Secondary School Student Mi'shune sh'Sonora - A Facepalm Moment of Clarity
d.reinhart
sh’Sonora: You’re not mad at me, are you? I mean, I broke your space station and your runabout, but I honest to the gods don't remember how I got here!
Munshi: ::voice softening, despite the technical strain:: =/\= No one is mad, Ensign. We’re just performing a standard system recovery. Keep your hands away from the helm. I’ve got you. =/\=
McLaren: =/\= No one is mad Mi'shune. We're just worried about getting you out of there safely. =/\=
Munshi: =/\= Commander McLaren, I have a firm clamp on the ventral ribs. Counter-thrust is engaged. I'm holding her steady, but the structural resonance is climbing. How are those seals looking from your side? =/\=
sh’Sonora: Is anybody hurt? I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, really! Oh gods, this is heavy.
As if to show her benign intent, Sol drifted close to the Runabout’s cockpit, visible from the transparent aluminum canopy.
McLaren: =/\= No one was hurt. Just some minor hull damage is all... everything is ok. =/\=
Munshi: =/\= We are holding, Ensign. Just stay with us. =/\=
McLaren: =/\= We'll have you out of there and back in the shuttle bay in no time. I'm just going to go direct things for a moment, but I'll be right back. =/\=
Calm returned to the frazzled Andorian slowly, the weirdness of all her current happenings fired her neurons into overload. What would send most other species in a panic attack, however, had a strange effect on her kind. An Andorian could panic, but they also possessed clarity while under stress.
From what the teenage mind of the excitable Ensign could gather, these strange Starfleet aliens should have been screaming for her head or sending their biggest, burliest marines to tackle her and toss her into the nearest brig.
Since what was happening was the cautious approach of work bee shuttlecraft (she knew those from the recruitment brochure too) and the Starfleet officer’s attempts to soothe the stressed Andorian, Mi’shune concluded these people were just as confused by the situation as she was.
sh’Sonora: Sounds good to me. I’ll be right here. Not touching anything. Not even the subspace radio…
The Runabout clanked and groaned once the work bee clamped on its wounded port side. Mi’shune let out a startled squeak, adorable under less bewildering and life-threatening situations.
sh’Sonora: Whoa! What was that?
McLaren: =/\= Mmhmm... but we're going to need your help after that. The workbees aren't meant to handle a heavy load within the artificial gravity of the Starbase... once you're clear of the hull you'll need to engage the runabout's automatic docking protocol. That will get you safely back into the shuttle bay... =/\=
Fly the runabout? Again? After this unmitigated disaster? Mi’shune’s breath grew heavy, her chest heaved up and down as it gasped for air. Panic welled in her like a sickening, black pool in the bottom of her stomach.
Andorian biology kicked in again, her instincts flipped like a switch from flight to fight.
sh’Sonora’s Inner Dialogue: oO Hey, dumbass! They’re not asking you to fly. They want you to autopilot this big bastard back to the hangar. You can do that! Oo
sh’Sonora: oO I don’t know, what if I screw it up again? And what if I can’t? Oo
sh’Sonora’s Inner Dialogue: oO You can. You’ve done it before. Hundreds of times on the simulator, remember? Yeah, this isn’t your shuttle, and it lacks a few controls, but it’s not all that different, just rearranged. If you don’t know where something is… ask!
sh’Sonora: oO I don’t have access! Oo
sh’Sonora’s Inner Dialogue: oO Yeah you do! Think about it! Look at your badge, look at your uniform! Somehow you ended up in the body of a Starfleet officer! And how else did you end up here if you didn’t have access to this vessel?! Oo
The lightswitch flicked on, followed by a self-depreciating palm smack to the forehead.
sh’Sonora: Ohhhhh yeah!!!!!! Computer, highlight autopilot controls.
The autopilot controls blinked a deep, pulsating amber. Opening up the autopilot menu, she selected a return to her previous destination, marked by default as Shuttlebay 5 on Starbase 118. A course plotted itself on the navigation display, and a red button popped up, ready to automatically fly her ship back home.
sh’Sonora: By the gods! I did it! I actually did it! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehehe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ready when you are!
McLaren: =/\= Ok, Ensign Munshi... lets do this nice and easy. We'll unhook the runabout from the hull and stabilize it so Mi'shune can initiate the docking protocol. =/\=
Munshi: Response?
McLaren: =/\= Alright on three. :: She took a small pause and breath :: One. :: beat. :: Two. :: beat. :: Three. =/\=
Munshi: Response?
From the inside of the Zambezi, getting wrenched out of the hull of a starbase sounded like screeching metal and the anguish of mechanical gods. Mi’shune covered her ears, flattened her antennae, and braced herself on the pilot’s seat. After much more metal squealing and rumbling, the tearing suddenly stopped.
McLaren: =/\= Ok Mi'shune... the runabout is free of the hull. Ensign Munshi and the other workbee are going to decouple... then you can engage the docking protocol. =/\=
She saw some red indicators on the runabout’s status panel where her port nacelle lodged itself, already turning to amber as automatic power distribution strengthened the structural integrity field.
sh’Sonora: ::whistles:: Gods be damned… my shuttlecraft is way more rudimentary than this. Course already plotted. All I need to do is hit the shiny red button.
Munshi: ?
McLaren: =/\= I'll be right here the whole way. =/\=
sh’Sonora: ::sighing with relief:: Thank you Miss Starfleet Officer. You too, Mister. Gods… how many fifteen cycle-old secondary school students end up dressed like an officer and not remembering stealing a runabout? Is that why I feel a little sick? Did I... drink or something?
Any: ?
sh’Sonora: Log that one for the Confronting the Unexplainable holovid, amirite?
Any: ?
The shiny red button, and the promise of safety, awaited. She slapped the autopilot with her palm. The Zambezi, pre-set to return to the shuttlebay, floated softly and safely back home.
Any: ?
TBC…
Ensign Mi’shune sh’Sonora
Helm Officer
Starbase 118 - Ops Department
O240208MS1