Shocking Sights

Posted on Sun May 10th, 2015 @ 1:30pm by Lieutenant Commander Horatio Hawke & Captain Tim Williams & Lieutenant Commander Ciaran McIntyre & Lieutenant Ethan Kessel & Chief Petty Officer Alyssa Carylon

Episode: Orphans
Location: Dreyas Four - Hidden Lab
Timeline: MD30 - 1230hrs

Previously...

As Mac's security team covered the perimeter, Hawke turned to the Chief Engineer. "Ethan," he said. "What do you make of all this?"

A few seconds passed as the Engineer seemed rooted to the spot by the sheer volume of information lying in front of him. There were PADDs piled high and equipment littering every surface. Mac lowered his rifle and looked at him. He seemed to be completely lost in his own thoughts. He nudged the engineer gently. "Ethan? Hawke asked you a question."

"Sir?" Alyssa approached the chief engineer as he continued to stand motionless; his face ashen as he simply stared at the equipment that was arrayed around them in the laboratory. When he still didn't respond, she turned towards Hawke. "Commander, I think we should get Lieutenant Kessel back to the ship." She was keenly aware, as were a number of the crew of Ethan's recent incident with the Borg, and she knew that other Starfleet officers who had been assimilated had come against psychological issues during the time after their physical recovery, but she sincerely hoped that the engineer wouldn't be too affected by any lasting issues - she knew his reputation and knew that the ship would be at a big loss if he had to be relieved of duty.

Hawke was taken aback by Ethan's sudden immobility and instantly agreed with the Chief's assessment. He cursed himself for not immediately noticing, though. "Agreed," he said. "Take him clear of the lab and beam him back up to the ship. Make sure a medical team is standing by to help him out."

"I think that we should begin cataloguing the equipment here," Reynak said, as Ethan was led back out of the laboratory to where the Highlander could lock on with the transporter again. "We should be able to get a better idea of what the criminal was doing once we know what equipment was being used. Then we should get our cryptologists in to start attempting to decrypt the data on the computers."

McIntyre eyed Reynak suspiciously. He didn't trust her and the jurisdiction issues were murky at best. "Under our supervision, of course."

"Of course," Reynak responded dismissively, as she continued moving around the different stations with her scanner.

As Kessel was led away he felt some feeling return to his finger tips. He shook himself as his thoughts resurfaced, and gave an almighty shudder. He had known, of course he had, what they were likely to find in here. He hadn't be prepared for the sudden visions of Borg surgery, or the phantom lashings of pain as his mind recreated his experience. He buried that thought as soon as it surfaced.

"Enough, Alyssa. Hold for a moment, let me just catch my breath..." He muttered, gripping the wall for support. His stomach heaved.

Laser scalpels were, of course, standard equipment. Growth chambers, a staple in bioresearch and cloning facilities galaxy wide, though the ethics of the devices' use were still fiercely debated. The Medbay on The Endea- on the Highlander contained similar equipment. Why should it affect him so much?

Oh. The Pain. That was silly. He was an Engineer, and a Scientist. That wasn't quantifiable. It wasn't logical. The futile and anguished cries of subjects was not measurable - at least, not after the fact.

But was it was true.

This... place... was a place of Pain. A place of Torture. Justified by he pursuit of Perfection. They should have just torpedoed the site from orbit.

That made him angry. That was good. Borg didn't feel Anger. They could not Hate. He did. That differentiated him the Borg. From Scorpius. Why was he siting here shaking? He had a job to do.

Turning around, he made his way back to the centre of the lab, and then to the datafiles.

"I can analyse the equipment. It's rather familiar. This great piece is for heavy duty Biosurgery. The kind used for the implementation of heavy duty cybernetics, and synthetics into organic life. Precision surgery equipment.

"The great tanks over there are growth chambers... I recognise those as well. The Borg use them to replace Drones quickly in times of conflict. Most are allowed to grow naturally, but sometimes specialists are required or else the sheer amount of losses across the quadrant reaches the point where such technology is needed to rebuild. The loss of an Omnicomplex could trigger it.

"Before you ask, no, this isn't Borg Tech... It could be adapted from Dominion technology though." Kessel finished.

Mac could see the Cardassians begin to surround Kessel like a swarm, suddenly incredibly interested in what he had to say. It was obvious that the possibility of getting some 'free' information of Borg tech had piqued their interest.

Hawke eyed the engineer critically, unsure what to make of his current status but deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt. Given what he'd been through not too long ago, it's no wonder the scene inside the lab gave him pause. "Okay, let's finish securing this building. Mac, when you're satisfied that it's safe we'll head outside while Ethan, Chief Carylon and Reynak will keep working in here." He looked around satisfied with the nods of acknowledgement he was receiving.

"Okay, get to it."