Deep Sea Diving

Posted on Fri Feb 24th, 2012 @ 4:29pm by Captain Elsie Halliwell & Captain T'mpest Michaels & Commander Cailean Fox, M.D. & Lieutenant Commander Dylan Blake & Lieutenant Cedric Shepherd & Lieutenant Jimmy Cooper & Lieutenant JG Leo Flynn & Lieutenant JG Lucy Carter & Captain Alexsa Kendrick

762 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Fishing
Location: Below Sea Level, 4.6 Kilometers Down
Timeline: Current

ON:

Elsie sat poised on the bridge, her mind racing with an intent to discover what they had dived for. The anger from her altercation with Kendrick had now somewhat dissipated but the disconcerting and uneasy feeling the Romulan presence gave her now tightened about her throat. She leaned a little forward on her chair and leaving T'mpest to read through the initial sensor information in her own command throne she took to her feet and walked decidedly to the middle of the bridge, hovering over Ensign Jones as he worked the controls silently.

"Take us further down," she said, staring out through the viewscreen as the darkening blue hue seemed to press ever more ominously against the screen.

As Jones worked the console, the sleek and streamline visage of the Ranger disappeared into the darkening depths, leaving behind her a swirl of water and debris.

Elsie turned to Edsell as he stood behind the Operations station in place of Lieutenant Blake. She turned swiftly and eyed him with gravity and nodded. "Mr. Edsell. Set about scanning for any fluctuations in the warp field from this focal point. Conduct a general sweep of the ocean floor of the northern-most point of this continent and work southward. Relay your path trajectory to the Helm." She leaned forward and placed a knowing hand on Jones' shoulder to confirm her orders. He nodded silently, understanding.

"Aye, Captain," Ensign Edsell shouted, his brow now disappearing downwards as he focused, displaying a thinning crop of wispy hair and a definite receding hairline atop a shining scalp. But, as his fingers worked, the creaking sound of pressure about the outer layers of the bridge began to inch their way about everyone's ears.

Halliwell shot a pregnant look to Shepherd and said, "That doesn't sound too good."

"I'll contact Engineering," Shepherd nodded.

"Captain," Edsell called, in the typical talking-to-the-room voice of bridge crew. "I can't scan very far, but I am picking up different intensities within the warp variance. The variance intensifies along a bearing of 135 mark 42, and begins to dissipate along the opposite bearing."

"Sounds like we have our lead," Halliwell replied optimistically, shooting a knowing look to her first officer. She then turned to stand again behind the helm. "Lay in a course for the heading but hold off on engaging until we ascertain whether it's safe for us to delve that deep."

The captain then marched over to Ops where Edsell was still reading through the sensor telemetry. Now looking over to Shepherd, she nodded. "Mark 42?" she queried, looking squarely at him.

Shepherd looked up from his console and spoke. "Engineering reports that they're using the shields to mitigate the pressure on the hull. The warp variance is creating a shield fluctuation, but they say it's all still within tolerances."

Lieutenant Prudentia had taken over Lieutenant Cooper's duties. While she was informed on a 'need to know' basis, she knew he had some kind of mental setback. Usually she worked when Jimmy didn't, so she didn't know much of him other than the morning and evening shift changes. "Captain," she said softly, not used to being on the bridge, "The Science Department is working on compiling all the data. We had to.. improvise, with the Lieutenant being indisposed all of a sudden." For her, it meant being called up while she was asleep, something she really didn't appreciate.

"Let me know when you have anything, Lieutenant," Elsie called over, concentrating on the scan results. "Can you collate the data with Ops to get more of a specific reading?"

"Aye, Captain," she said, nodding towards the ensign over at Operations.

Edsell kept a close eye on the readings while Prudentia worked out the longer term consequences. "Captain," Edsell spoke up, "I think we're okay for now, but I'm on it if anything changes."

Prudentia added to that sentiment: "Shield strength is on the rise again, and predictions indicate that we should be clear for another kilometre or so. I recommend a slow descend."

Elsie nodded the silent command over to Jones as his fingers delicately meandered over the controls. "Take us down at a snail's pace," Halliwell then reaffirmed, looking back out over to the viewscreen.

Outside, the silhouette of the Ranger sunk deeper, sniffing out the warp variances like a dog on the trail of a fluctuating, erratic scent. She dipped, the creaking groaning a little louder as she slipped into the pale darkness beyond, unaware that the three shuttles above the surface were seeking out a sniffer-trail of their own.

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