Live free or Grem Hard

Posted on Friday October 23rd, 2020 @ 10:42pm by

Lyra liked having Kathleen present. She wasn't sure she liked how Kathleen's job was much more dangerous than it had been in the past, although being T'Yuna's wife was hardly a simple concept to understand.

Not that she could talk. Most people pitied Sirgei.

Now, though, as she was trying to device counter-equipment to prevent the Borg from further infiltrating the station, she felt safe with the familiar face being one of the ones with a gun, keeping her and T'val safe.

"Here and here." Kathleen gestured. "It might disrupt the nanites from being cohesive. It might not."

"Not to be ungrateful, but would this not disrupt your nanites?" T'val asked.

Kathleen inclined her head. "My nanites are significantly less integral to my everyday function than an average drone's would be."

There was a spark, and then the device came to life.

"What's the range on this?" One of the Engineering ensigns asked.

"Thirty meters. Radius. Not diameter." Kathleen noted.

"This station is... uh... big, ma'am." The Ensign noted.

"The idea is not to blanket the station, but to deploy these around the infected area to prevent the infection from spreading." Lyra retorted. "About 60."

"67." Kathleen nodded. "At current rate of infection, provided the security teams can-"

She froze, and put a hand to her head. "-ow." She shook her head. "That's a nasty migraine. No matter. Worth it. Provided the security teams can keep everyone safe, and the zone quarantined, we can prevent them from spreading to the rest of the station."

"This is new tech." The Ensign said, tilting his head at the blue-prints.

"It's brand new. Bleeding edge. There's a human saying about necessity being the mother of invention." Kathleen nodded. "Invented by Lieutenant Lyra Walsh. This morning."

There was a silence among the engineers present.

"You mean she's competent at something?" One of the Ensigns asked.

"That is how you get nicknamed Ensign 'Stupid head'. I would advise against it." T'val's dry tone was met with raised eyebrows. "I do not make the rules. I simply adhere to them."

"What do you think? Is the gain too high?" Lyra asked Kathleen.

"Nope. It's doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing." Kathleen shook her head. "If anything, the gain being too high makes it distractingly difficult to process normal information through. I would call that a tactical bonus."

Lyra nodded, and his the device in the bulkhead. She grabbed another one out of the crate.

"60 meters as the crow flies from here." Kathleen instructed the security team.

It was quiet. And then there was foot steps approaching them from the hall.

"Set up the device." Kathleen instructed. "Keep them safe."

"Kathy lady?" Lyra asked.

Kathleen shook her head. "I'm not going to see one of my last living friends going through what I did." She narrowed her eyes at the security guards. "I mean it. Nobody gets through this chokehold. You keep her alive." She held up her rifle, and a photon grenade.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The security officer asked.

"That bulkhead faces exposed space." Kathleen pointed behind the oncoming drones.

"On it." T'val nodded, withdrawing her PADD.

"On what?" Lyra demanded.

"T'Yuna used to have a Maquis friend who was fond of the saying 'Live free, or die free'." Kathleen paused. "Or as Daniels would say 'Live free or Die Hard'."

"Earth film reference?" T'val asked. "Lyra always said-"

Kathleen nodded. She took a breath, before running down the corridor.

"Kathy lady!" Lyra shouted. "The shooty guys are there!"

"That's the point." T'val said, as she tapped the PADD.

Structural forcefields went up between them and Kathleen.

"I hope I get to see you again." Kathleen said, as she fired her rifle. "On the other side. Don't cry, though, Lyra."

"You're going to die!" Lyra shouted.

"That's the point." Kathleen laughed. "I finally get to see her again."

She armed the grenade, and threw it past the approaching drones.

"But I am never going to be one of those things again." She added, closing her eyes.

There was a bright flash, and a loud bang that was quickly extinguished by the vacuum of space.

Lyra stared blankly.

"It is alright, Lyra." T'val whispered. "We have seen this before."

Lyra nodded. "I have been there before." She said, quietly. "With Sirgei."

"She is not dying." T'val gently wrapped an arm around Lyra's shoulder. "She is going home."

Lyra grabbed one of the devices out of the crate.

"She's not dying for nothing, neither." Lyra shook her head.

"We shall call these the Mk I Kathy nanite disruption emitters." T'val nodded, as she gestured to the device. "Weld there, and there."

"I remember what Kathy lady said." Lyra nodded.

"You aren't crying?" The Engineering Ensign asked.

"She asked me not to. She'd be real mad. Real real mad." Lyra shook her head.

----

Lieutenant Lyra Bogdonovich
Chief Engineer

Ensign T'val
Provision assistant chief engineer

The late First Lieutenant Kathleen Lorrietta
[Classified]