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Personal Log: Lt. Jr. Quinn of the TSN Hydra (CM-008), 2F 4LD
StarDate: 27216-2237Another duty shift, another software update. The security teams must be really working hard to keep ahead of any USF intrusions because Aramond and myself were once again running around with instructions on how to update. This wouldn’t have been so bad if everyone was on time to the shift, but apparently one of the shuttles carrying a good portion of the fleet’s officers got delayed by station security in a random inspection.
Lots of cadets this shift, and several of them have been around long enough that exams are once again a hot discussion in the galley. Seems like we’ll have a new crop of ensigns before long, which will be nice since lately the fleet has been heavily represented by cadets in the roll call…
In the pre-shift briefing we found out that the Hydra was finished with her expedited repairs and was ready for action, which was a relief. We would be shipping out as passengers on the Phoenix to go pick her up, then teaming up with them for a shakedown patrol while the rest of the fleet were on escort duty for a supply convoy.
Before that the whole fleet went into its usual warm-up simulation to get officers ready for the shift. Usually that means all crews are aboard their own ships, which are networked together through the station’s simulators. Since we didn’t have a ship of our own just yet, however, we found ourselves in the cramped environs of a station training room. Though the room was less than ideal, it wasn’t so bad since we knew it was the last obstacle before returning to our comfortable home aboard the Hydra.
During the simulation we actually ended up hot-swapping several of the stations, which was one upside to being in the tight quarters of the training room. Station security called me to the docking bay to assist with the assignment of three cadets right in the middle of our border war simulation, so I had to quickly relinquish helm control to Lt. Cdr. Del Pino. Once they had their updates and their assignments, I returned to the training room to assist with science until the ship was out of danger and I was able to return to the helm console.
The rest of the simulation went well, and I was extremely proud of one perfectly executed Echo run with Lt. Wade on weapons where we were able to eliminate an entire fleet with two well-placed mines. After the simulation, we all piled into the Phoenix, which barely had room for the whole Hydra crew. We took over the whole cargo hold and mess hall, and I believe a few crewmembers even found themselves standing in the corridors, waiting to be reunited with the Hydra at station SY-11.
Thankfully it was a short trip and we were aboard the Hydra doing systems checks before the close quarters got too much for anyone. Once the pre-flight checklist was satisfied, we made way to a neighboring sector and immediately found ourselves encountering a couple of USF heavies. Luckily the drydock techs did a great job on the Hydra and everything worked like it was supposed to when dispatching the enemy. We did let our guard down momentarily, though, when one of the Unukalhai surrendered, then, as soon as our back was turned, resumed the attack. Luckily we didn’t sustain any significant damage and were quickly on our way to the next sector.
The helm officer of the Phoenix took the sector transition at warp speed, and suddenly found him/herself plowing into a minefield before the sensors even registered it was there. We’ve been having far too many accidents recently after warp-speed sector transitions with mines and asteroids. I think I’m going to write a recommendation to the Fleet Captain that the Standard Operating Procedures for helm officers be updated to include a speed limit for sector transitions.
Once the Phoenix was back under way, we began investigating some interesting readings in the sector. They turned out to be the wreckage of the scuttled TSN ships designated Spartan and Dragon. It’s strange that the TSN decided to scuttle them that far from anything, and a quick search didn’t turn up any useful information, just confirming their existence and their status as scuttled. Perhaps they were used as bait in some top-secret mission, then scuttled when enemy forces tried to capture them?
Next up was a hybrid simulation to test the limits of the Hydra’s functionality and make sure she was ready for full duty. We found ourselves physically still in the Atlantis system with the Phoenix, but our simulators were able to conjure up some tough enemy forces for us to tackle, without ever putting ourselves in real danger. We pushed the Hydra and the Phoenix pretty far but barely made a dent in the simulated enemy’s forces. Once we ran out of ordnance, Cdr. Verok decided to consider the test a success and we headed back to Atlantis Command.
We had a little downtime back at the station, but our discussion about the penalties for tardiness was cut short by a klaxon and an announcement calling all hands to battlestations. We rushed to our ships and were immediately faced with a USF invasion force. Luckily we responded in time to keep them away from Atlantis Command and pursued them into the next sector over. It seems like the attack on Atlantis Command was a feint, however, and their real targets were the industrial stations in this sector. The destruction of even one of those stations represented a huge blow to the TSN’s supply lines in the Atlantis System and it was extremely difficult to protect all the bases at once.
There was a moment when I thought the newly repaired Hydra was going to bite the big one and we’d all find ourselves floating around in our life pods again. I was attempting to maneuver around some asteroids to give weapons a clear shot at the bulk of an enemy fleet, but I brought us too close to an enemy ship which, unbeknownst to me, was equipped with a tractor beam. Their tractor kept us just within range while their gatling gun tore our shields and hull to shreds. Just when I thought we were past the point of no return, the Hawk, true to her name, swooped in and destroyed our attacker, allowing us to limp away.
Unfortunately, while the Hydra and Hawk were busy with our tractor beam problem, the other ships were spread too thin to protect every base in the sector. One of the ore processing stations in the asteroid field was destroyed, which means the availability of raw materials to fuel the war machine will probably be severely limited. The USF may have succeeded with their strategic mission, but we made sure it was at a heavy cost.
Though the material loss of the station was significant, thankfully the staff was able to make it to their life pods before the station was destroyed, and we were able to scoop up their five life pods and deposit them at Alken station before returning to Atlantis Command. Considering the last two times we brought aboard life pods, our marine detail was vigilantly guarding the cargo bay and watching for any suspicious activity. I also made sure to leave a note for the engineering officer on the next shift to have his teams do a thorough inspection, not that it did us much good last time.
As a side note, next shift marks my last shift as Assistant Duty Officer, and though it was an amiable experience, it was certainly exhausting to keep up with. I think I’ll take at least one rotation off before I put my name in again. I can only guess Aramond will also be thinking twice before volunteering for extra duties again.
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.
Lieutenant, Junior Grade Quinn
Helms Officer
TSN Hydra (CM-008)
2nd Fleet, 4th Light Division//I didn’t write down who was where on TSN Phoenix on 27216-2237. Does anyone remember? Do we have it written down anywhere? I know that @dantezelreich came as a captain for the second mission, but that’s about all I can remember… I’m writing the second part of the short story now, that’s why I’m asking.
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