Shuttlecraft Boudicca: Headed to The Crash Site

Posted on Fri Apr 21st, 2023 @ 11:54pm by Captain Charlotte Rhodes & Lieutenant Subat & Lieutenant Jackson Rutledge II & Lieutenant Alex Drake & Lieutenant JG Verelan & Doctor Samantha Knight, DSci.

984 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: Runner
Location: Shuttlecraft Boudicca, Eta Halix II
Timeline: MD 6: 1000 Hours, Following "Not So Standard Orbit"
Tags: stor

Captain Rhodes climbed the steps into the shuttle quickly, setting her duffle into one of the cargo compartments of the shuttle before beginning to flip on systems. Before coming aboard, Rhodes had donned a command gold-accented EV suit, though she set the helmet in the side panel of the helm console. She was equal parts eager to get off the ship for a change, especially if she got to fly, and not too eager to go where they were going. Charlotte supposed that placed her at a fairly comfortable neutral regarding this landing.

As she settled into the helm station, the rest of the ships systems came to life giving the vessel a gentle hum. Rhodes called over her shoulder to the officer's coming aboard behind her. "Alright, everyone. Make yourselves comfortable but secured. This is likely to be a bit bumpy."

"Secured. And as comfortable as the Engineering team determined was necessary," replied Lt. Subat with a hint of dry Vulcan humor.

Verelan had been surprised to be called up for an away mission so soon after arrival onboard ship. She was a qualified field medic, but she expected the CMO to be the first choice. She sat and buckled in ready for the ride ahead.

Samantha climbed in after Verelan and took a seat next to her. She had been initially reluctant about going planetside, but she was actually excited for the opportunity to explore an alien ship...and her linguistic talents could come in very handy.

Alex had donned a black EV suit and walked into the shuttle looking thoroughly irritated. "I hate these things. I hate them. Is this really necessary, Captain? I'm reasonably certain that chroniton radiation won't be stopped by a few layers of metal and technology."

He grumbled as he took a seat, and fiddled with something in his right ear. A careful study would reveal it to be a nearly invisible version of the earpiece worn by comm officers, made almost entirely of transparent aluminum. "These things never interface with the earpiece either."

"There's a lot besides chroniton radiation that that suit can protect you from. Pathogens, deadly gases, other non-temporal radiations. The sensors aren't picking up any of those right now. But given how charged the ionosphere is, the sensors are only about 98% sure there is indeed a planet there. I'd rather have that metal and technology and not need it, than have get to greet a deadly alien virus with my lungs," the Captain said, with a bit of a chuckle. "Besides, if we determine the atmosphere is safe, you're free to remove the suit."

Rutlidge, in his EV suit, settled into the Operations Console on the shuttle, checking the shuttle's power availability. Satisfied he turned to the captain. "Captain. Alls systems online and ready."

“Make sure to keep some extra juice in the stabilizers. I’m going to need them more than normal,” the Captain said, before opening a comm to the other shuttle. “Boudica to Pythagoras. We’re heading down. I’ll send updates on atmospheric conditions on the way down.”

The response came back over the communications circuit.
"Roger that, we will follow down shortly. Just waiting on one more person."

"Stay safe. We'll be in touch. Rhodes out. "Charlotte flipped the comm channel shut. With a few commands, the shuttle rumbled slightly then slid smoothly into the air. Rhodes guided the vessel out of its station and onto the main entry route, gunning the engines a little to send the vessel racing out into space. The slight hit of adrenaline was welcome, calming her nerves a little. She pulled the shuttle into an arc, passing by the Defiant's saucer before racing toward the atmosphere. The computer display highlighted the downed vessel's location on the distant horizon below.

---Eta Halix II---

The shuttlecraft came to a rest on the surface of Eta Halix II with a soft thud. Rhodes began powering down the engines into standby mode. "What are we seeing out there?"

"Unknown vessel. Appears to have some sort of chroniton drive core?" Alex said, check readouts confusedly. "Presence tells us this is, in fact, the source of the issue, but I suspect that the core uses a temporal negation matrix to prevent major time dilation to passing objects and such. Such matrices are highly fragile and prone to be highly unstable if damaged."

He continued, "30 credits says there's weapons burns on the ship that'll show it was attacked by something, probably Romulans, it's always the Romulans out here. We're too far out for me to get a detailed scan, but it looks pretty bad. Whether the damage came from an attack or the crash is unknown at this time."

Samantha made her way forward and stood next to Charlotte. Her curiosity at getting the chance to find out more about an advanced alien civilizations technology had pushed back any residual stress of the Vela IV incident. "Captain, did you conduct a flyby of the alien craft on the way here. The could be markings on the ship that may help us in identifying its origins."

"We did indeed, Doctor. I'm sending the results to each of your padds now," Charlotte answered, as she toggled a few controls. "As for the signs of an attack, I could be wrong but it looked like there was definitely damage that pre-dates the crash, but I imagine we'll have to verify up close."

The Vulcan Science Officer was inputting commands into one of the side terminals. "Captain, atmospheric report appears clear. I am seeing no signs of contaminants in the air, other than an elevated pollen content. I would still recommend we keep our EV suits on."

"Agreed," the Captain replied, as she rose to her feet and retrieved her helmet. "If there's going to be any contaminant, I imagine we'll find it closer to the ship. Everyone suit up. We're heading out."

 

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