Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Feb 18, 2015 21:54:26 GMT
En-route to Star Base Forty Seven Cruising at warp six, the Raven was making good headway on her return three week journey back to Star Base Forty Seven and some well earned leave for the crew ... Carl had been spending a lot of time with Chloe and the Children, enjoying the family time that a mission simply didn't allow. Granted after the first week, he was exhausted and almost craved for Command to assign them something. He knew he was joking of course, he wouldn't give up his time with his family for anything ... Apart from routine communications with the Star Base, or with Command on Earth, the Raven was left to make her trip home unmolested by officialdom ...... Each of the Department Heads had been working to make repairs and minor upgrades, and each night after supper Carl held an informal meeting in the Observation Lounge to see how these were going and to go through any issues each department had come up against. It was during one of these meeting's that the Duty Comms Officer interrupted them, informing Carl that Command needed to speak to him, they requested that the Chief Engineer be present during the Comm. Glancing at Andae and Calli, he stood and excused the trio. In his ready room he asked the Comms Officer to patch the communication through, and was a little surprised to see the face of the Director of Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards: =^= Ahh .. Good to see you Carl =^= they looked at the image of Admiral George Mitchum, who annoyingly to some of his peers, seemed to be able to look fifty five no matter how much older he actually got. =^= Admiral .. I didn't realize we were due a social call .. Anything I can do for you ? =^= =^= Actually .. If my records are correct .. The Raven is due here in six weeks time for numerous system upgrades and to have your warp nacelles replaced .. Am I correct ? =^= Carl looked at Andae, who nodded. He knew the upgrades were scheduled, and had been planning on getting everything ready, he confirmed what Mitchum was saying. =^= I thought so .. I've spoken to Admiral Drew .. He agree's that given you have just completed a lengthy outing and would normally be docking at the Star Base for shore leave .. You may as well divert direct to Mars and we'll begin the upgrades on your arrival .. There are regular shuttle flights to and from Earth so any of your crew wishing to take leave there will be able to do so =^= Carl again looked at his Chief Engineer, who shrugged, saying now was as good as in six weeks' time. =^= We'll change course now Admiral =^= =^= Good .. If you can give me your estimated arrival time ? =^= Mitchum said, then waited while Carl consulted with his Navigation Officer. =^= Nine days .. At our present speed .. Unless you need us there earlier ? =^= =^= No .. Nine days will be fine .. Besides we'll need to unpack your gleaming new nacelles .. See you on arrival Admiral .. .. It's a pity you will miss your Mother this time round .. She has gone to a Conference and won't be back for around a month =^= The Comm closed and Carl stood, suddenly feeling the need to stretch out aching limbs. He tapped his Comm badge and spoke: =^= Torek to Bridge .. Alter course .. Utopia Planitia Shipyards .. Keep us at warp six =^= "Seems we're going to Mars ..." Carl said, dismissing everyone .......... Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards Mars Orbit The USS Raven-B approached Mars at half impulse savouring the sight of Mars with Earth behind her ... There was no hurry, to be honest, Carl wanted to take his time approaching the Planet he was born on ...... As they entered orbit, the Dock-master assigned them to one of the larger dry-docks and Commander Marionette guided the six hundred forty two meter long Star Ship into her berth. Umbilicus extended and Carl handed over final docking to his Chief engineer as the ship transferred to external power. On screen, and a thousand meters ahead of the geo-stationary dry-dock they could see the replacement nacelles. Two hundred and fifty meters in length, they would greatly increase the efficiency of the Raven's engines, this along with au upgrade to the Transwarp systems on the Raven would make the ship comparable to any other vessel in the Fleet. Carl grinned, knowing Andae had his work cut out for himself, least of all having to manage the Engineering teams from the 'base, who 'always' knew what was best, even if it wasn't ..... < tag : Andae >Once everything was ready, Carl informed his Chief Engineer to shut down all internal systems ..... The Raven was now totally reliant of the enormous gantry straddling the ship ..... He called all the Senior Staff to the Observation Lounge and informed them that they could allocate shore leave to their department personnel at their discretion, then dismissed everyone. He intended to take full advantage of the shore leave while they were so close to Earth. Chloe hadn't been home in years, and Bethan had only seen Earth for a few days when they were last here ... As for Vanessa, he Father was still recovering from his coma at Star Fleet Medical in San Francisco, and he wanted to take her to spend some time with him while she could. Eventually he knew that Scott McLean, his former Chief Engineer, and his friend, would hope to regain custody of his Daughter on a permanent basis, and as much as it would break his Family's hearts, he knew it was the right thing. But there was a long long way to go for Scott, so for the foreseeable future, Vanessa would remain on the Raven with her step-sister, and under Carl and Chloe's care ... He stepped onto the Bridge to check everything was ready for the myriad of Engineers and technicians that would eventually flood onto the ship, but he was too late. The place was already swarming with people he didn't know. The view-screen blank, station's were either dark and powerless, or in various diagnostic modes. With a shrug, he turned and entered the turbo-lift ..... "Deck eight." he said .......... <<< tag : All Raven Officers >>> ~ OK Everyone ~
Shore Leave has begun. Please feel free to post your experience while on Mars, or on Earth, if you decide to go there
I will set up our next mission in due course, but until then I look forward to seeing you all back and posting
Regards
Adml Carl torek Commanding Officer USS Raven-B
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Feb 19, 2015 0:13:37 GMT
Milyanov looked down the length of the nacelle as, suspended by the drydock's small-scale tractor beams, it was lowered into place just above the port side's connecting struts.
He was going to miss the old nacelle; scraped physically, black marks marring its smooth silver-grey lines, and underperforming in its transfer of core plasma to the formation of a warp bubble, due to the inefficiency of several of the toroidal warp coils. The coils in question had buckled and become misshapen in an engagement two years ago, when a warp jump from stationary to warp factor 9.5 had been ordered. The Chief had told him he was being sentimental over what was essentially an inanimate piece of machinery, a trenchantly delivered statement that'd surprised Milyanov, the Russian knowing how close Commander Blakus felt to his ship and, more importantly he always said, his engines.
Tinsley came to join him to look out the observation portal at the Raven's port side. It looked strange - the inclination was to believe that it should topple to starboard, rotate along its longitudinal axis due to the added mass on the starboard side.
"I'm going to miss that nacelle," Tinsley said. Milyanov laughed at his fellow assistant, who was technically his junior but was one of Blakus's 'inner circle' of leading lieutenants. It'd escaped no one's notice that there were no lieutenant commanders in the Raven's engineering staff - Blakus kept the lieutenants close to one another, a cabal of his most trusted and able assistants, but at arm's length from himself.
Milyanov guessed it was something deeply personal, some shield against the outside influence of the world in his Chief that kept him from approving the assignment of any lieutenant commanders to his department, rather than some petty careerist manoeuvre.
"The same," the Russian replied, watching the old streaked nacelle being towed away by worker bee pods and a larger tug vessel, out of the drydock's vicinity. He recalled the Chief's announcement that he was leaving Milyanov in charge of the nacelle refit (to make sure the Utopia Planitia techs' work didn't go awry; for the Raven's specifications were older than what the fresh-faced Engineering Corps officials that'd they seen filing into engineering would be used to, being more accustomed as they were to Promethean designs and forward) while he headed to the Martian surface.
* * *
The Russian had been standing at one end of the pool table, the Chief at the other. "What do they want you for?"
Techs and SCE staff smiling sarcastically, naturally believing they were the smartest people in the room, filed past. The core had been partially opened up, the dilithium crystal matrix removed to ensure it'd been beamed back in and fitted correctly after its capture by Captain West's Defiant. All of engineering looked as if it was undergoing an autopsy, machinery usually concealed behind the walls turned inside out, splaying its complexity like metallic etiolating plants into main engineering.
Blakus replied, "Some research project in the unterraformed areas. They want a warp theory specialist... I tried to explain that my practical sens-"
"Go on. When have you ever been to Mars?" Blakus rose an eyebrow, sizing up his assistant, letting him continue. "When we're in Sol all you ever do is visit that mansion of yours on the edge of Rome. Let me guess," Milyanov began trying his luck, "You want to compare your supposed descendant's vision of the city, those pencil drawings he showed you on Culuanni, with your beloved home city."
Blakus left the Russian alone with his illusions and took to the surface of Mars, meeting with the head of the research operation, a scientist named Jaszlinak, before donning his EVA suit with the rest of the assembled experts and heading out of the pressurised temporary structure to the rusted-iron plane.
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Feb 23, 2015 20:57:41 GMT
As he stood on the red plain with the scientists, Andae remembered how he'd frequently dreamt of the city of his birth, Rome on Earth, during the Raven's journey to Earth. He had connected it to his imagined concept of how the 'new' Community had laid itself out, meshing the city and the town to become one. Why his dreams had made this comparison he didn't know; he only knew of the desperate clawing at the sheets as he dragged himself out of bed, sweating and shivering all over, the reverberations from the dream fading but on another level seeming to persist, following him as he wandered the corridors of the ship.
The memory of his possible descendant would remain with him, a ghastly forewarning of possible future events and a spectre over his daily life. Given the concept of parallel realities, Andae could well rationalise that whatever actions he took to try and avoid that future would not be futile: it was only one of many possible futures. Events in the universe were not predetermined. Whatever future the crew of the Community had been subjected to would in all likelihood be avoided by the present Raven crew; and in any case, if it was unavoidable, they knew some of what to expect.
There had been a brief stop-over at Earth Spacedock. It'd been a long time since Andae had frequented bars, cafes, restaurants along a promenade. Not since before the Raven had been stolen by members of an unaligned race who posed as some of the Raven's crew - where he'd been replaced by an unsavoury madman called Malnar who as he understood it was in chains in some dark alien prison far from here - had he been a regular fixture in such places.
During the silent hours of the ship's return journey and the brief time at ESD he'd turned his attention more and more to the holodeck, in a vain effort to escape - for knowing the metallic boundaries of those closed-in spaces - from the confines of the duranium behemoth of the station that rotated silently in the void.
He thought now as he stood on the iron steppes while below Jaszlinak and a man named Butler waved plasma torches back and forth in the excavation site, it was time to find again that place where he could watch the goings-on of the promenade, hold a drinking glass in both hands and watch the blitz of colour of officers, civilians, non-UFP traders and passers-through stream by, following the trails of their diverse lives.
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Feb 25, 2015 12:37:54 GMT
After spending a few hours with his family, he took a shuttle down to the surface of Mars ..... It had been many years since he had actually stepped on the planet of his birth, and he wasn't here for the sight-seeing ... In the Dock-master's office he spent most of the day reviewing the plans for the forthcoming plans for the upgrades the Raven was to receive. Commander Blakus, as Chief Engineer would have already given the plans a cursory look before finalizing the myriad of changes the ship would undergo. Knowing Andae, he would approve the majority, but it was a given that he would argue some, and he tended to win those arguments ... Carl wasn't worried about his ship, it was in safe hands ..... He went to his Mother's apartment on the outskirts of the facility, even though she was away on business, he couldn't at least call in ... It was strange to think how long it had been since he had been in these rooms. He realized that he hadn't actually been 'here' but in their former home, yet it seemed to him that hardly anything had changed in the years that had passed. Finally, he left a hand written note on his Mothers' desk and left ... Taking the shuttle back up to the Raven, he was astonished to find how much had been done in one day. The ship, once over six hundred meters in length, was now reduced to a fraction of that as both nacelles had already been removed and floated out behind the massive dry-dock. It was so strange to see the ship in this condition, the curvature of the pylons reaching upwards and out yet bereft of their fixtures, the saucer section was bathed in flood light, hatches open and countless external panels missing, it almost looked as if the ship was still under construction. The shuttle pilot sat in silence as he circumnavigated the dock, allowing his passenger to see the full extent of the work being carried out. Eventually Carl asked the pilot to dock ....... In his quarters he sat patiently waiting for his family to finish their packing. He had arranged to take them to Earth and a shuttle was sanding ready for their thirty minute journey. He had already spoken to Andae: < tag : Andae >
The ships' Executive Officer had been taken off the ship, still too ill to move on his own, he would remain in the base Medical center for the duration of the Raven's stay, or until he began to show signs of recovery. Each of the Command Staff had arranged for their staff to be able to take shore leave unless assigned to a specific task which needed their input with the Engineers. The ship's Chief Navigation Officer, commander Marionette, seemed a little perplexed at the idea that she had 'free time' somehow unable to understand the Human need to 'get away' as the Chief Security Officer had explained exasperatedly. Shaking his head he told them to use the free time while they could, and left them to it ... Finally, Chloe came out of the main bedroom, dragging two suitcases. he laughed, telling her they were only going for a few days, and not moving to the surface indefinitely. Vanessa and Bethan emerged from their room, wheeled cases behind them and looked puzzled as Carl simply shook his head bewildered ... Chloe finally took the hint and told the girls to leave some of their things here, and she too, albeit reluctantly, followed suit. Thirty minutes later, and already almost three hours behind their departure time, and two cases lighter, they were ready ... Entering the shuttle, Chloe made sure the children were seated while he went up to the cockpit and the patiently waiting Ensign: "Sorry about the delay Ensign." Carl said by way of apology, "We can go whenever you are ready." "Yes Sir." the young man said, contacting the Bridge and requesting dock release. Moments later they were alongside the dry-dock waiting for Mars control to give them permission to leave orbit .......... < tag : All crew and Officer's ... Let's get this thread moving with whatever your character decides to get up to on Shore Leave >
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Calli Valente
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Post by Calli Valente on Mar 3, 2015 13:01:54 GMT
In the weeks following the deposit of the Community Calli had struggled with the moral and legal issues she perceived in the actions taken by her Commanding Officer and Star Fleet Command, but eventually she had come to terms that there really hadn't been any other viable option open to them ... Incarcerating the Community with the obvious access to present day officials, such as guards, would and 'could' only lead to major problems. Once the Council Members began to divulge information, however vague, regarding events in the future, it would only be a matter of time before that information was passed to someone directly connected to one of the crew, or worse, passed to someone who would seek to exploit the information for their own gains .....
She decided her concerns were due to her unwillingness to accept forced relocation, but also knew that some decisions, regardless of her opinion, were basically out of her control.
During the journey home, and the subsequent diversion to Mars for the Raven's scheduled service and system's upgrades, she had spent a lot of time with Leanne, the girl that had been brought aboard from the community ship and had pleaded with Torek to be taken home, wherever that would eventually be, rather than being sent back to the community where she had no-one. She had 'borrowed' Carl's two children, Vanessa and Bethan, and had been making good use of the holo-suite facilities. They had explored forest's and fantastic castles during their adventures. Bethan especially had become friends with the 'lost girl' as she once referred to her as. But now they were in orbit around Mars and the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, and a decision had to be made .....
It had been decided that Leanne would be taken into care and would be placed with an adoptive family as soon as practically possible. Within a day of their arrival, two representatives employed by the Federation arrived on Mars and Calli was asked to make the girl available for interview and a medical examination. Rather than go to the surface she instructed the two to shuttle to the Raven for the interview. Later that day they showed Calli several pictures of viable parents before they decided upon one family in particular. Calli looked at the images, family portraits, Father, Mother, two Children, both girls, and around Leanne's age. She couldn't have found better even if she had tried. She asked if she could tell Leanne herself and was told it would be fine.
~~~~~
"You'll like them Leanne. I promise, and we will keep in touch, you can speak to be anytime." she said, allowing the child to look at the pictures on the large wall screen in the Observation Lounge.
"But couldn't I stay here, with you ?" she asked, almost causing Calli to weep.
"I'm sorry sweetheart, but I have no idea where I am going to be. The assignment on this ship isn't permanent, I could be sent anywhere at any time. Besides, you said you liked the girl's they could be your friends, sisters. You'll be able to go to school on Earth, and grow up with parents who will love you. It's a lot more than I could ever offer you."
Leanne got out of her seat. She climbed onto Calli's knee and buried her head on her chest, sobbing silently for a long long time before falling to sleep. Calli tapped the Comm link on the table and spoke quietly, and a moment later the two representatives entered and placed a PADD on the table. Calli read every word of the adoption agreement, making sure that she would be informed of he progress on a regular basis. Ideally, it would have been Admiral Torek, as Commanding Officer, who would sign off on the paperwork, but given her position, and the fact that she and the child had bonded so well, Carl had deferred the final decision to her. Even so, she was having a lot of trouble putting her signature to the document that would seen Leanne taken away and placed with her new family, but eventually, she leaned forward, gently repositioning Leanne's head so she remained asleep, and put her thumb against the PADD .....
"We need to leave for Earth in the next few hours Commander." one of the women said quietly, looking down at the sleeping Leanne, "We are more than happy for her to remain with you until departure. We'll leave you to say your goodbye's when she wakes."
~~~~~
In the main shuttle bay the two women stood talking together, turning as the doors opened to allow Calli and Leanne to enter ... Calli had taken her back to her quarters to pack, making sure she had the soft toys she had become attached to. She handed the bags to one of the women who entered the shuttle while the other held out a hand to Leanne. Calli felt the little girl tighten her hold on her hand and take an almost imperceptible step closer to her. Calli made a decision:
"I'm coming with you." she said to the official, who instantly began to object, but Calli interrupted her, "It wasn't a request."
"I'm afraid that is impossi ....." the other woman began from the ramp of the shuttle.
"Well, either I accompany Leanne and meet her new parents, to reassure myself I suppose .... Not that I distrust your selection Or you can leave without her and I will make arrangements to bring her to Earth myself." She handed a PADD to the nearest of the women, who read the contents before looking back at her colleague. Calli had never used her 'Official' standing or rank to influence anyone in the past, at least, not to the extent she was doing so at this point, but it was important to Leanne that she had a familiar face for the journey, and it was important to Calli that the little girl was happy ... She could be overruled if they took this high enough, but she was counting on them not trying. Finally the woman handed the PADD back and smiled:
"We had better get started. I think they need us out of the way." she said, nodding to the Maintenance personnel before turning and walking into the shuttle.
Leanne released her hand and threw her arm's around Calli's legs, then they followed the women ... In a few hours they would meet Leanne's new family. Calli realized she was dreading it ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Mar 3, 2015 23:07:22 GMT
Blakus made his way back across the rust iron plateau, leaving the scientists at their excavation site as the sun rose over the Martian horizon behind them. He made a final leap from the low-gravity unterraformed surface into the airlock, landing with a thud as he crossed the artificial gravity threshold.
Atmospheric pressure equalised and he removed his EVA suit's helmet, hanging it on a peg as he entered the room adjacent to the exterior environment - the harsh dusty red of the Martian plain and its atmosphere. From neck to toe he was covered in rust iron particles and other matter, his suit more red than white.
"Commander," the civilian scientist at the airlock control panel greeted. "How goes the excavation?"
Blakus grimaced, wiping sweat from his brow. "Fine. Though why they need a warp core specialist is beyond me. That man Jaszlinak seems to know even more than I do about warp theory, and gets it much more intuitively I might add. Perhaps he wanted to show off in front of his science buddies, and use me as comparison to show how brilliant he is..."
The CEO's monologue carried on down the adjoining corridor. It trailed off eventually when he saw a Raven shipmate approaching down the brightly lit passage (he may as well have been on a starship such was the similarity of the corridor design).
The tall, pallid figure was instantly recognisable. "Commander... Surprised to find you here on the Martian surface." He craned his neck slightly as he and Marionette stopped before one another. She tilted her head, it occurring to Andae that she'd been about to ask him the same question.
Blakus cleared his throat, "I've been helping Dr Jaszlinak in his search for a mineral he thinks will revolutionalise the way we manufacture warp coils." They walked the corridor, continuing the conversation 'til they arrived at a wide lounge area. Half a dozen Starfleet officers were lounging on couches reading. Blakus sighed in frustration at Marionette's monosyllabic answers. He wanted to ask how shore leave had been going but thought the question too banal. Instead he said this, "That future ship. The Pril... Your supposed descendants."
<Tag Marionette>
His commbadge chirped. "Saved by the bell," he murmured (not realising he'd spoken aloud). The conversation had turned out ok in fact - at least, compared to previous exchanges with the gynoid. No grammatical misinterpretations but still the occasional unrealised obscure metaphor.
"Commander Blakus, Admiral Torek..." Carl was heading to Earth with his family, leaving coordination of the Raven's upgrades in Andae's capable hands. The CEO was acting first officer; Commander Jamison who would normally take control had been transported off-ship for further treatment.
"I'll return to the Raven at once, Admiral. Anything to get away from these geologists... I'll have Lieutenant Milyanov remain in charge of the nacelle installation and will of course keep you informed... have a good holiday, sir."
<Tag All>
OOC: Sorry if this post reads as dry and slightly uninspired... a little low on inspiration - for the moment
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Carl Torek
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Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
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Post by Carl Torek on Mar 8, 2015 2:45:15 GMT
Sat behind the pilot Carl waited while the Dock-master assigned them a slot to leave the area .... With the number of ships, of various sizes and manoeuvring capabilities, arriving and departing, was a science that only the dock-master himself seemed privy to .....
He glanced across the Raven, or what was left of her given the extent of her refurbishments. and pondered the shuttle opposite. He was about to contact it when the Comm sprang to life and he spoke to Andae:
=^= ....... I will return to the Raven at once Admiral .. Anything to get away from these geologists .. I'll have Lieutenant Milyanov remain in charge of the nacelle installation and keep you informed .. Have a good holiday =^=
=^= Hardly a holiday Andae .. But thanks anyway .. Oh and don't think you need to be stuck on the ship for the duration .. Milyanov can keep on top of things or so you keep telling me .. .. .. I'll be available if needed .. Take some time to get away =^=
He closed the comm and asked the pilot to contact the shuttle adjacent to them. he was hardly surprised when he found out that Calli was using her shore eave to take Leanne to Earth and her new family. He told them to approach and transport to his shuttle, no point in two going to the same place at the same time he commented, then waited as the second shuttle moved past the dry-dock and made a lazy turn to come alongside. Moment's later Calli and Leanne were on Torek's shuttle. He informed the pilot he could return to assigned duties and watched as it drifted away. He was talking to Calli and Leanne when they were slammed against the bulkhead !
~~~~~
Blood was oozing from an open wound in the pilot's forehead and he was clearly in danger of bleeding to death. Calli managed to get to her feet and climb to the cockpit as the shuttle spun out of control. She fought to control the pitch and yaw as the shuttle began to fall towards the surface of Mars. The comm were chattering incessantly but Carl couldn't focus. He was bleeding and likely suffering from concussion, but he knew he needed to look after the child. Leanne was drifting mid-cabin, a gash on her chin allowing droplets of blood to ballet their way across the open space between bulkheads ... He suddenly felt the shuttle begin to re-orientate itself and knew that the artificial gravity would likely be restored in seconds. Reaching out he grasped Leanne and pulled her toward the deck plates, and a second later gravity took hold, slamming Calli and the pilot to the floor of the shuttle. Thankfully, Chloe, Vanessa, and Bethan were safe, albeit bruised and upset ....
The pilot turned to look at Carl.
=^= Shuttle Amilia Rea .. Please report .. Shuttle Amilia Rea .. .. .. .. =^= He nodded to the pilot who turned to reply:
=^= Amilia Rea =^= the pilot croaked.
=^= We monitored the explosion .. The departing shuttle has gone .. USS Galapagos has you in a tractor beam .. Once stable it will release you =^=
=^= What happened ! =^= Torek demanded.
=^= Unsure Admiral .. The shuttle was ready to depart for Earth then you requested it be brought alongside .. Seconds after moving away .. It exploded =^=
=^= I want every resource you have on that explosion .. I'll be on the surface as soon as practical .. .. Torek out ! =^=
"Do we have internal power ?" Carl asked the shaken pilot, who nodded, "OK ... Contact the Galapagos. Tell them to release the tractor, we'll be making our way to the surface under our own power."
"Aye Sir."
The shuttle began a lazy fall towards the surface of Mars ..... Accident, or intentional ? ..... The question kept running through his head like a freight train looking for a station. Why the explosion, and why precisely now ? ... Yes, it could be a system's or catastrophic mechanical failure, but he wasn't buying the coincidence ... Both shuttles were heading to Earth. Both had Mars pilots, neither of which had met any of the Raven Officer's, both had the aforementioned Star Fleet Officer's aboard, and both had Children .... So what made one shuttle the target while the other remained safe, if indeed it did ?
He looked back into the passenger compartment and couldn't help notice that Calli 'and' Chloe were both looking at him ! .... But to save him from having to explain, the Comm chirped to life. It was the Dock-master:
=^= Admiral .. The Raven has suffered damage from the explosion .. Is it possible they were targeting your ship Sir ? =^=
=^= No ....... =^= Calli said quickly.
=^= How do you come to that conclusion Commander ? =^= the Dock master asked, apparently annoyed at her interruption.
=^= That isn't your concern Chief =^= Carl interrupted, closing the Comm before the man could reply.
"There was no way to guarantee that you would request the shuttle approach us while we were in close proximity to the Raven .. In fact, if you hadn't asked the other pilot to approach our shuttle it would have been out of range and as such no danger to anyone but those aboard. There would have been no damage to the ship and we wou ......" Calli stopped speaking, running through options in her head, then continued, "If someone, and I'm not saying there 'is' a someone, wanted to make a point, then why a shuttle, why not one of the dry docks, one with a Star Ship maybe ... No, they were targeting a person, not a ship, and the only credible target would have to be .... Leanne .... It was her shuttle that went up, not ours, so someone is trying to make sure she doesn't reach Earth, or at least, doesn't survive to go anywhere where she will be able to live her life out !"
Calli was Intelligence, she knew a damn-sight more than most about anything worth knowing. So to have her summarise their situation with such sterility made Carl wonder if she could be right. If so, and 'someone' indeed needed Leanne dead, then they would have to prevent that from happening. But as he assessed the options, it became clear that only someone from the Federation, or the Community, could be responsible ! ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Mar 9, 2015 21:41:55 GMT
"What do we have?" Andae asked, striding on to the Raven's bridge. The place was decidedly bare: console machinery stripped out, maintenance techs - whose sheer number was hard to believe - milling about everywhere making it difficult for him to move. The amount of gold-overalled techs recalled unpleasant memories for him: past refits and shore leaves of Andae's previous ships. Still, there remained enough regular bridge crew to fulfill the ship's minimal requirement of officers. "Two shuttles departed the Fleet Yards fifteen minutes ago, sir," Wedlerson responded to Andae - he was the one remaining senior officer aboard the ship beside Andae himself. "One carrying Admiral Torek and his family, the other Commander Valenti and the girl we collected from the future ship. Valenti and the girl beamed aboard the Admiral's shuttle, shortly after... Calli's shuttle exploded." "What?!" Andae sat in the command chair, still reluctant to take that prestigious position. "How? Why?" he said, exasperated. Wedlerson shook his head, a frown on his face, "Unknown on all accounts, sir. The Admiral's shuttle is currently deorbiting Mars. They were damaged in the attack, reduced power," he explained, "No casualties reported." Andae steepled his fingers in the command chair, tapping his lips pensively. If only the Raven was better crewed - and not short of two nacelles or indeed other more immediately useful systems - he might be able to take the ship itself to investigate. The deputy tactical officer spoke up, "Incoming communique from Earth... Starfleet Command... Not encrypted, sir." Blakus shrugged. "Put it on screen." He tugged down on his uniform jacket, aware of his bedraggled appearance and the remnants of rusted iron particles smeared across his face and the skin of his exposed forearms. "Commander...?" Clearly the Admiral appearing on the viewscreen was waiting for some form of identification, "Anyway," he continued, "We know the girl your vessel rescued from the future Raven is now en route to Earth." He paused, "My condolences, Commander... The girl's designated foster parents have been the victims of a double homicide, at their home in Northern California. Alternative arrangements will need to be made with respect to her family... I understand there's been some incident at Utopia... Nothing we need be concerned about, I hope...?" "Well," Andae sized the man up - a careerist, he judged - yes, prejudice in professional terms was sometimes a weakness of his, and was something he hated himself for in its immediate aftermath. "Well, the shuttle carrying Leanne..." Suddenly he was very reluctant to divulge any other information; something about the man's demeanour, the intent dark stare of his eyes. He continued, "It exploded shortly after setting for Earth. Leanne and Commander Valenti were beamed off moments before - a stroke of luck I would surmise..." * * * Abruptly Andae found himself recalling the time at the excavation site on that barren Martian plateau, the head geologist Tzevalas stood beside him. They both held plasma torches, periodically wiping the incessantly blowing red dust clear from their visors.
"What's this?" Tzevelas said. Something bright was shining from a cavity in the wall of the pit, exposed by the geologist. It glowed a sharp shade of cerulean; a spiral of light, pulsating...
Andae stepped back, said, "Is this our mineral?"
"No," Tzevalas checked his tricorder, "No molecular match at all. We've got something unique. Unusual... properties." He reached in, ignoring Blakus's blurted exclamations of warning. "Hmm... This is nothing like I've ever seen before. Advanced technology, beyond Federation science certainly... It seems to be transmitting some signal... On no frequency I've encountered - high level x-rays transmitted omnidirectionally through some subspace layer... not subspace as we know it."
Andae sighed. "We'll take a sample aboard the Raven for analysis... that is, presuming you're prepared to touch this... anomaly." The glowing twist of light within the orange-red cavity captivated them for a while longer. He thought it odd that the place they'd been sent to search for this warp mineral was the same that they'd encountered this remarkable device - certainly too much to be considered a coincidence... had someone or something led him here? He glanced sideways at Tzevelas momentarily; the man was intent on his work, carefully lifting the glowing device into a secure hard-x-ray proof container.* * * Back in the present, Blakus alerted Torek - his flag officer, and friend for so many years (who was in a slow deorbit of the Mars) of the deaths of Leanne's intended foster parents. Meanwhile, on Earth's surface, the assassins escaped Leanne's foster parents' home unnoticed - such was their training - heading in the general direction of San Francisco. The bodies of the deceased reclined on couches - almost as if dozing in the late afternoon sunlight that lanced through the French doors at the rear of the house. Real books open in their limp hands; in one case, wine like blood spilt across the pages of Shakepeare's Hamlet, soaking into the ancient paper, dripping steadily to the floor - the only audible sound in the house. <Tag Carl, anyone else, come on folks! Let's live up to our fine reputation >
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,163
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Post by Carl Torek on Mar 14, 2015 18:31:29 GMT
During the conversation with the Dock-master the pilot suddenly fell forward against the control panel ... Calli ran to pull him away and could see the man was bleeding profusely from a nasty gash over his right eye. Concussion, or loss of blood was the likely but they didn't have time to worry about it now as she wrapped gauze around the wound and asked Vanessa to leave her seat and apply pressure. She could see Chloe about to object, but the teacher thought better of it and tended to Bethan and Leanne.
"We have less than fifteen percent power in reserve." Carl said quietly as Calli took the second pilot seat. She immediately contacted the surface and requested help, and was told that a tug was climbing to meet them.
Suddenly the shuttle lurched to port then starboard before beginning to roll over. He looked back, fearing the worst, but thankfully the artificial gravity was still holding, otherwise they would have been thrown like so many rag dolls until battered and broken. He risked reducing power to the drive systems, favouring the thrusters to halt the roll and with luck allow them straight, albeit downwards flight. He knew that there was no way the shuttle could land using only the thrusters, and he was reluctant to engage drive until the very last moment. If it didn't work, then thankfully, they wouldn't much time to worry about it before they slammed into the surface !
"I have the towing vessel on approach." Calli said, looking out of the plexi-glass windscreen to pin-point it visually .... There, a large, powerful craft was rising to meet them. It flashed past and out of sight.
=^= Raven to Admiral Torek .. .. .. Raven to Admir .. .. .. =^= Calli closed the Comm mid-sentence. They needed to concentrate on keeping everyone alive and the Comm was a distraction they could do without.
=^= Delta Deanna to Raven .. .. We are closing from above you .. We will endeavour to establish tractor lock once in position .. Please keep your trajectory stable =^=
=^= We'll try Delta =^= Torek replied, working hard to maintain their 'fall' toward the surface.
"Seventy seconds." Calli whispered, glancing back into the cabin. It was all Carl could do not to look back too so he concentrated all his efforts on the control panel as they began to see outlines of buildings and dock facilities far ahead. He used the thrusters to turn the shuttle, only a few degrees, but it would be enough to ensure no-one was killed or injured on the ground should the unthinkable happen ... Needless to say, the shuttle pilot was less than complimentary about the move, and expressed his opinion strongly. Calli grinned at Torek, who sat silently lokoing at the panel before him, almost dumb-struck.
"Not very often anyone manages to shut you up." she said.
"Fifty five seconds to the surface ..... At our current rate of decent they need to have us in forty five or we both, land." Calli reported. Suddenly the shuttle shook as if hit by a giant fist, before yawing from side to side. The tug pilot informed them the tractor couldn't establish lock and he was moving closer. He asked Torek to move everyone to the rearmost cabin of the shuttle immediately. Carl ordered Calli to do so while he remained to stabilize the shuttles' flight. Calli stood and dragged the injured pilot to the galley, the others joined them and huddled together on the floor. Thankfully they could not see the ground rushing up to meet them from there ....
He looked up and could see the tug above him now, and again felt the probing grasp of the tractor beam as it tried to establish a firm hold, then there was a massive crash, sections of roof panel and bulkhead exploded around the cabin and cockpit. Looking back he was astonished to see a massive disc-shaped contraption, obviously a magnetic grapple, protruding through the roof and clamped onto the deck plates. Luckily, it had obviously crashed straight through the weakened outer shell of the shuttle. Suddenly he felt the shuttle's angle of attack begin to diminish. One degree, then two, then five, ten ... At less than two thousand meters from the surface the shuttle and her parent craft were flying level !
The tug began a slow turn towards one of the outer surface docks and started to reduce speed. There was nothing further Torek could do now, so he joined his Family in the galley and waited. One hundred meters off the surface the tug halted all forward momentum and began to approach the massive gantries placed around the dock. Two massive arms extended and fixed the shuttle in place then an explosive device severed the cable from the tug, which moved out and away as the Amilia Rea was lowered below the surface and the inner dock re-pressurized. Seconds later the doors of the shuttle opened and several base personnel entered and Carl got to his feet.
"Any injuries Admiral ?" one of them asked.
"Our pilot needs attention, the rest of us are just bruised and, relieved."
"I've had easier landings." Calli said, holding onto Leanne as Chloe, Bethan and Vanessa hugged their Father.
"Let's go ....." he replied, looking at the massive magnetic grapple still clamped to the deck of the now useless shuttle ..........
< tag : All >
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Mar 18, 2015 19:50:05 GMT
Lieutenant Tinsley stood on the surface of Mars, having joined Blakus's unwished-for friends, the scientists at the excavation site. Below flashed the strange device the team had uncovered. Jaszlinak and his colleagues crowded around the item, running enhanced tricorders over their new find - that seemed to be running something away in the far UV end of the spectrum - but Tinsley's eyes were on the sky.
Twin vortices - a weaker disturbance of the air than would the case in Earth's atmosphere - trailed overhead, a double sonic boom muffled as it resounded over the untamed Martian plateau. At the head of the vortices was a spark of light, accompanied by a larger darker dot, approaching slowly before passing rapidly overhead and vanishing into the haze before the horizon.
"Tinsley to Raven," the engineer said, half an eye on his fellow excavators who seemed to take no notice of the flying object, "Something just passed over our position. Anything we should be aware of?"
-----
Blakus sounded surprised. Indeed, he was so, standing on the bridge of the Raven. "Yes, Tinsley, that was Admiral Torek's shuttle. Its companion carrying Commander Valenti and the girl from the future ship exploded in close proximity to it; the Admiral's shuttle started losing altitude. Now they've deorbited and should have made it to the ground facilities." Tinsley acknowledged and closed the channel.
Blakus looked around disgruntled, "What do we have on the Valenti shuttle explosion?" Despite this being shore leave, there were plenty of qualified bridge officers still aboard, if not the most senior ones.
"Very little of substance thus far, Commander," Wedlerson reported, hands manoeuvring over the Ops console.
"Well answer when you have something good to report," Blakus sat in the command chair, lying back with arms rested on the side-panels. He'd no idea why he was feeling so agitated. He'd been glad to get away from the scientist/engineer excavation team on the surface, but something still was not sitting right with him, and it wasn't the exploded shuttle spinning off its chrome debris into the vacuum.
"Very little of substance," Wedlerson repeated, "But registering a strange build up of latent heat around the site of the explosion, expanding omnidirectionally with a concentration towards the planet's surface - specifically... along the trajectory of Admiral Torek's shuttle as it entered the atmosphere."
Blakus tried to picture this expanding bubble of heat: a spheroid, with a protrusion trailing down to the planet's surface: like Mars was a black hole and the latent heat's expansion was the accretion disk being pulled off the star that was the remnant of the Valenti shuttle.
"The heat is reading as coming from the far UV end of the spectrum," Harry said, "Most unusual."
Andae wanted to sleep. He rested his head to one side in the command chair, ready to close his eyes. His quarters could wait however; he had to solve this. "Tinsley mentioned something about high energy UV rays coming from that artefact me and Jaszlinak found on the surface. They could be connected."
Before another word could be spoken the ship's chassis shook mightily, the distant blow coming from the port aft side. Unknown to them until a few minutes later, the recently removed old port-side Raven nacelle had spectacularly exploded near to the drydock.
"Scan in the far UV!" Blakus demanded, upon learning. There was a mad flittering of communications coming from the Fleet Yards, the docked ships, the surface facilities...
<Tag All>
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,163
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Post by Carl Torek on Mar 20, 2015 0:55:23 GMT
As they left the hanger bay the base Commander was approaching:
"Admiral ....."
"Captain Nielson. I need you're Adjutant to organize accommodation for my family." Nielson nodded to the young Officer beside him who moved off to one side. Calli hold of Chloe's arm and led them off to a seating area.
"What happened Admiral ?"
"You know as much as I do." Carl said, looking around the large open space trying to see if anyone was paying them extra attention, "I need you to keep my family safe and to make sure no-one, and I do mean no-one goes anywhere near them."
"My Adjutant will see to all that Admiral." Nielson assured him.
"Have you had any replacement or newly assigned personnel in the last few days ?" Nielson shook his head before replying:
"We have over sixty thousand personnel and their families. We have people coming and going on almost a daily basis. But I'll ensure a full list of staff is made available to you when you need to see it ..... We could do this better in my office, if you will allow me ..."
Carl nodded and told Calli and Chloe where he was going. The Adjutant was already explaining what he had arranged and offered to take them there himself. Thanking the man Carl followed Nielson through the myriad of corridors and wide thoroughfares until they reached the Administration Building ... Torek asked the man to check if any vessels had left orbit since the explosion, and Nielson confirmed that space around the complex was automatically designated no-fly. So anything readying for departure was halted immediately, and vessels on approach were held at the outer marker one hundred thousand kilometers out. So whoever was responsible was still here ..... Somewhere ! .....
"I want the Raven to get absolute priority. We may need her sooner than later." Torek said, not making it a request.
"I will order triple-shifts on the refit. I'm also going to halt all work on other vessels and pulling the maintenance crews off them, but you need to know Admiral, that regardless of working around the clock we're still looking at, ten to twelve days."
"That is unacceptable Captain. I want the ship ready to fl ......"
"With all due respect, Admiral ...." Nielson interrupted him, "It doesn't matter how many pips you have, or how much 'you' want something done. It will take ten to twelve days to complete the work on the Raven ... You are of course free to consult your Chief Engineer, but he will concur with my time-frame. I'm not in the habit of embellishing, Sir." Torek looked at the man, who was standing up to him:
"Very well. I apologize Captain, of course you are correct, but if there is any way possible to trim that figure ..."
"We will do." the man replied, motioning to the large screen on the far wall of the office, on-screen, a list of almost three hundred people was on show, "These are all the new arrival's in the last seventy two hours." Commander Wake, Nielson's Adjutant entered the office and informed the two Senior Officer's that the family was safe and had been placed under constant security in the residential wing which housed VIP or Ambassadorial level visitors.
"You think whoever caused the explosion may try for you again ?" Nielson asked.
"They failed." Carl said, stating the blindingly obvious.
"There is only one access to the VIP wing Admiral." Wake explained, obviously used to speaking up, "I have assigned Security to remain in place for the duration of your stay Admiral." Carl thanked the young Commander then turned to look once more at the list of names. There was no way they were going to find out who was responsible just from that list, and he knew it ..... They had remained in orbit around Proxima for a full month while relocating the Community. Was it possible that someone, even one of the Council members themselves, had managed to get aboard one of the ships in orbit, and if that were indeed the case, how had they managed to recruit people light-years away and organize the assassination of two totally innocent people ! ... Surely they hadn't managed to find someone who sympathized with their plight, and who was willing to betray 'everything' they held dear ... No ... He could not, would not, believe that was the case. The Community had been responsible for thousands of deaths, and were now suffering the consequences of their actions, but to be able to stretch their will over such distance, and so quickly, just didn't bare thinking about he decided.
Was it possible that the explosion was simply coincidence. One of those 'wrong place wrong time' things, and they got incredibly lucky ?
No ... He couldn't believe that either.
"I'm going to see my family." he said, turning to Nielson, "Can your Adjutant please contact the Raven and request all my Senior Staff come down to the surface, and if you have an empty office I cou ....."
"You can use this Admiral, and we'll arrange for your staff to be transported down. Do you want them now ?" Carl looked at the chronometer:
"No. One hour ... You're tugs should have gathered the majority of the shuttle by then. If it can be brought to the surface and stored somewhere secure. I'm sure my Chief Engineer will want his teams to go over it."
He thanked both Officer's and left. A Security Officer fell into step with him but two paces behind ..... He needed to explain to his family, and to Leanne, that they wouldn't be going to Earth at the moment ... He wasn't looking forward to disappointing them ..........
< tag : All >
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Kate Jamison
Lieutenant JG
Registered: Feb 26, 2014 16:13:08 GMT
Posts: 51
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Post by Kate Jamison on Mar 20, 2015 22:07:17 GMT
[Utopia Planetia, Science Lab 4]
Katie muttered as she tweaked the program yet again. “Come on. Just a little more.” she pressed a button on the console and settled back to watch the screen. She absently twirled a piece of stray hair that fell from the braid which lay down her back.
“That's more like it.” she spoke to the computer as everything fell into place and appeared to be doing what she had asked. A slight smile crossed her face as her hands moved over the console, tweaking the program slightly.
The program seemed to be working when suddenly the images shifted and the computers voice broke into her thoughts.
Simulation failed
“No, really.” her voice frustrated as she stood and paced.
What am I doing wrong. she thought to herself as she paced and tried to ease the tension in her shoulders. This job was taking more time than it should. All the simulations were so close, and yet none of them hit the mark.
Katie sat back down before the console and began tapping the keypad before her. Soon two screens blinked side by side. On one was the program she had just finished, and that had not worked. The other screen was blank, for the time being. Katie began going through each line of programming, transferring each as she checked and double checked it. It was going to be a long night. She began to whistle low as she worked. Her eyes riveted to the screens.
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Calli Valente
Starfleet Intelligence
"Don't get in my way."
Registered: Aug 4, 2010 21:19:10 GMT
Posts: 534
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Post by Calli Valente on Mar 21, 2015 0:02:53 GMT
She knew better than to argue with the Admiral at this moment, and so took Leanne by the hand before following the Adjutant away from the Dock ... Five minutes later they entered a long corridor and then one of the apartments at the far end. She looked back and noticed the two Security Personnel that had seemingly appeared. Entering she saw that the children, ever innocent to all things dangerous, had managed to pry Leanne away and were all deciding on which beds they were having. The apartment was large, one of the Ambassador Suits set aside for visiting dignitaries. A large open living area, with almost a full wall dedicated to a panoramic plexi-glass window allowing a view of the Mars landscape beyond. Four bedrooms, separate food preparation area, 'Hell I could live here !' she thought wryly as she checked on access and her obligatory escape route should one be needed. Alas, there was one way in, and thus only one way out. She didn't like that but beggars, as the old saying goes ..... She went to sit beside a very quiet Chloe and placed an arm around her shoulder. She felt the woman relax, albeit minutely: "Everything will be OK Chloe. Carl will already be ensuring our safety, and will be doing everything he can to catch whoever did this ....." "It doesn't terrify you ?" Chloe asked, trying to keep her tone calm as the children ran past exploring, "The fact that you were seconds from, from ....." "We got off Chloe, that's what we all need to focus on." She looked down at her dishevelled uniform and decided they all needed something to do. She shouted the children and asked Vanessa, as the oldest, to replicate everything they needed, toiletries, nightgowns, slippers, whatever they needed, but warned her not to go overboard, "Why don't you go take a soothing bath Chloe, you look like you could do with relaxing." Carl's partner, and possible future Bride, finally nodded and went to the main bedroom. Calli checked one of the other vacant rooms, throwing her bag on the bed before returning to the living area. She sat at the large ornate desk and activated the computer terminal: "Computer .. Access all surveillance records pertaining to the recent shuttle explosion." "Please enter Command Access Code""Valenti-Alpha-Zero-Two-Omega." she replied. "Working"The screen changed to show the shuttle, their shuttle parked beside the dry dock cradling the Raven. Calli looked toward the bedroom and got up to pull the door closed, nodding to Vanessa, who understood her need for privacy ... The shuttle began to move forward and crossed ahead of the dock before halting approximately fifty meters from a second shuttle, this one containing Admiral Torek and his family. The scrolling log below the image noted a beam out of two people from the first shuttle to the second, before the pilot of the first began to move away ... Then ...... She was about to begin looking at other views when the door opened and a burly Security Officer stepped aside to allow Carl to enter. he looked around the room before his eyes fell on her: "The children are in their room, they are getting ready for bed." Calli said reassuringly, "Chloe is in your room, there, hopefully she's taken my advice and is taking a long bath." "What do we have ?" Torek asked moving to look at the screen. "This can wait Carl. Go see the children then go talk to Chloe, she needs a little 'reassurance' of her own about now." she said, turning back to the screen and as quickly realizing that he was still stood looking over her shoulder, "Carl ... Go ... Now !" "Computer .. Did anything fire on the shuttle prior it's destruction ?" "Negative""Sooo, no-one shot the thing out of the sky ....." she mused. "Please repeat the question" "Never mind." she said, rubbing her eye's as the tiredness began to catch up on her, before she began to review all footage of the explosion. Carl finally returned to the living area, Chloe behind him, hair in a towel. The children came out of their room too and sat themselves on the large comfy chairs, PADD's in hand as they entertained themselves .... She closed the screen down before they could see what she was reviewing and stood, stretching the aches out of her back. It was obvious that Torek had told Chloe that he needed to go back out, while Calli could see that she understood, she nevertheless looked like he wouldn't be going anywhere if it was her call. Kissing the girls goodnight, he leaned on and kissed Chloe tenderly, then walked to the door, Calli behind him. In the long corridor three of the Security Personnel fell into step while two remained outside the door: "Did you find anything useful ?" Carl asked. "Nothing, but I haven't had time to go through everything. We may know more once Andae and I have a chance to look at the wreckage of the shuttle close up." "You won't be looking at it." he said, asking their escort to stay-put while he took her off to one side and out of earshot, "I'll ask Captain Nielson or his Adjutant to assign someone from their Science Division to assist our Engineers. They may have a little more insight into what caused this bloody outrage. I want you using those 'talents' of yours to start discretely investigating. Your enquiries can run parallel to the 'official' investigation, but on the quiet, if you understand me." he said, waving to Security to catch up. they entered Nielson's, now his, temporary office. His Senior Staff were already seated around the large table waiting .......... < tag Andae / All >
OOC :: FAO :: Andae ..... I have told Lt Jamison to make a post showing she is at the Fleet Yards. I have hinted in the above post that we will ask for assistance. My thought is that either you or I can contact the Lieutenant (via Nielson or Wake) and get her involved ...She is going to post as an Officer assigned to Utopia Planitia and 'not' as a member of the Raven crew at this time. We will work her reassignment in as the SL thread continues so she is on board before we begin our next mission.
Regards,
Steve.
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Mar 22, 2015 16:09:09 GMT
The voice was hesitant, "Well, you see, Commander, the fragments have only just been beamed into one of our cargo holds... We have certain procedural measures in place to..."
Blakus lost his patience, rising from the engineering console chair and turning back to the viewscreen, "I don't care, Captain! Now is not the time to be arguing the finer points of procedure." He knew what he was saying might be seen as insubordination, "Respectfully, Captain Nielson sir, get one of your best on it now. I'll be over there to assist personally as soon as I possibly can. Commander Blakus out."
He descended to the command area of the bridge again, conferring with Wedlerson, "I'm heading over there with an engineering team. Between the science officer they'll appoint and ourselves we can hopefully explain this concentration of ultraviolet rays... Why the shuttle was destroyed, and perhaps infer a reason why our former nacelle suddenly exploded."
The explosion of the fortunately inert nacelle - warp coils removed and/or shut down, of course no warp plasma flowing into the unattached part of the Raven - had caused light to moderate damage to nearby installations, docks, other orbiting facilities of the Fleet Yards. One nearby vessel, the USS Ahwahnee, had sustained minor damage - and that with her shields down and structural integrity field deactivated and stripped out.
Still, however, the explosion had come from the far UV, which correlated with the mysterious destruction of Valenti's shuttle, which correlated with the radiation from the artefact found by himself, Jaszlinak and the other scientists at the excavation site on Mars - an unterraformed area, one of the few remaining on the rust-red/green Martian globe. He couldn't help but think that the radiation emitted from the artefact was involved in this in some way... What had initially been thought to have been UV rays from the Valenti ship explosion, trailed by Torek's shuttle over the excavation site, could well be its inversion: that the artefact was the source of the UV radiation, the possible cause of the ship explosions. But why had it only started its wanton destruction of randomly chosen objects in orbit now? Had it only activated itself when Blakus and the science team uncovered it?
Less speculation, more facts, he decided. He headed for the transporter room, the ship's crew that'd remained aboard still in various states of shock, convalescent after the explosion of the old nacelle - little more than 800 metres away from the drydock. Meeting Milyanov, Taylor and a new crewmember, Iakos, in the transporter room, he joined them on the pad and was beamed away to the secure hold where Nielson had the shuttle wreckage beamed.
"Lieutenant..." Blakus greeted the incoming teal-collared officer who he guessed correctly was Neilson's assigned scientist. The name took him by surprise - he vaguely recalled now... someone of that name having met the synonymously-surnamed XO during a previous shore leave. "Jamison? Well, good to have you with us. Quite a mess we have here."
<Tag Kate>
Blakus was still in a heightened state of agitation, running on adrenaline after the shock of the nacelle explosion. Another near miss? If the detonation had occurred a few hours earlier the Raven would've likely been destroyed. He appraised the wreckage of the shuttle: shiny blackened fragments like remnants of gothic architecture from archaeological digs, a whole room of it.
"What the hell could've..." Milyanov was muttering, passing through the sharp-edged remains of duranium hull, internal computer circuitry and helm consoles... The engines weren't present, the nacelles and impulse drive's constituents having been atomised during the vessel's loss.
Tricorders out they all started surveying the wreckage. "Commander Andae Blakus, by the way," he said to Kate Jamison, "Chief Engineer, USS Raven."
After ten minutes of silent scanning through the wreckage in its serene afterlife repose, Blakus convened the team in the centre of the cargo hold, "Lieutenant," he turned to Jamison, "To your knowledge, could an emission of UV radiation cause catastrophic damage to a starship, as if the starship had been targeted by the source of the radiation?"
<Tag Kate>
Milyanov, facing the other way, was running a tricorder across the remains of an aft hull section... "Funny," he said, "Detecting a residue of tachyons here... Some sort of subspace..." Blakus's irritation at his assistant faded. "If I was forced to speculate, I'd say an isolytic weapon, pin-sized..."
Isolytic weaponry and all associated subspace-rending devices had been banned, Blakus knew, at least to those who had signed the Khitomer Accords. Or had it been a quadrant-wide ban? he couldn't recall.
<Tag Kate> <All>
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Marionette
Commander
Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
Registered: Mar 2, 2012 3:26:33 GMT
Posts: 285
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Post by Marionette on Mar 23, 2015 4:01:38 GMT
Mars (surface)
Marionette was on Mars, 'feeling' rather lonely/sociable (if that could be said of her, thusfar), so, she went to go seek out the possibility of spending some time with any of the Bynar pairs that were stationed on Mars. She found Commander Blakus instead..... She decided she would attempt to be social with him. "Commander... Surprised to find you here on the Martian surface."Blakus said. Marionette did a side-nod of sorts, indicating that she was going to ask him the same thing.
He cleared his throat, "I've been helping Dr Jaszlinak in his search for a mineral he thinks will revolutionalise the way we manufacture warp coils." They walked the corridor, continuing the conversation 'til they arrived at a wide lounge area. Marionette noticed that the corridors of this area of the station were using the same Corridor Paneling as the Defiant and Cheyanne class ships, in an alternating arrangement, but were visually unified by using the same surface colors. Half a dozen Starfleet officers were lounging on couches, reading. Blakus sighed in frustration at Marionette's monosyllabic answers, but as usual, she was un affected. "That future ship. The Pril... Your supposed descendants." he said.
She perceived it as switching the topic to almost complete randomness. It tripped her up for only 1.25 seconds.... Not that anyone would notice. Marionette spoke. "I am fascinated by the extrapolation of potential future progeny. However, since it was reasonably established that they might likely have been facsimiles, i am not sure how to think of the Pril."
Blakus' commbadge chirped. "Saved by the bell," he murmured. The conversation had turned out ok in fact - at least, compared to previous exchanges with the gynoid. No grammatical misinterpretations but still the occasional unrealised obscure metaphor.
Commander Blakus returned to the ship, to technically oversee the refitting of the Raven, and to get away from geologists.
Marionette, however, stayed on Mars, and began to develop a .... "pet theory" as to the shuttle explosion incident. She reviewed the available data on the event so far, and then downloaded it to a Padd and sought out Jaszlinak and other science officers to see if her idea on atmospheric refraction and distance-wavelength frequencies had any possibilities....
< tag Andae / All ? >
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Mar 23, 2015 16:10:36 GMT
"My idea is," Blakus said, vaguely aware that he may not be making himself clear, or that he hadn't vocalised several steps in his logic before posing his question about the ultraviolet radiation - highly energetic, near x-ray... "That while UV rays wouldn't 'ordinarily' pose a danger to a starship, their omnidirectionally-transmitting source on the surface of Mars (near the mineral excavation site) was not equal in all directions; there was a concentration of the UV radiation heading from the artefact Jaszlinak uncovered towards the Fleet Yards. It's corroborated by scans we made aboard the Raven of the shuttle explosion and Torek's shuttle's escape."
He hoped he wasn't losing them again. In light of the recent evidence of subspace weaponry Milyanov had uncovered - and shocking evidence it was - he thought he might better be able to make his case.
"If we can prove that high-energy UV radiation could somehow have... triggered this isolytic weapon aboard Valenti's shuttle - and whatever other pin-sized subspace weaponry may be present amongst the ships at Utopia Planitia..." he thought again of the old Raven nacelle, and if, someone or something had sabotaged it in the same way that Calli and Leanne's shuttle had been sabotaged.
He turned to Kate, "I suggest you advise your senior officer Captain Nielson to pass a message among the Yards for them to scan intensively for signs of concealed isolytic weaponry..." Last used, as far as Andae could recall, by the Son'a on the Starfleet flagship in the Briar Patch circa 2375. "If ships amongst the Yards have been sabotaged and Raven officer Valenti and a small girl weren't the only targets, this is of highest priority... Also if this UV thing on Mars is responsible, someone may have planted it in advance, knowing we'd find it, and perhaps our finding of it was what activated it and set off the explosions in orbit."
As the brief meeting seemed about to conclude, Blakus said one last thing to Kate, grinning despite himself, "Again, if you have any other ideas, please entertain us. Naturally I dislike the idea of an infiltration job on Utopia Planitia..."
<Tag Kate>
As the engineers roamed about the wreckage once more, searching for more clues about what particular type of isolytic weapon was used and consequently who may have been responsible, Andae stepped to the side and opened a channel to the surface. On the face of it, Utopia Planitia surface facilities looked peaceful, grey/white buildings amongst a dusting of rust-red.
"Commander Marionette, this is Blakus. I know it's shore leave, but would you be willing to assist us? We're in cargo storage module 33-Beta, Martian orbit. We have the wreckage of the Valenti shuttle here. Was wondering if you might have any ideas...? Do you think the source of the shuttle and nacelle explosions was from the surface, or something in orbit?" he added reluctantly.
<Tag Marionette> <All>
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Kate Jamison
Lieutenant JG
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Post by Kate Jamison on Mar 24, 2015 16:29:41 GMT
[In the hold surveying the wreckage]
Kate had entered the hold and was viewing the wreckage when she was approached by a Commander.
“Thank you Sir. I heard about the explosion but it's different seeing the wreckage up close.”
She glanced down at the tricorder in her hand, and after a few minutes she looked up at the two men. “ Isolytic weapon? “ She mused as she reread what her tricorder was showing. “It is possible. I suppose.”
Kate nodded at the suggestion to inform her superiors of the suspected cause of the explosion. “I will do that Sir. I also want to run some of my own tests if allowed.”
She took a few more readings while waiting for the Commander to excuse her so she could go report what her own finding showed plus the conversation with the others.
“If you'll excuse me Commander?”
<tag Cmdr Blakus >
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Mar 25, 2015 11:40:11 GMT
After seeing his family, and explaining to Leanne that they would be going to Earth once the situation allowed, he and Calli headed for the converted cargo bay that was being used to store the segments of the destroyed shuttle .... He had seen many rooms like this before, wreckage strewn in a seemingly random pattern, but in fact pieces placed like a intricate chess board of fragments large and small, each corresponding to it's approximate place should the shuttle be whole. Stepping through the sections, some almost larger than himself, and some small enough to hold in a closed fist, he spotted Commander Blakus, with a young woman he didn't recognize, obviously the Officer assigned by Captain Nielson he assumed,section and approached: "Andae. What do we have ?" as Calli began to look through the readings from the Engineers tricorder. "A mess." Blakus replied, shaking his head in frustration as he noticed his Commanding Officer looking at the woman, "Oh, apologies Admiral, this is Lieutenant Kate Jamison, she's helping with preliminary analysis." "Jamison, any relati ...." "Cousin's Admiral." the woman answered quickly. "You are aware that Will is in the infirmary here ?" "I am Admiral. I plan on going to see him once the Commander can spare me." she said. "The USS Georgetown is departing for Earth once we clear traffic. Commander Jamison is being transferred to Star Fleet Medical for further treatment. You might want to see him before he leaves." Carl said, turning back to his Chief Engineer, "So ... 'A Mess' ... I hate it when you get all technical with me Andae." he said, a wry grin forming as Kate stood between them. "OK, what we have so far, frankly, doesn't make sense ....." Blakus began to bring him up to speed with Kate throwing in numerous pieces of information throughout the impromptu briefing. ~~~~~"Isolytic weaponry ?" he interrupted, "So this has nothing to do with anyone from the Community ?" "We can't one hundred percent rule that option out obviously ...." Calli said, kneeling beside one scorched section which would have been adjacent to the plexi-glass cockpit window, "Non of the other vessels assisting us came here, although the USS Joyce Miller did rendezvous with a cargo carrier two days before our arrival. The chances of someone hiding out on a star ship for the three weeks it took to get here is all but impossible in my opinion. Not saying someone determined enough couldn't manage it, but ...." she finished, shrugging as if already ruling the idea out in her own options list. "The Commander and I discussed the possibility that the blast wasn't meant for the shuttle, and it's destruction was an unfortunate mishap." Kate said, making everyone turn in her direction. "It's an option we can't rule out Admiral. But ithat would require prior knowledge of our whereabouts, and some planning ...." Blakus confirmed, looking over Carl's shoulder making Torek turn in that direction. At the edge of the wreckage, Commander Wake, Nielson's Adjutant and Deputy, was stood impassively watching the group. "You need to speak to me Commander ?" Torek asked. "Sorry, I was just ....." he faltered, looking at the clutter strewn floor, "Captain Nielson ask's if you and your Staff would join him for dinner tonight ?" "Thank the Captain on my behalf Commander. Tell him we'll try, but it depends on our progress here." "Yes Sir." the man said, turning to leave. Calli watched him go then turned to Torek. "How long do you think he was stood there before we noticed him ?" they looked at her for a moment. "Run a background check Calli, but let's not start seeing things that don't exist. We have enough on our plate with all this." Carl said, trusting Calli's intuition for all things dubious. They continued to work on the wreckage .......... < tag : All >
We're beginning to make progress now everyone, let's keep up the momentum
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Mar 25, 2015 21:45:53 GMT
"Showing a match with accepted characteristics of isolytic weaponry," Milyanov said, looking about the ruined interior of the forward section. He was perched inside - the shuttle fragment at an angle, the bare bones of the pilot and co-pilot seats still bolted to the floor - scanning the ruptured isolinear circuitry of the helm, his hands wrist deep in the console.
"It appears there were two devices," he said to Andae, withdrawing himself from the wreckage. "That may explain why the vehicle's a total wreck, given these weapons were pin-sized."
Andae weighed this up, nodding thoughtfully and entering a few more details on his padd.
“If you'll excuse me Commander?”
He turned, surprised at the voice, "Ah, of course, Lieutenant. Ensure Captain Nielson receives the data on our findings here, and that he knows to transmit a message to the docked fleet for them to scan for isolytic weaponry. Excellent to have your input."
At that moment Carl and Calli arrived, staying Jamison for the time being. Blakus acknowledged the two and handed Calli his padd, "OK, what we have so far, frankly, doesn't make sense ....." he, Jamison and Milyanov presented their findings thus far.
"The Commander and I discussed the possibility that the blast wasn't meant for the shuttle, and it's destruction was an unfortunate mishap." Kate said, making everyone turn in her direction.
"It's an option we can't rule out Admiral," Andae said, "But that would require prior knowledge of our whereabouts, and some planning .... Also, despite the possibility of it having been a mistake targeting the shuttle, the presence of two isolytic weapons aboard, set to be triggered by some outside source, may suggest that an error of placement is unlikely. Considering the explosion of our old nacelle, the debris of which is surrounded by a cloud of exotic particles consistent with this shuttle's demise, I've recommended that we alert all of the Fleet Yards to scan their facilities and docked vessels for isolytic weaponry."
He nodded at Valenti, "On the other hand if we are the primary targets and this is the work of the Community..." he shuddered, not wanting to have to revisit in memory let alone reality the occupants of that ship (descendants of the Raven crew or no, that nightmare version of the Raven he'd prefer to remain firmly in the past), "Then it stands to reason that by targeting us they thought they'd eliminate the member of their crew who escaped them - Leanne."
<Tag Calli, All>
Blakus made off amongst the wreckage again. It made him uneasy to think that more than one vessel amongst the Fleet Yards may have been targeted, that Calli's shuttle wasn't the only objective, but he couldn't dismiss the idea, given the concentration of high energy EM radiation directed towards the Fleet Yards from the Martian surface.
Perhaps however, if the Community, or anyone else had wanted to specifically target the Raven - for the Raven had made plenty of enemies over the years - then the attackers might have an operative on the surface, someone with access to the excavation site where the EM emitting artefact had been found, the trigger for these isolytic weapons amongst Starfleet's finest in orbit of Mars...
...Jaszlinak? Tzevelas, or one of the other scientists? The thought was mildly horrifying, that he could've been standing before, working alongside, a member of the Community or some other infiltrating agency just hours before.
He accessed the Utopia Planitia ship traffic roster from a console at one end of the bleak cargo bay, "Computer, destination of cargo vessel that made rendezvous with USS Joyce Miller on stardate 2401.0323?"
The reply was slow in coming, Andae having to pass various security checks before access to the sensitive information was allowed. Eventually after a number of electronic warblings, ~ Cargo Carrier Buenos Aires made landing at Utopia Planitia ground facility Upsilon 4 on stardate 2401.0324 ~
Yesterday! And at the section of the ground facilities closest to the excavation site. Collecting his equipment he ran from the bay, leaving little time for others to call out to him as the doors slid shut.
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Mar 26, 2015 0:11:18 GMT
OOC: Sorry for the double post but I felt I didn't accomplish what I'd set out to do in my previous post. Also this hopefully concludes this somewhat convoluted part of the mini-story arc - the Martian surface/excavation/artefact part of it. Hopefully this will allow us to narrow the focus to Mars orbit, and clear up any confusions caused by my somewhat energetic posting lol
Martian surface...
Blakus waited impatiently for the door to slide open. A circular viewing port in the door showed the room to have just one occupant, their EVA suit coated in red dust, stooping over equipment and findings from the excavation.
Mars had been virtually scoured of all interesting articles over the 300 years since its colonisation, however there remained a select few areas that'd been closed off first by Earth Starfleet, then by the UFP's Starfleet Scientific Corps, having been deemed too sensitive for the likes of amateur archaeologists, geologists etcetera - keen to make some miraculous discovery and sell off their assets before the New World Economy came into effect.
Excavation sites such as these had only been opened up in the last 15 years or so; Jaszlinak was, purportedly, the latest in a line of Federation scientists taking an especial interest in the digs, believing he'd found something that would allow for partial replication of warp coils. So his story went.
Blakus entered the room, the figure in its bulky EVA suit rising to meet him. Behind the dust-covered visor Blakus could just make out Jaszlinak's features. It was all he could do not to strike him through the faceplate, right there and then. Gritting his teeth he began, "When were you assigned here, Pyotr?"
Jaszlinak raised a bulky suited arm to the side of his head, "What?" His voice muffled and vapour from his breath obscuring his face further. "When?" He returned to sorting through his excavation tools, "Three years ago, two before I came up with this idea... Ha, look at all this... Oh, Andae, mind handing me that plasma torch?"
Blakus went to the bench the other side of the embarkation room, "I do as a matter of fact." He turned on the scientist, "You're the only one who could've authorised the dig in that particular area, Doctor. You're the only who knew we'd find that artefact."
"Yes! Quite a find," Jaszlinak had taken his helmet off now, his Polish accented voice filling the room. "I was delighted when Tzevelas told me the news."
"I'm sure you were." Blakus tapped his commbadge, "Bauer, you can come in now. It's him." As soon as Andae had said the words three security guards waltzed through the internal door, coming to stand around Jaszlinak. "Do you know what gave you away?" Andae still spoke through gritted teeth.
"Wha - What? I haven't done anything...!" Pyotr was led away by Bauer and his security. He wasn't going easily.
"Utopia's records agree with your claim: you arrived here early 2398 from the Scientific Corps at Saturn. But you're not the same person. You said you came up with the idea a year ago... Your 'contacts' on the Buenos Aires claim to have dropped a man named Pyotr Jaszlinak here a year ago, not three. Where's the real Pyotr? Dead I assume?" Andae turned away, saddened, "And also, the real Pyotr Jaszlinak didn't have a Polish accent."
Jaszlinak was led virtually kicking and screaming - as much as EVA suits would allow - out of the room and into custody. So, they'd found who'd infiltrated the surface and forced the discovery that'd triggered the isolytic weapon detonations in orbit. But who lay behind it all: the Community, or a more recognisable enemy?
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Marionette
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Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
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Post by Marionette on Mar 26, 2015 16:01:40 GMT
"Commander Marionette, this is Blakus. I know it's shore leave, but would you be willing to assist us? We're in cargo storage module 33-Beta, Martian orbit. We have the wreckage of the Valenti shuttle here. Was wondering if you might have any ideas...? Do you think the source of the shuttle and nacelle explosions was from the surface, or something in orbit?" he added reluctantly.
Tapping her comm-badge, Marionette answered "I am already investigating other facets of this incident. I believe it may be a combination of factors. I am currently compiling information to present to Doctor Thaddeus Wittier, an expert in atmospheric phenomenon and meteorology."
( ~ Later ~ )
Marionette was walking down the halls, towards commander Blakus. She rounded the corner to see - Dr Jaszlinak, in an EVA suit (sans helmet), being dragged away, by security guards. Looking back and forth with an almost confused look, she waggled an eyebrow and said “I am forced to conclude that I have missed something... Yes ?” The stack of Padd's she had with her, was the info she had shown to Whittier, who confirmed what the other forensics team had discovered; x-rays had interacted with an isolytic weapon of some sort, and detonated the shuttle, weather or not the shuttle was the intended target.
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Calli Valente
Starfleet Intelligence
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Post by Calli Valente on Mar 29, 2015 17:15:41 GMT
"How long do you think he was stood there before we noticed him ?" they looked at Calli for a moment, as she questioned how long Commander Wake had been listening to their conversation. "Run a background check Calli, but let's not start seeing things that don't exist. We have enough on our plate with all this." Carl said, trusting her intuition. She waited a few seconds then followed the Deputy ... Remaining far enough behind not to attract attention, she followed him back towards the Command Center of Utopia Planitia. Thinking he was simply returning to report to Captain Nielson, she slowed and decided to follow up on the Admiral's order, but as she was about to turn away, Wake turned off the main corridor and disappeared from sight. She quickened her step and cautiously peered around the corner. There, not far ahead was Wake. He was talking quietly to two men, neither wearing Star Fleet or Base uniform, so obviously Civilians. But Civilians with access to restricted area's, and that piqued her interest once again. There was no way to listen into the conversation, and several people had glanced side-long at her as they passed. Frustrated, she moved away from the mouth of the corridor and positioned herself where she could see anyone emerging. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long, as first the Commander entered the main corridor, closely followed by the Civilians, she mad e the decision to follow the latter ..... ~~~~~She followed them back along the main corridor until they turned off. Again she approached the junction and this time was easily able to continue. Rooms off to the left and right were being used by various staff, while some were empty. The two men enter the door at the end of the corridor, she read the notation: Armaments Development Lab Six 'So, they were in weapons development, that is interesting' she thought as she entered one of the empty side rooms. Sitting at the terminal, she glanced at the doorway but it seemed her presence was apparently nothing out of the ordinary .... Her Intelligence Access allowed her to look at information without any log being generated. In fact, any access using her log-in was immediately erased, and the time index of the previous and next entry were adjusted to ensure no break in the log file. Quite a useful ability if you wanted to remain undiscovered completely ... Entering her code she sat quietly, one eye on the door as a secondary access level requested identification confirmation. She entered the eight digit alpha numeric code and the screen cleared awaiting instructions ..... Ten minutes later she had reviewed the security footage of 'AD6' and the surrounding corridors, and had identified both of the men who she had seen speaking to Commander Wake. She looked around the room and found a container of blank data disks. She copied the information onto the disk and then closed down the terminal. Checking that there was no sign of her ever having been in the room, she left and headed back to the nearest transporter room before beaming back to the ship ...... USS Raven-B ::Entering the Captain's ready room, she sat and took out the data disk, inserting it into the slot built into the desk. The large screen on the back wall came to life and she once again entered her duel-layer Intelligence access. she was a little surprised to see that both men were actually Doctor's ..... 'Medical' Doctors ! ..... Raul Quist and Sabor Kellin ..... So firstly, what would they be doing away from the Medical Center, and secondly, given there had been no notification of anyone needing medical treatment from a Senior Physician, 'WHAT' were they doing in weapons development ? "The plot thickens." she said to herself as she studied the two records. Then, almost on a hunch, she put Wakes' image and record alongside the other two and asked the computer to check for inconsistencies. Star Date 2401.0126 > 2401.0209 -- No record for specified period. Star Date 2401.0126 > 2401.0209 -- No record for specified period. Star Date 2401.0126 > 2401.0209 -- No record for specified period. The same line on each of the records was highlighted ... For fourteen days all three men had seemingly vanished from sight simultaneously ! ..... She stood and approached the screen as if proximity would solve the riddle for her, but alas, it didn't. She asked the computer to re-check 'ALL' records for the dates stated and was told no record existed. So technically, they could have been on the surface of Mars the whole time, or could have been countless light-years away ! "Computer .. Save and seal log information .. Assign Admiral Carl Torek access to record .. Close." She left the ready room to a bustle of activity and went to speak to Commander Wedlerson. "I'm going back to the surface. Is there anything you need me to tell the Admiral ?" Harry shrugged, waving his arms to encompass the Bridge. Turning she left and headed for the turbo-lift ... Utopia Planitia Command Center ::She requested the Raven's Senior Staff meet her in Nielson's office. When they entered she told them she had secured the room and had ensured that any computer access could not be monitored from external sources. She put the data chip in the reader and entered her codes, then allowed them to see what she had found ..........
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Mar 31, 2015 0:35:02 GMT
Post Error
:: Please note ::
In the previous post, it was stated that the three personnel had disappeared almost two years ago
I had meant to say they had vanished two months prior to our arrival at Mars So in effect, during the discussions of the Federation Council to relocate the Community
I hope this error was caught in time for you to amend any post you had ready
My apologies for the mistake
Steve
This post will be removed once the next mission post is in place
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Mar 31, 2015 19:33:37 GMT
Seeing Jaszlinak being subdued and pulled away by the security guards, Marionette was obligated to comment, “I am forced to conclude that I have missed something... Yes ?” Marionette asked, apparently mystified if such a thing were possible for an android.
Blakus rolled his eyes at her comic timing. He thought that even if he hadn't Marionette would have picked up on some form of subtly manifested body language anyway so, why not? "Certainly have missed something, yes... This man," he said awkwardly as the guards dragging the struggling impostor out of the room collided with the Raven officer, "Is not the scientist leading the expedition that uncovered the x-ray device."
Marionette's apparent mystification endured. In fairness she'd never seen Jaszlinak, to his knowledge - neither the real or the impostor.
"About a year ago 'someone', someone with experience in Intel, planted 'him' here," Andae pointed out the door to the subdued impostor scientist, "To take the place of the real Jaszlinak. Eventually, in accordance with his mission brief, the impostor uncovered and activated the buried artefact that led to to the destruction of the shuttle in orbit."
He took Marionette's proffered padds, scanning through them and nodding, "This fits the theory, quite closely." An irked expression came to his face as he read the next line. Atmospheric refraction... he hadn't considered that. "Good work. This explains a great deal. Perhaps there was a specific target... They may have calculated their x-rays to refract out of the Martian atmosphere at a particular angle, zeroing in on Calli and Leanne's shuttle..."
"He could not have acted alone," Marionette surmised after a moment's reasoning.
"Well, the other scientists, geologists might've been involved somehow... It seems too obvious, though. I think Jaszlinak had help from elsewhere... non-Federation citizens maybe, or at the other end of the spectrum Starfleet personnel, people in higher places who could've given an impostor such access."
* * *
The investigatory musings were cut short as the two were summoned to Nielson's office. Fortunately they were already on the surface; it was a relatively short walk to Nielson's reception area and inner sanctum. They passed an aide, not Commander Wake this time, on the way in. Blakus sat himself down, his hands full of padds most of which he fumbled and dropped, disturbing the silence. Most of the Raven staff were already present, Nielson waiting patiently behind the desk while Valenti activated a display that lit up behind Nielson's desk.
"Two weeks... Nothing on them at all? Where could they have gone?" Blakus asked after Calli's brief, managing to organise his thoughts despite the padds he was still collecting from the floor and slapping onto the desk. Conversation progressed - Nielson the only one silent, seeming enraged that his facility and the Fleet Yards could've been caught off guard like this - until Andae felt obligated to speak again, "These two medical doctors... Commander Wake aside... Did they ever do anything cross-disciplinary, in sciences? Perhaps," maybe this was in the realm of conjecture now (he imagined ideas of the three of them disappearing into some subspace manifold, launching their attacks against the Fleet Yards - or one specific ship - from there), "In the fields of x-ray astrophysics, subspace weapons research...?"
While wildly speculative, any affirmative might tie a lot of things together, Andae thought.
<Tag Carl, Calli, Marionette, Kate>
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Post by Carl Torek on Apr 1, 2015 12:51:39 GMT
Carl had included Captain Nielson in the meeting, he didn't think for a moment that the man was involved, alas the same couldn't be said for his Deputy ... Following a request from Carl, Nielson had sent the Commander to check up of various issues within the reproduction facility, the furthest ground-based section of the facility from the Administration block .....
"Commander Wake was only assigned to the facility six months ago." the Captain was telling them as he brought up Wake's record, "There ... His record shows that he was called away after an accident. His sister had been seriously injured in a fall while climbing with friends on Raxxan IV. She had been pulled off the climb by two of the people that fell. She couldn't be moved as wasn't expected to survive. I remember telling Wake to go ..... I had no reason to suspect what he was saying wasn't true." the man said, as if trying to excuse the fact his Aide had been away.
"No-one could have known he was lying Captain." Calli said, watching the man and deciding he was being truthful.
"Records show that Doctors, Raul Quist and Sabor Kellin, were both assigned to Utopia Planitia within the last four months, both were to be here temporarily and were due to leave next month." Nielson continued to read from their personal records, "According to this, neither man had cross-discipline training, although Quist 'had' been involved in astrophysics ... It was his field while at the Academy, but he switched for his final to years and qualified as a Doctor prior to completing his time there."
"It's possible they could have both received extra-curricular training outside the Academy. There would have been ample free time openly available." Calli stated, thinking of her own time there, and the fact the she herself had 'vanished' for several months throughout her academic period.
"My concern is ....." Carl said, rubbing his suddenly sore eyes, "They had disappeared, literally ! .... No matter where they went, there should have been 'some' record of their movements. All we have is that the three of them were on duty up to twenty three hundred hours the day before they vanished, suddenly reappearing somewhere around zero six thirty on the morning they were due to return to their assigned duties. We know this, because the log shows them all entering their respective quarters within minutes of each other, and all three requested ice water from their replicator at the time they, came back." he said shaking his head.
"Where are Quist and Kellin now ?" Calli asked, then waiting while Nielson checked.
"Both are in the Medical Center ... Commander Wake is where I sent him."
"Is Lieutenant Jamison still in the Cargo Bay ?" she asked. the Captain checked and nodded, "We can't rule out that others may be involved in this Admiral." she said neutrally.
"She's a good Officer Commander." Nielson said, obviously annoyed at her questioning his ability or even his loyalty maybe, "She is conscientious, eager to learn, and in 'my' opinion, one hundred percent trustworthy !"
"The Commander wasn't questioning you ability Captain." Carl said, knowing Calli would have replied had he not first, "But she is trained not to simply accept things on their face value." Nielson looked pointedly at the black vest beneath her regulation tunic. He wasn't fond of Intelligence people, they always seemed to have a second agenda whenever they operated, he wondered vaguely what she was doing on the Raven, but decided it was none of his concern. He dismissed the conversation and looked at the screen.
"This 'sub-space' idea Andae ....." Carl said, moving on, "Is it possible to be so accurate when moving something between states ?"
< tag : Andae / Marionette >
"So, we're saying that it is unlikely that 'whoever' is targeting us is going after Leanne, and highly possible that they are either after the Admiral in person, or the Raven ?" Calli asked.
"Given what Andae and Marionette have said, I don't think we should rule out the possibility." Carl said, suddenly deep in thought, "Do you remember the Halanan ... Minimal shape-shifting, usually their facial appearance only, telepathic in close proximity to their targets, they had the ability to deceive a person or a small group of people into believing they were 'seeing' someone of their choosing. We had a brief encounter with them around four or five years ago. Is it possible they have been working on sub-space technology and have managed to make headway, or worse, have allied themselves with someone who has the tech' ?" even as he said it he wasn't convinced it was them. Yes, they had threatened to have their revenge on the Raven, but it was a hollow threat, and everyone knew it. Carl realized he was snatching at straws to explain the recent events.
Maybe they simply needed to do a more thorough investigation before making assumptions.
"OK .... Captain." Carl said, addressing Nielson, "I want round the clock surveillance on Wake and the Doctors. Restrict their assess, subtly, so they can't go wandering into and restricted areas. In fact, let's keep the base on alert, they can't suspect anything if everyone is restricted to their specific departments. Try not to give Wake anything that he could use against us or might tip him off that we have suspicions."
"Admiral, the USS Georgetown was due to depart for Earth. Do you want them holding." Nielson asked.
"No ..... They were on approach at the time of the explosion, and no-one has moved off the ship. let them depart on time. But everything else stays."
"Sir ... Is it worth considering putting Chloe and the Children on the Georgetown. They could be met on arrival and taken somewhere safe ... Well, safer than here." Calli said.
"Yes. If you could go to our quarters and ask Chloe to get ready, I'll be there shortly to see them off. I would much prefer it if you were going with them, but I need you here." Calli nodded and left the meeting, Carl turned to his remaining Officer's, "Get back to the Cargo Bay, let's see if we can make progress." Both Blakus and Marionette nodded and then they too left.
"Anything else I can do to help Admiral ?" Nielson asked.
"Have a shuttle prepared. Do it yourself and ensure that no flight-plan is logged. I'll bring my Family to you and take them up to the Georgetown myself."
Nielson left to arrange the shuttle. Carl sat at the desk and looked at the three faces on the screen before him ..... Then he opened a secure communication to Star Fleet Command ..... He had to make arrangements for Chloe and the Children to be met when the Georgetown arrived in Earth orbit. He was reassured when his Step-father, Admiral Tetsutaro said he would look after them personally. After thanking Sato he closed the Comm, then sighing, he stood and left the office ..........
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