Lt JG Imril - Those Meddling Kids
Chris Taylor
(( Cockpit - USS Perseus ))
Imril: Pinging transponder. Ship’s name is Utaalagarro. Grazerite registry.
Whether in response to Imril’s ping or not, the Utaalagarro suddenly swerved away. If it had been a shuttle or similar craft, Imril would have taken the move for a hasty overcorrection. But a solar sailor? For all they knew, it had hit a bad headwind. Either way, the vessel was behaving unpredictably, which made it hazardous.
K’Wara: It’s drifting pretty irregularly.
Imril: Quite the understatement.
K’Wara: Hm... Continue on our route, but keep it on sensors.
The instructor turned to their console, quickly getting in contact with the Spaceport above Rylor.
Imril continued towards the moon in silence. What extra attention they had to spare they directed towards the sensor readout of the fast-approaching vessel rather than on listening in to K’Wara’s conversation with the planetary authorities.
K’Wara: Well, according to the Spaceport staff, the solar yacht was taken out without their knowledge. Belongs to a Grazerite family that’s currently vacationing on the surface. ::smirks:: They sent over security footage.
They shared the footage with Imril, as they both watched a decent group of teenagers - Grazerites, Humans and more - sneak aboard the solar yacht, merry grins on their youthful faces.
How anybody thought they could get away with ‘borrowing’ a space-worthy vehicle unseen in this day and age boggled Imril’s mind. But maybe they were just acclimated to Starfleet’s abundance of security protocols. To their lifesigns being logged by at least five different computers and the officers who monitored them any time they passed through a shuttlebay door.
Imril: So the owners know where their ship is, but they aren’t calling the hounds on their kids. What’s the protocol?
Imril was presuming the joyriders were Rylor’s problem to deal with (or not), unless it specifically asked Starfleet for aid. But they likely knew less about such inter-jurisdiction legalities than an Operations Chief.
K’Wara: Response
K’Wara’s answer carried the pair closer to the moon. Closer to the other ship, enough so for it to become visible out the viewshield. Its course had in that time gone from irregular to a haphazard corkscrew of motion.
Imril: All that twisting about can’t be good on the sails.
K’Wara: Response
Suddenly, but not exactly surprisingly, the Utaalagarro lurched towards the shuttle. Its sails pulled taut by fierce stellar wind. Its haphazard course made it impossible to guess which way it was going from one moment to the next. But it was averaging out to be closer and closer to Imril and K’Wara’s vessel; the significantly smaller vessel.
Imril: =/\= Shuttlepod Perseus to Utaalagarro. You’ve just breached our traffic corridor. Please turn about. =/\=
As they spoke, Imril’s fingers raced over the controls. Working to buy more height and distance for the Perseus. Taking the shuttle past the bounds of their own corridor to do it.
K’Wara: Response
The other ship continued to juke and twirl and loom ever larger to port. Presently headed below the shuttle. The utter lack of response telling Imril that its underage crew either couldn't answer or were wasting precious time choosing a spokesperson. Because a ship full of teenagers certainly knew how to turn on the phone.
Female Voice: ::Terrified:: =/\= We can’t-- We can’t steer! The mizzenmast is jammed and we’ve snapped the gaffing-thing! We’re not in control! =/\=
Unidentifiable Voice: ::Indecipherable::
Female Voice: ::Spiteful:: =/\= You don't ‘got this’, Tarl! We need heeeeeeeeeeelp! =/\=
As the youngster screamed, the yacht took a forceful plunge forward and upwards. One of its forward masts now on a collision course with the Perseus.
K’Wara: Response
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant JG Imril
Engineering Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240110I12