Roasted
Posted on Aug 23, 2015 @ 2:47am by Thomas Varn
Edited on on Aug 23, 2015 @ 2:47am
Mission: The Lights of Hyperion
“Roasted”
(Continued from “The Nuclear Option”)
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Location: U.S.S. PHOENIX
Scene: Turbolift -> Engineering
Stardate: [2.5]0823.1219
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Thomas had not informed anyone that he was leaving the bridge before he did so. In fact the most anyone had heard from him during the entire incident with Embry was a quick response revealing that he may have a way of dealing with the Amaterasu. Everyone was busy with their own “missions” that were either given or spread out, and Thomas, was no different. He had continually been working on a way to stop the Amaterasu or ultimately kill them. The readings that had been collected by all the previous incidents and ultimately the final piece falling into place after the warp core incident painted a picture for Thomas to see. With all that was there he couldn’t help but smile and laugh softly at the realization of the situation.
“Cade is never around when you need him,” Thomas smiled stepping out of the turbolift onto the engineering deck. The damage that had been caused was substantial in places while others seemed to be but a flesh wound, to the interior bulkheads.
Engineering was busy, well busy by what Thomas Could tell. He waited a moment scanning faces trying to find a familiar face. His search was interrupted by a voice slightly out of breath, "excuse me sir, but civilians are not allowed here."
Smiling he began to turn as his face slightly formed into a look of what Sylvia said was Thomas' attempt to be suave, " even when they..."
"No exceptions," the voice stated from behind him causing him to jerk from the abrupt response.
“Oh, excuse me,” Thomas stated shaking his head as he felt a slight blush come across his cheeks from the embarrassment from assuming it was Sylvia who had greeted him, “I am looking for…”
A soft hand placed itself on Thomas shoulder and with that the young officer disappeared and Sylvia stepped around the winged man smiling. Her forehead was slightly drenched with sweat and her face was flushed. Thomas, of course, wouldn’t notice as all that he seemed to see now was the glow that seemed to emit from her face with every passing day. He had found himself growing fonder of the idea of being a father, and a husband, which they would announce later when things were less frantic.
His hand always managed to find its way to her stomach resting there feeling, waiting, anticipating just the slightest move. For the first time in his life had had found something more important than, the wings that had haunted him for so long, he had actually had found two.
“You shouldn’t be here, we are really…” Sylvia started.
Waving his hand slightly he smiled, “I have a plan to deal with our rather uninvited and tedious guests. Where is Commander Chricton.”
Sylvia motion to a station nearby, “he is in the jefferies tubes trying to wrap up some issues with command codes and access to the ship's functions.”
“Ah, that would be why they are trying to find Cade then,” he replied before sitting down at the console and opening up the information that he and Jake and compiled on killing the creatures with the deflector.
“Whoa, wait Thomas,” Sylvia stated stepping forward, “they are just breeding.”
Thomas laughed softly, “yes, I know and I don’t plan on killing them; but, I do plan on altering our plan slightly.”
Thomas hands moved across the display changing out information and equations for others. Adding extra equations in to compensate for new variables and factors. It took just a few moments before Sylvia’s mind pieced the puzzle together and it made sense from an engineering aspect; but, there was still something missing.
“What sending out an energy pulse do to the amaterasu,” Sylvia asked moving forward looking at the reconfigured deflector dish.
Standing and rubbing her stomach slightly Thomas winked.
“Wait, its going to cause them to…”
Nodding Thomas smiled, “precisely, the readings that were gathered from around the ship showed the same picture. Energy build up, with increased radiation, and finally explosion. What was not so prevently was the fact that both entities were there even if for split second and tried to conjoin like they did in the warp core and when unsuccessful, boom!”
Sylvia sighed, “and this is helping how if we make them go boom?”
Shaking his head Thomas began talking with his hands, “ the amaterasu are draw to power sources, hence why we found the explosions in various sections of the ship just because the natural power of the ship was drawing them in at random times. If we localize a large enough energy build up, without causing a cascade of electrical activity outside destroying us and the storm, it will cause a breeding frenzy. Most of the amaterasu that are already present will be drawn to the needed energy like a moth to a flame and that’s all she wrote.”
“So give them something sexy and irresistible?”
Thomas laughed, “in Cade’s terms yes.”
“Wait, you said that most of the amaterasu would be drawn why not all,” Sylvia asked leaning against a console.
“Well, like any species there are the weak and the undesirable, those that circle the edges and look for mates before their lives are over. These are too weak and usually kept away by the others to weed out, for lack of a better term, undesirable genes,” Thomas stated taking a deep breath.
“So….” Sylvia looked around, “now what.”
Thomas smiled, “we wait for Commander Chricton so we can get this done and get those breeding lovelies away from the ship.”
“But, what if they…”
As if called by name or summoned by some mystical force the alarms that Jake and Thomas had set up began going off on the tricorder that was still attached to Thomas hip. Jerking his head down he grabbed the device before looking around.
“Where….” Sylvia asked.
“Here…”
Scanning the room Thomas stopped at a group of consoles currently being used for repair information as the radiation began to build. It only took moments before his and Sylvias demands for everyone to move away and quickly were met as the amaterasu appeared slowly moving and dancing around the consoles. Thomas’ began scanning again as everyone else in the room began moving far from the creature as much as they could.
Sylvia stood still leaning against the console that she had been using for support for the past few minutes watching Thomas moving closer and closer, “uh, Thomas…”
“....Thomas...Thomas!”
Stopping Thomas smiled closing his tricorder and nodding, “ yes mam…”
It was if Sylvia’s voice beckoned for the creature to come closer as it stopped examining the console and slowly began moving in Sylvia’s direction. If it hadn’t been for the increased size of her stomach slowing her down the young woman would have been on the other side of the room already; but, she was pinned as the creature moved closer stretching out with tendrils.
The woman’s face slowly morphed into a face of horror as her eyes began to show a slight glow before the weapon discharge hit the floor near the creature. All motion towards Sylvia without notice stopped and began drawing to the origin of the weapons fire. It wasn’t to difficult to pry the weapon from the gooey corpse that lay on the floor and from what Thomas could piece together whoever it was didn’t stop firing in time.
“Thomas stop shooting now,” Sylvia shouted standing to her feet.
“Then set up a forcefield somewhere else on the deck and put juice through it and draw it away from here,” Thomas shouted.
“Right, give it something sexy,” Sylvia stated turning and setting up the forcefield further down the deck.
Her fingers danced across the keystrokes only stopping with the few shots that Thomas would take to keep the amaterasu from going towards Sylvia or the warp core. With the last volley of shots that she heard Sylvia nodded, “Got it!”
With that the creature shifted directions moving towards an unoccupied section of the deck where a power signature was lighting up like a christmas tree.
Thomas smiled before taking a deep breath and turning to law the weapon down on a nearby console, “oh crud, there were two of you…”
With the last volley of fire still emitting from the rifle and with the second amaterasu being so close it was not tempted by the forcefield choosing instead to wrap it tendrils around Thomas’ body. It only took moments before the radiation began to do its works and blackened feathers began to fill the floor where he stood falling from his wings mixed with sections of flesh and hair. Thomas’ eyes slowly began to glaze over and time stood still for just a moment.
As a lone tear did its best to form on his cheek before immediately disappearing he saw his life flash before his eyes and the moments wasted, then it was done and what remained fell forward being covered by the coat that he still wore, Thomas was dead.
A silence fell over the room before it was disrupted by a scream like no other...
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NRPG: E-mail to follow
Justin K. Owens
Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Varn
Civilian
