Going Where?

Posted on Mon Mar 11th, 2019 @ 2:32pm by Cadet Senior Grade Errowyn St. Cloud

Mission: Starbase 332, Where Are You?
Location: Archa IV
Timeline: After the storm

George Zickerman - Majoring in Security - Andorian
Frederick Archer Hiedleburg III - Command - Human that comes from an Old English Aristocratic family
Serenity Blue Cloud - Biologist, Science - Apache
Arlene t'Sil - Security/ Tactical - Vulcan

Errowyn nearly ran through the temp quarters, banging on doors of her friends from SB-332 Academy. Poking her head in once allowed to enter, "Gather the rest. The Ion Storm has passed. We've been cleared to return to SB-332!" Getting acknowledgement from the Cadet, she hurriedly moved on to the next. totally forgetting to use her com badge that they all wore.

She could see in the eyes of the others a sense of relief and desire to get away from the boring duty of working in the Fleet Section of Federation Embassy. She entered her quarters and packed just what she had brought with her from the Danube she had used for this quick trip to the planet.

Everyone arrived at the shuttle port a few minutes early, even the most punctual of them, Arlene, who would arrive on the dot. Not a second earlier nor a second later.

Everyone looked at Arlene with imitating the Vulcan eyebrow raised. "You feeling okay, t'Sil?" Serenity asked who was the acting medic, due to her field of expertise.

"I'm here, knowing that you and the others would be impatient if you had to wait on me to arrive." Arlene spoke with a slight smile that showed she to was being very unvulcan-like by showing her impatience and knowledge that her fellow students would've waited for her to arrive. "Shall we proceed to our craft?"

Everyone smiled and rushed out of the spaceport building to their assigned shuttle. Soon their gear was stowed and settled in their spots on the bridge of the shuttle. Errowyn took control of the helm. "USS Yantze is ready for take off and return to Starbase 332." She spoke softly with a bit of impatience to be getting back to the familiar halls and corridors of the huge starbase.

"You're cleared to take off. Use Vector 6," Came the reply from Control.

Errowyn quickly imputed the course and speed and soon was airborne heading to the stars. Everyone busy at their assign post aboard the shuttle as the shuttle cleared the atmosphere.

Everyone looked out at the clear sharp brighter constellations that composed of this sector of space. It was like someone took a giant vacuum cleaner had cleaned out all debris, dust particles and whatever was left floating in the sector. Even a few navigational satellites were missing and not responding.

"Huh... Not picking up any navigational beacon, Hiedleburg." Serenity spoke up from her position at the sensor station.

"Log it." Hiedleburg ordered it in his command voice. "St. Cloud?..." Turning to Errowyn.

"I know the route by heart and can fly it in my sleep." Errowyn spoke interrupting him. Hearing a grunt from him as his form of acknowledgement.

"Ion Storm cleaned up the sector. There isn't even a piece of debris to hide an atom behind for several ." Arlene spoke calmly in her Vulcan manner.

"ETA?" Hiedleburh barked out to Errowyn.

"We should see SB 332 in twenty minutes. When it come over the planetary horizon." Errowyn spoke as she adjust course on wide orbit to put the shuttle in the path of Starbase 332. She settled back to observe the stars in their clarity and the timer before she had to resume flying the shuttle to land it.

Everyone settle back in their seats to enjoy the brighter stars and the absence of the usual clatter of navigational beacons that sent out their little pings to let passing ships of possible hazards and direction to take to the Starbase or Planet as dictated according to their mission.

Twenty minutes had passed smoothing... Twenty- minutes had passed by at the growing alarm of not seeing the Starbase. Errowyn straightened up, began going over the known course, looking for any mistakes to actually miss a starbase that was also celestial body in it's own right.

"Okay.... Jokes aside...." Hiedleburg spoke up, cutting of the usual jokes that followed a major mistake.

"Course is accurate, Hiedleburg. The Starbase is not where it suppose to be.." Errowyn, looked at others manning the various sensors for help.

"St.Cloud is correct, sir. Starbase 332 is not in its proper spot." Arlene spoke up in defense of Errowyn. "It is related to the missing navigational beacon. We should have heard from 6 different beacons by now."

Serenity spoke up from her station. "Maybe the Ion Storm was worse than usual. We did have planetary black outs in higher altitudes."

"See I told ya! The best leave the station and see whot happens? Someone misplaces the starbase!." George joked, hiding his nervousness at being forced back to the planet and dealing with people who were lost, instead of cracking a few heads as he interned as Security between Academy Classes.

"We could widened our search pattern." Errowyn suggested, giving the polite giggle of acknowledgement to George's lame joke as did everyone else.

Hiedleburg just ignored it as he was in thought on which procedure to follow. Return back to the planet and report it. Or let Errowyn satisfy their curiosity to see if is really missing or just changed orbits for a more deeper one that was farther from the planet. "Widen the search. Use Standard Circle Pattern with the planet as central point." He ordered and looked around him at the other Cadets. "Extensive search. Serenity, long range. T'sil! Medium range. George, watch navigation scanners for anything."

Everyone complied. Errowyn slowing the speed down to allow the scanners to do their jobs as she put the shuttle on an expanding circle around the planet. Hiedleburg called the Spaceport control and Federation Fleet on the planet and reported the missing Starbase 332 and a lot of navigational beacons were missing.