Star Trek: Starbase 777 - outpost-second-floor

It was your typical Federation facility - a bit on the older side, given the two decades it has existed for, but after what the away team has witnessed before, this place was... downright cozy, the impression helped by the tables and beds and pillows with blankets that the outpost scientists have dragged here for makeshift rooms and stations. Kove brought them to a designated living room, where they were met with stares from around a dozen different people, all still sporting the uniforms, in the middle of a supper. The lights were on once again.

A Trill woman stood up from her seat, noticing Kove and the away team coming in. Hazel eyes gave them a hard, evaluating look, before she addressed the Betazoid: "Well, I take it back. The distress signal did work."

"Sunhead knows they're here," they said in response, causing the Trill officer to frown again. "And... I don't think they've seen Commander Amunn-Ho."

"What does your Commander look like? Do you know what happened to them..?" Ridges furrowed under their visor as Iviaan turned their focus towards the voices. "We'll be happy to help in any way that we can." Even if their head was still throbbing..

"We were dispatched from Starbase 777 to see what caused the distress call and help however we could." Aoife said as she walked upstairs with the away team.

"She is an Aurelian," the Betazoid explained, looking at Iviaan. "We actually... have a few of her feathers left, before she..."

"Was dragged into a temporal breach by that walking eldritch lamphead," the Trill, not one to mince words, curtly finished. "Which makes me think that she is dead."

"I've told you, I've heard her in the forest!" the scientist frowned at the security officer, "And no, it wasn't a temporal distortion! That was her! She is somewhere out there..."

“What can you tell us about the circumstances? What happened before she went missing?” Suun’s brow furrowed, trying to recall if she’d seen any sign of an Aurelian as they had travelled. Maybe the woods were a better choice of path, in the long run.

"It happened in one of the laboratories," Kove began to explain. "I won't get into too much details, but basically, we were studying a contained temporal anomaly. It was spearheaded by another of our Commanders, who we, unfortunately, have lost in the accident that followed. The experiment was going as planned, we were tracking the status and the numbers... Amunn-Ho then came in, demanding it all to be shut down, and as soon as she strode closer to switch it off, there was a bright flash of light. Most of us took cover, and I managed to see the glimpse of her and that... thing."

"The explosion shook the building, and after about an hour we've managed to establish the forcefield dome. Before that, we had to restart the whole facility's energy supply," she added bitterly. "After that, we've sent out the signal. A few days later... here you are."

While they talked, a few medical officers came over to take a look at the injured party - even checking on Iviaan, who was awake. Likely as a precaution.

“So there’s a plausible chance that she survived, if some of ours lived through an encounter with it.” She said, voice dipping in volume, “Have there been any other incidents or creatures, aside from the river and… whatever it was we just faced?”

"I've tried to find wildlife, but to no avail," they shook their head. "I swear I hear birds and local herbivores, but when I look, they are never there."

"There are people outside," one of the men in the corner piped up, his leg in a cast, voice haunted. "Not always, just... sometimes. Out of the corner of your eye. Or just... things that don't exist no more, passing through. Those are... harmless, though."

“In the realm of hallucinations? Or are they able to be picked up on scans?” She questioned, even more confused than before she’d begun asking questions. “…Either way, I’m happy to see other officers alive and well in the outpost, I was somewhat convinced it would be a ghost town.”

”We thought we would be bringing back a bunch of dead bodies.” Very sensitive thing to say Marze, 10/10. “Good to know it’s not the case.”

1

Oh— "Thank you," he said to the medical officers, offering a weary smile. So brain soup wasn't an uncommon occurrence here.. made sense, given the nature of the thing they were trapped with. "It sounds like something to do with the temporal anomaly, to me. Like a memory that's been trapped in physical space."

"The former are... hallucinations in their nature, at least we think so. The latter ones he mentioned are sometimes material, and can be seen by groups of people," Kiaso responded to Suun. "We've had a hunting party pass through, seemingly unbothered by the change. As if going through a wormhole, accidentally popping out of their time, and then just as quickly returning back to it."

"We had only one casualty. Amunn-Ho's status is unknown. Would it be... too much to ask if you could... help us find her? She doesn't have a family to report to, but she's been an amazing Commander for as long as this outpost exists. It doesn't feel right to just leave."

"Of course," Iviaan said all too quickly, antennae standing straight up. He glanced over to his fellow senior officer for approval. "We won't leave anyone behind if we can help it."

“Absolutely.” She agreed with Iviaan, “Our mission is to keep everyone safe and accounted for, and we’ll do our best to find your commander.”

"Kove, please keep in mind that she might be dead," Kiaso noted curtly, yet it was obvious that something... pained, laid under that hardened glare. "That this might be futile."

"And if she is, it is not your fault, or mine," the young Betazoid replied defiantly, yet kindly. "But this is the least we can do for her, even if it is scary."

“Do you recall where she was last spotted? We may get a better start if we know where to look.” She asked, folding her hands behind her back.

"Well..." they wringed their palms together, eyebrows furrowed. "I was in the forest behind this facility, trying to gather some samples of the affected vegetation. It was getting dark, and as soon as I began walking, I heard her shouting me to go back, that I was taking the wrong path. Which is something that I've never heard her say to me before, so... I believed her. I panicked, and I booked it back, and I did indeed return back to the facility. I was so stupid for it, I should've tried to locate her..."

“You did what you felt was right.” She nodded, understanding the guilt that may have come with that experience, “And that’s the first place we’ll check. When was this, that you heard her?”

The Betazoid looked at the clock and a makeshift calendar, both attached to the wall by the door: "... Around 38 hours ago. We keep checking the time manually, in case temporal anomalies affect our perception."

“Not too long, then. She may still be there.” She replied, turning to Iviaan, “How do you suppose we search? Groups may be more dangerous, but maybe more efficient.”

Seht peered over at Commander Zalan. He decided to speak up. "Is there a task for the computer experts? Anything of use on the outpost's system?"

T'She thought for a moment, trying to think of something that they could add to the plan, "Is there any way to track this Sunhead Character? That way we might be able to move without... worrying... too much." They mused, thinking out loud.

“You mentioned an explosion. Do you know what exactly it was the exploded?” Klaa asked. Now locking it to her engineering mode. “I tried to take a look at what kind of technology you have implemented here before arriving. If anything needs fixing I can also help you guys.”

"And if you all ask your questions at the same time, they'll get answered faster," Iki said sarcastically from somewhere at the back of the group, voice low so as not to disturb things too much. They were wondering about the Sunhead creature the most, it seemed the most dangerous variable by far, but frankly, adding more chatter would just be more confusing.

"Uhm... Just curious" Paco raised his hand slightly as he chimed in. "When you encountered the sunhead, was it just the singular sunhead, or were there multiple of them?" that felt like an important question. The more evidence that there was just the one Sunhead, probably the better

” I was just trying to be helpful” Klaa huffed quietly at Iki.

"It was the consoles and the small holding cell for the anomaly," Kove responded to Klaa. "From what we've gathered, something overheated the systems, made the consoles burst, and that resulted in the cell breaking and breaching." As for Paco's question... "We have seen only one," was the reply. "It doesn't linger for long by our outpost, but there are no reasons for us to believe that there are multiple ones."

She had been quiet, paying attention to all the information being given. At Iki’s remark, she tried to contain it, really tried, but there was laughter in the form of a “huff” that left her mouth.

“Okay.” They breathed, “We need to organize, here. Our main goals are tracking down the missing commander and learning more about the Sunhead creature, yes? Anything else?”

The medical officer, in the meantime, left Iviaan alone, seemingly satisfied with his condition. The other two helped Saren sit upwards on the makeshift cot that he was placed on, not too long ago.

4

"There are security consoles on this same floor," Kiaso offered, looking at Suun and Seht. "It's what we used to set up the forcefield, for example. Maybe that can help?"

“That could be useful. Seht, do you think you could work with some others to find a way to track the creatures, or get any information on them?” She turned to the Lieutenant.

Seht stood erect, with a hand brought to his forehead in salute. "Yes, Commander! On it!" He moved to follow Kiaso when ready.

“I can also assist in repairing the consoles and the holding cell.” Silver offered, having been just standing and listening to the unfolding plan after leaving Saren to the medical staff.

"Aside from, bright blinding light... did the Sunhead radiate any heat?" Paco asked out of curiosity, for everyone. "Maybe that could give us something to start in pinning down where the Sunhead creature is... 'cause... Sun-head.. and the Sun is... hot... and bright..."

"Do weapons fire have and effect on it or is the sun head resistant to phasers?" Aoife asked after Paco, ever the proponent of 'shoot first, shoot later and shoot some more.'

"It did," came a weak response to Paco's question, as Saren held up a wet, cool cloth to his head, kindly offered by the medics. "Don't try to look at it also, I... couldn't comprehend it. Ugh... I swear I heard the sound of hoofbeats... where are we?"

"I chucked a grenade at it. Bad idea," came the response. "Got knocked out for my troubles, also. I have to say... after a few encounters, I've seen Sunhead... freeze up, when it spotted us. We managed to retreat as it did so, without any troubles. I can't wrap my mind around that behavior."

“You said that the Sunhead guy dragged your Commander off. I’m assuming alive? If so would you be able to pick up their life signs using primer sweep with the sensors? Would Sunhead show up too?” Klaa asked. Mumbling the last sentence a bit.

”Does the outpost keep recurrent data collection from the outside?” Marze asked. “If the sensors are online and we manage to access them, we might try analyzing the area we last saw the creature for past alterations. If heat doesn’t work… maybe we find some other kind of signal that might tell us where it is.”

"I can professionally recommend against trying to communicate telepathically, either," the TTS rang out exasperatedly. They reached up to rub their temples, steering closer to Saren and lowering the volume before typing again. "We made it to the outpost in one piece. I'm glad you're okay," (edited)

Finally, someone with some fucking sense. "I can help out with the sensors," Iki added to the conversation. "Just show me where they are, I'll work my magic."

"If we scanned the thing... hopefully we scanned the thing... that data from our tricorders could also be used in finding characteristics of the Sunhead that could be tracked via sensors" Paco also suggested

Seht poked at his fur. Well, it'd be experimental, and not a guarantee but maybe if we can track it we can find SOME means of subduing it. Or we could use some resource to find out something about it's like- biology, or something." He was a computer nerd, not a general sciences nerd.

At the sound of Saren’s voice, she exhaled, thankful that everyone was conscious once again. The more minds, the better, for this. “We still need to search for Commander Amunn-Ho, as well. That requires a portion of us who are willing to head into the woods. If anyone will go with me, I can lead a group out there.”

"And here I was all ready for some high explosive fun." Aoife replied to Kaiso feigning sadness. The sun head retreating on sight was interesting though, a learned behaviour perhaps.

She seemed to ponder the questions, before nodding: "We have the sensor systems online, yes. If that thing is trackable, then they ought to have something in the archived datasets. Those who wish to see it, follow me." With that, Kiaso would lead the curious ones to the #outpost-security-room.

"Lieutenant, are you... okay?" he asked Iviaan, who, last time Saren saw him, keeled over with no prior warning.

"Would it be wise to separate? Strength in numbers and all that," the Betazoid asked, evidently unsure. "On the other hand, multitasking is always a good idea..."

“I don’t believe it is, but… I’d rather keep our options open, yes.” She admitted, “If they can track down the Sunhead, it will be a good start.” She paused for a moment, before asking, “Is it possible your commander could have gotten through the force field?”

"I... don't think so, no. The thing can keep temporal shenaginans in check, I doubt an Aurelian woman poses any threat to it, unless a bypass of some sort is used. But if we had any way to do so, we would've gotten out of this place ourselves," Kove replied. "How did you guys get in? A shuttle, or something like that?"

"I'm well as I can be," he answered honestly, smiling in an attempt to project some warmth. "You saw it. That's worse, isn't it? Can you still.." Based on the fact that these people called it Sunhead, can you still see at all? went unsaid, but Iviaan tilted his head a little, turning it up towards the others. "I don't know about splitting up, myself," he admitted sheepishly, "I trust that everything will go well regardless. And yes, we went through with a shuttle."

“We modified our shuttle’s shields to penetrate the field without issue.” She replied, “Are there any bypasses that are common knowledge? Perhaps she managed to get outside of its radius, and away from the Sunhead.”

"I see, makes sense," they nodded. "Ironically enough, those bypass codes were designed by Amunn-Ho, around a decade ago as this forcefield was designed and implemented into the outpost... But without anything to use it on, I'm afraid she couldn't just... leave. I... also think that, if she somehow found her way out, she would try to let us know, or help us. Commander was just... the type to do that." The scientist bit their lip, trying to be helpful while also feeling a great sense of sadness for the unknown faith of their colleague.

"I can," was the short reply, as Saren briefly closed his eyes. "The more I try to make sense of that moment, the more my head begins to hurt. But... I swear it had a god damn sun for it's head, with a hole in it. Something... wispy, covering the body. Like dun, or something...."

“Mm. I see.” She looked down in thought, knowing that the crew’s knowledge of their commander was better than hers, yet the possibility of her escape was still there, “So it’s likely she’s still here, or…” She didn’t feel like naming the alternative.

Iviaan gave Saren's shoulder a small, reassuring squeeze. "It narrows down our search," he tried. They had to look on the bright side. No pun intended. "We'll find her." One way or another.

"I am... unsure of my usefulness, from now on. My tricorder is gone, and my brain feels more like a raw bruise," Saren replied to the medical officer, somewhat shameful of his predicament.

"It's alright." Iviaan chewed on his bottom lip, trying to find the right words. "I feel the same. You should rest, and we'll do what we're capable of when the time comes, yes?.. Don't be too hard on yourself for glimpsing something incomprehensible and coming out scathed."

He let out a shaky exhale. "I've had worse. Not understanding an alien being is not that horrid." Not understanding the actions of your own family members was infinitely worse. "I just hope that everyone will end up okay, in the end."

4

"You're a good man, Lieutenant. A good officer, too. Don't let anything that happened change your perception of that." He nodded as if to indicate something, then lifted his head towards the chatter of voices "I'll join the others and see what our next move is.." Off he went!

“We are back!” Klaa greeted everyone on her way back into the room. “How’s it going in here?” She asked. Remembering what happened to Saren and Iviaan at the river. It sent a shiver down her spine but she quickly ignored it. (edited)

"I've been better, but I've also been worse," came the reply. "I'll manage, thank you. I was told that you're going to investigate the lab - I am willing to try and lend a hand to at least, ah.. point things out, I guess."

The Trill did a visual headcount, before nodding to herself and leading the group to the #outpost-laboratory-4.