The Battle of Sector 189 (Part 1 of 5)

Posted on 02 Apr 2024 @ 6:05pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Morgan Tarin & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Commander Marisa Wyatt & Lieutenant JG Rafe Caradec & Lieutenant JG Serran & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor & Ensign Amanda Turell & Chief Petty Officer Katja Becker & Master Chief Petty Officer Toren Vral

3,462 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: Pleiades Cluster, Sector 189, Grid 02
Timeline: MD 03, 2212 hrs

[ON]

The twinkling internal soul of the stellar nursery region named the Pleiades Cluster had remained undisturbed throughout the past three days. Its Starfleet visitors from the past hadn't so much as scratched its underlying subspace barrier with a warp wake, weapons fire, or another artificially generated gravitational anomaly. Galileos -A and -B had been the perfect cosmic guests, seemingly content to tend to their own business and conduct crucial repairs within their tiny starships while the distant war continued to rage over a hundred lightyears away.

The Mark III Nova-class, Galileo-B, had made significant progress restoring its operational capability within the past 72 hours thanks to the assistance from its legacy sister ship's crew. Both of its powerful and advanced deflector arrays were less than a day from being restored to full functionality due to the 24/7 operations both crews had dedicated themselves to. Debris had been cleared, panels replicated and replaced, and very soon it would be able to send its older counterpart back through time and to the place it belonged.

Aboard the Galileo-A, one might have assumed many of its remaining crew to be idle. Yet it had been the opposite, and by the captain's orders, those remaining had either been tasked with intelligence, political and tactical review of this new future, or reassigned to the -B for labor if they couldn't provide any immediate beneficial function to the mission at hand. It certainly hadn't been an ideal distribution of manpower, with almost 15 of the ship's complement temporarily assigned to the Galileo-B, but it was a necessary sacrifice. At least, that was how Commander Morgan Tarin had justified it.

The hour was becoming late and Beta shift was scheduled to relieve those on watch within the next 45 minutes. Day three of intense, tedious and sometimes monotonous work had taken its toll on everyone, and while the captain had attempted to get a few hours of sleep each night so far, she'd managed little more than a series of brief hour-long naps. Tarin was in the middle of one such rest on her couch in her ready room, approaching the 70-minute mark as she dozed off.

Within the -A's bridge, the standing watch of Warraquim, Serran, Vansen, Vral, and Darius rounded out a small skeleton crew of officers and senior NCOs who kept the vessel operating while others below decks or off-duty tended to their assignments. The soft and continual chirping of various consoles audibly cast the small command chamber in a comforting environment devoid of any critical alerts or jeopardy to the starship. But that would soon change...

At the conn, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius suppressed a fatigued yawn with the back of his fist while pondering whether or not a raktajino would keep him up all night following his duty watch. He didn't have to contemplate it for long, because a long-range sensor alert suddenly sounded on his console which instantly drew his attention. He focused on his LCARS terminal and quickly tapped at it to isolate the phenomenon. He started to speak then paused once he realized what he might be looking at.

"Commander," Darius said over his shoulder to Warraquim with a tinge of urgency in his voice, "long-range sensors just detected a warp signature. It's...gone now, but was vectoring galactic southwest from the northeast...toward our current position," he tapped at his console again to obtain more information. "If our sensors are accurate, it's approximately nine minutes out at present velocity."

Allyndra sat up in the chair as she got the information. "What do you mean by gone? Like a vessel cloaked?"

The conn officer held up his dark-complexioned hands and lightly shook his head with a healthy dose of bewilderment. "Uncertain, but it's possible. Sensors logged a momentary subspace variance and a buildup of tetryon particles. The navigational computers classified it as a sensor ghost but I swear I saw something there," he answered.

"I trust you. You're good at your job. Science, I want a sweep of any gravitational waves coming from that direction." She tapped the arm a moment. She made up her mind. "Security take us to yellow alert. Let's see if there is something out there." She touched the comm button. "Captain, I hate to disturb you, but we momentarily picked up what looked like a ship. Trying to parse out if real or not, but thought you should be informed."

The bridge's overhead lighting suddenly dimmed and the small Nova-class' primary command center became bathed in soft-pulsing yellow hues. Both the warp core and impulse reactor were brought to full operational power along with tactical, long-range, and short-range sensors. The vessel's shields and weapons systems readied on standby while both shuttlebays prepared for launch and recovery operations if needed.

Only a short time after the yellow alert was sounded the door to the bridge opened and Amanda emerged armed and ready. She quickly headed for what passed for a tactical station on the science-orientated ship and began to check over the tactical systems that were warming up.

Toren's antennae twitched at the sudden change of atmosphere on the bridge. The calm before the storm was replaced by the buzz of static as officers began to sharpen themselves for a potential challenge ahead. He lived for these moments. Science wasn't his usual posting but his motto was always 'those who sit at the console, take the reigns'. He deftly tapped the screen in front of him and initiated a variety of sensor sweeps - the ship had some marvelous tech and he could see why the brains down in science might get a little hot under the collar when manipulating them. A slew of negative returns flashed up on the monitor. "That's a negative for anything on the sweep, sah," he growled.

Down on Deck 2, the initiation of Yellow Alert and the call from the bridge rudely snapped Tarin from the beginning stages of a long-overdue REM sleep. Momentarily groggy, she quickly sat up from her resting position then rubbed her eyes in an attempt to determine what was transpiring. It wasn't more than 30 seconds before she'd grabbed her PADD and was on her way to the turbolift.

Another half-minute later, one of the bridge's entrances swished open. The red-collared captain strode into the command chamber with fast and long strides, slowing as she approached the doctor. "Report. What's happening?"

Allyndra stood so that the captain could take the command chair if she wanted to. "Captain, sorry to have disturbed you. Chief Darius picked up a contact that may have been a cloaked ship going to warp. The sensor sweep came back negative, but I trust his judgment, not the computers. Hence, I put us on alert and called you as a precaution. Currently, I am having science try to detect gravitational waves. A cloaked ship cannot hide its mass, and movement through space-time causes ripples. However, considering where we are, those could easily be covered by the stellar nursery. I would rather be proactive than get surprised, especially out here."

A contact. A cloaked ship at warp? Tarin furrowed her brow while quickly processing everything she knew of cloaking technology and its related sensor-evasion properties. "Modern cloaking devices within our time - the late 24th century - are able to conceal their gravitational wakes." She took a seat at her command station and then motioned for Warraquim to occupy the first officer's chair until Blake arrived. "There's no telling what early 25th century cloaking technology is capable of. We need a second opinion."

Glancing over her shoulder to the new blond-haired and blue-eyed Vulcan operations manager, Tarin then instructed, "Mister Serran, hail the Galileo-B on priority frequency."

"Yes, ma'am," came the quick reply. Serran moved a half step to his left and sent the data to the other ship.

Serran, his expression carefully neutral nodded his head. He gave a brief nod of his to indicate he'd the doctor's order. His finger danced over the console looking for the right channel. "Gallieo-B, this Gallielo-A Please respond, we may have a situation here."

Several long and tedious moments passed before the face of the Orion rear admiral appeared on the main viewscreen. "Commander Tarin," Saalm curtly acknowledged, wondering why she'd been summoned in the late stages of her starship's repair evolutions, and why the legacy Galileo was now at yellow alert and powering up defensive systems.

"Admiral," The -A captain spoke to her future counterpart with a tinge of urgency in her dry tonality, "our long-range sensors momentarily detected a warp signature approximately..." Tarin glanced down at the center console between her and the doctor to retrieve the navigational log's contact summary, "bearing zero-four-one mark five, heading two-two-zero, closing on our current position. Estimated warp factor of 9.4 and projected to arrive in our vicinity within seven minutes. Our conn officer, Darius, lost the track shortly after it was reported. I'm transmitting our sensor logs now," she silently gestured to Serran.

Rear Admiral Saalm's hardened light-green irises tightened and became severe. She turned away from the main viewscreen toward her vessel's science station then snapped the fingers in her hand. "Wyatt, I need an analysis. Now."

Marisa immediately pulled up the data, her stomach knotting as she recognized it. She ran a quick analysis for verification, just in case she was wrong. She wasn't. Their time to effect repairs and return the Galileo-A to its time was over. From the look on Saalm's face, she knew it, too. "Admiral, that signature is indicative of a cloaked Romulan ship."

A lengthy moment passed during which the Orion captain swiftly walked to Wyatt's console then hovered over the half-Vulcan woman's shoulder to verify this new critical information. Her chief science officer, per usual, was correct. She cursed under her breath in her native Yrevish tongue then rapidly paced back to the front of the bridge to stand before the main viewscreen. "Your sensors' readings conform to signature patterns we've been using to identify cloaked Romulan vessels in transit since the war began. They are elusive, and their cloaking technology has advanced far more than our detection methods. But they're still susceptible to revealing intermittent tetryon particle surges, at times." The rear admiral huffed with agitation then held her head high to her -A counterpart. "Prepare for enemy contact immediately. Many of your crew are still outside my hull finishing deflector repairs, but those must wait for now. I'll transmit the order to recall them. Await further tactical instructions from me." The main viewscreen then ceased its transmission and returned to its default view of the forward starfield.

Within Galileo-A, Tarin was slow to adjust to this new revelation. This new dire future - its realities of a great political failure resulting in widespread death and destruction - had so far been cerebral to her. She understood what had been shown to her about this new and future timeline, but now...it had just become visceral. Tangible. Her officers, NCOs, and civilian crew would soon experience the true nature of this with their own eyes.

"Red alert," Tarin loudly project across the bridge while thumbing the intra-ship comm system's button on her armrest console. "All hands prepare for combat. Load quantum torpedoes and stand by to recover Celeste," was the order she then gave.

Throughout the Mark II Nova-class, Tarin's firm and authoritative voice echoed across all corridors and compartments. The alert lighting transitioned from yellow to pulsing crimson strobes, and the ambient deck lights dimmed even further.

Allyndra remained standing waiting for the appropriate time. Seeing a quick break during the call to red alert, she leaned over toward Tarin. "Captain, I will be happy to remain here but perhaps Sick Bay might be a better place for me."

Tarin expressed a curt nod to the second officer at her prudent request. "Go. There's a good chance we're going to have casualties soon. Get your staff prepared."

"Yes, captain. Prepare for the worse and hope for the best." She turned and headed for the lift to go to sickbay.

Tapping at the console Amanda programmed the automated torpedo launchers to change from the already loaded photon torpedoes to quantum torpedoes; highly advanced in their timeline she had no idea how effective they'd be against 25 years worth of defensive technology innovation. There was no way she could guarantee the safety of the ship against a front-line hostile ship but she'd try her best.

Toren set up a few sensor presets he'd learned over the years in addition to the standard array that could help against a cloaked enemy. It was always good to have a few tricks up your sleeve, even if they came to nothing. Confidence was 70% of any engagement.

As the red alert sounded Soren turned his full attention to his console monitoring the power levels of each of the ship's systems. His face remained impassive.

Blake passed Allyndra, who was on the way to lift, as she made her own way out. She nodded to her on the way past, heading towards her chair. She had the usual stoic air about her...but this time, it was given weight by her sense of expectation. With their current situation, it had only been a matter of time before the red light glowed and the siren wailed.


Galileo-B - External Hull

Sera's foray into the B's 'dining hall,' had been the last break she had allowed herself. Once the damaged molybdenum-duranium mesh panels had been removed, the engineering team were able to accurately compile the scope of their repairs. Most of the circuitry and cabling were intact, however, one of the four high-torque electro-fluidic servos had been burnt up, requiring replication and installation of a replacement. The last few days had been utterly grueling to her team, and Sera pushed herself all the harder to maintain the pace in order to meet the deadline set out by command. They were finally nearing completion, but Sera's focus was starting to falter.

"Once panel left to repair." Sera offered up. It was her version of a pep-talk.

A new distinctive, Orion-accented voice suddenly sounded through the comm channel inside the engineer's helmet. "Saalm to M'Lyr'Zor, we've detected a warp signature from an unknown vessel inbound on our current position.. Assumed hostile. Our personnel transporters are still down. Recall all of your personnel at once using the nearest airlocks. You have four minutes. We can't raise our shields until you are all back on board. Workbee Celeste, return to Galileo-A immediately."

Sera halted in her task and tilted her head slightly to the side as Admiral Saalm's voice suddenly came across her comm channel. What the Orion woman conveyed could not have come at a more inopportune moment. The deflector dish's repairs weren't complete. Most unfortunate. "Understood, Admiral."

Her gloved hand skimmed in a fumbling manner over the small screen attached to her wrist. Sera opened the general comm channel for the group out on the hull.

"Sera to team. I have just received orders from Admiral Saalm that we are being immediately recalled. All personnel are to be off the hull within 4 minutes."

"It would appear our time has run out. Inbound vessel. Hostile. I require everyone on the hull to return to the nearest airlock to your location...immediately."

Stifling a curse, Delainey forced herself to calmly turn toward her EVA-suited companions to make sure they were moving before focusing on getting herself to the nearest airlock. Combat was scary enough inside the ship when all that stood between her and death was some shielding and metal. The last thing she wanted to experience was what it was like to have white-hot weaponry aimed in her direction when all that stood between her and death was an EVA suit that could tear if snagged on something as small as a stem bolt.

Katja's eyes widened as she heard the Vulcan ChEng convey possibly the worst news she could to the crew out on the hull with a blandness applied to reaching a shopping list. However, lack of emotional intensity aside, Katja didn't need to be told twice.

She nodded to Carlisle who had been her "Buddy in Trash," and as fast as magnetic books and zero G allowed made her way across the hull plating to the nearest airlock...which wasn't fast...or graceful.

"So, hostiles in-bound...and we're gonna be stuck on the wrong ship. What could go wrong?" Katja cheerily commented over the comm channel.

Sera responded to the medical officer's irreverent observation. "Although illogical, it is best for one not to tempt the Gods, Chief Becker."

Katja involuntarily snorted at the Vulcan woman's response - it was a rather unexpected thing to bring up the divine. Realizing her comm channel was still open, Katja amended, "Understood sir. No more tempting the fates."

Delainey wanted to be the calm voice of reassurance in this situation. She really did. In this situation, however, the mildly claustrophobic Carlisle was trying not to have a panic attack. "A lot. A lot could go wrong. I suggest we make like a bread truck and haul buns!"

Sera was far behind the rest of her team, ensuring that everyone made their way back to the 'relative safety' within the pressurized hull of Galileo-B. She looked over her shoulder as she trudged towards the airlock, studying the space around her, and a feeling of being stalked overtook her limbic system. Her heart rate elevated, and breathing had increased as unspoken worry flowed through her.

That feeling of impending...something continued to grip her even as one by one, her team made it to the airlocks.

Once the pressure and atmosphere had been equalized in the lock, Sera reached up and unlatched her helmet and ripped it off - inhaling the recycled air of the ship and taking a small victory in it before starting the process of getting out of the cumbersome EV suit.

Her anxiety didn't decrease immediately, but Delainey felt more herself as soon as she was able to remove her helmet. She was used to life-threatening situations, but until now, she never realized how environmentally dependent her reactions were - as in how close to space she was. Slowing her breathing, she immediately began visually scanning the group for signs of injury or panic. Now back in a somewhat familiar environment, she could return to being the nurturer.

Rafe heard the Chief's call to return to the Gal-A. He left the Gal-B immediately and pushed the worker bee as fast as she could go. With the Gal-A being within 2 minutes away at .05 impulse, he wasn't worried about being left out in the cold. He was worried about assessing his options when he got back to the Gal-A. Rafe activated the comms on the Celeste. "Chief Darius,", Rafe said, "status report. What works?!?"

The chief warrant officer's voice came back across the comm channel inside the workbee after a short assessment pause. "We're all green over here, L-T. I'm opening the auxiliary shuttlebay doors for you now. Docking tractor beam is online and waiting to capture you. Take it slow and easy on your approach..."

"Got it, chief. Heading in." Rafe maneuvered towards the Galileo-A. When in position he touched the control panel on his arm and immediately felt the tractor beam take hold and draw him into the auxiliary shuttle bay. As soon as his feet hit the ground the tractor beam turned off and extracted himself from the Celeste. He practically ran to the bridge relieving Chief Darius. "Thanks, chief. Engines up and running?"

"Holding at stationkeeping," was the conn officer's reply to junior lieutenant. Lamar performed a final sweep of his console then swung the chair to the side to vacate the position for Caradec. "I'll head down to the main shuttlebay and prep Virginia and Livia for launch if we need them."

"Good thinking.", Rafe responded. Rafe looked at the NAV LCARS panel and everything was as green across the board, as reported. He took a look at the situation regarding nearby asteroids, gas nebulas, etc., to know what he needed to be aware of. His hands came to an idle. Rafe was ready.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

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Primary and Secondary Characters
Various Positions
USS Galileo-A

Primary and Secondary Characters
Various Positions
USS Galileo-B

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