Return to Sender
Posted on Tue Jun 4th, 2024 @ 2:20am by Captain Ewan Darrow
Edited on on Tue Jun 4th, 2024 @ 2:21am
Mission:
Shakedown Shake-Up
Location: Cygnet System
Timeline: End of Mission
1592 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure
Ewan sat alone on the bridge of the Nelson as she cruised through warp only minutes out from the Cygnet System. Well, not entirely alone, as every station as currently crewed by a hologram, but while he could enjoy their company from time to time, these ones weren’t complex.
He would have preferred to have his senior staff here for the moment they arrived in system and prepared to send their guest back to the Delta Quadrant, but they were all needed elsewhere. Rufus was prepping the shuttle for its return trip, Martin was carrying for the avian, Njalia was doing final simulations on the worm to ensure that it would delete everything that they need it to delete. That left just Ewan on the bridge, especially once Nolan had realized he was alone with Ewan he had scampered off to the lab to ‘check on gravity’ or something along those lines.
So, Ewan sat, sipping his tea in silence as the ship flew through space to a place, he hadn’t thought they would ever go again. The stars streamed past the viewport; the slight vibration of the off-kilter warp field shuddered the deck. All was quiet.
It would be an uneventful trip, the Hadfield had already reported that they had successfully rebooted the reactor on the catapult and all the systems had come online with the efficiency Ewan had come to expect from Starfleet engineered systems. That left just getting the shuttle out and on its way.
The console beside him beeped and Ewan tapped at it, 5 seconds till reversion to real space. He tapped the side of his cup to the number on the screen before it gave one final beep and the stars on the screen in front of him disappeared back to their pinpoints. “Hail the Cadenza,” Ewan ordered as he set his mug down and pushed off the arm rests to stand behind the holographic pilot, “and bring use to the point they forwarded for launch.”
The hologram’s both answered at the same time, their voices in sync in a rather creepy way as the starscape shifted from a distant planet to the graviton catapult. The Cadenza, a science version of the venerable Nebula Class almost hovered above the catapult as if it was looking for a perch. The Hadfield, one of the newer Merian class starships floated much closer to the immense station, likely most of her engineering crew aboard it, readying it to send the shuttle back.
Both ships disappeared being replaced by the bridge of the Cadenza and the figure of Captain Ra-Elanga, her well-mannered and weathered Efrosion captain. “Captain Darrow, not quite the ship I expected to see you on the next time we met,” The woman said a small smile on her face, “I expected something a bit grander.”
Ewan chuckled, “Yes well, I’m sure you read our last report where we melted the spine of the Vesta. I’m sure our next meeting will be much closer to your expectations of what I should be riding on.”
“Yes, rather impressive to get something that hot and well… melted.” Ra-Elanga said as she looked off screen, “Aria reports that the surrounding systems are clear, and nothing is in the direct path of the catapult within 5 light years.”
Ewan nodded as he looked over the shoulder of the operations hologram and read the incoming message. Commander Yuljia Clark, captain of the small and as equally feisty as her captain Defiant class starship, would have scrutinized every square nanometer of space around the Cygnet System. As feisty as she was, the woman had a drive to make sure everything was perfect to the T. “Yes, I see that too. I also saw Harry’s crew got the catapult running in record time.”
The Efrosion nodded, “Yes, helps that he was on the original crew that ran the station, likely why Admiral Minawara requested he be one of the ships that attended the system for this. How’s our guest?”
“Last I heard from my doctor, still unconscious though he was keeping the Ziapteryx that way via medication.” Ewan said as he waved a hand as if it was nothing, “Apparently their visual cortex doesn’t see holograms the same way some of our more galactic local avian species do. To them the holograms appear like some horrible Jackson Pollock knock off painting and rather horrifying at that if Martin’s story of what happened when it woke up is anything to go by.”
“Which would be why my doctor just left the ship with several other real medical personnel.” Ra-Elanga said with a nod, “How is that new little ship?”
“Horrible, but we can talk about that later,” Ewan said with a groan, “It would take me too long and I’d start ranting when we have more important things to do. Give me an hour to get things going and we’ll send this uninvited guest back.”
“Sounds like a plan Captain Darrow,” and with a nod, the Efrosian disappeared from the view screen.
“Always so official that one…” Ewan said to the hologram in front of him. The hologram didn’t even react and just continued tapping away at the console below, “Right, captive audience.” He shook his head and moved back to his chair; he had orders to give.
Ewan stood once more on the bridge, this time just past both front consoles at the base of the large main viewscreen. “Everything’s ready here.” Ewan said to the audio channel between himself and Captain Harry Montgomery, “We’re moving the shuttle into position now Harry.”
“Yeah, we see her,” the other Captain replied as a pair of shuttles, one piloted by Rufus, pulling the Republic shuttle into the launch point via a tractor beam, came into view. “And the program to keep her going is loaded up?”
“So, I’ve been told, and the sedative should wear off a few minutes into its journey.” Ewan responded as the Starfleet shuttle broke off its tractor beam and veered away from the massive catapult station and towards the Nelson. “She’s all yours now Harry.”
“She’s in good hands… been a while since I got to watch this thing work, always a treat.” Harry said as beeping could be heard in the background. “Launching in 30 seconds.”
Ewan watched either side of the catapult as the gravimetric waves began to build up. The power behind them was immense, the space around them began to distort like they would with a black hole. Light began to bend, and he could almost make out the beams as they reached out to grab the shuttle.
Once could almost feel the power of the catapult building up, grabbing the little shuttle within the massive grip of gravity as it prepared to hurl it across the Milky Way Galaxy.
“Launching in 5…”
The station began to shudder in the viewscreen as the Nelson was caught in the gravimetric waves over wash, “Pull us back another few hundred kilometers,” Ewan ordered.
The hologram tapped the console and the shuddering reduced as the ship began to back away from the massive station.
“4….”
The shuttle began to waver now, the light around it bending as the gravimetric beams encapsuled the small craft. It was rather impressive Ewan considered that the Republic of the First Worlds had managed to get something so small and make it able to withstand the pressures of gravity.
“3…”
“Captain, sensors report a massive gravitational wave forming behind the shuttle,” one of the holograms reported to Ewan. “Recommend pulling away.”
“Hold position, it’s all part of the launch, no need to worry.” Ewan ordered as he remembered that the holograms weren’t programmed to know what the catapult was or what it could do to them or space around it.
“2…”
The Cadenza appeared over the top of the station, it too pulling away from the massive gravimetric waves it was producing. Ewan couldn’t see the Hadfield but he knew it was likely doing the same.
“1… Launch!”
It happened in an instant. The wave that had been forming released the energy that had built up behind it, the light around it appearing in a flash. In the same flash, the shuttle that had once been there disappeared, the field between the two pylons of the station glowing from the energy they had just produced. “Telemetry shows a successful launch,” Harry said over the commlink, letting all know the little ship was on its way.
“Any information on its structural fields?” Ewan asked as he turned and moved back towards his chair, it wouldn’t do to report a success if their friend broke up after the launch.
“Sensors show that it’s holding up just fine.” Harry reported, “Another successful launch.”
Ewan let out a sigh, with the Ziapteryx now off his ship and back on its way to the Delta Quadrant, his job was done. “Well then, I guess that’s that.”
“Indeed…. Now we wait for the Slipstream probe to be built and find out if the rest of the plan worked.” Ra-Elanga finally added her two cents, “And hope that we don’t need to do anything else.”
“Hope indeed my friends, hope indeed.” Ewan muttered as he settled into his chair, “It’s been a slice, but we’re off to Esquimalt, my ship awaits.”
