Space Whales?

Posted on Thu May 23rd, 2024 @ 10:01pm by Commander Jennifer Baldric & Commander Jenna Ramthorne

Mission: Lost in Space
Location: Bridge
Timeline: Day two

The hubbub of the previous day had quietened, replaced by a steady thread of uncertainty that underpinned the vibe of the bridge crew.

Unfamiliar stars were on the viewscreen, strange stellar phenomenon pinging the ships sensors, and still they hadn't quite worked out where they were and more importantly how they were going to get home. There were plan being hatched though, and Jennifer was keen to make sure people were getting rest despite the urgency. Nothing good ever came from exhausted people.

Jenna was still performing her duty as Commanding officer while the other officers were occupied with other things. She was manning the bridge and more-over her station at the Conn. She had been actively scanning, searching for a way back. Hoping another space eddie would present itself for the return home, when she felt the presence of Baldric enter the bridge. This was their first mission together, but Jenna could already sense Baldric's desire to prove herself capable.

Without turning, Jenna nodded while maintaining eyes on the sensors, "Commander." She said simply.

"Commander" Baldric replied in kind, joining Jenna at the conn but maintaining a respectful distance behind. "All quiet?"

Jenna's hands moved across the Conn and pulled up a report on the main viewer for Baldric to see. "Nothing new, except everything new. The science team is having a field day with some of the readings we've been getting. This region of space is older than the Milky Way but we've already identified a dozen new elements, mostly gases, just within our visual circumference."

She cycled the list to show some of the gas pockets, but then an audible alert sounded which garnered both of their attentions. Jenna switched gears without skipping a beat. "Large mass detected moving this direction." She hesitated as she looked at the data, "Possibly even several large masses, moving at warp speed."

"Red alert" Baldric automatically called, causing the bridge to dim and several officers to rush back to their stations. A red eerie glow permeated the space, allowing distractions to fade with the lighting. "Jenna, have you got any more intel on these masses?"

"The configuration doesn't match anything in the database." Jenna focused the sensor array in tighter. "Not detecting anything like weapons, no metal alloys that we know of either." She turned to look at Baldric, "I think they might be organic in nature."

"Organic beings, travelling at warp? Could it be one of Species 8472's bioships?" She asked cautiously. They could ill afford to be vulnerable any more than they already were.

"Difficult to tell from this distance and we know very little of Species 8472. Do they even reach this far out?" Jenna said absently as she started imputing trajectory coordinates. Once she realized her numbers matched the computer's she tapped her badge, "Commander Ramthorne to Engineering, I hope you are ready with those engines, because we're going to to need them." Her voice conveyed the urgency.

She then closed the channel and adjusted her position. "You better hold on to your butts, they are on a collision course." She began prepping the maneuvering thrusters and motion dampeners to respond to her controls.

"How long till we have warp drive?" Baldric asked, concern in her voice. "Prepare for evasive maneuvers" she returned to her seat and whilst remaining calm, her posture belied her projected demeanor. "Shields up, sensors to maximum"

Whatever 'they' were, dropped out of warp in what was the equivalent to the distance between Terra and Luna, the Earth and the Moon. Their speed on the other hand remained constant as 'they', now what appeared to be pod of 15 starship-sized whales, continued on their path. Where fins were the expected norm, these particular whales seemed to have long tentacle-like appendages. Above all else, what they were lacking was any sort of care that the Sunfire was in their way.

Jenna began plotting a course in her mind and entering instructions into the computer. Her brief look at the pod showed her there was a pattern to the creatures' flight, one she could navigate. Closing her eyes momentarily, she inhaled a long deep breath, awakening her heightened senses. Her eyes then shot open and a wicked grin crossed her face as she engaged the engines, launching the ship forward without warning.

The Sunfire fired forward in the direction of the pod, like a crazy game of chicken. Jenna's fingers danced over the controls, a master pianist at her piano. As the Sunfire approached the first whale, Jenna could swear she heard a gasp or whimper from behind her, from Baldric. This egged her on, "Firing port side thrusters." The ship lifted on the left, rolling to the right. At the same time, she dipped the nose down below the first set of tentacles.

Baldric gripped the armrests of the command chair, her knuckles white and her expression one bordering on thinly veiled terror. "What are they?" She squeaked, her thready voice drowned out by the rapidly increasing whine of the inertial dampeners.

The ship shuddered. "Turbulence? In space?" Someone said from behind.

"It's the inertial dampeners trying to compensate. She's got a fat ass." Jenna said talking about the Sunfire. "Deactivating starboard dampeners and firing thrusters to stern." The ship began a low rattling shake, but managed to pull back up into the flight path just as Jenna began the second set of rolls around the third 'whale' in the pod.

The deeper they traveled into the pod, the more Jenna was enjoying the thrill of the whole experience. Like navigating through a condensed asteroid field, this too came with it's own challenges. Random tentacle flips and tail swishes coupled with an abundance of what could only be described as wake meant she had to respond and plot her course quickly throwing all caution into space.

This went on for several minutes, up, down, over, under, roll after roll, whale after whale. As they passed, the pod seemed to thin out and grow smaller, like a massive family unit with the children at the rear. Once the last of the pod passed, Jenna turned the ship around to watch as they moved off. Then she turned to see the pale white faces of the skeleton crew, including Baldric. "Sorry about that."

Baldric managed to hold her stomach, barely until the ship calmed once more. "What the hell were they?" She asked as the colour very slowly returned to her face, replacing the green translucent tone that had been there a moment earlier. "They looked like whales...but that's not possible cos whales are in water not space."

"It's not completely implausible. The Enterprise D encountered something resembling Jellyfish during their encounter at Farpoint Station. To my knowledge, no one in the Federation has ever seen this before, space whales that travel at warp speeds. I mean come on, it doesn't get much cooler that that." The smile on Jenna's face was hard to hide. Reasons such as this were what brought her back into the fold. The unknown, the special and the mystical and here they were surrounded by it. She gushed and turned back to her station, "Resuming course."

"No wait. Hold steady" Baldric regained control of her stomach and her faculties "If they can travel long distances at warp, maybe we can find a way to hitch a lift?" She offered before realizing just how crazy it sounded.

Eyebrow raised in peek curiosity, Jenna adjusted course to follow the 'whales' and engaged the engines before turning to face Baldric, "You're the boss, and I am interested to see how we are going to rope ourselves a pod of space whales and convince them to somehow take us home." Just the act of saying it out loud had her both intrigued and skeptical at the same time. "Matching course and speed."

"Stranger things have happened, particularly on this little ship" Baldric reminded gently, having spent months pouring over the ships logs in preparation. "If they go to warp again don't follow. Maintain a healthy distance so we don't startle them"

The operations station went into overdrive with all sensors gathering whatever they could about the whales before they went to warp again.

"Do we have a zoologist or an biologist on board?" Jennifer wondered aloud before realising that she had spoken, revealing a minor weakness. Mentally chastising herself she looked up the ships roster.

Would this opportunity last long enough for them to take advantage of it?

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