"Operational Polarity"
Previous Post: "Maximum Whooped"
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Stardate: 60298.1457
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Piloting the ANUBIS into the energy field created by the Breen ship was the FCO's task, one that the Romulan/Terran hybrid did not envy because of the precision it required, but the task that was hers to accomplish made the COO envy her own position even less.
The responsibility of monitoring the energy distribution to the ablative armor had been handed over to the COO by the CO, a decision that made perfect sense given the Romulan/Terran hybrid's duties as the ANUBIS' Chief of Operations, but that had not stopped her from wishing that she had been back at the Sec/Tac station. Things just seemed so much easier there, but then again life had never been meant to be easy.
Monitoring the impact of this little plan on the ship's systems had been David's job, and judging by the scowl on his brow the CEO had not been anymore thrilled about his task, the possibility of the ANUBIS blowing up right from under his feet too prominent to be ignored even for a simple moment. The frequent glances he sent to the COO showed that he would keep a very close watch on how the Romulan/Terran hybrid would proceed with this sudden transfer of power to insure that she did not increase their odds of an untimely demise.
The shields had been dropped and only the most basic of systems had been left working so that all available power could be diverted to the ANUBIS' external armor a split second before the ship was moved into the outer edge of the energy field. Everything seemed to be working as planned, not that the senior staff had been given all that much time to review this little plan of theirs in any depth, until the FCO made an announcement. "Sir, I am reading an increase in speed but no additional power has been given to the engines."
Feeling a little foolish for stating the obvious, the CO looked a little stunned. "Compensate! Pull us back."
Glancing over to the FCO's console, the Romulan/Terran hybrid could see just how hard the man was trying to do just that, yet the speed of the ANUBIS continued to increase through no work of their own. "I *am* trying sir, but nothing is working. If the forward thrusters had not been taken offline, I might be able to use them to slow us down but that's not an option."
Shooting a glare back at the engineering station and the giant of a man behind it, the CO kept his thoughts to himself. David had done what he had been asked to and now they needed to figure out why things were not proceeding the way that they had expected them to.
Looking down at his instruments, the CEO saw nothing that could explain why the ANUBIS had suddenly increased speed, heading directly for the ship that they had wanted to disable, not collide with. "According to what little power was left for the engines, we are going faster than we should. Something else has to be causing this."
Trying to figure out this latest mystery, the entire bridge staff worked frantically at their stations, their timeline for discovering the cause and a way to counter it being clearly stated by the Sec/Tac officer who had been keeping a watch on the distance between the ANUBIS and the Breen ship, "Collision in 43 seconds."
Frustration having reached the boiling point for the CEO, the announcement made by Rawyvin triggered an emotional response all too common for David, although its intensity was much lower than normal proving that the COT had begun to have a positive effect on the large engineer. "We don't need a countdown, what we do need though is the cause of this blasted acceleration and a way to stop it before it's too late. With all of the available power diverted to the armor, we don't even have enough juice to stir us to either side."
Following the CEO's to the point commentary, the CSciO jumped in with a single word explanation, something that was so out of character for her that it stunned everyone, "Magnets!"
After a single second of silence, which had been as much time as the CO had dared to give the Shillian to explain in more detail what she had meant by the word, the captain pressed for more information, "Care to elaborate???"
Realizing that her explanation she had previously given might have been a little too simplified, the Shililan tried to expand on it without taking too much of the 40 some odd seconds remaining. "Polarity! We never had the chance to check on the type of energy the Breen's are using to create their field; it is quite possible that the polarity of their field and of our ablative armor are opposites causing a magnetic attraction, like a magnet pulling another towards it."
Not wanting to rush this little discussion but feeling that a reminder was in order, the Sec/Tac officer informed the bridge of how much time they had left to not only find out if what the CSciO had said was correct, but to find a way around it. "38 seconds."
Jumping out of his chair and onto his feet, the CO quickly made his way to the science station at the back of the command deck, glancing at the CEO as he did so knowing that Dawson's expertise would be called into action once again. "Can we change the polarity of the ablative armor?"
A thousand explanations as to why such an action would be both possible and impossible flashed through the mind of the Shillian, but in the end the CSciO managed to narrow her answer down to a single word reply, "yes."
Motioning the CEO to help the CSciO with a movement of his head, the CO gave the two officers as much room as he could hoping that through their combined efforts they would be able to accomplish this latest miracle in the 36 seconds that they had left.
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Serena Switt {serena1141@yahoo.com.au}
Lieutenant Serenna
Chief of Operations / Second Officer
USS ANUBIS
