Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: Sun, 22 Feb 2004 01:27:25 GMT In: alt.startrek.creative From: "Jay P Hailey" Title: Star Trek: Outwardly Mobile Author: Jay P Hailey (JayPHailey@hotmail.com) Series: MISC - TNG OCs Codes: None Part: 28/339(?) Rating:[PG] Archive: Fine with me, just tell me where. Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Star Trek. I claim Original Characters and Situations for me. Webpage HTTP://jayphailey.8m.com The Et-Tu: Episode 28 By Jay P. Hailey And Dennnis Washburn Spaat and Bruce immediately ran into problems. The sensors on the Et-Tu had been set to automatically scan at high resolution at close range. The computer had been recording these scans for nearly fifty years, but when Spaat and Bruce tried to download the data, an access code they didn't know of deleted the whole file. They discovered that a pair of mechanical keys governed full access to the ship and computers. The keyholes were set into the Captain's chair in the middle of the bridge. A search of the Captain's office turned up personal items and information on who the man was, but no keys of any description. They scanned the locks in an attempt to understand them. Bruce felt that he might be able to manually pick the locks once he knew more about their internal structure. The locks were sealed inside sensor proofed boxes and the Et-Tu warned them that scanning the command ciphers was a mutiny, and any further attempts could destroy the system. Bruce and Spaat wisely quit scanning at that point. The Harrier was even notified that Spaat and Bruce had performed suspicious activities. The Et-Tu requested the we notify the Political Officer, immediately. "But he's over there." Tillean said, meaning Flagg. Stephanie grinned merrily, but Varupuchu silenced Tillean with a cold look. It was breach of discipline. I said "Open a channel to the Et-Tu to monitor the away team." Stephanie moved to comply and stopped. "Captain, the channel is already open." "So we can hear them and they can hear us?" I said looking at Tillean. She had the good graces to look embarrassed, as she understood my warning. Spaat and Bruce reported that they did not hear the subversion warnings on the bridge of the Et-Tu. The Warbird had ratted them out behind their backs Li'ira and Flagg investigated several crew quarters on the Et-Tu. There were no signs of battle or major hardships. Some of the quarters did show signs of struggle and the signs were quite clear. Someone had been locked into the quarters and then forced their way out. Li'ira and Flagg discovered a large mess hall. The primitive replicators in it were destroyed by some sort of fungus that had eaten many of the electronic components. They scanned the fungus and we were able to add the scans to our biofilters on the transporters. The fungus wouldn't come back to the Harrier with them. The mess hall itself had been disrupted somehow. Again it looked as though someone had been locked in, and had broken out. There weren't even remains of people who had been disintegrated. There was nothing. They found the Et-Tu's Main Engineering deck. This was a dreadful surprise. Their warp core had been jettisoned. There was a neat little hole in the deck that led down to the outer hull. The access doors had been replaced and neatly patched. The torn conduits and hoses had been repaired or removed. The Et-Tu had remained operational following the loss of her main engine. A thorough search of the Engineering Deck turned up tools, control computers and plasma conduits all the normal equipment of a working starship. The engineering computers had been severely damaged by the same fungus which had destroyed the replicators. That wasn't too big a deal. The auxiliary power systems would probably have their own computers, and they were much less complex than a matter/anti-matter reactor. The Warbird didn't need her main engineering computer, if we were going to return her to operation. However, this meant that we wouldn't be able to learn the details of the engineering of the Et-Tu. They also found a small cylinder. It was about a foot tall and about eight inches wide. It was some sort of paper or plastic. It held some sort of green powder. It had split and the green powder spilled out onto the deck. Li'ira scanned it. The powder was a complex substance, so she fed her scan back to the Harrier for analysis. It wasn't inherently poisonous, or her tricorder would have warned her immediately. Flagg approached it, "Is it some sort of drug?" He wondered. "Then why store it in Engineering?" He touched some and held up his fingers. the green dust clung to the tips of his fingers. He sniffed it gingerly, but could not detect any smell. "What's it made of?" Flagg asked Li'ira. She checked her tricorder again. "Mostly carbon, by the spectrum." Flagg brushed off his hand. "We won't learn anything new here. Let's keep going. I want to see the Political Officer's office." They turned to leave. Flagg stumbled. Li'ira was concerned. "Are you all right?" He stabilized himself "Yeah I'm just a little dizzy. It's too hot in here." Li'ira was very concerned. She knew that stumbling and getting just a little dizzy was out of character for Flagg. He was sweating profusely and breathing heavily. "It's just too hot." Li'ira checked Flagg with her tricorder. His body temperature was high, and his respiration was high. His heartbeat rate was going higher. The tricorder diagnosed excessive stress. "You're having some sort of reaction. Calm down." Li'ira said. She slapped her comm-badge. "Harrier, this is Li'ira. I need to know what that green dust is. Flagg's having some sort of reaction to it." I looked at Tillean. She said "I have a good scan. I'm analyzing." I began to bark orders. "Contamination alert. Transporter room two, prepare an isolation field and get ready to beam the away team back. Sickbay, alert. Colonel Flagg has been contaminated." "I heard." Doctor Flynn responded "Don't beam them back here. I'm getting ready to go over there myself." "But-" I began Varupuchu turned and quietly said. "Captain. I must concur. You can't risk the whole ship." I felt helpless, but I knew Varupuchu and Dr. Flynn were right. "Doctor, I need you to confirm that you're safe before we beam you over. Will the sealed space suits keep the dust out?" "They should, Captain." Flagg began to hyperventilate "I've got to get out of here!" Knowing that Flagg had trained extensively in martial arts, Li'ira didn't touch him. She stood back and watched as he seemed to panic. "The ship! It's closing in! I can't breathe!" He screamed. Flagg leaped to his feet and began to run. Li'ira didn't see any point to following her ex-mentor in a hot and sweaty chase through the Warbird, so she drew her phaser and double checked that it was on stun setting. "I've got to get out here!" Flagg shouted as he ran from the Engineering Deck and into the corridor. Li'ira sighted, but just as she pressed the trigger, a wave of dizziness threw her aim off. Flagg disappeared around the corner as the phaser beam missed him. "Li'ira to Harrier. I have been affected, too. Flagg is loose in the ship." She unsteadily began to follow him. "Beam two space suits over to Spaat and Bruce, on the Warbird's bridge." I said. It was a forlorn hope, but maybe they hadn't gotten enough of the weird green dust to do them any harm. "Can we use the Warbird's sensors to track Flagg?" I asked Varupuchu. "Yes, Captain." He made the proper adjustments and a representation of the Warbird appeared on the main screen. We watched Flagg easily out distance Li'ira. He headed outwards towards the outer hull of the Et-Tu. We could hear Flagg babbling incoherently as he ran. From the sound of it he was panicking from an acute claustrophobia reaction. Claustrophobia is not something that Starfleet is too used to dealing with. We screen for it in cadets and recruits. Some one with the tendencies toward claustrophobia is usually guided into another career or has a mandatory ground assignment for his whole tour of duty. People who are stuck aboard enclosed spaces, like starships, for an extended period might get a temporary claustrophobia, and if they are traumatized during that time it may become permanent. Starfleet had the benefit of nearly 400 years of continuous research into the area from Earth, on humans. Some races had more or less data, but it was all taken into account in the designs of Federation starships. The Harrier had a few larger spaces like the shuttle bays, the cargo holds and the huge lounge. She was also visually very different from one section to another. There were large windows wherever we could reasonably place them. Somehow, Flagg seemed to have acquired a major case of claustrophobia. He ran to an upper deck and out to a docking port. There was an air lock there, a door out of the Et-Tu. Except for a few short wrong turns Flagg was heading straight for it. Li'ira had taken a wrong turn and was shambling along. Although she was still moving, catching Flagg was not her priority. She had another problem. On the Bridge of the Harrier we could hear her labored breathing, and moans. She could feel the ship closing in on her, too. "Spaat! Bruce! See if you can lock out the docking port controls!" I called to the crew men on the Et-Tu. They quickly arranged an over ride on the airlock doors. Flagg couldn't throw himself out of the Et-Tu without defeating the lock on the doors. I didn't think that would be too much of a problem for him. "Transporter room two, get a lock on Flagg and be ready to beam him back on my signal." "Do you have any idea of when you'll be able to neutralize that green dust?" I said to Tillean. She grinned "Oh, yes. I'm sending the data to sickbay now, Captain. They should have an antidote in ten minutes." --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.588 / Virus Database: 372 - Release Date: 2/13/2004 -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ ASCL is a stories-only list, no discussion. Comments and feedback should be directed to alt.startrek .creative or directly to the author. Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? 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