LtCmdr Connor Dewitt - It's a trap!

[Tim]

((Bridge, USS Khitomer))

Connor’s eyes remained fixed on the shifting readouts on the console in front of him. The nebula did not want to reveal anything about itself. His grandpa tried to teach him not to attribute a will to machines or phenomena. He refused to.

C. Dewitt: =/\= Bridge to El’Heem. Tell me we got eyes on what’s inside that nebula, Ras. =/\=

El’Heem: =/\= Negative, commander. Our scans aren’t giving us anything useful. We’re sending a probe to get a closer look. I’ll keep you posted. =/\=

Connor exhaled slowly as the comm channel immediately closed again. A probe. Good. Safer than guessing. But it also meant they were still blind for now. His eyes drifted back to the viewscreen.

Naxell: Lieutenant, your instincts on this cloud seem quite sound, but keep an open mind. It may be natural, or artificial, or… I suppose even an illusion. Please assist the First Officer. ::looking up to Stros:: Look for signs of how the ship became disabled, and how it might have gotten itself free. It looks to me like the others ships in the cloud are stuck, and though it didn’t save them, this one seems to have escaped.

Connor inclined his head slightly. Assist the First Officer. Right. That was him. Still felt strange hearing it. He wondered when that would ever stop.

Stros: I have scarce residual power readings within some of the ship’s systems. Like old capacitors slowly losing their charge from sitting unused. No apparent damage so far.

Connor’s head tried to make sense of that. Were the hull breaches of the cruiser outside the cloud not inflicted by the cloud?

Naxell: Mr. Korras, resume course towards the cruiser, but mind. That. Cloud.

Korras: Yes sir. Avoiding the cloud.

Connor felt the subtle shift of the ship as it adjusted course. Inertial dampeners caught much of the forces, still the engineer in him noticed.

Stros: I’m seeing approximately seventeen small hull breaches along the port and after sides of the ship.

Connor narrowed his eyes as he watched the viewscreen for a second more before returning to the readings on the cloud in front of him. It’s composition looked artificial, at least if he could trust the sensors. The elements in its outer layer where nothing Connor would have expected from a nebula this size. Yet, it was not his field of expertise.

Naxell: Look for signs of chemical, electrical, or physical effects upon the ship. That should give us some idea of what we’re looking at.

Stros: Scanning. Perhaps there are traces of weapons fire or corrosion within the breaches.

Korras: I will look out for anything in our flight path.

Naxell: Good thinking. Keep forwarding to the conference room, but start sending your scans to Engineering, too.

Connor’s head jumped briefly back to engineering. More eyes never hurt.

Korras: I am picking up trace readings of Sencha radiation, originating from the Alliance vessel.

Connor’s attention sharpened immediately as he heard those words from Korras. Sencha radiation. His brain switched to red alert.

Stros: Confirmed, Captain.

Naxell: Response

C. Dewitt: If that radiation is tied to their weapons, they may have fired their way out.

He paused as his brain supplemented “Or tried to.”.

Korras: I can not tell if the ship has been targeted with it, or if they are the source themselves.

Stros: I would have to say that it does not appear to have originated from the vessel itself. ::Looking over his readings:: I am seeing more traces of the radiation within the breaches on the vessel’s hull. It would appear they were…

Connor stayed quiet at first. If this really was some kind of trap, then those ships inside may have fought it. They would have tried to tear themselves free. Maybe even had fired on each other to strip themselves of caught up parts.

His eyes shifted back towards the ship on the viewscreen. It was the only vessel outside the cloud. Why that one? Why was it the only one that made it out? Or had it even? For a second he forgot about the nebula and focused on the ship.

C. Dewitt: Why this one? Why is this ship not inside the cloud?

Naxell/Korras/A. Dewitt: Response

In the meantime, Commander Stros had made a different observation.

Stros: Mr. Korras. ::Looking towards the Klingon:: You confirmed we were holding 20,000 kilometers from the cloud before we continued moving again, correct?

Connor stood again and looked at Korras.

Korras/Naxell/A. Dewitt: Response

He stayed quiet as their officers seemed to work out a more pressing issue than the question of why exactly that ship was outside the cloud.

Stros: And the distance we have travelled since we continued motion?

Korras/Naxell/A. Dewitt: Response

Stros: ::Sending the data to the viewscreen:: The cloud appears to be changing its relative position. ::Two points appeared on the screen on a rough overlaid map of the cloud:: We have been focusing on the drifting vessel, and the cloud… ::The right-most point shifted roughly 500 kilometers along their starboard side:: …appears to be attempting to flank us, Captain. Albeit slowly.

Connor felt the mental shift instantly. The situation has changed. If the cloud was moving, it was not passive. It might be a bigger threat to them than they anticipated. The first officer immediately moved back to his station to review the data their sensors picked up on the cloud.

Naxell/Korras/A. Dewitt: Response

C. Dewitt: ::nodding:: It’s not a drift. It’s a reacting. ::towards Naxell:: Sir, I suggest we get to a safe distance..

Naxell/Korras/A. Dewitt/Stros: Response

The words had barely settled, as the first alarm cut through the bridge. A sharp rising tone. Urgent. Connor’s head snapped toward the viewscreen. The nebula seemed to have increased its speed. A drift had become a maneuver. It was closer now. Too close.

He looked back at his readings.

C. Dewitt: It’s trying to surround us, Sir.

Naxell/Korras/A. Dewitt/Stros: Response

The Khitomer responded to whatever commands the crew had given. Connor could not discern the systems that started to ramp up, but he felt that the ship did its best to break free.

They were not fast enough. The violet haze surged forward, swallowing the stars on the viewscreen in seconds. Gold flashes streaked past like lightning in a fog. The viewscreen filled completely. And checking the sensor data in front of him confirmed it. They were almost fully engulfed.

Naxell/Korras/A. Dewitt/Stros: Response

Connor stood up and stepped towards the center of the bridge immediately as if getting there would somehow make the data clearer. As he looked onto the ship status console, it became apparent what happened.

C. Dewitt: Power levels are fluctuating.

Consoles around the bridge started to flicker.

Naxell/Korras/A. Dewitt/Stros: Response

LtCmdr Connor Dewitt
First Officer
USS Khitomer
A239901CD3