Checking On The Senior Staff

Posted on 04 Jul 2017 @ 10:14pm by Commander Thiago Teixeira & Lieutenant JG Charles Carmichael & Petty Officer 1st Class Allen Miller

1,703 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: The Finnean Crisis
Location: DS15, Security Level
Timeline: MD 5 || 1330 hours

Thirty levels above the enlisted barracks was the Security Level. Its brig was nearly full, containing both the senior staff of Deep Space Fifteen and the Vasco da Gama. Among them was Lieutenant Charles Carmichael.

Alone in his cell, Charles sat on his bunk, elbows resting on his knees and his face in his hands. For the last two weeks, like his shipmates, he’d been a prisoner of the Selubassari. Offered nothing but simple proteins and water, he’d gotten to the point where he’d take gagh for a decent meal.

As happened several times throughout the day, the doors opened, allowing a Selubassari guard to enter. This time he was not alone. The way the footsteps carried themselves, the way they tapped on the floor… They weren’t Selubassari.

Charles looked up to see a human—a familiar human—collared in red. “C-Commander!” Charles said instantly, rising to his feet. With what he’d seen with the probe, he could have only expected that Starfleet would call in the reigning expert on Captain Geisler. “I never thought I’d see you again, sir!” he honestly declared. He would have thought the crew of the Black Hawk would have been broken up and distributed around the galaxy.

"Mister Carmichael," Thiago responded. He hadn't worked with the scientist before, but he knew the young man from crew evaluations. "Are you okay? Do you need medical attention? What about the others?"

"I'm fine, sir," Charles replied, approaching the forcefield and coming to a stop just a pace from the barrier. "Commander Stryk could use some attention, sir," he said, nodding to another cell where the Vulcan woman had assumed a fetal position and was murmuring and shivering. "I'm not sure what she suffers from, but I know it's serious."

"Pollen deprivation," said a Bolian, Doctor Ch’balt, in the cell opposite Carmichael. "She's five days overdue for her interval. If she does not have medical attention soon, she'll die."

Allen followed the Commander in, making sure to keep an eye on him and the Selubassari. But when he saw how full everything was, he shook his head. Allen couldn't tell who was ship and who was station personnel. But now he realized why he only saw certain colors of uniforms earlier. These aliens had separated the high ranking and Command officers from the others. Not a bad move, he thought. Really good tactical decision. Looks like these...Selubasarri...could be a little more interesting to trifle with. Should it come to that. Allen decided right then and there to not take them for granted if things should go south.

"Commander," Charles said again, this time his tone softer. "Is Captain Geisler... here?"

"Not on the da Gama, no," Teixeira started. "But the Captain is in negotiations with the Selubassari and Rakhari." He paused, looking up at the security officer. "Mister Allen, check on the others."

"You've got it, sir," replied Allen. He hadn't had a chance yet to officially meet the Brazilian Executive Officer. But then again, if he did, it would probably be for a not-so-good reason. So he was content to let things be for the time being. The blonde security officer started checking on the others in the room. Many appeared to have seen better days. He stopped in front of the Bolian's cell. "Petty Officer First Class Allen Miller," he said, "I presume you're in Medical based on what you said earlier regarding Commander Stryk?"

"You assume, correctly, Petty Officer," said Ch'balt. "I'm the Vasco da Gama's physician, and more than worried about my Commanding Officer."

"I get that, Doc," said Allen. "Let me see if we can do anything about that. I can't promise because I don't know what's been going on outside of all of this. But I can at least ask. Sound good, sir?"

"Just do your best, Petty Officer," said the Doctor. He glanced over to the Commander's cell again, only to frown in dispair. He could only imagine how extensive the damage would be once they really got to examine her.

Allen continued to inspect the rest of the cells, checking on who was occupying them and their medical condition. So far at the top, was Commander Stryk. As he talked with them, he found out that some were from the Deep Space Fifteen's command structure and some were from the Vasco da Gama's. "They kept you all in here," he murmured quietly. With very little to eat or drink. This isn't the work of a friendly species. This is the work of tyrants. He finished his check and walked back to where the Doctor was.

"I noticed some basic medkits stationed along the walls for emergencies," he said. "Would those help in any way with the others? I mean, if you, your staff, and the medical staff from the ship were able to get out?"

"If we were able to get out, Mister Petty Officer, I'd be heading for a sickbay. The medkits will be ineffective with Commander Stryk. She's suffering from Chabanlon Pollen Deprivation, an extremely rare disease which requires fresh ingredients, nothing a replicator or a hypospray can provide."

Allen chuckled. "And that's why I'm Security. Thanks for the specifics, though. I"ll be right back." Allen went back to Commander Teixeira and waited a second. The situation was dire, but what he heard when walked up caught him off guard.

Back over with Commander Teixeira, Charles said softly through the forcefield. "I know why you're here, Commander."

"Oh?" Given the nature of the information the Black Hawk's crew had been given prior to pushing off, Thiago would be surprised if the scientist had any clue about the purpose of the Hawk's presence.

Charles sighed. "I opened the probe personally. Ensign Akagi and I both handled it personally. And, I... I heard what Captain Geisler said."

Well, Teixeira thought, that would do it. "How many people know?"

"Commander Stryk, Ensign Akagi, and myself," Charles replied. "The XO might know, but I wasn't there if the Commander informed her. I know security was guarding it, and who knows what happened to them."

"We'll need to quarantine them, and you, from other people. We have to be careful about controlling this information." Teixeira was worried that if the truth about the probe got out, this whole mission could go sour.

Charles's eyes widened a bit. Quarantine? He supposed that he shouldn't be too surprised, considering the lengths the Selubassari went to to lock everyone away, not to mention the actions Starfleet took to keep what they did silent. He could only worry what that meant for him now. "I haven't seen Akagi since we were dragged in here."

"Miller," Thiago called out, "I need you to find Ensign Akagi."

"Not a problem, Commander," said Allen. "I've been up and down this area talking to everyone and taking note of who is where. Just a minute." He accessed his PADD and searched, twice, but found nothing. "Um, Commander, I'm not finding an Ensign Akagi on my list. I can check the brig again, sir. But...." He let it trail off as he checked the PADD again.

Thiago looked up at Miller, giving him a stern glare. "Go."

Allen nodded. "Understood, sir. On it." He turned to jog back into the detention area of the starbase. He wasn't sure if he could find the Ensign or not, but it was worth another chance to look.

As soon as their conversation had finished, a Selubassari guard approached the Commander to hand him a PADD. "These are the command codes for the brig," he said. "The prisoners have been turned over to Starfleet. You may punish them as you wish." With that, the guard turned and left the brig.

"Hang on," he shouted after Miller. "Here," Teixeira said, extending the PADD to the Petty Officer after deactivating the confinement fields in their current location. "Go back to detention. Release the others. Look for Akagi."

Allen ran back to the Commander after he had called out to him. "Ohh, this is going to be helpful. You got it, sir. I'll enlist some of the station security, too. We'll need all the help we can get." He took the PADD and ran back into detention, releasing the others and looking for Ensign Akagi.

"Doctor, get the Commander to Sickbay. I'll check in shortly," Teixeira ordered.

As soon as the field dropped, Ch'balt nodded to the Commander. "Yes, sir," he replied. "I'll need some help retrieving her medication from the Vasco da Gama."

Thiago motioned at the other senior officers present. "Take your pick. The Black Hawk's Sickbay should be more than sufficient for your needs."

Without another word, Ch'balt gestured to a fellow officer, and together, they picked up Commander Stryk to move her to the transporter room. He wouldn't trust Deep Space 15's sickbay, so the Black Hawk would have to do. Plus, it would be more private for the Vulcan. They might not show emotion, but their pride was certainly more thin than humans.

Several minutes later, Allen came running back. "Commander Teixeria," he said, slowing to catch his breath real quick, "sir, Ensign Akagi is not among the the other personnel."

That's not good, the Executive Officer thought. Not good at all. "I've got a bad feeling about this, Mister Miller."

"What about me, sir?" Carmichael asked of Commander Teixeira.

"You," Thiago started, "are staying with me. For now, keep your mouth closed. We need to control information, even from your shipmates." He turned towards the doors. "We'll go meet up with the others and then get you back to the Black Hawk."

Charles couldn't say he was surprised. At least he could see the Captain again, and hopefully whoever else stayed on from the ship's predecessor. Still, he could not help but feel more nervous at whatever scrutiny awaited him regarding the probe. It was a shame it had disappeared, and with Akagi missing and Commander Stryk unable to talk... it made Charles the only available expert.

Or suspect.

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