose to treat Relok using traditional Vulcan techniques instead. Relok stared at him with glassy eyes and said,"Shayana? How are you ...? Where ...?" He sat up, but his head swam so he laid back down. . Shadow placed a hand on Relok's chest and said, "Yes, Shayana I'm here. Lay back. You have a concussion and you need to rest." . With Shadow's mere presence, Relok's mind began to clear. He began again, "We were ...," suddenly his eyes flew wide and he exclaimed, "The Rift! It collapsed!" . "I know," Shadow tried to soothe him. "We're heading back to the Kyrathian homeworld." . Relok tried to sit up again, more slowly this time. "But ... the Rift is our only way home! We have to ... go back."

. Shadow pushed him back down, gently, and said, "Not with that Romulan Warbird there. We'll have to find another way." . Relok was already feeling much better. He pressed, "I've got to get back to the Bridge. I have to figure out a way to restore the Rift!" . Shadow had been listening in to activity from the Bridge. He heard Tabby struggling to gain power for Grabby Hands or transporters. He tapped his commbadge. "Tabby, pull it from Sickbay." . Tabby replied, "Are you sure, Shadow?" . The doctor answered, "All our tools are powered for right now, we're running our emergency generator. Should give you enough to get Patterson on board." . Tabby nodded, "Pulling power now." . Shadow responded, "Understood, will be waiting for him." . Relok smiled weakly at his Shayana and acquiesced. "OK, doc, I understand." Slowly, he threw his legs over and stood up, wobbling only a little as he moved to a nearby terminal. . Relok tried to log in to the Bridge and the sensor feed but couldn't get any data, probably due to power issues. Instead, he decided to pull up the recording of the collapse of the Rift and study it. . About that time, Lt. Katarina Hawke entered Sickbay. She announced, "Patterson incoming, soon as Den gets to the transporters on the shuttle. Turbolifts aren't working. Den was supposed to beam Patterson to Sickbay."

. She was referring to LtCol. Travis Patterson, who had taken the Cerberus to lure the Warbird off the Penumbra's escape, and to her brother, LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke, Chief of Security and Tactical Operations, who had gone to the Flight Deck to use a runabout's transporter to rescue Patterson from the powerless Cerberus since they couldn't get power to the Penumbra's transporters. . A couple of minutes later, they received a call from the Captain. "Bridge to Sickbay. Carter may be in trouble in the Turbolift near the Flight Deck." LtCmdr. Jason Carter was the Chief of Flight Operations and had been headed to the Flight Deck when the Penumbra started bouncing along the walls of the Slipstream Corridor. He'd been thrown around inside the Turbolift during the passage. . Shadow could sense Kat's worry. He said, "Don't worry about it. When we get him here, I'll take care of him too. You go see about Patterson, and give him 15 cc's of Tri-Ox, that should help his breathing." . Suddenly, they heard the sound of a transporter shimmer and Patterson and Den materialized in Sickbay. Den nodded at his sister and the Chief Medical Officer, "Um ... hi. Ya might want to check him and all." He gestured to Patterson standing in scorched and scarred Marine Combat Armor, grimy helmet in hand. . And just as suddenly, GnySgt. Khal'Gon and Carter materialized in Sickbay. Relok glanced over and muttered, "Oh, join the party!" . Kat glared at Patterson, then at Den, then at Carter, then back to Patterson. "I'll deal with you later." She spun on her heel and moved to check Carter, who looked pretty rough. . Quickly Kat had Carter placed on Biobed 4 and assessed his injuries. She reported, "He's got broken bones, cuts, and a concussion." She and Shadow quickly started to work. . Den glanced around and found a dermal regenerator. His palms had taken some rub burns from sliding down eight flights of ladders, so he used the device on himself.

. Patterson scanned the room. He noticed Carter was seriously injured, and Relok had a golfball-sized knot in the center of his forehead. He exclaimed, "What in the Nine Hells happened while I was drawing attention?" . Relok gazed at him with a calm expression. "Ever play pinball?" Ladders & Jeffries Tubes: . After leaving the Bridge, LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke and his sister, Lt. Katarina Hawke, rushed down a corridor and found the gangway ladders. Den opened the hatch and looked down. "Oh," he said, "this is fun." . Kat shook her head at her brother and said, "Right, well, you need to book it to get him to Sickbay so we can fix that dumbass up." She started onto the ladder to climb down. . Den smirked, "Actually, I got it. You'll need to move, though, so I can get past you. I know a faster way down." He knew he had to get all the way down to Deck 8 while she would only be going to Deck 5. . Kat stepped back out and moved to the side and motioned Den to lead. She wasn't going to argue when Patterson needed his ass kicked. . Den moved around her and glanced up at her. "Okay, so I just have to count the velocity right, to slow down, and gauge distance to the right deck." He took hold of the sides of the ladder instead of the cross bars and let go with his feet and started to slide down. That wasn't going to be fun on his palms later. . Kat's eyes widened as she watched him take off down the ladder, then she smirked, realizing what he was doing. "Oh," she said, "Now this is going to be fun!" She grinned, forgetting for a moment that she was planning to kick Patterson's ass verbally, and followed her brother's example with an uncontainable squeal of delight. . Den knew his stop was well past hers, and that she should know when she needed to start slowing down. Kat did know, but she was having fun and nearly missed her stop! Quickly she grabbed the bar to stop herself and looked down to see her brother keep going.

. Kat moved and opened the hatch to hurry to Sickbay. Not long after, Den slowed his descent and moved to open the hatch to the Flight Deck.