Arriving on the Archimedes

Posted on Sun Jan 2nd, 2011 @ 7:46pm by Lieutenant Jimmy Cooper & Captain Elsie Halliwell & Lieutenant JG Jason Fisher & Captain T'mpest Michaels

2,145 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Looking for the Future in all the Wrong Places
Location: USS Archimedes
Timeline: Current

Transporter Room One, Deck Two
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As the four officers and one civilian materialized in the battered transporter room of the USS Archimedes, only one Archimedes' officer was at the controls: a Vulcan female. As the transport ended, she quickly stepped from the console to greet them.

"Welcome, I am Lieutenant T'alaal, Chief Science Officer aboard the USS Archimedes." She bowed her head ever so slightly, then continued, "My apologies for the lack of a proper welcome, everyone is busy keeping her afloat. Captain Kerr should join us momentarily."

At that opening welcome, Halliwell and her team stepped off the flickering pads and nodded their hellos. Elsie smiled, squintedly, and, as she opened her mouth to speak on behalf of the Ranger, Kerr stumbled through the propped open door, drunk and visibly upset. Halliwell’s eyes widened at the shock of seeing her contemporary in such a state as she quickly hurried over to support him. The odour of malt whisky lay heavily on his breath and Elsie, as she clutched beneath his shoulder to prop him up, arched her head backwards to escape the intoxicating vapours.

“Have… Haves you found my Shonaata?†he asked, slurring.

Elsie looked worriedly about her, and then focused on T’alaal. “Where is your First Officer?†she asked, almost angrily.

T'alaal first looked at her captain with as much worry as disgust. Still, she kept her composure. "Commander Bale has been injured in the attack, and is being treated in sickbay." She took another glance at Kerr, who seemed to be in his own world entirely. "I am the current Second Officer, however..."

“Then,†Elsie barked through gritted teeth, “congratulations on your promotion, Captain.â€

T'alaal nodded without any visible emotion.

Tapping her combage, Halliwell spoke curtly and with a venomous determination that surprised even those who knew her tempestuous nature. “Halliwell to Ranger. Beam Captain Kerr here directly to a set of VIP quarters on our ship. Have a medical attendant see to him but confine him to the room. If he gives you any trouble when he… regains consciousness, contact me.â€

The gruff voice of Commander Drake seemed confused but knew exactly how to follow her orders. “Aye, Ma’am,†he said as she waited.

Kerr, on sluggishly hearing Halliwell’s instructions attempted to narrow his eyes and then with his free left hand began to point and accuse Elsie of mutiny. Within a moment, the blue hue of the transporter particles began to carry the Trill away, along with his echoing protests.

“We have him, Captain,†came the confirmation. “Already out cold.â€

“I swear I’d never relieve any captain of his command, but…†she said underneath her breath and then, speaking into her communicator pin, thanked Curtiss. “Halliwell out.â€

Elsie then straightened up and regarded the Vulcan with her usual and professional manner. “Captain,†she said, now veiling her anger and embarrassment thinly beneath her contempt, “I believe that we have a discussion to hold. I need to know exactly what’s happened here.â€

"Obviously, Captain. I had prepared a presentation in the Ready Room for the Captain to hold, but I can show it to you, as well." T'alaal then faced the other three officers. "After that, a small tour could be in order, I believe some of you are familiar with this ship?"

T'kaarch simply nodded, slightly overwhelmed by the state of his old captain.

"Where is the artifact?" Teegan asked. "And why didn't I get the updates I required?"

T'mpest glared at her. "Perhaps the presentation will answer your question? If not, I’m sure there will be time then for questions."

"Ah, Miss Mar, good to see you again." T'alaal obviously didn't really mean that after what had happened when the Archimedes went to pick the artifact up, but her Vulcan mannerisms refused to betray any emotion. "I will tell you everything we know at the presentation."

“We should get on with it,†Elsie cut in, anxious to know what happened. She looked at T’alaal with worried, almost cautious glint. Halliwell did not relish being unprepared and in this situation, she was ready to regain her footing and at least grasp a handle on the events that had transpired

"Very well then, if you'd please follow me." T'alaal nodded slightly once again, then operated the door's console to open it. "We are still working on the automatic door controls." She added matter-of-factly.


Corridor, Deck Two
______________________

As the small group walked through the corridor towards the turbolift, the extent of the damage was already visible. Most electrical systems and panels were either blown out or repaired provisionally, making it look more like a junkyard then a ship at that point.

All of a sudden, T'kaarch, who was walking at the back, stopped.

T'alaal looked back. "Is there something wrong, Lieutenant?"

"No, no, I..." T'kaarch looked around. It reminded him of something. Like a dream, but more vividly. He had to... confirm something. Without warning, he started running towards Engineering.

"Lieutenant?" T'alaal couldn't hide the confusion in her voice. "Captain?"

Halliwell stopped with the rest of the group mid-corridor. “T’kaarch!†she bellowed, an edge of out-right annoyance lacing her thick voice. But, he didn’t answer. “Lieutenant! Get back here immediately!â€

But by that time, T'kaarch had already skipped around a corner, and was out of reach.

T'mpest was surprised by T'kaarch's sudden departure. It wasn't like him to take off like that. However, he had been on this ship before and must have something pressing he needed to do. So she continued following the others.

Teegan just harrumphed.



Ready Room, Deck One
_________________________

"So they forced us out of warp with the power drain, then attacked us outright to disable most of our systems."

“Did you not attempt to defend yourselves?†Halliwell chimed in with.

"There was not much we could do, they took us by surprise. After they recovered the artifact they just left us for dead. Eventually, we got a few systems back online, and were able to hide ourselves behind the planet with our thrusters."

Captain Halliwell sighed despairingly at what had happened. She doubted that, despite Kerr’s current state of mind, she would have acted differently. Once the ship had been boarded, all was lost. Especially on such a small and vulnerable vessel as the Nova class. “Well, it is definitely the QAR who have attacked you, and until I speak to Captain Kerr, the reason as to why she was abducted, along with the device, is a mystery. If Sonaata wasn’t as decorated as she is, I would consider suspecting her to have a hand in this.â€

She turned to Fisher and T’mpest. “Our next line of thought should be to investigate what we can about this power draining weapon they seem to have gotten their hands on.â€

Lieutenant Fisher chimed in. “Sounds awfully a lot like Dominion weapon used last decade.â€

“My thoughts exactly,†Elsie replied, nodding to him whilst placing a pondering finger on her lower jaw. “Only this seems to be less destructive than the one used in the Dominion War. Maybe, in these past ten years, they’ve managed to refine it.â€

Then, looking at the display T’alaal had created for them, Elsie hypothesised. “From the QAR’s main point of entry on the ship, they seem to have sliced a direct route through to Cargo Bay One where the device was being held. Prior knowledge, do you think?â€

"We do not have any way of ascertaining this at the moment, but it does seem likely they targeted the device specifically."

Teegan was infuriated. "Why didn't you take a shuttle and go after them? How could you let the artifact fall into enemy hands? Have you any Idea how valuable it is to the future of spce exploration?" She couldn't comprehend why they hadn't dropped everything to retrieve the artifact.

Ignoring her entirely, T'alaal switched to the next slide. "As I mentioned before, primary and secondary propulsion systems are off-line. The warp-core is stable, but most electrical systems have been severely compromised, leaving large sections of the ship with only minimal power. The Archimedes is, as humans would call it, 'fried'."

“My Chief Helmsman is shuttling over from the Ranger with supplies, a med-team, and, more importantly it would seem, my Chief Engineer and his team,†Halliwell reassured her. “Rest assured, T’alaal, we’re doing everything we can to assist you. What about the state of your crew?â€

"A number of injuries and burns. Fortunately, no casualties... Apart for the sanity of our captain."

“Hopefully, my doctor can help you with that aspect of your recovery.â€

T'alaal switched to the final slide. "We have managed to provisionally repair the sensors. While we couldn't pick up any sign of the attackers, we have noticed a warp trail - I have made a computer simulation, and the ship would most likely be inside of this nebula." She pointed at a large circle on the star map that had appeared.

"Logical," T'mpest replied. "The QAR likes to use nebulae to mask their location. They recently overhauled an old freighter. I assume they have advanced sensors as well as advanced weaponry."

Halliwell rolled her eyes at the prospect of another four weeks slinking through another barbed nebula. “Then we’ll need to be more cunning then they are to retrieve the artifact… and the crewmember. Any ideas?†she asked vacantly.

T'alaal spoke up. "Captain, I propose we get the Archimedes flying again, then make a plan for the nebula. It's big and, when working, the Archimedes' sensor array should outperform the Ranger's."

"I'm concerned about the time-frame, Lieutenant," Halliwell said, squinting her eyes whilst considering the option. "And let's not write the Ranger's abilities off just yet," she added, jokingly defensive. "With this Sonaata missing, time really is against us, but I am reluctant to leave the Archimedes undefended whilst we go swanning off on a wild goose-chase." She fell silent a moment and exhaled. "I have been in contact with the USS Fairfax and its captain has somewhat unofficially offered his assistance. I suppose there's no harm in forming a Task Group of our very own."

"Very well, Captain, though we will have to sort out the chain of command here."

"Are we?" Halliwell asked, genuinely.

"I meant on the Archimedes," T'alaal answered coolly, not even considering out-powering Halliwell, "at least as long as both the Captain and Commander Bale are out."

T'mpest looked at Halliwell. "It might be a good idea to have the Archimedes along with us. If nothing else, that would give us three ships to triangulate sensor readings in the nebula."

Halliwell looked at both Vulcans and felt, if she were honest with herself, logically out of her depth. She turned to T’alaal first and nodded. “Until I have ascertained the state of Mr. Kerr’s command capabilities, you shall take point here. You are, in fact, the Archimedes’ Second Officer and then next in line.†Then flicking her attention to her more familiar T’mpest she said, “You’re right. I think that we should concentrate efforts here to allow us more reinforcements when we engage the QAR. I’ll have the on-duty Damage Control Specialist beam over and begin work immediately.

T'mpest nodded. "I can help coordinate information, if you'd like."

"See to it," Elsie replied sharply. "Anything to get us back on the road."

"Very well, Captain, I look forward to our working together." T'alaal nodded both to the captain and T'mpest.

Halliwell’s combadge chirped as Drake’s gruff tones thundered through her chest. “Ranger to Halliwell. Captain, Kerr has... roused. And he is not in the greatest of moods, either.†Halliwell rolled her eyes at both Vulcans, tapped her badge and replied “On my way.†She nodded to both officers and said, “You have your orders.†Tapping her combadge again she said simply, “Ready for transport.â€

OFF:

---

Elsie Halliwell,
Commanding Officer, USS Ranger


Coltan Kerr, (Player by Shaunanigans)
Commanding Officer, USS Archimedes


T’mpest Michaels,
Chief Intelligence Officer & Second Officer, USS Ranger


T’alaal, (played by Arie)
Science Officer & Second Officer, USS Archimedes

 

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