Getting Ready

Posted on Thu May 16th, 2024 @ 10:15pm by Captain Shran dh'Klar & Lieutenant JG Kate Kono & Lieutenant JG James Phoenix & Lieutenant Wyatt Steele & Lieutenant JG Vienna Steele

Mission: Man & Machine
Location: Shuttle Bay

Wyatt walked into the shuttle bay with Vienna. They had just been informed that they would be piloting one of two runabouts on attack runs against machine targets, Thet waited for Ensigns Kono and Phoenix to arrive as they were the pilots of the other runabout.

He walked over to the runabout and noticed its name, Mount Vernon and smiled all with keeping with the name Washington. He turned to Vienna, "Let's get started prepping so, we'll be that much farther ahead when the others arrive."

“Sounds good to me” Vienna smiled warmly as she set about prepping. She liked to be well prepared.

It kind of looked like a Starfleet Officer, but it also looked like a pair of skinny legs with a lot of bags attached to them with weapons dangling out the sides. Those legs, with the bags on top of them, and the short chin length black Asian hair that waved through the air as the Ensign all but jammed her and her gear into the side door of the USS Nooksack, found its way inside in a flash. The Nooksack was yet another river of Washington State and many, if not all Runabouts were named for rivers. It was fitting that the Washington retained the runabouts with rivers named after the homestate designated ship they reside within.

Kate stowed her gear in a locker and took time to catch her breath as she flicked the master switch of the Runabout with her middle finger. The computers whirred to life and the screens lit up brightly. Even the old-style CRT's jammed into the bulkheads that faced the pilots and co pilots seat came to life with ready displays on the glass.

Kate strapped in and ran a bit test on the craft to check the software, followed by a freedom of nav on the surface console to make sure that the touch screens in the piloting area of the input-matrix was error-free. She then tapped the outer speakers on the craft that would of course only work on an atmosphere.

"Clear," Kate's voice echoeed before initiating engines; just in case some fool happened to be sitting on the warp nacelle as it came to life. The Nooksack's outer hull glowed blue from the refraction of the warp engines steady blue light and the outer navigation lights blinked indicating it was ready to go.

Looks like Ensign Kono is ready and raring to go” Vienna motioned to the engine startup on the other shuttle from where she sat ready. “All checks are green, we’re good to fire up.”

Wyatt shook his head., "She's eager for sure Vi . I just hope it doesn't get her or anyone else hurt. Good to know we're in the green. Let me give tactical a look." He answered as he checked the tactical readouts and configurations that showed where there targets were.

"Vi, open a link to the Nooksack please."

“Opening now” Vienna tapped her console, nodding to Wyatt.

Back on the Nooksack, James finally entered the craft, "Sorry I'm late, I needed to grab a go bag just in case" he said throwing it on an empty seat. He probably wouldn't need it at all, but in the event that they were to crash land, or anything else, he wanted to have the supplies. Not that they would crash, but the machines were powerful. James slid into is seat and tapped the buttons for the tactical configurations. After a few moments he had configured everything he needed to. "Tactical systems are ready."


Kate smiles at James.
"Considering we're about to go up against an enemy that has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, maybe we should develop a point system for shacks," Kate stated. 'Shacks' meaning kills on technicals or facilities. "Twenty points per drone, ten per soft, forty per structure, double per each if fired upon?"

Kate double checked the shields and made sure it was set right as they waited to take off from the bay.

James glanced over the targeting systems. He had already checked them but he needed to be sure that they wouldn't miss. He looked towards Kate. "Deal. Should we loop in the other team?" he said as he confirmed the targeting systems were working before double checking the systems once more.

Kate tapped the direct communications line to the Mount Vernon and started talking into the computers transmitter.

"Hello sports fans! The game is as follows - Twenty points for each single drone taken down personally, ten per soft targets 'despite them not actually being soft since they're walking machines', forty points per structure, and double the score if either of the targets you were shooting at were firing at you!" Kate tried her best announcer voice over the radio. "Relay targets through any Joint Tactical Response from the Ship does not count. Only personal targets. Whoever racks up the most points by the end of the campaign gets a home made cake! No lie!"

Kate shut down the intercom before anyone could complain about her lack of professionalism. She looked to James with a cheshire grin.
"Game is on!" Kate said while inputting the thrusters to lift off and out of the bay toward the planet.

Wyatt looked over to Vi. "You heard the ensign the game is on." As he engaged the runabout's thrusters to lift off and exit the shuttle bay.

Once again, Kate found herself free of the Washington and pulling herself out of its orbit by firing forward thrusters. The slower the runabouts got in their orbital velocity, the more they dropped down and away from the Washington. As their orbit dropped, their speed relative to the Washington increased, pulling in front of the ship as they dropped down and away. That was always one of the craziest things to grasp about Orbital Mechanics, nothing makes sense here. The idea of hitting the breaks causing you to go faster than the ship you undocked from would always be alien to her no matter how much the math made sense.

Forty-five minutes later, she pushed Kate did the opposite and fired the main the main thrusters in order to level out the angle into the atmosphere on the other side of the planet. This would be the last in-space thrust she would need before using the planets atmosphere to aerobrake at a point directly below the Washington as it hung several hundred miles from where they departed overhead in geosyncronious orbit. The shield geometry started catching the first molicules of the upper atmosphere and it sounded like rain on the shields as the vibrations translated from the emitter through force that allowed that energy to reverberate through the hull. The molicules increased in density as they lost more altitude and that's when the raindrop-like sound turned into more of a roar sound as the emitter shook agains the force of the impacts outside that heated up to plasma. At the same time, the view outside had an irredescent yellow an orange begin to creep upward through the black.

The runabout began to smooth out as the inertial stabalizers received more information from the shields in order to propmptly and efficiently counter the constant pressure of the plasma and forward force through the planets atmosphere. By the time the glow vanished, they were sixty-thousand feet above John Connors stomping grounds. Kate was simply piloting and it would be up to James to tell her where to go in order for him to either get the best shot he needed, or to get the best view to relay larger targets to the Washington's weapons officer.

"Front row seats to the shitshow!" Kate cheered.

"Damn straight" James tapped his console. "We're 350 kilometers from our first target" he looked at Kate. "I'm sending you a trajectory that I think will be our best bet for firing."

Once they were clear of the Washington, Wyatt turned the Mount Vernon towards the planet. And away we go. Shields are online as our weapons," he announced as the runabout streaked towards the planet. "Vi, switch seats with me. I want to double check the distance to out target as well as our attack vector."

Swapping seats Vienna grinned. “If we’re trying for point scoring then maybe I should fly and you shoot? You always were better at target practice than me!” She grinned. “Plus I rarely get to fly.”

Wyatt nodded, "Which is why you are piloting Vi." Wyatt answered with a smile. "As for points, I don't really care. I just want to complete the mission successfully and everyone return home safely."

“We’re both in agreement on that one” Vienna smiled warmly. “Let’s show these machines just what we’re capable of.”

"An excellent idea and one I agree completely with." Wyatt returned as he opened a com channel to the Nooksack. "Mount Vernon to Nooksack, we'll be leaving your company once we get through the atmosphere, to head for our targets. Good luck and good hunting."

Kate brought the speed a little higher when she spotted a group of drones in the air.
"You too! Good hunting," Kate responded. She looked to James a quick second. "Nice of them to line up for us. They must be British."

Outside, a line of six drones were flying above the ground when the Nooksack blasted by at over 3,000 kmh. At first it was soundless. The vehicle moved so quickly through the air that the shield geometry pulled a cloud of vaper out of the air over three feet thick as it passed the fan-propelled Terminator Drones in an eerie dead calm. The Runabout pulled into the cloudy sky and vanished. It was as if it rode in on a white cloud but it brought hell behind it.

The shockwave came next after the craft was already gone. The machines turned just in time to see a path of destruction being pulled out of the ground by the pass; broken glass, thick dirt, mangled debris, dislocated brick, and torn infrastructure seemed to come to life in the wake of the runabouts hypersonic pass. When the vortex caught up with the drones, so did the sound of the Rooksacks sonic booms. The shockwave yanked at the drones, ripping their flight fan blades free from the body of their fuselage bearings and blasting the machines onto pieces to join the path of chaos in the wake of the high speed pass.

Four sonic booms ripped through the landscape, all brought on by the leading edge of the shields of Kate and James's pass. Buildings shook, structures that had been hanging on by a thread collapsed in on themselves, and a second atmosphere of first emanated inches from every remaining structure still standing.

Kate brought the craft vertical to slow it down, pulled the controls aft to yank the craft straight down and then plunged back into the cloud layer. The front window greyed out for a moment as they punched through the thick layer but the greyness gave way too the destructive power of that pass. The flying machines were gone and they could clearly see a new road through the rubble of a dead civilization freshly carved through the decrepit city by the power of a shockwave.

"Okay, I'm on that vector," Kate replied to James. "Get ready to - Light them up!"
Kate slowed down reasonably this time for James to do his dirty work when they were given the go-ahead.

Kate also fed information to the Washington on large targets the sensors collected. Even though Washingtons Tactical Officer probably already saw it, she called it as she flew.

"Rooksack to Washington Tactical, we are clear of that structure east of bullseye. 033 122. Our flow is roughly north and south with thirty k clearance from bombardment regarding that area. Clear hot, and send when ready. Range safety, closest goodie is well over thirty k from 033 122. That's thirty kliks reference bulls for 033 122"

When in combat or a training range, everyone agreed on a topographical target to reference on the map so that everyone understands positions in reference to that specific spot on the ground. Despite it being an old method used since Earth's 20th Century to provide clarity on a battlefield as well as security and safety, it was a tried and true method that anyone could understand. Kate used it like it went out of style because it worked so well and she knew the tactical officer could easily pinpoint exactly what she was talking about using a bulls reference.

Kate was simply waiting on the go ahead to start their attack from the Washington at this point.

Wyatt and Vienna continued to barrel towards their targets. They had encountered no resistance at all, granted they were still over 300 klicks away from their targets, but the tactical display was clear. "So far so good Vi, Tactical display is clear. But I expect that to change as we get closer."

“No doubt” Vienna nodded. “If these machines are as advanced as they appear, they may well be ready for us when we get there. Machines can use logic to make predictions so we’re going to have to be illogical in our actions.”

"Couldn't agree more Vi. Which is why when we get to within 50 klicks, I want you to drop us to 25 feet above the surface and change our heading. So, we will be coming in from the West and not the expected East." Wyatt replied as he paid close attention to the tactical screen.

Kate was able to grab a good picture from the sensors to send to the Washington in that single pass that she didn't need to engage any further until the Washington told them they were clear to start fighting. Kate checked the calender on the screen next to James' tactical display and made sure everything lined up. She nodded in approval; it was indeed Friday, and Friday night was alright for fighting -- acccording to the Standard Operating Proceedure. She looked down at the link to see that the other runabout was coming in from a different angle than what would have been expected so she pulled the opposite direction by sliding her finger across the helm to bring them back in over an opposing direction. This would divide the machiens fire when the craft' came in at the desired time of the Washington's choosing.

"Okay we're ready when you guys are! Just making sure we're cleared to fire first. Can we shoot things yet? Are we there yet? Yeah yeah?" Kate asked with happy and cheerful tone in her voice.

Inside the Mount Vernon, Wyatt looked at Vienna and sighed. Kate was like a kid in a candy store. He opened the com. "Fire when given approval by the Washington. Our targets are different."

Vienna couldn’t help but grin, Kate’s enthusiasm was kind of infectious. “Better to be too enthusiastic than not enthusiastic at all.”

"Being enthusiastic is all well and good to be sure as long as it doesn't get you or others killed because you weren't paying attention." Wyatt replied.

Back on the Nooksack, James continued scanning for any bogies, as well as keeping his fingers hovered over the button to fire, once the Washington gave them the go ahead. He was ready. He carefully listened to the comms for the go ahead, and the comms from the Mount Vernon, for when they were given the go ahead, and if the Mount Vernon saw anything they didn't pick up.

Shran sat in his command chair. The drop off had gone mostly as planned. Connor and his people had returned to the surface and were moving into position to support the attacks planned by Shran and his crew. Jon and Deanna had reached their position and had signaled they were ready, even providing exact coordinates for the various munitions to be fired. "Contact the shuttles, give them the attack go ahead. And ready photon volleys. Fire when ready."

TBC