This isn't a Simulator!

Posted on Wed Feb 14th, 2024 @ 7:37am by Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Commander Cynfor Rees & Lieutenant Commander Jörgen Leed & Lieutenant Tor Ezzo & Lieutenant Owen Woodhouse

3,207 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: A Long Hard Road Ahead
Location: USS Firebird, Bridge
Timeline: 23 August 2396, 1730 Hours

[ON]

Rees sat in his seat to the right of the Captain as the ship made its way closer to the asteroid belt. He knew that this was the only viable plan. However, that did not make him any less nervous about what was to come.

"Approaching the asteroids sir," Tor Ezzo said over his shoulder from the conn. He sat staring at the viewscreen at the massive space rocks tightly wound together to create a barrier in front of them. None of the simulations prepared him for this and he still wasn't sure if he'd trained enough flying the Firebird to thread the needle through the field. The deflectors would push aside small debris in the field from the asteroids colliding with each other and other small rocks, but one wrong move or too slow reaction time and the ship would just become part of the asteroid field.

Jörgen glanced up at the viewscreen before returning to the stream of communications coming from all sections. Analysis from the science department mixed with engineering reports and snippets from the away team. A localized asteroid field was a dangerous element but not a shock. His job was to compile all of it into a diplomatic response when the opportunity arose. And, to wait for a the Bajoran ship to hail them. Meanwhile, there was no space for him to worry about whether or not they crashed because the pilot tightened up like a hawser around a mooring pilon.

"I have seen your flight records, Lieutenant Tor, and you possess the skill to bring us through," he said calmly.

Malcom sat down in his command chair, trying to keep his nerves under control. He was a veteran Starfleet Captain but whenever his ship, his family, entered into a dangerous area, he couldn't help but feel the danger coming closer. Outwardly, he let nothing show.

"Lieutenant Tor, plot us a course that will bring us out as far from any unknown ships as possible. All ahead one-half impulse," Malcom said. "The cloak gives us the upper hand. Let's use it to maximum advantage."

"Sir, I'm getting a hail from a Bajoran vessel. It was sent three minutes ago. It simply says they are coming to our assistance," Kipp said with a frown.

Malcom sighed. "Any chance that our unknown parties on this side of the wormhole were able to pick that message up?"

Kipp nodded. "It is possible, sir. But they sent it on a narrow band Starfleet channel. If they did pick it up, it is unlikely they could have made any sense of it."

Malcom leaned over to Commander Rees, "Thoughts, XO?"

Cynfor sat and seemed to be staring at the viewscreen without a care. However, he was deep in thought. After a time he exhaled sharply and looked at Malcom. "I say we proceed as planned. I agree with Kipp. If our friends over there picked it up then we will be able to react accordingly. It is after all the only option we have."

Malcom knew that his XO was right. He hadn't liked the mission from the very beginning. The crew had assembled the best plan possible but it still wasn't ideal. "Agreed," he said and then turned to Commander Leed.

"Commander Leed, I would like you to see if you can raise that Bajoran ship with Kipp's help. See if you can stall them."

"Yes, Captain." Jörgen carried his PADD over to the petty officer. "Kipp, please hail Captain Kellan Liora on the Bajoran vessel."

"Aye, Commander," Kipp said. He tapped on his communications console, working to overcome the interference of the wormhole. "Using tight beam comms... I've got it. USS Firebird to Captian Kellen Liora. I have Commander Leed requesting to speak with you."

There was a moment of silence and then a voice came back, although the audio was muffled.

"This is Kellen. What kind of game are you playing, Leed?"

"Someone created an artificial asteroid field on this end of the wormhole. For your crew's safety, I urge you to slow until we map a navigable route." Jörgen gestured for Kipp to send the first batch of files he had prepared to the Bajoran ship. It was also time for a subtler message. "This is no more a game than a warp race through the Hekaras Corridor."

"...ecided to leave without us. That little ship of yours is no match for whatever is going on. You need...to me... understand?"

Kipp shook his head. "Sorry sir but I've lost them. The file made it through but there's a surge in the wormhole's camistol waves that are giving me trouble. Working to get them back," Kipp said.

Tor Ezzo sat at the Conn listening to the men speaking behind him as moved the ship into half impulse. His console came to life as he approached the asteroids barring their path. Proximity warnings thresholds set he looked for openings while trying to predict the movements of the rocks in front of him and after a few seconds he found the first opening with some promise.

Piloting through a bunch of asteroids took luck just as much as skill. The giant rocks weren't stationary they floated moving back and forth like defenders in a game of sport with the singular purpose of keeping you from the other side. What looked like an open path one second could quickly close ending in complete failure in another.

The console in front of him beeped alerting him the sensors saw something. Tor looked back at the captain's chair, "Sir, it's going to be extremely tight but here we go."

Powering up the deflectors he pitched the ship at an angle almost parallel to the asteroids in front of them flying along side the wall of rocks and after a few thousand meters took a sharp left turn and the ship was surrounded by moving and rolling asteroids. Ezzo shot the ship straight through a gap with just a few meters of clearance on both starboard and port sides and the ship shuttered as smaller rocks created by collisions of larger bodies bounced off the ships hulls.

Tapping on the thruster controls in a percussive rhythm spun the ship 120 degrees to port as the impulse engines pushed the ship through another gap only to lead to two very large asteroids both headed on a direct collision course for each other . The path would be closing before the Firebird would make it. With shields down and the cloak up any debris from the collision would directly impact the hull. Thinking as fast as he could Ezzo looked back at the captain's chair.

"Things are going to get hairy sir," Ezzo smiled and gave a wink to the commander.

Tapping madly at the conn Ezzo turned the ship hard to starboard flying straight towards the asteroid on the right of the ship. As proximity alarms started blaring at him about 200 meters from the surface thrusters lurched the ship to hug the asteroid as the ship followed the width of it away from the impending impact. Ezzo throttled the impulse engines back and forth between three quarter and half impulse and the uneasy feeling of acceleration could be felt in his stomach as he slammed on the thruster controls and shot the ship through the empty space the asteroid left in it's trajectory. Just as the ship cleared the obstacle the asteroid made contact and bounced back obstructing the path he had just taken.

Ezzo looked up at the view screen they had made it clear on the other side.

Malcom opened his mouth to congratulate Lieutenant Tor on some truly amazing piloting but before he could speak, the bridge went completely dark. For a second it was like staring at the darkness of space but in all directions.

"What," he said and the power returned. All of the bridge systems were rebooting. "Lieutenant Woodhouse, what the hell was that? All stations, report," Malcom said.

"The cloak caused a power surge and went off-line," Woodhouse answered as he worked through the reports scrolling across his panel. "Systems have restabilized, but I can't guarantee it won't happen again if we bring it back on-line."

"Thank you, Mr. Woodhouse," Malcom said. He pivoted to his XO. "This is not good."

The Firebird shuddered, jostling everyone but not seriously.

"Captain, three of the unidentified vessels are moving towards us. One of them has fired on us. Shields are holding at 98%. However, there are... more of them heading our way," Chief B'rala said from the tactical station.

"Ezzo, evasive maneuvers! Keep in mind we can't just disappear anymore and we have the EVA team to cover," Malcom said.

"Sir, I have the Bajoran vessel on comms again if you want them. The captain is being... aggressive," Kipp said.

"Commander Leed I need you to handle that, please."

Ezzo tapped a few macros to bring up the enemy ship positions on his workstation and began plotting a course.
"Evasive Pattern Bravo 9." He was attempting to maneuver the Firebird to use the lead ship to block line of sight from the other vessels moving with it.

"Put the captain to me," said Leed. As soon as Kellen's voice crackled through the comms, he played his trump card. "Captain Kellen, thank you for re-establishing contact. There are unusual disturbances in the wormhole causing us problems." He spoke clearly, with slight emphasis on each word. Come on, Koss, he thought to himself.

"That's no good reason to leave us behind. I know you've caused problems with Starfleet. Are you looking for glory? This won't help you," growled the Bajoran captain. Leed could almost feel the hot breath on his face.

"We want to keep as many people alive as possible, as you do, Captain. By any means at our disposal," Leed said.

Kipp listened to the conversation between Captain Kellen and Commander Leed with half of his attention. The other half was monitoring the Bajoran vessel, which was rapidly approaching the mouth of the wormhole, which thanks to Lieutenant Tor, the Firebird had just vacated. A message flashed across his screen, from the science department. four devices? Kipp thought. A red alert turned his screen red.

"Commander, the Bajoran vessel is experiencing an unusual surge in wormhole pressure fluctuations. Their internal dampeners are not going to be able to keep up in a minute."

"What is going on?" Captain Kellen's said. The anger was gone, replaced by confusion. "Firebird, we're... we're getting some kind of turbulence here.... Increase defense shields to maximum!"

"Captain Kellen, can you hear me?" said Leed. He suddenly wished to know if this was the result of their deal with Erno Koss or an actual crisis in the wormhole. "Unknown energy sources are disrupting the wormhole and may be interfering with warp drives. Keep the ship intact first, worry about speed second."

Kipp's fingers flew over the console as he attempted to gather more information. "Commander Leed, there is indeed something going on. I'm getting information from the EVA team's suits. They have confirmed that the devices are attempting to shut down the wormhole. And the Bajoran vessel is be affected. Sir, I think... they are in real danger."

"Understood. Keep the channel open." Jörgen absorbed the new information. His scheme of ebb-and-flow with the Bajorans changed. Closing the wormhole was a rogue wave event coming straight for them and that was exactly how to handle it. "Captain Kellen, our team reports an unknown group is attempting to close the wormhole. Repeat, the wormhole may be closing. We advise maximum impulse now. Follow our course through the asteroids."

Jörgen waited for a reply, the flexing of his fingers the only movement. He hoped Erno Koss would get the message immediately. Softly, he said, "With a rogue wave you have to approach full sail, head-on to avoid a capsize. But throttle back at the top to avoid swamping the craft."

"Understood, Firebird," Captain Kellen's voice called out. It was clear that the Bajoran was under strain.

"They have increased power and are emerging from the wormhole.... wait. There's something happening with the devices."

Kipp's console showed the image of the wormhole. Brilliant colors surrounded the exit. The Bajoran vessel's bow came into view. It was moving quickly. But just as the aft portion of the ship was almost through, there was a flare of light and a spider-web of energy crackled around the exiting ship. The flare lasted only a second and then the wormhole disappeared and the Bajoran ship began to tumble. They had clearly lost all power.

"Commander I've lost them," Kipp said in a soft voice.

Jörgen's hair stood on end as the afterimage of the flare persisted like an exclamation point imposed over the tumbling hulk of the Bajoran vessel. Emotions poured into his chest, filling the cavity carved out by the burst and collapse of the wormhole. Contrary to some who only saw him smile, Jörgen felt many feelings all the time. He had learned early on, however, that he processed them differently from most people. This time they filled him until the pressure caused his eyes to turn red. A hot tear carved its way down a cold cheek. His mind filled with words but they had no place in this moment so he kept them to himself like sacred prayers. He looked over at Kipp and slowly nodded.

Malcom's attention was entirely focused on the developing tactical situation. The maneuvers that Ezzo had performed had reduced their threat exposure but the remaining enemy ship launched a salvo of photon torpedoes at close range. The burst of three whirled towards the ship, which Ezzo spun on its axis, avoiding two. The third slammed into the forward shields, staggering the Firebird.

"Return fire," Malcom said. "Lieutenant Tor, take us right at them. Let's see if they have the nerve. Forward shields to maximum, Lieutenant Woodhouse."

Ezzo keyed in the command and the ship came to a sudden halt. Thrusters rotated the ship 180 degrees in less than ten seconds pointing the bow of the ship at the enemy vessels. Ezzo felt the familiar feeling in his stomach from the sudden motion. There was a calm for just a second before Ezzo brought the ship to impulse hurdling at the enemy. Like a rollercoaster hitting the apex right before a drop. "Bringing the ship to two-thirds impulse, attack pattern delta 4." His hand slid on the console as the sudden burst of speed forced him back in his seat a litte.

"Diverting reserves to the forward array," Owen answered as he carefully and swiftly orchestrated the changes to avoid overloading the emitter system or affecting other critical systems.

Cynfor had put his extensive Operational knowledge to use. He looked over readouts of the enemy vessel and in a short moment he smiled. Rees turned to the Captain. "Sir the enemy has a weakness. It seems that there is a minor rotating fluctuation in their ventral shielding. The opening is literally less than a second. But if we can target it and the right moment we will have them."

Malcom quickly processed what his XO was saying. "Lieutenant Tor, move us to a position to give the XO shots on the enemy vessels. Commander Rees, try to disable them. This whole thing might be a misunderstanding and I don't want to be responsible for starting a war."

Ezzo smiled and tapped on the console sending the Firebird into a spiral that ended up with the enemy vessel's underbelly right in the path of all forward phaser arcs and both forward photon torpedo launchers. "Sir we are in their firing arcs we may not want to sit here too long."

Rees nodded in acknowledgment of what the Captain had said. He agreed that although the ship needed to be protected a war was not something that would benefit anyone. In short order he had the targeting sensors locked on. "I have the target in sight. This should disable their weapons and engines. On your order sir."

"Fire as she bears, XO," Malcom said. "We're out of time."

"Aye, sir!" Cyn replied without taking his eyes off the targeting scanners. He allowed time for the enemy's shields to process three times so he could get the timing just right. Like a sniper, his eyes did not waver and he slowed his breathing to prevent further distractions. Three seconds later, which seemed like an eternity Rees pressed the fire button. Three photon torpedoes along with three bursts from the forward phaser banks lanced out simultaneously. The phasers hit their mark instantly resulting in explosions along the enemy hull. The torpedoes were timed to strike after so they would make it through. However, only two out of the three did get through with the third detonating on the ship's shields. "Direct hits. Enemy vessels are dead in space without weapons." Cynfor turned to Malcom as he spoke. The XO smiled broadly.

Malcom felt the rush of adrenaline coursing through his body begin to fade. There were still enemy ships but they were moving towards a general direction. A direction away from the wormhole. But Malcom's sense of victory was short lived.

=^=Captain this is Science one. We have been able to use our sensors and the sensor array on DS 18 to scan the area and, well, there's a really big cloaked ship out there. =^=

The comms switched off and a moment later, in the direction the enemy ships were fleeing, a massive vessel shimmered into view. It was much to far to be an immediate threat but its sheer size was imposing.

"Sir," Kipp said. "The smaller ships are entering the new one. The computer is classifying it as some kind of carrier."

Malcom had a flashback to Vic Stern and his carrier that had saved the Firebird years ago. He doubted this one was as benevolent.

"Good shooting, XO," Malcom said, nodding to Commander Rees. "Lieutenant Tor, let's...."

A wave of energy slammed into the ship, rocking it on its axis. Malcom was tossed to the deck, along with a few others.

"Damage report!" He yelled, regaining his feet. He hadn't been injured, just rattled a bit."

Kipp crawled back into his chair and furiously tapped at his console. "Sir, the wormhole... its gone."

[OFF]

Commander Malcom Llwyedd
Commanding Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298


Lieutenant Commander Cynfor Rees
Executive Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298


Lieutenant Commander Jörgen Leed
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298

Lieutenant Tor Ezzo
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298

Lieutenant Owen Woodhouse
Chief Operations Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298


Petty Officer First Class Kipp Lak
Captain's Yeoman
USS Firebird NCC-88298

 

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