One small step for a Fox

Posted on 30 Jun 2019 @ 6:19pm by Captain Jonathan Reynolds & Commander Amelia Fox & Lieutenant Mitchell Graham & Lieutenant Commander Aidan Datari & Lieutenant Commander True Keading & Lieutenant JG Lilura Karakalakss & Lieutenant JG J Haulval & Lieutenant JG Naiya Hope Dr

Mission: Mission 1 - In the pale moonlight ...
Location: The Rogue Moon
Timeline: MD2 0100
2254 words - 4.5 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

The away team materialized on a barren, desolated valley.

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On the ship, Lilura breathed out a sigh of relief. Without a main power core or Auxiliary Warp Reactors, the ship was running on 8% of its normal power output. With the drain on the Auxiliary Power Reactors and Impulse Engine power, she was not sure the Inertial Dampers and Nav shields would hold with the sudden added drain of the very power intensive transporters. However, thanks to Engineering's foresight of immediately recharging batteries with spare power, the surge power needed was supplied by the batteries. However, they needed to recharge before the away team could come back.

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Amelia pulled out a tricorder from her belt. Speaking over the active comm between them "Gravity is point eight G, so we're going to feel a little light on our feet. Are we all in one piece?"
I
Aidan nodded, not liking the limited line of sight he had from within his helmet. "All good ma'am, as long as we don't take too big a leap anywhere. I don't fancy flying off."

The security chief, Haulval, answered as he swung the tricorder laterally across the horizon. "All individuals accounted for."

Naiya made sure to pick up her med bag to carry with her even though it was a bit awkward with the big gloves of the suit but she moved over to join the others taking care to step sensibly. She was actually quite comfortable in this lighter gravity because it reminded her of trampolining in slow motion. It was fun and funny at the same time. She grinned inside her helmet.

=^= Medical green to go =^= she said in response to Amelia's question.

AWAY TEAM SOUNDOFF TAG


Amelia studied her too order for a moment "Try and record as much as you can. We have life support for ten hours but I don't want to be here that long. There is a structure about 800 yards west of here." She indicated with her hand. "Shall we?"

=/\= Fox to Andromeda. Have arrived safely. We are proceeding in a westerly direction to investigate a structure. presently there are no life signs, we are alone.=/\=

=^=Acknowledged Fox. Keep this channel open. Report anything unusual. Lets see if we can find out where this thing came from=^=

=/\=Aye Sir.=/\=

True was about to open her mouth and say something about how sometimes she wished she were Betazoid so she could read the thoughts and minds of the people on the away team, when it dawned on her that the CO was Beatzoid and could do such a thing. She was glad she hadn't said something out loud and folded her hands into her lap, waiting for more information about what the away team was facing.

"Science," Jon turned to the relative stations. Can you get any clearer scans yet? Is there anything that looks remotely like a power system? Can you liaise with engineering?"

Ensign Han spoke up from Ops. "Captain, I am reading radiation levels consistent with some kind of phased plasma induction source. I'm trying to locate it but active sensors are being scattered by some kind of subspace disturbance."

=/\= Bridge, Engineering. Please be advised that with our current power being 8% of normal due to Main Power Core and AW Reactors off line, that last Transporter use drained batteries down the 30%. It will take 30 minutes to recharge at our current level of use, which means Transporters will be offline till that time.=/\=

"Acknowledged," Mitchell replied from the helm. He was trying to cope with the gradually increasing sluggishness of the flight controls. "Nothing to worry about so far."

"Captain," Ensign Han said, "I'm getting a clearer read on the subspace disturbance. "Sensor show dense concentrations of verteron nodes. They're dissipating but I recommend we do what we can to avoid them."

"Now you tell me," Mitchell groused. "Aren't verterons present in wormholes?"

"Often, yes," Han replied. "They also blind sensors and wreak havoc on warp drives. These readings are massive though."

"Lieutenant do you think it wise to get a shuttle out there if the power is as depleted as Lieutenant Karakalakss," Jon said then swallowed. He would go with our chief engineer in future he decided. It was easier to pronounce, "states. Anything could happen in the next half hour."

That earned a raised eyebrow from Graham, but he didn't hesitate. "Aye, Captain." He pushed his console forward and got up, heading for the turbolift at a quickened pace. A red-shirted ensign replaced him at the helm.

"What are Verteron nodes?" Jon asked Han. "Can they cause any danger?"

"Verterons are subatomic particles often found in wormholes, Captain," Han explained. "They interfere with sensor and warp drive functions. We probably collided with one and that's what caused the warp drive to go offline. I'm readjusting the active sensors so that we can see them better."

Jon nodded. "Thank you Ensign. Keep an strong eye on them."

=/\= Bridge, Engineering, Sciences just sent us information about the Verteron Nodes. Normally, they are found in wormholes only, but something around here, in conjunction with the extreme gravity field, created them. Be careful of a trap, such nodes and gravity wells have been used before to capture warp ships out of subspace. We're working on getting containment shielding up now, but until the Verteron radiation drops below a certain amount, nothing can be done to get our power back online. Engineering out.=/\=

"Acknowledged," Jon said to the bridge apparently as Engineering had decided to cut the communication just as quickly as they had initiated it. He was glad he had sent Graham now down to the shuttle. His gut feeling to play it safe was justified.

Amelia spoke up "Let's proceed with caution guys." Amelia continued to study her tricorder as they carried on walking. "I'm not reading any active power signatures."

Naiya had her medcorder in the other glove from her med-kit and she used it to scan the other members of the away team, checking to make sure no-one was reacting or compromised at all. =^= Away team readings are all normal and showing no signs of any stresses or problems =^= she reported for the data and records, not addressing anyone in particular on the planet or on the ship but just to have it on record that the starting measure was normal which could be used as a yard-stick in case anyone's reading altered.

Aidan didn't particularly like the confines of an EV suit even if he understood the necessity of one. It was just so constricting his movements, so cumbersome! He peered down at his own tricorder as he moved a few careful steps about. He narrowed his eyes as there was a singular blip among the bleeps of his tricorder. "Ma'am?" he queried, as he shifted back until the one blip became a somewhat steady blip blip. "I think there's something there, in that direction. I can't get a clear reading, and it might be nothing but well.. tricorder is picking up... I don't know.. it can't make anything of it."

Amelia looked over his shoulder. "It's in the direction of the structure. Could be power conduits of some type, but you're right. No active power signatures. Come on, let's see if the structure provides some answers."

The building was large but very simple. It was also empty part from a lone console at one end. The writing on it was strange and unreadable. Amelia scanned the console. "There's a massive database but I can't access it." She turned to Aidan. "Can you get anything out of this?"

The young science chief's eyes lit up at the sight of the alien language, the mental wheels already turning, a smile of delight forming on his face. "Not yet, but if you give me some time I'm sure I can try and make something of it ma'am. There's not been a language I haven't been able to learn yet, and I don't plan on this being the first one."

While Lieutenant Datari was investigating the console, Amelia's tricorder started beeping wildly. "What the hell. I'm picking up picking up subatomic fluctuation... meson and lepton activity is increasing... Those are wormhole characteristics. Also reading increased gravitation acceleration surrounding the moon....." Amelia tapped her comm badge =/\= Fox to Andromeda. I've got a feeling that a wormhole has something to do with this moon appearing and from the readings on my tricoder I say we're got about fifteen minutes or less before this moon disappears back where it came from. You might want to get those transporters back online or we might be disappearing with it.=/\=

Amelia moved back over to Aidan. "Not wanting to rush you lieutenant but i don't want to become a permanent resident of this place so can we pick up the pace?" She looked over to the rest of the team "Everyone stay close."

"Ahhh some things take time," the Trill muttered without looking up, "I'm taking as many readings as I can. If needed I can work on them from my lab and use the sensor array to scan for more if needed. That is if we can somehow get readings to begin with."



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The doors to Andromeda's main shuttlebay opened. Seconds later the runabout Heleus powered smoothly into open space. The shuttlebay doors closed behind it.

"Heleus is away," Mitchell transmitted from the craft's flight deck. He made a slow turn towards the mysterious moon. He was taking it easy to avoid impacting another verteron node. For now the away team and the ship knew he was on station.
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Amelia tapped her comm badge. =/\= Fox to Graham. I'm sending you our co-ordinates. We could use a lift right about now. I'd say we have about ten minutes left.=/\=

Aidan turned his head briefly before focusing back on his work. ten minutes went by a lot faster than he really wanted them to and he sure didn't want to end up without oxygen. Or worse. "I'll have all I need by the time we leave," he promised, "though I'll probably need help decrypting this all."

The runabout appeared over their heads, running lights blinking and engines giving off their blue plasma glow. It settled into a momentary hover before touching down on the surface. The rear ramp came down only a few meters away from the landing party. A quick walking distance.

Amelia saw the Runabout set down and the hatch open. She called out to the away team "Closing time people. Last call! Let's move! Datari! Move it or lose it!"

Arms full of PADDs and other items, Aidan ran as fast as he could in the cumbersome suit. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he huffed as he struggled to carry it all.

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=/\= Bridge, Engineering. Batteries are at 92%. However, the good news is with the additional shielding we have rigged up, the Verteron radiation has lessened to the point where we are getting main and AW Reactors back online. You should have full power in about five minutes=/\=

=^=I like the sound of that Lieutenant. Well done=^= He said watching the shuttle on the view screen. Suddenly the moon behind it shimmered and vanished.

"Report," Jon said quickly. "Where's it gone?"

"I don't know, sir," Han replied, flustered. "Scans inconclusive due to subspace interference. I'm realigning them again." After a few seconds he sighed. "Another momentary spike in verteron activity, Captain. It looks like the moon moved through another wormhole. Or rather was swallowed by one."

Jon bit his lip for a moment. He didn't like the sound of that one bit. "Keep scanning what you can and lets get the away team back and ready for a debrief."

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The away team moved as quickly as they could in their EVA suits and got onto the Runabout. Amelia was the last onboard. "Right, we're all here Lieutenant Graham."

Graham immediately raised the ramp again. Simultaneously he lifted off. "Heleus to Andromeda. Lifting off now. I've got them."

As the Runabout gained altitude away from the moon it suddenly shimmered and vanished. Amelia tapped the comm =/\= Fox to Andromeda. The moon! It's gone! do you have any sensor re....." The runabout pitched hard to starboard as it was hit by a subspace compression wave."

Dropping everything to take off his helmet, Aidan turned his head towards a window. "How can it be gone, we were just there," he mumbled.

Amelia picked herself up and sat down in the seat next to Mitchell. "Thanks for the save Lieutenant. Let's head home."

Mitchell only nodded as he kept his eyes and hands on the flight controls. That sudden violent yaw had spooked him. There were no more surprises, however. The runabout straightened up and headed for home.


OFF:

●○ Lieutenant JG Naiya Hope
Chief Medical Officer
USS Andromeda

●● Lieutenant True Keading
Chief Counselor
USS Andromeda


●● Lieutenant Amelia Fox
Executive Officer
USS Andromeda


●● Lieutenant Mitchell Graham
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Andromeda

●● Lieutenant Aidan Datari
Chief Science Officer
USS Andromeda

●○ Lieutenant JG Lilura Siana Karakalakss
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Andromeda

●●● Commander Jonathan Reynolds
Commanding Officer
USS Andromeda


○● Lieutenant JG J Haulval
Chief Security / Tactical Officer / Intelligence Officer
USS Andromeda