As the USS Bell Rock came closer in to view, it was evident that some sort of fighting had occurred here. LtCo Sili could see some smoke rising above the vessel but couldn’t quite make out the exact point it was coming from. Sili had made the decision to board the vessel using a shuttle. She wanted to be able to transport any injured that couldn’t be safely transported with the use of the transporter if it came to it.

“T’Penne, can you tell me where that smoke is coming from? I’d like to know what we are walking into if it’s at all possible,” Sili looked to the Chief Engineering Officer, T’Penne.

The Vulcan was already busy looking at scans on the console in front of her. “I can’t speak in hypotheticals. What I can say for certain is that the life support systems are functioning but at low capacity. It looks like the systems will fail within the next few hours.”

“Is that all you can tell me?” Sili asked and tried not to sound frustrated. She knew everyone was doing the best they could but she really wanted more information. She couldn’t help but feel as if they were walking into a dangerous situation with miniscule information and she didn’t like that at all.

“Anything further will be speculation, First Officer. If you insist on something further, I conjecture that the engines are the source of the smoke but that is nothing more than a hypothesis. I detect significant damage to both the propulsion system and the warp core.”

“I guess that will have to do LtCo, thank you. Lt Redrol, stay behind us when we arrive and be prepared to render aid if and when possible.” Sili turned to look at the Chief Medical Officer sitting across from her. 

Lt Redrol Rogers sat with a smile on his face and gave her a small wink when he spoke. “Of course, XO. I’m ready to go.”

“H’veir, stay aboard the shuttle and be prepared to leave at any moment’s notice in the event of an emergency exit,” she looked to her left to speak to the Helmsman and pilot of her shuttle, Ensign Hveir. 

“Aye, XO.” Ensigner Hveir responded without losing focus on the view in front of him. 

The USS Bell Rock was eerily quiet as the away team slowly worked their way through the corridors. They had been fortunate so far and found crew members who were simply unconscious. They had been no fatalities as of yet and First Officer Sili hoped that it continued that way. Lt Redrol was busy checking the vitals on everyone they came across.

“First Officer, I urge you to move quickly. These crew members are stable but we are losing time on the life support systems. We need to move these members as soon as possible before serious harm is wrecked upon them.” Lt Redrol was more serious than she had ever seen him before. It was obvious he took his job seriously and it changed his nature completely when he was working. 

“Understood. Let’s pick up the pace team.” Sili ordered and began moving again. She led the crew with T’Penne following just slightly behind her. They had two members of the security team with them as well and she had them following in the back to ensure they had no surprises. 

The team turned the corner and Sili’s breath caught and her heart dropped to her stomach. A young Ensign lay on the ground in front of her lifeless. She looked around and began to see a few more crew members around her lifeless as well. She kneeled down and saw that there were signs of phaser fire. She touched the young woman’s shoulder and closed her eyes. She wished that the crew had been faster in order to save these lives. 

Sili turned to look back and Lt Redrol had his head hung and his hands were balled into fists. She knew that he felt the same as her if not more angry than she herself felt. “Lt, let’s keep moving. Maybe we can discover what happened here once we reach the bridge.”

Lt Redrol only responded with the nod of his head. He raised his phaser pistol up and began following behind the group. He hoped this was the last of death he would have to see for the day. 

The bridge was dimly lit and the lights were flickering. As the team entered, they moved efficiently sweeping from side to side looking for signs of any Starfleet members or signs of an enemy. 

“First Officer, here!” T’Penne called out. Sili turned to see T’Penne moving toward the turbolift. That’s when she saw them. A man who was obviously the Captain was laying against the side of the wall with his hand over his gut. He wasn’t moving and appeared to be unconscious, at least that’s what Sili hoped for.

T’Penne reached the man and checked for a pulse. “Lt, hurry! He’s alive.”

Lt. Redrol ran over to the man and dropped to his knees. He pulled out his medical tricorder and ran a diagnostic scan. “He’s suffered damage to his abdomen. It doesn’t appear critical. I believe he is simply unconscious from the loss of blood. I’ll give him a stimulant and work to close the wound.” He pulled the device from his tool kit beside him and injected the man in the left arm.

Captain Bernard McCauldy’s eyes opened and he sucked in a huge breath of air. “Oi, what the hell?” He looked around him and narrowed his eyes. “Just who are you guys?”