Ensign Jack Kessler Not out of this just yet

[Alora DeVeau]

((Bridge – USS THOR – Okaea Sea))

 

In Jack’s mind he was rocking in ever so gently in a summers mid-day breeze. Laying in a hammock tethered between two trees on the South end of the Academy’s large open park. In the other end of the hammock was Michele, another cadet he had become very close to. Her smile was as calming as the sunny day itself and her eyes were intoxicating. Class would be starting soon, and he’d have to leave her to enjoy the rest of the afternoon on her own and he really did not want to do that.

 

Something then caught Jack’s eye, a tricorder was in his right hand. What was that doing here he thought slowly to himself and then looked back at Michele. She opened her mouth to say something what he heard was more like the sounds of metal contorting as it twisted slightly. Jack slammed his eyes shut and gripped the tricorder harder trying to hear her voice more clearly. As he gripped the tricorder pain shoot up through his right rib cage and he opened his eyes to see what Michele was doing to him. The sunny day on campus was no longer there, instead his world was, well upside down, partially.

 

Jack lay on his back looking up at what appeared to be the deck of the bridge was up on its side. His legs and feet bent upward in a sitting position. As he glanced at his legs, he realized that he was seated on the port side wall of the Thor’s bridge, his back was on the bridge floor and the ship was rocking. His ribs did hurt and then he noticed slight pain in his right hand. Glancing down he saw the tricorder in his hand, a death grip on it and he immediately loosened his grip. Then everything came rushing back at him all at once, the battle, the order to abandon ship and then the impact with the planet’s surface. His last thought just before impact was to grab the tricorder he had linked to the ships computer. He must have grabbed it without really realizing he was doing so. Slowly he felt his toes wiggle in his boots and then he tried to move his legs just enough to search for pain. He slowly did this body check until a voice cut through the air and grabbed his attention.

 

Greaves: (Strained voice) Who else is hurt?

 

Brodie: ::Laughing wearily:: I’m going to go with everyone…

 

Jack’s head rolled to his right and noticed Brodie moving and so was Greaves. Jack started to roll to his right and then turned back to his left as the pain of his broken rib or ribs shoot through him. He had sat up when Brodie made his way over and offered a lending hand.

  

Brodie: Here, let me help…

 

Kessler: ::looking up at Brodie with a slight smile on his face:: Thank’s doc, just a broken rib is all.

 

Corelli: I’m fine, I think…. Maybe not.

 

Ulasso: Responses

 

For the moment the ship lay on her side threatening to capsize completely. In that orientation the wall had become the floor and the small team began picking themselves up. It was a strange feeling to be looking up at the chairs and consoles of the bridge. The waves had taken the vessel under tow and the floor rocked slightly beneath their feet with the subtle motion of the waves. 

 

Greaves: I'm sure we're not the only ones hurt. We need... (grimace) We need to right the ship. Ulasso, can you reach the conn? Maybe we've still got a thruster or two operational.

 

Between his strength and lizard-like movement, Jack watched as Ulasso was able to navigate the listed bridge and grabbed onto the Conn.

Ulasso: One thruster operational sir. I'll start to work on righting us, but it will take me a bit using only one thruster to right the entire ship (or what's left of it) while facing resistance from the water. It's a tall order but I think I can manage it.

 

Brodie: We’ve got to get the bulkheads closed…otherwise we’ll get dragged down by the water weight.

 

Kessler: On it Commander.

 

Jack made his way over to one of the consoles closest to him and started working the commands from a very awkward ankle, almost like working upside down on a bobbing cork. 

 

Greaves: Even so, we're going to need to keep the ship from sinking too deep otherwise it'll all be moot. The pressure eventually will pop the hull like a can. 

 

Brodie: If we stay on the surface…we’ll be a sitting duck…they’ll have seen where we crashed.

 

Corelli: We could fire a thruster manually, but it’s a 97 meter climb, that direction. And the starboard side exploded, so we can only hope we make it to one that’s operational.

 

Kessler: Looks like we have enough power to secure emergency bulkheads but not all are responding to the command. I have at least 11 showing no power at all to them.

 

Ulasso: Without knowing what creatures reside within Okaea's biosphere, we may be vulnerable from below as well. I assume an ocean planet gives room for some rather large fish to grow, and our crash may have sent ripples out that they will detect.

 

As the others provided feedback to Greaves and Brodie Jack saw a med kit laying on the wall next to him. Luck was on his side today, the kit must have broken free from a storage locker on the bridge. He grabbed the kit and opening it pulled a hypospray and loaded it with a pain killer and then gave himself an injection and then slung the kit over his head and shoulders.

 

Brodie: Do we have anything in the way of heating, power – this water is going to be cold.

 

Ulasso: The ship is running at about 10% power.

 

Kessler: ::stepping over to Brodie:: I found this :: holding up the med kit:: Hopefully it will help.

 

Corelli:  Sure, we can use hand phasers, or I can make you a heater with portable power supply. Not very efficient, but it will get hot and heat the water in a small area.  Perhaps… ::he stumbled a step, tried to recover:: lets each take a task, and regroup at a suitable location?

 

Corelli: I’ll go fire that thruster, see if I can ::he motioned with his hand:: flip it.   Short range comms? Check your badge.

 

Jack felt as if he must of hit his head harder than he thought. Corelli and Ulasso were contradicting each other. To Jack it sounded like Ulasso was firing the thrusters and trying to right the ship while Corelli was going off on a trek through the ship to fire the thruster. Where they talking about different thrusters or the same one. Jack just needed to focus on the bulkheads and getting them closed.

 

Kessler: Major ::beat:: two of the bulkhead doors I do not have power to have just been sealed manually. Looks like we have survivors down there working with us.

 

Greaves/Ulasso/Brodie: Responses

 

Brodie: We’ve no comms either – there wasn’t enough evacuation capacity for everyone, we’ll have people trapped down there.

 

Ulasso: Trying to right this ship with one thruster is taking my full attention, I won't be able to focus on communications at the moment.  

 

Corelli: Ugh…. Guess I’ll build one of those too.  Be ready, there won’t be any way for me to warn you when I fire these thrusters! Oh, somebody’ll have to get portable power supplies from storage lockers near Engineering, which is probably flooded.

 

Ulasso: Something is coming at the ship from below. Counselor Brodie, do you have any recommendations on how to bury an enormous fear deep within me?

 

Something coming towards the ship. That was enough o draw anyone’s attention to the forward view screen/port and there was in the depths headed towards them. Jack turned back to his console, and pulled up the shield network he had built using the Valkyrie fighters. oO Damn though little ships Oo he thought to himself as each one still showed connected to one another and still generating power to the make shift shields. At least they were helping keep the Thor from sinking too quickly.

 

Kessler: I still have the shields up from the fighters Major but their power is down to 55%. I estimate they will fail in about 1 hour under these conditions.

 

Greaves/Brodie/Ulasso/Corelli: Responses

 

Corelli waved a hand at the responses and traveled off to the door. Jack still did not understand where Corelli was off to but that was not a concern at the moment. The Thor seemed to be moving and from what he could tell these creatures where somehow carrying the Thor along. Something had to be done for the crew and now this aquatic threat was presented.

 

Kessler: ::standing up right and turning to Greaves:: Major, If we can get an emergency transponder on the hull we should be able to send a single hi burst SOS to the research station. If my calculations are correct we are less than 100 kilometers from them. The Ra could provide assistance. ::beat:: or I can try sending a signal from one of the probes that are circling and see if we can send the SOS that way.

 

Greaves/Brodie/Ulasso/: Responses

 

TAGS / TBC

 

Ensign Jack Kessler

Tactical Officer

USS Thor

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