Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Iko -- I think we left Kansas hours ago and now we're closer to Lake Cullulleraine.
Rebecca Iko
Iko: Is Underspace… closing?
She looked between helm and the data on her console. While the gap was closing slowly. It was also, in some kind of way, chasing after them.
Rosek-Skyfire: Confirmed.
oO Great. Oo
Iko: Kaito?
Moore: Yeah, yeah, I see it.
Rosek-Skyfire: ::taps a series of commands into the console:: Rerouting auxiliary power to the maneuvering thrusters. This is going to be close.
Varati: Wait… What?! This is unexpected. We simply don't have the time right now to analyse this phenomenon…
Bec almost chuckled at the science officer’s very sciencey response. She was right, they didn’t have time to study it… let alone get away.
Bec tried to call their tour guide over comms to see if they had any idea what this was about.
Iko: =/\= What’s happening to the underspace behind us? =/\=
Rosek-Skyfire: At this rate, it’s going to take some fancy flying to get us out of this one.
She grimmaced, watching shrapnel and debris begin to be annihilated by the closing gap. It was like a whirlpool of the orange texture of the tunnels was spinning around trying to funnel everything in the corridor down the drain. And for the stuff that had been there for years, it was proving pretty successful.
Varati: It looks extraordinary when the room is simply compressed like that... unreal. Hopefully, such a collapse won't trigger too many pressure waves.
Bec shot a quick concerned look to D’Cyra. She hadn’t even thought of that.
Berapli: =/\= Response =/\=
Then sensors went off about something it had detected on the other side: A Vaadwaar ship—just barely in view of scans.
Iko: Good news—if we get cut off from behind us the Vaadwaar can’t follow. Bad news is the collapsing subspace corridor is still collapsing. And I can play with shields, but I don’t think it’ll do much.
As if to prove her point, a piece of debris that was several hundred years old and about the same size as the Yosemite started to violently crumble under the pressure of this collapsing corridor. It hadn’t seemed to be more than a few hundred meters away.
Moore: More good news, should the wave catch up to us… I suspect it will spit us out into real space, and our black box will survive… Granted, we will be closer acquainted than any of us want to be… really really acquainted, but the black box will survive, so that’s something.
Rosek-Skyfire: Let’s try to avoid that route, shall we?
Yeah, that didn’t sound like the worst idea in the world…
Varati: Now we're in subspace. And so are the Daintree. It seems we have no other option but to continue down this path if we don't want to be crushed as well. ::pause:: Whatever the Vaadwaur were planning, fate has dealt them and their depot a cruel blow; one less problem for us to worry about.
Berapli: =/\= Response =/\=
Bec looked forward, where they were coming to a crossroads; The next decision of their search. And if they picked the wrong path, Bec had a feeling they weren’t going to be able to come back and change their minds.
She turned to D’Cyra and Lael.
Iko: Please tell me we’re headed in the right direction…
Rosek-Skyfire: ::shakes her head:: It’s difficult to tell…but I think so.
That’d have to be good enough for now.
Varati: ::to Kaito & Lael:: The main thing is that you can keep the ship on a "steady" course for as long as possible. We need to get out of this chamber, or whatever it is, as quickly as possible. No idea how much else is collapsing… ::to Bec:: I hope that our own sensors in the second array will be ready for use immediately and that both particle fields will also function. Two velocity controls and one temperature control.
Iko: Have—
Moore: Hang on! I have to pull us out of the baffles! It’s going to get rough!
Rosek-Skyfire: The wave is right on our tail!
And it decided to give them a kick up the arse. Or send a shockwave at them suddenly that sent everyone in the Yosemite flying. Bec gripped onto the edge of her console and made sure she was only smacked into that and nothing else.
Varati: ::screams:: Ouch! Argh! $@#! ::other Orion curses:: … Ouch, that hurt...
From her position “hanging” off the console like it was monkey bars and on her toes in such a way that her knees were just barely off the ground, Bec stood back up and looked around the scout’s interior, assessing everyone else.
D’Cyra had hit her head, Kaito had been smart enough to strap himself in, and Commander Skyfire had so smoothly held onto her console that she seemed to stay upright. Which was probably incredibly lucky.
oO Seriously don’t understand why so many starfleet officers don’t take parental leave… Oo
She offered a hand to D’Cyra, to help her up. They were gonna need a science officer.
Moore: I guess, we’ll need to pick a direction sooner than later, but does anyone have an idea on how we can stop that collapse?
Everything had a chance of either stopping it or making it collapse faster.
Rosek-Skyfire: ::shakes her head:: We can try, but it could prove risky. ::to Varati:: Any ideas, Ensign?
D’Cyra stood up properly.
Varati: ::to Lael:: The devices appear to be undamaged, Commander. I'm starting the scan of the field sensors now – maybe it will work.
Iko: Fingers crossed…
Berapli: =/\= Response =/\=
Rosek-Skyfire: ::pauses:: Can we pull it off without exacerbating the tunnels’ collapse?
Kaito sent them on another bit of a spin as he barrel-rolled up and over the Turei ship.
Moore: Seems like all those times Blackwood told me to do a barrel roll paid off. You got something for me?
Rosek-Skyfire: ::taps a series of commands into the console:: Working on it. ::to the others:: Can we run a quick simulation? See what the odds are?
Varati: We simply have no knowledge of when and how the subspace corridors collapse. Even the Turei don't seem to have figured that out in hundreds of years. There are probably more or less stable passages, similar to open string ends between different branes. It's quite possible that the inner passages are more stable. And if something exploded here recently, it likely caused the weak structure to collapse.
D’Cyra rubbed her head. Bec was concerned about her, but that wasn’t something they could really worry about right now.
Iko: If we can get through the T-intersection hopefully that’ll slow it down.
Well, the T that really looked like a “Y”.
Berapli: =/\= Responses =/\=
Rosek-Skyfire: How’s it coming over there?
D’Cyra aimed down the left tunnel, and Bec held her breath and hoped nothing was going to collapse and/or dissipate.
Varati: A first attempt; I'll tell you in a moment whether I got any usable results at all.
Iko: Comforting.
They were almost at where the tunnels parted, though that wasn’t stopping the corridor.
Berapli: =/\= The paths around us seem stable for the moment. Best not to linger. =/\=
Moore: Response
Rosek-Skyfire: ::to Kaito:: Hold her steady. ::mutters:: May the odds be ever in our favor.
Varati: Okay, the sensors are at least now "detecting" the beacons with their own passive energy signature. But there's still too much debris around them to get a clear picture. Otherwise, the computer is just calculating the field differences... somewhat unfortunate with the shockwave behind us...
Iko: Just tell us what you do see.
Bec was getting frustrated. She pursed her lips and went back to looking at her own console.
Varati: Could you please somehow give me a little more time for a second attempt? I need to aim further into the corridors and hope that the shockwaves haven't yet destroyed the patterns and traces there.
Berapli: =/\= I have aided you thus far, but I will only wait upon you for so long. =/\=
Bec looked at Kaito.
Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Iko: ::to D’Cyra:: Be quick about it.
Bec stared at the incoming data, trying to see if there was any difference to help them pick, or if they were just going to have to guess.
Varati: Good, good, keep it up! I'm getting clean scans now!
Bec gritted her teeth in impatience.
Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Berapli: =/\= Tell me what route you wish to follow and I will accompany you. =/\=
Iko: Which way. Now.
Varati: Ok! Into the right tunnel! At 60 degree! There, different patterns are visible! A slight trace of "slowed-down" tachyons, or rather, with a smaller angle relative to the main flow. And, as if that weren't enough, the redshift! Let's follow the red thread!
Bec nodded, grabbing back onto her chair for the inevitable lurch.
Varati: The only question is, is it also the Daintree...?
Berapli: =/\= These paths should be calmer, now. The Vaadwaur may destabilize them, but there are still few among them who can do so. And not all their ships are so swift, or so sturdy as not to care.=/\=
Varati//Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: =/\= Response =/\=
Iko: =/\= Wait, so the Vaadwaur did that? =/\=
Berapli: =/\= They consider us vermin of a sort. Would you set your house alight to chase out a pest? =/\=
Bec was confident enough that she would not.
Varati/Iko/Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: =/\= Response =/\=
Berapli: =/\= Stay close. You can grapple to the Starshell if you must, if your vessel would survive it. =/\=
The Starshell just about came to a stop.
Iko: How’s our propulsion doing?
Varati/Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: =/\= Response =/\=
Berapli: Response
And then Bec realised something:
Iko: And, uhm. Where are we?
They had travelled a fair bit when the tunnel was closing in behind them. That energy had dissipated when it hit the intersection, and the way D’Cyra put the probes down the other tunnel must have directed the space that was chasing them there.
Of course, Bec wasn’t *just* asking these questions, she was looking for the answer too, and trying to see if D’Cyra’s red string was going to be helpful or not.
Varati/Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Berapli: =/\= Response? =/\=
Iko: Are we too far out to send a message to the Indy?
Varati/Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Berapli: =/\= Response? =/\=
She furrowed her brow.
Iko: … What do you mean they’re not there anymore?
Tag/TBC
Rebecca Iko
Varati: =/\= Fate has given us a moment... we shouldn't give them any reason to attack us. And as long as we're together, hopefully they'll refrain from whatever they want to do. =/\=
Varati/Iko/Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: =/\= Response =/\=
Berapli: =/\= Stay close. You can grapple to the Starshell if you must, if your vessel would survive it. =/\=
The Starshell just about came to a stop, showing their offer as well.
Varati: The SIF is stable, 87 percent. The second row of sensors is now also operating in subspace parameters. Well, at least I hope so.
Iko: How’s our propulsion doing?
Varati/Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: =/\= Response =/\=
Berapli: Response
And then Bec realised something:
Iko: And, uhm. Where are we?
They had travelled a fair bit when the tunnel was closing in behind them. That energy had dissipated when it hit the intersection, and the way D’Cyra put the probes down the other tunnel must have directed the space that was chasing them there.
Of course, Bec wasn’t *just* asking these questions, she was looking for the answer too, and trying to see if D’Cyra’s red string was going to be helpful or not.
Varati/Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Varati: ::sighs:: Let's follow the tachyon trail... we have no other choice at the moment. I just hope the energy beams don't drain too much power from our shields and thrusters in the long run...
Berapli: =/\= Response? =/\=
Iko: Are we too far out to send a message to the Indy?
Varati/Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Varati: I'm not sure what that is; it could be another Starfleet signature? Has the Indy also transitioned to subspace yet? ::to Bec & Kaito:: Do you have any data or calls about that? ::to Lael:: I'm focusing on tracking down the Daintree for now; they have to be somewhere. ::pause:: What do we say to Berapli? She certainly won't help us forever, will she? I can't quite make sense of her behavior... do the Turei also need help, or simply allies against the Vaadwaur? Vermin and plague – those are harsh terms.
Berapli: =/\= Response? =/\=
Varati/Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
She furrowed her brow, and unless someone else was asking the same thing, Bec muttered to herself and the computer in shock about how trying to get ahold of the indy didn’t seem to go through.
Iko: … What do you mean they’re not there anymore?
Tag/TBC