Battery's Ran Out

Posted on Tue Feb 22nd, 2011 @ 12:36am by Captain Benjamin Byrne & Lieutenant Lianna Vanders

Mission: Bug-Eyed Bogies
Location: USS Endeavour, Decks 3 & 4

Benjamin squeezed back out of the communications array, firing his rifle at a pair of aliens coming down the corridor, aware of the security teams firing at two more before the mass of alien bodies stopped. The corridor was quiet in the dark, aside from the odd crack of an exoskeleton as a limb was stepped on by one of the officers checking out the area.

"I have external coms back online, and help's on its way," Benjamin reported, turning to the Lieutenant. "Internal communications are intact, but with no power in here to anything other than life support, there's no chance of opening a channel to anyone onboard. There's a set of emergency batteries on deck four, isolated from the main power supply. If we can secure it, and clear the area of any of these bugs, we should be able to bring back-up systems back on-line."

Li spoke, "They're up to something Captain." She thought for a moment. "Captain, I think they've figured out that I'm telepathic."

Benjamin paused, focusing his eyes on her. "Are you sure?" he asked, wondering just how intelligence these bugs were... were they sentient?

"Pretty sure, if they attack us, I'll sense it. Their game has changed." Li mentioned.

Benjamin nodded, unsure what to make of that, but grateful that they'll have some prior warning. "Well, let's hope that their new game keep them out of our way. Come on, the batteries are on the next deck down." Leading the way back along the corridor they had come through, ever cautious, towards the jeffries tube, his mind racing. What if their cutting off of the power was intentional? If they're sentient beings, am I breaching Federation protocols by not attempting to contact them first? He dismissed the thought, at least partially. For all intents and purposes, they attacked us first. We'll gain basic ship functions back, and then attempt to make contact with them. If that fails, then we'll expel them from the ship as hostile intruders. His mind set and his issues surrounding their courses of action resolved, he set himself back to the task at hand, stepping off the jeffries tube ladder onto Deck 4.

"Any sign of bugs on this deck?" he asked the security officers.

One of Li's security used a Tricorder. "I'm picking up nothing, not even movement. I am however picking up a really odd amount of energy coming from both the emergency batteries and from Engineering, down on Deck 16."

Odd as the facts seemed, they were comforting in a way to Benjamin. It meant that there was still power on the ship - just that it wasn't being directed through the relays past the sections where it was stored and generated. "OK, keep your eyes peeled. The emergency batteries are our primary objective - we need to get basic ship power back online. Let's go."

Li responded, "Right behind you."

Benjamin and the others moved through the corridors methodically, but saw no sign of the alien intruders. It was deathly quiet as they moved, their footsteps on the deck being the only sound to disturb the silence. That was, until they started getting closer to the batteries. Then the distinct sound of many of the bugs became apparent in the air. Benjamin ordered a stop, but after a few moments it became clear that the aliens weren't coming closer - they were stationary. And from the sounds of it, they were all in the emergency battery room. Benjamin took out his tricorder. "The power in the batteries is at full charge, but it's being drained gradually. They may be using the power as a food source..." Snapping his tricorder shut, he turned to the security officers. "We need to find a way to disable those bugs - kill them, paralyse them, whatever - without damaging that battery, and we need to do it before they drain it enough for the power to be useless to us. Any suggestions?"

Li spoke, "Captain, I think we should consider setting some charges on the ship's anti-matter pods, and scuttling the Endeavor. We can't risk these things getting planetside somewhere."

"Scuttling the Endeavour is a last-ditch option, Lieutenant," Benjamin responded, looking towards his Chief of Security at her radical suggestion. "I won't consider that until all other options have been exhausted. Right now, we still have the option of regaining control of the ship, and preventing them from spreading out from here. If by the time the HAZMAT team arrives from Starfleet we've failed, then we can consider scuttling the ship." Benjamin hated to even think of the action - he refused to allow himself to think that he would ever scuttle the Endeavour, his first command since the War. Especially not because of a simple 'roach problem.

"Is there any way that we can set a phaser to a wide-beam dispersal pattern, on a setting that will affect the bugs, but not the batteries?"

Li spoke, "You loose kick when you widen the beam Captain. Wait a minute... Sound..."

Benjamin's brow furrowed. "Sound? Lieutenant, what are you on about?"

"When I probed them the first time, I learned that they have a much higher auditory frequency than we do." Li noted.

"And I take it you can use that knowledge to our advantage here?" Byrne asked, gaining confidence that they might not have to pitch a full battle in the battery room to gain control of the piece of equipment. "Make it so," he said, nodding to her.

----
Captain Benjamin J. Byrne
Commanding Officer

&

Lieutenant Lianna Vanders
Chief Security & Tactical Officer
uSS Endeavour NCC-86105