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seren_ccdChapter Five
Her nails dig into the mud and she pulls herself up. Dirt is smeared all over the front of her dress and down her legs. The sting of the cuts on her wrists pales in comparison to the burn of her muscles.
She tries to distract herself by naming bones in the human body, starting at the skull. It helps to keep her mind focused and not descend into panic.
Small regrets pepper her recitation.
…frontal, sphenoid, ethmoid...
I never got my doctorate.
...temporal, zygomatic, lacrimal...
I should have called home more often.
...palatine, maxilla, mandible...
I never went to Paris.
...vomer, nasal, parietal...
I never made love with Leonard McCoy.
Her hands freeze and she feels a sob burn her throat.
But she shakes her head and starts again. It's not over yet.
...occipital, mastoid process, mental foramen...
The prototype was impressive. Or at least based on Sulu’s reaction it was. The man had grinned widely and started making notes on his PADD muttering about trying something like it in the hydroponics greenhouse.
It was located just outside the science facility in a fenced-in area and was very large, at least ten feet wide and twelve feet long. It was a simple design and not unlike the terraces, except instead of stone the bay was constructed out of a sturdy white material in the shape of a rectangle. There was a small channel along the edges where the water would drain into.
Christine's group was gathered at the side of the structure waiting for the captain and the others to join them.
“Will they all be like this?” Sulu asked. “One by itself?”
“Oh, no,” Annha replied. “They are designed to stack one on top of the other. We just keep this one on its own to illustrate the draining mechanism. When the others arrive, I’ll show you the underside where the pipes will flow.”
Footsteps and light murmurs were heard coming down the path.
“Oh, here they are,” Annha said.
Christine turned to see the group which had started out companionably mingling had separated into three distinct groups. The captain, McCoy and Spock walked together just behind the Kalpharian governor and ambassador. The two Starfleet scientists followed behind.
Things must not have gone all that smoothly, Christine thought. Oh dear.
“Not a cheerful bunch, are they?” Uhura murmured.
“Not really,” Christine said. “Get the feeling we may be here awhile?”
“Oh, yeah.”
McCoy met Christine’s eyes briefly and she could see the beginnings of a smile on his face when he saw her. But it was replaced with a frown as he looked away. Christine swallowed her sigh. She really had to fix things before they got worse.
Suck it up, Chapel, and just tell him what’s bothering you, she told herself.
“Well, now that we are all here,” Annha said, her eyes troubled as she looked over the segregated group. “I’d like to show you the rice bay we have created. This bay is easily transportable and can
sustain a fair amount of damage caused by various types of weather and wear.”
Annha was obviously trying to maintain a cheerful atmosphere but from the way she clasped her hands tightly together, Christine wondered how much stress the recent events had been affecting everyone.
The group walked around the front of the bay looking in to see the layer of sandy soil with the tiniest of hint of green shooting up through the top layer.
“The water will be drained when the initial growing phase is completed,” Annha continued. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you underneath the bay to show how the piping system will work.”
She directed them towards a path going around the other side of the bay leading to a hollow space where the pipes were located.
Annha led the way with Sulu by her side asking questions. Christine saw the Kalpharian ambassador say something to the governor, who waved his hand dismissively.
The underside of the prototype was dim and the support struts were visible as they jutted diagonally
from the wall to hold up the bay itself.
“As you can see,” Dr. Owen said as he stepped directly beneath a beam. “The pipes will come down and can be connected to any body of water or even connected to another bay.”
Christine looked up and cringed at the sight of the large white base above them. As the scientist continued to speak, her eyes roamed over the structure and could have sworn she heard something beeping. She frowned.
“Excuse me, doctor,” Spock said. “But is that beeping sound normal?”
“I’m sorry?” Dr. Owen said.
“I hear it, too,” Uhura said as did others.
Spock cocked his head to the side and stared intently at a support beam. He strode forward and inspected the beam. He turned his head to look at the section where the beam was attached to the bay.
He blinked and then sharply turned to face the group.
“There is an explosive attached to this beam,” he said. “Evacuate the area, now!”
Christine grabbed Uhura’s arm and started to quickly usher other crew members towards the opening.
She saw Sulu pull Annha in their direction.
Then there was a short high-pitched sound.
Then the device detonated.
It was a small blast and only served to break the one beam it was attached to. Christine watched with Uhura as Spock grabbed Dr. Owen as the beam began to fall and pulled him towards the exit. A shard of metal fell down the length of the scientist’s leg and he shouted in pain.
The bay above their heads creaked loudly and started to sag.
“Damn it!” McCoy shouted as he made to run back in. Kirk beat him to it and hurriedly threw Dr. Owen’s arm over his shoulder. Spock and Kirk easily lifted the scientist off his feet and out into the open.
"Jim! Over here!" McCoy ordered.
Christine joined them whipping out her tricorder as they lay Dr. Owen down on the ground a safe distance from the slowly collapsing bay. The scientist let out a pained groan.
“We need a support crew over to the prototype yard now!” Annha yelled into her comm unit.
“Charles!” Dr. Hall said coming over but stopping when Kirk held her back.
“Chapel, what does it read?” McCoy asked as she ran her tricorder over the scientist’s leg that was bleeding steadily. He pressed his bare hand to the gash to stem the flow of blood.
“Superficial piercing until it reaches his knee,” Christine said, “where it looks like it nicked the biceps femoris.”
She held the tricorder so that McCoy could check the reading without letting go of Dr. Owen. He redirected the pressure with his hand to the critical part of the wound. “He needs several passes with an autosuture and I don’t know how many with a dermal regenerator. Damn it, how long does it take to get a stretcher over here?”
Christine was about to help him get Dr. Owen into a better position on the ground, when the sound of the support crew arriving interrupted them. Two young men ran over and McCoy directed them as they loaded Dr. Owen into the back.
“We’ll take him straight to the infirmary,” a technician said.
“Jim,” McCoy said to the captain who nodded in understanding.
“You and Nurse Chapel go with him, take Dr. Hall as well,” Kirk said. He gave McCoy a significant look that Christine recognized. It usually meant ‘watch your back’, in this case she suspected it meant ‘watch everyone’s back’. Then the captain turned back to the prototype and Spock joined him.
Christine popped open the medi-kit the technician handed to her. She pulled out some thick gauze, then took over from McCoy on the transport stretcher and pressed against the gash in Dr. Owen’s leg.
He moaned through his gritted teeth and Dr. Hall took his hand.
As they rounded a corner, a loud whine and splintering sound made them all turn and look. Christine bit her lip as they watched the prototype bay collapse entirely.
Next
Her nails dig into the mud and she pulls herself up. Dirt is smeared all over the front of her dress and down her legs. The sting of the cuts on her wrists pales in comparison to the burn of her muscles.
She tries to distract herself by naming bones in the human body, starting at the skull. It helps to keep her mind focused and not descend into panic.
Small regrets pepper her recitation.
…frontal, sphenoid, ethmoid...
I never got my doctorate.
...temporal, zygomatic, lacrimal...
I should have called home more often.
...palatine, maxilla, mandible...
I never went to Paris.
...vomer, nasal, parietal...
I never made love with Leonard McCoy.
Her hands freeze and she feels a sob burn her throat.
But she shakes her head and starts again. It's not over yet.
...occipital, mastoid process, mental foramen...
The prototype was impressive. Or at least based on Sulu’s reaction it was. The man had grinned widely and started making notes on his PADD muttering about trying something like it in the hydroponics greenhouse.
It was located just outside the science facility in a fenced-in area and was very large, at least ten feet wide and twelve feet long. It was a simple design and not unlike the terraces, except instead of stone the bay was constructed out of a sturdy white material in the shape of a rectangle. There was a small channel along the edges where the water would drain into.
Christine's group was gathered at the side of the structure waiting for the captain and the others to join them.
“Will they all be like this?” Sulu asked. “One by itself?”
“Oh, no,” Annha replied. “They are designed to stack one on top of the other. We just keep this one on its own to illustrate the draining mechanism. When the others arrive, I’ll show you the underside where the pipes will flow.”
Footsteps and light murmurs were heard coming down the path.
“Oh, here they are,” Annha said.
Christine turned to see the group which had started out companionably mingling had separated into three distinct groups. The captain, McCoy and Spock walked together just behind the Kalpharian governor and ambassador. The two Starfleet scientists followed behind.
Things must not have gone all that smoothly, Christine thought. Oh dear.
“Not a cheerful bunch, are they?” Uhura murmured.
“Not really,” Christine said. “Get the feeling we may be here awhile?”
“Oh, yeah.”
McCoy met Christine’s eyes briefly and she could see the beginnings of a smile on his face when he saw her. But it was replaced with a frown as he looked away. Christine swallowed her sigh. She really had to fix things before they got worse.
Suck it up, Chapel, and just tell him what’s bothering you, she told herself.
“Well, now that we are all here,” Annha said, her eyes troubled as she looked over the segregated group. “I’d like to show you the rice bay we have created. This bay is easily transportable and can
sustain a fair amount of damage caused by various types of weather and wear.”
Annha was obviously trying to maintain a cheerful atmosphere but from the way she clasped her hands tightly together, Christine wondered how much stress the recent events had been affecting everyone.
The group walked around the front of the bay looking in to see the layer of sandy soil with the tiniest of hint of green shooting up through the top layer.
“The water will be drained when the initial growing phase is completed,” Annha continued. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you underneath the bay to show how the piping system will work.”
She directed them towards a path going around the other side of the bay leading to a hollow space where the pipes were located.
Annha led the way with Sulu by her side asking questions. Christine saw the Kalpharian ambassador say something to the governor, who waved his hand dismissively.
The underside of the prototype was dim and the support struts were visible as they jutted diagonally
from the wall to hold up the bay itself.
“As you can see,” Dr. Owen said as he stepped directly beneath a beam. “The pipes will come down and can be connected to any body of water or even connected to another bay.”
Christine looked up and cringed at the sight of the large white base above them. As the scientist continued to speak, her eyes roamed over the structure and could have sworn she heard something beeping. She frowned.
“Excuse me, doctor,” Spock said. “But is that beeping sound normal?”
“I’m sorry?” Dr. Owen said.
“I hear it, too,” Uhura said as did others.
Spock cocked his head to the side and stared intently at a support beam. He strode forward and inspected the beam. He turned his head to look at the section where the beam was attached to the bay.
He blinked and then sharply turned to face the group.
“There is an explosive attached to this beam,” he said. “Evacuate the area, now!”
Christine grabbed Uhura’s arm and started to quickly usher other crew members towards the opening.
She saw Sulu pull Annha in their direction.
Then there was a short high-pitched sound.
Then the device detonated.
It was a small blast and only served to break the one beam it was attached to. Christine watched with Uhura as Spock grabbed Dr. Owen as the beam began to fall and pulled him towards the exit. A shard of metal fell down the length of the scientist’s leg and he shouted in pain.
The bay above their heads creaked loudly and started to sag.
“Damn it!” McCoy shouted as he made to run back in. Kirk beat him to it and hurriedly threw Dr. Owen’s arm over his shoulder. Spock and Kirk easily lifted the scientist off his feet and out into the open.
"Jim! Over here!" McCoy ordered.
Christine joined them whipping out her tricorder as they lay Dr. Owen down on the ground a safe distance from the slowly collapsing bay. The scientist let out a pained groan.
“We need a support crew over to the prototype yard now!” Annha yelled into her comm unit.
“Charles!” Dr. Hall said coming over but stopping when Kirk held her back.
“Chapel, what does it read?” McCoy asked as she ran her tricorder over the scientist’s leg that was bleeding steadily. He pressed his bare hand to the gash to stem the flow of blood.
“Superficial piercing until it reaches his knee,” Christine said, “where it looks like it nicked the biceps femoris.”
She held the tricorder so that McCoy could check the reading without letting go of Dr. Owen. He redirected the pressure with his hand to the critical part of the wound. “He needs several passes with an autosuture and I don’t know how many with a dermal regenerator. Damn it, how long does it take to get a stretcher over here?”
Christine was about to help him get Dr. Owen into a better position on the ground, when the sound of the support crew arriving interrupted them. Two young men ran over and McCoy directed them as they loaded Dr. Owen into the back.
“We’ll take him straight to the infirmary,” a technician said.
“Jim,” McCoy said to the captain who nodded in understanding.
“You and Nurse Chapel go with him, take Dr. Hall as well,” Kirk said. He gave McCoy a significant look that Christine recognized. It usually meant ‘watch your back’, in this case she suspected it meant ‘watch everyone’s back’. Then the captain turned back to the prototype and Spock joined him.
Christine popped open the medi-kit the technician handed to her. She pulled out some thick gauze, then took over from McCoy on the transport stretcher and pressed against the gash in Dr. Owen’s leg.
He moaned through his gritted teeth and Dr. Hall took his hand.
As they rounded a corner, a loud whine and splintering sound made them all turn and look. Christine bit her lip as they watched the prototype bay collapse entirely.
Next
