Source of the Distress Call

Posted on Wed Jan 4th, 2023 @ 10:27pm by Captain Tristan Faust & Lieutenant Ty-Yak Novo & Lieutenant Michael Amato & Ensign Tobias "Toby" Dienstag
Edited on on Mon Jan 16th, 2023 @ 8:33am

1,137 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: A Fool’s Errand
Location: Deck 1: Bridge; Deck 7: Transporter Room 2
Timeline: M1 MD07 (2268.22.05) 0900

Arriving in six hours almost on the nose, the Midway was quickly approaching the U.S.S. Detroit, the Ptolomy class transport tug. The senior staff were manning their respective their stations and Captain Faust was staring at the ship on the viewscreen. He tapped the Red Alert button on the side of the command chair. He wasn't going to take chances in this area of space.

"Commander, scan the Detroit," the Captain said to Commander Heartfilia without turning around. He already was assuming the worst given the visual scan of the wrecked ship.

"Scanning now," Lucy replied as she gazed down into the sensor scanner mounted on the science console. She didn't seem impressed at what she was looking at. Without looking out she read out the reports. "The ship has taken some damage, it seems like she was attacked. I'm reading no lifesigns, however the hull and life support are all intact and functioning".

She looked up and turned back to face Faust. "She should be safe to be board Captain"

"Ok," Tristan responded before looking at his communications officer, "Mr. Th'Zareth have Lt. Miyake and a security team report to Transporter Room 2. Dr. Amato and Mr. Novo are to report as well." He looked around the Bridge, "Mr. Dienstag, you're with me," he said. He looked at Lucy, "The ship is yours Commander. Any sign of trouble get us out of there, although I doubt they'll be back," he added.

"Aye sir" Lucy said as she passed over her station to another crewman and made her way to the center chair.

Braun half turned in his seat and was about to volunteer in the captain's stead, but he wasn't sure how the man would take that. A lot of COs were very hands on and wanted to be in the thick of things. He turned back to his station and like everyone else wondered what had become of the crew of the Detroit...

To the big navigator's left, Thraxina glanced up from the candy coloured control buttons on her console and caught her helm partner's movement: Bernhardt seemed to have permanent, what was the Earth phrase? 'ants in his pants'. She herself was more than happy to let the others go over and face... well, whatever it was that had put the Detroit in jeopardy in the first place.

---

"Alright, listen up!" Shinobu announced as she stood before the Security team gathered on the transporter. "In a few minutes, we're going to be beaming into a potentially dangerous situation. I understand we were in the midst of a training cruise, so for many of you, this may be your first in-field deployment directly outside of the Academy; and while I'm sure it's pretty obvious at this point, whatever danger we run out there is real- you can, and likely will, die if you're not careful. As we have no idea what to expect out there, I want everyone to be on their guard; keep your phasers primed and always within arm's reach, pay attention to Captain Faust's instructions, and do not split off into groups of less than three without our expressed permission. In regards to any additional questions you may have, don't hesitate to ask; knowledge is power."

Avis listened silently. Really? Nothing in that she didn't already know. Did the lieutenant think they'd just stroll on over like tourists? Oh well. She was ready and waiting. This is exactly the kind of thing she signed up for.

A tall, dark skinned security man, hands clasped behind his back and legs in the 'at ease' position, towered over both Lt. Miyake and another young woman with an unusual hairdo. He paid the officer the respect and attention due to her rank, and was not perturbed by the very basic advice she was giving the group. Neither did he discount the abilities of the younger woman out of hand: he had learned early on in the service not to judge a book by its cover, and many a big, redshirted 'tuff guy' had proven himself useless in an emergency; and many a wimpy looking geek or fresh out of the academy girl had proven their mettle in the crucible of combat.

Avis could not resist a question then, "Sir, will we need space suits? Do we know if the ship still has atmosphere or has been breached?"

Standing toward the back of the group, Harmony made note of the 'rules'. Yes, they were standard, but it was still good to hear them laid out. During her time at the Academy, she'd trained with several 'military' groups, including security and Marines, but there hadn't been time yet to do any training with the security teams on the ship.

Still, she was sure that she knew how to handle herself -- stay out of the way, take care of injuries, do what you're told! Easy enough!

"No space suits required Cadet," came the voice of Captain Faust as he walked into the transporter room with the signature swagger of a starship Captain, "The ship still has an atmosphere."

"That's good..........sir," Ava nodded, both satisfied and relieved, space suits were a hassle to wear.

Ensign Dienstag flanked him but was trying to keep up with the Captain's long stride. He shot Dr. Amato a glance and a slight smile which the Doctor returned.

"Are we ready to go?" Tristan asked the room. He noted the nods from the officers. He noticed the Novo was standing off to the side of the transporter room. The engineer had a panel open and was messing with the cat's cradle of wiring in the wall. "Time to go Novo," he said as he stepped up onto the transporter pad.

"But Captain, the..." Novo started.

"Now," Tristan said, with a slight glare as he turned around on the transport pad. The security team quickly filed onto the pads flanking him. The security team would go down first, followed by the support crew. He looked at the transporter chief standing behind the console, "Energize," he said.

Avis fully expected to be one of the first to transport. That was a duty of Security, one wouldn't want to lose the captain if there was a trap or ambush. She stepped on one of the transporter circles and waited motionless while the process commenced. When she materialized, she had her phaser ready but no need. Everything seemed clear.

Tristan held his breath as the transporter beam enveloped him. He never knew why he held his breath. It was a psychosomatic response he was told. Part of him believed that he would wake up in the vacuum of space or just not wake up at all. Of course one full breath wouldn’t help much in either case.

 

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