SET - 2389 BP6 Asteroid Survey

Posted on 30 Jul 2013 @ 2:01am by Crewman Neo & Senior Chief Petty Officer Keval zh'Erinov & Amril & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Ensign Im'er Mor'an
Edited on on 30 Jul 2013 @ 2:01am

1,599 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: 2389 BP6 - Shuttlecraft Livia
Timeline: MD11: 0815 Hours

ON:

Keval looked over at Neo as he finished running diagnostics on the shuttle. "Everything checks out gentlemen. The ship is in good working order and there should be no surprises in that regard. I am ready to go when you are."

Neo climbed up through the shuttle's open door and into the pilot's seat, setting the PADD in his hand on top of the shuttle's sleek dashboard. He began running through basic flight checks, engine checks and containment checks. "Yeah, we're good." The flight plan for today showed that they were to be accompanied by Im'er and a Vorta, Amril.

Someone who had been through the Dominion War might then be prompted to say 'speak of the devil' and mean it in wholeheartedly, because just then the vorta in question arrived. "Good morning," Amril said pleasantly as he approached through the hanger and stood by the door of the shuttle.

Neo paused with his hands over the control system and stared at Amril, eyes blank and a little confused. His eyebrows imperceptibly knitted together and his ears twitched. P'Jem had left a scar on the collective conscious of Vulcan, and Neo wasn't immune. He'd been there, he'd seen it. He wasn't visibly affected, or even emotionally affected, really. Amril didn't offend him exactly. He'd looked the guy up, the man was a logistics officer, hardly a Jem'Hadar commandant. It was more a sense of being jarred, alert, hyperaware. "Morning," he shrugged and let it go.

Keval looked over at his rather cute boss and pushed any simmering carnal thoughts away. Both of his antennae were slightly curled back and he quickly and quietly ran another diagnostic.

"Cadet Im'er should be here shortly," Amril observed, looking over his PADD at the mission parameters and other information. "We still have a three minutes before departure."

Mor'an climbed down into the shuttlecraft with one swift movement. She looked each of the occupants in the eye as she settled into her seat, not bothering with a verbal greeting. Her gaze lingered on Crewman Neo, as if to ask why they were not already taking off, now that she had arrived. She knew she had left little time to spare when she slipped into her seat, but it was of no matter now. They were still on time.

"Ah, well, I guess we are ready," Amril said, blinking in surprise as Mor'an zipped past him. He climbed in after her and gave her a smile. "Good morning, Cadet." Then to the crew as a whole, "Begin our preflight sequence, please."

"It's done," Neo said with a nod.

"Already completed," Keval commented, "We were just waiting for you and the young cadet here."

Mor'a'an raised an eyebrow at this last comment. "You may use my name," she said, addressing the Andorian, in a way that suggested that she wasn't exactly unhappy with being called "the young cadet," yet if he called her that again he would find his antenna would drooping more than usual.

He wasn't a mind reader so he didn't know her exact thought, but it didn't take a genius to figure out he had touched a nerve. His left antennae curved back almost to top of his head "Cadet Mor'a'an," he said smiling, "I did not mean to offend you."

Neo pulled down the pair of goggles that rested in his hair to secure them snugly over his eyes. "Hate to break up the party, but are you all ready for launch?" Already he had communicated with launchbay control who were on standby.

"We are," Amril said, climbing up into the shuttle with the others and taking his seat.. "Let's depart."

"We're go. Prepare for departure." Neo tapped a few of the controls in front of him and the shuttle's engines powered up, glowing a bright blue behind them. The Livia lifted from the ground, hovered for a brief moment and then shot through the bay's forcefield and out toward their projected target. "Estimated time of arrival about 6 minutes," Neo called to the rest of the shuttle's occupants.

"Great," Keval replied. "Not much time to run into trouble. Hope that means this is going to be event free."

"Well, I hope it is not completely devoid of any events," Amril said with a chuckle, "surveying the asteroids would be an event..."

"Sorry, you're right," Keval responded, "I should have said trouble free, not event free."

"An excellent distinction, Mister Graysan," Amril sincerely decided.

It did not take long for them to arrive, and the trip was uneventful. Ahead of them loomed the asteroid field, with the large asteroid that was their target looming directly in front of them, slowly growing bigger. It was elongated, a dull grey color where the light of the Rojar system's sun struck it.

"Cadet," Amril said, watching the asteroid through the shuttle window, "begin detailed scans, please."

"Aye," Mor'an responded, setting to work. She had been sitting quickly waiting for her cue. Now she worked quickly to complete her task.

Keval looked out the window and smiled, Just an ordinary anomaly, well not even that, just an everyday ordinary event, yet he found himself mesmerized by it.

Amril observed the telemetry from the shuttle's sensors. "Take us within a few kilometers, Mister Neo. As close as you feel you can safely bring us."

"Yeah," Neo acknowledged sharply, making it sound more like a short ya. He angled the shuttle to the side and swung them close to the asteroid while making sure to monitor his viewscreen for any potential debris. Livia's shields were holding good so far. "Right," he said, holding up a hand. "We're good."

The vorta continued methodically. His violet eyes glanced at Keval. "Prepare to transport a core sample from the asteroid. A sample from the surface as well."

"Yes sir," the Operations Officer said as he readied the samples, "I just need two minutes sir."

"Of course, Mister Graysan."

"Okay sir," he responded ninety seconds later. "I am sending the results to your console."

A beep sounded from the ship as a proximity sensor activated. A smaller asteroid was closing on them so that they were between it and the large asteroid they had come to study.

"Hold on," Neo called, pulling the shuttle up and to starboard in a sharp turn. They cleared the oncoming asteroid easily, but it smashed into the larger, more dense metal and pieces of both broke apart and veered off their projected courses in several directions.

"Evasive maneuvers, Mister Neo," Amril said calmly, watching the action on his own display as tens of millions of kilograms in solid rock and metal came hurtling towards and around the Livia.

The shuttle pulled up again and attempted to avoid the asteroids as they flew directly towards their original survey target. A terrible grinding sound rattled the shuttle occupants as the underside of the hull scraped a piece of the asteroid. A power conduit ruptured beside Neo's head and sent him sprawling limply to the floor. The shuttle rocked as its inertial dampers attempted to compensate for the impact. Warning lights began to flash and blare as the shuttle veered off course without its pilot.

"Cadet," Amril called, "take the helm!"

With skipping a beat, Mor'an took the controls in her cool fingers and got the craft under control within moments. The craft responded easily to her touch and she was able to pilot the Livia through the debris. However, there were some pieces that she was unable to avoid completely and they struck the plating of the craft with a series of cringe-worthy bangs.

Amril steadied himself as they moved past the and gave a thoughtful hum. "Is anything damaged?" he asked.

Keval unstrapped himself and rushed over to where Neo lay sprawled on the floor and began to check him out.

"The power system," Mor'an declared as she focused on piloting the craft, "The power system is down."

"Really?" Amril asked as if the idea fascinated him. "Well, we better fix it. Mister Graysan can you isolate the problem?"

Keval nodded and pulled out his tri-corder and began scanning. He muttered something in Andorrian in a barely audible voice that few heard, which was a good thing since it was unprintable.

"It's power coupler," he said in a louder tone. "Probably a relay, It should take a good six hours to fix, if its what I think it is." In truth he thought it would actually only take three or four, but he had a reputation to build and if things got complicated he would need the extra time anyway.

"Well, can you fix it long enough for us to get out of here in a few minutes?" Amril asked.

"Of course sir, I'll see what I can do," the Andorian replied.

"Good. Cadet, we'll idle here. Plot a safe course to the Galileo in the meantime. Mister Graysan, make the temporary repairs you need to in order to get us on course in twelve minutes. Do we have complete survey telemetry?"

Keval did not answer immediately, he was busy working. "I'll have it done in eight,"he replied.

Mor'an didn't reply as she set a course back to the Galileo. About Eight minutes later, the craft began its journey back. "We are under way," she announced quietly.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Im'er Mor'an
Operations Officer
USS Galileo

PO 1st Class Keval Graysen
Operations Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Amril
Chief Operations Officer
USS Galileo
played by Psylus Anon

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