USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202111.12
The Penumbra had rendezvoused with the first half of Delta Flight. The Assault Team that had taken the Breen Scout Ship were sent to Sickbay to be cleared before being returned to duty.
They had originally announced they'd come away with a Prisoner of War, the Breen Officer that had been left in command of the Scout Ship when the Thot had transferred to Galex's yacht, but unfortunately, that Breen was found to be dead shortly after they'd beamed to Delta One.
Hines had suffered an electrical shock from some sort of "booby trap" on that Officer's suit, and had been undergoing atrial fibrillation (afib) when he and Kyle beamed over to Delta Two, but thanks to the internal bio-regulators of the Marine's Combat Armor, he had stabilized before they exited the Flyer on the Hangar Deck. He, along with the other Away Team members, would have to be evaluated by the Medical Staff before being released.
Back at the uninhabited planet where they'd left Delta Bravo watching Galex and Ka'Gun, the time for the Thot's "meeting" with the female Cardassian was rapidly running out. The Commodore had given the Flyers instructions that if they broke up, that two of them would tail Galex and the other two follow Ka'Gun, but Relok, as Acting XO, had mentioned, "Commodore, you're spreading us pretty thin, sir."
Zak explained, "We have to find answers around here somewhere, and there's just too many moving parts right now."
Cdre. Zak Taylor turned to his Acting XO, Cmdr. Relok, and said, "Commander, you have the Bridge, I'm heading down to Sickbay to see this Breen and talk to the Colonel."
Relok nodded, "Acknowledged, sir. Shall we set course to return to Galex?"
LtCmdr. Jason Carter at the Helm said, "Course laid in already. Awaiting orders to confirm."
Zak nodded, "Yeah, Carter, take us back." He strode towards the Turbolift doors as Relok moved to the Command Chair.
At the Tactical Station, LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke studied his board and muttered, "Let's see ...."
After a few moments, Relok asked, "Tabby, Carter, any word from Delta Bravo?"
LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris responded first, "No, sir."
Carter said, "Not yet, at least. Shall I contact them?"
Relok answered, "Send them the message we're returning."
Tabby answered, "All right, I'll send the message."
Once the internal communications channel to Delta Bravo was open, Carter exchanged a few soft words, then said, "Nothing from Bravo as of yet that we don't already know." He glanced at his navigation display and reported, "Rendezvous with Galex and Delta Bravo in 22 minutes at maximum warp."
Relok then asked, "How are we on the time limit Galex had set? Seems we're running close."
Carter just nodded and said, "Yeah, clock's running out."
Then Den suggested, "What if we do this, Relok: play into the trap. We know it is one. Just play stupid."
Relok turned and eyed Den. "I don't think that would be much of a stretch right now."
Den gave only the slightest smirk at Relok's comment and continued, "They won't think we know it and aren't ready. We'll need to keep on the system levels they'd be looking for. So just on stand-by not actually off."
Then Carter asked, "What about that Cardassian woman? What's the story with her? We never did figure that out."
Den gave a slight shrug, "Not sure. I could always find out. We have her DNA, prints, retinal scans. They should bring up something in the database ... hopefully. At least ... something anyway to work off of."
But then a call came in from Delta Five, the leader of Delta Bravo's four Flyers, "Delta Five to Penumbra. Our time is about up. I think they're about to break up. Do we still split up to follow?"
Carter, as the Chief of Flight Operations, responded to Delta Bravo, "Affirmative. You and Six stay with Galex. Seven and Eight pursue the Corsaire. We'll rendezvous shortly, 15 minutes out."
Den was still thinking about their tactical strategy. He let out a sharp expletive and said, "I know what we can do. There's a hitch though." He paused, then explained, "If I can get on both of the ships, after we've taken over, regardless of the treatment at the moment, I can use my tubules to extract all the information into my cortical node, and then upload it into our computer." He was saying that he could use his Borg implants to download data from their computer and then upload it to the Penumbra.
Relok listened to Den's idea, then said, "There is a flaw in your logic, Commander. You're undergoing treatment for Borg-induced hallucinations. I'm not sure your tubules are reliable."
Den answered, "According to the Doctor, the only thing that's affected is my link to my sister, Commander."
Suddenly, Den's commbadge chirped with a call from LtCmdr. T'Lin who was working in Sickbay, "Den, where did you place your nanites? I wish to see if they can revive the Breen brain."
Den tapped his commbadge and answered, "Um ... where did I ... OH! They're in confined stasis, Storage Locker 23 in Science Lab 3."
T'Lin's voice came back, "I am not sure they can be trusted, but it is worth a try."
Den said, "Should be fine, they were extracted before this infection. You can probably just have Kat reprogram them for your purpose, or I can, but ... I'm working on a theory at the mom-," He paused unexpectedly, then spat out, "Crap!" and quickly ran off the Bridge. Apparently he was still suffering from the gastro-intestinal distress from the drug cocktail Dr. Shadow K'Trevala and T'Lin had worked up to treat their hallucinations.
In the pause, Carter announced, "Five minutes to the rendezvous, Commander."
After a few moments, Den finally returned, a bit flushed, and resumed his conversation with T'Lin as though it hadn't been so rudely interrupted, "T'Lin, they were isolated. Should be fine."
T'Lin responded, "True enough, but that does not necessarily mean they are not infected. Thank you."
Den responded, "You're welcome."
At the Primary Science Station, Lt. Jackson Carshel sat quietly, until his commbadge chirped. T'Lin was calling him now, "Carshel, I need you to pick up Den's nanites for me please. They are in Stasis Storage Locker 23 in Lab 3."
Carshel turned to Relok and said, "I just got a request from T'Lin. I need to go to Lab 3 to get ... something ... and go to Sickbay."
Relok nodded at him, "Acknowledged, Lieutenant."
As he headed to the Turbolift, Carshel tapped his commbadge, "T'Lin, on my way now." As the doors of the Turbolift closed he adjusted his uniform. For some reason he wanted to look prim and proper when he got to Sickbay.
Den picked up his previous conversation, fleshing out his idea. "We could always test me first. Isolate a portion of our core on one of the shuttles, so IF it's not fixed, we'll know without infecting the ship."
But Carter pointed out, "Not sure our systems would be a good idea to test them on, considering what happened to you when you tried it on the Bridge awhile back."
Den frowned, "I know, we're not exactly liked. I've made sure to not do that anymore, since, yes, that incident messed up my arm!" He paused, and then said, "Shuttle Three is completely independent from our systems. It, and I, should be okay, Commander."
The Artificial Intelligence known as MAX piped in, his holographic face appearing simultaneously on several monitors around the Bridge, "There is also no Breen vessel to test this on anymore, since the Scout self-destructed."
At nearly the same moment, Relok commented, "If we hadn't lost that Breen Scout Ship, we could have tested them there!"
A signal came from Delta Bravo. Carter announced, "Incoming message," then transferred it to the main viewer.
The Warrant Officer in command of Delta Bravo on Delta Five appeared on screen. "We're detecting movement near the airlock of the two ships. I think they're returning that Cardassian and about to separate."
Den grumbled, "Hmm ... okay, that messes with our timeline."
The closed the signal while they considered their options. Den offered, "We could pop right in on top of them. Hit them with a tractor beam. I can disable their engines."
But even while he was suggesting it, a call came over the comms from Patterson, "Patterson to the Bridge. Send orders to Delta Bravo to capture the Cardassian female and rendezvous with us. All stop until then."
Tabby answered, "Understood, Patterson."
Relok glanced at Carter, "Send it, Carter."
But Tabby frowned and announced, "Sending now."
Relok smirked, "Or Tabby."
Tabby stuck out his tongue at Relok. He liked handling communications, even though orders and formations of Delta Flight fell under Carter as Chief of Flight Operations.
But, strangely, several seconds passed before Carter received the acknowledgement of the orders. Kidnapping a Cardassian when supposedly the Cardassians and the Federation were friendly would undoubtedly cause trouble. But, eventually they acknowledged.
At Galex and Ka'Gun's two ships, docked belly-to-belly, with four cloaked Delta Flyers keeping them company, Delta Five maneuvered into position and with careful timing, managed to catch a transporter lock on the Cardassian female as she passed between Galex's sensor-screened yacht and Ka'Gun's Corsaire. He beamed the Cardassian aboard the Flyer and all four quickly jumped to maximum warp headed to rendezvous with the Penumbra.
Den sent a comm signal to Delta Bravo, "Delta Five, update at your earlies convenience, please."
Carter checked the flight status readings on Delta Bravo and reported, "I've got 9 life-signs: 8 Starfleet, 1 Cardassian Female, all aboard Deltas 5-8 ... and they are enroute to our position now."
Tabby fake-squealed, "Oooh! Sounds fun! We have a visitor! How exciting!"
Relok nodded at Carter's report, then tapped his commbadge and called the Commodore and the Colonel, "Sirs, Delta Five has our new passenger and is en route to rendezvous."
The team of Marines that had assaulted the Breen Scout Ship were arriving in Sickbay. All except SgtMaj. Derek Hines were essentially unharmed, and even Hines, who'd been shocked by some kind of "booby trap" on the Breen Officer's biosuit, was walking in on his own power, though Cpl. Homer Kyle was giving him assistance.
The body of the Breen Officer had also been brought to Sickbay to have an autopsy done. Ordinarily this would be done by the Chief Medical Officer, but Dr. Shadow K'Trevala was taking a much-needed break in his quarters. The Assistant Chief, LtCmdr. Katarina Hawke, would be expected to take care of it, but she was still feeling a little "green around the gills" due to the side-effects of the drug cocktail she and her brother, LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke, had been given to treat the hallucinations caused by their Borg implants. As she stared at the Breen's body she flushed and covered her mouth with one hand, then ran towards the Sickbay lavatory. LtCmdr. T'Lin, Assistant Chief of Sciences, stepped up to do the autopsy, calmly watching Kat as she ran away then slipping on gloves and goggles and stepping up to the corpse.
Hines groaned as he dragged himself onto a biobed with Kyle's help, "Urgh ... crap!" he exclaimed.
MstSgt. Khal'Gon, the huge half-Nausicaan, half-Klingon Marine stepped in behind Patterson, Kyle, and Hines. He grinned at his superior, "Tough as nails, huh, Hines?"
SSgt. Will Davies stepped in behind them and asked, "How is he?"
Hines grumbled, "I've been through worse injuries, but that ... certainly did a number on my muscles and all."
Kat returned, wiping her mouth with a damp cloth. She avoided the autopsy table and instead went to check on the living patients. As she checked over Hines, the Commodore stepped through the Sickbay doors. He said, "Kat? How're you feeling?"
She glanced up at him as she reached for a medical tricorder. "As long as I stay away from the autopsy I'm fine." She gave him a weak smile and turned back to Hines.
Davies snapped to attention the moment he saw his Commanding Officer. "Sir!" he said.
Zak waved the Sergeant off, "As you were, Sergeant. Where's the Colonel?"
Davies pointed past Zak as Patterson stepped up and patted Zak on the shoulder. "Sir," he said.
Zak turned to the injured Marine, "You all right, Sergeant Major?"
Hines chuckled, then clutched his ribs. "Aah!"
Kat told him, "You'll be fine Sergeant Major just some muscle fatigue."
Hines grinned at Kat and then the Commodore. "I have a few items still on my bucket list, Sir. And, you didn't give me permission to die yet."
Zak grinned at the Marine. "You're right, permission was not given. So now you get to lay in here and suck up to Kat, huh?" He gave him a wink and added, "Milk it, Sergeant."
Davies chuckled at that and said, "I do believe we Marines ignore that permission-order to start with."
Hines grinned, "Don't be giving me any ideas, sir, might just have to follow through on them." He glanced at Kat and added, "But yeah, some bedrest is definitely in order."
Kat blinked a moment, staring at the Commodore, then her lips parted in a slight smile as she said, "Bed rest is definitely something I'll recommend."
Across Sickbay, T'Lin started into the autopsy (and scientific dissection and analysis) of the Breen Officer's body. She carefully removed the brain, attaching several sensors to study it intently. It was hoped they'd find a way to revive it long enough to download the electrical and chemical signals that might allow them to see it's most recent memories.
Zak turned towards Patterson, gesturing for them to step off a bit. As they did he spoke softly, "So, we lost the Scout. Did we get anything useful?"
Patterson waved towards the CMO's office, "Commodore, a word?" With hardly a change in expression the two leaders stepped off into the CMO's private office to confer.
Cdre. Zak Taylor and Col. Travis Patterson stepped into the private office of the Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Shadow K'Trevala was taking the opportunity to get some rest in his quarters so the office was empty. Once inside, Patterson said, "Computer, seal the room, and omit all records of the following conversation."
The computer gave a trill of acknowledgement and announced, "Room is sealed. Recording disabled."
Zak leaned against Shadow's desk and said, "All right, let's have it. What went wrong and did anything go right?"
Patterson sighed and then said, "The mission was almost too easy, sir. Nobody in Starfleet has successfully boarded a Breen vessel and escaped with their lives, much less a body capable of autopsy. We set a record there." He smiled, then it faded, replaced with a frown as he continued, "He mentioned something about us not knowing what's going on with the Thot, but ... we've got very little to go by beyond that until we can hopefully extract his memories."
He pulled a PADD from one of his cargo pockets and handed it over, saying, "We took what we could get from their computer before it locked us out, though. Hines was pretty smart about that."
Zak listened, nodding, and quickly skimmed the PADD. Then he decided to share what little he'd learned. "We learned the Thot is meeting with a Cardassian female. Relok suspects they may have had a relationship back when the Thot served on Cardassia during the Dominion War."
"So," Patterson said, a grim expression on his face, "She's a person-of-interest, and our only potential bargaining chip now."
Zak squinted up at him, "Bargaining chip? Wait ... if we had her ...," he trailed off.
Patterson nodded, then said, "Abduction is a violation of Starfleet protocols, but ... I remind you our mere presence here is disavowed."
"Yeah," Zak scowled, "I know, and we're supposed to be allies of the Cardassians now, so abducting one of them would be hard to explain."
Patterson straightened and said, "I would like to remind you of a specific clause in Starfleet Protocol: Article 14, Section 31, sir." There was a beep from the computer as it recognized some kind of prompt.
Zak scowled at him. "Unlike some people, I haven't memorized all the .... wait a second. Section 31. Got it." The computer made a quick trilling sound as if it had executed some command.
Zak ignored it and prompted, "So ...."
Patterson just nodded as he said, "I think you've got the idea." He paused and then explained, "We need that woman captive. Then, we call out the Thot to come to us. Not like he's going anywhere, anyways." They had, after all, just witnessed the self-destruct of his transport vehicle.
Zak nodded back. "The mission is yours, Colonel. Make the call."
Patterson tapped his commbadge, "Patterson to the Bridge. Send orders to Delta Bravo to capture the Cardassian female and rendezvous with us. All stop until then."
It was LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris who responded. "Understood, Patterson. Sending now."
Patterson tapped his commbadge to close the channel and Zak asked, "Want to unseal the room now?"
Patterson nodded. "Computer, end lockdown."
There was another trill and the computer said, "Room is open." Patterson stepped towards it and the door hissed open.
Grinning at Kat, Hines quipped, "I take it a sponge bath is too much to ask for, eh?" He tried to laugh but the strain on his abdominal muscles turned it into a cough instead.
Kat blushed and poked him in the ribs. "Don't push it!" Though she wanted to sound angry, her blush gave it away.
Hines winced as she poked him. "Ouch! They're tender, ya' know!"
Davies, still standing beside them, grinned. "I believe the cheeks burning that red means she would enjoy giving you a sponge bath, Sergeant Major!"
Kat smiled. "Don't worry, I'll have you feeling better in no time, Hines." She reached for one of her tools that would help with repairing the damage to his ribs.
Hines smirked at Davies. "Then a bit of privacy would be warranted? Let's let the Doctor do her magic on me."
Khal'Gon grunted and gave a grin, "I'll send you some sludge, Derek." He turned and started off to another corner of Sickbay.
Davies said, "Well, get better. I mean, who else is going to give me the shit!" He turned and headed off. He knew he'd probably be the one stuck with doing all that paperwork!
At the autopsy table, T'Lin opened a comm line, calling LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke on the Bridge. "Den, where did you place your nanites? I wish to see if they can revive the Breen brain."
Den's voice came back, "Um ... where did I ... OH! They're in confined stasis, Storage Locker 23 in Science Lab 3."
T'Lin's commented, "I am not sure they can be trusted, but it is worth a try."
Den said, "Should be fine, they were extracted before this infection. You can probably just have Kat reprogram them for your purpose, or I can, but ... I'm working on a theory at the mom-," the commlink suddenly closed, leaving T'Lin wondering what had happened.
After a few moments, the commlink was re-established and Den picked up as though they hadn't been so rudely interrupted, "T'Lin, they were isolated. Should be fine."
T'Lin responded, "True enough, but that does not necessarily mean they are not infected. Thank you."
Den responded, "You're welcome."
T'Lin switched the comms to call her subordinate, Lt. Jackson Carshel. "Carshel, I need you to pick up Den's nanites for me please. They are in Stasis Storage Locker 23 in Lab 3."
After a moment she received his response, "T'Lin, on my way now."
Satisfied, T'Lin returned her attention to the brain soaking in solution to re-hydrate. She began preparations for her new-found science project, humming quietly as she cut the torso, inspected and removed the strange organs, weighing them carefully and recording all the data. They'd never had a Breen to record physiological data before!
Kat was examining Hines and found that there was no damage to the bone structure on Hines' ribcage, but the muscles and ligatures were strained and bruised from the rapid compression and convulsion. Kat said, "Hmm, well, good news. There's nothing wrong with your bones, so your healing will progress easily."
Hines smiled and gave a nod. "That is a bit of a relief. Shame I can't ... sleep it off with some company." He wriggled his eyebrows at her.
"Um," Kat blushed, not sure how to respond.
Hines leaned his head back on his pillow. "Plenty of time for you to think on it, Katarina. Not like I'm going anywhere any time soon."
Still blushing, Kat said, "Those bio beds don't exactly accommodate two bodies."
Hines chuckled, "I could make it to my quarters if my only orders are bedrest ...," he trailed off.
Her blush deepening, Kat said, "Oh, it is your only orders. Bed rest is the best thing for you now, Hines."
About that time the Commodore and the Colonel exited from their private discussion in the CMO's office. Zak addressed Kat as they passed, "Kat, since Shadow is off duty, it's your call when these other Marines are cleared for duty. You can, at least, make them go shower before going back to work!" He grinned as he headed for the exit.
Patterson didn't even slow down. He was headed straight for the exit, too. Kat called out to him, "Um, Patterson, you need to be cleared before you can leave."
Patterson stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Kat and Hines. He gave Hines a quick nod, but then he turned back to Kat, giving her a look that could kill. "You've got your hands full with him. I'm completely uninjured. Nobody ever laid a hand on me. Besides, the mission requires my presence on the Bridge. Your concern is noted, and you can file on record that I am breaking procedure if you'd like."
Kat bowed right back up to him, giving him a glare of her own. "If you walk out that door I will notify the Commodore! You have NOT been cleared for active duty." She paused for breath and then added, "You don't scare me, Patterson. Now sit your butt down so I can scan you real quick and clear you." She pointed to the free bio bed.
Patterson just shook his head, then grabbed his commbadge off his chest and tossed it at her feet. "He's not in command," he said, referring to her comment about telling the Commodore. "I am."
The Commodore had paused by the exit and turned to watch Patterson and Kat in their stare down contest. Kat glared at Patterson for a moment and then said, "Computer, relieve Colonel Patterson of duty until he's been cleared, by order of the Assistant Chief Medical Officer, LtCmdr. Katarina Hawke."
A moment later the computer buzzed an error. "Unable to comply. There is no Colonel Patterson in the ship's database."
With an expression of satisfaction, Patterson whirled on his heel and started out of Sickbay. Khal'Gon, who'd been leaning against a bulkhead nearby, turned to Kat and said, "I know that look from him anywhere, Kat. Best let him go when he gets like that."
But Kat just scowled and stooped to pick up Patterson's commbadge. She stormed off after him and then threw the badge at his back. "Fine! Be a thick-headed ass!"
Lt. Jackson Carshel had just arrived and was walking down the corridor as this exchange happened. He flinched and squeaked, "Eeek!"
Zak approached Kat as she stormed back into Sickbay. "Kat, you'll have to catch Patterson later. I'll send him back for a checkup soon."
Kat muttered through clenched teeth, "Don't bother. I am not clearing him for active duty until he acts like a person instead of an ass."
On his biobed Hines mumbled, "Wouldn't stop him from acting like a Black Operative. In fact, it might give him more of a reason to be one."
Zak gave a slight shrug and turned to follow the Colonel, slipping past Carshel who stood just inside the entrance.
Carshel gave a slight cough to signal his arrival, then said, "I am here to deliver something to T'Lin."
T'Lin had not reacted to the tension, even to the thrown commbadge. She barely looked up when Carshel entered, but she did ask, "Did you bring what I asked, Carshel?" As she spoke, she lifted out some kind of internal organ, possibly the Breen's liver, and placed it in a tray to be weighed.
Carshel responded, "Yes, ma'am," and handed over the container with the microscopic nanites from Den's Borg hand.
Khal'Gon still leaned against the bulkhead near a replicator. He stood and turned to it and ordered a glass of room-temperature water, then turned back to Kat. "So, Doc ...," he trailed off.
Kat was still fuming, grumbling under her breath, "He's acting like a child. Worse than a child actually. Just because I don't have the physical strength to stop him without being cleared ...," she trailed off as she began cleaning up.
Hines smirked and sat up on his bed. With a gesture he pointed towards Khal'Gon and said, "What about the big guy over there?"
Kat didn't register Hines' actual words. Instead she said, "You're cleared to stay here in Sickbay and rest, or go back to your quarters, Hines." She gave him a smile because HE was still her friend, and her patient.
Finally Kat noticed the enormous half-Klingon. She walked over and scanned him with a tricorder. Seeing the readings all in the normal range (for him), she said, "I am clearing you for duty Khal'Gon. You are in perfect health from what I can see."
Khal'Gon gave a nod and heard a rumbling sound from across Sickbay. Lying on an unused biobed was Cpl. Homer Kyle, loudly snoring through all the events that had taken place. Khal'Gon smirked and glanced over at the other Marine still in Sickbay, "Davies, keep an eye on the boy?" Davies gave a silent nod and Khal'Gon turned back to Kat.
But Kat was still fuming at Patterson. She grumbled, "Acts like he can do anything he wants just because he thinks he's so damn important. There are plenty of people who are important, and they still get cleared." Suddenly a wave of nausea hit her. She gripped the biobed, wiping her face with a cool, damp cloth. In a moment she felt a little better and turned to dispose of the rags in the recycler.
Khal'Gon was watching her. He suggested, "Go have dinner with Hines. It'll at least keep him occupied so he doesn't end up hurting himself."
Kat studied him a moment, then made a decision. "I think I will. Thank you, Khal'Gon." He just chuckled and walked out of Sickbay.
Near the autopsy table, Carshel kept glancing at Kat. Finally, he leaned over to T'Lin and asked softly, "Um ... what do girls like?"
But T'Lin was probably not the right person to ask that question, at least, not now. She was buried in the scientific analysis of the physiology of a Breen. She rambled to herself, "The shape of the liver is strange, but it connects like a puzzle piece between the ribcage and the ... intestines? I am not entirely sure about the anatomy of a Breen of this subspecies, but this could very well be the first known autopsy and recording of their species!"
Carshel just rolled his eyes.
Cdre. Zak Taylor and Col. Travis Patterson were in the Turbolift on their way back to the Bridge when their commbadges both chirped and the voice of Cmdr. Relok came through, "Sirs, Delta Five has our new passenger and is en route to rendezvous."
Zak quickly acknowledged and then turned to Patterson, "You know, you could have gotten a quick scan and been to the Bridge in minutes. You'll be dealing with Kat a lot longer than that, now!"
Patterson just glared at the Turbolift door as if his gaze could bore a hole through it. "What I told her was completely true. She will have to learn to accept the rare occasions that I ignore her demands, as even you have come to understand in our time serving together, Zak."
Zak shrugged, "Ignore? Nah, just gave up banging my head on a brick wall."
Patterson couldn't help but smirk at that. "And yet, I don't think I ever saw you head to Sickbay for any concussions or skull fractures, so ...," he turned to look straight at the Commodore and grinned, "shut up."
They stepped out of the Turbolift onto the Bridge, both smiling.