On the Other Side, Pt. 1

Posted on Sun Nov 7th, 2021 @ 1:26pm by Colonel Sehan t'Varis

744 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Chapter V: The Calm Before The Storm
Location: ???
Timeline: ???

"We have arrived at the determined coordinates."

Raven leaned back in the pilot seat and looked around herself. Really, this universe didn't look too different. Although, she noticed, the stars appeared to be a little less bright. She felt bad for the rushed nature of her departure, but she was convinced that even with the less sophisticated time travel systems on Munin, she would be back within a few days of her departure, no matter how long it took her to find the answers she was looking for.

She brought up the file Ellie had sent her again. All evidence indicated that the Vulture's operation originated here, in this universe - and that she really was Raven's mother. Or, more likely, her counterpart from this universe. Images taken by Tal Shiar surveillance had shown her father, General Varis, in the company of a half-Orion girl that had been clearly recognisable as a dancer called Risei - and that woman was indeed the same one who had attacked the Ourainavassa, caused the deaths of several crewmembers, and taken Raven's eye. But that was not the reason she had come here, to this universe. Elie had also found a complex in the exact same location as Vulture's base in the "prime" universe, or "timeline A", as the ship's computer referred to it. This complex promised to hold information on Vulture and her operation that could prove key to defeating them sooner.

The Colonel was ripped from her thoughts by an alarm chime from the main console. "Warning. Proximity alert. Impact imminent", the computer shouted. "Evasive action!", Raven shouted as she grabbed the controls, but it was too late, as a heavy impact rocked the ship, and everything around her went dark.

---

Only a few lights in the cockpit were lit when Raven regained consciousness. "Damn fighters," she cursed under her breath at the intentionally weak inertial dampeners. She looked out of the window to see the ship drifting in space, spinning slowly. "Computer, engage thrusters and stabilise."

With a jolt, the ship came to a standstill, and the Colonel could begin to assess the damage. First, her own injuries. She had a massive headache, probably caused by a concussion, and there were throbbing pains from bruises all over her body. Still, nothing seemed to be broken. Satisfied that she herself was still in one piece, she turned her attention to the ship. "Computer, where the hell are we?"

"Navigational sensors unavailable."

"Fuck. Right, give me a full damage report."

"Navigational sensors, offline. Shields, offline. Weapons systems, offline. Primary drive core, offline. Long-range sensors, offline. Short-range sensors, offline. Chroniton deflector, offline. Impulse engines, offline. Long-range communications, offline. Short-range communications, offline. Life support systems, compromised. Thrusters, limited operation. Structural integrity, compromised."

Raven shook her head. The little fighter had definitely taken one hell of a beating. "Any systems not compromised?"

"Food replicator is fully operational."

She chuckled. Well, at least she wouldn't starve to death. Still, the first priority was to determine her location. "Computer, display last known position and any information available. Time since impact, estimated speed and direction, anything you can give me."

"Processing."

After a few moments, a map of the area appeared on the main display, together with what little information the computer had been able to gather from the severely damaged sensors. Raven cursed. She had been out for almost three hours. The news wasn't good. Raven had jumped into a fairly empty region of space. She had no clue what had hit her, but it must have been big to cause this much damage. And now she was stranded in empty space, in a small ship with damaged life support and no propulsion beyond thrusters. And with no navigational computers, she wouldn't even know if she was heading in the general direction of, well, anything.

"Computer, life support status."

"Temperature control systems damaged, but able to maintain current temperature. Atmospheric recycling systems severely damaged. Estimated remaining oxygen supply: twenty-four hours."

One day. Raven cursed. "Send out distress signal. Maybe someone will pick it up."

"Communications offline. Deploying automated emergency beacon."

With a sigh, the Colonel turned her chair and leaned to the small replicator unit, dispensing a cup of coffee and a ration bar, the only food it was programmed to dispense. Might as well get comfortable. "Computer, play some music."

 

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