S6 E4 - The Dead and the Gone

[Zhukdrashar Mrekrerhas]

[Lieutenant Commander Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Arid Plains | Unknown Planet]

Though it was not a particularly easy walk for the Lieutenant Commander, he eventually managed to find his way to the rest of the Away Team. Much to his relief, the group had already assembled in its entirety. They also seemed to be in much better condition than he was. Relief washed over him, though he tried to not make too much of a fuzz as he finally reached them, not wanting to trigger the intense pain again.

Nonethless, he offered them a nod, and to the more sharp eyed, they could notice the rapid swish of his tail for only a few seconds.

[Talinos IV, Beam in site]

Malik couldn't help but feel a pang of concern at the captain's message and their current predicament. Nethertheless, there was nothing they could do from down here at the moment, save for continue with the mission.

"Acknowledged, Challenger. Stay safe. We'll proceed on mission. Grippen out."

15 minutes later and thankfully all the away team had rendezvoused back with him. They appeared in varying states, from mud caked, to water logged, to injured. Unfortunately they had neglected to bring a medical crewman or a medkit, as the mission simply hadn't called for it at the time. Of greatest concern was Mrekrerhas's closed fracture of his arm and head injury. He needed medical treatment.

"Alright here's the situation. The Challenger has had to retreat and enact repairs after it came under attack from the surface. Transporters and shuttle evacuation are not an option. So we must make the best of the situation and continue with our objectives."

"My tricorder detected a small shipwreck 1 km to the north east. Myself, Mrekrerhas, Hejaran and Inys will head there. Hopefully there's a medical kit and an intact computer log. Cordon, Cheizex, Zalos and Gorman. I want you to head directly north and investigate the source of the heightened radiation. From there, head north west to a larger structure to investigate."

"Stay safe. We're not alone on this planet. Move out."

The wind whipped the dust up around their feet as it blew across the alien plain. He draped Mrekrerhas' good arm around his shoulder and began the long walk to the shipwreck.

Taking a seat by a rock to rest momentarily while Commander Grippen explained what they would do up next, Zhuk was approached by Crewman Idrys. She silently requested for the rifle, noting that he was still tightly holding it with his good hand. While the Caitian gave her a look, he acquiesced, and she took control of the gun, offering a reassuring smile to the now unarmed Zhuk. He could only reply with a sigh, an ear pivoted towards Malik's voice to make sure that he did not lose any detail.

A shipwreck, huh? That sounded interesting. Hopefully, a medical kit for him would also be found. He did his best to not show it, but it was hard to hide how sore he was.

When Malik gave the order to move out, Zhuk rose to his feet. He stiffened when he noticed the Commander wrap his good arm around his shoulder, frowning slightly at the action. It itself had caused a minimal ache, but had bothered him. He was well enough to walk on his own, and was unwilling to become dead weight for the rest of the small team. He was Lieutenant Commander Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas, Chief of Security!

He needed to show strength! For the rest of the team. Reassuring them that they would be safe and sound after this. That he was capable. That he could get things done. That he had not obtained his posting out of being well-liked, but through merit!

And yet...

He gritted his teeth for a moment, before relaxing his body. It allowed Malik to better assist him. He barely knew the new Commander, but decided to trust in him. He just hoped that the rest of the squad did not look down on him after this...

"I... appreciate it, Commander."

[Talinos IV - On Route to Crash Site]

Calindra was relieved to find out that the ship was still in one piece and to see the rest of the away team. With the commander assisting their Security Officer, the Ensign took out her tricorder and helped the group find the most direct route to the shuttle's crash site. "Sir, do you need my help with Zhuk, or would you have me scouting ahead with Crewman Inys?" she asked once she'd picked out the first waypoint and relayed it to all their tricorders.

As the junior most person on the away team, she wanted to find a way to be (or feel) useful. Mapping out the way points by picking landmarks that would be easy to distinguish would make it easier on all of them and would free up the remaining security crewman to keep a careful eye out for any danger, but two sets of eyes might be best if the Caitian wasn't too heavy.

He glanced over to Malik when Calindra addressed him, as they walked through the arid ground. Zhuk remained alert, just in case an unwelcome organism or humanoid approached. He opened his mouth to speak up, wanting to offer his opinion on the matter, before closing it. He supposed it was not his call to do, as Commander Grippen did outrank him.

He did believe that perhaps Calindra and Idrys venturing forward as scouts was the best call, but unless any of them were telepathic, or outright asked, he decided to keep his orders to himself.

In any case, he offered Calindra what he intended to be a reassuring nod, accompanied by a small smile. If it would be seen if it was understood correctly, or identified as the bluff it was...

[Neva Cordon]

[Talinos IV, Beam in site]

Malik couldn't help but feel a pang of concern at the captain's message and their current predicament. Nethertheless, there was nothing they could do from down here at the moment, save for continue with the mission.

"Acknowledged, Challenger. Stay safe. We'll proceed on mission. Grippen out."

15 minutes later and thankfully all the away team had rendezvoused back with him. They appeared in varying states, from mud caked, to water logged, to injured. Unfortunately they had neglected to bring a medical crewman or a medkit, as the mission simply hadn't called for it at the time. Of greatest concern was Mrekrerhas's closed fracture of his arm and head injury. He needed medical treatment.

"Alright here's the situation. The Challenger has had to retreat and enact repairs after it came under attack from the surface. Transporters and shuttle evacuation are not an option. So we must make the best of the situation and continue with our objectives."

"My tricorder detected a small shipwreck 1 km to the north east. Myself, Mrekrerhas, Hejaran and Inys will head there. Hopefully there's a medical kit and an intact computer log. Cordon, Cheizex, Zalos and Gorman. I want you to head directly north and investigate the source of the heightened radiation. From there, head north west to a larger structure to investigate."

"Stay safe. We're not alone on this planet. Move out."

The wind whipped the dust up around their feet as it blew across the alien plain. He draped Mrekrerhas' good arm around his shoulder and began the long walk to the shipwreck.

[ACEO Neva Cordon|Talinos IV-Beam in Site]

Neva nodded and murmured acknowledgement at the Commander's directions. Looking to Aarwendil, Tora & Gorman, she smiled slightly. "Ok, you ready? Let's get this figured out. I want dry clothes and a shower soon as I can get 'em!" As if to confirm her statement, she lifted her arms and did a quick shake motion, spraying mud and muck onto the ground. Then she grabbed her tricorder again and set off North.

Neva wasn't happy about what'd happened. Once more, her lovely self had been chucked off a shuttle and materialized on a non-warp capable planet. Then to add insult to injury, she'd found herself in a swampy & muddy area. She still had that muck in her boots, making her steps sound squishy and make already wet feet wetter. There was nothing she could do for it though. She was thankful to The Gods that she wasn't hurt or become chunky salsa.

Looking up and at those with her, Neva was thankful for them too. It was wonderful to have friends as part of the team this time-she had to fight the urge to hide away and sit in depression every time she opened her eyes. After the mission, maybe she, Tora, and Aarwendil could hang out for a while somehow.

Provided they made it back to Challenger...

Suddenly, her Tricorder blipped hard and loud. Neva almost dropped it, being so lost in thought. She stopped short and checked the readouts. "What the-" she said aloud, then her brow furrowed in concentration for a moment. "It's showing the source of the radiation is the...Craters?" Looking up, her dark eyes scanned the terrain, then pointed. "They're old readings...Neutron Bomb?" She turned to the group and asked "What do you find? This is weird to me."

[Ian Galloway]

[USS Challenger - Deck 1 - Bridge]

When a flare of searing agony shot through Alex's mind, it took him a second to realize that it wasn't from an injury of his own. Maddy? A quick glance towards Ardyn and her grimaced expression made it clear whose pain he felt. He wanted to call for a medic or order her below, but there wasn't time. The ship continued to shudder as they were dealt repeated blows, like sledgehammers on a thin metal shield. "87% IS with rerouted power." Alex replied, trying to squeeze every last ounce out of the Challenger's aging systems.

It was a slow lumbering retreat, made all the longer that they could only turn to starboard, though without anything to shoot back at, Alex could at the very least sequentially boost the shields facing the planet's barrage at the expense of their weapon systems. Davenport wasn't too happy, but there was little she could do besides holding fast like the rest of them. Once the disruptor fire stopped, he was finally able to piece together a sobering damage report. "We have significant hull breaches on deck 5, 6, 8, and 15, all port side, emergency forcefields are holding. Port side ablative armour is severely compromised, and the port ventral phaser array is inoperable. We took six direct hits before the shields were activated, they did most of the damage. Impulse engine output is at 82% and dropping, number 1 drive is leaking power like a sieve, I suspect it's been completely destroyed. Port nacelle is venting plasma and Engineering has scrammed the warp core. Transporters are offline, structural integrity field holding at 90%. Captain, I'd like to get a damage control team out to visualize the damage as soon as possible, many of our external sensors are returning error messages and I'm worried those hull breaches may have compromised more than just the hull plating."

Alex noticeably paled as the last department sent in their status update, and it took some effort to keep his tone neutral. "Sickbay is reporting multiple casualties, forty two and rising. Six confirmed deceased, and eighteen crew members have missed muster. They were all stationed in the breached sections, sir."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian took in each damage report as if he'd been struck physically, his ship was hurting and he'd let it happen, but it was the casualty report that the greatest impact. He stood silently, his jaw clenched so tightly, you could hear is jaw grinding. He'd clenched his fists so tightly that a trickle of blood could be noted on his palms as he seethed silently.

"Six more bloody letters. When did every mission we get assigned end up with me havin' ta write a bloody letter ta someone's family?"

Despite his rage, Ian took several breaths before he spoke in an even tone.

"Aye Mister Wu, get a couple of worker bees out there and let's see how bad, bad is."

He hit the comm panel on the command chair.

"Galloway ta Engineerin', Mister Sunik, I ken you are full aware of this, but we need the primary core back online immediately. The secondary core will give us all the power we need for normal ship's functions, but if'n we're ta savin' the away team, we need both functional ta fight. Your priority of work is the primary warp, the port nacelle, and thrusters so we can maneuver. Bridge out."

Ian turned to face Ardy.

"Flight, I want Resnick, McNair, Onizuka, and Smith ready ta fly as soon as we can punch a hole through the planet's shields. I'll nae be writin' eight more letters today. If'n I have ta slag Talinos IV, I will get our people back."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Talinos IV - Crash Site]

Malik's party had to travel three kilometers to reach the crash site and found the wreck of a shuttle. Any hopes of a medkit were dashed as it was obvious that the craft had been fired after being stripped of all useful equipment. There was a large hole in the hull clearly caused by a disruptor that destroyed most of the craft's control systems forcing it to crash land.  Thorough tricorder scans revealed part of a feathered wing design on an undamaged section of hull indicating the shuttle was likely of Romulan origin.

Burning the shuttle before abandoning it was fully consistent with the Romulan policy of not letting their vessels fall into enemy hands, which left Malik, Mrekrerhas, Hejaran and Inys with nothing to show for the effort taken to reach the wreck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Talinos IV - Away Team Cordon, Cheizex, Zalos and Gorman]

Neva's initial scans showed a series of shallow craters all roughly fifty meter in diameter. Radiation levels around the craters were significantly higher than the surrounding area but fortunately remained at non-life threatening levels. A deeper level scan not only confirmed the use of neutron warheads but allowed her to calculate that the craters were in the region of 100 to 120 years old. Whatever had happened here, despite recent events, had happened a long time ago.

[Malik Grippen]

[Talinos IV - On Route to Crash Site]

Calindra was relieved to find out that the ship was still in one piece and to see the rest of the away team. With the commander assisting their Security Officer, the Ensign took out her tricorder and helped the group find the most direct route to the shuttle's crash site. "Sir, do you need my help with Zhuk, or would you have me scouting ahead with Crewman Inys?" she asked once she'd picked out the first waypoint and relayed it to all their tricorders.

As the junior most person on the away team, she wanted to find a way to be (or feel) useful. Mapping out the way points by picking landmarks that would be easy to distinguish would make it easier on all of them and would free up the remaining security crewman to keep a careful eye out for any danger, but two sets of eyes might be best if the Caitian wasn't too heavy.

"Negative, we stick together. Strength in numbers should whoever blasted the ship make an appearance. You two lead from the front and keep an eye out, I've got my hands full here..."

Malik appreciated the ensign's initiative however, but the last thing he wanted was for two of them to fall behind, be ambushed or even lost. They were nearly to the wreck, just a little further now.

[Lieutenant Commander Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Arid Plains | Unknown Planet]

Though it was not a particularly easy walk for the Lieutenant Commander, he eventually managed to find his way to the rest of the Away Team. Much to his relief, the group had already assembled in its entirety. They also seemed to be in much better condition than he was. Relief washed over him, though he tried to not make too much of a fuzz as he finally reached them, not wanting to trigger the intense pain again.

Nonethless, he offered them a nod, and to the more sharp eyed, they could notice the rapid swish of his tail for only a few seconds.

Taking a seat by a rock to rest momentarily while Commander Grippen explained what they would do up next, Zhuk was approached by Crewman Idrys. She silently requested for the rifle, noting that he was still tightly holding it with his good hand. While the Caitian gave her a look, he acquiesced, and she took control of the gun, offering a reassuring smile to the now unarmed Zhuk. He could only reply with a sigh, an ear pivoted towards Malik's voice to make sure that he did not lose any detail.

A shipwreck, huh? That sounded interesting. Hopefully, a medical kit for him would also be found. He did his best to not show it, but it was hard to hide how sore he was.

When Malik gave the order to move out, Zhuk rose to his feet. He stiffened when he noticed the Commander wrap his good arm around his shoulder, frowning slightly at the action. It itself had caused a minimal ache, but had bothered him. He was well enough to walk on his own, and was unwilling to become dead weight for the rest of the small team. He was Lieutenant Commander Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas, Chief of Security!

He needed to show strength! For the rest of the team. Reassuring them that they would be safe and sound after this. That he was capable. That he could get things done. That he had not obtained his posting out of being well-liked, but through merit!

And yet...

He gritted his teeth for a moment, before relaxing his body. It allowed Malik to better assist him. He barely knew the new Commander, but decided to trust in him. He just hoped that the rest of the squad did not look down on him after this...

"I... appreciate it, Commander."

He glanced over to Malik when Calindra addressed him, as they walked through the arid ground. Zhuk remained alert, just in case an unwelcome organism or humanoid approached. He opened his mouth to speak up, wanting to offer his opinion on the matter, before closing it. He supposed it was not his call to do, as Commander Grippen did outrank him.

He did believe that perhaps Calindra and Idrys venturing forward as scouts was the best call, but unless any of them were telepathic, or outright asked, he decided to keep his orders to himself.

In any case, he offered Calindra what he intended to be a reassuring nod, accompanied by a small smile. If it would be seen if it was understood correctly, or identified as the bluff it was...

[Talinos IV - Crash Site]

Malik's party had to travel three kilometers to reach the crash site and found the wreck of a shuttle. Any hopes of a medkit were dashed as it was obvious that the craft had been fired after being stripped of all useful equipment. There was a large hole in the hull clearly caused by a disruptor that destroyed most of the craft's control systems forcing it to crash land.  Thorough tricorder scans revealed part of a feathered wing design on an undamaged section of hull indicating the shuttle was likely of Romulan origin.

Burning the shuttle before abandoning it was fully consistent with the Romulan policy of not letting their vessels fall into enemy hands, which left Malik, Mrekrerhas, Hejaran and Inys with nothing to show for the effort taken to reach the wreck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Talinos IV - Away Team Cordon, Cheizex, Zalos and Gorman]

Neva's initial scans showed a series of shallow craters all roughly fifty meter in diameter. Radiation levels around the craters were significantly higher than the surrounding area but fortunately remained at non-life threatening levels. A deeper level scan not only confirmed the use of neutron warheads but allowed her to calculate that the craters were in the region of 100 to 120 years old. Whatever had happened here, despite recent events, had happened a long time ago.

[Talinos IV, shuttle wreck]

When they arrived at the burnt out shuttle wreck, Malik gently aided the caitian to the ground and propped up against the hull. The Risan took a moment to rest then to. He was parched, the plain dust had coated his uniform and made him all the more thirsty.

"Lets rest here for a bit. Need to take a closer look at your arm, Zhuk. Calindra, see what you can salvage from this hulk. Even a splint for the broken arm would be useful."

He examined Mrekrerhas's broke arm and head wound. "How do you feel?"

Malik knew the Starfleet basic first aid that all officers were taught, and this was refreshed annually. But it was limited. He didn't now how to properly reset a broken bone, but did know how to apply a decent splint to secure it. At least this wasn't an open fracture, those were nasty.

[Calindra Hejaran]

"Negative, we stick together. Strength in numbers should whoever blasted the ship make an appearance. You two lead from the front and keep an eye out, I've got my hands full here..."

Malik appreciated the ensign's initiative however, but the last thing he wanted was for two of them to fall behind, be ambushed or even lost. They were nearly to the wreck, just a little further now.

[Ensign Hejaran - Talinos IV - On Route to Crash Site - Arid Plains]
.
"Aye, sir," Calindra said with a nod before joining Idrys a few meters ahead. She kept a vigilant eye on the chosen landmark and would occasionally turn around to see how the Commanders were doing. At the pace they were setting, she expected to see the wreck in about an hour or so.
.
.

[Talinos IV, shuttle wreck]

When they arrived at the burnt out shuttle wreck, Malik gently aided the caitian to the ground and propped up against the hull. The Risan took a moment to rest then to. He was parched, the plain dust had coated his uniform and made him all the more thirsty.

"Lets rest here for a bit. Need to take a closer look at your arm, Zhuk. Calindra, see what you can salvage from this hulk. Even a splint for the broken arm would be useful."

[Ensign Hejaran - Talinos IV, Shuttle Wreck - Arid Plains]
.
Calindra was already giving the shuttle a second look-over in case they had missed anything the first time, but when the commander asked for something that could be used as a splint, the ensign opened up a panel and started pulling out wiring from the ship's innards. As to smaller pieces that could work for a splint, there wasn't any shortage of loose metallic parts. She quickly gathered several meters of wires and found two good pieces of fuselage that could immobilize their security officer's arm.

"Might be a good place to keep in mind should we need to camp out here, we'd have a roof overhead if need be," she said as she provided Malik with the impromptu medical gear.

"One thing is bothering me though. If it's SOP for the Romulans to torch their own vessels, wouldn't that mean the Romulans walked away from the crash? I'll take some readings from the ship to give us an idea of how long the wreck has been sitting here, and if it's recent... I'll see if I can get a bearing on its old occupants."

[Kinley Garrison]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian took in each damage report as if he'd been struck physically, his ship was hurting and he'd let it happen, but it was the casualty report that the greatest impact. He stood silently, his jaw clenched so tightly, you could hear is jaw grinding. He'd clenched his fists so tightly that a trickle of blood could be noted on his palms as he seethed silently.

"Six more bloody letters. When did every mission we get assigned end up with me havin' ta write a bloody letter ta someone's family?"

Despite his rage, Ian took several breaths before he spoke in an even tone.

"Aye Mister Wu, get a couple of worker bees out there and let's see how bad, bad is."

He hit the comm panel on the command chair.

"Galloway ta Engineerin', Mister Sunik, I ken you are full aware of this, but we need the primary core back online immediately. The secondary core will give us all the power we need for normal ship's functions, but if'n we're ta savin' the away team, we need both functional ta fight. Your priority of work is the primary warp, the port nacelle, and thrusters so we can maneuver. Bridge out."

Ian turned to face Ardy.

"Flight, I want Resnick, McNair, Onizuka, and Smith ready ta fly as soon as we can punch a hole through the planet's shields. I'll nae be writin' eight more letters today. If'n I have ta slag Talinos IV, I will get our people back."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bridge]

Ardyn nodded to Ian as she tried rerouting the venting plasma from one nacelle to the other. An old trick that she had once figured out on her own Flyer. It was at least slowing down the leak a little. Not good enough to give them a noticeable amount of extra power,  just a couple of percent increase, but it would have to do for now.  If she could get some sort of noticeable boost, she could use it to coast them away, taking advantage of the vacuum of space, and physics,  but any decent power surge would more likely fry both the remaining nacelle and more likely what was left of the Warp Core.

"Sounds good. I'll get my crew on that," she said,  as she delicately tried tapping her comms for her crew without jostling her wrist any more than necessary.  She winced again, but she got it well enough.

Schultz, Norann, Kean, Ozoim!  I need you guys to be ready to launch the shuttles and get them out to fly as soon as the planetary defenses are down.  What's the status on the shuttles?!"

Ensign Kean responded.

"There's only one that's been damaged on our end and can't be flown.  We'll get them all as ready as we can though.

Ardy nodded. "Let's do it then. We don't have much time to prepare.

"I've let flight crew know.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 12 - Primary Maintenance Support Center

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Port nacelle is venting plasma

"Galloway ta Engineerin', Mister Sunik, I ken you are full aware of this, but we need the primary core back online immediately. The secondary core will give us all the power we need for normal ship's functions, but if'n we're ta savin' the away team, we need both functional ta fight. Your priority of work is the primary warp, the port nacelle, and thrusters so we can maneuver. Bridge out."

As the damage reports came in, the damage control teams were dispatched.  Lahr, as part of team 4 was sent to work on the port nacelle.  It was their task to find the plasma leak and repair it as quickly as possible.  Given the danger of working in and around the nacelles, the team had to quickly don their protective EV suits against any residual radiation and to provide oxygen in the typically uninhabitable section of the ship.

Upon entry into the nacelle interior, Lahr grimaced at the damage he and the team saw.  The plasma conduit that ran the length of the nacelle was cracked in at least three locations.  Thankfully the cross-sectional ribs seemed to have taken next to no damage.

While he worked, despite not having his earbud or any musical device, Lahr kept up his morale by singing to himself.

"I don't care if the whole club is dead, cause the party's in my head, the party's in my head!"

[Tora Zalos]

"Negative, we stick together. Strength in numbers should whoever blasted the ship make an appearance. You two lead from the front and keep an eye out, I've got my hands full here..."

Malik appreciated the ensign's initiative however, but the last thing he wanted was for two of them to fall behind, be ambushed or even lost. They were nearly to the wreck, just a little further now.

[Talinos IV, shuttle wreck]

When they arrived at the burnt out shuttle wreck, Malik gently aided the caitian to the ground and propped up against the hull. The Risan took a moment to rest then to. He was parched, the plain dust had coated his uniform and made him all the more thirsty.

"Lets rest here for a bit. Need to take a closer look at your arm, Zhuk. Calindra, see what you can salvage from this hulk. Even a splint for the broken arm would be useful."

He examined Mrekrerhas's broke arm and head wound. "How do you feel?"

Malik knew the Starfleet basic first aid that all officers were taught, and this was refreshed annually. But it was limited. He didn't now how to properly reset a broken bone, but did know how to apply a decent splint to secure it. At least this wasn't an open fracture, those were nasty.

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Talinos IV | Crash Site]

Honestly, Tora was a little bit miffed at the progression of this mission so far. There was little in the way of civilization for her to study, barren, dusty land everywhere and the air was so dry she could feel her skin and scales beginning to parch by the second. Well, maybe not the last one, but she did feel somewhat more dehydrated just standing in this arid wasteland. Then there was also the matter of what'd happened to her and the rest of the away team as they transported down - obviously her materializing several feet above a body of brackish water had not been part of the original plan, and, from what she could hear over the first officer's commbadge, someone evidently didn't want them (or anyone else, for that matter) to be down planetside.

Regardless, though, as much as quite a lot of things had gone wrong on this trip so far (as they seemed to do with the Challenger, usually), Tora still had a job to do down here, which didn't necessarily involve her specialised expertise. So she'd followed her group north, tracking the source of the radiation they were meant to be locating. Time seemed to run like molasses; the more they trekked, the more sand, dust, rocks and jaggedy formations they saw. Indeed, the entire planet seemed pretty devoid of life; a possible reason became clear as soon as she and the team came within about one hundred metres of the source and her tricorder began to beep more insistently as it registered heightened levels of radiation.

"Neutronic radiation. Straight ahead." She reported to the others, before beginning the brief trek up the sandy dune in front of them. Beep. Beep beep. Beep beep beep beep. Her tricorder was almost buzzing by the time she crested the dune and took in the sight beyond, just downslope. Craters. Many of them. All of them circular-ish and several feet wide each, arranged almost in a discernible patten. Tora held up her tricorder, and what she saw on screen made her take a sharp breath. "We found it. The source." She said, motioning to the craters below. "I'd hazard a guess that those craters were probably made by some kind of explosive. Powerful ones. Neutron bombs or torpedoes or some kind of similar ordnance." She said. "Judging by the atomic decay here, I'd say it happened about..." She tapped buttons on her tricorder, and the numbers came up on screen. "A century ago. One hundred to maybe a hundred and twenty."

[Ian Galloway]

"Negative, we stick together. Strength in numbers should whoever blasted the ship make an appearance. You two lead from the front and keep an eye out, I've got my hands full here..."

Malik appreciated the ensign's initiative however, but the last thing he wanted was for two of them to fall behind, be ambushed or even lost. They were nearly to the wreck, just a little further now.

[Talinos IV, shuttle wreck]

When they arrived at the burnt out shuttle wreck, Malik gently aided the caitian to the ground and propped up against the hull. The Risan took a moment to rest then to. He was parched, the plain dust had coated his uniform and made him all the more thirsty.

"Lets rest here for a bit. Need to take a closer look at your arm, Zhuk. Calindra, see what you can salvage from this hulk. Even a splint for the broken arm would be useful."

He examined Mrekrerhas's broke arm and head wound. "How do you feel?"

Malik knew the Starfleet basic first aid that all officers were taught, and this was refreshed annually. But it was limited. He didn't now how to properly reset a broken bone, but did know how to apply a decent splint to secure it. At least this wasn't an open fracture, those were nasty.

[Talinos IV - Shuttle Crash Site]

With some effort, Calindra and Inys were able to find the components to splint Zhuk's arm. Once he was ready to travel, they moved on as it seemed like there were no further information on the wreck. Tricorders indicated that two kilometers north, there was a power source and with no other leads, the four headed that way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Talinos IV - Craters]

After confirming the nature of the craters, Neva, Dil, Tora, and Gorman could find no further clues worth discussing. That left the city they could see in the distance shimmering on the horizon in a mustard colored heat haze. With no other real options the away team headed for the city.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Repair crews worked at a frenzied pace. Unfortunately, too many of their recent missions had resulted in the exchange of fire, thus the Engineers and Ops departments had all the experience they needed to be superlative at damage control. Even the many cadets that had come aboard were now considered veteran space hands and despite the extent of the damage, repairs were going well.

Ian paced the bridge, still livid about the casualties, but while it was clear he was not his usual casual persona, he remained steadfast and a non-anxious presence to motivate the crew that regardless of the situation, all would be well.

The command chair pinged and Ian looked at the latest update from Sunik. The plasma leak was repaired and the primary warp core had completed start up giving the ship full warp. The bad news included that one segment of the impulse engine had taken a direct hit and had been cored through completely. It had to be replaced at a yard. This meant 87% impulse was going to remain the maximum power the impulse engines could provide. The ventral phaser turret had also taken a direct hit and had been blown completely off the ship. As designed the ablative armor had protected the ship by dissipating the energy of the disruptors by 'boiling' away, but this armor could only be applied in a space dock. This left the port side of the ship more vulnerable than usual.

On the upside, the transporters were back on line as were the ship's many thrusters which meant the helm was now fully responsive to commands. All things considered, the repair teams had worked miracles. With the exception of the one impulse engine and the one phaser turret, the Challenger was now in fighting form. Ian smiled ferally, sat in the command chair, and hit the 'shipwide' on the comm panel.

"All hands, this is the Captain. You have all acted with exemplary skill ta get us ready ta recover our away team. Unfortunately, this means we must re-enter the engagement envelope of the planet ta do so. However, this time we will be goin' in with shields up and weapons hot. Your comrades need our help and the Federation expects all bein's ta do their duty, both ta Starfleet and those countin' on us ta bring them home. That is all."

Ian turned to face the viewscreen which showed Talinos IV waiting 250,000 kilometers away.

"Helm, take us in, best impulse speed. Be prepared for some unorthodox maneuver commands. Tactical, bring all weapons ta ready, full quantums. Ops, distribute power from the secondary warp core between structural integrity and forward shields. Cue Scotland the Brave on all channels, we're ta be savin' our people and Talinos is about ta find out they have buggered with the wrong bloody ship."

[Calindra Hejaran]

[Ensign Hejaran - Talinos IV, Shuttle Wreck - Arid Plains]
.

Calindra had been worried about the owners of the ship and had started detailed scans of the area. She found no trace of potential Romulan survivors, and her second search of the shuttle provided no further information. "Commander, I am picking-up an energy source two kilometers north of our coordinates," she said after expanding her tricorder's range.

[Malik Grippen]

[Ensign Hejaran - Talinos IV, Shuttle Wreck - Arid Plains]

Calindra was already giving the shuttle a second look-over in case they had missed anything the first time, but when the commander asked for something that could be used as a splint, the ensign opened up a panel and started pulling out wiring from the ship's innards. As to smaller pieces that could work for a splint, there wasn't any shortage of loose metallic parts. She quickly gathered several meters of wires and found two good pieces of fuselage that could immobilize their security officer's arm.

"Might be a good place to keep in mind should we need to camp out here, we'd have a roof overhead if need be," she said as she provided Malik with the impromptu medical gear.

"One thing is bothering me though. If it's SOP for the Romulans to torch their own vessels, wouldn't that mean the Romulans walked away from the crash? I'll take some readings from the ship to give us an idea of how long the wreck has been sitting here, and if it's recent... I'll see if I can get a bearing on its old occupants."

[Talinos IV - Shuttle Crash Site]

With some effort, Calindra and Inys were able to find the components to splint Zhuk's arm. Once he was ready to travel, they moved on as it seemed like there were no further information on the wreck. Tricorders indicated that two kilometers north, there was a power source and with no other leads, the four headed that way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Talinos IV - Craters]

After confirming the nature of the craters, Neva, Dil, Tora, and Gorman could find no further clues worth discussing. That left the city they could see in the distance shimmering on the horizon in a mustard colored heat haze. With no other real options the away team headed for the city.

[Ensign Hejaran - Talinos IV, Shuttle Wreck - Arid Plains]
.

Calindra had been worried about the owners of the ship and had started detailed scans of the area. She found no trace of potential Romulan survivors, and her second search of the shuttle provided no further information. "Commander, I am picking-up an energy source two kilometers north of our coordinates," she said after expanding her tricorder's range.

[Talinos IV, Shuttle Wreck]

"I'm guessing whoever survived the crash of this shuttle, their only option would've been the city there." He nodded to the abandoned city shimmering on the horizon across the dusty plain. Malik assisted with securing Zhuk's arm as best he could, but he was no medic. Maybe the city would have some left over medical equipment.

Now feeling rested again, Malik got ready to move on. Calindra picked up an energy source and so that would have to be their destination. "Lead the way, ensign."

"Grippen to away team. We've detected an energy source 2 km to the north. Rendezvous with us there. Grippen out."

Their half of the away team set off. A Risan, injured Caitain and two Humans.

[City Outskirts]

The seemingly abandoned city was constructed in a relatively modern looking style. With white stone buildings and long boulevards all leading to a central point. The buildings looked well preserved both inside and out although a few collapses had taken place. There was no signs of life or movement.

"Alright let's take a look around. See if we can find a hospital or medical facility with some left over equipment. Drinking Water also, we're already dehydrated. Ensign Zalos, you're up. Lets get these buildings analysed and dated, see who may have lived here."

[Aarwendil Cheizex]

[ACEO Neva Cordon|Talinos IV-Beam in Site]

Neva nodded and murmured acknowledgement at the Commander's directions. Looking to Aarwendil, Tora & Gorman, she smiled slightly. "Ok, you ready? Let's get this figured out. I want dry clothes and a shower soon as I can get 'em!" As if to confirm her statement, she lifted her arms and did a quick shake motion, spraying mud and muck onto the ground. Then she grabbed her tricorder again and set off North.

Neva wasn't happy about what'd happened. Once more, her lovely self had been chucked off a shuttle and materialized on a non-warp capable planet. Then to add insult to injury, she'd found herself in a swampy & muddy area. She still had that muck in her boots, making her steps sound squishy and make already wet feet wetter. There was nothing she could do for it though. She was thankful to The Gods that she wasn't hurt or become chunky salsa.

Looking up and at those with her, Neva was thankful for them too. It was wonderful to have friends as part of the team this time-she had to fight the urge to hide away and sit in depression every time she opened her eyes. After the mission, maybe she, Tora, and Aarwendil could hang out for a while somehow.

Provided they made it back to Challenger...

Suddenly, her Tricorder blipped hard and loud. Neva almost dropped it, being so lost in thought. She stopped short and checked the readouts. "What the-" she said aloud, then her brow furrowed in concentration for a moment. "It's showing the source of the radiation is the...Craters?" Looking up, her dark eyes scanned the terrain, then pointed. "They're old readings...Neutron Bomb?" She turned to the group and asked "What do you find? This is weird to me."

[Talinos IV - Away Team]

"I could use a shower, too." Aarwendil said, while he followed Neva. Like him, she was also covered with mud. Besides the discomfort of being dirty, at least he was going to work with the woman again. They didn't have the chance of doing it since their last away mission that didn't end being cool.

He could even say that it even ended up being a bit traumatic.

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Talinos IV | Crash Site]

Honestly, Tora was a little bit miffed at the progression of this mission so far. There was little in the way of civilization for her to study, barren, dusty land everywhere and the air was so dry she could feel her skin and scales beginning to parch by the second. Well, maybe not the last one, but she did feel somewhat more dehydrated just standing in this arid wasteland. Then there was also the matter of what'd happened to her and the rest of the away team as they transported down - obviously her materializing several feet above a body of brackish water had not been part of the original plan, and, from what she could hear over the first officer's commbadge, someone evidently didn't want them (or anyone else, for that matter) to be down planetside.

Regardless, though, as much as quite a lot of things had gone wrong on this trip so far (as they seemed to do with the Challenger, usually), Tora still had a job to do down here, which didn't necessarily involve her specialised expertise. So she'd followed her group north, tracking the source of the radiation they were meant to be locating. Time seemed to run like molasses; the more they trekked, the more sand, dust, rocks and jaggedy formations they saw. Indeed, the entire planet seemed pretty devoid of life; a possible reason became clear as soon as she and the team came within about one hundred metres of the source and her tricorder began to beep more insistently as it registered heightened levels of radiation.

"Neutronic radiation. Straight ahead." She reported to the others, before beginning the brief trek up the sandy dune in front of them. Beep. Beep beep. Beep beep beep beep. Her tricorder was almost buzzing by the time she crested the dune and took in the sight beyond, just downslope. Craters. Many of them. All of them circular-ish and several feet wide each, arranged almost in a discernible patten. Tora held up her tricorder, and what she saw on screen made her take a sharp breath. "We found it. The source." She said, motioning to the craters below. "I'd hazard a guess that those craters were probably made by some kind of explosive. Powerful ones. Neutron bombs or torpedoes or some kind of similar ordnance." She said. "Judging by the atomic decay here, I'd say it happened about..." She tapped buttons on her tricorder, and the numbers came up on screen. "A century ago. One hundred to maybe a hundred and twenty."

[Talinos IV | Crash Site - Away Team]

The group had to cross an arid wasteland to reach the crash site, but what made Aarwendil stop for a moment wasn't sand or the fat that the mud by this point had solidified in his body. No, the unmistakable sound of his tricorder alerted him to the fact that it had detected something. It wasn't only his device, but those of Tora and Neva were also warning them.

He looked at the alert of radiation in the tricorder, before walking after Tora. He would stop next to her at the crest of the dune, staring at the thousands of craters that laid below them. "It looks a lot like what we would expect of a nuclear war." the Betazoid said, remembering the concept of such conflict from his studies about how warfare could be self-destructive.

"Maybe a conflict of this type happened on this planet." he looked at the dunes, trying to make sense of it. To know what had been targeted, the group would need to get close. However, they would need to wear a hazmat suit.

Then, he remembered that tests with atomic weapons were made in uninhabited places. Would it be the case here? He had his doubts. There were too many craters around.

[Tora Zalos]

[Talinos IV - Away Team]

"I could use a shower, too." Aarwendil said, while he followed Neva. Like him, she was also covered with mud. Besides the discomfort of being dirty, at least he was going to work with the woman again. They didn't have the chance of doing it since their last away mission that didn't end being cool.

He could even say that it even ended up being a bit traumatic.

[Talinos IV | Crash Site - Away Team]

The group had to cross an arid wasteland to reach the crash site, but what made Aarwendil stop for a moment wasn't sand or the fat that the mud by this point had solidified in his body. No, the unmistakable sound of his tricorder alerted him to the fact that it had detected something. It wasn't only his device, but those of Tora and Neva were also warning them.

He looked at the alert of radiation in the tricorder, before walking after Tora. He would stop next to her at the crest of the dune, staring at the thousands of craters that laid below them. "It looks a lot like what we would expect of a nuclear war." the Betazoid said, remembering the concept of such conflict from his studies about how warfare could be self-destructive.

"Maybe a conflict of this type happened on this planet." he looked at the dunes, trying to make sense of it. To know what had been targeted, the group would need to get close. However, they would need to wear a hazmat suit.

Then, he remembered that tests with atomic weapons were made in uninhabited places. Would it be the case here? He had his doubts. There were too many craters around.

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Talinos IV]

"Definitely seems like it." Tora remarked to her fellow scientist. A little shiver ran up her spine just thinking about it. "Come on. Let's go with the Commander. There's more to see!" She flashed a wonky smile and started after the rest of the away team with her tricorder in hand.

[Talinos IV, Shuttle Wreck]

"I'm guessing whoever survived the crash of this shuttle, their only option would've been the city there." He nodded to the abandoned city shimmering on the horizon across the dusty plain. Malik assisted with securing Zhuk's arm as best he could, but he was no medic. Maybe the city would have some left over medical equipment.

Now feeling rested again, Malik got ready to move on. Calindra picked up an energy source and so that would have to be their destination. "Lead the way, ensign."

"Grippen to away team. We've detected an energy source 2 km to the north. Rendezvous with us there. Grippen out."

Their half of the away team set off. A Risan, injured Caitain and two Humans.

[City Outskirts]

The seemingly abandoned city was constructed in a relatively modern looking style. With white stone buildings and long boulevards all leading to a central point. The buildings looked well preserved both inside and out although a few collapses had taken place. There was no signs of life or movement.

"Alright let's take a look around. See if we can find a hospital or medical facility with some left over equipment. Drinking Water also, we're already dehydrated. Ensign Zalos, you're up. Lets get these buildings analysed and dated, see who may have lived here."

Barren described the city they were looking at perfectly. Barren. Desolate. Devoid of all life. The whole place felt sterilised, almost, with the blocky white buildings and long, featureless boulevards leading to what seemed to be a central plaza or courtyard. It was almost as if the builders of the entire place had wanted it to look that way on purpose. Steeling herself, Tora forged ahead into what seemed like an apartment complex, judging by the architecture of it. Opening the door revealed what seemed to be a concierge-like desk with a chair behind it located within a lobby of some kind. The furniture seemed not too dissimilar to what one might find on Earth - sofa-like seats or divans, small triangular tables stood on four three legs and what appeared to be some sort of cooling unit in a corner. That was good. Cooling hopefully meant water, or some other kind of hydrating liquid. Her tricorder began to sound as soon as she got within about five feet of it, though - neutronic radiation, decayed but still present. Tora sighed as she reluctantly moved on from it. Without proper protective equipment, opening it would be far more dangerous than was actually worth it.

Looking at the concierge desk, though, was about to yield a nasty surprise. A skeleton, humanoid in shape, rattled as she turned the chair around, and fell to the floor in a decomposed heap of bones with a clatter - elliciting a squeak of surprise from the Cardassian. A quick scan of the pile of bones lined her brow with worry. "Neutronic radiation." She murmured. "I guess we now know how all the people in here died..."

[Calindra Hejaran]

[City Outskirts]

The seemingly abandoned city was constructed in a relatively modern looking style. With white stone buildings and long boulevards all leading to a central point. The buildings looked well preserved both inside and out although a few collapses had taken place. There was no signs of life or movement.

"Alright let's take a look around. See if we can find a hospital or medical facility with some left over equipment. Drinking Water also, we're already dehydrated. Ensign Zalos, you're up. Lets get these buildings analysed and dated, see who may have lived here."

[Talinos IV | Crash Site - Away Team]
He looked at the alert of radiation in the tricorder, before walking after Tora. He would stop next to her at the crest of the dune, staring at the thousands of craters that laid below them. "It looks a lot like what we would expect of a nuclear war." the Betazoid said, remembering the concept of such conflict from his studies about how warfare could be self-destructive.

"Maybe a conflict of this type happened on this planet." he looked at the dunes, trying to make sense of it. To know what had been targeted, the group would need to get close. However, they would need to wear a hazmat suit.

Then, he remembered that tests with atomic weapons were made in uninhabited places. Would it be the case here? He had his doubts. There were too many craters around.

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Talinos IV]

"Definitely seems like it." Tora remarked to her fellow scientist. A little shiver ran up her spine just thinking about it. "Come on. Let's go with the Commander. There's more to see!" She flashed a wonky smile and started after the rest of the away team with her tricorder in hand.

Looking at the concierge desk, though, was about to yield a nasty surprise. A skeleton, humanoid in shape, rattled as she turned the chair around, and fell to the floor in a decomposed heap of bones with a clatter - elliciting a squeak of surprise from the Cardassian. A quick scan of the pile of bones lined her brow with worry. "Neutronic radiation." She murmured. "I guess we now know how all the people in here died..."

.
[Ensign Hejaran - Talinos IV - City Outskirts]

Calindra stood transfixed at what looked like a children's play area. There were charred structures to slide down, little houses to play from, broken ladders and bridges leading to other structures, and what looked like empty wings swinging in what was left of the Talinosian breeze. She shivered when she noticed the bodies surrounding the structures, little diminutive bones, fragile things that would likely crumble to dust at the lightest touch. She could almost hear the children laughing and playing, and then screaming in terror as the destructive force of the neutron bomb's explosion coursed towards them, unrelentless, uncaring, destroying everything on its path as these little ones ran to their parents' arms for safety.

"And to think this could have happened on Earth," she said, a small tear rolling down her dirty face, leaving a clean track down her cheek.

She tore herself from the scene, her heart breaking at the thought. She had to do something else. She reached for her tricorder looking for water sources.

[Zhukdrashar Mrekrerhas]

"Negative, we stick together. Strength in numbers should whoever blasted the ship make an appearance. You two lead from the front and keep an eye out, I've got my hands full here..."

Malik appreciated the ensign's initiative however, but the last thing he wanted was for two of them to fall behind, be ambushed or even lost. They were nearly to the wreck, just a little further now.

[Talinos IV, shuttle wreck]

When they arrived at the burnt out shuttle wreck, Malik gently aided the caitian to the ground and propped up against the hull. The Risan took a moment to rest then to. He was parched, the plain dust had coated his uniform and made him all the more thirsty.

"Lets rest here for a bit. Need to take a closer look at your arm, Zhuk. Calindra, see what you can salvage from this hulk. Even a splint for the broken arm would be useful."

He examined Mrekrerhas's broke arm and head wound. "How do you feel?"

Malik knew the Starfleet basic first aid that all officers were taught, and this was refreshed annually. But it was limited. He didn't now how to properly reset a broken bone, but did know how to apply a decent splint to secure it. At least this wasn't an open fracture, those were nasty.

[Talinos IV - Crash Site]

Malik's party had to travel three kilometers to reach the crash site and found the wreck of a shuttle. Any hopes of a medkit were dashed as it was obvious that the craft had been fired after being stripped of all useful equipment. There was a large hole in the hull clearly caused by a disruptor that destroyed most of the craft's control systems forcing it to crash land.  Thorough tricorder scans revealed part of a feathered wing design on an undamaged section of hull indicating the shuttle was likely of Romulan origin.

Burning the shuttle before abandoning it was fully consistent with the Romulan policy of not letting their vessels fall into enemy hands, which left Malik, Mrekrerhas, Hejaran and Inys with nothing to show for the effort taken to reach the wreck.

[Lieutenant Commander Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Arid Plains | Crash Site | Unknown Planet]

The Caitian's heart sank once he was close enough to the crash site. He gazed up at the burnt wreck, perhaps intuitively realizing that there was nothing to salvage, and so their efforts had been for naught. He did appreciate a moment to rest, at least, and so, with the gentle guidance of Malik, ended up resting against one of the metal walls that once made up the vessel. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back as he tried to find comfort even through the pain.

Crewman Idrys promptly joined Calindra in the investigation of the ruins, leaving Malik and Zhuk relatively alone. Though his ears swished in the Risian's direction, letting him know he had indeed heard, it took him a little moment to respond to the query, "I... I remain operational, Commander..."

He tried to reassure Malik, though now a headache had taken over, and it was getting hard to concentrate. Zhuk knew he wasn't making a good case, but he did not want the attention of the mission to be turned solely on his direction. There were better things to focus on, he believed, than himself.

[Ensign Hejaran - Talinos IV - On Route to Crash Site - Arid Plains]
.
"Aye, sir," Calindra said with a nod before joining Idrys a few meters ahead. She kept a vigilant eye on the chosen landmark and would occasionally turn around to see how the Commanders were doing. At the pace they were setting, she expected to see the wreck in about an hour or so.
.
.[Ensign Hejaran - Talinos IV, Shuttle Wreck - Arid Plains]
.
Calindra was already giving the shuttle a second look-over in case they had missed anything the first time, but when the commander asked for something that could be used as a splint, the ensign opened up a panel and started pulling out wiring from the ship's innards. As to smaller pieces that could work for a splint, there wasn't any shortage of loose metallic parts. She quickly gathered several meters of wires and found two good pieces of fuselage that could immobilize their security officer's arm.

"Might be a good place to keep in mind should we need to camp out here, we'd have a roof overhead if need be," she said as she provided Malik with the impromptu medical gear.

"One thing is bothering me though. If it's SOP for the Romulans to torch their own vessels, wouldn't that mean the Romulans walked away from the crash? I'll take some readings from the ship to give us an idea of how long the wreck has been sitting here, and if it's recent... I'll see if I can get a bearing on its old occupants."

When Calindra arrived, Zhuk opened one eye, noting the equipment that she had managed to salvage. Yeah, seemed to be just about what he expected. He sighed, figuring out that it was better than nothing.

Suddenly, though, a set of words caught his attention. He opened both of his eyes and frowned. Using his good hand, he pushed himself from the hull, trying to take another look at the crash. Yes, of course. How he hadn't noticed it before?

"R-Romulans...?"

Trying to stand up, he stumbled back to a sitting position after a first attempt. Gritting his teeth, he decided to return to his seated position so that Malik could fasten the makeshift splint on him.

[Talinos IV, Shuttle Wreck]

"I'm guessing whoever survived the crash of this shuttle, their only option would've been the city there." He nodded to the abandoned city shimmering on the horizon across the dusty plain. Malik assisted with securing Zhuk's arm as best he could, but he was no medic. Maybe the city would have some left over medical equipment.

Now feeling rested again, Malik got ready to move on. Calindra picked up an energy source and so that would have to be their destination. "Lead the way, ensign."

"Grippen to away team. We've detected an energy source 2 km to the north. Rendezvous with us there. Grippen out."

Their half of the away team set off. A Risan, injured Caitain and two Humans.

[City Outskirts]

The seemingly abandoned city was constructed in a relatively modern looking style. With white stone buildings and long boulevards all leading to a central point. The buildings looked well preserved both inside and out although a few collapses had taken place. There was no signs of life or movement.

"Alright let's take a look around. See if we can find a hospital or medical facility with some left over equipment. Drinking Water also, we're already dehydrated. Ensign Zalos, you're up. Lets get these buildings analysed and dated, see who may have lived here."

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Talinos IV]

"Definitely seems like it." Tora remarked to her fellow scientist. A little shiver ran up her spine just thinking about it. "Come on. Let's go with the Commander. There's more to see!" She flashed a wonky smile and started after the rest of the away team with her tricorder in hand.

Barren described the city they were looking at perfectly. Barren. Desolate. Devoid of all life. The whole place felt sterilised, almost, with the blocky white buildings and long, featureless boulevards leading to what seemed to be a central plaza or courtyard. It was almost as if the builders of the entire place had wanted it to look that way on purpose. Steeling herself, Tora forged ahead into what seemed like an apartment complex, judging by the architecture of it. Opening the door revealed what seemed to be a concierge-like desk with a chair behind it located within a lobby of some kind. The furniture seemed not too dissimilar to what one might find on Earth - sofa-like seats or divans, small triangular tables stood on four three legs and what appeared to be some sort of cooling unit in a corner. That was good. Cooling hopefully meant water, or some other kind of hydrating liquid. Her tricorder began to sound as soon as she got within about five feet of it, though - neutronic radiation, decayed but still present. Tora sighed as she reluctantly moved on from it. Without proper protective equipment, opening it would be far more dangerous than was actually worth it.

Looking at the concierge desk, though, was about to yield a nasty surprise. A skeleton, humanoid in shape, rattled as she turned the chair around, and fell to the floor in a decomposed heap of bones with a clatter - elliciting a squeak of surprise from the Cardassian. A quick scan of the pile of bones lined her brow with worry. "Neutronic radiation." She murmured. "I guess we now know how all the people in here died..."

[Lieutenant Commander Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Arid Plains | City Outskirts | Unknown Planet]

Though the travel to the ruined City was harsh on him, Zhuk managed to keep up with the group. He had learned to push through adversity even before he joined Starfleet, and that wouldn't change now, even if his head was pounding constantly. Though impeded from being absorbed fully by his thoughts, as it usually happened, the relative silence to the travel made him wonder if there could truly be any Romulan survivors around. The planet seemed desolate, so such a notion was improbable.

There surely had been some survivors - if not, the ship would not have been destroyed as it was. Had they been rescued, though? Or had they perished long ago due to the conditions of this place? Strangely, even though at first the idea of them perishing like this gave him some glee, it slowly turned into empathy. If it had been him, he would probably have been desperate. Yet, perhaps with a group, things would have proven more manageable. Surviving against all odds - it sounded somewhat romantic to the poetic Caitian.

Once closer, Zhuk decided to take refuge in one of the many desolate buildings. He wished to find some shade from the burning heat, and maybe find some clues as to what had transpired here. After deciding for a moment, Zhuk eventually settled to follow Tora and company, following inside the apartment building. Noting the lobby with the furniture, he saw it as a good idea to take a seat.

The reprieve did not last too long, however, as once he was on the sofa-like structure, Tora broke his peace with a little shriek. He swiftly stood up, brandishing claws from his right hand, though almost as immediately wincing as he attempted to move his injured arm. Crap. He hated this.

Fortunately, it was nothing to be overly worried about - just a pile of bones that had previously been propped up in a chair. The fact that neutronic radiation still lingered, though, did stopped him from returning to the cushion.

"Ah... should we be worried about it? Will it mess our guts up?" Crewman Gorman asked as he lowered his phaser rifle after aiming it towards the concierge desk. Zhuk was thankful, as he was about to answer the same question,

"Also... uh... you know what kinda skull is that? Uh... well, from, rather. Heh."