(so...I messed up the chapters and left one out. I think I fixed it-sorry for the confusion.)
"Everyone out!" Reed's voice rang through the armory as the ship rocked and bucked from the force of the fierce ion storm. The lighting flickered and sparks flared and popped around them. "What about you, sir?" Quinlin called, and Reed snapped, "I'll be along, I'm shutting down the firing sequence relays for the phase cannons–damn!" His fingers flew over the keyboard as the smell of burning wires filled the air. "But sir-"Quinlin hesitated. "That's an order!" Reed bellowed, his attention riveted to his screen as the firing sequence relays disconnected one by one. Quinlin paused at the door for one look back at his commanding officer, then joined the others dashing into the hallway to alert a rescue team.
Suddenly Malcolm realized the relays were shutting down on their own, and he looked over his shoulder towards the phase cannons, where he could dimly make out a man working frantically. "Welles!" He thundered, "I gave you a direct order!" Welles held a padd and was quickly tapping in code on the keyboards of 2 different controls, helping Reed neutralize the weapons. "If we take a lot of damage from the storm down here, sir," Welles called, not looking up, "the cannons could activate or explode!" "Dammit, Welles," Malcolm bellowed as he worked, " I'm shutting them off up here! Get the hell out!" "It'll go twice as fast sir–" Malcolm saw red at this insubordination. "I'll have your rank, and your ass in the brig!" He raged as they both continued their fight to save the ship.
The final relay went off line, and Malcolm slid down the staircase and ran towards Welles. The other man was sprinting past the cannons towards him, and they almost reached the door when the room shuddered and tilted, and the ceiling fell in on both men.
The dust settled and Malcolm opened his eyes. The armory was in chaos, and there were ceiling panels and girders everywhere. 'At least,' he realized with relief, 'the weapons didn't activate.' He tried to move and grimaced at the pain that shot through his leg, pinned under a heavy beam. "Welles!" he called, "Where are you?" He heard a weak moan to his right, and Welles's voice was soft, "Here, I'm...here." Another moan echoed through the debris-filled air. "Can you move, Lieutenant?" Reed asked him. "N–no sir," Welles groaned faintly, "too much...on top of me." Reed frowned, listening to the other man's weak reply and gasping breath.
"Hang in there, Welles," Reed urged him, straining to pull his leg free. "The rest of the crew will get to us right away." The ship slowly stopped bouncing around, apparently the ion storm had passed. "Welles," he asked, "how did you have the deactivation codes at your position?" Another weak laugh choked through the air, "I still had the padd from yesterday, the one I used to download the codes and re-encrypt them." "You disobeyed my direct order," Malcolm replied. There was no answer from the other man. "Lieutenant!" Reed called, "talk to me! Stay with me!"
He heard a slight laugh that ended abruptly with a gasp. "It's crewman, remember? You're going to demote me," came the weak reply, "not that it really matters." "Why not?" Malcolm asked, puzzled that a demotion wouldn't concern a man who was so devoted to his duty. "Since no one from my ship was ever really in Starfleet to begin with," came another sharp gasp, "when we get to earth, I'll be a civilian." "You're not staying in?" Reed tried vainly to see the other man through the dust and clutter. "I meant what I said the other day," Malcolm continued, " you're a fine tactician. You'd be an asset to Starfleet, and they'd be lucky to have you." There was no answer from Welles.
He knew that as long as he kept Welles talking, the man was still conscious, so he asked, "How did you decrypt those codes?" "I...designed my own...code," the voice was fainter still. "It's a random generator..." he gasped, then muttered "oh hell, Mariah." The ship rolled again, very slightly, and the gasp turned into an attempt to stifle another groan. Reed called to him, "Mariah? Who's Mariah?"
More debris shifted, and the dust rose up from the floor. "My–wife–sir. We have–3 boys." "You have a family on the Enterprise?" Malcolm was stunned. Why hadn't he known that before? Welles moaned weakly, then in an almost whisper, added, "You do too, sir."
Malcolm tensed and strained to see the other man. "I do too?" he growled, "what do you mean by that?" But silence was his only answer, and he cringed, hoping against hope that he would not have to face the man's wife and three children with bad news. A shimmer seemed to rise up and surround him, and he realized that he was being transported out of the destroyed armory. 'Scrambling my molecules,' he thought, before he let the darkness rise over him.