Into the Hole

Posted on Thu Jul 10th, 2025 @ 11:44pm by Lieutenant Fang Lee & Lieutenant JG Zai Walker & Commander Kelly Kerrigan & Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami & Lieutenant Lanna Alexander
Edited on on Thu Jul 10th, 2025 @ 11:45pm

1,355 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Stars Around the Well
Location: USS Arcadia |Main Bridge

ON:

"Hull polarized. Deflector on." The call came from tactical as the navigation officers brought up the engines.

"Shields ready, Captain at your mark." Zai called.

Fang sat at helm as Sabastian was in sickbay. He stole a glance at Zai who looked pale and worried.

Lieutenant Commander Kerrigan had taken his seat, the Captain's chair where he would be front and center to oversee this. "We do not have multiple attempts to make at this. We need to be precise, bold, and brave. This is our one opportunity to get us out of this sinkhole."

Fang sighed. "Baciami, let all decks know to brace for impact. Zai how long until we enter?"

Zai studied the reading. "Three minutes."

Fang turned to Adrianna. "Brace for impact in 3 minutes. Turn on the deflectors."

Zai entered all the codes. "Captain on your mark we can proceed into the hole. Shields will start to activate as the deflector opens the space hole."

Lanna sat quiet in her seat not wanting to distract anyone from what they were doing, nerves were high and emotions were raw, she was having to block out what she could but it still lingered.

Adrianna nodded, still exhausted from the away mission. Mentally she was flagging, a delay between standard and Italian becoming ever increasingly obvious. Still, she pushed through, alerting all decks as requested.

"Alright, I don't know what to say in times like this yet. This is a fine ship, a brave crew, and if we don't make it, I could never have asked for a better first and last command" said Kerrigan. This was not how he wanted his first command to happen nor was he ready for it to end here.

"Helm, take us in and get us the hell out of this hole!"

Fang sighed. "Into the belly of the beast sir," He looked over at Zai who signaled ready and sent him the thruster power level. The ship began to move slowly at first and then picking up speed.

The entry was surprisingly smooth and then it all seemed to go to hell. The ship shook, the gravity started fritzing.

"Everyone strap in and strap down. "We're loosing full gravity. Shield modulations and deflector changes holding. We're pushing through. Help increase speed by half." Zai called.

Again, there was a slight delay for Adrianna's brain to catch up. As soon as it did though, she multitasked, strapping herself down whilst also relaying the message with her other hand. Her thoughts went to Vance, scared for him in engineering, but in one sense, she felt safer knowing that he was on watch there. Gawd knows he'd got them out of sticky situations like this before.

Fang strapped himself into the helm and increased the speed. The ship shook but, as Zai said, the shields were holding by pushing out into the surrounding space creating a little bubble.

Fang looked down. "Sir, we're one hour from the exit. Warp drive is offline for another half hour."

Zai looked over at Kelly. "It's going to get worse when we're on warp so....we may pass out."

Kelly strapped into his Captain's chair and tightened his grip. "Can we make it through? Do we need to switch to autopilot?"

"Once we go to warp, I recommend auto and max warp," Zai said.

Fang's eyes bugged out. "That will shred our warp engines."

"But it will get us out." Zai countered.

Fang looked at Kelly.

Kelly nodded. "To hell with the engines, no offense. So long as it doesn't shred the ship or us apart. We can repair engines or contact someone for a tow if we escape. Make it so."

The tense silence stretched on the bridge. The instrument rattling was the only thing that could be heard along with the harsh breathing of the crew. The shaking leveled out and time seemed to stretch and then, after what felt like days, Zai said. "Engines online. Warp bubble in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Warp one!"

The hum of the engines roared as the pulsing beneath the deck started. The view screen flashed in hues of purple and blue.

"Warp three," Zai said.

The ship shook wildly. A silent countdown until. "Sir!"

"Sensor reports coming in," someone yelled. "The hole is destabilizing and collapsing."

Fang swore violently. "Probably shit advice from the Chief Engineer but I suggest we jump to max warp now. We're only ten minutes out from where we want to be."

Zai did some rough calculations. "Captain...we need to evacuate engineering and two decks above."

Lieutenant Commander Kerrigan acknowledged the information. "Lieutenant Baciami, let's do as Zai says. Issue evacuation of the necessary decks."

That one, Adrianna didn't have a translation block on. She made the call, quickly and efficiently. Her heart pounded for Vance's safety. She didn't want to lose him again. But she couldn't think like that-- engineering was a big department. A few beats passed, silent and yet painfully so. Then, she got it-- confirmation of everyone out, from Vance. He was out-- he was safe-- he wasn't going to go for heroics. "Engineering is fully evacuated. Everyone has been accounted for, Capitan."

When Zai got the all clear he said a silent prayer and then hit the warp engines. "Warp engines at maximum!"

The ship violently shook and the halls were filled with screeching noises as the hull began to bend a deck above engineering.

Fang called over the noise. "Switching to autopilot straight ahead!"

Zai winced. "Hull breach just above engineering but contained....

"Keep us in one..." Kelly Kerrigan was feeling the effects. He was lightheaded and feeling consciousness slipping from his control. "Together" he managed to force out.

Adrianna had never felt as sick in her life. She fought to stay conscious, as was her training-- but she soon found the vignette in her vision taking over, consciousness barely holding on by a thread. She tripped her seat and monitor, pulling focus as best she could as alarms sounded around her. She couldn't relay anything to the captain, her focus blurring and mind struggling.

Lanna was trying her best to stay conscious as well, with everyone’s thoughts and emotions flooding her mind she could feel it as people started to lose consciousness, the dim of thoughts slowly becoming quieter before she finally passed out in her seat.

The ship shuddered, two decks lost and a few more straining. Engineering was clear, Zai saw that just before darkness took him.

Fang looked around, the last one left conscious. He swore as the ship bounced like a rubber ball off the shields.

The red alert Klaxons screamed and the ship pushed through the final breach and into normal space. Finally Fang sank into unconsciousness just as the shields failed and he hit the SOS button on his navigation.


=/\= USS Maurice =/\=

"Captain! We're getting a signal from the USS Arcadia. SOS."

"How far are we?"

"One hour at current speed. Sensors indicate she's dead in the water."

"Max warp, let's get to her. Alert the USS Galvin. All area ships."

"Aye Sir."


=/\= Back on the Arcadia =/\=

Adrianna was one of the first to stir back to consciousness at the sound of a bleep on her console. Her fight or flight kicked in, panic setting it as she reached for a phaser. It took her a minute to figure out where she was. But then her eyes went down to the flashing light on her console. Her Standard struggled to form on her lips, but she used every last bit of her strength to get her brain to work. "Cap... Capitan... Cap..." She looked over at him weakly, she didn't know if he was awake...or if he could hear her, but she said it anyway, "SOS confirm. USS Maurice-- three zero minute come."

The crew of the Maurice reached Arcadia just as two other ships did. Soon the crews from both ships came flooding in, medical, engineering, all departments ready to help the ship that was reported lost just days ago. This was the first ship back through the space triangle and they all wanted answers.

OFF:

 

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