Star Trek: Theurgy

Re: Chapter 05: The Battle of the Apertures [ Day 06 | 1005 hrs. ]

Reply #100 – March 25, 2019, 11:19:42 PM

[ PO1 Morgan Song | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]

Despite everything, despite the danger and the fear and the death, despite the Borg and the Savi and the endless, endless running… Despite it all, Morgan couldn’t help gazing out at the battlefield with awe, taking in the myriad vessels, the numerous fighters and explorers and scientists of every species who had all turned their minds to one impossible goal. No matter the outcome of this battle, they were making history. He just hoped they would be on the right side.

And then they were plunging into the subspace tunnel, weaving erratically as the walls seemed to hug them ever tighter. Morgan kept an eye on the sensor readings until the signatures of the Cayuga and other allied ships disappeared, and they were truly alone once more, hurtling through unknown space to find an exit onto who knew where.

The spark of excitement that jumped in his chest was unexpected. Was that exhilaration? They’d fought a Borg Cube and won; the feeling was almost giddy in its ridiculousness. They were so, so lucky.

Not all of them; not the Lieutenant Commander. Not those who had died or been assimilated. The giddiness faded, but Morgan redoubled his focus on his work. The time for grief would come later, none of them could spare the time now.

He was thrown to one side in his seat as the ship took a sharp turn, warnings flashing on his console as the outer reaches of the Theurgy almost clipped the side of the tunnel. He didn’t want to think about what might happen if they did ever collide with the wall. It was a scientific improbability that they’d even made it this far; he didn’t want to push their luck.

The Lieutenant at the helm was doing a good job, despite that. The information relay from the sensors was sparse at best, leaving them pretty much in the dark. Morgan wouldn’t have wanted to navigate a spoon with this little information, much less a starship. A few frequency recalibrations to expand the range and boost the signal from the probe was all he could offer; he hoped it would be enough for the helmsman.

The journey seemed to last both an age and mere seconds, all at once. And then suddenly they were through, not so much spat out the other side as just appearing there, like a light flicked on. The black expanse of space greeted them, unfamiliar yet somehow welcoming. And behind them, the gaping maw of the aperture. On the other side, the Lieutenant Commander was facing his own death with the presence and composure they had come to expect of him, to rely on from him.

We will sound the echo, the Captain had said. This ship that was a home for lost souls, secrets, and ghosts. They would carry his name.

Re: Chapter 05: The Battle of the Apertures [ Day 06 | 1005 hrs. ]

Reply #101 – March 26, 2019, 03:29:48 AM

[Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Stark, Executive Officer & Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers, Communications | Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Auctor Lucan 
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He left the bridge, and Natalie remained at the Mission Ops station, her fingers spread out over the console. She could see the faces all across the bridge from there. Nicander, forlorn. Ives, stoic. Vanya, determined. So many, looking to the spot where moments before, Wenn Cinn had stood, as if they could see his figure in the wake of the transporter beam, before forcing their eyes back to the view screen, or their stations. Back to duty. No time to morn, not yet.

The ship was turning toward a secondary apature that had been opened up. She could hear someone at Sciences confirming that the tunnel they'd be taking was clear of Borg. She let out a sigh of relief, even as her console gave a ping, and a call came in over the comm's for the Mission Ops station. Natalie blinked, listening, her face hardening as she heard the words.

"Control, why do we have a shuttle breaking free of the Theurgy? Over."

"Wolf-lead, this is Control," Stark answered, and there was an odd sort of coldness to her voice, that even the comm system could pick up on. Distant, almost harsh. "Get your birds into that aperture and steer clear of that shuttle. That's carrying..." there was a pause and then, "Its going to stop the Borg. Don't ask how, don't interfere, just get you and your Wolves out of here, now. That's an order, lead. Acknowledge."

There, done, she thought, but then paused. If Thomas Ravon was calling in and asking questions, well...there was other notices to be delivered to. As the ship came about, she punched up a new channel. "Mission Ops to Fighter Assault Bay. The ship will enter a subspace tunnel to execute a tactical retreat. Stand by to receive the squadron once we're through. Everyone hang on tight and we'll be out of this shortly. Stark, out". It wasn't any less cold than her response to Thomas, the tone at least, but she made the effort to give the people down in the Fighter Assault bay a bit of hope. To know that they were getting away.

All because of Wenn Cinn. GODDAMMIT She screamed in her head, shut her eyes, and sucked in a breath. Not the time, and that was that. It was like pulling armor back on, and Natalie was standing up, looking across the bridge, meeting her Captains eyes and returning a slow nod from where they had beamed aboard.

At the comm station, Faye let out a long sigh of relief as the words of Chancellor Martok were played out for her, having still had the channel open with the KDF forces.  "This is Chancellor Martok. Acknowledged. meQtaHbogh qachDaq Suv qoH neH."

"Only a fool fought in a burning house." Faye whispered the translation and swallowed softly. Louder, she said, "Chancellor Martok confirms his forces will execute a strategic withdrawal." Even now, when the leader of the Empire could not hear her relaying the news, she would not do him the dishonor of calling the action a retreat. "They'll keep a perimeter around the nebula once they get clear, Captain."

And with that, her part was done. Now there was nothing else for her to do, but hold onto her controls, and tamp down the feelings swirling around her. She could hear Ives order the helm to take them through the opening. Not that it would do any real good, but Ens. Eloi-Danvers began to think very, very positive thoughts in the direction of the Trill officer seated at CONN, as if willing him to succeed.

Braced against the Mission Ops station, Natalie could feel the ship straining almost from the moment they passed into the aperture. Transwarp was not something the Theurgy was designed to deal with. And while they had remodulated the shields to handle the radiation of the corridor, there was only so much that could be done to account for the sheering effect of the transit. She bucked forward at one point, when the ship seemed to bounce over and eddy in space, and she could hear the Captain shouting orders to helm, encouraging Derik Veradin to stay the course.

"Wolves are holding formation," Natalie called out, feeling a need to do something, to keep them informed some how. The pack was tight in on the wake of the Theurgy and she could only imagine how much more harrowing a flight it must be for the fighters out there in the conduit, so much more at the mercy of the subspace winds.

And then they were out. Just like that. Faye and was looking around at the darkness of space, reaching up to sweep her hair back and will her heart beat to slow and return to normal. She could feel the relation, and the sorrow. The fear and anger were there too. The bridge was a light with emotion, quietly expressed. She swallowed, longing suddenly for a glass of Ichor-berry tea. A taste of home.

Because wherever they were, she was certain it was far, far from home.

Re: Chapter 05: The Battle of the Apertures [ Day 06 | 1005 hrs. ]

Reply #102 – March 27, 2019, 10:22:06 PM

[ Lt JG Salem Martin | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]  attn: @Auctor Lucan
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Salem felt blood trickling his brow, with everything that had happened, the head wound he had gathered from his earlier bounce had re-opened, but his entire focus was on the ship. While they were in the aperture the majority of their sensors were confused and useless. The readings they got while they were in the space between spaces were muddled, confusing, and basically useless, and every second they spent in that space was one more before the biggest boom in their life.

Salem swore he could feel the ship bounce off the walls of the aperture, the entire vessel was shaking like it was about to fall apart, he couldn't ascertain exactly how damaged everything was. Salem was braced against his chair, his hands gripping his console as the whole place was tense and he swore he could feel a sense of motion sickness, he envied how composed Morgan could be in this situation.

And then they were out, adrift in the quiet of space. faint stars littered the view screen, deep space, normal space. Theurgy's sensors were still recovering from everything, but the probe he and Okafore had sent ahead of them was still here with them and broadcasting.

With the interference from the nebula gone, he could use the probe to get an idea of where in the galaxy they were. It took a few seconds to ping it up, and he felt a wave of relief wash over him. A tense breath that he had been holding in escaped him as he almost fell back into his seat his muscles loose, and his body feeling less sick than it had a few moments ago.

"We are... bordering, the  Mutara Nebula, We are still in the alpha quadrant." He didn't want to even know the odds of that, the aperture could have gone anywhere in the known or unknown universe, but they were in a place where the computer recognized them.

There was a beep on his tactical relay, and he looked at it for a moment. His personal view could only show him so much, but he almost laughed when the sensors picked up something outside the ship. "Captain, permission to adjust the view screen. It's not tactically relevant but I think everyone will want to see this."

When the okay was given Salem put in the command to show the crew what he was able to see on the main view screen. A flock of rare, but large pink creatures had to suddenly divert their course, Startled they moved slightly away from the ship, while their mass sail like appendages caught the solar wind of one star to travel to the next. The endangered species of Gormanganders. They were a small flock traveling through deep space. Gliding gently through the abyss making no sounds as they went yet able to communicate to one another. Keeping them in a mass pod. A small family of rare and endangered species, that more than a hundred years after the Federation had discovered their existence they still didn't entirely understand how they existed.

Salem leaned back into his seat, this was one of the reasons he had joined the Federation, not to save the universe from destruction, but the soft peace of seeing things rare, unique and wondrous. He wiped the blood from his brow, finding a small mix of his own tears as well. The release of tension making him feel more elated than he had since entering the Azure Nebula.

Re: Chapter 05: The Battle of the Apertures [ Day 06 | 1005 hrs. ]

Reply #103 – March 28, 2019, 01:30:37 AM

[ LtCmdr Vivian Martin | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ]

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Vivian held grimly to her seat as the ship traveled through the tunnel. It was a very bumpy ride, and with the amount of battle damage they had taken it was possible, Vivian thought, they the hull could quite easily and likely shake itself apart. There was very little she could do now. The sensors were feeding everything they got to the helm, in some vain hope that it would make their journey safer.

The journey seemed to take an eternity, but sooner than Vivian expected, the walls of the tunnel gave way to the blackness of space. The inky blackness was unfamiliar after their time spent in the Azure nebula. Vivian gave a sigh of relief and relaxed in her seat as she gazed out the star field. She heard her brother’s announcement that they were in the Alpha quadrant and raised and eyebrow. That was impressive. The aperture could have spat them out anywhere in the Universe, and it had picked what was in the grand scheme of things, the backyard.

Salem’s next announcement was more interesting. When the screen changed, Vivian gasped and stood quickly. ”Gormanganders! Oh wow...they’re beautiful...I never thought I would be so lucky to see some.”

Some part of her mind wanted to scan them until the sensors gave up and died, but the rest of her told that part to shut up and enjoy the moment. They had regained their lost crew and Captain, prevented a Borg invasion, shaken Task Force Archeron, and lost good people. She felt tears gathering in her eyes and rolling down her face. From joy, sadness, or weariness she knew not.

Re: Chapter 05: The Battle of the Apertures [ Day 06 | 1005 hrs. ]

Reply #104 – March 28, 2019, 02:20:44 AM

[ Lt. Tyreke Okafor | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ]
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The yawning maw of subspace swallowed the ship and its reunited crew. The battle was over just like that. The hull lurched and groaned, and Tyreke gripped his console for dear life. Not out of any danger of falling again, but just out of the sheer ordeal that was so close to concluding. He counted the seconds. One. Two. Three. His shielding held, he did not appear to be disintegrating. Four. Five. He had forgotten to check Vanya properly. Maybe when they were out, or after she had been patched up in sickbay. Six. Seven. The probe continued to broadcast, it was safe, alive, no threat to them. Eight… Or nine? He lost count. It didn’t matter, it was about to be over, or so he prayed it would. Beye would be nice to make… It required quite a bit of oil, but they had survived the impossible, just this once would be fine. Food was a good thought, to guard himself from the ideas of what surrounded this ship and its crew.

And then the light was replaced by inky blackness. Little by little, Okafor could see stars peeking out among the void. They were safe, at last. He leaned back and exhaled, the tension in his body vacating him so fast that he nearly fell limp. After a few seconds he heard it. Bordering the Mutara Nebula, chillingly close to Federation space. The likelihood of that was more than a little too close for comfort. Okafor’s head turned to face the viewscreen, as gentle creatures moved in a pod across it. Their fin-like limbs effortlessly carried them through the vacuum, coasting on radiation pressure and a current of neutrinos. Gormaganders, one of the rare sights in the galaxy. Okafor let out a short laugh. Then another, then a joyous cry as he realized their miraculous voyage, which turned to quiet lamentations as the reality of their loss sank in. There he sat, for some time, as his weary form took the time to let everything go...

Re: Chapter 05: The Battle of the Apertures [ Day 06 | 1005 hrs. ]

Reply #105 – March 28, 2019, 02:09:54 PM

[ Captain Ives | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ]
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The Theurgy cleared away from the aperture, the Lone Wolves and the Allegiant following. The bridge crew were working on damage control and finding out where they were, but Jien had risen from her command chair to watch the part of the viewscreen showing the mouth of the tunnel from whence they had come. No more had she gotten out of her seat when it happened.

A bright light, in which the silent detonation could be seen filling up the innards of the tunnel - collapsing it as it went. Jien's eyes narrowed against the minute brightness, because as fast as the shock wave would have travelled, the tunnel was ceasing to be, and there was no means for the blast to reach beyond the mouth for more than a moment. In the final second, the aperture was a white disc of flaring light trying to reach the space they were in, and then...

...it was gone.

And so was Wenn Cinn.

Jien looked down towards the deck, thinking about how unjust it was, that they had to loose Cinn when he had just returned to them. It was clear, however, that the man had been successful in his undertaking. He had activated the Omega device, and depending on how many molecules were contained in the thing, the Azure Nebula would be a dead zone. Seeing what had happened to the tunnel they had used to escape in, there was no doubt that all the cubes they'd seen were obliterated, and both the Alpha and Beta Quadrants had been saved from the Borg. It was with mixed feelings that Jien raised his head at the mentioning of their destination... and their startled company.

It was a great relief, to hear they were not stranded millions of light years away from the Sol System, but in the outskirts below Klingon and Gorn space, close to the hollowed-out Mutara Nebula. Jien knew these sectors well, though before she might start to think about possible safe havens, the gormaganders filled the viewscreen.

Such a stark contrast to the battle in which they had just fought, they were rewarded by the magnified sight. Perhaps it was a reminder, that there were good things yet to fight for. The effect of the high-strung bridge crew - the sheer relief - was contagious, and despite all the losses suffered, Jien found a small smile touching her face.

"Mission Ops, clear the Allegiant for docking, and let the wolves back home."

- FIN