02-06-2026, 03:28 AM
== USS Zephyr: Bridge ==
Ameen stood at the tactical rail, the tension in his shoulders coiled tight. He watched the telemetry from Cortez's suit spike with the voltage surge, and he heard the Midshipman's breathless, delirious response to the order.
[Sí, abuelo, enseguida.]
Ameen blinked, the Spanish phrase catching him off guard. Grandfather?
He glanced at the bio-monitor. Cortez's stress levels were off the charts, but the job was done. The power curve on the alien ship had stabilized. The kid was hallucinating from the pressure, but he had held the line.
"Bridge to Cortez," Ameen said, his voice calm, ignoring the slip-up entirely. "Good connection. Hold it steady, Midshipman. Don't let go until the beam takes you."
He turned to the tactical display. The green lights of Keir's pattern enhancers were pulsing on the grid, cutting a clear path through the interference.
"Lieutenant Powl," Ameen barked. "We have a clean lock. Energize. Beam the pods directly to sickbay, and return the away team to the Zephyr immediately. Get them out of there before that hull collapses."
He tapped his comm badge one last time.
"Bridge to Gath. Make sure you have that data module. We're bringing you home. Ameen out."
== Tag Powl and away team ==
Ameen stood at the tactical rail, the tension in his shoulders coiled tight. He watched the telemetry from Cortez's suit spike with the voltage surge, and he heard the Midshipman's breathless, delirious response to the order.
[Sí, abuelo, enseguida.]
Ameen blinked, the Spanish phrase catching him off guard. Grandfather?
He glanced at the bio-monitor. Cortez's stress levels were off the charts, but the job was done. The power curve on the alien ship had stabilized. The kid was hallucinating from the pressure, but he had held the line.
"Bridge to Cortez," Ameen said, his voice calm, ignoring the slip-up entirely. "Good connection. Hold it steady, Midshipman. Don't let go until the beam takes you."
He turned to the tactical display. The green lights of Keir's pattern enhancers were pulsing on the grid, cutting a clear path through the interference.
"Lieutenant Powl," Ameen barked. "We have a clean lock. Energize. Beam the pods directly to sickbay, and return the away team to the Zephyr immediately. Get them out of there before that hull collapses."
He tapped his comm badge one last time.
"Bridge to Gath. Make sure you have that data module. We're bringing you home. Ameen out."
== Tag Powl and away team ==