Spot Me
Posted on 26 Feb 2021 @ 12:38pm by Commander Calliope Zahn & Lieutenant JG Rhiannon Hokir
Mission:
M1 - Emergence
Location: Marine Checkpoint
Timeline: MD07 ~0920
951 words - 1.9 OF Standard Post Measure
“Don’t peel out of your space suits yet.” Calliope projected her voice to the rest of the command center team after she and Corvus came to a decision on the next moves to be made. “This position isn’t defensible, so we’re not getting comfortable. We need to make the trip to the Infirmary where the marines have established a post and we can regroup.”
Ensign Wiser uttered a reaction. “But Medical is completely on the other end of the station!”
“I’m glad you’ve been reading the specs, Ensign. Yes. Medical is a couple thousand decks below us. But that’s not the difficult part. The difficult part is we can’t float through the primary utility ring. We suspect the hottest engagement with the boarding parties are underway there. So.” Calliope clapped the helmet she was holding. “We’re going to break up into four teams of six and walk around the utility ring.”
“Uh-uh-uh-outside?”
Calliope felt a little bad. She hadn’t caught that particular nauseated ensign’s name yet. “Yes. along the hull.” She put a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye. “You handled the free fall without a hitch. And I know for a fact you’ve all had zero-G and space walk simulations. You wouldn’t have been cleared for duty if you hadn’t. You can do this.”
“I can do this,” he echoed, almost enchanted. As he said it, he knew it to be true. He *had* been through zero-g sims in boot camp, and if the Commander said that was sufficient, it somehow imparted confidence in that training.
Calliope looked around at all of the staff standing there. “You can all do this. If we make a straight line to our destination, we should be back inside within ten minutes. Once clear of the utility ring, we can drop down the remainder of the stem, the same way we got here. I’ll be breaking off from the group to lend help in Maintenance. There’s some gear here that might be helpful below. We don’t want to get too weighted down, but since most of our movements will be zero-g and free fall, you won’t really be breaking your backs to offer to carry something.” To demonstrate, Calliope picked up a phaser rifle and strapped it over her shoulder, then latched a set of charging packs to her utility belt. “Line up to get geared up, and broken up into teams.”
As they did so Calliope stood back, waves of lightheadedness pulsing stronger and stronger like an oncoming tide. She looked at her hands, trying to move the fingers but they weren’t responding. It felt like they weren’t even her own fingers. Everything was haloed in a fuzzy light... And then there was a piercing sensation like a stake between her eyes and a sound like the gain on the marines’ radio was spiking inside of her skull. She took a moment alone to grit her teeth and breathe. It gradually relaxed and when she opened her eyes again, Calliope saw the dark eyes of Lieutenant Hokir staring at her.
Rhiannon was on the verge of encouraging the jittery ensign when she was caught off guard by a wave of … something. Pain, disorientation, and a fear coming not from the man before her, but from Commander Zahn. Turning, she went to the woman. “Commander,” she murmured, reaching out to lightly grasp the slender arm encased in its bulky sleeve, as if to steady her.
“Hokir. Of course.” She said as if an obvious answer had just presented itself. “Come here, I need you.”
Blinking, she nodded, allowing the Commander to draw her aside. “How can I help, Ma’am?”
“How well do you know transporter filter protocols?”
“Well, I haven’t unintentionally morphed anything yet.” Her mouth quirked, but seeing that the joke didn’t seem to penetrate the mild fugue, Rhian nodded. “I know my way around just about any transporter the Federation can throw at me. Filter protocols are more or less universal across the board so I am sure I can assist with whatever you have in mind.”
“You’re coming with me on my little side quest. Because you’re the best person for this job sans myself.” And Calliope knew that Hokir intuited what she was afraid of. That the mission might have to be carried on *sans her*. Hopefully though, they’d both be able to steal twice the number of disruptors from the enemy together like a couple of prankster school girls. “Our goal is to get access to the grid control relay, fire up sensors and transporters and filter out weapons from enemy signals. Are you good with a phaser?”
“I can handle them just fine if I remain stationary, but my aim tends to deteriorate when I start to move around.” Rhian bit her lip a moment before adding, “Are you well, Commander?”
Calliope wasn’t sure how to answer that head on question. She’d been arguing against anything being actually wrong for so long that she’d even convinced herself. But now it was undeniable and there was no sense in lying to a telepath besides. “No, something’s wrong. I have… a condition that’s suddenly getting worse. It started in my fingers, and now I’m getting a piercing headache and numbness. It couldn’t have picked a worse possible time to flare up.” She tried to speak plainly-- there was too much at stake to get bogged down right then. “I need your assistance.”
All joking officially aside, Rhian nodded. “You have it, Commander.”