The Proof of the Puddin'........

Posted on Tuesday 19 July 2016 @ 19:55 by Captain John "Apollo" Barstow, M.D. & Commander Cale Llewellyn DSci & Captain Melody Jones & Lieutenant JG Davina Lidox & Lieutenant Commander David Tan & Commander Caroline Miller & Marine Captain Elias Walker

Mission: Old, New Ship
Location: Various
Timeline: MD7, Morning
3623 words - 7.2 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

Apollo walked on to the Bridge from the turbolift with a smile. He'd managed to find time to talk to his daughter and, though it was only over the comm, eat breakfast with her. Both were something that had not happened very often recently, he had only been able to send her messages. Taking a breath he moved over to the command chair and pulled his red flight jacket closed over the gray shirt of the Starfleet BDU uniform he'd worn and sat down, "alright ladies and gentlemen, let's kick this off. All stations readiness report. Helm, time to Hayes?"

Having met his Family when they were transported across from the USS Galapagos, David had taken them to what effectively was their new home for the foreseeable future. The ship was only hours away from their destination so he knew he couldn't spend too much time away from the Bridge, Commander Barstow had been more than generous in allowing him time to get his Family settled in and he wasn't about to abuse that consideration. After a quick tour of the suite, the girls quickly choosing which bed they preferred, he took a Comm badge off the dressing table and handed it to Lana. he showed them the basics of the rooms and then brought up a schematic of the ship, showing their quarters, and importantly, the rooms that had been set aside for the new school the Captain had been eager to institute.

Finally, checking the time on the chronometer over the door, he hugged his Children and gave Lana a kiss ... "Yuck" Mia and Kenzi said in unison, pursing their lips in a mock kiss. Grinning he left and headed for the Bridge.

~~~~~

Entering form the turbo-lift, Tan could see most of the Bridge Crew were already in place at their stations. He approached the Operations console and relieved his Deputy. taking his seat he checked that there were no outstanding issues from the numerous departments throughout the massive vessel. He looked at the data on the Hayes Proving Grounds, or 'The Rock Garden' as some at the Academy had referred to it on occasion. The 'grounds were essentially a massive gathering of 'rocks' which were the result of two enormous planetary bodies colliding millennia ago, the resulting debris became the rock garden. Everything from a pebble-sized shard, to jagged rock outcrops the size of Earths Moon, all tumbling in their own cosmic dance, and all, from the smallest to the largest, a threat to the Merlin should things go wrong ...

Cale stepped out of his quarters and made his way to the Main Bridge. He wasn't singing this morning as he was suffering from a severe headache though he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. Yet he still needed to report to the bridge this morning. So he bucked up and put himself and wiped the image of pain he wore this morning. Once he made it to the bridge, he stepped off the turbolift, nodded to the command staff and made his way to his station. As he sat down at his console, he called up his analyses on the Proving Grounds and got prepared for the shift ahead of him.

Lidox was at her station updating the map of the hay's asteroid field from all the latest data from all the Starfleet data. She nodded as Cale entered, then looked back at the control panel and pulled up a hologram of the field with 2 routes mapped out on it. 1 for the Marians in red and 1 for the Merlin in blue running through the field.


Melody had been at her post early this morning as there was quite a lot of planning for the manoeuvre that was to follow. "ETA to drop point 5 minutes. Jones to main shuttlebay. Please confirm marine shuttle is loaded and prepared for V launch. The Merlin will drop out of warp for only 4 seconds while shuttle is deployed. We will be returning to the asteroid field after successful launch has been confirmed."

Melody then switched comm channels "Jones to Walker. Are you guys all ready down there?"

Elias hit the comm unit on his EVA suit. "We're just about ready. The last squad is boarding now."

"Sickbay is ready Captain," Caroline said over the comms.

"ETA to drop point now 3 minutes 45 seconds" Melody continued to monitor "Captain, as this is an experimental procedure, some precautions might be advisable as it is possible the IDF generators might not fully compensate for the sudden deceleration and rapid re acceleration. For instance if this were real battle conditions, the ship would already be at red alert."

"Captain, may I be excused to go to Sickbay?" Cale managed to get out between gasps of pain.

"Aye, go ahead, Llewellyn," Barstow replied after looking back to him.

Melody heard her friend suffering and wanted to help, but the upcoming shuttle launch had to take priory for her at the moment as the margin for error was very slim. "Now 3 minutes to drop point."

Caroline was watching the events of the bridge via the computer panel and looking at the science officer who was getting paler and quite clearly in pain. "Captain Llewellyn is not right. Lieutenant, I am going to beam you to sickbay. Standby."

"Copy, Jones, initiate V launch on your mark," the CO replied as the doctors voice broke in. He looked back to see Cale still and his station and furrowed his brow in concern, "copy, Doctor," he said and turned back towards ops, "Tan, monitor science sensors for now."


Sickbay -------------------


The blond doctor watched as the science officer appeared in sickbay, the transporter beam slowly shimmering away. She immediately moved forward pulling his arm over her shoulder helping him get to a bed. "Tera 3 cc of Pretiscideenol," she called to her nurse catching the requested hypo spray as she settled him on a bio bed. "This should help with your breathing." She pressed the hypo to his skin, it hissing slightly before activating her tricorder. As the man below started to regain a little colour and the gasps became less frequent her brow furrowed. So she re ran the results again.

"Thanks Doc. I needed that," Cale said rubbing the injection site knowing there was no need to do so."What's wrong with me?"

"Its strange Lieutenant. The only thing I can see are what look like 2 puncture marks - microscopic in your respiratory system which caused a slow collapse in your left lung which is why you suddenly started struggling to breathe. We can patch that up but will need to get you into a brief surgery. Some of your levels though and those puncture wounds, I would expect to see a parasite as the culprit except nothing is coming up on my scanners. How have you been in the last few days?" she asked.

"Now that you mention it, I have been feeling less than myself lately. It all started when Mel and I went crawling through the Jeffries tube network. I started to experience shortness of breath. I thought it was just my being out of shape."

"No you're not. This thing .... whatever it is did a number on your lungs. Tera, prep theatre one. We are going to repair Lieutenant Llewellyn's lung." She turned back to him. "It will be a short procedure. And I will be knocking you out for a little while. I will run a full cellular body scan while you are out. Highest level, see if I can narrow down where this thing is," Caroline told him.

"Thanks Doc," Cale managed to get out weakly before the sedative took over.

"Guess you get to see my hair again after the little blue hat Lieutenant," Caroline said softly as the man fell into unconsciousness.

With only minutes before they attempted the drop, David checked his panel again. Nothing stood out, no issues ... 'Calm before the storm maybe' he thought to himself wryly ... He checked Stellar Cartography bringing their readings up. he could see a tactical three dimensional view of the Proving Grounds now realizing how vast the area of planetary and stellar debris was drifting out ahead of the massive USS Merlin. He could see the red and blue plot trajectories for the Marines and the Merlin herself. They separated quickly, the Marine plot terminating on one of the larger asteroids, while the Merlin would maneuver through the asteroid field making scans and eventually turning around to take back the Shuttle.

Several of the larger asteroids were almost stationary, relatively speaking of course, while some of the smaller, much more dangerous to the ship, spun in erratic parabolae, impacting each other, some shattering into smaller, albeit slow moving rocks, while others transformed into deadly projectiles, arrowing through the field as if intent on destruction ..... He checked the panel before turning to the Captain.

"Nothing showing on my board Commander, we're good to go." .....

"Thank you, Ops. Helm and and Strat Ops, it's your show ladies, get us started," John said with a smile and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "Tan, give me a view of the shuttlebay on the main viewer."

David made the required view change on the main view-screen ... They could now see the length of the expansive Shuttle-bay. Craft were secured on either side, and there, seemingly meters from the unfathomable drop at the edge of the 'bay, was the shuttle containing the Marine contingent as it hovered less than a meter from the deck plates awaiting orders. The door had been raised and now only the force-field was separating the shuttle from open space, or more precisely, the myriad of jagged, tumbling rocks beyond.

Lidox opened up a com channel to launch bay. "Manoeuvre your shuttle into position Lieutenant. Just like we practiced on the holodeck." Said Lidox then looked over to Lieutenant Jones "Watch the kick from the shuttle bay Mel."

Melody watched as the shuttle moved into position. "ETA now one minuet thirty seconds. Shuttle in position and standing by. All hands this is the bridge, V launch test in 1 minute 20 seconds. Prepare for sudden deceleration."

The seconds ticked away as the tension on the bridge mounted.

"ETA now 30 seconds. My board shows green Captain, shuttle in position. Jones to Walker, Standby. Force field, warp drive and shuttle impulse control all synchronised with main computer."

John looked to the XO station, "OOD, keep an eye on them," he ordered then slapped his comm badge, "engineering, thirty seconds, monitor the engines close, I don't want to blow anything out."

"Aye, Captain," answered Lieutenant Tamlin as he rose from the XO's seat and walked to the center of the bridge and said, "Status report from all stations."

Melody double checked her readouts "Helm ready."

"My panel is showing all green." Tan confirmed. On his panel he could see the Forward view from the ship, there, far in the distance, but still visible even at warp, was the Hayes Proving Grounds. They would reach them in less than sixty seconds now, dropping from warp for a minuscule time while the shuttle departed. He had never witnessed such a manoeuvre before, though saying that, not many had outside a simulator or holo-deck. He wondered if it would become standard deployment practice if successful. Eyes flicking from the main view-screen to the much smaller image of the forward cam, he waited for the next move ...

What they were attempting was extremely dangerous, both for the shuttle containing the Marine contingent, but for the Merlin too ..... They were about to pass through what was essentially a massive field of jagged, randomly moving rocks, any of which could cause serious damage. Helm had plotted the course with precision, and it would need to be. The Proving ground was approximately zero point five AU in length and depth, with a path that threaded from entry to eventual exit on the other side. But they weren't going to do this once, because as soon as they cleared the rock field they would turn around, allowing Stellar Cartography to run countess scans. They would be in contact with the Marines at all times as they landed on one of the larger asteroids. They had chosen one roughly half the size of Earths Moon ... On his panel he brought up a view of the interior of the shuttle. He could see the Marines and could even see the shimmering force field only meters ahead of the craft.

He silently wished them luck .....

~~~The Shuttle~~~

"How do we look?" Elias asked the pilot from the co-pilots chair.

"Everything is green Lieutenant. We're just waiting now."

"Wonderful. I hate to wait. It's like giving fate a free ticket to make this all go wrong" Elias grumbled.

"Final launch checks complete" Melody too a deep breath and held it. It was now or never "All hands, prepare for all stop in 3.......2.......1.......NOW!" The Merlin rapidly decelerated to a full stop, as the atmospheric force field was doped and the shuttle was shot out the launch bay like a bullet from a gun. As the shuttle cleared the bay, the shuttles impulse engines automatically engaged.

Melody was monitoring closely from the bridge. "Shuttle clear, force field re activated. Warp speed in 2.....1......Engage."

The Merlin now shot back into warp.

Melody let out a big sigh of relief "V launch successful Captain. Altering course back to the asteroid field and slowing to one quarter impulse power."

"Excellent job, Lieutenant Jones. No, I take that back. You all performed brilliantly. I'm putting you all in for commendations," said Lieutenant Jesus Tamlin from the command ridge, His face beaming. "If only I could have been part of that," he thought to himself. But as Officer of the Deck, he was merely a backup for the XO and since they didn't have an XO that made him acting Executive Officer.

Barstow stood and nodded, "I agree, outstanding job," he said looking from Jones to Lidox, giving each a brief nod, "we'll have to keep the Lidox maneuver on our list as we venture out," he added with a grin, "Tamlin, get me a sit rep on the Marines, make sure it was a smooth ride. Lieutenant Lidox, once we're back at the asteroid field drop fighters. Lieutenant Tan, I'd like you to coordinate with security about the drills we talked about before you moved. Use any areas of the ship you need except engineering and sickbay."

David confirmed the order then turned back to his console. It was going to be difficult to simulate a bio-hazard incident without involving Sick-bay, but at least he could begin with the Intruder Drill .... Over the next ten minutes he made numerous inputs to his console, and transferred them to various sub-processors throughout the massive Merlin. Satisfied, he tapped the 'Activate' tab on his touch screen and sat back. One minute later sensors picked up an unidentified object on the hull. He scanned the area but could see nothing, yet there was the proof, 'something' had attached itself to the outer hull and was now burrowing it's way in. A moment later a second, then third, then fourth mysterious addition was discovered.

He waited patiently for the Deputy Security Officer to contact him ... It took all of fifteen seconds:

=^= Security to Bridge .. Intruder alert ! .. .. .. =^=

=^= Report Lieutenant =^= Tan said.

=^= We have multiple breaches .. Unknown at this time as to who they are .. But they burrowed through the hull without our knowing .. There could be an unknown number already inside the ship =^=

=^= Assign Security to 'ALL' Level One area's of the ship .. Seal off access to the Bridge until instructed to remove .. Use the remaining Marine contingent as back-up .. Erect force-fields on all decks and restrict turbo-lift movement to Senior Personnel only .. I will inform the Captain =^=

He sat back in his seat, picturing Security running round trying to locate the fictional intruders. Then after a few moments he tapped 'activate' once more. The Security Officer was on the Comm in seconds:

=^= Yates to Bridge .. Primary location now unoccupied .. They must be moving throu .. .. the shi .. .. =^= he stopped speaking, too busy coughing and dropping to his knees.

=^= Lieutenant ! =^= Tan said, already fully aware of what was happening to the man, he was confused, disorientated, and ready to vomit.

=^= Bio haz .. .. ard contam .. .. ination registe .. .. ring .. .. Decontam .. .. .. =^=

=^= We are scanning Lieutenant .. Whoever came aboard brought an airborne viral pathogen similar to the one causing Irumodic Syndrome .. .. Recommendations Lieutenant ? =^=



"Lieutenant Jones, once fighters are out take us out, full impulse and start your run through the asteroid field on the course you and Lieutenant Llewellyn selected. Tamlin, you have the Bridge, I need five minutes," Barstow said and walked into the Ready Room before slapping his comm badge, "Barstow to Miller, is Llewellyn alright?" he asked as the doors closed behind him.

"Aye, Captain. Tamlin to Walker, I need a sit rep on your jump ASAP," Tamlin wasn't sure how this position was going to fit into the command structure when the Captain approached him about it but now he was pleased to see it was all coming together.

"Captain its nurse White here. Dr Miller is in surgery. We are having to repair a collapse in lieutenant Llewellyns left lung. It shouldn't be too long. I can get her to report to you as soon as the procedure is finished."

Barstow nodded as the alarms sounded, "thank you, Nurse. Don't worry about it, I'll just come down to look in on him after we finish our test run," he said and turned, walking back onto the Bridge, "report," he ordered as he moved to the command deck and turned to face the viewscreen, standing with his hands clasp behind his back.

"Intruder and Bio-hazard drills underway." David said, turning to face the Commander before continuing his report, "Deputy Chief of Security Yates is currently coordinating the search for the intruders, but has been somewhat 'hampered' by a pathogen thought to have been introduced by the intruders ... All Main Departments should now be sealed off with access to Senior Staff only. The Bridge is cut off and turbo-lifts have been rendered inoperative. Yates should be able to confine our intruders to the two decks where they initially breached. Given our time-frame, and our return through Hayes, I suggest we flush the relevant decks with a synthetic peridaxon stimulant in five minutes, unless you want the Bio drill to continue during pick-up ? ... The intruder alert can run independently, and personnel reassigned to normal duties should they be required."

Apollo nodded, "let's keep them going during pick up, but monitor them closely during pick up. I want to stress test, but if it starts getting to dangerous to do both stop the drill."

"Aye Sir ...." David said, turning back to his panel then suddenly realizing a possible issue, he turned back to Commander Barstow, "Sir, I'll need to release the lock-down on the Shuttle-bay ... At this point Lieutenant Yates and his personnel are attempting to comb Decks eight and fourteen, the supposed breach points, despite their incapacitated state due to the gas. We shouldn't have any issues." it suddenly occurred to him that he had an opportunity here, one he decided was almost 'too' risky given the current activities, but he decided to press on. He tapped the comm link to the Deputy Chief Security Officer:

=^= Bridge to Lieutenant Yates .. We are recycling atmosphere in your sector .. You should be recovering momentarily .. .. Be aware .. .. We have received information that the Marine contingent currently off-ship have been compromised by the intruders .. Have a detachment of your personnel en-route to the main shuttle-bay but do not ingress .. You will allow the Shuttle to land and await further orders .. Bridge out =^= he eyed the Commander, wondering what his reaction would be to his, 'scheme' ...

Bastow raised an eyebrow, "you're aware the Marines are landing and will be an hour or more, correct?" John asked to make sure, not wanting to countermand the Ops officers orders because the CO did let him take lead on the security end of the drill.

"I'm well aware Commander. I've already made arrangements for the Shuttle-bay doors to be raised and the Security Personnel to be ready, they will be shocked, hopefully, by the fact that no shuttle actually arrived, and despite data to the contrary there will be no shuttle. The Marine contingent will still be on the asteroid, but once Security realise that the intruders are in fact fictitious, they will relax somewhat. Once the shuttle arrives back, or more precisely, moments 'before' it docks, they will detect an alien presence. contact with the ship will be cut off, so it will be down to Security on our end to react, with Medical covering the bio-pathogen, The Marine Commander will need to make a decision, and quickly .. Do they dock and exfil, or do they back out and regroup .... With the Bridge completely cut off, Department Heads will need to think for themselves." David said, wondering how the CO would react .....

"Alright," Apollo replied with a nod, "just make sure if you make any changes to that you let me know, and be ready to call it if something happens, I don't want anyone pushed to far towards breaking in case the Marines run into trouble," he added with a smile.

"Sir." David replied .....

OFF:


Commander John "Apollo" Barstow
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant jg David Tan
Chief Operations Officer

Lieutenant, jg Cale Llewellyn
Chief Science Officer

1st Lieutenant Elias Walker
Marine Commanding Officer

Lieutenant jg Melody Jones
Chief flight control officer

Lieutenant JG Davina Lidox
Chief Strategic Operations Officer

Lieutenant JG Caroline Miller
Chief Medical Officer