SIM:Lael Rosek - Praying for a Miracle (Veritas)

((Abandoned Mine, Outside New Maccau, Antor II))

Their colleagues were trapped behind a wall of rock with a rapidly decreasing air supply...if they were even still alive and there was no time to waste. Alex, it seemed, agreed with her that far.::

Blair: Well, let’s not wait. Get to your shuttle and I’ll start narrowing down the coordinates for the rocks.

Lael grinned wryly. This whole situation was turning into a catastrophe.::

Rosek: ::glances at Alex:: I hope this idea of yours works. The air in there will be getting thin before too long. It wasn't the highest quality to begin with.

Blair: I hope so too. ::pause:: How the progress on your task coming?

Rosek: ::nods:: I think I have the frequency and pattern figured out. I just need a combadge.

Alex moved to offer her his commbadge.::

Blair: Here, now you’ve got what you need.

She shook her head, pushing his hand away.::

Rosek: You're the higher ranking officer. I'll use mine.

She got to work on the device, breaking out a spare set of pocket-sized tools she kept on her at all times. An engineer never knew when she'd need to fix something, after all. Lael's combadge chose that moment to chirp. Thank God she hadn't taken it apart yet. She tapped the device and heard Chythar's voice come through the line.::

Skyfire: =/\=Skyfire to Rosek.=/\=

Rosek: =/\=Rosek.=/\=

Skyfire: =/\= Think you could take a look at some unexplained tricobolt somethings for me? =/\=

Rosek: ::pauses:: =/\=We’re kind of busy down here.=/\=

Greyson: Tell him we may need his expertise, if he’s not out saving the world.

Skyfire: =/\= Come again? Was that Carter? =/\=

Rosek: =/\=Yeah. There was a cave-in and we had to call in Kelrod’s team to help out.=/\=

Skyfire: =/\= Injuries? =/\=

Lael knew who he was most concerned about. Though it stung a little, she knew that Alex was the center of Chythar's world. It was a reality that she was gradually coming to accept. As much as Chythar cared about her, he cared for Alex more.::

Rosek: =/\=Alex and I are okay. Mostly just scrapes and superficial bruises. We were on our way to the entrance to pick up something from Kelrod’s team when it happened. I sprained my ankle and might have a mild concussion from pulling Alex out of the way of falling rocks, but he’s fine. Commander Walker and Lieutenant Thoran, on the other hand, are trapped on the other side. Our comm badges can’t get through the rock, so we don’t know what their status is. We’re working on figuring a way through the debris.=/\=

Skyfire: =/\= Of course. On my way. =/\=

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man she recognized as Commander Kelrod enter just as Carter was headed back to the shuttle. The man approached Alex as Lael resumed work on the device. She tuned out the conversation to focus on her work. Kelrod left a few moments later, presumably to check in with Greyson. A few moments later, Chythar arrived with his medkit in hand. She diverted her gaze as he approached Alex first, giving the two a private moment of conversation. Within moments, she'd finished her work and rose to report her progress.::

Rosek: I've managed to program the combadge. All I need to do is tap it to start the signal.

Blair: Response

Lael nodded and tapped the badge, the steady rhythm of morse code filling the room.::

Blair: Response

Rosek: ::pauses:: I'd say we give it a few rounds while we're waiting to hear from Greyson and Commander Kelrod.

Blair: Response

Blair: Response

Skyfire: You alright, Alex?

Blair: Response

Skyfire: Just a bruise from where you landed, but you're fine.

Blair: Response

Chythar's soft voice beside her drew her from her thoughts.::

Skyfire: Let me check you out, lass.

Rosek: ::sighs:: Like I told Alex, I'm fine. My ankle and head are a bit sore, but I'll be fine.

Skyfire: :: after taking a quick tricorder scan :: At least let me give ye somethin' for the headache, alright?

She grunted in annoyance at his insistence, but nodded and exposed the side of her neck for him to administer the hypo. The steady hiss of the medicine hitting her bloodstream filled the room. She bit back a sigh of relief, unwilling to admit to him that the pain was fading enough so that she could actually think straight.::

Lael motioned to Sands, Illis, and Zander as Iolani continued work on the scans, presumably to give Greyson more information for the transporting calculations. She then glanced at Alex.::

Rosek: On your order, sir, we'll start constructing the support beams. I'd like to have at least a couple in place near the top before we begin beaming the rocks out so the ceiling doesn't come crashing down on us again.

Blair: Response

Lael nodded and her gaze flickered about the cave for materials they could use to construct the beams.::

Skyfire: You should take it easy. Let them handle it.

As glad as she was to see him, she had neither the time nor the patience for his coddling. Commander Walker and Anjar were trapped and they needed to work fast before the two ran out of air.::

Rosek: ::scoffs:: I'm fine. If you want somebody to fuss over, take a look at Alex. He has a couple of scrapes that could do with some TLC.

Blair: Response

Skyfire: Promise tae follow up when we get back, and ah'll leave ye alone.

Rosek: ::grunts:: Fine. But for now, let me work.

She hadn't meant to snap. The whole situation was tense and while she appreciated that he was just trying to do his job, she was trying to do hers.::​

Greyson: =/\= Greyson to Blair. I think we have the transporters calibrated. =/\=

Kelrod: =/\=Once we have the your first readings we’ll initiate the transporting process=/\=

Blair: =/\= Understood. I’ll be ready to transmit the first set of coordinates to you in just a moment. =/\=

Kelrod: =/\=We’re ready. Be ready with those support structures.=/\=

Greyson: =/\= How long do you estimate they have, and how long do you think you'll need to get enough supports rigged for us to begin transporter attempts? =/\=

Lael noted Alex's confusion.::

Blair: =/\= Uhh gentlemen, Lieutenant Rosek and I are feeling a little out of the loop. =/\=

Kelrod: =/\= We’re just trying to find the proper timing for the transport of the rocks and the placement of the support elements to avoid any more rocks falling. =/\=

Greyson: =/\= Negative, sir. Given the time constraints, forming a line of shuttles with manual calibration of SFI fields would take too long. So would tunneling, especially since we'd risk further collapse. Grenades would be equally as dangerous, and one misplaced grenade would kill everyone in the process given the current instability. =/\=

Kelrod: =/\=Grenades weren’t even between my options and less without knowledge of where our people are.=/\=

Blair: =/\= From our standpoint Commander, going through this wall is our only option right now, especially considering the short timeline Commander Walker likely has. =/\=

Rosek: ::nods:: =/\=Agreed. Even if Commander Walker was able to get the air recyclers running, it's likely that her injuries are severe. With all that falling debris, I wouldn't be surprised if there was internal bleeding.=/\=

Kelrod: =/\= I’ve been told so. Ok, we’re ready =/\=

Blair: =/\= Lieutenant Greyson, I’ll have the first set of transporter coordinates in just a moment. =/\=

Greyson: =/\= Understood. Standing by. =/\=

The look of concern in Alex's eyes weighed heavily upon her. He was worried this wouldn't work.::

Rosek: ::sighs:: I don't like it either, but it's our best shot at the moment. With no word from either of them, we don't know how badly they're hurt.

Skyfire: Response

Alex nodded and tapped a few commands into his tricorder.::

Blair: =/\= Okay I’m sending the series of coordinates now. I think that if you follow the sequence I’m sending we’ll be okay. =/\=

Kelrod: =/\= Proceed commander, we’ll also be monitoring the cave status with the sensors at our disposal. =/\=

Lael and the others of the SAR team had managed to get the physical supports in place, crafted from raw materials found in the cave itself. They'd managed to build a doorframe of sorts to support the weight of the cave ceiling. They'd add more as they needed to.::

Rosek: Ready.

Greyson: =/\= Response =/\=

Blair: =/\= I’m ready for you to begin transporting whenever you are ready on your end. =/\=

Kelrod: =/\= Copy that. Greyson, let’s do it =/\=

Greyson: =/\= Response =/\=

Lael broke out her tricorder to monitor for signs of the ceiling giving way. It was a tense wait at first, but as the transporter took the rock away no debris came headed their way--a sign of progress. Maybe this would work after all.::

Blair: =/\= So far so good. Are you ready for the next part of the sequence? =/\=

Greyson: =/\= Response =/\=

Slowly but steadily, they removed the fallen debris, placing supports where needed to avoid a cave-in.::

Blair: Any sign that your signal worked yet?

Rosek: ::grimaces:: Nothing yet. I don't even know if their communicators are still functioning to get the message.

Blair: Even though we aren’t blasting through, I’d still feel better if they were a distance away from the wall.

Rosek: ::nods:: I know. ::lays a hand on his shoulder:: We've done everything we can. Now, we just need to have a bit of faith.

A long while later, a large chunk of the debris had been beamed away.::

Kelrod: =/\= Commander, can you get a positive location of the commander and the rest of the team? =/\=

Rosek: =/\=I don't have a visual yet, no. And while the tricorder is giving me a general location, I still can't pinpoint their lifesigns approximately enough for us to dig them out.=/\=

Blair: =/\=Response=/\=

Kelrod: =/\= We are ready to transport them, we’ll continue checking for a positive lock. =/\=

Rosek: ::nods:: =/\=Ch--Lieutenant Skyfire will need to check them over first to ensure they're safe for transport. Stand by.=/\=

Kelrod/Greyson: =/\=Response=/\=

She turned to Chythar, her expression almost unreadable.::

Rosek: No matter what we find in there--

Skyfire: Response

Lael nodded sagely, her gaze locking with Alex's. The determination there mirrored her own. As much as she feared the outcome of all this, they had to push through. A strange feeling settled in her chest as she looked between her two best friends. It was hard to imagine that scant days ago, a rift had existed between them that she'd feared would never be healed. But after all they'd been through, their friendship had emerged stronger than ever. Not only did she have one person that she could count on no matter how rough things got, she had two. The corners of her lips turned up as it dawned on her just how lucky she was.::

A sudden chirp drew her attention and her heart missed a beat. It was an echo of her commbadge. Without a second thought, she yelled out.::

Rosek: Stop the transporters!

She stumbled forward in the direction of the sound and began shoving rocks out of the way.::

Blair/Skyfire: Response

Kelrod/Greyson: =/\=Response=/\=

A combination of relief and anxiety filled her when her digging exposed a pale hand.::

Rosek: I think I found Commander Walker!

Blair/Skyfire: Response

Kelrod/Greyson: =/\=Response=/\=

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Lieutenant Lael Rosek, Eng.D. Engineering Officer USS Veritas NCC-95035 Training Team/Podcast Team I238110RH0 https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php/Lael_Rosek