Lt. Robin Hopper: Get Down On It
Robin Hopper
((Bridge, USS Jemison))
As the commline to the Halsey closed, Hopper returned the mug to her cup holder and stood, stepping forward to stand beside Wil, hands on her hips. Looking out on the purple Nuriootpa Solar Nebula surrounding them, she put forth the first of many decisions that would need to be made.
Hopper: So, what are you thinking? We can try to race the clock… The Kitty Hawk’s the fastest ship of the bunch – by a decent margin. But if we get ahead of ourselves, we may find ourselves ‘in the thick’ of something without backup…
She swiveled at the sound of Nathan’s voice, looking over her shoulder.
Richards: Commander MacKenzie was right, though. We do have one of the most maneuverable starships. Even if we do run into any issues when we arrive, we have the speed, agility, and firepower to hold our own until the rest of the team arrives.
Wil nodded in agreement – but Hopper couldn’t help but feel that wasn’t entirely sufficient. oO Not all problems can be solved with firepower. Oo
She glanced at Nadeshiko, serving as their ‘science officer’ for the mission after completing her civilian certification program. Typically, it might have taken someone months to prepare for the training – clearly, Nadeshiko had not needed the time. It also seemed that she was on the same page as Hopper.
Nadeshiko: Depending if it is a fight that awaits us. There are other possibilities with the information we have.
oO Exactly. Oo
Hopper: ::To Nadeshiko:: Are long range sensors picking anything up?
Nadeshiko: Some sensor echoes due to benamite field interference. Analysis suggests at this point that resolution is too poor to be sure, but no sign of anything anomalous.
Richards: ::Drumming fingers on the edge of his console:: Nothing we can’t handle…
Ukinix: Not yet.
The Commander seemed to have tempered his confidence, which Hopper took as sufficient. As long as they weren’t dropping out of warp expecting to fight the asteroid, they stood a good chance of sorting out whatever awaited them.
Hopper: ::To Ukinix:: Your call, Commander.
Ukinix: Yeah, let’s set controls for the heart of the sun - almost. ::To David:: Lieutenant Flint, plot a course to have us arrive from warp around two-point-five million k’s from the asteroid. ::To Hopper:: Hopper, let the others know. ::To Nathan:: Ensi-
Wil blushed as he cut himself off. He frowned momentarily as he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the fingers of his right hand, then exhaled in exasperation.
Ukinix: ::Under his breath, to himself:: *Idiot*. ::Taking a big breath, before looking at Nathan again with a small smile:: *Lieutenant* Richards, who has thoroughly earned that extra pip and should be shown the respect you deserve as I mentioned before about pips, prepare the shield systems, sensor systems, and any other systems for effects from the Benamite field interference.
Robin gave Wil a friendly pat on the arm and then turned back towards her chair – taking a seat and once again working on her holographic terminal, relaying the orders and upcoming departure plan to awaiting department heads and the Hirogen escort.
Richards: Understood. Engineering ready.
Ukinix: And I owe you a meal, several pints and a karaoke song of your choice when this is all over.
Richards: Response?
Ukinix: Nadeshiko, keep an eye on sensors, and account for the field interference as best you can.
Nadeshiko: Aye, sir. As we near, it'll take more and more computer power to do so, however.
Ukinix: Looks like we’re ready to go.
Hopper nodded to the Commander.
Hopper: I’ve got green lights across the board. The Hirogen are ready. ::Smirk:: If we do end up relying on firepower, I think we can expect they’ll be more than happy to play cavalry while we conduct our rescue op.
Richards: Let’s kick the tires and light the fires.
Both Robin and Wil turned to face Nathan with an amused glance.
Ukinix: Kick the what and what to where?
Hopper: ::Jokingly:: I don’t remember burning tires in the Intrepid’s refit schematics, Lieutenant.
Richards: ::Smiling:: I’ve always wanted to say that. Don’t know why I haven't before now. ::Shrugging::
Hopper: ::Fondly:: You’re so weird. ::Back to Ukinix:: Ready to see what’s out there?
Ukinix took his chair as well. Hopper couldn’t help but feel a well of mixed emotions come over her as the significance of it all washed over her – not only for herself, but for galactic civilization. Nearly thirty years after Voyager was stranded here, an untraversable distance from home, the Federation was back – and turning old enemies into friends. And she was right there, on the Bridge, watching that history unfold. It was profoundly moving.
She took a small controlled breath between pursed lips – something Wil must have noticed.
Ukinix: ::To Robin:: We good to go?
Hopper: ::Turning to him:: Oh yeah.
Ukinix: Well then. Let’s… ::adapting Richard’s earlier saying:: kick the nacelles and go straight to… hell? Hmm, that needs some work. “Engage”, Lieutenant Flint, maximum warp.
Flint: ::Slight tilt of head:: Aye, sir. Maximum warp… Straight to hell.
As the ship began to move, the nacelles rising into position to initiate warp, Ukinix activated the ‘rearview mirror’ and gave them a view of the ship’s propulsion systems activating – just in time for them to speed off through the stars towards their destination.
Ukinix: ::Playfully, exaggerated accent:: “Noice”. ::To Robin:: Lieutenant, send a message to the rest of the group including the Hirogen, and inform them of our expected ETA. We’ll send a status report when we get there.
Hopper: I’ll activate a telemetry feed – keep them actively apprised of our progress, and request same. It’d be good to know how far ‘behind us’ the rest of ‘em are. Lieutenant Flint, copying the flight plan from the conn – let me know if we make any adjustments that affect our arrival time.
Flint: Yes ma’am.
She thought, for a moment, about advising him against calling her “ma’am”... But somehow, it didn’t feel right for him to call her “Robin” – not aboard this ship. Not in this seat, or this uniform. Instead, she just nodded. oO Yes… Yes, that feels right. Oo
Standing, Hopper made her way briefly around the bridge, checking in on the various stations. As she passed the science terminal, she commented to Nadeshiko…
Hopper: ::To Nadeshiko:: Let’s see what we can glean about that interference over the next hour while we make our way there. For the time being, we can spare the computational power – but we may need it once we arrive. Ideally, I’d like to know if an emergency transport could be possible, in a pinch.
Nadeshiko: Response?
Continuing past Richards, she looked over his shoulder and spoke as well…
Hopper: ::To Richards:: Free up whatever power you can from non-essential systems and reroute what you can to central processing and long-range sensors. Hopefully we can avoid flying completely blind.
Richards: Response?
Hopper: ::Raising her eyebrows:: First a promotion, now dinner and drinks with the Starfleet Attaché. ::Chuckling:: Don’t go getting ahead of me…
((Approaching Mining Rig “Epsilon” – about 80 minutes later…))
Despite their best efforts, the data yield was minimal. Whatever damage the mining rig had sustained, it was clearly producing a significant amount of interfering radiation – which did not bode well for standard rescue operation procedures. They were definitely going to have to play ‘damage control’ when they arrived, and a significant effort may need to be mounted to ‘mop up’ the surrounding area. Benamite radiation was no joke… Robin was thankful that this was only a simulation, but the possibility of catastrophic failure at one of the mining facilities was one that they should be prepared for.
With little else to go on until they arrived, the bridge chatter had taken a few interesting turns.
Ukinix: Pineapple on pizza is an abomination. They should beam those pizzas out into space.
Nadeshiko: I was under the impression that many people find the contrast of sweet to the taste of the tomato paste appealing.
Hopper: Yes, yes. Exactly. But of course, there’s no accounting for taste. ::A cheeky look at Ukinix:: Perhaps the Commander would prefer vegemite on his pizza?
Richards: Response
Flint: Vegemite’s not so different from cheese, really. It’s savoury. But pineapple on a mediterranean flatbread…? You’ve got to admit it’s rather out of place.
Ukinix: I dunno, ::shrug:: It’s a dessert fruit, what’s it doing there?
Nadeshiko: People add locusts to pizza. I was under the impression almost any topping could be added.
Robin smiled. She could always count on Nadeshiko to add something interesting to any conversation – often something quite unexpected.
Flint: Bloody hell.
Hopper: Pineapple not sounding so bad anymore, Mr. Flint?
Richards: Response
Ukinix: Nah, it’s because-
The sound of numerous consoles beeping intently at their minders suddenly brought an end to the discussion – for now – as everyone readied themselves to drop out of warp. The Mining Rig was near now, within impulse range. Hopper relayed a message to the rest of their group – the Jemison was about to arrive. Status report to follow.
Ukinix: Yellow alert.
As the ship’s systems initiated Yellow Alert status, the LCARS displays brightened and an audible hum indicated the automated redistribution of power to assure shipwide readiness for whatever threat or phenomena awaited them. With his shoe now back on, Ukinix stood up and took a few steps forward. Robin felt her heart flutter for a second, but quickly refocused on the situation.
Ukinix: Alright, everyone ready, scan like crazy as soon as we drop out of warp. Lieutenant Flint, once you drop us out, one-quarter impulse.
Flint: One quarter impulse, aye. ::Glancing at console:: ETA one minute, ten seconds.
Ukinix: Lieutenant Richards, I want to know what’s going on with that rig as fast as possible once we arrive.
Richards: Response
Ukinix: Nadeshiko, environmental conditions, any natural or artificial constraints we might face, we’ll need to know.
Nadeshiko: Aye, sir.
Ukinix: ::Turning to Hopper:: As soon as you have any information, start informing the Halsey and the Bronwyn, and the Hirogen, let them know what they’re arriving into.
Hopper nodded, checking on the other vessels in their group.
Hopper: You got it. The Halsey should be hot on our tail. The Bronwyn’s in formation with the Hirogen. I’ll relay whatever I can… Given the nature of the situation we’re facing, shuttle crews should get to standby and sickbay should prepare for incoming casualties.
Ukinix: ::To Robin:: Also, let’s remotely activate the EMH, just in case.
Hopper: =/\= Computer – Activate the Emergency Medical Hologram in sickbay. Prepare for triage conditions, probable radiation poisoning. =/\=
A moment later, the EMH Mark VII’s baritone voice responded over comms.
EMH: =/\= Understood, Lieutenant. And thank you for preemptively stating the nature of the medical emergency. =/\=
Hopper’s eyebrows rose. They were certainly making improvements to the EMH programs’ personality matrices. That was… almost kind of funny.
Hopper: Lieutenant Flint?
Flint: Five seconds. Taking us out of Warp and switching to Impulse.
Ukinix: ::Quietly:: Here we go…
The Jemison dropped out of warp. The screen displayed an asteroid with a large mining facility built on and boring into the large space rock’s surface. Even from this distance, the damage (simulated by the ship’s computers as part of the exercise) was plain to see. There had been some sort of hull breach on the mining facility’s refinery section. Emergency forcefields flickered, undoubtedly trying to maintain atmosphere and pressure while struggling to function despite the damage and radiation bombardment.
Ukinix: Magnify?
Hopper: Yep… ::Pressing the command:: Looks like an industrial accident. No immediate cause visible – but I’m seeing at least two separate breaches… ::Looking at her scans:: Their forcefields are holding for now. ::Over her shoulder to Richards:: See if you can figure out how long their shields will last under present conditions.
The bridge rocked as a wave of (simulated) energy buffeted the Intrepid class vessel. Robin gripped the armrests on her chair. She sent a copy of the status reports filling her view to the other ships in their group and then stood, taking a step closer to the viewscreen.
Ukinix: Okay, report.
Nadeshiko: Sensor resolution too low, but data suggests, given the 45.6 PeV impact, and shield fluctuations, we're looking at so-called shadow delta rays - that is, delta rays produced by benamite energy discharges. These are extremely dangerous to all organic life. We need more data to predict their periodicity as they only happen once benamite electron thresholds are passed.
Hopper: If that’s the case, something went really wrong down there. ::Shaking her head:: Unrefined Benamite is extremely volatile and reacts poorly with highly-energized matter, subspace field distortions… We’re likely looking at quantum spatial fractures down there.
Flint, having laid in a flight path, turned over his shoulder and replied.
Flint: Like the ‘sinkhole’ we encountered aboard the Independence-B?
Hopper: Something like that – though without the barrage of tachyon particles… Unless someone tried activating a warp drive on a mining station… ::Checking her terminal once more:: I’m not getting any response from the facility. Their communications array is likely out. ::To Richards:: How’s the rig holding up?
Richards: Response
Hopper: ::To Nadeshiko:: Survivability?
Nadeshiko: Acute radiation poisoning is less than five hours, on a normal periodicity. Still trying to resolve, sensors detect subspace fractures in the mining station stretching to one of the smaller clusters, and it's causing sensor echoes. I'm doing some algorithms to clean it up, but it's going to take more computational power.
Hopper: ::To Richards:: Make it happen. ::To Ukinix:: Commander – we’ll need time to figure out the hows and whys. Right now, we should focus on damage control and extraction.
Ukinix: Response
Richards/Nadeshiko: Response
Hopper made her over to Ukinix, speaking to him directly, confidently. It seemed clear enough to her what needed to be done. Without an immediate threat present, they had to work with what they saw before them.
Hopper: If we can get boots on the ground quickly, we might be able to check in with the miners, establish more details – get a look at the situation, see if we can buy more time, and begin preparing them for evacuation.
Ukinix/Richards/Nadeshiko: Response
Hopper: I’ll volunteer to lead the away party, Sir. I understand the science and I’m familiar with mining facilities like this…
She thought back to her time growing up on Theta VII. Maybe it hadn’t been such a dead-end world after all. Her familiarity with the local mining ops was sure to come into play here.
Hopper: But I’ll need some help.
Ukinix/Richards/Nadeshiko: Response
TBC
