Falling into Personnel Files, Part 3

Posted on Wed Feb 28th, 2024 @ 4:25am by Lieutenant JG T'lenn & Commander Maxun Spello & Lieutenant JG Thivi

1,473 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Artifact or Artifiction
Location: Serenity Archives
Timeline: MD 2, After Part 2

Ghiram was listening to a man on a holoimage clad in a what was civilian clothes for the time period describing the day that that the Romulans came to their homeworld. The next minute he could see others around him, some were dressed similarly, others were dressed in uniforms - beige, grey, blue, green. As he looked around the people were in a stage of chaos, the uniforms trying to bring order. Nearby was a space faring vessel, docked partially on land and on a large body of water. It appeared to Ghiram that it was the same vessel that Astrea was now studying after finding it adrift in space.

Runners were sprinting off of a smaller vessel shouting warnings as they ran toward what appeared to be a village. One of the runners accidentally bumped into Ghiram on his way into the village.

Now that they were clad in more period-appropriate gear, Vila and Nevan ventured out, back to their original spot. She could hear Maxun's voice. The El Aurian sounded like he was in trouble. Men. She shook her head. "How fast are you on the draw?" Vila asked Nevan, as she headed for the sound of his voice. She spotted Ghiram. "Ghiram. What's going ON?" She asked. "Stay close. If I stand out, YOU certainly will," she said. "We're going after him. Ghiram, how quick can you make up an explosive?" She asked. She wasn't kidding.

Vila didn't wait for an answer as she ran towards Spello. "Lieutenant, are you ok? I can call for help," she said, extracting her badge from her pocket, and pressing. =/\=Lorut to Astrea. Four to beam back. =/\= She clicked off before anyone could answer her, forgetting she wasn't in any reality, but instead, a hologram.

The others watched as Spello seemed to phase out in front of them, replaced by an unfamiliar face. A male with dark olive skin, and wavy dark hair. He appeared young and was severely wounded. Individuals in uniform put him on a stretcher and carried him on the large ship. The one that looked remarkably like Serenity.

- - - - -

As he lay in the shuttle, Maxun could see the burns on his body, though he could not feel the pain associated with them. However, he was also finding it impossible to move under his own power. He tried calling out for assistance, but his words sounded more like weak guttural moans.

Finally, a young woman approached. She appeared to be dressed as a medic of some kind.

The woman appeared youthful, her skin appeared sun-kissed, either tanned or perhaps it was her natural coloring. Her light brown hair was pulled into a low ponytail. She was was wearing white, though the piping on her uniform was blue - not silver like the others and she carried a medical kit which she opened quickly. "This should help with the pain," she said. The tool she brought out applied a topical salve of some kind which was dispensed through a type of spray that she waved over the burns, starting with the ones on his arms and chest.

"You need surgery," the medic stated. She hadn't offered her name, because she and Farik knew one another - quite well. "The Serenity is nearby. We're going to get you on a stretcher and take you there. Can you understand me, Farik?" She touched a gentle hand to his cheek and looked at him with concern.

Maxun, through the person he now knew as Farik, heard the reply, as he felt the love that the other man had held for this woman. "Belo...beloved!" He slowly, and painfully, lifted his right hand to gently cup the left side over her face, leaving his blood smear on her cheek. "It..it was...slaughter...the..the aliens...overwhelmed us...too many...ferocious warriors." He closed his eyes briefly, as the medicine started to give him some relief. Then, he felt Farik' rmfear suddenly blossom. Opening his eyes, he heard him say, "Dalana! Fepun!" The names if their children stumbled from Farik's mouth in the same way that any good parent would ask the unaskable question regarding the fate of their child or children.

"They are with your parents. I don't know if they'll have time to get them here to Serenity or if they should board Odyssey now. Your mom and dad will make sure they are safe." Narisa shook her head sadly as paramedics rolled Farik onto a stretcher. "You won't be if we don't get you into surgery soon. One of the shots hit your spinal cord, there is nerve damage. We have to act fast. I'll try to reach your parents once you're in surgery."

Before Farik could reply, he was hurried inside of Serenity, the medication that Narisa gave him starting to put him under. His last thoughts before losing consciousness, was of the day they all had spent out on the lake, where he was teaching their children to swim. A smile started to cross his face, then....blackness.

- - - - - -

As soon as the file ended, Maxun's mind was released. He struggled back in his seat, falling out of it and onto the deck below. Coughing, he tried to calm his nervous system down, from the sudden assault it had just undergone.

When he finally started to calm down, he carefully got back up onto his feet and saw that the rest of the team were still locked into the files they were watching. As he didn't know if removing them would cause injury, he left them alone. Instead, he called for Commander Johansen. This was the first news that Commander Johansen had received that there had been a problem. For now Nurse Thivi was left to monitor the others, while Lieutenant T'lenn studied the technology to see if there was a way to disconnect them manually. After Thivi and T'lenn were in place, Johansen took Spello to show him the cryogenics lab that medical was working with.

- - - - - -

As Spello disappeared in front of her, Vila's brain seemed to kick in again. "Computer, end simulation," she called out. After a moment, it was dark, and when she opened her eyes, she was back in the Archive room.

"Praise the Prophets," she said. "Is everyone ok? Spello?" She asked. She looked for Ghiram and Nevan. Both men were fine. Thank goodness.

Maxun had returned from the cryolab, eagerly waiting for the others to wake up. Looking over at the Executive Officer, Maxun nodded as he replied. "Aye, Ma'am. But take it easy, the effects on our systems, while watching the files is still being evaluated."

Vila nodded. "Yes," she said. "Believe it or not, it's not the first time I've been sucked into an alternative reality," she said. "Hopefully it's the last," she said. She was exhausted. "Do you need medical?"

"Lieutenant Spello has been disconnected from the program for 46 minutes," T'lenn informed them. "Curious that the three of you disconnected at approximately the same time. I have been trying to ascertain if there was a way to disconnect you manually without causing any harm, but I had not reached a conclusive answer."

Vila nodded. "It's ok, Lieutenant," she said. "You're doing fine. It was sheer dumb luck that the Petty Officer and I escaped," she said. "Can you please run vitals, perhaps? That might tell you more," Vila said. She wasn't medical, but she WAS a scientist and she recognized some things just made sense.

Thivi was only too happy to come over and scan her for abnormalities. "You seem fine, Commander, though you do have somewhat elevated levels of adrenaline." She said, before moving on to the other two. "The same goes for the two of you. If I may ask - what was the scenario you encountered and how did you get out?"

Maxun repeated himself from earlier. "I was watching the personal files of a soldier, who became seriously wounded. The file ended, and released my mind, after he had been injected with medication and lost conciousness."

Vila nodded at Thivi. "Thank you, Nurse Thivi," she said. "We were interacting with townsfolk. They mentioned Romulans," she said. "A fear of them attacking," she clarified. She glanced at Remy. That escalated things.

"It's likely this vessel came from Romulan territory, so that shouldn't be too surprising," Remy responded thoughtfully. "Let's get you guys checked out, and we can compare your notes in a a bit," Remy suggested.

[END]

Commander Remy Johansen
Commanding Officer
USS Astrea

Commander Vila Lorut
First Officer
USS Astrea

Lieutenant JG Thivi
Head Nurse
USS Astrea

Lieutenant J.G. Maxun Spello
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Astrea

Petty Officer 1st Class Nevan Kayto
Civil Operations Specialist
USS Astrea

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