Star Trek: Starbase 777 - abandoned-hospital-west-wing

It was empty. Why was it empty? Hospitals are not supposed to be so empty. They are not supposed to be so... devoid of life. Abandoned. Dark...

Blink. She didn’t need to, but nevertheless she did. Currently serving as a beacon of low light within the structure, Aria took a sparing glance around the hospital, shedding a bit of blue light within her immediate vicinity from the joints on her hands and her eyes, “Hello..? I am uncertain as to what has occurred.”

One blink two blinks. She woke up very dazed and confused and she had a ringing headache "Well this isn't good..." She spoke as she checked her pulse.

Instead of the hospital, or even the medbay, Aria saw... a wall of fog. Milky white, heavy fog, obstructing any and all attempt to see further than the distance between her eyes and her extended outwards arm. Voices could be heard in the distance, confused and scared, but the artificial lifeform would have to navigate blindly, if she wanted to reach someone.

Once she was done taking her pulse she knew she was alive but she was so confused "Hello!" She shouts

There’s a whirring of servos within Aria’s eyes as she tried to adjust them to the sight, thinking for a moment that she was just blurry-eyed (which was worrying in its own right). However, it became clear that there was…some kind of fog. Gently, she began to move toward where she had heard Areinnye’s voice. Or, at least she attempted to. She was a lighthouse now, “Acknowledged! If you could please remain still, I will be with you shortly,” And hopefully not run headfirst into a wall…

"Understood!" She shouted back and she waited but she felt like she was being watched.

Stumbling through the fog, the android does her best to navigate, thanking her lucky stars (and her creator) that she had some lights built into her. How useful those would be with this fog, however, had yet to be fully determined…speaking of determined, “Do you require respiration?”

17:17

A pause, “You do not breathe?” Since when was there another android in medical?

"Sorry I have a bit of headache I think i might have a slight concussion." She replied with a smile

Their commbadges stayed quiet despite the outside call, leaving the trapped wanderers blissfully unaware of it.

“Please do your best to find PPE. Do not breathe in this fog,” Somebody’s gotta help her. Eventually, she found her way to Areinnye, shedding just a bit of light, “I will aid you in this search.”

She nodded and tied her scarf around her mouth and nose "Where should we go?" She asked before facepalming "Sorry I am Areinnye pleasure to meet you." she introduced herself

“Aria. If we are still within the medical hub, there should be PPE stored here. It is a matter of finding it,” She took another look through the dense fog, “…which will…likely take a moment.”

She nodded in agreement

With Areinnye in tow, the android made her way over to a wall and began to run her hand across it, trying to find the storage closet. She could equip Areinnye with PPE, and then from there grab extras and make her way out. So, so glad she doesn’t have to breathe… (edited)

Did the darkness just shift in the corner of Areinnye's eyes?..

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2

She blinked a moment she swore she saw something but she may have been getting more and more paranoid "Did you see that?" She asked (edited)

Aria turned back toward the Romulan, tilting her head. The android was a strange sight in the fog, with the lights across her body, “Apologies? I have not seen anything of interest thus far, negative.”

"I swear I saw something.." She thought as she kept walking. God she wished she had her plasma rifle...

The android paused in her movements, turning back fully to Areinnye and looking around the fog. Was she hallucinating? “Movement out of the corner of your eyes?” *Uh oh. Uh oh.*

Something shifted behind Aria's back. Like ink, running down a piece of paper.

The android spun around immediately, servos letting out a whine with the speed at which she does it. These are the times when she wishes that her creator had followed through with installing defibrillators in her palms, “Hello?”

She felt her body go cold and she was on high alert and now she really wished she had her plasma rifle with her. "We should go." She told the other and her heart was racing. (edited)

“It is important for the further safety of yourself and others that we retrieve PPE, as the breathing of this fog will prove detrimental to your wellbeing,” Aria looked at Areinnye over her shoulder, “We will keep each other safe, but we are first and foremost medical professionals. A yellow alert means we are to report to our station. This is our station.” Somehow, Aria was swallowing her own anxiety. It was best to remain calm if the Romulan was panicked, after all. (edited)

Poor little android. Stuck in a fog, with a panicking colleague, unable to see what the Romulan was, apparently, witnessing. There was, however, a deeply uneasy feeling, seeping into the walls of the corridors and rooms and skin, that even an artificial lifeform could feel. Better move along.

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Aria’s eyelids clicked against one another again as she blinked, doing all she could to focus on the task at hand. This was her job. Even when she was panicking during the parasitic infection, she did her job. She tried her best to shrug off the unease weighing on her shoulders and forge forward. Respirators. All they needed were respirators. She was important to the further safety of others. If the chemical in the air did cause hallucinations, it wasn’t like she was risking breathing it in, “Stay close, Areinnye,” Just a few more paces, she had surmised. Her hand continued to run across the wall, waiting for the feeling of the storage closet. (edited)

"Alright." She replied nervously and she stayed close to Aria. She started humming a soft lullaby which she remembers her mum singing to her (edited)

Cold, thin steel could be felt under Aria's grasp. Familiar. Like a closet's handle? Meanwhile, Areinnye could see something akin to tendrils knit themselves out of the darkness and start reaching out for the both of them.

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5

Thank the stars. The android gently pulls the door to the closet open, peeking within, “Success,” She’s oblivious to what Ariennye was seeing. Blurred blue light shined into the closet as Aria started to search for the respirators. (edited)

The romulan lets out the most deafening scream as she sees the tendrils knitting themselves together and she panics more. "Oh my god!" She screamed.

Aria spun around in a panic, her servos once again whining with the speed at which she made her movements. The blue of her eyes flashed a bit brighter at the sound of the panic, “What? What is it?!” Is there even anything out there?

She is terrified and she tried to speak "Shad...Shadow... Ten..tendrils..." She stammered out and she felt like she was slowly losing her mind

Aria’s eyes flicked back and forth through the fog and the shadows, stood tensely beside Areinnye, “It is alright…we will get respirators, and you will be alright. You have nothing to be afraid of,” Potential hallucinations of this magnitude only called into question the safety of any other fellow officers in danger, if the reactions of the nurse beside her was anything to go off of, “P-Please do your best to remain calm,” Her vocal modulator glitched. No, nonono, not right now.

The tendrils eased back into the darkness, as if startled by the scream. Or, perhaps, satisfied by it. Ghostly blue light slid across the respirators, there and ready to be utilized. A hope at salvation?

There. There there there, thank the stars, thank all of the code that made her brain work. Aria grabbed one of the respirators from the box, holding it out to Areinnye, “I-I will help you put this on if needed. This will help things from getting potentially w-worse,” As soon as the one she had grabbed was out of her hand, she would heft up the whole box. Next order of business was to find if there was anyone else, and bring these to them…as soon as they were out of this hospital. (edited)

She shakes her head as she took the respirator and she. Put it on and she removed her scarf. "Thank you Aria." She replied slightly calmer but on edge.

“I-It is of no concern,” She gave Areinnye a reassuring look, her modulator still glitching slightly. She adjusted the box of respirators so she could hold it with one arm and closed the closet door with her foot. Now came the hard part, “We need t-to make our way out safely. Please d-do not stray too far away,” Onwards and upwards…or outwards, hopefully. She began tracing a hand across the wall once more.

Clean air... like a healing balm, each breath washed the shadows away. Slowly but surely, the real picture bled into the nightmare - the station, lights dimmed, yellow alert still in force. Areinnye would find herself groggy, as if she just woke up from a bad dream. (edited)

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As far as Aria is concerned, this has been reality for quite some time. The golden glow of the yellow alert offset her own ghostly blue as she continued tracing her way across the wall, “The exit out t-to the rest of the station should be close,” If spatial memory served, there was also a turbolift they could take, but she wasn’t about to risk that. (edited)

Careful not to stumble over a fellow officer, out cold on the ground!

GASP! A fellow officer! Aria quickly paused in her stride, and upon setting the box of respirators down, crouched alongside the officer and went to check their pulse. Just unconscious…she hummed, “Attention. Please respond if you can hear me,” She gently shook the officer’s shoulder while supporting their head.

They twitched, a grimace on their face, and whimpered out something incomprehensible. Deep in the nightmare, it seemed.

Hrm. Aria moved her hand away from their shoulder and reached over to the box, “I-I am going to place a respirator on you…” She was mostly saying it for herself at this point. Grabbing one from the box, she placed it on their face and lifted their head to adjust the straps.

She spots the officer and helps Aria sit them up so she could put the respirator on them

There was slight resistance from the sleeping body, but after a few panicked breaths of clean air... they calmed down, their face relaxing.

Perfect. Aria pulled away from the officer and gave Areinnye a nod. She could let go now, too, “P-Please acknowledge?” She asked the hopefully conscious officer.

The human nurse opened their eyes, which immediately started to tear up, and awkwardly rolled to their side, mumbling an awkward, stilted, "Oh thank fuck..."

“H-Hello. I am Aria. You are within the med hub of Starbase 777. The respirator should k-keep any lingering hallucinations from getting worse,” Aria stepped away from the nurse, giving them some space, “Can you tell us what happened?”

"I am Areinnye please do not worry you are safe." She spoke and she kept her distance.

They raised their index finger as if saying "give me a moment", taking a solid minute to just breathe. * "I think something went wrong in the sciences?.." *they replied, unsure. "There was an announcement to evacuate, but then the room got enveloped in this strange fog, and..."

Sciences… “Affirmative. This appears t-to be consistent with the current situation at hand,” She stood, grabbing the box of respirators, “This fog must have leaked f-from sciences…mm…it might be pertinent t-to make our way there. Others may be trapped as a result of this accident.” (edited)

"If we can get to sciences we can fix this disaster." She replied with a smile the ashen haired romulan feeling a lot calmer than earlier but she was on edge still. "We might be able to find people too." (edited)

"Please be careful.." The nurse sounded exhausted, but cautiously hopeful. "Who knows what's out there at this point."

She nodded and she feels around for something hopefully Finding some surgical suture wire or something she could use to make sure Aria and herself didn't get lost.

Nothing of the sort, unfortunately. You'd just have to trust your gut..

"Okay that idea is out the window" She spoke as she looked at Aria.

The android glanced back at Areinnye and offered a small shrug, “We will have to remain c-close together, then,” She returned her hand to the wall and began tracing once more, determined to do something about all of this. Was she putting a lot of this on her shoulders, all by herself? Oh, for sure, but she wasn’t about to admit that. She wasn’t even certain she could recognize that motivation in it of itself at the moment… Regardless, they had to make it out of the medical bay.

"Hold on." She spoke as she pulled out some thread from her pocket and she tied it to her hand. "Just encase we get lost and we can find our way back."

In the fog, the thread was flimsy and sticky, pulling apart in her hands easily as a spiderweb would.

Aria paused to let Areinnye get the thread and nodded. Made sense to her, at least. If they did need to find their way back, they'll have a path. Or, at least, a semblance of one. As far as the android is concerned, that's just a thread, "Understood."

It would not function as a rope. Oopsie!

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Aria continued on her way, her servos clicking and footsteps echoing through the empty med bay. She truly did look like a ghost, with the fog blurring her blue lights and her white skin. How uncanny...

She looked at aria and she was worried "How are you holding up?" She asked

Aria's eyes flicked toward Areinnye as she walked, her positronic brain whirring in thought, "...I-I am well," Her vocal modulator glitched out. She's not hallucinating or panicking, so she's fine, right? It wasn't much of a blatant lie as it was a misunderstanding of how she was feeling in the first place.

Marrok had run till it felt like his feet were beginning to bruise, he regretted leaving Four so so much but what choice did he have run or get impaled by that thing himself. He felt very much like he was losing all his sanity, God he'd need a long vacation after all of this. His thoughts came to an abrupt stop as he accidentally tripped over something and fell. "Ough."

Aria perked up from where she stood upon hearing the sound of rapid footsteps, pausing in her step and turning to where the noise had come from, before being met with a clatter and an ‘Ough,’ “A-Attention! Please acknowledge!”

Marrok also perked up from hearing a voice, he was cautious at first but the voice sounded almost as terrified as himself. He stood up and brushed off his uniform heading to where he had heard the voice. "Lieutenant Commander McGuire." He said with a frightened voice putting his hands up as he approached, his stab wound in the temples from S'harien was probably still visible.

To Aria, the man appeared to be fine - if a little bit roughed up from all the running around.

Aria shifted how she was holding the box of respirators as Marrok closed the distance between the two of them, offering a nod when he was in (blurry) eyesight, “Lieutenant Commander M-McGuire. I apologize we are m-meeting again under these circumstances,” She grabbed a respirator from her box and held it out to him, “Are there any others you have s-seen?”

"I am Areinnye. Thank the stars we found someone else." She spoke with relief in her voice

"Indeed.. Good to meet you both." Marrok muttered as he looked around the room frantically like he was paranoid, maybe he was but he had good reasons to when he thought he saw nothing he tried to take a deep breath, he nodded slightly to the question. Marrok took the respirator and put it on, right do not breath in the fog. "Well.. there was a whole bunch of us in the beginning but then there was this man S'harien, he stabbed Lieutenant Commander Vovvi then Four and me, look! A-and Four is not to far away he was impaled by this thing with wires, wires everywhere." He said as frantically as he had looked around but he was also deeply afraid, he pointed to where he had been stabbed, the temples but there was nothing there.

The android tilted her head in confusion, as to her, Marrok appeared completely fine, though the comment about Four and Vovvi being stabbed certainly worried her nevertheless, “Is the Lieutenant Commander okay? Wh-Where can we find Four?” Her modulator very obviously glitched badly, her worry for Four, a proper patient and potential friend, bleeding through.

"Not to far from here I believe but I would really not recommend it that thing- Whatever it is.. is probably still lurking there." He said in a panic, he really didn't want to go back there again in fear of getting impaled himself but another part of him knew he had to since he couldn't leave Four like that.

“Th-That thing is not real, Lieutenant Commander,” She replied very steadily, despite the glitching in her voice, “However, Four is s-still in danger. If you are able to, please lead us back the way you came. The respirator will k-keep you safe.” (edited)

"Yes I know it's supposed to be a hallucination but I don't think so." He sighed, it must be some alien entity it couldn't be a hallucination it was all to real, he paused slightly shook his head trying to tell himself it was just some sort of hallucination like Four had said. "Yes, of course.. I'll lead the way whenever you are ready" Marrok finally said breaking the silence.

"Lets go." She spoke with determination

Aria gave Areinnye and Marrok a nod, placing the box of respirators under her arm. If she could, she’d take a deep breath to steel herself. Lucky for her, given the circumstances, she didn’t have to breathe a wit, “L-Lead the way, Lieutenant Commander.”

Marrok swallowed hard gathering all the courage he could, he nodded as he tried again and again to tell himself this was all just some messed up mass hallucination. "Follow me." He said quietly but loud enough to hear as he began to walk in a quick pace.

Hold tight, Four. She isn’t programmed for malpractice, but there’s a part of her that thinks that if she has to put a respirator on the xB, she will.

The fog was vented out, safely lifting off of the affected decks. There would still be some time before those hallucinating recovered their full mental bandwidth, but they were safe at last.