Rescue or Recovery, (Away Team, Part 5)

Posted on Wed Sep 24th, 2025 @ 6:54pm by Captain Remy Johansen & Lieutenant JG T'lenn & Commander Maxun Spello & Lieutenant Commander Nash Winters & Lieutenant Xalanth & Ensign Tyler Williams

1,221 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Gone, Without Ever Knowing the Way
Location: TE 3X031, Class L Moon in Typhon Expanse
Timeline: MD 06, After Part 4

Nash could not do it by himself. Be certainly had no desire to play hero and decided to get help.

“Nash to Ensign Williams. Can you meet in the lower level of Engineering? There are survivors down there and I want to make the most of the opportunity to download whatever logs and databases are intact. Dr. Blackstone marked the door with phaser marks to make it easier to find.”

"How many levels are you down from the entrance?" Tyler queried as he made his way through the smashed corridor with caution. The temperature was insufferable, and he could already feel the sweat starting to form on his back and drip down it, but he had the job to do. After a few moments of radio silence, "I can see the marks, heading there now."

“Never mind, then, Ensign. You beat me to it,” Nash said as he approached the young officer’s position.

“We need to try to get this door open. Let me try the panel here, and I also have the manual override device.” Nash tapped buttons on the control PADD that operated the door. “Nope, that’s not gonna open. Must have been damaged in the crash. Although…..” He was able to remove the panel cover to reveal the circuits beneath.

The sound of booted feet indicated the arrival of the ship's lizard.

A low groan filled the air, a reminder of the strain that bulkheads of the ship were under, weathering the pressure of the earth as unstable and partially molten ground of the moon slowly swallowed what was left the Dalton. The floor underneath the officers shifted slightly in one direction, putting them at an awkward pitch toward portside.

The lizard nodded as he watched the doctor vanish. Picking up his gear he began to move towards Nash.

As hard as he tried, Nash could not force the engineering door. He tried rewiring circuit pathways, even pulled and replaced isolinear chips. Nothing he tried was successful. Suddenly he heard the deck playing rattle with footsteps. He smiled when he noticed who was coming toward him.

“Xalanth! Over here!” Nash shouted through his comm.

“Good to see you, my friend. I could use your help. There’s someone on the other side of this door and I can’t get the damn thing open. You think your reptilian strength can pry this open?”

"Let me give it a try." Xalanth said as he stepped up to the doors. Drawing a magnet latch from his belt, he attached it to the door and breathed in. With a scream of pained metal, the lizard put all of his strength into the door which slowly began to move apart.

Hearing and seeing the door slowly pulling apart to a width he could squeeze in sideways and use himself as a lever, pushing with his legs to get the doors opened further.

They hadn’t known each other very long, but Nash was amazed at what his new friend could do. Of course, he had never met a humanoid reptile before . “Nice going, bubba,” Nash said with a relieved tone.

Xalanth let out a loud roar as he slid the door out of the way. Turning his head to the side, he called out. " USS Astera rescue team, anyone alive in here?"

“You take the right and I’ll go left,” he told Xalanth. “Holler if you see anything….or anyone out of the ordinary.”

The engine room was a disaster and in total darkness. Nash used his palm beacon to illuminate his surroundings. He could see smashed consoles and glass was scattered everywhere. There were no bodies to be found, despite the bio readings that were detected earlier. The deck crunched as Nash walked. He proceeded slowly until he saw the warp core to his left.

"Anything?" Xalanth called as he finished checking one of the smaller rooms near the engineering entrance.

He thought he heard voices, at least during the periods of consciousness. Commander Tanis Eedro was the Chief Engineer on USS Dalton when it crashed on the moon. Memories were fleeting. He could recall gravitational anomalies….power surges? Shield failure? But that voice….he knew it from somewhere.

“Hang on, Xalanth. Just getting my bearings. Especially in the dark,” Nash replied. He walked toward the warp core and could see a body lying face-up. Nash moved his beacon to the person’s face and….he knew exactly who it was. A Bajoran male, just about Nash’s age. He had what appeared to be plasma burns on his hands and neck, blood coming from his head and nose.

“Holy shit! Eedro….. Eedro….it’s Nash. Eedro! It’s Nash! Xalanth, Tyler! I found somebody! He’s alive! Come quick!”

Xalanth was over by Nash side in moments. "Here, let's get him in stasis and get him out of here."

“Thanks, pal. This is Commander Tanis of the Dalton. We went to the Academy together. Tyler! Give us a hand will ya? After he beams out, I want you and I to try and download any logs or databases. We need more information on what happened here.”

"Right," Tyler rushed over and managed to help Nash and Xalanth with the Commander. Once he saw that he was in a more stable position, he confirmed it was okay to leave the position and found the nearest multipurpose console that was still operational. It took a few moments but he was able to get in and start downloading the data as Nash requested.

Nash gently placed the portable field generator on Eedro’s chest. “Hang in there, bubba. You’ll be beamed back to Astrea. They’ll take care of you. Nash to Astrea. Lock on to my signal. Bajoran male survivor. Plasma burns, possible shock. Transport directly to sickbay.”

Remy's voice responded over the Away Team's comms, [Away Team, a plasma storm is developing in the the thermosphere. Operations is concerned about transports through the atmosphere. You'll need to use the shuttle transporter and try to stabilize him there.]

“Understood, Captain. Wouldn’t be an away mission without complications. I’ll have my team take a look at it once we get to the shuttle. Nash out.”

Nash mumbled something under his breath that neither Williams or Xalanth could make out. “Alright, you heard the Captain. Change of plans. We have to transport Tanis to the shuttle. Commander Spello and Lieutenant T’Lenn can stabilize him over there.”

Xalanth nodded as he drew one of the beacons from his belt. It should let the shuttle transporters lock onto him.

“Nash to T’Lenn. We have a survivor in critical condition. Please beam him directly to your location. You’ll have to stabilize him there before he can transported to Astrea. Incoming plasma storms are making transport difficult. Please do your best to keep him comfortable.
Nash out.”

"Aye, Commander," T'lenn responded. "I have a transport lock on one lifeform, critical condition, Bajoran, near your location. I detect two others not with our landing party nearby. I can beam everyone back to the shuttle at your request, Sir. We have been advised that site to site transport with Astrea is no longer advisable until we clear the atmosphere. All will need to return by way of shuttle. Please advise."

~tbc~

RSS Feed