The “Milli-Cochrane Caper" 3.3

Posted on Sat 25th Sep, 2021 @ 2:59am by Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Lieutenant Commander Andrew Eberstark & Lieutenant Commander Alora Baro & Renato Solis
Edited on on Wed 6th Oct, 2021 @ 5:03am

925 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: A Good Day to Hunt
Location: Brown Sector Zodiac
Timeline: MD 4, 1930

{25-Ma- Theo's hidden chamber}

Alora was on the move again, "Just gotta follow the spiders, something down this hall ..." she muttered as her program's mobile sensor units skittered in front of her, leading her down an unused corridor. She'd left the computer briefcase she'd had originally behind with another of her staff as backup while she used the wrist mounted interface on on her right arm to communicate with her spider friends. Something new she'd worked on and they'd found something very odd indeed. Energy readings from a void that should have none. She was getting close ....

Andrew tried his best to keep up but Baro was moving almost as quickly as her mobile spider sensor units were going. Keeping his voice low but firm, he called out, "I'm still behind you Commander but at least give me a moment to look down at my tricorder."

{25-Ma}

Theo debated taking the time to truly beat the junkie. The rat had sniffed around, knowing only cheese in its brain. Theo could hear people actively prying the door open, there was no time. Rage would cost him everything, so he swallowed it. The lab could be rebuilt, he could try again, it was time to erase his presence.

The EPS cords looped into massive coils housed in magnetic confinement trunks to maintain signal isolation and thermal regulation. His micro explosives had leached into the materials slowly, and they were prone to overload at even mild surges. In low power applications, Thalaron radiation degraded without being detected, its particle shift occurring in a picosecond. With a smile he stepped onto the transporter pad, keying the sequence to blow after his escape.

Sparing one moment to glance at the heaped body, Theo keyed the transporter and disappeared. Forty gigawatts of EPS plasma building up pressure behind weakened housings, beginning immediately after completion.

The hole in the bulkhead opened slower than Reon would like, but it did open. Just as Kya darted past him toward Renato, he caught sight of a smiling man disappearing in transport ... their quarry? He presumed so, but there was no catching him now. He sheathed the phaser and rushed over to help Kya pull Renato to his feet.

"We have to get out of here. I have a feeling he left something explosive behind." They rushed for the opening they'd made and barely stepped back through the bulkhead before there was a loud noise and a blast behind them. All three went down on the flooring and lay dazed.

* * *

In the Community Center, Paul had made his Brown Sector-wide announcement and was now answering questions from the crowd gathered in the main room. Many more people were gathered than he liked dealing with at one time, but it was his job to calm them, and he knew he could do it better than most. In the back of his mind, though, he could feel something from the thought-thread he identified as Renato's. Something wasn't right, but he didn't know what, and he couldn't get any precision, given the tidal wave of other emotions crashing loudly in his mind.

"Yes," Paul said to Jonko, "the apparitions people have seen appear to be transporter 'ghosts' caused by experiments that someone is conducting secretly here in Brown Sector.

"Ghosts! Starfleet is telling me ghosts like I am too stupid to realize he is lying!"

Paul fought not to roll his eyes. "... I don't know transporter science; that's as detailed an explanation as I can give you. This person is dangerous, and that is why we are being so intrusive down here."

"And usng my ad station for free? Starfleet has nerve-"

"How long is this going to take?" someone demanded.

"It will take as long as it takes," Paul said. "Would you rather we allow this person to run loose among you?"

Soft grumbling ensued. He could already tell it was going to be a jug-of-jestral-tea night.

And then, they all heard and felt the boom at the same time as Paul felt Renato feeling it. Anger and disbelief transformed instantly into fear that swirled up around him, and Paul fought to put it behind a mental wall as he staggered for a moment. He took a deep breath and looked out at the crowd. "Jonko! Go to Dr. s'Siedhri's clinic, and let him know there might be casualties. People! We need to organize search parties to find wounded."

He pulled up a map of Brown Sector on his PADD. When people came to him wanting to search they chose areas on the map where they would go, and Paul color-coded them so he could know who was searching where. He glanced out at the crowd again.

"Folks, get out of the doorway. Clear a path for medics so they can bring wounded in here. Lexy! Where does your mother keep the first-aid kit?"

Mother Moksha came up to him. "We will need to organize where to put everyone." She turned to her granddaughter. "Tishara, go home and get my medicines." The young woman nodded and darted out of the community center.

"If they're injured and can walk, bring them here. If they're badly injured--bleeding so much they need pressure, or they can't walk, take them to the clinic. When the clinic gets too busy, we'll have to do site-to-site transport to the main infirmary. Anyone with real medical training should assist at the clinic. People who know how to bandage wounds cleanly should stay here."

Then Paul stepped away and tapped his combadge. "Graves to Baro. Report."

 

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