Lt. Cmdr. Ian O'Connor- Into the Rings

[rob mahardy]

((Shuttlecraft Shinano, Near the USS Ronin, Kappa 214 System))

Ian pulled back up the notes he’d made before of where he thought the Rose’s shuttle was going and their intercept course. He adjusted it to an alternate projection a bit and frowned.

O’Connor: =/\= Major, sending you an alternate route suggestion. We’d have to shave the rings of a gas giant but it cut off a few minutes putting us only 3 minutes behind Gra’vel’s intercept.=/\=

Tucker: Holy cow, look at these readings, ::Marty ran a hand through his unruly red mane.The things we’re picking up, we’d never had even so much picked up, even on the Ronin’s sensors.

Ian stole a quick glance back over his shoulder to see Tuck seemingly in awe of the new sensor net they were trying out.

Singh:  =/\= Copy updated course.  We may have to dodge a few rocks....I hope you can keep up, Commander. =/\=

Ian smiled.

O’Connor: =/\= Your call Major. You're the one with a lot less shielding. =/\=

Singh:  =/\= And you're the one with a lot more mass to sling around.  Just try not to fall too far astern.  =/\=

oO Well then, I guess it’s on. Oo

The two ships settled into a rhythm almost like a well choreographed dance routine. Singh might have been leading but Ian tried to compliment all her movements. 

oO Hmm, I wonder if she can dance? Oo

He’d have to ask her at some point after the mission. He hadn’t really cut a rug since his days shuttling for the Diplomatic Corps. 

He allowed himself a soft chuckle as thought about the friendly potential argument they’d have about who would lead. He quickly focused back in on the task at hand

As they approached the gas giant, Ian tightened up their distance slightly. He was close enough to follow the general path but still had enough room to maneuver if something went wrong.

Evinrude: =/\= I'll pipe our improved sensor data on the gas giant into your Valkyrie's nav feed, sir. =/\=

Tucker: We need to get on it, according to my readings Lieutenant Kessler is getting exponentially worse. The quicker we find this needle in a haystack the better.

Ian shared Tuck’s concern but if his hunch was right, the shuttle they chased would lead them to or at least in the right direction of the freighter.

Evinrude whispered something but Ian didn’t catch it.

Evinrude: =/\= There! I've got something. Energy signature near a large asteroid, bearing two-eight-nine, mark fourteen. The gas giant's L4 lagrange point. Wait...now it's gone again... =/\=

Tucker: It’s gone? As in, it showed up and blink and ya miss it?

Both ships slowed down to try to get a better contact on the reading.

Singh:  =/\= Confirm reading...CIS offers a seventy percent probability of an artificial energy source, class two or three.  Will need to move in closer to tell more but that takes us off the priority mission.  =/\=

O'Connor:  =/\= What if it’s one of the escape pods or someone in distress? We should at least give it a quick check. I’m pretty confident, the Major and I can figure out a way to shave off a bit more time. =/\=

He banked the Shinano further into the rings toward the asteroid Evinrude indicated.

Evinrude: =/\= It could be latched onto a rotating planetoid? If mineral deposits are interfering with our scans, the energy signature would disappear when it rotates away from us. =/\=

Tucker: Set the sensors to filter out that kind of noise, with this sensor package, you peel away the layers. That’s why it was to be used on solar anomalies.

O'Connor:  =/\= For now I’m going to arc around that asteroid. Let me know if anything pops up.=/\=

The Shinano made a few dodging darts around smaller rocks before angling around toward the large space boulder.

Tucker: =/\= I’m beginning a sweep looking for Starfleet escape pods, since no one is using their beacons, I’ll be searching for the things that make up a life pod. Not to mention any lifesigns we can pick up as well, most of the crew got off the ship, but what shape were they in when they left? =/\=

Singh: =/\= Chief Tucker, if it is one of the Roses's escape pods the best case scenario is that those people are...incapacitated.  Unless you want to abandon our primary mission and tractor it back to the Rose all we can do for them is leave a marker buoy so they can be...recovered on our way back.  =/\=

Ian worked some nav calculations while they continued talking

O’Connor: =/\= We need to stop Rose’s shuttle. However, my gut tells me the shuttle is gonna  lead us right to the freighter. =/\=

Evinrude: Response

Tucker: =/\= Major, Commander. I’ve picked up life signs about ten clicks ahead, it’s coming from an asteroid. I’m reading three different bio signs. Vulcan, Tellerite and Andorian. Should we mark their position for pick up? =/\=

Singh:  =/\= That would be my recommendation but Lt. Cmdr. O'Connor is in command of this mission.  It is his call, Chief. =/\=

O’Connor: =/\= Absolutely, Chief. Tess, can you parse out any additional data on their conditions to relay back?=/\= 

Evinrude: Response

Tucker: =/\= I’ve marked their location and transmitted the data back to the Ronin so they can start some recovery efforts via runabout. =/\=

Ian gave Tuck a quick thumbs up.

Singh:  =/\= Copy that Chief.  Mr. O'Connor, this next part of our course takes us through a section of the rings giving off a strong radiogenic signature.  We may lose comms contact....recommend we close up formation and try to get through it as quickly as possible.  Chief Tucker, Lt. Evinrude...I hope you're strapped in. =/\=

O’Conner: =/\= Acknowledged. Moving in tighter and we’ll Morse code out running lights if necessary. Major’s right guys, hold on things may get a little choppy=/\=

Evinrude/Tucker: Response

Singh:  =/\= Any closer, Mr. O'Connor, and I'll expect you to take me out for dinner when we get back.  We're lined up and in the pipe....ten seconds to max impulse. =/\=

Ian’s panel flashed a set of coordinates.

Singh: =/\= If we get separated that's our rally point, Commander.  Good luck.  Five seconds.  =/\=

O’Connor: =/\= Acknowledged Major. As to dinner, let’s stick to our usual winner buys on our next agility course race… And since it’s my turn to pick the type of vessel we’re flying, well let’s just say, I’m pretty sure you’ll be buying. =/\=

Evinrude/Tucker: Response

The Valkyrie began to speed away and Ian accelerated their Danube-Class shuttle to keep pace. He’d silenced the proximity alarms at their first instance knowing that they’d repeatedly be sounding.

O’Connor: =/\= So far so go… =/\= ::comms cut out:: Damn, comms are down. We’re still on her tail though.

Several small thuds sounded off the hull.

O’Connor: Sorry, I’m not going to be able to avoid all the small stuff.

Evinrude/Tucker/Singh: Response

Suddenly Ian saw the Valkyrie veer left and down hard. Fighting his reaction to follow directly, he banked hard up and right while watching a large chunk of debris tumble right through where their path behind Major Singh would have taken them.

He took a breath and turned back to following the Valkyrie

O’Connor: Man, that was ::comms kick back in:: =/\= close. What the heck was all that?=/\=

Evinrude/Tucker/Singh: Response

Ian sighed.

O’Connor:  =/\= If it was the wreckage of another escape pod then what the heck blew it up? =/\=

Evinrude/Tucker/Singh: Response

Tags/TBC

--------------------------------

Lieutenant Commander Ian O’Connor

HCO

USS Ronin NCC-34523

R240009IO4