LCDR Nolen Hobart — Ride the Whirlwind (Part II)
Nolen Hobart
((Bridge, Deck 1, USS Khitomer, the Lagoon Nebula))
Semara: Officer thinkin'. If only one runabout didn't have trashed gel packs, one shuttle weren't cannibalized for power... :: A tool between her teeth, and yanking out a thick cable. :: Aaannn eeeef deee uuudder threee wher'nn shtukk een de mainaance bay.
It was funny to Nolen how their respective thoughts turned in roughly the same direction. He was doing a mental inventory of their shuttlebay—what they had to work with and didn't—in order to solve problems they didn't know how to solve. Banks was worried about the sensors. Hobart was worried about something else. Dealing with the strands of the singularity was hard enough. He wasn't sure they'd be able to deal with the central pit of it with the ship and survive.
Hobart: We've got one functional runabout, and if the sensors are working good enough to make do, then I'd like to keep the Ouachita in my back pocket for now.
Zerva: Response
T’Dara: The computer is unable to to predict a modulation derivative. ::She looked up, translating to Standard:: I’m doing it manually for lack of gel packs, but if we do not find a method of predicting fluctuations and eddies in the subspace current, we will lose our warp field. Potentially more than our warp field.
Another problem he had no idea how to solve.
T’Dara: =/\= Engineering, this is T’Dara. Detecting a 0.3 millicochrane oscillation in our warp bubble. =/\=
Michaels: =/\= Acknowledged. There is an 84.6% probability that we can stabilize it at that level if we do not increase the load on the warp core. I estimate that a power setting of 12.6% is very approximately the maximum we can handle and maintain any semblance of control. Warp three absolute maximum speed. =/\=
Nolen's eyebrows fell toward each other in a bunch. Ensign Michaels spoke in terms of warp factors, but Hobart's mind focused on the power output. It seemed to him from what the others were saying that it would work for now, but only on the hairy edge. They'd need to pump out more power to deal with the Hole, and he wouldn't risk the ship or crew on that. The ship was bucking enough as it was.
Dewitt / R. Matthews: =/\=Response =/\=
Suddenly, a loud pop and a flash of light silenced the room, and Hobart's thoughts were thoroughly derailed.
Semara: Ah! :: A yelp as she reflexively covered her face ::
Amelia stood and checked herself. When he was sure she wasn't in need of medical attention, Lt. Commander Hobart did his best to resume his train of thought.
Semara: I'm fine!
Hobart: Ensign Graves, given what we're observing on the tendrils, how much power would we need to pump into the warp field to seal the core?
T'Dara / Zerva / Banks / Graves / Dewitt / Michaels / R. Matthews: Response?
Semara: :: A deep breath, then to herself :: Okay, conductors... Copper. No. Aluminum. No. Silver. No. Gold... :: Beat, then exasperation :: Oh, come on!
A loud percussive banging filled their ears, as the fabric of space complained about being sutured back together by technomagic.
Semara: :: Singsong, to Graves :: Graves... That ain't "minor" cavitation!
Hobart: Commander T’Dara, Dewitt—can we get that much out of a runabout's core?
T'Dara / Zerva / Banks / Graves / Dewitt / Michaels / R. Matthews: Response (optional)
To his left, the science station powered back up and Lieutenant Semara crawled out of it.
Semara: :: Hissing :: Great Fana... :: Reporting out :: The lightnin' rod is workin' a little too well. We're pullin' the whole dang anomaly down on us as we go. Fine if we had infinite stable warp power, but... :: trailing off ::
To Hobart's mind, this sounded like good news. He stood, unsteady, from the command chair and wobbled over the bucking deck to the helm console. They couldn't keep this up much longer. Gripping the back of Ensign Banks’s seat, the XO leaned in.
Hobart: Can you juggle, Ensign? I need someone to remotely pilot the runabout Ouachita back into anomaly as it follows us. Then… ::pointing to Commander T’Dara and Ensign Graves:: …can we use its warp field like ours, only higher output, long enough to collapse the anomaly before the Ouachita is destroyed?
T'Dara / Zerva / Banks / Graves / Dewitt / Michaels / R. Matthews: Respons
Hobart: Zerva, Semara, start the remote uplink!
Semara: :: Cool but urgent :: Go! Faster! Now!
T'Dara / Zerva / Banks / Graves / Dewitt / Michaels / R. Matthews: Response?
Hobart: They can bill me! Launch!
As the acting Captain stumbled back to the command chair, the viewscreen switched to an astern view, as an empty runabout flew from the Khitomer’s open bay. The small gray craft seemed to be swallowed up by the gaping black maw of the singularity.
T'Dara / Zerva / Banks / Graves / Dewitt / Michaels / R. Matthews: Response?
As the craft’s nacelles lit up as if it was beginning to jump to warp, the singularity seemed to vibrate on itself. Its solid edges became blurry, and doubled in on themselves and back out again. Then, in a flash, the Ouachita was gone, flattened into Ensign Graves’s atomic pancake, Nolen presumed.
At first he felt relief, as the singularity grew smaller. But it turned into something else when the rippling of nebula gases and starlight beyond suggested something big their way was coming: a massive shockwave.
Hobart: =/\= All hands, this is the Captain! BRACE! =/\=
T'Dara / Zerva / Banks / Graves / Dewitt / Michaels / R. Matthews: Response?
TBC
———
Lt. Commander Nolen Hobart
Executive Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A240001NH3