Invasion of the Nanobots

Posted on 14 Sep 2025 @ 2:47pm by Captain Sabrina Corbin & Lieutenant Commander Sandra Boren & Lieutenant Commander Riah Amberlyn XMD & Ensign Ryan Collingway
Edited on on 14 Sep 2025 @ 5:59pm

1,667 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Fractured Accord
Location: USS Newton
Timeline: Now

----Newton----

Ryan finished the repair work, and closed his tool kit, about to leave. He took a final reading with his scanner, and paused. The readings were...strange. He turned on his communicator. "Commander Boren. I am detecting something unusual. I am sending the readings over to you." He sent her over his scanner data, trusting that her experience outweighed his and she could identify the issue faster.

Sandra was in main engineering, coordinating the various repair teams, the Newton’s Chief Engineer had joined one of the active repair teams to be more useful. They had been working for several hours now, and Collingway had just reported that the work on the Nacelle was completed for the emergency repair, and it was running with 86% efficiency when her comm badge twirped again, and Collingway stated his unusual reading. “Standby, Ensign, checking the reading,” she stated after she had tapped her comm badge. Next, she let her hands dance over the console to access the readings and she raised an eyebrow. It was like ants had started running through the Nacelle. “It appears ant-like, but they have a non biological signature.... nanobots?”

"Nanobots?" Ryan echoed. For the first time, his external armor cracked a bit and he shook his sleeve, which by itself was an insane reaction. After all, he had spent most of the last five hours with his hands inside the nacelle. He still stepped away from it. "Um, what should we do?"

Sandra thought for a moment, her mind was racing, even if her calm demeanour did not show it. “Isolate the room, scan each other, to make sure you do not have any on you, and check where else they have gotten to. I will get a medical team to come over to double check you and your team are not affected. They must have arrived with the explosion; there external hull was damaged in the Nacelle area. Boren out.” Sandra double tapped her comm badge, once to close and once to reopen the comm line. “Blokpoel to USS Arawyn bridge. Captain, we have discovered a nanobot infestation in the Nacelle. I could do with more medical support and scans as well to see where else it has gotten to on the Newton.”

"Okay," Ryan said, but his heart was racing a mile a moment. This wasn't like the borg...but nanobots acted the same way. He sat down, as did the others. "Let's just wait for the medical team," he said, sounding calm. He was good at lying nowadays.

Sandra tapped her comm badge again, “Boren to Newton Bridge, Captain Aditi Rao it looks like we may have a nanobot infestation, we assume as a result from the explosion. Please send a medical team to the Nacelle to get the repair team checked asap. We need to isolate as much systems as possible to avoid more systems getting infected.”

Dr Carroll's heart skipped a beat, and a shimmer of fear ran over his shoulders and down his back. "Sickbay, on ALERT. Possible nanobot infestation in the Nacelle. Scan any incoming personnel. First Alert Team 2, suit up tight. You're headed to the Nacelle. Team 1 is likely already exposed. Do not, repeat, do not send any injured to any of the other ships. We quarantine here on Newton. Damage Control should be able to handle widespread non-organic deactivation, but if they get into anything organic, we have another problem."

----USS Arawyn----
Corbin leaned forward in the command chair as Blokpoel’s words settled over the bridge like a chill.

Nanobots.

"Understood, Commander. I suggest we use Newton's medical and science teams to prevent further contamination risk across ships. Let’s bring Captain Rao in. Please keep us updated."

She opened a channel down to medical to update her CMO, “Dr Amberlyn, the away team on the Newton has found a nanobot infestation in the nacelle. Please rescan the patients we beamed over and take precautions to secure Medical.”

Corbin cut the channel and shifted her gaze to Holt, already anticipating the XO’s input on containment protocols.
Sandra tapped her comm badge again, “Boren to Newton Bridge, Captain Aditi Rao it looks like we may have a nanobot infestation, we assume as a result from the explosion. Please send a medical team to the Nacelle to get the repair team checked asap. We need to isolate as much systems as possible to avoid more systems getting infected.”

... Sickbay on Arawyn ...

"Aye Captain," was Riah's quick response before addressing sickbay in a voice of authority. "LOCKDOWN Sickbay, immediately. Possibly infective nanobots from Newton. Repeat. LOCKDOWN Sickbay." She turned to her department yeoman, "Recall everyone who has visited the sickbay since we took on the patients from Newton. Sterilize a surgical suite and bring everyone in there for scans. " She called out to her nurse, "Clara, run extensive scans on our patients from Newton, make sure they are nanobot negative. Ensign Carter, coordinate testing of all the medical staff. Ensign Camparda, call back all medical staff who have been on duty since the Newton patients arrived. No one leaves the Sickbay without a scan and if there is any ANY doubt that they're clean, they are restricted from leaving. Report anything acute or even unusual to me immediately."

.. Newton Nacelle ... Arrival of Medical Team 2.

Team 2 Leader reported, "Dr Carroll, we are in the Nacelle. Nanobots have been confirmed. Damage Control is here. We are checking personnel."

Ryan could hear them behind him, dressed in protective gear. His heart was pounding in his ears at this point. He tried to ignore it all, ignore them, and focus on the scans.

"Ensign, we need to scan for infection. Could you please stand up?" asked the medical Team leader.

With a sigh Ryan did as instructed. Still trying to look at his own scans and not what the medical personnel was doing.

The Team Leader scanned with a long wand, which was capable to exterminating live externally located bots and detect them within a living organism. He ran the wand along the left side of Ryan's body. Every so often a little white light flickered, indicated another deactivated bot. At one point, the little light flickered wildly, reading a grouping of the electronic bugs.

"Is this going to take all day?" Ryan snapped, not looking at the wand. He wasn't trying to be a jerk, but stress was talking through his mouth.

"Yeah, probably will," replied the medic. But we'll get them. Once we determine if you're clean, we can move you to another location and eventually clean up the nacelle," he explained. The wand now circled around Ryan's head. He could not have ignored it. The medic stopped by his left ear and the white light flickered. "The wand attracts them, and then they are electrocuted essentially," he further explained. He held the wand closer to Ryan's head until no more light flicked.

"Sir, problem with this one," one of the medical team said, scanning one of the engineers.

"Ok, let me finished here. Keep calm. We can handle it," said the lead medic. Ryan, you test clean, but I'm gonna ask you to go to the quarantined area at the entrance to the nacelle. So we can decon this whole area with a tachyon burst and get them all. Go to the lift. They are keeping that area nano free. They'll check you again before you enter the quarantine area." The medic then hurried to the woman who had tested positive. His companion reported, "I think it entered in her ear. I detect two in the inner ear."

"Ma'am, can you just sit down here and be as still as possible. If there's no pain, they are moving inward. We will try to deactivate them before they get any further." He pulled out another short bar scanner with a rounded end and placed the rounded part against her skin under her ear. "You'll hear a loud noise," he explained. "Ready? 3, 2, 1. The loud sound made everyone jump, but when he applied the bulbous unit to her ear again, he smiled. "No more signatures." turning to his companion again, "Continue external scans."

Ryan did as he was told, but could hear what they were saying. His fists clenched tightly, knuckles turning white from the motion. But he did what he was told.

"You're clean," said to the woman who had been rid of the nano in her ear. He gave her the same instructions as had been given to Ryan and she hurried to catch up with him.

"Hey Ryan, this is exciting," she said with a lot of sarcasm slipping along her tongue. "You okay?" As they walked, someone behind them screamed and fell to the deck holding their head. "They're in my head. They're in my head. It hurts. Help me."

The medics were quick but the man was clearly hysterical with pain and revulsion. It took two medics and another engineering tech to hold the suffering man while the medics applied the bar scanner to deactivate the nanos. Two loud blasts of the scanner alarm filled the nacelle. The man became quieter

Ryan blinked, and for a few seconds could see an image from his past. A Benzite, his friend, on the ground. The borg surrounding them. Himself, holding the phaser. Help me, Ryan, he had whispered. If his fingernails were any sharper, he would be drawing blood in his palms from his fists clenching so tightly. "I'm fine," he said, tersely. "Let's get out of here."

"Boren to medical team, if it is possible to isolate one or more, and beam them safely to the Science lab on the Arawyn, please do so."

"Will do Ma'am," replied the medic. "We have a containment box with us."


LtCmdr Sandra Boren
Chief Engineering Officer
"Everything fits, otherwise we'll make it fit!"

Ensign Ryan Collingway
Engineering Officer
USS Arawyn

LtCmdr Riah Amberlyn, XMD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Arawyn

Captain Sabrina Corbin
Commanding Officer

Medical Personnel - npc apb Kate

 

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