Collecting Litter

Posted on Tue Dec 22nd, 2020 @ 10:57pm by Lieutenant JG Sarah Wilson & Lieutenant Commander Tyroh Vantic & Lieutenant Anna S. Thesia M.D. & Chief Petty Officer Sapphire

Mission: Healing of Minds
Location: Transporter Room & Vulcan

The lift had taken Anna to the transporter room quickly. "Sickbay, stand by to possibly receive patients." She hoped it wouldn't be necessary, but if it was, she needed Sarah to be ready.

"We're ready to receive, bays 1 and 2 are prepped with overflow available in holodeck 1," Sarah advised, just finishing a briefing of the sickbay staff in Anna's absence. T'Pora also stood ready, willing to help both injuries and whenever the next victim was identified.

With her ever-present medkit slung over her shoulder, Anna walked into the transporter room and straight onto the transporter pad. "We've got him, now we can go down and collect." She looked at the huge, bulky man in a gold uniform. "Tyroh Vantic, I assume?" She hadn't met the man yet, which, for now, she was willing to put down to scheduling and the current crisis, rather than to him purposefully avoiding his check-up.

"Indeed," Tyroh nodded to the medical officer who had joined him. He hadn't had occasion to meet the Liberty's new CMO, as he'd been on Vulcan for a few days of leave. Ideally, meeting a new fellow senior officer right before beaming down to a potential danger zone wasn't the most ideal of circumstances but, here they were. "You must be Doctor Thesia. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Anna, yes", she said. "And I'm the one you have to thank for having to wear these for this mission." And with that, she pulled a respirator over her face, indicating that she was ready to go.

"Ah," Tyroh acknowledged, reaching down to his side. Hanging on a loop at his waist, next to his phaser, was an identical respirator. The security chief snatched it from its place and mirrored the Chief Medical Officer's motion, pulling the respirator over his dark features.

"You came up with the idea of using anaesthezine gas for this operation. Have you ever given thought to a career in Security or Tactical? You may have missed your calling." There was the barest hint of a smile on his features, though they were now hidden by the mask.

Anna laughed. "You'll find I'm rubbish with a phaser. I couldn't fight myself out of a wet paper bag if my life depended on it. Thankfully, I'm fairly sturdy, so I'll just tank whatever comes my way and heal myself."

"A dangerous proposition at the best of times," Tyroh stated, clasping his hands behind his back. So far, he found himself liking the CMO fairly quickly. "So I'll strongly recommend staying close to me or one of my people and we'll do the...'tanking'...for you. Would that be acceptable?"

Anna nodded. "I don't expect to be needed on this trip anyway. Anaesthezine isn't dangerous. It's just a precaution to come along." And if they had a telepathic victim, Anna couldn't do much anyway. "Shall we?"

Tyroh removed his phaser from its position on his hip and checked, once more, to see that it was set on stun. Satisfied, he held the phaser in his hand behind his back and nodded to the Doctor next to him. "There's one more security officer coming. She should be here any moment."

And as if on cue, crewman Ann P. Sea entered, looking like a deer in headlights as Sapphire stared at her from the transporter pad. "Move it, crewman. Learn to read a chronometer, and see me afterwards."

The Captain's voice echoed through the comm in the transporter room "away team, you're cleared for beam-out. Take all necessary precautions"

"Aye, Captain. Mask on, Crewman," Tyroh added firmly, sparing the crewman the briefest of looks, in no way envious of her situation with the new Master-at-Arms. He nodded at Chief Sapphire, acknowledging that she had crew discipline well in hand, then turned to the transporter operator. "If the way is clear, send us down," Vantic ordered.

"Aye sir," the transporter op responded quickly, running fingers over the panel before them before executing the order. The familiar, tell-tale whine of the transporter beam activating resonated in Tyroh's ears. The beam captured the away team in a blue, coruscating pulse of light, deconstructing and dematerializing them into their base sub-atomic components before reversing the process somewhere on the surface of Vulcan.

They were deposited in front of a fairly non-descript, two-storey building. There were windows dotting the building and those windows didn't show any lights emanating from them. The area seemed unfamiliar to the security chief, granted he wasn't all that familiar with Vulcan or its major cities as it was. He started scouring the area directly around him, making sure there was no immediate threat to the group.

And even though she probably shouldn't have, Anna walked straight up to the front door and entered a code into its access panel. Despite this being a civilian structure, all buildings in compliance with regulations responded to a medical emergency access code, and it was the case here. The doors opened, and a faint mist dissipated into the air. It was the building which the anaesthezine gas had been released in. "If anyone is holding a strange object, let me know?" Anna asked. It would likely be the Stone of Gol. At least she hoped the guy hadn't got out in time.

Tyroh understood Doctors were duty bound and eager to do their jobs, sometimes to their own detriment. Unnecessarily pointing out that what she had done was dangerous would only be a waste of time. Yes, the gas was likely to have knocked out someone inside but there was also no guarantee that a being's physiology or unknown training might counteract that. He himself could hold his breath for a very long time. Doctor Thesia's actions only solidified in Tyroh that he would just have to stay close to her as much as possible. He quickly moved up next to the CMO, indicating with his free hand that she should wait where she was a moment. "Please," he added softly.

He nodded to Chief Sapphire for her to take the lead inside, with him and Dr. Thesia to follow closely. With a flick of his hand holding his phaser, he directed the other two security officers to check and secure the perimeter of the building.

Sapphire took the lead. Her phaser was ready, but she didn't need it. So far, all she could see was empty building, and the occasional unconscious Vulcan here or there. She had already been told they could disregard any Vulcan as a suspect. The perpetrator wasn't telepathically trained, and Vulcans always were, or they wouldn't even reach adulthood without serious problems. "All clear on the ground level", she announced.

Tucked away on the second floor, in a dark and oppressively hot room. The windows and doors were tightly sealed shut to keep out the worst of the heat, but to also keep the room from distractions. Mathias felt woosy, something was wrong but his brain wasn't working as well as it should have. He had heard the sound of a transporter whilst working with the Stone but it had been in the living area two rooms over. He was so focused on his next victim he paid it no heed. Now it appears he should have.

"Okay," Tyroh agreed with his Master-at-Arms, then indicated a set of stairs nearby. "Let's you and I clear the second floor. Doctor, I would suggest you wait here until you receive an all clear." He hoped the CMO would heed his words. Regardless, the security chief contacted the other two security officers outside, directing one of them to stay by the door and the other to stay close to Doctor Thesia.

Anna didn't wait around, however. She checked everybody who had been knocked out by the gas. There was the remote chance they might have struck something on their way out, and might be bleeding. She figured she'd wait for a signal from those going upstairs, whether she was needed there or not.

Sapphire led the way upstairs. "There's someone still conscious, in that room over there. I can see his thermal signature, he's not out on the floor like the others."

Mathias stumbled, knocking over the Stone on its pedestal in his confused an semi-conscious state. It was like being drunk without the pleasure of getting drunk in the first place. He lurched towards the door.

Tyroh followed the Chief, thankful for the Andorian's extra senses. They quickly traversed the distance to the indicated room and the security chief took up a position on one side of the door. He indicated to Sapphire that, on his signal, he would barge through the door first staying high while she went low. It was then that they heard a thump from the other side of the door. Their timetable suddenly moved up, Tyroh wasted no time smashing through the door looking for their quarry.

Mathias stumbled backwards as the door erupted, his hands feebly trying to shield his face from the splintered remains. He attempted to gather his bearings and make a run for it, still disorientated from inhaling a small amount of gas.

So it fell to Saris to hit him, as Mathias had decided to aim high. But someone falling to the ground, naturally, would be low. The Andorian swung around, aiming a sharp kick for her opponent.

Mathias attempted to block the kick, managing only to crudely deflect it. His response times were sloppy and his mind clouded - this wasn't going to end well.

Tyroh, having been exposed as the easiest target upon entering, dodged away from what he could only describe as some random projectile coming at him from the being in the room. He heard a crash against the wall behind him. Whatever it was had just missed hitting him in the face. He tuned his attention back to where the suspect last was and could see Chief Sapphire had engaged him. He raised his phaser in readiness, waiting for an opening.

Sapphire didn't bother with her phaser. She figured, based on what she had heard, that this man deserved a kick in the teeth, not just a mild stun. How he had managed to fight off the anaesthezine gas was beyond her. She landed a solid punch, spinning him around into the line of fire, where Tyroh could take him out for good. Always good to let the boss get in the final shot, no?

The suspect reeled away from Sapphire stumbling, listless. Whatever fight he had in him was gone. Just to be safe, however, Tyroh pulled the trigger on his phaser stunning the person on the spot.

Mathias collapsed to the ground, the Stone still active in the centre of the room. Finally - everything was still.

The security chief scanned the room once more, quickly, to make sure there were no other surprises before moving to the still form of the suspect. He noticed something close by, an item resembling that which had been mentioned in the Captain's brief. He made sure to stay clear of it, and suggested for Sapphire to do the same.

He bent down and checked to make sure the form on the floor was truly unconscious. Seeing no suspicious movements, Tyroh reached up to his chest and tapped his commbadge. "Lieutenant Commander Vantic to the Liberty. We have the suspect in custody. We're ready to beam up to the brig."

"Gladly Commander, I'll have him beamed to the brig and a medical team attend to him there, are there any others requiring medical attention?" The Captain asked, relief evident in her voice.

Anna came walking up the stairs, overhearing the question from the skipper. "No, they'll wake up in a little bit."

"We should bring them in for questioning. There's no way to know whether this man was working alone", Sapphire suggested.

"Good work team, Did you locate the Stone with the perpetrator?" The Captain inquired, wanting nothing more than that nasty piece of technology ground to dust and its particles lost in the Vulcan sand for another thousand years.

"Yes, Captain," Tyroh stated as he put his phaser back into its place on his hip. "It was near the suspect. It's secured as well."

"That is good news - post a security detail around the perimeter, I'll contact the Vulcans and let them deal with the Stone." Rhenora commented, as much as she wanted to destroy the artefact - it wasn't hers to do so - it belonged to the Vulcan people.

"Aye, Captain," Tyroh responded. "I'll get a detail assigned right away." He turned to Sapphire, holding up a fist with thumb and pinky finger spread out in what amounted to the Angosian version of a thumbs up. "Nice work, Chief."

"Thank you", Sapphire said. This had been satisfying. She moved over to the window and opened it. "Everyone, open the windows, let some fresh air in." She turned to Tyroh. "So, do we take the others into custody, or don't we?"

The Captain overheard the comment through the open com link and responded. "Bring them all up - we'll question and process them accordingly. I'd rather apologise for an inconvenience than let an accomplice loose."

"Agreed," Tyroh acknowledged, knowing the Captain was likely the bear the brunt of the heat coming from the Vulcan government for the decision. It was a very good idea, though, and a necessary choice. He looked at Sapphire. "You and I will coordinate the...interviews with the Vulcans. Divide and conquer, as they say."

"I've never had the pleasure of questioning a Vulcan before", Sapphire said. Not that she expected this to actually be pleasant. She knew they'd likely be obstinate, and even the cooperative ones would be excessively literal.

"Captain, did you want me to conduct the suspect's interrogation or would you and the XO like to handle that," he asked.

"I would like to be present, as would Commander Savar, however it will be your 'interview'. We just have a few specific questions to be asked" Rhenora replied, thankful this whole mess was just about over. The prisoners would be beamed up and processed, the artefact recovered and dealt with by the Vulcans, and all would once again be good with the universe. If only things were that simple.