LT Tamio K'Wara - A Pilot's Plight

[LT Tamio K'Wara]

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

There was one thing to be said for any Starfleet mission, in Tamio’s experience: They never went how you expected them. They weren’t sure whether this was always considered a positive thing by everyone, but at least to them, it meant that things never got predictable or boring. After a career primarily serving in peaceful sectors as patrol or reserve forces, Tamio had been too young to appreciate the value of predictability before it got inevitably tied to ‘boring’.

Storm:  There is some kind of ship on the otherside of this rift. Maybe they’ve been trapped there, found a way to manuever there, or if they were transported there by something.  It’s big, starship sized, but I can’t get a lock on which starship or what size, but I’m going to guess it’s using a tractor beam - like we were - to fling these items at us.

Vailani: Are they the ones who have it in for us? 

K’Wara: It’s not the rift. It’s something on the other side. It’s- Oh, we’ve got incoming!

Natasha responded immediately, pushing the engines just enough that they got moved some metres off of the debris’ collision course. Tamio held onto the edge of their console to ensure they didn’t crash into anything again.

Storm: Do we have engines back yet?  I don’t think this is going to stop until whoever is on the other side of this rift runs out of debris.

K’Wara: Not for any sustained flight. ::checks systems:: LT Vailani, can we redistribute power between shields and engines while still maintaining sufficient juice to both?

As LT Vailani checked her console, Natasha and Alex exchanged barbs about their situation.

Cole: That was a little too close for comfort.

Storm:  Ya think?

Then LT Vailani’s report was ready.

Vailani: The engines have power but we need to be careful. If we get pulled into that rift without engines and our shields fail we'll be crushed by the gravitational pressure. I think I speak for all of us when I say we want to avoid that. 

Tamio looked over their shoulder to the redheaded pilot.

K’Wara: You heard her, Natasha. Think you can do it?

Cole: I’m going to push the engines a little more this time. I think with the scan’s we found the sweet spot for an escape trajectory.

Tamio wondered where Natasha had that wellspring of confidence hidden, and if she sold any samples. It was hard to tell if it was all bravado, but whatever it was, Tamio hoped they would sustain them for just a little longer.

Storm: You can do this!

Vailani: You don't have a choice. 

Well, whatever worked. The crew assembled in the shuttle waited with bated breaths as Natasha managed to get them further away from the rift, at least far enough for it to not be pulling them inwards, but that didn’t mean the danger was over yet.

K’Wara: Good flying, Natasha. Can the engines take any more?

Storm: I’m not sure I’d cut the engines just yet.  We have a station that wants us dead, a rift that wants to eat us or break us to smithereens.  

Vailani: Agreed. Staying mobile seems like a good tactic. 

So whether the engines could or not, they would have to. Not too unlike Starfleet officers, Tamio supposed.

K’Wara: Well, we’ve got a little more information to work with now. Alex, check with Zurah and the others - maybe they’ve made some headway on the phaser issue. Natasha, see if we can’t get a clearer look on this Ship Alex noticed. We don’t know where this Rift ends - it may be something no one’s seen before.

It was hard to conceal the slight giddiness Tamio felt at that notion.

Cole: Response

Storm:  =/\= Zurah, any breakthroughs stationside? =/\=

Zurah: =/\= It’s some kind of worm that piggybacked on a recent communique.  We’re trying to eradicate it now, but it’s a persistent little bugger. =/\=

Vailani: A worm? 

Tamio was as confused as LT Vailani seemed to be. Luxasi was an entirely civilian station with no tactical benefit whatsoever - Starfleet had only got involved since the rift started growing - and even then, the only Ships listed as having visited the place were resupply vessels and then the engineering vessels from the nearby Starbase.

Well, and the Ship in the rift, they supposed.

Cole: Response

That was a shame, but not entirely unexpected. Between having to draw power from superfluous systems to boost their engines and shields, relying on their sensors for something as complicated as scanning into the Rift while it was misbehaving was difficult.

K’Wara: A shame... Maybe Luxasi will have better luck. Alex?

Storm:  =/\=Your sensors may be better than ours, can you see a ship or a shuttle on the other side of that rift?=/\=

Zurah:  =/\= That might take as a minute or two to calibrate and take a look for you. =/\=

LT Vailani hopped onto the call now, clearly workshopping an idea to help speed things up.

Vailani: =/\=  You should run a manual diagnostic of your critical systems and weapons. I think the worm is overriding your diagnostic protocols. If you give me manual access I can do a counter hack. Nothing fancy but it might stop whatever is happening. =/\= 

Zurah: =/\= I'll patch you through to our engineer. =/\= 

Tamio waited for a short moment as they watched LT Vailani’s eyes inspect the incoming data from Luxasi.

K’Wara: Does it look doable, Lieutenant?

Vailani: Shouldn't be too hard. I've got access to the station's systems. 

Tamio nodded, before looking up in alarm as another alert warned them of more incoming debris from the rift, but this one looked less directly aimed. Had they gone outside of the field of vision of whatever was on the other side?

Cole/Storm: Response

The shuttle rocked some more, multiple alerts lighting up, and Tamio pulled the Ops interface over to their console while LT Vailani was focusing on the remote troubleshooting. 

Cole/Storm: Response

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. 

oO Be my guest, Lieutenant Oo

Tamio had a better sense of self-preservation than to say that out loud though, so instead, they focused on keeping the Acheron’s system playing along - as much as they could - until Vailani finished her work. And then, she dropped a bombshell.

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?

As though ordained, that was the moment Zurah came back in over the hail.

Zurah: =/\= Acheron, our sensors managed to get a look into the rift. You should see this. =/\=

Zurah’s face on the viewscreen gave way to the sensor’s look at the rift. It was strange seeing the Acheron from the outside, shields flashing errantly whenever the Rift pulled at the hull extra heavily, the engines making small short bursts to account for the pull, but what was even weirder was looking into the rift.

And seeing something very similar.

Vailani/Cole/Storm: Response

K’Wara: ::whistles:: Well, you don’t see that every day.

Another vessel, similar in size and density as the Acheron, but still noticeably different, was performing similar maneuvers on the other side, evidently stuck on the other end of the rift. And yet, it was clear to Tamio that this vessel was in a far more dire state.

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?

Cole: Response

K’Wara: LT Vailani, judging by these scans, how much longer do you think they can withstand the Rift’s influence?

Vailani: Response

As Tamio looked at the ship reflected on the other side of the Rift, they narrowed their eyes. If they hadn’t been able to get communication through because of how much damage their Ship had been taking from the Rift, they would likely try more rudimentary ways of getting the attention of anyone on the other side...

Like a boulder to the face. Tamio had known numerous cadets of a similar mindset.

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…

Then, Tamio refocused. Whatever the reason, there was a Ship in need of help, and if there was one thing a pilot - even a broken one - never did, it was ignore an SOS.

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: Response

Vailani/Cole: Response

TAG/TBC

LT Tamio K’Wara

Chief of Operations

USS Artemis-A
A240006GS1