[Galaxy] Fwd: [Yorktown] - 2159.01.13 - PL (Pt 2) - CO/CEO/CHO/CCO - Cmndr Morgan/Def Ca'daar/Ens J Taylor/ Lt D Taylor

Tue Jan 13 20:43:28 PST 2009

<And now for Part II...>

David ran to the Andorian: question painted plain on his face. As he reached
the Navigations Console, his eyes went immediately to the temporary Viewer.
His eyes grew in astonishment at what he was seeing...simply unlike anything
he had seen before!

Bands of white pulsating eddies fluctuated to unseen points ahead. Cascading
points of heavy energy struck mercilessly through clouds of high particle
density, and created 'gaps' that would reveal small masses of stars and open
space beyond. With the Yorktown already in Warped Space, the ship flew by
those open points quickly: unable to use them as a means of exit from this
'anomaly'.

Without warning, blaring klaxons began to sound through every corner of
Engineering. David's eyes were open wide by fear, and his sight traveled
around the Engine Room with dread. Not seeing any immediate signs of what
had caused the distressed situation, David's eyes went back to Da'nak as he
began to speak.

The Andorian's hands worked the switches frantically as he processed the
information in front of him. "Hull strain has reached critical parameters."
He called out emotionlessly. It had always been one of his defense
mechanisms to shut out his emotions in crisis situations. They only served
as a distraction. "Estimating total failure of structural integrity in
approximately ninety seconds."

"Damn..." David said aloud, and his mind began to race. The ship
*would*need to come out of Warp...that much was certain. But they were
obviously
caught in some sort of High Gravitational Flux Field of space (possibly some
sort of Temporal Rift, but David did not have time to perform an analysis to
be certain).

And the ultimate question still remained: if he couldn't find a way to get
them out of this place, would the ship survive the forces waiting outside?

'*Think...'* David thought harshly to himself - setting his mind to the
task. 'Those 'openings' are passing us too fast, and we can't predict where
they will open up next...'

'But if one *can* be opened by the Gravitational forces produced in this
Vortex...' David surmised...a challenging idea already forming itself in
David's head.

"Michelle..." David yelled - running up the raised platform directly before
the Warp Core Control Station in the front of the massive Engine. "Seal off
the aft Plasma Drive Tube on the First Stage Plasma Accelerator - Portside."
David ordered: already making his own set of preparations in this plan.
Already he could feel minor vibrations rising up from the Deck Plating into
the platform on which he was standing: the first signs of the ship
succumbing to the massive stress forces being exerted on the Outer Hull...

"Aaron..." David called to Ensign Aaron Weaving: briefly turning to face
him. "Separate the Exterior Hull plates surrounding the Accelerator, and
ready it for jettison." He continued: trying to put the increasing
vibrations out of his head.

Carefully, he began diverting a small amount of the now precious Drive
Plasma from the Starboard Nacelle, and out to the soon-doomed Portside
Accelerator. As he did, the ship began to shake even more violently. He knew
that the decreased fuel was affecting the already fragile Warp Field, so he
attempted to decrease the amount of the diverted flow: hoping that the Warp
Field did not completely collapse.

"Defender Ca'daar..." David said: still ignoring the now even-more-growing
protests of the Yorktown. "We're going to open you one of those 'exits' from
this *thing*." David said with a gesture upward: signifying what laid
outside the ship. David's fingers went back to the Control Board: swiftly
manipulating the still taxed Drive Plasma.

"When we fire the Accelerator..." David continued his explanation. "You'll
need to take us out of Warp at the same time (as a way to help get the
Accelerator just ahead of the ship). We'll try to set the explosion to occur
just far enough ahead of the ship so that as the Warp Field's collapsing
(and we lose any protection the Warp Field is giving us), you'll be able to
fly us out the other side of that 'opening'."

"And Mr. Ca'daar...I understand that you're a fan of Coffee." He continued
to the Andorian: his mind still mostly on his work. "I promise you a REAL
pot of coffee every week for every degree you avoid the outside edges of
that opening."

"Chief... I have an eighty-five year old bottle of Andorian brandy back in
my quarters that I've been saving for a special occasion. Provided we
survive this with our lips still attached to our faces, we are going to get
totally ham-faced. With the Captain's permission of course." He quickly
added. The Andorian's voice still held no inflection, but he did manage a
smirk. He could feel his eyes drying out from staring so long at the viewer
without blinking.

Rece decided she would double that offer (and even join them) as she pulled
her aching body of the floor. She then checked around, mentally marking
where everyone one in the room was. Her eyes landing lastly on Jennifer
moving from the makeshift comm.

With a nod, David went back to his work. Only twenty seconds or so remained
before the ship would fly apart, and the groans from the internal structure
of the Yorktown was bellying of the effort. David's fingers made the final
adjustments to the flow, and he checked the hold at the Accelerator. 'One
hundred eight percent capacity...' David remarked: noting the extreme
pressure buildup inside the device.

"If you don't need to be next to a station..." He called out to everyone
else in the Department. "Get the hell away from them. We've lost too many
today, and I don't need anyone else's death to deal with." He realized he
was also speaking to Rece (and his wife to boot) in that manner. But he
hoped the message would be chalked up to his concern for safety.

"Standby..." David said with a look to Aaron. The seconds were passing by
much quicker than they had earlier in that soupy sense of time. The ship's
moans and protests were now increased to a near fever pitch, and David
wondered *if* (in fact) they had truly had that full minute and thirty
seconds to deal with...

As explosions once again began pouring from sections of the Engine Room,
David covered his head from sparks. He heard as metal structures began
stressing to near twisting tolerances, and the lights of the room began to
dim with the apparent power fluctuations in the backup EPS grid.

Jennifer was intently watching David well away from where he was standing at
the Warp Core. She noticed him in deep thought: as if his mind were in a
thousand different directions at once. Even with everything that was going
around him, however, she could see the tiny ebbs of emotion just beneath his
hidden exterior. It made her want to run to him, and hold him in her arms
and comfort him.

She was so intent on watching David that she didn't even notice one of the
leftover pieces of the Walkway ringing Engineering from above give way, and
start to fall down toward her.

Rece didn't think she just launched herself towards Jennifer as the walkway
gaveway. As she slammed her body into the Ensign her breath left the body
and she flet the jarring impact of the two of them striking the floor.

Da'nak stood unmoving at the com as sparks rained down around him from the
rapidly disintegrating engine room. The situation reminded him of something
he had read back at the academy... Suddenly it was thrust into his head, the
image of Captain Nemo, his cold eyes staring out into the darkness of the
sea as he piloted the Nautilus into the heart of the whirlpool. Da'nak
blinked and recovered himself back to the ready. He would not allow himself
to believe that this was the Yorktown's last hurrah. She was called the
Fighting Lady for a reason. It was time to prove why. "Whenever you're ready
Chief... on your mark."

" 'Time to roll the dice...' " David quoted aloud to himself. David turned
his head to Aaron Weaving, who was covering his own head from a shower of
sparks erupting from somewhere overhead. David watched as Aaron met his
eyes: a primal fear shining from them as if the man was about to run. David
nodded patiently to the man as he yelled a simple order...

"NOW!"

The blue helmsman hit the kill switch on the warp drive as the accelerator
was jettisoned ahead of them. After a second a brilliant flash filled the
screen as the accelerator detonated and the tear in the warp fabric
appeared, and the stars beyond. Again the image of Nemo flashed into his
mind as the Yorktown began to list to one side. Frak! He thought to himself.
The lack of the accelerator has thrown off the delicate balancing act that
he had been able to pull off until now.

Frantically he began throwing switches as the vibrations all around him
increased. He could feel his antennae rattling around on the top of his head
as he gripped the control stick in both of his hands in an attempt to steady
the now frantically listing ship. While he fought, the Yorktown slid
sideways through the warp aperture, the remaining nacelle brushing the edge
as they passed through. At once the nav console and viewscreen exploded in a
shower of blue sparks, throwing the helmsman back across the deck to land in
a crumpled heap. Abruptly, the shuddering came to stop as the power grid
finally gave up the ghost and the lighting shut down, leaving them all in
darkness.

<Off>

Cmdr Rece Morgan - CO
Defender Da'nak Ca'daar - CHO
Ens Jennifer Taylor - CCO
Lt David Taylor - CEO
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESS Yorktown NX-05
The Fighting Lady

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"*Ordinarily he was insane, but he had lucid moments when he was merely
stupid*."
     - Heinrich Heine

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-- 
RM

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in
the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
-Calvin & Hobbes
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