The Discovery - Part II

Posted on Mon 27th Mar, 2017 @ 3:59am by Colonel Horatio Drake & Commander Zachary Hunt

769 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night
Location: Deck 1500: Section 49 Alpha
Timeline: MD-02: 1835 Hours

PREVIOUSLY ON STAR TREK: VANGUARD...

Drake saw the flashpoint seconds before he felt it... it wasn't until it spun him around and slammed him into the deck plating did he actually hear anything. Hunt and the rest of the engineering team had rounded the corner and were protected from the mainstay of the explosion, but Drake felt as if his insides had just been scrambled. His face burned and his body screamed out in pain, but he knew it wasn't life threatening... to feel the pain was a good thing.

He pushed himself onto his knees and tapped his comm. badge, his voice was croaky. "Drake to Ops, Security Alert."

Slowly, but surely he pushed himself to his feet using the bulkhead as support, he could see Hunt holding his left arm now, he was saying something but he couldn't understand what it was.

He precariously limped towards the body of D'Vir, what was left of it. He lay in a mangled mess, his face black, yet his Vulcan expression intact. Appearances could be deceiving... there may still have been hope for him. "Drake to the Infirmary, medical emergency. Three to beam directly to the Infirmary."

AND NOW THE CONTINUATION...

Ten minutes later, much to Hunt's protest, Drake was now standing with a tricorder in his hand. Security personnel had responded and had taken positions throughout the corridor. D'Vir had been beamed to the Infirmary, but his engineering crew had remained and were now positioned behind Hunt and Drake.

"That explosion has ripped the bulkhead open... the good news is that it's deactivated whatever dampening field was in place. The bad news is the force of the explosion has literally vaporised whatever technology was giving us false sensor readings. Nevertheless, perhaps something will be salvageable." Drake nodded to the closest of the engineering crew members, a very young and nervous looking human male Ensign.

"It looks like a single large room... with smaller rooms adjoining it," he continued, not waiting for a response. The dust still hadn't fully settled and beyond the ominous door that now stood before them, was bound to be pure darkness. He signalled for the closest security officer to throw him his rifle and activated the light on the front.

"Well, let's see what's in there." He said, handing the tricorder to Hunt and raising the rifle into a firing position. "Open it." He nodded Hunt in the direction of the dust covered door control.

"Sir," one of the Security officers protested, a young Lieutenant JG with blue hair and exceptionally large eyes. "With all due respect, Starfleet regulations call for the junior officer present to lead the breaching element, not the senior."

Drake never played the hero unnecessarily and was a strict and faithful follower of all things stamped with a 'regulations' header... a couple of years ago he would have stood back, following proper procedure, and allowed junior officers to enter first. The procedure made sense and was in place for a reason... that, he didn't question. But since Patrick had gone, taking risks were now common place for him... it wasn't to make him feel alive... it was just a complete disregard for the outcome. His own safety and well being mattered very little to him, these days.

"That's right, Lieutenant" he said in a monotone reply and he moved forward.

The smell was the first thing that hit him... on any hermetically sealed ship or facility, smell was an odd thing to experience unless you were near a replicator. It assaulted his nose like a charging Klingon and made him stop for a moment or two - it smelled like decay and rot. Taking another couple of steps he shone his rifle to the left and saw some sort of bed with screens above it... perhaps a biobed, of some description. There was still dust in the air and most of the light reflected back to him. He squinted in the darkness and moved the light to the right a bit more. There seemed to be a body on the second biobed, he slowly and carefully approached. As the light bounced over the bed he could now see in more detail... he froze and tightened his grip on the rifle.

"Commander Hunt, this room has just become a Level 5 security... Senior Staff's authorisation only. I want triple security on this deck and a squad of Marines posted outside the door with level 10 security forcefields erected around everything. Get Doctor Addams down here on the double."

Shivers went down Drake's neck as he forced himself to turn, once again, into Section 49 Alpha.

 

RSS Feed