Lt. JG Natasha Cole - Rift Rodeo: Acheron Edition
Natasha Schell
(( Cockpit of the USS Acheron - Ebers System, Balancar Sector, Alpha Quadrant ))
Cole: Working on it, Sir.
Natasha got to work on routing power from the Acheron’s warp drive to its engines. She wouldn’t be able to sustain it for very long or risk burning out their only means of escape. She shuddered at the thought of how much PADDwork that would involve.
Storm: I’m working on the sensors, but the rift is interfering with a clean scan. However, I sense someone out there, and they have it out for us.
Vailani: Someone!?
K’Wara: Yes and no... I don’t think the Acheron is the defining factor. The rift’s getting more erratic the closer we get... Like... It’s defending itself?
K’Wara rushed to the sensors, aiming the sensors directly into the rift.
Cole: Sounds like, haste is of the utmost importance then. I am redirecting power from the warp drive to the engines should give us the boost we need, but I’m going to have to do this in bursts, or I risk burning both out.
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!
Cole: ::pushing the engines for a quick burst:: oO Come on you stubborn shuttle move! Oo
While it felt like they were now sitting still a giant chunk of metallic debris was slung across the Acheron’s viewscreen. Close enough that the impact felt like a nudge rather than a smack.
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?
Cole: That was a little too close for comfort.
Storm: Ya think?
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.
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.
Storm: You can do this!
Vailani: You don't have a choice.
Cole: oO No pressure Oo
Natasha pushed the engines longer this time, using the scans Lieutenant Vailani was able to gather. The Acheron sounded like it was groaning under the gravitational stresses, when suddenly they found themselves breaking free. Natasha stopped the engines, not wanting to push them any further.
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.
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.
Cole: Skirt around the rift and get a peak at our unexpected guest. You got it.
Natasha used the scans that helped with the exit trajectory and plotted a course around the rift. It was a narrow corridor, but not impossible … just close to it. She was fairly certain she could do it with a near zero chance of them getting torn apart from the rift and used as target practice by the station's phasers.
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?
Natasha started taking them on what she would call a scenic route with a bit of ring around the rosie with a dash of surfing the edge of the rift.
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 otherside of that rift?=/\=
Zurah: =/\=That might take as a minute or two to calibrate and take a look for you.=/\=
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 what ever is happening.
Zurah: =/\= I'll patch you through to our engineer. =//=
K’Wara: Does it look doable, Lieutenant?
Vailani: Shouldn't be too hard. I've got access to the station's systems.
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: Response
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: 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.
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.
Vailani/Storm: Response
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:: =/\=
Vailani: Response
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: Response
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.=/\=
K’Wara/Storm/Vailani: Response
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.
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.
K’Wara/Storm/Vailani: Response
Cole: We could always consider it a plan B. oO for Bang! Oo
K’Wara/Storm/Vailani: Response
Tags/TBC
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Lt. JG Natasha Cole
Security Officer
USS Artemis-A
Writer ID A240205NC4