Trapped!

Posted on Mon Jan 2nd, 2023 @ 4:01pm by Captain Samuel Woolheater

Mission: Season 6 : Episode 1: Circinus
Location: DECK THIRTY-ONE
Timeline: MD03: 0215 HOURS
3465 words - 6.9 OF Standard Post Measure

[ON: MD03 – 0215 – DECK THIRTY-ONE – LIVING QUARTERS]

The Barrows residence was on deck thirty-one, room 0947. Stuart, a civilian contractor for Universal Spacecraft Systems, his wife, Portia, an artist and their six-year-old daughter Japha, who, just last week, learned to stand up to two bullies in her class in the onboard school on Elysium. They had all gone to bed an hour ago and hadn’t been asleep for long. Then the entire ship jolted violently, and they were tossed from their beds and onto the floor of their quarters. There was barley any light. Just from the visual annunciators and red alert. Stuart, knowing that he would be needed hurried to check on his family.

“PORTIA!” he called for his wife in the dark and found her. “Are you hurt?” he asked has he looked her over.

“No, I’m OK. I don’t think I’m hurt. JAPHA!” she called to their daughter. Stuart tried to stand up but felt that something was very, very wrong. Their quarters were a shambles now. Stuart picked his way to the sound of crying and found Japha sitting across the room under the bed. Everything had been thrown against the starboard wall. “Japha!” he said as he found her in the dark. Emergency lighting finally came on and they could see in the low light the damage that was caused to their quarters.

Stuart gathered Japha up in his arms, “There you are. Hi honey! Are you hurt?” She shook her head ‘no’ and wrapped her little arms around him. “Daddy!” she cried. Stuart carefully picked his way back to Portia and the three huddled together in the center of their quarters. “Mommy!” the child cried as she reached for a hug from Portia. She pulled her into a hug and looked at Stuart, “What’s happened?” Stuart shook his head as he searched for clothes and shoes. As he dressed, he tried to access the computer and only saw the emergency message. He looked back at Portia, and she could tell that they were in trouble. “Get dressed? I’ll go and get Japha’s clothes and her school pack.

When he returned, Portia was dressed and together they got Japha dressed. Stuart found a light in an emergency kit and then tried to open the doors to their quarters. “It’s stuck. No power, I think.” Portia came near the door and quietly asked so that Japha wouldn’t hear, “What has happened?” Making sure not to speak to loudly and frighten their child Stuart said, “I’m not sure. The ship may have hit something. An error in navigation and we hit something. Or something has run into us. Power is out and the comms are down. If I can get the door open, then we’ll know more. “Stu, I feel something terrible has happened.” Stuart hugged her close, “I know. Me too.” Portia hugged her husband and said, “Get the door open quickly.”

Stuart knew that if he could get the panel off the door controls on the wall, he could get his hand inside and manually pull the door release. That would pop the doors open and allow him to pull them apart. And that’s exactly what he did. When the doors were open, he stepped into the corridor. “Portia! Come quickly!” he said as he stuck his head back in.

DECK THIRTY-ONE – CORRIDOR

It was terrifying for everybody. People were in a chaotic situation and there was panic in the air. The turbolift were offline. The comms were down, the ship felt all wrong. Like it was in a variable gravity field. With Japha in his arms, the Barrows along with dozens of others tried to make their way to the emergency shelter on this deck. When they reached it; it was damaged beyond usability. There was a massive crack in the hull and a fissure had formed just beyond the emergency bulkhead. A forcefield was in place. Beyond the forcefield was open space and a ragged ship. From this vantage point one could clearly see that Elysium was in a frightful kind of spin.

There was crying and fear and panic all around them. Stuart turned back to head to the turboshaft. He was still many meters away, but he could see the uniforms and body armor of Starfleet Marines at the turboshaft. ~Thank god!~ Stuart thought. At least there was a chance of getting off this deck.

Stuart Barrows had been with Universal for almost ten years now. He knew some of the critical ship systems and he was sure that he would be able to help. Just as soon as took care of his family. His wife Portia, an accomplished artist from Fontalis. He had met her there when the new ship building facility at the city of Serse. They had been married for seven years now. Stuart loved his family. They were everything to him. And both parents had high hopes for Japha. Like most proud parents, they loved their daughter. They wanted her to grow up in the Federation. They also wanted to settle on Fontalis. Stuart was planning to move there just as soon as he finished another two years with Universal.

Portia was a talented artist. Her drawings and paintings were often featured in the ship’s gallery of any starbase or starship that she was on. She was right now doing graphic designs for ship systems, cataloguing botanical species with drawings of the plants and the flowers, the various alien life that the ship had encountered on her many missions. But what she most liked to do was paint people. Portia had a warm smile and generous heart. And there was so much love in her. Stuart considered himself the luckiest man alive.

Japha was precocious, one of those “sassy six-year-olds” and had a mouth on her. She had her mother’s heart and her father’s idealism. She saw the world as only children can. Full of endless possibilities, endless opportunities, endless adventures. She loved her mom and her dad. But truth be told, she wanted to be around her daddy. To be near him and tag along on his workday. Stuart could have been a Starfleet Engineer if he had the opportunity. He never got the chance and so, he became a private contractor and then got work with Universal on Mars. Stuart and Japha would go on camping trips, walks with the dogs. Building in the garden for mama’s planters. And when mama was showing her work in a gallery, it was daddy who could turn a trip to the museum or the art gallery into an adventure.

But Japha’s most favorite time with papa was story time. When bedtime rolled around, Japha knew that she could prolong that “ordeal” by asking for him to read a story. And since neither of them knew many Fontalan stories, Stuart would break out the universal translator and read her a story from her mama’s background.

Sometimes, as children are often prone to do, Japha had a bad day. And on those nights, sometimes, if she was very good, or had a rotten, terrible, no good, very bad day; her papa would sing to her. Stuart learned Fontalan when he started to court Portia. Portia was a lovely, strong, intelligent, attractive woman that he admired. And to impress her, Stuart taught himself to read and speak Fontalan. And Portia thought that a man with that kind of drive was worth going out on a date. At least once. And that turned into two dates and then three.

One day, that was especially bad for Japha was when her pet cat died, “Mrs. Whiskers”. Japha was inconsolable the whole day. Her heart was broken, and she cried and cried. She came to her dad and cried on his shoulder, and he picked her up in a loving embrace. “Daddy?” she sobbed. “Why…did…my…kitty…have to…die?” Portia came up to the room and listened at the door, just outside so as not to interrupt.

Stuart said, “It hurts, doesn’t it? It’s not fair, is it?” Japha shook her head ‘no’. “No, it isn’t, and I know. Oh, darling, I know it hurts. It hurts because you loved Mrs. Whiskers. It hurts because the love you have for her was real. And there’s no way around that. It’s the price we pay for loving anything, but especially noble creatures like Mrs. Whiskers.”

They talked a while longer, eventually it was time for bed. Portia sat next to Japha on her bed. “Tomorrow will be easier. It doesn’t mean you loved Mrs. Whiskers any less. You just find a way to live without them. In time, you will understand sweetie.” Portia kissed her daughter on her forehead and her parents sang her a lull-a-bye. “Portatela, angeli” and Japha went to sleep.

BACK TO THE PRESENT

But what they faced now, none of them had experienced before. There were so many people here. There was a crowd now by the turboshaft. People were shouting and trying to climb up the turboshaft. There were four marines stationed at the turboshaft and they were trying to maintain order. Suddenly, the whole ship groaned. It was a ghastly sound too. As if the ship’s bones were aching. The deck plating seemed to vibrate.

Stuart knew that meant there was grievous damage to the hull, maybe even to the spaceframe itself. He decided to go back to their quarters and grab his toolkits. He could at least be helpful with wherever they were going to end up. “No!” Portia called after him. “We’re all staying together Stuart!” He hesitated. “OK. Come on then!”

The family ran back to their quarters. There was no power back here this far on deck thirty-one. Stuart ducked into their quarters and stated rummaging about. From down the corridor, where the emergency evacuation center was, there was a horrid sight. The deck was pulling apart! Portia saw the structural integrity forcefield pop on and she could hear and feel her ears pop and the air rush out. “STUART!!”

Stuart Barrows dropped everything. He ran back into the corridor. There were a dozen people still here in their quarters, not knowing where to go or too injured to get there. Japha started crying – she was afraid. Stuart grabbed Japha from her feet and then grabbed the hand of his wife and they ran towards the next section. But it was too late.

The emergency bulkhead sealed, and the door closed!

“NOOO!!” Stuart and Portia pounded on that door. But there was nothing that any of the other civilians on this deck could do to help them. “YOU HAVE TO GET THE DOOR OPEN! OPEN THE DOOR! OPEN THE DOOR!” he shouted angrily to the people on the other side. “Shoot the door! Get the marines to shoot the door!!” The person on the other side of the bulkhead, even though they could not hear Stuart or Portia, or anybody else on that side, understood what was being asked. And they ran like the wind to get a security officer or a marine.

Stuart returned to his family, “They’re coming! They’ll get the door open.”

At the far end of the deck, the crack in the hull widened suddenly. The SIF field failed momentarily and then was re-established. The emergency lights went out and somewhere else, in a different damaged area, atmosphere was venting as something, probably a plasma conduit, exploded and took out a compartment. Stuart and Portia wrapped their arms around their daughter and held on.

The field was re-established and another compartment on this deck was sealed. People were panicking and screaming even worse as they knew that death and the vacuum of space was mere moments away. Stuart looked into Portia’s eyes and she looked into his.

~I’m sorry. I can’t protect you from this~ his eyes said.

~I love you!~ her eyes said in a wordless exchange of two people who love each other deeply.

All around them, as if in slow motion, sparks flew as panels overloaded and erupted into sparks. A fireball from another plasma conduit exploded.

“Daddy?” Japha’s voice, clear as a bell said. “Are we going to die now?” she asked. She looked up into her papa’s face and then at her mama. Portia nodded and said, “Yes sweetie. I’m afraid we are.” Japha considered her answer and then looked back at Stuart. “Will it hurt?” she asked. Stuart answered her honestly, “Only for a moment darling”. Japha looked around and said, “OK, as long as I am with you.”

WHEN TIME STANDS STILL

Stuart started singing to Japha and Portia:

(in Fontalan) Portatela, angeli, attraverso i cieli,
Molto al di sopra di quella pianura azzurra,
Glorioso lì, come te, a salire,
Là, come te, regna per sempre.

(In Standard) Watch over her, angels, across the heavens,
Far above that azure plain,
Glorious there, like you, to rise,
There, like you, may she have a long and happy life.

Stuart, his voice as steady and clear as he could make it as their world fell apart around them. He sang the lull-a-bye that he and Portia sang to Japha earlier when her kitty died.

Portia sat down on the deck and gathered the little child close to her. And Stuart sat down behind his wife and wrapped his arms around them both in a giant hug. Around them was chaos; but they were centered, like a stone in a torrential river, they were solid and grounded.

Just then, the deck twisted at an angle and violently was shifted up. The compartments above them had collapsed on deck thirty. Or…they were no longer there. A beam of duranium came loose and hit the family. It knocked them all against the bulkhead. But it pinned both Stuart and Portia. Stuart had been impaled by the impact. But, with his body, a major part of the beam had been absorbed. Japha, now free from the loving embrace of her parents stood up.

“Daddy! Mommy!” she cried in terror at seeing parents injured and the general destruction around them. She screamed.


DECK THIRTY-ONE – THE OTHERSIDE OF THE BULKHEAD

Captain Woolheater said, “Open this door. We have to get those people out!”

“But sir! The whole deck is coming apart. Their compartment is going to go any second!” another crewman protested.

“OPEN the door!” Sam ordered.

Manually, with a hand crank, the emergency bulkhead was opened. The emergency forcefield had not yet come on. When it did, if you were in the way of the beam – you’d be cut down. “FASTER! Open this god damned door!”

“Trying sir!” two marines frantically worked the gearing. When it was wide enough, Sam and two marines slipped through the door and ran to help get as many as they could out. Sam saw the Barrows family and he knelt beside Stuart and Portia. Stuart was mortally wounded and Portia, while not wounded, was pinned down by the same beam.

Portia saw the look on Sam’s face and then when his blue eyes met hers; she knew the awful truth. Stuart could see Sam’s look too. “Captain? Take my wife and my daughter, please! Get them out of here!”

The deck shuddered again. It was only moments before something else failed on this deck. And they were operating in a freezing cold, nearly dark environment with only flashing red lights to illuminate the gloom.

Samuel said, “I’ll see to it myself.” Sam picked up Japha, who was in tears and terribly afraid. He brought her closer to Stuart who was on the floor and could not move because of the beam. He held the little girl’s hand as her parents said goodbye.

Stuart said, “Japha, honey, you have to go now. I want you to be a good girl. Go with this marine. He is going to take you to someplace safe. You go now Japha. And I will always love you baby! You’re daddy’s girl and I am so very proud of you! Listen to mama and you mind her!”

Portia could see that Stuart was about to break up in tears and she gathered her child and said to Japha, “Mommy loves you Japha! We will always be with you, and we will always love you baby girl!” Portia held her baby girl one last time. Handed her over to Woolheater.

The deck ripped apart now. The SIF field held as the crack expanded. It was the most surreal sight. People, debris and fire all landed on the ever widening, ever thinning SIF forcefield.

The child screamed as Samuel lifter her and pulled her off her parents. He ran for the bulkhead door. Sam handed Japha through the door and another marine took hold of her. Sam turned to look back to see if there was anyone else, he could possibly get to safety. There were people running – but he knew that they would never make it. Before Sam’s eyes, he saw the SIF field collapse and the whole compartment crack open. He dove through the door, his body armor getting a scratch as he was just thin enough to get through. The marines cranked the emergency bulkhead shut again as atmosphere rushed past them at hurricane strength.

Japha made a bolt run for the closing doorway and Sam grabbed her, stopping her as Japha caught sight of her parents on the floor looking back at her; a final farewell. The hardest order Sam ever gave up to this point was next.

“Seal the door. Seal the door now or we lose this deck!” he ordered as he held the child while on his knees.

“MOMMY! DADDY!” Sam could hear her scream and wail. And then, with a whistling sound, a profound silence as the door was sealed and the emergency SIF field energized, sealing that area shut.

Japha whimpered and cried so mournfully, so pitifully, with such sorrow too. Sam was breathing heavy, and he was in shock. He had just made a painful call. A life changing call that changed the life of this little one for the rest of her life. A marine medic came by, she could see that he was troubled.

“Captain? I’ll take her from you sir. I’ll take her to marine country sir? With the other children.” She kindly asked. She pulled little Japha away. Still on his knees, he watched her go, the look on her face.

~My god….what have I done…?~ he thought.



STUART AND PORTIA

The sparks were flying, and the atmosphere was venting as the SIF field collapsed. In the seconds they had left, Stuart put his hand to Portia’s head. Tenderly caressing her ear. And she looks back at him, laid down on her side so that she could kiss him on the lips. She took her hand and touched his face and smiled.

“We’ve had a good life, Stuart. You are so handsome and so loving. I don’t regret any moment of it” Portia said to her husband.

Stuart looked at her and thought that she was so beautiful, “I love you wife. Japha, she will be fine?”

Portia nodded, “She will. She has your heart. I love you husband. See you soon. On the other side.”

Then there was silence. And cold. And then it was over.


DECK THIRTY-ONE – SECTION 49A

“Captain Woolheater? Sir? Doors….are sealed.” The marine said out of breath. The air was thin and life support was mostly off-line.

Sam got to his feet, there was work to be done. “Thank you, Sergeant. Let’s move these people out of here and then…seal off this section too. Give ourselves a buffer.”

“Yes captain. Corporal, you three, get these people on their feet and down to deck thirty-two.” The sergeant ordered.

They began to move people. The sergeant, perhaps more knowing than he let on, put a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “There was nothing you could have done that you didn’t already try to do. You know that right?"

Sam looked at him, “Yes. I know. It doesn’t make it any easier.”

“No sir, it does not.”


[OFF:]

Captain Samuel Woolheater
“Saepius Exertus, Semper Fidelis, Frater Infinitas”
Division VI, MARDET 62nd Company "Spartans", 1st Platoon CO
=/\= USS ELYSIUM - NCC-89000 =/\=

 

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