El Sal Mission 9.3: One Hand Washes the Other

[kratak]

Hearing Commander Hope call him he head to her direction, he listened to what she was asking and smiled he knew it took a lot for her to ask for help. So he refrained from making it a joking matter.

" Commander Hope It would be a honor to help you around the ship. I don't think of as baby sitting either. I believe its called helping a friend and thats what I'm doing helping a friend. Besides your pet would find the ship cramped and no place to spread its wings. After all its only a scout ship and room was not the thing they had in mind when they built her."

Looking around he lowered his voice " I look forward to being on a klingon ship again even for a short time. I find myself sometimes missing the little things not that I would give up what I have now. If we find some klingons up and moving over there commander please keep your guard up around them. Most of my people havent learned to look past a persons race so just keep your guard up"

As he watched the rest of the crew show up he spoke up while flight checks were being completed " May I have everybody attention please there are a few things you need to know about the scout ship. She is by all acounts is the smallest war ship the klingon emipre makes, please don't let the term scout ship fool you, She doesn't carry the fire power of the bigger ships but they are built to work with 2 other scout ships in time of conflict. So don't be shocked if you don't see to much science gear aboard."

" As Commander Hope can tell you the ship is very small just a little bigger then we are. There are 5 Decks intotal. There are no turbo lifts access is my ladders between decks the hallways are built for one way dirction. So if you see somebody coming you have to find a hatch to stand in. The engine from it the bottom deck, Top Deck is the bridge the other 3 decks are crew quartes mess hall and weapons room. Also the Cloak is on deck 3 for better protection from enemy fire."

pausing for a moment because he didn't want to cross commander Jackson he figured to keep it brief and should would let it pass by " I also ask you to remember if you find any klingons alive to keep in mind they are a honor bound society. Please if you have a chance read up on there honor system to prevent any misunderstanding."<Tag anybody>

[SA. Stacey Jackson [Ret]]

Stacey piloted the shuttle out of the shuttle bay, while by no means an expert pilot she had logged enough hours to be sure of herself, once out of the shuttle bay she set the craft to auto pilot, not having the will to manually handle every second of the flight.

She turned when K’ratak addressed everybody about the design of a Klingon scout ship, She had never stepped foot on a Klingon vessel before and was mildly interested in seeing the inside of one for herself.

K’ratak finished with advice that those unfamiliar with Klingon customs read up on them, She gave a nod to him when he had fallen silent.

“Those of you with questions can direct them toward Colonel K’ratak I am sure he will be happy to answer.” She said with a voice loud enough to be heard by all.

Turning back to her bag that she had stowed near her feet she noticed the wrapped gift that she had forgotten about, gently picking up she tore the paper. Once unwrapped she took a long look at the gift. It was a picture in an ornate glass frame, her son Dean and Hannah holding the new born baby James. Hannah was laying down in a hospital bed looking tired but happy. Dean looked almost funny a smile that went from ear to ear on his face.

A tinge of regret that she hadn’t been there hit her but she ignored it as she stared at the picture. She took a deep breath as she was about to return to picture to her bag when something K’ratak said ran through her mind. ‘it would help if she appeared more Human.’

She lifted the picture again and turned her chair around, and said. “Don’t know if it will interest anybody or not, but last week I became a Grandmother, when James Jackson-Smith made his arrival.” She handed to photo to the closest person it happened to be K’ratak

She grinned and said. “That’s him, cute little thing if I don’t say so myself.”

Stacey was by nature a private person and such open talk with so many people was unusual for her, but she knew well enough that forming a non working relationship with crew only helped and she was willing to try.

[kratak]

Looking at the picture that Commander Jackson was showing him and seeing the pride in her eye's and the smile on her face. He could tell that family was very importan to her which he could understand.

"My my Commander the child is very cute, may he grow up and know only peace and the persuite of knowledge." pausing for a momement " Meaning no disrespect Commander" as he chuckled for a moment " But doe this mean I can call you Commander Grandma" chuclking " I'm only joking Commander Jackson no disrespect was intended just lighting the mood and he notice a couple of smile on the crew.

Looking around " Now if anybody else has a question on the klingon ship, or klingons them selves please ask I will try and answer them for you. Trust me I know that we as a speices can be a little diffcult to understand. Heck I'm klingon and sometimes I don't understand it my self" as he chuckled

[Deleted]

Smiling, S'reena divided her attention between listening to the chatter around her about the picture Stacey was showing, and the data coming in through her console. "Stacey why don't you describe him to me?" she asked, mock-pouting, "you know full well I can't see that picture, nor feel it."

The Romulan officer tilted her head, listening, expression changing. "Ensign Stewart, what are your controls telling you?" she suddenly called out, alerted by something she had heard. "Captain, were we expecting anyone out there? I'm not certain but what I'm hearing sounds like a distress signal. It's very weak, but it's there. It's repeated in Federation Standard and Klingon."

[Stewart, Savot]

She turned her full attention to the message, her hands flying over her console to make the audio signal audible for everyone, clearing up the distortion in the message. "I'm sorry, this is all I'm getting," she apologised. "Mr Stewart, could you somehow boost the signal? I don't care where the power comes from, just give me extra power."

[Stewart]

One hand still flying over the controls, she beckoned K'ratak with the other. "Your Klingon is better than mine, is the Klingon part of the call the same as the Federation part? The translator is not tying in for some strange reason. I need you to translate."

[K'ratak]

S'reena brought up an image of the ship they were headed to. "Show me where such a message could be sent from," she requested, "describe the deck plan to me, and the location, the computer will do the calculations and probability check. What are the odds of someone still being alive on that vesse?"

[ K'ratak, anyone]

[Savot]

Savot was inwardly pleased at the moment of comraderie provoked by the picture of Jackson's grandson and scrutinized it a moment when it came to him before passing it onward to Daen to see, "Indeed Commander, I believe young James falls well within the aesthetic parameters of Terran infants. My congratulations to both yourself and the parents."

"Stacey why don't you describe him to me?" S'reena asked, mock-pouting, "you know full well I can't see that picture, nor feel it."

The Romulan officer then tilted her head, at which Savot took notice, expression changing. "Ensign Stewart, what are your controls telling you?" she suddenly called out, alerted by something she had heard. "Captain, were we expecting anyone out there? I'm not certain but what I'm hearing sounds like a distress signal. It's very weak, but it's there. It's repeated in Federation Standard and Klingon."

As Savot leaned in to inspect the readings himself, Hope continued directing K'ratak and Stewart just as he would have so there was no need for him to vocally issue the instructions also. Even as he internally nodded at the good sense of his Science officer he externally shook his head in response to her query, "Aside from the scoutship, no. Nor were any other rescue vessels scheduled to be sent until further data is sent back by us."

S'reena's hands flew over her console to make the audio signal audible for everyone, clearing up the distortion in the message. "I'm sorry, this is all I'm getting," she apologised. "Mr Stewart, could you somehow boost the signal? I don't care where the power comes from, just give me extra power."

One hand still flying over the controls, she beckoned K'ratak with the other. "Your Klingon is better than mine, is the Klingon part of the call the same as the Federation part? The translator is not tying in for some strange reason. I need you to translate."

S'reena brought up an image of the ship they were headed to. "Show me where such a message could be sent from," she requested, "describe the deck plan to me, and the location, the computer will do the calculations and probability check. What are the odds of someone still being alive on that vessel?"

As K'ratak assisted her Savot stood silently for a moment, head tilted partially, and after about 35 seconds he spoke, "I, too, am incapable of translating the Klingon words but whatever their meaning it is a segment of approximately 12 seconds that then repeats itself. Ergo the message is a recording set to automatically retransmit in case the crew became unable to respond to a potential rescuer."

He checked the sensors to confirm his suspicions, the scout vessel itself had been located but detailed readings including lifesigns were impossible at this range due to the radiation being emitted by the star, "At the very least the recording of a distress call confirms that at least one member survived the initial event, which likely means the ship itself was rendered incapable of propulsion, otherwise the survivor would simply have pilotted them free of the energy cloud."

"Launch a probe towards the scout ship to see if we can enhance our readings of both the cloud and the ship itself, perhaps confirm the presence of life signs. Monitor the incoming telemetry; if we lose contact after a certain distance we may be able to launch multiple probes no further than that distance apart from one another as an impromptu chain so we can extend our proverbial reach", the vulcan captain finished then merely stood out of the way while the specialists went about their assignments.

[kratak]

Listening to Commander Hopes request for a translation he listened with a keen ear and smiled a little. " Commander its not a wonder the computer is haveing a hard time translateing the message" pausing for a moment " Since the klingon culture is geared for combat and the scount ship is very old almost 25 standard earth years. Every time it goes in for a refit any system thats not geared for combat is normal over looked. They focus on the primary systems and the saying is normaly to die in combat is glory to ask for help is failure. Normally they would never activate the system and just accept there fate its why its never up graded"

" In short the message is a little bit of a warning to other klingon ships letting the know there is no glory in saving them. I believe what ever happened on that scount ship was not a enemey the could fight in the physical sense. So more or less its telling other klingons to stay away. The part that gets me is the message seems to be coming from the engine room instead of the bridge. Only the captain can activate the message since its a great risk to any ships honor only the captain can risk the ships honor. I would suggest extreme caution Captain and I would suggest keeping our defense shields on stand by just in case"

" Commander Hope since the message is coming from deck 5 the engine room. You might be able to preform a hack and piggy back on there message and get a status check of the engines. You might be " chuckling a little " Since its you I have no doubt you will, you shoud be able to pull up the performance logs of the engine room. It it give you a idea of the power status and what systems are down and so on"

" Captain when we board I suggest heading to the captains quarters. Klingons don't keep ship longs in the same sense we do. There not stored on the ships computer system in stead they keep them written down in the ships battle log which is a real book. Normally after any mission the book is presented to the high council to see if there is any honour gained in there missions"

[Deleted]

Daen studied the image of the Human infant, refraining from mentioning that he found the creature hideous to look at. He saw others respond in an appreciative manner and attempted to copy said behaviour. Firestorm looked over his shoulder, coiling his tail in a very tight corcscrew. "That is a very cute baby commander," the Sivaoan purred.

The Founder shied away from the feline, not liking the way his fur tickled his skin. Insofar Founders had skin to begin with as whatever appeared as his clothing was still very much part of his own construction. Daen listened to the chatter around him, then got up and joined S'reena at the science station.

"Probe away," the Romulan suddenly announced, "waiting for telemetry." She paused, listening. "Whatever comes back is garbled sir, it makes little sense."

After a few minutes, the flow of data stopped suddenly. "Contact lost," the Romulan reported, then turned. "From whatever we gathered, what little sense it made, it seems it is safe to approach the vessel. That is, close the distance between us, then send a new probe."

[Deleted]

The Romulan officer tilted her head, listening, expression changing. "Ensign Stewart, what are your controls telling you?" she suddenly called out, alerted by something she had heard. "Captain, were we expecting anyone out there? I'm not certain but what I'm hearing sounds like a distress signal. It's very weak, but it's there. It's repeated in Federation Standard and Klingon."

"They are telling me that theres something giving off alot of power ma'am" replied James looking back at the Romulan Officer.

[Savot]

She turned her full attention to the message, her hands flying over her console to make the audio signal audible for everyone, clearing up the distortion in the message. "I'm sorry, this is all I'm getting," she apologised. "Mr Stewart, could you somehow boost the signal? I don't care where the power comes from, just give me extra power."

"I can do, But I don't want to overload the power grid of this ship."replied James as he tapped some controls he said "diverting power from the transporters"
[Hope]

[SA. Stacey Jackson [Ret]]

“Sure you can call me Commander Grandma if you wish K’ratak… As long as you I can reciprocate by calling you Corporal K’ratak.” Stacey quipped jokingly

Stacey turned to look at Commander Hope as she mockingly said. "Stacey why don't you describe him to me?"


Stacey slightly shook her head as she replied. “All comedians today are we.. When we have more time I will bore you to death with details S’reena count on it.” She replied jokingly though in time it would no doubt become the truth.

"Indeed Commander, I believe young James falls well within the aesthetic parameters of Terran infants. My congratulations to both yourself and the parents." Savot said in his usual cool Vulcan tone.

However it brought a smile to Jackson’s face as she spun the chair around to look at him. “High praise from you Captain.. thank you.. though I still think he is reminiscent of a strung rabbit, albeit a very cute strung rabbit.”

The personal chatter was broken when Hope picked up a Klingon distress signal one that K’ratak noted was coming from the small ship’s deck five he suggested that the first destination should be the Captains cabin for the battle log.

Stacey looked to them all hovering around S’reena’s station and replied. “The logs would be helpful no doubt.. but our primary mission is to rescue the crew, once that has been achieved then perhaps going for the logs.”

Hope needed more power and ordered Stewart to boost the power to communications he replied he would do so by taking power from the Transporters. “Stacey again shook her head. “Not the transporters Ensign.. we may need them yet.. take power from non essentials.. the replicator, lights if you have too, but if we can’t dock with the klingon ship the transporters will be the only way to get the klingons off if needed.”

The message eventually stopped and while the brain trust worked Stacey piloted the shuttle, not that she wasn’t of intelligence just that the inner workings of thought and emotions wasn’t a needed subject at the moment. She spoke up after a few minutes. “We are within probe range Captain, I suggest we slow down and let Commander Hope and the others anylise the readings before venturing to the Klingon ship.. out Shields may be better than theirs.. but that may not mean we are immune to what plagues the klingons.”

[Savot]

The new engineer, Stewart, responded quickly to Hope's inquiries, "They are telling me that theres something giving off alot of power ma'am" replied James looking back at the Romulan Officer.

As the situation turned solely to the business at hand Savot watched the crew work very well and hardly had to add any input of his own. Even advising Mr. Stewart to divert power from somewhere other than the Mini-Sal's transporters was handled by Commander Jackson and the vulcan was once again pleased that his First Officer thought in a manner similar to his own.

Savot moved to stand behind Stewart to examine the readings as well, nodding in agreement at Stewart's assessment of the power readings, "The stellar breakdown and radiation are producing extensive interference. Ergo, given that we are now forced to increase power to our own systems in order to better receive their signal, the Klingon vessel must have nearly all their internal power devoted to communications for us to have even heard them in the first place."

Stacey then spoke again from the helm, “We are within probe range Captain, I suggest we slow down and let Commander Hope and the others analyze the readings before venturing to the Klingon ship.. our Shields may be better than theirs.. but that may not mean we are immune to what plagues the klingons.”

The vulcan captain was nodding halfway through her suggestion, "Agreed Commander. Set thrusters to station keeping."

Savot then turned to K'ratak, "Should the time come for us to board their vessel, the away team will acquire the log if possible. But for the moment we need further information before boarding. Our only means of entering the scout are via transporter or docking the Mini-Sal with them. The former cannot be attempted until we know more about the radiations involved, or any pattern sent their or brought here could be lost in transit."

"And whether transporting or docking, we will need to either extend our shields around them or prepare either a hazard suit or chemical innoculation capable of withstanding the radiation's effects or our rescue party would fall victim to whatever incapacitated the scout's crew", Savot nodded his head slightly towards K'ratak's console, "Now that Mr. Stewart has transferred more power to our comm system, please attempt to remotely access the Scout's computers and attempt to determine whether their engines or navigational deflector are damaged."

"Since someone survived the initial disaster to transmit their distress call there must be a reason why that person did not instead simply move the ship out of the threat area. The most logical reasons would be their engines were simply too damaged, or their deflector was inoperable so even if their engines functioned their vessel would be torn apart by particulate matter in space should they attempt to move."

[kratak]

Listening to Savot he understood the log would be done if possible looking back down at his console he started studying the ship. He waited for the proble to link up with the ship so he could access the shield system. So far things were not going quite so to plan, as he started to get info from the probe he accessed the shield systems. They were intermitatet at best power kept dropping in and out.

" Commander hope it seems the shield power is not hold study can reroute power from the weapon system back ups. There should be at least 3 back up systems for weapons klingons are more concerned with shooting things then keeping life support functioning"

[SA. Stacey Jackson [Ret]]

Stacey concentrated at piloting the shuttle slowly toward the Klingon vessel, k’ratak remarked that the shield of said vessel were not at full strength and mentioned something about diverting power from one of their back up weapons systems, Stacey interjected as she seemed to be doing a lot of lately. “S’reena when we get in range extend our shields to encompass the Klingon’s once we board the ship we can figure out what can be done on their end.”

She turned to look at K’ratak and said. “Colonel check the hazard the suits.. make sure they are all powered up and in working order… if we detect anything unusual on the ship we may need them.”

Now looking to Stewart she said. “Ensign once we get on board I want you to work with Colonel K’ratak and check out the ships systems.. if possible get their shields and engines working.. make sure you have everything you will need ready.. I hate making return trips in a hazard suit.”

Looking back down to check the mini-sals location in comparison with the Klingon vessel she gave herself a slight nod. “Doctor Firestorm.. work with the EMH to prepare for possible casualties.. I know space is limited but do the best you can. From what I know Klingon ships are not famous for their medical facilities.”

Her hands flew across the panel as she added. “Captain you have anything to add sir?”

<tag all>

They were now within visual distance of the Klingon ship.. it looked undamaged at least to the naked eye, the only visible sign something was wrong was the fact it wasn’t powered up at least on the outside. Prior communications contact had confirmed that at least some systems were still online. “Docking is possible Captain, they appear to have suffered no structural damage.” She brought the two ships closer together and in a rather tense moment for her gently connected them.

The dull sound of metal hitting metal rang through the bulkhead as they finally docked. Stacey let out a deep breath she had been holding for the last thirty seconds with a smile she stood up and walked over to Hope.. “Do you see anything over there that could be hazardous to our health Commander?. Please say no.. Hazard suits are not slimming and I do so love to make a good first impression.” It was a jest but partly true.. she hated hazard suits and found them extremely uncomfortable to move in.

As she waited for the answer, she looked to Savot and said. “Knowing our luck we have stumbled upon a super secret rogue group of black ops ninja Klingon’s brandishing swords and plotting the overthrow of the galaxy” Clearly a joke by the tone of her voice, though it was true they did have somewhat bad luck when it came to missions.. Breen with planet killers.. Pirates out to steal Armus and last but not least The time Savot was arrested for murder, and that was just in her time on board.

<Tag>

OOC: No we did not find a super secret rogue group of black ops ninja Klingon’s brandishing swords and plotting the overthrow of the galaxy, before anybody runs wild with it

[kratak]

Stitting at his station he started to access systems that were still functioning. The information coming was scatterd at best but he noticed the ship senor and science stations were still operational.

"Commander Hope I"m transmitting information to your station, it would seem the senor logs and the science logs are are intact somewhat. Maybe you can make sense of whats in them or at least figure out what they were doing before all this happened" <Tag Hope>

He over heard Commander Jackson comment about Nija Klingons and chuckled. " Commander Jackson Klingson are not as disciplined as Nija's Kayles help us if were were it seems to be a qaulity few of us ever learn"

[Deleted]

S'reena barely controlled her laughter as Jackson mentioned Black Ops and Klingons. The two just didn't mix, for whatever reason. Unless of course these Klingons were in fact, not Klingons, but undercover Starfleet or other factions who would love nothing better than to blame something on the Klingons. Even that suggestion was a fair stretch, and very much to laugh at. Because if that was true, and the Klingons found out, it'd already be war. And they had received a call for help from the Klingons, and nothing so far suggested anything even close to their situation being a trap.

The Romulan looked up as K'ratak spoke to her. "Commander Hope it seems the shield power is not holding steady. I can reroute power from the weapon system back ups. There should be at least 3 back up systems for weapons klingons are more concerned with shooting things then keeping life support functioning."

"That's up to Commodore Savot," S'reena replied, "I'm not about to take power from weapons when we may need to defend ourselves. Cycle the shield frequency but keep it as steady as you can for now. I'll see if I can compensate for the radiation."

Her hands were flying over her console as the computer spoke to her on what was needed and from where she could pull power. She was hardly an engineer, thus she wouldn't touch weapons control without prior permission from the commanding officer. "Captain?" she queried, "do you want me to take power from weapons to increase shield strength?"

[Savot]

"Commander Hope I"m transmitting information to your station, it would seem the senor logs and the science logs are are intact somewhat. Maybe you can make sense of whats in them or at least figure out what they were doing before all this happened"

"You forget I don't understand Klingon colonel. Unless you're willing to be my constant interpreter, perhaps you should decode them."

[k'ratak]

"You translate, and then send it to me. Then I'll make sense of whatever data is in there. Agreed?"

[k'ratak]

[Savot]

Commander Jackson readily handled doling out assignments and marching orders as the Mini-Sal docked with the Klingon scout ship, “Captain you have anything to add sir?”

Savot shook his head slightly, moving to assume the helm Jackson had vacated since she would be leading the boarding party, "Your plan is sound Commander, though I recommend Dr. Firestorm join you in case any injuries require stabilization before they can be moved. If the ship possesses holo-emitters we can transfer the EMH aboard as well if necessary."

He then addressed the group at large after turning the helm chair around to face them, "Commander Jackson will obviously be in command of the Away Team; however, should any conscious survivors seem agitated K'ratak should take the lead as they are likely to respond more cooperatively to a fellow Klingon. Maintain an open comm-frequency and good luck." Luck was not a particularly vulcan belief but Savot knew many felt better thinking random chance might favor them in certain situations, and in truth it didn't hurt anything so why not.

K'ratak overheard Commander Jackson comment about Ninja Klingons and chuckled, "Commander Jackson Klingons are not as disciplined as Ninjas Kahless help us if we were it seems to be a quality few of us ever learn."

Stacey turned her head slightly to look at K'ratak, her eyes said it all. "Thank you Colonel, I am aware of that I was making a joke.. Directed at Captain Savot I might add. so if your done eavesdropping for the day, could I call upon you to check the hazard suits like I asked before?.. and may as well check the hand phasers while your there please."

As he worked, K'ratak informed Hope as to the Scout's system status and recommended a power transfer to stabilize the shields. "Captain?" she queried, "do you want me to take power from weapons to increase shield strength?"

Savot double-checked K'ratak's console just to be sure before responding, "I believe the Colonel was referring to routing power from the scout's weapons to boost their shields in case it became too draining for us to continue extending the Mini-Sal's shields. With the computer interface established we should be able to do that from here without boarding their ship."

K'ratak spoke as he rose from his console to join the Away Team, "Commander Hope I'm transmitting information to your station, it would seem the sensor logs and the science logs are are intact somewhat. Maybe you can make sense of what's in them or at least figure out what they were doing before all this happened."

"You forget I don't understand Klingon colonel. Unless you're willing to be my constant interpreter, perhaps you should decode them. You translate, and then send it to me. Then I'll make sense of whatever data is in there. Agreed?", Hope countered.

Savot again interjected, "With our systems interfaced I should be able to decrypt the Klingon logs and run them through our translators. I believe their earlier inability to translate the distress call was due to interference from the radiation which should no longer be an obstacle at this range. I shall endeavor to access the logs as quickly as possible and inform you when I'm ready to route them to your station for analysis Commander Hope."

Turning back to the departing team, the vulcan gave Jackson a firm nod of support as she and her team began to enter the docking umbillical...

[Deleted]

The nod from Savot was all she needed, the reigns as it were had been handed over and Jackson was no in charge of the small band of senior crew. Though in truth she would have preferred to remain on Deep Space Nine with her son. She looked to them all and said. “Kratak and Firestorm.. Get to the bridge.. look for survivors… and try to see if you can fix the Klingon’s shields.”


*She looked to Stewart and said. “And lucky you are with me.. we go to the engine room, hopefully tis’ not too late to try to fix things from there, bring your gear.”

She looked back to the others and added. “Contact me if you find anything,”

*James looked back at her and thought oh great a chance to get a look at a klingon engine room, he continued his thoughts about the mission, he replied "Aye Ma'am" as he rose to head towards his hazard suit, he remembered how he hated wearing the white heavy suit.

As she and Ensign Stewart navigated their way through the rather slim corridors she asked. “So Ensign, have you been in Starfleet long?, I have yet to read your file.. though I in truth probably never will.”

*They were about two decks above Engineering and in the blasted suits it would take a while. “Oh and when we get there first priority is life support.. get that working and I can get out of this damned suit.. and the Kingons might live.. also a plus.”

"well Ma'am this is my first assignment" replied James looking back at the senior officer, he continued "Aye Ma'am I know the feeling." as his left boot clancked down upon the deck

*She sensed his discomfort in the suit and sympathised she herself hated it no less than anyone else, it probably escaped the attention of the others, but her boots instead of the normal white were bright pink. She had always felt if she had to put the damned thing on may as well look her best doing it.

*“Commander will suffice, Ensign despite protocol I dislike being called Ma’am.. unless in the presence of flag officers or I am telling someone off.. then it’s Ma’am.” They made it to a ladder that K’ratak had earlier described and Stacey gave a sigh. “Ensigns first.” She said flatly not wishing to climb down the ladder at all.

"Commander, I was brought up ladies first." replied James witha short smile on his face hoping she didn't notice it as he grabbed hold of the ladder and started his climb down. he thought ~ I can not wait to get life support working~ still he knew that here today was a chance at a klingon Engine room as his light flashed up at the celing.


She slightly shook her head as she gave a grin, “Ah and they told me chivalry was dead, how wrong they were.” She watched him begin to climb down and she gave another sigh. “Never fear Ensign if I fall, I will have a soft landing.” She remarked as she looked down at the top of his head or at least the suit.

James finished his climb and began to shine his torch round the small Engine room, he noticed three klingons hung up over a guard rail and moved towards them, He said "Commander I have found three Klingons." as he pulled his tricorder out of the Leg pocket of the hazard suit and opened it up and began to scan the first Klingon.

*She made it down a little out of breath but none worse for ware, Stewarts call that he had found three Klingon’s was not one of joy, something in his voice told her they were dead. She finally stepped onto the metal deck her pink boots making a rather loud bang as she did so. She made her way over to the dead klingons and Stewart who was scanning them. “Radiation poisoning?” she asked.

*She looked at them and said softly. “May your paths to Sto'Vo'Kor be swift and Kahless greet you with honour.” She lifted her head and looked to Stewart. “Get life support back into shape Ensign, quickly if any Klingon’s yet live they won’t have much time.”

"Yes Commander they have." replied James with a somber note in his voice he continued "it was from the nebula." he looked back at the senior officer who spoke the words that would help those dead worriors to their place amonst the honured dead. James himself said a small prayer in his mind and was brought back to the land of the living when the Commander next spoke. He responded "Aye Commander and moved towards a console and began tapping commands in the terminal.

* As he continued tapping commands he said " Oh Frack."

*Stacey moved to a main console and began to look over the ships power systems, she had a basic knowledge of the Klingon language, enough for her to estimate the meaning of what she saw. She activated the suit and said. “Colonel K’ratak.. we have discovered three dead Klingons in Engineering it would seem they were trying to bolster the shields the bridge and living quarters of the ship."
* She gave a sigh and added. “They managed to some extent tell Firestorm to prepare for Radiation poisoning victims.. and get straight to work on the Shields from the bridge I will do all I can from here.”

*<Tag K’ratak/ Firestorm>

She turned as she heard Stewart curse under his breath and she asked. “What is it Ensign?”

"Not just that Ma'am "replied james as he continued reading his screen, "If I read this right when the power started to get bad the dilithium crystal snapped in half and they only had the one."

*tag K'ratak

That just means warp power is out of the question, old fashioned generators it will have to be the mini-sal has portable power cells that can be off help.. and I am sure Savot would love to suit up.” She again activated the comm. Chanell and said. “Jackson to Savot, Captain can you please bring some portable power cells to the Klingon Engineering, we really need to get their shields back online."

*She paused and then added “If only till we get them out of the nebula.”

<Tag Savot>



(OOC Note: Modified by Savot. The red was a bit hard to read so I changed the color on Jackson's segments. Also removed mention of Hope aboard the Klingon ship as the intention was for her to stay on the Mini-Sal to work the problem from there via the connection to the Klingon computers. But all that aside superb post both of you.)

[kratak]

As the sent the translations to Commander Hope from the records he suited up for the boarding party. It appeared Fire Storm would be going with him to the bridge while Commander Jackson and Stewart went to engineering.

" Commander Hope translations are done and at your station, I will transmit any information I can get from the bridge once I arrive"

A few moments later he was making his way to the bridge with Fire Storm. " Like I said a tight fit ship was made for scouting nothing much else"

As they entered the bridge back up lights were on and systems were running on very little power. He heard Commander Jackson order him to restore sheild power but from the read outs he was looking at main power was off line. " I will do what I can commander she doesn't have alot of power in her back up systems."

" Fire storm I know your a medic can you adjust life suppor to the minimum please to help with getting power to the shields please. I will focus on draining power from other systems to restore shields."

Few moments went by he had managed to channel power back to the sheilds but it would be short lived. " Commander Jackson I have restored shield power to 75% it will not last long with out a main power supply battiers were already nearly depleted. I would say no more then 3hrs before they are drained completely"

[Savot]

Savot sat at the helm though he'd temporarily retasked the console to allow him to work at decrypting the data they'd retrieved through their link with the Klingon computers, and then sending it through the translation matrix so it could be sent to Commander Hope's science station for analysis. As he toiled through the decryption algorithms he also kept a proverbial ear on the Away Team's open comm channel, so he heard clearly Jackson's incoming message, =^=Jackson to Savot, Captain can you please bring some portable power cells to the Klingon Engineering, we really need to get their shields back online.=^=

Immediately upon the cessation of her voice Savot tapped his commbadge into the Away Team's open channel to reply, allowing the entire team to hear his response, =^=Acknowledged, Lance Corporal Xelt is en route, patching her into the Away Team comm network now. ETA two point 7 minutes.=^=

Though he had no qualms in particular about the bulky hazard suits, aside from the irrefutable fact that they hindered movement, visual scope, and in turn overall efficiency, regulations dictated Savot remain aboard the Mini-Sal unless doing otherwise became absolutely necessary. Xelt was one of K'ratak's Marine contingent and as such her training and discipline were highly reliable.

The Klingon Colonel himself had been forwarding any new data the Away Team gathered on the ship itself back to Hope's station already translated into Federation standard. =^=Commander Jackson I have restored shield power to 75% it will not last long with out a main power supply battiers were already nearly depleted. I would say no more then 3hrs before they are drained completely=^=, K'ratak had managed to reroute some of the Scout's own power to provide a temporary fix for the shields, but they'd still be in a far more secure scenario when the replacement power cells arrived in Engineering with Jackson and Stewart.

A warning bleep from both his and Hope's console's caught Savot's attention and he quickly looked to try and discern what was happening. Because the new form of radiation was unknown to them, its effects were likewise unpredictable and as such they had no warning as another breakdown occurred within the stellar material of the system's star. The physical matter was slow moving and therefore didn't pose a real threat to them for several hours, but there was no way to predict how the now-higher concentration of radiation would tax the shields...

=^=Savot to Away Team. Be advised the star has shed more stellar material and radiation levels are increasing as a result. Even if we can fully restore the Scout's shields and focus our own back solely upon the Mini-Sal there is no guarantee at this time that they will be sufficient to block the increased levels. Data projection indicates our position will not be impacted for approximately 47.1 minutes=^=, Savot calculated even as he spoke to arrive at the timeframe.

=^=Therefore the threat is not yet imminent but we must accelerate our rescue; determine whether the scout can be moved under its own power or if we'll have to try towing it with our tractor beam. If it becomes necessary we'll abandon it but only as a last resort. In either case bring any survivors aboard the Mini-Sal for treatment; will advise upon any situational changes, Savot out.=^=

[Deleted]

Firestorm to Ennien & Daen
Location: Klingon Vessel

The giant cat hurried after K'ratak, the Founder close on his heels. His ears were lying flat on top of his head, his eyes wide in excitement. His tail lashed on occasion, making contact with the Founder's face on occasion.

"Doctor, mind your tail," Daen chided him, as he hurried along to catch up with K'ratak. "What exactly are we looking for colonel?" he asked curiously, peering up and down the corridor. "I know we received a distress call, and I know we're in an irradiated area, but what exactly are we looking for? Do we expect to encounter survivors?"

Firestorm glanced around, occasionally peering at his tricorder. "Colonel, we wére expecting survivors weren't we?" he asked, glancing up at the Klingon. "I'm not detecting anything but it could be the radiation interferes with the sensors in my tricorder. Permission to go scouting around?"

[K'ratak, any in the away team]


Commander S'reena Hope
Location: Mini-Sal

S'reena studied her screen, her hands resting on the console as she sat listening to the screen output. "Captain, the awayteam is safely aboard the Klingon cruiser," she reported, "however communication may be a little distorted with the radiation becoming more evident. They will need to start retreat to the umbilical within forty minutes, or they will suffer severe radiation poisoning."

She turned to face him. "And our only medic, has gone along with them," she pointed out, rather unnecessarily. "Also, I do not believe that the mini-sal will be able to tow that cruiser out of here. Not unless we cut back power on various other systems, life support included."

The Romulan turned back to her console, keying in various commands into the computer. "According to computer calculations, we might just tow them with a tractorbeam, provided we do cut back on life support, sensors and shields. We'll want to keep as much of our shields as possible, but calculations show that at least half the power is needed. Additionally, we may need to tap into our warp core reserves. However, you may recalculate if you desire. You are better versed in this than I am."

[Savot]

[kratak]

Looking back as Firestorm asked his questions " I'm really not sure what I'm looking for right now. I guess I'm trying to see if I can pick up on anything thats not right. I have served a long time on klingon ships before joining star Fleet. Something just doesn't feel right even with a limited science department on board something should have sounded a warning."

" If you wish to look around survivors thats fine but I would suggest setting your phaser to stun. I do not know the crews mental state if you come across somebody, they might not understand your here to help. Also keep in mind they may not want your help Mr. Firestorm Honor among the crew is not always logical"

looking back down at the veiw screen he started to see what systems were damaged. He was hoping to maybe get the ship back under its own power and move it out of the system. Problem was he had rerouted power to shields and most systems were dead because of it.

Opening a com channel " Commander Jackson I'm very limited on what I can do from the bridge with out power. Firestorm is searching the ship for suvivors request permission to join him and if possible make it to the captains quarters. There's a small chance there might be something in the ships long. Since its written down we wont need power to read throught it"


ooc: k'ratak, I've modded firestorm's name only. It's one word, not two, thanks. - s'reena/sonak-

[SA. Stacey Jackson [Ret]]

Stacey let out a small sigh as Savot gave the team news on the impending wave of radiation headed their way. She looked down at the Klingon control panel for a moment her thoughts racing with statistics and timeframes. Her fingers tapped the railing as she thought, her thoughts were interrupted by K’ratak. She activated the comm. And replied.

“Permission granted Colonel, our first priority is the search for survivors, don’t spend too much time looking for the log book.” She closed the channel and was once again left the think. Taking a deep breath she finally reached a conclusion.

“All hands this is Commander Jackson, repair efforts are to be ceased, find any survivors get them to the mini sal.. I repeat repair efforts are to cease all hands to be looking for survivors, Jackson out!”

She turned to look at the new arrival to the engineering room, one of K’ratak’s marines Savot had sent down. She looked at the rather heavy equipment she was carrying and pulled and apologetic face. “Sorry Corporal, that needs to go back to the mini sal.”

The young woman merely nodded, which impressed Jackson for she would have at least whined a little at the thought of lugging it back up the stairs, watching the young woman begin to climb Jackson gave a slight nod before turning to Stewart and saying. “Lock down the computer systems, what’s left of them anyway, there won’t be enough time to engage engines on this tin can.. and if my poorly done calculations are correct the Mini Sal won’t be able to lug the thing out of here.. they can send a specialised ship to tow it away if they want later.”

Stacey pointed down a corridor as their destination and added. “We will start down there, and work our way down.. likelihood is as this was the most irradiated part of the ship nobody down there is alive.. but I would hate to leave and find out we were wrong.. so.. Ensigns first.”

<Tag Stewart>

She let out an exasperated sigh as she activated the comm. Yet again this time to the Mini Sal. “Captain, I have ordered rescue efforts of the crew to take main priority.. from the looks of the klingons engine room getting it moving in time to outrun the radiation wave would take several miracles.. have the EMH ready for casualties we will be sending them shortly.. Jackson out.”

<Savot. Hope>

Jackson followed closely behinds Stewart as they popped their heads into rooms checking for any living Klingon’s.

OOC: <Stewart, K’ratak and Firestorm Please post yourselves exploring the ship and hopefully finding some survivors, if you need any help please contact me or Savot>

[Savot]

For once the task was blissfully simple. The radiation hadn't driven the Klingons mad before incapacitating them, so the intrepid Starfleet officers didn't have to go looking before bulkhead panels for hidden paranoid unconscious forms. As Klingons tend to be a bit on the bulky side; however, moving the survivors once they were found took a good portion of the time they had remaining.

Eventually all the survivors were aboard and for both time and cultural concerns Savot ordered the dead left aboard the scoutship. Being killed by particles they couldn't see wasn't exactly the most heroic of deaths by Klingon standards, but going down with their ship to ensure it didn't fall into enemy hands was a bit more acceptable.

K'ratak had recovered the ship's log and as the Colonel came aboard helping carry the last of the survivors with Dr. Firestorm, Savot tapped his commbadge to contact Commander Jackson who was the last remaining officer aboard the scout, =^=Savot to Jackson, we're prepared to depart and only one final matter requires our attention. Colonel K'ratak has located the ship's destruct codes in the captain's logbook and the computer link he established earlier should allow us to arm the ship's self-destruct.=^=

=^=I would like to have recovered the vessel but we have insufficient power to maintain a secure tractor beam amidst the radiation interference, and any Klingon vessel they sent to retrieve it would face the same fate as the scout. Meanwhile a third party with sufficient metaphasic shielding could potentially steal the craft. As we are uncertain as to the exact reaction the stellar debris will have to an exploding ship I recommend setting a countdown that will allow the Mini-Sal sufficient time to clear the system before it goes off. My calculations indicate 19 minutes will be adequate=^=, Savot finished.

[Deleted]

"I suspect that radiation sickness will overcome them anyway captain," S'reena reported from the science station. "they've been exposed to it for a while now, so decon and a medical check may be advisable. Regardless of them still having approximately twenty minutes left. The closer they come to engineering, the intenser radiation levels may be."

[Savot]

~Klingon vessel~

Firestorm raced through the corridors on all fours, his medkit slung across his back. His tail lashed with every leap he took, and the manner with which he ran gave the impression that the deck didn't feel right to his padded feet and hands. Indeed not, the deck felt strange, and the feline didn't like the sensation.

Suddenly, he wheeled to a full stop, lashing his tail to balance himself as his ears perked up. So far, he'd only found dead or dying Klingons, ones he could do precious little for and had died under his hands. Now, a soft moan reached his sharp hearing, and he dashed off towards the sound.

Several pounces away, buried under debris of what had been a wall console, he found what appeared to be a relatively young Klingon female. Her face was ashen and covered in pink-ish blood, while one of her legs was twisted at an odd angle. She snarled at him when he crouched beside her, hurling Klingon profanities at him.

"Easy, I'm here to help," Firestorm reassured her as he held his tricorder over her. "You'll be all right now, we're here to help." He pressed a hypospray against her shoulder, then tapped his combadge. "Colonel K'ratak, I've found a survivor. She's badly injured and needs to be transported to the mini-Sal immediately."

[K'ratak]

"The only thing she tells me is that apparently, I am not a feline but a dog because she claims that my mother was a dog...I'm a little confused by this but I doubt she's in her right mind. Other than that, whatever she tells me is not fit to be repeated over an unsecured commline. She's delirious sir, that's all I can tell you."

[K'ratak]

The Sivaoan doctor tapped his badge again. "Firestorm to Mini-Sal. I've found a severely injured Klingon woman, presumably in her mid-twenties. Request permission for transport."

[Anyone]

[Deleted]

Having spent a great deal of time away from starfleet, John was eager to return. He had left due to some problems that had stemmed from his last visit to earth, things he wished to now forget about, and get his career back on track.

He felt lucky, that he was able to return to the El Salvador, the ship he called home for a good 2 or 3 years, he just wondered how much will have changed. John already knew that Wolf had left the El Sal, from what he had heard he was given the command of his own Star ship, which on how ever, he was unsure.

Having informed Starfleet command of his intentions to return to active service, and also being quickly assigned to a vessel, he soon found himself on a transport ship to starbase 24.

The journey was to take a fair few days, something John wasn't going to exactly relish, as he just wanted to return to how things used to be, even though he knew deep down that would never happen, he knew there could be some animosity toward him from the members of the crew who may still be serving aboard the El Salvador. He sat allowed, in the transport ships quite dismal excuse for a mess hall, reading over his transfer orders. He was to report to a Commander Chester Delbridge as soon as he arrived. John sighed,
"Well, it would appear Savot has moved on" he said to himself, not really believing it.

The days passed, and he finally found himself at Starbase 24, he looked around, things seemed strange to him, new, and yet at the same time like he had seen it all before. Quickly he made his way to the USS El Salvador B, looking through the window he smiled at the magnificence of this fine ship, he had the same feeling of awe as he did on the first day he saw her.

It was like he had never left, John still knew his way around the ship and it was only a matter of minutes until he was on the bridge, reporting in to Commander Delbridge.

<Tag anyone who wished to play to the part of Commander Delbridge>

(OCC: If no one wishes to do this, I will post again in the coming days)

[Savot]

(Not to worry, I handle Delbridge since he's an old friend that enjoys trying to irritate Savot lol)

Commander chester Delbridge wore a wincing smile as he held the bridge alone now that the El Salvador had docked with Starbase 24. All anyone among the crew knew was that their next mission was top secret and as such everyone was being put through routine background and psych-evaluations before being cleared to participate. The reason for his wince; however, was not being interrogated but rather the result of Admiral Hayes' sternly disapproving glare.

=^=And after the smuggler ship crossed out of Federation space and our jurisdiction, how did you manage to arrest them?=^=, Hayes inquired.

All innocence, Delbridge gave a tiny shrug of his shoulders, "The tractor beam suffered a power surge that activated the beam and pulled them back on our side of the border. After that I was duty bound to seize them."

Hayes raised an eyebrow of tired disbelief, =^=You expect me to believe that Commander?=^=

Savot's friend winced once again, smiling innocently, "Not so much 'expect' as 'hope' you'd believe it." Hayes gave the carefree engineer a glare before simply signing off tiredly. Shortly thereafter the turbolift opened to reveal a CTSO with transfer orders.

"Welcome aboard Mr. Roberts", Delbridge said by way of greeting after getting his name from the datapadd, "I'm told your previous quarters are available unless you'd like to switch for some reason. The senior staff are on a mission aboard the Mini-Sal shuttlecraft but it shouldn't be too long before they get back."