Ensign Herrick: Where's the seatbelts?
Mark P
((Shared Quarters, Deck 8, USS ‘Oumuamua))
Josh had gotten lost in the mirror’s reflection of him, his emotional state still blasé from the neuro suppressor. An unintended and positive side effect of the rapidly developed concoction had been the lack of nightmares during the small nap he had managed to sneak in after assisting in main engineering.
As he glanced at the TINFOIL that lay on the counter in front of him, he knew that if he was offered the choice he would elect to take the suppressant. He had made a note to schedule time with the counsellor once their latest mission was over; the negative after effects of the explosion in the jefferies tube had continued and he was starting to get resistance on his continual ask for sleeping aids.
The newest engineer on the ‘Oumuamua suspected that normally he would’ve been bouncing off the walls with excitement on his away mission; for now, it was a muted tinge. He took a final once over on his appearance, before picking up the TINFOIL hat and heading down to the shuttle bay.
((Deck 10, Main Shuttlebay, USS ‘Oumuamua))
Josh had been the last to arrive, but it had been just moments after Richards and V’Len. Hoping it wasn’t too noticeable, he sped up his walking so that all 3 appeared to board the craft at the same time. As he stepped up and into the shuttle, the chief came into view as well as several ‘less than standard’ modifications. The gold highlights on the interior bulkheads caught the ensign’s eye, an unusual but appreciated touch.
Herrick: oO Corelli-class shuttle perhaps… Oo
Richards: Ah. Here we are!
This was the first time Josh had seen Anton up close. He scanned the man for just a fraction of a second, and found the lieutenant to look less abrasive than other security officers he’d bumped into the Academy. He realized that observation held true for every ‘Oumuamuan officer he’d encountered — the green edges polished off by experience.
Kel: ::picking his homburg up off his head:: Good day, gentleman.
Herrick: Hello… ::realizing all the others held the same rank:: Lieutenants.
Corelli: Oh welcome! Ready to save the colonists from certain doom?
Kel: Is it just me or are there a lot of people in the universe facing certain doom. It seems like we never do anything else. ::turning to Herrck:: Good to see you back on your feet Ensign.
Herrick: Thank you, sir. Glad we got through our latest scrape. ::looking towards the chief:: Hopefully we can make it less certain.
Richards: Wonder why we were assigned this shuttle… Kind of different looking yeah?
Kel: I won myself a Talaxian freighter in a Dabo game a few weeks ago. There's a ship with some character.
Herrick: The term character sounds… a bit concerning. Is she ship shape?
Kel / Richards / Corelli: Response
With Kammus sitting down, each of the officers quickly followed suit. The was a small surreal quality of being there, just the four of them jetting off to the colony.
Corelli: I only actually met one Esh-o, and I'm almost 82 percent positive the people on the colony will not be trained diplomats.
Josh reflected on his Academy courses, general diplomacy was standard learning for every cadet but that had been 7 years ago. He had managed to scrape passing grades in his last few courses, Non-Traditional Situations and Negotiations. He was looking forward to seeing it in the field and taking notes from the other officers.
Richards: If it’s anything like the one that we encountered in the nebula, prepare for enlightenment.
Herrick: Where did that administrator guy end up?
Corelli/Kel/Richards: Response
Herrick: We’ll, let’s hope for the best. ::looking at the chronometer:: When are we getting out of here and testing out our Esh-o diplomacy chops?
This was a sudden shift in the conversation, and Josh was wondering if the neurosuppressant was wearing down; he hadn’t yet taken a boost from Kel’s first dose on the bridge.
Corelli: Oh I see. Very well. Whenever you are ready. Also, who is piloting?
Kel: Not it.
Richards: I can probably handle that.
Kel: Speaking of people facing certain doom. ::turning to Corelli:: Got any thoughts on how we're going to pull this one off?
Corelli: What do you mean... HOW? I don't know! We'll move the asteroid, or dissipate the nebula, or create a transdimensional rift or something.
Corelli's broad imagination always impressed him, the trait of an excellent engineer.
Richards: Alright. Alright. Shall we head out everyone?
Kel: Does everyone have their HAT and have you all taken your medications?
Herrick: Yes, sir. ::he decided to don the TINFOIL hat, just in case the medication was truly wearing off and it wasn’t just his excitement trying to break through::
Corelli: Response
Richards: Seriously though. What is up with this shuttle?
Kel: I believe this is Mr. Corelli's pet project. ::turning to Corelli::
Herrick: Perhaps we can call it a Corelli-class shuttle?
Corelli: Response
Richards: Alright. Is everyone ready?
Josh looked down, he always found it interesting that Starfleet didn’t make safety restraints mandatory when flying spacecraft. With their backups and secondary backups, the laissez-faire attitude of being adequately strapped in seemed a stark contrast.
Corelli: Response
Kel: Punch it!
Richards: Okay everyone hold on.
As the shuttle lifted off, the bay doors slid open. Just a forcefield separated them from the vacuum of space. Josh noticed that the doctor seemed to be watching Richards, but from his vantage point, he couldn’t see what was so interesting.
Richards: Steady now…
As the shuttle progressed forward, it collided against the side of the exit. The internal dampers were unable to respond fast enough to the hit, and the occupants shifted sharply in their seats. Josh only had a moment to collect himself, before the accelerator kicked in. He started a scan to see if there were any faults with the system causing the rough ride.
Kel: Are you quite alright Lieutenant?
Richards: Sorry about that. It’s a little bit different in the holodeck.
Herrick: ::looking at the scan results:: Internal dampeners seem a bit out of alignment, I’ll work on calibrating them as we continue onward but they’re within acceptable tolerances for us to continue on.
Feeling a bit of nausea, he continued on further.
Herrick: Now, perhaps a bit more gently — I don’t want to rechristen this as the Vomit Rocket.
Kel/Richards/Corelli: Response
Kel: So how long will it take us to get to this colony?
Richards/ Corelli: Response
Josh saw the Doctor offer a reassuring pat on the back to their pilot.
Kel: So the Esh-O. Are they likely to be open to our help? I mean the government asked for it, but what about the everyday folks.
The shuttle shuddered and groaned; at least this time, the dampers had kicked in enough that folks remained relatively stable in their seats.
Kel: Did we hit something?
Josh looked out the window. The vastness of the nebula and its swirling colors made it hard to judge if the shuttle was moving or not based on a visual inspection.
Herrick: Scanning now… ::tapping into the LCARS panel:: Are we still moving?
Kel/Richards/ Corelli: Response
Herrick: It looks like the main feed to the primary deuterium tank is damaged, however, I can’t tell from what. Switching to backups.
Kel/Richards/ Corelli: Response