Posted by Commander Riley O’Nell (Executive Officer/Number One) in Main sim - Shuttlebay 2 - Rodent Shuttle Team

Posted by Cadet Vaarek (Medical Officer) in Main sim - Shuttlebay 2 - Rodent Shuttle Team

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Izak Waryn (Chief Engineer) in Main sim - Shuttlebay 2 - Rodent Shuttle Team
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻
[snip]

Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
The Chief Engineer arrived at Shuttle Bay 2 with a tricorder and a standard issue phaser on his belt. Izak quickly checked in with the engineers retrofitting Shuttle Vermin to make sure they were on track, then made his way to Shuttle Rodent where he’d be working with the XO, Roger, and a Cadet named Vazrek that he hadn’t met yet.

He smiled when he arrived at the Shuttle and saw Commander O’Nell supervising the work. Once an Engineer, always an Engineer I guess.

“Well, I know the modifications couldn’t be in better hands, Sir, so I’m going to commence the preflight checks. Once they’re done I’ll pop out and help with any modifications that remain.”

Lt J.G. Izak Waryn - Chief Engineer - U.S.S. Ark Angel

Shortly ago, Vaarek had received an order on his padd to report to Shuttle Bay 2. He brought his medical bag with him. WOuld this be his first away mission? He was not sure about the orders.

He noticed two well-ranked officers – Waryn and O’Nell – by the shuttle. He looked to see which one had more pips – it was O’Nell – and walked up to him.

“Sir, Cadet Vaarek reporting as ordered.”

Cadet Vaarek, Medical

With everyone present on the Rodent the shuttle was ready to launch. They had a limited window to pick one of five random hunks of an alien spaceship to search for 1-3 possible life signs. The first chunk seemed to be an outer hull chunk of the alien ship in some shape. The second chunk looked like it might be part of the uppermost and either forward or rear most area of a ship. The third chunk seemed to be a center inner hull section. The fourth seemed to be a lower forward or rear area again. With the fifth one looking like an outer hull with possibly remains of some kind of sublight engine module partly still hanging on it.

GM CockRoach

Izak was dressed out in an EVA suit and manning one of the front consoles, his hands flying over the controls. “Commander, I recommend we speed toward the furthest chunk, scanning for life signs as we go. If Vermin starts with the closest hulk, we can relay any sensor information we pick up to speed their search as well.”

Lt J.G. Waryn glanced back at the XO. “If you give the go ahead, I’ll see how close we can swing to any other ship parts without adding too much time.” The Chief Engineer was acutely aware of the shuttle’s limited sensor range.

OOC: I have no need to fly if somebody else wants to jump in… I just figured I’d get the conversation rolling.

Lt J.G. Izak Waryn - Chief Engineer - U.S.S. Ark Angel

Riley started the engine system to the shuttle and started the sub systems.

“Is everyone here I am closing the ramp and sealing us up”

he said as his hands danced over the controls. Riley only enjoyed flying even a shuttle.

Commander Riley O’Nell (XO)

Lt Waryn watched the XO in the pilot’s seat, working the controls with practiced ease. Izak shook his head, a little impressed.

He had managed to attain a Level 3 pilot certification at the academy, but that was a bit of a struggle to achieve on top of his engineering coursework.

He hadn’t had any time to fly since arriving on the Ark Angel… and he didnt think that would change anytime soon.

With the piloting duties well in hand, the Chief Engineer shifted gears and activated the comms. =/\=”Vermin, this is Rodent… have you determined which chunk you’ll be investigating first?”=/\=

Lt J.G. Izak Waryn - Chief Engineer - U.S.S. Ark Angel

Nala stepped into Shuttle Bay Two expecting order.

Instead, she found controlled chaos.

Crewmembers moved between equipment crates and open maintenance panels while engineers worked beneath the exposed hull plating of two shuttles positioned side-by-side in the bay. Diagnostic lights flashed in rhythmic pulses across partially opened access hatches, and the sharp scent of coolant and heated circuitry hung in the air.

Nala stopped just inside the bay doors, amber eyes widening slightly as her ears rotated forward.

The shuttle nearest her had half its interior wall plating removed, exposing dense clusters of circuitry and rerouted power couplings. Another technician disappeared nearly waist-deep into an open maintenance hatch while someone on the opposite side argued about shield harmonics.

Her tail gave a startled flick.

This was not the quiet, pristine laboratory environment she had imagined when she’d received the away mission briefing.

This was alive.

The sound alone nearly overwhelmed her heightened hearing:

power tools whining,
plasma relays humming,
overlapping voices,
the heavy clank of cargo containers being repositioned across the deck.
And beneath it all she could feel the low vibration of the Ark Angel herself through her paws.

Nala tightened her grip on the datapad tucked against her chest and forced herself not to freeze in the doorway.

Observe first. Process second. Panic never.

Her gaze shifted toward the nearer shuttle where several officers had already gathered.

One officer—broad-shouldered, sleeves rolled slightly as he inspected a panel—was clearly engineering. Another stood nearby supervising the work with the practiced posture of senior command. A third figure, younger and unfamiliar, had just arrived carrying a medical bag.

Away team.

Nala swallowed carefully.

She had spent years mastering classrooms, simulations, and controlled environments. But this—this was different. This was operational Starfleet. Fast-moving. Unpredictable. Loud.

Exciting.

Terrifying.

Wonderful.

Her ears twitched again as she studied the shuttle itself.

The craft looked worn in the way good tools often did: slightly scorched plating near the impulse vents, fresh replacement panels along one side, maintenance markings still glowing faintly where engineers had been recalibrating systems.

Functional over elegant.

She liked that.

Her eyes tracked over the modifications automatically, her mind already trying to identify the purpose behind each adjustment before she consciously stopped herself.

Slow down. One thing at a time.

Nala inhaled deeply and smoothed the front of her uniform jacket.

Then, gathering herself, she finally stepped fully into the shuttle bay and began making her way toward the others—tail carefully controlled behind her, posture straight, trying very hard to look like she belonged there.

LT.JG Nala

OOC: The other thread is dead so I copied your post here.

IC:
Izak looked back and saw the CSO arrive. “XO… looks like were all here.” He stood up from the console. “Roger… the copilot’s seat is all yours.”

The Chief Engineer walked towards the back of the cockpit to talk with Vaarek and Nala. “We’re heading out now… time is of the essence… those life signs could wink out any moment. We could use your expertise on the sensors.”

With the chief engineer walking up to Vaarek, Vaarek struggled to rise up at attention from his seat.

“Yes, sir” he said in his usual monotonous voice as he regained his balance standing.

Izak glanced over at the Cadet and smiled. It wasn’t that long ago he was a cadet himself. “Its Vaarek, right? First away mission? How about you take the fourth seat?”

“Yes, sir,” Vaarek said again. “It is, indeed, my first.” He did not know what more to say. Interactions with non-Vulcans always carried extra cognitive load, as there was always subscript that he struggled to analyse. He hoped to get better. This Brekkian, however, in front of him seemed kind, actually interested in him. It was a fascinating experience, to have someone be kind to him, inviting him to participate. He vowed to remember this experience, and to meditate over it once he got back to the Ark Angel.

The Chief Engineer gestured to the seat in question. “That way you can man the comms and provide mission support.”

Lt J.G. Izak Waryn - Chief Engineer - U.S.S. Ark Angel

It was a prudent suggestion. Vaarek spoke again, “Yes, sir,” and hurriedly moved to the fourth seat and familiarized himself with the comms. He checked to see if Nala would follow him, and what role Nala would have.

Cadet Vaarek, Medical

Izak didn’t react much to the cadet’s demeanor. Vulcans were generally hard to read for the young Brekkian, though he did tylically default to formal when dealing with them. Less small talk, more business.

I guess I started treating him like a Cadet instead of a Vulcan. That realization made Lt Waryn wonder if Vulcan cadets in his year had also been nervous. He’d been dealing with his own nerves and baggage at the time and hadn’t paid them much attention.

Izak shook that train of thought off and returned his attention to the mission.

“Shuttle Vermin should be responding soon so we can coordinate the search.” Izak said to Vaarek, standing behind him but a couple steps away. He’d let the future officer handle the postion, but was close enough to provude support as needed. “Feel free to acknowledge or respond, unless they need a decision from the XO.”

Lt J.G. Izak Waryn - Chief Engineer - U.S.S. Ark Angel

Vaarek sensed Waryn’s presence behind him. It wasn’t intimidating, on the contrary, it gave Vaarek a sense of control of the situation – safety even. Vaarek had never been in this position before, not had he expected it so soon in his cadet. But he vowed to himself to make the best of it. He wanted to be a successful officer one day, but for now, he wanted to be a successful cadet.

He took his role seriously.

“Yes sir,” he said, acknowledging Waryn’s grant of liberty of action.

OOC: Oops answered the wrong thread. Posting again here.
IC:

=^=Vermin to Roedent. I think we’ll take that second chunk, it looks interesting. Good luck on your own!=^=

Counselor Alex Cross

OOC: moving from the other thread.

IC:

O’Nell started up the main engines and is starting to raise the ramp and pressurize the shuttle

“ OK is everyone ready? Did everyone remember to use the restroom because I’m not turning the shuttle around”

he joked as he started the final system checks

Commander Riley O’Nell (XO)

Izak chuckled. “So is the plan to head for the farthest chunk and scan everything we can as we go?”

OOC: I recommended this a half dozen or so posts ago, so you may have missed it.

Lt J.G. Izak Waryn - Chief Engineer - U.S.S. Ark Angel

Vaarek was not sure if Waryn’s question was an order (non-Vulcans were rarely clear about their intentions), but seeing that he didn’t have much else to do, Vaarek began scanning. In his imagination, he travelled back to his childhood on Vulcan, where he had been on a small family-sized hovercraft, in the middle of the night, with huge lights going in a V-shaped direction. The scanner on the Rodent worked in the same way. While he couldn’t see the scan itself, he saw it through the interface.

“Scanners online,” he said, interrupting his daydream, to no one in particular.

Curious that hid mind brought him to his childhood. What had he been? Five? It must have made an impression on him as he remembered it so clearly. The chill of the night through the half-opened window, flying on low altitude, so the light touched the ground not far below.

And now he scanned the space ahead of him, as a driver of a hovercraft would above the ground of Vulcan’s plains.

Cadet Vaarek, Medical

“OK, so this is what we’re gonna do. We are gonna fly together before we hit the radiation pockets. We’re going go ahead before the other shuttle to make sure the protection enhancements work well for them to conduct their work” he said as he pilot the shuttle “can someone contact the other shuttle and tell them to stay on our six”

Commander Riley O’Nell (XO)

OOC: I talked to our XO offline and he said to give the go ahead to head to the furthest chunk. Please let us know if you have any questions, Mr. all powerful GM type person!

IC:

With Shuttle Rodent en route to the furthest large piece of space debris, and the CSO more than capable of manipulating the sensors from her console, the Chief Engineer kept an eye on the Cadet’s handiwork. He seems to know how to handle sensors well enough.

“Do your best to scan debris sections designated 3 and 4 if we get close enough.” Izak recommended to Cadet Vaarek. “If you pick anything up we can double back, or share our readings with the other shuttle team.”

OOC:
For quick reference:
Chunk 1 an outer hull chunk of the alien ship in some shape.
Chunk 2 part of the uppermost and either forward or rear most area of a ship. (Shuttle Vermin)
Chunk 3 a center inner hull section.
Chunk 4 a lower forward or rear area again.
Chunk 5 an outer hull with possibly remains of some kind of sublight engine module partly still hanging on it. (Shuttle Rodent)

Lt J.G. Izak Waryn - Chief Engineer - U.S.S. Ark Angel