SIM:German Galven - Goodbye Montreal...

((Bridge, Deck 4, USS Montreal))

Galven: We might have even less time because of the pressure is putting so much strain on the ship, sir. Decks 11 and 10 are also being affected. I’m not an engineer, but it’s obvious from these readings.

:: Mei’konda glanced up toward the display on the master systems monitor, to his right and at the back of the Bridge.  The readings weren’t confirmed yet, but he agreed with Galven.  There was something wrong down there.  He suspected it was the beginning of a series of cascading systems failures through the Montreal. ::

Mei’konda: Evactuaate those decks. Haave engineering Cut liife support to them and reroute the power elsewhere, Galven. Maybe it’ll buy us some tiime.

Hamasaki: Short of detonating our warp core to destroy the Belfast, I don't see how we can stop it.. projecting results says we're going to break up just before it impacts the colony. Impact yield is in teratons, we'd pretty much see a destruction of the biosphere, and potentially the continent.

And there it was. The last resort option. A matter/antimatter explosion wasn’t as simple as the backup auto destruct mechanism, explosives stored at key points in the hull of most starships. Blowing the warp core would destroy everything. He glanced wordlessly over toward Tel-ar after Hamasaki mentioned the option. ::

Tel-ar: I am afraid that I must agree captain. Based on the available data that would seem to be our best and most likely only chance to save the colony.

Stennin: detonating the warp core will leave us stranded. Unless the Klingons or the Karakka colonists can supply us with a replacement.

Mei’konda nodded back toward Stennin. Clenching fists and then forcing them to relax, he continued. ::

Mei’konda: The Klingons are our allies, and Karakka is nearby. Escape pods will be aable to reach it easily.

Galven: Time is of the essence, sir. I know you know this but--

Rosek: =/\=Rosek to Montreal.=/\=

Stennin: Captain?

Mei’konda glanced upward, relieved once again to hear his first officer’s voice. ::

Mei’konda: =/\= Go ahead, Commander. Please tell me you haave good news. =/\=

Rosek: =/\=I’ve located the freighter crew. With General Eth’ek’s approval, we can begin transporting. We don’t have much time, though. Colonel Rilaw is going to detonate the explosives in the main engine room before the freighter can reach the planet’s surface.=/\=

So. She must’ve managed to sway Rilaw to her way of thinking. The news was getting better. He pushed up to his feet from the comms station, and turned back toward the front of the Bridge. ::

Galven: =/\= You must hurry because once we hit the 5 minute mark before impact, there might not be enough time and the transporters are barely functioning as it is. I can’t bring them back online with how much damage we’re sustaining. =/\=

Rosek: =/\= reply =/\=

Galven: =/\= The combined forces of both ships is tearing us apart. I don’t even understand how the communications are still working. =/\=

Stennin: She must be using her communicator.

The most serious choice they could make was increasingly becoming the only one Mei’konda saw left. ::

Mei’konda: =/\= Commander Rosek, set the Belfast’s transporters to beam the freighter’s crew to General Eth’ek’s bird of prey, not the Montreal. You’ll see her coming alongside shortly. When you’re done, beam yourself there. Don’t come back to the Montreal. =/\=

Rosek: :: pauses :: =/\= It’s a long story, sir. I’ll explain it fully in my report. =/\=

Mei’konda: =/\= You heard Lieutenant Galven, Lael. Get to work. And good job. =/\=

Rosek: =/\=Understood, sir. Rosek out. =/\=

A moment later, Mei’konda turned back toward his officers. They had something to say, and it became obvious a moment later that they were all on the same page. ::

Galven: The escape pods are still functional. We must use them before it’s too late, but I trust that you’ll use your best judgement on this, Captain.

Hamasaki: Agreed. I think we should start evacuating who we can - the power grid is showing severe strain and I'm reading EPS failures on multiple decks. I'm running out of power to re-route to maintain SIF, and several decks are beginning to be open to space. Update. SIF failure in 11 minutes, impact in 17. The Klingons are increasing to emergency warp speed, and will be in range to transport within a half minute.. ::beat:: Their comm officers are indicating that they can only stay close at warp speeds for so long, and they don't expect to be able to intercept. Something about insufficient energy to stop the Belfast.

Tel-ar: Multiple systems failing captain, shields at the breaking point. If we’re going to do something we need to do it now!!!! :: He exclaimed with a definite sense of urgency. ::

Stennin: Life support is failing across all decks. Without it, we will loose heating and oxygen supply within the hour.

Mei’konda paused longer than he would have cared to admit, and glanced down toward the floor. Then, Hamasaki spoke. ::

Hamasaki: ::quietly, noticing the minor tremors of Mei'konda next to her:: Captain. ::turns to face him, face .. not in the professional mien, but more gentle and understanding:: I know this might be the wrong time for it.. but you should not blame yourself for your actions. They boarded us. ::Tiria pauses, still trying to put fingers in the dike, to word her next phrase:: These reactions are very normal. Just.. give yourself time once we're not facing planetary annihilation. ::wry, then looks at the beeping of her panel:: Weapons signals, in Karakkan orbit. They.. had an entire matrix of defense satellites. ::Tiria has forced her face and tone back to the professional mien:: That might have been useful to know.. they've destroyed all of the rigged satellites. They're reorienting to face us. They're more than likely going to fire on the Belfast within the next sixty seconds.

Stennin: This was beyond our control, captain. We must act quickly now, however.

Shin: =/\= Shin to the bridge, how are things up there? =/\=

The fact that Shin had time to talk was a good sign. But on the Bridge, he had little time to respond. ::

Mei’konda: =/\= Not well, Lieutenant Shin. Prepaare for a ship wide announcement. Bridge out. =/\=

Tel-ar: Shields down to 17.634%, strain on the system is way past the safety limits, failure is imminent.

Stennin: EPS systems are also strained to its very limits. We have to activate all auxiliary power systems to warrant against a cascade failure. I predict 30 minutes before all life support fails, and another 30 minutes before all the parameters are breached.

Stennin continued, while he worked to activate what little power supplies the ship had left. ::

Bridge: Responses

Stennin: I would prefer not to say. Most probably, it would be oxygen deprivation. Worse, it could be severe decompression sickness. At any rate, it will require a full evacuation of the Montreal. I would be able to extend the power supply for an hour if I bring the fusion power online.

Stennin: fusion generators are online. EPS power is holding at 15%. We have some time to power the LSS and the transporter. Not much else, however.

Finally, Mei’konda met Tel-ar’s eyes, glanced from him to Galven, then from Galven back to Hamasaki and then Stennin. ::

Mei’konda: All riight. That’s enough, you’ve all said your piece. We don’t haave the time to come up with other options. We’ve only got one that has a good chaance of preventiing any harm to Karakka, and that has to come before any other consiiderations.

He saw Mei’konda meet Tel-ar’s eyes, glanced from him to Galven, then from Galven back to Hamasaki and then Stennin, the Denobulan stood at the station trying his best to remain calm.::

Mei’konda: =/\= This is the Captain to all hands. Abandon ship. Repeat, abandon ship. Drop what you’re doing and head for the closest escape pod, shuttle, or transporter room. The computer will proviide further instructions. All hands, abandon ship. =/\=

And there it was. German had trained for this moment a lot during his time at the academy, but it felt all to surreal living out the real thing. His attention remained laser focused on Mei’konda as the Caitian took the plaque from the wall which made German frown. He had grown rather attached to the Montreal. After a moment, Mei’konda spoke again.::

Mei’konda: Set all staations to automatic. Once it’s done, head to the nearest escape pods. If they followed instructions, any family, any pets, they should’ve been brought there already.

Hamasaki: Aye, sir. :: Tiria began the procedure to set her station to automatic, which took some time to set a few things. ::

Solok: Understood, Captain.

He didn’t realize that the chief medical doctor was on the bridge until he spoke. It didn’t mean that he hadn’t spoken earlier, it was just that German was so focused on his tasks that he didn’t even notice Solok until now. He turned to set his station at automatic and then headed over towards Stennin.::

Stennin: Captain. I must inform you the science station and environmental control are completely down now. We can't do anything from it anymore.

Galven: That’s alright, Lieutenant. Do what you can and get your belongings.

Mei’konda: Computer. Initiate auto destruct sequence, authorizaation Mei’konda, theta eight-four-seven. Set countdown to ten miinutes… enable.

Computer: =/\= Warning. Self-destruct sequence has been initiated. Warp core overload in nine minutes, fifty five seconds. =/\=

Ten minutes to pack up what he could get and leave. Didn’t seem like much time. He turned to Stennin, but he was already gone. He most likely was headed for the science area on deck 8 already. German was going there to get his work from office anyways so he’d have to meet up with Stennin there.::

Solok: =/\= Solok to all medical staff. Emergency protocol requires you to assist in the evacuation of those parties medically incapable of evacuating themselves. If unconscious or immobile individuals are in your immediate area, assist them to the nearest escape station. If you are presently on Deck 6, divert to sickbay to assist there if necessary before evacuating. Otherwise, head immediately to an escape pod. ::He paused.:: Doctor Bailey, you are ordered to report immediately to the nearest escape station -- with our distinguished guest. Solok out. =/\=

That gave German an idea as he tapped his commbadge.::

Galven: =/\= Galven to the science department. Anyone with any type of medical training, please assist the medical staff with the evacuation. Remain focused on the task at hand and head for the nearest escape stations. =/\=

He walked up to Mei’konda and extended his hand for him to shake.::

Galven: It was the best we could do, sir.

Mei’konda: Response

Galven: Optimis--

Hamasaki: Lenik has somehow gained access to our classified data store. Alerts show a "Lenik of Vulcan" downloading fleet movement data in the Upper Computer Core, on Deck 7. Should I notify Lieutenants Shin and Riley, since they're closer to Deck 7?

Mei'konda/Bridge: Responses

German sighed and headed for the turbolift to go to his office and as he was inside lift, he paused for a moment before telling the computer the desired designation and brushed his hand through his hair. Lael was still on the Belfast, the ship was set to auto destruct in just under ten minutes, Lenik was on board, and he had it in him to transport himself somehow to go save Lael, but he knew that she was strong enough on her own. He said a silent prayer and then proceeded to tell the computer where to go.::

((Science Department, Deck 8))

Computer: =/\= Warning. Self-destruct sequence has been initiated. Warp core overload in seven minutes.=/\=

Once he was inside in office and managed to step over the debris, German rummaged through his desk and found his Borg tactical map PADD and few other things he needed and then put it all in a sack, then headed out. He headed for the Xenology lab because he knew that’s where he could find Stennin, but once he was there the Vulcan was nowhere to be seen. He turned around and went into the corridor and met Andrea.::

Galven: Where’s Mr. Stennin?

Munger: He went in there, sir. After that I’m not sure.

Galven: Okay. Go on and head for an escape pod. I’m going to gather as much people as I can along the way towards the shuttlebay.

She nodded, but her expression seemed grief stricken. He approached her and rested his hand on her arm.::

Galven: It’s going to be okay.

Munger: ::lowers her head:: Sir. As I was attending to some people… Muvyn… She was in her quarters on deck 10 when…

Galven: ::pauses:: Stop. Just go.

He couldn’t believe it. He had tried so hard to help the Trill regain her memory after she was found on the exact planet that they were about to crash onto. Now, she was gone. Andrea nodded somberly and walked towards the turbolift. It took a moment for German to try not to break down as he cleared his throat, then got his bearings in order.::

((Shuttlebay, Deck 4, USS Montreal))

Once he headed for the shuttlebay with his sack slung over his shoulder, he was able to get some civilians and crew members along the way and met Harkrow.::

Computer: =/\= Warning. Self-destruct sequence has been initiated. Warp core overload in three minutes.=/\=

Still walking towards Harkrow, German brought his head down to rub his ridges to calm himself down and exhaled a sigh, then began to speak rathly breathly.::

Galven: I’m starting to really hate that computer’s voice.

German got nearer to the engineer chief and saw that he glanced back over his shoulder, even looking past him seeing the other people following as well.::

Harkrow: Yeah, you and me both. Look like you picked up a whole entourage on your way here?

Galven: ::nods:: I managed to get some people. Is the Alliance ready?

German and Harkrow both stood at the side of the ramp and motioned everyone in the room to start boarding. Once they all got on, both Lieutenants started to walk up the ramp when German turned to Harkow as he began speaking.

Harkrow: You’re lucky you got here when you did. Another thirty seconds, and you’d’ve been looking at an empty shuttlebay. Get loaded in and settled, we take off as soon as I can get the ramp up. And get friendly, people; we’ve got another couple of people to pick up and it’s gonna get real crowded in here.

With what Cob said, German nodded and then began to go inside the shuttle when he heard a familiar voice out near the shuttlebay entrance.::

Borq: What do you mean it’s on fire?! I need to go!

Sirk: Like hell you are! ::grabs Borq::

He turned himself around and peered out the shuttle noticing Harkrow trying to guess what the hysteria was all about.::

Harkrow: Good grief, what the hell is going on out there?

Greyson: Responses

Padix: ::yells out:: Sir, Borq is saying she wants to go to deck 7!

German got extremely overjoyed that Muvyn was alive and saw that the Bajoran tactical officer was trying to subdue Borq.::

Galven: ::yells:: Muvyn! You’re alive! Ensign Sirk, do as what Harkrow said.. Nevermind. Coming to help!

As he made a beeline of the ramp and jumped onto the floor of the room, he ran faster than he could ever run and got up to Muvyn which made him give her a quick hug and then pointed to the shuttle, she started to run and then Miko so as well so he let go of Borq which made her start running away. German ran past the ensign tactical officer as he ran towards the shuttle too.::

Harkrow: We can’t wait here any longer, not if I’m going to beam out Shin and Riley. You’ll need to find your own way off the Montreal.

Galven: ::turns his head while running:: I’m almost caught up to her! If all else fails her and I will just have to go to the transporter room! Take Muvyn and Ensign Sirk!

When he saw that both Muvyn and Sirk made it in the shuttle, he turned his head and ran even faster practically on Borq’s heels.::

Computer: =/\= Warning. Main computer is offline. Switching to secondary systems. Warp core overload will occur in one minute, thirty seconds. =/\=

He managed to lunge forward and basically shoved her into a wall and before he could even say anything he saw that she was frantically trying to get her hand to her badge.::

Borq: ::taps her commbadge:: =/\= Borq to Shin, remember the knife! Kill his ass! =/\=

Galven: ::breathes and huffs:: Borq! We need to get to the shuttle! Now!

Borq: ::turns her head:: They’ve already left.

Mei’konda: =/\= This is the Captain. Therre are eleven members of the crew left aboard, and all functionaal escape pods have laaunched. Make your way to transporter room one as soon as possible, and I will beam you to General Eth’ek’s ship. Mei’konda out. =/\=

Computer: =/\= Warning. Warp core overload will occur in one minute. Damage to primary computer core prevents abortion of self-destruct. =/\=

German shot his head over at the entrance and saw that the shuttle had left without them as it was flying out towards open space. He wrapped both hands around the crewman’s hand behind her back, then started to walk briskly over towards the turbolift and told the computer to go where the Captain was.::

((Transporter Room 1, Deck 6))

Both he and Borq managed to get into the room as he saw the Klingon turn and go towards Shin entering the room as well with Riley behind the Denobulan. They both didn’t look good at all.

Mei’konda: You’re everyone. Let’s get you all out of here.

Galven: That was not the way I was expecting my day to go at all. So much happened in what...2 hours? ::steps on the transporter pad with a few others.::

Tel-ar / Solok / Riley / Shin / Plito / Elzizabeth / Bailey: Responses

With about twenty seconds to go, German felt the familiar tingle of the transporter and was enevloped by the shimmering blue beam. The next thing he knew, he was aboard General Eth’ek’s ship and stepped off their pad. He was wondering if Lael was there or if she escaped the Belfast by shuttle. He glanced out the window and as he noticed out of the corner of his eye Mei’konda, Borq and the remaining others beam aboard, he saw with much dismay the Montreal’s demise as it was nearing the end of its explosion. He let out a sigh and turned when there was nothing left.::