Hello From The Other Side

Posted on Tue Sep 4th, 2018 @ 10:50pm by Major Hailey Weston & Captain Michelle Bartlett & Commander Rostra Tang & Lieutenant Commander Shaille Levine

Mission: https://wellington.pegasusfleet.site/index.php/sim/missions/id/5

Captain's Log, August 8, 2399. We've been diverted to an unknown anomaly in the Lumeri Expanse, approximately 8 hours from New Earth after sensors detected an anomalous reading that appeared to be fairly close to a Federation sensor. Our orders are to search and investigate, lest any Organization presence be starting up again.

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From where the anomaly was, emitting some sort of very hazy and difficult-to-read radiation, a fighter-sized craft of an unknown design suddenly blinked onto the sensor screen, Calypso reached out to magnify, "Captain?" She said, "We have..." Another craft, much larger blinked on, "Contacts! Two contacts, one small, one large, in-" A beep sounded, "Incoming transmission."

Michelle looked up. "On screen."

"Unknown starship, this is the Federation Warship Icarus. Heave to and exit this system immediately. Any aggression against us will be responded to in kind." The woman who showed up on the screen had dirty blonde hair and a uniform that looked like it had been on for far too long. A serious voice, one that seemed to be full of resignation. Before there was any time, she looked over her shoulder, then back at the screen, a smile coming to her face, "Correction, Starship Wellington, this is the Starship Icarus, it's damned good to see you! We'd heard you were destroyed three weeks ago. I need to speak with Captain Westerly right away, it's urgent."

Michelle motioned to Cally to cut audio, then looked over at Rostra... "Federation Warship?" "Captain Westerly?" she asked before turning to Tactical. "Lieutenant, search our database for this particular ship, see what you find." She then motioned for audio to be reinstated. "Starship Icarus, there appears to be some confusion. This is Captain Michelle Bartlett. I am the Commanding Officer of this vessel. Is there something we can assist you with?"

Shaille nodded, her fingers already flying across the console as she scanned the database, sending information directly to the Captain's personal screen as it came up.

On the other side of the screen, the Captain in the chair looked back briefly, asking a question and getting a nod and a response from the officer behind her, audio having been cut for that and the woman looked forward again, "Captain Bartlett, this is Captain Charlotte Averis." The voice was calm but with significant stress in it, "Can you authenticate Charlie Mary Foxtrot and tell me what happened to Captain Westerly?" She enunciated very clearly, something in her face, concern.

Michelle was unfamiliar with that lingo but it sounded like Averis wanted her to verify her identity and command status. She punched a few codes into her console and sent them to the Icarus. "I wish I could answer that, Captain Averis. There has never been a Captain Westerly assigned to this vessel. I assumed command following the death of my predecessor, but his last name was not Westerly."

Charlotte turned around again, "Cochrane Protocols." She said without cutting the comm, then turned around and looked back at Michelle for a few seconds, exhaled deeply, then inhaled again. She was obviously thinking, then she nodded very slightly, "Captain Bartlett, the anomaly we just came through appears to be a temporal based anomaly." She glanced down at her screen, "My presumption is that we are in a different timeline, since we are in the same general area of space we were in before." Her eyes met Michelle's own, "I am hereby requesting your assistance, both military and medical, immediately, in violation of the Temporal Prime Directive. In four minutes and forty-two seconds enemy forces will be following us through the anomaly into this timeline. If you choose not to help, we will attempt to return through the anomaly but will likely be unable to in the time given. Otherwise, if you choose not to help, I would advise you to go to warp and clear this area and we will attempt to eliminate the threat on our own." The tone of her voice said it would be an iffy proposition. "I would love to elaborate on the threat to give you more information, but time is of the essence." She started off slowly, but her voice sped up as they went.

'Just once couldn't an anomaly actually be a bloody anomaly?' Michelle thought to herself. Under 5 minutes... Not much time to think. And technically? Wellington is the nearest to respond.

"Captain Averis, do you know the scope and size of the invading enemy force? Two ships may not be enough to hold one off." she added, unaware of the Icarus' tactical capabilities and wasn't about to order a tactical analysis just yet.

“I can’t give you that information until I know you are going to render assistance.” Charlotte said as another series of bolts flew back through the anomaly, “Oh, screw it. Captain, it’s a fighter swarm, approximately forty, four are heavily armed and armored, the remainder are biologicals. By myself and my escort, it would be tough, probably unwinnable, with you, if the old specs are the same here... If you have half a squadron or a full squadron? We should be able to do it. But we need to prevent any escapees Can I count on you?”

Michelle nodded solemnly. Either Jason or Marquette were going to kill her for this. "I see." Michelle said before giving the mute signal and facing the crew. "If anyone objects to the order I am about to give, you may leave your post and I will note it in the ship's log without reprimand." she added before pausing and turning to Rostra. "She doesn't seem confident in her ship's chances."

Cally looked back briefly, then settled herself in the chair, “Helm is ready, Cap’n, buckle up everyone!”

Rostra didn't seem to be going anywhere, "That could be a feint, or it could be absolute knowledge of what she can do, and what she's up against." she paused, "I recommend caution."

"And precision firepower, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking."

Michelle nodded. "I guess I'm not going to be surprising you out of the blue today..." she said to Rostra before looking nodding to restore audio. "Even in this reality, we still have an obligation to respond to distress calls." Michelle said. "I'll have my fighters prepped and we'll render aid. Though once this is all over, I think it would be wise to come aboard to discuss this... I'm going to have to make one hell of a report to Starfleet Command. Something I'm sure in your reality hasn't changed."

Something in Charlotte’s eyes changed To softness for a couple seconds, “Thank you Captain Bartlett, I’m sending over what we know about the fighters behind us. Launch your fighters when ready, Alex? Get their frequency and get on the horn with their squadron commander. Assume control for the engagement.” She looked apologetically at Michelle, “Experience.” It was a one word explanation and both ships accelerated towards the Wellington, “Estimated ninety seconds.” She glanced away, then looked back to Michelle, "Captain, I know we don't have time, but can I transfer my wounded right away? My sickbay took a direct hit in my last engagement and I have almost twenty injured, some severely."

"Of course." Michelle replied, transmitting coordinates. "Bridge to Sick Bay, prepare for incoming casualties." she called out.

"Confirming receipt of 18 casualties in sickbay," Shaille reported calmly. "Captain, I have no idea what kind of firepower we're going to be going up against, but the Icarus is in no shape to battle it's way through a ball of cotton candy let alone stand up in an actual combat situation. The shields are basically non existant, the phaser arrays are giving some really bizarre readings." She shook her head quickly. "Damn, she wasn't kidding when she said sickbay took a direct hit, half the deck is exposed. Unless they have some magic up their sleeves, I have a feeling a lot of this is going to be on us."

As the fighters began to appear in the visual field of the pickup, Calypso half-wished she could be out there with them, but then new dots speckled the screen on her console and without prompting, she tapped a few buttons to bring half of the main viewscreen into alignment with the anomaly and what was coming onto her sensor screen. One of the rainbow balls of energy the Icarus had launched a few seconds before impacted the first... Thing that came out of it, a shower of small bits of debris being the only remainder of whatever it was, then another small thing came through.

On her smaller screen, Cally magnified it even as she noted the Icarus coming around at bay. A thin fuselage, perhaps barely as long as a small shuttlecraft, but only as thick around as a particularly fat man was surrounded by four claw-like appendages attached in three places. Forty-three of them emerged, flitting around with an ease and speed that Calypso knew was outside the normal realm of the Federation fighters, but without any apparent rhyme or reason. Then behind them came four other craft, easily outsizing the Wellington's own and she triggered a scan of her own revealing heavier armor readings and sent that to the security station. Then behind that, craft similar to the smaller ones, but twice the size came through, a matte black with green highlights. The moment it came through, the small black fighters seemed to snap back into a coherent formation and began to move nearly as one, four of them forming up onto two of the four larger seemingly-fighters reorienting themselves on the Icarus and the other pair and a four-craft escort onto the Wellington.

The larger black fighter twisted and pointed its nose at an angle from the Federation ships and hung there for several seconds before resuming the former course heading with the thirty-five smaller brethren towards the formation of Federation fighters settling down towards them. "Oh shit..." Cally muttered.

On the other half of the screen, Captain Averis straightened slightly in her chair, one of her other bridge personnel tying off a bandage on her arm, "Focus fire on the four Kojal fighters, Captain, they're going to be gunning for us and they are heavily armed and armored. Then let the chips fall where they may."

"Focus targets as requested." Michelle said turning to tactical. "Red Alert."

The bridge began to glow an eerie shade of red, the klaxons sounding around them, almost resounding around the bridge. "Weapons charged and ready Captain," Shaille replied watching her console carefully, the only sign of her unease being the fact that she had paled visibly by one or two shades as she swallowed hard before muttering "Today is not a good day to die..."

(any final tags from the Bridge crew?)


OFF:

Captain Charlotte Averis
Commanding Officer
USS Icarus

Captain Michelle Bartlett
Commanding Officer
USS Wellington

Commander Rostra Tang
Executive Officer
USS Wellington

Lieutenant Calypso Skyie
Chief Helm Officer
USS Wellington

Lieutenant Shaille Levine
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Wellington