Asteroids (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 29 Aug 2015 @ 3:51am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Commander Norvi Stace & Commander Andreus Kohl & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Min Zhao & Jynn & Lieutenant Benice Gyce Ph.D. & Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Senior Chief Petty Officer Keval zh'Erinov
Edited on on 29 Aug 2015 @ 3:53am

2,161 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: USS Galileo - Decks 1, 3, Main Bridge, Sickbay
Timeline: MD 04 - 0720 hrs

Previously, on Through the Breach (Part 12)...

"Anything I can do to help?" Mina asked taking two confident steps onto bridge, trying to ignore her knee. She knew the answer was probably going to be an annoyed "no" from the Captain.

"That depends Ambassador. If you know your way around a medkit report to sickbay, if you can repair an EPS relay head for Engineering. Otherwise, I doubt it." John replied matter-of-factly as be turned to see the ship's new diplomat emerge into his command centre.

"That goes for all hands - we all pitch in and we all get the job done. Me included. Get to it people."

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

After two days of limping towards the closest asteroid field at warp 1, Galileo now found itself approaching its destination at impulse power and slowly navigating through the vast field of metallic and stony rocks which permeated the surrounding space. The Nova-class was luckily small enough to traverse the obstacles, but it nevertheless posed a high degree of difficulty for the vessel's helm controller, and was now putting Lirha on edge as she stood behind the captain's chair and watched through the flickering viewscreen as they attempted to find temporary refuge on one of the asteroids within the Nimbus system.

Once known as the Galactic Planet of Peace, Lirha couldn't help but wonder why the planet was not showing up on sensors. By all indications, the star charts of the surrounding space were accurate but still displayed a striking number of variances which alarmed her. Galileo's long and short-range sensors were severely degraded due to damage which made ascertaining their current situation even more difficult, but she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that something was not right. Everything just felt...wrong, for some reason. Perhaps it was a result of the concussion she had suffered and the lump on her upper forehead which still persisted, but her instincts told her something else was going on.

"There!" she called out, raising her hand and pointing a shaky green finger at the viewscreen towards the nearest and largest asteroid. "We should set down if the terrain permits," she suggested to Holliday and Stace.

Holliday glanced first to the display screen that sat alongside his chair and then to his First Officer. The asteroid looked large enough, and certainly from the passive sensor sweeps that were feeding into his display, stable enough to take the mass of the Galileo without the risk of her breaking up.

"It looks suitable enough. Commander Kohl - anywhere large and flat enough for us to risk landing?"

Seated at the primary science console, Andreus Kohl tapped the pads of his fingers across the console until a bracketing graphic appeared around the image of the desired asteroid on the viewscreen. "The science team had designated that asteroid as Hotel 511," Kohl remarked. On his console, he accessed the report that had been prepared by Ensign Cyrin Xanth, before he explained, "It's an x-group, m-type asteroid with a composition high in nickel-iron. Solid enough to support the weight of Galileo. We identified an impact crater of smooth, homogeneous stone that would act as an ideal landing ground." Kohl manipulated his controls again to change the angle on the viewscreen, highlighting the impact crater.

"Sounds good enough to me." Taking a moment to reach down to the command console, Holliday tapped on the comm controls and opened an internal line throughout the ship.

=^=All hands this is the Captain. Set condition blue throughout the ship. All crew members report to your designated landing positions. =^=

Closing the channel, he turned to his XO. The Captain had been in charge of landing the ship several times before over her last year or so of service, and felt that perhaps another pair of hands deserved a turn.

"Commander Stace - would you care to direct the landing operation? I can even allow you to sit in my chair if you would like?" He mentioned with a smirk.

"It's a little small for me these days, Captain" she said quietly with an affectionate glance to her right. "But I'll do my best in my own chair." She flashed a grin and then took over the command console in between them both. "Helm, slow to one-quarter impulse and set a course to Kohl's asteroid. Switch to thrusters when we're thirty kilometers from it and activate landing struts." Turning to Ops, she then added, "Draw power from all available systems to propulsion. This needs to be accurate and in control. We can't afford any mistakes. Once set down, arrange with Engineering to begin planning the mining operation with enough crew left on board to continue the repairs with what we have."

"Understood." Min began mapping out the power flows. With the ship's system's compromised, there was little reserve to draw on if things went sideways all of a sudden. All non-critical systems were already shutdown so the only reserve to draw from was critical systems. Satisfied with the changes, Min glanced over at Stace. "Ready Commander."

"Captain!" Kohl interjected with clear enthusiasm. There was a pause before he explained his exclamation, while he double-checked and triple-checked the sensor readings on his console. He turned back, to check if the officers at the science two and three consoles were seeing the same thing. Finally, Kohl said, "Short range sensors are picking up concentrations of dilithium and deuterium in the asteroid designated Hotel 511. ...We didn't detect those deposits from our long range analysis."

Holliday sat forward in his chair. Deuterium certainly was going to be of use, Galileo wasn't designed to operate for long periods of time away from a starbase, and having the ability to top up her reserves following the Nimbus exercises would certainly make the dockmaster happier at whichever Starbase the ship returned to following repairs.

"Sounds like you just volunteered for a mining operation Mr Kohl."

Kohl replied with a luxurious laugh, sounding delighted at the prospect. Despite his anticipation, Kohl offered one condition: "As long as there's no ghosts this time."

"I would like to suggest sending a scouting party in first, Sir," Gyce interjected. "Just to make sure the area is clear before sending the main away team."

John nodded towards his chief of security. It was prudent to at least ensure there was nothing overly untoward on what was little more than a dead rock in space.

"Agreed...minimal personnel however. EVA missions aren't exactly run of the mill."

"Aye Sir," Gyce agreed, then hit her intercom, "Crewman Ezra Koenig , be in the transporter room in ten minutes. Full EVA gear."

"Aye, ma'am. I'll be there in eight." Ezra's smooth reply came over the comm.

Gyce then looked to Stace. The XO was normally part of such teams. "Do you want to lead the team, Ma'am? Or shall I call someone from engineering or another of my department to fill the third spot?"

Stace cut a look to Holliday and subtly rolled her eyes. In her service aboard the Galileo alone she'd worn more EVA suits than her entire career as captain with her former host. But she knew her duty as First Officer and her stern face became as smile as she rose. "I'll lead, Lieutenant," she motioned with a smile to Gyce. "Nothing quite like being out in the open vacuum of space!"

Dare Gyce point out this would be her first time since her Academy training, out in space? No. Though it had been many years, she never stopped refreshing herself on safety protocols. And this was Stace she was on the away team with too.

"It should be fun, Commander." Gyce gave Stace a nod of agreement as she prepared to turn her station over to her relief.

With the power flow properly assigned and blue alert implemented Jynn took great care as he began his approach to Hotel Five-Eleven. He was slow and methodical, perhaps more-so than usual. His left hand flowed elegantly across the navigation console while, for some reason, his right hand seemed to peck away slowly, significantly less graceful than its partner. "Bringin' 'er in, captain."

Jynn brought Galileo in close, powering down the main impulse engines as he brought her into an upright position in relation to the body they where about to land on. It would seem Galileo and himself had found themselves in a slow dance but it was about time for them both to rest. He gently guided her down towards the asteroid. With the assistance of its weak gravity it took very little effort but a lot of fine tuning with the RCS thrusters to bring her in. The landing struts where extended and after a few moments of anticipation Galileo found herself resting on Hotel Five-Eleven with a soft thud.

Keval was at his station. He wasn't sure what was going on, he didn't think anyone knew for sure. But he knew that the most important right now was getting the ship back in fighting condition. He put on his tool belt and awaited orders.


Deck 3 - Medical

Allyndra watched the big monitor. The sickbay was getting cleared thankfully but as the word about the mining operations drifted in from the comms she turned to the staff that was there.

"Mining and flying in all this is going to lead to lots of injuries. It is invariable. I would like volunteers to have a medical person with each scouting and mining party so we have what used to be called boots on the ground. Full field medkits and depending on how the operation is spread out probably set up a field hospital near operations. Thoughts, suggestions?" Allyndra looked over her colleges.

"I will volunteer," Naois spoke up, "I have experience with shuttle flights and dealing with injuries. I can also provide moral support as I have a degree in counselling too...if required."

"Boots on the ground..." mused Tuula. She didn't know if she would be suitable for the mission. At the academy, she had been exempted from many of the physical requirements, including low gravity exercises. She had her hoverchair, but that was bulky and difficult to maneuver. Still, she was not so eager to refuse an assignment. "I suppose I could help," she said, "though you'll have to inform everyone that I'm a doctor, not a mine cart."

"If we set up a field hospital, you could stay inside," Naois suggested helpfully, "we would have gravity there I assume."

"Naois thank you, Tuula, as well. I think Tuula that I am going to request that you take charge here and help set up the field hospital when a suitable location has been determined for the actual mining operations. I am not sure with our current power situation that I want to leave Shirley in charge here. Doctor Mott has a good expertise in emergency and once the filed is set up I will station him there. I am going to volunteer for the flights and mining. Not that I relish being underground."

"And me?" Naois asked, wondering why he wasn't being confirmed with any orders.

"You sir, will be on teams as well. I suspect we will have more than one along with several shifts. I will need your higher level of training to handle accidents as they will be more severe than the usual that can be handled with a basic field medic."

Naois nodded. "I will get started on planning as soon as we conclude this little briefing," he added; already his mind was going into planning mode.

"Thank you everyone, is there any other questions? As I and Doctor Mott will be involved with field work, please refer to Tuula for further assignments. Doctor Tuula," Allyndra looked at the woman. "You are now officially in charge of the ship's sickbay."

"I..." Tuula blushed slightly; while she had looked after sickbay for short periods during meal breaks and the like, she had never been put officially in charge before. "I won't let you down, Allyndra."

Allyndra just made a nod of the head. "Alright everyone that is going on EVA or shuttle work, let us get our gear and be prepared."

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Chief Science Officer & Second Officer
USS Galileo

LCmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Jynn
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

LCDR Norvi Stace
First Officer
USS Galileo

LT Min Zhao
Chief Operations Officer
USS Galileo

LT Benice Gyce
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Nicholas]

CPO Keval Grayson
Operations Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Naois Mercy
Counselor
USS Galileo

LTJG Tuula Voutilainen
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

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