MSNPC LtCmdr. T'Dara: Derivatives, Part II

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Randal Shayne

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Jun 5, 2025, 7:19:14 AM6/5/25

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((Deck 1, Bridge, USS Khitomer))

Semara: :: Quietly. :: Commander.

The turbolift doors quietly sheafed shut behind her as the Vulcan woman stepped onto the still-unfamiliar deck. The… lieutenant’s?... greeting was responded to with a curt, slow nod. There was a… knowing in the capable lieutenant’s eyes- not a conspiratorial sharing, nor a judgement; merely a recognition of the presence of something, and the wisdom to demurely keep from pursuing it. Despite the almost too-ready smile, T’Dara logged her reaction to fully appreciate later.

Dewitt / Banks / Zerva: Response

T’Dara: Lieutenant.

It appeared that she was just in time. Captain Hobart had taken back the room’s attention.

Hobart: Everything set?

Semara: Yessir. All ready.

T’Dara glanced up, lips pursed, as she addressed herself to finding an open station. Wait for me!

Graves: T-the program is r-ready, sir.

The Vulcan woman slowly turned, dismayed that someone found the ship even more intolerably chilly than she. To her astonishment, she spotted a hunched Kelpian, clearly at odds with his own state of existence. A sheer pang of unguarded pity shafted through her side.

Banks / Semara / Zerva: Response

T’Dara: Engineering Uplink shows ready, Captain.

It blinked moderately at her, and she readied her fingers to speedily address imbalances.

Hobart: Then let’s go.

Semara: Aye, sir. Singularity's present position is bearin' Oh-eight-seven, mark twelve, distance just under twenty-five thousand kilometers. I'd say the minimum safe distance to try collapsin' the anomaly is 'bout half a million kilometers. I read three threads within two-thousand kilometers. Lemme try plottin' to the viewer...

T’Dara felt relief on behalf of the poor helmswoman. She didn’t appear terribly experienced- and if T’Dara had trouble following that barrage of relevant but mind-twisting information, she had to imagine others did as well. Fortunately the viewscreen lit up with a picture that said a thousand words.

Banks / Zerva: Response

T’Dara: Loathe though I am to rush headlong into matters, we may be best served by addressing the most antagonistic threads first.

She spared the bridge crew her reasoning- that diluted deuterium might be necessary for the operation, but that it would also place a greater strain on the ship as it attempted to maintain reactions and power ratios with a less nutritious mixture. They would be placing an undue burden on the Khitomer’s veins, heart and arteries. She resolved to make an appointment with her cardiologist upon her return to SCE headquarters.

Semara: I got a solid fix on five more threads within five-thousand klicks. That big one center-right looks mean. It's really squirmin'.

Graves: W-Watch for the echo, ensign B-Banks!

Graves’ warning came with barely a moment to spare as the ship heaved, and so did her crew. Still, judging from what the sensors were reading in their vicinity, it could have been a fair deal worse.

T’Dara: More power to the inertial dampeners is indicated. ::a triple tap of buttons:: You are welcome.

Banks / Zerva / Hobart: Response

A worried eye was cast towards the status monitor. Already the warp field was causing the injectors and capacitors to run warm. The physical laws might permit this course of action, but the limitations of the ship were beginning to loom.

Semara: Shoot... :: Beat :: How's the warp field lookin'? Just lost the trace on a thread about six thousand klicks out. Prolly comin' our way any second...

Graves: T-This will be the first thread that the w-warp signature will dis- ::pausing to swallow:: -place. The computation is s-still linear, s-sir.

T’Dara watched the graphic on the screen as it grew closer and closer. Just as it touched, she returned a steady vigil to the panel before her, monitoring the warp field’s distended form. Magnetic variations! There, starboard quarter. And now all around them, the evidence of their passage was reverberating through the warp field. She banked some of the auxiliary battery’s juice, ready to send it trickling throughout a battered power grid if needed. But the tendril of physics-upsetting distortion did not bring the starship’s field integrity low.