Lt. Commander Ayiana Sevo - Guilt Trip

[Alleran Tan]

Plotlines from years ago coming around full circle!

Really awesome sim Sevo, I enjoyed reading this!

 

(( Main Engineering, Deck 2, USS Triumphant ))

 

(( OOC: Guest star simmed with permission, and a bit of help. ))

 

Having returned to the Triumphant’s engineering room, Quinn and Ayiana tried various modifications to the warp core in an attempt to restore power to the ship without the drain of the Rift. Easier said than done, as neither had any idea of exactly how the drain was happening. Ayiana felt bad for Pira, who was essentially the third nacelle here, idling in the back while the engineer and scientist worked on the problem.

 

Sevo: The charged tachyons and polarized gravitons keep bothering me; they don’t normally appear in nature like that. Something tells me the answer lies with them. Can we generate an interference pattern with the warp nacelles and gravity generators, respectively?

 

Reynolds: Our time here seems to confirm the tachyons and gravitons are connected to the subspace superposition and not the power drain; we’ve not detected any surges since beaming over to the Triumphant, and we’ve not experienced any more Blips.

 

The Admiral had a point; everything they experienced was different, but no less potent, to that aboard the Gorkon. Here, it was more like the creature was playing with them. Also, it did not come running until they started messing with the fusion reactors.

 

Reynolds: I think the question they’re answering is how to get out of the Rift, rather than how to stop the power drain. Once we’ve got ourselves a stable power source, we can investigate that.

 

The pair continued their work while Ayiana heard Pira shuffle around behind them. Ayiana was still nervous that the creature would return to disturb them; in fact, she almost wished for an interruption in the darkness. The only break of silence was the console chirping away at their fingertips, and the light of it and her tricorder breaking the darkness. Finally, the pair made progress in their experiment. All that was left was to try it.

 

Sevo: Right, you’re the engineer here, sir. I’d say the honor, or risk, is yours.

 

sh’Qynallahr: Stay alert. It is likely that even if this works, the creature may investigate regardless.

 

Reynolds: Unfortunately. Even if we’ve hit the right approach, we first have to get the warp core online. If our experience with the fusion reactor is any guide, it’ll come here once it senses the power increase.

 

Sevo: Agreed.

 

sh’Qynallahr: I’m no expert, but all creatures have certain similarities. Drives for sustenance and the like. The altered frequency may make it seem like a different fruit, or a rotten one, I can’t say exactly how the creature will view it, but if it were me, seeing a new fruit, I would want to test it before eating or leaving it.

 

Honestly, they had no way of knowing exactly how such an alien creature would respond to changes in the power frequency. It may not even sense it. All they could do was try it and see the creature’s response.

 

Reynolds: All right. ::She exhaled a breath through her nose, stomach churning as the anxiety dug its claws in.:: Let’s spread out. sh’Qynallahr, you keep watch. Sevo, set your tricorder up to scan while we work. If we do get a visit, we might as well gather data about the creature while it's present.

 

Ayiana nodded, modifying her tricorder’s scanners and placing it in a relatively hidden corner. Once ready, she returned to the console, but couldn’t help but feel a certain amount of trepidation. She knew what she was going to see wouldn’t be real, but it certainly *felt* real; like the creature knew exactly which buttons to push.

 

sh’Qynallahr: We’re ready, hit it.

 

Everyone watched the core as Quinn moved her hand to the console and stopped; hovering it above the activation button. It looked like she was even having thoughts about the whole thing.

 

Reynolds: Here goes nothing.

 

With a big breath, Quinn tapped the button, then a few more, until the familiar hum and beat of the warp core announced its wake. The dark room lit up in shades of blue and red as the core started it’s feeding of deuterium and anti-deuterium to the dilithium chamber.

 

Sevo: So far, so good. How’s the power level?

 

sh’Qynallahr: Response

 

Reynolds: I’m seeing the power drain already. ::She nodded, fingers darting between controls like a hummingbird between flowers.:: Bringing the modifications online.

 

Ayiana watched the readouts on the console as Quinn applied their modifications. Constant power consumption curves changed as the Admiral danced her fingers over the console; the rise and fall of peaks and valleys in the waveform looked like a mathematical concerto. Ayiana took a glance at the power levels and efficiency curve and noted a change.

 

Sevo: Power drain has slowed by fifteen percent. 

 

Over in the corner, Ayiana’s tricorder beeped its warning she set up for the quantum particles. Thus, she didn’t need to look at it to know what was coming. It ended up being superfluous, as her own fight or flight instinct kicked in, the hairs on her neck stood on end, her spots tingled, and her blood ran cold. It was odd how the body could react to something so vague as well as a dedicated machine.

 

sh’Qynallahr: Response

 

Reynolds: ::Quietly,:: It’s here, isn’t it?

 

In the distance, the familiar screech echoed through the corridor and into the room.

 

Sevo: :: gulping nervously. :: Yes.

 

sh’Qynallahr: Response

 

Ayiana pulled out her phaser, aiming it towards the door. As the only thing that would go boom when shot was behind her, she felt it was safe to do so. She could hear Quinn continue to manipulate the controls, trying to find that sweet spot of power consumption vs drain. Moments later, the same spindly creature from Starbase 173 reappeared in the doorway. Ayiana gripped her phaser tight, her palm sweaty from nerves. She was prepared to fire if it attacked, but it didn’t. Instead, it just stood there staring at her with… well, she didn’t know. It didn’t have eyes. After a long staring contest, it reached up a limb and seemed to point to her right.

 

Sevo: oO Yea, I’m not falling for that. Oo

 

???: Ayiana… How could ye’ ?

 

Ayiana’s eyes widened as she heard the familiar voice and distinct accent of her friend. But that was impossible. Tasha was back on Iana Station. No, it must have been the thing messing with her again.

 

MacFarlane: Ayiana! Look a’ me!

 

Carefully, Ayiana twisted her head to see her: Tasha MacFarlane, with a torn uniform in the style of several years ago, one pip on her collar. But that wasn’t the bad part, it was the missing left hand. The skin around the stump was cauterized, though two scorched bones protruded slightly out of it.

 

Sevo: T-Tasha?!

 

MacFarlane: Yeh did this ta’ me! 

 

The not-Tasha lifted her arm to show the still smoldering stump of her arm. On the floor at her feet was a blackened, smoldering skeletal hand, the flesh having burned off.

 

Sevo: You know I couldn’t do anything! It… it moved so fast!

 

MacFarlane: Yeh could ‘ave tried somethin’!

 

Sevo: Phasers didn’t work!

 

MacFarlane: Yeh’re a scientist! Yeh coulda’ figured somethin’ out!

 

Ayiana shook her head. No; she had been through the incident a dozen times in her head since then. Phasers had no effect on it, and it moved impossibly fast. The real Tasha even told Ayiana she didn’t blame her. Forcing those memories to the front of her mind, Ayiana girded herself.

 

Sevo: No. :: she said forcefully. :: I couldn’t. Neither could Eerie or Yiggtissi. You know that. Or at least, the real you does.

 

Apparently failing to shake Ayiana through words, the not-Tasha opened her mouth far wider than was humanly possible, emitting the same screech as the creature masquerading as the alien that ripped off said engineer’s arm. She also heard it from the doorway. Risking a glance, she saw the creature there.

 

Sevo: There are two of them!

 

Reynolds/sh’Qynallahr: Response

 

Not-Tasha screeched, then ran at Ayiana like a human would; not like the stop-motion jumps of the 173 creature. Keeping in mind it wasn’t really her friend, Ayiana aimed her phaser at not-Tasha and pressed the trigger. The orange beam hit her… and that was it. She kept coming; the blast hadn’t even slowed her down.

 

Sevo: Phasers aren’t working against them!

 

Reynolds/sh’Qynallahr: Response

 

Sevo: Any luck with the core, sir? :: She asked with not a little bit of desperation in her voice as Tasha was nearly in reach… ::

 

Reynolds/sh’Qynallahr: Response