In summation, be cool.
Waiting must be killing Captain Carter.
See, I knew she couldn't just wait.
-Will
YES - Close to the Edge: Star Beagle Adventures episodes 12 - 19
- Thread starter Robert Bruce Scott
- Start date
Waiting must be killing Captain Carter.
-Will
You have accurately assessed Rhonda Carter's temper... Thanks!! rbs
The Star Beagle Adventures
Episode 14: Close to the Edge Part III - I Get Up, I Get Down
Scene 5: Do We Deceive?
How many millions do we deceive, each day?
14.5
Do We Deceive?
Do We Deceive?
“That is a very devious plan. Not something I would have expected from you,” General Krank observed. “I like it.”
Krank and Lt. Cmdr. Zizira Gross were seated in the front of the U.S.S. Escort’s Shuttle 1. Lieutenant Christian Singleterry was observing from the helm of Shuttle 2 and Ensign Hiroshi Sanchez was watching on the forward viewscreen of Shuttle 3.
Captain Carter was the focal point on each of the viewscreens. She tapped the fourth pip on her collar. “It seems I have to keep reminding people that this thing didn’t just grow here… Okay, Zizira, before you power down your transporters, you might as well send the fatalities to me. We have more room for them. They’ll get a radiation bath in the weapons hold below once we engage shields, but that won’t harm them at this point. Any questions?”
Gross waited to give Sanchez and Singleterry the opportunity to ask a question, then seeing none, she replied, “Apparently not, Captain. I will arrange the beam over with Seprek.”
“Delegate it to a junior officer on your end, Lieutenant Commander. I will have Seprek do the same. Give our people work to do. Carter out.”
Captain Carter’s image faded from the viewscreens of the three shuttles.
Lt. Cmdr. Zizira Gross turned toward General Krank “Do you think her plan will work?”
“It is both shrewd and pragmatic,” Krank responded. “Not that either are any guarantee of success. However, given the situation, it is our best option. If we were to launch, we might be left behind with insufficient resources to return home and insufficient weaponry to protect ourselves against other hostiles. And we would be easy prey for, as Rhonda named it, Rocky.”
Krank got up out of his chair. The interior of the shuttle was hardly big enough for him alone. There was only seating for 6 and there were 9 present on the shuttle. The elderly general pointed to one of the crew members at random. “You! Come up with a plan to get everyone back onboard this shuttle within 15 seconds. Make sure everyone understands it and understands their role in it.”
“Me?” the startled transporter engineer responded, only to be met with a large, scowling klingon in his face.
“DO YOU REFUSE?”
“N, n, n, no sir…”
“The Lieutenant Commander and I have business with the other shuttles and the rest of the crew. No one else sets foot off this shuttle until this one…” Krank pointed at the random and now completely terrified transporter engineer… “Until this one is thoroughly satisfied that he can get all of you back onto this shuttle in 15 seconds. There WILL be a drill!”
The elderly klingon general whirled and stepped off the shuttle, followed by a very amused bolian first officer trying desperately to look stern and to not burst into laughter.
“You just about gave Engineer Thorpe a heart attack,” Gross whispered.
“I gave him an opportunity to develop some leadership and the others good reason to support him,” Krank replied.
“A good way to take their minds off our current predicament,” Gross observed.
“We will need a lot more of those,” Krank rejoined. “For now, the captain’s order is paramount.” He gestured to the other two shuttles.
Shuttle 1, which they had just exited, was on the starboard upper platform. Shuttle 2 was on the upper port side platform. Shuttle 3 was parked directly on the shuttlebay doors. Which was a violation of safety protocols, but was also the only way to cram 3 shuttles into the shuttlebay.
Lt. Christian Singleterry was just exiting Shuttle 2 with other crew members following her. Shuttle 3 remained sealed with crew aboard under the command of Ensign Hiroshi Sanchez.
“I’ll take Shuttle 3,” said Gross. “You take Shuttle 2…”
Lt. Cmdr. Zizira Gross grasped a quick access pole and slid down to the bay door level.
General Krank strode to the aft bridge between the two upper parking platforms. “What do you think you’re doing Lieutenant Singleterry? Back on that shuttle! All of you! NOW!”
14.5
Obviously Krank didn't have his stars just grow on his uniform either.
-Will
Klingon generals are amazing motivational speakers.
Gets weirder from here... Thanks!! rbs
The Star Beagle Adventures
Episode 14: Close to the Edge Part III - I Get Up, I Get Down
Scene 6: Amazement
She would gladly say it amazement of her story…
14.6
Amazement
Amazement
The small, dark gray robot was constructed mostly of metallic plastics, which allowed its protective skin to flex smoothly around its joints. A combined sensor array and control receiver was arranged into a small dorsal fin on its back. Its rectangular head contained stereoscopic eyes, ears and nostrils of a sort, all designed to allow it to quickly locate odd sounds and smells. It also had four legs and a small tail (which both helped with balance and served as a transmitter), all this giving it somewhat the look of a dark gray, metallic pug.
The legs could be folded flush with the torso, enabling the robot to move using levitation plates, in which mode it looked more like an oddly cute metallic grouper, hence the unofficial moniker: dogfish. More people knew the robot by that name than by its official designation, the NEER Model 18, by far the most popular model of the Nakamura Enterprises Exploratory Robot series.
In the murky grayness of the U.S.S. Escort’s engine room, the small robot moved with glacial slowness. It transmitted everything its slime-covered sensors could pick up. Which was mostly… slime. All over everything.
But where the mushroom that lived on the inside of a thorn of rock intersected with the Escort’s warp core, there was a lot of activity. Slimy gray tendrils merged with the control panels for the warp core. Far more tendrils intersected the antimatter chamber. More snaked off along the conduits that carried the excited currents into the nacelles.
The robot followed the conduits toward the nacelles at a glacial pace. Seemingly only slightly faster than the tendrils were growing.
It wasn’t just visuals that the dogfish was transmitting, it was every reading the robot was picking up with a surprisingly broad array of sensor devices, considering the small size of the robot. Even the robot’s skin was a net of tactile and atmospheric sensors.
The readings the dogfish was transmitting were displayed all over both the forward and rear monitors in the tactical launch.
Master Chief Bill Waller was concentrating on the technical readings, including power levels, antimatter balance, and flow isolation. Captain Rhonda Carter was standing behind the veteran NCO, looking over his shoulder. She was holding a communicator pin in her hand, her thumb poised over it. Waller’s fingers were hovering over one of the controls on his panel.
At the front of the bridge, Warrant Officer Seprek Harrison was watching the visual and listening to the audio that the robotic eyes and ears were picking up. His left hand rested on the control panel at the helm station, one finger raised over a single control.
“Roman,” said Waller, “Are you seeing what I think I’m seeing?”
The rather tinny sounding voice of Chief Flight Engineer Roman Hess emanated from the communicator pins on Waller’s and Carter’s uniforms: “If you think you’re seeing readings that indicate we’re about to go to warp at a much higher rate of speed than this vessel was ever intended for, then, yes… That’s what I think I’m seeing as well.”
“It looks like our lepreshroom…” Bill Waller gave a dramatic pause before adding the moniker Rhonda Carter had given this creature: “…Rocky… Rocky has almost fully integrated its own warp intermix chamber with Escort’s.”
“When Stephanie said she was coming to join us, she wasn’t kidding,” Captain Carter quipped.
From the front of the tactical launch’s bridge, Seprek Harrison said, “I am panning up.”
In response to the command coming from the vulcan warrant officer, the head of the dogfish swiveled slowly upward.
“What are those?” It was Lt. Cmdr Zizira Gross’s voice coming over the communicators.
Six large, slimy, oval, dark grey sacks were displayed on the forward viewscreen of the tactical launch. Hanging from the corner of the ceiling that joined the starboard nacelle to main engineering, these large, slimy ovals seemed to pulse and glow very slightly.
“I am reviewing the bio signatures,” Harrison reported. “They appear to be egg sacks. Within each of those sacks, I am reading a single lifeform, each with a number of DNA signatures: Lepreshroom. Space Shrimp…” Harrison used these newly created names for the newly discovered life forms without pause. “I am also reading two other DNA signatures: Vulcan... Human.”
Carter and Waller turned from the rear viewscreen in astonishment. Their voices blended with the voices of Zizira Gross and Roman Hess coming over the communicators:
“What???”
“As you said,” Harrison continued. “When Stephanie said she was coming to join us, her intent was quite literal. The blended human and vulcan DNA signatures are congruent with one individual, a hybrid vulcan and human: Ensign John Sevork.”
“Are you telling me that John had completed the deed before I…” Carter stopped, her voice ragged.
“Yes,” Harrison responded. “His DNA entered the creature that he had described as a cross between a stag and a tiger shrimp, and was carried, or at least the information from his DNA, was carried down into the portion of that creature that lived inside the, um, rock encrusted mushroom it appeared to be riding on top of. And there was, apparently, enough time for that all to occur…”
“In the few seconds before I blew him off the top of that rock,” Carter concluded, coldly.
“He came. And then he went…”
“BILL!!!”
14.6
Yep, weirder.
-Will
-Will
The Star Beagle Adventures
Episode 14: Close to the Edge Part III - I Get Up, I Get Down
Scene 7: The Children of Her Domain
Asking only interest could be laid upon the children of her domain…
14.7
The Children of Her Domain
The Children of Her Domain
“Based on these readings…” Medical Technician Kara Garrity started, then she stared at the pad she was holding and started flipping through screens and making “hmmm” noises.
Garrity was standing next to the command station in the center of the bridge of the U.S.S. Escort’s tactical launch. Captain Rhonda Carter was watching her expectantly, as was Master Chief Bill Waller, who had turned his chair from the rear ops station to look at Garrity.
“Hmmm” Garrity said again. With feeling. “Okay… Based on these readings… In my expert opinion… I have absolutely no idea when whatever is in those eggs is going to hatch. And I have even less than no idea what whatever these things are are going to look like.”
“What can you tell us, Kara?” Carter asked.
“Um…” Garrity made a number of prevaricating noises and expressions, then: “Well… these, um… Sporlings? Embryos? Fetuses? They’re really far along assuming they were just fertilized by…” She took a deep breath. “John.”
“Could they already have been near their current stage of development before Ensign Sevork contributed his DNA to them?” asked Warrant Officer Seprek Harrison from the helm station at the front of the tactical launch’s bridge.
Garrity responded slowly and hesitantly. “Well… I suppose it’s possible. But what is surprising is how thoroughly integrated John’s DNA is into these… um… let’s call them embryos. I mean, it’s kind of misleading to say that nearly half of the DNA makeup of these embryos is from John. Nearly all of their makeup is thoroughly integrated from all four of their genetic heritages.”
“These are John’s children in some very real way?” Carter asked. “They’re not just clones of his DNA? Are they unique individuals?”
“Yes,” Garrity responded. “Each individual has its own unique DNA sequence. Twelve individuals in all. There are 6 eggs located near the starboard nacelle and another 6 near the port nacelle.”
“So these things are, legitimately, John’s children,” Carter observed. “As creepy as they may seem to us, they put us in a bit of an ethical pickle…”
“We can’t just kill a dozen innocent children just because they’re creepy to us,” Waller observed.
“Maybe shouldn’t have killed mom and dad,” Garrity muttered.
“That remains to be seen,” Waller countered. “Another captain might not have decided to fire. And another captain might have been wrong and we could be in a much worse pickle than we’re in now.”
“All of that can wait until the inquest,” Carter said.
“Inquest?” Garrity asked.
“If Commodore Yui doesn’t call for one, I will,” Carter replied.
“I sincerely doubt you will have to ask for one,” Seprek Harrison observed.
“Right,” Carter agreed. “Until then, we have to figure out how to deal with John’s babies.”
“There are three parents to take into account,” Harrison said. “Rocky is hurt, but, apparently, very much alive. And there appears to be some regeneration happening along the various lines of Stephanie’s, um, legs? The parts of her that extended into Rocky are still there and appear to be growing new tissue with her unique DNA signature and hers only.”
“Okay,” said Bill Waller. “I’m really confused. Are you thinking we’re going to have to obtain permission from Rocky and, maybe, whatever’s left of Stephanie, before we figure out which pre-school to enroll those mushroom-shrimp babies in?”
“Vulcan-human-mushroom-shrimp babies,” Harrison corrected.
"Ohhhmmmm..." Captain Rhonda Carter groaned quietly and squeezed her eyes shut. She lowered her head into her hands and started rubbing her temples.
14.7
Ah, the puzzling conundrum of the Vulcan-human-mushroom-shrimp babies. Never an easy answer to that one.
-Will
-Will
Just wait until they hatch...
Bill Waller keeps making wisecracks about how John Sevork died ("...at least he died with a smile..."; "He came. And then he went...")
I should have had Bill say something about how Ensign Sevork just had to go where no man has gone before...
Thanks!! rbs
Bill Waller keeps making wisecracks about how John Sevork died ("...at least he died with a smile..."; "He came. And then he went...")
I should have had Bill say something about how Ensign Sevork just had to go where no man has gone before...
Thanks!! rbs
The original introduction did say they wanted to seek out new life.
Well, here it is.
-Will
Well, here it is.
-Will
The Star Beagle Adventures
Episode 14: Close to the Edge Part III - I Get Up, I Get Down
Scene 8: In Charge of Who Is There
In charge of who is there, in charge of me…
14.8
In Charge of Who Is There
In Charge of Who Is There
The dogfish had been moving, glacially, back to main engineering. Once it was within a few feet of the secondary engineering panel, the small robot leapt briskly to the slime-covered panel, disassembled it rapidly and used a cutting beam to destroy the wiring and chips inside the panel. It burrowed its way into the panel, then through the console behind it, destroying everything as it went.
Mushroom tendrils responded immediately, but they could not grow anywhere near as quickly as the small robot was burrowing its way through the panel. Even as the tendrils were reaching the robot, the dogfish clamped itself to a generator deep inside the wall of the engineering section and destroyed itself, completely demolishing the generator and burning the mushroom tendrils that had been reaching for it.
“Well done, Seprek,” said Captain Rhonda Carter. “Bill, bring up the shields to cover the entire ship and also those parts of Rocky that extend above the bridge.”
In response, Master Chief Bill Waller pressed a single control on the rear ops panel. “Navigation shields up, Captain. The configuration can also support combat shields, if needed.”
“Thanks Bill, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Good enough that Rocky is now totally dependent on us for shields, which should discourage him from trying to shake us off,” Carter replied. She turned the command chair to face the front of the U.S.S. Escort’s tactical launch bridge. “Seprek, any response from Rocky?”
“All of the other NEER 18’s have been manually deactivated,” said Warrant Officer Seprek Harrison. “7 are located down below with the probes. There are 3 more in the shuttlebay - all of which have also been manually deactivated. We have manually disconnected all lines of communication between this launch and the rest of the ship. So I do not have any direct information.”
“However, I have monitored a 0.0179 percent increase in the amplitude of the vibrations transmitted to this launch from the ship proper, accompanied with frequency shifts, both increasing and decreasing. Considering these readings were previously extremely stable, I’d say Rocky noticed the destruction of the secondary navigation screen generator,” Harrison opined.
“I’m not wild about severing all our direct lines of communication and observation with the main ship,” said Waller. “But it does seem the prudent thing to do.”
“I don’t want to give Rocky any more chances of taking direct control of this launch,” said Carter. “As it is, you really need to monitor every vibration and squeak to make sure that mushroom isn’t reaching its tendrils out to us.”
“Captain, I am reading an energy buildup,” Harrison reported. “I think we’re about to…”
Harrison’s observation was interrupted by a rough transition from station keeping to high warp. The ship jolted hard, throwing Harrison and Carter back into their chairs and lurching Waller out of his rear-facing chair to bang his head with a loud thump and an even louder “OW! Crap!” against the rear monitor. The monitor took no damage.
“Are you all right Bill?” Carter asked. Then: “Bill?” She turned her chair and got up.
The stars blurred on the screen in an unhealthy smear, indicating that the ship and the large, rock-encrusted mushroom that was embedded partly into it, were moving at a tremendous speed, but also that the warp field was, perhaps dangerously, unstable.
Bill Waller feebly tried to wave his captain off. “I’m fine, Captain,” he slurred in a slow, groggy voice that made it clear he was anything but.
The ship lurched occasionally in random directions, but with each bump, the moving star field seemed to clear a little, indicating that the warp field was becoming more stable.
Carter helped the chief of the boat lean back into his chair. She obtained a neck pillow/brace from a large first-aid kit stored in the base of the chair and carefully applied it to Waller’s neck. The pillow slowly self-inflated, supporting the base of Waller’s head against his shoulders. She then obtained a medical scanner and carefully ran it over Waller’s head and neck.
“Let’s keep your neck immobilized for now, Bill. It doesn’t look like a concussion, at least not yet. But your neck took some torque and may be a little sprained.” Carter deactivated the scanner and touched her communicator pin. “Chief Garrity, please report on the condition of the crew up there.”
“Everyone is a little shaken up,” came Chief Medical Technician Kara Garrity’s voice over the communicator. “But no one is hurt. We didn’t have anything to hold on to up here in this corridor. I suspected that whenever that dogfish blew itself up, things might get bumpy, so I had everyone holding onto each other and braced against the walls. We’ve got a few bumps and bruises, but nothing serious.”
“Well done Kara,” Carter said. “It looks like Rocky is learning how to make this ship work. Um… It looks like Bill’s neck got torqued out a little and could be developing a sprain.”
“I’ll be right down…” said Garrity.
“Stay put, Kara,” Carter ordered. “We don’t know if we’re through with the bumpy stuff and I don’t need you getting hurt trying to move between decks. For the next 15 minutes, keep everyone webbed up there against the potential of another rough transition. Just talk me through what I need to do for Bill.”
“Well, you need to relax his neck muscles so they don’t pull themselves out,” Garrity responded over the communicator pin. “Have you got his neck stabilized with the inflatable?”
“Yes,” Carter replied.
“That was a good first move, but you’re going to have to remove the pillow so you can treat his neck directly. There are two large muscles on either side of the spine and another two pretty much directly below the ears. Load a hyposyringe with 2 cc’s of cyclobenzoprime, set for even applications of a half cc, then apply directly to each muscle, starting with the two on either side of the spine, then the two under the ears. For those, place your finger on the jugular, then provide the injection just behind your finger so it goes into the muscle and not directly into the bloodstream. Try to get it just above the mid-point between his shoulders and the base of his skull.”
“Cyclobenzoprime?”
“Correct,” said Garrity. “It was developed specifically for this purpose… Well, for first aid to spinal injuries in general.”
“Got it,” said Carter. “Sorry, Bill. I’m going to have to take that neck pillow back off.” She took a hyposyringe out of the first aid pack, activated it, then said, “Cyclobenzoprime, 2 cc’s divided into 4 equal doses.”
The replicator inside the hyposyringe was silent, but the device emitted a very quiet beep to indicate it was ready. The name of the drug and dosage was displayed on a small, rectangular screen on the side of the device.
14.8
Love the medical technology. Nice hyposyringe description. My wife is a nurse and drug administration is one of the most important things a hospital needs to get right. Mistakes in drug and patient identification happen all the time. Hospitals spend millions on systems and developing techniques to help prevent those mistakes.
-Will
-Will
Thanks for the kind words - glad you enjoyed that detail. I occasionally like to nerd into how the Treknology works. I also had the idea (although I didn't describe it) that to be able to activate and use the hyposyringe, you would need current certification, with requisite coursework and an exam. When you pick the thing up, it recognizes you and references your certificate from some file either in the computer or perhaps in your communicator.
Rocky, the giant lepreshroom (also described as a landthorn) that Stephanie was riding on, and all the other lepreshrooms, from the tiny ones that tore up Escort's nacelles to the larger ones setting up an ambush near an asteroid, were all inspired by the artwork of Roger Dean, images that I have been aware of for most of my life as they were featured on the covers of Yes albums. The painter became so well known for Yes album covers that he was inducted into the band and is considered a member.
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