Simon Clark
Lt. Commander
Registered: Dec 1, 2016 22:21:10 GMT
Posts: 153
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Post by Simon Clark on Feb 12, 2020 1:09:37 GMT
Simon had sat quietly at the crowded conference table, listening to the endlessly rotating discussion, and making notes on his PADD.
First Viceroy Tor'ng seemed somehow unstable, flipping between anger, confusion, exuberant confidence, and momentarily flashes of deep undertainty.
He could see the frustration as Admiral Gheskori fought to maintain some non-repetitative focus on the discussion. While the discussion continued around him, he stood, walked the the display, and loaded the notes he had taken from his PADD onto the screen. Admiral Gheskori noted, and brought a pause to the discussion, directing the focus to the screen.
"Commander Clark, you have something to add."
Simon nodded. He still found this sort of thing to be uncomfortable. Perhaps it would always be the curse of the engineering mind. He took a deep breath.
"First Viceroy Tor'ng. If may, I have a question. In the events of the last few days, I have observed the following: first of the Ireuken, demonstrating their technical prowess and being welcoming and helpful as we explored the Nebula around your facility," Simon noted the warmth that entered the Ireuken leader's expression at the compliment, and the bewildered expression on his starfleet colleagues faces at his blatant overextension of the truth. "You assisted is in seeking further knowledge of the wormhole, allowing our starships to investigate it closely. With your administrator Rac'zil, we exchanged knowledge and personel, and fledged the possibility of alliance between our peoples. When our colleagues became stranded on the starbase, you assisted us to recover them, with the possible exchange of wormhole knowledge, something that we might have been willing to exchange, excepting that you commandeer our starship's computer system, and turn our own ship against us. You threaten us with your superior technology, you threaten our home, hinting at war, and tell us we will be destroyed. And then, when your mining operation is ended, and we regain our starship, you stand down, and ask us to ally with you in a war against the Alarodians, to whom you cannot now sell fissile material that they will now use against you."
Simon took a sip of water from the glass he had placed by the display. Where was he going with this? The exhaustion of the last few hours was not aiding his focus, and the death of first technician Brexxon when one of the conduits had blown weighed heavy on his semblance. He had lost sight of his original question as he tried to organise his thoughts. Simon mentally cursed his memory, and this day, and plunged on, hoping it would all come.to the good.
"First Viceroy, would you explain, as I seem to have misunderstood... what it is that you want to achieve here? I mean, what do you want from us? Do you seek trade? Or conquest? An alliance? Or something else?"
<Tag Conference>
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Calli Valente
Starfleet Intelligence
"Don't get in my way."
Registered: Aug 4, 2010 21:19:10 GMT
Posts: 534
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Post by Calli Valente on Feb 12, 2020 22:11:29 GMT
Captains Ready Room USS Raven-C :: Carl was sat behind his desk, sat opposite, Calli Valente and Andae Blakus ..... They had been discussing the recent events: "So, you still think Tor'ng is hiding something?" "I'm not one hundred percent sure he's being sincere," Andae said with a shrug, "I just can't think of a reason the Ireuken would attack us outright, allow us to destroy what may well be one of their main sources of income, then casually agree to sit around the table. There 'has' to be something more to all this," "I have to agree..." Calli said as she got up to refill her coffee cup. "Well, no doubt we'll get some idea of what he's playing at when the meeting convenes. You're coming to the Enzio, I want you to watch the Ireuken." Carl said .... USS Enzio :: When the Raven Officers transported aboard, most of those who would be attending the meeting were there. Carl took a step forward stepping down from the platform, Calli beside him... A man approached, tall, gaunt featured, confident yet there was something else she couldn't put her finger on. "At long last, Fleet Admiral..." the Ireuken she knew was the Ireuken First Viceroy said as the Section Executive Officer stepped off the pad, "...Either our crews have been on separate missions or one has been at the base while the other out on exploration... Commodore Savot," he bowed to the Vulcan politely, Calli watched him as he spoke confidently to the El Salvador Commanding Officer. After the introductions, the group filed out of the transporter room. Tor'ng fell into step beside Gheskori, the four guards trying and failing to position themselves between their charge and the others, but one look from the Enzio Security Officers made then hesitate, the four had no option but to follow the group, inert weapons held nervously at their sides. "First impressions?" Carl asked Calli in almost a whisper. "He's confident, I'll give him that. His entourage is twitchy as hell, must have been a blow to find their weapons nullified," she said with a wry grin. "Yes, well, they won't be any trouble, just make sure Gheskori's Security know not to let them roam around the ship," he said as they reached the Enzio's Conference Room ..... ~~~~~As everyone began to take their seats, Carl spoke to the Ireuken: "Viceroy, I'm sure we don't need your Security contingent in attendance... I think they could be shown the Mess, refreshments might be in order?" Tor'ng remained silent for several seconds, as if weighing up his vulnerability if he allowed his men to leave, but he also knew that keeping them here would compromise the discussions. He nodded, instructing his guard to accompany the Enzio Security Officers. "Nij'or is my Aide as well as my Head of my Personal Guard, he will remain," the Ireuken said. The other three guards seemed to take a second to think the order over before reluctantly beginning to file out of the room. It didn't go unnoticed that they held the Aide's gaze, then the Negotiators, for a long moment before turning to leave. It may have been her imagination, but she doubted it. Once everyone had helped themselves to refreshments, the meeting began. Gheskori was about to begin when Tor'ng stood: "Understand, Starfleet, that despite my willingness to let you destroy our..." the man began, his whole demeanor changing in an instant as he demanded certain guarantees from the Federation Officers and their vessels! ... Calli watched him closely, unable to understand the rapid tempo change. Gheskori began saying it was not the Federation who instigated the fight, but Tor'ng was adamant, "No! don't back away from this, you are already involved..." he was saying, his anger rising by the syllable as he slammed his fist into the tabletop! "Viceroy... I fail to see how getting angry about what has occurred is helpful in any way, "We're already working towards opening it again. I mean, Anna... She is," the Negotiator said calmly. Tor'ng stopped shouting and turned to the man who had spoken, Calli had the distinct feeling that the two had spoken, possibly even met in person prior to the meeting, she made a note on the PADD and turned it so Carl could see: * Possible they have met? * Torek read the comment, almost imperceptibly nodding as he turned the PADD back. The meeting continued for an hour, the now seemingly calm Viceroy willing to listen as well as comment. Gheskori called for a break and the prearranged food was brought in and everyone began to help themselves as they broke into small groups. Gheskori was speaking to Tor'ng and the Negotiator as Carl and Calli got their food: "What did you make of that earlier?" Carl asked as he ate. "He was either waiting for all, or one, of his guards to leave... Or it was all a show," Calli said enjoying the salmon, horseradish, and cress on little finger toast ..........
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Deis Irae
Commander
Savot: "Doctor, put down the hypospray." Deis: "No way pointy, this ship's mine!" [2003]
Registered: Sept 27, 2013 3:30:12 GMT
Posts: 116
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Post by Deis Irae on Feb 13, 2020 0:07:43 GMT
{El Salvador}
=/\=Cmdr Irae. In light of the Section Admirals comminique, injuries aboard the Enzio seem to be more dire. Suggest EMH support. Secondary teams to the Maracanda.=/\=
::Irae pauses and taps her commbadge:: -/\-Understood, Capn. Wish us luck.-/\-
Ye heard th man. Iris, take yer 3 an port to th Maracanda. Keep in touch. ::Turning from Iris and her trainees as they get moving and striding to the portable equipment bulkheads. She, first, hooks the portable EMH emitter to the shoulder of her uniform and then shrugs on one of the heavyish medpacks over her other. Stepping out of the way and letting the teams fill up with sickbay goodies, taking just a second to check her left boot. Yep. Her "emergency" hypospray is in place and loaded...just in case. Its come in handy more times than she cares to admit. Once checked she pulls Iris aside, relaying normal triage orders that the woman dosent even need. But its customary. Then she is clapping her hands. They have drilled for this so anyone that dosent have themselves loaded and ready is totally on cleanup duty later:: Move. Iris to transporter room 2. Ill take 1. Anyone not on either team keep this sickbay runnin, i know ye'll do me proud.
::And with that, comes the mass exodus from Sickbay into the corridors. The mass group splits in half at a corridor crossing with military precision, stepping into a quicker jog. No need for turbolifts, its only logical for transporter rooms to be on the same deck as Sickbay. Once inside transporter rooms, the pads are quickly filled. From Iris group comes the call...::
=/\=USS Maracanda, 3 person medteam to transport.=/\=
::and from the Cmdrs::
=/\=USS Enzio, 4 person medteam t transport=/\=
{Maracanda and Enzio}
::And just like that, the glimmer comes and goes, and each team is in the midst of it. On two different ships, at least hundreds of kilometers away, two women step down off the pad and immediately flip out medical tricorders, searching for the area of highest damage...as that is where the greatest concentration of injuries will be.::
::Deis' group takes off at a jog heading engineeringwards, only pausing to identify themselves IF challenged. Unlikely as they were requested. As she jogs, Deis lifts a hand and pulls off the EMH emitter and just tosses it. It hovers on its own and sparks to life into the El Salvadors EMH. A seconds look stops him from giving out the usual "please state the nature of medical emergency" and instead we recieve a "Ah...right." The Admiral said not to hurry...but does this crew know anything BUT how to hurry? Unlikely considering the history.::
::Once settled just outside Engineering where a mass of injured is located, the smallish scarred Doctor kneels down to a man with the faintest life signs. She directs the EMH to run over triage protocols and line them up. The rest of the team spreads out, recieving pings from the rest of the ship and moving off in a second group to hit said areas. With things moving right along, Deis kneels next to a rather badly burned male and begins work. Or would...because by the time she gets her tricorder over him, hes already in arrest. Throwing open her portable kit, she takes out intubation equipment before she even bothers to glove up. Worrying over infection can come later. Clearing and sliding in the airway while the EMH assists with a stimulant hypo to the mans wrist. The airway clearance helps as it was the swollen and burned throat that was causing the lack of oxygen that triggered arrest.:: Gimme a 4 by 4 mix, doc. Kelotane, lectrazine, n two parts morpholog. Hes gunna be needin graftwork n regen but tha can wait. Need him stable n quiet fer now. ::The EMH replicates the substances required in requested amounts and injects the poor writhing man without the Cmdr needing to ask. Theyve always worked well together.::
((Tag Enzio and Maracanda if your needin specifics))
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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 Feb 13, 2020 13:27:16 GMT
Main Sickbay, Deck 5, USS Enzio
=/\= Transporter Room to Sickbay =/\=
Nurse Elizabeth Walker handed the medical tricorder to one of the medics, to continue assessing the condition of Crewman Lewis's treated fracture. She tapped her commbadge, expecting another emergency. "Walker."
=/\= A medteam of four from the El Salvador has come aboard with their EMH, and headed for main Engineering. Commander Deis Irae is leading, and says to contact her with any specific requirements. =/\=
Nurse Walker had been acting the role of Senior Medical Officer on board the USS Enzio for three years, ever since the Betreka nebula. Although she was the most qualified member of the Enzio's medical staff, she relied heavily on the services of their EMH to undertake more complex medical procedures, and there were just not enough staff on her team, and insufficient resource to provide training. It was so like Starfleet to rely on technology where real people were needed. Sickbay was full of personnel, and many were in critical condition, requiring immediate surgery, and the Enzio had only two qualified surgeons, one was the EMH, and both were engaged.
"Thank you. Sickbay out."
She tapped her badge again.
"Sickbay to Commander Irae."
=/\= What're y'need'n, Sickbay? =/\=
"I need a surgeon in Main Sickbay, Commander. I have three critically wounded, and no qualified medics to treat them. Can you assist?"
<Tag Irae>
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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 Feb 13, 2020 14:12:02 GMT
Main Engineering, Upper Section, Deck Eight, USS Enzio.
"Daniel, lock that down!" Ensign Rory Heath shouted. The primary coolant conduit ruptured, spilling thermal fluid into a gaseous smog that spread quickly through the Engineering space.
"Aye, Boss."
Rory checked the readouts from the display. Without primary coolant, they'd need to dial back the antimatter reaction to prevent the core overheating while they replaced the ruptured conduit. He adjusted the controls, and addressed the room in general. "I am reducing the warp core to three percent output." Three percent should be enough to run the ships secondary systems. They'd been in MVAM, so the tertiary reactor on deck three was still online, and operational. The ship had power. He notified the bridge of what he'd done and why.
An explosion rocked him from his feet. He stood, his ears throbbing with his heartbeat, everything else muffled. The primary coolant had ruptured completely. He saw a brief image of Daniel Pixton was laying flat on the floor before the smog enveloped him.
"Out!" he shouted, unsure if anyone could hear him. He coughed. Coolant wasn't good to breathe. He tapped the alarm, triggering the visuals that would evacuate the section. From the panel, he cut the coolant flow completely. He rushed forward, found Daniel on the floor by feel, and dragged him under the arms, back towards the door, where the forcefield let him through, but kept the gas in the room.
In the corridor, he dropped daniel, and sank to the floor. Coughing. Coughing. Coolant was painful stuff. Others from the engineering section crowded the space. Daniel wasn't moving.
"Medic!" he said, unsure if he could be heard, still.
To his surprise, two starfleet uniforms appeared, one in in blue with a holo-emitter on their arm. He didn't recognise either of them. They knelt alongside Daniel, and started doing something. Rory coughed. Trying to clear his lungs from the burning sensation of coolant. He came over all woozy. Lie down, he told himself, so you don't faint. On your side, he told himself, in case you are sick. He followed his own advice. Coughing and Wheezing. His vision cleared, and he could see other members of his team in a similar state, a mess of engineering personnel, probably in much the same position as he was. Unable to hear, and struggling to breathe. At least there were medics here. He wondered who they were.
<Tag Irae>
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Deis Irae
Commander
Savot: "Doctor, put down the hypospray." Deis: "No way pointy, this ship's mine!" [2003]
Registered: Sept 27, 2013 3:30:12 GMT
Posts: 116
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Post by Deis Irae on Feb 13, 2020 20:01:18 GMT
::Deis pauses after slapping a pressure bandage on a woman who was bleeding rather heavily. Reaching up and yoinking the EMH emitter from her arm and tossing it to the man himself. Who drops it and then picks it back up:: Keep em commin Sickbay-wards Doc. ::Then she taps her commbadge:: =/\=If tis a surgeon ye need, tis one ye'll 'ave. On me way.=/\= ::She didnt even bother to check who was talking to her. It dosent matter. The need for an experienced surgeon outweighed what amounted to very heavy first aid. She feels that sudden spike that she always used to feel when such was needful, back in the day. A combination of excitement and trepidation. Thats never changed about this sort of work. Lucky, here and now, that she started off as a CMO. If any of this could ever be considered lucky anyway.::
::So it is with a faintly blood smudged face that, after about 5 minutes, Deis strides into the rather crowded sickbay wearing an expression that seems to say that shes walking into a battle rather than surgery. The woman is on the short side. Petite of figure and grim of face with unmistakable, but old, plasma scarring along the entire left side of her face. Once met, it isnt a face that one forgets. Once in sickbay she steps immediately to the scrub area, whipping off her uniform jacket. Shes not even sure whos in charge so she speaks loudly:: Im Commander Irae, Surgeon, someone help me get scrubbed an lead me to th most serious case. Put vitals an injury overview on biobed read. There be more incommin.
::Its so...weird. This is a promethius...and the sickbay has the exact same layout that the old El Salvador had. So its a little like stepping back in time...only she dosent recognize anyone. But she knows a nurse when she sees one, nodding thanks to the lady that steps up with gown and armlength gloves. Deis had been scrubbing her hands and arms down, rinsing and drying beneath the surface autodehydrator. Turning around and pressing hands first into the gown and gloves, hooking the face shield from said nurse:: Thanks nurse, righ. Lets get it on.
::And stepping out to the triage indicated biobed to read over what shes having to work on here.::
::In the meantime, ElSal EMH will be helping to stabilize those comming out of engineering and providing palative treatment until he can get them prepped to move, with the rest of her small team assisting.::
(Tag Simon Clark)
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Post by Savot on Feb 14, 2020 1:04:18 GMT
[El Salvador]
As the Enzio was reclaimed by Section Admiral Gheskori and he'd routed Commander Irae's medical team to his ship to deal with the most serious of the injuries suffered during the battle between the Starfleet vessels, Savot then saw to it that everything was prepared for them to receive the 3 Ireuken infiltrators in El Salvador's brig from Enzio's. Chief Zakryn routed additional personnel to stand guard without needing to be instructed to do so, and in mere moments the captives were secure; Zak also requesting a medical technician to the brig to run scans in hopes of ensuring the prisoners possessed no form of biological explosive on their persons that they could activate in a suicide attack if they felt thusly motivated.
Savot acknowledged the Admiral's instructions for the El Salvador to remain with the Maracanda inside the nebula's area of effect while he and another representative joined the gathering delegation aboard the Enzio to engage in talks with the Ireuken administrator. Lieutenant Alexi Tamarov, whom Savot would normally have brought with him as Second Officer, had requested permission to depart for Starbase 47 via shuttlecraft to visit family after his close-encounter with the automated research station taking him captive, and added that he would review as many of the Starbase's general logs as he could by the time the El Salvador and the rest of the fleet regrouped at SB47 so that he could give the El Salvador crew a briefing to fill them in on what they'd missed during their nearly year long absence. In Tamarov's absence, and with First Officer Irae leading the medical detachment sent to the Enzio, Savot left Lt. Commander Delbridge in command of the El Salvador, with Lieutenant Kelbren taking over supervision of the repair efforts in Delbridge's place.
So it was that Savot turned to the Gorn Master Chief Petty Officer at Tactical and said without preamble, "Mr. Zakryn, you will accompany me to the conference aboard the Enzio; we will transport aboard unarmed. Do you require any time for preparation?"
The Gorn clenched his teeth inside his closed maw a bit at the thought of being present as a representative of the ship at a diplomatic function, but thought to himself that at least he'd be present to defend the Commodore and the other flag officers if the visiting team tried anything... so after clearing his airway with a throaty hiss, Zak simply clasped his reptilian hands behind him right about where his long-missing tail would have protruded from his body before the accident many years prior, and stepped toward Savot after being relieved Cadet Yul'ryas at the tactical station, "Ready to go bossss." Savot nodded firmly in reply, unsurprised at the Gorn's professionalism, and once Delbridge reluctantly arrived on the bridge, he bid his friend a temporary farewell and headed for the transporter room with Zakryn to beam to Enzio.
*********************************************************************************** [U.S.S. Enzio]
The transporter effect brought them aboard amidst the other would-be delegates, Savot and the tail-less Gorn clearing the pad to make room in case anyone else was awaiting transport. It was pleasing to the vulcan to see Admirals Gheskori and Torek again face-to-face. Though from his point of view he'd seen them last merely weeks prior... from their perspective, and that of the rest of the universe, he'd been out of contact for nearly a year inside that time-dilation pocket at the center of the unknown alien minefield. SA Gheskori greeted him kindly, "Commodore Savot," he bowed to the Vulcan politely, "Thank you for protecting the Maracanda. I understand your last mission was a difficult one."
Savot gave a bow as well, including the vulcan hand salute afterwards, "It is our honor to be of assistance, sir. While our previous assignment was indeed arduous, our primary regret is the passing of so much time without our being of help to the rest of the Fleet", his face become noticeably more somber as he continued, "I express my sincere regret for any loss of life aboard the Enzio during her reclamation."
<Feel Free to Edit in any response should you wish, Ghes>
The vulcan's nod then took in both Gheskori and Torek, "Admirals, may I present my Chief of Tactical and Security, Master Chief Petty Officer Zakryn." The trim but muscled Gorn male placed his arms ramrod-straight at his sides and tipped forward slightly in a bow while maintaining eye contact with the 2 men, "Admiralsss, an honor to attend." Zak then fervently hoped that would be the most speech that would be required of him during this gathering, knowing that one of his far lower rank was a bit out of place amongst these others but limited resources didn't give his captain a lot of other options. Zak did consider it a high compliment; nonetheless, that Savot had not seemed to pause to consider alternatives before immediately selecting him as his Number 2 for this.
Savot, still playing by the dictates of his own lesser reservoir of contextual knowledge regarding the present situation, kept mostly quiet unless directly asked something. Instead he took note of Tor'nq's behavior... which seemed strangely to bounce back and forth between multiple states of mind, and the behavior of the other officers present. All appeared to fulfill their roles admirably, whether it be Gheskori and Torek's masterful control of their own body language throughout, not giving anything away with their expressions or posture, to the inquisitive scrutiny of their supporting officers whose subtle actions appeared to indicate they were taking note of not only what was being said but also how it was being said, to Commander Clark's highly insightful but still tactfully spoken assessment of Tor'nq's behavior thus far. Zakryn, for his part, sat rigidly at his captain's side, thinking that at least the loss of his tail meant he didn't have to awkward up the proceedings by asking for a modified chair with a hole at the back to accommodate the lost appendage. Aside from that, he merely kept like a taut spring, watching Tor'nq and his aide for any sign of hostility so that he might interpose himself between said hostility and the higher-ups. At least up to the first respite pause in the talks, they seemed to be playing nice...
While the Gorn helped himself to the delicious smelling salmon on offer, Savot limited himself to water for the time being, and though he kept an eye on them and his vulcan hearing could allow him to filter-focus on almost any conversation in the room as he chose, the vulcan gave Gheskori and Tor'nq significant space so as to allow for the possibility that the Ireuken may reveal something one-on-one that he might be more hesitant to if he felt outnumbered. Zakryn stood beside him, using his own talons to cut the fish into more politely-sized bites since his clawed hands oft times had trouble manipulating utensils designed for human use due to their smaller size. He looked at his captain, remembered he was vulcan, and gulped down the bite he'd popped into his mouth, "Thisss bother you, bosss?"
Savot arched his right eyebrow in a curious combination of near-amusement and being touched by the thoughtfulness of the question, "Not at all, Chief. Though I choose to primarily follow a vegetarian diet I feel no distaste in watching others consume meat. I myself am content to eat it should a situation call for it, such as the establishment of First Contact dialogue so as to avoid potentially causing offense to the hosts. Please enjoy your food to the fullest."
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Feb 14, 2020 19:11:14 GMT
SD: 2406.04.0214 Earlier ... USS Raven-C :: I still think that the Ireuken are not playing straight," Calli was saying as she, Carl, and Andae entered the Transporter Room. "You think there is something to his threat that ships will be heading for the Starbase?" the Exec' asked. "Why say it if there wasn't something to it, he could have kept the information to himself, hold the meeting and if things start not to go his way he has the proverbial Ace up his sleeve. That way there would be no possibility of any of our ships getting back in time to defend the 'base... I just think he either made a grave error in revealing their intent, or he's making sure none of us get too pushy in the meeting," she finished with a shrug as she stepped onto the platform. Carl had listened to their brief conversation and was coming around. As he stepped beside Calli he spoke to Andae: "Once the meeting begins, take the Raven... Try to work extrapolate what direction their ships could approach from using the data we have on the Viceroy's ship. Position yourself midway between the Starbase and us but on a heading which may intercept anything coming our way." "And if they do?" Blakus asked. "Inform the Enzio immediately, then put yourself in their way," "They may well object to that," Calli said, raising her eyebrows. "They don't reach the Starbase, how that is achieved I leave in your hands Andae," Carl said with a wry grin, "Good hunting... Energize." he ordered. Seconds later both he and Calli Valente had beamed aboard the Enzio ..... SD: 2406.04.0214 .. 16:00 hrs Present ... USS Enzio :: "What did you make of that earlier?" Carl asked as he ate. "He was either waiting for all, or one, of his guards to leave... Or it was all a show," Calli said enjoying the salmon, horseradish, and cress on little finger toast. She looked around the room at those present, her eyes locking on the Viceroy's Aide, Ni'zor... He was watching the group of three, Gheskori, the Negotiator, and Tor'ng, but she realized he was focusing on Gheskori. Frowning she watched for another minute then pointed out her observation to Torek. He looked in their direction and agreed. "Maybe he's intrigued at the fact Ghes' is a Denobulan, though that said, I would have thought Savot's Chief, Zakryn, would have caused more of a stare," he said, as the Gorn Second Officer helped himself to the buffet. As she watched, the Aide lifted his arm and spoke, clearly into a concealed Comm. She wondered who he would be in contact with, then remembered there were three other Ireuken on board ..... Handing her plate to Carl she excused herself to 'powder her nose' and once in the corridor she asked one of the Security personnel assigned outside the name of one of the Officers accompanying their 'guests' then tapped her Com badge: =^= Commander Valente to Lieutenant Orphos .. .. =^= =^= Lieutenant Orphos =^= =^= Lieutenant what is your current location? =^= =^= Recreation Lounge .. Deck five Commander =^= =^= OK .. Thank you .. Make sure the Ireuken don't go wandering Lieutenant .. Understood? =^= =^= Yes, Ma'am .. .. =^= the man was replying as Calli closed the Comm. Her mind at rest, or at least happy there wasn't any issues thus far, she returned to the meeting. "OK?" Carl asked as he handed her back the plate, now restocked. "Hunky-dory," she said, eyeing the Ireuken Aide with renewed suspicion ..........
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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 Feb 18, 2020 19:54:18 GMT
Corridor, Outside Main Engineering, Deck Eight, USS Enzio
"Ensign, breathe deep now, this will help clear the burn from your lungs."
Rory felt a mask pushed over his nose and mouth, and he breathed. He tried not to cough, but it was hard. The itching and the pain eased. He tried to look up to where Daniel had been, laid out on the deck.
"The crewman you pulled from Engineering is has been beamed to sick-bay. Can you hold the mask yourself? Others need the same, but you got the worst of it."
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak without spluttering, and not wanting to know if his vocal chords were still there or not. He started to get up.
"Stay where you are for ten minutes for the gas to do it's work, someone will tell you when you can move." Rory lay back down, and glanced at the Engineering section double doorway.
"Good man." The medic moved away. Rory caught sight of the thick metal band around one arm - one of Starfleet's prototype EMH mobile emitters - though he didn't recognise the face of the one who carried it. He wondered who it was. He wondered if the warp core was going to explode.
+++ Main Conference Room, Deck 1, USS Enzio
As the conference moved to a recess, Simon tried to mingle with the other officers without feeling vastly out of place. He did not know any of them well enough to feel that he could butt in on their conversations, and none had approached him. Commodore Savot, wearing the impassive face of the Vulcan was engaged in discussion with Admiral Gheskori, and a intimidating Gorn wearing security colours. Two officers he'd never spoken to, though he knew by reputation only: Calli Valente, and Admiral Torek, were engaged in discussion as they browsed the buffet. The Ireuken Viceroy, and his aide stood close to each other, as far from the rest as they could be without leaving the room. They cast furtive glances around the room, and occasionally stared intently at Admiral Gheskori. They spoke extremely infrequently, and always in hushed tones. The Aide caught Simon watching them. Simon looked away. The man known only as the 'Negotiator', seemed as uncomfortable in the room as Simon felt, and had not contributed very much to the discussion. Simon had heard, somewhere, that the Negotiator had been present aboard the Enzio for some time, but he had no knowledge of where he had heard that, and could not remember when, or any specifics of any previous encounter with the man. It was all very cryptic. He saw the Negotiator as his best option of a sensible discussion, and moved closer.
=/\= Bridge to Chief Clark, =/\=
"Clark here,"
=/\= Report to Main Engineering. Urgent. =/\=
"Acknowledged." V'Maz had spared the details, knowing he was in conference.
Simon nodded his apologies to Admiral Gheskori as he left the conference room.
"Clark to Bridge,"
=/\= Bridge here. =/\= That was Almir's voice, and he got right to the point, no preamble =/\= Alpha and Beta core primary coolant is ruptured and spilling into Engineering sections on decks Eight and Nine. Coolant flow cannot be remotely locked down. Containment forcefields are holding. Venting systems are not responding. Beta shift is in medical - no fatalities, one critical. Alpha and Gamma shifts are alerted and en-route. Primary power is at 3%, core temperature is rising. Tertiary core is online and under automated running. Advise site-to-site transport, Sir? =/\=
"Agreed. Energise." Simon's view of the clean corridor on deck one shimmered and was replaced with a less pleasant mess of yellow shirted forms on the deck outside of Engineering, surrounded by a medical team who Simon did not recognise. The air stank of warp coolant. "I am the Chief Engineer. Report," he said, catching the eye of the nearest medic.
"Engineering personnel are stable, and being moved to medical facilities," one of the medical team told him, "they have lung damage, and are unable to speak."
Simon called up the engineering display on the panel opposite the engineering section double doors. He could not vent the section from here, the equipment to purge the gas was inside the gas.
"Clark to all Engineering personnel en-route to Main Engineering. Engineering is flooded with warp coolant. Hazmat equipment is required for entry." He continued browsing through the panel, the computer highlighting on the system schematics those parts that were non-functional, or were not responding to remote commands. While the warp core temperature was rising slowly, the log showed that Rory had powered it right down prior to exiting the Engineering section, so it would not imminently overheat. The main concern was the coolant flow, why the flow could not be shut off, and why the venting system was not responding. Engineers of his team appeared in the section, some suited up, some not. He set out the priorities as he saw them.
"Webb, Miller, make sure your suits are tight, you will shut off coolant flow, and be ready to replace the damaged conduit. There are stop valves here, and here, you'll need to shut off both through these access panels." He indicated on the diagram either side of the ruptured conduit on the diagram, "It'll be a tight fit with those helmets, go steady."
"Gill, go to environmental control and create a secure route to vent the warp coolant from engineering into compressed storage, or to space if you can't. There are some empty tanks in cargo bay two, I think. Take three others with you, we need to purge the gas as priority, without any escape to atmosphere. Approve any approach with Lieutenant Marin or myself prior to attempt."
"McCarthy - I know control isn't your main field - see if you can find out why we can't control any of these systems," he indicated the failures on the display to the middle aged engineer. He liked Anya, she was methodical and structured, "I'll send a few others down to help you."
Lieutenant Max Kempton came through the turbolift with a sleep-bleary crowd of others. He was suited up. "Chief," he said in greeting.
"Max, take charge in engineering. I'll send them in as they arrive. Try not to let the warp core explode." There was so much more to do that that. Simon had learned over the past three years. Max knew his job. Max did it well if he wasn't constrained. The problem was, sometimes, particularly his temper, had to be constrained. Simon trusted him on this, and he thought Max had come to trust him in return. They still didn't much like each other, and they mutually agreed that. The shift in his approach to his work had been stark since that stint as Chief Engineer on the Oxford last year. They had found a way to work together, even if it blurred the command chain a little.
"Will do. And you?"
"I'll be here, trying to work out what's going on. Almir's on the bridge, so we don't miss anything."
"So long as he's not late telling us. Buzz if you need anything."
Simon continued directing the engineers as they came into this section. He gave his orders, and they were carried out. In a crisis, they knew not to ask too many questions. They knew to ask good questions, and they kept him busy for the next hours.
When the section had been vented of coolant, and most of the loose coolant stowed in low pressure storage tanks for decontamination and reprocessing back into the system at a later time, Max told him that the ruptured components on both decks had been replaced. Slowly they began to withdraw heat from the reaction chamber, stabilising their control of the warp core, and bringing it closer McCarthy and those engineers who had worked with her had found faults in the control network, targeting the gas purge, and the coolant valve. The control lines, and all three auxiliary circuits had been physically cut by someone who knew the system by small devices wrapped around the control links. They had a simple timer, no external communications, and only one moving part. "It looks like sabotage," she told him.
"It's been carefully, and precisely, coordinated. Thank you Anya. We need to keep this quiet until we've worked out what's going on. Bring up everyone who helped you to that office in five minutes, we'll have a chat about it." Anya nodded and left.
"Clark to Bridge, I have a report."
<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 Feb 24, 2020 2:59:09 GMT
Ghes had been attempting to make light conversation with Tor'ng during the recess, the Negotiator present as well but not offering much in the way of help. Tor'ng was a most intriguing fellow, he would be excitable and pleased one moment, uncertain and confused another, and occasionally would become furious - Ghes could see fire burning behind his eyes, barely controlled, when the topic of the mining outpost or the Alarodians - supposed trading partners and potential threat to both Starfleet and the Ireuken Confederacy - was brought up.
He began to suspect mental instability in the Viceroy, an actual psychological condition. He'd been trained to take notice of such things during his time at the Denobulan Institute for Genetic Engineering prior to joining Starfleet; test subjects, Denobulan criminals (during a bad time in the world's history), had been subjected to genetic experimentation: the first sign to watch for, for any change in the subject's psychological make-up, was always the eyes.
As Tor'ng himself finally broke off the awkward exchange and retreated to the edge of the room to join his Aide, Ghes heaved a sigh and glanced around the room, acknowledging Clark as the CEO left the room to answer V'Maz's comm.
The Negotiator was left at a loose end as Ghes was approached by Savot who repeated apologies for the loss of life on the Enzio during the tragic skirmish.
"Please, it's..." Ghes's attention was distracted as he noticed Tor'ng's huscarl Nij'or looking his way, "It's fine." The Denobulan looked down, immediately thinking Savot must believe his stutter was due to the hurt he still felt for the loss of his officers, and apparently more were still dying or in critical condition...
Perhaps by way of recompense Savot again briefed him on the El'Sal's (from the Starbase's perspective) long mission, how the ship had been trapped in a time dilation field within a minefield, having discovered signs of an ancient war between two extinct species. He heaved another sigh as he looked round the room, responding to the Commodore, "Well, history does have a habit of repeating itself. You tell me of these extinct species, and Tor'ng talks about his Confederacy and the Alarodians... Trading, warring, in conflict over the same general region of space. Perhaps this has been going on for millennia; Tor'ng may be telling the truth about the Alarodians." He nodded to himself as Savot seemed to approve of the logic and reconvened with his CTSO.
Torek approached, "Gheskori, a word please." Ghes nodded and they stepped into a small ante-room. "Valente has concerns about Tor'ng's aide. He's been watching you throughout."
The Denobulan nodded, "I know. I'd been getting the strangest feeling I was going to become the victim of an assassination, and now I know why."
If Torek was surprised he didn't show it. "The Negotiator, too. Nij'or's had his eye on him."
Ghes was surprised and couldn't hide it, "For what reason? He's hardly been any sort of threat." Ghes was actually of the opinion that the Negotiator - since returning from the phantom Starbase and perhaps before that - was quite useless; he'd been called in - Ghes thought, though for some reason couldn't be sure... - to arbitrate between Captain Manley and Anna Lindqvist, but that need hadn't arisen; Ghes thought with his skills he could be retasked to liaising with the Ireukens, either Tor'ng or Nij'or, but he'd made no attempt that Ghes had seen to speak with either of them since they'd come aboard. No, the man had been a bumbling liability thus far, and Ghes wondered when he'd have the chance to return him to caring for Basirov's son. He was the boy's guardian, wasn't he...? Some abyss burned in Ghes's mind, something about this Negotiator was beginning to deeply unsettle him.
"Valente believes Nij'or's met with the Negotiator, either prior to or after coming aboard, Tor'ng would likely have been at those meetings, too." Ghes asked the Raven CO what he thought; Carl nodded, "I agree with her."
Ghes sighed, "Ok, let's return to the recess. We'll keep them all in the room for now, I'll have security prepped to intervene at the first sign of anything untoward, in that case the Negotiator and Nij'or will be removed and separated - brig cells seem likely. And Tor'ng... Well, of the three of them, I actually see him as being the least threatening." The recess was over five minutes later and the eight senior officers (two from each vessel), the two Ireukens, and the Negotiator, returned to the conference room for the next round...
To him it seemed - well, almost - entirely logical. He outlined his thoughts to the other seven Starfleet officers just before the renewed meeting,
"The Ireukens, from a confident position, initiate a covert attack on the Enzio shortly after one of their warships has made an appearance and show of force; the battle is long and hard, but Starfleet triumphs and the Maracanda and Enzio are relieved by medical assistance, after they've pummelled one another," he nodded at Manley. "Then the Ireukens issue threats and invite destruction of their outpost, not believing the Federation would actually do such a thing, the Raven duly obliges; the Ireukens, after a few more absurd threats then back off and agree to come to the negotiating table."
"So what do they want, an alliance against the Alarodians as stated?" Ghes's second officer Yarwood asked. "Or demanded," someone said.
=/\=Admiral Gheskori, this is V'Maz. Sorry to bother you, sir, will you please come to the bridge?=/\=
Ghes acknowledged affirmative, curious as to what this could be. He turned to Admiral Torek and Commodore Savot, "Go on without me. Keep watching Tor'ng, but more especially his aide. I don't believe Tor'ng to be of stable mind, he may reveal something he doesn't intend to, or make obvious he's concealing something else. And importantly, I know it seems obvious, listen to the content. Wth the outpost's destruction the loss of trading partners seems an obvious truth, there may be something in what he says about the Alarodians and their military power."
* * *
When he reached the bridge, he learnt of the precision attack and sabotage on the warp drive coolant system, and more of what he'd previously known on the details of the injuries and near deaths of a significant number of engineers.
"Comm to Simon and Max that I appreciate their efforts and sacrifice." He took a breath to calm himself, after a few seconds, his mind cleared. He resolved to continue the talks with the Ireukens, not wanting to jump to conclusions. Outside of the Enzio crew in the know, only the other three COs would be informed, for now.
<Tag Conference>
"They knew the systems... One of ours, one of theirs?" he asked at random. He'd feared for his own safety, but perhaps his crew and ship mattered more. He told himself it was because he cared for them the greater, but perhaps he was just glad to have the weight lifted from his own shoulders.
Meanwhile, he had V'Maz and CTSO Miak head to the brig to demand an explanation from the two elite Ireuken infiltrators, having the El Sal (holding the other three infiltrators) and the Maracanda (holding Rac'zil et al) commed to have them do the same. Tor'ng's three Ireuken guardsmen in the mess were locked in the room.
<Tag All>
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Feb 24, 2020 23:03:10 GMT
"It's entirely possible that the sabotage was conducted by the Ireuken's that boarded and initiated the MVAM of the Enzio," Calli said quietly as she, Gheskori, Savot, and Torek stood off to one side. "It's possible, yes..." Carl replied, unconvinced, "... Is it possible they got more people on board during the confusion?" he pondered. "You believe there could be more Ireuken aboard as we speak?" the Section Admiral asked, his eyes flicking from Tor'ng to his Head of Security Ni'jor, and then to the Negotiator. "The Bridge could scan for life signs," Calli suggested. Gheskori immediately tapped his Comm badge as he turned away from the group and spoke quickly before turning back. From what Torek observed no-one had witnessed the Section Admiral's actions. Carl was watching Ni'jor, who seemed to be focusing his attention on no-one in particular, while surreptitiously watching everyone in the room. The first viceroy meandered toward the Federation Officers and refreshed his drink: "Gentlemen, Lady..." he said with a slight nod. "Viceroy... If I may..." Carl began casually, "We are still having trouble understanding your motives for allowing your facility to be destroyed... Maybe you could expand on your reasoning?" "I believe that was covered, Admiral. Needless to say, we do require something from you in return," "Forgive my apparent ignorance here viceroy, but I'm at a loss to understand your comment... Are we to believe that you 'allowed' us to destroy the facility, and as a consequence, we are now beholden to return the favor?" Valente asked. Everyone could clearly see the Viceroy's change of demeanor as his eyes hardened, focusing on Calli Valente for a long moment before his Head of Security approached and whispered into his ear and he began to regain his composure. "My apologies, but I need to speak to my Head of Security, is there somewhere where we could have privacy please?" Tor'ng asked suddenly. "You can use the side room, to your left Viceroy," Gheskori said, indicating the room they had recently vacated. The two Ireuken moved away without another word and entered the room. "Well that was, unusual behavior, even for them," Calli said, sipping her drink, "You see how he reacted when asked about his motives?" "I wonder what his 'Aide' needed to say that was so urgent," Carl commented. "You could always sneak over and put your ear to the door," Calli said with a wry grin. Torek grinned back, but couldn't get Gheskori's comment from earlier out of his mind, was it possible that someone, one of their own, had been coerced, or forced to aid the Ireuken infiltrators, no, he couldn't believe it, so it 'had' to be the Ireuken themselves he decided. It was then he realized that the Negotiator had been inching his way across the room and while speaking with others in the Conference Room, was also in earshot of their conversation. Had the man been openly eavesdropping, and if so for what reason? ..... It wasn't the only thing bothering him ..... This 'Negotiator' had been with them some time, and apart from the fact that they were aware of his connection to Anna Lindqvist, they had no other information on the man, not even a name! He watched as the man finished his drink and place his glass on the table before walking over to pick out some food before the meeting resumed. Excusing himself he wandered over to the table and with a napkin picked up the glass before returning to the others. Gheskori and Savot were speaking as Calli continued eyeing the Aide as he prowled around the room. He covertly handed Valente the glass: "Take this to Primary Sickbay on Deck Seven..." he whispered, making sure no-one was observing the dialogue, "... Run a full spectrum of tests, do it yourself. I want a name for our mysterious Negotiator,"
"..... And if I get one?"
"Keep it to yourself, don't attempt to access his files,"
"No problem," Calli said, putting her plate on the table and excusing herself. Carl returned to the conversation ..........
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Post by Savot on Feb 26, 2020 1:18:54 GMT
[Enzio Conference]
Savot stood alongside his CTSO in discourse with Admiral Torek and Commander Valente, quietly reviewing the further sabotage aboard the Enzio and their concerns about both Tor'nq and the enigmatic Negotiator. Ensuring that his Gorn bulk was obscuring the view from the rest of the room, Zakryn opened a small compartment on his belt to reveal 3 Emergency Transporter Tags, then quickly closed the compartment to hide them once again, "I brought thessse as sssafeguards to remove the Admirals and Commodore Sssavot to safety if our guests proved problematic." The Gorn turned his face to address Admiral Torek, "If you prefer, sssir, I can program them with the coordinates of the Enzio's brig to be usssed on our guests if they get hossstile."
<Tag Torek>
Valente then departed discreetly on her own assignment, hoping to get something more to go on regarding the Negotiator per Torek's instruction.
*********************************************************************************************** [El Salvador: Bridge]
Lieutenant Commander Chester W. Delbridge paced back and forth on the bridge, loathsomely irritable at the turn of events that had once again placed him of all people in a position of command responsibility. He'd double-checked the primary, secondard, and backup systems of the brig after having their guests dosed with a bit of anesthezine gas to ensure they would remain locked up tight, and once that had been accomplished he'd had no remaining excuses to avoid the bridge.
Karysta spoke up from Ops, "Commander Delbridge, communication coming in from the Enzio. The Section Admiral orders that we retrieve any intel possible from our prisoners as quickly as possible."
Delbridge blinked, looked out at the view presently offered by the main viewscreen in surprise, and silently thanked whatever gods or godlike entities were out there that apparently accepted complaining as an offering of tribute, "Hah! That's something I can do. Lieutenant Stojda, you have the conn in my absence but report immediately if other orders come in. I'll be in the brig!" Delbridge instructed the human male of Polish descent who'd been at the helm, then the Chief Engineering grabbed his toolkit and all but skipped into the turbolift, the doors whooshing closed on a much happier countenance than when he'd arrived.
*********************************************************************************************** [El Salvador: Brig]
A few minutes later, Delbridge walked into the brig, the upper half of his uniform shirt unzipped casually, his toolkit in his right hand and he walked in without sparing the prisoners so much as a glance, and walked immediately to the rear wall, removing a panel and leaning it against the wall next to the now opened portion. As though only now realizing there was a security ensign sitting guard with Cadet Yul'ryas the Corvallen among the El Salvador's detachment of academy students. Delbridge, while opening his kit, waved to the pair, "Ah, you guys can go. This section's being de-prioritized. I just have to do some routing work here and I'll lock up behind myself." Yul'ryas having been briefed outside the brig earlier by Delbridge, and then having wordlessly handed a datapadd to the on-duty ensign to apprise him of Delbridge's instructions, the pair nodded as though it were the most normal thing in the world. The ensign rose from his desk after logging out of the system and blackening his consoles like an old Earth worker clocking out and left the brig with Yul'ryas leaving only Delbridge and the force-field encapsulated prisoners.
Five minutes went by, eight, finally thirteen minutes passed with Delbridge silently working away before one of the prisoners barked out, "Hey, Federation! What is this?" Delbridge paid him no mind, raising a solidified bio-linear circuit up to the light to scrutinize one of the segments before applying a tool to alter the power flow signature, replacing the circuit afterwards and moving to another component.
The prisoner called out again, louder, "YOU! What are you doing out there?!"
Delbridge shook at the vehemence behind the tone, as though the voice had pulled him out of some kind of trance, then looked at the prisoner with irritation and answered with a deadpan tone, "I'm piloting an atmospheric shuttle at 40,000 feet..."
The prisoner scoffed, "Wh-... are we to believe you are our only jailer now? Hmph, it seems we'll soon seize another Starfleet vessel."
Delbridge lowered his component/tool-filled hands to his sides with a loud sigh, then turned a disbelieving expression to the speaking prisoner, "Do I LOOK like a security guard to you?!" His eyes then angled up as though he was looking at the ceiling and his mouth dropped open a bit with realization, "Yeeeah same uniform colors so I quite possibly do but NEVER YOU MIND! I'm an engineer, not a guard. We don't need to place guards in a place where there's nothing important to warrant guarding. And I certainly wouldn't in good conscience leave a guard on duty in here when the grid very probably back-flushes into the brig's isolated power grid."
The prisoner, not sure what to make of Delbridge's odd vernacular and attitude, stuttered a bit, "What, what are you talking about?"
Delbridge closed his eyes, slowly inhaled and exhaled a deep breath to collect himself, then replied, "Let me paint you a picture. One: We're inside a nebula in the vicinity of the opening of a wormhole of.... questionable friendliness. Two: This ship, employs a very advanced, but very temperamental multi-phasic shielding system. Three: Every ship here has just been engaged in battle, thanks to you. Four: The make-up of our shielding, if any power instability fluctuates through our shield grid, can IGNITE the materials this cheery vacation spot is comprised of, incinerating all of us. Five: Your little ship-stealing escapade has resulted in the departure of all of this vessel's officers who are higher than me in the chain of command, and yet, strangely enough, the higher ups still expect me to avoid blowing us all up. Imagine that. Now, and try to follow me on this one, if a shield grid discharge outside the ship is absolutely unacceptable, then I have to re-route the power grid to ground it here, inside the ship in a non-essential section."
Almost in punctuation to his sit-rep, the security desk's consoles gave birth to an explosion of sparks, Delbridge instinctively sheltering himself from the blast though it wasn't near him, then kicking into gear with desperation, "Damn! Keep your trap shut now will ya? I've got to get this patch finished!" Rubbing sweat off his brow with his sleeve, Delbridge worked at a fever pace yanking out and making adjustments to chip after chip. About 17 seconds later, the cieling lights began bursting sequentially from the door to the rear wall where Delbridge worked, red emergency backup lightning turning on in their wake giving the room an ominous glow. Delbridge huddled as the light over him burst, hot sparks searing into his skin loud enough to be heard by the prisoners, yelling as his skin burnt.
"Y-you can't do this! Your superiors", the prisoner began but Delbridge cut him off as he hurriedly placed his tools back into his kit and went to grab the wall covering in order to replace it, "My superiors won't question losing 3 useless prisoners to save the fleet! You're guaranteed to be of zero use to us alive, since your superiors wouldn't have risked telling you anything important, so whatever your name is, allow me to introduce you to my friend: Expendability!"
Just before he had the wall panel aligned to reattach it, a surge burst forth from the wall whose concussive force blew Delbridge back halfway towards the door, terror in his eyes, the engineer discarded the wall panel and fled for the opening doors amidst the ominously blinking red lights, "Better you than me!" Sprinting out into the corridor, the doors closed behind the engineer as the prisoners all began beating their fists against their force fields.
"FEDERATION! Let us out we do know; we DO KNOW! The Alarodians have Tor'nq's son to guarantee his compliance!! It's their political arrangement since generations hence! COME BACK!", panic-stricken faces beaded with sweat disappeared as Delbridge deactivated the video feed from the brig with a grin.
Tapping his commbadge, Delbridge spoke, =^=Cadet Karysta, alert the Section Admiral that the prisoners claim these Alarodians they mentioned have Tor'nq's son under their influence and that may be part of what's behind his actions.=^=
As Karysta acknowledge and sent word of the discovery to the Enzio, Delbridge worked the console to disperse the dose of anesthezine he'd prepared, into the brig to knock out their guests.
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Feb 27, 2020 0:05:31 GMT
Blakus took his orders and watched as Carl and Calli dematerialised from the PADD, feeling trepidation as well as anticipation at the coming action. It was quite a task he'd been set by the CO - the Raven would possibly have to hold off an enemy fleet, preventing it from reaching Starbase 47, single-handedly: the Oxford was assigned to close base-defence duties (only wise), the El Alamein had been delayed in her return from patrol and was exploring a nearby expanse and the hulk of an abandoned vessel, and of course the Enzio, El Salvador and Maracanda remained in the aCen system.
The Raven could be the last line of defence, he realised fully as he re-entered the bridge and ordered warp 9 towards the midway point between SB47 and the wormhole (where the twin and antithetical phantom Starbase had been until recently). In an emergency, he could summon Captain Tymoklis of the Oxford or Komin on the El Alamein, but those ships combined couldn't match the combat capability of the Raven and thus wouldn't add much to any defence Starfleet could make of their station.
"Warp 9, sir," Fields confirmed, "And engaging." The Raven shot away into the supraluminal, stars left spinning in its wake.
She shot out of warp near the semi-major axis position on a line drawn between aCen and SB47's dark matter nebula, applying a combination of impulse and thrusters to bring herself out of the z-plus precisely onto this imaginary line cast through the void.
"What information were we able to garner from Tor'ng's warship? Fleet composition, if we were able to access his comm logs and computer core? Movements of fleet elements?" he asked from the XO's chair, Wedlerson taking what was usually Calli's seat nearby whilst the deputy Ops officer took the chair next to CNO Anna Fields.
"Nothing was within range of our ships' sensors at aCen, Commander," Svensson said after 30 seconds, Blakus patiently tapping the armrest, "But out here, interpolating the data gathered from the Viceroy's ship into the sensor logs and computer core, I can discern a fleet, perhaps 17 vessels..." Andae sat up alert, Wedlerson glancing at him and back at the viewscreen pensively. "... Almost ghostlike, Commander, at coordinates 295.2 by 43.1; range, 12 parsecs. Hmm, those coords don't seem to be shifting too much, by a few arcminutes every minute at most... I'd say they're either heading straight for us, or straight for the Starbase."
"Identification?"
"Too difficult to discern from this range, Andae. It could be the Ireuken fleet Tor'ng warned us of, or it could be the... er, Alarodians, about whom he threatened us."
Andae instructed an encrypted subspace communique be sent to the Enzio: "We have reached the midway point between Starbase and aCen; have detected 17 ships in-bound for either Starbase 47 or the Raven's coordinates. Identification unknown, potentially, perhaps likely hostile. Please... advise?"
<Tag Ghes, Torek, Savot, etc, on Enzio>
What were they to do, recall one of the vessels from aCen to assist, or bring in the largely unequipped Oxford or El Alamein?? But he caught himself: what if these vessels had no hostile intent, or - if they were Alarodian vessels - would a temporary alliance with this people against the Ireuken Confederacy be viable? Apparently the Alarodians and the Confederacy had been sworn enemies until their trading arrangements had been established (those same arrangements ruined by the destruction of the mining outpost).
"Andae, may I suggest we send a neutral message to the incoming fleet?" Wedlerson said quietly, seeing Blakus's agitation. Andae cast a glance at him as if he was mad; he wasn't going to do anything without either his own CO's or Section Admiral Gheskori's approval. "Simply to ask them to state their intentions?"
"Very well," he agreed with a dissatisfied glare at the viewscreen and its utter darkness, the extreme range betraying nothing of the 17-ship fleet though the Raven bridge crew knew full well of its location. A first attempt at communication ended in failure, returning only silence where in atmosphere there would be static, the second was slightly more successful.
"... repeat, this is Commissioner Saspari of the Alarodian vessel Vintaka, please state your identity."
Andae stood abruptly, "This is Commander Andae Blakus of the United Federation of Planets..." He gritted his teeth involuntarily, "Our sensors show your flotilla to be on a direct course for either us or... -" he stopped himself; he couldn't know for sure these people meant to make straight for the Starbase or were even wholly aware of its existence, "Commissioner, state your intentions."
"We wish to trade with your station. We've recently - unfortunately, due to..." the comm broke off momentarily, "... lost a vital import and trading resource that was mined, we believe, from a nearby wormhole, and thought you may be able to compensate for our loss; you'd be handsomely rewarded."
So they know of the Starbase, Andae thought and asked T'Seng to communicate this to Torek on the Enzio and the other ships, too. The question remained whether the flotilla's target truly was the Starbase or was in fact the Raven which - regardless of the Commissioner's intentions - would rapidly find itself outnumbered.
<Tag Enzio, El Salvador, Maracanda>
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Feb 28, 2020 16:13:07 GMT
The meeting was almost ready to reconvene. Carl was speaking to Savot while keeping a wary eye on Ni'jor and Tor'ng... The Gorn, Zakryn approached and waited patiently to be acknowledged, Savot gave him leave to speak. Carl, still holding the cup behind his back, noticed that the man positioned his bulk between the Officers and the visitors around the conference table: "I brought thessse as sssafeguards to remove the Admirals and Commodore Sssavot to safety if our guests proved problematic." The Gorn turned his face to address Admiral Torek, "If you prefer, sssir, I can program them with the coordinates of the Enzio's brig to be usssed on our guests if they get hossstile." Carl thought for a moment then replied. "They are pre-programmed?" the Gorn nodded, "Program them for the El Salvador Brig," he ordered, glancing at Savot who nodded agreement. "Underssstood, Sssir," "OK..." Torek said, casually watching the Gorn make the required changes surprisingly quickly, glancing over to where Tor'ng and Ni'jor were stood, "Think you could get one on each of them without their noticing?" The Gorn looked at Torek, it was almost impossible to discern the man's expression, but Carl had the feeling he had just insulted the El Salvador Officers' competence. Without a word he strode away, taking a circuitous route to the Ireuken. Carl turned to Calli, handing her the cup: "Take this to Primary Sickbay on Deck Seven..." he whispered, making sure no-one was observing the dialogue, "... Run a full spectrum of tests, do it yourself. I want a name for our mysterious Negotiator," "..... And if I get one?" "Keep it to yourself, don't attempt to access his files," "No problem," Calli said, putting her plate on the table and excusing herself. Carl returned to the conversation. "I have a feeling something is off-kilter here, and if we can ensure those two are accounted for then I'll rest a little easier," Carl commented, the Vulcan beside him nodding, "It may be prudent to restrict computer core access to Level Eight and above, I know it will curtail routine maintenance, but better safe than sorry," "Gentlemen, if you would like to take your seats, we can continue..." Gheskori announced ..... One Hour into Meeting :: Despite talks which in Carl's opinion seemed to be going nowhere fast, the Ireuken Viceroy was still trying to broker a bargain from the Federation Officers. Tor'ng seemed oblivious to the fact that Gheskori wasn't about to get into a proverbial 'bed' with a race that would willfully allow their own people to be sacrificed to satisfy their own ends .... Carl felt his Comm badge vibrate and knew someone wished to speak with him .... Excusing himself from the table he entered the corridor where one of the Enzio's Officers was waiting: "Admiral, a message from the Raven," she handed Torek the PAD then stood back waiting. "We have reached the midway point between Starbase and aCen; have detected 17 ships in-bound for either Starbase 47 or the Raven's coordinates. Identification unknown, potentially, perhaps likely hostile. Please... Advise?"
"Contact the Raven, inform Commander Blakus to use his own discretion. Should he feel the ship or Starbase is in imminent danger then he should take action to prevent it. I will inform the Section Admiral and Commodore Savot of Raven's position," He handed the PADD back, thanking the Lieutenant, then returned to the conference, which seemed to be at the same stalemate as before he had left. He walked around the table and spoke quietly to Gheskori, then to Savot, informing them both of Raven's situation, much to the annoyance of the Ireuken who glared at Carl but remained silent. Seating himself he saw Gheskori seemingly fighting the urge to scream and couldn't blame him. "I fail to understand your reluctance!" Tor'ng was saying for the thousandth time, "The shipment is already overdue, so regardless of your position, you 'WILL' be forced to defend yourself on the arrival of the Alarodian Coalition, so why not cement our alliance and ready yourselves to attack the tyrants!" "I'm sure there is some misunderstanding that is delaying progress Viceroy..." Carl said with a calmness he was fast losing, "But your argument with the Alarodian's is 'your argument' and not ours... From our point of view, had you been open with us from the beginning, we would not be in this situation, nor would you have lost your mining facility," "THIS IS INTOLERABLE!" the Viceroy span, leaping to his feet. "Viceroy... Would you mind explaining why vessels of the Alarodian Coalition are entering this Sector of space?" Gheskori asked, purposefully omitting to mention just 'where' the vessels were heading. "We told you, they are here to collect their dues, and when they are not forthcoming..." the Aide said, leaving the sentence unfinished as he glanced at the Negotiator, who appeared to be enjoying the fighting a little too much Carl noticed. Ni'jor leaned close to the viceroy then pushed back his chair, Tor'ng doing likewise, "We shall return to our vessel," it wasn't a request, more a notification that the talks were over, at least for the moment. Everyone around the table rose in respect of the viceroy then stood in silence as they approached the door. "You are holding Ireuken aboard this and other vessels..." the Ireuken Head of Security stated, "... They will be returned with all due haste," he finished with one last look at the Negotiator before both left the room, led to the transporter room by two Enzio Security Officers. "Well, that went sour quickly...." Carl stated, rubbing his temples in an attempt to ease the headache he hadn't realized he had ..........
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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 Mar 3, 2020 18:22:33 GMT
Ghes had kept an eye on the Negotiator during the resumed meeting, the man hadn't wished to intervene in the talks between the sides and had seemed more amused by the back and forth than anything else. Had everything already been decided upon in his mind? About halfway through after Torek excused himself to receive - as it turned out - a message from the Raven, Ghes removed himself from the room.
"Tor'ng's son?" he asked V'Maz over the audiovisual comm in the ante-room. "A political hostage, to ensure no future fighting? How deep does this enmity go that they go to such lengths to maintain their peace and trade...?"
V'Maz nodded, The Ireuken infiltrators were under extreme duress when they made the confession; Commander Delbridge believes they were being truthful."
"Mention of the mining outpost and the Alarodians seems to enrage Viceroy Tor'ng, his emotion his genuine; as humans say, he can be read like an open book," Ghes replied, "It seems his family and just as importantly the trade with the Alarodians have been placed under real threat."
He returned to the meeting, armed with new knowledge and strategies, but again progress was slow. Learning from Torek about the ships inbound on the Raven/Starbase 47 reinforced an idea developing in his mind that the Alarodians - even if they may be aware the Federation destroyed the mining outpost and thus an import of theirs - may be willing to make an agreement with Starfleet against their former arch-enemies, the Ireuken Confederacy, unless they intended to punish the Federation.
The meeting was broken up abruptly by the Ireukens who returned to their vessel, Nij'or demanding the return of Ireuken personnel. The senior officers of the four starships remained for a short time, Ghes waiting until the Negotiator had sidled from the room (to stand on the bridge next to V'Maz). "Captain Manley, have Rac'zil and his fellow mining personnel transported from your ship to the Ireuken vessel." The Denobulan intoned, arms spread wide on the table, "We are not however going to return their elite infiltrators, they captured this ship and did much damage. Besides, as my Chief Engineer reports, it may well be those elites who cut crucial control lines that flooded engineering with coolant and left a third of my engineers with serious injuries."
"The only way through this that I can see," Ghes's second officer Yarwood said, "Is for us to demand the Ireuken Confederacy leave this sector of space and provide us with all the information they have on the wormhole. Then we can talk to them about return of their infiltrators."
=/\=Admiral Gheskori to the bridge=/\= V'Maz commed. Ghes nodded and rose, indicating that five of them join him and Manley and Scober return to the Maracanda. They strode onto the bridge to find hailing channels open and V'Maz in conversation.
"No, we don't know anything about a Commissioner Saspari," the Enzio XO was saying. "You say he is commanding a fleet heading towards our station?" Ghes stepped into sight of the viewscreen and saw a dark, obscured view of another bridge, tech and equipment in the way of where he believed a central chair may be, a voice emanating from there quite audibly. V'Maz briefed him: a vessel had warped in from the far side of the aCen system, opposite the side closer to Starbase 47; it'd initiated a hail and a humanoid voice had enquired how negotiations were progressing; V'Maz had asked how the unknown vessel's crew had known about themselves and the Ireukens, the answer so far being concealed.
"Excuse me, Negotiator," Ghes said, displacing the man from the centre chair where he'd been perched - intently watching the viewscreen - as V'Maz ceased speaking to the unknown CO. The Negotiator nodded and casually left the bridge. =/\=Lieutenant Miak, this is Gheskori, keep tabs on the Negotiator, I'll explain the matter later.=/\=
He turned to Torek, "Let us see what Commander Valente discovers."
V'Maz moved off to the side and commed, =/\=Engineering and sickbay, please render a report on repairs and casualties... Very well. Have Ensign Hurel or the EMH perform a DNA analysis on the devices used to cut the control circuits. We may be able to identify the species responsible.=/\=
<Tag Engineering, Sickbay>
Gheskori deduced the mentioned Saspari was the commander of the fleet referred to in the Raven's communique. Before he could question the unknown craft's CO the channel was cut from the other end. He pressed a button on his arm panel, =/\=Gheskori to El Salvador and Maracanda, intensively scan the new vessel and report your findings.=/\= What was this ship, and how was its crew aware of the Federation, the Ireukens and the Alarodian fleet?
He turned to Torek, Savot and Zakryn, Is there any way we could still use the transporter tags attached to Tor'ng and Nij'or? Their shields will be raised but -"
<Tag Torek, Savot>
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Mar 7, 2020 21:31:11 GMT
USS Raven
Blakus grew in exasperation as he communicated with the Alarodian commander, "Please understand, we're not interested in any generous rewards you may have for us in return for what we might supply to you. We're not concerned with trade... We just want to find a safe way home."
Wedlerson glanced across at him quickly, this was the first time the XO had alluded to the Section 47 remnant's goal, to what they were doing in this region of space.
Commissioner Saspari was slow in his response, "... You're not from these parts?" His eerie breathing over the audio-only comm - as Blakus confirmed this and went on to explain, as far as he dared, the Starbase, the Raven and all the fleet's predicament - seemed to signify understanding; the whispering voice came again, like a knife in the back, Blakus thought, "So you wish to use the wormhole in the nearby system you call aCen to return to the... Beta Quadrant?"
"You are now once more at war with the Ireuken Confederacy, is this correct?" Saspari replied that it was. Blakus smiled and felt for the scarring across the back of his right hand, Ben Zielinski (deceased, but whose memory for Blakus remained in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants) had given him that wound in sparring on the Academy grounds; he would see those grounds, the Presidio and the famous rust-red bridge again. "We want no part in your business... But if you could find a way to move the combat zone away from the aCen system and our Starbase's course towards it we'd be most grateful."
"Small fleet engagements have already taken place in this sector," Saspari conceded, "But I'll ensure that our fighting, hopefully shortlived, won't interfere with your base's progression. As for my flotilla, I'm bringing it about and setting a heading for the nearest Ireuken squadron. Commissioner Saspari of the Alarodian Coalition out.
Despite the somehow threatening, soft, sibilant tone in the Alarodian's voice, Blakus and Wedlerson decided to trust him. They both knew better than to judge a species' character by its members' manner of speech. "Lysia, transmit to the Starbase that we believe the way to the aCen system is clear of threat. Just in case, we will remain here at the midway point until further orders from Admirals Torek or Gheskori."
<Tag Enzio, El Sal, Starbase>
=/\=Milyanov to bridge... Andae, the warp core's overloading.=/\=
Blakus thought the man was joking, =/\=What?=/\= He rushed across to the port-side engineering station and surveyed the data; temperature in the dilithium chamber had risen by 450,000 kelvin in the last five minutes, it was decreasing now, but... =/\=How?=/\=
=/\=I don't know, sir, I don't think we'll have to eject as reactor coolant seems to be working... Wait a minute, I can't control the coolant flow...=/\= Blakus heard his former engineering subordinate furiously working controls, =/\=Nor can I shut it off, Andae. The valves are jammed wide open! Coolant pressure, 17 megapascals and climbing...=/\= The Raven had been receiving reports from the other starships every hour - the Enzio had suffered a similar malfunction and it was suspected the Ireuken soldiers who'd infiltrated the Prometheus class were responsible. Had they found a way aboard the Raven, too?
* * *
USS Enzio
Silently entering his quarters, his every action smooth and considered, the Negotiator took a seat behind his personal console; with his hands moving at blurring speed as they morphed into those of a creature with fifty articulated sections for fingers, moving serpentine-like across the display, he accessed the data stream using his Level 10 clearance - Gheskori had been so kind - and encrypted and masked his upcoming communique. The two Circinus-dwelling factions had been forced into a war, he thought coldly with a hint of amusement, by interlopers from the Alpha Quadrant.
The abyss in his mind had grounded itself now - he knew who he was, what he was: no longer did he believe he was that man he'd killed and replaced those years ago, back when the man had been in a downward spiral after an acrimonious break-up with Anna Lindqvist and the loss of his career in the Federation's Diplomatic Corps.
The war had started and thus a long term-objective of his species (part of a grander strategy to control politics in this region) had thanks to Starfleet been achieved in less than a week. And now one of his species' ships had arrived in the system, with whom he now made covert contact. "They bought it, they bought it all," he said to the face that appeared on the screen.
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Calli Valente
Starfleet Intelligence
"Don't get in my way."
Registered: Aug 4, 2010 21:19:10 GMT
Posts: 534
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Post by Calli Valente on Mar 8, 2020 1:57:46 GMT
Primary Sickbay ... USS Enzio :: Calli had taken the cup as ordered and had begun tests to establish something on the Negotiator. After almost an hour, and no less than three of the Enzio Medical Staff offering to help, she was no further than when she had entered ..... Every test she had run, gave results that were, nonsense! ..... Frustrated, she put the cup in a container and began to walk out of the Sickbay, then, despite Admiral Torek's instruction, she turned to one of the Doctors: "Commander, are you busy?" she asked. "No, how can I help...?" the man asked. Calli handed him the container and explained what she needed. He opened the container then using surgical tweezers retracted the cup before placing it on one of the diagnostic tables, he paused, then entered several instructions before turning back to Valente, "... What exactly are you expecting to find?" "Well 'DNA' might be nice, but given I've already tested for it and got a null reading, I'm pretty sure the ...." "What do you mean, a 'null' reading, has this been handled by someone or not?" the Commander interrupted. "Someone was drinking from it less than an hour ago. Which makes me wonder why I couldn't get anything from it. There's trace DNA on there but it's possible it's been modified or manipulated in some way. Diagnostics show there are several interlaced strings, but the damn machine is shall we say 'reluctant' to identify any of them. I'm assuming that the 'DNA' isn't in our database, which would be surprising, or, there is a reason it's not giving anything up," she replied. "It could have a sub-molecular binder interlaced with the original doner 'DNA'..." the Doctor speculated excitedly, searching for a PADD then moving to one of the diagnostic tables, "It's something that had been talked about at Starfleet Medical, but only as speculation, it's well beyond anything we can achieve at present. If memory serves... They couldn't really see any medical advantages to the binding, then someone, who knows, speculated that it could be useful for infiltration, covert stuff, integration into another species for whatever reason, it was even speculated that it could prevent DNA tampering of enemy operatives, who knows, I never actually got to see any of the research, so I can't really say much more," the man shrugged, a little crestfallen at Calli's apparent lack of enthusiasm. "So, it what you're saying is right... Anyone having this 'binding' could effectively modify anyone to pass for any race once cosmetically modified, and no-one would know?" she asked. "Your guess is as good as mine Commander..." the man said, handing back the cup, "... As I said, it was something that was being looked at, but it quickly became something outside my sphere of education. I don't think anything was actually documented other than the research faltered and was eventually shelved, hell, those Intelligence Spooks could have taken the resear ...." he stopped speaking abruptly as he realized that the woman he was talking to wasn't displaying a department color on her uniform, but had a black shirt beneath her tunic. "Relax doctor, I've been called worse," Calli said with a wry grin. She took the cup but didn't move, instead, she was pondering the man's speculation that this was something Intelligence had been working on. Given David Tan, Iorte Clancy, and herself were the highest-ranking Intell' Officers, it stood to reason one of them would have come across this had it been something they were using. That said, she wasn't going to dismiss the possibility, hell, Intelligence were renowned for their secrecy. "You called it 'Binding' right?" she asked the Doctor, who had already begun to walk away thinking their conversation was concluded. "Binding, Sheathing, whatever fits. It's possible as you said, that the genetic profile of whoever held that cup simply isn't in our 'DNA' database you know," "Damn!" Calli said, the frustration growing within her. "Though he may just be disguising his genetic identity." the Lieutenant Commander said matter of factly, this time walking away before the woman could quiz him further. "How the hell could he be doing that!" she muttered before dropping the cup back into the container ..... She returned to the Conference Romm where the meeting had apparently concluded. Heading for the Bridge she reported her findings, or lack thereof, to Admiral Torek, Commodore Savot, and the Section Admiral. Bridge :: "One thing we can be sure of... He is not Human..." Carl commented as Calli finished, "...Were there any Halanan indicators?" "Halanan?" Gheskori repeated. "There were a total of three species indicators, but none of them could be identified by the diagnostics," Valente answered, "He should be detained, at least until we can fully identify him," "Can we be confident he has no 'associates' aboard the Enzio, or indeed, our other vessels, Commander?" Gheskori asked, Calli could only reply in the negative, though the thought that the man 'did' have others on the ship didn't bear thinking about ..........
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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 Mar 10, 2020 18:12:51 GMT
USS Maracanda
On the Maracanda, things were beginning to return to normal, Manley and Scober had returned to a vessel which just that morning had been involved in a tangle with the three sundered sections of the USS Enzio, and the Intrepid class had borne the brunt of the action, having all but one of its phaser banks blown out and landing a self-inflicted blow on the last.
Scober and Lieutenant Jarves led Rac'zil and his team of mining officials to the transporter room, ragged security guards brandishing phaser rifles in tow. "Well, it was good to make your acquaintance, Commander," Rac'zil said as he mounted the transporter pad with his people.
Scober nodded slightly sardonically, "My only regret is that we don't part under more amicable circumstances."
Rac'zil bowed with one arm held behind his back, "The feeling is mutual," his grin was somewhere between wolfish and one that seemed to betray genuine dismay. Scober gave the order to transport and the Ireuken miners were beamed away to their capital ship, that soon high-tailed it to the other side of the system, now - as the bridge reported - apparently orbiting another dwarf planet and staying on the night side, out of intensive scanner range. Tor'ng and Nij'or were keeping themselves well out of sight.
Starfleet may have been responsible, if only in a small way, for beginning a war between the Ireukens and the Alarodians, Scober thought as he returned to the bridge. Manley voiced the same concerns as he saw his XO entering and taking his seat alongside, but Scober's mind was already made up, "We were a catalyst, at best. The Ireuken Confederacy hardly showed themselves as the most benign force in the quadrant. Now we have this other vessel... an unknown quantity," he regarded the dark angular ship on the screen.
Smythe and Bligh reported from engineering that the tetryon pulse emitted to pierce the Enzio tertiary hull's shields had irreparably damaged part of the nav deflector. They would need the facilities of the Starbase for repair; meanwhile the ship was limited to warp 6, any faster and the functioning section of the deflector would struggle to repel interstellar dust, etc.
"Begin half-impulse patrol of this quadrant of the nebula's surface. Scan this mysterious new arrival, and for Ireuken vessels, continuously, the brass may appreciate our taking the initiative," Manley ordered.
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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 Mar 10, 2020 18:13:31 GMT
USS Enzio bridge
"Can we be confident the Negotiator has no 'associates' aboard the Enzio, or indeed, our other vessels, Commander?" Gheskori asked, Calli could only reply in the negative, though the thought that the man 'did' have others on the ship didn't bear thinking about.
As the Maracanda alerted the Enzio and El Sal of the Ireuken vessel's movements, while the newly arrived ship hung motionless on the viewscreen, Gheskori turned to Miak's stand-in at tactical, "Lock down his quarters." The officer nodded and proceeded to comm his immediate superior. Ghes turned to V'Maz, "I know sickbay is still flooded with wounded, but can we find a way to discreetly take DNA samples of the whole crew in the next few hours; call them in a few at a time and inform them we believe some of the coolant from the explosion in engineering found its way into the air-filtration system, perhaps something of that ilk? If there are others with the same DNA profile or lack thereof aboard -"
"I'll see what I can do, Admiral," V'Maz said raising an eyebrow and leaving to talk to Chief Engineer Clark before the Denobulan turned to Torek and Savot,
"It seems we're to remain here and keep our vessels secure while the Starbase and your own vessel, Admiral, can catch us up," he nodded to Torek then looked at Savot, "Commodore... I give you the choice to return to your vessel or you may -"
"Gheskori, if I may," Torek began, "I am obviously not a full Vulcan, but Commodore Savot is, and has certain abilities. What if we were to allow him access to the Negotiator, in a controlled environment in a cordoned-off section of your sickbay or science lab, perhaps even the conference room with doctors present."
"What are you suggesting?" Gheskori asked, bewildered. From the back of the bridge, V'Maz who had been about to enter the turbolift, paused and listened.
"I believe I understand," Savot said, "Admiral Torek is proposing I mind-meld with the Negotiator."
If they couldn't find a way into his DNA, they may be able to find a way into his consciousness, Ghes nodded to himself. V'Maz turned in the turbolift, "You're implying the Negotiator may be incomprehensible to himself." They looked towards the Enzio XO. "He appeared to us as the guardian of Admiral Basirov's son. He never gave us reason to believe otherwise, until recently. He may be, quite literally, caught in two minds."
Gheskori was unsure if a meld was advisable, let alone possible, "...If Nurse Walker approves, then I approve. You would have Commander Irae present also, Commodore, I believe she's assisting in our sickbay."
<Tag All>
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Deis Irae
Commander
Savot: "Doctor, put down the hypospray." Deis: "No way pointy, this ship's mine!" [2003]
Registered: Sept 27, 2013 3:30:12 GMT
Posts: 116
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Post by Deis Irae on Mar 12, 2020 22:44:05 GMT
::It becomes quickly evident that this Sickbay is in no way prepared for this level of emergency. No blame cast for it. After everything thats happened, for all ships involved, one can only do the best that they can. So, in between surgeries, while scrubbing up for the next, Deis takes a moment:: =/\=Irae t Kazinski, El Sal.=/\=
::The ever faithful Nurse Iris Kazinski, re-pings back:: =/\=Yes, Commander.=/\=
::Stripping off gloves and rescrubbing down, the Commander replies:: =/\=Im gunna be needin everyone ye got besides herself an a skeleton crew. I need various supplies, blood cultures, tha new holo surger we liked s'much an...effin hell, 'ave someone meditate good bleedin thoughts a' this point. Need it fast, tis an order, ill square it all once this is over. Thanks, Irae out.=/\=
::Iris, back on the El Salvador just blinks for a second and then gets moving. Setting up and transporting over extra personnel, equipment, and not a little measure of straight up Faith. Couldnt hurt.::
::Once Deis is rescrubbed and gloved/gowned she steps back out to meet the next contestant of the Wheel of Holy Crap(tm). Shes beyond even matching up names with files at this point. She caught the name "Daniel" and looked over his general chart before sending the recently ingressed soul to the main biobed for the full scan:: Right, we got severe lung burns, partial plasma inhalation an surface burns, 2 t 3rd degree. Listen, son. ::This she speaks to the nearly unconsious man on her table, even taking a moment to offer him a bit of a kindly smile:: We got ye covered. Were gunna put ye out now an get that pain outa ye. Sleep. ::which he does as hes been veniously anesthetised. He couldnt handle the gaseous version, not in his condition. She adds a little old fashioned versaid so that he will remember as little as possible of the last hour of his life. The memory of pain fades...but it helps a hell of a lot if there is less to fade once its all said and done.:: Right, lets intubate him...this'll be holo-lapriscope. ::Thankfully her equipment cart has arrived and that means little transporters can scoop out the burned and dead lung tissue rather than she having to do it a scrape at a time with regenerators behind it. Quicker. Less trauma to the body. So it is thus that the Doc, Commander, Deis gets back to work::
::in the midst of all this the Sickbay gets a "report" request. She probably shouldnt but Deis answers in a brisk and "im busy" sort of fashion.::
=/\=Casualty report...a bleedin lot. More injured than dead. Holo elbows deep in it, 'ere, Sir. Will get back t ye on th specifics.=/\=
((sorry for the delays. RL has been a biotch lately. and if someone IN the enziio sickbay wants to overwrite my casualty report, please feel free.))
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Post by Savot on Mar 13, 2020 0:34:32 GMT
[Enzio]
As the Section Admiral inquired as to the feasibility of using the Transporter tags they’d managed to surreptitiously adhese to Tor’ng and his aide before their irate departure, Savot’s mouth thinned and a low snarl of disappointment rumbled from Zakryn’s maw as he shook his scaled head, “We’ll either need to know their ssshield frequency; or do something to bring them down.”
That particular point had soon been rendered moot; however, as Tor’ng’s ship distanced itself from the Federation ships taking orbit around a planetary body within sensor range and a new arrival gained the proverbial spotlight though the Maracanda and El Salvador were instructed to keep tabs on the Ireuken vessel and her actions.
************************************** [El Salvador]
Delbridge frowned at the development from the center seat, tapping his right foot as he ran his middle finger against the underside of his thumb’s first knuckle joint in thought. After several moments’ postulating he snapped his fingers, “Zhegras”, he called out to his Engineering cadet of Tellarite pedigree, “Dispatch a probe for manual piloting towards the Ireuken’s orbital position. A launch might be detectable even through the nebula’s miasma, so use antigravs to haul one over to a starboard airlock and let it float out via depressurization. Lowest possible shields, including deflectors, to give it the lowest energy signature we can. That’ll mean piloting it more slowly through the nebular particulates but it beats them detecting it and getting ornery.”
Cadet Zhegras, having both developed a respect for her superior/instructor, and knowing when not to make a pain of herself, went to task with but a nod of confirmation and a quick wave to her weird alter-dimensional hybrid roommate at Ops. Karysta, being half-vulcan and half-Romulan and knowing little of either, still wasn’t used to expressing herself and so gave an awkward nod and wave in return from her post.
*********************************** [Enzio]
As Admiral Torek suggested the potential of a mind-meld with the unknown Negotiator among them, Savot’s brow arched in intellectual analysis of the feasibility while Gheskori shared his concerns.
Gheskori was unsure if a meld was advisable, let alone possible, "...If Nurse Walker approves, then I approve. You would have Commander Irae present also, Commodore, I believe she's assisting in our sickbay."
Savot gave a slight bow of his head to the Section Admiral, “I am gratified by your caution, sir. However, I believe Admiral Torek’s suggestion to be worth the potential risk. I cannot guarantee what fruit the endeavor will bear as the workings of heretofore unfamiliar species are always an unknown variable, but I may be able to glean something, particularly if any of the original Negotiator’s mental imprint is still present within the usurper. I believe a science laboratory would be the most suitable choice of venue for the attempt; as Sickbay needn’t have anything distract them from their already considerable burden, and the laboratories are equipped with containment fields just as sickbay is so we can achieve the same level of protection should the imposter resist. As Commander Irae has the highest level of familiarity with my medical norms I believe her presence would be the most logical, once she has reached a point in her present medical duties where she can allow another to resume her care without risk to her current patient.”
********************************************** [Enzio: Science Lab 1, several minutes later]
Savot had asked to be part of the security detail tasked with bringing the Negotiator to the lab. The lead interrogator rarely traveled with a suspect; they had the suspect brought to them. In hopes that the imposter would follow this same train of thought, Savot walked alongside 2 other security guards, his phaser pistol trained on the Negotiator throughout the trip. Upon reaching the lab where the 2 Admirals and Commander Irae were already present; the imposter’s body language reacted as hoped.
Immediately scoffing and turning his back to the Admirals, whom he’d assumed would be the ones questioning him, the Negotiator turned to the impassive face of Savot whose hands instantly swept up dispersing his fingers to the appropriate katra points… at least where they’d be located on the standard humanoid the Negotiator currently appeared to be. Making no effort to establish mental contact right away, Savot waited as he spoke the ritualized mantra of focus, “My mind, to your mind. Your thoughts, to my thoughts.”
Though he wasn’t actively probing, the touch-telepathy inherent to Vulcans allowed Savot to sense the mental tensing of the suspect, bracing himself against the intrusion he assumed was already rushing towards his inner being. When nothing happened after a few seconds as Savot slowly spoke, the Negotiator’s mental muscles relaxed their tensing just a fraction in their confused uncertainty and the Vulcan had his opening. Plunging forward with his katra, the Vulcan Commodore’s eyes closed during the next line, and snapped open sharply during the latter, “Our minds are merging… our minds… are one.”
*********************************************** [Inside the Meld]
Right away, Savot felt the instinctive bluster of an unwilling mental intrusion victim bombarding his presence from all sides attempting to force him out. During this, Savot made no effort to progress further into the mind, his mental visualization merely stood still, hands steepled as though in meditation as he erected invisible wedges of mental energy at each of his sides in turn, the imposter’s attempts to push him broke upon the wedges like ocean waves, their force divided at the sharp point of intersection then sluiced off to either side of Savot’s projection failing to dislodge his telepathic presence.
Next came the visualization of a door, old Earth style with a large keyhole under the knob, as Savot reached for the knob the door was abruptly encased in a slick translucent layer that looked akin to ice. Directly his mental strength, Savot’s projection reached a hand forward to press against the ice, telepathic transferring the metaphor of his bodily warmth into the ice melting the layer through. As the last began to liquefy away Savot focused more precisely, his projected hand gripping the last shard of ice and he brought his telepathic heat back into himself gradually in specific phases and angles so the last bit of ice was left in the shape of a key that he then deftly inserted into the keyhole unlocking the door with a *thunk* of significant heft.
Opening the door, Savot walked into a span that seemed to be a lake of pure, glowing magma. As he extended his mental presence to begin to assert his will over the area turning a walkway of magma into cooled solid gray… the mindscape quaked, Savot swiftly imprinting a layer of flooring under his feet that was a half-inch off the shuddering ground so that his own experience was unshaken. During this pause in his forward progress; however, he witnessed what appeared to be humanoid-sized droplets of liquid landing in the magma cooling it further… and along his intended mental path.
In both the mind, and his physical body within the Science Lab, Savot’s right eyebrow rose in fascination, “The host remains… at least in part…”
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Mar 17, 2020 23:08:19 GMT
".... What if we were to allow him access to the Negotiator, in a controlled environment in a cordoned-off section of your Sickbay or science lab, perhaps even the conference room with doctors present." "What are you suggesting?" Gheskori asked, bewildered. From the back of the bridge, V'Maz who had been about to enter the turbo-lift paused and listened. "I believe I understand," Savot said, "Admiral Torek is proposing I mind-meld with the Negotiator." "Given our lack of knowledge regarding the Negotiator's origins, the meld may not even work, worse still it could be harmful to Savot," Carl emphasized. Gheskori was silent for a moment then agreed to the Commodore attempting the meld .... ~~~~~~~~~~ Carl stood away from them, his back against the bulkhead. He could see the Negotiator's expression change as Savot reinforced the mind-meld incrementally. "Our minds are merging ..... Our minds ..... Are one ....." "You think he will get anything useful?" Gheskori whispered. "It's impossible to tell..." Carl said with a resigned expression, "... The Negotiator could harm Savot if he pushes too far, or he could collapse to the deck his mind traumatized to the point of none-retrieval," "What is your name ..... What species are you ....." Savot was slowly shaking his head while maintaining eye contact with the Negotiator. "The host remains ..... At least in part ....." Suddenly Savot began to break the meld, and as he did so the Negotiator slumped to his knees, a Medic reaching him before he could collapse to the deck completely unconscious. As the man was lifted onto a bio-bed, Savot turned to the others: "I will try again in a moment, I believe I can break through the substantial 'guard' the Negotiator has erected," "The meld caused him to collapse?" Torek asked. "I, initiated the momentary loss of consciousness to allow me time to prepare," Savot confirmed before moving to the side of the bio-bed eyeing the prone Negotiator with a hint of curiosity. "This isn't going to do you any harm is it?" Carl asked, but Savot couldn't answer what he didn't know. Slowly he again placed his hands either side of the man's face, positioning his fingers precisely. One of the Enzio's Bridge Staff entered, walking over to Gheskori. A moment later the two turned to Torek: "We have had an update from Commander Blakus regarding the Alarodian Fleet..." Gheskori informed him as the Commander handed Torek a PADD containing his Executive Officers' report, along with a transcript of the conversation between the Raven and Commissioner Saspari aboard the lead Alarodian Vessel, "... The Raven has Starbase Forty-Seven at the extreme of their long-range sensors Admiral, he has asked for instructions on how to proceed," "Commander, could you patch me through to the Raven from here?" Torek asked. "No problem Sir, we can use one of the side rooms." the man said leading Torek and Gheskori into the room before giving instructions to the Bridge. A Moment later Andae Blakus appeared on the screen: The spoke for several moments: =^= Why the seventeen ships if all he wants to do is have a friendly chat? =^= Carl pondered. =^= I believe he came ready for all eventualities .. .. He seems sincere enough though I would rather not have had to 'persuade' him to leave the area before the 'base appears on their sensors .. Thankfully he took the decision for me as you can see in the transcript .. It looks like he preparing to go loof for a fight =^= =^= Are they still with you? =^= Carl asked. =^= They have been actively scanning a region close to the aCen System .. It looks like they have found what they were looking for .. .. =^= Blakus turned to speak to someone off-screen then =^= They are taking off in one hell of a hurry! =^= =^= Heading? =^= =^= They are going after something .. Presumably Ireuken .. Their heading will see them come within fifteen light-years of you location =^= =^= Understood Commander .. .. You have no concerns that this Saspari is feigning? .. There's nothing to indicate he will come around once you depart the area? =^= Torek asked, deep in thought. =^= I don't believe so .. I had the feeling he wouldn't want the Federation vessels siding with the Ireuken .. Hows the situation there? =^= =^= Touch and go =^= =^= You want us back? =^= Blakus asked. =^= Remain in position for the time being .. Contact the Starbase and report what we have thus far .. I don't see any reason to sit out there once you are assured the Aladorian have lost interest .. Though this Saspari may want to know more of what's happening at our location .. He may send his Fleet off to encounter the Ireuken ship while he comes here .. Who knows =^= =^= Understood Admiral .. .. Raven out =^= the Comm closed and Carl looked out into the Main Sickbay area, where Savot had begun his mind-meld .......... < Tag: Commander Blakus >
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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 Mar 29, 2020 22:03:04 GMT
The Negotiator was furious to have let this being inside his mind, its mind, one of many that'd at least made the attempt - many had been unsuccessful - to infiltrate the Federation fleet in this sector. Something of the man he impersonated was present in a sense, and the El Salvador CO had more than once attempted direct contact with that neural pattern, but the imprint was a facsimile, nothing more, and hence any contact would not be with the original Negotiator himself. He had let himself be out-stared by this Vulcan, not knowing he would soon be invaded by the same; he would make him pay.
He drew back across the lake of magma, leaving avatars in his wake, and ensconced himself in his mind's deepest subterranean passageways, whole legions of himself now mobilised to protect this innermost recess. From here he attempted to strike out, lowering the headset round his cranium and bringing the target reticule before his sight, the machinery of his most basic conscious substrate surrounding him in this underground hovel.
He zeroed in on this image displayed virtually before him. He and his target weaved before one another, the Vulcan intruder anticipating his every move as he executed hand-to-hand combinations in fractions of a second and vice-versa. Finally, the Negotiator found a direct path to a strike and psychic kill - he entered the sequence and watched in satisfaction as his legions made an about-turn in perfect sync and carried out his commands, too late however, as crystallising above the leagues of magma and subterranean rock formations was an infinite reflecting hall occupying finite space. The combined beam from the armies of the Negotiator was forced through the Vulcan's crystal formation and reflected back upon them - in silence the legions turned to ash and the Negotiator released a psychic scream.
Now he found a way to position himself so that it would require only the simplest of thoughts to blot the Vulcan's katra from existence, but again the being's defences and counter-attack took him off guard: the reflecting hall sprang up all along the fields of magma, rising as pinnacles of cerulean ice, crystalline formations reaching hundreds of metres into the infernal sky rebounding destructive mental energy back onto its original emitter. The Negotiator screamed again so that other Halanan could hear. He screamed in the science lab.
Gheskori and Torek made a small step back. Savot's fingers were withdrawing. The sound was deafening - the Negotiator raised trembling hands to his face and pitched forward and over to his left, nearly off the couch, as the hoarse cry in his throat began to die away. He fell silent with a final shudder. Nurse Elizabeth Walker scanned him while Irae did the same with the Commodore.
"Gheskori? Why are you here?" It was the voice of the Negotiator. "What is happening to me?"
"You are alright," Ghes said instinctively, then realised he may have little time, "Who is there with you? What is the last thing you remember?"
"I was on Earth... I... There is a presence, a Halanan." He fell silent again.
"It is not the man you know as the Negotiator," Savot said, and they asked him to explain. The man himself was not present at all, apparently he'd been duplicated down to his original brain patterns at time of replication - his unique consciousness, his thoughts and memories had all effectively been lifted from the real human mind. There was a neural imprint of a human upon this wholly Halanan being.
"He's falling into a coma," Walker reported as she read her medical tricorder, "At least that's what I would call it if he was really human."
"Place a level 10 forcefield around the couch," Ghes ordered and looked at Torek and Savot, "Is it reasonable to assume that that's a Halanan ship out there?" He tapped his commbadge, =/\=Bridge, this is Gheskori, scan the ship before us and look at the neural energy in the biosignatures of its crew; correlate with the Negotiator's brain scans, his data are being sent to your consoles now.=/\=
After seconds Yarwood replied, =/\=The neural patterns correlate, Admiral... Sir, we also have eight of the Alarodian ships inbound, it seems they are drawing closer than the estimated 15 lightyears. What are your orders?=/\=
=/\=Raise shields. Position us between the Halanan ship and the newcomers, twice the distance to the Alarodians as to the Halanan. Hail both and tell them we have no quarrel with either of them. I'm returning to the bridge.=/\=
He approached Irae and two medics who were attending to Savot, "Is all well with the Commodore?" he asked.
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Mar 29, 2020 22:52:04 GMT
"And we can be sure the Alarodians are all heading for the aCen system or its outskirts?"
"Aye, Commander, although they have split their forces, one squadron of nine and another of eight vessels. The latter seem to be on a heading that will take them through the middle of the system close to the coordinates of the wormhole and our three ships. The other nine are closing on hours-old engine signatures, likely Ireuken destroyers."
"Very well, all the more reason to head back there as soon as possible. Ensign Fields, set a course for the aCen system, warp 7 until Milyanov and his team have repaired the warp core and coolant system, warp 9.5 thereafter; prepare to engage."
"Aye, sir." At those speeds and depending on how quickly the core was repaired it would take the Raven between nine and 22 hours to return to the aCen system. "Ready, Commander," Fields signalled.
"Stand by." He had Wedlerson command T'Seng to contact the Starbase, within moments a subspace channel was open and Blakus was communicating with Starbase Ops. "Where is Admiral Lemond?" he said to the face of one of the Section Admiral's aides that'd appeared.
"She is indisposed at the present time, Commander Blakus. But I am at hand. How may I help you?"
Andae's expression hardened, "Look, you tell the Admiral..."
"You will speak with me," the aide said then remembered to smile, though the effect was unnerving.
Blakus shifted uncomfortably, "Very well... We have made contact with a group known as the Alarodian Coalition. 17 of their starships had been heading towards the Starbase in the hopes of arranging a trade agreement. It would've been beneficial, though as my Commanding Officer has commented it seems odd that they would've sent 17 ships to arrange such a thing. In my previous communique I referred to the Ireuken Confederacy, First Viceroy Tor'ng and his machinations, and the disruption of the Ireuken mining operation. The Alarodians are now at war with the Ireukens, and nine of those 17 ships are now hunting Ireuken vessels. The other eight ships are making for the aCen system, to which we are returning now also."
The aide nodded and finished noting things down on a PADD, "Are there Ireuken vessels still present in the system?"
"Only one, of which we're aware, Tor'ng's vessel."
"And the... Alarodians, really need eight vessels to combat it effectively?"
Blakus nodded, "You believe they have other motives in heading to the system. That was my thought as well. If they intend to turn on us in some way -"
"Perhaps they wish to hold peace talks with the Ireuken Viceroy," the aide cut in.
Blakus admitted to himself that thought hadn't occurred to him. "I hadn't considered it," he said eventually.
"Return as you have been planning, Commander, and observe the Alarodians and Ireukens closely. Also maintain a close watch on the three Starfleet flag officers at the location. Those are the orders of the admiralty, Commander." Blakus asked what the aide could mean, demanding once more to speak with Lemond or someone else with authority. "Any of Gheskori, Torek and Savot may have been compromised, Commander Blakus. Trust no one except those aboard the Raven. Starbase out."
Blakus let out a breath and looked round the bridge, Wedlerson watching him intently. "Engage, Ensign Fields," he ordered eventually. "Compromised, how?" he asked Harry.
"Could this have something to do with the Negotiator?" Wedlerson said. Blakus decided for himself that those supposedly in charge on the Starbase were being over cautious, to say the least, and yet he still had his orders. The Raven was now at warp and would be back in the system in a few short hours.
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on Apr 5, 2020 0:22:54 GMT
"It is not the man you know as the Negotiator," Savot said, and they asked him to explain. "The man himself was not present at all, apparently, he'd been duplicated down to his original brain patterns at the time of replication - His unique consciousness, his thoughts, and memories had all effectively been lifted from the real human mind. There was a neural imprint of a human upon this wholly Halanan being," "So little or nothing of the original Negotiator exists?" Carl was asking as he watched the Doctor suddenly look concerned. "He's falling into a coma!" It suddenly occurred to Torek and Gheskori that the origin of the vessel close by was suspect, Gheskori acted first, ordering measures to safeguard the Enzio and the other Federation vessels in the vicinity. They ran to the nearest turbo-lift and headed directly to the Enzio's Bridge: "Neither ships have acknowledged our hales Admiral," Gheshkori was informed. Carl studied the tactical plot on the main viewscreen, it showed the Enzio, the El Salvador and Maracanda some way off, the Halanan vessel along with the Alarodian vessels were highlighted, while on the perimeter of the image the Raven could be seen .... The eight Alarodian ships were coming headlong but began to slow beginning to form a line of ships almost two hundred thousand meters in length. Carl had moved to Comms and instructed both El Salvador and Maracanda to come about and position themselves either side of the Enzio. As the Alarodian fleet came to a stop, one moved ahead until it was within one hundred thousand kilometers of the Federation vessels. The Comms Officer informed them they were being healed. Gheskori nodded and turned to the viewscreen: =^= I am Commissioner Saspari .. Leader of the Alarodian Coalition =^= As Gheskori acknowledged the Commissioner, the Enzio Comms Officer walked over to Torek, informing him that the Raven was contacting them. Carl nodded, instructing the Lieutenant to patch the Comm through to Gheskori's Ready Room. With a nod to Savot he left the Bridge: =^= Andae =^=
=^= Admiral .. I've had a rather 'disturbing' conversation with one of the Section Admiral's Aides on the Starbase .. I've sent a report for your review .. .. We monitored the sudden change of the eight Alarodian vessels .. Their apparent urgency to reach your location made me nervous .. With the remainder clearly intent on heading for the Ireuken ships I took the decision to head back to your vicinity =^=
=^= I'm happy you have done so Commander .. It looks like the help may be welcomed .. I have a feeling something isn't right about all this .. The Alarodian Commissioner is speaking with the Section Admiral right now but I have the feeling we're being manipulated .. I can't say way .. Just a gut feeling .. But something isn't quite right here .. .. =^=
=^= Orders Admiral =^=
=^= Position yourself within fifty thousand kilometers of the Alarodian ships off their Portside .. I will instruct the Maracanda to reposition to their Starboard .. At least we'll have them covered should anyone develop itchy fingers =^=
=^= Will you be remaining aboard the Enzio? =^=
=^= I'm not sure .. Get into position then contact me .. I'll make a decision then .. Torek out =^= Closing the Comm he returned to the Bridge, Gheskori and the Alarodian Commissioner were still in what appeared to be an amicable conversation, but he could tell from the Enzio's Executive Officer that it hadn't all gone well. The Tactical Officer subtly got his attention and Carl casually crossed the Bridge behind the center seat: "Commander?" he whispered, not wanting to be picked up on the ship to ship Comm. "Sir, I'm picking up a vessel of some sort approaching the System," the man said, motioning to his panel, Carl could see the large indicator. "More ships?"
"I would say no Sir... If I were to speculate I would be inclined to say it was one 'large' structure, possibly under tow..." the man said. Carl studied the readings, hardly conclusive at such extreme range, but he had to agree, it did appear to be three individual readings, one much larger than the other two. "It's possible from these readings that it could be a replacement production facility?""If it is the Ireuken are not taking their time getting production back up and running..." Carl whispered, "... Maybe they are more worried about the sudden loss of product than they are letting on." he mused. Asking the Tactical Officer to keep him informed he meandered over to where Savot was stood and informed him of his previous conversation, the Vulcan's eyebrows raised by way of acknowledgment. From what he had overheard of the conversation between Gheskori and the Commissioner he felt they were indeed being misled, but as to why he couldn't begin to speculate. One surprising development was the Commissioner crying off coming aboard the Enzio to dine, why would he not want to 'cement' relationships, so to speak, if there were no ulterior motives? ... Saspari finally begged forgiveness, claiming affairs of state demanded his attention, assuring the Starfleet Officers that their vessels would remain in situ, for the time being, he closed the Comm. "There's another ship coming into range," Carl informed Gheskori. "From which side?" the Section Admiral asked, clearly annoyed with proceedings thus far. "Your Tactical Officer believes it could possibly be a replacement production facility, size is comparable with the one lost," Torek said as they sat down in Gheskori's Ready Room, "We could send someone to take a look..." "Commander Manley," Savot suggested. "The Raven is en route, I'd like her close just in case..." Carl replied, "... The Maracanda can take a look, once we have a confirmed identification she can swing back and be here before the new arrivals," Ghes nodded and Carl got up and re-entered the Bridge, there he contacted Commander Manley and gave his instructions. As he turned to go back to the Ready room he caught sight of the Alarodian vessels on the viewscreen and wondered just what they were getting themselves into ..... They were looking for a way home, becoming unwilling pawns in an inter-species conflict was something they could well do without. That said, their return home may well require them getting into proverbial 'bed' with one or the other! USS Maracanda ::
Grant nodded as Admiral Torek closed the Comm .....
Reentering the Bridge he dropped into the center seat, rubbing his chin and realizing how in need of a shave he was. He asked for a tactical view be displayed, studying the images intently, then turned to his Helm Officer:
"Lieutenant, the vessels in quadrant three two, set a course and stand by,"
"Aye, Sir," Anna Thompson confirmed.
"We're going to take a looky at that," he said to his Executive Officer, Frank Scober studied the image data and nodded.
"A sneak peek or are we holding out the Federation hand?"
"We'll just go look, get close enough to confirm what we're looking at. If they say hello it would be rude to ignore them, otherwise it's an identify and report outing," Manley said, turning to the Navigation Officer, "Warp six... Now," the Intrepid Class Maracanda made a leisurely turn to Port then jumped immediately into the nether-realm of warp speed. It would take them less than three hours to get into position, from there they could run conclusive scans, identifying the on-comers and reporting back to the Enzio. Truth be told he was actually happy to be given something to do, while part of their duties as Starfleet Officers, 'babysitting' was not one of his favorite pastimes ..........
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