Removing the implants

Posted on Mon Dec 27th, 2021 @ 2:49pm by Captain Maia Sterling & Ambassador Amanda Blake & Lieutenant Steve O'Carroll & Lieutenant Commander Ryan Blake & Lieutenant Commander Robert Hendon & Lieutenant Commander Havri Belbre & Captain Karyn Somers & Lieutenant JG Marina Tanger & Lieutenant JG Samantha Blake, Ph.D & Rear Admiral Stera Saagu

Mission: The Riixian Insurection
Location: Sick Bay
Timeline: 239411.15

[ON]

Captain Sterling strode into sickbay. She talked to Lt O'Carroll who was there for physical therapy.

After leaving him for a moment she sought out Dr Handon.

"Ah, Dr Hendon there you are. What have you been able to find out about the caliphate implants?" The Captain asked.


Marina was sitting on a bio-bed watching the exchange with interest, after her reaction to the sedation from her implant removal, and the news of her pregnancy she was in for observation for a few hours. At least she was feeling better than she had been, anti-sickness meds seemed to be working for now.

Robert had been speaking to his children who had won a prize in class for drawing. He had just finished the call and looked up.

“Hello, Captain. I am glad you are here. We were able to remove Monroe’s implant. It was between her cerebrum and cerebellum. It was malfunctioning which is why she had the headaches. The implants carry a booby trap that goes off when they're removed. I am guessing the things are expected to stay in there. Until the person dies as there does not seem to be any way to disarm it. However Marina was lucky with the implant not working correctly, it did not go off.” Hendon said

Marina looked at Sterling, if she did indeed get to become part of the Leto crew she was going to have to report to this woman. She needed to make a good impression, even if she did start off hiding her pregnancy.

"Is there any way to wrap a force field around it or beam it out of their heads Also have you been able to determine exactly what the implants do"?

“Yes. We have been looking into a way to do that. It’s going to have to be beyond precise. But thanks to Marina we now have a safer way to render these nasty things harmless. From what she has told us plus some detective work. It looks like these things are used to dampen down any telepathic abilities.” Hendon said

Hendon took a breath and continued.

“Yes. It would not do to have your slaves more powerful than yourself. There is something else, the booby trap. Its power could be increased and used to kill.” Hendon explained.

Maia looked over at Marina.

"How is she doing"?

Robert could not tell Maia about Marina's pregnancy.

“She needs to rest. Her implant was malfunctioning and caused her some neural distress. Although it’s gone there are still some side effects. They should dissipate soon.” Hendon reported.

Marina looked towards Sterling as she stood down from her biobed. “Captain, I’m ready to help with bringing down the Caliphate. I want to prove my sincerity.”

"We will talk about it when you get back on your feet Lieutenant," Maia said.

Marina nodded. “Yes, Captain.” She looked at Robert offering a smile and a nod.

"Just get some rest Lieutenant, rest and recuperate," Maia said.

"Doctor, please find a way to safely remove the implant from the caliphate prisoners. I don't want them attempting to take over the ship again." Maia said.

Robert glanced down at the PADD in his hand before answering.

" Yes, Captain. We should be ready to start in an hour. The implant suppression field we have set up through the Leto should hold them. Until we can remove these nasties." He explained.

"Well done, hopefully, that will work good luck we won't be under attack and it will be a smooth operation. Maia said. Please keep me informed. The captain added.

“Yes, Captain. If you will excuse me, I need to program the computer for this operation.” He explained

"Of course," Maia said.

Robert gave Maia a nod and walked over to a computer terminal. He began entering complex orders to the computer. He could have used the voice command. But he needed to be sure that everything was entered properly. After all, it was not just a patient lives at stake here. But his staffs if something went wrong and the devices went off.

Maia left sickbay to check on security with Lieutenant Brannon. Her investigative teams were doing what they could to find out what happened with Gorebets, Herria and Wynn.

She found Lt Brannon soon enough.

"Have you informed Dr Hendon of the technology you found Lieutenant?" Maia asked.

Robert looked around. Was there more?

Brannon replied, "I placed several of the devices in a special container the blocks radio signals from getting to them. I then brought them back to the Leto and let EOD Teams check for explosives and when they found them they removed the explosives so Engineering teams could examine them and study them."

She opened a locked container and removed a device that looks much like a Federation Phaser. "I also recovered 10 of these devices. At low power, they cause some minor discomfort and at full power can cause someone's head to explode in a very painful death. I teat one on a rodent on the ship I was on and it was amazing how effective they are and also how easy they are to use...

She passes the weapon to the Doctor, " All operating items on these as in the Betazed language to allow the user to easily use it. Here is the power button and these buttons will raise and lower the power depending on what you need to do to someone that you attack. Also, I have discovered that a device can be either surgically implanted or placed in a helmet to use as a defensive weapon. I was thinking where I am Betazed, I could put one of the implanted devices in a helmet. And that will allow it to be removed if it happens to threaten my life. Then I can send feedback to the Caliphate weapon. Causing it to explode. I plan to do it because I am among the few Betazed's we can trust and the XO LCMD Toran is too important to be risked. Also, my assistant weapons officer can be trusted to run the weapons to defend the ship. If something was to temporarily weaken me doing this."

Robert looked over the device. Suddenly he had a thought.

“ You know there have been some reports of headaches. Even with the inhibitors in place. You don’t think the two are related to you?” Hendon asked

Brannon replied, " It may be true because right now we have no way to detect these particular weapons on file in Star Fleet. I have Ensign Johnson working on a way to not only detect them. But to deactivate any that are not in our control. If successful we can stop them from using them and also find out who has them so Security and the Marines can take them and place them under secure lockdown in the armoury. I have this one with me right now so I can show Bridge Officers how they work and also maybe come up with a defence against them.

I did notice when people were complaining about headaches in some cases there was a large group of Betazed personnel present. So I could not isolate the one or ones that had the weapon. With a detection system, we would know exactly who had them and then arrest them. Along with taking the weapons from them. And this will allow us an upper hand in the fight against the Caliphate.

Some of the prisoners that I isolated told me a lot about how they work and the explosive devices in the implants. Right now only Security, the Marines, and Senior staff are authorized to carry any weapons. I also contacted a Vulcan Security Officer Commander Sakia and he set me some more information on the weapons systems through a secure security channel. He taught a class on Vulcan weapons when I was at the Academy. We became good friends. afterwards and keep in touch. Here is the additional information he sent me Captain. He knows what I am planning and wants me to fully understand the weapons system to give it a better chance of success.

The helmet with the device in it I will wear Doctor is set up with medical monitoring so you can monitor me from the medical side. It can be dangerous to me but is our best chance to render the Caliphate device useless to use as a weapon again. I do ask you to allow me to go to the point where either the device explodes or to the point it becomes too dangerous for me to continue. If I fail it could be disastrous to Star Fleet and Betazed relations along with all space travellers in the Betazed sector."

"Even I had a headache it started mild but got progressively worse, the doctor said it might be because I drink too much coffee. I'll let you try it Lieutenant but I want you supervised. I don't want to lose you too." Maia said.

Brannon replied, "Where I will be wearing a helmet it will be easy to remove and that will end the process. If surgically implanted it would take longer to remove. That is why I chose the helmet. and be more of a chance. I feel I can stop this machine and destroy it. So it makes the chance I am taking a well-calculated risk. And if I am successful it will save a lot of lives and also end the Caliphate threat to Betazed. And secure our chances of keeping the Betazed in the Federation.

Also, it will show the Council that I am there to secure the [planet and willing to defend it when needed."

Robert ran a probe over Brannon.

“Whoever is causing these headaches must be stopped. Our efforts to block this kind of attack is useless. I don’t know how much time we have before more heads start exploding. So speed is of the essence” He warned

"I understand Doctor and I am running scans to see if any additional Caliphate ships are in the area now. I have found a way to get a general location of any using our sensor array. With time I can improve it and hopefully improve our chances. I am also preparing to make the final attack on the main Caliphate weapon when we reach Betazed. We will need to be in orbit above the general area it is located when we arrive for the best chance of it being destroyed.

But they will try to fight back when I commence my attack. And there will be some extra headaches and other things from their attack and it will be all out and decisive. Either the Federation wins or they win not halfway in this action.

"Find the source of these headaches Lieutenant Maia said to Brannon," Maia said.

Brannon replied, " I am working on this now, I have a suspicion that some of the handheld units are turned on and set at a lower power. Just so the Caliphate can be a nuisance to us. Once found the headaches should start to suppress some."

Robert started to run a probe over people. Including himself.

“ At the moment we are ok. But once the Caliphate realise what you are up to……things could get messy. I might be able to numb some of the pressure. But not for long so Angelina works fast.” Robert said


"Based on my calculations I feel it takes from 5-7 minutes to force the feedback to destroy the device. Then once done the device is useless to them. They will try to scatter and hide but the Betazed Security forces should be able to locate and arrest them. And That will effectively eliminate the Caliphate threat. And allow the council to vote without being influenced by the Caliphate. When it explodes there will be a large flash visible from a long distance away as well." Replied Brannon.

"A lot can happen in five to seven minutes," Maia said

Brannon replied, "I understand and in most cases, during simulations, I ran in the holosuite. I was able to do it a lot faster too. I was able to cut the time to less than 3 minutes but that is the best I could do. The technology is very tricky and can be touchy. But I am sure I can do it to prevent the Caliphate from winning.

Robert checked his findings. Then he rubbed his forehead.

“ Let’s hope so because if that happens the rescue team will be mopping us up with a mop and bucket. There is a steady increase in pressure on the craniums of the crew. Including myself nothing life-threatening yet.” Hendon warned.

'We need to determine where its coming from and neutralize the effect. Any chance of that?" Maia asked

Brannon replied I sent some modifications to Engineering that modify the shields to modulate frequencies in a specific band. This based on some other modifications should protect anyone on the Leto and give us the time to find the weapon and give me the chance to destroy it with the feedback.

Tests were done in the holosuites show it will be effective and will also allow for my successful attack. Also will limit the headaches to minimal to the crew. But when I make my attack I will be in an unprotected area of the Leto. To increase the chances of survival. It is risky but will be a calculated risk. Doctor Herdon can stop it just by reraising the shields around me if it gets too dangerous. All I need to succeed is about 3.5 minutes and the Caliphate weapon will be destroyed.

"Is this really a necessary risk, Lieutenant?" Maia asked.

Brannon replied, "I think so Captain, with the shields up to protect me it takes around 6 minutes for me to destroy the Caliphate weapon in simulations. However, with shields down around me, it takes about 3.5 minutes. The time to do it is reduced and It prevents the loss of a lot of lives from being a lot higher and also reduces the time anyone is exposed to headaches. Thus reducing Dr Hendon"s work. Once done though I will need some time to rest as it will drain me mentally and physically."

“ Thanks,” Hendon said

"Do we have any idea how long it would take the Caliphate weapon to blow off your head like the others Lieutenant?" Maia asked.

Brannon replied," I have run tests and it takes 4.5 to 5 minutes for that to happen. I have it down to 3 minutes to destroy the weapon. With the Doctor watching my systems he can raise the force field if it looks like I am in danger."

Angelina reached over to Dr Hendon to give him a PADD, "As you can see on this PADD Doctor it proves my information and shows you how long I have till it happens. I feel it is worth the risk to me and that is why I decided it was best for me to do this.

"What do you think doctor is it worth the risk?" Maia asked.

Robert read the PADD slowly and thoroughly. This was going to be very risky. But it was unfortunately the only way. Sadly he looked up.

“ It’s the only way to stop this. Yes sadly I agree you must go ahead……no pun intended.” Robert replied

"Very well but do what you can to attenuate the risk, I don't want to lose her Doc." Maia replled.

[End]

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A post by:

Captain Maia Sterling
Commanding Officer
USS Leto NCC-80916

&

Lieutenant Commander Dr Robert Hendon
Chief Medical Officer
USS Leto NCC-80916

&

Leutentant Angelina Brannon
Chief of Security/ Chief Tactical Officer
USS Leto NCC-80916