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T'Var's first instinct is to defend Rangin from these creatures. She thrusts a crowbar deep into the chest of the Sakathian attacking her shipmate.
Much as the doctor would prefer to disable them, she has learned from her experience in the V'Shar -- in situations like this one, kill or be killed is the only option.
In the back of her mind, T'Var wonders briefly if she might be able to telepathically communicate with the mutated Sakathians in some way.
"Understood," says the Assistant Science Officer to Collins, still in a whisper. "I hope to see you soon. Fujishiro out, for now."
Waite says, a little frustratedly, "I don't know anything about the Sakathians' comm protocols in an emergency like this. It doesn't make any sense that they'd shut down the system."
T'Var draws upon both her V'Shar unarmed combat and her Starfleet mixed martial arts training, but it's been awhile since she last had to use either. The Sakathian zombie facing off against the doctor dodges her initial thrust, faster than she expected, and makes a grab for the crowbar. She parries and swings it again, landing a glancing blow on his left forearm. He snarls, turns quickly and tries to grab the crowbar again. She swings again and hits his left torso as hard as she can, knocking him sideways almost a meter, but he stays on his feet. He begins bleeding there but seems undaunted. He backs off a little and moves a little to her right, watching her intently. Nothing in her experience so far leads her to think it's likely that she could use her Vulcan telepathy to communicate with them - at least, not while they're conscious, and actively trying to hurt her and her shipmate.
Rangin swings his crowbar and hits the other zombie as it lunges towards him, but not enough to break its momentum. It collides with him and the two go crashing to the deck. Rangin can't swing the crowbar now, but uses it as a block as they start wrestling; the young Coridanite man tries desperately to keep its snapping jaws away from him.
Back in the common room, Kylah considers the Yorktown's route back to Cavinre VII, does a quick mental calculation, and realizes that it will take about 20 minutes for a subspace message routed through the shuttle's comm system to reach the starship - and of course, another 20 minutes for its reply to reach the boarding party. She cannot make a connection just with the wall panel, but is able to tie in her own communicator and, with a little difficulty, activate the shuttle's subspace comm system remotely. The subspace channel is now open. "What would you like to say in the message, ma'am?" she asks Collins.
Tell them to get the frack back here Collins thought, but said "Tell them what's going on here, and ask them to return as quickly as they can." Jeremi taps her communicator "Doctor T'Var. Sit. Rep., please."
T'Var has no intention of losing this battle.
The doctor hears Collins, but is obviously unable to respond.
T'Var thrusts a crowbar into the back of the Sakathian attacking Rangin in an attempt to pull the creature off him.
Following orders, Kylah sends the message. Since communications will not be real-time, she does her best to include as much detail as might be useful for Captain Singh and the others, knowing they won't be able to ask questions in a timely fashion.
"Yorktown, this is Ensign Kylah from the Sakathian Research Station boarding party. An emergency sitaution has developed and we are in need of immediate assistance. Without our knowledge, the Sakthian Government and an Earth-based team of researchers have been conducting genetic engineering experiments using volunteer Sakathians and the animals we were requested to provide them. The result is..." For a few seconds she's at a loss to describe what she's seen. "...A powerful and dangerous hybrid lifeform that looks like a Sakathian but is clearly much stronger and far more brutal. They have been attacking, killing and--and eating members of the station staff. We have no way of knowing the number of casualties.
"Those of us who have safely reached the common area are trapped due to an emergency lockdown and cannot safely access the transporter to retreat to the shuttle, neither can we locate Director Geb nor her chief of security. The station's communications have somehow been centrally disabled.
"As far as the boarding party's status: Lieutenants Collins and Pourtash are with me, as is our contact Dr. Waite, who appears to have hidden his knowledge of this experiment during previous briefings," she adds with a contemptuous glare at the doctor. "Dr. T'Var and Mr. Rangin are currently scouting for possible weapons, though I fear T'Var has not returned Lt. Collins's recent hail." Thinking of these two suddenly brings a rush of anxiety and adrenaline, and Kylah has to shake her head slightly to regain focus. "Lt. Fujishiro was briefly in hiding but is attempting to make her way safely to our present location. We are missing two crew members: Ensign Hayes and Lt. Delaney, neither of whom have been heard from since the incident began.
"Currently we have no weapons and little knowledge of these creatures' full capabilities, though despite their animal-like behavior they seem to have retained knowledge of technical systems, if the disabled communications system is any proof. We thus again request urgent assistance as our current location may not be secure for long."
She inhales, suddenly exhausted, and glances at Collins again. "Is there anything further I should add?"
"That'll do, Ensign. Thank you." Collins hails T'Var again, the sits down for the first time since the siege began. She leans over with her head between her legs and takes a few long slow breaths, then sits up again. She would like nothing better than to phaser Dr. Waite right in the head, so it's probably a good thing she doesn't have a weapon.
Pourtash remains quiet and waits until Kylah finishes her message before speaking. "Is it possible to gain any sort of communication with the comm terminals that haven't been deactivated? Even if there isn't anyone at them, perhaps checking visual or even auditory data from those positions might give us a greater view of the situation."
Kylah casts a sidelong glance at Pourtash, wondering if anyone else is concerned about him--he really hasn't been acting himself since he made it to the common room. "Yes, sir," she says quietly, trying not to snap at him, "I already checked all available channels. The only ones that were not deactivated contained someone being attacked and then eating sounds, someone speaking softly before he or she was cut off too, and finally gibberish. I am willing to try again if that is your order, but I must tell you there are very few that have not been locked down."
And frankly I could do without hearing these creatures' feasting again. Worse than Klingons.
She sighs and looks over at Collins, who seems worse than before. Kylah does not want to get too close to her--the sympathy nausea from before was bad enough. Turning back around the room, she tries to identify anyone who might know something about how this station works. Waite seems worse than useless--worse, because at this point Kylah believes nothing the man says.
Not knowing enough about anyone's role on the station, she poses her question to the room at large. "I am no engineer, much less an expert on Sakathian technology. But does anyone know of any way we might be able to patch into the controls of the transporters and reroute them to one of the panels here? To perform some sort of remote transport?"
"No, the only one giving orders here is Collins." Pourtash shakes his head, frowning. The entire situation has him unsteady in a way he doesn't care for one bit. Particularly now that Fujishiro is trying to make her way to the common room. That knowledge is enough to conjure up terrible mental images of all sorts of possible dangers. Not being able to do anything is only magnifying everything.
He starts to pace to try to work off some nervous energy instead of dwelling helplessly.
"Dr. Waite, what was the political environment around your experiments? It's just seems like all of this is terribly convenient, as if someone might be using the altered Sakathians as an orchestrated attack."
He sighs and drags a hand through his hair. Not that figuring such a thing out does them a bit of good, of course. They're still trapped and still without weapons.
"Kylah, keep trying to reach the others" Collins says wearily. She walks over to Pourtash and asks quietly "Faraz, do you think you can focus enough to try jerry-rigging the system for site-to-site transport?"
Pourtash considers before answering. "I can look at it and see. We'd be better off with Delaney." He moves to try to determine whether or not it's feasible.
T'Var can't use her crowbar against the zombie attacking Rangin without opening herself up to attack from the one facing her. In fact, as she glances at Rangin, it lunges again and she sidesteps it, then swings at its head and misses as it dodges very quickly. Rangin and the zombie roll around on the deck, the zombie making a terrible growling noise as it grapples with the young ensign.
The subspace message is now on its way to your ship. Dr. Waite overhears Kylah's comment about him in her report to the Yorktown, scowls and says, "Hey! That's not fair. I told you just as much as I could at the time." He crosses his arms and doesn't answer Pourtash's question about Sakathian politics.
Pourtash only got a glimpse of the transporter in the biology lab when the boarding party had its initial tour. He knows that Starfleet transporters typically cannot carry out site-to-site transports within acceptable safety parameters, and from what he's seen of Sakathian technology, he doubts that they're any better. There is only the comm console in the common room. Even a very talented engineer would, he thinks, find it impossible to jury-rig a transporter here, and he is no engineer.
Kylah can feel the anxiety rolling off Pourtash as if it's radiating outwards from him in waves. As she follows Collins's order and tries to set up an automated message to contact the rest of the station's working comm panels -- and the communicators belonging to their crewmates -- she wonders yet again what exactly Pourtash experienced while alone outside the common room.
After he responds to Collins, Kylah murmurs dryly under her breath: "I am glad to hear someone else refer to Lt. Delaney. I was beginning to think I'd invented him and Ensign Hayes, as I have been the only one to mention their names since the crisis began."
When Waite makes his complaint, Kylah continues working and ignores his petulant and pathetic defense. The man hid vital information from Starfleet, in particular the fact that they were working on genetic engineering--something that might well have changed the decision whether to allow the transport of such dangerous creatures to this station. Even if Starfleet had gone through with the transfer, different security protocols might have been in place if they'd known.
At this point she wouldn't object if Collins decided to toss Waite out and let him fend for himself among the monsters he helped create.
As she works, she takes a few moments now and then to examine the room for any vents. Even if they are locked, as Waite claims, there might be a way to force them open manually. If so, and if Kylah can squeeze through, she would be willing to make the venture. Their small size would in fact seem to make them a relatively safe passage; no Sakathian would be able to fit through, whereas Kylah is the shortest and smallest member of the crew aside from Rangin. Poor Rangin... what is he going through out there? Another swell of fear goes through her. I do hope he's all right, she thinks with a worried scowl.
Switching through the channels, she suddenly remembers the sounds she heard earlier while attempting to locate Geb. That channel, the one with the soft voice that was cut off completely... those words had been Sakathian. Untranslated Sakathian. Why hadn't she noticed this before? Was the shipwide Universal Translator experiencing issues? Was it only her mind playing tricks on her?
"Lt. Collins... Lt. Pourtash," she says suddenly. "While I was searching for working comm panels, I heard a Sakathian speaking very quietly over the comm earlier before the transmission cut out altogether. Was he or she understandable to either of you? To me it sounded like native, untranslated Sakathian." She closes her eyes for a few seconds, trying to use her excellent memory to recall what the person was saying. Her translation skills aren't refined but if she can conjur up the words she might be able to make sense of them.
Pourtash shakes his head mournfully to Collins. "I'm sorry, ma'am. This is well beyond my capabilities. As far as I can tell, even Delaney wouldn't be able to figure something out from here."
As Kylah starts talking about the unaccounted for members of their party, he frowns. He says nothing about it, though, having already gathered how the ensign reacts to stressful situations. They're all upset and that's going to come out in a variety of ways based on their personal temperaments, he reasons.
The question regarding translation makes him pause. "I didn't notice, but I was still a little shell-shocked at that point. If you heard something you don't think was translated, then I imagine it wasn't."
Vulcans do not feel anger, but if they did, T'Var would be feeling a great deal of it right now.
She attacks the Sakathian facing her with all of the strength and swiftness her Vulcan body has blessed her with. She will kill this creature, then focus her attention on the other one -- and kill it, too, if she can.
Now that she looks, Kylah sees that the common room has three vents. One is on the wall near the communications panel. It is about ten cm wide and she can't tell what it's for. The other two are in the ceiling, in opposite corners of the room. When she stands on a table and forces the plastic cover off one, she sees that both open off the same ventilation shaft, which runs directly over the room. The shaft is less than a meter wide - tight quarters for a humanoid of average size, but passable. It is dusty and dark. She can feel a very slight breeze through the shaft.
Rangin screams as the zombie breaks through and bites him on his shoulder. "Get it off me! Get it off me!" he shouts.
This distracts the other zombie just long enough for T'Var to clobber it with her crowbar. It goes down with a roar of pain. She remorselessly beats its brains out, and swiftly turns to the one still attacking Rangin.
Kylah climbs off the table and returns to the comm panel, raising an eyebrow at Dr. Waite. "How fortunate. It seems the vents are fully accessible after all," she says archly, though a bit distractedly--she's still trying to recall what the whispered voice was saying in Sakathian. She examines the station map on her tricorder to see if she can determine where these vents might lead, mulling over the possibilities.
The potential claustrophobia of the vents doesn't worry her. When she was young and first became aware of the chaos of voices of her family and their various counselors whispering around her -- a cacaphony that used to nearly drive her mad though no one else in the household seemed to mind -- she discovered she could escape to the ancient ducts around the royal palace that long ago were used by servants to shuttle dirty dishes or laundry throughout the massive building. Hiding within these dingy metal ducts seemed to be the only way Kylah could avoid the perpetual drone of voices, and the deeper into the ductworks she explored, the more at ease she became. She must have learned every inch of those labyrinthian passages.
As she grew up, she became accustomed to the cacaphony of her household and learned to control her reaction to it, but the ducts were still a much-needed if dusty respite... until Guardian Aldaan discovered her secret thanks to a snitch of a servant and ordered the ducts sealed up, deeming this a highly unseemly way for a girl of her position and maturing age to behave.
"Lt. Collins," Kylah says now, still studying the tricorder. "I believe I can fit through those vents without a problem. There is air circulating through them and clearly they lead elsewhere on the station. I do not think a Sakathian, altered or not, would be able to fit inside, so it should be safe. If or when you think it prudent, I volunteer to attempt passage through them, hopefully to the transporter room, or possibly even the lab--I might at least be able to report what's happening in that room and if anyone in there is still alive."
She hesitates and looks up from the tricorder. "Or if anyone has a better destination in mind, I can attempt to reach it instead--if, of course, Lt. Collins approves of this strategy."
With a most unVulcanlike ferocity, T'Var attacks the remaining Sakathian.
As to what Dr. Waite actually said about the air shafts, see post 917.
"Make it so, Ensign, do what you can" Collins then turns to Dr Waite "You must have had an antidote, a contingency plan. What was the long term goal here? What were you hoping to accomplish?" She stops short of grabbing him by the collar and shaking him.
The Sakathian attacking Rangin glances up an instant before T'Var brings her crowbar down upon its head; its eyes widen and it futilely tries to defend itself, but she quickly kills it. She and Rangin are both spattered with its dark blood. Rangin's right shoulder is deeply bitten, and his own blood is flowing freely from the ragged-edged wound. He moans with pain and distress, and says, "Damn it, that hurts. That really hurts."
Dr. Waite still looks cross as he answers Collins. "We didn't have an antidote, because we didn't think it was a toxin. For contingency plans... well, we could lock down the lab, and that's what they must've tried to do. I already told you what we intended to accomplish."
There is a muffled pounding on the common room's door. "It's me, Fujishiro! Open up! Let me in!" She sounds scared.
At Collins's order, Kylah returns to the table beneath the vents and is about to ask Pourtash for some help lifting her up into the ceiling, but pauses when she hears the loud banging on the door. She decides she'll wait a moment to hear what Fujishiro has to say before leaving. The science officer might have vital information for them after whatever she's seen.
Kylah's relief at hearing Fujishiro's voice is tempered by the knowledge that so many of their other crewmates are missing. Why are none of them answering their hails? T'Var is far too disciplined an officer to ignore protocol, and Rangin--what are they going through right now?
The thought makes her mind wander. Suddenly she winces and inhales sharply when an icy terror stabs through her like a dagger and a tremor nearly throws her off balance. The fear is stark and raw and overwhelming. Making certain no one else is paying attention, she leans against the table and desperately tries to get control of herself. To help herself calm down, Kylah reaches up to her neck and massages it, almost expecting an actual knife to have embedded itself there.
Though shaky, she remains silent and just clings to the table with her white-knuckled hand, waiting for Fujishiro to report. She wants to get into that vent more than ever now. Her face is solemn, if bloodless, but inside she's certain time is not on their side.
Collins opens the door, grabs Fujishiro by the arm, pulls her inside, and quickly shuts the door. "Do you need medical attention, Lieutenant?"
T'Var provides Rangin with as much first aid as possible under the circumstances. She also takes small blood and tissue samples from the altered Sakathian.
The doctor then contacts Collins with a brief -- yet thorough -- report about what's just happened. She ends with, "We will return to the common room as quickly as we can."
"Are you able to continue with my assistance?" T'Var asks Rangin.
Fujishiro is a little wild-eyed, and clearly shaken. She looks around the common room, musters a fragile smile and says, "Thank God I was able to get back. It's so good to see all of you. I thought the coast was clear but I ran into one of those... things not far from here. I was able to get through an isolation door and lock it behind me, but not before it grabbed me." Her blue uniform sleeve is ripped and she has a long, deep scratch on her left forearm, now oozing blood. "Fortunately I was able to break free."
T'Var is able to use her medikit to good advantage on Rangin. She stops his bleeding and sterilizes the bite wound. She uses her medical tricorder to scan him and sees no sign of infection for now. Does she wish to draw samples from both Sakathians, or only one?
Rangin answers her, "I think I'm OK. Let's get back to common room." He picks up the crowbars and cutting tools.
Kylah has composed herself and is relieved to hear that Fujishiro seems to have escaped a much worse fate than she might have if the affected Sakathian had been quicker to catch her. She's also glad that they've finally heard from T'Var, though Rangin's injury frightens her and makes her again massage her own shoulder.
On the one hand she'd like to wait to see if T'Var has been able to help Rangin--the only person who seems to find her good company, who neither judges her nor makes her feel abashed for being, well, herself. But hopefully she'll be able to communicate with them while in the ducts to determine if he's all right.
Then again, perhaps the weapons they've found will be of use to her--if there are enough to go around. Her remaining throwing knife is obviously useful, but she's all too aware that the one she flung at the Sakathian injured him, but didn't seem to stop him completely...
"Lt. Collins, may I wait to see if Dr. T'Var and Ensign Rangin bring back any makeshift weapons I might be able to take with me? I know I will likely not be in danger, considering the size of the passageway, but... I would feel more at ease with something with which to protect myself." She swallows, suddenly feeling very alone.
Collins looks around the common room for some wine or brandy or something of that ilk to poor over Fujishiro's arm. Distractedly, she tells Kylah "yes, fine, wait for a weapon, but plan out some alternate routes before you go. Also, see if you can raise the Yorktown again"
If she finds a suitable liquid, she uses it to disinfect Fujishiro's wound; if not, she grabs a pitcher of water to at least wash the wound.
Kylah murmurs an "aye sir," though she wonders about sending a second message to the Yorktown when she doesn't believe enough time has passed to have received any answer to her first one. Still, she repeats the original message, adding that two crew members are now known to be injured, and sends it out. Ideally she'd set it up as an emergency beacon, sending the message every forty minutes, but she's not certain this comm panel will suffice, even when connected to her own communicator.
From her position by the comm panel, she's reminded of the small closed panel beside her, and wonders if there might be anything useful beneath its cover. Perhaps some method of accessing the station's other terminals? She attempts to pry it open.
As she does, she watches, concerned, while Collins attempts to help Fujishiro. Why isn't Waite helping? Is he not a doctor with an oath to fulfill? Admittedly she personally wouldn't want the man anywhere near her unless she were near death, but the man must have some sense of medical ethics and the fact that he didn't immediately step in to help the wounded Fujishiro once she arrived is galling. It appears Collins has as much trust in the man as Kylah does, since she's not ordering him into action. Nevertheless, he could at least lend them his tools...
She bites her tongue, not wanting to anger Collins further--she feels as if every suggestion she makes seems to raise the mission leader's ire rather than any gratitude--but the health of her crewmate is more important than Starfleet niceties or the feelings of its officers.
As respectfully as she can, she says quickly: "Perhaps, sir, if Dr. Waite has a medical tricorder or any other instruments on hand, he might help Lt. Fujishiro--or at least lend them to us?"
T'Var quickly takes a few more blood and tissue samples from the other Sakathian, then reports to Collins once again.
"I have tissue and blood samples from the altered Sakathians," she says. "We are on our way and will keep you updated as to our progress."
What is wrong with me? Collins admonishes herself Why am I not seeing the obvious? Why is Kylah always pointing it out?. She turns to Dr Waite and asks "Well, do you have any medical equipment with you? or is your degree not in medicine?"
Dr. Waite says mildly, "I'm a biochemist, not an M.D. But if I can help, I will. First, let's wash the wound." He leads Fujishiro to one of the bathrooms in the adjoining residential quarters, locks the door to the bedroom, and washes the Assistant Science Officer's scratch with plenty of soap and hot water. Collins goes with them and can see that, when he left the mess hall in a hurry after lunch, he didn't have any medical equipment with him. He looks around the bathroom and in the mirrored cupboard, finally muttering, "No other sterilizing agent here that I can see."
Kylah revises and repeats the message to the Yorktown. Setting up a repeating signal to the starship is beyond her capabilities using, as she must, her communicator tied into the Sakathian comm panel. By now only about 20 minutes have passed since the first message went out.
T'Var and Rangin make their way back towards the common room. Along the way they find a pile of three dead capybaras which were not there before. The large Earth rodents have been messily torn apart and partly eaten. A Bolian stork is standing nearby and stares unconcernedly at the Starfleet officers.
T'Var is intrigued by the sight before her. She makes a mental note of it.
"How are you doing, Mr. Rangin?" she asks.
Kylah watches Collins, Waite and Fujishiro leave, hoping that they'll find some sort of sterilizing liquid--if not isopropol alcohol than at least a secret stash of liquor. Surely one of the Sakathians or Earth students might have something hidden away. Even if the room they entered has nothing, perhaps one of the others will turn out to be more profitable.
Or better yet, Dr. T'Var and Rangin will return in haste, and safe. Lacking a proper doctor--and a trustworthy one, for that matter--is perhaps worse than lacking weapons.
Kylah grits her teeth and continues to work at this stubborn small panel. Finally she whips out her remaining knife and starts prying at it even more vigorously. She didn't want to reveal her extra weapon in front of Waite, but she sees no other tools and this panel seems particularly unwilling to give up its secrets. She suddenly gives a grim smile. It would be just our luck if it turns out to be a mere disposal unit.
In the meantime she remembers that frustrating matter of the whispering Sakathian on the comm panel. She concentrates hard to remember what the person was saying, and to translate it as best she can.
Rangin winces and says, "OK, I guess. But where he bit me really stings." They press on for the common room.
Kylah finally pops off the small panel cover and finds that behind it is an electronics access grid for lighting, life support, artificial gravity and firefighting functions in the common room. The best she can recall of the whispered Sakathian was a few scattered phrases, none of which make sense to her out of context: "the mountains," "eventually she saw," and "water that flows."
Kylah grimaces at the panel in front of her. Not a disposal unit, but not particularly helpful either. Although she supposes it's fairly reassuring that the vital functions that maintain their survival and comfort in this room are accessible within the room itself, rather than somewhere outside where anyone might manipulate it. Of course, there's likely a main control area that could override any of this small panel's functions. Best not to think about that, she realizes. Of course, now that this unpleasant thought is in her head, she knows it's not going to be leaving any time soon.
She ponders what little she remembers of the Sakathian's words. A poem? A prayer? A folk tale? It could be anything.
Kylah turns to the rest of the common room and looks around for someone who looks helpful. If these words are part of some well-known Sakathian text, perhaps someone else will recognize these fragments of phrases. The thought suddenly occurs to her: What percentage of the survivors are in this room? How many are outside, still vulnerable prey to those creatures?
In case it's not clear, this is me trying to ask in-character who else is in this room besides me and Pourtash. 'Cause I haven't a clue.
Ens. Kylah sees that she is, at the moment, alone in the common room with Lt. JG Pourtash. Dr. Waite, Lt. JG Collins and Lt. JG Fujishiro are in the adjoining bathroom, tending to the Japanese woman's wound. Dr. T'Var and Ens. Rangin are on their way back to the common room. Lt. JG Delaney's and Ens. Hayes's whereabouts are still unknown.
Waite, Collins and Fujishiro return from the bathroom, with Fujishiro's arm wrapped in a small, clean towel, just as T'Var and Rangin knock on the outside door. It has now been half an hour since your subspace message to the Yorktown went out.
Disconcerted to discover that there are no others in the room besides her and Pourtash, Kylah realizes she's been concentrating so hard on various solutions that she must have somehow assumed that there were more who'd safely reached the common area before the lockdown. The thought worries her; usually she is far too aware of the other people around her. She's extremely unnerved.
The issue is set aside when she hears Dr. T'Var and Rangin at the door just as the others re-enter the room. Now relief takes precedence, and she opens the door to let T'Var and Rangin in and greets them as warmly as she can.
The blood on Rangin's uniform is grim proof of his injury, and Kylah looks at them in concern. "How are you? And you, Doctor?"
"I am well, Ensign," T'Var replies. She guides Rangin to a chair, then scans the room quickly.
T'Var notices Fujishiro and frowns. The doctor checks Fujishiro's condition and does what she can under the circumstances to provide medical aid.
"What is our situation?" the doctor asks Collins. "And how do we proceed from here?"
T'Var sees that Fujishiro's blue uniform sleeve is ripped and she has a long, deep scratch on her left forearm. Although it has apparently just been cleaned, it is still oozing blood. The Vulcan doctor uses the hypospray in her medikit to sterilize the wound and stop the bleeding. A scan shows that Fujishiro is running a slight fever, and T'Var can see that she's sweating. She tells T'Var everything she told the others.
Rangin says, "I don't feel very good. I think I'll lie down," and does so on a couch.
Kylah watches Rangin with a sort of wary sympathy. She then turns to T'Var to examine what, if any, weapons the pair were able to find. Her hopes fall when she sees only the most rudimentary of implements. A Vulcan like T'Var may have been able to fight off the affected Sakathians with such items, but Kylah knows she will fare poorly if forced to rely on them. She's confident in throwing and fighting with knives, and is almost as able with a phaser (her aim much helped by her deft knife skills). But if engaged in hand-to-hand combat or use of blunt weapons? She won't stand a chance. They're great weaknesses for someone of her size and physical capabilities--and someone whose family thought such activities were useful only to commoners. As it is, Kylah barely passed some of the physical combat and endurance tests at the Academy. (In fact, she's not convinced she really did pass, not legitimately.)
Nevertheless she knows she volunteered to go through the air vents, and she plans to follow through on that. Kylah waits for Collins to give the word.
T'Var will keep a close eye on Rangin and Fujishiro. There isn't much more she can do for them here. The doctor sighs.
She notices Kylah's interest in the "weapons" brought back with them. The doctor's sigh deepens.
"Not the best way to defend ourselves, Ensign," she says. "Yet something is always better than nothing."
T'Var awaits Collins' orders.
Collins looks around, takes a deep breath and says, "Well, while we wait to hear from the Yorktown, do you have any recommendations?"
Kylah looks at T'Var and nods her appreciation. "Doctor, you took a great risk and came back with both yourself and Ensign Rangin, alive. I admit I would greatly wish for a phaser, but the weapons you found were better than one can expect in these circumstances."
She lifts her chin at Collins's request, not for the first time wondering if the mission chief is in the best state of mind to be in charge of things. Should she not be giving out the weapons? Does she not recall Kylah's volunteering, or wish T'Var's opinion on Rangin and Fujishiro's conditions?
At the risk of the other woman's wrath, she speaks up. "Aye, sir. I repeat my suggestion that I make my way into the air vents. With Ensign Rangin in his condition, I believe I am best suited for this journey, considering the small size of the vents." She glances at T'Var. "If you remember the way you traveled during your own exploration, Doctor, perhaps you can note it on the station schematic in my tricorder so I can try to avoid repeating that direction unnecessarily?"
She switches her gaze to Dr. Waite, doing her best not to look as untrusting as she feels. "And any help from you, Dr. Waite, would be appreciated as well. I understand the ventilation system will likely be convoluted and not an exact match with your knowledge of the station, but if you have any ideas I would be grateful.
"As far as where I might go, I'd think the ideal situation would be for me to reach the transporter room or the armory, but of course I will seek out any other destination that you find worthwhile, Lt. Collins."
"Perhps the best course of action -- for the moment, at least -- is for all of us to remain where we are."
T'Var looks about the common room. "We have injured among us and limited weapons capabilities. And we are no match for those altered Sakathians."
The doctor glances at Kylah. "Much as I admire your willingness to travel the air vents, Ensign, it is much too dangerous for such an endeavor."
She repeats her suggestion to Collins. "I strongly recommend that we stay here for now. Or, if we must venture forth, we should all go together. I believe there is an old Earth saying -- 'safety in numbers'?"
Kylah shakes her head. "Doctor, you were not here when I examined the size of the ducts--they are quite small. No Sakathian could fit through them. All I need do is crawl and look through the vents; it is our only apparent window into what the situation is in various areas of the station. If I discover the transporter room is safe, only then would I leave the safety of the vent system."
Her voice is getting more impassioned as again she's haunted by her sense that they'd abandoned the unaltered Sakathians and MU students in the lab by running to the common room so quickly. "Even setting aside the benefit to ourselves, there are people, unaffected people, on this station who remain at risk! We owe a duty to them, even if their superiors have obfuscated the truth about this experiment," she adds with a fierce look at Waite before returning to T'Var. "Every minute that passes means life or death to these survivors. I think it would be cowardly to ignore their peril." She turns to Collins quickly. "Of course, it is your choice, Lieutenant."
"A most logical argument, Ensign," T'Var replies.
The doctor hopes Kylah can remain focused and calm as she ventures through the air vents. "I know you will do your best."
T'Var notices Kylah's glare at Waite. "Perhaps you might have an alternate suggestion, Henry?"
"No," says Waite, "I just want to get out of here. Whatever gets us all away from these... zombies... the quickest and safest way, gets my vote."
Rangin says, "Me, too. Not that this is a democracy - I'm not voting, just sharing my opinion, as you asked, Lt. Collins."
Fujishiro says, "We should just wait for orders from the Yorktown. It won't be long now, and we're safe right here, at least for the moment."
Pourtash looks thoughtful.
Though Kylah knows she's already said enough--and having T'Var on her side helps tremendously--Lt. Fujishiro's words spark her easily inflamed temper. She tries to remain compassionate toward the injured woman but between her own churning emotions and the injured around her, not to mention the creatures lurking somewhere who remain unseen but whose presence is always felt, Kylah has little ability to curtail herself.
"Your reluctance to act is understandable considering what you've been through, Lieutenant," she says, blurting out the necessary words impatiently. "But with respect, you are wrong. We are not safe here. Indeed, we are not all even here!" Kylah flings an arm out at the nearly empty room. "Do you not see? Lieutenant Delaney, Ensign Hayes... They are still missing!"
She whips her head around to look at each of the others. "I have served on the Yorktown for less time than any of you. I understand I am the most junior of officers and do not know the interrelationships of the crew, but neither do I care. They are our crew members and I--I strongly feel we must do everything we can to vouchsafe their return." Kylah turns finally to Pourtash, who alone has remained silent and who--for some reason--she most wants to convince. "Surely you agree with me, Lieutenant?" She tries to sense what he's thinking, then, frustrated, she aims her fervent stare at Collins. "At any rate I have volunteered, sir. I only wait your command."
T'Var frowns at Waite. What did she ever see in this man?
The doctor glances around the room. "Everyone has valid points," she says. "However, we do not command this mission."
T'Var turns her attention to Collins. "We await your orders."