Posted by Lieutenant Commander Jessica Vaughn (XO) in Runabout Fenrir - “Scattered Memories” By the time they were started on the first section, she had managed to control her emotions enough to join him back up front in the co pilot seat. She had caught a couple of the ship sensors registering other ships and when the third one turned out to be debris, she had simply allowed Duncan to check each anomaly as it popped up. “Approaching Sector Five.” She said as they moved into the next ‘grid’ on the sensors. About ten minutes into it, she furrowed her brow and frowned. “40 degrees off port bow. There is a gravity well and anomalous readings that are outside the other reading levels we have gotten.” While she was doing her best to maintain her composure, the idea they were actually going to ‘find’ something made her heart race. : : : : : : : : : : Lt JG Toveka Brine : : : : : Science : : : : : : : : “Got it” Duncan confirmed, changing the heading of the runabout to approach the sensor contact. From here, he could see that the sensor contact was being partially blocked by a very large asteroid, and it took him a few moments to pick a safe path around and through the debri field, which got more cluttered with objects the closer they approached as the gravity well collected various asteroids and debri from the destruction of the planets. Pockets of gases became clearer on sensors, some of which Duncan took care to avoid because of the risk of igniting a reaction with the ionization from their impulse engines. : : : : : : : : Presently, the runabout came around the large Asteroid and Duncan almost froze. “Contact!” he said somewhat urgently, at the same time checking his shields and powering the engines for a burst of speed to escape the large and threatening form of a Romulan Warbird that was hiding behind the Asteroid. : : : : : : : : Lt Rhodes : : : : CSO : : : : : : Toveka had been heading for the front of the shuttle as Duncan made his way around the asteroid. When the contact was shouted out, she was at his shoulder and a soft growl fell from her lips before she managed to control herself. Sliding into the other seat, she frowned. “What are they doing here? Are they the cause of the well?” She wasn’t sure how, but if they were, there was a reason… and if there was a reason, she wanted to know about it. : : : : : : Lt JG Toveka Brine : : : Science : : : : Duncan pulled the nose of the Runabout around for a quick getaway, looking to see what he could put between them when the sensor readings caught his eyes. “Wait” he said, curious. “I’m getting no power readings from the ships Singularity drive. No shield emissions either. She’s dead in the water so to speak” Duncan began to bring up other readings as he double checked the first, one eye still on a quick getaway. “Doctor Brine, scan the ship” he said, “Look for any life signs or anything out of the ordinary, small power emissions or energy fields. That ship is in the middle of a Gravity well, and everything I am getting is saying it is a derelict.” : : : : Lt Rhodes : : CSO : : Toveka frowned as her fingers danced over her console to see if any life signs were readable. The drives were indeed cold, yet it didn’t seem to be falling into the well at all. Something was keeping it just over the edge of being sucked in. “Scanning for life signs, power emissions or any other hot spots....” She glanced constantly from the ship to the readings and back again. A thought then occurred to her. “Also scanning for hull markings to identify the ship.” If it was one of the older ships, perhaps it was caught between two fields that were keeping it from being sucked in. And if it was a new ship, then the reason it was here was something she had to ascertain for certain. There weren’t any war birds in the sector that she was aware of. : : Lt JG Toveka Brine : Science “No life signs” Duncan confirmed, then looked at the readings more closely. “There is an energy signature of some kind inside it Brine, look. It is similar to the energy well and powerful, so similar we almost missed it completely as background energy.” He asjudted the readings more to look over the ship. “It’s old” he said, looking at her, “The markings are known to be from pre-Hobus event Romulan ships......” then he cut off as something else caught his eye. “Another energy signature out in the field” he explained, “It looked like a ship, but it’s gone. It appears to be just the energy from the anomalies interacting with the debris field, but it keeps looking like a ship is out there. We shouldn’t take too long, lets get in and find out whats happening. We can’t take the shuttle in, the debris is too dense around it, and I am reading distortions from the energy well that would affect the transporter. Toveka we can’t transport over either, we are going to have to suit up and exo-suit over to it.” Lt Rhodes CSO

Toveka ran the scenario over again. Rhodes was right. Transporters wouldn’t work and the shuttle was too big. She hated the suits and had only agreed to bring them in case of emergency. While claustrophobia want an issue, the young scientist had never been able to be calm in the all encompassing exo-suit.

While part of her wanted to remain behind to monitor her supervisor, the other part wouldn’t let her. “Then let’s do it.”

As she moved to the back of the shuttle to retrieve her outfit, it dances thru her head. The image of him out there alone and something happening. Or worse, him missing something vital because it wasn’t really his mission. Either way made her conscience balk, so she put the one piece on and held her helmet, delaying print it on for as long as possible and trying to do some breathing techniques to keep Duncan from discovering her hesitation and calling off the mission.

Lt JG Toveka Brine
Scientist