Lt. JG Natasha Cole - The Rift Equation

[Natasha Schell]

(( Cockpit of the USS Acheron - Ebers System, Balancar Sector, Alpha Quadrant ))

 

As the second chunk exploded, Natasha slammed the thrusters to maximum, sending the Acheron streaking past the third fragment as if it were standing still. She rolled the ship in front of it, baiting the station’s targeting sensors into locking onto the larger debris instead.

 

The ruse worked. A barrage of crimson lances tore through the void, shredding the drifting mass.

 

Cole: oO Gotcha. Oo

 

She navigated the Acheron through the newly made debris field heading towards the station. Taking them towards the Station’s airlocks.

 

Vailani: :: taps :: Airlock doors are sealed.

 

Storm: Thank the dieties.

 

Cole: That’s one problem solved.

 

K’Wara: Good flying, Natasha. Take a breath. ::turns to the communications panel:: =/\= Zurah, have the phasers powered down? =/\=

 

Cole: ::in pilot voice:: Thank you Lieutenants for choosing Acheron air.

 

Researcher Zurah: =/\= No, but they aren’t firing at anything. They keep repeating the warning messages though. =/\=

 

Vailani: The rift is continuing to dilate. I've cross-referenced it with the earlier scans, and this isn't following the same pattern.

 

Storm:  ::mostly to herself:: And it started when we were between the rift and the station.

 

K’Wara: It’s clear that there’s something about that rift that’s interacting with the defensive sensors in a way the engineers didn’t anticipate. Question is, how do we solve the issue? ::looks around the group:: Ideas, everyone?

 

Vailani: We have two problems. The rift dilation and the sensors. I'm willing to bet my entire store of latinum - which is sizable - that the two are connected.

 

Storm:  And somehow we figure into all of that.

 

Cole: Could we launch a probe and use that to help triangulate data?

 

K’Wara: Mmh... Alex, what’s the risk assessment for getting closer to the Rift?

 

Natasha couldn’t have heard Lieutenant K’Wara right, did they suggest getting closer to the rift? And people thought she was reckless, but it was their mission and call to make.

 

Storm: Unless we have cover, our chances of making it out and back to the rift are about 20%.  With cover, I’d give us even odds..

 

K’Wara: We’re the only ones who can do it. Luxasi’s engineers can do the computer calibrations, but they aren’t outfitted to handle a close-up examination of the Rift. ::nods with conviction:: Alex, I want you to collaborate with the station engineers. See if you can work together to find a way to disrupt the phasers from the inside. Natasha, Lieutenant Vailani, we’re going to that Rift and getting as much data as we can before those fluctuations cease. Plot the safest route to the other side of that thing, get us some cover behind it.

 

Storm:  Collaborate with the station engineers.  Got it.  =/\=  Zurah, can you connect me to the most senior engineer available.=/\=

 

K'Wara: Response

 

Vailani: Great, heading to an ever expanding energy ribbon that could kill us. Just what I wanted to do today.

 

Cole: ::shrugging:: At least we don’t have to hide a body.

 

K'Wara: Response

 

Zurah: =/\=  You’re connected to Chief Brigand.=/\=

 

Storm:  =/\=  Can’t you just cut the power to the phasers?=/\=

 

Brigand:  =/\= If we cut the power, it will take thirty minutes to recalibrate them and to bring them back online.  We’d be as easy pickings as a garment drying on a hanger.=/\=

 

Storm: So that’s off the table.

 

Vailani: I've mapped out a course that should see us clear the perimeter of the station without activating the defense grid. With some gentle maneuvers :: looks to Cole :: Not everything needs to be explosive.

 

Storm:  But it’s more fun that way.

 

Natasha couldn’t help but nod a little and offer Alex a smile, she was right.

 

Storm: Well, it IS true.

 

Cole: A girl overloads one phaser and gets labeled a pyrophile.

 

K'Wara: Response

 

Cole: You’re right Lieutenant, I did suggest overloading one during my final exam at the academy, but the important thing is I choose to not risk our lives.

 

Vailani: Opening the airlock doors.

 

Storm: Not sure I’d do that yet.  =/\= Is there any way you can regulate the power to the phasers so a direct hit wouldn’t be lethal?

Brigand:  =/\=::Tapping his fingers on the console:: I might be able to do that, but it could take me at least ten minutes.  =/\=

Storm: =/\= I think our OPS officer is giving you about thirty seconds.=/\=

 

The engineer disappeared from the video link.

 

Cole:

 

K'Wara: Response

 

Storm:  Is there any reason we can’t sit tight for five minutes?

 

Cole: With how quickly the station’s weapons adapted to our tactics, the longer we wait the … more chaotic my flying will have to be.

 

K’Wara/Vailani: Response.

 

Storm: Fair point.  =/\= You may want to put a rush on that. =/\=  ::to Cole:: You do some more fancy flying, and I’ll buy you a drink when we get back to the Artemis.  I don’t fancy meeting the Great Exchequer today - to borrow a Ferengi term.

 

Cole: Sounds like a deal.

 

Natasha started her preflight startup, even if they had only sat for a few minutes, better error on the side of caution considering the seriousness of the situation.

 

K’Wara/Vailani: Response.

 

Storm:  We’ve got incoming debris from the rift.  This might be the time to make a run for it.  

 

Natasha eased the Acheron out of the airlock letting inertia help drift them out past the airlock doors. As the Acheron drifted free of the airlock, Natasha engaged the maneuvering thrusters to ‘spin’ the runabout on its horizontal and vertical axises.

 

Cole: ::smiling to herself:: I might have to play a bit faster and loose with my maneuvers, please hold onto something Lieutenants..

 

K’Wara/Vailani: Response.

 

Maneuvering the Acheron along the course plotted by Vailani proved to be quite efficient, even though it felt like trying to thread a needle in a windstorm.

 

Cole: ::jerking the controls causing the shuttle to rotate towards the starboard side:: Sorry about that.

 

Storm/K’Wara/Vailan: Response

 

An alarm blared again indicating the station had a clean lock and the rift was emitting a distortion. Natasha barely hesitated and brought their aft up as she ‘dropped’ the shuttle below the rifts distortion. As the shuttle passed through that area something must have clipped the runabout as there was a soft pop followed by the smell of ozone as sparks flew and a small fire broke out.

 

Cole: Almost out of range, we should be close enough to get some better scans of the rift.

 

Storm/K’Wara/Vailan: Response

 

Tags/TBC

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Lt. JG Natasha Cole
Security Officer
USS Artemis-A
Writer ID A240205NC4