Running Deep

Prologue

Serenity Entering the Sub-Space River

The Serenity has been tasked by Starfleet to explore an uncharted section of the subspace river. Information gathered from The Last Flight of the Evenstar incident had been researched and analysed by Sipen Daquwee and Miss Peterson. It was revealed that the Box that had bee found buy the USS Evenstar may have come from this out of the way area of the subspace river. This may help with trying to find a cure for Second Life so the Serenity has been sent to find out.

Something Different

The Serenity exited the sub-space river into a small system. There was a large yellow sun in the process of going supernova and super-gas giant. In between the sun and gas giant on a small eliptcal orbit was a old and diserted space station. Jay ordered the Serenity cashusly into the system while perfrming a deep system wide scan. The Serenity was suddenly scanned by a group of satelites at the mouth of the Sub-space river terminus. The ship shuddered as it was caught in a powerful tractor beam and pulled to wards the station.

Going Exploring

The station latched onto the Serenity. Large clamps held the ship tightly in place proventing it from moveing. Sazboe scanned the station and found that there was a weak unknown power signature on the station. Sipen Daquwee and Miss Peterson came to the bridge to inform Jay that the Station was made by the Toto. It was called the Running Deep Research Station and they needed to explore it to find any information that would help their research on the Second Life.

The away team consisted of Grayjoy, M'Epak, Pachakan, Sipen Daquwee and Miss Peterson. They managed to gain access to the station via one of the docking collars. They found a deserted and decrypted corridor that had not been used for a very long time. The power signature came from deep in centre of the station and the away team set off to find it.

Nothing is Ever That Easy

While the away team was searching the station McDonald and a team of engineers went onto the hull to have a look at the stations docking clamps that were holding them fast. The clamps were molecularly bonded to the hull which meant that if they needed to get away fast then they would have to rip the hull platting which would also cause structural damage to the Serenity. McDonald took a sample of the joining of the clamp to Sazboe in the science department to see it she could find something that could get them free with out damaging part of the ship.

Peaking Round the Next Corner

The away team moved deeper into the station getting ever closer to the unknown power signature. There passage had be delayed by blocked corridors or section that had been vented into space. They had to take deture after deture untill the finally reached the area of the unknown power signature. The room was a large labratory with alcoves and moniters around its edge and in the middle suspended in a transparent room which was suspended over a glowing power core. The room conatined seven Boxes in indevidual containment tubes. They were placed in a semi circle around a small consle and in the was what looked like a book sitting on a stand in front of the console.

Sipen Daquwee and Miss Peterson recognised the book as soon as they looked at it. the book was the Waja. The book of pain it is a history of all the wrongs that have befallen the Toto civilisation so that they would never forget who or what had wronged them. The Boxes were identical to the one that they had found on the USS Evenstar which had contained the deadly Second Life disease. The Grayjoy and Miss Peterson carefully entered the transparent room and accessed the console.

The Box

The computer began to wake from its ever ending slumber and realised that there was unauthorised people in the contamination. It started to work through its protocols and commands but due to the damage and decay most of its system were malfunctioning or to badly damaged to be used properly. One of the fault sensors in the transparent room sensed an imaginary release of the Second Life disease from one of the storage boxes. Thinking that there was not a biological contamination of the people in the transparent room it began purging protocols.

Alarms sounded in the laboratory the door to the transparent room began to close which would seal Grayjoy and Miss Peterson inside. Miss Peterson leaned over the console, grabbed the Book or Waja from the stand and rushed after Grayjoy as they just slipped through the door way as the solid door slammed shut. With the alarms blearing the away team sprinted for the Serenity through the maze of passageway that would get them to their salvation.

Infection Risk

Running Deep Research Station put its decontamination protocols into affect. Biohazard facility had been breached. There was a risk of biological contamination and the contamination to spread out side the system. The main computer activated is final failsafe. It unlocked the security control to its power plant in the heart of the station and began a core over load. The transparent room contaning the Second Life samples retrcted its clamps and dropped towards the unstable core.

Quick Get Away

Klaxons rang across the Serenity as its sensors picked up the power fluctuations of the Station. Jay contacted Sazboe to see if she had had any luck with the solvent for the clamps but she was told that there was nothing she could do at that time. Jay ordered the areas to be evacuated, decompressed and force fields put in place. The away team scrambled into the docking collar and sealed it, as Jay activated the four retractable impulse engines along its hull and put all the impulse engines to maximum thrust.

Serenity creaked and groaned as it ripped its self from the station leave large chunks of the hull still attached. It thundered away leaving a trail of debris and leaking atmosphere as it dashed for the sub-space river terminus.

A Close Run Thing

The Running Deep Research Station vanished in a blinding flash of light and a cataclysmic release of energy. A purple shock wave rushed our across the system chasing the rapidly fleeing Serenity.

The group of satelites at the mouth of the Sub-space river terminus had powered down as soon as the Running Deep explodaded which ment that they were not able to hinder the Serenity as it just slipped into the Sub-space river as the shock waved slammed in behind them.

Epiloge

The shock wave distored the sub-space river as the Serenity escaped sending waves of energy slamming into it. Systems crash, sheilds faild, hull plates were torn away and bulk heads colapsed under the strain but the Serenity managed to servive and began its lymping journy home to a repair facility