USS Spectre Compile - July 1st-31st 2007 by Alan Reading ========================================================================= Mission: Ad Noctum Stardate: 2407.06.10 (USS Johann - Interrogation Room - Admiral Richard Ian Lee - Time has no meaning to one chained) ========================================================================= Mission: The Sword of Damocles Day: 5 Stardate: 2407.02.06 (USS Spectre - Jeffery's Tube 41-D - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 01:12) (USS Spectre - Hydroponics - Ensign S'rrep - 01:13) (USS Spectre - Jeffery's Tube 41-D - Agent Smith - 01:14) (USS Spectre - 10 Forward - CMO Williams - 01:16) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Williams - 01:19) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Agent Smith - 01:21) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 01:26) (USS Spectre - Personal Quarters - ACEO Ensign Bristed - 01:27) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 01:28) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Agent Smith - 01:28) (USS Spectre - Personal Quarters - Ensign (JG)Jacqueline Bristed - 01:28) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - ACEO Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 01:32) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 01:34) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - ACEO Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 01:36) (USS Spectre - Transporter Room 7 - TAC/ASC Charles "Chuck" Donaldson - 01:47) (USS Spectre - Deck 7, Auxiliary Power Control - Captain T'Vhor - 01:50) (USS Spectre - Deck 7, Main Corridor – TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 01:50) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - CMO - Williams - 01:54) (USS Spectre - Deck 7, Main Corridor – TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 01:55) (USS Spectre - Deck 10, Security Chief's Office - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 01:57) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 02:00) (USS Spectre - Deck 10 - TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 02:03) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - CMO, Williams - 02:03) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Jynea Kreung 02:05) (USS Spectre - Security Chiefs Office - TAC/SC Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna - 02:05) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - CMO - Williams - 02:07) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Jynea Kreung 02:10) (USS Spectre - Security Chief’s Office - TAC/SC Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna - 02:10) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - CMO Williams - 02:13) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 02:15) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - CMO Williams - 02:17) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 02:19) (USS Spectre - Crew Quarters - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 02:20) (USS Spectre - Security Chief’s Office - TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 02:25) (USS Spectre - 10-Forward - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 02:25) (USS Spectre - Security Chief’s Office - TAC/SC Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna - 02:27) (USS Spectre - 10-Forward - CMO Williams - 02:27) (USS Spectre – Deck 10 - TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 02:30) (USS Spectre - 10-Forward - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 02:30) (USS Spectre – Deck 12 - TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 02:32) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 02:32) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Williams - 02:35) (USS Spectre - Security Chief’s Office - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 02:35) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign (JG)Serixs Ssarumon - 2:36) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 2:37) (USS Spectre - Security Chief’s Office - TAC/SC Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna - 02:37) (USS Spectre – Engineering (Deck 12) – TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 02:38) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Lieutenant Andrew Williams & Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 02:39) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Lieutenant Andrew Williams & Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 02:39) (USS Spectre - Security Chief’s Office - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 02:39) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign(JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 02:40) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Corporal Lewis O'Hara & CMO Lieutenant Andrew Williams - 02:41) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Lieutenant Andrew Williams & Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 02:50) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - Cockpit - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 03:00) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - CMO Andrew Williams - 03:05) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - ACEO Ensign(JG) Jacqueline Bristed - 03:12) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - Ensign Serixs Ssarumon - 03:15) (Shuttle Victor Hugo – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 03:22) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - CMO Andrew Williams - 03:45) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - Ensign Serixs Ssarumon - 03:46) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - CMO Lieutenant Andrew Williams & Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 04:20) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - ACEO Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 04:22) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 04:23) (Shuttle Victor Hugo – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 04:27) (Shuttle Victor Hugo – Corporal Lewis O'Hara & CMO Lieutenant Andrew Williams - 04:29) (Shuttle Victor Hugo – TAC/ASC Charles "Chuck" Donaldson - 04:32) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 05:10) (USS Spectre - Bristed's Personal Quarters - Ensign Gorlan Therul - 05:15) (USS Spectre - Personal Quarters - Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 05:43) (USS Spectre – Personal Quarters - Ensign (JG)Robin Bourne - 05:47) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Robin Bourne - 05:50) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 05:59) (USS Spectre - Personal Quarters - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 05:59) (Shuttlecraft Pheonix - Cockpit - Lt. Cmdr. Kaitlyn Mackenzie - 06:03) (USS Spectre - Personal Quarters - Ensign (JG)Jynea Kreung - 06:30) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 06:32) (USS Spectre - Bridge - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 06:39) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 06:41) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 06:45) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - CMO - Williams - 06:46) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 06:48) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 06:50) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 06:50) (USS Spectre - Bridge - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 06:51) (USS Spectre - Bridge - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 06:59) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Lt. Cmdr. Kaitlyn Mackenzie - 07:00) (USS Spectre - Corridor - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 07:00) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO, Williams - 07:01) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 07:03) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - Counsellor Ensign Jynea Kreung - 07:05) (USS Spectre - Science Lab - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 07:05) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 07:08) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - Counselor Ensign(JG) Jynea Kreung - 07:10) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 07:12) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - Counsellor/Morale Officer - Jynea Kreung - 07:15) (USS Spectre - Science Lab - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 07:30) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - Acting CEO - Lt. {JG} Chenoll - 07:32) (USS Spectre - 10-Forward - ACEO Robin Bourne - 07:33) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 07:35) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - ACEO Robin Bourne - 07:42) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - Acting CEO - Lt. {JG} Chenoll - 07:44) ========================================================================= Mission: Ad Noctum Stardate: 2407.06.10 (USS Johann - Interrogation Room - Admiral Richard Ian Lee - Time has no meaning to one chained) "Lee." ~Eh?~ "... that's him Sergeant. Get him unplugged, we gotta boogie." "Roger sir." There was a pause. "Admiral Lee, are you with us?" *SLAP* Richard opened his eyes and blinked a few times. Not more then two inches from his face was the helmeted face of... Rich had no idea who it was. The soldier shook his head, causing Rich to chuckle and close his eyes again. "It's as I suspected Major, he's drugged out of his mind. Looks like they were interrogating him." "Also as expected." Another voice said. "Alright, give him the cocktail. We've got fifteen minutes to hump it outta here." Rich barely felt the hypo being applied to his neck, but he heard that first voice say. "Cover the doors; this will take a couple of minutes. And he's libel to go mad from..." If the Marine finished his thought, Rich didn't hear it. Immediately his eyes snapped open, wild paranoid thoughts ran through his head. HE HAD TO GET AWAY! These were killers, murders, here to take his life. He fought against the Marine with all his wild, panic-induced strength, though he couldn't budge the man in BDU. Richard started screaming at the top of his lungs, mostly incoherent babble. The last however many days/weeks/months didn't matter; he HAD to get away NOW! The Marine holding him was speaking, but Rich was only catching a few words here and there. Something about the drugs effects, increased paranoia and adrenalin while they burned the truth-inducing and mind-altering drugs out of his system. It didn't make much sense, it only forced Rich to believe more fully that these Marines were here to do him harm. "Damn drugs." The Major growled as he stepped forward and took Rich's face between his armored palms. "LISTEN HERE!" he bellowed at high volume, loud enough to shock Rich into silence and hurt his ear drums. "We have fought through more sh*t-holes and unfriendly ships in the last twenty days looking for you then I've ever wanted to see in my life. I've lost good people in the hunt for your scrawny carcass, shorty." He continued in a deep growl. "NOW, you WILL screw your head on straight Admiral, or I'll PERSONALLY kick your arse from here to base!" Rich, his head already starting to clear from whatever the 'cocktail' was that he had been given, put two and two together and came out with four. "You're here to rescue me?" he said, with just a hint of disbelief. This could, after all, be a ruse to make him talk. "Yes. Now, do I have to kick your ass and put you over my shoulder, or are you good to go?" The Marine who had been holding him was pulling gear out of a specific pack, what looked to be an Armored vest and a few other goodies usually carried by Security. "No." Rich said, thickly. "I will not fall for another trap." The Major cursed and picked him up bodily, then pulled him face-to-face. "I thought you might say that." The face smiled, slightly, as if pleased. "And the Seventh Angel poured out his vial into the air..." Rich blinked, he recognized that! He cleared his throat, "And a great voice cried out from the temple of Heaven, from the throne..." "...Saying 'Kick ass, take names and don't spare the booze!' Now Admiral, lets go!" That butchered quote from the old Christian bible was one of the last counter-phrases that Lee had approved before being captured. And he was mostly sure that he'd never screamed it, he'd never been asked about it. Only someone from LoDona (unless he'd given it away telepathically) would know the question, the response and counter response. IT wasn't perfect, but it was better then nothing. His level of paranoia dropped- if only slightly. The Marine who had held him was wrapping him up in a flack jacket. Rich blinked a few times as the Major put him down, then pulled one of the two hand-phasers the Major carried from his armor. The Major looked ready to argue, but Rich held the weapon up. "Alright Major, lead the way." "You won't be able to move fast Sir, just stay with us. I'll be with you always." The Sergeant who had held him said. The Marine handed Rich a small ear-piece communicator and looked up, "Twelve minutes." "Alright Dirty Dragons. Let's make a hasty exit." The Major said. Two more Marines detached themselves from the wall near the exit and stepped out. Rich squared his shoulders as, for the first time in however long, stood to his full height. He looked down at himself and was almost disgusted. He was wearing very little, the Flack jacket was the most significant piece of clothing he was sporting. He was covered in filth. But, he was free... assuming this wasn't all a hallucination. They all stepped out; the Marines were covering both sides of a corridor. Off to one side, another Marine had an armored foot on the chest of a man who had been gagged. The man was wearing the black-on-black of Starfleet Special Operations. He was, in fact, the man who Lee remembered from all the sessions he had endured. The Admiral's face tightened and, before anyone could stop him, he brought up the phaser and fired. It was set middle-high; it hit the man in the head and drilled a hole straight-through to the deck-plates. Lee took a deep breath, his face a tight mask, and looked up. The major, whose face-plate was now reflective and wouldn't let Lee see the man's face, nodded once. "Let the healing begin Sir." Was all the man said to him. The earpiece in Lee's hand buzzed. Rich looked down at it for a moment, and then carefully fit it into his ear. =/=... l the explosives are set Major, we're all boogying to the shuttle. Da*ned Shame and Wheelers Fanatics are pulling back as well, on my orders, they'll keep up the cover long enough for you to get the Fleet Wetback to the evac site.=\= =/=Very well.=\= the major said over the line. =/=Alright everyone, this is Major Lewis. All hands retreat to evac, and play your favorite CE games on the way... keep these guys on their toes.=\= ~Combat Engineers, figures.~ Rich thought as he checked the charge on his phaser. He had been a security chief once after all; such things came naturally to him. ~Robert must have cared enough to send the very best.~ They started moving at once; Lee was in the middle of the five men sent to escort him. Two were in front, two behind, and the guardian Sergeant was standing next to him, ready to grab him and run - or throw him to cover - as necessary. The rest of the Combat Engineers must have been off raising havoc, setting explosives. Destroying ships covertly was what CE's did best, after all. Rich, whose head was already clearer then it had been in a long time, asked "What's the date, Major?" "2407.06.10, Admiral." Was the hurried reply. ~Two months.~ Lee thought glumly. They paused at every corridor intersection they came to, and the two flanking Marines stepped forward and would either wave them on... or fire on some poor suspecting security officer. They passed the bodies of Dozens in their march to whatever transport they'd brought. The ship, whatever ship they were on now, was at Red Alert and must have put up a nice fight even though they'd been surprised. And there -had- to have been surprise, else three squads would never have made it far. CE's were good at that, too. Sometimes to good. Finally they came to a shuttle bay. There, sitting proudly in the light, was a Gryphon Class troop transport with a couple of Marines sitting in the heavy phaser emplacements. Rich paused and looked down on it from the second storey hight they were at. "How they hell did you achieve tactical surprise using one of those ugly beasts?" he asked, incredulously. The Gryphons were made to transport multiple companies; they barely fit in most shuttle-bays. Whatever ship they were on sported a very large main shuttle bay, that's the only way it could have fit. "Easy, four of us burned through from Martini Shakers and took over the sensors, they never saw the good ole' Caligula coming." The major said, with some small amount of pride. Rich shivered. He'd once ridden in a Marine Boarding Torpedo, known as the Martini Shaker of Death. It was enough to convince him that any Marine who chose to ride one was four cans short of a six pack. =/=Resistance is picking up Major. Six minutes!=\= his earpiece buzzed, amid the sounds of heavy combat. The Major gestured to the ship, and the boarding party quickly made their way down some utility stairs and into the ship. Rich sat down at once in the ship, shaking form exertion and disbelief, and found himself stroking the chair he was sitting on. It was made for a Marine in gear, this was an unloading bay... and thus it was several sizes to large. However, if this were real and he'd actually managed to escape; then this was the most comfortable seat in the world. The heavy phasers above them opened up, their sound distinctive- especially in such a small room as a Main shuttlebay. Several seconds later, several suited but inert Marines were tossed into the bay, followed by several animated Marines who were dragging obviously injured men along. "We're all here, GO GO GO!" one of them bellowed as the last of the Marines jumped into the ship and hit the button that closed the door. The airlock closed in seconds, but not before at least one phaser beam flashed in and hit a Marine square in the shoulder, turning him around and flinging him to the floor. Rich moved to help, but the Marine waved him off. "Didn't get through, I'm good... you the Admiral?" "Yes." "Thank god, no more ships to hit for a while." The Marine said as he lay back on the ground. "I need some R n' R." Rich, looking at the prone Marine dumfounded, suddenly began chuckling. He continued chuckling as the ship lifted off and barreled through the atmosphere force-field and out into open space. By the time the ship he'd been kept prisoner in exploded from all the 'toys' the CE's left behind, he was laughing like a lunatic. But what was stranger... several of the Marines were laughing along with him and slapping him on the back. He was free. (reply: none) (posted by Trout) ======================================================================= Mission: The Sword of Damocles Day: 5 Stardate: 2407.02.06 (USS Spectre - Jeffery's Tube 41-D - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 01:12) Their words were hushed now so as not to alert the Ferengi Daimon of their intentions to more or less, gas him to sleep. Before they could do this though, it was imperative, unless they all wished to go to sleep as well that is, to initiate the forcefield at his precise location so as to contain the aforementioned Anesthezine gas. O'Hara had of course been busy verifying the specific containment equations via the PADD he had been working upon when Smith returned with the canister. "Got a present for you", she had said as she brusquely handed it to him. O'Hara said nothing as he screwed up his face whilst scrutinizing it, then he turned to Smith with an inquiring look upon his face. "I was rather hoping that it could be pumped remotely from outside of here", whispered O'Hara, "but I guess we should be able to tap it onto one of the conduits feeding ventilation for the area behind the bulkhead", he added. (Reply Smith, IYW) O'Hara worked quickly & quietly now so as not to alert the now strangely silent Daimon Brak. He wondered if he had perhaps already fallen asleep but on the face of it, Brak was more than likely remaining quiet now in order to think about all the Latinum he was supposedly going to be paid for assassinating the President. For the Anesthezine plan to work effectively though, it was important that he didn't get wind of their plan before it had been executed for if he did, well, what could anyone say but Boom! Opening up one of the marked ventilation inspection panels nearby, the seasoned demo expert reached in gingerly to pull out the extendable service attachment, normally used by Starbase service crews to backflush the venting system, then he attempted to attach the universal bayonet attachment of the cannister to the exposed tube before giving a quick thumbs up to Smith & Palmer nearby so as to indicate success. O'Hara then activated the cannister valve, a slight hiss emanating from it's nozzle as he did so. "How long will this take to work anyway?", said O'Hara quietly. (Reply Smith) It wasn't long of course but it seemed like an age as the compressed contents of the cannister emptied themselves through the ducting, & thenceforth into the area beyond the bulkhead. "Do it", whispered O'Hara, "initiate the field & send the code to transporter room one to begin eviction proceedings on my mark", he added smiling at his own, rather dire attempt at a joke. (Reply Smith) Smith then did as was required, the only indication of her request actually being carried out being a slight buzz, as the forcefield initiated at the desired coordinates to seal the now vaporized gas into the containment area. Then they waited..... It was but a few minutes later that the trio were duly rewarded with a dull thud, as an apparently inert body, roughly sounding to be about the size of a small squat Ferengi, slumped to the floor in an incapacitated heap somewhere beyond their reach. They weren't taking any chances though, at first they listened intently for any more movement coming from within, then upon hearing nothing they decided to check for themselves. "Daimon Brak?", enquired O'Hara. Nothing! "Daimon Brak are you ok there?", said the Corporal once again but alas, there was still no reply as he turned somewhat triumphantly to Smith & Palmer. "I'd say our bomb is sleeping like a babe", said O'Hara with a smile, "have the transporter chief beam him out of there & directly to sickbay isolation", he added. (Reply Smith) "Make sure containment is provided & you'd better get William's down there too, he'll wanna make sure, 'The Bomb', remains sedated", said O'Hara as he quickly began packing up the equipment he had taken in there with him, content now of a job well done. That content however would probably now prove to be misplaced & unfounded. Yes, the Ferengi had been safely apprehended without apparent incident, but how he had actually managed to effectively integrate with the warhead components was still a puzzle in itself, & more so the question over how they would safely de-integrate him. This was far from over yet.... (Reply Smith) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Hydroponics - Ensign S'rrep - 01:13) Sometimes it was better to stay out of the way. For S'rrep, this seemed the best course. He worked with plants, for crying out loud. Getting caught in some insane engineering battle to prove who was right in a situation he couldn't quite credit as being real was not in his job description. He was useless at fixing things, so he wouldn't be much use patching up the ship or anything. And so he had opted to get out of the way and keep his nose out of other people's business for a while. The Caitian wandered up and down the greenery, for the moment shutting out the world around him. Plants couldn't hurt him, at least not these ones. Some of the more exotic specimens he'd come across had tried to take a chunk out of him before, but 'Fleet didn't really approve of having those around. He didn't really see why; life could use a few adventures from unexpected quarters once in a while. S'rrep heard something, maybe footsteps, and whirled around. ~I take it back. I've had an unexpected adventure and I don't need another one.~ "W-who'sss therrre?" S'rrep asked. "Mrrew? Brr..." It was a Terran cat. S'rrep wasn't sure what to think. They weren't nearly as intelligent as Caitians were, but somehow he always felt akin to the little bipeds. He wondered just how smart this one was, whether it could communicate.... "Mrrew?" he repeated, wondering idly if he could break the language barrier between the quadruped and bipedal feline races. The cat cocked it's head at him, staring. After a moment it blinked and scratched it's ear with a hind foot before slinking past. S'rrep's tail twitched in mild agitation at the cat's indifference to his attempt at learning Terran cat-talk. To his further surprise, his small companion batted at his tail in a somewhat playful manner. "Oh, ssssso it iss like thatt, iss it?" S'rrep dropped to all fours. The cat tensed for a second, then began to sniff him in a thoughtful manner. It began to purr. He purred back, moving closer to the small gray and black creature. It reached a paw out and placed it playfully on his nose. "Brrrf," it said, tail twitching slightly at the tip, then darted off. The message was clear: S'rrep was to give chase in the manner of a children's game. He obliged his companion, chasing it--actually, this was a she-cat, he could tell now that he bothered to analyze what he was smelling--around until she suddenly fell to the ground, paws outstretched. She seemed to be grinning. S'rrep grinned back at her, until she took a swipe at him with unsheathed claws. "No, that'sss not howwe play," he said, reaching around her paws to tap her on the head. She rolled over, stretching over and back in a feat of dexterity that the Caitian could only marvel at. The cat's flexibility was amazing to say the least. The game continued on for many minutes. Eventually S'rrep managed to convince her to chase him, using the same vocal and visual clues she had to begin the game. Thinking he had made some real progress, he thought it might be a good idea to see what else had been done in the way of communication with Terran cats. "Computerrr, pleassse tell me about the communication ovthe Terrrrrrran cat." [The Terran housecat, felis domesticus, has no known standard language. Each cat develops a separate set of signals for it's owner to communicate wants and needs.] "You arrrr surrrre? No known language exists?" [Generalized types of vocalizations can be recognized as demands, greetings, excitement, and warning, in addition to a wail used to attract mates.] the computer responded. S'rrep was crestfallen. He wasn't learning a language at all, he was just mimicking this cat's vocalizations. Something brushed against him, and he looked down to see his small friend rubbing up against his legs. He smiled. Even if he hadn't begun learning a new language, he had at least found someone who wouldn't think he was in the way tonight. He leaned down to stroke her, only to find her darting off with another, "Brrf" and hiding behind a convenient corner, grinning once again. S'rrep shrugged and gave chase once again. (reply none) (Posted by Siobhan) (USS Spectre - Jeffery's Tube 41-D - Agent Smith - 01:14) "I was rather hoping that it could be pumped remotely from outside of here", "but I guess we should be able to tap it onto one of the conduits feeding ventilation for the area behind the bulkhead". Jo thought about what O'Hara had said and nodded. "Looks like the best way." She watched as O'Hara went to work connecting the canister to the conduit. "How long will this take to work anyway?", "If we're lucky about 10 to 15 seconds once it hits his system." "Do it". "initiate the field & send the code to transporter room one to begin eviction proceedings on my mark". Jo grinned back. "Yes lets." She tapped the commands into her PADD and sent the data to transporter room one. Once she was happy, she activated the force fields. She heard the hiss of the gas being released and then a thud of what she hoped was Daimon Brak falling to the floor. "Daimon Brak?", enquired O'Hara. "Daimon Brak are you ok there?", said the Corporal once again but alas, there was still no reply as he turned somewhat triumphantly to Smith & Palmer. "I'd say our bomb is sleeping like a babe", said O'Hara with a smile, "have the transporter chief beam him out of there & directly to sickbay isolation", "Doing that know." She sent the message to transporter room one. "Make sure containment is provided & you'd better get William's down there too, he'll wanna make sure, 'The Bomb', remains sedated", Jo nodded. "That's for sure. I'll see you in a bit." (reply O'Hara, Palmer) She moved off down the jeffery's tube. "Agent Smith to Doctor Williams." (reply Williams) "You have a patient in sickbay. Keep him sedated until I arrive if you please. I'll be there shortly." (reply Williams) With that she headed towards Sickbay. (reply O'Hara, Palmer, Williams, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - 10 Forward - CMO Williams - 01:16) Andrew had just sat down with his plate of food when the comm system activated. =^=Agent Smith to Doctor Williams.=^= "What can I do for you Agent Smith". =^=You have a patient in sickbay. Keep him sedated until I arrive if you please. I'll be there shortly.=^= "Understood." Andrew got up and headed for the door leaving his food and his growing stomach to wait for a bit longer. (Reply None) (Posted by Robbie Gray) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Williams - 01:19) Andrew entered sickbay and saw that Jo had already arrived. She and Douwsy were standing at one of the high dependant bio-beds which were placed in a small alcove. "Talk to me Agent Smith. What do we have." (reply Smith) Andrew glanced at the monitors and then back at the sleeping Ferengi. "So he's hard wired into a bomb?" (reply Smith) Andrew looked at the vital signs again. "I'll be happy to keep him asleep for as long as you like but I'm in no fit state to do complex neural surgery at this time." He picked up a hypospray and injected the Ferengi with a stronger sedative. "That should keep him asleep for a couple of hours. Let me get something to eat and maybe a quick shut eye and I'll be back." (reply Smith) He picked up the PADD which was lying beside the Ferengi. "If anything drastic does change while I'm away call me." With that he turned away, headed back to ten forward to get some much needed food. (reply smith, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Agent Smith - 01:21) "Talk to me Agent Smith. What do we have." Jo looked up to see Williams walk towards her. "This is Daimon Brak. He was found in Jeffery's tube 41-D attached to an explosive device which was connected to our coolant system. It appears that it is some kind of neural device but I have not seen this type of device before." "So he's hard wired into a bomb?" "Yes Doctor. Were not totally sure about the link. I'm going to get someone from engineering to come and have a look. I request that he be sedated until we have had an adequate time to figure out how he has done this." "I'll be happy to keep him asleep for as long as you like but I'm in no fit state to do complex neural surgery at this time." "That should keep him asleep for a couple of hours. Let me get something to eat and maybe a quick shut eye and I'll be back." "Yes Doctor." ~The last thing we need is for him to detonate the device because he is to tired~ "If anything drastic dose change while I'm away call me." Jo watched as Andrew turned and left sickbay. She looked over at Douwsy. "I'll get some deep level scans done so that we have a better idea of what we are up against. Jo nodded as the other woman began doing her work. She picked up a PADD and began putting down all the information that she could gathered from the scans. ~Anything might be helpful for O'Hara~ She tapped her combadge. there was a peep but no connection. "Computer what has happened to the comm system." [The communication system is currently in diagnostic test mode, sequence will complete in Forty one minutes ten seconds] ~Ow that's good~ She dumped all the data and sent it to O'Hara's PADD. ~Right better get some people down here~ "Computer, relay message via emergency protocol seven, to senior engineer on shift. Could an engineer please report to sickbay as soon as possible. Thanks Agent Smith." [Confirmed message via emergency protocol seven] "Computer, relay message via emergency protocol seven, to senior security officer on shift. Could a security officer please report to sickbay as soon as possible. Thanks Agent Smith." [Confirmed message via emergency protocol seven] "Computer, relay message via emergency protocol seven, to senior science officer on shift. Could some one from the science department please report to sickbay as soon as possible. Thanks Agent Smith." [Confirmed message via emergency protocol seven] Now all that Jo could do was wait until people arrived. (Reply Vasilyovna, Bristed,Nollys or any one from these departments) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 01:26) It wasn't often that the Marine Corporal had cause to visit sickbay, ordinarily he was in the peak of condition & had barely experienced a runny nose in all the time he'd served in Starfleet, & now here he was, but for all the wrong reasons. With a heavy sigh, he slung his equipment carrier onto the floor next to the area sectioned off for the Ferengi's containment, then he glanced over at Agent Smith who seemed to be preoccupied now with something on a PADD that she held in her hand. "So what do we have here?", said O'Hara, "anyone any the wiser as to what that fool has done to himself?", he added. (Reply Smith) O'Hara shook his head & huffed, then he moved towards the medical scanner currently running scans on the Ferengi's inert form to oversee the data being displayed. "What IS that", said O'Hara screwing his eyes up as though to make some sense of what he was seeing. "This is Borg technology, he's had himself enhanced in some way", he added. (Reply Smith, IYW) "At first glance I would say that we need an Engineer in here as well as a medical team", said the Marine corporal upon realizing that this problem was more suited to the skills of both, rather than just the one. (Reply Smith) "So who's still awake in Engineering & more importantly, who do we have with specific knowledge of Borg implants?", said O'Hara. "I can defuse whatever it is that might explode but first we have to take it out of him after all", he added. (Reply Smith, IYW) O'Hara paused for a moment, then he reached up towards his combadge to give it one quick press. "O'Hara to Engineering", said the Corporal. =/\=Defoe here, we're a little busy at the moment Marine, what is it that you require?=/\= O'Hara shrugged his shoulders & then turned to Smith, who shrugged hers also. "At a push I'd say someone with experience on Borg implants?", said O'Hara. "Anyone come to mind?" =/\=Borg Implants?.... you mean actual Borg implants?=/\= "No....pretend one's Mr Defoe, of course real ones", said O'Hara sarcastically. The following pause was what some might term, pregnant. =/\=I guess that might be Ensign Bristed, I think she mentioned something about dabbling in that area...=/\= came the reply. =/\=.....but she's currently off duty, last thing I heard she had gone to her quarters=/\= O'Hara furrowed his brow at the news, then he looked again to Brak lying there all but fit to explode. "Understood, thanks for that, perhaps we'll go give her a call", said O'Hara as he moved quickly on to the aforementioned Ensign Bristed, hoping against hope that she had not quite entered the land of Morpheus yet. "O'Hara to Ensign Bristed", said O'Hara. (Reply Bristed) The resultant reply was clearly one of annoyance, she did not seem pleased at all but then what else was the Marine to do, they needed to get those things out of the Ferengi & they needed to do it now. "Umm, we have a slight problem in sickbay Ensign", said O'Hara, "and from what I understand, you know a little about Borg technology", he added as he took a seat & then awaited the inevitable outburst from the already overly tired sounding Ensign Bristed. NRPG: Well, it's an idea anyway, do you care to play Siobhan.... (Reply Smith, Bristed) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Personal Quarters - ACEO Ensign Bristed - 01:27) =^=O'Hara to Ensign Bristed=^= ~What the--again? Don't I get to sleep around here?~ Jacqueline reluctantly pushed the covers onto the floor, stumbling across the room to pick up the chirping combadge and respond to whatever had just come up. If this kept up, she'd be absolutely useless tomorrow. As it was, she'd practically have to inject herself with some kind of stimulant to keep alert. Preferably coffee. "Bristed here. Whaddiya want?" =^=Umm, we have a slight problem in sickbay Ensign...=^= said O'Hara. Jacqueline's mind reeled at the insanity of it all. They wanted her in sick bay? At half-past one? She was an engineer, damn it all, not a doctor...She was so focused on the first half of the explanation that she nearly missed the rest of it. "Wait, Borg?" She swore inventively, not caring that the channel was still open. It was too early to deal with anything Borg, that was certain. The affinity she had with anything mechanical was weird about Borg tech, and to be honest it scared her on a very deep level. She couldn't tell what was wrong, because instinct screamed that the whole thing was wrong, overriding any other feelings she might pick up. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to think. After swearing again, she decided it would be best if she found out exactly what kind of trouble was. "What, exactly," she said slowly, "is the nature of this 'slight problem' involving Borg technology?" She really, really didn't want to have anything to do with it, but she didn't really have a choice... (Reply O'Hara, any) (Posted by Siobhan) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 01:28) =/\=What, exactly........is the nature of this 'slight problem' involving Borg technology?=/\= asked the decidedly un-cheerful sounding Ensign Bristed. O'Hara was not smiling either now, he knew that to wake a woman that had been trying to sleep was probably just as bad as setting the Ferengi off like a goddamn firework. "Umm, well....", said O'Hara trying his best now not to annoy the Ensign any further than he already had. "We really don't know for sure, we have the Ferengi here, he's managed to utilize some kind of Borg equipment to fuse himself to some of our quantum torpedo warhead components", said O'Hara. (Reply Bristed) "It's all inside him, we were told that you had experience of this kind of thing", said O'Hara, "I mean, don't you just have to tap into some kind of processor & order it to disarm or something?", he added clutching at straws now. (Reply Bristed) "It would probably be better if you came down to take a look", said O'Hara scrunching his eyes tightly now & screwing up his face as though expecting a further rebuke to that last suggestion. (Reply Bristed) I know, I'm sorry Ensign, we are clutching at thin air down here & if we don't work something out then we may all end up being spaced & losing sleep", said O'Hara. (Reply Bristed) "Understood, O'Hara out", said Lewis as the coms closed & he quickly returned his attention to the task in hand, as awkward as it was..... (Reply Bristed, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Agent Smith - 01:28) "So what do we have here?", said O'Hara, "anyone any the wiser as to what that fool has done to himself?", Jo looked over and saw O’Hara walking over to her. “Were doing some detailed scans and were waiting for Dr Williams to return.” She handed O’Hara the scan data. "What IS that", "This is Borg technology, he's had himself enhanced in some way", Jo nodded. “Looks like. What I can’t understand is how we missed it when he came on board.” "At first glance I would say that we need an Engineer in here as well as a medical team", Jo nodded. “Defiantly. I’ve made a call to security, engineering and science but I’ve not had any reply yet.” "So who's still awake in Engineering & more importantly, who do we have with specific knowledge of Borg implants?", said O'Hara. "I can defuse whatever it is that might explode but first we have to take it out of him after all", “Last thing we need is his head to pop after we took all that time to get him here.” "O'Hara to Engineering", said the Corporal. =/\=Defoe here, we're a little busy at the moment Marine, what is it that you require?=/\= Jo shrugged and nodded as he listened to what O’Hara was asking. "O'Hara to Ensign Bristed", said O'Hara. Jo cringed to her self as she heard Bristed answer the call. ~I so hope she’s not asleep~ (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Personal Quarters - Ensign (JG)Jacqueline Bristed - 01:28) =/\=Umm, well.... We really don't know for sure, we have the Ferengi here, he's managed to utilize some kind of Borg equipment to fuse himself to some of our quantum torpedo warhead components=^=", said O'Hara. "Are you serious? How the hell did he do that?" she asked. Maybe it was because she was so tired, but Jacqueline's mind was having difficulty registering the situation. She wanted to be sure she knew exactly what she would be getting into before barreling into sickbay. =^= It's all inside him, we were told that you had experience of this kind of thing=^= said O'Hara.=^="I mean, don't you just have to tap into some kind of processor & order it to disarm it or something?=^= "Who told you I had experience with psycho Ferengi going suicide-bomber with a warhead attached to his guts?" she demanded, forgetting for a moment that the channel was still open. The realization that she had been heard resulted in a moment of awkward silence. She decided the best course was to move on as if it hadn't happened. "I dunno about the processor, I'm still pretty vague as to what's going on down there." She wished she didn't sound so aggressive, but this really wasn't fair at all. =^=It would probably be better if you came down to take a look=^= "Probably," she said, "but I'm just a little tired, so...I can't promise a miracle." =^=I know, I'm sorry Ensign, we are clutching at thin air down here & if we don't work something out then we may all end up being spaced & losing sleep=^=said O'Hara. Jacqueline felt like a complete jerk for the second time during this conversation. He was right, they would all be in big trouble if something wasn't done and fast. The fact that she was exhausted didn't make the situation any less dire. "Sorry," she said, putting as much apology into her words as she could under the circumstances. "I'll be there as soon as I'm....dressed properly." Somehow showing up in her civvies for a second time seemed like a bad idea. The channel closed as she was pulling off her clothes in favor of her uniform. A warhead and a Ferengi, just what she needed to round off a fun-filled day of insanity and terror... (Reply None) (Posted by Siobhan Armstrong) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - ACEO Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 01:32) Bristed arrived at sickbay in record time, finally remembering exactly where she was supposed to go. She was breathing heavily, yes, and her hair was somewhat mussed, true, but at least she had made it. "I'm here," she said. "Now, explain one more time what the hell is going on, please." (Reply O'Hara, Any) (Posted by Siobhan Armstrong) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 01:34) "I'm here", came a voice from immediately behind him, "Now, explain one more time what the hell is going on, please" O'Hara turned about abruptly to face the sound, only to be confronted with a face somewhat resembling the mythical creature Medusa staring right back at him! Her hair was all over the place & the expression upon her face looked as though it belonged to one who would much rather be anywhere else than right here now. "It's like I said", said O'Hara taking a deep breath now, "the damned fool has messed with things he really shouldn't have", he added, "now we have to get them out of him without redecorating the interior of the ship with Ferengi innards". (Reply Bristed) "I appreciate that Ensign, nobody is asking you to perform miracles, but we do need something more concrete, something that we can give the Doc in order to get this done safely", said O'Hara. (Reply Bristed) "The Doctor?.... he is currently having lunch....I think", said O'Hara, "he sedated the Ferengi & said he'd be back soon to operate, we are just getting all of the facts before he arrives", he added. Bristed simply sighed a heavy sigh & then moved towards the Monitors in order to begin her examinations of the Borg implants. (Reply Bristed) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - ACEO Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 01:36) "It's like I said", said O'Hara taking a deep breath now, "the damned fool has messed with things he really shouldn't have", he added, "now we have to get them out of him without redecorating the interior of the ship with Ferengi innards". ~Why not? It'd be a quick way to paint the place, and he probably deserves it..~ "I...I'm not so hot with Borg stuff, to be honest," Jacqueline admitted. The intuition she relied upon to help her figure out what was wrong with things was almost completely useless right now, screaming that everything was wrong when she looked at the sedated form of the Ferengi. "I might not be very useful at all." "I appreciate that Ensign, nobody is asking you to perform miracles, but we do need something more concrete, something that we can give the Doc in order to get this done safely", said O'Hara. Jacqueline glanced around the room, seeing no sign of the Doctor. "But he's not even here!" she blurted out. "The Doctor?.... he is currently having lunch....I think", said O'Hara, "he sedated the Ferengi & said he'd be back soon to operate, we are just getting all of the facts before he arrives", he added. ~He'd better be back soon.~ She turned to the monitors to begin working. She'd have to do this the old-fashioned way tonight (this morning?) instead of relying upon the intuition she normally used. What could have possessed this idiot troll to do this to himself? So, what did he have and what would it take to shut him off? The display poured out results she had never seen before. Considering that she'd never heard of anyone doing something quite so stupid as hooking Borg technology into himself to create some kind of insane bomb, it wasn't that surprising. The important part was getting it turned off so that he didn't blow himself (not to mention those close by) into kingdom come. (Reply any in Sickbay) (Posted by Siobhan) (USS Spectre - Transporter Room 7 - TAC/ASC Charles "Chuck" Donaldson - 01:47) A lone cadet stood at the transporter controls in transporter room seven when an incoming personnel transport was received. Ensign “Chuck” Donaldson materialized on the platform and stepping down, shivered. ~It still tingles when I use this thing . . . I wonder when that goes away?~ Taking a moment to nod to the ensign Chuck made a swift exit into the main hall. When the exterior door closed he saw the designation “Transporter Room 7”. Reaching into his uniform jacket he produced a PADD. ~Okay, transporter room seven . . . Deck 8 . . . I need to contact the Tactical Chief and report my arrival from the hood~ Chuck thought as he tapped his Combadge. “Ensign Donaldson to ...” He stopped short as a jolt of electric current hit his hand. ~OW! Stupid Commbadge, I’ll have to go to engineering and get the thing fixed.~ he thought, holding his right hand close to his stomach. The shock still hadn’t worn off just yet and he could feel his pulse through his palm. “Stupid . . .” he mumbled under his breath, “I’m probably the only person to get injured his first day on the job” he said not realizing he was talking out loud. Looking down at the floor Chuck realized that he had dropped the PADD. He bent down and picked it back up again. He slipped his right hand into his jacket pocket and used his left thumb to scroll through the ship schematic. He headed to the turbolift at the end of the hall and stepped inside. “Engineering, deck seven” Chuck said. The turbolift obediently began the short journey just one deck up. The turbolift opened and Chuck stepped out into the main hall of deck seven. (reply whoever wants) (posted by Anton Taylor) (USS Spectre - Deck 7, Auxiliary Power Control - Captain T'Vhor - 01:50) With their approximate designation coordinates now known, the Captain strode confidently along the corridor that led towards the APC room, his intentions being to ensure that at the very least, their auxiliary power contingencies were now up to scratch. Engineering had already reported satisfactory repairs to the warp engines of course, but it was always better to be safe than sorry just in case those makeshift repairs failed for some reason! Passing by turbolift three however, he noticed that the doors had just opened & an Ensign dressed in security colours had just stepped out. This was nothing out of the ordinary of course for the corridors were already a veritable hive of activity, as various crewmen carried out systems checks via opened junction panels & the like. The Captain had only given the Ensign a cursory glance & then moved on down the corridor only to stop in his tracks a little further on. Something seemed odd with this crewman, normally the Captain could instinctively sense the smooth flow of a well oiled cog in the Spectre machine, this cog however did not seem oiled at all. With this in mind, Captain T'Vhor turned about to take another glance at the crewman, he still hadn't moved at all & he was now in the process of briefly checking the PADD in his hand before looking up directly towards the curious Vulcan Hybrid that had suddenly stopped in the corridor to his right. "Can I help you Ensign?", said the Captain walking towards the crewman now. (Reply Donaldson) "And you are?", said T'Vhor quirking his head slightly to the left now as he attempted to recall the Ensign's face from the two hundred or so crew now stationed aboard the Spectre. It was the Borg implant above the man's left eye that had stumped him of course, there were only three Human Borg hybrids currently under his command & this crewman was most definitely not one of them. (Reply Donaldson) "I was not made aware of your arrival", said T'Vhor reaching for the PADD in the man's hand in order to check his operational orders. "A Gorn officer & an Orion Councellor are scheduled for transfer from the Hood, I can only assume that you must have been a late addition", he added with a curious raise of an eyebrow. (Reply Donaldson) "I see", said the Captain as he returned the PADD to the Ensign. "I suggest that you report to Lieutenant Vasilyovna for your orders, she will have quarters assigned to you, inform you of your shift & answer any further concerns you may have", said the Captain. (Reply Donaldson) "Shift patterns are a little..... sporadic & unsettled at the moment", said the Captain pausing before that last sentiment, "as you can see we are currently engaged in running repairs after returning from Romulan space", he added glancing briefly towards the crewmen working nearby. (Reply Donaldson, IYW) "As for myself I'm afraid that I must attend to something of importance", said the Captain as he nodded at the new crewman & then moved off, before stopping once again a little further on to address the Ensign once more. "Welcome aboard the Spectre Ensign Donaldson, I trust you will soon be familiar with your new surroundings", said the Captain as he then resumed his walk towards Auxiliary Power Control. (Reply Donaldson, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Deck 7, Main Corridor – TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 01:50) Having just stepped out of turbolift three Chuck paused for a moment to recheck the PADD in his left hand. To his amazement he saw the Captain walk by. Chuck had been briefed on the entire bridge crew as part of his assignment as ASC but he was extremely shocked to see the captain down on deck seven. Forgetting for the moment about his malfunctioning Commbadge Chuck contemplated the captain’s presence. As Chuck watched the captain continued to move away. Suddenly without warning the captain seemed to turn on his heels and come up to him. "Can I help you Ensign?" said the Captain. Chuck noticed the Captain’s ears and tried hard not to stare. ~I’m sure he noticed my implant~ thought Chuck pondering now the man in front of him. “Well, maybe . . . Sir . . . I was trying to contact Lieutenant Vasilyovna when . . .” Chuck started to explain the embarrassing situation. "And you are?", said the Captain cocking his head tone side eyeing Chuck. ~he’s understandably curious about a new crew member with an implant~ Chuck’s mind had wandered on the taboo subject – his implant. Whenever he was nervous or started to think about it his implant would start to itch. With a mind of its own his right hand obediently moved up to his implant and started rubbing. The tip of his finger hurt as he rubbed reminding him of the earlier incident and bringing him out of a momentary daze. “My name is Chuck Donaldson, I’m an Ensign who just transported from the Hood” was Chuck’s swift reply. “I was not made aware of your arrival", said the Captain. Chuck noticed the Captain eyeing the PADD in his hand (no doubt looking for operational orders, etc.). Without hesitation Chuck handed him the PADD. Raising his eyebrow the Captain added, "A Gorn officer & an Orion Councellor are scheduled for transfer from the Hood, I can only assume that you must have been a late addition”. “There was a last minute transporter malfunction that caused me to put off my arrival, sir.” said Chuck still occasionally rubbing his implant. "I see", said the Captain as he returned the PADD to Chuck. "I suggest that you report to Lieutenant Vasilyovna for your orders, she will have quarters assigned to you, inform you of your shift & answer any further concerns you may have." “Thank you, sir, I’m not used to being up this early, my duties on the Hood were minimal.” said Chuck, he was beginning to warm up to the new Captain. "Shift patterns are a little..... sporadic & unsettled at the moment", said the Captain pausing before that last sentiment, "as you can see we are currently engaged in running repairs after returning from Romulan space", he added glancing briefly towards a crewmen working nearby. Chuck, beginning to get that “I’m-polite-but-you’re-dismissed” feeling turned to leave the Captain. "As for myself I'm afraid that I must attend to something of importance", said the Captain as he nodded at the new crewmen & then moved off, before stopping once again a little further on to address Chuck one last time. "Welcome aboard the Spectre Ensign Donaldson, I trust you will soon be familiar with your new surroundings", said the Captain as he then resumed his walk towards Auxiliary Power Control. ~Well, that’s it, I’ll just have to contact Lieutenant Vasilyovna and worry about my Commbadge later~ thought Chuck. He moved further down the corridor out of sight of the Captain and finding a quiet spot stopped to contemplate. “Computer, record and relay the following message to Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna.” Said Chuck glancing upward. [Computer Emergency Internal Relay System activated, beginning to record message] came the familiar soothing female voice. “Lieutenant Vasilyovna, this is Ensign Chuck Donaldson, I’m having trouble with my Commbadge and it has prevented me from reporting in. Please consider this my first official report and use the CEIRS to give me your current location. The Computer could tell me where you are but I suspect with my Commbadge malfunctioning there may be other malfunctions in the system, I’ll make a full report on the incident to engineering after I report in.” Chuck breathed deeply and turned his eyes once again upward, “Computer, Relay message.” [message relayed] said the computer. NRPG: Geez, I created a real pickle for my character when I made a Commbadge malfunction, I didn’t think it would be such a headache to solve. RPG: (Reply Vasilyovna, Any) (Posted by Anton Taylor) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - CMO - Williams - 01:54) "Thank you very much sir!" Andrew looked over at the voice to see female Orion walking up to him and Ssarumon. ~Must be the new counsellor~ "And here's your tricorder back" Andrew waited until Ssarumon had responded. "Not a problem. Miss Kreung." He saw that Ssarumon moved away with his tricorder. ~Must be something personal. Will need remember about making an appointment with him some time today~ "And I'm never letting YOU out of my sight again, brat!" Andrew grinned hopeing the rabbit was now so stuffed that hopping any distance would be a challenge. "Would you like to join me for something to eat? I know your Rabbit has eaten but how about you?" He glanced at the chronometer. "I know its still quite early." (reply Kreung,) (reply Kreung, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Deck 7, Main Corridor – TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 01:55) After confirming that the computer had sent the CEIRS message Chuck leaned on a nearby bulkhead to wait for the response. ~That’s that, now all I can do is wait~ Chuck’s eyes widened with disbelief. ~What did I just do? Great first impression surprising the Lieutenant, she doesn’t even know who I am. What’s done is done I guess, maybe it isn’t so bad . . . nope, yep, it’s all bad~ Just as his thoughts began to wander the Computer came to life. [Emergency Protocol Seven message from Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna to Ensign Charles Donaldson] ~Oh, that’s right~ thought Chuck ~the CEIRS is mostly referred to as a Protocol Seven~ Chuck frowned slightly at being called “Charles”. “Computer, let me hear the message” [Ensign Charles Donaldson, please report to deck ten, security chiefs office immediately] “She sounds upset, I should’ve already been there by now.” Said Chuck looking at the floor in frustration. Picking up the pace Chuck turned around and headed back to Turbolift Three. “It figures I’d be on a new ship and have to get ‘deja vu' from seeing the same turbolift twice.” He mumbled stepping onto the turbolift. The doors closed and Chuck was left alone. “Deck Ten” The turbolift made the trip in no time and the doors opened onto Deck ten. (Reply None) (Posted by Anton Taylor) (USS Spectre - Deck 10, Security Chief's Office - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 01:57) It was probably the first time that the Security chief had managed to grab a little time to herself since this mission had begun. With all that had happened in the past few days, one could have been forgiven for feeling a little tense & yet, sitting in her office reading through the latest station reports via a convenient PADD, Yelena couldn't help but feel there was still something she may have missed. The obstinate, good for nothing Ferengi, Daimon Brak had been the cause of a good degree of the chiefs worries of course, for the moment however he was sedated within a forcefield restraint down in sickbay, whilst the Doctor & the Marine Demo expert attempted to sort out exactly what he had done to integrate himself so effectively, in to the Spectre's stolen warhead components. ~This is no good at all, I need to be down there just in case~ Yelena stood up suddenly from her chair & then she placed the PADD onto the table before moving briskly towards the door. Just as she had reached it however, the Computer had suddenly come online to announce an emergency re-route to her current location. [Computer Emergency Internal Relay System online, relaying unspecified recorded message to Lieutenant, Yelena Vasilyovna.....do you wish to accept the recorded message now?] Yelena just sighed & then furrowed her brow at the announcement. "Now what", said the somewhat hassled Security chief before accepting the aforementioned message. The computer then began again. [Lieutenant Vasilyovna, this is Ensign Chuck Donaldson, I’m having trouble with my Combadge and it has prevented me from reporting in.....] Yelena listened intently as the first part of the message played back, then she screwed up her face slightly at the mention of the crewmans name. ~Chuck Donaldson? who the hell is Chuck Donaldson~ [.......please consider this my first official report and use the CEIRS to give me your current location. The Computer could tell me where you are but I suspect with my Combadge malfunctioning there may be other malfunctions in the system, I’ll make a full report on the incident to engineering after I report in] Yelena paused just briefly as the message terminated, then she turned back to the desk in her office whilst instructing the Computer once again. "Computer, identify Ensign Chuck Donaldson, cross reference with entire Federation roster & locate present wherabouts", said Vasilyovna. [Ensign...Junior Grade, Charles Donaldson....Starfleet registration, two one three one zero nine two six four....Current assignment USS Spectre.....Transported to USS Spectre via USS Hood, stardate two four zero seven...zero two...zero six, zero one forty seven hundred hours....Current location deck seven] Yelena simply shook her head at the announcement, this of course was yet another of the now infamous impromptu Hood transfers, & needless to say it came as no surprise that she had not been made aware of this one either.... The meanderings of Starfleet bureaucratic nonsense was neither here nor there in this particular instance, this was just another case of the left hand not quite knowing what the corresponding right one was up to. There was an apparent new crewman on board & as far as the Spectre's Chief of security was concerned, she had no knowledge whatsoever of his arrival even! "Computer, relay message via emergency protocol seven, Ensign Charles Donaldson, please report to deck ten, security chiefs office immediately", said Yelena as she retook her seat at the table once again in order to wait for 'Chuck's' arrival. [Confirmed message via emergency protocol seven] Yelena sat there for a brief moment looking towards the door & wondering as to exactly when their systems would be fully back online again, then she decided to find out for herself. "Computer, confirm approximate time to completion of repairs to internal coms system", said Yelena. [The communication system is currently in diagnostic test mode, sequence will complete in four minutes fifty two seconds] ~How typical~ Yelena then returned her attention to the door & ran the fingers of her left hand through the left side of her hair line before sitting back into her chair. (Reply Donaldson, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 02:00) Jynea noticed the doctor smiling happily to see them reunited. She guessed every doctor was a smooshy-heart at the core, else why become someone who would spend three quarters of their life helping people, most who would argue with you about how to be helped? "Would you like to join me for something to eat? I know your Rabbit has eaten but how about you?" The doctor glanced to check the time "I know its still quite early." Really, she just wanted to get the bad salad bandit and find her new bed, BUT, the doctor was offering to be social and chances were, she'd be working closely with him or his department for some time to come. Better a shortage of sleep than uncomfortablenesses in the work relationship! "Well, I wouldn't say no to some tea and cookies." She replied, shifting Mark so she could grab the empty chair and sit down. She glanced over, surprised to see someone to take her order. Maybe they were being punished for something. Or maybe it was another unique factor of being an officer, she hadn't really studied the "perks" list. "Er, green tea, shortbread cookies, and a carrier for flops alot, please." (Reply Williams IYW ) Jynea was about to try and strike up a conversation when the man returned with a carrier for Mark. Since the rabbit was starting to squirm, she was more than happy to put him in it and close the lid. Let him nap for a while. She wasn't quite sure what his sleeping schedule was supposed to be yet anyway. "How long have you been assigned to the Spectre?" Jynea asked, as she sat back up, "I can't access most of the files on the ship yet, so I'm kind of running blind." She told the doctor with a rueful smile. (Reply Williams) (posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Deck 10 - TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 02:03) ~There it is~ he thought. He approached the Security Office door and it opened obediently. Sitting at her desk, something short of reclining, Chuck could see the unimposing figure with the imposing demeanor of Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna. He contemplated her for a moment before stepping through the open doorway (reply Vasilyovna, IYW) Chuck stepped through the door and came to attention. He could tell she wasn’t completely satisfied but couldn’t tell if it was his fault or the oversight of the officers’ aboard the Hood. ~The face of a dabo girl and the demeanor of a Klingon commander, I guess I’ll see how good a leader she makes in a crisis~ “Sir . . . Ensign Chuck Donaldson, reporting for duty,” Chuck said trying to stay monotone to make a professional impression. (reply Vasilyovna) (posted by Anton Taylor) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - CMO, Williams - 02:03) "Er, green tea, shortbread cookies, and a carrier for flops alot, please." Andrew nodded at the waiter. "Can I have a cup of my usual please." He waited until Kreung had deposited her rabbit in a carrier and their orders had arrived. He sipped at his caffeine drink trying to get the sleepy feeling out of his system. "How long have you been assigned to the Spectre?" "I can't access most of the files on the ship yet, so I'm kind of running blind." Andrew took a sip again. "I've been on the spectre for quite a bit probably about 6 months to a year. How about you is this your first assignment?" (reply Kreung) (reply Kreung, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Jynea Kreung 02:05) "I've been on the spectre for quite a bit probably about 6 months to a year. How about you is this your first assignment?" Jynea smiled, "Do I still have the 'fresh new officer' smell? Or did I forget to remove my 'property of Starfleet Academy' sticker?" she teased, taking a bite of her cookie. (reply Williams) "I don't even know the purpose of the Spectre or her general mission purpose. All I know is there's supposedly a crew that needs a morale officer." She tilted her head to one side, "Though I suppose the Executive Officer will fill me in when I report to him.. or her.. tomorrow!" (reply Williams) (reply Williams, any) (posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Security Chiefs Office - TAC/SC Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna - 02:05) The arrival of an unfamiliar face wearing security colours through the door of the Security chiefs office could only mean one thing. This, was Ensign Donaldson. The moment that the man had entered, he had of course gone immediately to attention whilst announcing who he was & formally, why he was there. "Sir . . . Ensign Chuck Donaldson, reporting for duty", said the Ensign as he stared directly at the wall immediately above & beyond Vasilyovna's head in time honoured, militaristic fashion. "At ease Ensign", said Yelena almost immediately, "at this precise moment in time, who you are & why you are here are not the most important things on my mind", said the Chief leaning forwards now in her chair as she spoke. "What I'm more interested in knowing right now is wether anyone over on the Hood is actually awake or not", she added with just a hint of annoyance in her voice now, "because from what I'm seeing so far, it would seem that protocol regarding transfer of crew has gone completely out of the airlock", said Yelena staring the man directly in the face now so as to observe his reactions to her concerns. (Reply Donaldson) "Doesn't anyone over there realize that we are at war here", said Vasilyovna, "we have just transferred three crewmen, without the proper authorization, without a word being said through proper command channels & without any concern for the security status of this vessel, or with any regard for who we may be carrying on board", she added becoming a little more heated now at the sheer amount of incompetence that the Hood's command structure had clearly been exercising here. (Reply Donaldson) Vasilyovna simply sank back into her chair & let out a heavy sigh at the Ensign's apparent agreement to the serious security lapses that had already occurred. It went without saying of course that as a security officer himself, he would not have doing his job correctly if he had not noticed these issues also. "It simply belies belief", said Vasilyovna as she reached over the table for the Ensign's PADD so as to check the particulars of his new assignment. It was a cursory task of course but it had to be checked nonetheless, after all as far as she knew someone may have actually gone so far as to mention something along the lines of, 'make sure you say hello to the President', in there somewhere! Under the circumstances it certainly would not have surprised her... As it was though, no such reference had been made of course, much to Vasilyovna's relief as she placed the PADD back onto the table & then invited the new Ensign to take a seat opposite her. "So, you were assimilated", she asked, although it was more of a statement than an actual question. (Reply Donaldson) "Tell me more about this", said Vasilyovna, "unless of course you find it difficult do this", she added. (Reply Donaldson) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Security Chief’s Office - TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 02:07) "At ease Ensign", said Lieutenant Vasilyovna, "at this precise moment in time, who you are & why you are here are not the most important things on my mind. Vasilyovna leaned forward in her chair and stared directly in at Chuck. "What I'm more interested in knowing right now is whether anyone over on the Hood is actually awake or not", she said with just a hint of annoyance in her voice now, "because from what I'm seeing so far, it would seem that protocol regarding transfer of crew has gone completely out of the airlock.” Waiting until just this moment Chuck crossed his hands behind his back and spread his legs slightly. “I believe the Hood has a history of such surprises” he said trying not to meet the Lieutenant’s gaze too directly. ~She’s a strong leader after all . . . those eyes . . .~ "Doesn't anyone over there realize that we are at war here", said Vasilyovna, "we have just transferred three crewmen, without the proper authorization, without a word being said through proper command channels & without any concern for the security status of this vessel, or with any regard for who we may be carrying on board", she added becoming a little more heated now at the sheer amount of incompetence that the Hood's command structure had clearly been exercising here. “I agree, it’s certainly put me in an awkward situation from the time I came aboard, and then there was this Combadge problem.” He said glancing down at his combadge. “The whole situation has been insane, as a security officer I almost wish I had control over all the problems.” He said with a half-smile. Vasilyovna simply sank back into her chair & let out a heavy sigh at the Ensign's apparent agreement to the serious security lapses that had already occurred. It went without saying of course that as a security officer himself, he would not have been doing his job correctly if he had not noticed these issues also. "It simply belies belief", said Vasilyovna as she reached over the table for the Ensign's PADD so as to check the particulars of his new assignment. It was a cursory task of course but it had to be checked nonetheless, after all as far as she knew someone may have actually gone so far as to mention something along the lines of, 'make sure you say hello to the President', in there somewhere! Under the circumstances it certainly would not have surprised her... As it was though, no such reference had been made of course, much to Vasilyovna's relief as she placed the PADD back onto the table & then invited the new Ensign to take a seat opposite her. "So, you were assimilated", she asked, although it was more of a statement than an actual question. “Heh, yes sir, I was present during the massacre of Deep Space 14.” Chuck said sitting down in front of the desk. ~I wondered how long it would take her to ask~ "Tell me more about this", said Vasilyovna, "unless of course you find it difficult do this", she added. “To tell the truth it’s easy to talk about now that it’s over.” Said Chuck, “the borg invasion of DS14 was the result of tactical errors made by the command crew, that’s why I’m a tactical officer.” Chuck waited a moment to give the Lieutenant time to interject if she wished. (reply Vasilyovna, IYW) “My De-assimilation is all part of my Starfleet record.” He smiled again thinking about his good fortune in being rescued from that horrible fate. ~My wife is still out there somewhere~ the smile faded. “That’s enough about that for now though, I guess, I hear you’ve had Romulan troubles recently.” Said Chuck hitting a serious note for a moment. (reply Vasilyovna) “I’m eager to get to my duties as the Assistant Tactical Chief. I’m a good judge of character, sir, and I can tell you and I are going to get along just fine.” Said Chuck. Not able to resist one last word Chuck, smiling again, asked, “Have you ever played Dabo, Lieutenant?” (Reply Vasilyovna) (Posted by Anton Taylor) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - CMO - Williams - 02:07) "Do I still have the 'fresh new officer' smell? Or did I forget to remove my 'property of Starfleet Academy'sticker?" Andrew grinned. "Don't worry it will vanish soon enough. Trust me on that one." "I don't even know the purpose of the Spectre or her general mission purpose. All I know is there's supposedly a crew that needs a morale officer." "Though I suppose the Executive Officer will fill me in when I report to him.. or her.. tomorrow!" "Mr Rogers will be able to tell you what's going on." He took another sip of his drink. "If you have time later on today. Would you mind dropping by sickbay." (reply Kreung) "Ow its nothing serious I just need to give you a quick medical so that i can update the files." (reply Kreung) (reply Kreung, any) (reply Robbie) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Jynea Kreung 02:10) "Don't worry it will vanish soon enough. Trust me on that one." "I hear you sweat it out with your first red alert," Jynea joked, eyes twinkling with merriment. (Reply Williams) "Mr Rogers will be able to tell you what's is going on."The Doctor reassured her before taking another sip of his drink and then changing the subject, "If you have time later on today. Would you mind dropping by sickbay." Jynea gave the doctor a wary look, "Should I be worried?" "Ow its nothing serious I just need to give you a quick medical so that i can up date the files." She was about to protest she just had one, but two realizations stopped her. One, considering how well her personal files hadn't been updated, she wouldn't be surprised to hear that her medical file hadn't even made it to the Spectre yet, and two, seeming like a doctor-phobe wouldn't exactly make people seek her out. She didn't *mind* doctors, she just didn't see why they always had to do their 'baseline' checks over and over. Besides, it would give her a chance to take a snoop through sickbay without seeming to. "I'll be sure to do it *after* I get some sleep, or all your scans will show is exhausted Orion." As if reminding her subconscious, she stifled a yawn. "I'm sorry Doctor, it's not the company, I've been on the go for.." she tried to do the math in her head and failed, "..too long." She said after the pause with a rueful shrug. (Reply Williams) (reply Williams, any) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Security Chief’s Office - TAC/SC Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna - 02:10) It was exactly as she would have expected. The new Ensign's story of his assimilation by the Borg was the same as that of a hundred & one other's, the Borg assimilated without mercy or moral & with Donaldson, it was as text book as it came. The Borg were nothing if not predictable... "To tell the truth it’s easy to talk about now that it’s over.", he had added, before then going on to give his theories of 'Crew error' being a contributory factor in the stations takeover. Were any of that crew now serving on board the Hood thought the Chief, it would not surprise her in the least. All said & done though, Vasilyovna felt for the man. In her capacity as Chief of Security, it was of course a prerequisite that she remained in control & did not allow emotions to tangle her judgement, that said though she was still Human at the end of the day & to have ones Humanity & dignity stripped away so throughly as Donaldson had done, prompted only a genuine admiration for the man. The Borg were, & always had been relentless in their spread throughout occupied space, Vasilyovna had lost friends to them in their cold, heartless drive to assimilate & the fact that Donaldson was now sitting here in front of her now filled her with hope that someday, she might see those friends again. "My De-assimilation is all part of my Starfleet record.", said Donaldson with a smile just as Vasilovna returned her gaze to the remaining Borg implant above the mans left eye. The smile then faded however to leave her wondering, he had lost someone to, it was clear in his eyes. "That’s enough about that for now though I guess", said Donaldson, "I hear you’ve had Romulan troubles recently.", he added in a clear attempt to put aside whatever thoughts had just been lurking within his head. Vasilyovna nodded appropriately. "You could say that, but it is not the Romulan's that are our concern at the moment", said Vasilyovna, "on the contrary, if it weren't for that Warbird sitting out there right now, we might not have made it back into Federation space", she added. (Reply Donaldson) "I suspect that Commander Talok is not your typical Romulan Commander", said Yelena thoughtfully, her mind now wondering towards the Ferengi Daimon again. "We may soon have need of your......special knowledge of the Borg", said the Chief, "we have a Ferengi onboard that has in some way come into contact with their technology", she added. (Reply Donaldson) "He has interfaced himself with stolen components from one of our quantum torpedo warheads", said Vasilyovna, "the Borg influence is more subtle that what you would expect, the implants are completely internal not external which is a clear deviation from the way it usually works from what I understand", said Yelena. (Reply Donaldson) Yelena nodded & went on to suggest that it would be his first duty to look in upon this, once he had stowed his gear & got that damned combadge sorted that is. "Your quarters have been assigned, the details have been transfered to this PADD", said Yelena handing the Ensign the PADD, "so long as the computer is not offline, it'll be able to direct you to where that is", said Yelena as she stood & pulled at the waist of her tunic slightly to settle it. "All that's really left to do now is to formally welcome you on board", said Vasilyovna, "in so saying, welcome aboard Ensign Donaldson, I hope that you enjoy your tour of duty with us", she added. (Reply Donaldson) "My office is always open, any problems please don't hesitate to walk through the door", said Vasilyovna. Donaldson simply nodded & then shot her a question seemingly from nowhere. "Have you ever played Dabo Lieutenant?", he asked. ~Where the hell did that come from~ Vasilyovna quirked her head slightly & then furrowed her brow. "Dabo....why would I immerse myself in anything of Ferengi origin?", said Yelena, "believe me Ensign, the Ferengi are not my favourite species at the moment", she added. (Reply Donaldson) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - CMO Williams - 02:13) "Don't worry it will vanish soon enough. Trust me on that one." "I hear you sweat it out with your first red alert," Andrew grinned. "You'll be fine. You've got nothing to worry about." He told her about seeing Mr Rogers later and discussed with her about seeing her in sickbay. "I'll be sure to do it *after* I get some sleep, or all your scans will show is exhausted Orion." Andrew watched as Kreung tried to stifle a yawn. ~You are stupid aren't you. Not every one is able to run on caffeine like you. Send the poor woman home she needs some sleep~ "I'm sorry Doctor, it's not the company, I've been on the go for.." "..too long." Andrew smiled at her and nodded. "I'm sorry. Its my fault. I'm not much of a sleeper nowadays and I usually forget that other people do." ~That's because I have the caffeine. Keeps me awake and stops the nightmares, a little~ "Please don't let me hold you back any longer. Go, you look like you could do with sleep. Its been very nice meeting you and your furry friend." (reply Kreung) (reply Kreung, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 02:15) "I'm sorry. Its my fault. I'm not much of a sleeper nowadays and I usually forget that other people do." The Chief medical offer told her. "I don't sleep much either," Jynea reassured him, "It's just as the ship's morale officer I serve all three shifts, so I take a couple of three or four hour naps every 26 hours." The Doctor seemed to get a far away look before adding, "Please don't let me hold you back any longer. Go, you look like you could do with sleep. Its been very nice meeting you and your furry friend." "You too doctor," Jynea started to stand up, then sat back down again. "Is there something wrong doctor? Completely off the record! I have two friendly ears that are good for listening and two shoulders that are happy to be leaned on." (reply Williams) (reply Williams, any) (posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - CMO Williams - 02:17) "You too doctor," He saw Kreung sit down again. "Is there something wrong doctor? Completely off the record! I have two friendly ears that are good for listening and two shoulders that are happy to be leaned on." Andrew smiled back. "Thank you very much for the offer. I will take you up on it, but not right now. I've got a few things that I need to take care of and you need your sleep. I'll track you down later and I'll bore you with all my problems." (reply Kreung) Andrew nodded. "Good night or should I say morning. Have a good sleep any way." (reply Kreung) (reply Kreung, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 02:19) Andrew seemed touched she was concerned about him, but pushed aside her offer of help. "Thank you very much for the offer. I will take you up on it, but not right now. I've got a few things that I need to take care of and you need your sleep. I'll track you down later and I'll bore you with all my problems." "I don't think you could bore me unless you started reading icky bits of medical journals.. No, that'd just gross me out. Boring would take.. rosters of past medical evac ships." She winked as she stood up again and hauled Mark up in his carrier once more. Andrew nodded. "Good night or should I say morning. Have a good sleep any way." Jynea smiled, "Oh, I will sleep well, dreaming of angels dancing on the heads of lop bunnies to teach them how to behave." She looked in the door at the top of the cage to see Mark flopped out on his side. "ASsuming even the powers above and within could even teach him that!" With a wave of her free hand, Jynea left Ten Forward and tried to remember the way back to her quarters. She only got lost twice. (reply any) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - Crew Quarters - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 02:20) Roughly thirty minutes of sleep. Serixs had snapped awake again, his sinuses still giving him trouble because of his allergy to that damn Tellarite. He growled and got to his feet, checking the time. It was enough sleep to get him through the day, but he would need to nap a bit later. Still, perhaps it was beneficial that he was already awake. There was still much on the Spectre that needed to be done, and if nothing else he was another set of hands. He considered handling his in-processing with the various departments, but chances are that the department heads were all sleeping at this hour. Perhaps he could see where his help would be needed. Before that, though, he needed coffee. Perhaps once that was done, he would take it upon himself to add the data module he brought into the ship's computer. Certainly the Federation could use some updated information on their Reptilian neighbors, but with things being what they were at the moment it would take a while before one of the Engineers would be free to handle such a low priority task. (Reply None) (Posted by Don Jones) (USS Spectre - Security Chief’s Office - TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 02:25) "That’s enough about that for now though I guess", said Donaldson, "I hear you’ve had Romulan troubles recently.", he added in a clear attempt to put aside whatever thoughts had just been lurking within his head. Vasilyovna nodded appropriately. "You could say that, but it is not the Romulan's that are our concern at the moment", said Vasilyovna, "on the contrary, if it weren't for that Warbird sitting out there right now, we might not have made it back into Federation space", she added. “Romulan’s have a bad personal habit of flip-flopping when it suits them. At least with Borg and Ferengi you know where you stand. Romulans are a little too impulsive for my taste.” Chuck said . . . he pondered the likelihood of a humane Romulan . . . and it seemed nearly feasible but highly unlikely. "I suspect that Commander Talok is not your typical Romulan Commander", said Yelena thoughtfully. "We may soon have need of your......special knowledge of the Borg", said the Chief, "we have a Ferengi onboard that has in some way come into contact with their technology", she added. Chuck smiled at the delicateness of the phrase “special knowledge”. It was obvious that the Lieutenant was beginning to warm to Chuck (however, he thought he should still keep a personal distance from his commanding officer). ~hmmm . . . Ferengi and Borg . . . the only two races I know more than average about . . . although, seeing a Ferengi again turns my stomach~ "He has interfaced himself with stolen components from one of our quantum torpedo warheads", said Vasilyovna, "the Borg influence is more subtle that what you would expect, the implants are completely internal not external which is a clear deviation from the way it usually works from what I understand", said the Lieutenant. “Hmm, internally, that makes sense, the Ferengi must be using the Borg technology as the trigger. I could strap a quantum warhead to myself and sure it might be unstable but it wouldn’t have a controlled activation without a trigger” said Chuck. Yelena nodded & went on to suggest that it would be his first duty to look in upon this, once he had stowed his gear & got that damned combadge sorted that is. "Your quarters have been assigned, the details have been transfered to this PADD", said Yelena handing the Ensign the PADD, "so long as the computer is not offline, it'll be able to direct you to where that is", said Yelena as she stood & pulled at the waist of her tunic slightly to settle it. Chuck leaned forward in his seat and took the PADD "All that's really left to do now is to formally welcome you on board", said Vasilyovna, "in so saying, welcome aboard Ensign Donaldson, I hope that you enjoy your tour of duty with us", she added. “Thank you, sir, I’ll do my duties to the best of my ability. There are things about this assignment and ship that I don’t know yet but I’ll be the first to admit what I don’t know . . . before any real harm is done to the ship or the crew.” Said Chuck. "My office is always open, any problems please don't hesitate to walk through the door", said Vasilyovna. Donaldson simply nodded & then shot her a question seemingly from nowhere. "Have you ever played Dabo Lieutenant?", he asked. "Dabo....why would I immerse myself in anything of Ferengi origin?", said the Lieutenant with a furrowed brow, "believe me Ensign, the Ferengi are not my favourite species at the moment." ~if she only knew how bad I hate them~ thought Chuck standing from his seat. ~she’ll probably respect a job well done more than any words~ “The only people who like Ferengi’s are other Ferengi’s, and they sell one another for a fair price.” Laughed Chuck. Thinking that it was time to leave and be on his merry way Chuck stood up and came to attention. “Since time is of the essence I should probably get started on my duties,” said Chuck (reply Vasilyovna) Chuck, dismissed, headed out of the Lieutenant’s office. (Reply Vasilyovna) (Posted by Anton Taylor) (USS Spectre - 10-Forward - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 02:25) A quick jaunt through the refresher and one clean uniform later, the large Gorn made his way into the lounge once more, grey metal case in hand. Without much hesitation, he retrieved himself a large mug of coffee from the replicator, thankful that the ones in the lounge had not been damaged as his had, and made his way towards the large windows looking out into space. After one sizable gulp of the hot terran beverage, Serixs turn and saw the Doctor still sitting there at a table. Quietly, he walked towards the table, nodding a slight greeting to the human. "Late is the hour, Doctor," Serixs began, "I suspected you would be asleep at this time." He added with a bit of a thing smile on his reptilian snout. (reply Williams) Serixs shrugged his shoulders. "The Gorn do not need to sleep all at once,"he said. "We prefer to catch our sleep in pieces here and there." He chuckled lightly. "It does make me wonder if that is where my species earned its reputation for irritability." He looks down at his cup and smirks. "For myself, I prefer strong coffee." (reply Williams) "You would be surprised, sir, how many doctors tell me to quit drinking it."He shrugged. "It has not killed me yet." He smiled, then his eyes lit as he remembered something. He set the grey case on the table and opened it, retrieving a small optical data crystal before passing it to the Doctor. (reply Williams) "It is the complete Gorn medical database," he said softly, "It is the most up to date information we can provide to the Federation about Gorn physiology, anatomy, and history of medicine." He smiled again. "I was asked to provide the information to a Federation medical officer on my first assignment so that it could be properly disseminated into the Federation medical database. It should cover anything that might come up." Serixs could not help but feel slightly perturbed. It was a lot of information to pass along for one single officer, which heightened his curiosity about his current position in the Federation. He knew he was currently the first Gorn in the Federation to make it this far, but something deep down told him he would not be the last, and that others might be trying to get in...soon. He pushed the thought out of his head and looked at Doctor Williams once more. "If you would like sir," Serixs began, "I could take it to Sickbay and get the transfer started." He smiled a bit. "I was on my way there anyway so I could get the medical evaluation completed." (reply Williams) "Yes, sir," Serixs said, then stepped out of the lounge, coffee in hand, and made his way to Sickbay. He still disliked the bright lights and cold air of the ship, but he would manage. He always did. (Reply Williams, Any) (Posted by Don Jones) (USS Spectre - Security Chief’s Office - TAC/SC Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna - 02:27) "Since time is of the essence I should probably get started on my duties", said Ensign Donaldson.... Yelena nodded. ~A security Officer keen to get started, hmm, that's gotta be a first~ "Considering the gravity of our current situation in sickbay, I'd say that that was probably a good idea", said Yelena, "I'll no doubt catch up with you pretty soon anyway", she added. "Your dismissed Ensign", said Yelena with just a hint of a smile. And with that, he was gone... (Reply None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - 10-Forward - CMO Williams - 02:27) "Late is the hour, Doctor," "I suspected you would be asleep at this time." Andrew looked up and saw Serixs standing beside him. He smiled. “So did I but I’ve got a long night shift in sickbay to keep me entertained. I thought you would be the one who would be asleep?” "The Gorn do not need to sleep all at once," "We prefer to catch our sleep in pieces here and there." "It does make me wonder if that is where my species earned its reputation for irritability." "For myself, I prefer strong coffee." “For me its caffeine supplements. They don’t taste wonderful but they do work.” "You would be surprised, sir, how many doctors tell me to quit drinking it." "It has not killed me yet." Andrew grinned. “As I’m sure you know there are a lot more nasty things out there, which will kill you a lot quicker.” "It is the complete Gorn medical database," "It is the most up to date information we can provide to the Federation about Gorn physiology, anatomy, and history of medicine." "I was asked to provide the information to a Federation medical officer on my first assignment so that it could be properly disseminated into the Federation medical database. It should cover anything that might come up." ~That will be very helpful~ "If you would like sir," "I could take it to Sickbay and get the transfer started." "I was on my way there anyway so I could get the medical evaluation completed." “Please be my guest. I’ll see you there, I’ll be there in a moment.” "Yes, sir," As Serixs headed for the door, he sipped the rest of his drink letting the caffeine rush through his system. ~I need to get back to work~ He then got up and headed for Sickbay. (reply any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Deck 10 - TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 02:30) ~Now, for this PADD, I remember Engineering is on deck seven~ Chuck scrolled through the PADD because he couldn’t remember what all the Lieutenant had ordered him to do precisely. ~store my gear and get the combadge fixed, well, the gear isn’t that big a deal – just a few holoprograms and the ‘Black Hole’ drink modifications for the ship’s computer hardware.~ Chuck smiled, at the thought of finally getting to drink another Black Hole. He had tried to make the necessary modifications at the academy but was denied access, something about engineering clearance to directly modify the hardware. He’d have to address that issue in engineering too. ~my ‘gear’ is probably still being stored in the storage area on deck eight, I’ll just drop by and get it later~ ~However, this combadge issue is still a nuisance.~ Chuck thought looking down at his chest. Scrolling through the PADD again just to double check . . . his eyes widened ~whoa, that was close, I almost went to deck seven instead of deck twelve.~ he had been fortunate to correct his error before he had to go “deck hopping” again. Walking away from the Chief’s office Chuck breathed a big sigh, Lieutenant Vasilyovna wasn’t a complete psycho . . . at least he hadn’t seen any evidence to suggest that yet. This assignment had been looking like a complete disaster ever since the combadge fiasco but things were starting to look normal . . . normal for Chuck anyway. Just then turbolift three came into sight and Chuck without stopping for a moment pondered the door to the lift before entering. ~I hope you know you’re my oldest friend on this ship~ (Reply None) (Posted by Anton Taylor) (USS Spectre - 10-Forward - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 02:30) Serixs was surprised to see the amount of activity in Sickbay for this hour. Doubly so at the few here wearing Marine green instead of the other department colors usually seen around the ship. He should not have been surprised, though. Marines were standard stationed on Federation vessels. He imagined he was quite a sight; an eight foot lizard with a grey case in one hand and a giant mug in the other. NRPG: Gonna take a bit of a stab in the dark here. Feel free to edit the below if needed. :) RPG: Serixs was rather taken aback when one of the marines stepped up to him, looking at the department color that he wore. (Reply O'Hara) Serixs shook his head. "No Corporal," he said while looking at the rank insignia on the marine's collar. "I am the new science officer." That was the only thing Serixs had to complain about on the colors of a Starfleet Uniform. Two different departments wearing the same color could get confusing. (reply O'Hara) Serixs nodded and set the case down on a desk, then placed his mug beside it. "Let us have a look," he said as he was lead to the section holding the Ferengi in containment. The large Gorn just let out a grumbling sigh. "It looks like you caught a Rat, Corporal." He chuckled dryly. "I have eaten one or two of those," he added, though the delivery made it a bit difficult to tell if he was serious or joking. "What is the situation?" (reply O'Hara, Smith, Whomever) "I see," Serixs said, "I shall help however I can." He then turned and looked at the unconscious Ferengi and let out a low hissing sound. "Playing with toys he should not have been playing with." He shook his head. "Typical." He then took up a tricorder and got to work. (reply any) (posted by Don Jones) (USS Spectre – Deck 12 - TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 02:32) Chuck walked past the Chief Engineer’s office, marveling at the ingenius deck design that placed command offices near his now favorite turbolift three. ~I’ll have to remember that~ he made a mental note. NRPG: this timestamp is still just before the current Daimon Brak timeline, I don’t think this will create too much confusion in Engineering, but that’s why I’m stopping this post outside to minimize the story interference but I still need my combadge fixed by somebody who knows what they’re doing, if I touch it again who knows what might happen, lol. Then again maybe I’ll just have to scrap it and get a new one, I’ll leave it to the experts. ;) RPG: (reply Bristed?, Chenoll?, Bourne?, or anyone in engineering) (Posted by Anton Taylor) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 02:32) O'Hara had still been busy with the monitors that were monitoring the Ferengi when all head's had turned to face the door. The Gorn was as imposing as they had all expected & apparently twice as menacing & dressed in a Starfleet uniform didn't make him any less so. In fact he looked as though he were on vacation! Lewis stepped away from the monitors & then he walked towards the Gorn wondering what might have brought him here. "Are you a Medic Ensign?", said Lewis. "No Corporal, I am the new science officer", said the Gorn. Lewis nodded & raised an eyebrow. "Then you might be handy", said O'Hara, "borg technology is a form of science is it not?", he added. "Please feel free to add anything to the mix here" The Gorn nodded & then placed his suitcase....er, equipment case onto the table, followed by his mug of coffee accordingly before walking over to the monitors again. "It looks like you caught a Rat, Corporal.", said the Gorn, "I have eaten one or two of those," he added wryly, a sentence that was to provoke a number of curious glances from those in attendance. "What is the situation?", said the Gorn. O'Hara pointed to the monitors & then to the Ferengi lying there. "Borg implants, Ferengi, explosive devices", he said hoping that his usual tendency to come over as sarcastic didn't antagonize the large lizard like creature now surveying the data. "I see", said the Gorn, "I shall help however I can" (Reply Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Williams - 02:35) Andrew walked into a very crowded sickbay. He nodded to Douwsy who handed him the deep scan data. ~Ow borg implants that's interesting. That’s going to take time to remove the implant~ He walked up to the group. “Hallo if no one has any complaints I was planning to remove the implants from my patient?” (reply any) Andrew nodded. ~Will probably need a hand though~ He stepped over to a corporal who was with the group. “Corporal, I was wondering if the on duty corpsman would like to give me a hand with the surgery?” (reply O’Hara) Andrew nodded and then looked at the group. “If I was you I’d get some sand wedges, were going to be some time.” (reply any) He then headed for the surgical theatre. ~Right then, lets get this show on the road~ (reply O’Hara, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Security Chief’s Office - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 02:35) Rogers strolled into the Yelena's office, and found her sitting, working on something or other. Rogers sat down in her chair and smiled. "I'm back on duty, Yelena. Did you miss me?" he asked, semi-playfully. (reply Vasilyovna) "Ah, you didn't hear why I was locked in my quarters? That's good news, I guess," Rogers said, relieved slightly that news of his 'accident' wasn't ship-wide knowledge. "I had uh... medical condition. Highly contagious. They locked me in my quarters," Rogers explained rather weakly, before deciding to leave the rest to Vasilyovna's imagination. (reply Vasilyovna, iyw) "I'm afraid I've been out of the loop on everything. Has there been anything else important before I report upstairs to the big guy with the four pips?" Rogers asked. (reply Vasilyovna, any) (Posted by Kevin "Back from the Dead" Schram) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign (JG)Serixs Ssarumon - 2:36) Serixs had just completed his scans and brought the results up on a monitor mounted to the wall behind the Ferengi, then motioned O'Hara over. "Corporal, I am not an expert in explosives, but would those constitute dead man switches?" he asked, pointing out the display where it showed several tiny filament wires embedded through the Ferengi's ribs, all of them surrounding what appeared to be most of the components of the missing warhead and several unrecognizable implants all neatly tucked into his chest cavity. (reply O'Hara, any) Serixs could not help but remember his final academy exam involving a bomb and the surprise he gave to the Andorian instructor by blowing it up himself rather than wait for the terrorists to do it. Needless to say, that would not work here. Unfortunately, with those filament wires forming such a mesh, cracking this Ferengi's ribs would set it off. This was not going to be the typical surgery for Doctor Williams, he was sure. Not only that, but this was Borg tech, something he had precious little experience with. He knew he would need some help. "Computer!" Serixs commanded, "Scan personnel records. Has anyone on the Spectre been assimilated by the Borg in the past?" [Affirmative,] the computer responded. "Who?" Serixs asked, getting some of his tools together. [Ensign Junior Grade Charles Donaldson,] the computer responded to his question. It was at that moment that Serixs had noted Doctor Williams was present and speaking to O'Hara and the others while he was busy analyzing the data he collected. That was when he also noticed the doctor headed into the surgical theater. "Doctor Williams!" Serixs bellowed over the crowd. "Sir, I think you need to come have a look at this." The large Gorn moved aside to let the Doctor see what he was working on, showing him the micro-filament wires embedded throughout the Ferengi's ribs. "I suspect, sir, that if you go through this Ferengi's ribs, it will trigger the device." He then looked at O'Hara. "Do you concur, Corporal? You are the EOD troop?" NRPG: For those that do not know. EOD means Explosives Ordinance Disposal. :) RPG: (reply O'Hara, Williams) Serixs looked at Doctor Williams once more. "Sir, I recommend that we move this Ferengi into a shuttle craft and conduct the procedure there." He said. "At least if he explodes, he will not take the Spectre with him." He also gave thought to what the computer had told him. "I also recommend that we bring in Ensign Donaldson," he added. "He is a former Borg Drone and may have some clue that could assist us in dealing with this." (reply any) (posted by Don) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 2:37) The fact that he couldn't take his eyes off of the big green lizard was neither here nor there... Lewis knew what a Gorn looked like of course, he knew their kind reasonably well having fought briefly amongst some of them, but it seemed a little strange now to see one in a starfleet uniform, it didn't even seem to fit him, & that tail! It seemed also that nobody was in danger of being eaten...well, except maybe the Ferengi but O'Hara had already hazarded a guess that the Gorn preferred their food like a Klingon would. Moving! And then the big green lizard was beckoning him over... "Corporal, I am not an expert in explosives, but would those constitute dead man switches?", said Ssarumon as he began pointing respectively to various parts of the Ferengi's torso on the visual displays above them. Lewis simply nodded in the affirmative. "They could be, but if they are then why hasn't he....err, gone off", said Lewis. The Gorn obviously did not grasp the joke at all for he simply continued with his observations of the monitor displays whilst nodding every now & then, as though in deep thought. "Computer!, Scan personnel records. Has anyone on the Spectre been assimilated by the Borg in the past?", said the Gorn Science Officer. ~Now why did I expect that one~ [Affirmative] "Who?", said Ssarumon not once taking his eyes from the Ferengi layed out on the biobed, an act which caused the Marine to wonder whether he was perhaps sizing up a potential meal! [Ensign Junior Grade Charles Donaldson] O'Hara took the information in, then he moved back to the displays just as Williams entered sickbay looking like the proverbial Doctor Crippen looking for something to slice up, his requisite announcement on arrival only serving to ratify that even further. "Hallo if no one has any complaints I was planning to remove the implants from my patient?, he said. O'Hara simply shook his head, wondering now if the Doc was even aware of the sensitivity of the situation here. "Corporal, I was wondering if the on duty corpsman would like to give me a hand with the surgery?" "I think you had better take a closer look at those monitors Doc", said O'Hara, "it seems he maybe wired to go if we meddle", he added. Williams nodded and then looked about at those assembled. "If I were you I’d get some sand wedges, were going to be some time", said the doctor. ~Well that's an understatement if I've ever heard one~ "Doctor Williams!", hollered Ssarumon. Well, it seemed like a holler to O'Hara anyway, it was certainly going to take a little time to read the Gorn's voice tones, perhaps someones life would actually depend upon it someday, who knew. "Sir, I think you need to come have a look at this", said Ensign Ssarumon as he quickly began pointing out the same things to the Doctor as he had done the Marine Demo expert. "I suspect, sir, that if you go through this Ferengi's ribs, it will trigger the device", said the Gorn, "Do you concur, Corporal? You are the EOD troop?", he added. O'Hara just nodded & then looked at the displays again, then he glanced over at the Ferengi who still hadn't moved an inch of course. "I wouldn't like to say for certain", said Lewis, "I'm not too familiar with Borg technology unless it's coming at me, normally you don't have much time to study it unless it's lying dead on the floor", he added pausing then to assess the most likely reasons for the micro-filaments being there. "I guess I concur", said O'Hara with a nod just as Ensign Ssarumon suggested them moving the Ferengi to a shuttle craft for safety reasons. "Again, I concur", said O'Hara, "I'll get on to the MXO & clear it with OPS", he added as he moved towards the doorway already tapping his combadge to initiate the coms. (Reply Any) (posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Security Chief’s Office - TAC/SC Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna - 02:37) Vasilyovna had only just sat down again & picked up the PADD to review the duty shifts when who should walk in to her office, but the seemingly invisible First Officer. She hadn't even realized it during the last few hours, but Rogers had in fact been strangely absent. "I'm back on duty, Yelena. Did you miss me?" said Rogers in his usual, cocksure tone of voice upon entering her office. Yelena screwed up her face slightly in response. "I had no idea you were even off duty 'Brian'...", said Yelena returning the sarcasm of his using her first name there. "Ah, you didn't hear why I was locked in my quarters? That's good news, I guess,", said Rogers as he moved into the room & took a seat. Vasilyovna gave him a sideways glance, then she quirked her head slightly to one side in an attempt to gain insight into what his game actually was. Surely he had something better to do than come to her & play, 'What's my line'.... He had simply smiled but had said nothing now to indicate aanything, it was as though he were waiting for her to ask. "Ok, go on", said Yelena after a long pause, "you have peaked my interest, what was wrong with you?", she asked, already beginning to wish that she hadn't asked. "I had uh... medical condition. Highly contagious. They locked me in my quarters", Said Rogers. Vasilyovna smiled at his sidestep & then looked him straight in the eye. "You & I both know that that isn't true Mr Rogers", said Yelena eying him curiously now. "So come on, where have you really been hiding" The FO looked about the room, somewhat resembling an errant schoolboy having just been caught with a stink bomb in his pocket by the headmaster. "Well?", said Vasilyovna impatiently. "I'm afraid I've been out of the loop on everything. Has there been anything else important before I report upstairs to the big guy with the four pips?" Rogers asked. "Are you seriously telling me that he doesn't even know where you've been either?", exclaimed Yelena in disbelief. "Come now Brian, if you got the jitters during the attack then just admit it", she added. (Reply Rogers, IYW) "I know the CO was none too pleased at your going off like a hero & facing off to that ship alone", said Vasilyovna, "you were taken aside & told off, don't try & tell me otherwise", she added, "I was on the bridge remember, it won't work. (Reply Rogers) Yelena simply listened & then shook her head. "Wasn't there another Rogers that liked to play the hero in ancient history?.... ah yes, that was it, Roy!", said Yelena with a smile. (Reply Rogers) "Whatever, you better make your report anyway...Sir", said Yelena emphasizing the fact that even though he was acting a little strange, he was still technically a rung above her in the command chain. (Reply Rogers) "The last time I saw the Captain he was..... actually scrub that, I can't even remember where it was now it's been so hectic on board lately", said Yelena. "But you better find him & report nonetheless, as for me I have work to do", she added as she returned her attention forthwith to the PADD before her. (Reply Rogers, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre – Engineering (Deck 12) – TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 02:38) ~Alright, finally, my combadge is fixed and I’m ready to see some action~ thought Chuck fumbling his way out of Deck 12. He cheerfully leapt into turbolift three. ~I’m feeling unusually happy about finally getting this combadge thing fixed~ he thought to himself. [please select a destination for turbolift three] said the computer. Chuck was jolted for a moment as he realized he was standing in the turbolift. He realized he had nowhere to go . . . he hadn’t yet contacted the CMO. He lightly tapped his combadge and was relieved not to get electrocuted this time. “Chuck Donaldson to the Chief Medical Officer” (reply Williams) “Lt. Williams, the Security Chief has ordered me to assist you with the Ferengi situation, are you still in sickbay?” (reply Williams) “That’s fine, sir, I’m on my way there now” said Chuck. Closing the communication Chuck glanced down at the PADD he had held since he got onboard to verify the location of sickbay. ~I wonder who else has been called to sickbay to help out~ “Turbolift, Deck Three” (Reply Williams) (Posted by Anton Taylor) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Lieutenant Andrew Williams & Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 02:39) The Chief Medical Officer looked decidedly worried now as he took in the information currently being displayed upon the relevant monitor's. It seemed that O'Hara & the Gorn had been correct in their assumptions after all, this was not going to be the ordinary procedure the Doc had hoped it would be. "Hmm, I don't like this at all", said the Doctor rubbing at the side of his face now with one hand. "There are attachments directly into his left & right lobes, into the basal ganglia itself", said Williams. "Three more into the caudate body too, it looks like he can trigger this with a mere thought", he added as he quickly moved off towards a tray nearby to fetch another hypospray. "I want to keep his brain functions down to the minimum required to sustain his life", said the doctor as he pressed the hypospray onto the Ferengi's neck to inject a suitable dose of Melorazine in order to keep him sedated. He took a deep breath, then he turned to face the others. "I'm afraid I agree with you Ensign Ssarumon, we really need to get him off the ship", said the Doctor just as O'Hara returned through the door. "You will go won't you Corporal?", asked the Doctor. "Go where?", said O'Hara with a somewhat worried look upon his face now. "In the shuttle, with the Ferengi", said the Doctor, "I can deal with the organics of this problem Corporal, but not the bit's that can go bang", he added. "Of course", said the Marine Corporal. "And an Engineer....or maybe two?", said Williams as he fussed about looking for equipment that he envisaged needing for the operation to remove the aforementioned explosives. "Did I hear someone say we had some knowledgeable Borg experts on board?", asked the Doctor. "Yup, Ensign's Bristed & Donaldson, I believe Ensign Bristed is en route as we speak", said O'Hara, "that is, assuming she hasn't gone back to bed", he added with a smile. "This is not the time for wisecracks Corporal", said the Doctor, "we need to remain focused here, the first thing I'm going to need to do is sever the connections to the brain, then we go into the chest & remove the explosives themselves", he added as he continued moving around his sickbay like the proverbial chicken with no head. "But first, we have to get him off the ship", said Williams. "Already arranged, shuttlebay two is being prepped for departure as we speak", said O'Hara, "we can get the show on the road as soon as we have our Borg specialists here", he added whilst the Doctor began downloading the relevant data to a PADD for ease of use, his mind seemingly elsewhere now. "Which shuttle?", asked the Doctor. "Excuse me sir?", said O'Hara. "Which shuttle are we going out in, I need one big enough to be equipped with containment, a biobed & some other essential equipment", said Williams. "I dunno, the one that Korak came back in I think, it's just been put back into service", said O'Hara. "Ahh, good.....yes, good", said Williams as he nodded to himself whilst in the process of silently rechecking now that everything was ready. "Where are Ensign's Bristed & Donaldson", said the Doctor sounding just a tad impatient now, but probably only overcompensating in regards his already laid down plans. "I really don't want to proceed without someone with specific Borg expertise at my side on this", he added. "They'll be along shortly Doc, settle down", said O'Hara as he himself took a seat & then looked over towards the diminutive little figure laid out on the Biobed nearby. (Reply Bristed, Donaldson, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Lieutenant Andrew Williams & Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 02:39) =/\=Chuck Donaldson to the Chief Medical Officer=/\= The Doctor looked up momentarily from what it was that had been occupying him beforehand, the name seemed familiar but he was unsure why at first, then he answered the call from this apparently new crewmember. "Go ahead, umm.... Ensign?", said the Doc, wondering as to wether he had just addressed the man correctly now. =/\=Lt. Williams, the Security Chief has ordered me to assist you with the Ferengi situation, are you still in sickbay?=/\= "Yes, yes of course", said the Doctor just as the proverbial penny finally dropped in regards the mans name. ~Donaldson, the new arrival with his own Borg implants~ "Ensign Donaldson, please come down right away, I would not be exaggerating if I told you that your particular brand of experience may be quite useful here", said the Doctor. =/\=That’s fine, sir, I’m on my way there now=/\= (Reply None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Security Chief’s Office - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 02:39) "Are you seriously telling me that he doesn't even know where you've been either? Come now Brian, if you got the jitters during the attack then just admit it," the security chief said. "I didn't get any such jitters. After I was patched up by Dr. Williams, one of his nurses found I had a rare alien rash. I had to be locked in my quarters for a few hours while the cream was doing its thing," Rogers said. "I know the CO was none too pleased at your going off like a hero & facing off to that ship alone, you were taken aside & told off, don't try & tell me otherwise. I was on the bridge remember, it won't work," she said. "Well, thats me. Trying to be the hero," Rogers said weakly. "Wasn't there another Rogers that liked to play the hero in ancient history?.... ah yes, that was it, Roy!" she said with her thick Russian accent. Brian rolled his eyes. "Whatever, you better make your report anyway...Sir", she suggested. Brian stood up and pulled his uniform torso straight. "Fine, fine. Where is the Captain?" he asked. "The last time I saw the Captain he was..... actually scrub that, I can't even remember where it was now it's been so hectic on board lately. But you better find him & report nonetheless, as for me I have work to do," Vasilynvoa said. Rogers nodded, "Thank you, lieutenant," he said before stiffly turning and heading out into the corridor. (reply none, any) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Ensign(JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 02:40) Serixs was unconsciously pacing by the biobed the little Ferengi was sprawled out upon and he was growing impatient. None of this was helped, of course, by the fact that he was growing hungry. Granted Gorn do not eat but once a week due to the slow metabolic rate of their bodies, but it had been that long since his last meal and he was starting to feel it. Never did he take his eyes off the little creature, all the while letting a very low growl issue from his throat, almost as though waiting for someone to tell him to dig in. That would have to wait, though. Besides, he had four tribbles with his name all over them waiting for him in his quarters. That would have to be a much better meal than this Ferengi and the Borg tech that he had infected himself with. The Ferengi, he could handle, but Borg were one of the very few things in this universe that truly agitated him, and it showed. "We should make haste removing the Borg technology from this little snack." Serixs hissed out, his speech followed by a very inhuman and guttural chuckling. (reply O'Hara, Williams IYW) "I will not tell if you will not," he added to his thinly veiled threat to consume the 'patient'. He then checked the monitor, making sure the Borg implants did not start behaving oddly. One thing about Borg tech was that it was unpredictable and had a habit of adapting itself without warning. The last thing Serixs wanted was for this little Ferengi to begin trying to assimilate the Spectre, or worse that he was emitting a homing signal to the Borg Collective. Once he was satisfied that nothing was yet any more amiss than it already was he went back to his slow pacing. He figured that if nothing else, the thought of a very large and hungry reptile would make sure Brak behaved himself, were he actually just playing at unconsciousness. (reply Any) "If you blow us up," Serixs hissed, "I will be quite upset," he said to the silent and still Ferengi, then moved to the monitor once more, continuing to scan and recheck his readings. Once they were finished, he looked at the Doctor. "Sir, I will go to the shuttle bay and get pre-flight completed so we can move as quickly as possible," Serixs said. What he did not say is that he might lose control of his faculties and devour the little morsel while they waited, so best to make a retreat. (reply Williams, Any) "Yes, sir." Serixs said, then stepped out of Sickbay. He went from a brisk walk to a run, looking very much like what one may describe as a humanoid Tyrannosaur, in order to get to the shuttle bay. (Reply Williams, Any) (Posted by Don Jones) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Corporal Lewis O'Hara & CMO Lieutenant Andrew Williams - 02:41) Ensign Ssarumon had been hovering about the Ferengi for seemingly ages now & O'Hara was beginning to wonder what it was that he was up to. The grunts emanating from within him seemed most unusual but they hinted at something definitely primal in origin, perhaps he wanted to eat him! The Gorns statement upon finally turning about left the Marine Corporal in no doubt of course, he WAS thinking of eating him! "We should make haste removing the Borg technology from this little snack", said Serix. "Snack?", said O'Hara, "did you just say snack? umm, I hate to remind you of this Ensign, but you aren't allowed to eat the guests, even if they are full of explosive compounds", he added in a slightly agitated tone of voice. "I will not tell if you will not", said the Gorn as he turned about to face the monitors once more with something that could only be described as resembling a smile upon his face. He did not remain there for long though for in moments, he was back by the Ferengi, pacing the biobed & eyeing him up & down with a look that could only spell hunger upon his big, scaly green face. "If you blow us up", said the Gorn, seemingly in a rhetorical manner, "I will be quite upset", he added as he then continued to scan and recheck his readings. O'Hara grimmaced once again, then he took a seat nearby, after all there wasn't a lot he could now do until they got the bits out of the Ferengi which didn't belong, then he could work his magic. The Doctor, who now seemed to be becoming a little more focused on what it was that he would be required to do, simply worked on silently until such time as Ensign Ssarumon was upon him again. "Sir, I will go to the shuttle bay and get pre-flight completed so we can move as quickly as possible", said Ensign Ssarumon. "Yes, of course Ensign", said the Doctor, "I'm almost ready now, you go ahead....we'll have the patient beamed directly to the shuttle, it'll be easier that way". "Yes, sir", said the Gorn as he turned about & then made his way in a somewhat lumbering manner out of the sickbay. (Reply None, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre – Sickbay (Deck 3) – TAC/ASC Ensign (JG) Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 02:48) Chuck stepped through the doorway into sickbay. Hydroponics, Medical Crew Quarters, Transporter Room 1 . . . ~Jesus, they hide sickbay, what if I was the one needing help.~ thought Chuck. As Chuck surveyed sickbay from the door he noticed four figures. Apparently sickbay had been cleared out and devoted to the ‘care’ of a single ‘patient’. Two men stood near an obviously sedated Ferengi and some distance off stood a “dinosaur”. Chuck recognized the ‘dinosaur’ as being a Gorn. He had dealt with the kind before and knew them to be a race of many appetites. He smiled at the Gorn but the Gorn either didn’t notice him or simply didn’t regard him. ~ah, well, doesn’t matter, lizards don’t make the best fellows anyway~ he thought. In response to the door opening Chuck saw the CMO turn to face him. “Lieutenant.” Chuck said briskly, nodding. (reply Williams) At the sound of Chuck’s voice the other man turned around. Chuck could just make out the insignia of a Corporal on his collar. (reply O’Hara) “I apologize for not coming sooner, I had a . . . uh . . . problem to deal with.” Chuck muttered bowing his head slightly. Chuck involuntarily reached up and scratched at his optical implant. ~good timing~ Chuck thought frowning. (reply Williams) “I see, so you think my knowledge of the Borg will help in this case?” Chuck responded quizzically. (reply Williams) (reply O’Hara) “I’ll try to help any way I can, I confess I’ve never heard of the Ferengi ever using Borg technology before, I’m eager to see what you’ve found so far” said Chuck. "We should make haste removing the Borg technology from this little snack." Serixs hissed out, his speech followed by a very inhuman and guttural chuckling. (reply O'Hara, Williams IYW) “The Gorn is in a hurry, you can fill me in as we board the craft” muttered Chuck within earshot of O’Hara and Williams. "Sir, I will go to the shuttle bay and get pre-flight completed so we can move as quickly as possible," said the Gorn. (reply Williams, Any) "Yes, sir." Responded the Gorn, then stepped out of Sickbay. ~The Gorn walks right past me like I don’t even exist, figures~ Chuck thought. After the Gorn left Chuck breathed a sigh of relief. Gorn’s made him nervous, they would just as soon eat you as speak to you, having one ignore him was a surprising comfort. “I’m pretty sure the Gorn isn’t in command but we should probably get this heap moving soon.” Chuck said pointing at the Ferengi on the table. “Let me just check a few things first,” Chuck said moving to the monitor that had been devoted to the Ferengi. He had seen the Gorn checking the monitor but it wasn’t trusted just yet. (reply O’hara) “What’s the Ferengi’s name?” asked Chuck. (reply O’hara) “Daimon Brak, hmmm, I don’t see the tattoo denoting a Daimon, are you certain?” (reply Williams, O’Hara, Bristed) (posted by Anton Taylor) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO Lieutenant Andrew Williams & Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 02:50) The arrival of a Human crewman, sporting a single Borg implant above his left eye could only mean one thing now, Donaldson had arrived. For a moment, the man simply observed those assembled, then he walked into sickbay & turned towards the Doctor. "Lieutenant", said Ensign Donaldson with a nod as both the CMO & the Marine Corporal acknowledged the new arrival. "I apologize for not coming sooner, I had a . . . uh . . . problem to deal with.", said Donaldson as he pressed lightly at the Borg implant set above his eye. "You think you got problems, take a look at our friend over there", said the Marine Corporal in his usual, somewhat sarcastic manner. Ensign Donaldson glanced towards the Ferengi on the biobed, then he turned his attention back to the Doctor & the Corporal. "I see, so you think my knowledge of the Borg will help in this case?", said Donaldson. The Doc simply nodded. "Well, that is what we are hoping", said Doctor Williams, "you could assist us greatly with your own knowledge of Borg implant interface methodology, you know, how it all connects at an organic level", he added. "I’ll try to help any way I can, I confess I’ve never heard of the Ferengi ever using Borg technology before, I’m eager to see what you’ve found so far", said Ensign Donaldson just as Ensign Ssarumon began insisting that they make haste now in getting the Ferengi aboard the shuttle. The Doctor spoke briefly to him & then the Gorn was on his way to begin the preflight checks he had previously been mentioning. Ensign Donaldson glanced briefly towards Ensign Bristed who was still engrossed in verifying certain aspects of the implants on the monitors. "I’m pretty sure the Gorn isn’t in command but we should probably get this heap moving soon.", said Donaldson with a slight smile. Clearly he felt a little intimidated by Ensign Ssarumon & looked somewhat relieved now that he had left. "No Ensign, the Gorn is thankfully not in command", said O'Hara, "which is just as well otherwise he would have eaten the Ferengi already". "Let me just check a few things first", said Ensign Donaldson as he moved briefly towards the monitors that were reading out Brak's lifesigns & showing the implants within him. "What’s the Ferengi’s name?", asked the Ensign as he acknowledged the Female Ensign still standing nearby. "Brak", said O'Hara abruptly, "Daimon Brak....but I must confess that I would rather have broken brak hours ago", he added with a wry smile at the stupidity of his own, rather mediocre joke. "Daimon Brak, hmmm, I don’t see the tattoo denoting a Daimon, are you certain?", asked Donaldson. "He's been stripped of his title, but he seems to be convinced that the title still applies", said O'Hara, "it isn't relevant anyway, it isn't his outsides we are concerned with here Ensign, it's his insides", he added as he moved towards the Ferengi. "The Lizards right, we should get things moving", said O'Hara. "I agree", said the Doctor as he quickly reached up to tap at his combadge. "Doctor Williams to Transporter room One, I'd like a site to site, from sickbay to shuttlebay two whenever your ready please", said Williams. =/\=Understood Doctor, preparing to energize=/\= The diminutive little figure, together with a large portion of the needed equipment then shimmered out of view as their molecules were scrambled, & then transported to the required location. "Gentlemen, er lady", said the Doctor motioning with his hand now towards the door to imply that it was time to go now, none of them needed any prompting of course & within seconds, the sickbay was once again free for further business. (Reply None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - Cockpit - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 03:00) Serixs hated Federation shuttle craft. Always were they designed for little mammals. He barely fit the seat and had to scrunch himself down to get to all the controls and it was more than a little awkward, but it would do. He figured his role on this expedition would be best as pilot to get them there while the others worked on the Ferengi, then he could come in and assist once everything was in place. The large Gorn looked over his shoulder as people began to pile into the shuttle, carrying Brak on a stretcher with them. Once everyone was secure, he fired up the engines and waited for the bay doors to open. (reply any) "Departure in 3...2...1...Mark!" Serixs said over the hum of the engines as the shuttle lurched up from the shuttlebay floor and glided out of the Spectre's opened shuttle bay. He made a scan of space, ensuring everything was clear and plotted a course that would put them away from both the Spectre and the Hood, about a thousand kilometers off the Spectre's port bow. He set the shuttle to station keeping and looked back again, getting to his feet and squeezing through the doorway to the aft of the shuttle, giving a hand with getting the necessary equipment set up for the delicate procedure that was about to begin. (reply Any, any in the shuttle) (posted by Don Jones) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - CMO Andrew Williams - 03:05) Andrew looked about at those assembled for this little party of their's, everyone seemed to know their place, Brak remained exactly where he had been the entire time, silent, unmoving & laid out upon the biobed with a sterile containment field in place all around it. The idea of the containment field had been twofold, first & foremost it would help contain any explosion should it occur, & second it would sterilize all crewmembers entering & exiting the field as a matter of course. It would in effect be a lifesaver whatever the case. The Shuttle itself, having now left the Spectre's hanger bay had now come to a full stop at the designated safety zone. Ensign Ssarumon had left the controls to enter the rear crew compartment, seemingly to offer any assistance should it be needed but the Doctor felt that there may just have been another reason entirely. The Gorn was still hungry after all! He put aside the thought's for now though, there was work to be done & the sooner it was completed, the sooner they could all return to some form of normality. "Ok, let's get this done shall we", said William's as he entered the sterile field with one of the nurses he had brought along with him. Both Donaldson & Bristed, being the requisite Borg specialists so to speak, remained outside of it for now, until such time as their expertise were needed. Andrew wasted no time now, he glanced again at the monitors one last time, then he picked up the laser scalpel & made his first incision into the Ferengi's head whilst the nurse verified his vital signs. (Reply None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - ACEO Ensign(JG) Jacqueline Bristed - 03:12) Jacqueline waited outside the containment field. For the moment, she felt completely useless, and for a brief moment debated curling up in a corner and sleeping until she was needed. But no, she was on duty, and that meant she had to at least simulate being at full readiness for anything. With this in mind, she planted herself at a console and began checking over the operating levels. Maybe doing something would keep her from nodding off. As if she could sleep in this kind of situation. ~Borg. Why did it have to be Borg?~ A voice cut into her apprehensive train of thought. “Ssarumon makes me uncomfortable, he looks at us like he’d just as soon eat us as help out.” She looked back at the source of the voice, the only other person around. "He had his chance to eat me earlier. I'm still here," she said with a shrug. God, that had been awkward. And she had claimed she was running on autopilot then, so by now she was probably operating outside the realm of full sanity. Well, at least she had the comfort of knowing that none of this situation was completely within the realm of sanity. “My name’s Chuck Donaldson by the way . . .” he said as he got to his feet. She assumed the man was going to see how the doctor was faring. "I'm Jacqueline Bristed," she answered. It was only polite. As he moved past her, she returned to her nervous monitoring of the shuttle's systems and that containment field specifically. If anything went wrong...no, it wasn't going to go wrong...it couldn't go wrong... "I could use your help now, either or both but any will do", said the Doctor. It had been several minutes since Donaldson had moved to watch the procedure, several minutes of struggling to stay awake and to keep her mind on anything that would keep her from panicking. Her "mechanical instinct" was still insisting that everything about Borg technology was wrong, although the she's managed to override it enough to register what was really going on. She slid away from the console and passed through the containment field, standing to the left of Donaldson. "Ok, I'm assuming that this piece of equipment is the primary trigger", said the Doctor peeling back the various structures to reveal the item in question, "it seems to be chemically activated, these elements look like sampling nodes", he added. “I wouldn’t know about it being the trigger or not. Bristed would know more about that sort of thing,” said Donaldson. "Hmm..." It did look as though the Williams had properly identified the equipment. The intuition she normally would have fallen back on barely registered anything, but it seemed that the subconscious and conscious parts of her mind concurred. "I think I'd have to agree," she said. "I can't really think of any other purpose for something with that design. “I’m more interested in those sampling nodes,” said Chuck almost completely ignoring the conversation. “The average Borg node can rival a human brain in complexity but these seem to be less active, more like the brain of a snail” ~Snails have brains? Great, I've learned my fact for the day.~ It was completely irrelevant, but it helped calm her down somehow, and that was useful. “Bristed, can you modify the doctor’s Medical Tricorder to scan these Nodes for activity. We need to establish the directional flow of the information in the Nodes. That may give us some indication of the functions of these nodes.” Jacqueline merely nodded, reaching out for the medical tricorder and immediately setting the special instructions into the machinery. Tricorders weren't really her speciality, but with the things learned at the Academy--especially things not taught in courses--she could probably have made it do cartwheels if she tried hard enough. The node diagnostic was completely in short order, and handed it to Donaldson. "There are three as you can see, if I remove the wrong one first then there is a chance that the others may trigger", said Williams just as the nurse leaned forwards to remove the sweat from his brow that had been slowly gathering there. "That rules out 'eenie-meenie-miney-mo'. What did that tricorder scan say?" she asked. "So, the Tricorder indicates that at least one of the three is a ‘dummy’. That gives us a 50-50 chance of success from my point of view. Based on the lack of complexity I’d say the Ferengi put these in himself.” Said Chuck. ~Why in hell would you do that to yourself?~ "I'd say..." she trailed off, thinking hard about which one was least likely to trigger the warhead. "This one should come out first," she said, pointing at the appropriate device. "Ok, I have no choice but to go with your best advice on this, you are the umm, experts here", said the Doctor as he began removing a small section of brain tissue around the entrance points of each of the relevant Borg devices. “Whatever you do don’t cut the blue wire," said Chuck. Jacqueline stifled a groan. There was a time and a place for humor of Donaldson's ilk, and although this might be it, she didn't want to hear it just now. (reply any in this situation) (posted by Siobhan) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - Ensign Serixs Ssarumon - 03:15) Inwardly, Serixs chuckled as he made his way to the science console that was brought along. The others were convinced he would eat the Ferengi at the first opportunity. This was, in a way, a good thing. If he could convince them, then the Ferengi was more than convinced that he was little more than a light appetizer for a hungry Gorn. Serixs was aware that his appearance was intimidating to those around him. More often than not this was an extreme detriment to him, but while in sickbay, it was an advantage. He had no way to be sure that the Ferengi was indeed sedated, and no one could give him anything conclusive to that fact. With that being the case, and the potential for both loss of life and ship, he did what he felt the best option. He resorted to psychological warfare. It all had to be convincing though. Had he told the others, they would not have acted around him with the belief that Brak would be eaten, which would have ruined the facade. Since they also believed it, then that made the charade all the more convincing. Brak did what any Ferengi would instinctively do when threatened by a large predator. He played dead. With Brak playing dead, he was far more apt to behave himself rather than get brave and detonate the bomb in sickbay. The risk was too great and Serixs could not afford to sit on his big tail and do nothing. Lives were being threatened by this seemingly insignificant Daimon and this simply would not do. Now that Serixs was confident that the Ferengi was sedated, he dropped the act and brought up the science console. His entire demeanor noticably changed. No longer was he the pacing hungry creature. He was now cool and businesslike in his approach. It was time to get to work, and the large Gorn was not about to shirk his duties even for a moment. Once the console was active, he keyed in and tried to get into the programming of the borg implant. He had to be extremely careful, as this particular device still had many layers of Borg security. He would have to get around them and begin feeding false data in, telling the implant that the filaments that the doctor cut were still intact and not to go off. Of course, if Serixs tripped the security, none of them would be alive to regret it. No pressure. Never. It would also allow him to keep tabs on the implants, making sure that the surgery did not trip a security protocol. He followed the instructions of Bristed and Donaldson implicitly while they assisted the Doctor, trying to allow them to stay one step ahead of the security measures that could surely kill them all. Once he had a route into the programming, he fed the data to the medical monitor for Dr. Williams. "Ok, let's get this done shall we", he had heard Dr. Williams say. Serixs could not agree more, but he kept his yap shut on that, instead focused on the task at hand. (Reply None) (Posted by Don Jones) (Shuttle Victor Hugo – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 03:22) Chuck had remained relatively quiet after having helped carry Brak onboard. He had slipped into the co-pilot chair beside the overgrown lizard and double-checked that their trajectory and course would lead them to a safe distance away from the Spectre should the Ferengi go bang. Ssarumon wriggled his reptilian body out of the pilot’s chair and went to the rear crew compartment to “offer assistance” and the absence made Chuck more comfortable. ~Now I can spread out~ he thought. Behind him Chuck could see the female Engineer busily tapping away at a console no doubt checking the stability of the containment field around the Ferengi and the doctor. “Ssarumon makes me uncomfortable, he looks at us like he’d just as soon eat us as help out.” Said Chuck. The engineer looked at him for a moment. He hadn’t exactly addressed her directly but she was the only person nearby. (reply Bristed, if you want) “My name’s Chuck Donaldson by the way . . .” he said getting up to head back and check on the doctor’s progress. (reply Bristed) Chuck could hear the doctor muttering something about getting the show on the road but he couldn’t make it out. He cut the conversation short with Bristed and made his way to the edge of the containment field. Chuck saw the Doctor make an incision into the Ferengi’s head ~He’s started without me but he’ll soon realize he needs me. This bites, the doctor is treating me like a first year cadet. I’m sure he’ll keep it up until he needs me~ Chuck leaned with his back against a maintenance panel and folded his arms but kept an eye on the monitors just to be able to jump in should the doctor make a mistake. "I could use your help now, either or both but any will do", said the Doctor. “Well, he needs us now, might as well make ourselves useful.” whispered Chuck to himself. Unfolding his arms and walking through the containment field next to the biobed Chuck gave the doctor and the Corporal a cursory glance. ~Now you want my help~ thought Chuck. Doctor Williams’ eyes moved from Chuck and Bristed down to his “surgeon’s hands”. "Ok, I'm assuming that this piece of equipment is the primary trigger", said the Doctor peeling back the various structures to reveal the item in question, "it seems to be chemically activated, these elements look like sampling nodes", he added. “I wouldn’t know about it being the trigger or not. Bristed would know more about that sort of thing.” Said Chuck. (reply Bristed, Williams, any) “I’m more interested in those sampling nodes.” Said Chuck almost completely ignoring the conversation. “The average Borg node can rival a human brain in complexity but these seem to be less active, more like the brain of a snail” (reply Williams, O’hara) “Bristed, can you modify the doctor’s Medical Tricorder to scan these Nodes for activity. We need to establish the directional flow of the information in the Nodes. That may give us some indication of the functions of these nodes.” Chuck was trying desperately to leave the situation in the hands of the doctor but the borg technology was beyond even the Doctor’s understanding. (reply Bristed) "There are three as you can see, if I remove the wrong one first then there is a chance that the others may trigger", said Williams just as the nurse leaned forwards to remove the sweat from his brow that had been slowly gathering there. (reply Bristed) “So, the Tricorder indicates that at least one of the three is a ‘dummy’. That gives us a 50-50 chance of success from my point of view. Based on the lack of complexity I’d say the Ferengi put these in himself.” Said Chuck. ~Bristed’s understanding of the warhead technology might narrow it down more but that might just be wishful thinking.~ Chuck smiled slightly but said nothing. (reply Bristed, any) "Ok, I have no choice but to go with your best advice on this, you are the umm, experts here", said the Doctor as he began removing a small section of brain tissue around the entrance points of each of the relevant Borg devices. “Whatever you do don’t cut the blue wire.” Chuck smiled widely. (reply any) (posted by Anton Taylor) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - CMO Andrew Williams - 03:45) The situation was as tense now as it possibly could be, after seemingly an age due to the complexity of a four lobed brain, the Doctor had now revealed the wire traces embedded directly into the Caudate body. It was probably not the time nor the place to be thinking such things, but Williams could not help but marvel at the efficiency of the Borg technology, it was both impressive & resourceful in it's execution, at the same time though, it was nothing short of barbaric. They were at a point now however, that should an incorrect procedure be initiated, the results could be nothing short of catastrophic. With that in mind, the Doctor rested for just a moment, then he called over to Donaldson & Bristed. "I could use your help now, either or both but any will do", said the Doctor. (Reply Donaldson, Bristed, Any) The arrival of the two crewmen at the side of the biobed was a relief now to say the least, as far as the Doctor was concerned it was better to be safe that sorry & where one specialist here might have been adequate, there was always the possibility that one might be wrong in their judgement, with a second however a reasonably reliable input could be assured. "Ok, I'm assuming that this piece of equipment is the primary trigger", said the Doctor peeling back the various structures to reveal the item in question, "it seems to be chemically activated, these elements look like sampling nodes", he added. (Reply Bristed, Donaldson, Any) "There are three as you can see, if I remove the wrong one first then there is a chance that the others may trigger", said Williams just as the nurse leaned forwards to remove the sweat from upon his brow that had been slowly gathering there. (Reply Bristed, Donaldson, Any) "Ok, I have no choice but to go with your best advice on this, you are the umm, experts here", said the Doctor as he began removing a small section of brain tissue around the entrance points of each of the relevant Borg devices. NRPG: More to come... (Reply Bristed, Donaldson, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - Ensign Serixs Ssarumon - 03:46) Serixs could feel the tension in the air and it was almost tangible. He was nervous around explosives. All of them were. He could see this implicitly. He waited patiently as Dr. Williams carved up the Daimon's skull and brain to get at the wires inside, all the while monitoring for changes in the implant's activity. "I could use your help now, either or both but any will do", said the Doctor. (Reply Donaldson, Bristed, Any) Serixs watched as the two made their way beside the Doctor and the three discussed the situation amongst themselves. In the mean time, he quieted an alarm in the implant, telling it that everything was just fine using a low subspace signal mimicing a Borg neural transmission. It took a few moments, but the Implants subsided and went back to quiet, if not dormant, state. "There are three as you can see, if I remove the wrong one first then there is a chance that the others may trigger", said Williams just as the nurse leaned forwards to remove the sweat from upon his brow that had been slowly gathering there. (Reply Bristed, Donaldson) "Stand by," Serixs said, following the instructions of the two other officers. He began to gently interrogate the implant, getting what little information he could and telling it that everything was just fine. He piped the information on the filament to the medical monitor for Dr. Williams to proceed. "Ok, I have no choice but to go with your best advice on this, you are the umm, experts here", said the Doctor as he began removing a small section of brain tissue around the entrance points of each of the relevant Borg devices. As he was doing so, the Science console started to scream with alarm. The Implant nearest had registered the sound and motion of the Doctor's work and armed itself. Frantically, Serixs started sending through the subspace channel to calm the device. The sequence that seemed to go on forever but only lasted perhaps a second had devolved into something akin to an argument between the large Gorn and a piece of Borg technology. It registered the motion, and Serixs had to convince the thing that there was no motion or sound and that the data in flawed. It took some convincing, but eventually he managed to quiet the thing down until it disarmed. Once it stopped, he let out a long breath that he had no idea he was holding. "That wasssss too closssse," Serixs hissed out, then got back to work making sure that it would not happen again. This was going to be a long procedure. (reply any) (posted by Don Jones) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - CMO Lieutenant Andrew Williams & Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 04:20) The tension now building within the cramped interior of the Victor Hugo was beginning to feel like a shroud slowly descending upon them all now, but as for the operation itself, it had all gone reasonably well so far, albeit with the few scares that had already occurred beforehand. All in all though, the Ferengi's biosign's were now stable once again & all but one of the triggering nodes had been successfully disconnected from his still exposed grey matter as Donaldson slowly withdrew the second trigger from the Caudate body. It was at this point however that the Doctor paused just briefly from the task in hand, whilst the nurse again leaned dutifully forwards to mop the sweat from his brow. Then he stood straight up, stretching his back muscles in the process so as to ease the tension that had been building within them. The comfort of his bed was most certainly beckoning him now & yet still, there was much to be done before they could all be deemed safe. Looking about the shuttle, The Doctor's gaze fell upon each of those that had accompanied him here, they had all risked their lives in this task just as much as he himself had & for that, each of them deserved due praise. The Doctor pondered this devotion to duty a little further as he stood there silent.... This was both Donaldson's & Ssarumon's first day on board the Spectre, they should have been safe & settling into their quarters & yet here they were, risking life & limb with the others, a more than fitting testament to the true spirit of a Starfleet Officer. Then there was Ensign Bristed, she had worked with both him & Donaldson in close proximity to the explosive material embedded within the Ferengi's torso, they had offered invaluable aid to Williams as he had proceeded with each step & as such, the Doctor was now beginning to think along the lines that perhaps it was now time to minimize the possible casualty count, should this all go horribly wrong now. Williams looked down at his patient & at the exposed charges, then he returned his gaze to Ensign Bristed. "Ensign, I think that you should return to the Spectre now", said the Doctor, "both you & Ensign Ssarumon", he added, feeling slightly ashamed now in not choosing any of the others to return with them. (Reply Bristed, Ssarumon) "If this all goes wrong, the fewer people that are here on this shuttle the better", said Williams, "I need only one Borg specialist now & a demolitions expert, either myself or Corporal O'Hara can pilot the shuttle back home, there's no need to risk anyone else's life here now than is absolutely necessary", he added. (Reply Bristed, Ssarumon, Either) "And it will be duly noted in the log", said Williams, "as the ranking officer this is MY call now, I am ordering you both to return to the Spectre", he added, realizing now as he spoke that Donaldson had not even flinched at the knowledge that he would now be remaining on board. The Doctor turned towards him as he stood there, one of the Borg implants still clutched firmly within his hand. "The moment the charges are released & the immediate danger has passed, both you & Nurse Aely's will beam back to the Spectre as well", said the Doctor turning quickly towards O'Hara now. (Reply Donaldson, IYW) "After that, it will be just myself, the Ferengi & you Mr O'Hara....no more risks than that", said Williams as he returned his attention forthwith to the Ferengi on the Biobed & the task that still remained ahead of him. "Are you ready Mr Donaldson?", asked the Doctor as he picked up the laser scalpel once again. (Reply Donaldson) "Good, let's finish this now", said the Doctor as he watched Ensign's Ssarumon & Bristed prepare for beamout, albeit a little reluctantly. (Reply Ssarumon, Bristed, Donaldson) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - ACEO Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 04:22) Forever. That was how long they had been working on this insane project. Eons of painstakingly picking through the grey matter that was the Ferengi's brain in an attempt to remove the triggers he had implanted there. It was revolting to think that they were picking through the brain of a being still alive, worse because of the lack of sleep she was suffering through. And the constant undertone of wrongness did nothing to make the situation better. Her eyelids drooped without her really noticing. She pulled herself back into reality with a start. She was going to get them all killed if she wasn't careful. She did her best to focus at the task at hand, flexing her toes, reminding herself of exactly what would happen should she screw up. This wasn't a simulation, where mistakes could be fixed by resetting the program. This was reality. There would be one mistake, and in this particular case, it would result with things ending with a loud bang. Bristed stifled a yawn, trying to cover it up by pulling the medical tricorder she had recalibrated earlier in front of her face, pretending to scrutinize the display. When she looked up, she noticed Doctor Williams was looking at her. "Ensign, I think that you should return to the Spectre now", said the Doctor, "both you & Ensign Ssarumon," he added. Before she could question this somewhat odd (although very much appreciated) suggestion, Ensign Ssarumon asked, "Sir, may I ask why?" "If this all goes wrong, the fewer people that are here on this shuttle the better", said Williams, "I need only one Borg specialist now & a demolitions expert, either myself or Corporal O'Hara can pilot the shuttle back home, there's no need to risk anyone else's life here now than is absolutely necessary", he added. Jacqueline wondered if this was really why the doctor was sending her back to the ship. It made sense, but somehow she couldn't help but feel that she was being pushed out to minimize the danger to the current delicate proceedings. It could hardly have escaped his notice how dead on her feet she was, even if he had been as completely engrossed in his work as she believed him to be. She was practically snoring now, much to her dismay. From now on she'd remember to at least get cat naps in during the day in case something of this nature happened again. "And it will be duly noted in the log," said Williams,"as the ranking officer this is MY call now, I am ordering you both to return to the Spectre." The protest she had been about to make, the one partially inspired by her guilt and partly driven by a real desire to see this thing through, died on her lips. If it was an order, she really didn't have a choice. She could protest, yes, but it wouldn't get her anywhere. She clamped her jaw shut to prevent another yawn escaping, nodding to show she understood. She was mortified to say the least. The Gorn stood next to her, tapping his combadge even as she nodded to the doctor. "Victor Hugo to Spectre, two for beam out." =/\=Stand by,=/\= came the response from the ship. "You all had better make it back safely, or I will be most upset," Serixs said. Jacqueline couldn't tell if it was a joke or not, but she heartily agreed. She silently wished the remaining crew members luck as she felt the tingle that meant the transporter was working upon her, returning her to the ship. ~Please let them all get back safely.~ (reply any) (posted by Siobhan) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 04:23) Thankfully there had been no further alarms on the panel. Serixs had started up a program that would, in laymen's terms, keep the implants sedated in the Ferengi that was still being worked on. He looked at those gathered, wondering if he was losing is little reptilian mind. Still there was no question. This little Brak had caused some trouble and threatened a lot of good people. Really, there was no question about where he needed to be. With care, Serixs monitored the implant status as he watched Donaldson carefully slip the triggering devices from the unconscious Ferengi. He observed as the other still active implants tried to raise alarm, but the program took over, putting them back down. Good, it was working. He kept his eyes on Donaldson, nodding silently to the human to let him know that things were proceeding normally. Well...as normally as could be expected. He lifted his head from his work as he saw the doctor peering around the shuttle. Serixs was not quite sure what was going on here, but he knew there was still much to be done. That was when he heard the human speak with Ensign Bristed. "Ensign, I think that you should return to the Spectre now", said the Doctor, "both you & Ensign Ssarumon." Serixs just blinked in stunned silence. There was still so much to do, and he was willing to do it. "Sir, may I ask why?" the large Gorn asked from his station. "If this all goes wrong, the fewer people that are here on this shuttle the better", said Williams, "I need only one Borg specialist now & a demolitions expert, either myself or Corporal O'Hara can pilot the shuttle back home, there's no need to risk anyone else's life here now than is absolutely necessary", he added. Serixs was not a happy lizard. He mulled over what Dr. Williams had said and let out a low, almost silent growling sound. Not because he was angry, but because he could find no fault in the logic. He just let out a low hiss and stood, nodding. "Very well, sir," He said, muttering. "I programmed the console here to automatically compensate, but it should still be monitored," he added, then silently made his way to prepare for the transport back to the Spectre. This all felt wrong to his Gorn sensibilities. The thought of his crewmates still in danger out here and him booking a hasty retreat like this just smacked of cowardice on his part. However he had been ordered, and he had to follow those orders, so it was the lesser of two evils. He still did not like it, though. He stood beside Bristed and tapped his comm badge. "Victor Hugo to Spectre, two for beam out." =/\=Stand by,=/\= came the response from the ship. "You all had better make it back safely, or I will be most upset," he said to the others, trying to put some lightness on the situation, but with his usual dead-pan deliver, it may have been hard to tell. Before responses could be made, the transporter effect grabbed him and Bristed, whisking them back to the Spectre. (reply any) (posted by Don Jones) (Shuttle Victor Hugo – TAC/ASC Charles “Chuck” Donaldson - 04:27) "Ensign, I think that you should return to the Spectre now", the Doctor addressed Bristed, "both you & Ensign Ssarumon" ~Where did that come from?~ thought Chuck ~the doctor is definitely subject to more whims than I had expected~ (Reply Bristed, Ssarumon) "If this all goes wrong, the fewer people that are here on this shuttle the better", said Williams, "I need only one Borg specialist now & a demolitions expert, either myself or Corporal O'Hara can pilot the shuttle back home, there's no need to risk anyone else's life here now than is absolutely necessary", he added. ~as if I couldn’t pilot the shuttle, the pressure is starting to get to the doctor, he’d make a terrible dabo partner~ thought Chuck. (Reply Bristed, Ssarumon, Either) "And it will be duly noted in the log", said Williams, "as the ranking officer this is MY call now, I am ordering you both to return to the Spectre", he added. ~Looks like I’m knee deep in it for the long haul~ thought Chuck but he said nothing and kept working. He noticed the Doctor looking at him now and made brief eye contact. "The moment the charges are released & the immediate danger has passed, both you & Nurse Aely's will beam back to the Spectre as well", said the Doctor turning quickly towards O'Hara now. “If I’m leaving soon, we’d better get this thing as close to done as possible . . . no mistakes” said Chuck looking at the nurse and glancing at O’hara (not really wishing to make eye contact with the doctor again due to the last look). "After that, it will be just myself, the Ferengi & you Mr O'Hara....no more risks than that", said Williams as he returned his attention forthwith to the Ferengi on the Biobed & the task that still remained ahead of him. "Are you ready Mr Donaldson?", asked the Doctor as he picked up the laser scalpel once again. ~So that’s it then, if we’ve made any mistakes so far the next few minutes are going to tell~ thought Chuck. “Yes, Doctor” he said (still keeping his head down and far away from getting chopped off). "Good, let's finish this now", said the Doctor as he watched Ensign's Ssarumon & Bristed prepare for beamout, albeit a little reluctantly. “Without Ssarumon we’ll need someone at the controls keeping these things inactive. Since my eyes and the Doctor’s hands are needed here I think that nominates you, Corporal O’Hara.” Chuck said motioning to the console where the Gorn had been working. (Reply O’Hara) (Reply any) (Posted by Anton Taylor) (Shuttle Victor Hugo – Corporal Lewis O'Hara & CMO Lieutenant Andrew Williams - 04:29) "Without Ssarumon we’ll need someone at the controls keeping these things inactive.", said Ensign Donaldson, "since my eyes and the Doctor’s hands are needed here I think that nominates you, Corporal O’Hara." ... The Marine stopped what he had been doing, then he glanced briefly over to where that last recommendation had just come from before looking to the Doc with a puzzled look upon his face. "Ensign Ssarumon has already programmed the interface console to compensate", said O'Hara, "any variations now should be automatically stabilized & brought to within normal tolerance". (Reply Donaldson) "I can monitor them from the console, of course I can but.....", said O'Hara looking to the Doctor again for some sign of concurrence to the Ensign's wishes. The Doctor shook his head slightly, then he reached into the Ferengi's chest cavity to remove one of the less critical devices that he had just disconnected, from the intertwining network of nano-filaments that seemingly infested the Ferengi's body. "Continue to monitor the nodes as suggested", said Williams, "it's better to be safe than sorry", he added looking back to Donaldson who had just begun rubbing slightly at his own implant now. "Is everything ok Ensign?", said the Doctor, pausing briefly now just to be sure his specialist was not about to fold on him due to some strange Borg interface interaction problem or something. (Reply Donaldson) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Shuttle Victor Hugo – TAC/ASC Charles "Chuck" Donaldson - 04:32) "Without Ssarumon we’ll need someone at the controls keeping these things inactive.", said Ensign Donaldson, "since my eyes and the Doctor’s hands are needed here I think that nominates you, Corporal O’Hara." ... The Marine stopped what he had been doing, then he glanced briefly over to where that last recommendation had just come from before looking to the Doc with a puzzled look upon his face. "Ensign Ssarumon has already programmed the interface console to compensate", said O'Hara, "any variations now should be automatically stabilized & brought to within normal tolerance". “If these nodes decide to get frisky I’m not certain the computer will be able to compensate, even with the alterations made by Ensign Ssarumon.” Said Chuck, “It’s better to have two layers of protection from a catastrophic explosion. I’m severely allergic.” "I can monitor them from the console, of course I can but.....", said O'Hara looking to the Doctor again for some sign of concurrence to the Ensign's wishes. The Doctor shook his head slightly, then he reached into the Ferengi's chest cavity to remove one of the less critical devices that he had just disconnected, from the intertwining network of nano-filaments that seemingly infested the Ferengi's body. "Continue to monitor the nodes as suggested", said Williams, "it's better to be safe than sorry", he added looking back to Donaldson who had just begun rubbing slightly at his own implant now. "Is everything ok Ensign?", asked the Doctor. “Sorry, Doctor Williams, the implant itches occasionally – it’s nothing really.” Chuck stopped rubbing and tried to focus on the Ferengi. “My two biggest flaws . . . when I’m nervous my implant itches and I make bad jokes.” (reply Williams) “It’s getting close to time, Doctor. Severing these connections will have to be timed properly in sequence or . . . well . . . you know.” Said Chuck. (reply Williams) “The nurse and I will be heading out in a little while as you ordered but we’re not quite finished.” Chuck glanced at the nurse. (reply Williams) “Don’t get me killed my first day on the spectre.” Commented Chuck. NRPG: you can add some body to the conversation if you like in order to get up to around the T’Vhor post. RPG: (Reply Williams, O’hara, any) (Posted by Anton Taylor) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 05:10) As soon as he had gotten back from the shuttle, he made his way to sickbay to collect the items he had left there as well as get that medical database loaded. He was anything but tired, and more than a little perturbed at being whisked off of the shuttle at a critical time. He knew it was necessary. Dr. Williams was in charge and had given an order, so the big Gorn kept his complaints to himself. Still, though, he knew where he could at least continue to monitor the situation in case things got out of hand. He had taken a moment to inform the Science department that he would be manning the console on the Bridge. Serixs stepped onto the Spectre's bridge and made his way to the science console there. With a moment's work, he set it to a highly contrasted black and white, then moved the controls to make it easier for him to do his work. Others could set it back to default easily enough, but it would at least allow him a profile on the interface that he could manage. Within moments, Serixs had opened a secure comm link to the science console he had been manning on the shuttle, getting a live telemetry feed from it. He could not operate it, not from here, but he would at least be able to monitor what it was seeing and doing with the Borg Implants still within that little Ferengi. "I have established connection with the science monitor on the shuttle," Serixs rasped. "Putting that data through now." He piped the data through to the Tactical console. It was not much, and information from the shuttle occupants was still extremely important, but it was at least something and it could give them a little heads up if things went terribly wrong. All that could be done now was continue monitoring and wait. The large Gorn took a look around the Bridge. No one seemed even the least bit out of sorts with his presence, as they tended to be elsewhere. Then again, the situation did not lend itself to having time for such things. He had just remembered being told at one point that the Bridge is the worst place for a Scientist to be. He never understood it, though. He was rather fond of the place. (Reply None) (Posted by Don Jones) (USS Spectre - Bristed's Personal Quarters - Ensign Gorlan Therul - 05:15) Gorlan Therul knew very little about what Humans found annoying. Or any other species, for that matter, including his own. He was just a nice guy, that was all. And being a nice guy, he was more than willing to do nice things for people. Like bringing them coffee in the morning, because in all likelihood the personal replicators would be screwed up and it would be nice to be able to get some anyway. He didn't do it for everyone, though. He was being nice to that new ACEO. She was pretty, if you liked humans, and she had a sense of humor. That line about holding up the wall, when everyone knew ships had bulkheads...that was priceless. Plus she'd had a really rough first day on the job, so maybe he could help today be better for her. He rang the door chime, but she didn't answer immediately. Gorlan debated letting the woman sleep for a bit longer, but then again, he didn't want her to be late for her shift. He rang the chime again, but the only answer was a muffled groan and something dropping heavily to the floor. He rang once again, just to make sure she knew there was someone still out here. Just as he was about to push it for the fourth time, the door slid open to reveal the new ensign, looking just a little bit...rumpled. Her hair was messy, she seemed to have mistakenly donned wrinkled civilian clothes, and she seemed to be leaning on the doorframe a bit. ~Poor thing, she looks a little spacesick too. Maybe I should help her get to sickbay, if she doesn't look better in a few minutes~ "Good morning! I thought you could use this!" he said brightly, holding out the coffee to her. Bristed didn't take it; she just looked from the mug to Gorlan's face and back to the mug, apparently unable to comprehend the situation. Eventually she swept a lock of hair from her eyes and said in a somewhat croaky early-morning voice, "Wha' th' fu...Why're you here?" "I've brought you coffee. Humans drink that in the morning, and I thought you might need some!" He grinned at her. She'd stop being grumpy as soon as she'd downed the dark liquid; he'd seen it with other humans, so it should work with her. "Computer, what time is it?" Bristed asked. The pleasant voice informed her it was 0516. She asked when her shift began. The computer responded with [Your shift begins at 1030]. The woman reacted to that with a string of words Gorlan wasn't terribly familiar with, but they sounded rather rude. He politely pretended he hadn't heard. "Why would you wake me up at quarter past five?" Bristed growled. She snatched the coffee from him, taking a large gulp. That was good, she'd start to calm down and think rationally now. Her face blanched as she swallowed the drink. "God....is this iced coffee?" she demanded, staring at the mug as if it were some kind of poison. "It's supposed to be hot?" Gorlan asked. "Oh, sorry. Say, is your replicator working? Maybe I could fix it for you to make up for that. If it's broken, of course." He stepped into the room, knowing she'd be pleased at his offer. That's what being friends was all about, after all, helping each other. "Ensign Gorlan Therul, what is wrong with you?" burst Bristed. She no longer looked slightly spacesick. Now she looked like some kind of dangerous animal, but an attractive one, like maybe an angel. He'd never seen one, but he assumed an angry one would look like Bristed did at the moment. "What part of leave me alone don't you understand? Don't you get it? You drive me crazy, and you're a creep! You're invading my freaking privacy! And I don't need you to fix my stuff, I'm perfectly able to do maintenance and repairs and all that stuff on my own. I don't want to be best friends with you, and I'm certainly not interested in anything more that that! Is any of this getting through to you?" "You...oh, oh alright. I'll let you do it, if you like." She just needed proper coffee, and she'd probably feel less upset if she knew she were able to be productive. Fixing that replicator would probably do that, and then she'd be able to get her coffee and things would be right with the world again. She'd really been through a lot lately, so she probably had the right to blow off some steam. He didn't mind if she did it at him. Lots of people vented at him, over the strangest things. He didn't even mind when she grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him out the door. "I'll see you in a bit," he called cheerfully. She'd be better by the time she started her shift, he was sure of it. (reply none) (Posted by Siobhan) (USS Spectre - Personal Quarters - Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 05:43) Whatever religion Tellerites followed, Jacqueline hoped Gorlan would find himself damned to the deepest version of hell available to him. She hadn't even known him for twenty-four hours, and already she hated him. The worst part of this latest encounter was that she could not get back to sleep despite being rather tired. It was infuriating. ~He'd better be a genius with the engineering stuff because he's an absolute idiot in the people department.~ Reluctantly the young ensign resigned herself to being fully awake well before she had expected. The clothes she had worn to bed were shucked off, a quick run into the refresher was made, and a new uniform was donned. Her hair proved to be a bit of a problem, frizzing and tangling uncontrollably and altogether refusing to be confined. It took nearly ten minutes of wrestling with it before she finally pulled it back into a simple ponytail. At least it was out of her eyes, if not stunningly beautiful this morning. She wondered idly whether her replicator still worked. The chances were low, but still, it was worth a shot... She tried ordering "real coffee," then had to consider for a moment when the computer asked her to clarify. She hadn't really thought much past the fact that the frozen sludge Ensign Therul had shown up with was the antithesis of real coffee. What exactly did she want? Something with bubbles, and a kick to it... "Triple shot cappuccino, extra bubbles, hot," she announced. To her vague amusement and overwhelming disgust, what the machine produced was not coffee of any sort. It wasn't even liquid, really. The replicator presented her with what she could only assume was a molded gelatin, made to resemble a palm tree. It was too weird to simply chuck out; somebody had to know about it. It was two different colors, green for the fronds and orange for the trunk. It jiggled as she poked it, just to make sure it really was gelatin. She moved the item out of the way, and just in case the malfuction was consistent, she ordered the same thing. The result was slightly different. Instead of a gelatinous rendition of a palm tree, this dessert was shaped to resemble a sail boat. It was funnier than it had been the first time. "How about...do a gelatin molded to look like a palm tree." A frothy cup of what she assumed was the cappuccino she had wanted appeared. This was priceless, she decided. She took a sip of the beverage, discovering that it wasn't quite what she had asked for anyhow; there seemed to be some kind of chocolate stuff in her coffee. It didn't matter, considering the primary concern for the moment was waking up fully. Chocolate was good anyhow. "I don't really feel like reporting this," she said to herself. "Maybe I'll fix it when I'm off duty." Actually, for that matter, she was off duty now, so she could try figuring out what was causing this stupidity. Of course, there were higher-priority things that needed fixing on the ship, so she could justify putting this off to herself for the moment. She could not, however, justify not getting something to eat from a replicator that wasn't completely berserk. "Food is Ten Forward, a drink is the crew mess," she announced to the room at large. She then turned to her own replicator, and requested jelly beans, the first thing that came to mind. The machine produced what appeared to be some kind of salad comprised of red leaves. It was obviously some kind of food, and that meant she was headed to Ten Forward to begin the day. ~Look Mom, living up to the cultural standard. Heading to the bar first thing in the morning~ she thought wryly. (reply none, any) (Posted by Siobhan) (USS Spectre – Personal Quarters - Ensign (JG)Robin Bourne - 05:47) Bourne lay there on his bed staring up at the top bulkhead, pondering if he would get any sleep. The last day was a complete nightmare compared to how he thought it would have been – from crawling through ruptured conduits, approaching a bomb, repairs, attacks, gas, the works. ~That shouldn't be a day – it should be a lifetime~ he thought. He had always found this – once in a tight stressful situation, he would contemplate what would happen if things went wrong. On top of that, he had the worry of being on a broken ship – although he had received word that repairs are being sped up with help of another ship, he still didn't feel safe, nothing like the academy where every wrong move could be back-traced, and wasn't vital if it went wrong. No – he realised that being on a spaceship without the protection, you had to do things perfect, or else lives would be at stake. In the academy, all you would do is fail the test. He rolled to his side, picking up a glowing PADD, looking at the repairs and news spreading around the ship. It looked like havoc when the communication systems went offline, with Emergency Protocol 7 orders blocking the main stream of information. The one bulletin that made him smile in so many hours was an APB for a Rabbit – whether it was a joke or not he dare not ask, but it was something that amused him none the less. Throwing the PADD to his side, he knew that he wasn't going to sleep. Steadily he got to his feet, dressed in casuals, and washed his face in water. Grabbing his Comm-badge and a map from his quarters to the bar, all he could think about was a way to drown the thoughts until the next working shift. (Reply none) (Posted by Robin Bourne) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Robin Bourne - 05:50) "White Hot chocolate, large" Bourne announced to the replicator. Once again hearing the buzzing if particles fitting in place, he removed the cup and sat at the nearest table he could find. It always seemed strange that a bar could be so empty at times, back at home he would usually be found sitting in one working the night away on studies. Always there seemed something to start, and seemingly never the time to finish it. ~Like that more now than it did back then…~ Whilst scanning through possible repairs for the next day, he could not believe the speed in which the ship was being fixed – bulkheads being replaced in minutes, whilst most of the minor repairs had also disappeared over night. Changing the filters from 'outstanding' to 'finished' he could see that most the repairs had been done in the prioritised way. Thinking he could beat the night shift at their game, he began to create a list of all the repairs he was able to do, and to repair them in proximity order rather than filter order… Whilst heavily tapping and transferring data between two pages, the doors to 10-forward opened, revealing the very tired looking Ensign Bristed. To his knowledge, she was too pre-occupied to see him. Staring back at the list, he could not help but hear a very well sung hum, and soon inflating to a full song: "Ce matin, un lapin a tué un chasseur! C'était un lapin qui, c'était un lapin qui-- Ce matin, un lapin a tué un chasseur. C'était un lapin qui avait un fusil!" Bourne looked over, thinking what on earth it could have meant – all he knew was it was about a rabbit, and that's about it. As soon as the song had finished, Bristed had turned towards him, noticing that he was present in the room. "Hey, Sounds great – what is it?" He asked, curious about how a missing rabbit had appeared, and also a song about a rabbit as well… "Oh, hey. Just...just some song from when I was a kid," she explained with a shrug. "I'm a little wired this morning. Dunno why I did that," she said with a grin. "Heh" Bourne chuckled. "Could have fooled me. So what you doing up so late, or early, or whatever the time is now…" he replied. (Reply Bristed) "Oh, This? Looking over the night shifts work. Don't know how, but it seems that they have managed to do a weeks worth of repairs in one night.. Must have some experienced engineer's on their team.." He replied hesitantly. ~Last thing I want is for her to think I am a geek by plotting the work as well!~ "Can I join ya?" he asked after locking the PADD and picking it up. ~Not that it mattered as most the tables are empty…~ "or do you think Gorlan would get any ideas?" he smirked, remembering the last conversation about how he mis-understood Bristed's explanation about humans. (Reply Bristed) (Reply any, Bristed) (USS Spectre - Ten Forward - Ensign Jacqueline Bristed - 05:59) Jacqueline had managed to get lost on her way to Ten Forward, so getting there had taken slightly longer than she had hoped. It also had involved explaining to a security officer why she was wandering around like a lost teenager and asking for directions. He'd been friendly about it, but it had been embarrassing. Now she was sitting by herself, drinking a second obnoxious cup of designer coffee. She was debating the merits of getting a third, but the likelihood of ending up in sickbay having some sort of caffeine-induced heart-attack outweighed them. Plus she'd probably be bouncing off the walls as it was, regardless of how annoying certain crew mates could and most likely would be. Certain Tellerite crew mates in particular. It was likely she'd come across as equally annoying as Gorlan Therul, if in a different way than he was. Without noticing she was doing so, she began to bounce as she tapped her foot against the floor. She also began humming, the song growing increasingly loud until the lyrics of the chorus spilled from her mouth. "Ce matin, un lapin a tué un chasseur! C'était un lapin qui, c'était un lapin qui-- Ce matin, un lapin a tué un chasseur. C'était un lapin qui avait un fusil!" It was only after she had finished that she noticed someone was staring at her. She continued bouncing as they spoke. (reply any) "Oh, hey. Just...just some song from when I was a kid," she explained with a shrug. "I'm a little wired this morning. Dunno why I did that," she said with a grin. (reply any) (Posted by Siobhan) (USS Spectre - Personal Quarters - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 05:59) Rogers stirred at the sound of a pleasant, yet loud, chime. [The time is now 06.00, Lieutenant Rogers.] Rogers groaned before climbing out of his bed. He moved to the head, and after a quick sonic shower, he dressed in a newly replicated uniform, and had quick traditional Earth breakfast, thanks to the Replicator, before he moved out of his quarters, and headed to the bridge. (Reply None) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (Shuttlecraft Pheonix - Cockpit - Lt. Cmdr. Kaitlyn Mackenzie - 06:03) “Are we there yet?” Kaitlyn asked impatiently. She had been stuck in this shuttle for three days already, trying to reach the Spectre. Looking back at her with an annoyed expression, the pilot said, “No, for the 50th time, we’re not there yet.” Sighing, Kaitlyn was already getting jumpy. “Well how long is left?” Checking the ETA, the pilot replied, “About 20 minutes.” “Good,” she said, ready to get out of the shuttle. She loved being in space, but hated being cramped up in tiny shuttles. Reflecting on the turn of events that got her here, she hoped that the Spectre would turn out to be a place better than her previous two years worth of ships she’d served on. First there was the Boudicca. She was a fine ship, but the crew were nothing but big babies who did nothing but have telepathic wars and then come boo-hooing to her to fix their mind problems. Kaitlyn had no problem with telepaths per say, her problem was the way at which certain individuals would handle their abilities…or rather lack there of. And as she got tired of the constant battle and personal conflict, she then stayed on the Starbase where the Boudicca underwent repairs. That was when her other decision came into play. Deciding to leave the Boudicca, she thought she was then destined for a ship known as the Champlain. But when that didn’t work out, she decided to take leave for a year. Kaitlyn then studied medical research and decided she wanted to try something a bit different and new. When she heard word that the Spectre had an opening, Kaitlyn couldn’t resist. During the year she spent in medical research she gained a lot of friends and met a lot of people of different influential status. Without knowing it she eventually became an uniformal source of information to her people, and she had to admit, she liked having that control. “We’re here,” the pilot said, interrupting her thoughts. “Already?” “Well don’t whine now, you’re the one that wanted to get here faster,” he said. “I just…speeded us up a bit.” “Uh huh,” she replied sarcastically. Going to get her things, she waited as they contacted the Spectre, then beamed over. (Reply None) (Posted by Stacey) (USS Spectre - Personal Quarters - Ensign (JG)Jynea Kreung - 06:30) Jynea yawned and rolled over to get a squeek from underneath her and a mad flurry of movement. She rolled back over in a hurry. Mark looked up at her indignantly. "I'm sorry!" she told the rabbit who hopped off the bed flicking his heels in irritation. She slowly stretched, muscle by muscle, and then rolled off the bed. It was a lot softer than she was used to. She wondered if quartermaster would think her insane if she asked for a sheet of plastic aluminium to put between the mattress and the frame. "I'm sorry!" she repeated to Mark who was looking at her mournfully from the doorway. She'd never particularly lacked for bed partners, but she'd rarely shared her bed with those partners overnight. Early morning classes and conflicting schedules were always a convenient excuse, but she'd never felt any strong attachment to her lovers. Friends, always, but more? She'd yet to be struck by the bolt of love. Mark hopped into the living room, flick, flick, flick. Jynea supposed he was trying to guilt her into a treat - which just wasn't happening. In her opinion, he probably needed to *lose* some weight. She wondered if an animal doctor came under science or sickbay. She'd have to try and remember to query the computer on the matter. First thing was first, she had to get ahold of her duties and form her schedule. Today was her first day on the ship and she had a first officer to track down and report to, then the chief of counselling, and then she could do her job, assuming her job was what she'd been told to expect in the academy.. but somehow she doubted it. 'Every ship has its own rythem' Professor Suzol had intoned. Jynea had always had trouble in the Vulcan's class. He made her sit at the back so she couldn't see over her taller contemporaries without an embarrassing booster seat, he talked in a monotone voice that droned on and on, so not matter HOW fascinating the subject matter, it threatened to put her to sleep. It didn't help he kept the classroom warmer than standard. Well, at least she remembered THAT much. She would have to figure out the Spectre way of doing things. Whatever the Spectre did. She ordered a fruit salad from the replicator that actually turned up as a fruit salad. She wasn't sure she wanted chocolate sprinkles on her morning meal, but she wasn't feeling strong enough to try again. Sitting cross-legged on the couch she eat the fruit chunks with her fingers. She quickly gained a small grey and white companion who rested his chin on her knee and looked up at her. "Oh, alright, but only so I can eat in peace." She gave him a piece of melon. Mark took the fruit very delicately in his mouth before turning on his heel and barreling off into the bedroom in case the food-giver changed her mind. Under the bed, right in the middle where she couldn't each, should be safe! Jynea finished off the salad, found a clean uniform and decided she was as presentable as she was going to get. Hopefully she didn't scream 'wreck of nerves' to every senior officer she'd meet today. Junior officers and enlisted were easy, senior officers were scary creatures of authority. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Jynea stepped out of her quarters into the world outside. She had thirty minutes to find the first officer's office. That gave her plenty of time to get hopelessly lost sixteen times. (Reply, none) (Posted by : Lorna) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 06:32) It had been an insane time on the USS Spectre of late, insane both within & without & yet the reports still kept coming on in. One minute it had been replicators churning out bizarre treelike rubberized creations & the next it was explosive Ferengi's. This time however it was a report of one of the holodecks self initiating & then creating a perfect rendition of Shakespeare's 'A midsummer night's dream', complete with a full entourage of mythical fur endowed beings romping through the holoforest. Could it get any worse? "Sir, I have an incoming transmission from an inbound Shuttle", said the TAC Officer. "Identification?", said the Captain handing a PADD back to the Ensign he had previously been dealing with. "Federation sir, transmitting a starfleet registry", said the TAC Officer, "shall I put it through on the main viewer sir?", he added. The Captain nodded & then turned to face the viewscreen just as a starfleet officer appeared before going in to the usual diatribe concerning procedural maneuvers. "Greeting's Captain T'Vhor, this is Shuttle Phoenix requesting permission to come alongside & beam one crewmember aboard", said the pilot. ~Another unanticipated crewmember~ The Captain raised an eyebrow quizzically, this was beginning to become a regular occurrence. "And this crewmember is?", said the Captain, just as the aforementioned crewman appeared behind the pilot to make her presence duly known. The pilot turned about briefly as she appeared, then he returned his gaze to the front again whilst extending his hand rearwards towards the new arrival. "Captain, I give you...Lieutenant Commander, Kaitlyn McKenzie", said the Pilot just as the woman in medical teal nodded accordingly at his impromptu presentation. "She's....err, a tad eager to come aboard sir", he added with just a sideways glance towards his companion of the last three days. The Captain duly returned the Lieutenant Commanders nod, then he turned his attention towards the Ops officer. "Are we clear to transport Ensign?", said the Captain. "Yes sir, the recent transporter faults have now been rectified, transporters are fully functional & at optimal configuration......transporter room two is standing by", said the Ops Officer, at which point the CO returned his attention to the viewscreen. "Permission to come alongside granted", said the Captain, "please be aware, a five hundred kilometre exclusion zone in regards the shuttle now sitting off our port aspect is now in operation", he added as a precautionary warning in regards the shuttle that now contained the Ferengi & those tasked with dealing with him. "Understood, Phoenix out", said the Pilot & the viewscreen then returned to the familiar starfield vista of before. (Reply None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Bridge - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 06:39) Rogers strolled out of the turbolift and headed to the bridge-side replicator. Getting himself a modest cup of coffee, he moved back to the right seat and sat next to the Captain. "Good morning, Captain," Rogers said, sipping his coffee. (reply T'Vhor, iyw) Rogers grabbed a PADD and began browsing through it. It was the previous day's log, and read like a thrilling holonovel. "On to the Steel Talons now, Captain?" Rogers asked, flipping through the log. (reply T'Vhor) Brian had just skimmed over the complete log when his eyes came to the last section, crew transfers. He spotted only one, [Lt. Cmdr. Kaitlyn Mackenzie.] Brian studied the name for a moment, before raising his eyebrow, similar to a Vulcan. "Curious. Captain, what is the situation with this new Medical Research?" Rogers asked of T'Vhor. (reply T'Vhor, any) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 06:41) The Victor Hugo had been sitting on station, some one thousand kilometres to port, for over three hours now. Contact had been sporadic to say the very least but those currently working onboard knew that due to the delicacy of the situation they were dealing with, it was probably a prudent course of action. The view on the Spectre's viewscreen had barely changed at all the entire time, indeed the tiny shuttle looked positively lost, set as it was against the vast backdrop of space, it's surface glinting in the light of a nearby sun every once in a while as it sat there, motionless to the accompaniment of the ever advancing chronometer. The scorch marks & the physical damage sustained to the shuttle during her run from the Romulans, had of course been fully repaired now, in fact H'Chir & Korak would probably not even have recognized her now as the shuttle that had given them both freedom. At this moment in time though, it was providing another life giving service whilst keeping the Spectre's crew as safe as was possible at the same time. The Captain had wondered as to the progress of the crew onboard on more than one occasion, time was still of the essence here of course but most of their key systems were now back online & it would be time soon to recall their crewmen & leave this place. Towards the rear of the bridge, the CO's concentration upon the shuttle & it's occupants had momentarily been broken by the sound of the turbolift doors opening, just as the FO walked out of it & thenceforth towards one of the bridge replicators to fetch himself a beverage. Then he took his usual seat beside the Captain's. "Good morning, Captain", said Rogers cheerfully. The Captain nodded & then returned the greeting as the First Officer picked up a nearby PADD to begin scanning his way through recent events he may have missed in his curious absence. "On to the Steel Talons now, Captain?", said the ever eager Rogers as he turned his gaze briefly towards his suspiciously silent CO. "In time Mr Rogers", said the Captain, "we must first deal with the problem of Daimon Brak & bring our team back safely....only then can we leave", he added. The FO simply nodded, then he began skimming the logs once again until he had settled upon something which seemed to pique his interest. "Curious. Captain, what is the situation with this new Medical Research?", said Rogers. "Lieutenant Commander Kaitlyn McKenzie", said the Captain, "apparently, 52nd fleet command has seen fit to station her with us", he added, "the orders came in shortly after her arrival", said the Captain with a raise of an eyebrow. "It would appear that this is the norm of late, crew members arriving without proper or due announcement", said the Captain as he continued to watch the small shuttle floating aimlessly amidst the stars outside. (Reply Rogers, IYW) The Captain turned his gaze to his First Officer, then he brought up the question of security awareness in all of this. "Lieutenant Vasilyovna was most annoyed, indeed I would not have liked to have wagered a stake on the outcome of a bout between her & a Klingon Targ", said the Captain, "I fear that she may have beat the beast hands down", he added with something half resembling a brief smile. Did Vulcan's ever smile? Needless to say the Vulcan hybrid would have probably have blamed his Betazoid half for that, rather than admit to an emotion! (Reply Rogers) The Captain nodded once again, then he turned to the coms officer & requested an update from the shuttle. "Aye sir, hailing the Victor Hugo", said the Communications officer. (Reply Any on Shuttle) NRPG: Anybody that would conceivably be with the Ferengi on the shuttle may answer this, of course backposting to the actual shuttle departure & events thereof is also available to anyone that may wish to post this scene. RPG: "Confirmed, standing by", said the Captain as he turned to the Ops officer to order emergency power to the transporters, just in case something else failed when the shuttle crew finally came home again. (Reply Rogers, Any on Shuttle, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - Corporal Lewis O'Hara - 06:45) The coincidence of both the monitor alerts & the hail from the Spectre threw everyone off guard for just a moment or two, O'Hara was on it in a second of course but the most critical issue now was the fact that the Borg technology within the still sedated Ferengi, was about to go critical in every sense of the word! ~Why on earth did they have to call for an update right now~ "Shuttle Victor Hugo responding, please stand by", said O'Hara as he turned his attention from one thing to the next as the hairs on his neck began standing up in response to the Doctors now furious delving about within his patient. Almost everything not part of normal Ferengi anatomy had now been removed during the delicate operation so far, what they had not counted upon though was a failsafe set into the explosive charges themselves & a countdown of some sort had just begun that unless they stopped, would ultimately culminate in one huge explosion, roughly ten thousand kilometres off the Spectre's port side! "Get it out of him!", cried O'Hara, "either that or beam the damn Troll out into space & be done with it" (Reply Williams) "I understand your duty to uphold the caduceus & all Doctor, but if it's him, or every one of us, I vote him", said O'Hara as he turned quickly towards the monitor to attempt to stabilize the readings again. It wasn't happening though, this one was beyond the remit of the equipment attempting to hold it all at bay as the Doctor began detaching the last of the connections retaining the quantum charge in place. "Shuttle Victor Hugo to Spectre, we are attempting to remove the charge now, you may or may not see something big & white, like a fifty Isoton starburst", said O'Hara failing even in his possible last moments to refrain from making a joke. =/\=Understood, standing by for further update=/\= O'Hara then returned his attention to the now frantic goings on on the biobed, emasculated in his own inability now to interact with this new problem. It was now completely in the hands of the Doctor & Ensign Donaldson, once the charges were removed, that was when control would be his again. "Are you anywhere near done? How long exactly will that countdown end?", said Lewis as he entered the field & began examining the now exposed warhead components. (Reply williams, donaldson, Any) ~That has to be the Zero point feed, what in god's name... it's way too small~ However this had been done was way beyond anything Starfleet were capable or even aware of, the Borg were known for unusual & innovative enhancement but this was bordering on the ridiculous. It seemed that whatever the Ferengi had used upon himself had effectively miniaturized the entire quantum detonation system, including the zero-point feed reaction chamber. Normally it was over a metre in length, this one measured inches. It was then however that the Doctor had cried the modern day idiom of 'Eureka' as he withdrew the part that would be capable of doing all the damage, before handing it quickly to O'Hara who wasted no time in taking it over to one side to begin working on it. The Doctor, true to his word quickly ordered the Nurse & Ensign Donaldson to beam out now, since there was no point in risking anymore lives here than was absolutely necessary. Nurse Aelys & her companion quickly complied but Donaldson seemed hesitant to leave them in this moment of crisis. (Reply Donaldson) O'Hara ignored the discussion going on behind him as he continued examining the charge before him, the Doctor outranked the Ensign & he knew that once the Doc had got it into himself to give an order, he damn well meant it. The device itself however was still counting down, the annunciators though were alien to him, they could have been reading in minutes or seconds but the urgency to get it stopped was the same nonetheless. O'Hara shook his head as sweat began to break out upon his forehead, it was a pity that one of the Nurse's didn't supply the same attention to this as had been done with the Doctor, he wiped it away quickly with his left hand anyway, then he began taking further readings of the charge with his own modified tricorder. "It's no use, I can't stop it", said O'Hara after a few moments, his brow furrowing in response to the level of concentration he was giving the problem in hand. "The Borg technology has interfaced with the charge in some way, nothing follows usual procedure" "I say we beam it into space & get the hell back to the Spectre now", said Lewis, not entirely wishing to admit defeat on this one, but knowing in his own heart that he would not be able to stop it now even if he had the time. (Reply Williams, Donaldson) "I'll signal the Spectre", said O'Hara as he opened a channel to inform the Captain of their intentions. (Reply Williams, Donaldson, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (Shuttle Victor Hugo - CMO - Williams - 06:46) "Get it out of him!", cried O'Hara, "either that or beam the damn Troll out into space & be done with it" Andrew looked at O'Hara. "Corporal. Beaming the patient is not an option." "I understand your duty to uphold the caduceus & all Doctor, but if it's him, or every one of us, I vote him". Andrew just shook his head and began carefully removing the connections to the quantum charge. ~Ow yes being a starship doctor is fun. Going to new places and treating new and wonderful diseases. Now look at where its got me. Elbow deep in a Ferengi with enough explosives to make sure that Mrs Williams will not be having grandchildren, or a son for that matter~ He heard O'Hara talking to the Spectre. ~Nothing like a bit of pressure to make life interesting~ "Are you anywhere near done? How long exactly will that countdown end?", Andrew glanced at Donaldson and then looked at O'Hara. "We will be finished when were finished but if you have somewhere else you would like to be then be my guest." He finished removing the last connection and lifted it out of the patient. "Here you go Corporal. Congratulations its a baby." He watched O'Hara take it over to another table and begin working on the device. He turned to the nurse who was working with him. "I think its time for you to go. You too Mr Donaldson." (Reply Donaldson) "Mr Donaldson. There is not need for you to get yours self splattered across half the system. Go" (Reply Donaldson) Andrew shook his head and turned back to his patient. He began repairing the damage he had done and started to close the patient. "It's no use, I can't stop it", "The Borg technology has interfaced with the charge in some way, nothing follows usual procedure" "I say we beam it into space & get the hell back to the Spectre now", Andrew looked up and nodded. "Go for it." (Reply Donaldson) "I'll signal the Spectre", (reply Donaldson, O'Hara, any) (posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Captain T'Vhor - 06:48) With the new information that had just been received from the Shuttle, the Captain immediately set in motion the laid down pre-requisites & contingencies required of a vessel in the direct vicinity of a space-borne detonation. It was second nature of course, just as with all seasoned Starfleet Captain's the words flowed almost without thought, the safety of his crew & those of any nearby vessels of paramount concern & to the expense of perhaps even himself in the process. "Prepare to raise shields....signal the Hood & the Romulan vessel that there may be an unannounced detonation", said the Captain. "Aye sir, signaling the Hood & the DihVael", said the Communications officer whilst the Captain continued on further with his contingencies. "Bridge to transporter room one, lock on to the shuttle occupants & be prepared to beam them out. =/\=Aye sir......transporters locked on, showing three to beam out.... Ensign Donaldson & two of the Doctor's Nursing staff have beamed aboard already sir=/\= "Understood, standby", said the Captain just as the shuttle responded once again via the still opened communications channel. =/\=Victor Hugo to Spectre.....Doctor Williams has successfully removed the charges but they cannot be disarmed, we have no choice now but to beam them into space=/\= The words had hardly been spoken before the Captain immediately gave the order to raise shields as a precautionary measure, a few tense moments then passed as the tactical officer monitored the aforementioned charges materializing an apparently safe distance ahead of the shuttle itself, before suddenly exploding in spectacular fashion. "Report", said the Captain, the viewscreen still showing the debris of the small explosion scattering outwards in the predictable starburst pattern mentioned by O'Hara, only minutes beforehand. "One moment sir.....the Hood is reporting no damage.... the Warbird is reporting likewise sir", came the reply from the Tactical Officer. "Very well, have the shuttle return to the Spectre immediately", said the Captain, "have Daimon Brak confined to sickbay under guard the moment he is back on board". "Aye sir", said the Tactical Officer, "the shuttle is heading for home" (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 06:50) Things had just gotten very tense. As soon as word came that the device would be exploding, Serixs pointed all of the ship's sensors at it, feeding that information in real time to the Tactical console. When it finally did go up, it was like time on the bridge had stopped and all eyes were fixed on the starburst pattern out in space. With a low growl, Serixs started looking for the shuttle to ensure it had not been damaged in the explosion. With a relieved sigh, he found the small peanut of a ship still in one piece. When Captain T'vhor called for a report, Serixs quickly responded. "Detonation ahead of the shuttle. The Victor Hugo is undamaged." The rest of the time, Serixs remained quiet as the Tactical officer read off the reports from the other ships in their little rag tag fleet. Inwardly, he smiled. These Starfleet types led an interesting life and he was sure there were no end of surprises in store. (reply any) (posted by Don Jones) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 06:50) She'd surprised herself by not getting hopelessly lost. But then, command offices were all in the same place on every ship - beneath or beside the bridge, depending on design. She'd walked into Administration, unphased to find half a dozen yeoman already at work disposing, creating, and being tormented by paperwork. She wasn't quite sure why the humans insisted on calling it 'paper'work when there was no 'paper' involved, but she was sure it was a long and complicated story and she'd made the mistake of asking about 'red tape' once, she wasn't making the same mistake a second time! The captain's support crew seemed to be on the left, the first officer's on the right. She guessed by the piles of PADDs on desks which was which. She approached the highest ranking Yeoman and said she was present for an interview with the first officer. Rogers, she thought the Chief Doc had said, but she wasn't positive. You'd think someone who spent day in, day out, dealing with people would be better with basic things like *names* The yeoman seemed unsure that the First Officer was keeping all his appointments of the day due to the current crisis, but advised Jynea she could sit in his office and wait if she liked. She promised to update the Ensign as soon as she knew anything. Jynea found the office rather plain, it didn't seem to reveal anything about the man in question. Her gut feeling was the mysterious Officer Rogers didn't spend much time in his office. Probably more of a hands on type of officer. She guessed he only walked in the door when he had to do official meeting things. The replicator didn't even look much used, possibly he liked short meetings, or possibly it had been fried with half the ship's replicators and had just been recently replaced. The chairs were standard issue. One of the guest chairs had a broken spring like a child had been bouncing up and down on it, the other was only really worn at the edge. Did that mean he interviewed a lot of short people, or that people were nervous when dragged into the first officer's office? Well, if he was a hand's on leader, chances are you only got dragged in here on your intake interview and when you were getting your butt handed to you. As Jynea wandered the room to look at the paintings and get a feel of the first officer, she had the random thought of if Serixs would have to start carrying a stool around with him. The Eeaiouns, Siaovians, and Caitlins didn't have it so bad, they had small, flexible tails. But Gorns had their big thick tails that would interfere with standard Starfleet seating. Maybe the newest science officer would just stand a lot, but that would be awfully intimidating. Perhaps he'd learn to crouch on the floor, after all, a squatting Gorn was still eye to eye with most seated humanoids! Jynea pulled a PADD out of the small backpack she wore. Morale officers were mobile, rarely going to offices except for paperwork, they got to carry their information with them. She could at least review the ship - what she could access of it! - while she waited for the first officer. Hopefully he would squeeze her into his schedule, she didn't want to be doing this all over again for days to come! (Reply, any) (Posted by : Lorna) (USS Spectre - Bridge - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 06:51) "It would appear that this is the norm of late, crew members arriving without proper or due announcement," T'Vhor said. "What does the security chief think of all these?" Rogers said, although he was merely baiting the good Captain. His mind was almost two years in the past, his first day of duty on Starbase Geneva. He had met a certain Lt. Commander Kaitlyn Mackenzie that evening. He had just been introduced to the station's first officer, and was standing in a circle of the command staff and alien diplomats, and the group had begun a rather boring conversation on the effects the Federation Civil War with Federation relations to the Cardassian Union. Brian was still in his counselor blues then, and the only one not wearing a costume that night, when a soft tap on his shoulder. He turned around, and there she was. His mind was snapped back to reality by a soft punchline T'Vhor had just made. "I fear that she may have beat the beast hands down," he said, the tone in his voice almost breaking it's usual Vulcan flatness. "Yes, sir," Rogers said, rather weakly, before setting down the PADD, and taking a quick sip of his coffee. He then turned to the front of the bridge, and watched the following interaction with the shuttle very carefully, studying the engagement. (reply any, none) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (USS Spectre - Bridge - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 06:59) Brian studied the sitatution on the bridge carefully, until he received a page. =/\= Yeoman Robinson to Lieutenant Rogers, =/\= a soft female voice said. Rogers tapped his badge to open the channel. "Go ahead," he said. =/\= I spotted an Ensign going into your office. I think she might be looking for you, =/\= the female voice explained. Rogers turned to T'Vhor and raised his eyebrow. "Understood, Yeoman. Rogers out," he said. He stood up and pulled his uniform tunic straight. He gave a polite nod to T'Vhor, and strutted off to the turbolift. He headed off to his rarely-used office. (Reply None) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - Lt. Cmdr. Kaitlyn Mackenzie - 07:00) The first thing she did upon arriving was finding her quarters and throwing her things down. After that she was excited to see what sickbay looked like. Though she knew she wasn’t going to be part of her old role as CMO anymore, it still excited her to see where she would be working some of the time. And more important, who she would be working with. “Excuse me…are you the CMO here?” She asked Williams. <> “Hi, Kaitlyn Mackenzie. I’ll be the new medical researcher onboard,” she replied. “I’m sorry, can you tell me who the command staff are here?” <> She hadn’t yet had the chance to review the crew of the Spectre. ~Something I should have considered while en route on that crappy shuttle,~ she thought. As Williams listed the three commanding officers of the Spectre, two things caught her attention. “Wait a second….Rogers….as in Brian Rogers?” She asked. <> A small smile crept over her face as she remembered he had once served with her on Geneva and the Boudicca before being swept off for command. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t even remembered that before deciding to come onboard. The other thing that caught her attention was that the CMO was also 20, a role she used to have as well. Kaitlyn knew secretly she wanted to be a CMO again sometime, but for now medical research was where she wanted to be. (Reply: Williams, any) (Posted by: Stacey) (USS Spectre - Corridor - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 07:00) Now that the situation had settled itself down, Serixs was relieved at the Science console to return to the Science lab. It had been one wild ride so far on the small vessel. Romulans, assassination attempts by enemy Federation vessels, and then an idiot Ferengi who decided it would be a good idea to try to blow them all up using Borg technology. Now, he was headed to the Science Lab to do some further analysis on the tools that Ferengi had used. He gave some thought to his past. Things on a Gorn vessel had never been quite like this. There, things were more routine. Of course, at that time, he was knee deep in his Engineering work. There was always something on the Gorn cruiser breaking down since materials used to make things were notoriously cheap. That was to be expected, though, from a Government that still used currency and Border Patrol vessels always got the last of the funds. Then there was his time overseeing the shipyards. That was even more routine. Follow the designs and build the ships. He only ever deviated from the designs if he noticed something that could be potentially dangerous, and his commander did not mind so much because it meant saving both money and lives in the long run. He had taken the position at the shipyards, his wife having taken position in the medical ward, so they could give their young children some stability while growing up. He did not care one wit what the Federation said about families on Starships, a vessel is the wrong place to raise a child. That was all fairly moot, though. In the end, the troubles of the galaxy came at them head on. He pushed the train of thought aside and continued on his way, stopping only a moment to look out a port hole at the Romulan vessel parked quietly there and just let out a low growl. He despised the Romulans for what they did. They took everything from him that mattered in his life and he had spent decades picking up the pieces. He just shook his head and reminded himself that the ones responsible were no longer in power in the Romulan Empire, but that was a cold comfort at best and did little to soothe the anger he had felt for so very long. Not just his family, but so many others died and have died since because of their attack. He snapped out of his reverie and finally entered the Science Lab. (Reply None) (Posted by Don Jones) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CMO, Williams - 07:01) Andrew had just gotten back from operating on the Ferengi. It had taken a lot longer then he had thought to operate. ~At least he will survive~ He turned & headed for the replicator. ~I so need some caffeine~ “Excuse me…are you the CMO here?” Andrew paused turned and looked up from the replicator. He saw a woman with Lieutenant Commander pips standing beside him. He looked at her, smiled and nodded. “Yes Sir. I’m Andrew Williams, the CMO. How can I help you.” “Hi, Kaitlyn Mackenzie. I’ll be the new medical researcher onboard,” ~That’s nice. It will be nice to have someone else to work with~ “I’m sorry, can you tell me who the command staff are here?” Andrew paused for a moment. ~Hmm well she is a Lt Commander~ “Its good to have you with us Sir. Well sir. The Captain is Captain T’Vhor. The First Officer is Lieutenant Rogers and I’m also the Second Officer.” “Wait a second….Rogers….as in Brian Rogers?” He saw a small smile creep across Mackenzie’s face. ~Must know Rogers~ He smiled and nodded. “Yes Sir.” (reply Mackenzie) “Is there anything else I can do for you Sir?” (reply Mackenzie) (Reply: Mackenzie, any) (Posted by: Robbie) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 07:03) Brian walked in and spotted a limber green-skinned woman sitting in one of his guest chairs. Rogers smiled, and walked around to his side of the desk. "Good morning, Ensign," he said, sitting in his rarely used seat, "I seemed to have been ill-informed of our meeting," he said. (reply Kreung) He picked up a PADD on his desk that had been placed by somebody else. After flipping through it, sure enough, it contained his 'daily schedule', which of course, had a notice that an Ensign Kreung may stop by. Apparantly, Rogers had a yeoman who prepared this schedule. Rogers quickly pondered the possibility that this yeoman prepared this every morning. Sometimes, he would go days without showing up in this office. He looked up and back to the ensign. "Ah, Ensign Kreung. A new counselor. Were you moved into your quarters fine?" he asked her. (reply Kreung) "Fantastic. A counselor, I see. You know, I was a Counselor, a few years ago when I graduated from the Academy," the 28-year-old first officer explained. "You'll be the junior counselor onboard, under Lt. Taxia. You should report to him when we're finished here. He's in his office more than I am," Rogers said with a polite smile. (reply Kreung) "Lt. Taxia is sort of a rogue cannon. He often spends his shore leave purchasing fine wines. Lt. Vasilyovna, the security chief, seems to think he is an alcoholic, although I'm not convinced," Rogers explained. "He is very unorthodox, and has confronted myself and the Captain several times in his short time here on the Spectre," he said, pausing a moment. "I can't speak badly of his counseling techniques. He came with high praise from his previous posting, and the members of the crew seem to enjoy him. I guess what I'm trying to say, is...." Brian sighed, trying to think of the right words, "Listen to him, learn from him, but just beware," Rogers said weakly. (reply Kreung, any) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - Ensign Jynea Kreung - 07:05) "I seemed to have been ill-informed of our meeting," said a voice, startling Jynea who was trying to convince the computer she really did deserve to know the names of the crew. She looked up. She looked waaaaay up. The first officer was at least a foot taller than her. Good grief, where had he grown up? Some low grav planet with weights on his limbs? She scrambled to her feet, "Sorry for the inconvenience sir!" she managed with a salute. He picked up a PADD on his desk and seemed to scan it before turning back to Jynea. "Ah, Ensign Kreung. A new counselor. Were you moved into your quarters fine?" he asked her. "Oh yes sir, thank you sir." Jynea replied. She was getting the feeling the first officer wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do with her. A lieutenant was a surprisingly low rank for a first officer, she wondered if there was a higher ranking executive officer somewhere or if this had been a battlefield promotion. Maybe she was his first crew transfer interview? Now that was a shiver causing thought. "Fantastic. A counselor, I see. You know, I was a Counselor, a few years ago when I graduated from the Academy," The lieutenant explained "You'll be the junior counselor onboard, under Lt. Taxia. You should report to him when we're finished here. He's in his office more than I am," Rogers said with a polite smile. Jynea offered a tentative smile, "I have a feel sir, most of the senior staff are in their offices more than you?" (reply Rogers) "Lt. Taxia is sort of a rogue cannon. He often spends his shore leave purchasing fine wines. Lt. Vasilyovna, the security chief, seems to think he is an alcoholic, although I'm not convinced," Rogers explained. "He is very unorthodox, and has confronted myself and the Captain several times in his short time here on the Spectre," he said, pausing a moment. Jynea wasn't sure if she was supposed to comment or not, so she kept her thoughts to herself. Just because one appreciated alcohol didn't make one an abuser. She also wasn't quite sure why disagreeing with command was *wrong* .. wasn't that what a chief counselling officer was supposed to do? Offer an unbiased counter-view? Or did this Lieutenant Taxia argue for the sake of arguing? She could see how that would cause problems. She also wasn't sure what to make of the Lieutenant's candour. Was he supposed to be so forthright about the faults of senior officers to brand new junior crew? She didn't have the experience or knowledge to even begin to guess. "I can't speak badly of his counseling techniques. He came with high praise from his previous posting, and the members of the crew seem to enjoy him. I guess what I'm trying to say, is...." Brian sighed, trying to think of the right words, "Listen to him, learn from him, but just beware," Rogers said weakly. Jynea hoped she was one junior counsellor among many so she wouldn't have to deal with her department head too closely. Perhaps cowardly, but she didn't want to get dragged into inter-department politics before she had her feet underneath her. Lieutenant Rogers seemed to be waiting for some sort of input on her part. "I think the human saying is 'observe the world with a grain of salt?" she offered. (reply Rogers) Taking courage in both hands, she plunged into the deep water. The First Officer seemed friendly and wanting to be helpful. "Sir, I was wondering.. is it possible for my security rating to be increased? I can't access any crew files or information databases. I realize that I shouldn't be able to access any private files, but the public information would be of great assistance." (Reply Rogers, any) (Posted by Lorna.) (USS Spectre - Science Lab - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 07:05) Serixs gave a quiet nod to those gathered and sat down with various tools and implements that Brak had used to interface himself with the warhead. He needed to know where they came from. It was obvious this was Borg technology, but it had been altered and they wanted to know by whom because this sort of work was highly illegal. Granted they all already knew who had done it, but they needed confirmation of it and cold hard facts instead of speculations or the word of a Ferengi. Once the shuttle was safely in place, perhaps he would be able to get the chance to examine the implants the Doctor had removed directly. It would certainly help him to get the information. Until then, Serixs needed to culture one of the small nanites and dissect it. That should, at least, give him an idea on where it had come from. (reply none) (posted by Don Jones) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 07:08) While Rogers explained his opinions of Taxia to the young officer, he realized that maybe this was some sort of payback for Taxia's earlier insubordination towards T'Vhor and himself on the previous mission. Either way, he felt Ensign Kreung should be advised of such things. "I think the human saying is 'observe the world with a grain of salt?" The Orion offered. Rogers smiled, and nodded. "That sounds about right, Ensign," he replied. She hesitated a slight moment before asking, "Sir, I was wondering.. is it possible for my security rating to be increased? I can't access any crew files or information databases. I realize that I shouldn't be able to access any private files, but the public information would be of great assistance." Rogers smiled understandingly. "I had a similar problem earlier in my career, Ensign," he said, "I see no problem with it, although Lt. Taxia would have final approval, being your department head in all," Rogers explained. (reply Kreung, iyw) Rogers sensed the meeting was slowing down. "If there is anything else you need, feel free to come to me. Chain of command and whatnot," Rogers said lightly, "The Spectre is an interesting ship, Ensign. The nature of our missions is quite unique," Rogers explained. (reply Kreung) "Another thing, a little bit of personal advice," Rogers said, his facade moving from her senior officer to a former COUNS, "Being a counselor, you'll be the crew's proverbial 'waste dump', some of them may be uncomfortable around you in public places. Don't let that stop you from forming relationships with them. Counselors need friends too," Rogers said, ending his small bit. (reply Kreung, any) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - Counselor Ensign(JG) Jynea Kreung - 07:10) "I had a similar problem earlier in my career, Ensign," he said, "I see no problem with it, although Lt. Taxia would have final approval, being your department head in all," Rogers explained. Well, that made about as much sense as anything else so far on this ship. Shouldn't a counsellor have access to those she was supposed to be counselling? Brow a bit furrowed in her confusion, her body language was hardly hidden from the counsellor trained first officer. (reply Rogers, if any) "If there is anything else you need, feel free to come to me. Chain of command and whatnot," Rogers said lightly, "The Spectre is an interesting ship, Ensign. The nature of our missions is quite unique," Rogers explained. Jynea shook the cobwebs from her head, "Yes sir, thank you sir." She replied, standing, sensing the dismissal that was forming. He'd probably already spent his allotted time on her, Fates knew that the first officer on a damaged ship was probably a very busy man without time to spend on silly junior officers. "Another thing, a little bit of personal advice," Rogers said, Jynea pausing to listen. The First Officer's body language changed from Superior Officer to Older Brother. "Being a counselor, you'll be the crew's proverbial 'waste dump', some of them may be uncomfortable around you in public places. Don't let that stop you from forming relationships with them. Counselors need friends too," Rogers said, ending his small bit. Jynea blinked at this. She'd never had trouble finding friends or being friendly with people. But then, she didn't do deep counselling like most professional counsellors so she didn't know more about people than most people wanted to know. She suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the man in front of her, going from counsellor to command couldn't have made him many friends. She gave that tentative smile again, "That goes both ways, sir." (reply Rogers, any) (Posted by Lorna) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - First Officer - Lt. Brian Rogers - 07:12) "That goes both ways, sir," she said, rather oddly. Rogers turned his head like a confused dog while he considered her meaning. When it dawned on him, he remembered their time was just about up. He rose from his desk and gave her a polite smile. "Welcome aboard, again, Ensign. I'm sure you'll become a valuable asset to the Spectre," Rogers offered. (reply Kreung) "Carry on, Ensign," he said, before watching her go. Once she had left his office, he brought up Kreung's file on his terminal, and read through it more thoroughly, before signing off, and heading out, and back to the bridge. (reply Kreung, any) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (USS Spectre - First Officer's Office - Counsellor/Morale Officer - Jynea Kreung - 07:15) "Welcome aboard, again, Ensign. I'm sure you'll become a valuable asset to the Spectre," Rogers told her. He seemed even taller when she was standing. She stepped back a step to at least be able to look at him in the eyes rather than the pecs. "Thank you sir," She wasn't quite sure if she agreed with him, but she'd do her best none the less. "Carry on, Ensign," he said in an obvious dismissal. Jynea left feeling unsatisfied. It was as if she'd missed a chance at something and she wasn't quite sure what. She didn't know if the Lieutenant had caught her offer to listen or be a sounding board, but really, wasn't that what the senior counsellor aboard was for? Though, it didn't seem like he liked the counsellor in question much. As unfortunate as it was, not all people got along with all people. Not all counsellors could counsel all patients. It was why most ships had more counsellors than strictly necessary for office hours. Someone might respond better to a different counsellor. And counsellors could sometimes get too close to their regular patients to be effective sometimes. Sometimes it was easier to talk to a stranger than a friend. But, really, that wasn't Jynea's problem.. yet, anyway. She just got to be friendly and happy and keep an eye on ship and crew in general and let the counselling team worry about specifics. She had a long way to go before she would be up to in depth, one on one counselling. Now, to let the chief counsellor she'd like to talk to him at his convenience, have a cup of tea, do the assessment of the crew and if Lieutenant Taxia couldn't see her immediately, start making her rounds and let people start to get used to her presence. (reply none) (Posted by Lorna Appleby) (USS Spectre - Science Lab - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 07:30) Trapping one of the nanites in a thick viscous solution was a fairly simple matter, thankfully. Serixs had made sure to use something completely inorganic to baffle the little robot and keep it from multiplying itself until he could disable it. A quick EMP shock took care of that part. Now it sat in the solution, for all intents and purposes, quite dead and of no further threat to them. The large Gorn was sat at the workbench, looking through a microscope as he used the delicate instruments to dismantle the little beasty. It looked something like a small mechanical spider, no bigger than a blood cell, which is what, he figured, it was supposed to look like. The tech definitely matched all the criteria for a Borg nanite, but there were differences. Subtle, but profound differences. Carefully, Serixs split the thing in half and removed its top. Inside, he looked at the tiny mechanisms that drove it and marveled at the level of engineering such a thing signified. It had a very small, single-minded, brain with the whole purpose of attacking and altering organic cells at a genetic level much like a virus. From there, it would replicate itself and continue its attack, turning its victim into yet another drone. It was disheartening. If only the Borg were not so hell-bent on assimilating everything in sight, they would and could be one of the greatest contributors to the galactic community. The ability to adapt technology and create medical marvels such as this could change the face of the whole galaxy for the better. Instead, they are one of the most feared threats ever to cross the Alpha quadrant. No one was safe, not even the Gorn. Serixs had lost a few good friends to assimilation. All of them were irrecoverable and had to be killed. Serixs focused on the task at hand, examining the little mechanical creature's insides. Since they were simply in the way, Serixs carefully stripped out the small motors that drove its movement and then focused on its memory core. It looked something like a gelatinous blob of bio-neural circuitry carrying its distinctive and simple commands, but underneath that blob was another, one that was definitely different. The circuitry was not as advanced as what was native in the nanite, but it seemed to do its function. He suspected it fed new directives and commands into the device's native operating system to make it behave in a manner to which it was not supposed to. Very gently, Serixs pushed microscopic filaments into the second blob of circuitry to interface and probe its programming. Once they were in place, he tied them to his computer terminal and started to gather the code it used for its dubious task. The programming displayed on the screen, mostly in some odd Borg language. He let out a low hiss as he poured through it, looking for something that would be recognizable. As he scrolled through, he noticed code bits that were in Federation standard. That was what he needed. NRPG: I do programming in real life. ;) So I'm borrowing bits from that. Also, if anything that follows causes issues, feel free to edit accordingly. RPG: Throughout, Serixs located comments in the programming, each one defining a block of code and labeling its function. He read one of them. 'This is where things go boom' it said, making the Gorn just shake his head in disgust. Another comment read 'Interface the device to the central nervous system.' Serixs kept scrolling, getting more irritated by all the flippant comments in the code until he made it to one of the last lines. This was the one that would make it worth the effort to go through. He read it, a small sharp-toothed grin coming to his lips. 'Code by Martin Tierson. Doenitz better pay me a mint for this.' Serixs clapped his hands together and hissed. They had the programmer's name and a direct tie to the mastermind of all of this mess. He compiled his data onto a PADD, then added a chemical to the gel he had the nanite suspended in to quickly cure it into a solid. Though the thing was dead, there was no sense taking an unnecessary risk. Once that was done, he was on his feet and headed for the Bridge to give a report to the Captain. (Reply None) (Posted by Don Jones) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - Acting CEO - Lt. {JG} Chenoll - 07:32) "Lieutenant!" a voice cried out. The Bolian turned across engineering and spotted two enlisted men, standing nervously over a station. Chenoll smiled and headed towards them. "What is it, men?" "We've got something here, sir!" he said, "The warp core is below recommended production levels! We're operating at only 79%!" the younger of the two said. "Lets evacuate engineering at once!" the more senior one said. Chenoll sighed slightly. She couldn't tell if they were seriously worried, or just slightly being sarcastic. "Crewmen, this is hardly serious," Chenoll explained, "Although it is, unfortunate. The warp core should be recalibrated to get proper energy production. We're wasting matter and anti-matter with this ratio," Chenoll explained. The two crewmen exchanged glances. Chenoll continued. "This could take awhile," she said, pondering. "I'll need a junior engineer to take charge of this," she said. Ensign Reader had informed her that Ensign Bristed was involved in some business in Sickbay (which Ensign Reader saw when he was getting his morning medical cream placed on). That left ACEO Bourne. She swiftly tapped her compin. "Chenoll to Ensign Bourne," she said. (reply Bourne) "We have a slight... problem, Ensign. I need you to report to Main Engineering straightaway," Chenoll explained. (reply Bourne, any) (Posted by Kevin Schram) (USS Spectre - 10-Forward - ACEO Robin Bourne - 07:33) Bourne was restful, sleeping hunched over a table with a cold, white, milky chocolate on one side, and a locked PADD on the other. =/\=Chenoll to Ensign Bourne,=/\= came a booming male voice from the sky, instantly waking Bourne up. In the process, he knocked the drink so hard it went flying, spilling the contents in a spiral that looked as good as a firework. Bringing his eyes to focus, he realised he had collapsed in 10-forward with no signs of Bristed, and with everyone else now looking at him in a strange, eerie way. Tapping his comm. Badge, he put on a brave voice. "Bourne here, go ahead" he replied. =/\=We have a slight... problem, Ensign. I need you to report to Main Engineering straightaway,=/\= Chenoll explained. "Roger, en route. Bourne out" Bourne finished, rubbing his neck, he realised he was still in night civies, he picked up his PADD and now empty drink, and walked to the front. With a face as pink as flower, he turned to the bar-man. "Hey, sorry about the drink. Erm.. I got to dash as you heard.. Yea, I'll make it up to you!" He said as he placed the mug on the bar. Before the barman had chance to reply, Bourne was already exiting 10-forward, hurrying his way to the Turbolift. (Reply any, none) (Posted by Robin Bourne) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Ensign (JG) Serixs Ssarumon - 07:35) Serixs lumbered his large reptilian frame onto the Bridge, taking a moment to look around. He moved around towards the Captain's chair, but found someone else sitting there. He tilted his head a moment, then remembered that he had not had chance to meet the Spectre's XO yet. "Sir," Serixs said, waiting for acknowledgement before continuing. "I have completed my dissection of one of the modified nanites and found some interesting information hidden in its programming." He handed the PADD with his report to Rodgers, specifically highlighting the comments contained in the code. He figured it would be better to hand the report to Rodgers so he could give it to the Captain. The big Gorn was not sure, but perhaps it was better for protocol that way. (reply Rodgers) "From this, sir, we have the programmer's name in addition to firm evidence of Doenitz's involvement in this attempted assassination. I am sure we already suspected this, but this should confirm those suspicions." (reply Rodgers) "Programmer's ego stroking, sir," he said. "I am guilty of it myself when I do any programming work, but I avoid anything that might be as incriminating as this." (reply Rodgers) "Yes, sir," he said, but before turning, he looked at Rodgers once more. "By the way, sir, we have not been formally introduced. I am Ensign Ssarumon, the new Science officer." (reply Rodgers) Serixs let out a sharp-toothed smile and nodded. "If you will excuse me, sir, I shall return to probing the programming in this thing for anything else that may be of value." With that, Serixs turned and left to head back to the Science lab. (reply Any) (posted by Don Jones) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - ACEO Robin Bourne - 07:42) Entering the re-enforced doors of engineering, he could see the end of the night shift was preparing to pack up for the day, tidying everything they could, and leaving important notes for the day shift. Briskly walking to Chenoll, he stood up straight, and made his presence noted. "Bourne reported as ordered sir!" he stated, finally getting to meet the illusive engineer in a non-emergency way. ~This had better be a quick problem... not looking forward to getting my night clothes ruined...~ (Reply Chenoll) (Reply Chenoll, any) (Posted by Robin Bourne) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - Acting CEO - Lt. {JG} Chenoll - 07:44) Chenoll looked over the Ensign, who was informally dressed, and appeared to have just woken up. The female Bolian smiled slightly, and said softly, "Ensign, did I wake you?" she asked. (reply Bourne) "Ah, interesting," she said, not sure how to handle the situation. She decided to press on, "Well, it seems something has thrown the warp core's maximum possible efficiency off. We're burning far too much matter and anti-matter with too little output, both in power and propulsion," she explained. "I want you to work with these two crewmen and make sure the ratio is at least back to 90%, if not better. Right now we're at..." she trailed off. "74%," one of the crewmen piped in. "74%," Chenoll repeated, "This is hardly a serious issue for the short-term, Ensign, which is why I'm handing it off to you. I want a report every hour until you have the problem fixed. Carry on," Chenoll said, before turning away from the Ensign and two crewmen. She retreated to the small Chief Engineer's console, and began checking the results of some diagnostics she had started a few hours ago. (reply Bourne, any) (Posted by Kevin Schram)