Comfortably Numb

Posted on Sat Oct 22nd, 2016 @ 4:43pm by Lieutenant Colonel Eleanor Redpath J.D. & Captain Luke Smith

Mission: Bad Moon Rising
Location: Escape Pod 2238-21/USS Hammersley
Timeline: Mission Day 2, 1130

ON:

A wave of light and warmth enveloped Chief Warrant Officer Five Charlie Higgs, almost like it was beckoning to him to come towards it's epicenter. He seemed to float towards the epicenter, a sense of uncharacteristic happiness filling his chest. A small smile floated across his lips.

"We'll finally be together again, Amelia. It's been too long..." he said dreamily, his voice trailing off. A nagging feeling at the back of his mind suggested that something was very wrong but he pushed it away like a rather pesky fly. The warmth grew and spread from his chest to his fingertips and the edge of his toes as he floated towards the soft light. His will to resist was rapidly melting away and Charlie could feel a sensation of pure bliss overcoming him as he slowly slipped away...

Lieutenant Colonel Eleanor L. Redpath, the other tenant of the escape pod too was dealing with the effect of hypoxia. She was starting to lose herself as well, her mind going to a gentler place where she could breath easier and drift away peacefully from the physical world. Her spirit, guide, however was not about to let her die though. She saw it and soon thereafter shot awake once again.

Looking over she saw Higgs. He was not looking so good. Come on Mister Higgs she thought as she used all the strength she had to lift her arms, a PaDD clenched in her hands. She smacked the Chief Warrant Officer with the PaDD. "Stay awake you son of a bitch" she muttered in a brusquely manner. "Amelia can wait. I need you, Mister Higgs" she added bluntly.

Charlie snapped back to reality as he felt the cool metal make an impact against the side of his skull. His eyes fluttering open, he raised himself up against the cramped console. Rubbing the throbbing section of his face, he glared at her. "Why the hell did you hit me? I was napping!" he said thickly, struggling to find his words. He felt a growing buzz in his brain that reminded him of Alderbaran Whiskey. Pulling himself up, he noticed that it was distinctively chilly and the viewport was beginning to frost over, a telltale sign that the carbon dioxide and oxygen mix was getting lower and lower the longer they waited.

"Oxygen levels critical. Forty five minutes oxygen remai-" Charlie slammed his fist against it, causing the voice to distort and stop. Leaning against the console, he checked their communications sensors and tapped the console weakly.

"I'm sending out the distress call again but I'm not seeing anything out there, ma'am." he said, the fatigue evident in his voice.

She looked at the man. "Just keep at it. Federation or not...just keep sending it. Someone will find us" she said. I know it she thought to herself.

Meanwhile nearby, the USS Hammersley was hurtling along at many hundreds of times the speed of light as she had heard the pleadings of help from starfleet officers, both alive and fallen and she would arrive shortly. On her main Bridge. Lt Commander Plataea Yamaguchi regarded the conn officer. "Helm, stand by for impulse speed in five... four... three... two... one."

There was a sudden flash of light as the Hammersley emerged from warp to find four escape pods. "Beam them straight to sickbay." Yamaguchi added, but the command was not necessary, however she added it simply for the record.

Lee headed down to the transporter room, "You there, on the double, scan for lifesigns.....got erm?"

"Aye sir.....locked on."

"=/\= Medical on standby =/\="

"Energise, force field up surrounding the pad." There was a blue blink to depict the force field being erected. "I have no idea where these pods came from, so we'd better quarantine them."

"Aye sir." The flash of blue appeared and then disappeared to reveal the lifesigns.



"Very well Helm, head for the next set of escape pods... same plan as before and engage at maximum warp, when you are ready."

"Aye Commander." the young man seated at conn proceeded with his orders without question or hesitation, moments later the stars elongated into starlines as the Hammersley resumed her course.

Damian stood. This was crunch time- now or never. "Attention all hands, prepare for mass casualties and rescue operations. All shuttles stand by for launch signal." Switching the channel to the transporter room, he motioned for Yamaguchi to listen as well. "We're going to need to go manual on this and tractor in the pods. We don't know the nature of their injuries, so I don't want to subject them to the shock of transporter use. Understood?" he asked. Transports were risky in any case, especially with the potential for bringing in outside contaminants. As he prepared to speak again, he was interrupted by a rapid and increasingly urgent alarm.

Whirling around to face the Operations Officer that was now at the station. "What the hell is that?" he asked, his voice becoming more urgent as the alarm became louder. The duty officer turned white and turned around. "Sir, detecting high levels of gamma radiation close to a set of the pods."

Damian nodded, taking in details. "Origin?"

The operations officer gulped slightly as his hands danced across the console. Damian tapped his foot impatiently, this was nothing to play around with and this young man was taking forever. Turning from the console, he looked to Damian, his face now white as a sheet and dripping fine beads of sweat. "Sir, the radiation has a Federation signature from a fusion reactor."

Damian ran his hand through his hair. There were very few facilities that used fusion reactors and the only one he could think of on this side of the galaxy was Starbase 900. "Initiate radiation scrub procedures and quarantine that shuttle bay now! Get the teams suited up and have the dosimeters ready on the double!" he said before he rose from his chair and headed for the turbolift.

"Commander Yamaguchi, you have the ship." Damian ordered before the turbolift doors closed in front of him. Thoughts were now racing through his mind at a million kilometers per second. He was now faced with mounting rescue operations that probably would stretch their resources and their sanity to the limit.

Yamaguchi nodded "Aye Captain." The middle aged Halanan woman responded before she came around from her station, before she sat down in the command chair. She slowly smiled. "Steady as she goes helm." she commented softly as she relaxed and allowed her people to work.

"Commander. We're coming up on the second set of escape pods."

"Stand by... and Initiate touch and go downwarping. Beam those escape pods aboard and then head for the third group of pods."

"Aye Commander... All stop.. in two... one."

There was a bright flash which had the effect of announcing to everyone nearby that a ship had arrived. Yamaguchi held her silence as she thought.
'Hold on guys help is coming.'

=====Escape Pod 2238-21=====

Charlie peered out of the viewport and blinked twice as he thought that he was hallucinating. There was a silver shining form in the distance with signature red tipped nacelles. Shivering against the intense cold, he elbowed Redpath and pointed in the direction of the form ahead of them. "I think it's an angel, Colonel. The most beautiful I've ever seen." he said, his teeth chattering and his every word coming out in a puff of cold mist.

She was barely with it anymore, but Eleanor managed to have a look. "Aye" she said softly as she started to lose herself once again, slipping away into the emptiness of her mind. Her thoughts were solely on finally being rescued.

Meanwhile on USS Hammersley's bridge. Plataea watched in silence as the people around her worked at their assigned tasks while the rescue effort proceeded, she was seated at the center of a maelstrom of work and effort. "Helm?"

"I have them sir." came the response as Plataea smiled softly as he turned and nodded to the Ops officer.

"On our way Commander." the conn officer smiled.

=====Escape Pod 2238-239=====

Lieutenant Michael Emerson slowly blinked his eyes. "Uhh... I hate... small... confined spaces..." he muttered softly aloud as the two female officers with him shifted their positions, it was cold and while the Andorian Shen didn't seem to mind, the human female however did mind. "Cold... so cold.."
she whispered.

"Think... rescue will come?"

"I dunno." Emerson whispered. "Save your oxygen.."

"Mm....Wait.. whats that?" she asked softly as she indicated a large white dot that seemed to move on its own. "No.. can it be?"

Emerson shifted his head as he blinked, before his eyes opened wide. "I don't believe it..." he paused. "Thats... thats a Federation ship."

"Allah be praised!." the female responded quietly as their escapepod was beamed aboard the Hammersley.

Emerson sighed softly as he looked out the viewport, he found he was looking at the inside of a Federation ships main hanger bay.
It was too small to be a Vikrant or a Pathfinder, maybe a Sovereign or a Kelvin Two, Emerson thought to himself.

"Yay!" the Andorian cheered as someone opened the hatch, in flooded what seemed to be hot air but it was in actuality, normal room temperature. "Alright... Four alive." the medic who entered smiled. "Hey guys... I'm glad to see you."

"Not as glad as we are to see you Chief." Emerson smiled happily. "Do I dare ask?"

"No." The Chief responded. "Come on... Let's get you guys down to sickbay.. I think the skipper will want words with you all."


:OFF