#38 NO!

Posted on Tue Jun 11th, 2024 @ 12:41am by Lieutenant Commander Billi & Lieutenant JG Griffon Resch "Nazgul" & Lieutenant JG Ainkara "Kara"

Mission: TALES FROM THE MIDDLE STARS
Location: various
Timeline: current

ON:

Ainkara and Griffon Resch had left the Bridge of Nazgul and made their way to the Delta Flyer. Accessing the warp capable small craft they both entered via the aft hatch which had folded down from the aft section. Kara closed the hatch as Griffon went up front, going all the way down to the most forward station, the pilot's chair, and sat down while getting comfortable.

Kara came up to the Bridge and looked at where he was. She did not disagree with his choice. "Since I will be busy getting dressed for a space walk, we need to depart and head for the Gola. No weapons, no shields. I want us to be as non-combative in appearance as possible, Mister Resch."

"I got ya, Lieutenant," Resch responded as he went through per-flight. "I figure you're going to be the busy one, I'm just here as pilot and back-up." He saw all systems were green, and within a couple of minutes they were free and clear to navigate on their own after leaving the Nazgul. In that time Kara had gone into the aft section while Griffon changed course to head for the Gola. Looking out the front viewport, seeing the massive creature, he did feel a bit of trepidation. The energy waves it was putting off might begin to much with the ship as they got closer and he would have to keep an eye on all systems while looking out for his team mate.

Once in the back Kara stripped off her uniform, down to her knickers, and then donned a body glove and then the EVA suit. Along with the suit Kara had also added a maneuvering pack so she could move about in open space should the energy output of the Gola prove to be a hinderance to the small ship. Both officers did what they had to do to prepare, even as they moved closer to the creature at one-eighth impulse.

Standing ready above and behind Resch, Kara watched the approach. The Delta began to experience a shuddering, vibrating wave of energy the closer it got. "Is this going to get worse, Mister Resch?"

"You tell me, you're the Science officer." Resch popped off. "But, as a tactical professional I can say that yes, the closer we get to the source of those waves the worse it will probably get. Also," he looked back over his shoulder, meeting her gaze. "The name is Griffon. Or Griff. No need for the 'mister' all the time. It won't hurt my feelings."

"Your feelings are the least of my concerns, Griffon." Kara replied, making sure his name was said very distinctly. He seemed to be in a bit of a snit so she merely returned the sentiment. "We don't need to cripple the Delta. All stop, Lieutenant. I'll make my way to the Gola with the suit pack."

That caused Resch to stop the ship, but then he half turned in his seat to look back at her. "Are you sure that's wise, Kara?"

Kara gave a one-time tilt/wag to her head. "Wise? I won't know until I am out there. However, if I get into trouble it will be nice to know that I have the Delta safely sitting a short distance away in case things go badly. That, and having our Tactical Chief backing me on this makes me feel that much more confident. I just hope the Gola is in the mood for a possible conversation."

"Well, if it's not, you'll be the first to know, unfortunately."

"Too true," Kara responded and, for the first time since they started this little jaunt, she gave a grin. "Are you worried about me, Griff?" It was odd for her to use his name in a the shortened nickname, but she had heard many of the crew refer to him as such. And, he had made it clear that it was acceptable in the proper circumstances.

Griffon gave a chuckle and a grin, shaking his head slightly. "Don't read into it, Kara. Yes, I am concerned as a fellow officer and ship mate, and more importantly, as the Security Chief. Beyond that, however, I don't know you well enough to take that concern to another level."

Kara's grin remained. "Fair enough. I will take every precaution. I'll get going." Taking up her helmet she put it on as Griff helped her get it all set. Once she was cacooned in her suit Kara made her way to the back, decompressed the aft section and opened the hatch. Gravity was still present but no atmo as she walked forward and then stepped out into open space. "I'm free of the hatch, Griffon. Close it up." He acknowledged the order and the hatch shut as she used her pack for station keeping. She could not help but look around her in all diractions, her mind at first wanting to freak out over the lack of anything other than the Delta in her vicinity. She calmed herself even as her eyes took in the vast expanse of space everywhere her eyes happened to look. Maneuvering around the Delta she pulled up alongside the pilot's side window, looking in at the Lieutenant. "Here we go. Please, keep tabs on me, Lieutenant." She used rank to show that she was being serious, not flippant.

"You will be my focus, Ainkara." Resch reassured her. She was Vulcanoid as a member of the Voran species, but they had not cast off their emotions, seemingly more like Romulans. Keep it on the downlow and always maintain self control was what he had seen her acting like aboard the USS Nazgul. And, he had also noticed that her understanding of humor was a work in progress. Too often he had seen her around a group of others, with them all laughing and carrying on, while Kara would remain aloof and quiet, her eyes showing that there were times when she just did not understand why something was amusing, or even how to cast an amused thought at any given situation. Resch liked that about her. Super intelligent, as she had proven time and again, but an innocence to her he found to his liking. That, and he wanted to get to know her so he could delve into all she knew about the Iconians. But, that could wait for another time, obviously.

Kara placed her right hand on the window, flat and splayed open. "As you Humans like to say, wish me luck."

Resch returned the gesture from his side of the window, placing his left hand flat on the window over hers. Though they could not touch each other that simple gesture of respect and teamwork spoke volumes. Then, a voice cut in on the helmet feed.

"Delta, this is Commander Billi. Status?"

As if she was being spotted doing something out of the ordinary Kara pulled her hand away from the window quickly. An auto-response. "Commander Billi, Kara, here. We're fine and have got in place for our mission. I am moving forward now."

Billi came back. "I was wondering. You two are just sitting there. I'm sure I don't need to remind you that we are pressed for time here, Lieutenant Kara. Proceed, and be safe doing so."

"Aye, Sir." Kara replied even as she faced the Gola off in the distance, roughly three kilometers away. "Kara, out." After Billi was cut off Kara switched to the privacy comm between herself and Resch. If Nazgul wanted to talk they could call again. Right now she needed to have her partner on discrete and not get inundated with questions and conversation flotsam from people who weren't out here. Activating her jet pack Kara began to zoom towards the Gola. As she had been sitting next to the small ship she had felt the energy waves passing over herself and the Delta. As she moved closer to the creature those energy waves became more powerful since she was closing the distance on the origin. Not anything the Gola was doing purposefully, but it was obvious the creature had not responded by increasing the power behind the waves. ~Should I take that as a good sign?~ Kara thought to herself.

Throwing caution to the wind Kara kept herself at the fastest speed she could attain. If the waves proved dangerous and happened to muck with her in transit then at least her corpse would arrive where it should be.

On the Delta Resch watched her physically until she got too small to pick out from the stars, thenn his eyes dropped to his scopes. The energy waves were still coming but they had not increased with Kara's proximity to the Gola. All he could think was that whatever was going on with this thing it was not here to harm anyone. His gut told him this. One thing his father had imparted on all the Resch siblings was to always trust their instincts. Humans were far more intuitive and receptive to ESP and such than they thought they were. Gut feelings, instincts, were a part of that. Even as he thought on these things his eyes saw that the circular, concentric energy waves which reminded him of impact tremors on water when large beasts stomped the ground, he saw that this saide of the wave was diminishing slightly. The waves heading his way, and at Kara, were being manipulated so as not to hit them with the full force even as the other three directions of the wave kept up their pace. Thank you, Gola, he thought to himself.

Feeling the energy waves coming at her lessening, and now a thousand meters from the Gola, Kara began to put on the brakes and slow down. Once she had closed the distance she came in slowly on the Gola, actually doing a controlled collision with the creature using her hands and feet to buffer the impact. There was no gravity or atmoshere so doing so was not an issue for her to keep her face from smashing into the rather solid hide of the beast. But, as soon as she touched the Gola there was an electrical tingling felt in her limbs, a thrumming energy that was both terrifying and fascinating at the same time. She did not pull her hands away as she let her legs dangle below her. Closing her eyes, and now in physical contact with the Gola, Kara began to meld with it. Unlike Vulcans, who's meld took time, the Voran meld was quick when they touched others. However, she had suspected that the EVA gloves would hinder that process. They did not. Her mind was engulfed in images from time gone by, people, places, and species she had never seen before. She saw the Enterprise and Captain Kirk, then the Nazgul as it had towed the creature to a place it found comforting. From the Gola she could sense urgency, but also trepidation for the beings around it. Focusing her mind Kara began to use the communication techniques gathered by the USS Peel, trying to speak to the Gola and have it understand her, and she it. With one hand she closed the comm channel, not needing Resch to interrupt them while they melded. It could cause an issue if things were misunderstood, and she felt like speaking aloud even as she melded mentally with the creature. She ran through her mind how to speak Federation Basic, bringing up in her own memories all the years she had spent learning various languages from around the galaxy.

Resch sat and watched as Kara made contact with the Gola, his sensors showing it all plain as day. The energy waves caused the sensors to flutter with each pass, but they were still good. That was when he heard the comm channel close. "Computer, what happened to the comm channel?"

"Disconnected at the source."

"Son of a..." Resch gave a heavy sigh. "Great, now I really gotta watch what's going on. Kara, you better know what you're doing." He thought to himself for a moment and then got up. Going to the back he stripped down to his skivvies and donned his own EVA suit. If he needed to go out and get her it was better to be ready. He had a screen up in back, watching even as he dressed. Going back up front he took the tactical station, which was above and behind the actual pilot's seat. It gave him a better view as he switched direct driver to his console. Now, he would sit and wait. Albeit, impatiently. "Computer, monitor Lieutenant Ainkara's suit at all times. Any dangerous readings in her bio readings alert me immediately."

"Acknowledged. Connection readings established." Stated the computer, in that pleasant female voice. "Current bio readings indicate heightened mental activity and raised blood pressure consistent with stress."

Griffon gave a chuckle. He did not want the moment by moment, play by play reports. "Computer, please alert me if the readings become dangerous. Dain-jer-us! Not anxiety reports."

"Acknowledged and confirmed."

Another chuckle escaped Resch. The way the computer spoke matter-of-factly did remind him of Kara on a daily basis. He was pretty sure that Ainkara did not know what 'sugarcoating' was in conversations. She just stated what was factual, in a no-nonsense way. Something to be expected from a Science officer. Still, with Kara, it was different. As the Tactical Chief he often sat and observed others. It was what a good detective did. Profiling was taught at the Academy and he had done well in that course. That, and Kara deserved to be 'enlightened' to the minutiae of every day life and those around her. Having been kept in stasis for over two centuries by the Iconians it was clear that Kara was not up to par with her social skills. As a fellow officer, and hopefully a friend, he would take it upon himself to aid her in that. But, for now, he was almost biting his nails as he waited for Kara to contact him.

Ainkara's eyes opened suddenly and wide, her face contorted into someone suffering great sorrow. So much so that tears rolled down her cheeks and she let out heavy breaths to control all the emotions within the Gola were transferred to her. It was lonely, the last of its kind. Being here, at home where it originally came from, comforted it. But, the memories of all of its kind being summarily hunted down and destroyed by various governments had been crushing to the creature and it began to fight back with a vengeance, sending said governments back in time to the stone age even while the rest of the galaxy continued on as it should in regular time. Quite the ability to have and not one for those seeking revenge. But, now, the creature was feeling what could only be described as happiness and giddiness. But, it was becoming impatient with the interference from all these beings and their metal containers. The time was closing in and the Gola needed to be at a certain spot or all it had fought and suffered for would be for naught. Kara's initial sorrow turned to absolute joy as another piece of mental clarity was shown to her, the Gola trsuting her enough to allow her to know its secret. "I have to let the others of my kind know, so we can help you." She explained. In return Kara got a big NO sent her way, the Gola fearing what would happen.

"Please! We can help you. If we can make those in your way understand why you are here then we can settle this whole situation. I give you my word I will do everything in my power to aid you, no matter what." Kara pleaded at first, then set herself to the fact she would lose her career to help this being. The Vulcan IDIC came to mind. Infinite Diversity, Infinite Combination. All life was to be respected, even if it proved to be dangerous. Humanoids too often forgot that what they believe is not what the entire galaxy believes. NO! It came at her again and then she got hit with an electrical charge that was felt all the way through her suit gloves, excruciating pain as she was then hit with another projection of energy that sent her reeling head over heels back through space, unconscious, tumbling along slowly even as the distance between herself and the Gola began to expand as she floated back towards the Delta.

The computer piped up as soon as Kara got zapped. "Electrical discharge from the Gola has attacked the EVA suit. A second discharge incapacitated Lieutenant Ainkara. She is unconscious."

"Frack!" Resch said as he grabbed his helmet and began to fasten it down. "Get the biobed ready for a patient, computer. I'm going out to get her." He went to the back, repeating what Kara had done earlier to exit the ship, and then he himself stepped out and began to maneuver to go get the tumbling Voran. "Computer, life signs on Lieutenant Kara?"

"Lieutenant Kara is unconscious but her vitals are strong. They fluctuate from the electrical shock but I determine no immediate danger of death."

"Resch!" Commander Billi's voice came through his helmet comm. "Did the Gola attack Lieutenant Kara?"

He was zooming towards Kara, keeping his eyes on her. "Unknown, Number One. There were two electrical discharges and now she is unconscious and free floating. I'm going to get her now."

Billi stood on the Bridge next to the Science station, looking back at the screen. "The Gola changed its energy output. Whatever it is doing now it is interfering with the transporter out your way. We can't beam either of you back until the Gola decides to change it back."

"I hear you, Commander," Resch responded. "Her vitals are stable if not a bit choppy from two electrical shocks. According to the computer her suit is still whole and in good order. We'll get back once I have her on board the Delta. Until then, let me work, Number One. Please."

"You got it Griffon," Billi said. "If it takes too long for you to get moving I will use Nazgul to come and get you, despite the Gola's current tantrum. Report in once your back aboard your ship. Billi, out." The comm channel closed.

Thank the Maker she was letting Resch handle it. If an away team could not handle its own mission then they were no good. Billi, being the good Number One that she was, was allowing him to use all his wits to overcome this incident and keep the away mission going without support from the Nazgul. He would make sure her confidence in him was sound. Kara was, technically, the leader of the away mission but given her current status it fell to Griffon. Finally he got to Kara, slowing his own speed to effortlessly catch her right side up, his face mask pressed to hers as he held her. He activated her comm. "Kara! Kara! Answer me! Come on, girl, wake up!" Nothing. "Shit," he said, spinning around and heading back to the Delta.

Arriving in short order, with the back buttoned up and compressed after he had set her on the biobed, Resch stripped down and re-dressed in his uniform. He then went through the hassle of getting Kara out of her suit. Not an easy task with an unconscious person but he got it done. She was in her Starfleet blue women's boxer briefs and sports bra so, instead of redressing her, which would be a chore, he simply covered her with a blanket from ankles to neck and then he activated the biobed. Her hands were burned from the electrical discharge but they did not look overly horrible. Though he was not a medical officer, Resch had had emergency medical training so his mind looked at the burns. They looked to be first degree burns, possibly second degree, but he was not sure. Going to the medical cabinet here in the aft he opened it up and scanned the shelves for what he was looking for. Thankfully the Delta had been stocked with some. For engineers and others who got burns on their hands during their duties, had these special gloves to slide over their hands. The gloves were filled with dermaline gel, so even if the patient was unconscious the gloves provided antibiotic treatment, soothed some of the pain, and began to heal the damaged epidermas while a medical officer came up with a treatment program for the patient. It was the best he could do for her right now as he slid the gloves onto her hands. Activating them they did a shrink flex and conformed to her hands even as the gel within began to be dispersed.

"Nazgul to Lieutenant Resch." It was the new gal's voice. What was her name? Oh yeah, Qeritas. Weird name but who was he to judge.

"Bloody hell!" Griff said under his breath before tapping his badge. "Resch, here. Go ahead, Nazgul."

"You're not moving, Lieutenant," Billi said as her voice came through the speakers. "Do I give up our parking spot or are you ready to come home for dinner."

Resch could not help it, he grinned to himself at that. "We're good, Number One. I just got her settled on the biobed and began a treatment I could. Her hands are burned but I don't know to what degree. First degree, for sure. Possibly second degree. Her hands are in dermaline gloves. With her settled I am going to start for home. See you in about an hour, Commander. Resch, out." He tapped his badge off and went up front.

As good as his word, Resch got them back to Nazgul, parked the Delta, and then watched as a medical officer came in and put a hand on Kara's shoulder. She tapped her badge and spoke. "Two to beam directly to Sickbay." They were caught up and vanished in the thrum and light of the matter stream.

Griffon, walking out of the back aft hatch, let the engineers have at the Delta for maintenance. He really needed a cup of raktajino right now.

OFF: