Lt. Cmdr Robin Hopper: Hide & Seek
Robin Hopper
((Amity Shuttlebay Section Beta – 0600 hours))
Robin approached the shuttle armed with a rare and formidable weapon – a bold coffee, brewed extra-strong, though she had sensibly tempered its bitter intensity with two creams, two sugars (in the Canadian fashion she’d learned from Lieutenant Reade.)
She had been… preoccupied… the prior evening and nearly forgotten about Commander Ukinix’ last-minute plan to perform a survey in a nearby sector early that morning. Needless to say, she’d woken up tired, sore, and with little motivation to drag herself out of bed and into a uniform. But, duty calls. So, out of bed she had gotten, a uniform she had donned, and a strong coffee she had replicated, despite her typical aversion to the stuff.
As she approached the Daintree’, she could almost swear she heard music emanating from its open hatch. She tried to place it, but couldn’t – at least, not distorted by the distance and distinctly un-musical resonance of the shuttlebay – but found herself drawn toward it anyways. A small smile found its way onto her face as she recalled the last time she and Wil had worked together closely, though that had been aboard a much more impressive ship. A love of music was something they had in common, she recalled, though their tastes differed somewhat.
Ukinix: ::singing quietly:: Oh, and I-swear it’s true, I-was-just-about-to-say-
Hopper: ::Leaning in through the hatch:: Meatloaf, commander? ::Smirking:: For breakfast? Weird choice.
She chuckled quietly to herself.
Ukinix: Hey, come in! ::Tongue in cheek:: Not too early for you, is it?
Taking his offer, she pulled herself into the shuttle and pressed the controls to shut the hatch behind her, pretty certain nobody else was scheduled to join them. Or, if they had, they’d probably thought better of it and opted to stay in their bunks.
Hopper: Early? Nooo… ::Small yawn:: Late if anything. ::Wry smile:: I’m not even usually in bed yet by 0600.
She took a long sip from her stainless steel coffee mug for added emphasis.
Ukinix: I said 0600 because we’ve a long day trip ahead of us. That way we can get back by twenty-three-hundred hours tonight hopefully.
Robin lowered her mug slightly, her eyelids drooping slightly at the thought of being awake for the next 17 hours. After a moment, she shook her head vigorously and made her way to the replicator, ensuring it was functioning.
Hopper: ::Pressing a few buttons:: I’ll schedule my stimulant injection schedule accordingly.
She turned back to Wil, made her way forward in the shuttle, and plopped herself unceremoniously in the seat across from him, leaning an elbow on the nearest terminal and propping her head up with the support of her fist. The other hand held her coffee, which was already beginning to feel a little light.
Hopper: So. You meant it when you said “a full day activity”. ::Eyebrows raised:: What exactly did you have in mind? ::Slight head tilt:: And why the secrecy?
Ukinix: The details of what this is about was classified by the computer, which is why I couldn’t tell you – I think there’s a bit of panic from the Starfleet algorithms after the whole – you know – Parallax thingo.
She pursed her lips at the mention, but nodded all the same.
Ukinix: Personally I think this has nothing to do with the anomaly the Targhee fell through, but ::shrug:: I’m not a computer designed to make decisions on behalf of Starfleet command due to the communications lag with Earth, so here we are.
Hopper: So, there’s… another anomaly? ::Beleagured chuckle:: Maybe it’ll take us back in time to when I applied to the Academy. I can warn myself that I’ll be working on Delta Quadrant spatial anomalies ‘til I retire… ::Considering:: Nah, that’d probably just encourage me.
On the console, Wil pulled up a diagram of a star system located in the Barossa nebula – “Fana 2977-B”. Robin quit joking around, and took a serious hard look at the information being presented to her, the cogs in her head moving a little slower than usual – but still turning, thanks to the regular use and maintenance.
Ukinix: ::pointing at feature:: Long range scans detected that thing on the outside of the system 4 days ago. It’s apparently a radio pulsar that appeared out of nowhere, for a couple of seconds, and then ::clicking fingers:: just vanished.
Hopper: ::Incredulous:: A pulsar? Appeared and disappeared? That’s… highly unusual, to say the least. ::Slowly shaking her head:: There’s no way this is related to the rifts we’re seeing in the Nuriootpa nebula. Nothing on that scale’s been produced – and our going theory is that warp field manipulations are to blame… Did you take a measure of the star?
Ukinix: Two point two five solar masses. ::Quick raise of eyebrows::
Hopper: Too massive to be scooped up in a few seconds by a quantum singularity. And I’m guessing, since I’ve never heard of it before, this isn’t a highly-trafficked system. ::Pointing to the display:: This looks like a pretty barebones system diagram.
Ukinix: We don’t know much about the system; on top of the standard interference from the nebula, it hasn’t been surveyed yet.
She nodded. All the same, if a singularity appropriately-scaled to absorb a neutron star were there, their long-range scans would definitely detect that.
Ukinix: I picked us to do it because we haven’t worked together lately. Thought we could share a few stories and a few laughs while we do something fairly routine. ::Lifting finger for a moment:: Plus, I know you and I share the same interest in Earth music from a similar era ::tapping console::, albeit different genres, could be fun to share some of our favourite tunes.
That at least sounded quite agreeable. Robin loved a good “road trip” – when one had the proper accompaniment. As one song faded into the next, her ears perked up. Blondie’s Heart of Glass seemed to be next. A little more eighties – but it was definitely still disco.
Hopper: Alright, I’m in. ::Swinging round in her seat to face her terminal, setting the coffee mug down:: Who’s driving?
Ukinix: You take helm, Robin, I’ll take engineering and DJ duties.
She smiled to herself as she adjusted the layout of the terminal’s digital display to a helm/com/ops orientation - humming the tune to the song as she worked. It had been a while since she’d found herself in the “pilot’s seat”, but she’d received a solid B+ in her runabout and shuttle training courses back the academy and her handful of experiences since had proven satisfyingly uneventful.
The same, she had heard, could not necessarily be said for Wil’s flying – though she lamented she’d yet to see it firsthand.
Hopper: ::Tapping console:: =/\= This is the shuttle Daintree, seeking clearance for departure. =/\=
Ch’urro: =/\= Daintree, you’re clear to leave the station. =/\=
As Hopper performed the standard maneuvers that would lift the shuttle up, away from the floor, and slowly out towards the space beyond, she spoke.
Hopper: Alright, I’m laying in a preliminary impulse course that should take us through local space while observing current restrictions and guidelines. Once we’ve passed the area of concern, I’ll take us to warp.
Ukinix: Response
Hopper: ::Nod:: Let’s boogie.
The Talon Class Scout rose gracefully and sailed out from Amity’s shuttlebay until it had reached a safe distance to initiate the impulse engines. Entering the necessary coordinates and activating the drive, Robin looked over to Wil, her voice tinged with curiosity.
Hopper: So – you got any theories? About our disappearing star?
Ukinix: Response
She leaned back in her seat, waiting until they had successfully cleared the anomalous regions around Amity before taking the vessel to warp.
Hopper: I assume you looked through the database for precedents already? The only similar phenomenon I can think of off the top of my head is Meridian – sole planet in the Trialus system. It cycles through regular space briefly every sixty years or so. Have you heard of it?
Ukinix: Response
Robin crossed her arms, trying to work something out in her mind.
Hopper: Of course, if it were something like that, we’d be seeing a significant build-up of quantum energy, tachyon emissions, and gravimetric disturbances in the system... ::Scrunching her mouth up to the side before eventually sighing:: … I guess we’ll just have to take a closer look.
Ukinix: Response
Hopper: So – I believe you said something about stories? Laughs? ::Smile:: I take it you have some to share?
Ukinix: Response
TBC
