RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 7.1] At War - Battle of Nataria

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

Bug-like creatures? Junko thought in astonishment as she began the trek back through the conduits to Engineering. She couldn’t help herself: “Bug-like creatures?” she repeated aloud. “Bridge, is that what the biological hazard is? Be advised, the temperature in the conduit is still high.” She looked at a status display. “Currently averaging seventy-five degrees centigrade. In addition the atmospheric conditions still have high levels of contaminants from the coolant breach. The environment here would be lethal without an AMES. Could these… bug-like things still survive here?” It crossed her mind that if the creatures could survive that and were present she, alone in the narrow conduit with little room to move, might be in danger. She wasn’t exactly sure what the situation was with the battle going on around her, but she had heard stories about the last SMX invasion… and the new XO had announced they were fighting infected Star Army ships. Junko unslung the repair kit pack, clutching it to her chest as she picked up the pace of her crawl. If worst came to worst, she hoped the cutting torch would be enough to defend herself. Yes, it ought to work, she thought, suppressing a little tremor of fear. It had better.

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

And that was, more or less, when Junko would have seen it.

A lonely little dot began the inexorable crawl for freedom, or at least better environs, from within the confines of some packing around one of the wire runs, where they peirced the bulkhead and disappeared inside the ship.

It was not a very fast creature - it moved at what could, at best, be described as a lazy pace. It would get where it was going, eventually, and somewhere in its tiny little brain, it knew that, and didn't hurry itself overly much to get there.

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

Well, I guess they can survive in this environment, thought Junko quite rationally. And then she freaked out. Stifling a screech, she scuttled backwards while simultaneously letting go of the repair kit pack. “Bridge, I see one of those things!” she said hurriedly, even while digging around in the pack for the torch. She fished it out a moment later and, setting the tool to “cut,” sparked it alight. “Do I kill it or what?” Without waiting for an answer, she took a swipe at the bug. She missed by a good four or five centimeters, slicing a smoking gouge into the panel the creature was crawling on. Junko crawled backwards a little more; thanks to a few particularly vengeful insects in her youth, she had a perhaps overdeveloped sense of self-preservation around those things that crawl and bite and sting. After adding to that the possibility that the bug was the sort that would burrow inside her and take over her brain, Junko was more than a little scared. Finally coming to a halt after putting a meter of separation between herself and it, she steeled herself, holding the cutting torch in front of her as if she could ward the bug away with that alone.

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

"Engineering, send back Blueberry when you return to your station." Misaki, the original XO, didn't like the synopsis of their infection. How had it even come on board? Most likely they'd bumped into something carrying a parasite, but the real matter was getting rid of them. "Nothing has changed on sensors, Hanako Taisa. Could we lure the bugs somehow, using the fabrication bay? Let them feed, and we'll destroy them in there?" It was a dangerous area, and even tiny, tiny bugs would have problems inside the bay depending on what they did. She wouldn't let their home be eaten inside and out. They can't be too smart.

"No reply from the team yet, and I'm showing no signs they came under fire, either."

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

"Eucharis's electrical systems are built to withstand very large electrical surges. If the bugs are on the electronics, which they should be, we might be able to kill them all at once by deliberately sending EMP-style electrical surges through the ship," Hanako suggested. "Of course, it would probably fry the more sensitive equipment like the sensors."

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

Konoka stated as serenely as she could, "Taisa, if we're going to kill them, we'd better do it fast. Ive found they're capable of breeding at highly accerelated speeds. If too many are left alive too long, an entire parasitic colony could destroy the whole ship...Also, we need to communicate full details to the engineers, and watch they don't get shocked! Taisa, begging pardon, but a solution is needed rather quickly....before the little buggers repopulate so much we can't stop them from eating our systems....Their growth rate is such that every wasted second means more bugs, and more damage, and less chance for recovery. Though I may not completely understand the sensor issue, I believe the shocking idea has potential to work....But, with all due respect, timing is imperative!"


Bowing so her nose skimmed the floor, Konoka sighed, exhausted from her speech. "T-t-timing is vital.....is all."

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

"Taisa, suggesting to shutdown our sensors before our bug extermination process to minimise damage. Also, the electrial surge might attract unwanted attention from our pursuers, who might be still around the area." Nika commented and shivered slightly at the thought of being bugged by hundreds... no thousands of them.

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

Content to interpret her orders as “stay away from the bug,” Junko grabbed the pack in one hand and began to edge around the bug. Scraping the back of her AMES against the side paneling in the conduit as she crawled sideways, she kept the torch extended in the general direction of the creature. She knew, rationally, that the little bug was unlikely to understand what the torch was or that it presented a threat, but it made her feel a little better having it in position so when the creature became vicious and charged her, as her instincts insisted it would, she’d be ready. Finally on the opposite side of the bug, Junko took one last look and switched the torch off before high-tailing it back down the conduit, or at least moving as fast as she could crawl. As she reached the hatch and set up the portable airlock, she very pointedly did not look back down the conduit. It was only when she had cycled through the lock and she could stand upright on the deck four catwalk, the hatch locked behind her, that she could breathe in relief.

Grinning privately to herself over the silliness of her fear, she readjusted the pack and climbed down the ladder. She padded over to the damage control locker, stowing away the repair kit pack and CASTER before stripping out of the AMES. Briefly scrubbing the condensed coolant and lubricant off the suit, Junko took only a minute to check over her uniform before heading back to the main displays. She nodded politely at Blueberry before opening up the intercom. “Bridge, Takeda. I am back in Engineering. Permission to relieve Nito Juni Blueberry and resume my station?”

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

Ramiro quietly listened to what was going on. At the mention of an EMP and the fact that there was little time he pulled up a command that he felt could do the job well enough. "Irenika-hei, from what we've seen I'm fairly sure that the enemy know where we are. And the fact they disappeared right next to us several minutes ago and haven't been seen since doesn't look to good either. The faster we kill those buggers the faster we can attempt to get the shields back online, which should be pretty high up on our importance list as we're in the middle of a war."

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

"Very well," Hanako replied to Junko. "Initiate a power surge to kill the bugs. Make sure to warn everyone to stay away from electrical equipment."

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

The boarding teams were, for once, making progress.

As they traversed the decks and levels, occasionally one or two of the small little bugs would be noticed moving here and there, in the maintenance tunnels. Some of them were sitting out on the bulkheads in the passages, sluggishly going here or there without any clear, definable purpose.

It got a little worse, the further up the teams got, but there were apparently no other Mishhu on the Irim, and the bitty things didn't seem to pay much attention to the teams.

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

After an indeterminate amount of time, spent following Yarani-Hei through the bowels of the Irim, they finally arrived at their destination. Sune could not help but to be impressed with the other soldiers ability to navigate the conduits and not get lost. There in the case that the Taisa had told them about was the red slide-in card labeled 'FLEET DEPOT'. There was still the matter of the locked panel, but a careful slice with the Forearm weapon positioned to avoid damaging the card resolved that.

Sune took out the key card and examined it. Such a small thing to be so important. he thought. He looked around to find the appropriate recepticle and spotted it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. This is what we came here for. he thought, then he crossed over to it and inserted the card.

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

Junko stood quietly for a moment, trying to figure out what it was she just heard. Still in no condition to reply to the Taisa yet but not wanting to hold up the warrant, she turned to Blueberry. “Thank you, Blueberry-Juni. I have Engineering. The Bridge has asked for you to return.” Falling back into silence until the other neko left the compartment, Junko finally activated the intercom again. “Bridge, I’m going to have to ask you to repeat that. Is there a reason why I am to send a power surge throughout the ship, which will doubtlessly cause extreme damage to sensitive equipment and at the very least minor damage to almost every system?” Junko took a few short, calming breaths before continuing. “I have been in the conduits and no information has been forwarded to me. All I know is that there was damage to the shield generators that is now fixed and that there are bug-like creatures aboard, one of which I spotted crawling in a maintenance conduit where, I should add, it will be completely unaffected by a power surge.” She had to pause again to collect herself, and she took an additional moment to check the displays surrounding her. “At the moment, there is no reported damage around the ship aside from what I previously mentioned. If you make it an order I will of course comply. But I very much would like to know what the reason is for why I am about to do extensive damage to this ship, damage which I will not be able to fix until we enter a dry-dock and rip the ship apart.”

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

"Engineering, Bridge. The Taisa mentioned that the electrical systems are built to withstand electrical surges and only sensitive equipment would be damaged. In an attempt to minimize the damages on the equipment we would temporarily shut down all the equipment that may be damaged. And we understand that some of the bugs may survive, but the surge drastically reduces their numbers and gives the away team more time to retrieve the key and the ship more time to return to dry-dock. However, I hold on the order to speak with the Taisa." He turned his chair around and sighed. "Taisa, under this new intell do you still want to move forward with this procedure?"

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

“Bridge, I understand that the power distribution system is designed to withstand shocks. That also means that it does not easily transmit excess power to irregular outlets. In order to overload the insulation we would have to send a massive surge throughout the entire system for a period of time considerably longer than is sustained even under emergency situations. And we would have to deactivate many surge protectors, because they are designed to prevent just this sort of thing happening; that will expose many components that are quite sensitive to overloads.” By this point, Junko had thrown her regard for her future career to the wayside, but she realized getting upset wouldn’t help so she made an effort of will to speak more calmly. “It is true that only the most sensitive subsystems are likely to actually stop working because of this, but we will be exposing every system aboard this ship to potential failure, and there is always the risk that a component somewhere is just hanging on… and that this will push it over the edge.” She paused, double checking her displays. “As I said before, I see no damage reports at the moment and none were relayed to me while I was away from my station. At this time, I see no clear and present threat to the functioning of this ship. As the current watch-stander in Engineering, I am obliged by my duty to reaffirm, with all due respect, that there is no alternative to such a risky action.”

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

"Make it happen," Hanako simply ordered.

She then called down to the medical lab. "How soon until you can create some bug spray to kill any leftovers?"

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

The final barriers to their progress gone, the forward team of the Irim was soon joined on the bridge by both Hamada, and Hotaru.

The bridge was quiet; dark and empty. When the card was inserted into the computer, a window cropped up on a nearby screen, requiring a password. Shizu, slinging the aetheric saber over her shoulder, stepped up beside them and stood over the display for a few moments.

"So this is it?" she asked, looking sideways at Jalen-hei for a moment before looking back to the screen.

She was about to input the password, before something off to the edge of her screen caught her eye.

Taking the card from the display suddenly, she examined the back of it, and the code there. Then, turning to the center of the room, she said in an authoritative voice; "I, Taii Hamada Shizu, assume control of the bridge."

The consoles brightened.

"Good Morning, Taii Hamada Shizu," a clear voice sounded, "Welcome to the Paradise. You have the bridge. The time is..."

She said, over her shoulder, while the MEGAMI was speaking; "Black-Hei. Take the engineering console. Run diagnostic scans. I want to know why this ship locked down, when we came aboard, and at what point its 'seal' was compromised. Jalen-Hei, man the sensors, I want to know what's going on outside, and run an internal scan for life, as well. I want to know what the..." the communications channel fuzzed "...those bugs are doing, aboard this ship. Hotaru-Heisho, I want those blast shutters open. When I lift the material condition, go back down to the shuttle bay, and open the shutters from there, so we can get out of here."

She turned back to the computer.

"...during stardate we were deployed in..."

"Paradise-sama!" she barked, "Lift all material conditions! Return to condition one."

Hotaru-Heisho, with a slight bow, disappeared out the door.

----


On the bridge of the Eucharis, the battle directions were interrupted by a very faint, chirrupy noise.

It came from beneath one of the central bridge panels. If one would have stooped down, one would have observed something remarkable - a little bug, that had grown a little too long, was chirping faintly, looking like its fore and aft were attempting to walk in opposite directions.

Surprisingly, they did.

---

In the Central Control Station, aboard the Eucharis, Junko-Hei was obviously having a hard time of it.

Blueberry, who had been relieved, nevertheless lingered in the area - having nothing better to do, and nowhere particularly better to go.

The screens showed all systems green, exempting the systems that had just blown out. No matter how you looked at them, how hard you stared at them, the dials and indicators were staying out of the red, except for the portside shield array, which was still recovering.

By this time there were a couple more bugs in the station, moving around with sluggish innocence.

As a response to the Captain's order, a large, volumetric window cropped up, listing the procedures, and the required over-rides. Although the ship herself wasn't saying anything, Blueberry, just from looking at the window, knew that it, too, was silently protesting.



She looked down at one of the things that had crawled up onto her boot - a little black speck on the white material. It occured to her, suddenly, that if they left here, alive, these little bugs - whatever they did - would infect other ships. Would compromise the entire fleet. Was that why the captain was...?

Blueberry paled, putting a hand over her mouth.

Then she closed her eyes.

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

"Engineering, Bridge. Continue with the operation." Ramiro rolled his chair over to the comm system and dialed into the intercom. "Attention all crew members, please refrain from contact with any electrical systems, power surge imminent. Be advised that some systems may be temporarily shut down but will be back online shortly." With that Ramiro pushed against the wall and his seat rolled back over to his station.

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

All the non-emergency lights on the Eucharis exploded, leaving the ship interior in darkness for a brief moment, after which the red lights came on. Some sensors and sensitive devices were permanently offline.

"Bridge to Blueberry. I isolated the anti-matter generators. Did you think what I think you were thinking?" Hanako asked.

Then Hanako spotted the bug(s).

"How are these things spreading?" Hanako asked aloud, pulling out her pistol. She set it to stun, and killed the bugs instantly using the scalar rays. "Alright, Plan B. We can suit up in Mindy armors or evacuate to the Telemachus and then use the ship's gravity systems to project scalar radiation, which will kill all unprotected life onboard."

Hanako was doing all she could not to show fear in front of the crew, but her mind was racing and she tried not to shudder as she remembered the time when Mishhu bugs were crawling under her skin.

Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria

Sune took a moment to look at the bridge briefly before responding, "Aye Ma'am." He quickly took note that the bridge layout was different from that of the Eucharis. Remembering the tour aboard the Eucharis when they first came aboard he was able to identify the two stations that he would need to use to perform his assigned tasks.

Okay, first task bring the external sensors online in passive mode. He thought as he crossed to the left side of the bridge. He sat at the console, and took a moment to familiarize himself with the layout. Fortunately the power up process was simple, from the console he instructed the computer to power all sensors, but to keep all active sensors in standby. No sense broadcasting our position to everyone. he thought.

Sune then shifted to the Systems and Safety Monitoring station which was conveniently next to the external sensor station. It took him a few minutes to get the He examined the controls, and programmed the ship to perform a ship wide bioscan to locate and identify any lifeforms onboard.

While the scan was commencing he returned to the external sensor station. It showed that the sensors were now online. "Hamada-Taii, external sensors are online. At present I have only actived them in passive scan mode. The internal sensors are doing the bioscan you reqeusted."