Thunderstruck

Posted on Mon May 20th, 2024 @ 3:02pm by Lieutenant JG James Phoenix & Lieutenant JG Kate Kono

Mission: Man & Machine
Location: USS Nooksack
Timeline: Right After 'Getting Ready'

Previously on Star Trek: Washington:

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."

And now the continuation...

Kate had been given the coordinates from James for what felt like an hour even though it wasn't even remotely that long. The waiting was just so intense that a minute felt like thirty. When she was finally given the order to turn-in, Kate turned the outboard lights off on the Runabout and tapped the pre-programmed turn that she had been updating with precision since the moment James gave them to her.

"Rooksack running in," Kate stated over her communications. She let go of the transmitter and continued talking to James, "Let me know if you need any adjustments otherwise I got the course you laid out. Let's see to it that some harm comes to these machines!" Kate said with a trailed giggle.


From outside, buildings shook but didn't explode this time as the Runabout was traveling under the speed of sound but still fast enough to make dust rattle away from structures still standing as they passed. The small ship bore down on the targets and Kate could make them out on their sensors. She kept the nose of the craft steady so that James could get the best possible solution before hitting the big shiny red button on the console.

“Copy” he said, focused heavily on the controls in front of him. “We should be on a good course, I have a target lock” he trailed off. He still had a few seconds before he realistically needed to fire. “You ready?” He turned to Kate.


Kate grinned and nodded. It was obvious she had no love for these machines in particular. She kept on course so that he could get a good shot on them as they approached.

The trajectory was perfect and the weapons were as ready as they would ever be. "I'm ready, firing" he said as he pressed down the button to fire into the primary target: The Primary Terminator Production Facility.


Kate watched as Phasers cracked open the side of a thick concrete bunker at the same time, a torpedo slipped through the crack. A whole side of the building from the base of the structure to the roof of the forty foot encasement dissolved and was pushed outward on a bright bubble of fire. The rocks and metallic debris that used to be concrete and inner structure rode the shockwave into the sky just as she turned the runabout on it's side to jink any incoming fire out of babit desoite their relative safety. She could feel the singing heat that felt as if her eyebrows were in danger of catching because the shields, nor the transparent aluminum of the cockpit windows could deflect all the thermal energy. The rumble of the explosion caught up with both of them as it rolled through the chassis of the craft, causing their seats to shake, and the consoles to vibrate at the same resonance as their spines.

"Damn..." Kate said with a fearful giggle and and a wide-eyed look to James. She grinned and went back to the console to set him up for another run of his targets of choice.

James tapped his console to check the sensors to make sure that it was destroyed. "Primary target has been destroyed, and it appears we have two secondary targets about a half a click from the facility. They appear to be the two power plants. Getting a target lock now."


Kate double checked the inertial dampers before pulling the maneuver. The INS system showed the new line to target on the compass display and she set the course. A few blue streaks flew by the cockpit, one of which hit the shields causing an orange-blue flash with minimal effects.

From the outside, the runabout streaked over the shattered landscape nose thrusters pivoted the craft 90' from its direction of travel as if it were momentarily flying sideways. The main thrusters kicked in with a roar and the craft suddenly launched in a straight line towards its next target.


"On course, WSO," she joked. Calling him a WSO, pronounced 'Wizzo', for an old style 'Weapons Systems Officer's as an iconic term of endearment. They passed the production facility. One half of it was gone and the rest of the facility was engulfed in flames. "you forgotten the marshmallows," Kate joked as she looked over at his handy work.

"Call me Goose" he quipped before noticing they were in range to fire on the power-stations. "Firing" there was a short pause. "Targets destroyed."

Kate pouted as the consoles in front of her beeped and her eyes read the information coming from the Washington.

"Awww but the streetlights haven't even turned off yet!" The young girl pointed while pointing at the fires in the city that were blazing brightly along the streets.

Kate turned to James with a pouty face as she set the course back to the Washington without even looking at the console.

James chuckled. "At least they can't build anymore machines for the time being" he said before making sure they didn't have any bogies back up to the Washington.