[Round 6] Jane Doe - Through Flame and Shadow

[James T. Kolk]

(( OOC: Music for this sim:

))

(( USS Ackerman, 2258.42, orbit of Vulcan... in the alternate timeline. ))

:: The impact was so strong it threw the entire bridge crew into the ceiling. "Jane" felt her ribs bruise at the impact, then again as she hit the deck. For a stunned moment the only sounds on the bridge of the USS Ackerman were the wail of klaxons and the multiple overlapping voices of the ship's computer. ::

Computer: ... breach on deck A. Hull breach on deck J. Hull b...

Computer: ... ary coolant failure in warp containment. Restore...

Computer: ... terprise en route. Casualty reports from the Trum...

:: The joined Trill lifted her head from the deck, her vision spinning. For a moment she nearly passed out- with a terrifying lurch she felt a part of her mind cease to function, as though she had suddenly forgot a large portion of her memories. She was not a medical doctor, but she had been through the joining academy... she knew what this symptom typically meant. Her symbiont was bruised, her pouch slowly filling with blood. She would need isoboramine injection until the chemical production resumed. If she didn't get it, she'd eventually die. ::

Computer: ... reach on deck K. Recommend immediate evac...

Computer: ... nemy vessel identified as the "Narada". Warnin...

Computer: ... unications inoperable. Shields at six percent. W...

:: "Jane" could feel blood running down her forehead. She reached up and wiped it with the back of her hand, then stared at the limb in a moment of muted horror. It came back covered not the bright red blood of Trill, but the olive green blood of a vulcanoid. But there was only one greenblood on the bridge, and that was Lieutenant Nakarran of Vulcan... ::

Ling: Ma'am! Commander, are you okay?!

:: "Jane" recognised the youthful looking Asian man who appeared in front of her vision as Ensign Ling, the Ackerman's new helmsman, recently transferred in from Starfleet Academy. Originally from Gungzhou on Earth, this was the man's first mission. She stared blankly at him, one hand propping herself up, the other holding her abdomen in pain. Her symbiont... ::

:: The Trill woman opened her mouth to speak, inhaling a lungful of acrid smoke. Overcome by coughing, she doubled over again. The Ensign pulled out a communicator from his belt and flipped it open. The device chirped, confirming the channel was open. ::

Ling: =/\= Bridge to Sickbay! Doctor Adyr, are you there?! =/\=

:: No reply. "Jane" kept coughing. ::

Ling: =/\= Bridge to Engineering- Commander Vines, what the hell happened to our shields?! Those missiles hit us and drained them in one hit! =/\=

:: No answer there, either. ::

:: Whoever this strange vessel was, it had ripped through the shields of a Constitution class vessel in a single hit. Such a thing was unimaginable... no ship had that kind of firepower. The crew was in big, big trouble. When "Jane" spoke her voice was hoarse and raspy. ::

"Doe": Ensign, report!

:: Illuminated by the flickering of the bridge lights, some of the rest of the bridge crew started to stir. Two bodies, both wearing operations red, lay face down near where she had fallen. "Jane" didn't have time to see who they were. Dazed, her eyes scanned the crew. Where was Captain Whale...? ::

Ling: They blew right through our shields in the first hit, ma'am! Hits on almost all decks- they're using some kind of cluster torpedo, but it's of a configuration I've never even SEEN before... no single device has that kind of firepower!

:: It seemed impossible. ::

"Doe": What the hell is this, the Kobayashi Maru? ::she shook her head, trying to clear away the haze that clouded her mind.:: No shields... okay, what's our status? How bad...?

:: The Ensign's reply really set the tone for just how deep in they were. The computer continued droning in the background, but "Jane" ignored it. ::

Ling: ... you didn't hear? Some cadet beat the Kobayashi Maru this year... but no such luck for us. We've got no shields to speak of, no weapons, impulse power only... our sensors are so badly damaged we can't even tell if they're firing again. The only hint I have is that the ship's still in once piece. The rest of the fleet's pulling in- they must be engaging them and ignoring us...

:: With a supreme effort, "Jane" pulled herself up onto her feet. She felt so strange- her mind was dull now, a sensation she hadn't felt in years. Since before she was joined... since the loss of Captain Rabau and the USS Kelvin had inspired her to become joined and seek a life in Starfleet, as it had so many others. ::

"Doe": We're evacuating. General order...

:: She blinked, wondering why she couldn't recall the number. With a muted horror she realised that she had gained that knowledge after joining Starfleet, which had occurred after she'd received her symbiont, so the memories and experience she'd gained since then would be stored in that organ. And if it was bruised, then it might-::

:: "Jane" had no time to think about that. ::

Ling: ... thirteen, ma'am.

:: The Trill nodded her thanks. Still facing the Ensign, she asked a question over her shoulder, seeking confirmation from the ship's Captain, David Whale. ::

"Doe": Captain?

:: Silence. Ling pointed. A form, dressed in command gold, lay crumpled beside the Captain's chair. ::

:: Her husband. ::

:: Ignoring the dizziness that threatened to unbalance her, "Jane" stumbled towards the fallen form of the man, grabbing his shoulder. ::

"Doe": David! David, get up, we need to give the order to-

:: "Jane" rolled David onto his back, and immediate recoiled from the sight. His head was split wide open and the wound looked deep. Judging by the blood on the arm-rest of the Captain's chair, he'd hit it coming down from his journey to the ceiling. ::

:: Modern medicine was incredible. In the past this wound would have been fatal. These days, if she got him to a medical bay in time, he could be saved... as long as his brain kept getting oxygen there was always hope. ::

:: "Jane" straightened her back, sobered by the idea that if she didn't act, in a few minutes she was going to be a widow. That was assuming she even survived, which was looking very improbable at this juncture. ::

"Doe": The Captain's... down, so issue the order on my authority. Get everyone to the shuttles... to the escape pods. We're getting out of here. That vessel is just too strong...!

:: The ominous creak of strained metal filled her ears. The ship was breaking apart. The computer's klaxons became more urgent. ::

Ling: Yes ma'am!

:: Sliding her arm under Whale's body, "Jane" pulled the heavy man over her shoulder, groaning with the strain as she pulled him roughly to his feet. The man didn't move at all- Marlee was forced to hold him up, turning and making her way to the turbolift. He was much taller than her, and very strong. The Trill turned to humour to try and lighten their dark situation. ::

"Doe": Nnnf- when we get out of this, I'm putting you on a diet... or maybe I just need to get back to the gym. It's hard to keep your fitness up after having kids, you know, so I still blame you for this...

:: Ling exchanged a look with the communications officer, a middle aged Andorian thaan, his eyes flicking to "Jane" and her husband. The thaan's eyes were extremely saddened, but he said nothing. Neither did Ling. ::

:: About half way there, "Doe" stepped on something softer than the deck, something that emitted a soft, wet *crunch*. Looking down, she saw that her Starfleet issue boot had crushed the hand of their Vulcan Tactical officer, Lieutenant Nakarran. ::

:: A hand that was no longer attached to its owner. ::

:: Kicking the dismembered limb away in a moment of horror, Marlee closed her eyes, forcing the sight from her mind's eye. She pressed on, stumbling into the turbolift. No humour came now. ::

"Doe": Escape pods... nearest escape pods.

:: The turbolift, thank the Four Virtues, moved. It was the only part of the ship that seemed to still be working. ::

:: The only noise was the quiet hum of the turbolift and the ominous 'drip, drip, drip' of Whale's blood onto the deck. Marlee reached up with her hand, futily trying to stem the flow of blood from his limp-hanging head. ::

"Doe": ... come on, come on. You stubborn [...], you're *Scottish*... a gaping head wound doesn't worry you...! Hell, that just means things are starting to get interesting...

:: Her voice quivered with panic. The blood kept pouring around her hands, flowing down the man's neck and shoulders. It echoed the salty tears that poured down both sides of her spotted face. She felt hope slipping away. ::

"Doe": ... *please*... please, David, don't leave, don't leave, don't leave...

:: The door opened to deck C. Marlee staggered towards a row of escape pods, half carrying, half dragging the heavy man behind her. Her own wounds were beginning to overwhelm her. She could barely walk, now, but sheer determination kept her going. ::

:: ... until the covered GNDN panel in front of her blew out. A flower of bright red flame licked her right side, searing the flesh of her hands. Shrieking in agony she instinctively dropped David, his clothing and hair alight. Marlee put her hands under her arms, crying out from the pain. After a second or two, she fought her instincts and sprinted over to a fire-safety cabinet, reached out for an extinguisher then running back and spraying Whale with the thick white gas. ::

:: She checked his pulse with shaking, burned hands. Nothing. Rolling the human over onto his back, she placed both hands on his chest- no breathing. No heartbeat. ::

:: More tears. She wasn't sure there ever was one. ::

:: The Trill's hands were too badly burned to do any fine motion. She clasped them together, bringing them up and then down on the human man's chest, thudding against his chest. She needed to keep oxygen going to his brain, get his heart pumping again... he could be saved... ::

"Doe": Breathe, breathe, breathe [...] you... don't leave, David, no- please, no...

:: Over and over she hit his chest, trying... ::

:: Arms slid around her shoulders, pulling her away. Someone was dragging her into the escape pod. ::

"Doe": No-! what are you doing?! Let me go! Let me go!

Ling: He's dead, Commander! The core's about to breach, we have to leave! Come on!

:: The voice of the computer, so long ignored, came back into focus for the Trill woman. ::

Computer: ...ore breach in two minutes. All crew report to evacuat...

"Doe": NO! I won't leave David! I won't!

:: "Jane" fought her helmsman every inch of the way, but her injuries were too great. Ling dragged her into the escape pod and, with a dull hiss, sealed the door. The Trill woman climbed painfully, unsteadily, to her feet- through the circular viewport she could still see Captain Whale's body, laying prone on the deck, his command-gold clothed chest covered in her blood. ::

"Doe": Open the door, Ensign! Open it! Open it now! That's a direct order! We're going to save him- we can still save him, I saw his eyes, he's alive- he's still alive!

:: Ling felt for her, but the human saw Whale with eyes that weren't blinded by love. Whale was dead... he was dead from the very beginning. ::

Ling: Computer, launch escape pod.

:: "Jane" watched as the pod roared away from the Constitution class vessel, watched until David's form was just a gold dot laying on a damaged deck, then until he was too far away from her to see. ::

:: Then the Ackerman's warp reactor surrendered to the inevitable. The ship was enveloped in a bright white light, blown into a shower of debris that- peacefully, almost beautifully- floated away from the core as tiny sparking hunks of white-hot metal. ::

:: Things got very vague at this point. "Jane" felt herself overcome by her injuries, unable to stand anymore. The circular viewing portal slipped from view. ::

:: David was gone. ::

:: Ling was shouting something about gravimetric distortions. Some kind of lightning storm. The escape pod began to buck and heave, tossing the already battered Trill around on the cramped deck. ::

:: It seemed so distant to her, now, as though the pain was just nothing more than a passing moment in time. She'd had two kids, she knew about pain and how it came and went. At least they were safe... now bright flashes of light from outside the pod, like the lighting storms on the field of Passion's Rest. Where "Jane" had said her vows to David, being wedded. Ling yelled something about "being pulled in..." but the words barely registered.

::

:: Then the pod tore itself to bits and "Jane" was blown out into the void, the air torn from her lungs in a violent decompression. As her consciousness began to fade, she saw both parts of Ling's broken body spinning slowly, clearly dead. ::

:: A light from behind above. A bright tendril of energy- it did so very much look like lightning- was heading straight towards her, the Trill's floating body hanging limply in space. ::

:: "Jane" closed her eyes and embraced oblivion... but even a clean death would be denied her. ::

(( Sickbay, USS Independence-A, 2388... Prime Universe ))

:: The isoboramine level indicator was the first device to change. Beep- beep- beep... the injury to the symbiont was healed enough that it was beginning to produce isoboramine. She was beginning to wake up. ::

:: Then the pulse rate monitor, then the neural stabilizer. Then the blood-oxygen meter... ::

:: Slowly, like a man dragging himself out of shoulder deep mud, "Jane" began to wake up. Her eyes still closed, she used her senses to try and figure out where she was... ::

:: Cool, recycled air. Through gently closed eyes she could detect that her environment was brightly light. The beeping and humming of machinery nearby. Soft voices nearby... a medical facility, perhaps. ::

:: Or a prison. ::

:: The voices were speaking a language she didn't recognize, but then- something strange happened. Suddenly, mid sentence, the words changed over. They were now speaking Trill. It was a rich, fluent translation that startled her. It was like they were native speakers... ::

:: What was going on? ::

:: She heard footsteps. Someone was probably checking on the equipment... they'd know she was awake soon enough. ::

:: Faking continued injury, "Jane Doe" emitted a soft groan, keeping her eyes closed. Closer... as soon as they came closer, she would make her move... closer... ::

Mevra: Response?

:: "Jane's" light cyan-blue eyes snapped open. The light in the room was so bright to eyes that had been closed for weeks she couldn't see anything but a black outline against the bright white of the ceiling. With a yell she reached out, snatching the medical tricorder from the Orion's fingers, twisting it around and pointing it back at her. The Trill propped herself up on the biobed with a hand that was no longer burned, but seemed so very

weak... ::

"Doe": Hands up or I'll shoot!

Mevra: Response?

:: The Trill jabbed the tricorder towards the dark blob, snarling angrily. Her eyes stung and watered up. She must have been unconscious for some time... she hadn't used them in so long they hurt and she could barely see. She turned the "weapon" on others in the medical bay, pointing angrily. ::

"Doe": You, you and you! Over to the wall!

:: She couldn't see properly, but they didn't seem afraid. Startled, but...

::

Anyone: Response?

Mevra: Response

:: She turned the tricorder back on the dark shape near her. ::

"Doe": Shut up! Now, listen to me very carefully- I'm getting out of here! Any funny business and I'll... I'll...

:: All that motion was too much. Dark spots swarmed in front of her eyes and she swooned. Vaguely aware of the tricorder slipping out of her hand and clattering to the deck, "Jane" slumped back on the biobed, taking a moment to recover. ::

Tag! TBC...

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PNPC "Jane Doe"

USS Independence-A