"It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's Hawk at warp two" =========== Main Shuttle Bay ============ "Damnit" Hawk yelled as he got his hand pinched for the sixth time as he tried to install the final warp coil. There were three damaged marduk shuttles he had been working on non stop. One was an easy fix, and the second took a little longer, but the third one was turning out to be a nightmare. The damage wasn't that bad but it was more as to its placement than anything else. Several warp coils had been fractured in one blast from the Chimera leaving it adrift. Hawk was trying to move with speed as the shuttle was already being put through pre launch checks. It was going to get painful if he didn't hurry about it. Another pinched finger and likely a permanent burn scare later, it was repaired. Any extra crew were required to leave the shuttle bay as there was a group of shuttles approaching from the planet with the remainder of the ODA away team. They would be back to the ship within a few minutes and Hawk decided that he would get this shuttle out of the way incase there landing was as hard and hot as Terek's. Of course that's what happens when you put a scientist at the helm. ((ducks)) The shuttle glided sideways to the side of the bay and Hawk decided to keep her warm incase there was a need for an escort. There was one more shuttle ready and staffed for flight in the bay but not powered up. He spent the final moments before the teams return adjusting the shuttles sensors. There were several weird readings he kept getting a few km just outside the shuttle bay doors, maybe ten or twelve km to be a more exact. Given the nature of the readings it was almost like a mirror of his shuttle, same energy readings, thrust curve, and sensor soundings. Pointing directly back at him it seemed. It couldn't be another shuttle because if he was picking something up then the bridge crew had to be picking it up with the Chimera's more attuned and powerful sensors. The shuttle comm sounded off warning of the approaching shuttles, Hawk kept scanning the area for anything else abnormal. As they approached the aft of the chimera the hairs on Hawks neck stood up as if too tell him that something was about to happen, something bad. He had almost dismissed the feeling some thirty seconds later as the first shuttle came to rest in the bay. At that moment an energy spike told him that there was no mirror reading behind the ship it was another ship and from the looks of the energy readings there weapons were charging to fire. Hawk noted that he had but three maybe four seconds to react. Not enough ime to notify the bridge but at the same instant he realized that HIS shuttle was pointing straight at the reading. An evil grin crossed Hawks face as he started to punch at the helm consol. The crewman beside him started to transport away as the shuttle blasted out of the shuttle bay at full impulse. As soon as it cleared the bay the shuttle went to warp. With the enemy shuttle only being a few km away the collision was instant. The overall time was a mere second and a half, maybe two. A faint blast from an initial phaser blast streaked away from the explosion but lacked the time needed for a full powered shot. The pulse shot directly into the shuttle bay hitting the shuttle that just touched down, it rocked back and forth a bit but no real damage took place. Hawk managed to transport the crewman out as he engaged drive systems, then set for warp, and finally hit the escape transporter as he cleared the bay. ==== A few hours later ==== Hawk awoke in sick bay to find Lucy staring down at him. She smiled and spoke to him, "Good news lieutenant, your alive." "Good news indeed." Hawk smiled back and tried to sit, but he quickly found it to be profoundly painful. "Seems you didn't plan your transport very well, you materialized roughly 3 meters above a cargo bay floor. Some containers broke your fall thankfully but they in turn broke your skull." She spoke at length. Much to his dismay he had a forth concussion. She started to scold him at length about how many times he had been "tapped" in the head. He was going to start acting funny if he kept it up, but Hawk pointed out he didn't exactly plan these things. It seemed to just happen to him when he stops thinking and acts. By that he always tries to lay low and not put himself into harms way but when the moment hits for him to act not think, he does. The result is often a nasty injury but also he ends up saving a few friends also. Hawk can live with a drool problem and an old fashioned leather football helmet for that price. ================================================= LT jg Hawk Versey Assistant Engineering Officer USS Chimera NCC 96899-A