Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Aug 10, 2017 18:29:33 GMT
Mission 9 - Year 0 - Here Be Dragons
The USS Enzio and USS Raven-C embark upon Section 47's initial reconnaissance operation in this new unexplored region, venturing away from the stricken Starbase for the first time. JP by Gheskori and Aeryn TavikAfter 20 hours of preparations - beaming in of supplies, systems' tests (only Lieutenant Clark's impulse drive test yet to be conducted), and real-time cartographic data updates from the station that required manual input due to computer core issues - the Enzio was at last ready to play its part in the recon operation. Ghes entered the bridge and took the command chair, now regarding the duranium-toothed maw of the bay-doors on the viewscreen; he shook his head as he remembered the conversation of half an hour ago: he was forcing his wife Mwv'mci to remain at base during the Enzio's first outing in the new region, because of the possible dangers they may face but also because she'd barely set foot on the station since the disaster of Betreka's explosion. It would give her a chance to get to know Ghes's second wife, who'd also been on the station at the time and had - in a mirror image of third wife Mwv'mci's travails - spent the vast majority of her time there since the shockwave impact. He was hoping for cordiality in their relations, and knew in fact they'd find common ground, for it seemed their shared tragedy had induced in them a sort of paralysis: the shock of the dislocation, separating them from what they'd known, had lain them ensconced and miserable in their respective quarters, as if those immediate surroundings were all they had left; a new face, and what's more a close relation, may well change that. "Ah, Colonel Tavik..." Ghes turned and hailed the SMO who was standing towards the bridge's aft, "And how are we? It pleased me to learn you were returning to full active duty." He remembered all too well the events during the main shockwave that'd left Aeryn incapacitated. Aeryn looked to acknowledge her CO, who had entered without her being aware of it. It wasnβt an easy feat, but with recent events forcing her into a state of emotional distress, she was a little preoccupied, and therefore not really paying total attention. As she totally comprehended what the admiral said, Aeryn replied, βThey made sure I had plenty of time to catch up on my paperwork once I came to. The accident hit me hard, but I am recovered.β She wasnβt sure who needed more convincing, Admiral Gheskori or Aeryn herself. Gheskori stood from his chair and approached the SMO, "I'm glad to hear that and have every confidence in your ability to perform your duties." He looked about the bridge, observing how there was still the virtual equivalent of a skeleton crew while the Enzio's complement continued to filter across from the Starbase, "Are ship systems in final state of readiness as far as you are aware?" βAh yes sir.β Aeryn looked down to PADD sheβd place on the console. Picking it up, she read off the list. βSickbay reports ready. Operations is locking down a few discrepancies, but we can get underway. Theyβll be done within the hour. Engineering reports ready.β Given what theyβd been through, Aeryn was more concerned for the crewβs emotional state than anything else. He nodded, glancing at the viewscreen, "Heading into the unknown as we are, we need to ensure the marine contingent is at full strength... You're satisfied with the people under your command?" The recon would only be conducted to a depth of 2 parsecs, but long-range sensors had been hampered by the proximity of the nebula (an unforeseen consequence), therefore in some regions they wouldn't be aware of a potential danger until they'd entered to within a few billion kilometres. βTheyβre the best of the best, sir. We lost Lieutenant Jackson and Corporals Barnes and Averson in the initial blast, but everyone is keeping up as best they can.β She nodded and said, βWeβre ready.β She then looked directly at Gheskori and asked, βHowβs your family holding up?β Ghes had begun to look away towards the viewscreen when Aerynβs question had come; something unpleasant reacted within him as he recalled the potential triadic troubles between him and his two living wives, but he quelled it, βTheyβre well enough, thank you, Colonel,β he smiled as goodnaturedly as possible. What couldβve engendered such a reaction? he asked himself. He was sure his wives were going to get along fine... wasnβt he? βAhh, to stride amongst the stars again, Colonel, this is what weβve been waiting for, though here may be dragons, as Earthlings like to say.β Shrugging off the spectre of familial issues, he retook the command seat and set about the Enzioβs preparations for final departure. <Tag Aeryn possibly?>It appeared that nearly all crew - new from across the Section and old - had now filtered onto the ship from the base, beleaguered in its new home far from the Federation. Seeing the Raven almost ready, too, he hit the ship-wide intercom, =/\=All crew, report to stations for initial reconnaissance. Undocking scheduled for 0800 hours. Senior officers, there will be a staff briefing at 0830 hours. Gheskori out.=/\= <Tag All>
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Allan Hood
Lieutenant
Only real security: a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.
Registered: Dec 4, 2014 4:19:10 GMT
Posts: 147
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Post by Allan Hood on Aug 14, 2017 2:12:54 GMT
Allan and Sami-Jo Hood were watching their three-year-old Donna chase Gracie, her six-year-old sister, around their quarters. The girls froze when the ship-wide message began. =/\=All crew, report to stations for initial reconnaissance. Undocking scheduled for 0800 hours. Senior officers, there will be a staff briefing at 0830 hours. Gheskori out.=/\=βLooks like all hands on deck,β Allan Hood, Chief of Security, said to Sami-Jo, in response to the Admiralβs call. Hood struggled in mornings to wake up, unlike his wife Sami-Jo and daughters, Gracie and Donna, who were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Hood was happy to be on the alpha-shift already, though he hated mornings; at least he did not have to adjust to anything new. Sami-Jo had the girls ready for school, which she was a teacher, by the time Allan finished with his personal log and uniform. βListen to Mommy and the other teachers,β Hood warned, βdonβt make me come down there and toss you two in the brig, again.β βPlease, be careful; everyday scares me with you being the security chief,β Sami-Jo warned, βespecially with everything weβve been through, lately.β βStarfleetβs been doing reconnaissance in uncharted territory for centuries,β Hood soothed, βthis is just routine. The whole reason why we all came out here. We have Elohim, keep praying. Weβve made it this far.β Allan kissed his wife and daughters and headed to the bridge. βHere be dragons,β Hood said, smiling to himself. <Tag anyone>OOC: Is it 2403.00.0811? Does anyone mind using the stardate from www.hillschmidt.de/gbr/sternenzeit.htm? Then it'd be 80627.3
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Aeryn Tavik
Command Staff ..
Members Representative
Lieutenant Colonel
Registered: Sept 9, 2010 12:14:15 GMT
Posts: 95
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Post by Aeryn Tavik on Aug 19, 2017 11:44:10 GMT
At roughly 0730 hours, Aeryn had made her way across the ship making the final checks. Her department was in order, with Captain Chang, now fully on active duty again, serving as her XO. Sheβd looked at an uncountable amount of PADDs, possibly seeing many of them more than once, and basically had become familiar with the entire ship. During her recovery process, sheβd spent a lot of time going over ship specs, duty rosters, supply requisitions, repair schedules, and basically anything else that might have the Enzioβs name attached to it. Someone had to do it.. Given Section 47βs current situation, it was agreed that all marines would effectively join the ranks of Starfleetβs regular operating crews, meaning that in her case, the thirty-two men and women under her command fell in with the Starfleet crew. She was happy with it, and she hoped her unit was as well. With that in mind, she was now the senior-most officer on the Enzio, excluding the good Section Admiral, and sheβd have to step up.
As of this morning, sheβd already made her rounds to the Science department and the Medical Center. Both were in ship shape, but Aeryn couldnβt help but notice that the Science roster was a little lacking. Given that the Enzio was on a recon mission, and would be for the forseeable future, theyβd need a solid, and possible larger than usual, science team to deal with any issues they might face. Sheβd have to bring that up at the next meeting. Sickbay was in good form, given they lost a few good people in the commotion of their predicament. All that was left was Engineering and Security.
Chang had joined Aeryn for breakfast in the officerβs mess this morning. Heβd reported the marines were collected and ready to go. Thankfully, they did not lose anyone in the series of explosions and only Aeryn herself had suffered any major injury. As they walked along Deck Five, Chang restarted the conversation.
βGreerβs still not happy with the new assignments,β he said, not quite as nonchalantly as Aeryn would have liked.
Rolling her eyes, βDidnβt you talk to him?β she asked.
βYes,β Chang responded quickly.
βDid you use words that he could hear and understand?β she then asked, patronizing the younger man a little. When her subordinate didnβt respond as quickly, she said, βLook, it is your job to talk to him. You know he is never going to say anything to me about it.β
βHeβs a hundred years older than us.β
Aeryn sighed. βHeβs only sixty-five, settle down.β
βAnd one of the longest serving enlistedmen currently active. Even General Knoxx asks for his advice and expertise,β Chang said, bewildered and genuinely fearful. βWhat are you, five? Go talk to him.β She began to walk towards the turbolift, leaving Chang in the proverbial dust. She heard him call out after her, saying something along the lines of βYeah this will go over nicely,β or something totally under his breath. She smiled as she got into the turbolift. He was right about one thing, though. Chief Master Sergeant Matthew Greer was in fact currently one of the longest serving enlisted marines in the corps. She was happy to have him under her command. She called out for main engineering and looked down at the report that had been submitted. Time to hit the last set of rounds before the briefing.
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Aug 20, 2017 10:44:27 GMT
The characteristic rattling of metal against marble filled the auditorium as the professor strode back and forth in front of the projection. The young Ghes watched as his instructor turned, his cane rectifying his ungainly frame as he eclipsed the screen once more in his backwards passage.
"And do you know, young man, what you may find in Bio Cabinet 2?!" The cane's tritanium tip glinted in the anaemic light of the lecture hall as it was pointed at Ghes. "Of course you do." The wizened figure of their ancient lecturer resumed his pacing, seemingly lost in thought.
"A... ladder to the stars?" a fellow student of Ghes's asked.
"A space elevator!" the lecturer cried, his shadow now dominating the room as he leaned towards them. And Ghes remembered yellowed scrolls of ancient maps, crackling as they were flattened, dust springing into the air casting miniscule shadows that flittered like spider webs in the breeze. His eyes scanned across the scroll towards the unknown, desolate regions.
The Enzio was drifting towards the new space doors that were now retracting in silence into their open positions. Behind the vessel, the looming Raven transposed on the view of the much repaired central core of the base, which only now Ghes felt comfortable in leaving: no less time for the restoration of the Starbase (with vessels in attendance) was contemplatable, and in that respect their arduous journey through unknown space and then the nebula was to be appreciated.
The appointed time for departure arrived, and Ghes had the Raven hailed as the Enzio exited through the doors. They discussed minutiae as the two vessels came to all stop before the Starbase, their reconnaissance trajectories plotted and overlaid on their viewscreens beside the view of the opposite bridge. "I'll take north and you take south," he suggested to Torek, and as they gave their orders, the two dots representing the Enzio and the Raven began separating and sliding on their individual helical spirals towards the extremities of the 2 parsec recon range, beginning wide so as to cover their respective hemispheres.
"Is it that time already?" Ghes pointed at the chronometer that read 0827 and wandered about the bridge, treating jocularly with the officers and awaiting the senior staff's arrival. As the first began to appear magically from the turbolifts, he made for the conference room and in short order they were situated about the table.
Ghes took a breath, "I'm glad we're all here." It was surreal to be out on assignment again, though in actuality they were only a few billion kilometres from the Starbase, barely further than any of their ships had been from the base since the 'incident'. Something about this particular outing seemed different however, and Ghes was only partially convinced that it was due to its official status as a mission. "The area of space we're passing through is largely featureless," he said, standing now before the local starmap with the 2 parsec recon sphere plotted and seeming quite barren, "But one thing caught my attention, just beyond the edge of our recon range..." He turned and touched the screen, it zooming to show the region at the edge of the sphere, and pointed, "This dispersed complex of uniform mass ionic particles."
"A fading ion storm?" the fill-in science officer Colonel Tavik had helped to appoint suggested.
"It's too regular for the remnant of a storm. We would expect to see the ghosts of whirlpool structures, variable densities and velocities," someone said.
<Tag All>
Ghes resumed his seat and sat hunched with the starlight on his left. He appreciated the room's relatively tight confines, its close atmosphere; it reminded him of hatching plans in underground caverns on Denobula.
"We'll take our time, advance towards the edge of our range at warp 6.5. That'll give us time to comprehensively scan the regions we pass through, so we don't miss something of interest by hurrying onto what could be nothing remarkable. All departments report every half hour, work together at your discretion to ensure we're collecting and analysing all data properly. Anything to bring to my attention now, departmental news, concerns, etc."
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Allan Hood
Lieutenant
Only real security: a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.
Registered: Dec 4, 2014 4:19:10 GMT
Posts: 147
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Post by Allan Hood on Aug 21, 2017 3:33:13 GMT
Hood entered the empty conference room ten minutes early. He had the tendency to give the impression that he was really punctual, when the opposite was the case. Hood knew his tendency to be tardy surfaced throughout his life, so he had to make an extra effort to arrive on time.
Hood brought up the security duty roster on the conference tableβs internal display for his chosen seat. He was careful to sit in the middle of the table, facing the entry way. After sitting alone for five minutes, he checked the wall panels, double-checking type-2 phasers were in place. He patted his own type-1 and retractable longsword, making sure the inside of the cup was clean, too.
After resuming his seat, the crew began trickling in. He stood and greeted everyone. Everyone was excited to be off the map, seemed to take their minds off the catastrophes everyone had experienced.
βIf we were still in Caloosahatchee, we wouldnβt have known you survived,β Hood recalled and earlier conversation with Sami-Jo, βwe would have thought you were βlost at seaβ with everyone else.β
βThatβs one of the reasons why I wanted to keep the family together,β Hood had responded, βthis way, no matter what happens, weβll be together.β
Hood snapped back to the present as the Admiral began speaking.
Ghes took a breath, "I'm glad we're all here. The area of space we're passing through is largely featureless," he said, standing now before the local starmap with the 2 parsec recon sphere plotted and seeming quite barren, "But one thing caught my attention, just beyond the edge of our recon range..."
He turned and touched the screen, it zooming to show the region at the edge of the sphere, and pointed, "This dispersed complex of uniform mass ionic particles."
"A fading ion storm?" the fill-in science officer Colonel Tavik had helped to appoint suggested.
"It's too regular for the remnant of a storm. We would expect to see the ghosts of whirlpool structures, variable densities and velocities," someone said. βDoes our ship have an ion pod?β Hood asked Colonel Tavik, βwe could use it to acquire the data we need. If itβs over a level 8, and weβre too close, weβll be putting the ship at risk.β Hood thought of his family.
βI also want to advise that we suspend using transporters due to potential power surges from the ion storm,β Hood said, considering medical emergencies and cargo transfers, βI donβt want to meet anyoneβs counterpart from a parallel universe.β
Hoodβs comment drew quieted chuckles from those who knew their history and confused looks from those who needed a refresher.
<Tag all>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Aug 31, 2017 0:33:27 GMT
Ghes scratched his chin thoughtfully, denying that they had an ion pod but thinking of possibilities, "Yes, we could retrofit a torpedo tube to provide the necessary instruments." With the long-range sensors still undergoing a cool down phase after extensive usage in mapping the dark matter cloud, the extra sensory capability in the form of an ion pod would come in useful for studying the ionic structures.
He acknowledged that they shouldn't use transporters close to the storm, or whatever it might be - there were certainly enough ion particles to constitute a storm, though if the stand-in science officer was correct, something more unusual may be taking place beyond the recon range.
Ghes spoke, "Ok, this seems good to me... Liaise with one another at your discretion to ensure we're collecting the right sort of data and optimising our interpretation of it. Colonel Tavik, please visit engineering and request an update from Lieutenant Clark and... Kempson, I believe was working with him on the impulse drive?"
<Tag Aeryn>
He was aware that the reason Clark hadn't been able to attend was due to the ongoing engine qualms; the CEO still wanted to run a full impulse engine test which they'd been unable to conduct before (having just then encountered the dark matter nebula) - it was ironic that they were now travelling at a speed many multiples of that of light, having been compelled to bypass full impulse velocity.
"Lieutenant Hood, see about upgrading a torpedo tube to create an ion pod. Liaise with engineering and the Operations Chief, and take whoever you may need from those departments. Though it may be slightly outside your normal area, I'd like you to lead the team in conducting the upgrade. And of course, you'd probably like to be the officer in the pod during the scans of the anomaly. You've already volunteered?" he asked innocently.
<Tag Allan>
Closing the briefing and returning to the bridge, Ghes was informed they'd received telemetry from the Raven, detailing its recent survey - in the last hour - of a large star system, two of the planets having breathable atmospheres. He made note of the curious findings relating to both worlds and settled in the centre seat; the Enzio sped on towards the edge of the recon range, spiralling through the darkness on its helix trajectory.
A few short hours later, as Ghes's shift was drawing to a close, the Enzio arrived in the vicinity of the ion complex. Ordering the phenomenon on-screen, he observed the dispersed blue-orange mass, stark against the sable backdrop. "Commence scans with conventional sensors. Inform as to strength and clarify whether it is has the characteristics of a storm."
"It's level 9, sir, though not a typical storm, if storm it is at all."
"I've not seen anything like it," someone said. Ghes stood, tugging down on his jacket and nodding to V'Maz who was standing in as Executive Officer once more with Tavik below deck, still in engineering. V'Maz tapped his commbadge, =/\=Lieutenant Hood, this is Commander V'Maz on the bridge, how's the retrofitting of the pod coming on? We've encountered the ion storm... at least we think it's a storm.=/\=
At that moment the ship was buffeted quite unexpectedly. A vibration passed up through the chassis, Ghes was gently shook about and intentionally collapsed in his seat to prevent the deck's tilt from accomplishing that feat itself.
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Simon Clark
Lt. Commander
Registered: Dec 1, 2016 22:21:10 GMT
Posts: 153
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Post by Simon Clark on Sept 3, 2017 19:59:23 GMT
Primary Port Impulse Manifold Control, Deck 8, USS Enzio. 2403.00.0811, 0730.
=/\=All crew, report to stations for initial reconnaissance. Undocking scheduled for 0800 hours. Senior officers, there will be a staff briefing at 0830 hours. Gheskori out.=/\=
Simon started at the sound of the intercom chirping, wincing as he bumped his head on the top of the access recess. The cause of the fluctuation in the impulse ion flow identified before the starbase had traversed the dark matter cloud had not yet been identified, and there had been so many other actions pressing onto the engineering team that he'd not been able to assign any resource to it.
This morning, the alpha shift was overseeing the stowing of the engineering supplies and working on the final connections of the replacement port dorsal nacelle. Admiral Gheskori was expecting full warp capability for this recon mission. Simon was not looking forward to breaking that news in the briefing this morning.
"Er... Boss,"
"Yes, Pixton?" Simon responded, without turning around.
"I think there's a crack, somewhere... er... maybe."
Ensign Heath had recommended Daniel Pixton to assist him looking at the manifold structure. So far, the technician seemed awed by working with his CEO, and the last hour and a half had been somewhat terse for them both. He wanted to tell the man not to treat him like royalty, Simon wasn't going to shoot him for doing his job. He pulled his head out of the access recess. "Show me,"
Pixton passed him the tricorder, and a data PADD displaying an overlay of the manifold: the magnetic containment system that directed ion flow from the generator to the red impulse exhaust port on the outside of the ship.
"You're right. That's the issue, right there. That crack passes right through the thermal control plates for the magnetic coils. If that limits the thermal transfer, we could see inconsistent current flow, and vibrations in the magnetic field."
"Don't sound good," Pixton said.
"Lock out the impulse engine and find the access panel for that section, we're going to replace it."
"Now? But we're about to..." Simon gave him a look. "Yes, Boss."
As Pixton sauntered away, Simon tapped his badge. "Clark to Admiral Gheskori. I need to replace one of the thermal plates on the port side impulse manifold on deck eight."
=/\= That's inconvenient timing, Lieutenant. Can it wait? =/\=
"No Sir, I believe it could become a risk to the ship if we start taxing the engines. That engine will be unavailable for about ninety minutes. It's a simple repair, but essential. I'm working on it personally."
For a moment, Simon wondered if the Admiral would decline the request.
=/\= Very well. I'll send Colonel Tavik down to speak with you after the briefing. Gheskori out. =/\=
+++ Main Engineering, Deck 8, USS Enzio. 2403.00.0811, 0935.
When Colonel Tavik joined Simon in Engineering, he was in the middle of the alignment tests on the manifold flow. He handed the seat to Ensign Heath to continue monitoring.
"Report, Lieutenant," The Colonel said, lightly.
"We are completing alignment checks on the impulse manifold. We should be able to release the engineering lock out in the next few minutes, to give us full impulse power." Simon told her.
She nodded her response. "The impulse engine tests you requested will be rescheduled for another time. Your reports identify this issue over seven weeks ago. It surprises me that you left it until this morning to implement a solution."
"Yes, Sir. There was a lot of damage from the Betreka event, and I allocated our engineering resource to addressing other priority issues. Our recent work has been dominated by the integration of the replacement nacelle, and the preparations for this morning's departure."
"In future, I expect that you will delegate repairs during staff briefings to another member of your team, so that the rest of the staff can benefit from your knowledge and experience. What is the Warp drive status?"
Simon felt that the Colonel had left unsaid that by him not attending the briefing she had to make a detour in her day down into engineering to have this discussion. Her neutral expression did not radiate the pleasure of having to be here. Now, he thought, the bad news, "The nacelle structure has been integrated into the ship systems. As far as we can tell, the nacelle is fully functional. My team is checking the plasma conduits and control sequences, which will be complete in around eighteen hours, before we put the nacelle into standard operation. We have full power from the reaction cores, and can currently transfer around seventy-five percent of the normal power requirement into the warp field through the other three nacelles."
Colonel Tavik's expression remained neutral, "What are the implications for ship operations?"
"Standard cruising speed is reduced from warp eight to seven-point-five, and our maximum rated velocity to from nine-point-nine to nine-point-three. Warp eight would be sustainable for just over three days, after that we would start to overload the plasma systems."
"We may need that additional speed, Lieutenant. Can the checks be done any faster?"
"No, Sir. Standard Starfleet procedure requires that the safety critical warp systems integrity tests are complete before the system is activated. The computer won't allow us to power it without passable test data having been recorded into the system. At least, not without a command-level override." He licked his lips, nervously. He hadn't meant to suggest that as a possible option. If they had missed something and they ran a standard plasma charge through it, they could need another replacement nacelle. Simon did not want to be on the receiving end of explosive plasma leaks through the ship structure, the damage was bad enough when they lost the non-powered nacelle in the docking dome. "We have a whole shift working on the checks. While the likelihood of us having missed anything is extremely low, the impact on the ship of having not checked could be severe. I wouldn't like take that risk, Sir."
<Tag Tavik> [to react to this]
"Run me through the Engineering structure, Chief, I want to know who I'm dealing with on which shifts." she asked.
"Engineering will be led by Ensign Rory Heath and Lieutenant Max Kempton on the Alpha and Beta shifts, with myself at the bridge station for one or other of those shifts. Lieutenant Marin will cover Gamma Shift as assistant Chief, either from the bridge or engineering, according to the requirement. We would normally have thirty-eight engineers on board, a mixture of officers and technicians in three shifts of twelve. We lost Technician Darren Barker during the Betreka event, and some were transferred to reinforce the engineering teams on the Raven and Maracanda. We're short-handed with eight on each shift; just twenty-six engineers in total."
<Tag Tavik> [to ask any other questions]
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Allan Hood
Lieutenant
Only real security: a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.
Registered: Dec 4, 2014 4:19:10 GMT
Posts: 147
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Post by Allan Hood on Sept 4, 2017 2:40:56 GMT
"Lieutenant Hood, see about upgrading a torpedo tube to create an ion pod. Liaise with engineering and the Operations Chief, and take whoever you may need from those departments. Though it may be slightly outside your normal area, I'd like you to lead the team in conducting the upgrade. And of course, you'd probably like to be the officer in the pod during the scans of the anomaly. You've already volunteered?" he asked innocently.
βWith all due respect, sir,β Hood started carefully, hoping the Admiral did not take offense, βas Chief of Security, my place is on the bridge, not in an ion pod. Additionally, I donβt think itβd be wise to sacrifice our tactical abilities for an ion pod, especially in uncharted territory.β
Hood did not feel comfortable with the idea of not being at his station in unexplored space. Though a capable engineer and scientist, he chose security as his career, to help safeguard his crew and family. To do otherwise, seemed contrary to his duty and obligations as security chief.
<Tag anyone>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Sept 4, 2017 6:36:23 GMT
Back-post in briefing room
"Very well, Lieutenant," Ghes nodded understandingly. He'd only been teasing Hood, but when an officer was asked to perform something that ran counter to their life's work, the type of business they were quite serious about, such questions would only receive a serious response.
He was determined to at least build the pod to collect data on the ion storm, if storm it was. There was the issue of where to fit it so as not to reduce tactical capability, a matter that they would address later on the bridge.
On bridge before reaching ion storm
V'Maz reoccupied the acting XO's chair with Tavik sent down to engineering, the marine informing the Chief Engineer of the mission situation and receiving from him his own reports. Luckily the order for warp 6.5 out to the cloud/storm fell within the standard cruising speed currently available to the ship, though the margin was reduced from what it would be with warp systems at optimal - it was to be expected what with a whole nacelle having been taken out.
If they didn't use a torpedo tube for the ion pod, the question remained, what did they use? Ghes was musing this question when he received an alert of an incoming comm, for his eyes only. He asked that it be routed to his ready room and took his leave, just catching the tail end of a discussion where the idea was aired that the ion pod be attached to the outer hull without mediation, protruding from it fully and not simply poking out of a torpedo tube - it would have its benefits, he thought, although the business of attaching the pod would be slightly more difficult than if they merely had to modify a pre-existing torpedo tube.
He swung round his desk, settled in his chair and activated the personal console in one motion, observing the Federation seal that then dissolved to show the face of Admiral Basirov situated at Starbase. Ghes beamed, "Ah, 'tis a shame, I was expecting a courtesy call from San Francisco," he half-joked. It was difficult on the Enzio to get used to not being contacted from Earth, the vessel having spent an amount of time there before this disaster had occurred.
"That's enough, Gheskori," Basirov berated him as if he was his superior; no love was lost between these two; while Ghes enjoyed torturing Basirov there was something about the Admiral that tortured Ghes in turn, and made his tormenting a sour business. "I haven't got time for idle chatter," Basirov said.
"Then stop talking."
"Look, there's been an incident... A crew of Bajorans whose civilian ship was destroyed by the shockwave have commandeered a few warp tugs and have left the station... That's our best guess, at least; the crew and the tugs are missing as of 3.5 hours ago."
"Then they don't have much of a head-start," Ghes said.
"Unfortunately we're a little short of starships, Gheskori," Basirov heaved, "Both our active capital ships are undergoing repairs and readiness checks, the maintenance craft we have are all occupied in either assisting the aforementioned or seeing to the Starbase, and our tugs won't be able to exceed the Bajorans' velocity." He went on to say how it was impossible for them to judge which way the tugs had gone, owing to the weakness of their warp trails, thus it was also a mystery - as were their motives - whether they'd travelled different ways or stayed altogether. Their leader was named Kret Nomal.
Ghes tapped the desk with an index finger, "Keep me appraised." They sat staring at each other, the silence dragged on ridiculously. Ghes threw up his hands, of course he could've closed the channel himself but, "Why are you still here?"
Basirov shifted uncomfortably, his voice gruff, "And... And I was told to pass a message to you from your wives, that they send their regards and wish you to look after Ensign Booker's cat."
Ghes nearly smiled, "I see. Can't the Ensign do it himself?"
"He never boarded your ship apparently, Gheskori."
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Aeryn Tavik
Command Staff ..
Members Representative
Lieutenant Colonel
Registered: Sept 9, 2010 12:14:15 GMT
Posts: 95
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Post by Aeryn Tavik on Sept 6, 2017 8:31:17 GMT
Aeryn, after the meeting and on her way down to Engineering, was annoyed. It was for two totally unrelated reasons and that, in and of itself, annoyed her even more. The first reason was this βstormβ or whatever it was coming around. She didnβt like that it was all βsciency.β Sheβd tried to keep on top of the general concepts of the different science disciplines, as suggested by their former CSO, but it was just too boring a concept for her. Shooting somebody? That was it. Planning an assault on an impossibly fortified base? Childβs play. Science? Rocks, plants, germs, space dust, and animals? No thanks. That was the entirety of her thought process. And then Lieutenant Hood, her second annoyance. He couldnβt have meant to be βthatβ blatantly disrespectful. Surely not. But for anyone, even a high and mighty Chief of Security, to pass up an opportunity to prove they were a well rounded officer completely baffled her. Even coming from the Marine Corps, Aeryn had proven herself to become the Enzioβs executive officer. After all, you had to have a working knowledge of practically everything AND be willing to do anything at the drop of a hat. That was just basic.
As she approached engineering, Aeryn put it from her mind and focused on the task at hand. Sheβd run into several engineers during her time getting acquainted with the position of XO, but hadnβt really gotten to know any of them. Sheβd really need to make the effort. She met up with Lieutenant Clark and listened to his report. Though it would have been nice to hear this in the briefing, as the Admiral would have been best advised hearing it from Clark, it wasnβt that big of a deal for her to come to Engineering and see to it. She remained expressionless though, as he continued.
Aeryn asked about the Warp Drive Status and listened to the limitations that were now being placed on the ship. At that point, it was likely Lieutenant Clark noticed that her face began to turn to obvious annoyance, but it was moreso to the whole situation rather than the topic at hand.
βWe may need that additional speed, Lieutenant. Can the checks be done any faster?β she asked.
"No, Sir. Standard Starfleet procedure requires that the safety critical warp systems integrity tests are complete before the system is activated. The computer won't allow us to power it without passable test data having been recorded into the system. At least, not without a command-level override. We have a whole shift working on the checks. While the likelihood of us having missed anything is extremely low, the impact on the ship of having not checked could be severe. I wouldn't like take that risk, Sir."
Aeryn sighed and let it soak in. She wasnβt happy about the situation, but she knew better than to go into a gunfight with an uncleaned gun. She nodded. βVery well. Proceed.β Aeryn brought her right hand up to her temple and rubbed it, a slight amount of pain having reared its ugly head. "Run me through the Engineering structure, Chief, I want to know who I'm dealing with on which shifts."
"Engineering will be led by Ensign Rory Heath and Lieutenant Max Kempton on the Alpha and Beta shifts, with myself at the bridge station for one or other of those shifts. Lieutenant Marin will cover Gamma Shift as assistant Chief, either from the bridge or engineering, according to the requirement. We would normally have thirty-eight engineers on board, a mixture of officers and technicians in three shifts of twelve. We lost Technician Darren Barker during the Betreka event, and some were transferred to reinforce the engineering teams on the Raven and Maracanda. We're short-handed with eight on each shift; just twenty-six engineers in total."
Aeryn sighed again. βIβll see which of the marines have any engineering experience and have the report to you. Weβre going to need all hands on deck, since every department is short-handed.β She looked around Engineering one last time and said, βI need hourly reports, Chief.β She turned and started walking away, making a few notes on the PADD she was carrying. As she walked out of Engineering, the Enzio shook violently and the rocking sent Aeryn flying into the wall. βGod damnit!β she exclaimed. It was happening again. But no sooner had it started than it stopped and she regained her footing. Resuming her course, she ascended in the turbolift.
The doors parted revealing the bridge. She walked forward, getting a clear view and noticed VβMaz in the center seat. She pointed towards the ready room and VβMaz nodded, indicating Admiral Gheskori was inside. She approached the door and signalled her presence. After being invited in, she approached the desk and handed the Admiral the PADD. βWeβve got warp seven point five at best and weβre short handed. Lieutenant Clarkβs got them working round the clock to finish repairs.β She noticed the Admiral had a rather amused look on his face. βCall from home?β she asked.
TAG Gheskori
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Simon Clark
Lt. Commander
Registered: Dec 1, 2016 22:21:10 GMT
Posts: 153
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Post by Simon Clark on Sept 11, 2017 17:55:47 GMT
Deck 8, Main Engineering, USS Enzio, 2403.00.0811 1530.
Enzio shook violently, and the rocking sent Aeryn flying into the wall... No sooner had it started than it stopped, and she regained her footing.
"Computer, what's happening?" Simon asked, wishing he'd had a little more time to work out the kinks in the holographic foam projection he had made earlier.
"A level nine ion storm is affecting ship systems."
Simon moved to the console for inertial dampeners, signalling for Tavik to join him, and pulled up the display.
"Clark to Bridge. The Ion storm is destabilising the Enzio's inertial field, so we are feeling the vibration from the storm's discharges."
<Tag Gheskori/Tavik>
=/\= Lieutenant Clark, we need some assistance integrating the Ion Pod with the torpedo tube power grid, it's not working quite as we were expecting. =/\=
Simon did not remove his eyes from the console where he was reviewing the instability in the ship's inertial field.
"Computer, identify source of most recent message to my commbadge,"
The computer responded with it's familiar LCARS monotone, while Simon's focus stayed on the console. "Communication originated from Science Technician First Class Mark Lewis in Forward Torpedo Control."
"Lieutenant Clark here, Mr Lewis. Could you expand on what's not working, and what you are expecting?"
=/\= Yes, Sir. We were expecting a seamless integration with the torpedo tube power grid, the Ion Pod is connected physically, but the power won't engage from the tube into the sensor system. =/\=
"It's a standard safety feature. You need to modify the output from the torpedo drive system to match the required input on the Ion Pod. I've only briefly seen the torpedo system on the Enzio, I don't know my way around it fully. Is that something you can do yourselves? Lieutenant Kempton is our ship expert in torpedo systems, but he's off shift at this time. Have Lieutenant Hood contact him if required."
=/\= Yes, Sir. Lewis out. =/\=
<Tag Allan Hood>
Simon returned to the console where the computer's automatic summary report for the progress on the Nacelle testing was displayed.
"Clark to Ensign Heath, the hourly update on the Nacelle testing is ten minutes overdue. Please update completion status within five minutes."
Simon was a big fan of efficient reporting, and knew that time spent up front meant less time on the paperwork overall. The officers in his team were starting to appreciate the efficiency in how he liked to work.
=/\= We're all shook up. Five minutes, Sir. =/\= Simon could almost hear the grin in Rory's voice that said he was making an obscure 20th century cultural reference. He'd have to ask him about it.
The data came through, the testing was running just to plan. He ran the update to Bridge Ops, and went back to his station.
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Sept 12, 2017 14:41:37 GMT
Ghes still found himself chortling over the case of Booker. Of course, Booker had never stepped aboard the Enzio, Ghes had been informed of the fact shortly after boarding and yet had promptly forgotten it.
Apparently - Ghes was still recovering his memory of the event - Booker had been reassigned to the Maracanda on a temporary basis to help crew its Operations department. So little time did he have that he was unable to relocate most of his belongings, including his cat, to the Intrepid class vessel before the Enzio made away at warp towards the ion cloud, in its 'upwards'-ascending spiral, Icarus wheeling towards the sun...
The ship shook; Ghes held onto his desk with prehensile fingers, knuckles white as he fought to stay in his seat which nevertheless rolled about on its casters. =/\=Admiral Gheskori, this is the bridge,=/\= Ghes could almost hear V'Maz through the door never mind over the comm, =/\=Sir, Lieutenant Clark reports that the storm is affecting our inertial dampeners. The cause of the vibration, sir,=/\= V'Maz explained. Ghes acknowledged and addressed Basirov on his console,
"Very well, Admiral. Thanks for the feline. If I see any Bajoran-carrying warp tugs making their way in this direction I'll contact you." He closed the channel and was glad to be staring once more at a blank screen of nothingness in place of Basirov. His ready room door slid open, a hint of green visible beyond the boundary.
After being invited in, she approached the desk and handed the Admiral the PADD. βWeβve got warp seven point five at best and weβre short handed. Lieutenant Clarkβs got them working round the clock to finish repairs.β She noticed the Admiral had a rather amused look on his face. βCall from home?β she asked.
Ghes acknowledged and leant back in his seat, "In a manner of speaking. I wish it'd been the C-in-C at San Francisco, for once. Colonel, a number of tugs have managed to escape from the Starbase, carrying Bajoran civilians. Basirov doesn't have any idea which direction they've gone, but nor would I expect him to. We'll keep a look out. Have full sensor sweeps made of the surrounding area. We'll be coming up on the storm soon which may adversely affect our sensor capability."
<Tag Aeryn>
He rose and followed the XO back onto the bridge, taking centre seat from V'Maz who moved to standing position while Aeryn took the first officer's chair. They closed on the anomaly, Ghes glancing at the chronometer that read 15:57. V'Maz's shift would soon officially start and the ion pod would be almost ready by now, he thought.
"Who's handling the torpedo tube-pod link-up?" V'Maz asked Commander Tomal, and on being informed opened a comm, =/\=Technician Lewis, this is Commander V'Maz on the bridge, how's the retrofitting of the pod coming on? We're now in close proximity to the ion storm... at least we think it's a storm.=/\=
<Tag Clark, (Lewis)>
At that moment the ship was buffeted quite unexpectedly. A vibration passed up through the chassis, Ghes was gently shook about and intentionally collapsed in his seat to prevent the deck's tilt from accomplishing that feat itself. "Another one..." he said, "If the destabilisation from the storm continues back us off one quarter impulse, helm."
"Sir," the Ops officer spoke, "The pod will give us better results, but going by these scans, what we have before us is definitely not an ion storm. As we conjectured before, the structure is too regular, too uniform. I'd almost say it's artificial. It consists of unidentified compounds and a large concentration of heavy unstable elements at its centre, constituting 9.2% of the total mass."
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Simon Clark
Lt. Commander
Registered: Dec 1, 2016 22:21:10 GMT
Posts: 153
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Post by Simon Clark on Sept 21, 2017 10:17:06 GMT
=/\= Technician Lewis, this is commander V'Maz on the bridge, how's the retrofitting of the pod coming on? We're now in close proximity to the ion storm... at least, we think it's a storm... =/\=
Mark looked down into the temporary control station for the active ion pod, and looked up at the engineering officer who had just set up the power connection. "It's ready, kid. You best get in there."
"Me, Sir?" Mark asked, "I don't have the experience," and he didn't like being called 'kid'.
"You've a damn sight more than I have. If there's someone better qualified, you call them down. Now, tell me if it's working and I can get back to my bunk."
Mark crawled into the ion pod, and adjusted some of the controls. "It looks all righ-"
"Kempton to the Bridge. Mr Lewis informs me that the Ion Pod is functioning within normal parameters. The data feed is on Science station channel forty-six. Kempton out." He turned to Mark. "Well. Anything else? No? Great. Enjoy the storm, kid."
Mark almost didn't hear him turn to leave, as the alarm panel on the controls blinked amber, and something on the scope started approaching the ship. "Hey, wait a minute! There's something happening!"
"Yes?" Kempton snapped.
Mark tapped his badge. "Commander V'Maz, this is Technician Lewis. There's something approaching the ship, Sir. It looks like a wavefront of some kind. I don't know all of these controls, can the bridge confirm? The alarm has gone amber. Who's at Science?"
=/\= Mr Lewis, Pretty Officer M'Rell is on station. M'Rell, please assist Mr Lewis. =/\=
=/\= Yes, Sssir. The anomaly is not showing on normal sssensors. It appearsss to be directed toward the ship. Missster Lewisss, increase the breadth of the Ion Pod scan, the ssslider on the left. =/\=
Mark found the slider, and pulled it down, refocusing the Ion Pod sensor to cover a greater area of space ahead of the ship for the Caition scientist.
=/\= Interesssting. Ion wavefront approaching the ship. We could move around it. =/\=
=/\= Helm, at will. =/\=
At V'Maz's command, the ship moved back and the wavefront passed before the bow, with a slight rumble through the hull. The Ion Pod alarm blinked another amber light. A second wavefront appeared on the scope, from a different direction, moving directly at the Enzio.
=/\= Ssssss. Thisss unlikely natural. Missster Lewisss, focus the Ion Pod to wavefront centre. We ssseee better. =/\=
Mark fumbled with the controls and struggled to keep the centre of the wavefront on the scope.
=/\= Helm, keep us clear. =/\= V'Maz said.
The ship rumbled slightly as another wavefront passed. Mark pulled back the view to reveal two more, both approaching the current position of the Enzio. He looked behind him. Kempton had gone.
=/\= Artificial. Yesss, ssstrange. Readings are uncertain. What to do? =/\= Mark nodded in agreement with M'Rell's question. What were they going to do?
<Tag Gheskori (V'Maz)>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Sept 22, 2017 23:38:21 GMT
=/\= Artificial. Yesss, ssstrange. Readings are uncertain. What to do? =/\=
Ghes listened in to the comm exchange from the upper deck by one of the Mission Ops consoles, having given the watch over to V'Maz, though remaining on hand should the situation elevate such that yellow, or indeed red alert were required. Things did appear to at least be heading in that direction.
"Is it possible the wavefronts are being directed towards the Enzio intentionally?" he asked. It was one of several obvious questions to ask, though such things needed to be voiced. "That is, could we be dealing with an intelligence that is sending these wavefronts as a way to... warn us off?"
"No information as yet, sir," V'Maz reported after receiving a nod from M'Rell.
There was no guarantee - even if the wavefronts were being directed towards the Enzio intentionally - that an intelligence lay behind it; it could be an instinctive reaction, much in the same way that plants reacted to light by bending towards it, maximising their ability to photosynthesise. But then even a plant could be said to be living, in some limited way. Was this potentially a first contact situation... did they have before them a lifeform? It felt for Ghes like first encounter with another species other than Denobulan for the first time again, he one amongst many intrepid explorers out at these farthest fringes, just as Stox and Mrixl had been in that first crewed spaceflight for Denobula early in the 20th century (Earth-reckoning).
The ion pod was continuing to collect data, and every so often seismic shifts - for so they seemed - occurred beneath their feet, the inertial dampeners being periodically weakened by proximity to the level 9 'ion storm'. What should we term it now? he thought. The Enzio passed closer and closer by the storm, staying away from the zones where the interference with the dampeners was judged to be at its lowest. They now banked and skirted half the circumference of the roughly diamond-shaped ion phenomenon. Sure enough, the wavefronts continued to emanate towards the Enzio (such that the time-delay in reaching the ship was accounted for, and thus the waves intersected with it, the waves sent out into the space the Enzio would pass through). Ghes entertained the idea of trying to trick the phenomenon, lead the Enzio this way and that, try to get the phenomenon to miss with its wavefront no matter how much it attempted to premeditate.
He voiced the idea and it was tried. They achieved it once, but were now convinced that something quite advanced (a natural intelligence, or an artificial construct) was lying at the centre of the storm, able to predict their movements with some accuracy.
He saw that Tavik - about to go off duty - was standing by the tactical console observing the officer's work, "Did we find any sign of warp tugs carrying Bajorans before sensor capability was reduced?" he asked.
<Tag Tavik>
"Ok, are the wavefronts doing any damage?" V'Maz was saying. He was told none at the moment, but they had been evading them each time. "Keep us clear of them. Petty Officer M'Rell, is our man in the pod detecting anything more about the waves' composition, or the composition of the storm itself besides its ions?"
<Tag (M'Rell), (Lewis)>
Ghes spoke, "Open comms on any channel. EM, subspace, anything you can think of... Send standard Starfleet greeting into the centre of the storm." It seemed ridiculous, but something was definitely in there that was not purely ionic.
<Tag All>
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Aeryn Tavik
Command Staff ..
Members Representative
Lieutenant Colonel
Registered: Sept 9, 2010 12:14:15 GMT
Posts: 95
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Post by Aeryn Tavik on Sept 23, 2017 7:27:52 GMT
Aeryn had been standing behind tactical since the engineer went into the Ion pod. That vantage point gave her a good survey of the room and from the looks of things, most on the bridge were getting visibly rattled by the effects of the βstorm.β For the most part the Enzio was being guided away from the brunt of the system, there was still minor instances where the storm made contact. Aeryn was surprised that minimal damage had been registered on the Enzio, given the turbulence that was flashing about them, but that was most likely due to a fine piloting job performed by the helmsman. Pilots were always a dime a dozen, but to find a good one, like the one present, it was a gift.
The section admiral, obviously noting Aeryn was still on the bridge, asked, "Did we find any sign of warp tugs carrying Bajorans before sensor capability was reduced?"
Aeryn looked down at the readings, then shook her head. βScans were inconclusive, however, there were plenty of sensor glitches appearing at various points. But now that sensors are down, weβll have to look at them visually.β That was going to be tricky, given the situation.
"Ok, are the wavefronts doing any damage?" V'Maz was saying. He was told none at the moment, but they had been evading them each time. "Keep us clear of them. Petty Officer M'Rell, is our man in the pod detecting anything more about the waves' composition, or the composition of the storm itself besides its ions?"
<Tag (M'Rell), (Lewis)>
The order then came to open the channel. "Open comms on any channel. EM, subspace, anything you can think of... Send standard Starfleet greeting into the centre of the storm."
Aeryn listened for the acknowledgement, then spoke to the tactical officer. βIβm wondering if the Enzio is acting as some sort of attractive magnet for the storm.β
βItβs possible,β the man responded. βItβd make a hell of a lot easier argument that someone actively shooting at us. At this point, Iβd say they were a hell of a shot.β
Aeryn paused a moment, mulling over an idea. βAdmiral, while we wait for a response, we might try to remodulate the shield frequency. If the Enzio is acting as a magnet of sorts, that might do the trick and get us a little breathingβ¦.β
Before she could finish the ship jolted to port violently. Aeryn was by no means ready for it and thrown to the ground. A few sparks flew about here and there, but overall, it wasnβt the worst bout of turbulence sheβd been through.
βI can tell you one thing,β she said, βIβm getting just about sick of being through to the ground by an invisible force. As soon as we find some solid ground, Iβmβ¦β
Suddenly, the comm erupted with a high pitched that made everyone have to cover their ears.
<tag all>
------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, in the ion pod:
Mark fumbled about on the controls, at least, thatβs what it felt like to him. Getting only some seismic readings here and there made for almost a boring read. Even when the ship got caught in the wake of a front, he didnβt feel too much of the stress. Suddenly, alarm bells began ringing in the pod. Checking the sensor readouts, the area he was focusing on was showing massive amounts of electrical energy. Pure electrical energy.
The pod had one small porthole he could look out of in the forward position. With the pod turned the way he wanted to look, he peered out and saw something uncanny.
A swarm of blue, red, and yellow flashes of energy converging together on a single area of space. It always looked like a giant ball of sparks!
He tapped his comm badge. βLewis to bridge, you guys should really see this.β No answer came.
βBridge, please respond!β
<tag Bridge>
(OOC: The high pitched shrieking happened exactly as the alarms went off in the pod. For some reason Lewis has not been affected (yet maybe?).)
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Sept 25, 2017 20:42:07 GMT
The screaming over the comm was intolerable, it sounded almost mechanical. "I am Admiral Gheskori of the Federation starship Enzio," Ghes spoke over it; it continued. He grimaced at his senior officers and spoke again over the comm, "I should very much like to hold a dialogue." There was no guarantee at all however that what they were hearing was the voice of a lifeform, or was even any form of communication.
=/\=Lewis to bridge, you guys should really see this.=/\=
=/\=We're seeing it, Mr Lewis,=/\= V'Maz responded calmly. Indeed they were, Ghes thought, observing on the screen the flows of primary coloured-plasma streams, or ion particle streams, whatever they might be (none of it was showing up on sensors), arcing out of the 'storm' phenomenon and wheeling round to converge on the point before that regular complex. It was a roughly spherical, awful miasma of a thing, looking like the plasma torpedoes used by the Romulans in the 23rd century, or the surface of Sol's Jovian moon Io.
=/\=Mr Lewis? Are you receiving?=/\= V'Maz called.
"We're not getting through, we lost internal comms just after his transmission to us, sir," an officer said.
Ghes took the centre chair, declaring red alert. As the klaxon blared, he had the Enzio withdraw to 0.01 parsecs from the phenomenon, but the shrieking that was sounding over the comm - which they were unable to break off - reduced in intensity only a small fraction of that which they would expect.
"Can't we shut that out?!" he blurted eventually, exasperated. There didn't seem to be anything they could do about it. Ghes ordered a trio of officers below-deck, one to pass on a message to Lewis to get himself out of the ion pod (Ghes didn't like the idea of him sitting in the pod while the ship was encountering the unknown, even if it was partially encased in a torpedo tube), another officer to go to main engineering on deck 8 to inform Clark's team of the situation (while his officers would know external comms were jammed open and internal comms offline, they wouldn't be aware of what was being seen outside the ship) <Tag Clark>, and a third officer - Commander V'Maz - to take command of the second hull's bridge.
<Tag anyone who wants to NPC V'Maz taking charge of the second hull's bridge (we're not MVAMing (yet) by the way)>
"Scan the centre of the phenomenon. Give me anything you can find," he ordered, determined now. The screen was zoomed to full magnification, the swelling sphere of red-blue-yellow plasma still stationary before the storm, electrical arcs passing between the various knots and filaments making up the mysterious object. Beyond it - as Ghes and Tavik were now informed - was some sort of machine...
According to Lieutenant Hood and the Ops Chief, there was an inorganic mass at the centre of the level 9 ion storm (this machine obviously - Ghes concluded out loud - being what was generating the phenomenon). It explained the readings of heavy unstable, radioactive elements. Some of these improbably made up the machine, while other parts of the central machine were phasing out of normal space, and yet a third component of it was composed of exotic matter, similar - in ways, they noted - to the exotic particles found within the dark matter nebula - Starbase 47's nascent protector.
This structure was feeding the storm as well as the spheroidal multicoloured object before it (interposed between storm and Enzio, between the thunder and the defiant Sardinian prince...) Most interestingly, a similar machine was now detected on long-range sensors another 1.77 parsecs distant. At this point, Colonel Tavik in coordination with Ops reported what may be a faint ion trail (one of the stolen warp tugs?, bearing 304.4 by 72.9). Ghes hoped the reading wasn't caused by a fault in the detectors, what with the local density of ionic radiation.
Through Tavik, he addressed the officers of the bridge, enquiring urgently if there was any perceivable immediate risk from these phenomena. The answer was negative, though they couldn't be entirely sure. He had the ship withdrawn another 0.02 parsecs, the shield frequency remodulated again and then announced after a moment's thought, "Staff briefing." He spoke it with a large exhalation of breath. "Ensign Rivers, bring Lieutenant Clark up from engineering." Internal comms being down was aggravating; one took it for granted, he knew.
Now that the shrieking over the comm was reduced to manageable levels - though still very noticeable - Ghes began the briefing, "Whatever this entity or machine is, it has tampered - perhaps accidentally - with the functioning of our ship. The storm it's created affects our inertial dampeners when we pass to close, and there is seemingly nothing we can do to further our attempts at communication. I am open to suggestions."
<Tag Tavik, Hood, Clark>
He hoped that with increasing range the comm systems would return to normal. "My own thoughts at this time are to press past this phenomenon, to possibly explore the other one we detected and to investigate the possible warp trail."
"Past the recon range, sir?" Yarwood asked.
"I am the senior officer of the Section," Ghes said simply with a smile, "The Starbase will understand. We will communicate our intention to them now and will return once we've explored 2 parsecs further."
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Oct 5, 2017 17:48:08 GMT
With Starbase 47 informed of the Enzio's intention, Ghes returned to the bridge and saw about preparations for bringing the Enzio within scanning range of the faint ion trail they'd detected. Whether or not it was an ion trail, they had yet to confirm, though a positive identification would mean they'd surely found at least one of the missing warp tugs. The alternative was that they'd discovered the first sign of a warp-capable species out at these farthest reaches...
Warping away from the ion storm (once they'd left the region where inertial dampeners were compromised), the Enzio made for the 0.5 parsec-long streak that represented the possible warp trail, it positioned near equidistantly between the two ion storm-like phenomena.
Both of those storm phenomena had their unusual tripartite machines at their centre, in the one case generating colourful streamers that coalesced into the electric ball of energy that'd positioned itself before the Enzio, and in the other case an unseen EM field that pulsed throughout the entirety of that second phenomenon (detected once they'd reached the edge of their nominal recon range), filling it and enclosing it.
He tried internal comms, expecting them to be working again, especially considering the mechanical shrieking over the intership comm had faded to be drowned out once more by interstellar background radiation; he was not in luck. "We can't keep sending messengers on foot!" he slapped his armrest. "Comm Lieutenant Clark and ask if he can identify the cause of our intraship comm problems..." he sighed, "Send a runner to engineering, same message."
In a way, they knew the cause - the ion storm, but why did the problem persist now they were out of range? Ghes enquired about Lewis; whether he'd exited the pod safely, and what information he may have been able to glean from the pod's specialised sensors for which there was not the facility to pass up the info to the bridge as ordinary scan results.
While awaiting updates on these matters, he thought over the possible warp signature readings. If the missing warp tugs did leave a trail that could be detected by starship sensors, why had Basirov in the subspace comm told him otherwise? Could it that the Admiral hadn't taken account of the Enzio's advanced sensor package? Or perhaps... Ghes shook his head briefly. He wasn't going to allow himself to entertain such thoughts about fellow members of the Admiralty; high-ranking officers engaged in politicking, willful misleading of each other, did happen, but out here, cut off from the higher chain of command and Starfleet as a whole... No, they had to rely upon one another, gather together for survival; such politics couldn't be allowed to rend them apart while the Starbase was in constant if unknown peril.
"Closing on the streak of ionic particles. Running verification checks on whether it signifies a warp signature," an officer reported.
"Acknowledged." Ghes sat up in the command chair, Tavik standing on one side and Commander Yarwood on the other (V'Maz was below deck on the second hull's bridge). "Why, if it is a warp trail, are we only able to detect a small fraction of it, half a parsec long?" He paused, "Unless they've managed to mask the signature but weren't entirely successful?" He imagined a chain of warp trail segments - detached terms in a series with boundless void in between - that followed the trajectory of a warp tug making away with its Bajoran escapees who'd seen fit to abandon the station. It was all speculation until they knew whether it was a warp signature at all.
<Tag All>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Nov 2, 2017 9:38:39 GMT
OOC: I've posted this if it will perhaps offer some inspiration, though (see email) we can go with whatever will best give us an opportunity to write what we wish. Perhaps something more along character development lines?
While the Enzio hovered in the vicinity of the patch of ion trail, scans being conducted to verify whether it matched with a warp signature of one of the warp tugs, Ghes sat in his ready room. They would have to complete their scans shortly, as warp trails - if this was one - faded slowly up to a point but then dropped off a cliff in terms of their detectability, much like an object's reception of stellar energy when departing a star system, exiting the heliosphere and entering the interstellar medium.
He perused the results from scans of the ion cloud phenomenon (if such it was), observing how they'd had trouble discerning what exactly lay at the centre of it. It was made up of three parts, one in normal space, another out of phase and a third that was neither here nor there, but was registering as mainly dark matter, but in an odd configuration. "Dark energy," he murmured as the ready room door chirped. "Hello?" he cleared his throat.
Tavik walked in. "Ah, Colonel, have we had any luck identifying the warp trail, that is have we found our Bajoran refugee friends? Is it a warp trail?" he added.
<Tag>
He paused and spun his personal console about, showing one of the ion storms, "I'd like to go back to the - " The ship shook, Ghes called the bridge. Quite unexpectedly, they were receiving an incoming communication, from the storm itself. Knowing what happened last time - the shrieking - Ghes asked that the volume be muted to some degree, but apparently it wasn't necessary, the translator was recognising a voice and a language.
<Tag>
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Simon Clark
Lt. Commander
Registered: Dec 1, 2016 22:21:10 GMT
Posts: 153
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Post by Simon Clark on Nov 10, 2017 0:19:16 GMT
Main Bridge, Deck 1, USS Enzio:
"OK, are the wavefronts doing any damage?" VβMaz was saying.
"No damage." Lieutenant Marin replied from the engineering station, "Shields are taking the force of the ionic discharges and are holding. However, there's an ion build up on the shield grid that is intensifying the wavefront impacts, and a resonant feedback on the shield grid power core is causing the inertial field to fluctuate. It does not appear to be affecting any other systems." But he was worried. That was a lot of static. Much more, and the shield grid output would not meet the drain on them. He was worried about the fluctuating effect on his shield generators.
"Keep us clear of them. Petty Officer M'Rell, is our man in the pod detecting anything more about the waves' composition, or the composition of the storm itself besides its ions?"
"This not a typical ion ssstorm, wavefrontsss are too predictable, and direction changesss too much. We cannot sssee higher intelligence. We have wavefronts that directed at the ssship. Hypothesis something is in control of ssstorm elementsss. Sssomething is wrong with data feed. Lieutenant Marin?"
Marin keyed on the console, his brows creased, as he considered the possibility that the ions stuck to the shield matrix were slipping into other parts of the system.
"I'm wondering if the Enzio is acting as some sort of attractive magnet for the storm."
"It's possible," the man responded. "It'd make a hell of a lot easier argument that someone actively shooting at us. At this point, I'd say they were a hell of a shot."
"Admiral, while we wait for a response, we might try to remodulate the shield frequency."
Marin nodded and looked across to M'Rell, "That might work. A rotating frequency with aliasing that crosses resonant with the ions might shake off some of the buildup, and reduce the drain on the generators. M'Rell, can you determine the resonance in the ion field?"
The ship jolted to port violently. "I can tell you one thing," she said, "I'm getting just about sick of being through to the ground by an invisible force. As soon as we find some solid ground, Iβmβ¦"
The comm erupted with a high pitched that made everyone have to cover their ears.
=/\=Mr Lewis? Are you receiving?=/\= V'Maz called.
"We're not getting through, we lost internal comms just after his transmission to us, sir,"
Marin had to shout over the shrieking through the comm system. Gheskori raised red alert, and helm backed them away from the phenomenon. The noise level did not noticeably drop.
"Can't we shut that out?!" Gheskori blurted out.
"No Sir," Marin shouted in reply.
"Go to Engineering," Gheskori replied, "Tell them whatβs going on, and find out what they are doing."
+++ Main Engineering, Deck 8, USS Enzio,
"Whereβs that coming from?β Clark shouted over the din.
βItβs on one of the external channels, I canβt shut it out. Itβs every speaker.β Pixton shouted
βTurn them off?β Simon replied.
Pixton poked at the control panel he was manning, one hand over his left ear. βControls arenβt responding.β
βTry the audio output gain from the computer system.β Simon told him.
As Daniel wandered away. Simon put his tricorder to the thickness of the noise, wincing as it rang through his head. 108dB. Most of his team had one or more hands to their ears. If they didnβt resolve this his team would suffer permanent hearing damage. He pulled aside Brexon, who seemed unaffected by the sound, βGet the earpieces from locker four, I donβt want anyone with tinnitus.β
She nodded, and returned quickly with the earplugs. He took several pairs, and motioned for her to distribute them. The relief as they fit into place was palpable.
βSir, Iβve come from the bridge. Internal Comms are down.β Lieutenant Marin said, shouting over the noise.
βYes Almir, I had noticed that.β Simon handed a pair of earpieces to him.
βWhatβs this?β
βNoise-cancelling earpiece. Put it on.β
Simon was pleased to see that Almirβs expression shift from painful wincing to neutral concern.
βIt filters out homogeneous noise and maintains speech.β Simon told him in a regular tone, βThere are several other settings, but this is the one we wantβ.
βIndeed!β Marin started to explain the presence of a spherical entity outside of the ship, when Ensign Rivers appeared at the entrance, not looking especially comfortable. Simon handed her a pair of earpieces, and motioned for her to fit them.
βWell, thatβs a good find.β She said, her voice slightly garbled by signal processing capability of the ear defenders.
βIf you like these, you should read the rest of the Starfleet Safety Standards,β Simon said.
βMaybe later,β she replied, βThereβs a staff briefing in ten minutes,β
βIβll hold the fort here,β Almir told him, and pointed at his ears. βTake lots of these?β
+++ Deck 8, USS Enzio
They made their way to the turbolift shaft, handing out earpieces to anyone they passed.
"Deck One,β she instructed as the doors swished closed. βThereβs something Iβve been meaning to ask you about.β
βA personal question?β he asked, hoping the garble in the earpieces would hide the flutter he felt in his voice.
She smiled, though Simon was not sure how to read it. βNo, not exactly. Itβs about Lieutenant Kempton.β
βAh.β He would have liked a personal question from Alison Rivers. Now he was feeling a little bit stupid that he had revealed this while misinterpreting her inference. He also felt that he knew what was coming. Somehow, it would not be any better coming from her than it would from the admiral.
βI have heard comments on his conduct, his attitude toward other members of the crew, since Lieutenant Marin returned to the ship. No one has reported anything, of course, but you hear things sat in the mess hall, particularly amongst the enlisted. I have also noticed that you rarely work with him yourself. I see that you are alternating your shift pattern so that you work with different parts of your team, his shift patterns are configured opposite to your own in almost all cases.β
βYou notice a lot,β He replied, both impressed and wary that she had been watching him.
βMonitoring the welfare of the crew is part of my operations role, Sir.β Her phrasing was absolutely formal, and her face carried no expression.
βIβ¦ perhaps, I have been avoiding him,β he admitted, finding a point on the turbolift wall to rest his gaze.
βSir. He is a member of your team. That I am aware of, he has been passed over, twice, for the role of CEO. Lieutenant Marin held the role reluctantly, and you were promoted into it as an Ensign. I can imagine how I might feel if I were in his position. Will you make time to speak to him on the subject of his conduct, Sir?β
Well, this is awkward, he thought. She obviously expected the best from him. Instead, he had shown himself to be immature, and a bit of a disappointing Chief. He had sidelined Max to an opposite shift and failed to deal with Maxβs management style. I will do better, he told himself.
βYes. I will speak with him,β he replied, βThank you for bringing this matter to my attention, Ensign. I do appreciate your candidness.β
She nodded. βThank you, Sir.β
The turbolift doors swished open to the bridge.
+++ Conference Room, Deck One, USS Enzio.
The first thing Simon noticed as he joined the conference was that the noise level had dropped to one that was allowing his colleagues to speak easily. Commander Yarwood, who was serving as the operations chief, tipped his head respectfully as Simon found a seat. A little perplexed as to exactly what had prompted it, he returned the nod, and then removed his earpieces, and placed them in a pocket.
βYou managed to calm the shrieking from the Comm?β Yarwood asked.
βWe were looking into it when I left Engineering. We couldnβt isolate the speaker system globally, so Technician Pixton was looking for the master computer gain control.β Simon opened his tricorder and let it monitor for a few seconds. βI assume he found it, the output is now averaging less than 60dB, that should prevent hearing damage to the crew.β
βWhy didnβt you shut it out completely?β Gheskori asked.
βAt a guess, my team wouldnβt have wanted to completely silence the computerβs voice responses.β
βAnd internal communications?β The Admiralβs question had a sharp point
βAs far as I can tell, the comm system is flooded with traffic, thereβs external comm traffic leaking through to every channel. I have a few ideas to try, and I have no doubt that Lieutenant Marin will be trying a few of his own right now. I will find out more when I get back to Engineering, and will get a progress report to you.β
Understanding flowed around the table, and they began the briefing, covering, mostly for Simonβs benefit, the salient points that Lieutenant Marin had not had time to disseminate before Ensign Rivers had called Simon away.
ββ¦The storm it's created affects our inertial dampeners when we pass to close, and there is seemingly nothing we can do to further our attempts at communication. I am open to suggestions."
βSir, I have one.β Simon said. βThe fluctuations in inertial dampeners are felt by the crew most when we are accelerating or decelerating as we pass through the front. If we keep a steady speed as we pass the front, we would see a smoother ride.β
βNo holographic foam, this time, Lieutenant?β Commander Yarwood quipped.
βNo, Sir. I have not yet refined the program, it was somewhat restrictive to effective working last time.β Yarwood agreed, and the discussion continued.
βIf the effect is lessened as we move further from the ion storm and these entities, I would hope that the comm systems will return to normal. My own thoughts at this time are to press past this phenomenon, to possibly explore the other one we detected and to investigate the possible warp trail."β¦
+++ Main Engineering, Deck Eight, USS Enzio
An operations crewman whom Simon didnβt recognise joined him at the comm station he was configuring.
βSir, reporting from the bridge.β
βGo ahead, crewman.β Simon replied.
βThe Admiral would like you to identify the cause of our comm problems, Sir. Heβ¦ erβ¦ appeared somewhat frustrated with the situation.β
βI think we all are. The volume of the noise has reduced with distance to the eye of the storm. However, the external channels are still locked open; the system is converting sensor data and feeding it to audio. We are quite literally hearing what the sensors are seeing. Lieutenant Marin has observed that the static discharges from the ions on the shield grid are disrupting computer control over tertiary control systems, as they donβt have the same level of EM shielding as the primary controls.β
Simon had not expected that the man would follow that. Indeed, he looked worried.
βWhat should I tell the Admiral?β he asked.
βTell him we are working on it, and Iβll be up to the bridge in ten minutes to report.β
The crewman thanked him, and left. Simon resealed the ODN relay on the comms panel, and gathered his tools.
+++ Main Bridge, Deck One, USS Enzio
βColonel, we have restored a basic internal comm by isolating a subsection of the ODN network with greater electrostatic shielding, and connected it directly to relays on comms panels in several key locations through the ship: Sickbay, Engineering, Secondary Bridge, and any panel that happened to be close to the cable routing. My team is configuring other panels now. Itβs basic push to talk, youβll be heard at every station that is wired in, and anything anyone else submits will be heard here.β
βThatβs not ideal, Lieutenant.β Aeryn Tavik replied.
βNo, Sir. It will keep us talking while we try to clear the blockage on the rest of the system.β
βEstimate, Mr Clark?β
βI do not know, Sir.β
If Colonel Tavik was impressed, she did not show it. Instead she dismissed him and walked toward the Admiralβs ready room. Simon made his way to the engineering station. He went the long way around, passing the science and operations stations.
βThese isotopesss are usually unssstable. In the sssensor data we have, the half-life time is long. Very long. It is impossible.β MβRell was almost purring with excitement.
βWhat about the exotic matter? Is it consistent with what we saw in the dark matter nebula?β
βYesss! Itβs very sssimilar, the particles are-β
The bridge vibrated, cutting her off, and the Admiral called through on the intercom, βAdmiral, we have an incoming communication from the storm itself.β Commander Yarwood told him.
=/\= Can we reduce the volume? =/\=
βYes sir, but the translator is recognising a voice and a language. Admiral, I think youβll want to see this.β
=/\= Agreed, =/\= he replied.
As soon as the admiral had exited his ready room, Commander Yarwood was briefing him. Simon found his seat at Engineering, and tried to focus on the data feed he had piggy-backed into the new shielded ODN relays while his ears betrayed him, and listened to what was happening behind him.
βThe translator has recognised the language, asβ¦ itβs a mixture of several alpha quadrant languages. The structure is unusual: most similar in basis is Traditional Golic Vulcan, but the words used are from at least six, no, seven languages: Elasi, Hungarian, Vulcan, Chandir, Denobulan, Layron, and I think that one is Kessok, Sir.
Gheskori took the centre seat with Tavik standing to one side, βInteresting. On screen.β
βItβs audio only, channel is open.β
<Tag All>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Nov 14, 2017 23:32:56 GMT
Ghes sat watching the screen, its view of the cloud formation with its ion-like substance, spherical mass of crackling energy and screaming machine at its centre, holding secrets they may soon become privy to... Contrary to what he'd expected (which was more shrieking, even if in a recognisable translation of a sprachbund of various Federation languages), a smooth baritone tone came over the bridge speakers,
"Submit identification codes." Ghes sat up alert, the musical voice continued, "You have 41..." the next word was badly scrambled by the translator; it sounded something like 'vilkma', "Trespassing by Nihilists will not be tolerated. Repeat of message. Submit identification codes. You have 41 vilkma. Trespassing by Nihilists will not be tolerated."
"I am Admiral Gheskori of the Federation starship Enzio. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." Silence reigned indelibly on the bridge. "We are new in this region of space..." There was no response; he looked about, was their return transmission being received? Yarwood at Ops responded affirmative. He cleared his throat, "Apologies, we do not understand. We -" he was careful not to let on more than necessary as to how many of them there were, "- have been stranded in this sector owing to the destabilisation of a distant nebula. Thus, not knowing what political and social conditions prevail here, we are unable to provide you with identification codes. If you would introduce your- "
"You have 41 vilkma. If codes are not provided, we will then and only then evaluate your needs."
"We don't have codes - " He was informed the channel had been closed. "Vilkma... that sounds like a time measurement. Might we calculate the interval of gradation relative to Federation standard?" he asked no one in particular.
The team responsible for studying the machine at the centre of the first ion cloud (the tripartite structured mechanism sitting part outside real-space, part constituted of exotic matter and another third made up of ultra-heavy elements) scrutinised the scans of the objects' external lines, searching for a mathematical pattern that may discern for them what numerical base this species used in its science and technology (if it was a species' representatives as a whole, not part of one, or a conglomerate like the Federation, or other).
"It seems they were able to scan us, and have discerned some of the languages of our culture. How? By probing our biology, our minds from that distance?" he asked speculatively, "Or could they have spied somehow, and observed our discourse, tapping into internal surveillance?" Very speculative.
"More, or less frightening is the possibility that they hacked our computer core, sir; it would be the easier method," he was chided gently, "I have to confess I don't know much Denobulan."
Science reported back on his request concerning the duration of a vilkma, "Multiples of four seem prevalent, Admiral - we're lucky the machine's design follows simple principles in geometry." Efforts to reestablish comms - to amongst other things find out how many more vilkma they had remaining - were unfruitful. Hopefully some conclusions could be drawn - a vilkma was certainly longer than a second.
<Tag Clark, All>
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Simon Clark
Lt. Commander
Registered: Dec 1, 2016 22:21:10 GMT
Posts: 153
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Post by Simon Clark on Nov 28, 2017 19:15:46 GMT
Main Bridge, Deck One, USS Enzio "Vilkma... that sounds like a time measurement. Might we calculate the interval of gradation relative to Federation standard?" The Admiral asked.
"Can we get them back on the Comm?" Simon asked, "We could extrapolate an approximation from a second request."
"No response," Commander Yarwood told him. "Perhaps there are some other clues in the language. Lieutenant, can we transmit this data down to the Science Lab on Deck ten?
"Not transmit, no, but the data is in the main data bank so it is accessible from any station, we just can't tell anyone that it's there," Simon replied.
"Multiplesss of four ssseem prevalent, Admiral - we're lucky the machinesss design follows sssimple principlesss in geometry." Petty Officer M'Rell said to the Admiral from the science station.
Simon was impressed with M'Rell. A few months ago she had been very reluctant to speak out on the bridge, and seemed awed by the authority of the senior staff. Now her interactions were more... well, more Starfleet. She provided information that was needed without being asked for it, and she was starting to recognise when her input to the discussion was valuable. She was intelligent, and if she ever had time to complete her PhD thesis in rare warp phenomenon, he though she would do well as an officer. He hoped Ensign Rivers and Commander Yarwood had also noticed her progress.
He made a note to discuss it with them later, and saved it into the data bank, which gave him another idea. He named an empty location within the data bank, and pressed the push-to-talk at the temporary internal communications station.
"Clark to Engineering."
=/\= Marin here =/\=
"Can you access Communications data location Delta-One,"
=/\= Yes, it's empty =/\=
"One moment." Simon added an extra display onto the engineering station, and duplicated it to Almir's engineering station. He pressed the new transmit button, "Simon Clark to Almir Marin, this is a test message. LCARS display 'Communications Delta-One' has been added to your panel. Activate it, and touch 'Transmit'." He instructed the computer to automatically play any recording to a station nearest the recipient based on their location on the internal sensor grid, and to add the 'Transmit' option to any receiving panel. There would be a delay between sending and receiving, much like an old fashioned radio communication set that would be frustrating, but it restored internal communications to every display panel through the ship.
=/\= Marin to Clark, loud and clear. Nice job, Sir, very neat. I assume the addressing needs to be specific? =/\=
"It does, though I've routed the logic through the same subroutines as internal comms, so it will assume an ongoing thread of discussion until a new address is specified. Like this."
=/\= Nice, nice. It's a bit sluggish, but better than using runners. I assume it'll do 'All Hands' and 'Engineering'? =/\=
"Correct, and the computer will ask for clarification if the addressee is ambiguous."
=/\= I'll spread the word around here, then. Marin out. =/\=
Simon nodded in reply, and turned to the centre seat.
"Admiral, we have configured a secondary internal communication system to be used while the primary system is unavailable. I have added display Communications Delta-One to the panel on the arm of your seat."
<Tag Gheskori>
"More, or less frightening is the possibility that they hacked our computer core, sir; it would be the easier method." Commander Yarwood replied, "I have to confess I don't know much Denobulan."
Simon nodded in agreement. "They have shown they are able to influence our internal communications, and there is a technological element to the anomaly. I would prefer that explanation to the idea that my mind is being read."
"What if it is mistranslated? Either on our part, or theirs, we'd have no idea that they were just asking for identification? Could it mean 'who are you' or something similar?" Yarwood asked.
"If they accessed only the communication system, they would only have had access to what was in the communication logs as a basis for language reference," Simon added, "M'Rell, can you run a cross correlation between the languages that have been used in the communication from the anomaly, and those that are present in the communication logs?"
"Yesss, Sir. A few momentsss," M'Rell replied from the Science station.
"Admiral, we are recieving another communication, Audio only," Yarwood announced. At a nod from the admiral, he opened the channel.
"Submit Identification codes. Trespassing by Nihilists will not be tolerated. You have 14 vilkma. If codes are not provided we will then and only then evaluate your needs."
"Fourteen vilkma... that's 16.2 seconds per vilkma, based on the previous timestamp. We have just over three and a half minutes to respond." Simon said.
"The language referencesss match communicationsss log, perhaps we could transmit further referencesss?" M'Rell suggested.
"Admiral, I have expanded the parameters of the universal translator to review some likely alternate translations." Commander Yarwood said, "If 'Nihilists' can be read from old Vulcan as 'those with poor intent', and the Kessok word for identification codes can sometimes be translated as 'code of conduct'. The second-most likely translation for our needs being evaluated implies that we could be held for assessment. I suggest we transmit a summary of the Prime Directive using the language translation set. There's a good code of conduct section for dealing with first contact situations. If Lieutenant Clark is correct, we have just over two minutes."
<Tag Gheskori, Tavik>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Nov 28, 2017 23:12:34 GMT
"Admiral, we have configured a secondary internal communication system to be used while the primary system is unavailable. I have added display Communications Delta-One to the panel on the arm of your seat."
Ghes looked down at his arm-panel in satisfaction and touched the graphics, "Excellent work." He looked about and asked, "There was a mention of Nihilists... Could we surmise that they're a group bordering on our friend's space?"
"If our friend even controls this region of space," Yarwood commented. "Look, we don't even know the ultimate source of the transmission, that is, where this lifeform communicating with us is actually located. The machine at the cloud's centre has no internal spaces, at least none large enough for anything bigger than, say, a small domestic Earth cat to crawl through."
The Enzio had happened upon a 3-D network of machine-generated ion storms, perhaps - and now he was speculating - positioned strategically along a border to prevent passage of 'Nihilists' into the first contact's domain, sending warning messages to any that may be approaching that only those authorised to do so may pass.
Such things must for the time being remain within the realm of speculation, particularly considering Yarwood's following revelations to the Section Admiral, "... There's a good code of conduct section for dealing with first contact situations. If Lieutenant Clark is correct, we have just over two minutes," he finished.
"So nihilists may be a mistranslation. How long, two minutes? You have a go, Commander." He rounded the bridge to the upper deck behind the command chair, patting Clark on the shoulder - this one time allowing Denobulan etiquette to drop and squeamishness to be overcome to congratulate the man who was proving his resourcefulness, "Ingenious, Mr Clark. Misunderstandings in first contact can and have proven in the past to end in disaster. Hopefully this new interpretation will give us the wanted result..."
He turned apprehensively to the viewscreen, seeing the quasi-ion storm rotating about the invisible artificial device at its epicentre: what would be their response to the Prime Directive? satisfaction, confusion, anger...?
With the transmission sent there followed a long delay, and Ghes gave instructions to, as he put it, 'raid the computer core', for any other language references that may assist both their first contact and future communications. Before the linguists' heist could begin, communications signalled they were receiving a reply,
"Your prompt submission of guidelines for encountering new peoples is appreciated. Incarceration and judgement are not required at this time. Ghes turned, nodding to Clark and Yarwood. The deep, resonant voice continued, "Your good intentions, however, have not been proved. Solipsist malefactors often frequent this domain, terrorising our tri-units. This tri-unit alone has been obliged to defend itself from your assault on two occasions."
Gheskori replied, "Please, allow us to explain... We are cast adrift in this region of space. Our base was propelled and stranded here by an explosion in our home region, the Alpha Quadrant, 15,800 lightyears away." He took the plunge and gave away numbers, "We are only a few and our supply needs are becoming critical," - it couldn't hurt to exaggerate sometimes, to ingratiate one with another - "We belong to no faction or species who may currently trouble your domain."
"Be that as it may, you are tampering with our Plovdiv Fortifications. We are inclined to accept that your damage to them was accidental. Tri-units are interacted with by us remotely from beyond Mount Seleya. There is no easy way to repair them should they malfunction or should they be attacked." There was an extremely lengthy pause, "You may wish conference." The helmsman twitched as his panel lit up by itself. Ceiling lighting dimmed, restored itself, and alarms blared from the Ops console, "Be warned, Nihilists and Solipsists frequent this area." The channel closed.
Helm spoke quietly as Ghes gazed at the screen, "Sir, coordinates have been programmed remotely into the helm via our computer core, and the warp drive has been primed, but not from my console." Clark shook his head from the engineering station; neither he nor engineering had given any such command, either.
While the immediate danger had passed and a potentially useful link had been built here (an ally or just a source of information?), Ghes was now no longer sure his crew had full control of the ship's systems! "Advice. I assume we can choose not to follow those coordinates?"
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Simon Clark
Lt. Commander
Registered: Dec 1, 2016 22:21:10 GMT
Posts: 153
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Post by Simon Clark on Dec 14, 2017 21:33:44 GMT
Main Bridge, Deck One, USS Enzio
"...This tri-unit alone has been obliged to defend itself from your assault on two occasions."
Commander Yarwood muted the transmission, "Admiral, the universal translator is reporting ambiguity on the plurality of the term 'your assault'. The structure suggests it is plural. I do not believe that our maneuvering over the past few hours in this vicinity could be interpreted as two distinct attacks on this tri-unit, especially as we have only approached it only once. We may have been grouped with another entity, and the attacks attributed to us"
Gheskori nodded, and replied "Please allow us to explain... our base was propelled and stranded here... We belong to no faction [who] trouble your domain."
Simon was surprised that the Admiral had inferred the existence of the Starbase. If we were to remain under the radar, as it were, why would he draw attention to it? Distracted by the thought, he missed the rest of the exchange.
"Be warned, Nihilists and Solipsists frequent this area" The channel closed.
"Sir, coordinates have been programmed remotely into the helm via our computer core, but not from my console." the helmsman reported.
Gheskori glanced at Simon, who shook his head, "Not me, and not from engineering, either."
"Advice, I assume we can choose not to follow these coordinates?" Gheskori asked.
Simon know, after these months working with the Admiral that a flat 'no' would not be a good answer. The Admiral was a man who wanted opportunities to move forward. "Sir, engineering may be able to directly prevent the warp drive from engaging if we wish to stay where we are."
"Is that a standard protocol?" he asked.
"No Sir, not that I'm aware of. It is an option, Sir." The expression on the Admiral's face told Simon how good of an option he thought it was. They both know something better was needed.
"Sir, the coordinates that have been entered are in the vicinity of ion trail we interpreted earlier as a possible warp signature." Yarwood said, "We were going that way, anyway. In the spirit of good relations, perhaps we should go along with it. Helm, can the coordinates be changed?"
"No Sir. Helm controls are locked out."
"Do we have control of all other systems?" The Admiral glanced at Simon.
"I believe so, Sir. The computer is reporting no fault in the navigation console, security routines identify it as a legitimate override. Hang on... Clark to Secondary Bridge, please activate display Communications Delta-One."
"V'Maz here. Are you on the Bridge? We need to follow that warp trail. If it dissipates, we'll lose it. Apologies for the direct suggestion, we couldn't think of anything more subtle. I wasn't aware we had any internal comms. We are releasing the override back to the bridge."
"Yarwood to V'Maz. We were just discussing whether the helm had been hacked by our recent first contact. It's a relief to me that that is not the case."
The Admiral shifted in his seat, and turned towards the engineering station. "Clark, I want notifications to the bridge when primary controls are overridden from any location."
"I agree, Sir. The computer would normally have identified the source of the override. I'll have someone look into it today." Simon started entering it into the system as a works order. In his peripheral vision, he saw Commander Yarwood cross from Ops to the Science station.
"What do they mean by us wishing conference?" Yarwood asked.
"Unknown, sssir. The sssscience team is working possssibilitiesss." M'Rell said.
"Can you get a report from the science team on the language structure? I think it would be worth transmitting further language reference material toward the ion cloud on the same frequency. The quicker we can close the gap and reach mutual understanding the better."
"Yes, sssir."
The Admiral pulled the discussion short. "We're not going to find out, now. Move us toward the coordinates of the ion trail."
"Aye Sir, engaging at warp two, sir."
As the warp drive came online, Simon felt a flutter of anxiety. This would be the final test of the retrofitted nacelle before it was deemed fit for normal service. Simon watched the building plasma flow as the warp bubble folded them into faster than light travel. Everything looked nominal. Heath had brought the testing to it's completion a full four hours before the estimated time, optimising the schedule with additional resource from the following shift to allow several of the tests and inspections to run in parallel.
+++ Main Bridge, Deck One, USS Enzio -Β Twenty minutes later.
"We are approaching the position of the ion trail," reported helm.
"Sensors are reading strips of ion particles deeper within the ion cloud. It's definitely a warp trail, but it is not coherent enough to determine the engine type that produced it. Helm, adjust course toward the furthest section on sensors. Continue at warp two, I don't want to miss anything."
"Yes, Commander Yarwood. Course adjusted, confirming warp two."
Admiral Gheskori watched the exchange, and nodded towards operations. Commander Yarwood did not see it, focused as he was on the sensor readout.
"Sensors are picking up one of the ion spheres ahead, and one smaller object in close proximity. The ion trail ends at their position."
"Close to visual range and drop to impulse." The Admiral replied.
"Dropping to impulse," helm said, a moment later.
Simon knew that Heath would have several eyes on the nacelle data feed as the warp field came down. Warp two had been an excellent speed for the final test, allowing them to power the nacelle to twelve percent of the normal plasma flow, splitting the bulk of the load to the other three. It was an excellent result.
"Admiral, Engineering reports full warp capability has been restored."
"Very good, Lieutenant," the Admiral turned toward him, and then back to the view screen, "On screen,"
An image of the ion sphere appeared on the main viewer. The red, amber and blue ion streams flowing contiguous around its centre.
"Sensors are reading a federation warp tug in close proximity to the sphere,"
"Magnify."
The image zoomed in, the tug was venting plasma, and had a pair of powerful tractor beams focused on the sphere. A stream of ion energy swooped from the sphere and lit up its shields
"Sensors read fifty four Bajoran life signs on the vessel, and one Ferengi. It's the USS Amto, one of the missing tugs from the starbase. It's shields are failing, and I am reading a dangerous level of plasma in their tractor emitter array." Yarwood said.
"Plasma!" Simon said, checking the scans for himself. "Sir, they've loaded their emitters as a plasma weapon. Risky. Tractor systems are not designed to handle plasma, they could explode."
The Admiral stood. "Hail the tug."
"Channel open, Sir,"
"I am Admiral Gheskori of the Federation starship Enzio. Cease hostile actions immediately."
"Receiving response from the Amto, Sir. On screen."
A small smoke filled bridge resolved onto the monitor. A female Bajoran with a nasty looking gash to her cheek stood in the foreground, her eyes were red, as if she had been crying. A squirming Ferengi was tied up in the centre seat, and two male Bajorans stood to either side, keeping him in position.
"Captain. I am Nara Yurden, will you help us? I'm sorry for what we have done. We have wounded - our families, we never thought... My daughter... She is dying... I can't lose her. Please. I am sorry, the bridge has no control over the ship."
"Admiral, we are receiving several other responses from various locations aboard the Amto. One in engineering asking for assistance against the Ferengi in taking the ship, and one in crew quarters requesting to be returned to Starbase 47."
"The Amto is coming about." The tactical officer said, "There's power charging in their tractor array."
"Yellow alert. On screen."
The main viewer flipped to observe a raw beam of barely controlled plasma hit the Enzio's shield grid, and steady vibration pass through the deck.
"Shields holding at ninety-two percent."
"Sir, there is a second ion sphere converging on this position. It's trajectory will take it directly to the Amto," Commander Yarwood said.
"Admiral, the power build up in the Amto's emitters are reaching a critical point." Simon said, "A few more shots like that, and there won't be much of a ship left."
"What are your orders, Sir?" Commander Yarwood asked.
<Tag Gheskori, Tavik>
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Gheskori
Command Staff ..
Commanding Officer Personnel Officer Trivia Officer
Section Admiral
USS Enzio
Registered: May 2, 2008 23:32:36 GMT
Posts: 1,538
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Post by Gheskori on Dec 19, 2017 22:48:17 GMT
Ghes thought for a moment; if the secondary bridge was able to override bridge systems and not have its tampering tracked to source, might it be able to override the controls on another ship, something with a small and old enough firewall as belonged to that tug?
"The override from the secondary bridge..." he began.
Yarwood seemed to read his mind, "If we consider its anonymity, then indeed the general override protocols used by the secondary bridge are correspondingly and temporarily... let us say more advanced, than what we can use here."
Pacing, Ghes asked, "Might we use V'Maz's override to take control of one or two systems on the tug? We could wrest back control from the Ferengi, who we may presume has locked out its bridge functions. If we're unable to prevent their firing at us, I'd like to find a way to at least lower their shields, long enough to beam them off before there's too much plasma build-up..."
"It's doable, sir," someone confirmed, having opened a comm to V'Maz to allow the second officer to participate. "While the prefix code function is no longer built in to starship software, an override of their shields will take much the same form and we'll have a familiar pattern to follow - a prefix override in all but name."
The bridge shook from another impact of the tug's ad hoc plasma weapon directed through its tractor emitters; Ghes collapsed intentionally backwards into his seat. Ops informed them he'd detected instabilities in the Amto's warp system; on the viewscreen, the tug's shield grid fluctuated as another ion stream coursed parabolically through the void and struck the bubble; one of two mini-generators failed and the remaining shield energy was redistributed to cover weakly the rest of the grid.
"Estimated time 'til Amto warp core failure 39 seconds, sir," Clark reported.
"Let's try taking control of the bridge first; given 20 seconds if we don't succeed we switch to attempting to lower shields. Identify exact positions of lifesigns throughout tug and prepare to transport," he stood again, speaking voluminously, "V'Maz, initiate." Seconds where seemingly nothing happened (though V'Maz and his team below would be working furiously) passed; the Denobulan grew restless, "Is it working or not?"
"Sir, the ion clouds are hailing us." Being already thoroughly occupied he was tempted to have them wait, but deciding that regardless of the result V'Maz had things in hand, he nodded to the comms officer.
"The behaviour of your Solipsist compatriots and Carpathian allies confirms your attempted espionage against us. You will desist from your attempt to collectivise our tri-units or will be remanded in custody." Carpathian allies? Were Hungarian metaphors still seeping through the translator?
"This is Admiral Gheskori. Please forgive the actions of our warp tug. It is not crewed by Solipsists or Carpathians, but by members of a species we call Bajorans who previously escaped from us. We're attempting to bring them back to our Starbase; observe that they fire upon us; if they are our allies, why would they -"
"Forgive me, Admiral, but V'Maz reports... He's managed to lower the shields and nothing else, sir." Ghes ordered the Ferengi and Bajorans beamed aboard. Unfortunately - owing to the amount of ion radiation, exotic matter radiating from the spheres and plasma incandescent round the Enzio and Amto - they'd only been able to lock onto one type of biosign: the Ferengi's. Ghes slammed his armrest to open a channel to the operator, "Chief, please use site-to-site and have the Ferengi's matter stream redirected to the bridge." There was little under 10 seconds to go, and still the Amto continued to fire, potentially reducing that time.
Materialising in seated fashion in the area before the Enzio's command chair, the Ferengi fell backwards, security rushing to stand over him and Ghes approaching, "The lockout code for the Amto's bridge, sir!" he demanded.
"Admiral," Yarwood called calmly. Ghes ceased his advance on the Ferengi and turned to the viewscreen where Yarwood was directing his attention: the Amto had gone to warp, the white flash where it'd entered the supraluminal just fading as Ghes focussed. Yarwood was disbelieving, "They averted disaster." His console screamed suddenly, "Reading a critical warp core approaching one of the ion spheres... I don't think they ejected it in that direction on purpose..."
"They had a back up?" Ghes put it to the back of his mind. "Is the core distant enough from the sphere for us to destroy the former and not damage the latter?"
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Simon Clark
Lt. Commander
Registered: Dec 1, 2016 22:21:10 GMT
Posts: 153
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Post by Simon Clark on Dec 29, 2017 15:07:19 GMT
Main Bridge, Deck One, USS Enzio
Yarwood's console screamed suddenly, "Reading a critical warp core approaching one of the ion spheres... I don't think they ejected it in that direction on purpose..."
"Is the core distant enough from the sphere for us to destroy the former and not damage the latter?" Gheskori asked.
"No, Sir." Yarwood replied, "The sphere is closing the distance. Five seconds."
"Sir, a sweep with tractors will move the core away from the sphere," Simon suggested.
"Tactical, do it," The admiral responded. "Protect the sphere."
"Engaging Tractor."
The tractor beam engaged. Simon optimised the graviton output to support structural integrity of the warp core casing. Precious seconds were gained. The beam arc swept the unstable core away from the closing sphere into a space to port.
"Helm, put us between the core and the sphere." Tactical requested, "I am reinforcing ventral shields."
Commander Yarwood hit transmit. "All hands, brace for impact."
The ship pushed forward, rotating on the main axis to keep the warp core in the ventral tractor emitter arc. Simon ran a standard overload, committing an additional ten percent of power to the beam. The core accelerated to the edge of tractor range. It ruptured. The blue-white light of an uncontrolled antimatter reaction split out into space. A pulse of energy rippled through the destabilising tractor beam at near light speed, and slammed into the tractor emitter array. Simon gripped his seat as the deck lurched, the inertial dampeners absorbing the killing blow of the force.
Commander Yarwood read the status. "Ventral shields at seventy... forty... twenty..."
Simon fed as much energy as the shield generators could safely take. They were being too rapidly drained, and the roll of the ship would not bring the ventral out of the line of the explosion anytime soon. The dorsal shield was still well powered, but the shield matrix could not be redistributed without taking the shields offline for several seconds.
"...thirteen... nine... five... shields are failing."
Simon ran the redistribution routine. All of the shields dropped. The force of the explosion battered the hull anew. Somehow, Simon kept his seat, and observed crawl of the energy transfer indicator across his display. The next four seconds would be like an eternity.
"Outer hull temperature... twelve hundred kelvin and rising..." Simon heard the commander's voice faintly over the noise of the vibration. He smelled smoke, but could not see where it was coming from. Something else to fix, Simon thought. The energy transfer completed, and the shields snapped back into position. Vibration muted.
"Shields at eighteen percent... and holding."
"Damage Report!"
"Injuries on multiple decks, two are serious. No casualties." Yarwood said. "Two percent thermal degradation to ventral ablative amour. Hull breach on deck ten - forward tractor emitters are non-responsive. Ventral sensors have been damaged, and operating with limited capacity."
"Thrusters, Impulse and Warp drive are online. Helm controls fully responsive."
"Port-forward torpedo tubes are non-responsive on deck eight. No other damage to weapon systems." Tactical said, "Enzio has absorbed the bulk of the explosive force from the warp core. No discernible change to the ion sphere."
"Sir, we are being hailed by the ion cloud."
The deep resonant voice initiated audio. "The juxtaposition of contrasting behaviour of your and your Solipsist compatriots insinuates dissent. That this tri-unit has diminished vetemedes damage confirms your Carpathian intent. We are inclined that incarceration is not required at this time. You are tampering with our Plovdiv Fortifications. You will depart. We will make secure. Judgement of malefactors will be reserved. You have eighteen Vilkma. Nihilists will not be tolerated. We are obliged."
Gheskori leaned forward to reply, but the channel had closed. "The Amto?" he asked.
"Gone, Sir." Yarwood replied, "They've done a better job masking their warp trail this time, I can't determine their direction."
"Thoughts?" Gheskori asked.
"They said something about being obliged and reserving judgment." Simon said, "It sounds like we are being allowed to leave, but not on the best of terms."
"I concur," said commander Yarwood, "if we give ourselves time to analyse the translation interlingua, we can return later and hold more meaningful discussion with this entity."
<Tag Gheskori, Hood, Tavik>
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