[snip]

Glen eventually managed to get around to speaking to the CE. “I just need your help on some engineering aspects of what we have discovered. Firstly, the Risan ship was shipping deuterium. It is likely that the explosion of one of those canisters resulted in the formation of this spatial anomaly. How likely is it that other canisters remain full? And therefore, how likely are secondary explosions to occur? Secondly, given the unique position of the Risan ship, in the eye of the storm, as it were, if we use the Tractor beam on it, won’t that tear the small unshielded ship apart? If so, how can we safely rescue the personnel aboard, if they are even still alive?”

McDuff was keeping an intense eye on his Security Station and the View Screen. Things were beginning to heat up and he wanted to be ready in case he was needed.

Glen mused more on what Lt. Malone had said and his own thoughts on whether there would still be crew to rescue, “Of course, it’s possible that the effects on entering into the subspace rift were enough to kill all biological life, while still leaving parts of the ship’s systems, including the emergency message, intact. The only slither of hope left there is that earlier, when we tried to contact them, there seemed to be a slight change in the broadcast in response.”

“Have we been able to make any contact with them by short range comms yet?” Glen asked NE Coals and Lt. Malone.

”..I got a channel open sir, I think I’m getting a response but its muddled, one moment I’m trying to boost the gain..” Coals said.

Max then responded to the captain’s request, “Captain, there are some items here we need to look at. First, for another explosion of the deuterium canister going off is about 50/50 and we have no way to know which will happen if one of those explodes. Second, I’m afraid if we try and tractor beam the smaller ship out, it might get ripped apart, being as small as it is. Even if we get inside the 200 meter range, I do not believe the tractor beam is the best way to handle that. Transporting might be the best option, but we need to be closer than 200 meters to even make it worth wild. Every 10-20 meters closer we get, the tractor beam lock goes up 5-10% and a transporter lock goes up 2-5%. I am not sure how you want to proceed but I’m afraid more damage might be done if we pull the ship out as its so small and stuck in the swirl. ” Max knew it was important to present all the options to the captain and provide an opinion but ultimately it was the captain who would decide how to proceed.

“Thanks, Lieutenant,” Glen told Max. “So, if we went down the transporter route, would sending in a probe work? What about two or three probes, each carrying some kind of transport pattern enhancers that could boost the signal of the transporter in a polarized ionization field where a signal is known to be difficult to maintain? Do you think that you could jury rig up something like that for us? If we positioned the probes at three points of a plane passing through the Risan vessel would that boost the signal sufficiently?”

“If that is too complicated, then there might be a second option,” Glen added. “I have a some very old stock of ETS emergency transporter suits. They were originally a garment worn by pilots in training at the Academy. They served as both a homing device and transporter pattern enhancer to retrieve pilots who took a wrong turn. These bulky, mesh-lined jumpsuits allow for the emergency beam-out of a person from an endangered spaceship vehicle. I don’t know how many there are. They are in the Cargo Bay in a Giffla-37XZ cargo container, along with the rest of the belonging that I brought aboard the Merrimack but have never unpacked. If we can beam them aboard the ship, we can certainly beam them back again… unless the crew are too injured to put them on by themselves… then we’d need a volunteer to beam over with them…”

• Glen, CO

Based on the gravitic output of the whirlpool present the probes likely would be torn up on their way in. Their small size and lack of heavier structure was the problem. A shuttle was equally risky and likely out of the question. The Risan ship had barely survived and it was only a bit bigger then a Federation shuttle or runabout. The best option likely was to take the Merrimack in directly, the much larger and sturdy ship also better prepared for the troubles then the Trudograd would be likely tossed about a bit but no doubt survive. Getting in would be pretty easy if they went with the current, getting out would be trickier but doable depending on they proceeded.

”..Ah ha! Got someone Captain!” NE Coals said breaking the exchange up. Putting it up on audio now.

=/\= H…Hello? Merr–static. You there? My name is static –iel Cornwellis. My ship is stuck in static –well, some kind of gravitational anomaly near our colony system. Seems like I’m in a ne–static–ula now though. Long range comms are destroyed, my life support is almost gone, kind of hard to static –eathe. My co-pilot is dead and I am half stuck under a fallen console in the cockpit here. =/\= There was a pause as the man likely in pain and out of breath was struggling to keep calm to not further waste his little bit of air.

GM CockRoach