USS Spectre Compile - August 1st-31st 2013 by Alan Reading ===================================================================== Mission: Inimicus Invisa Day: 5 Stardate: 2414.10.05 (USS Spectre - Security Station Gamma – Security Officer – Ensign (JG) Will Frost - 19:47) (USS Spectre – Bridge – CPO, Dr. Michaella Kirien & Marine Corpsman Lhiannon Kindell - 19:49) (USS Spectre - Jeffries Tubes - Engineering officer, Ensign William Renfro - 19:52) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - ACEO, Ensign Jake Haltom - 19:54) (USS Spectre - Office of Chief of Security - Ensign JG Will Frost - 19:55) (USS Spectre - Security Chiefs Office - TAC/SC, Lt Kerge - 19:56) (USS Spectre - Jeffries Tubes - Ops, Lt Commander Kilya Joltrue - 19:59) (USS Spectre - Jeffries Tubes - OPS - Lt. Cmdr Kilya Joltrue - 20:01) (USS Spectre - Jeffries Tubes - Marine Corpsman, 2nd Lt. Lhiannon Kindell - 20:04) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CPO, Nurse Douwsy - 20:06) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – Dr. Michaella Kirien - 20:07) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CPO, Nurse Douwsy - 20:08) (USS Spectre – Bridge – CPO, Dr. Michaella Kirien & Marine Corpsman Lhiannon Kindell - 20:15) (USS Spectre - Jeffries Tubes - Engineering officer, Ensign William Renfro - 20:18) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - ACEO, Ensign Jake Haltom - 20:20) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Science Officer Brendan Donaghue - 20:26) (USS Spectre - Deck 4, Transporter Room 2 - Transporter Chief Ian McAllen - 20:28) (USS Spectre – Bridge, OPS – Operations Officer, Ensign Robert Smith - 20:30) (Amleth - Secondary Terminus - ACouns Dr. Riven Mias - 20:30) (USS Spectre - Deck 14 - Cargo Bay 2- ACouns Dr. Riven Mias - 20:31) (USS Spectre - Deck 14 - Cargo Bay 2 - CMO, Noah - 20:32) (USS Spectre - Cargo bay 2 - CO, Captain T'Vhor - 20:32) (USS Spectre - Deck 14 - Cargo Bay 2 - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:33) (USS Spectre - Deck 4, Transporter Room 2 - Transporter Chief Ian McAllen - 20:34) (USS Spectre - Bridge - FO, Cmdr Hoshimi Tsukawa and CO, Captain T'Vhor - 20:35) (USS Spectre - Turbolift - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:35) (USS Spectre - Deck 14 - Cargo Bay 2 - ACouns Dr. Riven Mias and Lt. Michaella Kirien - 20:35) (Amleth - Amparus, Secondary Terminus - Assault Team, Hevnek and Alzeth - 20:35) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:36) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Science Officer Brendan Donaghue - 20:37) (USS Spectre - Turbolift - ACouns Dr. Riven Mias and Lt. Michaella Kirien - 20:38) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:38) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:39) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CPO, Nurse Douwsy - 20:40) (USS Spectre - Deck 14 - Cargo Bay 2 – CMO, Noah - 20:41) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Science Officer Brendan Donaghue - 20:41) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CO, Captain T'Vhor - 20:42) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Science Officer Brendan Donaghue - 20:43) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:44) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Science Officer, Brendan Donaghue - 20:45) (Amleth - Amparus, Secondary Terminus - Assault Team, Hevnek and Alzeth - 20:45) (USS Spectre - Cargo Bay Two – CMO Noah/Nurse Marshal - 20:46) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:46) (Amleth - Amparus, Underground Hanger Bay - Assault Team ,Hevnek and Alzeth - 20:48) (USS Spectre - Kurt's Quarters - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:50) (USS Spectre - Deck 3 - Michaella Kirien's quarters - ACouns Dr. Riven Mias and Lt. Michaella Kirien - 20:50) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:58) (Amleth - Amparus, Corvus District - Cardassian Military Subpost - Gul Majeth - 20:59) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CO, Captain T'Vhor - 21:00) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CPO, Nurse Douwsy - 21:01) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 21:04) (USS Spectre - Deck 3 - Corridor - ACouns Dr. Riven Mias and Lt. Michaella Kirien - 21:05) (USS Spectre - Science - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 21:10) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO, Noah - 21:10) (USS Spectre – Quarters – Marine 2nd Lt Lhiannon Kindell - 21:18) (USS Spectre – Bridge – Dr. Michaella Kirien - 21:20) (USS Spectre – Quarters – Science Officer, Amari Riya & ACOUNS Elani Caras - 21:20) (USS Spectre – Bridge – ACOUNS Dr. Riven Mias - 21:21) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO, Noah - 21:22) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – ACOUNS, Dr. Riven Mias - 21:24) (USS Spectre – Deck 3, Sickbay – ACOUNS Dr. Riven Mias - 21:25) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – Dr. Michaella Kirien - 21:27) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO, Noah - 21:29) (USS Spectre - Captain's Ready Room - CO, Captain T'Vhor - 21:30) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – ACouns, Dr. Riven Mias - 21:30) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO, Noah - 21:35) (USS Spectre – Deck 10, Ten Forward - ACEO Jake Haltom - 21:50) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 21:56) (USS Spectre - Bridge – Science Officer, Brendan Donaghue - 21:58) ===================================================================== Mission: Inimicus Invisa Day: 6 Stardate: 2414.10.06 (Betazed – Park – Vanyssa Winters and Ketal - 10:30) ===================================================================== Mission: Inimicus Invisa Day: 8 Stardate: 2414.10.08 (USS Spectre - Bridge - CO, Captain T'Vhor - 14:35) (StarBase 19 - ACSO, Ensign (jg) Stephen Carmody - 21:00) (Starbase 19 - USS Spectre - Captain's Ready Room - CO, Captain T'Vhor - 21:01) ===================================================================== Mission: Inimicus Invisa Day: 5 Stardate: 2414.10.05 (USS Spectre - Security Station Gamma – Security Officer – Ensign (JG) Will Frost - 19:47) =/\=Very good Mr Frost. I am heading to my office now, there is an... important matter that I must attend to so I would appreciate it if you would 'report' to me there withyour recommendations =/\= Will looked at Jo after Security Chiefs response. “Why don’t you make the report to Lieutenant Kerge as it would be slightly suspicious if all three of us were to report to his office.” "That is probably for the best, Lieutenant Kerge is sounding a little grumpier than normal. Best that only one of us feel his wrath. Alright, I will go share the news." “And while you are at it me and Dixon will try and track her down for you.” "Thanks, we need to put a stop to this reign of terror." Will nodded at his team and left the room. (Reply Any) (Posted by Will Banowsky) (USS Spectre – Bridge – CPO, Dr. Michaella Kirien & Marine Corpsman Lhiannon Kindell - 19:49) "Commander, we need to speak with you, if we can?" She gestured to the Ready Room and assuming Hoshimi gives them permission the two women follow her in and once the door is closed, the two sit down. Both women were tired and the day was wearing heavily upon them. "Commander we have a bit of a problem. The saboteur was a joined trill who was in Ops, and she seems to be, through no obvious reason, to be rejecting her symbiont. Sickbay is screening any unjoined trill on the ship to see if any are willing to be joined." Michaella gave Lhia an odd look and nodded as the trill corpsman picked up the narrative, "What the Doctor is leaving out is that there was a phrase given to me by Commander Joltrue before her heart stopped working the first time. I believe it was her dying wish. She desired that the symbiont be removed from the list of matches and returned to the caretakers. It isn't a command given lightly, and where we are it's tantamount to a death sentence for the symbiont. I insist that any volunteers be informed of this. If we were on trill, we would have no issue, the caretakers would attend to this. Out here... it's entirely possible that if the symbiont Joltrue takes to a new host, that the symbiont would begin to wreak havoc as well." Kindell took a deep breath and continued the narrative, "The Corpsman says stasis can give us at best a four hour window. I need permission to test unjoined trill for compatibility, and I'm going to need Dr. Noah back on board. I've never performed a symbiont transplant," Kirien looked over to Kindell and she nodded, "I've done two, I can perform it if needed." Kirien nodded, "I also would like it if we can contact the trill homeworld, Ma'am for advice. I do not feel comfortable making this decision." Both women were exhausted and clearly showing it, and spoke bluntly out of that exhaustion. Kirien did not realize that she was swaying slightly in her chair until Lhiannon reached across to steady her. (reply dousey, hoshimi, any who want to play) (posted by the melkitty (USS Spectre - Jeffries Tubes - Engineering officer, Ensign William Renfro - 19:52) His ebony hands were hidden nearly under his armpits as he stood with crossed arms, this had been possibly the most boring assignment the engineer had ever had to endure. Even the fact that numerous systems had apparently been sabotaged didn't cancel out the fact that he was standing hunched over in the jeffries tubes just on the OFF CHANCE something might happen. There were no other people around to talk to and no workstations or monitors to keep his mind occupied while on lookout. He stifled a yawn and shuffled his feet out of habit then looked around the tube once again, no saboteur and no end in sight for what he considered a wasted venture What he heard though suddenly caused the short hairs at the base of his cranium to tingle. "Ah Ha ha ha ha!" "Who?, What the hell?" He muttered and crouched low defensively as his arms uncoiled and the right hand reached for the phaser hung on his belt beside the toolkit. The laughter had been chilling, nearly maniacal in its shrill intensity and had come ringing through the tube. The jeffries tube had been the one place that the ACEO had not assigned security backup which now appeared to be a grave oversight on his part so his fingers found the combadge and activated the comlink. "Security," He spoke just above a whisper. "Ensign Renfro in the jeffries tubes. I've just heard laughter coming from somewhere ahead. Request a detail to my location. I'll leave my comlink open so you can follow my signal." (Reply: Security) "Negative," He whispered back. "We don't have time, I'm moving to follow, if it's the saboteur he can do a lot of damage in here in a short amount of time and I can't wait for you." As an afterthought he added. "Just make it quick, I don't want to have to handle him or her alone. " (reply: Security) Haltom's orders were ringing scoldingly in his head as he moved forward quietly after checking to verify the phaser was set to stun which he moved to heavy stun instead and wide field, if he had to fire he wanted to make sure the hit counted hard. ~Under no circumstances are you to engage the saboteur, your safety is paramount. Let security handle the saboteur, your job is as a failsafe in case repairs need to be made.~ "Yeah, yeah. Orders and all but you didn't assign me any security." He murmered as he continued till he came to a crossing tube, where to go from here? He lowered himself till he sat on his haunches and waited expectantly, his hearing straining to catch any sounds. Off to his left there was the faintest scrape of metal against metal as though possibly a plate had been removed and set down. He rose again and slid his feet quietly over the deck plates as his torso was tilted forward in a hunched over position because of the low ceiling and began moving nearly silently once again toward the sound. The muted sounds his boots were making on the decking wouldn't carry to someone intent on their work ... he hoped. The sound of a tool scraping across the decking then clattering down a ladder sent an involuntary shiver down his back as he dropped back into a crouch and the phaser tracked ahead of him. ~Nervous aren't you?~ He asked himself. The saboteur was either working in a hurry and carelessly or flat out unhinged judging by the laughter he had heard earlier. The continued clatter stopped after a few seconds leaving the tube in silence one more. ~Well anyone making that much racket probably won't notice any noise I make.~ he thought and rose again then picked up his pace just a little. He wanted to keep the idiot from making a mess of things ahead of him but at the same time caution was the order of the day, even though he was not out to kill whoever was ahead there was no guarantees they would have second thoughts about his life. At his slow pace it took less than a minute for him to finally reach the source of the noises, he edged his head around into an widening of the tube to see someone wearing an OPS uniform hunkered down and intently working on an exposed node. The phaser edged around the corner as well as he exposed just enough of himself to put her in his sights. "Whoever you are put your hands in the air NOW!" He barked, noticing off handedly that she had the marks of a Trill on the back of her neck. "If you make any sudden moves I'm going to fire." (Reply: Saboteur) Her sudden movement took her almost out of the widened field of fire as he pressed the firing stud. ~Damn she's quick!~ He thought as the beam caught her a glancing blow and spun her against the side of the tube but didn't knock her out. he adjusted his aim and fired again just as the phaser she had whipped around whined and sent a bolt of deadly energy hurtling toward him. (Reply: Saboteur) His aim was thrown off as he ducked back and the beam scorched the rounded corner behind which he had been hiding but he knew he had at least clipped her again which should slow her reaction time down considerably so he threw himself out from behind the obstruction, the phaser's sights seeking a target and he fired a third time. This one caught her dead on before her addled senses could react and threw her back against the side of the tube where she slid to the floor unconcious. His heart was thudding in his chest and his breathing was raspy as he paused for an instant with the phaser still sighted on her unmoving form. Finally after he was certain she was knocked out he slid forward and kicked her phaser away from her still hand which bounced against the wall of the tube and came to rest about twenty feet away then he stepped back a safe distance and narrowed the dispersal field on his own weapon. If she woke and tried anything before security got here she was going to get a taste of the effect full force. He then waited for security to arrive. (Reply: Security) (posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - ACEO, Ensign Jake Haltom - 19:54) "Sir, we have a power feedback to the transporters!" There was a lot of colorful language that accompanied the report which you just had to overlook if you were going to have someone of that species in your department. Jake spun on his heel and cursed under his breath before making his way to the Tellerite. To have said what he was thinking out loud would have just encouraged her. "Damage!" The hefty, black haired and glowering engineer punched the panel with her fist before replying. "Let's not multiply the damage you pig snouted tub of lard!" Jack shouted. "Watch it toothpick or you'll trip over a deck plate seam while you're dragging your knuckles." She snapped back then gave him a grin. "Well I'm waiting." He couldn't hold his glower forever and chuckled a bit as it fell from his face. She nodded and picked up her report. "The control panel in transporter room one has shorted out and transporter room six has just initiated a fire alert." "Is there anyone in Transporter room six?" Those pudgy fingers flew with surprising speed over her keyboard. "No sir, no one inside." "Seal the door and flood it with Zenit gas." He snapped. She complied without complaint then looked up with satisfaction. "Done. Transporter room is sealed off and I'm flooding it with gas now. Anything else?" "Contact OPS and have them send a repair team to transporter room one and alert the transporter chief to run a components check in the other transporter rooms, his boys can catch any problems from their end." "Will do sir." Jake turned and let his face break into a broad grin when she could no longer see it, working with Tellerites could be a lot of fun if you didn't take them too seriously. =^= Mr. Haltom .. uh sir. Renfro here.=^= "What is it Mr. Renfro?" he asked after opening the comlink. =^= The saboteur has been caught sir and one of the marines is taking care of her, she's a Trill, Lieutenant commander from her pips from OPS. =^= Jake's eyes widened "Son of a ... You talking about Joltrue?" =^= As i said sir I don't know her name.=^= "Where is security and why has a marine taken over custody?" =^= Security just arrived sir, the marine happened to be the nearest.=^= Jake's face screwed into a frown. "You mean the marine took Joltrue down?" =^= Uh... no sir.=^= "Engineer did you not hear my orders when they were given?" Jake felt his face go red and had the sudden fleeting thought of letting Engineer Gork the Tellerite have a turn at Renfro before he dug in the spurs. =^= Yes sir I heard your orders clearly but I had no backup and no choice but to confront her before she did more damage. =^= Jake forced himself to calm down before replying which took a couple of seconds, he could imagine Renfro fidgeting as he waited. "Are YOU injured?" =^= No sir. =^= "Good. There was a power surge to the transporters which has caused a ruckus throughout the ship, isolate the area she was working in and undo her sabotage then report back to me." =^= Yes sir. =^= "Damn it." Jake bit back more colorful language before it escaped his lips, working around Tellerites could also be a double edged sword and get your own mouth in trouble if you weren't careful. "A Lieutenant Commander in OPS." No wonder the sabotage had been so cleverly orchestrated. He turned back around again and folded his arms as he stewed, hopefully this would end the depredations they had been suffering. (Reply: Any, None) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Office of Chief of Security - Ensign JG Will Frost - 19:55) Will made it to Lieutenant Kerge's office. He was eager to share what he had found. He buzzed the door and when given the appropriate acknowledgement he entered. "Sir, I apologize for any lack of decorum when I last tried to communicate you, I got a little over excited. However, I do have a suspect for you." (reply Kerge) "Well sir, Command level, female, one who would be able to blend in without being noticed, and one who might have an empathic relationship. I could only come up with one person who met all those requirements. Lieutenant Commander Kilya Joltrue. I'm not saying it is her sir, but I am not saying it is not her." (Reply Kerge) (reply Kerge) (posted by Will Banowsky) (USS Spectre - Security Chiefs Office - TAC/SC, Lt Kerge - 19:56) The arrival of Frost through his front door caused Kerge to immediately stop what he was doing, which was pouring over the Madon data recently given to him by the FO, and the days logs regarding the sabotage that had been recently been plaguing them. Whilst the resurfacing of Sulia Madon and all that she represented was a huge worry, it seemed that they were indeed closing in now on their saboteur, and whoever it was that was responsible for the recent spate of attacks upon their systems, was very close to getting their collar felt. Frost's prompt arrival only bolstered the lieutenants hopes on that even further. "Sir, I apologize for any lack of decorum when I last tried to communicate you, I got a little over excited. However, I do have a suspect for you.", he had said. Kerge slapped both hands upon the desk causing the Ensign to blink hard, then regardless of whether the man feared a repremand for his earlier infraction regarding rank, Kerge let the matter slip and immediately put him at ease. "Excellent", he cried. "then let's hear it. Tell me more" Frost seemed relieved that the Klingon had not focused on the apology and then quickly went on to explain that by way of logical deduction based upon the available empirical data, only one name was currently standing out above all others, and that name was Lieutenant Commander Kilya Joltrue. Kerge settled back into his seat and exhaled heavily at the announcement. Surely not Joltrue. Kerge had worked with the woman side by side, he had trusted her. But then, wasn't that the best way any saboteur gained the trust required to do their job effectively? "I'm not saying it is her sir, but I am not saying it is not her.", added Frost, almost as though he had read the Lieutenants thoughts. "Let me see the available evidence", said Kerge, reaching over towards Frost, and the PADD that he held in his hand. (Reply Frost, IYW) Kerge read fast, but without skipping anything, and then when he had finished he placed the PADD onto the desk in front of him. "Does she suspect that we may be on to her?", he asked, a little solemnly. (Reply Frost) Kerge tapped his fingers impatiently upon his desk as he ran all of the possible scenario's through his mind. Joltrue, if indeed she WAS the saboteur, would almost certainly give up her life rather than fall into the hands of those she sought to harm. That was not an outcome that the Klingon would want if it could be helped. After all, as a joined Trill, the woman carried another lifeform inside of her and her death would almost certainly mean the end of two lives. Kerge stopped his tapping and then looked up into Frost's eyes. He looked impatient to proceed. "Very well. Proceed with the plan that you have in place but do not move on Joltrue until you are sure that she is the person we are looking for. I don't want her apprehended right away, let's see where she leads us but inform me of all developments", said Kerge. (Reply Frost) "It might be useful to have someone from the Marine department informed of this development also", said Kerge. "Just in case this gets uglier than a Targ's backside" (Reply Frost) (Posted by Alan) (USS Spectre - Jeffries Tubes - Ops, Lt Commander Kilya Joltrue - 19:59) The saboteur made her way through the Jeffries Tubes easily, avoiding people. She had an extraordinary run of bad luck over the last few hours as her surprises were uncovered one by one and neutralized. Something tingled at the back of her neck, and she found herself laughing, the sound echoing up and down the Jeffries Tubes. The sound disturbed part of her, there were things that had happened that disturbed part of her, but the coldness took over again, and it seemed to be controlling her. The tools clattered from her hands, as she fought the coldness that was gripping her. One of the tools she kicked by her foot accidentally and it rattled down the ladder, likely landing on someone with how many of her Ops people were in the tubes as well working on counteracting the sabotage she had been causing. Luckily she hadn't put her best people on the job, she had deliberately put people in cross department repairs. Ostensibly so that they could get better training in other specialties. She was a good Commander that is, so this wasn't that out of character for a manager in Ops. She was trying to train good people up. At least the part of her that wasn't filled with cold was. The modifications to the panel were not going to complete themselves. Kneeling down she scooped up a tool and proceeded to work on breaking the power to all of the transporter bays. She didn't know exactly when the away team would be coming back, and she wanted to delay that as much as she can. Her mission here wasn't complete. It never even occurred to her as the symbiont fought her for control that this time she had logged in as herself and not one of the stolen identities that she had been given. All around the ship, every transporter room lost power inexplicably. All power. Lights, panels, everything. Not even the doors would work. Thirty seconds later in transporter rooms 1 and 2 some of the wall panels lit up, overloaded and exploded. In others the power was just gone. She packed up her tools and proceeded to head to another part of the ship via the Jeffries Tubes. She didn't realize that she was humming a klingon opera as her mental state deteriorated as the symbiont continued to fight for control over her. Nor did she realize that with the deterioration that she was rejecting the symbiont.... (reply any! Have fun with it) (posted by mel) (USS Spectre - Jeffries Tubes - Ops, Lt Commander Kilya Joltrue - 19:59) The saboteur made her way through the Jeffries Tubes easily, avoiding people. She had an extraordinary run of bad luck over the last few hours as her surprises were uncovered one by one and neutralized. Something tingled at the back of her neck, and she found herself laughing, the sound echoing up and down the Jeffries Tubes. The sound disturbed part of her, there were things that had happened that disturbed part of her, but the coldness took over again, and it seemed to be controlling her. The tools clattered from her hands, as she fought the coldness that was gripping her. One of the tools she kicked by her foot accidentally and it rattled down the ladder, likely landing on someone with how many of her Ops people were in the tubes as well working on counteracting the sabotage she had been causing. Luckily she hadn't put her best people on the job, she had deliberately put people in cross department repairs. Ostensibly so that they could get better training in other specialties. She was a good Commander that is, so this wasn't that out of character for a manager in Ops. She was trying to train good people up. At least the part of her that wasn't filled with cold was. The modifications to the panel were not going to complete themselves. Kneeling down she scooped up a tool and proceeded to work on breaking the power to all of the transporter bays. She didn't know exactly when the away team would be coming back, and she wanted to delay that as much as she can. Her mission here wasn't complete. It never even occurred to her as the symbiont fought her for control that this time she had logged in as herself and not one of the stolen identities that she had been given. All around the ship, every transporter room lost power inexplicably. All power. Lights, panels, everything. Not even the doors would work. Thirty seconds later in transporter rooms 1 and 2 some of the wall panels lit up, overloaded and exploded. In others the power was just gone. She packed up her tools and proceeded to head to another part of the ship via the Jeffries Tubes. She didn't realize that she was humming a klingon opera as her mental state deteriorated as the symbiont continued to fight for control over her. Nor did she realize that with the deterioration that she was rejecting the symbiont.... (reply any! Have fun with it) (posted by mel) (USS Spectre - Jeffries Tubes - OPS - Lt. Cmdr Kilya Joltrue - 20:01) "Whoever you are put your hands in the air NOW!" Kilya looked over her shoulder and visibly frowned at the Ensign interrupting her work. Then the Ensign threatened her. She didn't do threats, dodging the Ensign and aiming a kick at a point slightly lower than his waistline. She wasn't the kind to take prisoners, and as she reached for a phaser that wasn't there, part of her mind questioning WHY the phaser was indeed not there, she screeched, the symbiont taking over completely as the first phaser bolt hit her arm, making it dead. The isolinear recalibration tool looked vaguely like a phaser, and it clattered from that numb arm. The symbiont reacted again and she dodged quickly as another phaser bolt struck her in the right leg. The leg gave out and she began to pull herself along the tubes, the need to get away paramount to her addled mind. Another shriek came out of her as the third bolt hit her straight on in her chest. The screech that sounded was eerily like nails on a chalkboard. For a moment all there was, was indeed just pain. She found herself welcoming the descending blackness. And she prayed that her final, rigged surprise would indeed go off just as she planned. Whether she was tortured or killed or even mind-raped by the federation, she ? She had done her best. If it was a she. Something deep inside her was painful and horrible and the pain that overwhelmed the blackness for a long moment caused her heart to go into an arrest and she stopped breathing. Her body was rejecting the symbiont and she was dying. What part of her that was sill her hoped the symbiont would die with her. No one else needed to suffer what she had. How the symbiont had fooled the caretakers she had wondered in some of her more lucid moments. Unfortunately she had never been able to contact them, and she had tried when the schism had first formed, dividing her personality into the Dominant, that was Joltrue and herself, the submissive. She was fairly sure that she was going to be with the Goddess that her Betazoid friends seemed to believe in. And for the first time in a long time, Kilya was content. (reply Renfro, any) (posted by the melkitty) (USS Spectre - Jeffries Tubes - Marine Corpsman, 2nd Lt. Lhiannon Kindell - 20:04) Lhiannon wasn't that far away when the call came through, patched through security into the helmets that all the marines wore as part of their body armor while on duty. She was primarily a Corpsman, the Doctor that tended to the ills that the marines tended to accrue while training against each other. Rarely were they allowed to bring in outsiders. She tongued the switch to activate voice, "Lt. Kindell here Sir. I'm close." There came a sound over the headset that something was happening with the trill. Lhiannon's blood grew cold, almost as if someone had run ice cold water down her spine. Her armor had extra protection to protect her symbiont, but as Lhia could remember, this Commander Joltrue was joined, and phaser fire, particularly at that critical junction could lose the symbiont. No trill would allow that to happen. The symbionts were the important ones and every effort was maintained to ensure that the memories and experiences of the symbionts were passed on to future generations. She swung onto the tube and crawled down towards the laying body, pulling out her tricorder as she also pulled off her gloves. She needed her hands to touch, to see if she could feel the symbiont. She pulled her helmet off next, needing all of her senses. Long sunshine colored hair framed her face as she studied the tricorder with a growl, jerking open the case strapped to the side of her armor. "The symbiont is in shock an she is rejecting it. Did you hit her in her chest or below her waistline?" Lhia asked, plugging vials into the hypospray and injecting the medication into Kilya. Kilya took a deep gasping breath of pure pain and Lhiannon laid her hand on the woman's head. ((reply refro if you wish) "I'm here." She spoke softly in the musical language of her people. "I'll be here to help you both. Rest. You are safe." She switched to common shouting louder than she intended, "Corpsman Kindell to sickbay, I need you to find me an unjoined trill on this ship and if you can't, ready a stasis chamber. We have a symbiont in crises, and Joltrue is rejecting the symbiont. I've given her Alyataron to restart her heart, but I can't give her pain medications, it will affect the symbiont." ((reply sickbay!)) Another loud gasp and Kilya's hand grabbed Kindells. "Nev-er. Care-tak-ers no." Lhiannon's dark brown eyes kept Kilya's gaze, "I'll find a trill, we won't lose the symbiont." A horrible sounding word came from Kilya's mouth and Lhiannon's eyes widened, knowing what that word meant, and knowing that there was no way that she could obey Kilya's last wish to allow the symbiont to die. It went against all training and instincts drilled into their species over millennia. Injecting another ampule of the Alyatron to keep Kilya's heart going. She looked up at the engineer, "Can we do a site to site transport?" She asked, daring the Ensign to tell her no. She didn't know what the state of the ship was, and she hoped, prayed that they could get this poor woman to sickbay to find her another host. Security needed to be here too, before she was moved to sickbay. "Corpsman Kindell to security, double the stationary guards in Sickbay, we're bringing in a very sick trill and there is no telling what the dying symbiont could try and accomplish." (reply renfro security, whoever wants to play in sickbay and if anyone wants to make a throwaway npc trill to take over this insane symbiont, well, have at it ^^ (Reply Any) (posted by melkitty) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CPO, Nurse Douwsy - 20:06) The shift was becoming intolerable. It was not like she had much to do but all the tension waiting for the away team to get back to the ship and that they could get back into Federation space would lift a big weight off her mind. =^=Corpsman Kindell to sickbay, I need you to find me an unjoined trill on this ship and if you can't, ready a stasis chamber. We have a symbiont in crises, and Joltrue is rejecting the symbiont. I've given her Alyataron to restart her heart, but I can't give her pain medications, it will affect the symbiont.=^= “Sickbay understood we will be ready and waiting.” She tapped her comm badge. “Nurse Douwsy to Dr Kirien medical emergency. Please report to sickbay immediately. We have a symbiont in crisis.” (Reply Kirien ) She turned and scanned sickbay to make shore that she had all the people she needed. “Marshal get the bio-bed in bay two ready and have the surgical support frame in place in case we need to do a caesarean section on the symbiont.” Marshal looked over at her. “You think it could have found a better time to go crazy don’t you think.” Douwsy shrugged. “Well its happening now so it’s not like was have any choice in the matter.” She looked up as security entered sickbay which included a mix of security officers and marines who were augmenting the security section while they were in hostile territory. She looked at the team leader who gave her nodded as the security team spread out around sickbay. She returned the acknowledgement as she moved over to the bio-bed that Marshal had prepared and made a quick check that everything was there. She looked over at Marshal again. "Marshal get the list of eligible trills on the screen and start compatibility screening in case we need to transplant." She looked back at the bio-bed and have a soft sigh to calm herself be fore the fun really started. ~Right then all we need is a patient and some doctors. The EMH if Dr Kirien is not here fast~ (Reply Kirien, any) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – Dr. Michaella Kirien - 20:07) Symbionts didn't go into crises unless their hosts were dying, and as far as Michaella knew, there was no reason a host trill's body should be dying. She had luckily been near sickbay and had come running in. She stopped and looked around for a long moment, then moved to the Nurse, "Report." She said succinctly. "Who do we have on ship that is trill and unjoined?" All Starfleet medical personnel were briefed on the ideal that of the two bodies, a symbiont would always survive. "And who do we have that is compatible if we don't have any unjoined trills aboard who will volunteer?" Michaella knew that most trills would gladly join with a symbiont to save the symbionts life, and that it was often in emergencies that some of the best matches were made. However it was also Starfleet's policy not to force anyone into the bonding. (reply Douwsy) A few minutes passed as Sickbay readied itself, then the sound of body armored boots running down the corridor alerted them moments before the door opened and a trill marine entered carrying the body of another trill in an ops uniform. "I'm Corpsman Kindell." Michaella took a moment to be envious of the trill's beautiful sunshine colored hair then set herself mentally back onto the patient. "I'm not sure why she is in crises, but the signs are there, she's rejecting the symbiont and she shouldn't be. The Ensign says he didn't hit her with phaser fire to her stomach." Kindell sighed and recited the drugs that she had given Joltrue while one of the nurses pulled up Joltrue's records. "Dr. Kirien, there is something that you need to know." Kindell's eyes were full of contradictions as if a great moral problem weighed heavily on her shoulders. "There is a time that, well, an emergency codeword is given. It means to allow the symbiont to die. Generally if we are on trill, the caretakers will take the symbiont and evaluate it. You need to know that Commander Joltrue gave that emergency word. It is rare that a symbiont ... is 'wrong'," And she gave that word the same context that one would say it was evil. "Never have I heard of a case where a trill was away from the homeworld and had to use that safeword." Michaella's empathy ached with what this marine was telling her. "So you believe that if we place this symbiont into another host, that it would be harmful to the host?" Kindell looked indecisive then nodded briefly. "You need to tell the new host. It's possible they will turn into a.... bad person... as well, when they begin to join. But no trill would allow the symbiont to die here, away from home." Kindell stepped back and Michaella began working on the commander. Kindell stayed standing against the wall, conflict warring in her eyes, watching, not willing to let either of these entities die alone. "It's not going to be an issue, Corpsman because we don't have a host here, and the Commander is dying. How long can we keep her in stasis?" Kindell shook her head, "You really can't for very long, only a matter of hours before stasis is harmful to the symbiont. " " Four to Six hours? Or shorter?" Michaella questioned, flooding Joltrue's system with the stasis drugs, "Shorter, doctor. At most Four hours." Kirien sighed. "Nurse, we've bought ourselves about four hours at best. Put Commander Joltrue into stasis. Hopefully the away team will be back by then and we can see if we can get a subspace link to the Trill homeworld for advice." Michaella initiated the stasis field and watched the dying body of a woman who had apparently betrayed the Federation. "I have got to talk to the First Officer. And then I'm going to meet Dr. Mias. And then after I've seen to him, Noah and I can discuss options with the volunteers if we have any." Kindell took a step forward, "I'll go with you, Doctor. I can explain as best as I can about the emergency phrase given to me by the Commander. " Kindell turned to sickbay and the marines who were stationed there. "Green you keep your eyes on that woman's body. Unstable symbionts can be treacherous. Subdue her carefully, avoiding anything that might further deteriorate her body." The young human nodded, "So I'm to sit on her Ma'am?" Green gave a little grin and Kindell nodded. "Exactly. Dr. Kirien..." (Reply Any) (Posted by Mel) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CPO, Nurse Douwsy - 20:08) Douwsy looked over as Kirien entered sickbay. "Report." Before she could open her mouth Kirien continued. "Who do we have on ship that is trill and unjoined?" "And who do we have that is compatible if we don't have any unjoined trills aboard who will volunteer?" Douwsy paused for a moment. “We have three of the Trills on board who compatible for volunteering if needs be Dr Kirien.” She turned as the sickbay doors opened and a trill marine charged in carrying another trill in an ops uniform. ~Must be them~ "I'm Corpsman Kindell." "I'm not sure why she is in crises, but the signs are there, she's rejecting the symbiont and she shouldn't be. The Ensign says he didn't hit her with phaser fire to her stomach." Douwsy moved closer to connect Jolture to the bio-bed systems read out. As she lisented to the report from Kindell to Kirien. "Dr. Kirien, there is something that you need to know." "There is a time that, well, an emergency codeword is given. It means to allow the symbiont to die. Generally if we are on trill, the caretakers will take the symbiont and evaluate it. You need to know that Commander Joltrue gave that emergency word. It is rare that a symbiont ... is 'wrong'," Douwsy paused for a split second as she fully understood what was being said. ~Ow hell~ "Never have I heard of a case where a trill was away from the homeworld and had to use that safeword” ~This is going to be nasty~ "So you believe that if we place this symbiont into another host, that it would be harmful to the host?" Douwsy looked up at Kendell "You need to tell the new host. It's possible they will turn into a.... bad person... as well, when they begin to join. But no trill would allow the symbiont to die here, away from home." ~Even if its totally insane~ Douwsy moved opposite Kirien and began assisting her. "It's not going to be an issue, Corpsman because we don't have a host here, and the Commander is dying. How long can we keep her in stasis?" "You really can't for very long, only a matter of hours before stasis is harmful to the symbiont. " " Four to Six hours? Or shorter?" Douwsy watched Kirien inject Joltrue with drugs "Shorter, doctor. At most Four hours." "Nurse, we've bought ourselves about four hours at best. Put Commander Joltrue into stasis. Hopefully the away team will be back by then and we can see if we can get a subspace link to the Trill homeworld for advice." Douwsy nodded as Kirien activated the stasis field that was attached to the bio-bed. "I have got to talk to the First Officer. And then I'm going to meet Dr. Mias. And then after I've seen to him, Noah and I can discuss options with the volunteers if we have any." ~Rather them then me. That’s for sure~ "I'll go with you, Doctor. I can explain as best as I can about the emergency phrase given to me by the Commander. " Douwys looked back at the monitor that was showing the status of the stasis field and was glad that it was showing all green and working properly. "Green you keep your eyes on that woman's body. Unstable symbionts can be treacherous. Subdue her carefully, avoiding anything that might further deteriorate her body." "So I'm to sit on her Ma'am?" "Exactly. Dr. Kirien..." Douswy gave a slight smile at Greens comment as the Kirien and Kendell heaed out of sickbay and off to see the first office. She gave a sad sigh and looked at Joltrue lying there in stasis. No matter what she had done upon till she had entered sickbay. She was now a patient and she would take care of her no matter what her personal views were on the matter. ~A life is a life is a life~ A sad smile dances across her face before she turned towards Green. “If you need anything or anything changes in her condition get.” (Reply Green IYW) (Reply Green, any) (Posed by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Bridge – CPO, Dr. Michaella Kirien & Marine Corpsman Lhiannon Kindell - 20:15) "Commander, we need to speak with you, if we can?" She gestured to the Ready Room and assuming Hoshimi gives them permission the two women follow her in and once the door is closed, the two sit down. Both women were tired and the day was wearing heavily upon them. "Commander we have a bit of a problem. The saboteur was a joined trill who was in Ops, and she seems to be, through no obvious reason, to be rejecting her symbiont. Sickbay is screening any unjoined trill on the ship to see if any are willing to be joined." Michaella gave Lhia an odd look and nodded as the trill corpsman picked up the narrative, "What the Doctor is leaving out is that there was a phrase given to me by Commander Joltrue before her heart stopped working the first time. I believe it was her dying wish. She desired that the symbiont be removed from the list of matches and returned to the caretakers. It isn't a command given lightly, and where we are it's tantamount to a death sentence for the symbiont. I insist that any volunteers be informed of this. If we were on trill, we would have no issue, the caretakers would attend to this. Out here... it's entirely possible that if the symbiont Joltrue takes to a new host, that the symbiont would begin to wreak havoc as well." Kindell took a deep breath and continued the narrative, "The Corpsman says stasis can give us at best a four hour window. I need permission to test unjoined trill for compatibility, and I'm going to need Dr. Noah back on board. I've never performed a symbiont transplant," Kirien looked over to Kindell and she nodded, "I've done two, I can perform it if needed." Kirien nodded, "I also would like it if we can contact the trill homeworld, Ma'am for advice. I do not feel comfortable making this decision." Both women were exhausted and clearly showing it, and spoke bluntly out of that exhaustion. Kirien did not realize that she was swaying slightly in her chair until Lhiannon reached across to steady her. (reply dousey, hoshimi, any who want to play) (posted by the melkitty) (USS Spectre - Jeffries Tubes - Engineering officer, Ensign William Renfro - 20:18) His ebony hands were hidden nearly under his armpits as he stood with crossed arms, this had been possibly the most boring assignment the engineer had ever had to endure. Even the fact that numerous systems had apparently been sabotaged didn't cancel out the fact that he was standing hunched over in the jeffries tubes just on the OFF CHANCE something might happen. There were no other people around to talk to and no workstations or monitors to keep his mind occupied while on lookout. He stifled a yawn and shuffled his feet out of habit then looked around the tube once again, no saboteur and no end in sight for what he considered a wasted venture What he heard though suddenly caused the short hairs at the base of his cranium to tingle. "Ah Ha ha ha ha!" "Who?, What the hell?" He muttered and crouched low defensively as his arms uncoiled and the right hand reached for the phaser hung on his belt beside the toolkit. The laughter had been chilling, nearly maniacal in its shrill intensity and had come ringing through the tube. The jeffries tube had been the one place that the ACEO had not assigned security backup which now appeared to be a grave oversight on his part so his fingers found the combadge and activated the comlink. "Security," He spoke just above a whisper. "Ensign Renfro in the jeffries tubes. I've just heard laughter coming from somewhere ahead. Request a detail to my location. I'll leave my comlink open so you can follow my signal." (Reply: Security) "Negative," He whispered back. "We don't have time, I'm moving to follow, if it's the saboteur he can do a lot of damage in here in a short amount of time and I can't wait for you." As an afterthought he added. "Just make it quick, I don't want to have to handle him or her alone. " (reply: Security) Haltom's orders were ringing scoldingly in his head as he moved forward quietly after checking to verify the phaser was set to stun which he moved to heavy stun instead and wide field, if he had to fire he wanted to make sure the hit counted hard. ~Under no circumstances are you to engage the saboteur, your safety is paramount. Let security handle the saboteur, your job is as a failsafe in case repairs need to be made.~ "Yeah, yeah. Orders and all but you didn't assign me any security." He murmered as he continued till he came to a crossing tube, where to go from here? He lowered himself till he sat on his haunches and waited expectantly, his hearing straining to catch any sounds. Off to his left there was the faintest scrape of metal against metal as though possibly a plate had been removed and set down. He rose again and slid his feet quietly over the deck plates as his torso was tilted forward in a hunched over position because of the low ceiling and began moving nearly silently once again toward the sound. The muted sounds his boots were making on the decking wouldn't carry to someone intent on their work ... he hoped. The sound of a tool scraping across the decking then clattering down a ladder sent an involuntary shiver down his back as he dropped back into a crouch and the phaser tracked ahead of him. ~Nervous aren't you?~ He asked himself. The saboteur was either working in a hurry and carelessly or flat out unhinged judging by the laughter he had heard earlier. The continued clatter stopped after a few seconds leaving the tube in silence one more. ~Well anyone making that much racket probably won't notice any noise I make.~ he thought and rose again then picked up his pace just a little. He wanted to keep the idiot from making a mess of things ahead of him but at the same time caution was the order of the day, even though he was not out to kill whoever was ahead there was no guarantees they would have second thoughts about his life. At his slow pace it took less than a minute for him to finally reach the source of the noises, he edged his head around into an widening of the tube to see someone wearing an OPS uniform hunkered down and intently working on an exposed node. The phaser edged around the corner as well as he exposed just enough of himself to put her in his sights. "Whoever you are put your hands in the air NOW!" He barked, noticing off handedly that she had the marks of a Trill on the back of her neck. "If you make any sudden moves I'm going to fire." (Reply: Saboteur) Her sudden movement took her almost out of the widened field of fire as he pressed the firing stud. ~Damn she's quick!~ He thought as the beam caught her a glancing blow and spun her against the side of the tube but didn't knock her out. he adjusted his aim and fired again just as the phaser she had whipped around whined and sent a bolt of deadly energy hurtling toward him. (Reply: Saboteur) His aim was thrown off as he ducked back and the beam scorched the rounded corner behind which he had been hiding but he knew he had at least clipped her again which should slow her reaction time down considerably so he threw himself out from behind the obstruction, the phaser's sights seeking a target and he fired a third time. This one caught her dead on before her addled senses could react and threw her back against the side of the tube where she slid to the floor unconcious. His heart was thudding in his chest and his breathing was raspy as he paused for an instant with the phaser still sighted on her unmoving form. Finally after he was certain she was knocked out he slid forward and kicked her phaser away from her still hand which bounced against the wall of the tube and came to rest about twenty feet away then he stepped back a safe distance and narrowed the dispersal field on his own weapon. If she woke and tried anything before security got here she was going to get a taste of the effect full force. He then waited for security to arrive. (Reply: Security) (posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Main Engineering - ACEO, Ensign Jake Haltom - 20:20) "Sir, we have a power feedback to the transporters!" There was a lot of colorful language that accompanied the report which you just had to overlook if you were going to have someone of that species in your department. Jake spun on his heel and cursed under his breath before making his way to the Tellerite. To have said what he was thinking out loud would have just encouraged her. "Damage!" The hefty, black haired and glowering engineer punched the panel with her fist before replying. "Let's not multiply the damage you pig snouted tub of lard!" Jack shouted. "Watch it toothpick or you'll trip over a deck plate seam while you're dragging your knuckles." She snapped back then gave him a grin. "Well I'm waiting." He couldn't hold his glower forever and chuckled a bit as it fell from his face. She nodded and picked up her report. "The control panel in transporter room one has shorted out and transporter room six has just initiated a fire alert." "Is there anyone in Transporter room six?" Those pudgy fingers flew with surprising speed over her keyboard. "No sir, no one inside." "Seal the door and flood it with Zenit gas." He snapped. She complied without complaint then looked up with satisfaction. "Done. Transporter room is sealed off and I'm flooding it with gas now. Anything else?" "Contact OPS and have them send a repair team to transporter room one and alert the transporter chief to run a components check in the other transporter rooms, his boys can catch any problems from their end." "Will do sir." Jake turned and let his face break into a broad grin when she could no longer see it, working with Tellerites could be a lot of fun if you didn't take them too seriously. =^= Mr. Haltom .. uh sir. Renfro here.=^= "What is it Mr. Renfro?" he asked after opening the comlink. =^= The saboteur has been caught sir and one of the marines is taking care of her, she's a Trill, Lieutenant commander from her pips from OPS. =^= Jake's eyes widened "Son of a ... You talking about Joltrue?" =^= As i said sir I don't know her name.=^= "Where is security and why has a marine taken over custody?" =^= Security just arrived sir, the marine happened to be the nearest.=^= Jake's face screwed into a frown. "You mean the marine took Joltrue down?" =^= Uh... no sir.=^= "Engineer did you not hear my orders when they were given?" Jake felt his face go red and had the sudden fleeting thought of letting Engineer Gork the Tellerite have a turn at Renfro before he dug in the spurs. =^= Yes sir I heard your orders clearly but I had no backup and no choice but to confront her before she did more damage. =^= Jake forced himself to calm down before replying which took a couple of seconds, he could imagine Renfro fidgeting as he waited. "Are YOU injured?" =^= No sir. =^= "Good. There was a power surge to the transporters which has caused a ruckus throughout the ship, isolate the area she was working in and undo her sabotage then report back to me." =^= Yes sir. =^= "Damn it." Jake bit back more colorful language before it escaped his lips, working around Tellerites could also be a double edged sword and get your own mouth in trouble if you weren't careful. "A Lieutenant Commander in OPS." No wonder the sabotage had been so cleverly orchestrated. He turned back around again and folded his arms as he stewed, hopefully this would end the depredations they had been suffering. (Reply: Any, None) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Science Officer Brendan Donaghue - 20:26) The bridge had become a beehive of frenetic activity in the last few minutes as the First Officer prepared to retrieve the captain and crew, Brendan had made himself useful during the duration of his shift by verifying that the sensor systems were at optimal efficiency which was easily done since they were basically useless while at cloak. The fine tuning had gone remarkably well and raised the efficiency 3.5 percent theoretically since the adjustments wouldn't be certified until after the cloak was dropped. When the FO asked for departmental updates he waited till last then called out crisply. "Science department ready sir." And that was it for his first departmental report, he grinned to himself as he turned his attention back to the controls. The sensor array was tied into the transporter sensor inputs so everything about that event would basically go through him. The Captain and landing party's transponder signatures were transferred to the science database so that any scan catching them would register their coordinates and he inputted a command to assemble the coordinates of anyone within fifty feet of their location. If any unfriendlies were beamed aboard they could easily be stripped of weaponry before being materialized therefore any cardassian configured equipment would throw up a red flag and be removed and the pattern held in transport until authorization was given. The tension thickened as the moment drew closer, finally culminating in Tsukawa's order to begin the action. He was already activating the sensor array before her orders were finished and setting the long range scanners to sweep over the Amparas district, it took only seconds for the sensors to begin gathering information. Short range scans were activated as well for for use by tactical. The sensor array didn't take long to find the party and simultaneously fed his station as well as McAllen's console the information. There were also some abberant readings he noted and began recording them that came from the vicinity of the LP's location, within 2,000 yards according to the scale reading. Location and movement of Cardassian personnel and material on the planet were transferred to tactical along with power generation sources should the FO or CO so choose to make use of the data though it appeared they would not be in the system long enough to do so. Still the data could come in handy in the future and was standard operational procedure. Also Cardassian military resources in the system most especially including ships, class and power levels, weapons and/or shield status and such. The transport was registered as the away team disappeared from the planet below and Brendan allowed himself a short smile before returning to his work. The scans he was extremely satisfied with as it showed his adjustments were working as advertised. As tactical attacked the Cardassian Gator Class vessel he was also relaying real time data on damage sustained by the enemy and weakened targets. "Enemy vessel shields have dropped 22 percent to nominal capability." he called out. The Cardy vessel had been caught by surprise by the initial volley and suffered significant damage before bringing their shields online, now even that mode of protection was about to fail. (Reply: tactical) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Deck 4, Transporter Room 2 - Transporter Chief Ian McAllen - 20:28) The chief was idly lounging in the transporter room after running the latest in a series of power consumption reports. There had been an energy drain that was a nasty little bugger to find and he had traced it to a faulty control module and replaced it. A dry run with the power-up sequence had showed the component working flawlessly and it looked like his time on standby would be ending uneventfully. Of course when you were on alert standby anything could happen.... =^= Bridge to Transporter Room 2 =^= Intrigued he tapped his combadge to reply. "McAllen in Transporter room 2 sir, I read you." =^= We will be dropping the cloak in thirty seconds. Your window will be short. Once you have a lock on all of our people and the civilians, beam them directly to Cargo bay Two as arranged. Try not to leave anyone behind. =^= Sweat immediately beaded on his brow at the order and he jumped up from the chair he had been sitting on. As he moved to the console he replied. "Aye sir, initiating power up sequence. I'll be ready." The amusement he had detected in the FO's voice did not put him at ease in the least. He spent the next 20 seconds powering up the transporter and routing the destination to cargo bay 2 as per orders then bit his lower lip as he waited for the 'window' the FO had mentioned. Scans were as yet unavialable because of the cloak, as soon as it dropped he would have to find the LP and any civvies with them and yank them off the planet. Depending on the numbers it could be a monumental task. Truth be told he was already daunted. Fortunately the Captain and LP's transponder signatures were already loaded and the scanner would be searching for them as soon as he initiated the sequence. His eyes scanned the board restlessly until the scanner went green, the finger that had been hovering over the initiate sequence sensor stabbed down and he unconciously held his breath. Microseconds seemed to trudge by slowly in a mocking fashion till the board lit up with transponder coordinates and other sensor 'targets' of humanoid make. "Got ya me buckos!" He crowed and slapped the transporter master control. The signatures which had been crystal clear an instant ago were replaced by fuzz and the light went red as he cursed and with fingers flying recalibrated the scanner to break through the interference. "You're not getting away from me that easily laddies!" The recalibrations broke through and he was hitting the initiate sequence at the same instant the light went green and the transporter whine began to rise in volume from the pad. He kept his fingers ready though as he stared at the screen, those digits had more work as he continually fine tuned the transporter beam as soon as an anomoly was seen. The growing whine had filled the chamber with reasonations and the figures disappeared from the planet below, their patterns sifted through the pattern buffers . "Halfway there, keep on comin' " An alert light blinked for an instant and his left hand reflexively flew over the controls for the pattern buffer to allow for the abnormally large number of transportees, mollified the light shut itself off and remained quiescent. Ian smiled as his right hand shifted the beam to the landing point in the center of the cargo bay and he pulled back on the control then pushed it forward again, the whine which had died down now rose again as the patterns which had been stored in the buffers would be even now appearing there and solidifying. His eyes were hawkish as he glanced at the power level and found to his delight that engineering and OPs had left him well prepared, there was no glitch at all in the energy flowing through the unit. The console began a time down sequence from 10, 9, 8 . "Heh, heh got ya for sure." 3, 2, 1 and the whine dropped to a muted whisper before shutting down. His eyes raked over the readout for the beam-in and showed all hands accounted for. His smile lit the room as he hit his combadge. "Bridge, the landing party and friendlies have been beamed aboard with no losses during transport. I repeat, the landing party is aboard." (reply: Bridge) It was only then that he wiped his brow and inhaled as he lifted his head and breathed the sweet air of success. (Reply: Any) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre – Bridge, OPS – Operations Officer, Ensign Robert Smith - 20:30) Robert smiled to him self as the away team and the others materialized on the Spectre. ~Thanks goodness for that. Now we can get away from this planet before something else happens~ =^=OPS you have warp capability=^= Robert smiled to him self. “Thanks Ensign Haltom.” He took the power that had been given and then moved it to reserve capacitors that fed the warp engines. He knew that the indicator icon would come up on Jennifer’s console. ~Right then lets get the hell out of here~ (Reply any) (Posted by Robbie) (Amleth - Secondary Terminus - ACouns Dr. Riven Mias - 20:30) Riven grinned as Elani rose from tending to the SFI agent and he winked at her in a flirtateous manner before turning to look around the cavern. The explosions from beyond the blockage were getting closer. He sighed and shook his head and was putting his hands on his hips as he felt an old, familiar tingle which began to grow stronger. The Betazoid's mouth broke into a big grin which faded with the 'tingle' and he looked around suspiciously. He had barely turned his head when it began again and he started hearing a whine as the cavern began to dissolve around him. His laughter was cut short as he along with the others disappeared in pillars of sparkling energy and a growing whine. Within seconds the light caused by the blue white energy crested then subsided leaving the cavern shrouded in darkeness. (reply: Any) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Deck 14, Cargo Bay 2- ACouns Dr. Riven Mias - 20:31) His eyes which had been blinded by all encompassing light now began to make out shapes and a bulkhead 15 to 20 meters away and before him as the transporter beam in which he found himself coalesced in the lighted area. He held his breath literally and figuratively as his yet unsolidified body had no need of air and relished the subsiding tingle which signalled to him that he was almost aboard. Transport was often an unnerving experience to him but not this time. Yes this time it meant freedom, an unneeded disguising of his person and of all things most to be desired a shower and fresh clothing. And then the tingle was gone, he was solid and he pulled in a lungful of clean and relatively fresh air. "Aaahhh! It's so good to be on a federation ship!" He threw his hands up in celebration before looking around frantically as his thought of clothing jumped back to the forefront of his mind. (reply: Any) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Deck 14 - Cargo Bay 2 - CMO, Noah - 20:32) Noah felt the familiar tingling sensation as the transporter beam released them and the reassuring image of the Spectre’s cargo bay appeared. He glanced down to make sure that his hand was still part of him and had not become part of Timon's internal structure. ~Well that’s good~ He looked over at Caras who was still with her patient as Mias moved towards a replicator and frowned as he just left Caras.. ~Must have something important over there~ “How is he doing?” (Reply Caras) Noah nodded. “Okay lets get these two back to sickbay.” He was about to tap his comm badge when a shower of sparks erupted from the cargo bay’s transport pad. The was a snap of electrical current and the pad went black. ~Ow this is not good~ “Noah to Transporter Room 2. the transporter pad just blew out down here. Is yours still working?” (Reply McAllen) Noah lowered his head and gave a sign. “Thanks chief good luck with that.” He tapped activated the comm badge again. “Noah to Sickbay. Medical emergency in Cargo Bay 2. Two patients male both critical. One bleeding lower limb but wound is being compressed vital stable. Other internal arterial bleed which is clamped vitals are bottoming out. Need two gurneys and the surgical unit ready.” (Reply any in Sickbay) As he waited for sickbay to arrive me looked back at Caras with a grin. "Its good to know that life on the Spectre is never boring." (Reply Caras) (Reply Sickbay, Caras, McAllen) (Posed by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Cargo bay 2 - CO, Captain T'Vhor - 20:32) The moment that the Captain had rematerialised on the ship was the very moment that he realised the alert status. Predictably, they were at 'Red', and the distinctive resonance of phase charges hitting their shielding told him that they were now being targetted. After glancing about to make sure that everyone that had been injured was being tended to by the already present medical teams, he headed towards the doors, eager now to return to the bridge of his ship as a shower of sparks suddenly erupted beyond him to halt his progress. Immediately, he spun around to note that the transport pad had gone offline, Noah though was immediately on it and contacting the Transporter chief in Transporter room two. The Captain listened in briefly but his place now was up on the bridge, and with that in mind he headed towards the doors of the cargo bay as the ever resourceful Noah called for medical backup. By all rights, Tsukawa should now be in the process of taking them to warp and consequently out of this system, but for some reason that process had looked to be delayed and the Captain could only hope that the Cardassian vessel/vessels, how many he still wasn't sure, hadn't got a lucky shot at one of their nacelles or warp reactor. Out in the corridor though he was suddenly confronted with crewmen moving quickly to their requisite duty stations, none of them acknowledging him of course due to the fact that he still looked very much unlike their CO, whilst the red annunciators flashed repeatedly along the deck! Entering into Turbolift One, T'Vhor turned about to the sight of two more crewmen running by, and then he watched the doors closewith their usual pneumatic hiss. "Bridge", he snapped, his Betazoid heritage having momentarilly taken over from his usual Vulcan calm and no doubt emphasised by his Cardassian exterior. Within seconds though the lift had traversed fourteen decks to arrive at his chosen destination, wherapon he stepped out onto the ships nerve centre, another curt order quickly being delivered to ascertain their tactical position and operational readiness. "Report" (Reply Any) (Posted by Alan) (USS Spectre - Deck 14 - Cargo Bay 2 - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:33) As Kurt had begun his climb back down to the station platform he found himself back on board the Spectre. He lowered his arms, which had still been situated as if he was on a ladder. At once, the commotion started. ~I've got to get up to the bridge~ Kurt glanced around the room not taking much in, amd hurried off as an order to sickbay was sent by the CMO. (Reply None) (Posted by Cody) (USS Spectre - Deck 4, Transporter Room 2 - Transporter Chief Ian McAllen - 20:34) Having taken in several deep lungfuls of air along with a small bit of capering about the transporter room in celebration Ian's attention was captured by a blinking red light on the transporter console. "Bugger." He walked over and began looking through the diagnostics for the transporter system. A quick glance showed a problem in Cargo Bay 2. | "Ah my bonnie lass, it appears you have overloaded the encapsulating pattern matrices because of all the people you had to materialize didn't you?" Then his com activated. =^= Noah to Transporter Room 2. the transporter pad just blew out down here. Is yours still working? =^= "Aye we're good up here," He replied. "But it appears we have overloaded the cargo bay transporter due to some special commands I had to input for that piece of equipment." It wasn't always common knowledge but cargo bay transporter pads weren't normally fine tuned to the degree that a personnel transporter was since they generally carried cargo which by its very definition was 'dead weight' or bulk materials. Sentient or otherwise living creatures needed a finer and more specialized pattern than bulk materials. Forcing the pad to materialize such a narrow band and finely defined group then had overtaxed the system. This was the reason such beamups to a cargo bay were reserved for emergency or large scale and large numbers of fast materializations. The best solution was normally to hold extra numbers in the pattern buffer and materialize up to six individuals in one of the personnel transporters but if the ship snapped back into cloak in that time frame the people within the pattern buffer could have their patterns disrupted and lost. This was why the FO had chosen to have everyone beamed to the cargo bay en masse. "Not a problem doctor, engineering can have the components changed out pretty danged quick, I'll have it taken care of immediately." =^= Thanks chief good luck with that. =^= "Anytime doctor, good to have you back aboard. Transporter control out." Tapping his combadge twice he spoke. "Engineering, Transporter control here." =^= Haltom here, go ahead Transporter control. =^= "Aye sir, transporting the landing party and civilians to cargo bay 2 has burned out the pattern realignment components for the cargo bay. Could I get you and your lads to have a look at it?" =^= I'll grab an engineer and have him take care of it as soon as the ship is out of danger chief. That wouldn't be components PX3 though 5 would it?=^= The transporter chief had to chuckle at that one. "You know your equipment I see sir, yes you are correct." =^= That's a minor repair and replacement chief, it should be taken care of within the next two hours if the Cardassians allow it. =^= "Understood, thank ya sir. McAllen out." =^= Engineering out, good work chief. =^= MacAllen stretched after disengaging the comlink then returned to the diagnostics to insure the rest of the transporters were ready in a pinch. "It's always best to make sure lad." He muttered as he worked. (Reply: Any, none) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Bridge - FO, Cmdr Hoshimi Tsukawa and CO, Captain T'Vhor - 20:35) Despite the plans for a smooth and effortless evacuation of their team from the surface and a quick get away, it had not gone entirely to plan. There had been a slightly greater delay in the ship going to warp upon reception of the landing party and co, due mainly to a shot from the Galor Class vessel that had apparently destabilised the warp field as it formed around the nacelles. It was a lucky shot indeed, probably a fluke but it had bought the Cardassians just a few more moments of attack before the Federation ship had retaliated with a volley of photon topedoes, and then disappeared once again in a haze as it shifted out of phase courtesy of the Spectres phase cloak. Everyone had breathed a sigh of relief at that, not least the Commander herself. For a moment or two though the ship was still maneouvering at impulse as she called for warp power. With the arrival of a somewhat familiar Cardassian through the turbolift doors though, she instinctively stood as the still disguised CO called for an operational report. "The Cardassians momentarilly destabilised our warp field during decloak sir, preventing us from going to warp as soon as we would have liked", she said, "however, our phase cloak is now active once again. The Galor class vessel has taken damage, her shields are at twenty two percent nominal. Our agreed course is laid in and we are ready to engage the warp drive" The Captain nodded and then moved to the centre chair as Hoshimi took the seat beside him, then he gave the order to the helmsman and Tactical officers accordingly. "Engage at maximum warp. Maintain passive sensor scans as we head out of the system. If anything comes even remotely close to us then I want to know about it", said the Captain. (Reply Helm, Tactical, Any) It was about then that Palmer arrived on the bridge, seemingly in a hurry and heading straight to the Science console, narrowly missing a head on collision with another bridge officer in the process as he began querying the duty Science officer about Theta radiation! With the ship now at warp though, the Captain allowed them the luxury of their discussion for a brief while, but then wanted to know more. NRPG: A post could be slotted in around 20:41ish to accomodate this. RPG: "Would you care to share this recent finding in regards Theta radiation, gentlemen?", he asked. "Is the ship in any danger?" (Reply Donaghue, Palmer, Either) (Reply Helm, Tactical, Palmer, Donaghue, Any) (Posted by Alan) (USS Spectre - Turbolift - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:35) Kurt anxiously stared at the ceiling, as the lift shot up towards the bridge. He had this theta variance on his mind, and wanted more detailed scans. Then, four decks from the bridge, the lights flickered and the lift rattled to a halt. ~what now~ The science chief frowned. He took two steps toward the lift controls before being thrown backwards. The turbolift had unexpectedly resumed course, and moments later the doors parted to the bridge. (reply, any) ((post by Cody)) (USS Spectre - Deck 14, Cargo Bay 2 - ACouns Dr. Riven Mias and Lt. Michaella Kirien - 20:35) The object of Riven's search finally caught his eye hiding near a corner of the bay, a replicator! He hurried to it, nearly running as he threw back the hood allowing his silver hair to spill down his back and brushed back the locks that fell to the side of his face as the silver chimes and charms woven into it tinkled merrily. His nose wrinkled in distaste at the robes he was wearing, he had after all been in them for several days and the itchy cloth had been tormenting him not to mention he smelled. He pulled off one of the buttons and with some difficulty got it open, inside was a small data chit. This he passed over the scanner that almost never got used and spoke as it chirped in reply. “ Computer replicate Riven wardrobe 1.” There was a small pause before the machine began to hum, after the humming stopped the door popped open. Riven smiled in delight as he pulled out a white robe which had hundreds of small crystals sewn into it that caught the ambient light and threw off a sparkling array of colors. He sighed in pleasure as he threw it over his shoulder and pulled out a new pair of sandals then turned away intending to report in, get a room, a shower and some sleep. Michaella pushed past the people leaving the cargo bay. She'd aged, obviously, in the time that they had been apart. When she saw him, she laughed, smiled and threw herself into his arms. It wasn't just the physical, though that was wonderful in and of itself. It was the way that Betazoids could touch each other's minds in such a way that the word intimate was an understatement. Both were Priests of the Goddess Allura and both had grown up in the temple. They'd known each other most of their lives. :: Riven. :: She sent to him, her mind voice purring in desire as she kissed him in front of everyone. Michaella knew that they were being stared at and she honestly didn't care. Something had come back to her that she did not know she had been missing. Riven was startled but pleased as Michaella jumped into his arms and returned her kiss with gusto. ::My, my, what a nice welcome to the ship, especially after the excitement I've just been through. :: He sent teasingly. :: If it weren’t for the strict mores of most of the people present I would strip down and change my clothes here. :: He laughed as she came up for air. :: Not yet though, I need a shower! And something to eat, I’m starved. :: Michaella stared into his eyes, dark eyes to blue, and she reluctantly let him go. :: Would you mind company for the ... :: She paused a second, ::Night?:: The innuendo was so blatantly obvious the non-talented would probably pick up on it. :: I still have the big quarters that I had with the girls. And I'm quite capable of replicating you food. :: Both of them knew that Michaella was as far opposite a good cook as anyone could be. :: I've missed you! :: She longed to tighten her arms back around him, her mind brushing his in soft caresses. His eyes opened in surprise and pleasure and his mouth turned up in his patented smile as he slipped his arm around her waist. :: I would be DELIGHTED. What did I do to have such a lovely woman greet me with so much fervor and invite me to a private PARTY. :: He winked at her. :: Reporting in can wait, I’d much rather accompany you! This is turning out to be an excellent day. You were always so caught up with Devan I never dreamed you might one day have feelings for me. :: Michaella laughed at that. :: I didn't realize that you... Well I didn't until you contacted me. Do you desire company in that shower? :: She laughed as she steered him onto the turbolift. ::Also you were with Vanyssa. I miss her too. :: She shrugged as the lift began to move. She pressed herself against Riven, enjoying the feeling of their bodies pressed together the way their minds were. She kissed around to his chin, then whispered in his ear, "You know what another Betazoid is like." (reply: Any) (posted by Charles and Melinda) (Amleth - Amparus, Secondary Terminus - Assault Team, Hevnek and Alzeth - 20:35) The explosives finally broke through the detrius and his men poured into the chamber to find ... nothing. Hevnek looked around with irritation as he followed the forward group into the cavern, "Report!" "There is no one here sir." "Use scanners and find those aliens for me now!" One of the men was already scanning as Alzeth stepped through the rubble behind him. "Nothing sir, no sign of life forms." Hevnek spun on his heel as he looked about in irritation, Gul Majeth would be very upset upon finding out their quarry had escaped. "My scanner did pick up an energy surge several minutes ago sir." He spun on the man and his eyes bored into him. "Are you saying you picked up a transporter signal?" "I will have to verify that commander but that would be my theory." Hevnek was mollified a bit at that. "Check that scan, if it was a transport then the carrier wave signature should at least tell us who we are dealing with." "Yes sir." The Cardassian began searching through the scan log as Hevnek tapped his boot impatiently. "Got it sir." "And?" "Stand by." The man began matching the pattern and after a moment issued a satisfied grunt. "It's Federation sir." "Ah!" Hevnek then snorted. "There must be a reason they were headed in this direction. Find it!" "Yes commander." Hevnek's communicator then began beeping. "Hevnek here." =^= Sir we've found a complex beneath the safehouse accessed by a lift from the original cavern. I'm moving to the control room now.=^= "Report back when you find it." =^= Yes sir.=^= Hevnek then returned his attention to the man with the scanner. "Well?" "I'm reading a power source several hundred yards ahead." "Lead me to it." The assault group then moved out at Hevnek's order. (Reply None) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:36) "So Mr. Donaghue." He turned slightly "what do we have?" (Reply, Donaghue) "Great. I think a thorough study of the wider surrounding area is in order. While I do that, see if we missed anything else this facility is possibly pumping into the atmosphere. That may clue us into their intentions." (Reply, Donaghue) Kurt swiveled back to face his console and two returned to work. A few minutes had passed. While Kurt was intently studying his console the captain addressed them. His colleague immediately jumped in with an explanation as Kurt was preoccupied looking through a map the computer pieced together with all of the sensor data. Finally reaching a stopping point he turned in his chair to catch T'Vhor say "Inform me the moment that you have anything conclusive" Kurt nodded before returning his attention to his console. (Reply, Donaghue) ((Post by Cody)) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Science Officer Brendan Donaghue - 20:37) Brendan caught the CSO sweeping onto the bridge out of the corner of his eye and spun the chair, nodding to his superior officer as he took the seat. "Have you picked up a theta variance on the surface from up here?" The CSO asked after working for a moment. "Funny you should ask that." Brendan said as Palmer swiveled to face him. "I picked up an aberrant reading at the same moment the scanners got a lock on the party and devoted a part of the array to nailing it down while waiting for you to return to the ship. My findings are in an updating file parallel to the rest of the sensor scan updates." His fingers flew over the touch pad workstation and brought up a digital display. "As you can see the origination of the variance appears to come from this structure less than a kilometer from where I picked up your locations. It looks to be a massive facility, possibly military in origin." (Reply: Palmer) "It is my theory it might be tied into some kind of military research but there's no way of proving that without a more exhaustive investigation." Brendan relaxed back aganst the railing across from the science station. "If you think about it this is a perfect spot for it, near but not too near the Cardassian border and far away from any prying eyes." (Reply: Palmer) Brendan smiled wolfishly. "I understand we have SFI aboard from the rumors, it would seem funny to me also that their nearness to such a facility would be coincidental." (Reply: Palmer) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Turbolift - ACouns Dr. Riven Mias and Lt. Michaella Kirien - 20:38) ::Growl:: he sent as she pressed against him, feeling her soft curves as she nibbled around his chin and gathered her in closer. He expanded his mind to envelope hers more fully, the link becoming highly charged with arousal. :: Do I ever! If the turbolift wasn’t so fast I would consider some very non-officerly conduct and I would love company in the shower. :: He thought to her some very sensual ideas for the small space as he lowered his face and found her lips again. Michaella's hands were all over Riven's body as the turbolift door opened onto the correct deck. She broke the kiss and drew him out into the hallway, walking backwards as she headed down the corridor to her quarters. Fade to black....... (reply: Any) (posted by Charles and Melinda) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:38) The science chief stepped into the frenzy of activity that was the bridge of the Spectre. As he made his way to his post he narrowly escaped a head-on collision with a female officer in a gold collar. Finally Kurt took a seat at the science station. His fingers moved across the controls and the LCARS display rearranged to bring up main sensor control. Tuning into the dialogue behind him, Kurt realized they were preparing a hasty departure. He worked double time to log as much information as he could to send with his report. He swiveled his seat to address a colleague behind him. "Have you picked up a theta variance on the surface from up here?" (Reply, any? Science?) ((Post by Cody)) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:39) As the science officer replied to the chief's inquiry Kurt ran through the department roster in his head to try to remember the man's name. However it seemed that they had spotted the same building Kurt detected on the surface. "...massive facility, possibly military in origin." "I noticed the same thing with my limited reception." The chief hoped they had gathered more information "Go on..." The officer slouched back as he explained his theory about the mystery facility. "If you think about it this is a perfect spot for it, near but not too near the Cardassian border and far away from any prying eyes." Kurt scratched at his artificial brow ridges. "Makes sense.... They did locate and come after us quickly down there." He breathed out heavily. Then finally placed the officer's face ~Donaghue!~ "I understand we have SFI aboard from the rumors, it would seem funny to me also that their nearness to such a facility would be coincidental." Kurt raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I can't speak to that necessarily, but after my experiences I don't trust Starfleet Intelligence in the least." (Reply, Donaghue) "What other detail do you have on this facility?" The chief moved to look closer at the console. (Reply, Donaghue) ((Post by Cody)) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CPO, Nurse Douwsy - 20:40) =^=Noah to Sickbay. Medical emergency in Cargo Bay 2. Two patients male both critical. One bleeding lower limb but wound is being compressed vital stable. Other internal arterial bleed which is clamped vitals are bottoming out. Need two gurneys and the surgical unit ready.=^= “Douwsy here under stood teams are on their way.” She looked over at Marshal and gave her a grin. “Go and get them back here. We will be waiting.” Marshal nodded as she called for the response team as the hauled two gurneys out of sickbay. Douwsy looked around sickbay realizing that if she was not careful she would run out of staff. She entered a command on a near by console to put the off duty medical staff on to a five minute stand by in case things got out of hand. With they day she was having anything was possible. She looked over at the two other nurses in sickbay. “Alice, Heather lets get the bio-beds three and four ready for surgery.” They both nodded and hurried over to the bio-beds. She looked around scrutinizing sickbay running through the mental check list in her mind to make sure that she had not for gotten anything. =^=Palmer to sickbay=^= “Nurse Douwsy here. What can I do for you sir?” =^=I’ll be on my way down in a moment. We just discovered everyone in the landing party was exposed to a small amount of theta radiation. I would advise you to alert the medical currently in cargo bay 2=^= “Understood Sir. I will inform Dr Noah and hopefully they should be here by the time you get to sickbay.” As the connection closed she looked over at Alice and Heather who had both glanced at her as they heard the conversation. “What’s that human expression it never rain’s but it pores?” Heather and Alice grinned as Heather said. “Did now one tell you Douwsy ‘It’s not a job its an adventure.’” Douwsy snorted and shook her head. “Monotonous is looking good right about now.” She tapped he comm badge “Nurse Douwsy to Dr Noah?” (Reply Noah) “I have just can had a conversation with Lieutenant Palmer. He said that the away team has been exposed to small amount of theta radiation and he is on his way to sickbay to dissucss it with you.” (Reply Noah) “Understood see you shortly.” She moved into the middle of sickbay so that she could keep as much of control of the descending chaos that was about to arrive. (Reply Noah, any) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Deck 14 - Cargo Bay 2 – CMO, Noah - 20:41) Noah looked at his patient lying on the floor and his fingers protruding from his wound. He was very happy that they have heavily sedated him or this would have been a lot worse. =^=Dr Noah, please respond=^= ”Yes Captain. What can I do for you.” =^=It appears that the away team were likely exposed to significant levels of theta radiation whilst on the surface. Please make sure that you factor this into any treatment that you are currently giving, and arrange for screening of everyone that was exposed in order to ascertain any ill effect. Observe quarantine procedures in regards anyone that might be significantly contaminated=^= ~Okay but I will do that once I get my finger back~ He looked back at the wound. ~You really know how to get your self in a situation~ He realised that he had not answered the Captain. “Yes Captain. I would like to see you down in sickbay so that I can take a sample and also see about getting you back to normal.” =^=I will endeavour to attend as soon as is possible Doctor, of that you can be certain. Captain out=^= He looked over at the doors. ~Come on hurry up, I don’t have all day~ (Reply any) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Science Officer Brendan Donaghue - 20:41) "Would you care to share this recent finding in regards Theta radiation, gentlemen? Is the ship in any danger?" Brendan turned at the Captain's voice while the CSO was reviewing the data that had been gathered. " I'll be happy to tell you all of the information that we have at this stage captain however the full report is not yet available. We will have to go over the completed parameters but I can tell you for certain the ship is in no danger." (Reply: T'Vhor) "The landing party was exposed to low though significant levels of Theta radiation during its time on the planet coming from a facility near the city and compound near where we picked up the LP sir. I recommend all members of the away team and any civilians brought aboard be thoroughly screened by medical as soon as possible." (Reply: T'Vhor) "The chief and I are theorizing that the facility is military in origin sir but as I said the full report is not yet available as the scan logs are still being sifted through and data combined to give us the full picture." (Reply: T'Vhor) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CO, Captain T'Vhor - 20:42) The Captain's query was a logical one of course, after all, when did anyone of Vulcan heritage ever resort to anything else? The recent talk of theta radiation though, and the distinct possibility of it having come into contact with either the ship or the away team, suggested a significant risk and the Captain needed to know just how significant that might be. Donaghue was the first to respond. "I'll be happy to tell you all of the information that we have at this stage Captain, however the full report is not yet available. We will have to go over the completed parameters but I can tell you for certain the ship is in no danger." "And what of our away team?", asked the Captain, his concerns for the crew themselves being paramount now. "The landing party was exposed to low though significant levels of Theta radiation during its time on the planet coming from a facility near the city and compound near where we picked up the LP sir. I recommend all members of the away team and any civilians brought aboard be thoroughly screened by medical as soon as possible." "Agreed", said the Captain, "I will see to it that Dr Noah takes the necessary precautions to safeguard our crew. However, it should be noted that we found no definite indication of Anti-matter experimentation in any of the locations that we visited. Do you have any ideas on what may be producing this radiation?" "The chief and I are theorizing that the facility is military in origin sir but as I said the full report is not yet available as the scan logs are still being sifted through and data combined to give us the full picture." The Captain nodded, his own thoughts on the matter mixed now, but straying then towards Madon's possible motives, whatever they may actually be. Had she recently visited Amleth? Perhaps in search of Lau? Either way, the man's debrief was going to be interesting and T'Vhor was eager to learn more. "Inform me the moment that you have anything conclusive", said T'Vhor, accessing his armrest console as he spoke. (Reply Donaghue, Palmer, IYW) The Captain then hailed the Chief Medical Officer. "Dr Noah, please respond" (Reply Noah) "It appears that the away team were likely exposed to significant levels of theta radiation whilst on the surface. Please make sure that you factor this into any treatment that you are currently giving, and arrange for screening of everyone that was exposed in order to ascertain any ill effect. Observe quarantine procedures in regards anyone that might be significantly contaminated" (Reply Noah) The Captain then reached up towards his temples, the Cardassian ridges irritating his skin somewhat now after having been in place for so long. It would not be without a certain degree of relief that he would be removing them very soon and it would be comforting to see a Vulcan countenance staring back at him whenever he had chance to look into a reflective surface again. "I will endeavour to attend as soon as is possible Doctor, of that you can be certain. Captain out", said T'Vhor as he settled back into the chair, Palmer and Donaghue now having returned to their discussion in regards the mysterious theta radiation findings... (Reply Donaghue, Palmer, IYW. Noah) (Posted by Alan) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Science Officer Brendan Donaghue - 20:43) "I can't speak to that necessarily, but after my experiences I don't trust Starfleet Intelligence in the least." The CSO replied skeptically and Brendan nodded and shrugged, his job was to give his superior officer options and whether or not those options were applicable only time would tell. "What other detail do you have on this facility?" The chief asked as he gave the displayt his utmost attention. Brendan returned to the console and his fingers skipped nimbly across the controls, bringing up a partial exterior 3-D display of the building. "As you can see rectangular in shape and with approximately 220,000 square feet of interior space. 130 lifeforms, mostly clustered in this area." His right index finger pointing at the northwest quadrant. "The Source of the Theta variance is in this area." A pulsing red dot appeared in the southeastern quadrant. "Wavelength of 2.9x10 to the negative thirteenth power of ionizing radiation with a reading of 613 KeV at the source and decaying at the rate of 13% per kilometer over a twenty kilometer radius." (Reply: Palmer) "Half life of 113,000 years approximately." Brendan shrugged. "The clustering of the readings would seem to indicate either a synthetic process or possibly a theta radiation source which is unlikely since there are very few natural sources which emit that particular wavelength. In my opinion they are the ones causing it. Power draw on the Amparus district to this facility is also unusually high compared with the other districts on the planet that have been scanned. A full 29 percent over norm." (Reply: Palmer) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:44) Kurt propped his hand on the side of the console as Donaghue explained what they knew about the building. "The Source of the Theta variance is in this area. Wavelength of 2.9x10 to the negative thirteenth power of ionizing radiation with a reading of 613 KeV at the source and decaying at the rate of 13% per kilometer over a twenty kilometer radius." ~great...~Kurt frowned. "So we'll all have to be examined." The chief muttered under his breath. Donaghue continued. "...The clustering of the readings would seem to indicate either a synthetic process or possibly a theta radiation source which is unlikely since there are very few natural sources which emit that particular wavelength. In my opinion they are the ones causing it. Power draw on the Amparus district to this facility is also unusually high compared with the other districts on the planet that have been scanned. A full 29 percent over norm." Kurt's eyes darted across the display, as he digested the report. "What are they doing?" He said blankly. "It seemed like that wasn't the only thing happening in that facility while I was scanning... If I may." Kurt tapped two buttons at the edge of the console to display a full spectrum scan over the last two hours. (Reply, Donaghue) "These spikes every 15 minutes seem to illustrate an artificial source." He paused to press the controls again. "So you're correct there Mr. Donaghue." (Reply, Donaghue) "It doesn't look like there is a consistent intensity at each spike." Kurt retrieved his tricorder from a pocket in his Cardassian disguise. "From my readings on the surface, I can only guess that it's an accidental effect from something going on in that facility." He straightened his back and ruffled his hair. ~but, what~ (Reply, Donaghue) ((Post by Cody)) (USS Spectre - Bridge - Science Officer, Brendan Donaghue - 20:45) "If I may." Brendan obligingly stepped back away from the LCARS display so that the CSO could have full access, he looked worried and with good reason. Exposure to any radiation in a sustained quantity and duration could be deadly. There wasn't much that woud be gleaned from the passive scans due to the cloak in his estimation but he might find something of interest. "These spikes every 15 minutes seem to illustrate an artificial source." He paused to press the controls again. "So you're correct there Mr. Donaghue." Brendan nodded in agreement at Palmer's synopsis of the readings, apparently there was more there than he had thought. "It doesn't look like there is a consistent intensity at each spike." The CSO retrieved a tricorder from one of his pockets. He looked strange with the Cardassian 'disguise' still on. "From my readings on the surface, I can only guess that it's an accidental effect from something going on in that facility." Brendan nodded again, the CSO's body language indicating confusion. "It will take some time but we may be able to cobble together a working theory after some more time with the sensor scans." He had returned to his relaxed position at the rail. "In the meantime however I would recommend you consider a trip to sick bay for a checkup, Theta radiation exposure is not something to be dismissed lightly." (Reply: Palmer) (Posted by Charles) (Amleth - Amparus, Secondary Terminus - Assault Team, Hevnek and Alzeth - 20:45) Alzeth was walking behind Hevnek when the latter's communicator began to beep again, they were now close to the energy reading one of the soldiers had found. "Hevnek here." Alzeth stopped and waited as the commander of the assault team answered the communicator. =^= Commander I'm in the control room, something activated upon our entrance.=^= "What..." The word had barely left Hevnek's mouth when a great wave of concussive force boomed befind them and rolled through the network of escape tunnels, Alzeth was thrown from his feet as the tunnel floor convulsed beneath him. Shouts of alarm from all around him proved that the rest had been similarly affected. The tunnel walls groaned and dirt and loose rock fell around them as Alzeth fought to his feet. Cries of alarm beat at him as he shook his head and found Hevnek stunned upon the floor, a gash on his forehead from a falling rock already oozing fresh blood. "Commander!" He shouted as he bent to his knees beside him. "Commander are you all right?" Hevnek nodded his head slowly then winced in pain as his right hand shot to his head. "I'll be all right. The men." "They must have rigged their control room to blow. I'll try to contact them but I'm not optimistic." Alzeth activated his communicator. "Scout team 3 come in." He waited for a moment before trying again, after several attempts he conceded defeat. "There's no answer." Hevnek growled then got to his feet and sent a group back along their trail to see if the tunnel had caved in behind them then tried his own communicator. "Gul Majeth this is Assault commander Hevnek." Two more tries yielded similar results. "We're not staying here." Hevnek growled after putting away the communicator. "We go forward and hope they haven't set our objective to destruct as well." Alzeth nodded and after gather the remaining men together including the walking wounded they continued forward. Reinforcements would be entering shortly and he hoped they found them alive later. (Reply: None) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Cargo Bay Two – CMO Noah/Nurse Marshal - 20:46) Marshal entered the cargo bay with the team from sickbay. She saw Noah waves her and her gurney over to Caras who was looking after a wounded security officer. She stopped beside them and knelt down beside Caras “What do you need us to do Ma’am.” (Reply Caras) As she got to work she heard Noah talking about his finger being stuffed in an artery. ~A bit rash there doctor~ He began to move out of the cargo as a comm call came from sickbay. =^=Nurse Douwsy to Dr Noah?=^= “Noah here Douwsy.” =^= have just can had a conversation with Lieutenant Palmer. He said that the away team has been exposed to small amount of theta radiation and he is on his way to sickbay to discuss it with you.=^= “Okay. We are on our way and should be with you soon.” =^=Understood see you shortly=^= Marshal looked over at Caras as she began to pushed the gurney out of the cargo bay. “Are you okay ma’am? Are you wanting to come to sickbay?” (Reply Caras) (Reply Caras, any) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:46) "In the meantime however I would recommend you consider a trip to sick bay for a checkup, Theta radiation exposure is not something to be dismissed lightly." Said Donaghue as he slouched back again. Kurt turned his head "And I should probably get out of this costume." He grinned. "If you find anything interesting give me a call." (Reply, Donaghue IYW) Kurt made his exit as he loosened the collar of his cardassian outfit. (Reply Donaghue, IYW) (Posted by Cody) (Amleth - Amparus, Underground Hanger Bay - Assault Team ,Hevnek and Alzeth - 20:48) The forward most of his men had come to a sealed portal and the soldiers milled around as Hevnek, his head wound temporarily staunched of bleeding but still sporting a nagging headache stepped to the door. "Sir there is no response from the controls." One man said from his position at the control panel. "Their control room must have been supplying the power to operate it." "Burn through it." Hevnek snapped. "We don't dare try to blow it open since the explosion, the tunnel might be unstable as it is. You, you and you." He pointed at three men. "Disruptors on maximum, the rest back away NOW." He and the others including Alzeth retreated till they had put some distance between them and the men who were simultaneously firing their weapons at the center of the massive valve. The metal began to glow shortly but it took quite nearly 30 seconds of sustained fire before the metal began to flow, finally exploding into the recess beyond. Although the opening was large enough it was several minutes before he was comfortable enough to step through, a flash taken from his belt lighting the way before him. "A ship!" Alzeth had entered behind him and trained his own flash on the vessel. "They intended on flying out, had we not been so close behind them they might have suceeded." "So that they could get shot down. " Hevnek sneered. "Maybe not," Alzeth took the scanner from a man behind him and turned it on the vessel. "They got it in here after all and i doubt it was built here." "Hmmm." Hevnek didn't sound convinced. Alzeth stepped forward and looked it over more closely as the scanner was sifting through the data. "It looks like a Federation Runabout but on a larger scale. Probably hold 10 to 15 persons, perhaps more at need. It also appears to have been heavily modified." Hevnek was moving around the ship and found the entry, he was examining it closely as Alzeth spoke again. "There is a power signature from the engine, apparently they kept it warmed up in case of emergency." "Or initiated a start-up protocol before leaving their hideout." "A possibility indeed." Alzeth nodded. "Do you see any way of getting the hatch open?" "No." Alzeth moved to stand beside his commander and trained the scanner on it. "It most likely needs a coded signal, I could try to run through a decryption program but that might be catastrophic." "Agreed." Hevnek nodded. "If it doesn't get the required signal something nasty might happen." he grated, remembering the men who had found the control room. "My thinking exactly." Alzeth agreed. "Then we leave it for now, try to find the exit." "Over here Commander." One of the soldiers cut in. He had been waiting for the conversation to come to an end. "Hanger doors on this end." Hevnek and Alzeth both moved away from the craft and turned off their flashes, the men had the hanger doors well lit. "Sappers place charges on that door." "Yes commander." Everyone moved back through the door to the hanger, followed shortly by those who had placed the charges and they all braced themselves for the explosion. Hevnek nodded to the one who was holding the control and almost instantly the loud explosion rang out, the shockwave washing over them. Fresh air greeted the assault team as they returned to the hanger and light from the setting sun flooded over them. Hevnek walked around the twisted mass of metal and looked around at the bowl of a small valley, the hanger had been set into the hillside. Pulling out his communicator he sighed. "Reserve group this is assault team commander, come in." =^= Reserve group here, where are you assault team? There was an explosion which demolished the house and caved in the entry. I lost five men who were inside at the time. Scans show the entire sub floors have caved in. What are your numbers?=^= Hevnek handed the communicator to Alzeth who had been scanning while he was talking, not however before he had counted his renaining men and shaken his head sadly. "Reserve team this is Alzeth, we are two kilometers from you, sending you our position." Hevnek took the communicator back. "Numbers of survivors is fifteen reserve team, repeat fifteen." There was silence for a moment before thereserve team replied. =^= Were you successful? =^= "No." Hevnek's reply was terse. "They beamed away. I will give a full report to the Gul." =^= Understood, we are moving now to rendezvous with you. =^= Hevnek looked around once again at his exhausted men before replying. "Very well, we'll wait here for you and there are injuries. Hevnek out." ~Over fifty percent casualties.~ he thought. ~What a disaster.~ He knew he would have to answer personally to Majeth because of this debacle and hoped he would come out of it with a full skin. Speaking of which he had a report to make. He lifted the communicator with a sigh. (Reply: None) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Kurt's Quarters - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:50) The turbolift whizzed down a few decks and after a short walk the doors to the science cheif's quarters hissed open. Before he did anything else he needed to alert sickbay. "Palmer to sickbay." (Reply, medical) "I'll be on my way down in a moment. We just discovered everyone in the landing party was exposed to a small amount of theta radiation. I would advise you to alert the medical currently in cargo bay 2." (Reply, medical) The channel closed. Kurt dragged himself across his quarters leaving his cardassian clothes in a heap on his desk. He searched through a drawer for a clean uniform. ~I can't wait to get this face off.~ Moments later, he felt a little more like himself in his teal uniform. He smoothed his hair back with both hands as he left his quarters for sickbay. (Reply, Donaghue, Medical, any) ((Post by Cody)) (USS Spectre - Deck 3- Michaella Kirien's quarters - ACouns Dr. Riven Mias and Lt. Michaella Kirien - 20:50) ::I’ll take whatever is offered in whatever order you choose,:: He sent with a grin ::I’m not in any big hurry.:: She reached behind her for a soft cloth and rose scented soap. She began to wash him slowly, sensually, enjoying every moment as she did so. He lay back and relished the bathing she was giving him, he had several days of accumulated grime to part with and was glad to see it go, he lifted his arms, linking his hands behind his head as he relaxed. She continued to wash him, scrubbing the last layer off. "You probably should report in first. I'm sure the Captain has lots of questions." Another kiss, this time to his lips, "Priest." “Mmmm.” He replied. “I suppose you’re right, Star Fleet protocols and such. I’m going to replicate myself a sandwich before I go and something to drink. I’ve had too much alcohol lately and not enough to eat and if I don’t get an energy source in me I’ll probably collapse in front of the man. Bad form that.” He then smiled as they began uncoiling from one another and exiting the tub. He did though slap one buttock lightly as she climbed out before him. She frowned at him as she crawled out of the tub, tossing him a soft warm towel. "Riven. Stay with me, here. I have huge quarters and with the girls gone, it's just me and the cats." He looked at her soberly as he dried off, she was full of surprises today. “I’m honored, certainly I’ll stay with you. If you think the cats will accept me.” He then winked at her. “I doubt there will be any problems from the Captain on that although he might raise an eyebrow.” He laughed then jovially. Michaella's smile grew wider. "Technically I'm a Priestess. That is all he needs to know." Another wink. “Of course, we’ll just be practicing religious things in your quarters.” That brought another chuckle, T’Vhor was a CO and not stupid. “He's half Betazoid. He'll understand.” “Ah yes, so you’ve told me, I’d forgotten.” He finished drying and gave her a caress on the cheek before walking nude through her quarters to a replicator where he ordered a sandwich and a soft drink, it was something he drank rarely but he would have water later, right now he needed something to wash the taste of the Romulan ale out of his mouth. She trailed after him, a soft smile on her lips. "Romulan ale huh? What a horrible drink." “Actually it’s not bad in small quantities, three cups full however in a small span of time is a bit much.” He took a bite of the sandwich followed by another drink. “When I spoke with you from the surface I was in a bar and our host insisted. The SFI agent imbibed a little too freely and passed out for a short while” He shared with her the memory of kicking the man in an effort to rouse him. Michaella draped herself in his lap, "That SFI agent needs to go clean latrines on a Klingon cruiser for endangering you." “That’s too good for him.” Riven smiled. “He took a fatalistic notion at the laxity of our security however his higher ups are as much to blame as well. I think being staked out in a bed of biting insects would be more apropos.” Michaella grinned, snatching a bite of his sandwich. "When did you leave Straton's ship? “Shortly after my purpose there was accomplished.” He shared with her his last moments on the ship with Dr. Trommashere before he transported off. Michaella brushed her cheek against his. "We should go to bed..." One might notice she did not say rest. "Or we can be good, virtuous Starfleet Officers and report in. Which I am, you know. I took the intensive course the Academy offered and earned my rank." So much innuendo. “Well reportng in was your idea, not mine.” He chuckled. We can go to BED after.” He kissed her on the lips then lifted her to her feet, caressed a shapely leg then walked toward the door, slipped on his sandals which were stiff. then shrugged on his robe with a sigh. “Ah real clothing. Now if I could just get the replicator to make a broke in set of sandals instead of always new leather. You’re coming as well?” He held out an arm for her. I have to wear a uniform." She hurried into her room and tossed a uniform on, twining her long black hair into a twist which is secured with a barrette. "Now I'm ready." She had scooped something up from her dresser, which she offered to him. On a long silver chain was the symbol of the Goddess Alura. “Why thank you, I had to leave everything behind. I hope he doesn’t insist I wear a uniform.” Riven frowned. “My robes are as much a part of my mind healing as I am along with everything I wear on my person. The other CO’s have been very understanding of this, even the Vulcan Saleke.” He placed the amulet reverently about his neck then took her arm and walked with her out the door. (reply: Any) (posted by Charles and Melinda) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 20:58) The science chief made his way into sickbay, it was just as bustling as the bridge. This was his first time in the Spectre's sickbay to receive treatment. He had skipped out on his physical after he was transferred; He felt strangely after his switch of departments. He took a few steps in before being greeted. (Reply, any medical) "Yes, Lieutenant Palmer... I called a moment ago." (Reply, medical) "Of course." He nodded and followed "Also, I know he is quite busy, so I'll ask you to pass this along to Dr. Noah." He handed the nurse a PADD (Reply, Medical) "It's the information on the radiation we picked up. If he needs it for the treatment of anyone we beamed aboard." (Reply, medical, any) ((Post by Cody)) (Amleth - Amparus, Corvus District - Cardassian Military Subpost - Gul Majeth - 20:59) The assault team had been too long out of contact and the reserve force had been cut off from reinforcing it, considering events of the last half hour the Gul had little hope of their survival. He had chewed his lip and cursed out several slow underlings including his Aide out of anger and frustration after the Federation ship had once again disappeared. The transport it had initiated while in orbit had come from the vicinity of the Federation compound, Federation because the ship's class had been noted during its sneak attack of the Galor class vessel running picket around the planet. When Hevnek had initiated contact with the reserve group Majeth had been listening in relief thanks to the control center run by the Aide he had given a memorable butt chewing to earlier. =^= Gul, the assault team is hailing you on a secure channel.=^= He tapped a button. "Patch Hevnek through." =^= Gull Majeth this is Hevnek with the assault team reporting.=^= "I hear you Hevnek, continue." =^= My apologies sir, the aliens avoided capture by beaming away.=^= "I'm aware of that Hevnek, they had a cloaked Federation ship in orbit that attacked and heavily damaged one of our ships as they retrieved their personnel. Give me the reason for your high casualty rate." There was a heavy sigh from the other end. =^= We took the lift to the lowest subterranean level and ascertained that they had already fled and followed them down an escape tunnel. My forward units encountered their rear guard over a kilometer away from their control center. I had left two units behind to search for their command center which should hold valuable information and/or data collection.=^= There was a momentary pause as Havnek spoke with his second in command. "Continue." Majeth prodded impatiently. =^= Their rear guard were in a defensible position and had us bottled up in the tunnel so I sent two units to each side to burn their way through the rock and open tunnels to outflank them.=^= Majeth nodded as he listened, so far everything was 'by the book.' =^= Shortly before their beamout they used their weaponry to close the tunnel and my team used explosives to reopen it. Before any of my units could force their way to the enemy position they had trasnported out. =^- "And your casulalties from the fire fight?" Majeth pushed. -^- Six sir, three of them wounded.=^= "And after that?" Majeth wasn't in the mood for a protracted report, every detail would be noted during the debriefing and so far he saw no major gaffes. =^= I split my team after it was obvious they had escaped, sending half my units back to the control center as we pushed forward to find their destination. Scanners showed a power source ahead. Before we reached it one of my scout teams reported entering their command center and having activated something left behind by the aliens. The explosion followed immediately afterward which destroyed them and collapsed the tunnel, trapping the men I had sent back. Their fate is unknown at this time as our scanners are not powerful enough to penetrate through a half kilometer of rock. The explosion also caused light injuries to myself and my remaining force.=^= Majeth sat back and digested this during a pause in the report. Hevnek's actions had either followed military policy or fell in a grey area that was normally allowed. The high casualty rate would necessitate a review of Majeth and everyone in his command during the action, should it become necessary Hevnek would become the sacrificial lamb. In no way would Majeth allow his own career to be derailed by the failure. =^= Our pursuit forced them to abandon their escape plans Gul which we have found.=^= Majeth's mind snapped back to the present and away from future machinations. "Which was?" =^= A small ship Gul which they had secreted in a hidden hanger two kilometers from their command center.=^= "Details!" Majeth snapped. =^= A heavily modified short range craft which would have gotten them back to Federation space had they been successful in leaving the planet. My second feels it may be equipped with a cloaking mechanism to that end.=^= "Have you tried to gain entry to it?" Majeth kept the excitement out of his voice. Their find may well have saved Hevnek's career. =^= No sir, the decision was made to leave that to specialists due to the trap they had laid for my force at the command center. -^- "Good." Majeth purred. "Return to base after you rendezvous with the reserve force, I have already assembled fresh reserve troops for excavation, search and rescue." =^= Request permission to remain behind and help in the search for my men sir.=^- "No, you and your team will be debriefed immediately upon getting here then you will rest for a minimum of twenty four hours before returning to lead the search and rescue teams." Majeth leaned back casually in the chair now that events had been wrapped up to his satisfaction. With the Federation ship in his custody now which no doubt contained something of value he was content. =^= Yes sir, thank you sir. Hevnek out.=^= Majeth then stood and went to his replicator to get something to drink, after the debriefing he would turn in and get a good, long sleep as well. (Reply: None) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CO, Captain T'Vhor - 21:00) The warp stars streaking towards them and visible now in the viewscreen were a reassuring, and conforting pause in the events of the last few days. So far they had had various key systems damaged or destroyed by the actions of one of their supposedly 'trusted' crewmembers, spent time on the Cardassian moon, Amleth seeking a renegade scientist, discovered that their own photon flux cannon had been giving their position away regardless of their cloaked status, and been fired upon by a Galor class warship intenton scattering the remains of their hull all over Amleth itself. Yes, it certainly was a reassuring and comforting pause in the events of the last few days, and with the ship now heading back to Federation territory with their elusive target now in tow, everyone it seemed had drawn a deep sigh of relief. Tsukawa had indeed excelled in her position of acting CO in the Captain's absence and for that she was to be commended, but that did not mean that the rest of the crew were beyond notice. All of them had acted in a manner befitting of the finest that Starfleet could offer... But the night was far from over. With all the reports in, damage teams on the affected systems and the ship having been taken from red alert for the first time in many hours the Captain stood and then took the opportunity to hand off the bridge to the FO. "The bridge is yours until the end of shift Commander", he voiced, "Make sure that you get some rest. You've earned it" "Thank you, Sir. But I was just doing my duty", answered the FO humbly as she moved to the chair recently occupied by the Captain, the man himself now heading for his ready room no doubt for a chat with the somewhat secretive Admiral Alexander on their latest developments. (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Alan) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CPO, Nurse Douwsy - 21:01) Douwsy turned to see a man enter sickbay wearing a science department uniform and a lieutenant J.G. pips. “Sir can I help you?” "Yes, Lieutenant Palmer... I called a moment ago." Douwsy nodded. “Yes Sir I took the call. I am sorry but Dr Noah is looking after a patient at the moment” "Of course." "Also, I know he is quite busy, so I'll ask you to pass this along to Dr. Noah." Douwys took the PADD she had been offered. Of course sir as soon as he is free I will give it to him.” "It's the information on the radiation we picked up. If he needs it for the treatment of anyone we beamed aboard." Douwsy nodded again. “I will be sure that he gets it when he’s able sir. Sir where will you be if Dr Noah needs to contact you about this.” She motioned to the PADD. (Reply Palmer) (Reply Palmer, any) ((Post by Robbie)) (USS Spectre - Sickbay - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 21:04) "It's the information on the radiation we picked up. If he needs it for the treatment of anyone we beamed aboard." Explained Kurt. The green skinned nurse acknowledged him. “I will be sure that he gets it when he’s able sir. Sir where will you be if Dr Noah needs to contact you about this.” She asked about the PADD "I'll be on the bridge. Which is where I need to be heading." Said the science chief "if I am safe to do so." He added jokingly (Reply, Douwsy IYW) And with that, turned to exit. Once the doors had swished closed he was relieved to be out of noisy activity for the moment. He looked both ways down the corridor before deciding it would be better to take a trip to his department on deck 4 before returning to the bridge. (Reply, any) ((Post by Cody)) (USS Spectre - Deck 3 - Corridor - ACouns Dr. Riven Mias and Lt. Michaella Kirien - 21:05) Michaella drifted along with Riven, just enjoying his presence. "I've been having headaches." She spoke after a few moments. "I grow dizzy and disoriented and I'm unable to separate out what is me and what is not. Our Doctor doesn't know what is causing them, but the only treatment is to shoot me so full of inhibitors I can't sense anything.” He glanced at her quickly and his eyes narrowed. “Typical medical quackery, you can’t dismiss a telepath’s headaches with inhibitors, that’s what a mind healer is for!” He then snorted as he considered all the factors he was privy to so far. “We’ll start looking into that tomorrow and see if I can’t give you some REAL relief.” She gave him a look of glee as they walked. "Bless you." “And I’ll have to have a talk with him first about your latest physical.” Riven mused, checking off the normal steps. “Just in case it’s hormonal in nature so I’ll pay him an early call.” He stepped into the lift as she gave it directions. (reply: Any) (posted by Charles and Melinda) (USS Spectre - Science - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 21:10) As he exited the lift onto the corridor Kurt's stomach growled. He gave a half smile to a passing ensign as if to say 'it's been a long day.' The corridor bent slightly to the left and he finally arrived at his office. leaning across his deak he clicked on his terminal before searching through a stack of PADDs of all sizes. He grabbed two and quickly scrolled through the reports on his desk console. ~ nothing pressing...~ Clicking the same switch his terminal shut down with a quiet chirp. He rotated to order a coffee from the replicator. ~Lets see what Donaghue has on the bridge..~ The science chief stepped towards the door to head up to the bridge. (Reply, none) ((Post by Cody)) (USS Spectre - Sickbay – CMO, Noah - 21:10) Noah entered sickbay pushed his gurney in front of him. Sickbay was in its usually hussle and bussle and he gave a slight smile as he entered. The gurney was steered beside a bio-bed and was moved onto the it and the surgical frame moved into to place. He looked at Heather who was standing opposite his ready to give assistance and gave her a nod. “Okay let’s do this. I need to get better access to be able to seal the hole properly. We’ll need laser scalpel, forceps and retractors. Then the micro sutures and the dermal regenerator.” She smiled at him as she motioned to the tray in front of him which had every thing he had asked for. “Grate thanks. Give me a hand with this.” With Heather’s help they managed to increase the size of the wound so that he could get his other hand to attach the micro sutures with out removing his fingers that were keeping the artery closed. Once it was sealed and there was no sign of leaking or excess bleeding they closed the wound with the dermal regenerator which did not leave a scar. Noah leaned back looking at their handy work and gave a satisfied nodd. “Okay Heather. You happy to keep any eye on him for the post-op period. Call me if you need anything.” With that he stepped away, took a breath and let it out slowly and glanced at the chronometer on the sickbay wall. ~ About 30 minutes that’s not to bad~ He saw Douwsy move over to him with a wicked smile. ~Oh ow what’s going on here then~ “Good to see you back Doctor.” “Thanks you Douwsy its good to me back.” He looked around sickbay only now noticing the increased security and the activation of a status chamber around one of the bio-beds. “But it looks like you have been having your own fun.” Douwsy nodded and gave him a PADD. “First this is a report from Lieutenant Palmer about the radiation treatment for the away team.” Noah looked carefully at the information on the PADD and nodded. “Okay get the away team in here for tests. If they need treatment we can start it then. Also better get the evacuees that we brought up as you are about it.” She nodded and took the PADD back. “Douwsy why do we have increased security and who’s in stasis?” Douwsy’s smile changed to a look of concern. “We found the saboteur. She was Commander Joltrue working in Ops department. They were able to apprehend her but she was rejecting her trill so she was put in stasis until you came back.” Noah gave her a strange look. “Okay so who were involved with this?” “Dr. Kirien and Corpsman Kindell.” Noah nodded. “Thanks Douwsy. You get started on the test and I’ll catch up with you later after I have had a word with Dr. Kirien and Corpsman Kindell.” He tapped his comm badge. “Dr Noah to Dr. Kirien and Corpsman Kindell would it be possible to come to sickbay at your earliest convenience to discuss a patient please.” (Reply Kirien and Kindell) (Reply Kirien and Kindell,any) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Quarters – Marine 2nd Lt Lhiannon Kindell - 21:18) Lhia had laid out on her bed, stripped of her armor, dressed only in the ship's marine uniform, boots kicked off and a pillow over her eye. Her head ached, as did her heart. It had been a very stressful day dealing with the actions of the saboteur and then the very unexpected way that it had unfolded. The confrontation with the FO had been intense, and she was beyond exhausted. They were not in a place that they could contact the Trill homeworld and speak with the caretakers who took care of the symbionts as their sacred duty. To lose a symbiont was one of the worst things that could happen. That any trill would choose to say that her symbiont was beyond redemption... It went against everything that Lhiannon had been trained to believe as a symbiont candidate and then after she had been joined with Kindell, merging and creating a new personality, the better combination of the two halves that had been made whole. She couldn't imagine what it would take for her to go against that grain and condemn her symbiont to a true death. It was horrible and left her gut twisted. She honestly couldn't tell anymore what had come with Kindell, and she could not imagine what it would be like to have the symbiosis not be a true joining instead having it be a war of personalities. That was one of the things that the caretakers did - they matched personalities very carefully before joining. There were few rejections in this day and age. To have one happen away from the homeworld... "I'm beyond exhausted. I should probably make an appointment to speak with one of the counsellor's before this consumes me..." She spoke aloud, the pillow over her face muffling the sounds. And then that silence was interrupted. Noah wanted to speak with her. The corpsman did not know him well, she had only met him once and that had not been a fantastic meeting. This would either go well or terribly. "Aye Sir." She spoke, tapping her commbadge, "I just went off duty, give me a few minutes to grab a meal and change into a clean uniform and I'll be down to sickbay in the next quarter hour. If that is fine with you, Sir." She waited for an answer, her commbadge line still open as she stripped out of her sweat soaked uniform and into something clean. (reply Noah, any) (posted by Mel.) (USS Spectre – Bridge – Dr. Michaella Kirien - 21:20) Michaella and Riven had taken the long way towards the Bridge as she had been giving him a bit of a tour along the way. He was soothing, and it made her smile to be in the calming presence of the other Priest. They had a very joyous reunion, the first time Michaella had spent time romantically since Devan Sash. :: I imagine our Goddess is quite rejoiceful over that reunion.:: Her mind brushed against his, the smile tugging on the edges of her lips. And then the peace was shattered by the shrill (to Michaella) sound of the commbadge announcing that Noah desired her. "Dr. Kirien here, Doctor. How can I help you?" It had to be about the trill that was in stasis. ::Work calls. We have a very rare case of a trill long since joined for over a decade is rejecting her symbiont completely. It isn't something that I am looking forward to dealing with as I do not believe that you can stop the rejection once it sent in. Oddly enough for a trill, she was the saboteur apparently. Something about the case doesn't seem to add up. So would you like to come and provide your professional expertise? Got to be more interesting than visiting the Captain.:: Michaella waited for a response from Riven before she headed towards sickbay. With or without him, she was being called back to duty. Which wasn't exactly fair as Michaella was exhausted from having to serve as the intermediary between the planet and the ship. Soon enough she would be in sickbay and back to work. Being with Riven had energized her some, but for the most part she was running on fumes. (reply Riven, any) (posted by Melkitty.) (USS Spectre – Quarters – Science Officer, Amari Riya & ACOUNS Elani Caras - 21:20) Amari fell onto her bed, literally. She had been on duty all day it seemed, and part of that day was spent doing things that she didn't really enjoy or feel competent doing. She was a biologist, she specialized in plants and she was incredibly good at her job. Having spent so much time with security she felt useless. The only thing she had felt competent doing was programming the security replicator with her smoothie recipes. One of which that handsome security officer had really liked. ~Well, at least you were useful for that. And to be honest, you weren't terrible, you helped them and they badly needed another set of hands and you did that. You weren't awful. But I feel awful.~ She didn't realize how loudly she was projecting, she often wasn't since she was only a half Betazoid. A brush across her thoughts soothed the conflict and self-doubt. ::Shhh Amy, It's all right. It's just been a long day. Let me help you relax and sleep like I have in the past.:: Elani's voice was bright and cheerful and calming. It usually was. They weren't far apart quarterswise, so she often heard Amari. Amari concentrated the way that Elani was teaching her, narrowing her 'voice' to just be heard by her and not adding to the psionic background noise. She wasn't as good with receiving thoughts as she was with projecting, which most of the Betazoids on board accepted with grace and compassion, especially since Amari was taking lessons in using her abilities. ::Ellie, I like him. Like, LIKE him. But I don't know what to do. What if he says no after seeing how incompetent I was with them today?:: ::You are too hard on yourself my friend. You just ask him to join you for a drink in ten-forward or you ask him to visit on the holodeck for a meal. And trust me when I say this, but you are your worst critic. If you were as useless as you think yourself, do you expect that they would have caught the saboteur? After all, they did and it took everyone working together to find her.:: Elani's voice changed again. ::Now close your eyes and relax. There is nothing that you need to do right now, nowhere that you need to be. Just relax and let your mind go blank and...:: Ellie's voice grows softer, ::Just like that, and sleep.:: Slowly the other telepath nudged her friend into sleep, withdrawing carefully. She knew that Michaella's friend, the mind healer, Riven, would be able to tell what she had just done and would likely come to have a talk with her. Ellie was a little nervous about that, but that was a battle for another day. She too needed sleep badly even if it just was an hour long nap. (reply none) (posted by Mel) (USS Spectre – Bridge – ACOUNS Dr. Riven Mias - 21:21) The walk had been soothing to the mind healer as he followed her through the crews mess, past the counseling offices and taking a look at the recreation areas. Engineering had been in a bit of a tither about some repairs and he wasn't really interested in the 'nuts and bolts' of the ship at this point. Science labs and hydroponics weren't his forte' either but he had been curious, especially about the Arboretum. The bridge was set up like most any other bridge though his trained eyes did make note of the TIHS interactive holographic system pad at the Tactical station. The Prometheus class cruiser of which the Hades was one had sported such a technological breakthrough and judging from the system's effectiveness was well worth the time spent on it. As he and Michaella looked about he noticed some other differences of course from the other ships he had been on notably the Mystique which had been roughly the same size as this vessel. An urgent message from sickbay though interrupted the tour. After speaking with them she turned to look at him. ::Work calls. We have a very rare case of a trill long since joined for over a decade is rejecting her symbiont completely. It isn't something that I am looking forward to dealing with as I do not believe that you can stop the rejection once it sent in. Oddly enough for a trill, she was the saboteur apparently. Something about the case doesn't seem to add up. So would you like to come and provide your professional expertise? Got to be more interesting than visiting the Captain.:: ::It certainly sounds serious. I believe he will be understanding under the circumstances if I'm late to speak to him. Perhaps tomorrow would be a better time anyway unless he calls me up first .:: He took her arm and turned with her to the door then stepped into the lift. (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO, Noah - 21:22) =^=Aye Sir.=^= =^=I just went off duty, give me a few minutes to grab a meal and change into a clean uniform and I'll be down to sickbay in the next quarter hour. If that is fine with you, Sir.=^= Noah nodded and gave a slight smile. “Not a problem Lieutenant Kindell I will see you when you get here.” Noah stepped to the replicator and ordered himself a drink. He sipped it as he looked around sickbay taking in all that was happening and prioritising what he needed to do. Yes the trill and the symbiot were important but all the other patients in sickbay. He took the last sip of his drink and placed it back in the replicator as the sickbay doors opened. He looked over to see Mias and Kirien enter sickbay. They were talking to each other as Noah headed over to them. “Dr Mias I was just going to comm you. The away has been exposed to Theta radiation so I need a blood sample to check the levels if that is okay?” (Reply Mias) He then looked at Kirien. “Dr Kirien thank you for coming down. I have had a quick up date about the patient and Lieutenant Kindell will be down shortly so you can get me up to speed with the patient.” (Reply Kirien) (Reply Kirien, Mias, any) (Posed by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – ACOUNS, Dr. Riven Mias - 21:24) Riven nodded at the sketchy information Michaella was able to give him on the patient which wasn't much. He hadn't expected a lot though, from what she had told him no one had been aware in the slightest that she had been having any 'issues' nor had there been any evidence that Joltrue had been behind the sabotage. The fact that Joltrue had suggested the symbiont not be allowed to continue was no proof either way, whether it had been the Trill or the Symbiont behind the attacks. Had the Symbiont been resisting her sabotage or had it been the other way around? Hopefully they would soon find out and that was what he was nominally here for. As a mind healer he had extensive experience in dealing with emotional issues, diagnosing and treating them. The sobering thought though was that Joltrue herself appeared to have little chance of continuing to live and the symbiont without a host would soon die as well which meant that not one but two life forms was at risk. He sighed in exasperation and brought his left hand to his head, shifting his long, white hair away from that side of his face since it had been getting close to his eye. He was tired, bone tired after having hardly slept but for a nap here or there over the course of three days and the ordeal had still not yet reached its climax. As he brushed his hair back the charms woven into small diameter braids hidden beneath the exterior locks chimed in discordant notes. Due to his highly empathic nature the chimes themselves and the crystals refracting and throwing off the light in sickbay were highly attuned to his emotional state and captured and amplified it which was extremely useful in his profession. That empathic link he naturally fell into with those around him didn't change the notes or the light but the emotional connotation they gave off. When Riven was his normal happy self the chimes gave off cheery notes to the listener and the glints of light were soothing, when he was in turmoil however they had quite the opposite effect. This didn't happen often due to his normally upbeat and merry self. “Dr Mias I was just going to comm you. The away has been exposed to Theta radiation so I need a blood sample to check the level if that is okay?” Riven's eyes snapped around to see Dr. Noah hurrying over to him, his fatigue appeared to be getting the better of him as he had not noticed the CMO until he was almost upon them. "Of course doctor." He snapped out of the funk he had been in pretty quickly and the movement of his head had sent the charms to sounding again, this time with a more upbeat and soothing note. "Just don't report my blood alcohol level please; I don't want to set a bad example." He chuckled at his own joke; of course anything found would be available to the command crew. (Reply Noah, Michaella) He then waited as the doctor greeted Michaella, after they had finished speaking and as the Noah was preparing to take a blood sample he rolled up the sleeve on his left arm. "While you are at it would you mind giving me a stimulant please? The last few days have caught up to me with a vengeance and it appears we have a long night ahead of us. Also when you have time later I need to speak with you about another of your patients if you will." (Reply Noah) "Yes it's about Michaella, she says you have been giving her inhibitors due to headaches she has been having and would like me to look into her telepathic issues. In order to do that I need to have a physical report to compare to Betazoid norms." (Reply Noah) "Of course." Riven made a gesture of negation with his right hand. "We have more important matters to consider first and it can wait until tomorrow if necessary. I understand you have quite a lot on your plate right now." (Reply Noah, Michaella) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre – Deck 3, Sickbay – ACOUNS Dr. Riven Mias - 21:25) "So do you know the patient personally?" Riven asked her as they stepped to the doors to medical which opened obediently before them. (Reply Michaella) He nodded as they stepped in which reminded him he also needed to speak with the CMO at some point, if it was possible tonight he would get that out of the way so he could begin working with Michaella on her telepathic issues. First though they had a very troubled patient to deal with. (Reply Michaella, Medical) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – Dr. Michaella Kirien - 21:27) "No, I don't know her personally. She's a Commander in OPS and is rather well respected by her co-workers from what we can tell. She was the saboteur that I spoke of. When we found her, a marine who happens to be a joined trill knew immediately that she was rejecting the symbiont." By that point they had entered sickbay and Noah had joined them. Michaella quickly repeated what little she knew about the case. "I think the first thing we should do is get her out of stasis as soon as we have a volunteer to take the symbiont." Then Lt. Kindell had joined them just in time to hear what Michaella had said. "It's a strange case, whenever this rarely happened, it was on Trill and there were caretakers to handle this. The symbiont must be preserved. Despite what Kilya said, I don't have the authority to comply with her request." "Is it possible that if we take her out of stasis that we might get a sense of what is Kilya and what is Joltrue?" Michaella asked looking at Riven as she asked this. Kindell shrugged. "I wish I had an answer to that. She's rejecting the symbiont, so perhaps. What do you sense when you probe me? You have my permission, both of you." (reply Riven, Noah) (posted by Mel) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO, Noah - 21:29) "Just don't report my blood alcohol level please; I don't want to set a bad example." Noah smiled which helped to relieve some of the tension that had been building all day. “Don’t worry Dr Mias your seceat will be safe with me” He then looked over at Dr Kirien as she began to speak. (Reply Kirien) As they were waiting for Lieutenant Kindell to arrive he decided to take the blood sample from Mias as he was here. So he grabbed and trolley which had the appropriate equipment in on it and began to take the sample. "While you are at it would you mind giving me a stimulant please? The last few days have caught up to me with a vengeance and it appears we have a long night ahead of us. Also when you have time later I need to speak with you about another of your patients if you will." Noah nodded as he picked up a hyposray and inserted a vile of stimulant. “Not a problem. Just be aware they will only work for a few hours before your body will crash whether you like it or not.” He looked over at Kirien as he mentioned about her and nodded. “I guess its about Dr Kirien?” "Yes it's about Michaella, she says you have been giving her inhibitors due to headaches she has been having and would like me to look into her telepathic issues. In order to do that I need to have a physical report to compare to Betazoid norms." He paused for a moment before placing the hyposrpay to Mias neck and pressing the button. He was not one of those doctors that shunned anything that was not scientific medicine but he had not much experience with telepathic medicine and was a bit weary of it. ~Don’t be such stuck up. If this helps Michaella that just get over your self and help her~ “That would be good. We can all get together and go over what we know.” "Of course." "We have more important matters to consider first and it can wait until tomorrow if necessary. I understand you have quite a lot on your plate right now." Noah grinned. “This is a quiet shift, you should see it when we are very busy.” He stepped back moving his equipment out of the way. “Now take it and try not to over do it. Those stimulants in your system will wear off in a few hours. If you get the shakes or a headache they are normal but come back and I’ll give you something for them.” (Reply Mias) He looked back at Kirien and smiled. “Right then as soon as Lieutenant Kindell gets here we can get going.” (Reply Kirien) (Reply Mias, Michaella, any) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre - Captain's Ready Room - CO, Captain T'Vhor - 21:30) "Orange juice, chilled to four degrees", said the Captain, and the replicator performed it's molecular magic to deliver his beverage in mere seconds. The Captain then took it from the recepticle and moved towards his desk to take a seat, the glare of the monitor upon it hurting his eyes just a little. It had been a relief to finally peel away all of the Doctor's alterations from his face and body, the appearance of a Cardassian not quite sitting so well with his Betazoid heritage and a constant reminder of his time as a resistance fighter during the occupation of Bajor by that particular race. Indeed, despite the discipline of his Vulcan side, he still suffered flashbacks to some of the more horrific acts he had witnessed during that time. Taking a sip of his juice though, he settled back into his chair after opening a coded subspace channel to Starfleet and awaiting the familiar face of Alexander to appear upon his screen. One minute later however and the Admiral's countenance was still not there. Perhaps he was otherwise indisposed, no doubt he would get back to him as soon as he was able to but considering the nature of their recent discussions and the fact that the Admiral had specifically requested regular updates, it seemed a little odd that he was not at least responding. The Captain raised an eye brow in a typical Vulcan manner, then just as he was about to close the channel a face that he did not recognise appeared on the screen. A woman, her expression blank and somewhat bland, although she was certainly not a Vulcan! "Who am I adressing?", enquired the Captain. "Where is Admiral Alexander?" =/\=The Admiral is not available at the moment Captain=/\= came the response, =/\=I am the Admiral's aid, I can assist you in any way that the Admiral can=/\= The Captain leaned forwards in his chair, the fingertip of his hands coming together on the desk before him. "It is important that I speak to the Admiral personally. If I am unable to do so then I am afraid that I must wait until such time as he returns", said the Captain. The woman smiled for the first time since she had begun talking. It seemed guarded, thinly veiled and somewhat insincere. Not at all what one would expect from a trained aid. =/\=I am afraid that the Admiral is going to be away for some time, Captain. Are you sure that I cannot relay a message? I will be certain to get it to him=/\= The Captain pondered her offer just briefly, perhaps more than just a few seconds. Something was not right. He couldn't put his finger on it but.... "No, that will not be necessary", he answered. "I will contact the Admiral at a later time. Perhaps he will return before you expect" The woman simply nodded. =/\=Perhaps. Then I shall bid you good day, Captain=/\= The monitor then returned to the familiar Starfleet logo, the Captain settling back into his seat once again to take another, pensive sip of his orange juice. Then he opened a channel. "First Officer Tsukawa and Lieutenant Kerge, please report to my ready room as soon as you are able" (Reply Tsukawa, Kerge) (Reply Tsukawa, Kerge) (Posted by Alan) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – ACouns, Dr. Riven Mias - 21:30) Riven nodded gratefully to Dr. Noah after he had received the stimulant. “Now take it and try not to overdo it. Those stimulants in your system will wear off in a few hours. If you get the shakes or a headache they are normal but come back and I’ll give you something for them.” "Of course Doctor." Riven let the sleeve fall back down his arm and took a deep breath as the marine Kindell walked in and made a beeline for their group. It had only been a matter of seconds but the drug was already coursing through his system and reviving his flagging energy level and he was becoming more alert. What was the term Earthlings used, a buzz? This must be what it felt like though more muted. For example there was no tunnel vision involved nor was there any disorientation, merely a heightened state of alert. "I think the first thing we should do is get her out of stasis as soon as we have a volunteer to take the symbiont." Michaella spoke. Riven himself however was all for taking a more cautious approach to the situation. If the symbiont itself was insane and unmanageable then exposing a volunteer to it in his professional opinion would be a flagrant violation of the volunteer's health and safety. He was quite aware there was a strict time limit on this to save the symbiont but not at the expense of harm to another. Lt. Kindell joined their group as well. "It's a strange case, whenever this rarely happened, it was on Trill and there were caretakers to handle this. The symbiont must be preserved. Despite what Kilya said, I don't have the authority to comply with her request." "Is it possible that if we take her out of stasis that we might get a sense of what is Kilya and what is Joltrue?" Michaella had turned to Riven and presented the question to him. "Of course." Dr. Mias replied. "Though the consciousness of a joined Trill becomes a seamless entity it is still made up of two entirely separate individuals. I see no reason either could not be contacted directly. It is just a matter of how much time it would take to sift through the combined overmind to trace the individual minds back to their source. In the case of Joltrue however from what I have heard her consciousness has very much waned and should be easily separated. The symbiont should be much stronger and I would endeavor to ascertain its status before forming an opinion on the wisdom of placing it into another host." (Reply: Michaella, Kindell, Noah) "I wish I had an answer to that. She's rejecting the symbiont, so perhaps. What do you sense when you probe me? You have my permission, both of you." Riven turned his head to look back at the recumbent Joltrue before returning his attention to Kindell, the charms woven into his hair giving off muted sounds. "I see no reason it would not be helpful to give me an idea of what I will be dealing with. If you don't mind just relax, you don't need to do anything." (Reply: Kindell) Riven closed his eyes and opened his mind and began to probe the overmind of Kindell gently, allowing some of her thoughts and memories to interact with his own. The relationship she had with her own symbiont was indeed seamless and their overmind projected calm and purpose. The symbiont itself had taken over much of the function of her internal organs thus making them far more efficient and resistant to disease and damage. Finding the individual threads of consciousness was not difficult as the symbiont was not shy in allowing itself to be noted owing no doubt to the fact it was trying to be helpful. There were many facets to its consciousness that Riven found to be strange and alien but that was to be expected since he had never interacted personally with one before. There was a sharing of information and consciousness for a moment with the symbiont before he gave it his thanks and began to withdraw. He opened his eyes once more and smiled at Kindell. "Your symbiont is quite charming and extremely helpful. I must say I went from knowing nothing about the Trill symbiosis to understanding quite a bit more than I had expected I would. Thank you for your help." (Reply: Kindell) Riven then turned back to Michaella and Noah. "Let me be clear about something before you take Joltrue out of stasis. It is my highest calling to save lives, quite like Dr. Noah's and if we can save the symbiont it is much to be desired and I will do everything in my power to do so. However....." He gave them a long look in turn during the lengthy pause. "If the symbiont is insane then any volunteer would enter into symbiosis with it at great personal risk. The symbiont and host enter not only into a joining of minds and consciousness but also in shared duties of the hosts internal systems. So much so that extricating a deranged symbiont from the host will result in the host's death. I understand you both know of this and must have considered the ethical questions involved. I have no idea what might cause a symbiont's insanity, whether it might be biological or neurological in nature, nor therefore do I know how such a thing might be resolved. My work is as a mind healer, I deal with telepaths and how to bring aberrant gifts under control and give emotional counseling. I have some understanding of biochemical processes that affect these things as well. I can NOT forcibly change a mental or emotional beings nature due to my own oaths and would not do so. If I determine that the symbiont is insane and a danger to any prospective host then I will be on record as against any movement of that symbiont to a new host. Have I made myself clear?" (Reply: Michaella, Kindell, Noah) Riven waited for them to consider the matter amongst themselves for a moment, after they appeared to have come to a consensus he folded his arms across his chest and put on a guarded expression. "What have you decided then? Do you wish to take her out of stasis then have me contact the symbiont under the conditions I outlined?" (Reply: Michaella, Kindell, Noah) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre – Sickbay – CMO, Noah - 21:35) "Of course." "Though the consciousness of a joined Trill becomes a seamless entity it is still made up of two entirely separate individuals. I see no reason either could not be contacted directly. It is just a matter of how much time it would take to sift through the combined overmind to trace the individual minds back to their source. In the case of Joltrue however from what I have heard her consciousness has very much waned and should be easily separated. The symbiont should be much stronger and I would endeavor to ascertain its status before forming an opinion on the wisdom of placing it into another host." Noah nodded. “We need to know all the facts before carry on. If Jolture is rejecting the symbiont then we need to know why.” He looked over at Kindell. “Could it be some kind of infection that could cause Jolture to rejects the symbiont as in organ transplant rejection?” (Reply: Michaella, Kindell) "I wish I had an answer to that. She's rejecting the symbiont, so perhaps. What do you sense when you probe me? You have my permission, both of you." "I see no reason it would not be helpful to give me an idea of what I will be dealing with. If you don't mind just relax, you don't need to do anything." Noah watched intrigued as Mias talked to Kindell. He new the basics on trill and symbiont connection as he had been brining himself up to speed every since he had been assigned to the Spectre but reading about it and seeing first hand was something totally different. "Your symbiont is quite charming and extremely helpful. I must say I went from knowing nothing about the Trill symbiosis to understanding quite a bit more than I had expected I would. Thank you for your help." (Reply: Kindell) "Let me be clear about something before you take Joltrue out of stasis. It is my highest calling to save lives, quite like Dr. Noah's and if we can save the symbiont it is much to be desired and I will do everything in my power to do so. However....." Noah nodded he understood where Mais was going with this. "If the symbiont is insane then any volunteer would enter into symbiosis with it at great personal risk. The symbiont and host enter not only into a joining of minds and consciousness but also in shared duties of the hosts internal systems. So much so that extricating a deranged symbiont from the host will result in the host's death. I understand you both know of this and must have considered the ethical questions involved. I have no idea what might cause a symbiont's insanity, whether it might be biological or neurological in nature, nor therefore do I know how such a thing might be resolved. My work is as a mind healer, I deal with telepaths and how to bring aberrant gifts under control and give emotional counseling. I have some understanding of biochemical processes that affect these things as well. I can NOT forcibly change a mental or emotional beings nature due to my own oaths and would not do so. If I determine that the symbiont is insane and a danger to any prospective host then I will be on record as against any movement of that symbiont to a new host. Have I made myself clear?" Noah looked at Kindell, Kirien , be paused looking at Joltrue before turning to Mais. “Dr Mais. We are all professional no matter our personal views or feeling about the matter and we would not endanger any one if it was not deemed absolutely necessary” (Reply: Michaella, Kindell) . "What have you decided then? Do you wish to take her out of stasis then have me contact the symbiont under the conditions I outlined?" Noah looked at Joltrue and gave a soft sigh before speaking. “I am the Chief Medical Officer and no matter what we decide to do next it is my responsibility what ever the out come is now or later. I know that dose not really matter because we are all good, honest and decent people who only want to do what is right for the people under our care.” He glanced at Mais and gave a slight smile. “But as we are doing it for the record I though that I should state it plan and clearly.” He looked back at the Kindell, Kirien and Mais. “But I am not egotistical enough to think that I know all the answers or know enough about Trill and symbiont connection. That is why we are here but I want a definite answer before we do anything else. That is my opinion.” (Reply Kindell, Kirien, Mais) (Reply Kindell, Kirien, Mais, any) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre – Deck 10, Ten Forward - ACEO Jake Haltom - 21:50) Jake sat down at a table with a sigh and leaned back in the chair, being able to relax after the day he had just gone through was exquisite. He let his eyes wander about the lounge as he waited for the waiter to come to his table with a glass of ice water which he accepted thankfully. "You're here a bit late aren't you" The woman asked conversationally and he nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, things have been a bit crazy in engineering as you probably already know." He had already noted that the lounge was sparsely occupied which was to be expected. It was an unusual hour to be out and about for recreation. "Yes I've heard." She gave him a smile. "What can I get you to drink?" "A beer." He winked at the brunette. "A tall one in a frosty mug. I'll order my dinner when you get that to me." "I'll be right back with that then." She said brightly and moved off, his eyes tracking her movements for a moment before snapping back to his surroundings. He mused over his order as he waited for her to return, since talking with Scott earlier he found himself hungry for beef and nothing less, the problem was that any steak he got onboard was going to be replicated. ~Yuch~ The thought was unappetizing but his stomach still growled at the possibility of a good cut of prime steer. "I'ts the same with the beer, no difference." He muttered, trying to talk himself over the hump. "It's synthehol, not real beer so what's the difference?" "It still has a good flavor, top shelf." The girl said brightly as she appeared at his elbow. He flinched at her unexpected appearance and then laughed at himself. "I'm just trying to talk myself into a steak. Have you ever had a cut of real beef?" "It's been a while." She gave him a wink as she set his frosted glass on the table atop a napkin. "Last time was on Earth a couple of years ago. It was too pink and I had to send it back." He gave an exaggerated shiver and chuckled. "You must like yours well done." He picked up the cold glass and took a quick sip, it was smooth all right with just a bit of tartness. "Medium well but not dry." The girl said with a wink. "Now what would you like?" He sighed and took the dive. "I'll take an inch thick T-Bone medium rare with mashed potatoes and black eyed peas." "Anything on your mashed potatoes?" "Cream gravy." He said with a smile as he took another sip. "Would you like a salad and bread with that?" "Yes, make that a caesar salad and dinner roll. I'll take the salad first." "I'll be back with that." She smiled and flounced off again, this time his eyes followed her a bit longer before jerking back to the table before him where he used them to study the liquid in his glass. He took another sip, this one longer. It tasted hoppy like a beer should. If you could overlook the fact that there was no alcohol in it the beverage was very enjoyable so he gave himself over to savoring it. The only problem was it made him want a shot of whiskey as a chaser, he'd mentioned that to Scott as well hadn't he? "Don't talk about stuff you can't have." He chided himself. "You just make yourself want it." In fact he did have a bottle in his room he'd been saving for a special occasion, it looked like tonight would be a good time to crack it open and take a nip. (Reply: Any) (Posted by Charles) (USS Spectre - Bridge - CSO lt. jg. Kurt Palmer - 21:56) Kurt straightened his uniform as the turbolift brought him up to the bridge. He was glad to be wearing a clean uniform instead of his Cardassian disguise. ~Now if I could just only get out of this face~ The chief walked out onto the bridge to resume his work. He took a seat at the science console. The computer had finished piecing together all the sensor readings of the surface. Kurt tapped around for a few moments before zooming in on an area of the map that peaked his interest. ~ah!~ The map turned sideways revealing what looked like another small complex underground. Kurt pressed a few more buttons hoping to clean up the vague picture. "Hey, Donaghue..." The chief motioned him to come over. "Look at this." (Reply, Donaghue) "Just over 2 kilometers from facility number one, but 5 kilometers underground." He tapped the console as the computer loaded a clearer outline. (Reply, Donaghue) "Looks like they could be tunnels." He furrowed his brow (Reply, Donaghue, Any) ((Post by Cody)) (USS Spectre - Bridge – Science Officer, Brendan Donaghue - 21:58) Brendan was at one of the auxiliary consoles on the bridge running a scan of the area as they warped through. Stellar phenomena, ambient microwave background, radiation sources and verifying star maps and spatial coordinates scrolled down the screen as he watched and checked for any anomalies. The ship had settled back to normal operations after they had slipped away from the Cardassian system but since they had not yet returned to Federation space the crew was still under yellow alert until the captain was satisfied of its safety. So far nothing out of norm to report or log. He settled back in the chair with a sigh and spotted a yeoman walking around with a coffee tray and motioned her over, as he took the cup he heard the CSO call out his name. He thanked the woman and kept his eyes averted from her legs politely as she moved off then jumped up as he answered. “Coming Chief.” A few strides and he was coming upon science main, there was a 3D rendering on the display that Chief Palmer was studying closely. “What have we got here?” "Just over 2 kilometers from facility number one, but 5 kilometers underground." Palmer entered a command with deft fingers and the complex became clearer. “Underground? Hmmm.” Brendan took a cautious sip of the coffee which was still warm but not scalding. The flavor was neutral to compliment as many palates as possible but toned down to avoid bitterness. Still it would have been nice to be able to choose an accompanying flavor but when confined to the bridge you either stuck with what you got or ordered your own. “A series of caverns do you think?” He asked. "Looks like they could be tunnels." Palmer leaned closer to the screen as Brendan moved to the side. “It makes sense and fits in with our preliminary theory.” Brendan took a more sizable sip, trying not to slurp.“If what we found there is military in nature then they could be using the tunnels to move equipment around, underground storage or just for a hiding place. Without pinpoint scans these areas could be easily overlooked if you’re not actively targeting the facility.” (Reply: Palmer) “It makes me curious.” Brendan mused as he stood a couple of feet from the Chief’s shoulder to give him room. “Whether the Cardassian’s have found some Malon tech or are developing their own. It’s so damned poisonous though you think anyone in their right mind would refuse to have anything to do with it.” (Reply: Palmer) (Posted by Charles) ===================================================================== Mission: Inimicus Invisa Day: 6 Stardate: 2414.10.06 (Betazed – Park – Vanyssa Winters and Ketal - 10:30) Betazed was beautiful this time of year. The trees were blooming, the flowers scented the air and the waterfall made a tinkling sound that was counterpoint to the sounds of laughter, children playing and somewhere distant a musician playing on some sort of woodwind instrument. the notes seemed to hover in the air, traveling around the water, making those gathered out on this spring shining day smile as they looked from one to another. Few words were exchanged as was usual to those who lived on this beautiful planet. The Occupation had been terrible, but they had all survived and rebuilt. And so, it came to be that there were 3 people gathered on a blanket underneath the shade of one of the blossoming trees. A red headed Betazoid woman with unusual blue eyes, a half betazoid teenager with golden-brown hair and the race's typical dark eyes and a Vulcan/human hybrid named Ketal who's head was laid back on his hands as he dozed next to the woman under the tree, his black, short hair throwing off glints of sunlight which sometimes peeked through the overhanging canopy. Jennah, the teenager, had a book open and was reading love poetry aloud to her parents as they sat there. It was a comedic affair in some instances, for example the Cardassian poem was vastly amusing to the teenager, while Vanyssa couldn't help but laugh here and there. In one breath she was giggling, in the next aloud out of deference to Ketal she was chiding her adopted daughter on her lack of respect towards other races. Betazoids prided themselves on their tolerances towards other races, but even Vanyssa could not deny that some of these poems lost a little, well a lot, of something in the translation. Ketal stirred and gave a yawn as he opened his eyes, the day was warm and perfect for resting. He gave a slight smile at the girl's happy prose as she read from the book. He could feel Vanyssa's laughter roll around inside him and it added to the beauty of the day. He rolled onto his left side as he got his elbow beneath him and looked over at the two. He had grown within himself these last few years, coming to terms with the dichotomy of his nature. He had found a happy medium where the Vulcan teachings gave way to the expression of his emotions at times like this. No more fighting with his emotions but enjoying their complexity and the pleasure they brought. Jennah squealed aloud as a Betazoid boy flicked a pebble towards her, then took off running. Dropping the book she took off after him, shouting, "Jarit! I'll get you!" Vanyssa moved closer to Ketal while she smiled after their daughter. "She's your daughter you know." Vanyssa teased in a serious tone, "And weren't you supposed to teach her not to respond to boyish taunts like that?" Vanyssa's mind had been shattered when she had destroyed the aliens that had inhabited her ship, joining the psionic talents of the entire ship together. Ketal had found her, and taken her first to Geneva but then to Betazed after the Civil War. And it was here that she had truly recovered. "And what makes you think I haven't" He quirked an eyebrow at her then winked, an act which seemed so out of place on a Vulcan's face. "And she listens. Putting it into practice is something she has not yet mastered." Vanyssa wiggled, quite undignified for a Starfleet Captain, so that her head was in his lap. Her fingers sought his and they twined together. "You saved our lives you know. Had I died, she would have pined herself to death. After her parents, her aunt, David...and then me." She sighs, remembering how he had held her mind to his and how he had refused to let her go, no matter what the pain had been and there had been quite a bit of that before the Temple had dispatched a mind healer to tend to her. He leaned back again, pulling her back with him so that her head rested against his chest with their hands entwined. "I needed you as much as you needed me and I was not going to allow you to leave. It was a simple matter." He knew it was not though, because of the link they had shared he had clung to the barest thread of her life force after the battle, from there to Geneva and from Geneva to Betazed, never once allowing it to slip away even though the medical staffs had given up hope. Here though and perhaps on Vulcan were the only places where her Katra could be separated from his and returned to her body. Here on Betazed though they had the knowledge to strengthen her diminished katra and rebuild her psyche completely. It had been a haunting, draining experience but in the end was more than worth it because of the life they could now share. He had known it was possible due to his knowledge of Vulcan and had kept up the fight to bring her here till his demands had finally been met. (Posted by Charles and Melinda) ========================================================================= Mission: Inimicus Invisa Day: 8 Stardate: 2414.10.08 (USS Spectre - Bridge - CO, Captain T'Vhor - 14:35) "Helm, take us out of warp and slow to One quarter impulse", ordered the Captain, the Tactical officer having already informed him that Starbase 19 had just responded to their subspace request to dock. It seemed also that an old friend was awaiting them, the result of a request from Doctor Noah to be granted leave to attend an important matter on the Ornaran homeworld. The Captain would be pleased to welcome the old CMO aboard again. (Reply Helm) The Captain then turned to the First Officer. "Inform the crew that we will be at Starbase 19 for a few days only. Any that wish to do so may avail themselves of the recreational services the base as to offer for that duration, but they must be available for departure by 18:00hrs on the day of departure.", said the Captain. "Is your report complete?" he added, almost as an afterthought. "Aye Sir", said Tsukawa, "my report has been finalised and it will be ready for the debrief as soon as you require it", she added. The Captain nodded and then addressed the Helm once more as Starbase 19 came into view, a welcoming friendly face for sure considering their location a few days beforehand. "Sir, Starbase 19 is signalling we are clear to dock at the upper pylon 4", said the Tactical officer from beyond, and the Captain responded accordingly. "Take us in Mr Smith. Reduce speed to One Eighth impulse once we clear the outer marker and proceed as requested. Hand off to station control once navigation has the beam" (Reply Helm) The ship then turned to port just slightly as the stations automatic approach systems came online to guide the ship in. All that was required to do then was to switch to maneouvering thrusters once the station handed off again. (Reply Helm, Any) (Posted by Alan) (StarBase 19 - ACSO, Ensign (jg) Stephen Carmody - 21:00) The freshly minted Ensign (jg) Stephen Carmody had just arrived at Starbase 19, on route to his new assignment with the USS Spectre. He was filled with anticipation, and could barely wait to get underway. But at the same time, there was a bit of nervous trepidation about the whole thing too. Despite his previous experience on a large galaxy-class starship, the Spectre represented the things about Starfleet, necessary things, he knew, that were less desirable to a man of science. The Spectre deployed a kind of cloaking technology, and had a complement of Marines, that spoke of major mission emphases that were military in nature. That made most missions less scientific, at least to his mind. It wasn’t that he was a pacifist, particularly, it was just simply that exploration and scientific discovery are the reasons he joined Starfleet in the first place. At the present moment, he was trying to find the docking bay that would take him to the Spectre. Once that was located, it was just a matter of transferring aboard. He’d taken the time to look over the crew manifest, and noticed that his new work colleagues represented the very best in diversity and skill. He wondered, too, how he would fit in with his new mates. Carmody enjoyed working alone, especially on research tasks that excited him. But he was also aware that collaborative efforts are what made starships go, and he enjoyed the interaction between himself and other scientists, and also other officers and other departments. So he felt qualified, from a work function standpoint, to integrate within the ship’s community without any difficulties at all. As always happened, whenever he thought of a positive aspect of some work related possibility, immediately there crowded into his mind some negatives that he experienced. For the moment, that negative was his ill-advised challenge to the chief medical officer of his previous ship placement to a duel. The emotionally-wrought Carmody, suffering from the effects of the love triangle between himself, the CMO, and the ship’s counselor, knew somewhere in his brain that what he was doing, and did, was entirely inappropriate. But he was so fearful of losing Susan, the ship’s counselor, to the rascal doctor, that he could only think about vanquishing the doctor somehow. A few days in the ship’s brig, however, enlightened him as to the error of his ways, and he had repented his foolish action, and apologized to Susan, the doctor, and the ship’s security officer, and promised never, ever to engage in such activity again. And he meant it. Luckily, after everything was settled, the episode did not appear in his personnel file. An announcement was made that the Spectre was ready for boarding. He supposed that the ship and crew had just finished a mission, and might perhaps be heading for shore leave. It was an opportune time for him to board, and to seek out Captain T-Vhor, a Betazoid Vulcan. Carmody had not necessarily had the happiest of relations with the Vulcans he had known, and he hadn’t known enough Betazoids in his career to form any kind of mental image or any knowledge of personality. Meeting the captain would be an entirely new experience for him, one that, again, was both intensely exciting and filled with nervous trepidation. As Carmody boarded the ship with the interesting configuration, he asked about and was directed to the captain’s ready room. He found the turbo lift, exited at the bridge, and made his presence known outside the ready room. (Reply T’Vhor) The door swooshed open, and Carmody entered the COs office. “Ensign Carmody reporting for duty, sir.” (Reply T’Vhor) (Posted by Stephen) (Starbase 19 - USS Spectre - Captain's Ready Room - CO, Captain T'Vhor - 21:01) The chime sounding at the Captain's door distracted him just briefly from the recent operational reports from the starbase repair crew, problems with the photon flux cannon's data buffer again taking a considerable amount of their resources it would seem, that particular item already a source of great concern due to the actions of their recent saboteur. The chime sounded once again and the Captain bade the person enter, a crewmen he had not yet encountered until now. Dressed in science teal though, logic dictated that Ensign Stephen Carmody had just reported for duty, his stride across the room confident, but at the same time respectful of protocol. After all, nobody ever wanted to rattle their commanding officers nerves on their first day now. Needless to say the Ensign confirmed his identity with a smile. "Ensign Carmody reporting for duty, sir", he said. "At ease, Ensign", said the Captain, motioning then with his hand for him to take a seat opposite his desk. (Reply Carmody) "Do you have your orders?", asked the Captain. (Reply Carmody) The Ensign duly handed the PADD he had brought with him to the Captain, who settled back into his chair and began reading through the document with interest his attention settling upon the mans interest in equines. "You ride?", he asked. (Reply Carmody) The Captain nodded once again. He too once rode Horses on a regular basis as a young man, but the demands of the resistance soon took that little enjoyment away. And then came the demands of Starfleet. T'Vhor rarely rode anymore. "I see that your father was a Starfleet Consultant specialising in first contact situations?", asked the Captain. (Reply Carmody) "And you Ensign? What do you hope to achieve during your time aboard the Spectre? She is not what most young officers expect upon leaving the academy, but I can assure you that you will never be left short of a challenge" NRPG:Room for more here... RPG: (Reply Carmody) (Posted by Alan) ========================================================================