"Rescue"
(Previous Post was Jessica's "Survival Guide to P338451, Chapter 3 - Mammals")
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Setting: USS HATHOR, Bridge
The young woman grinned from ear-to-ear as she watched two humanoid forms materialize at the back of the still darkened command deck. It had required a lot of work for the CO to manage this usually simple task and the fact that is had worked had almost been a surprise to Rikar. Without primary power Rikar had been forced to bypass several systems to enable the transporter and perform the rescue as it had been requested.
"Sorry to cut this reunion short," the redhead quickly jumped in with as soon as she confirmed the identity of the two bodies that had been beamed onboard. "I am very happy to see that you have both survived the last 282 days but we are on the verge of a major crisis," Rikar offered as she left her chair and moved closer to the two partially dressed officers. "I was obliged to divert power from all available sources for the transporter to work… therefore our energy supply has been drastically drained and we are minutes away from losing the cloak. Ensign Thomas, as our resident expert in the field of Operations and Engineering, you need to address this issue *now*."
Elliot smiled and nodded as he dashed off the bridge, but not before having shot a gentle smile at the CSciO who stood on the deck half naked, his uniform shirt having been the only thing which covered her bare form.
"Lt. Cmdr. Maya… I need you to figure out a way to restore our sensors so that we can search for the rest of our missing officers," Rikar offered as she shifted her attention to the Shillian. "As urgent as this may be though… I would suggest you get a change of clothes first… I am sure that Ensign Thomas would appreciate getting his shirt back and maybe get some help with our current power crisis," the young woman added before the CSciO could say anything. It had been clear that an interesting story had been behind all of this but unfortunately this had neither been the time nor place for it. Maybe once all of this had been behind them and the crew had returned to NEW ALEXANDRIA would they be able to look back on this mission and share stories. Maybe once they would be away from this cursed world would they be able to look back and feel safe once again.
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E.T. sighed… the CO had not been kidding when she had stated that they had been minutes away from losing their ability to remain unseen, an advantage that the Ensign knew needed to be kept at all costs.
"Could you use an extra set of hands?" Maya asked as the Shillian stepped into the HATHOR's Engineering section, a new uniform now on her form.
"Please tell me that you didn't use the replicator to create that uniform?" Elliot gasped, the thought of using any amount of energy for anything other than the cloaking device having sent shivers down his spine.
The Shillian smiled. "I have learned long ago to always carry extra uniforms on missions. When you are a shape-shifter you never know when a change of clothes will be in order," Maya explained as she approached the COO and handed over his uniform shirt.
"Thanks," the ensign offered as he accepted the offering and allowed his thoughts for a moment to revisit their short time together on P338451. "I could use some help with the computer," the COO quickly continued with for fear that his thoughts would linger on something that he would be best to forget. "The system is working slow and the last thing I need right now is to fight with the computer on safety protocols."
"I will disable the safety protocols and start figuring out how to get the sensors back online," the CSciO replied. "The only reason the Captain was able to get a lock on us with the transporter was your comm.. badge and it would be foolish of us to assume that everyone else was able to hold on to theirs."
"Agreed," Elliot grinned, "but I suspect that not everyone was as quick as you to lose theirs." It was only after the COO had spoken those words that he realised that he had been out of line. Granted their adventure on P338451 had made their closer than shipmates but this had in no way altered the fact that he had been but a mere Ensign to the Shillian who held the rank of Lt. Cmdr.
Maya seemed more than willing to forget what had been said as well as what had happened for her to lose not only her comm. badge but also her entire uniform. A great deal of work had been before them and time had not been on their side.
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=/\= Complete… power failure… in 45… seconds… =/\= the computer announced in its new shaky and slow voice, a further hint as to the trouble that the three officers faced. Even if power could be restored the computer would still be a potential issue and the nearest starbase had been well out of range for a maintenance visit. Hopefully Ensign Thomas and Lt. Cmdr. Maya would be able to perform some magic.
The young woman sat back in her chair and fought the urge to act… anything that she might do could hinder the COO's efforts… so all that the redheaded woman could do had been to wait… and hope.
=/\= Complete… power… failure… in… 30… seconds… =/\=
The computer's voice seemed to become slower with each passing second which only added to the sense of despair the CO felt.
=/\= Commmmmmmmm… plete… powwwwwww… er… failllllllllllll… ure… in… =/\=, and then what little lights had been on went out which plunged the CO in total darkness.
**Guess the time estimate was off…** Rikar sighed to herself as she wondered how long it would take for the HATHOR to be discovered or worst for it to begin burning up in the planet's atmosphere.
When all of the lights returned at full intensity the young woman jumped out of her chair and looked around in exhilarated disbelief.
=/\= Ensign Thomas to Captain Rikar. =/\=
"Go ahead ensign… am I to gather that congratulations are in order?" the CO stated with glee. Had the COO been on the Bridge at that precise moment the redheaded woman would have been ready to hug him.
=/\= Primary power has been restored although it may be shaky for a while… Lt. Cmdr. Maya was rather inventive in her methods of bypassing the computer's safety protocols. I will continue to work on things down here and see if I can't stabilise things a little, =/\= the COO informed, his voice clearly a mixture of joy and uncertainty.
"However you two did it… great work! For the first time in 282 days it looks like things are on our side."
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"We are Grey, we stand between the Candle and the Star, between the Darkness and the Light" 2008 post #014
Stardate: 62232.1530
Setting: USS HATHOR, Engineering
Stardate: 62232.1540
Setting: USS HATHOR, Bridge
Stardate: 62232.1550
Sabrina Jones
Captain Sabrina Rikar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
-Entilza Delenn, Babylon 5
