Ensign Jovenan – The Threads of Duty
Jovenan
((Shuttle Ector, Shuttlebay 2, USS Excalibur-A))
Jovenan: Is the download complete?
Jovenan had managed to relay the astrometric data package from Kawarda to the bridge, although it was not yet sure if they received it or if they noticed it. And, for all she could know, the bridge crew could be all dead or incapacitated by now. She shook her head: she couldn’t to do anything about whatever was happening on the bridge, so she had to remain determined and keep sending them data that could possibly help keeping the ship safe. And some of that data was in a cumbersome format, being downloaded from a PADD to the shuttle computer, as supervised by Crewman Lante.
Lante: Ninety three percent Ma’am, we are almost there.
Jovenan: Hmm, it takes a bit longer than I expected. It should be ready any moment now.
Lante: May I ask, if this is what’s causing our ship problems?
Jovenan: Umm, I don’t really know what is doing this to us. There was an explosion in the cargo bay after the bridge crew apparently beamed in a beacon. I hope these transmissions could explain us what it was and who send it. I hope.
Lante: I see.
There was a short, silent moment as the download creeped towards 100 per cent, but then Lante broke the silence.
Lante: Well we need to work on that data here Ma’am? I am asking because I don’t know how things are going out in the bay. Perhaps we better lock the shuttle doors just in case.
Jovenan: Well, these shuttles have a separate system that seems to be uncompromised. I might not be able to find anything that has the required programs for the job that’s still functioning.
For a short moment she was puzzled what the Crewman had meant with shutting the shuttle doors. When it finally occurred to her that the shuttlebay entrance was still unstable and unsafe, she became seemingly more nervous. It had been much easier to work when she had forgotten the impending doom.
Jovenan: Ye- yes, that could be a se-sensible precaution.
Lante: Response
Waiting for the last moments for the download to complete, she heard her combadge relay her the voice of the other man she was working with right now.
Kawarda: =/\= Kawarda to Ensign Jovenan =/\=
Jovenan: =/\= Jovenan here. =/\=
Kawarda: =/\= I have completed the transfer. Additionally, I believe I have a way to regain full functionality of the Excalibur =/\=
Jovenan: =/\= I have received the data and it’s being relayed to the bridge, thank you! Tell me more about your idea! =/\=
Kawarda: =/\= I experienced a concentration of a nanoscopic entity I believed to be drawn to active electronic systems. A crude electromagnetic pulse of 229 volts was sufficient to render them inert. The pulse however, rendered all running equipment nonconductive. I recommend relaying to the Commodore that a ship-wide power shutdown followed by a broad-spectrum EMP would give the ship's self-repairing subroutines the "breathing space" to bring us to 79% efficiency within 15 minutes of the power cycle. =/\=
Soon after Kawarda had begun describing his method, Jovenan realised she should be writing it down somewhere. Under a lot of pressure from the stressful, dangerous situation and the fact that Kawarda was telling her vital details with speed faster than she was comfortable with, she began to doubt if she was the right person for this role after all. She typed the information as quickly as she could to the shuttle computer interface, and only after Kawarda was done, she stopped to think what he had said and what she had written. Nanoscopic entities? So not viruses? And what was happening in the astrometrics that Kawarda was not only theorising this but also testing it?! But it was not the time for questions.
Jovenan: =/\= I, uh… I don’t know what is happening there, but you’re doing great, thank you! I’ll try to relay that. =/\=
Kawarda: =/\= Ensign, there is one additional matter. =/\=
Jovenan: =/\= What is it, Kawarda? =/\=
oO Please be good news, please be… Oo
Kawarda: =/\= After analyzing the data, I believe the Exclibur will come under attack within the next 45 to 120 minutes. =/\=
What!? How… She had so many questions and so many threads on her hands. The transmission download and analyzation nearing completion. The nano-thingies and how to stop them. The shuttle comm interfacing blinking for some reason. And now a possible attack that, considering the state of the ship, could kill them all. She felt overwhelmed.
Jovenan: =/\= I… I… Cou… ::sigh, then flatly:: Thank you. I’ll try to relay that too. Try your best to find out more about… anything, if you can. Jovenan out. =/\=
Kawarda: =/\= Understood. Kawarda out. =/\=
The commlink ended, and she covered her face with both her hands. There was absolutely too much going on. Leaving Rubicun had been stressful. The University had been stressful. So had the Academy. But this was a new, mind-numbing level of stress. She wanted to give in, be carried to her bed and sleep for days.
Finally, she opened her eyes and checked why the comms interface had something blinking on it. It was a text message, a transmission through the same systems as she had sent the location data package to the bridge. It was a simple acknowledgement that they had received it and were thanking of it.
Jovenan: It’s the bridge crew! They’re alive and the message reached them!
Lante: Response
She turned to the download, which had reached its conclusion. Downloading communication data, rather than actually receiving it through transceiver was slow as it was an unusual method of inputting data, but after it was in the system, it didn’t take more than a few seconds to actually decode it to readable format. And then, it was all done. Some of the threads in her hands began to loosen up.
Jovenan: Okay! We have two transmissions decoded. The first one is text, but it’s decrypted. Ugh, opening that would take ages. But the other one is audio. ::turning to face Lante:: Wanna hear it?
Lante: Response
With a simple click, the speakers of the shuttle came to life and the unknown audio transmission started playing.
MacKenzie (recording): =/\= Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is Commander Addison MacKenzie and Lieutenant Talos Dakora of the USS Excalibur aboard the Maquis ship Daisy calling any friendly vessel. Our vessel has been captured by Klingon renegades. We are injured and require immediate assistance. Transmitting coordinates with this message. Authenticate with code MacKenzie-4-4-7-Charlie-Echo. =/\=
After the recording stopped playing, silence followed. Hundreds of thoughts went through Jovenan’s head in that brief moment. MacKenzie and Dakora… were… Alive. Captured. Not the cause of explosion. In danger. Injured. On ship, surrounded by Klingons who were probably going to attack the Excalibur as Kawarda had theorized.
Lante: Response
Jovenan: Huh? Yes. That’s… bad. For them. For us. We might all be in danger.
Lante: Response
Jovenan: I’ll transmit everything we’ve learnt this far to the bridge, then we’re ready here.
She started typing a new message to the bridge containing all the new knowledge they had gained. Kawarda’s solution to the nano-robot infestation. Kawarda’s estimation of incoming attack. MacKenzie’s and Dakora’s distress message, or rather its written transcription due to the technical limitations. Then, she transferred her message to the bridge through the same channel she had used before with the location data. The loose threads were falling off her hands, but she didn’t feel the relief. The situation was still developing, and the worst was probably still ahead of them.
Jovenan: All done. ::turning to Lante:: You can evacuate me now.
As she was about to get up from her seat, the shuttle and indeed the shuttlebay were rocked by some unknown force. She looked around to see what was happening. Had Jovenan not been seated, she would have lost her balance and fallen down on the ground.
Jovenan: What was that?!
Lante: Response
TAG/TBC
----
Ensign Jovenan
Science officer
USS Excalibur-A
E239911J11