To Boldly Roll The (Mis)Adventures of the USS Potemkin
Saturday 4 June 2021 – 1800hrs ~ 2100hrs GMT
Lieutenant Commander Ezekiel “Zeke” Pride Flight Controller
Lieutenant Elli-Navine Chief Engineer
Lieutenant Alexander Artopolis Chief Medical Officer
Lieutenant Scott McIntyre Chief Tactical/Security Officer
Podcast: To Boldly Roll The (Mis)Adventures of the USS Potemkin
(this report 776 words)
TBR#011 =53.8 mins ~3,228 wds
With the Potemkin out of contact, maybe even lost the away team must come to terms with their current situation. Elli and the Doctor decide that they need to investigate the escape pod that fell just a few kilometres from their location. The rest of the away team would remain behind. Pride was ill, any kind of excursion would only make his condition worse. Young Ensign Joss would remain to care for the SO and keep exploring the computer core for further information.
Meanwhile, Elli, the Doctor and their security escort arrives at the escape pod. It had taken a beating; parts were damaged or dented and the door controls were destroyed beyond repair. Within, the XO, Tactical Chief and a young Engineer who had happened to be on the bridge at the time. Elli, being an engineer found the manual release. The pad’s hatch popped and was blown 20 feet. They turned back to see the young engineer tumble out of the pod bloodied and unmoving. Quickly moving to aid Alexander quickly scanned her, she was gravely injured. The Doctor injected her with a mix of drugs to try and stabilise the poor women. If he had been near the sickbay, he might have had a chance to save her; but he was not and the weak beep from his tricorder slowly became a steady tone. She was too severely injured; this young woman had died with her head cradled in the doctor’s lap. There had been nothing he could do.
Taking a moment to moan her death the trio then moved on to Mikhael and McIntye who were both still strapped into the escape pod and equally unmoving. Quick scans showed that they had been rendered unconscious sometime before their landing, but they were otherwise unharmed and could easily be moved back to the wreak. While security officer Basin took the wounded back to the ship Elli secured the other debris that had fallen with the escape pod.
Scans of these blackened and melted sections proved they had come from the Potemkin’s starboard warp nacelle; and showed signs of atomic weapons. Normally such weapons would not be a problem, much of their energy is lost as they are not directed explosives like Photon Torpedoes. It indicated that the Potemkin’s shields had been down at the time of impact.
Once their security escort, along with the Argo returned and knowing the others were safe the trio took off once more, this time towards the sites where thick black, arid smoke was rising from the forest below. They took the short was down, trusting Basin to direct the Argo down the steep slope and into long grasses. The drive was fast was over level terrain, the grass being slapped away from the angled prow, but somewhat relaxing. Then they spotted them, strong legged flightless birds running parallel to them, about 6 feet tall.
The wreaks they found were other parts of the same nacelle, burnt, broken, and melted. This time Elli found the remains of warp coils, it was looking more and more unlikely that the ship had survived but she tried to remain hopeful. This was when they spotted the second bird like creature, a terror bird. Standing only about a meter tall, strong looking necks and legs and a beak that ended in a sharp point. This bird was scary looking, and it just stood there looking at them, chirping could be heard. Without warning one of the creatures’ cuts across the clearing and slammed into the flank of the big, heavy, and armoured Argo bounced the car on its suspension. The Bird fell away, its neck at an odd angle, the trio were sure they had heard its neck snap. They trio wisely decide to head to the lake, leaving the forest behind.
At the lake edge, the good Doctor, using his robot arm, takes samples of the water. As he does many tiny fish swam around his hand. They rub their noses upon his hand, a way a shark does, they seem friendly enough, but too small to be a food source for the crew. Out in the far distance a massive creature breaches the surface. It is too far and happens too quickly to get a good view or indication of what it was, but it was big. Like whale big!
Scans of the lake show several inlets and outlets, subterranean rivers threading this body of water, these rivers create an underwater current and move nutrients around as well as stop the lake from becoming stagnate. If they would be stuck here, it is possibly a nice place to be stuck!