How To Save A Life ("Luck & Disaster" Epilogue) - Part 1

Posted on Sat Aug 16th, 2025 @ 2:06pm by Captain Daegan Baas & Lieutenant JG V'Laros & Petty Officer 2nd Class Sizia Sh'velihr [Baas] & Aseek Tarnala & Commander Jerome Hunt Jr. & Lieutenant Liam O'Riley & Lieutenant Urushi Yaotome & Lieutenant Niami Troga & Lieutenant Ayumu Tanaka & Lieutenant JG Stevie Thomas [O'Riley]
Edited on on Sat Aug 16th, 2025 @ 2:09pm

1,624 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Sole Survivor
Location: USS Valkyrie - Medical Center, Deck 11
Timeline: MD 18 - 1600 - Immediately Following "Luck & Disaster"

There was a flash of light, the familiar warble of a transporter buffer...

and when the four officers came to, they found themselves standing in the isolation ward of the Valkyrie- safe at last, but not exactly in the clear either.

Lambert, for lack of a better word was rather wild-eyed having the look of a deer caught in headlights and shivering as if he were freezing. His breathing was short hyperventilating. Then sank to the floor sobbing.

Hearing some sobbing Liam turned around. Seeing a grown man sitting on the floor in a heap and shivering, Liam decided to walk over "Lambert, what seems to be your problem; I know we've just been to hell and back but you're a grown man" he stated almost embarrassed for the guy.

Lambert look up at O'Riley, a brief flash of hatred in his eyes, still crying but the cries did go quieter.

The doors to Isolation opened and in stepped a team of medical officers, all donned up in full EV suits as per Ayumu's instructions.

" My God," one of the doctors gasped when he saw both Ayumu and Urushi looking considerably worse for wear. "Doc, what happened to you down there?!"

"Never mind me," Ayumu insisted as he began to peel off the remnants of his (now quite useless) EV suit. "Right now, we've gotta prepare Lieutenant Yaotome for surgery; she's lost over 45% of her total blood volume and her Symbiont's gone into shock; if we don't tend to her in the next 10-15 minutes, we're going to lose her."

"But Sir, do we know if she's been contaminated?" Another Doctor pointed out.

"Unknown, but until I have that evidence staring me in the face, I'm willing to take the risk in order to save her life," Ayumu replied. "Now, get me a blood transfusion- Trill, blood type JR Positive."

"And the Symbiont, Sir?"

Pausing, Ayumu retrieved the medical tricorder and ran it over the wound again. "Symbiont is..." his voice trailed off as he stared blankly at the screen- almost as if he had recognized something about the Symbiont that he hadn't noticed earlier.

Niami came in with the other medical personnel, clad in her EV suit, she took in the with quickly, gasping slightly at the onslaught of emotions.

"Has decontamination been started?"

Seeing Lieutenant Troga enter the room Liam walked over to her 'Excuse me Counselor, it appears Lambert over there may need a sympathetic ear right about now. I'm no Counselor of course, but the guy looks to be an emotional mess."

Niami gave a nod and went to crouch down beside Lambert placing a comforting hand upon his shoulder.

"Sir?!" the Doctor called out.

Ayumu immediately snapped out of his trance. "It's nothing," he insisted. "Symbiont is JS Positive; now go!"

The doctor hesitated for a brief moment, but nonetheless obliged and scurried off to retrieve the items in question.

"Ready Operating Bay 1 for surgery," he instructed the remaining doctors. "Also, contact Captain Baas and tell him to have a full security team posted outside; until we can absolutely confirm that neither of us are contaminated, Lieutenant Yaotome and I are not allowed to leave the operating room under any circumstances, am I clear?"

The doctors looked at one another nervously, but one-by-one, they nodded in compliance and set off to ready the Operating Bay.

O'Riley sat on the bio-bed, after hearing Ayumu giving out orders, and couldn't help thinking what happened to Urushi could have happened to any one of them on the away team. Then suddenly his thoughts shifted wondering and hoping Stevie was alright; the thought of loosing her would be unbearable. He then dismissed that notion as fast as it had popped into his head; she had to be ok.....she just had to be.

"I-I saw them die." Lambert whispered hoarsely to Niami as he was taken to the bio bed. "My friends, my brothers.." He shivered uncontrollably.

Johannsen had returned from his own away team to hear that the surface team had run right into the things he had only heard described. Slowly laying Lambert back, the man was in shock. Covering him with a blanket he set it to warm him and ease his symptoms.

The EMH returned from the Primary Care section of the medical center with information for the Counselor. Passing through the isolation field he walk over to her Lieutenant Troga, two of the remaining members of the away team are in the Primary Care Unit being treated for shock. Petty Officer Sh'velihr was released however I would recommend you see her as well."

The counselor nodded "I will make certain to do so."


[Primary Care Unit (PCU)]

Aseek had been in shock and was laying down on a biobed with a warm blanket. He had nearly blacked-out but was resting. Looking over to the other member of the surface team, forgetting her name. "Are you ok?"

Laying on the biobed, Stevie 's mind had finally cleared as she was resting. Hearing the question she turned her head "Yes, I seem to be no worse for wear" she replied forcing a smile "And how are you doing after everything we've been through."

He sat up, pulling the blanket over his shoulders. "Was never that close to them before. Though what that thing was...there was nothing like that ever reported."

Rolling over on her side facing Aseek "Considering that was almost two hundred years ago, I can't say I'm surprised nothing was reported. Who knows how many times those things have mutated over the years" then Stevie paused "All I know is that thing scared the crap out of me and If I never see one of those things again that would be too soon" she commented matter of factly.


[Bridge]

As the reanimated remains materialized the violent thrashing about began. V'Laros look unmoved, "Fasinating. I will attempt to restrain it with force fields." Fields were activated, mor to protect the shuttles systems and the scans began.

His helmet was still in place, but the face plate was shattered and the jaw bones split and thrust forward like fanged mandibles. His suit in taters and the exposed back and arm had multiple boney protrusions and the legs had been replaced by a single tapering snake-like tail with a bone spike or stinger-like structure at the end.

"Screen off."

Turning he saw that Sizia had returned to the bridge, her normally bubbly fun loving expression replaced by a seriousness that he had never seen. I was almost like he was looking at someone else entirely. He wanted to think that it was just a result of what her team had been through but there was something else.

The movement of the Vulcan drew his attention. "Lieutenant, V'Laros."

Looking up, "Captain?"

"Until Yaotome is back on her feet you are act Chief Science Officer. Coordinate with Ops on all the data recovered and I want a preliminary report as soon as possible. Once your scans are complete, incinerate the shuttle in the atmosphere.”

“Understood Captain.”

Turning to his XO, “Come, let's check on our folks in sickbay then you can tell me about this message you mentioned earlier.”

Hunt had been looking at the transformation that was taken place in the shuttle, when his was startled a bit by the Captain speaking to him.

As they entered the lift, “Lieutenant you have the bridge.”

Sizia moved to an auxiliary station and began moving the data from the surface scan into a database. Keeping that data prominent she also worked a smaller set of data as well.

Following the Captain into the turbolift, the Commander knew someone had been injured but unaware who it was. "How many were lost down there and who came back injured?"

Crossing one arm over his body, he rested the other elbow on it as put his loosely closed hand to his face. "Lt. Yaotome is injured. Only one of the security detail made it back to the ship. You saw what happened to Lt. Wallace."

"These defiled seem to have an extended life span," Jerome spoke. "Are we looking for a cure at this point for them or just containing the threat?"

"At this point...I think everything is on the table. Hopefully what was recovered was worth four lives."


[Primary Care]

Aseek looked from her to the floor. ""But your people died trying restore my peoples history only return empty handed."

The Captain and XO entered the unit from the corridor. Hearing the comment he interjected, "Not necessarily. The Commander's team recovered something from the platform in orbit that you...both of you might be interested in." Looking to Jerome, "Why don't you fill them in while I check with Tanaka."

"Excuse me, Captain?"

Baas and Hunt turned as they were approached by a medical technician, evidently a bit overwhelmed by everything that was going on.

"Sorry to bother you, Sir," he began somewhat sheepishly. "Doctor Tanaka is currently operating on Lieutenant Yaotome in Operating Bay 1; he's requested a security team to be posted outside, as he reports that their EV suits were compromised down on the surface..."

He was nervously started twiddling his thumbs. "Erm... if that's hopefully not asking too much, Sir?"

Daegan glanced to Aseek before addressing the medtech, "You can relax crewman, given everything we know so far and given the speed one of of the team was transformed I think we are in the clear as far as that's concerned but we will take every precaution."


TBC...

 

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