Battle on the Bridge

Posted on Tue Aug 16th, 2022 @ 9:39pm by Captain Ivan Petrov & Lieutenant Johnathan Anderson III & Lieutenant Sovas Nyseth & Lieutenant JG Kassandra Selin & Lieutenant Christoph Ivers

Mission: S1 Episode 3: Phage
Location: Bridge
Timeline: Mission Day 7 at 1430
3595 words - 7.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Ivan stood at the tactical station, his eyes moving over the data that was presented there. Since all security personnel were currently battling these mindless Vidiians and Troy was down trying to assist his wife, he was the only trained security officer left on the Bridge. With him were Anderson, Nyseth, Selin, and a smattering of other crew who were assigned to the Bridge for overflow.

"They're spreading out all over the ship. Some managed to find Jeffries tubes, others found their way into turbolifts. Sickbay is reporting a number of casualties, but no deaths." Ivan said, not having fulfilled this role in over a decade. "Sovas, have you found anything out concerning these creatures?"

Sovas has been running scans via the internal sensors and used a tricorder to run a scan on one of the Vidiian corpses that had been used to target the ship. While he wasn't a doctor or scientist, the tricorder was linked to the ships database and helped him to understand a bit more what was going on. "It appears that the Vidiians have weaponized the Phage virus, while I won't pretend to understand the nuances, it appears that there was some sort of genetic manipulation done that causes it to target the brain."

He indicated the corpse lying on the deck and looked to Ivan. "Our friend here has not higher cognitive functions, he's only possessed of animalistic drives and I suspect the pain of the disease drives them to attack and that the Vidiians likely have some means of preventing the infected from attacking them, Klingon hunters do something similar with their hounds by using pack pheromones to mark themselves as the alpha or leader of the pack."

Ivan raised his brows. His ankles and knees were killing him, her still he stood.

“So they’re using these damned things to exterminate us then what?” Ivan wondered. “What’s their end game? Just getting back the crystals?”

"Their behavior strikes me as being like that of an opportunistic predator," Sovas explained as he stood, still looking down at the deceased Vidiian and briefly wondered what kind of pain it experienced before reaching this state. Had it been purposefully infected, someone who never had the opportunity to receive the supposed cure or more likely told they were receiving the cure in order to turn them into this monstrosity. It was something that he was curious to discover and made him want to dig into the data systems of the Vidiian ship even more for answers. "The Vidiians take immediate advantage of any situation that benefits them, such as our ship on their supposed world and our crew being infected with a deadly disease to extort their pound of flesh from us, though since we resisted they have unleashed their monsters and should their plan succeed will gain not only the crystals but our ship along with anyone aboard that survives will likely be turned into one of these things."

He emphasized the word things by nudging the creature with his boot before stepping away to take up his station again. "If they weren't aliens I would almost say that its a plan worthy of a Terran, these creatures would be quite effective at sowing terror and chaos, especially if you were to see someone uninfected walking among them without being attacked."

Johnathan turned on his seat to face Ivan. "What are your orders, Captain? I could lift off and put us right over their ship, making any escape impossible."

Kassandra was listening and observing. Finally she spoke. "Maybe we should turn them back on their owners? Beam them back into the Vidiian ship where their healthy crew are?"

“The first plan would work if we were at full strength. At present, all our soldiers are either running around the ship chasing these things or huddled in their quarters. We aren’t in fighting shape. The second, Kassandra, we might do just that. But I suspect Sovas has a point and they’ve discovered a way to make themselves immune to these attacks.” He turned to them then from his console. “This is a technology worth stealing.”

No sooner had he finished his thought than the shimmering of transporter beams brought 9 Vidiians spread out over the bridge in riot gear. These shock troops opened fire immediately, stunning a crewman who had been standing out in the open.

“Take cover!” Ivan shouted, pulling his phaser and ducking behind the console, his body screaming murder at him for the stressful movement.

Johnathan was about to comply to the Captain's order, until he saw one of the shock troopers make a bee-line for Kassandra. In a burst of rage and adrenaline, and without thought of his own safety, the young pilot sprang into action, leaping and spearing the Vidiian in his left side, causing both men to go down in a tumble.

As soon as they hit the deck, Johnathan wormed his way around his opponent, as if they were on a wrestling mat. He quickly snaked his right arm around his opponents throat and pulled back in a quick jerking motion. There was an audible crunch and the Vidiian went limp, his neck broken.

Johnathan quickly got to his feet and put himself between Kassandra and the enemy, as the bridge crew continued to fight off the intruders.

Kass grabbed the back of Johnathans uniform and drew him back to cover as she fired cover fire wounding another Vidiian. She cursed in greek under her breath as they took cover.

Johnathan backed up easily, always keeping his body in front of Kassandra as a shield. The Captain may not have thought he was worthy of her hand, but that wasn't going to stop him from doing what it took to keep her safe.

As they continued to move, he drew his phaser and blasted an unused console beside an advancing Vidiian, causing him to turn away, covering his face. Once his shield was moved, Johnathan shot him again, vaporizing him on the spot.

Sovas had ducked behind his console for cover and turned his phaser to a disruption setting as he drew his knife before peaking out of cover to fire at the Vidiians. It seemed that they were going to be doing their best to take the opportunity presented them to attempt to take the crystals and ship now that their diseased dogs had sown chaos in the ranks. He fired and pulled back as the Vidiians returned fire, the bridge was being lit up by the exchange of blue-white bolts from the Vidiians and orange-yellow from the crew of the Vengeance. The half-Vulcan hit one of the shock troopers in the chest, frowning as his body armor absorbed the hit before disintegrating and leaving that portion of the alien's torso exposed but it seemed they had perfected some sort of ablative body armor as the Vidiian staggered back groaning, giving Sovas an opening to shoot him again after adjusting the setting on his phaser.

The alien jumped back, a scream escaped him before his body was atomized. A gruesome end to be sure but one that the Vidiian had earned through their arrogance as Sovas continued to fire on the invaders.

Though several had been taken down, there were still more Vidiians than there were people on the Bridge. Ivan raised to a standing position and fired his phaser, stunning one of the troops with a shot straight to his chest. He then turned and attempted to do the same to another. His blast struck home, but not before the Vidiian was able to get off his own shot. As the troop fell, his blast soared across the Bridge and struck the tactical console, causing sparks to fly and for Ivan to collapse in a hail of exploded metal and circuitry.

"CAPTAIN!!!" Johnathan bellowed. He then reached back and took Kassandra's phaser. "Check him!" Thrn, he turned back and started to unload both phasers on kill, vaporizing each Vidiian that was unlucky enough to get in his crossbars.

In moments, it was over, at least for now. "Secure the bridge!" He barked to the rest of the surviving bridge crew, as he leapt over the railing, onto the command dias, and lowered himself into the XO's seat. After using his Second Officer access codes to log in, Johnathan raised a level five containment field around deck one. At least now, no more intruders would be transporting in.

He then rose and moved over to where Kass and Ivan were. "How is he, Kass?"

Kass had gotten to her father's side and was pulling him free of the console. "I.. don't know" She got out as she lay him down and checked his pulse.

"Sovas! We need a medical kit!" Johnathan called out over his shoulder. With the Captain down and Troy off the bridge, as Second Officer, Johnathan was now in command, though he would gladly give it back to the bear of a man that was currently laying on the deck before him. "Stay with him, Kass." He then returned to the command dias and sat back down, this time, in the Captain's seat. He reached over and activated internal comms. "Crew of the Vengeance, this is the bridge, Second Officer Johnathan Anderson speaking. The Captain has been injured by the intruders. Until the current crisis is resolved, I have erected a level five containment field around the bridge. Do not allow these filth to claim any more Terran blood today! Kill them all! No reprieve, no surrender! The Terran Empire will overcome all who oppose her! Long live the Empire!"

Once the half-Vulcan had made sure the bridge was secure, he holstered his weapon while moving to retrieve one of the medical kits that thankfully had survived the firefight intact. He rushed to Ivan's side and retrieved the medical tricorder to get a better idea of what needed to be done to stabilize the older Terran man. The device was screaming warnings across the board since it detected the Phage starting its attack on his body while the shards of shrapnel didn't seem to have hit anything vital, it still did look good as he started to provide first aid to the injured man. He was focused on his task. Eventually he was able to get the man into a state that resembled being stabilized but it was more go than touch.

"The Captain is stable for the moment but he needs to be taken directly to sickbay as as soon as feasibly possible." The half-Vulcan declared for both Kass and Johnathan as he move to take a seat and let out a heavy sigh.

The turbolift doors opened and Christoph stepped out onto the bridge. Given his position, he had been able to temporarily override the security field in place to let himself up. His eyes moved quickly over to Ivan on the floor by security with Kassandra and Sovas next to him, but then they locked on to their true target. "What the fuck do you think you are doing, Anderson?!" He roared as he moved down the steps and walked right up to Jonathan.

"Are you touched in the head? The Phage getting to you? You surely aren't that gods dammed incompetent." He put his face down on level with the younger man. "You just made a fucking ship wide announcement - having literally no idea who or what is on the ship at the moment - that our captain has fallen and our command center has been compromised. Gods help you when the captain finds out. How could you be so foolish? Do you fancy yourself some hero with a motivational speech?" Truly, Christoph wanted to hit him, but he refrained. "Pathetic."

Standing, he moved back toward his station, bringing the security feed to one of the auxiliary displays at the back of the bridge since Ivan and the others were in the way. "Engineering is secure. Security teams are finishing with the other Vidiians as we speak. How are you planning on beaming the captain to sickbay with your little forcefield in place? Or are you trying to kill him?"

Kass rose in a fluid motion from her place beside the captain and drew her phaser. She may be sick and wanting to curl into a ball but she would be fucking damned if she would stand by and watch this unfold. She stepped clear of the captain so she would have clear line of sight to the chief of Security. "Stand down Lieutenant" She said as calmly as she could. "You are so far out of line you are in the Gamma Quadrant"

Christoph turned his head toward Kass and then looked back to the console. “Lieutenant Junior Grade Selin you are pointing your weapon at the Chief of Security during a crisis situation. If you would like try and shoot me over wounded pride, then go ahead. I am doing my job. What are you doing?”

"I suggest you stand down and allow Lieutenant Ivers to execute his duties to protect this ship," Sovas spoke up as he drew his weapon and trained it on the Intelligence Officer. "The announcement that our esteemed Second Officer made about the Captain's status in the middle of a fluid tactical situation was at best ill-advised and at worst was negligent and incompetent."

"Ignoring the fact that he could have compromised the status of the command structure to the enemy, the implications to moral that our captain has been injured or worse? What if it had made our people decide to surrender in the face of losing the Butcher of Rakal V?" He questioned not only Kass but Anderson as well. "We are light years away from the Empire and in order to survive we must be smart, think before we say something and lead through actions as the Captain and Lieutenant Ivers has been doing."

"You have no right to tell me to stand down." Kass responded. She was not aiming her weapon, she had it by her side. "Chain of Command is clear. Lieutenant Anderson was put in that role by the Captain himself. And none of you have a right to over turn that." She looked at Ivers coldly. "And while my rank may be Lieutenant Junior Grade, you mistake me for caring about your rank. I am chief of Intelligence on this ship, and I am defending the Captain's choice when he made Anderson Second officer. Some would think you are just a bit jealous there gentlemen. Stand down. Respect Chain of command."

“Actually, that chain of command you want to respect? I’m the next ranking officer. So yes, I have every right to tell you to stand down. Again, Selin. I’m doing my job under the orders of the captain. You’ll notice I haven’t questioned Anderson’s orders, so what exactly are you trying to get me to stand down from? My job? I’m not doing that. I haven’t tried to overthrow anyone or question orders. I called out a stupid ass decision. You don’t get to trot out chain of command and then say you don’t respect my rank over you.” He shrugged and tapped his commbadge. “Ivers to security team two, report to deck eleven.” His orders given, he finally looked over to Kassandra, unimpressed. “Now then, if the second officer would like to punish me for lashing out in anger in a tense situation, then that is his choice. Probably not really the best time though.”

"Though if we are discussing the Chain of Command that Lieutenant Selin seems quiet eager to beat us with until we understand who is in charge," Sovas spoke up again as he eased his stance towards Kassandra just a little as he moved to check the internal sensors. Once he'd found what he wanted, his attention was turned back to the Intelligence Officer "Might I point out that Commander Marshall is still aboard the ship and conscious, merely not present on the bridge so until such time that the Captain wakes back up, the sacred chain will hang around his neck, praise be to the sacred chain."

'ENOUGH!" Johnathan roared with a strength that was shockingly powerful from someone so young. As he lowly stood and faced the trio of officers, he seemed to be charged with an eternal energy of rage.

"Lieutenants Nyseth and Selin! You both will holster your sidearms at once! Nyseth, you are speaking to a fellow department head and will give her the respect she is due. Selin, you, in turn, will give the Chief of Security the same respect as he outranks you! As for you, Ivers," he started towards the Captain's ready room. "A quick word in private." He made it clear by his tone that he was not going to take no for an answer.

“Aye, sir.” Christoph replied pointedly, taking just a beat to check on his teams and secure his console before he turned to join Jonathan.

"Nyseth, continue to treat the Captain, I have already sent word for someone in sickbay to get here." Johnathan ordered as he entered the ready room.

Christoph was only a few steps behind Jonathan and was taking a moment to prepare his body for whatever punishment the younger man was going to be dispensing. He guessed physical, which Christoph would accept but only to a point. He stepped inside after Jonathan finally and the door closed behind him. He just stood there, looking at Jonathan with a relatively passive expression.

Kass watched Johnathan lead Ivers away and ignoring the chief of operations knelt back beside her father and checked his pulse again. "ostan'sya so mnoy papa" she whispered in russian as she did so.

Once they were alone, Johnathan took a moment to check something in the ship's files. When he was done, he turned to face his fellow department head. "Lieutenant Ivers," he began slowly, clearly keeping his boiling rage contained and controlled. "According to your personnel file, you have very little command experience and of that, zero experience in a crisis. I however, have both. Perhaps you should check file. There you will see that at my previous assignment, I was thrust into command when nearly all of my command staff was killed by an alien being. I was the only bridge officer to survive. My actions that day, not only destroyed a threat to the Empire, but saved 156 lives. The Emperor himself awarded me for my actions."

He stepped closer, looking up at the older man, clearly not intimated by him in the slightest. "So do not ever question my actions in front of the crew again! You should feel glad that we are in a crisis situation, and I need you at your post. Otherwise, you would be in the agonizer booth right now for your blatant disrespect. I do not and will not justify my command decisions to you. There are only two people on this ship that have that right. The first one is unconscious on the bridge, the second is with his wife in sickbay, as she is giving birth to the newest member if both the crew and the Empire!"

His eyes held danger in them, but, he held his control. "Now, going forward, you have three choices when you disagree with me. One, challenge me to a duel and try to kill me. Two ask me for a moment off to the side and voice your concerns. And three, keep you mouth shut and do your job. Do you understand me, Mister Ivers?"

“Yes, sir.” Christoph replied evenly. It seemed now that his temper had cooled, Ivers was a perfectly reasonable man. “If I may, sir, I do apologize for letting my temper get the best of me.” He was still right, though; but his method had left much to be desired and he understood that fact.

Johnathan took a moment to continue looking into Ivers' eyes, wondering if the man was putting on a cool act, or if he was, indeed, sorry for his outburst. Finally, Johnathan nodded.

"Very well. Apology accepted. Now get back to your duties. Get those damn Vidiians of this ship!"

“Happily.” Christoph smiled and turned to return to the bridge without another word.

===

Within seconds of the end of the conflict, the turbolift doors opened and out walked four nurses on the double. The injury of the Captain was top priority, and one could see in all of their faces that they were concerned. They moved past everyone and stopped beside him, opening their medical kits.

“What happened?” One of them asked in a rushed tone.

"The Captain is currently unconscious after the station he was at was struck by enemy weapons fire, multiple injuries from shrapnel to the back of his torso and my tricorder scan indicated possible concussion with complications caused by the onset of the Phage infection, best efforts were taken to stabilize him," Sovas replied while handing over the used hypospray vials to one of the nurses so they could be recorded as part of his first aid treatment. He stayed out of their way while speaking with the nurse so that they could do their work.

Kass drew baxk in silence as she was not about to interfere with the medics. Instead she headed for the comms station and began pulling up information.

END