((ooc: sorry for the late start of the mission for the bridge team. So don’t be surprised if this sim is beefy. I’ll get the other backsims I still have pending out later. I wanted to kick this off so y’all can have fun!))
(( Main Bridge, Deck 3, Primary Hull, USS Ronin, Geosynchronous orbit above Kite Springs, Grus Beta Three ))
Grus Beta Three completely filled the viewscreen at the front of the bridge, the greenish blue planet was marred by an ominous copper veil. Ringed with the grey-black cloak of ash that was being kicked up into the atmosphere by the raging inferno down on the surface.
People were down there. Colonists. And their people. Ronin. And some were down there at the fireline. As close as anyone dared go at any rate. The preliminary reports they’d received from the ground teams were that the heat was so intense it could be felt kilometers away from the edge of the flames. An issue on its own no matter what planet one was on. Add to that the complication of Grus Beta Three’s atmospheric interference and this disaster relief mission was far more dangerous than most.
The CO, Security Chief, CMO and Doc Beck had already gone down hours ago along with significant medical and security personnel from the ship to facilitate the evacuation of the colonists. Last report he’d gotten from one of the relay teams had been what he’d expected. Everyone was run haggard to evac a whole colony; deal with the heavy casualties, smoke inhalation and burns of varying degrees being the chief concerns, and a handful of other injuries related to mass panic.
Lieutenant Commander Alieth and her team were on the fireline. As close as they dared safely get to the blaze that encroached on Kite Springs. The Rhine had to be landed five kilometers behind where their team was to keep it from being a risk.
Toryn sat rigid in the center chair while he stared at the viewscreen. Communication with the surface was shoddy at worst, questionable at best. Even the Ronin’s sensors could barely provide them with accurate readings on the storm before the atmosphere became more clogged with the ash clouds.
Major Ishani and her people had been on non-stop flights since their arrival in orbit, ferrying colonists and their own personnel back and forth. With the comms being what they were, they were forced to keep pairs of Valkyries in rotating relay formations. It was a delicate performance with them playing twenty fifth century messenger pigeons to keep the ship and away teams as coordinated as possible.
For their own part those that remained on board weren’t any less productive as the medical staff that stayed behind had triage and overflow setup in two of the cargo bays with an emergency triage station right off the side of the flight deck for the absolute worst cases or those that couldn’t be moved via transporter.
Toryn input a command into the armrest computer and the image on the viewscreen shifted downward slightly to the point the orange, slowly moving line of the firestorm. It also let the steady trail of shuttlecraft and runabouts coming and going like shiny overworked ants be visible as well.
Raga: Mister O’Conner, keep us above Commander Alieth’s team.
O’Conner: Response
He absently nodded at the response, his gaze fixed on the viewscreen still.
Raga: No doubt. While you’re at it, see if you can get one of the Valkyries to relay a request for an update from both teams on the surface if possible. We haven’t heard anything in three hours.
O’Conner: Response
The Al-Leyan eventually permitted himself to lax some of the tension in his body before his grip on the armrests resulted in him having to give Karrod an awkward explanation for why his chair had to be replaced.
Raga: Commander Dekas, how are the medical teams on board faring with the evacuation? Are the cargo bays and the flight deck triage enough?
Dekas: Response
Raga: Well, if you need any more space let me know and I’ll have Ops and Security clear something.
Dekas: Response
Toryn glanced over at the Engineering station next.
Raga: Tuck, any chance we can even get a one percent increase in sensor fidelity or comms integrity?
It was a long shot, the atmosphere of this planet was already a pain on sensors before the fire. After it only exacerbated it and bled over to affecting communications as well with the thick clouds the flames kicked up.
Tucker: Response
Raga: Well, do what you can. Alright. Ideas. Anything we might be able to do to even slow the fire’s progression. I don’t care how out of the cube it is.
The Al-Leyan slowly rose from his chair and paced slightly at the front of the bridge knowing full well how much he didn’t like being idle.
Dekas/Tucker/O’Conner: Response
He stopped beside the Helm, a hand placed on the edge of the console as he glanced down at Ian, first then to the rest of the bridge.
Raga: Could we use the phasers to cut fire breaks ahead of the firewall? If so, how wide and long would they have to be?
Dekas/Tucker/O’Conner: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Toryn Raga
First Officer
USS Ronin NCC-34523
Writer ID: A239410TR0
https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=Toryn_Raga