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Personal Log, Ensign Donovan, TSN Lancer, 131116-2237
I’ve had some time now to go over the events of yesterday, but still haven’t been able to process them completely. Maybe, if I record them for posterity, it will help – either in the process of recording the log or reviewing it in the light of knowledge I’ll gain in the future.
The day started pretty normally for me –coffee for breakfast, a quick review of my personal responsibilities to take care of before reporting for my duty shift (make a mental note that the TSN doesn’t recognize the antiquated practice of artificially “moving the clock” that is still practiced on my home colony), review inbound comm messages… and, there it was! I had hoped for this, but I still had to read the communication twice, before it would sink in. Captain Eahain had received my request to temporarily fill in as Science Officer aboard the Lancer while Lt Snr Matsiyan was off on his Junior Officers Command Training tour. I had a place to “belong” again, even if temporarily.
My thoughts jumped back to my first mission with the TSN, when Lt Cdr Aposine took the Lancer out with a fresh, green cadet into the crucible. I can’t recall a time, even in certain-death simulations, that I had ever seen so many enemy contacts on my Science station. Our orders? Distract and confuse the enemies while the rest of the fleet tried to clean them up, one fleet at a time. If I recall correctly, my Comms board was filled, due to the sheer number of enemies. Taunting …er, “Tango,” was difficult, if not impossible to achieve, given how quickly the Lancer changed position. My board kept reorganizing, based on proximity, with enemy contacts appearing and disappearing as we slalomed through the danger. (Mental note – need to talk to the console engineers and see if there’s any way they can program in a “next page” feature for Comms.) It doesn’t help when you can only see the closest fifteen out of hundreds of enemy contacts. But, I digress… that was almost three months ago. A lot has happened since then.
I’ve been an itinerant Science Officer since then, which doesn’t surprise me, given my history. Most of my shifts have been on the Lancer under Capt Eahain or his XO, Lt Cdr Aposine. So, when I heard of a possible Science Officer vacancy, even a temporary one, on her, I quickly sent off a communiqué to Capt Eahain offering my services. That request was granted. (What was the time stamp on that message? Mental note – need to make sure I check my orders more often.)
Our training simulations turned out to be par for the course, at least for the crew onboard Lancer. Delay and detain tactics. Pretty much the forte of the Interceptor class, and one I’d grown accustomed to aboard the exploration vessels I’d briefly served aboard in other fleets. The first simulation seemed like a level one exercise, as each ship in the fleet peeled off their designated target(s) and proceeded to shoot them down with little to no help from other friendly ships. Things definitely stepped up for the next simulation, when Capt Eahain, given his experience with this particular tactic, acted as fleet commander against larger capital and command ships. How large? Large enough that an entire minefield wasn’t enough to take out a single ship. Thank the stars that someone had the foresight to program self-replicating mines into this simulation. Given the strength of these simulated enemies, Capt Eahain modified our tactics to deploy our small stock of EMP missiles to soften things up so the mines could finish them off. I think the fleet gained a small amount of respect for how challenging this tactic is and how easy the crew aboard the Lancer makes it look.
The actual mission didn’t seem anything out of the ordinary – at first. Lancer and Hunter were tasked with rapid response while the fleet escorted civilian ships to a recently discovered planet. Then, things got dicey. Apparently, our enemies have been working on ship enhancements. All I could tell from my Science Screen was that they were moving a lot faster than ships we’ve engaged before. What I could tell from the seat of my pants and the system warning klaxons blaring all around me, is that these ships could engage us at a far greater distance than normal and that our shields, which are normally light on Lancer to begin with, were not much more than a minor nuisance to our enemies. One particularly nasty pirate was able to seriously damage the Lancer and Hunter and still have some fight left in her. Seriously damage? Yes – enough damage that the auto-ejection systems came online and I found myself floating in a very claustrophobic-panic-inducing Iron Maiden (yes, I know they’re a myth) they call a lifepod. (Mental note – I hope that if my time comes, it’s in a fight serious enough that the entire ship becomes a memorial. You know, like the ancient Arizona back on Earth? I’d like to think that, in death, I’m still at my post, rather than stuck in some torpedo-cum-coffin – the Latin usage, Donovan, don’t go snickering when you read this later – and “buried” in space. Spend eternity with my arms at my sides, forever at attention? Well, except for my knees being bent – they still haven’t made the torpedo casings long enough to fit me. Anyways, no thank you!)
When it was discovered that the Lancer, though severely damaged and floating dead in space, was still repairable, our crew was transferred back in EVA suits (at least you can MOVE in those, unlike those nasty lifepods), while what remained of our engineering crews affected repairs. The mission, though costly, was successful, and valuable intelligence was gained. For example, it might not be the best idea to fire an EMP at a powerful fleet of ships when there is no assistance to clean up said fleet before they have time to repair their shields. At least we know the missile factories aren’t supplying us with duds.
The most disturbing part of my day, though, was to happen in our cool-down simulation, of all places. It was there that our fleet was subjected to a friendly-ship-gone-rogue. Phoenix (or the ship purporting to be Phoenix) was responsible for destroying the Raven at least twice in the simulation. All my memories of friendly fire and betrayal that I’d encountered in my militia and merchant marine past came flooding back. I thought I had walked away from all of that. It was supposed to be in my past. Things like that don’t happen in the TSN. They’re professional, that’s why I came here. I keep telling myself this, but, apparently, this is an eventuality that Command wants us to be prepared for. I wish I could tell them that you can only ready yourselves to deal with and neutralize the immediate threat. You can’t prepare the officers for the fallout, afterwards. There’s no way. I’m living proof…
Personal Log, Supplemental: Ens Nhaima also got her ship assignment aboard the Raven effective with yesterday’s simulations and mission. Given our experiences and past, I can be nothing but proud of and pleased for her. She’s got command potential, mark my words.
// This was a good read. I loved the personal touches as well as the tactical descriptions and tieing things back to previous shifts.
Good to see Lancer has an eager and capable junior officer filling her roster. Make her proud!
//Interesting to read. There are some details that might break canon, but you’ll learn if you keep reading other people’s logs and the TSN Encyclopedia.
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