All Hands On Deck!
Posted on Tue 11th Apr, 2023 @ 6:48am by
1,105 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Neither Yours Nor Mine
Location: Savario's Quarters on Water Deck
Timeline: MD 6, 0415
Savario Sat'sudj'ka was snuggled front to back with his wife, Kaku K'hudj'sa, dreaming sweet memories of his home world, the moon C'hak'as, orbiting a barren rock planet further in the Beta Quadrant. He was slung out of his sleep net into the deeper water with the raucous noise of a sneglum screaming in his ears. It was the alarm chosen to be most annoying to the Zephalids and other water dwellers who served in Starfleet.
Kaku was not tossed out of the sleep net, but couldn't ignore the alert. "What is it, Sevdimah*?" she asked sleepily.
Stroking his way to the communicator, he said, "We'll soon find out." His front flanged flipper tapped the com and he barked, "Sat'sudj'ka here. What's the problem?"
=^=Yellow alert from Cadieux-TOI. Apparent rupture in habitat domes under the north Polar ice cap.=^=
"Cadieux? Super Earth?"
=^=Yes, Sir, 5.5, red dwarf star, habitable zone. Starfleet Science Mission TOI-1452. Inhabitants can survive in ocean for a limited period.=^=
"How limited?" Savario asked tensely, "And how far for rescue?"
=^=Estimated 3.5 days, and mission needs to leave within 8 standard hours to arrive in 2.5 days.=^=
"Call out my C team. I want a ship ready to leave in 4 hours." Sat'sudj'ka ordered, cutting off the com.
"Well, you heard what I heard," he said, rubbing the top of his head, and pulling on his ear tufts. "You might as well go back to sleep, Sevdimas.* It looks like I'm stepping out for a while."
This was the first time since she'd been on SB109 that her husband had been called on a rescue mission. To say she wasn't completely happy was an understatement, but it was his job, and he was good at it. "I thought B was your best team," she said resting back down in the net.
"It is. But that's why I'm leaving them here. C is almost as good, and needs more experience. B will be available for something more critical ... and I hope this doesn't escalate to more than a yellow alert. 3.5 days," he mused, rubbing his head again, then letting out a sigh. "Hopefully, we have no other problems."
Leaning over the sleeping net, he rubbed noses with his spouse, showing his affection and regret at leaving her alone. "I'll be back in less than a Terran week, and we'll have dinner at a little seafood place I know about in the Water Promenade. You'll like the Terran species known as Cherry Stone Clams, I think."
"I look forward to it, my husband," Kaku said.
His dispatch team did well, and Savario was on his way to Cadieux, both a super-Earth and a mini-Neptune. As his pilot advanced the ship to warp, the lieutenant mused on the Terran habit of using their own solar system as a reference to others, most of which were quite different from the Sol system. It seemed a little odd that they were still doing so several hundred years after meeting so many other races, but perhaps it was a peculiarity of their species, which had spent millennia thinking they were alone.
"Ensign," he addressed his C-Team lead, "do you have an update available?"
"Yes, Sir. Cadieux is considered a small planet and transits its M-dwarf host in a little over 11 days. The science station was founded about 50 years ago, and there have never been any problems with its stability or function," the Ensign began.
Interrupting her, he asked, "Any indication of what caused an anomaly now? Accident, wear and tear, neglect ... even a planetary storm?"
"No, Sir," she replied patiently. "There are occasional stellar flare events, but as a dwarf star, they are not typically strong ... not compared to what Sol would generate, at least."
There it was again, the Sol-bias. "And is it a newly discovered planet?"
"No, Sir. In fact, it was first noted in something called ..." she looked at her notes, "TESS ... some kind of exoplanet exploration system of the 21st century. It's been observed and stable for almost 400 years, which is one reason the science station was located there to study such planetary masses and dwarf stars."
Savario grunted. "So we really don't have much to go on as to what happened, do we?" Not waiting for an answer, he continued. "What about number of scientists? Are there families, children, involved in our rescue?"
Glancing at the report on her PADD, Ensign Kail'lee, a bottle-nosed dolphin from Earth, said, "Approximately 50 scientists, some with family. It appears there are ... perhaps 15 children under the age of 18, and twice that many bonded partners." She glanced up at her boss. "Close to a hundred, many humanoid, but some water species, as well."
Blowing out a breath, the lieutenant said, "If you pray to an unknown God, better ask him for help on this one, Ensign. I think we can use all we can get."
Turning to the pilot, he checked progress. "What's our ETA look like, Brian?" He spoke to a humanoid from an Earth colony, one who suited up to live in the water with those those who were water dwellers naturally.
Brian held up one finger to ask his boss's patience for a moment, as he calculated their final route and direction. "Okay, looks good. We got off station early, and we're not encountering any spacial anomalies, plus we're making good way at warp 5.7. Estimated time of arrival is 2.25 days from SB109, Sir."
"Excellent!" It was a bit of good news that Savario wanted. "Shave off any you can. We won't know what we're up against until shortly before we get there."
Next, the lieutenant turned to the communications officer. "Any contact with the science station? Do we know if they're in the water?"
"Yes, Sir, minimal contact, and emergency pods are holding for the moment, with no one actually in the water at last contact. We are due to hear again in about 2 hours, station time," another ensign answered him.
"That's something anyway. All right, people, let's do everything we can, and stay on top of things. Take half shifts for the next 24 hours, rest as much as you can, eat energy-supplying foods, and be ready for what comes.
"I have first watch."
"Aye, aye, Lieutenant. You have first watch," his ship's XO repeated. Then he, and half the bridge crew stepped to the turbo lift and rode down to the mess hall, to be followed by a rest period in ship's quarters.
Praying to his own well-known God, Savario sent up a request for help and support and success in their rescue.
*Sevdimah and Sevidmas are terms meaning beloved, depending on whether the recipient is male or female.
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