Crossing Mutara - Part III

Posted on Sun Aug 27th, 2023 @ 3:17pm by Captain Ryhl th'Zeles & Commander Chalan Kendri & Lieutenant Commander Rikka Takanashi M.D. & Lieutenant Commander Johanna Lyngstad & Lieutenant Commander Jason Elliot
Edited on on Sun Aug 27th, 2023 @ 3:18pm

1,076 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Campor III - Resupply
Location: Deck 1, Bridge/Orion Wanderer Class Vessel
Timeline: Following Part II

=/\= On =/\=

The Commander turned to Kendri and shared a look of warmth. They were here, finally taking part in a moment they'd planned for a long time. "So Commander.. What's the word on the sports night rotation? Which sports are we starting with first?"

The senior staff had decided to host organized athletic events once or twice a week. Basketball, futsal and kockek were some of the popular team choices. Tennis, racquetball and Parisi squares were popular individual sports.

"I think basketball seems to be the most popular among the staff. I think there are several teams already forming," Kendri responded.

Johanna smiled on hearing basketball teams were already forming.

Jason smiled, "Security supposedly formed a squad, I was approached about joining."

"A security squad", Ryhl speculated as he sprung towards the helm. He wanted to check the proximity scanners firsthand from the circular station between Helm and Ops. "I imagine they'll field a tough squad." It appeared the space in the near vicinity of the ship was clear.

Crewman Yaves spoke up from the rear corner of the bridge. Her voice was amplified through the center of the bridge by the internal comm system, allowing her to be heard clearly. "Captain, we've lost comms with Starfleet", Ryhl said.

"I take it most of our sensors are down too, Miss Lyngstad?" Ryhl turned to look back across the bridge as he asked her. "How is our telemetry holding up?"

"Telemetry steady, Captain. Holana coming in loud and clear." answered Johanna.

"Ms. Yaves, what about comms with our escort vessels? Can we reach Lieutenants Razka and Croft?" Kendri asked.

"It appears we still have a channel open with them", Yaves said. "We're all traveling within the same warp bubble. There seems to be an insulating effect."

---Meanwhile---

"Captain.. There appears to be a disturbance near beacon 2458", one Orion officer said to another. Three men and two women in varying shades of green sat around a dimly lit bridge.

"Set a course for that beacon, helm", replied an Orion woman with dark red hair. The Wanderer class Orion starship moved stealthily through the hazardous nebula. "Once we get into range, we can link up to it and download information from their wake."

"Smugglers?" The bulkiest Orion asked the question in a comically deep voice.

"Let's not jump to conclusions.. Warp Seven.. Engage."

---Back on the Columbia---

"The nebula really is a beautiful sight. This isn't so bad, is it?" Ryhl looked down at the circular nav screen, standing next to Ensign Veers.

Turning back towards the Tactical station, Ryhl asked, "How are our shields, Mister Tomm?" The nebula was guaranteed to have a strong effect on the shields. Odyssey-class technology had been updated since the last classes of starships to pass through this space.

There was a chance the Columbia's shields could fare a bit better.

“With Commander Chalan’s assistance, my team has been able to work with engineering to upgrade our shield grid. Usually nebulae like this tend to cause shields to deteriorate.
With the added redundancies to the shield generators and the improved multiphasic frequencies in the power relays, the believe our shield efficiency has increased by about 66 percent. We should be fine, sir.”

Ryhl turned to Kendri for a moment before the corners of his lips twisted upwards. "Excellent work all around, team. The Commander has kept me informed. I appreciate the work you all put in."

Commander th'Zeles quickly ran a few calculations in his head. "That should give us shield protection for just about half of the trip to the nebula."

"But as Mister Tomm says, everybody..." Ryhl turned to look each bridge officer in the eye. "We'll be more than fine."

As the Columbia sailed deep into the brightly colored winds of ionization, the Orion ship had already made it to its beacon. The tracking station collected a sample from the Columbia's wake as it passed, emissions spread wide during faster than light travel.

The vessel collected the beacon, launching a small shuttle to retrieve it. Sample were studied manually, as soon as they were brought back onto the ship.

===Aboard the Orion Vessel===

The tall, burly Orion man clamored down the halls of the Wanderer class starship. As he entered the bridge, approached the tall, copper-headed woman with a PADD.

"Captain Hala", he said. "It's a Federation Starship. The beacon's algorithms were able to calculate a potential heading."

"Very good.. Set in an intercept course, Warp 8." She turned to the ship's communication's officer, tinted a rich olive shade of green. "Prepare a low resolution communication's burst just in case we can catch up to them."

===Minutes Later Aboard the Columbia===

Ryhl tapped his commbadge. =/\=Commander th'Zeles to Doctor Takanashi.. I just wanted to check in with you and let you know we entered the nebula. How is everything in Sickbay?=/\=

=/\= All normal sir. Nothing to report. =/\= Rikka's voice replied.

"I wish I were good at sports, ma'am", Yaves said to Johanna as Ryhl was distracted with conversation. "We Bolians have fun aquatic sports. I mainly just swim."

"Swimming is a great sport. I like to swim myself. I grew up not too many kilometers from the ocean. I would not mind learning about Bolian sports." answered Johanna.

Kendri stood next to her station, one hand grazing her console. She'd been apprehensive about how long it would take to pass through the nebula and how vulnerable they would be. The loss of comms was of no comfort. Her eyes shifted around the Bridge as she watched the various officers at their stations, waiting for the first sign of a reaction from someone.

As the bridge crew spoke and monitored their stations, the Orion vessel approached the Columbia from some distance behind. It had a long hull with an ovoid saucer, almost looking like a Federation starship. Two nacelles lined up along the same horizontal plane, giving it a much flatter profile than typical Federation starships.

Its tan hull glowed bright with eerie red and green flashing lights.

The Holana might be the first to detect the shape of the vessel on the outermost edge of its ping-like scanning.

Commander th’Zeles
Commanding Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant Commander Chalan Kendri
Executive Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant Commander Rikka Takanashi, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant Johanna Lyngstad
Chief Science Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant Kobi Tomm
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant Junior Grade Jason Elliot
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Columbia

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