Lt. JG D'Cyra Varati - Left or Right?!
D'Cyra Varati
((Talon Scout Yosemite, Underspace corridors, Delta Quadrant))
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.
Today she was much more critical than usual. Perhaps it was simply due to this feeling of unease ever since they had entered that subspace chamber and then discovered that strangely deformed Vaadwaur depot. Nothing one would discuss with one's parents on a Sunday afternoon.
Varati: Yes, perhaps... but I'm afraid our systems aren't compatible with the Turei's. And we really don't have time for testing; we're already stressed enough adapting our own sensors to the subspace environment. But “two eyes are better than one”, as they say, and the Turei have obviously had functioning systems for centuries...
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. =/\=
Okay, functioning systems – but the Turei still didn't seem to have truly mastered the technology. It's astonishing that they hadn't undertaken their own research over all those centuries to decipher the Vaadwaur's technology. Like the ancient Orion pirates: they stole what they needed – let the others waste their time on expensive research. Opportunity costs and all that.
Varati: I'll take care of the sensors and see if it's possible to set up two appropriately sized particle grids.
With that, D’Cyra turned her attention to the large science console and the sensor control panel. Sensors, sensors, and more sensors... sometimes it seemed to her as if the sensors dictated her entire daily routine.
But fortunately, the Talon scouts had been designed as scientific exploration vessels. And therefore, there was plenty of the necessary equipment – some pieces even duplicated – equipment that many larger ships couldn't boast. So she focused on creating at least two small particle grids. Perhaps small grids were even more practical in this case... the larger the areas, the longer the computer would need to compare the two layers. The scouts weren't really designed for that.
Berapli: =/\= There are reasons we come through these routes but rarely. Shall I lead the way? =/\=
Iko: =/\= Yes. =/\=
As long as the sensors (yes, again...) had not yet been adapted, they were dependent on the help of the Turei.
Varati: Absolutely – we couldn't have a better guide. Two eyes and all...
Moore: Slotting in behind the Turei ship, and following them in.
Moore: =/\= We’re in your wake, and follow you in. =/\=
Rosek-Skyfire: =/\= So far so good. Keep her steady, Lieutenant. =/\=
Varati: Yes, the Turei can give us some "wind-" or "debris shadows." That might give me a chance to adjust the sensors and start the energy fields in a neutral position.
They glided along effortlessly behind the Turei ship. For a moment everything seemed "normal". But before she could even perform a short test run, another alarm sounded and yellow warning lights popped up on the display.
Iko: Is Underspace… closing?
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.
Startled, she looked up from her own displays and watched the spectacle being staged out there by the subspace.
Varati: Wait… What?! This is unexpected. We simply don't have the time right now to analyse this phenomenon...
Berapli: =/\= Response =/\=
Iko: =/\= What’s happening to the underspace behind us? =/\=
Rosek-Skyfire: At this rate, it’s going to take some fancy flying to get us out of this one.
They had to rely on the processed sensor data and camera images displayed on the monitors. Everything looked like squeezing a bag of chips, except you were sitting right in front of it. Impressive. Impressively dangerous.
Varati: It looks extraordinary when the room is simply compressed like that... unreal. Hopefully, such a collapse won't trigger too many pressure waves.
Berapli: =/\= Response =/\=
Iko: Good news—if we get cut off from behind us the Vaadwaur 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.
Rosek-Skyfire: Let’s try to avoid that route, shall we?
A Vaadwaur ship? Where did they suddenly come from? But of course, an intergalactic meeting had already taken place out there, so what difference did one more guest make? She refrained from making such a sarcastic comment, given the already tense situation. And here, fate seemed to be merciful, blocking the way of the Vaadwaur – whether peaceful or hostile.
Varati: Now we're in subspace. And so are the Daintree. It seems we have no other option but to continue down this path if we don't want to be crushed as well. ::pause:: Whatever the Vaadwaur were planning, fate has dealt them and their depot a cruel blow; one less problem for us to worry about.
Berapli: =/\= Response =/\=
However, Kaito and Lael themselves had the greatest difficulty keeping the small Yosemite on course and manoeuvring it out of the immediate danger zone.
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.
Even as a child, she disliked being told things that downplayed the dangers in an attempt to calm her down. And Bec, as an experienced security officer, didn't need to be told any fairy tales too.
Varati: ::to Kaito & Lael:: The main thing is that you can keep the ship on a "steady" course for as long as possible. We need to get out of this chamber, or whatever it is, as quickly as possible. No idea how much else is collapsing… ::to Bec:: I hope that our own sensors in the second array will be ready for use immediately and that both particle fields will also function. Two velocity controls and one temperature control.
Moore: Hang on! I have to pull us out of the baffles! It’s going to get rough!
Rosek-Skyfire: The wave is right on our tail!
Before she could even finish her thought, they were hit by a shockwave that threatened to collapse. She barely managed to grab hold of the large handrail of the console in front of her with one hand; her other hand, which she had intended to use to grasp the back of the chair, grasped at thin air. The initial jolt sent her crashing against the console, and the brief, vacuum-like opening that followed lifted her slightly before she landed roughly on the floor between the console and the chair.
Varati: ::screams:: Ouch! Argh! $@#! ::other Orion curses:: … Ouch, that hurt...
Her right arm had served as an "anchor in the storm." The metal railing was round, but rather unyielding compared to humanoid bones... Her eyes contorted in pain, D’Cyra rubbed her forehead with her left hand. At least nothing seemed to be broken, and there was no blood to be seen. Just a few twinkling stars against a black background when she looked up.
Iko/Berapli: =/\= Response =/\=
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?
Slightly "crumpled" like the corridor behind them, she laboriously straightened up again.
Varati: ::to Lael:: The devices appear to be undamaged, Commander. I'm starting the scan of the field sensors now – maybe it will work.
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?
Varati: We simply have no knowledge of when and how the subspace corridors collapse. Even the Turei don't seem to have figured that out in hundreds of years. There are probably more or less stable passages, similar to open string ends between different branes. It's quite possible that the inner passages are more stable. And if something exploded here recently, it likely caused the weak structure to collapse.
Moving forward would probably be the most sensible solution for now.
She rubbed her forehead again with the back of her hand; a slight hematoma had now formed there.
Iko/Berapli: =/\= Responses =/\=
Rosek-Skyfire: How’s it coming over there?
Sparkling stars when she lifted her head to look at the upper displays, then a double headache when she looked down – just now of all times. She didn't feel nauseous, so it was probably not a concussion.
So she ‘aimed’ the photon and tachyon beams at random into the tunnel leading off to the left (if one could speak of directions at all).
Varati: A first attempt; I'll tell you in a moment whether I got any usable results at all.
Iko/Berapli: =/\= Responses =/\=
Moore: Response
Rosek-Skyfire: ::to Kaito:: Hold her steady. ::mutters:: May the odds be ever in our favor.
Varati: Okay, the sensors are at least now "detecting" the beacons with their own passive energy signature. But there's still too much debris around them to get a clear picture. Otherwise, the computer is just calculating the field differences... somewhat unfortunate with the shockwave behind us...
Iko/Berapli: =/\= Responses =/\=
The initial results were sobering, but she didn't dare tell the others. As long as the corridor didn't collapse further, they could fly around this T-junction, or whatever you wanted to call it, for a while...
Varati: Could you please somehow give me a little more time for a second attempt? I need to aim further into the corridors and hope that the shockwaves haven't yet destroyed the patterns and traces there.
Berapli/Iko/Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
She knew what Kaito was capable of at the helm... Lael seemed to have an uncanny sense of balance, judging by how elegantly she handled the thrusters. The more smoothly they flew (as far as that was even possible under the circumstances), the more accurate the energy beams' "shots" were, and the less her own head was shaken.
Varati: Good, good, keep it up! I'm getting clean scans now!
Berapli/Iko/Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
D’Cyra made it simpler: just check time dilation. A simple check of photons and tachyons – if the same or at least constant deviation from the rest of subspace was detectable in several consecutive scans, then a massive object must have been moving there.
Varati: Ok! Into the right tunnel! At 60 degree! There, different patterns are visible! A slight trace of "slowed-down" tachyons, or rather, with a smaller angle relative to the main flow. And, as if that weren't enough, the redshift! Let's follow the red thread!
Only one question remained unanswered, and it was the most crucial one:
Varati: The only question is, is it also the Daintree...?
Berapli/Iko/Moore/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Tag/TBC
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