And so it begins...

Posted on Sat Feb 21, 2015 @ 6:37am by

1,709 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: https://ds5.sim-station.net/index.php/sim/missions/id/7
Location: DS-5 Area of operations

[ON]

[Flight Operations Traffic Control Center]

The Alpha Shift duty officer entered the flight traffic control center and wandered over to her Delta Shift colleague to get today's hand-over briefing.

The only thing of note was one of the navigational beacons, number twenty nine, appeared to have developed some kind of signal inference over night. They would need to get a maintenance shuttle out there to check it out and effect repairs if needed. The officers exchanged places and the new one sent off a maintenance request to have the beacon scheduled for repairs.


[Maintenance Shuttle -Sigma - 44 enroute to Navigational Beacon NB-DS-5-29]

"So then Bailey said she had to switch to Bravo Shift and Hansen got all pissed over it" Petty Officer Sarah Kolowski told her work partner Petty Officer Alan Murray

"Pffft, Hansen's getting a promotion to team leader, why would she get pissed?"

"Doesn't want to go to Bravo shift, because she's getting serious with Williams in the machine shop" Kolowski said with a grin

"Ohhhh, right, but wasn't she all serious with that guy in the shipyard a couple months back?"

"Nahh they broke up" Kolowski replied. The pair's idle gossip was interrupted by an beeping from the shuttle's controls. "Head's up, we're here!" she said turning back to look out the cockpit window "Who's turn is it to suit up?"

"Yours!" Murray said firmly "I did that outer hatch last week"

"Alright, alright. I'll put the EVO suit on. You take us in" Kolowski, got up and went to the rear of the shuttle to suit up.

Murray took control of the craft and guided it in towards the device, coming to a stop some six meters away from the large cylindrical beacon. He glanced through the windows at it, the power panel was illuminated as were the top and bottom strobes.

The maintenance request had said there was some kind of interference with the beacon's signal output. They had run some remote diagnostic programs and but the results had not been very helpful. A remote system reboot had not cleared the issue either.

The problem could be just a faulty relay or circuit board, but that meant a maintenance team had to take the three hour trip out here to run a physical diagnostic to be sure, which meant one of them donning an environmental suit and going outside to clamber around on the twelve meter beacon.

Seeing nothing obvious Murray reversed the shuttle, backing up towards the beacon, so Kowolski would be closer to it when she went off the back ramp. Once he was in position he shut down the engine and went back to help his partner with her suit.

Kowloski was nearly done and Murray helped her don the helmet and hook up the tool kit to the suit. Then made sure her tether was securely clipped to the d-ring near the shuttle's ramp.

"Good to go?" he asked her

"Yep, all ready" Kowolski acknowledged, shut her visor, turned and clumped her way to stand by the ramp.

Murray went back to the pilot's seat and sat down, he activated his commbadge and began tapping in commands.

=^= Force field up and I'm opening the ramp. Watch your step Sarah =^=

A field shimmered into place, sealing off the last six feet of the shuttle. A red strobe started above the hatch, a moment later the seal cracked and the ramp swung slowly open. The cold void of space rushed into to embrace Kolowski as she waited for the ramp to lock in place and she shivered involuntarily, even in the warm protection of the EVO suit.

She checked her suit's systems, all lights were green and gave her tether a quick tug. =^= Suit check is good. Tether is secure. I'm stepping outside =^=

=^= Copy =^= Murray replied and swung around to watch his partner as she walked out on to the ramp.

Kolowski walked to the end of the ramp, her magnetic boots securing her in place. She looked around, the curved side of the beacon loomed above and below her.

She would have to release the mag-lock on her boots, push off the ramp and drift across the four meters or so to the bacon, grab a handhold, swing her feet down and reactivate the mag-locks. Then she could walk around on the beacon, do her inspection and complete any required repairs.

=^= I'm jumping off =^= she said and released the magnetic lock in her boots. Getting a good push off, she floated over to the beacon, the tether reeling out behind her and in a few moments was safely standing upright on it's hull plating.

=^= Starting the visual inspection =^= She told Murray and spent the next five minutes checking over the beacon for any obvious signs of damage.

=^= Looks okay, I'm going around the other side to check there. And the access port is round there, I'll open that up and do a full re-start the system manually =^=

=^= Okay, let me know =^= Murray asked, he had nothing to do until Kolowski identified the problem and he was leaning back in the pilot's chair with his feet up,

=^= Copy...hold on, what's that? Looks like something impacted on this side.=^=

=^= What hit it? A rock/ Want me to move the ship around? =^=

=^= Nah, I'm not sure what is it... it's not a rock... let me get closer =^=

There was a pause and Murray could just hear Koloski's breathing on the open comm channel

=^= It looks kinda like a..... like a... what is that? No....=^=

=^= Sarah? What is it? =^= Murray asked, hearing the concern in his partner's voice. He looked out of the open rear door, Kolowski was out of sight on the far side of the beacon. All he could see of her was the drifting tether disappearing around the beacon's side. Her breathing was getting faster over the comm channel

=^= Sarah? What is it?! Are you screwing around? =^= He demanded

=^= It's.... it's.... oh....no...=^= Kolowski sounded scared now. That's when the screaming started....


[ Oak Squadron - Sector Patrol Flight Seven ]

Lieutenant Edwards Snake Eyes Munroe was bored and restless, It was Oak squadron's turn for routine patrol duties and he was leading a flight of three elements, six Valkyries in all, on a perimeter sweep.

The auto pilot was engaged, there wasn't much to see or do and Munroe was having a hard time concentrating, his thoughts kept drifting to that restaurant and he found he was counting the hours until he could go back there again, other food just didn't seem to taste the same and nowhere else had the same atmosphere.

He was so deep in his thoughts that he missed the first transmission.

=^= DS-Five Control to Oak Seven Lead We have a distress message from maintenance shuttle Sigma - four four Are you able to respond? =^=

The transmission was repeated then one of his pilots cut in =^= Hey! Snake-Eyes you there? We going to to that? Sounds urgent... =^=

Munroe dragged himself back to the present =^=Urr yeah... Oak Flight Lead I copy! Give us a vector to Sigma - four four And what's the nature of the emergency? =^=

=^= Roger Oak seven lead Transmitting the coordinates data now. I guess the maintenance crew found some kind of corpse attached to Navigation beacon twenty nine. They're screaming the place down for somebody to get out there =^=

=^= A corpse? Seriously? =^= Munroe asked skeptically, wondering if this was some kind of prank.

=^= Seriously! Well according to the maintenance team, that is. Your flight path is clear all the way, there's a Marshal on the way out there too. You're' to secure the area until they arrive. =^=

Munroe checked his control panel, the new flight plan had been downloaded =^= Oak Seven lead acknowledges. Course data received, we're inbound! ETA is fourteen minutes. Out! =^=

He signaled the course change to the other five fighters. As one they swung on to the new heading and powered up to full impulse.

When they arrived at the navigation beacon they found Sigma four-four still in place, parked next to the beacon. The shuttle's ramp was shut, Munroe had the other fighters take up a holding pattern and as he manuvered his fighter in closer he could see, through the cockpit windows, two occupants in the shuttle's cabin.

=^=Sigma four-four this is Oak Seven flight lead Lieutenant Munroe, responding to your distress call. What's going on? =^=

There was a pause and then Munroe saw a male engineering technician come to the cockpit window, the man waved and his voice cam over the comm channel.

=^=Oak Seven flight lead this is Sigma four-four Petty Officer Murray sir. We're got a situation here.... =^=

Munroe listened incredulously as Murray described what his team mate had found on the beacon, it was hard to believe. =^="A dead body? You're sure? =^=

A female voice came on, the woman sounded very upset. =^= Of course I'm sure! It's on the far side go look! And it's been.... mutilated...it's - There was a sound of retching and Murray could be heard saying =^= Easy Sarah, go into the bathroom =^=

A couple of moments later Murray said =^= Sorry Lieutenant, Petty Officer Kowolski is pretty upset, she threw up in her EVO suit.... I guess it's pretty bad. She said it looked like it had been skinned! =^=

=^= Skinned? Alright I'll take a look =^= Munroe tapped his maneuvering thrusters and gently pivoted his craft around the beacon. The first thing he saw was what looked like a length of metal tubing poking up from the round side of the beacon. As his fighter moved closer he saw that there were two pieces of tubing forming an X shaped cross. Then he saw what was hung on the cross.

Munroe jerked back in his seat and sucked in his breath. He'd seen a few things in his time, most combat pilots had, but the sight before him was the stuff of nightmares...



To be continued...

[OFF]


LtJg Edward "Snake-Eyes" Munroe
Oak Squadron Leader

Flight Controllers and Sigma-44 Maintenance Crew
NPC'd by George

 

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