Act II Scene I: Aftermath of the Battle of Axanar

[RorytheRomulan]

"We'll follow the standard layout as straight as we can and hail you as soon as we reach the medbay." Zea blinks a few times in apprehension of what may be found there. She turns to the security lead. "Who's coming along Campeador?"

[Orvost]

“Who is coming along Campeador?”

Campeador grimaces and purses his lips as he considers a situation he was hoping to avoid. He directs one security guard to stay with Craig and Weathers while he and the remaining guard accompany Drennan to medical.

Alik, who accessed the layout of the ship earlier, recalls the location of medical and gives Drennan directions. Before the other team moves out, Campeador speaks to Alik:

“Your task of getting the computer back online is the priority right now. If something happens, if things feel amiss, if you so much as get a bad feeling, just send word and I’ll come back to reenforce your location.”

Zea guides her group, but her security escort take the lead. The pace is slow because a two-man security sweep takes significantly longer than a three-man sweep. When they reach the medical bay, Zea is heartened by the size of the facility. It obviously isn’t as sprawling and comprehensive as the hospital ship Asclepius, but it is certainly bigger and better stocked than the medical station aboard the Pas-de-Calais. When security finally gives her the “all clear” to enter the facility, she immediately realizes that this medical facility was the scene of frantic activity prior to and during the evacuation. Medical supplies are strewn across the room, including tools that would not have been removed unless major surgery was being attempted. She sees several bodies have been left here too. Zea realizes she has a decision to make: should she concentrate on manually restarting the computer system in Medical so she can search the files, or should she examine the physical evidence left behind—including the bodies—before her team’s presence irrevocably contaminates the evidence on-site.

Alik finishes his inventory and realizes he has around four hours of work ahead of him to get as much of the computer system back in order as possible. He also notices that many computer components he is handling are new to him: either state-of-the-art or prototype systems, which is obviously something to expect when dealing with Starfleet Intelligence.

[RorytheRomulan]

The files on the computer won't get contaminated by people being in the room with it, at least, that is how Zea understands computers. She tells Campeador that she will start examining evidence. First she makes a sweeping scan with the bicorder, and then gets up close with the evidence, starting with the bodies.

[ManWithDoor]

Thinking aloud, Alik points out the unfamiliar components to Weathers, cataloguing as he goes along. He does his best to understand what these parts do within the system, although without the ability to have the engineering documents or do some reverse engineering, he can only make educated guesses. He looks up at the guard. "I think I've got about four hours to go to get the computer system working. Well, at least working well enough to access the records we want."

[Orvost]

Having completed the inventory, Alik gets to work rebuilding the computer. No sooner has he begun reinstalling components, when the overhead lights switch to red and a klaxon alarm sounds throughout the ship. The computer, in its labored voice, announces 96 seconds to self-destruct. In a flash of realization, Alik knows what has happened: When Starfleet Intelligence abandoned ship, they didn’t mean to leave the King in Prussia derelict in space—they meant for it to self-destruct. Only they were already well into the process of erasing computer files and systems, to the point where the computer was unable to execute its self-destruct protocols.

Alik’s repairs have raised the computer’s capabilities to the point where it can now execute its self-destruct command. Alik also knows that any downgrade in the computer system will accelerate the countdown. It’s a standard sub-command which ensures a self-destruct command can’t be foiled simply by smashing the computer. Self-destruction is usually executed via warp core breach. With the King in Prussia’s warp core offline, and the self-destruct countdown still continuing, there may be some other onboard payload specifically for self-destruct purposes. Since this is an Intelligence vessel full of secrets, it makes sense it would have an iron-clad means of destroying itself. In any case, Alik doesn’t want to risk experiencing what happens when the countdown reaches zero. Self-destruction normally can only be overridden by two command officers’ input, but with the computer in the sorry state that it is, Alik may be able to find some other means of turning it off.

Zea sweeps the medical bay with her bicorder, but finds nothing inciteful or helpful. With a sigh and a shake of her head, she closes it down and enlists the help of her security escort to move bodies onto examination tables. There are a total of eight bodies:

Body 1: In cold storage in the morgue, several days old. Male, mid 20’s. COD: close range hand laser shot through scull. The nature of the wound makes it hard to determine if it was self-inflicted or not, which is probably why they were keeping the body on ice rather than disposing of it.
Body 2: Recently deceased. Male, mid 20’s. COD: third and fourth degree plasma burns. Deep bruising and broken bones present. Injuries conducive to proximity to catastrophic system failure common in ship-to-ship combat situations.
Bodies 3 and 4: Recently deceased. Both female, mid 20’s. COD: Life function disruption on the cellular level conducive to Klingon energy weapons fire.
Bodies 5, 6, 7, 8: Recently deceased. One female, three male, ages ranging from early 20’s to late 30’s. COD: Deep lacerations and dismemberments conducive to hand-to-hand bladed weapon injuries.

Cadet Drennan has finished her preliminary examinations when the overhead lights turn red and a klaxon alarm starts sounding. Cadet Campeador looks at the ceiling, then back at Zea and the other security officer.

“You two stay here. Do your thing. I’m going back to engineering to see what is going on.”

He makes some vague hand gestures to accompany ‘two’, ‘stay’, and ‘going’, to make sure he is understood over the sound of the alarm, then he waddle-jogs out of the room as fast as he can in his environmental suit.

GM

The engineer needs to make an INT and Computer Operation roll to try and override the self-destruct command.

[RorytheRomulan]

Zea logs her findings on a voice recording. Her heartrate spikes when the claxon blares overhead, annoyed and intimidated by the sirens. She shouts into the bicorder that she will get the bodies bagged for autopsy and ends recording. She prioritizes bagging cadavers 3 and 4 first, then 1. She suspects foul play or relevancy prior to the battle. After that, 5, 6, 7, 8, and finally 2, pending the reason for the alert when the security chief returns.

[ManWithDoor]

Alik breaks out into a cold sweat. "Weathers, see if you can open communications to our ship. I'm going to try to stop, circumvent, or at least delay the self-destruct sequence." He begins running through options in his mind, discarding them as he goes along. It wasn't a long list to start, and it quickly gets shorter. "It takes two command officers to cancel a self-destruct. While they aren't commanding on the ship, if we can get Commodore Singh and Captain Garth on the comms, maybe they can countermand this anyways. The Commodore is the fleet commander of colony logistical support, while Captain Garth is the fleet commander of the Axanar task force. They didn't command this ship, but they have more broad authority that might apply anyways."

[Orvost]

Alik rushes to the interface terminal in the computer mainframe room and starts trying to manually end the self-destruct countdown. He doesn’t make much headway. At the same time, Weathers is on the com system with the Pas-de-Calais and quickly explains the situation to Communications officer Serao. Serao explains that the Commodore is the commanding officer of the King in Prussia by virtue of its designation as salvage. If the King in Prussia receives, recognizes, and accepts the Commodore’s salvage codes, it should (theoretically) cease all operations including self-destruct. The complication is that the salvage codes are secret and you need to set up a secure communications link to have them transmit. Alik remembers back to the elective course he took at the academy on operating communications systems and hopes that his memory and Serao’s promptings are enough to secure a coms line.

Zea starts bagging bodies according to her priority list. Soon she hears an automated voice over the blaring red alert stating that the ship will self-destruct in 40 seconds. She can tell the security guard with her is nervous and she begins questioning her own priorities.

GM

The engineer needs to make an INT and Communication Systems Operation roll to turn the communications link with the Pas-de-Calais into a secure line.

[RorytheRomulan]

Zea feels something unwind in the pit of her stomach. She isn't a strongman - she sure as heck isn't going to haul bodies back to the exit in under 40 seconds. She won't ask her buddy to do it, either. She gets up, turns to the guard and says, "Let's regroup and get out of here."

action

Making my way back to engineer and friends to evacuate. If that 96 seconds announcement was ship-wide, mb. Either way, Zea is spooked and she doesn't want to lose any more time.

[ManWithDoor]

"Starting the routing for a secure comms line to the computer." He breaks out into a cold sweat, doing his best to keep his mind clear and his hands steady as he works. "... you may want to evacuate everyone else now, and have an emergency transport ready just in case. Or at least let us know where the nearest life pods are."