Prowler 115

Posted on Sun May 31, 2015 @ 3:42am by
Edited on on Sun May 31, 2015 @ 3:42am

1,717 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Eye of the Beholder
Location: In the cockpit of a Valkyrie
Timeline: During the evacuation

[ON]

Mitchell Graham, known as "Crackers" to his squadron mates, had his head down in the back seat of his Valkyrie. He was tweaking the sensors as best he could, but was only getting a faint return on their target. He shook his head. "I can barely see them against the interference. You got a visual yet, Shoni?"

Ensign Shoni Muuhi, the Betelgeusian pilot up front, replied tersely, "Not yet. Whoever these idiots are I hope they're worth it." Even with shields at full the fighter rattled from meteoroid impacts. There were all shapes and sizes out there. It was like being pelted with a thousand ball peen hammers. Shoni simultaneously jinked and weaved around the larger rocks, many of which were plenty big enough to kill them if they weren't careful.

Careful, Crackers thought sourly as he tried to refocus the forward sensor array. They had separated from the main group to chase after a straggler, a chartered survey ship called the Sunesis. Now with the call to return they were racing to carry out this task quickly.

The Sunesis had been hired by a civilian research institute to do an imaging survey of some of the nearby systems. Deep Space Five had been her most recent port of call. When the evacuation order came the researchers aboard headed away from the station but then decided that a trans-dimensional planet was something they just couldn't afford to not study. So while the station and everyone else was trying to get a safe distance away from it the Sunesis had steered a course to get closer. It didn't take long for the crew of the tiny vessel to understand what a bad idea that was and so they declared an emergency. Muuhi and Graham were going to tractor them out.

Shoni made the first hail over subspace. "Sunesis, this is Prowler One-One-Five, a Federation fighter craft. We're approaching your position. Do you read?" Her Betelgeusian accent was very pronounced but she was still understandable.

The reply was staticky at first but cleared up intermittently. "W-...you, Prowler. We have fifteen s....aboard. We're ....power. Shields......thirty-seven percent."

Shoni nodded even though no one could see her do it. "Acknowledged, Sunesis. I got most of that. Stand by We're almost there." She banked to avoid another large rock, then said to Crackers, "Assuming we get there in one piece."

The backseater grinned behind his flight helmet. "Go on. I know you're loving this."

The pilot snorted in reply. "I love going home alive."

"Like you had anything better to do today."

"A number of things, actually."

Crackers was about to say something back when a brilliant light flared through his helmet visor. He turned to it, shielding his eyes with his hand, and saw something he could have never imagined. A sun emerging from a void in space. "Hey, Shoni, look at that."

Shoni was aware of it but didn't dare take her eyes off their projected flight path. "Can't just this minute, Crackers. Take a sensor reading and get back to work."

"Right." The TSO tasked one of the lateral arrays in that direction. "The distress signal is getting stronger. We're close."

Shoni nodded. "Yes, I think I see them."

Crackers angled his head to look forward and squinted. There were thousands of objects floating against the blue backdrop of the new planet. One of them was surely the Sunesis but he couldn't tell which one from this distance. Then again Shoni was the pilot and he wasn't. If she said she saw it then he believed her.

The Valkyrie's tritanium frame began to rattle and groan. "What is that!?" Shoni asked in alarm.

"Gravimetric waves," her backseater said as he studied the sensor readings. "That planet is creating them as it emerges from that subspace rift," he warned.

Shoni gripped the control stick tightly. Flying on manual through this was exhausting. It was like swimming in sludge. "Can the structural integrity field handle it?"

"It should but let's not stick around long."

"Right." The Sunesis was right off the nose. Her outline now clearly visible against the planet's clouds. The tiny research vessel had been pummeled by rocks and gravimetric waves. Shoni decelerated and reopened the channel. "Sunesis, this is Prowler One-One-Five. We are approaching from your two-six-zero. Twenty kilometers and closing. Stand by for tow."

It took a few seconds for the reply to come back. "Acknowledged, Starfleet. We're ready. Please hurry we have several wounded aboard. One is critical." At this distance the subspace reception was perfectly clear.

"Prowler copies," Shoni replied. By this time they were alongside the stricken ship. It was drifting towards the planet's atmosphere. Altitude getting dangerously low. The fighter crew took the opportunity to inspect the damage. Being this close to the rift had weakened their commercial-grade shields to a dangerous level. Some of the larger asteroids had gone through and made large dents in hull. Fortunately the hull's integrity was still intact. Shoni found a good spot on top of the hull to place the tractor beam. While she did that she said to Crackers, "Extend our shields to cover them."

"Yeah, I'm already on it," Crackers said. The fighter's frame protested from another gravimetric current.

Now it was the computer's turn to speak up. "Warning. Structural integrity approaching operational limits."

Shoni twisted herself to see what she could of the Sunesis. It was behind and slightly below them. The tractor beam indicated a solid lock. "Hurry up, Crackers."

"I'm trying. Our shields won't extend over their entire hull. The drive section is still exposed. Give me a minute."

"We don't have a minute! Do your best and let's go!"

Crackers tried one more time but he simply couldn't manipulate the fighter's shields to reach that far aft. At least the ship's work and living spaces were covered. It would have to do. "I'm ready. Go, go."

Shoni inched the throttles forward while simultaneously keying the transmit button. "Sunesis, we're underway. Do you have helm control?"

"Ah, negative. Most of our systems are down. No helm control and no engine power. We're working to get it restored."

"Acknowledged. Let us know if you do," Shoni replied. Between the gravimetric interference and the large mass they were towing it was going to take a long time to get back up to speed. She rolled the fighter so they could see the planet below. It was very close and she suspected they would be asked what they saw in debriefing. "Crackers, have a look."

Crackers stole a glance out the canopy. They were passing over a coastal area. White-capped waves lapped against a beach. Beyond that was a vast continent, green and mist-covered. Or was it fog? Crackers couldn't tell from up here. "Dear personal log. I woke up this morning, had a bowl of oatmeal, and someone dropped a planet on me," he deadpanned.

Shoni chuckled at that. "I can't get enough of this job," she said.

"Uh-huh. Told you, didn't I?" Crackers shot back. "I'll scan for lifeforms while we're here."

"Yes. Good idea." She rolled out and pointed the nose towards the sky. Towards home. She wasn't sure where the station was at the moment but it shouldn't take them long to get back. "Prowler One-One-Five to DS-Five ops. We have Sunesis in tow. If you can get a transporter lock through the interference we need a beam-out for a critical patient, over?"

A lone meteor hurtled out of the dark at tremendous speed, pulled in by the planet's gravity. Neither of the fighter's crew saw it even though it was big enough to set off the proximity alarm on Shoni's navigation panel. That was their only warning before the enormous slab of iron and stone slammed into the exposed drive section of the Sunesis a split second later. It tore through the vessel's engineering spaces and ruptured the seal on the antimatter containment unit.

In the blink of an eye the Sunesis vanished in a blinding, white-hot flash. The concussive blast also tore through the Valkyrie fighter, shredding it. Miraculously the cockpit section stayed intact. Its engineers had designed it to double as an escape pod so it detached cleanly from the the spaceframe and was sent tumbling end over end from the destruction behind it. The emergency transponder began transmitting automatically.

Shoni and Crackers were aware that something awful had happened. They fought against the daze and shock even as the rapid tumbling motion threatened to send them into unconsciousness. Shoni reverted to her training. Throttles idle, thrusters opposite the spin. She didn't know she no longer had a ship to pilot. In the back seat Crackers fumbled with his hands to reopen the channel. He thought the fighter had been hit and his thoughts were to warn Sunesis away. No luck. The panel in front of him was dying.

Air molecules began colliding with the cockpit section, creating a blowtorch effect. They were entering the planet's atmosphere. The cockpit could withstand it easily. No controls, however, meant that there was no guarantee of a soft landing. "Crackers, get out!" Shoni yelled. The internal comm system was dead so she had to yell to be heard. It was her last act before passing out.

"Not without you," the backseater said hoarsely. He didn't know his pilot couldn't hear him. Where's the emergency transporter? He wondered. It should have activated already. The subspace interference had probably prevented it from doing so. The backup was the ejection seat. It hadn't gone off, either. It was possible to activate it manually, but looking at the sheet of flame just on the other side of the canopy he decided to wait.

The spin began to subside. He cast his eyes forward, wondering if Shoni had managed it. She was slumped over in her seat. "Shoni, wake up." The edges of his vision were blurring away. His voice became weaker. "Just a few more seconds, Shoni. And...we're out."

The escape pod's powerful retro-rockets fired.

[OFF]

Ens. Shoni Muuhi
Fighter Pilot
(NPC Bert)

Lt. (JG) Mitchell Graham
TSO
(NPC Bert)

 

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