Impulse Burn (Part 1)

Posted on 28 Feb 2014 @ 10:28am by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Alfred Rayne & Lieutenant Commander Dea Mialin & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Theron Rhodes & Lieutenant Asahi Kita & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexion Wylde & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Riley Cameron & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Crewman Ash Rowe & Petty Officer 3rd Class David Emerson & Senior Chief Petty Officer Keval zh'Erinov & Lieutenant Olsam Mott & Ensign K'os Beaumont & Lieutenant Min Zhao & Lieutenant Jared Nicholas & Vincent Kramer Ph.D. & Chief Petty Officer Lyras Ueda

3,265 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Sol System - Earth Orbit
Timeline: MD 57 - 1115 hrs

[ON]

Stacked in low Earth orbit around the beautiful blue planet which was home to Humans, aliens, and Starfleet alike, a formation of five Type-9 shuttles patiently waited for the signal to commence their festivities. In this case, festivities meant a friendly race between several of Galileo's crew members...a race which would give the winning team bragging rights aboard the ship for the next couple months.

Instructions had been sent out to all racers and the racetrack had been finalized. A short hop from SB-001 to Jupiter Station had been decided upon, with checkpoints at Luna, Mars, an obstacle course in the form of the system's main asteroid belt, and finally the finish line at Jupiter Station. Not the most difficult of courses, but one which would rely on skilled piloting, operations, and knowledge of the Sol system to finish in first place.


Team: Pisa

Walking onto the shuttle with a small non-issue toolbox, its chipped black paint showing some of the bare alloy beneath. Alfred Looked up and smiled genuinely as he saw this long lived medical man already aboard.

" Hello Doctor, how hard would you like to push this shell in our little endeavour? " he asked as he began a quick check though the systems

"As far as possible," Alexion cast a grin his way, already looking far more relaxed and easy going than his usual sternness in Sickbay. "You want to win, do you not?"

Alfred gave a smile and walked over to the right side of the shuttle " Well shall we suit up then? if we are really going to kick the arse out of this thing " He asked asked as he open the storage section and gestured to the 'Spacesuits' within.

Alexion gave something close to a smirk as he moved to them, pulling one on. "Planning on spacing us?"

Alfred Laughed, " Relax we arent going to push it that hard and dangerous just for a race, I like living too much " he smiled and began to tune and alter some of the propulsion systems meaning to move on to the navigation controls after to try and a maximise performance boost safely.

The doctor slipped into his seat next to him, a frown of concentration settling on to his stern set features as he brought up his own work. "I have laid in a few possible courses, for when we inevitably have to throw our plans out of the airlock. Although I am sure you will be working as we go..."


Shuttle Galilei

Sitting at the helm in the Type-9 shuttlecraft Galileo, Lamar drummed his dark fingers over the nav console while he waited for the signal to form up at the starting line. He felt a bit apprehensive but also excited, and already he could detect trace amounts of adrenaline flowing through his veins in preparation for the race. He had always been a competitive man, and though he was one of the junior pilots aboard Galileo, he treated this competition like any other. Glancing over at his co-pilot, he gave the Scottish engineer an impatient look. "Ready to burn some deuterium?" he said with a wry grin to lighten the mood.

"I was born ready laddie...you just make sure you don't plough us into an asteroid or something eh?"

Cameron replied with his own brand of sarcasm, running his hands over the controls as he brought the impulse engines online. With the competition strictly forbidding weapons and warp drive, the engineer had already shut down those systems and ploughed what available power he could into the impulse and thruster assemblies.

"I'm gonna run the impulse drive above rated maximum - sure we might blow up, but at least we'll be flying faster than shite off a shovel!"


Shuttle Livia

Keval had done all of his pre flight tests and was assured that everything on the ship was in order and ready to go. He had strapped himself in and glanced around waiting for his co-pilot. He hadn't received any training from Star Fleet, he didn't need it. He'd been flying craft like this since he was old enough to sit in the seat and reach the controls.

He hoped they would win, knew a few tricks that might help, but at the end of the day, it was all just for fun.

Allyndra had thought to watch the race, but one shuttle pilot racer had lost a co-pilot, and Lamar had gently goaded her into filling in. She was not the best at racing, but then she had something the others did not, Akkadian females were naturally used to three-dimensions and it was naturally wired into brains and specialized in their eyes.

She found the correct shuttle. The Liva, it was called. There was an Andorian. She had introduced herself and it had not taken long for him to notice the wings on her back.

Thus now Allyndra found herself sitting in the seat next to him. "May the Twins send us fair winds," she quipped.

He nodded at her. His good antennae arching forward. He had heard about the winged doctor before, had even seen her when he was in sickbay recovering from his injuries.

"From you lips to their ears. Fair winds it is."

Allyndra nodded but her fingers were busy. As co-pilot it would be her job to make sure that they could make the most efficient course. Gravity slingshots, bearings, the tiny bits that would determine who might gain an advantage. It was not unlike flying on her own world with others. Determining the currents, the slight variations that might gain an advantage.

"I think I have given us a good course." Allyndra said confidently.

Keval nodded at her."Great, I am glad you chose to join me. If my piloting skills are on par with your navigational one we should win this thing."

"Just watch your antennae sir, especially as we head toward the last leg. If I have things worked out we might be missing by a few centimeters."

"I've already lost one, I don't want to lose the other. Thanks for the warning.

=^=Pace shuttle Padua, This is shuttle Livia reporting ready=^=


Team: Ostillo

As Ash Rowe moved up into the shuttle, she was singing, and not too quietly either. A pacy rock song to match her energy. Since the race had been on the cards, she'd been looking forward to it.

Before joining Starfleet, Ash had been a professional motorcar and hovercar racer. She'd even been ranked number 1 as a three year champion racer with a number of titles and championships under her belt, both within and outside the Federation. Racing was in her blood, as was competition. And she missed it, more than anything.

This was slightly different, with an alternative vehicle as her racer, but it was the same principle for Ash; smash the metal, keep the focus and don't stop until there's no more blood left to lose. She didn't really understand the phrase 'friendly competition'. It was a contradiction in terms.

Lt. Rhodes moved into the co-pilot seat, next to Crewman Rowe. He looked over the readouts on the shuttle quickly, flipping through the different console readouts and display change variants.

He quickly thought about the inter-personnel dynamics on this Team. This was an unusual situation, where the pilot was not the superior officer for the team. Yet, even though he was a Lieutenant, he could not take Command of this craft for this race. This would have to be a race team preformed by two individuals, where they would be of equal importance, authority, and accepting of the other's skills at face value.

Theron had thought long and hard about the shuttle race that had been planned for the Crew of the Galileo. He understood this event to be a recreation, and not a true competition. However, he also recognized that Team Pride and prestige on the ship could be gained through this event. Creative determination was a strong attribute, something that to be recognized for as well.

Theron knew that all the vessels would be the same and no additional parts could be added or taken away from the equipment. It was to be race of skill and creativity. Yet, Theron knew there would be a few things that could be done to help them. One of these was the use of personality. A couple days prior to the flight he had had a special paint applied to the exterior surface of the shuttle. It now had a flat ebony surface, where light absorption was at 94%. Painted upon both sides of the shuttle was a reflective silver and white comet. With the shuttle running lights off, only the brilliant sparkling comet would be seen as it streaked past the viewer.

Placing his hand in his lap he turned to his pilot. They had previously touched base briefly, but not really talked about the flight and expectations. Theron began, "I want to thank you again for accepting me as your co-pilot for this race." Trying to set her at ease he asked, "Would you prefer that I call you Ash or Rowe ?"

Ash gave a wry smile at that, playfulness in her eyes as she dropped down into her seat with a soft huff, her blonde hair bouncing in the loose loop she'd tied it back in with the force of her jump. "You can call me whatever the hell you like, most people do," she laughed softly, shaking her head as she started to bring up the readouts. "This will be weird. I'm used to racing solo, but then I'm also used to being trapped shut in a tin can with not even enough room to stick my elbows out..."

"Very well." Theron replied, "Please call me Theron. I hope our adventure today can be on an equal team basis."

Ash glanced across to him between her checks, fingers still moving on the controls even as she looked away, a smile broad on her features. "Sounds like we got ourselves a winning plan...Theron. By the way, I love the personalised paintwork. All the better to see us streak past, huh?"

This made Theron smile, but even more deeply inside. He was not sure why.


Shuttle Virginia

Dea found herself in a very odd situation. For this race she'd be piloting the Virginia. Yet this time she wasn't just Chief Flight Control Officer she was also Second Officer. Turning her attention to her co-pilot. "Are you read for this?"

"Ready as I'll ever be Ma'am." Chief Emerson smiled at Dea. "I have a wager with another chief in the shuttle yards on the race. Just a friendly bet we win."

"We'll certainly do our best. However you realize as competitive as I am I'm in a very tough position here. Not only am I the Chief Flight Control Officer, my other role is Second Officer. Run a final systems check. Let me know if we're all green."

Emerson looked over the board. Everything checks out. Any system's you want diverted to engines & thrusters?" He grinned. "Sometimes the troops need their boss to beat them. Sets an example when, pardon the expression, the old man beats them at their own game. Pegs em down a notch but gives them a reason to respect you, and gives them a bar to aim for.

"Then lets make it a good show. Divert the systems you need leave us life support." Dea repoted in, "Virgina is ready."

"Understood." Emerson started diverting power from the weapons and other non-essential subsystems. For a quick race around Sol, engines, thrusters, life support and basic shields was more then enough.

"Engine output at 108% of rated maximums." He looked over the sensor readouts. Looked from what he could see that everyone else had the same idea.

"Seems like everyone's thinking the same. Any tricks from Fighter School we can use?"


USS Padua

Olsam had seated himself up front with Lieutenant Kita so he could best monitor the condition of the racing shuttles and their crews. As he configured the co-pilots display to show vital signs for the racers, he turned to Kita - with whom he had absolutely no acquaintance - and said with exaggerated severity, "I hope nobody dies."

Then the Bolian grinned and laughed, carrying on a conversation that could have very well been with himself. "Just kidding! Nobody is gonna die. I don't think. I mean, I guess it's possible. But it seems unlikely. I wonder how big the Galileo's morgue is? It must be tiny for such a small ship... If there's ever a shuttle crash we'd probably just have to line some bodies out in the corridor or something. I'll have to look into that." Placing his elbow on to the console to thoughtfully cradle his chin, he inadvertently activated the internal comm system, blasting his thoughts to the other passengers. "Computer, remind me to investigate where to put large numbers of dead bodies on the Galileo."

Asahi had himself zoned out on the pre-flight preparations, meaning most of the chatter had been relatively ignored. Of course, key words and phrases still filtered through, and, as such, his eyes widened at the Bolian's ramblings. It took him a very long, drawn out second to respond. "... Remind me later that I need a check-up, you know, after shore leave gets out." He glanced over at Olsam, a bemused grin on his features. "If anyone dies during this thing, it means we haven't been doing our jobs right. Best not let anyone die then, huh?"

"Oh, I don't know, sometimes my patients die," Olsam said cheerily. "I mean, people die, Lieutenant. It's a fact of life. Or death, as it were. Sometimes it happens on an operating table, sometimes it happens peacefully in your sleep, and sometimes it happens in horrible fiery shuttlecraft accidents with long, agonizing moments spent exposed to the vacuum of space where the saliva on your tongue begins to boil, your skin burns from radiation exposure and you ultimately succumb to suffocation."

K'os sat patiently waiting for the race to start. The PADD sitting on his lap showed the positions of the other shuttles. He looked around at the rest of the spectators and grinned excitedly. He hadn't participated in the bet making the other enlisted crew were doing back in San Francisco but he had a couple teams he privately rooted for. He took a sip of his water bottle and nearly choked when he overheard the doctor's reminder about dead bodies. He looked around to see if anyone else had heard it. Turning his head, he studied all the faces around him. Unlike most people there, he wasn't necessarily there for recreation. Ever since that experience in the holodeck with Keval he'd been pondering asking to take a shuttle piloting course at some point. This created the perfect opportunity to observe. He stood and moved closer to the Bolian and Lieutenant Kita so he could watch better.

"Hey, I think we're ready to get this show on the road." Asahi grinned, wiggling about in his seat. "Any last words before we get going?"

Min sat beside Jared in some chairs on the main seating area of the runabout. From here she could see the holographic display of the race. She flushed a little when Jared kissed her but squeezed his hand in return. By now everyone had to know the two of them were together.

Jared was being a lot more discrete with her than with his previous liaison on board the ship but this was a real relationship now, not just a brief fling. But still he made no effort to keep their being a couple a secret.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" he whispered to her.

"I think so. Why?" Min whispered back to Jared.

"Because, I love you and am concerned about you and well, you look like you could deliver at anytime now.

"That's the increased vascularization. Makes the everything bigger. Doc says I'm still two months away by earth standards, maybe more depending on the baby."

"Okay, well I'm glad to know that, but still shouldn't you.. you know, be kinda careful?"

Min squeezed Jared's hand. "We're in the pace runabout with one of the ship's doctors aboard. The Padua is seconds away from any facility at warp and my last checkup went well." Patting his leg. "I know you're concerned for the baby but this is safe enough."

"Not just the baby, you too. But you're right. I'll try not to be such a worrywart." He squeezed her hand in return. "Just smack me upside the head if I start to get paranoid or micromanage things.

"I'll let you know if you Jared. Trust me, you'll know."

"Great!" The engineer flipped a few switches, sending out a transmission signal to the racers.

=^="Hey everyone, Padua here, ready to get our show on the road. If you would kindly get yourselves to the agreed upon starting line, we can get our show on the road!"=^=

In the background, Olsam spoke loudly, "There's a road? I thought this was a space race."

Dr. Kramer stepped to the forward section of the runabout. "I hear things about to get underway." He bent down slightly and looked out the viewports to the sides and saw a couple, but not all the shuttles yet.

K'os showed Dr. Kramer the device he had in his hands that showed the positions of the shuttles. "Almost!" He said excitedly as he pointed them out.

"Ah." Kramer commented looking at the small display. He asked, "You will monitoring the race with this? What else does can it do?"

K'os grinned, and tapped on one of the shuttles shown on the display and it brought up details and highlights a spectator wouldn't get simply by watching out the window. Velocity, trajectory, and various other readouts of the shuttle's status. He did these for a couple others. With another tap he brought up Padua's exterior cameras to show images as well. "Check out the paint job on the Ostillo!"

Kramer looked closer at the display and saw the unusual markings for that shuttle, "They have totally changed its appearance. Is that allowed?"

"I don't know," K'os said restudying the brilliant choice of colours. "It's beautiful though."

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

WO Lamar Darius
Chief Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Saalm]

CPO Keval Grayson
Operations
USS Galileo
{PNPC-Jared}

Lt. Jared Nicholas
Linguist
USSGalileo

Lt. j.g. Min Zhao
Asst Chief of Operations
USS Galileo

LT. Asahi Kita
Asst. Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

PO 1rst Lyras Ueda
Diplomatic Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Shi]

CN Ash Rowe
Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

WO Alexion Wylde
Doctor
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

Lt Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

PO3 K'os Beaumont
Matter/Energy Specialist
USS Galileo

WO Riley Cameron
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Holliday]

Vincent Kramer
Science Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Rhodes]

LTJG Olsam Mott
Asst. Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

LT Theron Rhodes
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

LCDR Dea Mialin
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

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