Lieutenant JG Lystra - A moment to breathe, but not too much
Rameses
(( Battle Bridge, Deck 8, USS Constitution-B ))
When the hail ended she quickly looked back to her console, checking the sensors. The Stardrive and Saucer section were still backing up, but the Saucer was notably slower. If that didn’t screen their true intent to help, she didn’t know what did.
Foster: Before you ask, yes we will just barely make it to safe range before that thing blows. The saucer section sustained less damage and has full mobility. They’ll make it unless they linger.
Saveron/Horne: ?
The hull of the Theseus was cracking apart. Those microfractures were turning into larger fractures and they had scant little time left to make up their minds.
Lystra: Sir, they’ve got about a minute left before that ship goes up in a warp breach.
Saveron/Horne: ?
Foster: We’re still on tactical retreat, to the best of our ability.
Lystra: We should already be at a safe distance. But the Saucer section is moving slow enough to give them time to make a decision. I still advise we keep moving, our shields are still down and we definitely couldn’t take a hit from a breach.
Saveron/Horne: ?
Foster: We can’t rescue them. We’re going to get rocked no matter what, but it will be the difference between the sort of rocked that gives everyone some bruises or the sort of rocked that rips another dozen hull breaches. I’m going to keep putting distance between us unless ordered otherwise.
Her station beeped and she looked at the incoming reports a moment.
Lystra: Updated damage reports coming in sir. ::She looked to Horne, letting him tell the bulk of things, not related to the tactical systems:: Using the deflector dish like we did burned out power conduits on four decks. Our starboard phaser array will be offline for an extended period. ::She took a breath:: Casualties as well. Two more dead, but it looks like that beaming Georgio, Mark and Barr to the hull breach was a good idea. Rescue efforts are well under way.
Foster: Good job, triage. ::He said quietly, proudly.::
Saveron/Horne: ?
Fuse: =/\= Theseus to Constitution. You win. Five souls ready for transport. =/\=
The unexpected call came in abruptly and Lystra’s brow raised. Only five? That ship had a lot more crew than that. If anything, it told a person all they needed to know about the majority of the Syndicate. Despite her personal prejudices against their organization, the Starfleet officer in her was glad that they would be able to save at least five souls this day.
Saveron/Horne: response
With the only pirates who wanted to leave beamed aboard the Saucer section, she looked to Saveron sitting in front of and below her.
Lystra: Thirty seconds until that ship blows. I suggest we get out of here at full impulse. I’m diverting all power from the weapon systems to the impulse engines. Cade, you’ve got everything we can spare from my end. ::She looked to Jacob::
Foster: Suggestion noted.
She thought she heard a bit of amusement in his voice.
Saveron/Horne: ?
Foster: Put the extra power towards hull integrity fields. That’s what’s hampering us now. We go as fast as we can without shaking the ship apart.
A series of beeps resounded from the tactical console as it made an auditory notation of the impending destruction of the Theseus.
Lystra: Three..
Foster: Make everyone brace for impact. We’ll survive this, but it will rock us.
Saveron/Horne: ?
Lystra: Two…
Foster: Saucer section is out of range. She’s past us now, all we have to do is hold on…
She placed a hand on the top edge of her console, gripping it firmly and widened her stance and bent her knees to brace herself.
Saveron/Horne: ?
Lystra: ::She quickly set the viewscreen to dim much as they had when the warp flare went off:: One!
The sensors managed to pick up an energy spike from the Theseus, they were trying to create a warp bubble. And it backfired. The attempt lit them up like an incendiary device just before the containment on their warp core failed.
There was a tremendous blinding flare that spread across the darkened viewscreen and then a subsequent rolling shockwave.
The lights on the bridge died as all power went to the hull to keep the drive together as it was pushed back. The Stardrive was tossed about, even at this distance they felt it hard. She knew that if they had been closer their part of the ship likely would have been lost.
The inertial dampeners whined, struggling to keep up and anyone not bracing would be tossed about the ship like a ragdoll. A small section of the ceiling behind her, near one of the aft consoles, was jostled free and some optical cables dropped through the opening a meter or so.
It felt like forever. It was seconds.
And then it stopped. Thank the stars. Lystra, though braced as she was, was knocked on her ass.
Foster: Is everyone alright?
The Boslic grumbled while picking herself back up to her feet, loose strands of lavender hair hanging about her face. Her gloved fingers quickly tapped at the LCARs in front of her to check for status reports from across the Stardrive.
Saveron/Horne: ?
Lystra: Still getting reports from across the Stardrive. ::He paused and quickly read through what she saw::
Foster: Well, the good news is, we have no new hull breaches. The bad news is… we are going nowhere fast.
Lystra: Tactical systems still offline. ::her console updated and she scowled:: More casualties, reported sir. Thirty two wounded. And there’s a plasma fire in Cybernetics lab two on deck twelve. And Shuttle bay three is reporting that one of the type eleven shuttles suffered some minor structural damage after being dislodged from her birth. ::She quickly looked up and added:: Damage control and medical teams are already on it.
Saveron/Horne: ?
Foster: Time to put out a distress call to Starfleet and lick our wounds I would say.
Saveron/Horne: ?
Lystra: Sir, I suggest we wait on the distress call for a moment.
Saveron/Horne/Foster: ?
Lystra: Because, we have to ask why were the Theseus and Minotaur here in the first place. They aren’t the scientific sort.
Saveron/Horne/Foster: ?
Lystra: Our away team could be in danger. I advise we send as many security teams as we can spare and have shuttles for, to the mine. At best, there’s nothing wrong and they just waste a trip and give the miners a slight panic attack.
Saveron/Horne/Foster: ?
Lystra: It would explain why the mine has become inefficient recently. But if there are pirates there, anyone we send should do so cautiously. Last thing we’d want is a massacre or hostage situation.
Though she’d only recently joined the security department, Lystra had been hard studying the department’s procedures and training programs. She still had much to get caught up on, but her own experience in covert operations gave her insight into criminal organizations and especially the Syndicate.
Saveron/Horne/Foster: ?
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Lieutenant JG Lystra
Tactical Officer
USS Constitution-B NCC-9012-B
SB118 Podcast Team
Writer ID: A239410TR0
https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=Lystra