Athena Mission 2.8: Skin Scratchers

[Katheryn Brighton]

[Deck Ten]

"According to my readings, that's exactly what I think. It would explain the creature's behavior." She continued to take scans of the creatures as she spoke. Naira suspected that the research facility that they were to transport these beings to would make great use of her findings. "Now that we have these creatures contained, we'll want to check in with science to see if they've had any luck in coming up with a way to contain the bugs so that we can get some engineers and ops people down here to remove the plant particulates from the Computer Core."

The room was still crawling with hundreds of tiny flying insects and eight-legged creatures, but now that the largest of their alien invaders was contained safely behind a force field, their situation didn't seem quite so dire.

[Deck Ten]

Katheryn continued to watch the large alien creature and the way it acted around the large mass near it and as the Commander confirmed that she thought the same thing as her, could understand the creature a little better and remembered reading how all mothers in particular had a natural instinct to protect their young and now she was finally witnessing that for real.

It made her wonder if she would have that same instinct with her own children when that eventually happened but that was something to think about later. " It definitely seems a lot calmer now that the forcefield is up" she remarked as the XO continued her scans before she mentioned checking in with Science to see if they had found a way to contain the bugs so they could get Engineering and Ops down here to clear the Computer Core.

" Agreed Commander and I'm happy to stay down here with a small team to assist with the capture and removal " she said no longer scared of the smaller creatures that continued to scurry around.

[Naira]

[Deck Ten]

Katheryn continued to watch the large alien creature and the way it acted around the large mass near it and as the Commander confirmed that she thought the same thing as her, could understand the creature a little better and remembered reading how all mothers in particular had a natural instinct to protect their young and now she was finally witnessing that for real.

It made her wonder if she would have that same instinct with her own children when that eventually happened but that was something to think about later. " It definitely seems a lot calmer now that the forcefield is up" she remarked as the XO continued her scans before she mentioned checking in with Science to see if they had found a way to contain the bugs so they could get Engineering and Ops down here to clear the Computer Core.

" Agreed Commander and I'm happy to stay down here with a small team to assist with the capture and removal " she said no longer scared of the smaller creatures that continued to scurry around.

[Deck Ten]

Naira finished her scans before answering the lieutenant. "Right, I will leave you and your team to it. I'm going to check in with the rest of the ship to see if anyone else is in need of assistance."

Commander Naira to the Bridge, we have things under control down here in the Computer Core. Has science reported any progress on a way to contain the insects? Are there any other sections of the ship in need of assistance?

[Cargo Bay Two]

Some of the civilians who began to gather in mass in the cargo bay showed signs of having been attacked by the insects. Most of those were minor injuries, a few bites and scratches, but one man had come in doubled over covering a wound on his abdomen. Though the wound had more than doubled in size in the last hour and he knew that he should eventually see a doctor about it, he tried his best to ignore the pain and swelling. There were others with more serious injuries that need the doctors more. He didn't want to be a bother.

However, his skin around the wound suddenly became extremely itchy. He tried to resist the urge, but he couldn't help but to reach up under his shirt and scratch at it. Maybe it was nerves. Maybe it was the stress of the situation. However, he almost could of sworn that he felt something move under his fingers as he tore into his flesh. 

[Susan Venator]

[Deck Ten]

Naira finished her scans before answering the lieutenant. "Right, I will leave you and your team to it. I'm going to check in with the rest of the ship to see if anyone else is in need of assistance."

Commander Naira to the Bridge, we have things under control down here in the Computer Core. Has science reported any progress on a way to contain the insects? Are there any other sections of the ship in need of assistance?

Bridge

Suzie listened tot he call and took a sigh of relief. She then checked the bio-sensors report and saw nothing of relevance.

Bridge to Naira. Received and understood. We have no update from the analysis of the bugs at the moment. Only that none of the usual pest control methods will work. Our guests seem to be immune to them all.

[Katheryn Brighton]

[Deck Ten]

Naira finished her scans before answering the lieutenant. "Right, I will leave you and your team to it. I'm going to check in with the rest of the ship to see if anyone else is in need of assistance."

Commander Naira to the Bridge, we have things under control down here in the Computer Core. Has science reported any progress on a way to contain the insects? Are there any other sections of the ship in need of assistance?

[Deck Ten]

Katheryn had no issue remaining in the Computer Core after all she and her team had first hand experience of the creature now contained within the forcefield and she kind of wanted to see its resolution by capturing the smaller ones and relocating them all back to the containment area so the could claim the computer core back.

" Understood Commander and if you need any help from Security my teams are at your disposal" she replied before the XO contacted the Bridge. When the reply came back it was troubling that they had been unable so far to find a way to capture them and wondered if there was an alternative method they could use.

[Arrun Dihsar]

[ Medical Bay OR 2 ]

Caleb nodded to Arrun. "Main objective is to get ourselves to that Cargo Bay. Wendy, We are going to need you to carry carry two of the beds.  Seeing as we have no turbo lifts, we will have to load them down the tubes. The padding is all we need. Arrun, I am going to be packing two essentials kits with IV's and such. I will need help carrying them. If we can set up something makeshift for now, we can get everyone down there. It'll work till this infestation is done," Caleb said prepping two large bags that looked like gym bags. He also grabbed two back packs and began stuffing them. Wendy began to help as well.

"If I have learned anything from the jungle, it's to over pack just to be safe,"Caleb said. He had Arrun help tie the two small mattress style beds to Wendy. "You lead Arrun," Caleb said. "Now we don't have anyone who is too in need of assistance," As Caleb said this one of the patients screamed in pain. Caleb ran over to see what looked like a large growth on the man. "Sir are you ok?" Caleb asked. When he scanned him, his heart sank. "Sir it seems that these insects may have laid some eggs. I do not see any toxins form the scan. Please stay calm." As he noticed the mass move he saw it was about to burst. He took immediate action and shot it.

"Dear god what are we dealing with?" Wendy said. "Well I haven't seen anything this bad since the pretty boy walked into the clinic back in the jungle with worms under his skin," Caleb said. Once things calmed down he turned to Arrun. "Alright Arrun, you lead the way," Caleb said.  He also looked over to Kyle. "If you want to come along, we could sue an extra set of blaster hands," He said to Kyle.

[medical OR]

Kyle was thankful that he was safe. He was silent for the whole time. To listen, to aide was what he wanted to do. Deep inside he was scared for his life. His eyes in his head was darting about looking for those bugs to come out.

"I-I-i'll bbbe please to help," he said to the good doctor.

[Enroute from Med Bay to Cargo Bay]

Walking around in an EV suit, inside a ship, was not the most comfortable feeling in the galaxy; crawling through Jeffries Tubes in one was incredibly uncomfortable; crawling around under a load, while navigating with tricorder in hand, was an exercise in frustration. However, Arrun had been trained to work in uncomfortable conditions; both as a priest and in Starfleet Academy. As he crawled along, he softly spoke the chronicle of the Emissary; a long epic poem recounting the Sisko's career and life that Arrun's old order required him to memorize. His tale interrupted every so often by calling out directions:

"We have to turn left..."

"...we have to climb up two decks and then forward for about ten minutes before coming back down two decks..."

and so on he would direct Brighton and the others. Recounting the chronicle helped him remain calm, while his intense focus on the Tricorder's readings helped him perform his duty. What seemed a lifetime ago, Arrun remembered being told he should 'whistle while he worked' instead of storytime; but, to this day Arrun always found calm in his training.

He was getting to the part where the Sisko had met the Prophets the second time when they arrived.

"Cargo Bay 2 should be down this passage way. Scans show there are quite a few people already there." He stopped moving and paused as he tapped at his tricorder a bit to check the readings. "I'm not sure if I have these lifeform readings right though, on one life form I keep getting some sort of interference saying there are multiple lifeforms in the same spot." He said mildly confused. "It doesn't look like the growing masses, maybe an insect in there? Doctor, I think you should look at this." He held out his tricorder to the Doctor, not sure if -in their collective haste- if the CMO had had the time to grab one for himself.

[Caleb Brighton]

[medical OR]

Kyle was thankful that he was safe. He was silent for the whole time. To listen, to aide was what he wanted to do. Deep inside he was scared for his life. His eyes in his head was darting about looking for those bugs to come out.

"I-I-i'll bbbe please to help," he said to the good doctor.

[Enroute from Med Bay to Cargo Bay]

Walking around in an EV suit, inside a ship, was not the most comfortable feeling in the galaxy; crawling through Jeffries Tubes in one was incredibly uncomfortable; crawling around under a load, while navigating with tricorder in hand, was an exercise in frustration. However, Arrun had been trained to work in uncomfortable conditions; both as a priest and in Starfleet Academy. As he crawled along, he softly spoke the chronicle of the Emissary; a long epic poem recounting the Sisko's career and life that Arrun's old order required him to memorize. His tale interrupted every so often by calling out directions:

"We have to turn left..."

"...we have to climb up two decks and then forward for about ten minutes before coming back down two decks..."

and so on he would direct Brighton and the others. Recounting the chronicle helped him remain calm, while his intense focus on the Tricorder's readings helped him perform his duty. What seemed a lifetime ago, Arrun remembered being told he should 'whistle while he worked' instead of storytime; but, to this day Arrun always found calm in his training.

He was getting to the part where the Sisko had met the Prophets the second time when they arrived.

"Cargo Bay 2 should be down this passage way. Scans show there are quite a few people already there." He stopped moving and paused as he tapped at his tricorder a bit to check the readings. "I'm not sure if I have these lifeform readings right though, on one life form I keep getting some sort of interference saying there are multiple lifeforms in the same spot." He said mildly confused. "It doesn't look like the growing masses, maybe an insect in there? Doctor, I think you should look at this." He held out his tricorder to the Doctor, not sure if -in their collective haste- if the CMO had had the time to grab one for himself.

[ Enroute from Med Bay to Cargo Bay ]

Caleb looked at his tricorder. He looked over the reading and sure enough it matched Arrun's. Sure enough he matched up. "We could also assume that there are others who fled here as well," Caleb said. As he said this, they kept moving. He trusted his gut as they moved ahead. His suit was getting hot, but he was used to it thanks to the jungle. If anything he preferred it, but he needed to keep his mind focused.

[ Cargo Bay 2 ]

Caleb sighed in relief when he saw familiar faces. He then waved down Leo. "Leo! Can you come help carry these beds in with Wendy?" Caleb asked. While he waited for Leo to come, he looked around to try and find a place to set up shop. He then walked over to where he wanted to set up shop. He motioned the group to come help him set up.

[Ashlynn Ren Morgaine]

[Cargo Bay Two]

Ash smiled as the girls ran off and did her best to remember their names - well, the two whose names she had heard - then headed towards the opposite end of the bay to start working her way through the civilians who had gathered there. Most of them seemed to be relatively unscathed save for a few bumps and bites, but one young woman could hardly see her eyes were so swollen shut. Ash carefully led her over to the side where the girls had started to bring other injured civilians. The youngest was sitting next to a seven-year-old human girl who was sniffling whilst holding an oozing red lump on her arm, and, as Ash walked past, the XO's daughter managed to elicit a shaky laugh from her.

Ash and the girls continued their rounds efficiently over the next few minutes. Only a few civilians were missing, and they were all civilian scientists who were likely working in one of the labs. As time progressed, crew members started arriving as word spread that the cargo bay was still safe. At one point, a group of seven engineers showed up at once, frazzled and shaking spiders off of their uniforms in the corridor before ducking inside. Apparently one of the corridors was overrun on their way back to main engineering. As other officers came in they all told similar stories. It seemed as if the cargo bay was surrounded - completely cut off from the rest of the ship with the corridors filled with aggressive creepy crawlies. Ash felt a little dizzy thinking about it... Or maybe that was her hand. She glanced down at it and winced at the sight of the thin red veining that was slowly radiating from the puncture wounds. Before it had been constrained to her hand, but now the red webbing disappeared up her arm under her sleeve.

At that point the doctor and what seemed to be all of sickbay arrived via Jeffries tubes. Ash breathed a little sigh of relief and waved to the young Orions. "Girls!" Ash called as she jogged over to them, "Doctor Brighton and the rest of sickbay have arrived. Can you help bring the injured to where he's setting up in the back? I've only got a few more people to check on, then I'll join you... You're all doing so beautifully." She offered the three of them a genuine smile as she brushed her wild hair out of her face, then took a moment to add, "When I meet your mother, I'm telling her that the three of you deserve a medal for all of the help you've done. She should be proud of all of you."

Ash darted back off to the far corner, where a few more people were gathered. Everyone insisted they were fine... Except for a man who was leaning against the wall, clutching his abdomen. Ash kneeled down next to him to get a better look and see if she could help, even if just to get him to stand and walk over to the doctors.

[Cargo Bay Two]

Some of the civilians who began to gather in mass in the cargo bay showed signs of having been attacked by the insects. Most of those were minor injuries, a few bites and scratches, but one man had come in doubled over covering a wound on his abdomen. Though the wound had more than doubled in size in the last hour and he knew that he should eventually see a doctor about it, he tried his best to ignore the pain and swelling. There were others with more serious injuries that need the doctors more. He didn't want to be a bother.

However, his skin around the wound suddenly became extremely itchy. He tried to resist the urge, but he couldn't help but to reach up under his shirt and scratch at it. Maybe it was nerves. Maybe it was the stress of the situation. However, he almost could of sworn that he felt something move under his fingers as he tore into his flesh.

"Here, why don't you lie back and let me take a look?" The man started to protest, but Ash insisted, gently pushing his shoulder down. "I've already checked on everyone else. This way I can figure out how urgent it is that I get you to a doctor, or if I can do anything to help you myself..." As Ash spoke, she lifted up the edge of the man's shirt to expose a large inflamed lump over his stomach that was... moving. Oh God. Not good. Definitely not good... Ash felt the color drain from her face a little as her mind made the connections to figure out what was going on. She felt sick. If she didn't do something soon, she'd probably vomit. Or scream. Maybe both.

Instead, she opted to take a deep breath and called out, "Doctor Brighton? I could use your assistance over here!" Her calm facade was pierced through by slightly frantic undertones that she couldn't quite hide. The man on the ground looked panicked at that and struggled to sit up, asking, "What's wrong? What is it? How bad is i-" Ash shook her head at him and tried to gently push him down onto his back again. "It's fine. It's nothing to worry about. The doctor will be here soo..." Ash trailed off as she saw something begin to break through the man's skin as he groaned in pain. All she could make out were bulbous eyes and long legs before she panicked and yanked the man's shirt down again, then clamped her hands on top of the now furiously wiggling lump. The man was now screaming and starting to thrash a little, but Ash's pressure was all that was keeping the bugs from escaping into the cargo bay.

"Doctor!... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just hold on... Doctor!! DOCTOR BRIGHTON!!" Ash was shrieking now, just barely keeping her hands pressed over the violently writhing mass under the shirt. When the doctor arrived, she could only manage a few short words. "Eggs - hatched - help!"

[Arrun Dihsar]

[Cargo Bay Two]

At Ms. Morgaine's calls for help, Arrun quickly set his load down and packed his tricorder into his EV suit's belt before rushing over. What he saw nearly struck him dumb with shock, bet you wish you still had that phaser, Arrun grimaced at the thought and quickly leaned in to help the woman keep whatever unholy horror from escaping. A bright urge burned in him to ball up a fist and strike the lump furiously to stop it from moving; but, Arrun fought the urge and focused on holding the poor man from thrashing.

"Sir, Sir!" he yelled over his screams and looked him in his eyes. "Help is coming! Stay with us! I know it hurts! We have to hold you down!"  On and on he did his best to engage the man and try to assess his focus, let him know that even if he died from this trauma, he was not alone.

Within moments after, Wendy had rushed over as well with nearby crewmen. With the crewmen helping Morgaine keep the creatures in place while Wendy scanned the suffering man before Brighton came over. The eyes of the man darted everywhere, his shouting was deafening as Arrun was so close to the man's face. "We're going to help you!" Arrun shouted, hoping that they could before it was too late if it isn't already.

[James Carter]

[Bridge]

James relaxed back into his chair as he heard the news that the queen had been contained. "Helm, what's our eta to the station?" Carter asked calmly.

"Just under an hour and a half sir. We're moving at full speed." The helmsmen replied in a much more nervous tone than his captain's.

"Noted. Ms. Venator, move all non-essential personnel into quarantined areas and get all available senior officers to the bridge." The captain commanded opening a ship wide channel. Crew of the Athena. This is Captain James Carter. As you've certainly become aware of, the ship has become infested by insects. The queen and origin point of all of them has become contained; however our science crewman have come up with no apparent way to apprehend the insects that now swarm our ship. We're an hour and a half from our destination. Once we've arrived we will be evacuating the ship and fumigating it, until then we're just going to have to deal with the situation as it is.

[Susan Venator]

[Bridge]

James relaxed back into his chair as he heard the news that the queen had been contained. "Helm, what's our eta to the station?" Carter asked calmly.

"Just under an hour and a half sir. We're moving at full speed." The helmsmen replied in a much more nervous tone than his captain's.

"Noted. Ms. Venator, move all non-essential personnel into quarantined areas and get all available senior officers to the bridge." The captain commanded opening a ship wide channel. Crew of the Athena. This is Captain James Carter. As you've certainly become aware of, the ship has become infested by insects. The queen and origin point of all of them has become contained; however our science crewman have come up with no apparent way to apprehend the insects that now swarm our ship. We're an hour and a half from our destination. Once we've arrived we will be evacuating the ship and fumigating it, until then we're just going to have to deal with the situation as it is.

Bridge

Suzie nodded.

"Aye Captain." She replied as she began to power up the emergency transport system.

Bridge to all hands. All senior officers, please report to the Bridge. If you require transport please advise. All other personnel not on duty she prepare for transport to a quarantined area.

Suzie closed the channel and immediately began transporting all those personnel designated as non-essential to the two shuttle bays and the remaining cargo bay. She then waited for any requests for transport.

[Katheryn Brighton]

[Bridge]
Crew of the Athena. This is Captain James Carter. As you've certainly become aware of, the ship has become infested by insects. The queen and origin point of all of them has become contained; however our science crewman have come up with no apparent way to apprehend the insects that now swarm our ship. We're an hour and a half from our destination. Once we've arrived we will be evacuating the ship and fumigating it, until then we're just going to have to deal with the situation as it is.

Bridge

Suzie nodded.

Bridge to all hands. All senior officers, please report to the Bridge. If you require transport please advise. All other personnel not on duty she prepare for transport to a quarantined area.

[Deck Ten]

Occasionally Katheryn would look over at the creature as she began to understand it a little more and that it probably didn't ask to be here but survival instincts had kicked in. However any further thought on the matter would have to wait when a hail came through from the Captain as he addressed the whole crew on the situation and what his next steps would be and thought that if they had lasted this long hopefully they could continue holding on until they reached the research station especially with the queen being contained.

Then came the call requesting available senior officers to report to the Bridge followed by the offer of transport and Katheryn looked at Cole and Richards. " You two stay here until we reach the station and if you need extra back up contact Gamma Team 1 " she said receiving acknowledgement from both men. Then she turned her attention to Commander Naira " I'll arrange a beam out for us both Commander " she suggested then opened a comm link.

Lieutenant Carter to Lieutenant Venator, request transport for myself and Commander Naira 

[Susan Venator]

Lieutenant Carter to Lieutenant Venator, request transport for myself and Commander Naira 

Bridge

Suzie heard the call and immediately replied.

Understood. Please stand by.

Suzie activated the Zeus' transporter systems and immediately locked on.

Locked on. Enterprising.

As she spoke, Suzie activated the transport and seconds later the two officers were on the Bridge.

[Caleb Brighton]

"Doctor!... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just hold on... Doctor!! DOCTOR BRIGHTON!!" Ash was shrieking now, just barely keeping her hands pressed over the violently writhing mass under the shirt. When the doctor arrived, she could only manage a few short words. "Eggs - hatched - help!"

Within moments after, Wendy had rushed over as well with nearby crewmen. With the crewmen helping Morgaine keep the creatures in place while Wendy scanned the suffering man before Brighton came over. The eyes of the man darted everywhere, his shouting was deafening as Arrun was so close to the man's face. "We're going to help you!" Arrun shouted, hoping that they could before it was too late if it isn't already.

[ Cargo Bay 2 ]

Caleb ran over to the man who was being held down. He took assessment of the situation and then got out a few tools from his pack he carried along.  "Sir I am going to give you some medicine to knock you out while I operate. Everyone keep him held down," he said. Caleb began to prep the man's arm to start an IV. When he pulled out the needle the man began to fidget more. "Sir please stay still. I know needles aren't the best, but if you want to live you will have to trust me," Caleb said. "Oh god please no!" The man exclaimed as he began to fidget more. "Sir please do not move. It could cause more damage if this isn't done right," Caleb said. The man screamed no and moved more causing Wendy to stumble backwards. Caleb had no choice. He would have to apologize later. He then formed a fist and punched the man square in the face. He groaned a bit as his head hit the floor knocking him out.

Wendy got up saying she as fine. Caleb then got the needle in the man's veins as Wendy hung morphine. He had not time to sterilize and needed to work quickly. Wendy scanned the man's vials and noticed that despite being knocked out, he had no brain damage. "Scalpel Wendy," Caleb asked and Wendy handed him it. When Caleb made an incision in the man's skin, multiple bugs began to spill out. They flopped down dead as the morphine ad adverse effects. Caleb and Wendy went around the effected area making small cuts in order to let the bugs out. As they did so, Caleb gave the others who were helping permission to shoot the little beasts that came out of the man.

None of the cuts made required stitches, but the location the egg sack was on the man required cleaning and did need stitches because of how  the cut was made. Caleb sighed in relief as the man's levels began to stabilize. "He is going to be just fine," Caleb said with a sigh of relief.

[Bridge]
Crew of the Athena. This is Captain James Carter. As you've certainly become aware of, the ship has become infested by insects. The queen and origin point of all of them has become contained; however our science crewman have come up with no apparent way to apprehend the insects that now swarm our ship. We're an hour and a half from our destination. Once we've arrived we will be evacuating the ship and fumigating it, until then we're just going to have to deal with the situation as it is.

[ Cargo Bay 2 ]

Caleb sighed for a moment. He had his new patient laying asleep on the makeshift bed. He had Wendy keeping an eye on him while he checked on the others in the room. He was about to get ready to get the patients he left in medical to be beamed down.

Bridge
Bridge to all hands. All senior officers, please report to the Bridge. If you require transport please advise. All other personnel not on duty she prepare for transport to a quarantined area.

[ Cargo Bay 2 ]

Caleb heard the call and did not have time at the moment to get "Alright listen up everyone. If anyone is hurt or needs assistance please talk to Wendy as I am needed on the bridge," Caleb said. It seemed like things finally were looking up and starting to stabilize. However, he began to hear a strange noise. Then he heard a scream. Coming from the cargo bay entrance, was a large amalgamation of insects headed toward the group. Caleb and whomever else had began to open fire on the flying insects. Those who were not armed hid as best they could. Though the group held their own, it seemed like they were starting to get overwhelmed. As Caleb felt the bugs try to gnaw his suit off, a few of the bugs were then shot off him. Just outside the entrance, Minard and Fuller were running full force inside with their patient. Behind them was Edward and Alphonse.

Caleb was so glad to see everyone there safe and alive. Once everyone was together, they were able to stave off most of the insects enough to make them retreat. "You are a sight for sore eyes,"Caleb said.

Caleb finally had time to respond back once the room was cleared out.  "Doctor Brighton to the bridge. I will need to transport. There was a bit of a skirmish here in the cargo bay. Seems that our guest here found a way to multiply and almost swarm the bay. things are under control now"

[Naira]

[Cargo Bay Two]

Ash smiled as the girls ran off and did her best to remember their names - well, the two whose names she had heard - then headed towards the opposite end of the bay to start working her way through the civilians who had gathered there. Most of them seemed to be relatively unscathed save for a few bumps and bites, but one young woman could hardly see her eyes were so swollen shut. Ash carefully led her over to the side where the girls had started to bring other injured civilians. The youngest was sitting next to a seven-year-old human girl who was sniffling whilst holding an oozing red lump on her arm, and, as Ash walked past, the XO's daughter managed to elicit a shaky laugh from her.

Ash and the girls continued their rounds efficiently over the next few minutes. Only a few civilians were missing, and they were all civilian scientists who were likely working in one of the labs. As time progressed, crew members started arriving as word spread that the cargo bay was still safe. At one point, a group of seven engineers showed up at once, frazzled and shaking spiders off of their uniforms in the corridor before ducking inside. Apparently one of the corridors was overrun on their way back to main engineering. As other officers came in they all told similar stories. It seemed as if the cargo bay was surrounded - completely cut off from the rest of the ship with the corridors filled with aggressive creepy crawlies. Ash felt a little dizzy thinking about it... Or maybe that was her hand. She glanced down at it and winced at the sight of the thin red veining that was slowly radiating from the puncture wounds. Before it had been constrained to her hand, but now the red webbing disappeared up her arm under her sleeve.

At that point the doctor and what seemed to be all of sickbay arrived via Jeffries tubes. Ash breathed a little sigh of relief and waved to the young Orions. "Girls!" Ash called as she jogged over to them, "Doctor Brighton and the rest of sickbay have arrived. Can you help bring the injured to where he's setting up in the back? I've only got a few more people to check on, then I'll join you... You're all doing so beautifully." She offered the three of them a genuine smile as she brushed her wild hair out of her face, then took a moment to add, "When I meet your mother, I'm telling her that the three of you deserve a medal for all of the help you've done. She should be proud of all of you."

[Cargo Bay Two]

Lurels loved the idea of helping people. Perhaps it was due to her age or the fact that she didn't fully grasp the severity of the situation, but she was enjoying running around and talking to all the different people gathered in the cargo bay. Best of all, she got a chance to meet all the other children onboard. Had this been any other day, she would likely be in her room forced to work on her studies, but today she got to run around and meet new people and be helpful, like the grownups.

Aorua, the middle child, was focused on acting the part of a professional. She held onto her padd as she repeatedly checked the list for each person's name. The ten year old was still learning how to read, so she needed help at some points, but she wasn't about to let that get in her way.

While Naniid, the oldest, simply followed along to keep an eye on her sisters. She had been the slowest to come out of her shell and even now, she still acted shy and distant from the strangers gathered in the cargo bay. She rarely looked others in the eye and often stared at the floor while picking at her clothing whenever they had to speak with a man.

[ Cargo Bay 2 ]

Caleb ran over to the man who was being held down. He took assessment of the situation and then got out a few tools from his pack he carried along.  "Sir I am going to give you some medicine to knock you out while I operate. Everyone keep him held down," he said. Caleb began to prep the man's arm to start an IV. When he pulled out the needle the man began to fidget more. "Sir please stay still. I know needles aren't the best, but if you want to live you will have to trust me," Caleb said. "Oh god please no!" The man exclaimed as he began to fidget more. "Sir please do not move. It could cause more damage if this isn't done right," Caleb said. The man screamed no and moved more causing Wendy to stumble backwards. Caleb had no choice. He would have to apologize later. He then formed a fist and punched the man square in the face. He groaned a bit as his head hit the floor knocking him out.

Wendy got up saying she as fine. Caleb then got the needle in the man's veins as Wendy hung morphine. He had not time to sterilize and needed to work quickly. Wendy scanned the man's vials and noticed that despite being knocked out, he had no brain damage. "Scalpel Wendy," Caleb asked and Wendy handed him it. When Caleb made an incision in the man's skin, multiple bugs began to spill out. They flopped down dead as the morphine ad adverse effects. Caleb and Wendy went around the effected area making small cuts in order to let the bugs out. As they did so, Caleb gave the others who were helping permission to shoot the little beasts that came out of the man.

None of the cuts made required stitches, but the location the egg sack was on the man required cleaning and did need stitches because of how  the cut was made. Caleb sighed in relief as the man's levels began to stabilize. "He is going to be just fine," Caleb said with a sigh of relief.

[ Cargo Bay 2 ]

Caleb sighed for a moment. He had his new patient laying asleep on the makeshift bed. He had Wendy keeping an eye on him while he checked on the others in the room. He was about to get ready to get the patients he left in medical to be beamed down.

[ Cargo Bay 2 ]

Caleb heard the call and did not have time at the moment to get "Alright listen up everyone. If anyone is hurt or needs assistance please talk to Wendy as I am needed on the bridge," Caleb said. It seemed like things finally were looking up and starting to stabilize. However, he began to hear a strange noise. Then he heard a scream. Coming from the cargo bay entrance, was a large amalgamation of insects headed toward the group. Caleb and whomever else had began to open fire on the flying insects. Those who were not armed hid as best they could. Though the group held their own, it seemed like they were starting to get overwhelmed. As Caleb felt the bugs try to gnaw his suit off, a few of the bugs were then shot off him. Just outside the entrance, Minard and Fuller were running full force inside with their patient. Behind them was Edward and Alphonse.

Caleb was so glad to see everyone there safe and alive. Once everyone was together, they were able to stave off most of the insects enough to make them retreat. "You are a sight for sore eyes,"Caleb said.

Caleb finally had time to respond back once the room was cleared out.  "Doctor Brighton to the bridge. I will need to transport. There was a bit of a skirmish here in the cargo bay. Seems that our guest here found a way to multiply and almost swarm the bay. things are under control now"

When the kind lady who had given them their task had asked that they go and assist the doctor, they quickly made their way across the room over to the makeshift sickbay that was being set up in the far corner. They stood back and watched the doctor has he operated on a patient who had bugs coming out of his body. Lurels had to stifle a scream and Aorua nearly lost her lunch at the sight.

Naniid was too shy to approach him to offer assistance and before Aorua could speak up, she saw a number of the doctors run off to fight more bugs at the entrance of the room. "Excuse me," Aorua said as she tugged on the uniform of the one female doctor she could see. "We were told to help you."

[Bridge]

James relaxed back into his chair as he heard the news that the queen had been contained. "Helm, what's our eta to the station?" Carter asked calmly.

"Just under an hour and a half sir. We're moving at full speed." The helmsmen replied in a much more nervous tone than his captain's.

"Noted. Ms. Venator, move all non-essential personnel into quarantined areas and get all available senior officers to the bridge." The captain commanded opening a ship wide channel. Crew of the Athena. This is Captain James Carter. As you've certainly become aware of, the ship has become infested by insects. The queen and origin point of all of them has become contained; however our science crewman have come up with no apparent way to apprehend the insects that now swarm our ship. We're an hour and a half from our destination. Once we've arrived we will be evacuating the ship and fumigating it, until then we're just going to have to deal with the situation as it is.

Bridge

Suzie heard the call and immediately replied.

Understood. Please stand by.

Suzie activated the Zeus' transporter systems and immediately locked on.

Locked on. Enterprising.

As she spoke, Suzie activated the transport and seconds later the two officers were on the Bridge.

[Bridge]

Naira stepped foot on the bridge and let out a sigh she didn't realize that she had been holding in. This had been a long day and their job was not over yet. As the rest of the senior staff began to appear, she made her way once more to the conference room where the Captain would surely wish to meet all of them.

[Katheryn Brighton]

Bridge

Suzie heard the call and immediately replied.

Understood. Please stand by.

Suzie activated the Zeus' transporter systems and immediately locked on.

Locked on. Enterprising.

As she spoke, Suzie activated the transport and seconds later the two officers were on the Bridge.

[Deck Ten]

The creature seemed to take an interest for the briefest of the moments when the Bridge responded and the familiar sound and colours of the transporter beam claimed Katheryn and the XO. Katheryn left safe in the knowledge that her men would make sure nothing else happened to the core.

[Bridge]

A few seconds later she materialised next to the XO and it felt good to be back on the Bridge and even though she was tempted to remove the exo suit knew that she had to keep it on a little longer as she couldn't risk getting bit by the creatures. After checking in with Baker who was still manning the Sec/Tac console and relaying information, she followed the Commander to the conference room although not before hearing Caleb's voice over the comm.

She was relieved that the situation in the Cargo Bay was under control and would relax a little more once she got to see him.