thor Lt. Alieth - General Relativity

[Ben Garcia]

What makes this sim great is how the description of time highlights Alieth's feelings of vulnerability in this emergency situation; it's brought into painful focus with the Olympian effort needed to complete the routine and mundane act of tapping the comm badge. Really neat writing.

 

((Transporter Room One, Deck One, USS Thor))

Time, occasionally, gave the appearance of dilating and contracting simultaneously, without any particularly significant gravitational alteration, or any obvious anomaly. This fact, of course, had more to do with a sense of urgency and the action of hormones and neurotransmitters on the sympathetic nervous system than with what humans called general relativity, naturally, nonetheless it was a remarkable circumstance.

That was one of those moments.

As soon as they all fell onto the pads in a haphazard pile, the Commander rose to his feet and leaped towards the transporter controls.

Alieth, in the other hand,  stood up slowly, very slowly, like moving through a dense, sticky substance instead of thin air. Her eyes remained fixed on the engineer's hands, which seemed to blur over the control panel.

Something rolled beside her and halted just next to her leg, and only that was what pulled her eyes off to see Peri's pale face, greyer than usual, her eyes tightly closed. The doctor was just about to kneel beside her to check her status when a voice broke the silence.

Greaves: =/\= Captain Greaves to Commander Teller. Sir, I've got a nice warm seat here on the bridge with your name on it. =/\=

Peri opened her eyes and Alieth’s gaze darted again to the First Officer. 

Teller: =/\= Standby Bridge, forgot somebody. Retargeting transporters now.  =/\=

That was the moment when time seemed to stretch even further. Possibly only a few seconds passed.

Even less.

Just a breath, long enough time before Mr. Greaves snapped out of his shock and asked the next question.

Yet it seemed like minutes.

Hours.

Decades.

Enough time for a seemingly abandoned Zet to plummet to the ground.

A quick but painful death.

Greaves: =/\= What do you mean we forgot one? =/\=

Of course, at this point time sped up, regaining all the momentum it had lost.

Teller:  Clear the pad, now!

They all moved quickly, as gracefully or gracelessly as they could, as the centre of the room began to pulse, to whirr, golden streaks of particles cascading from the emitters in the ceiling.

And time, once more, stretched like a rubber band, dilated anew.

Alieth turned to the other lieutenant. Before she spoke, she could see every detail of her face, her attentive expression, despite the weariness obscuring her eyes. The tear marks wing had left in the corner of her eyelids. The ridged nose slightly puckered, a tiny freckle over the left cheekbone that she had always noticed but had never had time to observe in detail.

It took Alieth a lot of energy to break the spell of that rubbery time and raise her hand to her chest.

Squeeze the combadge.

It clicked lightly first, before the familiar chirp indicating that the connection had been established rang.

Her throat seemed to take centuries to respond to her brain's commands.

All that lifetime took just a few tenths of a second.

Alieth:  Alieth to Main Sickbay, send three stretchers and a trauma team to transporter room one.

Salo: =/\= Roger, on route=/\= 

As soon as the combadge beeped a second time, she turned to her colleague.

Alieth:  Dr. Quen, what is your physical self-evaluation?

Quen:  Response

Teller: =/\= Volumetric lock established, standby bridge, energizing... =/\=

Alieth looked forward again. Without being aware of it, she leaned slightly forward, as the light grew brighter and brighter.

And it began to solidify in the centre of the room.

The lights flickered faintly.

The room filled with the distinct aroma of the Zet metropolis.

A long-limbed, spider-like figure curled into herself materialized in the centre of it all, barely an inch away from the reception pad.

A breeze that wasn't really there hit them in the face and ruffled the curls that framed the Vulcan's visage.

She was there.

Nenni was safe. 

There was a plaintive buzzing sound and the whole complex system seemed to shut down at once.

Teller:  Doctors, if you're alright, please check on Ensign Katsim and Nenni.  I need to...get to the..bri..

The sound caught her off guard. Her first impulse was to rush to help, but she held back for a second. The commander's crooked nose was... REALLY askew. And swollen. And splattered with so much red  and purple that it would be worthy of many an artist's abstract expressionism phase.

But despite its striking appearance, it did not necessarily look life-threatening.

Moreover, Teller had survived a runabout falling on his head and was stubbornly back on his feet just hours later. She was sure she could survive for a few seconds while they sorted out the situation.

Greaves: =/\= Response =/\=

Alieth: =/\=  We have her, we are all here. There will be a report on bridge in two minutes, but, effective immediately, Commander Teller is relieved of duty per medical advice. (Beat, concealing relief.) You are still in command, Captain Greaves. =/\=

Greaves: =/\= Response =/\=

As she was speaking, both of her teammates had lost no time and leaned over the crumpled Zet, appraising her condition.With that front covered, the Vulcan approached the collapsed first officer and crouched beside him.

Katsim: Are you okay?

Nozku/Quen:  Response

No sooner had the tiny CMO accomplished her movement when an arm rose up from behind the transporter control station, followed by a plaintive cough.

Teller: =/\= Bridge...Transport..Successful.  Red...Alert.... =/\=

Greaves: =/\= Response =/\=

Alieth: =/\=  Indeed, mister Greaves =/\=

At that moment, the room doors hissed open, the Orion nurse and the rest of the trauma team carrying the triage equipment as well as several floating stretchers.

Soon, the entire team was examined, Nenni and Teller carefully positioned on stretchers, cortical monitors attached to their foreheads or temples.

Alieth:  (After pressing a hypospray on the side of the young hybrid's neck) Ensign Katsim, I would like you to report on the bridge to explain what has happened to Captain Greaves. (Turning to Deena) Dr. Quen, you are welcome to accompany her to provide your eyewitness account as well, but I will need you in sickbay soon for a reconstructive surgery.

Katsim/Quen (optional Nozku/Teller):  Response

Alieth nodded silently before turning back to Malak.

Alieth:  Nurse, make sure that they reach the sickbay in good condition and, most importantly, that none of them attempt any foolishly bold attempts to make their way to the bridge. Adventure is over for the day for them.

Salo: (Smiling broadly and winking ostentatiously) Of course, ma'am, even if I have to strap them to the stretcher.

Perhaps there was some protest. Or an incoherent babble. But Alieth ignored them and escorted both stretchers out of the room, her attention focused on the welfare of both patients.

She could only look out for them at that moment, the conclusion of the mission in the hands of Captain Kells and the staff on the bridge. But she trusted them, she had shared so much with that crew and had learned that she could rely on them. Delegating was a skill, one that every officer had to learn at some point, even if some did it sooner than others.

As she entered hastily in the turbolift and the door hissed shut behind her, the Vulcan realized something:

Time had resumed its usual pace and rhythm.

[[Tag! & End of the Scene for Alieth]]

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Lt. Alieth
Chief Medical Officer
USS Thor NCC-82607
E239702A10  
Image Collective Co-Facilitator /Art Director
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