Lieutenant JG Renaie Shortrith - Stability

[Renaie Shortrith]

((Talon Class Scout Daintree – Space, Near the Trenvonn Border))

Shortrith: Hmm… I guess we'll see soon enough.

oO This in a way is experimental… Glad I'm a blue shirt of sorts. All the experimenting minus the people being at risk of conditions. Oo

Hopper: That’s the spirit.

Galanis: Sirs, the Miombo appears to be moving in to intercept the debris. They’re likely looking to find out more with a detailed material analysis. I recommend we continue ahead with investigating the origin point to spread our attention efficiently, sir.

Shortrith: If we spread out, we'll be able to get a wider perspective, right?

oO Or something like that. Oo

Hopper: Two heads are often better than one, but only one set of eyes can look through a microscope at a time. I’m sure Commander Taelon is thinking roughly the same thing. Let’s just focus on.. ::pointing towards the dark splotch on the screen:: ..that thing.

If Renaie was honest, they felt a little out of their depth. They'd never discussed Underspace before, especially not through their lens, and how they viewed things.

Galanis: These readings are… unsettling. Lieutenant Shortrith, exactly how dangerous can exposure to Underspace be?

Shortrith: I can't find anything to state the danger, but I'd be alert anyway- especially if this is unknown to the Federation or its allies.

Typically, they were more oriented in analysing known risks, or figuring some out for something they had known before. They'd need some time to properly read up about Underspace to analyse the risk properly.

Hopper: ::To Shortrith:: Starfleet’s experience with underspace is limited, but the last time we got a good look into one of those corridors, USS Voyager recorded a lot of junk and debris, and unstable interactions with their warp field… It’s been almost forty years since that data was recorded. I think it’s reasonable to say whatever risks there were in travelling underspace then may well have increased during that time.

oO Thank you, I didn't know that. Oo

Galanis: That darker region of space Lieutenant Shortrith pointed out - the strongest point of that crease-like spatial anomaly - is likely where the objects exited Underspace. With enough data, it could be possible to start building a recognizable profile for Underspace tunnel activity. Commander Hopper, are vessels known to have unique emissions when travelling through subspace, like warp signatures?

Hopper: Unfortunately, Lieutenant, I’m not sure. From what we know, it may be possible to engage in stable warp travel within an underspace corridor, if you know the proper techniques. We also know that doing so comes with risks… Depending on how a vessel navigates the corridor it’s likely to leave behind traces of its propulsion systems if nothing else – but, then, of course, those traces would be layered within the underspace corridor itself. It’d be like trying to figure out what sort of cheese was inside a burrito that had already been wrapped up and cooked.

Shortrith: I see what you mean, but could the structural stability of the Underspace current be compromised with closer proximity?

oO I hope I'm making sense, I could be spouting nonsense here. Space isn't my department. Space medicine is. Oo

Galanis: I’m not sure it’s the stability of the Underspace currents we’ll need to be worried about…

Hopper: You’re both right. Underspace corridors are notoriously unstable if mishandled. We know, in past encounters, the Vaadwaur have used stabilizing devices to maintain open entrances to their corridors – and that it’s possible to collapse them relatively easily. Consider the region of space we’re in, these may be particularly unstable corridors we’re talking about – and depending on the manner of collapse, we could be looking at some sort of ripple or cascading effect emanating from the collapse.

Renaie frowned. The team was, essentially, playing with a bomb. A very volatile bomb. One that they didn't know when, where, or if it would explode.

Shortrith: Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't the point at which the objects exited the underspace be the most volatile?

Galanis: Possibly. It depends on a lot of environmental variables. There’s a possibility the initial exit point could be calming by now - like the wake of a ship versus the disturbance from entering the water, for example. But that only spreads the potential for danger around.

Commander Hopper nodded, then snapped her fingers.

Hopper: Ah! Right. We also know that the entrances to active underspace corridors, since they are essentially controlled rifts between subspace and normal space, emit tetryon radiation. Due to the processes implemented by the Vaadwaur to activate them, these emissions are slowed to… ::trying to remember the exact numbers and failing:: …well they’re slower than usual. This could make them a little less lethal than usual, but it also makes them harder to detect.

Shortrith: I see… ::allowing themself a small chuckle:: That's one risk to add to the list.

Galanis: I find it easier to think of it more as a catalog than a list.

As Renaie was watching their scans, the comms of the Daintree crackled to life.

Taelon: =/\= Miombo to Daintree. We’ve retrieved wreckage we believe originated from the breach. Ensign Saavei and Doctor Orrey confirm it’s of, um, Vaadwuar origin. As are the - ::He paused, considering his words.:: As are the physical remains found amid the debris. They’ve also found some indication of on-board disruptor fire. =/\=

oO Disruptor fire? Oo Renaie's eyebrows ascended like a boulderer up a wall.

Hopper: =/\= Disruptor fire? ::Pause, thinking:: Well, we’re really racking up a list – or, um, a catalogue of risks over here. We’ve found a spatial rift that may be a semi-collapsed entrance to an underspace corridor near our present location. That’d be consistent with your findings, Miombo. =/\=

Taelon: =/\= Aye, we’ll join you at the disturbance shortly. Be careful. Miombo out. =/\=

oO People I haven't met. I'll figure stuff out on the fly. Oo

Galanis: Are these Talon scouts rated for operation around an Underspace corridor like this? …Are there even operational standards for that context?

Flint: ::Grumbling:: No, there aren’t.

Hopper: There are never operational standards until we understand a phenomena sufficiently to create those standards. Pros and cons, Lieutenants, as usual. On the one hand, we have significantly less hull plating, weaker shields, and less powerful engines than a larger starship has – on the other hand, we also have less mass to move around and significantly smaller warp bubble geometry, which means we’re less likely to bump into something we don’t want to.

Renaie exhaled slowly.

Hopper: Lieutenants, adjust your long-range scans to look for tetryon radiation in lower frequency bandwidths. They’ll be sublight, if they’re there at all – though that still leaves a wide range to cross-reference. I want to know if our shielding and hull plating can sufficiently mitigate the risks given their reduced velocity.

After a moment, Renaie glanced up to the rift, and paused. What was happening to the phenomena? Was it changing? Was it growing more unstable? Were more risks emerging, getting added to the catalogue of risk they already had?

Hopper: Okay, the Miombo should be here any minute now – what’s the dealio? Have we found conclusive evidence that this is an underspace corridor after all? What’s our risk factor staying in the vicinity and, uhh, ‘poking at it’ – for lack of a better term.

In this instance, that likely meant sending in more probes.

Shortrith: The standard risks of an unknown anomaly. I'd recommend taking extra care.

Galanis: I recommend we bring on our short range sensors to full power as well, Commander. If they’ve detected indications of a battle, something else may be out here. The aggressors. Survivors. Lieutenant Shortrith - looking at this data, some of it exhibits similarity to tetryonic radiation. Do you think treating exposure similarly might work?

Hopper: Given the circumstances, I’m inclined to think ‘similarity to tetryonic radiation’ is close enough to figure that’s our ‘slowed down tetryons’ alright… It’s a form of subatomic particle radiation. At these speeds, what sort of concentrations could we withstand?

oO I'm not an astrophysicist, but I can try to figure it out as an estimate. Oo

Shortrith: I'd assume so. ::pausing to think:: With the knowledge I have, I'd like to think it'd take a moderate amount.

oO Take what I say with a grain of salt. Oo

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 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?

Galanis: Response

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?

That was the thing. Renaie wasn't sure.

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.

Renaie turned to Lieutenant Galanis.

Shortrith: Your thoughts, Lieutenant?

Galanis: Response

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.

Renaie kept their eyes on their console, ignoring the temptation to see what the message was. Commander Hopper would say anything if this was important.

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?

Shortrith: Honestly? Quite low. The levels of radiation won't make things safe at all. If anything, it makes things more dangerous.

Galanis: Response

Renaie went silent as the Daintree's comms came alive once again.

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! =/\=

oO What? Oo

Not too long after, the comms chirped again.

Saavei: =/\= Saavei to Daintree, Ops indicating the rift on verge of collapse, they recommend we withdraw immediately =/\=

Renaie turned to the others.

Shortrith: ::grimacing:: Looks like we have no choice.

Hopper/Galanis: Response

Glancing down to their console, they tried to figure out where was safe to avoid the collapse.

Shortrith: Where should we fall back to?

Hopper/Galanis: Response

Shortrith: Noted.

Hopper/Galanis: Response

[Tags/TBC]

==

Lieutenant JG Renaie Shortrith, MD

Acting Chief Medical Officer

USS Ronin

They/Them (Player and character)

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