Phoenix Rising
Posted on Fri Apr 21st, 2023 @ 1:37am by Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell & Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Commander Dean House & Lieutenant Commander Sandra "Phantom" Risa & Lieutenant Commander Thriss Kla'ren & Lieutenant JG Blake Leone & Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali & Ensign Jayzen Drako & Ensign Syrik & Ensign Kitiuas Thenis & Lieutenant Alison Haldeman & Senior Chief Petty Officer Ronson Mitchell
Mission:
Planet of the Dinosaurs
Location: Planetside
Timeline: Day 8 Late Evening
With the campsite several kilometers away Ronson was worried the sound of the engines starting up would give away their surprise, spoiling the vision of the ship rising and emerging from the proverbial ashes like the phoenix.
"Do you think they'll hear us coming?" He asked nervously as the repair crew prepared the ship for liftoff.
"Probably." Bonnie suggested, "they will feel us and see us first. It's getting dark so we'll need the lights and since impulse is still only at 10 percent, we'll be keeping her aloft on thrusters. So, if you're not strapped in, I suggest you hold onto something because this isn't gonna be smooth." She looked over at Kit, "You got this?"
Tom didn't need to be told twice. Just using the thrusters was going to make for a bumpy ride but it didn't matter as the Sunfire would be aloft. They had accomplished what they set out to do and he couldn't be prouder.
Kitiuas sat at the conn; Oh joy of joys. Flying a Starship, glad I paid attention in school about basic conn duties..
She was inclined to use as many of the automated flight controls as she could. Kit looked at Bonnie "Sure what is the worse I can do; crash land on a planet."
Bonnie giggled but kept her focus. "I'll feed you status updates as best I can." Then she started focusing on the engine startup sequence, "System boot up in progress, engines online shortly. Some of the dorsal thrusters might be sluggish, so expect a bumpy ride."
A short time later the engines indeed started up and the repair team took the various bridge stations, Tom in the command chair, Bonnie at Ops, Kit at the Conn, Thriss at the Engineering station and Ronson in the XO's chair with a ridiculous grin on his face.
Tom ran his hands along the arms of the command chair. It was like coming home even if it was only temporary. He looked around the bridge at those he had worked and sweated with to get to this moment and his chest swelled with pride. Never had so few given so much as this tiny group to get their ship, their home back into space. He turned to see Ronson grinning like a child in the XO's chair. Then turned back to see the expectant faces of Bonnie at Ops, Kit at Conn and Thriss at Engineering all looking back at him, waiting for the word. "Let's do this. The word is given."
Bonnie began her preflight checks on the ships systems. "Power holding steady across the board. External sensors are online. Running lights activated. Thrusters are at helms control. Recommend a lateral accent on the port side. We'll have to back up slightly as we lift off, telemetry standing by." She reported succinctly.
"Make it so Bonnie, Kit, we want this to be a sight no one will ever forget but let's do it right." Tom answered from the center seat.
Kit slowly began the lift off procedure and began to bring the Sunfire up off the surface and towards the camp.
The mighty Sunfire rose, "10 meters, 20 meters, 50 meters." The viewer displayed the tops of the trees and the horizon line beyond. It was dark in the distance, but her running lights lit up the sky like an always on beam of lightning. "Holding steady at 150 meters, stern thrusters at the ready." Slowly the ship lurched forward as rock and debris fell from her cracks and crevices. Some of which Bonnie surmised might be there when they reach spacedock.
"Alright," she fed Kit the trajectory. "It should be a relatively straight shot." The ship was in motion, as was the beating of her heart. They were moving once more thanks to the hard work and perseverance of everyone. They had sweat together, bled together and yet here they were, on top of the situation like true Starfleet officers. And not ten minutes later, she announced, "sensors are detecting hundreds of lifeforms ahead. Preparing the landing struts." As the ship rose over the last ridge, her struts emerged from the lower section of the ship.
Campsite>
There was a rumble, almost like distant thunder that Rhenora heard as the crew had started to disperse for the night. She looked skyward, searching the clear sky for signs of an approaching thunderstorm but saw none. Her heart beat faster in her chest - had they missed something? Another earthquake or a stampede maybe? She paused, trying to decide what she was going to do with this newfound and yet disturbing happening.
Before she could call out or tap her communicator the thunder seemed to change pitch and was accompanied by a subtle but definite shaking of the ground which lasted a few moments then stopped. The rumbled changed note again, almost becoming the whine of an engine. No... there were no engines on this backwater dinosaur infested planet. Unless....
Like a phoenix rising the saucer section of the Sunfire emerged over the horizon, her running lights and beacons blinking in synchronized time as she rose. For a moment the Captain thought her heart would beat out of her chest and her knees would give way entirely before the most amazing feeling of pride took over.
"They did it" She whispered to anyone within close range, not caring at all who heard.
Savar stood as the sound of thunder approached, wondering if another thunderstorm or something worse was headed away and then he saw it, the Sunfire! Coming over the horizon majestically. Her running lights and beacons shining through the night like welcome signs for the crew, beckoning them home. For a moment he stood there, staring at the wondrous sight and then he brought his hands together and produced a thunderous clap and kept up clapping as his mouth opened to cheer in an entirely unVulcan way at the amazing sight he was seeing.
Aurora moved to stand by her husband, smiling as he cheered the rising of the ship. She started applauding as well along with numerous other members of the crew around them.
What. A. Relief! The Sunfire was repaired and it was now working. Blake had heard that the repair crew had had a hard time getting the Sunfire up and running. But they did it! She couldn't help it. She smiled to the people near her.
The Captain paused and looked around her, the crew were all out, shouting, waving and cheering at the sight of the ship in the air again. She could t blame them, it had been a hell of a time on the planet. She tapped her communicator "Captain to Sunfire, I see you may have been overstating the amount of work left to do, but as you can hear we are not complaining. Let's go home"
Tom's voice came back through the com. It was tired but full of good humor. "Haldeman to Captain. "Of course, Captain how else could we be put in the same company as Captain Montgomery Scott and be thought of as miracle workers?" Tom's voice paused and then continued. "There is one bit of bad news and it's best I tell you while you are down there and we're up here." Tom's voice paused dramatically for a few seconds before it continued. "We drank all your coffee." It was followed by loud laughter from Tom and the rest of the Sunfire repair team.
"Under the circumstances, I forgive you all. However tell Ronson I'm changing where I stash my beans" there was a ripple of laughter she could hear in the background "well done team, let's go home"
As the communication ended Rhenora's thoughts turned to what would happen next. The camp needed to be broken down and returned to the ship, the crew needed to get back on board, and they would most likely still need some kind of assistance to get back to the nearest repair facility. It would be another day or so before they left this planet behind them, but that seemed insignificant in comparison to what they had all survived.
Anna hugged her daughter as they saw the Sunfire rise in all her glory, it made her even more proud knowing her husband was one of those who’d made this miracle possible. She couldn’t wait to get back onboard with him.
TBC
