Too Greedy and Too Deep

Posted on Sunday September 16th, 2018 @ 10:46pm by Captain Dimitriy (Dima) Miller

Mission: Episode Twenty Two: Of past and present
Location: Past and present
Timeline: Stardate 95681.17

Captain Dimitiy Miller was sitting on his ready room sofa and looking at the stars outside his window.
Looking at the stars but seeing the face of Commander Uzeeta Zus.
His Number One and friend.
He saw her, standing on the podium at Starbase 621, receiving her commendation from Admiral Thompson.
“... For heroism beyond the ordinary, in risking her life and leading a team in a humanitarian rescue mission, I hereby award this Starfleet Medal to Lieutenant Commander Uzeeta Zus of U.S.S. Cychreides…”
Dima’s eyes misted over as her recalled the events of that mission.

“Chai, extra strong”, Commander Miller knew very well that given the amount of time he’s been sleeping lately, he is bound to fall asleep within the first hour of the shift.
These headaches have been coming and going, even after the treatment given by Dr. Selren and he couldn’t get any sleep as a result.
And his lack of sleep would not be the only reason to fall asleep on duty. The Cychreides has been waiting for orders on the edge of the Rolor nebula for several days now. The Captain was away, not for the first time and there were literally nothing to do other than inventing some work for every department. Routine maintenance, upgrades, drills…

“Good morning, Dima”, Lieutenant Commander Uzeeta Zus was standing right behind him. He spun around, almost spilling his tea.
“Good morning… Uzeeta. I didn’t hear you approach”, the Commander replied.
Her usual smile and intense gaze made him certain she’s reading his feelings, so he instinctively cleared his thoughts.
“Did you get a good night’s sleep?” she was obviously here for her morning cup of Jestral tea but she made no effort to continue towards the replicator, and just stood there looking into his eyes.
“Ah, no.” there was no point in lying to a Betazoid and he wouldn’t lie to her either way - he valued their friendship too much.
Her expression grew sterner. “Does the Doctor know?”
“She does, generally.” He was moving away from the replicator towards his seat on the bridge. “I didn’t speak with her today yet.”
She ordered her tea and made her way after him.

The bridge was in a state of flux.
The junior cadre of the third shift was coming off and the senior cadre of the first shift was taking over.
Ensign Visone was browsing through the logs to see if there was anything unusual or of importance to report, Ensign T’pali was reading the security logs at her station and Lieutenant Essex was talking to Chief Valearea over the Comm on some EPS flux regulator anomalies.
Dima took a sip from his cup and turned to the approaching Second Officer.
“Don’t worry, Commander, I’ll be alright.”
“I’ll be conducting boarding exercise with the M.A.C.O.s today, so I need your approval for the use of the Runabout. And cargo bay 2, come to think of it.” She was standing with the usual professional attention, so common with ex-pounders, her tea-cup in her hand.
“Of course, Commander. An excellent idea.” He grew very fond of these M.A.C.O.s over the months since the Commander brought them to the Cychreides along with her.
“I would sugge...”
“Commander!” Mario Visone’s voice was shrill and Miller’s head resonated with a violent throb.
“I’m receiving a distress signal from a Deferi mining station in the Manek system!”
“Let’s hear them, Ensign.”
“There’s no audio, only an automated signal with coordinates.”
“Details?”
“It seems that an explosion occurred on board a Deferi Duranium mining station, in the midst of the Manek asteroid belt. The explosion caused a cascade reaction in the field and the asteroid debris is crashing the station.”
“Mr. Visone, what is our ETA to their location, at maximum warp?”
“Calculating… 17 minutes, sir.”
Commander Miller looked from his Chief of Operations to his second in command. He had orders to maintain this position and await orders. And the captain was away too…
But he had a responsibility to offer aid to any vessel in need of assistance.
“What is the nearest vessel to their location?”
Mario’s hands started working furiously on his station controls and after a few moments he turned back to his commander.
“We are, sir. The other closest vessel is the Federation starship Detroit, but she’s more than five hours away, patrolling near Deep Space Nine.”
“They will not make it in time to find any survivors there, the asteroids will crush them by that time. So, it seems that there is only one thing to do. Mr. Visone, transfer the coordinates to Helm.”
Lieutenant Commander Zus nodded at the acting Captain’s first order, understanding immediately what needs to be done. She switched her communicator on.
“Chief Talan, please assemble your squad and report to the transporter room, at the double.”
“Aye, sir.” Her communicator chirped back.
“… Coils are aligned. You have both impulse and warp power… now.” Lieutenant Essex voice was as cool as always. “Do you need me on the bridge, sir?”
“No need, Nox, just keep the good work. Miller out.”
“Dr. Selren reporting, sir.”
“We need you to set up a triage infrastructure sufficient to receive at least a hundred trauma casualties.”
“Aye, sir, but I’ll be commandeering the lounge and setting my team to work there. The sick bay will not be sufficient.”
“Agreed. Do it, doctor. Zus out.”
“Helm, maximum warp. Punch it.”
“Aye, sir.”
The viewscreen turned to a blur of white light as the ship accelerated.
“Commander, I’m receiving more information from the station. The communication is not fully stable, but it looks like the condition of their facilities is deteriorating fast under the severe bombardment of the asteroid debris. It seems that the whole asteroid field in their vicinity has turned into a cloud of small rock fragments.” Ensign Visone stature was stiff as usual around his superiors and he tried to avoid any eye contact.
“I see. It may not be possible to get close enough to transport them on board as the metal composition of the asteroids would limit the transporters even further.” Miller’s head turned to Commander Zus.
“If so, then I shall order to have the Runner be prepared,” She replied.
“Agreed. Have the team ready on board.”
“You are not…”
“Don’t worry, Commander.” Miller knew she’ll object, rightly so, and decided to do the prudent thing. So he smiled and shook his head.
“I will remain on the Cychreides and coordinate from here. It’s your operation.”
She nodded, her expression still stern, though her relief was quite visible.
“I’ll report to the shuttle bay and assemble my team there.”
He nodded. “Take Dr. Selren and Mario with you.”
“Me, s-sir?” the voice of the Ensign clearly shook. “I’m not a tactical officer…”
“No, but you are an excellent data analyst and would be invaluable over there.” The Commander knew that the best approach would be to alleviate some of the Ensign’s stress, to make it work. It would be, after all, his first tactical away mission and he would benefit from the experience too.
“It will be just in and out, just text-book.”
Commander Zus raised her eyebrow at this but Mario smiled nervously, nodded and turned towards the turbolift.
“Get it done, Commander. I’m counting on you.” He gave her a short nod and turned back to the telemetry coming to the Captain’s station. She replied with a slight nod and followed the fidgeting Ensign to the turbolift.

Miller knew that there are no butterflies in your stomach. There are elephants. A stampede of those.
It was his first mission as CO, though an acting one - and he wasn’t prepared for it.
And are you really ever prepared until you start doing it?
All he ever dreamed of was being an engineer. He dreamt of his own department on a huge flagship like the Enterprise, a powerhouse at his fingertips. He chose a specialization in Engine and EPS design and had a promising career on Utopia Planitia, working on the Sojourner class state of the art systems, until the little explorer in him awoke and dragged him to serve out there – on the final frontier.
His family, a proud line of space station personnel that never fully supported his choice to become a Starfleet officer, thought he has finally lost his mind altogether. And this change didn’t do anything to further his engineering or exploration aspirations, as he was posted to escorts ever since.
But that’s it now, he is wearing red and sitting in the Captain’s chair.

The only visuals from the scene were the telemetry received from the Runner, as the interference within the asteroid field limited the communication bandwidth significantly.
The quality information, however, was received via the audio channel.
“We’re three minutes away from where the hangar-bay doors s-supposed to be, sir.”, Mario struggled to steady his voice, “The explosion caused a cascade reaction in the immediate vicinity of the field and made the debris to go in a marry-go-round around the station.”
“Noted, ensign”, sounded the dry voice of the Lieutenant Commander.
“I’ve deployed five trauma support cradles for the most critical cases. We must be fast going in and out, if we are to save them all.”
“Thank you, Doctor. Please have your team on standby. We’ll be sending them over to you any minute now.”
“Captain, I’m ready to deploy the first probe.” The title was customary for the acting CO of a ship at a given time, regardless of his actual rank, but it felt odd to Dima.
“Very good.” Miller turned to Nox, sitting behind him and working at the engineering station. “How are the modifications to the transporters coming, Lieutenant?”
Nox nodded to himself and smiled. He then stopped in a middle of his work and turned to the Commander. “We’re nearly done. I’m optimistic - we found a way to boost the signal isolating the harmonics created by the surrounding structures. We will test it after Mario completes deploying the relays, but it seems we’ll be able to transport people from deeper inside the field, as the Runner will be on its way out.”
“Very good. How deep inside the field would it function?”
“I’m not sure, captain.”
Miller nodded and turned his gaze back to the telemetry screen.
“I’ve completed setting triage beds, Captain.” Now it was the stern voice of Dr. Selren that was heard through the comm. “We are as ready as we could ever be, though we’ll be able to support no more than ten critically wounded miners at the same time.”
“We’ll have to move fast locating the survivors, sir," Uzeeta’s calm voice washed over the bridge, “We might need to make some hard decisions “.
Dima looked at the brief he received from Deferi Commerce Consultate. One hundred and two miners. How many of them still live? Will they manage to locate all of the survivors before the station is crushed by the disturbed mass of space rock?
“I trust your judgment in this, Commander.” And there was no doubt about it, in his mind.
“Aye, thank you, sir."

A minute, in these types of missions, is liable to expand the conventional limitations of time and space at its will and create a pocket universe where the laws of physics seem to be erratically changing.
Silence fell on both bridges, of the ship and of the shuttle.
Dima looked at the screen, realized his vision has blurred, so he tried to refocus it by looking at his hands.
They are so small… How can I hold a tri-phase auto-coupler again? How could I ever?
Another minute passed.
“We have the station on visuals, sir,” Uzeeta’s extraordinarily calm voice broke the spell of the pocket dimension, “ETA, forty-five seconds.”
“Scanning for life-signs,” Mario responded immediately, his voice calmer and professional.
“Captain, there is a debris mass on a collision course with the station, impact imminent.”
“Sixty-three life-signs, sir!”
“Lieutenant, how much time do we have before that pile of rock comes crashing around our ears, as you humans say?” Uzeeta asked.
A moment of tense silence.
“Two to three minutes, Commander.”
“Then we need to get moving. Lock coordinates on the nearest survivors. Ready transporters!”
“Coordinates locked. A group of three in one of the ventral docking sections. Will be in transporter range in four… three… two… one…”
“Energize!”
“Got them!”
“Take them aft!”
“I’ve got one with head trauma! Clear path!”
“Lay him down…”
“…his pulse is irregular…”
“…me the cortical stimulator…”
“Got a lock on a group of six… three more dispersed in their vicinity…”
“Ready your team, doctor, more are on their way!”
“Energizing, sir!”
“You don’t need my approval, just beam anyone you find over. And guide me where to fly.”
“Aye, sir… See that structure? We need to get behind it.”
“Gonna be tricky. See those rocks?”
“He’s not breathing!”
“Clear me some space…”
“I’m trying to boost the signal through the pattern enhancers.”
“Need to hurry…”
“Fifteen… sixteen… seventeen… GO! Around that pylon!”
“Oh, thank you! You are…”
“Move them faster!”
“That one has a crashed lower spine! Gently…”
“How close do you need me to be?”
“Closer! ...like five hundred meters…”
“Watch that asteroid, sir!”
“Trying… I’m in position. How many?”
“Almost twenty, but scattered.”
“Get to work, then.”
“I did what I could for him, take him aft. Clear those emergency cots!”
“Can’t get a lock, the metal particles in the debris are scattering the beam.”
“Getting closer…”
“Locked! Beaming…”
“This one has a broken leg. Set it in the other room.”
“Yes, doctor…”
“I’m reading a cloud of debris coming our way at high speed. I will have to move in forty seconds.”
“Seven and eight…”
“... skull is crushed. I need to stabilize her. Get me the a pressure relief valve…”
“Here, doc.”
“Hold her still! Where are the sedatives?”
“On my way!”
“Twenty seconds!”
“... large group lock… Yes!”
“Sort them! Don’t clutter me!”
“This one lost a leg, doc. Taken clear off!”
“Apply pressure and cauterize it! I’ll be there in a moment.”
“Five seconds!”
“Almost!”
“Three… two… one…”
“WAIT!!!”
“Minus two, minus three…”
“Got him! GO!”
The sound of a barrage was suddenly heard above the human din.
Commander Miller turned sharply to the telemetry console. “Report, Commander!”
“We’re hit, but nothing too severe. May have some damage to the starboard nacelle.”
“Can you maneuver behind that structure, sir?” The young Ensign’s voice was steady, his tone sure.
“I’ll do my best, Mr. Visone.”
“There are a few more on the way and a large concentration of life-signs at the end destination.”
“I’m losing him! Put a clamp on his artery, stat!”
“On it, doctor.”
“That’s better, now I can repair it…”
“Sir…”
“What is it, Ensign?”
“Look at the scanners…”
“I’m navigating. Report!”
“The field of debris is closing on the station. Our escape corridor will be nothing but a hail of rock in less than two minutes.”
“Then we make them count. How many did we already bring aboard?”
“Thirty-eight… No, thirty-nine, sir”
“How many more did you find?”
“Nine scattered and fourteen in a confined space near where we’re headed.”
“Ok. Concentrate on bringing them fast, I’ll track the debris.”
“Yes, sir.”
Commander Miller was seated and without knowing it, his left hand’s nails were making deep cuts in the padding of the Captain's chair.
His eyes seemed to be watching the telemetry on the viewscreen, but none of it registered.
The voices that came through the comm were all his being at those moments.
“Two… three…”
“I need vascular stimulator stat!”
“Oh, stars! I thought I’ll be dead!”
“Move! Take this one aft and put him here! And V’lan - keep the pressure on!”
“Seven… eight…”
“I'm in position, Ensign. Seventy seconds to impact.”
“Aye, sir, doing my best…”
“l know you do.”
“It's going to be crowded back there, doctor!”
“We’re ready, Mr. Visone.”
“Nine… ten… eleven…”
“Put them on the floor, we’ll sort them later! Tamara, clear the blood, I need to see the wound.”
“Fifty seconds.”
“Twelve… Sir… I have hard time locking on some of the others. They're deeper in and higher. Can you move over there?”
“Adjusting position. Thirty-five minutes to impact.”
“There is some kind of interference… probably a ruptured EPS conduit. Trying to compensate…”
“Do it fast. Twenty-five seconds to impact!”
Miller shook off his trance. “Get out, Commander!”
“A moment, Captain, we’re getting the last few."
“Thirteen… fourteen…”
“Now Commander! You have a duty to the people on the Runner!”
“Fifteen…”
A sound of a heavy impact and a barrage of smaller hits.
“Pulling out, sir! The corridor is closing…”
“Sixteen! Sir…”
“We’ve done what we can. Now, shields up, Ensign, and bring weapons online. We might need to blast our way through.”
“Aye, aye. Shields up, bringing forward phasers online.”
The sounds of impact became duller and gained a static noise as an aftershock.
“She's crushing, give her 50 milliliter of lectrazine! And set him firmly, I can't have him moving now.”
“Sir!”
“I can see, it ensign. Target the cluster of large ones on the dorsal side.”
“Targets acquired and… firing!”
Sounds of phaser discharge and a loud hiss of static.
“Shields at sixty percent!”
“I don't like the view out here. Cychreides, I hope that you have the transporters at the ready to get us from this storm.”
Turning to Lieutenant Essex, Commander Miller tried to instil calm into his away team.
“We’ve got your back. Nox is enhancing the beam localization, to be able to beam you from deeper in the field.”
Nox shook his head and signaled that he still can’t get a lock.
Silence reigned on the bridge of the Cychreides. People were either looking at their Captain or avoiding it by fiddling with their consoles.
“Keep going, Commander, you're nearly there,” was all that Miller could say.
“I hope you're right, sir, I can't see a way through,” Uzeeta’s voice was drowned by screams of the wounded, shouting of the medics and the sizzling of the shields.
“We'll get you out.” Miller’s voice was resolute.
Moments passed and the din heard through the comm kept growing in volume and richness of sound.
Nobody spoke, as there was nothing to be said, though much to do for the crew of the Runner.
“Forward shields are at eighteen percent!” Mario’s voice broke through the static, “Dorsal shields are at twenty-one!”
Dima’s head turned instantly toward Nox’s station and Nox immediately spoke, as if felt that gaze. “I’m launching a class two probe into the edge of the asteroid field. It will help boost the beam’s signal through the debris and may make it possible to start beaming them out.”
His right hand slammed the console and he finally turned towards the Captain. “The probe has been launched. It’ll take it thirty seconds to reach its final position.”
“Make all the necessary preparation for emergency beam-out, lieutenant.”, Commander Miller turned to chief Omyi, sitting at the Operations station, “Alert the medical staff that they’ll be receiving casualties presently.”
“Yes, sir,” Omyi replied and proceeded to execute her orders. Nox continued working in silence.
“The medical teams are on standby, sir. The probe will be in position in 15 seconds,” said Omyi.
“Shields are at eight percent! We have an overload in the EPS grid!” Mario was shouting at the top of his lungs now to be heard over the cacophony on the Runner.
“Shut down sensors and weapons! Divert all power to shields! We’re punching through with our nose!”
“Yes commander!”
“They are within range! I have a lock, sir!” Nox’s voice was excited.
“Runner, we have a lock, stand by for transport.” Miller’s face was tense but his eyes brightened.
“Copy that, Captain. We’re as ready as ever.” Uzeeta’s voice grew calmer in inverse proportion to the Runner’s shield strength.
“Transporter room, energize!”
“We’ve lost dorsal shields, forward shields are at two percent!”
“We have ten on board.”
“The EPS is overloading! The grid will breach in 30 seconds!”
“Eighteen on board.”
“Shields are gone sir! Look out!”
“Twenty seven…”
A loud crash was heard through the comm channel.
“Report, Commander!”, Miller’s fists were white.
“We’ve lost the starboard nacelle!” Mario was screaming now, his voice high-pitched.
“Thirty six…”
“Commander!”
“I see it.”
“Forty one…”
“Sir.”, Uzeeta’s voice was dead calm now.
Miller felt a chill creeping into bones. “Commander?”
“Forty five…”
“I can’t avoid this one, sir. We’re in a pocket. Get us out.” She was almost pleading.
Miller turned to Nox and his old friend nodded to let him know that he is doing all he can.
“Fifty, sir. Tell them to get ready.”
“We heard that. We are ready.”
“Fifty three.”
“Beaming the last refugees and medical personnel.” Nox almost smiled, “Ok, ready…”
The comms went out with a bang.
Silence filled the bridge. Miller looked around and everyone else were looking at him.
“The Runner is gone, Dmitriy.” Nox looked up from his console, red in the face.
“Did you manage...?”
“I don’t know. There was a power surge in the transporter matrix, probably due to the explosion. Maybe, I just don’t have the data.”
If Dima had thought for a moment or waited for two, he would have heard Chief Omyi consult the internal sensors. But he was already in the turbolift riding to deck seven.
He stormed out of the opening doors and run down the corridors.
His eyes stung and his breath was laboured.
Intrusive thoughts sprang into his brain and were banished. No, he had to make sure, he must know first-hand.
He burst through the doors of the transporter room and stopped dead.
The room was still crowded with refugees and ship’s personnel but he easily spotted his query. On the transporter pad, Mario was kneeling and weeping hard into Uzeeta’s neck as she hugged him tightly.
Dima took a step back out of the room, leaned on the wall and slid down...

A chime on his door yanked him from the memory.
He looked again out of the window and sighed.
This time you would not come back, dear old friend, who always were and always shall be in my thoughts.
He stood up and invited his present XO to come in for their daily briefing.