EPISODE 4 - Princess and Pirates

[tomcat]

STARDATE 8335.9

The Columbia sped through the emptiness of space at the marvelous speed of warp factor 6, her nacelles glowing an incandescent blue and generating the field that allowed her to slip into subspace. She was not at her maximum but it was an easily sustainable speed that Ramos did not have to worry, at least not too much.

The engineer went from one console to the next in the main engineering room (on Deck 4), looking over his staff's shoulders and checking the read outs. It certainly was not out of mistrust, but his personal desire to be hands on - he loved having a staff of such capabilities but he missed doing their jobs! He smiled at himself for his behavior and then at the fact that his team had this ship running at Warp 6 for the last 15 days.

He pushed the comm link, "Engineering to bridge... nothing to report."

He let go of the comm button with a final smile - that was the latest of 20 reports that he had made to his captain. All of them had been clear of incident, which meant his engines were at 100%.

On the bridge, Townshend listened to the signals that were emitted by the many stellars bodies in the universe. She was amazed by the different energy wave lengths that were given off by things that were made up of just gases and dust. Sometimes those emissions were made by intelligent beings - she bent her ear hardest for those. Nebula were common places for the hideouts of rogues and pirates, sometimes even worse.

The call from engineering came over her system and she could hear the smile in John's voice. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Darkan received the comm and then went back to her tasks. She looked back to her captain, her hand holding her earpiece, and made her own report.

"Captain, I am picking up nothing but standard space garble... it sounds clear."

Darkan nodded and then looked to the science station and the vulcan that had been sitting there for what seemed the last six days. The U.S.S. Columbia was about 25 minutes from entering the Paulson Nebula and its thick gases. If they were going to delay that decision, it would need to be ordered within the next 144 million kilometers!

Across from Stonn, Grahm sat at his station with his eyes peeled on the status of the systems in his charge. He would have to be the one to increase the inertial dampeners if the ship fell from warp - if its warp field was deteriorated by the nebula. He was glad he had the computer working with him, and would keep him apprised of the ship's condition. He and Alex would then work in tandem to bring the ship to a stop and protect the crew.

On the viewscreen, the massive cloud filled the monitor completely. The time had almost come...

[GandalfOfBorg]

"Final thoughts, Mr. Stonn?"

OOC: Do we anticipate a rough ride or other disturbances while entering/traveling at this speed through the nebula?  I was thinking of ordering Yellow Alert for at least entering the nebula.

[tomcat]

OOC: Do we anticipate a rough ride or other disturbances while entering/traveling at this speed through the nebula?  I was thinking of ordering Yellow Alert for at least entering the nebula.

It is possible Matt... all depends on the System Reliabilty tests made based on the Nebula Mechanics I gave in the Epilogue.

Yellow alert would at least raise shields and have the crew positioned for any potential problems.

Doug

[sdrotar]

"Final thoughts, Mr. Stonn?"

The Vulcan quickly swiveled in his chair to face Darkan.
"All departments report 'ready', Captain. I will disengage and shut down the Arc Bow sensor array upon Paulson nebula incursion to protect the instrumentation. It may be possible to use the system in the nebula, or it may not. It has never been tested under such conditions."

[GandalfOfBorg]

This gave something for Darkan to ponder a moment.  "No time like the present to give it a try, especiallu while we're this close to friendlies.  Helm, drop to Warp 2 and put us at Yellow Alert."  Switching his comm to ship-wide broadcast.  "All hands, we are reducing speed and are about to enter the nebula.  Prepare yourselves for anything."  Switching over to contact Engineering, "Mr. Ramos, we're gonna see how well the masking system works under the nebula's conditions.  Good luck!"

Settling into his chair, Steven waits anxiously as the ship begins its entrance into the vast cloud ahead of his ship.

[tomcat]

The Columbia entered into the cloud, her shields up. The forward deflectors knocked away small particles of matter that could have been a potential threat to the ship. A piece of rock, the size of a dime, could tear through the starship from stem to stern at these speeds, something the crew would rather not see happen.

She shook and static filled the monitors for a brief moment as the ship compensated for the clouds electric charge. But then the Columbia normalized as it slipped through the plasma and gases and the bridge crew let out their breath.

As predicted by Stonn, Townshend's communications became little but static noise; Grahm made minor adjustments to maintain the shields; and Ramos began to seriously monitor the engines. The engineers console showed the warp field continuity as a percentage, anything over 90% meant the ship was safely moving at warp speed. Now that percentage began to fall and he made adjustments to the engines and he could hear the ship's 'heart' begin to work harder as it constantly compensated for the field deterioration.

Ramos looked to his assistant and said, "I don't like this. I want an eye kept on this at all times until we break through the other side, understood?"

Lt. Torrence, Assistant Chief Engineer, nodded vigorously at his superior, "Aye, sir."

Ramos walked away from that console to check some others, he could see the warp engine flicker as it worked harder.

*****

OOC:

Ships System Reliabilty test for Warp travel through the Nebula (TN 13, once every 6 Hours):
Warp System Reliabilty +6, Affinity bonus from Engineering staff +1
Roll(2d6)+7: 5,5,+7 Total:17 COMPLETE SUCCESS

Note: Shawn, you can take over on the Reliability test rolls for here on out, since you are playing Ramos as well.

Note:The Paulson Nebula is 4 light years across where you guys are passing... so at the new speed of Warp Factor 2, that will equate to over 4 months to cross.

The following time will be required by Warp Factor:

WF 4- 5.4 Days (22 RT*)
WF 5- 4.8 Days (19 RT)
WF 6- 4 Days (16 RT)
WF 7- 2.4 Days (10 RT)
WF 8- 1.6 Days (6 RT - but this speed will require more Reliabilty tests for the ship)

*Reliability tests

The Reliabilty TN will not change for the Warp Field integrity, but the potential hazards that may occur will be based on the speed of the ship. higher speeds will obviously cause greater harm to ship and crew if the ship 'falls' out of warp.

Degree of Success will also play a factor in the tests. A series Marginal Success (only) results will reduce the propulsion reliabilty in the following manner.

MS 1: No change
MS 2: -1 To Reliability Test
MS 3: -2 To Reliability Test
MS 4: -3 To Reliability Test
MS 5: -5 To Reliability Test
MS 6: -7 To Reliability Test
MS 7: -9 To Reliability Test
MS 8+: Decrease negative modifier by -2

[GandalfOfBorg]

Darkan could hear and feel his ship strain upon entering the nebula, but there was nothing overtly wrong... yet.  After a few tense minutes, he called out, "Mr. Stonn, what's the status of the Prairie Masker and the warp drive?"

[cbl62]

Grahm could feel the nebula tugging at the shields at watched his consol as his sheild indicators flicked from green to amber to green again. He quickly moved his fingers over the keys to make adjustments according to the computer suggested read outs.

"Captain, the Nebula is really straining at our sheilds."

Systems Roll (Tactical) vs. TN 13
Systems (Tactical) (2D6+10)
Roll(2d6)+10: 6,5,+10 Total:21 - success

Grahm quickly made the changes, feeling confident his training had allowed him to make the right moves. That should stabilize it for a while, he thought, but the screen had his full attention now, instead of wandering between his station and watching Townshend across the bridge.

[tomcat]

The bridge crew paid attention to their stations as they continued through the nebula at warp 2. They were thirty-five minutes into the cloud. The viewscreen occassionaly flashed as electricity flared throughout the cloud causing the ship to shake.

Stonn looked at the results from the ship's scans trying to put together a report for his captain. The science officer new it was act of futility. The Prairie Masker was not designed to function at speeds greater than wrp factor 1. Still, Darkan wanted to see if the system would perform in the environment through which they now flew.

The ship shook violently and the lights dimmed a moment and Pushkin made some quick adjustments to put the ship back on its proper course. As each of the stations verified that the ship was performing as it should, Townshend listened intently to her earpiece.

She then spoke, "Captain, report coming in... on speakers."

"Life support to bridge," said the voice amidst a bit of static. "That last shake caused one of our lines to rupture. We have a liquid nitrogen leak on 7."

The comm went silent as the Operations crewman signed off. As the department head, Townshend immediately called to engineering to inform Ramos of the situation.

****

OOC:

A couple of things:

1st- The Prairie Masker system does not operate with any effect when the ship is moving at speeds greater than warp factor 1

2nd- I will need Stonn to make a Sys Ops (Sensors) test TN 17

[GandalfOfBorg]

OOC: Ooops sorry, its been awhile  Darkan would've/should've known that, oh well.

Cursing to himself, Darkan calls out, "Cut the stealth system and shore up the shields.  Divert power from low priority systems if need be.  We'll remain at this speed for now.  Stand down from Yellow Alert."  Switching on his comm, "Engineering, this is the bridge.  How are things there?"

[tomcat]

Townshend listened to the jabber that was going on over the ships internal channels and with skill that she had mastered over the years, she filtered out all but the information being stated regarding the nitrogen leak. She touched a button that opened a direct channel.

"Dr. Tam to Life Support - A, potential injuries being reported," she said and then moved on to the next selected conversation on the channels.

At the helm, Pushkin and his fellow navigator kept the ship as it was per their captain's orders.

OOC: Shawn, I just wanted to make sure that you have Ramos now... if not, I will respond to Darkan for him.

As far as forgetting about hte 'new technology' stuff Matt... no sweat, it has been a while. We can just pretend that his request to test the system did not happen.  :wink:

[Edrahil / Tam]

Dr Tam sat in his sickbay, pouring over some of his notes. Even though for the most part he'd gotten over his fear of space, all of this shaking was definitely not helping his nerves. He kept trying to distract himself with his work, giving his mind something to focus on besides the creaking noises the decks were making. Unfortunately, he wasn't having much luck with that right now, as he'd read these passages several times before, they weren't nearly as engaging as they used to be. "Please," he prayed, "let me find some distraction to focus on besides these horrid noises."

Almost at once, his call was seemingly answered, as the Comm channel activated and summoned him to a medical emergency. Immediately, his mind became focused on the task at hand. He grabbed one of his med kits, and called to his staff. "1 of you is with me, the rest of you prepare sickbay for possible incoming wounded. I'll notify you of the situation when I get on scene." And with that, he darted out the door, heading for Level 7.

[GandalfOfBorg]

OOC: Did Grahm's efforts to smooth out the bumps help or is the ships still being jostled about?

[tomcat]

Welcome back Chris!    It is wonderful to see you back with us!  :D

Just a note - Sickbay is on Deck 7, so Tam doesn't have to far to go. If you look at the Deck Plan 7, there are two exterior Life Support hatches - A and B. The Life Support stations/mechanics are named by the crew by which side of the ship they are on. So, Life Support - A could be any of the L.S. stations on the port-side of the ship.

Comprende? Let me know if you have any questions.

One other thing Chris, I didn't know if you'd be back or not and Tam's skill ranks are different on the website.

Matt, Grahm put up the shields which has lowered the heavy static charge interference to the ships mechanics and systems, but otherwise the ship's flight is relatively smooth. It was just a large nebulonic static discharge that had caused the jolt - it could happen randomly. The worst thing the ship might suffer is Warp Field deterioration. Anyway, the jolt caused the line rupture in L.S.-A.

Here is a pic of the location... the two blue dots are Life Support personnel:

[sdrotar]

2nd- I will need Stonn to make a Sys Ops (Sensors) test TN 17[/i]

Sys Ops (Sensors) +11 (TN 17)
Roll(2d6)+11:4,2,+11 Total:17

***
Without looking up from his sensor hood, Stonn responded to Darkan's inquiry.
"Captain, the Prairie Masker system is incapable of functioning at this velocity. I have shut the system down to prevent any possible exposure damage from the Nebula."

As he spoke, something flashed across his vision. The Vulcan's fingers deftly flew over his control panel as he focused the sensors on the anomalous area...