Homecoming

Posted on Sunday 29 April 2018 @ 11:39 by Captain John "Apollo" Barstow, M.D. & Commander Save'ena (Sav) Tillatix & Commander Cale Llewellyn DSci & Lieutenant Michael Ki MD & 1st Lieutenant Cara O'Reilly MD & Lieutenant Colonel Kachiko Bayushi

Mission: Lost Souls
Location: USS Merlin
Timeline: MD1
3009 words - 6 OF Standard Post Measure

It had been a few hours since John had briefed Kevin and they set out to the Merlins resting spot. Barstow was drumming hi fingers on the console impatiently as the runabout dropped from warp, the streaking white, reds and blues turning back to the normal pinpoints of light hanging in space. In front of them hung a blue and green marble filling up the forward port as they drew closer to it and the Merlins resting place. Apollo just watched as they moved closer before snapping himself back out of it, "Commander Kevin, Barstow, we're starting our approach," he called over the comms.

Kevin was checking the equipment they'd be taking with them when the CO called him. Tapping his COMM badge he answered "Aye Sir, I'll be right with you."

A minute later, Kevin joined his CO and said "Everything seems to be in order Sir."

Barstow nodded then hit the comm, "Colonel, stay on standby with the doctors. Once we are finished getting the data from the computers we'll have you beam in," the CPO said without taking his eyes off the helm as he started to correct for the atmosphere and a storm that seemed to start as soon as they got close, almost like a body reacting to a virus.

Kachiko sighed silently, "I recommend that you allow me to precede you with Lord Kilbane here and clear the way first, Commander. No sense in taking chances."

"Understood and noted, Colonel, Captains prerogative," the CO replied with a smile, "the Commander and I will be alright. I still remember my Marine training, I haven't gotten soft sitting in that chair just yet," Apollo replied in a lighthearted tone, "besides, if we do get in trouble I need you leading the cavalry."

"Roger that, Commander," Kachiko replied before sighing silently. "I know that you kids aren't used to carrying these, but I recommend that you do so down there. Especially given that we don't understand the nature of what is going on down there. There's a locked compartment under the pilots console, inside which should be four Type-II phasers and spare power cells. Please requisition at least one for each of you."

Then she held up her own ever-present phaser to show the Commander, figuring that Lord Ensign Kilbane already had one.

"Better to be safe than sorry" Kevin said, referring to the Type-II Phaser "I also carry a small projectile weapon, given to me by my father" he added, taking out the small nine millimetre berretta "for insurance, just in case there's some kind of problem like a dampening field."

Kachiko nodded with a knowing smile, "I don't think I have used a Beretta as yet. I have a Colt M1911A1 on me, myself. It proved useful against the Jem'Hdar back in the war."

Dr Ki was in Sick Bay aboard the Grissom and he cocked an eyebrow as something occurred to him. He wanted to go down there but medical staff was being held back. "Dr Ki to Commander Barstow request permission to join the landing party. You may need immediate medical care when you arrive." The heavily accented Japanese accent rang through the comm channel.

Kevin looked at Commander Barstow, shook his head and said "Negative Sir, till we're certain of what we're dealing with, I recommend we keep it you just you, me and Karadis. We can ascertain quickly if we require anyone else's help" he finished.

"Negative, Lieutenant," Apollo replied, "and that goes for the rest of the standby team. The Merlin has been here for a while, any medical emergencies are long since resolved," he said, trying to keep the worry at that thought out of his voice

Michael did not like the idea of medical being left behind when there might be survivors, or worse yet the unknown down there. However, orders were orders and he would have to be content monitoring the away team's vitals and progress from the Grissom. "Very well Commander, but I must insist on vital sign monitors for the away team. It is unknown what happened to the Merlin and the cause of the situation could be medical in nature, such as a disease or pathogen." he said into the comm channel.

Cale was in his quarters on the Grissom where he had been stationed after leaving the Merlin. Much to his surprise, his former CO had been given the run of the ship to go looking for his old home. Cale was still a little put off about having Barstow on board simply because of what happened those many years ago.

But he was pleased to see Barstow on board a starship again even if he had been busted down a rank. That whole thing made him a little uneasy but he was quickly coming to terms with that. Though he wasn't aware of the reason why Barstow was on this particular ship, he was sure he wanted in on whatever the mission was.

As the runabout pierced the atmosphere the comm went off again. Kevin had been recalled with his team after a high ranking Ambassadors ship had been lost. As the man dematierialized John sighed. That changed things a little, "Barstow to Bayushi, I need you in place of the Commander. Please trasport to the runabout."

Kachiko didn't respond, instead tapping several keys, activating her hard-coded Command level override. She grabbed the rifle resting next to her, before transporting herself from where she sat to the runabout.

"You rang?" Kachiko asked with an unusually deep voice and a grin.

John looked back and nodded, "Commander Kevin was called away, I'll need your help," he started and motioned to the copilots seat, "first stop will be the Bridge. We'll secure it and use internal sensors to clear the ship. After that we'll bring everyone else down," he explained, changing up the mission after losing the salvage team, "Barstow to Grissom, I need to have Commander Llewellyn join the team in the transporter room. O'Reilly, double check all away teams gear."

"Aye, Sir. I'm on my way," Cale said as he was already on the bridge when the call came through. He was surprised by the Captain's request and also intrigued by it as well. Being a scientist, he wondered why Barstow would need him on a simple reconnaissance mission. As he left his station to report to the transporter room, he couldn't help but wonder how Barstow even knew he was on board the Grissom in the first place but then he put the thought out of his mind remembering the good commander was always aware of his surroundings and was rarely taken by surprise.

Cara loaded kits with portable respirators, warming fluids and bio-scanners (which were more detailed in their scans than tricorders) and headed for the transporter room. In anticipation of being on the Away Team she had already dressed in her medical jumpsuit and had already loaded the extra pockets with emergency medical supplies. With her own Field Trauma Kit slung over her shoulder she walked through the door of the transporter room and handed a kit to each of the other team members. She gave them a quick instruction on the use of the kits' contents then stepped off to the side to wait for the order to transport.

Cale thanked the Marine officer and looked through his equipment kit. He was familiar with most of this technology but not with some of it so he went through and further acquainted himself with those that he wasn't. He even asked more questions about them which the Marine answered in short order. Cale felt the true intent behind the woman's motives.

While they waited for their additional arrivals, Kachiko glanced up at the Commander, "Hey boss. I took the liberty of requisitioning the Merlin's prefix codes, just in case. I wasn't made aware if you had been issued those."

She handed over a small cardboard card, on which the code had been painstakingly inscribed by hand, but coded, "I used Rigellian Five to code it. I recommend committing it to memory and then destroying it." Left unsaid was that she had hard-wired access to all systems aboard herself, usually only utilized in the event of a hijacking or defection, used by Covert Operations in recovery of such vessels. She didn't like use of that code unless absolutely necessary. Much less revealing that she had this ability.

John nodded and took the card, "I appreciate it, Colonel," the Commander replied, "I don't mean to seem rush, butt, I'm going to give you the condensed version of the mission goals," Apollo added then cued up the comm, "ok, the Colonel and I are going in on the bridge first, if something happened that'll be our best option. After we get the computer up, Commander Cale, you'll hit the computer cores. I want any information you can get. Medical team, hit sickbay and the lifeboat sections, look for...well, everything and anything. Since we don't know what happened I want everything from microbial analysis up. Everyone copy?"

Cara moved the strap of her FTK to her other shoulder as she said, "loud and clear." She pulled her tricorder out as she followed the group to the transporter pad.

"Roge-O, Boss," Kachiko responded, before stepping up onto the small two-man transporter pad. Shouldering her rifle after dropping the IHADSS over her eyes, she turned to look at Barstow, "Ready when you are."

"Acknowledged, Captain...I mean Commander," Llewellyn said stepping all over his tongue again. He would make a concerted effort to not do that again.

John nodded and the runabout into a gentle dive, "closing all intakes," he called as water splashed over the hull in a loud woosh. After a few minutes the Commander nodded to the window, "there she is," he said as the faint outline of Merlin came into view. Apollo stood and moved to the transporter pad as the runabout came to a halt, "oxygen mask on, I'm not reading any life support systems running," he said and handed the Marine a clear mask and cold weather coat.

Cale looked out the viewport and couldn't help but gasp. He had never seen the Merlin from the outside and never knew how beautiful she was. He admired her soft lines and harsh angles. He looked at Deck 1 and the Bridge that was contained within; the place where he spent most of his time before he left the ship for the Grissom, which was also the biggest mistake of his life. But he wondered how the Merlin got to her current location. What happened to her after he left?

Removing the IHADSS unit first, Kachiko then pulled the mask into place, before redonning the IHADSS and finally fixing her combat helmet in place. She declined the winter parka, having a climate controlled catsuit on under her battle dress uniform. The small Marine knelt on a knee with the rifle at the ready, awaiting transport.

Llewellyn began to work on his own environmental suit. He checked and double-checked his read outs then made sure that his own equipment was in working order before being called back to his old stomping grounds. He was happy to be returning to the Merlin but was also felt some trepidation about it. The last time he was onboard he was the XO and there was an entirely different crew. None of his old friends would be aboard as far as he knew. Though he didn't know what had happened to the ship in his time away, he assumed that Dr. Miller, Caleb and Melody Jones were no longer aboard. Rather that assumption had been confirmed by Barstow's emotional state about the ship and it's crew. Cale wasn't sure if he needed to be on this away mission any longer but now was not the time for second thoughts.

=/\= Merlin Bridge =/\=

Barstow and Bayushi rematerialized on the aft and fore sections of Merlins bridge, the placement designed to give them both the best possible chance at surprising and/or reacting to any tangos or other issues. John swept the area in front of him with his flashlight. The bridge was pitch black, like the seen from so many holonovels. The light cut through the blankness showing the frost covered deck and consoles but no bodies or evidence of a fight, "clear," he called from the fore of the bridge before standing up and moving to the command platform, "Colonel, get the security station up and scan the ship. As soon as your done call the others down."

Kachiko had swept her half of the bridge with the muzzle of her compression rifle. Thankfully, the pitch darkness hid naught from her, the IHADSS displaying everything before her. She was surprised by the lack of bodies, "Where the hell is everyone?"

Rising from her knee, she slung the rifle over a shoulder, "Let's hope we have power, sir."

Stepping up to the security station, she paused to brush gathered frost from the chair. Sliding into the freshly cleared seat, she brushed a thick layer of solid ice off of the console, wincing under the visor as the ice dropped to the deck and shattered with a loud crack.

Thankfully, the panel lit up immediately after her gloved hands touched it, "Seems that some systems are still active, Commander." Hands playing over the slick surface, she frowned as she was locked out from the system. She rapidly tapped in her hardwired override, the system coming to full life as she did.

"Scanning now. Might take a bit, since the computer is still waking up. Gel packs weren't designed for this cold, Commander," Kachiko sighed as she began to access central system subroutines. After another thirty seconds, lights on the bridge slowly began to glow and the ambient temperature began to rise swiftly.

"I'm not detecting life forms, sir," Kachiko finally reported. "Otherwise, there's some kind of strange lockout on command subroutines with an odd message. It just says that 'The Capra is here', whatever that is supposed to mean?"

Apollo nodded as he punch a panel below the command chair, shattering the ice and opening the locker to pull thfe 'black box,' which wasn't really a box but an isolinier chip that stored a visual recording of the Bridge, "alright, bring everyone down. Our next objecting is to bring the EMH up and see if he can shed any light," the CO said and gently put the chip in a box so it didn't shatter from the extreme cold.

"Ten-Four, Boss," Kachiko touched her jaw to activate the subdural communications implant, grinning as she spoke. "Bayushi to Recovery team. The coast is clear. Come on down, you're the next contestants on the Price is Right!"

She looked at Barstow,"Sorry, Boss. It's an old Earth television game program from briefly before the Eugenics War. My daughter has found a fascination with it."

Cale looked at Dr. O'Reilly and said "OK Doctor, you heard he Colonel. Let's 'come on down'." And Cale made his way to the transporter console. After he entered the coordinates, he set the console for delayed transport to allow the good doctor the chance to join him on the transport pad. He began to wonder what they would find there on the Merlin once they got on board. His mind couldn't help but wander back to his old friends from his first time on the Merlin.

Cara stepped up next to Call and looked at him. "You OK, Commander?" she asked.

'Yes, Doctor. And please call me Cale. I was just thinking back to my first time on board this ship. The memories are both good and not-so-good. Well let's get down to the Merlin so we can get this mission over with. Computer, energize." And the two officers disappeared in a shimmer of light and reappeared on the Bridge of the Merlin. Cale's eyes went wide with what he was seeing.

"Doctor. Doctor. Welcome aboard," Kachiko gestured towards an active console. "I could use your assistance in reactivating the Emergency Medical Hologram."

"Of course, Colonel. Here we go," Cale said as he stepped up to the console and began to use his old command codes from when he was Second Officer to activate the EMH. The EMH computer began to respond and the holographic systems activated. "There you go, Colonel. We have an EMH."

On the Main Bridge Status Display, the one for Operations, the following message appeared in the Damage Control Status Panel while the yellow warning light beside it began flashing. This same message appeared in the Auxiliary Bridge DCS Panel with its corresponding yellow caution light.

==== Main Bridge Status Panel ====

** Medical Status Query Print: **

Damage Control Status Special Note Insertion

Code Query DCS Main Medical Quarantine Zone 2 Cyrostatic Chamber 1 Occupancy Status
Code Result Query Occupancy Status - 2 - Female/Terran/Child/6 - Female/Mephetian/Adult/23
Code Result Query Status - Cyrostasis Result Optimal - Life Signatures Results - Optimal

Main Medical Display Panel Status - Print - Full Access Event Log Status

End Damage Control Status Special Note Insertion: /Print

==== Main Bridge Status Panel ====

"Mephetian," Kachiko murmured, before. "Commander Tillatix! If they're in cryo, we can thaw them and get information from the Commander."

"Shall I escort the doctors below, Captain?" Kachiko asked.

Barstow nodded, "aye, and afteryou get the EMH up I need you to inspect the flight decks, I'll get security and the armory," the CO replied, "Cale, after you get the computer core checked meet me in engineering. Check in's every fifteen minutes," he added then gave Bayushi a nod.

"We're on it, Boss," was Kachiko's only reply before she and the Physicians Two departed.



Commander John "Apollo" Barstow
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Colonel Bayushi Kachiko
Marine Detachment Commander

Lieutenant Commander Cale Llewellyn
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant (j.g.) Michael Kai
Chief Medical Officer

2Lt. Cara O'Reilly, MD
Assistant Medical Officer

Lieutenant Commander Save'ena Amilia Tillatix
Chief Flight Control Officer
Bridge Command Specialist