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USS Feynman FEB 1997: Difference between revisions
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<h3 style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS','Arial'; color: royalblue; font-weight: bold;">USS FEYNMAN: Moving the Rock</h3> | |||
<h4 style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS','Arial'; color: royalblue; font-weight: bold;">by | |||
Kevin Sherrod Thigpen 2-17-1997</h4> | |||
Stardate: 90217.2305<br> | |||
Scene:USS NOGURA II (runabout)<br> | |||
MD: 4.1650<br> | |||
"Slowing to two-thirds impulse," reported Jerran to no one in particular. | |||
Loren's eyes widened but he said nothing. Jerran was in charge and the | |||
best damn pilot he knew right now. He wasn't going to interrupt him. | |||
He could do something to help though. Turning back to his screen, Loren | |||
extended the sensors to extreme range. Those freighters were carrying | |||
uranium...that much the sensors and Allard had told. Why they were | |||
carrying it was easily seen too. | |||
An old element used so far back he couldn't remember, but what is was | |||
once | |||
used for he could recall. Old-fashioned atomics. Planet cleansers. | |||
Destroys all life rendering a planet completely uninhabitable. Tapping in | |||
a few commands Loren could also determine a projected course for the | |||
freighters...a point midway to the Kzin homeworld. | |||
If the Xanthandi couldn't have the planet, then apparently they'd decided | |||
no one could. | |||
A hard blast suddenly rocked the runabout pitching her to port. Sparks | |||
flew from Loren's sensor console. Putting up his arms barely protected | |||
him from the spray. | |||
"Hey, okay?" | |||
Loren could barely make out the words of Allard who had come up from the | |||
back of the runabout. | |||
"Yea, I'll make it." | |||
Picking himself up off the floor, Loren's ears readjusted as the warning | |||
klaxons onboard the runabout became audible. | |||
"Have the killer bees come about and form back up. This starship isn't | |||
letting up even in this asteroid field," urgently but emotionlessly spoke | |||
Jerran. | |||
The Cheyenne class cruiser had pursued the NOGURA II into the field and | |||
not slowed a bit. Asteroids continued to glance off it's forward shields | |||
but it relentlessly pursued the small shape weaving and ducking behind the | |||
space rocks several kilometers in front of it. | |||
"Spearhead formation with the bees on wings, full impulse" came Jerran's | |||
next order. | |||
He knew that the small team was outgunned and outmaneuvered. The only | |||
option was to change the rules of engagement a little. This one would | |||
require skill. Fortunately, he didn't doubt himself. | |||
"Come to course 34 mark 3." | |||
"Sir, that's right on course for the heart of the asteroid belt," came the | |||
tremulous voice of CWO Dunnon. | |||
"Tell the killer bees to stay on my wings and copy my maneuvers EXACTLY," | |||
replied Jerran ignoring Dunnon's announcement. | |||
Allard had taken off to the back of the runabout with his team, as Loren | |||
scrambled back into his chair. Outside the window, Loren could make out | |||
the dim shape of a large asteroid, directly in the middle of the window. | |||
The NOGURA seemed to creep up on the asteroid as Dunnon called out | |||
distances at which the unknown starship was to their aft. | |||
"150,000 km." | |||
Another blast rocked the runabout. | |||
"Aux power to rear shields. I need them up for another ten seconds. Tell | |||
the bees to break port and starboard on my order." | |||
A look passed between Jerran and his copilot, who simply nodded. Loren | |||
didn't need to be a telepath to see that more was communicated between | |||
the two than actually said. | |||
"80,000 km and closing." | |||
The asteroid seemed to fill up most of the front window. | |||
"Keep her steady." | |||
The runabout shook again from another glancing blow. | |||
Dunnon yelled over the klaxons, "Port stabilizer gone. Losing attitude | |||
control!" | |||
"Compensate with maneuvering thrusters," forcefully spoke Jerran. | |||
Dunnon reported again, "40,000 km. They've gone to full impulse!" | |||
"Now," ordered Jerran in his usual flat tone. | |||
Loren felt the gees as he slunk lower into his seat and Jerran pulled off | |||
a maneuver worthy of years of bragging rights in the FCO lounge on | |||
EPSILON. | |||
The killer bees broke left and right as ordered. But the NOGURA pulled an | |||
unbelievably sharp turn straight up...and back in the direction it was | |||
running from. | |||
Heading directly for the starship which had gone to full impulse, in a | |||
shuttle which was at full impulse, Jerran didn't even break a sweat. | |||
Banking the shuttle right at the last possible moment to avoid the | |||
starship's shields, Jerran put the shuttle close enough to nearly SEE into | |||
the dorsal viewport directly over the ship's bridge. | |||
Obviously, Jerran's kamikaze run directly at the starship frazzled an FCO | |||
already frazzled by flying at full impulse in an asteroid field. The | |||
starship, lacking the maneuverability and gall of the NOGURA's pilot | |||
glanced off the asteroid several times its mass. | |||
It's shields went from green to a fiery orange and then vanished | |||
altogether as the starboard side of it's saucer section gave the asteroid | |||
a glancing blow. Bulkhead pieces gave way as parts of the starship | |||
floated along the solar winds helped by the force of impact. | |||
"Reading severe damage to its power distribution system. Weapons | |||
offline and engines inoperative," happily reported Dunnon. "They're not | |||
going anywhere for awhile." | |||
The thought of boarding the starship crossed Loren's mind, but he thought | |||
of the mission instead. There was a supply depot that needed destroying | |||
and on top of that boarding a fully armed starship was very different from | |||
capturing a freighter. | |||
In a few minutes, the small minorly damaged team found themselves back at | |||
the coordinates for the freighters. | |||
The two ships hung silently in space. Apparently the damage inflicted had | |||
been more than the team initially thought. | |||
"One of the ship's has no engine capability. It's the one that one of | |||
their own fighters ran into. The ship is completely adrift. I'm also | |||
detecting high levels of lethal radiation and no life signs onboard," came | |||
Dunnon's report. | |||
"Apparently their cargo got to them before we did," commented Loren. | |||
"Well at least we have a target now. Counselor if you would please | |||
notify Allard and his men that boarding will commence shortly on the other | |||
freighter. We'll try | |||
to put them in a quiet place on the freighter if we can," ordered Jerran. | |||
Respectfully submitted,<br> | |||
Kevin Thigpen<br> | |||
Ens. Loren Landers<br> | |||
USS FEYNAM CNS<br> | |||
NRPG: Well, I hope I resolved the issue of the starship. I didn't think | |||
it'd be feasible to destroy them. Besides now, they can come back and | |||
haunt us. :) . I like the uranium twist! The ball's in your court now | |||
Mike. Of course, if it's possible, Loren will accompany the team onto the | |||
freighter. I was thinking we'd capture the freighter and find the | |||
coordinates for the supply depot and then do some real damage. | |||
<h3 style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS','Arial'; color: royalblue; font-weight: bold;">USS FEYNMAN: The Trip to ST318</h3> | <h3 style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS','Arial'; color: royalblue; font-weight: bold;">USS FEYNMAN: The Trip to ST318</h3> | ||