S4: E8 - Stop the MADness

[Jettis Jyur]

"All hands this is the captain. We have just borne witness ta the unimaginable. There are no words for the tragedy that has just occurred, but for now, we must do what we can ta mitigate the sufferin' takin' place on Trellion. Doctor Beaumont, I am activatin' disaster protocol, all the ship's resources are yours. Counselor Lightoller, please report ta the bridge. Regardless of how you may be feelin' right now, we are Starfleet and we have a new job ta do. Be prepared for rapidly changin' orders and assignments. I have complete faith in your ability ta do all that is possible for the people of Trellion. Galloway out."

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

The Captain's speech/announcement aroused very little of a response from Jettis. His eyes flitted over briefly to look at the man, but the wholly vacant stare continued as he tried to even out his breathing. Dipping his head for a moment, he breathed deeply, until his commbadge sparked to life. Quickly, the Chief Science officer was contacting him again. This time though, her voice had lost the determined bravado.

=/\=Lt. Jyur, **sniff**, please do what you can that end.  Mr. Nari has suggested that we put the industrial replicators on board ship to work, creating Hyronalin and Lectrazine... I'm in agreement and if you want to oversee that you could.  I'm sorry, we couldn't save everyone it was an impossible task... now we have to save those we can, it's turned into a rescue mission.  I didn't mean to sound dismissive before but sometimes you've got to prioritise your horrors, and well, trying to save lives first then mopping up any damage after was the situation we were in.  Now the unthinkable has happened we can switch to a pure rescue mission now.  Mr. Briggs, I had no intention of landing on the planet at the moment, while we have EV suits as standard, I am thinking simply from a security position here.  We'll hold position and await further orders.  Can we beam injured up for transport to the Challenger?  Medical is my weakest department.  Perhaps Drs. Belmont and Fellows can advise?

For a moment, Jettis couldn't find the heart to respond to his superior. Head rising slowly, he mulled over her words. If he was entirely honest, he didn't have a clue why she was apologizing to him, when there were millions of others to apologize to instead. Wetting his lips, he chose to ignore her apology entirely, at the cost of being labled as disrespectful or insubordinate. Once again nodding slowly, straightened up, holding back the thoughts that raced at a mile a minute.  "I will be of service to the medical department in any way that I can. I will contact the senior Medical staff and see what they have on hand and that every replicator gets working on the medication. Jyur Out."

He added nothing else, before closing that channel, and opening one to the Chief Medical Officer. Taking another moment to compose himself, before he began to speak.  "Dr.Belmont? This is Lieutenant Jyur of Science Department. Here to work with you involving the situation on Trellion. What can I do to help you?" He waited, releasing his grip on his station, and forcing himself to stand straight up. Pushing off the feeling that the floor was going to give out, he tried to do a subtle meditation, to stablize his mood a bit more. He had to keep working, pushing through it - all of them did. There was no time for the Challenger to be the victims, after the horrors that Trellion had just experienced. Today had been just another day for them, in their mundane lives - until now. Now, Starfleet had to pick up the pieces, and hope there was enough left to make something out of it.

[Paul Wessex]

[USS Challenger]

There was a wraith stalking the ship. A spectre in human form. An transient memory of a once vibrant, optimistic and open shape, which had been new to the wonders of the wider universe after 30 years below it. The wraith drifted - perhaps not oblivious to the goings on around but certainly not propelled - through the corridors, a face pallid and drawn, itself haunted by what the once-unsullied eyes had witnessed not long before.

The wraith had a name, but right now it cared not to recall it.

But to others who may had the misfortune to look upon it, the form would be recognised as Lt Paul Wessex.

His plan to disarm the warheads had been taken forward, and for some brief - foolish - moment Paul felt a surge of hope within his taut chest; Starfleet was renowned for doing the impossible; its reputation had completely preceded it to all corners of habitation and indeed drove the half-serious rivalry between it and the Federation Naval Patrol, whose own remarkable tales of adventure and assurance never reached the same lofty heights. Paul had left NavPat behind to be one of these daily legends among the sea of stars, and as the acoustic pulse he had suggested had disarmed warhead after warhead - at times even prematurely detonating missile after missile - he felt the rush of conviction that surely all Starfleet felt when the impossible was crossed off the to-do list.

But then time had ran out, and the residuum had fallen like rain upon the world they were here to safeguard. The cost of life was sickening. And not for the first time, but no time more than now, Wessex craved the return to the aquatic womb where his past life had dwelled.

It was not that he was unused to death. Nor the tragic toll of failure. His short time on Katra had already dimmed his soul to the monstrosities of creation. But this was on a scale that he had never imagined to be a spectator to. Or wanted.

Yet, worse of all, he was man of peace, a spirit of adventure...but now he was carried by the tides of bitter hindsight and self-incrimination about not doing more to proscribe these events. To being party to mass indolence. The ship should never had sat in conspicuous passiveness, through the cutting shackles of protocol, as glittering shoals of hideous destruction sailed by just out of reach of its impolite arbitration.

If this was how the Prime Directive protected lives out in the cosmos, then Federation values only today truly existed beneath the waves.

Reaching the transporter room, and putting new steel in soul, Paul acknowledged the next landing team he was joining to perform protective duties to the innocents below.

A descent into the fathoms of shame.

[Ian Galloway]

[Near Orbit of Trellion]

In the time before additional Starfleet ships could arrive, Ian's primary function was to coordinate with the Medical, Science, and Security departments as they got organized into rescue teams. Every shuttle the Challenger had aboard, less the worker bees, were deployed to assist where they could. The Ops and Engineering departments were involved as well as they ran the ship's replicators at maximum to create medical supplies, tents, emergency ration, and a host of other items that would be useful on Trellion.

Once the teams were ready, Ian authorized travel to the planet. Everyone going to the planet had hypos of anti-radiation drugs and rad suits before they left to give them the maximum possible protection from the fallout. Each shuttle had two medical personnel with four security officers. Sometimes that made the shuttles crowded, but it couldn't be helped. In addition to the medical gear, each shuttle also carried transporter pattern enhancers so that, once established, they could be reinforced, supplied, or evacuated via beam out if necessary.

The main problem was with so many cities little more than rubble, triage was proving difficult. The cities that needed the most help had so many casualties the Challenger simply didn't have enough people to handle the load. This was further complicated in that many of the unlucky, that is those who survived the initial blast but had already absorbed a fatal amount of radiation and were already dead, they just didn't know that.

As Mondo had feared, some of the residents reacted in terror and anger as the shuttles arrived, which forced the Starfleet personnel to pull back to areas less wracked with chaos. T'Kel had set out a rigid set of rules of engagement that allowed for the rescue teams to defend themselves, but with the minimum amount of force necessary. Fortunately, the Nelvari didn't have phaser technology which allowed for the liberal use of stun to break up marauding civilians so that the teams could retreat if necessary, but one thing was abundantly clear, until more ships arrived, the best the crew of the Challenger could do was no more than add a drop of water to an ocean.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian was feeling overwhelmed as he tried to coordinate the disaster and he knew his most important task was to not look like he was. He simply replied to questions as fast as he could and would have to live with the choices he made if anything went wrong. As he was signing what had to be the 50th PADD put before him, his eyes fell on Ensign Lightoller.

"Ensign, at the moment, everyone is in bloody crisis mode. You're goin' ta have ta do what you do on the fly. Use your skills and judgement ta see who's most in need. It's all any of us can do."

Ian then turned back to the display on the command chair to track the location of the ship's shuttles to see if there was anyway to improve coverage for the northern hemisphere which had taken most of the damage in the attack.

[Bianca Lightoller]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian was feeling overwhelmed as he tried to coordinate the disaster and he knew his most important task was to not look like he was. He simply replied to questions as fast as he could and would have to live with the choices he made if anything went wrong. As he was signing what had to be the 50th PADD put before him, his eyes fell on Ensign Lightoller.

"Ensign, at the moment, everyone is in bloody crisis mode. You're goin' ta have ta do what you do on the fly. Use your skills and judgement ta see who's most in need. It's all any of us can do."

Ian then turned back to the display on the command chair to track the location of the ship's shuttles to see if there was anyway to improve coverage for the northern hemisphere which had taken most of the damage in the attack.

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

Bianca's mouth parted a little with confusion. "Ah..." She wasn't exactly sure if he actually wanted her to interfere with the Bridge staff; they looked rightfully absorbed into providing relief to Trellion. Usually there was a day or so of work before anyone thought of taking care of themselves and therapy was often done in closed quarters.

And while she's gone to the Academy to learn the chain of command, she was more of support staff than an action-packed officer. That was probably why she leaned forward towards the Captain's chair to ask him quietly. The most in need would have to be the Captain first, right? On the fly, on the fly...

She took a quick read on Captain Galloway. From what she's seen so far is that he was very good at holding things together with his feet in the fire, so she figured he wouldn't respond well to gentle coaxing about his feelings. Testing his comfort zone, she tried a more professional approach.

"How are you holding up, Captain?" she said calmly. "Do you feel fit to command right now?"

[Ian Galloway]

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

Bianca's mouth parted a little with confusion. "Ah..." She wasn't exactly sure if he actually wanted her to interfere with the Bridge staff; they looked rightfully absorbed into providing relief to Trellion. Usually there was a day or so of work before anyone thought of taking care of themselves and therapy was often done in closed quarters.

And while she's gone to the Academy to learn the chain of command, she was more of support staff than an action-packed officer. That was probably why she leaned forward towards the Captain's chair to ask him quietly. The most in need would have to be the Captain first, right? On the fly, on the fly...

She took a quick read on Captain Galloway. From what she's seen so far is that he was very good at holding things together with his feet in the fire, so she figured he wouldn't respond well to gentle coaxing about his feelings. Testing his comfort zone, she tried a more professional approach.

"How are you holding up, Captain?" she said calmly. "Do you feel fit to command right now?"

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Despite the chaos before him, the counselor's question caused him to snort in some amusement. When he replied, he wore his trademark lopsided smile that only a pilot could manage to make work.

"Well Lass, let it never be said you nae ken how ta get right ta the bloody heart of the matter. So, ta answer your question, despite havin' had better days, I believe I'm about as fit as I've ever been ta command.

"I have no doubts once all this sinks in and I realize the full depth of today's events I'll have some dark days ahead, but for now, there's no time ta fall ta pieces, there's too much ta do."

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

The Captain's speech/announcement aroused very little of a response from Jettis. His eyes flitted over briefly to look at the man, but the wholly vacant stare continued as he tried to even out his breathing. Dipping his head for a moment, he breathed deeply, until his commbadge sparked to life. Quickly, the Chief Science officer was contacting him again. This time though, her voice had lost the determined bravado.

For a moment, Jettis couldn't find the heart to respond to his superior. Head rising slowly, he mulled over her words. If he was entirely honest, he didn't have a clue why she was apologizing to him, when there were millions of others to apologize to instead. Wetting his lips, he chose to ignore her apology entirely, at the cost of being labled as disrespectful or insubordinate. Once again nodding slowly, straightened up, holding back the thoughts that raced at a mile a minute.  "I will be of service to the medical department in any way that I can. I will contact the senior Medical staff and see what they have on hand and that every replicator gets working on the medication. Jyur Out."

He added nothing else, before closing that channel, and opening one to the Chief Medical Officer. Taking another moment to compose himself, before he began to speak.  "Dr.Belmont? This is Lieutenant Jyur of Science Department. Here to work with you involving the situation on Trellion. What can I do to help you?" He waited, releasing his grip on his station, and forcing himself to stand straight up. Pushing off the feeling that the floor was going to give out, he tried to do a subtle meditation, to stablize his mood a bit more. He had to keep working, pushing through it - all of them did. There was no time for the Challenger to be the victims, after the horrors that Trellion had just experienced. Today had been just another day for them, in their mundane lives - until now. Now, Starfleet had to pick up the pieces, and hope there was enough left to make something out of it.

[Delta Flyer - Mjolnir]

Having had a bit sob to herself, Ruth felt a little more able to cope with the horrors that had befallen them.  She was still blaming herself, and maybe the apology to her subordinate was the start, she couldn't exactly apologise to those who had lost their lives and she wouldn't know where to start with the families who had lost someone if anyone was left.  How do you tell a child sorry that their parents had died and they themselves were having breathing difficulties, had burns and probably facing a slow agonising death.

The CSO was wondering internally if she had done absolutely everything she could...and while she couldn't apologise to everyone, an apology somewhere was something, a start of healing she guessed.  When she was back on the Challenger she would seek out Jyur and explain over a coffee and a chat.

The emotional release was enough however for her to pull her shoulders back and carry on.

Absentmindedly she nodded at the Lt.'s words, glad to know that Lisa and Jessica would get an extra pair of hands even if it was more gophering... she hadn't had a chance to read the Lt.'s file yet, for all she knew he could be trained in some medical too, which would be even more useful.  Anything to take the pressure off a little.

"Lahr, Mondo... sorry about that, it was... unprofessional.  I'm fine now.  Well, I'm not, but I mean I'm able to carry on. I hate the sitting around but unless we all want to be keel-hauled or thrown out of the nearest airlock or something once we're back, I don't think any of us want to add to any list of misdemeanours we've committed previously.  Mondo's probably ok, he could probably get away with it given what troublemakers you and I are, Bluey!  Compared to us, Mr. Nari here should be up for canonization!"

[Bianca Lightoller]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Despite the chaos before him, the counselor's question caused him to snort in some amusement. When he replied, he wore his trademark lopsided smile that only a pilot could manage to make work.

"Well Lass, let it never be said you nae ken how ta get right ta the bloody heart of the matter. So, ta answer your question, despite havin' had better days, I believe I'm about as fit as I've ever been ta command.

"I have no doubts once all this sinks in and I realize the full depth of today's events I'll have some dark days ahead, but for now, there's no time ta fall ta pieces, there's too much ta do."

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

Her sharpened gaze relaxed when the Captain answered her in a rather honest fashion, making no excuse that he would need guidance after such a tragedy. She filed his smile and careful disposition away for his future private session and offered a firm hand on his shoulder should he want it.

"Okay," she replied gently. "You're fit to finish your shift, but I expect you at the top of the list for grief counseling, Captain. The ship needs you the most."

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

The Captain's speech/announcement aroused very little of a response from Jettis. His eyes flitted over briefly to look at the man, but the wholly vacant stare continued as he tried to even out his breathing. Dipping his head for a moment, he breathed deeply, until his commbadge sparked to life. Quickly, the Chief Science officer was contacting him again. This time though, her voice had lost the determined bravado.

For a moment, Jettis couldn't find the heart to respond to his superior. Head rising slowly, he mulled over her words. If he was entirely honest, he didn't have a clue why she was apologizing to him, when there were millions of others to apologize to instead. Wetting his lips, he chose to ignore her apology entirely, at the cost of being labled as disrespectful or insubordinate. Once again nodding slowly, straightened up, holding back the thoughts that raced at a mile a minute.  "I will be of service to the medical department in any way that I can. I will contact the senior Medical staff and see what they have on hand and that every replicator gets working on the medication. Jyur Out."

He added nothing else, before closing that channel, and opening one to the Chief Medical Officer. Taking another moment to compose himself, before he began to speak.  "Dr.Belmont? This is Lieutenant Jyur of Science Department. Here to work with you involving the situation on Trellion. What can I do to help you?" He waited, releasing his grip on his station, and forcing himself to stand straight up. Pushing off the feeling that the floor was going to give out, he tried to do a subtle meditation, to stablize his mood a bit more. He had to keep working, pushing through it - all of them did. There was no time for the Challenger to be the victims, after the horrors that Trellion had just experienced. Today had been just another day for them, in their mundane lives - until now. Now, Starfleet had to pick up the pieces, and hope there was enough left to make something out of it.

Deciding she had enough of the Captain's attention, she started looking around for people on the verge of buckling under the trauma. She immediately caught Lieutenant Jyur trying his best to meditate through his emotions, so she slowly approached him from the side and waited while he was on comm with Doctor Belmont.

This time she decided to help him in a quiet, physical way and slowly breathed in and out along with him. If she could help reinforce his breathing mantra, he could slowly regain his emotional faculties. And when he stood up, she broke the silence.

"How are we doing, Lieutenant?" she asked kindly.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Mjolnir]

[Delta Flyer - Mjolnir]

"Lahr, Mondo... sorry about that, it was... unprofessional.  I'm fine now.  Well, I'm not, but I mean I'm able to carry on. I hate the sitting around but unless we all want to be keel-hauled or thrown out of the nearest airlock or something once we're back, I don't think any of us want to add to any list of misdemeanours we've committed previously.  Mondo's probably ok, he could probably get away with it given what troublemakers you and I are, Bluey!  Compared to us, Mr. Nari here should be up for canonization!"

It was Ruth's calling him by name before her apology, that finally drew Lahr's attention and it was only then the Andorian realized that she'd been weeping.   His posture slumped, knowing just how hard she must be taking this.  He shook his head, implying that with him she needn't apologize.

He grimaced when Ruth commented on how she hated waiting, but didn't want to risk 'keel-hauling' for disobeying orders.   He want to say something, to let Ruth know she wasn't alone in her despair and desire to help but the words stuck in his throat.  Instead, he reached out his hand towards her once more, before he did a scan of the nuclear-crater riddled planet.

Zooming in on the scan, the Andorian stared hard at his console viewscreen that showed the terrible destruction that just one warhead had wreaked.  How anything could anything survive that level of devastation?  It seemed hopeless.  But at the edges of the blast radius his scans were picking up lifesigns.. faint and not numerous.  Those of course were the unlucky ones for whom there would be no saving.   Dying but not yet dead.

It took effort to look away and wait for orders that were long in coming.

[sometime later]

[Near Orbit of Trellion]

In the time before additional Starfleet ships could arrive, Ian's primary function was to coordinate with the Medical, Science, and Security departments as they got organized into rescue teams. Every shuttle the Challenger had aboard, less the worker bees, were deployed to assist where they could. The Ops and Engineering departments were involved as well as they ran the ship's replicators at maximum to create medical supplies, tents, emergency ration, and a host of other items that would be useful on Trellion.

Once the teams were ready, Ian authorized travel to the planet. Everyone going to the planet had hypos of anti-radiation drugs and rad suits before they left to give them the maximum possible protection from the fallout. Each shuttle had two medical personnel with four security officers. Sometimes that made the shuttles crowded, but it couldn't be helped. In addition to the medical gear, each shuttle also carried transporter pattern enhancers so that, once established, they could be reinforced, supplied, or evacuated via beam out if necessary.

The main problem was with so many cities little more than rubble, triage was proving difficult. The cities that needed the most help had so many casualties the Challenger simply didn't have enough people to handle the load. This was further complicated in that many of the unlucky, that is those who survived the initial blast but had already absorbed a fatal amount of radiation and were already dead, they just didn't know that.

As Mondo had feared, some of the residents reacted in terror and anger as the shuttles arrived, which forced the Starfleet personnel to pull back to areas less wracked with chaos. T'Kel had set out a rigid set of rules of engagement that allowed for the rescue teams to defend themselves, but with the minimum amount of force necessary. Fortunately, the Nelvari didn't have phaser technology which allowed for the liberal use of stun to break up marauding civilians so that the teams could retreat if necessary, but one thing was abundantly clear, until more ships arrived, the best the crew of the Challenger could do was no more than add a drop of water to an ocean.

The Mjolnir, to Lahr dismay, had been recalled and her crew replaced with medical and security personnel.  Lahr was sent down to the industrial replicators to assist with the relief efforts in that manner.  Maybe it was better this way? He was still traumatized on occasion by visions of the battle on Innominatum, last thing he needed was to add to that with imagery of dying people from Trellion.

[Ian Galloway]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

The viewscreen showed Trellion receding as the Challenger pulled away from the still scarred planet. The atmosphere no longer roiled with radioactive fallout, but the extensive cloud cover of nuclear winter did blanket the world. There were a pair of Miranda-Class ships modified as cargo transports in orbit providing critically needed food, medicines, and anything else they could replicate to support the stricken Nelvari.

After ordering the viewscreen to switch to a forward display, Ian was very happy to be gone from the system and began his log.

"Captain's Log, Stardate 76083.2. After nearly a month in orbit, we are finally leavin' Trellion. The eight ship task force successfully stabilized the government's emergency support system enough that aside from the USS Chandley and USS Griffon, a pair of logistical support cruisers that will remain on station for another month ta ensure the Nelvari do not starve by providin' food and soil purification, the mission in the Nelvarish system is at an end.

"It is still difficult for anyone that witnessed the nuclear apocalypse ta process the number of dead that occurred in just the space of four minutes from the first detonation to the last. Thirty-three million died in those four minutes and another eighteen million have died since then from massive radiation exposure, injuries, and riotin'. I real can't say I've absorbed the total, Fifty-one million dead and I'm not certain I ever will.

"I suppose if you re-frame what happened through the most rose-colored lens possible, there was something good that came out of a nearly extinction level event for both planets. They have finally realized the futility of their long-standin' feud and have signed a peace treaty. Despite bein' in a position of power ta exploit the weakness of his enemy, First One Greshak showed amazin' leadership and grace to the Trellions. Tercius Mellebok, who could have been bitter and unforgivin' also rose ta the occasion and forged what I hope will be a lastin' friendship.

"We are now on our way to Starbase 133. We are desperate need of resupply for our replicators and ta restock our completely depleted stock of torpedo casings. I've heard from multiple sources that we are the first Federation starship since the Dominion War ta expend their entire load of torpedoes. A mark of distinction I suppose. I don't know. I'm just glad ta finally be away from this benighted system and on the road ta makin' peace with what occurred here as no one will ever 'get over' what happened. I know I won't. End Log."

Ian then spoke to Ensign Miammaso Ozoim, the young female Betazoid at the helm.

"Starbase 133 Ensign. Warp seven."

"Aye Captain."

The Challenger flickered with pseudo-motion and departed Einsteinian space.