LCDR Nolen Hobart — No More Surprises
Nolen Hobart
((Bridge, Deck 1, USS Khitomer, the Lagoon Nebula))
It was time to tell the crew. They needed to be on the same page, rowing in the same direction. The ship was a mess, and it was in a mess. And the probe was out there, perhaps waiting to misfire. Lt. Commander Hobart opened a shipwide channel.
Hobart: =/\= All hands, this is the Captain. As you can tell power and communications have been restored. Injuries should immediately report to Sickbay on deck six, or the aid station on deck thirteen. =/\=
He spared a glance to Zerva, who he'd caught doing the kind of skull-massage that Nolen knew all too well.
Hobart: =/\= We are currently without propulsion, and we are caught in a subspace anomaly. You may continue to feel shudders as the ship is pulled by currents around a small, newly formed singularity. Our first priority is to restore the ship. Our second is to free it. You should also be aware that the probe is still out there and we have reason to believe it risks a misfire. The inoculation we've received should protect us, but it won't protect the ship. For now, keep communications to a necessary minimum. Direct medical concerns to Commander Ohnari. Direct engineering matters to Commander Dewitt. And direct scientific concerns to Lieutenant Semara. We will get through and out of this together. Hobart out. =/\=
With the comm channel closed, he looked to the two junior officers beside him. For a while, nobody said anything. And, in retrospect, it didn’t seem like anybody needed to say anything. Lieutenant Semara was busy with her measurements, and Lieutenant Zerva was dabbling in a potential career in Engineering. Then Semara sighed.
Semara: If we measure the communicator carrier wave doppler shifts as Ouchita departs, we can track 'em. When they stop, they'll be by the probe. Which means we'll know where to point sensors. Can get a good fix on 'em and the probe. Watch the progress.
Zerva: ::smiling:: Which means, we can save our little sensor boosting device for when we really needed it, by using the Ouachita to find the probe for us. Good idea Lieutenant.
Hobart: If we need to. We could also boost our scanners to keep an eye on the anomaly, in case there’s anything Ouachita needs to worry about. ::nodding:: Remember, trust your crewmates to do their jobs. They’ll have eyes and sensors on the probe.
Semara: Right. We only get to do one thing at a time with the sensors. Your call which thing I work on.
She nodded approvingly towards the amalgamation of various components that Zerva had cobbled together.
Semara: Though I s'pose that might help if it works.
Zerva: ::hesitantly with a bit of worry:: Fingers crossed. All though if this does work, you can call this the MacZerva maneuver. You know, on the count of my kit basking it, but my last name being Zevra. ::grins and winks at Hobart:: Or whatever cool sciency name the Lieutenant wants to call it.
He gave the Lieutenant his own approving nod and turned to look at Semara.
Hobart: Based on what you’re seeing so far, Lieutenant, what’s the risk assessment to the Ouachita out there? Could the anomaly damage the runabout? Could it move on us?
Semara: As long as we don't touch it - no warp, no Sencha waves, no subspace field or wave or flicker of ANY kind - the anomaly seems like it's happy where it is from what I've seen so far. A thing in motion tends to stay in motion an' all that. So it'll still be there if we point sensors somewhere else for a spell.
Nolen tried to ignore ths superstitious part of himself that worried that Semara had just doomed them. Somewhere out there, in a way that made no sense to his intellectual mind, he knew that there was a vengeful force that punished anyone who would dare to speak of their sense of security. Cat-like in its malign indifference, and probably only existing in his imagination, something out there had a very firm sense of “No, that won’t do.”
Zerva: Then perhaps we should tell the rest of the crew that? It’s important they have all the available data.
Semara: Response
Hobart: Mmm, no. I’m willing to tempt fate, but only if we don’t do it too noisily.
Zerva: I know we’re stooped to keep comms at a minimum, but was thinking we notify both engineering and the runabout cre—
El’Heem: =/\= Ouachita to Hobart. We have arrived at the probe and ensign Michaels is approaching in EVA. =/\=
Speak of the devil. Nolen didn’t remember ordering them to take off, and he clenched his jaw, only to let him know when they were ready. His intention was straightforward: launch, hit it with a microtorpedo, and return. No EVA necessary. He’d intended to communicate those orders when the runabout was ready for launch, but the opportunity had clearly passed. It might be for the better, given Semara’s concerns about disturbing the anomaly. He didn’t know what Lieutenant J/G El’Heem intended to do with the probe,
Hobart: =/\= She’s… Nevermind. At the first sign of trouble, bring her back and blow it the hell up. =/\=
El’Heem: =/\= Aye. I’ll keep you updated, sir. El’Heem out.=/\=
Zerva: ::eyes them both with worry:: I hope they are successful. ::rubs his forehead:: I know Ensign Michaels is more than capable of doing this task.
Nolen sighed and nodded. Yes, she was. Probably. The details of the task were frustratingly vague to him. A crippled ship didn’t have to mean crippled communications, but often they went hand in hand. The individual ingenuity of Starfleet officers was the only saving grace, and meant that this wasn’t necessarily a death sentence. Creative minds and flexible problem solving skills were in well-supply among the lower deckers, as he well knew from his time as one. He sat down into the command chair, feeling less in command than more in for a show.
Hobart: You said that we’d be able to watch the probe when they were there?
Semara: Response
Zerva: Yes sir, I’ll get right on tracking the runabout. Standing by the MacZerva.
Hobart closed his eyes and listened for Semara’s spoken readouts. Normally, there’d be something to look at on the viewscreen. But at the moment all he had was the mostly empty bridge.
Semara: Response
Hobart: How difficult would it be to look at the anomaly, Lieutenant? Can we switch back and forth between them and the shuttle?
Semara / Zerva: Response
It wasn't that he wasn't interested in monitoring the shuttle's mission, it's that he wasn't interested in only monitoring the shuttle's mission. Semara had assured that it was stable, as far as these things go, but these things never seemed to go very far.
Hobart: Do that, then. Some data on many things is better than a lot of data on only one thing. No more surprises.
Semara / Zerva: Response
He tapped his combadge. If they were taking "eyes" off the runabout, they needed some other way to stay connected.
Hobart: =/\= Khitomer to Ouachita. What's your status? =/\=
Prix: =/\= Response =/\=
TBC
———
Lt. Commander Nolen Hobart
Executive Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A240001NH3