Skitter Popping the Jigging Frog pt2

Posted on Sun 31st Mar, 2024 @ 12:02pm by Izwyx 'Lo

1,623 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: O' the Cardiff Rose
Location: WhiteStar Mining Ring
Timeline: Six months prior to MD1

Previously…
https://sb109.sim-station.net/index.php/sim/viewpost/2301

…About ten percent of the path beginning from the Gondolas ascent had been mapped, the tractor beam confirmed configurations were updating.

“Captain, target lock confirmed.”

Izzy sat forward, considering the board with its holo display. “Ok good, this gets us started, they aren't in trouble yet we have four minutes until they are.”...

And now…

{Bridge- TK Haneda}

Sepp Agandar knew she was going to ask for his words next, so he obliged her in anticipation,

“Reversing the Gondola won’t work, the load weight will explode if it undergoes compression.”

“The path can be manipulated to give them a chance at staying within.”

“There is no pilot, they are at mercy to the eddies.

She nodded in stride, replying swiftly and assuredly, “So we apply pressure with the tractor beams, stimulate it when the ratios begin to decline-”

Sepp shook his head, “We lack the angles for compressive shapes, their orientation is essentially beneath us by perspective of gravity.

“So we can’t twist or rotate without also pulling ‘up.’

“Captain we cannot lock onto them evenly the imbalance will cause gravitic shear.”

Hokall updated their telemetry again, the heatmap showed a path was possible so he excitedly demonstrated to them.

“Look, that Payload cache is designed to withstand expansion, not compression. The Gondola will survive its ascent as it always has, the problem is attached to the cargo’s shell. We can mitigate with tractors-

Sepp Agandar spoke again, “Hokall! The Cargo is BEHIND the gondola and we cannot reposition. The concept might elude you but it remains true nonetheless!”

Hokall yelled back, “We can save their lives, just drop the payload! Greed compels every moment of their peril.”

Their tractor control board chimed, Izzy wasted no time ordering, “Just lock on to the gondola you horse faced botfly.”

The Sepp looked at her askew, “Still working to achieve fluency sir?”

Izzy appreciated quality shade, so she gave him the deserved leer and returned her attention to the bridge.

“Helm and Tractor teams, name of the game is bass fishing, anyone here do that? We let gravity pull them back just a bit when it's high, rather than tear them apart in a contest. Give and take, reel 'em in and help them get through-”

Yiott yelled over her, “No! The gondola must get out of the way so we can retrieve the payload!”

The Sepp looked with instant rage to Yiott, who added in a definite after thought, “... and they can return to the borehole launchpad using the emergency return.”

Sepp Agandar took point in response, “Emergency return killed a man the last time you pampered brat!”

Yiott was indignant, “One person died, who was not restrained properly inside-”

“You’d blame him-”

Yiott stammered, “WE… we have made better systems since then. If we fail to pay for our continued operations this all gets shut down and any deaths are in vain.”

The Sepp looked to Izwyx for a sign of restraint, seeing none. “You ordered Verdal to keep going and we lost Gifan.”

Yiott had closed the distance, the two of them were about to come to blows. They were also wasting time so she stepped from her chair toward them, grimacing to hear Yiott continue.

“You all agreed to the danger-” He was cut off at her stern face scowling at him.

Izwyx had stepped in and with a steel voice ordered him, “Off my Bridge Yiott we are in a crisis-”

Yiott spoke through her like she wasn't standing in front of him, continuing to snarl at the Sepp, “You’d have us renege on our obligations! Why-”

Izzy balled her fist and struck him along the fleshy cheek of his snout. It didn't hurt the whelp much but he was stunned.

“Speak over me again I’ll shoot you. Off my bridge now, Bvojik, this one is banned!” A Tellarite with stories to tell by the scars and scowling menace he exuded stopped to take the young one by the neck. Yiott gurgled once more but obeyed the jerking direction he was dragged too, up the starboard path to the rear of the Command deck.

“Captain Izwyx speaks, You will listen!” She was fury contained in clipped tones.

Five sets of eyes opened wide, and five snouts snapped shut.

She knew grinning was the opposite effect from what she wanted, they'd interpret her statements as humor. So she made an angry face despite her giggly disposition, “We can fix the finances once the lives are saved, I invite you to explain otherwise to the bereaved and their kin.”

Sometimes shame worked, but she needed them to be energized, not subdued. They had every right to defend this project, all of them had made sacrifices, some lost their lives. The miners who had gone down to secure the load were doing so because it meant retiring and spending their lives pursuing their interests and living off of this very moment's effort. Yiott was simply greedy, but the people working here had plans for this money that included families.

Softening a touch, with a simple matter of cadence she commanded their attentions further,
“Today and every day is about saving lives. We have all agreed to take on the risks, and there is no denying the value to your lives should we succeed. But our fortune will not come at the cost of lives we could have saved but chose not to. So we will save the people, and then secure the rest. It seems impossible but we can’t solve some problems from the outside. If we have to bne inside teh mess to see it properly then here we stand in the light of the white star. So no more delays, no more whinging, get to your stations, full power to the tractor emitter, launch the reserve shuttles, vent bussards and lash impulse engines.”

They had never been roused before. Curious faces tilted and remained silent until she really got angry, vocalizing loudly, “We are getting ready for a hard pull, get to it. All Hands, Emergency reserves active, auxiliary power to standby go Go GO!”

Sepp called, “Captain, Two minutes to first danger zones, we need alternate push points-”

“Yes Sepp!” Izzy had already known what to do, and since they had followed her orders she was able to elucidate the new paradigm.

“So what do we do, the shuttles cant get close enough without being pulled in themselves!”

Some panic remained in the eyes of the miners, accustomed to such losses but given hope to see their fellows again. There wasn’t time to do anything else, if these people were going to live.

“We use the shuttles to push into the fields around and alter the path of the spiroketal plasma to carry them around danger zones or minimize their time. We maintain tractor lock on the gondola, modify type one probes to guide the physical grapplers to those mounts on the cargo. Might as well take advantage. We pull the payload, the gondola gets pushed along on top of it like a hat-”

Hokall cheered, “Yes, it will work, but how do we maintain our position?”

The young Tellarite operating the helm understood, “Venting the Bussards Captain, extending out warpfield along the path of the tractor emitter and grinding impulse against Hydrogen materials.”

Izzy confirmed, “Stellar reasoning Johep, but ease her up, reeling a bass remember.”

The pilot laughed, “That’s a fish right?”

She laughed back, “Youre a fish, set the retraction pillars and ready IDF protocols for heavy Graviy, Hokall, on my mark, implement custom vectors!”

The hum of activity was highly ordered and her orders cut between the words of others somehow allowing her message to carry along with their cutiful dialogues. The Master systems display finally began moving the assets into position as the shuttles had only been launched a moment ago.

Rising slower by the second, the strobe of lightning cocooning them from the intense gravity pierced through any seam it could. With a blue beam finally connecting through massive interference, the overloaded Gondola began making real progress thanks to the Haneda. The boxy rectangle with overpowered engines was designed for this eventuality. Strain was evident but for now at least they could keep the ascent steady. Izzy knew it was overbuilt, Tellarites prized a ship's ability to exceed specs.

From within the small oval shaped gondola, four Tellarites closed their eyes and prayed. All four were within reach of the payload release, a simple act which would save their lives but likely mean another five years of work for a day like today. Each of them had silently resolved to not be the one to send five hundred people home without pay. They saw their future in the gleaming sphere dragging just underneath them, and were ready to fight for it.

The Haneda bridge had returned to ordered chaos, coordination of the power systems was becoming a problem, so non essentials were shut off. Low lights, cold creeping, dampener at half meant a dismal day for its crew who felt every tremor as an earthquake. Power surge adn demand dimmed systems, and the impulse engines glowed into overheating reversing the strain. Still the iron grip was maintained, her tractor emitter officer a trusty veteran of many years of service. He’d never relent, especially with the lives of so many on the line, especially if their payday was in trouble.

The captain was stalwart at the wheel, “Sepp, we have a red zone in twenty, the shuttles need to push along these routes and it’ll change the shape of their transit now.”

-TBC-

 

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