TKO - Technological Knockout

[WxMurray 0]

“Just a little more…”

 

“How’s that?”

 

“Looks good.”

 

Murray climbed off the phaser drill. He and Nora Brady had just adjusted the beam so it would slice into Thing instead of blasting in. He bent over, turned on the drill, and opened the external power port.

 

He looked over to Prell. “We’re ready here, Chief.”

 

Dickinson’s voice came over the com. “Ready here. The power regulator is hooked up and running.”

 

Prell nodded. This was it. After searching for Thing, then brining it back to the cargo bay and poking, prodding, digging, jabbing, stabbing, and shooting it, they were finally going to find out what was in it. He thought that at the rate they were going they were going to have to hire professional thieves to break into the darn Thing.

 

Murray nodded back and tapped the drill’s control panel. “Activating drill.”

 

The warp core hummed away as it sent power to the drill. Dickinson watched the core readouts.

 

The power regulator sat quietly, regulating power flow. Kroells and Kairi smiled at their work.

 

The power cords took the power from the warp core and moved it to the drill. Prell sat and hoped that this would work.

 

The drill powered up and was ready to be fired. Brady watched with anticipation. Murray pressed the button.

 

And nothing happened.

 

He pressed it again.

 

Nothing happened again.

 

Murray looked at the control panel and noticed a blinking red light. It read simply “Safety.” Whoops.

 

“We’re growing old here, Saf.”

 

“Sorry, Chief. I’ve got it now.” He deactivated the safety and rolled his eyes. All the work they put into this and he forgot to turn the safety off. Of all the things…. He pressed the button and was prepared to be shocked.

 

He wasn’t wrong.

 

The phaser drill hummed and screamed and let out a burst of energy that a power meter wanted no part of. At the same instant a power surge blew out the control panel and into the person manning it.

 

Murray flew backwards and slammed into several cargo containers. Pain. Immense pain. On a scale from “it’s only a scratch” to “superdooper excruciating” this rated “mind-numbingly, excruciatingly, agonizingly, unbearably, painful in the way that chocolate isn’t”. Only one thought crossed his mind and he fell to the floor and fell into the realm of unconciousness.

 

“Ow.”