Ensign Kirky Bean — The One Where Kirky Beams a Bomb Aboard

[Kali Nicholotti]

(( Bridge, Deck 1, USS Excalibur-A ))

Kirky had never enjoyed bridge duty. He was much happier way, way, way down in Shuttlebay Two, where everything could be turned into gym equipment and nobody asked him too many questions about what he was doing. As long as the place was tidy, his boots were polished, and there was a shuttle ready and waiting when a senior officer wanted to go off on some fool’s errand, Kirky was golden.

When he was called up to the briefing room and then asked to investigate the disappearance of Adidas and Thanos, he’d wanted nothing more than to be sent back below decks. But as the officers worked together, bounced ideas around, and started getting answers to their many questions, Kirky felt a change in his guts. It was kind of like that horrible crash he survived in the Argaya system, when all of these qualities he didn’t know he possessed manifested. Like, how did he know how to start a fire with sticks? He never did that before. He started giving orders to people and they… like… just obeyed? 

The teamwork on the bridge made Kirky feel like maybe, just maybe, he belonged up here. The captain wrapped up her chat with Jovenan and Daniels awaited Kirky’s warp trails search. Kirky shook his head when the results came through.

Bean: I’m not seeing any warp trails. The ship must have transited this space too long ago, or the beacon was launched and arrived here under its own propulsion system. Sorry, captain.

Nicholotti: I feel like we're being played.

Daniels: Hopefully they'll be able to pull some useful intel off of that beacon.

Bean: It sounds like all roads point to K-7, though. Lieutenant Dakora went on a mission there not too long ago. ::beat:: Taddison’s disappearance could be a follow up. Maybe they went to collect the Flarn’pan tracker Kijana told us about?

The old station, once at the far reaches of explored space, still remained an anchor point for criminals and other ne’er-do-wells seeking to make a name, a fame, or a fortune in the Borderlands. Kirky wondered if there was some alternate universe where he, Kirkington Bean, was a pirate and K-7 was his own private kingdom, where people from all over the galaxy would high five each other and get swole.

Nicholotti: Who knows why, but it seems like there's a lot of things that converge on the station.

Daniels: It does seem to be the general consensus.

Kirky had his hands on the conn’s “GO” button. His confidence growing through collaboration and bridge duty, he was ready. The readiest.

Bean: If Lieutenant Yellir approves us to fire up the QSD, we could be in the vicinity of K-7 in a matter of minutes.

Nicholotti: Good. But is that it? Is there nothing else to consider?

Lieutenant Daniels looked at the map for long enough that Kirky got bored.

Daniels: Mister Bean, humor me and check the scans you ran on the probe for traces of theta-xenon and sirillium. I've got a hunch that I'd like to vet out.

Kirky was thankful that his back was turned. He could have sworn that Theta Xenon and the Siriliums was a band he used to follow at university. Come to think of it, no one had scene a trace of Theta or any of the Siriliums since their big farewell concert at Badger Jam ‘98.

Bean: Uh, right away, Lieutenant.  ::beat, tap tap:: Checking for theta, urm, yeah. Boop.

Nicholotti: What are you thinking?

Daniels: Like I said, at this point it's just a hunch. But, if I was going to vanish without a trace, the Azure Nebula seems like a pretty good spot.

The scanner scope lit up like a Christmas tree and Kirky shunted his results to the holographic viewer in the center of the bridge.

Bean: You were right, Lieutenant. Resonance traces leading directly away from the beacon’s coordinates. Beating 030 mark 059. Directly on course toward the nebula. Good place to hide, I guess.

Daniels: It would also negate some of our size and power advantages, as some of Excalibur's advanced scanning and targeting systems won't work with the natural interference.

Bean: You’re a genius.

Nicholotti: Which means if we are being played, then we need to be careful.

The captain frowned and tapped her combadge.

Nicholotti: =/\= Bridge to Ensign Jovenan.=/\=

Jovenan: =/\= Response? =/\=

Nicholotti: =/\= Come to the bridge. We need some science assistance in unlocking the Azure nebula's hidden secrets. =/\=

Jovenan: =/\= Response? =/\=

The deck plating rumbled, almost imperceptibly. But if it were imperceptible on Deck 1…

Suddenly, the ship’s alerts went nuts. One after another, like falling dominos, sounded off. Kirky felt his stomach sink down to his butt.

Nicholotti: =/\= Medical emergency, cargo bay one! =/\=

Half the ship was cut off from the other half, and the third half was going nuts, thanks to what was undoubtedly an explosion somewhere near the cargo bay. Kirky’s efforts to sound the ship came to naught as system after system refused his queries.

Nicholotti: What. Happened?

Bean: Internal sensors are offline on Decks 3 through 11. Communications are going haywire, turbolifts are halted.

Daniels / Nicholotti: response

Bean: All stop. Warp drive is offline until we get an update on structural integrity.

Daniels / Nicholotti: response

Bean: Wait a minute. There's something going on in our main computer. ::beat:: I can't make heads or tails of it. Primary systems have been compromised. Secondary, too.

Daniels / Nicholotti: response

Bean: oO I am so getting fired. Oo 

 

Tag / TBC

 

Ensign Kirkington Algernon-Greene “Kirky” Bean IV
Shuttlecraft Pilot & Relief Helm Officer
USS Excalibur NCC-41903-A
D238804DS0

Edited January 12, 2023 by Kali Nicholotti
Duplicate, so I'm appreciating another.