Identity Crisis (part 1)

Posted on Tue Sep 4th, 2012 @ 1:29pm by Commodore Samantha York & Commander Alexandra Vance & Lieutenant T'Lada & Ensign Mandy Lane & Ensign Leee-ee/Maddison Tyler
Edited on on Wed Sep 5th, 2012 @ 11:02am

1,385 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: The Enemy Within: Lying in Wait
Location: USS Columbia, Sickbay

The swirl of light dissipated from around Alexandra and the luminescent transporter room of the [i]Calypso[/i] was replaced by the dimly lit sickbay of the Columbia. Several flickering console and emergency consoles provided light to tattered room adorned with hanging cables and beds tossed along the deck.

Vance looked around to ensure her team had also arrived. She wasn't sure if the Commodore was testing her abilities or punishing Alexandra for their meeting earlier. Either way she had sent Vance down to sickbay of all places with Lieutenant T'Lada whom she had shared some colorful words with earlier in the day, a new ensign from Medical and what looked like a sea serpent. She hoped the threat level would remain minimal as combat proved more difficult with a team of liabilities, she had protected civilians before, but she was usually accompanied by a team of two or more highly training intelligence officers, most of whom she had known and served several years with.

She sighed and tapped her commbadge. =^=Vance to York, We have safely arrived in the [i]Columbia's [/i] sickbay.

"Good. What is the condition? Have you found any crew?" York asked.

=^= The ship has sustained heavy damage however it looks like emergency power is active. No signs of any of the crew." =^=

No crew? Either they were all safely off the ship or something terrible happened. She was beginning to fear the later. "Stay in groups and keep an open comm channel so we can beam you out at the first sign of trouble," she said.

=^= Acknowledged, Vance out. =^=.

Maddison already had her scanner going, and so did T'Lada.

"Clear. No traps, life-forms, or anything directly threatening." Maddison said.

T'Lada nodded. "Some odd readings, but those appear to be interference from the planet."

Mandy flipped open her tricorder as well, setting it to attempt reading lifeforms. She hoped it wouldn't interfere with her tricorder, but it did. The interference made it nearly impossible to tell lifesigns from a distance, though it was picking up herself and the officer next to her just fine, the others were barely reading.

Vance turned to her team. "Alright Lieutenant T'Lada, take the ensigns with and search the main area of sickbay. Look for any survivors or signs that may indicate what may have caused the crash. I am going to the Chief Medical Officer's office, I will attempt to extract information from the logs on her computer. I expect us to be here for no more than one hour, any questions?"

Having none, Mandy just waited to see who else might.

"I suppose not. You should probably not be leading off on your own, but I have surrendered the topic of arguing your illogical decisions." T'Lada noted, dryly.

"Alright then, let's get to work." Vance ordered ignoring the Lieutenant's snide remark. It seemed as though what she had said to her early may have set in.

She waited for the team to move off into the main sickbay before she made her way towards the Chief Medical Officer's office. The office was located down a small corridor past what appeared to be a private treatment reserved for the command staff and VIP guests. Alexandra turned around and noted that the room was shielded from the view of the other members of the away team. She had reserved the area not only because she did not want to leave a junior officer to roam off on their own, but because it gave her the opportunity to work in peace. Probing the Chief Medical Officer's computer would provide valuable intel to bring light to the cause of Columbia's crash. A lack of records would show that the ship had indeed malfunctioned and simply crashed. Had there been some form of attack, the Chief Medical Officer would have received casualty reports prior to their abrupt landing. Vance would also be able to tap into the main computer through standard federation backdoor programs to determine what state of alert had been called and if the ship took battle damage.

As she turned around to approach the Chief's office her vision was suddenly masked by an object that clung to her face. Vance fell to the floor but made no noise as she hit. Her attempts at yelling out were muffled by whatever was attached to her. She reached up with her hands to grab it. Her hands were met by a cold smooth slime as she struggled to grip it, it was organic... Before she could struggle any further the creature injected several needles into her face. The needles felt little more than a pin prick however the material that was being injected was far more painful. She would have screamed out in pain, but once again the creature has suppressed it. Within a few moments, Alexandra went limp and her eyes closed.

==A few short minutes later==

Vance rose from the floor to her feet. She needed to get to the Office of the Chief of Medicine and purge the computer. She purposefully walked towards the office. The door was partially open and Vance easily forced them part. She entered the room and quickly surveyed it. The console was undamaged and functional....One life sign.

"State you name."

"Oh, thank goodness!" the woman said, half lifting herself from the biobed. Her leg was obviously broken and she'd been in the process of repairing it with a bone regenerator. "I'm Pauline Purdy, Chief Medical Officer on the Columbia. Who are you?" The cold stare of the Starfleet officer was beginning to unnerve Pauline. "Why did you phrase it that way?"

"I am Commander Alexandra Vance, Executive Officer Federation starship Calypso registry N C C Seven-One-Three-Five-Zero. What do you know of the events culminating to your crash on this planet?"

"Are you okay?" she asked sitting up straighter. "You sound odd, dear." She looked at Vance oddly and reached for her medical scanner.

Vance grabbed the scanner from her and tossed it to the floor. "Doctor I do not require a medical scan. You must tell me what you know of what happened to this vessel."

"This vessel? The Columbia's systems failed, starting with navigation. When we crashed, the sand began to fill parts of the ship. There were these creatures...like spiders but they weren't spiders. Some people were bitten." She shook her head. "I'm not sure what happened." She looked down at her leg. "I was injured. The others...I don't know where they went. Didn't you see them when you came in?" She tried to get up off the biobed. "Are they hurt?"

Vance slowly took a couple steps towards the female. "Their condition is irrelevent. You know too much, you must be eliminated."

With a quick fluent motion Vance struck the woman in her windpipe grasping her by the front of her labcoat preventing her fall.

Pauline frantically clawed at the woman's hands, trying to take a breath or make her let go. Her panicked gaze fixed on Vance as she tried to form the word why. In less than a minute, she slumped back, dead.

Vance slowly placed the body on the floor to prevent any unwanted noise. She walked over to the Chief of Medicine's computer and began reviewing the files. The female doctor had placed her accounts into the ship's database. She quickly entered an algorithm into the console and after a few seconds the records of the crew's accounts of the crash and events leading up to it were deleted. Her mission was complete and her presence on this ship no longer required.

She tapped her communications badge. =^=Commander Vance to Commodore York, I request to return to the ship immediately. I am not well....=^=

"Put Lieutenant T'Lada in charge and report to me," Sam said. She wanted to find out what Vance learned and what was going on before deciding whether to send the woman to the doctor or not. Just to find out if it had anything to do with the Columbia or not.

(To be continued...)

Commodore Samantha York
Commanding Officer

Commander Alexandra Vance
Executive Officer

Lieutenant T'Lada
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant JG Mandy Lane
Medic

Ensign Maddison Tyler
Security Officer

Lieutenant Pauline Purdy
Chief Medical Officer
USS Columbia

 

RSS Feed