Lt. JG Lyra Voss: Two of your finest power cores, good sir!
Sarah Terry
((Provisional Science Lab - MTF Maximum Thrusters))
sh’Sonora: =/\=This is your pilot speaking. Please secure all loose and vital equipment, secure yourselves, and hold onto your butts ‘cause things are about to get interesting in the Tamarian proverb kind of way. Sparrow out.=/\=
She squeezed her eyes shut for half a second in exasperation. Of course the ride got bumpy as soon as she’d opened up a volatile power core. Sure, it was (probably, hopefully) inert, but she wasn’t eager to test that by hurling it across the room. She closed the core back up as quickly as she could, but then tools started sliding around on the workbench, so she started grabbing those up as well.
A’Mayri: Lieutenant, the discharged power cores are still relatively dangerous, but there may not be enough time to secure them before–
Lyra started to nod to A’Mayri, but Evan took the initiative to grab a core before any harm could come to them.
Ross: - ...where to?!
Thankfully, that was an easy question to answer.
Voss: Dome or ionization chamber - either one! Just lock it down before we get –
The ship suddenly lurched under their feet and they were all flung off-kilter - with her hands full, Lyra had to brace herself with her hip as she bashed into one of the tables. A’Mayri grabbed onto one of the secured work stations, and Evan stumbled into the nearest wall, protecting the power core as best he could from the impact. A’Mayri and Evan both managed to deliver their cores to the dome and ionization chamber respectively as the ship groaned around them like a wounded animal.
Ross: A bit of a warning would have been nice.
A’Mayri: ::steady steps back towards the group, side stepping a loose tool slowly and almost comically sliding down the way.:: Our helmsman is quite enthused in their flight arrangements-
Voss: ::shaking her head:: “Enthused” is generous. Thank the Four you bolted everything down!
Ross: I'm sure this wasn't it. Prepare for a rough landing.
Lovely. The ship seemed to agree - a deep groan went through the hull of the MTF, as the whole ship trembled under the force of its thrusters. The asteroid field must have been a hell of a maze for Mi’sh to be putting the ship through its paces like this. Lyra’s stomach and inner ears were not fans of the flight path, and she struggled to stow as many tools as she could grab while clutching onto the work benches for dear life.
A’Mayri: ::Quick scan over Voss and Ross:: Are you both alright?
Oh, you know. Well. There was a semantic discussion to be had about the definition of “all right,” now wasn’t there.
Ross: All good. Hold on tight!
She wanted to share his conviction, but it was not in the cards. Evan moved around the cargo hold like he’d done this a thousand times. Maybe he had. Meanwhile, she was sure her face was turning green.
Voss: ::through gritted teeth:: Just trying not to ruin the upholstery…
A’Mayri seemed to be able to compensate for the ship’s motion with far more grace. She made her way back over to Lyra, and helped her secure the last of the tools before offering her arm to help Lyra back to the wall-mounted seats. There was a small flush of embarrassment at being the only one of the three who seemed to be so affected by the tossing and turning, but she wasn’t about to turn the ensign down.
Evan positioned himself by the ionization chamber to help brace it just in case.
Ross: Steady now...
Voss: ::taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly:: I’m never taking inertial dampeners for granted ever again.
A'Mayri: ?
Just when she thought she’d heard all the possible sounds the MTF could make, it seemed to come up with something new and exciting. Howling thrusters, groaning metal, rumbling, shaking, screeching - and then there was a bang, followed by what felt like a sigh. The ship almost seemed to sag under its own weight as it finally touched down.
Ross: Everything in one piece? ::he threw a quick gaze around the room, but apart from a few crates and tools, everything seemed to be in order:: Excellent. I'll connect with the ground teams to make sure we'll get our hands on some fresh resources.
Lyra immediately unbuckled from the wall seat and stood up, only for her knees to decide they were not quite ready yet. She plopped back down as a final wave of nausea crested over her. Still, she borrowed a cue from the very human gesture she’d seen A’Mayri use earlier and gave them both a thumbs up.
Evan ducked out into the corridor and she hung her head for a moment as she took a few more deep breaths. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for her to get her bearings back, but the tinge of red on her cheeks persisted. Just what she wanted on her first assignment as an LT (not to mention her first assignment with Evan…) - to nearly throw up in the middle of their makeshift science lab. She tried to shake it off.
Voss: Okay, well! We’re starting off with a bang, I guess!
A'Mayri: ?
Voss: Oh I’m… thank you, but I’m all right. I always get a little space sick without a viewport. ::with a small grin:: I’m requesting a window seat next time.
A’Mayri: ?
Lyra walked over to the aluminum dome to gently remove the core that A’Mayri had wrapped and return her scarf to her.
Voss: That was quick-thinking to protect the core. Hopefully we’re on steadier –
As she spoke, her gaze ran over the Triple D’s diagnostic panel and she thought she saw the smallest little flicker of an energy spike. It stopped her mid-sentence.
A’Mayri: ?
Lyra’s brows furrowed as she brought the core back to the dome. She moved it back and forth, farther and closer, as she watched the panel closely. Her eyes lit up.
Voss: Did you see that? It’s the tiniest little pulse, but I think there’s an energy fluctuation when this core gets close enough to the other core.
A’Mayri: ?
Voss: Could you please grab the other core out of the ionization chamber? Do you see a change when it comes within a certain range of the other cores in the dome?
A’Mayri: ?
The two women were huddled around the Dome of Death and Despair when Evan came back into the room. Lyra could hardly take her eyes away from the cores, but she gestured for him to come over as well, and immediately pointed to the dome’s small panel screen.
Voss: Look at this! It’s barely barely above baseline, but the cores are affecting each other. Even the inert ones. They should be entirely neutralized, but something is causing a noticeable blip. With fresh cores, I bet it’s even more noticeable.
A’Mayri/Ross: ?
Voss: ::suddenly remembering why Evan had left the room in the first place:: Oh! Are we… what is… do we just walk in and buy some cores? I guess that’s what the Temurians will be expecting?
And were they personally going to be the ones buying cores? Would the Temurians ask why they needed them? Would they care? How many should they buy? Did one just waltz up to a counter and say “two of your finest power cores, good sir” or were they supposed to haggle? She realized that she really had no idea.
A’Mayri/Ross: ?