Calli Valente
Starfleet Intelligence
"Don't get in my way."
Registered: Aug 4, 2010 21:19:10 GMT
Posts: 534
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Post by Calli Valente on Jun 28, 2017 18:26:27 GMT
Seventy One Minutes to Deadline - One hundred Two minutes to Cloud Penetration :: Calli had been waiting for reinforcements, hopefully the dissidents would come out of their own accord, but if they didn't then force would be needed, and that needed manpower. She had spoken to one of the so-called ring leaders, who had point blank refused to leave the Section, citing they wanted to leave the Starbase entirely, and would not come out unless they received guarantee's to that effect ... She checked the time: Just over one hour ... She was pondering what to do next when Lieutenant Hood approached with six Security Officers 'borrowed' from the El Salvador. These, along with the four she had brought with her might be enough but it was going to be close. "I think there's more going on here." she said, bringing the El Salvador Security Chief up to speed, "First off they insisted there was property and equipment in their quarters that could not be moved and they were unwilling, regardless of threats or promises, to leave, now they are demanding a ship large enough to accommodate them 'and' their equipment. They want off the Starbase before we enter the cloud." "We could rush them." One of Hood's team suggested. "We could, but with internal scanners still sketchy at best, we have no way of confirming what they have in there. If it's unsafe then moving it could cause us more headaches than if we simply left them to it." Calli said. "Will the shields protect them being on the outer edge of the hull ?" another asked, but all Calli could do was shrug, she didn't have a clue, if Admiral Reynolds' calculations were correct, then yes, if they were out by the smallest fraction and the hull was flooded with the contents of the dark matter cloud, then they could all fry in seconds. She was about to reply when the Comm chirped, and screens throughout the Level sprang ominously to life: * Attention .. Levels One Two Two Eight through One Two Three Two .. Attention *
* Decompression will Commence in Sixty Minutes *
* All Personnel should Evacuate Immediately *
* All Personnel should Evacuate Immediately *
*** THIS IS NOT A DRILL *** "The will have heard that." Hood said. "Yes, but I have the feeling they will ignore it ... No-one in their right mind would decompress a Section while occupied. Take your men and get around the other side of the Section, I'd suggest transporting but given the sensor difficulties I would suggest you run .... Fast !" Calli said with a wry grin. "Commander, The diameter of the Starbase is almost three kilometers here, that's a run of over eight kilometers to get two hundred meters along this corridor." One of them informed her. "Actually, if you go in towards the core shaft then back out to here it should only be roughly four, maybe four and half." Calli said with a wry grin, "Tick Tock gentlemen." she said, eyebrows raised. Lieutenant Hood and his team left at a run. Calli opened a Comm to the dissidents and asked once again if they would be willing to leave of their own accord, none did. She explained the situation but received jeers in reply, she knew, and apparently they too knew, that Command wouldn't open the Section to space, she had to convince them they would, because the alternative was going to be messy. She contacted Command: =^= Is it possible to open a single quarters to space without risking the adjacent ones ? =^= =^= It would be better to simply evacuate all oxygen from the quarters .. But .. If you are hoping to demonstrate our resolve .. Then it shall be done .. Give the word when you are ready Commander =^= Tetsutaro said, holding the Comm open. Calli informed the group that quarters designated Alpha-Six-One-One-Four would be opened to space in thirty seconds then closed the Comm. "You think they will leave ?" One of her Officers asked dubiously. =^= Command .. Lower Emergency Bulkheads at Junctions Alpha Four and Six =^= She said. They watched as the titanium doors slid slowly into position. She informed the dissidents that they were now effectively sealed into the Section, this time there was no reply, she spoke again: =^= Command .. Decompress quarters now =^= They heard and felt the slight tremor as almost two hundred cubic meter of life-giving air exploded into space ... She checked the time: Deadline:
... 00 : 48 : 17 ... ... 00 : 48 : 16 ... ... 00 : 48 : 15 ... This time she waited to see if they would contact her .........
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Jun 29, 2017 17:59:35 GMT
EVENT DAY SEVENTY TWO - Thirty one minutes to cloud penetration :: Carl had been sat in the Command Center keeping an eye on what was happening with the supposed dissidents ... "This is getting ridiculous ....." he said, moving down to the lower level, "Do we have any information on who's behind this ?" "We believe it's a religious sect Admiral, Isolationists, they were en-route to a remote world to begin a new culture when ....." "So they are a bunch of Priests !" he said, disbelievingly. "Essentially Sir, yes ..." the Lieutenant confirmed, "They pretty much dismantled their monastery on Elbuth XII after the planet was occupied, they had searched for almost a year before finding somewhere to set up shop, so to speak Admiral. As far as we know they brought nothing dangerous aboard the Starbase and were waiting on a vessel they had contracted to pick them up." "Fine, then they are stuck with us, at least for the time being." Carl said, opening a Comm link: =^= Torek to Commander Valente .. .. =^= =^= Valente Admiral =^= =^= Calli .. We have identified your dissidents .. Unbelievably they are a group of harmless religious devotee's .. From our information they are isolationists and have no weapons .. We are lifting the emergency bulkheads now .. Contact Lieutenant Hood and get to their quarters .. I want them out of that area in fifteen minutes .. Stun the whole group unconscious if you need to but clear them out .. Ensure nothing is damaged inside their quarters as it holds relevance to the congregation and it's leaders .. We will override the door access on your mark .. Fifteen minutes Commander no more .. Torek out =^= "Time to cloud penetration ?" he asked. "Twenty six minutes Admiral." "Where do we stand with Admiral Reynolds' shield modifications ?" "All sectors show fully operational, they will be brought on-line at 'T' minus five minutes ... USS Maracanda standing by if required, as is the Enzio, Raven, and El Salvador." "OK ...." he looked out of the almost panoramic plexi-glass windows, the approaching dark matter cloud filling every viewpoint. It was hard to imagine something like this, the blue red shift of the gaseous matter within the cloud swirling almost as if performing it's own galactic ballet. he couldn't help but be impressed, almost in awe of the sight before them ..........
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Jun 30, 2017 9:55:53 GMT
Before reaching the phenomenon
"If it fits in the schedule, I'd like to conduct preliminary impulse engine tests within the vicinity of Starbase 47 ... any immediate faults in our engine configuration under moderate load conditions."
"Very well. We'll perform the manoeuvres on our way back from scanning the anomaly, just prior to redocking," Ghes said, eyes fixed on the viewscreen and the place where the unseen anomaly had been located by the Raven's sensors as the Enzio made for the El Salvador's position. Considering the engine test, he only hoped the ship - which had been the pride of the fleet when it'd been launched - didn't fly itself apart executing a 180 degree turn, and that in front of the other remaining vessels of the Section as well as before the Section's beleaguered HQ...
* * *
Over three hours from entering the cloud
"... with the other ships helping maintain an uninterrupted power supply it should be easy going if we get the calculations correct," Matt said.
Ghes acknowledged and then listened closely to the comm as Carl stated his view and that of his bridge crew. Finally satisfied, Ghes turned to the Enzio staff and Clark addressed him, "Admiral Gheskori, Petty Officer M'Rell has some knowledge of slipstream technology. We have discussed it, and believe the Jefferson shield augmentation would hold higher likelihood of success, Sir.
"Then it's settled; option one," he said quietly, hoping that the finality of the statement wouldn't find a fateful equivalent in the coming encounter with the phenomenon. "Helm, program a course for the Starbase, to execute once base and ship are within 50,000 km of the nebula. Commanding the most advanced sensor package, we'll remain here until the last few minutes to scan the sections of cloud immediately ahead of the Starbase. If we can map the topography of the 'core' of cloud the base will pass through before it enters, we can identify regions of the cloud within which the base may be at risk: if it becomes necessary, the Starbase will be rotated to present its strongest front to any excessive shear that could damage the structure."
<Tag possibly (for something in the present time)>
* * *
Ten minutes from entering the cloud
The Enzio was gliding back to Starbase 47 to at last take up its mooring alongside the other three ships now nestled - hopefully safely - in their own docking ports. Ghes had informed Lieutenant Clark that the engine test would be delayed, just a little while. He ordered an aft view as the ship neared the ruptured bay doors: the deep naval blue of the nebula, virtually black, only visible by virtue of what it made invisible - the stars. He thought for a brief instant that he saw sparks flickering in the darkness, and perhaps that was so, for the sensors were detecting within exotic types of neutrinos spontaneously coming into being and retreating to infinity. Otherwise, the ship and Starbase were passing into a featureless, enveloping ocean.
"Starbase shields lowered to permit our entry..." Miak reported, "Will confirm when they're raised behind us."
"Fall under its shadow," Ghes found himself murmuring, looking at the ceiling as if he expected to be cast in darkness. The Enzio was passing within the bay doors and into the expansive dock, an action mirrored on much larger scale by the base which at that same moment coursed into the nebula.
"Confirm we're going by the shortened check list for docking? Stand by umbilical systems..." he ordered, "Extend." The Enzio manoeuvred itself towards its mooring, the sleek Sovereign class Raven in the dock next to them.
As contact was made and the vestibule extended, Ghes gave instruction for all non-essential personnel to leave the ship and gave Admiral Reynolds and other high-ranking officers leave to do so if they wished. Following Reynolds suggestion, Ghes had decided one ship would indeed stay on its own power to assist with maintaining the Starbase's modified shield should it become necessary; that ship would be the Enzio; the others would be kept on standby, there could never be too many redundancies.
"How deep are we into the nebula? Have we identified any areas where we'll experience higher shear..." he trailed off as the ship and, he thought, the whole Starbase shuddered, sending vibrations through the deck and momentarily tilting it by ~10 degrees as the dampeners took time to compensate. "Re-open channel to Ops," he ordered, "Ops, Sato, report."
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Sato Tetsutaro
Starfleet Intelligence
[Deceased]
Registered: Nov 30, 2013 2:01:59 GMT
Posts: 538
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Post by Sato Tetsutaro on Jun 30, 2017 23:46:43 GMT
:: ENTERING the DARK MATTER CLOUD :: Admiral Tetsutaro had been watching the cloud as it grew beyond the windows almost engulfing them ... Admiral Torek had returned to the USS Raven-C ... "Entering the outer extremities of the cloud Admiral." a Lieutenant informed the Head of Federation Intelligence. Sato didn't need to be told, he could already feel the minute tremor reverberating through the carpeted deck plates beneath his feet, on Deck Eight, the two hundred meter diameter Command Center atop of the Starbase. The lower level, classed as Deck Nine officially, a mere seventy meters across, held the primary positions, and it was here that he stood ... Sato was an old man, but he didn't miss the smallest changes to his environment, and he knew they were within the cloud before it was confirmed to him ... The Starbase began to lean back, almost as if reluctant to proceed further. The comm chirped to life: =^= Operations .. Sato report =^= =^= I am having this communication routed to the other vessels Admiral .. .. We have passed into the outer formation of the main cloud Admiral .. We are experiencing resistance but have no reports of internal damage or shield difficulty at this time .. We have suffered slight reorientation of our vertical axis .. Fourteen point two eight degrees thus far .. As to if this will increase I cannot tell .. We will enter the densest part of the cloud in four minutes and I anticipate further structural stress perhaps dangerously high in intensity .. I believe we have made the correct decision regarding our method of transverse Admiral .. My compliments to Admiral Reynolds =^= =^= Sato .. Carl =^= =^= Go ahead Admiral =^= =^= We are beginning to register strain on the umbilicus and mooring clamps .. Minimal at this stage .. Do you predict problems for the docked vessels ? =^= =^= Alas .. I cannot answer that Admiral .. As you are well aware .. The mooring clamps are capable of taking tremendous stresses before failure occurs so I feel at this point out Fleet is in safe harbour .. .. Obviously .. Should that change we shall need to consider taking one or more vessels beyond the cocoon of the Dome as much for their well being as our own =^= =^= Understood .. Keep us informed .. I will be staying aboard the Raven for the duration but if you feel I would be of better use up there .. .. =^= =^= I am as they say 'holding the fort' Sir .. Command Center out =^= Carl was about to speak when he felt the first tremor, it was almost nothing, and would have made only the smallest ripple on a calm pond, but he'd felt it nevertheless. He opened a ship-wide Comm and reassured the crew ... In the Command Center everyone was now feeling the reverberations Admiral Tetsutaro had felt a moment ago, he looked down at his feet then at those sat at the consoles around the upper and lower levels, all had the same expression, all of them, each man and woman were all feeling fear, and rightly so. This was something none of them had experience of, no-one had encountered a dark matter cloud on a Starship fully equipped deal with the unknown, let alone a four kilometer tall structure that was never meant to travel past it's designated location, let alone at many many multiples of the speed of light ! "Lieutenant. Please contact the USS Enzio and ask Admiral Reynolds, with my compliments, if there is anything further we can do to reinforce our external structure. I shall be in Admiral Gheskori's office when you have done so." He left the Command Center under the able overseeing of it's duty Commander, then went to Gheskori's office where he requested a traditional Sakura Tea, light and smooth, with a floral aftertaste. The hot, transparent pink liquid, soothing his worried mind as the deck continued to vibrate beneath his feet ..........
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Matthew Reynolds
Rear Admiral
"It's good to have an end to a journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end."
Registered: Apr 28, 2005 20:58:32 GMT
Posts: 2,759
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Post by Matthew Reynolds on Jul 1, 2017 16:06:27 GMT
Ten minutes since entrance into the cloud
Was it okay to breathe yet? Was it okay to stop looking away from his consoles and look upon the cloud itself? Was it okay to stop thinking that he had just condemned thousands of souls to their deaths. These and more thoughts were racing through Matt's head. Multiple things were happening at the same time and it was vitally important that Matt and everyone else for that matter was able to distinguish the important with the trivial. As the minutes passed, the pressure and strain on the starbase continued to increase but well within what they had expected. After fifteen minutes, Matt allowed himself to take a deep breath, not because he thought they were completely out of the woods, but he believed he would get sick.
"Admiral, Admiral Tetsutaro sends his regards and would like to know if there is anything further we can do to reinforce our external structure?" a Lieutenant from Command asked.
"I'm not sure if I'm ready to give the admiral a response, we are currently taking in a ton of data and we have to process it as it comes in," Matt replied," but it does give me an idea." Matt knew there was to much data for him to review by himself. The staff from the Enzio was already helping, but it still wouldn't be enough if something terrible happened. He would need to enlist the help of every operations and engineering team within the fleet. As he sent his instructions to the rest of the fleet, he hoped that they were just being overly cautious.
(Tag everyone who wants a crack at helping reinforce our external structure lol)
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Jul 4, 2017 15:16:42 GMT
Starbase Forty Seven had entered the Dark Matter cloud one hour ago and was suffering ..... The initial vibrations through the structure had been light, almost gentle, but now they were in the denser region it was almost uncomfortable ! ... The cloud, initially measured on long-range sensors was much larger than first thought. At the point they had entered it was estimated they would need to traverse almost five Light Years, Carl wasn't sure the Starbase, the Ships, or in fact the thousands of souls aboard would survive at the rate the vibrations were increasing. Everyone was working on reinforcing the shields, some even suggesting pushing beds up against the bulkheads, not that the idea would work, but at least it eased a fraction of the worry in the Command Center ... USS Raven-C :"How are the mooring clamps holding out Andae ?" Carl asked. "Stresses are increasing but they still have a firm hold on us. How long that remains the case is anyone's guess." Blakus replied. "Put the tactical view on screen Harry." he looked at the viewscreen, watching the four Starships docked inside the enormous three kilometer diameter dome. A red line, flashing irritably, designated the shields holding them safe, they were flashing due to the enormous stresses placed upon them by the Cloud. Structural integrity was holding at seventy nine percent, lower than they'd like, but you work with what you have. Their problems would begin if that figure dropped south of forty percent, because at that point parts of the shield grid would begin to fail leaving Sections of the Starbase open to the almost insurmountable forces beyond. "What figures do we have for the other Starships Harry ?" "Level with our own given a point or two either way Admiral." the Operations Officer informed him. Carl was watching the screen when Lieutenant Jan Milyanov, the Deputy Engineering Chief turned to face him: "Sir, I have a suggestion that may hold us in position better ..." "Feel free to share." Torek said with an almost wry grin. "With the ships positioned as they are, it might be possible to raise shields." he glanced at Blakus, his Boss and Acting Exec' then continued, "Sir, if we raise shields at minimal power, say fifteen percent, the overlap from the other ships won't throw us around like a table tennis ball in a hurricane. We will 'feel' the other shields pushing against our own, but at such low power none of they will domineer, it could effectively hold each ship in place against the others' shields." "What's to stop us simply being pushed away from the nearest vessel and into the shields of the next ?" Carl asked, glancing at his Exec' who seemed deep in thought. "Well, that's where it could become tricky ...." Milyanov admitted, All four ships would need to raise shields at their minimum and gradually bring them up until we're all pushing against each other with equal force, if one get's ahead, that ship will be pushed away from the others and possibly sever it's docking clamps in the process." "So we would all be pushing against each other ?" Calli asked, a slight frown forming as Milyanov nodded, ".... and against the inner hull of the dome I assume ?" again the Engineer nodded. "Andae, what do you think, can it work ?" < Tag : Blakus >"OK, get the idea up to Command and relay it to the El Salvador, the Enzio, and the Maracanda." he said, thinking the idea was plausible, but dangerous in the extreme should anything go wrong. All he could do was wait to hear from Command, the other Commanding Officers, and their Engineers .......... < Tag : All >
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jul 5, 2017 1:02:06 GMT
Blakus entered the bridge, nodding to his colleagues - he'd been absent from the bridge for some time what with having to see to a multitude of issues with the warp propulsion system, fusion reactors and other crucial systems, mainly pertaining to engines, over the last few days with very little break. He was approached by Tinsley from the engineering station.
"Ah, Lieutenant, you heard the summons of Admiral Matthew Reynolds?"
"Aye, sir, I think I may be of some use," the engineering junior officer replied, and made his way from the bridge. Tinsley took the turbolift down to the deck with the disembarkation vestibule, traversed it and emerged on the docking ring, half-sprinting now towards the USS Enzio and finding others about him - many of them engineering or science division Starfleet, it seemed - also making for the Prometheus class ship in its berth next to the Raven. He reported along with them to Admiral Reynolds who was in one of the subsidiary control rooms - something like a research lab - in the secondary hull of the vessel,
"Admiral, Lieutenant Tinsley of the USS Raven reporting. I heard you could use some assistance with data evaluation for the purposes of station defence, sir?"
<Tag Reynolds>
Blakus mused at the engineering station: he - and they all - hoped that the topography of the region of the cloud the base was passing through had been mapped comprehensively by the initial surveyors.
"So the ships would all be pushing against each other ?" Calli asked, a slight frown forming as Milyanov nodded, ".... and against the inner hull of the dome I assume ?" again the Engineer nodded.
"Andae, what do you think, can it work ?"
He pivoted in his seat, his thoughts and reminiscences, concerns and spiking terror subsiding from him as he accessed the requisite information: a wireframe plan view of the dock, showing the arrangement of the four active vessels in their respective docks; they were arranged nearby each other in something of a crescent shape around the dock's central hull, the Maracanda at the 'left' tip of the crescent as the Raven looked at it, and the Raven in fact at the 'right' tip of the crescent; Enzio was to the port side of Raven, and El Salvador nestled between Enzio and Maracanda, closer to Maracanda than Enzio.
"Well," he began, as the others gathered about, "If all four ships were simply to activate their whole shielding, they wouldn't merely be pushing against each other but, as has been said, against the dock's inner hull, too. We would be pushed away by the action of our forward shields against the inner hull; this I would say could be remedied by applying a small amount of forward thrust when necessary to correct our position as he we fall backwards, not too much thrust as to break the umbilicals of course... ahem."
He pivoted in his chair again to another panel, the others glancing at each other in amusement.
"As far as I see it... with our four vessels arranged in a line, only the port and starboard shield-facings of each vessel should be used, perhaps with small elements of the forward and aft shielding applied strategically on top of port and starboard (this takes account for the crescent shape the ships are making). This distribution - different for each vessel - would compensate for what would otherwise be shield repulsion acting across the latitudinal axis of each vessel, the latter a scenario which would throw the vessels into disorder."
"And this should keep us and the others relatively stationary?" Blakus nodded affirmative, though suggested that small thruster adjustments might be necessary.
Now they virtually felt the base rotating about them, it cutting into the next storm layer. The base shuddered but only slightly. What lay out there in that interminable darkness, an enigmatic realm with surprises lurking in every corner, in every fold of corpuscular quasi-matter inhabited by Casimir-like neutrinos, searing ephemerally?
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Calli Valente
Starfleet Intelligence
"Don't get in my way."
Registered: Aug 4, 2010 21:19:10 GMT
Posts: 534
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Post by Calli Valente on Jul 9, 2017 20:46:24 GMT
".... And this should keep us and the others relatively stationary ?" Blakus nodded.
"It won't work." Calli said, making the others turn in her direction, "First off, there isn't enough room in the dome to align the four ship in-line .... The only way would be to put the four ships in a box formation, equidistant from each other and the inner surface of the dome. It will put tremendous stresses on the superstructure ...."
"She's right." Carl said, realising they were grasping at proverbial straws and forgetting basic's in the process.
"The shields are beginning to feel the strain now." Wedlerson said, "So we need to think of something before the bulkhe ....." he stopped talking as he watched Calli approach the viewscreen of the Raven, "Commander ?"
Calli stood in complete silence, eyes locked on one part of the image the screen was showing, she turned and changed the view so they were looking 'behind' the Raven towards the outer bulkhead of the dome. The gaping maw that was once the Space-doors was off to their right and above them. Everyone on the Bridge remained silent as they watched the Intelligence Officer closely. She walked to the screen, searching for whatever it was that had caught her attention moments earlier, then she saw it again:
"THERE !" she said, finger jabbing at the screen as she looked at the others, "Did you see it ?"
"What ?" Wedlerson asked, looking at the screen himself but seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Calli spun, wondering if she was hallucinating.
"There, it was, I'm sure it ...." she rubbed her eyes, wondering if fatigue was finally catching up on her. the Comm chirped to life:
=^= Maracanda to all vessels .. We are showing shields at seventy one point four percent and falling .. But that isn't our only problem =^=
=^= Explain Commander =^= they heard Tetsutaro order.
=^= Sir's .. I believe parts of the Starbase are .. .. Phasing =^= the young Officer said hesitantly. There was a delay in the reply that everyone must have picked up on.
=^= You are correct Commander .. We have recorded numerous 'events' where sections of the Starbase have seemingly phased out then returned as before .. We are working on adjusting shield harmonics to counteract the phenomenon =^=
=^= How long before we exit the cloud ? =^= Carl asked, eyes on Calli.
=^= Raven .. We estimate we will reach the far side of the cloud in approximately three hours if we use our current deceleration rate as our guide =^= Tetsutaro replied.
=^= What is our current velocity ? =^= Carl asked.
=^= We estimate current velocity at seven point one kilometers per hour .. A substantial reduction .. But we feel that was due to our entry into the dark matter cloud .. Our continued rate of deceleration will be dependant on the composition and density of the remainder of the cloud .. We are confident that we will pass through the far side at less than sixteen thousand kilometers per hour .. This should be enough reduction to allow us to begin efforts to bring us to a complete stop relative to the cloud we traversed =^=
"Is anyone going to address the phasing issue, or shall we just hope it goes away ?" Svensonn asked, close to panic.
=^= It is something we need to monitor and we are doing so .. But given there is little we can do to counteract the phenomenon at this point we feel that if the incidents are sporadic and not permanent we should pass through the cloud intact .. Should any individual section exhibit permanent displacement we .. .. .. =^= Tetsutaro said, who had heard the comment from the Acting Chief Science Officer of the Raven.
"OK, I want every sensor array focused on these phasing episodes." Carl ordered, then got up and approached Svensonn, "Lieutenant, we're all scared, we need you to keep it together for a while, OK, you're young and going to get through this. We'll be having a drink back on Earth laughing about all this one day, alright ?" he said quietly.
"Aye Sir .... Sorry." the man said, embarrassed at his sudden outburst.
Carl put his hand on the mans shoulder giving the smallest squeeze, then returned to his seat:
I want everything on the phasing events passed to our Sister ships and Command." he said, eyes on the viewscreen which was now showing a view of the red blue green pallet of the dark matter cloud rather than the inside of the Dome ..........
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Jul 10, 2017 13:41:27 GMT
An hour and a half later... (half way through the cloud)
Ghes had remained on the Enzio for a while, attending to his self-appointed duty of keeping the ship on stand-by, ready to power up at a moment's notice to begin reinforcing the Starbase shield. A shield which - increasingly as of an hour ago - had been struggling with the shearing force exerted by dark matter knots in this part of the cloud. Just half an hour ago, they'd encountered an unforeseen coagulation, a dense patch of dark matter in the form of WIMPs, and the shields had lost 20.4% of their capacity in the space of a few hundred kilometres.
Any more such incidents - the cause/s of which (likely in the form of similar knotted matter) would be discovered by means of sensor scans, now they knew what they were looking for - and the Enzio was to activate its drive and lend shield capacity to the Starbase, likely in coordination with the other vessels.
Unfortunately, all four active vessels were experiencing their own problems, unable to stay completely steady in their moorings and hence causing strains in the umbilicals and mechanisms holding them to their respective docks. Ghes had ordered structural integrity extended - past the ship's normal extension - to the umbilicals and the personnel vestibule (which nevertheless had its airlocks either end sealed), to ensure they didn't break away under the stress of their vessel shifting about in its mooring.
He'd advised the other COs do the same; <Tag Raven, El Salvador, (Maracanda)> so far the measure had been working, though perhaps soon greater stress would be placed on the Starbase as a whole, and they'd be forced to rethink how they should protect the ships being rattled about inside it...
Having instructed XO V'Maz and CEO Clark to power up the Enzio to add weight to the Starbase's shields as soon as it reached any knot of dark matter of appreciable dimensions, and having enquired of Reynolds' team about their progress in finding ways of further reinforcing the modified shields, Ghes was now in Ops and found a PADD detailing crew transfers being handed to him by an adjutant, who stated he'd been given the document by the Personnel Office (which had been operating independently while Ghes had been both busy on his ship and running the remnants of the Section).
"You wouldn't have handed me this, I presume, if it didn't have any transfers relating to the Enzio?" he asked, turning away to read the PADD, the adjutant following. "Ah yes, I've been expecting Allan Hood's transfer," Ghes said.
"Indeed, sir. His orders are on the PADD also."
"Roger." He tapped his commbadge - Starbase internal comms were fortunately operational again, if somewhat temperamental in places, =/\= Lieutenant Hood, this is Admiral Gheskori. Please report to the USS Enzio at your earliest convenience. I'll meet you there with your orders. =/\= There was a pause on the line before Hood acknowledged. =/\= You've been reassigned, Lieutenant. Welcome aboard. =/\= Hood acknowledged and stated he and a Lieutenant Bale were currently engaged in securing a number of civilians (who had refused before reaching the nebula to leave their quarters for safer zones).
=/\= Report at your earliest convenience, Lieutenant, =/\= Ghes simply repeated, smiled and closed the comm.
<Tag Hood>
"Keep an eye on those phase occurrences," he snapped across Ops. He was also aware they were coming up on a region of higher-density dark matter as mapped by the initial topographical survey, "How close are we to the dense patch ahead?"
"Three minutes at current rate of deceleration, sir. But it shouldn't be too rough."
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Post by Savot on Jul 13, 2017 0:30:43 GMT
[El Salvador: Backpost Beginning 3 Hours Prior to Cloud Contact to Present]
Savot had listened intently to the various inputs on the plans and he himself agreed that the strategy to shield the starbase using the docked starships as auxiliary batteries so to speak was the plan most likely to succeed. The El Salvador had remained on-station for as long as possible before her turn to dock, continuing to focus her sensors on filtering the incoming data in hopes of giving the Enzio's sensor arrays a clearer picture of composition, etc. Savot had moved to stand between Ops and Conn, looking over top of Acting-Cadet Karysta's right shoulder to see the readings she was getting, while Deis at the helm kept the ship's trajectory accurate which, while uncomplicated and potentially boring was nonetheless a critical task that he was glad to have his former captain's deft hand attending to.
The vulcan had heard Section Admiral Ghesokori's definitive acceptance of the shielding option and noted with silent respect the matter-of-fact calm that the Denobulan's voice conveyed over the open comms channel. When the time came, Deis maneuvered the El Salvador back into dock within the hopeful safety of Starbase 47. The navigation consisted primarily of slight applications of thrusters to bleed off the El Sal's forward velocity essentially allowing the starbase to catch up to her, then rotating the ship to fly inside facing forward and then performing the fine-tuning required to achieve a manual docking with the station's umbilicals so as not to require the transfer of starbase power from the experimental shield modifications to the internal tractor beams normally utilized to dock incoming vessels.
Commander Delbridge had performed his usual focused work under pressure, though the severity of the situation augmented with the soberingly atrocious casualty count that had been disseminated amongst the flag officers who either kept it to themselves or shared it with their own officers at their discretion had curtailed the Tennessee engineer's typical pluck. Once docked, the vast majority of the El Salvador's normal power reserves as well as the surplus her inherited Prometheus-class core could provide were hooked into Starbase 47's systems to aid in reinforcing Reynolds' inspired shield modifications. Auxiliary power was held as a backup for the moment, to be distributed to any effort that might become crucial as their trek through the dark matter nebula progressed...
The Gorn Chief Zakryn and additional security had been stationed at the umbilicals after Savot had received the reports of some kind of inflammatory situation brewing aboard the station. The last thing any of the Section 47 survivors needed at this point was a docked ship getting rushed and seized by panicked fanatics, however unlikely that scenario might be even at the worst of times. But Savot tended to plan for the worst in hopes of decreasing its likelihood of coming into being, and it didn't hurt for their security teams to have something to keep their minds occupied while the fleet was assailed by a literally nebulous opponent none of the trained defenders could face in a fair fight.
Meanwhile, on the bridge, Savot sat listening carefully to the ongoing reports of his fellow CO's and their crews as the situation progressed. He implemented the Section Admiral's structural integrity modifications and added his own commendation on the theory of pressing the vessels' shields together to increase stability. Working at a holo-display console risen up from the right arm of his command chair, Savot ran some calculations with visual references and enabled the visuals for transmitting to his fellow CO's as he spoke to them over comms, =^=Captains, if I may offer a suggestion to the concern of our shielding putting outward extending pressure on the starbase's internal structure: ships' shields are relatively ovoid in nature, to varying degrees of severity based upon the ship class' physical dimensions. But regardless of specific shape dimensions, each ovoid has an outermost point to its curves. If we concert our efforts to minor re-directing of our shield outputs we should be able to ensure that those outermost curve points make contact with the starbase's internal structure at points of load-bearing solidity. One of the support walls of the honeycomb, so to speak. Not only would any outward pressure our ships exert be directed towards the most stable points able to withstand the pressure best from inside, but our outward pressure could also serve to push back against the inward structural stress suffered by the station due to the dark matter. The nebula pressure prevents our shields from creating an outward buckle in the station hull, while our shield pressure prevents the nebula from crushing the station's hull inward.=^=
<Tag: CO's, also sincere apology for my silence of late. Have worked every day for 3 weeks straight and my creative energy's been shot>
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Allan Hood
Lieutenant
Only real security: a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.
Registered: Dec 4, 2014 4:19:10 GMT
Posts: 147
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Post by Allan Hood on Jul 13, 2017 5:54:12 GMT
"Actually, if you go in towards the core shaft then back out to here it should only be roughly four, maybe four and half." Calli said with a wry grin, "Tick Tock gentlemen." she said, eyebrows raised. Lieutenant Hood and his team left at a run.
::Forty-Four Minutes to Deadline β Seventy-Five Minutes to Cloud Penetration::
βO YHVH, Elohim of Abraham, I pray you, send me good speed this day.β
Hood remembered after entering the Academy, the natural temptation to stare down at his feet while running, the tendency to tilt his chin down, moving his neck and back out of alignment. Hood remembered the difficulty to keep his arms at 90-degree angles and using their momentum to help propel his body forward. He remembered the lure to clench his fists, to hunch his shoulders and to hold his arms tightly against his body. Hood remembered having to shake his arms out to relieve the newly discovered tension to run with the most efficient posture, the difficulty of aligning his hips with his torso and shoulders.
Those days were over.
Hoodβs security team ran with ease to the dissentients, due to many hours of training on the holodeck over many types of terrains and planet classes, covering the necessary ground in four minutes, after making a pit stop in engineering.
Being religious isolationists, they all shared one large specially modified living quarters, believing that it was in their cultureβs best interest to have the least possible contact with the rest of the station, keeping interaction with the stationβs crew at a distance until they reach their new remote world.
Under normal circumstances, they could easily beam the religious isolationists away from their shared living area, but, due to transporter interference from the dark cloud, their circumstances are anything but normal.
βHood to Torek,β Hood said after tapping his combadge, βrequesting door override access.β
After reminding his team of the plan, Hoodβs squad of seven, including himself, entered the quarters and approached the group, spreading out in a semi-circle before the crowd.
βI have orders to clear this section,β Hood began, βwe are to stun you if necessary. Please come with us; this section has to be evacuated of personnel due to the coming decompression.
βLike I told her,β their spokesman said signaling to the first security officer that arrived on scene earlier, βwe have valuable property that cannot be moved and we don't trust it to be left unattended.β Cheers came back from over two dozen people in backing.
Hood nodded to his team to draw their weapons, as one of his officers sneaked away during the chaos, walking the perimeter unnoticed.
βSet weapons to stun.β
With the mental chronometer counting down in his head, Hood was careful not to allow himself to feel rushed. One way to negotiate for what one wanted is to simply outlast anotherβs patience. And, the security chief was known for his patience.
At least until the decompression deadline.
βThe Federation eliminated the need for possessions a long time ago,β Hood said while keeping his prowling officer in his peripheral vision, noticing the nod he received after the officer took a quick reading with his tricorder. βI'm sure whatever you have can be replaced.β Hood made his last statement squarely with his own irreplaceable possessions in mind. He needed to keep them distracted for a bit longer.
The protesters double-downed on their disagreement, beginning to approach the armed officers, expectantly, as needed.
βPattern enhancers in place,β the lurking officer finally called from behind a cargo container, after turning the black control cuff, activating the final meter high, cylindrical tripod.
βNow, Chief,β Hood called after tapping his combadge.
With a solid transporter lock established, the security team, the crowd, along with the cargo, materialized safely in a cargo hold clear of the decompression warning.
<Tag Valente, Anyone>
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Simon Clark
Lt. Commander
Registered: Dec 1, 2016 22:21:10 GMT
Posts: 153
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Post by Simon Clark on Jul 14, 2017 6:08:59 GMT
Main Bridge, USS Enzio, in dock, Starbase 47. [Day 72: 1.5 hours into Dark Matter Cloud]
Lieutenant Simon Clark was still on the bridge. He was technically off-shift, but he did not feel that under the circumstances he could yet take some rest, if he could do something to prevent the ship from being ripped from its moorings. Several officers gathered around the engineering station were considering the latest in a long line of problems. Simon himself, with Lieutenant Kempton on the engineering station, Commander V'Maz, and Lieutenant Miak. They had been going around the issue for several minutes, and the clash of personalities between himself and Kempton was not of benefit to the discussion. Simon hoped he was managing the situation professionally.
"We could use the tractor beams to support the umbilicals?" Simon asked.
"They are too broad a beam, they don't have that kind of control." Kempton replied.
"They don't need it," Simon replied, "The umbilicals and docking clamps are designed to cope with high frequency vibrations. Look at the Fourier spectrum," He indicated the chart on the display, "The design tolerances are exceeded only at these lower frequencies. The magnitudes of these vibrations are higher than the higher frequencies, which the damping system on the clamps is capable of absorbing. The designers never anticipated that the star base would be exposed to this level of vibration."
"Well we're seeing it now. The tractor beams could attenuate less than half of these lower frequencies, even if we over stressed the emitters. The suitable hard-points fore, aft and below are poorly positioned, and we would only be able to arrest the vibrations on two axes, and not across the beam of the ship." Kempton replied.
"Agreed," Simon said, being careful to maintain as much of the good mood as possible, "It's not a total solution, but it would have some benefit."
"It's not worth the energy cost. I like the the overlapping shield idea, it has merit."
"Did you read the note from Calli Valente? I don't think we could overcome the pushing forces of the shields on the star ships without risking additional strain on the umbilicals." Simon asked.
"I read it. I disagree with her. Linking shields within the dome will work, and buffer adjacent ships against each other, reducing the overall movement. We'd get enough to compensate the pushing forces with the thrusters, and with impulse engines if required, I'm sure." Kempton said.
"It's risky," V'Maz said, "Both options are risky." It was a difficult question, and there was no easy answer. The extended structural integrity field was helping, but it wasn't enough. The sensors could detect the increasing levels of fatigue in the reinforced clamps. They were still going to fail, and they had to try something.
"Holograms, Clark?" Miak offered, a half joke.
Simon returned him a half smile, "Not this time. The force fields generated by the holo emitters have a good range, but not the strength to hold a star ship in position. And the external holo emitters on that part of the ship have not yet been repaired."
"Is there anything else we can try?" V'Maz asked, "What about something physical: can we create an additional support structure? Our own docking clamp?"
"I don't think it's feasible." Kempton said, "We don't have anything that large in inventory, and the replication facilities on the starbase are still offline."
"Agreed," Simon added.
"So that leaves us with the tractor beams, and the overlapping shield grids." V'Maz said, "Neither option will provide what we need in full. The tractors will remove some of larger movements axially and vertically, leaving us with the lateral movements. What would that do to the stress profile on the docking clamps?"
Kempton brought up the simulation on the display, and had the computer run it.
"I agree with Commander Valente; we do not want to put additional pressure on the inside of the star base dome. I also agree with Lieutenant Kempton, so I want the idea explored the use of thrusters to correct our lateral movement relative to the star base. Even if we don't use the overlapping shields, perhaps we can put them under computer control. I want a simulation for any harmonic frequencies that will increase the stress on the docking clamps. This seems like something we should be able to do quickly while we continue to consider the implementation of the other options, and I want to start doing it now. Miak will assist you."
"Yes Sir. Sir, the computer has completed the stress analysis." Kempton said.
V'Maz considered the comparison between the two stress analyses of the docking clamps. "There's a whole lot less red in that second image. Lieutenant Clark, I want a feasibility, power, and benefit assessment of both options. I'm in favour of using the tractor beam, but I am conscious that we need to maintain a sufficient reserve to provide power support to the Starbase energy grid, so I want the most power efficient solution that prevents us ripping away from the dock that you can generate in the next ten minutes. I'll feed it back into the discussion. And I want the saucer section warp reactor brought online, we are going to need the power."
"Yes, Sir," Clark and Kempton said in unison.
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Allan Hood
Lieutenant
Only real security: a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.
Registered: Dec 4, 2014 4:19:10 GMT
Posts: 147
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Post by Allan Hood on Jul 14, 2017 21:01:43 GMT
After the showdown with the isolationists, Lieutenant Hood gathered his family and belongings and made their way to the USS Enzio. A counselor met them in Enzioβs transporter room to help with Gracie and Donna while their father met with the admiral.
βWelcome back to the Enzio, Lieutenant,β the counselor greeted the Hood family.
βThank you very much, maβam,β Hood said to his counselor, being his superior officer. βItβs good to be back.β
It was indeed good to be back on the Enzio. Hood missed having access to the wide corridors, the 18 phaser arrays, the regenerative shielding system, and the ablative armor, not to mention the multi-vector assault mode option. Other starships seem to dwarf in comparison to such a starship.
βIβll meet you guys back at our quarters after my shift,β Hood said as he kissed his wife. He knelt down to his two daughters. βI love you girls very much. Go ahead and get settled and weβll go to the arboretum when Iβm off my shift.β
Hood briefly watched his family walk down the corridor as he headed for the nearest turbolift. He entered with a liberated Borg gold collared ensign occupying it already. The medical team must have had difficulty removing the hoses and cables considering they projected from a specially modified uniform.
βEnsign,β Hood said, nodding to the officer, βsecurity or engineering?β
βSecurity,β the Borg said without looking his way.
βIβm the new security chief, Allan Hood. And, you are?β
βEleutherio,β replied the Borg. βDestination?β he asked still looking straight ahead.
βBridge.β
Hood pushed his fatherβs stories of the Borg from his mind. His father, so traumatized and unforgiving of the Borg, dropped out of Starfleet after βLocutus was given command of a starship, again.β
After serving as an engineering ensign on the Saratoga, Lee Hood helped the then Commander Benjamin Sisko with the Defiant prototype as his last act of service to Starfleet against the Borg.
Hood found Admiral Gheskori on the bridge, more relaxed than he expected, under the circumstances. Is that due to his Denobulan nature or his own individual personality independent of his species? Hood approached the admiral and stood at attention.
βLieutenant Allan Hood reporting for duty,β Hood said, βpermission to come aboard, Admiral?β
<Tag Gheskori>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Jul 15, 2017 16:23:05 GMT
Halfway through the cloud, USS Enzio
Ghes acknowledged Savot's advice, agreeing it would have benefits for maintaining the structural integrity of the Starbase's inner hull against the pressures from outside, while commending the Commodore for the suggestion of applying the tip of each ship's shield bubble to strong-points in the inner hull.
He was about to call for the other COs to begin its implementation, when V'Maz - who'd been engaged in energetic debate with the engineers - stopped him at the last moment, stating he, Clark and Kempton had doubts about pressuring the Starbase's internal structure any further, and that they were discussing whether they mightn't use thrusters, or tractor beams, or perhaps putting the shields on automatic control so they may fine adjust the combination of required shield facings to maximise potential for all four ships remaining stationary relative to the structure.
Ghes acknowledged and replied (also broadcasting to the other three vessels), "Give me a solution before we reach the regions of greater dark matter density."
<Tag Clark; Torek, Savot>
Three quarters the way through the cloud, USS Enzio
Ghes hoped the worst of it was over now; back in Ops the situation had seemed tenuous for a while as the Starbase had slipped between two vast knots of dark matter, extremely dense and emitting unknown types of radiation (he'd eyed the Ops' expansive viewscreen, its view shown in infrared, and had seen the dark holes - surrounded by luminous scarlet-orange matter - that signified the presence of higher-than-usual concentrations of dark matter ahead). Fortunately the Starbase had made it through with a mere seven reported civilian casualties, now being treated in the fully restored base main sickbay.
βLieutenant Allan Hood reporting for duty,β Hood said, βpermission to come aboard, Admiral?β
Ghes looked Lieutenant Hood up and down, "Well, you appear to be here already, Lieutenant," he quipped and rose, shaking the man's hand, "Permission granted; welcome aboard. Have you stowed your belongings?" he asked as he made his way over to starboard, where V'Maz met him and, upon Ghes's request, produced a PADD which the Admiral then handed to Lieutenant Hood, "Your orders."
As he began retaking his seat, Hood himself heading to the tactical console, the helm gave his customary report, "Sensors indicate we are now 75% through the mass of the nebula, sir, going by its approximate dimensions taken during initial probe survey."
"Acknowledged..." Ghes became ruminative, "Then perhaps we should be able to start picking up things from the other side... scan ahead and discern what might lie beyond?"
"I'm not sure, sir..."
"Lieutenant Hood," Ghes said, "Try scanning ahead beyond the confines of the nebula; tell us what you may find." If they wanted to bring the Starbase to a halt just the other side of the cloud, as had been planned, then having a definite knowledge of what lay in that immedate vicinity would be eminently beneficial.
<Tag Hood>
The Enzio of course also had the most advanced sensor package, which it'd used to scan into the dark matter nebula in the first place - to discern that it was indeed that phenomenon - and thus it should also come in handy here. Of the four active starships the Enzio had the best sensors, which might be thought odd considering it was the oldest ship amongst them, though a recent refit of its sensor grid had made it in that respect one of the most advanced ships in the fleet.
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Allan Hood
Lieutenant
Only real security: a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.
Registered: Dec 4, 2014 4:19:10 GMT
Posts: 147
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Post by Allan Hood on Jul 16, 2017 18:09:22 GMT
Three quarters the way through the cloud, USS Enzio
"Lieutenant Hood," Ghes said, "Try scanning ahead beyond the confines of the nebula; tell us what you may find." If they wanted to bring the Starbase to a halt just the other side of the cloud, as had been planned, then having a definite knowledge of what lay in that immediate vicinity would be eminently beneficial.
Hood took a moment to relish sitting back at his former tactical counsel. Though his custom presentation of information had been adjusted, he found his previous settings still stored within the system. Within moments, the wide dual console displayed the tactical settings arrangement to his liking.
βThere seem to be several more spatial deformations in our path,β Hood began, βdue to the gaseous accumulation of material, sensors are having a challenging time detecting past the interference. But, there seems to be empty space immediately beyond the nebula.β
Hood began modifying his long range tactical sensors, searching the nebula with a finer-toothed comb than earlier. Hood double checked his readings before calling back over his shoulder.
βIβm detecting trace amounts of trianic energy ahead,β Hood responded, βit may be a variant of the Komar or some other dark matter lifeform.β
<Tag Ghes>
On a hunch, Hood quickly realigned the sensor arrays, but this time to scan for EM fluctuations. He found a consistent spike in the lower EM band.
βSir,β Hood alerted the admiral moments later, βthe eddies appear to consist of exotic matter plasmids with orbiting dark matter meteoroids. They may be a main cause of our interference. Iβm sending their locations to the helm. The meteoroids will be attracted to our electromagnetic energy, depending on our proximity.β The astronomical phenomenon are almost undetectable and are known for being unusually organized for dark matter anomalies.
<Tag Ghes, Clark>
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Jul 19, 2017 23:00:42 GMT
EVENT DAY NINETY THREE - Cloud traversed: 89.72 % ::
Starbase Forty Seven had been traversing the cloud for almost twenty one days and was finally approaching the furthest edge ....
Remarkably thus far, there had been no fatalities, and less than fifty serious injuries as the leviathan was battered and bruised in her journey, but finally they could see an end. It wasn't set in proverbial stone by any means, and the discovery of exotic particles was worrying to say the least, but it was decided that the concentration was below anything that could be immediately concerning, but still it was something that would need constant monitoring, both by the Starbase, and eventually by the Starships as they begin their exploration and precise mapping of their new home.
Though accurate figures were not possible within the Dark Matter Cloud, it is estimated that the Starbase had extinguished over eighty six percent of it's velocity now, their current velocity relative to the last known fixed points was one thousand eight hundred forty kilometers per second, give or take five percent, and at their current deceleration rate it was believed that the Starbase would emerge on the far side of the cloud travelling at less than seven thousand kilometers per second, a velocity the thrusters could begin to decrease once clear. Thoughts had been discussed as to how far beyond the cloud would be best, but given our lack of knowledge it was impossible to give a viable solution to the question.
Issues with the Starbase persisted, this was a given, and a myriad of resources would need to be sought if they were to survive indefinitely. Food, Power, Information, A way home, were all on a list growing ever longer on the Section Admiral's desk, but each would need to be prioritised and that was Commands role once they were through and had safely brought the Starbase to a halt
Percentage of Cloud to traverse before exit: 10.28 % ..... Command Center ::OOC :: Assuming all CO's & Command Staff attending Meeting:
"So we are looking at situating the Starbase one million kilometers beyond the furthest edge of the cloud ?" Carl was asking. "I believe that will give us adequate warning should the cloud expand, allowing us to move further away." one of the invited Science Research Team said confidently. "With all due respect Doctor." Sato Tetsutaro interrupted, "I believe you are familiar with recent events ? ... Those that saw our 'home' pushed beyond light speed in seconds, yet you insist we would be safe from harm a mere fraction of the distance covered by the exploding nebula in seconds, am I correct ?" "Twelve hours of maximum thrust once clear of the cloud should bring us to a complete stop, but would we want to remain so close to our neighbour ?" one of the others around the table asked. "We are entering, if our information is correct, the Constellation of Circinus, a close neighbour of Centaurus ... I believe it prudent to move further away from the cloud as it could give us more options moving forward. Though I do admit that the further we go from home, the longer it would take any endeavour to return, so, one of the most vital priorities should be the search for, and attain by any means required, be that through our own ingenuity, or as a result of first contact with new races whom we would hope would help our cause should they be able, or if they can but are 'unwilling' we shou ...." the earlier Scientific representative stated darkly. "You expect us to 'appropriate' technology and the means to return home at any cost, Doctor ?" Tetsutaro asked, the man held eye contact with the Head of Security for a long moment so Sato continued, "I assume it has occurred to all of us, at one time or another since it became clear we were to survive this tragedy, that we would encounter never before discovered races, and by pure luck, along with the guile of a Federation that as always, albeit sometimes wrongly, prided itself on the fact that we would hold out a welcome hand, but should that hand be slapped away, we would then ensure our superiority over those that wouldn't join our merry group, it never occurred to anyone that one day we would meet our match, or one that was far superior to our own arrogance ... Is that what you are saying, good Doctor ?" Carl could see Gheskori looking at him. "OK, we're speculating on things we have zero information on at the moment." he said waiting for the room to fall silent before continuing, "We are sub-light now, so we can look at just how far we need to be away once we're clear." "Admiral, once we bring the 'Base to a stop are we going to be sending the ships out ?" Carl looked at the young Commander, thrust into Command of the USS Maracanda and obviously eager to be 'out there' as the phrase goes. "Once we have stabilised the Starbase in her new home, be that temporary or permanent, we will of course begin 'exploratory' ventures, but the priority is the Starbase at the moment Commander, sorry, Captain, but don't worry you'll get out there, we all will, but small steps Gentlemen ... Small steps ... We still have many hundreds of thousands of kilometers to go. I believe we have been somewhat lucky so far Gentlemen." No-one argued with the last comment .......... < Tag : Gheskori / Savot / All >
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Calli Valente
Starfleet Intelligence
"Don't get in my way."
Registered: Aug 4, 2010 21:19:10 GMT
Posts: 534
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Post by Calli Valente on Jul 21, 2017 0:14:28 GMT
Calli, like everyone else aboard the Starbase who were able, had worked every day since they had been blasted away from their home, it was only now, after the deceased who had been stored in the central core had been ejected from the Starbase to wander among the stars, that Command had been able to say they had seen the last casualties of their ordeal. There were still many thousands throughout the four kilometer tall structure that were serious, but most if not all would survive they hoped ... Despite her objections, she had been forced to take time away from her duties, all of them had, they needed to step away, to try to relax if only for a few hours. The order had come from the ranking Chief Medical Officer aboard the Starbase, she had fought the Command Staff tooth and nail apparently, threatening to haul each and every one of them off for fitness evaluations should they continue to block her demands. Needless to say, they ceded to her 'suggestion' and had informed all Commanding Officers to begin allowing people to take time away from duty ... The danger was still there, no-one was saying otherwise, and with still almost a Light Year of the Cloud to negotiate, a distance that would take them almost six more days, relative calm had finally descended over the populace ...... "Level 1551: Alpha Promenade." Calli requested, then stood in contemplation as the turbo-lift dropped through the Starbase. Finally it came to a stop, the doors sliding somewhat shakily open, she made a mental note to report the problem to the nearest maintenance crew, or failing that, next time she was on the Raven. She walked along the Promenade, shocked even after so many visits, that it looked like a minor disaster zone, store-front windows were still missing, doors hung crookedly from runners, damaged equipment along with stocks from the various outlets was strewn in haphazard piles along the Promenade. She could see walking wounded, both Starfleet and Civilian, making their way to or from one place or another. The usual atmosphere now almost forgotten ... She tried to shake the melancholy from her thoughts as she approached O'Tooles: Sean O'Toole was one of many entrepreneurs who had opened his doors when the disaster struck, O'Tools had been used as an Infirmary and Medical Center and had only reverted back to it's original function days earlier. She walked up to the bar in the quiet hostelry, nodding to one of the Staff who came over. "Hello Call." she said. "Janna, how are you ?" "Oh well, you know ..." the young girl said, almost hiding the shrug, "There's still no word of Jamie, they think he's probably on the deceased list, but I can't find him on there, so ..." "There are still Levels that need to be completely cleared Janna, it's possible he's down there helping out and can't get word to you." Calli said, putting a friendly arm around the girls' shoulder, feeling the tremor that seemed to had taken hold, "I'll try to find something out when I get back to the ship, OK ?" "Yes, OK, thank you." Janna said, extracting herself before going behind the bar, "There's not much I'm afraid, I could look, maybe ...." "Tea Janna, tea will do fine." she said, receiving a grin from the girl who turned to the hastily fitted replicator and asked for a cup of tea, "Where's Sean and Kira ?" "Erm, they're up on Level 1403 I think. Sean's been helping out up there, carpentry you know, he's good with his hands and with the shortage of manual workers he felt he shou ...." "Come and sit down Janna, you look like you need a minute." They went over to a nearby table and sat down. It wasn't as if the bar was full, and the patrons there didn't seen to have drinking on their minds, more they looked like they just needed somewhere out of the light to reflect, contemplate, mourn losses, but drinking, no ... Janna told her that they had been raided only days earlier by a group of men discontented with their situation, they were looking for anything that could be traded for whatever they felt they needed, but Sean had had other ideas on their taking his goods and promptly battered two of the group before pulling a phaser on the remainder. Apparently, when Security arrived the four were all on their knees scrubbing the floor while Sean whistled 'Danny Boy' giving one or another a swift kick up the behind if he began to slacken his scrubbing ... Calli had seen reports from Security and Intelligence that small disgruntled groups were trying to help themselves to what didn't belong to them, or were trying to convince others that their situation was all the fault of those above. She remembered the group of religious nuts who Elena de Luca with the help of the Enzio's Security Officer and some of his Officers had finally stamped on. The Brig's along with several holo-suits converted hastily into holding cells, were already overflowing with offenders and the JAG Office was inundated with cases that might never get seen, in fact some of the lesser offenders had already been released on their own recognisance. "Listen, I can't stay too long, but we'll be through the cloud soon so thi ...." "How long ?" Jana interrupted. "Five, six days, we can't be certain obviously. But once we're through and the Starbase is stable, we can start looking for a way to get us home ... I promise ... OK ?" "OK." Jana replied, unconvinced, "Come back soon Calli, bring that Admiral of yours, Carl, down here for a drink. I bet he could use one, if we had any of course." she said with a wry smile which reassured Calli she would be alright. "Tell Sean and Kira I dropped in." she said, leaning over the table to kiss Janna on the forehead before leaving O'Tooles. She had actually come to see Sean O'Toole for a reason, but if he wasn't here then it would have to wait she supposed. She looked up and down the Promenade, mulling over the option to go up to see Sean, but decided against it. With little else to do she headed for the turbo-lift and requested 902. As the doors opened she stepped out and headed along the wide corridor. She could tell she was close by the aroma of pine in the air from the trees, this was the one area on the enormous Starbase that the life-giving air wasn't scrubbed beyond recognition, the Arboretum ... Wandering in she was happy the area had not suffered too much in all the devastation that had occurred over the last two months, though two of the larger trees had been partially uprooted and were being supported with poles to ensure they didn't topple. She found a seat sat down, she glanced at the cloud through the panoramic plexi-glass windows but it held no fascination for her, she turned to one of the oldest redwoods and was soon lost in her own thoughts ..........
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Matthew Reynolds
Rear Admiral
"It's good to have an end to a journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end."
Registered: Apr 28, 2005 20:58:32 GMT
Posts: 2,759
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Post by Matthew Reynolds on Jul 21, 2017 0:31:40 GMT
OOC: Sorry guys, been really sick and had a minor surgery to alleviate the pain. Road back to recovery is on and can't wait to get back at it.
"Admiral, Lieutenant Tinsley of the USS Raven reporting. I heard you could use some assistance with data evaluation for the purposes of station defence, sir?"
"I'm surprised that Carl would let you leave Lieutenant," Matt remarked which brought a quizzical look from the Lieutenant Tinsley," your commanding officer and I go way back Lieutenant, don't listen to my musings, I'm sure they might get everyone in trouble." Before he could give his assistant any time to remark, Matt brought up the pertinent information that they currently had. "As you can see we are doing relatively well for being in an uncharted and new area of space, but I don't want to press our luck. All we know we're invading the natural space of a sentient being. We're going to be here for a while Lieutenant, so I suggest you get comfortable and get used to sharing your thoughts."
(Andae)
Command Center: Hours Later
The hours seemed to go by in a blur. Tinsley and the twenty one other engineers and scientist assigned to Matt had been working practically non stop. Many great things were being discovered within the confines of this makeshift lab, but none of them could be used to help them out of this situation. Most alarming for Matt was the discovery of the exotic particles within the cloud, something that he had not for seen. Many of them were weary of them, but as their was nothing they could readily do now, they pressed on with the observation and research. As he listened to Carl and the other Admirals give their take, Matt stood silent pondering what their next move would be. The explorer in him wanted to know what was out there. The cloud itself would keep his team busy for months, possibly years if anything life shattering were to be discovered.
"Admiral Reynolds report the findings of your team," Admiral Tetsutaro commanded.
"My team is continuing to scan and understand our current environment. Thanks to Lieutenant Hood, we have been able to better scan the exotic particles, but I hesitate to conclusively state where and how they are being created within this cloud. For all we know it could be a natural phenomena within this cloud or it could be something else entirely," Matt explained to the group gathered," I also would like to report an anomaly discovered by Lieutenant Tinsley, he's found some erratic readings from within the cloud that we are unable to identify. At the moment they don't seem to be interfering with the starbase or any of our operations, but its something we have never seen. Lieutenant Tinsley and I will be working on identifying what we are seeing, but I cannot promise anything quickly."
"Any recommendations?" Admiral Tetsutaro asked.
"Yes sir, it actually involves them actually," Matt said pointing to the science researcher.
"Us!" the Science Research Team member asked.
"We have to much information and sensor readings coming in. We cannot adequately process it all without more help. If we are going to be staying near this cloud for the foreseeable future, we need to understand our neighbor intimately," Matt reasoned," if the Science Research Team could begin by double checking and verifying our results, I'd feel more comfortable giving everyone assembled better information."
(Tag All)
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Jul 21, 2017 6:26:56 GMT
Ghes had finally stepped back onto the station, seeing that the last of the cloud was now in sight, at least on Starbase sensors... Via those sensors Hood had also detected an unusual form of dark matter in the form near-invisible meteorites orbiting plasmids; Ghes would've had the Starbase avoid them at all costs, but trying to manoeuvre the behemoth through such a wide arc at that velocity was nigh-on impossible to do safely.
Reluctantly having left the bridge to V'Maz, Hood and Clark (and ordering them that when next off-duty they should use that time to its absolute full), he'd made his way down the vestibule - the security of its attachment to the Starbase of which he was still doubtful, considering the strains on structural integrity and on the moorings in general during the passage - and onto the docking ring.
The air of a much-rejuvenated station greeted him and he breathed a sigh as if he was gazing again upon his home city, its spires touching the roof of Denobula's troposphere. Still though there lurked, all over the base, the signs of the recent catastrophe, two to three months was not long enough time to conceal such horror. The ghost of the event continued to visit Ghes in his nights of fitful sleep, his wife waking in terror at the same moment as he, as she heard amidst the cries of her own phantasms her husband's tortured moaning. These things, these personal torments, did not go past the door of his quarters, or would not if he could help it.
* * *
He tapped the conference room table, pensively regarding its sable black surface and then the deep/almost black of the oceanic nebula gliding by the room's slanted windows. The discussion was business-like, issuing back and forth, each high-ranking officer giving his or her report on the progress of the several tasks which they'd been assigned. As an impasse was reached, Ghes glanced at Carl who addressed the gathered officers,
"OK, we're speculating on things we have zero information on at the moment." he said waiting for the room to fall silent before continuing, "We are sub-light now, so we can look at just how far we need to be away once we're clear." The energetic young commander of the Maracanda asked a question; the Raven CO answered and finished solemnly with, "... We still have many hundreds of thousands of kilometers to go. I believe we have been somewhat lucky so far Gentlemen."
"Admiral Reynolds report the findings of your team," Admiral Tetsutaro commanded.
Matt issued his report on his team's findings before turning to the thus-far obstinate scientist who'd been invited in good faith, "... if the Science Research Team could begin by double checking and verifying our results, I'd feel more comfortable giving everyone assembled better information."
The science representative nodded in agreement before Ghes did the same and gave Reynolds the go ahead for further study in collaboration with the scientist's teams. He thought briefly of those sparks he'd seen in the nebula just before the Enzio and Starbase had entered it (confirmed since as ultra-dense regions of quantum particles undergoing spontaneous creation and annihilation - vacuum fluctuations of high intensity); he also considered the strange phasing effect that'd been observed, as well as the trianic energy and the plasmids... All in all, the nebula had exhibited far more unusual phenomena than had been expected.
"I believe we should aim to stop the Starbase as close to the nebula as possible, to allow for continued scientific investigation and gathering of data, and yet," Ghes said and nodded Tetsutaro's way, "By way of compromise and for the security of the station, that we should move beyond the 200 million km distance suggested by the doctor, up to, say, 500 million km, if that wouldn't compromise our ability to collect data in the same quantity?"
A debate ensued between the invited scientist and two flag officers with technical backgrounds, "It shouldn't, sir," the doctor said at last.
"Very well. We'll make the necessary adjustments to our deceleration program. Once we are free of the last of the last vestiges of the nebula, we should immediately set about reconnoitring the surrounding region."
Admiral Basirov stood, speaking in his laconic manner, "I recommend one ship be sent out for an initial survey. It could cover a sphere two parsecs in radius around the station, continuously reporting findings to Ops. Two other vessels on standby, the third offline to evaluate need of refit."
That was looking ahead, Ghes knew; first they needed to bring the Starbase to a halt, but forward-planning of this sort usually minimised risk, "Suggestions?" he asked.
<Tag Torek, Savot, Reynolds>
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Jul 22, 2017 1:06:33 GMT
Carl listened to everything that was being said ... He was pleased that Admiral Reynolds had taken one of his Engineers onto his team, from the reports he's received Nate Tinsley was good at his job, an Officer that could end up with his own Department in short order, had there been anywhere for him and others like him to go. He had heard that one of the Enzio Officers had been looking into numerous anomalies within the cloud, at least now that power was being distributed throughout the Starbase, and the remaining vessels were well on the way to being fully operational, they were beginning to get a much better picture of the Dark Matter Cloud. The conversation had moved from item to item, including the distance the Starbase should be stationed beyond the cloud, two million kilometers being quickly agreed upon. 'It would be so much easier if all our decisions were that simple' he thought to himself as Admiral Barisov, Former Commanding Officer of the Marine Training Facility on Mars, who had unfortunately been attending a meeting on the Starbase at the time of the disaster and was now along for the proverbial ride, stood and spoke: "I know we have yet to discuss this at length, but I recommend one ship be sent out for an initial survey. It could cover a sphere, two parsecs in radius around the station, continuously reporting findings to Ops. Two other vessels on standby, the third offline to evaluate need of refit." "A two parsec radius would encompass an area roughly one zero nine point two light years." Tetsutaro mused. "An area easily covered by one vessel." Barisov replied quickly, "I would suggest the Enzio, given she is the only vessel fitted with the upgraded sensors at this point." "Actually, we would only be looking a a physical area in the region of twelve point five parsecs, give or take." Carl said, putting a tactical plot on the screens around the room, "As you can see, we had dropped over five million kilometers below 'Zee' but as we were left behind by the shockwave we began to climb back toward the Galactic Plain. The Cloud itself has helped us there, pitching us forward approximately fifteen degrees past our nominal five degree tilt. We should exit the cloud less than two hundred thousand kilometers below the plain, easily rectified as we make final braking manoeuvres ... Once on the plain any vessel venturing out could simply circumnavigate around the Station in perhaps a gradually increasing spiral, until they reach the outer distance of two parsecs." "We are getting ahead of ourselves once again Gentlemen." Sato Tetsutaro said, grinning as he retook his seat, the Russian Admiral following suit. "Gheskori, your new Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Hood ?" Tetsutaro asked, smiling as the Section Admiral nodded, "Maybe Admiral Reynolds could benefit from his knowledge, could he not ?" "I'll have him contact you when I get back to the Enzio Matt." Ghes' said. OOC : Hope it's OK to suggest volunteering your Tac Officer SA "We should also discuss the Maracanda. The ship has by necessity been under the Command of a relatively inexperienced Officer, one Commander Grant Manley." Admiral Barisov interjected, "I believe that in the circumstances, if there is no viable replacement available from our current Command Structure, that I be allowed to take Command." "Correct me if I am wrong Admiral." Carl said, keeping his tone purposely neutral, "But you have not held a Command position on a Starship ?" "That is correct, but given our ....." "With all due respect Admiral, I am sure that the Command Board could fill that seat quite easily from the Senior Officers currently aboard the other three vessels, but they haven't. We are all on a very steep learning curve here Admiral, one that will bring out the best and alas, the worst, in all of us. Commander Manley is indeed inexperienced, but then, every single Commanding Officer was in 'exactly' the same position the first time they sat in that sometimes imposing center seat. I think we can keep the Maracanda in relative reserve, but it will be going out, as will the other three ships. Should it prove too much for the young man, then we shall act on your recommendation with all due haste ... But for the time being, let's give the man his chance." Carl leaned back in his seat, suddenly realising his back was aching. "If I may, Admiral Gheskori ... There is still a lot on the Agenda, I suggest we take a short recess to get a bite to eat, we can reconvene in say, thirty minutes, my aged bones no longer take kindly to prolonged activity ?" Tetsutaro suggested, bowing deeply. Carl grinned, Sato was as fit, if not fitter than most in the room, and could best each and every one of them in unarmed combat while reciting some ancient Japanese Haiku. "Let's get something brought in here." Carl said, a wry smile in Sato's direction. Four Hours Later - USS Raven-C ::"How're we doing ?" Carl said as he stepped off the turbo-lift onto the Bridge. "The replicators are no longer supplying peanut butter for some reason." Harry Wedlerson quipped. "Let's get that on top of the 'to do' list then." Carl replied with a grin as he dropped into the center seat. He had always trusted his Bridge Officers to do their jobs to the best of their ability, and for that he respected their opinions, and their sporadic witticisms, "Listen Harry, have you taken any time away from the Bridge since we left Betreka ?" "Well, I've taken ti ....." "Fine." Carl said, deciding not to press, "We're going to be reducing shields in the next few hours, we are through the roughest section of the cloud now and particulates are thinning exponentially, we should be able to rely on inertial dampers and the docking clamps soon. Have a look over the figures and let me know, the sooner we're not pushing our shields against the other ships the better, not to mention the inner hull of the dome. I'm going to 'try' to spend an evening with my Family, Commander blakus is available if you need anything, otherwise I'll see you in the morning Harry." "Yes Sir." Wedlerson said. "Oh, and Harry .... Schedule some free time, before I do it for you." Torek said stepping onto the turbo-lift ... Moments later he was in his quarters with Chloe, Bethan and Vanessa ..........
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Post by Savot on Jul 27, 2017 2:25:58 GMT
[Starbase 47: Command Center Event Day 93]
Leaving the El Salvador under former-Captain Deis Irae's capable leadership, Savot had made a point to arrive to this meeting of the Command Staff early to offset his having been one of the latest to arrive the first time... albeit understandably under the circumstances. Despite his status as an officer of flag rank, Savot had rarely been directly involved with command briefings at this level and while the circumstances that prompted this change were most certainly to be loathed, the vulcan looked for the minor positive in that he was now getting to meet distinguished colleagues known to him previously only by reputation and Starfleet Personnel Records. He was growing more familiar with the Section Admiral and Fleet Admiral Torek every day considering the many viewscreen-conference communications the commanding officers had shared as well as with Commander Manley performing dutifully aboard the aged-but-stalwart Maracanda, but other faces were less familiar having only seen them during his previous attendance to such a debriefing.
Savot listened to the various attendees speak, seeing the reasoning behind every statement whichever 'side' it came from and noted with approval that the understandable tension growing briefly was reined in before it could grow too venomous. The vulcan bowed his head respectfully following the words of the wizened Admiral Tetsutaro's arguments regarding the risk both direct and public-panic-wise of maintaining too close a proximity to the boundary of the dark matter nebula, then voiced his perspective, "With acknowledgement of the highly sound logic of the Admiral's points, I submit for this body's consideration that a catastrophic event of the caliber we have recently faced is all but unprecedented, whereas the statistical probability of encountering hostile spacebound species in this heretofore unknown region of space is, while ideally avoidable via diplomacy, far more probable a threat to the Starbase. While dark matter is undeniably a potential risk to us, it would likely prove equally detrimental to most potential attackers, thereby rendering it a potential defense for us to keep at our flank and reducing the area we would have to keep the highest level of sensor vigil upon. I also concur with the potential scientific benefit of remaining close enough to the phenomenon for convenient study."
The research scientist took the opportunity provided by Savot's insert to resume his own verbal offensive, the vulcan's brow arching as the man broached the subject of potentially seizing technology/resources by force if other methods proved ineffectual. In this matter, Savot was in full agreement with Admiral Tetsutaro's point of view. He did try to keep the direness of the situation in mind and not judge the speaker too harshly for considering desperate measures, but he was glad that this Command Staff had taken a firm stance on that point right out of the proverbial gate. Whether this principle would endure the coming strains the S47 Armada would undergo, only time would tell, but if they'd abandoned it right away then their futures would look grim indeed.
Savot remained silent for a bit, noting with satisfaction both Admiral Torek's moving to defuse a possible flare-up between Tetsutaro and the scientist, and his defense of Commander Manley's deservedness of a chance at command. The vulcan then interjected politely via a gentle clearing of his throat in an attempt to sooth Admiral Barisov's potentially bruised ego, "If I may, Admiral Barisov: while your rank would certainly qualify you according to regulations to hold a vessel command in Commander Manley's place, he would not be equipped to perform the function that you can here aboard the Starbase. This station now represents a microcosm of the United Federation of Planets, cut off from the hundreds of worlds which comprise it. The responsibility of leading, one could say commanding, this community must fall on those with sufficient clout to hold the people's confidence. While I believe by and large that every Starfleet officer is held in some respect by the people, they are far more likely to take comfort in the presence and guidance of someone with your rank and years of service. We must all keep in mind that because every duty to be found within our fleet is a needed one, it follows therefore that no duty is lesser than another, and we must each dedicate ourselves to serving our utmost in the position from which we can best support this community."
Unaccustomed to going on at such length and attempting impassioned speeches, Savot dipped his head slightly once again in way of a bow to concede the floor to the next speaker. The Denobulan Section Admiral again displayed sound judgement in compromise, "I believe we should aim to stop the Starbase as close to the nebula as possible, to allow for continued scientific investigation and gathering of data, and yet," Ghes said and nodded Tetsutaro's way, "By way of compromise and for the security of the station, that we should move beyond the 1 million km distance suggested by the doctor, up to, say, 2 million km, if that wouldn't compromise our ability to collect data in the same quantity?"
The science team confirmed this would not hinder their efforts, and the prospect of ship assignment was broached, Savot speaking amidst his colleagues once again when Gheskori requested suggestions, "The El Salvador is willing to serve whatever capacity is deemed most appropriate, though I suggest during the initial surveying that we remain at Starbase 47 as our surplus power stores can be offered to supplement the station's should any power failure occur during base repair and refit."
Soon afterword, Torek smoothly suggested a brief respite while everyone was in relative agreement on the last discussed point, and a recess was held to offer refreshment to those gathered...
<Tag: Any in briefing>
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Jul 29, 2017 0:38:09 GMT
EVENT DAY NINETY FOUR - Cloud traversed: 93.17 % :: USS Maracanda - 08:45 hrs ::Following the meeting the previous day, and his first good-nights' sleep in what seemed like forever, Carl had headed to the USS Maracanda ..... "Admiral on the Bridge !" a young Yeoman said, snapping to attention so quickly Carl was sure she had dislocated numerous parts of her spine in the process. "Relax Yeoman." Carl said with a grim, turning to the young Lieutenant, "Where's Commander Manley ?" "He went down to Engineering Admiral, I'm sorry Sir but we had no prior warning that you were due a visit." Lieutenant Jarves informed him. "OK, this isn't an official visit lieutenant, I'm just here for a chat. I'll go down to Engineering, it will be nice to get a look over an Intrepid Class, it's been a while. Thank you lieutenant." he said, stepping into the turbo-lift and wondering if he or any of his seasoned Officer were ever that rigidly official ... Engineering ::He remembered the first time he had set foot on an Intrepid Class Starship as a young and very raw Junior Lieutenant, all those years ago now. he could see the Commander speaking with several people and stayed back for a moment allowing him to finish his conversation. Manley noticed the Flag Officer in their midst and broke off talking, coming straight to Torek: "Admiral, sorry, I didn' ..." he began. "I wish everyone would stop apologising." Carl replied, smiling and placing a hand on the mans shoulder for a second before continuing, "Have you got a couple of minutes, I can see you're busy, is there any issues I should know about ?" "Of course Admiral, we can use the office ..." he said, motioning for his Superior to go ahead to the Chief Engineers Office, then he continued, "Just routine maintenance Admiral, we want to be ready, if needed. Please, take a seat Sir." "That's what I'm here for actually." "I can assure you the ship is ready if needed Admiral." Manley said, realising it wasn't what Torek had meant, "Sorry sir ... I ...." "Relax Commander, Grant, may I call you Grant ?" Carl asked, trying to make the meeting as informal as possible, if only to ease the other mans tension, receiving a nod from Manley, "As you know, we're a little shorthanded, ship-wise. I wanted to get your opinion on the Senior Officers, not the 'official' stuff, your personal opinion." "If I may Admiral, are you planning to put a Commanding Officer on the Maracanda ?" "Yes." Carl said simply, before continuing, "As I said, I wanted your relaxed opinion of the crew, they are relatively young but obviously more than capable of fulfilling their assigned duties. If you had the final say, would you replace any of them ? ... Don't worry Commander, this isn't a witch hunt, I'd just like your view as Senior Officer." he saw Manley react at his comment, but he hid it quickly and gave Carl a rundown of each of the Officers aboard. Carl was happy at what he heard and thanked the man. "While we have Department Heads, the ship is in need of Junior Officers and Enlisted, we can manage, but ...." Manley said, clamming up as if he suddenly realised he had let slip a deficiency in the Maracanda and her operational status. "Unfortunately we are all in the same proverbial boat there Commander." Carl said with a wry grin, "OK .... As I said earlier, Fleet-wise, we're a tad shorthanded, so it has been decided that the Maracanda will become fully active, effective immediately. That said, she will need a Commanding Officer, that's you. You will retain your current rank, at least for the time being, but as of today your it. Commodore Savot will be in touch in due course as you will now report directly to him as Fleet Commanding Officer." "Sir, I ...." Manley began, but Carl interrupted: "Computer .. Transfer all Command codes to Commander Grant Manley and log him as commanding Officer USS Maracanda as of this Star-date .. Authorisation: Torek-Alpha-Two-Two-Epsilon." "Command codes transferred." the computer said dutifully. "Congratulations, Captain Manley." Carl said, standing and extending his hand which Manley took. "Thank you, Admiral." "OK, good. If you need anything don't hesitate to put it on the list. Primarily you'll be held in support or accompanying one of the other ships, but eventually you'll be out there in your own right. We'll get crew to you as and when we have them to assign, but for now you'll have to make do. I'll leave you to let all this sink in, and don't worry, if you wasn't capable I wouldn't be here." With that Carl left Engineering and subsequently the Intrepid Class USS Maracanda, she was in good hands he was sure ..........
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Jul 30, 2017 12:35:52 GMT
Day 93
During the recess, Ghes had debated with various aides around him the viability of sending only one vessel out on the initial recon. He'd agreed with Commodore Savot that the El Salvador would be best placed to remain at the station given its surplus power reserves; the Maracanda, which was still being crewed, refitted and put under the - at least - temporary command of Commander Manley, would also be a prime candidate to stay docked to the base.
The meeting resumed, and what at first continued as a broad debate soon narrowed to a seemingly endless discussion of details and minutiae, with yet more interjections - on the smallest points of difference - from the brusque Admiral Basirov frequently upsetting the predominant current of the discourse.
Eventually, after it'd been agreed that the compromise would stand (that of withdrawing from the nebula far enough so it didn't prove a threat, but close enough that it could paradoxically act as protection and allow study of its properties), and after an amendment to Basirov's plan of sending just one ship out had been proposed and deferred for further consideration, Ghes had an adjutant adjourn the meeting for the day.
He sighed and made his way to his Starbase living quarters. The nebula still loomed in the room's portals, a swirling dark oceanic mass, though if the quarters had at that moment been facing the direction of the base's transit, the Admiral would've seen the first light of the eternal night that was normal space just become visible beyond the wispy cloud layers.
Day 94
They had now just crossed the threshold, the Starbase rotating out of the dark matter cloud in slow-motion ballet, causing strands and knots of the nebula's substance to become disturbed and fizzle away into the darkness as the base finally shook off its thraldom.
The interaction between dark matter meteorites, plasmids and other phenomena, caused by their displacement, momentarily increased the number and intensity of observed annihilations, and the 'phasing' phenomena was once again detected (its characteristics would later be found to be similar to an odd chemical byproduct of defunct or destroyed quantum slipstream drives). The particle annihilations caused a number of systems to short out on the Starbase and on the active starships, but only minor injuries were reported.
Now travelling at about 800 km per second and slowing all the time, the base was on course to become stationary at the appointed 500 million km from the mass of the cloud, to within a few microns.
Ghes had reboarded the Enzio, visiting first Mwv'mci who for some reason had wanted to say aboard and not take to their larger quarters on the base (where Ghes's other wife was actually). He found Mwv'mci in sickbay and was worried for a moment, until he realised that she was only checking on the health of a domestic cat kept by Ensign Booker, who'd been mewling outside their quarters for the last several days, showing up on the bridge, and improbably amongst the antimatter containment units as reported by the now returned to health asst. CEO Lieutenant Marin.
"My dear, my dear... Why worry over a feline?" he dragged Mwv'mci away.
"He's ill! Look!" She pointed at the animal which then jumped off the biobed and attacked a nurse's foot, grabbing hold with claws of its forelegs and kicking furiously with hind quarters.
He entered the bridge, being told XO V'Maz had taken the suggested leave on the Starbase. "Lieutenant Hood," he nodded to the tactical officer, "Where's Lieutenant Clark; he's not in engineering?" Allan answered that the CEO was studying the impulse driver coils; Ghes nodded, he recalled now that the Enzio was due its sublight engine test and appreciated the CEO would want to ensure nothing went awry. "Lieutenant," Ghes took Hood aside for a moment, "How are you settling in?" He nodded in response, "And your family?"
<Tag Clark & Hood for paragraph above>
Day 94 (23:18 hrs station-time)
The following conference was held in audiovisual format, Ghes participating from his ready room; most Section senior officers were in the main conference room on the station, a minority (including Ghes) on their ships or wherever they happened to be.
"Well, we seem to be on course in our final deceleration program," Ghes summed up after a period of intense debate, "Picking up on our plans for recon, I concur that two ships should conduct it, spiralling outwards on opposite helical trajectories to cover the two parsec volume. Following Commodore Savot's suggestion of having the El Salvador remain in dock for the time being, and allowing for the continued refit of the USS Maracanda, the candidate vessels would be the USS Raven and my own vessel."
<Tag Torek, Savot, Reynolds>
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Jul 31, 2017 18:27:39 GMT
EVENT DAY NINETY FIVE 04:30 hrs : Velocity 2.88 x 104 :: The massive four kilometer Starbase was slowing rapidly now as it reached the dense outer edge of the dark matter cloud. Sensors showed them still almost thirty thousand kilometers below galactic Zee, but they were climbing ... Carl looked at the readouts around the Command Center as a Lieutenant reported a build-up of Ion energy particulates on the shields. It wasn't something they need be concerned about though, and they continued to monitor as their speed continued to be scrubbed away steadily. "Distance to outer edge of the cloud Lieutenant ?" Tetsutaro asked. "One hundred ninety two thousand kilometers Admiral. Our speed has slowed to six hundred forty kilometers per second." "Shields are fluctuating." "Increase power to forward shields." Sato ordered. Everyone fell silent as the last moments before departing the cloud passed, then the screens began to clear, the panoramic windows, once encased in a blue green yellow glow, began to darken, further and further until: "STARS !" someone said, pointing. "Engage thrusters at seventy percent, begin decreasing our velocity." Tetsutaro instructed, glancing at the Section Admiral before returning his attention to the task at hand, "Compute thruster requirement to bring the Starbase to a complete stop at five hundred million kilometers from the edge of the cloud. Increase thrust to keel thrusters to bring us to Galactic Zee at the same moment." "Sir's you should see this ...." a Lieutenant said, pointing to several screens, these, showing a constant Aft view as the Starbase rotated, were now aglow ... The Ionisation must have ignited several of the exotic gasses around the outer edge of the cloud, these were now burning off in a spectacular light show. Scans confirmed that an area approximately three million cubic kilometers of the cloud were burning now, but as quickly as the show began, the inferno began to subside, until only the area directly in contact with their shields was continuing to incinerate the exotic gasses. The flames were a staggering million kilometers into the cloud now, seemingly following their traverse. Carl knew that every Scientist and Researcher would be practically pulling their collective hair out now, thinking any opportunity to study the cloud had been burned from existence, but the Lieutenant again brought their attentions to the screens ... The inferno was now subsiding within the cloud, slowly, ever so slowly pulling in their direction, burning itself out as it incinerated the last of the exotic particulates in it's path. As the distance increased, they could clearly see the ovoid fracture in the cloud and the ignited mass burning away behind them until only the outer edge of the cloud was alight, burning in the visual and infrared ranges. "Three million kilometers from the cloud, velocity slowing to two hundred kilometers per second. Forty five thousand kilometers from Zee. Starbase is on a steady deceleration, reducing thrusters to forty five percent, keel thrusters now off-line, our arc should bring us to Zee three minutes before final position is reached." Carl and the others sat or stood silently allowing the Officer's whose job it was to ensure the Starbase arrived at it's resting place safely, to work uninterrupted ...... ~~~ OUR NEW HOME ~~~ The Starbase decreased her velocity using Incremental Spatial Autocorrelation, her information coming from nearby stars and what they considered to be the outer edge of the Dark Matter Cloud, Commander Janur finally confirmed that they were stationary, relative the the Galactic Shift, he continued: Longitude | *** | +312.31408651 | Latitude | *** | -65.10116182 | Right Ascension | *** | +14h : 09m : 17.767s | Declination | *** | -65d : 06m : 18.58s | Quadrant | *** | SQ3 | Sol [LY] | *** | > 15,800 | Local Region | *** | Circinus Galaxy
| Distance to Local | *** | < 200 LY |
"Very well gentlemen, let us begin a complete rundown on 'ALL' Starbase systems. Contact our vessels and ascertain if they are in need of assistance" Tetsutaro said, allowing himself a sigh .......... * PLEASE NOTE *
You can check our new location here:
Location Star Maps
Regards
Fleet Admiral Carl Torek Site Executive Officer
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Matthew Reynolds
Rear Admiral
"It's good to have an end to a journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end."
Registered: Apr 28, 2005 20:58:32 GMT
Posts: 2,759
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Post by Matthew Reynolds on Aug 2, 2017 4:57:47 GMT
Starbase 47: Command Center: Operational Control: Admiral Reynold's Office, Event Day 94
It had finally happened. Starbase 47 had come to a halt and they were relatively safe and sound from all the perils of the past three months. Internally Matthew Reynolds felt as if he had aged twenty years these past few months and he wished for a vacation but the chances of that happening were slim to none. The only positive so far from this entire ordeal was the discovery of Tinsley, a capable and determined young man. The commitment put forward by the men and women of the fleet brought tremendous joy to veteran Starfleet officer. He knew that in the upcoming days, weeks, months, and years they would face unforgiving challenges that would try their souls.
Starbase 47: Command Center, Event Day 93
"Well, we seem to be on course in our final deceleration program," Ghes summed up after a period of intense debate, "Picking up on our plans for recon, I concur that two ships should conduct it, spiralling outwards on opposite helical trajectories to cover the two parsec volume. Following Commodore Savot's suggestion of having the El Salvador remain in dock for the time being, and allowing for the continued refit of the USS Maracanda, the candidate vessels would be the USS Raven and my own vessel."
"Operationally the Raven and the Enzio are mission ready, I'd recommend giving both crews a day completely off before we send them out however," Matt recommended," while both ships will be close to home, this is the first time we are truly going out there alone. Being honest, everyone here also needs to take a day away, but we all know that will not happen either." The senior officers within the fleet readily agreed that it would behoove them to give the crews of the Raven and the Enzio a brief day off, something that hopefully would do some of the men and women under them well. "I also have something that has been on my mind and I value the opinion and decision that y'all make. I need to get out there," Matt said as he looked onto the new stars that surrounded them. "Before I had the Seraph to keep me occupied while I was stationed on the Starbase, but we do not have that luxury anymore. My primary responsibilities are here and I will not forgo that task, but I need a second job. Anything will do and I have great credentials." Matt said with a smile
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Starbase 47: Command Center: Operational Control: Admiral Reynold's Office, Event Day 94
Matt was hoping to hear from Command, but it was important to not over step. The primary responsibility was to the fleet and Matt was good at his job, but the other part of him; the one that had desires, wants, and goals, wanted to be out in the stars seeing, experiencing, and learning from the cosmos. The past three months had been excruciating in so many ways, but travelling the stars and learning had saved him from tragedy so many years ago, it could do it once again.
"Admiral, the latest reports are in from the various departments; operations, R&D, and repair teams," Caleb said as he entered his father's office," I know its premature, but I think it would be wise to talk about closing off parts of the starbase and allocating those power reserves elsewhere. We won't be taking any visitors for the foreseeable future and we don't need all that space. What do you think?"
"You're right, hopefully we'll be able to find a readily available supply of harvestable energy, but until we do we have to be good stewards of our current supplies," Matt said bringing up schematics of the starbase itself," we should start in the 800 decks, we don't need a diplomatic corps or staffed embassies at the moment. I want you to go through our deck layout Caleb and see where we can make efficiencies and reduce our power consumption."
"Yes sir," Caleb said as he picked up a few padds and went to work.
"Reynolds to station department heads, lets meet at 1000 hours for our daily reports, and fair warning I want everyone to come with ways of living within our means," Matt said as he inputted a few commands into his computer console.
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