Season 14: Episode 11 - Conjoinment Crisis - Part One (Ship of Horrors)

[Jael Sherem]

Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Klingon freighter vaQ - Corridor to the Bridge]

Rayek, struggling to remain conscious, was surprised to have his view of the charging creature blocked by the Cardassian security officer as she took aim and fired on the blended Klingon creature.   Her first shot, aimed for its arm, kept the creature from taking a second swing at the dodging doctor as the energy beam from the disruptor - designed at high settings to rip molecules apart - at its lower settings caused extensive physical damage to the limb rendering it useless.  The arm dropped to the creature's side, limp and nonreactive yet with nerve endings flaring.

The Klingon howled its agony, taking another two steps forward before Jael was able to fire a second shot.  This time aimed at its leg.  The result was just as effective.  Unable to receive impulses to move the affected limb, the creature's ability to maintain its balance on the leg was impacted, and it came crashing down to the floor.  The pain it experienced was overwhelming and with one last phaser shot from Torra the beast slipped into unconsciousness at Jael's feet.

"Finally!" Torra voiced her feelings.  "I thought it was never going drop."  She moved to the creature cautiously to check to be sure it was truly down. Which it was.

[Klingon freighter vaQ - Corridor to the Bridge]

Forewarned only by the momentary flicker of lights, Torra and the others were unprepared for the ship's sudden drop out of warp and plunge into darkness.

Torra, who had moved forward and was in the midst of securing the unconscious Klingon creature she and Jael had taken down, was thrown forward, tripping over the prone body of the creature. She would have landed on her face hard had her large horns not struck the decking first with loud clang.  Yet even with that, Torra still found her nose unpleasantly dipped in a foul smelling liquid she could only assume was the creature's blood.   In disgust, she scrambled to her hands and knees to quickly rub her face against her uniform sleeve.  Unfortunately, the Romulan fabric had very little absorbancy and smeared the substance rather than clearing it away.

[Ante-Centurion Jael Sherem | Mess Hall | Klingon Freighter]

"And they say on Earth that the fall is hard the bigger the opponent is," said Jael as the monster was downed. She then took a look at Rayek to see if he was okay. She wished momentarily she had a medical tricorder handy...combat medic, perhaps, did she regard herself? She'd have to figure that one out later, and where it was more ideal, a security officer with medical specialty, intended to both fight and defend while tending to the wounded...?

"Holy Prophets, what a stench," she muttered, her nose wrinkling.

Suddenly, the ship lurched and she stumbled, landing on her butt on something wet. The palm of her hand even felt something wet as she tried to stop a complete fall. In that instant, she felt a chill inside her: the memory of the story of the failed experiment that prompted the abandonment of Empok Nor.

If there was anything that frightened her more than having to meet one of her father's enemies, it was what transpired in that story, how psychotropic drugs designed for any kind of contact, from consumption to touch, enhanced the Cardassian natural xenophobia, which unfortunately resulted in some poor soldiers behaving too dangerously prompting the station to be abandoned. One of the soldiers who took part in the evacuation of Empok Nor was a member of her mother's crew, one of her security officers, which meant he was among a crew who defected upon Gul Dukat's takeover of Cardassia. When they were first staying in a place on Earth, while the crew was waiting to be debriefed by Starfleet officers, he told her that story in the form of a ghost story. It scared the crap out of Jael. Literally; she spent her first night on Earth visiting the bathroom, it was certainly a story that disturbed her bowels enough to contract a kind of Cardassian diarrhea.

As such, Jael developed a fear of coming in contact with any kind of unknown liquid, because she was afraid that if she touched it, let alone consumed it, she could become some kind of monster.

As long as she knew what it was and what it consisted of, she felt comfortable. Which was why she had studied drugs in science classes, with the occasional chemistry class as an elective, at the Academy. Thus far, that particular phobia had manifested itself only once, and that, too, was at the Academy: A student had brought some kind of unknown liquid that was smoking that he had mixed together and dared anybody to drink it. It wasn't something that Jael recognized and she looked at it with increasing trepidation. When it was passed to her, she practically ran from the class screaming. Later, she found out that it was just a mixture of synthoholic drinks, with food coloring added into it. She was particularly furious at that student and spent the rest of the semester attending the class virtually to stay away from him.

Now, sitting in this foul-smelling liquid, and her hand feeling it, she was rooted to the spot with horror, and the absolute darkness certainly added to her terror. She remembered that Torra was among the group with Rayek and so she called out...

"T-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-Torra?" she said in a terrified squeak, stammering in horror, her voice very close to being lost.

[Rayek trLhoell]

NPC Riov (Commander) Vochreb tr'Siedhri
[RFS Valdore - Bridge]

From his command chair on the Bridge of the Valdore, Commander tr'Siedhri had watched the actions of the Federation Exchange Officers via the miniature cameras embedded in their uniform pins, and wondered how it was that the Federation had seemed so formidable in the past if this was an example of their finest officer.   He looked towards their Captain, now Exchange Program Observer.

"I see now, why the Subcommander insisted that only the security members have disruptors. What a shame it would have been if he'd been hit with friendly fire from one of those."  The Commander chuckled mirthlessly.

"So Commander Tekin, care to wager how long it takes for your team to call us for aid?"

NPC PO2 Helga Tragnar
[Klingon freighter vaQ -  Engineering]

[Engineering - Klingon Freighter]

Lek was also surprised by the abrupt drop from warp and went flying across engineering, only just able to protect his head as he skidded across the deck. When the compartment was plunged into darkness and emergency lighting did not come on, Lek swore in several languages describing the familial relations and personal habits of the Klingon ship builders. He reached into his tool kit, pulled out a flashlight and staggered to the nearest console.

"Idiot Klingon Engineers. There has to be backup power, even if only batteries."

He growled as he tried to bring some sort of power online.

The sudden source of dim light in an otherwise vast black was welcome.  Even more welcome was hearing the grumblings of a certain Ferengi.  Not even his insults to Klingon engineers could tamp her relief that he was okay.  Helga chuckled.  "You should probably look for the back-ups in the most inconvenient place possible." the Klingon/Human hybrid suggested as she did a silent tally of those on her team.  All accounted for.

Gohun was flying through the air. Apparently the ship had dropped out of warp. Also the room was in darkness. Suddenly the room was full of bright starts as Gohun impacted the bulkhead with his head. Knowing that there was no auxiliary power Gohun got up and fumbled around for his flashlight until a bright light pierced the darkness. Someone found their flashlight.
"Gohun reporting in, just a mild concussion."

[Engineering - Klingon Freighter]

The team continued firing at the coupler and Kyle watched as Gohun reached in and snatched out come cables. On the upside, they got the effect they were going for. The shipped dropped out of warp/ On the downside, they got the effect they wanted. The shipped dropped suddenly out of warp and it sent everyone flying around the room. Kyle bumped his head on the floor when he landed and his vision blurred for a few minutes. The room went completely dark and, unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any back up power. When he got his senses back, he heard Tragnar call out.

"Briggs. Got a headache but I'm alive." he replied just before hearing Gohun reply with his status as well. Suddenly, his heart began to pound as he stood. "LISA? LISA!. Where are you?" he yelled out. He knew he was in charge of the whole team but for the moment, he was thinking with his heart.

Once he got a reply, he went looking for the others. "Lek! Dranik! Where are you guys?" He needed to make sure everyone was okay before attempting to contact Rayek.

Just as soon as everyone checked in, there was a bang at the doors.

"Shit." Kyle muttered having completely forgotten about the creature on the other side. If they needed to leave Engineering, they may have to find an alternate route. He reached for his comm link.

[Engineering - Klingon Freighter]

"Oops."

Taking a flashlight off her belt, she switched it on and illuminated the space in front of her.

"I'm here, Commander," she said, blushing at his break of rank etiquette. He must have been really worried about her. She shone her flashlight around, setting on Lek looking around for sources of power and Dranik not too far from him. Putting duty first she began walking around to each party member, giving them discreet checks with her tricorder. Luckily the head trauma cases weren't serious, and a quick hypo injection improved their cognition enough to do their tasks faster. She hoped the other team wasn't hurt too badly from the fall either.

The pounding on the locked door brought Helga's attention back to the creature.  They were going to have to deal with it eventually, but for now the door was holding.

Helga waved Dranik over.  "Watch the door."

Helga then approached the Commander.  "Sir, permission to check out the maintenance shafts from the engine room?  - to see if there is a route that can get our security force behind that creature to either take it down or lure it away from the door?"

NPC's Lieutenant Danjar-Torra Addams and Lieutenant JG Saqa7 Mountain-Khan

[Ante-Centurion Jael Sherem | Mess Hall | Klingon Freighter]

"And they say on Earth that the fall is hard the bigger the opponent is," said Jael as the monster was downed. She then took a look at Rayek to see if he was okay. She wished momentarily she had a medical tricorder handy...combat medic, perhaps, did she regard herself? She'd have to figure that one out later, and where it was more ideal, a security officer with medical specialty, intended to both fight and defend while tending to the wounded...?

"Holy Prophets, what a stench," she muttered, her nose wrinkling.

Suddenly, the ship lurched and she stumbled, landing on her butt on something wet. The palm of her hand even felt something wet as she tried to stop a complete fall. In that instant, she felt a chill inside her: the memory of the story of the failed experiment that prompted the abandonment of Empok Nor.

As such, Jael developed a fear of coming in contact with any kind of unknown liquid, because she was afraid that if she touched it, let alone consumed it, she could become some kind of monster.

Now, sitting in this foul-smelling liquid, and her hand feeling it, she was rooted to the spot with horror, and the absolute darkness certainly added to her terror. She remembered that Torra was among the group with Rayek and so she called out...

"T-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-Torra?" she said in a terrified squeak, stammering in horror, her voice very close to being lost.

Torra could hear the stammer in Jael's voice and was surprised by it.  "I'm right here" Torra spoke softly, her voice barely audible in the darkness - both to keep the conversation private and to avoid drawing other creatures towards them.  "We need to keep calm.  As two of the more senior ranked, we are who the others will look to in these challenging moments." The Grazerite reminded the Cardassian.

The Ops officer felt at her belt for her tricorder before calling out to Saqa7.  "I have my tricorder.  One moment."

A moment later and the hallway was dimly lit by Torra's use of the tricorder's flashlight feature.  She shone the light around and was dismayed by the lack of response from the others.

Briggs to Rayek. Apologies for the sudden drop. How's everyone up there?" he inquired.

Torra looked hopefully towards Rayek to respond to Commander.... or rather 'Subcommander' Briggs.  But the Romulan appeared to still be affected by the grazed shot from her phaser.

Torra answered the call on her on comm.  "Addams to Briggs. Subcommander tr'Lhoell is .. stunned.  We were engaging against one of the Klingon-creatures and he took a hit of friendly fire.   We will be continuing on towards the Bridge momentarily.  Any chance we will have power back by the time we get there?"

Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Klingon freighter vaQ - Bridge]

It took the Bridge Team two minutes before they were able to set off again with Rayek still a little groggy and feeling a slight numbness in the arm that had been grazed.  Saqa7 explained that the analgesic used to dull the pain of his hand was a contraindication for using a stronger  stimulant to negate the stunning effect he was affected by.  As such he had to be helped to walk.

He'd initially tried without assistance and nearly ended up on his face after two steps.  What saved him was the sudden lack of gravity and Saqa7's quick grab of his arm.  The zero-G only lasted a moment or two, and by then Rayek had himself steadied at a wall.

With his handicap slowing the team down, it took another five minutes for Jael and Torra to lead the way to the Bridge.  Rayek grimaced at the realization that they had arrived AFTER the deadline.  If not for the Engineering Team's success in shutting down the warp engines, the ship and all aboard would be dead - blown up by a cloaked mine.

As Rayek looked over the darkened Bridge, assessing the scene by the light of a borrowed Klingon spotlight, obtained along t he route to the Bridge. Though his impatience urged for him to call down to the engine room demanding an update as to when they might have power, he recognized his interruption would only delay things more, instead he merely contacted Subcommander Briggs to report the Bridge Teams arrival.

"tr'Lhoell to Briggs.  We've arrived at the Bridge.  It looks like there are a few consoles that have been damaged by the creatures.  But fortunately, he helm doesn't appear to be one of them."

They would know for certain once the Bridge had power, if helm was working.

"Erei-erein Graham. Check what you can of your station to be sure its in good order.  I want no delays once we have power."

With that he sat down in the Klingon Command chair and took another look around.  "Erein Addams, Mountain-Khan.  Check your stations as well."

"Erein Sherem. You are on watch at the door."  They'd had to force the door open - possibly damaging it's mechanism - to gain entrance, it was unlikely they would be able to get it shut again... which could be problematic if another of those creatures showed up.  The team had been fortunate enough to have avoided further encounters on the way to the Bridge.

Looking towards the doctor, Rayek finally gave in to the reality of the situation.  He needed use of his hand if he was to remain in his position.  "Now that we have arrived, you may continue treating my wound."  Rayek stated.  The Romulan had refused treatment earlier beyond what was necessary to stay alive, claiming that it would delay them too long to receive full treatment first.  Now that they had arrived and there was nothing he could do until they had power, he might as well let the doctor do what he could to save the mobility of his hand.

[Alexander Graham]

NPC Riov (Commander) Vochreb tr'Siedhri
[RFS Valdore - Bridge]

From his command chair on the Bridge of the Valdore, Commander tr'Siedhri had watched the actions of the Federation Exchange Officers via the miniature cameras embedded in their uniform pins, and wondered how it was that the Federation had seemed so formidable in the past if this was an example of their finest officer.   He looked towards their Captain, now Exchange Program Observer.

"I see now, why the Subcommander insisted that only the security members have disruptors. What a shame it would have been if he'd been hit with friendly fire from one of those."  The Commander chuckled mirthlessly.

"So Commander Tekin, care to wager how long it takes for your team to call us for aid?"

NPC PO2 Helga Tragnar
[Klingon freighter vaQ -  Engineering]

The sudden source of dim light in an otherwise vast black was welcome.  Even more welcome was hearing the grumblings of a certain Ferengi.  Not even his insults to Klingon engineers could tamp her relief that he was okay.  Helga chuckled.  "You should probably look for the back-ups in the most inconvenient place possible." the Klingon/Human hybrid suggested as she did a silent tally of those on her team.  All accounted for.

The pounding on the locked door brought Helga's attention back to the creature.  They were going to have to deal with it eventually, but for now the door was holding.

Helga waved Dranik over.  "Watch the door."

Helga then approached the Commander.  "Sir, permission to check out the maintenance shafts from the engine room?  - to see if there is a route that can get our security force behind that creature to either take it down or lure it away from the door?"

NPC's Lieutenant Danjar-Torra Addams and Lieutenant JG Saqa7 Mountain-Khan

Torra could hear the stammer in Jael's voice and was surprised by it.  "I'm right here" Torra spoke softly, her voice barely audible in the darkness - both to keep the conversation private and to avoid drawing other creatures towards them.  "We need to keep calm.  As two of the more senior ranked, we are who the others will look to in these challenging moments." The Grazerite reminded the Cardassian.

The Ops officer felt at her belt for her tricorder before calling out to Saqa7.  "I have my tricorder.  One moment."

A moment later and the hallway was dimly lit by Torra's use of the tricorder's flashlight feature.  She shone the light around and was dismayed by the lack of response from the others.

Torra looked hopefully towards Rayek to respond to Commander.... or rather 'Subcommander' Briggs.  But the Romulan appeared to still be affected by the grazed shot from her phaser.

Torra answered the call on her on comm.  "Addams to Briggs. Subcommander tr'Lhoell is .. stunned.  We were engaging against one of the Klingon-creatures and he took a hit of friendly fire.   We will be continuing on towards the Bridge momentarily.  Any chance we will have power back by the time we get there?"

Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Klingon freighter vaQ - Bridge]

It took the Bridge Team two minutes before they were able to set off again with Rayek still a little groggy and feeling a slight numbness in the arm that had been grazed.  Saqa7 explained that the analgesic used to dull the pain of his hand was a contraindication for using a stronger  stimulant to negate the stunning effect he was affected by.  As such he had to be helped to walk.

He'd initially tried without assistance and nearly ended up on his face after two steps.

With his handicap slowing the team down, it took another five minutes for Jael and Torra to lead the way to the Bridge.  Rayek grimaced at the realization that they had arrived AFTER the deadline.  If not for the Engineering Team's success in shutting down the warp engines, the ship and all aboard would be dead - blown up by a cloaked mine.

As Rayek looked over the darkened Bridge, assessing the scene by the light of a borrowed Klingon spotlight, obtained along t he route to the Bridge. Though his impatience urged for him to call down to the engine room demanding an update as to when they might have power, he recognized his interruption would only delay things more, instead he merely contacted Subcommander Briggs to report the Bridge Teams arrival.

"tr'Lhoell to Briggs.  We've arrived at the Bridge.  It looks like there are a few consoles that have been damaged by the creatures.  But fortunately, he helm doesn't appear to be one of them."

They would know for certain once the Bridge had power, if helm was working.

"Erei-erein Graham. Check what you can of your station to be sure its in good order.  I want no delays once we have power."

With that he sat down in the Klingon Command chair and took another look around.  "Erein Addams, Mountain-Khan.  Check your stations as well."

"Erein Sherem. You are on watch at the door."  They'd had to force the door open - possibly damaging it's mechanism - to gain entrance, it was unlikely they would be able to get it shut again... which could be problematic if another of those creatures showed up.  The team had been fortunate enough to have avoided further encounters on the way to the Bridge.

Looking towards the doctor, Rayek finally gave in to the reality of the situation.  He needed use of his hand if he was to remain in his position.  "Now that we have arrived, you may continue treating my wound."  Rayek stated.  The Romulan had refused treatment earlier beyond what was necessary to stay alive, claiming that it would delay them too long to receive full treatment first.  Now that they had arrived and there was nothing he could do until they had power, he might as well let the doctor do what he could to save the mobility of his hand.

[RFS Valdore-bridge]

"œUnderstood commander"

He checked to make sure that everything at his station was working correctly. With everything that had happened there was a chance that the flight control station could haven taken a hit. He looked closely for any signs of damage or malfunction. If there were any signs of the station not working then he'll report it to the commander. As he did his investigation he didn't see anything that could be damaged or malfunctioned. He figured that he would have to take another look at it because there might be a chance that he might have missed something in his initial investigation. It was important to have things up and running when they had power.

[Dranik]

Dranik
Klingon freighter vaQ
Engineering

"Watch the door."

Dranik nodded at Helga. "Aye, sir!"

He knew he had a few bumps and bruises from when the freighter had dropped out of warp but nothing seemed broken or severely damaged. He checked the setting on the disruptor rifle to make sure it was set at maximum. He didn't wish to kill any of the creatures, especially if they could still be saved. But he had less of an issue with blasting off an arm or a hand if it came down to a fight to the death between himself and one of the creatures. He wished he had a phaser rifle with him. Those he was far more familiar with.

[Zavrol Gohun]

Gohun started to work on the wires to restore power. " It looks like we will have power in two minutes." It was at that point Gohun realised that he forgot to fix the grounding issue that he caused when stopping the engines. That did not matter what mattered was the electrical charge. He could stop it if only bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt suddenly an electric arc around 220-volt shock just about the shock of an electric fence populated through each person the room. It was also at that point that the ships environmental settings stopped working along with gravity. As Gohun understood the gravity of the situation as he started to float away. Not wanting to float away Gohun started to flap his arms until he realized that was a dumb idea. Looking around at everyones faces apparently, it was a bad idea. Instead Gohun grabbed the outer casing and tried to replug the wire that would ground the power. There he was floating and spinning while trying to plug in a wire. Fortunately, it only took three rotations to get the plug back in and gravity kicked back in.

" Updated time to the return of power seven minutes."

[Jael Sherem]

NPC's Lieutenant Danjar-Torra Addams and Lieutenant JG Saqa7 Mountain-Khan

Torra could hear the stammer in Jael's voice and was surprised by it.  "I'm right here" Torra spoke softly, her voice barely audible in the darkness - both to keep the conversation private and to avoid drawing other creatures towards them.  "We need to keep calm.  As two of the more senior ranked, we are who the others will look to in these challenging moments." The Grazerite reminded the Cardassian.

The Ops officer felt at her belt for her tricorder before calling out to Saqa7.  "I have my tricorder.  One moment."

A moment later and the hallway was dimly lit by Torra's use of the tricorder's flashlight feature.  She shone the light around and was dismayed by the lack of response from the others.

Torra looked hopefully towards Rayek to respond to Commander.... or rather 'Subcommander' Briggs.  But the Romulan appeared to still be affected by the grazed shot from her phaser.

Torra answered the call on her on comm.  "Addams to Briggs. Subcommander tr'Lhoell is .. stunned.  We were engaging against one of the Klingon-creatures and he took a hit of friendly fire.   We will be continuing on towards the Bridge momentarily.  Any chance we will have power back by the time we get there?"

Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Klingon freighter vaQ - Bridge]

It took the Bridge Team two minutes before they were able to set off again with Rayek still a little groggy and feeling a slight numbness in the arm that had been grazed.  Saqa7 explained that the analgesic used to dull the pain of his hand was a contraindication for using a stronger  stimulant to negate the stunning effect he was affected by.  As such he had to be helped to walk.

He'd initially tried without assistance and nearly ended up on his face after two steps.

With his handicap slowing the team down, it took another five minutes for Jael and Torra to lead the way to the Bridge.  Rayek grimaced at the realization that they had arrived AFTER the deadline.  If not for the Engineering Team's success in shutting down the warp engines, the ship and all aboard would be dead - blown up by a cloaked mine.

As Rayek looked over the darkened Bridge, assessing the scene by the light of a borrowed Klingon spotlight, obtained along t he route to the Bridge. Though his impatience urged for him to call down to the engine room demanding an update as to when they might have power, he recognized his interruption would only delay things more, instead he merely contacted Subcommander Briggs to report the Bridge Teams arrival.

"tr'Lhoell to Briggs.  We've arrived at the Bridge.  It looks like there are a few consoles that have been damaged by the creatures.  But fortunately, he helm doesn't appear to be one of them."

They would know for certain once the Bridge had power, if helm was working.

"Erei-erein Graham. Check what you can of your station to be sure its in good order.  I want no delays once we have power."

With that he sat down in the Klingon Command chair and took another look around.  "Erein Addams, Mountain-Khan.  Check your stations as well."

"Erein Sherem. You are on watch at the door."  They'd had to force the door open - possibly damaging it's mechanism - to gain entrance, it was unlikely they would be able to get it shut again... which could be problematic if another of those creatures showed up.  The team had been fortunate enough to have avoided further encounters on the way to the Bridge.

Looking towards the doctor, Rayek finally gave in to the reality of the situation.  He needed use of his hand if he was to remain in his position.  "Now that we have arrived, you may continue treating my wound."  Rayek stated.  The Romulan had refused treatment earlier beyond what was necessary to stay alive, claiming that it would delay them too long to receive full treatment first.  Now that they had arrived and there was nothing he could do until they had power, he might as well let the doctor do what he could to save the mobility of his hand.

[Ante-Centurion Jael Sherem | Mess Hall >- Bridge | Klingon Freighter]

Jael saw the light and was reassured, even more so at the sight of the liquid her hand was on. It looked more like blood...well...if it did turn her into a monster...well, she was letting a paranoid phobia get the better of her as she wiped the liquid on her uniform.

"Of course," she replied to Torra. "I'm sorry, I stepped in this liquid, reminded me of a story that scared me as a girl...ah, but it's a story to relate another time...now that we have light..."

She looked up at the human that joined them and said, "Subcommander tr'Lhoell is going to need some attention, we're going to need an analgesic for the time being until he can get full medical treatment. Wish there was equipment...combat medic, that's what I could easily be...oh well..."

Soon, they got to the bridge, albeit at a slower pace. Jael helped Rayek to walk the rest of the way, she volunteered to do it. Once at the door, it had to be forced open and was still open as Rayek gave orders. Jael nodded vigorously at his order to keep an eye on the door; a lookout gave her enough rapt attention so she could see anybody...or anything...coming.

[Lek]

Gohun started to work on the wires to restore power. " It looks like we will have power in two minutes." It was at that point Gohun realised that he forgot to fix the grounding issue that he caused when stopping the engines. That did not matter what mattered was the electrical charge. He could stop it if only bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt suddenly an electric arc around 220-volt shock just about the shock of an electric fence populated through each person the room. It was also at that point that the ships environmental settings stopped working along with gravity. As Gohun understood the gravity of the situation as he started to float away. Not wanting to float away Gohun started to flap his arms until he realized that was a dumb idea. Looking around at everyones faces apparently, it was a bad idea. Instead Gohun grabbed the outer casing and tried to replug the wire that would ground the power. There he was floating and spinning while trying to plug in a wire. Fortunately, it only took three rotations to get the plug back in and gravity kicked back in.

" Updated time to the return of power seven minutes."

[Engineering - Klingon Freighter]

Lek's stream of curses continued unabated as he jerked from the back to back complications of the electrical shock and the loss of gravity and snarled in a tone that Brooke no dissent.

"Gohun! For the love of the Blessed Exchequer! Stop trying to help before you kill someone!"

[Kyle Briggs]

[Klingon freighter vaQ -  Engineering]

The Engineers went to work on the power issues. Dranik was sent to guard the door. Kyle turned to look for Lisa just as Tragnar approached.

NPC PO2 Helga Tragnar
[Klingon freighter vaQ -  Engineering]
Helga then approached the Commander.  "Sir, permission to check out the maintenance shafts from the engine room?  - to see if there is a route that can get our security force behind that creature to either take it down or lure it away from the door?"

"Sounds like a good idea." Kyle began. "Take Dranik......"

That was as far as he got before he heard a loud electrical zap and his feet began leaving the deck.

"WHAT THE HELL, GOHUN?" he called instinctively and then thought better of it. He realized it may not have been the young mans fault. That thought was quickly squashed by Leks outburst.

"Gohun! For the love of the Blessed Exchequer! Stop trying to help before you kill someone!"

It only took a moment or two in order to fix the issue and they were back on the ground. Kyle turned his attention back to Helga.

"As I was saying, take Dranik with you. I don't want anyone running into one of those things by themselves." he said with a nod toward the door.

As the two security officers began to move off, Kyle looked over at Lisa. "I'm gonna guard the door. Please stay over here where it's safe." he asked. She looked as if she was about to protest so he quickly added, "Damn it, Lisa. You're a Doctor. Not a Security Officer."

He faced the door that was continuing to get pounded by the creature on the other side. "God speed." he muttered for the officer he may have just sent to their deaths.

[Rayek trLhoell]

NPC Erei-erein (Petty officer) Helga Tragnar
[Klingon freighter vaQ -  Engineering]

Dranik
Klingon freighter vaQ
Engineering

"Watch the door."

Dranik nodded at Helga. "Aye, sir!"

He knew he had a few bumps and bruises from when the freighter had dropped out of warp but nothing seemed broken or severely damaged. He checked the setting on the disruptor rifle to make sure it was set at maximum. He didn't wish to kill any of the creatures, especially if they could still be saved. But he had less of an issue with blasting off an arm or a hand if it came down to a fight to the death between himself and one of the creatures. He wished he had a phaser rifle with him. Those he was far more familiar with.

Gohun started to work on the wires to restore power. " It looks like we will have power in two minutes." It was at that point Gohun realised that he forgot to fix the grounding issue that he caused when stopping the engines. That did not matter what mattered was the electrical charge. He could stop it if only bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt suddenly an electric arc around 220-volt shock just about the shock of an electric fence populated through each person the room. It was also at that point that the ships environmental settings stopped working along with gravity. As Gohun understood the gravity of the situation as he started to float away. Not wanting to float away Gohun started to flap his arms until he realized that was a dumb idea. Looking around at everyones faces apparently, it was a bad idea. Instead Gohun grabbed the outer casing and tried to replug the wire that would ground the power. There he was floating and spinning while trying to plug in a wire. Fortunately, it only took three rotations to get the plug back in and gravity kicked back in.

" Updated time to the return of power seven minutes."

[Engineering - Klingon Freighter]

Lek's stream of curses continued unabated as he jerked from the back to back complications of the electrical shock and the loss of gravity and snarled in a tone that Brooke no dissent.

"Gohun! For the love of the Blessed Exchequer! Stop trying to help before you kill someone!"

[Klingon freighter vaQ -  Engineering]

The Engineers went to work on the power issues. Dranik was sent to guard the door. Kyle turned to look for Lisa just as Tragnar approached.

"Sounds like a good idea." Kyle began. "Take Dranik......"

That was as far as he got before he heard a loud electrical zap and his feet began leaving the deck.

"WHAT THE HELL, GOHUN?" he called instinctively and then thought better of it. He realized it may not have been the young mans fault. That thought was quickly squashed by Leks outburst.

It only took a moment or two in order to fix the issue and they were back on the ground. Kyle turned his attention back to Helga.

"As I was saying, take Dranik with you. I don't want anyone running into one of those things by themselves." he said with a nod toward the door.

As the two security officers began to move off, Kyle looked over at Lisa. "I'm gonna guard the door. Please stay over here where it's safe." he asked. She looked as if she was about to protest so he quickly added, "Damn it, Lisa. You're a Doctor. Not a Security Officer."

He faced the door that was continuing to get pounded by the creature on the other side. "God speed." he muttered for the officer he may have just sent to their deaths.

The brief moment of zero gravity wasn't a problem for the Helga who had trained under tr'Lhoell on Challenger years ago when the Romulan was just a Chief Petty Officer of Security.  Back then, tr'Lhoell liked to throw such situations at his security team quite often.

Helga glanced over towards Lek and Gohun, working by flashlight and fought the chuckle that tried to come out when both Commanders shouted at Gohun.  Poor guy.  She gave him a bit of understanding nod of encouragement before turning back to acknowledge the orders of Commander Briggs to take Dranik along.  "Aye sir."

Suspecting that they might be remaining in the dark for a while, given Gohun's estimate, Helga checked out a nearby tool box drawer labeled 'Lamps' and found within several headlamps.  She tested a couple and surprisingly they worked..

Helga waved towards the Hirogen and tossed one headlamp to him before putting on her own. "You heard the Commander, Dranik.  Let's go."

Helga then moved to the nearby maintenance hatch, and pulled free the cover.  The smell within was stale and damp.  This wasn't going to be a pleasant crawl.  "Dranik, you can lead the way."

Erei'riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
NPC Arrain (Centurion) Danjar-Torra Addams
NPC Erein (Ante-centurion) Saqa7 Mountain Khan
[Klingon freighter vaQ - corridor to the Bridge] (earlier)

[Ante-Centurion Jael Sherem | Mess Hall >- Bridge | Klingon Freighter]

Jael saw the light and was reassured, even more so at the sight of the liquid her hand was on. It looked more like blood...well...if it did turn her into a monster...well, she was letting a paranoid phobia get the better of her as she wiped the liquid on her uniform.

"Of course," she replied to Torra. "I'm sorry, I stepped in this liquid, reminded me of a story that scared me as a girl...ah, but it's a story to relate another time...now that we have light..."

She looked up at the human that joined them and said, "Subcommander tr'Lhoell is going to need some attention, we're going to need an analgesic for the time being until he can get full medical treatment. Wish there was equipment...combat medic, that's what I could easily be...oh well..."

Soon, they got to the bridge, albeit at a slower pace. Jael helped Rayek to walk the rest of the way, she volunteered to do it. Once at the door, it had to be forced open and was still open as Rayek gave orders. Jael nodded vigorously at his order to keep an eye on the door; a lookout gave her enough rapt attention so she could see anybody...or anything...coming.

Despite Jael's volunteered assistance, Rayek was conscious enough to deny her request and had her take point.  Other than himself she had the only other disruptor - the only weapon capable of dealing with the creatures roaming the ship.   There were others less vital that could assist his walking - Saqa7, Dr. Broadshire or Sorik even.

"I've got him." Saqa7 assured the Cardassian.

Torra took the opportunity on the way to the Bridge to comment quietly on Jael's idea.  "I think the combat medic idea sounds reasonable.  As you know most security have the basic First Aid training but to have someone licenced to administer medications and use some of the more specialized tools would be so helpful in situations exactly like this.  I think when we are back on Discovery you should bring it up to the Captain."

[Klingon freighter vaQ - Bridge]

[Klingon freighter vaQ-bridge]

"œUnderstood commander"

He checked to make sure that everything at his station was working correctly. With everything that had happened there was a chance that the flight control station could have taken a hit. He looked closely for any signs of damage or malfunction. If there were any signs of the station not working then he'll report it to the commander. As he did his investigation he didn't see anything that could be damaged or malfunctioned. He figured that he would have to take another look at it because there might be a chance that he might have missed something in his initial investigation. It was important to have things up and running when they had power.

"I am a Subcommander, not a Commander." Rayek corrected the pilot's use of Federation rank when addressing him, "I would advise you learn the Romulan ranking system quickly.  If you make that mistake in front of the Commander, you may find yourself in the brig."

Rayek then acknowledged when the pilot confirmed that the station appeared in good working order.  "Excellent. Now all we needed is power and the impulse engines in working order."

Torra reported that the Ops console was questionable.  "There's a cracked screen.  I don't know if the touch controls will work properly.  Once we have power, I'll know for certain"

Saqa7 was dismayed to find there was no dedicated 'Science' console but she'd moved to a vacant console and checked it over.   "This one also is cracked - center screen. Do you think they have spare screens or the ability to replicate them." She asked.

Rayek was doubtful.  "At the moment, the only console we absolutely need is the helm as long as that is working we can leave the repair of the rest - this isn't our ship and it's possible its crew will never need it again."  Harsh words to say but all too true.

[Dranik]

Dranik
Klingon freighter vaQ
Entrance to maintenance shafts

"Dranik, you can lead the way."

Dranik caught the headlamp and equipped it as he rethought a few of the choices he had made before this mission. Really should have brought something to block the odors. He thought for a brief moment before turning to look at both Briggs and Helga. "Pardon me for bringing this up sirs, but I do have experience with hunting various different creatures. It's possible I may be able to lead it into a trap while we are looking to draw it away from the door."

[Kyle Briggs]

[Klingon freighter vaQ -  Engineering]

Dranik caught the headlamp and equipped it as he rethought a few of the choices he had made before this mission. Really should have brought something to block the odors. He thought for a brief moment before turning to look at both Briggs and Helga. "Pardon me for bringing this up sirs, but I do have experience with hunting various different creatures. It's possible I may be able to lead it into a trap while we are looking to draw it away from the door."

It didn't take Kyle long to think about what the security officer suggested.

"Okay. You two discuss it while you're looking to get behind it. If you can capture it without getting harmed yourselves, then do so. I'm sure that what ever happened here, the Klingons did not ask for it. Maybe the doctors and scientist can figure it out and find a cure." he replied. "But if it doesn't seem possible, you take that thing out, understand?"

[Rayek trLhoell]

NPC Erei-erein (Petty officer) Helga Tragnar
[Klingon freighter vaQ -  Engineering - Entrance to Maintenance Shaft >>> Maintenance Shaft]

Dranik
Klingon freighter vaQ
Entrance to maintenance shafts

"Dranik, you can lead the way."

Dranik caught the headlamp and equipped it as he rethought a few of the choices he had made before this mission. Really should have brought something to block the odors. He thought for a brief moment before turning to look at both Briggs and Helga. "Pardon me for bringing this up sirs, but I do have experience with hunting various different creatures. It's possible I may be able to lead it into a trap while we are looking to draw it away from the door."

Helga looked to the Hirogen with a slight grin, she nodded approval of the idea and then looked over towards the Commander so had veto power over the suggestion.

[Klingon freighter vaQ -  Engineering]

It didn't take Kyle long to think about what the security officer suggested.

"Okay. You two discuss it while you're looking to get behind it. If you can capture it without getting harmed yourselves, then do so. I'm sure that what ever happened here, the Klingons did not ask for it. Maybe the doctors and scientist can figure it out and find a cure." he replied. "But if it doesn't seem possible, you take that thing out, understand?"

With approval given, Helga grinned widely, her sharp snaggletooth teeth seeming even more fierce than usual in the dim lighting.

She let Dranik lead the way in and then crouched low in a squat rather than crawl on her hands and knees to follow in the cramped shaft.

"So what's your plan to capture the creature?"   

[Dem Broadshire]

[Bridge | Klingon freighter vaQ]
Dem did what he always did in a sticky situation, he would observe the events from an outward perspective, like looking through the lens as the other crew members fumbled through the impending problem. While he performed his duties like administering a mild analgesic to help with the arm and assisting with walking, he was just not present during the taking down of the beast. When they arrived at the dimly lit scrap heap bridge, he beaconed Saq7 to put down his patient. While he could not dermally re-generate the wound, he could at least apply a suture to assist with the wound's natural healing. Dem personally thought that idea of no regenerator was barbaric, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

[Dranik]

Dranik
Klingon freighter vaQ
maintenance shafts

Dranik smiled, displaying a very fierce grin for a brief moment before he began crawling through the vents. "I think if we can lure it away from the rest of the group we can do something to get it's attention and then lure it into the chief engineer's office or one of the other rooms. Once we have it trapped, we blast the door controls."

He paused for a moment. "My other idea is to hit it repeatedly over the head with the butt of the disruptor rifle until it loses consciousness and then drag it into one of the rooms and once again, blast the door controls. The doors should be strong enough to hold it in either case."

[Rayek trLhoell]

NPC Erei-erein (Petty officer) Helga Tragnar
[Klingon freighter vaQ -  Maintenance Shaft (during the 7 minutes of darkness)]

Dranik
Klingon freighter vaQ
maintenance shafts

Dranik smiled, displaying a very fierce grin for a brief moment before he began crawling through the vents. "I think if we can lure it away from the rest of the group we can do something to get it's attention and then lure it into the chief engineer's office or one of the other rooms. Once we have it trapped, we blast the door controls."

He paused for a moment. "My other idea is to hit it repeatedly over the head with the butt of the disruptor rifle until it loses consciousness and then drag it into one of the rooms and once again, blast the door controls. The doors should be strong enough to hold it in either case."

Helga chuckled at the simplicity of Dranik's plan.  "Works for me - and if luring it don't work, we can always fall back on the plan to beat it over the head." Again Helga smiled that toothy grin at the thought of violence (not that Dranik who was in the lead crawling through the maintenance shaft could see).

"Though rather than the Chief Engineers office.. why not trap it in the Cargo bay with the other one we saw?  I could lay in wait there with the door open, while you get it to chase you back through the corridors." The run was maybe 100 meters.

"Once inside, you dodge to the side while I fire off a shot from behind the cage to draw it's attention away from you, and maybe to the other in the cage, giving us time to get out of there and lock them both inside."

By the time the pair came to a consensus on the plan, they'd reached the end of the maintenance shaft which was blocked by a hatch.   Thankfully, like other in Engineering, the hatch didn't require any sort of passcode to open and the two crewmen were able to step out into a lesser used engineering space.  Navigational Deflector Array in Klingon is what it Helga was able to faintly read on one of the consoles by the light of her headlamp.  The room had a door that exited out into the hallway between the Cargo Bay and the Main Engine room they'd just left.

Helga clapped the Hirogen on the shoulder. "Qapla'!" then set off at a run back towards the cargo bay.

Erei'riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
NPC Arrain (Centurion) Danjar-Torra Addams
NPC Erein (Ante-centurion) Saqa7 Mountain Khan
[Klingon freighter vaQ - Bridge]

[Bridge | Klingon freighter vaQ]
Dem did what he always did in a sticky situation, he would observe the events from an outward perspective, like looking through the lens as the other crew members fumbled through the impending problem. While he performed his duties like administering a mild analgesic to help with the arm and assisting with walking, he was just not present during the taking down of the beast. When they arrived at the dimly lit scrap heap bridge, he beaconed Saqa7 to put down his patient. While he could not dermally re-generate the wound, he could at least apply a suture to assist with the wound's natural healing. Dem personally thought that idea of no regenerator was barbaric, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

The layout of the Klingon freighter's bridge - in that it matched the layout of any Imperial fleet vessel - spoke volumes.  The ship could be conscripted to join the Imperial fleet and serve the Klingon Empire at any time - all that would be needed was the addition of updated disruptors on the ship.

Seated in the Command chair, with his injured hand laid out on the armrest for ease of access for the doctor, Rayek held the portable light in his other, aimed to give Dr. Broadshire light by which to work by.

"What's taking so long with that power? he grumbled under his breath.  If they were without for too much longer, the cold of space would seep into the ship and they might be forced to call for a beam out back to the Valdore without fully accomplishing their mission - that notion didn't appeal to Rayek.

As the doctor finished with his hand, Rayek tested the strength of suture by forming his hand into a fist and then splaying it.  It hurt - even with the analgesic - but the sutures held.  Rayek nodded in approval.

He'd have another scar, and another lesson learned. Another story to tell Tess and Fvienn when he recorded his journal later.

"Thank you, Doctor.  Were you able to save either of the... Klingon-creatures?" he asked.

Rayek had a recollection of Dem working to save the one Klingon-Targ on the floor before the    other attacked.  But what happened afterwards was a jumble because of his getting stunned by Torra's phaser shot.  Had they left the Klingon-creatures unsecured?

It was Torra who answered.  "The one that the doctor was working on didn't make it... but the one which attacked was still alive.  Stunned and bound when we left."

Rayek looked over the bridge once more, considering.  "Now that we have secured the Bridge... and are only waiting on getting the engines running again.  I think it would be good to collect information about these creatures.  Dr. Broadshire, I'd like for you to autopsy the dead one.  Jael and Torra will go with - to keep you safe."