Stopped by Gas

Posted on Sat Mar 1st, 2025 @ 11:24pm by Captain Temperance Harding & Commander Elias Maxwell & Ensign Bart Ramsey & Lieutenant Commander Mal Paora Ko Noa Anar & Lieutenant Absinthe Harper & Lieutenant Ashev & Ensign Jacqueline Brown & Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Jasmine Evalli
Edited on on Sat Mar 1st, 2025 @ 11:25pm

Mission: Mission 5: Lost, Stolen, or Missing?
Location: USS Endurance | Main Bridge

ON

“Captain’s Log, Supplemental.

“Engineering has managed to isolate the course heading of an unknown ion signature. We are proceeding at Warp 8 in an effort to try and locate the vessel.

One major obstacle stands in our way, however: the dense, sensor-inhibiting nature of the Kite Nebula.”

========

The viewscreen was a beautiful sight, objectively speaking. Pinks, oranges, and reds. It was a dense nebula, with an abandoned station in the heart of it. Gut instinct told Harding that's where the ship had gone. The Ion trail was leading directly into the gas cloud. That had to mean they were using the old station as a base.

The only problem was: sensors did not work inside it. They had time. The image was coming from the long-range sensors, and their current speed gave a couple of hours before they arrived at the edge of the Kite Nebula.

"I'm open to suggestions." Harding said, after considering the gas cloud.

The Chief Medical Officer sat in his usual jump seat next to the First Officer. He had grown accustomed to the movements of the crew around him and could find his way between the turbolift, his seat on the bridge, and the doors to the other rooms on this deck. Regrettably he didn't have much to contribute, his own telepathic senses just limited enough that he would be useless guiding the ship.

'WWND?' Jasmine asked herself mentally, then dismissed that question. She'd probably complain how the color of the gas cloud clashed with whatever color she'd done her nails up in that day. Then she'd look for a way around the problem and make some snippy remark that would piss off the Captain but make perfect sense after getting around that statement. "Seeing eye drones, Captain?" Jasmine blurted out, "We could send in an array of drones ahead of us, even tethered for data transmission clarity if we wanted to."

Harding considered the idea for a moment. "I see what you're thinking, but the drone's sensors won't work any better than...." She stopped, an idea forming. "We have any magnetometers in supply?" She asked the CAG. Used as modular additions to certain craft load outs, they were useful as proximity sensors to a solid, metal object, like those sent into space.

"Yes," Anar replied, picking up what the captain was laying down. He turned to the console on his left, activating it with a touch of his hand, and entered a series of commands. Within moments, the inventory list he was looking for appeared on the display. The good news: there appeared to be plenty of magnetometers aboard, enough to outfit the entire wing (if need be). Unfortunately, none of them had yet been equipped...

There was no way they'd be able to install them on all of the fighters before arriving at the nebula, of course. Two hours simply wasn't enough time to get the job done. However, Anar realized they didn't have to put them on fighters for the captain's plan to be effective. In fact, he could do her one better. "We'll load up the runabouts," he said, turning back toward Harding, "and send a probe ahead. That should give us some sense of what's out there."

Harding's eyes stayed on the Nebula on the viewscreen as she considered the proposal. "It is what the AWACS do best. Three to starboard, and the other three to port. Each at an interval of a thousand kilometers. We should be able to cut a wide search area." She nodded, looking over it in her mind. "Give the order, I want the Arrowheads ready to launch the moment we drop out of warp at Kite."

Something was nagging at Harding, some thought or concept she couldn't quite put aside. "Have the Peregrine Squadron prepping for combat launch." The Nova Flyers might have been more agile, but she quite liked the idea of an aerial cavalry charge that was a full squadron of Peregrines.

"Aye, captain," Anar replied, his hands already moving across the surface of the console beside him. It only took a few, quick strokes and the instructions were immediately transmitted to his command chief, who would (in turn) ensure they were carried out.

Harding took a look around her Bridge. Evveryone was focused on their tasks, Outwardly, the Captain looked confident, as she rose from her seat, taking a few steps forward, resting a hand on Ensign Brown's chair. Her eyes were on the nebula. The gas cloud that held her officer. Was she doing the right thing? Was she missing something? Had she overlooked something vital?

A glance over her shoulder at Commander Maxwell yielded no real answers. He wasn't looking at her, wasn't catching her eye. He was focused on the data coming into his terminal. Did that mean he was happy with her work? She couldn't explain the sudden wave of self doubt. Was it simply having her old instructor back? Some half-remembered insecurity of being a Cadet again?

Whatever it was, it wasn't helping matters. She had a job to do, and there was one final piece to put into place. "Commander Maxwell, I'd like you, Commander Anar, and Lieutenant Harper in the Conference Room, please."

For a brief moment, her mind slipped into an old habit. "You have the Bridge, Ms. Val-" Her words cut off. Ms. Valentine wasn't on the bridge, or the ship. Harding's expression hardened as she reproved herself. "Mr. Ramsey, you have the Bridge."

It took not but a moment for Anar to secure the workstation he'd been using. Once he was certain the interface was in standby mode, he turned it so that it was properly aligned with its base. Then, he rose to his feet and began making his way up the sloping ramp toward the doors that would take him to the observation lounge.

Absinthe was staring at the nebula, mesmerized. It was more than the swirls of colours, more than the way the hues danced together in chaotic perfection, it was captivating in a way that she just couldn't quite place her finger on. The sound of her own name broke through her reverie, startling her momentarily as she turned to blankly stare at the Captain, blinking slowly. "Huh?" She drew in a sharp breath and offered a vague smile. "Of course Captain, conference room, right now."



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