Stalled Beginnings

Posted on Thu Dec 29th, 2022 @ 7:00am by Captain Temperance Harding & Lieutenant Commander Nyx Valentine & Lieutenant Absinthe Harper & Lieutenant Rose Kersey & Lieutenant Ashev & Lieutenant Scott Mitchell "Ghost" & Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Jasmine Evalli
Edited on on Thu Dec 29th, 2022 @ 7:00am

Mission: Mission 3: Mirrored Troubles
Location: USS Endurance

ON

Harding watched the Runabout leave the ship, the main viewscreen on the Bridge showed the small vessel sweep away from the ship, and enter Warp. She wasn't happy to be losing a First Officer. Less so to be losing the ship's doctor as well. Still, orders were orders, and at least they had some orders now.

Nyx glanced up from the engineering panel as she too saw the flicker of the runabout going to warp and exhaled deeply, reaching up to scratch the head of the drakeling draped around her neck. She'd barely known Lightfeather and hadn't even had time to go get checked in at Medical before the ship had been off and away. But now she was one of the ranking officers on board, even with that half pip being rather shiny and new.

Rose had arrived on the bridge and was settled into her seat alongside Temperance. She offered a warm smile as she looked in Temperance’s direction. This was going to be her first mission aboard ship, she had some evaluations to catch up with but right now she wanted to be on the bridge.

The Assistant Chief — scratch that, just Chief — Medical Officer had no designated seat on the bridge. Indeed, Ashev had never even been to the bridge, which unfortunately meant it was a complicated room with an unfamiliar layout. Still, smiling proudly as crossed the threshold from the turbolift onto the command deck. He had been told there were guest seats at least. Near where the woman giving off the strong psi signal was sitting. The Counselor.

Ashev hadn’t met most of the senior staff. Indeed, his first interaction with Captain Harding had been when she gave him his new solid rank pip, told him Doctor Starkweather was leaving, and making him Chief.

“Captain,” he said, clearing the horseshoe shaped tactical station, his senses distinguishing the broad shapes of the deck furnishings. “Thank you again for the opportunity.”

"Welcome to the Bridge, doctor." Harding said with a smile. "Almost a year on board, you've earned the opportunity."

Rose offered Ashev a warm smile as she looked in his direction. “Congratulations on your promotion Doctor.”

Ashev's antennae pointed to the Captain and then to Rose in turn, even if his cataract-covered eyes didn't. "Thank you, Captain, Counselor. I don't suppose you could kindly show me to my seat, please?"

“By all means Doctor” Rose gently got to her feet, and moved across to Ashev. She waited for him to take her arm before she moved them both around to the guest seat next to hers. “Your seat is right here Doctor.”

“Thank you,” he said, taking his seat.

"Helm," Harding resettled herself in the center seat. "Set course for the Aldebran system, Warp 5."

"Aye Captain," Scott called out before spinning his chair around to face the helm console. He punched in the coordinates remarking, "Here we go," as he brought the slow responding vessel into warp. After a few minutes of watching the stars flyby Scott noticed a red light start to blink on his console. Upon further investigation the warnings began to light up all over the console. "Um Captain...I think we have a problem."

Before Harding could reply, the whole ship shuddered. The almost immediate drop from warp to stationary caused a few who were not secured to tumble to the floor. Harding picked herself up, thankful the inertial dampeners had kept it from being worse. Her gaze ticked over to the Ops station. "Ensign?"

"Warp bubble just ... shorted out. Some sort of buildup from Subspace itself. A few systems got lashed by a feedback. Warp Core seems to be off-line."

Harding turned, looking aft to the Engineering station. "Ms. Valentine?"

Nyx's eyes were wide as she gripped her console and watched all of the data flickering over the screen in front of her. Movement around her shoulders showed that the Drakeling was readjusting herself, but Nyx paid Gigi no mind and peeled her hands from what had kept her upright. "Failsafes cut off the reaction while the bubble was in mid-collapse, we're not looking at a core breach.." She tapped the comm button on her console, "Ensign Evalli, status of the warp drive?"

=A="Down and Red."=A= The high pitched voice was showing definite signs of high stress, =A="No danger of an uncontrolled reaction, the system scrammed when we dropped out. ETA on being warp capable? Don't know yet.In an emergency, call it fifteen minutes to get the initial checks done, but upwards of two to six hours if we want to be safe."=A=

"Get started on the initial diagnostics. I'll be back to you before you're done." Nyx cut the comm after the Ensign acknowledged, "I should be down there, ma'am." She said, but knew even then that her real place was up here at the moment. She had competent people taking care of the problem, which at the moment was purely investigatory, "Hypothetically? Uncharted subspace rift the buffers couldn't compensate for? I'm sure there are other options too."

Harding shook her head at the Commander's words. "I could do with you here. They can handle a diagnostic without you for the time being."

"I know, ma'am, I just..." Nyx trailed off.

"Captain?" The Ops officer called.

Harding turned in time to see the viewscreen change. It was a wrecked ship. The hull was just recognisable enough to tell it was Starfleet. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"No idea." The Ops Ensign stared in bewilderment. "We were only at Warp 5 for a few minutes. Hell, not even far enough to leave a star system. That was not there an hour ago."

Harding considered that. Between the ship's Warp Drive acting up, and this sudden ship, she was starting to get annoyed, and wanted answers. "Commander." Harding looked back at Nyx. "Grab a Security and Engineering team. Take a shuttle over and do some poking."

"What is it?" Ashev asked, sensing the bridge crew's anxiety and confusion, which was worse than he'd expect from the engine failure. Whatever was on the screen was bothering people.

Rose looked in Ashev’s direction. “It’s a wreck of a starship, looks like it could be a starfleet ship, at least what’s left of it.”

"And it wasn't there an hour ago." Harding finished. Even so, it looked... old. "Ops. Environmentals?"

"Pockets of atmosphere. Probably won't be great air quality, but breathable. No lifesigns."

Harding glanced back to Nyx. "Watch your step over there. Find data on who she is and what happened. No heroics."

Knowing what the Chief Engineer needed of him, from their conversation the previous day, Ashev stood, raised his left arm (the one opposite where Rose was sitting) and let out a very specific whistle call.

From around Nyx's shoulders, the drakeling's head snapped up and even while Nyx's arm came up to serve as a runway, launched herself from her mistress and flew like a hawk returning to a perch after a long flight, landing with a grab from all four feet onto Ashev's outstretched arm. She swarmed up to his shoulder and ran a horned head across his cheek before settling in across the back of his shoulders.

Nyx watched as Gigi left her and felt the pang of abandonment deep inside her, but she knew it was part of her duties. "Security team to shuttlebay. Engineering team to shuttlebay." And she was in the other turbolift than Mitchell was taking.

The Captain took a few steps forward, standing near Mitchell. "Lieutenant." Her eyes were on the screen, a pensive expression on her face. "Get a relief up here. I want a fighter screen that encompasses us and that ship. We ain't going anywhere for a while."

"On it," Scott called out as he almost sprinted to the turbolift, =/\= Alpha flight launch immediately. Delta on standby in the launch tubes right after Alpha takes off. Beta on standby in their craft=/\= he said to the launch pad comm.

As the Lieutenant left the Bridge, the lighting changed. Moving from its usual soft white to blue and red, the ship transitioning smoothly to Flight Quarters. Even if she couldn't move, the Endurance could still launch an air patrol that would own this piece of space. Nothing would exist within a perimeter encircling both ships, unless the air group allowed it. Harding returned to her chair, staring at the unknown wreck, wondering what this new mystery would bring them.

Rose was fascinated by the winged lizard that now sat with Ashev, she would have to ask Valentine about her pet at a later date. Right now she needed to keep a watchful sense on the ship before them.

OFF