Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,165
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 24, 2021 13:31:43 GMT
~~~ Shore Leave 34.5 ~~~
* Following Expolrations Mission * USS Raven-C ... Beta Docking Arm Starbase Forty-Seven :: It had become a bit of a ritual that the Raven Senior Officers make their way to O'Tooles when docked at the Starbase ..... Carl had done this countless times, and it helped that Sean O'Toole, the owner, was a family friend ..... In his quarters Carl was pulling on his sweater, with the Section Admiral out on the Enzio, there was no real need to have their usual sitdown debriefing, instead, he had sent a subspace report to Gheskori outlining the conclusion of their current mission and the fact that the region of space they had recently vacated still needed exploration. The very fact that they had been forced to leave prematurely, therefore postponing the investigation into 'who' had initially designed and built the massive facility they had found drifting, and who or how had the machine entities come to exist? ... Colonel Theo DΓΊpin had come aboard to brief him on the situation re Admiral Lemond: Carl was happy that everything was being done to secure both her and her Adjutant's release, so he had informed the Deputy Security Chief to continue heading up the situation but to call him if necessary ... To Carl, it always felt strange to be in civilian clothing, he had spent the best part of his life in uniform, since joining the Academy so many years ago. They had postponed moving into their quarters on the Starbase after he and Elise had discussed an opportunity he felt neither she nor the girls could refuse. For three years running, Elise had been asked to speak at the Annual Academics Conference on Earth, where Teachers would give talks and attend lectures on teaching. She had been asked as Head of Raven's school, to speak about the pros and cons of schooling whilst in space, but had refused due to Raven's deployment, now, with the ship undergoing her major refit, she finally had the chance to go. It took some time but Carl had finally convinced her to accept the invitation. They had done most of the packing the night before and woke the girls early. They had no idea where they were going and had spent most of the morning voicing suggestions, but neither parent was going their destination away ..... The four of them made their way to the Dome, where the USS KΕshΕ« was docked. The conference was due to last for five days, with Saturday and Sunday pencilled in for smaller talks or one-to-one meetings. Elise, Bethan, and Vanessa would stay at their home on Marine Drive in San Francisco whilst on Earth. Elise's parents would look after the girls while she attended the week-long symposium. They reached the Dock and could see the impressive Excelsior Class USS KΕshΕ« waiting .... Normally they would have parted company in the Departure Lounge, with its full-length panoramic windows, but Carl had used his position to ask the KΕshΕ«'s Captain if her could come aboard prior to departure, and unbeknownst to Elise, a change in their cabin assignment to a suite on the outer corridor, portside forward, where they would have a view of space .... The KΕshΕ«, a converted Federation Starship, was due to be decommissioned but was refitted for Civilian Transport. Truth be told he had been on several Excelsior Class ships but was pleasantly surprised at the startling difference the changes incorporated into the vessel to accommodate Civilians rather than Starfleet Personnel could do. The suites had two bedrooms, one with a large double bed, the other had two single beds as per Carl's request, along with a dining area, a lounge, a small office, and a complete bathroom. Their luggage had already arrived, and the girls grabbed their bags and disappeared into their bedroom. Much too quickly the comm announced that all guests must depart. He hugged Bethan and Vanessa, making them promise to behave while away, almost spilling their destination in the process. He kissed Elise warmly, stopping as the girls giggled, then he left .... He made his way off the Starship and to the Departure Lounge, moments later the massive KΕshΕ« silently backed away from the Dock, turning to Port as she did so, finally it passed through the enormous space-doors and out into the blackness. Feeling a momentary pang of loneliness, Carl turned and walked around the Upper Lounge Level to where he could see the Raven. Already hull plates were missing, worker-bee shuttles moved around the Sovereign Class Starship as if choreographed. From his position, he could see the upper area of the saucer section, airlock hatches were open, EVA-suited personnel moving back and forth. He could just make out Deck Three, where 'The Wheel' Raven's version of Ten Forward on the Galaxy Class, was located. The liquid-aluminium windows had already been taken away while the window itself was extended some twenty metres. He took a moment to take in the whole vessel, gleaming, silver-white in the Docks artificial lighting. Then with a sigh, he headed for one of the turbolifts assigned to Starfleet Personnel "Level one five five one," he mulled over what had happened in the last weeks, the crew they had lost, but inwardly smiled remembering Harry Wedlerson's promotion, and his embarrassment as Bethan and Vanessa had fussed over him .... The doors slid aside and he stepped onto Alpha Promenade, remembering how desolate the area was after their forced ejection following the Betreka Nebula's explosion. Taking his time he made his way along the Promenade until he could see the ornate signage denoting O'Tooles. Sean had always run what he cheekily called a 'Family Friendly' establishment .... During the day, the large stage converted into a play area, complete with everything for a toddler to teen to enjoy. He had set up a noise-dampening field, so despite the rowdy energetic enjoyment the kids were having, no one in the main area of the pub needed to be bothered by all the racket. Sean must have noticed Carl's approach and greeted him at the door. "Well now, look who's a sauntering into me establishment..." Sean said in his usual Irish lilt, as he threw his arms around Carl in a hug that threatened to push him into unconsciousness if the man didn't ease his grasp, "... It's good to see you Carl me boyo. It's been a while since you graced our doors, what will it be? ... No, wait, it'll have to be a snifter of that 'special' cognac of yours, then what, a steak I'll be bettin'" "A beer first... Once you let me breathe that is," Torek wheezed. Sean released his hug and slapped Carl on the back before leading him towards the bar. "Will ya be wanting a table, or are ya going to be roughin' it?" "I'll sit at the bar, thanks," Carl said as he saw Kara Devin, Sean'sBar Manager wave and hold up one finger as she finished serving someone further along the bar. Carl lowered himself onto a stool and gratefully took the offered cold drink. He downed three quarters in one, not realising how much he needed the brew, Sean immediately swiped the glass, replacing it with a full one. "Looks like ya needed that one..." he said, turning the glass so the handle was towards Torek, "... I'll go see to that steak," Kara came around the bar and gave him a hug before asking about Elise and the girls. They chatted briefly between her having to go off to serve and promising to let her cook him a good hearty Irish meal while Elise was away... He could small the meal before he could see it. Sean put the plate down, handed him utensils, then left him to eat in peace. As the first piece of steak touched his tastebuds he closed his eyes, savouring the sensation, the taste, the flavour ..........
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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: 6,165
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 24, 2021 15:12:43 GMT
O'Tooles Bar & Grill Alpha Promenade Starbase Forty-Seven :: Carl finished the last of his steak and Salad, wondering if anyone would notice if he asked for seconds ..... Placing the knife and fork down, one of the staff, NevΓ©, walked past and picked up the plate: "How was it, Admiral?" he made the 'OK' sign with his right hand as he swallowed the last of the tender meat. Nodding, she grinned and took the empty plate away ..... He had seen a few of the Raven's Officers and Crew already enjoying the ships tradition of coming here for a drink, or three. Several had nodded in his direction, not wanting to disturb him while eating. OrlΓ‘, one of Sean's staff approached with a fresh ale, he accepted the cold beer gratefully, knowing that having more than his usual measure wasn't going to worry him, it was well known among Engineers everywhere, be they land or space-based, that the last thing they needed was a vessel's Officers looking over their shoulders while working. Despite this, Carl's Executive Officer had the habit of 'double-checking' as he called it, any work done a little too quickly for his liking. He grinned, knowing how many times Andae had asked for something to be redone, much to the annoyance of one Engineer or another. It was a treat that kept the Raven so reliable. "So, how long are ya home for this time Carl?" He turned to see Sean standing behind him, the usual cheeky Irish grin on his face. "I couldn't say to be honest Sean, the ship is undergoing a scheduled refit, so a couple of weeks at least, I'd imagine," he knew Sean wouldn't ever press for a more precise time and date, after all, Starfleet wasn't in the habit of giving such detail out, you never knew who it would or could benefit. There were information boards, thousands of them in fact, scattered throughout the Starbase, they gave information on what vessels were in Spacedock, which were due to arrive, which were about to leave. But in the case of Federation Vessels, other than signifying that a Starship was in Spacedock, no other information was given out. Sat at the end of the bar he watched the children playing, enjoying the Irish music being piped through the impressive sound system Sean had installed. There was a tap on his shoulder and he turned to see Calli: "Penny for them?" she said, lowering herself on the stool beside his, regardless of the lack of invite on his part. "Have you ever thought about settling down, having a family?" he asked out of the blue. "HA... Me... No, not for me as you know only too well..." she said waving at NevΓ© pointing at Carl's half-full glass then returning her attention to Carl, "... What's brought this on, you're not missing them already are you?" she asked, referring to Elise, Bethan, and Vanessa, who had left for Earth earlier in the day. "No, well, our quarters always seem so, empty, when they are away," he said wistfully. "Not to mention tidier," Calli said with a wry grin as NevΓ© brought her a beer. She knew that he knew she was joking, of course, it was a well-known fact that the girls were anything but tidy. Oh, they would clean up after themselves, in fact, you wouldn't know anyone occupied their suite once they had finished, it was just getting them to start in the first place that took all the effort. The two sat in silence for a while, enjoying each others' company. "I said hello to Andae a while ago, he seemed distracted," Calli said. Carl looked along the bar where Blakus was drinking with several other Officers, he recognised a couple of people from before Andae had been assigned to the Raven as Chief Engineer. Carl watched him for a few moments then replied: "He seems OK now ...... Did he say what was bothering him?" "No, he just..." Calli couldn't quite put her finger on it, finally, she shrugged, "... Maybe it's the last mission. It got to a lot of us," "Yes... Yes, it did," he answered as if hardly listening. "You could always join them, you know," "I know, actually, Elise has the conference, then they are going to Sato's home in Geneva for a week, I said I might join them if everything was on schedule with the Raven. Calli laughed, just managing not to spurt beer over Carl. "I actually meant in the ball-pit, but Earth would do too," Carl turned to look at the low-gravity ball-pit, were jumping in ejected a myriad of coloured balls high in the air, kids could leap across the pit, almost floating as they batted balls at each other, an invisible forcefield preventing them from landing in someone's drink or meal. Sean had really gone to town when he'd decided to make the stage area into a play area during the day. Families loved the safe area for their children, while in turn, they could enjoy a drink and a meal without someone tugging at their trousers every thirty seconds. "Listen, I'm meeting a couple of friends shortly, but why don't you come over for a late dinner later?" Calli asked, downing the last of her beer as if in a contest to finish first. "Yes, that'll be nice," Carl replied. "Twenty-one-hundred then, and don't be late..." she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, something that even though they were half brother and sister, she would never do while on duty, "... Go on, jump in, you 'know' you want to," she said with a chuckle before leaving him to his thoughts. OrlΓ‘ walked over and picked up the empty glasses: "Another Carl?" she asked. "Why not," he replied with a smile, watching the children while realising that his own were growing much too fast for his liking ..........
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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 Oct 24, 2021 17:53:34 GMT
It being the next morning, Blakus had sent Commander Bligh up to the Command Centre - with the latter officer being officially assigned to the base again, it seemed more appropriate to send him than it did to send the Raven's first officer - to enquire about the spatio-temporal distortions that'd been discovered elsewhere on the base.
Having learnt from base operations department the previous evening that other gravimetric distortions had indeed been detected - small rents in space-time - Blakus had spent a fitful night's sleep rather than the restful one he'd been expecting or hoping for after last mission's travails: to be inhabited by a hostile software-based entity, or the essence of one - whatever the distinction was - for a large part of the mission hadn't been his idea of a good time. To arrive back and to have Dyson and Milyanov's subordinate officer Tinsley disappear through an anomaly to re-emerge in the hotel at the end of Alpha Promenade hadn't been particularly comforting.
At mid-morning in his temporary Starbase quarters, he put in a call to Bligh, =/\=What have they found, William? Any idea why these things might be appearing?=/\=
He'd heard that the Romulans had been more active in the region since their return, not only scouting out the Starbase while cloaked but effectively killing the crew of the USS Schrodinger and entangling themselves with SF Intel as the latter had attempted to find out what the phenomenon - later revealed to be the cloaked Gecius - had been by transporting aboard it. Was it possible the Romulans were somehow involved here, too?
=/\=I'm still up here in the Command Centre. The internal sensors have detected 17 other spatio-temporal distortions - of about the same dimensions as that which Tinsley apparently walked through - appearing over the base in the last 24 hours,=/\= Bligh reported back, =/\=If you're worried at all that the Raven's involved, don't be: the first phenomenon appeared before you arrived back. There have been reports of officers finding themselves retracing their steps, arriving back at the same junction they'd just departed, seeing colleagues displaced across large spaces or through bulkheads into adjoining rooms.=/\=
The last part worried Blakus: what if a distortion formed near an external bulkhead? A person may inadvertently walk through the invisible anomaly and reappear in vacuum. That said, no one currently knew what the 'range' of these phenomena were. Could they take people only a few tens of metres, or much farther?
=/\=And yes, reports of personnel walking into their own feet and bodies... Catching up with themselves,=/\= Bligh continued.
=/\=Very well, keep at it with the staff up there. I'd like to see this resolved before the Raven departs from Starbase again. It happened to one of our own people, a colleague from engineering - I wouldn't like it to happen to anyone else here.=/\=
Bligh acknowledged and the channel closed. Shortly after there was a chime at Andae's door. He made himself presentable; throwing on yesterday's uniform jacket and smoothing it down, he called, "Enter."
A man in plain clothes stepped into the entrance of the living space, Blakus thinking that he recognised him - vaguely. "What can I do for you, Mr...? Have I met you some place before?" Andae asked quizzically.
"Iorte Clancy. We may have passed one another at some point, but I can't recall any meeting, no," the man was looking in confusion at a trinket (a 22nd century tricorder) he'd picked off a mantelpiece before replacing it and turning back to Blakus, "I'm from Starfleet Intelligence - off duty, currently. I heard you encountered a gravimetric distortion on the promenade and it put one of your officers in the penthouse suite of that dilapidated hotel?"
Warily, Blakus answered in the affirmative.
Clancy nodded, taking in the rest of the quarters and sweeping dust off the end of the mantelpiece, "I've stayed in that place, in the penthouse, and I think I saw your officer in there once - briefly. I've checked the Raven crew roster, the engineer who entered the distortion matches the appearance of who I saw at that time. He's assigned to your vessel."
Andae narrowed his eyes, "You're the officer that Tinsley thought had been in the room with him, before he reappeared on the promenade... Or rather, before the timeloop began nearing its completion."
"That's a reasonable deduction. However, Commander, my own version of the event took place while we were still stranded tens of thousands of lightyears away from Federation space. Somehow, your officer travelled backwards in time, then leapt forwards again onto the deck of the promenade; not forwards with a loop effect placing him back in the past."
Blakus shook his head, "But I was back in time. I caught up with myself in the O'Toole's bar." He called Bligh and Tinsley, glancing uncertainly at the man called Iorte Clancy, wishing to get the four of them together in the officers' lounge just off the Command Centre to discuss their findings. He also commed to let Admiral Torek know what he was doing - that he was helping solve an ongoing problem of spatio-temporal dislocation on the Starbase, so as not to suggest erroneously he was reporting a Raven-specific issue which might well interrupt the CO's shore leave.
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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: 6,165
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 24, 2021 22:18:47 GMT
Normally during shore leave, Carl and his family would stay in the apartment they kept on the Starbase, in their minds, it was that small separation from the Raven that allowed them 'breathing space' as Elise called it ..... Carl woke, taking a few seconds to realise he was still on the Raven, he'd enjoyed his late dinner with Calli, and afterwards had returned to his quarters on the Raven having decided not to go to their apartment on the Starbase, given Elise and the girls were on their way to Earth. He hadn't set an alarm and was surprised to see it was already past eight, late for him ..... He lay still, arms under his head, but as always he couldn't enjoy the fact he didn't need to rise, so throwing the quilt off he swung his legs off the bed and got to his feet. After a shower, he dressed and ordered breakfast, toast, marmalade, orange juice and coffee to follow ... He sat in the living area for a while catching up on a book he had been reading for what seemed an age but was more like two weeks. He always felt that his primary role in Starfleet was as the Commanding Officer of the Raven, but fate had thrown one of those curved balls and he had found himself elevated to the rank of Fleet Admiral, and assigned as Section Admiral Ghekori's Deputy and Section Forty-Seven Executive Officer ..... Putting the book down he mulled over what he could do to pass some time without it involving pestering his Officers or the Starbase Maintenence Crews currently working on the ship. Section Executive Officer's Office ... Mezzanine Level Command Center :: He made it through the Command Center having only to return cursory nods as he passed people working. He sought out Colonel DupΓn in his office to get an update on the situation with the Intelligence director ... In his office, he dropped into his seat and looked at his always immaculate desk. "Ahh, good to see you this morning Admiral..." his Adjutant, Captain Jessica Yu said, placing a steaming hot mug of fresh coffee on the coaster then handing him half a dozen PADD's, "... The last one needs your approval Admiral, but the others you can sign-off on. Oh, have you heard from your family since they left for Earth, I imagine the girls are very excited," the woman said, seemingly disappearing to her adjoining office as quickly as she'd arrived. Over time, he had given her more authority to sign on his behalf, but she always knew what to put on his desk, and if it was on his desk, it needed his attention. Jessica had been on active duty as a Starfleet Captain herself. She was in Command of the USS Shannon, ordered to assist in rescuing several Scientists from a rebel group, but Intelligence had got their information wrong, and after she and a team had beamed to the surface, in orbit, the Shannon found herself under siege and outnumbered ... Yu was taken prisoner, and was forced to watch her away team murdered one after the other in cold blood before they inflicted months of mental and physical torture on her. The ship and crew were designated 'missing' after a search failed to find anything ... Seven months later, purely by chance, a survey team had visited the planet, and she was found, having been left for dead. Battered and broken, she had to endure eighteen months of extensive surgeries and counselling, she emerged from Starfleet Medical in San Francisco, still walking with a cane, still unable to hold a full conversation without relapsing into the horrors that had befallen her. But even after everything that had happened, and Starfleet's attempts to have her retire gracefully, she steadfastly refused to be, 'put out to pasture' .....
Her injuries and mental instability precluded her from attaining another Command, but they 'would' have allowed Command to retire her, but they didn't, instead, she undertook a series of positions within Starfleet Command. Carl had met her while she was on Starbase Forty-Seven only a week before Betreka. Once again she had been injured, but this time recovered, throwing herself into helping anyone that needed help. When she found out Torek's Adjutant had been killed, she practically marched into his office offering her help, until a permanent replacement could be found. He remembered her and accepted the offer instantly ... She had offered to take a rank reduction to allow her to hold the position, but Carl wouldn't hear of it ... Even now, he could never figure out just how she knew he was on his way, he speculated, privately of course, that she either had some form of second-sight, and knew when to put the fresh coffee on, or she had a pot going twenty-four-seven, on the off-chance he walked in through the door. Either way, he learned very quickly, that he couldn't do without her plethora of skills, and despite several Flag Officers offering her 'bribes' to work for them, she had stayed with Carl ..... "This one about replicators...?" he asked talking to the open doorway to Jessica's office, "... Why am I looking at it?" "Oh, I don't know, maybe you'd want to sign-off on allowing the Ferengi who claimed he made an agreement with you to let him have two hundred replicators in return for an introduction to the Betazed Ambassador's Daughter?" "I didn't even know he 'had' a daugh..." he stopped mid-sentence, "... Har, har," he said, dropping the PADD into the wastebasket next to his desk. "Drink your coffee, it'll get cold," Jessica said from the other office. Carl shook his head but picked up the almost molten cup anyway. ~~~~~~~~~~ Carl checked the time, realising he was getting hungry and as if reading his mind, Jessica appeared in the doorway, and the two left his office to get something to eat, nothing unusual in that as they had done so many times. Carl's Commbadge chirped to life. Raising his eyebrows, the sandwich halfway to his mouth, he tapped the 'badge ... His Exec' informed him briefly about the incidences regarding the spatio-temporal dislocations throughout the Starbase and his direct involvement in at least one of them. Carl asked to be kept updated, then closed the Comm ... Jessica looked at him, eyebrows raised as if he should have already known. Shaking his head he glanced almost lovingly at the sandwich, two slices of thick white bread, and between them, corned beef and piccalilli. Carl had no idea where she acquired the corned beef, or the piccalilli for that matter, all he knew was it smelled and tasted exactly like his grandmother used to make him so long ago, and as long as Elise never found out about his secret cravings, all was well in his world while they were away, and hopefully, oblivious to his secret snacking, as Elise called it after catching him just the once. The rest of the day went passed quickly, had his Adjutant materialised before him to say it was time he went home, he might not have realised how late it actually was. Bidding her good night, he got up and headed back to the Raven ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Nov 1, 2021 13:29:36 GMT
Blakus looked to each of the others, it having become clear to him in the course of the conversation that not only Tinsley but he himself had passed through the anomaly.
"When I saw you in the top floor window, at that point I hadn't entered the distortion," he nodded at Tinsley with increasing understanding, "And when I stepped through, you reappeared at my side - I effectively travelled the loop with you." It explained also why he'd found himself stepping into his own shoes in O'Toole's.
Iorte Clancy stood, clearly about to leave, "Look, I understand very little of this... I saw this man materialise in that hotel suite while the base was still in Circinus," he pointed at Tinsley, "If the dislocation is spatial as well as temporal then that's a mighty long way. I don't see how it's possible, he must have entered the hotel, in the conventional manner, at the time."
"It may be possible if we consider the distortions as having their cause and locus on the base itself, rather than at some point of reference out in space," Bligh said, trying to call Clancy - whose patience was wearing thin - back to the chairs and couch they'd arranged around a coffee table in the officer's lounge. "There's no external frame of reference, the dislocations are only occurring inside the base itself. Real distance - thousands of lightyears or no - is immaterial."
"I'm afraid, Commanders, Lieutenant, I only became involved in this case because of the possibility of Romulan involvement," Iorte replied, "Not because of my presence in the rundown establishment on Alpha promenade. I'm sure you've all heard of Intel's dealings with the Romulans lately... Now it's been agreed their involvement seems unlikely, I think I'll retire for the night."
Watching as Clancy roughly shrugged the other two off and made for the exit, Andae turned his thoughts back to the distortions while Tinsley and Bligh agreed Clancy must've had a troublesome time on Intel's assignment.
Well, the Raven, too, has had its difficulties to put it mildly, the XO thought. He couldn't help but feel uneasy about the Intel officer, experiencing a seeping mistrust of the man that was probably unjustified. Still, Intel had a way of inserting itself into internal Starfleet business with customary - yet sometimes admittedly necessary - lies and obfuscation of the reason for their enquiries or for their mere presence. Of course he didn't know much about this Clancy, personally or professionally, but he hoped their paths wouldn't cross too often in the future.
"I'm afraid, Commanders, Lieutenant, I only became involved in this case because of the possibility of Romulan involvement," Iorte replied, "Not because of my presence in the rundown establishment on Alpha. I'm sure you've all heard of Intel's dealings..." For some reason he trailed off, blinking and steadying himself, reaching out a hand for a nearby couch.
Blakus watched the man carefully as he felt a strong sense of deja vu sweep over him. "You're retiring for the night."
"The thought... had occurred to me." Tinsley had his tricorder out, scanning Iorte and then the room, letting it be known that a gravimetric distortion - this one without a spatial component - had swept through the room some seconds ago.
The Intel officer seemed rattled before virtually smirking as he turned away, shaking his head as he made for the exit. Andae grimaced, remaining seated as the others stood. While otherwise unreadable - likely just wishing to leave the engineers to it - this Clancy made him uneasy; he experienced a seeping mistrust of the man.
"Come on, Andae," Bligh slapped him on the shoulder, "He's probably just as unnerved as we all are... Just not so good at hiding it," the lieutenant commander looked towards the closed doors to the lounge. "The anomalies haven't proven lethal."
It was true there had been no reports of deaths from the occurrence of these distortions where they'd affected the base's inhabitants, and perhaps even a sign their frequency of appearance was decreasing. Andae nodded and raised himself off his chair, receiving sounds of approval from Bligh and Tinsley. He raised a warning finger, "Unless a way is found to prevent these distortions' incidence altogether, we have to hope the current pattern holds."
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Sean O'Toole
Civilian
The Luck O' the Irish
Registered: Aug 13, 2016 0:12:33 GMT
Posts: 59
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Post by Sean O'Toole on Nov 5, 2021 0:39:04 GMT
Stardate: 2406.1004 ... Starbase Forty-Seven :: Sean wasn't one for gossip, but just because he didn't seek it out, it didn't mean he didn't pick up the odd tidbit now and then. Most of the time it went in one ear and out the other, but on occasion, he did store a snippet here and there for future use. It was the day after the Raven had arrived back and a lot had happened in the previous weeks, notably among those 'happenings' was the sudden unexplained disappearance of a Ferengi named Orpk. He was one of the more seedy Ferengi, if indeed there was such a character, he owned and ran an establishment on Beta Promenade, no direct competition for Sean, in fact, the former Intelligence Operative enjoyed the fact that Orpk always suspected that Sean was still in the employ of those in black. (not that black was a prerequisite of employment, obviously) ... And truth be told, Sean 'did' enjoy winding the gullible Ferengi up now and then. But in the weeks preceding his disappearance, Orpk had fallen in with some seriously disreputable people. Sean had taken a step he normally wouldn't consider. He had seen Carl the night before, ha had had a meal in the bar, a few drinks, then headed back to the Raven while Elise, Bethan, and Vanessa were on their way to Earth. Now, he headed for the Dock. As he walked the length of Beta Docking Arm, where the USS Raven was undergoing what seemed to him like a complete rebuild, he approached the walkway to the ship, explaining to the Security Officers stationed there that he wanted to see Admiral Torek: Deck Two Captain's Quarters USS Raven-C :: "..... There are rumours of a group who were trading in anything illegal, you have the gold-pressed platinum, they will get what you need. Robin Hoods they ain't, robbing the rich, yadda yadda. These people are specialists in acquiring items, but for the most part, they tended to keep what they got to themselves, happy to upset those who hired them." Sean was saying as Carl replicated breakfast for the two of them. "..... And you are convinced that the disappearance of Admiral Lemond and her Adjutant are connected with something she was investigating?" Carl asked. "Orpk has, had, some powerful friends.." he handed Carl a data chip, "... The names are on there, or at least as many as I could find out without drawing attention to myself, ya' understand," "You just can't let go of the Intelligence Officer in you, can you," Carl said with a grin as he put the 'chip on his desk and walked to the replicator, he returned with two plates, putting them down on the table. Full English breakfast: bacon, fried egg, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans, toast, grilled tomatoes, and two cups of coffee. "You 'DO KNOW' that Elise had Mylianov delete this 'heart attact on a plate' from the replicator menu," Sean said, showering the food with salt and pepper. "Yeh... I gave Nate Tinsley a week on Risa if he could put it back without her knowing..." Carl replied with a win as he dipped a piece of sausage into the yolk of one of his runny eggs, "... You are currently enjoying: Combat Trouser Type Four," Sean raised his fork after skewering a piece of bacon and a mushroom: "Oorah!" he said with a wry grin. The two finished their contraband breakfast and Carl cleared the plates. "The Romulan's and Klingon's involved in this band of thieves are not to be messed with Carl, m'boy ..... They will have no worries about walking onto the Starbase and killin' you in cold blood if you get in their way," "So why haven't they been taken into custody?" "For what, laddie, for what...?" O'Toole asked, pouring himself another coffee before continuing, "... They NEVER, as far as I can tell, bring a single item onto the Starbase, they do their dealings behind proverbial closed doors, they turn up, stay for less than a day then seemingly vanish from sight, meanwhile, someone starts ranting about being doublecrossed, threats about killing the people who dared try to cheat them. All fun and games, but there's obviously something amiss if they felt the need to take two high-profile people from under the nose of Security," "Hold on! ... Wasn't that Orpk bloke using one of his holosuits to complete his transactions?" Carl said, inserting the data chip into his console, he read the names o those suspected, directly or otherwise, of being involved in the abduction of Lemond and her Adjutant. He couldn't believe that despite the suspicions, it was all conjecture, nothing that could legally be acted upon. Hovak Gr'vos Nokor "Hovak was the Commanding Officer of Ra'kosh, the Romulan found assassinated?" Sean explained as Carl read the scant information on the screen. "Thank you for this..." Torek said, pulling the data chip from the reader, Soooo, what to do?" Carl mused. "Hey, I'm just a friend making' a visit to me old pal..." Sean said, rising, "Hey, if ur not too busy with ship things, call into the bar around lunch, I have some fresh salmon, brought direct from Scotland," Sean smiled then headed for the door before Carl could reply one way or the other, the bar owner had left. He looked at the 'chip then asked the replicator to give him a fresh coffee ..........
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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: 6,165
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Post by Carl Torek on Nov 7, 2021 16:57:52 GMT
SD: 2406.1007 ... 13:30 hrs. Beta Promenade ::
Carl didn't normally put mush store in rumours, but this was Sean. They had been friends for many years, since before both were at the Academy together ... Carl wouldn't forget one night in their third year when they had gone into the old part of San Francisco. They had been in a bar, enjoying the entertainment, a young singer, when four men had entered, and it was clear they thought they owned the place.
They approached the bar, pushing two customers out of the way before demanding drinks, and Sean, never the one to turn away from a fight asked them to show some manners if they wanted to stay. The four seemed to think Sean was amusing and asked him if he wanted to join them. Not one for subtlety, Sean told them exactly what he thought of their offer. It was all a bit of a blur from then until they both woke up in cells, both covered in bruises and aching where they should never have to ache ... The Station Captain told them they had in fact won their fight, the four they picked on were all in hospital, two with serious injuries, and given the charges, it was highly likely they would serve time for the beatings they inflicted.
Two hours later they were supposed to appear to face charges of assault, but with minutes to spare two men arrived and took them out of Civilian custody .....
They were told that all charges were being dropped, there was no explanation, nothing, but given the severity of the charges, both were being dismissed from the Academy. Sean had stood up and taken full responsibility for what had happened, saying Carl was an innocent bystander who came to his help. Surprisingly, the two men believed him ..... Carl would be returned to the Academy, his record expunged, as for Sean, they had other employment in mind for him. "Another coffee?" he turned to see the waitress standing beside his table outside the cafΓ© opposite Orpk's currently closed emporium. "Erm, sorry, yes, please..." he said, handing her his empty cup. She returned a few moments later with the fresh coffee, "... You wouldn't happen to know who owned that establishment opposite, would you?" he asked casually. "I think it was a Ferengi. Never could get on with him, a little seedy, always looking at you as if he were wondering how much you'd cost and how much he could reduce that figure by..." the waitress said before continuing, "... Sorry. I shouldn't be so prejudiced, it's just that well, it wouldn't hurt for him to have just said 'hello' rather than undressing me with his eyes every time he passed. There were all sorts of people going in and out of there at all times of the day. way too suspicious if you ask me... Why the interest?" "I'm thinking of getting a place, it looks pretty busy in this section of the Promenade," he said with a shrug. "Oh... What is it you do?" the girl asked. "Furniture, antiques mainly, old Earth, tables, chairs, desks, ornamental stuff," Ahh, wood, then...?" she asked. Carl nodded, smiling, she suddenly realised that other people needed her attention, "... Well, the Federation Traders Guild office, who decides rents, is further around the Promenade, Section 'D' ... I hope you can get it for a good price," she said, moving to a nearby table. Carl shook his head with a wry grin, it seems antique dealers aren't the flavour of the month he decided, taking a sip of the still steaming hot coffee. He had been sitting at the table for over an hour and was beginning to attract the attention of the cafΓ© owner. Thanking the waitress as she passed, he got up and headed away. "Excuse me..." he turned to see the girl watching him, "... That way ..... The Federation Traders Guild office?" she explained as he looked at her bemused. He thanked her again and turned around, walking back past Orpk's establishment. Once out of sight of the cafΓ© he stepped into a turbolift and requested Alpha Promenade ..... O'Tooles Bar & Grill Alpha Promenade :: "So, have you taken a looky?" Sean asked as he dropped onto one of the barstools. "It's closed," Carl said. "Sweet Jesus, nuthin' is getting past you is it...!" the Irishman said, shaking his head before leaning forwards even though there was no one sat close by, "... Well, I've found something out, there's been another Ferengi hanging around Orpk's. A friend of mine says he's been there several times over the last few days, peeking through windows, trying the doors, very cloak 'n' dagger stuff if you're askin' me, which you ain't," "This 'friend' of yours, she wouldn't be small, red hair, chatty?" "You've met her...?" O'Toole said, feigning shock, "... Kara's young cousin wouldn't ya believe it," "So, this information you have?" Carl said as NevΓ© handed him a coffee. "He's been making enquiries, asking about being able to get into the bar to pick up some 'family' momentoes. But he's not the only one, a Romulan, a couple of Klingons. and some bloke with pale skin, they're all trying to get access," "What the hell has this Orpk bloke got in there that's so important?" Carl mused. "Maybe it's that 'special' holosuite of his ..... I hear it's a little too unique," Sean said with a wink. "Well, I'd rather not make any investigation official before I know there's something worth investigating ....." "What would you say about you and I taking a little sneaky peek into that bar, see what we can find, eh laddie?" "I'd need a reason to enter the establishment," Torek said. "Who says we'll be needin' permission...?" Sean said, putting a menu in front of Carl, grinning when Torek shook his head, "... Hey, I'm not a charity, nobody sits at my bar for free... Pick the salmon, it's fresh," he took the menu back before Carl could even begin to read. Ten minutes later, OrlΓ‘ put a plate in front of him. He could smell the fish, bringing back memories of fishing in Scotland with Sato Tetsutaru. "Sean says to be meetin' him here at two," she whispered with a grin, her eyes darting left and right dramatically. "Tomorrow?" Carl asked, seeing it was already well past that. "In the mornin' you eejit," she said, handing him cutlery wrapped neatly in a napkin ..........
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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: 6,165
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Post by Carl Torek on Nov 10, 2021 1:18:45 GMT
Carl Torek's Quarters on SB47 ... Suite 22, Level 1404 Section B 01:40 hrs :: Given the hour, Carl had decided to leave a message for Andae regarding his unofficial endeavour, rather than wake him for what might prove a fruitless venture ..... The Starbase, like all other off-world facilities, still tried to keep a normal day-night regime, so at nineteen-hundred hours, the lighting throughout the massive structure began to gradually dim, so by zero hundred, the lighting level was at only forty percent of normal, giving the illusion of dusk and nighttime hours. The lighting gradually raised again at zero six hundred hours as artificial dawn broke ..... Leaving his quarters, he made his way to the turbolifts and requested Alpha Promenade. Even at this hour, there were people about, the Starbase was a twenty-four-hour facility, with vessels arriving and departing at all times. He was walking towards O'Tooles when Sean stepped out from a darkened doorway: "Bringing back memories?" he asked with a wry grin. "Let's get on with it Sean, I'd like to get 'some' sleep before I'm expected back on the ship in the morning," Carl said. Stepping into the nearest turbolift Sean gave their destination and the two waited as the 'lift dropped silently before coming to a stop, the doors sliding aside. They could see their objective further along the Promenade. The establishments of this Level, unlike those on Alpha Promenade, closed at twenty-hundred, so there were fewer people around, not that it mattered given both men had every right to be there. They were walking when Sean grabbed his arm, pulling him into the doorway of a shop three doors down from where they wanted to be. "Not one to point to the obvious here, bu ....." Carl began, but Sean interrupted him: "Stop ya whining, you're out of practice, that's a fact," he said as the door to the shop clicked open. They went in, closing the door behind them then made their way to the storeroom at the back. Sean moved a few cases then pointed. "It's a wall," Carl said. "It's a maintenance access, to the walkway behind all the shops, you don't want to be caught walking in through the front door now do you?" "I'm the Sections' Executive Officer, I would have thought that I could go wherever I liked and no one could comment," Carl said, a combination of tiredness and frustration getting the better of him. "That might be so Carly me boy, but I know that at least two establishments opposite Orpk's bar have surveillance equipment set up to monitor the coming's and going's ..... Given they aren't Starfleet issue, it's likely, is it not, that someone else has an interest, and as I can't seem to pinpoint just 'who' is doing the surveilling, I'd like to be a little cautious, we don't want to be falling foul of some undesirables, now do we?" "We put a Security Seal on the door, no one is going in there without us knowing," Carl said. "Well, we're going in, and unless you let Security know..." Sean said with a wry grin, "... Then there are Orpk's associates, of course, they have been hangin' around for a few days, and who can tell who else ..... Let's face it, we have no way of knowing who the cagey Ferengi was dealing with, either first-hand or through an intermediary. Hell, it could enev be those rogues from Section Thirty-One sniffin' around," "Let's not mention them shall we..." Carl said, almost shivering at the very mention of the ultra-secretive organisation. Even at his leve,l no one ever acknowledged their existance. "We're in," Sean said with a wink, while Carl was still mulling over the prospect Section Forty-Seven could be involved in all this. Sean sild the panel aside and entered Orpk's, Carl reluctantly following. "So, what exactly are we supposed to be looking for again?" Carl whispered as Sean put a finger to his lips then pointed into the darkness. For several seconds, they heard nothing, then Carl saw the outline of someone against the dimmed Promenade lighting. They inched forward, listening intently, then Sean moved. In front of them they could see a figure, he had clearly been talking to someone, but they couldn't see the other person in the gloom. "For what, exactly...?" someone was saying, "... You don't even know, do you ..... All this ..... Threatening me, my family, risking your own freedom, and for WHAT!?" "That's Calli," Carl whispered, (for continuity: see Calli's post in Pirates) ... Sean nodded as Carl motioned for them to squat and keep out of sight, hopefully, whoever was speaking to Calli would give more information before they had to step in. But it was very quickly clear that whoever the other person was, he hadn't found what he was looking for. Sean pointed then moved away from Carl, trying to get a better view of the second intruder. Carl followed suit, dropping to the floor before making his way to where they had seen the silhouette of the man. He was close to a table and chairs when the intruder spoke again: "Help me, HUUMMAANN or they wi ...." the intruder, clearly Ferengi, squealed as he felt the business end of a phaser rest against the back of his neck. "Drop it, now," Carl heard Sean order. Cautiously he got to his feet, eyes scanning the interior of the establishment on the off chance the Ferengi had brought friends, then approached Sean and the Ferengi. He looked down to see Calli, she was tied to one of the pillars watching proceeding in silence. When she realised who the others were she sighed with relief, but her elation was short-lived, as beams from two phasers crossed the bar hitting Torek and O'Toole in the chest, both dropped to the floor. Qal, eyes wide, looked frantically around, trying to see who fired the shots as Calli tried to look into the gloom to see if Carl and Sean were still breathing. "Hello Qal ....." someone said in the darkness, "... I am here to collect on a debt incurred by your rather inept brother," ..........
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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 Nov 12, 2021 21:34:45 GMT
Calli had taken a step towards where Carl and Sean had fallen after being hit by the phaser fire. She was looking into the gloom when someone spoke:
"Hello Qal ....." someone said in the darkness, "... I am here to collect on a debt incurred by your rather inept brother," she tried to reach the others when someone grasped her arm, pulling her around so abruptly she almost lost her balance.
She looked at the Klingon who returned her glare.
"Who's your friend Qal, someone else who has fallen for your 'dubious' charms?" Hovak said as Gr'vos forced Valente into a seat. Qal, far from the self-assured man in charge from moments ago, she could clearly see him trying to control the shaking in his voice as he tried to reply. The other man, tall, slim, and even in the almost nonexistent light of the bar, looked pale, almost albino.
"I don't have what you are looking for, I swear...!" Qal was saying for the fourth or fifth time to no avail, "... If my unscrupulous brother double-crossed you then that is none of my concern,"
"You are trying to tell me that you did not confide, like brothers?" Hovak asked.
"No... In fact, why would I be here if it were not to search for whatever my brother had hidden away ..... Why ..... Why?" the terrified Ferengi pleaded.
"Even you brother, as conniving as he was, couldn't have resisted bragging about his escapades. One thing I found was that Orpk, far from keeping his own counsel, liked to 'embellish' his importance in ventures he had little to do with," the albino said. Calli turned her head, trying to see through the gloom to where Torek and O'Toole still lay, from what little she could see, it looked like neither had moved since being hit. The albino walked over to where she was sitting and leaned forward to look at her more closely. He looked over to the two prone bodies, then back at Calli, before shrugging.
"You say there is nothing here that would warrant the interest of either of us then?" he walked back to Qal, seemingly dismissing Calli's presence.
"He left, didn't he! ..... I believe he took everything of value with him, all that is left is this, pitiful establishment, one that unfortunately has become my burden,"
"Your 'brother' has then fled, and is not dead as some would believe?" the albino asked. Qal sat completely silent, presumably trying to weigh which reply would help keep him alive.
"I cannot latest for his current state, be that alive or, or, dead. All I know is that his elder brother, I am now responsible for liquidating his holdings," the Ferengi said, seemingly pleased with himself, though that was shortlived:
"So... As his, 'Executor' ... You are able to part with anything he owned...?" the albino asked cagily, Qal, feeling he was winning this duel, nodded, "... In that case, you would have no issues in signing this establishment and all it's contents, to my associates and myself, for a substantial fee to yourself, of course?"
"Eh, unfortunately, that is something I am not authorised to do at this time,"
"Oh..... Why would that be?" the albino replied.
"It appears that my brother, in his wisdom, took on two silent partners in order to acquire this establishment, so, unfortunately, until I can find the names and whereabouts of the two partners and be granted permission to act on their behalf, my hands are, tied,"
"You sneaky sod Qal..." Calli thought to herself with a wry grin in the darkness, "... You know full well that the people holding us here are Orpk's silent partners, and that given the situation, they dare not reveal that fact, without admitting they were involved with what was going on, and possibly were directly responsible for Orpk's disappearance!"
"..... And just how long do you believe it would take, to get this 'authorisation' may I ask?" the Romulan asked darkly.
"That would be impossible to say, I would need to return to Ferenginar to go through my brother's papers, identify then locate the silent partners, arrange a profitable conclusion should they agree on the sale, then return here, of course," Qal replied.
While this conversation was going on, Calli again tried to look into the darkness to see if Carl and Sean were OK, she frowned, trying to strain to see more detail. She could have sworn that Carl's right arm hadn't been resting on his chest the last time she looked, but given the light, or lack thereof, she couldn't be positive, for several seconds she watched them, trying to see the smallest of movements, but there were none.
It was clear that the Klingon was losing his patience, he slammed a fist into a nearby table, splitting it down its centre. The albino turned but then saw something off to one side of him. Calli followed his gaze and could see two silhouette's in the doorway, both were trying to see into the darkened bar before one reached to the side. The doors slid silently aside and two men were framed in the door.
"Starfleet Security. Remain where you are! ..... Computer ligh ....." one of them was saying as the beam from a phaser lanced across the room, barely missing both of them as they dove left and right of the doorway. Calli fell off her chair, not wanting to be hit as the Security Officer instructed the computer to raise the lighting to full. She barely had time to look at the other intruders before a transporter beam dematerialised the four and they vanished from sight. The two Security Officers got to their feet and cautiously approached, one holding his phaser on her, the other panning the room.
"VALENTE ... USS RAVEN ... Over here, contact Medical, we need someone down here!" she ordered before dropping to her knees next to Carl and Sean ..........
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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 Nov 13, 2021 22:31:04 GMT
OOC: I've just realised that I've got the end of Valente's post all wrong. Hopefully though this adds a good angle showing how we might be tracking the intruders
IC: Back on the ship for a time to check on the maintenance works - they were behind schedule - Andae was on the bridge when Calli put in her call from the base. He turned to forward and answered the comm, asking the mission advisor where she was transmitting from.
He listened and acknowledged, tapping a control on the XO chair armrest, "Starbase Medical, this is Raven first officer Andae Blakus, have a med team sent to Orpk's, Beta promenade, immediately. Two men down."
How will this play out? he wondered, as the maintenance tech manning Wedlerson's console gained his attention, "Commander, I've trained the sensors on those coordinates... It seems someone transported out of Orpk's shortly before Valente's call, four people precisely."
He nodded, "Track the transport."
"Aye, Commander. Oh, I've seen this before, they have attempted to cloak their passage in a manner reminiscent of..." the man left the matter unexplained, "They have been unsuccessful. A certain Z7 type merchant craft has received them, or at least it has started to register four additional lifesigns than it had previously."
There were Romulans, Klingons and a mixture of other species aboard. There was nothing Blakus could do about them for the time being; he couldn't very well have the Raven transport a team aboard, without a warrant and not even knowing if the personnel aboard were even culpable, not to mention the current lack of security aboard the starship. The best he could do was put in another call to the base, have them investigate the vessel and its crew if they were not already. That was their concern, his was to ensure that Carl and Sean were safe and well.
"I'm heading over there. You have the bridge..." he leaned in to look at the tech's name badge, "Simpkins."
He arrived on Beta promenade, the artificial sunrise effect placing the diffuse glow of a would be morning in the galactic east. A few people were around now, with a concentration round Orpk's, jostling for a view into the premises, the door still jammed halfway open where security officers had made their rapid emergency entrance, even though Torek and O'Toole had now been transported away to the medbay. Hopefully their recovery would be quick.
Valente was still on the premises. "What happened here? Do I take it that Orpk is still alive?" he asked.
"No, I don't believe so. His brother very much is though. There was a Romulan, Klingons, and an albino, seeking to purchase Orpk's apparently."
Andae nodded, "I've had the Raven track the transporter beam. It appears they headed for a merchant craft, docked with the station but without an umbilical attached; they haven't had contact with base authorities or the dockmaster, except through automated comms and systems. Is the Ferengi still present?"
Valente was already departing with the last of the security guards, en route to the medbay. Blakus turned to face Orpk's, eventually deciding against entering for now. It wouldn't do much good, unless there was something to find, which the intruders who'd shot at Torek and O'Toole had been looking for...
He tapped his commbadge, asking Milyanov to join him outside Orpk's with one of his enhanced tricorders; they would conduct their own search. Blakus requested clearance with the command centre at the same time as he evaluated Milyanov's first scans.
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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 Nov 13, 2021 22:46:04 GMT
It was clear that the albino was losing patience ..... The Romulan was hoping to extract what information he could from the Ferengi Qal, whereas the Klingon, far less subtle, was clearly hoping to be allowed to beat the information out of him. Thankfully, at least from the Ferengi's point of view, the albino was hoping to persuade the man by less harmful methods, be they mental or physical.
"..... And just how long do you believe it would take, to get this 'authorisation' may I ask?" the Romulan asked darkly.
"That would be impossible to say, I would need to return to Ferenginar to go through my brother's papers, identify then locate the silent partners, arrange a profitable conclusion should they agree on the sale, then return here, of course," Qal replied.
While this conversation was going on, Calli again tried to look into the darkness to see if Carl and Sean were OK, she frowned, trying to strain to see more detail. But something outside the bar caught her eye. She slowly turned, hoping not to attract the attention of her captors. She was sure she had seen someone outside, nothing unusual, people were moving about all the time, but that, combined with the fact that she was sure Torek had moved one arm, made her hope he had managed to contact someone outside. The Klingon was again demanding to be allowed to question Qal as the doors slid silently aside.
"Starfleet Security. Remain where you are! ..... Computer ligh ....." Everything happened at once then, the Klingon and the Romulan fired towards the door, the Security Officers returned fire before diving for cover. The albino, turned to look at her, almost as if the intrusion was her doing, then he took something from his pocket and spoke, a fraction of a second later the intruders and Qal, all dematerialised .....
Someone told her to remain perfectly still.
"VALENTE ... USS RAVEN ... Over here, contact Medical, we need someone NOW!" she shouted, dropping to her knees beside the unconscious Torek.
She placed two fingers on Carl's throat over the carotid artery, feeling for a pulse, but there was none. Suddenly someone grasped her shoulder, pulling her aside. A Marine Medic began checking both men as Starfleet Medical personnel entered the bar. Someone helped her to her feet asking if she was injured in any way, she ignored the man and watched as several people tried to revive both Torek and O'Toole. Both men were lifted on to mag-lev gurney's and moved onto the Promenade where one f the Medical Staff requested an emergency site-to-site transport - "Level Fifty-Six .. Alpha Medical Center"
She turned to head for the nearest turbolift when someone barred her way.
"Move!" she ordered, but the man stood fast:
"Commander Devon Kroft. Security. Mind telling me what the hell has been going on, Ma'am?"
"I don't have time, I'm Callista Valente, USS Raven, I need to get up to Alph ....."
"You're going nowhere lady," Kroft said, taking her arm, a mistake on his part, as she rotated away from the grip, lowering herself by bending one leg to almost kneeling before spinning to knock the legs from under the man. As quickly as her attack had begun, she held both hands up to allow him back to his feet, she slowly followed suit.
"Starfleet Intelligence Authorisation: 'VALENTE-ALPHA-ZERO-TWO-OMEGA' Check it in your own time Commander, if you prefer to shoot me, then go ahead, but I'm leaving, NOW!" Kroft watched her walk away, then returned to secure the scene, knowing full well that checking that 'ID' would likely put him in more trouble than it was worth .....
In the turbolift, she contacted Command instructing them to scan the area around the Starbase and account for all vessels within one Lightyear. As the doors slid aside she ran from the 'lift onto the Command Floor. Several people were already gathered around the 'Tactical Holodisplay Table' at the centre of the massive room, Captain Helgesen, Theo DΓΊpin, Major Zamblis, the Marine Contingent Commander ..... She walked over already asking if they had any information on the whereabouts of the four people that had been transported from Beta Promenade earlier:
"What do you mean you can't say.....?" she asked, "... Surely internal sensors would have picked up any transport in progress, authorised or otherwise?"
"Normally, yes, but we've been having issues on those Levels for months now," Helgesen said as Nia Lemond approached. To say the next several minutes were difficult, was an understatement. Finally, Nia paused.
"There's a ship out there gentlemen, small and very likely cloaked. Let's see if we can't find it if it hasn't already left," she nodded, then headed for the long ramp which led to the Mezzanine Level, and her office. She looked at the antique clock and sighed, hardly believing it was just past three in the morning. She dropped into her chair behind her desk and tried to rub the constant throbbing from her temples. Calli walked to Erin's office and began making coffee for them both. She came back in and lowered herself into the chair opposite:
"Why the 'HELL' did Torek go in there without informing anyone ..... He's a FLEET ADMIRAL for Heaven's sake!"
"He left word with Commander Blakus that he was meeting Sean, but no other details, I can't believe he thought it would go to hell in a handbasket Admiral," Calli said.
"These people, the ones in the bar?" Lemond asked, a frown forming.
"A Ferengi, Qal, A Klingon, a Romulan, and another, I didn't recognise the race, tall, two meters plus, thin, albino ...."
"Rallos, he's a Yattho," Nia said, shaking her head.
"Admiral?"
"They were the ones that took Erin and me, we knew they were dealing with someone on the Starbase but could never find anything to prove it. They seemed to come and go at will, always visiting the Ferengi bar. The comm chirped to life:
=^= Admiral Lemond =^=
=^= Doctor Yalo .. Medical Center .. I wanted to inform you that both men are out of immediate danger .. I am keeping them sedated for the next forty-eight hours to allow them time to heal mentally =^=
=^= Thank you .. Doctor .. Lemond out =^= she closed the comm and sat completely quiet for a long moment.
"From here on in this investigation is under Intelligence review. For the duration of the investigation or until the Raven departs Starbase, you are recalled... Go get some sleep then be back here at zero seven-hundred,"
"Understood Admiral," Calli said, rising before finishing the last of her coffee.
"Thank you Calli," Nia said, already rising to refill her cup ..........
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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 Nov 14, 2021 12:44:53 GMT
SD: 2407.1114 .. 05:30 hrs... USS Raven-C Spacedock Starbase Forty-Seven :: Following her meeting with Admiral Lemond, Calli made her way back to the Raven .....As she approached the enormous Starship, it looked only half completed, approximately a quarter of the hull-plating had been removed, both nacelles had been stripped to the bone to allow access to numerous sections, the warp coils were being replaced, there was a scheduled upgrade for the magnetic field generators, and the off-axis field controller was being realigned. It occurred to her that it might have been faster to simply replace the whole nacelle, then she was no engineer. Boarding she asked the computer for the location of Commander Blakus, surprised to hear he was still in Main Engineering since returning from the Starbase. "Andae..." she said as she approached the Exec' allowing him to give her a comforting hug. "How's Carl and Sean, any more news?" he asked. "Only what the Doctor told us, they are being kept unconscious for the next two days to allow for the internal trauma to hopefully subside..." she said, looking at the readings Blakus and Milyanov were reviewing on the Pool-table display, "... Doctor Yalo has no idea what sort of weapon was used, but it's certainly dangerous ..... What's this?" she asked, pointing at a trace on the screen. "That, is, or rather was, the destination of the four from Orpk's, or at least we thought so. The transporter trace pinpointed the merchant vessel's cargo hold. Colonel DΓΊpin sent the Maracanda out to block her departure. Apparently, whoever they were, knew how to evade detection. We're assuming that once they realised Security were involved, they transported off the 'base and into the Merchants cargo hold, then from there to their own ship before the transport was completed," "Risky move..." Milyanov commented, the others silently agreeing, "... Security have questioned the merchant vessel's Master, he had no inkling that his ship had been used to aid an escape," "So why wasn't the merchant vessel moored as per regulations?" Calli asked, remembering that the merchant was docked but had not secured any external power or umbilicus to allow crew off and on without the need to pass through an airlock. "Apparently some dispute between the ships Master and the Dockmaster. They left here two weeks ago without submitting their docking and mooring fees. Our dockmaster was refusing external facilities until the man had paid up," Blakus replied. "How long before the Raven can be underway?" Valente asked. "Two, three weeks," Milyanov said with a shrug. "Can we use your office...?" Calli asked Milyanov, both he and Blakus nodded and she led the way, closing the door after the two men had entered, "... I've been recalled to Intelligence," she said simply. "You're leaving?" the Engineer commented, clearly as surprised as Andae. "Given that the Section Admiral is still out on mission, and Carl is unavailable, Admiral Lemond has taken over the investigation into the Pirates, Colonel DΓΊpin agrees with her..." she said, "... I did ask about the Raven being included and given we have proved useful to Intelligence in the past, she agrees that we can be of help, but the investigation is to be run through her Division," "But why recall you, surely you can be of as much help regardless of your assignment status?" Milyanov commented. I think she's just making sure we have everything covered, my recall is temporary, but she believes I will have more weight behind me if I'm back with Intelligence, rather than Seconneded here," she shrugged. "So what's next?" Milyanov asked. Well, thankfully, we managed to do something Command couldn't: we tracked the transport off the Starbase. One thing is for sure, I won't complain about technicians testing out newly installed equipment again. If they hadn't been field-testing using transporter buoys, we might never have known the Pirates actually left the 'base. Pure luck we caught it, and I'm pretty sure Lemond has already given instructions to have all short-range sensors on the base upgraded." "That still leaves us with finding them," Blakus said, stifling a yawn. "Their leader, a Yettho named Rallos ....." "A Yattho?" Andae repeated. "It's been confirmed that the people who kidnapped Lemond and her Adjutant, and the ones in Orpk's, are one and the same...!" Valente reported, still worried for Carl and Sean's wellbeing, "... Andae, Lemond has authorised you to use any personnel and resources you need to aid the investigation, but all reports from here on in go through the Intelligence Division desks. She wanted me to make it clear that the priority regarding the Raven, is the refit and upgrades be expedited with all due haste," "Commander, if you can go over the trace again, see if there is anything we might have missed the first or second time around..." Blakus instructed Milyanov, "... You look a mess," he said to Calli with a grin. "I'm going for a shower, something to eat, and a change of clothes. The thought that that conniving Ferengi has had his hands on what I have on gives me shivers," she left the two men and headed out of Engineering .......... :: OOC ::
The investigation into the Pirates will continue on its dedicated thread
Which will now be moved to the Intelligence Board
Designated 011 : Pirates
~ All other Raven Shore Leave will be posed as usual ~
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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 Nov 16, 2021 23:41:18 GMT
Calli's quarters ... USS Raven-C Beta Docking Arm Starbase Forty-Seven :: Given what happened last time she stayed in her assigned quarters on the Starbase, Calli was, understandably, wary about staying there for a second night. She had met with Admiral Lemond as arranged, and the group had gone through what additional information they had managed to gather on the Pirates and their continuing exploits. Not though, they were wanted in connection with several murders, and at least four kidnappings, those of Admiral Lemond and her Adjutant, Calli Valente, albeit unsuccessful, and now the Ferengi, Qal ..... She had been in bed for at least two hours, yet sleep eluded her. Finally, she realised what was keeping her awake. She climbed out of bed and sat at her desk before activating the screen: "Computer .. Open a secure subspace communication. Authorisation: Valente-Alpha-Zero-Two-Omega. Delete all records of this communication once ended." "Please state destination.""Elise Sharp .. Current location .. San Francisco .. Earth .. Home of Fleet Admiral Carl Torek." "Opening secure subspace communication ..." the computer said, falling silent as the request was actioned. A moment later Elise appeared on the screen, Calli realised she had woken her: =^= .. .. Calli? .. ..
"Hi Elise, I'm sorry, I didn't realise the time, how's Earth treating you?"
"Whats happened, is it Carl?"
"Listen, I'm not supposed to be contacting you ... There was an incident, a Ferengi named Qal kidnapped me, well, kidnapped might be too strong a word, but anyway, he took me to Beta Promenade. He said he was the brother of the owner, Orpk, he was looking for something and needed me to get him in, and presumably, out ... Unfortunately, Sean had been speaking to Carl about something he had found out."
"How's Carl, is he hurt?" Elise asked, trying to stay calm.
"While we, Qal and me, were in the bar, Qal was lost his patience and hit me. Sean, ever the knight in shining armour, was about to stop the Ferengi from hitting me again when three other people turned up, the ones that had taken Admiral Lemond and her Adjutant ... There was some shooting, Sean and Carl were both hit," she could see Elise' face going paler by the second, Calli watched as she looked around, checking the girls weren't about to walk in on the conversation, then turn back to the screen:
"Calli, my patience is wearing thin," Elise said finally.
"OK ... Look, they are both alive and Doctor Yalo is confident they will both make full recoveries, they were hit by some kind of neural disruptor weapon the Doctor thinks ... Sean is already showing signs of improvement, but Yalo had to put them in induced coma's ... Whatever weapon they were hit by disrupted every synapse in their bodies, the only way to allow their recovery was to cut out any physical means for them to suddenly awaken,"
"I'll book transport home righ ......"
"No, there's no need for you to come rushing home, they are in good hands and as I said, recovering, albeit slowly. besides, if you suddenly cancel your schedule Bethan and Vanessa will surely know something is up,"
"Alright, I'll stay here, attend the conference. I'm not going to tell anyone we have spoken, but I would like an update, once a day will be good. Do you think you could do that for me?"
"Of course I can, I promise, and as I said, it looked bad at first, but Medical is working hard, he'll be fine," else was quiet for a few moments, then spoke:
"You know, I think that he's half hoping that the Education Executive will offer me a position here, on Earth,"
"Really ... you'd be happy living on Earth, no more Starfleet, no more Raven?"
"Between you and me ... Yes ... I'd jump at it, but he's Starfleet through and through, nothing's going to prise him out of that seat of his," Elise said with a shrug of resignation.
"He's done his time, and more Elise ... He deserves to be able to have some security, see his children grow up, not to mention, GET MARRIED!"
"HA ... I have the feeling the only way he's walking down the aisle would be with four insane Klingons dragging him between them," Elise said, making both of them laugh.
"Hey, you never know, he might just surprise you one day," Calli said, hearing a voice in the background, then Bethan appeared on the screen:
"Hiya Calli, hey, you should come here, we've been swimming at the Yacht Club, tomorrow we're going to the Fair, if Mum can get out of her guest appearance early enough,"
"Lucky for some," Calli said with a smile.
"Right, come on, back to bed young lady, and no more reading, say goodnight to Calli,"
"Night night Calli, Love and hugs,"
"Night sweetheart, see you soon," Bethan kissed Elise then wandered off back to bed.
"I'll be back in a moment," Elise said.
"No, I have to go anyway, I'll contact you soon, OK?" .. .. =^= Elise nodded then walked away with Bethan. Calli closed the Comm, and leaned back. She sat in the chair for another hour before returning to her bed to try to get at least 'some' sleep before morning finally arrived .........
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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 Nov 17, 2021 20:47:37 GMT
Blakus looked with satisfaction upon the continuing works being shown on the small screen, the view changing from matter injector to antimatter injector assembly, from deuterium tank cradle for impulse power and warp fuel reserve to port nacelle control at the head of the warp coils. From the latter the last maintenance team were withdrawing, the final series of coils buffed up, replaced or simply taken out and left that way - the Sovereign class didn't need them all and had plenty of spare capacity. As the last climbed off the ladder and left the chamber, giving a thumps up to where they knew the surveillance cam to be, Blakus got up from the pool table and signalled to Milyanov.
"Ready for warp engine static test!" Milyanov called out, "All engineering staff to stations. Designated maintenance personnel to monitor." Six maintenance techs - engineering specialists - passed them and took up position around the warp core.
"Ensign, program an arbitrary heading. Warp factor seven when you're ready," Blakus requested.
The screen's display had been locked so as to give a continuous view of the nacelle control room. As the nearest tech confirmed the intermix stability and Andae looked at the pulsating core - as always mildly alarmed at the prospect of a warp jump inside the Starbase dome - the ship's chassis began to rattle around them. A mighty vibration propagated through the ship from somewhere towards aft, an awesome chord rang out through the deck-plates as if a dagger had been unsheathed, metal against metal. From outside the ship and in the dock opposite, bystanders stood astounded as the vessel seemed to crouch, lowering its bow and rising on the hind legs of its nacelles which glowed with an expectant fury.
A harsh voice was crying out. Something registered in Blakus's senses as he heard Milyanov's voice, "Ok, ok, shut it down!"
Blakus's hands played over the pool table console, already running diagnostics. The ship relaxed from its tensed posture, winding down as it again took up repose in its mooring.
"Done, sir," the ensign controlling the engines reported. Andae glanced up at the viewer showing the nacelle control room - the place had filled with coolant that'd already put out a small electrical fire and drowned out the smoke now being dispersed by the ventilation system.
Milyanov was calling up the warp core to the team at the matter injector interface, asking what'd happened. The team had an excuse ready, though it appeared the problem lay towards the end of the system: two of the seven new warp coils had burnt out completely. "They're supposed to be freshly replicated," Andae commented.
The maintenance techs were quick to apologise, even though they couldn't have had anything to do with the fabrication process. As for the vibration throughout the vessel - which had been more the cause of alarm for Blakus and Milyanov - it emerged the antimatter storage control rig hadn't been properly secured in its cradle.
Ordering the techs to keep working on it and putting Tinsley over them, Andae returned to the base and Beta promenade, with Milyanov and one of his modified tricorders. Soon they were in Orpk's and running a new series of scans to complement the inconclusive though mildly intriguing data registered earlier.
"There it is, the same reading," Milyanov waved the tricorder in front of a cocktail bar, "Inexplicable. You wouldn't find this just anywhere on the Starbase, that's for sure." Looking over his shoulder, Andae asked the engineer to adjust the device to scan for tetryons. "What good would that do? There's no evidence of a subspace distortion... Ah, wait, there's a stream of pi mesons coming from..."
Milyanov had rounded the bar and swung open the cabinet door, revealing glasses and beers in brown bottles, "From in here..." He pressed against the back of the cabinet and it duly gave way - within the bulkhead and in the midst of a power conduit was a small device masquerading as a capacitor for bioneural circuitry.
"What is it?"
"We believe it's what has been causing the timeloops, temporal distortions, on Alpha promenade and elsewhere on the base."
"And you just took it?"
"I'm going to hand it in to Intelligence eventually," Andae responded, "But here seems as good a place as any to run a detailed scan."
The device hung suspended in a magnetic field on a console in the science lab, Svensson sighing in acknowledgement and leaning in for a closer look. It appeared that either Orpk or his brother had, intentionally or otherwise, booby-trapped the Starbase with this machine. Despite the apparent danger posed by the thing, it hadn't proven lethal in the time it'd gone undiscovered, though clearly it'd been seen and activated some time recently. It may have been what the intruders in the bar had been searching for... Had they sold it to Orpk and had been attempting to reclaim it, or had Orpk or his brother perhaps stolen it?
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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 Nov 17, 2021 22:13:16 GMT
Dock Obsercation Lounge ... Level Two Six Zero :: Calli had been informed that the latest search of Orpk's Emporium was complete, As per his purview, Andae Blakus had retrieved a piece of unknown technology and had taken it back to the Raven for further examination ..... Calli was heading to the Raven when she was told that the Bolian Transport David Tan and Elana DeLuca had hitched a lift from Betazed, was docking that morning, so she had decided to meet the Transport herself. Iorte Clancy had been on a short-term assignment and was also due back the same day, but several hours after the Bolian was due. She watched as two tugs tractored the Bolian Transport to a lower Docking Port ready to undergo inspection prior to off-loading their cargo, while passengers were cleared as they left the ship. She stood as she saw David and Elana: "Welcome back, how was Batazed?" she asked, receiving a hug from DeLuca then the same from David. "Too bloody warm..." David said, dropping his bag to the deck, "... I hear there's been some excitement while we were away, I hear Carl and Sean were injured?" "Yes, they were trying to help me after I was kidnapped by a Ferengi..." she stopped when Elana tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh, "... Laugh it up why don't you .... Anyway, Admiral Lemond wants you both brought up to speed on the situation, Erin Paquin is arranging for someone to meet Iorte once his transport docks, I was heading for the Raven, you might as well come with," Tan agreed, he looked around for a moment then took Elana's bag off her, placing it on top of his own he waved to a passing Steward: "Please have these bags taken to the Command Center," "Aye Sir," the man said, taking both bags and vanishing among the crowd. They walked around the Observation Lounge then stepped onto one of the multitudes of escalators, slowly limbing up to the level where they could use the access umbilicus to enter the Raven ..... USS Raven-C Beta Docking Arm Starbase Forty-Seven :: "Computer .. Location of Commander blakus?" Calli asked as they entered the ship. 'Commander Blakus is on Deck Seven .. Primary Science Lab'The three of them made their way to Deck Seven, David commented on how long it had been since he was aboard the Raven, it was only the 'B' then he remembered, 'Sovereign Class' very nice he commented as they walked. They used a turbolift to rise to Deck Seven and stepped out. They could see Andae already in conversation with several people. "And you just took it?" "I'm going to hand it in to Intelligence eventually..." they heard Andae saying, "... But here seems as good a place as any to run a detailed scan," he finished as Jor Svensson nodded in their direction. Blakus turned, somewhat surprised to see David Tan and Elena DeLuca stood with Calli. He walked over, and they exchanged greetings. "So what is it?" Tan asked. "It is possible that it is connected to the anomalous events we have been experiencing for the last couple of days," the Chief Science Officer informed the man. In turn, David had no clue as to what the Lieutenant was saying either. "Any more news about Carl and Sean Andae asked as he led them away from Svensson, who was already giving instructions to several of his team. "Sean finally woke up yesterday after Doctor Yalo took them both off the medication keeping them unconscious. There's no change so far with Carl, but the Doctor doesn't seem worried, their neural pathways were practically fried by whatever hit them. Sean woke first, but it could as easily have been Carl, so we're still waiting. Sean is still trying to remaster basic motor function, but is responsive," "Good to hear," Elena commented as they entered Svensson's office and closed the door. "We have to stop these people..." Calli said, matter-of-factly, "... They shot two people with clearly no thought for their survival, We know Rallos, the Albino, killed one of his associates out of hand ..... In my opinion, it was more luck than preplanning that people from the Maracand were already in situ, or we could be holding funeral services for Admiral Lemond and Commander Paquin too," "So this is an Intelligence assignment now?" Elana asked. "Yes ..... With the Section Admiral away, and Carl incapacitated, she took it over ..." Calli informed them, "... I've been recalled for the duration, and she has given the Raven a free hand to investigate how Andae see fit," "I'm assuming Kara is with Sean, what about Elise, is she with Carl?" "No, Elise had taken the girls with her to Earth a few days earlier for a Head Teacher conference," Valente, said. "So she doesn't know?" David asked. Calli hesitated for a long moment. She knew full well that Andae was aware of Lemond's instructions not to contact Carl's partner. "I told her last night..." she said, waiting for Blakus to comment, "... She's staying on Earth, the conference is due to finish in a few days, and they will stay on in San Francisco for a week's holiday. Hopefully, there will be some goon news by then," the conversation continued, and apart from the smallest of glances from Andae, her disobeying of a direct order was not commented on then, or anytime in the future. "OK, so from the Raven's point of view, you are going to be primerily lookinh into whatever that is, and what it has to do with the kidnappings anfd attacks on Carl and Sean...? Blakus nodded, making it clear that he would be keeping up with the Intelligence investigation. David welcomed the help, "... It's clear Elena and I need to do some catching up. Iorte is hopefully due back on the Starbase sometime later today, unless there have been issues and he's detained. We'll do some reading, let's meet in O'Tooles at say, twenty-one-hundred, we can use the back room?" Tan suggested. With everyone agreeing to the meeting, they left the office, "I'll see you off," Cali said, with a glance at Blakus as he walked back over to Svensson and the mysterious device suspended in the magnatic field ..........
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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: 6,165
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Post by Carl Torek on Nov 19, 2021 19:10:05 GMT
Level Fifty Six ... Alpha Medical Center :: He had no idea how long he had been unconscious ..... Something within him vaguely remembered being shot by some form of phased weapon, but everything after that had been pain, agony upon agony until his mind had taken control and closed down all sensory input from his body. There had been an unknown period of time before he finally began to 'feel' once again. He remembered once, as a child of six, he got what his parents had called 'pins and needles' after sitting with one leg beneath him for some time, somewhere within him it brought back memories of that childhood. He could hear now, taste, smell, as his senses were allowed to expand. He could feel when someone moved a bedsheet. Finally, with immense concentration, he moved his hand, then open his eyes. The ceiling was white, whiter than white ..... "Hello .....?" he croaked, his throat as dry as a desert. someone appeared above him, raising his head to allow him to sip from the cup, the ice-cold liquid ran around his mouth and down into his dry throat. Leaning forward he took several more sips then lay back. The woman was quickly replaced by an elderly gentleman, who introduced himself as a Doctor, a Neurologist. He couldn't remember what a neurologist was, or why he would be here. The man spoke incessantly while running several tests in which he was required to reply, Seemingly satisfied, the man wished him well, then vanished from sight as quickly as he had appeared. Another face appeared: "Ah, the nurse said you had woken up, how are we feeling?" this one asked, checking something above his head. "We.....?" he asked, soliciting a laugh from the man. "Do you remember me?" the man asked. "No, erm, should I?" "Not to worry, it will come back to you I'm sure. Your friend was released yesterday, he's resting in his quarters, and hopefully, we'll be able to get you out of here sooner than later," he said, handing the newly returned woman something, the same one, he was sure, that had given him a drink. Then he went the way of the other man ..... He looked around the room, seeing a second bed, presumably the one his friend, my friend, had occupied, he thought, frowning. Everything seemed to him so sterile, so functional. He watched as the woman straightened the sheets covering him, his eyes moving to the windows where he could see other people. They all seemed so busy, with no time to rest, so busy, busy. The woman put a small device on his bed beside him: "If you need anything just press, and I'll come running," she said before leaving the room ..... Now, alone, he again took in the room, the devices, the equipment, all so, functional. He tried to remember why he was here, why people were coming, going, talking to him as if they were friends, or was that acquaintences, he didn't know or couldn't remembe, but he was sure he didn't know these people, or why he was here. He could feel the fear rising within his mind, he reached for the device and pressed, then again. The woman, the man called 'nurse' came back, a smile on her face. "That was quick, what can I do for you, Admiral?" "Admiral?" he repeated, his frown deepening. "Yes," she said, the smile faltering for a fraction of a fraction, of a second, before returning. "My name is, Admiral?" he asked. "No, Admiral is your rank, Fleet Admiral actually..." she said, taking the small device he had used, before pressing it herself, "... Your name is Carl ... Carl Torek ... Remember?" "Carl Torek, that's my name...?" he repeated, something deep in his subconscious alerting him to the fact he knew the name, but he was struggling to remember where from, "... Carl Torek," he repeated, knowing it somehow sounded right. "Good, it looks like you may have suffered some temporary memory loss, but if you can remember who you are then that's a good start," she said as the other man came in. They moved off to one side, talking in whispers before returning to his bedside. The man, introducing himself as a Doctor named Yalo, asked him numerous questions, he had no clue as to how many he had answered correctly, or how many wrongly, and the Doctor didn't seem inclined to enlighten him either way. "..... OK ....." Yalo said, taking a small metallic cylinder off a nearby tray. 'Carl' watched him closely, thinking it might be important to do so. The doctor leaned forward and placed the cylinder against his throat, and Carl felt something cold touch his skin, the cold sensation lingered briefly before he could no longer feel it at all, "... I've given you a mild sedative to help you back to sleep, and we'll check on you in the morning," he said, nodding to the woman before leaving once again. He wanted to ask questions, but sudden tiredness enveloped him like a warm, welcoming blanket. His eyes closed and he fell into a deep restful sleep ..........
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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: 6,165
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Post by Carl Torek on Nov 21, 2021 17:49:23 GMT
Level Fifty Six ... Alpha Medical Center :: The next morning, as promised, the Doctor he had spoken to the day before, arrived shortly after he had eaten breakfast ..... The next few hours were spent conducting seemingly test after test, and when the Doctor had to leave, one of the Staff substituted, this time it was a Marine Captain, Rachael Plath, a qualified Field Medic and instructor at the Marine Training Barracks, but her primary field of expertise, was Post Traumatic Stress, and while he hadn't actually suffered from the syndrome, the loss of memory, and disruption to what the Doctor had called his, normal working environment, resulted in similar symptoms. Having been left alone to have lunch in peace, he was surprised to get a visit from Calli. They spoke while he ate and she updated him as best she could on several topics, the main one being the status of the people who had shot him and Sean days earlier. Even though the Raven had picked up the initial transport from Orpk's to the moored vessel, it hadn't picked up the second, almost simultaneous transport to an unknown location. Even though frustrated, he didn't show it as he picked out another piece of melon off his plate. He asked about Elise and the girls, Calli said she had spoken to Elise, despite offers not to, and had persuaded her to return to the Starbase immediately given the induced coma. They had spoken again after Elise contacted her saying the conference was over. Calli had persuaded her that now that Carl was out of danger, and being released in a day or two, they should stay for another couple of days and then return, the delay would ensure the children wouldn't question the sudden change of plans. Reluctantly, Elise had agreed, providing she could speak to him herself, Calli had made arrangements for the subspace communication and got up to leave him alone to talk with his FiancΓ©e, Bethan and Vanessa spoke to their father for a short time then reminded their Mother that they were supposed to be going to the Fair on Marina Green. All too soon, Captain Plath entered his room: =^= I have to go .. My torturer has returned with fresh horrors for me to endure =^= he said with a wry grin. =^= Don't let me find out you're being uncooperative .. Or else .. .. Love you =^= Elise said, closing the communication. With an exaggerated sigh, he held out his arms in dramatic fashion and said he surrendered. "Is he always like this?" the Marine asked Calli. "You get used to it..." Valente said with a smile, "... Doctor Yalo informed me that you would need someone to escort you to your quarters once he signs off on your release. I'll be back at sixteen hundred. Try not to annoy anyone," she said, leaving. The time passed so quickly, that he was sure Calli had only left moments before when she tapped on the window. Captain Plath waved her in and informed her that Doctor Yalo was more than satisfied with his recovery, and the fact that his memory was returning much faster than expected. He was being released 'light duties only' until she could have a follow-up interview with him in three days' time. Calli threw a bag on the bed, containing fresh clothes and Carl headed for the bathroom to shower, shave and dress ..... When he came out Captain Plath ran through a list of do's and dont's before placing her thumb on the biometric reader of his Medical Record to authorise his discharge. Calli grabbed his bag, despite his objections, and they left the Medical Center ..... They walked down the wide corridor towards a bank of turbolifts ..... Carl leaned on the wall of the lift as he gave a destination: "Computer. Cancel the last destination..." Calli ordered, giving him a no-nonsense look, "... Level one four zero four ... Section 'B' ..." she instructed, raising her eyebrows at him as the turbolift began its journey, she watched Carl for any reaction. But they both knew full well, that a condition of his release was that he returned to their suite on the Starbase, and 'NOT' to the USS Raven-C. She did, however, inform him that Andae had spoken to Captain Stephenson, the Head of Fleet Engineering, to arrange for treble shifts to try to reduce Raven's refit time to a week or less. But that was as much as she was saying, and he knew better than to ask. Entering the Torek's Suite, she took the bag she had been carrying into the bedroom then went over to the replicator in the kitchen area. She ordered two coffee's and waited while they materialised. Carl had walked over to the plush leather wing-back chair he had been gifted by his Stepfather Admiral Tetsutaro, and lowered himself, he closed his eyes, the memory of his being shot rushing back into his mind for a moment, but Plath had told him this could happen, and that the memory would cease to linger as his mind learned to cope. Clli handed him his coffee then took a sip of hers. "I hear your secondment has been revoked," he said. "Temporarily, yes, but it won't keep me from looking in on you..." she replied, seeing his eyes already beginning to succumb to tiredness, "... In fact, there's a couple of things I need to see to. I'll be back around twenty-one hundred, we'll have a late supper then you can get an early night," she said, returning her half drank coffee to the replicator. "Yes, Mummy," he said with a grin. "Well if my company is unwanted, I can always let Captain Plath know that she needs to check up on you?" Calli said, her face expressionless. "Twenty one hundred, don't be late," Carl said, feigning a shudder at the mention of the Marine Psychiatrist. Calli leaned forward and kissed him gently on the forehead, then turned and left. For a second outside the suite, she pondered overriding the security access to lock Carl in, but on second thoughts, he may not enjoy the joke, today at least. With a shrug, she headed for the turbolift and then up to the Command Center for a progress report ..........
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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 Nov 22, 2021 23:23:13 GMT
Andae glanced at the device and back at his tricorder, the latest round of tests once more coming up inconclusive, though they were at least sure now that this was what'd been causing the temporal distortions. Not because they'd managed to discern something about the object, but simply because since the device had been brought to the Raven no more time loops, spatial displacements or similar phenomena had been reported. Something about the device being on the ship rather than the base, even though the former was docked to the latter, was preventing the anomalies. Blakus did wonder though how long it would be before a distortion formed on the Raven.
He'd felt able to leave Milyanov with overall responsibility for overseeing the maintenance work - knowing the engineer would report to him or Calli should a problem arise - now that the shifts had been tripled and the work would progress hopefully three times as fast. Captain Stephenson had been helpful in that regard, though Blakus didn't wish to do much more string pulling; it didn't become an officer to resort to what'd been borderline sycophancy...
"Hmm, let's try adjusting the scanner frequency to scan for tetryons," Svensson suggested, arms folded with fingers tapping his chin.
"We did that. It was how the device was detected in the first place."
"Really? And this is the first time I'm hearing of it..."
"I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I thought Milyanov had told you." He and Milyanov had been back on the ship for over three days; if Milyanov had forgotten once he would keep forgetting, believing he'd already told Svensson everything he needed to know. It was well known the acting CEO and the science officer didn't get on well, and their trying time on the machine station - where both had led the different sides or factions - had accentuated that, even if machine entities had seized control of their consciousnesses and bodies.
"No matter," Svensson said and went back to his scans.
They couldn't deduce how the device worked; it was only clear that it was certainly responsible for the distortions. Andae remembered who was likely responsible. He headed for a master console in the lab and had himself patched through to the Starbase. =/\=Route me to an operations or science officer,=/\= he asked of an operator. =/\=Ops officer in Command Centre, this is the USS Raven. If you would, please scan the four promenades for Ferengi biosignatures.=/\=
=/\=Aye, USS Raven... Well, if you don't mind, we are already keeping tabs on that. A new full scan takes five minutes, but I can tell you that as of 15 minutes ago 35 Ferengi were present. I believe I know what you are wanting to ask... There's no way for us to distinguish whether the Ferengi believed to be Orpk's brother is present. Presumably, or if I had to guess, I would say he is still with his captors, somewhere off the Starbase.=/\=
Andae acknowledged and closed the channel, murmuring to himself. Of course, he didn't know that the Command Centre was focussing mainly on Beta promenade... A maintenance team entered and headed for an empty space with a series of small holes in the floor. Then through the door came a mag gurney with a new console balanced precariously on its too small upper surface. The trio began installing the console while Blakus checked progress with Milyanov.
A day earlier...
Iorte managed to get himself to the helm, surveying the heading, relative/approach velocity and amount of thruster propellant remaining, before he was torn away again and had to suffer another series of blows to the abdomen. Grunting, he allowed himself to replay in his mind what he'd seen: the craft was coming in too shallow and too fast.
"If... you want... to survive!" he bellowed as the Nausicaan continued to strike him, the Vulcan and the Ktarian mercenaries either side holding his arms back to give the Nausicaan choice over which part of the epidermis to bruise; the Nausicaan grinned toothily at Iorte as he went on, "Want to... survive... let me... take the helm!" he roared and shook free the Ktarian's grasp on his right wrist and delivered a sharp upper cut to the Nausicaan's chin. His assailant went down in a heap, groggy, then wholly unconscious, and he leapt towards the helm.
Thinking quickly, Iorte raised a forcefield between his console and the rest of the bridge. It would take the Vulcan and Ktarian a few crucial minutes to deactivate it and try to prevent their effective rescue. Clancy ignored their threats and looked forward, bringing the craft with its illegal cargo in more steeply, thereby correcting its angle of attack. However, the ship was still going too fast, and thruster propellant was too low to slow it sufficiently. Iorte would slew the ship around, but rotational thrusters too were almost out.
"Dockmaster, this is the independent trading vessel Morocco, we're coming in, 90 metres per second! If you can, activate a tractor beam, I'll do the rest!"
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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 Nov 23, 2021 22:39:17 GMT
Conference Room Two ... Level Eight Command Center Mezzanine Level :: Calli had spent most of the day running through the scant surveillance footage they had managed to get from outside Orpk's Emporium .... She had already gone back almost a month when the aching in her neck got the better of her. Normally computers would seek out who she was looking for, but for some unexplained reason, the images seemed 'blurred' or distorted .... Standing, she walked to the door of the Conference Room and looked around for someone who didn't seem too busy, then asked him to continue checking the mass of footage. She had already set a second monitor to display the images, or what she hoped were the images, of the people involved in the shooting of Sean and Carl, so all the man had to do was look for faces. Stretching the ache out of her back, she walked to the break-out area next to the conference room and requested a coffee from the replicator. Deciding that sitting here would likely be as bad as sitting scanning security footage, she instead walked to the railing overlooking the Main Floor. Suddenly several alarms began to sound at once ..... People on the Main Floor renewed their concentration and she could see the massive suspended viewscreens change what they had been displaying a second earlier. Now, as proximity alarms added themselves to the cacophony she could see a small vessel approaching the Starbase and immediately knew that it was the cause of the sudden high-level concern. People on the floor were giving orders in a calm but prompt manner as Erik Helgesen, the Cheif of Starbase Operations, and Theo DΓΊpin, the Acting Head of Security all-but ran from one of the turbolifts ..... "Report!" Helgesen demanded. "Small vessel approaching, trajectory puts it at a twenty-six-degree angle to the Dome, and above us. At its current angle and velocity of approach, it will impact the Dome in Section Gamma, approximately four hundred metres from Beta Spacedoors," "Raise shields and bring the defensive phasers online," DΓΊpin ordered. "Sir, the ships approach vector is fluctuating, as if thrusters are firing independently of each other," Sir, they are trying to contact us..." someone informed Helgesen and DΓΊpin as Calli looked on from above. =^= Dockmaster .. This is the independent trading vessel Morocco .. We're coming in .. Ninety metres per second! .. If you can .. Activate a tractor beam .. I'll do the rest .. .. .. =^= "Sir, The comm has shut down ..." Lieutenant Dorm informed them from Communications, "... Trying to reestablish ....." "Lieutenant. Inform the Dockmaster that we will bring the vessel in. He is to evacuate the Beta Docking Section of all non-essential personnel ... Instruct him that we will have Security standing by... Bring the Domes upper tractor array's online, let try to grab that thing before it punches a hole in our recently repairs Dome shall we?" the Norwegian, Helgesen instructed. "Why were we so late in picking that ship up!?" DΓΊpin asked. "Up until two minutes ago it was going to pass us with room to spare Colonel, it hadn't requested docking or approach authorisation, so we noted it as passing traffic. Then it made two erratic course changes in succession, the result being it was on a collision course, Sir we're locking a tractor beam on it now, but sensors show its structural integrity is failing, we might rip the thing apart if we're not careful," "Then 'be' careful Mister..." Erik said, before adding, "... Engage tractors at sixty percent, to begin with," She watched from the Mezzanine walkway as a tractor beam reached out to caress the onrushing vessel, but it barely slowed its headlong dive towards the Dome. Helgesen instructed tractor control to increase to eighty, then one hundred percent, to no avail ..... A second beam crossed the darkness and took hold of the ship which, was now trying to tear itself apart. Slowly though, its approach velocity began to diminish: "Eighty metres per second..."
"Seventy metres per second..."
"Sixty metres per second..."
"Forty-five metres per second ....." "Beta Spacedoors opening ..... Fire suppression systems online ....." Calli watched, almost mesmerised as the vessel got closer, but still much too fast to survive an impact with the Dock, and if that ship exploded it would very likely take the Starbase with it! "Lock phasers. If we cannot slow it to sub twenty metres per second then we'll have no option but to destroy it before it can impact the Dome," DΓΊpin ordered. Everyone knew he was right, but the thought of having to take lives so dispassionately forced everyone into silence as the ship continued its approach. Then they could see thrusters firing on the ship, Port, Starboard, then Ventral and the craft altered course enough to pass through the enormous Spacedoors. Secondary tractors clamped onto the vessel as it passed over the threshold. but despite all efforts, it slammed into the Dock at eight metres per second. Enough inertia to damage both ship and Dock, there was an audible grinding of metal before complete silence as the vessel began to roll almost lazily to Port and pitch nose down ..... Despite 'their' efforts, it was evident that whoever had been at the Helm during the approach had been working hard to ensure that the impact, which Helgesen believed the Pilot knew was inevitable, was reduced as much as the vessels drive systems would allow. That said, everyone knew that such an impact didn't go without a cost and that usually meant injuries, or worse! =^= Command to Dockmaster .. Emergency Services and Medical en route .. Have tugs stem the pitch and roll =^= =^= Aye! .. Calm ya'selves d'oon, I'm already on it =^= 'Jock' Reekie replied, barking instructions in his broad Scots accent .......... < Tag :: Iorte / All >
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,165
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Post by Carl Torek on Nov 25, 2021 22:27:51 GMT
Torek Family Quarters ... Suite twenty-two Level one four zero four Starbase Forty-seven :: Carl had spent the next hour after Calli had left to catch up on some reading ..... Three times in that hour he had been forced to turn back several pages unable to remember what had happened. Frustration had got the better of him and he had thrown the book against the wall twice so far. Picking the book up yet again, he placed it on the arm of his chair and went to the replicator for coffee. He sat back down, picked up the book, and began reading again ... The Doctor had told him that residual memory loss was expected, but he expected it to subside completely in the next few days, thus the 'restricted duty' stipulation. Sipping at the hot coffee he grinned, realising he had managed over a dozen pages without having to backtrack. Spurred on, he continued reading and the next time he checked it was already past twenty-hundred hours. Folding over the corner of the page he headed for a shower and change of clothes. Calli arrived at twenty-one hundred, and despite instructions to avoid alcohol, she was carrying two bottles of wine Kara Devlin had given her, and two of the O'Tooles bar staff, one pushing a hot service trolley... He stepped back, allowing the three to enter, and watched as NΓ©ve and OrlΓ‘ set the table before retrieving the food from the trolley. He raised his eyebrows to Calli, who explained that she wasn't risking his cooking given his 'memory' issues. Having finished setting, the girls left. Calli opened the first bottle and poured two glasses, and after a toast, they sat down to eat. The night went really well, it had been a while since she ad sat down with Carl, and they both enjoyed reminiscing about earlier days. Their meal finished, she told Carl to go sit down while she placed the empty dishes in the hot trolley then sat beside him. They finished the second bottle at around midnight and continued to talk into the early hours. She was in the middle of telling Carl something when she realised he was fast asleep ..... Rising, she went to the bedroom and took a blanket out of the cupboard. In the living area, she took Carl's glass away then draped the blanket over him. At the door she manually lowered the lighting by eighty percent, then with a last look to make sure Carl was alright, she left. Following Morning :: He knew he had a headache even before he opened his eyes ..... He remained on the settee for a few moments, the memories of the night before bringing a smile to his face ... He and Calli had been officially welcomed into Sato Tetsutaro's Family when they were younger and fresh to Starfleet, and most of the night had been spent talking about Sato, his Family, the house in Geneva, and Tetsutaro's official home in Tokyo. But they had talked about other things too, including friends and Carl's Family: Elise, Bethan, and Vanessa. Both girls had been officially adopted by Carl years earlier, There were sad recollections: Bethan was his previous partner's daughter, her mother had been killed in the line of duty, and Vanessa was Scott McLean's daughter, who had suffered a massive nervous breakdown, Scott had been confined to a Sanatorium and had passed away several years ago. But there were bright thoughts too: Mainly talk of the wedding had come up, and they remembered with sadness that Sato would have been performing the ceremony had he still been with us. The wedding had for obvious reasons been postponed after Betreka, but now, the girls were 'hinting' they set a date once again. Finally, he got up, folding up the blanket, and headed for the bedroom and a shower ..... Back in the living area, he walked over to the replicator, a hand-written note was on the pad: Lovely night, Enjoy Breakfast. No heart attack on a plate ~ Doctors orders x Shaking his head, he ordered using his code for his breakfast, then grinned as his request materialised: A Full English: Bacon, fried eggs, baked beans, sausages, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, hash brown, toast and coffee ..........
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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: 6,165
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Post by Carl Torek on Nov 27, 2021 0:53:32 GMT
Torek Family Quarters :: He had fully enjoyed his breakfast, possibly the last he would get to savour once Elise was back ..... He cleared the plates. He had already decided to move back to the Raven but knew Calli would disapprove, and while she wouldn't go directly to Doctor Yalo to inform him of Carl's disobedience, she would undoubtedly find a way to 'slip' it into the conversation, purely for Carl's wellbeing, nothing more. So he planned not to mention his 'change of address' until the deed was done ..... After another coffee he went into the bedroom to dress ... There was a bag on the floor, he knew what was inside, the scorched remnants of the black crewneck jumper he had been wearing when he went to Orpk's. Without hesitation he plucked the bag from the floor and placed it on the replicators table: "Recycle," he instructed the device, which promptly complied. He was heading back to the bedroom when he noticed he had a message. Going to the desk he tapped the 'receive' tab and read, a smile forming. he dressed in Civilian clothing and left the suite ..... 18:30 hrs ... Gamma Docking Arm Observation Lounge :: Unusually for him, he was nervous ..... He was sat in the Observation Lounge overlooking the Gamma Docking Arm. He was almost an hour early despite checking the estimated time of arrival of the USS Tintagel, and he felt somewhat conspicuous by the fact he has sat alone, a bunch of roses in his hands. Anyone noticing, would have seen his eyes flicking between the massive Spacedoors, and the Information Board giving a running countdown on departure times of vessels leaving, and the ETA of several vessels currently en route to the Starbase. Finally, the announcement came that the USS Tintagel was on final approach. He got to his feet, roses held behind his back, and only then realised that it would take another ten minutes for the ship to approach, be handed over to the Dockmaster for remote piloting through the 'doors and birthing. Then there was Customs, so in reality, he had stood up a good thirty minutes early, but it didn't matter as he saw the Spacedoors slide away, and caught sight of the Galaxy Class USS Tintagel as the far off Sun glinted of her hull. Docking was always an intense time, the slightest error could cause untold problems, and he found himself wondering if Raven's numerous dockings were this slow. The ship came through the Spacedoors, which closed behind her, then thrusters, controlled by the Dockmaster, turned the ship and brought it so close to the transparent aluminium windows, Carl felt he could almost reach out and touch the hull. He heard but didn't hear numerous announcements, but kept his attention on the umbilicus walkways connecting the ship to the Starbase. Eventually, people began walking off the ship, each having their retina scanned by Starbase Security Officers as they exited. Finally, he heard a voice, and Bethan broke from the queue of people and ran to him. "DAADDYYYY!" she shouted leaping into his arms. Carl caught her mid-leap and was already walking towards the Security Officer that had run after her as she seemingly fled. He paused while the woman scanned Bethan's eyes and left, then he turned to see Vanessa and Elise. They had waited a few seconds for Bethan to hug her Father then as he lowered his youngest to the deck, they too put their arms around him. Elise kissed him warmly, despite the giggles from the two girls, finally breaking the kiss, Elise stood back but kept a hold of one hand as she mouthed "How are you?"He nodded, hoping that would be enough for the time being, but knowing that once Bethan and Vanessa were asleep, she would be asking questions, and would want answers. "Who's the flowers for Daddy?" Bethan asked with an Angelic smile. "Hmmm, well, I did get them for your mother..." he said, seeing the eleven-year-old begin to frown as if about to cry, he, like Elise and Vanessa, knew that she was playing on getting the flowers by the best means in her arsenal, and that was to make her father think she was upset, it usually got her whatever she wanted, within reason, "... But I think you deserve them for running to me first," he said, dropping to one knee to present them officially, she accepted the flowers with a precise curtsey before smelling the roses, eyes wide as she realised they were real. He plucked two from the bunch, handing one to Vanessa, and one to Elise. "Well..." Elise said, putting an arm around their eldest, "... At least we know where we stand, don't we?" she said, both pouting dramatically as Bethan agreed with them as she took her father's hand and led him away, the other two following. "Are we staying on the Starbase or the ship?" Elise asked though Carl was pretty sure she already knew the answer. "We're staying here, at least until Yalo releases me to go back to the Raven... Did you manage to eat on the Tintagel...?" he asked, Elise said they hadn't eaten since an early lunch, adding she was starving, "... Well, do you fancy getting something on the 'Base before we go to our quarters, or I could cook if you like? he asked. "You, cook...?" Elise replied, her eyes opening wide as if in shock as the girls burst out laughing, having sampled their fathers cooking, "... Let's get something here, I'd hate to have to put you to too much strain having to stand in front of that replicator to order, you know, after being stuck here for two weeks all alone," she said sympathetically while trying hard to keep a straight face. "Fine..." Carl said, looking at the girls, "... I'll have you know my beans on toast is known throughout the Galaxy, but id you'd prefer some other muck," he said, shrugging. Can we go see Sean and Kara," Bethen asked? "I think they will like a visit..." Carl said, seeing Elise give him a look, "... But you have to promise not to be too rowdy. Sean hasn't been too well, so he might be tired, OK?" "We won't," the two said, running ahead to the nearest bank of turbolifts. Elise took his hand, squeezing for a second. "Is Sean OK?" she asked quietly. "If you call having Kara and his Staff running around like headless chickens after him, then yes, he's fine," Carl said with a wry grin as they all stepped into the turbolift ..........
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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: 6,165
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Post by Carl Torek on Nov 28, 2021 20:53:45 GMT
They had spent an enjoyable evening with Sean and Kara, the girls loved them both and always liked visiting. Both San and Carl were surprised and released that each was recovering much faster than first expected ..... There was still no confirmation of the type of weapon that had been used on them, but it was clearly a variant of a pulse weapon, this one seemed to focus on disrupting the nervous system of that target. Both men knew how lucky they had been, speculating that the weapon used might have not been set on the highest level. Whether that was the case was yet to be seen if or when one of the weapons could be secured. They had left O'Tooles late, much later than expected, and once they returned to their suite the girls headed directly for bed, leaving Elise and Carl alone. She poured them both a cognac each then lowered the living area lighting before sitting down beside Carl. "How long before the Raven refit is completed, do you know?" she asked quietly. "A week, maybe a little more, but I hear Andae isn't sparing the proverbial rod, the Base Engineers look like they don't know what's hit them when he's around," the two laughed, knowing how hard a taskmaster Andae Blakus could be when warranted ..... That said, he did allow the ships Engineering Staff to take the time to do things right the first time, and as such, he had arranged for Raven Officers to follow up on anything completed by Starbase Staff 'before' signing off on the completed work. "Why?" he asked in reply to her query. "Oh, I was thinking that as part of your recovery, we could get away for a few days," "I'm still on restricted duties..." he said, sipping as the amber liquid in contemplation, "... But with the Raven in Dock, Gheskori out with the Enzio ....." he let the answer hang. "You've left the Starbase in Erik Helgesen's hands before," she said, and he nodded. Erik Helgesen was a former Fleet Captain, who had suffered severe injuries following an incident with Marauder Smugglers approximately six years ago now. His Starship was battered ceaselessly for three days by four of their Marauder Vessels and eventually was left almost lifeless and adrift. Had it not been for a survey vessel passing through the quadrant, they would have all perished... His recovery took over a year, but due to physical and mental issues, it was decided, jointly, that he step down from Command. He had reluctantly agreed on the condition Command don't put him out to pasture. So a suitable position was sought which reflected his rank, until he himself went to Command to request the role as Chief of Section Forty-Seven Operations, based aboard Starbase Forty-Seven, then located in the Betreka Star Cluster. The rest is alas, history ..... "Did you have anywhere in mind?" he asked, admitting to himself that a break might do him the world of good. "..... Erm ..... Risa?" Elise said innocently. "..... And the girls?" he asked, noncommittally. "They could come with us, school doesn't officially start for another couple of weeks, and they would enjoy the freedom... Risa isn't all lovemaking and amorous couples writhing around on every available piece of grass you know," he couldn't help but smile at her description of one of the most popular holiday destinations in the Federation. "I'll speak to Ghes when he contacts us, and see if Andae is OK with my playing 'hooky' for a few days. My only concern is the activities of those that caused mine and Sean's injuries, but I'm sure Nia will be able to handle it," "Then I can book a few days?" Elise asked. "WHOA, let me think about it. Besides, my favourite doctor might confine me to the Starbase at my medical in the morning," he said, eyes widening as Elise jumped off the settee and snatched the cognac snifter out of his hands. She went to the replicator and requested two cups of coffee, frowning as Carl burst out laughing... He needn't have worried... The next morning, they had returned to Alpha Medical Center and sat while Doctor Yalo asked a garage of questions to go with the numerous tests he was running. Yalo didn't see any reason not to return Carl to Active Duty. He did say that a few more days would undoubtedly help recover the last of his memories, but given the Raven was, in his words 'Going nowhere fast' it wasn't as if Carl could just leave without authorisation. Thanking Yalo and the Staff, Elise and Carl left, walking arm in arm to the turbolifts: "Soo, about that holiday?" she asked, like a three-year-old asking for a second sweet. "Fancy some lunch?" he asked, stepping into the recently arrived 'lift before requesting Level one five five one ..... ~~~~~~~~~~ As they entered O'Tooles Bar & Grill, Kara came running towards them, clearly unable to quell her excitement: "WELL!" she asked urgently. "Clean bill of health," Carl replied with a grin. "I wasn't talking to you..." Kara said, pulling Elise off to one side. "What's all that about?" Carl said as Sean pulled him a pint of the bar's home-brewed ale. "Ah, they're women Carl, who the hell would be knowin' what goes on in those devious minds 'o theirs," the Irishman replied, pulling himself a draft, never one to let a man drink 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 Dec 3, 2021 15:30:35 GMT
"And you've run the simulation five times now?" Blakus asked dubiously, stunned that such negligibly different intermix ratios existed in the warp core and its set of constrictors. The technician nodded. "Well then," Andae sighed, passing the PADD to Milyanov symbolically, "We can rule out the systems immediately around the core itself. You know what to do," he said to Milyanov, "Start work on the nacelles, particularly port-side."
The Russian took the PADD and started scanning through to resume work on locating the problem, rearranging the interface to his preference. It was Milyanov's engine room for the moment, Blakus thought, he wouldn't be interfered with by the XO any longer during this docking - an XO who sometimes had to be reminded he was no longer Chief Engineer. There was something he could more legitimately do as first officer though, which would help his former department while not stepping on their collective toes.
The lift deposited him near the top floor of the recently manufactured component attached to the central structure within the Dome, a five deck structure that performed the same function as a drydock repair facility except that it lacked the space and equipment to actually hold and connect to it a ship needing repair. Matter replication facilities, however, it did have capacity for and these were its main function.
"Commander Telamen," Andae approached, extending his hand, "Commander Blakus of the USS Raven."
They were in a small control room, overlooking the vacuum of the Dome's interior; no ships were in view to block their view of the near-side Dome's outer wall and its piercing lights within the navy-blue/black that lay invisibly before the watchers. Closer outside the viewing window was an assembly place for new objects manufactured from the pattern buffers and off to left and right were fixings with appendages meant to physically collect the objects once constructed and shunt them onto a further assembly line, where they'd be painted, affixed with pre-replicated hull tiles, or subjected to more exotic treatments, depending on their intended function.
Telamen greeted him; Blakus recognised his name from somewhere else... Wasn't there a Telamen on the El Alamein, a junior helmsman? "What can I do for you, Commander? Ah, yes, the Raven..."
Blakus nodded, "So you've heard that several of our warp coils - replicated at this facility - burnt themselves out during their first static test run? We've found no problem with our M/AM injectors, constrictors or intact warp coils. Ship's engineers are checking the main PTC to the nacelles and have started on systems around the nacelles now, too."
"Those latter systems don't often fail as a result of malfunctioning warp coils. If there's a problem in nacelle segment or its warp coil, there's a failsafe," Telamen turned to his console, "that will disconnect the warp coil in the event of impending failure; as long as you have enough coils in reserve, which I believe your ship did, they would be able to pick up the slack and you wouldn't lose speed."
"We lost two out of seven new warp coils in the port nacelle, completely burnt out... Is it possible the failsafe mechanisms were fried before they could disconnect the circuit?"
"Yes, it's possible..." Telamen had Blakus wait while he reetablished his datalink to the Raven which his office had used during the coil installation - he worked the console before the viewing window. From what he found, it seemed they were mostly correct, "Your five saved warp coils still retain their failsafe mechanisms, as opposed to the two that were destroyed. The five must've disconnected successfully, though they still suffered damage."
"And their self-repair mechanisms didn't work either," Blakus mused.
"No, and neither did the system that allows still-healthy coils to conduct repairs via ODN nodes to any malfunctioning software - if such was the case - on underperforming coils. It seems the two coils that burnt out were contributing far less to the static warp bubble's cohesion than the five other, salvageable coils. Counterintuitive, I know. Commander, seeing all this, I'd say first of all that these damaged or destroyed coils were not at fault, were not the prime cause. Secondly, that the problem lies somewhere within the port nacelle itself, in its hardware."
Blakus thanked the man and started making his way back to the Raven, armed with his new findings. He kept away from engineering this time - Milyanov would be glad to have the place to himself, discounting Tinsley and the crowds of maintenance personnel, and wouldn't much appreciate the XO striding through the doors again. Andae communicated to engineering about his interview with the fabrication centre officer from the Raven's bridge.
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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: 6,165
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Post by Carl Torek on Dec 6, 2021 1:22:34 GMT
"Why the escalation?" he recalled Nia asking.
"Sorry?" he'd replied.
"Why the escalation... OK... They can't sit on the Promenade in plain sight, but they still had the means to move around fairly unhindered, and they clearly have people in their employ that we know nothing about, so why escalate?"
"Frustration?" he suggested.
"Maybe ....." Nia had said, deep in thought.
"Go talk to the informer, offer him whatever he wants,"
"Anything?" she asked.
"Short of the Federation Presidency," he'd replied as the turbolift doors closed ..... "Computer .. Dome Level Two Two Zero," 'Confirmed' The turbolift halted and he stepped out onto the Main Observation Lounge overlooking the docked Raven. Acknowledging the Security Officer at the umbilicus walkway he entered the ship ..... "Computer. The present location of Commander Blakus?" 'Commander Blakus is currently on Level Three .. Airlock Two'Carl turned, he had entered the ship by the same airlock seconds earlier, turning to retrace his steps, Commander Milyanov walked around the corner in front of him: "Commander," "Admiral ..... You heard about the explosion," "I was just down there..." Carl replied, shaking his head in frustration, "... It could have been anyone caught in that," "Is there anything else we can do to help?" Milyanov asked as they walked. "Admiral Lemond and Colonel DΓΊpin have all the people they need... How is the investigation into the device you found coming?" "We've run every scan we can think of, and a couple I'm pretty sure Commander Tinsley made up on the spot. As far as we can tell there's no way to get at the insides without cutting the outer case, and I'm hesitant to do that," he said. "You're leaving the ship?" "I'm just going to Stores to pick up a couple of things then back here," Milyanov was saying as Andae Blakus approached them. Carl nodded to the Exec' then turned back to the Engineer: "Can't they bring the item's to you?" he asked, still unsure as to when their new Chief Engineer would return to the ship. "Given the issues we've had with the coils, I prefer to go pick up what we need myself, Sir, I've asked Commander Tinsley to keep working on the device in my absence, and the 'base Technicians are all-but done apart from clean-up and sign-off," "OK, thank you Commander ..... Andae..." Carl acknowledged as Milyanov left them, "... Where are we on the refit?" "Thirty-six hours, but I can cut that in half if we're going after the people who caused the explosion," "We're not..." Torek said, falling silent as two Crewmen passed them, "... We might need to go out. I would have sent the Maracanda, but she's needed elsewhere ..... One of our deep-range mapping vessels picked up readings of a Klingon vessel adrift, possibly a Vor'cha Class Cruiser. They didn't alter course to investigate as there was no emergency declared by whoever is aboard, so they assumed it was doing something they didn't want advertising, the Captain asked permission to approach to investigate, but I told them to continue on their assigned course," "Location?" Blakus asked, as curious as his Commanding Officer, given it was highly unusual for the Klingon's to leave a ship presumably adrift. "Our side of the border," "So we're well within our rights to investigate," Andae stated. "Technically... Yes... Though I have to wonder why the Klingon's themselves haven't already sent someone to investigate..." Carl said, "... Or, given our 'so-called' friendship, they haven't asked us to check their ship and report back," "The Vor'cha Class is a Heavy Cruiser..." Andae commented, "... Is it possible the Klingon High Council don't know their ship has a problem, it's one 'big' ship to leave drifting through space?" "They're Klingon's so who knows..." Carl said with a shrug, "... OK. I have a couple of things to do then I'll be returning to the Starbase, We'll be coming back aboard tonight at the latest, keep me updated please," "Will do ....." Blakus replied ..........
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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: 6,165
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Post by Carl Torek on Dec 9, 2021 20:38:09 GMT
Tactical Holo-Display Table ... Main Floor Command Center :: Carl was looking at the star plot in front of them ..... "..... And you are certain no one has been close to the ship?" "Admiral, we repositioned the deep-range array, but at this distance, there's no way to tell one hundred percent. All we can know is that nothing has entered or left, that region since before the ship was discovered," the Deputy Operations Officer, Commander Akor Lek said with something approaching a shrug. "..... And there's still nothing close enough to divert?" "Nothing Admiral, as you can see..." Lek said, pointing to one of the large viewscreens suspended around the Command Center, this one showing the status of all Starships, including those docked or en route to or from Starbase Forty-Seven, "... Even if we recalled the Maracanda, it would take them six days to get back here," the man said. Carl stood looking at the plot, deep in thought: "So we don't have many options..." he said, shaking his head, knowing the Raven still had tests to run on the warp drive, "... Contact Commander Blakus, ask him to ready the ship for departure, inform him I'll be aboard within the hour," Admiral Lemond's Office ... Mezzanine Level Command Center :: "I'm concerned about our progress, or lack thereof, in regards to the Pirates..." Carl was saying, Nia, in turn, sat opposite the Section's Executive Officer and waited, "... Do you have any more to go on?" "Only what you have seen so far Admiral ..... It's clear that whoever these 'Pirates' are, they have been coming and going, presumably conducting business as they saw fit while here. The Starbase would make an ideal venue, and there's plenty of room to work uninterrupted. I've sent Elena DeLuca down to Delta Promenade to try to make contact with a woman named Kallom, Elena will hopefully let her know about the thorough searches that are beginning. I'm hoping she will get the information to the Pirates. I've made sure that once DeLuca makes contact, we'll be able to follow her to the source," Carl stood and walked to the window that stretched the length of the office. "Maybe it would be helpful if I remained here ..... You would remain in overall charge of the investigation, I would just be another pair of eyes...?" he said with his back to her, again Lemond remained silent, "... Besides, all the Raven can do at this point is check on the adrift vessel. Commander Blakus and Calli Valente are more than capable," "I'm sure they would be pleased to hear that," Nia said, no hint of malice or sarcasm in her tone. "..... And my remaining here would release you from having to oversee the day to day running of the Starbase, allowing you to put all your effort into this investigation," he said, already knowing how it sounded, even to him. "Then I will see that all relevant information is sent to you immediately..." Lemond said, still remaining seated, "... I assume you will be keeping your family here?" Carl hadn't wanted to think about Elise, Vanessa, and Bethan, but it was a fact that if the Pirates were willing to manufacture an explosion on the outer hull, they could just as easily detonate a device within the Starbase! ... He turned from the window: "Your correct of course Nia, I should never have even considered you wouldn't be able to handle everything, I apologise," he said. "No apology necessary Admiral, you were only thinking of the most viable options. I want these people, and I intend to get them," Lemond said. "In that case, Admiral, the Starbase is yours..." he said, turning to leave, at the door he turned, "... Oh... Good hunting," he said, leaving Nia still sat at her desk ..... Captain's Ready Room ... USS Raven-C Beta Docking Arm :: The door opened and Andae, sat at Torek's desk, lifted his head from the small pile of PADD's he was scrutinising. When he saw it was Carl, he stood and began to make way for his Commanding Officer, but was waved back into the chair: "How are we doing on final preparations Andae?" Torek asked, moving to the replicator to request a coffee. "We've only just finished replacing the burnt-out coils, and we've only carried out two static warp tests so far," "So you doubt Commander Milyanov's ability, I'm sure he'll like that..." Carl said with a wry grin, "... Coffee, black," he requested, taking the newly materialised cup to his Executive Officer. "You realise that if anything goes wrong, and we don't blow ourselves up, we could end up at best without warp drive, and as stuck as that Klingon Cruiser, a long way from home?" Blakus said, accepting the coffee gratefully. "Well, at least you'll have time to catch up on your reading..." Carl replied with a shrug, "... So how long?" "Crew recall went out when I was informed we are to receive departure orders, replenishments are complete, as are the new Crew rotations ....." Andae said, knowing that technically there was nothing preventing them from leaving right now. Carl looked at the chronometer set above the door, it was already well past twenty-two hundred hours, ships' time. "So, we can set a departure time of zero eight hundred hours?" Torek asked. "Yes, Sir..." Blakus replied, this time managing to get out of Carl's chair unhindered, "... I'm going to run further tests on the warp core and those coils before we depart," "Fine, I'll join you. But after the checks, you get some rest, and make sure the Engineering Staff to do likewise... Besides..." he was saying as they left the Ready Room and entered the turbolift, "... Milyanov went to pick out the coils he wanted himself, so he'll more than likely stake his reputation on them working to specification, and if anything 'does' fail while we're out, I'll demote him to baffle-scrubbing for the duration of his time in Starfleet," Carl said, both of them laughing at the comment .......... < Tag : Andae / All >
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