October 21 2003
HELP FROM THE STARS
Chapter 1: Going Down
Shields down to 45% toned the Daystrom's computer.
"Ok, divert all available power except propulsion to the shields." ordered Lieutenant Varin Eridus. He watched as the shields' power indicators acknowledged the redirected power.
Eridus' hands flew over the shuttle's main control console trying to get some information about what had just happened. As he tried to replay some sensor logs from the last five minutes, he noticed the proximity alarm go off.
Warning! Object on collision course bearing 142 mark 73.
Eridus had just enough time to view the scans of that area before a large shockwave rocked the shuttle. Sparks were everywhere. All but manual navigation was offline. The shuttle's course had gone from a steady but shaky orbit to one heading into the planet's atmosphere. As he realized that he was going down, Varin Eridus thought back to the beginning of this mission...
*** STARDATE 49852.8, 3 weeks before ***
Lieutenant Varin Eridus walked through the corridors of the USS Mark Twain, a Nebula-class(1) starship. He had only been a Lieutenant for three months, and this was his first duty assignment since his first assignment was lost in a border conflict with the Romulans(2). After that incident, he spent a lot of time on Starbase 281 trying to make himself useful until he got another assignment. Being a scientist, he spent a lot of his time catching up on current happenings and came across Starfleet R&D's newest project--the continuation of Dr. Rayga's(3) work. According to the newest research, a prototype shuttle with the metaphasic shielding(4) was due to be out in the next eight months. The article he was reading also said that they were still looking for qualified shuttle pilots to help with the final stages of the research. Immediately after reading that he contacted Commander Carson, the base commander, and asked him to relay his interest to the research group. Suffice it to say, they accepted him, and here he is eight months later.
In those eight months, he had been a kid in a toy store. The metaphasic shielding had been improved and could withstand much more heat and pressure that Rayga's original prototype. The Daystrom (the shuttle) also contained many scanner enhancements to complement the added ability to go within a star's core. It was only a month ago that the group and christened the shuttle the Daystrom, honoring the genius of the twenty-third century who pioneered the transtator(5) and the disasterous M5 computer.
One month ago, Starfleet got a report back from one if its ships that it was severely damaged and needed a tow back to base. It turns out that the USS Yellowstone, another Nebula-class starship, was doing its assigned sensor scans in a far out sector and ran into an unknown energy field around the fourth planet of system CV-669-X. After reviewing its sensor logs, it was determined that this planet merited further study and that the new Daystrom shuttle was perfect for this test--not to mention that it would make a good maiden voyage for the craft. The past month had been spent readying the shuttle for this mission, and things were nearly complete. As he approached the Shuttle Bay, Eridus adjusted his grey and black uniform jacket so that more than just his blue (sciences) turtleneck showed. He had a feeling that today would be another long day. As he entered the bay he noticed two people who were vital for his mission: Captain Miles Budd of the Mark Twain and Lt. Commander Hans Meier from Starfleet R&D.
The three exchanged hellos and got down to business.
"Lieutenant, I just got some news from Starfleet Intelligence. They've just finished looking over the Yellowstone's sensor data and have found some interesting readings." said Captain Budd handing Eridus a padd(6). Eridus looked it over.
"This doesn't look good, sir." he stated, "according to this that whole star system could be a threat to not only the Federation but the entire Alpha Quadrant(7)."
"That's exactly what they thought," started Commander Meier, "which is why your mission has been moved up to tomorrow instead of next week."
"Sir, do you think the Daystrom'll be ready by then?" asked Eridus.
Meier replied, "My teams tell me that they are well ahead of schedule. I'm having all teams pull an all-nighter to get things ready to go. Of course, that includes you."
Twelve hours later, or 0800, Commander Meier and Lieutenant Eridus finished double-checking the Daystrom's systems and programming. With the advanced timetable, Eridus and the Daystrom were scheduled to launch in 15 more hours, giving him enough time to get some sleep and pack his things. They said their goodbyes and Eridus went to his quarters where he slept, showered and ate a light supper. He then went to the Shuttle Bay to prepare for his mission.
When he arrived, things were finally being completed. He stowed his gear in the Daystrom and started the preflight startup procedure. Two hours later he hailed the bridge, getting permission and some last minute order additions for mission departure. He powered up the impulse engines and piloted the Daystrom through the main shuttle doors. He then set course for the planet and engaged the warp drive.
Upon arrival, he got his mission underway.
"Computer, start sensor scans Eridus AlphaOne through AlphaTwelve, followed by Beta417, 469, 544, and 771. Calculate time for scans."
The computer processed its new orders for several seconds before responding. During this time, Eridus noticed that all the pre-scan output looked good and all indicators were green.
Scanning sequence engaged. Scans will take approximately 34 hours 27 minutes.
Lieutenant Eridus spent the next 28 hours sleeping, eating, and being bored. He had to make several minor corrections to the shuttle's course and tweak the scanning pattern, but otherwise uneventful. It wasn't until the second day of his scanning mission around 1730 that he noticed the first disturbances in the planet's atmosphere. Parts of the planet seemed to fade out and at the same time get consumed by a huge explosion. After trying to get as many scans as he could in the next twenty minutes, a distorted ball of energy, what looked like one of the "explosions", came right for the Daystrom; coming in too quick for her scanners to pick anything up until it got rocked by the explosion.
Shields down to 45% toned the Daystrom's computer.
********************
You guys like? Please let me know, R+R.
Below and in following chapters I'll try to post terms that seem to be a bit too much Star Treky. Let me know of words I should add to this list.
********************
Notes
1. Nebula-class starship: A class of vessel used primarily for scientific missions. Think of the classic Enterprise(es) design(s) but without the secondary hull and with an upper weapons/scanner platform. Nacelles (warp engines) attached to the bottom of the main saucer.
2. Romulans: A species derived from the Vulcans (Mr. Spock from original Star Trek). Are an aggressive people and are on uneasy terms with the Federation (whom Starfleet is a part of). Problems across the border are used as many plots in the TV show The Next Generation.
3. Dr. Rayga: A Ferengi scientist who committed suicide after his prototype failed. It hadn't really failed, but had been sabotaged.
4. metaphasic shielding: Special shielding that allows a vessel to travel within a star's deeper levels.
5. transtator: equivalent for 23rd century technology as the transistor is to our 20th/21st century technology.
6. PADD: person access display device, Star Trek PDA that is tied with the ships computer, actually any computer can be tied into with these things.
7. Alpha Quadrant: The Federation and many of the other galactic governments in the Star Trek world divide the Milky Way galaxy into four quadrants: Alpha (Federation, some Klingon, some Romulan, etc.), Beta (rest of Klingon and Romulan and others), Gamma (where the Dominion are from), and Delta (where the USS Voyager got stranded)
HELP FROM THE STARS
Chapter 1: Going Down
Shields down to 45% toned the Daystrom's computer.
"Ok, divert all available power except propulsion to the shields." ordered Lieutenant Varin Eridus. He watched as the shields' power indicators acknowledged the redirected power.
Eridus' hands flew over the shuttle's main control console trying to get some information about what had just happened. As he tried to replay some sensor logs from the last five minutes, he noticed the proximity alarm go off.
Warning! Object on collision course bearing 142 mark 73.
Eridus had just enough time to view the scans of that area before a large shockwave rocked the shuttle. Sparks were everywhere. All but manual navigation was offline. The shuttle's course had gone from a steady but shaky orbit to one heading into the planet's atmosphere. As he realized that he was going down, Varin Eridus thought back to the beginning of this mission...
*** STARDATE 49852.8, 3 weeks before ***
Lieutenant Varin Eridus walked through the corridors of the USS Mark Twain, a Nebula-class(1) starship. He had only been a Lieutenant for three months, and this was his first duty assignment since his first assignment was lost in a border conflict with the Romulans(2). After that incident, he spent a lot of time on Starbase 281 trying to make himself useful until he got another assignment. Being a scientist, he spent a lot of his time catching up on current happenings and came across Starfleet R&D's newest project--the continuation of Dr. Rayga's(3) work. According to the newest research, a prototype shuttle with the metaphasic shielding(4) was due to be out in the next eight months. The article he was reading also said that they were still looking for qualified shuttle pilots to help with the final stages of the research. Immediately after reading that he contacted Commander Carson, the base commander, and asked him to relay his interest to the research group. Suffice it to say, they accepted him, and here he is eight months later.
In those eight months, he had been a kid in a toy store. The metaphasic shielding had been improved and could withstand much more heat and pressure that Rayga's original prototype. The Daystrom (the shuttle) also contained many scanner enhancements to complement the added ability to go within a star's core. It was only a month ago that the group and christened the shuttle the Daystrom, honoring the genius of the twenty-third century who pioneered the transtator(5) and the disasterous M5 computer.
One month ago, Starfleet got a report back from one if its ships that it was severely damaged and needed a tow back to base. It turns out that the USS Yellowstone, another Nebula-class starship, was doing its assigned sensor scans in a far out sector and ran into an unknown energy field around the fourth planet of system CV-669-X. After reviewing its sensor logs, it was determined that this planet merited further study and that the new Daystrom shuttle was perfect for this test--not to mention that it would make a good maiden voyage for the craft. The past month had been spent readying the shuttle for this mission, and things were nearly complete. As he approached the Shuttle Bay, Eridus adjusted his grey and black uniform jacket so that more than just his blue (sciences) turtleneck showed. He had a feeling that today would be another long day. As he entered the bay he noticed two people who were vital for his mission: Captain Miles Budd of the Mark Twain and Lt. Commander Hans Meier from Starfleet R&D.
The three exchanged hellos and got down to business.
"Lieutenant, I just got some news from Starfleet Intelligence. They've just finished looking over the Yellowstone's sensor data and have found some interesting readings." said Captain Budd handing Eridus a padd(6). Eridus looked it over.
"This doesn't look good, sir." he stated, "according to this that whole star system could be a threat to not only the Federation but the entire Alpha Quadrant(7)."
"That's exactly what they thought," started Commander Meier, "which is why your mission has been moved up to tomorrow instead of next week."
"Sir, do you think the Daystrom'll be ready by then?" asked Eridus.
Meier replied, "My teams tell me that they are well ahead of schedule. I'm having all teams pull an all-nighter to get things ready to go. Of course, that includes you."
Twelve hours later, or 0800, Commander Meier and Lieutenant Eridus finished double-checking the Daystrom's systems and programming. With the advanced timetable, Eridus and the Daystrom were scheduled to launch in 15 more hours, giving him enough time to get some sleep and pack his things. They said their goodbyes and Eridus went to his quarters where he slept, showered and ate a light supper. He then went to the Shuttle Bay to prepare for his mission.
When he arrived, things were finally being completed. He stowed his gear in the Daystrom and started the preflight startup procedure. Two hours later he hailed the bridge, getting permission and some last minute order additions for mission departure. He powered up the impulse engines and piloted the Daystrom through the main shuttle doors. He then set course for the planet and engaged the warp drive.
Upon arrival, he got his mission underway.
"Computer, start sensor scans Eridus AlphaOne through AlphaTwelve, followed by Beta417, 469, 544, and 771. Calculate time for scans."
The computer processed its new orders for several seconds before responding. During this time, Eridus noticed that all the pre-scan output looked good and all indicators were green.
Scanning sequence engaged. Scans will take approximately 34 hours 27 minutes.
Lieutenant Eridus spent the next 28 hours sleeping, eating, and being bored. He had to make several minor corrections to the shuttle's course and tweak the scanning pattern, but otherwise uneventful. It wasn't until the second day of his scanning mission around 1730 that he noticed the first disturbances in the planet's atmosphere. Parts of the planet seemed to fade out and at the same time get consumed by a huge explosion. After trying to get as many scans as he could in the next twenty minutes, a distorted ball of energy, what looked like one of the "explosions", came right for the Daystrom; coming in too quick for her scanners to pick anything up until it got rocked by the explosion.
Shields down to 45% toned the Daystrom's computer.
********************
You guys like? Please let me know, R+R.
Below and in following chapters I'll try to post terms that seem to be a bit too much Star Treky. Let me know of words I should add to this list.
********************
Notes
1. Nebula-class starship: A class of vessel used primarily for scientific missions. Think of the classic Enterprise(es) design(s) but without the secondary hull and with an upper weapons/scanner platform. Nacelles (warp engines) attached to the bottom of the main saucer.
2. Romulans: A species derived from the Vulcans (Mr. Spock from original Star Trek). Are an aggressive people and are on uneasy terms with the Federation (whom Starfleet is a part of). Problems across the border are used as many plots in the TV show The Next Generation.
3. Dr. Rayga: A Ferengi scientist who committed suicide after his prototype failed. It hadn't really failed, but had been sabotaged.
4. metaphasic shielding: Special shielding that allows a vessel to travel within a star's deeper levels.
5. transtator: equivalent for 23rd century technology as the transistor is to our 20th/21st century technology.
6. PADD: person access display device, Star Trek PDA that is tied with the ships computer, actually any computer can be tied into with these things.
7. Alpha Quadrant: The Federation and many of the other galactic governments in the Star Trek world divide the Milky Way galaxy into four quadrants: Alpha (Federation, some Klingon, some Romulan, etc.), Beta (rest of Klingon and Romulan and others), Gamma (where the Dominion are from), and Delta (where the USS Voyager got stranded)