Do Not Open That Door

Posted on Tue Dec 22nd, 2020 @ 10:41am by Commander Ichiko Gail & Linza (Lin) Esni & Lieutenant Commander Calvin Morgan & Lieutenant Alexis Aenera

Mission: Enforced Intermission
Location: Escape Pod - Previous USS Astraea
Timeline: Post USS Astraea

Silent. Quiet. Empty. Vast. Words to perfectly describe the view outside that port window. A tiny, tinted glimpse outside of the universe, while the inhabitants of Pod 17 awaited any sign of rescue. It shouldn't be that far away, and it shouldn't take that long.

Trick to space travel is, when you're doing it conventionally, everything seems to take forever. With every option of "Eye Spy" expended, and not a single deck of cards in sight, all that was left was to pass the time surrounded by pod mates, in solitude. The only break in the silence was the beep of the distress beacon, and the occasional shadow that moved past the viewport as something passed between the nearest source of light and the pod.

The silence was broken early, though, by the onboard sensors picking up.... something. Then the comms announcing that a ship was approaching. A small craft, some form of shuttlecraft, perhaps? There was an eternity of sorts from initial comm and the next piece of interaction, as something new cast a shadow through the viewport. Something distinctly not another pod. This seemed more a form like a person. Or a person in an EVA suit. Humanoid, two arms, two legs, one head, though plenty of headspace.

Certainly not of Starfleet design, the EVA suit on the other side of the viewport tapped on the port a few times to get the attention of the inhabitants, while its faceplate lifted to reveal a familiar sight: A Tsusugi!. He chiming in on the comms. "Ga iu koto o wakarimasu ka?" he spoke, then tried again in another tongue: "Kan du första mig?". Another pause, and then another try, "Can you understand me?"

Alexis's head came up with the tapping of a gauntlet on the outside of the viewport, one lock of hair covering a n eye, which she quickly brushed out of the way. She recognized the species, though for some insane reason the name of it didn't come to mind instantly like normal. She waved at her? Him? To acknowledge the attention-seeking even as he began to speak. the first time it sounded relatively Japanese-ish, but not quite, then something that could have been Scandanavian (of course both just related rather than definitive), to which she scrunched her eyebrows and shook her head. The third? Eyebrows rose high, smile crossing her face, "I can understand you." She said brightly, "Are you here to rescue us, by chance?" And she flashed an award winning smile.

The Ts'usugi on the other side of the glass gave a nod, reaching to tap a comm interface on his helmet, "Karera wa ikite imasu. Use Federation Standard." before he turned his attention back to them. "Yes. We are here to rescue you. Shipmaster Jigen thought a friendly face while we arrange logistics would help. The ICF Tantamount will be here shortly. We arrived in advance." He motioned to a large shuttle making the rounds nearby, an alien design seemingly built for both space and atmospheric missions, "No transmat on the shuttles. Is everyone alright?"

"We three are all right here." Alexis glanced back to Linza and Calvin, "Nothing more than a bit of a scare, but there may be other pods that have injured people in them. I've got Lieut- The Doctor here with us, Doctor Morgan, so if you or any others from your ship find injured, we can help them as best we can, right doc?"

“Yes. Please inform the doctor of your vessel that I have the medical records from everyone on board. I will happily assist them with whatever they need medical wise with the crew. We appreciate the welcome face for sure,” He said, looking at the new friend floating outside the pod.

The Son of Ts'usu outside the hull gave a nod. "That's good to hear. The good doctor always appreciates prompt paperwork." there was a chuckle, "Every one of the pods so far is getting a greeter. Just to make sure there are no emergencies or, Emperor forbid, fatalities."

"Do you know what lead up to the detonation of your craft?"

"You'd probably have to find one of the engineers to get more of a real idea, but a few days ago we started having glitches in the ship systems. First it was just minor things, then the hot water stopped working," She shuddered at the memory of THAT one, "But it got bad really fast and we had to evacuate. I think engineering was having some sort of problem with the warp core, but the explosion should have been bigger, much bigger if they suddenly lost containment."

"Every system that was interconnected with the main computer was affected. I would caution connecting to any database of any of the escape pods or auxiliary craft until your people are able to talk to the engineers," Calvin chimed in.

Linza really didn't say anything. After all, she was considered a civilian and was here in this particular escape pod by chance. Because she had decided to help with getting people into other escape pods. Had she not? Who knew where she'd actually be. Plus the other two would have far out-ranked her anyways, even if she DID have her commission. But the fact that the person was tapping on the outside of the pod threw her off and she honestly jumped when it happened. However, she stayed quiet, listening and taking it all in.

At the doctor's notice, the Ts'usugi astronaut chimed again into his comm in the native tongue of Ts'usu. Then he turned back, "Thank you, we'll isolate everything and get personal accords from everyone." and then he paused, "Oh, and I didn't mean to startle you. We just weren't certain if we'd be able to establish a comm uplink. We're going through one of the fighters at the moment." he clarified. "I apologize. The Tantamount will be in transmat range shortly, we're just getting a final head count."

He paused for a moment, "While onboard, we recognize that things are a bit more lax in Starfleet then they are on a Ts'usu cruiser. Please be respectful."

"Of course." Alexis nodded, "I'm sure I can speak for all of us when I say that we just appreciate you all being in the area and willing to pick us up."

The figure on the other side of the view gave a nod, "Of course." a pause, "Each pod has an inspector on it, making sure everyone is alright. We have some injured crew here, various degrees of severity." a pause, as a looming shadow covered the pod, and cut off the light from the universe. "Good news, the Tantamount has arrived and is in transmat range. We're prioritizing injured, and I'll inform the transmat officer that I have a doctor here to help." and he brought a hand up to his helmet to comm over to the shuttle, to the ship.

Linza still just listened. More lax in Starfleet? Oh this should be interesting she thought to herself. "At least we don't have a hurt doctor, otherwise things could be even worse," she finally said quietly.

The inspector on the other side of that port didn't comment, or didn't hear. Instead, his attention was drawn to an incoming comm on his end. A nod, and then he returned his attention to the escape pod inhabitants.

"Standby for transmat." he commented.

Alexis nodded and moved over to between Linza and Calvin, "Well guys, it looks like our super-fun times here are just about over."

Calvin sighed, closing his eyes, awaiting for the transport.

Although the company was actually nice, the reason for it was not. Linza also didn't like the cramped escape pods. She was glad to be transported out, and just hoped a there was a place for her.

An odd blue glow encompassed them all, and the next time they were solid matter, they were in a re-purposed cargo hold on board a ship entirely not of Federation design. Cots and medical beds filled the bay, to accept the wounded and the weary. Soft lighting illuminated the region, while Ts'usugi crew went from person to person to check on them. Triage, but in the nicest sense...