Pest Control

Posted on Sun Feb 27th, 2011 @ 11:33pm by Captain Benjamin Byrne & Lieutenant Lianna Vanders & Lieutenant JG Mykel Owen & Ensign R'cher & Lieutenant JG Nessa Jenarian & Ensign Lhamepha Kitonuh [Byrne] & Provisional Lieutenant Commander Narayn Ballard & EMH Mark IX "Nina"

Mission: Bug-Eyed Bogies
Location: USS Endeavour - Bridge
Timeline: After "The Darkened Bridge"

Benjamin climbed through the hatch in the floor of the bridge, looking around at the officers surrounding him as he did so. Pleasantly so, the bridge looked a lot more full than it had last time he had been here, as more officers had managed to make their way to the logical centre for mounting a resistance to the bugs, for the most part unscathed. Climbing through, he moved aside to allow Lieutenant Vanders access to follow him up, stood straight, and tugged the bottom of his vest-jacket down, pulling out the creases caused by bending over to climb out. "Report, Chief," he said, strolling towards his Chief of the Boat and Acting First Officer.

"Good to see you, Benjamin." Ballard said, looking up from the console he was perched at. "Ensign Jenarian has found a way to reactivate some of the replicators. Should give us what we need."

R'cher tapped his commbadge while taking a kneel for a small rest. " This is Ensign R'cher calling anyone. Hello?" he said.

"Ensign, this is Captain Byrne," Benjamin replied, tapping his own combadge. "What's your situation, Ensign? Where are you?"

" Outside the turbolift door now sir." the caitian said

"Make your way to the Bridge," Benjamin responded. "You can join us here to help plan our next move. Byrne out."

" Aye sir." he said. " Making way towards the bridge." he said.

Rcher tried to activate the lift to no avail. he shouted a caitian swear as he opened the hatch for the Jeffries tubes. " Bug guts on my tail too." he said as he loaded his TR-116 in ahead of him. He then pulled himself in. " ca'nt be far." he told himself as he started to crawl

Turning back towards Ballard, but looking to include the others present as well, he said; "I'm still uncertain on the use of a gas wide-scale to eliminate these things. What if there's a crewman - or worse, a civilian," he added the last, thinking of his family, still out of contact on the internal comm network. "In an area where these bugs are, and without a mask?" He paused, as he structured the thoughts he had had during his journey back to the bridge. "The collateral damage potential is high, and for that reason," he looked towards Jenarian, "I want you to continue working on the formula, but we'll hold it in backup. If we can get the creatures in a position where we know we won't harm any of the crew, then we'll use it."

"I was thinking more along the lines of a tear gas or something to put them to sleep, Captain. And yes, I did consider the possibility of it affecting civilians or other members of the crew. That is why I moved from the original plan of using poison to directly kill the creatures," the science officer responded as her eyes scanned the formula she had come up with. Still, the dispersal unit eluded her, especially if it was going to be a delayed device. She lacked in-depth weapons training and as such didn't know how to apply the rest of the knowledge she did have on this concept.

Li spoke, "I still think scuttling the Endeavor and using the escape pods should be our best option. These things would be a nightmare if they ever got to an inhabited world."

"Sir, you said they seemed to be... feeding off the energy in the emergency batteries," Lhamepha (NPC) spoke up, moving a couple of steps forward. "Is there any way that we could... I don't know, make the ship's power taste bad to them? Maybe even turn it into something to repulse them?"

"How would we go about doing that?" Ballard asked with a degree of cynicism that he hoped wouldn't communicate to the Ensign.

Raising her head to meet Lhamepha's gaze, Nessa grinned, "Well, if Nina can manage to make out anything specific in regards to their diet, she might give us a way to do that, Lhamepha. Great thinking." She beamed a smile to the operations officer as she patiently waited to hear any kind of news from the EMH, hoping that the data they had managed to gather would be sufficient.

Li responded, "I can tell you their diet right now... humans and anything that has flesh. Then they go after the energy conduits." Her mind thought of something. "Hey I know, maybe we can set up an energy buffet for them in the shuttlebay, and then vop them into space."

"Or we could figure out a way to alter the energy output so that it is toxic to them. Or, reroute additional power to give them that little extra jolt that might push the energy from tasty to deadly levels," the science officer spoke, holding onto the console in front of her with a bit more fervor than was required for someone simply leaning casually against an object. "Still, the attempt at humor is noted, lieutenant," she added coldly in a tone of voice that could easily earn her a reprimand.

Li was not amused and she walked over to the Science Officer. "Let me explain something to you Ensign. While you were busy taking science classes and learning about the joys of peace, love, and warm and fuzzy things, I was busy defending my homeworld from a Jem'hadar invasion. I don't think you've earned the right to contradict me Ensign." She moved back toward her console.

"That's enough, Lieutenant." Ballard snapped, realising that he'd become her next target. Still, better she went for him than a kid like Jenarian. "What do you think, sir?" The Chief asked, turning to the Captain

"But I have earned it, Lieutenant." Benjamin's tone of voice and the increased volume to his normal speaking level cut through the tension like a scalpel. "You may have had more experience fighting these things Lieutenant, but Ensign Jenarian has more experience in studying creatures, and finding out how they work. A blunt instrument won't work here, but neither will a purely scientific approach. Our situation here is tense enough without adding to it by arguing amongst ourselves. Anything you have to say to eachother will be said after we are done with this situation. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?" His tone clearly carried enough anger in it that all the two officers could do in reply to his ire was nod sheepishly. "Good. Now we have to work together on this if we are going to succeed. Jenarian, you work with Kitonuh and, when he joins us, R'cher on whether we can modify the ship's energy output to make it in any way beneficial to our cause. Vanders, you will work with Chief Ballard and Ensign Owen on how we're going to get down to Engineering without gaining ourselves anymore casualities."

R'cher finally crawled onto the bridge. " Captain." he said, crawling into the middle of Byrne's stern issuing of orders.

"Ensign," Benjamin said, looking towards their new arrival. "You're working with Ensign Jenarian, she'll explain more." Turning back towards the room at large, he said; "You each have your assignments, get to them. I want this ship back under our control before the HAZMAT team from Starfleet gets here. I'll be in my ready room." With that, he turned and almost stalked off the bridge. He knew that tensions were high, his own included, but having to intercede on a verbal match between two of his senior officers had riled him up something rotten - he needed time to himself to calm down - to return to the calculated commander he needed to be to get his people through this alive.

" Yes sir."R'cher said

Nessa nodded to the caitian and beckoned him over to her position at the science console. She could give the lieutenant a piece of her mind, but orders were orders and she wasn't going to ignore those no matter how she felt about the present situation. She tapped her comm-badge, letting out a soft grunt as her leg started trembling again, but managed to steady herself before speaking out loud, "Jenarian to sickbay. Nina, could certainly use some good news right about now."

The feminine voice of the holographic doctor came back over the comm. line. "The data you sent me, along with the various examples around me and sickbay, have taught me a few things, Ensign. Please activate your monitor to the Emergency Holographic Channel."

Nessa shrugged her shoulders slightly and pressed a button on her console, activating the EHC on the screen in front of her.

As her face appeared on the terminal screen, back-dropped by a poorly-lit sickbay-in-distress, the hologram nicknamed "Nina" continued with her report. "From what I have managed to determine thus far, the creatures exhibit three very distinct forms of existence. The first, and the one you are likely most familiar with, is the adult. The adults of the species are pumped with all kinds of pheromones that make them aggressive towards others not of its pack, and their minds seem to be just past the level of a primitive animal - able to rudimentarily learn basic functions of a computer system. At this stage, their sustenance comes from a particular type of energy - the form that results from the interaction of matter and anti-matter is the most nutritious to them. A high-power burst of a particular energy frequency should be enough to harm them - whether it will kill or disable, I cannot say."

"The second form is the lavae, and I must stress that you must listen to me very carefully here, Ensign. The lavae are implanted inside the wound of a victim of the adults - a living victim, I must stress. The warm, moist environment of the wound is perfect for accellerated growth in the infants, and usually within a standard day they will become dependent on the energy that sustains the adults. As lavae, they consume the flesh around the wound, using it to form the protein strains for their own body growth. They also use the DNA embedded in this flesh and combine it with their own - a creature which was 'birthed' inside a Klingon will have typically Klingon traits about its adult form, such as enhanced strength and aggressiveness. Once a lavae passes the point of being able to live inside the victim, they will force their way out, towards the nearest energy source, killing the victim. The only way to remove these lavae is surgically, one-by-one; the longer they have been present within the wound, the more tricky the procedure will become."

"Finally, the third form is what I believe to be a 'Queen' of sorts. All of the creatures seem to exhibit base telepathic talents, but their brains aren't developed enough to be considered truly sentient. The Queen, I believe will locate herself at the most abundant source of energy, and have a much higher intelligence level than the regulars, coordinating their progression and growth as a hive. I believe that she will have much higher physical and mental defences; medically, short of high firepower, I can't suggest a method to disable her without getting a closer look."

"Thank you, Nina, that will prove most helpful, as to that larvae stage... I will make sure to pay you a visit as soon as possible," the science officer said, beaming a smile to the hologram's image on the monitor. While as far as Nessa knew, the EMH wasn't programmed to feel better due to praise or display of emotion, it did help the young human feel better. "So it seems we should be able to overload the energy conduits in Engineering to bring about a short burst that will incapacitate or possibly even kill the bugs there. Save the queen." She let out a resigned sigh as her attention turned to the betazoid before continuing, "And I guess that's where you come in, Lieutenant. I'll try to get us some access to the scanners in engineering so we have a general idea of what's going on down there. Possibly give us some tactical data that you'd need to be better prepared for the encounter." Nessa was in her element at this point. She knew what the problem was and the solution for it, so all she needed now was to figure out a way to make it happen. "R'cher, you work on sensors, try to get us an eye in engineering while Kitonuh and I work on the energy conduits to try and give those bugs the shock of their lives." There was something nagging at the science officer's mind, then a very wide grin formed on her lips as she turned back to the console display where the EMH still stood, "Nina, could you possibly work on synthesizing pheromones that would identify us as members of their pack?"

"I'm afraid pheremones won't work in this instance, Ensign," the EMH responded. "The creatures identify pack-mates by way of their telepathy; I could concoct a device that would alter temporarily the brainwave patterns of any of the crewmembers to imitate that of the pack, but only if they already possessed some telepathic talent. I believe the ploy would also fail to fool the Queen."

"Work on that, Nina," the science officer responded. After all, the lieutenant that she had just argued with was a betazoid, and as such, capable of telepathy, "While it would not fool the Queen, it will make it all the easier to get to her. If we manage to neutralize the Queen, taking out the rest of the bugs would likely be much easier."

Li loaded another power cell into her phaser rifle. "Alright, let me get this straight. You want me go down to the Holonurse to have her scramble up my head so I can think like a bug, so I can pass off as one of the bug-spawn and put a phaser bolt in Queenie's head when she isn't looking? Is that the plan?"

Nessa gave a slight nod of her head before saying, "In essence, yes, though I think the EMH should be able to send the design to us here and we could use the replicator to create whatever is necessary to alter your brainwaves. Still, I'd suggest holding on using it at least until we get internal sensors working in engineering and are sure that the power overload Kitonuh and I are working on has neutralized most if not all of them." She pursed her lips momentarily then gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. The plan was relatively simple, and as such there was little that could go wrong.

Li sighed, "Alright, but if I start going around chomping up crewmembers and sucking on power conduits. I'm gonna shoot the Holonurse."

The science officer chuckled at those words. She was starting to actually like the lieutenant even if the two weren't exactly on friendly terms at present. "I doubt that will happen, but tell you what... if you start doing that, you can shoot me," she answered after a short consideration. While the alteration wasn't going to be her doing, she knew that the EMH would know if something could go wrong and warn them of possible side effect. "One more thing, though. Nina, based on the larval stage of these creatures, do you believe one of them would attack someone that is infected, or can they identify someone and avoid attacking them at least until said someone exhibits aggressive behavior?"

"There would be no way to make that determination without a detailed case study, Ensign," the EMH replied. There was, afterall, only so much that a series of biological scans could provide.

"Understood, Nina. Thank you, you have been of great help," the science officer answered. She knew that she had been pushing it with that question, but it had to be asked.

Mykel looked up from the Conn console, plotting the safest path the Engineering. A report from the Enterprise's encounter with a Borg Sphere having gave him an idea. "Why dont we vent the warp plasma into Engineering? It would easily kill anything organic, including the queen, and wouldn't jepordize any of our remaining Crew?" he asked, looking up at the acting XO.

"Is there anyone in Engineering?" Ballard asked, looking over at the med-tech who had initially broken the bad news.

"There's no way to tell, sir." She said.

Ballard flinched. He had never been called 'sir' before. It didn't sit well with him. "It's Chief, tech. All right. That's got to be out. If we can't tell who's down there then we can't take the chance that they might get all their skin burned off, regardless of how easy it might be."

Mykel nodded in agreement, and turned to face the acting XO. "Good point Chief. Well, if the Lieutenant gets down there and there are none of our personelle, then I believe that would be the safest course of action. And if not, she can still try the assult." Owen looked over at the Lieutenant, then back at the XO. "Id like to join the Lieutenant, Chief. One of the first things taught in tactical is the buddy system. No one should go alone." He finished, rechecking his Phaser pistol, and rifle.

Nessa rubbed her temples in an attempt to get some focus on the task in front of her. It seemed to be going well, they were actually almost ready with the power surge at this point, but she had lost track of what was where. At the mention of someone going to engineering, she lifted her head and frowned slightly. "The whole idea is that the lieutenant is a telepath and as such can have her mind signature modified so she can fool the bugs that she is one of them. Bringing you along will just serve to attract unwanted attention toward her. Believe me, I thought of that too, and that is why I asked Nina if the bugs would attack someone who has been infected. If that were not the case, I could go along with her and provide support if needed," the science officer said, focusing her gaze on the human. The fever she had been battling against was already at dangerous levels, so she needed to make her way to sickbay sooner rather than later. "I need to go to the EMH either way, so I could accompany the lieutenant part of the way and see how bugs react to my presence. If they choose to ignore me, I can accompany her the rest of the way. If not then I will remain in sickbay until the issue clears out," she added, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to calm her senses.

Mykel crouched down, and covered the door, silent.

"Point taken, Ensign." The Chief said. "Looks like you're staying up here, Owen."

Li grabbed her backup Type II Phaser and handed it to Nessa. "You know how to use that?"

Nessa tapped her hip where her own Type II was holstered. "I certainly can, lieutenant. You keep that one just in case, I got my own," she said, turning her attention back to the console she had been working on. With a frown, she pressed the button that would execute the power surge the selkie and her had been preparing. The emergency lights flickered for a good five seconds before returning to normal. "Well, that should have given them something to feast on. Let's go. You two keep working on sensors, any kind of information you can give us about the situation in engineering would be nice," she added, addressing the selkie and the caitian next to her.

"Good." She said simply. "Alright, it's party time." Li said as she opened the jefferies tube hatch.

"Lead the way, I'll bring up the rear," the science officer responded before climbing in the hatch after the betazoid.

R'cher propped his rifle up against the Engineering console on the bridge

"Good luck." Ballard exclaimed as the hatch closed behind them before muttering under his breath. "You'll need it."

------------------
Captain Benjamin J. Byrne
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Lianna Vanders
Chief Tactical/Security Officer

Ensign Mykel Owen
Chief Flight Control Officer

Ensign R'cher
Chief Operations Officer
Contact Specialist

Ensign Nessa Jenarian
Chief Science Officer

Chief Petty Officer Narayn Ballard
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Endeavour

NPCs:
Ensign Lhamepha Kitonuh
Operations Officer

EMH Mark IX "Nina"
Emergency Medical Hologram