Star Trek: Season 5 - Boldly

[X]

"Critical loss in Tiberius crew levels detected. Initiating emergency protocol Alpha-Zero-Four," the soft alto computer voice of the Aurora said as it broke the silence of the vessel.  "Thawing process initiated in cryogenics module three."

The Automated systems quietly worked to release the outer door of the chamber and extend the icy form of Lieutenant James. Aria had used her father as the test subject for the inhibitor and had administered several different levels of the doses to determine a viable treatment for the crew. As a part of the process to increase the production of the rate of the inhibitor, she had programmed her father's nanites to create the same protein her body generated.

"Bio-signs rising," the Aurora spoke again. "Initiating neural stimulator."

There was a soft whine and suddenly Aeric's body convulsed on the table. Monitors spiked as the pulse raced through his body. The silence of the vessel was broken by a single piercing tone that indicated an absence of lifesigns.

"Negative response. Reinitializing neural stimulator," the impassive voice said as the stimulator once again produced the soft whine. "Initiating neural stimulator."

Again the lieutenant's body arched from the neural pulse. Monitors spiked, but the single tone was replaced by a rhythmic pulse. The slow rise and fall of Aeric's chest echoed the readings of computers as he slowly began to stir.

"Compressing status reports of current situation and beginning data transfer," the Aurora said again as various images and reports rapidly flashed across the workstation monitor.

Aeric moaned as he rose from the cold surface of the cryogenics bed. Data flowed into his mind as preprogrammed subroutines provided his a concise briefing of the situation.

"Aurora, what is the status of my illness?" Aeric asked in a rough horse voice.

"Viral load is stable. Inhibitor production is stable. All data indicated that you are functional for duty." Aurora replied.

Aeric nodded softly as his conscious mind processed the compressed data package. Every member of Sevryll's family that had been aboard the Tiberious were now resting in the Aurora's cryo storage. While he rested to protect the safety of the ship, those without that option died around him. With his powers more manageable after the treatments, he had more than his share of work to catch up on.

"James to Grant," Aeric said as picked up his communications badge from his workstation and activated it. Aeric frowned as his inquiry was met with a triple beep that signaled a failure to connect to the chief. "Aurora, located chief Grant's communication badge frequency and run a patch through onboard communications network."

"Working," Aurora said and then paused briefly. "Patch engaged."

"Good, now I need you to locate communications frequency of all remaining critical personnel and establish emergency communications network." Aeric said.

"Working." Aurora replied. "Error. Unable to connect to Tiberius database. Further additions to emergency network will require manual inclusion."

Aeric sighed but attempted his combadge again. "James to Grant."

"Sir?" came the startled voice of his bay chief. "I thought communications were down and you were in cryo."

"Reports of my incapacitation were greatly exaggerated." Aeric said as he slowly pulled on his uniform. "I've been briefed on the incident on the shuttle bay and I need you to start running a patch from the shuttle communication systems to the crew communications badges."

"Aye sir," Rina replied. "It's good to have you back. Hopefully you're feeling fresh from your vacation because we have a lot of problems going on."

"I'll meet you in the control tower and then we can see if we can reduce those problems."

[Geekyfanboy]

Joint post with Jen and Startrekfanatic5

Quinn sat behind his desk staring at his monitor. He could hear the words coming out of his mouth but couldn't believe he was saying them. Nathan sat in a fog of emotions and grief and after a few minutes, Quinn heard the Admiral say, "very well Captain... if this is the only way. Then you have Starfleet's approval for this action. We will begin procedures on our end. Admiral Decker out.."

That was it, he knew this was the right choice but it remained an extremely difficult one. He wish that Starfleet had said "no", and instead had provided him with a alternative solution. But there wasn't another solution. It had to be done. It must be done. Quinn was deep in thought when his door chimed. The captain looked up, "enter," he said.

Sevryll stepped into the Captain's Ready Room on shaky legs. "Reporting for duty..." she took a steadying breath, "sir."

Quinn quickly rose and walked over to her. He knew she didn't like to be hugged, but he wanted to show her his happiness in seeing her,  so he resigned himself to touch her arm, gave her a smile and gesture her to sit.

She sat down opposite the Captain's desk. Quinn took his seat once more and turned to his first officer, "how are you doing?"

"I am stronger, but that is all. Aria sacrificed much to get me to this state. I hope I can still be of assistance, Captain." she said.

Quinn nodded "Very good. We have a lot of discuss. I have just finish speaking to Admiral Decker and we have both come to this conclusion. The bio gel packs are completely infected, the inhibitor won't work on them, and we are losing vital systems at a rapid pace. In 43 hours we will lose life support and six hour after that we will lose the ability to keep this ship in orbit."

The Captain's statement struck Sevryll like a funeral dirge. Yet she understood the necessity and through a subtile change in expression, she communicated to the Captain that she was willing to assist him in carrying out the miserable task.

[Bryancd]

Lt. Commander K'arath, a Klingon who prided himself on his physical endurance, mental focus, the perpetual quest for perfection,.......was losing this war. He had just finished speaking with Captain Quinn, notifying the CO that despite his and his staff's efforts, they could not hold the virus at bay and the consequences of further infection of the gel packs and the ship systems. In just under 50 hours, the Tiberius would be spiraling down into the atmosphere of Vulcan. The logistics of a shipwide evacuation were daunting, especially considering the quarantine measures put into place by the Vulcan High Command. He smiled and shook his head recalling how just a day earlier, he had been in the holodeck battling the elements and creatures of the Vulcan Forge. Well, if the crew had to be beamed down there, at least he would be prepared.

The doors to sickbay opened and the Andorian Lt. Zremm came through the door assisting Ensign Barton. K'arath rushed forward.
"What happened!" he demanded. Ensign Barton had been modifying comm badges to continue to function as ship communications systems became compromised.
"She was on the bridge and suddenly collapsed, it must be the virus."
K'arath could see the concern of Zremm's face and realized he had feelings for the young Ensign. They moved her to an empty space on the floor as all the bio-beds were occupied.
"She is strong and will never give up the fight," he said to the distraught Lt., placing a firm hand on his shoulder. Zremm looked at him and nodded his head slowly.

[moyer777]

Captain Bell stared at the mirror.  He really didn't like the new uniforms.  They made him look too stoic. 

The faint sound of the laser buzzers tickled his left ear.

"Hey watch it Margon" he said in his delightful English accent.

Margon laughed a very hearty laugh.

"Don't move Gilbert or your hair will be shorter than you like!"  he held up the buzzers and made a hacking motion.

"So have you given any more thought to my idea?"  said the Captain.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I have" said the barber. "I figure if I go through Starfleet's counseling program by the time I graduate you can save a lot of time by posting me on your ship!"

"Funny Margon, but you know it might be hard to request you for your haircutting skills.  And that makes me wonder, why are you Bolians always Barbers or Bartenders?" he smiled.

They had such a great relationship. 

Margon got serious. "Gilbert, before I sign on the dotted line, I have to ask.  Why do you do it?"

"Do what?" he said nervously.

"Why do you serve in such a dangerous position.  I mean, aren't you ever afraid for your life? 

"Of course I'm afraid.  Only idiots never fear.  It's the adventure Margon.  It's the pure adventure and the fact that I have met more new life forms and seen more places than most will ever even read about.  It's the ability to really make a difference in a universe where things beg for the making of scents." his eyes sparkled.

"Cutting hair is safe" said Margon.

"Yes, it is, but you have a gift." the captain grabbed his arm.  "Margon, do this.  Your advice has been so helpful to me. You understand people.  You need to help people, but not just here on Earth. I know it is a risk, and you may even lose people you love, you may lose your life, but listen to me.  It's worth it.  Don't squander what you have been given.  You are more than cutting hair.  You need adventure and adventure needs you"

Margon looked in the mirror at Captain Bell as he finished the haircut. The Bolian removed the cloth hair apron.

"You need a temperature"

"What?" said Margon.  "I have a temperature"

Margon opened his eyes to see a med tech standing over his bio bed. "He still has a temperature" the woman said as she discussed the Counselor's condition with a fellow worker.

"Captain Bell" the counselor whimpered.

"I think he is still delirious" the med tech said.  "Counselor, our captain is Quinn" she said sweetly.  She laid a comforting hand on his chest and laid him back down on the pillow.  He raised up again and looked around sickbay.

The dream had been all to real, and had reminded him of why he did what he did.  Someone had believed in his giftings, and he had risked it all to join Starfleet. 

"I get it" sighed Margon, "I get it."  He laid his head back down.

[Jen]

The doors to sickbay obediently parted as Ryla approached the entry and stepped through the threshold. The Infirmary was bustling with activity...Sickbay had incorporated yet another victim of the virus. Doctor Drett jogged toward the action and worked her way through the medical staff that diligently worked to stabilize a young woman. Hovering near the biobed was one very anxious Andorian male, who crowded the nurses as they worked. The Trill started to ask him to leave, but Chief Engineer K'ararth stepped in— encouraging the Lieutenant to give the med team room. Ryla nodded in thanks to K'ararth as he successfully pulled the Andorian Science officer away. 

"Ch'Fras.  Where are you? I'm cold...." babbled the young woman. The Andorian raised a worried voice in an attempt to reassure the ensign. Ryla glanced over her shoulder at the wiled eyed science officer. She hoped K'arath could calm him before he became too distraught.

Ryla turned her attention back to the patient and pushed a hand into her lab coat to removed a single vile. She still had four remaining, three of which were reserved for Doctor Peterson, Lieutenant Manrique and Counselor Margon. Doctor Drett paused briefly as she glanced down at the yellow, fluidic, inhibitor, within the small container. She rolled it over in the palm of her hand and allowed her eye to roam sickbay for other potential recipients. Seeing none well enough to accept the protein, she quickly fixed the small container to the hypo and pressed it to the ensign's neck. The woman's muscles flexed slightly then her eyes rolled back and she fell unconscious. Ryla scanned the patient then indicated with a nod for the nurses to take over. The blond trill's eye found K'ararth speaking in hushed tones to the white haired science officer—the Andorian watched with great anticipation as the doctor drew near. Drett offered a comforting smile; the petite physician had to look up to meet Zremm's icy blue eyes, "I've given her a does of the inhibitor. She should begin to stabilize within the hour."

[wraith1701]

After completing his report on the shuttlebay incident, K'Tan decided that a change of scenery was in order.  Taking along his PADD and an enormous tankard of steaming hot Raktajino, he settled into a seat on the Tiberius' forward observation deck.  Over half of the crew was either quarantined, incapacitated, or worse.  As a result, the normally bustling room was empty.  K'Tan sat in silence, savoring the bitingly strong brew as he gazed out of a huge, oval shaped viewport.

The Tiberius was holding an orbit roughly 700 kilometers above Vulcan.  Through the viewport, K'Tan drank in the vista:  The black, clean canvas of interstellar space was dotted by the brightly burning pin-pricks of distant stars.  K'Tan found the view to be breathtaking, but its clear, spartan beauty was easily eclipsed by the warmly glowing globe of Vulcan.

The arid, golden-tan surface dominated the entire upper third of the viewport.  The planet reminded him of the minimalist paintings of the Boreth monks-- a huge, brown and beige sphere tinged with the reddish tint of iron deposits .  Through the crystal-clear atmosphere, K'Tan could easily make out numerous empty canals carved by ancient, extinct rivers.  Following the spider-web tracing of dead waterways to the east, his eye was drawn to a vast, continent-sized canyon which split the planet's crust like an ancient, angry wound.

As the titanic, craggy gash slowly crossed the terminator, K'Tan could make out the expanse of arid sand dunes cradled within-- the immense desert known as The Forge.

Forcing his attention back to his PADD, K'Tan continued sifting through Lucas' logs.  After the initial discovery of the reference to 'Sehlat', the going was getting much easier.  K'Tan had uncovered numerous conversations with the suspected accomplice, and had quickly surmised that the relationship between Lucas and the woman known as 'Sehlat' was something more than purely professional. 

Resisting a voyeuristic urge to read some of the more intimate communication logs, K'Tan had limited himself to studying only those entries containing references to something called The Purity Project; a project that seemed linked the virus now ravaging the Tiberius.   

Setting his Raktajino on a nearby table, K'Tan opened up the next entry on his list.  It was a subspace communique sent off several months earlier:


My dearest Sehlat-

My research is finally bearing fruit.  After isolating a strain that will serve our purposes, I have managed to cultivate a healthy batch. 

Our plans to infect commander Sevryll have run into a snag.  As planned, one of our operatives attempted to deliver a dose of the virus to her during the recent promotion ceremony on Earth.  Unfortunately, the drink containing the virus was accidentally delivered to an ensign named Starstriker. 

Rest assured; the operative's incompetence has been dealt with-- he is now enjoying eternal rest somewhere at the bottom of the San Francisco bay.

I believe I have managed to carry the project forward despite our operative's negligence.  Once Starstriker displayed the initial symptoms of the virus, I managed to convince our newly promoted First Officer that only she could help him through his 'mystery' ailment-- by the use of a mind-meld.  The virus should be able to infect Sevryll via this meld, and if our intelligence reports are correct, it is only a matter of time until Sevryll and Talbot set foot on Romulus.  Once there, the virus should quickly spread to infect our targets. 

Fear not, my love; I will not let the purity of Vulcan's proud culture be tainted by a joining with your Romulan cousins.  Barring any unforeseen mutations in the virus, the Purity Project appears to be a success. 

Live long and prosper, my wife.

-END OF ENTRY-


"Wife?" K'Tan muttered to himself.  So the mysterious 'Sehlat' was Lucas' wife?

K'Tan double checked the destination tag on the communique.  This message, like all the others, was directed to a message queue at the Vulcan Science ministry.  Just how far does the conspiracy go?, he thought to himself.  The Captain has to be notified!

His heart hammering in his chest, K'Tan raced from the observation lounge, intent on presenting his findings to Quinn.  As he sprinted towards the bridge, his forgotten carafe of Raktajino sat cooling on the table.

[X]

"Sir, it seems as if someone has already created a communications patch." Rina said as she looked over the sparse com traffic.

"That's good it hear," Lieutenant James said as he took a seat at the console next to her. "It wasn't in my briefing the Aurora uploaded, but that gives us time to come up with additional alternatives to present the captain. What's the status of the aero group?"

"All support craft are operational and baring any additional illnesses, we have enough able bodies to crew the entire fleet." Grant said as she pulled up the duty information. "What are your orders?"

"We're still in quarantine, but we need to be able to ferry crew and supplies once medical gets a handle on this bug." Aeric said. "I need to report to the captain soon, but I want some news to offer him."

"I'm on it sir." Rina said and smiled to her CO. "I'll have some news for you once I start assembling the flight crews. I'll have to do this door to door since everyone doesn't have access to the com systems again."

"Thank you chief." Aeric said with a still hoarse voice. "With the ship so short handed, we're going to need to work that much harder to keep this bird in the sky."

[Geekyfanboy]

Joint post Wraith1701, Jen, Just X and Startrekfanatic5

K'Tan arrested his run, skidding to a stop before the entryway to the bridge.  Placing a hand against the frame of the sealed door, the Lieutenant leaned forward and tried to compose himself.  As his breathing returned to normal, he stood, straightened his tunic, and strode inside.

An air of foreboding seemed to have filled the understaffed bridge, snuffing out hope and optimism like a smothering blanket of despair.  The skeleton crew manning the opps, conn and tactical stations looked worn and haggard.  The eyes that turned to acknowledge his entrance were sunken and bloodshot. K'Tan felt safe in assuming that they, like most of the active crew, hadn't had more than an hour of uninterrupted sleep since the onset of this crisis.

As pervasive as the sense of impending doom was, it was nothing compared to the electric, almost palpable tension that charged the command center.  K'Tan looked around the bridge for Quinn but did not see him. He approached the Captain's ready room and pressed the comm. K'Tan heard the Captain's voice say "Enter", the doors opened to reveal, Captain Quinn and Commander Sevryll standing there.  Judging by the grim expression clouding Quinn's face, he knew he had interrupted an unpleasant conversation.

"Excuse me, Captain," K'Tan said. "I've made a bit of a breakthrough in my investigation of Dr. Lucas."

His face drawn with concern, Quinn motioned for K'Tan enter.  "Go ahead, Lieutenant."

K'Tan handed his PADD to the Captain.  "With the help of Dr. Drett, I managed to isolate several log entries and communiqués that link Lucas directly to the virus plaguing the ship.  In fact, it appears as though the virus was engineered for the sole purpose of derailing the reunification talks between Vulcan and Romulus."

As Quinn scanned through the log entries, K'Tan continued.  "I believe that Lucas was only a small but valuable player in a very large game.  It seems as though he was contracted by an outside agency to create the virus.  An agency with a very long reach."

His face grim, K'Tan turned to address Sevryll.  "The actual target of the infection was you, commander. An unknown assailant tried to infect you months ago, during your promotion ceremony on earth."

Sevryll's left eyebrow gave an almost imperceptible twitch, a sign K'Tan was learning to interpret as the Vulcan equivalent to a shout of outrage.

"That's not all," K'Tan said.  "In tracing the destination of Lucas' communiqués, I've come to the conclusion that his primary contact was his wife.  And it appears as though she is currently working for the Vulcan Science Ministry."

Quinn looked up at K'Tan, "Very good Lieutenant but unfortunately we have more pressing matters to take care of" Quinn motioned for K'Tan to sit.

The light chirp of his comm badge gained his attention and with a surprised expression frozen on his face, he slowly raised his hand to his chest and tapped the badge. "Quinn here." The comm called out again, causing Nathan's surprised expression to transition to one of frustration. Sevryll leaned forward and slid the adjusted badge that engineering brought to him before she entered, across his desktop towards him. He smirked and pressed the badge, "Quinn here," he uttered as he leaned over the desk.

A familiar voice quickly replied, "Sir, Lieutenant James reporting for duty."

A small smile tugged at his lips, "very good lieutenant. Please come to my ready room immediately."

"On my way sir," said Aeric hoarsely.

Nathan pressed the badge on his table once more, "Doctor Drett, Commander K'arath, and Lieutenant Zremm... please report to my ready room immediately. Quinn out."

A few minutes past and the remnants of his senior staff entered his ready room.

Captain Quinn strolled past every officer, giving them reassuring nods and slight smiles. "I have spoken with Starfleet on several occasions concerning our situation, and they agree with my assessment..." Quinn drew a labored breath and continued, "We must abandon ship. Following our departure, the entire crew will be quarantined. Because they lack the bio gel pack technology, our shuttlecraft and life pods remain unaffected by the virus. We will use the shuttles to transport the ill, everyone else will depart Tiberius via escape pods. Afterwards, we will set course for the abandon Vulcan space station, 'Vuhansular', which we will utilize in the pursuit of a cure."

"Sir, I assume they will be towing the Tiberius to Vuhansular after our departure. Should I make preparations?" asked the Chief Engineer.

Nathan flicked his gaze towards Sevryll. The Vulcan commander held his eye briefly, then looked away.

"This ship is essentially a bio weapon, Mr. K'arath." Said the captain as he slowly turned back to the Klingon officer. "To prevent this pathogen from falling into the wrong hands, we must ensure that this virus is eradicated completely. Once the crew has abandoned ship, the commander and I will engage the auto destruct." His statement was followed by an uncomfortable silence that seemed to stretch for minutes.

Quinn cleared his throat and continued, "We have much to do in the meantime. Lieutenant K'Tan, I need you and your team to search the entire ship—I want every living being accounted for and prepped for departure. Doctor, you and your team will load your patients and equipment aboard the shuttles. Chief K'arath, Lieutenant James, I need you to keep this ship in orbit. I don't have to tell you what sort of disaster would occur, should our orbit deteriorate. You will also assist the doctor in prepping the shuttles for the ill. Lieutenant Zremm, transfer the computer's memory core to the Aurora's secondary core. I want every nanobyte of information secured and safely transferred. Mr. James, please assist Lieutenant Zremm in the transfer of memory to the Aurora. Commander Sevryll, you will oversee everything."

Quinn turned and head back to the chair behind his desk. "Dismissed." Without a word, the officers who filled his ready room began to get up and head out the door.

Doctor Drett was the only officer to remain behind, "Sir, what are we to do with the deceased?"

Nathan met Doctor Drett's troubled gaze, "We leave them... We don't have the time, or the space for bodies." Quinn's heart ached, these were his people, his crew. How could he leave them behind?

Ryla's eyes welled up at the Captain's reply, but she managed to keep the tears from falling. "Aye, sir."

Nathan leaned back in his chair and drew a haggard breath as the doors closed behind the doctor. He exchanged a weary glance with Sevryll. Captain Quinn inhaled deeply once more, as he struggled to fight back his intense sorrow and shame he felt.

[Bryancd]

K'arath stood up from the Ready Room table and moved towards the door. He felt like he had just been punched in the gut. Lt. James was standing by the door, watching him expectantly. The man remained an enigma to the Engineer, ever since his shuttle landed and the Chief greeted him in the bay.
"Lt. James," he said and then paused to gather his thoughts. "You are the most accomplished pilot on board and I trust you will be able to maintain standard orbit for as long as possible."
The El-Aurian's nodded his head in acknowledgement of the compliment both knew to be true. "Sir." he replied.
"I will remain in Engineering rerouting as many systems as possible to provide you with thrust and attitude control for as long as possible. I will also send a team to assist the doctor in adapting the current compliment of shuttles to accommodate the sick crew. I am going to commit all the shuttles to this effort. I would....anticipate that your shuttle will be the last to leave," K'arath said.
"That is very likely, Commander," James replied.
K'arath smiled, "Well, save me a seat Lieutenant. Q'pla!" as he clapped the startled man on the shoulder. He entered the turbolift. "Main Engineering," he commanded the computer. He looked around the empty car. "Tiberius, today is not a good day for you to die."

[Jen]

Doctor Drett stopped just outside Sickbay and took a moment to collect herself. She had managed not to cry in front of the Captain—but it was a different story when she was alone in the turbolift—it had been a rough few days, and the stress had caught up with her. Ryla leaned against the bulkhead, drew a deep cleansing breath and rubbed her eyes. The trill did not want the staff to see her upset; they needed confidence and hope and seeing her dismayed would do nothing more than fetter their efforts.  A crewman turned the corner in the corridor, causing Ryla to straighten. He was either too busy notice, or had seen too many officers in a similar emotional state to care...  perhaps it had become the norm aboard Tiberius. The ensign simply nodded and continued on his way. Ryla watched him go, then smoothed her lab coat and attempted to arrange her messy blond hair. She gave her cheeks a final dabbing with her sleeves, before donning the role of a poised physician and striding confidently into the infirmary.

The floor had been incessantly busy since the day the first patients entered Sickbay. Soon after, the medical personnel learned that they were not immune to tragedy. One nurse had dropped dead as she assisted Ryla in her rounds. Another shut his eyes for a ten-minute nap and never woke up.  And then there were those who were injured in altercations with patients. Since Doctor Peterson removed himself from duty, there had been three deaths and two serious injuries. And three more personnel currently occupied biobeds.

She stepped to the center of the room and spoke up so that all could hear her. "Can I have your attention?! The Captain has asked us to begin prepping the patients and equipment for transport off Tiberius, STAT. " She turned gestured to three med techs, "you all will be working with a team from engineering to get the craft outfitted with equipment. Begin moving patients as soon as they're ready." The people who stood about sickbay looked exhausted, but ready and willing to do their duties. Ryla glanced to the Counselor who stared back at her with a sullen expression.  She thought about what the Captain had told her regarding the deceased, and decided in that moment to go against his orders.  She spoke in a quieter tone to the head nurse, "We're leaving all but two deceased individuals behind. See to it that Ensign Isaac Starstriker and Counselor Margon's son are placed on one of the shuttlecraft." She turned back to the staff and thanked them all for their diligence and sacrifice. "Thank you for working through your illness, fatigue and personal loss.  Your efforts will not go unnoticed—hopefully this will be over very soon.  I know Doctor Peterson would be as proud of you all as I am.  With that said, I can't stress how important expediency is. We must get our patients out of here ASAP." Several staff members nodded and several offered weak smiles as they began their next task.

Doctor Drett wasted no time in administering the last three doses of the inhibitor to Peterson, Manrique and Margon. It wouldn't get them on their feet, but it would stabilize them for transport. She lingered a moment at the counselor's side before returning to her duties. "Don't worry Counselor," she whispered,  "Brex is coming with us."

[X]

"It feel's like she's dying around us," Aria said to her father as they walked the shadowed hallway that let to the shuttle bay.

"She is." Aeric confirmed. "Bit by bit, the systems are failing around up as the crew falls to the virus."

Aira nodded slowly. "I'll get the Aurora ready for travel and make sure that we have a solid lock on the Captain Quinn and mother."


"I'm going to be in the flight tower making sure that everyone is clear before the captain gives the final command. I need you to work with the cheif and medical to make sure the runabouts have the right equipment for lab work and critical care." Aeric said and walked into the shuttle bay with his daughter.

"Okay team, let's get a move on!," Aeric shouted to those remaining ready for duty on the flight deck. "The captain has ordered all hands to abandon ship! You know the drill, you know your duties. Let's get to work! Grant I want your team to outfit every available runabout with the medical lab equipment. Andreas, your team will be responsible for using the larger shuttles to assist in gathering the escape pods and making sure that they are all in the safety zone before the detonation."

"Aye Sir!" the fight crew shouted as they moved to do the jobs that they were trained to do.

"Chief you have the flight deck!" Aeric said as he turned and headed for the control tower.

[moyer777]

Sleek and adventurous, graceful and sometimes warlike, she waited.

She was trying so hard.  "Keep it together, Keep it together, so many are counting on you!" she thought.  But it was so hard.  The vast expanse of space is cold and harsh.  The elements are ruthless and the universe is infinite.  The only thing that kept her going was the life in and around her.  Such a variety of creatures, all with their own slant on the world around them.  So fascinating, unified, but diverse.  At first the virus had been subtle.  Only a few aches and pains here and there, but now?  It wasn't good.  She could feel the life being drained from her.  Things she used to be able to do automatically were now a chore, and some weren't even working anymore.  The prime functions of her job description were not even certain to happen. 

"I am here to serve" she thought, "but I am starting to be unable to do so. Something must be done or there would be more death."  This was not acceptable.  Everything in her was designed to protect, to keep the harsh elements at bay, to provide a place where the prime directive could thrive and the masses could gather and explore"

It wasn't because of a lack of help.  The crew had tried to help, but the infection was getting worse.  It was like cancer.  It had to be removed.   But that hadn't worked.   It had spread into the electronic lymph nodes that made who she was. It was rather ironic.  The very advancements to make her quicker, more like them, was killing her. 

So much care had been taken, so many hours had been put in, she had been created with a purpose of exploration, but now her time was coming to an end.  She understood, she wished there was another way, but it was too late.  It was soon to be over. 

She put her life in the hands of those that served on her.  She trusted that they knew best.  She had fulfilled her destiny.  Now all she had to do was hold on a little longer, long enough to see them off safely.

What would it feel like?  What would be the initial reaction to the self destruct?  She was programmed to do what they asked, but that didn't mean it would be easy.  It would take every bit of programming in her to let the countdown end.

Everything she was, everything she had become was about to come to and end.

And then she, the Tiberius, however apprehensive, waited.

[Ricardocameron]

=/\=
Ensign T'Aryn Rayna flet like a fish out of water.

"No, Ensign", said the nurse curtly, "It's done like THIS." 
Rayna relinquished his hold on the hypospray and observed the nurse (again), as he demonstrated the correct meds administration technique.  He'd seen EMH's with a better beside manner, he thought.  Though they wore the same "Science Division Blue", Medical was not his specialty, and he felt like reminding the nurse of such fact.  He felt his emotions rising and his mind began forming a suitable reponse, something like " Well, I AM a xenobiologist, nurse, not a MedTech!"..yes, that would do nicley..but, no, there were more important things to be done.  Just then there came the swish of the Infirmary's doors and the pretty Ensign Barton was led in by Lt. Zremm...she looked very bad, but before he could do anything, another officer got over to help them first. "THAT'S why she never called!", he exclaimed aloud.
It was only a few short minutes before, Rayna thought, when she was here to give me this jury-rigged commbadge!  "Here Rayna", she had spoken, quickly, "since you're not doing anything, you can be Sickbay Liaison to the Bridge.  The comms down again, and I've got these Commbadges to work independently of the Main Computer.  Limited function, but...Anyway, I've got to get these to the bridge...We'll do a testcall from there..." she trailed off as she walked away, heading for the bridge.  "WAKE UP, Ensign!", chastised the nurse, "We have work to do."
That barely sank in, but He was brought back to the present by the Sickbay doors opening again...Dr. Drett had arrived, and had a VERY serious look on her face... What she began to say shocked him even more....

[Rico]

Lieutenant Zremm had almost finished transferring the computer core memory banks from the Tiberius to the secondary core aboard the Aurora.  He was still a bit stunned by the announcement Captain Quinn had told all of them a short time ago about abandoning ship.  Zremm had become quite comfortable on the Tiberius and had begun to think of it as home.  Of course, from the expression he had noticed on the captain's face his emotions were probably nothing compared to what the captain must be going through right now.  He double checked the display at the bridge science station to insure the entire memory core had been backed up to the Aurora.  He ran a few diagnostic checks to make sure the data was complete and secure.  Once he was satisfied he tapped his modified comm badge.

"Zremm to Aurora."  He said into the comm device.

"Aria here, lieutenant.  I have insured that the memory core is secure aboard the Aurora.  Lieutenant James is assisting the flight group currently."  Aria said in response.  Zremm was still a bit unsure of Aria and her history with Commander Sevryll.  But it had seemed that Sevryll was a bit more accepting of her now, so Zremm tried to match her feelings.

"Very good.  Please make certain of it and thanks for your assistance.  Zremm out."  The blue skinned lieutenant said as he tapped his badge once again.  He started to close down non-essential systems from his work station.  He wanted to make sure Tiberius was not encumbered with anything but essential functions.  She was a fine ship and he was going to miss her greatly he thought as he brought up various sub displays at the science station.  Just then he felt the artificial gravity shift slightly on the bridge.  It was a very small shift, but andorians were especially sensitive to such things.

"Zremm to Chief Engineer K'arath."  Zremm said tapping his comm badge once more.  After a slight delay he finally got a response.

"K'arath here lieutenant.  We kind of have our hands full right now."  The chief said.

"Sorry to interrupt your work commander.  Could you please check on the artificial gravity for the bridge.  I detected a slight variance, sir."  Zremm said.

"One second lieutenant.  Let's see here.  Hmm,....well yes it has shifted.  It seems a gel pack is interfering with the gravity sub systems.  Rerouting systems now.  It was only a shift to 0.5 % lower.  I'm shocked you even noticed Zremm."  K'arath said.

"Andorians due to our antennae are especially sensitive to these things, sir."  Zremm said with a slight touch of pride in his voice.

"Ok lieutenant.  Thanks for reporting it.  K'arath out."  The klingon engineer said as he dropped the comm channel.

After several more minutes Zremm decided that he had done all he could on the bridge.  With the core backed up and systems minimized he secured the station and got up and entered the turbolift.

"Sickbay."  He said as he thoughts of Marie drifted back.  Her illness had made him realize time was precious and not to be wasted.  Zremm was determined to let her know how he felt once she was feeling better.  But for now, he was going to make sure she and anyone else he could assist made it to a shuttle.  He calmed his emotions as much as he could as the lift whisked him down to the heart of the ship.

[Bryancd]

The com link shut off, K'arath shook his head. In all his years as an engineer, he never thought he would be told by an Andorian bridge officer that his artificial gravity systems had failed prior to his notice. He thought back upon his time in sickbay with Lt. Zremm who had carried Ensign Barton. He had strength of will, common for his people, but he also had compassion. A unique trait among Andorians. His momentary reflections were short lived.
"Sir!" a clearly nervous ensign yelled from his station.
K'arath turned towards the young man and looked deep into his eye's. This had better be good, he thought. The Ensign may as well have been a telepath.
"Sir," he said in a calmer tone, "We have lost forty-five percent of core power. At these rates, we have only 2 hours at most power available to maintain standard orbit."
"Very well," he replied. He knew in two hours he would be on the bridge, providing the third command of the self-destruct sequence and then racing with the Captain and the First Officer to the Aurora. The Vulcan woman would probably beat them both.