<html theme="default-light" iconset="color"><head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body
text="#000000">
<b style="font-weight:normal;"
id="docs-internal-guid-16961945-7fff-a1da-27bb-6f729bb5a24e"><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Mission: Death in the Shadows</span></p><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Day: 4</span></p><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Stardate: 2446.02.04</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">(USS Illuminar - Deck 1 - Bridge - COps/3rdO Lieutenant Dieter Gregory - 0530)</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Starfleet had to send Nesmith. The Captain would NOT be pleased. He wasn’t sure how the Commander would feel either. However, it did feel nice not to be so alone out here, and with some extra fighter support. The Protector was a warship pure and simple. </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">He hit the comm. “Commander Verin, sorry to bother you, but the Protector is here. Commander Nesmith. He’s on station and has a fighter wing out on patrol. He’s offered support to our repair teams.”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Sienna was happily asleep, her body wrapped around T’Mur. She blinked muzzily as Gregory’s voice came out of the comm unit. She groaned and rolled over, feeling completely hung over from not enough sleep. “Wonderful. That’s going to make the Captain so thrilled.” She replied, not caring who heard her right this second as her brain tried to catch up to her mouth.</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“He offered to come over at your convenience to better coordinate response.” Gregory spoke through the comm.</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“How frustrating. Get it going for 30 minutes from now and T’Mur and I will be on our way up.”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Yes Ma’am. I’ll get that setup.”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Sienna closed the connection with a thump and leaned back, annoyed. “Did he have to get here so darned quick? T’Mur, love?” She whispered, hating having to wake up her mate. </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The sensation of Sienna’s breath on her ear brought T’Mur to fully alert. She searched her internal clock. “We have not had enough sleep.” She said refusing to open her eyes. </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">"Yes, I know. Commander Nesmith of the Protector is here and he doesn't particularly like us much. The Captain got after him for that sensor trick I was going to use. We have… 26 minutes to get to the conference room. "</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">T’Mur rolled over and reached up for her mates face and searched for a memory. Once she found it she opened her eyes. </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“But I don’t want to go to school today mommy.”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">"We gave up that choice when we accepted the danged officer commission. Want to help scrub my back?" </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">T’Mur raised an eyebrow,and sat up, “24.72 minutes? I believe we have time for some frivolous usage of time. I’ll scrub yours if you scrub mine.”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">(USS Illuminar - Deck 1 - Conference Room - FO Sienna Williams-Verin, COps/3rdO Lieutenant Dieter Gregory, Commander Jason Nesmith- 0600)</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Sienna strode into the conference room, looking reasonably awake despite the dark circles under her eyes and the lines of exhaustion etched onto her face, “Commander Nesmith. So good to see you again.” Sienna lied through her teeth, her face the pleasant mask it usually was when she dealt with people she did not like. </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“This is our Chief Tactical Officer, Ensign T’Mur. She is also my bodyguard currently. I have no idea what Lt. Gregory did with his and if I don’t know, I don’t have to reprimand him for not having his bodyguard in here. Thank you for coming.” Sienna took a seat before her knees gave out. </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Ma’am, the commander is unaware of the issues that necessitated this action,” Gregory replied. </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">T’Mur took her position standing behind Sienna’s chair. She looked over at Nesmith recalling their last encounter with the Protector. It was not Nesmith that she had an issue with. It was the other captain. The one that tagged Sekal, this Captain Louise Winn. </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Ah. Well, we’ll get to that. Ship first.” She smiled that bland smile at Nesmith. “Lt. Gregory, I have not had a chance to look over the repair reports in the last three hours. Can you brief us on that?”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Of course Commander,” Gregory replied, looking down at the PADD. “The most pressing need is to finish the repairs to the Navigational Deflector. Ensign Matrix reports at least another 12 hours to have it up and tested. Aft shield emitters are estimated to take another 4 hours. Emergency life support has been running and we need teams to go from deck 6 to 10 to test and reactivate standard life support and identify minor breaks in the power distribution system. Our teams have been working straight through. I’ve been trying to rotate them through mandated breaks, but you know engineers Ma’am.”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Indeed I do.” She blinked the crusties out of her eyes that were trying to form. Sleep. She yearned for it.</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Nesmith made notes on his PADD. “I can dispatch my repair teams to help you. Give your crew a break. My chief of engineering, Commander Robson will take point and interface with your Chief. Anything we have is yours.”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Our CEO is currently back on Earth, which is part of the problem. We have young Ensign Matrix and Ensign Bohb, who just recently rejoined the fleet. He’s very skilled but…” She shrugged. Nesmith didn’t need to know about the growing pains with Luma. </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Defensively, I’ve got four fighters flying wide combat patrols and two more on ready five. So far, we’ve got nothing on the sensors suggesting the foes you fought are coming back,” Nesmith said. “So what can you tell me about the weapons that hit you, and these attackers?”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Sienna glanced at T’Mur to answer that particular question. She was a biologist, not an engineer or tactical expert, “The other reason that Ensign T’Mur is here.” She spoke calmly. </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“We are still working on what exactly these missiles are,” T’Mur said, pulling out a PADD and displaying a holographic video of the missile attack. She slowed the video down to one eighth speed. “As you can see the missiles penetrate the shielding slightly. The only thing that shows up on the sensors is a slight gravimetric pulse. Then the missile explodes releasing a series of magnetically charged smaller explosives that attach to the hull and then explode.” </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">She paused the video and turned it off. “The first volley caught is by surprise, but I was able to modulate the shields to lessen the penetration and so lessen the damage to the ship.” </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">She looked at the group in the room as if they expected more. “That is all the information I have at this time.” She picked up the PADD and stepped back into place behind Sienna. </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">He paused, “And, while I know our last encounter was less pleasant, we are all Starfleet here, and I hope that we can put those issues in the past. Where is the Captain, by the way. Mr. Gregory there was enigmatic as to his whereabouts.”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Sienna sighed, “It’s being kept under wraps, but the Captain was attacked about 48 hours ago. He was stabbed and had emergency surgery. Sorry to disappoint you, but you get to deal with me. The Captain’s not awake yet from his surgery.” She was not mentioning the healing trance. Sienna did not even attempt to deal with the other part of that statement. She was dealing with this professionally. “We are glad that you got here so quickly. We’re currently having some issues with our engines. Lu...the computer is reporting that there are issues with the power management system due to the damage on Deck 6 aft.”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Nesmith frowned. “Attacked? By whom? It seems odd that your captain would be attacked and you have to deal with an attack by hostiles using this new tactic. Can you provide that video to my tactical team? If this is what we have to expect, it would be good to see if we can find a way to counteract it.”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">He paused, “You didn’t, by any chance, recover a live one of these missiles?” </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">T’Mur shook her head, “Unfortunately not. Apparently they have a failsafe on them and explode within a certain time frame from being fired. I estimate around 90 seconds.”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Something was recovered by the boarding crew, but I’m not sure it was one of the hell-missiles. We haven’t had time to examine it yet.” Sienna smiled blandly, “And I can’t release it to you until the Captain is awake.” She spoke quietly. “As for the timing, I too am not exactly convinced that it was a coincidence, but time will tell.”</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Sienna took a deep breath, which is what she generally did before using her telepathy. ::Luma, can you flash something on Gregory’s PADD please? Tell him not to bring up the Operative, Weston at this time.:: Sienna had another one of those flashes where her intuition told her that mentioning it would be a bad idea. ::And he isn’t exactly cleared to know about you, dear. So let’s just play a game and pretend to be a computer with his people?::</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Luma considered this but did as Sienna asked and put the message on Gregory’s data PADD. ::Luma will play this game if Our Sienna’s T’Mur thinks it is necessary too? :: </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">T’Mur’s face remained passive. ::I do Luma. It is best for right now.::</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Deck six it is then,” Nesmith replied. Tapping his communicator, “Nesmith to Robsin. Penny, scramble as many crews as you can, start work at deck 6. Illuminar needs the power management system restored,” he looked at Sienna, “Interface with an Ensign Matrix or an Ensign Bohb.” Sienna nodded in approval.</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">=^= Acknowledged Commander. The cavalry will be there in five. =^=</span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Truly excellent news, Commander.” She smiled that bland smile again, feeling like a child compared to Nesmith. “If that person likes horses, I have a ranch program I can give you for the holodeck. It’s a fairly faithful copy of the Williams ranch on Earth that my parents help run.” She paused, “As a thank you for the help.” </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Nesmith smiled, “I will pass your generous offer over to Commander Robsin,” he replied. “If you need anything, just let me or my XO, Susan Ivanova know. Until then, I’ll get out of your hair.” </span></p><br><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">(Reply none/any)</span></p><p
dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">(Posted by Al, Mel and Tim)</span></p></b><br
class="Apple-interchange-newline">
</body>
</html>