- Joined
- Nov 1, 2021
Through the Wormhole
The USS Raptrix, commissioned as NCC 1723 only a few months ago, was a secret prototype of long range exploration ships. Officially it was on a mapping mission in an insignificant, but also quite unexplored sector of the Theta Quadrant. Unofficially the long range sensors and the new propulsion systems were tested also regarding to combat missions. The crew consisted of a colorful mixture of experienced Starfleet officers, scientists and technicians.
It was a quiet day, far away from the boundaries of known and explored space, the Raptrix moved through intergalactic space. Currently on the bridge was Commander Diana Troi, who took the position of first officer on the mission. Seven of Nine, who was officially on board as senior communications officer, was mainly busy with calibration and measurements on the new sensors and tracking equipment. The role of the classic helmsman was performed on this generation of ships by an instance of the ship's computer artificial intelligence, which communicated in a monotone voice. It was to be heared whenever the ship's computer was re-calculating the course, or sending out necessary helm maneuvers and commands to the engine. Only in individual cases these procedures and commands still had to be confirmed by the ship's command. After a few days of boring travel through empty space, the human officers had become accustomed to paying little attention to the activities of the automaton.
Seven seemed a bit agitated in the last hour, as far as that was possible with her, the sensors had picked up a strange signature that didn't match anything stored in the database. Of course, it was Seven's nature to deal with this peculiarity, and she was in active communication with the AI of the ship's computer. Not really submitting to any hierarchy, she had already decided for herself that they should change course to "take a closer look".Diana noticed that the ship was changing course, she felt a gentle short change in the acceleration values, She was already considering whether Seven had somehow bypassed the voice interface to the ship's computer and had independently entered a new course, when there was another jolt.
"Engines at full power reverse thrust."
Seven's voice was yelling as she tried to focus on both the ship's controls and the weird incoming signals at the same time. "Encrypted messages, no Star Fleet code, and nothing we know either".... Of course, it had piqued her interest. A slight vibration was felt as the engine ramped up to full power. On the large screen of the bridge a ring-shaped structure became visible, like a tornado, And the ..: proboscis of this gigantic vacuum cleaner was pointed directly at the Raptrix.
"A wormhole" Diana's voice was panicked. Seven, on the other hand, who had now also become aware of the emergency, was quite calm and gave instructions to the on-board computer. while she tried to get clarity about the more exact nature of the space-time anomaly with a quick scan. She tried to contact the rest of the crew via the intercom, but her voice came over the speakers only distorted and slowed down. Finally, she heard her own announcement fade away several times, backwards, forwards, in an endless echo. "The shields seem strong enough, but the engines are about to overload" came her terse status report to Diana. "No chance of using the escape pods here anymore, they would be completely crushed. Now the ship is our lifeboat ..." An automated voice informed her that the feared had occurred.
"Emergency shutdown and separation warp core in 5 seconds ... 4.... 3...."
Diana, who was not even strapped in, noticed this and yelled to Seven, "Buckle up." Just in time. "2,... 1..... Separation." There was a jolt that jumbled all the unfastened objects on the bridge, then an eerie silence fell as the monitor showed the wormhole funnel approaching faster and faster, finally closing around them like giant jaws. Diana looked over at Seven, who was even still able to try to enter something on her
console. She herself could only cling to the back of her commander's chair in panic. Suddenly the chaos on the monitor had disappeared, space was black again around them, stars in the background, and directly in front of them a planet towards which the unresponsive ship was rushing.
The USS Raptrix, commissioned as NCC 1723 only a few months ago, was a secret prototype of long range exploration ships. Officially it was on a mapping mission in an insignificant, but also quite unexplored sector of the Theta Quadrant. Unofficially the long range sensors and the new propulsion systems were tested also regarding to combat missions. The crew consisted of a colorful mixture of experienced Starfleet officers, scientists and technicians.
It was a quiet day, far away from the boundaries of known and explored space, the Raptrix moved through intergalactic space. Currently on the bridge was Commander Diana Troi, who took the position of first officer on the mission. Seven of Nine, who was officially on board as senior communications officer, was mainly busy with calibration and measurements on the new sensors and tracking equipment. The role of the classic helmsman was performed on this generation of ships by an instance of the ship's computer artificial intelligence, which communicated in a monotone voice. It was to be heared whenever the ship's computer was re-calculating the course, or sending out necessary helm maneuvers and commands to the engine. Only in individual cases these procedures and commands still had to be confirmed by the ship's command. After a few days of boring travel through empty space, the human officers had become accustomed to paying little attention to the activities of the automaton.
Seven seemed a bit agitated in the last hour, as far as that was possible with her, the sensors had picked up a strange signature that didn't match anything stored in the database. Of course, it was Seven's nature to deal with this peculiarity, and she was in active communication with the AI of the ship's computer. Not really submitting to any hierarchy, she had already decided for herself that they should change course to "take a closer look".Diana noticed that the ship was changing course, she felt a gentle short change in the acceleration values, She was already considering whether Seven had somehow bypassed the voice interface to the ship's computer and had independently entered a new course, when there was another jolt.
"Engines at full power reverse thrust."
Seven's voice was yelling as she tried to focus on both the ship's controls and the weird incoming signals at the same time. "Encrypted messages, no Star Fleet code, and nothing we know either".... Of course, it had piqued her interest. A slight vibration was felt as the engine ramped up to full power. On the large screen of the bridge a ring-shaped structure became visible, like a tornado, And the ..: proboscis of this gigantic vacuum cleaner was pointed directly at the Raptrix.
"A wormhole" Diana's voice was panicked. Seven, on the other hand, who had now also become aware of the emergency, was quite calm and gave instructions to the on-board computer. while she tried to get clarity about the more exact nature of the space-time anomaly with a quick scan. She tried to contact the rest of the crew via the intercom, but her voice came over the speakers only distorted and slowed down. Finally, she heard her own announcement fade away several times, backwards, forwards, in an endless echo. "The shields seem strong enough, but the engines are about to overload" came her terse status report to Diana. "No chance of using the escape pods here anymore, they would be completely crushed. Now the ship is our lifeboat ..." An automated voice informed her that the feared had occurred.
"Emergency shutdown and separation warp core in 5 seconds ... 4.... 3...."
Diana, who was not even strapped in, noticed this and yelled to Seven, "Buckle up." Just in time. "2,... 1..... Separation." There was a jolt that jumbled all the unfastened objects on the bridge, then an eerie silence fell as the monitor showed the wormhole funnel approaching faster and faster, finally closing around them like giant jaws. Diana looked over at Seven, who was even still able to try to enter something on her
console. She herself could only cling to the back of her commander's chair in panic. Suddenly the chaos on the monitor had disappeared, space was black again around them, stars in the background, and directly in front of them a planet towards which the unresponsive ship was rushing.