Away team Riker

"Elisha Leóne followed closely behind the lead of the first officer as he headed out with the second team into the darkened corridor of the Nuntio. Focused streams of light beamed out from each officer as they carefully surveyed not only their path before them, but the contents and condition of the rooms in which they traveled.

She placed her hand on the phaser holstered within her EV suit and carefully extracted it. She adjusted the setting to highest stun setting and continued observing everything she could see as light beams danced all around her. Even though she was not certain what exactly she was looking for, she continued to scan for anything that seemed unusual or out of place.  

Opening the way right in front and at the left side of Riker, Mrriin M'ata deactivated each successive forcefield while her security man kept watch from his tricorder.

"No powerr to the turrbolifts; we will have to use jeffrreys tubes and open hatches manually if we arre to rreach the otherr decks."

In single file they progressed, the Caitian woman in front followed by Riker, then Doctor Gray followed by Leone with the security man guarding the rear. Progress was slow and careful but they eventually emerged on the same dack where the auxilliary control room was located; the best place to attempt reviving life support and resume control of the vessel outside of the main bridge.

That's when they all stood on the deckplates and M'ata deactivated the next forcefield that the security man addressed them.

"Sir... life sign, dead ahead... auxilliary control room."

"Identify."

"Unable to, Sir; very low body temperature and heartbeat but bioelectric field and encephalographic emissions abnormally high and confusing."

Doctor Gray used his own tricorder, better calibrated to detect and analyse biosigns. But behind his faceplate, he frowned perceptibly.

"Carbon-based organic structure... but all values are well below Human norm... unless we would think of a Human in cryogenic state... although I read like four different brain patterns but barely enough biosignal for one small bioform... while molecular readings hint at a rather large one... Sorry, Commander, but this makes no sense according to our current scientific data. This looks a brand new life form."

"Orr some kind of decoy," Mrriin M'ata warned."

There was something rather creepy in those readings and description just announced that Elisha wasn't responding well to. She tightened her grip on her phaser a bit more as she stepped forward.

"I sincerely hope that we are not stepping into some sort of twenty-fifth century Island of Doctor Moreau" the Orion commented somewhat nervously, as she continued along their path observing everything around her with heightened attention.  

"Who's Doctorr Morreau?" asked the Caitian woman, obviously unfamilair with Terran literature, especially that of over five centuries ago.

Elisha thought about this for a moment before responding.

"To summarize, it is an allegorical tale about a misguided scientist on Earth who conducted unethical experiments combining humans and various animals DNA...with some rather disturbing consequences."  

"Really..."

The cat face atop a woman's body blinked it's large slitted eyes directly at her.

Gazing at the visage of the felinoid security chief, Elisha wondered if she had somehow inadvertently just insulted her. The Orion was uncertain about the origins of the Caitian species, and thus felt stymied on how to respond back. After a few more awkward moments she made an attempt.

"I suppose all of the conflicting and unusual bio readings we were receiving for some reason triggered something in my memory about that story."

Elisha knew that this wasn't exactly the best explanation, but it was basically what had just occurred. 

The felinoid shrugged her shoulders.

"For all that we know, it could as well be little green men."

Then, one large slitted eye blinked at the Orion officer.

A smile crept across Elisa's resplendent face while she breathed a sigh of relief as she then noticed the first officer nudge faintly past them.

Riker walked in front of the group and signaled that he was going to take point. 

"We find out what that reading is.  If there is someone, or something here perhaps they can tell us more about what happened."

Riker adjusted the stun setting on his phaser pistol and and signaling with his free hand, all the while keeping his weapon pointed forward, Riker motioned for the team to follow.

"Let's just hope whatever is down there is the talking type and not the killing type"

Glancing over at Doctor Gray Riker noticed he was the only member of the team not wearing an environmental suit.

"Really Doc?  You could at least pretend for me, seeing you walk around is... creepy"

Looking down at his suit Doctor Gray just shook his head.

"You know I don't have to breathe right?"

Riker was not amused

Tapping a few buttons on his portable holo emitter Doctor Gray faded slightly, rippled and then reappeared wearing an environmental suit.

"Better?"

"Always"

Riker signaled for the team to follow him as he positioned himself towards the bend in the corridor.

The interaction between Commander Riker and the holographic doctor was a momentary distraction that brought a slight smile to the Orion's olive-toned face; although her reaction was probably concealed by the visor of the helmet she wore.

That distraction however was fleeting for Elisha as they approached the bend in the corridor. She had experienced too many eerie things lurking beyond just such corners throughout her life. She moved a little closer to the EMH as Riker arrived to the curvature of the corridor.

From the corner of her eye, she could see as much as feel the security chief' lithe and powerful body tense and shift slightly.

Clearly, Mrriin was quite annoyed by the First officer's unwise decision to risk himself first; she didn't knew him much yet, but already she had assessed his character and knew that protesting to her superior officer would be pointless if not, in the present circumstances, downright as dangerous as what he was doing. So instead, she made herself ready. At the first sign of danger, she would effortlessly jump three meters to get between her leader and whatever would threaten him.

There was more than one way to do one's job; and her job was to make sure that, if anyone came back from this mission, it would be him.

While Riker used his command codes to deactivate the last forcefield separating them from the auxilliary control room, Mrriin was cautiously watching her tricorder readout and lifted a gloved hand as soon as the telltale shimmer of the energy barrier went off.

"Wait... therre is some anomalous enerrgy fluctuation going thrrough the cirrcuitrry and disperrsing into some system nearrby. I've noticed it each time a barrrierr was deactivated. Sirr... it's like... like the ship is trrying to come online by itself, rrecuperating parrt of the enerrgy leftoverr frrom the comparrtimentalizing grrid as we turrn it off."

She looked at Elisha Leône with her big slitted eyes.

"I've neverr hearrd of such an automated ship rreactivation prrotocol beforre."

Perplexed by that analysis, Elisha was equally at a loss for what was transpiring around them on this seemingly abandoned federation vessel.

"I do not recall reading or experiencing anything quite like this myself..." the Orion responded to the Caitian security chief before stopping mid-sentence.

Trying to recall some of the details related to several rumors she had heard about while at the Academy, Elisha closed her eyes and tried to reassemble the fragmented pieces. After contemplating these vague thoughts for a few more moments, she open her eyes and looked around first before continuing where she had left off.

"I do recall hearing something about a sentient program that was rescued awhile back that could control the operations of a starship... I just do not remember the details" she almost whispered.

Then her olive-hued expression changed as she gazed into the slit-shaped eyes of the security chief.

"Do you suppose that something like this could be trying to re-exert control of this vessel?"

As the words left her lips, Elisha's expression then became more concerned.

"If this were the case, could this be one of the reasons why the crew is missing? Could we also be helping to activate something that the crew had used forcefields to shutdown... perhaps at the expense of their own lives?"

The Bolian security guard accompanying them answered her.

"That was the USS Achilles... the prototype of the Achilles class lost thirty years ago and found a few years back by the USS Artemis in the Mutara nebula. That ship had been commandeered by it's revolutionnary AI and computer system when it thought it was to be deactivated by Starfleet. When the Artemis found her, a takeover attempt by the Horizon Children extremists caused the dormant AI to revive with the personality of the historical figure of Khan Noonien Singh."

A shiver went to the spine of more than one person then. Even well over a century later, the very name of the last Terran Augment and twentieth century planetary tyrant evoked dire thoughts and feelings. But Mriin M'ata for her part shook her feline head.

"I studied the Nuntio's specs beforre beaming aboarrd; therre is no mention of anything rremotely like this on boarrd; nothing differrent frrom any standarrd Nova class vessel, except that it had been modified as a media ship frrom it's orriginal science vessel purrpose. And since the Doctorr's lawsuit, all computerrized systems now have failsafes to prrevent the accidental emerrgence of sentience like in the case of Morriarty on the Enterrprise D orr the Doctorr himself."

"I can vouch for that," Doctor Gray then added. "Under Federation law, only artificial lifeforms are allowed to bypass those safeties as part of their inherent rights as living beings to reproduce, which is then under the same legislation as any other living being, organic or otherwise, within our society. I myself am the result of such... birthing. It is essentially applied to avoid the possibility for anyone to intentionally or unintentionally create a slave race, which almost happened with the original Mark I emergency holographic medical officer of Doctor Zimmerman."

"So... no mad sentient computerr herre..." mused Mrriin M'ata. "But you may be rright about one thing, Lieutenant Leône; therre is no hull brreach justifying the activation of the emerrgency forrcefield comparrtimentalization grrid, even less accrross the entirre ship. Maybe the crrew did activate it... forr prrotection."

"But from what?" Doctor Gray wondered. "I detect no pathogen of any kind so they did not do it to prevent an epidemy to spread... and there is no sign of any boarders prior to us. What where they afraid of? And why shut off all systems but the emergency ones... and leave the ship?"

"And how?" added the Bolian guard. "All shuttles, shuttlepods and escape pods are still here. And there is nowhere to beam to in this immense void. How could they be all gone?"

"Not all of them," Gray reminded them, pointing at the auxilliary control room door with his beeping medical tricorder.

Nodding towards the team Riker smiled.

"See doc, I knew we keep you around for a reason."

Pointing his phaser pistol towards the door Riker signaled for the team to flank and waved his fingers over his head showing that again, he would take point.

"Well knock knock"

Mrriin used her chief of security code to unlock the door, shouldering her rifle and drawing her hand phaser to do so with one hand while guarding the first officer with her smaller weapon. Both her officers opened one side each of the twin-paneled sliding door manually, revealing a darkened room where barely a few lights blinked red in the darkness. Nothing moved in the shadows and the rush of displaced air from the low level life support system sounded like the hiss of some huge snake waiting for them in the blackness beyond.

"Confirmed; one lifesign, very faint," the sentient EMH read from his tricorder. "carbon-based, endoskeletal structure, very slow circulatory system, low body temperature, extensive endocrinal system  also at low level of activity, high muscular density with virtually no muscle tension, breathing almost non existent... It looks like... No... There are very intense and powerful alpha waves broadcasting on two... three... no, four distinct patterns... but there is only one organic mass registering as their source, three meters to the left."

"The secondarry powerr contrrol station," announced the Caitian woman.

From outside the room, it was impossible for them to see it, even with the felinoid's natural ability to see in the dark.

"I'll check in firrst, Sirr," she offered, already starting to move with eery silence to enter while holstering her handphaser and sliding her phaser rifle into her hands in one smooth flow of precise, practiced motions.

Commander Riker put his hand up and clicked on his wrist lights scanning the deck just in front of the door.

"We will both have to take point because we are going to split up when we enter the room.  I need you to go with Doc and check on that lifesign."

Ensuring a clear path for his feet he tapped his wrist light, signaling for the away team to activate theirs, and entered the room first scanning it.  Knowing his hand signals would be meaningless in the dark Riker spoke softly.

"Watch my six, fan out and report anything you see immediately."

A quick scan of the wall and overhead lights showed no damage to the lights exterior.

"And someone try and get some light in here"

As Riker took another step forward Doctor Gray scanned again for life signs.  Still just the one faint lifesign from earlier three meters to the left of the room.  Doctor Gray pointed his tricorder in the direction of the lifesign and Riker nodded.  As the Doctor headed a few meters into the darkness Riker turned his light towards the rest of the room.  Locating an engineering panel on the wall, Riker hoped they could get some light in the darkness.

"Let's check it out."

Their light beams preceded them as they entered the room cautiously. The exec of the Phoenix had barely reached the control panel, the voice of the chief medical officer resounded in his helmet.

"Commander... come here please. We've found someone."

From where he stood, he could see their lights converging on a prostate form lying on the ground beside the auxilliary control station. Even lying down, it was impressive; easily two meters tall, it's leathery red skin sported large blue scales in a complex pattern that was visible on it's exposed three-fingered hands and bald, lipless, noseless face, huge oval eyes closed. The rest of it's slim, long-limbed body was dressed in a black and grey, red collared Starfleet uniform showing three pips.

" He's Saurian," Doctor Gray said outloud what everyone could see. "Now that sure explains a few things."

"You don't say" Riker said to break the obvious silent tension.

"That would be Commanderr Shell, the firrst officerr of the Nuntio," specified Chief M'ata, recalling her study of the Nuntio before beaming aboard.

Elisha gazed down at the unique solitary officer of the USS Nuntio. She had never seen a Saurian in person before, only representational images within holobanks at the Academy.

With concern the Orion looked up at the holographic EMH.

"What is wrong with him Doctor Gray?"

"That is a good question," he said as he frowned looking at his tricorder. "Now that I see him, i understand part of the mystery of those multiple brainscans; Saurians you see have two brains; the main one like yours is in their cranium. But there is a second larger but much simpler one within their pelvic area. It is a remnant of their dinosaurian-type ancestry, from the times when primitive giant reptiles had their automated body functions regulated by a large but simplistic developpement of their spinal cord. In Saurians, this second reptilian brain houses their basic instincts and emotions; hence why they are naturally so detached from them, even more than the greatest masters of Vulcan Kohlinar."

Although he explained all this, Doctor Gray was still frowning.

"That being said... I should read two very low brainwaves here as his body registers all the signs of being in the lethargic state they can induce themselves in when temperature or oxygen drop too low or food or water are scarce ... but what I read here are four highly active ones... as if he was up and fully active at some very demanding task."

He looked up at Riker.

"Something is very wrong with him."

Looking over the Saurian laying at his feet, Riker noticed no distinct marks of damage, but could see little in the dark.  Glancing up at Doctor Gray Riker hoped for answers.

"Is there anything physically wrong with him?  Organ damage, broken bones, burns or anything that might give us an idea of what happened?"

"As far as I can tell, he seemed only to have fallen from this chair, right at this console. Whatever little contusions that might have resulted are already healed because of his trance-like state. It is his brain activity that is nothing like I ever saw, even for a Saurian."

Scanning over him again with his light, Riker thought about the brain activity.

"You said his brain activity does not match his physical state.  Could this be some kind of intense dream state or suspended mental state?  And if so, ss there a way to wake him up?"

"Reviving him should be quite easy with any stimulant; although I need the same kind of needles  we use for Andorians because they too have too thick a skin for standard hyposprays... And I will need to use a much higher dose; contrary to Andorians, they are exceptionnally resistant to drugs, poisons, infections and even radiations. But we would have to fully reestablish life support first. As for his brain activity.... this is not any mental state I can define except that he should already be wide awake and doing like four things at the same time. His double brainscan seems to double itself intermittently, like taking a reading from a pregnant woman about to give birth. But this one is a male of the species... and Saurians lay eggs to begin with... Commander, I can not properly establish a prognosis here with only a tricorder."

"And he seems to be the only one who could possibly give us any answerr," M'ata grumbled, her cat-like eyes darting all around them through the faceplate of her EVA suit.

Elisha Leóne waited quietly as the conversation continued among the present away team members. But after those last few statements, she couldn't hold her tongue any longer. She turned to face the executive officer who would be the person to decide what happened next as she spoke with measured concern in her voice.

"Perhaps Doctor Gray could take this unresponsive officer back to main sickbay on the Phoenix. This may be the only opportunity to not only attend to his health but also increase our chances to find out what happened here directly from someone who was present on this ship."

The eyes of the Orion then drifted back down to the Saurian laid out on the floor.

Looking over the body Riker looked up at the inquiry

"I was just thinking the same thing, but we need Doctor Gray here for the moment.  If he is stable..."

"Could not be more stable than that, at least physiologically," the EMH responded. "Saurians can stay in this state even for months before even nutrition and water statrt to become necessary. However, I can not say the same for his neurogenic state. These complex, intense wavelengths on the brainscan are like nothing I ever saw before. I would need the ship's computers, files and instruments to make any sense of it."

Gesturing to the body before him and then towards Doctor Gray, Commander Riker continued.

"Then for the moment, our primary responsibility is to determine the away team is in no more danger medically."

"As long as everyone remains in their EVA suit, there is no known biomatter that can come in contact with your own. Decontamination could also be done once everyone returns to avoid any further possible contamination from any contact agent on the suit themselves, beyond what the transporter biofilters can already do. In extreme case, the transporter itself can be reconfigured to beam you back on board without the suits themselves; keeping them in transit, beamed elsewhere or simply destroyed."

He stood up to report further to the exec of the Phoenix.

"So far, no biological or chemical anomaly has been detected. I beleive everyone' health status is nominal for now and will remain so, especially if my recommendation about keeping EVAs are followed."

Looking around to the whole away team and the darkness Riker continued, addressing the whole team.

"If everyone feels we are safe and can loose our medical support for the time being then by all means."

"Safe is a rrelative terrm, Commanderr," the security chief commented. "We arre neverr assurredly safe frrom the unknown... and therre arre still too many unknowns on this ship."

After standing up Riker leaned over towards Elisha Leóne and gestured for her to lean in.  Speaking quietly he continued.

"If you want to make a suggestion just say it.  Adding something to the conversation does not have to come off like a confrontation.  I am willing to listen to suggestions.  "

Pointing to emphasize the importance of his final thought, both as leader of the away team and first officer Riker finished

"And I hate confrontations!"

Perplexed by the reaction of the executive officer, Elisha silently stepped back into place.

Was I coming off as confrontational? she pondered. That was certainly not my intention.

Riker leaned out and waited for the away team to assess their own situations.  If Doctor Gray was to go back to the ship, he would not go back alone and this would be a group decision.

"You have my opinion, Sirr," the Caitian woman said. "We can neverr be too cautious."

"And you have my estimate of the situation on a medical standpoint," Gray added. "There is only the unknown neurogenic state of Commander Shaell to consider; his physiological state is safe and so is the medical status of the team as far as I can determine with the instruments at my disposal."

"Therre is anotherr alterrnative," Mrrin said then. "If Commanderr Rrogerrs rreactivate this ship's systems, Doctorr Grray could use this ships's medical facilities."

Riker nodded towards Doctor Gray

"Perfect a win win.  You can treat him here and be closer by if we need you for anything"

Looking down at the body and around at the minimal power Doctor Gray shook his head

"I can do that sir, but my holograhpic interface will not be connected with the ship.  I will have to work all equipment manually"

Riker pointed to the medical kit on the floor

"You mean you will have to actually touch your tools, like some kind of ancient barbarian.  What a travesty"

Doctor Gray grabbed the tool kit and mumbled to himself

"We are dealing with medievalism here"

That's when Riker's comm channel resounded with the chief engineer's voice.

"Rogers to Riker; minimal power now available to all decks."

But around them, only a few lights blinked active on the auxilliary engineering board. One look was enough for chief M'ata to understand what was happening.

"Well that was anti climactic" Riker quipped.

"This deck's powerr has been also shut off manually from herre. It's like someone, maybe this Commanderr Shaell, made surre that auxilliary contrroll, forr one, would not be so easily rreactivated by a generral powerr up."

Tentatively looking around within the still dimly lit auxiliary control room as she contemplated their current status, Elisha inquired to everyone in the away team.

"Do we risk manually reactivating power here at this time?"

In the immediate silence that followed her question, the Orion Ops officer noted the curious reactions from within the visors surrounding her.  Yet that did not prevent her from proceeding with her thoughts.   

"Was there a justifiable reason for all of these force-fields and power shutdowns to be in place throughout this ship in this manner that we are somehow missing? Who in fact implemented these conditions and why? Is this following some type of protocol for a crew before abandoning their vessel? Or are we dealing with something entirely out of the ordinary?"

Looking over at the pattern of shields and power shut offs Riker drew a mental map in his head and planned a course the shields were blocking.  As the map became clear he looked around and addressed the team.

"A shield pattern like that would serve one of two purposes.  Either they were trying to keep someone in..."

Riker raised the stun setting on his phaser pistol

"Or they were trying keep some... thing out"

"That much is cerrtain," Mrriin stated. "I know of no Starrfleet prrotocol like this.. but I know why I myself would do something like this; to counter a hostile takeover of the ship. Problem is, we have yet to find any evidence of  such a situation... beyond this said condition of the vessel. As for who... doing all this requires the knowledge of command codes."

"Guess the answers to all that lie here," Doctor Gray said, indicating the inert Starfleet officer.

Elisha's vexation was not directed toward anyone, but rather a reaction to the ongoing uneasy circumstances of this unusual situation. She felt something of an impending threat lurking on this ship. It was not logical nor could she justify this heightened sensation, so she did not speak of it. However, she had survived the early parts of her once miserable life by not dismissing such gut reactions when it came to a waylaying potential for danger. 

Without uttering another word, the Orion looked over at the first officer as if to ask "What is our next move, Sir?"  

Gesturing towards the body on the floor Riker pointed towards the door

"We have to get him to sickbay and see what else we can learn"

Continuing his instructions Riker was too busy lifting the body to gesture towards individual officers.  He hoped they knew who he was instructing.

"We need to get full power back online as soon as possible, sickbay and surrounding areas are our top priority.  The rest of you continue to look for evidence and find out what happened.  Hopefully we can figure out what they were doing with the shields.  Every team check in every five minutes.  If you miss a check in the closest team will respond as a security threat"

Picking up the body into a shoulder carry Riker finished

"Don't miss a check in"