Lieutenant JG Niev Galanis - Riders on the Storm
Niev Galanis
((Talon Class Scout Daintree – Space, Near the Trenvonn Border))
Galanis: Sir… if the disturbances continue to grow more unstable as we approach, it’s going to be very difficult to reach the Miombo - or vice versa - in the event one of the ships encounters trouble. I am a scientist, not an engineer, but becoming stranded in an area of space like this quickly runs into the field of physics over design.
Hopper: Flint – any signs that our warp field is affecting the stability of the subspace rift?
Flint: Anything’s possible, ma’am, but we’re operating at impulse only. Our warp field is practically nil.
Hopper: Practically nil is not the same as nil when we get into the realm of subatomic particle physics and interspatial field dynamics, Mr. Flint. Move us a little further off – preferably in the direction of the Miombo. We’ll rendezvous with them at a more stable distance.
Flint: Moving us away from the rift…
Shortrith: In the meantime, what would you like us to do?
Pressing their lips thin, Niev’s eyes flicked from the console and up at Robin. They were beginning to wonder just how close to the limits of ‘scouting’ the group was getting. Even the probes on the highest resolution were bumping up against the limits of the readings they could take, near useless glimpses of flat, filled out graphs scattered throughout their displays.
Hopper: Given what we can tell from our initial scans, what options do we have? Would a probe be able to breach the rift without collapsing or, worse, exploding it? Could it survive inside the corridor and transmit data back to us?
Shortrith: Possibly? I'm aware that we can't balance our safety on a 'possibly', but that's the best I can find right now.
To Niev’s surprise, Renaie then turned toward them.
Shortrith: Your thoughts, Lieutenant?
Galanis: …Would the rift survive external forces acting on it in such an unstable state? It’s impossible to say for sure. The chaos is just as likely to catastrophically collapse as it is to continue unimpeded. We’d need to find a particularly calm line of sight to have a hope of reading any data that came back out.
Flint: Hang on a tick. Ma’am – you should see this. ::Indicating his panel:: We’re receiving an encrypted message. Text only. It’s from the Miombo. Sending to your console now.
oO A silent communication? Oo
That brought Niev a very large, notable moment of pause. The reasons the Miombo might send a text-only message almost universally spelled bad news. Had they hit a particularly rough area of space? Were their normal communications down? Or perhaps…
Hopper: I guess we aren’t alone out here… Only it’s not the Trenvonn that have intercepted the Miombo, it’s the Turei – the, um, underspace ‘squatters’ as the Vaadwaur describe them. More or less. We know they use the underspace corridors, but aren’t as adept at maintaining them… That’s about all we know, actually. ::To the others:: Flint, hold position here. Niev, is there any indication we’ve been spotted or scanned? Shortrith – ::pause:: what are the odds of performing a successful emergency transport through the radiation and interference we’re experiencing?
…There it was. Another ship out here in the rough seas, looming out of the darkness. Of course it was another ship. Niev quickly turned back toward the console, flipping through readings, peering closely for any telltale spikes in electromagnetic fields.
Shortrith: Honestly? Quite low. The levels of radiation won't make things safe at all. If anything, it makes things more dangerous.
Galanis: No obvious signs of scanning, Commander. But that doesn’t preclude detection. If we’re dealing with a species familiar with Underspace mechanics, they may not need the strong spike in sensor strength to pierce through the interference we do.
Another spurt of communication came through this time, the brief period of silent messages apparently having passed. Niev did their best to stay focused on the task at hand while registering the new information.
Varati: =/\= OPs to Daintree, Miombo and Independence-B: Whoever receives it first: the scouts must get away from the vicinity of the subspace rift! Immediately! Part of the rift is on the verge of collapse! Get out of there! =/\=
Saavei: =/\= Saavei to Daintree, Ops indicating the rift on verge of collapse, they recommend we withdraw immediately =/\=
Shortrith: ::grimacing:: Looks like we have no choice.
Niev’s eyes widened in alarm, their head turning to look at the main console for a moment in surprise. A beat passed before their attention snapped back to the console and their fingers were flying as quickly as the Centauran could move them.
Galanis: There’s too much interference to confirm or clarify the readings beyond extreme intensity. These ships and probes aren’t equipped for this level of science. I highly recommend we take the warning seriously.
Hopper: Response
Shortrith: Where should we fall back to?
Galanis: We’re losing the luxury of choice. We may have to focus on getting where we can over where we want to be. The currents are… well, sirs, they are becoming extremely apparent.
Niev indicated the viewport ahead of them, where things weren’t looking quite so dark anymore. Distinctive, concentric waves of gasses and plasma ionized as they swirled off into eddies and dissolved into chaos. Niev was reminded of some of the most distinctive nebulae in the galaxy… and what had caused them. It was a distinct sign of the growing instability of an already inherently difficult to stabilize rift in spacetime.
Hopper: Response
Shortrith: Noted.
This time, the tremors through the ship were violent and deep - the kind Niev could feel in their teeth. The immediate area of space around them was becoming very hostile, very fast. Niev knew they all needed to think quickly, knitting their brow together and remembering the last time they were on a Talon scout in danger. That time, they’d relied on the best on the fly science they could manage… and it seemed like that had been just a warm up for this.
Hopper: Response
Galanis: Commander, I’m plotting the most dangerous areas over a map of our local space. I’ll make it available to Lieutenant Flint, but there will be some milliseconds of delay… which means relying otherwise on the pilot’s interpretation.
It was a rather fancy way of saying that David Flint was going to have to prove his worth at that console today.
Hopper/Shortrith: Response
Galanis: I’m not going to be able to monitor for other ships while I focus on this. Lieutenant Shortrith, are you seeing anything as we get closer to the Miombo?
Hopper/Shortrith: Response
As the ship moved, Niev tried to keep their breathing steady. Just watch the ebb and flow. Like the asteroid field. Like the ocean in the middle of a storm. The technology could handle the calculations the brain didn’t have time for. All Niev needed to do was pick out the most relevant data… and right now, there was one glaring spot. Highlighting it in pulsing red, Niev drew attention to two eddies that were about to collide in front of the ship.
Galanis: Look! There! We’ll be cut off from the Miombo if we can’t make that gap!
Hopper/Shortrith: Response
TAG/TBC…
