Star Trek: Season 5 - Boldly

[wraith1701]

The staccato clang of the security officers' boots echoed through the deserted corridor.  The pair jogged at a steady pace; the raven haired woman in the lead holding an active tricorder out before her.  To her left, Ensign Dunn quickened his pace to catch up.  Once he closed the gap, he addressed her between wheezing gasps.

"Are you sure the tricorder isn't malfunctioning, Lt. Stass?" he asked.

Her breathing easy and steady, Stass paused to study the devices' readout screen, then turned into a dimly lit corridor branching off to the left.  "I've calibrated this thing four times already, Dunn," she replied.  "This deck is supposed to be evacuated, but I'm still picking up bio readings."

Stass stopped to give the young Ensign a moment to catch his breath.  Relieved, Dunn slumped against the bulkhead, then leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees.  As his breathing returned to normal, Stass shook her head disparagingly.

"You're in terrible shape, Dunn.  You need to spend less time shoveling down replicated cup-cakes and more time in the gym.  I've got an incredible Parisis Squares program loaded in the holodeck; you should give it a try sometime."

Looking up at Stass, Dunn grimaced in irritation.  "I'm in great shape, Lieutenant; it's just that I've been up for three days straight now!  Between relaying messages to and from sickbay, tracking down hallucinating virus victims, and keeping my bunk nice and tidy, there's been no time for sleep, let alone working out!"

As Stass recoiled from Dunn's sudden outburst, he continued.   "Besides; you can kiss your holodeck probram goodbye.  Didn't you hear what Lt. K'Tan said?"  Dunn's eyes welled up, and he quickly turned his head aside in embarrasement.  "The Tiberius is going to be scuttled; there won't be any holodeck to exercise in after that."

Stass placed a hand on Dunn's shoulder consolingly.  "I didn't mean to insult you, Ensign; I guess this virus thing has all of us on edge.  I know you've been busting your butt, and I appreciate everything you've done during this crisis." 

As her tricorder emitted a sudden string of beeps, she turned towards a dusty storage locker to her left.  The gunship-gray door of the locker stood ajar, and as she drew near it, the beeping of her tricorder sped up until it emitted a single, high pitched tone. 

"Looks like I've found our life sign Ensign," she said with a smile.  Turning to face Dunn, she added, "And as far as the ship is concerned, don't give up just yet."  The Lieutenant affectionately rapped a fist against a duranium bulkhead.  "As long as these walls remain standing, there's hope."

The locker door behind Stass suddenly sprung open, and two chittering, furry projectiles flew out.  The twin balls of fur bounded off of Stass' left shoulder, then flew into the hair of Ensign Dunn. As the startled ensign stepped back in shock, two small rodents scrambled down onto his shoulder.

"Don't move,ensign," Stass said as she drew her phaser and took aim.  "Looks like the Tiberius has rats!"  As if somehow comprehending her words, the rodents shrieked in alarm and huddled behind Dunn's head. 

"Wait, Lieutenant!" Dunn yelled, raising a hand to ward off Stass.  "I don't know how they got here, but these little guys appear to be harmless."  As Stass powered down and lowered her phaser, the two small animals peeked from behind Dunn's shoulder.  "It looks like they're tame; they're probably someones' pets." 

Sighing in exasperation, Stass slipped her phaser into a well-oiled holster.  "Alright Dunn, have it your way.  Let's get those things secured in an escape pod."  Rolling her eyes, Stass headed towards the turbolift.  "Just don't come crying to me if you wind up with rabies."




*thanks Kinglinksr for the use of the sugargliders*

[X]

Aeric's mind raced as he attempted to manually manage the computer systems via his mental connection. It was a difficult task to say the least. but necessary to bypass the infected systems. He had to tie himself directly into the thruster system to maintain orbit and it was working for now.

"James to Commander K'arath and Captain Quinn," the Lieutenant said from his command chair aboard the Aurora. "Even the great bird of the galaxy won't be able to keep this ship in the sky much longer. Thrusters are down by 70%. I recommend that evacuation is completed soon. I've taken the liberty of preparing the command escape pods for ejection at your command to save you a sprint to the shuttle bay. We can dock with you once we have moved to a safe distance."

[Jen]

He glanced up at the school of Oceanic Whitetip Sharks circling in a suspended minuet above him. Each time he exhaled, an inntermittent stream of bubbles ascended towards them. With every revolution made in their orbiting ballet, the sharks' gaping mouths unconsciously gulped the rising ribbons. "Stupid beasts," he thought.  The Denoblian turned his gaze towards his watch—only five minutes of air remained in his scuba tank. He then flicked an edgy eye towards the holodeck arch that had been teasing him like a flirty Denoblian female, looking to acquire her third husband. He cursed the arch within the privacy of his dive helmet; a muffled expletive was captured in a bubble and rose rapidly to be devoured by the man-eaters waiting above.  "I hope you choke on it!" came his stifled shout.

So far, his repeated verbal commands to end the program had failed and he had no idea whether the door would open once he entered the proper sequence. If he was lucky enough to avoid the jaws of the ravenous fish, it was likely he would still suffocate should the doors fail to open. Chief Frep resigned himself to the situation, and in one swift movement, pushed himself off the coral reef and towards the mechanical temptress. His fins churned superfluous bubbles generated by his elevated breathing, as he skimmed the reef towards the awaiting arch. Frep stole a glance over his shoulder, as he kicked towards the exit—the school had begun to divide and a half a dozen hungry beasts were rocketing towards him. Time seemed to crawl for the Denoblian as he spooked schools of brightly colored fish, while tearing towards the arch. The sharks were swift and closing their distance. Only a meter left until he reached the retched arch.

He glided toward the portal. With outstretched hands, he stopped his progression towards the arch and deftly accessed the panel, which had cruelly offered his freedom like bait at the end of a hook. As he keyed the sequence to exit the program... Frep's eyes shot once more towards the predators that hunted him. The largest of the six was less than a meter away. A computer chirp, distorted by watery surroundings, rewarded his efforts and the door opened soon after, spilling him into the carpeted corridor. His pursuers poured onto the floor along with the school of fish and several metric tons of water.  It pushed him against the bulkhead, but was very quickly dissolved by the lack of holoemitters outside the replica realm. Frep lay in a heap on the floor, panting frantically.  Once he realized he had escaped, he ripped off the scuba helmet and drew in the air Tiberius offered. A mad laughter soon echoed in the corridor as Frep celebrated his victory over the man-eating holosharks. The laughter tapered into a chuckle as the security officers paused to glance down at the spectacle sprawled on the floor before him.

"Are you alright sir?" asked Ensign Dunn.

"Never better my friend!" replied Frep.

[moyer777]

J'dan Marley stood in Brex's quarters with a starfleet luggage container.  He was gathering his friend's personal belongings for Margon.  He had already sent his own personal belongings to the assigned shuttle and was ready to board the escape pod as soon as he was finished in Brex's room. 

The panel on the desk was flashing that a message was waiting.  J'dan paused and looked around.  He wasn't in the business of being nosey, but Brex wasn't going to check it.  He resisited for a couple of minutes and then couldn't stand it any longer.  The Bajoran touched the control panel and the viewscreen came to life. It was in code, and one that J'dan recognized.  The Orion Syndicate.

J'dan owed a lot to Brex.  Long ago when J'dan was sold to Cardassians in slavery Brex had rescued him and given him his freedom. He wasn't just a friend, he was like family.  And he knew that Brex had dealings with the syndicate.  He also knew how to break the code.  So he did. 

J'dan's next moments were filled with dread and fear.  Could he do it?  Could he pull this off?  The message was clear and he knew that he could get in a lot of trouble.  It was the type of trouble he thought Brex would have risked. 

"Computer" J'dan said as he clicked his com badge, "Where is the body of Brex"

The computer responded immediatly, "The body of Brex is on the shuttle craft Montgomery"

J'dan grabbed the last of Brex's things, transfered Brex's personal files to a info pad, wiped the core memory of Brex's computer and left the room.

Dropping Brex's belongings off at the evacuation station, he proceeded to five forward and disappeard into the back room.  He came back with long silver device and hid it under his jacket.  J'dan made his way to shuttle bay 3 and entered the crowd of people that were gathered.  "Excuse me" he said as he made his way through the people.  Upon arriving at the Montgomery, he slipped around the side and made his way to the shuttle entrance. 

"Can I help you?" said a fresh faced Ensign.

"Yes, I need a couple of moments to check some of your cargo."

"You don't have authorization"

"I don't need authorization Ensign, I'm an employee of Five Forward, I just need to check a couple of cargo containers.  Come on, we're all under a lot of stress.  Help make this easy.  Please?" the Bajoran said with a smile as he flashed his ID pad at the Ensign.

"I don't know, this is highly irregular" he said nervously.  "Oh, alright, but make it quick."

J'dan didn't sit still for the Ensign to change his mind and quickly boarded the shuttle.  He made his way to the cargo bay and saw two body bags sealed in the corner.  He checked the tags on the bags and found Brex's body.  Taking a tricorder out of his pocket he made a few entries and the bag hissed and popped open.  J'dan opened the bag and pushed the material away from the Bolian's naked body. A wave of nausea came over J'dan, but he fought it back.  There would be time to greive later.   It was odd to see Brex this way.  He was yellow.  This is what happens to Bolians when they die.  They turn yellow.  He shook his head and tried to ignore his feelings. 

Pulling the silver scanning device from his coat he hit a few buttons and the device began to glow.  He started at the top of Brex's body about 12 inches above his lifeless form and worked his way down slowly.  The device made a slight humming sound and upon reaching Brex's yellow toes, the device beeped three times for completion and then automatically shut down. J'dan zipped the bag back up and activated the bio seal once again.  He tapped a few commands into the tricorder to cover his tracks, grabbed a small storage box from a shelf and walked out of the shuttle.

"Thanks" he said to the ensign, sure that his heart was beating out of his chest.

"You get everything you were looking for?"  he asked.

"Yep, thanks again." said J'dan holding up the storage box as he turned and quickly made his way towards his escape pod.   

[Geekyfanboy]

Quinn rushed down the hall, past crewmen and civilians who were rushing by. So much was going on. He received word from his Chief Engineer that the engines were about to fail and they had less then two hours before the Tiberius' orbit began to decay. Everything was still on schedule. The sick were being transported to the shuttlecrafts while everyone else was filling up the escape pods. One by one they were ejected from the hull of the Tiberius.

Quinn reached his quarters and grabbed a bag and began to load up personal items. Pictures and keepsakes there were irreplaceable. He grabbed a small cage and went over to the housing unit that held his two rats Phil and Grant. He reached in and grabbed Grant and placed him in the smaller cage. Phil gave him a little bit more trouble as he panicked and kept running from Quinn's hand. A few minutes past and Quinn was finally able to grab Phil by the tail and lift him out of the larger cage and placed him in the smaller one with Grant. He secured the smaller cage and tucked it under his arm while grabbing the duffel bag with his keepsakes. He exited his quarters and started to walk down the hall when he ran into Ensign Took.

"Nathan!!!" Exclaimed Nicholas, as he approached the Captain. "Nicholas, what are you doing here, you should be getting to an escape pod." Quinn said as he stopped in front of the young man. "I wasn't sure if you were going to have time to get back to your quarters and I wanted to make sure Phil and Grant were okay." Quinn smiled and pulled out the small cage from under his arm. "Can you please take them and make sure they are safe." Quinn ask. "Of course" Took said as he took not only the small cage but the duffel bag as well. "I'll keep these things safe for you as well." Quinn placed his hand on Tooks shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Thank you my friend... now get to an escape pod pronto." Ensign Took hesitated for a moment, "What going to happen to you?" he asked. "I'll be fine, I have one more piece of business to take care of on the bridge. I'll see you on the Vulcan space station. " With one last look at each other the two men went there separate ways.

[Jen]

The lights in the turbolift flickered out, leaving Sevryll in darkness. The door hesitated before opening with a sluggish lurch and the deck hit her in the midsection as the vulcan commander moved to exit the lift. A moment later, the backup lighting engaged and she climbed her way onto the bridge. Lieutenant Zremm's form was highlighted in a red glow as he moved to assist her, but she waved him off. "Status Lieutenant," she uttered in an  emotional undertone,  as she straightened to her full height and moved to the command chair. The bridge shook violently and the gravity relaxed then returned to normal parameters, causing her to stumble into the captain's chair.

[moyer777]

Stress.  The whole crew was under a lot.  Different species handle stress differently.  The Klingons were treating this emergency like a battle, the Vulcans were uncommonly tense, the telepaths on board were all simply cranky, but the humans?  Well they were very serious.  It isn't everyday that a federation ship is blown up.

Ensign Jackson worked in engineering and she was good at her job.  Her last command was to gather her belongings, drop them off at an evacuation point and board her evacuation pod. 

Sweat beaded up on her forhead and her heart pounded in her chest.  Communications were so messed up that she hadn't had a chance to even try and send something to her family.  She was sure they must be worried about her.  She put her thumb on the pad to acknowledge that her things were checked in and she made her way to the aft section all the while looking for her pod number.

There it was, number Alpha 157, she entered her code on the keypad and the doors hissed open while the computer chimed in "Escape Pod Alpha 157 is now ready for boarding"  Sarah climbed in.  It was much smaller than she expected.  As soon as she stepped over the threshold the doors quickly shut and sealed behind her.  The pressure in the cabin caused her ears to pop.  She shook her head and stuck one finger in her left ear.  "Ouch!" she muttered. 

"Please restate your request" the computer said with no emotion.

"I wasn't talking to you" she said sarcastically. "Computer initiate launch sequence."

The restraint belts automatically criss crossed her body as the lights dimmed and the panel in front of her lit up. 

Her breathing became shallow and forced as she braced herself for the initial shock of separation from the ship.  These little escape pods didn't have sophisticated inertial dampers like the ones that kept the Tiberius stable. 

"Security code authorization required" stated the computer.

She took a deep breath, or at least she tried.  Her mouth was dry and she tried not to panic.  Working in engineering was one thing, being alone in an escape pod in the vastness of space was another. 

"Security code beta f78 Jackson, Sarah B."

The computer chimed and the one minute timer flashed on in front of her. 

"T-minus sixty seconds until escape pod ejection"

Sarah closed her eyes and tried to calm herself.  It would be ok.  Everything was pre-programmed and it wouldn't be long until she was safely to her destination.  "I can do this" she told herself. 

"Forty seconds until escape pod ejection" the computer methodically recited.

"I wonder how mom is doing?  I hope Ensign Walker got out o.k." her mind was filled with relationships and people she thought she might never see again.

She opened her eyes.  "If anything is going to happen, I want to see it!" she thought.   One more breath as the computer counted down.

"Five, Four, Three, Two, One, escape pod ejection initiated"

The cold air sprayed from the tubes beside Jackson's face and the pod shook.  She heard a grinding noise and then the cockpit of her tiny pod lit up with a flash. The charges exploded!  Her senses were jarred as the pod literally broke from it's resting place and the side of the Tiberus moved.  The place the pod had been attached too became a window to space.  She tried not to vomit as the inertia caused a wave of nausea to overcome her.  She had originally felt safe cuddled against the massive hull of the Tiberius, but now she was free falling in space as the pod tipped end over end.  "Don't panic! Don't panic!" she said as her eyes tried desperately to fix on something so that she wouldn't be so dizzy. 

"We are now free from the Tiberius, initiating stabilizing thrusters" the computer said. 

Small flames shot from the cone shaped thrusters on all sides of the pod.

The pod stopped spinning and settled in an upright position.  Sarah's stomach settled too. 

The rough shaking calmed and the feeling of weightlessness became appearant as she realized she was o.k.

The stars were beautiful, absolutely beautiful.  So many little jewels sparkling in a sea of ink.  Her breath was taken away not because her nervousness, but because of the shear magnitude of stars, the planet below and streaming through space alone with a window in front of her. 

"Systems normal, power output 85%" the computer said coldly. 

Sarah lifted her hand up carefully to the control panel and hit a few buttons on the touch pad. 

"O.K.  here we go." she said.

[X]

"We are ready for launch," Grant said as she sat at the Aurora's Ops and Engineering station. She had personally loaded the software from the control tower to the Aurora and launched the beacon probes to account for the decrease in processing power. It was a rushed fix, but it provided her with all of the information that she needed to perform her duties."All space traffic control has been routed to my console."

"Good job," Aeric said from the command chair as he glanced down to his console. His screen was filled with trajectory and altitude data that came from the dozens of escape pods and shuttles as they exited the Tiberius. "I'm tapped into the Tiberius' control systems and she is in a stable orbit that will allow for a safe detonation."

Aeric's mind still strained to process the levels of incoming data, but he just needed to hold out a few minutes longer. It was only through the Aurora's neural interface that he was able to accomplish his task from the ship. The normal strength of his abilities had long since been hampered by the virus even if he wasn't outwardly displaying symptoms. Aeric glanced ahead of him and could only watch as Rory prepped the flight systems from the helm. He could only be amazed by her grace. It wasn't something that they programmed into her and she had long ago surpassed the limits of the programming that they did create.

"Sir," Rory said as she made a half twist in her chair to look at Aeric. "We are ready to make our egress. I recommend we move to a safe distance from the Tiberius and then continue to route flight patterns. I think we should also make a visual inspection of the external structure of the ship to make sure that all escape pods have cleared the detonation area."

"I agree," Aria said as she worked from the science console. She was still tired from helping her mother, but everyone were making the sacrifices that they needed to for the good of the many. "That will give me the time to run a detailed biological scan to make sure that the Tiberius is cleared before she goes down."

"Take us out," Aeric said to Rory who nodded and brought the drives online. They would have to be careful with the maneuvers due to all of the additional passengers, but they were well within the life support specs of the craft. Rory had volunteered Dennis to play the role of chief security aboard the craft and to keep the passengers inline and away from secured areas.

"Aye sir," Rory said as she engaged the sub-light engines and brought ship forward. "We are exiting the Tiberius."
"I'm keeping a transporter lock on remaining command staff." Aria said as she looked out of the cockpit window. She was amazed at the view as the other shuttles and escape pods as they departed the wounded ship. "Exiting of Tiberius is proceeding in an orderly fashion. Full evacuation is proceeding normally and should be finished shortly."

Rory fingers moved over the conn as she altered course and moved the ship slowly over the saucer section of the ship. Even wounded as she was, Aeric still marveled at the lines and construction of the ship. She was a great wounded bird that floated elegantly against the crimson backdrop that was Vulcan. The blue glow of her great down swept nacelles sputtered in and out of activity as more and more escape pods departed the ship.

As a testament to her talents, Rory brought the Aurora to rest above the overhead windows of the bridge and engaged the maneuvering thrusters to tilt the nose of the ship.  With the maneuver complete, Rory looked ahead and was greeting with an overhead view of various crew members finalizing preparations aboard the Tiberius.

[wraith1701]

After stepping off of the turbolift on deck five, Stass and Dunn parted ways.  "Good luck, Lieutenant," Dunn said as he turned to leave.  "I've got a few things to collect, then its off to the lifeboats.  I guess I'll see you at the rendezvous."  Dunn jogged off to the left, following the deserted, curving corridor towards his quarters. 

From a pouch on her belt, Stass' tricorder gave a weak, warbling beep.  The lieutenant opened the device to see a faint message flashing on the rapidly darkening screen-  battery low.  The beep faded, and the screen died.  Heh, she thought grimly.  Just like the ship.

She placed the lifeless device back in her belt,then turned to make her way to her own quarters, trotting off in the opposite direction at a brisk pace.   As she ran past the sealed doorway to Five Forward, the Lieutenant felt overcome by a sense of melancholy.  Despite her earlier words of encouragement to ensign Dunn, she doubted that she would ever step foot in the lounge again.  Barring some last minute miracle, the Tiberius would soon be transformed into a rapidly expanding cloud of vaporized metal composites. 

Beneath her feet, she could feel the vibrations from a series of faint, rhythmic thumps, followed by an evenly spaced series of distant, muffled explosions.  The vibrations were achingly familiar, and the explosions were something she had heard only once before and had hoped never to hear again-- the sound of lifepods launching from a doomed starship.  Her heart racing with the fear of being left behind, Stass quickened her pace.

As she drew near her quarters, a quizzical expression settled on the Lieutenants' face; she slowed her pace, eventually coming to a stop.  From somewhere, she could hear a faint, plaintive cry; a piteous keening that seemed to be coming from somewhere nearby.  Zeroing in on the source of the crying, Lt. Stass approached a sealed doorway. 

"Wake up Daddy, we have to leave!" came a child's cry from behind the door.

I thought we had cleared this deck, Stass thought.  She stepped to the access panel to the right of the door, and quickly keyed in her security override code.  Like a lumbering, heavily sedated beast of burden, the door groaned partially open, then ground to a halt.  Stass peeked through the  18-inch wide gap revealed by jammed door, and say a young towheaded girl tugging at the arm of a man lying unconscious on the floor.  "My name is Lieutenant Stass," she said to the child.  "What's your name, honey?"

The girl turned to regard Stass, tears streaking her cherubic face.  "Becka," she said  "Please help me, my Daddy's real sick."  From the hallway behind her, Stass heard the incongruously calm voice of the ship's computer give an automated announcement- "Life boats 100 through 76 have safely cleared the ship.  One minute, twenty-five seconds until launch of lifeboats 75 through 51."

Time's running out, Stass thought frantically as she wedged herself into the gap in the doorway.   Adrenaline hummed in her blood as she planted her hands firmly on the edge of the door.  With a grunt of effort, her muscles straining, the Lieutenant slowly forced the door back into the wall recess.  After pausing a moment to catch her breath, Stass rushed into the room and kneeled at the prone man's side, grabbing his wrist.

The little girl joined Stass at her father's side.  "Daddy was sleeping for a long time, but he woke up when the voice in the walls said we had to leave.  Daddy said we were goin' for a ride in the scape-pods, but he fell asleep again before we could go.  Can you wake him up?"

Stass frowned as she held the man's clammy wrist in her hand, desperately searching for signs of life.  After what seemed an eternity, she was rewarded with a weak, barely perceptible pulse.

Seconds later, Stass heard the faint, telltale explosions of multiple escape-pod launches; she could feel the resulting vibrations transmitted through the ship's hull.  "Your Daddy is very sick, but I know some people who can help him," she said.  Pulling the unconscious man up into a sitting position, Stass draped his upper body over her shoulders.  She slowly stood, her legs quivering under the weight of the man. 

The disembodied voice of the computer rang out once again, singing the song of the Tiberius' impending death. "Lifeboats 75 through 51 have safely cleared the ship.  Two minutes until launch of lifeboats 50 through 26." 

Stass struggled to maintain a calm expression.  In less than two minutes, only a quarter of the escape-pods will be left.  We have to get to deck-one! she thought.  Forcing a reassuring smile, the Lieutenant glanced down at the little girl.  "Come on, Becka, it's time to go," she said, hoping that the fear she felt didn't make it to her voice. 

Trying not to think of the time steadily slipping through her fingers, Stass headed out into the hallway at an unsteady trot.  Becka followed behind, a fuzzy, stuffed shark clutched tightly to her chest.

The pair were stopped by a voice calling out from behind them.  "Lietenant Stass!"

Stass turned to see the tall, scar-faced Lieutenant she had flirted with days ago in Five-Forward.  Strapped to the muscular Lieutenants' back was a gleaming, sickle-shaped bladed weapon-- a Klingon Bat'leth.  "Lt. K'Tan," she said.  "I didn't expect to find you here."

As he neared Stass and the little girl, K'Tan affectionately tapped the one-and-a-half meter long blade.  "I couldn't leave this behind," he said.  I've had this Bat'leth since I reached adulthood, and I intend to keep it until the day I die."

"If we don't get to the lifeboats right now, that day might come sooner than you'd think," Stass replied.  "Can you give me a hand?"

"Certainly," K'Tan said, as he effortlessly draped the unconscious man over one shoulder. 

Stass bent to scoop up the little girl, who stared unabashedly at the scar on K'tan's face.  "Does that hurt?" Becka asked.

"Not anymore," K'Tan replied with a grin. 

As the seconds slipped away, they sprinted towards the turbolift.

[Rico]

The dim backup bridge lighting was making it difficult for Lieutenant Zremm to see.  He was seated at the science console as Commander Sevryll stood nearby.

"Backup systems are 75% functional, commander.  We are still having some trouble with inertial dampening, artificial gravity, communications, and various sub systems.  Backup communications are working for now.  The orbit has decayed slightly but we still have some time left.  According to internal sensors the majority of the crew have evacuated now.  In fact, the Aurora has just departed as well.  Chief Engineer K'arath is still in engineering trying to finalize preparations and as he is fond of saying, 'holding her together with his teeth.'  I have coordinated with engineering to shut down all non-essential systems of course and the computer core was transferred over to the Aurora before she left."  Zremm said with a touch of pride in his voice.

"Excellent work, lieutenant.  I did want to mention I appreciate your stepping up during my illness.  It was most fortunate that Tiberius had such a capable assistant CSO aboard during this crisis."  Sevryll said as she leaned on the bridge console.  She still was far from well but was trying hard to hide it from Zremm.

"I was happy to help out, commander.  I'm just glad I was here and so far not affected by this terrible disease.  Are you feeling better?"  Zremm asked.  He knew Sevryll well enough to realize she was not at her normal level of health and performance.

"I'm well enough.  Now, I want you to get to a shuttle or escape pod.  I'll handle things on the bridge."  Sevryll said. 

"Are you certain commander?  We still have some time and if it's not out of line, you still don't look well."  Zremm said as he stood up next to his vulcan friend.

"I'll be fine Zremm.  Now go make sure Ms. Barton has made it off Tiberius.  And you too Zremm.  That's an order, lieutenant."  Sevryll said as she gave a reassuring nod to the andorian.

"Aye sir.  See you on the station commander."  Zremm said as he left the bridge.

"See you soon as well, my friend."  Sevryll said quietly to no one after Zremm had exited the darkened bridge.   

[Bryancd]

For the first time since the Tiberius was still in dry dock prior to her launch, K'arath stood alone in Main Engineering. He had sent his remaining....surviving....staff to their lifeboats. He stood as a silent witness as station after station flickered in their electronic death throes and he was helpless to stop it. In a few moments, the command will be given to destroy the ship. He would wait until the end before being transported to the Aurora.
He reached into his tunic and pulled out his Daqtagh, his ceremonial Klingon dagger. He depressed the trigger and the two side blades sprang out. He gripped the blade in his left hand and pulled it across his palm. The cut was perfect and welled up with blood as he began to recite the Klingon prayer for the dead, committing his ship to Stovokor. He closed his fist tightly and allowed the drops of blood to land on the floor of his domain and he made his peace with the ship he had come to love.

[Geekyfanboy]

Quinn walked down the empty corridors, it was eerily quiet, as most the crew had already departed. He knew there were still crewmembers on board making last minutes commands. He was on his way to the Bridge where he would meet up with Commander Sevryll and began the countdown.

As he walked down the hall he thought about the past year. Wow it's only been a little over a year since the mysterious disappearance of Captain Bell and his subsequence promotion to Captain. It all happened so quickly and unexpectedly. If you had asked him a year ago if he would be the Commanding Officer of a Federation Starship he would have laughed. It's not that he didn't want it, it's why he joined Starfleet but he figured he had a few more good years as a First Officer, but fate can be funny that way.

As he continued to walk down the corridor he thought of his crew. They were good crew, one of the best in Starfleet, but so much has happened to them in such a short amount of time. And now a third of them were dead and another third infected, who's fate were unknown including himself. What would happen now? Would they all go their separate ways? Was this the end of their family?

Quinn stopped at the turbolift but nothing happened. He pressed the panel again and waited. Still nothing happened as he heard the computer voice fade in and out. "Turbolift seven is currently experiences power flux....  " Quinn smiled and touched the side of the corridor softly. "It's okay girl, you did your best, I couldn't have asked for anything better" Quinn turned and headed toward a jefferies tube. He continued to talk to the ship "I'm sorry for what I have to do. We tried to come up with a better solution but this is the only way to ensure the safety of everyone. Thank you for all that you have done. You're one hell of ship and will be deeply missed" Quinn pulled the panel off the jefferies tube entrance and began to make his way towards the bridge.

[Jen]

Doctor Ryla Drett observed the skilled pilots as they deftly maneuvered her shuttlecraft out the bay doors and into the void beyond the Tiberius. The blue containment field dropped and the craft joined the plethora of similar vessels waiting at a safe distance. The makeshift ambulance was loaded for bare with patients; among them were Counselor Margon, Doctor Peterson, and Lieutenant Manrique. She glanced to them then back toward the viewport. Before her, stretched a small ocean of shuttlecraft and escape pods. They reflected the light of the planet below like the surface of a golden sea at sunset —the scene struck her as beautiful and at the same time heartbreaking. The fleet of ambulance craft came into formation and waited at a safe distance for The Aurora to lead the flotilla of escape pods to the abandoned space station.

There was a power surge on the bridge of Tiberius and acrid plumes of smoke had begun to gracefully ascend from the abandoned consoles surrounding the commander. The back-up lights cast an eerie red hue over Sevryll as she stared at the hazy image of her home world through the distortion on the malfunctioning viewscreen. If they were going to destroy Tiberius, they had to do it before it fell upon Vulcan like a death shroud.

She tapped her combadge, " Bridge to Captain Quinn."

"Quinn here!" came Nathan's reply.

"Sir, the majority of craft are safely away. There are only a fraction remaining."

Two terminals exploded behind her, raining sparks over the Commander. A small blaze ignited.

"It will all be over soon," she said to the ship. It was, of course, illogical to speak to an inanimate object, but it seemed somehow appropriate to the situation. The ship responded with a melancholy moan as the fire suppression system activated and the flames were extinguished, but not before adding to the smoke already hanging in the room. She coughed as she waited for Nathan to join her.

[X]

"Sir, we have the chief of engineering aboard," Rina said as she turned from the transporter console at her station. "I suggest that we move into position away from the Tiberius."


"Lieutenant James to the Tiberius." Aeric said from his command console. "Evacuation is at 97%. I recommend you begin the process. We're making sure that there are no transporter beams directed at the Tiberius, but I think we need to bring this to an end before someone gets the idea to break quarantine."

[wraith1701]

After finding a seat in the cramped lifeboat, K'Tan pulled the safety harness from the back of his seat down over his chest, securing it to the straps crossing his waist.  As he glanced around at the five other crewmen sharing the ride, the hatch leading back to the Tiberius rapidly slid closed, then sealed with a soft hiss.  Looking to the left, he watched Lt. Stass secure her own harness before doing the same for young Becka.  Still clutching her plush animal to her chest, the girl looked up at Stass and asked, "Are you sure my daddy will make it off the ship?"

"I'm positive," Stass replied.  "The medtechs are keeping a close eye on him and all of the other sick passengers.  They'll make sure that he gets to the space station safely."  The sealed compartment jerked rudely to the left, accompanied by the loud whirring and clanking of the machinery laboring to position it for launch.  "Now hold on."

Despite knowing what would come next, K'Tan was caught off guard by the lifeboat's sudden, furious leap from the hull of the Tiberius.  All of the passengers lurched violently to the right as the escape pod's velocity fought to overcome the effects of the inertial dampeners.  K'Tan imagined that this might be what it would feel like to ride in a runaway elevator as it plummeted towards the ground.  Gazing out of the lifeboat's lone viewport, K'Tan was amazed by the speed at which the gray bulk of the receding Tiberius appeared to shrink, until the gleaming ship was almost indistinguishable from the stars dotting the black vista.  As the dampening field finally  compensated for the lifeboat's speed, the falling sensation eased, and K'Tan bit back a sigh of relief. 

Next stop, Vuhansular Station, the Lieutenant thought to himself.