#>>Steadfast Doctor (Culber)

[my-timing-is-digital]

Starter for @quantumstarpaths

Inertial dampeners were rendered inoperative. Life support was partially inoperative. The starboard warp nacelle had been penetrated and was rapidly being depleted of plasma as they spiralled down the planet’s atmosphere at a disconcertingly high velocity. What had commenced as a simple routine check of a nearby relay station had eventuated in a hostile confrontation — with a potentially lethal conclusion. A scout ship, emanating from the mother ship of the Emerald Chain, had attacked them out of nowhere; a chase had ensued and subsequently both vessels had tumbled into a spatial anomaly — an unstable wormhole, he surmised.

‘Attempting to compensate,’ the android shouted over the signature cacophony of a shuttlecraft being subjugated to the planet’s relentless gravitational pull, ‘rerouting auxiliary power to optimise deflector shield.’

‘Dad, they’re still gaining,’ Soji’s voice was drowned out by the occurrence of an electric discharge in the aft section of the shuttlecraft, the explosion that followed sprayed a cascade of sparks down the aisle behind them and spilled poisonous chemicals into the cockpit.

Data’s hands soared over the console, operating the holographic control panels with commendable dexterity in order to isolate the malfunction and circumvent the premature annihilation of the vessel. He was steadfast in his endeavour to preserve the integrity of the shuttlecraft long enough to witness the destruction of the scout ship prior to the inevitable decimation of their own. In addition, he ran an expeditious decontamination program to expel the toxic fumes from the vessel.

‘Doctor Culber, please administer these hyposprays to Commander Stamets and yourself,’ he said urgently as he proffered two hyposprays containing an effective medicinal compound that would prevent the disintegration of their DNA due to radioactive exposure. ‘Soji, initiate evasive manouevres. Perhaps we can discontinue their pursuit by luring them into the alpine biome below,’ he added as the shuttlecraft promptly dropped out of the thick blanket of clouds.

Evasive manouevres were challenging to initiate when the majority of the systems were offline or relayed inconclusive data and he was cognisant of that. However, it was their only opportunity to rid themselves of the aggressors and to ascertain their position in relation to the Discovery, without their efforts continuously being impeded by the enemy. It was a risky strategy; one infinitesimal miscalculation and they could end up blown to smithereens atop one of the rugged mountain ridges. However, he had faith in Soji’s scrupulous abilities as a pilot, besides, he and the others were present to correct any defects that could jeopardise the success of the opted itinerary — statistically speaking, there was a 30% probability they could survive their next course of action.

Within mere seconds, the shuttlecraft was evading mountain peaks and descended rapidly to the planet’s surface, taking advantage of the failing propulsion systems to shake off their pursuers as they navigated their way through the hazardous and untamed congregation of solid rock and serrated glaciers...

[kelpiencomplexities]

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