The Lost Outpost

Posted on Tue Mar 3rd, 2020 @ 1:38am by Lieutenant Shomer'eggan 'Show' & Command Master Chief Petty Officer Khatarr & Lieutenant Commander Ivan Chung & Ensign Kiatara Tanj & Ensign Andre D'Havilend
Edited on on Tue Mar 3rd, 2020 @ 1:39am

Mission: Mission 50: This Grey Spirit
Location: Various Locations - USS Pinto
Timeline: 0800Hrs - November 22nd

The away team beamed into main engineering. They were immediately on guard. The lights were dim and the only sound was the gentle hum of the star base's power plant. As the away team took in their new surroundings, they noticed several corpses on the deck.

The corpses were wearing star fleet uniforms in the yellow trim of engineering. All that was left were skeletons in rags. Burn holes in the tattered remains of the uniforms were evident.

"Kiatara and Chief Khatarr, pull security while the rest of us have a look at the engineering controls." Chung ordered.

Khatarr nodded as he went over to a nearby corner, where he set up shop, where as the other person indicate moved off.

Khatarr looked around. "Something about this place.... doesn't feel quite... right."

"It could be all the corpses strewn across the floor." D'Havilend chimed in.

"Keep your mouth shut funny guy and get back to work." Chung chided D'Havilend.

Khatarr turned to Chung. He sniffed softly. "He's right.... There's something here... I smell it." he rumbled.

Chung sighed. "Alright Chief, if your that sure something is out there, take Kiatara and have a look."

"But I want to work on the engines. I am an engineer." Kiatara protested.

"You have your orders Ensign." Chung told her.

Khatarr shook his head. "Mmm..." he growled. "Whats with this place!" he growled. "Pinto... Can you interface with the computer core?"

Alurian del shook his head. "No I have been trying for the past couple of minutes, but I am not detecting a standard federation computer core. The Comm arrays for me to try and interface with their computer systems are down though, so someone will have to get to the core itself and attach a combadge or a tricorder to it for me to get a link."

"That sounds like a job for you D'Havilend." Chung stated. "Chief Khatarr and I will go with you so none of these skeletons wake up and bit you. Show, Kiatara, and Chief Del will stay here and work on the engines."

Show nodded her head as she continued to work. "This system is downright busted." she explained. "I can't get in as its not responding to my access cods... either verbal or physical."

Khatarr hefted his rifle as he felt a very powerful urge to hit Chung with his rifle, when he felt a wave of disgust roll through him. "What is happening to me!"

D'Havilend gave Khatarr a curious look before Chung pushed him towards the Jeffries tube. "Get down there." Chung ordered D'Havilend in an abusive tone.

"You have the assault phasor." D'Havilend pointed out.

Chung returned a snarl then got into the Jeffries tube. "Chief," Chung addressed Khatarr, "Make the next recipient of the Christopher Pike Medal follows me and then you bring up the rear."

Khatarr hauled off and shot Chung with his phaser. "I am going to hurt you." then he hauled off and kicked the man, then he lashed out with his claws. "You....!"

It all happened so fast that Show almost missed it, she turned as she lifted her sidearm before she stunned both Chung and Khatarr. "Help me with this..." Show commented. "Close that hatch.. Recommend mission abort.."

D'Havilend quickly closed the hatch. Kiatara hit her combadge. "Pinto, this is Kiatara, two to beam to sick bay. Chung and Khatarr. Be advised, Khatarr is acting irrational."

Wong's voice came over Kiatara's badge. "I have a lock on them." The two officers were beamed off.

"Show," Harp hailed the ensign. "We still need more answers. Stay they for now and I'm going to beam over."

"Understood sir." Show responded. "Captain this computer system, is almost totally inoperative, I've gleaned no answers as its not accepting voice commands from this station."

Show turned to Kiatara. "We may need to find the primary data core... and have a look at it.. I got nothing here."

Del found himself being voluntold for Away team duty as he got beamed over to join the away team. Looking around at all the corpses, he made the comment," Lovely friends you guys have here."

Harp had also brought over an engineer and tactical technicians. "Cantor," Harp addressed the engineer, "see what you can do here. Sorenson," Harp turned to the tactical rating, "Go down the Jeffries tube to the main computer core. I will follow you followed by D'Havilend and finally Show."

"The rest of you see if you can get the comm system functioning." Harp ordered.

Sorenson was not happy getting that order. He slung his assault phaser and descended into the tube. Harp followed as did D'Havilend.

Show looked around before she climbed into the jeffres tube behind everyone else.

As Harp exited the tube she noticed Sorenson pointing his assault phaser at a target but not shooting. "What are you..." Harp was about to ask until she saw what Sorenson saw.

In one open bay there were several people standing straight up, shoulder to shoulder, back to back. They had there eyes closed and didn't look like they were breathing. They showed no reaction to the four members of the away team.

As Harp cautiously approached she noticed several in the group were also wearing Romulan uniforms. Harp stopped as she got within a few feet of them. "What do you make of this?" She asked Show.

Show hissed softly. "That was what Khatarr could smell." she supplied the missing piece of the puzzle. "These... things... are dead.." she paused. "Get back!"

"Calm down Ensign. Those don't seem to be a threat." Harp told Show, although she didn't sound convinced herself. "Get a reading from the tricorder."

D'Havilend scanned the closest corpse. It was a human male dressed in a Star Fleet command officer's uniform and had multiple burn holes in it. "Show is right. This guy is dead." He continued to look over his tricorder. "There is some sort of odd energy source attached to them."

"Explain?" Harp asked.

Before D'Havilend could answer, Sorenson called out. "Hey, check this out."

Sorenson was standing next to another corpse. The body was standing upright and had several cables running from its back and into the star base's engines.

"What do you make of that?" Harp asked show.

"Mmm... a power source attached to a corpse thats standing upright." Show responded. "The power source is attached to the base itself..." she paused. "Can they be used by a third party via remote control?"

Del examined the body briefly, then answered," Yep, there is definitely a subspace radio in there and some kind of power supply, I dont really want to touch it though."

No sooner had del said that, that one of the engineering crewman that had accompanied the away team accidentally stepped on a loose beam that was leaning on the wall. The beam fell over and hit one of the corpses, making as much nose as possible before falling to the deck.

Show and the other backed away. "Oooh.. This cannot be good." she rumbled as the corpses all seemed to spring to life. "Shit!" Show muttered a moment later.