EVA Madness

Posted on Wed Feb 14th, 2024 @ 7:37am by Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Lieutenant Commander Rhiana t'Aegis & Lieutenant Jackson Smith & Lieutenant Soto Gantt

2,487 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: A Long Hard Road Ahead
Location: Gamma Quadrant, Mouth of the Wormhole, Space
Timeline: 23 August 2396, 1730 Hours

[ON]

Had this been a scientific mission and not a tactical one, the away team probably would have had more appreciation for what they were doing and the scenery around them. EVA missions inside of wormholes were not standard operating procedures, after all. However, this was a tactical mission and the amazing views were not being appreciated by the members of the away team.

They were busy trying to move as randomly as space rocks would while still keeping in somewhat of a loose formation while they approached the end point of the wormhole.

It did not take them long at all until they "tumbled" out of the wormhole and were quickly surrounded by the asteroid field that the enemy forces had been busy establishing. It made navigation somewhat more of a challenge since, unlike rocks, they could not hit other rocks or asteroids, but the debris also provided a welcome cover from which they would hopefully be able to better gauge the situation before they called in the Firebird.

So many ships had moved through the wormhole that Gantt had expected to search for cover, not dodge it. The equipment sled might be weightless but it had significant mass, and he had to push the jets fast to maneuver away from a path that would send them both into the edge of an asteroid.

"I need a hand or we're going to crash," he said.

The stark darkness that surrounded them was a drastic change from the wormhole. They were on a mission and there was no time to admire the sights. Jackson was scanning the area around them. There were many asteroids, but beyond that Jackson thought he caught a glimpse of some metal. There could be some objects out here as well. His thoughts were interrupted by Gantt's frantic request. "Stephens help him out, get the sensors going quickly. We might have more than just asteroids around us."

"Roger that, sir," Stephens said. Charles wasn't as expert with the EVA suit as some of the others but he got the job done. He took up a position next to Gantt and flared his thrusters. The sled picked up speed and thankfully, they moved out of the path of the oncoming asteroid.

"We're good now, sir," he said.

No longer about to smash into an asteroid, Gantt activated the system. Scans began to run immediately, sending early results to the screen. "Wide field of asteroids. Similar silicate materials and nickel-iron compounds. Pockets of unusual ultradense forms." He sent the data in tight-beam to science and navigation. New scans from deep into the edges of the field flashed up with bright warning symbols. "There's more than stone and nickel here, Jackson. Some are giving off low-field energy signals. Four structures, each about the size of a Galileo-type shuttlecraft. Isolating locations now. Check your viewscreens."

Jackson quickly glanced at his viewscreen. There was definitely something out there, not natural. What the heck is it? "Alright, everyone be alert. We need to investigate what these structures are. Let's move toward the one in quadrant 53-C." Jackson initiated his maneuvering thrusters and started to head in that direction. His heart was starting to race, they were pretty much out here on their own. If things went badly, they didn't have an escape route. He glanced at each of his companions. They were all skilled, and if things were going to get ugly, he definitely would want each of them at his side.

Charles glanced down at his data feed that was built into the fancy new suits. He located quadrant 53-C and checked the path. It looked clear of large debris so no more need to dodge things with the sled. He glanced over at Gantt. "Ready to go, Gantt? On your mark."

"Three. Two. One. Mark." Gantt and Charles surged forward, the former able to focus on the scans now that the latter was helping with the debris. A mistake would pancake them into an asteroid but he was worried about the equipment. Lots of people needed the data being sent back to the Firebird.

While Stevens kept an eye on Soto, Rhiana kept an eye on the surroundings and her viewscreen, noting the location of the unexpected structures. When Smith gave the order, she began to move in the direction of the indicated structure, careful to keep her approach slightly erratic, just in case their presence had not yet been detected. She used convenient smaller asteroids to make her progress less visible and to approach the structure from the side, that is to say roughly perpendicular to the line between the location of the wormhole and the structure itself. "Non-natural origin of the structure confirmed after visual inspection," she announced to the team on their tightly controlled channel. She was hiding behind a small asteroid from which she could get a good visual impression of the structure. "Most likely explosive devices."

Explosive devices? This doesn't sound good, thought Jackson. With four of them suspiciously laid out at the edges of the wormhole..."Gantt, tell me these devices are not going to do what it looks like they are going to do..." Jackson continued to move about the asteroids trying to get a better look at the devices.

"Good news, I think we're safe from them." He shook his head. There were no launch tubes and no obvious hatches. He didn't see how the structures could launch torpedoes, mines, or any explosive. "Unless the 'Bird flies close, we're not in much danger. Whatever their purpose, I don't think it's to blow up the ships."

Jackson leaped through the space towards another asteroid as Gantt's words filtered through the comm to him. Just as he was about to respond, he spotted some movement close to the device. His heart raced, was that an EVA suit he saw? "Team, find cover and hold!"

Gantt twisted without thinking, burning toward a nearby asteroid. He'd been through too much with Jackson to question him. Gantt waved Stephens off. He would handle the sledge and feel much better that Charles had his hands free to help deal with whatever Jackson saw.

Stephens let go of the sledge. He hated to do it but he knew that Gantt was better at maneuvering them than he was. He used his helmet to see where everyone was and then burned his thrusters to take him closer to Commander t'Aegis. She was farther away from the rest of the team and Charles didn't like it. Especially if things were about to go hot. While he arced towards the Commander, he ran a quick systems check on his phaser rifle.

"Commander t'Aegis I am on your six, about five meters above you," Charles said, sliding into a protective position behind a small rock.

=^= EVA team be aware that we have detected four devices that span the mouth of the wormhole. The Science Department thinks that they are attempting to close the wormhole down. I want you to investigate and eliminate those devices. Llwyedd out=^=

Jackson's stomach sank at the words. It was as bad as he thought. They had to stop them from closing the wormhole. =^= On it. =^=
"Gantt, give me a quick scan for life forms, I thought I saw some movement around that device. We need to know what kind of resistance we will have when we move in."

As if the question alone was the trigger, several blips appeared on screen. "Scan is picking up multiple life signs. Plotting signals to EVA HUD display but there's a mess of interference so assume some dislocation. I'm working on it," said Gantt to cut off the obvious reply.

Jackson scanned the display, analyzing the placement and movement of the life signs. He definitely didn't like how this was shaping up, "Thanks Gantt, do your best. Commander, do you see a good approach?"

Rhiana stared at the readings on her display that were overlaid over what she saw through the glass of her helmet. Thankfully, the life signs were all located near the device closest to the away team. "Stephens and I will distract the enemy. Soto needs to find a way to disable the devices while you cover him, Lieutenant."

Jackson nodded in agreement with the plan even though none could see him, his eyes focused on the task at hand. "I'm on board with that strategy," he said, a determined expression on his face. "Commander if you approach from vector 283 and I come from vector 189 we can pinch the main group of people. Hopefully, start to pull them away from the object. We can regroup in sector 43 Alpha, there is a group of small asteroids there. " As he spoke he started to move to get into position. As he moved he tried to keep as many asteroids between him and the object as possible. Things would get very difficult if they were spotted before they got into position.

Stephens chewed on what the Commander had said for a brief second. "Roger that, Commander. I'm right behind you," he said. His suit was a marvel. Stephens could remember when the EVA suits were little more than shells to protect the wearer from the harshness of space. But the new ones, besides being so light and flexible, had computers that tracked everything. He brought up an overlay of all four of the EVA team and used his thrusters to move closer to the Commander. He also checked his weapon to make sure it was ready. A beeping sound drew his attention and he cursed.

"The devices are increasing energy output and I'm definitely picking up two hostiles heading our way."

Smacking his forehead, Gantt realized he was had been so busy focusing on the alien forest that he missed the giant trees. Three Gamma quadrant asteroids, three Ferengi power supplies. The Teyvalah MK-IV. Four generations removed from their current form, with a couple of unfortunate security flaws. Ignoring the chatter on the channel, he quickly adjusted the sensors on the sledge while mentally repeating his plan.

"Preparing to neutralize three targets in eight seconds," said Gantt. He shot a spike into the nearby asteroid and clipped a high tensile strength cable from himself to it. "You'll have to neutralize one device yourself. I've marked it. The rest..." Gantt paused, and then activated his program. The sensors locked onto the Ferengi signals and began emitting a series of shutdown commands to keep a lock on the enemy devices. He then watched his own system's power jump to ninety-eight percent and reverse flow to the receiver, which began to emit targeted surges of power. Gantt watched the linked devices heat up to dangerous levels and then, unable to switch to their backup systems because of the incoming commands, circuits fused together. Each device shut down.

Suddenly the power system on the sledge spiked and, as Gantt lunged forward to kill it, two power supplies blew open, slamming him into the asteroid and cracking the helmet of his EVA.

The hostile EVA team obviously had been monitoring their devices and they reacted quickly to Gantt shutting them down. Two of them began to move even closer to the device nearest of them while two more started to move toward Gantt. The two who had already been moving towards Stephens and t'Aegis were accelerating but also moving more carefully and taking advantage of asteroid cover whenever possible.

"Stephen, cover Soto," Rhiana ordered as soon as her display showed that Gantt's helmet was damaged. "I will take care of the these two." Even while she said it, she used her thrusters to bring her into a position behind the asteroid where she was still mostly covered but had a good visual of the two hostiles. Using the asteroid to stabilise herself, she detached the rifle from her EVA suit and aimed it. As soon as they were in range, she fired.


Jackson restrained himself, resisting the urge to dash to Soto's aid. He knew he had to place his trust in Stephens to handle the situation. His role was to remain vigilant and prepared for action. He observed Rhiana taking her position and initiating gunfire. Her actions caused the adversaries to seek cover, unwittingly aligning themselves ideally for Jackson's strategy. Swiftly navigating the terrain of the small asteroid beneath him, Jackson propelled himself into the void, targeting the cluster of opponents. With his thrusters operating at full capacity, he soared through space. As he closed the distance, Jackson drew his phaser, unleashing a barrage of fire upon them.

Stephens burned his thrusters on maximum. The distance between him and Gantt closed rapidly and he cut power at the last moment, allowing his momentum to take him right up to the immobile engineer. He reached out with his left hand and grabbed hold of the sledge. The sudden change of momentum caused a deep pain in his shoulder but he ignored it and reached out to grab Gantt with his other arm. He could see a faint fog of atmosphere leaking from the Bajoran's helmet. As soon as he was stable, Stephens reached into his belt and pulled out one of the emergency patches. He ripped it open with his hands, allowing Gantt to float free for a moment, and then slapped it over the crack in the helmet. The bonding agent flattened against the helmet and immediately stopped the leak of air.

"Gantt is secure and stable," Stephens said in a clipped voice. His eyes came up and he scanned the tactical situation. He could see phasers fire lighting up the spaces between the asteroids. He could also see the aliens now. Some of them were small, no larger than human children and others were blocky and over seven feet tall. He could see a pair clustered around one of the devices, frantically trying to accomplish something.

And then a brilliant red and blue pulse struck the wormhole. The aliens closest to the devices were disintigrated and the closing Starfleet personnel were lucky to be shielded by the asteroids. Stephens' helmet darkened to compensate for the light, which surely would have blinded him. In the semi-darkness he saw the pulse smash into the wormhole, changing into a pattern of spider-web energy. And then, suddenly, everything went dark.

[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Rhiana t'Aegis
Second Officer / Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298


Lieutenant Jackson Smith
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298


Lieutenant Soto Gantt (NPC by Leed)
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298


Chief Petty Officer Charles Stephens Jr.
Chief of the Boat / Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298

 

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