"Goo! Goo! Goo!" by Lieutenant jg T'Kang Chief Engineer - USS Intrepid http://come.to/tkang After some patronizing banter over the tidiness of T'Kang's office, Commander Davis insisted on showing the Chief Engineer what he wanted done with the green telepathic goo. T'Kang crossed his massive arms stubbornly as the Exec punched up a series of Engineering schematics on the various systems of the ship. "We should be able to integrate the gel with the memory gel- packs the Intrepid uses here, here, and here. Lieutenant Shadow believes this may result in a speed up of over three hundred percent efficiency in access times to the databanks. Plus possible other benefits to be determined." "Other benefits?" T'Kang asked skeptically. Davis glanced over to Shadow. "It may create a sentient computer system, capable of telepathic data transmission." Shadow explained. T'Kang rolled his eyes, thinking of the implications that could have in a critical situation. Heck, any telepath in the universe could take control of the ship in that case. The Klingon's brow furrowed at the thought. "Besides the computer systems, I also want to try integrating the gel into the armor plating on the exterior of the ship. It shows remarkable regenerative characteristics and is highly resistant to radiation. If I am correct, incorporating it into our armor plating should strengthen our overall hull integrity in battle situations." Davis explained. "I don't believe adding that goo. . . . ." T'Kang began, seeing the Commander's expression sour at the term, "That gel, is going to help us defend the Mugarri ambassador from the Nharwak Commander. Introducing an alien life form to key systems of this starship constitutes an unnecessary risk to this vessel and the people it protects. Such. . . . experimentation, . . . . ." T'Kang said with obvious contempt in his voice, "is best left to the science labs and development facilities. *Not* on board an active duty Starship during a mission. Sirrrrr. . . . . " the Klingon hissed as he drew out the last address, for emphasis. "I should let you know that I protest these 'Frankenstein' attempts at experimenting on the USS Intrepid, and I will file a formal protest with Starfleet command." T'Kang stood strongly, arms still crossed as his eyes clashed with Commander Davis'. It was obvious the Klingon's tone and attitude had offended the First Officer, but the Chief Engineer wasn't concerned about one man's personal feelings. It was an entire starship and crew the Klingon was looking out for. Davis paused for a moment thinking of just the right words to respond with, when the fire alarm sang out all over the ship. "What's going on?" Shadow asked while holding a beaker of the mysterious green goo. Just then the ultra high pitched sound waves pierced through engineering, causing everyone to drop everything and cover their ears. Shadow dropped the beaker of goo, letting it shatter on the floor of engineering while he dropped to his knees in agony. Commander Davis likewise winced in pain, struggling to fight the penetrating sound waves. "What is going on!" Steven called out. T'Kang began to growl at the unbearable pain. It felt like someone was pressing on his ears with a giant vice, and tightening it with every passing second. Biting his lip, the Klingon drew blood to help combat the pain while he swaggered over to the console. On the floor, Shadow had already lost consciousness, and the green goo was vibrating slightly as it appeared to slither across the floor towards the master situation monitor. "High frequency sound being transmitted over the comm system." T'Kang struggled to explain. Now Davis was on his knees, in agony. His vision blurring, with only seconds of consciousness left. "Source?!" he screamed out painfully. The blood was flowing out of T'Kang's mouth as he continued to bite on his lip. The pain helped him to focus on the task at hand. Tapping the controls, he generalized the location to somewhere on deck 3. The pain from the sonic broadsides was worse then twenty pain sticks. "Somewhere on deck 3. . . . ." T'Kang growled in a spittle of blood. Clicking in the cat like mind of the First officer, he realized that was the deck the Ambassador was staying on. Weakened from the ultrasonic bombardment, and feeling his consciousness slip away, Davis nobly ordered, "Seal,. . . . . deck. Gas. . . . ." he was then gone. T'Kang glanced over at the Commander and could see he had past out. Flashing his eyes around the rest of engineering, he could see that everyone on the engineering floor had collapsed or were about to from the sound waves. Turning his head, T'Kang could feel the dizziness overtaking him, in spite of his discipline and concentration on the pain of his lip. Moving to the console, he tapped the controls to override the fire protocols and seal off deck 3 with security force fields. Glancing down at Shadow, the goo was no where to be seen. Struggling to the opposite side of the console, T'Kang stumbled, nearly toppling to the floor, but catching his balance at the last second. With increasing difficulty, the Klingon Chief Engineer keyed in the sequence to flood deck 3 with Anestistine gas. T'Kang's hand trembled as it reached up to activate the button that would release the gas, rendering all on that deck unconscious. But it was too late. The sonic waves had finally overwhelmed even the burly engineer as he collapsed and fell to the ground. Around the floor of main engineering, bodies of unconscious engineers and crew members littered the floor. In a crease leading to an access grate to the master situation monitor, the green goo oozed through and entered the Intrepid's control systems. It was quiet on the Engineering floor. Just the warble of the red alert fire alarm wailed away in the background. **** <>