LtJg Lera Michaels - Tis But A Scratch

[steve...@yahoo.com]

((Jeffries Tube 127CC Nacelle One, USS Khitomer))

Lera pulled a durite screw driver from a pocket and repeated her experiment, slowly moving the tool across the thread near the Jeffries tube ceiling. While the tool offered greater resistance, the results were the same. One portion of the screwdriver clanked as it fell to deck next to the portions of the ruined glove. Lera shook her head, bit her lower lip and held up what remained of the tool to first Morda and then to the admiral.

Michaels: Given the near invisible nature of these filaments and their impact on these materials, I struggle to come up with a scenario where I would recommend leaving the ship.

Morda: Sounds like they’re going to proceed anyhow. Sorry I didn’t think to grab a tricorder on the way down – you have one? Not to slice, but to, ya know, scan?

Lera gently scowled at Ensign Morda.

Michaels: Scan with a tricorder. What a novel idea. Unfortunately I do not have one with me for either scanning or slicing.

Nicholotti: Lucky for you, Admirals rarely go anywhere without tricorders.

Michaels handed the tricorder to Ensign Morda. The action, minor as it was required rearranging themselves in the narrow Jeffries Tube. For just a heartbeat, Lera found herself thinking this might be better if, instead of Talon, Ezra was with her.

Morda: ::Taps his commbadge again:: =/\= Ensign Morda to Dr. Ohnari. =/\=

Ohnari: =/\= Response. =/\=

Morda: Lieutenant Michaels has discovered incredibly slender threads slicing through portions of the ship. They’ve sliced through gloves and tools with nary any resistance. Against flesh, it’d be a bloody mess. Lieutenant El’Heem’s scans say they’re concentrated near the nacelles.

oO Concentrated near the nacelles. Items punching holes in the hull was never the preferred outcome, Still if that's where they all are, then we are lucky. Oo

Lera frowned as she contemplated. The threads were clearly a manufactured item. And to puncture the hull must have been propelled with great force. What sort of system would required to do that? How would you handle the threads? How was this done? But. One of the first lessons Pujah had taught her was that the last thing you should to argue was impossible was reality.

Ohnari: =/\= Response. =/\=

Michaels: The threads we are seeing are cutting through several materials are taut and are nanometers thick. The material strength required to penetrate the hull to this depth is remarkable.

Nicholotti: =/\= If that's not why we can't move, we're happy that we aren't able to after seeing this.=/\=

Michaels: I have insufficient data to prove this but I suspect that the Sheliak ship did not stop moving. The threads ripped away portions of their hull and, assuming they were anchored to structural members of the ship caused the overall failure we have observed.

Ohnari/Morda: =/\= Responses? =/\=

The lights went out momentarily and the pinkish glow faded simultaneously. When the power returned, the filaments began to glow more brightly. Lera's thoughts went back to the filaments. Why did they glow?

Nicholotti: That was new.

Morda: Responses?

Lera glanced at Morda and stopped abruptly.

Michaels: Talon. You are bleeding. :: Reaching out to touch Morda's forehead where the blood was seeping, Lera stopped and noted the thin, green line on the heel of her hand. A single drop of green blood had formed. :: Apparently, so am I.

Lera held up her hand so that the admiral could see, Lera studied the bulkhead and the overhead of the Jeffries Tube. Suddenly she understood what was happening and why the filaments were glowing.

Michaels: There are threads here that are not anchored on the opposite side of the tube. They do not radiate because their temperature is the same as the ambient temperature. We have greater difficulty seeing them because they are so thin and they are not glowing. Since they are not taut, touching them is like gently touching a very sharp knife. The result is this. A scratch. :: beat :: The filaments are glowing because our energy is flowing through them. The ones that are not attached to our power cables do not have flowing through them. These threads are some type of superconductive power cables themselves. That is why we are losing power.

Morda/Nicholotti: Response

Michaels: We should leave here immediately. We can simply go back down the Jeffries Tube though there is the possibility of additional threads. The alternative is to have the ship spend a portion of our remaining energy beaming us out of here. The Bridge. Sickbay. Engineering. Somewhere else. :: glancing back at Nicholotti.:: Admiral. I will defer the ultimate decision to you.

Morda/Nicholotti: Response

Michaels: Admiral.

Ohanri (if still there): =/\= Response? =/\=

Tags/TBC

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LtJg Lera Michaels

Engineering Officer
USS Khitomer
K240106LM2