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 Apr 27, 2015 2:13:58 GMT
The away team were already all gathered in the transporter room by the time Andae arrived. Clear to all present that there was a dark cloud upon him, he took his place on the pad with not a word spoken until the CO ordered, "Energise." They materialised near the inner city area of the Selay world capital, the site of the impact that'd caused the most devastation on the Renna's homeworld. Ground zero in the Renna's capital was like a crater, a massive concave opening in the ground that spread its destruction in little filaments out to the structures surrounding it. A delegation welcomed them - a haggard looking group of administrators and dignitaries whose immaculate dress was not reflected in their appearance - on the edge of the crater closest to the city centre. Blakus shook their hands, explaining the greeting that the Renna dignitaries would of course already been aware of being Federation members. He also assured them as the other team-members were doing that the attack was as much a mystery to them as it was to the Renna (he avoided telling them for now that it was the Raven herself that'd been accused of the attack by Starfleet Command). As the other staff and officers assigned to the away team engaged with the dignitaries or headed off to various parts of the crater to take readings, Andae moved away in another direction, stalking towards the crater edge and looking back, shielding his eyes against the harsh anaemic glow of the two suns. Dark thoughts were still with him; Bligh's warning from Starbase 39 that the Raven was alone... pursued or not? Who could tell?! Taking out his tricorder he scanned the crater's rim, following part of its circumference until he was at the closest point to the city. After twenty minutes, scanning the soil for residual PER signatures, gamma and x-ray readings - finding nothing conclusive - he looked back across the whole crater. Based solely on first impressions, it certainly didn't look like a phaser, or photon/quantum torpedo impact. Yet the Selay government had made a claim to the contrary. One of the Renna - the science expert - told him that the places of impact around the Selay globe had been similarly affected: roughly circular, concave depressions in the ground; the attacks were almost exclusively targeted at urban areas. "What else was targeted?" he asked the scientist. "Large scale industrial manufacture facilities in rural areas and our few agricultural centres - but only seven such attacks were made." "You lost all the manufacturing facilities?" The scientist nodded. Blakus looked down at the dignitaries and their continued conversations with others on the away team. Had whoever had done this tried to cripple Selay in terms of its production? This planet - while being a Federation member world and enjoying all the privileges that came with it - was seen by the Council as a resource for production of Starfleet technology that couldn't be replicated. Then were those who were responsible making an opening gambit to cripple the Federation materially, as part of a move against it? If so, Starfleet would have to listen to the Raven, whether they were excommunicated or not. <Tag Away team - wasn't sure who was on the team so have left it vague> Away Team Personnel:
Admiral Carl Torek Commander 1C Will Jamison Commander 1C Andae Blakus Commander Calli Valente Commander Marionette Commander T'Brel Peers Lieutenant jg Kate Jamison
Additional personnel:
Lt Commander Lysia Teng -- Security 2nd Lieutenant David Scott -- Marine Medic 1st Lieutenant Lu Yang -- Marine Medic
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 26, 2024 16:35:39 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2015 3:01:46 GMT
The Security Officer in Will wanted to check out the craters and reading there but he had beamed down in a medical capacity. Plus he knew Andae would get every reading he could. With that knowledge out of the way, Will asked the dignitary in front of him to escort him and the two Marine medics to the hospital so that they may attend to the wounded.
"Of course. This way." replied the man as he turned and headed back from which he had originally come.
A couple of moments later, they were walking into a huge tent that had been setup as a make shift infirmary. The dignitary turned to see Will looking around.
"Our hospital was destroyed in the attack." he began to explain. "There were no survivors there. We set this up close to the worse damage for quick transport. We currently have thirty two patients with more arriving every day."
Continuing to look around, Will noticed that it was actually setup very well.
"You do what's needed in a time like this. With your permission, we'd like to get started. See what we can do to help."
"Please." replied the tired looking Councilman.
Will nodded and turned to his two assistants.
"You two start looking over the medical records of the patients. Let's put them in a treatment order. I'm gonna get Mr. Minav to introduce me to the person in charge and we'll get their input and go from there."
"Aye, sir." came a unison response as the Marines turned and headed off to their assignment.
Mr. Minav motioned for Will to follow him and they headed deeper into the tent.
<TAG:Any>
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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: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Apr 30, 2015 17:46:05 GMT
The devastation on the surface was far beyond anything he was expecting. Even after reading the reports prior to beaming to the surface, it was still somewhat of a shock ... People seemed to be wandering around as if in a daze, some just sat at the curbside, while others cried, moaned, and sought help from anyone passing. It reminded him of something in Earth's history, something he hoped he would never have the misfortune to encounter, but here they were ... They were approached by a small group of people, one stood forward and explained who they were and what was needed. Commander Jamison immediately took the two Marine Medic's and followed one of the party to an open assembly area. Commander Peers and Lieutenant Commander Teng began looking at their security options while on the surface, the Chief of Security didn't think they would be in danger, but inaction wasn't in his nature. Calli took Lieutenant Jamison and began scanning the immediate area. Carl stood with Andae and Marionette: "Who the hell would want to do this to an innocent race of people ?" he said, frustration building. "We have no evidence that they were in fact innocent of any wrongdoing Admiral." Marionette said, matter-of-factly. Torek didn't argue her logic in the matter. "If I may have a moment Commander ?" Andae said, taking Carl to one side. He repeated the conversation he had had with Commander Bligh on Starbase thirty nine: "Command has made it clear to all sections that since the Raven departed Sol six days ago, it effectively ceased to exist. No one is to attempt communication with the vessel, and no hails received from the vessel are to be answered by any Starfleet ship or installation, except, in this case and this case alone... So that I could make this all clear to you, Andae."
"Are we being excommunicated ?"
"I don't know ......." "They're cutting us loose ?" Torek said, almost unable to believe what he was hearing. "You're guess is as good as mine." Andae said, shrugging. "It could be for our benefit ....." Carl said, mulling over options before continuing, "They allow you to hear we're cut off, it would be natural for us to be less vigilant regarding anyone coming after us ?" Blakus simply shrugged. "I suggest we try to ascertain which vessels have visited this system Admiral." Marionette said from a few meters away. Carl told her to report her findings to him once she was done. One of the group of people who had initially met them approached. She introduced herself and asked if they needed to see the remains of the commerce section ... Carl frowned, wondering why, but she informed them that it was not only where most of the planet-side trade was coordinated, but where almost 'all' of the off-world trade was carried out ... When he still hesitated, she pressed further, informing him that over five thousand citizens had been working at the time of the attack, and this was the most concentrated casualty area. Among those killed were over six hundred off-world visitors and traders. "Admiral ..... Three Federation Starship's were in orbit at various times over the proceeding cycle ... Approximately one of your 'Earth' months if I am correct." the woman said, allowing the information to sink in, "Your vessel, was the last one of that trio, leaving orbit directly after the attack on our planet." she said, her eye's darkening as she looked at him, arm raised as if motioning towards the remains of what would once have been a massive structure, but was now missing almost a third of it's original height. he was looking at the buildings as he passed the woman, but something set alarm bells ringing and he turned ... The blade of the knife penetrated his skin, scraping along his scapula before exiting above his humerus ! Continuing to spin away from the attack he slammed his elbow into the face of the attacker before she was pulled away by Commander Blakus and two others. "MURDERERS ! .... KILLERS ! ...." she screamed as Torek took the weapon from her, "How DARE you return to see the fruits of your deeds ... You will NEVER leave this place, we shall ensur ........." the woman fell silent as someone sedated her. One of the Renna tended to his injury, which thankfully was only superficial. He didn't want to think of the outcome had he not been turning away from the direction of thrust. "I would suggest you spend the minimal time required to conclude your investigation, Admiral." the Renna said, telling him he would be sore but fine in a day or two. Carl looked at the rip in his tunic before thanking the man. Calli and Kate had come running at the sound of the shouting, shocked to see one of the Renna being led away and the Admiral injured. He insisted he was fine then turned to Blakus: "Contact Commander Peers and the others. I want everyone to work in teams of two at 'ALL' times. No-one must be alone." It was obvious that the Renna held them responsible, they needed to gather as much information as possible and depart ... The last thing he wanted was their presence to incite riots. Something in the back of his mind wondered about the three Federation vessels, but it quickly faded ..........
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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 May 2, 2015 1:07:44 GMT
The hostility the Raven crew members were receiving was becoming intolerable, even for her standards .... Several times stones had been thrown at them, one striking her in the small of the back, but thankfully it was a glancing blow and didn't cause her too much discomfort. They had scanned the main building attempting to retrieve any information in the obviously corrupt systems.
They had separated but were still in eye contact with each other and Calli was about to enter one of the small out-buildings, when she realized someone was watching her from inside the building ! ..... Immediately on her guard, the girl, or rather child, seemed only to want to speak with her, beckoning her inside. She looked at Marionette, locking eyes for a fraction of a second, before returning her gaze to the girl as Marionette approached her. Calli pointed to the child and was about to enter when the Android took hold of her shoulder, preventing her from stepping inside:
"I am detecting major structural instability Commander. This structure could collapse at any moment. I suggest I enter and bring the girl out to you." Calli looked at the girl and decided to try to speak to her.
"You need to come out of the building. It is going to fall down at any moment and you could be hurt." she was holding her hand out waiting for the child to react, when she was suddenly aware of there being someone else present in the room. She couldn't see the person, but her gut instinct told her they were there, "Walk this way, we'll talk once you are outside." she urged.
"You are not like the, others." she whispered, forcing Calli to take a step toward the crumbling structure.
"Other's ... Like us you mean ?" she asked, almost a meter inside the building now, and very much aware of the Android close behind her but still in the open, "Come outside, you can tell me all abo ......" it was then she saw the man, he stepped into the room holding something orb-like high above his head. the girl screamed beginning to run towards Calli, but her flight was halted as the man slammed a fist into her chest. He glared at Calli, before looking up at the object in his raised hand. Marionette took this opportunity to enter the room and scoop the child off the floor, unfortunately she was unable to grasp the man's hand as he reached up and hit a small activation button. I less than two seconds the Android was back with Calli, and without breaking stride she pushed the Commander into the sunlight. The man could be heard cursing the Federation as the device detonated !
The building exploded ........ Calli was thrown into the street, landing heavily on her back, quickly covering her head as bricks and mortar rained down. Marionette had crouched over the child, but as the dust settled, Calli could see the child, and the massive trauma to her head. She didn't need a medical opinion to realize the girl was dead ........
She allowed two of the Renna to take the body from Marionette ... she was about to report the incident to Admiral Torek when her Comm badge chirped to life:
=^= Condition Red .. All away teams report to Central Square .. Immediately =^=
"So much for reporting in." Calli said as the two began to return to the Square where they had arrived ... There was a crowd around the Star Fleet Officer's and both Marionette and Calli drew their phasers quickly as they approached. A woman was being led away screaming, before being sedated as they arrived. Rather than explain what had happened her reassured her that he was fine before speaking to Andae.
"Are you OK Admiral ?" Calli asked, managing not to be too familiar with her half-brother in the presence of others. Torek insisted he was and issued instructions that no-one be left alone. But Calli wasn't convinced, and said so !
"There's nothing more we can get here Admiral. I have just witnessed one of the Renna detonate a device obviously aimed for us, but in their haste they murdered a girl, no older than sixteen or seventeen. If we remain on the surface any longer we'll not leave, I'm sure of it ... We should take what we have and go." she said, watching her Commanding Officer, "I'm here to offer advice Carl. Mine is we get the hell off this planet before we become permanent fixtures."
He turned to the other's ... Each of them silently agreeing with Calli's assessment of their situation. by now, all of the away team had assembled and were aware of the face they were being watched closely:
"OK, Is there anything else we need ?" he asked his Officers ..........
< tag : All >
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 26, 2024 16:35:39 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2015 3:41:21 GMT
Will was standing over a young man that had been badly burned when the building he was in was blown up.
=^= Condition Red .. All away teams report to Central Square .. Immediately =^=
There were about six other patients that they hadn't seen yet but from the ones they did visit, Will wasn't too impressed with the care they had been given. He turned to Doctor Tenorio, the physician in charge.
"I'm sure you folks are doing the best you can but I'm not sure some of these patients are gonna make it." he told her. "I need to go see what's going on and we will return as soon as possible."
He nodded toward the Marines and they followed him back to the square. They returned just in time to see a screaming woman being led away in restraints.
"What's going on?" inquired Will. He listened as the CO filled them in on their situation and Commander Valenti tried to convince Admiral Torek that they needed to return to the Raven.
"OK, Is there anything else we need ?"
"Admiral. Their make shift hospital is horrible." protested Will. "I'm afraid if we don't do something quick, they'll loose half the patients. e can't just leave them down here like this."
Torek gave him the I've made my decision look. It was a look Will knew all too well. With a curt nod, Will took his place with the others to be beamed back up to the ship.
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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 May 2, 2015 11:33:53 GMT
Blakus wasn't sure he liked the idea of his old Victory crewmate Bligh having been directed to tell the Raven they'd been cut off from Command. He preferred to think that Bligh had acted on his own initiative, as it'd seemed at the time, to warn his old friend of the danger...
What danger though? he thought as he watched the horizon above the crater edge. Carl could be right; Starfleet might send someone after them regardless... Whether or not Bligh's warning was in good faith, if he was at least telling the truth, then the Raven was no longer to be contacted by the Federation anyway. It wasn't too much of a jump in logic from there to think that Starfleet would rather shoot them from the sky than communicate. The suns were starting to set, casting shadows across the desolate ground of the inner city area. He traipsed back down the slope to the part of the crater closest to the city centre.
"Admiral ..... Three Federation Starship's were in orbit at various times over the proceeding cycle ... Approximately one of your 'Earth' months if I am correct." the woman said, allowing the information to sink in, "Your vessel, was the last one of that trio, leaving orbit directly after the attack on our planet."
"Ok. She's lying." Blakus said to Marionette, standing behind Torek as he conversed with the Renna official. "She's lying. You said five ships had visited in the last month, none of them Starfleet, according to their official, uncorrupted records?" Marionette nodded. Blakus smiled wryly.
Even if one of the supposed 3 Starfleet ships was a Starfleet Galaxy class, he doubted the Renna's ability to distinguish between Galaxy class starships and identify the Raven. Of course, that didn't make the situation any less alarming. One of the older but still most powerful designs in the fleet... wreaking havoc on a Federation member world. The implications of such an act weren't pleasant to contemplate.
Quick reactions from one of the cooperative Renna may well have saved the Admiral's life. A blade protruded from his upper arm, the Renna assassin being led away.
"Unless someone changed their records to show that no Federation ships had visited. Someone trying to protect Starfleet's standing on Selay..." He said, glancing briefly at Marionette who might've been sizing up if he'd asked a question. "Never mind. If we're to split into -"
"You're with me, Commander," Lysia Teng practically dragged him away by the arm. He mumbled a 'yes sir' and they progressed to the main square of the city centre. The place was full of empty conical shells, buildings some of which were, or had been, roughly 400m in height.
"Hold there, Ms Teng," Blakus aimed his tricorder up a section of the nearest high-rise shell. "I'm reading a duranium-tritanium alloy inside, approximately seven floors up. She nodded warily, standing guard outside while Blakus entered ascending the staircase. He approached the site of the duranium reading in shock. It was a segment of Starfleet hull plating, squared away in the corner of the stairway landing.
He tapped his commbadge, opening a channel to all the away teams. There was substantial background noise. "It's impossible to identify without more visual clues, sir. Lacking an NCC number, ship name and so on. Though it looks as if it came from a stardrive section."
<Tag Carl>
* * *
"No, we're trying to help you. Our first officer and medical personnel are assisting your wounded," Blakus explained as patiently as possible. All around him, Teng, Torek and Kate Jamison was a throng of Renna: hurling abuse, heavy objects, attempting physical attack. Twice Teng had fired her phaser in the air, dispersing the crowd.
They saw Calli and Marionette running through the crowd towards them. Andae turned away to find himself confronted with a tall Renna male shouting in his face. "Sir, if you'll give me a moment...." The Renna obliged and stepped back, four or five others of similar build stepping into his place, drawing long knives. Andae reached for his phaser, aiming it at the sky, "Now wait! Think about what you're doing. Don't..." he was about to fire before someone struck him in his left temple with a fist. He went down heavily. Several of the Renna stepped back in shock, incidentally allowing Calli and Marionette through.
Blakus was picked up while the others talked. Hazy thoughts came to him of the last fifteen minutes, fragments of memories. He remembered the find of the Starfleet stardrive hull section... masses of Renna gathering around... At some point during that there had been a subspace communication from Bligh, and a strange find in subspace between Selay and the next attacked planet. Something connected it in his mind to the USS San Jose, the ship sent to investigate the area... the ship that'd reported the Raven to Starfleet in the first place. He had to get to the San Jose... "Where's Captain Franks?!"
"He's concussed," Medic Yang said.
"Recommend we beam up the duranium/tritanium alloy found in the nearby structure by myself and Ms Teng, sir," he said, before passing out and being beamed up.
<Tag Carl, All>
* * * * *
Back on the ship, Blakus was subjected to a stint in sickbay along with his temporary assistant chief Tinsley. Luckily he'd be out of there by the end of the hour, not being able to stand the thought of Zavial and Darwin running the engines alone; his subordinate TInsley wasn't so lucky and would still be stranded in sickbay for weeks.
<Tag Will>
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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: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on May 3, 2015 10:53:11 GMT
It was clear that the Renna were not going to listen to the people they blamed for the genocide, ans with attacks on the Raven crew escalating, he had no option but to leave ...... He hoped that his Department Heads and their staff had managed to gather enough information and data to help them begine to at least work out 'why' these attacke were happening, and more to the point, 'why' the USS Raven-B was being held responsible ! ...... "Commander Marionette, set course for the Phemora system ... Trelam IV ... Warp five." he ordered and watched the ship turn away form the once peaceful planet of Selay, "Bring up everything we have on Trelam IV, on the main screen please." Trelam IV Phemora System 'M' Class Planet He began to read: Trelam IV was somewhat of an anomaly when it came to classification ... They had achieved warp capability only seven years previously, but had been trading off-world for decades, using pre-warp technology and automated cargo vessels. Their warp drive development was actually due to their research into farming technology, and as a result, welcomed only as a means to get their good from 'A' to 'B' quicker. After initial contact was made, the Trelam were asked if they wanted to send a representative to sit on the federation Council, but surprisingly, they refused the offer happy to remain isolated, though they did allow a Federation Representative to be based on the planet.
Trelam IV is unusually dedicated to their field. The planet is only five percent smaller in mass than Earth and has a population of only fourteen point six million. Due to the nearby binary System, they have almost no northern or southern ice caps. Their climate is constant throughout the planets orbital cycle, varying less than four degrees over the surface throughout their year. This allows for exceptional crop growth ... Unusually, only one area, the size of Ireland on Earth, is used for Research and Development, with zero point two percent dedicated to living area's ... A staggering eighty percent of the land masses are used in the production of crops ! ........ Fully automated factories, a kilometer square, roam the planet's surface, planting, cultivating, picking, processing, and finally contacting automated drones that recover the finished product and transport it to enormous orbital holding facilities. From there, these food-stuffs are shipped throughout numerous systems. The residents seem to want little from the outside, enjoying their self-sustaining lifestyle. Anyone visiting Trelam IV for the first time could be forgiven for thinking the whole planet was automated. All of the population live along the equator, with whole families moving in rotation to 'satellite' towns around the globe to tend to mechanical breakdowns, general servicing of the automated crawling production platforms ....... The report on Trelam IV was extensive, and nothing in it explained why it would have been attacked ! ... he asked for the screen to be returned to forward view and sighed. Frustration was building inside him as the day wore on. He had read and re-read all the information available yet for the life of him he couldn't find a single iota of data that tied the three planets together. There was the obvious of course, atmosphere, planetary mass, even the totally useless fact that they all three targets had left handed people residing there ! ... Hell, he knew he was clutching at invisible straws and it was driving him mad, he almost confirmed this when he laughed out-loud at the 'left-handed' thought, raising a hand as several of the Bridge crew turned in his direction. He was about to go his ready room for some rest, his quarters seemed too 'empty' with Chloe and the Children still on Earth, when T'Brel informed him he was picking up a ship on sensors: "Identification ?" Carl asked, dropping back into the Command seat. "It's the USS Enzio." Marionette replied, "They will traverse ahead of our current heading, Port to Starboard, and will be in range for a further three minutes fifty seconds." "Have they seen us ?" Torek asked, watching the stars. "They must have Admiral." T'Brel said from the Tactical station, "But I'm detecting no change of course, and no sub-space communications." he said, shrugging. "It's possible they have information relevant to our situation Admiral." Calli said quietly. "Why not 'ask' them then ?" Will said. "No ...... If we're persona non grata then I don't want to put Admiral Gheskori in a difficult position." Carl said, still looking at the view-screen as if awaiting divine intervention, or a call from the Enzio. But alas neither was forthcoming, "Hold our course and speed ... Monitor the Enzio's progress." he said, sitting back in his seat. "Who to say we have to 'ask' ? ...... " Commander Blakus said from the upper level of the Bridge .......... < tag : Andae / Marionette / All >
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on May 4, 2015 22:29:08 GMT
OOC: Thanks to Flt. Adm. Torek for inviting me to participate at this juncture.
The Admiral was in his ready room, perusing departmental reports in the aftermath of the Enzio's forced diversion to Trill. Now the affair at Trill was all said and done - for better or worse - they were en route to Starbase 39, to pick up supplies before the short hop back to their home base Starbase 47.
His promotion to Vice Admiral had been unexpected, coming through subspace from Section Admiral Drew at Starbase 47, to his ready room in the immediate aftermath of the Trill affair. Granted, they had taken on a Scimitar class Warbird and come off better, but he hardly felt deserving of the accolade.
Disturbed from his reverie by a comm from his XO, he rounded his desk and strided on to the bridge, "What do we have, Commander?"
"A vessel's attempting to hack into our computer systems... starting 'outwards' from the computer core," the man responded as Ghes took the command chair. The XO received a nod from the Operations officer, "The hacker, despite his best efforts, hasn't been able to conceal that his command override protocols bear a Starfleet signature."
"The starship prefix code...?" Ghes mouthed. "I thought there were safeguards in place to prevent hacking by Federation starships, ever since..."
"Unless they're acting on the authority of command, Admiral."
Ghes smiled wryly at his XO, "I very much doubt it, Commander. Identify. Source!" he demanded, standing and walking towards the viewscreen.
"They're gathering all Starfleet logistical data, starship movements, orders from Command to Federation vessels in the sector..."
"Stop them!"
"It's the USS Raven."
"I knew it!" Hood said from the tactical console.
"They're off to starboard, passing out of range in one minute, thirty three seconds." Ghes acknowledged the man and collapsed back in his command chair. The Raven. All contact with her was now forbidden; anyone caught doing so would be ordered to return to Starbase immediately for judicial procedures, formal hearings. But Ghes, and many other Captains in the fleet he knew, were ambivalent about the Raven's status and what they'd been told to think about the ship. Yes, the Raven crew had stolen their ship from Earth Spacedock during their court martial, and had according to latest reports returned to the area of their 'supposed' first crime, however Ghes believed them not guilty.
"Let them get what they need. I think it's clear to all of us how much that will be. They want to prove their innocence," he said, stunning the bridge staff. "They want to prove their innocence, not knock out a Federation starship that would defeat them in combat anyway."
It seemed though the Raven wanted more than that. They wanted to know (for what reason Gheskori couldn't fathom, for he believed them innocent): the extent of the Enzio's defences; where it'd been in the last few weeks; its communications to and from Starbase 39.
"That's enough," Ghes said, "Tighten our defences. Bring out or invent any firewall you can think of, Mr Ueliep. They're not getting anywhere near our defence systems. Helm, bring us about and set us on an intercept course for the Raven."
The Enzio entered sublight a few thousand kilometres from the Raven, immediately raising shields, arming weapons, prepping for MVAM, and hailing the supposedly rogue ship. Ghes potentially was damning himself and his crew. He wondered how long his promotion would last after this, "This is Admiral Gheskori of the USS Enzio. Admiral Torek, sir, you will cease your attempted invasion of our computer systems immediately, or I will be forced to take aggressive action. Sir, you've already broken several regulations risking your career, and I in the process am risking mine. Respond immediately or prepare to be fired upon."
Ghes knew the Raven already had everything it needed from the Enzio, if they simply wanted to prove their innocence, and pick apart the mystery of attacked worlds of Selay, Trelam IV and Kellan II.
<Tag Torek>
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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: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on May 6, 2015 18:50:55 GMT
OOC :: My thanks to Admiral Gheskori for his help on our current mission.
IC ::
"Who to say we have to 'ask' ? ...... " Commander Blakus said from the upper level of the Bridge.
Everyone fell silent for a second, watching the Admiral and his close friend. They all knew exactly what Commander Blakus was saying, and the repercussions if anything should go wrong.
"How long before the Enzio is out of range ?"
"Two minutes fifteen seconds." Marionette confirmed.
"OK ... But 'ONLY' what we need. Nothing el ... se ..." he said to the Engineer's back as he worked feverishly with the Chief of Security and the Operations Officer .......
"Prefix code entered ........ Link established. I'm requesting the relivent files now. Blakus said after a mere thirteen seconds ...... That, alas, was the easier part of their endeavour. Should the Enzio realize what is happening, he was counting wholly on Admiral Gheskori for how long he allowed the link to remain established, and what he did as as consequence of discovering it.
"They have almost everything we have. Can you expand the search parameters to include orbital data and communications received during the attacks ?" Harry said, Blakus nodded, but warned they needed to hurry, as every second the link was in place was one more second they risked discovery, and he wasn't sure he wanted that, "I have to admit, I thought they would have shut the door on us by now, maybe they're too engr ....." he stopped speaking as the data stream suddenly vanished !
"The Enzio is altering course to intercept." Marionette informed the Bridge.
"Drop us out of warp, full impulse and hold our present heading." Carl ordered instantly. On screen, the gleaming Prometheus Class Enzio turned and slipped into precise formation alongside the Raven:
=^= This is Admiral Gheskori of the USS Enzio .. .. Admiral Torek .. Sir .. .. You will cease your attempted invasion of our computer systems immediately or I will be forced to take aggressive action .. You have already broken several regulations risking your career and in the process risking mine .. Respond immediately or prepare to be fired upon =^=
Torek nodded to his Officer's and ordered Harry to put the Admiral on the view-screen:
=^= Admiral Gheskori .. My sincere appologies for the way I procured the information I needed .. But given the orders to the Fleet to stay clear I felt simply asking would have been fruitless =^=
=^= With all due respect Admiral .. You could have tried all the same .. You're actions are as you well know Court's Martial offences and my involvement is likely to see me on the same charges =^=
Carl, along with everyone else, both on the Raven and Enzio, couldn't help notice that both Commanding Officer's were remaining steadfastly 'official' ... It was well known that both were good friends, and under any other circumstances would invite their counterpart aboard, but these were not 'any' circumstances ! ...
=^= Would you mind explaining why you attempted to access the Enzio logs and communication data ? =^= Carl looked at Andae and T'Brel who both shrugged, unable to explain. Torek looked back at the screen.
=^= Again my sincere apologies Admiral .. It seems we were trying to expand the search when we inadvertently accessed the data .. We would obviously have no actual use for the information .. Though I must admit knowing some of what Command are saying may have given us more insight as to our somewhat precarious situation =^=
=^= Really .. .. .. You're heading .. Before we interrupted your 'foraging' .. Was direct to the Phemora System =^= Gheskori stated, almost grinning when Torek remained silent, so he continued:
=^= I assume your efforts on Selay proved fruitless .. Good hunting Admiral .. But please take note .. I will not be as accommodating should you attempt to access my ships' systems a second time =^=
The screen automatically reverted to a view ahead as the Admiral closed the communication without pleasantries, and after a few seconds the Prometheus Class ship turned away before jumping to warp on their original course.
"The Enzio is moving out of range T'Brel confirmed as the Raven continued at full impulse. Carl wondered how much damage to their friendship his now seemingly reckless activity had caused .... But he knew Gheskori, and hoped the man would be able to understand his frustration and his need for information the Federation were simply not willing to give him. He instructed Commander Marionette to increase speed to warp five and got up from his seat.
"Commander Jamison, you have the Conn. I'll be in my ready room if you manage to get anything from the data we, acquired." As the door closed he went to the replicator and ordered a cognac. The golden liquid materialized and he carried it to his desk, placing it on the leather place mat atop the ornate African Blackwood desk ... Leaning back he rubbed his tired eyes and then picked up the glass and took a small drink, savouring the warmth of the liquid. Unlike the previous version of the Galaxy Class, his office had full panoramic window as opposed to the floor to ceiling narrow window. The office was laid out so the window was at his back when sat at the desk, but even with his back to it, he could sense the stars beyond, "Computer, maximum attenuation on window."
The almost invisible meter thick glass began to darken, until it became a wall of black. Carl would normally have an image superimposed on the glass, but on this occasion he wanted nothing to take his mind off the Raven's problem ... Far behind them, Admiral Gheskori, like many other Commanding Officer's and Star Fleet Personnel, were also thinking about the Raven's situation ..........
< tag : All / Andae or Will if you have anything for Torek >
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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 May 7, 2015 11:07:19 GMT
Blakus cursed as he accidentally revealed the Starfleet signature of his invasive methods in penetrating the Enzio's computer core. He waved a hand at the officer at the mission ops console adjacent to him, the lady clearly having taken interest in the CEO's colourful use of English.
It'd been a while since he'd performed a hack on another Federation starship - and all those had been simulations - and it was the first time he'd attempted it on a starship that used bioneural gel packs to store information... It meant a few extra algorithmic loopholes would have to be exploited, additional firewalls evaded and other 'Promethean' defensive measures circumvented and/or neutralised, however he trusted his ability - if not his anonymity - to get the information required.
Once he'd delved into the main computer core mainframe... there it was. Almost offering itself to him such had been the proficiency with which he'd infiltrated the system (OOC: argh, what I am doing to his ship lol) ... all the information they needed to explore the logistical and tactical situation of Starfleet in this region: the material conditions on Selay (which they already knew about), Trelam IV in Phemora and Kellan II in Beta Androni, the latest attacked planet... Which world would be next? he wondered idly as his fingers danced over the engineering console.
"They have almost everything we have. Can you expand the search parameters to include orbital data and communications received during the attacks ?" Harry said.
"Yeah, but I'll need to hurry..." Blakus replied, his face tight with concentration. Defence installations deployed by the three planets - including, most valuably data on the incoming assailant/s that'd devastated their worlds, and possibly visual data on the attackers - hadn't lasted long. The three planets had little opportunity to transmit any messages, distress calls or otherwise, in the moments immediately prior to their respective attacks. Unbeknownst to the bridge crew, data on these defences had already been collected by the CEO.
He saw his opportunity.
Routes, obvious pathways into new subroutines now opened up to him; he'd expected them to, after his bypassing of the extraneous info in the gel packs strewn throughout the more advanced ship. He had, he was convinced, a very good reason for doing what he was about to do.
He followed the subroutines, running their programs: the route the Enzio had taken to get here; its defences; most importantly, its communications traffic with Starbase 39. The ghost reading they'd detected in subspace before beaming down to Selay that he and Harry had suspected was a Federation starship, it had been communicating with Starbase 39.
"I have to admit, I thought they would have shut the door on us by now, maybe they're too engr ....." His murmur was cut off as he was suddenly shut out of the Enzio's systems. Perhaps not surprised that his infiltration had been eliminated easily, Blakus sat back from the console, turning to the viewscreen to see the Enzio sliding in alongside.
His opposite number had locked him out. But if he or she could do it that easily why hadn't they done so earlier during his intrusion? Perhaps... they wanted the Raven to find the information on their own defences, knowing it contained extra data that might be of worth? Perhaps the Enzio was having to keep quiet, give the impression of presenting a united front with the rest of Starfleet, against the Raven - so as not to rouse suspicion that Gheskori had sympathies for Admiral Torek's position.
<Tag Any>
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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 May 7, 2015 11:18:15 GMT
OOC: Please note the post above. I felt I had to split it into two posts because of the stupid length hehe
The chime to the ready room door sounded. "Come," the Admiral answered.
"Admiral," Blakus nodded, "... I did my best."
"You got everything we needed, Andae. It's just unfortunate that we somehow found our way into a few computer protocols we weren't meant to. These newer ships, unpredictable technology." Torek smiled.
Blakus was hesitant, but the resolve within him had enough truth to it that it was enough to overcome the possible consequences: charges of insubordination, etc. "It's more than that, sir... I went after that data intentionally. I intruded on the Enzio's last known location. I found my way in to evaluate its defence systems, its communications with Command..."
"What?!" Carl stood, holding his head in his hands.
Blakus was aware of the friendship his CO and long time friend had with the Enzio CO, hence he'd known Carl could've taken it this way. "I'm aware that your friendship with Admiral Gheskori might be placed in jeopardy and that he might not help us further, but... I'm your friend as well."
Torek looked singularly unimpressed.
"Ok, let me explain," Andae said, taking the proffered seat, "I have a suspicion - at the moment largely unfounded," he hastened to add, "... That forces within the Federation, within Starfleet, are in some way responsible for the recent tragedies here. That's not to say they carried out the attacks, although it's a possibility, but they do have some involvement. If they were directly involved, it could constitute a conspiracy, even a rebellion within Starfleet.
"I know this evidence may seem insubstantial, but if I may... My suspicions that there was some sort of Starfleet involvement in the genocides were raised when I was struck on the head just before beaming off Selay. With that blow certain recent events that'd been floating around my mind suddenly seemed to slot into order... fragments of thoughts from the events preceding our visit of Selay wove themselves into a cohesive whole.
"I realised this: the San Jose, or another Starfleet ship, had definitely been communicating with Starbase 39... Exchanging information on fleet organisation in this sector, keeping things in order so the three devastated planets were not interfered with - not for the three planets' own protection, but so that inquisitive ships, such as the Raven, could be kept away, and that the San Jose or whichever ship was sitting in that subspace pocket could be protected from any accusations. If that ship, the San Jose, was actually the Enzio..." he made a dramatic gesture, "Which just happened to be in the region at the time, we had to take everything we could from them."
"And what did you find?"
"My people are analysing the data with Commander Peers' assistance now. If we don't find anything indicating the Enzio's presence in subspace before we went to Selay - rather than the San Jose's - then I'm sorry. But we had to check. We can't know for sure who's on our side.
"If this a conspiracy, the most likely candidate is the San Jose... Captain Franks is a fine officer, a reputable man I know. As hard as it is for me to believe it, I think there's strong evidence he's involved: he communicated our attack on Selay to Command - an unfounded accusation - being the closest ship. When the Raven returns to Earth and the second attack occurs, the San Jose is sent back out to investigate the Trelam IV attack. Shortly after, with us escaping Neptune, Kellan II is decimated..."
<Tag Torek, All>
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 26, 2024 16:35:39 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2015 1:47:17 GMT
Things had been slow in Sickbay since returning to the ship and departing for their next destination. Will now found himself on the bridge, sitting in the center seat while Admiral Torek and Commander Blakus were in the ready room. He assumed they were going over the information given to them by the Enzio. In the mean time, Will was rereading the reports on all of the attacks. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he knew there would be something there that would help them figure all of this mess out. They had to in order to clear the Raven and her crew. Clear them. Hell. He couldn't even believe people thought they had actually done it. As soon as he had heard the rumors, he knew he had to get back aboard and help out any way he could. he rearranged himself in the seat and continued reading.
<Tag Any>
OOC: Sorry so short. Been busy getting Girl Scout stuff ready for the summer. School is out in 3 weeks and I won't see my daughter for almost half the Summer once it starts.
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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: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on May 10, 2015 20:09:06 GMT
Carl found himself looking down at his long-time friend over the desk ..... For the life of him he could not remember the man doing such a thing before, and wondered fleetingly how many times he had done something like this and 'not' informed him.
"I am aware that your friendship with Admiral Gheskori might be placed in jeopardy, and that he might not help us further, but ... I'm your friend as well." Andae said, watching Carl but unable to gauge his reaction. In turn, Torek finally sat down and waited for his Engineer to justify his blatant Courts Martial-able offence !
"Am I right in saying that we have the Enzio spec's on our database ?" Carl asked, receiving a nod of confirmation, "So you risked both our careers for something we already possessed then ?"
"I had to be sure the Enzio hadn't been modified 'unofficially' or otherwise Admiral. If there was the slightest possibility that they were involved, it could have shown up in either any off the books changes to systems, or in their communications logs. You wouldn't have allowed the incursion had you been aware of it, so ....."
"So you took it upon yourself to commit what could be construed in a court of law as a blatant act of treason against a sister ship !" Carl said, exasperation building by the second ..... Both man fell silent, but Carl knew his friend was right, he would never have agreed to the actions, "OK ... As far as I'm concerned, the issue is over and done with. We apparently got away with it unless Admiral Gheskori decides to bring it up at a later date, which given the circumstances, I doubt .... What did you find ?"
"My people are analysing the data with Commander Peers' assistance now. If we don't find anything indicating the Enzio's presence in subspace before we went to Selay - rather than the San Jose's - then I'm sorry. But we had to check. We can't know for sure who's on our side. If this a conspiracy, the most likely candidate is the San Jose ... Captain Franks is a fine officer, a reputable man I know. As hard as it is for me to believe it, I think there's strong evidence he's involved: He communicated our attack on Selay to Command - an unfounded accusation - being the closest ship. When the Raven returns to Earth and the second attack occurs, the San Jose is sent back out to investigate the Trelam IV attack. Shortly after, with us escaping Neptune, Kellan II is decimated ......"
Even his half-Vulcan logic couldn't argue Andae's explanation, he just wished he had come to him with it prior to taking it upon himself, but then, as Blakus said, he wouldn't have agreed. He tapped the Comm and asked his Exec' and Commander Wedlerson to join them. He continued after bringing the newcomers up to speed while omitting the Chief Engineers' revelation:
"Do we know the location of the San Jose now ?" he asked. Harry got up and went to the large wall-mounted view-screen. Entering numerous commands he brought up a plan of the surrounding region. The Raven was highlighted with a gold arrow-head. Five other ship's could be seen, each identified by their transponder code and designation, in the top right of the screen a flashing silver grey arrowhead signified the San Jose's last position and heading before it went out of range:
"Last known, she was here: on a heading for the P Cynex Star System."
"Cynex, why there ? ...... It's practically on the outskirts of known trade routes." Carl said, frowning, "Didn't they allow the Federation to set up some repair facility of something Harry ?"
"Yeh, they're nothing if not for the profit. Despite it 'supposedly' being a Federation facility, they immediately opened it up to anyone who needed repairs, regardless of their affiliation or lack thereof . They rival the Ferengi in their desire for profiting from anything they undertake." Wedlerson said begrudgingly admiring the Cynex, "If it wasn't for the fact that actually provided what most deem as exceptional service for their fees, I'd say they could almost be distant cousins ... Humanoid, low oxygen atmosphere on the surface, but tolerable if you're not planning on anything approaching a brisk walk."
"Is there a chance that the San Jose will attack there next ?" Will asked.
"You're guess is as good as mine." Torek replied, "Though I doubt it. While it's off the beaten tracks, so to speak, we do have extensive monitoring of the facility for security reasons, especially if any of our Star Ships are there. If Franks is responsible for these atrocities, I seriously doubt he'd attack somewhere that would record every second."
"Unless he's going to run." Harry said, almost shrugging. Carl looked at his Operations Officer realizing he had voiced what everyone else was thinking !
"We need to investigate Trelam IV. There may be something there that can help us. Is there 'any' way we can monitor the location of the San Jose ..... I'm not saying we're looking at Franks as the one responsible, but there's no harm in keeping tabs. could we tap into the communication array's ... They log vessel identifications don't they ?"
"We could, but we would be pin-pointing our own location each time we retrieved the information." Harry said looking at Andae, hoping the engineer had any idea's.
< tag : Andae if you have thought's on this ? >
"I think we're well past trying to stay hidden Harry." Carl said, grinning, "I have the feeling Command know exactly where we are and what we're doing ...... The fact they are 'letting' us is reassuring, but it also poses the dilemma that if the Council decide to reign us in they won't have to look hard and could very likely have more than enough ship's to our location in short order." he tapped his Comm:
=^= Torek to Commander Marionette .. How long before we reach Trelam IV ? =^=
=^= Ninety six minutes to sub-light orbital approach Admiral =^=
=^= Very well .. Torek out =^= he closed the comm and looked at his Senior Staff:
"OK, we'll proceed on the assumption that we are being royally set up, for whatever reason. Let's keep the chatter regarding the San Jose under wraps for now. Only the personnel you assign to tasks relevant our enquiries need to know, OK." he said, standing to signify the meeting was at an end. Everyone filed out of the ready room but Commander Blakus held back:
"Admiral ...... I just wanted to say tha ....."
"Forget it Andae. I preach to all my Senior Staff they they are free to act independently and speak freely during our meetings. I'd be a bit of a hypocrite if I reprimanded you for doing exactly what I want you to do." he said, motioning for his friend to take a seat as the door to the Bridge closed, "I can't honestly say I sgree with what you did, but it got us the information, albeit sparse, that we needed, just don't make a habit of it, I'm likely to have a bloody heart attack !" Blakus nodded and got up, he knew he'd overstepped the mark, but realized, hopefully, that it hadn't affected his friendship. Nodding he left the Admiral alone ..........
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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 May 11, 2015 11:56:52 GMT
Blakus realised how ridiculous the basis of his claims sounded, even though the logic proceeding from those shaky foundations was faultless. He'd received a bash on the head from a worked-up Renna civilian and now he was suddenly making wild assertions about a conspiracy in Starfleet. He thought about this at the staff meeting, rubbing his temple where the pain from the Renna's blow still persisted. Carl, Will and Harry tried to figure out why Franks would make P Cynex his next destination, the home of a super-capitalist species lying outside Federation territory (thus not subject to the advanced model of Earth's NWE that dominated the Federation).
If the San Jose was responsible, were they trying to remove financially-driven competition from their vision of a new Starfleet, a new Federation if the 'conspiracy' extended that far, in addition to destroying industrial and agricultural production centres?
... "We could, but we would be pin-pointing our own location each time we retrieved the information." Harry said looking at Andae, hoping the engineer had any idea's.
"I agree, tracking the San Jose without giving away our position would be difficult, to say the least," he said, "We could... open a rift to subspace, sit inside for a few minutes and try to obtain their coordinates, communications logs that way... It will take them longer to realise they are being monitored; eventually they'll realise the invasive signal's coming from subspace and cut us off."
<Tag Torek, Jamison>
Andae didn't want to develop a habit, or a reputation of being the man who knew how to hack in and invade, via cyberspace the computer networks and systems of other Federation starships. What he'd done with the Enzio had been purely instinctive. Yes, it had rested on a theory that the San Jose or another ship had carried out attacks from subspace and that comms with any ship in the area should be handled with caution, but the actual 'attack' on the Enzio's computer mainframe had been impulsive; he'd not meant any harm to come to the Enzio or anybody.
If the theory was true, then they were certainly being scapegoated: the San Jose attacks the Renna, although the mysterious blast-marks on the surface of Selay seemed to indicate no Starfleet weapons had been used; the San Jose returns to Earth before the Raven, and are stationed there when the attack on Trelam IV occurs. Presuming the San Jose then assaulted Kellan II when they were supposed to be investigating Trelam IV, that indicated another ship had carried out the Trelam attack.
"There may be two ships in this," he said, "Franks couldn't have attacked Trelam as his vessel was at Earth with us at the time, unless he ordered someone out here to carry out the attack. Perhaps we should look at those five ships," he indicated Wedlerson's tactical situation map, "See what they were doing at the time of the Trelam IV incident."
Something occurred to him, "On the other hand, we could try hailing Franks directly via an undisguised subspace hail; diplomatically or otherwise, challenge him regarding the decimation of the three planets."
<Tag Torek, All>
He returned to engineering feeling somewhat sorrowful. He'd lost the trust of his CO, albeit for a short period of time. The Raven had been cast out, abandoned amongst the stars; Andae felt the same, having a kinship with the vessel that went beyond his innate connection to it via its engines - he knew them as well as he knew himself, his family - into a recognition of their shared predicament. Lost in the void, he could only hope for a way back by fortuitously striking upon the shining path to the principles and moral righteousness that he'd founded his career upon. Forgoing thoughts of his insubordination under Captain Cir'Kem on the Victory-C in his first assignment, in collaboration with Colonel Tiberian Wong, he'd served as an - admittedly somewhat improvisational - model officer since, yet somehow in that increased modelling to the principles and expectations of the Fleet, he'd lost his own moral compass, his innate principles that'd set him on the path in the first place.
He wished he had a few more of his engineers about him. Trusted assistant who'd survived a few near tragedies Lieutenant Milyanov; former lover Lieutenant Taylor - both were stranded on Earth. He had Darwin and Zavial working nearly 24 hours a solar day maintaining engineering; Lieutenant Tinsley was still recovering in sickbay. Mutely he watched the engines, the warp core, the magnetic constrictors feeding their deuterium and their inverse charge counterparts into the reaction chamber that propelled the Raven towards Trelam IV.
<Tag All>
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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 May 12, 2015 14:55:04 GMT
OOC: Sorry for the double post, I had a couple new ideas
There was little to do on the way to Trelam IV except perhaps to attempt contact with the San Jose, to discover by asking whether they were dealing with a conspiracy or not, or look for signs of another Federation ship that may have carried out the Trelam attack (as the San Jose had been stationed at Earth Spacedock having sort of brought the Raven in) - thus Blakus headed for the mess hall.
He found an unoccupied table near the panoramic portals that showed the illusory stars shooting towards the ship, slipping around the warp bubble projected ahead of it. He sat and stirred his coffee; Ten Forward was virtually empty, as most of the crew were still on Earth under house arrest. Looking out the portal to his left he found himself thinking about warp trails... Trelam had been attacked a number of days ago, but if a ship had travelled from its devastation of Selay in a straight line to Trelam IV to carry out the same murderous attack there, then an ion trail of some sort should still be detectable.
"Blakus to Marionette and Wedlerson," he said, tapping his commbadge and opening a three way comm, although the two officers he was comming would likely be sitting beside each other at the front of the bridge; his voice on each of their commbadges and their own voices on each other's would cause a nearly imperceptible but annoying overlap.
"Can I request you scan for ion trails and other residual indications of engine signatures - any trails belonging to other species, too of course - along our path. I'd be interested to know if any Federation ships have recently passed along this route... Blakus out."
<Tag Marionette>
He nodded to himself satisfied, and sipped at his coffee. The padd before him detailed the layout of the Trelam system. Eight planets, one inhabitable - Trelam IV of course. Two others were rocky, the others were mid- to large-sized gas planets. The innermost planet was what was known as a 'Hot Jupiter', a class of gas giant of comparable - usually larger - size to Jupiter in Sol, that orbited very close to its parent star and was usually tidally locked, that is, it always presented one face to its star, the two engaged in a cosmic waltz.
This particular Hot Jupiter was slightly smaller than the Jupiter of Earth's system. Recent observational data recorded by Federation scientists - who'd been in the Phemora system 7 months ago - of the Hot Jupiter (Trelam I) was... intriguing. The matter of Trelam I was being pulled into the star, rotating about it much like an accretion disk around a black hole tearing material out of an accompanying giant star. This, the scientists had observed, was having the effect of drastically increasing the number of solar flares from the Phemora star which tended to emerge from the star in two distinct streams - directed as it happened just above and just below the equatorial level of Trelam IV.
"Ahh!" Blakus cried, drawing attention from nearby officers - what few there were. No wonder the Trelam IV inhabitants only lived along the equator - EM storms would ravage their production centres in the northern and southern hemispheres... Which would surely cause constant shorting out of all electrical equipment in those crop processing factories - the usual effect of solar flares.
"Perhaps someone's doing it on purpose," the bartender said, sitting opposite him.
"How - how did you know?" Blakus asked her, watching bemused.
"I can read, you know," she said. Blakus eyed her warily; how long had she been watching? Yes, yes, this was the tip of the iceberg, he thought. "Maybe it's not a natural phenomenon," she said, "Maybe someone is extracting the matter from Trelam I and allowing it to spiral into the star, configuring the stream in such a way to cause solar flares to be directed at Trelam's hemispheres."
"Their planet has been slowly worn down over months, years?" Blakus asked, his mind whirring as realisation came to him... "There was no sudden attack on the planet. No need for the San Jose to even be there. Only a distress signal they sent from the planet when they decided the time was right."
"And who are they?"
"Someone Franks has left in the Phemora system, on Trelam IV. He's probably got a team of scientists on a station or ship somewhere around Trelam I as well, manipulating the planet's loss of mass to the star to keep Trelam IV's inhabitants confined to the equator."
"That's a big assumption, Commander." She left abruptly, moving back to the bar leaving Blakus in an even deeper state of confusion. It had to be right though; no star could pull matter away from a nearby gas giant like that, not until it collapsed into a neutron star or black hole. Captain Franks or his people had to be doing this... But what were they trying to achieve... They or someone like them had scapegoated the Raven; now were they luring them in?
<Tag All>
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 26, 2024 16:35:39 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2015 3:39:29 GMT
Sitting on the Bridge, Will was once again looking at all the reports about the destruction his crew mates had been accused of. He was also thinking about the Chief Engineers idea of directly contacting the San Jose. What exactly could it hurt? The Raven and the few crew members aboard were already in hot water. Besides, the fleet had been warned not to talk to them so who knew if Franks would even reply? He turned to the CO and voiced his thoughts.
<TAG: Torek, ALL>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on May 17, 2015 1:05:00 GMT
The Enzio at Starbase 39...
The Enzio's arrival at Starbase 39 had been met with some derision from the base commander. He'd watched the ship's approach, fury boiling in him at the thought this ship had made contact with the rogue USS Raven, violating a direct order of Starfleet Command.
Admiral Gheskori's ship only had to wait a further 90 seconds and the Raven would've been out of range, making them invulnerable to any invasive computer hacking. Yes, Gheskori had already made his report on the Raven's attempt to steal defensive data and information on the Enzio's course up to that point - including, worryingly, communication logs - and had stated that he'd taken the action he'd felt most appropriate: a stern warning and a threat of retaliation, but it was nevertheless, a communication with the rebellious Raven - they'd even fallen in alongside the Galaxy class, as if the two were suddenly allies!
Gheskori entered the office of Starbase 39's commander. The man's chair was turned away from him, facing the starfield - the sector that lay ahead, containing the worlds of Selay and Trelam IV (with Kellan II just over the line in the adjacent sector). "Admiral, my report as requested."
"Yes, Admiral, place it on the pedestal before you." Ghes stepped back as a platform rose out of the floor, the circular space it having emerged from seeming to have had no separating lines in the deck. Ghes shrugged, placing the PADD on the pedestal. "Now step back," the Admiral said, a warning tone in his voice - his face still remained hidden. Ghes did as he was told. Two black-overalled officers entered from doors opposite each other at the left and right side of the room, making their way to the centre and taking the PADD together, marching away towards the left hand exit. "You made contact with the Raven," the base commander observed.
Ghes drew himself up, "Yes, sir. As stated in the report... I had no choice. Admiral Torek's people were trying to obtain information on our defence capabilities, our communications with ships in the sector..."
"They suspect something."
Ghes tried to keep the surprise out of his voice, "That was my thought as well, sir. I believe they think there is a... conspiracy, or at least something covert yet authorised that they're unaware of, in which case it would be none of their concern, of course, sir. I also believe they're innocent of the charges brought against them." He may as well say it. It was in the report, that the base commander seemed to have decided to dispose of.
"But you, and others that think the same as you... there are many on this station alone, can't deny that they are guilty of breaking house arrest at San Francisco. Hijacking a shuttle via a sympathetic Quad shuttle pilot and commandeering their own vessel, all in the middle of their court martial."
The base commander's voice was disturbingly cold. If it wasn't for the gravity of the situation, Ghes may have made some wry comment, or laughed at the irony of the situation. This scenario seemed to fit alarmingly with the stereotype of the cold, calculating evil madman confronting an arch-enemy (Gheskori). He almost expected the Admiral to spin in his chair, stroking a white cat, any second now... or any second now.
"Yes, sir," the Denobulan said, spreading his arms although the Admiral wouldn't be able to see him (or so he supposed), "But the whole court martial is built on a false premise. The prosecution's case consists of ridiculous claims; they know they're losing. Yes, sir, I've been keeping up. Apparently the trial is still in progress. Despite the prosecution's numerous failures, several officers have been found guilty of mid-level crimes and have been sentenced."
"They broke a Starfleet General Order! Their crewmates hijacked a ship of the line during their own indictment."
"Sir, we're arguing semantics! The trial is a mistrial. The defense counsel will prove that in time. How could the Raven be responsible for all the attacks? They were on Earth during the Trelam IV assault!"
"Then why are they combing the area? They've already revisited Selay, likely to blackmail the Renna into silence, threaten them with total extermination should they speak against them to us again. Now they're on their way to Trelam IV, to disrupt Captain Franks' investigation, no doubt. Kellan II will be next, you'll see."
Who on Denobula was Captain Franks? Ghes thought. He said, "It's not occurred to you, sir, that they're attempting to prove their innocence by visiting each of those locations and querying the local populaces if a Galaxy class ship was present in the system?"
There was a long pause, as the Admiral in his chair remained facing the portal and the galaxy of stars. "That will be all, Admiral Gheskori. Resume command of your vessel. You're to track the Raven, but under no circumstances are you to make contact or direct them to halt their current activity."
Are you trying to catch them in the act? he thought. "Begging your pardon, sir, but why are we avoiding contact with them? If you believe they've committed genocide - and it's quite obvious you do going by your arguments regarding the court martial - surely we should be bringing them to order, doing all we can to bring them back into custody? It seems you want them to... Is this a witch hunt? Uncover one rogue vessel, watch them from afar, see whoever else they make contact with?"
There was no response from the base commander and Gheskori left as ordered. The Enzio was heading back out, long range surveillance of the Raven's activities their assigned mission.
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on May 17, 2015 15:04:41 GMT
After ordering a geo-stationary orbit directly above the site of the decimation on Trelem IV, Carl sat quietly watching the planet below ... For the life of him he couldn't imagine why anyone would want to destroy such beauty. around the equator, a band approximately two thousand kilometers wide circled the planet like a blue green band. Everything above and below this collar was vast stretches of agricultural land, thousands of kilometers square, topped by small ice-caps at each pole ..... He was still contemplating going down to the surface, but tracking the San Jose was also a priority, and one he couldn't afford to ignore. He walked to the upper level of the Bridge and stood next to his Chief Engineer, who was working on surface scans:
"Is there any chance we could duplicate our sojourn into the Enzio's systems on the San Jose ?" he asked quietly.
"From this distance, no way Admiral." Blakus replied. Carl didn't miss the neutrality in his friends' voice, "There's the sub-space option of course."
"No ... I'd prefer to leave that as a last resort, all this popping into and out of our theoretical reality gives me a headache." Torek replied with a wry grin, receiving a snigger of approval from his friend, and he knew that whatever had been said was past, their friendship meant a lot more to both of them than allowing a minor discrepancy damage it beyond repair, "OK, the other option is to go down to the surface."
Andae took the opportunity to tell Carl he had put Commander Marionette to use, and to run through his thoughts from earlier, hoping something may help them. he decided to hold off contacting the Tempet on an open channel. If they were being set as the proverbial 'fall-guys' in this pantomime, then waving a flag to their location wasn't his choice move. Carl wasn't one hundred percent convinced of the theory that what was happening to Trelam I was the cause either. Obviously he would never rule out any hypothesis without thorough investigation, but the shear 'scale' almost made it impossible for one or two renegade vessels to accomplish. It was one more avenue they may need to explore before this was over, but once again the question as to 'why' the Raven had been dragging into this was foremost in his mind, causing him to again think about the San Jose and the Tempest, their respective Commanding Officers, Tanor Franks and Pamela Melroy, was it really possible that two seemingly dedicated and highly decorated Star Fleet Officers could turn against the very Federation itself !
"Let's check what we have then get down to the surface." he said, pulling himself out of the reverie that was threatening to consume him, "What information do we have on the locals ?" he said, approaching T'Brel.
"Ninety nine percent live in what they refer to as the belt ... They use some sort of rota system whereby several families take their turn out on the plains, running repairs, updating defunct equipment, ensuring crop rotation is optimal, but those have all been recalled to the main city complex on the belt. We have picked up reports that machinery is beginning to break down and some of the families have taken it upon themselves to go back to the plains and effect running repairs, but without the automated supply drones, there is little they can actually get done."
"OK, we'll go to the surface ... I don't want to go in there heavy-handed, so two Security personnel Commander, and let's keep weapons out of sight as much as possible. I doubt whoever is responsible is hanging around waiting for us."
"Admiral ...." Peers said as they were about to leave the Bridge, "I would like to send a message to the repair facilities at P Cynex ..... Warn them."
"No. We'll maintain communication blackout for the time being." Torek said, stepping into the turbo-lift, "Commander Wedlerson, you have the Conn."
Five minutes later they materialized in the main city square, for a world of farmers, it was a sight to behold .... Buildings seemed to spiral into the noon sky, their surface was almost marble-like in texture, reflecting the suns rays off immaculate glass panels. Small banners, hanging from shop fronts fluttered in the light breeze. The ground they stood on was smooth, white, with what looked like inlaid directional markers. a series of green lights would pass them, then blue in another direction, green, yellow, magenta ..... One other thing stood out too:
Apart from the Raven Officers, the plaza was completely deserted ! ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on May 17, 2015 17:31:15 GMT
Andae joined the surface team with some apprehension; he didn't know what to expect, having the knowledge that the Trelam I matter stream that induced solar flares in the parent star was responsible for the stripping away of any potentially advanced technology present in the northern or southern hemispheres. It was true that it didn't fully explain why the Trelam inhabitants were consigned to their equatorial region, and it was not true that such intense EM storms in the two hemispheres ruled out the possibility of a starship having been here to carry out the devastation.
The away team's goal, would be to discover if Federation weapons had been used to decimate Trelam IV, and/or if the type of destruction matched with that on Selay - concave and circular gouges in the planetary crust - and if they did, the attacks on the two systems was definitely no coincidence and one possible perpetrator had carried out the assaults.
The streets were empty. Glowing lines and arrows of every colour of the spectrum shot away in a myriad of directions across the deserted boulevards. Pastel-shaded columns supported porticos outside posh-looking eateries; buildings of decidedly more monastic character flew banners that snapped in a cold northerly breeze. The chill wind blew through the place, a place long deserted. It had the look of the postmodern about it, that 20th century cultural movement. Blakus glanced up sharply, sure he'd seen a face in a glass window some storeys up in the high-rise adjacent to them: peering down in interest, but the phantom vanished before he could focus on it.
A red line of arrows pointed away ahead of them - parallel to their line of sight as they'd beamed in - and took a right to a nearby council-looking building. Were the planet's inhabitants hiding from the storm? Andae wondered, And in more ways than one? The wind from the north was building... perhaps a cyclone of some sort was coming. Or perhaps they were hiding from the perpetrators of their catastrophic genocide... waiting to spring an ambush... Well, if that was the case what were they waiting for?
Officers were dispatched about the main city square and adjacent market and financial districts.
"We've found no sign of the same methods of attack utilised on Selay," one of the officers reported by comm after half an hour of reconnaissance. "If the same people were responsible, then they did something different here."
"Is it possible, Ensign," Blakus commed, "That the attacks were carried out in the hemispheres, the agricultural heartlands?" He was stood by the entrance to the structure that looked like a council building with its ornately carved pillars. It was true, for an agricultural world, Trelam lacked nothing in culture that may be indicative of a more advanced civilisation - then again, they were a Federation member.
The Ensign acknowledged however said he'd continue the search. Blakus descended the steps of the 'council structure' to Torek and the rest of the team, "A science advisor on Selay told me how... 'we' had also attacked their industrial centres in their rural areas. Request permission to be beamed into the agricultural regions, sir. The attacks may have been concentrated there." It occurred to Blakus then that was where the Trelam may have fled to, "Perhaps the transporter chief can put me down in a place where I can intercept any families making their way back to the fields to repair their farming equipment."
* * *
The request was granted and Blakus was beamed into a ditch in an open brown-grey field. The sky was grey-black above him, threatening rain. Or providing a stark reminder of a recent matter-antimatter holocaust that was blotting out the tortured Trelam star.
"Thanks, Chief!" he called to the sky. He picked himself out of the muck, light drizzle infiltrating his uniform, ascending out of the ditch - to be met by five Trelam about twenty metres off. Three males, a female and a child - a husband, wife, daughter and cousins he guessed. The Chief had been precise in his placement of Blakus to intercept the group, he had to give him that.
Grumbling about the muck on his uniform, the figure of Blakus became apparent to the family. They backed away in terror as they saw his uniform, and his phaser in its holster. "I've come from outer space," he began, coming forward with arms raised to quell their hysteria. "We come in peace. I'm Commander Blakus of the Federation starship Raven."
"I'm Debin," the male, perhaps the husband said shakily. "We're heading north to repair the damage you've caused. Please... let us go."
"Our ship was not responsible. We were at..." Blakus sighed. He'd been going to say they were at Earth, but that wouldn't have helped. "We have no idea what happened here. We've come to find out who did this to your people..." They said nothing, frozen in fear; the wife clutched the weeping child closer to her chest. "What's happened in your population centres? Where are your people?"
"A ship!" one of the other men blurted, "One just like yours - we've seen the broadcasts from the orbital harvesting facilities - destroyed our farms, razed our crops, demolished our processing factories. We and others have come to restart production, mend the factories as best we can so our people can eat. You've tried to starve us to death!"
"A ship just like ours? Exactly the same?" Blakus asked. One of the 'cousins' nodded. A Galaxy class ship? That was one way the true murderers could easily get away with it. Neither the Renna or the Trelam would've been easily able to distinguish between vessels of the class. But which Galaxy class? There weren't many in service anymore, least of all in this region of Federation space. Many of the pioneering ships had been retired: the Trinculo and the Venture remained in service, the second generation were on their last legs - although they could theoretically operate for much longer, like the Excelsior for example, the rush to militarise in the wake of the Borg invasion of 2373 and the Dominion War had accelerated the output of new starship designs. Ships of design twenty years old were already considered second-rate, and what'd previously been long-term fleet mainstays were now relegated to support roles - the Galaxy and Akira for example sliding into place of the Excelsior and Miranda.
It certainly blew a hole - though not an unfixable one - in the theory that the USS San Jose carried out both attacks. The San Jose was an Excalibur class vessel, the same as Section 47 flagship El Salvador. He reported the news of the apparent attack of a Galaxy class ship on Trelam IV to the rest of the away team.
<Tag Torek, Away Team>
"Will you show me these areas of devastation, around your factories?"
A hushed argument ensued among the group, Blakus waiting for them as the rain started to pour. Thunder cracked overhead; lightning enveloping the sky. "Ok," as one they agreed finally. "It will be a long trek. Seventy of your Earth kilometres, heading north-north west of here."
"On the contrary," Blakus commed the transporter chief, "Chief, locate the facility approximately seventy kilometres due north-north-west of my position and beam me there." He beckoned to the Trelam, "Come closer, touch my arms." They nearly fled. "Here!" he demanded. They looked back at him, fear etched in their faces. "It's ok." He stood, arms linked with the Trelam and they disappeared from the face of the plain.
<Tag All - sorry for not many specific tags :/ >
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on May 18, 2015 21:48:35 GMT
He listened to Andae's report, and his thoughts on the Galaxy Class Star Ship, and how so many people had identified it as the attacker ...
This incarnation of the Raven, a Galaxy Class Mark Three, and the very last to be commissioned almost eight years previously, was in many ways unique ........ The original Mark Three had the notable third nacelle, whereas this Raven had remained a two nacelle ship. While not as manoeuvrable as some of the smaller classes, she possessed transwarp capability, and multiphasic cloaking, which some of the newest ships were still waiting for, but technology aside, she had one advantage, and that was shear size ! .... A Galaxy Class was something to behold, and not something you mistook for something else .... After his conversation, Carl contacted the ship and asked Commander Wedlerson to locate 'ALL' Galaxy Class Star ships, be they operational, decommissioned, or in one of the yards having been stripped and broken up. The reply was less of a shock than he was expecting:
=^= The USS Venture and her sister ship the USS Trinculo were both still in service, but both had the third nacelle .. Of the remaining untouched Galaxy's all but one are accounted for .. .. .. The USS Coniston Water can't be located ! .. .. .. Apparently it was assigned for simulations .. So the core was going to be replaced .. Most of the internal systems were already automated =^=
=^= The Coniston is .. Was .. A Mark Two .. Where was it ? =^=
=^= Gen Hellio Holding Yards .. Cynexus System .. .. .. =^= Wedlerson said, allowing the information to sink in, which didn't take long:
=^= So someone has managed to get their hands on a Galaxy Class Star Ship .. .. .. GREAT ! .. .. .. OK I don't care who's feathers you have to ruffle .. Forget about staying under the radar I want information on that ship and I don't particularly care at this point how you get it .. Hack into any and every database you need to .. I want everything you can get on the Coniston and quickly .. We're already criminals so let's play the part Harry .. I'm going to give our team on the surface for no longer than two hours then we'll be back .. I want something on my desk by then .. Torek out =^=
Fuming, he turned to the other's who had obviously overheard the conversation:
"I'm done with this .... We don't do 'scapegoat' ......" he said, looking at them in turn, then tapped his Comm badge to inform Commander Blakus he had ninety minutes then he was to beam back to the ship regardless, he closed the Comm before his Engineer could argue or agree, "Get what we can from here. It's obvious it isn't weapons related so whoever is playing this game has something we don't have."
"We're going to the next attack site ?" Calli asked.
"No ........ We're going directly to P Cynex ....... You don't simply walk off with a Star Ship. From my information the Coniston wasn't due to be dismantled, it was undergoing refit for battle simulation training, so her warp core would have been intact, along with all other systems to allow her to flee her attacker. Whoever is using that ship is either after the Raven, or me personally ...... Either way, I intend to stop it by whatever means at my disposal ! .... I'm beaming back to the ship to assist Commander Wedlerson. Will, you'll be in charge down here. Get things done .... ninety minutes and we leave orbit." not waiting for any questions Torek tapped his Comm badge, and seconds later vanished from the surface of Trelam IV ..........
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2015 2:37:29 GMT
"Will, you'll be in charge down here. Get things done .... ninety minutes and we leave orbit."
"Aye, sir." replied Will. Once again, he had taken on the role of Medical Officer when they went planet side. But now, he was in charge of collecting all the evidence they could in an hour and a half. He set off to work.
"Scott. Yang. Same as last time. Find their hospital and see what we can do." Having learned from their last excursion, they had brought a few extra security officers. "Delik. You're with them." He turned to the others with him. "Harris. Get all the readings on this damage that you can. I want to compare it against Selay."
He silently smiled inside at the chorus of "Aye, sirs." that followed. He really enjoyed being back on the Raven with her amazing crew. As the others got to work, Will stayed and conversed with the cities leaders. He was a firm believer in never having too much information.
{Seventy five minutes later}
Will was standing on the bridge of the Raven near the Science station. He was watching all the data as it was coming across the screens. So far there were no anomalies. All the damage was the the same as that on Selay. All the damage appeared to be made by a Galaxy class starship. No wonder the people of these planets had found it so hard to trust the Raven crew. This sickened Will. He could not believe that a Federation ship with Federation officers could have done these things. They needed to find out what was going on. He was hoping that Torek was having better luck finding the Coniston than Will was trying to make sense of all of this.
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on May 21, 2015 5:37:19 GMT
Across the grey plains Blakus approached the ruins of the agriculture processing facilities, together with the quintet of muted Trelam natives. The main structure - a bombed grey wreck with debris crumbling from a gaping hole in its side - loomed before them, shading them from the barely visible diffuse pall of the Trelam sun.
One of the cousins indicated a way through the wreckage, beckoning his family and Blakus who was alongside him onwards, "Perhaps you can help us with repairs, if your ship was not responsible." Doubt remained in the Trelam native's voice - with good reason, too, he thought Blakus was well aware - the man hadn't been privy to the engineer's comm to the Admiral regarding the misidentification of the Galaxy class: the fact it was the USS Coniston Water. That'd shocked Blakus just as much as if it were the San Jose that attacked Selay, Trelam, possibly Kellan II... How had the Galaxy been acquired, and by whom? He remembered vague communications of war games and tactical scenarios to be carried out by the ship... Perhaps it'd been hijacked during those moments of lessened defences?
Carl commed, "Get what we can from here. It's obvious it isn't weapons related so whoever is playing this game has something we don't have."
"Aye, sir," Blakus responded, "I'll conclude my survey of the agricultural facility here; it may provide further clues as to what method of attack was used - whether that involved use of Trelam's inner gas giant or no."
They picked their way through the fallen masonry and rubble, cast sable black almost by the overcast sky.
"No energy weapons were used, that's for sure," Blakus said to the others - who were busying themselves with repairs to their crop processing machinery. They were now deep within the dark confines of the ruined factory. "Electrical shortages indicated EM storms radiated from your sun... It seemed the damage was caused by widespread electric feedbacks back through the transformers which must've ignited what you use for fuel."
Blakus shut his tricorder, turning to the Trelam, "I must take my leave. You have my word we'll track down whoever did this to your world and bring them to justice." Smiling a final time he seconds later dematerialised from the sepulchre of the ruined structure and appeared in transporter room 2.
Junior engineers were about him on the pad while XO Jamison had been chosen to remain on the planet's surface, at least til the ship was ready to leave orbit. P Cynex was their destination. Of course the San Jose was en route to the P Cynex system; it made little sense for them to head there, it being a planet on the fringe of Federation space.
"It's possible," he mused over coffee in Ten Forward with fellow senior staff and some assistants, "That the San Jose is heading to Cynex for maintenance at the planet's UFP repair facility. If we think they're in violation of orders or at worse attempting to stage a coup against the Federation in this sector, they'd want to steer clear of official Starfleet outposts for such repairs: small-model Starbases, drydocks etc.
"What about the USS Coniston Water? There's growing evidence they carried out the attacks... virtually confirmed by the Trelam people and our own research."
Blakus finished his coffee, "My officers, in cooperation with Commander Wedlerson's Ops staff, have theorised given the San Jose's approach to P Cynex as detected by long-range sensors, that their 'attack' of the world could be a diversion..." We've studied the Coniston Water's movements over the last few hours - they're well within sensor range - and have noted they're moving in a leisurely direction towards P Cynex, spiralling into towards it with estimated intecept at P Cynex from the Galactic North... This if the two ships are in collusion, there's strong evidence to support one may carry out the attack while the other makes hit and run strikes on the UFP facilities in orbit."
"Our other thought was that the Coniston had been masking its signature," Wedlerson said, "That it's already arrived at P Cynex and is now awaiting San Jose's arrival. The local government will be fooled into thinking the Coniston is there to defend their planet and Federation repair station from attack; little do they know the tide may turn and they may find themselves under bombardment from both ships... Also, according to latest reports, five Federation starships of at least Akira class tonnage are stationed there, with lesser vessels such as the Sabre classes Retribution and Osprey. We don't know what we might be walking into..."
<Tag Torek, Jamison, All>
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on May 27, 2015 18:17:55 GMT
"Our other thought was that the Coniston had been masking its signature." Wedlerson said, "That it's already arrived at P Cynex and is now awaiting San Jose's arrival. The local government will be fooled into thinking the Coniston is there to defend their planet and Federation repair station from attack; little do they know the tide may turn and they may find themselves under bombardment from both ships ... Also, according to latest reports, five Federation Star Ships of at least Akira class tonnage are stationed there, with lesser vessels such as the Sabre classes Retribution and Osprey. We don't know what we might be walking into ......"
"is there the slightest possibility that these other ships could be involved ?" Carl saked.
"Impossible to say Sir." Harry answered, knowing it wasn't what his Commanding Officer wanted to hear. Torek sat in silence for a long moment, then came to a decision.
"Commander, how long before we reach P Cynex ?"
"Six hours fourteen minutes." Marionette answered instantly. He tapped his Comm badge:
=^= Torek to Bridge .. .. All stop =^= he closed the link before the Bridge Officer could reply then faced the others, "How long to ready the Piper ?"
"we can launch her in ten minutes Admiral." Doctor Roach replied, a frown forming, "But why would we ne ......"
"Ready the shuttle Doctor, you will remain with the Raven. Andae, Will Calli, Marionette, you're with me. Assign four Security Commander Peers, make sure two are field Medic trained."
"I'll have them ready we you are Sir." Peers said, standing and turning to leave, but Torek called him back.
"You'll be staying with the ship T'Brel. You too Lieutenant Jamison." he said, seeing the confusion on the Chief of Security's face, "I need someone who can 'fight' the Raven out of a fix if the need arises. If my memory serves there is a nebula close by ....."
"The Coalsack Nebula." Marionette confirmed.
"Good ... Commander Peers, you will take the Raven there and monitor our progress. I'd like to think you'll come a'running if I shout .... We will take the Piper, we can cloak and enter the system unseen. I want to get into the complex and find out what we can. If, as you think, the Coniston is indeed already there and waiting for Captain Franks, I want to get aboard and make damn-sure it doesn't go anywhere once we're through with her."
"And if the San Jose turns up while you are, disabling the Coniston ?"
"Then we'll have to, improvise ... But unless you get a specific order from any of us here, then you remain hidden inside the Nebula. The last thing I want is an unnecessary fight."
"Admiral, would it not be prudent for all concerned for me to bring the Raven in once we confirm the San Jose is there ?" Peers asked.
"There are five Star ships stationed at the repair facility, and as Mister Wedlerson points out, numerous smaller vessels." Carl said and Peers signified that he understood.
"OK ... Commander Peers, if you could assign Security and make sure the Piper is fully stocked. We depart the Raven in fifteen minutes ... Thank you Gentlemen." The room emptied as the Officer's filed out, leaving Carl alone. He didn't intend this genocide to continue, he would stop the Coniston Waters from leaving ever again, even if it meant destroying it where it was parked, and then go after the San Jose. He wasn't foolhardy though, he knew full well that Franks would contact Melroy and whoever else he was working with, but he had to believe that this was a small group of defectors, and not something widespread throughout the Federation.
Alas, he could only hope it was so at this point .....
Fifteen minutes later ::
The USS Piper, the Raven's Medical Shuttle slipped out of the main shuttle bay and fell behind the Raven, rotating through one eighty degrees before holding formation ten thousand meters astern .... Moments later in one smooth movement, the massive Galaxy Class vessel majestically yawed to Starboard and jumped to warp.
They were on their own ! ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on May 29, 2015 15:04:45 GMT
Blakus sat in the co-pilot's chair monitoring the engines' performance as they pushed up to warp 6 en route to the P Cynex system. The Piper had been untested - was rarely used in fact - for quite some time and for Blakus it seemed every time he was aboard it he had to run all the same systems checks to make sure it was still at operational spec. There was a to be expected small drop in performance since the ambulance shuttle had been recommended to the Raven by the former CMO Dr MacGregor some years ago; it was however still very serviceable.
"So the plan is..." he murmured, the stars shooting by but he was too intent on the EPS relay efficiency stats to give them much regard.
"Approach the orbital repair facility. Request permission to dock." The four officers and four security were reminded of the operation, "If all is well we try to secure a docking port as close to the Coniston Water as possible. If the facility refuses, or if any of the 5 starships challenge us or give us reason to believe they're acting suspiciously, then we declare we have a medical emergency and need to dock immediately."
"What if the Coniston Water isn't there?"
The nine of them thought about this for a moment. This had been accounted for though it was the least desirable one, and they were still unsure on the best course of action. "... Then we contact the Raven and have them scan for the Coniston Water. That seems to have been the ship used for the first two attacks - we don't know about the third at Kellan II - if there is another attack in the near future it's a strong possibility they'll carry it out... And we wait for the San Jose's arrival here."
"And if the 5 ships realise we're from the Raven...?"
"We'll worry about that when the time comes." They had disguised the markings on the hull that identified the shuttle as being from the Raven, name and NCC number whited out and replaced with the NCC number of a similar ambulance shuttle assigned to Starbase 39. It wasn't a total guarantee against identification, especially if they managed to dock and facility staff recognised any of them - for regardless of their allegiance, the crew of the 5 starships at the facility would know they weren't meant to communicate on friendly terms with the Raven: if they were loyal, they were supposed to treat the Raven incommunicado; if they were part of some... conspiracy then things wouldn't be friendly in any case.
The shuttle dropped out of warp and began hailing the dock immediately; it would do no good to slip into the system without a word immediately putting the base on alert, and they were preparing for the event where they'd have to announce a medical emergency.
"One of the starships is hailing," Will said from the tertiary console on the port side, "Sir, the base is currently on the other side of P Cynex. Sensors registering engine signatures consistent with ignition of impulse drives... at least 4 are moving."
"Recommend answer the hail, audio only," Andae said, fingers flying across the console as he made sure Marionette had enough impulse power to reach P Cynex and insert into an orbit that would confuse the vessels currently scrambling from the orbital facility. Torek nodded from behind them.
"Unidentified shuttle, this is the USS Magellan... Explain your presence here." Andae hadn't failed to notice the hesitation in the USS Magellan CO's voice.
Torek prepared his reply, "This is Ambulance Shuttle 39-Delta responding. Captain, this is a Federation facility. We weren't expecting such a cold reception. But enough of the niceties, we have a medical emergency and request immediate docking. If you scan our ship, you'll notice two very weak lifesigns."
The comm was cut from the other end, possibly while the Magellan's officers consulted the base although Andae doubted it. He became aware of the cortical stimulator at his neck, its cold press, simulating for his body a weak vital state. A security officer wore the other one. An alert came from Jamison's panel, "Sir, three of the vessels have broken orbit, one of them of Galaxy class tonnage... They're descending, but on a hyberbolic course that will lead them out of the system."
"Caught red-handed," Blakus said. But the Piper was still 3 light-minutes away.
"Is that Galaxy the Coniston Water?"
"It has to be."
"Sir, registering a build up in the Coniston Water's defence systems. They're preparing to fire on the planet!"
"Ship in-bound," Calli said from the starboard console, "It's the USS Magellan. They're powering phasers."
<Tag Torek, Jamison, Marionette>
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on May 30, 2015 0:36:22 GMT
"This is Ambulance Shuttle 39-Delta responding. Captain, this is a Federation facility. We weren't expecting such a cold reception. But enough of the niceties, we have a medical emergency and request immediate docking. If you scan our ship, you'll notice two very weak life-signs."
He was hoping that his attitude regarding their query was going to be enough to allow them to at least dock, they would need to produce their 'patients' then, and it was a given that even the least adroit medic would see the cortical stimulator ... But it seemed events were overtaking them faster than he had anticipated. whether the other Commanding Officers had seen through his ruse, or if they were just being over-cautious, it made little difference, they weren't going to simply dock and get on with things. Then, realizing their prey was going to escape their clutches and fire on the planet, he considered running the Piper into the Coniston Waters. The USS Magellan was closing too fast for comfort, and if they found no-one requiring the aforementioned medical assistance ...... He looked at Blakus and the reluctant lieutenant Yvonne Epps then turned to the Marine Medic:
"Stop his heart."
Lieutenant Lu Yang hesitated for less than a second then pulled the cortical stimulator away.
"Someone's firing !" Calli said, fingers dancing over the panel attempting to identify the supposed culprit.
Yang had taken a hypo-spray from his pack and was adjusting the settings carefully. He looked at Torek and received a nod, then placed the device against Epps' neck, "Sweet dreams." he said as he activated the hypo ...
"Picking up photon torpedoes !" Calli said trying to figure out who was firing at whom, "Trajectory indicates the Coniston Warters is the target, who the hell's firing at them !"
Yvonne's eyes had rolled up into her head as she suffered spasm after spasm, for many seconds, then her body seemed to relax ....
"What did you give her ?" Torek asked, keeping one eye on the pilot's cabin.
"Pancuronium Bromide, part of the Curare family, it induces paroxysmal superventricular tachycardia ... Untreated her heart stops ... Induced get's the same effect, but I need to reinitialize heart rhythm within two minutes or ......."
"Admiral, several of the ship's are turning away from us and heading towards the origin of the attack, the torpedoes are seconds off their target. The Coniston is turning away and trying hard to move away. Impact one, and two ... Their shields have taken a beating, I expect there is considerable internal damage. They have drive damage and are using thrusters to stabilize ......"
=^= Shuttle 39-Delta .. Approach and dock at pylon 'G-3' ... Another vessel is suffering systems failures .. Do NOT attempt to assist .. Magellan out ! =^=
"Well done T'Brel." Calli said under her breath as she allowed the computer to set automated approach and docking. She looked back into the main cabin to see everyone else crowded around the hopefully temporarily deceased Security Officer.
Docked at Orbital Facility ::
The doors slid open and several Medics entered quickly. Epps was shuffled onto the bio-bed and rushed from the shuttle. Carl hoped that no-one asked why one of the most sophisticated Medical Shuttles in use couldn't have treated the patient without the need to dock and use the facility's Med-center ... He watched them take the bio-bed then quickly checked if the Coniston had indeed docked, and if so where ... He was relieved to see it was at pylon G-5' so less than six hundred meters from them ! ..... It was a given that they needed to ensure the Coniston never 'flew' again, but they also needed to find out 'who' was Commanding and crewing the Galaxy Class vessel, as they would need to be held accountable at some point. It wasn't going to be easy, and he never expected it to be so. Seven of them against who knew how many, and with the added worry that the Raven had been discovered, attacked, captured, or worse-case, destroyed, wouldn't bode well for their survival chances.
"Is there any way at all that we could shut down this facility ?" he asked.
"Plenty, but they all involve high explosives, or the complete co-operation of the personnel currently assigned." Call replied working through options in her head before voicing them to her Commanding Officer, "Best case, we kill off the Conistion and take the crew while simultaneously disabling those other ships until such time the Federation decide to believe our story and come looking. Worst case, they have the Raven, know we're here, and are sat outside that door waiting for us to step out arms raised."
"The Federation does love a pragmatist." Lu Yang said.
"If you have something better to offer ... Lieutenant !" calli asked pointedly, but Torek raised a hand to prevent what was surely to become an argument the Marine would loose.
"Let's get onto the Coniston, I don't want it leaving that pylon unless under tow." torek instructed as a newcomer entered the shuttle:
"Sorry to interrupt Sir, but could one of you please attend the Med-Bay, your Officer is not responding to treatment."
< tag : Who wants to go to Med ? (to do some moseying around btw) >
The others waited for five minutes then cautiously made their way towards the stricken Coniston Warters .... As to the Raven ? ..........
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