(2367) USS Bellevue: Koyaanisqatsi

February 08, 2024, 04:24:38 AM

Koyaanisquatsi (Ko-Yaa-Nis-Katsi)
-From the Hopi Language:
1. Life out of balance.
2. Life disintegrating.
3. Life in turmoil.
4. Crazy Life.
5. A state of life that requires another way of living.

[CMDR Elisha Thompson | Bridge | Deck 1 | USS Bellevue]

January 1, 2367 - Stardate 44002.3

[This is Yamaguchi we’ve los-]
[Anybody! We need hel- AAAHHHH!!!!]
[Melbourne to Attack Wing 3, fire at will!]
[Tolstoy has been hit! Kyushu reverse your turn!]
[Bonestell, cover the Saratoga!]
[Main-...los-...we are…-doning ship!]

This is bad,, Captain Thompson thought to herself chin resting on her clasped hands, keen brown eyes staring absently to the deck plating as she absorbed the terrible overlapping reports that were heard over subspace. With each static filled communique the picture of a battle going poorly emerged, and Bellevue was still some distance away. Finally she sat back up straight in her chair, having heard enough, and ordered, “Cut the audio, report only transmissions from the Admiral’s flagship.”

[Bridge to Engineering], she said sternly after tapping her combadge, [Lane, tell me you have something?]

[This is Engineering, Captain as I said before if we keep pushing it we’ll lose the primary injector and won’t be going anywhere], responded the rather grumpy sounding engineer.

[Listen! You-], Thompson started to say before abruptly cutting herself off, collected herself, then finished simply by saying, [I’m coming down there, bridge out.]

She rose from the chair and practically stomped her way across the bridge to the turbolift, only stopping to leave the first officer, Lieutenant Commander Ripley in charge while she was gone.

[CM2 Avandar Lok | Main Engineering | Deck 11 | USS Bellevue]

Lok, standing in one of the pits made by removing a couple deck plates to get at certain pieces of machinery, looked up at Chief Lane. The old Chief pinched the bridge of his nose and mumbled something under his breath before finally turning his attention back to the work that was at hand while he waited for the Captain’s inevitable arrival.

“Crewman”, he snapped at Lok, “start pulling those transtators from the primary injector assembly then Have Ensign Th’shavar help you with the cross circuiting.”

“Aye Chief”, Lok responded, grabbing a special tool from his toolbox that would allow him to pull the transtators out evenly to prevent damage.

He squatted back down in the pit among the various pipes and conduits, taking special care to avoid the coolant outflow pipes that ran through the space. They were extremely hot and would easily burn his fur and skin if he touched them. It took a few moments to get down the full meter to where the injector assembly was, requiring a bit of contortion on his part owing to his size, but once there he started to gently remove the several dozen translators that ran along the top. I wonder if we will get to see some action? he thought to himself. A mixture of excitement and concern filled him, thoughts of how he would do under fire filled his mind.

His contemplations were suddenly broken by the Captain’s commanding voice. “Chief I need maximum warp now, it sounds like Hanson is taking a real beating, they need us.”

“Captain, I don't even know if this piece of junk will reach warp three, and yet you want to try giving it all we got?” Lane retorts.

“Lane, they need us, it is our duty to help our fellow fleeters!”

“Oh well I see! When you put it that way it doesn’t sound nearly as suicidally stupid!”

The Kzinti didn’t need his empathic abilities to sense the tension and building anger between the two, though it was quite strong. Risking a tongue lashing from either of his superiors, he poked his head up just above the rim of the pit to see the unfolding argument.

Despite having been thoroughly immersed in the culture of the enlisted man, solidarity and the collective middle finger to officers, he did feel bad for Captain Thompson, currently reiterating her points and showing off her own engineering knowledge. She had spent the past eight years as merely a commander, conducting rather unprestigious assignments. The rumor was she was a bit of a hot head and said some things to certain higher ups that essentially put her on the slow track to any higher rank or better command; but she was also known for being very highly competent at her job, always cool under pressure, despite her raised voice at this particular moment.

On the other hand, Lok could see Chief Lane’s point of view, rooted in his nearly fifty years of experience. The man was due to retire in the next year or so and didn’t want to get killed or lost in space because of a reckless decision from an officer itching to see some action. Further he had the interest of the crew itself, not wanting to put them in harm’s way just as much as he didn’t want to be. But of course the man wasn’t callous, he cared about his “fellow fleeters” and Lok could sense his frustration at not being able to do as his captain asked and warp in phasers blazing. The argument was suddenly cut short by a call from Commander Ripley on the bridge, [Captain, we just intercepted a subspace communication from Admiral Hanson to the Enterprise, you’re going to need to see this ma’am.]

[Very well, I’ll take it down here], she responded.

Their argument put on hold, the two humans walked over to a nearby screen and with a few button taps brought up the recording. The recording was shown in split screen, the Enterprise’s communique on the left and Admiral Hanson’s on the right. Lok recognized Hanson from a speech he gave to the enlisted recruits about a year ago, though his image was distorted and filled with static. The other officer, a bearded human, presumably the Enterprise’s captain, filled the other screen. Captain Thomas began the playback of the rather short recording.

[Admiral?] said the bearded officer.
Hanson’s image, distorted further with all indications from the background that the ship was taking a real pounding.
[The fight does not go well, Enterprise. We are attempting to withdraw and regroup. Rendezvous with flee-]

Hanson’s recording suddenly was filled with static and cut off, ending the playback. The room was silent, but for the hum of the warp core. Finally Chief Lane spoke in a soft deflated tone, “Shit.”

[Thomas to Ripley, is that the entire recording?] she inquired back up to the bridge.

[Yes ma’am, all other subspace signals we had been receiving have also gone quiet.]

Lane was the first to respond, “Captain, I’ll get the warp drive back online within the next fifteen minutes.”

Thomas only nodded, her thoughts elsewhere, then headed back to the turbolift for the bridge. The Chief jumped down into the pit with Lok, “This is bad Lok, let’s get this assembly wired up and put back together. I don’t know if you Kzinti pray to any gods”, he added after a moment of silence, “but you might want to because I don’t know if there is going to be anybody left when we reach the fleet.”

The tone of Chief Lane’s voice hit Lok strangely, he felt as if his stomach had knotted up and his hearts started to beat a bit faster. Finally before he got back to work, he responded simply, “Aye aye Chief.”