" Arrival "
(Previous Post was Francois' "Contemplation Of Life")
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Stardate: 60322.2145
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
The young woman stood at the back of the bridge behind the station that
had become her home… the First Officer's console. The USS ANUBIS had not
been built for comfort, but rather for efficiency during times of crisis for
which the Scarab-Class vessel had been designed and equipped for… this
meant that the redheaded woman had been standing for quite some time which
only added to the sweetness of the sight currently being displayed on the
main view screen.
"Captain Simmons to the bridge." The ExO called out with a subtle sigh
as she looked at the GIZA nebula. This meant that their journey had ended
and they were home once again… but the joy that normally accompanied such a
return had been missing this time around for obvious reasons.
"Status report Number 1." James ordered as he emerged from his ready
room and took his rightful place on the chair at the centre of the bridge.
"Ablative armour and sensor dampening fields are active and working.
We will be in range of the tracking beckons in less than 5 minutes. All
departments have reported in and are ready for approach and docking."
The ExO announced having quickly learned the routine required for the final
leg of their return to their base of operation. Docking to a space station
had never been an easy task for a ship the size of the ANUBIS, but hiding
that station inside a moving asteroid amongst a field of planetoid-size
rocks on the edge of a nebula that made sensors inoperative had been an entirely different story.
"Helm… take us in." James offered expertly concealing his nervousness
as he instinctively took hold of the sides of the command chair. As
dangerous as many of the missions had been, this part had always been the one that worried him like nothing else could.
The young woman shared in this anxiety but this time more than any
other due to the fact that the ANUBIS had been under the control of a new FCO… a woman named Annie for whom this had been her first time outside of the NEW
ALEXANDRIA base. Admiral Koneki had said little about the new FCO
other than she had was an exceptional pilot. The ExO thought that it might
have been nice to test this claim in some other fashion, but now was too
late and all that Rikar and the others could do was hope that the Admiral's
faith had not been misplaced.
==========
"Receiving the ANUBIS' transponder signal… they are starting final
approach." One of the officers sitting in front of what appeared to be
a very complexe control panel reported, triggering a well rehearsed
sequence of events practice countless of times before.
"Confirm with tactical that no other vessels are in the region, then
activate navigational beckons and long-range dampening field
generators… update asteroid movement projections and synchronize base and ship
computers. Have Viper Squadron 1 and 2 on launch stand-by… and tell
docking station 2 to prepare to receive the ANUBIS… in the meantime
I'll inform the Admiral." The officer in command offered without as much as
hinting that this had been something out of the ordinary, or something
that anyone should be concerned about.
=/\= Engineering team 2... Stand-by for return of USS ANUBIS. Base is
now on *Yellow Alert*, all personnel report to your stations. =/\= The
voice of 1 of the other offices echoed throughout the base with such force that it had been almost impossible to believe that anyone had not heard the
announcement… including the Admiral himself.
==========
"Receiving NEW ALEXANDRIA navigational beckon signals." Annie announced
from the FCO station, following protocol to the letter… all that had been
left to do had been to wait for the CO's final order.
"Here we go again…" James sighed as he looked over his shoulder to make
sure from his ExO that everything had been in order. With a nod of her head
Rikar confirmed that the ANUBIS' computer had been synchronized with
that of the their base of operations and that updated charts had been received
in regards to the location and movements of the countless asteroid that
formed the belt around the GIZA nebula.
"Ahead quarter impulse… Maya, keep an eye on those asteroids… just in
case. Serenna, defensive measure and keep a watch on the status of the
armour… lets try to avoid scratching the paint." The young woman offered in a
weak attempt to lighten the mood. The ANUBIS, as well as the other ships of
the same class had been equipped with the most up-to-date ablative armour
for many reasons… deflecting the smaller asteroids present in the
protective belt having likely been the first and most important reason.
Slowly… the ANUBIS began to make its way into the asteroid field, the
view on the main view screen of the varying size rocks dancing about to the
backdrop of the GIZA nebula had truly been an enchanting sight… and
hopefully it would remain just that… a sight.
"Altering course to 0-3-1 mark 2-2." Annie announced with the calmness
of a Vulcan as she moved the ship around 1 of the larger asteroids as it
came tumbling through their flight path. As soon as the danger had passed,
the ANUBIS was brought back on course as if nothing had happened.
After a few more such course correction, the view screen showed another
large asteroid… one that their CSciO would have described as a
Planetoid because of its sheer size. The difference this time as compared to the others had been that the ship had made no effort to avoid it… instead
heading directly for it.
"2000 meters and closing." The Ops officer announced as she kept a very
close watch at the distance separating the large rock and the
camouflaged hull of the ship.
"Synchronizing ship's lateral rotation… holding speed at 1 quarter
impulse" Annie added in a way that made it seem as if she had done this exact
manoeuvre thousands of times before.
"1700 meters." The half Romulan, half Human woman reported, managing to
match the calmness of the FCO, something that the rest of the bridge's
crew seemed to be having a much harder time with.
"I will never get use to this part…" the CSciO gulped as she watched
the features of the asteroid fill the entire view screen.
"Maybe we should think about putting up a more relaxing image on the
screen." The young woman suggested as a large grin graced her pink
lips.
"Next time Number 1..." James countered with. The truth was that as
disconcerting as the view might have been it held a certain morbid
interest.
"900 meters and closing." The Ops officer interjected with, her focus
having been on her instruments and not the image being displayed on the main
view screen.
"Lateral rotation has been matched… adjusting drift… we are currently
1.46 meters off optimal approach vector." The FCO announced, still sounding
as natural and calm as if she had been flying a shuttle in an open sector
of space.
"700 meters."
"Remind me what the margin of error is for the approach vector?" The CO
inquired of his First Officer in a quasi amused tone.
"If memory serves me right… the margin of error for the approach vector
is 10 meters. Its either that of 5 meters, I can never remember which is
which between that and the amount of space I need to have added to my
closet." The redheaded woman replied with a chuckle, thankful for the chance to think of something else if even for only a fraction of a second.
"400 meters." The Ops officer announced forcing the thoughts of the CO
and ExO back onto the situation had hand
"Starting final approach… we are currently 96 centimetres off optimal
approach vector." Annie added, her voice possessing an almost calming
effect.
"200 meters to asteroid's surface." Serenna announced just as the rocky
texture visible on the view screen split into two parts, drifting away
from each other at a rate of speed that perfectly matched the ANUBIS'
movement forward.
As the ship made its way into the inside of the asteroid, the entire
bridge bathed in complete silence, the image on the main view screen having
changed from the rocky terrain to the amazing sight of countless decks and
windows set within the rock face.
"We have cleared the doors." Annie announced, her voice as calm now as
it had been all through the arrival.
"Dock the ship and secure all stations…" James ordered just as the
voice of the base's flag officer filled the room.
=/\= Welcome back James. Please have your report on my desk within the
hour. Koneki out. =/\=
"He doesn't sound overly thrilled to see us back." The young woman at
the ExO's station announced with a sigh. True she had not expected a
fanfare to welcome them back following their latest mission, but the redheaded
woman would not have complained had the Admiral been a little less *cold* in
his reception.
"Number 1... I'll be in my ready room finalizing my report… pleased see
to the final docking and take care of any personnel issues." James offered
delegating the responsibility of having to deal with their departing
CEO and arriving Sec/Tac to Sabrina.
==========
"We are Grey, we stand between the Candle and the Star, between the
Darkness and the Light" 2005 post #234
Stardate: 60320.2150
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section A, Level 1, C&C
Stardate: 60320.2150
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Sabrina Jones {sabrina_sweet@hotmail.com}
Commander Sabrina Rikar
Executive Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
-Entilza Delenn, Babylon 5
