All NRPG's deleted compile summary ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2413.10.21 (USS Hades, Turbolift, Dr. Riven Mias, 1335) (USS Hades, Deck 8, Holodeck 2, Dr. Riven Mias, 1338) (USS Hades, Deck 8- Holodeck 2, Baylon Trinin, 1340) (USS Hades, Deck 8- Holodeck 2, Dr. Riven Mias, 1343) (USS Hades, Deck 8- Holodeck 2, Baylon Trinin, 1344) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate 2413.10.23 (USS Hades, Arboretum - FO/CSO Jericho Haynes- 1947) (USS Hades, Arboretum - CTAC/SEC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof - 1948) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate.2413.10.24 (USS HADES- Sickbay-Surgical Suite 1- ACMO Ensign (sg) Hawkeye Dolphine- 1739) (USS HADES- Sickbay-Surgical Suite 1- CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere- 1742) (USS HADES- Sickbay- Surgical suite 1- ACMO Ensign Hawkeye Dolphine-1744) (USS Hades- Sickbay- CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere 1746) (USS Hades- Sickbay- ACMO Ensign (sg) Hawkeye Dolphine-1748) (USS Hades - Deck 8, Personal Quarters - Dr. Riven Mias-1930) (USS Hades - Deck 8, Personal Quarters - CTAC/SEC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof -1932) (USS Hades - Deck 8, Personal Quarters - Dr. Riven Mias - 1935) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stardate.2413.10.25 (USS Hades, Bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 1516) (USS Hades-Personal Quarters- Dr. Riven Mias-1748) (USS Hades-Deck 10, ten forward- Dr. Riven Mias-2025) (USS Hades-Deck 10, Ten Forward- CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere-2027) (USS Hades-Ten Forward-CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere-2035) (USS Hades-Deck 10, Ten Forward- Dr. Riven Mias-2037) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2413.10.26 (USS Hades - Bridge - CTAC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof and Engineer Tethlin - 07:20) (USS Hades - Private Quarters - aCEO Lieutenant Darla Wright - 0735) (USS Hades - Main Engineering - Engineer Ensign (jg) Arysha Tethlin - 07:39) (USS Hades, bridge, Ass CSO Bracken, 07:40) (USS Hades, bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 07:41) (USS Hades - Turbolift - Engineer Ensign (jg) Arysha Tethlin - 07:42) (USS Hades - Turbo Lift - aCEO Lieutenant Darla Wright - 0742.5) (USS Hades, Bridge, CO Captain Eva Straton, 07:43) (USS Hades, Bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 07:44) (USS Hades - Bridge - Engineer Ensign (jg) Arysha Tethlin - 07:45) (USS Hades - Turbo Lift - aCEO Lieutenant Darla Wright - 0746) (USS Hades - Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign Eoin Mac Liam - 07:47) (USS Hades - Main Engineering - aCEO Lieutenant Darla Wright - 0748) (USS Hades, bridge, ACSO Bracken, 08:00) (USS Hades, bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 0803) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stardate.2413.10.27 (USS Hades, Ready Room, CO Captain Eva Straton, 13: 46) (USS Hades, Bridge, CO Captain Eva Straton, 13:47) (USS Hades, Bridge - CTAC/SEC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof - 13:49) (USS Hades, Bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 1350) (USS Hades, Observation lounge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 1403) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- begin compile Stardate: 2413.10.21 (USS Hades, Turbolift, Dr. Riven Mias, 1335) [Lieutenant Trinin is in Holodeck 2.] The computerized voice answered Riven as he stopped and watched the doors close. "And the holodecks are on what deck?" Riven asked himself reflectively. The computer answered him obligingly. [The holodecks are on deck 8.] "I was almost there." His eyes twinkled as he answered back. "So much for letting me use my brain to search MY memory banks. Deck 8." The lift set off with a rising hum and he stood with hands at his side for about twenty seconds and it began to slow, finally coming to a stop. "I can find my way there from here." He told the computer with a quirk to his lips as the door opened. There was no answer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades, Deck 8, Holodeck 2, Dr. Riven Mias, 1338) He came to a stop before the door and cocked his head as he looked at the readout which showed the deck to be in use, rather than interrupt what the Lt. was doing with a hail he spoke instead. "Computer open the door." The valve slid aside and he stepped into an alien structure of some sort, there was the sound of energy weapons discharging nearby. He automatically tensed as his eyes swiveled around the room and he dropped into a half-crouch. There was no one here. The chamber wasn't larger than eight feet by ten but the ceiling was high, nearly ten feet he calculated as he rose back to his full height. There were a number of consoles of alien design here, one on each wall which were lit and showing readouts of different sections. One screen high on the wall before him showed a spherical structure with three attached sections. Screams and snarling broke out to his left through an open doorway, moving to it he could see a short corridor making a right turn with a lot of light coming from that direction so he sucked in a breath and crept forward. It sounded like a great fight was going on ahead so he slowed as he came to the corner and peeked around it. He saw a human form blocking the way which cut off sight of most of what was happening, the man was standing in an at ease position and appeared to be observing. The din was louder here. He could sense a shielded mind from the man ahead and though he was behind him he knew the profile somewhat, not wanting to startle Baylon in case he was engrossed in the proceedings he sent out a tendril of thought. :: Hello Baylon, it's Riven.:: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Deck 8- Holodeck 2, Baylon Trinin, 1340) Baylon heard the door to the holodeck cycle, somewhere behind him, but he couldn't bring himself to be bothered by it too much. He was much too engrossed by the struggle that was taking place in front of him. The holographic version of himself had been altered to open fire on the Waagoshin surrounding the captain instead of Alpha One as Baylon had originally done when he had entered the command center of the Space Station. The result was a little messier than the actual events had been. Alpha One had turned, not on Captain Sash, who was even now working on the console, but on Baylon. The larger, stronger being had pinned the holographic version of the security chief to the floor with one clawed hand gripping his throat, even as he was stabbing his sharp claws into the pinned security chief's soft belly with his other. This simulation was hardly an improvement over the actual events. While the odds of Sash's survival were significantly increased, Baylon's odds had plummeted. Yet somehow despite this, and despite the fact that Baylon was not suicidal, he didn't really seem to care as much about his own survival as he did about that of the Captain. His goal wasn't to survive that assault. It never had been. It was to rescue the captain, and preferably not to die in the process. Yet somehow he had managed to fail at the first and succeed at the second. The sound of soft footsteps and a slight tinkling of bells awakened some familiar memories. He knew without looking who had arrived, he had sensed him when he had beamed aboard, and he had no doubt why he was here. :: Hello Baylon, it's Riven.:: The voice sounded simply, without accusation in his mind. Baylon gave a silent nod, then said. "Computer save program variation 202 and end." There was a chirp as the computer responded, then the room dissolved into the open familiar black and yellow grid pattern of the inactive holodeck. He turned then to face his old shipmate. The man looked a little older than he remembered, but then he had not been caught up in the five year time jump that Baylon and the rest of the Hades crew had experienced. :: Hello Riven. You look well.:: he replied. :: It's been a long time since you were aboard the Hades.:: (reply Riven) :: How have you been? I understand you've been at the temple.:: he added. (reply Riven) :: Have you spoken with Counselor Ripley yet? Did she tell you I wasn't quite right?:: (Reply Riven) :: Maybe she said something about Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome? Or a Psychotic break? Inability to accept reality as an immutable fact? Obsessed with aberrant counter-factual behavior? She doesn't know me. She doesn't understand me.:: Baylon shook his head slowly from side to side. (reply Riven) :: I'm perfectly fine, Riven. You've wasted your time coming here, if you came to help me. I don't NEED any help. I don't WANT any help.:: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Deck 8- Holodeck 2, Dr. Riven Mias, 1343) The man before him gave a sharp nod at his greeting. "Computer save program variation 202 and end." And before Riven could see just exactly what had been going on the simulation dissolved into a blank holodeck, not that he was clueless, he was well aware of the circumstances that had led to Baylon's 'difficulties'. Baylon then turned to regard him, he was unshaven and the color around his eyes showed fatigue. Riven's head shook slightly at the sight, this was certainly not the Baylon Trinin, Chief of Tactical/Security, officer and warrior he had known. The man had the look of the haunted, haunted by ghosts of failures past and countless recriminations. :: Hello Riven. You look well. It's been a long time since you were aboard the Hades.:: ::Thank you, I wished that I could say the same. And it HAS been quite a while, for me more than for you.:: :: How have you been? I understand you've been at the temple.:: Baylon sent back to him. ::I've kept myself busy.:: Riven smiled at him then. ::Returned to my old quarters and working with the mind healers as well as teaching the new acolytes. It's been quite an 'educational' experience to say the least.:: :: Have you spoken with Counselor Ripley yet? Did she tell you I wasn't quite right?:: The question arrived with a bit of a harsh edge which didn't surprise the mind healer. ::I don't know if I would put it quite that bluntly, troubled would perhaps be more to the point. Troubled and depressed.:: :: Maybe she said something about Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome? Or a Psychotic break? Inability to accept reality as an immutable fact? Obsessed with aberrant counter-factual behavior? She doesn't know me. She doesn't understand me.:: Baylon shook his head slowly from side to side as if to ward away the accusations. :: How can a non-telepath truly understand a telepath and all his complexities?:: Riven replied to his question with one of his own. ::That is why I am here.:: :: I'm perfectly fine, Riven. You've wasted your time coming here, if you came to help me. I don't NEED any help. I don't WANT any help.:: ::Let me be the judge of how best to spend my time if you don't mind.:: Riven replied evenly. He looked around the holodeck, ignoring Baylon's irritation at this incursion into his personal space. ::You were running a simulation when I came in, would you mind if I saw the original program? Not one of the variations.:: (Reply: Baylon) Riven stood to the side in observer mode as the simulation started, Baylon hadn't been exactly ecstatic about it but he had complied with the request after a short time. The control center shimmered into existence and solidified, it was fairly bristling with feral Waagoshin troops surrounding a starfleet captain who was kneeling in pain upon the floor. There wasn't time to take in every little detail though he found himself thirsting to do so. The scene was rich and complex, reconstructed from both Baylon's memories and scans taken of the Waagoshin station. Movement in his right peripheral vision caught his attention and he moved to a position where he could see around Baylon only to find the man's double crouching in the very area from whence he had just come, leaning around the corner he took stock of the situation. An outraged voice in angry barks and snarls yanked his attention back to the group of Waagoshin and Federation officer, the largest and meanest looking of the aliens appeared to be threatening the captain known as Sash. "Give up, you've lost. My ship will escape and you will die here." The man grated painfully in return. This appeared to enrage the alien who stalked forward menacingly, speaking in his barking, guttural language. His advance was cut off though as the hidden Trinin began firing into the group, one fell and Sash surged to his feet. Following fire aimed at what must have been the one known as Alpha 1 in the reports never met his flesh. His speed and reflexes were phenomenal. The fight that followed happened so fast he couldn't take it all in but he did see Trinin bolt from cover as he tracked the Waagoshin commander, only to be jumped by Waagoshin troops as Sash fought for his life. Trinin lost his rifle then combadge as he was attacked and tried to call for transport then was engaged in fighting for his life. Turning his head Riven saw Sash doing the same, being joined by an large insectoid who picked up two of the fox' like creatures and wrung the life from them. The Waagoshin were extremely fast, feral, vicious and deadly, that much was obvious as Riven's head swiveled to see as much as he could, one Waagoshin soldier passed through him as he leapt at the Betazoid officer. The Insectoid tried to intercept Alpha 1 as he lunged for a terminal but a vicious back-hand slash across its abdomen felled the brave creature. The final seconds seemed to fly by as a whirling Sash fought his way out of the knot of soldiers, finally knocking the last one down and out and made for Alpha 1. "Now Alpha 1 comes your reckoning." Riven glanced over to see that Baylon, bleeding profusely from a number of slashes retrieve his combadge, his enemies still on the floor. The transporter effect started and was interrupted by a field that shimmered into existence, Sash's attack on Alpha 1 was parried as he narrowed the field. And then it was over, Sash was facing the Waagoshin commander as Baylon and the Tch'kairn dematerialized. "Computer freeze program." Riven barked out. He began to walk through the control center, it was a nightmare of blood and mangled bodies, a horror scene from the deepest nightmares. Waagoshin were scattered about where they fell. He moved to stand near the two remaining antagonists, Sash was bleeding from a plethora of wounds, weakened but determined. He shook his head in wonder then turned to face Baylon who's face was inscrutable. Walking toward him he stopped only a few feet away, his eyes boring into the other man's. Rather than telepathic communication he spoke, his words conveying layers of meaning. "And how many variations of this have you tried Baylon, over two hundred?" He pressed on before the other man could speak. "You made only one mistake." His words hung in the air for an instant as the other mans face colored. "You went in without backup and put yourself at risk on a suicide mission." He held up his hand to shush the Lieutenant. "I read the reports as you might well surmise, you sent the others to the shuttles to evacuate the station before it was destroyed then tried to rescue the captain alone and..." His voice had an edge in it as his face grew hard, not accusing but determined. "... and walked into a death trap. You were outnumbered at least 5 to 1 not counting the Tch'kairn who came to your aid and she was quickly put down, under the circumstances the best you could have hoped for was to have died with your captain which was taken from you by the operator of the transporter." ::Tell me Baylon is that what is eating at you? That Sash died and you did not?:: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Deck 8- Holodeck 2, Baylon Trinin, 1344) ::Let me be the judge of how best to spend my time if you don't mind.::Riven replied evenly. He looked around the Holodeck. ::You were running a simulation when I came in, would you mind if I saw theoriginal program? Not one of the variations.:: The ex-security Chief regarded Riven Mias for a few moments. There was noreal harm in letting him see the simulation. It was a matter of record. Infact, he had originally included the first simulation of events as anaddendum to his official report when it had been completed. Baylon nodded. ::Sure, why not?:: he replied rhetorically. "Computer put all personnel in Holodeck two into observer Mode. Load and runProgram Trinin Rescue Simulation" The Betazoid security officer stood there as the emitters in the compartmentonce again brought forth the illusions of light and force fields to a nearperfect resemblance of the Station. The events that took place next werewell known to him. He knew every sound, pose and movement with the precisionof memory. He had recovered every detail from his Ullian Memory Training. Itwas as realistic as it could be, short of actually reliving the event asecond time. It was real enough, in fact, that Baylon could almost smell theblood and death as it was scattered across the area. Finally the moment came, the complete and total failure of his mission.Riven froze the program. "Computer freeze program." Riven barked out. The Mind Healer then began towalk through the control center, in all its nightmarish glory of blood, goreand mangled bodies. He moved to stand near the two remaining holographicplayers in the macabre scene. He regarded them for a moment or two, beforeshaking his head and turning back to face Baylon. The mind Healer approached to within a few feet, and Riven met Baylon'seyes. "And how many variations of this have you tried Baylon, over two hundred?"He pressed on before the other man could speak. "You made only one mistake."His words hung in the air for an instant. Baylon felt his face flush withanger. "You went in without backup and put yourself at risk on a suicidemission." He held up his hand to shush the Lieutenant. "I read the reportsas you might well surmise, you sent the others to the shuttles to evacuatethe station before it was destroyed then tried to rescue the captain aloneand..." His voice had an edge in it as his face grew hard"... and walkedinto a death trap. You were outnumbered at least 5 to 1 not counting theTch'kairn who came to your aid and she was quickly put down, under thecircumstances the best you could have hoped for was to have died with yourcaptain which was taken from you by the operator of the transporter." ::Tell me Baylon is that what is eating at you? That Sash died and you didnot?:: In all his years as a revolutionary, an officer and a fighter, Baylon hadnever before looked away from anyone when they had made eye contact. Notuntil now. He shifted first his eyes, then his entire body to step past theman that was accosting him. "It's not that Riven." Baylon replied. "I owed it to him to try to bring himback. He wouldn't have left anyone behind. I owed him the same. I had to tryand I couldn't risk anyone else. I knew the odds were slim, I understoodthat I might not make it out alive. But I've always survived it. I've alwayscome through in the end." He shook his head as he regarded the wounded Sash hologram, frozen ineternal struggle with Alpha One. "I had a duty Riven. To rescue the crew. Not just Angeni and Darla, but thecaptain also. I was in the same damned room!" He shouted in anuncharacteristic burst of rage as he slammed his fist into the top of one ofthe consoles. "I should have been faster. I could have saved him and myselfalso. I didn't because I overlooked something. " He shook his head and kept talking not giving the doctor a chance tointerrupt him. "And it wasn't because I didn't take backup. I neededeveryone to get the personnel evacuated, I didn't have enough securitypeople once the evacuation started to ensure their safety as it was. I madea hard choice and I took action." Baylon turned and looked at Riven, the anger and outrage apparent on hisface. "And don't you play all holier-than-thou with me Riven Mias, youweren't watching these people die whenever you gave them an order. Youdidn't have the responsibility of getting all the slaves and Starfleetpersonnel off that station before it exploded. You weren't there." He made a broad gesture with his hands, opening them up almost as if he wereassuming the pose of the crucified Christ. "This is only a small part of it.The culmination of my decisions. The moment that I failed to carry out myduty to the fullest of my ability." He lowered his arms suddenly drained, his head slumped downward, bearing hiseyes to the floor. "I made this happen." Baylon jabbed his finger downward angrily at the floorpunctuating each name as he spoke them, "Not just Sash, but Cartwright,Evers, Thorm, Rosario, Casdek, Moldar, Swenson, and Castillo as well. Sashwas just the last in that conflict. He died, I get that. People die all thetime, I know, I've seen enough of it to know well enough what's happening." : Baylon looked up at Riven, the anger gone. "He died alone Riven. Surroundedby enemies and he was never recovered. He's restless now, he's haunting mesomehow...and until I can figure it out, I won't get any rest. He'll hauntme until I lose my mind or until I die whichever happens first." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate 2413.10.23 (USS Hades, Arboretum - FO/CSO Jericho Haynes- 1947) Jack could feel her contentment as they sipped the pungent red wine and nibbled on barbacued chicken and the trimmings, after a moment he could feel a surge in their mutually shared emotions and looked over to see her smiling like a cheshire cat. Her voice though was husky when she spoke. "I hope you're not teasing, Jack." He returned her smoldering look for a long moment. "No I'm not Lo'ren, if Riven is successful in 'helping' me I believe we may be making longer term plans if you're willing to share more of yourself with me... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Arboretum - CTAC/SEC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof - 1948) She wasn't dissappointed in her hopes. Jack's response melted her heart and she barely held in the squeal of pleasure - a single squeak managed to escape before she could get a hand up to her face. There were times when silence could speak volumes. She recalled one lesson in diplomacy she'd received years ago - specifically a quote from ancient Earth. ~I think the first virtue is to restrain the tongue; he approaches nearest to gods who knows how to be silent, even though he is in the right.~ She kept her silence, the only thing she could do was kiss the two fingers she had against her lips and, leaning forward slightly, placing those same fingers on Jack's lips. She dared not speak anyhow, lest she accidentally bring up something that might be inadvertently hurtful. She understood what a big leap this would be for him. Finally, she allowed herself to speak, quietly, gently, "Of course I'm willing, and I'll be ready when you are." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate.2413.10.24 (USS HADES- Sickbay-Surgical Suite 1- ACMO Ensign (sg) Hawkeye Dolphine- 1739) After Hawkeye and Chase finished their consult, they both scrubbed in for the procedure. Nurse able had returned and Angeni was brought up to speed as to Haywood's injuries. It was time to begin to releive the increasing intra-cranial pressure inside Haywood. "Nurse Able, has the patient been sedated?" Hawkeye asked as he put on his gown and called for gloves. "Yes Doctor, He's had hyposprays of both Versed and Diazapam. Hes ready for the trans-tracheal device." Hawkeye took a breath and then looked at his surgical team of Chase,Angeni, and John. "Okay folks, lets go to work. We have a long set of procedures ahead of us. Were going to preform multiple procedures at the same time. Let's see if I've got the playbook down pat. On Nuero we have the CMO Angeni, on repairing fractures we have Chase, and on chest we have me, Hawkeye Dolphine, Gas passer we have Ugly John." Hawkeye paused for a moment, realizing he may be stepping on Angeni's toes. So he added his normal absurd sense of humor to the mix. " We/re ready to begin now on the maestros order." He paused for a moment and put in his best southern drawl " Ms. Angeni, Ms. Chase,,,,after y'all." Hawkeye looked up hoping to cast the smile through his eyes, as his mouth was covered by a surgical mask. With the jocularity out of the way, Hawkeye begain to work.. With Laser scalpel in hand, He made a vertical incision down the center of the chest. When he pulled back the skin, Hawkeye could;nt help but let out what he was thinking. "My God would you look at this, This kid looks like his ribs were replaced with a jigsaw puzzle. I've seen better exams at a car wreck!" (Reply Angeni, Chase) Hawkeye took a deep breath and looked over at John. "Put him under John". As soon as John was sure that Haywood was under Hawkeye begain the procedure. He made a three inch vertical incision down the center of Haywood's chest and begain to repair the chest wall. The act of repairing the chest wall was an involved procedure, but one the Hawkeye excelled at. After Hawkeye had run the lungs for signs of penetration he began to knit the bones together. Once he was finished,he noticed some bubbles coming from the lungs. "Angeni, you got a second? I need an extra set of hands here. There are a few bubbles I cant account for. I think one of the ribs nicked the lingula but I need some retraction." (Reply Angeni) "Never mind then , I forgot how busy your hands were. Able get over here. I need suction, Deaver retractor, and some 3-0 Chromic GI formatress sutures." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS HADES- Sickbay-Surgical Suite 1- CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere- 1742) "My God would you look at this, This kid looks like his ribs were replaced with a jigsaw puzzle. I've seen better exams at a car wreck!" Angeni put the bit on her drill, and she depressed the button, basking in the wonderful noise it made. Power tools: a girls' best friend. She handed the drill off to the scrub nurse to have it properly sterilized, and she began making the small incisions where she wanted to put the burr holes. She looked over Haywoods' head to the display screen showing Haywoods' thoracic section. "Chase...how big was that ladder?" "It was a metal one...it was pretty heavy." Ang nodded. "Then it's a good thing he has you in his chest, Hawk. Now, get to work." Angeni winked at Hawkeye, and she set back to work. "Drill." She commanded with an outstreatched hand. The drill was slapped into her palm, and she smiled at it as she placed it against the first incision. She started the drill and it began to hum with life. Within moments, she could see clear through to his brain. She did the same with the other incision marks, then she put the clam shell helmet on him. Turning to look at the display, she looked over the dura mater of Haywoods' brain. Small bleeders surfaced here and there. Going over to the display, she picked up her 'magic wand'; a blue pointer that when applied to the proper icon on the side of the display could be that tool. She didn't want to completely open Haywoods' head if she didn't have to, so this was a proper way of getting around exposing the brain to too much air. She depressed the cautery tool, and she began to zap the bleeders, mimicking the sound of phaser fire under her breath. "Having fun over there?" Called out Chase. "Of course!" Angeni giggled like a school girl as she rotated the image, getting a full three sixty of the brain. She frowned at the foramen magnum; more of his brain stem was being smooshed out the tiny hole. She resumed serious mode and she began shaving the area to take a ring out of the magnum to allow the brain to continue to swell. "Nurse Able, double dose on the Solu-Medrol...if that's okay with Dr. Hawkeye Dolphine..." She shot playfully over her shoulder. She had to admit, she was slightly annoyed at the renegade cowboy just coming in and taking over like he owned the place, but at the same time, it was refreshing to have someone who was just as ballsy as her. "Angeni, you got a second? I need an extra set of hands here. There are a few bubbles I cant account for. I think one of the ribs nicked the lingula but I need some retraction." Angeni looked at Hawkeye, rolling her eyes. "I'm cutting open the magnum as we speak to keep this kids' brain from oozing out the magnum like toothpaste. Get one of the nurses to do it for you." "Nevermind then , I forgot how busy your hands were. Able get over here. I need suction, Deaver retractor, and some 3-0 Chromic GI for matress sutures." "I haven't held retraction since first year med. That's what interns and first year residents were for. " Angeni leaned down, trying to get a good view of the foramen magnum. She frowned heavily; there was so much brain stem bubbling around the magnum that she'd have to make a much bigger cut than she wanted to. She wanted to cry; if she cut too much out, his brain would literally slip from his skull and into his neck. If she cut too little, it would cause serious brain damage. She had to figure out a way to get the swelling down. "Hey...get me an IM needle and two hundred milligrams of Prednisone...like now." "Prednisone?!" Gasped Chase, "Are we going old school now? Solu-Medrol works just fine..." "Yeah, well, tell that to Haywood. The Medrol isn't working. We've already given him almost three times the normal amount. His brain is about to become mush...does it truly matter what I give him as long as it works?!" Angeni shot angrily at Chase. "Now...if you have any more questions about what the hell I'm doing, you can direct them to the nearest wall...because it'll give you better answers than I will." "Ang..." "Shut up...NOW! Do you have any comments, oh god of Thoracic surgery?" She spat at Hawkeye, "or can I get back to trying to save this kids' life?" (Reply Hawkeye.) Angeni grabbed the IM needle and the Prednisone. Holding her hand steady, she began to inject the Prednisone around Haywoods' brain, trying to reduce the swelling. Magically, the swelling began to receed just enough that she'd only have to cut a small portion of the magnum. Chase watched the progress, slightly slack jawed. "Ang...I'm...I'm sorry..." She looked up at him, shooting him a look before she got back to work on cutting out the section. In moments, she had a ring shaped piece of skull sitting in a wash tray. "Any questions?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS HADES- Sickbay- Surgical suite 1- ACMO Ensign Hawkeye Dolphine-1744) Hawkeye was working with precision on Haywood's chest when he heard Angeni ask for a medication with urgency in her voice. Then he heard the argument erupt. "Hey...get me an IM needle and two hundred milligrams of Prednisone...like now." "Prednisone?!" Gasped Chase, "Are we going old school now? Solu-Medrol works just fine..." "Yeah, well, tell that to Haywood. The Medrol isn't working. We've already given him almost three times the normal amount. His brain is about to become mush...does it truly matter what I give him as long as it works?!" Angeni shot angrily at Chase. "Now...if you have any more questions about what the hell I'm doing, you can direct them to the nearest wall...because it'll give you better answers than I will." "Ang..." "Shut up...NOW! Do you have any comments, oh god of Thoracic surgery?" She spat at Hawkeye, "or can I get back to trying to save this kids' life?" "Hey folks I'm not operating too loudly for you am I?" Hawkeye asked with a tension in his voice. From the infliction one could tell that he was bothered by the ongoing catarwalling between Chase and Angeni.While the procedure he was doing he preformed a million times, there was something different that always got to him about working on one of his co workers. Even on Earth he had a hard time working on one of his partners on the ambulance. He shot a blazing look towards both Chase and Angeni during his comment, hoping that they would leave this debate untill outside the OR, ~After all, we are here to cut into this patient, not each other~Hawkeye thought to himself. Angeni grabbed the IM needle and the Prednisone. Holding her hand steady, she began to inject the Prednisone around Haywoods' brain, trying to reduce the swelling. Magically, the swelling began to receed just enough that she'd only have to cut a small portion of the magnum. Chase watched the progress, slightly slack jawed. "Ang...I'm...I'm sorry..." She looked up at him, shooting him a look before she got back to work on cutting out the section. In moments, she had a ring shaped piece of skull sitting in a wash tray. "Any questions?" " Will that take care of the herniation then Angeni?" He asked Angeni with a seriousness in his voice, after all she was the foremost leading expert on board. (Reply Angeni) "Good work Dr. He owes his life to you for this Ang.If I were you I would have a little fun with this when he wakes up. Tell him that he went in for a simple procedure and now he has to write everyting with his nose on the computer keyboard untill neuro function returns."Hawkeye said with a grin underneath his mask, but visible to the surgeons in the OR. "Angeni. Chase come for a minute please before you leave the OR back to the scrub sink. I want an opinion about a chest tube to drain the blood out of the lung where it nicked the lingula. I've oversewn the lung and the damage should heal with help of the tissue regenarator, but just for 24 hours I was contemplating placing a chest tube. What do you think?" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades- Sickbay- CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere 1746) " Will that take care of the herniation then Angeni?" "It'll keep him from dying, and only getting coloring books for Christmas from now on. I have good perfusion in all regions, and everything is reacting as it is supposed to during electrical stimulation." "Good work Dr. He owes his life to you for this Ang.If I were you Iwould have a little fun with this when he wakes up. Tell him that hewent in for a simple procedure and now he has to write everyting withhis nose on the computer keyboard untill neuro function returns." Angeni shook her head, giggling softly. "Only you, Hawk...only you..." "Angeni. Chase come for a minute please before you leave the OR backto the scrub sink. I want an opinion about a chest tube to drain theblood out of the lung where it nicked the lingula. I've oversewn thelung and the damage should heal with help of the tissue regenarator,but just for 24 hours I was contemplating placing a chest tube. Whatdo you think?" "I don't think he needs the tube, but I'm not a chest girl. Maybe a gravity drain into the pleural space. Chase?" "Gravity drain sounds fine, Ang, but I have to go with Hawk on this one. We don't need the grav drain plugging up with a clot, then Haywood gets a Hemopneumo ontop of everything else..." "I never thought of that, honestly. Go with the tube, Hawk." (Reply Hawk) Angeni went back to work, plugging various holes, checking Haywoods' intra-cranial pressure. Before each hole was plugged, she put a microscopic sensor on the surface of his grey matter that would disolve in thirty days time, but would radio sickbay if the pressure got too high. So far, it was working. If she had her way, Haywood would be up and functional in a few days' time. After the last hole was closed, she checked pupillary response in time with vitals. His Cushing's Triad had reversed itself, leaving Haywood unconcious for medicines' sake. She would go about unsedating him in the morning. She glanced over at Chase who was looking at a full body scan of Haywoods' body. She walked over, pulling up her scans on the light box next to his. "Chase...I'm super sorry. I didn't mean to freak on you like I did, that was wrong of me....you know how I get..." Chase smiled down at her, bumping her lightly with his hips. "It's fine, kid...." "Alright." Angeni stated loudly. "I'm ready to close...Chase?" "I'm good....Hawk?" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades- Sickbay- ACMO Ensign (sg) Hawkeye Dolphine-1748) " Will that take care of the herniation then Angeni?" Hawkeye asked Angeni while working on Haywood's chest. "It'll keep him from dying, and only getting coloring books for Christmas from now on. I have good perfusion in all regions, and everything is reacting as it is supposed to during electrical stimulation." "Good work Dr. He owes his life to you for this Ang. If I were you Iwould have a little fun with this when he wakes up. Tell him that he went in for a simple procedure and now he has to write everyting with his nose on the computer keyboard untill neuro function returns." Angeni shook her head, giggling softly. "Only you, Hawk...only you..." "Angeni. Chase come for a minute please before you leave the OR back to the scrub sink. I want an opinion about a chest tube to drain the blood out of the lung where it nicked the lingula. I've oversewn the lung and the damage should heal with help of the tissue regenarator, but just for 24 hours I was contemplating placing a chest tube. What do you think?" "I don't think he needs the tube, but I'm not a chest girl. Maybe a gravity drain into the pleural space. Chase?" "Gravity drain sounds fine, Ang, but I have to go with Hawk on this one. We don't need the grav drain plugging up with a clot, then Haywood gets a Hemopneumo on top of everything else..." "I never thought of that, honestly. Go with the tube, Hawk." Hawkeye worked carefully to make a two inch vertical incision in the side of Haywood's chest on the right side, long enough for the tube to enter the chest cavity to drain any remaining blood from his chest. He knew that for the next few hours he was going to have to be watched intently. Thankfully he did not have any other plans for the night and he would be able to watch him overnight to ensure that the tube didn't get blocked. After the incision was made, Hawkeye inserted the tube in to the chest wall through the incision he made. After flushing the tube and getting blood back on aspiration with a syringe. Hawkeye was finally ready to close around the tube and over Haywood's chest. After insuring good lung sounds bilatearally and watching to make sure Haywood's heart was beating on its own, Hawkeye was ready to begin closing the chest.Haywood would be able to be brought out of heavy sedation that morning. He looked up and saw what the rest of the team was up to. Hawkeye walked over to the light box to get a final vewing of the chest wall scans. He had overheard the apology between Angeni and Chase while he was working. " Im ready to close his chest. I'll leave you two to carry on with each other, as it were" Hawkeye said while raising an eyebrow and cracking a smile. (Reply Angeni, Chase) With that done he went back nto the OR and grabbed the tissue regenrator. He closed the muscle fibers with the regenator and then asked his nurse for the dermal regenerator to close the skin. After he was done closing, he walked over to the scrub sink and began to clean up. He rubbed his eyes as he gave the nurse his follow up instructions. He let out a sigh as he was talking. " Reassess his lung sounds every two hours, check the drain q 1 hour intervals and check vitals every 15-20 for the first two hours and then q 1 hour. Also give 5 million units penacillin IV for the first12 hours to prevent post operative infection. Hang 1 bag NSS at a rate of 100 an hour for the next 12 hours and call me if any problems develop with the tube or in his vital signs. I'll check with Angeni and I think we can bring him out of sedation within the next 24 hours,Finally give 1mcg/kg IV Fentanyl prn as needed for pain, repeat dose every 20 mins as needed, up to a total of 1mg/kg. If that doesnt releive pain call me and we will reexamine." "Understood Dr." Able replied. "Anything else?" "Yeah I'll have an order of rigatoni with meatballs and hot sausage if your'e going out" He said with a smile. Nurse Able rolled her eyes, lightly hitting Hawkeye on the arm and walked away with a smile. Hawkeye walked over to Angeni. He wanted to talk to her about waking up Haywood. :"Ang If you have no concerns, I think we can safely begin to wake him up in the morning. I'd like to keep him on pain control for the next 48 hours while he's recovering. I have 5 million units PCN hanging to prevent post operative infection, anything else you have anything that would contraindicate that?" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 8, Personal Quarters - Dr. Riven Mias-1930) His guest had relaxed noticeably which had he not been maintaining a professional demeanor might have had him grinning giddily rather than a soft, gentle smile. She looked up at him, very vulnerable now which meant he need choose his words carefully, she was ready to take the next step toward ingesting whatever wisdom he might be able to bestow. "I was always taught to be strong, I guess that meant - for me - to deal with things on my own. That's not strength is it?" He shook his head slightly, the soft smile never wavering. "Strength Lo'ren is the ability to allow yourself to be vulnerable and allowing your experiences to flow through and around you while sharing what is inside you with others. That strength also becomes greater and more vital when it is shared." Like the strength given him by the goddess to edify ohers, the more he used that gift the stronger he himself became and the more fulfilled. It was his passion, his calling and his life. "Trying to deal with debilitating experiences on your own is not strength, it is pride and it saps that strength you have inside till it destroys you. Releasing what has been shut up inside you not only heals but it restores and strengthens as well." She nodded, "I always looked at others from the Occupation, from the Civil War, especially those who died, as having worse problems than me. My problems are in many ways smaller than theirs." His head shook slightly again. "But no less real and palpable. All who went through the occupation were scarred by it. I am happy you chose to purge those scars. And what has happened since then, the loss of a strong and loving father is no less traumatic. Your father has left a legacy for you to carry on in his absence. It is proper that you should mourn him but it is not that you should blame yourself for what happened, circumstances beyond your control swept you away from him during his final days." "Blaming yourself is pride as well, let it go and realize that we are not the shapers of our own destinies except in a small way. There are many things over which we have no control. The more we grow and the wiser we become the more we come to understand this." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 8, Personal Quarters - CTAC/SEC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof -1932) Lo'ren felt like a million years of guilt and responsibility had been lifted from her shoulders. She knew there would be a long road to totally expunging the negative emotions that had accumulated over the years, but the first step felt so cleansing and she smiled - the link she shared with Jack was clearer too, she could feel his presence in the back of her mind - she fellt too the part of him that had broken when his wife had died. Pain like that was harsh. Lo'ren tore herself away from exploring this clarity and looked back at the mind healer - his gaze was locked on her, looking right into the core of her being, but giving her space to be all the same. She slipped from the chair to the floor, seating herself on her knees. It was a traditional meditation and prayer position - one that was common in both her backgrounds and so familiar to her that she could have her eyes closed and sense herself starting to move into that space that was meant for sacredness. She looked up at Riven, his long hair swept back away from his face, the intelligence and power behind his eyes holding her up, when she might collapse. "Can I show you what happened, what most frightens me about my abilities?" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 8, Personal Quarters - Dr. Riven Mias - 1935) Riven nodded in satisfaction as the woman settled into a seated position upon the floor, they were making headway much faster than he had anticipated but all cases were different. Hers had been blocked away by a facade for a number of years and had dammed up like a river choked with logs, much of that due to the misdirected vulcan teachings that had not purged her emotions but had bottled them up inside her till she was ready to explode and from her own mouth that had happened on a number of occasions. Now that the blockage had been loosened though the torrent of repressed emotions was washing away much of that dam in a flood of tears. Her emotional state then was stabilizing and lightening, there was every reason to believe a complete recovery was in order in time. He joined her on the floor, lowering himself to the place where his feet had been only a moment before, several feet of space between them. While a woman counselor would not have been out of line to have touched her, as a male he had to keep a certain distance to maintain professional decorum. Had his meditation crystal been properly seated in its place he would have brought it out and set it between them, no doubt she would find it helpful as well, at some point during the teaching phase he intended on suggesting it. After a moment of meditation she looked up to see him seated before her. "Can I show you what happened, what most frightens me about my abilities?" That was an open invitation to a telepathic contact and he nodded in reply, lowering his mental shields completely as he focused on her eyes and reaching out with his mind toward her he said only two words. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stardate.2413.10.25 (USS Hades, Bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 1516) Jack was at science 1 when the turbolift doors swished open quietly, too intent on his investigations to look up until movement at his side caught his attention. It was his new scientist, he nodded at her as she spoke and took the proferred PADD. “Lieutenant jg Bracken reporting sir. I’m your new Ass CSO.” He stood to his feet as he hefted the PADD containing the bio and service file she had just given him and gave her a grin. "Welcome to the Hades science department Lieutenant, I'm glad to have you. My last assistant transferred off at Geneva and left me short handed." There wasn't time to go over her file at this time but he would make it his priority. "I hope you don't mind taking over some extra duty while you're here, as first officer my time is split as you can imagine so I'll need you to condense and tag the reports from the various labs and projects before they get to me. I hope you don't think I'm giving you all the responsibility of running the department without the rank but it will take quite a load off my shoulders." ~Not to mention being a good test whether you can take over the department permenantly and free me up for command duties.~ Ken had been a good scientist and officer but he hadn't 'cut the mustard' as far as taking the next step up the chain. It would certainly be a relief to hand over the full load. Not that he wanted to stop being a scientist but when you're given a duty you can't have your time and attention split, at the moment he was getting behind on his command studies and feeling like he was less than what he could be and that was intolerable to a hard driver such as himself. (Reply: Dale) "The captain has already taken care of your accomodations and entered you in the database so there's nothing left but for you to go to work if you're up to it. Do you need some time off to get yourself situated? I normally don't ask that but we're swamped up here. If you need some time you can start Alpha shift at 0600 tomorrow morning at the primary science terminal here on the bridge and I'll be monitoring from the backup station, the choice is yours." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades-Personal Quarters- Dr. Riven Mias-1748) He placed the vase upon the floor. The long, fluted form flowing smoothly to a height of three and one half fleet from the deck. It was painted in swirls of blue, aqua and green atop it's cool, ivory surface. The meditation crystal went atop it and fit perfectly in its mouth. Riven looked about in satisfaction, his quarters were now complete. As he looked about with a smile he heard a chirping from the living area. "Hmm." He strode out of his bedchamber, his aqua robe swirling about his legs and ankles, the sound of music chiming in the air. An LED on the workstation which was placed atop his desk was lit proclaiming a message had been received. "Computer display the message." He said softly. It came up obediently. [Riven, Is 2030 a good time for dinner? You and me, Ten Forward, just like old times. Can't wait to see you. Let me know. I'm going to be in surgery for a while, one of our doctors got injured. Drop me a line, thanks. ~Angeni~] He looked down at the message for a moment, his mind going back to holodeck the day they had seen the thunderbird, the horses, the rich foliage and rolling hills. The rich, rarified air and the watching wolf. And the last picnic they had had there, laying upon a blanket outside the verdant forest. Her smiling face and faraway look. They had had a number of such times together. Was he longing to recapture those pleasant times or kindle something deeper inside himself? His eyes were questioning as he considered the thought. Riven was no stranger to love but never a focused one, the love in himself had always been shared unquestioningly with others. Was what he was feeling intended for her alone? He didn't know, his mind was in a tangle on the subject but there was one way to find out. He reahed down and tapped out a reply. [I'd love to, see you at 2030. Riven.] A tap of the enter button sent it on its electronic way. ~A little over two hours now Riven.~ He moved to a mirror and checked himself over. ~ A change of robes and a quick sonic is in order.~ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades-Deck 10, ten forward- Dr. Riven Mias-2025) He had gotten there a little early to secure a table and was sipping on a glass of guava/mango juice as his eyes roamed about the bustling chamber. He settled back in the chair as he waited for her to arrive, such places were one of the joys of his life, he gained energy just by being close to a crowd of people as befitted an extrovert such as himself. The buzz of voices was like an accompanying melody. Just being here however was not enough, interaction with others was a prerequisite. He held off though for now, Angeni would be here soon enough and he would get all the interaction he desired. For now though he felt alone in a crowd. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades-Deck 10, Ten Forward- CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere-2027) Angeni hopped out of the bathroom, wriggling into her little black dress. She stood before her mirror, her heart throbbing in her chest. She had no clue why she was so excited to meet a former colleague for an evening meal, nor why she got so dressed up to do it. ~It's just dinner with Riven. How many times did you eat with him in the past?~ But that was it; the past. She had grown up considerably since he had seen her last, and she didn't understand the budding feelings for him at the time, nor would she allow herself to. She understood as well as him what it would have ment for anything to have come of them in the past. It would have been a disaster on many fronts. A doctor of any sort just did not get involved with a patient. Angeni glanced at her chronometer and gasped; she had a scant few minutes or she would be late. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades-Ten Forward-CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere-2035) The young cherokee woman walked into Ten Forward and she made a beeline for the bar. Gesturing to her favorite tender, she didn't hesitate to bring Angeni a glass of iced Rose Hip tea. Angeni checked herself in the mirror behind the bar one more time before turning to survey Ten Forward. As her eyes landed on Riven, she broke out into a huge grin and she wandered over to him. "I'm so glad you could make it, Riven." She sat down in front of him, and she reached out, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "I can't believe you're here. I never would have thought I'd ever see you of all people again. I have to be sure to thank my lucky stars." (Reply Riven) She listened intently, a smile on her face. She absently stirred the ice cubes in her tea glass, creating a small, tinkling noise. "What have you been up to since we last met?". She smiled at him with her deep, curious grey eyes. "Inquiring minds want to know." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades-Deck 10, Ten Forward- Dr. Riven Mias-2037) Riven was grinning as Angeni swayed to the table, the curve hugging black dress very ... what was the terran term? Chanel! That was it, simple, elegant and flattering. She was sporting a huge grin as she joined him at the table, he stood up and smiled back as she spoke. "I'm so glad you could make it, Riven." "And I as well," he answered truthfully as he sat down and placed his hands on the table before him, the glass of juice at his right hand. She reached out and squeezed a hand which was life affirming, social interaction is mandatory for an extrovert, physical contact then was even more giddying, especially from so lovely a young woman, he may have been 65 but he was a man ... and a Betazoid through and through which made him twice as bad by the estimation of most. "I can't believe you're here. I never would have thought I'd ever see you of all people again. I have to be sure to thank my lucky stars." "Lucky for some perhaps." He grinned. "Unlucky for others. While I hate to come aboard under such circumstances the truth is I'm glad to be back... if only for a little while. The Hades has been my home away from home in times past it seems and its crew my extended family. I'm very fortunate to be able to see some of them again. Especially you." She smiled at him in return as she stirred the iced tea in its glass. "What have you been up to since we last met?". "Are you sure you want to be bored by my exploits?" His laughter chimed along with the charms upon his person. "Inquiring minds want to know." "If you insist." A mischievous light crept into his eyes. "I spent eighteen months upon the USS Potomac after I left here, its mission was to seek out survivors of the war who might have been lost or marooned in space. We found and picked up several hundred survivors including one I'm sure you know well." (Reply: Angeni) He picked up the glass of juice and took a long gulp before replying, its sweetness which had been light shortly after he had ordered it was now beginning to get a bit heavy for his taste, he motioned for a nearby waiter and spoke quickly before he made it to the table. "Bring me a tall glass of an Andorian white wine, cold and dry but not too dry. Nothing to eat for now, give me another few moments. Would you like something else while he's here?" He asked Angeni. (Reply: Angeni) As the waiter moved off he continued his answer. "After that commission was over I retired from the fleet and moved back to the temple of Alura on Betazed and have been there the last three years concentrating on mind healing and teaching. After I received a request to come aboard to give some experienced aid to Ana owing to the events you and the others have gone through I fairly leapt at the opportunity, I couldn't give my consent fast enough. It was a pleasurable bonus to find out you were still aboard." (Reply: Angeni) He was direct as was his wont. "I must admit seeing you in sickbay was quite a shock to me, you've grown up in the last five years... or at least to me it's five years if not a little more. You've always been a head turner but you now have the bearing and confidence of a mature woman and it quite knocked me for a loop, I'm still sorting out my reaction to seeing you." He chuckled as he sat back easily in the chair, embarrassment was a foreign concept to him just as it was to nearly any Betazoid when gender related issues were raised. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2413.10.26 (USS Hades - Bridge - CTAC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof and Engineer Tethlin - 07:20) Lo'ren had decided to come up to the bridge early. She'd given the Gamma shift officer a bit of a scare at first but Jake Di Francesco had been more than happy to vacate early. She'd sent him off to a well deserved extra hour off. Jake was one of the more on the ball officers these days. She was sitting at TAC I monitoring all systems, not much more to do than monitor anyhow - seeing as how this was a science mission. She could see Jack at Science 2 and the new Science Officer Bracken as they got going. The ship jumped as Lo'ren started setting up another sweep. She had been doing low level sweeps to keep busy and to keep an eye on the magnetar - she understood enough to know that the low level baselines would help the science department with the more sensitive sweeps by giving them something to compare their results to. Suddenly, instead of a grid displaying the sector, she had a video that illustrated a dance with the caption 'The Chicken Dance'. Lo'ren raised an eyebrow and looked over at the Science stations - they'd just gotten a whole lot busier. She caught a new movement from the turbolift and turned her head to catch Arysha Tethlin walking down to the command deck. {{Captain, Engine-Team situation have. Magnetar pulse flip-out-scramble systems change-switch-change equipment magnet-lock-finish. Repairs now-happen, time up-until finish not sure exact but know hours-several.}} (reply Straton) Lo'ren leaned over her console and waved at the engineer. She was familiar with the protocols for addressing a Deaf person, even if her signing skills were not much more than rudimentary. "I don't think the situation is localized to Engineering, Ensign." Arysha looked at her and blinked. {{No? Maybe crunched-severe Engine-Room and slow spread to ship.}} The dark-haired woman tugged at the shock of white hair that normally was loosely tucked behind her ear. {{See consolecan-I?}} Lo'ren nodded, "By all means." The brilliant programming engineer slipped into the seat and seemed to meld with the console rather than work with it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Private Quarters - aCEO Lieutenant Darla Wright - 0735) In Darla's unequivocal opinion there wasn't anything quite as heavenly in the entire universe than taking a steaming hot shower after an invigorating cross country run. She'd risen from bed earlier than usual this morning, eaten a hearty breakfast and dressed in her running clothes before heading to the holodeck for a 5K run through the wilds of Denobula. It was an annual tradition for her, something that she had done for the first time at the age of nineteen during her Academy Days. The Wilbrox Forest was often considered one of the most beautiful in the known universe, if you were to take the word of the Denobulans, who were biased and were quick to point out the amazingly complex color combinations of the foliage during that time of year. They had reason enough to boast, Darla had discovered. The Forest with it's alien flora was by far some of the most intriguing and beautiful that she had ever seen. The Leaves took on violet and blue tones during the fall season there, unlike the bright yellows, oranges and reds of a terrestrial fall season. She had been so taken with it, that she had ordered a custom made holoprogram just for her to enjoy on any duty station, and year after year she had been true to the tradition of running through Wilbrox Forest. Now, she was indulging in the rest of the tradition; allowing the nearly intolerably hot water wash over her recently worked muscles as she stretched and limbered up. The water was hot enough to make her scalp itch from the heat, and her normally pink skin had reddened under the onslaught of the water flowing from the shower unit. Her hair was lathered in a rich foam of cucumber, melon and ebson berry essences, with just a tiny tendril of the wet lather running along the curve of her neck. She was vigorously working the shampoo into the thick blond tresses of her hair, with both a ferocity and vigor that would have frightened most observers had they been fortunate enough to witness the ritual. She had just plunged her head under the spout of water, washing away massive amounts of the fragrant shampoo in one fell swoop, when the water temperature suddenly went from near intolerably hot to absolutely terrifyingly frigid. Darla let out a sudden gasp of shock as the cold water poured over her head and down her bear back and shoulders. Her first instinct was to dodge the torrent of glacial water, to escape the sudden discomfort that rained down on her from above. Her left hand shot up to cover and deflect the flow of water, even as her right fumbled for water the manual controls to turn off the spigot. By the time she had managed to get the water off, she was shivering and her otherwise alabaster skin had taken on a pale blue pallor. Soap suds ran across one side of her face and down her chest and legs. She had not taken the time to finish rinsing. "Computer, what in the hell happened?" She asked incredulously and with no shortage of irritation in her voice. [Blow, blow, thou winter wind - Thou art not so unkind - As man's ingratitude; Thy tooth is not so keen, Because thou art not seen, Although thy breath be rude.] came the computer's enigmatic reply. "What the- " Darla began, but the computer continued [Freeze, freeze thou bitter sky, That does not bite so nigh As benefits forgot: Though thou the waters warp, Thy sting is not so sharp As a friend remembered not.] "Computer discontinue response." She finally broke in wondering why it was that the computer was quoting ancient poetry. She padded across the small bathroom and out into the bedroom of her quarters trailing a path of wet footprints which ironically somehow reminded her of the impressions left by bare feet in fresh snow. Once there, she grabbed a towel, threw it over her still wet hair and grabbed her commbadge. She squeezed it and received an error chirp. "Comms down," she muttered as he worked to dry her still slightly soapy hair. She tossed the moist towel on the bed and padded over to the dresser to retrieve some clothes. "There's always something." she said as she slipped into her clothes and added her rank pips and commbadge to her uniform. She didn't take the time to dry her hair completely, instead settling for putting it up into a pony tail despite it's wetness. Dressed now, she headed for Main Engineering as quickly as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Main Engineering - Engineer Ensign (jg) Arysha Tethlin - 07:39) The jolt she'd felt through the flooring had been significant enough for Arysha to be curious; what had warranted her coming out of her Code Hole was that all her script had been replaced by script from the first episode of'The Black Adder'. One of the few off duty things Arysha enjoyed that wasn't physical excercise was old television with a style of technology that was commonly known as CC - closed captioning. She'd memorized so many old scripts of various shows, there was a virtual video script library in her head. She spotted Eoin and headed over to him, but before she could lift her hands to ask him a thing, he noticed her and gave her directions. "Arysha, I need you to relay a message to the bridge. Tell them that the computer interchanges in the Engineering section have been magnetised. Advise the bridge that we have already started to make repairs, but it will take several hours." She stopped quickly and nodded, shooting off a quick {{OK}} with a trailing hand as a parting gesture before she headed out the door again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades, bridge, Ass CSO Bracken, 07:40) Dale had not long come onto shift, slightly later than was her custom, Aimee had well and truly changed her life, for the better she felt; it had given her something to do aside from work. That said, she hadn’t even been on board a whole day before things had gotten interesting very quickly. The turbolift had ground to a brief halt as the ship had been rocked by something. She felt that she couldn’t get to the bridge fast enough. She stepped across the bridge briskly, reaching the main science terminal. “You’re relieved Ensign. I’ll take over now.” The young Ensign looked puzzled “Sir, you’re not due on duty yet...I’ve got another...” Dale cut across him. “Ensign...you’re relieved. Finish off your shift assisting the duty officer in astrometrics, inform them down there that we’re in for an almighty interesting shift. I want every atom of that star scanned.” “Aye sir.” He logged himself out of the terminal, and left, leaving Dale to the station, she entered her codes that would both log herself in, and bring up her preferred set up and preferences, she noted perhaps for the first time, that her preference was non-standard to say the least. “Sir,” She called out to the Captain, and indeed the bridge in general, “scans have begun, it’s going to take a while longer than the last set I’m afraid, neutron interference has increased by at least an order of magnitude. Attempting to correct.” (Reply Stratton) “Understood, Sir.” She turned back to the terminal, closing her eyes against the bustle around her, and allowing a deep breath to escape her lungs. She could feel it. /This/ was why she had had to return to the fleet, she had forgotten that this feeling had existed. Forgotten the rush of adrenaline that such a task had always provided her. Her mother was a marine, and had, so far as Dale knew, always taken to adrenaline-rich activities, orbital jumps, free-climbing and the like. Dale had too, to a far lesser extent, but had always drawn a similar feeling from these times of rushed investigation. Her mind ran through years of study as the computer attempted to make corrections from the abhorrent interference. Trouble was, she thought, nothing came to mind. There was no mechanism that she could think of which would allow such a radical change of albedo in a neutron star of this type. Even a runaway ppII chain, which in theory was possible, caused by a chain cascade from deuterised Hydrogen, couldn’t happen because of the amount of lithium that the crust seemed to contain. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 07:41) Jack was at science 2 when the sensors registered a spike in gravimetric and radiation reading from the Magnetar, it all happened too fast for him to bellow out a warning, the ship suddenly bucked and pitched like a wild horse. The sudden movement threw him against the terminal which caught him in the abdomen. The red alert klaxon followed instantly, lights flashing and siren blaring, it was enough to make him wonder if there was any way to shut the alert system down covertly unless there was a real dad-gone emergency. It seemed that thing was too sensitive, as sensitive as his hearing which always cringed when the danged siren went off. "Report," The captain snapped in response. "Aberrant pulse from the magnetar," Fredericks reported from the main terminal, "we caught just the fringe of it." "Move us to a safe distance and get a full damage report. I also want all sensor log gone over leading up to that pulse to see if we can see what caused it." "We're on it Captain." Jack shot back. "My terminal showed a gravimetric spike just an instant before the disturbance as well as a radiant energy flux. Going ove rthe sensor logs now." His hands played the keys of the terminal like a maestro as he called the logs up for replay. The turbolift door swished open and the ACSO hot-footed it to the main terminal, relieving Fredericks after a brief conference. “Sir,” She called out after taking over.“Scans have begun, it’s going to take a while longer than the last set I’m afraid, neutron interference has increased by at least an order of magnitude. Attempting to correct.” (Reply Straton) “Understood, Sir.” Jack nodded in silent reply at the way she was handling things, she would take over current scans while he found out what had caused their sudden discomfort, the ship was already moving out away from the star to gain distance and safety. The readings began to replay before him, he tapped a button to slow it down then reran it again a couple of times to make certain before speaking up. He turned to face Eva, knowing she would want to know everything he had found ASAP. "Captain there was an anomolous shift in the stars magnetic field, the jump was almost instantaneous and accompanied by a sudden spike in gamma radiation from the far side of the Magnetar, current working hypothesis is that we had a gamma burst. Scans from Science 1 will conform or deny that theory." That worried him more than a bit, scans of the star's surface should have given them ample warning and a neutron star this far advanced in age should not have had a burst anyway, if they were looking at the results of a burst things could be a lot dicier here than they had first thought, anyway how could such a burst be coupled with an electromagnetic shift? Things weren't adding up. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Turbolift - Engineer Ensign (jg) Arysha Tethlin - 07:42) As soon as she'd left the engineering section the scrolling script of The Foretelling had dissappeared to be replaced by the normally operating systems usually displayed on the corridor panels. She'd grabbed the next turbolift and had been whisked off to the nerve centre of the ship. While she went she thought of the episode - she really enjoyed replaying the shows in her head. ~Mother, Henry is our enemy. When his men get here, they'll brutally ravish you and every woman in the castle! Ah, well, I shan't bother to change,then.~ Arysha chuckled, but composed herself when she felt the turbolift slow and stop, depositing her onto the bridge. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades - Turbo Lift - aCEO Lieutenant Darla Wright - 0742.5) Darla stepped into the empty turbolift and barked out the command, "Engineering" [Going down] the computer replied, which did not help Darla's frame of mind any. As long as she reached her destination she didn't really care too much what the computer said. The turbo lift stopped at the correct deck and the doors opened. [Main Engineering- lingerie, house wares, women's clothing and Scottish tartans.] It advised. Darla wasted no time exiting the turbolift car. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Bridge, CO Captain Eva Straton, 07:43) “Sir,” Lt. Bracken called out.“Scans have begun, it's going to take a while longer than the last set I'm afraid, neutron interference has increased by at least an order of magnitude. Attempting to correct.” "Understood," Eva replied, "Let me know as soon as you can Lt." "Captain there was an anomalous shift in the stars magnetic field,the jump was almost instantaneous and accompanied by a sudden spike in gamma radiation from the far side of the Magnetar, current working hypothesis is that we had a gamma burst. Scans from Science 1 will confirm or deny that theory," Lt. Haynes reported next. Eva looked at her First Officer and Chief Science Officer remembering his briefing during the senior officers meeting a look of concern on her face. "I thought you said we would have warning before any gamma ray burst?" She asked. ~If his hypothesis is true then we are in terrible danger staying this close to the magnetar.~ (Reply Haynes) "Move us out to one light year from the magnetar," Eva ordered,deciding it best to get some distance between the star and the ship until the science department had time to come up with some answers. "We will maintain this distance until we have some answers on what just happened and what threat it poses to the ship and crew. We will use probes to get any further close range scans of the magnetar. I want a full scan to make sure there were no radiation leaks. If any parts of the ship was potentially exposed to radiation then inform medical and have them begin testing crew in that section of the ship for radiation exposure." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 07:44) "I thought you said we would have warning before any gamma ray burst?" The Captain asked. Jack turned to her and saw the slightest tint of alarm on her features. "I did Captain but we are using the magnetar's gravity well and its angular momentum to hold our position here in a geosynchronous orbit so what happened on the other side of the star was out of line of sight of our sensors. Had we been in the proper position our scans would have picked it up." ~Surely.~ Straton didn't hesitate though to put some distance between them and the mysterious stellar body. "Move us out to one light year from the magnetar. We will maintain this distance until we have some answers on what just happened and what threat it poses to the ship and crew. We will use probes to get any further close range scans of the magnetar. I want a full scan to make sure there were no radiation leaks. If any parts of the ship was potentially exposed to radiation then inform medical and have them begin testing crew in that section of the ship for radiation exposure." There was a burst of acceleration, barely felt as the ship broke free from the gravitational pull of the sun and began moving away to the position she had ordered, as it did so Lt. Adam's voice rose from OPS. "Captain, scans of the shp indicate some gamma exposure on decks seventeen and eighteen but at low levels. Short term exposure risks are minimal but I will inform medical." (Reply: Straton) David activated the comm. "Sickbay we have possible gamma radiation exposure on decks 17 and 18 but at low levels, please investigate." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades - Bridge - Engineer Ensign (jg) Arysha Tethlin - 07:45) She wasted no time getting down to where she could converse with the Captain, {{Captain, Engine-Team situation have. Magnetar pulse flip-out-scramble systems change-switch-change equipment magnet-lock-finish.Repairs now-happen, time up-until finish not sure exact but know hours-several.}} -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Turbo Lift - aCEO Lieutenant Darla Wright - 0746) Main Engineering was a complete and total mess. Consoles were flickering, and the computer was spouting some very strange quotes from something she didn't recognize. Teams of Engineers were clustering around the most important consoles, those controlling the Warp systems and the ship's shields and power distribution systems. Darla's eyes took everything in quickly, scanning the room looking for someone that could fill her in on what was happening. She spotted Eoin at the master display console issuing orders to some computer specialists. ~okay the problem is definitely a computer related problem.~ She thought, not something else. She crossed the floor quickly and with purpose. One of the advantages of being the CEO was that everyone got the hell out of her way when she was trying to get somewhere. She stepped up to Eoin's position just as he had completed his orders to the computer systems specialists that were now scattering to carry them out. "Report please." She said to the ACEO, hoping that he could shed some light on the events that were unfolding all around her. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign Eoin Mac Liam - 07:47) Eoin was barking more orders to several teams. "Check Junctions 17 Alpha through 29 Theta. Keep the warp drive running. See how extensive this is. Give me status reports every 20 minutes." His fingers were flying over the console in front of him, trying to demagnetise at least the main control consoles. But his console's output screen was just flashing the lines the computer was speaking: [Prince Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh. Or as I shall be known from now on, the Black Vegetable.] "Report, please." Eoin looked around. He saw Darla coming up behind him, not looking happy. "We were hit by a pulse from the magnetar, or we're pretty sure that's what happened. Whatever occurred, the computer's been magnetised. We're trying to see how far the damage extends, and trying to repair it. As far as we know, it's only affected the Engineering section." [And head and shoulders over Richard III. Was that supposed to be funny?] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Main Engineering - aCEO Lieutenant Darla Wright - 0748) "We were hit by a pulse from the magnetar, or we're pretty sure that's what happened. Whatever occurred, the computer's been magnetized. We're trying to see how far the damage extends, and trying to repair it. As far as we know, it's only affected the Engineering section." [And head and shoulders over Richard III. Was that supposed to be funny?] Darla quirked an eyebrow as much at the report Mac Liam gave her as at the statement issue by the computer. "Magnetized ?" She asked confused. "Are you certain?" (reply Mac Liam) "Show me." She ordered then watched as the engineer pulled up the detailed magnetic scans of the affected systems. That was the most abnormal thing that she had ever seen. it was particularly confusing because of the operating nature of the ship's computer systems. The ship's computer was for all intents and purposes a massive quantum computer capable of performing billions of teraflops calculations per second. This was achieved through as series of technological developments that graduated the computing systems of the 25th century from those of all other computers ever designed. There were simply no magnetic parts. No magnetic alloys were used in their construction, since the presence of such a field would cause exceptional problems with the functions. Even a weak magnetic field could alter quantum states in the processors or influence the light beams that worked in the data recovery, replay components of the system. In effect the computers were comprised almost entirely of advanced polymers, silicates and advanced electron tunneled plastics. data was accessed by light pulses along the Optical Data network, relayed over vast distances through the use of subspace transceivers all of which were magnetically neutral. Yet what she was seeing was a distinct magnetic field or in this case fields scattered throughout the normally neutral computer network. Fortunately none of them were affecting critical systems. "It's not isolated to main Engineering." she said as she reviewed the data. "I encountered Shakespearean prose in my quarters and some sort of department store lingo in the turbo lift. Although it could be a result of affected vocal relay processors being affected." She regarded the information for a little longer before the proverbial light bulb went off in her head. She quickly pulled up the materials specifications for some of the affected computer component's housing. "Bingo!" Darla stated happily. "It's not the computer systems that have magnetized, Eoin. It's the housings." She pointed down at the side by side displays, the first was the materials certifications for the housing materials as they were originally designed. The latter were the current materials configurations for the housings as they are currently. "See." she said, "It looks like the housing polymers have had some sort of spontaneous electron shift shifts take place in their electron shells. Some have even reversed their spin and polarities. They basically have had their physical properties altered at the atomic level. in this case a magnetically inert material, the polydiaxaprene, has lost several balanced electron and ion pairs and has become an effective polymer superconductor. Since we keep those components super cooled anyway, it's allowing the residual flow of free electrons displaced by the photons in the ODN optical relays to flow outside the waveguides creating a nascent electromagnetic field." (Reply Eoin) "Gamma particles in a high enough concentration, maybe?" she said with a shrug, "or high energy particles that could have been polarized if they managed to pass through our shields perhaps? No way to know without extensive testing. And probably no real way to completely shield from it either." Darla furrowed her brow in thought. (reply Eoin) "Degaussing alone isn't going to be sufficient. We're going to have to replace those housings and then figure out a means to shield them or find a replacement material to use in place of those components for the duration." (reply Eoin) Darla nodded. "Agreed, that's definitely a priority. Let's have Tethlyn involved if she isn't already. Maybe she can help us model out what happened and maybe we can run similar tests against other available materials to help us identify our best replacement materials." (reply Eoin) "Which project do you want? The materials or the replacement and repairs?" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, bridge, ACSO Bracken, 08:00) Dale had spent the last 15 minutes in full, total concentration, almost oblivious to everything else around her. Astrometrics had begun to stream data to both her and Hayes’ terminals. Datastreams from various sources all came together into various sections of the screen in front of her. This was why she had altered her settings so much from standard. In a single glance she could see chemical data alongside information from interactions from elementary particle data. She could get a big picture at a glance. Trouble was, the readings that she was getting, weren’t possible. She turned to Hayes, genuinely puzzled. “Sir, you’re really going to need to see this. We’ve...” She paused, the puzzlement plain in her voice, “...we’ve got problems.” (Reply Hayes) She waited until he joined her at her terminal before speaking in a slightly hushed tone. “Current activity on the magnetar is... almost what we’d consider normal.” (Reply Hayes) “No no, I said almost.” She pointed to on part of the screen, a graph that would mean very little to most would hopefully speak volumes to Hayes. “This is the magnetic field as of 5 minutes ago. It’s at a slightly lower energy level than it has been up ‘till now. Gravity well readings show that. Problem is...as you know, you can’t apply quantum states to things of this magnitude, a gravity field doesn’t jsut drop energy level. That though, isn’t the whole problem.” She tapped another part of the screen. “Subatomic particle interactions show that more gamma bursts are likely Sir.” She paused, aware that she and Hayes didn’t really know each other yet, so she was being far more formal than she normally would. “Fact is sir, I think it's a case of when...not if.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 0803) Jack had set the logs aside finally, they appeared to be missing pieces of the puzzle. The actions of the electromagnetic field were unparallelled in science and perhaps the gamma burst was unrelated. Then again perhaps not but there was no way to be sure at this time. He caught the movement of the ACSO out of the corner of his eye and got up from his chair and made his way to science 1. He was leaning down to look at her readings as she spoke. “Sir, you’re really going to need to see this. We’ve ... we’ve got problems.” Her confusion was evident and mirrored his own. "What have you got Ms. Bracken?" He asked as he lowered his voice as well. “Current activity on the magnetar is... almost what we’d consider normal.” "Normal and almost are not the same thing Lieutenant." He said with a twinkle in his eye. "Is it normal OR almost normal?" “No no, I said almost.” She pointed to a graph on the screen. “This is the magnetic field as of 5 minutes ago. It’s at a slightly lower energy level than it has been up ‘till now. Gravity well readings show that. Problem is...as you know, you can’t apply quantum states to things of this magnitude, a gravity field doesn’t jsut drop energy level. That though, isn’t the whole problem.” She tapped another part of the screen. “Subatomic particle interactions show that more gamma bursts are likely Sir.” He wanted to curse, nothing was making sense. This star should be going dormant, not 'heating' up. It was almost as though its life cycle had been disturbed. It was acting in completely unpredictable ways contrary to verified scientific principles. “Fact is sir, I think it's a case of when...not if.” He stood up and crossed his arms, a shadow crossing his face then leaned back down and went slowly over the readings, only his eyes moving. Nucleonic and electro magnetic activity fluctuations verified the instability in the star's outer latticework of iron and heavy metal nuclei. Magnetic field fluctuations were verifiable and real. The gravity well readings though were far more horrifying. Energy could change its form but the mass of a system of particles was invariant and mass dictated gravity. Without a change of mass a change of the gravitational well of the star was impossible. "Have you verified the calibration on the sensors since we got rocked by that electromagnetic field flux?" He asked. "Gravity just doesn't change like that as you know." (Reply: Dale) His lips pulled back over his teeth slightly due to the intensity of his thoughts. "The gamma bursts are troublesome ... and dangerous but we can avoid them if we can detect them and keep far enough away. Although that is impossible in itself according to all we know but that flux in its gravitational signature ..." He shook his head in exhaspertion. "That is a horse of a different color. Never mind we may be seeing history in the making, we are observing an impossibility and impossibilities are illogical." That comment would have made a vulcan proud. He tapped a couple of buttons to look over its spectral analysis which was unchanged. "Run a full series of sweeps again and update me every fifteen minutes and keep a sharp eye out for disturbances on the surface which may be a prelude to a burst. We will want to have plenty of warning if we have to get out of the way of one." (Reply: Dale) "By the way." He said as he moved off. "Good work." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stardate.2413.10.27 (USS Hades, Ready Room, CO Captain Eva Straton, 13: 46) The Admiral's face on the terminal screen was stern. =/\= I don't need to explain to you the urgency in finding this ship do I Captain?=/\= "No Sir," Eva replied, "The Hades will leave immediately and begin a search. We have the coordinates and all the mission data you've provided, if she's out there we will find her." =/\=I hope so Captain,=/\= Admiral Richardson replied, =/\=You have your orders. I'll let you get started. Richardson out.=/\= Admiral Richardson's face was replaced with the seal of the Federation but Eva wasted no time admiring it as she rose from her seat and moved toward the Bridge. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Bridge, CO Captain Eva Straton, 13:47) Eva stepped out of the Ready Room and moved down toward the command chair snapping orders as she moved. "Lay in a new course; 256 mark 79 full impulse. Once we have cleared the magnetar's gravity well go to warp 8." (Reply OPS) "Tactical take the ship to Yellow Alert until further notice," she ordered next. (Reply tactical) "Number One, I want a senior officer meeting in 30 minutes. We have received new orders from Star Fleet Command. Our study of the magnetar has been postponed until further notice. Join in me in the Observation Lounge in 15 minutes and I'll brief you. Maintain course and speed. You have the CONN Number One." Eva walked over and entered the Observation Lounge. She had a bit of research to do before the senior officers meeting started and she wasn't going to waste any time getting started. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Bridge - CTAC/SEC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof - 13:49) Lo'ren was finally getting results from the Security Department. Her crackdown and - almost - overkill on Baranovichi and the other lackadaisical security crew had had a much better effect then she'd expected. Aside from James being on probation because of the seriousness of the outcome of his oversight, there were no more sloppy results from the firing range and all the perpetrators were pulling up their socks. ~Now if only Baylon could work through his troubles.~ Lo'ren was seated at the TAC I station when the Captain entered the Bridge.The orders came fast and hard, Lo'ren could feel the mood prickling and making her skin crawl. OPS got orders and the next were addressed to Lo'ren, "Tactical take the ship to Yellow Alert until further notice." Lo'ren raised an eyebrow as she complied with the odd order for a science mission. "Yes, Ma'am." The yellow alert lights started flashing in their not quite soothing rhythm and in moments there were reports scrolling up her screen of contingency security and tactical teams getting to their stations. Lo'ren's eyes follow the flame-haired woman as she crossed to the Observation Lounge entrance. She could feel Jack's frustration, the magnetar had been so absorbing to the entire Science Department and he'd not been immune to it. She caught his attention by opening their empathic link to her curiousity. When he looked her way, her face read quite easily. ~What was that about?~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 1350) More mysteriously than a cloak and dagger plot the Magnetar's gravity well had resurged in the last eight hours and there had been no more gamma ray bursts in the last 29. The behavior of this star violated every known scientific model ever constructed and its instability had Jack's brain in a whirl. Both he and Lt. Bracken were stumped by its erratic behavior but one thing both knew for sure was that it didn't bode well for the future and the possible repercussions were terrifying for a ship so near to it. They had hung in there though, taking the readings demanded by the scientific division. With Captain Straton in her ready room Jack was now at the CONN with Lt. Bracken at the main terminal and Ensign Fredericks at the secondary station. Everyone's nerves on the bridge were on a hair trigger, had been since the verified gamma ray burst of the day before but things were about to get worse ... just when it seemed they were going to change for the better. The Captain's entrance was crisp and sudden. "Lay in a new course; 256 mark 79 full impulse. Once we have cleared the magnetar's gravity well go to warp 8." "Aye sir." Adam's crisp reply tinged with relief shot back. "Laying in course." "Tactical take the ship to Yellow Alert until further notice." "Yes, Ma'am." Came the crisp reply from tactical as Lo'ren jumped on the order. The yellow LED denoting a heightened state of alert came up on the command monitor quickly even as the alert lamps on the bridge started their slow flash, Lo'ren was as always highly efficient. Having her on the ship was a boon to him in more ways than one. Jack didn't have time to do more than note these things before Eva was standing before him, her face set in a focused line. "Number One, I want a senior officer meeting in 30 minutes. We have received new orders from Star Fleet Command. Our study of the magnetar has been postponed until further notice. Join in me in the Observation Lounge in 15 minutes and I'll brief you. Maintain course and speed. You have the CONN Number One." He nodded. "Yes sir," and her heels were immediately clicking as she strode toward the lounge. Jack tapped the intraship intercom. "There will be a senior officers meeting at 1420 hours in the observation lounge, all senior officers are required to attend. I repeat all senior officers are to meet in the observation lounge at 1420 hours. Bridge replacement crews proceed to your stations, First officer out." His mouth quirked in a frown at the disruption in their studies of the star but there was nothing he could do about it, orders were orders. (Reply: All) "Course laid in, moving out." The assistant OPS chief called out as the ship once again began pulling away from the gravity well of the star, once clear the heightened linear velocity of the ship which had been garnered from the Magnetar would slingshot them into position to make the course change. The ship shuddered as she cleared the well and began to almost imperceptibly bleed off a portion of the angular momentum. "Time to warp two minutes." Jack nodded and turned to Lt. Bracken, just because the ship wasn't here didn't mean starfleet couldn't get a birds eye view. "Ms. Bracken launch a stellar probe to orbit the star at a distance of one quarter light year and continue to forward telemetry to starfleet command, we want to know as much about this phenomenon as we can get." He wasn't about to let this go till he knew all he could. He caught Lo'ren's curiosity through their link and turned toward her, she had a questioning look on her face. In answer he lifted his shoulders in a 'who knows' gesture and caught her lifted eybrow in answer. He would find out soon enough as would they all. (Reply: Dale) "Turning to course 256 mark 79." Lt. Adams sang out. "Coming up to warp." The rising hum of the engines as the ship turned thrummed in the background. The sound was heavily muted compared to the older classes of ships due to dampening materials as was the vibration of the deck but it was still there and still perceptible and under the circumstances comforting. The crew would be able to unwind a bit as the stress of maintaining their close position dissipated. A sliver of the magnetar appeared on the port side of the viewer as the Hades completed her turn then warp drive engaged, the stars ahead seemed to elongate slowly before stretching out to infinity as the warp bubble catapulted them ahead into supralight speeds. The ship was there one second then gone, headed to their next mission. "Accelerating." Adams sang out. "Warp eight in 10 seconds, 9, 8..." Jack was only half paying attention, his mind on what starfleet might be sending them on next till he heard. "Warp eight and holding." The hum of the engines died a bit as the velocity leveled out and Jack looked about the bridge. They all had an appointment soon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Observation lounge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 1403) "Ms. T'vof you have the CONN." He said as he rose and made for the meeting with the captain. (Reply: Lo'ren) Jack strode through the opening doors and made his way to his new spot at the table, the captain was of course awaiting him having finished up whatever preparations she had been making. He turned and settled into his seat as he regarded her. "So Captain, what has command got for us now?" He asked. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- end compile