S4: E11 - Fracture Lines

[Vasilisa Belmont]

[Sickbay - PCU - USS Challenger]

Derek went over the away mission. From the locals sending them to the other town to the mob that greeted and jumped them. "They were brutal, Doc." he said. "We tried to fight back but there were too many of them." He paused to take a deep breathe that hurt like hell. It was a feeling he knew all too well. Fractured ribs. "So how's it looking? Can I go back to work?" he asked.

[Sickbay - PCU - USS Challenger]

As sessions were drawing to a close around her and her team dealt out follow-up appointments and treatment plans, Lisa once again went through the list in her head, expecting that Jess, who was just as capable as she was and who had her complete trust, had checked up on Jettis. Or at least sent someone to check up on him. Lagar, who was quickly proving to be her second-best asset after Jess, had taken care of the Lahr and Chloe situation. Hanir seemed to be prescribing her own treatment on a biobed. Lisa appreciated that the young woman seemed to know her own limits, but if anyone else came in here she might need to ask her to rest in her own quarters.

As for her own patient, she gave him all her attention as he spoke. The name he chose for her was enough to make her think of Kyle, though it was a common enough name to hear from any one of her clients. She chose not to focus on it and moved on, already forming her treatment as she moved her scanner around his body. When she was finished she looked him in the eye to answer his question.

"Unfortunately not, Derek. Not yet, anyway. I can administer a quick fix for a fractured rib, but the only way for it to be fully healed is to give it time." She took out an osteo-regenerator, asked him to remove his shirt, and deftly applied it to the injured area. When she was finished, she applied it to other bruises and superficial cuts, and these healed immediately. Then she told him to put his shirt back on and took out a PADD to record follow-up.

"Healing bones takes time, but I can speed it up if you come in for further applications. I've sent you a list of times to come in that fit in your schedule, pick the one that works for you. You will take a day off of work, and I have informed your supervisor that you are not to lift anything heavy or do anything too strenuous for the next two weeks. If you want to exercise I would suggest stretching and light jogging. If you feel any pain, stop immediately. I would also advise you to eat foods with calcium and vitamin D such as dairy, fish, and eggs. Any questions?" she asked cheerfully.

[USS Challenger - Sickbay]

"œWell rest Crewman," he said. "œI am going to see if they need me still here in sickbay." He turned to the medical staff.

"œExcuse me do you still need my presence here? Or what can I do to help?" He asked as he held his hands behind his back.

[USS Challenger-A | Sickbay]

Hanir narrowed her eyes slightly, but only for a second while her nostrils flared ever so slightly. Although both were Betazoid, they were effectively playing with shielded poker hands. Maybe it was the fact that he sounded the same condescending superiority that everyone had towards her. Yes, she was short, slim and fragile looking, but that didn't make her a weakling. Reminding herself he was her superior in both time in service and rank, she forced her features into a smile. "Thank you, Counsellor. However, the flaw in your plan is that this 'event' would have the ability to reach a starship in orbit without being detected and being strong enough to knock someone unconscious. I hope for all our sakes that you don't find a link between what happened on the planet and just a simple headache and earache."

She eased herself back onto the biobed and closed her eyes. Although she felt much better, she wanted an excuse to get out of the spotlight, half willing any of the medical staff to make a distraction and get her off the hook.

When she was finished with Derek, she responded to Shazham whom she'd overheard.

"I believe we are doing okay for now, Shazham. If you'd like to see if Gemma has any appointments she'd like you to take, she's probably in her office. Otherwise you and Hanir are welcome to observe and offer assistance to any of out outpatients."

Once she'd said this, she walked over to check on Seph. Speaking softly to announce her presence, she touched her very softly to wake her up.

"So sorry to wake you, but I just want to make sure you have everything you need? I know it got pretty crazy when everyone came in, so I wanted to follow up. You're ultimately the judge for what you think you need, so I'm giving you permission to get some rest in your quarters. If you want work I'm sure I can get Gemma to find something. Whatever you want, it's totally up to you." She regretted that the first real interaction she'd had with Hanir had been doctor-patient instead of coworker/friend over a cup of coffee, but life doesn't always go the way you want it.

[Hanir Seph]

[Sickbay - PCU - USS Challenger]

Once she'd said this, she walked over to check on Seph. Speaking softly to announce her presence, she touched her very softly to wake her up.

"So sorry to wake you, but I just want to make sure you have everything you need? I know it got pretty crazy when everyone came in, so I wanted to follow up. You're ultimately the judge for what you think you need, so I'm giving you permission to get some rest in your quarters. If you want work I'm sure I can get Gemma to find something. Whatever you want, it's totally up to you." She regretted that the first real interaction she'd had with Hanir had been doctor-patient instead of coworker/friend over a cup of coffee, but life doesn't always go the way you want it.

[USS Challenger-A | Sickbay

Hanir cracked open an eye, then the other slowly, running a hand through her hair. Quite aware that Shazam was still in the room, she had to keep a guarded and muted response. Dimly, she knew the person talking to her was the Chief Medical Officer, having studied some of the public personnel files available while waiting for work. Even without her empathic senses, she knew Lisa was a good person. Although believed human, she seemed to radiate a calming presence, a steady oasis of calm in a sea of bustling activity.

"Thank you, Doctor. I'm not sure how I should be feeling, except I'm better. Imagine Japanese Miso Soup, stir it and it becomes a bit of a chaotic mess, but leave it for a bit and it settles down. I think my mind needed time to figure itself out. I haven't needed to do it since I was very young." Hanir paused, wondering why she was just talking randomly. Medical Officers had some psychology training, or maybe it was just that every once in a while, two people would meet and naturally become friends as if they knew each other for years.

"I actually want to get to work. The Counselling department has been pretty quiet with the crew running around. I just want to get a piece of the action, I suppose." She smiled a little shyly and blushed.

[Ian Galloway]

[Bridge > Transporter Room 1 - USS Challenger]

"No worries, I trust people to yank us out if needed.  Let me know if Mr. Thelal and his cronies show up, last thing I need is Romulans down there too!" Ruth said chuckling.  "See ya later!" she said and turned smartly on her heel headed for the Transporter Room via the armoury.

Sigurdsdottir to Lt. T'Kel, Lt. jg. Lowe, Petty Officer Koroz and Crewman Masters, also Petty Officer T'roth. Load up with phaser rifles and meet me in Transporter Room 1 for away team deployment in 10 mins.  Lt. T'Kel, members of Security detail at your recommendation, the names given are just my selection, let me know when I get there, I trust you.  XO out. 

She took a minute to send a quick message to Lahr too.

Sigurdsdottir to ch'Verret... heading down to planet to investigate pulse, will be leaving in 10 mins from Transporter Room 1.  Hope you're out of Sickbay soon. Siggy out.

Walking into the Transporter room she checked she had everything she needed and nodded to the Transporter Chief.

"Well, we'll be going down soon as I've got the team down here, Chief... I said ten minutes, I expect them here by then or we go without them."

Thinking to herself she wished that Lahr could be with her, an Ops genius might be useful on the away team, she'd figure it out with the team she had though.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As T'Kel turned over Tactical to Chief Petty Officer Gort Grint, she replied as she joined Ruth in the turbolift.

"Ma'am, I will make one change to your suggested security team, I wish to substitute Crewman Burke for Crewman Masters. Burke has a more... useful attitude for a situation such as we may encounter on the planet."

By the time Ruth and T'Kel reached the transporter room, the rest of the team was present and ready to go. A quick nod to the transporter chief from Ruth and the away team found themselves in a desolate, windswept, mountainous terrain. However, the environment was the least of their worries as the annular confinement beams released them. It was the patrol of Edoran military armed with phasers firing on them that was the bigger concern.

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

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

No sooner had the away team departed when Morgan at Ops noted.

"Captain, I'm reading a large amount of ion residue and RF noise in the upper atmosphere. That is consistent with a subspace pulse."

Before Morgan could continue, Grint at Tactical interrupted.

"Sir, I'm picking up a massive increase in subspace interference!"

Ian had time to growl.

"Shields up!"

The whole ship staggered from a powerful impact that threw unprepared personnel around violently. Unfortunately, as there was no time to warn the crew to brace, this resulted in several casualties throughout the ship. Fortunately, Grint had reacted quick enough to get the shields in place before the pulse hit or else the damage would have been far more severe.

"Sir, the subspace pulses, there are more than one now, are originating from a point near the center of the away team's search area, and appear to be targeting vessels in orbit."

"Confirmed Captain, communications have gone off the charts from ships in distress that were hit by the pulses! In addition, there is a cloud of subspace and radiometric interference surrounding the origin point resulting in a sharp elevation of noise on all channels, communications with the away party is fading in and out."

"Sorry to add to the confusion Captain." Randall at the Science station put in. "However, I am picking up sizeable gravimetric distortions that are causing temblors and earthquakes all across the planet  and they are getting worse. Based on these readings, if the pulses are not isolated and shut down soon, they will disrupt the entire surface of the planet."

Ian had to admit, all the information was just about to overload his ability to process what he was hearing. He took a deep breath and replied.

"Do what you can ta boost the signal strength ta the away team, last thing we need is ta lose contact with them. Mister Grint, keep the shields at full, tis all we can do for now, but we may have ta drop them ta recover the away team, so coordinate with Mister Morgan for the timin' on that."

As the crew moved to follow his orders, Ian wondered to himself.

"Bloody hell, what kind of bear did Ruth poke?"

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

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Reports of casualties began to come in from all over the ship after the violent shaking. At least a half dozen crew staggered in injured, but there were also calls for emergency transports for others. Based on the numbers, at least 30, sickbay was about to be swamped.

[Hanir Seph]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

No sooner had the away team departed when Morgan at Ops noted.

"Captain, I'm reading a large amount of ion residue and RF noise in the upper atmosphere. That is consistent with a subspace pulse."

Before Morgan could continue, Grint at Tactical interrupted.

"Sir, I'm picking up a massive increase in subspace interference!"

Ian had time to growl.

"Shields up!"

The whole ship staggered from a powerful impact that threw unprepared personnel around violently. Unfortunately, as there was no time to warn the crew to brace, this resulted in several casualties throughout the ship. Fortunately, Grint had reacted quick enough to get the shields in place before the pulse hit or else the damage would have been far more severe.

"Sir, the subspace pulses, there are more than one now, are originating from a point near the center of the away team's search area, and appear to be targeting vessels in orbit."

"Confirmed Captain, communications have gone off the charts from ships in distress that were hit by the pulses! In addition, there is a cloud of subspace and radiometric interference surrounding the origin point resulting in a sharp elevation of noise on all channels, communications with the away party is fading in and out."

"Sorry to add to the confusion Captain." Randall at the Science station put in. "However, I am picking up sizeable gravimetric distortions that are causing temblors and earthquakes all across the planet  and they are getting worse. Based on these readings, if the pulses are not isolated and shut down soon, they will disrupt the entire surface of the planet."

Ian had to admit, all the information was just about to overload his ability to process what he was hearing. He took a deep breath and replied.

"Do what you can ta boost the signal strength ta the away team, last thing we need is ta lose contact with them. Mister Grint, keep the shields at full, tis all we can do for now, but we may have ta drop them ta recover the away team, so coordinate with Mister Morgan for the timin' on that."

As the crew moved to follow his orders, Ian wondered to himself.

"Bloody hell, what kind of bear did Ruth poke?"

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

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Reports of casualties began to come in from all over the ship after the violent shaking. At least a half dozen crew staggered in injured, but there were also calls for emergency transports for others. Based on the numbers, at least 30, sickbay was about to be swamped.

[USS Challenger-A | Sickbay]

Hanir had pushed herself into a sitting position, hands firmly holding onto the edge as she gingerly stepped onto the deck when the whole ship started shaking. Instinctively, she reached out her arm to where she thought Lisa was, but uncertain if she managed to catch and brace the latter. "Great Maker... What was that...?!" Hanir managed to gasp.

Although she was fairly braced, she managed to bruise her sternum and knock the breath out of her a bit, but that was the least of her concerns. As Enlisted crew, her medical training was limited to first aid, she was determined to make herself useful somehow.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 7 - Sickbay - rear of the PCU]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian perked up at the report that the source of the subspace pulse.

"Finally we can get ta the bottom of this little conundrum. Helm park us over that spot and let's get an away team down there. Commander, you will lead and take five security with you. I'll not have another away team have ta beam directly ta sickbay. Stay on your toes, no tellin' what you will find down there Ruth. We'll maintain a transporter lock on you should things get too bloody hot. Good huntin' Commander."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

"No worries, I trust people to yank us out if needed.  Let me know if Mr. Thelal and his cronies show up, last thing I need is Romulans down there too!" Ruth said chuckling.  "See ya later!" she said and turned smartly on her heel headed for the Transporter Room via the armoury.

Because he currently did have his PADD set to 'listening in' on the Bridge, Lahr ended up a bit distracted hearing from his one earbud that he'd keep in, that Ruth was being assigned to take a team down to the planet.   Lahr's antenna dipped low in concern for her safety.

[USS Challenger - Deck 7 - Sickbay - rear of the PCU]

"Duration of treatment is dependent on your attentiveness to my instructions, and to a stretching regimen." he replied, the voice cool and calm. He heard his patient's question about the duration of treatment, and planned to circle back to it shortly.

He listened to Lahr's statement about the chairs, and then the Lumbar joke. Phylosian natives were unfamiliar with humor; the closest their culture had to the concept was involved a form of very tame verbal deceptions, where a Phylosian would create some utterly and obviously false story, and then let others attempt to peel that story apart to find the truth. Lagar had enjoyed employing this brand of humor among humanoids, particularly when his false story had to do with his own physiology.

Outwardly, Lagar has no way to show laughter or joy, and he learned early on that mimicking humanoid laughs with his voder device tended to horrify, rather than amuse. Instead, he had to state his appreciation of the prank in as genuine a voice as his device could manage. "A fine joke, Petty Officer. Regarding the chairs, if you found them particularly comfortable, then I could note that fact in my treatment recommendations." A PADD is drawn from the table, a single split-end tendril of Lagar's slithering over it to activate it and begin typing. "Your supervisor may be further inclined to agree to Bridge duty if those chairs are particularly supportive. But if they are merely fine, I can leave that out of my recommendations."

Separately, he returned to the Petty Officer's query about treatment duration. "In your diet for the next few weeks, I want you to include a little extra citrus. Look for pineapple, or an equatorial khiizh, anything of that nature." Lagar's voder device pronounced the word khiizh, the Andorian word for 'orange'. He was referring to a kind of Mandarin that grew in the equatorial range on Andor; the frigid moon's equator being the only place warm enough to begin to grow anything citrus-like. "It will be a minor benefit, but the vitamins in citrus, and particularly some of the nutrients in pineapple, will speed your recovery.

"I am also prescribing a regimen of stretches that I expect you to perform in the mornings and in the evenings. These stretches are best done assisted, and if completed with a partner will significantly reduce your recovery time. The partner does not require any special training, just a willingness to be in close physical contact with you. Any of us in Sickbay can assist you with the stretches, or I can block out 5 minute slots in the holodecks so that you can have a holographic partner." The plant-thing looked down to the PADD in its tendrils for a moment, ready to hear Lahr's preferences.

The answer to his question was as evasive as a politicians, not really giving a definite timeline, but then with medical stuff that was entirely reasonable.  It DID all depend on how much Lahr put into the treatment.  Lahr nodded his acknowledgement and refrained from assuring the plant that he'd be attentive and follow the regime to the letter.   Lahr was usually good at the beginning but then once the immediate pain went away he would forget to keep up the exercises and stretches.   Maybe Ruth would be able to keep him on it but it was iffy.

Lahr then listened as the Phylosian doctor complimented his joke.  The device from which the plant's 'voice' came from didn't give any hint to any sort of emotion - so Lahr didn't know if the doc was being honest or mocking him.  Before Lahr could ask directly, the conversation moved on to Lahr's assessment of the Bridge chairs.   He gave a shrug.  Lahr didn't think it was worth the effort to lie about the comfort level of the chairs just so he could get a 'prescription' to be on the bridge.   Besides which that might prevent him from ever going on an Away Mission with Ruth  - like he should be now.

Upset at Ruth's task, Lahr had to focus on what the doctor had just said about citrus when he was surprised to hear his native language coming from the Phylosian.  "Huh?  Oh yeah sure.  Can it be replicated or does it need to be special ordered?" he asked.

It was interrupted by an incoming call to commbadge.

[Bridge > Transporter Room 1 - USS Challenger]

Sigurdsdottir to ch'Verret... heading down to planet to investigate pulse, will be leaving in 10 mins from Transporter Room 1.  Hope you're out of Sickbay soon. Siggy out.

Lahr wanted to reply back to have her take him with her.. for protection but with his back the way it felt, he knew he'd be nothing but a liability down there if the last away team was anything to base it off of.   He held up a hand forestalling the Doc and tapped his badge reopen the connection, since she'd closed it.

"ch'Verret to Commander Sigurdsdottir.  Yes, ma'am - that 10 minutes will give me time to finish up here and then I'll shmooze Lt Morgan into allowing me to get onto Bridge duty so you'll know you'll be looked after well.  You be careful down there."    Lahr left the channel open knowing she loved to have the last word, then looked to the doctor.   "Time to wrap this up Doc, I got somewhere to be."

NPC Crewman Frank Burke
[USS Challenger - Deck 10 - Phaser Range (Security staging area)

[Bridge > Transporter Room 1 - USS Challenger]
Sigurdsdottir to Lt. T'Kel, Lt. jg. Lowe, Petty Officer Koroz and Crewman Masters, also Petty Officer T'roth. Load up with phaser rifles and meet me in Transporter Room 1 for away team deployment in 10 mins.  Lt. T'Kel, members of Security detail at your recommendation, the names given are just my selection, let me know when I get there, I trust you.  XO out. 

Burke, who was waiting along with the others to receive a call-up from stand-by to active, lifted his head in anticipation as Commander Sigurdsdottir's call came over the intercom of the Phaser range.   T'Kel, Lowe, Koroz, Masters and Troth.  Dammit! Again his name was skipped.

Hearing the Commander give T'Kel the authorization to switch out one member for another,  he crossed his fingers but really didn't have much hope of being swapped in.  While Burke knew he'd made a good showing during the last round of combat assessments, the Lieutenant had warned him again about his attitude being the limiting factor from him getting promotion.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As T'Kel turned over Tactical to Chief Petty Officer Gort Grint, she replied as she joined Ruth in the turbolift.

"Ma'am, I will make one change to your suggested security team, I wish to substitute Crewman Burke for Crewman Masters. Burke has a more... useful attitude for a situation such as we may encounter on the planet."

By the time Ruth and T'Kel reached the transporter room, the rest of the team was present and ready to go. A quick nod to the transporter chief from Ruth and the away team found themselves in a desolate, windswept, mountainous terrain. However, the environment was the least of their worries as the annular confinement beams released them. It was the patrol of Edoran military armed with phasers firing on them that was the bigger concern.

So it came as a surprise when the call eventually came to swap him for Masters.  Yes!  He quickly grabbed up his gear and weapons and hurried his way to catch up with the rest of the team.   There was barely any time to get the gist of what the mission was before they were beamed down.

No sooner had they done so than they were being fired upon.   Repeated training had Burke immediately moving to cover the Away Team's lead officer and call up his personal combat shield.  "Commander, get behind me!"

He raised his weapon, checked to be sure that it was still on stun only, and then began firing back towards the aggressors - the Edoran military patrol.

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Turbolift >> Bridge]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

No sooner had the away team departed when Morgan at Ops noted.

"Captain, I'm reading a large amount of ion residue and RF noise in the upper atmosphere. That is consistent with a subspace pulse."

Before Morgan could continue, Grint at Tactical interrupted.

"Sir, I'm picking up a massive increase in subspace interference!"

Ian had time to growl.

"Shields up!"

The whole ship staggered from a powerful impact that threw unprepared personnel around violently. Unfortunately, as there was no time to warn the crew to brace, this resulted in several casualties throughout the ship. Fortunately, Grint had reacted quick enough to get the shields in place before the pulse hit or else the damage would have been far more severe.

Lahr, who had been given his permission to report to the bridge after being released from Sickbay was enroute in the turbolift, when the pulse hit.   Thankfully his earbud keeping tabs on the bridge gave him a 'heads up' on the incoming and saved him from being tossed about too badly.   Moments later, he stepped out of the turbolift to hear in slightly off timed synchronicity with his earbud those on the Bridge speak.  He turned off the feed before the sensitivity of the audio potentially picked up the sound from his earbud and gave him feedback.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]
"Sir, the subspace pulses, there are more than one now, are originating from a point near the center of the away team's search area, and appear to be targeting vessels in orbit."

"Confirmed Captain, communications have gone off the charts from ships in distress that were hit by the pulses! In addition, there is a cloud of subspace and radiometric interference surrounding the origin point resulting in a sharp elevation of noise on all channels, communications with the away party is fading in and out."

"Sorry to add to the confusion Captain." Randall at the Science station put in. "However, I am picking up sizeable gravimetric distortions that are causing temblors and earthquakes all across the planet  and they are getting worse. Based on these readings, if the pulses are not isolated and shut down soon, they will disrupt the entire surface of the planet."

Ian had to admit, all the information was just about to overload his ability to process what he was hearing. He took a deep breath and replied.

"Do what you can ta boost the signal strength ta the away team, last thing we need is ta lose contact with them. Mister Grint, keep the shields at full, tis all we can do for now, but we may have ta drop them ta recover the away team, so coordinate with Mister Morgan for the timin' on that."

As the crew moved to follow his orders, Ian wondered to himself.

"Bloody hell, what kind of bear did Ruth poke?"

"ch'Verret reporting for duty." Lahr announced as he hurried to the Ops station and took 2nd chair at the auxiliary station.   Hearing the Captain's order to Chloe, Lahr looked over to her. "I can help with that, ma'am."

[Don Damien Addams]

[Sickbay - PCU - USS Challenger]

As sessions were drawing to a close around her and her team dealt out follow-up appointments and treatment plans, Lisa once again went through the list in her head, expecting that Jess, who was just as capable as she was and who had her complete trust, had checked up on Jettis. Or at least sent someone to check up on him. Lagar, who was quickly proving to be her second-best asset after Jess, had taken care of the Lahr and Chloe situation. Hanir seemed to be prescribing her own treatment on a biobed. Lisa appreciated that the young woman seemed to know her own limits, but if anyone else came in here she might need to ask her to rest in her own quarters.

As for her own patient, she gave him all her attention as he spoke. The name he chose for her was enough to make her think of Kyle, though it was a common enough name to hear from any one of her clients. She chose not to focus on it and moved on, already forming her treatment as she moved her scanner around his body. When she was finished she looked him in the eye to answer his question.

"Unfortunately not, Derek. Not yet, anyway. I can administer a quick fix for a fractured rib, but the only way for it to be fully healed is to give it time." She took out an osteo-regenerator, asked him to remove his shirt, and deftly applied it to the injured area. When she was finished, she applied it to other bruises and superficial cuts, and these healed immediately. Then she told him to put his shirt back on and took out a PADD to record follow-up.

"Healing bones takes time, but I can speed it up if you come in for further applications. I've sent you a list of times to come in that fit in your schedule, pick the one that works for you. You will take a day off of work, and I have informed your supervisor that you are not to lift anything heavy or do anything too strenuous for the next two weeks. If you want to exercise I would suggest stretching and light jogging. If you feel any pain, stop immediately. I would also advise you to eat foods with calcium and vitamin D such as dairy, fish, and eggs. Any questions?" she asked cheerfully.

Shazham was standing there and observing the head Doctor. He was glad he was listening. That was good. Calcium was something he was lacking and fish. He was not a fan of fish. He was going to take to account on his own diet.

When she was finished with Derek, she responded to Shazham whom she'd overheard.

"I believe we are doing okay for now, Shazham. If you'd like to see if Gemma has any appointments she'd like you to take, she's probably in her office. Otherwise you and Hanir are welcome to observe and offer assistance to any of out outpatients."

"œThank you, Doctor," Shazam had replied to Doctor Belmont. He had to admit he thought the light highlight in her long hair was beautiful. He had wondered, like many other people would. Would wonder if that was natural or dyed. It was uncommon for one area of hair to be a different color. Or worse to go gray first. Funny. That was one thing Science and Medicine could not battle. Old age and gray hair.

He recalled he had a person who was trying to fight old age. They tried every trick. This individual was early in the twenties starting getting gray hairs. It took a few sessions for the person to accept it was a good thing. It even helped when she was getting more grey hair which made her get compliments. She even found a companion and married them. That was something he had nothing to do. All he had done was comfort the person to look at the bright things even when you age.

With that, Shazham had left sick bay and went to meet up with Gemma. During that visit Gemma was pleased to see Shazham was asking if there were any appointments but she said it was clear. The truth was she had most of the patience because the regular crew who have been seeing the others prefer her for now. She was working to see if a few clients would take Hanir or Shazham.

Once she'd said this, she walked over to check on Seph. Speaking softly to announce her presence, she touched her very softly to wake her up.

"So sorry to wake you, but I just want to make sure you have everything you need? I know it got pretty crazy when everyone came in, so I wanted to follow up. You're ultimately the judge for what you think you need, so I'm giving you permission to get some rest in your quarters. If you want work I'm sure I can get Gemma to find something. Whatever you want, it's totally up to you." She regretted that the first real interaction she'd had with Hanir had been doctor-patient instead of coworker/friend over a cup of coffee, but life doesn't always go the way you want it.

Then Shazham had come back to Sickbay from the Chief of Counselor's office as he stepped in the lounge area that was when the Challenger shook hard, sending him tripping hard over a waiting chair. He cringed in pain. Best place to be injured was sick bay. His right side rammed into the arm of a chair. He cringed in pain as he held his right hand there.

A medic who was nearby came over with a tricorder and the results of the scan was that it was a minor fracture. "œMinor fracture...I give"¦" then the Medical door swoosed open with two crew members holding an officer up. "œPlease put him on bed two please...back wall on your right," the Medic said.

Shazham felt the whole ship in despair. He had to place the mental wall to defend himself from being knocked off his own feet. "œWhy not tend to me later and I will be glad to help," he told the medic.

Shazham spotted another person stumbling in holding their head. The sickbay was getting full very quickly. "œHere...Let me aid you," Shazham offered. He had some medical training and combat training.

Shazham had guided the new injured person in the main area and saw most beds were full. He was not sure this individual was going to be a priority for a biobed or he had to sit down and wait. So he had waited to see what the doctors had to say.

It's amazing when you help others when your need comes last. The pain in his side was painful but not agonizing to cripple him from helping. He felt his timing was good and Hanir's as well. Or any other crew that was in sickbay.

"œIs there another location where we can make more room, Doctor?" he asked. "œI believe there is going to be a lot more."

[Lagar]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 7 - Sickbay - rear of the PCU]

Upset at Ruth's task, Lahr had to focus on what the doctor had just said about citrus when he was surprised to hear his native language coming from the Phylosian.  "Huh?  Oh yeah sure.  Can it be replicated or does it need to be special ordered?" he asked.

It was interrupted by an incoming call to commbadge.

Lahr wanted to reply back to have her take him with her.. for protection but with his back the way it felt, he knew he'd be nothing but a liability down there if the last away team was anything to base it off of.   He held up a hand forestalling the Doc and tapped his badge reopen the connection, since she'd closed it.

"ch'Verret to Commander Sigurdsdottir.  Yes, ma'am - that 10 minutes will give me time to finish up here and then I'll shmooze Lt Morgan into allowing me to get onto Bridge duty so you'll know you'll be looked after well.  You be careful down there."    Lahr left the channel open knowing she loved to have the last word, then looked to the doctor.   "Time to wrap this up Doc, I got somewhere to be."

[USS Challenger - Deck 7 - Sickbay - rear of the PCU]

"Replicated is fine. The stretching regimen is more important." At the request that Lagar's provision of medical services be wrapped up, Lagar released a classic Doctor's 'Hmmm'. He had practiced it several times, having seen it put to extraordinary use at Starfleet Medical. The 'Hmmm' could show a little professional displeasure without having to say so outwardly. It likely would have no effect on Lahr, but itwas important to do so anyway. Lagar was no pushover, and had no interest in being directed in how quickly to perform his work by an untrained patient. Proper medical care wasn't something to 'wrap up' as one might wrap up manual labor in a cargo bay.

Still, with the treatment decided upon and the pain-suppressants doing their work on the Andorian's system, Lagar released the Petty Officer to his duties, pledging to send him the details on the stretches and dietary recommendations.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

"Shields up!"

The whole ship staggered from a powerful impact that threw unprepared personnel around violently. Unfortunately, as there was no time to warn the crew to brace, this resulted in several casualties throughout the ship. Fortunately, Grint had reacted quick enough to get the shields in place before the pulse hit or else the damage would have been far more severe.

The Phylosian was one of the many crewman unprepared for the violent impact. He had been mid-step, and was at the worst possible moment to receive a sudden thrust of the world around him. The impact threw him swiftly against the wrong edge of a biobed, the corner gouging deeply into his upper trunk as his full force dropped onto it. The strike also snapped his sixth tendril at the base, nearly severing it entirely. Lagar went down heavily after hitting the bed, remaining tendrils splaying out to stabilize his body in the brief aftershocks. Chemical alarm signals passed up to his "˜brain', and he was aware of the damage before seeing it.

The corner of the bed had violently depressed an angular chunk in his body, and it looked like someone struck a cucumber with the mean edge of a claw hammer. The outer skin was pressed in on lighter-green flesh, and an aloe-like ooze spilled out before his systems could pinch off the capillary action in that area of his body. As Lagar rose carefully on his six other limbs, he examined his damaged tendril; where it had been snapped, part of it had opened up to the air, and frayed filament-like strands could be seen spindling about as he moved. One might only imagine how grisly this scene would be if Lagar were made of flesh.

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

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Reports of casualties began to come in from all over the ship after the violent shaking. At least a half dozen crew staggered in injured, but there were also calls for emergency transports for others. Based on the numbers, at least 30, sickbay was about to be swamped.

A spare bandage was all that was needed to tie off the break on the stalk of his sixth tendril, and to then knot the end of it to his belt. It would take time to heal, and it was better off with the wound sealed together and tied off so it didn't end up ripped completely off. As for the dent, there was no immediate treatment for that; he'd need to get a spoon and dig out the external matter that had been pushed internally, and then keep the area moist and protected until it regrew. At the moment, it was better off dried out and untouched.

As he performed this work, he linked up with Lieutenant Jessica Fellows, waving away her concern for his wounds as they coordinated the beaming in and triage of wounded crewmembers.

"œIs there another location where we can make more room, Doctor?" he asked. "œI believe there is going to be a lot more."

Lagar, despite his misgivings about Betazoid telepathy, was grateful that Counselor Shazham had returned.

"Counselor, just next door is the Intensive Care Unit. Any crew who we deem seriously injured will need to be transported there. If you can operate a hovergurney, you can help us move patients. Using your talents to keep people calm will also be of great value."

[Derek Rodwell]

[Sickbay - PCU - USS Challenger]

"Unfortunately not, Derek. Not yet, anyway. I can administer a quick fix for a fractured rib, but the only way for it to be fully healed is to give it time." She took out an osteo-regenerator, asked him to remove his shirt, and deftly applied it to the injured area. When she was finished, she applied it to other bruises and superficial cuts, and these healed immediately. Then she told him to put his shirt back on and took out a PADD to record follow-up.

"Healing bones takes time, but I can speed it up if you come in for further applications. I've sent you a list of times to come in that fit in your schedule, pick the one that works for you. You will take a day off of work, and I have informed your supervisor that you are not to lift anything heavy or do anything too strenuous for the next two weeks. If you want to exercise I would suggest stretching and light jogging. If you feel any pain, stop immediately. I would also advise you to eat foods with calcium and vitamin D such as dairy, fish, and eggs. Any questions?" she asked cheerfully.

Derek released a long sigh before agreeing to the doctors orders. "Well. If that's how it has to go, then I guess that's what I'll do, Doc." he said. "Thanks for patching me up. If anything happens, I promise to come in right away. Do I need to stay here or can I go?"

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 7 - Sickbay - rear of the PCU] (minutes before the attack)

[USS Challenger - Deck 7 - Sickbay - rear of the PCU]

"Replicated is fine. The stretching regimen is more important." At the request that Lagar's provision of medical services be wrapped up, Lagar released a classic Doctor's 'Hmmm'. He had practiced it several times, having seen it put to extraordinary use at Starfleet Medical. The 'Hmmm' could show a little professional displeasure without having to say so outwardly. It likely would have no effect on Lahr, but itwas important to do so anyway. Lagar was no pushover, and had no interest in being directed in how quickly to perform his work by an untrained patient. Proper medical care wasn't something to 'wrap up' as one might wrap up manual labor in a cargo bay.

Still, with the treatment decided upon and the pain-suppressants doing their work on the Andorian's system, Lagar released the Petty Officer to his duties, pledging to send him the details on the stretches and dietary recommendations.

Watching the Phylosian as it made the 'Hmmm' noise that Lahr was quite familiar with, there was no outward sign of it's displeasure.   He'd sort of expected the Phylosian's eyestalks(?) to move and emote in much the same way as his own antenna did..  but evidently not.  If not for the noise he wouldn't be able to read what the doc was thinking.

Lahr's antenna leaned forward tentatively 'feeling' the doc out as he wondered if the doc was the sort to make things difficult for others.

"Don't worry, Doc.  I'll remember the stretches and I'm sure I can find a partner to help me with them."  Lahr was certain that Ruth would be more than happy to assist - especially if it helped him heal faster.   "And I'll be sure that I get the Hawaiian pizza on Game Night."

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[NCO's Quarter's of Koroz and Blackfeather "" Deck 4 - USS Challenger]

Petty Officer Koroz, formerly of House Druge, lay sleeping noisily on the featureless, bare plate that was his bed, stripped of any blankets or pillows or even a protective covering. The Klingon had cleared his NCO's quarters of much of the furniture and all of the default decorative pieces that came with such accommodations. Many Klingons warriors were often frugal to a fault, and held little but disdain for items which held no function in their critical eyes. Rather than trouble the cargo bays with the unwanted stuff, Koroz had been stored it in a corner of the multipurpose living space he shared with Ryan Blackfeather. The fellow Petty Officer, a human, lived in the second of the two quarters spaces on the other side of the multipurpose area which acted as a bridge between the two rooms. His colleague had begun his shift some time ago as Koroz had ended his own, and the Klingon was unaware of the events that had unfolded on the planet's surface, or the harm that had come to his fellow security officers.

It was then that the Klingon's combadge, resting on a nearby table, chirped, and he was called to duty by the Executive Officer of the USS Challenger. He rose, retrieving his laid-out uniform and dressing swiftly. Koroz was a little short for a Klingon; merely five feet and ten inches, and he did not need to stoop when moving through the typical Challenger doorway. As he often did, he nearly reached for his daqtagh, the Klingon blade that was meant to be worn at all times by any Klingon member of a family, only to remember yet again that he had no daqtagh... No family whose sigil he may wear.

He stomped, loudly of course, out of his room and into the Deck 4 hallway; no doubt his cacaphonous egrees was once again audible to the off-shift Science Petty Officer across the hallway, some Vulcan who never complained about Koroz' noise, but who was surely disturbed by it. Koroz knew the Petty Officer's name, but deliberately neglected to remember it from time to time. The Klingon growled and shook his head, having no desire for further distracting thoughts about that Vulcan while duty was calling to him. He growled at the turbolift as he invaded it, despite knowing full well that the computer could not recognize Klingon growls as interpretable commands.

"Deck Nine." he instructed, and the turbolift began its smooth, sliding movement. Absent were the lurches and hard jerks of a Klingon vessel turbolift. He would never admit that his stomach preferred the easy movements of Federation turbolifts...

With a phaser rifle and other standard away-team equipment signed out for at the Deck 9 Armory, Koroz then took the same turbolift to Deck 10, stomping along to Transporter Room 1 and entering the room as if he were the most important person in it, shoulders pushed back, chest out, head high. He saw the Executive Officer there, and addressed her respectfully. "Ma'am." he said in greeting, having long ago made his choice between 'Ruth' or 'Ma'am' with no difficulty; Koroz could not bear to refer to any of superior rank in an informal way.

[Transporter Room 1 - Deck 10]

"Greetings Petty Officer, I really must schedule some bat'leth time on the holodeck, care to join me sometime?" Ruth asked with a grin.  It was well known amongst the Klingons in Starfleet that Ruth was 'capable' even if she were a woman, and didn't back down even if her opponent was twice her size... both in height, although at 5'10" she wasn't short, and across the shoulders.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As T'Kel turned over Tactical to Chief Petty Officer Gort Grint, she replied as she joined Ruth in the turbolift.

"Ma'am, I will make one change to your suggested security team, I wish to substitute Crewman Burke for Crewman Masters. Burke has a more... useful attitude for a situation such as we may encounter on the planet."

By the time Ruth and T'Kel reached the transporter room, the rest of the team was present and ready to go. A quick nod to the transporter chief from Ruth and the away team found themselves in a desolate, windswept, mountainous terrain. However, the environment was the least of their worries as the annular confinement beams released them. It was the patrol of Edoran military armed with phasers firing on them that was the bigger concern.

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

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

No sooner had the away team departed when Morgan at Ops noted.

"Captain, I'm reading a large amount of ion residue and RF noise in the upper atmosphere. That is consistent with a subspace pulse."

Before Morgan could continue, Grint at Tactical interrupted.

"Sir, I'm picking up a massive increase in subspace interference!"

Ian had time to growl.

"Shields up!"

The whole ship staggered from a powerful impact that threw unprepared personnel around violently. Unfortunately, as there was no time to warn the crew to brace, this resulted in several casualties throughout the ship. Fortunately, Grint had reacted quick enough to get the shields in place before the pulse hit or else the damage would have been far more severe.

"Sir, the subspace pulses, there are more than one now, are originating from a point near the center of the away team's search area, and appear to be targeting vessels in orbit."

"Confirmed Captain, communications have gone off the charts from ships in distress that were hit by the pulses! In addition, there is a cloud of subspace and radiometric interference surrounding the origin point resulting in a sharp elevation of noise on all channels, communications with the away party is fading in and out."

"Sorry to add to the confusion Captain." Randall at the Science station put in. "However, I am picking up sizeable gravimetric distortions that are causing temblors and earthquakes all across the planet  and they are getting worse. Based on these readings, if the pulses are not isolated and shut down soon, they will disrupt the entire surface of the planet."

Ian had to admit, all the information was just about to overload his ability to process what he was hearing. He took a deep breath and replied.

"Do what you can ta boost the signal strength ta the away team, last thing we need is ta lose contact with them. Mister Grint, keep the shields at full, tis all we can do for now, but we may have ta drop them ta recover the away team, so coordinate with Mister Morgan for the timin' on that."

As the crew moved to follow his orders, Ian wondered to himself.

"Bloody hell, what kind of bear did Ruth poke?"

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

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Reports of casualties began to come in from all over the ship after the violent shaking. At least a half dozen crew staggered in injured, but there were also calls for emergency transports for others. Based on the numbers, at least 30, sickbay was about to be swamped.

[Planet]

Having readily agreed to the change that T'Kel had suggested, they arrived on the planet and things suddenly kicked off.

"By Loki... what the heck!" Ruth said, as the ground moved beneath her.  "Is everyone ok? Try to keep your feet, we need to get to the pulses, switch them off before it tears this planet apart.  Koroz, keep communications with the ship open if you can and get them to pinpoint where the pulses are coming from, I've got my scanner set up but the ship's scanners are more powerful than our hand held ones.  I'm getting readings from over there... " she gestured with her hand.

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 7 - Sickbay - rear of the PCU]

"ch'Verret to Commander Sigurdsdottir.  Yes, ma'am - that 10 minutes will give me time to finish up here and then I'll shmooze Lt Morgan into allowing me to get onto Bridge duty so you'll know you'll be looked after well.  You be careful down there."    Lahr left the channel open knowing she loved to have the last word, then looked to the doctor.   "Time to wrap this up Doc, I got somewhere to be."

NPC Crewman Frank Burke
[USS Challenger - Deck 10 - Phaser Range (Security staging area)

Burke, who was waiting along with the others to receive a call-up from stand-by to active, lifted his head in anticipation as Commander Sigurdsdottir's call came over the intercom of the Phaser range.   T'Kel, Lowe, Koroz, Masters and Troth.  Dammit! Again his name was skipped.

Hearing the Commander give T'Kel the authorization to switch out one member for another,  he crossed his fingers but really didn't have much hope of being swapped in.  While Burke knew he'd made a good showing during the last round of combat assessments, the Lieutenant had warned him again about his attitude being the limiting factor from him getting promotion.

So it came as a surprise when the call eventually came to swap him for Masters.  Yes!  He quickly grabbed up his gear and weapons and hurried his way to catch up with the rest of the team.   There was barely any time to get the gist of what the mission was before they were beamed down.

No sooner had they done so than they were being fired upon.   Repeated training had Burke immediately moving to cover the Away Team's lead officer and call up his personal combat shield.  "Commander, get behind me!"

He raised his weapon, checked to be sure that it was still on stun only, and then began firing back towards the aggressors - the Edoran military patrol.

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Turbolift >> Bridge]

Lahr, who had been given his permission to report to the bridge after being released from Sickbay was enroute in the turbolift, when the pulse hit.   Thankfully his earbud keeping tabs on the bridge gave him a 'heads up' on the incoming and saved him from being tossed about too badly.   Moments later, he stepped out of the turbolift to hear in slightly off timed synchronicity with his earbud those on the Bridge speak.  He turned off the feed before the sensitivity of the audio potentially picked up the sound from his earbud and gave him feedback.

"ch'Verret reporting for duty." Lahr announced as he hurried to the Ops station and took 2nd chair at the auxiliary station.   Hearing the Captain's order to Chloe, Lahr looked over to her. "I can help with that, ma'am."

Ruth heard Lahr's response and it was enough to have her smile despite the current situation.

Koroz is keeping comms open with ... well you now.  Keep those axes on standby for me!

Ruth rolled her eyes a little at Burke but knew he was just doing his job.  "I'm not completely incompetent Crewman, but since a certain Andorian would rip you to pieces if you so much as let me get a scratch on me..." she chuckled.  "Lead off in that direction, I promise I'm on your shoulder.  Everyone...  you have personal shields...they might offer some protection from any falling rocks." she clicked hers on, having forgotten that she had one, so long had it been since she served in Security, she'd been kitted out the same as the rest of the away team but it wasn't automatic for her.

Spotting the military patrol, she yelled "Take cover, we still have high ground!" Crouching behind a rock she started taking shots at the Edorans and they made pretty short work, stunning several and managing to round up two. In the process she stood briefly to get a better line of sight on one of the assailants, who managed to catch her on her ankle.

"ÁžÁº skÁ­thÁ¦ll, Á¾Áº munt borga fyrir Á¾aÁ°!" she spat out in Icelandic, hoping the UT didn't translate it as it wasn't exactly complimentary to said assailant's parents, since she'd proclaimed him illegitimate!

"Yes the pulses seem to be getting a little stronger..."  "...but this is ridiculous.  I think... " she turned to T'Kel, Burke and Koroz, "...you see that down there?  I think it's coming from there, we need to get down there first though.  And be ready for more things other than geology attacking us when we do!"

She glared at the two that they'd managed to round up, wincing from the pain in her left ankle but determined that she wasn't going to let the rest of the away crew realise she was hurt nor slow them down.

"OK, what's causing the tremors? Where is whatever is giving off these pulses located.  We need to shut it down or it's going to shake the planet apart.  This is for your benefit as much as mine.  Crewman Burke, tie up the stunned ones, these walking ones we'll take with us,.."

Ruth pointedly showed that she was changing the setting of her phaser rifle from 'stun' to 'kill'.  Having no intention to use it like that, she made sure that T'Kel saw her surreptitiously switch it back to stun only, taking care not to let the Edoran know it was now 'safe' again. Setting off with the two ambulatory Edorans in tow, Ruth walking and trying to hide the limp, they set off in the direction of her readings.

"You are going to take us there, and if you try any funny business, well, we'll just have to make our apologies to your wife and any kids.  Starfleet might be generous even and pay for your funeral."

"You can't do that, you can't kill me! And how did you know I'm married." the Edoran spat out.

"Can, not supposed to, but it's all semantics. Also, just a good guess, you look like you could be seen as 'good looking' if you're an Edoran woman!" Ruth was playing with his emotions, not something she would normally do with a time restraint but she was in pain and her 'evil' side was coming out.

"Good idea not to test my patience however, don't you think.  From what I gather, we have about 12 minutes until this planet will shake itself to bits, if you want to see your wife again, might be an idea to start talking..."

[color=buflywood"I don't know, I swear, you can't kill me, my wife is pregnant..."[/color] he looked appealingly both at Ruth and then at his fellow Edoran, now worried having been given a 'timeframe' for his demise, and realising that the angry red haired woman before him meant business. "The Sergeant might know..."

[Lagar]

[Transporter Room 1 - Deck 10]

"Greetings Petty Officer, I really must schedule some bat'leth time on the holodeck, care to join me sometime?" Ruth asked with a grin.  It was well known amongst the Klingons in Starfleet that Ruth was 'capable' even if she were a woman, and didn't back down even if her opponent was twice her size... both in height, although at 5'10" she wasn't short, and across the shoulders.

[Transporter Room 1 - Deck 10]

Koroz grinned in agreement, his jagged teeth a dark yellow in the light of the Transporter Room. There was no way he would pass up the chance to possibly lay a few bruises, maybe even a scar, upon Ruth Sigurdsdottir, though he was sure he would come away with a few of his own.

[Planet]

Having readily agreed to the change that T'Kel had suggested, they arrived on the planet and things suddenly kicked off.

"By Loki... what the heck!" Ruth said, as the ground moved beneath her.  "Is everyone ok? Try to keep your feet, we need to get to the pulses, switch them off before it tears this planet apart.  Koroz, keep communications with the ship open if you can and get them to pinpoint where the pulses are coming from, I've got my scanner set up but the ship's scanners are more powerful than our hand held ones.  I'm getting readings from over there... " she gestured with her hand.

Ruth heard Lahr's response and it was enough to have her smile despite the current situation.

Koroz is keeping comms open with ... well you now.  Keep those axes on standby for me!

[Planet]

The phaser fire from the Edoran Military failed to elicit an immediate violent reaction from Koroz. He would not fly wildly into a berserker rage like some undisciplined qoH simply because of a little phaser fire. Koroz had reached his rank in Starfleet through a great, great deal of practice and training in self-control, and he followed away team procedures and the orders of his superior officers. At the moment, his superior's order was to maintain an open line of communications, and he would die before failing to do so.

"Aye Sir." he said to her, dropping heavily behind  what substandard rocky cover he could find. Given time, he might admire this desolate, mountainous terrain for its rugged beauty; at the moment, he was cursing it for its absence of good protective spaces. With a broad, hairy hand he struck his combadge, and it chirped in response.

"Koroz to Challenger." he began. "We've reached the site, and immediately began receiving phaser fire from what appears to be a patrol of Edoran military personnel. They made no attempt to communicate before opening fire." He lifted his body and twisted around to observe the engaging force below, releasing cover fire with his phaser rifle to help his comrades move to more secure positions. His team was higher up than the Edorans, an ideal position, and this shaking of the ground made the battle even more exhilerating. "We are returning fire using stun settings, there is only one patrol engaging us for now."

[Planet]

"Yes the pulses seem to be getting a little stronger..."  "...but this is ridiculous.  I think... " she turned to T'Kel, Burke and Koroz, "...you see that down there?  I think it's coming from there, we need to get down there first though.  And be ready for more things other than geology attacking us when we do!"

[Planet]

"We are victorious! Commander Siggur's Daughter has captured the enemy!!" he shouts into the combadge, his excitement at their achievement getting the better of him for a moment. The Klingon joins Burke, keeping his phaser rifle trained on the stunned Edorans as his colleague ties them up. Once done, Koroz turns away from the prisoners to proudly observe the battlefield interrogation. His Commander is indeed frightening in her own human way, subtly using the setting on her phaser rifle to terrify the Orion. She was in a position of great power now, armed and in charge; the captured enemy combatant was hers to do with as she wished! Koroz was pleased by her choice to threaten the life of the detained man, going so far as to offer to pay for his funeral!

Koroz turned and quietly delivered the next part of his report out of earshot of Ruth and the green-skinned Edorans, as he did not want to reveal Ruth's deception. "She is threatening to kill one of the survivors if they do not guide us to the subspace device, and it appears to be effective." he reports proudly. "Her weapon is set to stun, of course." he quickly adds as an afterthought.

"Challenger, we need your scanners to pinpoint where the pulses are coming from, and send the data to our tricorders."

[Ian Galloway]

[Planet]

Having readily agreed to the change that T'Kel had suggested, they arrived on the planet and things suddenly kicked off.

"By Loki... what the heck!" Ruth said, as the ground moved beneath her.  "Is everyone ok? Try to keep your feet, we need to get to the pulses, switch them off before it tears this planet apart.  Koroz, keep communications with the ship open if you can and get them to pinpoint where the pulses are coming from, I've got my scanner set up but the ship's scanners are more powerful than our hand held ones.  I'm getting readings from over there... " she gestured with her hand.

Ruth heard Lahr's response and it was enough to have her smile despite the current situation.

Koroz is keeping comms open with ... well you now.  Keep those axes on standby for me!

Ruth rolled her eyes a little at Burke but knew he was just doing his job.  "I'm not completely incompetent Crewman, but since a certain Andorian would rip you to pieces if you so much as let me get a scratch on me..." she chuckled.  "Lead off in that direction, I promise I'm on your shoulder.  Everyone...  you have personal shields...they might offer some protection from any falling rocks." she clicked hers on, having forgotten that she had one, so long had it been since she served in Security, she'd been kitted out the same as the rest of the away team but it wasn't automatic for her.

Spotting the military patrol, she yelled "Take cover, we still have high ground!" Crouching behind a rock she started taking shots at the Edorans and they made pretty short work, stunning several and managing to round up two. In the process she stood briefly to get a better line of sight on one of the assailants, who managed to catch her on her ankle.

"ÁžÁº skÁ­thÁ¦ll, Á¾Áº munt borga fyrir Á¾aÁ°!" she spat out in Icelandic, hoping the UT didn't translate it as it wasn't exactly complimentary to said assailant's parents, since she'd proclaimed him illegitimate!

"Yes the pulses seem to be getting a little stronger..."  "...but this is ridiculous.  I think... " she turned to T'Kel, Burke and Koroz, "...you see that down there?  I think it's coming from there, we need to get down there first though.  And be ready for more things other than geology attacking us when we do!"

She glared at the two that they'd managed to round up, wincing from the pain in her left ankle but determined that she wasn't going to let the rest of the away crew realise she was hurt nor slow them down.

"OK, what's causing the tremors? Where is whatever is giving off these pulses located.  We need to shut it down or it's going to shake the planet apart.  This is for your benefit as much as mine.  Crewman Burke, tie up the stunned ones, these walking ones we'll take with us,.."

Ruth pointedly showed that she was changing the setting of her phaser rifle from 'stun' to 'kill'.  Having no intention to use it like that, she made sure that T'Kel saw her surreptitiously switch it back to stun only, taking care not to let the Edoran know it was now 'safe' again. Setting off with the two ambulatory Edorans in tow, Ruth walking and trying to hide the limp, they set off in the direction of her readings.

"You are going to take us there, and if you try any funny business, well, we'll just have to make our apologies to your wife and any kids.  Starfleet might be generous even and pay for your funeral."

"You can't do that, you can't kill me! And how did you know I'm married." the Edoran spat out.

"Can, not supposed to, but it's all semantics. Also, just a good guess, you look like you could be seen as 'good looking' if you're an Edoran woman!" Ruth was playing with his emotions, not something she would normally do with a time restraint but she was in pain and her 'evil' side was coming out.

"Good idea not to test my patience however, don't you think.  From what I gather, we have about 12 minutes until this planet will shake itself to bits, if you want to see your wife again, might be an idea to start talking..."

[color=buflywood"I don't know, I swear, you can't kill me, my wife is pregnant..."[/color] he looked appealingly both at Ruth and then at his fellow Edoran, now worried having been given a 'timeframe' for his demise, and realising that the angry red haired woman before him meant business. "The Sergeant might know..."

[Planet]

The phaser fire from the Edoran Military failed to elicit an immediate violent reaction from Koroz. He would not fly wildly into a berserker rage like some undisciplined qoH simply because of a little phaser fire. Koroz had reached his rank in Starfleet through a great, great deal of practice and training in self-control, and he followed away team procedures and the orders of his superior officers. At the moment, his superior's order was to maintain an open line of communications, and he would die before failing to do so.

"Aye Sir." he said to her, dropping heavily behind  what substandard rocky cover he could find. Given time, he might admire this desolate, mountainous terrain for its rugged beauty; at the moment, he was cursing it for its absence of good protective spaces. With a broad, hairy hand he struck his combadge, and it chirped in response.

"Koroz to Challenger." he began. "We've reached the site, and immediately began receiving phaser fire from what appears to be a patrol of Edoran military personnel. They made no attempt to communicate before opening fire." He lifted his body and twisted around to observe the engaging force below, releasing cover fire with his phaser rifle to help his comrades move to more secure positions. His team was higher up than the Edorans, an ideal position, and this shaking of the ground made the battle even more exhilerating. "We are returning fire using stun settings, there is only one patrol engaging us for now."

[Planet]

"We are victorious! Commander Siggur's Daughter has captured the enemy!!" he shouts into the combadge, his excitement at their achievement getting the better of him for a moment. The Klingon joins Burke, keeping his phaser rifle trained on the stunned Edorans as his colleague ties them up. Once done, Koroz turns away from the prisoners to proudly observe the battlefield interrogation. His Commander is indeed frightening in her own human way, subtly using the setting on her phaser rifle to terrify the Orion. She was in a position of great power now, armed and in charge; the captured enemy combatant was hers to do with as she wished! Koroz was pleased by her choice to threaten the life of the detained man, going so far as to offer to pay for his funeral!

Koroz turned and quietly delivered the next part of his report out of earshot of Ruth and the green-skinned Edorans, as he did not want to reveal Ruth's deception. "She is threatening to kill one of the survivors if they do not guide us to the subspace device, and it appears to be effective." he reports proudly. "Her weapon is set to stun, of course." he quickly adds as an afterthought.

"Challenger, we need your scanners to pinpoint where the pulses are coming from, and send the data to our tricorders."

[Outside a large Cavern - Edoran]

The Edoran soldiers did put up a fight, but were not crack troops by any means and were quickly subdued. The two conscious soldiers were clearly afraid of the cavern, but when forced to enter, they didn't put up a fight. The cavern was rough hewn near the entrance, but then quickly opened into a massive, smooth-walled chamber the size of a Oberth-Class starship's primary hull.

In the center of the chamber, spot-lit and imposing, was an eight-meter tall obelisk covered with runes and markings. A small circle of control panels surrounded the base of the obelisk- one of them damaged and smoking. Ruth took one look at the runes and sucked in a sharp breath. She'd read about them even though she hadn't seen them in person before, the iconography on the obelisk were clearly Iconian.

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

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

There was so much chaos going on that Ian was struggling to keep up with all the information he was receiving. Morgan has stated that communications with the away team had failed after a short message from Koroz that they were taking fire, but then there was another pulse and all communications failed. In addition, Randall reported that the seismic activity on the planet was getting far worse and spiked at one minute intervals in time with the pulses. Finally, Grint at Tactical said that pulses had a subspace component that were draining them and he figured at current rate the shields would fail in less than ten minutes.

As if that wasn't enough, the Khranu decloaked off the ship's starboard bow with her weapons hot and her captain irate. Morgan put Thelal through and he immediately demanded.

"What have you done Galloway? I hold you personally responsible for this attack and if you don't give me a good reason not do, I will take immense pleasure in destroying that antique of yours!"

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

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

So far a total of twenty-eight casualties had either managed to limp into sickbay or had been beamed in from various parts of the ship. As before, Jessica handled triage and despite her best efforts, the medical team was overwhelmed with thirty-three injured counting the members from the first away team. Most of the injuries consisted of broken bones, but there were concussions, and burns as well. Even invoking disaster protocols was not keeping up with the injuries, even with the EMH helping out.

[Don Damien Addams]

[Sickbay - PCU - USS Challenger]

As sessions were drawing to a close around her and her team dealt out follow-up appointments and treatment plans, Lisa once again went through the list in her head, expecting that Jess, who was just as capable as she was and who had her complete trust, had checked up on Jettis. Or at least sent someone to check up on him. Lagar, who was quickly proving to be her second-best asset after Jess, had taken care of the Lahr and Chloe situation. Hanir seemed to be prescribing her own treatment on a biobed. Lisa appreciated that the young woman seemed to know her own limits, but if anyone else came in here she might need to ask her to rest in her own quarters.

As for her own patient, she gave him all her attention as he spoke. The name he chose for her was enough to make her think of Kyle, though it was a common enough name to hear from any one of her clients. She chose not to focus on it and moved on, already forming her treatment as she moved her scanner around his body. When she was finished she looked him in the eye to answer his question.

"Unfortunately not, Derek. Not yet, anyway. I can administer a quick fix for a fractured rib, but the only way for it to be fully healed is to give it time." She took out an osteo-regenerator, asked him to remove his shirt, and deftly applied it to the injured area. When she was finished, she applied it to other bruises and superficial cuts, and these healed immediately. Then she told him to put his shirt back on and took out a PADD to record follow-up.

"Healing bones takes time, but I can speed it up if you come in for further applications. I've sent you a list of times to come in that fit in your schedule, pick the one that works for you. You will take a day off of work, and I have informed your supervisor that you are not to lift anything heavy or do anything too strenuous for the next two weeks. If you want to exercise I would suggest stretching and light jogging. If you feel any pain, stop immediately. I would also advise you to eat foods with calcium and vitamin D such as dairy, fish, and eggs. Any questions?" she asked cheerfully.

Shazham was standing there and observing the head Doctor. He was glad he was listening. That was good. Calcium was something he was lacking and fish. He was not a fan of fish. He was going to take to account on his own diet.

When she was finished with Derek, she responded to Shazham whom she'd overheard.

"I believe we are doing okay for now, Shazham. If you'd like to see if Gemma has any appointments she'd like you to take, she's probably in her office. Otherwise you and Hanir are welcome to observe and offer assistance to any of out outpatients."

[USS Challenger - Sickbay]

"œThank you, Doctor," Shazam had replied to Doctor Belmont. He had to admit he thought the light highlight in her long hair was beautiful. He had wondered, like many other people would. Would wonder if that was natural or dyed. It was uncommon for one area of hair to be a different color. Or worse to go gray first. Funny. That was one thing Science and Medicine could not battle. Old age and gray hair.

He recalled he had a person who was trying to fight old age. They tried every trick. This individual was early in the twenties starting getting gray hairs. It took a few sessions for the person to accept it was a good thing. It even helped when she was getting more grey hair which made her get compliments. She even found a companion and married them. That was something he had nothing to do. All he had done was comfort the person to look at the bright things even when you age.

With that, Shazham had left sick bay and went to meet up with Gemma. During that visit Gemma was pleased to see Shazham was asking if there were any appointments but she said it was clear. The truth was she had most of the patience because the regular crew who have been seeing the others prefer her for now. She was working to see if a few clients would take Hanir or Shazham.

Once she'd said this, she walked over to check on Seph. Speaking softly to announce her presence, she touched her very softly to wake her up.

"So sorry to wake you, but I just want to make sure you have everything you need? I know it got pretty crazy when everyone came in, so I wanted to follow up. You're ultimately the judge for what you think you need, so I'm giving you permission to get some rest in your quarters. If you want work I'm sure I can get Gemma to find something. Whatever you want, it's totally up to you." She regretted that the first real interaction she'd had with Hanir had been doctor-patient instead of coworker/friend over a cup of coffee, but life doesn't always go the way you want it.

[USS Challenger - Sickbay]

Shazham saw that Lahr was feeling better. "œAre you planning to help with the injury, Petty Officer?" he asked. He was not sure whether Lahr said it or not when helping with his stretches. Was not sure he was talking about the stretchers for carrying people or stretching his muscles. The Counselor was concerned if the Andorian was staying to help. If he felt he needed to help the bridge it was his duty. "œBecause I will work with you to make sure everyone gets a bed. I know some combat medic treatment from training. We can be sure we will be a big help to the nurses and doctors. We can do light injury." He smiled at the Andorian.

[Lagar]

[Outside a large Cavern - Edoran]

The Edoran soldiers did put up a fight, but were not crack troops by any means and were quickly subdued. The two conscious soldiers were clearly afraid of the cavern, but when forced to enter, they didn't put up a fight. The cavern was rough hewn near the entrance, but then quickly opened into a massive, smooth-walled chamber the size of a Oberth-Class starship's primary hull.

In the center of the chamber, spot-lit and imposing, was an eight-meter tall obelisk covered with runes and markings. A small circle of control panels surrounded the base of the obelisk- one of them damaged and smoking. Ruth took one look at the runes and sucked in a sharp breath. She'd read about them even though she hadn't seen them in person before, the iconography on the obelisk were clearly Iconian.

[Outside a large Cavern - Edoran]

Koroz snarled, realizing that communications had failed sometime after he had made his initial report to the Challenger. He moved back over to his commander as they approached the cavern; he knew that he needed to make her aware this failure of communications immediately.

"Commander, we have lost communications with the ship." he reports.

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

So far a total of twenty-eight casualties had either managed to limp into sickbay or had been beamed in from various parts of the ship. As before, Jessica handled triage and despite her best efforts, the medical team was overwhelmed with thirty-three injured counting the members from the first away team. Most of the injuries consisted of broken bones, but there were concussions, and burns as well. Even invoking disaster protocols was not keeping up with the injuries, even with the EMH helping out.

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Lagar, only one tendril down, moved from patient to patient, shifting some to the ICU and keeping others in the PCU in accordance with Lieutenant Belmont's instructions, but he was hampered by a developing problem. The chunk missing from the Phylosian's side was causing his central stalk to tilt ever so slightly; the missing piece meant a weakening in the structural support for his upper body. His body was gruesomely folding over into the missing space, and the pressure was forcing more of his internal liquids to ooze out, despite his efforts to close off the unwanted spillage of his vital fluids.

Frustrated with the problem, and knowing it would get worse before it got better, Lagar took a brief moment to retreive an auto-suture and a long, rigid splint shaped like a flat board. He placed the board on his body perpendicular to the gouge, and set the auto-suture to create U-shaped, nail-like staples. Wordlessly, and missing the facial features that might afford him the ability to grimace, Lagar stapled the top and bottom of the splint over the hole in his body, the sutures serving to 'brace' the open space and give him the support he needed to continue his duties. The nail structures pierced deeply into his trunk, only a small bit of his internal aloe excreting before it solidified around the heads of the staples. Outwardly, the procedure was brutal, and it meant he could keep moving... But he and his colleagues just were not keeping up...

[Vasilisa Belmont]

[Sickbay - PCU - USS Challenger]

Derek released a long sigh before agreeing to the doctors orders. "Well. If that's how it has to go, then I guess that's what I'll do, Doc." he said. "Thanks for patching me up. If anything happens, I promise to come in right away. Do I need to stay here or can I go?"

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

"No problem, Derek," Lisa said warmly, hearing the sincerity in the young man's voice. She was happy to have a more amicable patient for a change. "You can go on to your quarters now, or wherever else you go to relax. See you again soon," she gave him a wave as he left and then cleared the biobed for a new patient.

[USS Challenger-A | Sickbay

Hanir cracked open an eye, then the other slowly, running a hand through her hair. Quite aware that Shazam was still in the room, she had to keep a guarded and muted response. Dimly, she knew the person talking to her was the Chief Medical Officer, having studied some of the public personnel files available while waiting for work. Even without her empathic senses, she knew Lisa was a good person. Although believed human, she seemed to radiate a calming presence, a steady oasis of calm in a sea of bustling activity.

"Thank you, Doctor. I'm not sure how I should be feeling, except I'm better. Imagine Japanese Miso Soup, stir it and it becomes a bit of a chaotic mess, but leave it for a bit and it settles down. I think my mind needed time to figure itself out. I haven't needed to do it since I was very young." Hanir paused, wondering why she was just talking randomly. Medical Officers had some psychology training, or maybe it was just that every once in a while, two people would meet and naturally become friends as if they knew each other for years.

"I actually want to get to work. The Counselling department has been pretty quiet with the crew running around. I just want to get a piece of the action, I suppose." She smiled a little shyly and blushed.

[Quote by Ian Galloway]

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Reports of casualties began to come in from all over the ship after the violent shaking. At least a half dozen crew staggered in injured, but there were also calls for emergency transports for others. Based on the numbers, at least 30, sickbay was about to be swamped.

Lisa listened to Hanir with interest, as she was fascinated by how Betazoid neurology worked. Sometimes the best way to describe medical concepts was to hear it from the person who was experiencing them, as a textbook could only tell so much. She smiled back at her and was about to respond when there was a sudden jolt all over the ship accompanied by an influx in activity. She managed to grab hold of the medcart next to her, and as soon as the patients started coming in she sprang into action.

[Quote by Hanir Seph]

[USS Challenger-A | Sickbay]

Hanir had pushed herself into a sitting position, hands firmly holding onto the edge as she gingerly stepped onto the deck when the whole ship started shaking. Instinctively, she reached out her arm to where she thought Lisa was, but uncertain if she managed to catch and brace the latter. "Great Maker... What was that...?!" Hanir managed to gasp.

Although she was fairly braced, she managed to bruise her sternum and knock the breath out of her a bit, but that was the least of her concerns. As Enlisted crew, her medical training was limited to first aid, she was determined to make herself useful somehow.

[Quote by Ian Galloway]

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

So far a total of twenty-eight casualties had either managed to limp into sickbay or had been beamed in from various parts of the ship. As before, Jessica handled triage and despite her best efforts, the medical team was overwhelmed with thirty-three injured counting the members from the first away team. Most of the injuries consisted of broken bones, but there were concussions, and burns as well. Even invoking disaster protocols was not keeping up with the injuries, even with the EMH helping out.

The CMO hadn't noticed Hanir's injury, not out of lack of caring, but because many other injuries that needed her attention were calling. By now she had called all of Beta shift to action and the EMH was conducting diagnoses and aiding Jess with her triage efforts by categorizing the injuries by severity. As she was practically running from each biobed she watched as Lagar bandaged his gash and cringed at what she saw. But this couldn't take her attention for long and he was surrounded by people who could help him if needed. She proceeded to administer treatment to five individuals with bruises and superficial wounds, her skill with the dermal regenerator allowing her to finish the job in four minutes or less depending on the size of the wound. She had long ago given permission for low-ranking officers to administer treatment without her consent. She assumed that most cases wouldn't be serious enough to need it but, if that was the case and she was too busy to be there to sign off on it...she didn't want to take that chance. This way she was able to be more of a doctor than a supervisor, and this suited her nicely.

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Lagar, only one tendril down, moved from patient to patient, shifting some to the ICU and keeping others in the PCU in accordance with Lieutenant Belmont's instructions, but he was hampered by a developing problem. The chunk missing from the Phylosian's side was causing his central stalk to tilt ever so slightly; the missing piece meant a weakening in the structural support for his upper body. His body was gruesomely folding over into the missing space, and the pressure was forcing more of his internal liquids to ooze out, despite his efforts to close off the unwanted spillage of his vital fluids.

Frustrated with the problem, and knowing it would get worse before it got better, Lagar took a brief moment to retreive an auto-suture and a long, rigid splint shaped like a flat board. He placed the board on his body perpendicular to the gouge, and set the auto-suture to create U-shaped, nail-like staples. Wordlessly, and missing the facial features that might afford him the ability to grimace, Lagar stapled the top and bottom of the splint over the hole in his body, the sutures serving to 'brace' the open space and give him the support he needed to continue his duties. The nail structures pierced deeply into his trunk, only a small bit of his internal aloe excreting before it solidified around the heads of the staples. Outwardly, the procedure was brutal, and it meant he could keep moving... But he and his colleagues just were not keeping up...

She was about to move from the PCU to the ICU when she witnessed Lagar performing a rather invasive surgery on himself. Her eyes turned into saucers as she took in this intense action, and she ran over to him, narrowly missing being hit by a traveling hovergurney.

"Woah woah woah!" she exclaimed. "I totally appreciate you wanting to have all hands on deck, but next time let one of us do it, okay? A bruised arm can wait if it's something like this."

She let out a breath. Emotions had been high ever since this surge of patients had popped up, and seeing her new friend injured like that took her off guard. Her mind was already jumping to what she was going to do first in the ICU, but since she was momentarily overwhelmed she halted for a second and focused on Lagar, trying not to focus on the sutures.