In the Aftermath

Posted on Wed Sep 23rd, 2026 @ 1:47am by Captain Erik Norsgaard & Lieutenant Daegan Baas & Lieutenant Sylar & Lieutenant Commander Areum Choi & Lieutenant JG Caitlyn MacRae

1,656 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: The Invisible Hand
Location: Various | USS Thunderbird
Timeline: MD005 - 0930

Elias climbed out of his seat and paused a moment over Lysa's body; he gently stroked a lock of her hair away and whispered "rest well," before reaching past her to grab the portable stealth generator that had fallen to the deck when they crashed. His body protested with a sharp pain along his left side, eliciting a quiet hiss of pain, as he strapped the miniaturized prototype to his wrist. There were things to be done still, he reminded himself. Time to mourn later. He slipped through the wreckage and onto the Thunderbird and found a opened hatch. He smiled, a grim, determined mockery of a smile, as he slipped inside and closed the hatch behind him. He found a PADD inside with a map of the ship and mouthed a silent thank you as he oriented himself. Not far, he thought. Not far at all.

[Deck 5]

Inch by inch the doors of the turbolift were forced open, revealing the aftermath of the fire which had swept through this section just moments before. The flames largely extinguished by the built in safeguards with some extra help from the damage control team who were now helping a medical team, led by the ship’s CMO, reach their latest patient. Sylar and the rescue party were covered in dust, and the fastidious Vulcan doctor had an expression of distaste that only softened when he saw MacRae.

“Good to see you, Doctor,” Lieutenant MacRae offered as she stepped aside and gestured for the others to exit and give the doctor room. “The ensign had been unconscious most of the time.”

"Lieutenant," Sylar said almost absent mindedly, his eyes focussed on his patient. He swept his medical tricorder over the wounds. Inside the cramped turbolift, he contorted himself to let one the medical technicians in to join him. "Severe thermal injury," he stated to the medical technician still outside the turbolift, who was working with an away team medkit. "Extensive burns to the left arm and neck. Tissue damage is significant, but I am detecting no immediate evidence of major vascular compromise." Sylar replaced his tricorder and turned to speak to the technicians. "She requires immediate treatment. We will be required to move her to Sickbay as soon as her condition is stabilised sufficiently to permit movement."

He turned to MacRae. "Lieutenant, there is significant damage to this deck. Reaching this position from Sickbay required the assistance of an engineering maintenance team," he said flatly. "Fire suppression systems are functioning at only thirty percent effectiveness and it is likely that you will all require treatment for smoke inhalation. Please accompany me to the Sickbay. In any event, it is probable that you would wish to accompany the Ensign."

“I’ll stop by to check on her later,” Caitlyn promised. “Until then I want to speak to the Bridge and find out what is going on and where I can help the most.”

Leaving her uniform jacket behind, she moved away, not wishing to hinder the doctor’s work while she contacted the Bridge. “Lieutenant MacRae to Bridge,” she began as she kept walking, keeping her voice calm. Someone had done this, that much seemed obvious. And that made her furious. Because this much damage … one ensign injured in a turbolift would not be the extent of the injuries.

"Bridge here," Norsgaard said as his gaze took in the console in front of him and rose to the Ocett hovering nearby. Even from here he could see the damage to its starboard midsection. "Come on up to the Bridge. And find Choi wherever she is and bring her along."

It was good to hear his voice, just as calm as she would expect. “Yes sir,” she acknowledged, hoping wherever she was Choi had escaped any harm. “We will be there soon. MacRae out.”

Sylar raised an eyebrow. He silently scanned MacRae. "Lieutenant," he said with a hint of irritation, still folded unnaturally in the wrecked turbolift. "Remain still." He conducted a brief scan, frowned, and handed his tricorder. "You have inhaled a minimal but not trivial quantity of smoke. The irritation is presently minor, but continued exposure would be medically unwise." He nodded at the technician in the passageway, who handed him a hypospray which he pressed, firmly, against her neck.

"This is an anti-inflammatory. It is intended to alleviate the irritation and prevent any damage to your respiratory tract." He leaned out of the turbolift, handed the hypospray to the technician, and folded his arms. "You may leave when I have determined that you are not about to become another patient."

“Thank you,” Caitlyn offered after a long enough pause to quell her irritation. “But right now, there are people on this ship who are far more deserving of your skills and unless you have a strong sedative on hand, ways I can help in my own way. I promise, any issues, I will come straight to Sickbay.”

"The forcefulness of your response indicates that you are not disoriented as a result of your injuries," he said wryly. "You may proceed."

Her thanks this time were entirely more heartfelt. “Appreciated Doctor,” she offered as she backed away, adding, “and thanks for the rescue.”

Sylar returned to the patient; a medical evacuation bed was ready to take the Ensign to Sickbay. Deck Five was still dangerous; sparks were flying from a ruptured conduit and the lighting was flickering uncertainly. The smells of burning fabric and, sadly, flesh, hang heavily around them. After checking that the patient was fit for transport, Sylar looked back at MacRae. "Lieutenant?" He waited for MacRae to turn around. "Although I have only been onboard for some eighty five hours and twenty three minutes, it would be illogical to expect me to not have observed how often you are involved in some of the more dramatic onboard moments. Could we agree, perhaps, that for you to endanger yourself, and to require treatment from me again, would be a waste of your time, and mine?" He paused, and frowned. "In human vernacular, it would be appreciated by the Medical Department if you would look after yourself." Behind him, the small group began its slow progress back to Sickbay.

“I make no promises, Doc,” MacRae grinned, “but I will try. For now, I have an XO to track down.”

[Deck 4 - Jeffries Tube]

Unnoticed in the chaos, and shielded by the portable generator he wore, Elias slid into the Jeffries Tube and closed the hatch behind him. Three decks down. He and Lysa both had memorized the deck plans for this class as part of prep for the mission. Sweet girl. She'd cried for hours after receiving the news about her parents and the Cardassian takeover of her home world. He'd seen the fire that lit within her, twinned to the one within his own soul, the determination to do what they could. She'd been perfect for this assignment same as him. Intelligence-trained, he made no noise as he climbed downward.

[Bridge - Deck 1]

"Bridge to Hale," Norsgaard said. "Make sure you secure the shuttle bays. I want everything locked down until we figure out what's going on. Bridge out." Going down his mental checklist, he continued. "Bridge to Bass," Norsgaard said. "Have you reached and secured the collision point as yet?"

Forcefields had sealed the breach in the hull but the damage from the collision was extensive and member of Baas' team were both fighting fires and clearing a fallen support beam. He was wondering how the shuttle had gotten close enough to do this but those answers would have to wait. As the section fell away, clearing their path, he waved two forward as the Captain's call came in. "We're there now. Making entry."

"On my way down," Norsgaard said. "As soon as Choi gets here to relieve me. Bridge out."

"Bridge to Barnes," Norsgaard said. "I need an update. How's our ship doing?"

As Barnes was speaking, the turbolift doors opened to admit MacRae and Choi. The Bridge was bustling with activity but it was not chaotic, instead it was a well trained Bridge crew responding to another crisis by using the training which had been instilled in them from the Academy. Quietly they moved to join their Captain while listening in to the report from the Chief Engineer.

"Commander Choi," Norsgaard said as he turned at the sound of the turbolift doors. "I'm going down to inspect the damage. You have the Bridge. Lieutenant MacRae, care to join me?"

Choi gave an affirming nod. "Understood, Captain. That is more of your wheelhouse than it is mine. I'll hold down the fort while you step away. If you need anything from up here, just let me know. We'll be ready," Areum said to the Captain. It was true that if either of them were to assess damage, he was better suited for it.

“Right beside you, Captain,” Caitlyn replied, desperate to be doing something constructive. And she had questions she knew he could answer.

[Deck 7]

The climb down had been easy enough though he could feel a bit of numbness in his fingertips from a hard bruise to his bicep. Still, he managed. He had a job to do. Nothing and no one would keep Elias from getting it down. The chaos surrounding the collision, with their ship now embedded into the side of the Thunderbird, had worked in his favor. Just a little way farther, he thought, and I'll be there. Next step accomplished. He slid the hatch on the Jeffries tube open and stepped out into a quiet corridor, took a moment to orient himself and continued on toward the computer core.

---

Captain Erik Norsgaard
Commanding Officer
USS Thunderbird

Elias Renn
Maquis Operative
Currently On Board the USS Thunderbird

Lieutenant Daegan Baas
Chief of Security

Lieutenant Caitlyn MacRae
Second Officer
USS Thunderbird

 

RSS Feed