".....And I'm All Out of Bubble Gum"

Stardate: 47307.16 07:15

"NO GO!"

"Kaede!"

=/\= "Terrakian to Lt. Arda. I want all Runabouts ready to launch. The second we drop out of warp, we will drop shields for 5 seconds. I want you all in space when that happens." Epic closed the channel.

{{{{DADA!}}}}

'Oh, brother,' thought Arda. She continued on her way towards the nursery. Kaede began screaming, flailing her arms at her mother. The intensified emotions of a red alert had her agitated. "Mommy has to go. I promise I'll come back for you."

{{{{Mama, no go.}}}}

{{{{I love you, dearheart,}}}} she said to her daughter. She quickly left the nursery.

{{{{No!}}}}

Arda fought back tears. Kaede had to learn.

She entered the Shuttle Bay. The Runabout pilots were present and ready to go. Good. She climbed into the Orinoco, followed by Lt. (Jg) Jack Striker, and began the power up and preflight's. All pilots reported as ready.

"Okay, guys. This is gonna be tough. We've got five seconds to pull out of here." She tapped another button on her panel, calling up the small crew inside the office. "Ens Riven Torah, are you ready to depressurize the bay?"

=/\= "Aye, Lt," she responded.

"Do it. The more we do now, the better off we are."

Arda could hear the hiss of the air being sucked out of the bay. Arda then opened the doors, the blue rim of light indicating the proper shields were in place. Stars whizzed by, the effects of warp speed causing them to stretch into rainbow colored lines. Two officers climbed into the shuttles and moved them away from the doors to allow the three runabouts clearance. With ultimate precision, the three runabouts were moved closer to the doors, ready for launch.

Arda could feel the adrenaline pushing through her veins. It had been a few months since she had piloted anything in a battle. Alarms began to sound outside the shuttles, but the vacuum prevented the occupants from hearing. She pushed another button.

"Columbus and Magellan, lock down. I don't want those things flying out and getting caught in the fray."

=/\= "Yes, sir," came the replies. Another button.

"Thames and Nile, sit reps."

=/\= "All systems go," said Ens Miranda Killiam from the Thames.

<<I caught a typo on my roster. I put three people on the Nile and one person on the Thames. Miranda has been moved from the Nile to the Thames. It's also Preston Jones, not Perston Jones.>>

=/\= "All systems ready," reported Lt. (Jg) James Dietric from the Nile. Striker looked at her.

"Now what, Lt?"