YE/D99 - Ancillary Locations

[Paul]

==

[Scarlett Papaver]

== Deck 6 – Sensor Maintenance ==

When the Yeager had approached the system, the scans had shown them an astrophysicists playground. Papaver had seen the particle fountain and knew instantly that any paper she wrote based on any research from it would probably give her the Zee-Magnees Prize just for the title alone.
But there were even far more interesting anomalies out there that needed to be recorded before she moved on to something so mundane as a particle fountain.

To ensure that the resolution was the absolute best the ships extensive sensor suits could provide, she'd headed down to the sensor maintenance suite to fine tune the already near perfect sensors to even better.
The doors had barely opened when the deck lurched hard, and she was thrown against the door jam striking her head and more worryingly, the bridge of her nose which instantly split and began bleeding profusely as the lighting around her changed to red, and the sounds of klaxons only served to disorientate her further.

Her hand went up to her face a second too late, and she felt the sticky wetness just as the shock set in and she felt suddenly weak as she lost her balance grasping for some kind of support that wasn't there. She hit the deck unimpeded, the wind knocked from her as the doors closed again.

== Oopsy daisy... ==

[Artemis d'Tor'an]

== Aeroshuttle Bay ==

Art knew there was no getting near the actual site of ground zero, and was proven correct when she saw what waited for her and her small team. Conditions had gotten worse the closer they got, and the air where she stopped was thin, but breathable.

Throwing a glance at Alden, she thought that him grabbing the O2 tanks had been a smart idea, even if she had chosen style over substance, swiftness over preparedness. It was good that Beinn was with them; it was a blessing from Sto’vo’kor really, that he was both a warrior and a medic.

“d’Tor’an to Bridge,” Art coughed out. “Investigating the scene now. What the hell was that?!”




==Ok, GM:
What do d’Tor’an, Beinn, and Alden encounter on this deck?
--What color is the fire? (plasma fire is green)
--What is the visibility?
--How much ship damage / debris is there?
--Do they see any injured crew?
--Is there a giant sucking hole to space, or have automatic forcefields worked?  ==

[GM-04]

The heat was intense, the smoke thick and black. Melted duranium and polymer spewed toxic fumes into the air. Through the smoke, two fires were immediately visible - one the standard yellow and orange of a fire consuming fuel and oxygen, the other the acid-green of a plasma fire from a ruptured EPS conduit.

With so much smoke in the area, visibility was almost zero. There were no injured crew immediately visible, but they were likely on the other side of the smoke and flames.

The damage was extensive, small fragments of debris littered the floor, but appeared to be contained. Further and more extensive debris would be more likely the closer they got to the dock area itself. 

There was no distinctive whine of emergency forcefields, and given that the area maintained atmosphere, the hull appeared to be intact.

[Leo Alden]

The heat pressed against Leo’s skin like an open oven door. Even at the edge of the blast radius, the air was stifling, thick with smoke and acrid fumes from burnt polymers and melted duranium. He squinted into the darkness ahead, where only the angry flicker of fire, one orange and the other a searing, unnatural green, cut through the haze.

His breath caught in his throat, stinging with every inhale. He reached down and quickly secured one of the oxygen masks he'd brought, pulling it over his face until the gentle hiss of airflow gave him something clean to breathe. Mask sealed, he stepped closer to the fire.

“Anyone in there?!” he called out, voice muffled but forceful. “Hello… call out if you can hear me!”

Turning back to d’Tor’an, throat still tingling from the fumes, Leo spoke, husky, uncomfortable. “Chief, can we get the EPS shutdown in this section to help get the fire out? I don't think we stand a chance while there's still plasma flowing through it.”

He faced the inferno again. Even in the dim emergency lighting, he had to watch every step, fragments of bulkhead plating and scattered debris made the deck uneven and treacherous. One wrong move could twist an ankle or worse.

The fires danced ahead, alive and hungry. Leo adjusted his grip on the portable extinguisher and moved nearer to the blazing orange fire, the one he might actually be able to do something about.

As he sprayed the suppressant toward the base of the flames, he kept glancing back at d’Tor’an and Beinn, looking for their next move. He was scared, halfway to panic if was honest with himself, but trying to make headway regardless. They couldn’t stand there long. There were people that needed saving… whether they'd survived or not.

== Tags ==


== GM Input == A) Was there any response from beyond the fires to Leo’s shouts?
B) Is his extinguisher doing anything to reduce the size of the ‘normal’ fire?

[Pax Cassidy]

<<<< Engineering <<<<

Cassidy arrived at the wall of flame that had consumed the aeroshuttle bay. The young security midshipman was calling into the inferno, hoping to hear back from anyone trapped inside. Cassidy had dealt with burn victims before, but he’d never had to charge into a fire himself. His implants could withstand extreme environmental conditions, but unfortunately his organic body could not. He would need a heat resistant EV suit.

Cassidy tapped his combadge. “Cassidy to Manx: prepare to receive multiple casualties with severe burns. Hopefully not including myself.”

== GM Input: Is there a locker with environmental suits? If so, Cassidy will put one on and charge inside ==

[Mika Bowman]

A quick reply was given from the Caitian doctor.

[Acknowledged.]

[Artemis d'Tor'an]

It was, of course, Peter who answered her. “Jensen here. We’re trying to ascertain that at the moment. Proceed, but proceed with caution.” Art wondered how much of that warning had to do with his feelings towards her, and his knowledge that she tended to act before thinking.

Either way, before Art was something the First Officer could only read on sensors: almost zero visibility lie ahead, the smell of toxicity thick in the air. Red, orange, and green flames peeked through the smoke, giving the officers a hint of what was beyond the smoke. Granted three lungs by her genetics, Art could undoubtedly hold her breath longer than the others that stood with her, but it wasn’t just a case of holding one’s breath: the body had to work its other muscles to withstand the heat, the pain, and the inevitable moving of heavy objects, including whatever persons they may find.

“The only good thing,” Art spoke loudly over the roar of the fire as they inched closer, “is at least this means everything didn’t get sucked out into space!”

Alden was putting his mask on, and Art in turn began taking slow, deep breaths in preparation to head in. The Midshipman called out, and as the two got closer, Art had the sinking feeling that the only way to know what was in there was to go in there. The newest member of her team turned to her, posing the idea of shutting down the EPS conduits. The CO grimaced and nodded, touching a hand to his shoulder and hiking a thumb back to where they came.

“Get clear and coordinate that with Engineering,” she ordered, “I’ll dip in and see what we have.” The Klingon turned to Cassidy, frowning. Though his bulk was useful in a fire, it would be of little use here. “If I’m not back in five minutes,” she told him, pausing as she considered the possibilities, “tell them to vent the atmosphere.”

And, stupidly, Artemis took in one last deep, deep breath and bent her head, walking quickly and steadily into the fire.



==Tags to Alden and Cassidy

Questions for the GM:
- If there were any responses to Alden’s shouts, does Art find anybody in that immediate direction?
- Does Art bump into anything / anyone?
- (Asking for it here) Does anything fall on Art? ==

[GM-04]

==Alden==

There was no reply to his calls. Whoever was beyond the flames was unable to respond.

Fortunately the extinguisher was doing some good keeping the flames under control. Another extinguisher would be required to douse the flames entirely, but for now it was no longer at any risk of spreading.

==Cassidy==

The equipment lockers in this area were on the other side of the flames. Aeroshuttle missions often required specialist equipment, so lockers had been placed in the bay itself. The closest environment suits were two decks up at the nearest airlock.

==D'Tor'an==

Half-blinded by smoke and skin already starting to blister from the intense heat, D'tor'an made it at most ten feet before her foot caught something and brought her crashing down to the deck. It was a body, unmoving and not breathing. Even through the stench of smoke and melted equipment, her Klingon olfactory senses detected the scent of blood. Human blood. Lots of it.

The ceiling, fortunately, appeared to have retained structural integrity. She was in no danger of being crushed, but if she dallied too long, life-threatening burns were a very real possibility.

[Leo Alden]

The extinguisher hissed in Leo’s grip as he swept it across the base of the flames. The orange fire in front of him began to recede, not out, but weakened—controlled. He adjusted his footing, careful on the scorched deck plates, eyes flicking through the smoke.

Still no sound from beyond the fire.

His heart thudded in his ears, louder now that the immediate flames weren’t roaring quite so violently. Chief d'Tor'an had vanished into the haze moments ago. One minute? Maybe less? The smoke distorted all sense of time.

He couldn’t see her. Couldn’t hear her either. No comm click, no shout, no sound of boots moving across metal. But she’d told him to get clear. To contact Engineering.

Right. Orders.

Leo stepped back a few meters from the roar of the fire and tapped his combadge. “Alden to Engineering. Requesting immediate EPS shutdown to the Aeroshuttle Bay and surrounding sections. We won't get the Plasma fire out while the EPS is still active and there's a high risk of more fires if we don’t.”

He paused. Hesitated just a second before he added, “We’ve got at least one missing officer unaccounted for. Fire’s partially controlled, but we need EPS offline now or we’ll lose any chance of recovery.”

He glanced toward the flames again. Still nothing. Was she through? Was she okay? His mind was racing. His first real emergency, not a holodeck program where he knew everyone would be safe. His hands began to shake as he stepped upto the somewhat diminshed flames once more and started to use the remainder of the cylinder he had been using. As he swept the contents of it side to side across the base of the flames, he glanced over his shoulder to where Art had been standing. He definitely picked up two cylinders, but did he carry the second one down too? He couldn't focus properly.

The CMO wasn't just stood there, he appeared to be looking for something. But nonetheless, it would be quicker for him to pass the next can over than walk back for it.

“Sir” Leo shouted at Cassidy. As much as he looked like he could year his arms off without thinking about it, now was not really the time for niceties. “Hand me that extra extinguisher.”

As the extinguisher in his hand grumbled and spat out the last of its contents, Leo reached a hand back in Pax's direction waiting for him to hand over the next canister.

Don’t go running in. Not yet. She said five minutes.

Waiting for Cassidy, Leo looked back into the lessened inferno to see whatever he could. Still no sign of d'Tor'an, no voices or shouting had come back. 3, maybe 4 minutes before Pax had to vent the atmosphere.

Surely he can't? He wouldn't. Would he?

== Tag Cassidy and Art ==

[Kal-Geal Beinn]

Lt Beinn emerged from a crawlspace, looking ruffled but also wearing a breathing mask. It seemed that Kal-Geal didn't like smoke inhalation that much, especially from burning polymers. Seeing Art charge into the fire, Kal-Geal swore at her in Klingon, before pulling out his tricorder. He used the life sensors on his tricorder to sync up with his own aim of what looked like a set of darts, but was a number of transporter tags. He tossed one at where he hoped Art was, before scanning for other lifeforms inside of the burning bay and trying to aim transporter tags at them as well.

"Midshipman. Grab the extinguisher on my belt and use that one instead. With the tags and your aim, we should be able to get people out of there, as well as keep our Chief safe."

Kal-Geal hoped that Art wouldn't melt inside of the flaming room, but enhancing the transporter resolution without having internal sensors meant that those tags would be a necessity.

==GM Input: Is Kal-Geal able to scan for lifeforms and toss some transporter tags so that the transporters can lock onto them?==

[Jadaris]

A voice came back over Alden's commbadge,

[Engineering to Alden. There should be a secondary EPS bypass on the deck. Flip the master switch and put bypass array's isolinear chip into the emergency bypass slot to shut off that EPS conduit. If we shut down the complete grid, we won't have the power to keep anything else running.]

[Pax Cassidy]

Cassidy was out of luck. The EV suits were on the other side of the aero shuttle bay, somewhere behind the intense glow of flame. The next closest suits were two floors above them. They might as well be on Azati Prime. He locked eyes with the Chief of Security and instantly understood what she would do next.

“If I’m not back in five minutes,” she told him, pausing as if in thought, “tell them to vent the atmosphere.”

“To hell with that, you’ll never carry two people out of there by yourself.” Cassidy barked. It was futile, of course. He could tell that there was no stopping her.

Alden asked him for something, but Cassidy could barely hear him over his own thoughts. Beinn appeared and seemed to offer him a fire extinguisher from his belt.

“Jadaris, I’m following Artemis into the fire to look for our people. If the time comes, do what’s best for the ship.” Cassidy said, tapping his combadge. He took a deep breath and followed behind d’Tor’an. He closed his left eye and relied on his cybernetic right eye to guide him, hoping that it would help him distinguish organic matter among the flames.

== GM Input: Any luck finding evidence of the other crew member that was supposed to be down here? ==

[Artemis d'Tor'an]

Artie walked into blackness. Klingon genetics were superior to Humans, but not unfortunately, in the ways of eyesight. The smoke stung her eyes until tears filled them and ran down her face, and she struggled to keep her eyelids open, let alone see anything with her eyeballs feeling as if they were burning. She felt strain on her chest, but was confident that her breath would hold; what good would having three lungs be, otherwise? Her eight-chambered heart thudded at an increased pace, and she felt her pulse through her thickened skin.

All that, and she could not see to save her life, much less anyone else’s.

She moved carefully, pretending it was deliberately, and tried to identify the things that her hands, arms, and feet brushed up against. She squeezed her eyes shut to try and ward off the burning and stinging, and her right foot bumped, causing her entire form to stumble. Ending up in a three-point landing, Art felt a body, unmoving and, when she pressed a hand to their chest, also not breathing.

Crouched on the ground, the smoke was lighter here, but just barely. Without meaning to, the CSO took in a small bit of air with her nose, sending black smoke into it, along with the sharp tang of iron-heavy blood. Fumbling and groping around, Art grabbed the as-of-yet-unidentified person under the armpits and began pulling.

They were moving at a perpendicular angle, Art knew that much. She wondered how long it would be before they came up against a bulkhead, and then, whether that bulkhead was still there or not. There was no way of telling her comrade’s condition, but she knew she felt the flames burn through her uniform, and she could only hope that it was combustion fire, not plasma.

When a person experiences burns from an ordinary combustion-type fire, it is typically diagnosed on a graded scale: first degree, second degree, third degree, and as the fallen officer most likely had, fourth degree burns. Injuries from plasma fires are assessed similarly, though the intensity and radiation increases the severity of the injuries.

Artie knew that the person she was pulling was most likely already dead.

Though in her mind she knew she was now clear of the flames and the billowing smoke that was still reaching outwards, she continued to pull the fire’s victim far from its clutches. Reaching the bulkhead she knew she was eventually headed for, Art allowed herself to collapse, landing on her rear end, her hands slipping from the arms of the victim.

Her appearance could be described as “singed”. The orange-and-black uniform was burned through in patches, showing her light-brown skin that was reddening and bleeding with blisters and burns. The dark-brown hair, usually in a tight bun while on duty, was now half-fallen, and though her lungs were clear of smoke, Art found it hard to breathe as the skin around her ribcage was taught with the damage that the inter-woven fire had caused. The sclera of her eyes shone brightly through, in stark contrast to the darkness covering the rest of her body.

So, she sat, somewhat-panting, surveying what she had just left behind.

Wait a minute.

“Where’s Cassidy?” Art rasped.



==Tag Alden and Beinn! Tag GM: Who did Art pull out? What is their condition? And, how much of her burns are normal v. plasma?==