Literary Challenge 64 - The New Frontier
---
“Without any of our sensors, then we’ll have to find another way to figure out where we are.” Kathryn Beringer turned away from Commander Omazei and a science console to look out the main viewscreen. The starless black seemed to seep through the window.
The Trill Science officer nodded. “I have an idea.”
+++
The officers watched as Omazei stood at the monitor. A tactical view of the Solaris rotated to show the dorsal view of the ship. “We would need four shuttlecraft for this operation.” The image added four blips at the front of the ship. “They will be in the forward quadrant and will fly a rectangular-shaped pattern, essentially creating a box between them that Solaris could fly through.” The scene of the four shuttles rotates, with a dotted line connecting them. An outline of an Excelsior-class ship appears within the box. Measurements appeared showing only a few meters between the lines and the outer edges of the ship.
“They will need to be four-point-seven kilometers in front, guiding the ship through the darkness.”
Commander Thel Ythysi spoke up quickly. “Will the shuttles be towing Solaris?”
Omazei folded her arms behind her as she spoke. “No. The sensor network was severely damaged when the power surge destroyed the deflector array. So, the shuttles will be using their sensor package to act as the eyes of the ship.”
First Officer Anthi Ythysi spoke next. “Why not use probes?”
“We have a finite amount of them. The Class I probe launched at arrival revealed nothing was out there. Granted, its sensor range is relatively limited, yet it is still two hundred thousand kilometers. It’s a risk to use them for further reconnaissance or as buoy markers. Manned shuttle craft would serve best until we can figure out more about the space we are in.”
Kathryn turned to Chief Engineer Thel. “How close are we to having the sensors back online?”
The Andorian responded, “one week at the earliest.”
+++
Kathryn looked to Omazei, who nodded an answer. Kathryn then stabbed a button on the armrest of her Captains chair. “Beringer to Shuttle Team, activate Tachyon Grid, ahead one-quarter impulse. Solaris will stay behind in the pocket. Maintain telemetry and keep comm channels open. Good luck.”
The four shuttle pilots acknowledged and slowly accelerated. Above Omazei's station, Kathryn watched four rows of data scroll information as the shuttles "pinged' outward to get a sense of their surroundings.
"Helm, maintain prescribed distance and make it better than textbook."
"Aye, Captain." Ian's hands confidently crawled across the console. If it weren't for the viewscreen showing the shuttles move, no one could tell Solaris was in motion.
+++
Seven hours later ...
Ian yawned.
Anthi's own yawn overpowered her attempt to suppress it. A beeping sound from the tactical console received her attention and she welcomed it over the monotonous drone of the ships engines. She tapped the console to silence the warning, and then looked to the shuttle telemetry above Omazei's station.
"Captain, the Caracal reports their sensors have detected an object fifty-thousand kilometers to port. They are scanning for more detail."
Kathryn sat up straighter in her chair waiting for information to break the dullness of the past seven hours. "Show the data on the main screen." The blank image was replaced with sonogram-like static. From the flat image, a spire suddenly appeared and receded. Its shape was similar enough for Kathryn to gasp in surprise.
"Helm and shuttles, full stop." Everyone held onto railing or console as Solaris quickly decelerated.
Omazei reviewed the image in a loop. Kathryn put a hand to her mouth and muttered, "we are in a Dyson Sphere."
+++
In the conference room ...
Omazei looked relieved as she spoke. "Based on expanded reconnaissance, we have been traveling almost perpendicular to the surface on the Sphere."
"It seems your idea to use shuttles was a good one." Kathryn smiled.
"Thank you, Captain. Once the local area is mapped, we can use the data to move the ship safely closer to the surface until we can find the shell's main doorway. Using the Solanae and Jenolan Sphere's as a topographical template we can make an educated guess where the doorway would be."
"Wait," Ian McKinnon raised a hand to speak. "We've only seen one doorway in those Spheres. Depending on our relative location, we could be days away from the door traveling at full impulse speed."
Omazei nodded. "That is true."
Kathryn looked to the officers in the room. "Then I think we have two options: wait or continue flying forward until the sensors come back online.”
Ian said, "I suggest we wait. What if the door is on the opposite side?"
Thel was quick to respond, “if this Sphere is similar to Solanae, then we would reach it in days at Full Impulse, minutes at Warp one.” Ian nodded to acquiesce to the facts.
“One question I have is why this Sphere does not have a star within it.” Lieutenant Commander Karl Melango had been silent throughout the meeting.
After several seconds, Anthi suggested, “we could send an Away Team to find information about the Sphere or its inhabitants.”
“That would solve a few riddles.” Kathryn nodded. “Maybe it’s a good thing our presence has not alerted the inhabitants of this Sphere.”
Anthi replied, “if there are any.”
+++
Later, in a nearby spire …
Romas Verthir was tapping purple-colored keys on the alien console while also reviewing data from his tricorder, the light from his EV suit able to illuminate the surface area and nothing else. Meanwhile, other members of the away team scanned the walls with the searchlights attached to wrists and helmet. They also waved tricorders when they felt the need. One member of the team stood guard over the rest, clutching a Phaser Battle Rifle to his chest and swiveling at the waist to keep an eye out for threats.
After a few more taps on the console, Romas was satisfied with his research. He tapped a button on his EV suit and the whole team stopped to pay attention. “Captain, I have confirmed this Sphere is just like the Solanae Sphere.”
“Romas, to be sure, this Sphere is almost an exact replica?”
“No, sir. This is an exact replica.”
“Thank you Lieutenant Commander. Await further instructions.”
On board Solaris …
Kathryn turned to Omazei raising an eyebrow. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Omazei smiled brightly. “Yes, sir. On my way.” She stood and entered the turbo lift.
+++
Later, in shuttle Caracal …
Omazei flew the shuttle around the Solaris. She pressed a button on a side console and said, “Omazei to Bridge, activating Tetryon Particle collector.” Within seconds, data scrolled on a screen showing the area was filled with Tetryon Particles. Omazei beamed in her triumph.
+++
Later, in the Captain’s Ready Room …
“Basically, Captain, the Sphere is in subspace. I cannot postulate how it arrived, but clearly the accident with the Bajoran wormhole transported us here. We are out of phase with our reality, so, if we can create a subspace force field around the ship, then we would be one step closer to getting out.”
Kathryn looked away to consider the ramifications. “We would then need to create a spatial rupture large enough for the ship to fly through.” Looking back to Omazei she said, “aren't you curious about how the Sphere exists in Subspace?”
“Not this time, Captain. Being stranded in subspace is not appealing to me."
---
Cast:
Kathryn Beringer - Rachel Nichols
Anthi Ythysi - Katheryn Winnick
Karl Melango - Jeremy Renner
Thel Ythysi - Kevin Sorbo
Ian McKinnon - Ben Browder
Omazei - Gemma Arterton
Romas Verthir- Idris Elba
---
“Without any of our sensors, then we’ll have to find another way to figure out where we are.” Kathryn Beringer turned away from Commander Omazei and a science console to look out the main viewscreen. The starless black seemed to seep through the window.
The Trill Science officer nodded. “I have an idea.”
+++
The officers watched as Omazei stood at the monitor. A tactical view of the Solaris rotated to show the dorsal view of the ship. “We would need four shuttlecraft for this operation.” The image added four blips at the front of the ship. “They will be in the forward quadrant and will fly a rectangular-shaped pattern, essentially creating a box between them that Solaris could fly through.” The scene of the four shuttles rotates, with a dotted line connecting them. An outline of an Excelsior-class ship appears within the box. Measurements appeared showing only a few meters between the lines and the outer edges of the ship.
“They will need to be four-point-seven kilometers in front, guiding the ship through the darkness.”
Commander Thel Ythysi spoke up quickly. “Will the shuttles be towing Solaris?”
Omazei folded her arms behind her as she spoke. “No. The sensor network was severely damaged when the power surge destroyed the deflector array. So, the shuttles will be using their sensor package to act as the eyes of the ship.”
First Officer Anthi Ythysi spoke next. “Why not use probes?”
“We have a finite amount of them. The Class I probe launched at arrival revealed nothing was out there. Granted, its sensor range is relatively limited, yet it is still two hundred thousand kilometers. It’s a risk to use them for further reconnaissance or as buoy markers. Manned shuttle craft would serve best until we can figure out more about the space we are in.”
Kathryn turned to Chief Engineer Thel. “How close are we to having the sensors back online?”
The Andorian responded, “one week at the earliest.”
+++
Kathryn looked to Omazei, who nodded an answer. Kathryn then stabbed a button on the armrest of her Captains chair. “Beringer to Shuttle Team, activate Tachyon Grid, ahead one-quarter impulse. Solaris will stay behind in the pocket. Maintain telemetry and keep comm channels open. Good luck.”
The four shuttle pilots acknowledged and slowly accelerated. Above Omazei's station, Kathryn watched four rows of data scroll information as the shuttles "pinged' outward to get a sense of their surroundings.
"Helm, maintain prescribed distance and make it better than textbook."
"Aye, Captain." Ian's hands confidently crawled across the console. If it weren't for the viewscreen showing the shuttles move, no one could tell Solaris was in motion.
+++
Seven hours later ...
Ian yawned.
Anthi's own yawn overpowered her attempt to suppress it. A beeping sound from the tactical console received her attention and she welcomed it over the monotonous drone of the ships engines. She tapped the console to silence the warning, and then looked to the shuttle telemetry above Omazei's station.
"Captain, the Caracal reports their sensors have detected an object fifty-thousand kilometers to port. They are scanning for more detail."
Kathryn sat up straighter in her chair waiting for information to break the dullness of the past seven hours. "Show the data on the main screen." The blank image was replaced with sonogram-like static. From the flat image, a spire suddenly appeared and receded. Its shape was similar enough for Kathryn to gasp in surprise.
"Helm and shuttles, full stop." Everyone held onto railing or console as Solaris quickly decelerated.
Omazei reviewed the image in a loop. Kathryn put a hand to her mouth and muttered, "we are in a Dyson Sphere."
+++
In the conference room ...
Omazei looked relieved as she spoke. "Based on expanded reconnaissance, we have been traveling almost perpendicular to the surface on the Sphere."
"It seems your idea to use shuttles was a good one." Kathryn smiled.
"Thank you, Captain. Once the local area is mapped, we can use the data to move the ship safely closer to the surface until we can find the shell's main doorway. Using the Solanae and Jenolan Sphere's as a topographical template we can make an educated guess where the doorway would be."
"Wait," Ian McKinnon raised a hand to speak. "We've only seen one doorway in those Spheres. Depending on our relative location, we could be days away from the door traveling at full impulse speed."
Omazei nodded. "That is true."
Kathryn looked to the officers in the room. "Then I think we have two options: wait or continue flying forward until the sensors come back online.”
Ian said, "I suggest we wait. What if the door is on the opposite side?"
Thel was quick to respond, “if this Sphere is similar to Solanae, then we would reach it in days at Full Impulse, minutes at Warp one.” Ian nodded to acquiesce to the facts.
“One question I have is why this Sphere does not have a star within it.” Lieutenant Commander Karl Melango had been silent throughout the meeting.
After several seconds, Anthi suggested, “we could send an Away Team to find information about the Sphere or its inhabitants.”
“That would solve a few riddles.” Kathryn nodded. “Maybe it’s a good thing our presence has not alerted the inhabitants of this Sphere.”
Anthi replied, “if there are any.”
+++
Later, in a nearby spire …
Romas Verthir was tapping purple-colored keys on the alien console while also reviewing data from his tricorder, the light from his EV suit able to illuminate the surface area and nothing else. Meanwhile, other members of the away team scanned the walls with the searchlights attached to wrists and helmet. They also waved tricorders when they felt the need. One member of the team stood guard over the rest, clutching a Phaser Battle Rifle to his chest and swiveling at the waist to keep an eye out for threats.
After a few more taps on the console, Romas was satisfied with his research. He tapped a button on his EV suit and the whole team stopped to pay attention. “Captain, I have confirmed this Sphere is just like the Solanae Sphere.”
“Romas, to be sure, this Sphere is almost an exact replica?”
“No, sir. This is an exact replica.”
“Thank you Lieutenant Commander. Await further instructions.”
On board Solaris …
Kathryn turned to Omazei raising an eyebrow. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Omazei smiled brightly. “Yes, sir. On my way.” She stood and entered the turbo lift.
+++
Later, in shuttle Caracal …
Omazei flew the shuttle around the Solaris. She pressed a button on a side console and said, “Omazei to Bridge, activating Tetryon Particle collector.” Within seconds, data scrolled on a screen showing the area was filled with Tetryon Particles. Omazei beamed in her triumph.
+++
Later, in the Captain’s Ready Room …
“Basically, Captain, the Sphere is in subspace. I cannot postulate how it arrived, but clearly the accident with the Bajoran wormhole transported us here. We are out of phase with our reality, so, if we can create a subspace force field around the ship, then we would be one step closer to getting out.”
Kathryn looked away to consider the ramifications. “We would then need to create a spatial rupture large enough for the ship to fly through.” Looking back to Omazei she said, “aren't you curious about how the Sphere exists in Subspace?”
“Not this time, Captain. Being stranded in subspace is not appealing to me."
---
Cast:
Kathryn Beringer - Rachel Nichols
Anthi Ythysi - Katheryn Winnick
Karl Melango - Jeremy Renner
Thel Ythysi - Kevin Sorbo
Ian McKinnon - Ben Browder
Omazei - Gemma Arterton
Romas Verthir- Idris Elba
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