Refractions: Damage
Posted on 29 Apr 2024 @ 6:48am by Commander Calliope Zahn & Senior Deputy Marshal: Sven-Erik Lofthammer - FMS
Edited on on 16 May 2024 @ 10:14pm
Mission:
M4 - Falling Out
Location: Pathfinder, returning from patrol
Timeline: MD25
1148 words - 2.3 OF Standard Post Measure
The Engineer's Mate was a CPO named Sanwain Escher. He'd been on every Pathfinder ride that Calliope had and several more before that. Presently he was busy updating Commander Zahn as she surveyed the damage. Several shield emitters were gone and as many maneuvering thrusters lost. They'd had three breaches in total, although anticipating the damaged areas being targeted by the Revenant had meant they were able to evacuate those sections of the ship in time, so no crew had been lost. Besides some bumps and scrapes, the real rash of serious injuries had been crewmembers near an overloaded EPS conduit.
Commander Zahn was looking at the length of the blown out corridor, half of the wall missing and the ceiling dangling in remaining shreds. People in the passage and in the lab on the other side of the wall had the unfortunate experience of dealing with the escaped plasma, and the exploded and collapsed structure. On the far end from where she looked on, was the first damage control team, scanning inside the ceiling and getting safety sign offs on the conduit to ready it for repair.
"We'll have most of the damage scrapped by the time we pull in to base, Commander." Escher said confidently. "Once on the schedule, the new conduit will be installed inside of a day in dock. Everything you see here will be good as new in about three repair days."
"And the rest of the ship?"
"The whole ship... I don't have a timeline on it yet, ma'am. Everything is structurally sound. Other than all of the system overloads, she needs the damaged hull plating repaired and then thruster modules, shield emitters, and sensor units—" Escher ticked them off on his fingers, "those will just take a few days to swap out. My guess is a week, once we're on the schedule. Longer if you want the hull buffed and polished."
They'd be grounded at base for a week plus, was the upshot. She imagined if they were on a longer term mission the repairs could be done in stages using their own replication and not really requiring a base. It would just take a couple more weeks and they would have had to cross their fingers that they wouldn't run into additional trouble along the way. Seven to fourteen days in the bay was not that long. Seeing as this was the Pathfinder's third patrol round, Calliope could use the chance to catch up with some business back on the station.
"Carry on here."
She walked away to the sound of "Yes Ma'am" behind her. Now that the shooting had stopped, the damage seemed repairable, and overall mood was pleasant enough. But it still weighed on Calliope knowing that she'd had to drag out the encounter as long as she had, and that if it had gone on much longer they would have risked losing critical systems and seen more dangerous breaches. Most of the damage she'd anticipated taking and shaking off just to buy the time she needed for the Texas. But it couldn't have all been accounted for and she'd had to hold out for precious minutes more than she had hoped.
Stanton would escort them back to base, and probably get a new patrol group reassigned to him in short order.
When Calliope got back into the turbo lift, Lofthammer was already inside. She smirked, thinking about when Marshal Stiener had last met her in the very same lift car after the Korix fight.
"Is it bad, Commander?" He asked.
"Not as bad as it could have been," she replied.
"Don't think for one minute that you should have cut a deal with that criminal for anyone's sake."
Calliope had to wonder if he'd been reading her mind. She looked up at him. "No. But maybe I could have played along. I mean... we didn't even have who she wanted in the end." They'd quickly learned from Kourushi's report that the Caitian first officer had stolen the Virgil's shuttle and left the rest of her crew for dead, even with the marines in ear shot. Although they still had to compile the complete picture, the Caitian was the primary candidate for the target Revana had been seeking. "I could have told her we would leave her whoever she wanted, recovered our shuttle and gotten the hell out of dodge. I could have just acted like she could take her mark from us."
The lift had arrived at her deck, but Calliope didn't get off yet.
"It's a play." Lofthammer replied. "I've seen that sort of fake run, usually in hostage situations. This kind of resembled one, with the away team in the balance. But the smart criminals know when it's not going to go the way they think. And when they figure that out, the costs run higher. We both know Nazar would have just tried to burn the shuttle with everyone aboard the moment it cleared the rings, no matter what promises you two might have traded. The away team and all of the remaining Virgil crew might have been lost." He shrugged a big shoulder. "Or at least we'd have been trying to run a pretty risky defense covering them."
Calliope sighed, nodding. She'd thought the same at the time, dismissing the idea when it had occurred to her during the negotiations on the skiff. So why was she revisiting it now? "You don't think I could have lied convincingly?"
"Let's just say you're not undercover material, ma'am."
"I'm sorry?"
He held up a hand. "I mean that in the best way. You stalled for time well enough, and you comported yourself with the confidence necessary. But you're not a faker. Your strongest move is never going to be bluffing anyone."
Calliope frowned. "I can bluff."
"'Course you can. It's just different when it's for the long haul. You have to stomach stuff you otherwise wouldn't. You're not minded like that."
Exhaling, Calliope allowed herself to relax a little in self evaluation. She'd spent years in a lie, but she'd had to fool herself to do it. That Lofthammer didn't see her as a convincing liar was reassuring, actually. "I'll take it as a compliment."
"Good." Lofthammer relaxed a little too, almost smiling. "That's how I meant it, ma'am." He motioned to the deck. "Going to sickbay?"
"Yeah. Just want to look in on the injured. Where are you headed next?"
"While Away Team is debriefing with security, I'm arranging testimonies with the Virgil crew first, then going to spend some quality time down in the brig interview room with the pirates we captured. Want to sit in on any of our chats?"
"Very much so."
"I'll save you a seat." Lofthammer promised as Commander Zahn stepped out into the corridor. "Commander."
"Deputy."
