Star Trek: Starbase 777 - promenade-walkway

Tavaen had been visiting some bookstores, since his little book club required him to put some effort into renewing his literary tastes. He was currently sitting down with his hands leaning on his cane, clearly taking a breather, but with a bag of new books, successful and satisfied in his endeavours today.

Having just departed his shop, Elohae had settled to a stop outside of it and was in the process of getting something sorted on his PADD. He'd not remembered to do so before getting out of the shop so had a bag awkwardly balanced on one arm and the PADD in his other hand as he worked. As he did that, Elohae glanced back to Telim and nodded to one of the chairs in Haven Arts. Silently indicated through doing so that he'd be a moment in ensuring everything was sorted out. (edited)

"That's quite a haul, sir," said a voice from behind Tavaen. There stood Saren, dressed in his uniform, smiling at the older man with his arms crossed behind his back. "Building a personal library of sorts?"

"Please, son, I keep asking you to call me Tavaen." He held up his bag, allowing Saren to peruse his selection. "I felt, since we discuss literature so frequently, I have a responsibility to refresh my memory. So a new collection of books would be something of a necessity."

Elohae finished up sorting out what he needed to sort out before he slipped his PADD into his bag. Once he'd proceeded to do that, Elohae signed. "Come on, Telim!" Smiled as Telim started out toward him, ruffled the kid's hair briefly with his now freed hand as he walked with him along the walkway.

Saith went onto the promenade on his break with a mission, and what that mission was had been promptly forgotten as soon as he breached the threshold. He'd been muttering his list under his breath, but all his effort was for nothing when his concentration was briefly broken by steering out of the way with someone with a very large box... Fuck. What was he doing again? (edited)

"I'll get used to it, promise," he bent down slightly, looking at the book spines, the angle hiding the slight smile on his lips from the "son" comment. "This is quite good, actually. And, ooh-- you found the full trilogy? I am quite jealous." He didn't manage to notice Saith yet, but the ensign could probably hear the scientist's voice as he spoke.

Xal, having complete autonomy over their own schedule as a freelance linguist and languages tutor had decided today was going to be an off day. Or at least a half day. They’d woken up early and gone out, taking a walk along the promenade. Xal had lived most of their life in very large cities, so a stroll through the promenade felt closest to a calm morning on the streets of Cardassia, low lights and a bit of coolness before the heat of the sun overtook the air. They were simply strolling, looking around, listening being mindful of all the faces they saw and voices they heard and whether they recognized them or not as they passed by.

Not that it mattered, they were under yellow alert now. Saith looked around, trying to spot a source of upset. Maybe there was a storm incoming? Eh.. OH RIGHT! He was meant to pick something up from.. somewhere! But there were more important things to worry about, probably, one of them being figuring out just what the hell was happening... Hearing a familiar voice, he inched closer to the conversation at hand. "Hey, do you know what's —" oops. Civilian. Quick, be normal and nothing bad is happening. "Oh, uh, hi..! Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt.."

"No worries, young man, you weren't interrupting anything of mortal importance. What can we do for you," Tavaen said, turning from his conversation with Saren to address Saith.

"Nothing, I was just.. station's in yellow alert, so I was wondering if Saren knew what was up," He smiled sheepishly. "It's probably just a storm or something, nothing to worry about. I'm Saith, by the way, Saith tr'Dharvanek. Tactical. Nice to meet you!" :D

"The honour is all mine, Saith tr'Dharvanek," Tavaen said politely, inclining his head in greeting. "I'm sure if things were that serious, we'd have gone to Red Alert a while ago. Let's not panic, if we can help it."

A frown appeared on his face as he heard the yellow alert - he even looked up, as if the vast ceiling of the promenade could give him an answer. "Huh..." he didn't have time to ponder, though. His attention was quickly captured by Saith, to whom Saren offered a welcoming nod: "Hey. I'm... unsure, but for now, let's just keep our cool. Were you going somewhere? You can stay here with us, until the alert goes away."

"Yeah, okay," Saith nodded. He wasn't panicking, he was cool and calm and chill, actually. Ok maybe tiny bit nervous. "What're you, uh, reeaaading..?"

And suddenly, Yellow Alert. To put it bluntly, that was problematic. Xal slipped into the nearest shop, which happened to be a book store, and found a few familiar faces. Jin's nephew, a cadet - no, ensign they'd met at the winter ball months before, and some old man who seemed eerily familiar looking, but whose face Xal had not seen in person, until now at least. "Ah, hello there." Xal said, approaching the group in a few languid strides. "Congratulations on your promotion, Ensign." Xal said simply, smiling at Saith. "Greetings, Lieutenant tr'Lareth. And Jolan Tru," Xal continued to smile, their eyes moving from Saith, to Saren, to Tavaen. "I'm Xal." They raised a hand and waved with a few fingers to the old man.

"They're new books I've bought. We discuss literature frequently, so I decided to start my own collection again, as opposed to borrowing so much from the library," Tavaen greeted Xal with a nod after explaining his books to Saith, when a commotion broke out not too far away from them.

Irok marched across the promenade with sure step, his eyes scanning across the promenade. One of the men behind him collided shoulders with a certain deaf Romulan shopkeep, leading to an altercation that Irok paid no more mind to than a single sideways glance. Their coordination and the scowl on Irok's face that seemed to deepen with every second step seemed to part the crowds for them, until soon enough, the group was visible to the book club, and they only had mere moments left to react before Irok would notice them too.

Having just deposited off the Engineers in their ship's brig, Pelmor and his squad beamed back aboard 777 - this time to help Irok with his task. They appeared just off the Commander's flank, then fit into formation with Pelmor standing next to Irok.

Xal's brows furrowed, their sensistive ears picking up on some peculiar, and familiar, noises outside of the shop. They turne their head toward the door, glancing out into the hallway, looking for the source of the noise. A crew. Decidedly not Starfleet, and by the way they had grouped up Xal could tell something was very, very wrong. "No.." They muttered, their eyes widening as the group got closer, their uniforms coming into focus for Xal's sharp eyes. "We have a serious problem, we need to leave. The starbase has been boarded." Xal said, directed at Saren and Saith. "Contact security." They commanded, their voice firm, and they moved away from the doorway, looking for a place to hide.

Unconsciously, his hand found it's perch on Saith's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. The ensign was far from fragile, Saren knew that for a fact, but... he also knew that support went a long way. Any alert was an unpleasant surprise, even a planned one. ... and, perhaps, he was doing this for his own peace of mind, too. He was a Romulan, after all. And he should've known better than let himself be lulled into this false sense of security, of stability. He should've known better than to believe this dull, brain-numbing illusion of safety, because even when he was surrounded by people he knew, even when he was having a lovely everyday conversation, even when he was living on a Federation starbase, all it took for it to shatter is for him to lift his eyes, and see Death himself. Something clicked in his throat at his pathetic, shuddering attempt at an inhale. Xal's voice and Tavaen's presence was a noise and a color that bounced somewhere in his proximity, for all his senses were now tuned at the approaching danger, all save for his sense of touch, because Saith was there, and oh, gods, Saith. "No," he blurted out, breathless, determined. He might as well be back at his colony, looking for his siblings, but this time he didn't need to search and it was not his sibling, but that did not matter. That did not matter at all. "Saith-- Saith, you need to hide. Please."

Saith struggled to get a good look at what was going on outside, given where he was standing. But there was noise, and there was chaos, and the Ensign surged forward, stopped by Saren's hand on his shoulder. Hide? What— "W- What do you mean, hide? What's going on? I—" He looked up, and Saren looked scared. Like he'd seen a ghost. His voice a haunted, frantic murmur, but, but— "No, I'm not — I'm not hiding, I'm a tactical officer, let me help! I have to do something!"

He was getting closer. He was getting closer. "Ensign, please," it was a whisper, a plea, and now both of Saren's palms were on Saith's shoulders, and the air burned with every inhale he made. Terror clung to him like pine smoke and charred resin, and he was getting closer.* "This is an order. *Hide."

Saith opened his mouth to protest, but it was no use. His expression twisted into a scowl. "Ugh— fucking— fine! Protect the civilians." And off he went, ducking somewhere else to get out of sight.

At this moment, Irok spotted the group: Xal standing facing them, Tavaen sitting on the bench, a child running away, and his kin, his flesh and blood, his unfinished business, staring in terror at who was approaching. A wicked light came to his eyes as he addressed Pelmor. "Family of yours," he stated, not a question but a conclusion. "Detain the Cardassian," he ordered, "I anticipate a conversation long overdue."

These young officers, willing to risk their lives to save people even in the face of absolute failure. Xal knew it was not likely either of them would survive if they tried heroics. Thankfully, the Ensign wised up and moved to hide. Now it was just Xal, Tavaen, and Saren. "Saren, please, we need to go." They reached for Saren as they continued to turn away from the door. They weren't close enough that Xal would normally grab him or touch him, generally respecting his space but...this was life or death.

Pelmor nodded deeply. "Yes, erei'Riov." Pelmor raised his rifle at Xal and fired a concussive shot, hitting him square in the upper abdomen. The younger Khellian walked over and tied the Cardassian's wrists, before marking him for beamout. And yet, Pelmor kept on glacing at Tavaen, as if he couldn't look away - or as if his brain was actually trying to confirm if he was there? Would he be proud? Pelmor desperately hope so. Out of everyone in the galaxy, Tavaen was the one man who could validate Pelmor.

Tavaen, too, stood up at the sight of the approaching Tal Shiar officers, in hopes of talking sense into them, allowing Saren a chance to escape. Upon seeing Pelmor, his face and shoulders dropped, and he started leaning heavily on his cane, an unexplainable grief coming over him he only barely managed to keep from showing on his face. "Pelmor, why... why are you here?"

Irok, meanwhile, clapped once menacingly, smiling not with his mouth, but despicable mirth showing in his eyes regardless. "A double family reunion," he said, curling his finger as if motioning for Saren to step forwards, "such a joyous occasion."

They were too late. Xal's body seized when hit with the phaser blast and crumpled to the floor. (edited)

The shot rang out and Saren felt it rattle his bones and heart, Xal's fall an occasion both too fast and too slow for him to follow. There was... only Tavaen left. "Don't hurt them," he uttered out, wide green meeting narrow grey. Saren tried to be brave, tried to stand his ground, but all he could think about is a running kid and the phantom sensation of a knife scraping against his ribs. "You have no reason to. Don't hurt them."

"Don't I? I don't think you know who you're talking to." Irok shot a disdainful glance at Xal's limp body on the ground, deciding at once not to foul any words on him. "Tavaen i-I'Ramnau tr'Khellian served a hundred loyal years with the Romulan Star Navy, eighty of which were with the Tal Shiar. As someone of his stature should, of course; befitting, certainly, of a Khellian." He looked at Pelmor, motioning him to come over, closer to him so he could clasp a hand on his shoulder. "And you know what he did?"

"Irok, don't," Tavaen only said, stepping in front of Saren once more, doing the only thing he could to shield him.

The man™ had been disassociating this entire time, being forcefully knocked out of it when Irok placed his hand on Pelmor's shoulder. He just... he couldn't take his eyes off of Tavaen. "Hu- huh? Oh, no sir... I don't"

"He deserted." Irok unholstered his disruptor once more, changing the setting with one hand before placing the end of the barrel almost gently against Pelmor's chest. "We thought he was dead for most of that, of course, and I certainly didn't hesitate to take it out on his son when we met, later. We lost a lot of valuable colleagues that day, including Tavaen tr'Khellian. So imagine my surprise, when that same son turns up, father in tow, to a hospital on Mol'Rihan, appearing from what must have been dust and air, and nothing more." He patted Pelmor on the shoulder, as if to soften the blow of the news. "One shot will kill. Step aside, Khellian, and let my grandson choose to save two lives today, in exchange for his own freedom. Because I will shoot your son. He means much less to me than he does to you." Irok was talking to Tavaen, but was looking right past him, staring at Saren intently with every disgusting word he spoke.

Something inside Pelmor broke. So much time, so much loss. And it started because his father was a deserter - a traitor. Pelmor would have collapsed to the ground if it wasn't for Irok's disruptor keeping him upright. He felt the emotion catch in his throat. His words were but a whisper, just audible enough for people to catch them. "Everything I did... I did in your name."

It took a lot of willpower for Saren not to yell at Tavaen to not move there, to stay back, that man had no issues with hurting a child or an old man-- but, no. He froze up when he heard his elder talk. Froze up with the realization that the Khellian and the Lareth knew each other, and if the latter spoke the truth... then what happened between Tavaen and his uncle in the bar suddenly obtained context. His eyes glued themselves to the disruptor on the younger agent's chest, the implications of "take it out on his son" weighing down his soul like a rock tied to his sinking feet-- "I will go with you," he even moved, everything to convince this man. Saren's own gaze was outright pleading. "I will go with you this time, I promise..."

Tavaen could only stand there, caught between a rock and a hard place, unable to choose between saving the life of Saren, or his son.

"Approach, Saren. Let me see how serious you are about wanting to save their lives. How good you are." Irok was unimpressed with Saren's pleas, his limited movement towards his grandfather. He switched his hands around, now having a hand free to beckon Saren with, trusting that Pelmor would stay in place.

He didn't dare to look at Tavaen as he took a step after step closer to the man that crashed and burned and tore his life apart 12 years ago. All he could do is school his expression, hold his head high, and approach the same hand that maimed him. One that maimed so many others. "Here I am," he uttered, looking up at Irok. He was so close, in fact, that the older Romulan would need barely any effort to just grab him.

And grab him, Irok did, holding Saren by the chin first to look into his eyes, as if to confirm what he was seeing, that this was the boy he'd intended with his whole heart to kill. Well, he wouldn't make the same mistake again. "You made the correct choice, Saren." Then, with a sigh, he looked over Tavaen and Pelmor, equally petrified in terror and grief, and decided he wasn't feeling benevolent. In a motion so fluid it looked almost practiced, he fired the disruptor, and, ignoring everyone's cries of outrage, stepped over Pelmor's body to reach the badge that Pelmor had planted on Xal, using the moment of shock to place it on Saren's chest instead. "Two for transport," he said into his communicator, with a finality that brought stillness back to the promenade, though not peace.

Tavaen had to stand there, over his son's body, only moving once the shock left him. He felt for a pulse, first for Xal, then for Pelmor, feeling at once relieved and like he was going to cry, before righting himself, taking a deep breath, and remembering his training, the way he'd lived a century before. He needed to find Rojin. (edited)

This first day on the job was a trial by fire. That was what T'Lira had told herself once the yellow alert had engaged. At first, she had been on her way to the medical bay after having completed the last steps for clearance. Now, she was moving through the station in search of both information and ways to make herself useful. She found her first opportunity as she stepped through the promenade. Something pinched inside of her faintly, the feeling growing deeper as she kept going forward until it dissipated on its own. And then she saw them. Three people, two of them lying on the floor and one of them standing, unmoving. The Vulcan swept the area of her gaze before quickly covering the distance between her and the small group. "Sir," she said to announce her presence, since she was arriving from behind them. "Do you need assistance?" She prioritized the people lying down. The first one she reached was unresponsive, but breathing. The other one was obviously injured. She bent down to check their pulse. Gone. No breathing. No bleeding. Dead, very recently. She didn't look up when she asked, faintly but loud enough to be heard by the man standing: "What happened?" T'Lira turned back to the other unconscious civilian and noticed the restraints around their wrists. She carefully slipped her fingers around the mechanism and pulled, eventually breaking them with a small grunt. She made sure that the civilian was stable and uninjured, adjusted their position to gently move them to their side.

The shocked quiet dispelled to frantic murmurs, and Saith had peered cautiously out of the bookstore. Saren was gone. There was a corpse at the old man's feet. The other one— the one with a look in his eyes that, even from afar, sent a chill down Saith's spine— he was gone, too. And there was a medic on the scene now... Foolish. He didn't care if he was written up for insubordination, he never should have heeded the order. There was no time for cowardice. Spotting a little boy alone on the promenade (he'd seen him chattering with someone else, hadn't he? he'd passed them on his way in..) he'd knelt down by his side, trying to calm the panic that gripped him so tightly. He heard everything. Of course he did. But there were civilians around, and he had to maintain some sense of order, even if the foundations holding him together were starting to crumble.

Vara'l charged out onto the promenade as he clutched his PADD in one hand and clutched hand phaser in the other. As he raced along and informed any officer he encountered of the situation and ordered them to report to their red alert stations after they armed themselves with a side arm. Just in case the Tal Shiar happened to still be here anywhere or decided to come back and grab more people. As he moved, he also occasionally checked his PADD and followed the information that the PADD provided about his sons location. Followed it until he spotted Telim and someone with them. Spotted them and called. "Telim!" Called for them as his brisk walk turned into a sprint over as he raced toward them and the one who happened to be beside them. "Oh elements, Telim!"

"Here, Commander —" Saith waved him over to the two of them. "He's safe, unharmed, don't worry. I — there—" He exhaled, glancing down at Telim, then back up, lowering his voice to an urgent whisper. "They got Saren. Sir. And I'm not sure how many others. I — If you tell me where to go, I can make sure Telim gets somewhere safe, but we have to do something, don't we? We can't just stand by and let them take them, I...! " Funny how it was being face-to-face with his senior officer that made him start to crumble. His shoulders shook when he took a breath in, out, fingers curling in his uniform. Stay focused, stay focused, don't cry..

Tavaen looked at the young Vulcan medic, coming to the same conclusion he had except moments after him. "An attack," he stated monotonely, his nerved replaced with steel thread. "Young lady, take care of this patient, and perhaps close the young man's eyes. I'll be back. I have to go find someone." The patient being Xal, the young man... well. Tavaen made his way to leave, he needed to go to hlleistau.

Vara'l skidded to a halt and immediately dropped to his knees as he pressed a grounding hand onto Telims should. Looked down at them as he stated. "Telim, Telim, focus on my voice I'm here you're here you're not anywhere else." Glanced to the Ensign then back to Telim as he added. "This isn't the colony, we're away from there now." As he reached down and gently pulled Telim up and into a one-handed hug after he placed his PADD into its holster. Did so then looked to the Ensign. "His babysitter's been taken also, he was meant to be with him and wouldn't leave Telims side unless he was." Vara'l swallowed as he looked to his son who'd clearly and understandably not reacted to the snatching of another person he cared for by the Tal Shiar at all well. "I think the best place for Telim right now is Medical." Another swallow followed then before he stated. "We're not going to let them take them, Ensign we're going to re-secure the station and get them back." Stated that as grey eyes watched the other and his expression softened with concern before he added. "Station ops personnel are presently freeing themselves but, I'd like to get command hub and engineering confirmed re-secured with personnel guarding them." The Romulan stated then before he looked to his son then, clearly concerned about the station but also deeply concerned for Telim. "..He's physically unharmed, but I'm...concerned."

T'Lira, who was adjusting the civilian's arm to be comfortably over her side, stopped moving for a moment. She stayed frozen as a statue, eyes lowered to her patient as the older man was beginning to turn away. Of course, she wasn't shocked at the response. What had taken her off-guard was the glimpse of a feeling she couldn't even begin to parse, completely foreign to her―therefore it had to be coming from him. And that was no good. She looked at the corpse and carefully closed the deceased's eyes. Then she got up on her feet. "Sir, please wait." She covered the distance that was beginning to be created between them in three strides. She didn't have access to her equipment just yet, so she didn't have a tricorder, but she could do without. "I need to make sure you're in good condition." If that glimpse of a feeling was right, it was a wonder this man wasn't in shock. This fact was not something she was willing to mess around with. (edited)

Tavaen only barely paused in his step to address T'Lira again. "I am fine, miss. Please allow me to go; civilians should get out of public areas during a red alert, anyway, and I really have someone I need to speak to. You have a patient to attend here, too." Urgency and panic had no place in Tavaen's voice, but his tone was insistent, more pushy than he would normally dare be with someone, let alone a Medical officer.

"Right, right, of course," Saith nodded sharply, as if trying to convince himself it was the case. "Re-secure the station, get them back, yeah..." Bring back corpses, nagged the nasty little voice in his brain, but he forced himself to appear calm and collected if he'd be stuck to such a task as important as guiding Telim to medical. "Um.. Whatever gets them home faster, sir. I don't know if we can afford to wait around for help, " with that, he gently gestured for Telim to follow him, and his whole nervous demeanour shifted into something softer. " Let's take you down to Medical, okay? Your dad's gonna make sure your babysitter gets home safe 'n sound," he said sweetly as he could, though not making an effort to pretend absolutely nothing was wrong, moreso angling for comfort.

The blackness started to give way to light again as their eyelids started to flutter. Full consciousness was on the horizon. It had been quite some time since Xal had been stunned with a Romulan disruptor. They had not forgotten how painful and disorienting it could be, but nothing really prepares you for it. Their chest was still tight, their abdomen ached, and their lithe body felt heavy and limp. They could feel their muscles tense as someone wrapped their own arm around their shoulders, supporting their body to move what felt like upright. "Ugh," a groan escaped their, now dry, lips. The people around them, an unfamiliar voice they'd never heard coming from immediately next to them, the person holding them probably. And that old man. The Khellian. As their faculties returned to them, though still dazed, panic hit them harder than the phaser blast had. It was as if their body was coming back online after taking a short reboot, but with more pain and more adrenaline. "Saren," They said, their voice quieter than they meant it to be. "Rojin." It was hard to breathe, pain spidering from their abdomen up into their chest. Their breaths were labored and they were struggling to speak, to stand, leaning heavily on the stranger.

"Aye." Vara'l confirmed then as he watched the other with care, holstered his hand phaser as he gently pressed a metal ribbed hand onto the back of Telims head as he supported his son in the hug. "Given who we're facing, swift action in resecuring the station and proceeding with rescue efforts is what I'll be advising." He stated simply then before he added. "I concur with you ensign that we may not be able to wait around for help to arrive." He'd then turned to Telim then as he whispered to them and gently stroked the back of their head in a fatherly attempt to comfort his distraught son. Did so as he looked to the ensign then, looked to them with a look that requested more than ordered as he proceeded to say. "I'll come down there as soon as I can, okay, Telim?" Looked to his son as they looked up at him briefly. "The Ensign here'll take you to medical, make sure you're safe with the medical personnel on station." Felt it as Telims arms about his neck tightened a bit. "Telim, I need to go and help get Elohae back and to deal with this, Elohae's our family and... remember what your mother said, what I promised.." Looked into the eyes of his son as his son murmured and he nodded. "We look after our own, our friends, our family...that's what Cora do, Hara too and-" He kissed Telims forehead then, looked to the Ensign. "I promised your mother I'd keep you safe, like I help keep others safe too, its a promise this also means." He pointed at his Starfleet combadge. "Go with the ensign, I'll come see you and I'll bring Elohae home." Didn't add as he stated that what he knew couldn't be promised, after a Tal Shiar assault, a snatch and grab abduction on a scale like this one had happened to have been. Didn't add that last word. Alive. The promise he couldn't make to the young teen who had lived through life in the Free state before. "I promise, I'll come check on you in medical."

20:54

Promised that as he gently coaxed the young Romulan out of the hug and gently settled them standing onto the floor. Ruffled their hair again before he looked to the ensign. "Thank you, Ensign."

Saith nodded. They could make it. They could do this. He turned, leading Telim along to get to medical.

T'Lira looked at the old man, only just making sure she didn't detect any physical sign of complications. The older man didn't look like he was healthy per se, but he also didn't seem to be needing help immediately. She pressed her lips ever so slightly thinner before giving him a nod. "Very well. But I must ask you report to the medical bay or another medic as soon as―" She was interrupted by her patient's stirring, feeling their muscles tense as they groaned out a few words she had to guess were names. The first one gave her pause, but she dismissed it―surely it was another Saren. She lowered them back to the floor carefully but efficiently. "Greetings," she said calmly while checking their eyes to see if they could actually see her. "I am a doctor. You are in the promenade. Can you tell me if you feel pain anywhere?"

Vara'l nodded once and then turned before he started the journey back toward station ops. As he did so, he tapped his combadge and switched from brisk walked journey back to a rifle pace part walk followed by run followed by a bit of walking routine. Munched up the distance with trained efficiency.

Xal blinked slowly, willing their eyes to focus. They felt their body move again, placed on the ground so they would not fall presumably. The picture of a Vulcanoid woman formed in their vision. Their eyebrows furrowed, eyes squiting in pain and disorientation. "Abdomen. Disruptor blast." They choked out. T'Lira would only need to look down to see where the large shot burned Xal's otherwise pristine, pink pantsuit.

T'Lira checked the wound to make sure there was no bleeding. She continued asking questions to the civilian about their state but also just to make sure they were well-responsive. After a few minutes, she slowly helped them up with support. She had to get them to the medbay―she didn't have any tools to help, and red alert wasn't something to be ignored. With her strength, the journey to medical bay wasn't a problem, as she compensated for her patient the whole way. This was far from ideal, but it got them there, then safely on a biobed.