Lt. Taelon - The First Waves
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armiece
Dec 5, 2025, 7:18:16 PM (2 days ago) Dec 5
to Amity Outpost – StarBase 118 Star Trek PBEM RPG
((SRC Level 18, Deep Space Imaging))
He’d asked after the station’s armament, half-idly and half thinking of a way to use them. Shockwaves in space were interesting things, and could sometimes be countered by similar forces…maybe.
Taelon: No, I - just a thought. What do the scans look like, Varati? Galanis?
Varati: ::to Taelon:: One of the buoys , AM0725, was still able to evaluate the recordings and scanner data from drone DSI87-5R and perform a Magneton scan. Within grid square L9, two minimal fractures were detected near a strong energy field. However, since two further energy hotspots are located outside this center, it is quite possible that these are only temporary cracks caused by the interplay of the massive magnetic fields and the associated synchrotron radiation. ::pause:: Even more... the mobile terminal is really slow.
He nodded. She was diligently watching the consoles, and he appreciated that as the information flow threatened to be overwhelming. They could know so many things, but time was ticking down to use that knowledge rather than simply understand the storm that’d killed them.
Galanis: Response
Barberra: Sirs, with your permission, I’d like to get this gravsled to the train system before it shuts down, and to temporary Ops. I’ll make sure they set up an area for science consoles.
Taelon nodded, once. They didn’t have more time to dilly-dally.
Taelon: Granted.
Varati: ::in thoughts:: Yes… there is not a moment to lose! Hopefully these “voles” don’t cut any important connections…
Galanis: Response
She started to pull the sled towards the door when it slid open. Taelon turned to see what was happening right as the station’s Commander nearly ran right into Barberra and the gravsled.
Ukinix: Woah.
Barbera: Commander look out---
The sled hit the doorframe with a bang.
Ukinix: Sorry.
Barberra: ::Palms up:: No harm, no foul, I got it.
She started putting the fallen cargo back onto the sled as Wil hurried from the door to the console platform.
Ukinix: Report, everyone?
Taelon took a breath.
Taelon: The storm is a neutron storm, a shockwave-type, most likely having picked up material from nebulas and other stellar features. It’s, um, high in gamma radiation and the first wavefronts will hit in less than 5 minutes. Most worrying is the subspace fractures we’ve detected, as well as several objects in the second wavefront. It’s going to hit us hard.
Varati: Aye… As Lt. Taelon reported, we are still trying to determine whether these are purely temporary fractures and what lies behind these other anomalies. It's hard to imagine anyone "hiding" in such a storm. The danger of being destroyed by a level 5 neutron storm is far greater than the chance of sneaking up on us undetected. oO and hopefully no time-travellers aboard the HMS Bounty… Oo If I remember Professor Gaßner's lecture correctly, Quark- or Hyperon stars could also form there. But in that case... Wait, argh, my terminal is really slow today! Is it Update-Wednesday?
Galanis: Response
Ukinix: Bloody hell. ::inhales through grimaced teeth, crosses arms:: Well, we can ready weapons, but that will take power draw away from other systems. We’d better talk to Commander Rosek-Skyfire, it might change our systems profile a bit.
Taelon wasn’t sure, yet, that the anomalies were ships, or objects, or…well, whatever they were. Nor did he really have a recommendation he was confident in.
Varati: Uh, well, maybe we need torpedoes not to hit the fractures, but to shoot the energy spots and cause the energy levels of the fermions there to "tip over," so that they transform into bosons, creating a "Runaway" and allowing the neutrons to relax and decay normally within 15-30 minutes!?
Taelon: Well - if that’d work...I was more worried about… ::He trailed off and paused, considering her suggestion. Shooting a subspace fracture was too dangerous, in his mind, but -:: I was thinking we might be able to divert some of the wave with timed explosions. We don’t have a hope of diverting the storm as a whole, but we might force the worst of it into a wake around us. Maybe.
Galanis: Response
He’d not been paying much attention to Barberra - she was behind them, and his attention was on the consoles and that horrid image of the tiny, tiny blip they were with the monster storm closing in.
Barberra: Did you hear something? Like... a whisper?
Varati: Wait… What?! A whisper? No..?! I can only hear the faint whirring of the ventilation, the humming of the terminals... otherwise, one might already feel the slight vibrations of the storm when the dampers are no longer working at full capacity?
Taelon hadn’t heard anything, at least nothing out of place. Varati seemed to find the suggestion alarming, but if anything, Taelon was more confused and thrown off.
Taelon: Um, I didn’t, no…?
Galanis: Response
Barberra: Maybe it was one of the voles.
Ukinix: ::Surprised, incredulous:: Voles?! What?
So whatever was going on, he didn’t know. Taelon shook his head. Voles, at a time like this, seemed such a minor concern…
Varati: Commander Iko reported that a pack of Voles was apparently hiding somewhere and that they were currently trying to ‘neutralize’ them…
Taelon: They seem to be shooting then, from what we heard. They might, um, need your leadership, Commander.
It was a hesitant suggestion, but in looking at the monster storm that was headed their way, voles seemed such a minor problem he couldn’t imagine why the crew seemed so worried about them.
Galanis: Response
Varati: But if someone or something is still hiding behind the panels or in the Jefferies tubes, then we should sort this out immediately. We can't afford any more problems today -
She seemed agitated. Taelon, who hadn’t heard anything, frowned and looked around the room. Four minutes, or less, til the waves hit. If someone was hiding in the Jeffries tubes, or in the walls, they were on their own. The likelihood of them surviving the incoming gamma radiation if they weren’t on a shielded level was…low.
Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
Varati: Argh! That was to be expected... we don't have time for a recalibration now! ::to Annamae:: Where exactly did you hear this "whispering"?
Taelon: And, um, did anyone else hear anything…?
He looked at the other two questioningly.
Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
Varati: ::to Cmd. Ukinix:: Perhaps we really should focus on activating the torpedoes? Regardless of whether we are dealing with extraordinary energy fields or hidden dark forces. ::pause:: I have a couple of new drones down in the lab... they haven't really been tested yet, but we could still send them straight to the anomalies – after all, it's just metal and technology. If we can save lives with them, whether our own or others', then we should keep that option open, but we need to get them up here immediately before the lights go out!
Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
That’d work, in Taelon’s opinion. They didn’t have any more time to dither.
Taelon: Launch the drones, then, and let’s get the hell out of here…? ::He trailed off into a suggestion, then remembered and steeled himself.:: We need to go.
Varati/Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
Taelon: Varatri, launch your drones. We’ll take the console’s data and keep it running as long as we can. Barberra, get the sled to the train, and let’s get the hell out of here.
Three minutes. He was counting in his head, now, ARIA trailing after him.
Varati/Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
Taelon: Whoever is doing the whispering can either make themselves known, or deal with the gamma radiation. We don’t have - ::He struggled a moment. He did have the image of a lost child in his mind, a stranded engineer, but their reality was stark.:: We don’t have time to search for them.
Varati/Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
The very first, fast-moving shockwave washed over the station. These were quick but not powerful, but enough to make the station shake under their feet. Time was up for the science decks. Taelon cursed under his breath.
Taelon: Everyone to the train. Now!
Varati/Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
Lieutenant Taelon (Guest)
Science Officer
USS Gorkon
O239303T10
He’d asked after the station’s armament, half-idly and half thinking of a way to use them. Shockwaves in space were interesting things, and could sometimes be countered by similar forces…maybe.
Taelon: No, I - just a thought. What do the scans look like, Varati? Galanis?
Varati: ::to Taelon:: One of the buoys , AM0725, was still able to evaluate the recordings and scanner data from drone DSI87-5R and perform a Magneton scan. Within grid square L9, two minimal fractures were detected near a strong energy field. However, since two further energy hotspots are located outside this center, it is quite possible that these are only temporary cracks caused by the interplay of the massive magnetic fields and the associated synchrotron radiation. ::pause:: Even more... the mobile terminal is really slow.
He nodded. She was diligently watching the consoles, and he appreciated that as the information flow threatened to be overwhelming. They could know so many things, but time was ticking down to use that knowledge rather than simply understand the storm that’d killed them.
Galanis: Response
Barberra: Sirs, with your permission, I’d like to get this gravsled to the train system before it shuts down, and to temporary Ops. I’ll make sure they set up an area for science consoles.
Taelon nodded, once. They didn’t have more time to dilly-dally.
Taelon: Granted.
Varati: ::in thoughts:: Yes… there is not a moment to lose! Hopefully these “voles” don’t cut any important connections…
Galanis: Response
She started to pull the sled towards the door when it slid open. Taelon turned to see what was happening right as the station’s Commander nearly ran right into Barberra and the gravsled.
Ukinix: Woah.
Barbera: Commander look out---
The sled hit the doorframe with a bang.
Ukinix: Sorry.
Barberra: ::Palms up:: No harm, no foul, I got it.
She started putting the fallen cargo back onto the sled as Wil hurried from the door to the console platform.
Ukinix: Report, everyone?
Taelon took a breath.
Taelon: The storm is a neutron storm, a shockwave-type, most likely having picked up material from nebulas and other stellar features. It’s, um, high in gamma radiation and the first wavefronts will hit in less than 5 minutes. Most worrying is the subspace fractures we’ve detected, as well as several objects in the second wavefront. It’s going to hit us hard.
Varati: Aye… As Lt. Taelon reported, we are still trying to determine whether these are purely temporary fractures and what lies behind these other anomalies. It's hard to imagine anyone "hiding" in such a storm. The danger of being destroyed by a level 5 neutron storm is far greater than the chance of sneaking up on us undetected. oO and hopefully no time-travellers aboard the HMS Bounty… Oo If I remember Professor Gaßner's lecture correctly, Quark- or Hyperon stars could also form there. But in that case... Wait, argh, my terminal is really slow today! Is it Update-Wednesday?
Galanis: Response
Ukinix: Bloody hell. ::inhales through grimaced teeth, crosses arms:: Well, we can ready weapons, but that will take power draw away from other systems. We’d better talk to Commander Rosek-Skyfire, it might change our systems profile a bit.
Taelon wasn’t sure, yet, that the anomalies were ships, or objects, or…well, whatever they were. Nor did he really have a recommendation he was confident in.
Varati: Uh, well, maybe we need torpedoes not to hit the fractures, but to shoot the energy spots and cause the energy levels of the fermions there to "tip over," so that they transform into bosons, creating a "Runaway" and allowing the neutrons to relax and decay normally within 15-30 minutes!?
Taelon: Well - if that’d work...I was more worried about… ::He trailed off and paused, considering her suggestion. Shooting a subspace fracture was too dangerous, in his mind, but -:: I was thinking we might be able to divert some of the wave with timed explosions. We don’t have a hope of diverting the storm as a whole, but we might force the worst of it into a wake around us. Maybe.
Galanis: Response
He’d not been paying much attention to Barberra - she was behind them, and his attention was on the consoles and that horrid image of the tiny, tiny blip they were with the monster storm closing in.
Barberra: Did you hear something? Like... a whisper?
Varati: Wait… What?! A whisper? No..?! I can only hear the faint whirring of the ventilation, the humming of the terminals... otherwise, one might already feel the slight vibrations of the storm when the dampers are no longer working at full capacity?
Taelon hadn’t heard anything, at least nothing out of place. Varati seemed to find the suggestion alarming, but if anything, Taelon was more confused and thrown off.
Taelon: Um, I didn’t, no…?
Galanis: Response
Barberra: Maybe it was one of the voles.
Ukinix: ::Surprised, incredulous:: Voles?! What?
So whatever was going on, he didn’t know. Taelon shook his head. Voles, at a time like this, seemed such a minor concern…
Varati: Commander Iko reported that a pack of Voles was apparently hiding somewhere and that they were currently trying to ‘neutralize’ them…
Taelon: They seem to be shooting then, from what we heard. They might, um, need your leadership, Commander.
It was a hesitant suggestion, but in looking at the monster storm that was headed their way, voles seemed such a minor problem he couldn’t imagine why the crew seemed so worried about them.
Galanis: Response
Varati: But if someone or something is still hiding behind the panels or in the Jefferies tubes, then we should sort this out immediately. We can't afford any more problems today -
She seemed agitated. Taelon, who hadn’t heard anything, frowned and looked around the room. Four minutes, or less, til the waves hit. If someone was hiding in the Jeffries tubes, or in the walls, they were on their own. The likelihood of them surviving the incoming gamma radiation if they weren’t on a shielded level was…low.
Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
Varati: Argh! That was to be expected... we don't have time for a recalibration now! ::to Annamae:: Where exactly did you hear this "whispering"?
Taelon: And, um, did anyone else hear anything…?
He looked at the other two questioningly.
Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
Varati: ::to Cmd. Ukinix:: Perhaps we really should focus on activating the torpedoes? Regardless of whether we are dealing with extraordinary energy fields or hidden dark forces. ::pause:: I have a couple of new drones down in the lab... they haven't really been tested yet, but we could still send them straight to the anomalies – after all, it's just metal and technology. If we can save lives with them, whether our own or others', then we should keep that option open, but we need to get them up here immediately before the lights go out!
Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
That’d work, in Taelon’s opinion. They didn’t have any more time to dither.
Taelon: Launch the drones, then, and let’s get the hell out of here…? ::He trailed off into a suggestion, then remembered and steeled himself.:: We need to go.
Varati/Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
Taelon: Varatri, launch your drones. We’ll take the console’s data and keep it running as long as we can. Barberra, get the sled to the train, and let’s get the hell out of here.
Three minutes. He was counting in his head, now, ARIA trailing after him.
Varati/Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
Taelon: Whoever is doing the whispering can either make themselves known, or deal with the gamma radiation. We don’t have - ::He struggled a moment. He did have the image of a lost child in his mind, a stranded engineer, but their reality was stark.:: We don’t have time to search for them.
Varati/Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
The very first, fast-moving shockwave washed over the station. These were quick but not powerful, but enough to make the station shake under their feet. Time was up for the science decks. Taelon cursed under his breath.
Taelon: Everyone to the train. Now!
Varati/Galanis/Barberra/Ukinix: Response
Lieutenant Taelon (Guest)
Science Officer
USS Gorkon
O239303T10
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