Stuck in the Middle

Posted on Tue Nov 10th, 2015 @ 3:46pm by Lieutenant JG Talia "Phoenix" Richards & 1st Lieutenant Leroy Mangalia & Ensign Wilfred (Wedge) Miles & Ensign Boregard (Bojay) McKay

1,198 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Of Gods and Men
Location: Gekkaro Sector

ON

The fighters were surveying the other planets in the system -- the ones without humanoid inhabitants. One of the planets had a breathable atmosphere, but only minimal plant and animal life. Phoenix was the lucky one who happened to survey that particular planet. It meant she had to do several passes around it to get the best overall reading of the planet. It would make a decent habitable planet if the other one ever developed enough to spread out.

When she finished her scans, she called Leroy. "Done with the fifth planet. Moving out to the sixth."

"Find anything good?" Leroy called back as he circled the eleventh and final planet in the system. "I seem to have gotten the short end of the stick out here..." Closing down the scans, he started in towards the tenth. "Nothing out here but ice and zero atmosphere. But on the plus side it's got a liquid core of salt water. Be no different than diving in the pacific."

"Bojay here.=^= He announced. =^= seem to have gotten the dust ball on the seventh planet; not a breathable atmosphre, cold and a frozen water table far below the surface. =^= HE chuckled. =^= More likE a good place to train the Marines in their Suits about hiking.=^=

=^= Planet nine out here is a bunch of gases of the warp core runs out of power we can get a refuel for chemical rockets.=^= He remarked.

"Planet six is barren. No breathable atmosphere, mostly rock. Looks like it's seen its share of asteroids. Moving on," Phoenix announced.

Leroy parked in orbit over the tenth planet, turning on his scanners again for another useless sweep. "This one almost reminds me of Jupiter or Saturn," he said not remembering his comms were on. "Anyone look up the first three in orbit?"

"Heading to the first one now," Phoenix said. It took her almost an hour to get to the inner planet, which was mostly molten rock and base elements. She took note, logged hte scans, and headed for the second, which was less molten. There were a number of base elements that could be mined if needed, but apart from that, there was nothing of note. "One and two cataloged," she reported. "They're pretty much like a million other planets in teh Federation."

"Yea well I have a planet that is sending diamonds at the speed of sound here," Leroy said as he watched the scanners. "Anyone want one? Bet I could get a few in a tractor beam and pull them out right quick." He was clearly kidding as he shut down his scanners again. "Everyone meet up at the fifth rock when your done your scans. I'm sure the Captain will want all the detail we can give on it."

"On my way," Phoenix said, heading for the fifth planet.

Before she got there, the alarm on her ship sounded. "Detecting an energy discharge of some kind on the fourth planet," she said over the comm.

=^= I am detecting a high speed discharge leaving the system.=^= Bojay took a higher orbit.

=^= I am getting no feed back from the Calypso. =^= Wedge checked his signals. =^= I have lost the return Homing Signal. =^=

"Neither am I," Phoenix said. "Leroy, we can't fly around forever and we can't land on the fourth planet without violating the prime directive. The fifth planet is an option, or do we look around for a while and hope the Calypso comes back?"

"On your way in check the planet for the Captains bio signature. Did anyone check which way the ship went? Anyone pick up a warp trail or anything else?" Leroy was already charging back into the system, hoping to catch a glimpse of something.

"Passing the fourth planet," Phoenix said. "Captain is on the planet. She's with a large group of people. Suggest we land on the fifth planet for the night and then figure out what to do."

"Land only if your bingo. I want active scans, I want to know where that beam came from. Wedge, Bojay, meet up at five, I want active comms with someone on the ground. Captain preferred, but anyone will do."

"The beam came from the fourth planet," Phoenix replied. "From what the sensors picked up, it came from the same general location as the away team."

=^= There was an energy source heading out of the system on a track from where the Landing party is, I was in high orbit of the tenth plante and followed it out of system. Extreme Warp velocity, it was heading out like a bat out of Hell, I clocked it in excess of warp four by the time it cleared the solar system=^= Bojay informed. =^=Once outside the Solar System it continued to gain sped as it cleared Sensor range. =^=

"Get back here to five Bojay. Wedge, report!" Leroy called out as he started to circle the fifth planet.


=^= Wedge here from planet nine, heading back to Planet Five. =^= He reported as he arced the fighter about.

=^= Changing course. =^= Bojay replied as he took a last scan of the area that the Calypso had been seen heading if it were in that globe. =^= Heading to your location.=^=

"Planetary scans show away team appears fine," Phoenix said. "Commodore York wants us to stay away and make brief contact every twelve hours. I'm heading to the fifth planet to join the rest of you."

The pilot scanned the Fifth planet that was the target for his landing sight, taking the locater signal from the Lead ship. Adapting his angle of approach, slowing his trajectory he activated the heat shielding.

=^= Wedge reporting on final approach.=^= The transmission from Wedge just before he entered full reentry and the communications 'Dead Zone' that was far shorter than the three minutes of the 'old days' when a capsule would be engulfed by the friction of re-entry but now that had was all but a thing of the past.

Bojay was on automatic while he let the ship make an approach; Bojay was trying to use the sensory filters to see if he could make anything out of the globe of energy. The fighter would make the flight adjustments until the fighter entered a hight orbit of 22,200 miles above the surface. He was absently watching the sensors.

"Well, we're going to have to keep enough of a distance to keep from getting hit by whatever beam got the Calypso," Phoenix said, knowing she was stating the obvious, but hoping that it would help get some answers.

=^= Bojay to group. =^= He began. =^= What if we use the shadow of the moon as it is between us for the approach to near orbit and pop out to get the check in and then reverse the process for the return, staying under cover until transmission? =^=

"Well, as it's night on the planet, I suggest we take advantage of that and get some sleep. One of us can get behind the moon around dawn, when there's less chance of being spotted," Phoenix said.

____
OFF

Master Sergeant Leroy Mangalia
Flight Leader

Ensign Talia "Phoenix" Richards
Pilot

Ensign Boregard "Bojay" McKay
Pilot

Ensign Wilfred "Wedge" MIles
Pilot

 

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