S4 E6: 20,000 Leagues

[Lawrie McGellen]

[Sickbay --> Corridor --> Sickbay]

Thankfully, the lights were restored just as the three doctors exited sickbay. At least they wouldn't have to bring any patients back in the dark. They were able to move quickly to the spot where Lt. T'Aco was just standing with a hand braced against the corridor wall.

Alec hurried forward, but didn't immediately touch the Vulcan, not wanting to cause her further distress if he could help it.

Yes, come with us, Lieutenant. We'll get you checked out. Alec offered his arm if the woman wanted to accept the help, but he got her moving toward sickbay.

Lawrie, what do you think? Full blood panel, at least? And every scan we can think of. Obviously, we missed something in our examination of Ensign Miller. Alec was mentally berating himself for everything he didn't think of doing for the poor ensign, and now they potentially had a second victim.

Sickbay - Corridor]

"Fiat Lux!" Lawrie said as the lights came back on.

"Full works Alec, but least we have light now so it's less scary and if reports are to be believed we, ah..." he stole a look at Elanii not wanting to scare the child more.  "... the job we were doing before... we don't have to do now.  At least not until he is brought back."

He gave Alec a look over the top of the child hoping that the father to be took the hint of 'don't scare the child more than she's already traumatised'.

PO1 Peter Dannenberg
[USS Shran - Deck 7 - Corridor]

Peter opened his arm to hold Elanii when the little girl buried her face in his chest, sniffling. "The Scary Man is not here anymore, Kleines", he assured her in a soothing voice. "You did well to call me. I'm proud of you." He gently rubbed the girl's back. "As soon as I can, we'll get you a huge ice cream, cookies 'n' cream, alright? I know it's your favourite."

Peter then listened to the conversation between T'Aco and Felicity. He wasn't able to hide the startement from his face when he heard that Miller indeed had been the attacker. But he was dead ...!

As if on cue to Felicity's order, Peter saw the doctors approaching them in the torch's light. They took care of T'Aco and when Felicity joined them, Peter was still holding Elanii. At Felicity's question about the lights, Peter explained. "I already informed Engineering. Sheppard's working on it."

He looked to Elanii. "Hey, Kleines, you better go with T'Aco and Dr. Lawrie so he can check you over."

"Will you and Facility come with?", she asked in a little voice.

"Captain Facility and I have to work. Think of that ice cream, huh? You're a big girl."

Pulling back slowly, two of Elanii's eyes looked at Peter, one at Felicity and one glanced at Lawrie. "Okay, but the ice cream has to be this huge." She gestured with both hands.

Peter grinned. "Promise."

Elanii gave him a kiss on the cheek, then hugged Felicity's legs before she walked over to the funny scottish doctor.

Getting to his feet, Peter stepped up to Felicity. "Can you believe what's going on here?", he now expressed his disbelief from what he had heard of Aryn's report. "I suggest to beam down too and check out what Miller ... or whoever ... whatever he is, is up to."

"Hey Elanii, seeing as the person in charge of ice cream is my girlfriend's sister I can pull strings to make sure that ice cream is at least as big as you want.  But in the meantime why don't you come with me and I've got some cookies in my office and we'll get you some milk, just for now." he held his hand out to the doctor.  "I promise that Peter and Fac... Captain Ellis..." he stopped himself short of calling the Captain by the name the child did... just, giving Flick a grin.

"... they can come visit the second that they're free to do so.   Captain, Mr. Dannenberg, I'll look after her, If my shift finishes, should I take her to play with Bash, take her mind off current events?"

"Yes, thank you Doctors." T'Aco, very unsteady on her feet, reached out to take the offered arm. "I believe I have been compromised." She did not elaborate further on that as she swayed dangerously. Her eyes were rolling upward and she was struggling to stay upright and awake.

"Excuse me, I am suddenly quite fatigued."

"Woah there Lieutenant, let's get you to a biobed right away.  Kestra, come take this little Miss Elanii.  Look after her.  Give her a check over but I think nothing more amiss than a massive scare.  Cookies in my office, you know the special ones!" Lawrie said then dropped to his knees.

"I'm going to have to look after Lt. T'Aco with Dr. Trezmal right now, but Kestra's going to take you to the secret cookie stash.  Save me one, right?!"

He went around the other side of T'Aco to offer her balance that side.  "Biobed 3 please Roger, make it ready!"

[Aryn Corliss]

[Lieutenant T'Aco - En Route to Sickbay, Deck 7]

"Yes, thank you Doctors." T'Aco, very unsteady on her feet, reached out to take the offered arm. "I believe I have been compromised." She did not elaborate further on that as she swayed dangerously. Her eyes were rolling upward and she was struggling to stay upright and awake.

"Excuse me, I am suddenly quite fatigued."

Sickbay - Corridor]

"Fiat Lux!" Lawrie said as the lights came back on.

"Full works Alec, but least we have light now so it's less scary and if reports are to be believed we, ah..." he stole a look at Elanii not wanting to scare the child more.  "... the job we were doing before... we don't have to do now.  At least not until he is brought back."

He gave Alec a look over the top of the child hoping that the father to be took the hint of 'don't scare the child more than she's already traumatised'.

"Hey Elanii, seeing as the person in charge of ice cream is my girlfriend's sister I can pull strings to make sure that ice cream is at least as big as you want.  But in the meantime why don't you come with me and I've got some cookies in my office and we'll get you some milk, just for now." he held his hand out to the doctor.  "I promise that Peter and Fac... Captain Ellis..." he stopped himself short of calling the Captain by the name the child did... just, giving Flick a grin.

"... they can come visit the second that they're free to do so.   Captain, Mr. Dannenberg, I'll look after her, If my shift finishes, should I take her to play with Bash, take her mind off current events?"

"Woah there Lieutenant, let's get you to a biobed right away.  Kestra, come take this little Miss Elanii.  Look after her.  Give her a check over but I think nothing more amiss than a massive scare.  Cookies in my office, you know the special ones!" Lawrie said then dropped to his knees.

"I'm going to have to look after Lt. T'Aco with Dr. Trezmal right now, but Kestra's going to take you to the secret cookie stash.  Save me one, right?!"

He went around the other side of T'Aco to offer her balance that side.  "Biobed 3 please Roger, make it ready!"

[Sickbay]

Alec quickly moved to support the swaying Vulcan, foregoing any attempts to reduce physical contact and getting an arm around her in case T'Aco couldn't make it the rest of the way. He helped her to the indicated biobed and helped her lie down.

The bed almost immediately started giving the doctors readings on the lieutenant's condition: heart rate elevated - hardly surprising, but everything else seemed near or at normal levels. Alec looked at T'Aco's wrist, noting the slow flow of green blood. He grabbed a sterile cloth and dabbed gently at the blood to get a better look, leaning down to peer closer when the wounds were revealed. Are these scratches? It looks like you were clawed with fingernails.

It was all very strange. What could have made them all think Miller was dead when he very obviously wasn't?

Lawrie, I'll get that blood drawn. And I'm going to run every bloody test I can think of on it.

[Lawrie McGellen]

[Sickbay]

Alec quickly moved to support the swaying Vulcan, foregoing any attempts to reduce physical contact and getting an arm around her in case T'Aco couldn't make it the rest of the way. He helped her to the indicated biobed and helped her lie down.

The bed almost immediately started giving the doctors readings on the lieutenant's condition: heart rate elevated - hardly surprising, but everything else seemed near or at normal levels. Alec looked at T'Aco's wrist, noting the slow flow of green blood. He grabbed a sterile cloth and dabbed gently at the blood to get a better look, leaning down to peer closer when the wounds were revealed. Are these scratches? It looks like you were clawed with fingernails.

It was all very strange. What could have made them all think Miller was dead when he very obviously wasn't?

Lawrie, I'll get that blood drawn. And I'm going to run every bloody test I can think of on it.

[Sickbay]

"Did I hear the words 'clawed with fingernails', get that sorted.  As for the bloody tests..." he winked at Alec, hoping to put the other doctor a little more at ease,

"... every bloody last one of them that you can think of and probably a few that you can't.  Remember I'm a virologist and immunologist by specialism.  I'm used to doing things with blood and DNA samples most people wouldn't think about.  Don't worry, there's a list in the database, one extra vial of blood.  Sorry Lieutenant you're going to have a bit of an empty arm but I'll get someone to fetch you a warm drink for the blood taken to start regenerating."

Lawrie's Office

[AS NPC KESTRA 'KESTREL' DONAGHUE]

Kestra

Kestra fished around in Lawrie's drawers trying to find the cookie jar, some of the things in his desk raising her eyebrows higher than a Vulcan's.  Not least the phaser in the bottom drawer alongside his secret stash of single malt Kilchoman whisky, which she already knew about.  A pair of women's panties... lacy ones which she hastily hid in the drawer again praying that they were Jenna's but not wanting to know why they were there.  However, she thought that might mess the poor child now standing behind her even more than the phaser and the whisky.

Finally coming up trumps with the cookie tin (it was an old shortbread tin complete with blue saltire and two scottie dogs).  Opening the lid and half expecting to find a stash of anti-hangover hypos or alternatively a sewing kit she grinned when she found the double choc chip cookies.

"Ah here we are, wanna sit in the big seat? Dr. Lawrie would let you, it spins.  And you can have one or two of these.  No more, we don't want you ruining that ice cream treat Peter's promised you now would we!?!"

[Peter Dannenberg]

NPC Elanii of Veloria
[USS Shran - Deck 7 - CMO's office]

[AS NPC KESTRA 'KESTREL' DONAGHUE]

Kestra

Kestra fished around in Lawrie's drawers trying to find the cookie jar, some of the things in his desk raising her eyebrows higher than a Vulcan's.  Not least the phaser in the bottom drawer alongside his secret stash of single malt Kilchoman whisky, which she already knew about.  A pair of women's panties... lacy ones which she hastily hid in the drawer again praying that they were Jenna's but not wanting to know why they were there.  However, she thought that might mess the poor child now standing behind her even more than the phaser and the whisky.

Finally coming up trumps with the cookie tin (it was an old shortbread tin complete with blue saltire and two scottie dogs).  Opening the lid and half expecting to find a stash of anti-hangover hypos or alternatively a sewing kit she grinned when she found the double choc chip cookies.

"Ah here we are, wanna sit in the big seat? Dr. Lawrie would let you, it spins.  And you can have one or two of these.  No more, we don't want you ruining that ice cream treat Peter's promised you now would we!?!"

Elanii had followed Lawrie to the sickbay and then was taken to a spearated room by Kestra. Since she was promised cookies, Elanii waited patiently while Kestra searched the drawer.

Her face lit up when she saw the cookies. Having been offered to sit in the big chair Elanii nodded enthusiastically and climbed up on it. "Thank you", she said politely and started nibbling on the biscuits. "I can eat a lot of sweets without getting sick!" she told Kestra with a grin.

Then, a more srious thought came to her mind and she stopped chewing as all of her four eyes looked to Kestra. "Is Miss T'Aco going to be okay?", she asked quietly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PO1 Peter Dannenberg
[USS Shran - Deck 7 - Corridor]

[Felicity Ellis - Corridor, Deck 7]

The wavering beams of light from their torches drew Felicity toward the group, her eyes narrowed in the dimly lit corridor as she identified each member of the assembled group. It was then that Aryn's report came through. Felicity stopped a short distance away from Elanii, who was being comforted and reassured by Peter, and cocked her head to listen to the strangest thing she'd heard since her dead brother spoke to her on the Bridge, all those months ago.

Her jaw clenched, but she managed a smile for the little girl who gave Peter a kiss on the cheek, and then came over to wrap her arms around her legs. "You're very brave, liefling." Felicity's hand reached out to stroke the top of Elanii's head, showing no other sign of the pain in her chest that continued to coil, making her feel as though her lungs were being constricted. She watched her move off and as Peter stepped toward her, she shook her head at his question. "Miller... whatever he is, obviously did something to T'Aco," Felicity mused aloud, still watching the retreating personnel, the Vulcan in particular drawing her attention when she stumbled and reached out for Alec. He could have done something to Elanii, too. "He was the only one to go into the water, Peter." She blinked several times as the lights returned in full glory while she processed the theory, then looked at him. "Something happened to him there and we need to find out what, just in case T'Aco -" She broke off for a moment and found herself wondering if what she was saying was making any sense.

"There's a team on their way to the Transporter Room, you should go with them. I'll follow in the modified shuttle." After a brief pause, she reached out to Aryn.

"Ellis to Bridge. I'm on Deck 7 now, Commander. Proceed with your plan.     Ellis to Lieutenant O'Leary. How soon can you launch that shubble of yours?"

Peter nodded in thought when Felicity mentioned the water, rubbing his palm over the stubble at his chin. When Felicity trailed off speaking, Peter looked up, regarding her with a mix of irritation and curiosity. "Just in case, T'Aco what?"

He nodded his head when she agreed on his suggestion to go down to check on Miller. "Alright." He was already moving when she mentioned following with the shuttle. That made him stop and turn back to her. "The shuttle? That modified shuttle Jett worked on to use as a submarine?" The thought didn't appeal to him. But it seemed like he had to trust Jett. "I hope you know what you're doing", he muttered, grinning at her. Then he walked off.

[USS Shran - Deck 5 - Transporter Room 1]

When Peter - now wearing the protective suit Mondo had brought with him earier - arrived at the Transporter Room, he found Mondo there and the injured Ensign Ducatelle and her relief. The woman's nose looked nasty, swollen and a little bit crooked. "You should see a doctor for that, Ensign", Peter remarked.

"On my way already. The pain is killing me." She looked back to Mondo. "Is there anything else you need to know from me, Petty Officer?"

[Felicity Ellis]

Sickbay - Corridor]

"Hey Elanii, seeing as the person in charge of ice cream is my girlfriend's sister I can pull strings to make sure that ice cream is at least as big as you want.  But in the meantime why don't you come with me and I've got some cookies in my office and we'll get you some milk, just for now." he held his hand out to the doctor.  "I promise that Peter and Fac... Captain Ellis..." he stopped himself short of calling the Captain by the name the child did... just, giving Flick a grin.

"... they can come visit the second that they're free to do so.   Captain, Mr. Dannenberg, I'll look after her, If my shift finishes, should I take her to play with Bash, take her mind off current events?"

[Felicity Ellis - Corridor, Deck 7]

"Thank you, Doctor," Felicity said with a small smile, looking reassured that Elanii would be in safe hands. "Vanthi is not expecting her back for a few hours yet, but I'll let him know where she is." She'd been of the impression that the other Velorian on their ship had been keen to pass his daughter over to T'Aco's care for the afternoon. Felicity felt relief that for once she hadn't been the cause of upset to Elanii, but that was followed swiftly by a pang of guilt for even thinking it. Vanthi often considered her a dangerous influence on his child.

PO1 Peter Dannenberg
[USS Shran - Deck 7 - Corridor]

Peter nodded in thought when Felicity mentioned the water, rubbing his palm over the stubble at his chin. When Felicity trailed off speaking, Peter looked up, regarding her with a mix of irritation and curiosity. "Just in case, T'Aco what?"

He nodded his head when she agreed on his suggestion to go down to check on Miller. "Alright." He was already moving when she mentioned following with the shuttle. That made him stop and turn back to her. "The shuttle? That modified shuttle Jett worked on to use as a submarine?" The thought didn't appeal to him. But it seemed like he had to trust Jett. "I hope you know what you're doing", he muttered, grinning at her. Then he walked off.

Just in case T'Aco dies.

She only thought it, she didn't say it aloud. Her imagination was obviously running away with her and making connections where there might not be any, where she hoped there would not be any. But T'Aco's account of the incident with Miller left her feeling even less certain than she had before.

"Yes, that shuttle." She arched a brow and looked at Peter, caught between irritation and amusement. "And I always know what I'm doing."

Well, that was a blatant lie.

Amusement won, and she rolled her eyes as he walked off. She shook her head and began moving herself; it was time to get back to business. And right then, their business had resurrected and beamed himself back down to the water planet. "Ellis to Kane. Doctor, prep to go planetside. Meet me in Shuttle Bay 1 please, five minutes."

***

[Dr. Dugris "Doug" Zaman - Passageways]

Doug found the suggestion of bringing weapons to be silly, but he didn't dismiss it aloud as the others did. One never could know for sure.

He followed along with the group, until they reached the panel that seemed dead-set to obstruct them.

"If it won't budge, perhaps we can try to slice through it," he suggested. "If only I had PooDoo with me. That squirrelbeast can cut through just about anything with her claws."

Unfortunately, "just about anything" normally included things Doug would rather not be cut through. Such was life with an unruly El-Aurian Squirrelbeast.

[Shuttle Bay 1 – Corridors, Deck 7]

The former officer looked at the supplies from the emergency kit of the Cosmo and looked around the place was dark and power outages were not normal on a Starship.  The crew seemed to be relaxed, but he did not know.

The former Officer walked and followed the Engineer, as she offered the Hyper Spanner instead of a weapon.  Jett shrugged it off and responded "Don't worry about it" .  Thomas was used to have his pistols with him.  Maybe he was indeed paranoid or maybe being outside of Starfleet for years has changed him.  He was after all, in a Federation ship in which has dramatically fewer dangers than civilian life in deep space.

Jett nodded as it was mentioned he was scared in the dark.  It was not the darkness that scared him it was that his sense was diminished.  They are multiple scenarios from boarding that the first thing you do is to cut the power.  But once again in a civilian ship, any small thing could be a precursor of something bigger.
As dealing with the panel situation, it appeared that it would not budge.  He thought of slicing it open, Jett thought of maybe blowing it open with a weapon.  Regardless the panel was in the way. "Wish I could vaporize this with a phaser" .  The man uttered under his breath.  He was sure that weapons sometimes could be used as tools.   Even though, they laughed for him wanting a weapon sometimes destruction is a way to solve a problem.  Not the only way, but a possible solution.

Instead of prying open the panel Jett observed it.  "It's not entirely shut.  It just seems like it stuck or jammed..  Jett then looked at Lyric and mentioned "Hmm, it might be easier to open from the other side with more leverage.  It's easier to push than to pull.  And we have someone that can be big and small at the same time.".  Jett looked at Lyric as it was not a subtle hint for her to transform herself go around the panel and remove what jamming it or more leverage.

Ellis to Lieutenant O'Leary. How soon can you launch that shubble of yours?"[/color]

[Lieutenant Niamh O'Leary - Shuttle Bay 1]

"Well, whatever ye're plannin' on doin', do her fast. A Captain this way comes, and she wants her shubble."

O'Leary stood and backed away from the panel, letting the others argue over the best method of getting it open. "O'Leary here, Ma'am. We are presently trying to restore some juice to the main bay."

"I'm on my way to you, Lieutenant. Do what you need to do, but I want us launched in ten. Ellis out."

"That's told us."

***

[Sickbay]

Alec quickly moved to support the swaying Vulcan, foregoing any attempts to reduce physical contact and getting an arm around her in case T'Aco couldn't make it the rest of the way. He helped her to the indicated biobed and helped her lie down.

The bed almost immediately started giving the doctors readings on the lieutenant's condition: heart rate elevated - hardly surprising, but everything else seemed near or at normal levels. Alec looked at T'Aco's wrist, noting the slow flow of green blood. He grabbed a sterile cloth and dabbed gently at the blood to get a better look, leaning down to peer closer when the wounds were revealed. Are these scratches? It looks like you were clawed with fingernails.

It was all very strange. What could have made them all think Miller was dead when he very obviously wasn't?

Lawrie, I'll get that blood drawn. And I'm going to run every bloody test I can think of on it.

[Sickbay]

"Did I hear the words 'clawed with fingernails', get that sorted.  As for the bloody tests..." he winked at Alec, hoping to put the other doctor a little more at ease,

"... every bloody last one of them that you can think of and probably a few that you can't.  Remember I'm a virologist and immunologist by specialism.  I'm used to doing things with blood and DNA samples most people wouldn't think about.  Don't worry, there's a list in the database, one extra vial of blood.  Sorry Lieutenant you're going to have a bit of an empty arm but I'll get someone to fetch you a warm drink for the blood taken to start regenerating."

[Lieutenant T'Aco - Sickbay]

T'Aco had never felt so exhausted before in her life. Her legs and arms were a dead weight, dragging her down toward the floor. She actually groaned with relief when she was placed on the biobed, where she did not have to contend with the bother of simple forward motion.

She was still vaguely aware of Dr. Alec Trenzal holding her arm and studying it, and Dr. McGellen commenting on blood. "They are from Ensign Miller's fingernails," she confirmed of the indentations, her voice coming out a little slurred. Her head rolled to the side to look at them both.

"There was a gelatinous material exuding from his ear. He smeared some of it on the wound. I found that to be highly irregular."

[Aryn Corliss]

[Sickbay]

"Did I hear the words 'clawed with fingernails', get that sorted.  As for the bloody tests..." he winked at Alec, hoping to put the other doctor a little more at ease,

"... every bloody last one of them that you can think of and probably a few that you can't.  Remember I'm a virologist and immunologist by specialism.  I'm used to doing things with blood and DNA samples most people wouldn't think about.  Don't worry, there's a list in the database, one extra vial of blood.  Sorry Lieutenant you're going to have a bit of an empty arm but I'll get someone to fetch you a warm drink for the blood taken to start regenerating."

[Lieutenant T'Aco - Sickbay]

T'Aco had never felt so exhausted before in her life. Her legs and arms were a dead weight, dragging her down toward the floor. She actually groaned with relief when she was placed on the biobed, where she did not have to contend with the bother of simple forward motion.

She was still vaguely aware of Dr. Alec Trenzal holding her arm and studying it, and Dr. McGellen commenting on blood. "They are from Ensign Miller's fingernails," she confirmed of the indentations, her voice coming out a little slurred. Her head rolled to the side to look at them both.

"There was a gelatinous material exuding from his ear. He smeared some of it on the wound. I found that to be highly irregular."

[Sickbay]

Alec shot Lawrie a worried look when T'Aco revealed exactly what had happened. Though no one had seen it, he had to imagine that something similar must have happened to Miller, which meant they were probably on an extremely limited timeline.

He gently set the Vulcan's arm on the bed beside her and reached for an empty hypo. Alec applied it to her arm, and filled several tubes with green blood.

I'm going to start running the tests on these, Alec said as he headed for the lab. He paused a few feet away and turned back. Doctor, maybe we should get a sample under the electron microscope, too. You want to take care of that? he asked Lawrie.

[Lyric McDaniels]

[Shuttle Bay 1 – Corridors, Deck 7]

The former officer looked at the supplies from the emergency kit of the Cosmo and looked around the place was dark and power outages were not normal on a Starship.  The crew seemed to be relaxed, but he did not know.

The former Officer walked and followed the Engineer, as she offered the Hyper Spanner instead of a weapon.  Jett shrugged it off and responded "Don't worry about it" .  Thomas was used to have his pistols with him.  Maybe he was indeed paranoid or maybe being outside of Starfleet for years has changed him.  He was after all, in a Federation ship in which has dramatically fewer dangers than civilian life in deep space.

Jett nodded as it was mentioned he was scared in the dark.  It was not the darkness that scared him it was that his sense was diminished.  They are multiple scenarios from boarding that the first thing you do is to cut the power.  But once again in a civilian ship, any small thing could be a precursor of something bigger.
As dealing with the panel situation, it appeared that it would not budge.  He thought of slicing it open, Jett thought of maybe blowing it open with a weapon.  Regardless the panel was in the way. "Wish I could vaporize this with a phaser" .  The man uttered under his breath.  He was sure that weapons sometimes could be used as tools.   Even though, they laughed for him wanting a weapon sometimes destruction is a way to solve a problem.  Not the only way, but a possible solution.

Instead of prying open the panel Jett observed it.  "It's not entirely shut.  It just seems like it stuck or jammed..  Jett then looked at Lyric and mentioned "Hmm, it might be easier to open from the other side with more leverage.  It's easier to push than to pull.  And we have someone that can be big and small at the same time.".  Jett looked at Lyric as it was not a subtle hint for her to transform herself go around the panel and remove what jamming it or more leverage.

[Lieutenant Niamh O'Leary - Shuttle Bay 1]

"Well, whatever ye're plannin' on doin', do her fast. A Captain this way comes, and she wants her shubble."

O'Leary stood and backed away from the panel, letting the others argue over the best method of getting it open. "O'Leary here, Ma'am. We are presently trying to restore some juice to the main bay."

"I'm on my way to you, Lieutenant. Do what you need to do, but I want us launched in ten. Ellis out."

"That's told us."

[Outside Shuttle Bay 1 - Corridor, Deck 7]

It took Jett's completely unsubtle hinting, and Lt. O'Leary's confirmation that the Captain was on her way to get the wheels turning in Lyric's head. Sometimes she was so determined to fit in with the solids, she forgot she had other ways of doing things available to her. She did like Dr. Doug's squirrelbeast suggestion, but given the very recent explosion of the Calypso, more destruction was something she'd very much like to avoid. Pulling the strap over her head, she took off her tool satchel and thrust it at Jett.

"Hey, hold this for a moment for me, will ya? I do got another way in. Uh... stand back a bit and I'll get the panel off, from the other side."

Her tools safe for the moment, the Changeling melted down in to her natural form, a shapeless puddle, lightly amber colored and glinting faintly in the dim lighting. Fluidly, she slid across the deck plating, oozing through a small gap between the panel and the wall.

"I'm in." Lyric's voice filtered through, muffled.

"This panel was double locked, to keep people from tampering with the shuttle bay power. I didn't have the right decoupler in my tool kit for this particular one. I just gotta hit this other latch and..." With a click, the panel slipped free and went crashing down to the floor. She'd tried to grab it, and missed.

"Sorry about that, it got away from me, it did." She grinned sheepishly and held her hand out to Jett for her tools.

"If I can't figure out what caused the outage, I still might be able to reconfigure the power couplings and re-route energy from a non-essential system, just to get the lights back on." She tapped her chin in thought.

"Hey, Dr. Doug, are you familar with the conduits and EPS taps? Might be good to have a second set of eyes on it."

[Lawrie McGellen]

NPC Elanii of Veloria
[USS Shran - Deck 7 - CMO's office]

Elanii had followed Lawrie to the sickbay and then was taken to a spearated room by Kestra. Since she was promised cookies, Elanii waited patiently while Kestra searched the drawer.

Her face lit up when she saw the cookies. Having been offered to sit in the big chair Elanii nodded enthusiastically and climbed up on it. "Thank you", she said politely and started nibbling on the biscuits. "I can eat a lot of sweets without getting sick!" she told Kestra with a grin.

Then, a more srious thought came to her mind and she stopped chewing as all of her four eyes looked to Kestra. "Is Miss T'Aco going to be okay?", she asked quietly.

[CMO's Office - Sickbay]

[As NPC Kestra Donaghue]

"I'm sure that she'll be fine once the doctors have had a look at her.  She's very strong normally."  Kestra reassured the girl.

"And you're very lucky you can eat all the sweet stuff and not get sick.  Me? I just get fat but I think everyone should have a treat now and then!" she said helping herself to one of the cookies.

In Medical one often didn't know when you'd get another break, or you'd just be about to go on a break and some emergency would come in!

"You know the best thing about that big chair..." the nurse asked with a grin and a wink. "...it spins" she gave it a little experimental sway one way and back then a little way the other way and back then let it go one revolution fully to see how Elanii reacted.

She didn't want to scare or make the child dizzy but most children seemed to enjoy spinning in chairs or going faster/higher whatever and pushing boundaries and if it helped take her mind off whatever horror she'd seen with the zombie Miller or however one might describe him, it was all good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Felicity Ellis - Corridor, Deck 7]

"Thank you, Doctor," Felicity said with a small smile, looking reassured that Elanii would be in safe hands. "Vanthi is not expecting her back for a few hours yet, but I'll let him know where she is." She'd been of the impression that the other Velorian on their ship had been keen to pass his daughter over to T'Aco's care for the afternoon. Felicity felt relief that for once she hadn't been the cause of upset to Elanii, but that was followed swiftly by a pang of guilt for even thinking it. Vanthi often considered her a dangerous influence on his child.

Just in case T'Aco dies.

She only thought it, she didn't say it aloud. Her imagination was obviously running away with her and making connections where there might not be any, where she hoped there would not be any. But T'Aco's account of the incident with Miller left her feeling even less certain than she had before.

"Yes, that shuttle." She arched a brow and looked at Peter, caught between irritation and amusement. "And I always know what I'm doing."

Well, that was a blatant lie.

Amusement won, and she rolled her eyes as he walked off. She shook her head and began moving herself; it was time to get back to business. And right then, their business had resurrected and beamed himself back down to the water planet. "Ellis to Kane. Doctor, prep to go planetside. Meet me in Shuttle Bay 1 please, five minutes."

Sickbay

"Our pleasure Captain, in the case of Kestra I think she misses her nieces and nephews, sooner we get her married off to someone nice and she has some kiddos of her own she'll be in her element!" Lawrie jested, eager to have something less horrific to talk about.

"As for after, well Bash is always asking to play with either Elanii or Steve so...." he shrugged elaborately.  "I don't think it'll be a hardship and if it comes to mealtimes so long as we have a list of anything she doesn't or isn't allowed to eat as well as a huge bowl of Cookies and Cream ice cream I think we'll be fine!!" he grinned over his shoulder as he assisted T'Aco into the Sickbay.

[Lieutenant T'Aco - Sickbay]

T'Aco had never felt so exhausted before in her life. Her legs and arms were a dead weight, dragging her down toward the floor. She actually groaned with relief when she was placed on the biobed, where she did not have to contend with the bother of simple forward motion.

She was still vaguely aware of Dr. Alec Trenzal holding her arm and studying it, and Dr. McGellen commenting on blood. "They are from Ensign Miller's fingernails," she confirmed of the indentations, her voice coming out a little slurred. Her head rolled to the side to look at them both.

"There was a gelatinous material exuding from his ear. He smeared some of it on the wound. I found that to be highly irregular."

"Gelatinous... hmm... let's see if we can find any of that on you..." the doctor commented.

[Sickbay]

Alec shot Lawrie a worried look when T'Aco revealed exactly what had happened. Though no one had seen it, he had to imagine that something similar must have happened to Miller, which meant they were probably on an extremely limited timeline.

He gently set the Vulcan's arm on the bed beside her and reached for an empty hypo. Alec applied it to her arm, and filled several tubes with green blood.

I'm going to start running the tests on these, Alec said as he headed for the lab. He paused a few feet away and turned back. Doctor, maybe we should get a sample under the electron microscope, too. You want to take care of that? he asked Lawrie.

"Yeah... well... I don't in one sense as in I'm sorry that we have to do it but in order to get to the bottom of this, yes I'm glad to take that one on, Alec.  I'll try to get separate samples of both this gelatinous stuff and the blood.  Lieutenant... do you hurt anywhere other than directly around the scratches?"

He took a small tool and got samples from around the wound, blood and other 'gunk' and put them on microscope slides.  "I'll leave the rest to you, Dr. Trenzal.  Lt. T'Aco, please try to rest a little."

[Thomas Jett]

[Coridors – Deck 7]

Tom gave Lyric his advice when he heard the message from the comm.  Jett quickly nodded as to inform the Shubble is ready and it has a pilot ready to go.

[Lieutenant Niamh O'Leary - Shuttle Bay 1]

"Well, whatever ye're plannin' on doin', do her fast. A Captain this way comes, and she wants her shubble."

O'Leary stood and backed away from the panel, letting the others argue over the best method of getting it open. "O'Leary here, Ma'am. We are presently trying to restore some juice to the main bay."

"I'm on my way to you, Lieutenant. Do what you need to do, but I want us launched in ten. Ellis out."

"That's told us."

***

Jett listened to the Captain on the comms and figured that he as the pilot be doing a pre-flight check and make sure that everything is in order.  Before he reacted or made his Statement, he was asked by Lyric to hold her tools.

[Outside Shuttle Bay 1 - Corridor, Deck 7]

It took Jett's completely unsubtle hinting, and Lt. O'Leary's confirmation that the Captain was on her way to get the wheels turning in Lyric's head. Sometimes she was so determined to fit in with the solids, she forgot she had other ways of doing things available to her. She did like Dr. Doug's squirrelbeast suggestion, but given the very recent explosion of the Calypso, more destruction was something she'd very much like to avoid. Pulling the strap over her head, she took off her tool satchel and thrust it at Jett.

"Hey, hold this for a moment for me, will ya? I do got another way in. Uh... stand back a bit and I'll get the panel off, from the other side."

Her tools safe for the moment, the Changeling melted down in to her natural form, a shapeless puddle, lightly amber colored and glinting faintly in the dim lighting. Fluidly, she slid across the deck plating, oozing through a small gap between the panel and the wall.

"I'm in." Lyric's voice filtered through, muffled.

"This panel was double locked, to keep people from tampering with the shuttle bay power. I didn't have the right decoupler in my tool kit for this particular one. I just gotta hit this other latch and..." With a click, the panel slipped free and went crashing down to the floor. She'd tried to grab it, and missed.

"Sorry about that, it got away from me, it did." She grinned sheepishly and held her hand out to Jett for her tools.

"If I can't figure out what caused the outage, I still might be able to reconfigure the power couplings and re-route energy from a non-essential system, just to get the lights back on." She tapped her chin in thought.

"Hey, Dr. Doug, are you familar with the conduits and EPS taps? Might be good to have a second set of eyes on it."

As Jett was put almost unwillingly as a gloried tool holder, he wondered where did he go wrong in his life.  He had the bag and would politely nod at the request.  As he panel slip away from her the former officer heard a loud clank.  As she requested Doug for help, Jett then handed the tools over to the scientist and responded "How about you hold this, no offense, but I have a shubble to pre-check and get it up in the air".  Jett commented as it was evident that the flight was going to take place and he was responsible for their safety.

The man excused himself as he tried to get ready.

[Shuble – Nemo – Inside]

It did not take long for him to get back to their vehicle.  He turned the internal power of the vehicle and the light inside turned on.  All the instruments began working and the lights began working.  Inside the shuttle was cleaned and modified with several seats and seatbelts.   As the light where on Jett began his check.  The Life support system was good, engines and power where good, the modified hull plating was also good.

"Check...Check...check...".  Jett said out loud as he thought he was by himself.  It took a second when he realized he had not transported other Starfleet Members on a mission other than the rescue mission.  In which, that was the day he earned the Medal of Honor and also his wife disappeared.

As he did not hear anyone, he looked in his coat and took pictures out.  He put on the control panel a photo of them.  He looked at the picture and smiled as he was a little superstitious

Every time he wondered if the ship or shuttle be able to handle the condition he put that picture of her. He figured that it was his good luck charm.  "Just a quick flight...like you have done countless of times" .  Jett muttered to himself.  He knew the shublte would be hard to pilot and there was no training for it.  In his heart, he hoped his experience was enough to overcome the unknown.  That and luck...

"Only one way to find out if this baby flies".  He said to himself.  In an ideal situation, he would have test piloted by himself but this was a rushed job.

[Dugris Zaman]

OOC: Not going to quote. Too many quotes to quote.

[Dr. Dugris "Doug" Zaman - Corridor, Deck 7]

Doug shook his head when Jett foisted the tools on him. He'd been asked to help, after all, and he only had one good arm.

"Lemme take a look," he told Lyric, reluctantly tucking the tools under his left arm. "I think we just need to flip the polarity on the couplings on the critical paths. The flow reversal should compensate for just about everything wrong, unless the couplings were physically ripped out."

That actually was a possibility. A young PooDoo had done that once, when Doug owned a big passenger liner in the early 23rd century. That was why he left that business.

[Peter Dannenberg]

NPC Elanii of Veloria
[USS Shran - Deck 7 - Sickbay - CMO's office]

[CMO's Office - Sickbay]

[As NPC Kestra Donaghue]

"I'm sure that she'll be fine once the doctors have had a look at her.  She's very strong normally."  Kestra reassured the girl.

"And you're very lucky you can eat all the sweet stuff and not get sick.  Me? I just get fat but I think everyone should have a treat now and then!" she said helping herself to one of the cookies.

In Medical one often didn't know when you'd get another break, or you'd just be about to go on a break and some emergency would come in!

"You know the best thing about that big chair..." the nurse asked with a grin and a wink. "...it spins" she gave it a little experimental sway one way and back then a little way the other way and back then let it go one revolution fully to see how Elanii reacted.

She didn't want to scare or make the child dizzy but most children seemed to enjoy spinning in chairs or going faster/higher whatever and pushing boundaries and if it helped take her mind off whatever horror she'd seen with the zombie Miller or however one might describe him, it was all good.

Elanii looked at Kestra with four big eyes as if trying to make out if the woman was telling the truth about T'Aco. Only a moment the little girl smiled at her, happy with that information.

She continued to munch on the cookie as Kestra swang her to the left and right and when he gave her nudge and the chair spinned around once fully, Elanii giggled loudly, apparently having a good time.

When the chair stopped, Elanii looked up at Kestra. "Once more!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PO1 Peter Dannenberg
[USS Shran - Deck 5 - Transporter Room 1]

Peter waited for the rest of the small team to beam down on the planet. Among these was the most recent new arrival, Stratton.

Once they were complete, they stepped up on the transporter platform and a moment later they vanished from the ship.

[Earth-like waterplanet - Peninsula]

As soon as the confinement beam released them, Peter gripped the rifle tightly as he glanced about of they saw Miller somewhere. But he was nowhere to be seen.

"This is the same spot we beamed down earlier", Peter said for the benefit of those who had bot been down here with them the first time. They were on the rather small peninsula with rough cliffs and even shores.

"Mr. Stratton, getting any bio readings on Ensign Miller?", he asked while his gaze kept wandering about. "Everyone else, look out for anything unusual, especially bluish flickering. And stay away from the ocean."

[Felicity Ellis]

[Outside Shuttle Bay 1 - Corridor, Deck 7]

It took Jett's completely unsubtle hinting, and Lt. O'Leary's confirmation that the Captain was on her way to get the wheels turning in Lyric's head. Sometimes she was so determined to fit in with the solids, she forgot she had other ways of doing things available to her. She did like Dr. Doug's squirrelbeast suggestion, but given the very recent explosion of the Calypso, more destruction was something she'd very much like to avoid. Pulling the strap over her head, she took off her tool satchel and thrust it at Jett.

"Hey, hold this for a moment for me, will ya? I do got another way in. Uh... stand back a bit and I'll get the panel off, from the other side."

Her tools safe for the moment, the Changeling melted down in to her natural form, a shapeless puddle, lightly amber colored and glinting faintly in the dim lighting. Fluidly, she slid across the deck plating, oozing through a small gap between the panel and the wall.

"I'm in." Lyric's voice filtered through, muffled.

"This panel was double locked, to keep people from tampering with the shuttle bay power. I didn't have the right decoupler in my tool kit for this particular one. I just gotta hit this other latch and..." With a click, the panel slipped free and went crashing down to the floor. She'd tried to grab it, and missed.

"Sorry about that, it got away from me, it did." She grinned sheepishly and held her hand out to Jett for her tools.

"If I can't figure out what caused the outage, I still might be able to reconfigure the power couplings and re-route energy from a non-essential system, just to get the lights back on." She tapped her chin in thought.

"Hey, Dr. Doug, are you familar with the conduits and EPS taps? Might be good to have a second set of eyes on it."

OOC: Not going to quote. Too many quotes to quote.

[Dr. Dugris "Doug" Zaman - Corridor, Deck 7]

Doug shook his head when Jett foisted the tools on him. He'd been asked to help, after all, and he only had one good arm.

"Lemme take a look," he told Lyric, reluctantly tucking the tools under his left arm. "I think we just need to flip the polarity on the couplings on the critical paths. The flow reversal should compensate for just about everything wrong, unless the couplings were physically ripped out."

That actually was a possibility. A young PooDoo had done that once, when Doug owned a big passenger liner in the early 23rd century. That was why he left that business.

[Felicity Ellis & Lieutenant Niamh O'Leary - Corridors, Deck 7 -> Shuttle Bay 1]

Having been on the very same deck, just outside Sickbay, Felicity had only a short journey to the Main Shuttle Bay. The further away she got from the section where she'd found T'Aco looking so much worse for wear though, the dimmer the corridor became. Thankfully, she could once again follow the white beams of light that she guessed must be coming from the shubble team's torches.

Soon she was upon them. "McDaniels, Dr. Zaman," she greeted the pair softly, not wanting to disturb them too much from their work. "Once you're finished here, please join me in the shubble, I'll get you up to speed." She was already staring at O'Leary by the time she'd finished speaking, a little disappointed to see the Flight Chief standing in the corridor instead of prepping their craft.

"Lieutenant, shall we?" As Felicity continued toward the shuttle bay, the Irishwoman fell into step beside her. The others might still be able to catch parts of their conversation should they be inclined to listen closely. "Explain."

"Ah, well ye see, Cap'n, I'm eh, how would ye say, not exactly, erm..."

Felicity turned an impatient look on the normally very straight-talking O'Leary as they stepped into Shuttle Bay 1, and toward the little modified shuttle that (hopefully) could. "What is it, Lieutenant."

"I've a fierce dose of aquaphobia, Cap'n." O'Leary was ringing her hands a little, her cheeks flushed. Felicity wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment, or something else. She chose to assume the former. She cocked her head, listening as they continued walking. "Started back when I was a young wan, and John-Paul Doran triple-dared me to jump off the Hickey Bridge and into one of the Bann's smaller tributaries. Well, it may have been technically a babby of a river, but the current was wicked and I ended up washed up on its banks about six mile from the bridge, and barely able to suck in a single sweet breath. Ever since then, I've not been able to glimpse a body of water without gettin' the heebies."

Felicity could sympathise with the woman's fear, after all, she was describing what must have been a very traumatic experience for the young Niamh O'Leary, but that didn't mean should could shirk her responsibilities, that she couldn't go through the pre-flight sequences and arrange a replacement...

When she stepped onto the Nemo, she turned a questioning look back toward O'Leary, her expression even more impatient than it had been before.

[...]
[Shuble – Nemo – Inside]

It did not take long for him to get back to their vehicle.  He turned the internal power of the vehicle and the light inside turned on.  All the instruments began working and the lights began working.  Inside the shuttle was cleaned and modified with several seats and seatbelts.   As the light where on Jett began his check.  The Life support system was good, engines and power where good, the modified hull plating was also good.

"Check...Check...check...".  Jett said out loud as he thought he was by himself.  It took a second when he realized he had not transported other Starfleet Members on a mission other than the rescue mission.  In which, that was the day he earned the Medal of Honor and also his wife disappeared.

As he did not hear anyone, he looked in his coat and took pictures out.  He put on the control panel a photo of them.  He looked at the picture and smiled as he was a little superstitious

Every time he wondered if the ship or shuttle be able to handle the condition he put that picture of her. He figured that it was his good luck charm.  "Just a quick flight...like you have done countless of times" .  Jett muttered to himself.  He knew the shublte would be hard to pilot and there was no training for it.  In his heart, he hoped his experience was enough to overcome the unknown.  That and luck...

"Only one way to find out if this baby flies".  He said to himself.  In an ideal situation, he would have test piloted by himself but this was a rushed job.

"Jett?"

"Well I couldn't fly her, Cap'n, and ye seemed in some haste to get her in the air, so I didn't reckon there was time to raise Anders from his night-cycle sleep. Jett is a pilot. He is qualified, Ma'am."

"I know what he is." Felicity pinched the bridge of her nose and inhaled through her mouth, taking a moment to acclimatise to the new situation. Thomas Jett was sitting in the pilot seat, having already made himself at home by affixing various photographs to a console. She straightened and moved to take the co-pilot's chair. "Status," she barked, logging in with her credentials at record speed.

She spun in the chair to fix a steely gaze on Niamh O'Leary. "Take your place on the Bridge. Dismissed."

***

[Sickbay]

Alec shot Lawrie a worried look when T'Aco revealed exactly what had happened. Though no one had seen it, he had to imagine that something similar must have happened to Miller, which meant they were probably on an extremely limited timeline.

He gently set the Vulcan's arm on the bed beside her and reached for an empty hypo. Alec applied it to her arm, and filled several tubes with green blood.

I'm going to start running the tests on these, Alec said as he headed for the lab. He paused a few feet away and turned back. Doctor, maybe we should get a sample under the electron microscope, too. You want to take care of that? he asked Lawrie.

[...]
"Gelatinous... hmm... let's see if we can find any of that on you..." the doctor commented.

"Yeah... well... I don't in one sense as in I'm sorry that we have to do it but in order to get to the bottom of this, yes I'm glad to take that one on, Alec.  I'll try to get separate samples of both this gelatinous stuff and the blood.  Lieutenant... do you hurt anywhere other than directly around the scratches?"

He took a small tool and got samples from around the wound, blood and other 'gunk' and put them on microscope slides.  "I'll leave the rest to you, Dr. Trenzal.  Lt. T'Aco, please try to rest a little."

[Lieutenant T'Aco - Sickbay]

"It is not pain that I feel, Doctor," T'Aco told him, her eyes feeling hot, heavy, the darkness of sleep beckoning. "I believe that Ensign Miller's attack has negatively impacted on my motor skill."

Her tongue ran tentatively over her lips. "I am warm. I am thirsty."

She rolled her head away again, her movements slow, her eyelids sliding closed. "I believe I should rest now."

[Charles Stratton]

[Earth-like waterplanet - Peninsula]

The last month had been a whirlwind of activity for Stratton. He had been assigned to USS Shran, and rendezvoused with her at Starbase Columbus only two weeks ago. He had barely gotten over the awe of actually being in space, when he was assigned to the Away Team. Experiencing space had been his dream for as long as he could remember, and now he was living it.

To say he was surprised to be assigned to the team this early in assignment, was an understatement. However, though he wasn't the highest scoring in his class, in his class exit interview he did assert strongly that he was open to new experiences and challenges. No, he welcomed them. Now he stood on a foreign planet, making all his hard work worth it. He tried not to let the auspiciousness of his 'first time on an alien planet' show on his face as he studied the signals his instrument was giving off.

...
"This is the same spot we beamed down earlier", Peter said for the benefit of those who had bot been down here with them the first time. They were on the rather small peninsula with rough cliffs and even shores.

"Mr. Stratton, getting any bio readings on Ensign Miller?", he asked while his gaze kept wandering about. "Everyone else, look out for anything unusual, especially bluish flickering. And stay away from the ocean."

Stratton glanced at the Petty Officer briefly before looking back at his instrument, "No sir." He frowned. His voice held a hint of confusion as he explained. "Nothing."

[Aryn Corliss]

Sickbay

"Our pleasure Captain, in the case of Kestra I think she misses her nieces and nephews, sooner we get her married off to someone nice and she has some kiddos of her own she'll be in her element!" Lawrie jested, eager to have something less horrific to talk about.

"As for after, well Bash is always asking to play with either Elanii or Steve so...." he shrugged elaborately.  "I don't think it'll be a hardship and if it comes to mealtimes so long as we have a list of anything she doesn't or isn't allowed to eat as well as a huge bowl of Cookies and Cream ice cream I think we'll be fine!!" he grinned over his shoulder as he assisted T'Aco into the Sickbay.

"Gelatinous... hmm... let's see if we can find any of that on you..." the doctor commented.

"Yeah... well... I don't in one sense as in I'm sorry that we have to do it but in order to get to the bottom of this, yes I'm glad to take that one on, Alec.  I'll try to get separate samples of both this gelatinous stuff and the blood.  Lieutenant... do you hurt anywhere other than directly around the scratches?"

He took a small tool and got samples from around the wound, blood and other 'gunk' and put them on microscope slides.  "I'll leave the rest to you, Dr. Trenzal.  Lt. T'Aco, please try to rest a little."

[Lieutenant T'Aco - Sickbay]

"It is not pain that I feel, Doctor," T'Aco told him, her eyes feeling hot, heavy, the darkness of sleep beckoning. "I believe that Ensign Miller's attack has negatively impacted on my motor skill."

Her tongue ran tentatively over her lips. "I am warm. I am thirsty."

She rolled her head away again, her movements slow, her eyelids sliding closed. "I believe I should rest now."

[Sickbay]

Alec's fist clenched as the Vulcan lieutenant appeared to fall asleep. He raised the hand with the tubes of blood and gestured a nurse over. Keep a close watch on her vital signs and be ready with a defibrillator and cortical stimulator. There is a high risk of cardiac arrest. I need to run these tests.

The nurse nodded and took up a position beside the biobed, watching the monitor above closely.

Alec headed into the lab and began spinning down two of the blood samples in the centrifuge. While he waited for that, the El-Aurian inverted one of the tubes of whole blood several times and loaded it into the blood-analyzer unit, scrolling through the menu of possible tests and choosing any that would detect foreign bodies in the fluid.

Once that was running, he stood in the doorway and stared at the prone body of Lieutenant T'Aco on the biobed, mentally running through everything extra he now felt he should have known to do before Miller was released from sickbay. He didn't even blame Lawrie or anyone else. He was over eight hundred bloody years old and should have known better. Should have ordered more tests, suggested they keep the young man in sickbay for observation. Anything.

[Jenna McKinson]

[Earth-like Water Planet - Peninsula]

As soon as the confinement beam released them, Peter gripped the rifle tightly as he glanced about of they saw Miller somewhere. But he was nowhere to be seen.

"This is the same spot we beamed down earlier", Peter said for the benefit of those who had bot been down here with them the first time. They were on the rather small peninsula with rough cliffs and even shores.

"Mr. Stratton, getting any bio readings on Ensign Miller?", he asked while his gaze kept wandering about. "Everyone else, look out for anything unusual, especially bluish flickering. And stay away from the ocean."

Jenna felt the same feeling she did when she first landed on the planet, but it was a different feeling. She sighed lightly when she heard Peter. Her mind thought back to the look on Miller's face. She shook it off for the moment. "Peter do you think we should move like last time in pairs or are do you think we should all move together?" Jenna had a valid concern in her voice. She had never been afraid of a body of water, but this was different.