Lt Vailani Zoyara - Target Locked
Ava Munro
(( Cockpit of the USS Acheron - Ebers System, Balancar Sector, Alpha Quadrant ))
Zoyara had busied herself with all available information on the sector, the station and the personnel that they'd be dealing with. Also taking the time to cross reference both Starfleet and the multitude of Federation databases. Everything appeared to be in order so she had turned her attention to the technical documentation on the tactical upgrades.
When the new Chief of Ops, her successor in the role, spoke she was working her way through the detailed schematics of the defense grid and its perceived failures.
K’Wara: All systems green, ETA at Luxasi in twenty minutes.
Zoyara closed the screen and as the shuttle dropped out of warp she blinked twice to reorient her eyes to the non-screen surroundings of the cockpit.
It was a lot easier when you weren't the one in charge. You could get on with the job at hand rather than holding the hands of those who should know better.
K’Wara: Did you have time to go over the tactical upgrades to the station, Alex? Anything particularly noteworthy for us to focus on?
Storm: Yeah. I went over the tactical upgrades before we left, but I’ve continued reviewing the entire security profile on the trip over. As for what we should note, they’ve encountered a series of false positives - of a possible attack - have occurred at a regular rate. We should definitely see if we can figure out why and find a way to filter them out. But for the moment, they’ve moved the station further away from the rift since the growth has been unpredictable.
K’Wara: Sounds viable... Makes sense that Luxasi would move further away from the rift if we’ve got stuff coming through. ::to Vailani:: Will our shielding hold up to the rift’s influence? We’ll have to fly pretty close to it at times.
Vailani: Should do, I can adjust the shield modulation and match the harmonics of the rift which will provide a nice boost.
Zoyara turned to her station, closed the briefing of the schematics and opened up the Operations station. The screen adjusted to the view of everything you needed to know about a shuttle craft. Shields. Deflector. All ship systems were green.
K’Wara: Nat, I want you on the conn. Considering how unstable the rift is, we can’t all be focused on Luxasi. I want us prepared to react to the slightest rift-twitch.
Cole: Response
K’Wara: Mmh, nothing in Zurah’s original request mentioned any concerning political or criminal elements in the vicinity, so the main issue will likely be the unpredictability of the rift.
Zoyara nodded in agreement. She had noted the lack of information, or spots, in Zurah’s profile but that wasn't abnormal for Federation scientists who travelled far and wide across the galaxy. Also, just because the information isn't there doesn't mean that someone in the Federation doesn't know. Oftentimes when theirs gaps it's because the person viewing it, in this case herself, has no need to know the information.
Storm: While that may be true, if the station is under observation by anyone hoping to take advantage of the situation, a Starfleet shuttle could raise some eyebrows, so we should keep on our toes.
Instinctively, Zoyara checked the weapons systems. All green.
Vailani: Allocating reserved power to weapons in case we need to use them in a pinch, experience tells me it's best to be prepared :: to K'Wara :: ‘On our toes’ as Lt. Storm said.
Cole: Response
As the station came into view, Zoyara had to appreciate the utilitarian design. Function was prioritised over making it look good. With her eye she could see the modular bulk of it, meaning that it was likely they could swap out units with ease based on the functionality of it.
The Ebers Rift itself provided a dramatic backdrop. Its snakelike strike across the darkness of space made her think of a lightning strike. Perhaps, a strike from The Prophets themselves.
oO as long as they keep any time alterations to themselves, just once I'd like a mission to go smoothly Oo
On K'Wara's viewscreen the researcher appeared. Of course, in her research, she had seen images of her but it struck her how old the images were. Zurah seemed much older on the viewscreen.
Researcher Zurah: =/\= Welcome to the Ebers system, Officers. I am Researcher Zurah, the Chief of this station. Thank you for responding to my request so quickly. =/\=
K’Wara: =/\= You’re welcome, Chief Zurah. We’re more than happy to ensure the continued safety of your team here at Luxasi. I’m Lieutenant Tamio K’Wara with the USS Artemis-A. =/\=
Storm: =/\= Lieutenant Alex Storm, Tactical Officer.=/\=
Zoyara didn't feel the need, or the relevance, to introduce herself. Instead she kept her attention focused on the ship's systems. And the passive scans of the station she had already begun
Cole: Response
Researcher Zurah: =/\= It is good to meet you. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have, or perhaps you’d like to come aboard? Meet the team? =/\=
Storm: ::To K’Wara:: If we’re supposed to be trying to break through the system, I think it would be better for us to remain out here and keep the pleasantries for later.
Cole: Responses
K’Wara: =/\= Let’s sling spacerocks at your station first, and then we’ll hop on over for tea, Researcher. ::easy smile:: Gets the rocky patch out of the way. =/\=
Zoyara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She didn't like jokes and she didn't like wasting time with tea.
Vailani: =/\= I'm receiving data from the rift now. It would be good to have a basis for cross referencing. A baseline would be a good start? =/\=
Cole: Responses
Storm: =/\= I want to know how often you’re getting these false positives. Can you transmit that data over to the shuttle. There may be a pattern in those that could tell us something. =/\=
Researcher Zurah: =/\= Of course. ::Nods to someone off the viewscreen, and watches until someone indicated that it was done.:: You should have that information now.=/\=
Not one of those scientists that like to control their data like it's gold pressed latinum. That's a good sign.
Storm: Thank you.
Cole: Response
As the information came in, Vailani ensured it went to all of their stations and immediately began extrapolating the information. Her priority was shields. Secondary the baseline.
Storm: Thank you. I’ll work on analyzing this.
K’Wara: =/\= Disregarding the false positives, has the station been able to respond to actual debris properly? =/\=
Researcher Zurah: =/\= Oh, yes, every time more debris slips through the rift, it alerts us in time for the station to move to alert status and activate the proximity defenses. Thus far, there’s been no, uhhh... ‘False negatives’, so to speak. =/\=
Storm/Cole: Response
Zoyara only logged this information into her system, she highlighted the required systems and requested access to run a diagnostic.
Researcher Zurah: =/\= Of course. We have prepared some testing material - it’s waiting to be ejected from the Sector 24-A9 airlock - that I believe should fit the specifications. =/\=
K’Wara: =/\= We should start from verifying response times, and then we can move to stress testing afterwards. =/\= ::to Storm:: Alex, is the Acheron’s tractor beam souped up for Operation Slingshot?
Zoyara frowned when she received a response from the station.
ACCESS DENIED. It seemed that they weren't as open as she had initially thought. As frustrated as she was, they had not been called to run diagnostics. On this occasion she took her defeat.
Storm: Response
K’Wara: Good. ::to Cole:: Take us in, Ensign, but mind that rift. We want to stay clear of the threshold that flirts too much with the other side. ::to Vailani:: You’re on target calls. ::to Storm:: When Lieutenant Vailani calls it, hurl the biggest piece of debris you can at the station. =/\= Let’s get this rodeo started. =/\=
Vailani: :: nods :: Scanners ready.
Zoyara closed all other systems except the scan display which gave her a clear view of the debris and the shield status. On the side panel, the shuttles power flow was visible.
From one of the outermost sections of Luxasi station, a stream of large debris - not quite 'spacerocks', but large hulking pieces of testing material large enough to count for small meteoroids - was released into space, and the kinetic force from their ejection kept them going towards the Ebers Rift's gravitational pull.
Vailani: First set of debris heading on a trajectory to the rift. Targeting debris field.
She highlighted a section of debris that matched the profile.
Storm/Cole/K'Wara: Response
Vailani: Target locked. Over to you Lieutenant.
Zoyara watched as the tactical officer worked the station. On her screen she could see the debris respond and move towards the station.
Storm/Cole/K'Wara: Response
Vailani: Stations defenses are activating.
The debris field disintegrated in a blast. Then she received an alert on her station.
Vailani: Defenses have a new target.
oO of course it is Oo
Vailani: They've targeted the Acheron.
Storm/Cole/K'Wara: Response
TAG/TBC
Lt. Vailani Zoyara
Acting Commanding Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240004LL2