Lieutenant JG Meris & Lieutenant JG Orlon Roe: Smoke and (Sensor) Mirrors
Meris/Brian
((Bridge, Deck 01, USS Thor))
The return to the Thor had given Meris something they had been missing for what felt like an eternity... a crew working together toward a common goal. Every new report seemed to raise the stakes, but instead of reacting with panic, Captain Kreshkova gathered ideas from every corner of the bridge and turned them into a plan. It was risky, and everyone seemed to know it, but for the first time since escaping the studio world, Meris felt like they had a fighting chance of pulling this off and recovering their crewmates. They were finally taking the initiative, and that alone made the odds feel a little less impossible.
Meris: I acknowledge that it is a gamble. If it fails we will need to be prepared to defend ourselves, as well as the Syren's Song and the USS Janaran as well.
Winters: Commander, what if we amplify the idea Lieutenant Meris has? Instead of a sensor echo, we remote pilot one of the shuttles from the Thor, with a power generator and for a holo-matrix to make the Lieutenants OEB come to life.
Kreshkova: If ve go zhat direction...
Behind them, Meris heard the familiar staccato rhythm of Kreshkova's fingers tapping against the armrest of the command chair. They had come to recognize that rhythm over the past several months. It usually meant the Commander was deep in thought.
Kreshkova: How vould ve get zhe shuttle out of zhe Zhor vizhout zhem noticing it?
Winters: True, but with a holo-matrix aboard the shuttle, even if someone went to a window and looked outside, they would still see the OEB. Might only buy yourself a few more mins in the ruse but that's time we need.
Meris brought up a tactical overlay on the helm display and carefully examined the geometry between the Thor, the pirate vessel, and the approaching shuttlecraft. The broad engineering hull of the Vesta-class vessel completely concealed the fantail from both hostile sensors and visual observation. It was exactly the blind spot they needed.
Meris: Launching the shuttle isn't an issue. In our present position the Thor itself will shield the view of both observers and sensors to the launch of our shuttle. It will not be visible to them until it has cleared from behind our bulk. We could launch the shuttle and then send it to warp while the pirate vessel and the shuttles' attention is elsewhere. ::a pause:: We create a distraction that allows it to briefly warp away.
Kreshkova: I vould be more intimidated by a ship I could see zhan by a zhreat of an incoming vone.
Orlon, A.: Ah think we could create the appearance of drop from warp using a burst from the deflector. But that would likely be more of Roe’s bailiwick than mine.
Roe leaned closer to his console, mentally assembling the simulation piece by piece. Faking a sensor contact was one thing. Convincing experienced spacers they had just watched a Sagan-class explorer arrive was another. Fortunately, deception was often little more than physics wearing better makeup.
Roe: Sure. We modulate the main deflector to emit a class-three warp-field decay pulse... ::a pause:: Wait, you said Sagan-class? Class-four warp-field decay pulse then. We can layer on some graviton shear and an ion-trail bloom. That should be fairly convincing of a large explorer like the "OEB" dropping from warp.
Meris studied the tactical display for another moment before giving a small nod.
Meris: Hopefully the ruse will be sufficient to convince these pirates to count their losses and depart.
Winters: I'm a fighter Commander. I'll get out there with rocks in both hands and take on a fight if needed.
Although Captain Kreshkova seemed pleased by the Marine’s comment the pilot at the helm felt differently. They glanced toward Winters and the corners of their mouth dipped ever so slightly. They admired the Marine's confidence, but quietly hoped the day would not end with anyone testing the "rocks in both hands" strategy.
At his console, Roe found himself wondering whether Captain Winters boxed. His wife had been an Academy Champion Boxer and still trained regularly to stay sharp. He did not particularly enjoy watching Ash get punched, but he also knew she was more than capable of holding her own in a boxing ring. He decided a bout between the two would be quite a spectacle… although he equally hoped to never witness it.
Kreshkova: I’m counting on it, Captain. But for now, ve vill use better tools at our disposal. Please confirm zhat both shuttles are still in route to zhe Syren’s song and Zhe Janaran. Mister Orlon, order a shuttle vizh a power generator and a holomatrix to be prepped asap. Tell zhem zhey haf five minutes. Never mind zhat I know it’s impossible, but tell zhem zhat none-zhe-less.
Roe couldn't help grinning at Kreshkova’s command.
Roe: You got it, Captain.
His fingers immediately sprang into motion across the Operations console, relaying orders to the shuttlebay while coordinating half a dozen support systems. There was something oddly comforting about having real work to do again after spending so much time away from an Operations console during his honeymoon. He thought to himself:
oO I like this ship! You know, it’s exciting! Oo
Orlon, A: Captain, Ah’ve got a message from Science. We are lookin’ at a parallel reality, but it’s operatin’ on a slightly different oscillation speed. We kin see it, ve kin even interact with it - to a degree, but it causes a latency problem.
Kreshkova: Are you telling me zhat you can... tune us to zhe right frequency to so speak?
Roe listened to his wife’s report and his grin widened. That was exactly what Ash was saying.
Roe: It means we can certainly try. ::to Aislin, as he turns back to his console:: Send me the details and I'll get started on modifying our sensors for the right frequency and oscillation.
Around the bridge everyone settled naturally into their roles. Science refined the theory. Operations made the impossible sound routine. Tactical prepared for the possibility that the entire deception would fail. Meris found themself satisfied and content at the helm. For the first time in what felt like years, it truly felt like they were flying with a bridge crew again.
Winters: Response.
Kreshkova: Captain Vinters, as soon as zhe shuttle is ready to launch. I vant you to fire several shots across zhe bow of bozh of zhose shuttles. Lieutenant Meris, you vill be remote piloting zhe shuttle. Its launch should come just after zhe phasers fire and distract zhem.
Meris checked the incoming status messages from the shuttlebay as they appeared across the helm console.
Meris: Aye Captain. Shuttlebay is reporting the Tanngrisnir has been prepped and loaded to the fantail elevator. It is being raised into launch position now.
Roe continued refining the sensor modifications before smoothly transitioning to the deflector controls. His hands moved with practiced confidence. Although this was not his usual workstation, twenty-three years in Operations had taught him that consoles changed far more often than the underlying systems.
Roe: I've just about got it... stabilizing the cross-dimensional harmonics. Adjusting the carrier wave to the correct oscillation... there. Arrays are synchronizing. Give me thirty seconds and we should be able to get a peek behind the curtain.
Winters: Response.
Kreshkova: Commander Orlon, see if you can find a vay to beam our people back to zhis side of zhe tidepool. Tell me before you try anyzhing zhough.
Orlon, A.: Already on it... Captain.
Roe: Arrays fully synchronized in 3... 2... 1...
The image on the viewscreen shimmered and briefly dissolved into static before settling again. Normal space darkened into the swirling colors of the tidepool while the tidepool itself transformed into something that looked almost perfectly ordinary. It was as though someone had inverted reality itself. Only the helm and tactical sensors, which had intentionally been left untouched, continued tracking objects in normal space.
A priority notification blinked onto Meris' display.
Meris: Captain Winters, the Tanngrisnir is ready to launch.
Winters: Response.
The warning shots streaked across the bows of the approaching shuttlecraft exactly as ordered. Their brilliant flashes drew every sensor and every pair of eyes toward the confrontation. Seconds later, hidden behind the Thor's massive hull, Meris remotely launched the Tanngrisnir and quickly drove it into warp. For one brief moment, the shuttle's tiny warp signature disappeared beneath the much larger field generated by the Thor itself.
Meris watched the telemetry race across their display. They hadn’t remotely piloted anything since the Academy and it felt strange to pilot a craft they were not physically aboard.
Meris: The Tanngrisnir has entered warp. Sixty seconds and I'll drop the shuttle back to impulse speeds and come about on a return trajectory.
Kreshkova/Winters: Response.
The countdown seemed to pass far faster than sixty seconds had any right to.
Meris: Dropping the Tanngrisnir from warp and coming about. Activating holomatrix and IFF repeater. ::to Roe:: Lieutenant, are you ready with your deflector modifications?
Roe shifted from the sensor controls to the deflector with barely a pause.
Roe: Yep... yep... almost there.
Kreshkova/Winters: Response.
Every eye on the bridge seemed fixed on the viewscreen.
Meris: Tanngrisnir dropping from warp in 3... 2... 1...
Roe: Firing deflector pulse!
For an instant there was only a brilliant bloom of light. The carefully timed deflector pulse merged nearly seamlessly with the shuttle's warp signature, creating the unmistakable visual impression of a much larger vessel forcing its way into real space. Moments later the elegant silhouette of the Sagan-class USS Octavia E. Butler appeared exactly where it should have, its holomatrix shimmering almost imperceptibly as its IFF beacon announced its arrival across local space.
Whether the pirates believed what they were seeing... was another matter entirely.
Kreshkova/Winters: Response.
(( Tags/TBC ))
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Lieutenant JG Meris
Helmsperson
USS Thor
A240207M14