Boarding the Unknown, Part I

Posted on Sat Feb 18th, 2023 @ 11:55pm by Ensign Bart Ramsey & Lieutenant Commander Nyx Valentine & Lieutenant Absinthe Harper & Lieutenant Ashev & Lieutenant Scott Mitchell "Ghost"
Edited on on Sun Feb 19th, 2023 @ 12:00am

Mission: Mission 3: Mirrored Troubles
Location: USS Endurance | Main Shuttlebay

ON

Valentine was the first to arrive, aside from the shuttle pilots, a bit giddy about being in command of this away mission. She still wanted to touch up her lipstick and once poking her head inside the shuttle at, plucked a compact mirror from her pocket along with the cherry-red tube of sin and did that, then she decided to lean up against the hull, ticking the cosmetics away to see who arrived.

"Ma'am." This was PO2 Trent Bailey, a lower-decker than had been working in Lieutenant Commander Valentine's damage control team three. He was on duty shift and good with a spanner, so his superior had recommended him for the away mission. He was only a few second behind his department head, and to date had never actually interacted with her.

"Welcome umm..." Nyx's eyes defocused as she took in his face and tried to place it. It was somewhat familiar, he really was one of hers, but she'd seen him maybe once or twice in passing... She pinched her lips tightly together for a moment, then sighed, "I'm about to make an idiot of myself, P-O, but I'm lost as to who you are."

“Petty Officer Bailey, ma’am,” he answered, nonplussed by the response. “I work in Master Chief Benson’s team. EPS repairs and maintenance.”

"You're the one that rerouted the shields through subjunction Beta-Four when the port array went down." Nyx recalled the situation as if it were a crystal wine class with a particularly fine pinot noir, "I saw the after-action damage survey and the entire emitter array was cut off from both the primary and secondary feeds from the hit that took them out. Good work, P-O, but I'm trying to figure out how you got the system to accept the transfer queue, since the subjunction is a communications nexus more than anything else."

“We rerouted comms through Gamma-Twelve,” Trent replied. “That freed up the line without interfering with other systems, and the other subjunction could handle the load. It did burn out three capacitors, but only after the situation was over and the shields were brought offline.”

Ivan entered the shuttlebay, rifle slung across his back, stride resembling that of a Russian bear. 'Aye, been called worse,' he though to himself as he strode across the room making his way over the Valentine. "Commander," he said with his thick Russian accent.

Absinthe entered the shuttle bay silently, casting a glance around at the small group that had already gathered. Coming to a stop at the back of the group, she clasped her hands behind her back and remained silent, just observing.

Once everyone had assembled, the sound of rapidly approaching feet led the way as a young officer, barely out of the Academy came into view in the Shuttlebay.

An Ensign by rank, and in a command division uniform, the young officer came to Nyx, and braced to attention. "Commander, Ma'am. Ensign Bart Ramsey. I was assigned as liaison, and assistant." This was all uttered in a very rapid pace, his words almost tripping over themselves.

Nyx couldn’t help but smile brightly at the bright and obviously newly minted Ensign, then couldn’t help but snort in a bit of laughter, “Easy now, Bart, slow down a bit, we’re not leaving without you!” She reached out and patted and gently rubbed his shoulder, “Assistant and liaison, got it. Also a good chance to get some good experience on a relatively straightforward away mission, good for your development.”

"Yes ma'am, aye ma'am." Ramsey was excited to be on an Away Mission to an unknown wreck, and eager to get some hands-on experience.

The Shuttlebay announcer sounded. "Bridge to Away Team." Harding's voice came through, loud and clear. "Air Patrol has established a perimeter. Make launch. Be safe over there people."

"You heard the voice in the sky," Nyx announced, using her arms as if to herd the group, "Onto the shuttle, the lot of you! Ensign Dricalli, skids up in sixty seconds. I'd suggest we all get strapped in before he lifts off!"

Before boarding the shuttle Ivan noticed Absinthe standing in the back. He made his way over to here at the group started to board the shuttle and tossed her a phaser, "Here you go Ma'am. Tuned just the way you like it."


[ ANY FURTHER TAGS PRIOR TO LAUNCH ]


The shuttle took a slow path between the two ships. The pilot kept an eye on the proximity reading. The fighter patrol was still circling, and he didn't want a fly-by to become a collision. The wreck was ahead of them, some parts of the hull now recognizable. "Resembles a Luna-class." The pilot muttered, half to themselves, half to the party at large.

For his part, Ensign Ramsey was starring out one of the windows. He could just see one of the fighter craft pacing the shuttle. "Cool." The young man breathed, relishing in the feeling of being on an actual Away Mission, to an abandoned mystery wreck, no less! It was all very exciting. At the pilot's words, his head snapped around. "Luna? As in the Titan?"

"Same class." The pilot confirmed. "Though I doubt it's them. Last rumored report said the Titan ain't been anywhere near here." The short range sensors kicked in once they got close enough, and he looked over the remains of the ship. "Commander? Getting some readings now. Main shuttle bay is vented to space. I got scans on a pressurised cargo bay. Power's been out for awhile, so air purifiers won't have been working. Readings say it's breathable, but might be rather unpleasant."

Absinthe shook her head slightly, an uneasy feeling settling over her as she took in the details. "I would recommend EV suits regardless," she stated softly. 'Just to be on the safe side until we know what we're dealing with."

Luna-class. Nyx closed her eyes as she ran through one set of schematics through her memory after another before coming across the right set, but it had been so long... "Um..." Okay, shuttlebay would be one deck above the secondary life support systems, where were those cargo holds? Oh! Her eyes opened and all but glowed, "The cargo holds are right above main Life Support!" She glanced around and realized that she was being watched by everyone, "But we may need to try to one of the backup fusion generators running first. I'd be willing to risk rebreathers only, but you're right Lieutenant Harper, better safe than sorry. EV suits everyone, then we'll transport in. Once we can get life support up and running again, we may be able to ditch the suits."

A crew chief - in actuality, a Senior Chief Petty Officer of the flight division - had come along to ensure the safe and secure stowage of the team's gear. It was this NCO that started pulling the EVsuits from the storage lockers. There was always a supply, one for each of the maximum capacity of the shuttle, exactly as regulations prescribed. It took roughly five minutes, and the chief made one final walk around the team, checking air flow, and pressure seals. Finally satisfied, the chief announced that the team was all set.

"If you'd step into my parlour, ladies and gentlemen." A gesture to the shuttle's transporter. "I can only send four at a time. Commander?"

Absinthe grimaced as she stepped forward to the transporter. "Alright, let's get this over and done with," she muttered.

The Chief watched as the members of the Away Team each transported over to the wreck. "Transport complete." He announced to the pilot.

The officer at helm activated a comm signal. "Commander Valentine. Can you hear me, ma'am?"

To Be Continued...

OFF

Starring as NPC's