Great Bursting Bubbles!
Posted on Wed May 18th, 2022 @ 11:38am by Lieutenant Helena Issacks & Lieutenant Commander Sofia Nikedoros & Lieutenant Colonel Shaun Bradley & Master Chief Petty Officer Lucas Nilsson
1,724 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Roll With It
Location: Outside Haumea Business District and 'The Bubble'
Timeline: MD 01: 0249 Hrs
"So."
Helena stood a few feet from the shimmering 'orb of doom,' as one of the security crewman had called it, staring up at it as if she could fold it all up and put it in the brig herself. If only she had that ability.
"So, we're looking at a problem," she concluded, rubbing the bridge of her nose and turning around to the rest of the gathered team, "A problem that we're gonna have a time fixing. We've gone through our channels and it didn't look like it was a criminal activity thing. We've got a couple of people in there right now, but we can't get a hold of them. Anyone else having better luck?"
"A couple of our boots were in the bars," Shaun said, resisting the urge to poke the bubble. "We've tried subspace, wide beam and tight beam to punch a signal through and all we get is static back." The Marine pivoted and smiled a quick, dry smile. "Silent on the telepathic front too, like the voices are just gone - however, we know there is life inside there, sensors can figure out that much at least. We have a couple of birds coming by to do low pass scans and see if we can glean something from the shuttle sensors that city sensors are missing." It was frustrating for the man, but this was going to be one of those times that he had little other input.
"Excuse me, sirs," a security crewman said, approaching with teenage girl anxiously clutching a circular harp. "This young woman says she was here when it went up."
"Please," the girl began, speaking rapid fire without waiting for a response for either of them. "We were walking home from doing a set at the coffee shop and Zoe saw something and stopped to look - she always doing that, so I kept walking - we couldn't have been more than a couple steps apart and - BAM! - suddenly there's this..." she waved her hand at the bubble, "...thing. I tried yelling and knocking on it, and I put my ear to it but I couldn't hear anything, and then I just walked around it hoping there was an opening, but there wasn't, and, and... You have to DO something. we were supposed to be home hours ago and her parents are gonna FREAK."
"Gonna freak, huh?" Helena frowned, arms crossed over her chest. "You help us out, and we'll help you get Zoe out of there." She gestured toward the bubble with a sideways tilt of her head. "How about we do this - answer a few questions for us, and we'll vouch for you and your friend to both of your parents while we figure out..." She gave the bubble a distasteful look. "That. Whatever ... that is."
"Hey, I'll be glad to help," Hana shot back, humphing at the semi-accusing tone from the Starfleeter. It wasn't like she'd caused this ...thing... She was the one who was trying to get her friend out of there! "I've been trying to find a way to help my friend in there since this thing showed up!"
Lucas had never seen anything like the "bubble" that lay before him. With the Chief out on an away mission, he was now the second-in-command of sorts in engineering. Structural engineering was really his forte, but he hoped he could still be of some use here. Realizing that his wife, Vanessa, usually worked in the area enclosed by the bubble, he tried to raise her on comms to no avail. Now sweating, he continued trying to scan for any sort of reading, however faint, coming from the bubble.
"Hey now," Helena held a hand up, "I'm only making sure we've got information. If we thought you were responsible for... this? The conversation would be different. Much different. She looked back at the gathered team, before shooting the girl a mildly reassuring look. "You wouldn't have happened to have seen anyone suspicious while you were trying to get yourselves home, would you have?"
"I didn't see anyone suspicious," Hana replied. "Honestly, I didn't see anyone but us around when it came down, or went up, or however it got here."
Helena let out a breath. She didn't know what to expect, but this girl was the only lead they had right now. "Alright, I won't put you through the ringer. But we may wanna do a couple of scans - nothing invasive or harmful - just to make sure you're alright before we get you sent home. And -" True to her word, she nodded toward one of the various security staff to come on over. "We'll send you with a security officer. They can explain the situations, and if anyone's parents have any questions after that? Send them my way. We'll make sure Zoe gets out safely."
As the group continued, the ground rumbled and a bright light flashed momentarily in the bubble itself. Helena's brow raised. "I thought we said we couldn't see what was going on in there?"
"Oh my God!" Hana ran to the edge of the 'bubble' peering in as best she could. "What was that?"
Lucas ran over to the bubble, tricorder already in his hand. "There are some weird readings coming from it now. But I'm just a structural engineer, so I can't make heads or tails of them..."
"We should probably get those to a science team. I'm sure they'll make sense of it," Helena suggested, but shot a look to Shaun. "You got guys who are experts at stuff like that?"
Shaun nodded, just a single short nod. He tapped the comm badge on his chest three times but said nothing. In the distance, a Marine looked over at him, and he made eye contact. There was another nod, and the Marine took off running, already barking into a headset. "Magic bubbles, no. But a Marine knows a flash like that when they see one. I'll get the EOD boys down here on the double to help."
Helena frowned as a security crewman hastily brought over a tricorder, pointing out the readings. "... Did you say heat, Petty Officer?" The young man nodded furiously, before spotting another civilian near the bubble and hurrying off to investigate. This left Helena with the scanner, which she frowned at. "Heat and... Oh. Oh no."
"Oh no what?" Hana asked, completely ignoring the security guards attempts to get her to come along to be delivered home. There was no way she was leaving now and being forced to sit in her room and just hope someone let her know what was going on here.
Lucas looked toward Hana, smiling slightly to comfort the child, "It was just some brief rumblings. Nothing to be concerned about... by itself." He hoped the white lie would put her at ease and allow her to be removed somewhere safer without making a scene.
Hana widened her eyes at him. "Nothing to be concerned about? Big flash, heat, rumblings..." she flipped a finger up with each point. "Sounds to me like that adds up to an explosion. Are any marines in there? Maybe they're is trying to blast a way out." Hana kind of hoped not. Zoe had a thing for marines, so if they were in there, she was probably as close as they'd let her could get to them.
Shaun turned towards the young woman and for the first time since he'd arrived on the scene offered a softer smile lacking his usual sarcasm. "It's unlikely Marines trying to blow a hole through. They were off duty, absolute worst case they have a sidearm, but that wouldn't create something like that. And it was too... dirty? Didn't have the punch of a grenade or anything."
And Helena had heard enough. "Should get a report off to the Captain, see what other resources we can get on this." She gave Hana a pat on the shoulder, "And we should get you home before your parents worry any more."
Pulling his PaDD, Shaun pulled the data before sliding it back into one of his many pockets. "I'll go talk to the Captain, I'm sure he's already worried sick..." As he turned to look, two Marines in thick padded armor were approaching, which caused him to roll his eyes a little - just what the kid needed to see. "Your experts are here Lieutenant - Hey take it off Corporal you look like a fucking ass. Yeah, you, fucking hell," he barked over at the pair. "At least take the helmet off, you're not going to fall on anything today." He sighed and shook his head. "Show them what you have, I'm sure they'll have opinions. If you need me I'll be talking to the good worrier." And with that he departed the group.
Hana's mouth dropped open at the heavily armored marines. Something was up, the way the Colonel was cussing - she could hear the expletives all the way over here - it was going to major. "Hey, look, could you comm my parents and drop me at the hospital instead? I'm a volunteer and I really should be there if we're going to be getting a bunch of casualties from explosions or whatever." Plus it would be sooo much easier to get back here from there.
"Sure." Helena had little time to waffle about where she was sending Hana, just that the girl get out of harm's way and they could rest assured that at least one member on this damn colony was safe. She nodded to the crewman who came over, instructing him to do exactly that. "Let us know if you hear word from Zoe before we do. We'll make sure to keep you, and her parents, posted."
"Thank you," Hana said, turning to go with the guard quickly before the lady in charge could have second thoughts.
Helena's gaze was on the bubble from that point. There would be scans; she hated scans. She wanted answers, and the further they looked into this, there were none.
A shout from behind had her turning around, frowning at the angry civilian approaching. Well, she couldn't say she didn't see that coming.
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