Hell on Deck 5"
By: Petty Officer Cara Winslow , Engineer , [NPC]
Dr. Alyssa Caitlin Northrop, Acting Chief Intel Officer, [PST]

Stardate: 58205.27 1515

Alyssa sat at her desk as the red alert claxon and lights went off. She was armed as per regs, but she didn't really have anywhere in particular to go. On the wall screen she had the tactical display from the external sensors. Sometimes being the Intelligence Officer really sucked. Sure you got all sorts of information to distill, but in situations such as these....there was just no where for her go.

She watched the individual ships move....the Zion moving to take care of the largest of the enemy armada while the others moved in among the rest of the Federation ships. Tapping a few keys, she changed the view watched as the Zion opened up on both Galaxy Class ships....turning them into smoking, burning wrecks.

It didn't take long before the Federation Forces were able to regroup and return fire. Alyssa felt the deck plating shudder under her feet.....then watched in horror as the second Steamrunner veered off and the Zion followed the first. "NO!"

She had more than a bad feeling about the tactic. It was a very old battle tactic used for taking down larger targets when you had a man-power advantage. Have one man draw the target's attention, while the other or others lie in wait. Just as she thought the last part....the Zion slammed violently to one side and the lights died. The quick movement sent tumbling to the floor. The lights were replaced a moment later by the emergency lights.....just in time to hear the sound of more EPS conduits blowing out. Alyssa picked herself off the floor and looked up at the screen for a moment, Northrop saw that it was all static. Obviously the sensors were down. "Just Perfect."

Smoke began to filter in under the door and the temperature in the darkened offices began to rise. "Shit.....time to go."

Picking her pistol off the desk, she holstered it and then grabbed the hand torch out of her desk. There was a Jefferies Tube Access near the back of the office....but when she opened it the archeologist was greated by a the green and yellow light from a plasma fire. The heat coming out of the tube was horrendous and she quickly sealed the hatch once more. "Guess it's the hallway then."

Moving across the room, she stopped just before the door to the hallway. She could hear the door mechanism whirring in the wall, but the door wouldn't open. Placing her palms against the metal, she began to push, hoping to help the door along. It gave way with a sudden jolt...but only enough to be open halfway.

After squeezing through the door, Alyssa had a look at what had to be one of the closest renditions of Hell that there was. Thick, acrid, black smoke hung in the air. Fire light flickered all around her, casting shadows off the fallen debris that littered the hallway.

"Ok...let's move," she told herself.

Forcing herself onward, Northrop moved carefully down the hallway, listening for anything that might be dangerous. The last thing she needed was to get caught by an exploding conduit on a mostly deserted deck.

What she saw next was nothing less than awe inspiring. The hull was breached, which allowed her to see out into space and watch the unfolding battle. Maquis and Klingon Ships traded fire with the Federation ships. It was a symphony of silent color. It was actually quite beautiful...untill one remembered exactly what it was you were looking at.

The forcefield flickered a moment, which started Alyssa from her momentary reverie. It reminded her that she ought not to stay long here.....not if she valued her life. This section could further decompress at any time really.

Suddenly her head snapped around. There....she heard it again. It was a tiny sound....but it sounded almost like a person. Could someone else have been down here?

"Hello? If you can hear me.....make another sound!" Northrop yelled down the silent corridor. Her voice echoed off the hard surfaces that made up the walls. There was nothing for a moment, then the faint cry again...followed by a more metallic clang.

"Do that again!" she yelled again, moving in the direction of the sound.

The person got the idea because the clang became a steady rythmn which allowed Alyssa to home in on it. When she found the source.....she nearly began to cry. It was coming from beneath a large chunk of metal...which had apparently blown out of an interior wall. Moving quickly but carefully, she investigated the area...not wanting to cause anything to shift, which might crush the trapped person. After a few minutes, she found a hole. Inside was a woman. "Hey...hold on, ok? I'm going to get you out of there. Can you move?"

The voice that returned was weak. "Yes...I can move...just not very far."

As she began to look for a way in, she continued speaking, "That's good...what's your name? I'm Alyssa."

"Cara....Petty Officer Cara Winslow. I work down in Engineering."

"Ok Cara...don't worry. I'll get you out of here...and down to see Doc Dane." She smiled a little before vanished from Winslow's view. Part of Alyssa didn't want to get her out of there....afraid of what sort of damage may have been done to the female engineer. But...there was no way she wasn't going to get her to Sickbay.

"Cara....if I lift this bulkhead....do you think you can get out?"

"Honestly.....no ma'am." There was a little bit of laughter....but Alyssa could tell there was no humor in it.

"That's ok....don't move then."

Working quickly, Alyssa cleared away some of the smaller bits from on top of the pile. The larger ones were more of a challenge....but thankfully, she'd continued her workout routine onboard the Zion. It wasn't long before she was ready to move the bulkhead. "Ok here's the plan, Winslow. I'm going to use this bar here to lift up on the bulkhead. It's pretty long....so I should have enough mechanical advantage here. But I'm going to need you to do something for me, ok?"

"Yes Ma'am...."

Alyssa handed the injured woman a few chunks of metal that she'd picked up. Hopefully they'd be able to hold up the bulkhead long enough for Cara to be pulled free. "Now....when I move the bulkhead enough for you not to be pinned, I need you to ram those in so I can get you out of there."

"Archimedes," Winslow said with a slight smile.

"Excuse me?"

"'Give me a big enough lever and I can move the world.'"

"Oh...yeah." Northrop laughed a little. "You ready?"

"Yes Ma'am....ready as I'm going to get."

"Ok...here we go." Alyssa pushed up on the lever bar and felt the bulkhead begin to move. It was slight at first, but after a moment it began to move more. The bar itself looked like it was being tested to it's limit.

"Almost there, Ma'am......just a little more." She could tell that Cara was biting back a scream. The movement of the bulkhead must have been torture.

A moment later, there was a somewhat relieved cry. "That's it...."

Alyssa dropped the lever and moved around to the clearing. Reaching in, she grabbed Winslow by the shoulders and pulled her out. Once she was clear, it was more than obvious that she needed medical attention. Her leg was broken....as was one of her arms. Cara also had a couple pretty nasty looking gashes as well as what looked like a plasma burn. The bulkhead must have blown out when one of the EPS conduits ruptured. "Ok...let's get you down to Sickbay. God I hope the Turbolifts are working."

The engineer's only reply was a whimper. Lifting her up, Alyssa supported most of her weight and headed for the nearest lift. As luck would have it....it actually did work. "Sickbay."

Maybe ten minutes after she found the woman, Alyssa carried her into Sickbay. "Doctor Dane.....I've got a pretty bad one!"

=tag Telani=