Marine Captain's Personal Log: Stardate 72692.4
Posted on Mon Dec 5th, 2022 @ 11:16am by Captain Samuel Woolheater
Mission:
Season 6 : Episode 1: Circinus
Location: DECK THIRTY-TWO
Timeline: MD03 - 0330 hours
1166 words - 2.3 OF Standard Post Measure
[ON:]
”Marine captain’s personal log. Stardate 72692.4. At approximately 0200 hours, the Elysium foundered on a ‘quantum filament’. I don’t know what that is exactly, but it has severely crippled the ship…”
Deck thirty-two had been turned into a triage ward. Basically, anybody below deck twenty-three, which was where secondary medical had been set up, was taken here to Marine Country. There were so many injuries, so many lives cut short, so many families anxious and afraid; they wore it on their faces. And there wasn’t much anybody could do about it right now.
”…deck thirty-two has become…unrecognizable? I see faces of people I’ve never met. Everyone is asking anyone wearing a green uniform what’s going on? What has happened to us? And what am I going to do about it?
A man and a woman start arguing over a few bottles of water. He wants it for his wife. She wants it for her children. A marine private suddenly becomes judge and jury. He does the best he can because there are a dozen more people on edge.
“We can’t get below deck thirty-three. I mean, from the inside at least. I have a meeting with the three other platoon commanders where I will suggest that we go EVA. Perhaps we can gain entry to the drop hangar bay? Maybe we can get one of the fighters in the air. Hell, I’d be happy to get a worker bee up and running and take a look at the ship from the outside. Before I go to my SITREP I need to see if the only pilot I have is awake. If he is awake, is he coherent? If he is, can he walk? And if he can walk, can he fly? I need eyes on the ship. What kind of damage do we not even know about? I fear that the ship is bleeding to death.”
Samuel passes by people as if everything was in slow motion. The only good news they’ve had in the past two hours is that people are alive on the bridge and all over the ship. That news alone should have calmed everybody down. It didn’t. Instead, civilians and crew are demanding answers.
“We have tried, three times to determine a way to get to Engineering. Each time we try, there is some obstacle that we can’t deal with because we don’t have the knowledge or the expertise to find an alternative. The last report I had from a SAR team was that the emergency bulkheads are all in place around Engineering and that isolation forcefields are still in place. We have no main computer access. What computer functions we have been able to restore are the independent emergency systems. Nothing that helps me communicate with the Captain or the Bridge, or Medical.”
Sam breaks up a fight between two marines. Both know that as soon as he leaves, they will try and kill each other. Sam orders them to different duty stations. Woolheater can’t spare anybody. Marines are getting injured from falls, from burns, from exposure and cold. It feels like the ship is falling apart. There are reports of whole sections of decks collapsing from structural failure. Sam doesn’t know whether to believe them or not because they are being reported by crew that are panicking.
“Colonel Azhul and XO Tonelly, I have no way to get to them. When it became clear to me that we were on our own, I took command of the detachment. I’m trying to hold everything together. We need a break. We need some more good news soon. And I hope to god that someone is trying to get the ship back under control. There’s no time for me to reflect on my decisions. But, with every order I give I wonder if I’ll see those marines again?”
Sam turns and looks at the deck. Hurting people are everywhere. For now, they are as safe as they can be. Their wounds are being tended to by marine medics. Some lives have been saved; others have been lost.
“I just came back from a visit to deck thirty-one. Enlisted living quarters. Civilians too. Women and children, mothers and fathers. What I saw I hope never to see again. I tried to protect the children from that…”
::: Sam flashes back to twenty-minutes ago. On deck thirty-one. A new compartment was opened. It was living quarters and they thought that maybe someone was trapped. When the door was pried open. No one was alive. They were lucky. The gravity plating had failed. Or the inertial dampeners did. In any case, from “B” Baker junction to “D” Delta junction…the people were…’juiced’ against the starboard walls. As if some giant blender had spread them out like minced meat all along that wall. The deck floor was a one-inch puddle of goo. Their helmet lights and wrist lamps illuminated the gruesome discovery.
“Mommy!” a kid called behind the marines some ten meters behind them. Sam turned and barked at the marines guarding those kids, “DON’T COME DOWN HERE! Marine! Don’t let anybody come down here. Especially those kids!”
“Sir?!” came the reply not quite understanding. Sam’s face said it all.
“Don’t let those kids come down here” Woolheater commanded. The marine nodded.
“C’mon sweetie! Let’s go look for your parents back at the replicator, ok?” an the kids were led away. Sam said, “Seal these doors. Mark them. I don’t want someone accidentally to wander in here. Use a hand phaser to seal the door. No kid needs to see that.”
“You got it cap” said the other shocked marine. :::
Now, back in the present he ended the log by saying, “Gunnery Sergeant Gami mentioned earlier that the Colonel made ready emergency power, batteries and redundant systems. I hope that she is making better progress than I have had today. We keep on keeping on. I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing? If I’m on the right path? I do know that I’m doing the only thing that I can. Holding this detachment together so we can be of service to this ship. We are also on the only path available to us. Search for survivors and render aid. Try and make sense out of what has happened. If we can get power to this deck back, and if my IT guy can get us connected to the secondary processors, maybe. Maybe we can get something back online long enough to make a difference.”
Sam turned back and entered the MARDET office. He had a SITREP update to host.
[OFF:]
Captain Samuel Woolheater
“Saepius Exertus, Semper Fidelis, Frater Infinitas”
Division VI, MARDET 62nd Company "Spartans", 1st Platoon CO
=/\= USS ELYSIUM - NCC-89000 =/\=
