Lt. JG Ollie Bergmen - When subspace blooms like a flower
CPT Arianus
(( Cockpit of the Kerynitis, Space around DS224 ))
The Kerynitis shuttle slowly drifted through space, adjusting its flight path to maintain its separation from the medical transport. Ensign Meris kept them from colliding with the passing ship, Lieutenants K'Wara and Vailani focused on studying maps and previously logged subspace drifts. JG Bergman had nothing else to do but contemplate the immortality of the crab.
Bergmen: Do we plan just the scan of those distortions, ma’am, or will we take some particle samples as well?
Vailani: Once we complete a scan and there are no anomalies, it may be a good opportunity to test the transporters and put our sample-collecting protocols into practice.
Bergmen nodded, then refocused on the screen in front of him.
K’Wara: The medical transports will be out of the system in approximately four minutes, Chief. Recommend non-invasive scans of the distortions only until then.
Ollie, anticipating further orders, started working on powering up the shuttle's sensors.
Vailani: Agree, Lieutenant. We can begin with long-range sensor sweeps. That should let us know the scale and density of the subspace distortion. Once the Athanas has cleared safely, switch to narrow-band scanners combined with multispectral sweeps.
Bergmen: Sensors fully powered. Anytime you need them.
K’Wara: Understood. I will get the tactical sensors mapping any potential subspace fault lines.
Vailani: Good thinking. We do not want to run into one of those.
Bergmen split his screen, picked earphone and added tracking subspace mapping and ranging on his plate.
Bergmen: On it, ma’am.
Lieutenant K’Wara was about to finish their communication with the transport.
K’Wara: =/\= Medical Transport Athanas, you have crossed the system border. Peaceful stars light your path. =/\=
Athanas Pilot: =/\= Fair winds, Kerynitis. Athanas out. =/\=
K’Wara: We are clear, sir.
Meris guided them back on course and continued to check their instruments for other traffic as the shuttle approached a previously detected space distortion.
Vailani: That is unusual.
The Lieutenant's voice behind Ollie's back sounded anxious, but JG Bergman didn't pay much attention to it as he was searching on his screen for the clues to the distortion they were looking for. But there were no subspace echoes, no energy readings; nothing provided any clues that should have been present, which he was prepared to warn Helm against to help Meris with the navigation.
Vailani: There were supposed to be several distortion drifts in this region.
Meris: Could they have naturally dissipated?
With the data he was receiving from SUBNAR, or more likely the data he was not receiving, JG Bergmen felt this question was quite relevant.
Bergmen: Rarely, ensign. But even then, there should have been at least some space foil scaring detectable.
K’Wara: Response
Subspace mysteries were not a topic Ollie was strong in, so he relied on the expertise of his colleagues. Lieutenant Vailani seemed to know what she was doing and what should be done.
Vailani: Do we have the previous scans for comparison yet?
Meris: Yes, Lieutenant. I will display it for you now.
Bergmen turned in his chair and looked at the main viewscreen and the map of distortions DS224 supplied. He stared at it for a moment, trying to visualize their position relative to previous measurements. They were in the correct location, so why...
K’Wara: Response
SUBAR ping came too late to provide an effective warning. A rumble shook the shuttle, prompting Meris to immediately make the necessary adjustments.
Meris: A minor pocket of subspace turbulence.
The deck's polarity shifted slightly as the impulse thrusters began to adjust Helm's control. Meris seemed to regain flight stability and control over the shuttle. But that wasn't Ollie's concern. JG concentrated on the source of the turbulence, adjusting his instruments to pinpoint the cause.
Vailani: Keep us nice and steady, Ensign. A slight reduction in power from the impulse thrusters will help with control. What is the multispectral scan telling us, Lieutenant Bergmen?
Meris: Aye sir.
What the scans were showing was a good question. Now when they pinpointed the place from which the turbulence came, and focused their resources, he recognized what he hadn't seen before. It appeared as a blister on the foil of space, although that didn't seem to make much sense. He attempted to fit it into his understanding, but the more he tried, the more he felt the answer slipping through his fingers like sand.
Bergmen: Found what probably is our subspace distortion, ma’am. ::pause:: But… I don’t know how to describe it. It looks like the subspace bloom, which is blistering into real space. Mr. K’Wara, opinion?
Ollie quickly pressed a key to send the data and analysis to Lieutenant Vailani and K'War's console. Meris responded to Bergmen’s confused description with caution, and Ollie appreciated it with a nod, agreeing with their opinion.
Meris: Lieutenant Vailani, I recommend we adjust our course to orbit the distortion rather than close on it. Subspace turbulence may increase as we get closer, and all that we observe, we change. An orbital path will allow our sensor strength to impact the distortion uniformly, as opposed to an approaching path which would increase our sensor strength as we close.
K’Wara/Vailani: Response
Ollie bit his lip, as he didn’t have the answers they seemed to expect. His face tightened as he fell into deep thought, searching his mind for any scrap of information on the topic.
Bergmen: Subspace distortions generally originate from real space reasons that weaken the veil. This one is confusing, as I did not find any marks this one was caused by something that happened here; it’s more like… ::pause:: subspace exotic particles bulge or ballooning in the veil wall separating real space from subspace. I’m no scientist, nor do I have an explanation for this… so if there are no other ideas, I would recommend - in the meantime of us getting more scans - to search the historic databases to see if something like this has been met before, ma’am.
K’Wara/Vailani/Meris: Response
Bergmen turned back to his console so he could run more scans. They needed to get to the bottom of it.
Bergmen: Lieutenant, I cannot get better resolution on those exotic particles. We will need to get a little closer, I’m afraid, to be able to distinguish the particles in the subspace stream from those in the distortion. Recommend Mx. Meris to be ready for evasive maneuvers in case of distortion bloom.
K’Wara/Vailani/Meris: Response
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant JG Ollie Bergmen
Operations Officer
U.S.S. Artemis-A
A240009JC1