We're going to need a bigger boat.

Posted on Wed Dec 9th, 2020 @ 6:26pm by Captain Abigail Laurens & Lieutenant Commander William Gunnison & Lieutenant Commander William Rogers & Lieutenant Sylvia Wiseman & Commander Ichiko Gail

Mission: Enforced Intermission
Location: Bridge escape pod.

A sickening lurch heralded the launch of the bridge pod. Thrusters opened full throttle, mostly compensated for by the pod's inertial dampeners. Buck did his best to keep the flight level and away from the Astraea.

In the growing distance between them and the ship matter met antimatter. Transformed to energy it rushed outward in myriad forms. Light poured through the pod's portholes. So white as to be almost blinding despite the autocorrection filters. As soon as it arrived it was gone, followed by a shockwave of expanding gases.

Buck slumped in his chair. The US military had wanted him to be able capable of sustaining severe injuries and still perform his duty. But he was not indestructible. The console fragments protruding from his chest rose and fell with his shallow breathing. He sang quietly. "'Cos every hand's a winner / and every hand's a loser / and the best thing you can hope for is to die in your sleep." Like his crewmates had. He felt cold. In the back of Buck's mind a voice sounded. Life support failure: pod 4

As the blindingly bright light of the explosion flooded through the portholes, the small escape craft rocked violently in the shockwave. Crossing her arms over her chest and gripping the safety harness in the seat, Abigail closed her eyes tightly, knuckles turning white, trying to ignore the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

It was only after the pod stopped being tossed about in space and she had taken a moment to catch her breath that Abigail finally opened her eyes and looked around. "Lieutenant Wiseman, there should be an emergency first aid kit in the bulkhead behind you. See if you can do anything to help Commander Rogers. Lieutenant Gunnison, activate an emergency distress beacon."

Will moved over and activated the pod's emergency distress beacon. He worrieded about how Cole was doing. Cole had beed taught about what to do if the order to abandon ship was ever given, and Will hoped beyond hope that Cole remembered enough to at least grab the nearest crewman for assistance.

Ichiko kept her eyes closed longer than the others, kept her arms across her chest longer than most, and was hesitant to open her eyes after the blast pulse had passed. She returned to the here and now with a heavy breath. "Oh, that was rough. I'd like to get off the ride now, mother." she said in something akin to good spirits. They were alive, that's all that mattered. She saw that Wiseman was already moving to assist Rogers, that Gunnison was moving to a task, and that Abigail was awake and providing guidance. To that image, she offered a soft smile.

"I'll keep an eye out for any responses to the beacon."

Sylvia struggled to recover for a moment, then when the order to help the Commander registered, she muttered a soft "Aye, ma'am" and began moving. She retrieved the med kit, cracked it open, and removed a tricorder. She took some reading, and realized the situation was dire. "Captain, the Commander is in bad shape. I'm not sure how much I can do here."

Will nodded to Cmdr. Gail and moved over next to Wiseman and Rogers, trying to recall his own first aid training. He glanced over the tricorder readings, which seemed to indicate that most of the helmsman's injuries seemed to stem from the console shards in his chest. Will said, "Lieutenant Wiseman, please continue to monitor Cmdr. Rogers's condition while I treat him. Let me know if anything changes." Will grabbed the necessary equipment and began carefully removing shards while using a dermal regenerator to close up the wounds, hoping that he wasn't somehow making things worse.

Buck inhaled sharply as the first of the shards were pulled out. His heart rate spiked. The organ raced away, at levels dangerous for normal humans, as it attempted to flood damaged areas with the biological tools needed for healing. "Acupuncture really blows in the future. You know that?"

Ichiko gave a giggle, "You haven't had it done proper, then." she offered, "There are masters back home who make pressure treatment and puncture relaxation treatment their entire life's work. They could relax you with a touch."

"I think he just wasn't expecting to see my ugly face when he came around," Will said.

"You got that right." Buck joked. "If I'd known it was you who'd be resuscitating me, I'd have made sure the explosion killed me." His laugh spluttered into coughing. As it subsided the helmsman clutched his side wincing.

"Careful," Abigail cautioned with a slight shake of her head. "I don't think Commander Morgan would be very happy if we broke the helm officer while he was stuck in an escape pod somewhere. Commander Gail, any ETA on assistance?"

"With luck, they should be here soon." Ichiko responded. At the mention, a shadow passed over the viewport as something moved between the escape pod and a source of light. There was a curious scratching sound coming from the hull, followed by an even more curious and alarming sound near the viewport...

*Knock knock*