Lights, Camera, ACTION

Posted on 24 Oct 2024 @ 12:07am by Captain Bane Plase

992 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Stranded
Location: Main Bridge
Timeline: After Engine Updates

ON

Bane patted his Chief Helmsman on the shoulder once again. He knew she was frustrated. Hell, he was frustrated. All they could do was wait for other people to make a miracle happen.

The waiting was drawing out like a knife, too. The silence, punctuated by the groans of the superstructure of the ship threatening to collapse. How much longer could the ship hold itself together without the structural integrity field? Before Stovek left, he had mentioned the ship was worse than they thought. When Ziyal had further deciphered the information, she was able to tell Bane it was FAR worse. At best, they had minutes before full structural collapse.

And those groans, they were wearing on everyone that was still on the bridge. Well, those that were conscious and relatively well, like himself, Marshal, Ziyal and Lisald. The Chief that had lost her hand was sitting there, her eyes glazed over. Was she in shock? Probably. Then there was Bast, who was unconscious, but stable, thanks to Dr. Winters administrations. She too was here, but still busy doing what she could for Bast. Then there was a nurse. Bane didn't know him. He had seen him, of course, from time to time, but Bane couldn't remember his name off the top of his head.

As Plase made his way to his Captain's Chair, he wondered about Lieutenant Seitha. Had he made it to Engineering? What about Stovek and McConner? Had they made it to the impulse control room? He wondered about Christina Hartley and Dr. Kin'Fuji. He wondered about Lieutenant Ahmad in Engineering. Was she dead? The fact Bane had to send people to the impulse control room told him she probably was; she would have done that long before he had come to that conclusion. What about Counselor Morak? She was headed to Sickbay shortly before the world turned itself upside down. He would have to ask Ravi about her when there was time, and it was appropriate. He wondered about all the people on the ship. Faces floated before him, some he could name, most he could not, as he thought about the people on this ship. How many had lived? How many were injured? How many had died, and did they suffer bad before their lifeforce was extinguished?

Plase sat down in his chair, brushing off the debris on the seat before he did so. The viewscreen was cracked, and in the top left corner, circuitry was showing. He wondered if it would still work if, and when, they got the ship to come back to life. He looked around the all but destroyed bridge. He was pleased, however, to see the dedication plaque still held firm to the bulkhead. That was a good sign, he determined. It actually did make him feel better.

He wished he could just will his own life force and power back into the Cygnus. He would give his life willingly for this ship and her crew. He wanted her to come back to life, to respond to him the way she used to, to feel her life force flow through him.

Bane absentmindedly pushed a button on the control arm of his chair at the exact instant the lights flickered on, then off, then back on again, causing everyone, including him, to look up. At first, he was stunned that such a simple tap of his control arm would have such an effect, then he realized that it was either Commander Stovek or Lieutenant Ahmad that had gotten the power back on.

Plase jumped out of his chair, nearly toppling over from the force, "Hell yeah," he exclaimed, pumping his right arm into the air above him. At nearly the same instant, broken circuitry and conduits all around them, below them in the deck, and above them in the ceiling, began to fizzle, sizzle, pop and crack. The smell of acrid smoke penetrated all of their nostrils, and small fires began to appear under the busted console of Ops, and in the back where Science Station II used to be.

"Computer, activate fire suppression system, Main Bridge Ops station and Science Station II," Bane ordered.

The computer attempted to respond, the voice going from the normal female voice, to a deep, slow voice and back, cutting out several times. "Fire sup..pppp.pppression s......not active......MAIN......idge."

"Damn," Bane said aloud. That meant that either the fire suppression system was out all over the ship, or could be out just here, or anything in between. He didn't know, and the main computer seemed to be just barely hanging on. "I need status reports on all systems, as soon as possible," he said to the room. That included the Doctor and nurse, the two science officers, and the chief helmsman. "And someone put out those fires," he commanded. He then tapped his commbadge. "Bridge to Engineering." The badge gave a chirp-thunk sound. Comms were still out, but he tried again. "Engineering, respond. This is the Captain," he exclaimed.

Chirp-thunk

He gritted his teeth. They were so close. If he could have communication, he would feel like he could finally help, to direct his people where to go and what to do. He could finally get information on the status of the ship. A full status, not just the broken and corrupted information that both Stovek and Ziyal had decoded for him. He could finally find out how many casualties there were. "Captain Bane to anyone. Can anyone hear me?"

Chirp-thunk

He swore silently, then focused his attention back to the Bridge. Already the fires were spreading. He leaped over the Excutive Officers chair, using it as a springboard to get over the horseshoe control panel behind the command area and grabbed a fire-extinguisher himself and began battling the flames with the others.


OFF

Bane Plase, Captain
USS Cygnus, Commanding

 

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