Trip the Light Fantastic

Posted on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 @ 7:30am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Commander Mindo & Lieutenant Farizah Alani & Lieutenant Kalin Brennan-Griffin PhD & Lieutenant James Smith & Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri-Smith & Ensign Aenardha Sh'vastarth

Mission: The Gauntlet
Location: Pandora

ON:

Nyx returned to the Bridge with Lieutenant Commander Mindo after the successful mission to defuse the Ravager's blockade. Now they were back on track to enter the Nebula and make their way home.

"Status?" Nyx asked as he took his seat back from Lieutenant Alani.

"The Ravager ships are all still dormant, no activity for them. Whatever that device was, it's knocked them out cold." Ensign Milkovich reported. He frowned, "Are we just going to leave them like that?"

Nyx mused on the question. "Of course, we could send their ships adrift into the nebula, knowing it would destroy them, or cause a fatal engine failure and wipe out Dekker's squadron. But that would be tantamount to execution." He paused on the word, knowing it wasn't so long ago that he himself would have suggested that very thing. "But we have seen when others have taken the law into their own hands, ignored principles and justice when it was convenient. We cannot fail our values as Starfleet officers and members of the Federation." He nodded, "Plus, by keeping them here, we have an opportunity to draw other Ravagers away from the fight with the Resistance, and possibly even their undercover ship planning to infiltrate Paradise. So long as Dekker's ships are here, they will come for him. It's the right move."

Aenardha could sense a vast amount of pleasure, of all types, emanating from beyond the Pandora. She knew that, in time, they were return to their senses. “Captain, I would not want to be this Dekker character when they do. He may not have long to live, much less lead.”

Nyx shrugged a little, "We can only leave the Ravagers to make their own decisions."

Mindo had gone to the Engineering station upon entering the bridge. "Sir, Engineering has activated the cooling process," Mindo reported. "We're ready to go."

Nyx clapped his hands together, "Alright, let's proceed into the nebula. Maintain Red Alert, every one on stand by. Mr. Milkovich, ahead at warp four, slowing to point-eight-zero warp upon entry."

"Aye, sir," Milkovich replied, as he turned back to his console and tapped in the coordinates.

The Pandora's nacelles beamed with light as her engines warmed and propelled the ship forwards. They quietly drifted past the dormant Ravager blockade, slipping past like a thief in the night. The nebula yawned in front of them, a swirling mass of dense gases and thick, foggy particles. It was like driving into a swamp at night. The Pandora began to shake as she approached the entry point, resistant forces impeding her progress forwards.

Krysia looked towards Nyx. “Captain...the crew are getting nervous! You need to give them something to focus on. Even if it’s just to hear your voice.”

Nyx nodded in response, tapping his console on the chair, "Attention all crew. We are about to enter the Rentara Nebula. We expect this to be a difficult but hopefully much faster journey back to Federation space. I know you're all keen to see some friendly skies for a change. So am I. This is the final leg of our journey home." He sighed a little, "You have been provided with winter uniforms and heavy clothing because we are dropping the temperature of the ship to counter act the effects of the nebula. We will be closing the window shades to hide from the fiery effects that we will see on hull. Do not be alarmed, this is a necessary manoeuvre we have to do to get home quicker. Nyx out."

Krysia nodded. “That’s helped somewhat Sir.”

“Captain,” came Aenardha’s voice, “I mentioned this to Commander Nash,” though she was unsure if Nash had told anyone else, “I did study counseling whilst at the Academy before changing my focus to Intelligence. I would be willing to offer my services as secondary counselor should the need arise. Sir.”

Krysia offered Aenardha a warm smile. “That would be of great help at the moment Captain.” She looked towards Nyx.

"Agreed. We need all the help we can get." Nyx replied, before turning back to the Ops station. He gave the important command with a nod, "Alright, let's go dark."

In unison, the window shades over every porthole of the ship dipped down, closing the outside view to everyone who didn't want to see it. At the Lunar Eclipse bar on deck five, the iconic large bay windows were due to go dark for the first time since the Pandora launched years ago. Ignatius and Raven were sitting in a booth in the establishment; she was wearing a large faux fur coat, and he was wearing a designer throw blanket over his shoulders. The friends raised a glass of warm Irish coffee to each other as the shade fell across the window. Soon the bar was dipped into darkness, with only small lanterns on the table to illuminate their faces. They both stared at the covered window with a distant frown.

In the civilian quarters, Emilie pulled a blanket over her children as the chilly air set into the living areas, and she dragged a small portable heater closer to them. Emilie gave a half-smile to her daughter, who was wearing several layers of clothing at her own request. Katrine had been fascinated by how she could see her own breath in the air, finding this immensely amusing. Emilie was just trying not to worry her kids.

Civilian parents and their children were playing games in Mindo's. Lieutenant-Commander Mindo strongly felt that the "barcade" remain open during their time in the nebula. Other recreational places had been shut down due to their proximity to the ship's perimeter. The environmental controls in the bar had been deactivated upon Ops' request, and Mindo agreed. Maintaining a warmer environment on a holodeck while they were literally freezing the ship would require way too much power and would damage the holodeck itself. All other systems in Mindo's remained active. Mindo decided to let Terrekal and Raven work out the schedule, and had agreed to Ignatius helping as well. It's like giving a teenager keys to your new shuttle, Mindo thought. He knew it couldn't be helped.

Back on the Bridge, tensions remained high. The main viewscreen was still on, showing the nebula as they approached. The Pandora slowly and silently passed into the dense clouds of the Nebula. Immediately upon crossing into the gases, swirls of fire began to lash across the hull, and the ship rumbled against the resistance. The strain was lessened by the slower speed of the vessel, and the shields being down was allowing the Pandora to slice through the gases instead of trying to force their way through it.

The site was a disturbing one to Krysia, the sudden realisation that she should be with her babies hit like a ton of bricks. “I’m sorry Sir, I need to be with my children.” She nodded and quickly headed off the bridge to go and join the twins.

Mindo turned to Nyx. "Captain, given her experience in Counseling, I believe Ensign Sh'vastarth is qualified enough to substitute for Krysia."

Aenardha heard that as she was tapping into public hearing as well as sight. She immediately denied herself the hearing part of it all upon understanding Mindo’s words sounded more for the captain and him alone.

"We'll need you here on the Bridge, Ensign Sh'vastarth," Temple replied, "But keep an open ear, so to speak."

The attention turned back to the task at hand.

"Let's close the viewscreen for now." Nyx instructed, as their own view disappeared. "Monitor hull integrity and internal temperatures. I want constant sweeps of every deck."

Mindo was still standing at the Engineering console sending off commands to the core when a note from Zo came up on the screen. "I got this," read the note. Mindo sighed. It's like leaving the other teenager alone while you go on a business trip, he thought as he ripped himself away from the console and reluctantly sat down in his temporary chair.

Ensign Milkovich was sitting at the helm, hands poised tenderly over his console with a nervous sweat across his brow. He couldn't say why he had such a disdain for this plan, but his heart was racing loudly in his chest. Every bump and strain against the ship sent his nerves skyrocketing once more. When he noticed something happening across the hull, he felt a lump in his throat.

"Sir?" Ian called out, looking over his shoulder, "We're getting a strange reading from the external sensors."

"The flames will be causing some havoc," Nyx frowned, "Can we see what's happening?"

Ian nodded and turned back on the main view screen. Bright flames were sweeping across the hull, but there was a strange tinge to them - a violet and blue hue were flashing throughout the flames.

All the while, she compared the ship’s readings with the simulation she designed for this trek. Her fingers danced across her specially made PADD as she took in the information. “Captain, the simulation I showed you did predict these readings and I am continually comparing our readings with the simulation. As long as we do not increase speed and the nebula’s density does not grow by more than 17%, the Pandoda should be fine. Sending my findings to you and the Commander for your perusal.” Of course Nyx and Mindo both knew the ship inside and out, and had an exponentially increase degree of familiarity with the Pandora than Aenardha. They would know if she was missing something.

Mindo tapped his badge. "Mr. Zo, what do you make of this?" he asked.

=/\= Commander, I assume you're asking about the blue and violet flashes on the hull. This effect was completely expected. It happens when the moisture on the outer hull absorbs certain particles of the nebula. It's breathtaking at first. Even scary! But it's nothing we didn't already predict," Zo said. "By the time we encountered the blockade, we had done hundreds of simulations and calculated the adjustments needed to be made for any new element that may occur. It's gonna be a bumpy ride, but we know what we're doing."

"Something on the hull?" Nyx raised an eyebrow, staring at the image, "It looks... familiar." He started tapping at his console, "When you ran the computer simulations, you've taken into account the particles present on our hull. But what about the origins of them?"

Aenardha had not thought of that. “No, sir,” she admitted. Her antennae turned downward a little bit as she grew nervous over what this could all mean.

At the Captain's request, the main viewscreen split in half; the right side showing the current view of the hull with its blue and violet flames. On the left hand side came a recording of the Pandora's approach towards the Indigo Sky. Soft pillows of neon clouds washed over each other like an ocean of vibrant lights, each wave brought a flourish of colours that had to be seen to be believed. It was a memorising sight, one that had awe-struck the crew when they saw it originally. The patterns and luminosity of the clouds matched the flames currently burning off the Pandora's hull.

"When the Indigo Sky erupted and we were hit by the wave, it's left a covering of particles across our hull." Nyx frowned, "It appears minute enough not to cause any interference but the computer has factored it into our calculations. I guess it just didn't realise how vibrant the colours would be."

"If anything, it seems to be having a stabilising effect on the hull." Milkovich agreed, "The Indigo Sky particles are interacting with the Rentara Nebula's particles and the further we progress, the less turbulence we're experiencing."

=/\= I'm getting the same readings down here as well," Zo responded.

The exchange did seem like a breath of fresh air for Aenardha. She relaxed a bit, but continued pouring over readings.

"This gives me a thought," Nyx looked over to the others, "We still have the Deflector dish ready with a gojiric radiation pulse, correct? What if we slowly released the radiation around the hull and allowed the reaction to create a bubble over us? Would that allow us to progress through the nebula safer?"

=/\= "We know the gojiric radiation would not have an effect on the nebula," Zo replied. "However, the last time an Indigo bubble was formed around the Pandora, you and several officers vanished into another universe, leaving a skeleton crew with no way to find you. When we did, the only way to save you was by using a faulty transporter with an overloaded pattern buffer."

"We all remember that, Chief," Mindo said. "The question is, can we form a stable bubble?"

=/\= It's impossible to say," Zo replied. "But it's worth a shot."

Mindo turned to the Captain. "I agree with Chief Zo. We've gotten this far..."

"Perhaps bubble wasn't the right word? It is... triggering." Nyx admitted with a frown, "What we're doing now appears to be working, we can hold off making any unnecessary alterations. But, I'm keen to explore the possibilities of this development." He nodded to Mindo and Aenardha, "Let's meet later and make some more projections, see if there isn't some way we can use this to our advantage."

"I'll notify Chief Zo as well," Mindo said.

Aenardha regarded Nyx with a nod and started calling up what logs she could regarding the bubble and the alternate universe that was mentioned.

"Continue ahead, Mr. Milkovich," Nyx returned to his seat, "We'll maintain porthole coverings for now. As beautiful as the sight can be, it is still a little disturbing to see on our hull. We have five days remaining of this situation and then - thankfully - we are back home. Well done to everyone for getting us this far."

"Now let's not freeze to death," Mindo said with a smile as he leaned back into the chair.

OFF