Carl Torek
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"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
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Post by Carl Torek on Apr 2, 2015 0:55:01 GMT
~ Mission 27 : Collapse ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Synopsis:Following the incident at Utopia Planitia during the ships refit, the Raven, now fully operable is asked to deliver supplies to an outpost on Dulon Theta, in the Theta Delphi System. En-route, the Raven suffers a massive systems failure, and after four days of intensive work, Commander Blakus and his Engineers finally restore power. Contacting Command to apprise them of their status, the Raven is recalled to Star Base Forty Seven immediately, where upon arrival Admiral Torek and his Senior Staff are taken into custody.
Information had come to light that one point two million people of Selay, home-world of the Renna were murdered. The Selay Ambassador demanded charges of genocide are brought against the crew, stating their's was the only Federation vessel in the system at the time. As evidence of a Federation vessel’s involvement became public knowledge, and despite their protestations of innocence, a trial is set in motion on Earth. Checking the ship’s logs, it is found that no record of the Raven remains in the computer banks for the four days they were out of contact, this lends weight to the charges, and representatives of the Federation Council call for the crew to be stripped of all rank and privileges for the duration of the trial.
Then, news that a second planet has been attacked reaches the Council, along with evidence that clearly shows that a Federation Star Ship was in orbit around Trelam IV at the time of the incident. With the Raven impounded and the crew effectively under house arrest in San Francisco, it is blatantly obvious that another vessel is responsible for the atrocities !
Despite the overwhelming evidence that Admiral Torek and the crew are innocent of all charges, the Council deny his request to go in pursuit of the other vessel, choosing to send another Star Ship. Fearing another attack that could bring the Federation to the brink of collapse, Torek secretly recalls as many of the crew as possible without attracting attention, then he and the Senior Staff commandeer the Raven and set off in pursuit ...
After a third planet is attacked, the pressure on the Federation to uphold their promise to aid and protect all, is under serious threat ... Could this incident see the collapse of the Federation as we know it ? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Can the Raven crew help stabilize the situation and aprehand the culprits
The Federation itself may be at stake if they cannot
Regards
Adm. Carl Torek
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,160
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Post by Carl Torek on Apr 2, 2015 10:34:57 GMT
The ship had been drifting helplessly in the vastness of space between systems for four days, and finally, after a feat of engineering Carl had ever seen, Commander Blakus informed them that they were to re-initialize the warp core and bring power back to the ailing Galaxy Class vessel. Thankfully Carl sat in the Command seat awaiting news. The lighting, subdued due to it being Gamma Shift, and thus the middle of the night, brightened slightly, and once again took on that bluish tint. The Comm sparked to life: =^= Blakus to Bridge .. The core is on-line .. I'd like to run some checks but they can be carried out while under way =^= =^= Thank you Commander =^= Carl said. "Helm, set course for the Theta Delphi System, Harry contact Command, apprise them we are en-route to Dulon." "Sir ......" Commander Wedlerson replied, "Command have been attempting to contact us .... Sir, they have ordered us to Earth immediately." Carl frowned, while it wasn't unheard of for a Star Ship to be recalled, or re-routed, it was highly unusual for that to happen mid-mission. They still had thousands of tones of cargo in their holds, but orders were orders. He told the Navigation Officer to set course for Earth ........ oooOOOooo "What the hell is going on ?" Carl said as the ship was ordered into the massive Star Base dome and the ship was physically connected to external power. It hadn't gone un-noticed that the usual umbilicus and personnel walkways had not been moved into place. He was about to query this when the turbo-lift doors opened. The crew fell silent as two men stepped onto the Bridge, Admiral Tetsutaro, Head of Star Fleet Intelligence, and a Captain Carl didn't know. "Your ready room Admiral." Tetsutaro said, fully expecting Torek to follow him. As the door closed Carl asked what was going on: "Admiral. This is Captain Denny Yates ... She is from the Judge Advocate Generals Office ..." Sato began. "I am here to inform you that you and your Command Staff are under arrest Admiral." Yates said. "What ! ...." Carl said, but the JAG Officer cut him off. "You are being detained pending trial on numerous charges. You will be informed of these charges in due course and legal representation assigned. Until than you and your Staff will be held at Star Fleet Command." "Charges, what charges ? ..... and before you interrupt again 'Captain' I have every right to hear the charges before being taken off my own ship !" Torek pointed out. "Carl, please, allow her to do this without incident, it will be better for all in the long run. Have your Senior Staff make their way to transporter room two immediately. Once Council has been assigned we will talk again, but at this point my son, my hands are tied. I was allowed to come here as a courtesy given our relationship, but that courtesy ends here I am afraid, and Captain Yates has jurisdiction." Almost dumbfounded, Carl opened a Comm to Commander Wedlerson and did as he was told. Fifteen minutes later they were under arrest and in a detention suite at Command Headquarters, not exactly a jail cell, but the next thing to it given the two Security Officers outside the door, and the fact that door didn't open for any of them. Despite countless questions, he couldn't answer any of them and asked them to be patient. Two hours later someone entered the suite: oooOOOooo "Admiral Torek. I am Commander Shaw ... I've been appointed as Defence Council for the trial. I managed to stop them stripping you of all rank and privileges, after all, nothing in my opinion has been proved yet." "Trial !" Several Of them said in unison, unable to remain silent. "No-one has informed you of the charges ?" Shaw asked, shocked, "The primary charge is that you fired on the surface of, A planet named, Selay ... The attack was unprovoked and resulted in over a million deaths. despite pleadings from the surface you continued to fire on their main city ...... You are being charged with genocide !" he said, looking at each of the dumbfounded faces of the Raven crew in turn ....... "This is beyond ridiculous !" Calli blurted, "We didn't fire on anyone." Carl held up a hand to silence her. "There has to be some mistake Captain. We left Mars orbit en-route to the Theta Delphi System. One day out we suffered a massive systems failure, we contacted Command when we managed to get power back ..... Check the ships log. It will sh ......." "We already have Admiral." Shaw interrupted, "That's why it took me two hours to get to you. We've been on the Raven ....." "So you know exactly where we were !" Blakus said, almost relieved it was all a mistake. "The log is blank ..... At least, it shows a power spike in the warp core, the record ends there. The next entry is four hours nine minutes fourteen seconds later, when the core is brought back on-line." Shaw informed them, "I'm going to try to get you out of here and released on your own recognizance until the trial begins ... You will need to remain in San Francisco obviously, and you will not have access to the Raven. Unfortunately, several Ambassador's are calling for a quick conclusion to the proceedings, which in itself makes me wonder at their motives, but who am I to judge." he said, almost grinning at his own pun. He told Torek he would be back as soon as practical and pressed the buzzer on this side of the door, it opened and he was gone, leaving the Raven crew in astonished silence. "It is possible the logs were lost during the systems failure." Andae said, explaining their apparent non-existence. "We need to get out of here and look into these charges ourselves." Calli said. Carl agreed, but decided to wait until Shaw could have them released 'officially' ... He looked at Kate Jamison, who had been sat quietly listening to the conversation, "Hardly the start you were expecting what I requested you to join the crew Lieutenant." he said, a wry grin forming. Kate smiled, but didn't reply .......... < tag : ALL >
OK everyone, our new mission is under way. Hope you enjoy OOC :: We'll obviously get out, but why not post your point of view of the events so far, the recall, arrest, charges etc.
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,447
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Post by Andae Blakus on Apr 3, 2015 15:46:40 GMT
"No, the official report. The document..." a fluttering of papers, scattering of padds, "Trial counsel, you have the papers there I believe?"
"I do, sir." He heard the advocate's footsteps as he paced around the room, "The USS San Jose reported to Starfleet Command that a Galaxy class vessel entered orbit of Selay on Stardate 2401.0303. Within three hours they began bombardment of the world's capital city with full-powered phaser arrays and utilising at least a third of their complement of photon torpedoes. The Selay authorities reported to the USS San Jose that they had suffered 1.2 million casualties, and claimed that the Galaxy class vessel in question left orbit 15 minutes after cessation of their bombardment, having made no attempt at initial contact or any response to pleas for mercy from the Selay government."
"Thank you, counsel, we'll hear no more. I think this court is in agreement that this constitutes sufficient evidence for a court-mart - ..."
Andae's stomach had begun to turn, had been since the first proclamations from the prosecution had been delivered: that this court martial shouldn't progress through any intermediary stage, and that if the defendants had any honour they would confess their guilt and allow the trial to proceed straight to sentencing, considering their past encounters with the judicial branch of Starfleet and the irrefutable evidence of the fresh charges brought against them.
The prosecutor's primary, his only example, Andae thought furiously, was when he and Alex were indicted for disobeying a direct order of the Admiralty, diverting the Raven's mission to deliver her Commanding Officer to the Cordovin authorities and pursuing the insane Tahl El Kamat.
He began to scream. It wasn't noticeable; only a shriek inside, growing in fury til it saturated all his senses with the unbearable shrill piercing of a needle through the cranium...
It was with this terrible dream image that Blakus was forced into a foggy, fear-ridden consciousness. Dark thoughts of that pre-trial - conducted yesterday - continued to assail his mind til he reached a sitting position, sweating - his uniform collar drenched with the perspiration - before other Raven officers who had stuck with him in this part of Starfleet HQ, mostly engineers but with a few exceptions.
"Andae, are you alright?" one of them asked.
<Tag Anyone> OOC: I'm going to write Blakus's experience of the power failure, return to Earth, arrest and charges as a short series of flashbacks
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Marionette
Commander
Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
Registered: Mar 2, 2012 3:26:33 GMT
Posts: 285
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Post by Marionette on Apr 6, 2015 1:50:32 GMT
The ship had been drifting helplessly in the vastness of space between systems for four days, and finally, after a feat of engineering Carl had ever seen, Commander Blakus informed them that they were to re-initialize the warp core and bring power back to the ailing Galaxy Class vessel. Thankfully Carl sat in the Command seat awaiting news. Due to it being Gamma Shift, and thus the middle of the night, Marionette was fast ‘asleep’, plugged into the wall and recharging. o-O-o "What the hell is going on ?" Carl said as the ship was ordered into the massive Star Base dome and the ship was physically connected to external power. It hadn't gone un-noticed that the usual umbilicus and personnel walkways had not been moved into place. He was about to query this when the turbolift doors opened. The crew fell silent as two men stepped onto the Bridge, Admiral Tetsutaro, Head of Starfleet Intelligence, and a Captain Carl didn't know. "Your ready room, Admiral." Tetsutaro said, his words being as authoritative as they were quiet and polite. Marionette had not met or seen anyone else pull off such a feat as Tetsutaro could do, in speaking in that style. She leaned forward and slightly to the left at her console, peering after the (now closed) sliding doors of Torek’s ready room, the gynoid’s face an almost-picturesque expression of curiosity. Shortly after that, all senior staff were ordered to transporter room two, and once planetside, were escorted to a detention suite at Command Headquarters. It wasn’t exactly a jail cell, but the next thing to it given the two Security Officers outside the door, and the fact that door didn't open for any of them. Two hours later someone entered the suite: o-O-o "Admiral Torek. I am Commander Shaw ... I've been appointed as Defense Council for the trial. I managed to stop them stripping you of all rank and privileges, after all, nothing in my opinion has been proved yet." "Trial !" Several of them said in unison, unable to remain silent. "No-one has informed you of the charges ?" Shaw asked, visibly shocked, "The primary charge is that you fired on the surface of, A planet named, Selay ... The attack was unprovoked and resulted in over a million deaths. Despite pleadings from the surface you continued to fire on their main city ...... You are being charged with Genocide !" he said, looking at each of the dumbfounded faces of the Raven crew in turn ....... "This is beyond ridiculous!" Calli blurted, "We didn't fire on anyone." Carl held up a hand to silence her. "There has to be some mistake Captain. We left Mars orbit en-route to the Theta Delphi System. One day out we suffered a massive systems failure, we contacted Command when we managed to get power back ..... Check the ships log. It will sh ......." "We already have, Admiral." Shaw interrupted, "That's why it took me two hours to get to you. We've been on the Raven ....." "So you know exactly where we were !" Blakus said, almost relieved it was all a mistake. "The log is blank ..... At least, it shows a power spike in the warp core, the record ends there. The next entry is four hours nine minutes fourteen seconds later, when the core is brought back on-line." Shaw informed them, "I'm going to try to get you out of here and released on your own recognizance until the trial begins ... You will need to remain in San Francisco obviously, and you will not have access to the Raven. Unfortunately, several Ambassadors are calling for a quick conclusion to the proceedings, which in itself makes me wonder at their motives, but who am I to judge." he said, almost grinning at his own pun. He told Torek he would be back as soon as practical and pressed the buzzer on this side of the door, it opened and he was gone, leaving the Raven crew in astonished silence. "It is possible the logs were lost during the systems failure." Andae said, explaining their apparent non-existence. Marionette piped up “Physical evidence of the Ravens torpedo magazines should prove that we did not commit orbital genocide upon the Renna....Furthermore, I am inclined to think that my memory engrams may be admissible as evidence. I am the chief navigations officer, and thus, my memory engrams would have visual records of the Raven’s whereabouts, via the Conn console.”"We need to get out of here and look into these charges ourselves." Calli said. Carl agreed, but decided to wait until Shaw could have them released ‘officially’...... Until then, it was a waiting game. < tag : torek; ALL >
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,447
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Post by Andae Blakus on Apr 6, 2015 19:11:47 GMT
"I don't know the injector assembly just failed! There's no explanation. The nozzle heads, the gas combiner... no problems with the hardware..." Milyanov commed down from deck 30. Blakus answered in the shortest way possible to avoid any further blusters from his assistant.
There was a massive inactive warp core lying at the heart of engineering. The ship was adrift, 'felt' adrift, the reaction chamber no longer functioning due to an inexplicable malfunction in the matter reactant injector.
Obviously they'd dropped out of warp but due to momentum were still travelling at near-relativistic velocity. Blakus didn't need to tell the bridge that with the shields and deflector offline disaster could be imminent... anything larger than a suitcase striking the hull at this speed would be catastrophic; if it didn't shoot right through the hull it would in any case lead to the ship's total loss, either blown into fragments scattering across millions of kilometres or reduced to a hulk barrelling out of control into nothingness.
Four hours later the problem was pinned down by engineer Lieutenant Tinsley and Ops officer Wedlerson, strangely enough it originated in deflector control. Some beam of exotic particles - source unknown - directed at the navigational deflector had caused a feedback loop that had worked its way through the ship to the warp drive system, shutting down the whole ship.
* * *
Why Blakus stayed in this room he didn't know. He was permitted full access to the grounds of Starfleet HQ, the Academy and the Presidio in central San Francisco for the duration of the trial, yet for some reason he felt that wherever he went in sun-drenched California the authorities would be watching.
“Physical evidence of the Ravens torpedo magazines should prove that we did not commit orbital genocide upon the Renna....Furthermore, I am inclined to think that my memory engrams may be admissible as evidence. I am the chief navigations officer, and thus, my memory engrams would have visual records of the Raven’s whereabouts, via the Conn console,” Marionette said.
Blakus cleared his throat... "Well, regarding the torpedoes, Commander Peers and I agreed during the loss of power that we needed to take a third of the arsenal offline, remove the warheads. Sorry, sir," he turned to Carl, "I don't know why I didn't think to mention it earlier. Peers wasn't happy at first but I wanted to test a theory that the settings on the warheads may have contributed to the feedback loop that took out the warp core."
"But the torpedoes are still there, the actual casings even without the warheads?"
"Yes," Blakus conceded, "But the prosecution could easily argue that after the bombardment we refilled the magazines with empty casings to make it appear that no torpedoes had been fired." He laughed, "Unfortunately the warheads were disposed of during my test... We were desperate; at the time there was no guarantee we'd 'ever' get power back."
There was a brief period of uproar, before not Andae, but Wedlerson calmed them, "Then this means someone off the ship knew that we'd be missing a third of our torpedo warheads once we reestablished power. All the easier to frame us for this genocide."
"The USS San Jose's commander made the report of our supposed crime to Starfleet. Perhaps we can start with him, reach him somehow."
"We can do that or wait for further developments, in the trial or out there... maybe another ship's up for being framed," Andae said, running through his head meticulously those four hours of the power outage: where he had been, what he had been doing. He was sure he could account for the four hours in all his remembered actions... could he?
<Tag Carl, Marionette, 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: 6,160
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Post by Carl Torek on Apr 7, 2015 18:42:19 GMT
He listened to his Senior Staff, allowing the information regarding the ships' weapons to sink in ... He never interrupted these discussions, it was how he had always worked, allowing the free flow of information and idea's across the table, or in this case, the furniture ... In a lull in the conversation he brought a point up for clarification: "Sooo, 'WE' did not fire, but we could be perceived as having done so, then using subterfuge to cover up our act ?" "That's about right yes." Harry confirmed. Carl sat back, deep in thought as he worked on how he, they, were going to clear their collective names before another planet suffered at their non-involved hands ...... oooOOOooo The trial was into the third day, and progressing, albeit slower than the proverbial glacier, as more and more conflicting evidence was presented ....... The main theme seemed to be that another Federation Star Ship, the USS San Jose, had received the initial distress call, and had gleamed from this that the USS Raven-B was the prime suspect. commander Shaw, rather surprisingly, had questioned and all but dismissed each piece of 'evidence' as it was presented, yet the Raven crew still remained under effective house arrest. Carl's frustration and anger were growing exponentially, and he realized it was only a matter of time before he said something that was going to get him into serious trouble ... At the lunch recess, they sat together, each having an opinion on this motion or that motion, and all agreeing that Shaw was making a mockery of the Prosecution ... The general consensus among the Senior Staff was that the charges would have to be dropped before the day was out. Alas, that wasn't the case ..... They were expecting to be called back into the Court when one of the Officials enter and told them there was going to be a delay. "How long ?" Calli asked, suddenly wary, but the man couldn't say. One hour later Commander Shaw came in a looked at everyone before speaking in almost a whisper: "Another planet has been attacked." he said, dropping into a seat as several questions issued, finally he raised his hands and Carl asked everyone to hold off for a moment and allow the Commander to continue, Thank you Admiral .... Kellan II, in the Beta Androni System .... Reports are sketchy at the moment, but initial estimates put the death toll in the hundreds of thousands." "They have got to release the Raven now !" Harry said, but they could all see Shaw shaking his head slowly, "You have got to be joking, they won't let us go !" "Several of the Council feel that, your reputation for taking matters into your own hands, and either ignoring or outright defying orders, has unfortunately preceded you. They think that given the Raven, and ergo Admiral Torek and his Senior Staff, are the prime suspects, it would be a grave error to allow you the opportunity to cover your, deeds, so to speak." Shaw said, plainly embarrassed at the comments he had relayed. "So ..... Let me get this straight." Torek said, finally reaching the end of his proverbial tether, A planet is attacked. This attack coincides with a catastrophic systems failure on the Raven. Given we have no record for the time frame in question,'WE' are the prime suspects, and are brought in. In the meantime, a second planet is attacked, and the Prosecution claims that due to the delay in receiving the information, it is possible the Raven is guilty of this attack too ..... Now ..... While the Command Staff are being held in Star Fleet Headquarters under constant surveillance, and the six hundred and forty six meter, four point five MILLION TONNES USS Raven-B is in plain view of anyone who cares to look out of a window ... 'WE' are still on trial !" he walked to the window and looked down on the plaza and out to the Golden Gate Bridge, before turning to face everyone. He walked to the table and slowly reached up to his collar, removing the Admiral rank insignia from both side and placing them almost gently on the table. He turned and walked into one of the side rooms closing the door behind him quietly .... He had a favour to call in ..... A big one ! Everyone looked at the insignia. Not seeing the rank, but seeing what the small, almost insignificant act meant ...... It seemed as if no-one had spoken a single word since the door had closed, as it opened Carl looked at the insignia then strode up to Commander Shaw: "Your Comm badge please Commander." Carl said, holding out a hand, raising his eyebrows as if defying the man to refuse. Shaw removed the badge and handed it to Carl who threw it to Blakus, "Call who you need, we're leaving, Calli, T'Brel, all of you do the same. Commander Shaw, I want the Security Personnel moved from that door in fifteen minutes." "What ? .... You can't leave ! ... Sir I apologize but I don't see wha ...." "Do not 'Sir' me, Commander. Move those two men away from that door in fifteen minutes ... Or I will." Torek said, eyes locked on Shaw's. He took the offered Comm badge from Marionette and walked to the door, with a glance back he was gone. "I'm assuming that you have somewhere to go ?" Calli said, seeing Carl's snide grim at the question, "..... and something to go in ?" "I do still have 'some' friends here." Torek reassured them, "But it's going to be tight. If the trial is postponed long enough, no-one should come looking for us. I have a shuttle picking us up from the Academy Quad in twenty minutes. If all goes to plan the order to move the Raven to an outside Space Dock should already be happening. With no crew and nowhere for it to go, there's no need to take up valuable interior dock space. If it goes wrong, then they can add the charges to the list." he said shrugging. Wedlerson went to the table and picked up the rank insignia before turning to Carl: "We won't reach the front door while these are on the table, Admiral." "Yes we will .... Commander Peers, you take the lead, if questioned you're moving us to more secure accommodation. Given the hub-hub, and the fact we're apparently as guilty as hell, they should accept your explanation. If they don't, hit them !" he approached the door and took a deep breath, ready to pull the Security Officer inside before he could react then tapped the door com ... It opened instantly and he could see a single Security Officer with his back to the door talking to Shaw, the Defence Council pushed the man backwards checking the corridor left and right. He remained in the doorway while T'Brel secured the Officer, then stepped aside as Commander Peers took Carl's arm and led him out, the others in tow. Thankfully the passage through Headquarters to the Academy Quadrangle was short, and they were not questioned en-route to their transport .... oooOOOooo "Commander Kol .... Good to see you again." Carl said as they entered the shuttle, "The change of uniform suits you." "Still getting used to it Admiral ..." the Klingon said, fidgeting uncomfortably in his seat, "I assume there will be a role in whatever Command you hold if this goes wrong ?" he said, grinning. As they lifted off the Quad he wondered if he was doing the right thing, but given the charges, the apparent blindness of the Council, and the fact millions were dying, told him that he was .......... The shuttle moved silently into high orbit and began to approach the now externally docked Raven. Given no work was actually being carried out, the ship remained on internal power, and free from docking restraints. All they had to do was get aboard, bring the core on-line, glide serenely out of the cradle and go to warp .... All this before someone on the massive Star Base only one hundred kilometers behind them, matching their geo-stationary orbit above San Francisco noticed the ship was gone ! ... He hoped his Engineer, and his Navigation Officer were as good as they claimed ! 'Piece of cake' Carl thought as they neared the Galaxy Class Star Ship ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,447
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Post by Andae Blakus on Apr 8, 2015 12:53:29 GMT
"Who have they assigned to go after the perpetrators at Trelam IV?" Blakus asked Shaw as their defence counsel, Marionette's commbadge in hand, rose to leave the Raven officers.
"The USS San Jose, believe it or not," he replied, "With the trial temporarily suspended, Captain Franks has been ordered back to his vessel to investigate matters in the Beta Androni system, and to ascertain whether or not... you lot had any involvement in the massacre." Shaw shared a look of mutual disbelief with Andae and co before leaving the room to make the 'security arrangements'.
Fifteen minutes later they were striding across the Quad in the brilliant sun, all the surrounding buildings' surfaces reflecting the dazzling brightness. The nine of them sequestered themselves away from any prying eyes inside the beckoning shuttle, Blakus wondering if the ship could be run with so few officers... He'd never had a chance to test that. The theoretical minimum of crew that would allow the vessel to function in most scenarios was 25, that of a standard operational crew (excluding families) of 700.
He was pondering this triviality as the shuttle graced off its launch pad and headed for high orbit. From the case prosecutors' loaned meeting room, the leading advocate stared out the window at the ascending shuttle - having just been informed of a security breach in the mess adjoining the court chamber - and collapsed to the table occupied by his fellow prosecutors, sighing in relief.
The shuttle approached to within 500m of the outlying spacedock, most of the Raven's portals lighting up the night sky, its nacelles glowing in anticipation. Matters on the surface - the rallying of the Raven's other essential crew - were progressing less smoothly. Milyanov and other crewmembers, including a large contingent of the engineering staff, had been blocked at the last hurdle from exiting Headquarters and were being questioned in an anteroom to the very chamber set aside for their collective court martial. As the Russian voiced his frustration on behalf of the Raven remnant most of the necessary officers for operation of the ship did make it away from across the city, in separate shuttles or non-Starfleet craft.
The command team's shuttle touched down in the shuttlebay at the aft of the saucer section. As the shuttle's door hissed open and Andae stepped back onto the vessel he had feared he would never see again, an incoming comm alert sounded from the still powered-up shuttle.
"Admiral Torek. USS Raven-B crew! This is Fleet Admiral Brazhensky. Return to the surface at once. Any attempt to leave the spacedock will result in the direst of consequences for..."
Andae ran from the bay in order not to hear the rest of the bad news. He worked with half a dozen engineers to get the drive and associated engine systems ready for warp and impulse speed respectively, only realising 15 minutes later that he was missing nearly three quarters of his usual staff.
"Warp speed at your discretion, Admiral," he reported to Torek.
He entered the bridge shortly after, finding the Admiral and Calli Valenti standing before the viewscreen which was displaying an aft view. The shrinking blue marble of Earth was the most prominent feature; before that was the sun-reflecting jewel of Earth Spacedock, but before that, and much closer, were the sleek lines of a Sovereign class vessel.
"The USS Tempest is pursuing us," Peers explained to Andae as he powered up the engineering console. "Shields at full power, Admiral."
"We're at maximum impulse," Blakus confirmed from the aft-facing station, "And so are they," he referred to the faster USS Tempest. "They might be waiting to try and preempt our jump to warp. But whenever we decide to do it they'll be able to catch us. If we jump to maximum they'll just jump to their own maximum and bring us to order. We could try to trick them..."
"How?" Peers asked after a moment.
"I'm thinking." Quickly growing frustrated as he checked and double-checked that they did have maximum rated warp speed available, Andae turned around, "I don't know. I only made the suggestion... We could suddenly go into reverse, jump to an appreciable warp factor and head in the opposite direction, then make a slow arc around. That 'might' throw them off for a while."
<Tag All>
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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 Apr 8, 2015 23:27:19 GMT
Earlier that day ::To say she was on the verge of doing something stupid was somewhat of an understatement ..... She had the distinct feeling that her 'request' to Admiral Tetsutaro to be allowed to remain on the Raven indefinitely would have evaporated some of the 'good will' people owed her while an Intelligence Officer. She shrugged inwardly, listening to everything that was being said and keeping a close eye on her Step-brother Carl, who seemed to be struggling with events, or rather the complete inadequacy of the so-called Council and their unwillingness to see what was right in front of their collective faces ! Now ::"Sooo, 'WE' did not fire ... But we could be perceived to have done so, then used subterfuge to cover up our act ?" "That's about right yes." Harry had confirmed. It was at the moment she realized that Carl's frustration was passing boiling point. His next actions had confirmed her suspicions, and twenty five minutes later they were on the Bridge of the Raven, Commander Blakus coaxing the massive engines to purr their way out of the cradle. Marionette was at Navigation, calmly turning the ship away from the blue green jewel below and into the openness of space between the Earth and Mars ... It hadn't taken long for Command to request their return, and when that didn't work, they sent a ship to follow the Raven and what, bring her back ? "The USS Tempest is pursuing us," Peers explained to Andae as he powered up the engineering console. "Shields at full power, Admiral." "We're at maximum impulse," Blakus confirmed from the aft-facing station, "And so are they." She sat in the Executive Officers seat. With the absence of Commander Jamison, still in hospital on Earth, and the Second Officer busy cajoling his engines into purring contentedly, the seat was free ..... She listened to the idea's from both men then turned to Carl: "We both have trans-warp, so running isn't really an option. The Tempest would simply lock onto our wake and drop out on our tail in seconds ...... The tonnage differential between us gives them the upper hand on speed, not by much, but enough to keep us on the proverbial leash until they decide to act." "You're point ?" Carl asked. "You could appeal to their better judgement ?" she said, a wry grin forming as T'Brel, monitoring communications informed them that the Tempest had been ordered to detain the Raven ans board if necessary. The idea stunned everyone on the Bridge, "You know Captain Melroy don't you ?" she asked. "Pamela ... Yes ... Second youngest Star Ship Captain ... We knew each other, but I doubt she would disregard an order from Command in favour of a fleeting friendship with me." Carl said, shaking his head. "She doesn't have to 'disobey' though, does she ........." Calli said, "My suggestion, we can afford an hour, we could catch the San Jose easily if we decide to follow them rather than begin our own investigation from a different angle. We don't 'NEED' the Tempest's co-operation, we just need their, hesitation." "You have an idea somewhere in there Commander ?" Torek asked. Calli looked at the view-screen and did a quick mental calculation: "Establish a low orbit around ... Neptune ... 'Ask' the Tempest to match the orbit. We're far enough out that if Command sent a second ship after us we can run, and we'll be close enough to the ethane in the upper atmosphere should hopefully interfere with communications, monitoring will be an issue for them with us so low, so you'll have a window of maybe thirty to forty minutes before Command decide to act. Given the current situation I'm guessing it will be closer to the forty mark." "Guessing ?" Marionette asked. "Yes Commander. We do that now and then." Calli said, grinning. "Drop to half impulse, establish a low orbit around Neptune." Carl said, looking at Calli for a second before continuing, "T'Brel, contact the Tempest, ask them to join us." he said, wondering vaguely if they would, or if they would attempt to pressure the Raven without waiting. The Galaxy Class Raven seemed to drift closer and closer to Neptune's atmosphere before levelling into a low orbit. They watched the screen, the Aft view showing the eddies formed as their ship traversed the upper layers of the poisonous atmosphere, then, almost missed at first, was the first glint of sunlight reflected of the pristine surface of the Sovereign Class USS Trident. Apparently Pamela Melroy had accepted the invite. All they needed to do now was convince a vessel crewed by almost nine hundred Officers and Crew, that less than thirty people could do what they could ! "Admiral. The Tempest is closing to within one thousand kilometers, eight hundred, six hundred, four hundred ...... Shields ?" Commander Peers informed them. Carl glanced at Calli then shook his head, trying not to second-guess what he had set in motion, "Two hundred ... One thousand meters, six hundred, four hundred, two hundred, approach speed reducing ... Stable at one hundred meters." They all watched the image on the view-screen. The idea of having two such vessels in close proximity was almost unheard of unless in Space-dock. The colossal weights of the two vessels made them want to close the distance between them, and left to themselves, both ships would slam into each other with devastating consequences. Quantum physic's called this the Casimir Effect, and at such close proximity both ships would need to constantly adjust thruster control to keep the gap stable. It wasn't impossible for two Star Ships to achieve a physical dock, just unheard of. "Seems the Captain is willing to listen after all." Calli said. Carl looked at his Navigation Officer: "Commander Marionette. If that ship moves a meter closer. I want you to warp out of here, don't wait for confirmation of this order, understand ?" "Precisely, Admiral." the Android said, a look of surprise on her face at his query. "And while you are watching them, you and Lieutenant Jamision try to figure out how to disable their primary systems from over here. Nothing essential, navigation, drive systems ... If you have no luck then look at life support. Whatever you do, they must not know what you are doing, because friends or no, they 'WILL' do everything they can to prevent us leaving the system, and we're on the clock here gentlemen .... T'Brel, open a Comm to the Captain of the Tempest ....." < tag : Marionette / Kate >=^= Admiral Torek .. I am sorry we are meeting under such 'strained' circumstances .. But I must respectfully request that you accompany us back to Earth orbit =^= =^= Good to see you again Captain .. Alas .. I cannot comply with your request .. In fact I would like you to delay your pursuit of us until we can establish who is doing this =^= =^= Sorry Admiral Torek .. But I have orders to detain you and your Senior Staff =^= "Commander Valente ...." Peers said quietly, attracting Calli's attention, "They are bringing weapons on-line." she nodded almost imperceptibly and the Tactical Officer looked at the screen once again. =^= You would seriously consider firing on a sister Star Ship Pamela ? .. .. .. Really =^= =^= I have my orders Admiral .. With all due respect I would much rather do this in a civilized manner .. But I will fire on you if you attempt to leave orbit without consent =^= =^= You 'KNOW' what is happening .. I can't let my crew be tarnished with this outrage and the Council are bowing to pressure .. I am going to ask you again Captain .. Not on the strength of out friendship but on your personal feelings .. You know there is no way the Raven would do what she is being accused of .. I need the time to prove that myself .. For my crew ! =^= =^= You have fifteen minutes to comply Admiral =^= Captain Melroy stated then closed the comm .......... < tag : All >
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Marionette
Commander
Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
Registered: Mar 2, 2012 3:26:33 GMT
Posts: 285
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Post by Marionette on Apr 9, 2015 20:25:19 GMT
"Establish a low orbit around ... Neptune ... 'Ask' the Tempest to match the orbit. We're far enough out that if Command sent a second ship after us we can run, and we'll be close enough to the ethane in the upper atmosphere should hopefully interfere with communications, monitoring will be an issue for them with us so low, so you'll have a window of maybe thirty to forty minutes before Command decide to act. Given the current situation I'm guessing it will be closer to the forty mark."
"Guessing ?" Marionette asked. "Yes Commander. We do that now and then." Calli said, grinning. Marionette did not know how to reply to that, so, she didn't.
"Commander Marionette. If that ship moves a meter closer. I want you to warp out of here, don't wait for confirmation of this order, understand ?"
"Precisely, Admiral." the Android said, a look of surprise on her face at his query.
"And while you are watching them, you and Lieutenant Jamison try to figure out how to disable their primary systems from over here. Nothing essential, navigation, drive systems ... If you have no luck then look at life support. Whatever you do, they must not know what you are doing, because friends or no, they 'WILL' do everything they can to prevent us leaving the system, and we're on the clock here gentlemen .... T'Brel, open a Comm to the Captain of the Tempest ....."
=^= Admiral Torek .. I am sorry we are meeting under such 'strained' circumstances .. But I must respectfully request that you accompany us back to Earth orbit =^=
=^= Good to see you again Captain .. Alas .. I cannot comply with your request .. In fact I would like you to delay your pursuit of us until we can establish who is doing this =^=
=^= Sorry Admiral Torek .. But I have orders to detain you and your Senior Staff =^=
"Commander Valente ...." Peers said quietly, attracting Calli's attention, "They are bringing weapons on-line." she nodded almost imperceptibly and the Tactical Officer looked at the screen once again.
=^= You would seriously consider firing on a sister Starship Pamela ? .. .. .. Really =^=
=^= I have my orders Admiral .. With all due respect I would much rather do this in a civilized manner .. But I will fire on you if you attempt to leave orbit without consent =^=
=^= You 'KNOW' what is happening .. I can't let my crew be tarnished with this outrage and the Council are bowing to pressure .. I am going to ask you again Captain .. Not on the strength of our friendship but on your personal feelings .. You know there is no way the Raven would do what she is being accused of .. I need the time to prove that myself .. For my crew ! =^=
=^= You have fifteen minutes to comply Admiral =^= Captain Melroy stated then closed the comm.
Marionette looked at the Raven's new science officer and asked "Does your science expertise cover infiltration and alteration of computer systems ?"
Being a positronic gynoid, Marionette could hack most computers like it was first nature to her, but for as complex, as expansive, and as powerful (both in processing power and memory storage capacity) a computer as a ship's computer core was, it would take days to weeks for the positronic robot to do anything meaningful beyond just slicing in and loading up the computer memory full of viruses and malware of all sorts. That would outrightly harm the Tempest, and likely also cause injuries or fatalities to the crew within the vessel. It was not a desirable first action.
< tag : Kate >
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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: 6,160
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Post by Carl Torek on Apr 12, 2015 16:02:22 GMT
=^= I have my orders Admiral .. With all due respect I would much rather do this in a civilized manner .. But I will fire on you if you attempt to leave orbit without consent =^=
=^= You 'KNOW' what is happening .. I can't let my crew be tarnished with this outrage and the Council are bowing to pressure .. I am going to ask you again Captain .. Not on the strength of out friendship but on your personal feelings .. You know there is no way the Raven would do what she is being accused of .. I need the time to prove that myself .. For my crew ! =^=
=^= You have fifteen minutes to comply Admiral =^= Captain Melroy stated then closed the comm.
Carl had heard the Chief Tactical Officer's comment to Calli during the conversation, now the Comm was closed he turned in his seat:
"Pamela Melroy, while achieving her rank very early, is nevertheless a competent Commanding Officer. She won't fire immediately the deadline is reached but I think we can take it as a given that she will not allow the Raven to depart the system. We can take her ultimatum as read."
"Then we need to do something to prevent that happening." Calli said, standing and walking around the Bridge deep in thought, "I assume we can't arm our own weapons as she would detect it and likely fire to disable us, deadline or not .... Is there any way we can get over there in the time-frame ?"
"We can't beam over." Peers said simply, "Walking over there is out of the question, they would detect our EVA and beam them into their own Brig."
"I read a report some time ago, one of the old Academy files I think ....." Wedlerson said hesitantly, trying to remember the content better, "It was a training report ... Close quarter pursuit and evade ... Once the first ship was caught the second approached and ordered them into orbit around a gas giant, initially complying given they had been captured, but without warning the first ship used thrusters to fall behind their sister ship then dove into the atmosphere .... The gaseous composition of the atmosphere masked their signature enough to allow them to pass beneath the other ship which had slowed and was scanning for them. If I remember rightly they climbed out of the atmosphere half way around the gas giant and fled the system. By the time the pursuing ship got then on instruments they were too far away and managed to evade completely."
"Captain Melroy left the Academy long after I did." Carl said, a wry grin on his face, "I have the feeling she would know the scenario, if you have read it Harry I wouldn't put it past her to have done the same, she was always fond of battle tactic's if I remember rightly, and she would quickly figure out our tactic if we were reckless enough to even attempt it ........ No, we need something else, we're wasting time stuck here. I'm almost inclined to test her resolve and climb out of orbit right in front of her."
"Commander." T'Brel said, addressing the gynoid, "What is the minimum turn the Galaxy Class Star Ship can achieve ?"
"The vessel can turn in her own length obviously."
"While in forward motion ?" the Tactical Officer urged.
"Indeed. Though I would not recommend such a manoeuvre. The structural stresses could be, damaging."
"Marionette .... I think I know what the Commander has in mind ......" Carl said, thinking of the brand new nacelles for a fraction of a second, and realizing that if it all went wrong new nacelles would be as moot a point as their survival, "If we were to drop into the atmosphere, could you change our direction 'without' having to make a shallow one eighty degree turn, then drive out of the atmosphere before we fall too deep and are unable to recover ?"
"The hydrogen helium atmosphere could effect our engines." Calli said, remembering her basis physics from the Academy.
< tag : Marionette >
Harry listened to the Navigation Officer's comments regarding what the Admiral was asking her to do, then made a suggestion:
"Why do we need to reverse direction ?" he asked, looking around the Bridge before continuing, "If the Commander drops us low enough so the Tempest's sensors are useless, we can change direction through maybe eighty to one hundred degrees. we would escape the gravitational pull on a heading of say, minus fifty degrees to the plain, allowing for the rotational factor and our location ... We could literally drop 'below' and under Neptune and warp away before the Tempest can even figure out what we're up to. we would be in the region of two hundred thousand kilometers below Zee, but that shouldn't be a problem once we are clear to navigate !" he finished, looking from Marionette to Admiral Torek, them back.
"It is, a dangerous proposition Admiral." the Navigator said, "But ......" the gynoid said, before explaining;
< tag : Marionette / Andae >
Carl knew that the escape velocity for Earth was around eleven point two kilometers per second, or twenty five thousand miles per hour. Neptune was bigger ... 'MUCH' bigger, roughly seventeen times Earth, so the figures reflected that. He knew the gynoid would have done these calculations in a fraction of a fraction of a second, alas he was a little slower. He figured the escape velocity would need to be close to fifty three thousand miles per hour. The friction from the atmosphere would be a major issue. Shields wouldn't be of any use, they wouldn't be able to establish them fully inside the atmosphere, so would need to concentrate on the leading edges only. The other main problem would be the ammonium hydrosulfide, or salt-ice crystals, which could effectively strip the ship to the very core if not treated with respect ...... He knew he was 'over-thinking' this now, and decided to leave it in the hands of those best qualified, his Chief Engineer, and Chief Navigation Officer .....
"Open a Comm to the Tempest." he said suddenly, then stood and walked to the massive view-screen as the image of Captain Melroy appeared.
=^= Captain .. Do you mind if I ask .. .. .. Are you aware of the situation at hand ? =^=
=^= Admiral I have only the best respect for you and your crew .. I do know some of the situation leading to our current predicament .. As to why alas that is above my pay-grade .. My orders are very specific Admiral and I must inform you that appealing to my sense of loyalty between Commanding Officers will not work on this occasion .. Truth be known I would have supported any appeal you made for release but .. .. .. You now have ten minutes to comply with my request to return to Earth orbit or I will be forced to disable your vessel and tow it into orbit .. I am sure you do not want that Admiral .. Melroy .. Out ! =^=
"So much for diplomacy." Carl said, feeling at the collar where his rank insignia once sat, a look of determination on his face "Get us out of here !" ..........
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Deleted
Registered: Mar 29, 2024 8:50:57 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2015 1:27:40 GMT
"So much for diplomacy. Get us out of here!"
These were the first words Will heard as the turbolift doors parted. Every head on the bridge turned to look his way.
"WILL!!" Carl exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I figured you'd eventually make your way back to the Raven." he said as he turn to face their Navigations Officer. "And we're safe to get out of here. Their warp drive shouldn't last more than say 15 seconds." he added as he reached into his pocket and pulled out several computer chips. "I think I remembered some of the stuff Andae taught me." he said with a grin.
As the CO issued orders, Will looked around to see who all had joined the Admiral on the bridge. He wasn't surprised to see that he completed the Senior Staff.
<Tag Torek>
Once they were on their way, Carl turned to Will with a questioning look.
"I was still in the hospital" he began, "when I heard about the incident and your arrests. I ignored the doctors suggestion and checked myself out. I've been monitoring the proceedings. As soon as I heard about the delay, I knew you'd make your way here. I wasn't able to find out exactly which ships were on standby if needed so I had to get aboard and disable four of them." he reached into his other pocket and removed more chips. "Than I just came here and waited."
<TAG: Any>
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,447
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Post by Andae Blakus on Apr 13, 2015 2:45:32 GMT
Andae watched in silence for a while as Carl, Calli and Harry debated the best course of action to evade the pursuit of the Sovereign class vessel, positioned precariously close to the Raven, just 100m separating it from the Galaxy class's hull. He wondered if Melroy would attempt soft or even hard-docking. The Raven would manoeuvre away, or jump to warp, of course, but it would be an indication of her resolve.
The arc of Neptune hemmed the lower part of the viewscreen, the day side rising to meet them.
"The fire and cracks Of sulphurous roaring the most mighty Neptune Seem to besiege and make his bold waves tremble, Yea, his dread trident shake."
The bridge officers turned around to see that it was their CEO that'd spoken from the upper deck. "The Tempest. Act I, Scene II," he shrugged, smiling.
Returning to his console, separate sets of graphics sprung up on the screen, in response to several theories he'd put to the computer five minutes ago for escape from Neptune and the USS Tempest. Only one of them had any promise; the others could only end in the destruction of the Raven, or both vessels, by crushing under atmospheric pressure, implosion, disintegration, vapourisation...
If one solution was to jump to warp immediately - something the Admiral had intimated in the event that the Tempest closed even further on the Raven, presupposing then that he wouldn't in the current situation, here above the atmosphere - then it was conceivable that such a jump would be allowed within the atmosphere. The density of gases in the upper atmosphere was low enough that it wouldn't cause too many problems in the initiation of a warp jump; further down, such an attempt might prove problematic - with the pressure so high down there, the unshielded Raven would be at risk of structural buckling long before it could power up the coils; additionally, computer safeguards were in place (although an override had been programmed in) to prevent any such foolhardly manoeuvre that a CO, say in the desperate scenario of a battle situation, would attempt without full consideration of the consequences.
Well, Andae thought, smiling despite himself as he tapped commands into the console, this could by some definition be regarded as a battle situation, and foolhardy manoeuvres were open to them, considering they'd been forced into running from friendlies again due to unjust court martialling of Raven officers.
"So much for diplomacy." Carl said, feeling at the collar where his rank insignia once sat, a look of determination on his face "Get us out of here !" .......... "WILL!!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
Everyone on the bridge turned to see their XO Will Jamison stride out of the turbolift. The first officer was warmly greeted by Torek and the others, computer chips from the Tempest in his hand. So he'd been hanging about Neptune all this time, waiting for the Raven to arrive? He and Calli must have a telepathic connection.
With the Raven at warp heading out of the system - the Tempest faltering behind as it suffered systems malfunctions that disabled foremost its warp drive, with little if any collateral damage - Blakus along with Torek listened to Jamison's explanation of his escape.
"... I wasn't able to find out exactly which ships were on standby if needed so I had to get aboard and disable four of them." he reached into his other pocket and removed more chips. "Than I just came here and waited."
"Will," he grinned, shaking the XO's hand. Many years of service together had bonded the two like brethren under Carl Torek's command. "At the time we feared you hadn't made it up from the surface with the rest of us. Approximately 300 of us made it aboard. The rest are trapped at Command or at other places in San Francisco... including a considerable number of my engineering staff."
<Tag Will Jamison, All>
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Marionette
Commander
Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
Registered: Mar 2, 2012 3:26:33 GMT
Posts: 285
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Post by Marionette on Apr 13, 2015 16:55:39 GMT
"Captain Melroy left the Academy long after I did." Carl said, a wry grin on his face, "I have the feeling she would know the scenario, if you have read it Harry I wouldn't put it past her to have done the same, she was always fond of battle tactic's if I remember rightly, and she would quickly figure out our tactic if we were reckless enough to even attempt it ........ No, we need something else, we're wasting time stuck here. I'm almost inclined to test her resolve and climb out of orbit right in front of her." "Commander." T'Brel said, addressing the gynoid, "What is the minimum turn the Galaxy Class Star Ship can achieve ?" "The vessel can turn in her own length obviously." "While in forward motion ?" the Tactical Officer urged. "Indeed. Though I would not recommend such a manoeuvre. The structural stresses could be, damaging.""Marionette .... I think I know what the Commander has in mind ......" Carl said, thinking of the brand new nacelles for a fraction of a second, and realizing that if it all went wrong new nacelles would be as moot a point as their survival, "If we were to drop into the atmosphere, could you change our direction 'without' having to make a shallow one eighty degree turn, then drive out of the atmosphere before we fall too deep and are unable to recover ?" "The hydrogen-helium atmosphere could affect our engines." Calli said, remembering her basic physics from the Academy. "I concur, increased helium in the bussard collectors could ionize with the hydrogen and other atmospheric particles, and chain-detonate, causing increased reactions within our warp reactor. The warp reactor might not necessarily breach, but its output would be greatly increased beyond safety and control specifications, for the duration of the reacting helium and other particles..... Considering our current predicament, it may be a beneficial side effect." Harry listened to the Navigation Officer's comments regarding what the Admiral was asking her to do, then made a suggestion: "Why do we need to reverse direction ?" he asked, looking around the Bridge before continuing, "If the Commander drops us low enough so the Tempest's sensors are useless, we can change direction through maybe eighty to one hundred degrees. we would escape the gravitational pull on a heading of say, minus fifty degrees to the plain, allowing for the rotational factor and our location ... We could literally drop 'below' and under Neptune and warp away before the Tempest can even figure out what we're up to. we would be in the region of two hundred thousand kilometers below Zee, but that shouldn't be a problem once we are clear to navigate !" he finished, looking from Marionette to Admiral Torek, them back. "It is a dangerous proposition Admiral." the Navigator said, "But, it can be done...." the gynoid said, before explaining. "A zero-radius rotation of the ship of any speed above half of Standard Gravity, at the axis of rotation, would put considerable G-stresses on the ship's superstructure and its crew, even with the inertial dampeners in place. Optimally, a zero-turn radius of a ship of this tonnage class would be executed with a minimum duration of 6.23 seconds, factoring in the lack of crew and personnel. Discounting various other factors, that number can be reduced to 3.27 seconds, before structural damage to the Raven's frame would become intolerable and irreparable without space-dock facilities. Crew injuries due to high-gee impacts would not be lethal."-=- "So much for diplomacy." Carl said, feeling at the collar where his rank insignia once sat, a look of determination on his face "Get us out of here !" ..... "WILL!!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" Everyone on the bridge turned to see their XO Will Jamison stride out of the turbolift. The first officer was warmly greeted by Torek and the others, computer chips from the Tempest in his hand. "... I wasn't able to find out exactly which ships were on standby if needed so I had to get aboard and disable four of them." he reached into his other pocket and removed more chips. "Then I just came here and waited." "Will," Blakus grinned, shaking the XO's hand. Many years of service together had bonded the two like brethren under Carl Torek's command. "At the time we feared you hadn't made it up from the surface with the rest of us. Approximately 300 of us made it aboard. The rest are trapped at Command or at other places in San Francisco... including a considerable number of my engineering staff." Blakus said. "Dropping into the mesosphere" Marionette said, and the Tempest swiftly faded from view into the blue fog of Neptune's atmosphere as the Raven sank deeper to Neptunes core. "Executing zero-radius turn." The Raven swiftly turned on its own axis, causing the ships frame to buzz-groan under the strain of the turn, not unlike the groan of a U-boat's hull being compressed as it went to maximum depth. The inertia of the turn did its best to literally drag everyone on the bridge (and throughout the rest of the ship, no doubt), onto the left wall, as the Raven swung starboard. Marionette reacted at-speed and grasped the rails of her seat to keep from flying sideways out of the conn-station. Marionette announced "Going to warp 2" the viewscreen morphed from a scene of lackadaisical shades of navy blue and black layers of fog interspersed by cyan and cobalt colored lightning, to blue streaks which rapidly boiled to the familiar black field with streaking white stars. "Helium and oxy-methane are destabilising within the warp reactor, we are increasing to warp three.... warp four .... warp five... warp six... warp seven..." she read off the speed increases, as the sound of the engines escalated in audible pitch, the strain of the engines evident. Far behind them, the Tempest was struggling to break past maximum impulse speed, and its engineers trying to rig-up warp-power back online..... <tag; ALL>
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,160
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Post by Carl Torek on Apr 15, 2015 22:41:58 GMT
Momentarily distracted by the sudden and somewhat unexpected appearance of the Raven's Executive Officer, Carl took the time to poll the Bridge crew on the original idea. He glanced at the Chief engineer, who shrugged:
"I don't have anything better." he said obviously telling Carl that he should go with the original idea.
"OK Commander, whenever you're ready."
"Dropping into the Mesosphere ....." Marionette said calmly, something Carl wasn't sure he shared as the ship began it's fall into the poisonous atmosphere of Neptune, "Executing zero-radius turn ....."
As the six hundred forty meters of the Raven began her rotation, the Bridge shuddered as the stresses began to exceed design tolerances. He risked a glance at Andae, who seemed to have every iota of his attention glued to the Engineering Station, his hands flashed from one control to the next as he spoke to his Staff down below. Pushed up against the armrest of his seat he could see everyone else straining to remain seated as the incalculable forces of gravity and the ship's inertial dampers battled. He didn't want to think what would happen should the latter fail, but the thought that he wouldn't have long to ponder the failure before he and everyone else began nothing more than gory stains across the bulkheads throughout the ship as it plunged deeper and deeper, finally succumbing to the tremendous gravity forces. It suddenly occurred to him that they would never be found, the ship would be the size of a walnut once the crushing forces had done with them !
After what seemed an eternity, but was likely less than ten seconds, the rotation slowed then ceased and Marionette engaged warp ... Struggling at first due to the effects of the atmosphere, the ship suddenly sprang into the blackness of space and arrowed away from Neptune. Seconds later it left the system, increasing speed quiclky.
"Helium and oxy-methane destabilising within the warp reactor, we are increasing to warp three .... Warp four .... Warp five .... Warp six .... Warp seven ....."
"You can reduce speed now Commander, we're clear." Carl said.
"She can't ...." Blakus said from the back of the Bridge. Carl spun to face his Chief Engineer, "Cascade failure. I'm worki ......." the ship shuddered through a series of teeth-jarring spasms !
< tag : Andae / Marionette >
Slowly, the tremendous speed began to diminish until the Raven dropped from warp and into normal space. Reports of injuries began to flood onto the Bridge, Will and T'Brel fielding them into the most serious and organizing Medical help ..... He stood, subconsciously hoping his legs didn't go from under him as he did so. Walking up onto the higher level he stood quietly watching the Engineer work. Finally Andae stood and said he needed to get to Engineering as he couldn't do any more from here.
"How long before we can be under-way Commander ?"
"I'll let you know Sir." Blakus said, leaving the Bridge.
"OK ..... Let's concentrate on the injured. With only a skeleton crew the last thing we need is for people to be out of action. Anyone with Medical training go see what you can do. Commander Peers, before you go, run a full scan of the region, we're the proverbial 'sitting duck' here. No point in a spectacular escape if every Tom, [word deleted], and Harry can see us sat here dead in the water."
"Aye Sir."
He went up to the Science Station and began checking the ship's secondary systems, if nothing else he could take some of the less vital work off Andae and his teams ..........
< tag : All >
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2015 0:38:28 GMT
Will steadied himself and began scanning through the incoming reports from each deck.
"OK ..... Let's concentrate on the injured. With only a skeleton crew the last thing we need is for people to be out of action. Anyone with Medical training go see what you can do."
Will looked up from the console.
"With your permission, sir, I'll head to Sickbay and head up a medical team." Last Will had known, the Raven was still without a Chief Medical Officer plus it had been a while since he had had a chance to use his medical training. Sometimes, he almost forgot that he was a certified doctor.
<Tag Torek>
"Delik. You're with me." he said to the Assistant CTSO, knowing the young Bajoran had taken some combat medical training courses. The two men made their way to Sickbay picking up a few more crew members that they knew had some training as well. Upon entering their destination, Will was relieved to see that Commander Roach, the Acting CMO, was already getting things under way.
"Doctor.", he said as way if a greeting. "We're here to help any way we can."
<TAG: Any> (Someone may have gotten hurt and had to go to Sickbay?)
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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: 6,160
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Post by Carl Torek on Apr 16, 2015 20:48:13 GMT
The rate the ship was increasing speed was substantially reducing as the seconds past. This wasn't because of anything the Chief Engineer or Navigation Officer were doing, but more to the laws of physics .... The ship would reach a theoretical maximum velocity soon, and even allowing for the fact that the drive systems were utilizing transwarp there was still an upper limit, at which point, the complex metaphysical processes that governed faster than light travel would exert their effect on the 'physical' vessel intruding upon it's realm. The Raven, along with the three hundred skeleton crew would cease to be, along with a substantial portion of the system they were currently hurtling through .. He just hoped that they could slow the ship quickly, not least for the fact they were warping out of the quadrant in precisely the wrong direction ! He was busily shutting down every non-essential system on the ship, including life support, artificial gravity, lighting and heating on all unoccupied decks. Will had ensured everyone was busy and found himself helping with the minor injuries: "With your permission Sir, I will head to Sickbay and head up a medical team." Carl nodded, telling him that Commander Roach could use the help, "Delik. You're with me." he said, entering the turbo-lift. ~~~~~Six minutes had passed since they had blasted out of Neptune's atmosphere. He didn't want to speculate on how far they had travelled in that time and how long it was going to take them to get back and begin their investigation. Looking at the chronometer above the view-screen he silently counted off ten more seconds then opened a Comm: =^= Bridge to Engineering .. .. .. .. =^= he waited patiently but there was no reply. =^= Bridge to Engineering .. .. .. .. =^= he repeated, until finally someone answered. =^= Lieutenant Zavial Admiral =^= =^= Status Lieutenant .. Where is Commander Blakus ? =^= =^= He's ..They are busy Admiral .. We're working on .. .. On reinitia .. .. =^= There was a loud boom and the Comm fell silent, Carl turned to Calli as he jumped out of his seat, but she held up a hand. "I'll go, you're needed up here." she said, moving to the turbo-lift before Torek could argue, he re-opened a Comm: =^= Commander Valente is coming down there to assist .. Ask Commander Blakus to report as soon as viable .. Torek out =^= He closed the Comm and walked over to stand next to T'Brel. The Chief Tactical Officer was fighting to keep the ships' shields in place. Given they hadn't as yet vanished from existence, Torek figured he was succeeding. The man glanced over his shoulder as he worked frantically moving power between sub-systems controlling the invisible force protecting them from the smallest piece of rock, to the largest asteroid: "We shouldn't rule out evacuating to the Saucer Section and dumping the Drive." Peers said. "I seriously doubt either section would survive separation at this speed T'brel." Carl said knowing he wasn't saying anything Peers didn't already know, "..... Besides ..... At our current speed we're well past any viable return scenario. Without the Star Drive we're essentially a sub-light craft. Our return to anything approaching a civilized system would be, shall we say, too long for us to appreciate it, if we survived at all ... No, we save the drive or ........" he stopped talking as there was no point in voicing the blindingly obvious should Blakus fail to slow their headlong race ! .......... < tag : All >OOC :: There will be injured among the crew, so the Exec can go there, but feel free to use any of the NPC's we have in your posts as visitors to Sick-bay.
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,447
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Post by Andae Blakus on Apr 16, 2015 23:57:42 GMT
"She can't ...." Blakus said from the back of the Bridge. Carl spun to face his Chief Engineer, "Cascade failure. I'm worki ......."
Andae was thrown from his console, first thinking he'd been subjected to an electric shock as he felt something jolt through his body, but then realising that it was the ship itself, shaking hard as it could to pull itself apart. He and half the bridge crew - in other circumstances it would've been a somewhat comical scene - were thrown into the air and back to the deck successively, the ship feeling like it was grinding against hard rock, running itself aground in the vacuum.
"... There's too much damn helium in the nacelles still." He'd finally managed to drag himself back to his console, "It's causing fusion reactions, fired by the heat of the PTC's plasma, much like in a blue giant star, except untempered inside the nacelles. Speed's increasing, we're out of control..."
The ship eventually dropped appreciable factors of warp, its engines exhausted - black streaks along the nacelles stretching back from the bussard collectors - chassis and structural integrity pushed to the very limit. Still they were barrelling into Alcubierrian infinity without any way to disengage the drive and consequently the warp bubble. He stood, feeling drained, "I can't do any more from here, Admiral. I've got to get below deck. Christ knows what the place will be like with all of mighty Neptune's atmospheric gifts..."
"How long before we can be under-way Commander ?"
"I'll let you know Sir." Blakus said, leaving the Bridge, adding once the turbolift doors were closed, "We'll be lucky if we still have two nacelles."
"Zavial! Zavial, what was that?" Andae called down. He was at the MRI, the original culprit in all of this, that Milyanov - now stranded at SF HQ - had attempted to repair during the four hour power loss.
The constrictors had - in a bizarre reverse power flow that reminded him, filled him with dread, of the exotic particle beam into the nav deflector that had created the feedback loop and taken out the warp drive (that same four hour period which had served as the timeframe for the indictment of the Raven crew for the massacre at Selay) - been flooded with helium and base hydrocarbons as well, in addition to the nacelles. Somehow the plasma resultant from the reactor hadn't been able to eliminate the base hydrocarbon molecules, had instead set up fusion reactions along the nacelles' length and in a quirk of chemistry had allowed the methane, ethane and oxygen into the core and constrictor system.
"The Admiral called, sir," the lieutenant shouted, "He's sending Valenti down to help out!"
Andae considered this, "Well I hope she knows how to drain a constrictor system of oxygen pairs. Soon we'll be superheating water in the reaction chamber... I don't remember there ever having been a steam-powered Federation starship, do you, Lieutenant?"
"No, sir. But she's on her way."
Something malfunctioned, something serious, in the matter injector. "Oh no, don't you get infected as well," Andae murmured, tapping commands furiously. Such a backwash of complex molecules was unprecedented in Starfleet history to his knowledge. But then a warp jump from deep within Neptune's atmosphere, after the execution of a zero-axis 180 degree turn, was unprecedented also.
After a succession of typed commands and overrides Andae temporarily - perhaps better - had the deuterium flow heading in the right direction, with minimal interaction with the inbound oxygen and methane. "This looks better... Tinsley, Zavial, boost flux from the fusion reactor to 300%," he shouted down, even though he was actually communicating by commbadge, "If we increase deuterium flow to the core we could overpower the reflux; destabilise and dismantle the hydrocarbons like Marionette originally observed."
"Aye..." A vibration from below shook itself through the chassis up to Andae's position on deck 30. Six decks below, what was happening? He hadn't identified the voice but it'd faded rather quickly.
"Tinsley's down, Commander!" Zavial's voice, "Recommend we get him to sickbay, sir... It's, it's not good." Blakus acknowledged, subsequently learning that Calli had joined the team in engineering. He had to get down there. Descending the short distance in a turbolift, he entered the 'hub' knowing that his injection of more deuterium had caused Tinsley's injury. Something had overloaded around the core. His ostensible assistant chief - in Milyanov and Taylor's absence - had already been taken to sickbay.
<Tag Will/Delik>
"Ok," he gathered his thoughts as he joined his fellow engineers, maintaining professionialism despite what'd happened. His voice was stony, "The deuterium boost is dangerous but we have no choice. Back everyone away from the core. The flooding of deuterium damn well works, only it can cause dangerous overloads in consoles around the dilithium chamber."
The staff seemed hesitant. He noticed Calli watching him with interest, sizing up the engineer over whether he valued an eventual drop from warp after execution of the ambitious, perhaps foolhardy plan, over the safety of his threadbare engineering team.
"Do you hear me?!" he asked Zavial and the others, looking at each in turn, "Flood the core with three times the amount of deuterium. Look I'm usually the last one to be pragmatic in these situations, but it's the only way we can eliminate the extraneous molecules, reestablish normal warp then disengage to impulse..."
<Tag Calli, All>
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Deleted
Registered: Mar 29, 2024 8:50:57 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2015 22:50:18 GMT
Will was just finishing up with the patient he was with when he heard the doors to Sickbay open. He looked up to see a young ensign from Engineering half walking with and half carrying another man from the same department in. the XO recognized him as Tinsley. He appeared to have second degree burns on his hands and face.
"I need some help here!" called the ensign.
Will nodded to the nurse assisting him to finish up and made his way over.
"What happened?" he asked as they laid Tinsley onto a bed.
"The console he was working with exploded. I got him here as quickly as I could." said the young man with remorse in his eyes and voice.
"It's fine, Ensign. You did fine. We'll take care of him and he'll be up and around in a few weeks." Will replied in order to calm the Engineer down.
Doctor Roach appeared across the bed from Will.
"Where are we, Commander?" she asked.
Will, reading from his scanner, answered. "Second degree burns on his hands and face. First degree on his upper torso. His uniform absorbed some of it. If you want to get started on the Pulmonary support unit, I'll start removing his shirt."
"Sounds good." she said.
Will began removing the engineers uniform top with a laser scalpel by slowly cutting away the lower parts that weren't as burned as the rest. He worked his way up until the entire blouse was gone. The whole process took almost 45 minutes. He had worked slowly as to not pull any of the mans skin with the shirt. Once it was all gone, they went to work.
TBC <TAG: Any>
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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 Apr 19, 2015 12:13:47 GMT
After their eventful departure from Neptune's grasp, Calli had gone down to Engineering to assist ... She wasn't an Engineer, but knew enough to take the more menial tasks off Andae and his teams, so they could concentrate on reducing the Raven's speed to something manageable. Only then could Blakus begin repairing the damage, albeit only moderate, to the brand new nacelles. She was confident in the Engineer and his exceptional abilities. She often wondered how Andae looked at the drive systems aboard the Raven, more like 'children' than mechanical devices ...
She had been down there almost an hour now, basically transferring power from low-level systems into the countless sub-systems Blakus was utilizing. They had dropped to warp six now, and slowly, very slowly Andae was dragging the ship back from the brink.
"The deuterium boost is dangerous but we have no choice. Back everyone away from the core. The flooding of deuterium works, only it can cause dangerous overloads in consoles around the dilithium chamber." Blakus was saying as she stood off to one side allowing his Engineers to gather around, he made a decision, and like his Commanding Officer, he always allowed open and frank discussion, but time was short and he had to forego the debate, "Flood the core with three times the amount of deuterium ....... Look I'm usually the last one to be pragmatic in these situations, but it's the only way we can eliminate the extraneous molecules, re-establish normal warp then disengage to impulse ......"
She watched his teams move into action, envying the loyalty he had engendered in those below him, they began making the required input's.
The ship began to shake ...... Not violently, but hardly a a shimmer in the deck plates either. Blakus was scrutinizing several panel's making minute adjustments here, changing a setting there as the ship continued to reverberate with ripples of stress. But eventually they began to subside and she checked the velocity reading, they were dropping below warp two and still decreasing their speed. She wondered vaguely if he was going to do it without shaking the ship to pieces, but then someone shouted across the deck:
"Anti-matter containment rupture imminent !" She looked at Blakus who had seemingly only glanced at the containment readings and subsequently dismissed them, "Commander ... We're reaching critical on containment. I've reinforced the chamber." she, along with everyone else knew only too well what would happen should the chamber rupture, not that it would make much difference, as they would cease to exist a fraction of a second after the shield failed. then the shuddering began to subside.
"Commander ... Nine point seven two of sub-light speed established ... Dropping to seven point four."
"Drop us to half impulse and hold there." Blakus ordered, "We'll begin our repairs. If the core is unscathed it shouldn't take more than a few hours." he turned to Calli, a wry grin on his face as if it was never really a problem, but she knew how close they had come, and the feeling didn't sit well.
"I'll report to the Admiral ....... Well done, everyone. Sorry I couldn't have been more help." she said, touching his arm for a second before turning away, 'You did OK Calli' he had said as she left Engineering.
~~~~~
On the Bridge, Carl was stood next to the Chief Tactical Officer, he waved Calli over as she stepped from the turbo-lift:
"We're holding at half impulse thanks to everyone down there." he said, before looking back at Peers' console, We are having problems with weapons and shields."
"We lost shield power during the procedure to drop from warp. Weapons power too was re-allocated ... Commander Blakus said he will re-establish the affected systems once he is confident the core can be brought back on-line ... We have minimal reserve power, we could put what we have into the forward shields. At this speed noting is going to slam into us."
"Power is off in almost seventy percent of the ship, is that going to come back on-line ?" T'Brel asked, already working on raising the minimal shielding ahead of the saucer section and leading edges of the nacelles.
"No .... While in Engineering I closed off and sealed all decks and area's we don't have people in. I had already begun to shut down the non-essential decks, but Engineering needed every iota of available power. We can re-establish atmosphere and gravity as we need to."
"No, you did the right thing Commander." Carl said, returning to the Command area and sitting down, in the absence of the Executive Officer, Calli took the seat next to him, "Well, if nothing else, Command isn't going to be looking out here for us."
"Do we have a fix on our location ?" she asked, Marionette turned at the query and spoke:
"We are currently four point two light years from the Tau Kazzeren Helix Commander."
Carl and Calli looked at each other, neither had realized just how far the runaway warp engines had sent them .... Even at maximum warp it would take almost five days to return, and another three to the Selonas System and the location of the first attack ! ..........
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2015 0:00:26 GMT
After several hours, Will and Doctor Roach finally had Tinsley stable and currently had him in a burn chamber. Tinsley had been lucky in that he had been taken to Sickbay quickly enough as to not suffer any major internal injuries. They had removed his shirt. The Pulmonary support unit they had used verified that his respiratory system hadn't been effected. They had slowly and carefully gotten the dead burnt skin all cleaned off. The young man would be fine in a few weeks. At least, physically.
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,447
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Post by Andae Blakus on Apr 22, 2015 18:49:45 GMT
Blakus received the unfortunate news that Lieutenant Tinsley would be out of action for a number of weeks. "Ok, thank you, sir..." He listened to Will's quiet reply, "No... I should be ok. I've got Darwin and Zavial... They should be able to complete the repairs to the warp core, with the help of their own assistants."
He sighed, looking outside his office at his skeleton engineering staff hurrying about the place, surrounding the core, making sure the critical system was fully repaired. They'd managed to remove the extraneous molecules from the core, the hydrocarbons and related molecules flushed out in the overwhelming heat of the main PTC - like a cure for the Bends, the dissolving of an unwanted presence in the lifeblood of the system, whether mechanical or biological. He'd temporarily opened the plasma outlets just before the drop to sublight, ejecting the last of the unwanted matter before the Raven had rematerialised in the realm of normal vacuum.
"Blakus, this is Lieutenant Darwin... I'm in deflector control." Blakus glanced up from his report writing, saying his temporary assistant chief could go ahead. "Remember that we deduced the cause of the original power outage as being due to some feedback loop, originating in the deflector that worked its way back to the warp drive?"
Blakus held his head in his hands, "I do, Lieutenant... Very well in fact."
"Well, I've found... traces of your theorised exotic particles that may have caused the feedback loop in the first place: the originator of the power outage, sir. They're in a state of magnetic suspension, within a subsystem of the deflector's target acquisition computer, the unit that detects in bound mid-energy laser signals and the like..."
"I know what it does," Blakus grunted and rounded his desk, "I'm on my way. Zavial, you're in charge. Any problems report to myself or Admiral Torek if it's critical."
En route Andae informed the bridge that the warp core was back online. Power could now be distributed, albeit gradually and with caution, to the ship's critical systems. It also meant that they - theoretically - had a speed of warp factor 7.5 available should they need it immediately.
<Tag Torek, Marionette, All>
"What do we have?" he asked Darwin, crouching beside the man in deflector control. The exotic particles that he'd theorised had been the cause of the Raven being effectively knocked out for that 4 hour period, during which, the planet Selay had been attacked - 1.2 million, dead - were definitely there. They weren't supposed to be. He was surprised in fact that the internal sensors hadn't detected the anomaly.
"They have similar properties to neutrinos, with the notable exception that they're much more strongly interacting. Like nothing I've ever seen before."
Blakus scratched his chin, "Some invisible source of exotic matter, hitting our deflector, disabling our ship for 4 hours. Say it came from a ship... That ship goes on to attack the Renna on Selay, planting false evidence of use of Starfleet weapons, even blackmailing the Renna to say that the Raven carried out the attack?"
Darwin shrugged, "Conjecture, sir, but possible."
<Tag All>
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Apr 22, 2015 18:55:21 GMT
OOC: Lt. Milyanov, Starfleet Headquarters, Earth
The trial had been suspended, while Command decided on the best course of action now that the Raven had disappeared around Neptune. They'd just received reports, Milyanov was reliably informed by Defence Counsel Shaw, that the Galaxy class had warped out of Neptune's lower atmosphere within plain sight of the USS Tempest. Captain Melroy's ship had suffered inexplicable systems failures as she'd begun a more conventional pursuit upon withdrawing from the atmosphere.
The Russian had smiled at that. That sounded like the Raven, a daring, dangerous escape from the outer solar system. Later on those systems failures will be found to have been the work of Commander Will Jamison; three other vessels of similar displacement docked at Earth Spacedock will also be found to have the same systems issues.
He wondered who had concocted the plan, discussed it with his engineers and other unfortunate Earth-stranded Raven crew while they awaited news from Shaw on when the trial would resume. He only hoped the Judge didn't decide to recommence in the absence of the senior officers, allow the prosecution of the rest of the crew to continue who might be less able to defend their actions without their superiors about them, putting forth their collective case.
He was permitted to continue to share a room with Harton, the Assistant Chief Engineer reassuring security officers that they wouldn't be devising a new plan for escape from the complex. The doors out of the building were already locked, sealed, against any person whose DNA the security system recognised as belonging to a member of the Raven's crew. Now they truly were under arrest - no longer possessing the freedom to wander San Francisco freely, albeit with security just visible behind every turn in the road, trailing their rebellious quarry by a block and trying, futilely, to stay out of sight.
Milyanov was still up reading - this being the dead of night, the small window in the room looking out over the twinkling lights of the Presidio, the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito beyond on the northern side of the Bay. He was jolted from his studies by a chime at the door, the teak desk and bolted-on book shelf he'd demanded to have beamed down from his Raven quarters on their arrival here rocking back and forth and nearly knocking him from his chair.
He put down his reading glasses, "Who is it?"
"Shaw," came the muffled voice.
Milyanov rose chagrined at the interruption. "Yes?" he said to Shaw's solemn face as the door slid back.
Shaw's voice remained muted, "There's been a third attack."
Milyanov would've laughed if he hadn't been so tired. "Deja vu...! Come in," he said, "The study." Shaw sat in the spare chair, clearly uncomfortable. "Vodka?" Milyanov asked, pouring a couple shot glasses.
Shaw shook his head, "Mr Milyanov, are you taking this seriously?"
"Absolutely." Milyanov looked aside from his pouring, genuinely affronted.
"I don't mean just the attack but the court, the authorities in general. How your vessel can be behind the attacks," Shaw looked around, hesitantly taking the unwanted shot glass, "Or have played some role no matter how small in all three of the attacks, is beyond me and I daresay a fair few of the court members... not to mention the prosecuting attorney who I think would rather be anywhere except San Francisco right now."
"Then get us acquitted." Milyanov sat heavily, "Use that fine legal mind of yours. If that useless prosecutor knows the Raven's innocent then I don't see the problem."
Shaw smiled wryly, "I wouldn't presume that you don't know much about the process of military justice, Mr Milyanov, but the prosecution is not going to back down now even if they know the accused are in the right. It's their job, no matter how much they might hate it in this particular case. Before I go," he stood, finishing his vodka, "I can't simply dismantle my opposite number's case, move for a mistrial and so on... You see I get the impression that authorities... higher up are preventing it, hindering me and any quick absolving of the Raven. They want this court martial to continue."
Milyanov was left debating the implications of this, pouring more vodka as the night wore on. Who in the upper echelons of SF Command would want the Raven indicted?
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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: 6,160
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Post by Carl Torek on Apr 23, 2015 15:04:46 GMT
Carl knew better than to pester his Engineer, Andae was by far the most competent in his field ... So he sat on the Bridge musing at just how far out they had gone, and more importantly, how long it was going to take them to get back ! "Sir, Commander Blakus reports we have warp engines on-line." Commander Wedlerson informed him from the Operations Console, "He recommends warp five maximum until he can confirm all the repairs are holding." "What about transwarp, do we have it ?" "No Sir ... Effectively, they had to completely shut down the core. Commander Blakus had initiated a cold start once he had removed all relevant contaminations, but the transwarp systems need much more initial reconfiguration, it is effectively a new installation." "OK. Helm, set course for the Selonas System ...... Warp five and engage." "Aye Sir." Marionette said. The Raven made an almost lazy turn to port before leaping once more into that other realm of faster than light travel ....... ~~~ Six Days Later ~~~ "And there is still no mention of us ?" Torek was asking as they finally approached their destination. "No Admiral. Apart from the issues with the Tempest and the other vessel's Commander Jamison 'tampered' with, our name hasn't been voiced." T'Brel said as the sat around the table in the Observation Lounge, "I have to say Sir that it seems highly irregular that given our apparent fleeing from justice, no-one seems to be in any hurry to apprehend us. I've been monitoring all frequencies, including those not commonly used ..... Nothing." the Chief Tactical and Security Officer said, raising his arms in confusion. Usually, those escaping custody are generally pursued, so why not the Raven ! Harry Wedlerson had been on the Bridge but entered the lounge heading straight to the Admiral. "There's been a third attack." he said, handing the Commanding Officer a PADD, "Kellan II, in the Beta Andoni System .... We don't have any information other than the initial report and request for assistance." "Thank you Commander." Carl said, placing the PADD on the table, Keep monitoring 'ALL' channels, I want every iota of information recorded, no matter how seemingly insignificant. You remain as Conn and assign one of your staff to monitor sub-space channels." "Aye Sir." Wedlerson said, leaving the room as T'Brel stood and accessed the large screen behind the Admiral. After a few seconds he had what he needed: "There is nothing standing out regarding the three attacks so far. The three planets have almost nothing in common, apart from the fact they have 'Earth-like' atmospheres. Selay, in the Selonas System, is a technology-based civilization. They manufacture equipment for the Engineering Sector. Trelam IV, Phemora System, are farmers, they too have a healthy off-world export system in place, and supply many of the outer worlds ... Keela II in the Beta Androni System only joined the Federation five years ago, they pretty much keep themselves to themselves, their people tend to travel off-world only if necessary. No quantifiable exports, unless you count the arts." Peers informed the meeting. "There are almost thirty systems within the circle of the three attacked." Calli said, looking at a PADD in her hands then closely at the star-map and the circle joining the three decimated planets, "There has got to be 'some' reason these planets were chosen ! .... According to records, they are not in dispute with anyone that the Federation is aware of, there are no territorial issues with neighbouring systems, They were essentially three planets getting on with their own way of life." "Is there any record that anyone has attempted to establish a base of operations, or a stronghold on any of them ?" Will asked. "Nothing ... That isn't to say they haven't tried and we just didn't hear about it, but that is highly unlikely." Calli said, frustrated at the lack of information. "OK, Well, we've got to get down to the surface. I want a full investigation of ground zero, full scan's of air, soil, building materials, everything we can gather ... We need to get in, get what we can then get out, before our 'colleagues' in Star Fleet decide to intensify their search for us." Torek said, standing, everyone in the room followed suit .......... <tag : All >
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Apr 25, 2015 6:36:50 GMT
Blakus reluctantly left engineering to join the away team down to Selay. He'd been nursing, coaxing the Raven along at its fragile velocity of warp 5, hands-on, all the way from Neptune to the coordinates of their overshoot, then on to the Selonas system. The drop from warp into the Selonas system had been the most tense part of the operation - for it'd become as such in the aftermath of their escape from Neptune. During the journey he'd constantly questioned the wisdom of that warp jump from Neptune's atmosphere, despite the originally even more ambitious plan he'd devised to warp through the water-ammonia ocean of Neptune itself.
He trusted in Zavial's abilities to keep the engine staff functioning as one unit - performing many diverse tasks but working towards the common objective. The lieutenant was a recent addition to the Raven crew but had proved his worth, in the previous mission as well as this one where he found himself in the unusual position of being near the top of the engineering hierarchy.
"Two engineering staff could be useful this time, Andae," Valenti had suggested as they left the briefing, Andae studying with some incredulity his PADD detailing the latest attack at Kellan II. "Selay's main exported product is technology for Federation engineering works, including Starfleet engine systems."
"No way," he replied, "I'm short-staffed as it is. My two senior assistants are stranded on Earth, the third is out of action for three weeks. I need everyone I can get in engineering, besides, I don't think we're here to observe the Renna's progress in manufacture of Starfleet engineering systems, do you?"
He walked to the upper deck of the bridge, sensing Valenti had followed him. "Sorry," he said, playing with the engineering console; adding, knowing it sounded trite, "Been under a lot of stress recently... haven't had much sleep." It was true.
They heard an alert from across the bridge, at the Ops officer's console. Something that'd been nagging him was driven to the forefront of his mind.
Sure enough, "Commander Wedlerson," the man at Ops said to Harry who still had the conn, "I'm detecting an anomalous subspace signal... Long-range sensors picking up something in the direction of Trelam IV, site of the second attack. It's almost on a straight line between Selay and Trelam, sir."
"Nature of the signal? It could be anything; subspace eddies, evaporating black holes..." Wedlerson asked.
"Definitely nothing natural. It has significant mass, most likely a ship... possibly a space-dwelling lifeform, 0.9 lightyears from us."
"Could it be the San Jose? They were assigned to investigate the attack at the second system," Andae said, attracting attention of the bridge officers who it seemed hadn't noticed he was still there (despite his technical seniority over all those present on the bridge. The CO and XO were in the conference room or below-deck, discussing the final composition of the away team he believed). The idea of it being the San Jose was quickly discounted; indeed, why would a Federation starship be sitting in subspace halfway between Selay and Trelam IV? Unless... the San Jose was already on to something.
"It would certainly explain why we couldn't find the source of the exotic matter that struck the nav deflector..." Blakus muttered, sitting at the engineering console.
"Commander?" Blakus looked around, taken off guard by Calli's voice - like with the bridge crew, he'd forgotten she was still there.
He explained, "Over a week ago we were knocked out for 4 hours, during which time Selay was attacked and the USS San Jose, I'm hoping it's coincidental, reported our supposed attack to Starfleet Command. Now, our power loss was caused by the entrance and disabling of our warp core and drive system by a feedback loop that was generated by exotic matter hitting our navigational deflector. My engineers haven't been able to find where the exotic particle beam came from; we theorised a cloaked ship. If its origin was subspace though... that makes a lot more sense, given the type of matter we're dealing with."
"Ok, returning to the present. The Renna aren't making any noise about the return of their supposed decimators," Wedlerson said, his eye on the bright sphere of Selay coming closer and closer.
As he was preparing to leave for the transporter room, another signal came from the Ops officer's console, "Reading subspace comm traffic between that object 0.9 lightyears distant and... the nearest Starbase. Starbase 39."
Who, if anyone, is Command sending to Kellan II, site of the third attack...? Blakus thought. Starbase 39 - being roughly in the centre of an area drawn out by taking Selay, Trelam IV and Kellan II as equidistant points on a circle - being of the 5km length design and thus fairly well equipped, would be the natural choice to send a ship out to Beta Androni. It was also the natural choice for a communication from Blakus to a certain person assigned there: William Bligh, former Vic-C crewmate and now Chief Engineer at Starbase 39.
"Open a secure subspace channel to Starbase 39," he ordered, turning to face the viewscreen and standing by the tactical rail, "Commander Bligh... Good to see you've finally transcended your 'Bounty' rank," he said to the surprised face on the viewscreen. It was an old in-joke, a reference to the famous naval commander (this Commander Bligh's namesake) of Old Earth who'd had to suppress a mutiny among his crew after a disastrous expedition to the south Pacific.
"Andae... I'm breaking several regulations just talking to you. I know you and your ship didn't carry out these attacks, but you've broken custody on Earth and apparently saw to the disabling of four ships of the line at ESD. Now you're here in this region to do... what?"
"Clear our names," Blakus said through gritted teeth. "William, let me first I assure you this channel's secure. My question, who has been sent to investigate matters at Kellan II? Or was the San Jose seen as sufficient to cover both the second and third attacked systems?"
Bligh grimaced, clearly troubled by split loyalties. He glanced over his shoulder. "I can't answer that. Sorry, Andae... Command has made it clear to all sections that since the Raven departed Sol six days ago, it effectively ceased to exist. No one is to attempt communication with the vessel, and no hails received from the vessel are to be answered by any Starfleet ship or installation, except, in this case and this case alone... So that I could make this all clear to you, Andae."
"Are we being excommunicated...?"
"I don't know," Bligh said; the channel cut out.
Andae stalked to the turbolift, a dark cloud descending over his mind, "Transporter room 1," he ordered brusquely.
<Tag Torek, Jamison, Marionette, All>
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Deleted
Registered: Mar 29, 2024 8:50:57 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2015 19:46:27 GMT
Due to the small skeleton crew aboard the Raven, Will was going to double as the Medical Officer for the landing party leaving Dr. Roach aboard to deal with Sickbay. He was currently there going over the medkit he was taking with him. He was making sure he had the vials needed for the samples the CO would want. He did a quick scan of any records he had available about the planet to see if there were any special inoculations needed. The last thing he did before departing Sickbay was to go check on Lieutenant Tinsley. Although Dr. Roach was around, Will still felt like the young man was his patient. He walked into the private room they had set the engineer up in.
"How's it going, Lieutenant?" asked Will as he entered.
"Sir. Uhhh." began Tinsley as he attempted to straighten up.
"Take it easy Lieutenant. No need to move or try to get up." Will assured him.
"Thank you, sir." replied Tinsley as he laid back down. "How's everything going out there in the real world?"
"There's been a third attack and some of us are going down to the planet to check it out. But you don't worry yourself about that. You just work on getting better. I'm sure Commander Blakus could use your help in Engineering." Will said. "I'll check on you again when we return to the Raven. Rest."
Will turned and headed for the exit. He made his way to the turbolift and entered it.
"Deck 6."
<TAG: Any>
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