Master Engineer

Further analysis of the source is unnecessary. Gently releasing Mister Scott to the nearest surface, he is well aware of what it is. Blood is smeared against the left side of his ribs, bleeding red, a purple mix that dresses his uniform like a beacon of human life.

“ I will see to the array, ” he declares, only pausing to assess the Chief Engineer one last time. The ensuing stare that follows transforms it into an order: do not move—

—because the Scotsman looks pale, limbs heavy and sagging, nearly folded to the floor. But all Spock takes stock of is the light in Scott’s eyes, their brightness, his alertness; the fact that Scott is responding with some measure of comprehension — that Spock can comprehend him at all — is promising.

It satisfies him for the time being.

“ If I am able to transmit a message to the Enterprise successfully, we can make for the tunnels. ” He agrees. His fingers fly across the console, matching Spock’s internal computations as he reads the spill of commands that pour onto the display. He reads several incoming reports somehow managing to be collected from the tower. Estimations of the dead continue to rise, counts of damaged systems and other facilities list in unimaginable numbers.

His expression narrows in thought. It is possible the information is being relayed by survivors.

Gracefully finagling the code, the console beeps, reports clearing and leaving Spock with an empty canvas with which to relay their distress signal. The device has been launched.

Extraction requested.

Spock follows it with several coordinates.

“ However, ” he straightens then, opening an alternate window for a map of the underground routes. Memorizing the path with most potential, Spock swiftly changes course, searching for a discarded medkit beneath the rubble of a desk. He rips open the box when he manages to locate one, “ Your injuries may only worsen when traveling in your current state. ”

Pulling up a single hypospray from the kit, Spock inspects its label closely: epinephrine and lidocaine, a compound of adrenaline and anesthesia.

It will suffice.

Bright eyes, the only thing functioning properly in this moment, watch the Vulcan with keen attention. His understanding of computers is limited to their internal organs and not the software that runs them. Still, both he and the Commander compliment each other with their knowledge base.

Seconds, maybe minutes, Scotty isn't sure how much time has passed. He's only aware that his body is slumped, pressed into hard surfaces that nail him from every side. It's uncomfortable but he's still upright...Mostly.

He blinks and Spock towers over him. The Scotsman tilts his head up, skull thunking against something. Eyes drop to the hypo needle that's poised in his hand like a blade. Swallowing, Scotty nods. "Aye lad, you can try that." Though the engineer isn't sure what is wrong with him. Probably something internal. They'd need Enterprise or the medical facility here to help. But with the events that unfolded not an hour ago, everyone is going to be slammed. If there are survivors left.

The pierce of the needle is quick yet painful. Liquid courses through his veins seeping into every branch of his body. Scotty shivers before relief is found, if only temporary. "Yeah, that does it," he mutters, using Mister Spock for support. Hopefully this cocktail will last him till they reach Enterprise.

"Where to, Commander? Did you find the tunnels? Are there any?" Together, with more weight on his own two feet than the Vulcan, Scotty follows after his companion, keeping a look out for wounded souls or hatches that might lead to salvation. But each step across new road only brings him face to face with death. With the absences of living things and it ravishes his soul till only splinters remain.

There was a line [in the airport bomb scene] when we originally shot it, when the bomb asks Benji a personal question - it’s in the moment when the bomb is trying to… it’s a psychometric test thing. And the question that the bomb asked didn’t go down well with the test crowds. […] The bomb asked Benji if he has ever thought about hurting himself or others. It’s like a classic question you ask people in a psychiatric exam. And Benji says “no”, and the bomb tells him that he’s lied. And so Benji has to admit that he’s kind of self-harmed. And the audience fucking hated that idea. They hated the idea that Benji… So we changed the question to “Are you afraid of death?” Which actually came up with a great moment when he says, “Who isn’t?!” But… yeah, […] it was too dark. My character’s score went up, like, 10% after they took that question out. […] We were getting into this idea of PTSD, and Benji had been almost killed in Fallout, Ilsa saved his life, and we were talking about how this weighs on him, you know, and how he was kind of close to the edge in a few earlier iterations of the script. Benji was having moments of doubt and, you know. In the end, that stuff kind of felt like it wasn’t really necessary, and we wanted to concentrate on the team dynamic and have the audience infer certain things about where they are emotionally. So that felt a little too on the nose, and we moved on from that. — Simon Pegg on Episode 573 of The Empire Film Podcast

Happy Birthday to the one and only Gary King! (January 3rd 1972)

a collection of roleplay / writing prompts , lifting quotes from " the sounds of nightmares " podcast based in the little nightmares universe .

" the look on your face says there's more on your mind . "

" would you like to talk about it ? "

" how are you feeling today ? "

" do you remember your nightmares ? "

" i remember ... everything . "

" i'm not sure that's true . "

" i woke up somewhere i didn't belong . "

" i don't quite follow . "

" can you try to explain ? "

" you can't understand . not unless you were there . "

" hey ! where are we ?! "

" they aren't children . not at all . "

" my mind was divided , and that's not fair to you . "

" everything is going to get worse from here . "

" help me ! please help me ! "

" who brought me here ? "

" i'll do everything i can to help you . "

" there's nothing bad inside you . nothing . "

" we're in this together . "

" take your pick . "

" sweets for my sweet . "

" do you know a way out of here ? "

" what are you working on ? "

" we're friends . friends tell each other things . "

" i'll play with you . "

" don't overdo it . "

" you were right there ! don't tell me you did nothing ! "

" you're upset with me , aren't you ? "

" are you going to leave ? like all the others ? "

" whatever you desire , it's yours . "

" everyone needs someone . "

" don't leave me alone ! "

" are you still angry with me ? "

" i'll protect you . "

" i hate being alone . "

" i understand more than you think . "

" you mean to escape , don't you ? "

" you're being unfair . "

" i can't help you if you hide things from me . "

" why did you bring me here ? "

" what do you want ? "

" why didn't you tell me ? "

" you promised me . "

" i don't feel like talking . "

" you never listen . "

" we can face these monsters together . "

" i need you . "

" i have nothing more to give . "

" take my hand again . "

" you abandoned me . "

listening to the chief engineer reminisce is curious . but spock doesn't poke any holes in the other mans tales . whilst spock wasn't going to claim at any point in time that he had an eidetic memory , but he did remember the day well enough to be able to recall it , though perhaps not as fondly as others may do . it had , after all , been several days after vulcans destruction && ultimately the death of his mother && millions of his people .

&& SUBSEQUENTLY , his emotions had been pushed to the limits . only becoming worse when kirk intervened && began to edge him closer to anger . ultimately succeeding in his goal of usurping his captaincy .

spock gave a slow nod . ❝ i understand that prior to boarding the enterprise , you had a promising career within starfleet before you ... ACCIDENTALLY transported admiral archers pet beagle . ❞ he paused . ❝ porthos , i believe his name to be , ❞

"Well, yes. Mistake on my part." Maybe. Not really. "The beast was a nuance to all of Starfleet. Despite everything, I like to think I did us all a favor." Scotty smiles, taking another sip of his drink. "I realize now that I made an error in my calculations. One digit off and it sent the poor beast to some alien planet." Or maybe that had been his intention all along. Only Scotty knows the answer and he may as well take it to his grave.

Scotty had tried, and that was enough for him.

They had also only gotten this far because of him, but the captain doesn't know yet if saying that out loud would make a difference yet. The other needed to work through this in his own mind before being truly open to anything else.

When he crouches, it is equally to force Scotty out of his misery, but also because he's worried about a burn that the engineer now has marring his lift cheek. He'd had to reach around some of the engine's still hot metal to flick a switch, but to no avail. Their shuttle was still grounded, the power source sucked clean from it from what Kirk can only hypothesize was the electrical storm they passed through as soon as they entered the atmosphere. This, combined with the unfriendly locals that could be heard banging on the outside of the hill, was what he now suspected happened to the missing crew they'd sought out to find.

"I don't know, Scotty, but I'm trusting you to figure it out." Taking the tip of his finger, he taps twice on the engineer's knee and stands. His hands go to his hips, and he paces for a moment. "If we don't figure it out, we're going to miss the rendezvous, another shuttle is going to come down, and the others are going to find themselves in the same boat."

STRANDED.

"Let's just, slow it down for a second, run it back and through again. I don't think it's the sequence, you could do this with your eyes closed. I think it's limited power and excess weight. If we cut down the weight of the shuttle, maybe we'll have enough power to get in range of the Enterprise to hail the bridge. We need to get this thing down to the bare minimum for survival."

Air fills and releases from his cheeks, exacerbating the burn on his flesh. A small wince that he quickly hides and turns to slap his hands on his knees. Standing, still unsure of what to do, Scotty rests a hand under his chin as he listens to Kirk's thoughts.

"If the electrical storm fried our systems, then there is a small chance I can get her to fly or communicate again. I could strip parts from the ship, especially if we work to lighten her load and solder new pathways but that's a bit if." A huge if, in fact. The storm had sprung out of no where, as if the atmosphere of this planet were hiding something. Stranger things have happened.

Feet shift, pacing the cramped space of their shuttle. The pounding of local natives shouting in angry voices is enough to cause his neck to twitch, wishing to be reunited with the bowels of the Enterprise. But he has to get them off this rock first.

"Disassemble any part and add-on you can. Hopefully the locals will back up enough so we can lighten the load and not allow them inside. Any scrap of metal or wiring you find, give it to me and I'll see if I can reroute power." Provided that fried circuits is their issues.