Captain Trake Promontory: Counting Up
Avander Promontory
(( Simulated Bridge of the Thor in the Simulated Badlands, Holosuite 1, Deck 5, USS Thor ))
The simulation was—as designed—getting increasingly complicated. So far, however, Acting Captain Kreshkova was handling things with aplomb. In the eye of a plasma storm with a recalcitrant opponent carrying volatile fuel, and a potentially purposeful critical reactor, the green-haired Russian had cooly assessed options and decided on a plan. They would maneuver into range and transport away the hazardous material.
Meris was at helm, which meant Trake had the transporters. They had their orders.
Promontory: Aye, aye!
Kreshkova: Let’s go!
Lt Meris took them further in and the ship buckled slightly, buffeted by errant plasma streams.
Meris: We will enter transporter range in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
The simulated inertial dampers strained against the simulated onslaught of additional plasma distortions that continued to increase as they approached the beleaguered ship.
Trake began target acquisition and activated the transporters.
Kreshkova: Let me know vhen ve haf zhe anti-matter storage pods, and vhen zhey are secured.
Meris: Transporter cycles have begun. The Fortuna has 16 anti-matter storage pods in two banks - one port, and one starboard. It will take the Thor approximately forty-five seconds to remove them all.
Promontory: I have the first half…
He brought the final set of transporters to bear. Sixteen pods was more than he had anticipated and they had to be delicate with anything anti-matter adjacent.
Promontory: Got the rest!
Kreshkova: Take us out of targeting range, and open a channel to zhe Fortuna, Meris.
Meris: Aye Captain. Moving us out of the Fortuna's targeting range...
The pilot pulled the Thor away from the now truly inert vessel. Even the plasma storm seemed to calm down in appreciation of their victory.
Promontory: A smooth operation. Nicely done!
Then the storm erupted in a violent flash of light. It was so bright as to make it difficult to see for a moment.
Promontory: Sorry, didn’t mean to jinx it…
The telemetry on the viewer had changed, as well as the images of the Fortuna. Trake couldn’t be sure—his eyes were still a little hazy—but it now looked like there might be two vessels out there.
And the countdown on the screen was back, but only now, the numbers were counting up!
Kreshkova: Maybe zhe flash of light has my eyes playing tricks on me, but, Mr. Promontory, is your countdown clock - vhich should haf reset vhen ve beamed zhe anti-matter tanks over - now counting up?
Meris: I am running diagnostics. The computer is having trouble identifying what just happened.
Promontory: Uh… I’m also running analyses…
His fingers raced across his console as he pulled up recent sensor scans and logs, but nothing seemed obviously apparent.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a *ping* on his evaluation PADD. It read: Holographic computing processes exceeding recommended allowances. Continue simulation?
He tapped a quick “yes” and turned back to his readings.
Meris: If it is like a doomsday clock, in that it counts down to zero representing Armageddon, then counting up would indicate we have improved the situation on a galactic scale.
Promontory: I think that might be overly optimistic. It may be that we have—huh, hold on…
He had had an idea. He switched the scanners from external to internal and sure enough…
Promontory: That’s it! There was something else in that fuel tank. When we beamed it aboard, we also exposed the ship to a radiological compound. That clock is how long we’ve been exposed...
He let that sink in for a moment.
Promontory: And longer is bad.
Obviously.
He took a quick scan of the readout of the additional components they had beamed over: veridium, nadion, tritanium substrates, delta and theta radiation and several other exotic particles. Yep, this was bad.
Kreshkova: Response.
How bad, he didn’t know, he’d have to do additional investigation, but before he could a proximity alarm sounded through the bridge.
Meris: Torpedo inbound. ::calmly:: I am taking evasive maneuvers...
The viewer screen resolution finally reset and there were not one nor two vessels out there, but four! And at least one was firing on them.
The helm officer banked them to port and then shot the ship through a narrow gap of plasma vortices.
Promontory: Torpedo is a miss! (beat) Nice flying Meris!
The torpedo hit a plasma column and burst into a conflagration of light and energy in all directions.
Promontory: We have turbulence incoming!
Kreshkova/Meris: Response
Trake realigned the scanners once more. There was something he was missing, he was sure of it, but the frenetic action didn’t allow him a moment to concentrate.
Promontory: I’m reading another torpedo—no, not just one, a full spread!
Kreshkova/Meris: Response
Another series of misses—the Thor may look like a whale, but it could swim with the best of them.
Promontory: Wait, telemetry updating, the torpedoes are turning, they’re heading back this way!
Kreshkova/Meris: Response
TBC
