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"What Happened?"
[Previous Post Tiffany's "Medical Assistance"]
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<<Life is a mistake, an anomaly born from the chaos of nature. Ours is to correct this mistake and restore perfect order to the universe.>>
- The Imperian Leader

Setting: USS LANCELOT, Bridge
Stardate: 63072.1200
 
The last thing the Native American remembered had been to order Ensign Drell to perform an emergency evasive manoeuvre in the hopes of getting the USS LANCELOT out of the path of the incoming projectile.  Without shields and with reduced manoeuvrability there had been little the CAVALIER-Class ship could have done.  Now all that Captain Morningstar could see was darkness, but at least the pain that coursed through his body pointed out to one certainty; he was still alive.
 
The Captain slowly pushed himself up from the floor while he ignored the throbbing of his muscles and the growing fear in his mind, his hands having found without effort dust and debris next to him.  Obviously the ship had been hit, and by the absence of any light or active console on the Bridge the extent of the damages had been severe.  For a brief moment Erik almost hoped that he had somehow been blinded, at least that would have explained the total darkness that he had found himself plunged into.
 
"Report," Morningstar demanded, at this point more concerned for the lives of his crew than the condition of the ship.
 
Faint grunts and moans began to fill the darkness and gave the Native American CO the renewed hope that other members of the bridge staff had survived.  A shower of sparks from one of the consoles granted the Captain a quick glimpse of the LANCELOT's command deck, a sight that he quickly wished he had not witnessed.
 
"Well," a shaken Klingon voice pierced the darkness, a voice that echoed the pain felt by the Native American CO.  "That could have gone a little better. OUCH!"
 
"Are you alright Ensign Drell?" The CO inquired as he continued to make his way to the back of the bridge to check on the other members of the staff.
 
"I will be Sir," the Klingon confirmed, any hint of pain or discomfort having vanished from his voice.  Injured or not, the FCO had duties and responsibilities to attend to, not to mention attempt to help the other members of his graduating class.
 
As the Captain navigated through the darkness he stumbled onto a soft form, one that responded with a faint grunt as his foot impacted against it.  Morningstar quickly dropped to his knees and scanned with his hands the form he had discovered, removing any and all debris as they were encountered.
 
"Are you alright?" The CO inquired, unsure yet as to whom he had been speaking to.
 
"I am Sir," Ensign Mitshiba eventually replied, the tone of her voice having hinted to the CSciO feeling slightly disoriented.  As Erik helped her up into a sitting position the CO felt the young woman's head turning from side to side as if she had been searching for something.  "Am I to gather that primary, auxiliary and emergency powers are all off line," Akira stated, this having been the only explanation she had been willing to entertain to explain the complete darkness around them.
 
"It would seem so," the CO reluctantly confirmed as this would greatly hinder their efforts to find and help the rest of the crew.  "Can you stand?"
 
"Yes Sir," Mitshiba replied before she pushed herself onto her feet and made her way to the Tactical station to investigate the condition of her friend Hex.
 
Just as the Captain had been ready to resume his search of the Bridge, the emergency lights came on to cast an unnatural red glow on the bridge and everyone in it.  However bad he had imagined the damage to be, the CO was quick to realise that it had been much worse and that there would be no hope of effecting the needed repairs to see the LANCELOT return back to EARTH on its own.
 
"Looks like Sartek is on the job," Drell announced with a sigh of relief, the restoration of the emergency lighting having been a good indication that the CEO, or a member of his team, had survived.
 
Akira also allowed a sigh of relief to escape as she found the Kzinti Ensign a little bruised and shaken but otherwise unharmed.  "Next time you discover missiles heading our way," the CSciO began in a humorous manner, "try and give us a little more than a few seconds' warning."
 
"I'll try," Hex coldly replied, obviously not impressed by her friend's attempt to lighten the mood.
 
As the gaze of the two ensigns traveled the rest of the bridge in search for the other members of the crew, the CSciO gasped in sheer horror, a feeling that the Kzinti woman immediately shared once her eyes fell onto the form of the Ops officer.  Several large shrapnel had somehow found their way loose during the explosions to end their flight into Ensign White, one of the larger ones in particular having embedded where her heart should have been.  There had been no doubt that the Ops officer had been beyond help despite the silent wishes of the other two Ensigns.
 
Instinctively Hex and Mitshiba closed their eyes and turned away from the troubling sight leaving the task of dealing with this to the CO and FCO.  This had been a simple exploration and research mission, so how could all of this have happened?
 
--==(/\)==--
Setting: GUMBARA Nebula
Stardate: 63072.1215
 
The crimpled form of the USS LANCELOT floated powerless in the emptiness of space surrounded by a cloud of debris.  The single missile that had avoided the daring and valiant manoeuvre of the USS ANUBIS had found its intended mark and exploded with a force the likes of which could not have been imagined.
 
The aft-Starboard section of the CAVALIER-Class vessel, which included two of the four warp nacelles, had been completely destroyed and left several decks wide open to the vacuum of space.  Emergency bulkheads had been closed to halt the escaping atmosphere but alas too late for a large segment of the crew.  Unfortunately for those who had survived thus far, they would now have to deal with the boarding pods that were only moments away from impacting with the weakened hull of the LANCELOT.
 
--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette {f_charette@hotmail.com}

Lieutenant Elan Talak Fairborn
 
Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS
 
And
 
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA