Ensign Drevas Matthel: Sucky Situation - No Pun Intended

[Alora DeVeau]

OOC: We're in the middle of a mission where some of the crew and some civilians have been shrunk to about 8cm in height (around 3 inches).  Currently, one group is stuck in a shaft near the warp core and there's a vacuum coming after them (pirates kidnapped them and are trying to get them back after they escaped).  Here's the situation from one point of view that I just really enjoyed.

IC: 

 

((Pirate Ship Drowning Band))

Matthel felt sick to his stomach. Yet another two of their team were gone, one in foolish bravery and one to rescue that one person. Not that he was one to give up easily, mind, but the thought of never seeing them again made him queasy. Thank the Prophets for the empress’ snooty voice, which cut through the momentary haze that clouded his mind:

Lurtz: Where is the Andorian man?

 

Drevas: He… went after Isaiah. Er, ensign Andrews, your Highness.

 

Valeria: Oh no, your tasty blue snack of a Commander went back to save your very heroic Mr. Andrews who ran off to save the bravest Gorn of them all.  Hopefully at least two of the three will return to us soon?

 

Uh huh. She clearly wasn’t happy about that. Yay for the best answer he could provide – what was he expecting? Agreement? A sympathetic nod and lamentation as to how they might never see them again? Also not that he doubted the empress’ capacity for sympathy or empathy, but still. What was he expecting, eh?

Stop it, he told himself. You’re not here to judge her on what she thinks about the situation. You have something bigger to take care of right now.
 

Drevas: They are resourceful people. They’ll find a way.

 

He raised an eyebrow at the fact that somehow or other, despite their circumstances, the archaeologist that’d followed them found it in herself to grin. Not the kind of grin meant to comfort, mind, but an expression of amusement. Yes, somehow or other she found this entire debacle and the impending sense of danger that constantly pressed down on them like a barbell really very amusing. Prophets, why, he asked himself. Why had it been him that was thrust into this situation?
 

Valeria: Please, we’re eight centimeters tall, watching a disco warp drive.  What isn’t funny about that?

 

Lurtz: Your lack of professionalism is neither endearing nor wanted.

Wow. Okay, then. He turned away for a brief moment, hiding a snicker of amusement.

 

Drevas: With all due respect – I think we should plan our next move here.

 

Valeria: probably finding a safe defensible space is priority number one.  So we can regroup and have the actually combat trained people rescues any kidnapped other people?

 

Lurtz: Defend with what, dear? We have no weapons, and even if we did, if they are shrunk to scale they may as well be toys.

 

Drevas: Perhaps the best option is to find somewhere we can hide in or to simply keep moving. I think we should all first try and slow down and get our bearings-

Valeria: ?

 

Lurtz: Don’t you -dare- tell me to calm down, this is the second time I have had an event going to absolute pot on that forsaken station. Who do you think you are, with your tongue in cheek mannerisms, to address me like some second rate hotel guest. A snap of my fingers and I can bring down entire economies.. I well… I…

 

Something changed in her demeanor then; a grimace of something which he could’ve sworn was pain. Oh, goodness. Was she having a heart attack? Or could it be another medical issue?

Drevas: ::stepping forward:: Your Highness? Is everything alright?

 

Valeria: ?

 

Lurtz: I… I need to sit. I feel very lightheaded… my chest…

Good thing they were on a ledge, raised off the floor, in an empty room save the warp core – and the wall itself wasn’t so far away.

Drevas: Over here, Empress. ::gently taking her by the hand and leading her to the wall:: Here, sit and rest. Is there any other way we can help you?

 

Valeria: ?

Lurtz: ?

Footsteps. Footsteps, sounding from inside the passage from which they’d emerged. Had the commander and Isaiah survived? He turned his head, praying to the Prophets for their safe return – but it seemed that they’d pulled the thought of the prayer from his head and answered it already. The two emerged from the tunnel, alive and seemingly quite well. Now that was a relief. He might’ve grinned, leapt a half foot into the air and embraced his friend had their situation not been quite so serious, along with thanking the Prophets of course. He settled for a wave back at Andrews while they convened – at least, for now.

Andrews: So what's our plan now? We can't just wait for whatever's next to find us.

Drevas: No, we can’t. We need to keep moving. The Empress needs a moment to rest, though. ::glancing back at the room around then, arms folded::
 

Dal: ?

 

Andrews: We're above their warp core, right? Can't we use that somehow? What if we got down there and did some sabotage? If we could take their warp capability offline, that would be a big help to anyone coming after us, wouldn't it?

Drevas: It would be, yes. Maybe if we got enough people standing on shoulders we could reach and operate the console, what do you think?
 

Dal: ?

 

Andrews: ::grimacing:: I freely admit I have no kind of experience with this sort of thing. Maybe somebody in our party ::he indicated the civilians:: has some know-how we could use?

 

Drevas: Maybe. Perhaps there’s a-

Dal: ?

 

There was suddenly a shriek -- probably Empress Lurtz -- and the shouting of several voices that prompted the officers to turn quickly. The sight was horrifying.

 

A giant (to them) floating drone that took up nearly the entire shaft with its chassis had (somehow) silently floated up and -- right as they watched -- was sucking up civilians one-by-one, like they were delectable candies. The panicked civilians were running in the direction of the officers, with the drone following behind, vacuuming them as they went, individuals vanishing into an extended tube shaft with a *ssssshhhhhhooooop!* every time another was taken. Prophets know how and why the pirates had somehow preempted their escape and procured this weird device solely for the purpose of recapturing and recontaining them, but they didn’t have time to dwell on that.

 

Andrews: Oh, come *on*.

Drevas: Complain later! Help me move the Empress – we need to go. Now. Back to the tunnels. It can’t fit in there, can it? Everyone else, back to the tunnel! Now!

 

Dal/Andrews/Valeria/Lurtz: ?

Well, he hoped that it wasn’t, at least. With the assistance of his fellow security officer he lifted the Empress by the arms, apologizing profusely in the process, and began to walk-jog-kinda-sorta-run her back the way they’d came. Thank the civilians for being fast enough, too; they began to run, albeit several degrees more panicky-ly. Hold on, that wasn’t even a word…

He would’ve prayed to the Prophets to once again shield them from danger and grant them safe passage through the blah blah blah make it out alive blah. Too bad the sucking noise began to grow louder and louder behind them, interspersed with the swiftly cut off screams and further sickening ‘shhhhooop!’ noises of those taken disrupted that. All he could do was keep moving and moving..

Drevas: Who’s still with us?

Dal/Andrews/Valeria/Lurtz: ?

The more significant members of the party, it seemed. So far so good – but they weren’t safe, far from it. One of the civilians latched the opening shut as soon as they disappeared through, leaving the drone to hover outside with its sucking mechanism vibrating the floor and walls round them with a deafening ‘vwooooop’.

Drevas: ::panting::  Now what? Everyone alright?

Dal/Andrews/Valeria/Lurtz: ?

 

Ensign Drevas Matthel
Security Officer

Starbase 118 - USS Narendra
O239706DM0