Securing the Crew Part II
Posted on Fri Apr 12th, 2024 @ 4:29pm by Gunnery Sergeant Gaagii & Ensign Rachel Sinclair & Captain Edmund Merrick & Sergeant Major Lachlan Barr & Lieutenant JG Mira Jayna & Petty Officer 1st Class S'kaadaar
Edited on on Fri Apr 12th, 2024 @ 5:02pm
1,854 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Episode 15 - The Evil That Lies Beneath
Location: Captain Merrick's Office - Deck 9 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD004 1130 hrs
Jayna raised an eyebrow. She hadn't considered enhanced scent and she should have, being half Vulcan. "If you could, that would be helpful. It would be less obvious than scanning. Try and see if you notice anything different about the captain and the commander."
"I can try, Ma'am." S'kaadaar said.
Gaagii had taken the past few moments to gather his thoughts. He did not want to think about what happened down in the deep. He had hoped he would never have to think about those events again. Slowly, even slower than his normal speech cadence he began to speak to Jayna. "Lieutenant ma'am. What happened in that engineering bay is seared into the deepest recesses of my brain. It was an entity that seemed to be everywhere, and wanted nothing save to do evil. Tentacles that reached out everywhere you went, somehow it seemed to be one step ahead of us in everything that we did. There seemed to be no way out. We attempted to destroy the attacker by overloading our weapons. However, the enemy was a step ahead and somehow avoided the explosion."
"It was a rather difficult situation. No matter how many times one of the flesh puppets was fired upon, it reformed." Edmund added. "Commander McGowan had fallen unconscious, I hadn't noticed that at first then when I looked for her, she was lying on the floor. I carried McGowan on my back, while Gaagii and Barr were covering our retreat. Then I settled her down in the Serenity while waiting for Barr and Gaagii arrived. I do recall though we had a slight trouble getting the Serenity away from that lab. As if we weren't going to be allowed to leave. Then, we were able to get out of there. Just was very odd, for that happening. I definitely do not want to go back there. It was rather disturbing."
"Sergeant Schultz, Corporal Shy, and I went to the crew quarters," Jayna began. "At first we saw nothing. Then, when we looked in the mirrors, we saw tentacles hanging from the ceiling. They were like some sort of octopus. In the mirror, the tentacles caught at us. I felt s physical and mental sting. Whatever it was, it left physical welts." She shook her head. "That wasn't the worst of it, though. On our way back, Corporal Shy was caught by some sort of black goo that engulfed his suit and then when it got inside, it got into him as well. The entity called itself Kavicus. It drew out my experiences on Bajor and seemed to feed off my emotional trauma. Sergeant Schultz fired on Shy, distracting the entity. She rendered him unconscious, then took over his suit and we made it back to the shuttle. I believe that is how the entity got onto the shuttle, and then into the commander."
She looked around at the others. "That creature is here. I believe it's still in the commander. There's a strong possibility it, or something it controls, is in the captain. It is connected to the disappearances, but I'm not sure how. Yet."
"We are moving further into the paranormal than I am comfortable with." Lachlan commented.
"Not by choice," Jayna admitted, "But it does look like that's where we are." She had longer to get used to the idea, but she still wasn't comfortable with it. If looking into the paranormal brought Neil and the others back, she'd gladly go there.
"I would like to offer a word of caution. My people have no word for the paranormal. That is because we do not believe that there is paranormal. Everything is explained through the spirit of the natural world. So, while you say this is paranormal, I say it is natural and we should treat it in a very real way." Gaagii explained some of the beliefs of the Navajo. He wanted to make sure that what is happening on the Pioneer is treated with the respect that it seemed to deserve.
"If the entity can cause physical damage, then it is likely it can be damaged physically." S'kaadaar said.
Jayna first addressed Gaagii. "Whatever these entities are classified as, they can be detected by sensors, so I agree that they are very real. I've felt the effect of one of them and I know how dangerous they can be as well. Right now, I want to explore whatever we can to get our people back." She didn't know much about the Navajo, having spent little time on Earth, but she appreciated that the Marine would share some of his beliefs with them so they'd understand his position.
She then addressed S'kaadaar. "It--or they--also share he bodies of at least two of our crew. If we try to harm it, we may end up harming the captain or commander. I think we should first explore how to remove and contain the entity or entities. My hope is that science or medical will find a solution." She paused, thinking. "I'm still interested to see if you can smell any changes in the captain or commander. It will open up some interesting options if you can."
Jayna then looked to Captain Merrick, Sergeant Major Barr, and Ensign Sinclair. "You three have the most say in where we go with this. I'm just trying to put pieces together." While she knew some of what may have happened, she was still missing far too much for her liking.
Merrick leaned back in his chair, dry washing his face as memories of what Rowena had spoken to him about were coming to the forefront.
Lowering his hands, Edmund commented "With what we are dealing with here, we are going to need some specialized help. Rowena had told me there is actually a Paranormal Unit which is within Starfleet. They have been working on things unexplained. I suggest that we reach out to them, as truly I am feeling way out of my depth here."
"She mentioned the team to me before as well," Jayna admitted. "That's next on my list of things to do. I know you, the Sergeant Major, and security have a lot on your plate. I'll do this." Her job was information and infiltration, so all she could do right now was help gather the information. It also helped her feel like she wasn't just sitting around worrying about Neil and the others.
Edmund held up a hand, "Slow down just for a moment, Jayna. I do understand your worry about what Lachlan and I have on our plates. Let us take care of this task if you would please. As of now though, we do need to be mindful and keep track of the rest of the crew, we all need to do so." he looked over to Rachel, then to the others. "Lachlan, I definitely need your input, as you are part of the command team."
Jayna nodded. She understood. She really did. But with more people disappearing, and no idea where they went, she was feeling a sense of urgency. It didn't help that her mind kept going back to what Rowena told her about her old ship and now it was happening again.
While he waited for Lachlan's answer, Merrick asked a question, "How many of the crew are aware of the Commodore's personality change, along with the Commander's change?" this was a question that he was asking the others there.
Jayna shook her head. "No idea. I've only interacted with some of the crew, mostly a few in science, the ACMO, and you here. I don't want to draw any attention to myself, which means I'm keeping a low profile." As she was used to gathering information, she was focusing on that, mostly.
"Who has interacted with them is immaterial anymore." Lachlan said. "We know they are not themselves, their behaviour changed. Given my position in the chain of command there is no telling if they are biding their time to pick me off, or 'infect' me, whatever. We contact this specialised unit, see what they've got that can help us and move on from that. I've never heard of them and if that is the case then they are more likely wanting it to stay that way. So, none of the talk of the Paranormal Unit leaves this room. If both Captain Merrick and Lieutenant Jayna contact them we cover the bases and get our answer. If needed they can reach out to me via a secured channel once they have something of use." he sighed. "What I have on my plate right now is no different from any other day on board. I deal with most of the crew as is being COB. That's my job to worry about and I appreciate the thought Mira. Let's focus on getting this unit involved and we can move ahead."
Edmund looked from Lachlan to Jayna, around to the others then back to Lachlan. After a moments thought he stated "Well now that has been covered, not to sound rude but may I have my office back now, please?" flashing a smile, he did though have a serious expression in his eyes. His office was a bit crowded as it was.
"Of course, sir." S'kaadaar said leaving the room.
Jayna nodded. "I'll let you know what I learn." Then she smiled at Edmund. "Thanks for letting us invade your office."
For the first time in what seemed like a long time Gaagii was glad to be a simple Marine. He did not envy the position that Lachlan was in. However, he hoped whatever was going on did not affect Sofia. As he left the office he decided he would go check on her.
Edmund gave a nod, "You are welcome." All in all, he felt that this helped in some aspect put people on the same page.
"Sir." Lachlan said with a nod and rose from his seat. Leaving the room he let some of the others leave first before heading to juggle a few more plates on board.
A Joint Post By
Captain Edmund Merrick
The Cure Executive Officer, USS Pioneer
Petty Officer First Class S'kaadaar
Security Officer, USS Pioneer
Sergeant Major Lachlan Barr
Chief of The Boat, USS Pioneer
First Sergeant, The Cure
Lieutenant Junior Grade Mira Jayna
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Pioneer
Intelligence Liaison, The Cure
Gunnery Sergeant Gaagii
RECONN Team 2, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Ensign Rachel Sinclair
Assistant Chief Security & Tactical Officer, USS Pioneer
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