Star Trek RPG - Mission #2: "Primum Nil Nocere"

Collins remembers that the Yorktown is still two days away. See post 1001.

Rangin's scan reveals that the transporter room's door is a standard Sakathian interior airtight door. It would hold against several normal Sakathians doing their utmost with bare hands to break it down. As for several - or a mob - of altered Sakathians...? He just doesn't know for sure, and tells his commanding officer so.

Kylah finds several long metal rods and tools that can be used as blunt instruments, enough for everyone. There are no cutting blades or energy tools, however. There is also no ammonia, bleach or lye, but she finds a Sakathian hydrogen-based astringent that Jovan says is flammable if exposed to direct flame. The Sakathian tech immediately understands the concept of a Molotov cocktail, and offers to help make them.

Delaney, up to his elbows in one of the bulkhead panels, looks a little irritated at Collins's question and says, "No, thank you, ma'am. None of you have transporter engineering quals. I just need to get it done." She can see he's under a lot of stress.

After another scan, T'Var is now convinced that Porr's wife is undergoing a complete physiological alteration and turning into a zombie.

Rangin mutters a quiet aside to Dr T'Var, out of others hearing, while using the pretext of looking over the readings. "My apologies for saying this, but if she is turning as you think she is, are you going to restrain or prevent it from occuring?"

"An excellent question, Mr. Rangin," T'Var whispers. "I am unsure as to whether I can 'prevent' this alteration."

T'Var continues to scan and record her findings. She also takes a tissue sample for later examination -- if they ever make it back to the ship.

The doctor will continue to monitor Porr's wife closely. T'Var administers a strong sedative to the Sakathian woman.

After helping Jovan put together some incendiary devices, Kylah suddenly rises to talk to Collins, drawing her mission commander as far away from the Sakathians as possible while keeping her words to a near whisper.

"Lieutenant, I was thinking... As Porr is the chief of security, he may have some form of handcuffs on him. If so, they may be of use in restraining his wife. I know it is a difficult thing to ask of him and unlikely he will agree, but maybe he can be convinced that it is for her own protection..." She hesitates, then looks down at the ill Sakathian woman and winces as if feeling the woman's agony. "As it indeed would be," she says, her voice even more quiet and grim. "Else we may need to--to use a more permanent method of keeping her from attacking."

"I can't get Porr to even acknowledge I've been speaking to him, let alone comply with a request. But you're welcome to try, Ensign" Collins stations herself near the door, ready to shoot any unwelcome thing that breaks through.

From her scans and all her thinking about it, T'Var knows of no means to prevent the alteration.

Porr doesn't allow her to take a tissue sample, or to sedate his wife. When she approaches again, he suddenly seems to focus on her. Before anyone can react he draws his phaser, points it at the Vulcan and says intensely, "Heal her, Doctor. Make her well."

As Collins walks away, Kylah stares at her superior's back in frank disbelief. She cannot imagine delegating such a task to the most junior member of the crew, especially one who's had strained relations with Chief Porr since arriving. Do these humans possess any natural leadership qualities? she thinks, turning from Collins to Pourtash, who has shown precious little initiative since before the fight with the slime devils, and then to Delaney, who refuses to even direct others trying to help him fix the all-important transporters simply because they are not officially qualified. Doctor or not, T'Var should be leading this mission, she thinks furiously.

Kylah looks warily at Porr. She knows the man is anxious and torn. He can't be expected to put the good of the crew ahead of his wife, despite--or perhaps because of--the obvious dire fate awaiting her. She also know he has a phaser, and part of her is afraid that he might act irrationally if he thinks her a threat.

And just as she's about to approach him, she sees him remove that phaser and aim it at T'Var. Her whole body jerks to a halt, and her gaze shifts to the doctor. Not knowing the results of T'Var's scans or diagnosis, Kylah won't utter a word until she hears what the older woman will say. Finally she looks back at Porr, staring at him, trying to anticipate his next move--and read to fling her knife if he harms a hair on T'Var's head.

T'Var remains calm, despite the phaser aimed at her.

"Once we are off this station and have returned to our vessel, Chief Porr, I will do everything in my power to assist your wife."

The doctor calculates the possibility of disarming the Sakathian -- something she is more than capable of doing if necessary. Her experience as a member of the V'Shar comes flooding back to her. If she must kill Porr to protect the others, she will do so.

T'Var holds out her hand. "Please give me your weapon now," she says evenly. "We will need it to protect ourselves -- and your wife -- from the altered Sakathians headed our way."

Collins turns, phaser aimed, to face Porr. "Lower your weapon, Chief. Doctor T'Var is already doing everything she can. If you fire on anyone, be assured I will fire on you."

Porr's eyes flick towards Collins, then back to T'Var. His entire body is tense, and his gray skin gleams with sweat. He says to T'Var in a choked voice, "We can't wait that long. It'll be too late. What can you do for her now?"

T'Var knows that, despite her training, she probably could not disarm him as long as he's focused on her - she wouldn't be able to cross the space between them before he shot her. She cannot tell what his phaser is set on.

The others in the room stare, holding their breath, at the confrontation.

"Dr T'Var, in your professional capacity, does this teleport room contain the necessary facilities to help her with her medical condition at this point in time?" Rangin asks quietly, emphasising his words and firmly hoping to get the point across to Porr.

If she turns, he thinks to himself, who knows what state Porr will get into.

"If I am to assist your wife, Chief Porr, we must leave this station." T'Var takes a step in Porr's direction. "I believe I can help her with the proper medical and research facilities."

The doctor holds out her hand again in the hope that Porr will give her his weapon. "Please help us to help your wife."

Collins repeats "Put. The weapon. Down."

Kylah remains silent and still, though inside she's far from calm, feeling emotionally battered on all sides. The omnipresent danger of the relentless altered Sakathians outside that everyone knows are looming ever closer; the wild, unpredictable chaos that Porr's wife is clearly experiencing; Delaney's frustrating lack of progress with the transporter. Above all, Kylah is keenly aware of Porr's fractious state: while part of him seems rational, his desperation to save his doomed wife is obviously putting him close to the edge.

She is glad for T'Var's logical presence and calming voice, and takes her own cue from it by refusing to speak. Kylah fears too many people talking at once could push Porr over the brink.

Porr turns slightly. Before Collins can react, he shoots her with his phaser and she falls, stunned, to the deck. "Kick her phaser over here," Porr rasps to Kylah. "And you, Doctor - help my wife, heal her, or I'll kill one of your shipmates."

Appalled, Jovan says, "Porr, don't...."

"Shut up," he says. "Not another word."

Porr's wife begins to go into convulsions.

T'Var's patience has grown thin. And with Collins unable to take charge of the situation, T'Var will do so.

The doctor lunges at Porr, hoping he is distracted enough by his convulsing wife to give T'Var a chance to disarm him

She also hopes Rangin and Kylah will take her lead and assist in getting Porr under control.

Kylah, who was staring down at Porr's wife when Collins was shot, looks up in utter shock at the sudden devolvement of the situation into violence. Now she has to free her mind of all the frenzied thoughts and try to calculate the best tactic.

Despite her instincts to do so, diving for Collins's dropped phaser is out: Porr is likely anticipating such a move. Instead she'll wait until he's forced to deal with the powerful Vulcan, and once his attention is diverted, Kylah will take any clear throw she gets at Porr with her knife. Ideally nonlethal, but at this point she's not picky.

Collins twitches slightly.

T'Var crosses the short distance to Porr in an impressive lunge. Porr twists away from her, but she is able to grab him. He tries to bring his phaser to bear on her.

Pourtash, Rangin and Waite simultaneously also move to attack Porr. Kylah does not have a clear target for a knife throw.

Collins is phaser-stunned and completely unconscious, but no one knows for how long yet.

Unable to assist in the attack, Kylah looks back at the writhing woman on the floor. The pain radiates outwards so intensely that for one irrational moment she doesn't understand how the others aren't crippled by it. Some possibly masochistic instinct leads her to kneel down beside Porr's wife and, grabbing her hand, clutches it while looking up at the security chief.

"Porr!" Kylah cries out--almost sobs. "Stop this. Stop this. Your wife is in agony. Every moment you delay T'Var from sedating her is causing her--" Kylah's voice breaks and she shakes her head, wincing. "The pain is excrutiating. Be merciful! Put down your phaser and allow T'Var to put her in as deep a sleep as possible, and let us restrain her to keep her from harming herself; we have no medical equipment to save her now. Deep sedation, slowing down this horrific process, is the only chance she'll have."

Swallowing, she stares intently at the Sakathian man, someone she's mistrusted the entire mission. Now her voice is choking with the weight of her sympathy for both members of this couple. "I beg you, in the name of the love you bear for her," Kylah says desperately. "Stop this madness and do not make her suffer further!"

Probably not having the greatest experience in combat and seeing Dr T'Var and Pourtash jump Porr, Rangin goes for the phaser, before joining in. It may not be necessary in bringing down Porr, but it may be necessary in stopping his transforming wife.

T'Var continues to wrestle with Porr, using all her Vulcan strength and V'Shar training to subdue him. I must secure this phaser, T'Var commands herself.

Porr and T'Var scuffle, with neither getting a clear advantage. Both are very strong, although Porr is considerably bulkier. Waite punches Porr, who shrugs off the blows. Porr seems to ignore Kylah as he grapples with the Vulcan. Pourtash grabs Porr's right wrist - the phaser is in his right hand - and tries to hold it down. Rangin is able to grab the phaser, which goes off again, missing him and Pourtash but hitting the ceiling. Rangin savagely twists it, badly bending several of Porr's fingers, and wrests the weapon free as Porr yells in pain and frustration.

Porr's wife's convulsions get worse, Hayes sees.

Rangin backs up a couple of steps and checks the phaser is on stun setting and adjusts it if needs be.

"Cease fighting. Now!"

If Porr doesn't stop pretty much immediately, or looks to dive for the other phaser, Rangin will use it.

T'Var continues to struggle with Porr. She is aware of everything going on around her, however. With Collins down, T'Var takes it upon herself to assume command -- at least for the moment.

This situation needs to be addressed and quickly. T'Var does not know how good of a shot Rangin is with a phaser, but sometimes tough decisions must be made. If he misses.... Then that can be dealt with as well. The doctor cannot attend to Porr's wife -- or Collins -- while fighting with Porr.

"Rangin, stun Porr right now!" she yells at the young officer. "That is a direct order!"

For better or for worse, Rangin fires at Porr and will continue firing until he is stunned. He really hopes he manages it first time and doesn't stun either of his crewmates.

Collins just lays there.

Rangin has never heard a Vulcan yell before and is rather startled by it, but he is close enough to the Sakathian man that he cannot miss. He fires once, and Porr goes completely limp. T'Var will need a moment or two to disentangle herself and catch her breath.

Porr's wife is still convulsing.

Hayes hears Delaney, who had barely looked up from his work on the transporter during the struggle, mutter, "Almost there... almost there...."

"Well done, Mr. Rangin," T'Var says as she pulls herself free from Porr.

She will attempt to sedate Porr's wife as deeply as possible in the hopes of preventing any transformation at this point. If she cannot, she will have no choice but to stun the Sakathian woman with a phaser blast.

Once T'Var has dealt with Porr's wife as best she can, she will check on Collins and do what she can for her.

And hopefully, Delaney will have them all off this station ASAP.

Collins still just lays there.

T'Var sees no way to prevent the transformation of the Sakathian woman - if a transformation is indeed what is taking place. As T'Var scans her again, her convulsions stop, and her heart flatlines. Brain activity also drops to nothing.

"Do you really need to stun a dead woman, Doctor?" Pourtash asks quietly as he sees T'Var raise the phaser.

She has more luck with Collins. A few drops of cordrazine, administered by hypospray, and Collins comes to. She has a massive headache but is otherwise all right.

Rangin passes the phaser to Dr T'Var and then, once she is awake, Rangin will pass the other phaser back to Collins.

He will then do a check to see how close the altered Sakathians are to the room.

"Are you able to assume command?" T'Var asks Collins.

T'Var readies the phaser for heavy stun in anticipation of using it on Porr's wife and/or the altered Sakathians if they are able to breach the door.

The doctor does not relish the thought of setting the phaser to anything stronger -- and more deadly -- but she may have no choice.

Kylah looks down at the body of Porr's wife. "I have a suggestion," she says calmly. "If the hallway outside is still clear of the creatures, perhaps we should move her out there. She is very likely in the process of becoming one of those beasts, and dealing with her will be a waste of time that we can ill afford. On the other hand--and I do not wish to be disrespectful of the dead, but my thoughts are for those of us still living--if she remains merely a corpse, she may at least provide some...distraction to the others." She hesitates, then adds: "I also request permission to search Chief Porr to see if he has any hidden weapons or items of use to us."

Finally she turns to Jovan, Hayes and Delaney. "One thing I would have liked to have asked Porr is the whereabouts of Director Geb. Do any of you know what became of her?"

"Yes," Collins says even though the drum line of a marching band is practicing in her head. She takes the phaser offered by Rangin and stands ready to defend her team, Jovan, and even Dr. Waite.

Rangin's tricorder scan shows that the altered Sakathians, or zombies, are within a few meters of the far side of the corridor door - that is, just down the hall and two doors away.

Waite nods energetically when he hears Kylah's suggestion. "Absolutely," he says. "Great idea. Let's get her out of here, or we could all be in danger from her."

Jovan answers Kylah's question, "I heard Director Geb over the station's comm system, just after the outbreak began, giving orders for security teams to respond. She said she was under attack...." She gulps. "She screamed, or someone near her screamed, and then the channel went... silent. I never heard from her after that."

Neither Hayes or Delaney have seen or heard from Geb all day.

Rangin checks the reading he is getting from the monsters against any reading that Porr's wife might be giving off, indeed he will surreptitiously scan everyone in the room, just to ensure no-one else is infected.

If asked what he is doing, he will respond he is just doing a general scan just to make sure that there are no others that they were not aware of.

"Ensign Kylah does make a valid point," T'Var says. The doctor's gaze rests upon Collins. "The choice is yours, of course."

Collins moves to the door, and holds her hand over the release button. "Let me know when you're ready. While it may be disrespectful, it may be most efficient, and safest, to just throw her out there." Collins is still trying to shake off all the bongo playing beatniks in her head.

While disturbed that Director Geb is very likely a victim of the creatures by now, Kylah is relieved--to say the least--that the others in the crew agree with her thoughts about moving the body outside the transporter room. Truth is, her distaste for Waite is so great that when he immediately approved of the idea, Kylah instinctively began to doubt herself, or at least her motives. She wants the body gone for a few reasons, not just the crew's safety. One bittersweet blessing is that with the apparent end of the woman's life signs and brain activity, her agonizing torment has ceased.

She glances at Rangin, curious about his scanning, but glad to see it. The more information the better. Assuming that the strong T'Var and Pourtash are the likeliest candidates for moving the body, Kylah turns to face Collins to repeat her request now that her superior officer is thankfully recovered. "And may I have permission to search Porr, Lieutenant? If he has anything that can be weaponized, or perhaps restraints, we might make use of them. Further, it might be best to remove them so that once he awakens and sees his wife gone..." She's suddenly filled with a wave of pity and guilt at the prospect, but she shakes it off, swallowing. "...I fear he may not react well."

Collins is tempted to tell Kylah to throw Porr outside, too, but instead tells the ensign "yes, sorry, search him. Remove *any*thing he might use against us."

Hayes seems very uneasy. She says, "Wait a minute. What if she's not actually... you know, turning into a zombie? From what we've seen so far, they'll bite or even eat her if we put her out there and they make it through the other door. Don't we have an obligation to treat her remains respectfully?" Jovan looks pensive.

Kylah is busy searching Porr's body. In his pockets she finds a small electronic gadget that she can't figure out how to activate, two slim battery packs for his phaser, and what appears to be a Sakathian set of handcuffs.

Delaney keeps working on the transporter.

"Are those handcuffs, Ensign? Cuff Porr to his wife and move them to the far corner of the room, away from the transporter pads," Collins states decidedly. She turns to watch Delaney working but doesn't say anything aloud, she just thinks "hurry up. hurry up."

As Kylah was just about to ask Delaney what this electronic device might be, Collins's order now takes a few seconds to resonate in the ensign's mind before it fully sinks in.

Kylah turns swiftly to her mission commander. Sheer disbelief nearly renders her speechless, but she is rarely in that mode for long. "Absolutely not, Lieutenant!" she blurts, clutching the handcuffs in white-knuckled hands. "Such an order would be unseemly even if Chief Porr's wife were merely dead. Handcuffing him to a woman almost certainly turning into a murderous creature...?" She shakes her head in horror at the thought. "Yes, he has been a nuisance and a threat, but he was watching his wife die and under great strain. He does not deserve this. I cannot and will not perform such an act."

She turns her pleading eyes to Pourtash and Dr. T'Var. "Speak reason to her! Doctor, you know Veling Porr is turning into one of those creatures. You know there is no way to stop it. I will put Chief Porr in cuffs to restrain him, but connecting him to his dead wife, soon to be a cannibal, is beyond cruel and unusual punishment -- it is a death sentence!"

Rangin's jaw drops for a moment when he hears Collins' order to Kylah.

"With the greatest of respect, I believe being stunned by the phaser may have done you more damage than first thought. Handcuffing Porr to either the corpse of his dead wife or a, soon to resurrect, altered and cannibalistic creature is beyond comprehension."

Rangin continues his scanning, checking to see if the body is indeed changing any further.

T'Var sighs. "With all due respect," she addresses Collins directly, "Chief Porr's wife, in my professional opinion, is dead. There is strong evidence that she is in the process of alteration."

The doctor pauses a moment. She shifts her gaze to first Porr and then his wife. "Porr's wife presents a threat to all of us within this room. Chief Porr does not."

T'Var returns her attention to Collins. "Your order to remove Porr's wife from this room is a logical one, Mr. Collins. Your order to handcuff husband and wife together within this room is not."

Rangin's scan shows no change in the condition of Mrs. Porr's body. Porr himself remains phaser-stunned.

An unusual, muted hum fills the room, and Delaney says with relief, "That should do it. The transporter is ready... I think. I'll want to test it on something inanimate before we try it on a person."

"Right," Collins headache starts to clear, "cuff Porr, and place him in the corner. Get his wife's body out of here, as respectfully and quickly as you can." She looks around the room for a portable storage bin or barrel for Delaney to use as a test subject; failing that, a chair or table. Whichever object is to be used, she directs Delaney to it. "Okay everyone. Positive thoughts." She watches as Delaney tests the transporter.

Kylah does her best not to aim her decidedly less-than-positive expression at Collins while she carefully places one half of the cuffs on Porr. Then she glances around to see if there's anything she can cuff him to, instead of restraining both hands together; if the altered Sakathians do force their way inside here, she'd hate to lose one obviously strong fighter altogether, or leave Porr helpless to defend himself. If there's a metal bar or anything sturdy to use, she'll attach the other half of the cuffs to that; if not, she'll have to restrain the Sakathian despite her concerns.

She still assumes the stronger crew members will move the dead body of Porr's unfortunate wife. Meanwhile, as Delaney is busy with the transporter test, Kylah takes the strange little gadget and moves to Jovan, wondering what the woman must think of them after the last five minutes. "I am sorry for that," she says softly, hoping Jovan's judgment of the "off-worlders" will be tempered by the fact that none of the other officers agreed with their mission commander's ghoulish suggestion. "May I ask, do you know what this electronic device is for?"

T'Var grabs Porr's wife by the shoulders. "Mr. Pourtash, please assist me," she says. "Mr. Rangin, if you would open the door for us."