EVCRYOPENEYE ; SYLVIA TILLY.
At even the slightest hint of permission, she was making a b-line for the center console. Skilled fingers tapped a screen, one, twice, three times, trying to see if it would respond. Nothing. With a serious expression on her face, normally absent from the seemingly babbling and nervous cadet. Right now, she was focused with laser precision. Everything was down. A small huff through her nose as she read the flashing warning ‘clearance denied’ on the screen. Sure, Tilly was just a cadet but she had a high enough security code for this. Something was wrong. They were dead in the water, no warp, no spore drive, minimal systems online and a crew missing. Tilly could only come to one conclusion.
“We’ve been left dead in the water, haven’t we?” This was not an accident. That conclusion gave her the confidence to suggest something radical. “All systems are locked out but…” a moment of hesitation, her eyes locked on the Captain, trying to read him and wondering if this would be the straw that got her flung off Discovery, after all, she had a sneaking suspicion that Captain Lorca hated her, or thought she was useless. They were as bad as each other really. “I can get through them.” It was spoken with conviction. Tilly might be socially awkward, but she knew what she could and couldn’t do. Instead of waiting for permission, she took an unusually brave step, she got to work. How funny., that social situations were so disastrous for her, but under pressure, she was a little diamond.
“You know, Federation and Starfleet security isn’t all it thinks it is.” Said the person who at sixteen had hacked Federation Security and escaped one of the most high security education establishments in the Federation. While it was a complex winding road, getting through the security lock out was not impossible. Then, with a hit of a key, screens jumped into life. Instead of assessing systems, the first thing she did was run a ship wide scan, “there’s only four people on board sir, us…and two non-crew members on the bridge….and we’ve sustained structural damage on three decks…” another quick flurry of taps, “approximately twenty minutes ago, something or someone beamed the entire crew out at once…” a lightbulb went off in her head. “Oh my god…the lab with the spore drive is shielded, they must have not picked us up when they locked on.” Oh damn, pure chance that they had not been taken too. That was uncomfortable.
had she waited for permission, gabriel might have stopped her. not on principle, nor even because he doubted her. but there was one important step she had opted to overleap: a captain’s override codes. which, given the information she later relays to him might likely have failed no less thoroughly than her initial attempt. he returns from across the room as she speaks, however, eyes skimming the data upon the screens even as she narrates. his lips purse. ❛ small mercies. ❜ though, in truth, he’d have taken almost any member of the crew over the cadet and her predisposition toward inane rambling.
the life signs are unrecognized, species unknown. gabriel suppresses a sigh. ❛ let’s go take back our ship, then. ❜ perhaps it would be feasible to regain control from here, but the majority of the ship’s command functions resided in the bridge consoles. and, besides, he’s driven by an overwhelming need to act, not to sit and punch buttons in the hopes that they might accomplish something, losing time with each passing moment. despite his words, however, he hesitates, considering her with intent gaze. ❛ you’ll have had basic phaser training, I assume. how much of a danger are you to yourself, and to me, with one? ❜
he’s loath to leave her behind to fend for herself, even if she might be able to accomplish something from engineering. he’s equally reluctant to bring her along.
