Rescue of the RS5-5 (Invite Only)

[m]

The voice came through the speakers on flight deck with a crisp crackling sound. The tone was tired, pained, and frightened. It was the kind of sound that made ones gut wrench and heartache, the sound of a human giving up hope.

“Please… please if there’s anyone out there. We need water and supplies. Our crew is dying of starvation and disease. This is Commander Stafford of the RS5-5…”

It was a woman’s voice, making it all the more painful.

The captain stood, stone-faced, his raw hands gripped behind his back as he listened to the message play. All others were still. They all had the same thought. This message came from the planet Hellifax, an uncharged place uninhabitable and dangerous. All were forbidden to fly within its atmosphere let alone land by the UGAP.

When the message started to roll for a fourth time Mike spoke in a deep and soft tone. “Turn it off.”

He turned away and moved to slowly sink into his captains chair. The crew remained silence, all eyes on the captain.

“Captain? What are your orders?” A woman sitting at a nearby consol asked.

Mike didn’t hesitate. “The planet is not approved for our ship to approach. There is nothing we can do. The lives on the RS5-5, provided that’s really who they are and not an illusion presented by the R4, are lost.”

There was another moment of silence. By the end of the hour the news would spread of this find and the cold way in which the captain handled the heartbreaking message.

Giving the orders for the ship to drift for the nights, Mike stood and walked towards the exit of the flight deck. As he did every night, he walked the corridor to his cabin but at the last moment turned and walked in the opposite direction.

He was heading for the launching pad where the small four-seat pod’s were kept…

[darcyneumann]

Darcy had been hard at work in the medical bay looking at scans of the crew's brain activity from the recent attack by R4 when she heard about the message that had come through in the flight deck. Even hearing it by word of mouth made her shudder. It was a terrible way to die, your body slowly shutting down bit by bit. And they'd had no help, they just had to wait for death, holding onto a hope that maybe someone would find them.

Supposedly, there was nothing they could do. They'd be going against UGAP orders if they went anywhere near the planet. And yet, Darcy was practically bouncing in her seat, telling herself that she shouldn't do anything, that she wasn't allowed. All of her instincts told her to help the people that were in need, and yet her rational self didn't appreciate the danger that she could be putting herself in.

Damn it all to hell. She couldn't sit here and do nothing.

Rising up out of her chair, she grabbed one of the portable medical kits which came discretely in a rucksack, and began making her way to the launch pad. She could lose her job over this, but there was no way those people were going to die if she could help them. Coming out from the corridor opposite the door to the launch pad, she almost ran into the Captain. Shoot.

Hang on, what was he doing there?

"Captain," she suddenly said quickly with a nod, "were you going somewhere?" She glanced at the door, intensely aware of the ruck sack on her back and how this looked.

[karen2]

"The planet is not approved for our ship to approach. There is nothing we can do. The lives on the RS5-5, provided that’s really who they are and not an illusion presented by the R4, are lost." Well, screw that noise! Ben knew he was a jerk at times--hell, he could be a straight-up asshole--but he wasn't heartless. They couldn't just let those people die, not without even having attempted to try and help them.

Giving Anna the slip had been difficult; there was very little that woman didn't notice. But he'd managed, and was now making his way toward the launching pad. From the moment he'd decided he couldn't just sit there, he'd been thinking up a course of action. If he could reach the pods, he could take one down to the planet's surface...

He came to a standstill when he turned the corner to find none other than the captain, and with him was a woman Ben believed to be named Darcy Neumann. What were they doing down here? Rolling his shoulders back, Ben made his way over to them with a mildly suspicious expression. "What's going on? Some sort of hall party? Well, whether I was invited or not, I'm here now."

[somerandomhippie]

Hearing the message play, Katy had almost burst into tears. The woman's voice had sounded so heartbroken, so helpless... She had shuttered, praying for someone to turn it off. It was hard to fake that kind of emotion, she knew. Her training was screaming Admiral Ackbar in her ears, that R4 must be behind this, but her soul had ignored it completely. She had to do something, Captain be damned. Packing was easy; she knew military procedures inside and out. Sticking her gun on her belt, she'd snuck out later that night, backpack on back, heading towards the pod docks.

She'd just gotten there when she heard footsteps, and had quickly jumped in one of the four-seaters. Crouching silently, she studied the silhouette. Was that the captain? What was he doing here? Quickly deducing, her respect instantly rose. Soon, he was joined by one of the medical officers, Darcy, and Ben, a tactical officer. She couldn't have assembled a better strike team herself. She smiled in satisfaction.

Opening the door, she peeked her head out. "I spy, with my little eye, some late-night sneakers..." she sang. Quickly, she continued, "You know, you guys aren't exactly the most inconspicuously-disguised rule-breakers. You stick out like a sore thumb. Was I the only one that thought to pack?" She'd spotted that Darcy's pack had a medical symbol in it, and probably only held medical supplies. "Good thing I thought to bring extra gear." Her eyes twinkled deviously.

[m]

Mike opened his mouth to speak to Darcy Neumann with none other than Benjamin Braun showed up on the scene. He looked suspiciously between the two and was about to order them both to turn around and head to their stations when the door to the pod he'd been about to take over slid open and he jumped, turning to find himself face to face with the thorn in his side.

Katherine Tyler did her job well, a little too well, and Mike found himself butting heads with here on a few things. Lately he'd avoided seeing her around the ship. He doubted she was aware of his opinion of her.

With a frown he merely looked at the other two and growled, "Not a word! Not a word to anyone about this. We'll go down, search the place, and if we find survivors we'll send for help. But unless we find someone in need this will be a trip that is completely off the record."

He jumped up into the pilot’s seat, "The pod comes with plenty for four. But extra supplies aren’t a bad idea." He muttered at Katherine.

It had been awhile since he'd been at the controls of any craft. He looked it over for a moment before sniffing and reaching into his pocket. He quickly wiped down all the surfaces he'd be required to touch with a sterilizing rag before he started the craft up.

"Anyone got any brilliant ideas for what to tell the flight deck when they notice this pods on the move?" He asked out loud, feeling somewhat sore that he had at least three people on his ship that wouldn't follow orders, even if he wasn't following them himself.

[darcyneumann]

Darcy heaved an internal sigh of relief when it became clear that she wasn't the only one who wanted to help. And with the three of them there, all wanting to do something about assisting those people, the Captain, who had been going to do the same thing himself, couldn't really refuse them, not without seeming hypocritical. They were definitely a random bunch, but who was to complain really if they got the job done. Yes, sir."

Climbing on into the shuttle, she said, "I picked up extra medical supplies, when I originally thought I was doing this alone. But there's more room in this pack for anything we have on board the shuttle. We'll need to carry anything we can possibly manage. We don't know what they're suffering from exactly, so we need to prepare for anything and everything." If there were people still alive.

When the Captain asked about what to tell the flight deck, she hesitated, casting a glance at Ben who was the tactical officer on board. "Maybe something about flight training, or a tactical exercise?" She shrugged her shoulders slightly. She may be a genius, but her area of expertise was the human body.

[karen2]

A grin split Ben's face at the voice that chimed behind him. Katherine Tyler was a great gal, she really was. And she was damn sneaky, too, if she'd beat the captain here. "I brought a gun, though I suppose that doesn't quite constitute as 'packing', now does it? What all did you think to bring, anyway?"

The captain spoke before Ben could get an answer, telling them not to say anything to anyone about what they were about to do. "Aye aye, cap'n," Ben said cheekily, smirking before clambering into the pod next to Katy. When the captain asked about the flight deck, he shrugged. "Luke's a pretty awesome guy--he should let us go all right."

Besides, chances were he wasn't thrilled with the order to stay where they were, either. Knowing that they were actually going to help might put him in a good mood, which would certainly help. Not that he'd ever really seen the man in a bad mood, mind--especially not whenever Ally was around.

"Let's get this show on the road, shall we?" he quipped as he buckled himself in. Turning to Katy he added, "So, Neumann's got the meds. What all did you bring along, exactly?" After all, who knew if his pistol would be enough down there?

[somerandomhippie]

Katy beamed at Darcy as she hopped in, and mock-saluted Ben as he clambered in as well. They were both great people-- Darcy was sweet as sugar, and Ben was rather like her, now that she thought about it. Good thing they had the Captain here to keep them from blowing something up. Or something like that, anyways. "Depends if you're using slang or not," she pointed out. "In terms of firepower, you are most certainly packing." She stuck her tongue out merrily.

Popping in a back seat, she plopped her arms on the seat in front of her, and her head on top of that. "Not a word," she swore, crossing her heart as she'd done since she was a child. She never went back on her promises, not if she could help it. Even if it meant breaking a few rules. Good thing they'd snapped most of them already.

"He's a sweet little thing," she nodded to Ben. "If we just told him the truth, I'm sure he'd let us go help. I don't imagine he'd want to stop us." Besides, lying would just weave them in a thicker web, and she had a feeling they were diving into a sticky enough situation as it was.

"Okay." Katy hoisted the pack off her shoulders, and plopped it in-between everyone. "Neumann's got the meds, Captain's got the lead, you've got the gun, and I've got the knick-knacks. First, radios." She pulled out old, clunky two-ways, handing one to everyone. "They're super-old, which means no one can monitor us, plus we can pick up if someone's using an emergency radio in the area. Second, guns." She set a couple phasers down, which were considerably newer. "Just in case, you know. I've already got mine, and so does Braun, so if we've got any extras, they'll just stay in the pack. Last but not least, food." She showed them a large container, which was filled with sandwiches, and a few water canteens. "Because they're probably hungry right about now, and nothing is better than a sandwich after a long, hard day." She stuffed the food back inside, and zipped the pack up. "Now, do we have a plan, or are we just going to wing it?"


((Sorry for not posting earlier, guys! Big apologies!))

[m]

Mike continued to have a somewhat stoic expression on his face as the pod began to move forward. He glanced at Darcy before thinking for a moment. "The less who know about this all the better. We'll kind of just wing it."

As they reached the hatch he reached above his head and touched the button that allowed communication with the flight deck.

"This is your Captain speaking, Liaison Tyler and I are attempting a tactical exercise for the UGAP. We request open Hatch." There was a moment and no response. He frowned, knowing that it was unlikely anyone hearing the message believed him. Even so the hatch opened and Mike allowed the Pod to drift forward and out into space before he flipped a few more switches.

"Hold on." He muttered, then the pod shot off with a blast.

[darcyneumann]

They were certainly a random bunch. Katy was notorious for being the happy and bouncy liaison that frequented the ship on a regular basis. The Captain didn't seem too pleased about her being there, but other people liked her a lot. She hadn't heard much about Ben, but she was sure she'd be able to judge what he was like for herself fairly soon.

"Darcy," she corrected the two in the back, glancing round at them as they called her 'Neumann'. She preferred Darcy, but also, people could never say her last name right - they tended to say it like 'New-Man', as apposed to how it was actually said, 'Noy-Man'. At the same time, she took hers and the Captain's radios, looking at them before setting them to the side - they really did look outdated.

"Good thought bringing the food," she nodded to Katy with a smile, turning her attention back to the front screen as she caught the Captain telling them to hold on. Automatically, her hands gripped onto the side of her seat, a nervous reflex. Really, there wasn't anything to be worried about from the point of view of flying, but as they drew nearer to the planet, she began to feel more and more concerned about the people suffering on the RS5-5, and also for their safety.

[karen2]

"True enough," Ben chortled at Katy's comment. When she began unloading the contents of her bag, he smiled a little. It broadened into a grin when she handed him a radio. "Man, these things look old. Still in working order, though, eh? How do you ever manage to wrangle these things up?"

He knew this wasn't the first time she'd found something outdated but usable--after all, he'd heard from Luke that she'd found an old DVD player once, and occasionally he could swear he'd hear vinyl records being played in her room. She was more vintage than even him, with his ancient taste in music.

When Darcy turned back to correct them, insisting they use her first name, ducked his head apologetically. "Darcy it is, then. Didn't want to degrade your status or anything was all. After all, you are a medical officer. I just play with guns all day." Not that being a tactical officer was easy, but most people on the outside tended to think it was.

"No plan of action?" Ben mused with a mild smirk when the captain confirmed that they were going to be winging it. "Well, looks like it's a good thing I'm coming along, then. I'm good at thinking things up on the spot." Nothing else was said before the pod was launched, and they were off toward the planet.

Momentarily his thoughts fell to Anna. Had she noticed he was gone yet? He amused himself for a moment with picturing her searching the ship for him. Not a closet left unturned--especially their most visited. But then he brought his head back around to what was going on in front of him.

As much of a jerk as he could act sometimes, he knew when to be serious--and this was serious. He needed to keep his focus. Besides, they were about to touch down, and they had no idea what they might have to face.

[somerandomhippie]

Katy brushed off her radio, just a little proud. "Ah, all they need is a little tender, loving care. And a friend who knows how to fix stuff. That always helps too." Her apartment was full of scavenged equipment and toys she'd found lying around in antique shops. Vinyl player, DVD player, even an actual working organ (she had to leave that one where she found it, however). It tended to hold up longer than the cheap, junky stuff they made today, and it was just so much more fun when you got to tinker with it.

With a beam, Katy chirped, "First name basis it is, then! Then, it's Darcy, Katy, Ben, and..." She paused. Hmm. She didn't actually know the Captain's first name. Instead, she let the silence drag out, and flourished her arms, indicating for someone to offer it forward, or to let her know that it wasn't happening. Probably the latter, but one could hope.

Katy nodded as the pod shot off, leaning her head up against the seat. She hated pod travel; it made her queasy. Instead, she closed her eyes and thought for a minute. There were a couple questions on her mind. First, what had happened? Why was the crew dying of starvation, when their ship most likely had food-synthesizer-things, the same as the Venia? Had it been shot down, or sabotaged, or had it simply malfunctioned? Then, there was the object of time. Starvation and disease took time to set on, it wasn't like you couldn't go a day or two without food. In a desperate situation, at least. How long had they been there, and why hadn't anyone else attempted the same thing they were doing? She scrunched her eyes shut. Hopefully, they could get off this clunker soon.