USS Spectre Compile - January 1st-31st 2007 by Alan Reading ========================================================================= Mission; The Sword of Damocles Day: 4 Stardate: 2407.02.05 ========================================================================= (USS Hood - Temporary Quarters - Ens JG Becket - 09:30) (USS Spectre - Engineering - Ensign Robin Bourne - 10:32) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering – Daimon Brak – 10:33) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign Robin Bourne - 10:35) (Zulu Alpha Two - Bridge - Lomax - 13:30) (Zulu Alpha Two - Bridge - CO - Commander Marco Ryan - 13:30) (USS Spectre - Bridge - ACEO Jacqueline Bristed - 13:38) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CEO, Ensign H’Chir – 13:38) (USS Spectre - Captain`s Ready Room - CO T'Vhor - 13:39) (USS Spectre - Transporter Room One - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski - 13:40) (USS Spectre - Transporter Room One - Corporal Houseman - 13:41) (USS Spectre - Captain`s Ready Room - CO T'Vhor - 13:42) (USS Spectre - Bridge - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 13:43) (USS Spectre - Ready Room – Daimon Brak – 13:44) (Carraya IV - Woodland Clearing - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski - 13:44) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Corporal Houseman - 13:44) (USS Spectre - Captain`s Ready Room – Captain T'Vhor – 13:46) (USS Spectre - Ready Room – Daimon Brak – 13:47) (Carraya IV - Woodland Clearing - FO - Lt. Brian Rogers - 13:47) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Agent Smith - 13:48) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - CMO - Williams - Nurse Douwsy - 13:48) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski - 13:49) (USS Spectre - Captain`s ready room - Captain T'Vhor - 13:50) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski & PResidential Aide Unaru Castigan - 13:55) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - CMO Williams - Nurse Douwsy - 13:56) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Agent Smith - 13:57) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Corporal Houseman - 13:57) (USS Spectre - Bridge - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 14:00) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - ACEO Robin Bourne - 14:00) (USS Spectre - Bridge - ACEO Jacqueline Bristed - 14:01) (USS Spectre - Hydroponics - SO Ensign Yates - 14:05) (USS Spectre - Turbolift - ACEO Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 14:06) (USS Spectre - Deck Thirteen - SO Ensign Yates - 14:07) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Corporal Houseman - 14:07) (USS Spectre - Deck Thirteen – ACEO Jacqueline Bristed - 14:08) (USS Spectre - Strategic Operations Centre – STRATOPS, Ensign Korak – 14:08) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski & Presidential Aide Unaru Castigan - 14.09) (USS Spectre - Deck Thirteen – SO Ensign Yates & TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 14:10) (USS Spectre - Deck Thirteen - ACEO Ensign Robin Bourne - 14:10) (USS Spectre - Deck Thirteen – ACEO Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 14:11) (USS Spectre - Deck Thirteen - ACEO Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 14:12) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Corporal Houseman - 14.12) (USS Spectre - Turbolift One - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna & SO Ensign Yates - 14:13) (USS Spectre – Deck Thirteen – ACEO Jacqueline Bristed - 14:15) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski - 14:15) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Corporal Houseman - 14:20) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - CMO - Williams - 14:22) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Agent Smith - 14:24) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Section - Acting CEO - Lt. (JG) Chenoll - 14.25) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Engineering Section - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 14.26) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Section - Acting CEO - Lt. (JG) Chenoll - 14.27) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CO Captain T'Vhor - 14:28) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Engineering Section - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 14.29) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Engineering Section - ACEO Ensign Bristed - 14:30) (Carraya IV - Woodland path - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski - 14:30) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Section - Acting CEO - Lt. (JG) Chenoll - 14:32) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Engineering Section - ACEO Robin Bourne - 14:33) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 14:33) (Carraya IV - Woodland - Corporal Houseman - 14:36) (Carraya IV - Undisclosed Building - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski - 14:38) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - corporal Houseman - 14:42) (Carraya IV - Woodland - FO - Lt. Brian Rogers - 14:44) (Carraya IV - Woodland - Corporal Houseman - 14:45) (IRW DihVael - Commanders Quarters - Commander Talok - 14:45) (USS Spectre - Captain`s ready room - CO Captain T'Vhor - 14:50) ========================================================================= Mission; The Sword of Damocles Day: 4 Stardate: 2407.02.05 (USS Hood - Temporary Quarters - Ens JG Becket - 09:30) It had taken a bit of time for a routine to set in. Ensign Morgan Tomas Becket had come aboard the USS Hood with the intention of rendezvousing with the USS Spectre over the next few weeks. He was ignorant of the exact details but considering that there was still some time between now and the meeting they were details that served little need in knowing. His time had been better served on the Hood familiarizing himself with how the operations of a Starfleet vessel actually took place. The group of officers had been extremely helpful and polite in showing him the ropes and he already felt indebted. Morgan usually took the midmorning hours to do this allowing the first shift to knockout some early morning activities. There usually was a lull in activity in this time and it allowed Morgan time to learn comfortably and to ask questions without interfering too much. Enjoying the set routine, his day consisted of lunch with that particular shift in operations and then to his quarters to spend a few hours reviewing the available data for the Spectre. Routine was something Morgan enjoyed. There is no stoping the flow of time but enough could be controlled through routine. Taking proper care to even pencil in contingency time in the event something were to just come up; otherwise, it was merely extra time to be used caring for personal items. Routine was the prettiest thing he had come to calling his own since he left her. Today was one of those days where extra time would haunt Morgan. With his workout finished thirty minutes earlier than expected, Morgan sat in his room staring at the pictures and the unanswered communications from home. Extra time in a routine was a blessing and a curse. (Reply None) (Posted by Ben Craddock) (USS Spectre - Engineering - Ensign Robin Bourne - 10:32) Robin watched Chenoll get more and more frustrated in front of Brak and the console. It was quite amusing as he watched her blue change shades slightly. Although it may have been the light, it was amusing none the less. Looking at the long run, he decided it was about time to see if they needed any help. He walked over with a PADD writing down the hourly findings, making a convenient trip to a console near to where they were working. "Lieutenant, Brak. How's it going", he greeted and enquired realising that it might have been a mistake in asking by the looks on their faces. As talking, he logged into the terminal and started browsing over the warp core matter/anti-matter reaction ratio. (Reply Chenoll, Brak) "Oh, is there anything I can do to help? Or get a drink", He spurted out to try and make some conversation. He also wasn't sure on the protocols for drinks in engineering, ~Might as well find out now, if anything I can do with one~ (Reply Chenoll, Brak) "Sure, and any news on H'chir? Or is he still in sickbay", he enquired realising that he had heard nothing since the incident that sent the CEO there. (Reply Chenoll, Brak, any) (Posted by Robin Bourne) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering – Daimon Brak – 10:33) “Lieutenant, Brak. How’s it going?” Brak turned to face the uniformed person who’d asked the question. Unsure of the chain of command, but desperate for someone else to talk to besides the rather awkward Bolian woman, Brak leapt into a lordly attitude. “It’s slow work, considering how antiquated most of this equipment is. I could find algorithms ten times as efficient in the private sector.” The Ferengi strained to notice any reaction from his Bolian chaperone, but was dragged back into conversation with the new arrival. “Oh – is there anything I can do to help? Or get a drink?” the eager officer replied. ”Thank you,” Brak’s smile showed both sets of jagged teeth, “at least someone on this ship has a concept of hospitality. I’d like an iced tea with lemon.” “Sure, and any news on H’Chir? Or is he still in Sickbay?” Brak froze momentarily stunned. ~What kind of ship is this where the waiters take an order and proceed to engage in idle chit-chat?~ (Reply Any) (POsted by Michael Drake) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign Robin Bourne - 10:35) "Thank you,at least someone on this ship has a concept of hospitality. I'd like an iced tea with lemon.", said Brak showing his jagged teeth. Out of all the sights Robin had seen whilst in space, this one had repulsed him the most. "Sure.." Robin replied, with Chenoll silent and Brak showing signs of miss-treatment, he decided not to join them. Last thing he could do was join in, take sides, and all of a sudden be the middle man. Turning around, he walked towards the replicator. "Ice Tea with Lemon" he requested. Instantly the materialisation bay began to glow and started spinning random particles into its chamber. Glazing through the light, he had found being on a starship mission a lot different to what he had read or heard. ~So now I am a tea maker.. great. Still, at least I have not been in any critical danger...~ He let that thought drag in his mind, thinking of all the dangers that could happen at any second, at any time. A beeping alerted him back to the present, and he took the now solid cup from the bay, then peered into it. ~How can people drink this... looks horrid! Iced Coffee for me...~ Walking back, he appeared by Brak. "Here, hope this helps he commented. He turned to Chenoll "sir, I'm going to continue with some more diagnostics. Shout if you need any extra hands." ~But from the looks of it, any extra hands would be waste~ he thought to himself as he headed towards the glowing core, adding a mystical hint to the whole of Engineering. (Reply any, None) (Posted by Robin Bourne) (Zulu Alpha Two - Bridge - Lomax - 13:30) The mood on the bridge of the Pometheus class variant was one of quiet mistrust as she sped on through the airless vacuum of space towards the Carraya System. Captain Ryan clearly held no loyalty to anyone but himself now & his imposing nature left everyone on edge, even his senior crew. Lomax however was not a man to be intimidated by Marco`s innate hostility, he sat quietly to his right in what would be the First Officers position on a starfleet vessel. From the very start of their dealings together, the undercover Starfleet agent had known that he would have to be at least on a par with the paranoid Captain & his position now on the bridge had enforced that. Ryan had only just returned from his ready room after a closed communication with Commander Talok aboard the accompanying Warbird, their course now set & the carefully orchestrated ruse now in place in order to ensure the Romulans cooperation. It was amazing how the supposed & completely fabricated threat to Romulus itself could motivate a warbird commander into compliance. "Whats our ETA to the Carraya System?", said Lomax in clipped authorative tone. (Reply Ryan) The Captains curt nature was to be expected of course, but Lomax knew that to show any sign of weakness now would undermine his position & weaken whatever advantage he now held. "I would not even attempt to steal your fire yet Captain Ryan", stealing his glance back to the forward viewscreen as he spoke. "I am merely making an enquiry, I need to know roughly when I must ready myself to lead your crew to mutiny & vapourise your cranium", he added with a smile. (Reply Ryan) Lomax had been joking of course....or was he? Ryan had obviously chosen to take is as such anyway, he was begining to like the new arrivals arrogance & self assuredness regardless of his distaste for anyone coming in on a mission from outside, after all the Captain possessed those qualities within himself & it was always easier to see & relate to likemindedness such as his. Lomax however remained supremely calm, his mind plotting & anticipating the moment when he would blow the Captain`s brains all over the consoles of his own ship as retribution for going over to the other side. He had by this time already assumed, correctly it would seem that the USS Spectre had now arrived at her destination, she would be cloaked of course but the Anyon emmiters built into the Zulu Alpha would no doubt reveal her presence as they had done before. Lomax could not allow that of course, it was imperitive that the Spectre were allowed to complete her mission for the good of the federation & if need be, a little sabotage might now be the order of the day. "I will be in my quarters", said Lomax standing from the seat, "I will return in two hours then for our imminent arrival into the Carraya system", he added as he moved towards the turbolift doors without saying another word. (Reply Ryan) (POsted by Alan Reading) (Zulu Alpha Two - Bridge - CO - Commander Marco Ryan - 13:30) Ryan walked out of his Ready Room and walked to a bridge station. After a hushed and quick conversation with a young officer, he spotted Lomax sitting in the secondary command seat. Ryan sighed and took his seat next to him. Before he could say anything, Lomax spoke first. "Whats our ETA to the Carraya System?" Ryan gave the man a curt look, then looked back towards the viewscreen. "About two hours. We should arrive on station at 15:30. Why do you need to know so badly?" Ryan said to the man. "I would not even attempt to steal your fire yet Captain Ryan. I am merely making an inquiry, I need to know roughly when I must ready myself to lead your crew to mutiny & vaporise your cranium," Lomax said. Ryan turned and scowled at the man. "That isn't funny, Mr. Lomax. Another joke like that and I'll have you spaced," he said. "I'll be in my quarters. I will return in two hours then for our imminent arrival into the Carraya system", Lomax said on his way out. "That is a good place for you," Ryan said has Lomax was already in the turbolift. Once he was gone, Ryan turned to his tactical officer. "Is the antimatter weapon still armed and active?" "Yes, sir, per your directions," the officer said. "Very good," Ryan said, and he turned back to the viewscreen and put his hands in his pockets. He had planned to use the weapon of mass destruction on the Romulan warbird, but, he could be forced to use it on the Spectre, or maybe even the planet itself, depending on which posed the greatest threat to his mission the most. ~Too bad I can't use it on Lomax,~ Ryan quipped. (reply none, yet) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (USS Spectre - Bridge - ACEO Jacqueline Bristed - 13:38) "Disengage the Phased Cloak Ensign", said the Captain. Bristed's hands moved quickly, partly to disguise their shaking from any eyes that might be looking her way as she followed the captain's order. "Phased cloak disengaged, sir," she reported. It made her nervous to have the ship vulnerable like this. Hopefully they'd be able to cloak again before some disaster struck. "Bridge to transporter room one", said T'Vhor. "Your beamdown point is one kilometre from the reported lifeform readings, you may transport at will", said the Captain. ~ At will? More like as soon as they can possibly get down! ~ "the Spectre will be returning to it`s cloaked status the moment you are safely down on the surface & decloak again for the routine communications update in thirty minutes, communication silence is of course advised beforehand unless absolutely neccesary", he added. Bristed half-listened to what was being said, half wondered how soon the talking would be over and the beaming down would begin. "Maintain passive scans for anything entering the system, prepare to re-engage the cloak", said T'Vhor, interrupting her train of thought. "Yessir, prepared to re-engage," Bristed answered, perhaps just a trifle too quickly. Her hands hovered expectantly over the controls. As soon as everyone was down, she would be ready. (Reply T'Vhor, Any) (Posted by Siobhan) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CEO, Ensign H’Chir – 13:38) Lying in Sickbay, H’Chir’s antenna twitched. A smile spread across his features, and was quickly replaced by a horrible grimace as though some aching truth had just come home to him. He murmured drowsily and attempted to sit up on the biobed, oblivious to the people and space around him. Through the mists, fragmented thoughts leapt at him; words, places… faces. For an instant he heard the screams of a fellow Andorian ringing in his mind, but as he raised a hand the sound had already passed. He shuddered and blinked dozily into the light, trying to make some sense of it all. (Reply any, none) (Posted by Michael Drake) (USS Spectre - Captain`s Ready Room - CO T'Vhor - 13:39) The Spectre had by this time re-engaged it`s phased cloak once again after the departure of the away teams & all they could do now was wait. The Captain had now passed the bridge to Lieutenant Nolly`s & had returned to his ready room with thoughts of what they might now find on the surface of Carraya IV quite rightly preoccupying his mind as he did so. It had been a while since he himself had led an away team & to be truthful, he was kind of missing it, Rogers though was a capable officer & if anyone had the tact to be able to pull this one off, it was him. Sitting himself behind his desk with a coffee the CO opened up the terminal built into it & began a log entry. "Captains supplemental log - Stardate 2407.02.05..... We are now in orbit of Carraya IV, the planet deigned most likely to harbour the President. Lieutenant Rogers has assembled a team & beamed to the surface along with a contingent of Marines as back up if needed. I am concerned however as to how the President will react to our arrival if he is here but am confident in Rogers`s ability to deal with any & all occurences that may arise" "I have been informed by Major Kowalski that the captured Zulu Alpha under temporary command of Lieutenant Major Savage, has arrived at Starbase thirty nine Sierra & that the USS Hood has been assigned to border patrol duty in the vicinity of the neutral zone. Her cover story will be that she will be monitoring a rare subspace anomoly at sector four two four, her mandate however is to offer imediate assistance should we require it" "On another note, reports state that a Romulan warbird in collaboration with what may possibly turn out to be the second Zulu Alpha class vessel, is now rumoured to be on route to our current location. Our phased cloak will of course give us an advantage if we need it but it must be noted that we are due a recharge cycle in approximately four hours & fifty minutes. This will of course leave us vulnerable so time is now of the essence where our efforts to recover the president are concerned" "Ensign H'Chir has now made some progress towards recovery & it is hoped that the information locked within his tormented mind will help our cause no end. Counsellor Taxia is confident that there will be a breakthrough very soon" "I would like to add that the crew have performed their duties admirably & have been a credit to their uniforms, I am proud to serve with them. End of log entry...." (Reply None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Transporter Room One - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski - 13:40) "Understood sir, the Rabbit is in the coup", said the MXO replying to Kriges closed communication via the discrete marine comm channel. A few faces had turned towards him of course at the strange reply but they quickly resorted to whatever it was they had been doing beforehand. Marine comm chatter was cryptic at best anyway & those not in the know were probably better off staying there. Kowalski turned once to Houseman who simply nodded in return as he slung his rifle over his shoulder, then he addressed the rest of the team. "Ok, let`s get this show on the road", said the MXO, pausing briefly to turn to the FO. "If that`s ok with you of course Lieutenant", he added. (Reply Rogers, IYW) The marines then stepped up onto the transport pads, their beamdown point already set in order that they could reconnoitre the imediate area before the second away team arrived. The sound of equipment being checked one last time beforehand resonated thoughtout the room, then the MXO nodded to the transporter chief. "Energise" (Reply Rogers, Any IYW) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Transporter Room One - Corporal Houseman - 13:41) "Understood sir, the Rabbit is in the coup", Houseman lisened to Kowalski's response. ~This is it. Not turning back now~ He looked over at Kowalski and nodded. He kept his face straight. He placed his helmet on his head and sealed it. He plugged himself into the marine comm net and linked himself into Kowalski`s comm system. Now Kowalski could send him messages with out risking being over heard. The squad moved forward onto the transporter PADD. He could see the contained energy in Jo as he passed. ~can take the person out of the marines but not the marine out of the person. She really needs to get out more~ He took his position at the back of the squad. He checked that his pistol was secure. A quick glance over the TR-116 and he was ready. "Energise" ~Here we go~ The transport beam gripped him and the room faded. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Captain`s Ready Room - CO T'Vhor - 13:42) After completing his log entry, the Captain arose from his seat to walk over to the replicator set into the wall of his ready room, he then requested a cold orange juice, reaching into the reception tray to retrieve it the very moment it had fully materialised. Walking back towards one of the observation windows & taking a sip of the cool refreshing beverage, the Captain allowed his mind to wander towards the Ferengi Daimon. Brak had failed to deliver the claimed technical advantages he had promised them & T'Vhor was begining to feel that he had fabricated the entire thing in order to get what he had wanted. He was a Ferengi after all & unscrupulosity was the middle name of most Ferengi he had ever encountered. Why should this one be any different. T'Vhor took another sip of his drink whilst gazing out onto the planet below & wondering what Rogers & his team were finding, then he returned to his desk. "Have Daimon Brak report to my ready room imediately", said T'Vhor upon opening a channel to the bridge. =/\=Yes sir=/\= The Captain knew that the Ferengi had arrived on the bridge of course for he`d watched him skulking about whilst giving excuse after excuse as to why the modifications he had apparently performed had failed to achieve the desired results. It was then however that the chime to his ready room had sounded & he bade the Ferengi enter. "Daimon Brak", said the Captain, his Betazoid half now betraying the calm Vulcan side normally in evidence. (Reply Brak) "I will not hear any more of your excuses", said the Captain, "you were given passage on board this vessel in return for what you assured us you could deliver, you have yet to deliver Daimon Brak & I put it to you now that you neither possessed the means to deliver them, or indeed the inclination to do so had you in fact possessed them", said the Captain. (Reply Brak) "Give me one good reason why I should not return you to the hole you hailed from or blow you out of the nearest airlock", said T'Vhor, inwardly cursing his inability now to read the Ferengi`s four lobed brain. (Reply Brak) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Bridge - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 13:43) The moment that the Spectres cloak had been lowered was the moment she had become receptive to the subspace transmission beaming in from the USS Hood. It had been on cyclical transmission for some time now of course, piggy-backing as it was on the normal subspace chatter to hide it`s content from any that might be eavesdropping in the vicinity. All it took though was a nano-second of processor time to receive & decode the active content which now showed as a priority communique for the Captains eyes only. Vasilyovna wasted no time at all of course & informed the CO imediately, shunting it to his ready room as requested. She then returned to the new task that had presented itself, namely that of sifting through the brief burst of active scans enabled during their lowering of the cloak & subsequent return to normal phase. The data was plentiful & sure to keep her busy for a while yet & it seemed also that the science station had received new data as well if Lieutenant Nolly`s sudden burst of activity was anything to go by. (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Ready Room – Daimon Brak – 13:44) The Ferengi was barely through the door before T’Vhor pounced on him: “Daimon Brak,” he said with clear agitation. Brak tilted his head in greeting as he replied, “Captain.” "I will not hear any more of your excuses. You were given passage on board this vessel in return for what you assured us you could deliver, you have yet to deliver Daimon Brak & I put it to you now that you neither possessed the means to deliver them, or indeed the inclination to do so had you in fact possessed them" Clearly outraged, the Ferengi was momentarily lost for words, managing only to exclaim repeatedly, “Preposterous! Preposterous!” The answer clearly did not give the Captain any satisfaction as he snarled and added, "Give me one good reason why I should not return you to the hole you hailed from or blow you out of the nearest airlock." However, the outburst had given Brak time to mentally get back on his feet. Standing stock-still for perhaps the first time since his encounter with the Spectre’s away team, he drew himself up and stared the Vulcan directly in the eye. “The much-vaunted Starfleet sense of morality, Captain. Or had you forgotten your noble quest to provide dignity and freedom for all?” He watched the mood shift in the room before adding, “That last threat was unbecoming of an officer in your position, Captain. You should beware the enemy within, or before to long you will fall to the darker demons of your nature, and join those who have already succumbed to this dark Federation.” Taking the seat he had yet to be offered, Brak waited for the Vulcan to collect himself. He knew how the sudden and drastic alteration of his persona could cause even the most stolid of people to stumble. (Reply T’Vhor, any) (Posted by Michael Drake) (Carraya IV - Woodland Clearing - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski - 13:44) The moment the transporter cycle had completed, the Marines quickly went into action to secure the imediate area & ensure that it was safe. Without the Spectre`s active scanning capability, it went without saying that they were seriously uninformed as to what they were beaming into, other than that there were no lifeform readings in the imediate vicinity. Nobody could have known for example that it was currently raining on the surface & the cold harsh fact of suddenly having to face a torrent was less than welcomed by all. Kowalski & his Marines however, were not men to let a little bit of discomfort hamper their mission & the individual members of his team quickly spread out to their respective, well rehearsed positions. Houseman of course was imediately assigned as proximity recon by the MXO & sent out to the rear of the group to scout the area. His premise of course differed from that of his compatriots but his professionalism remained as rock steady as it always had been & nothing was given away. A quick tricorder scan of the area had told Kowalski that threats were minimal at this time & that there was a structured compound lying roughly one kilometre ahead of them. A shimmering of molecular integration however had alerted him then to the arrival of Roger`s & the rest of the away team. He waited for a second or two, then he approached the FO who was already beginning to resemble a drowned rat. "Looks like a structure of some kind due east, possibly an enclave or compound also, the weather however is hampering scans for lifeforms so we`ll need to get closer", said Kowalski. (Reply Rogers) "My thoughts exactly", said the MXO, "We know what we are here for people", he added turning to address the team, "let`s get this thing over with" (Reply Any, IYW) They then headed out, taking as much cover from the rain as was possible under the trees as they progressed onwards. (Reply Rogers, Any, IYW) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Corporal Houseman - 13:44) Houseman felt the rain on his helmet as he materialised. He checked his TR-116 and pulled out his sidearm. At the command from Kowalski he set off for the recon. ~Lets get this started~ He crept slowly through the trees. He was looking for a vantage point that he could see the clearing. ~Need to make it a good shot. No second chances~ He looked up at the grey sky through the trees. He had some protection from being under them but rain did not bother him he had been in worse weather then this. ~Trees are out then. Don’t want to get hit by lighting~ The ground rose as he crept on. ~This might be better~ He stopped just below the crest. ~Last thing I need is to be seen~ He slid of his stomach up to the crest of the hill. He holstered his side arm and slid off his rifle. He looked down the scope and carefully began to scan the area. After a couple of sweeps he was satisfied. ~Clear or not~ He rolled over and looked back at the clearing. ~Lets see what I’ve got~ He looked down the scope. He could see the away team. He saw Agent Smith standing a little away from the others looking closely at the surrounding area. He focused the sight on her right temple. ~Bang, bang your dead~ =^=House, how ya doing back there?=^= “Up and ready Sir. No one bouncing about back here.” =^=Understood, keep me appraised....code to SD is zulu one nine, confirm acknowledgement=^= “Copy that Sir.” ~zulu one nine~ He watched as the away team headed towards a far ridge. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Captain`s Ready Room – Captain T'Vhor – 13:46) "The much-vaunted Starfleet sense of morality, Captain. Or had you forgotten your noble quest to provide dignity and freedom for all?", said the rather smug looking Ferengi as he countered the Captain`s previous un-vulcan like outburst. In retrospect, the Ferengi had probably been right. It was most unbecoming to threaten to blow another out of an airlock but the truth remained that Brak, like a lot of others of his species would try the patience of a monk & most likely elicit similar responces from other Starfleet officers. Captain T'Vhor however simply returned the unflinching gaze to the Ferengi as the diminutive Brak took a seat opposite him, looking for all intents of purpose as though he`d just won a point on a Domjat table as he then went on to lecture, riddle like on the virtue`s of a Starfleet officer per se. The enemy within & the darker demons of his nature had been eloquently mentioned, beforehand the Ferengi had retorted with the word preposterous when he had been confronted with his inability to deliver but now it was his turn to see the error in his choice of words. The Captain settled back into his chair & allowed his frayed Betazoid half to settle somewhat as his Vulcan side regained control. "Your statement is illogical Daimon Brak", said T'Vhor pausing for effect now, "the enemy within & the darker demons that may or may not be lurking within my psyche are pure conjecture, there are no grounds whatsoever for their existence in reality", he added. (Reply Brak, IYW) "The fact remains however that you have not done what you said you were capable of, do you still maintain that you have not lied?", said the Captain. (Reply Brak) "If indeed you are, or ever were capable of assisting us in the manner described then no doubt your good friend President Nell will be aware also of this ability of yours", said T'Vhor, "it will be an interesting meeting when he comes aboard don`t you think?", he added as he surveyed the Ferengi`s emotive state. (Reply Brak) "We shall see, until then however your rights to certain areas of this vessel will continue to be restricted", said the Captain, "Good day to you sir" (Reply Brak_ (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Ready Room – Daimon Brak – 13:47) "Your statement is illogical Daimon Brak," said T'Vhor pausing for effect now, "the enemy within & the darker demons that may or may not be lurking within my psyche are pure conjecture, there are no grounds whatsoever for their existence in reality" ~Why do Vulcans always believe they hold the monopoly on logic? It’s their first, and weakest defense, and yet they never realise that.~ Preparing himself for the depths of trouble he was about to enrage, Brak said, “You believe that threatening to throw someone you’ve offered safe passage to out an airlock is not indicative of the tension and dark demons that threaten this entire ship and its mission?” "The fact remains however that you have not done what you said you were capable of, do you still maintain that you have not lied?" “Lied, Captain? Lied? I would not dream of speaking an untruth to my courageous Starfleet companions! However, there are many forms of truth, are there not. Surely as a Vulcan you are already familiar with the imprecise nature of the truth.” "If indeed you are, or ever were capable of assisting us in the manner described then no doubt your good friend President Nell will be aware also of this ability of yours," said T'Vhor, "it will be an interesting meeting when he comes aboard don’t you think?" The prospect of facing President Nell didn’t cause Brak to so much as flinch, in fact the idea of clashing swords with such a strong sense of the great material continuum only served to bolster his mood. “Captain, how do you know I’m not acting on his instruction?” With satisfaction, the Ferengi watched that suggestion worm its way into the Captain’s mind. "We shall see, until then however your rights to certain areas of this vessel will continue to be restricted. Good day to you sir," T’Vhor finished tersely. Calmly, Brak stood and walked to the door. Glancing over his shoulder at the Captain he said casually, “Good idea. In a crisis where your powers are already stretched, maintain the status quo. No doubt I shall be seeing you again shortly, Captain.” The meeting over, the odd Ferengi broke into his little dance and shuffled out onto the bridge. He sincerely hoped he’d ruffled the Captain’s feathers, but only time would tell whether it had been enough. (Reply any) (Posted by Michael Drake) (Carraya IV - Woodland Clearing - FO - Lt. Brian Rogers - 13:47) Brian felt the rain start to hit his face has soon has the transporter cycle was complete, and he appeared on the surface of Carraya IV. After a few moments, the Marines secured the area and did their thing, then Major Kowalski walked over to him. "Looks like a structure of some kind due east, possibly an enclave or compound also, the weather however is hampering scans for lifeforms so we`ll need to get closer," the major said. "That must be where he is, Major," The lieutenant said. "My thoughts exactly", said the MXO, "We know what we are here for people let`s get this thing over with," he said, and the away team headed out. They continued trekking through the woods. Rogers kept checking over his shoulder, thinking he heard something behind him, but assumed it was the weather and the woods playing tricks on him. "Major, how close are we to the enclave?" Rogers asked. (reply Kowalski, any) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Agent Smith - 13:48) Jo grinned as she felt the rain hit her head. ~Its been a long time since she had been planetside~ She watched as the marines moved out. She saw the back of Houseman as he moved deeper into the wood. She nodded to her self. ~Recon sweep~ She noticed that Andrew was not enjoying him self. She smiled to herself. ~It’s not for everyone’s taste~ She looked at Andrew who looked like he was not enjoying the weather. “Dr Williams, Nice weather were having.” (reply Williams) Jo grinned and shook her head. She suddenly felt unsettled like there was a pair of eyes looking at her. She pulled out her phaser and slowly looked at the foliage near her. ~Hmm must be nothing~ She turned and headed back to the others. (reply Williams, any) (posted by Robbie) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - CMO - Williams - Nurse Douwsy - 13:48) Andrew felt the rain land on his head as he materialised. ~Ow great~ He felt the rain dribble down the back of his neck. He had never liked the rain. When he had been to Portsmouth diving school during his training it rained a lot. He watched as the away team sorted itself out. He slung his med-kit on to his shoulder and trudged over to Rogers. He looked at Douwsy who gave him a shrug and followed him. ~She does not seem to mind the rain. Lucky for her~ He nodded and smiled at Roger`s as the rain trickled further down his back. “Dr Williams, Nice weather were having.” Andrew looked over at Jo who seamed to be enjoying the rain. “Yes, If you’re a fish.” He saw her grin. ~Nice to know someone is happy~ (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski - 13:49) It was clear that Lieutenant Rogers was becoming a tad irritated by the rain now soaking through their uniforms, the Marines of course had arrived suitably protected but the rest of the away teams had beamed down in standard Starfleet duty kit. So much for the unreliability of passive sensors. "Major, how close are we to the enclave?", said Rogers, the water dripping off of his nose as he spoke. "About a quarter of a kilometre, I would think that we would make visual with it over that ridge", said Kowalski pointed up at the required location. (Reply Rogers, Any) "The rain may be hampering us Lieutenant, but it will also provide us with noise cover upon our approach, less likely for us to be heard rustling through the undergrowth", said the MXO with a smile as he flicked on his internal comms equipment once again. "House, how ya doing back there?", he asked. (Reply Houseman) "Understood, keep me appraised....code to SD is zulu one nine, confirm acknowledgement", said Kowalski. (Reply Houseman) "Roger that, Kowalski out", said the MXO as he continued on up the slope towards the ridge. (Reply Rogers, Houseman, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Captain`s ready room - Captain T'Vhor - 13:50) That last statement from the Ferengi was typical to say the very least, another riddle designed to confuse rather than assist. But then again if maintaining the status quo meant not allowing the meddlesome Brak to become involved in anything too important on the bridge, then it had to be a step in the right direction. It went without saying of course that the Captain would never have ejected the Ferengi into the cold airless vacuum of space, it had simply been a verbal manifestation of his annoyance at being apparently duped, nothing more. Sometimes being of dual decent had it`s problems & the constant battle of logic & inner feeling often muddied the waters of the Captain`s mind, one minute there was cold logic, the next heated passion. This was his cross to bear so to speak. For the moment however, T'Vhor drummed his fingers somewhat mindlessly upon the table as he contemplated the meeting he had just held with Brak, the Ferengi had actually implied that perhaps he was doing just what the President required of him, could it be so? Surely not...... A trustworthy Ferengi was about as rare as an ice crystal in the fires of hell & the Captain found himself dwelling upon the words of Morgot, the Klingon security chief he had fought alongside & subsequently replaced on the USS Paladin. ~Duj tivoqtaH~ The Vulcan hybrid almost said it aloud as he thought it.....always trust your instincts. Strong & true words if ever there were. Perhaps this was a time to do just that for his instincts told him now that this Ferengi had hidden depths. T'Vhor quickly opened a channel to the security chief. "T'Vhor to Vasilyovna" =/\=Go ahead sir=/\= "I want you to assign someone to keep an eye on Daimon Brak", said the Captain, "no need to shadow his every move, I just don`t want him wandering anywhere he should'nt", he added. =/\=Aye sir, I`ll get right on it=/\= ~Better safe than sorry~ (Reply None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski & PResidential Aide Unaru Castigan - 13:55) If they had thought that the rain was uncomfortable beforehand, lying in the mud at the top of the verge made them reconsider that thought. The rain had actually eased though so that was some comfort at least. From where they had stopped however, they could now see the compound with it`s high fencing leading around it`s perimeter. Small hut like structures were plentiful within it & it seemed that there was actually a thriving community residing there. Almost imediately, the MXO had mapped the lay of the land in his head & had pinpointed the ridge to their imediate east facing the compound as the most likely vantage for Houseman & in an instance, he had opened a secure channel to him. "House, the ridge at two o-clock, that`s the high ground", said Kowalski as his comms chirped to signal the sniper preparing to respond. (Reply Houseman) "Affirmative, code to go is Alpha one nine....SD is as arranged, Kowalski out", said the MXO as he switched off his communication & returned his attention briefly to the compound below before then looking over his shoulder at a rather wet presidential aide. "I bet your wishing you didn`t wear that robe now uh", said Kowalski wryly. Castigan frowned but said nothing as the drops continued to run from the top of his wool like hair & slowly down onto the tip of his nose before falling to the dirt beneath him. "So activate that damn thing", said Kowalski, "if we can get the man out here without having to storm the place that`ll be a plus", he added. "If you would just be quiet Major, that would be a plus also", said Castigan as he reached into his shoulder bag to take out the small, silver tube housing the transponder that was keyed to the matching one carried by the presidents himself. "It is done, five minutes......if we don`t get the desired responce you may 'Storm' the bastille at your leasure Major Kowalski", said Castigan. This time it was Kowalski`s turn to screw up his face as he allowed a frown to appear upon it. "The desired responce being?", said the MXO. "I will know", said Castigan smugly, "I will know" (Reply Houseman, Any, None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - CMO Williams - Nurse Douwsy - 13:56) "I will know" Andrew looked at Castigan for a moment as he and Douwsy reached him and Kowalski. He saw below him a community of small huts surounded by a high fence. He could not see any one about but that was not supprising due to the rain. "We could pop in for a cup of tea." He said quietly. He heard Douwsy give a soft moan. "Andrew anyone would think your addicted to it." He looked at her and grinned back. "I have to have some vices you know." Douwsy just shook her head. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Agent Smith - 13:57) Jo looked at the small compound below her. ~At least the rain is giving us some cover~ There was a ridge off to the east. It gave a commanding view of the whole area. ~That's where I would put my sniper~ She looked at the surrounding terrain. ~All it would take was a direct phaser blast from a passing starship and we would be history~ She tried to put that unsettling thought out of her mind. ~If I was the enemy I would wait until the President showed himself and then take him out. Probably a sniper~ She glanced back at the ridge. She then turned back and walked closer to Williams and Douwsy. ~Hope he does not get into too much trouble. Johnson would have a fit if anything happened to him now~ (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Corporal Houseman - 13:57) =^=House, the ridge at two o-clock, that`s the high ground=^= "Copy moving." =^=Affirmative, code to go is Alpha one nine....SD is as arranged, Kowalski out=^= Houseman slowly moved to a crouch. He picked up the rifle and began to move slowly towards the coordinates that Kowalski had said. He moved slowly checking the terrain around him. It would not be good for the hunter to become the hunted. It took him about five minutes to get to the ridge. He placed himself under a bush just under the ridge. He then looked through his scope at the small compound below. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Bridge - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 14:00) Vasilyovna simply quirked an eyebrow in responce to the transient she had just monitored on her board. It had appeared only briefly somewhere within the dorsal sensor array as a momentary fluctuation of power, if it appeared again it could conceivably affect the cloak & that was not something the security chief wanted to have to face right at this moment in time. Glancing over at the ACEO, Yelena noted by her actions that she too had monitored something on the EPS monitor & within seconds she was running her fingers across her own board in an attempt to isolate it`s source. "I take it you saw that too", said Yelena. (Reply Bristed) Yelena quickly returned her attention to her console & verified the stored transient as genuine & not a sensor glitch. "I have it on the dorsal sensor array, looks like it might be on one of the EPS nodes", said the chief. "I`m reading further fluctuations on the EPS grid", said Yelena her fingers now moving deftly across her console. "Ensign Bristed, if this is going to affect the cloak we may have a security situation here, can you see which of the nodes are affected?", she added without once taking her attention from her screen. (Reply Bristed) "I`ll inform the Captain, you better get down to the engineering deck & see what`s going on, I`ll assign a security officer to go with you until we have this under control", said Vasilyovna. (Reply Bristed) "Vasilyovna to Yates", said Yelena after tapping her combadge. =/\=Yates here, go ahead sir=/\= "I want you to meet Ensign Bristed on deck thirteen, there may be an issue with the cloak & I don`t want to take any chances on this being an isolated incident", said the Security chief. =/\=Aye sir, on my way=/\= "Ensign Bristed", said Yelena calling after the ACEO as she headed for the turbolift. (Reply Bristed) "Keep a look out for anything untoward in regards the cloaking device itself", said Yelena, "anything that looks like it shouldn`t be there.....if you know what I mean", she added, implying that she wasn`t ruling out a possible sabotage situation evolving now. (Reply Bristed, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - ACEO Robin Bourne - 14:00) After checking the new rate of matter-antimatter reaction from the reduced warp was stable, he headed back to the main section of Engineering. On route, he noticed a silent alert had started on one of the un-manned consoles in the corner of his eye. Suddenly stopping, he leant back, and turned his head to confirm what he had just seen. He stood there for a second, pondering what to do about it. He decided to take his own actions, and nervously head towards it, in hope it was something minor. As soon as he approached the console, the alert had died, as if it was back to normal. Frowning, he thought to himself that he was going crazy, seeing alerts that were not true. He looked around, seeing if anyone has noticed. The rest of the engineering crew were busy with other things, so he took another the opportunity to check by logging in as no one he thought was watching. He saw it was on the cloaking device Diagnostic screen, checking the power and alerting of any unknown problems. Knowing next to nothing major about the cloaking device, and no one else being available, he took it as if it were any other system. In confusion with the current results, he decided to check with other history records. This showed some more random results. Not understanding these, he couldn't to put down to if this was normal, or if this was extra-ordinary. His mind raced in front of him, thinking of scenarios that could change what he saw into logic. After glaring at the screen in a trance for what seemed like hours, he raided his hand to the common computer console commands, aiming for the voice command activation. Tapping it lightly, he spoke "Computer, locate Ensign... ..." His mind went blank thinking of the ensign that was in engineering that morning. He remembered her and Chenoll talking about the Cloaking Device, and thought it would be best to check with another Ensign before calling the Leiunantent over. [Not a valid crew member. Please Restate] Replied the computer as a time out occured. He swore to himself for forgetting at time of urgancy. Getting frustrated, he attempted to recall the previous conversation between. he mubled to himself what it could have been. "Briated? Bristal? Brist.... Bristed!" he yelped as he remembered what it was. Re-tapping the voice command activation, he repeated "Computer, located Ensign Bristed!" with an edge of enthusiasm and excitment. [Ensign Bristed on Deck 13] replied the computer in a soft, smooth monotone voice. Grabbing a blank PADD from the side, he attached it to the console and commanded to copy all the current and recent history results. After a few seconds, a flashing message of 'Download Complete' had come up on the screen. Grabbing the PADD and re-locking the console, he headed towards the turbolift, spinning around inside it, awaiting the doors to close. Looking back at engineering, he noticed a few other engineers had turned their attention to him. Ignoring them, and once the doors had closed, he ordered the turbolift to Deck 13, in hope that nothing serious was up - and he was doing the right thing. (Reply none, any) (Posted by Robin Bourne) (USS Spectre - Bridge - ACEO Jacqueline Bristed - 14:01) Bristed watched her board, trying to convince herself she wasn't about to jump out of her skin with apprehension. Her first assignment could have been anything, but she had the luck--be it good or bad--to end up in the middle of, well, of this whole situation. Suddenly something flickered across her board, interrupting her train of thought. ~What the hell is that? Power jump?~ Whatever it was, she needed to figure out where it was coming from and stop it. The last thing they needed was for the cloak to give out. Her fingers flew across the board, desperately trying to locate the source of the fluctuation before it caused any trouble for them. Where had it come from, anyhow, if it wasn't a glitch? "I take it you saw that too", said Vasilyovna. "I saw something. I was hoping I just imagined it," Jacqueline answered. "I'm trying to figure out where it came from now," she explained, only glancing up for a second before returning to her search. "I have it on the dorsal sensor array, looks like it might be on one of the EPS nodes", said the chief. "I`m reading further fluctuations on the EPS grid,"said Yelena her fingers now moving deftly across her console. "Ensign Bristed, if this is going to affect the cloak we may have a security situation here, can you see which of the nodes are affected?", she added without once taking her attention from her screen. Bristed shook her head as she attempted to single out which node had caused the fluctuation. "Not from here. Maybe if I were down in Engineering I'd have better luck, sir," she added. ~Unless I'm on an unlucky streak. God forbid!~ "I`ll inform the Captain, you better get down to the engineering deck & see what`s going on, I`ll assign a security officer to go with you until we have this under control", said Vasilyovna. "Sure thing--uh, right," Jacqueline stumbled verbally. She hurriedly corrected herself with a simple, "Yessir." She turned, heading for the turbolift and trying to keep herself from charging at full speed. She'd probably just crash into someone anyhow. "Ensign Bristed", said Yelena calling after the ACEO as she headed for the turbolift. Bristed paused a beat, turning back toward Vasilyovna. "Keep a look out for anything untoward in regards the cloaking device itself", said Yelena, "anything that looks like it shouldn`t be there.....if you know what I mean", she added, implying that she wasn`t ruling out a possible sabotage situation evolving now. "Will do." She whirled back to the turbolift, barking out "Deck Thirteen," as soon as she was in. She hoped it was just a mechanical problem. A saboteur was the last thing she wanted to face right now. (Reply any) (Posted by Siobhan Armstrong) (USS Spectre - Hydroponics - SO Ensign Yates - 14:05) Yates had been being his usual, self assured self when the call from the bridge had come down from the chief. If that call could of possibly have come at a less than apt time then he wasn`t aware of it but then that was typical of Vasilyovna when she had a bolt up her butt. As it was though, he had actually been right in the middle of a serious all out assault on the sences of Ensign Marree Satee, a nut that was being particularly difficult for the young lothario to crack for sure. It wasn`t the first time he`d attempted to charm the elven looking female off her feet of course & it probably wouldn`t be the last, for now however it had been cut short for duty had just called & it had a distinctly Russian accent. "Looks like we`ll have to leave this till later then", said Yates straightening himself up from the casual leaning stance he had adopted throughout his dealings with the young botanist. "Oh, for sure", said the woman with a forced smile as he turned about & strolled towards the door. Satee breathed a sigh of relief & then she looked to the ceiling as though paying respect to some god on high. ~Thank you Lieutenant~ Yates had missed the gesture entirely of course for his mind was incapable of even deigning to stoop to such thoughts of rejection. It was probably just as well anyway. As it was though he entered the turbolift with a spring in his step as always & turned about briskly to face the closing doors. "Deck Thirteen", said Yates & the lift began it`s decent through the ship to the accompaniment of the vertically scrolling transit light bars until it had arrived at it`s required destination. He then stepped out & walked towards the secondary engineering section where he waited for the arrival of the ACEO. (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Turbolift - ACEO Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 14:06) Somehow the lift seemed to be going slower than usual, as if it sensed her urgency and had decided to work against her. Jacqueline felt like slamming her fist into the wall, something, anything to make things go faster. For the moment, the young woman decided there were definite drawbacks to adrenaline, and being stuck inside what must be the slowest lift of all time was surely one of them. Finally the thing came to a stop. Bristed practically leapt out, more than ready to get to work on keeping the cloak operational. ~Where's this securi--oh, there.~ She spotted the security officer assigned to escort her or whatever it was security people called it. Forcing herself to act at least a bit more calmly than she felt, she approached him. "Yates, right? Mind if I'm a bit...informal?" she asked, not wanting to be burdened with protocol and proper responses in this situation if the security officer was comfortable with that. (Reply Yates) "Fine. Let's go then," Jacqueline said. She somehow managed to walk and not run on her way to inspect the nodes and figure out exactly what was going on. She did, however, walk rather quickly. ~Please let this just be some kind of machine trouble and not someone messing things up!~ (Reply Yates, Any) (Posted by Siobhan Armstrong) (USS Spectre - Deck Thirteen - SO Ensign Yates - 14:07) Yates had been leaning against the wall trying his best to appear as though he knew what he was up against in regards this cloak problem, but the truth of the matter was that he most definately didn`t. Engineers puzzled him to say the very least, the way they routinely pulled panels off of walls & delved about inside them as though they did it every waking second unnerved him. What if something went bang, what if they coughed or something when routing a new plasma EPO STD or PVC conduit or something? And why did they always resort to using such words as those anyway, why couldn`t they just say, 'that thing there is busted', so much easier..... Yates was actually still lost in those thoughts when the turbolift doors slid aside in the corridor, he haden`t even known exactly who it was he was supposed to be meeting anyway, Bristed? who was Bristed? ~Probably one of the new officers brought aboard at Starbase three seven five....or something~ The woman that presented herself however seemed to be precisely what he had expected, she looked confident, perhaps a little wet behind the ears may`be but what else could he expect of a new arrival to the ship. "Yates, right? Mind if I'm a bit...informal?" said the woman as she approached him. Yates stood up straight at her arrival & subsequent announcement. Predictably one of the first things he had noticed after the fact that she seemed confident was the fact that she was cute & a brunette, he had always found blondes intimidating, brunettes were far easier on the eye for sure. "Informal, sure, informal is good", said Yates, "we`re both Ensigns after all, no need for all that sir crap at all", he added. "Fine. Let's go then," said the ACEO, imediately heading off towards the doors that led to the room housing the phased cloaking device. "So, your new here", said Yates in an attempt to make conversation. (Reply Bristed) "Oh yeah, the shuttle that was attacked", said Yates, "that was a close call", he added. (Reply Bristed, IYW) "One moment", said Yates stepping in front of the ACEO now before she entered the room itself, "if Vasilyovna wants a security presence here she must have a damned good reason", he added stepping into the room & looking about quickly for anything untoward. "Looks ok", he added with a nod as he beckoned the ACEO to enter & begin her work. She proceeded exactly as he would have expected, the panel was predictably off in no time at all & her hands were in there in a second as she fished about with whatever it was that made this damn thing work. Yates screwed his face up as he anticipated the aforementioned bang, which never happened of course. "Do you enjoy this work Ensign Bristed?", said Yates, "I mean, sticking your hands in amongst that dangerous plasma stuff all the time", he added. (Reply Bristed) "I see", said Yates obviously failing to grasp the concept of multiple redundant safety lockouts. "I`ll be right over here by the door, out of the, er....um, blast zone, let me know if you need anything", he added as he turned about & left her to her work. (Reply Bristed) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Corporal Houseman - 14.07) Houseman noticed movement out the corner of his scope. He quickly centred it on a small group of five people who had appeared from a small hut at the far side of the compound. He looked carefully at each one until he was certain that he had his target. ~Looks like this is it~ He opened his magazine and put in an explosive round. Better to make sure that there is nothing left for the enemy to have. ~Better phone in~ He lined his cross hairs on the president’s head just above his left temple. “Major. Sir,Target in sight surrounded by four X-rays. Far side of the compound north west of your position moving south.” (reply Kowalski) “Roger, Copy that.” (reply, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Deck Thirteen – ACEO Jacqueline Bristed - 14:08) "So, you’re new here", said Yates as they made their way to the room housing the cloaking device. She didn’t mind talking; in fact, it might help ease the apprehension she was feeling about this whole situation. "Yeah, it’s my first day, just got in on the Sekhmet," she explained with a shrug and a smile. ~And why did this have to happen on my first day?~ "Oh yeah, the shuttle that was attacked", said Yates, "that was a close call", he added. "Close call? I wasn’t sure I’d made it at first," Bristed responded. They had arrived, and she was about to enter the room when Yates stepped in front of her. "One moment. If Vasilyovna wants a security presence here she must have a damned good reason", he told her. He went in, looking about quickly, almost as though he expected something to leap out and attack as they went in. It almost felt like some kind of action story, where the hero went in first to flush out any danger. Once the coast was clear, he and the heroine (or tagalong girlfriend, as the case may be) would go in, thinking everything was safe and then—and then all hell would break loose. ~ But the good guys always win in the end, right? ~ The train of thought was worrisome. Sometimes only one of the heroes made it out alive in those things, and it was usually the protagonist. If it came to that, she hoped this was her story. "Looks ok," came Yates’ voice, cutting into her daydreaming. He beckoned her into the room, and she got down to work. Something was wrong in here, she knew. What it was remained to be seen, but there was definitely something wrong. She opened the panel, hoping this was something that could be solved easily, and hoping even more it was of a mundane nature. ~What’s wrong with you? ~ she asked the device silently. ~Make you a deal: if you let me find out what’s wrong I’ll fix it for you, and then you won’t have engineers poking you here. Deal?~ It was a pointless train of thought, but sometimes it seemed to help when she didn’t know what was wrong. It couldn’t hurt anyhow. "Do you enjoy this work Ensign Bristed?" said Yates, "I mean, sticking your hands in amongst that dangerous plasma stuff all the time", he added. "Sure! I’ve been doing it for…oh, when I was nine or ten I started with minor things for Dad. Haven’t been bitten yet," she said, glancing back at the apprehensive security officer. "Not hard, anyways," she said, trying to make a joke of it. The man’s response of, "I see," made it clear she had failed. "I`ll be right over here by the door, out of the, er....um, blast zone, let me know if you need anything", he added as he turned about & left her to her work. ~There had bloody well not be a blast zone!~ Something caught her eye, something that seemed off, but she wasn't sure she should get any closer right now. Was that supposed to look like that, or was the stress getting to her? "I'm not sure..." she muttered to herself. "Maybe I'm losing it, but could you come take a look at this? I promise you won't have to put any part of your body in here," Bristed called to Yates, remembering his reluctance to be anywhere near where she was working. She stepped away from the open panel so he could see what she was talking about. (Reply Yates, Bourne, any) (Posted by Siobhan Armstrong) (USS Spectre - Strategic Operations Centre – STRATOPS, Ensign Korak – 14:08) Korak surveyed the latest data from the USS Hood. The need for stealth meant open communications were a complete no-no, but Starfleet was capable of being quite unorthodox in its methods. The Hood’s cover story was the study of a rare subspace anomaly, and to fit with this her status reports had been coded to the range of broad-beam sensor activity she was emitting. To anyone observing her actions, she would merely be probing the anomaly with one of many appropriate bandwidths in an effort to further scientific understanding, but to the knowing insider, the choice of bandwidth held considerable information about the apparent state of the Neutral Zone. That said, at these distances, you need to know where to look and what to look for to detect much change in the background radiation of local space. Thankfully, all had been relatively still, with very little variation in the Hood’s sensor output, which meant things were apparently calm at the Neutral Zone. Of course, logically, all that served was to indicate that the Romulan fleet were either cloaked, or elsewhere (such as the Carraya system). Or both. Feeling the lack of change didn’t warrant a personal appearance on the bridge, Korak flagged the latest report, along with a brief confirmation to the Operations station on the bridge, to be relayed to the Captain or duty officer, and returned to his other reports. (Reply Ops, any, none) (Posted by Michael Drake) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski & Presidential Aide Unaru Castigan - 14.09) Kowalski had been here before, lying in the dirt in less than favourable conditions. It was nothing new. As it was though it was better than sinking into the muck of a quicksand mire as they had regularly done in the swamps of Betazed during their last mission to retrieve that damned woman. Looking out onto the compound though with the rain now diminishing to a light drizzle, he reached up to wipe the water from his brow just as his comms chirped into life with Housemans voice. =/\=Major. Sir,Target in sight surrounded by four X-rays. Far side of the compound north west of your position moving south.=/\= Kowalski quickly unclipped his side pouch & withdrew his Starfleet issue binoculars to imediately scrutinize the area in question, noting as he did so the targets indicated by the Corporal high on the ridge. "I see them House, SD is still viable at this point......standby for further orders", said the MXO. (Reply Houseman) Kowalski then scanned the compound right & left looking for further signs of movement before turning his attention to Castigan. "Well?", said Kowalski, "you said you would know Mr Castigan....tell me, do you know?", he added. "The transponder signal has indeed been received & acknowledged, by whom though I would not know", said Castigan. Kowalski sighed heavily in responce, then he returned his attention to the compound via his binoculars. "What use is a transponder that gets acknowledged & yet still can`t ascertain who it is that`s pushed the damned button", said the MXO. "It`s him, it has to be......unless it was taken from him", said Castigan, "let me go down there, it`s the only way to be certain", he added moving to stand up now. "No, not yet", said the MXO, "not until we know it`s not a trap", he added whilst continuing to survey the imediate area. By this time of course, the moving contacts had reached another structure & had entered it to take them out of Housemans line of sight. "House, Do you still have contact", said the MXO. (Reply Houseman) "It doesn`t matter, it was probably a test run with a decoy, just to check the lay of the land before they commit to verification of the transponder signal", said Kowalski returning his binoculars to the pouch in his BDU. "Send the signal again Mr Castigan, the fact nobody has fired upon them should have confirmed that we are who we are supposed to be", said Kowalski. "I already have done Major, I recommend we still wait until we are contacted, the president will have access to the secure marine comm channel", said Castigan, "give him a chance" (Reply Houseman, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Deck Thirteen – SO Ensign Yates & TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 14:10) ~So Miss Satee, how do I get you to play ball....ten forward, theatre, holodeck........candlelit dinner for two may'be?~ Yates was now deep in thought, his mind drifting towards his past encounter with the botanist from earlier. His mind should have been on the job in hand of course but to be truthful, it suited him better for it to be elsewhere at this particular moment in time. Anywhere other than the thought of explosions was good enough for him right now, trust someone to go & louse it up! It was those first words that did it.... "I'm not sure...", she had said. ~Here we go~ "What, what is it your not sure of....exactly?", said Yates moving cautiously over towards the opened panel, "it isn`t a bomb is it!", he added crouching down next to the ACEO in order to see for himself what it was she had noted. (Reply Bristed) The bomb reference had been a joke of course but the fact that he was now staring at something he most definately recognised brought him imediately to his sences & this realisation wiped the joking manner from within him faster than a Sona officer could say rejuvination. "Jesus", said Yates, his face changing now to indicate the gravity of the situation they were now facing. "I`ve seen one of these before & it definately ain`t Starfleet issue", he added moving Ensign Bristed slowly, but cautiously backwards & away from the opened aperture. "I wouldn`t touch that if I were you", he added as he reached up to his combadge & cleared his voice. "Yates to Vasilyovna" =/\=Vasilyovna here, go ahead=/\= "Sir, we have something here, looks like a mark nine proximity detonator tied into the cloak", said Yates. The security chief didn`t even pause before answering, she imediately ordered the section to be cordoned off, then she announced that she would be right down. "There goes my date", said Yates with a shrug of his large shoulders, "well, at least until we deal with this anyway".... (Reply Bristed, Bourne, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Deck Thirteen - ACEO Ensign Robin Bourne - 14:10) Robin entered deck 13 for the first time since he boarded the Spectre. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have time to look about before hearing a raised voice from in front. "It isn't a bomb is it?" said a security guard crouching behind the ensign. Walking forward to the scene with an edge of caution, he realised what all the commotion was about. "Sir, we have something here, looks like a mark nine proximity detonator tied into the cloak", said Yates. ~Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!~. He didn't bother finishing off the thought as he knew what that could only mean bad. Awaiting the two to finish a brief conversation, he interrupted the two with the PADD he was holding in his hand, containing the diagnostic records that he wanted them to look over. "Ensign, Bristed, isn't it? I got this from upstairs on one of the terminals that displayed a warning for a few seconds, and then disappeared. I wanted to check it over with you before getting the Chief Engineer involved, but I think, for some reason or another, it might be just a little relevant". He tried to make a joke out of it, failing miserably. "I have no clue what it means as I have not touched cloaking technology before.. But it doesn't look like any other diagnostics results I have seen before", he finished. (Reply Bristed and/or Yates) "Oh, sorry, Names Robin Bourne, new here. I entered 2 minutes ago but kept quiet when I heard you shouting bomb.. erm.. You know you said Proximity detonator, shouldn't we be somewhere over there", he replied, looking at Yates and pointing to the entrance of the room, the furthest point away from where they were. (Reply Yates, Bristed) "And also.. Hate talking negative and all, but why has it not blown when we came into proximity, with it? You said that it's a mark Nine, you must know a little about it? What is it suppose to do?", he asked Yates trying to pin down if it was to destroy the cloak, set's something else off, and why it had not exploded?". (Reply Yates, Bristed) Soon after, the turbo lift doors opened containing the security chief. Deciding not to get in the way, he backed away from the group in hopes not to get dragged into why he didn't approach the engineering chief first, and listened to the following conversation. (Reply Yates, Bristed, any) (Posted by Robin Bourne) (USS Spectre - Deck Thirteen – ACEO Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 14:11) "What, what is it your not sure of....exactly?", said Yates moving cautiously over towards the opened panel,"It isn`t a bomb is it?", he added crouching down next to the ACEO in order to see for himself what it was she had noted. "Well…" Jacqueline said, remembering Lieutenant Vasilyovna’s admonishment to watch for anything that looked out of place. This definitely fit the bill as far as she knew, but then…well, phased cloaking devices were hardly commonly found, so maybe this was legitimately there. She’d rather someone who knew more about untoward things have a look at this. It didn’t take long for Yates to identify what the unknown object was, judging from the almost immediate change in his demeanor. "Jesus," the man exclaimed. "I`ve seen one of these before & it definately ain`t Starfleet issue", he added. He started moving her away from the opened panel, and she willingly backed up, very sure she had stumbled upon something she’d just as soon rather not know about. "I wouldn`t touch that if I were you", he added. Bristed shook her head mutely. Whatever she had uncovered, she wished she hadn’t. Well, maybe not. If it was a bomb, at least they knew it was there now. But she had been so close, and what if she had decided to just move it, bump it a little to get a better idea what is was? She nervously listened to what Yates was reporting, hoping to get an idea what exactly was going on. "Yates to Vasilyovna" =/\=Vasilyovna here, go ahead=/\= "Sir, we have something here, looks like a mark nine proximity detonator tied into the cloak", said Yates. ~Proximity detonator…oh God. I was…I’m an idiot!~ She should have known this was the sabotage she had been looking out for, instead of guessing. Sure, she had known something was wrong, but this wrong? How could she have been so…stupid? And the thought of what could have happened if she had come any closer coupled with that comment Yates had made earlier about "blast zones" was enough to make her somewhat nauseated as she imagined what could have happened. "There goes my date", said Yates with a shrug of his large shoulders, "well, at least until we deal with this anyway".... Biting her lip, Jacqueline fought with herself not to lash out at the security officer for the levity of his comment. To be fair, he was probably doing it out of nerves. Better to just try to figure out what could be done to fix the situation. ~And avoid getting us killed~ (Reply Yates, Bourne, Any) (Posted by Siobhan Armstrong) (USS Spectre - Deck Thirteen - ACEO Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 14:12) Out of nowhere came a fellow engineer, or at least it seemed that way. Had she not been so horrified at the discovery she and Yates had made, Bristed might have wondered how he got there so silently. "Ensign, Bristed, isn’t it? I got this from upstairs on one of the terminals that displayed a warning for a few seconds, and then disappeared. I wanted to check it over with you before getting the Chief Engineer involved, but I think, for some reason or another, it might be just a little relevant," the newcomer said. Jacqueline refused to dignify that with an answer. More likely than not she’d spew out something unprofessional anyway, interspersed with ‘colorful language’, and that wasn’t really the best thing to do right now. She listened as he continued. "I have no clue what it means as I have not touched cloaking technology before… But it doesn’t look like any other diagnostics results I have seen before," he finished. Jacqueline put her hand out to take the PADD, arching an eyebrow at the man. "Lemme see those. Sorry, I…don’t know you, but it seems you know me," she said. Giving the diagnostic results a glance, she noticed fluctuations similar to the ones they had detected on the bridge, not that it helped much at the moment. ~Those probably happened when this detonator was being placed. Lovely.~ "Oh, sorry, Names Robin Bourne, new here. I entered 2 minutes ago but kept quiet when I heard you shouting bomb.. erm.. You know you said Proximity detonator, shouldn’t we be somewhere over there" he replied, looking at Yates and pointing to the entrance of the room, the furthest point away from where they were. ~He’s new too? Any more green crewmembers and we’ll be able to set up ‘ponics down here.~ (Reply Yates) "and also… Hate talking negative and all, but why has it not blown when we came into ‘proximity’ with it? You said that it’s a mark Nine, you must know a little about it? What is it suppose to do?" he continued. "Explode, I assume," Jacqueline said. "That’s all I know." Now it was her turn to make an awful joke, a miserable failure if ever she'd heard one. Maybe everyone did that under stress; everybody here seemed to be trying. (Reply Yates, Bourne, any) (Posted by Siobhan Armstrong) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Corporal Houseman - 14.12) =^=I see them House, SD is still viable at this point......standby for further orders. =^= "Copy that." He kept his scope centred on the president. Keeping his breathing slow he slid his finger on to the trigger. ~Breath in then slowly out as you shoot~ He watched as the group headed over to another small hut. ~Now would be a good time~ He saw them enter the hut. He thought about getting a shot through the hut window but it was to dark. He would not be able to get a positive ID. ~Missed them.~ =^=House, Do you still have contact=^= "Negative Sir. they have gone into a small hut. The one with the white windows." He began his sweeps of the compound again. he did not want to miss any other movement. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Turbolift One - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna & SO Ensign Yates - 14:13) "Deck thirteen", said the security chief & the turbolift began it`s decent with an irrate looking Vasilyovna drumming her fingers impatiently against her right hip as it went. The one thing that was certain now was that her worst fears had suddenly just become horribly real, if this thing was what Yates had said it was then they now had a saboteur situation on board. AGAIN... Yelena shook her head in denial & breathed a heavy sigh as the doors slid aside to allow her abrupt exit. At least they knew now why the power had been fluctuating. Passing a few crewman meandering down the corridor, she picked up her pace & then headed for the Cloaking device engineering section wondering just what she would find. For the moment anyway, red alert had not been initiated but Yelena had already invoked yellow alert & informed the Captain of what was transpiring, it was a tentative situation for sure & it was as though everything had suddenly conspired against them all in one go. Having to maintain their cloak in hostile territory with a possible saboteur on board & an away team on the surface out of contact was a nightmare scenario for sure, could it get any worse? Stepping through the doors to the engineering section though, the SC spied four people now congregating around the opened panel. The new Ensign was there as requested & she seemed to be pretty much involved with something or other on one of the other panels with Ensign Bourne, both were passing ideas back & forth when she arrived but not agreeing on either. "Ok, what have we got?", said Yelena addressing Yates. "Like I said Chief, looks a lot like a type nine, possibly Romulan in origin, it isn`t ours anyway & it looks like it hasn`t been here long either", said Yates as Vasilyovna crouched down before the opening to run a tricorder scan on it. The machine beeped a few times in responce, then it displayed it`s analysis. "Your right, it has a proximity fuse....we can`t get near it without setting it off", said Yelena. "We can`t shut the cloak down either, not here anyway", she added initiating a second deeper scan of the device. "What is this circuit that it`s tied into?", she asked turning to both Bristed & Bourne. (Reply Bristed, Bourne, Any) "Then that means if it triggers, we either lose power to the cloak or something close to home goes nova", said Yelena, "Either way this isn`t good", she added standing up now & tapping her combadge. "Vasilyovna to Chenoll" (Reply Chenoll) "If your not busy Lieutenant, I could use you in the cloaking device engineering section", said Yelena, "we have a little problem" (Reply Bristed, Bourne, Chenoll, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre – Deck Thirteen – ACEO Jacqueline Bristed - 14:15) The Security Chief had arrived, scanning the whatever-it-was and confirming that it was a proximity detonator. "What is this circuit that its tied into?", Vasilyovna asked turning to both Bristed & Bourne. "It’s part of the—" Bristed cut herself off, realizing that spewing technical jargon right now wasn’t something that needed doing. "That’s pretty much what’s powering the cloak right now," she amended. Not really something she wanted to admit, but there it was. "Then that means if it triggers, we either lose power to the cloak or something close to home goes nova. Either way this isn`t good." Jacqueline shook her head ‘no’ as she tried to think of something that would be useful in this situation…but drew a blank. Vasilyovna called for Lieutenant Chenoll to come, and a glimmer of hope shone out in Bristed’s mind. Maybe the Bolian woman would have a brilliant idea, and the day would be saved… (Reply Vasilyovna, Bourne, Chenoll, Any) (Posted by Siobhan) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski - 14:15) The faint crackling coming over the MXO`s secure comms system was faint & obscure, but there was definately a voice contact. It was as though someone were cycling available frequencies in order to identify a certain carrier, then all of a sudden it was crystal clear as whomever might be doing that locked on. =/\=To the commander of the marine forces assisting the presidential aide..... your signal has been received & confirmed....please stand by=/\= Kowalski of course remained silent & turned to Castigan & the rest of the away team who lay precisely where they had been all the time they had been there, in the mud & looking very much as though they would rather be elsewhere. The voice in the MXO`s comms device had been a male voice, tinged as it was with clear mistrust & doubt due to the importance of the man that voice was obviously accompanying, the rest of the away team however had been oblivious to the communication for it had only been heard by Kowalski himself. Then it came again.... =/\=You are directed to the northern perimeter, the gate will open once you are there & you will enter....alone=/\= =/\=Any signs of hostility or aggression will be met with deadly force.... have the presidential aide activate the transponder once more if you understand these requirements=/\= The communication was then abruptly cut, the MXO having to think quickly as to how this would now proceed. Looking up briefly at the ridge to the north east, he knew that Houseman was there, dug in & with a clear line of sight to the gate in question so if anything were to go wrong now, at least he would have some cover. Kowalski took a deep breath & pondered the situation, then he activated his comms again. "House, what are you seeing?", said the MXO. (Reply Houseman) "Understood, codes are pending.......I`m going down there & I want you to cover me", said Kowalski as he slowly raised himself up from his lying position into a crouched one before addressing the away team behind him. "I`ve just received a transmission from the compound", said the MXO, "the signal HAS been received, the presidential aide HAS been acknowledged as the bona fide holder of the transmission source", he added. (Reply Any) "I`ve no reason to feel that I am in any immediate danger but Houseman is in position for cover if it becomes necessary", said Kowalski as he stood up straight & then turned to face the compound. "You are directed to activate the transponder one more time Mr Castigan", said the MXO, knowing that once this was done anyone out there would be able to triangulate that signal & pinpoint their location to within one metre. Castigan looked down at the transponder in his hand, then up at the MXO with a questioning look in his eye as though he knew the man had just put himself in the gunsights of a possible assassin. Castigan then activated the device for the third & final time. Kowalski held his breath as the signal was sent, if anyone was going to attempt to take him out, now was the time they would do it for he was wide open & clearly in sight now. As it was though, no such weapons fire became evident & so the MXO began the slow trudge down through the undergrowth towards the small path lying below that would ultimately take him to the northern gate. (Reply Houseman, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Corporal Houseman - 14:20) Houseman had been scanning the compound when Kowalski's communication came through. =^=House, what are you seeing?=^= "Nothing Sir. No movement." =^= Understood, codes are pending.......I`m going down there & I want you to cover me=^= ~This could go very nasty~ He scanned the compound again. He then turned and put his cross hairs on the major as he came out of cover. He scanned Kowalski's route but he could not see any dangers. He then began to start a meticulous search of the compound looking for any enemy. Starting with the gate. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - CMO - Williams - 14:22) Andrew looked up as the Major began to speak. "I`ve just received a transmission from the compound", said the MXO, "the signal HAS been received, the presidential aide HAS been acknowledged as the bona fide holder of the transmission source", he added. "Major do you think we are in any danger out here?" "I`ve no reason to feel that I am in any immediate danger but Houseman is in position for cover if it becomes necessary", said Kowalski as he stood up straight & then turned to face the compound. ~Good to know that the marines are with us~ Andrew looked at Douwsy who shrugged her shoulders. He watched as the Major moved from his hiding space and began to move towards the compound. Andrew moved himself into a position so that he could follow if necessary. (reply any) (Posted by Robbie) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - Agent Smith - 14:24) Jo watched as Kowalski moved towards the compound. ~Really need more cover then this~ She looked at the compound. ~If any thing goes wrong he's going to be a sitting duck out there. With or without Houseman~ She noticed Andrew shift his position so that he could react more quickly if needed. ~Looks like someone is not feeling happy about this either~ She pulled out her hand phaser, checked the it was fully charged and that it was on the correct setting. Then settled herself ready for action. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Section - Acting CEO - Lt. (JG) Chenoll - 14.25) Chenoll walked into engineering and looked at Lt. Vasilyovna. "What seems to be the problem?" Chenoll asked, looking around the room. (reply Vasilynvoa, any) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Engineering Section - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 14.26) "What seems to be the problem?", said the Bolian Engineer upon her entry into the room. Imediately she had spoken, all eyes were upon her hoping that she would be able to give something constructive to the mixing pot so to speak. "How does cloaking device potential failure prior to vapourization of Spectre grab you", said Vasilyovna, "add to this a little touch of Sabotage & I think you`ll begin to see the depth of the problem I speak of", she added noting how the Bolian`s face went from one of reasonable calm to a little more concern as she approached the small gathering to take a closer look. (Reply Chenoll) "Any suggestions as to how we can get this thing out without decompressing the ship or losing the cloak would be most appreciated", said Yelena. (reply Chenoll, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Section - Acting CEO - Lt. (JG) Chenoll - 14.27) "How does cloaking device potential failure prior to vaporization of Spectre grab you? Add to this a little touch of Sabotage & I think you`ll begin to see the depth of the problem I speak of," the lieutenant said. Chenoll frowned and looked over the cloaking device and its consoles. "I'm afraid, that I'm not well versed in the cloaking device, and I don't believe most of the engineering crew onboard that precedes me has quite the level of expertise that would be needed here," Chenoll said, as she scratched her blue chin. (reply Vasilyovna, any) "Of course, we have Ensign H'Chir. He worked on the Spectre for some time. He'll be bound to be adept in her cloaking device. I'm sure you could use your pull and have him removed from sickbay, Lieutenant," Chenoll explained. (reply Vasilyovna, any present) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CO Captain T'Vhor - 14:28) The news of yet another possible sabotage attempt on board the Spectre had not gone down at all well with the CO, their last mission had been bereft with sabotorial action & the emergence of yet another fly in the ointment was not what they needed at all. Especially not here & now anyway! As it was though, this particular little hinderance had affected their cloak & subsequently their ability to contact the away team for their routine communications update. Not a desirable situation for any Captain to be in at all! "Status report please Lieutenant", said the Captain upon his subsequent re-entry onto the bridge. (Reply Nolly`s, IYW) "Have we succeeded in hailing the away team yet?", said T'Vhor as he occupied the centre seat once more. "No sir, nothing as yet", said the officer that had relieved Vasilyovna on the tactical console, "Engineering continues to recommended that we do not lower the cloak until we know what the device is & how it`s going to affect our systems if it triggers", she added. The Captain reluctantly nodded his agreeance & then he activated the console in the right arm of the command chair for a status evaluation on all ships systems. "Inform me the moment we are in a position to contact the surface", said T'Vhor. "Are we receiving any updates from our passive sensor scans Lieutenant Nolly`s, anything that might tell us the condition of our away team?", asked the Captain. (Reply Nolly`s, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Engineering Section - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 14.29) "I'm afraid, that I'm not well versed in the cloaking device and I don't believe most of the engineering crew onboard that precedes me has quite the level of expertise that would be needed here", said the Acting CEO. ~Did she really just say that?~ "Surely as Acting CEO I would have thought that you would know our cloak a little better than that?", said Lieutenant Vasilyovna in a slightly irritated tone of voice, she then ran a hand through her hair as she contemplated their current situation whilst Chenoll proceeded to take a closer look anyway. "But then if you don`t have the necessary knowledge, who else is there on board that might?", said Vasilyovna. "Don`t you have specific training in cloaking technology Ensign?", she added turning towards Ensign Bristed. (Reply Bristed) The young Ensign was probably right, the removal of a mark nine detonator was probably best left to one skilled not only in phase cloaking technology, but also mechanical subterfuge as well. "Of course, we have Ensign H'Chir", said Chenoll offering further advice. "He worked on the Spectre for some time. He's bound to be adept in her cloaking device", said Chenoll. "I'm sure you could use your pull and have him removed from sickbay Lieutenant", said the Bolian engineer. Vasilyovna furrowed her brow at the suggestion, the man had all the stability of a one legged horse & to put him in the driving seat dealing with something of this magnitude, might be construed as madness in itself. "Do we trust him?", said Vasilyovna, "I mean he has already sabotaged the Spectre once before, he may even be responsible for this", she added pointing towards the cloaking device as she spoke. (Reply Chenoll, Any) It was probably just security overkill on that point anyway, H'Chir had been pretty much resident in sickbay since he`d arrived back on board, one certainly didn`t need Vulcan logic to deduce that this particular act of sabotage was highly unlikely to be his work. "He would need to be accompanied by medical personnel, O'Harper or Taxia may'be", said Vasilyovna airing now on the side of caution. "And that`s assuming of course sickbay say`s he`s fit for the task", she added. (Reply Any) The security chief took a deep breath, then she made a snap decision. "I don`t see what choice we have, we have to get this thing out of there", said Vasilyovna. "Make sure nobody touches this & keep me appraised", she added as she set off down the corridor towards the turbolifts. (Reply Chenoll, Bristed, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Engineering Section - ACEO Ensign Bristed - 14:30) "But then if you don`t have the necessary knowledge, who else is there on board that might?", said Vasilyovna. "Don`t you have specific training in cloaking technology Ensign?", she added turning towards Ensign Bristed. Jacqueline could feel herself coloring a bit, although it was difficult to tell if it was from being near panic or because she felt mildly offended at the SC's question. Of course she had training, but it didn't involve explosives! "I do, but I'm not sure I could do anything in this situation besides blow myself to kingdom come. Cloaks I can do, detonators, no. Sorry," she added, knowing it wasn't enough and hating having to admit she couldn't do anything. Wasn't there someone else? "Of course, we have Ensign H'Chir", said Chenoll, almost as if she had read Jacqueline's mind. "He worked on the Spectre for some time. He's bound to be adept in her cloaking device", said Chenoll. "I'm sure you could use your pull and have him removed from sickbay Lieutenant", said the Bolian engineer. "Do we trust him?", said Vasilyovna, "I mean he has already sabotaged the Spectre once before, he may even be responsible for this", she added pointing towards the cloaking device as she spoke. (Reply Chenoll, Any) Jacqueline didn't know much about the CEO apart from the fact that he was...mentally incapacitated, but at least to her that meant he probably had nothing to do with this situation. And wouldn't someone have noticed him leave and said something? She shook her head 'no', unconsciously mirroring her thoughts. She was sure he hadn't done this. "He would need to be accompanied by medical personnel, O'Harper or Taxia maybe", said Vasilyovna airing now on the side of caution. "And that`s assuming of course sickbay say`s he`s fit for the task", she added. "I don`t see what choice we have, we have to get this thing out of there", said Vasilyovna. "Make sure nobody touches this & keep me appraised", she added as she set off down the corridor towards the turbolifts. As the security officer left, the young woman looked to her companions. There had to be something... Well, one thing popped into her mind. ~No, that's absolutely insane!~ But at this point, anything might be a good idea. Even if it were that bad. "What if we didn't...well, what if we didn't cloak and relied entirely on the molecular phase inverter?" she suggested, knowing it must sound incredibly stupid. "That way we wouldn't be vulnerable to attack even if we did disconnect the cloak to get at the detonator." And should anything happen, they'd probably all go just as insane as she'd heard H'Chir was from being overexposed to interspace. (reply Bourne, Chenoll) "It was just an idea!" Jacqueline protested. "A stupid one, but it was an idea!" Those seemed to be a precious commodity at the moment. (Reply Chenoll, Bourne, Any) (Posted by Siobhan Armstrong) (Carraya IV - Woodland path - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski - 14:30) Kowalski cringed as the sharp sound rang out in all directions around him. The audible crack had surely been evident to anyone that might have been nearby as his heavy boot obliterated the clump of twigs that had now been pressed deep into the oozing muck beneath it. For a moment he stopped dead in his tracks scanning left & right as his finger instinctively felt for the smoothed ridge of his Mark III-C phazer rifle`s trigger guard. He then glanced down at the integrated Taccorder to scan for possible targets, the smooth arcing wave moving slowly out across the semicircular concentric rings as it attempted to read possible biosigns ahead & within a 360 degree radius around his current location. Nothing... Well, nothing apart from a few small indigenous lifeforms scurrying away in the undergrowth at the sound of his approach anyway. Nothing stirring of any consequence, no threats being indicated on the threat indicator, no cause for worry, or so it would seem. The MXO continued on along the path careful as he was to avoid the fallen twigs strewn about this time until he had reached the large steel doors fronting the ominous looking compound. This had apparently been an old Romulan penitentiary & it had clearly been built to keep those inside in & those outside, out. These doors were a testament to that fact. The only way in apart from an overhead drop or a detonation in the walls was through those doors, but for the moment anyway, they remained firmly closed. ~OK, so here I am, open up..... Knock knock knock~ The doors however remained as still & apparently inert as they had been upon his approach towards them, the stone walls flanking them as seemingly inpenetrable as the doors themselves. In the distance the cry of a bird of some sort cut through the silence all around & as the MXO turned towards it`s direction, the sound of an electrical actuator resonated through the ground as the doors began to move with a heavy, metallic groan, it`s rollers moving slowly along the steel tracks set into the floor as it went. Kowalski took a step backwards & quickly set his III-C to a sustained pulse, just in case he were to be confronted by an inordinate amount of personel on the other side of the door. His comms had of course remained silent throughout apart from a few status reports from the trusty eye in the sky to his right. If anything had been moving, Houseman would have seen it so it seemed that the overkill of the sustained burst was merely a precautionary measure. Kowalski waited for the doors to finally stop moving, then he switched the III-C`s Taccorder to the headup display in his Pallas helmets visor for active pupil targeting. Nothing was showing at all of course but it was quite clear now that there would be a reception party of some sort sent to greet him, all he had to do it would seem, was wait. For two minutes he waited, Houseman had obviously become nervous by the timely standoff for he was updating the MXO with regular movement checks of the surrounding area to back up Kowalski`s own Taccorder readings. Then it happened.... The MXO`s body simply phased out of sight, clearly in the grip of a transporter beam as it was matter streamed to some undisclosed location. For Kowalski of course, the seconds it had taken to transport him were not noted at all for in an instance he found himself standing face to face with two armed guards flanking the pad upon which he had just arrived. Instinctively he raised his weapon & attempted to target one of the men, the nearest to him but when he did so, the Taccorder display in his Pallas helmet simply fizzled & died as the rifle was rendered inoperable through deactivation within the transport beam. "Bugger", said the MXO as he lowered his rifle downwards upon realizing just what had happened. For a moment he contemplated resorting to unarmed combat with the large knife he carried strapped to his thigh, but the arrival of two more of the guards convinced him otherwise & he slowly raised his hands into the air, hoping as he did so that these were actually the presidents guards & not someone elses. NRPG: More to come... (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Section - Acting CEO - Lt. (JG) Chenoll - 14:32) Chenoll listened to the idea. "What if we didn't...well, what if we didn't cloak and relied entirely on the molecular phase inverter? That way we wouldn't be vulnerable to attack even if we did disconnect the cloak to get at the detonator." "It has merit, Ensign, but still, revealing our position to our enemies? It would be like we were leading them on. I don't think the Tactical staff or the captain would like their ship to be visible, yet untouchable like that. We should see what Ensign H'Chir has to say," she instructed. "Hold up a sec.. lets not get too.. Jumpy with dismissing ideas here, it was an idea of hers to be honest, I think its better then letting someone unstable loose on an explosive!" Ensign Bourne said. Chenoll frowned at looked at the floor, angry and embarrassed at the same time. Before she could argue H'Chir's case, Bourne continued. "From what it sounds like, and me knowing little about cloaks and phases, instead of the ship, why not localize it to the device. This way, H'Chir can view it and give a verdict before tampering with it. It's a bit like... ...like an open wound. You put pressure onto the local bleeding, and not the whole body circulation. Why phase the whole ship when we could try to phase the device?" Chenoll nodded, the idea had merit, but still, H'Chir had a... strong personality, and Bourne's idea seemed almost like a trick. "I suppose we could keep that in mind, Ensign. However, Mr. Taxia is a psychopath or telepath or whatever and I'd hope that could tell if H'Chir was going to do something wrong to the device. However, we can bring you idea up with Lt. Vasilynvoa," she said. (reply Bourne, Bristed, any) (posted by Kevin Schram) (USS Spectre - Cloaking Device Engineering Section - ACEO Robin Bourne - 14:33) Robin couldn't actually believe what he was hearing, never mind thinking what Chenoll was contemplating. He asked how H'Chir was up in engineering with Brak, only to be shrugged away without an reply. ~It could work.. he might regain his mental health for a little bit~ just enough time.. ~ He was trying to get peace into his system before making any more steps. He wanted to run, get out of the danger zone before H'Chir arrived, but he had a duty, and he was going to perform it, even if it meant doing the insane. With the suggestion, he knew there must have been a better one, so he decided to step forward to get a more active in the decision, in attempts to figure out a better idea. "What if we didn't...well, what if we didn't cloak and relied entirely on the molecular phase inverter?" Bristed suggested, knowing it must sound incredibly stupid. "That way we wouldn't be vulnerable to attack even if we did disconnect the cloak to get at the detonator." (Reply Chenoll) "It was just an idea!" Jacqueline protested. "A stupid one, but it was an idea!" Those seemed to be a precious commodity at the moment. "Hold up a sec.. lets not get too.. Jumpy with dismissing ideas here, it was an idea of hers & to be honest, I think its better then letting someone unstable loose on an explosive", he said defending Bristed. As he did, Chenoll face went a very dark shade of blue. It was almost cute apart from he knew he was going to be in trouble before the day was up, I mean, lets build on it", he added instantly, knowing if he didn't pull a rabbit out of the hat then a screaming contest was about to start between the two of them "From what it sounds like, and me knowing little about cloaks and phases, instead of the ship, why not localise it… to the device. This way, H'Chir can view it and give a verdict before tampering with it. It's a bit like..... He was stuck on thinking of a scenario....like an open wound. You put pressure onto the local bleeding, and not the whole body circulation. Why phase the whole ship when we could try to phase the device". Knowing the scenario had very little on common, it kept him talking, and kept Chenoll from shouting back, even if it was for Two minutes. (Reply Chenoll) (Reply Chenoll, Bristed, Any) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 14:33) ~What the hell am I doing, this is madness~ Vasilyovna was clutching at straws now in regards having the less than stable Andorian help them out on this one, H'Chir`s mind was, according to Taxia, a mess & nobody even knew for sure if he was even still in there or not anyway. Add to that the fact that he was prone to nondescript outbursts that made no real sence & the matter was only complicated even further. H'Chir, remove the device from the cloak.... er, what was that remove the potatoes from the pot? My god it didn`t bear thinking about!! It was their only choice though, the Andorian was the most senior Engineer on board & probably their only chance of getting this solved without a heavy loss of some sort. "Doctor O'Harper", said Vasilyovna upon entering sickbay, "I need to speak with you about H'Chir as a matter of some urgency, is he able to speak with us", she added. (Reply O'Harper) Yelena then followed the Doc over to the room in which the Andorian had been for the past few days now. She watched as the medic began checking his vitals & then awakened him from the slumber that he appeared to be enjoying when they had first entered the room. (Reply H'Chir, O'Harper) The Andorian did not seem too pleased & his subsequent outburst only served to convince the security chief that this was indeed a big mistake, biting her tongue however, she progressed on. "We have a problem with the cloak", said Yelena, "a problem that unfortunately only you, it would appear can help us with", she added. (Reply O'Harper, H'Chir, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Carraya IV - Woodland - Corporal Houseman - 14:36) He watched as the doors to the compound slowly opened. ~About time~ He kept scanning the compound but could not see any movement. ~Come on Sir, this is not a time to stand and smell the roses~ Then he saw Kowalski dematerialise. ~What the hell~ He opened the comm channel. "Houseman to all units. Lost eye ball on the Major. Repeat Lost eye ball on the Major He has been transported away." (reply away team) (reply away team, any) (posted by Robbie) (Carraya IV - Undisclosed Building - MXO Major Bruce Kowalski - 14:38) Once the general confusion of being snatched away had finally dissipated, the sound of Houseman`s voice crackling into life through his comms equipment immediately showed the MXO two things. Firstly he had'nt been beamed far for he was clearly still in range of the marine communications & secondly, Houseman & the others had not been whisked off also. As the senior marine in the field, it was his duty of course to keep his team members appraised & so with a slight hesitation, he indicated to the guards in the room that he intended to radio in whilst lowering the barrel of his now useless rifle towards the floor. "I trust you have no objections?", said Kowalski to nobody in particular. "Just keep it short & quick", said the guard nearest to him, "if you are here with honest intentions you have nothing to fear, we are not concerned with your speaking with your team members.....anything other than that however", he added raising his weapon towards the MXO, "& I`ll vapourise you on the spot", he added. Kowalski simply stared the man in the face in response to his somewhat overzealous retort, ok if this guy was one of the presidents personal bodyguards, he`d more than likely be efficiently trained in unarmed combat but the thought still crossed his mind about sticking that phazer of his specifically where the sun doesn`t shine, just to push it home that nobody get`s the better of a starfleet marine & endures no repercussions whatsoever. Kowalski wasted no time formulating any plans to do that right now though & reached up to activate his comms before clearing his throat once. "I`m OK House", said the MXO calmly, "it seems our, 'Hosts' are keen to have a little chat", he added. (Reply Houseman) "Remain at your current twenty, stand by for further orders.....at this point codes are still viable", said Kowalski, implying to Houseman that the options to proceed with special order five three alpha had not yet expired at this point in time. (Reply Houseman) "Has the Spectre contacted the away team yet?", said the MXO. (Reply Houseman) ~Damn, must be a problem of some kind~ "Roger that, inform the Lieutenant of the situation if he`s not already aware, I`ll contact you shortly, Kowalski out", said Kowalski looking now to the men that now formed his welcoming party. (Reply Houseman) "OK guys, let`s get this over with shall we......time to meet the man in question I think", he said stepping towards them in a confident, self assured manner. (Reply Houseman, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Carraya IV - Woodlands - corporal Houseman - 14:42) Houseman let out a silent curse when Kowalski's voice appeared on the comm channel. =^=I`m OK House. It seems our, 'Hosts' are keen to have a little chat=^= "Copy that." =^=Remain at your current twenty, stand by for further orders.....at this point codes are still viable.=^= "Roger that." =^=Has the Spectre contacted the away team yet=^= "That's a negative sir." "Roger that, inform the Lieutenant of the situation if he`s not already aware, I`ll contact you shortly, Kowalski out", "Copy that." Houseman paused for a moment. He quickly scanned the area to make sure nothing had moved during the conversation. He then opened the comm channel again. "Houseman to Lieutenant Rogers." (reply Rogers) "I have been in contact with the major. Did you copy the conversation?" (reply Rogers) (reply Rogers, any) (posted by Robbie) (Carraya IV - Woodland - FO - Lt. Brian Rogers - 14:44) "Yes, Corporal. I got the whole thing. I suppose the Major knows best. We'll all hold position until we hear from him again," Rogers said, looking around his position. (reply Houseman) "Hang tight, Rogers out," Rogers said. Without waiting a beat, he tapped his comm badge. Looking around, he spotted Agent Smith. "What's your opinon on the situation, Agent Smith," Rogers asked. (reply Smith) Rogers nodded in agreement and put his hands on his hips. With the Spectre out of reach, and the Major recommending everybody hold, there wasn't much they could do. (reply any, Smith, Houseman) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (Carraya IV - Woodland - Corporal Houseman - 14:45) =^=Yes, Corporal. I got the whole thing. I suppose the Major knows best. We'll all hold position until we hear from him again.=^= "Copy that." =^=Hang tight, Rogers out.=^= Houseman shifted his position trying to get the cramp that was slowly building in his right leg. ~This is not good. I can feel it~ (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (IRW DihVael - Commanders Quarters - Commander Talok - 14:45) Talok took his seat with an aire of quiet discontent today, these latest developments did not sit well with him at all but when the security of his homeworld was at stake, what more could he do. The renegade Starfleet Captain from the other vessel was untrustworthy, even N'Alae had confirmed that via her routine enquiries of the Tal'Shiar database. The man was a loose cannon with a grudge & Talok`s previous encounters with such men as this had proved fruitless in the past. Such claims as those Ryan were making however could not be taken lightly of course. This vessel they were now seeking, the USS Spectre... the DihVael had tracked this ship covertly before, monitored it`s communications even. It`s Captain was a Vulcan or at least part Vulcan anyway so that in itself indicated a certain level of disaccord but even with that in mind, the question remained as to why would a seasoned Starfleet officer risk all out war with Romulus against the explicit wishes of the Federation. It was, to coin a phrase Talok despised....Illogical. Talok was confused, his loyalty to Romulus of course was unquestionable regardless of what the jumped up Major N'Alae thought on that matter. To park a phased cloaked vessel within a planet prior to a weapons detonation however simply beggared belief. Add to that a Vulcan CO & it seemed even more far fetched. Talok thumped his glass down hard onto his table, the ale within it splashing over the sides as he did so, then he looked over to the small picture frame to his left, his wife & children grouped together in a close, huddled display of family togetherness. In a year or so, Talok would be retired from active service & he would be with them all once again. This thought was what had kept him going, kept him sane in an insane universe & the thought now that Romulus might be gone upon his return only confused him all the more. He took a deep breath, then he activated the comms to the bridge. "Prepare the Chroniton generator Sub Commander, be ready to bring it online the moment we enter the Carraya system & inform Captain Ryan of those intentions", said Talok. The reply from Selerk was abrupt, but not without a hint of concern. =/\=Yes Commander=/\= "Inform me when we are ready", said the troubled Romulan Commander as he picked up his glass & settled back into his chair once again. (Reply None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Carraya IV - Woodland - Agent Smith - 14:46) "What's your opinon on the situation, Agent Smith," Rogers asked. Jo looked over to Rogers feeling slightly surprised about being asked. She paused and quickly thought about situation. "Were between a rock and a hard place Sir. We can't go and get the major as we don't know rightly where he is. Waiting here is just frustrating." She watched as Rogers nodded in agreement and then put his hands on his hips. ~It looks like waiting is the name of the game at the moment~ She sat down on the ground, leaned against a tree stump and began to relax. ~No use in worrying about the major. We'll go and get him when the time is right. Just hope we know when that is.~ (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Captain`s ready room - CO Captain T'Vhor - 14:50) Upon his return to the ready room, the Captain sat down & then reached over to the monitor on his desk swinging it smoothly towards him as he did so, then he began reading off the latest information that had come in from Starfleet via the subspace burst transmission obtained during their last phase to normal space. It seemed that the 52nd had mobilized once again, his old ship the Paladin had been ordered to the neutral zone in response to reported Romulan activity & the USS Hood had now reported on station to begin it`s apparent scan of the binary emergence. The Spectre of course had been in the thick of that Romulan activity for some time now & it didn`t need a report to tell her Captain that the Romulan's had indeed stepped up their actions. It was reassuring however that the Hood had reported in & T'Vhor drew some comfort from the fact that she was there if they needed her assistance on the return run to Federation space. MXO Kowalski`s report on the intercepted transmissions regarding a Warbird, & possibly one of the two Zulu Alpha`s though were not sitting well with the Captain at all & it became reflected in his subsequent log as he duly initiated it. "Captains Log, Stardate 2407.02.05..... 14:51hrs.", he began. "It is with some regret that it appears our liason with the Ferengi Daimon Brak has proved fruitless. He has been unable, or unwilling to provide us with the necessary information to enable our sensors to function normally whilst under phase cloak & as a result we remain restricted to passive scans. Daimon Brak continues to be under moderate surveillance during his time aboard the Spectre" "Evidence of interference has recently been discovered in the cloaking device itself & as a result of this, Acting CEO Chenoll has advised that we do not lower the cloak until this interference has been rectified. This of course leaves us out of contact with our away team but Lieutenant Vasilyovna believes that our previous CEO, Ensign H'Chir may be able to assist, regardless of his fragile state of mind" "Major Kowalski`s report via Lieutenant Major Savage has indicated covert transmissions between a warbird & what may possibly be the second Zulu Alpha vessel. My own calculations have revealed a ninety two point four percent probability that both of these vessels are now en route to the Carraya System." "Irrespective of the status of our cloaking device, we must lower it in three hours fifty six minutes for a scheduled cool down & precharge, this means it is now highly likely that we may encounter direct & hostile intervention unless we are able to retrieve the president & leave the system before their arrival" "Unfortunately, my calculations reveal only a thirteen percent probability that we will complete this stage of our mission in time & evade contact....." "....End of log", said the Captain as he settled back into his chair in contemplation of recent events & those to come. (Reply None) (Posted by Alan Reading)