Last Man Standing

Posted on Wed Sep 18th, 2024 @ 6:22pm by Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Lieutenant Hank Solomon

998 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Interlude 1 Gamma Quadrant
Location: Captain's Ready Room

[ON]

Malcom stood in the Firebird's empty Science section, staring around at all of the nearly new equipment that they had received when the Marines were offloaded. Of all the departments on the ship, Malcom understood the least about science. Of course, he'd had to take a lot of science at the academy, but he hadn't gotten more than a basic understanding of things. But right now, with the situation they were in, he needed people to answer the questions confounding them all.

He looked down at the PADD in his hand. He hoped that Lieutenant Hank Solomon was the answer to his problem.

The PADD Hank received took him off guard. He was definitely not used to receiving messages directly from the station commander. He summoned right in front of the door and took a few seconds to ensure he was all set for the meeting. He double-checked his uniform and took a deep breath before chiming in.

The door chime interrupted Malcom's musings, thankfully. "Come in," he said and watched the new science officer enter. Lieutenant Solomon looked tall, fit and rested, which was a minor miracle in Malcom's book.

"Thank you for coming, Lieutenant Solomon," Malcom said. "I'm sure that you are wondering why I called you here. The truth is, I need help and I think you're the man who can help me. But first, tell me how you came to be here in the Gamma Quadrant on DS18."

"The Man who can help me" ...these words bounced in Hank's mind and a slightly puzzled face showed up for a few seconds before he managed to shake it off and get back to the CO's question.
"Sir, my pleasure to meet you" he started "I have always been embarked on scientific vessels after my graduation from the Academy." he paused for a moment "I was with the crew of the USS Curiè. We were on an astronomical charting mission and needed to resupply. DS18 was a good opportunity to both, touch base and start poking our nose to uncharted space" he smiled at the great opportunity they had.

Malcom nodded. He'd read as much and had a strained conversation with the Curiè's Captain. He hated poaching officers but in the current situation, he didn't have much of a choice.

"Lieutenant, currently the Firebird's entire science team is missing. I'm forwarding you the logs of what happened to us but I'll sum it up for you. We were alerted to an attack on DS18 and made our way to the wormhole. When we emerged, we found ourselves in a very bad situation. A large enemy ship, surrounded by numerous smaller vessels, was attacking DS18, while at the same time moving large asteroids in front of the wormhole. Thanks to Lieutenant Tor, we were able to maneuver and engage the enemies. However, we were surprised, to say the least, when the large ship emitted an energy source that powered four devices. Those devices somehow made the wormhole unusable. After the battle was over, I sent our science team to investigate the devices and determine how to reverse what had been done. All I know is that they somehow triggered the devices again and they all disappeared, along with our Runabout and the devices. My reports have indicated that the devices somehow shifted the Wormhole temporally," Malcom paused, waiting to see how the Lieutenant would handle all the information he had just dumped on him."

Hank blinked his eyes twice at the full information download and his lips pressed into a worried and sad expression at the hearing of the loss of all those good men. It took him a moment to realize the loss and to regain the focus on the matter of the meeting.

"That is terrible" he breathed "Did you try to send in a probe to look for the transponder frequency of the runabout?" He offered as a brainstorming idea on the matter.

"We did. Nothing. Our best guess is that the devices somehow warped time, moving the wormhole, or part of it, into the past. I hope that if the same thing happened with the science team, they will be working on the problem and finding a way home. But we have to work on the reality we have and the reality is I need a new Chief Science Officer and you're the best of the personnel I have available to me," Malcom said.

Hank nodded at the possibility of the Science team still being alive and well, just trapped somewhere else. His tension relaxed a little. If there was anyone who would find a way out of such a situation, that would be a team of highly trained scientists at least. His mind was busy processing such information when the "Chief Science Officer" words hit his mind.

"Chief Science Officer" he repeated those three words out loud, as if saying them would have somewhat given more credibility to that sentence. "Thank you for trusting me for this role, sir" he thanked the CO bowing his head slightly in appreciation while a shy smile appeared on his face.

"I'm sure you'll do great things," Malcom said. "Take some time to figure out what all this equipment is and get your belongings moved over to your new quarters. I'm going to schedule a meeting with you and Lieutenant Deekros. He's the other science officer and you will be working closely together on a project I have in mind. Until then, you are free to wander as you wish."

"Thank you, Sir, I'll do my best in the new role" he thanked the commanding officer and quickly stood at the attention just before turning on his heels and leaving.

[OFF]

Captain Malcom Llwyedd
Commanding Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298

Lieutenant Thomas Solomon
Chief Science Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298

 

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