Red Alert and Everyone is Running
Posted on Thu May 11th, 2023 @ 9:34pm by Lieutenant JG Kaydren Aukai & Christine Graham & Daniel Martinez & Fleet Captain Maxwell Culver & Lieutenant Rowena "Rena" Campbell
2,467 words; about a 12 minute read
Mission:
Good Will Tour: Mountain Home [Part Two]
Location: Triton Seabase: Lieutenant Aukai’s Quarters
Timeline: MD25: 2230 hours
Kaydren HATED humanoid parties. Talking about the same bullshit with the next person that laid eyes on you, or worse, getting jerked around by a bunch of kids who thought you were the newest playtoy. At least, until the teeth and claws came out…
It had been under an hour when the latter had happened and he made a hasty retreat through an opened window and over the snowy roof. All six appendages in action to scramble out of disruptor view. A slip down the other side before landing in a graceful pirouette on a patch of ice.
Once done, Ren had called for a return to the Seabase. The cold of night already falling; along with a light snow. A sensation of paralyzation and a twinkle of lights as his atoms rearranged on the transporter pad a moment later and he gave Transporter Chief Pradd a slight nod. “I owe you a drink one day, chief.”
The introvert smiled. “The party that good, huh? What is that? Chocolate Fountain meets Marshmallow goo? You were some child’s teddy bear…” Aljan Pradd intuited. “Until you weren’t.”
“Should have stayed home and listened to the Captain’s boyfriend prattle on about how he wasn’t invited. I supposed I could have told him to shut up without making him cry.”
“I don’t know, I have heard he’s delicious,” Aljan responded coyly, her brown cheeks growing a bright green pigmentation.
“I don’t think he’s your type anyway, Pradd. Works out too much. All tough muscle to chew through before the crunch of bone. I like mine a little chunkier before chewing the bone and sucking the marrow. If we’re talking about edibles, I hear this Senator Killik could be quite the meal…”
“Not what I meant, Kaydren, eating men is your thing. I’m a vegan. I have to grow my own food, literally. Scuttlebutt has it the captain has good taste in men. Dark hair, pretty blue eyes, exotic Terran accent - not that damned Standard - as you’ve mentioned he’s quite muscular. I should look him up sometime,” Aljen could feel her mouth start to water. Time to return to work. “I leave you off to find him, Kaydren.”
Kaydren stopped by the door, his charming smile hiding the rows of shark-like teeth behind them. “I will tell you this, Aljan, he is a very comfortable bed buddy and he doesn’t wear clothes but neither does the captain.”
Kaydren scuttled out of sight before the transporter chief could make it to the door, but Ren’s gruff laughter seemed to permeate every corridor.
Kaydren Aukai entered his shared quarters with the Terran boyfriend of the Captain. “It’s over! Nothing exciting happened. Everyone should be back in an hour or two.”
Dani hucked himself out of the hammock he’d learned to sleep in, S’ti’ach style of living, hit the center pole and climbed down the single floor. “And where’s Max?”
“Last I heard, that Brillo pad looking Klingon blue woman with gills had taken a drunken topple. He was sending her home, but I expect he’ll still be there for a bit.”
Dani grabbed a fashionable, lightweight, white jacket. “Then I can go,” he decided. “You get cleaned up and I’ll wait, then you can take me up there.”
Ren stopped as his spines extended down his back and his fifth and sixth appendages tore holes in his uniform just below his other arms. He turned with his shark teeth exposed and all black eyes with a fiery pupil dancing in the center. “I’m not breaking rules and regulations to take you to see your boyfriend - who will be back here in a couple of hours - regardless of whether he was God himself, not when I’m under orders.”
Ren looked at his extra hands and retracted his spikes. “Look at whatcha made me do…ruined a perfectly good uniform. I’m going to go to the sonic to get this shit out of my fur. Don’t get any stupid ideas while I’m cleaning chocolate and…marshmellon out of my fur.”
Despite himself, Dani couldn’t help but laugh uproariously. When it had calmed to a sputter and just a few tears, Dani put up a hand. The S’ti’ach’s hackles, claws, teeth and death eyes glared at him. “Sorry…marshmallows. It’s pronounced marshmallows.”
“Yeah, well, if you think you’re going up there,” the angry little blue creature pointed above them, indicating Mountain Home, “you’re gonna want something warmer than suit and tie with your couture jacket, jackass. It’s already almost negative seventeen Celsius already. I hear it’ll drop at least another 20 degrees before sun up. Don’t be so eager.”
’Jesus! That cold?’ he wondered. ’I guess I’ll just wait until Max gets back then.’ Dani decided as he settled on the couch with the book he’d been reading.
Suddenly, the lights went dark, followed by red lighting and a klaxon. “All hands, red alert! All hands to rescue stations, this is not a drill. I repeat, all hands to red alert, rescue stations.”
That was it! Dani tossed his book back on the couch. He moved to the replicator and ordered a standard freezing weather Starfleet uniform. Throwing that on the couch, he ordered a winter survival pack with night supplies and when that was done, he tossed that on the floor. The last thing he ordered was a medical kit.
It took him less than ten minutes to dress and haul up his pack onto his back with his med kit across his chest in the opposite direction.
Stepping out the door, he didn’t think anyone would even know who he was. As he moved down the hall, he was shoved into a line where he accepted a hand phaser, which he stored on his hip like the officer in front of him. The next two moves got him his rifle. The officer pointed out that the safety was on when it displayed red and a push of a specific button turned it live. After three shots, the weapon could be cocked and fired with extra power distribution.
He’d just turned the hall when he bumped into the counselor. He stumbled with her a moment before fixing his hat and goggles. With the black hat, light goggles and black balaclava, there was no way she could know it was him. It was on him to go zen, mind quiet, focus on the job. Rescue positions, red alert…
Red alert? They'd literally *just* returned, and she just wanted to spend a bit of quiet time with S'Tera before she called it a night. Still, she dutifully headed for the Bridge. On the way, she saw Security already getting the grunts ready to go. Must be something pretty bad if they were sending boots out. She was going to be needed, clearly. She headed for the Security officer passing out weapons from the armory. He tried to hand her one, and she shook her head. "Chief Counselor. I don't go out there unless I am needed to. I am not, yet. What's going on?"
A shuttle had gone down. Crap. Probably the weather. With a sigh, she took the long gun from him, and made her way back the way she came - she WAS needed, after all. She passed a hooded figure and his marker seemed familiar. She didn't think too much of it at first - probably a crewman she had interacted with once or twice briefly. Then it hit her. Nope. Not a crewman at ALL. She handed the weapon off to one of the others, and went in search of the hooded man. Finally, she found him, almost out the door. A tap to his shoulder and a loud yell. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"
It was the loudest and meanest that Rena could muster, but was he CRAZY? It was below zero outside, AND this wasn't a simulation game. This was real stuff. "You're not trained. Are you trying to get hurt?" She asked him, then began to haul him like a mother might, down the hallway, towards the Bridge. "Come with me," as she pulled him along, she opened a line of communication back to Max. "Listen, your boyfriend is cute but he's dumb as hell. Are you back yet?" It was private, only the two of them could hear - well, Dani could because he was standing next to her as she held a firm grip on him. She had two large brothers, hauling grown men around wasn't a new thing for her.
“No soy tan tonta como el infierno, perra estúpida. Estoy tan bien equipado como los guardias hasta que me hiciste a un lado como un niño,” Dani spat back in his most polite Spanish possible. Max made out something about being as well equipped as their guards before she treated him like a child.
Max was dripping in sweat, standing outside while he watched the fighter burn up. He could tell this was going to be a recovery mission, not a response mission. Meaning that four man crew was dead. If he didn’t go back inside soon, he would be the next dead body they had.
“Just bring both of yourselves up and a case of whatever is next best to replace triox, would you? And quickly! I don’t have the time or the energy for squabbles, understood.
“And Rena, get him his weapons back. Captain’s orders: ASAP! We’ll talk about dumbass decisions that are all made by me. Culver out.”
She dropped her hands from the rifle, but not from Dani's arm as she hauled him towards the Captain's location, which she'd found via her PaDD. After a stop at Gocx's office for the Triox - which she had to lie about - and another to grab Aukai - they finally transported and appeared at Max's door. She knocked. Once he opened, her black irises were full of fire. "If I get busted for this, it's on YOU," she said, by way of greeting. She pushed the other two men in through the door, and closed it behind her. "Let me tell S'Tera I am ok-I am sure she's busy but she needs to know." She opened a line of private communication, relaying to the Caitian that she was with Max and would talk to her as soon as she could. "I should be out there," she sighed.
Max gave her a sympathetic smile. “You can feel it Rena. I could hear all three of them as their lives ended. There’s nothing we can do but recover their bodies.”
She nodded, sadly. "I know. But maybe their souls are still present." She shrugged. "The Heirs gone before will meet them," she said.
Max thwacked another piece of wood. He was so mad that the blade actually split in the first attempt. He dropped the hatchet as he realized something else. “Our holodoc was on that fighter, maybe if we can recover her, we can get a full, first-hand account?”
Rena nodded. "Yes, Dr. Gocx said that she was supposed to be back already. I hope that a recovery is possible. The black box is important, if we can get it. Are they sending us Marines or is this just us?" She asked.
Max wiped his brow with a hand towel. Despite the cold, his useless wood chopping was keeping him warm. The minute he stopped, his clothes would freeze. “Right now, it’s nobody. I’ve already talked to Colonel s’Khev about making higher arrangements for a conversation in the morning.”
She nodded. "I see. I hope it's a true accident..." she trailed off; her words didn't NEED to be said.
“Aren’t there hundreds of the hi-def, to-the-pixel, real-time cameras on the planetary defense platforms? Why not just check them?” Dani pointed out.
Max’s eyes drifted to the only porthole-type window that showed the night sky lit up like a sunrise. Max hoped every Romulan in town was looking at that blaze and worrying about the next supernova. Maybe they were just that unlikely praying it couldn’t happen twice.
“A black, hi-def pixel with a few small, bright fire specs won’t make any difference. Not until the sun’s up.” Max laid his head back and felt the exhaustion. His head dipped and he caught himself falling asleep. “I’d better get back to work before I’m a popsicle next.”
"Just use your phaser," she said, pointing hers at the wooden table. A moment later, it was alight. She shrugged. "There. Heat!" she exclaimed. Sometimes, desperate measures were needed. She was acting out of character, something that frightened her.
Dani jumped beck from the burning furniture. “Jesus Christ! You’re the sane one on the ship!” Dani all but shouted.
Rena shrugged. "The phaser heat is stronger than regular fire," she said, simply. "I, personally, don't want to freeze to death out here, but you be my guest."
=/\= Fire Suppression System activated. =/\= came the cool voice of the computer.
Max looked somewhere between annoyed and amused. Rena was really losing it and he wasn’t sure what exactly was causing it, or if it was just everything.
“Honey, they took my weapons before leaving me here alone. The Romulans have my security as their foremost concern. Just not my heat.”
Rena nodded. She wasn't the "honey" he referred to, but still. "That pile of wood wouldn't heat a shanty." She said. "The phaser is your best bet." Finally, she whirled around. "What do you mean "they took your weapons?" Seems to be an act of aggression. Should I call Vi?" She wanted to go home. Not to the BASE, but HOME HOME.
“Vi is already busy, and so is Galen. Why don’t you bring Dani here? Before they lock the place down?” Max asked. “You can pretend to be evacuating crew, but find me on the lower decks. Dress warmly, it’s freezing. If you have to, consider if an order.”
Max looked a little more than concerned, but clearly settled into an ancient sofa. “Just adding the orders for you both the come up now! Let’s get moving friends!”
Rena sighed. She simply transported herself back to base. Dani was in his quarters, where she'd left him with Aukai. "Captain wants you. Us. Bring a change of clothes. And put a rush on it." She said. A minute later, they were both back, transporting through the yuck to the cabin's door.
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