David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Jun 26, 2021 20:46:54 GMT
IRW Gecius ... Zova Dox Research Facility :: David was watching the Proconsul's Warbird closely, although both were Valdore Class, he knew their 'appropriated' vessel was superior, but that would mean nothing if she decided to fire! ..... "David, the Enzio is requesting a comm..." DeLuca informed him, "... It's Gheskori," Tan looked at the others, he was thankful for the timely arrival, he wasn't expecting the Section Admiral to be aboard, he nodded and the screen changed: =^= "Just what on Denobula is going on here Mister Tan? =^= David took a breath then began to report on their situation, going by the Section Admiral's expressions he didn't seem over-happy. During the unscheduled briefing, he was informed that another vessel, a D'deridex Class, was approaching, this one too was requesting communication with the Gecius. Both he and Gheskori listened as the Vulcan spoke, informing them that he was the undercover operative on Zova Dox and that the Reman were essentially allies, he also noted that he would need a means of escape. Their conversation was paused as they watched one of the other two D'deridex Class Warships disintegrate! Gheskori was about to react when one of his Officers informed him that 'he' was being healed by the Romulan Proconsul. "Relay my conversation to our colleagues but hide them from view..." Gheskori ordered, "... Let's hear the Proconsul," =^= .. .. Failure to comply will mean your vessel will suffer the same fate as the USS Schrodinger .. .. .. .. with your personnel while returning our scientist and the IRW Gecius and all will be well .. Otherwise .. Face you will the .. Consequences =^= It was clear to David during the exchange that both were vying for the upper hand in their discussion, he could see both the SA and the Proconsul, neither seemed to be showing any weakness. =^= No good .. .. =^= Gheskori replied amiably, clearly shocking the Proconsul in the process. =^= WHAT! =^= Proconsul Vaklak replied. =^= No good .. You will clear off .. It's clear that the Gecius despite a prototype is a superior vessel to your own .. And excepting the warbird hiding in the asteroid field you are outnumbered three to one .. Proconsul =^= =^= You would risk WAR!? =^= Vaklak spat, leaning so far forward Tan feared she would fall off her chair in shock. =^= I do not see it as risking war Proconsul .. In fact .. I have a feeling that should the Senate learn about the activities on this facility of yours .. It might be you risking all =^= =^= The remaining D'deridex will not side with you .. Admiral .. They witnessed their colleagues demise and will side with me if they and .. Their families .. Wish to remain with the living =^= =^= So you would be happy for the Gecius to be in orbit around New Romulus where the Senat .. .. =^= David watched as the Enzio shook violently, rolling to Port almost sixty degrees before slowly righting herself, the viewscreen changed to a view of the stars beyond their hull as their vessel also shuddered with the impact of weapons fire on the shields. "EVASIVE MANOEUVRES!" Tan ordered. Almost lethargically, the Valdore Class Prototype rolled to Starboard and began to power away ..... Once in open space, Tan ordered they come about, ordering Massa at Helm to head directly for the Valdore Class. He could see the Enzio and the Proconcul's vessels exchanging fire. Locking weapons on the Proconsul's ship, Iorte targetted their weapons systems and fired as they passed above them. "There's another Valdore Class approaching!" Noon informed everyone. "Where the 'HELL' did that come from!" Clancy asked rhetorically as he began to target the newcomer. He was about to fire when the El Alamein climbed directly ahead of the Gecius and rolled, firing a volley of phasers and torpedoes before heading away to relative safety. It was the distraction Iorte needed and he fired ..... The torpedoes slammed into the newcomers' shields, as he fired phasers, the combination clearly did some damage as the Valdore Class began to yaw then pitch forwards on its nose. A second later it exploded in a spectacular show of destructive power! "Lucky shot," Clancy said with a wry grin as Massa began to turn towards the Proconsul's vessel. It had become clear from the first shot that the women had made changes to her vessel, the shield configuration and refresh rate differed from Romulan systems, she had also added secondary phaser arrays and no less than four more torpedo launchers. Tan wondered for a fraction of a second just how she had managed to keep the upgrades undiscovered, but the Gecius was hit again, this time on her dorsal shields, throwing Tan out of his seat and onto the deck hard! Elena moved to help him painfully to his feet as Iezelda frowned. "Ermmm ....." she said, eyeing the countdown that had sprung onto her console. "What?" Tan asked. "I think we have a serious problem here," the young Intelligence Officer said, pointing to the glowing readout. DeLuca and Nate Massa moved quickly to see the reading. "That's a self-destruct countdown," the El Alamein's Chief Security Officer informed them. "How did you manage that?" Tan asked, fighting the pain in his burning lungs from the impact with the bulkhead moments earlier. "I didn't..." the woman said frustratingly throwing her arms in the air, "... I thought we were receiving a comm but it cut out before I could acknowledge. "..... Where from?" Tan asked, a shiver running the length of his aching spine. "Impossible to say, but it wasn't from us," Iezeld said quietly. "Override it," Noon demanded urgently as Tan looked at the Crocion, Meptia. She realised he was watching her and shook her head. "It was built in for this very scenario, I'm sorry, with there being no crew conscious it did not occur to me that the failsafe could be activated," David scanned the ship, quickly ascertaining that all the crew were still unconscious, he looked at the readout: ... 00 : 07 : 25 ...
... 00 : 07 : 24 ...
... 00 : 07 : 23 ... Before anyone could state the blindingly obvious, the comm chirped to life. =^= Starfleet Officers .. You may wish to reconsider your .. Predicament .. .. I await your reply =^= David looked at the viewscreen in time to see the Proconsul's Warbird making a lazy turn, her weapons off-line ..........
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Jul 18, 2021 13:56:32 GMT
... 00 : 05 : 49 ...
... 00 : 05 : 48 ...
... 00 : 05 : 47 ... "Nate, get down to Engineering, try to cut power to the self-destruct!" Tan ordered. "I should go too..." Meptia said, eyeing DeLuca before returning her gaze to Tan, "... I may be able to assist," "Fine..." David said as he again caught a glance of the seemingly smug, for a Romulan, Proconsul Vaklak on the viewscreen, "Will someone shut that off," he said, sighing as the screen changed to a view of the surrounding space. He contacted the El Alamein instructing Captain Komin to close on them to transport all but himself, Clancy, DeLuca, Mass, and the Crocion off the Warbird then to standby ..... ... 00 : 03 : 17 ...
... 00 : 03 : 16 ...
... 00 : 03 : 15 ... Time was running out, and quickly, he decided to give Massa and Meptia another two minutes before he would order everyone off the prototype Warbird, leaving it to destroy itself. His worry was that should they leave too early, it would be a simple task for the Proconsul on the other Warbird to disengage self-destruct and board the ship herself. Then, with both Warbirds, they could possibly chase down the Enzio and the El Alamein, an open fight could lead to war! The Valdore Class, like all Romulan Starships, used an artificial quantum singularity to power their warp engines, the means of course didn't really matter, whether matter/antimatter or the singularity, ejecting either would effectively leave thy adrift in relative terms, so the option wasn't open to them, David tried not to look at the chronometer as it's relentless countdown rushed them ever closer to their maker. 'If indeed anyone believed in such things' he thought sarcastically, not believing in divine intervention regardless of its form or appearance. ... 00 : 02 : 06 ...
... 00 : 02 : 04 ...
... 00 : 02 : 03 ... He strode across the Bridge of the Gecius and contacted Massa, the news was not good, even with Meptia's knowledge of the experimental Warship, they were having no luck disabling the self-destruct! ... He informed them they had sixty seconds then the El Alamein would transport them to safety. Meptia insisted that she could successfully halt the ships' destruction with a little more time, but time wasn't on their side. Suddenly Tan remembered something, he dropped into the Command seat and commed the El Alamein: =^= Captain .. Contact the Enzio .. Ask the Admiral to position himself at the following coordinates: zero two zero mark three one zero and instruct him to come around to put us astern of him .. Don't question Captain .. Just do it please .. Then I need you to swing around and get above us .. Keep the Gecius between yourself and the Proconsul's Warbird then standby .. Keep an open Comm and be ready! =^= ..... He was out of the seat before Komin could reply moving to the Helm, he nudged Iezeld out of the seat before taking it himself. He snapped on the shields, the others watched in silence as he changed course the Proconsul's Warbird coming into view from Port. Making small inputs, he positioned the Warbird in the centre of his screen then glanced at the chronometer once again, ninety seconds: ... 00 : 01 : 34 ...
... 00 : 01 : 33 ...
... 00 : 01 : 32 ... He didn't have long to wait before the Proconsul contacted him: =^= What are you doing? =^= the woman asked, trying hard to hide her sudden concern. =^= It's pretty simple Proconsul .. .. It is clear you intend to destroy this ship before allowing it into Federation hands .. Understandable .. But I have decided that I am not going alone into the night =^= =^= Surely you do not mean to ram us? =^= Vaklak said with a condescending laugh of disdain. =^= I don't need to Proconsul .. I just need to be close enough that when I go you go too .. .. Your warp drive is offline as are your weapons .. Given our ever-decreasing proximity neither will save you from the inevitable =^= he snapped the comm closed before the Romulan could comment further, then listened as DeLuca gave a running commentary on the second Valdore Class: "She's attempting to come about but we're almost on top of her," David nodded then glanced up at the time: ... 00 : 00 : 59 ...
... 00 : 00 : 58 ...
... 00 : 00 : 57 ... "Keep on top of her then," he ordered, knowing that with the Gecius' shields activated, they were out of time to get off the ship! ..... Suddenly Massa commed the Bridge informing them that the self-destruct had disengaged. Without pausing David slammed hard to Starboard, passing above the Proconsul's own vessel with metres to spare, He set a course heading directly for the USS Enzio, the El Alamein holding position above and astern of him. Passing above the Prometheus Class he jumped to warp, sensors showed that Gheskori and Komin had done likewise ..... Unfortunately, so had the Proconsul's Warbird! ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 248
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Aug 3, 2021 17:49:24 GMT
Iorte stood at the tactical station in mute shock as the stars shot by the viewscreen once more, the Gecius at last having departed the cursed Zova Dox facility, though not under the most ideal of circumstances. They would've slowed to allow the Enzio [this set before the Enzio's current mission on its own board] and El Alamein - both ships outmatched for warp velocity by the experimental warbird - to catch up, but that would allow Vaklak to start gaining ground, too. "I'm to understand we've set a heading for the Federation border?" he asked, which of course they had, though it lay a fair way off. "She wouldn't pursue us through the neutral zone, if she's that keen to avoid war," Tan said from the helm. Iorte nodded thoughtfully. With all active ships except one having departed the asteroid field, that one remaining ship - Vlotik's partially hidden D'deridex and its crew of Remans - would be free to take over whatever was left of Zova Dox. The proconsul hadn't finished her work in destroying the place; there was a chance the Remans could rebuild, use whatever experimental, R&D tech remained. The proconsul may realise this, give up the chase and return to finish the job. So there were pros and cons in allowing the proconsul to follow them as far away from Zova Dox as possible. =/\=Bridge, this is Lieutenant Massa. I'm sorry, I was inaccurate before... In the heat of combat I misunderstood Meptia... The self-destruct hasn't been disengaged... it's been suspended.=/\= All eyes on the bridge turned to the countdown timer above the viewscreen: 00 : 00 : 08 "You've got to be kidding me," Iorte thought, not realising he'd spoken aloud, =/\=Well, is there any way the failsafe could reactivate itself? Could the proconsul tap into our systems, if that's how she'd worked it before?"=/\= =/\=I don't know, sir, but if I had to make an educated guess I would assume so. Perhaps though,=/\= he added hastily, =/\=She would have to close to a certain distance to gain any sort of remote access. Right, right...=/\= he seemed distracted, =/\=... Meptia says remote access tech on Romulan ships normally has a range of 5 million kilometres, but this is Vaklak's vessel we're talking about. She's made a number of modifications, as we've seen.=/\= =/\=Then let's damn well keep her clear of the 5 million kilometre mark, at least, Nate. Thank you.=/\= Tan closed the channel. "What's the current range to her warbird?" "Approximately 9.45 million kilometres," de Luca reported from a mission ops console, repurposed as a secondary tactical station. It blared a comm alert; de Luca glanced over and nodded to herself, "The Enzio is hailing." "Not again," Iorte groaned, and as Tan spoke to Gheskori about respective positioning of their three ships as they rushed - in what would be several days' flight - towards the Federation-Romulan border, Clancy realised something he was surprised hadn't occurred to him before. He explained the thought to the others after Gheskori had made his directions and agreements with Tan and Komin: If the failsafe (designed to prevent this experimental warship from falling into enemy hands) only kicked in when all the crew were either registered by internal sensors as absent or simply unconscious, then why not try simply waking one, or several of them? Yes, they'd been knocked out cold by a heavy dose of augmented anaesthezine, but the effect could be reversed with the use of a stimulant from the team's shared medpack, or by Meptia's assistance. All they would require is that the Romulan naval crewman should be conscious, and for them to remain that way, just in case the proconsul was able to edge her way to within at least those 5 million kilometres. She may overtax, destroy her engines in trying to do so; would she be willing to go so far?
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Aug 7, 2021 14:34:07 GMT
Still within the Romulan Star Empire's Border Running parallel to Garsi Alliance Space ... Attempting to Reach Federation Space :: Most Intelligence Officers, like David, Iorte, Elena, had previous Command experience prior to their recruitment to Intelligence, so as Clancy made decisions as to the tactics they could use to keep out of the reach of the pursuing Romulan Proconsul, David, had been updating the Section Admiral, glancing like the others toward the eight seconds remaining on the self-destruct countdown: Gheskori had informed them that Enzio and El Alamein were struggling to keep pace with the experimental Valdore-Class Warbird ..... "..... All we would require is that the Romulan naval crewman should be conscious, and for him or her to remain that way. Just in case the Proconsul was able to edge her way to within at least those five million kilometres. She may overtax, or even destroy her engines in trying to do so; would she be willing to go so far?" clancy was saying. "Iezeld, reduce speed enough to allow Enzio and El Alamein to keep pace behind us..." Tan ordered as he closed the comm, "... Any thoughts on 'who' you would want to waken?" he asked. "Someone from the mid-decks...?" Elena suggested, pausing as the others turned to her with puzzled looks, "... If we wake someone from up here, it's highly likely they would be Bridge Officers, we would need to watch them constantly in case they try to do anything. Likewise, with the lower decks, they would likely be Engineering, Weapons, and could do a lot of damage if they got the chance," she finished with a shrug. "Pitty the Romulans don't employ Cooks then," Iezeld said. "Rosa and I will go find some low-ranking crewman..." Elena said, checking her phasers' settings before handing Tan a medkit, "... There's a storage room off the Bridge corridor, We'll bring him there if one of you can make sure there's nothing useful for them to get their hands on..." the two left the Bridge as David followed heading for the storeroom. "Enzio and El Alamein are holding station five million kilometres astern of us," Iezeld confirmed, Iorte nodded, knowing they were far from home free yet! ..... He heard the distinctive sound of boots being dragged boots and almost grinned. Tan meanwhile had checked the storeroom which seemed to be filled with nothing but food, each crate was labelled 'Viinerine' and he wondered vaguely if this was all the Romulan's ate. DeLuca and Noon entered backwards, an unconscious Romulan dragged behind them. David lifted the man into a seated position and bound his hands and feet before forcing him between numerous crates. Satisfied, he opened the medkit and checked what he had, the hypospray held a myriad of medicines for practically every scenario, but he was struggling to find anything that would reverse the anaesthetic used to sedate the Romulan crew. Iezelda, a former senior Nurse, saw him frowning, clearly not finding anything that looked like an anaesthesia reversal agent, she walked over and took the device, running quickly through the menu before picking one that might work. David looked at the small readout: "Naloxone .....?" "It's used to counteract the effects of opioids, we've no way of knowing what could do harm to the Romulans, this seems the safest option," she explained. Hardly in a position to argue, he handed her the hypospray and tilted the man's head to one side, allowing her to inject directly into what he hopes was their version of the carotid artery ..... For a full minute nothing happened, the Romulan remained obstinately out cold. David pulled Iezelde away as the man's eyes sprang open in shock! "Don't bother trying to free yourself, just sit there and be good. My friend here..." Tan said, handing Iezeld a phaser set on maximum stun, "... Is going to keep you company," the Romulan grunted beneath the gag and Tan pulled it away. "You will 'DIE' for this ... HUMAN!" the man spat. "Maybe so, but in the meantime try not to bore my colleague here to death, or we might have to replace the gag," without waiting for a reply from the glaring Romulan, David and Elena left the room ..... Two hours later :: "How long before we reach Federation space?" Tan asked, warily eyeing the tactical plot on the viewscreen, seeing that the Proconsul had closed the distance to less than ten million kilometres, and the gap was closing. "Eleven hours, give or take," Clancy replied. "I'm picking up something on long-range sensors!" Rosa Noon said, two Romulan insignia appearing on the tactical plot on queue. They were well ahead of the group and heading to intercept, at their present speed they would be almost on top of the Intelligence Officers in four hours. Surely there couldn't be more of the prototypes, could there?! "They are still too far out, but they could possibly be D'deridex Class Warbirds?" Noon speculated. "Our friendly Proconsul must have contacted Central Command," DeLuca replied. "There's no way they could have got here without ruining their engines!" Iezeld said. "It's plausible they have been sent on a one-way trip, they will hopefully stop us, or destroy the prototype, then the Proconsul will take the crews off before the ships go into meltdown," Tan said, studying the plot. "We can't fight three off," Elena stated matter-of-factly as Tan got up to look at the Navigation screen in front of Iezeld. "Iorte, contact Ghesgori, tell him there's a change of plan and to stand by for a detour," "Detour... Where are we going exactly?" Clancy asked. "Set heading, two five five mark one zero," Tan said, seeing the course change duplicated on the tactical plot. "Your heading for 'Garsi' space!" "They have made it clear they want nothing further to do with the Federation David," Elena stressed. "Thay also don't like the Romulans... We're not going to their homeworld, just skirting along their border, hopefully, we'll go unnoticed," "This is going to put another nine hours on our trip to Federation Space," Iezelda informed them. "Yes, but it's also going to put several more hours on the D'deridex engines... Hopefully, they will blow themselves to pieces before they get here," David speculated. "The Enzio and El Alamein have confirmed the new heading and are waiting on you," Iorte confirmed. "Whenever you're ready," he said to Iezeld, who hit the tab to initiate the course change. Behind them, the two Federation Starships, Enzio and El Alamein followed suit ..... Eight million kilometres astern of the fleeing vessels, the Proconsul's warbird, already feeling the effects of prolonged overtaxing of the drive systems, changed course ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 248
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Aug 9, 2021 13:49:49 GMT
It had been twelve hours (still another eight to go before the stolen warbird, Enzio and El Alamein could make it into Federation territory) since the initial course change, and the D'deridex class warbirds continued to gain on them, as did the proconsul's vessel.
It was clear to Iorte that the proconsul saw the D'deridexes as expendable. Slower than her own warbird but perhaps having been the nearest Romulan ships in range, they would've been ordered to burn their engines out or do anything that was necessary to stop the experimental Valdore from falling into enemy hands. She would arrive afterwards to pick up the pieces, her engines largely intact - she would hope - not overdriven, etc.
"They can't last much longer, surely," he said, studying the sensors that were trying to resolve the D'deridex warbirds' engines, taking readings on their core stability, efficiency, warp field/bubble coherence and so on. One was slightly nearer than the other and for a moment Iorte was able to get a good lock on the quantum singularity engine's physical details; frustratingly, it appeared the drive was holding up quite well, though the sensor lock was tenuous at best and could be returning a false reading.
A comm signal bleated from de Luca's console, "Receiving a transmission."
"A new contact," Tan recognised. Indeed, an unidentified warp signature had moved within range of standard sensors.
"Federation and Romulan vessels, this is the Garsi starship Mleltu. Please explain yourselves and your joint action within our border or we will be forced to take action to protect our territorial integrity. This is not a training ground for war games, joint responses to emergencies, or anything else; it is our own sacred territory."
The Intel officers adjusted the Gecius' transceiver so they would receive signals from the Enzio and El Alamein as well, and promptly heard Gheskori responding to the starship Mleltu, "... and we are not involved in a joint action. We are being pursued by the personal vessel of a Romulan proconsul and two other warbirds."
"Then why are you escorting a warbird of the Valdore type?" the Garsi's incredulous response came.
"We apologise for trespassing on your territory... If you must know, we have appropriated the IRW Gecius in the interests of the defence of the Federation. We will be departing Garsi space in the next eight hours... This is Federation business. We must be allowed to conduct this escape as we see fit, and I hope you'll not feel obliged to ask further questions. Gheskori out."
The response didn't seem to help a great deal as the Mleltu continued to close on an intercept course roughly perpendicular to the Gecius and the two Federation starships' direction of travel.
"They're preparing to fire torpedoes," Iorte reported. The current military capabilities of the Garsi Alliance were virtually unknown. "Let's hope they aren't too powerful. The Mleltu will shoot by right behind us - depending on its performance in turning at warp speed, it could make another run on us in perhaps two to ten minutes' time."
Phasers were of no use at this high warp velocity, so the team prepared a low-yield torpedo, aiming for the Garsi vessel's engines. Hopefully when the Mleltu shot by, the torpedo's aim would prove true and the Garsi vessel would be sent crashing out of warp. It was a risky move that could put the vessel in danger - being flung out of a warp field in such a way, into what was effectively an inadvisably high impulse velocity. Their structural integrity could buckle.
"Garsi vessel closing. 750,000 kilometres," Noon said, and gasped, "They're almost coming straight at us." Perhaps the intention was to frighten the Starfleeters, not having powerful enough weapons to harm them.
"Prepare to fire," Tan said. Noon let it be known that the Mleltu was passing them. Tan nodded, "Fire."
The Mleltu dropped from warp. It was sent careening some further few million kilometres before it was able to stabilise itself; it started coming about, but didn't - or couldn't - return to warp speed. Its own torpedoes had been aimed at all six combatants; damage was minimal in most cases, though one of the chasing D'deridexes' shield grids had dropped some 70% in output.
Noon was having a hard time telling the others... The Garsi ship's point of nearest approach had been within 200 metres of the El Alamein, the Defiant class - along with the Enzio - having been trailing the Gecius by some hundred kilometres. She called over the three-way comm, imagining the El Al crew to be in some shock, "Captain Komin... Are you alright? Have you sustained any damage from our torpedo blast's proximity?"
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Aug 12, 2021 19:35:55 GMT
The torpedo lanced across space, detonating less than thirty metres astern of the Garsi vessel, they watched as it spun out of control for seconds before coming to a relative stop ..... They realised that the El Alamein had dropped from warp and was rolling to Port, David ordered a commlink opened quickly:
=^= Gecius to El Alamein .. .. .. =^=
There was no reply so he tried once more:
=^= Captain Komin .. Are you alright .. Have you sustained any damage from our torpedo blast's proximity? =^= she was about to reply when the Gecius also dropped out of warp, as did the Enzio, the Proconsul's warbird, and the two intercepting Romulan vessels! ... Tan instructed Noon at the Helm to come about and head directly for El Alamein as fast as they could.
"We've been hit by some unknown weapon..." Elena informed everyone, "... It looks like it could be something similar to an antimatter resonance pulse, broad spread. Hell I wouldn't like to think what a focused beam could do,"
"How long before we can get warp drive back online?" David asked Iorte and Elena.
"I've no idea..." Clancy replied, his frustration clear, "... There's so much we still don't know about this artificial quantum singularity they use to power their engines, according to this, if I'm reading it right, we need to do some sort of manual reboot or start-up procedure. That can only be done from Engineering," he said as Meptia confirmed what he had said.
"Rosa, where's the Garsi vessel now?" Tan asked.
"It's still holding positions, adrift, but scans show there's something..." she frowned then her eyes widened as she pointed to the viewscreen, "... Everyone!" she pointed at the screen.
"They have cloaking technology," David said matter-of-factly, as three more Garsi vessels materialised .....
"What the hell else don't we know about these people!" Rosa Noon asked.
"They never gave the Federation Council any reason behind their decision to sever all contact, they just asked us to honour that decision and stay out of their space," Tan said, remembering the original investigation to try to find some reason for the sudden change of mind, so to speak, there was even speculation that they had made alliances with the Romulans, the Klingons, even the Cardassian Republic, but no evidence was ever found to substantiate the rumours.
"Well, we certainly broke that agreement," Clancy said, shaking his head.
"David, El Alamein is contacting us, as is the Enzio." Noon said opening the comm.
=^= Captain .. What is your status? =^= David asked Komin, while Clancy spoke to the Enzio.
=^= It was a little too close for comfort .. We lost warp power along with inertial dampeners .. We have some very space-sick people over here and a little cleaning up, but we are bringing systems back online .. What hit us? =^=
=^= We're not sure .. Something the Garsi developed we think .. Either way it hit all of us at once .. Continue repairs .. We should get underway as soon as viable =^=
"Gheskori suggested he contact the Garsi to ask to be allowed to leave their space without further incident..." Clancy informed Tan before they headed towards the turbolift, "... Rosa, contact us if anything happens, if you think we're in immediate danger move us away best possible speed, don't wait for the other ships, understood?"
"Understood," she said as Clancy, Tan, DeLuca, the Crocion Meptia, left.
"You do realise of course, that if Vaklak gets her drives online before us ....." Elena didn't bother to finish the statement as they stepped onto the Engineering Level of the Gecius.
In Engineering, Meptia crossed to a large panel and slowly opened it, inside was something almost impossible to contemplate. They watched, almost mesmerised by the flickering darting luminescence within the chamber, each rotating around a central 'mass' ..... She explained that this was the artificial quantum singularity that powered all Romulan vessels, explaining that unlike Federation vessels, which needed to replenish diminished antimatter approximately every twenty-five years of continual service, the singularity did this autonomously, so in theory, it could run at full output indefinitely, only hindered by wear and tear of the physical parts needed.
It took an hour to reset all the systems needed to restart the warp core, but finally, Meptia was satisfied they could continue on ..... Back on the Bridge Rosa Noon informed them that Section Admiral Gheskori had been in contact with less than good news: The Garsi were not going to allow 'any' of the vessels to leave their space, any attempt to do so would result in 'unfortunate consequences' as the Garsi put it.
"Has he called for assistance?" Tan asked.
"No, the Garsi are blocking all subspace communication. He knew you were busy trying to get the drive back online, he'll contact us later," Noon replied.
"Contact Captain Komin, tell her to keep a close eye on us and be ready to go..." Tan said, glancing at the viewscreen before turning to the others, "Well, any thoughts?" ..........
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Aug 27, 2021 16:54:58 GMT
Garsi Alliance Space :: "How close are we to Federation Space?" David asked after several ideas had been put forth. "Too far," Clancy answered, pointing at the tactical view on the Gecius' viewscreen, it showed them, with the Enzio and El Alamein in close formation. Astern, the Proconsul's Warship was keeping pace. The one remaining Romulan vessel was closing on them fast. Unfortunately, the Garsi, now comprising of the Mleltu and three other ships, were flanking all of them, effectively preventing any vessel from turning towards Federation Space. David asked Rosa to contact the Enzio: =^= .. .. We can't outrun the Proconsul and with the added issue of the Garsi I don't see any other options open to us Admiral =^= Tan said as the conversation continued. =^= So what do you propose? =^= Gheskori asked. =^= If you can distract the Garsi .. I will have captain Komin beam over several antimatter charges .. We'll place them around the core .. Turn the Gecius away from Federation Space and detonate from the El Alamein =^= =^= .. .. and go after it? =^= the Section Admiral asked, clearly running through the ramifications of destroying a Romulan Warship in Garsi Space and what their reaction might be. =^= As I stated earlier Admiral .. I don't see any other option .. Proconsul Vaklak cannot allow their prototype to fall into Federation hands .. She will ram the Gecius with the two ships at her disposal if need be =^= =^= .. .. And the Romulan crew aboard Gecius? =^= =^= They are still unconscious apart from the one we revived to hold the self-destruct .. I will beam them over to the El Alamein under sedation .. Once this is over we'll return the 'rescued' crew to the Proconsul's vessel unharmed =^= =^= Indeed .. Incidentally .. Why do you think the Garsi are so stubborn about allowing all of us to leave their space? =^= Gheskori asked. =^= given the circumstances of their split from the Federation they don't want anyone entering their space Admiral .. So it's a given they won't want anyone leaving with information they consider sensitive =^= =^= I imagine they are already preparing a long list of violations for the Federation Council .. .. OK .. .. Begin preparations =^= the Section Admiral said closing the comm ..... ~~~~~~~~~~ "Why not simply leave, let the self-destruct do the work for us?" Iezeld asked from the Helm. "Because Vaklek could easily allow us to go then deactivate the self-destruct from her ship, then beam over and wake the crew," Elena said with a shrug, Iezelda reddened. They watched as the El Alamein closed the distance between them, Komin was taking her time approaching the Gecius meter by meter until she held at two hundred meters ..... Alan Ross, the Operations Officer was stood in the Transporter Room eyeing a nonchalant Nico Carre, the El Alamein's Chief Engineer, along with the case containing six seemingly harmless cylinders at his feet. Each cylinder had been hurriedly modified to ensure the maximum blast was directed in one direction, hardly an easy task considering the nature of their contents. On Captain Komin's order, he activated the transporter and gave a sigh of relief when Carré and the case disappeared ..... As soon as the transporter confirmed rematerialisation on the Romulan vessl, he scanned the ship and established a lock on the first group of unconscious Romulan Officers, then began transporting them into a prepared Cargo-bay in which the atmosphere had been modified to keep them incapacitated indefinitely. Fifteen minutes later the Gecius was manned only by the Intelligence Officers, the El Alamein's Engineer, and the Crocion Scientist Meptia ..... In the Engineering Section of the Valdore Class, Elena, Iorte, and David welcomed Nate introducing him to Meptia. "How long will it take?" Tan asked as Nate opened the metallic case to reveal the cylinders. "Well have to remove the shielding around both the injectors and the artificial quantum singularity. The problem with that is the shielding..." "Oh?" David asked, suddenly nervous. "YES...!" Meptia interjected hurriedly, "... Once the singularity is exposed, only manual adjustments to the primary shielding will hold it in a stable condition. You have also failed to take into account the drive system's secondary protection protocols. If the singularity becomes unstable beyond designated parameters, secondary shields are erected independently of the ship's systems. That shielding will need to be deactivated again manually before you detonate," For a few seconds, no one spoke while the gravity of what the Scientist had said suk in! "You mean ....." David began. "Someone will need to remain aboard the Gecius if you are to succeed in destroying it," Meptia said calmly ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 248
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Sept 1, 2021 21:42:40 GMT
Iorte didn't much like the idea of surrendering his life to destroy this warbird, and he quite understood why none of the others mightn't want to either. Ideally, if they could uncover some workable strategy to evade the Garsi, they would turn the Gecius towards Fed space and deliver it via the proper channels to Starfleet R&D; it wasn't just the Garsi though - the proconsul's ship was gaining and was guaranteed to catch them if they were forced to maintain present heading.
As Meptia helped Nico Carre remove the last of the quantum singularity's shielding, Iorte spoke, "Wait one moment, the Romulans... last I checked," he recalled his mission to Romulus with Carpoln Johnson, "Are slightly behind the Federation in technological advancement, but surely not so far that they haven't developed holographic technology?"
Meptia nodded, "Why, of course!" She turned and keyed commands into a console near the quantum singularity's chamber and containment field.
Fizzling into existence next to her was an unranked Romulan crewman, his expression utterly neutral, his face grey and unremarkable. At least Starfleet gives its own holograms more of a semblance of life, of being actual people, Iorte thought, this photonic projection reminds me of reading Karel Capek.
"What is the nature of the quantum singularity drive system emergency?" he/it asked automatically, and did a double-take as he registered their presence.
"We need you to maintain the stability of the primary shielding around the singularity, allow it to destabilise when you receive a signal from a ship on this comms frequency," Carre urgently handed the hologram a PADD, "then deactivate the back-up protocols when they kick in. Got it?"
"'Kick... in?' What does that mean? Wait, those are Starfleet uniforms you're wearing." He ran to a nearby panel and tapped at a button, "Engine room to bridge. This is the QSD holographic projection system. We have intruders. Repeat, we have... Bridge?"
"All your friends except one are no longer aboard," Iorte told him. "They're safe and will be returned to the Star Empire; unfortunately you won't be."
The hologram nodded to himself, "We make certain sacrifices... some for the Empire, some for the common good, some apparently for sworn enemies. Or are we neutrals these days?" he frowned at them. "Ok, I'll do as you ask. I've nothing to gain or lose."
"I've made sure of that," Meptia said from her panel, "I've deactivated his ethical subroutines. I think you'll now find him benevolent, helpful, self-sacrificing, lacking in deceit, vengefulness... and so forth."
"Ethical subroutines..." Iorte murmured in disbelief, "Alright." He turned to Tan, who appeared to mull the matter over while the hologram studied his own thoughts.
"I am actually feeling an inordinate desire to assist you... and it's increasing all the time. Most... most strange," it said. "You're aware I was ready to help you anyway? Ah, but it is all the same to me."
Tan nodded to Iorte, confirming the plan, "We couldn't possibly have trusted you, you must understand that now." The hologram took a moment and nodded; yes, he fully understood, effectively thinking more like a Starfleet officer than a Romulan-programmed AI. Iorte patted him on the shoulder only for his hand to pass straight through; he cleared his throat and turned away so as not to see the group's reaction.
=/\=Ok, grab whatever you can before beam-out... We may not be able to keep the ship, but we'd damn well better take as much experimental tech as we can carry,=/\= Tan commed the ship, Noon on the bridge and Iezeld - guarding the bound and necessarily conscious Romulan in their cloak room - being let in on the talk.
Minutes later - with Vaklak's ship, and her D'deridexes not far behind, now well within the requisite 5 million kilometres for her to deactivate the Gecius's self-destruct (if it hadn't been for the Romulan the Intel officers were forcing to remain conscious) - the Starfleeters and Meptia were ready for transport; first they beamed-out the tangled mass of equipment Carre and Meptia had advised appeared the most advanced, then themselves. From the El Al's transporter room, they awaited news of the Gecius's fate and the proconsul and Garsi vessels' movements.
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Sept 29, 2021 14:09:57 GMT
IRW Gecius Garsi Alliance Space :: David watched as El Alamein's Chief Engineer, Nico Carré handed the hologram a PADD ... Moments later Meptia, the Crocion Scientist confirmed she had ensured the hologram's compliance. He looked again at the face, generic, possibly modelled after the systems' designer, but he highly doubted it. Both Iorte and Nico repeated the instructions which the hologram confirmed expressionless. Satisfied, David spoke: "Ok, grab whatever you can before beam-out... We may not be able to keep the ship, but we'd damn well better take as much experimental tech as we can carry," Five minutes later everyone was stood close together awaiting beam-out. He looked at the hologram, it was passively staring at them, and for a fraction of a second Tan wondered if once they had gone it would drop the PADD and contact the Proconsul's vessel. It was a chance they had to risk given the only other option would be to ask someone to remain behind ..... USS El Alamein Garsi Alliance Space :: Entering the Bridge, David could see the Gecius on the tactical view on screen, he noted the positions of the Proconsul's warbird, the two Romulan vessels shadowing, along with the Garsi Alliance Vessels. "Has the Proconsul tried to contact the Gecius yet?" Tan asked. "Twice, that we have monitored..." Captain Fran Komin answered as she rose from the centre seat to join the Intelligence Officers around the table at the Aft of the Bridge, "... She has increased speed but only slightly, she's clearly wary about what we could have done before you all left. She's trying to flank the Gecius but the ever-helpful Garci are preventing them from getting too close... But I'd say it's only a matter of time before she forces our hand," David nodded, eyes locked onto the tactical plot. "What sort of reaction time are we talking about once we transmit the instructions?" Clancy asked Carré. "Forty seconds from our signal..." the Engineer replied, "... But we will need to keep the Proconsul out of range once we send, otherwise she might risk transporting someone over there to manually disarm anything we might have done," "Lieutenant Yip..." Tan addressed the Navigation Officer, who turned at her name being called, "... Slow us a fraction to allow the Gecius to pull slightly ahead ..... Take your time ..... I don't want Vaklak to react too soon. But once we are astern of the Gecius, begin edging us between the ship and the Proconsul's Warbird," "She isn't stupid David," Iorte commented with a wry grin. "As long as she allows us to get at least some way to be in a direct line between the two Warbirds, that should give us enough time to block any approach she could make while our ever-helpful hologram is carrying out its orders," for a second he felt a pang of sympathy but quickly realized he was being foolish. They watched as the El Alamein began to move almost imperceptibly allowing the icon signifying the Gecius to move ahead. As the Defiant Class began to move behind the onrushing Gecius, the Proconsul's Warbird began to move. From the plot, it looked like she was trying to maintain line-of-sight to her experimental vessel. It would only be a matter of moments before she realised something was amiss and took action. The group of ships were now rushing headlong parallel to the Federation Border, the El Alamein, astern and starboard of the Gecius and thus was infinitesimally closer to the Border than the Proconsul's Warbird. David watched the plot, his tactical mind working out when bast to act. Finally, he turned to Lieutenant Demik at Tactical: "Tom, when I give the word, I want you to transmit four precise instructions to the IRW Gecius hologram: 1: Alter IRW Gecius course Starboard ten degrees.
2: Deactivate ALL shielding around the quantum singularity.
3: Deactivate ALL quantum singularity safety protocols and backups.
4: Deactivate and erase QSD holographic projection system. "Ready when you are..." Demik confirmed, "... I've programmed the Comm to send a micro-burst transmission, if it's picked up by the Proconsul's ship it might take a moment for them to realise what we've sent." David nodded, eyes on the tactical trace. "OK... Send now," Tan ordered. "Done!" Demik confirmed. "Comms, block ALL transmission frequencies! ... Helm, twenty degrees Starboard, now," The Gecius turned to her new heading, the Romulan and Garsi vessels followed suit until the El Alamein turned further. For a few seconds, he held his breath, waiting to see how fast the Proconsul would realise what could be happening ..... He wasn't disappointed, she had tried to contact the Gecius, then tried to override her Command Protocols, all to no avail, now she increased velocity, presumably hoping to hard-dock with the suddenly abandoned Experimental Valdore Class Warbird, but it was too late. David glanced at the chronometer counting down above the viewscreen: 00 : 00 : 10
00 : 00 : 09
00 : 00 : 08 David looked at his colleagues, then over to the Comms Officer: "Ensign... Open a Comm, all channels, all frequencies... Advise all vessels in close proximity to move to a safe distance then close the Comm," He watched the Gecius now the Tactical view had been replaced. 00 : 00 : 02
00 : 00 : 01
00 : 00 : 00 The countdown reached zero, the numerals blinking ..... for a long moment, David thought they had failed, that the hologram had indeed lulled them into thinking they could simply 'reprogram' it to their will. He was about to turn to the others when the Bridge of the El Alamein was bathed in white, unrelenting light. The viewscreen automatically adjusted, but those watching the screen were momentarily blinded by the luminescence! ..... Seconds later the ship shuddered as the shockwave from the detonation slammed into them, people were flung from their seats like ragdolls as the ships' inertial dampers fought to regain stability. Finally, it was over ..... "Report!" Komin ordered, clambering painfully into the centre seat. "The Gecius is gone, our helpful hologram did as asked... The two warbirds suffered serious damage and are adrift, they didn't move following our warning... The Proconsul's vessel sustained damage, they are attempting to contact Romulan Command for assistance... The Garsi vessels have fallen back but appear undamaged," Demik reported. "Contact the Proconsul's vessel, offer our help," Clancy ordered. "No reply .... I have a feeling our help is the last thing they will want. Unless we're willing to send out heads over there on silver platters," Alan Ross replied from Operations. "I suggest we leave, while we still can. We've likely already started an interstellar conflict that will take decades to resolve," Fran Komin said, her face expressionless. Tan looked at Clancy, DeLuca, and the other Intelligence Officers before nodding. "Helm, come about, set course for Starbase Forty-Seven ..... Maximum warp ..... Engage," ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 248
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Oct 3, 2021 22:17:10 GMT
Clancy found himself in deep remembrance of the time when he and Carpoln had been cornered on Romulus, the original world and its system before the nova. Of course he'd never thought that betrayal could've been the transforming and defining word for that day, with him effectively handed over to the Romulan Senate and exposed as a Federation agent; Carpoln, he who'd given away their position, disappearing into alleyway mists and crowds of faceless civilians.
At least a (vaguely) similar incident hadn't occurred here. He who'd been reprogrammed had carried out his orders and then destroyed himself, leaving the trio of warbirds adrift and in various states of damage.
As the El Alamein leapt to warp on a return trajectory to Starbase 47, Clancy's thoughts could or rather should have turned to rest but instead he considered the 85 Romulan personnel from the Gecius they had breathing anaesthezine in the cargo bay.
"Are they secure, Chief?" he asked the NCO, peering through the small viewing portal of the bay and looking back at the man operating the cargo bay's systems as best he could from the outside. The Romulan crew lay haphazardly about the bay; if it wasn't for a few of them resting precariously on top of cargo containers and inactive antimatter pods, Iorte might've thought they'd all decided to go to sleep.
"They're not going to wake any time within the next 96 hours, sir, if that's anything like what you mean."
"That's good enough," Clancy said, climbing down from his vantage point. "It will take longer to reach Starbase 47, so make sure you have the air recycled with new gas in good time before -"
"Yes, sir." He gestured, "Apologies, but I do have this well in hand."
Iorte nodded, "Of course you do. Good work, Chief," he patted the man on the shoulder and ambled off down the corridor, the NCO grunting a laugh and shaking his head.
The large group of Romulans would prove their use diplomatically when it came to talk of repatriation. The El Alamein had been ready to transport the Romulans over to the proconsul's ship before the Intelligence officers had objected, citing the aforementioned advantages. There had also been the problem of the proconsular warbird's shields still retaining enough repulsive power in the aspect it was presenting to the El Al just before the latter had jumped to warp.
He thought again of the mission to old Romulus on reaching his cramped quarters, and also about the seeming miracle of this mutual rescue, as it were, of the Intel team and the ship he had the fortune of stepping aboard once again. The Gecius had spent so long at Zova Dox, being inspected by the Tal Shiar officer Rihavu's staff, it'd allowed the El Alamein ample time to catch up. Then with the Defiant class having been brought into dock by its D'deridex class 'saviour' and the personnel of the facility turning on each other, Intel and Komin's vessel had made their escape from the devastation, the Intel team returning to the Gecius for the final run.
He lay back on his bunk. Yes, Carpoln had certainly ruined his career that day, and had willfully destroyed his own. But he was only atoms now, and Iorte's tenuous position in Starfleet Intelligence had been repaired by Admiral Tetsutaro in his good graces, who'd taken him in his charge and put him alongside Tan and de Luca in a new team. He remembered walks by the lakeside in Geneva during the short time the four of them had operated as one before the Betreka event, but that was a long way and a long time ago and Tetsutaro was atoms now, too.
Thought shifted again to his homeworld, long since left barren and devastated. His efforts in helping lead the escape from the invaders were still considered the high point of his life by those 'in the know' at Starfleet Intelligence, in its branch of specialist recruiters. He'd refused fast-tracking and had entered the Academy. He liked to think he'd done better, more positive work in the uniform.
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Oct 13, 2021 15:18:13 GMT
USS El Alamein ... En Route to Starbase Forty-Seven Four Days Ater Destruction of the IRW Gecius :: Each of the Intelligence Officers had taken time, as per regulations, to complete their mission reports ... Each had done so in private, not asking for nor offering opinions on the others' dictations. Three days earlier, the Enzio had changed course and departed, her next mission already underway ..... The ship, still not running at one hundred per cent, hummed beneath their feet. It was close to one in the morning, yet all five of them were still up. They were in the small Mess Hall, each nurturing their drink of choice, seemingly lost in their own thoughts. It tended to be like this with most Intelligence Operatives, in one form or another they would accept that they had successfully completed another assignment unscathed, and could return home to whatever awaited them. They were indulging in some post-mission talk, Clancy was giving his summation when he fell silent, the first to realise that the resonance through the deck plates had changed, as someone practically dove into the Mess Hall, eyes wide! "You're needed on the Bridge... We have company," the man said. Drinks forgotten, the five Intel Officers stood and ran from the room. Bridge :: By the time they had reached their destination, the El Alamein was at a complete stop. David, already heading to Komin in the centre seat was about to ask what was happening when he spied the viewscreen and had no need for clarification: "Try again..." Captain Komin was saying. There, almost close enough you felt you could have reached out to touch their hull, were two Valdore Class Warbirds! "Still nothing... They are receiving us, but clearly don't feel in the mood to reply," Alan Ross said from Operations. Komin looked up to see the new arrivals. "They decloaked right in front of us. For a moment I thought I was going to end up buried in their hull they were so close!" "What are they waiting for?" Iezeld asked nervously. "Taking a stab in the dark here, but I'd imagine it's got a lot to do with those eighty-five Romulan's in the Cargo Hold?" Milo Van said with a wry grin .... They waited as the silence between them stretched, five minutes, ten, thirty, one hour, then two. In this interstellar game of standoff, the Romulan's were winning hands down. Finally, after almost four hours of nerve-wracking silence from the Romulan's, Demik turned to the others: "There's a ship coming up directly astern of us ..... I think it's the Proconsul's Warbird," On the Bridge, no one spoke as the massive Valdore Class Warbird dove beneath the dwarfed Defiant Class, the two vessels holding station moved slowly apart as Vaklak's ship made a lazy turn, orienting itself directly ahead of the El Alamein. It closed to five hundred metres and came to a complete stop. At this distance, the three Warbirds looked every inch of 'terrifying' they were clearly aiming for! The El Alamein's comm sprang to life making everyone jump: =^= Captain Komin .. .. .. You have something of mine which I would like returned =^= =^= Proconsul .. I assume you are aware of the numerous violations you are committing by holding us here? =^= =^= Our sensors indicate that the eighty-five personnel you are holding are unconscious .. I rust this is a 'temporary' measure on your part? =^= =^= Under Federation status .. .. .. =^= =^= I am in no mood to listen to your .. Regulations .. Captain .. You will lower your shields and allow us to transport our personnel off your .. Vessel .. Or I will tear down your shields and take them back by force! =^= Komin sat for a long moment, but it was clear anything she tried now would likely result in the complete destruction of the El Alamein, and all aboard. Finally, she looked at Tom Demik and nodded. The three Warbirds transported the unconscious Romulan's off the ship as they watched Veklak waiting patiently on the viewscreen ..... A Romulan leaned into view and spoke to the Proconsul, who dismissed the man with a curt nod before locking her eyes on Komin. =^= You should feel yourselves .. Fortunate .. Today .. Captain .. As should you all .. .. .. =^= she said, eyes locking onto each of the Intelligence Officers in turn before returning to Komin. =^= Had events been different at Zova Dox .. We might not be having this conversation .. Be in no doubt .. All of you .. You have made an enemy here .. Despite treaties .. Agreements .. You would do well not to cross my path again =^= The comm snapped off, replaced by the imposing view of the three Warbirds. Iezeld chuckled, the nerves getting the better of her as the Romulan vessels cloaked ..... "Lieutenant Yip, please bring warp engines back on line, and get us the hell out of here at your convenience," Fran said, sighing deeply. "Well, there goes our bargaining chips," Nate Massa said, his frivolous comment finally allowing everyone to relax if only a fraction. "Sharon, I assume we are going as fast as we can?" Komin asked. "Yes, Ma'am," the young Navigator replied ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 248
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Oct 16, 2021 17:59:11 GMT
Iorte had returned to the mess hall - finishing his drink - and then his quarters for a time, going back to his thoughts. After a while, he remembered how he'd do well to remain alert to the distinction between reminiscence and rumination, how easy it was to slip from one to the other.
Fortunately, the bridge's call put a stop to his thinking, from any need to bear such differences in mind. He walked into the nerve centre, "What do we have? The Romulans catching us?"
"No... It doesn't appear that they're even following," Demik said, squinting at his console.
"Then what?"
"A Ferengi ship has hailed," Van said from the command chair, halfway through his shift with Komin in her quarters resting properly for the first time in days. "They're en route to Starbase 47 and have been damaged. According to its commander, they encountered two Romulan warbirds."
"Now that doesn't seem unlikely, even if they aren't chasing us," Iezeld said, having joined Iorte on the bridge. Iorte asked what the distance to the Ferengi vessel was, Van replying the ship was already following in their wake, having been offered the El Al's protection as it began its final leg towards the Starbase, just hours away now.
"They are traders, if that isn't surprising to you," Milo continued, "Saying they have business with a Ferengi on the Starbase, named Orpk."
That sounds somewhat familiar, Iorte thought. "Yes, I think they may have problems locating him... Still, it may help to rejuvenate business on the Starbase."
"That's what we thought, but look..." the first officer handed him a PADD. Clancy read through it, shortly finding himself reading a list of all vessels that'd departed and arrived at the Starbase in the last week, a stream of data picked up from the base as it'd begun communications with the returning Defiant class.
"Ah ha, it seems the market is thriving." Indeed, it appeared quite a lot had happened in the time the El Alamein - especially the Intel officers - had been gone, many ships having made port and contributed to restarting the base's long-stagnant mercantile activity. They were soon to learn in fact that the USS Schrodinger had long since had its memorial service.
Some of the other three Intel officers joined them, Milo updating them on ship's status and the situation. "How long ago did the Ferengi ship encounter the Romulans?" Tan asked.
"They haven't told us specifically, but judging by the damage it would appear they encountered hostile vessels approximately eight hours ago."
Clancy nodded and with folded arms tapped at his lower lip. That was about the time since the El Alamein had met with the proconsul's warbird and the two assisting Valdores. Presumably, somewhere back towards the Romulan border, the Ferengi had run into those same ships, both before and after the Defiant class's own encounter being possible.
"Well, where Orpk is concerned, they'll find things are a lot different to what they may expect..." he trailed off as on the aft-facing viewscreen the Ferengi merchant vessel began to lose attitude control; as it turned, explosions along the starboard side of the ship became visible.
"They're coming apart. I cannot be certain but I'd say that was a self-destruct," Commander Ross reported. "One escape pod, heading towards us." Iorte focussed on the viewscreen - yes, he could see it, veering away... "The pod's been shunted off course, falling out of its mother vessel's warp bubble."
"Lock transporters onto all lifesigns and transport immediately," Van said, standing. Demik nodded and passed the information below. The ship was lost with no survivors, only the four in the escape pod successfully being collected by the El Alamein. "Why did he do that? He had a cargo hold full of wares," Van shook his head.
The El Al had the four Ferengi on the pad to help provide them with an answer; two of the Intel officers questioned them in the transporter room. It was discovered that the Romulans had succeeded in remotely setting the Ferengi ship's self-destruct. Iorte was now certain the Ferengi had met with the proconsul's vessel. "You're welcome to stay on the Starbase until we can secure you a ship. Another of your own merchant vessels may be along shortly," Tan said to the Ferengi commander, who of course had been one of those in the escape pod.
Clancy walked out of the transporter room, the Ferengi commander snapping at his heels. "I know, it's unfortunate for you," he tried to get rid of the trader, striding faster, "It would appear the Romulans have become much more aggressive in this region of space, no doubt owing to our Starbase's return." Of course, the now destroyed Gecius had been spying on the base.
"We wondered where you went," the Ferengi smiled toothily, walking in front of Iorte to hinder him, "Now when we arrive, do I get to meet with my business partner Orpk?"
"Hmm, that may be difficult. Please," Iorte coughed and tried to manoeuvre past him.
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Oct 17, 2021 13:21:07 GMT
Starbase Forty-Seven :: The El Alamein docked, but surprisingly, rather than the airlock opening, it remained steadfastly closed. Komin tapped her commbadge, moving off to one side as she spoke to the Dockmaster, she turned to the others, a frown forming as the airlock slid aside. Six Security Personnel were waiting, without a word, four of them took hold of the four Ferengi each and informed Komin they were to be held incommunicado until further notice. With Mox, the Ferengi Commander, protesting every step, they were led out of sight ... Fran and the others looked at the two remaining Officers: "Captain Komin, I'm Commander Gentry, I've been instructed to inform you that you and your crew are free to carry on as normal... Miss, this crewman will take you to quarters we have assigned, someone will be with you in due course, if you would please... " he said to Meptia, before turning to David and the others, "Sir's ... You need to accompany us if you will," "..... Where do you think you are taking us, precisely?" Elena asked, not failing to notice the slight repositioning of their left hands as they now hovered above the phasers at their hips. As with all other Starfleet Personnel, Intelligence Officers were required to wear comm badges when not on assignment. David began to reach for his when Gentry moved. "Sir, I've been asked you not to try to contact anyone, please accompany us?" the group looked at each other, despite their annoyance, the five agreed ..... Taking a turbolift to reach the Command Center, they were escorted to Admiral Lemond's office. Tan was about to ask her what the hell was going on when they realised that rather than the Director, the Deputy Chief of Starbase Security, Colonel Théo Dúpin was in her chair: Office of the Director of Intelligence ... Mezzanine Level Command Center :: "Thank you, Commander, you're dismissed," Dúpin said, and waited for the door to close. "Good to see you back safe and well..." he paused, then stood and moved to the small cabinet in the corner. Taking out six glasses he poured. Nia had got the taste for whiskey from Carl Torek, but where he preferred Cognac, she favoured a Dalmore single malt whiskey. He returned to the desk, handing a glass to each of the still silent, Intelligence Officers, "... I read your reports, it was lu ....." "Colonel, mind telling us why we're not debriefing with the Director?" David interrupted. Dúpin remained silent for a long moment. "The Director is... Unavailable," he replied cryptically. "Excuse me?" DeLuca replied. "..... Five days ago. Admiral Lemond and her Adjutant, Commander Paquin, were taken off the Starbase..." All five almost sprang to their feet, demanding information, but Dúpin, waiting patiently, waved them back into their seats, "... Since receiving your reports, we believe there may be some connection between the assignment you were initially involved in, and the taking of the Admiral." "We can have the El Alamein ready in thirty-six hours, we'll go afte ....." Iezeld began, but again Dúpin waved her silent. "She set off her subdermal transponder... The signal was picked up and I've dispatched the Maracanda to investigate. Captain Manley's report has already been sent to you. We found a dead Romulan, former Tal Shier no less, on the Station. Enquiries showed he was involved with a Ferengi, low-level smuggling, bartered in information, nothing too radical, but then we discovered Nia and Erin had gone. Transported right out of Lemond's office believe it or not! .... We hadn't given much thought to the 'Pirates' being involved with anyone else. To be honest, they seemed like chancers, albeit pretty good ones, and we were confident we would be able to snatch them up no problem. But then we received Captain Komin's preliminary report regarding the Ferengi you rescued. Do the names: Mox, Tros, VVeln, or Brux, mean anything to you?" "Brux? ... Wasn't he thrown off the Ferengi Financial council?..." Elena asked, "...They found almost seven hundred thousand bars of Gold-pressed Latinum in a private vault on some asteroid. They took the Latinum and blew the rock to smithereens... If I recall, he wasn't best pleased and vowed to get every bar back, one way or the other. The Council banished him to some outpost but he took off." "That's the one..." Dúpin confirmed, sipping the expensive Whiskey before continuing, "... Well, it seems he teamed up with a few of his less- honest associates and went looking for a means to carry out his threat. The Ferengi, Orph, was one of his go-betweens, helped broker deals organise transport, storage, anything from the recipe for cabbage soup to an Intrepid Class Starship!" Everyone was now sat in almost stunned silence. "Captain Komin's report states that 'former' DaiMon Mox, instigated the self-destruct of their vessel after being in contact with Proconsul Vaklak?" "We can't be one hundred per cent sure he spoke with Vaklak, we do know he was in close contact with two other Valdore Class Warbirds, under the Proconsul's command," Clancy said, downing the last of the very expensive Whiskey. "So what now?" Elena asked ..........
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Oct 21, 2021 11:59:10 GMT
"Captain Komin's report states that 'former' DaiMon Mox, instigated the self-destruct of their vessel after being in contact with Proconsul Vaklak?"
"We can't be one hundred per cent sure he spoke with Vaklak, we do know he was in close contact with two other Valdore Class Warbirds, under the Proconsul's command," Clancy said, downing the last of the very expensive Whiskey.
"So what now?" Elena asked. "Well..... I suggest you go get yourselves a well-earned rest," Dúpin said, rising. "Whoa!..." Elena said quickly, forcing the Deputy Security Chief to lower himself back into his seat, "... We need to get after the Admiral, surely you ca ....." "With all due respect... Dúpin said waiting for DeLuca to fall silent, "... The Maracanda is handling the situation," "Colonel, Admiral Lemond is our Boss, we need to be out there getting her back," Rosa Noon stated. "..... and 'IF' the Maracanda requests assistance, I'll make sure you are the ones sent to help," Dúpin said as if talking to a three-year-old. Noon stood, leaning forward to plant her hands on the desk, David reached out to stop her from saying something she may regret. She looked at the hand on her arm and reluctantly sat back down. "I understand your wanting to go after the Admiral, had it been my superior I would have been just as determined... But you have just gone through a very difficult and tiring assignment, and you need rest, not to mention the turnaround time needed for the El Alamein, so please, humour me and take the downtime. If anything changes, you have my word that you'll be the first people I call....." "Thank you, Colonel..." David said rising, the others following suit, "... Oh, what about Mox?" he asked as they reached the door. "He's a Ferengi ..... It's only a matter of time before he does something to bring him to our attention. Incidentally, the Ferengi Government want nothing to do with him. Apparently forcing him back to their Homeworld will benefit him more than the Nagus. So they're happy for him to be our 'problem' ..... I've put Security on all four of them, We'll be releasing them in due course and have assigned quarters that can easily be monitored," "He's not enquired about Orpk?" Iezeld asked. "No, but it's a given he will make his way to Orpk's Emporium before long. We have it covered," Dúpin said. Tan thanked the man again and they walked out of Lemond's office to the railing of the Mezzanine Level, overlooking the Command Centre. "Well, I don't know about you lot, but I need a drink," Tan said, heading for the turbolift. The others looked at each other then fell into step. They entered the 'lift: "Alpha Promenade .. Level One Five Five One," Tan ordered .......... ~~~ Mission 010 : The Risks We Take ~~~
***** CONCLUDED *****
Our latest mission has come to an end We will begin Mission 011 in due course
Thank you to everyone for another exciting outing
Regards
David Tan
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