Post # 016 The Next Generation Part 2

Posted on Mon Aug 2nd, 2021 @ 9:52pm by Commodore Sureth & 2nd Lieutenant John Dallas & Crewman Recruit Leaf Brol & Captain Shauna Callaghan & Lieutenant Isabelle Veran-Dallas & Lieutenant Lily Crawford & Lieutenant JG Nic Covenant

Mission: Moving Day
Location: Starbase Mercury/Savai
Timeline: Concurrent to post 015

On

Captains Log : supplimentary

Our reception for the Savai Ambassadors has been delayed as we have had to place the station on ???? Yellow alert. An anomalous reading several light years away has apparently delivered us a clue to the old city on Savai.



Dallas had manned the tactical station and now Isabella had taken over the ops station. Sureth studied the science scanners and occasionally looked up at the main screen.

" Dallas what is the distance of those ships?" Sureth asked.

" They have dropped speed and hovering ar 50,000 kilometers sir." Dallas replied.

" Hail them again "

" All friendship messages have been sent."

" Isabella do you detect anything?" Sureth asked

“Station sensors aren’t detecting anything anomalous Sir” Isabelle smiled. “My own senses are telling me to be cautious.”

" Hunches often do pan out. Has our runabout checked in Mr Dallas.?" Sureth then asked.
" Negative sir. They have gone silent but the transponder shows them leaving this system. " Dallas replied.

< Runabout >

Per Sureth's advice Ens. Covenant piloted the Amazon runabout away from the approaching craft and then engaged the warp drive. The parsecs away he and Crawford would find the answers.

" We are at warp Lieutenant." Nic reported.

"Very well, Ensign. Let's plot a course that will get us to the quasar as directly as possible without being seen by the other ships." Lily replied. She was trying to pull up any data she could on the quasar, its event horizon, or its stability in general. "When we get within half a light year of it, slow down to impulse. I don't want to risk getting too close to it too quickly."

" Me neither Ma'am. The station has sent us a coded message and I responded to let them know we're on course. Morse code...still works." Nic replied

"It does." Lily agreed. "Unfortunately, the number of people who understand it are fewer than in previous centuries. Clever, to use that." she said admiringly. "What is our ETA?"

" We will be there in about an hour and a half once we increase to warp two." Nic replied.

< Station >

The vessels maintained the 50,000 kilometer distance and refused to answer the hail from the station. This prompted Sureth to take additional measures.

Summoning both Savai leaders to Ops Sureth addressed both leaders.

" Fesra? Kuroth I wanted to give you a formal reception but alas this issue takes precidence. Do you recognize these ships?" Sureth asked as the screen magnified.

" No." Kuroth said.

" No," Fesra also said.

Dallas observed one single craft vectored towards the planet Savai but the new planetary defense systems paused its movements. Then the other two moved toward the station and when they reached a distance of 15,000 kilometers both ships used their version of a scan on the station.

" We are being scanned sir." Dallas warned.

" Maximum power to the shields." Sureth yelled.

" Sir the scans are dampening fields. They've targeted our shield emitters and are slowly wearing down our shields." Dallas warned as power and lights fluctuated.

" Red Alert Mr Dallas." Sureth then ordered. " Target both vessels and fire."

The stations weapons fired but with lower power the response times allowed the ships to lower one part of the station.

" Sir transporter activity we have been boarded " Dallas yelled.

" Dallas take your marines and engage the enemy in Deck 25." Sureth added. " Fesra and Kuroth come with me to my ready room. You'll be safe there."

They followed and Sureth had a guard posted outside his office door. While inside he opened his desk drawer and pulled out his phaser and headed to engage the new visitors.

< Deck 25 >

It was not your typical trasporter that delivered these uninvited guest but an exquisitte vapor and then the beings were aboard. But as the lights were bright they had to wear visors over their eyes.

Dallas prepared to fire but held off as the beings hissed around and then paused in front if him. Sureth quickly arrived and joined them.

" Welcome to Starbase Mercury. I am Captain Sureth...do you understand me?"

" We have scanned your words...you are no threat to us. This world is not yours please leave. This place is now our property." an automated voice replied.

" We are guests of the planet Savai. This base is loaned to them to prepare them for enlistment into the United Federation of Planets. Are you of the race known as the Corjii?" Sureth asked.

" No we answer to nobody. We are Confederate of the rules. You and all on this station are our property." the greenish gray being declared. But before Sureth could speak the myst appeared again and the beings walked back into the myst and vanished.

" Sureth to bridge."

" Hulon here sir “

" What is the status of the alien vessels?"

" They have reversed course back to the quasar sir, all three ships "

Sureth worried about the runabout with Covenant and Crawford.

" Hail the ship yard and inform them I need to launch the Bohr."

" Aye aye sir." Hulon promised.

< Runabout Amazon >

"It looks like the ships are going back to the quasar." Lily said. "I wonder if they've spotted us." she leaned back in the chair for a moment, studying the instrument panel. "They're closer than I would expect we could get to the event horizon, which means either their technology is greater than ours, or they know something about that quasar we don't, or both. Even if they have spotted us, we need to know more about it. Besides, we have our orders. Maybe if we patch into the probe, we can get data on the ships, and on the quasar sooner."

" I can mask our readings with that of the probe. In fact I know a trick to make us look like several probes.," Nic replied as he did just that. Now the persuants would think a bunch of probes were being sent to the event horizon.

"That's great!" Lily said with a cheerful smile. "Let's just hope they don't want to shoot any probes that happen to come near that quasar."

The size of the quasar increased as they grew closer and so did its grip on all matter nearby. But a funny thing occurred that Nic realized. As two black holes had almost joined in the middle of it all a giant moon shaped object had also come through or survived the great collision
" Lt Crawford I am reading a large mass at the center of that thing. Its readings are be reflected back to the probe but the probe is being pulled into it. It has an opening and a tractor field. It measures.... over 100 million kilometers and is dome shaped." Nic offered.

"I see, Ensign Covenant." Lily was monitoring the readings as well. "Let's get out of here while we still can. If we still can." She was almost in disbelief. This wasn't supposed to be possible! And yet here it was happening practically right before her eyes. "It would be a good idea to use the moons and any other extraplanetary bodies as barriers. We don't want to get sucked into that tractor field. I have a very bad feeling about this."

" I'll try." Nic said reversing the course. But suddenly a large blue field centered around the Amazon and seized them.
" It's locked onto us Lieutenant....the engines are losing power." Nic warned
.
Lily's head turned to the back of the runabout. "Then we try the transporter. Can you augment power? It may be we're close enough to get back to the station."

" We can't there is too much radiation and besides the targeting scanner is off line. We would beam into space." Nic replied. " The vessels are on top if us too."

The blue wave continued to reel them in as the proximity detector sounded off that realization.

"Then we arm ourselves as fully as possible." Lily said. "And remember that every officer's duty is to find a way to escape."

" Yes maam."

< USS Bohl >

Lt Covenant the Chief Engineer of the Bohl heartily tried to fire up the old ship but sadfully called to Captain Sureth his news.

" Sir the mains are off line. We will not have the reactor back on line for 1 hour I can not change the laws of physics."

" I understand Chief keep trying." Sureth replied.
But that only made Covenant more determined to figure something out.

A cold start the procedure consisted of manually combining matter and antimatter, causing a reaction and forcing the activation of the warp engines in a second, instead of powering the engines previously and then activating might work or blow them all to hell.

" Furuq start your calculations," he told the Binar officer.

< Runabout Amazon >

The tractor field secured the Amazon and the interior of the craft illuminated in a liquid royal blue glow .
" Lieutenant we have lost helm control." Nic told Lily.

Lily took out her phaser and laid it across her lap. "Moment of truth, I guess." she said. "Or it soon will be. I wonder if they'll pull us onto their ship or beam onto ours." she looked down at the weapon. "I hope they don't mean us harm."

Outside the craft the three alien ships circled like crows over a prey.

< USS Bohr >
Sureth entered the bridge and immediately took his old chair and its creeking.
" Lt Covenant report."
" No promises sir but here goes nothing." the speaker replied.
The USS Bohr shuttered and lights flickered but then the wind behind it picked up as the old ship went to warp. Now they would be there in a few minutes.

< Runabout Amazon >

"Ensign, it seems to me that these aliens have far superior technology to our own. To travel through a black hole unless it is a documented wormhole is unheard of - and documented wormholes are extremely rare. The only one we know of is artificial." Lily was rambling, trying to ease some of the anxiety she felt. "Since I am higher in rank, I will attempt to speak with them first. If they offer me violence, and you still have a weapon, then and only then attempt to defend yourself. Please."

" Yes ma'am but as a guy I will try to defend you because you are my supervisor." Nic smiled .
The spheres doors opened and the blue beam pulled the even closer in but not before the three ships flew past them. The blue glow ceased and the giant door closed behind them . The runabout was free as Nic grabbed the helm controls

" We're free and a large ship just entered this system Lieutenant...its Federation and they have engaged the three ships." Nic reported.

"Keep an eye on what the Federation ship does. If it looks like their weapons are doing damage, we can add our weapons in." Lily advised. "We don't have as many on board though, so I think we'd better wait to see what can penetrate their defenses." She had been back in forth in a number of runabouts, enough to know about the weapons systems on board, although she had never used them herself. "I'm guessing it's from the station."

" It is ...it's the Bohr....Captain Sureth's old ship. They're advancing on the Bohr ... Bohr's shields are at 80 percent, 75. Lieutenant we have phasers?" Nic told her.

She knew the runabout had phasers. It was almost a facepalm moment, but she couldn't stop for stupid gestures. "Yes. Uh, let me see, they should be here, with the various types of torpedoes." She replied. "These runabouts have good auto targeting systems." She targeted the nearest alien ship and fired.


The three alien ships fired a plasma based weapons array that seemed to pause the Bohr in its place. Its systems were 30 years old even with refits but the crew was as determined as any could be.

" Targets ones aft port and keep hammering it. Aft torpedoes lock on to ship two and fire." Sureth ordered.



< Amazon >

Nic realized in all the excitement that the reading in the quasar had still been running but to his surprise one fact was clear.

" Lieutenant the sphere has vanished."

"How strange. A defense mechanism perhaps?" Lily asked. "I'll have to address that later. Ensign, fly us closer to the Bohr. I'll continue to target phasers on this ship." She hadn't trained in tactical at all, but these ships were unlike anything She had ever seen before either. Targeting was a guess. So she guessed, and fired.

The phaser effects helped as the one ship listed away while the other two continued to engage the Bohr .

" Great shot Ma'am. Target two is showing a lower speed variable. They must be more damaged " Nic told her .

"Let's ease off on them." Lily replied. "See if we can't help the Bohr out."

< Bohr >

Sureth hailed the Amazon when they realized who it was helping.

[ Great Job Lieutenant . ]

[ Thank you Captain. I'd like to coordinate an attack with you. Your orders, sir? ] Lily replied.

[ We will focus in the red ship. Target the engines and we will lower its emitters. Try to cripple.] Sureth replied

But Nic observed that the blue ship had warped out of this sector. Its heading back toward the Savai system.

" The blue ship has left this sector." he told Lily.

"Captain Sureth has set the ship in this sector as our priority. Going after the other one on our own won't do any good." Lily said. "Better to cripple this one, then chase the other. "Target the engines, he says." She sighed and looked at the readings on the display. "Let me see here." She took a moment to sort though a targeting menu. "Here goes." She added as she fired.

"Let the Bohr know that you saw the other ship leave and in which direction. We can't assume the station's defenses are all online."

Nic complied and soon both the Amazon and Bohr had vanquished the red marauder.

" Runabout Amazon are you ok to make it back or do you need a tow? " Sureth asked of Crawford.

"Thank you Bohr it looks like we can return on our own power." Lily replied. "Ensign, I think we had better go faster than warp 2, though. I know I've gone Warp 4 in one. Ease into that."
" Aye, aye Lieutenant." Nic replied as it matched the wake of the Bohr.

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