Evacuation Orders
Posted on Tue Oct 24th, 2023 @ 10:43am by Ensign Aaron Soong & Xavier X-1
1,307 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Short Treks
Location: Ihhuein ei'krih: Starfleet Compound
Timeline: MD04: 0800 Hours
An alert klaxon sounded on the screens and sirens blared from outside, filling the morning with the sound of dread. Aaron rolled out of bed and fell to the floor. Before he could say anything, the screens filled with new feeds from around the planet.
“Tell me what we’re looking at here, April?”
April Summers, resident FNN reporter appeared to be reporting from a beach. The sand and spray threatened to knock them all down at any second. “Richard, I wish I knew! The water has rushed out to sea, but there’s no indication of tsunami. It’s literally just going somewhere else!”
The screen flashed again to expose what appeared to be part fish, humanoid, and the other part which appeared to be cybernetic. Its mask split open and retracted backward into the suit. “We are the Ro’Nel, the proud owners of this planet and we worked alongside Starfleet to keep your population to a minimum, but now you are at over a half million and you are terraforming our planet!”
The Ro’Nel transmitted the specifications for a device that humans never should have invented.
“I’m told that what we are seeing is an ancient design for terraforming called the Genesis Device. One hundred fifty years ago, the device was designed to change an entire planet in minutes. Somehow, our scientists are explaining this device is smaller and maybe more controllable and stable than its predecessor. Starfleet has, until now, kept this device secret for fear of someone using it on a much larger scale. We have word coming in now from Starfleet Command.”
Aaron rushed to look out the window where a massive starship hovered just meters over the ocean, creating a vortex of dense water around the ship itself. “Xavier! Xavier! What the fuck is going on here?!”
Xavier was wearing a Starfleet Academy tee shirt that fit a little snugly and a pair of blue and white plaid boxer briefs. as he looked out the window. "I don't have a clue," he replied as he began looking for his pants, "but I don't think we have a lot of time to figure it out. We need to talk to the Captian, and set up a plan to get as many people to safety while we can."
“I’ll see about getting in touch with Captain Hart today,” Aaron responded seriously. The CO had never really paid him any attention. Probably an anti-synth personality that Aaron would have to deal with, which meant they were alone.
“You should go to the dock and look for somebody with a small ship. Something like that Kaplan that Captain Culver had crushed…dumbass. Let’s both get dressed and keep an eye on what’s going on…”
"Trust me I'd love to be continuing right where we left off, but dealing with real life is more important than what we were doing. I'll get started right away and either send a message to your PADD or call you."
“Same…if they ask for money, I can pay. Just make sure they know that we can pay. We have to get on one of these ships leaving first ASAP. The Synth betrayal will be at the top of their minds with us on the planet!”
"Of course, it will," Xavier replied drily, humans have a history of finding someone to blame, or judging an entire race by the actions of a few." The android was quickly dressed and continued, What if I go North and you go South and we'll meet back here in two hours, or if one of us finds something we can just use our comm badge?
Aaron was just pulling on his boots as he looked up at Xavier. An Android and a Synth on another doomed planet, what are the odds? He could have calculated them, did calculate them and realized they were poor odds. “Keep your mouth shut about our dispositions, we can both pass basic med scans as human. Don’t say Android or Synth around these jumpy aliens.”
Aaron finished pulling on his other boot before standing and rushing to Xavier. Aaron grabbed his face and pulled him into a fiery kiss. “Be fast, be smart, be safe. Most of all, be safe,” Aaron said softly as he implored Xavier to follow. “Play young and dumb or smart and technical. You’ll have them pegged in a few seconds.”
“If we have to,” Aaron paused as he considered his statement. “If we have to dump the crew and make our way…wherever we’re going in a vacuum then we will understand?”
Xavier checked himself out in the mirror, but in an attempt to look as normal as possible. "Let's do our best to avoid that option. But, if we have no choice, we have no choice."
Aaron nodded in agreement, but with the types of traders and pirates they would be dealing with, he had little hope. If it came down to it, synth and android against humanoids, there would be no doubt which side he would be on.
For the first time in days, Aaron finally pulled on his uniform. It felt almost as heavy as his duty now. With his combadge in place and perfectly secured, Aaron left the Starfleet compound in Triton Colony to find Captain Joshua Hart and determine their best options for getting away from the colony before something else happened.
All the while, lurking in the back of his mind was the Genesis Device. He felt a slight memory there, but not enough to come to full terms with what it was or how it worked. All the while, the closer he got to the Praetor’s Tower, the worse the winds became. Water seemed to pull away from the peninsula, leaving nothing but empty sand. Aaron stopped to look, finding the lack of lifeforms unusual.
A quick scan with his tricorder revealed that he was right. Not only that, but the ocean wasn’t being ravaged by a massive hurricane or maelstrom, the water was being pealed away from the world. ’How the hell is that possible?’ he wondered.
He had just started moving toward the Tower again when the bridge between the land and the Praetor’s Tower sheared away under the stresses, blocking any escape from the tower. A quick survey and some calculations showed he might be able to make the jump if the winds died down a bit.
By the time he reached the doors, frightened people pulled him inside. There were questions from everyone about the people in the colony, and the durability of the former Starfleet buildings. All he could tell them was that they were holding up for now. In return, he was told the Starfleet personnel were trapped inside the tower now that the bridge had given way. The atmosphere was too charged for transporter use.
“Where is the Captain?” Aaron shouted above the panick.
The consensus seemed to be that he had left in the early minutes to ensure the safety of his family. That wouldn’t sit well with Starfleet. Assuming any of them survived. “Alright!” Aaron shouted, bringing the crowd to a hush. “Do we have an Argo shuttle here?”
He was met with a dozen people shouting that he couldn’t fly in the weather. They wouldn’t risk their lives in an Argo shuttle. The Tower was still home to civilians and children. Taking this all into account, his calculations still showed the optimal escape would be on that Argo shuttle. “Alright!” He shouted again. “Here’s the plan…”
Opening a channel, Aaron summoned Xavier. “Come to the Praetor’s Tower immediately,” he said. He would fill Xavier in on their escape plan once they were reunited.
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