S:5 E:16 - A Doomsday Like Any Other

[Ian Galloway]

[Commander Nira Said | Central Computer Core >- Bridge >- Corridors >- Airlock | Doomsday Weapon]

What Neva came up with, Nira was not expecting. The alarms certainly indicated something was wrong, along with Neva's reaction, but what that wrong thing was, Neva mentioned a moment later what it was, and it made Nira widen her eyes in shock.

"Shit!" she shouted in shock. "See what you can do; otherwise, we better get the hell back to the hangar!"

When Neva's attempts failed, Nira shouted, "Never mind! Run!"

Nira was certain that running in the gravity field of the Machine made the team use up more of their oxygen backups in their rebreathers, and running with the gravity they have, again, it was how it felt for a heavy eater to run. Only the rebreathers kept them from running out of breath. Even with retracing the route in her mind, Nira was worried they wouldn't get back in time.

As they ran, she began noticing new doors...or rather, doors they hadn't noticed on their way from the hangar, all glowing purple, same as the warning lights. Upon reaching a third such door, Nira said, "Hold it! Let's try this, maybe it'll be a shortcut."

She got to it, it opened for her, and inside was an airlock.

"Of all times we could've had EVA suits," Nira muttered....they definitely weren't going to make it back to the hangar in time. She realized she forgot to call Espada in her shock. Her mind was racing. Without suits, but with rebreathers, there was a chance. They'd probably last longer than they would without them, breath-wise, but it all hinged on Espada beaming them out anyway...

"Said to Mjolnir!" she said, tapping her comm badge. "Mister Espada! Hector, are you there? If you can hear us, beam us aboard the Mjolnir. If you can get away from the hangar, beam us aboard the Mjolnir anyway. Otherwise...well, we're at an airlock, see if you can find one...but in any case, get a lock on our comm badges. You'll have a matter of seconds."

She looked at Neva and said, "Get to the airlock controls and see if you can get them open, Neva. Everybody else, when Neva is ready, keep your breath in as long as you can."

It was a huge risk, but it was the fastest option, and they were out of time. She began making a silent prayer to Allah. She prayed for Neva and for Hector that he heard them and can get to the transporter controls in time. Nonetheless, she was confident it would work. They wouldn't be long. It's happened in the past, like less than a century and a half ago, when Jonathan Archer had to be blown out of space to escape hostiles; at least the NX-01 was close by. She prayed to Allah that Hector would get out in time and get them.

[Inside --> Outside Doomsday Machine - Angdarr System]

As the away team was swept out into the void of space, they were struck, which was the proper way to describe the impact of the cold on their bodies when it completely enveloped them. It was a cold so profound that it defied classification. On top of the bone crushing cold, each person knew they had roughly 30 seconds of useful consciousness before they asphyxiated. As hope and the light in their eyes dimmed, each saw what they perceived as the fabled light that supposedly led to the afterlife. While it was a given that being in Starfleet was a dangerous profession, it never occurred to Nira, Neva, Tora, Jamil, or Dil that their lives would end in the emptiness of space.

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

[Lt. Commmander Kyan Mackenzie | Sickbay > Bridge, USS Challenger]

Kyan laughed as the kindergarteners set upon him. The onslaught of questions from the gang of five-year-olds was almost enough to make him forget that he'd been stunned by a phaser and not a disruptor, which was a conversation he'd be having with someone later. For now, he did his best to answer all their questions and took a few minutes to enjoy the fun while he could. Now that this situation appeared to be at its end, there was still a planet-eating ice cream cone out there someplace.

"Well this lots don't seem no worse for wear." he called up to Jalen when he spied him standing in the door. "Sure and ye been getting em good and spun up with yer jumja suckers this whole time in there!"

Eventually the Onlie had to extricate himself from the mob and get back to work, although he'd much rather have rather stayed and helped Jalen corral the little kids.

~Later, on the bridge

Since Zhuk was more than capable of handling tactical, Kyan deposited himself in Nira's empty chair beside Galloway. He brought up the tactical display and looked it over. It looked pretty dire. Seven Romulan warships in a fan formation. "Ye know... Its just about tired of Romulans I am, the sneaky wankers." Kyan offered to no one in particular. "An Orions too... and I'm never coming back tae this planet again!"

Then he looked over at Galloway. "Is the Romulan the same one we seen on the planet? The part time commander?"

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian was keeping an eye on the count down timer of the hour they'd been given drop below five minutes and he felt helpless as he had no more ideas on how to save his ship than when the timer started. Thus when Kyan spoke, it was a relief.

"Avolus? He's out there, but nae the one in charge. It's that ancient wanker Tal that's in command here. Avolus struck me as a reasonable sort, we would have been able ta negotiate with him. There is file on this Tal. Seems he was the second in command on the Romulan V-11 class battlecruiser when Kirk stole that cloaking device. Tal took a lot of heat for lettin' the Enterprise escape with both the cloak and the squadron commander. I guess he's got a grudge..."

At this moment Randall at the science station spoke up.

"Sir, forgive the interruption, but something is happening on the Machine. Power output has tripled! If it keeps increasing I don't see how it doesn't destroy itself!"

"Bloody hell! Helm take us ta 100,000 kilometers. Fernando, warn the Romulans, maybe that will buy us some good will. Any sign of the away team Evan?"

"The Machine's dampening field has increased as the power has, there's too much interference to get any readings."

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

[Shuttle Mjolnir - Angdarr System]

Nira's eyes opened and she immediately wished they hadn't. She was colder than she thought was possible and could see that her exposed skin was discolored, likely by frostbite. She maintained consciousness long enough to see the rest of the away team was present before she gave into the unconsciousness.

Lieutenant Hector Espada was unable to help the away team at the moment. He'd picked up their combadges outside the hull of the Doomsday Machine almost immediately because he was scanning for their signals intently at the time. He had just enough time to beam them aboard before going to warp for a quarter of a second. He didn't want to be anywhere near the Machine as he'd also detected the buildup of power and as strong and powerful as a Delta-Flyer might be, it was no match for the blast that a power plant as big as the one on the Machine would generate if it exploded.

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

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

The ship's viewscreen held Ian's full attention as Randall continued to report the power increase and that overload had to be coming soon.

"Ops, increase shieldin' and structural integrity by fifty percent."

"Aye Sir."

Seconds after Catalan completed reinforcing the Challenger's defenses, the Machine exploded. Which, while the correct word, it failed to fully describe the power of the detonation utterly. The flash was so bright, the viewscreen had to shut down to prevent being overloaded. Thus, it was several seconds before the crew of the Challenger could see what had happened.

The Machine was gone, the explosion had been so violent that it managed to shatter the neutronium hull into thousands of fragments. Up until this point it wasn't believed that anything could destroy neutronium and it spoke to the thunderous power the Machine held.

In a voice barely above a whisper, Ian asked.

"The away team?"

"Just a minute Sir, local space is heavily disrupted... wait... wait... I have the Mjolnir! She's asking for medical assistance!"

"Sweet Merciful Maker! Beam them directly ta sickbay. Kyan, you have the bridge!"

Ian said as he all but vaulted out the command chair and raced for the turbolift. The trip to sickbay felt monumentally slow, but soon the doors opened and he rushed into medical, his heart pounding at what he might find. There he found Nira, Neva, Dil, Jamil, and Tora all on biobeds being tended to by a phalanx of doctors and nurses. As much as he wanted answers, he knew he was the intruder here and after a quick glance at the bio-readings that said the five patients were alive, he found a seat and waited for someone to brief him when they had answers.

[Neva Cordon]

[Inside --> Outside Doomsday Machine - Angdarr System]

As the away team was swept out into the void of space, they were struck, which was the proper way to describe the impact of the cold on their bodies when it completely enveloped them. It was a cold so profound that it defied classification. On top of the bone-crushing cold, each person knew they had roughly 30 seconds of useful consciousness before they asphyxiated. As hope and the light in their eyes dimmed, each saw what they perceived as the fabled light that supposedly led to the afterlife. While it was a given that being in Starfleet was a dangerous profession, it never occurred to Nira, Neva, Tora, Jamil, or Dil that their lives would end in the emptiness of space.

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

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian was keeping an eye on the countdown timer of the hour they'd been given drop below five minutes and he felt helpless as he had no more ideas on how to save his ship than when the timer started. Thus when Kyan spoke, it was a relief.

"Avolus? He's out there, but nae the one in charge. It's that ancient wanker Tal that's in command here. Avolus struck me as a reasonable sort, we would have been able ta negotiate with him. There is a file on this Tal. Seems he was the second in command on the Romulan V-11 class battlecruiser when Kirk stole that cloaking device. Tal took a lot of heat for lettin' the Enterprise escape with both the cloak and the squadron commander. I guess he's got a grudge..."

At this moment Randall at the science station spoke up.

"Sir, forgive the interruption, but something is happening on the Machine. Power output has tripled! If it keeps increasing I don't see how it doesn't destroy itself!"

"Bloody hell! Helm take us ta 100,000 kilometers. Fernando, warn the Romulans, maybe that will buy us some goodwill. Any sign of the away team Evan?"

"The Machine's dampening field has increased as the power has, there's too much interference to get any readings."

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

[Shuttle Mjolnir - Angdarr System]

Nira's eyes opened and she immediately wished they hadn't. She was colder than she thought was possible and could see that her exposed skin was discolored, likely by frostbite. She maintained consciousness long enough to see the rest of the away team was present before she gave in to the unconsciousness.

Lieutenant Hector Espada was unable to help the away team at the moment. He'd picked up their combadges outside the hull of the Doomsday Machine almost immediately because he was scanning for their signals intently at the time. He had just enough time to beam them aboard before going to warp for a quarter of a second. He didn't want to be anywhere near the Machine as he'd also detected the buildup of power and as strong and powerful as a Delta-Flyer might be, it was no match for the blast that a power plant as big as the one on the Machine would generate if it exploded.

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

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

The ship's viewscreen held Ian's full attention as Randall continued to report the power increase and that overload had to be coming soon.

"Ops, increase shieldin' and structural integrity by fifty percent."

"Aye Sir."

Seconds after Catalan completed reinforcing the Challenger's defenses, the Machine exploded. Which, while the correct word, failed to fully describe the power of the detonation utterly. The flash was so bright, the viewscreen had to shut down to prevent being overloaded. Thus, it was several seconds before the crew of the Challenger could see what had happened.

The Machine was gone, the explosion had been so violent that it managed to shatter the neutronium hull into thousands of fragments. Up until this point, it wasn't believed that anything could destroy neutronium and it spoke to the thunderous power the Machine held.

In a voice barely above a whisper, Ian asked.

"The away team?"

"Just a minute Sir, local space is heavily disrupted... wait... wait... I have the Mjolnir! She's asking for medical assistance!"

"Sweet Merciful Maker! Beam them directly ta sickbay. Kyan, you have the bridge!"

Ian said as he all but vaulted out of the command chair and raced for the turbolift. The trip to sickbay felt monumentally slow, but soon the doors opened and he rushed into medical, his heart pounding at what he might find. There he found Nira, Neva, Dil, Jamil, and Tora all on biobeds being tended to by a phalanx of doctors and nurses. As much as he wanted answers, he knew he was the intruder here and after a quick glance at the bio-readings that said the five patients were alive, he found a seat and waited for someone to brief him when they had answers.

[Ensign Neva Cordon|USS-Challenger|Sickbay]

Cold....soooo cold... Daddy...Daddy come...come...back...

Neva swam towards the light Daddy! Nooo...don't leave me! She wasn't getting anywhere, she was swimming against some invisible tide. He wasn't coming to her. He stood there with his hand frozen as if he still held her hand, but she couldn't reciprocate. She was falling backward...

NOOOOOOooooooo

Neva's black eyes popped open, fear evident. Cold beyond anything she'd ever felt burned within her and her eyes widened in terror...

She tried to look around, but all was blurry. A dark shape loomed over her with the sound far away to her icy-hot ears and she felt tears crystalize on her face. She didn't trust her body to move, so she implored the only way she knew how.

'Please...help me!' She urged telepathically. 'Sssooo COLD!'

Suddenly, it felt like a cacophony had swooped into her ears and was turned up to a crushingly loud volume. Neva winced and started keening from the discordancy she felt.

'HEEEELLLLPPPP MEEEEEE....'

[Nira Said]

[Inside --> Outside Doomsday Machine - Angdarr System]

As the away team was swept out into the void of space, they were struck, which was the proper way to describe the impact of the cold on their bodies when it completely enveloped them. It was a cold so profound that it defied classification. On top of the bone crushing cold, each person knew they had roughly 30 seconds of useful consciousness before they asphyxiated. As hope and the light in their eyes dimmed, each saw what they perceived as the fabled light that supposedly led to the afterlife. While it was a given that being in Starfleet was a dangerous profession, it never occurred to Nira, Neva, Tora, Jamil, or Dil that their lives would end in the emptiness of space.

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

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian was keeping an eye on the count down timer of the hour they'd been given drop below five minutes and he felt helpless as he had no more ideas on how to save his ship than when the timer started. Thus when Kyan spoke, it was a relief.

"Avolus? He's out there, but nae the one in charge. It's that ancient wanker Tal that's in command here. Avolus struck me as a reasonable sort, we would have been able ta negotiate with him. There is file on this Tal. Seems he was the second in command on the Romulan V-11 class battlecruiser when Kirk stole that cloaking device. Tal took a lot of heat for lettin' the Enterprise escape with both the cloak and the squadron commander. I guess he's got a grudge..."

At this moment Randall at the science station spoke up.

"Sir, forgive the interruption, but something is happening on the Machine. Power output has tripled! If it keeps increasing I don't see how it doesn't destroy itself!"

"Bloody hell! Helm take us ta 100,000 kilometers. Fernando, warn the Romulans, maybe that will buy us some good will. Any sign of the away team Evan?"

"The Machine's dampening field has increased as the power has, there's too much interference to get any readings."

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

[Shuttle Mjolnir - Angdarr System]

Nira's eyes opened and she immediately wished they hadn't. She was colder than she thought was possible and could see that her exposed skin was discolored, likely by frostbite. She maintained consciousness long enough to see the rest of the away team was present before she gave into the unconsciousness.

Lieutenant Hector Espada was unable to help the away team at the moment. He'd picked up their combadges outside the hull of the Doomsday Machine almost immediately because he was scanning for their signals intently at the time. He had just enough time to beam them aboard before going to warp for a quarter of a second. He didn't want to be anywhere near the Machine as he'd also detected the buildup of power and as strong and powerful as a Delta-Flyer might be, it was no match for the blast that a power plant as big as the one on the Machine would generate if it exploded.

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

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

The ship's viewscreen held Ian's full attention as Randall continued to report the power increase and that overload had to be coming soon.

"Ops, increase shieldin' and structural integrity by fifty percent."

"Aye Sir."

Seconds after Catalan completed reinforcing the Challenger's defenses, the Machine exploded. Which, while the correct word, it failed to fully describe the power of the detonation utterly. The flash was so bright, the viewscreen had to shut down to prevent being overloaded. Thus, it was several seconds before the crew of the Challenger could see what had happened.

The Machine was gone, the explosion had been so violent that it managed to shatter the neutronium hull into thousands of fragments. Up until this point it wasn't believed that anything could destroy neutronium and it spoke to the thunderous power the Machine held.

In a voice barely above a whisper, Ian asked.

"The away team?"

"Just a minute Sir, local space is heavily disrupted... wait... wait... I have the Mjolnir! She's asking for medical assistance!"

"Sweet Merciful Maker! Beam them directly ta sickbay. Kyan, you have the bridge!"

Ian said as he all but vaulted out the command chair and raced for the turbolift. The trip to sickbay felt monumentally slow, but soon the doors opened and he rushed into medical, his heart pounding at what he might find. There he found Nira, Neva, Dil, Jamil, and Tora all on biobeds being tended to by a phalanx of doctors and nurses. As much as he wanted answers, he knew he was the intruder here and after a quick glance at the bio-readings that said the five patients were alive, he found a seat and waited for someone to brief him when they had answers.

[Commander Nira Said | Airlock | Doomsday Weapon >- Cold Space]

Nira thought she had known pain after being tortured by Gul Sherem. The cold of space was a lot worse, but she had no choice. She kept her eyes closed when they blew out of the airlock. After a few seconds passed, not hearing the familiar transporter beams, she dared opened her eyes...and wished she hadn't.

Her exposed skin was frosted over, but she dared look around for Espada.

Hector? Dammit, Hector, where are you? she thought desperately. She took a look back at the away team, realized what she had done to them all. She was still looking at them when she lost conciousness, her last thought being: Allah...What have I done...

[{NPC} Emergency Medical Hologram Mark XII | Sickbay | Deck Seven | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

"Please state the nature of the medical emerge...oh my GOD, what now?"

Given the overall excitement in Sickbay recently, and losing Nurse Davies until she can recover, it made sense for the EMH to be activated to help in treating the away team. He scowled as he looked down on them. A Mark One wouldn't be surprised to see what was ailing them.

"What were they doing, trying to spacejump back to Andgarr from an adjacent planet?" he muttered. "Why didn't they have EVA suits? Ah, never mind, get some oxygen pumped in, their rebreathers are depleted."

He looked up and noticed Captain Galloway had taken a seat and was waiting for them. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Ah, Captain. I'll see what I can do about Commander Said..."

"You better."

The EMH looked up and noticed Lieutenant Savar had just come in after the Captain, looking shocked. No surprise, the V'tosh Ka'tur was close to Nira. He hovered behind the Captain looking in worry at Nira.

"Lieutenant, if you cannot control yourself, speaking as a medical officer, regardless of what status a hologram like me holds, I will have to ask you to leave."

Savar looked between him and the Captain and understanding dawned on him. "I apologize...and I apologize for leaving my post...Nira...like this..."

He left the sentence hanging as he left Sickbay to get back to the bridge. The EMH then returned to focus on his work.

[Commander Nira Said | Sickbay | Deck Seven | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

The telepathic cry for help from Neva was what woke her. Or rather, stirred her from unconsciousness.

A light. Nira wondered if she was heading to heaven to be with Allah...or was it Krystaros, the highest worshipped Betazoid deity? It turned out, it was neither the heaven of Islam nor Betazed. She was in Sickbay, now that the light came into focus, her eyes barely open.

Then a man stood over her...she knew his nickname, at least, given he technically didn't have a name.

"Oh, good, Commander, you're awake," the EMH Mark XII said. "Try not to move much, you were almost an asphyxiated popsicle. That includes your mouth, at any rate."

Nira can see why, looking down and realizing there was an air pump in her mouth. Slowly but surely, she was getting air back in.

She looked around with her eyes, first looking for the team. She could see Neva being treated.

Neva...don't worry. We're alive. Thank Allah, we're alive!

Then she noticed Captain Galloway, and he was obviously waiting.

"Ah, yes, Captain Galloway hasn't left your side, Commander," said the EMH. "I hope he recognizes it'll be a while before you can communi...what are you...?"

Ensuring her hand at the side of her visible to the Captain was showing as much as possible, Nira began tapping a finger, making a quiet tapping.

"What's this, some kind of involuntary nerve response in your hand...?" But the EMH looked hard and realized there was a pattern in Nira's tapping. "Or perhaps...not involuntary...I think, according to my database, it's a common form of Morse Code."

It was, indeed, Morse Code, something Nira had studied at the Academy as an alternative form of communication, recognizing there can be situations where her telepathy won't be affective. She was now tapping repeatedly to get Captain Galloway's attention:

-.-. .- -. / -.-- --- ..- / .- -.-. -.- -. --- .-- .-.. . -.. --. . ..--..

("Can you acknowledge?")

The moment she got the Captain's attention, and responded, she tapped a new message:

- .... . .-. . / .. ... / ... --- / -- ..- -.-. .... / .. / .-- .- -. - / - --- / - . .-.. .-.. / -.-- --- ..- .-.-.- / -... ..- - / .. - / .. ... / -. --- - / . .- ... -.-- / .-.. .. -.- . / - .... .. ... .-.-.- / .. / .-- .- -. - / - --- / ... .... --- .-- / -.-- --- ..- / .. -. ... - . .- -.. .-.-.- / .--. . .-. -- .. ... ... .. --- -. / - --- / -.-. --- -- -- ..- -. .. -.-. .- - . / .-- .. - .... / - . .-.. . .--. .- - .... -.-- ..--..

("There is so much I want to tell you. But it is not easy like this. I want to show you instead. Permission to communicate with telepathy?")

As much as she wanted to give her report, Morse Code didn't seem useful if, in being treated, she cannot move much. She had to admit, she hadn't asked permission to communicate telepathically for a long time; she stopped trying to ask that, given she was always denied thus. As much as she was expecting to be denied, nonetheless, she wanted to show Captain Galloway what she and the team had seen, and what had happened.

[Ian Galloway]

[Commander Nira Said | Airlock | Doomsday Weapon >- Cold Space]

Nira thought she had known pain after being tortured by Gul Sherem. The cold of space was a lot worse, but she had no choice. She kept her eyes closed when they blew out of the airlock. After a few seconds passed, not hearing the familiar transporter beams, she dared opened her eyes...and wished she hadn't.

Her exposed skin was frosted over, but she dared look around for Espada.

Hector? Dammit, Hector, where are you? she thought desperately. She took a look back at the away team, realized what she had done to them all. She was still looking at them when she lost conciousness, her last thought being: Allah...What have I done...

[{NPC} Emergency Medical Hologram Mark XII | Sickbay | Deck Seven | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

"Please state the nature of the medical emerge...oh my GOD, what now?"

Given the overall excitement in Sickbay recently, and losing Nurse Davies until she can recover, it made sense for the EMH to be activated to help in treating the away team. He scowled as he looked down on them. A Mark One wouldn't be surprised to see what was ailing them.

"What were they doing, trying to spacejump back to Andgarr from an adjacent planet?" he muttered. "Why didn't they have EVA suits? Ah, never mind, get some oxygen pumped in, their rebreathers are depleted."

He looked up and noticed Captain Galloway had taken a seat and was waiting for them. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Ah, Captain. I'll see what I can do about Commander Said..."

"You better."

The EMH looked up and noticed Lieutenant Savar had just come in after the Captain, looking shocked. No surprise, the V'tosh Ka'tur was close to Nira. He hovered behind the Captain looking in worry at Nira.

"Lieutenant, if you cannot control yourself, speaking as a medical officer, regardless of what status a hologram like me holds, I will have to ask you to leave."

Savar looked between him and the Captain and understanding dawned on him. "I apologize...and I apologize for leaving my post...Nira...like this..."

He left the sentence hanging as he left Sickbay to get back to the bridge. The EMH then returned to focus on his work.

[Commander Nira Said | Sickbay | Deck Seven | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

The telepathic cry for help from Neva was what woke her. Or rather, stirred her from unconsciousness.

A light. Nira wondered if she was heading to heaven to be with Allah...or was it Krystaros, the highest worshipped Betazoid deity? It turned out, it was neither the heaven of Islam nor Betazed. She was in Sickbay, now that the light came into focus, her eyes barely open.

Then a man stood over her...she knew his nickname, at least, given he technically didn't have a name.

"Oh, good, Commander, you're awake," the EMH Mark XII said. "Try not to move much, you were almost an asphyxiated popsicle. That includes your mouth, at any rate."

Nira can see why, looking down and realizing there was an air pump in her mouth. Slowly but surely, she was getting air back in.

She looked around with her eyes, first looking for the team. She could see Neva being treated.

Neva...don't worry. We're alive. Thank Allah, we're alive!

Then she noticed Captain Galloway, and he was obviously waiting.

"Ah, yes, Captain Galloway hasn't left your side, Commander," said the EMH. "I hope he recognizes it'll be a while before you can communi...what are you...?"

Ensuring her hand at the side of her visible to the Captain was showing as much as possible, Nira began tapping a finger, making a quiet tapping.

"What's this, some kind of involuntary nerve response in your hand...?" But the EMH looked hard and realized there was a pattern in Nira's tapping. "Or perhaps...not involuntary...I think, according to my database, it's a common form of Morse Code."

It was, indeed, Morse Code, something Nira had studied at the Academy as an alternative form of communication, recognizing there can be situations where her telepathy won't be affective. She was now tapping repeatedly to get Captain Galloway's attention:

-.-. .- -. / -.-- --- ..- / .- -.-. -.- -. --- .-- .-.. . -.. --. . ..--..

("Can you acknowledge?")

The moment she got the Captain's attention, and responded, she tapped a new message:

- .... . .-. . / .. ... / ... --- / -- ..- -.-. .... / .. / .-- .- -. - / - --- / - . .-.. .-.. / -.-- --- ..- .-.-.- / -... ..- - / .. - / .. ... / -. --- - / . .- ... -.-- / .-.. .. -.- . / - .... .. ... .-.-.- / .. / .-- .- -. - / - --- / ... .... --- .-- / -.-- --- ..- / .. -. ... - . .- -.. .-.-.- / .--. . .-. -- .. ... ... .. --- -. / - --- / -.-. --- -- -- ..- -. .. -.-. .- - . / .-- .. - .... / - . .-.. . .--. .- - .... -.-- ..--..

("There is so much I want to tell you. But it is not easy like this. I want to show you instead. Permission to communicate with telepathy?")

As much as she wanted to give her report, Morse Code didn't seem useful if, in being treated, she cannot move much. She had to admit, she hadn't asked permission to communicate telepathically for a long time; she stopped trying to ask that, given she was always denied thus. As much as she was expecting to be denied, nonetheless, she wanted to show Captain Galloway what she and the team had seen, and what had happened.

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Ian nodded to the EMH, giving him a grim smile. He knew that the medical staff was top notch and that 25th Century medicine was nothing short of magic. As the away team had made it to sickbay, he had complete confidence they would all survive.

His eyes widened when he saw Nira communicating in Morse. He could but marvel at her dedication. He tapped back.

.-. . .--. --- .-. - / -.-. .- -. / -... .-.. --- --- -.. -.-- / .-- .- .. - .-.-.- / .... . .- .-.. / ..-. .. .-. ... - .-.-.- / - .- .-.. -.- / .-.. .- - . .-. .-.-.-

(Report can bloody wait. Heal first. Talk later.)

[Nira Said]

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Ian nodded to the EMH, giving him a grim smile. He knew that the medical staff was top notch and that 25th Century medicine was nothing short of magic. As the away team had made it to sickbay, he had complete confidence they would all survive.

His eyes widened when he saw Nira communicating in Morse. He could but marvel at her dedication. He tapped back.

.-. . .--. --- .-. - / -.-. .- -. / -... .-.. --- --- -.. -.-- / .-- .- .. - .-.-.- / .... . .- .-.. / ..-. .. .-. ... - .-.-.- / - .- .-.. -.- / .-.. .- - . .-. .-.-.-

(Report can bloody wait. Heal first. Talk later.)

[Commander Nira Said | Sickbay | Deck Seven | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira heard Ian's reply. She nodded in reply, and followed up with a response of her own.

.. / ..- -. -.. . .-. ... - .- -. -..

(I understand).

[Abas Th'vyrrol]

[Sickbay]

Abas forced himself to stop concerning himself with what was occurring in sickbay, and instead, simply focus on his patient. It seemed, once again, the world was set on tearing itself apart. Long gone were the days when a healer could simply heal. It seemed all too many doctors these days were more than happy to tear things apart again. But with the world set on tearing itself apart, was there any harm in trying to put a piece of it back together again?

He pushed those thoughts from his mind as he tended to Zala. The Ferengi was cooperative, but despite his best efforts, he was distracted again as Jess pumped her former captor with enough sedatives to last a lifetime. Moments later the captor was swarmed with doctors and security to ensure he wouldn't miss out on a moment in a Federation penal colony. His antennae flexed as - finally - the sickbay was returned to the control of Starfleet, with the last of the hostage takers finally under control. Hopefully, they could keep it this way for now.

He chuckled silently to himself as he sensed Zhuk and some of the other crew in the bay heaving the unconscious attacker into a bio-bed and began their work, though Zhuk himself rushed off to care for someone important to him. Interesting... It did not matter. He nearly bumped into ch'Verret as he cared for the Ferengi, who was returning the injured officer's rifle. Just what sickbay needed - more guns. "I think we can probably leave this for now," he said, but didn't try to physically separate the officer from their weapon. "I strongly urge that you return that to the armory, or have another officer do so. You'll need to stay here for observation at least overnight, but there doesn't appear to be any lasting damage."

[Later]

Of course, as was on par with the Challenger, things then got worse. Again. Abas visibly flinched as a telepathic onslaught of emotion suddenly blindsided him, coming from Neva appearing in the bay. He turned with a start before the EMH shimmered into existence. Who had turned this bloody thing on? Why had it not been repurposed cleaning plasma conduits? He suppressed his emotions as best he could - the unexpected psychic onslaught had caught him significantly off-guard, and had given him quite the headache. But that could be dealt with later. He usually didn't hate holograms this much. But when they got in his way of dealing with patients...

He resisted the urge to shove the unwelcome arrangement of photons out of the way while he joined the swarm of medical personnel once again tending to the seemingly suicidal antics the crew continually got themselves up to. Instead, working his way around, he found himself part of the gaggle providing blankets, oxygen, and dermal regeneration to the frostbitten and beleaguered souls. Only a minute or two later, the Captain himself strode into the bay. What was happening on this accursed ship?

His antennae curled in annoyance and discomfort as he continued his work, providing medical supplies to those who needed it and wishing for once that people would stop actively dying around him. The amount of paperwork and charting alone he'd have to do after this shift was enough to last for a month.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 7 - Sickbay (main room)]

With the hostage-takers all rounded up, Sickbay settled back into its usual chaos.  The children were attended, Zhuk and Zala were as well.  Lahr noted all this distractedly as he worked away at repairing the biobed.  In the half hour since the hostage incident, Lahr had replaced three possible parts that could be the culprit... and was in the process of putting the bed back together.  Even so, he'd lay a bet that within two weeks, someone from Sickbay will call to have it serviced again because it was glitching.  Lahr, had heard there was a vedek aboard. The Andorian wondered if Bajoran priests did blessings and exorcisms.  Hmmm.  While he pondered this, the hum of the transporters announced another wave of incoming patients.

Now, Lahr was in no way telepathic... but still one of the Betazoid's (Lahr couldn't tell which one by the mental scream and plea for help) was projecting so powerfully that even he heard it.  This drew his attention from his work and he gave a low whistle at seeing the frosted over away team members being aided by the medical staff.

Lahr wished he could help but figured he'd only be in the way.  The best way he could help it seemed was to finish putting together the biobed and getting out of Sickbay to give the medical team space to work; so that's what he did.

[Kyan Mackenzie]

"Sweet Merciful Maker! Beam them directly ta sickbay. Kyan, you have the bridge!"

Well that's......different. Kyan thought as Galloway left the bridge, leaving him in command. It was a few seconds before it occurred to Kyan that there was still stuff that needed doing, namely making sure that the Ice cream cone of death was well and truly destroyed. That seemed academic given the shimmering Neutronium debris field taking up the view screen. Secondly there were still the Romulans to consider.

Kyan switched chairs, drawing his legs up to sit cross-legged in the center seat. Galloway was even taller than Nira and the Onlie didn't like his feet dangling off the deck. "Mister Catalan." He spoke up when he was situated. "Whats the status of the Romulans?"

"Actually, the lead ship is hailing." The operations Chief replied. "It's Admiral Tal."

"Oh well put his pointy eared majesty on the now." Kyan answered. "Sure and it'd be impolite tae keep him waiting."

The viewscreen switched from the expanding cloud of Neutronium particles to the wrinkled visage of an old Romulan. At not seeing Galloway in his usual seat the old Admiral raised an eyebrow. Kyan though the Vulcan expression looked out of place on a Romulan, even though they were essentially the same species.

"Who am I addressing?" He asked, annoyance plain in his question.

"I'm Kyan Mackenzie. An seein as yer wearing the biggest shoulder pads, I'd guess you're Admiral Tal?"

"Correct."

Kyan nodded. "Well, it's done. Ye can tell yer mates tae stand down unless it's a fight yer still after having."

Tal narrowed his eyes for a moment at the perceived impertinence. Then he looked over at someone and nodded. "Thank your Captain for his assistance in this matter." He offered finally. Before Kyan could give voice to his retort, which would have been less than diplomatic, the viewscreen once again showed the debris field, but this time without the Romulans, which had all turned and cloaked.

Kyan turned around in the chair and rose to his knees to look at Zhuk over the back of his seat. "Ye can be standing down from Yellow Alert the now, but keep an eye out in case that pruny old git changes his mind."

Then he turned back around and sat back down. Helm, set a course fer Earth, warp 8."

Kyan didn't know whether Galloway would have wanted to just save the day and sod off like this, but he would rather take a chewing out than stick around Angdarr any longer. The sooner they put some light years between them and this troublesome ball of trees the better he'd feel about it.

"Course laid in." The helmsman, an ensign whose name he didn't remember replied dutifully.

"Let's be off den." Kyan nodded.

The Challenger gave a slight shudder as she lit out from Angdarr for home. And Kyan heaved a sigh of relief, happy to finally be putting distance between himself and this troublesome planet.

After a few moments of relative silence, Kyan looked around the bridge. "So....any of you lot know any good shanty songs?"

[Ian Galloway]

[Captain's Ready Room - USS Challenger]

Ian sat quietly at his desk and tried to come to grips with the 'eyes-only' report he'd received from Starfleet Command, or what was left of Starfleet Command. At first, when word that communications with Starfleet had been restored, he was glad as when contact was lost, it felt like Challenger was the last ship in the fleet. Then the news of what had happened had come in and the reality of how bad the Frontier Day fiasco had been set in. He read the report again and it was all he could do not to weep.

"More than 35% of junior ranks, 65% of senior officers dead. Starfleet sustained higher losses durin' the Dominion War, but that was over two years. This happened in a day! Maker, the institutional knowledge lost will take bloody decades ta relearn. The most terrifyin' part is that Starfleet is down ta nae more than 20% capacity. If'n word gets out, the Orions, Breen, and Tzenkethi will run riot on Federation shippin'."

Ian stood and paced his office because he was so amped up he couldn't just sit anymore. He took a deep breath and said.

"Computer open Captain's Log."

"Acknowledged."

"Captain's Log...supplemental. Today Frontier Day goes from bein' a celebration ta a day of mournin'. A twisted alliance of Changlin's and Borg have managed ta inflict the greatest single day loss in Starfleet history. If'n anything positive can be said of this event is the utter destruction of the Borg as a species. I cannae rejoice at genocide, but you'll nae see me shed a tear that the Borg no longer exist. As for the Changlin's, they may also finally be purged from the Alpha Quadrant. We'll have ta keep vigilant as I doubt the slippery gits are done meddlin' with the Federation.

"On a positive note, despite the utter darkness of the day and the utterly unwanted reappearance of yet another faceless enemy, a Doomsday Machine, I can report the Challenger has once again prevailed against the odds. Thanks ta the unmitigated heroism of Commander Nira Said, Lieutenant Hector Espada, Ensign Neva Cordon, Ensign Aarwendil Cheizex,  Ensign Jamil-Bral Avant, and Ensign Tora Zalos, the Doomsday Machine was completely destroyed when the self-destruct sequence was triggered. Angdarr and the Romulan Free State are safe and we didn't have ta fight a squadron of warbirds.

"I must also commend the entire Medical department of the Challenger for their superlative actions when the overloaded transport SS Guppy malfunctioned requirin' the rescue of thousands and treatment of hundreds of casualties. As part of those actions, Crewman Abas Th'vyrrol is meritoriously promoted ta Petty Officer Third Class on the recommendation of the Chief Medical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jessica Fellows.

"Further commendations will be placed in the records of Lieutenant Commander Kyan MacKenzie for rescuin' over a dozen children when a plasma conduit burst in the ship's kindergarten; and for Lieutenant Zhukdrashar Mrekrerhas and Crewman Zala for subduin' an attempted robbery in the sickbay.

"As with most days in Starfleet, there are good moments and bad ones. Given Challenger suffered no losses from the Borg/Changlin' plot, we are fully operational. However, as one of only a small portion of the fleet that can say that, we will have ta increase our patrollin' duties until Command can put together enough pieces ta supplement the few ships unaffected by Frontier Day. One thing I have implemented immediately was, on the receipt of how ta do so, I've run every member of the crew, myself included, through the transporter twice ta purge all trace of the assimilation code the bloody wankers inserted into the fleet. I am happy ta report, no Changelin's were found among the crew of the Challenger. Another perk of havin' one of the oldest ships in the fleet, we weren't considered important enough ta infiltrate. End Log."