Away Mission: Group One Part 2

Posted on Tue Jul 26th, 2022 @ 5:45pm by Avalon [ADMIN NPC] & Captain Gary Taylor & Captain Samuel Woolheater & Captain Mattias Richardson [Reece] & Lieutenant JG Heather De La Rosa {Kelea-Salik} & Chief Warrant Officer Man'darr [Naxea]

Mission: Season 5: Episode 4: Reef
Location: USS Jefferson, Deck 2
Timeline: MD 1 12h30
3153 words - 6.3 OF Standard Post Measure

=/\= ELYSIUM TO ALL AWAY TEAMS - EVAC And STAND READY. We have problems up here!=/\=

"Sir, we can't abandon those crew on Deck Three. Give me ten minutes tops," Man'darr offered.

"I have no intention of abandoning anyone Chief." Gary answered firmly. "You and Captain Richardson head to Deck Three and get to those survivors. You have your ten minutes."

Man'darr nodded. "Aye, Sir," as he turned and headed for the turbolift, realizing it would take too long to get to Deck Three by Jeffries tubes. He ripped the turbolift control panel off and reached in and up, finding the manual override lever and pulled as the door slid open to reveal the inside of the turbolift. Kneeling, he pressed a panel that raised a lever in which he turned and pulled, opening an emergency hatch in the floor of the turbolift. "Try to keep up, Captain," he grinned as he switched his mag boots on and dropped through the hatch, grabbing the ledge of the hatch and swinging himself to the side of the turbolift shaft. The shaft seemed to go on forever but thankfully he only needed to go down two decks.

Mattias chuckled aloud. "You got it, Chief." He pulled out his rappelling anchor magnet and secured it to the inside left bulkhead of the turbolift shaft. Once it was secured, he leapt down into the void, quickly dropping past the bigger man.

When he reached the desired deck, he stopped his rappel and activated his mag boots, securing himself to the bulkhead. He then deactivated his rappel anchor and retracted it. "Waiting on you, big guy."

"Sure, take the easy way down," he grunted, as he reached the deck. Another groan sounded throughout the ship as he stepped onto the deck. "I can't wait to get back to the Elysium," he commented.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to take a Sunday stroll," he replied playfully as he forced open the door onto the corridor. Hearing the ship groan around them, he nodded. "Agreed. Let's doubletime this and then get the hell out!" He then led the way into the corridor as they searched for the survivors.

Bringing up his tactical tricorder, he scanned the area. Nothing in the immediate vicinity...he studied his readings as something caught his eye. "Damn. There are some survivors in Section Nine but that section has been breached. I'm reading active emergency force fields in the section but don't appear to be very strong...they won't last much longer."

Without hesitating, Mattias headed off towards Section Nine. "Then let's boogie, Chief! We don't leave anyone behind!"

Man'darr nodded as he took off at a fast pace soon caught pace with Mattias.


--- AT THE SAME TIME - MAIN BRIDGE ---

Back on the bridge, the first group of severely wounded persons from the Jefferson crew were helped to step into the triangular shape created by the tranporter pattern enhancers. As the first three persons dematerialized, Sam helped the next three take their places inside the area. In a moment, they too dematerialized in the familiar blue and white glow of the transport beam. Sam reported to Commander Taylor, "Six away sir!"

Gary nodded with approval, "Very good Lieutenant, let's keep them moving. I don't know how much time we still have ."

"Yes sir!" Sam responded. Next, he started helping the next group of four. These folks could at least stand up and that meant they could fit another person into the confined pattern area. When the next eight were ready, the transport cycle started and completed and fourteen crew had beamed away, luckily, the most severely injured and those needing the most care. Sam looked to the next group to see if they needed help. That's when he saw the two kids from earlier. The teenage girl and her younger brother. Their parents had not yet been found. Sam said to them, "Hey? You ready to leave?" The young boy nodded 'yes' and his older sister shook her head 'no' and said, "Where's our mom and dad?" she asked with obvious concern.

Sam said, "Best place to find them is going to be on the Elysium. We've got people looking all over your ship; we'll find them. Imagine how happy your folks will be when they see you safe and sound on Elysium? Come on? You're next." Sam said to the kids. The younger brother looked at his sister for assurance and leadership. Sam saw the visual exchange and knew that time was short. "What do you say big sister? Can you take charge of your brother and make sure you two get someone to help you after you beam up? You two have been so brave, so strong. I'm impressed." The kids looked at Sam, "You'll have to look out for each other but there are people on our ship that want to help you."

The older sister looked at Sam and asked, "Everyone from our ship is getting out? You won't leave anyone behind?" Sam replied, "Marines don't leave anybody behind. OK?" Now both kids nodded 'yes' and Sam smiled, "That's what I wanted to see. OK? Off you go. That's right, stand in between the enhancers." A few more crew stood in close and giving them a hand wave, another transporter cycle was completed. Sam looked to Commander Taylor, "Another eight away Commander."

Gary had heard the exchange between Sam and the kids. "Excellent Lieutenant. Keep it up, we need to get these people out of here." He moved closer to Sam and in a lower voice spoke, "We also need to find the parents to those kids you were talking to."

"I know their parents" the civilian engineering consultant, Scott Frost said. "They are both microbiologists. They work on Deck Three. Last time I saw them was in Science Lab Two. Forty-five minutes or so before we got pulled down here. That's the last time I saw them. Carrie and Scott Pullman. They're good people. You have to find them!""

Woolheater nodded, "Commander, didn't the Chief and Captain Richardson go to deck three?"

"They did Lieutenant. Let's hope they are successful in finding the Pullmans along with the survivors." Gary replied as the last of the bridge survivors had transported to the Elysium.

"Affirmative sir. Does the Commander authorize me to contact Captain Richardson and Chief Man'darr to ask them to keep an eye out for the Pullman's sir?" Sam asked the away team leader.

"Yes Lieutenant, contact Captain Richardson and Chief Man'darr, ask them to keep a lookout for the Pullmans without going into specifics." Gary answered.

"Thank you sir!" the marine replied and executed the call.


===Deck Three; Section 9===

Mattias and Man'darr arrived at the section with survivors as he looked at a giant breach in the hull that gave a view of the ocean outside. The forefield keeping the structural integrity of the deck intact shimmered as it struggled to keep the water at bay. The fields were designed to keep pressure in, not out. Man'darr scanned the area again, locating the grouped survivors. "Third door on our port," he announced, making his way down the corridor to the specified door.

Seeing the fluctuating forcefield, Mattias made a decision. Moving to the nearest power relay, he opened it up, revealing the damaged circuits inside. He quickly hooked the power supply from his suit into the system, giving it a temporary boost in strength. "Go! Get the survivors and get them out of here! My suit power is only going to give us a few more minutes!"

Man'darr nodded as he entered. Seeing that there only appeared to be minor injuries, he waved the crew out, producing a hypospray containing isolinear tags, he pressed the hypospray to the shoulder of each crew that went through the door.

=A= Captain Richardson? This is Woolheater, please respond=A= Sam called on the comm system.

Mattias cursed under his breath. "What is it, Sam?" He shouted after activating his commbadge. "Hurry up Man'darr! Power will only last about another minute!

=A= Two scientists, Carrie and Scott Pullman are missing. Last seen on Deck three, science lab two. Requesting you attempt to locate and retrieve=A= Sam relayed the message as the next few survivors from the bridge were beamed away.

"We're a little busy at the moment, Sam!" Mattias had to shout over the alarms that the forcefield was about to fail. "We will do our best, Richardson out!" He closed the channel to save on power. "Let's go, Marine!" He was about to dump his emergency power into the system, when he saw Man'darr return.

The crew on Deck Three were transported away to the awaiting shuttles. "According to specs, Science lab three is farther down," he reported before moving down the corridor at a dead sprint.

Grimacing in frustration, Mattias dumped the rest of his suit's power into the circuit. "You've got about three minutes, Chief! Make 'em count!"

Thankfully with his height and higher endurance with being a Capellan, he was able to reach the Science Lab rather quickly. He always loved seeing the shock on the faces of people who had never met a capellan. Their naturally larger size and bone density gave the impression that they would be slow when in reality they could run just as fast and as far as any vulcan. Seeing that the power to the door was out, he ripped the panel off to attempt an override, only to find the lever jammed halfway down. "Damn!" he cursed, knowing he had to get them out, now. Grabbing his K-Bar, he wedged the knife into the door, causing it to jar open slightly before he grabbed the edges of the door and pushed them open as the knife clattered to the deck. Inside were two scientists. "Let me tag you and transport you out!"

The two scientists nodded and rushed towards Man'darr who pressed the hypospray to their shoulders. A moment later, they dematerialized. "I got them, captain! Let's get out of here!"

"Get back to the turbolift shaft! As soon as I disconnect this forcefield will drop! Get in there and get ready to seal it!"

"Not going to happen, Captain," Man'darr stated as he rushed back towards Mattias' position. "I can either inject you with an isolinear tag and beam you out, or we both make a break for it, but I'll be damned if I'm leaving you or anyone behind," he stated sternly.

Gary's voice came through their combadges, "Gentleman the clock is ticking, I suggest you hurry."

Mattias took his hypo out and injected himself. "Haul ass Marine, that's an order!" The console his suit was plugged into started to beep a warning that power was about to fail.

"You better be behind me, Captain," he called as he sprinted into the turbolift shaft, pressing the emergency door button, closing the shaft door. "Turbolift shaft is securing."

As soon as Man'darr hit the button to start shutting the lift doors, Mattias took a quick breath, readied himself to sprint, then disconnected from the circuit.

Two things happened nearly immediately. One, as soon as the power was severed, the forcefield collapsed, allowing a ocean to come rushing in. Two, before Mattias made it two steps, he was thrown against the opposite bulkhead, the force of the hit dazing him in his EVA suit, then he was sucked back out through the breach into the depths of the ocean, unconscious.


***Bridge***

Lieutenant Sanea Hoh said to Commander Taylor, "The last of this group is beamed away. I'm ready to leave when you are Commander Taylor."

Sam went over to where Ensign De La Rosa was standing and said, "Time to go. You ready to get outta here?"

Heather nodded. “You bet I am!” She offered a smile. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

tag Sam

Gary nodded at Lt. Hoh, "As soon as Captain Richardson and Chief Man'darr return we'll head for the shuttle." Gary replied.

***Deck Three***

The wall of water slammed into Man'darr as the doors to the shaft finished closing, knocking him against the opposite side of the shaft as his mag boots activated and he grabbed an emergency rung to keep from falling. "Chief Man'darr to Captain Richardson." There wasn't a response. "Damn him," Man'darr cursed before contacting the bridge. "Chief Man'darr to Commander Taylor, we rescued everyone on Deck Three but Captain Richardson did not make it back in time before the emergency forcefield gave out and I can't get a response."

"Roger Chief, get back now, we've got a rescue to perform." Gary looked at Hoh, "Lieutenant, you're with us. Let's move people!"

"I'm with you Commander" Hoh said. With the loss of deck three to the pressure from the sea, the Jefferson made a terrible groaning sound. It reverberated through the superstructure and made the deck plates vibrate. The rest of the bridge system exploded in a shower of sparks and billows of smoke. The ship was dying. And as if on cue, it shuddered and slipped. Emergency lighting came back on but at a far less level. It was going to get cold in here with life support failing. Now, everything was at a fifteen degree angle which made the environment that much more terrible. Woolheater switch on the lamps of his environment suit to help. Sam activated his tactical tricorder and started searching for Captain Mattias and the Chief.

"Everyone let's move! We have people to rescue!" Gary looked at Sam, "If you a lock on the captain and chief, don't lose it. See if you can contact Captain Richardson."

"I've got a lock Commander; we're not going to lose our marine captain!" Sam said as they all left the bridge to meet up with Chief Man'darr.

A moment passed before Man'darr climbed through the emergency hatch of the turbolift. "What is the word on Captain Richardson?" he asked as he pushed himself to his feet.

Sam assisted the Chief as needed and then securing the hatch. While he did that he answered, "Richardson injected himself with the transporter signal isotope. I'm tracking that. Bearing 030 mark 200. 60 meters (200 feet) off the port side and descending about a meter per minute. He might be caught in some damn underwater eddy? I can't get him to respond. I'm reading life signs. He's alive."

Lieutenant Hoh offered, "Explosive decompression? What happened Chief? Did a forcefield fail? Did you get the rest of my crew?"

"Yes, when we arrived, we found an emergency forcefield about to fail. Captain Richardson used the power from his suit to keep the forcefield active until we could get everyone rescued," Man'darr explained.

"Keep the lock and get him back." Gary ordered as he turned to Hoh, "Lieutenant, I think it's obvious the force field failed. Now, we have to get one of my crew back." He looked to Sam, "How's it coming Sam?"

Sam tapped his comm button on his suit and spoke directly to the Archeron II, the danube-class shuttle waiting for them. =A= Archeron II, I am sending you the coordinates for Captain Richardson, he's not far. He...went for a swim. Lock onto these coordinates and beam him out. =A=

=A= Archeron II awaiting coordinates =A=

Woolheater typed them into the comm on his suit =A= 030-211-066 =A=

=A= I have the coordinates, locking on... =A= Sam held his breath and listened. He looked at Commander Taylor. In a moment, still too long the reply came back.

=A= We got him. Captain Richardson is onboard. He appears unconscious we could use your medic here =A= Sam grinned broadly, "WOOT!" =A= Thank you Archeron II =A=

The Jefferson slipped again and this time the angle had to be something like thirty-degrees. Junk and debris started to slide to port.

"Everyone we are leaving, let's go back to the shuttle. Lt. Hoh. It's time to leave your ship. Please get in front of me and behind Ensign De La Rose, that is Heather. Chief, Sam. Let's go. I'll be the last off the bridge." Gary told them.

Man'darr nodded before climbing back into the tight Jeffries tubes and heading back to Deck Two where they had entered.

Sam hesitated a moment, the transporter enhancers were left behind on the bridge. There just wasn't time to go and get them. And Sam was sure everybody wanted to get off of the Jefferson. The air was dank now. And the sound of water dripping in sounded everywhere. Sam entered after the chief.

DECK TWO - JUNCTION "B" SECTION 9-A

The lights here were strobing in bright flashes every two-seconds. Power conduits, the control board, water-soaked couplings all had taken their toll. It was a bit painful on the eyes. FLASH - (one, two) - FLASH - (one, two) - FLASH! It was hard to see, and it made things disorienting. Sam tried not to look at the lights or let it bother him. He helped his crewmates up out of the jeffries tube. Keeping an eye on his tactical tricorder and its audible scanning 'pings'. There was a large bang, followed by the distinct sound of water rushing in below them. Another compartment perhaps was flooded?

"Let's move before this deck is next!" Man'darr shouted as he exited the jeffries tube.

Sam closed and secured the hatch to the tube and was quick to catch up. Then he realized that Lieutenant Hoh did not have an environment suit. There was no way she could get back to the Archeron II unless they beamed her over there. The flashing lights was getting annoying too. Suddenly, behind them the hatch to the jeffries tube burst up a quarter of the way. Water was coming out of it like it was a spigot.

Lieutenant Hoh said, "Commander? I hope you have an extra EVA suit for me?"

Gary was about to reply when the tricorder he had inn hand beeped. Looking down he saw a signal,a number of people were moving toward his and group one's present location from deck six. He thought for a moment then he had it. Another away team! "Heads up, we're about to have company another away team is headed toward us." He looked to Hoh, "No Lieutenant bit don't worry, we'll get you to the Elysium with your crew."

Sam wasn't so sure. A group of people that just happened to be wandering towards them? Something wasn't right. Woolheater looked at his tactical tricorder, sure enough, an indistinct number of "people" were approaching. But where were the comm badge signals? Why was there a group of them? Sam didn't like it and he looked at the Chief, "I've got a bad feeling about this Man'darr."