The Signal (Episode 3)

[Tree Ant]

"If I may, I have one request Commodore." He pauses and waits for the response from the commanding officer.

"Yes?"

"If Lieutenant Scott thinks he can have it done before launch, I would like to request that missile countermeasures be installed on the ship. Even a simple release system would be an invaluable defensive mechanism."

[Solomoriah]

"You're referring to the chaff bombs he cobbled together?" replied the Commodore. "There's a reason you don't have them already... it's been tried. Nothing burns as hot as the exhaust of a fusion-powered ship, so it's no problem to adjust a heat seeking missile to only pursue them."

He smiled. "You want a chaff bomb? Launch a Bluebird. They're fusion powered, and you can steer them."

[Solomoriah]

"Now, if there's nothing else, Commander, you may depart at your convenience."

Steele knew the drilll... "depart at your convenience" gave him the leeway to leave any time he wanted that day. It also meant that the meeting was over.

[Tree Ant]

Steele stands up straight and salutes before walking out of the conference room.
He then goes to chat with his friend Richard Truly.

[Solomoriah]

Steele stands up straight and salutes before walking out of the conference room. He then goes to chat with his friend Richard Truly.

Commander Truly was in a meeting with Admiral Aldrin, Steele discovered, and he was obliged to wait a while. When the meeting broke up, Richard came out and saw Steele waiting for him. "James," he said, holding his hand out to shake, "I heard you're commanding Pegasus now. Congratulations!"

[Hywaywolf]

Lando reports aboard the Pegasus with a fresh supply of jockey shorts and a fish bowl (just in case). In the engine room he checks over his babies and sees that they are all napping and happy. Back at his desk he checks his supplies of gauge data sheets. When he checks his supply of coffee he frowns momentarily as if there is something wrong with the labeling - Coffee, ground - then moves onward along his checklist until he is satisfied that his engine space is tip top and ready to go.

Edited by GM for content.

[Tree Ant]

Steele stands up straight and salutes before walking out of the conference room. He then goes to chat with his friend Richard Truly.

Commander Truly was in a meeting with Admiral Aldrin, Steele discovered, and he was obliged to wait a while. When the meeting broke up, Richard came out and saw Steele waiting for him. "James," he said, holding his hand out to shake, "I heard you're commanding Pegasus now. Congratulations!"

"Thank you commander." Steele replies with a smile and gives Richard a firm handshakes. He looks around a few times to make sure no is within earshot. "If I may, Commander Truly, I heard that there is a new banned procedure for exiting wormholes." He then says with a deep smile, "I was wondering if you could inform me of what that procedure is ... to make sure I don't accidentally use it of course."

[Solomoriah]

Truly looked around, then said, "Let's adjourn to the cafeteria for some coffee."

After pouring himself a cup of very fresh coffee, Commander Truly took a seat at a table well away from the main traffic areas. When Steele joined him, he said, "You know they teach you that thrust in null space is a waste of energy; after all, it's a small loop of spacetime with nowhere to go. Besides that, firing a fusion drive in an enclosed piece of space fills it with radiation. When the far end appears, it's very far away from the ship... thrusting toward it doesn't get you anywhere, so it's still a waste. But in the last two or three minutes of the flight, it gets close very quickly, and thrust applied in those moments translates directly into realspace acceleration. The bonus is, the ship usually doesn't tumble if you do it right. They say it was Captain Harding of the Scorpius who figured it out, but he insists it wasn't him." Truly took a sip of his coffee, then continued, "It's like this. Watch your jump clock, and keep the far end clearly centered in the reticle. When you're down to about two minutes, wind the main drive up to a quarter G or so; I've tried it up to half a G and can't tell it makes any difference, so if I were to do it again, I'd keep it down to a quarter. If your jump clock is consistently fast or slow, you'll want to adjust your timing to go along with it."

He leaned back in his chair. "I'm not sure why they think it's risky, but the senior staff have decided we shouldn't do it. Too bad, too... when I've done it, I've always come out straight. If I might be facing an enemy, I'd a whole lot rather not have to spend precious minutes righting the ship. But it's not my call, you know?"

[Woe]

Can Amanda requisition both a Vulcan pistol and rifle? I know rifle is not standard issue for a 68W but she's (probably?) the only one who has qualified expert with a rifle and is (was) classified as infantry. I don't think we have any other riflemen on the ship, and nobody else asked for one. It'd probably be a good idea to have at least one rifle, if for no other reason than to have Grimm and Scott convert it into the long rifle of his dreams.

[Solomoriah]

Can Amanda requisition both a Vulcan pistol and rifle? I know rifle is not standard issue for a 68W but she's (probably?) the only one who has qualified expert with a rifle and is (was) classified as infantry. I don't think we have any other riflemen on the ship, and nobody else asked for one. It'd probably be a good idea to have at least one rifle, if for no other reason than to have Grimm and Scott convert it into the long rifle of his dreams.

The Quartermaster tells you that they are still on order but have not arrived.