Commander Lael Rosek-Skyfire: May The Odds Be Ever In Our Favor
Lael Rosek-Skyfire
With no sign of the Daintree and the sensors struggling in the unstable corridor, Lael steered the team away from chasing signals and toward something harder to hide. Evidence. A ship that size would have disturbed something along the way. Kaito started scanning for gravimetric wakes and shifts in the debris while D’Cyra recalibrated the sensors, and the first readings suggested something powerful had passed through the area, possibly even weapons fire. Following Lael’s instinct to look for patterns, D’Cyra suggested using overlapping photon and tachyon beams to detect subtle movement in the debris field. It was a little theoretical, but Lael was willing to try it if it meant getting even the smallest clue about where the Daintree had gone.
Berapli: =/\= There are few beacons left along that route, but I will see if I can connect to them. =/\=
Iko: ::to the crew:: Try and connect the Yosemite to the beacons too if you can.
Moore: Maybe we could use them not only for a sensor boost, but also comms between us and the Turei ship should we get separated.
A slight smile turned up the corners of her lips and she shook her head minutely. Great minds.
Varati: =/\= Response =/\=
Berapli: =/\= It was the space itself. The Vaadwaur tore holes wherever they wished; we do not. There are places that even a thousand of your years could not repair. =/\=
From what she’d heard the Vaadwaur, she wasn’t surprised. The Turei seemed more like caretakers for the corridors while the Vaadwaur used them for personal gain.
Pollution.
Like with the torn holes, the poisoning of atmosphere wasn’t so easily repaired. Earth had been fortunate that the results of the third World War hadn’t been worse. She’d read about enough species that had destroyed themselves doing the same.
Varati: =/\= Response =/\=
Berapli: =/\= There are reasons we come through these routes but rarely. Shall I lead the way? =/\=
Iko: =/\= Yes. =/\=
Varati: =/\= Response =/\=
Moore: Slotting in behind the Turei ship, and following them in.
As Kaito did the navigating, Lael served as a second set of eyes on the sensors in case something unexpected cropped up in their path. Berapli would get the head’s up, but with the Turei vessel directly in front of them, their view would be blocked until the last moment.
Better safe than sorry.
Moore: =/\= We’re in your wake, and follow you in. =/\=
Rosek-Skyfire: =/\= So far so good. Keep her steady, Lieutenant. =/\=
Varati: =/\= Response =/\=
They glided along effortlessly behind the Turei ship and, if Lael weren’t the overcautious sort, she might have actually started to let her guard down. It was too easy to be lulled into a false sense of security.
She tensed the moment she heard the ping echoing in the cabin.
Iko: Is Underspace… closing?
Her fingers glided over the console, confirming Bec’s suspicions.
Rosek-Skyfire: Confirmed.
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/Berapli: =/\= Response =/\=
Iko: =/\= What’s happening to the underspace behind us? =/\=
Lael’s brow furrowed as she studied the readings…then a second time…and a third. The collapsing subspace tunnels were close on their tail, demolishing anything in their path.
Rosek-Skyfire: At this rate, it’s going to take some fancy flying to get us out of this one.
Varati/Berapli: =/\= Response =/\=
Her eyebrows arched as something interesting cropped up on the sensors–a Vaadwaur ship. Given that they were using the Underspace tunnels without much care, it wasn’t surprising that they’d bumped into one. Still, she would have thought with the Turei around, the Vaadwaur would have been a little more careful about staying out of sight.
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.
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.
She shook her head. They were about to be crushed and the black box was what he was worried about? There was no guarantee that they would ever see real space.
Rosek-Skyfire: Let’s try to avoid that route, shall we?
Varati/Berapli: =/\= Response =/\=
It took all of her focus to continue making adjustments to the maneuvering thrusters and the engines.
A tweak here. A shuffle of power there.
It was a constant process and one slight miscalculation could see them joining the crushed debris.
Iko: ::to D’Cyra and Lael:: Please tell me we’re headed in the right direction…
Rosek-Skyfire: ::shakes her head:: It’s difficult to tell…but I think so.
Varati: Response
Moore: Hang on! I have to pull us out of the baffles! It’s going to get rough!
She grasped the edge of the console with one hand, using her other to continue her efforts, hoping they wouldn’t be in vain.
Rosek-Skyfire: The wave is right on our tail!
Iko/Varati/Berapli: =/\= Response =/\=
The sudden snap-roll made her gasp in surprise and had her fighting back a wave of nausea. This couldn’t be good for the average humanoid, much less a pregnant woman. She was so going to murder Kaito if he triggered her labor.
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?
Rosek-Skyfire: ::shakes her head:: We can try, but it could prove risky. ::to Varati:: Any ideas, Ensign?
Varati: Response
Iko/Berapli: =/\= Response =/\=
Rosek-Skyfire: ::pauses:: Can we pull it off without exacerbating the tunnels’ collapse?
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?
Iko/Varati/Berapli: =/\= Responses =/\=
While the others worked on that, she began searching desperately for any path that would get them out of the wave’s path and wouldn’t end in their untimely demise. There were a couple, but they seemed to be right on the wave’s current trajectory.
Rosek-Skyfire: How’s it coming over there?
Iko/Varati/Berapli: =/\= Responses =/\=
She listened as the others shared their thoughts. They all expressed valid concerns and perspectives. Her gaze flickered again to the sensor readings, wishing they had more time to decide.
But they didn’t.
Moore: Response
Rosek-Skyfire: ::to Kaito:: Hold her steady. ::mutters:: May the odds be ever in our favor.
Iko/Varati/Berapli: =/\= Responses =/\=