Lt. JG Natasha Cole - Acheron vs. The Impossible
Natasha Schell
(( Cockpit of the USS Acheron - Ebers System, Balancar Sector, Alpha Quadrant ))
Natasha had been pushing the Acheron through its paces, and was sure Ensign Grace was going to give her a piece of her mind, regardless of her recent promotion. She had essentially been swinging the runabout around the rift at a fifty degree angle against it’s event horizon.
Cole: ::smiling to herself:: This is kinda fun.
Storm: Does Dr. Morgan, or better yet Captain Mackenzie, know that you’re an adrenaline junkie?
The shuttle rocked as it was shocked from the wake of debris that was still being flung at them. Several alarms lit up indicating the phasers from the station were starting to get a target lock. Natasha pressed her foot into the decking trying to will the shuttle faster as if the physical action would influence the engines.
Cole: oO I have no intention of dying today Oo
Storm: Do we have enough power to shoot a series of tachyon bursts at the rift: It might disrupt its hold enough for us to break free.
K’Wara: No can do, we don’t have the excess power for that. It’s all we can do to keep power running to the engines and the shields right now. The gravitational interference from the Rift is too unpredictable.
Vailani: Power to the engines are draining. We need to move faster.
Natasha was trying everything she could do except getting out and pushing to get them to move faster.
Vailani: I've managed to build a wall around the station's systems. The engineers are back in control or working towards it. But I noticed something hidden in the pattern. It was an SOS. I think something wants our help?
Zurah: =/\= Acheron, our sensors managed to get a look into the rift. You should see this. =/\=
Glancing at the feed from the station’s sensors showed the Acheron from the outside, shields flashing as the engines making small short bursts to account for the pull, if that wasn’t weird enough an eerily similar scene was playing out on the other side of the rift as they peered through it like a looking glass.
Storm: Is that …?
Her throat tightened as she looked up at the three other women quickly before glancing at the HUD.
Storm: =/\= Zurah, can you get a close up image of the other side of the rift? =/\=
K’Wara: ::whistles:: Well, you don’t see that every day.
Cole: Not what I would expect.
The other vessel was similar in size to the Acheron, but with noticeable differences, most notably it was in far worse physical shape.
K’Wara: They must’ve approached the rift from the other side a while ago... ::thinks:: Cole, I don’t suppose we can get a hail through to them?
It was worth a shot, Natasha keyed to ship to ship comms.
Cole: =/\= Attention unknown vessel. This is the Acheron, please respond. =/\=
K’Wara: LT Vailani, judging by these scans, how much longer do you think they can withstand the Rift’s influence?
Unknown Vessel: =/\= ::static:: =/\=
K’Wara: ::quietly, mostly to themself:: Who knows, they may be the reason the Rift is acting up. Kind of like the tension on a surface of the water when something tries to come up for air…
Natasha worked on clearing up the signal as best as she could, rotating frequencies and tried to refine the signal.
K’Wara: All we’ve got is conjecture at this stage, but we have to try something. At least the phasers won’t be shooting at us anymore. ::looks at Storm:: Alex, what’re our options? Can we do anything on this side to knock them loose, or loosen the Rift’s grip on them?
Storm: I have an idea, but it depends on how much power we have at our disposal.
Cole: Sir, I think I’ve cleared up the signal. =/\= Unknown vessel, repeat that. =/\=
Unknown Vessel: =/\= ::static:: I repeat, This is ::static:: …der Hinkly. I have been stuck in the pull of this special anomaly for … I honestly don’t even know anymore. Any assistance you could offer would be greatly appreciated.=/\=
Vailani: Der Hinkly?
Cole: ::raises her hand:: I have an idea.
She waited for a sign she could make her suggestion. What was likely to be a surprise to no one is her plan involved an explosion.
K’Wara: Let’s hear it.
Cole: If this Hinkly person has a torpedo or equivalent on their ship what if we each fire and detonate them at the same point. The explosion might be enough that the wake of it might knock them loose.
Storm: Even if they don’t, we could put a torpedo into the rift’s throat and detonate early—let the shockwave kick their hull sideways out of the grip.
Vailani: I'm not sure throwing torpedoes at unstable rifts is a good idea. I'm not a scientist but we have low shields, and not a lot of power to get out of the way fast if things do go bad.
Cole: We could always consider it a plan B. oO for Bang! Oo
Storm: Yes! ::Turning around to look at Cole, her eyes glowing iridescent:: But if we both had a torpedo, and we both did the same thing - detonating our torpedos before they reach the other shuttle, we could potentially knock each other free of our respective rifts!
K’Wara: ::unusually stern voice:: We are not shooting explosive material at a space-time rift that is already expanding irregularly. ::to Natasha:: It’s a Plan E, as far as I’m concerned. ::thinks:: Although... Sending a load of something into the rift is not a bad idea. ::to Vailani:: LT Vailani, do we have anything - or have the capacity to replicate anything - that could be deployed inside the rift, to calm it? Or make our vessels more capable of escaping?
Natasha shrugged at Lieutenant K’Wara’s gentle no. At least Lieutenant Storm picked up on what she was thinking. Did her crewmates really think she would be that fast and loose with their lives? Really?
Vailani: I can't believe I'm going to say this. If we remove the matter antimatter charge and replace it with micro-gravition gel with a pulse when it detonates it should cause the rift to contract, the motion would likely free the ship if we work with the other ship as they would need to ignite the gel with the actual pulse. Granted, this is pure speculation.
Storm: And we happen to have two torpedoes!
K’Wara: There is the problem of him seeing us shoot what looks like a torpedo at him, and trying to intercept it with a torpedo of his own. We want to avoid that, or we’ll still end up blowing this rift open.
Vailani: :: to Cole :: Do we still have Comms?
Cole: We do, but the signal strength is getting weaker due to the rifts interference. I’m going to air on the side of caution and send a data transmission as well. Hopefully they have similar tech.
Storm: Cole, can you see if they have a torpedo of their own?
Vailani: I can send over the exact configuration we need :: smiles and boastful :: We can call it the Vailani Maneuver.
Natasha nodded as she keyed the comms and synced the data transmission.
Cole: =/\= Der?
Hinkley, We have a plan to dislodge both of our ships. Sending you a data transmission
with further details, do you have a torpedo?=/\=
Hinkly: =/\= ::static:: Acknowledged ::static:: … just one.=/\=
Of course their fate was tied to someone they didn’t know and had only one literal shot to save them. Natasha slowly exhaled, to say she was outside her comfort zone was a massive understatement.
K’Wara: Well, sounds like we have our plan ready to go. LT Vailani, get the solution inserted into the torpedoes. LT Storm, once the payload’s been replaced, get the scatter-pedoes locked and loaded. And Natasha? Try and get Mr. Hinkly to not shoot at the one coming to shock him loose.
Cole: =/\= Hinkley, Confirm you received the data transmission.=/\=
Hinkley: =/\= ::static:: =/\=
Vailani: :: to Storm :: =/\= Torpedo ready for programming =/\=
Storm: I’ve got our torpedo programmed.
Natasha’s eyes meet Alex’s. She could swear she could feel their shared worry at what they were about to attempt.
Storm: One wrong beat and we scatter ourselves among the stars instead.
K’Wara: Let’s not do that. Time to test whether Hinkly got your message, Natasha. ::to Alex:: LT Storm, once we confirm that the torpedo has reached Hinkly’s shuttle, I trust you’ll be ready to detonate ours.
Natasha sat there keeping the shuttle from drifting towards the center of the rift, and then it hit her that their angle was all wrong. She made adjustments so the shuttle’s angle would aid Alex’s shot. Hopefully this Hinkly fellow caught this too
Storm: Response
K’Wara: Launch the first torpedo.
Vailani: There she goes.
Storm: Response
K’Wara: That’s our cue. Hit it!
Storm: Response
They sat there watching with bated breath as the modified torpedo entered the rift with little fanfare as the casing came apart and a purple vapor began to envelope the rift's opening. If the circumstances were not as dire, she’d consider taking an image of the sight. This was the kind of thing Juno loved. At that moment she thought of her younger sibling. As that thought entered her mind, there was a bolt of light from Hinkly’s shuttle followed by an explosion within the purple cloud between them.
Vailani: Did it work?
Cole: :: Squinting out the viewport :: Maybe? I mean we’re still here so that’s something, right?
Storm/K'Wara: Response
Suddenly the rift lit up like a Christmas tree as it convulsed and contracted, sending waves of turbulence as the rift's structure fluctuated. Natasha closed her eyes and instinct took over as she adjusted the thrusters to ride the turbulence and not push against them. The resulting maneuvers, even with the inertial dampeners working, resulted in them being jostled around like bath toys for a moment.
Vailani: Anything from Hinkly?
Cole: :: surprised :: He’s still alive, shuttle appears to have stabilized and … he’s hailing us.
Storm/K'Wara/Vailani: Response
Cole: Aye, Sir.
Natasha tapped at the comms and a young man appeared on screen. While clearly not in a Starfleet Uniform, at least not one she’s ever seen past or present. He appeared to be tallish, with neatly cropped dark hair and a sharp, self-assured jawline. He had a half smile on his face, that Natasha was sure he was the type to talk his way out of trouble, while trying to convince you it was your idea.
Hinkly: =/\= Let’s try that again, Commander Hinkly of the UEA. Thank you for your assistance. Who do I have to thank for my timely rescue?=/\=
Natasha turned to Lieutenant Storm with a confused look on her face, she’d never heard of any organization called UEA.
Cole: =/\= Lieutenant Junior Grade Cole, UEA Sir? =/\=
Storm/K'Wara/Vailani: Response
Hinkly: =/\= All valid questions and concerns. UEA, United Earth Alliance. ::confused:: I’m surprised there’s anyone that doesn’t know who we are. As for how and why I was stuck in the rift. I was sent to investigate an anomalous signal that was being sent through an uncharted anomaly. Upon arriving I sent a probe through and somehow something shot back at me, damaging my engines and I started to slowly drift towards the rift.
Storm/K'Wara/Vailani: Response
Hinkly: =/\= After realizing my options were limited I sent a distress signal to the Armstrong, but the interference from the rift proved to be fruitless, like screaming into the void itself. I took a gamble and tried sending a message through to whoever it was that shot me. Hoping for the best, ::laughing:: even tried throwing rocks.
Natasha listened as the officer told his story. She wasn't sure what to think of this, but she wondered if this Commander Hinkly might be from someplace else. She remembered one of her professors at the academy had once engaged students in conversations of theoretical universes that developed similarly to their own, but also differently.
Storm/K'Wara/Vailani: Response
Tags/TBC
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Lt. JG Natasha Cole
Security Officer
USS Artemis-A
Writer ID A240205NC4