Lt. JG T’Fearne - What’s the Antimatter?
Teayl Thorn
((Torpedo / Magazine Bay, Deck 09, USS Compass Rose))
T’Fearne crouched low, gloves locked onto the torpedo rack, braced for the same gut-wrenching upheaval they’d suffered last time. Her helmet display ticked seconds away in silence. Nothing, no shockwave, no lurch.
She exhaled slowly, then glanced sidelong at Kessler.
T’Fearne: Do you think you disarmed it before it beamed away, or that the Luster actually managed the distance right this time?
Kessler: ::shaking his head:: No, wasn't anything I did. The warhead locking clamp was fused with something. ::looking around the bay:: Even if the Ronin's shields had absorbed the blast we would have had some indication. This is strange.
He sounded relieved to still be standing, but T’Fearne thought she caught the tension in his jaw. She thumbed her tricorder, its sweep coming back clean within it’s range limit.
T'Fearne: ::standing from a crouch:: Then either it detonated far enough away, or it’s trailing behind us. For now, I think we’re clear.
She followed Kessler’s gaze, darting to the racks.
Kessler: ::pointing at the torpedoes:: We carry Mark IX and Mark X torpedoes on the Ronin correct? ::beat:: Why is this ship carrying Mark VI torpedoes? ::looking to T'Fearne:: I didn't think Starfleet even still used these.
The security officer smoothly angled the tricorder back at the glowing racks. She had more experience with modern torpedoes, but her Academy scores had shown high aptitude at munitions and ordinance handling.
T'Fearne: That is true, photons, and we sometimes carry quantums and tricobalt devices for special occasions. ::looking up at the racks:: I’m not surprised at the Mark VI’s, this is a scientific research vessel with a comparatively small crew, low threat profile. The Mark VI’s are still viable, and we have seen, still a good offensive weapon. If they were upgraded, this vessel could look like more of a threat to the Lattice Alliance.
As she pulled a magazine bay maintenance kit from its wall cradle, crouched again, and carefully overrode a torpedo’s maintenance hatch. The casing opened like a deadly blossom, exposing glittering circuits and containment regulators. Her breath caught as she peered in. Kessler’s voice cut across the quiet bay, the quality of it was strangely hollow.
Kessler: There's no fueling sequencer here. ::looking to T'Fearne:: That means every one of these torpedoes have a fueled and live warhead.
She watched him shake his head, free of the confines of a helmet, but trapped under the weight of a different threat. T’Fearne contemplated the implications of what he was saying as she angled her suit’s illumination, peering carefully into a torpedo access hatch. Gently, she slipped a slender gloved hand inside, and delicately, heart pounding, pulled out the 1arming circuit’s isolinear chip.
For a moment of silence louder than any noise, nothing happened.
Her breath hissed out, and she rocked back on her heels to examine the chip in her fist.
T'Fearne: ::holding the chip up:: Good news. No detonation timer. Either they didn’t set one… or they were going to trigger them manually.
Kessler: We need to find out how they armed all of these and disarm them. Manually one at a time isn't going to work. ::beat:: Ideas?
Her dark eyes flicked over the racks. Mentally, she had already rolled up her sleeves and was resigned to manually disarming these 50…no, 49 photon torpedoes with Kessler, but then another idea stuck.
oO the warheads! Oo
T'Fearne: It takes more energy to transport more matter. ::thinking out loud:: What if we just locked onto the warheads, the matter and antimatter pods, and beamed them away?
Kessler: I doubt we have enough transporter tags or time to hit them all. Without the computer we cannot rapidly launch them. ::beat:: I might have an idea.
T'Fearne: I’m all ears.
She tapped the side of her helmet. Jack grinned and triggered his comms on his EV suit.
Kessler: =/\= Kessler to Ronin. Captain we have a problem in the torpedo bay. The Rose's crew activated all the torpedoes before the computer went down. Bad news, these are all Mark VI torpedoes. They are fully fueled and armed.=/\=
Raga: =/\= We hear you mister Kessler. Mark Sixes can’t be deactivated easily or quickly once they're armed and fueled. I doubt you’ll have time to do so for that many. We need to get them off the Rose, now. Do you have enough transporter tags to get all of them? =/\=
Shortrith/Niac/Nicolau(Optional): =/\= Response =/\=
The Chief looked at T’Fearne. She shook her head, showing him the meagre handful, about a dozen, she’d tucked into her suit pocket.
oO Not nearly enough, but maybe it could help deal with some. Oo
Kessler: =/\= No, we do not have enough tags and with the computer down I can't tell you how long these will stay armed before they go critical. Can you use the Ronin's cargo transporters to lock onto everything in this bay and transport it off the ship? Just leave it as energy though, do not rematerlize it. =/\=
The Vulcazoid’s pointed ears pricked up at that. It could be a serious drain on the Ronin’s systems, not to mention potentially very dangerous, but having 49 active antimatter warheads dematerialised, waiting to rematerialise, could be an interesting surprise to pull on a hostile. She vaguely recalled reading about similar scenarios at the Academy
T'Fearne: The tactical possibilities could be very interesting. Bypassing normal firing arcs. Rematerialize a warhead point-blank and they’ll never see it coming until it detonates.
Raga: =/\= Can our pattern buffers handle that much energy in stasis? =/\=
T’Fearne: ::Joining the conversation:: =/\= What about just the warheads? =/\=
Shortrith/Niac/Nicolau: =/\= Response =/\=
Another familiar voice joined the conversation.
Roop: =/\= Lieutenant Kessler, Sir? If I may, the torpedoes have a minefield mode. It disables the fuel cell and launches them like mines or depth charges. Should only take a few seconds to adjust each torp to proximitiy mode with the arming sequencer as they drop out the tube like a chain gun. Sirs. =/\=
She tilted her head. That was another creative suggestion, but she wasn’t sure it would work unless they had more than emergency power to the launcher.
T’Fearne: It solves the now, but creates a future hazard. I’d rather not leave a minefield for the next ship unlucky enough to pass by. I don’t particularly like the idea of wasting all this ordnance.
Ronin: =/\= Response =/\=
Jack looked back to T'Fearne and then his gaze roamed around the bay before snapping to something in the gloom of the Torpedo Bay.
Kessler: Response
Looking back up from the depths of the maintenance hatch and noticing Kessler's sudden tension, T’Fearne eased her glove free of the torpedo's casing, straightened slowly, and followed his line of sight.
T’Fearne: No, I didn’t hear anything either. One of the Rose’s crew?
Kessler: Response
Her brows knit over dark eyes, hand brushing over the curve of a holstered phaser. She didn’t draw it. Instead, her other hand found the hilt of her akai, fingers tightening on the familiar grip.
T’Fearne: Check anyway. I’ll cover you.
Kessler: Response
The bay’s red emergency lights guttered against the racks, shadows deepening. Was that something stirring in the gloom? Or a trick of overstimulated minds?
[Tags / TBC]
OOC:
1Arming circuit isolinear chip - To freeze the Detonation Timer if applicable, pull or sever the arming circuit isolinear chip (similar to pulling a fuse). This halts the countdown but doesn’t yet make it safe.
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Security Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
R240107T14