S4 E6: 20,000 Leagues

[Thomas Jett]

[Shuttle Bay 1]

The former officer remained calm as he noticed that the lights were flickering.  He knew that at any moment things could get worse and the lights would be off.  Until it did.

Then, the lights went off.

"You know what we really need?" he asked rhetorically. "We need another of my Molotov cocktails."

It had been a legitimate application of the Scientific Method. It was just a failed experiment.

Jett quickly turned on his flashlight in the darkness and looked at the doctor and responded "With one shuttle exploded and motolov coattails people might mistake this for a fourth of July. .  Jett finished his statement with a smile as he had the emergency bag from the Cosmo with supplies.  His training as a pilot thought him to use the emergency materials before anything.

"We should come up with options...other than telling scary bedtimes stories...I don't want to pee in the bed..  Jett said.  As the last part was more sarcastic than anything.
[Shuttle Bay 1]

The former officer remained calm as he noticed that the lights were flickering.  He knew that at any moment things could get worse and the lights would be off.  Until it did.

Then, the lights went off.

"You know what we really need?" he asked rhetorically. "We need another of my Molotov cocktails."

It had been a legitimate application of the Scientific Method. It was just a failed experiment.

Jett quickly turned on his flashlight in the darkness and looked at the doctor and responded "With one shuttle exploded and motolov coattails people might mistake this for a fourth of July. .  Jett finished his statement with a smile as he had the emergency bag from the Cosmo with supplies.  His training as a pilot thought him to use the emergency materials before anything.

"We should come up with options...other than telling scary bedtimes stories...I don't want to pee in the bed..  Jett said.  As the last part was more sarcastic than anything.

[Lawrie McGellen]

[Morgue]

Alec nodded politely upon being introduced to the nurse and shrugged at Lawrie's offer of taking the lead. It's actually been more than ten years since I did an autopsy, so I'm more than happy to let one of you take charge.

They were nearly ready to begin when the power suddenly went out. Alec froze for a moment, but the room was utterly black.

Umm, perhaps we should clear out until this gets sorted, he suggested. Computer, erect a stasis field around the biobed. Alec hoped not all the power was down.

There was a brief flare of light that cast everything with an eerie glow before disappearing.

Alec started toward the door, moving slowly in the pitch black, saying for the Bridge's benefit, =A= We've lost lights in the morgue. Going to have to put off the autopsy for now.

Acknowledged, =A= Aryn's worried voice responded.

[Sickbay - Morgue]

"As you wish and..." as the lights went off there was a faint chuckle as the CMO thought how typical it was that he got to do some proper work for a change, even though he'd politely offered up the 'interesting' work to Alec.

"... well I'm not slicing and dicing with no light, ain't happening.  You'd end up having to reattach my body parts!  I have torches, flashlights that is in my office and if you keep your hand on my shoulder I know the Sickbay well enough to get there without anyone getting hurt or bumping into things."

[Aryn Corliss]

[Sickbay - Morgue]

"As you wish and..." as the lights went off there was a faint chuckle as the CMO thought how typical it was that he got to do some proper work for a change, even though he'd politely offered up the 'interesting' work to Alec.

"... well I'm not slicing and dicing with no light, ain't happening.  You'd end up having to reattach my body parts!  I have torches, flashlights that is in my office and if you keep your hand on my shoulder I know the Sickbay well enough to get there without anyone getting hurt or bumping into things."

[Sickbay]

Alec followed Lawrie to his office and accepted a flashlight, proceeding around the sickbay to check on patients and the other medical staff. Thankfully, no one had been injured when the lights went out, and the worst that had happened was a tray of hyposprays being knocked to the floor.

He reassured people as he went through, though worried at the same time about what was going on and wanting to get back to Mr. Miller's body so they could figure out what had actually happened to him.

*****

[USS Shran - Bridge]

The consoles began to ping and lighting up with alarms when the sensors picked up another energy burst coming from deck 7, near sickbay and the morgue ...

[Bridge]

Aryn was so on edge that she nearly fell out of her seat when the alarms started sounding. She cursed quietly under her breath and hoped no one had noticed as she stood to go to the ops console and hover.

What now? she asked quietly.

[Felicity Ellis]

"McDaniels to Captain Ellis. Sorry to interrupt, if you're busy, Ma'am. Just letting you know the Shubble, eh Submersible Shuttle, is all complete."

[Felicity Ellis - Ready Room -> Mess Hall]

Shubble..?

Felicity's face lit up with a grin as she listened to the report, following the natural curve in the passageway as she made her way to the Mess Hall. It was an apt classification for the vessel, she thought. She liked it.

"Thank you, Petty Officer. I'm looking forward to seeing this... shubble for myself. Pass on my thanks to your team, I'll be down to inspect it in the next hour. Ellis out."

From a pleasant diversion, to something a little more serious. The pain in her chest returned when Peter reported on Gatesy.

"Dannenberg to Captain Ellis. I've spoken to Kellen. He's devastated, but he'll get over it." He glanced on the chronometer. "I'll check if there are any security issues and then will join you in the meeting with Elanii if I can."

He would get over it, she didn't doubt that. But Kellen Gates worked a little differently to the rest of them, and while she'd have been determined to keep an eye on any individual in his situation, she felt no small responsibility toward the well-being of the young medic. She'd brought him onto her staff on Columbus when she'd become the starbase's CMO, and had moved him over to the Shran once she'd established herself. It was part of her job to make sure he was okay. She tapped her commbadge to respond.

"Thank you for the update. There's no rush to the meeting. I'll talk to you later, either way." She closed the connection just as she stepped inside the Mess. Her heart was heavier, and her mind was wondering if it was too early to slip a drop of whiskey into her coffee.

***

[Dr. Dugris "Doug" Zaman - Shuttlebay 1]

Doug nodded at the periscope comment.
"I stand corrected," he agreed, amused by it. There were some languages where all words were gendered, so they wouldn't have this flexibility, but that wasn't the case here.

Then, the lights went off.

"You know what we really need?" he asked rhetorically. "We need another of my Molotov cocktails."

It had been a legitimate application of the Scientific Method. It was just a failed experiment.

[Shuttle Bay 1]
[...]
Jett walked to Nemo and raised his leaned at the Shuble as he waited for further orders.  He knew that there was no manual for this and he would have to learn to fly this on the fly literally.  As it appeared that part of the team was assembled, it was logical that the people that worked on a  prototype would be there for problems and issues.   As Lt. O'Leary responded, Jett nodded as he did not want to start another argument.  "Understood...maybe I should begin doing a pre-flight checkup it might...".

As he was in mid-sentence, he noticed that the light in the shuttble bay was flickering.  Jett looked around and noticed the change in power.  "What the hell?".  The former officer asked as he knew this was not normal.

Jett then stated the obvious "Something is going on...things might not go as planned" .  The former Officer left from the site of the Nemo and instead opened the Cosmo.  He did not want to take vital supplies from a Shuttle about to embark on a mission.  He opened and got the emergency supplies which included lights.

"It's the power keep fluctuating, he might be left in the dark.  Better be prepared. ".  The former officer handed as he was giving out Emergency light systems which reminded him of ancient Earth flashlights.

He looked at O'Leary and said "Maybe we should contact the bridge and make sure that they don't need help.

[Shuttle Bay 1]

The former officer remained calm as he noticed that the lights were flickering.  He knew that at any moment things could get worse and the lights would be off.  Until it did.
Jett quickly turned on his flashlight in the darkness and looked at the doctor and responded "With one shuttle exploded and motolov coattails people might mistake this for a fourth of July. .  Jett finished his statement with a smile as he had the emergency bag from the Cosmo with supplies.  His training as a pilot thought him to use the emergency materials before anything.

"We should come up with options...other than telling scary bedtimes stories...I don't want to pee in the bed..  Jett said.  As the last part was more sarcastic than anything.

[Lieutenant Niamh O'Leary - Shuttle Bay 1]

Niamh let out a string of curses when the lights flickered and then died, most of them starting with the letter 'F', and ending in 'eck'. She looked at Thomas Jett when he suggested they check in with the Bridge, and snorted. She didn't know why the man thought the Bridge would want or need his help for some light panel malfunctions. "Rate yourself highly, don't ya?"

Then she shook her head and took one of the offered torches. She looked down at hers with a scrunched up expression, trying to find the 'ON' switch. "Looks like these are even older than our El-Aurian pal here."

She'd probably rather have a Molotov cocktail herself. But not in her shuttle bay. "Sure look it, there's nothin' else for it." She knocked back the rest of her champagne and picked up the bottle to pour herself a refill.

"Ever been to Ireland, sir?" She asked Doug as she lowered herself to the ground to settle in for further orders.

[Felicity Ellis]

[USS Shran - Deck 7 - Side corridor]

In front of him was the corridor in darkness, only dimly lit by the emergency lighting. Miller began stalking down the corridor, the movements looking a little awkward, but gained in safety with every step he took. He took the first turnoff into a side corridor. Upwards he had to go. Two decks.

His uneven steps echoed softly in the passage. In the distance of the side corridor he recognized the shadows of two people. As he appraoched them in the diffuse light, he recognized that both had other external features. New knowledge he had to collect.

Slowing down his steps he stopped in front of the pointy-eared creature. For a moment he just looked at her, observed her appearance. Then his hand stretched out and he grabbed her wrist with an iron grip. Almost immediately he strengthened the grip and bored his fingernails deep into her flesh. Whatever sounds of pain or defensive reactions she would make, Miller wouldn't stop. With the aim of seeing blood, he cut the edges of his sharp nails into the delicate skin on her wrist. As he did so, a whitish to translucent mass began to ooze from his ear. In the air, it liquefied quickly and dripped wet down his earlobe. Still not releasing his grip on his victim, he lifted his other hand to his ear to pick up some of the gelatinous mass. Once he had penetrated her skin, he smeared lumps of the mass deep into the wound. Suddenly there was bluish flickering coming from Miller. As if there was something pulsating under his skin or in his head. The eyeballs in particular, illuminated by this strange phenomenon, glowed repeatedly while he held the palm of his hand pressed against the wound on her wrist.

Suddenly he let go of her. Turning away from her, he looked down at Elanii ...

[Lieutenant T'Aco & Elanii of Veloria - En Route to Mess Hall]

"Mr. Miller."

T'Aco observed the young man in the flapping patient gown approach them with some purpose. "Mr. Miller. You do not look well."

All of Elanii's eyes were wide as Jade Miller came to a stop in front of them, and reached for T'Aco. He was the white of vanilla ice-cream, her least favourite flavour, and his bare legs looked hairy and weird. He was staring at them in a way that made the Velorian girl uneasy. She reached up for the counselor.

The man's hand wrapped around T'Aco's wrist and she glanced down at their joined limbs, and as he dug his nails into her skin, his grip tightened. "Ensign Miller, desist immediately." He squeezed harder, and when she tried to pull her forearm from his grasp she was met with resistance. It was a curious sensation, having a human overpower her. "You are hurting me."

When the gelatinous material began to drip from his ear, she knew that this was no ordinary encounter. A woman with a keen interest in the sciences could recognise the danger in being exposed to goop dripping from a human male's orifice. She looked down at Elanii, who appeared terrified. "Run, child."

Then she turned to face her assailant, and as he smeared the fluid over the bleeding, half-moon cuts on her wrist, she prepared to defend herself and the young one. When he began to glow a strange blue hue; his skin pulsating as he pressed his palm into her wound, his eyes unrecognisable; alien, she stalled. Then he released her and turned on Elanii.

She was rooted to the spot, despite having been told to run. When T'Aco's eyes rolled upward and her body slumped to the ground, Elanii let out a cry of fear. Big, fat tears began to fall down her cheeks when she realised she was all alone with Miller. It was too late, she'd never get away, even if she'd been able to run.

One pair of eyes alighted on the Vulcan's commbadge. Elanii threw herself atop the woman's chest and slapped the symbol attached to her uniform. They were always doing that - slapping their chests was how they spoke to each other.

"FACILITY!" She screamed.

There was a strange noise from the Computer, like flatulence. She was pushing herself back on her behind, scrambling away. While she moved she tried to figure it out. Peter always said... he said...

That if she was in trouble he would help. Where was he? He'd shown her his office before. It was called...

"Security. HELP!" The despair in her voice was heart-wrenching. "Peter!?" She called, in one last attempt to reach someone.

***

[USS Shran - Bridge]

The consoles began to ping and lighting up with alarms when the sensors picked up another energy burst coming from deck 7, near sickbay and the morgue ...

[Bridge]

Aryn was so on edge that she nearly fell out of her seat when the alarms started sounding. She cursed quietly under her breath and hoped no one had noticed as she stood to go to the ops console and hover.

What now? she asked quietly.

[Lieutenant Mehl, daughter of K'tozh & Lieutenant Doug Dimmadome - Bridge]

"Commander! Another energy burst!"

This time Doug was quicker off the mark. Even though the burst was just as fleeting as the others, and while they learned almost nothing new with each instance of it, he'd been half-expecting a repeat. He'd posited, only to himself, mind, that there would be another burst, and that the time lapsed between the second and third would be less than that of the first and second.

He'd been right, but there was nobody to really share his hollow victory with.

"Deck 7, ma'am, not far from Sickbay." Mehl informed her as she reacted to Dimmadome's panicked voice. "I am reading multiple signatures in the vicinity. Lieutenant T'Aco is the closest."

[Jenna McKinson]

[ Bridge ]

Aryn was so on edge that she nearly fell out of her seat when the alarms started sounding. She cursed quietly under her breath and hoped no one had noticed as she stood to go to the ops console and hover.

What now? she asked quietly.

[/color]"

Jenna was deep in thought for the moment as she was looking at her PADD to coordinate with engineering below to try and get a handle on what was going on. These power fluctuations made little sense, but then again bugs were always bound to show up at the most inopportune times. She noticed the XO nearly fall over and she rushed over. "Commander are you alright?" As she asked a familiar voice came out of her combadge.

"Chief we are still trying to nail down what the issue is. Nothing we are thinking of can cause this level of inconsistency. Even the rerouting you suggested isn't helping as much. It's a bit more stable, but not to the level we need. We will continue to work, but we may need some inventive thinking to help with this. Sheppard out."=/\=

Jenna let out a disappointed sigh. It was what she expected, but then again nothing was normal on the Shran. This was learned the hard way. Her mind wasn't on that issue though, it was making sure the XO was alright. She would have to think on what Sheppard had said and then move to another solution.

[Dugris Zaman]

[Lieutenant Niamh O'Leary - Shuttle Bay 1]

Niamh let out a string of curses when the lights flickered and then died, most of them starting with the letter 'F', and ending in 'eck'. She looked at Thomas Jett when he suggested they check in with the Bridge, and snorted. She didn't know why the man thought the Bridge would want or need his help for some light panel malfunctions. "Rate yourself highly, don't ya?"

Then she shook her head and took one of the offered torches. She looked down at hers with a scrunched up expression, trying to find the 'ON' switch. "Looks like these are even older than our El-Aurian pal here."

She'd probably rather have a Molotov cocktail herself. But not in her shuttle bay. "Sure look it, there's nothin' else for it." She knocked back the rest of her champagne and picked up the bottle to pour herself a refill.

"Ever been to Ireland, sir?" She asked Doug as she lowered herself to the ground to settle in for further orders.

[Dr. Dugris "Doug" Zaman - Shuttlebay 1]

"Yes, I've been to Ireland. Beautiful place," Doug answered, as he sat down as well. "Could I have a refill?"

Then, he began to tell a story.

"The first time I was in Ireland was in the early 1860s. I'd gotten into a scuffle with a tax collector in Scotland, so I had to change my identity and flee. Ireland happened to be closer and easier than the alternative. I worked as a barkeep in Dublin for about five years, then I moved to Boston," he recalled. "Last time I was in Ireland was a few years ago, on vacation with a few of my children."

It was truly a beautiful place, with gorgeous women and good booze to further augment the scenery.

[Lyric McDaniels]

[Felicity Ellis - Ready Room -> Mess Hall]
"Thank you, Petty Officer. I'm looking forward to seeing this... shubble for myself. Pass on my thanks to your team, I'll be down to inspect it in the next hour. Ellis out."

[Shuttle Bay 1]

Lyric had walked off alone a ways, to take the message. She smiled to herself, quite pleased with everything. It was on the tip of her tongue to relay the captain's good words, when the lights went out and her commbadge chimed again.

"Petty Officer McDaniels. I am informing you of power fluctuations on decks 6 and 7. If you notice any abnormalities report them to me and down to engineering. Sheppard and Coks are working on trying to keep constant power down there. I have a bad feeling about what's going on and you are eyes down there. Keep me posted. McKinson out."

After first pulling a palmlight out of her pocket, she tapped on her commbadge with her free hand.

"Affirmative Chief. We've got that weirdness on right now. Lights and power appear to be completely out. I'll poke around here about the shuttle bay. The power can't have just disappeared, ya know? Energy's gotta go somewhere. I'm gonna check into the localized conduits and EPS taps and see what shakes. McDaniels out."

[Lieutenant Niamh O'Leary - Shuttle Bay 1]

Niamh let out a string of curses when the lights flickered and then died, most of them starting with the letter 'F', and ending in 'eck'. She looked at Thomas Jett when he suggested they check in with the Bridge, and snorted. She didn't know why the man thought the Bridge would want or need his help for some light panel malfunctions. "Rate yourself highly, don't ya?"

Then she shook her head and took one of the offered torches. She looked down at hers with a scrunched up expression, trying to find the 'ON' switch. "Looks like these are even older than our El-Aurian pal here."

She'd probably rather have a Molotov cocktail herself. But not in her shuttle bay. "Sure look it, there's nothin' else for it." She knocked back the rest of her champagne and picked up the bottle to pour herself a refill.

"Ever been to Ireland, sir?" She asked Doug as she lowered herself to the ground to settle in for further orders.

[Dr. Dugris "Doug" Zaman - Shuttlebay 1]

"Yes, I've been to Ireland. Beautiful place," Doug answered, as he sat down as well. "Could I have a refill?"

Then, he began to tell a story.

"The first time I was in Ireland was in the early 1860s. I'd gotten into a scuffle with a tax collector in Scotland, so I had to change my identity and flee. Ireland happened to be closer and easier than the alternative. I worked as a barkeep in Dublin for about five years, then I moved to Boston," he recalled. "Last time I was in Ireland was a few years ago, on vacation with a few of my children."

It was truly a beautiful place, with gorgeous women and good booze to further augment the scenery.

Lyric had rejoined the group, just in time for storytelling it seemed. She squinted in the dim lighting at the old El-Aurian.

"What's a tax collector?" She shook her head, and tried to focus on her real task. "Never mind, you can tell me later. The captain's going to be round in an hour or so to inspect Nemo and I'd like to see about getting the lights back on for her. There's an exterior access panel to shuttlebay's power conduits. I got a feeling something's siphoning off from the EPS somehow, and the taps ought to be checked."

Lyric looked anxiously back and forth between the small assembly. "Do any of you want to come with me? It's... kinda dark and spooky to be alone."

[Aryn Corliss]

[ Bridge ]

[/color]"

Jenna was deep in thought for the moment as she was looking at her PADD to coordinate with engineering below to try and get a handle on what was going on. These power fluctuations made little sense, but then again bugs were always bound to show up at the most inopportune times. She noticed the XO nearly fall over and she rushed over. "Commander are you alright?" As she asked a familiar voice came out of her combadge.

"Chief we are still trying to nail down what the issue is. Nothing we are thinking of can cause this level of inconsistency. Even the rerouting you suggested isn't helping as much. It's a bit more stable, but not to the level we need. We will continue to work, but we may need some inventive thinking to help with this. Sheppard out."=/\=

Jenna let out a disappointed sigh. It was what she expected, but then again nothing was normal on the Shran. This was learned the hard way. Her mind wasn't on that issue though, it was making sure the XO was alright. She would have to think on what Sheppard had said and then move to another solution.

[Lieutenant Mehl, daughter of K'tozh & Lieutenant Doug Dimmadome - Bridge]

"Commander! Another energy burst!"

This time Doug was quicker off the mark. Even though the burst was just as fleeting as the others, and while they learned almost nothing new with each instance of it, he'd been half-expecting a repeat. He'd posited, only to himself, mind, that there would be another burst, and that the time lapsed between the second and third would be less than that of the first and second.

He'd been right, but there was nobody to really share his hollow victory with.

"Deck 7, ma'am, not far from Sickbay." Mehl informed her as she reacted to Dimmadome's panicked voice. "I am reading multiple signatures in the vicinity. Lieutenant T'Aco is the closest."

[Bridge]

Ugh, no, I'm fine. Thank you, Aryn said to the engineer before heading over to the ops console. I was just startled, she added.

Outside of sickbay? She asked Mehl in alarm. =A= Bridge to Lt. T'Aco...Lieutenant, please respond. =A=

Aryn waited just a beat before tapping her combadge again. =A= Bridge to security. Report to Deck 7, outside sickbay. Trace Lt. T'Aco's comm signal. She's not responding to hails. =A=

Who else is there? Can we raise them?

[Lawrie McGellen]

[Sickbay]

Alec followed Lawrie to his office and accepted a flashlight, proceeding around the sickbay to check on patients and the other medical staff. Thankfully, no one had been injured when the lights went out, and the worst that had happened was a tray of hyposprays being knocked to the floor.

He reassured people as he went through, though worried at the same time about what was going on and wanting to get back to Mr. Miller's body so they could figure out what had actually happened to him.

[Sickbay]

Righting the tray of hypos, recycling since they'd been on the floor they were now not sanitized.

"Not a lot we can do until the lights get back on, it's probably safer not to as it happens.  We can't be doing with potentially creating more casualties!  Let me see if we have an update from Engineering on the lights!" the CMO said with a smile that probably couldn't be seen, but hopefully heard in the half light.

McGellen to Engineering.  Any update on when power, particularly lights might return to Sickbay, we've got rather an important procedure to perform. 

[John Michael Kane]

[Morgue]

Alec nodded politely upon being introduced to the nurse and shrugged at Lawrie's offer of taking the lead. It's actually been more than ten years since I did an autopsy, so I'm more than happy to let one of you take charge.

They were nearly ready to begin when the power suddenly went out. Alec froze for a moment, but the room was utterly black.

Umm, perhaps we should clear out until this gets sorted, he suggested. Computer, erect a stasis field around the biobed. Alec hoped not all the power was down.

There was a brief flare of light that cast everything with an eerie glow before disappearing.

Alec started toward the door, moving slowly in the pitch black, saying for the Bridge's benefit, =A= We've lost lights in the morgue. Going to have to put off the autopsy for now.

Acknowledged, =A= Aryn's worried voice responded.

[Sickbay - Morgue]

"As you wish and..." as the lights went off there was a faint chuckle as the CMO thought how typical it was that he got to do some proper work for a change, even though he'd politely offered up the 'interesting' work to Alec.

"... well I'm not slicing and dicing with no light, ain't happening.  You'd end up having to reattach my body parts!  I have torches, flashlights that is in my office and if you keep your hand on my shoulder I know the Sickbay well enough to get there without anyone getting hurt or bumping into things."

[Morgue, Deck 7]

"... Nothing," John almost spat out, as he picked up the scanner he had placed on the floor. It showed nothing that could allude to them why the lights were off. No cause, no surge, no short-circuit.

Picking the contraption up from the floor, John paid one last narrowed glance, eyes narrowed, at the supine body of Miller before following his two colleagues out of the Morgue, using the dim light emitting from his scanner as a makeshift torch in the dark.

The Miller zombie would waken and begin its T'Aco Hunting the moment the door to the Morgue shut behind him.

[Sickbay]

Righting the tray of hypos, recycling since they'd been on the floor they were now not sanitized.

"Not a lot we can do until the lights get back on, it's probably safer not to as it happens.  We can't be doing with potentially creating more casualties!  Let me see if we have an update from Engineering on the lights!" the CMO said with a smile that probably couldn't be seen, but hopefully heard in the half light.

McGellen to Engineering.  Any update on when power, particularly lights might return to Sickbay, we've got rather an important procedure to perform. 

[CMO Office, Sickbay, Deck 7]

John paced, agitated, around the dark office and aimed his tricorder in various directions, his scanner online and working in his other hand. It was maddening why he wasn't picking up anything. His gut told something was definitely wrong this entire B-grade horror holo situation, but none of his machinery dared to cooperate.

"How... pestiferous," he drawled, a moment before his scanner finally registered some activity.

And boy what an activity it was.

[USS Shran - Bridge]

The consoles began to ping and lighting up with alarms when the sensors picked up another energy burst coming from deck 7, near sickbay and the morgue...

"... Alec, Lawrie, quiet!" John's voice was suddenly a hushed whisper, his body tense, looking towards the door with wide eyes.

"... There's something... here," he continued whispering, before pointing towards the entrance-exit. "Just outside..."

[Lawrie McGellen]

[Morgue, Deck 7]

"... Nothing," John almost spat out, as he picked up the scanner he had placed on the floor. It showed nothing that could allude to them why the lights were off. No cause, no surge, no short-circuit.

Picking the contraption up from the floor, John paid one last narrowed glance, eyes narrowed, at the supine body of Miller before following his two colleagues out of the Morgue, using the dim light emitting from his scanner as a makeshift torch in the dark.

The Miller zombie would waken and begin its T'Aco Hunting the moment the door to the Morgue shut behind him.

[CMO Office, Sickbay, Deck 7]

John paced, agitated, around the dark office and aimed his tricorder in various directions, his scanner online and working in his other hand. It was maddening why he wasn't picking up anything. His gut told something was definitely wrong this entire B-grade horror holo situation, but none of his machinery dared to cooperate.

"How... pestiferous," he drawled, a moment before his scanner finally registered some activity.

And boy what an activity it was.

"... Alec, Lawrie, quiet!" John's voice was suddenly a hushed whisper, his body tense, looking towards the door with wide eyes.

"... There's something... here," he continued whispering, before pointing towards the entrance-exit. "Just outside..."

[Sickbay]

Lawrie immediately stepped silently to John's side and peered in the half-darkness at the scanner in John's hand.

"Any idea as to what kind of 'something', John?" he whispered back, his grip tightening on his flashlight ready to bash anything nefarious over the head.  It wasn't the best choice of weapon but it was all he had right at that moment.  He didn't like the look of wide eyed... he'd say terror but that as the only emotion that he could think of to describe it, and that worried the senior doctor.

[Peter Dannenberg]

PO1 Peter Dannenberg
[USS Shran - Security office]

After having brought the news about Miller's death to Kellen, Peter had made his way to the security office. Mainly he was interested in any news on their situation on the ship. But he also was glad about the distraction it provided. Felicity too had sounded distressed about Kellen's misery.

Peter had decided to take the long way to the office, he needed to sort his thoughts a bit. Once he reached the security office, Peter glanced around the officers present and nodded briefly.

He was surprised when a call came in. He was even more surprised to hear Elanii's terrified voice. He stopped dead in his tracks, worry gripping him when she called for him through the coms.

Almost at the same time, a call came from the bridge, informing them of the location of another energy burst and that T'Aco was not responding.

"Scheiße!", Peter cursed loudly, not caring about manners now.

While one of the security officers acknowledged the bridge's call, Peter responded to Elanii's.  "Elanii, here's Peter." He tried to keep the alarm out of his voice so he wouldn't scare the kid more.  "What is wrong. Where are you? Is T'Aco with you?"

While he spoke, a security team including himself was on the way to deck 7 as they traced down T'Aco's comm signal.

"Y-yes, but she fainted. I'm scared Peter, please help!" , the girl begged.  "Scary man."

"I'm on my way to you. What scary man?" What the hell was going on? Part of him hoped that it was 'just' Jett she was referring to but he feared it was not.

"His eyes glowed blue", she whispered, still afraid.

Peter continued to talk to Elanii until they reached Deck 7. Why the hell was it dark here?? With torches they lit their path to find T'Aco and Elanii - alone.

Miller
[USS Shran - Deck 7 - Side corridor]

When the little girl called for help, Miller faltered. Whatever made him change his mind, he stopped approaching her, turned around and headed towards the nearest turbolift.

[USS Shran - Deck 5 - Transporter Room 1]

Young Lieutenant Ducatelle looked up when the doors to the transporter room opened and someone entered. The woman frowned, clearly irritated by what she saw. She recognized the Ensign as having been part of the away team which had beamed down not that long ago ... Miller. Now he was here, wearing a patient gown and just looking pale like death.

They exchanged looks for a moment before the Ensign started to approach her. Ducatelle noticed the weird way the man was moving. When he stepped behind the console to where she was standing, she spoke up.

"Can I help you? You look like you belong into sickbay." She said good-humoredly.

Miller didn't react to her words, instead he glanced down at the control panel. When he reached his hand out to touch the transporter panel, she interfered. "I'm sorry, but you are not supposed to use that panel. No one is to beam down, on the Captain'sorders." He ignored her and started to type in coordinates. Ducatelle grabbed his arm to make him stop. "I have not received orders for anyone to beam down."

When Miller still wouldn't listen, she tapped her commbadge. Before she could call security, Miller suddenly punched her so hard that the woman was thrown back against the nearby wall, sliding to the ground with a bleeding and probably broken nose.

She was dazed for a moment. The first thing that got through to her was the sound of the beaming procedure and when she opened her eyes, Miller was disappearing in a shimmer of the transporter beam.

Ducatelle winced in pain, her hand shaking as she tapped her commbadge.  "Transporter room 1 to the bridge. Ensign Miller just beamed down on the planet's surface."

[Felicity Ellis]

[Bridge]

Ugh, no, I'm fine. Thank you, Aryn said to the engineer before heading over to the ops console. I was just startled, she added.

Outside of sickbay? She asked Mehl in alarm. =A= Bridge to Lt. T'Aco...Lieutenant, please respond. =A=

Aryn waited just a beat before tapping her combadge again. =A= Bridge to security. Report to Deck 7, outside sickbay. Trace Lt. T'Aco's comm signal. She's not responding to hails. =A=

Who else is there? Can we raise them?

[Lieutenant Mehl, daughter of K'tozh - Place]

The other Bridge officers tried to avoid looking directly at the XO as she righted herself. At the question, Mehl nodded once, all brisk business again, and answered. "Yes, ma'am. Doctors McGellen, Trenzal and Kane are in Sickbay." With only a handful of judicious taps, she looked back up from her console. "Channel open, ma'am."

The three mentioned would hear them as soon as Corliss spoke.

***

PO1 Peter Dannenberg
[USS Shran - Security office]

[...]

While one of the security officers acknowledged the bridge's call, Peter responded to Elanii's.  "Elanii, here's Peter." He tried to keep the alarm out of his voice so he wouldn't scare the kid more.  "What is wrong. Where are you? Is T'Aco with you?"

While he spoke, a security team including himself was on the way to deck 7 as they traced down T'Aco's comm signal.

"Y-yes, but she fainted. I'm scared Peter, please help!" , the girl begged.  "Scary man."

"I'm on my way to you. What scary man?" What the hell was going on? Part of him hoped that it was 'just' Jett she was referring to but he feared it was not.

"His eyes glowed blue", she whispered, still afraid.

Peter continued to talk to Elanii until they reached Deck 7. Why the hell was it dark here?? With torches they lit their path to find T'Aco and Elanii - alone.

Miller
[USS Shran - Deck 7 - Side corridor]

When the little girl called for help, Miller faltered. Whatever made him change his mind, he stopped approaching her, turned around and headed towards the nearest turbolift.

[Lieutenant T'Aco & Elanii of Veloria - En Route to Mess Hall Deck 7]

T'Aco sat up, ramrod straight, her legs still sprawled before her. Her eyes wide and wild, they searched for her young charge immediately. "Child." Elanii was sitting with her legs pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. Her back was pressed against one of the partition bulkheads, and she appeared to be speaking with someone over comms.

"Are you well."

The counselor ignored the strange sensation that was spreading throughout her body, and the dried blood on her forearm. Carefully, slowly, she moved to her hands and knees and tried to approach Elanii. The girl shook her head vehemently. Of course she was not okay. "T'Aco is awake!"

"Elanii. Listen to me closely, please. Did Ensign Miller - the human male in the patient gown - did he harm you in any way?" Another shake of the little girl's head. T'Aco stalled her crawl just in front of her and nodded. "That is good. Who are you speaking with?"

"Peter. He's coming."

The Vulcan ignored any discomfort and carefully controlled her thoughts so as not to dwell overmuch on the previous events. By virtue of the fact that some of her blood had not yet completely dried, and that the Security Petty Officer the girl had called had not yet arrived, she deduced she had not been unconscious for long. "Well done, Elanii. You are very clever."

She sat back on her haunches, scanning the corridors around them for any sign of the crazed Ensign. Then she tapped her commbadge herself. "Lieutenant T'Aco to Captain Ellis. Captain, I have been assaulted by Ensign Jade Miller. I have reason to believe he is not himself."

***

[Aryn Corliss]

[Lieutenant Mehl, daughter of K'tozh - Place]

The other Bridge officers tried to avoid looking directly at the XO as she righted herself. At the question, Mehl nodded once, all brisk business again, and answered. "Yes, ma'am. Doctors McGellen, Trenzal and Kane are in Sickbay." With only a handful of judicious taps, she looked back up from her console. "Channel open, ma'am."

The three mentioned would hear them as soon as Corliss spoke.

Ducatelle winced in pain, her hand shaking as she tapped her commbadge.  "Transporter room 1 to the bridge. Ensign Miller just beamed down on the planet's surface."

[Bridge]

Before Aryn could say anything to the doctors, the call from the transporter room came through and Aryn swore in about five languages before asking, =A= Are you sure it was Ensign Miller?

Doctors, are you hearing this? she said in aside. There was a disturbance just outside sickbay. Another energy burst and now, supposedly, Ensign Miller has beamed down to the planet. =A=

*****
[Sickbay]

Alec peered wide-eyed at the other two. =A= Aryn, we left Ensign Miller in a stasis field in the morgue when the lights went out. There's no way.

Aryn cut in, Someone go check. And also send someone to see if Lt T'Aco needs medical assistance. She wasn't answering her combadge.

Got it, =A= Alec replied, raising his eyebrows at Lawrie in question.