From: owner-spectre-nrpg@startrekfreedom.com on behalf of Michael Drake [michael@startrekfreedom.com] Sent: Wednesday, 22 February 2006 10:08 PM To: spectre-nrpg@startrekfreedom.com Subject: SPECTRENRPG: Spectre Compile: The Death of Dreams, #9 Mission: The Death of Dreams Compile: 9 -=/\=- Stardate: 2407.01.14 Day: 2 (USS Spectre, Transporter Room 2 - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 2030) (USS Spectre, Bridge - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 2035) (USS Spectre, Ready Room - CO, Captain Remae Ktell - 2045) (USS Spectre, Ready Room - CO, Captain Remae Ktell - 2100) (USS Spectre, Transporter Room 1 - CO, Captain Remae Ktell - 2100) Stardate: 2407.01.15 Day: 3 (USS Spectre, Observation Lounge - CEO, Ensign H'Chir - 0657) (USS Spectre, Main Engineering – CEO, Ensign H'Chir – 0941) (USS Spectre, Sickbay - CMO Williams - 0946) (USS Spectre, StratOps Centre - StratOps, Commander Tahlmari - 1002) (USS Spectre, Main Engineering – CEO, Ensign H'Chir – 1028) (USS Spectre, Sickbay - CMO Williams - 1034) (USS Spectre, Sickbay - StratOps, Commander Tahlmari - 1036) (USS Spectre, CEO's Office - CEO, Ensign H'Chir - 1546) Stardate: 2407.01.16 Day: 4 (USS Spectre, Personal Quarters - Counsellor Divon Lronen - 0921) (USS Spectre, CEO’s Office – CEO, Ensign H'Chir – 1015) (USS Spectre, Ready Room - CO, Captain Remae Ktell - 1105) (USS Spectre, Ready Room - Counsellor Divon Lronen - 1112) (USS Spectre, Transporter Room - Lt Col Krige - 1116) (USS Spectre, Bridge - Lt Col Krige - 1121) (USS Spectre, Bridge - First Officer T'Vhor - 1122) (USS Spectre, Bridge - ACSO, Lt. Yayla Nollys - 1125) (USS Spectre, Ready Room - CO, Captain Remae Ktell - 1130) (USS Spectre, Ready Room - Recon Marine Squad CO, Lt Col Krige - 1130) (USS Spectre, Bridge - First Officer T'Vhor - 1132) (USS Spectre, Bridge - Recon CO, Lt Col Krige - 1133) (USS Spectre, Security Centre - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 1134) (USS Spectre, Temporary Quarters - Recon CO, Lt Col Krige - 1150) (USS Spectre, Conference Room - Recon CO, Lt Col Krige - 1205) (USS Spectre, Conference Room - First Officer T'Vhor - 1206) -=/\=- Stardate: 2407.01.14 Day: 2 (USS Spectre, Transporter Room 2 - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 2030) This had certainly been a quick change of duty for sure; the Russian lieutenant had hardly been expecting it. The first she knew was when Captain Renfrew had arrived in her quarters on the Asguard somewhat a fluster & ordered her to pack up her kit & head on over to the Spectre. Seemed their TAC/SC was needed urgently elsewhere, a drop of the hat request from somewhere much higher up the chain of command & who was she to argue with that. "Welcome aboard sir", said the Spectre's Transporter Chief. Stepping down from the transport pad after beam out however, she quickly came face to face with the man that she was apparently replacing. Lieutenant commander Orde seemed pensive as he approached the transporter, Yelena nodded once & Orde returned the gesture. "She's a fine ship", he said with a smile. Yelena furrowed her brow slightly & glanced momentarily at the man's rank pins. "Sir?" she said quizzically. "The Spectre Lieutenant, she's a good ship, you'll find my team more than prepared for whatever you throw at them, I think you'll like it here", said Orde. "I'm sure I shall", said Yelena with a smile as she turned & watched the departing TAC/SC step up onto the platform, his face bearing the look of someone who's mind was very much elsewhere as he did so. "Sir", said Yelena briefly. Orde slung his shoulder bag up onto his shoulder & then turned to face the Lieutenant as she spoke. "I hope your next assignment is every bit as rewarding as the one you are leaving here sir", said Yelena, her accent now betraying her eastern block nationality just a tad. Orde smiled & then allowed himself a laugh at the remark. "Oh, I'm sure it will be Lieutenant, I'm sure it will be", he said, and then turning to the transporter chief, he nodded once to indicate that he was ready to leave. Yelena watched as his molecules were duly disassembled & he was then beamed off to the waiting Asguard for whatever it was that now lay ahead of him. For a moment or two, the new TAC/SC remained motionless as she stared at the place the man had previously just stood, and then her attention was snapped back to the here & now as the transporter chief addressed her once again. "The Captain has ordered that you report in asap sir", he said. Yelena simply nodded & hoisted her own kit up onto her shoulder in a single smooth move. "It is good to be here chief", said Yelena as she headed out through the door & into the corridor. (USS Spectre, Bridge - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 2035) ~So this is what the bridge of a Spectre class vessel looks like~ Yelena had never served on this class of vessel before, she had seen schematics of course & heard tales of their cloak & dagger missions but she had never been up close like this. A new face entering the bridge however was always a strange experience, faces invariably turned to oversee the new arrival, questions might be asked, for Yelena however, this was no hardship, they would know her soon enough. She glanced about only briefly, then she headed towards the corridor that led to the Captains ready room & once there, she pressed the chime & waited for the man to bid her entry. Once he had done so & the door had slid opened, the Lieutenant entered as directed & walked to stand at the man's desk. "Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna reporting for duty as ordered sir", said Yelena. (Reply CO) "Da... I mean yes sir", said Yelena slightly embarrassed at her language slip in front of a new Captain. (Reply CO) "If our current status reports are available in security sir, I'm sure I'll have no trouble bringing myself up to speed", said Yelena as the Captain duly dismissed her & sent her off to settle into her new quarters. Her duty shift was not to actually begin of course until early the following morning so she thought that perhaps she would familiarise herself with the ships security centre. Once she had settled into her quarters of course. Then perhaps & little something to eat in ten forward. (Reply CO) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre, Ready Room - CO, Captain Remae Ktell - 2045) "Come," said Remae simply. "Lieutenant Yelena Vasilyovna reporting for duty as ordered sir", said Yelena. Remae looked over his records, Orde was being transferred back to 52nd Command after spending some time on the ships that were escorting the Spectre on her mission to Betazed, now, and Lt Vasilyovna had come to report in to replace their TAC/SC. "Welcome aboard." "Da... I mean yes sir," she said and Remae caught a slight accent in his new Security Chief. "If our current status reports are available in security sir, I'm sure I'll have no trouble bringing myself up to speed." "I believe so, Lieutenant, I am sure the rest of the Security Team can bring you up to do and the FO also; we'll get a chance to take more later? Dismissed," said Remae smiling at his new TAC/SC, Remae hadn't even spent time looking at her biography, he simply was out of time. ~ Tomorrow ~ (USS Spectre, Ready Room - CO, Captain Remae Ktell - 2100) =^= Um, Captain. This is Transporter Room One, can you come down here? =^= (USS Spectre, Transporter Room 1 - CO, Captain Remae Ktell - 2100) Remae entered the room and to his surprised he saw Commander Orde on the pad, and the Chief looking like he had no idea what to do next and making a line for the door and to escape. "Thank you Chief," said Remae releasing the officer. "Well, what are you doing back here?" said Remae, regretting almost immediately asking the question. Orde recounted a quick and painful tale about how the Captain of the ship he was sent to, had an aversion to his gun collection. An argument had ensued and he was thrown off the ship. The upshot seemed to be that he wanted to wait a few days before returning to let things blow over under they met up with the support craft further down the track. "Alright, alright, I'll let the crew know quietly, in the meantime, go and keep a low profile with Commander Tahl, see if you can assist him," said Remae shaking his head at the Commander as he left the transporter room and into the corridor Smiling to himself slightly, Remae also headed out of the room and pass the Chief as he walked back in and returned to the Ready Room. (Reply from Any) (Posted by Anthony Keen) Stardate: 2407.01.15 Day: 3 (USS Spectre, Observation Lounge - CEO, Ensign H'Chir - 0657) H'Chir made a point of sitting as far away as possible from the Counsellor, the recent issues had been resolved to the point where the ship had a working senior crew again, but his distrust of counsellors in general - and telepaths in particular - remained. "Thank you all for coming. I want to outline what the mission entails." H'Chir exhaled noisily. ~It's about time!~ "Captain Renfrew is going to escort us to the entrance of the river and then we'll cloak and take the trip directly to the core of the Federation and to the planet of Betazed, our mission is to get close to the planet, evaluated the current strength of the forces there and report back. Counsellor, we have a lot of Betazoid crew onboard, of course including you. I want you to prepare a location on the surface for an away team mission. "Mr H'Chir, we'll need to remain cloaked while on the tunnel and of course, once we emerge, but luckily, thanks to the subspace tunnel, warp drive won't be needed." In keeping with the tone of the meeting, the Andorian simply nodded, allowing the CO to continue with the briefing: "Lt T'Vhor, we'll depart at 08.00, please make sure all departments are ready. Does anyone have any questions or comments?" The First Officer was first to speak: "Our latest intel on Betazed shows that a good proportion of Doenitz fleet are on station in the area sir. If we lose our cloak functionality upon our exit from the subspace river, or indeed at any time thereafter." The meeting droned on and H'Chir kept quiet. The parameters of the mission seemed clear to him for now, although noone seemed to have thought of the more obvious way for their trespass to be discovered; another cloaked ship out of phase with normal space to the same degree as the Spectre. He made a mental note to look into the possibility and forward his findings to the Captain. As soon as they were dismissed, the Andorian headed straight for the engine-room. (Reply none) (Posted by Michael Drake) (USS Spectre, Main Engineering – CEO, Ensign H'Chir – 0941) =/\= Williams to Ensign Angeletti, is it possible for you to come to Sickbay? I have a project that I need your expertise in. =/\= The Andorian’s ears picked up as his assistant answered the call and began preparations to leave her work. For an instant he thought about catching her and enquiring about where she was going and why he hadn’t been informed, but in the end his softer side won out. Despite his recent turmoil, he found himself rather liking this assistant. She was a first-class engineer and had the makings of a brilliant officer, much more promote-able than he. ~Watch out, H'Chir! You might end up as her assistant at this rate!~ ~Well… Good on her! At least one of the Chief Engineers should get to have some friends aboard the ship.~ (Reply none) (Posted by Michael Drake) (USS Spectre, Sickbay - CMO Williams - 0946) "Ensign Angeletti, sir. What can I do to help?" she said, a polite smile on her face. Andrew looked up from his consol. "Ah Ensign thanks you for coming. I have been asked by the captain to make a device that can be inserted sub-dermally and has a range of 40,000 kilometres. I was thinking of using nano-technology. I checked with Lt Nollys and she thinks it's doable. I also wanted your opinion." (Reply Angeletti) He moved to one side and showed her the console. "This is what I've done so far. I've been able to replicate the amount of nanos that we need it's just that I can't seen to get them the work. I thought as this is your areas you might be able to give me a hand." (Reply Angeletti) Andrew smiled. "Well that seems so simple when you explain it that way. Well that's why you're the engineer and I'm the CMO." (Reply Angeletti, any) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre, StratOps Centre - StratOps, Commander Tahlmari - 1002) "You wanted to see me?" Banowsky said. "Why yes, I did," Tahl replied. "I was hoping to get a little help with power acquisition for the new sensor array for the Stratops centre. We're going to need some immediate strategic information once we come out of the river, and I don't want wait until I make contact with my information source." (Reply Banowsky) As they worked Tahl was continually running into the security protocols that hade been set up by Orde. If nothing else, the Security chief was very thorough. There was no way around some of the lock outs that he'd designed. With a sigh he tapped his commbadge. "Tahlmari to Orde," he said, "Chief can you come down to StratOps, I 'm having a little problem that I feel only you can solve." =^=I'm on my way.=^= If Tahl didn't know better, he thought that he might have heard a chuckle in that reply. It's possible that Orde already knew what they were up to. Tahl had come to realize just how shrewd the SC was, even when he didn't always appear to be so. When Orde came in he stepped over to Tahl. "What's up?" "It seems that your security measures are better than my abilities to cut through them in a timely manner," Tahl admitted sheepishly. "Perhaps you can help unlock some of the pathways for me to appropriate some power for the new sensor array?" Orde smiled a wry smile and stepped over to the controls. Tahl had to admit that he had won. It was a security protocol that he would have been proud of. "No problem Commander," he said as he began to manipulate the flow to the power conduits. "You want to be careful of the safety procedures that I put in pla..." Tahl began to warn, when suddenly Orde's body lit up like a bulb, as power began to flow through it. Tahl jumped to the panel and hit the emergency power down. Suddenly released from the hold of the energy flow, Orde was thrown back from the panel. Tahl moved to his badly burned body. He tapped his comm. Badge. "Tahlmari to sickbay, emergency transport, I have a man down," he said, "I'm beaming Lt. Orde directly to sickbay." (Reply Williams) "Computer, STS Lt. Orde and myself to sickbay, now." The computers response was in the hum of the transporter and the sensation of the transporter effect. (USS Spectre, Main Engineering – CEO, Ensign H'Chir – 1028) The Andorian stepped out of his office as soon as he saw her reappear in Engineering. With what some would consider an unusually casual manner, he sidled up to the Assistant Chief Engineer, and politely asked “And what did the good doctor want?” (Reply Angeletti) “One other thing, from tomorrow morning I’d like an Engineering Officer on the bridge at all times. For alpha shift I want either you or M’Rurrh; I’ll let you choose.” He watched her face for any sign of her thoughts. (Reply Angeletti, any) (Posted by Michael Drake) (USS Spectre, Sickbay - CMO Williams - 1034) Andrew looked over at Angeletti. "It looks like were nearly done. That you very much for your time. Now I'll be able to get this into the crew by tomorrow." =^=Tahlmari to sickbay, emergency transport, I have a man down, I'm beaming Lt. Orde directly to sickbay.=^= Andrew glanced at Angeletti. "Copy that Commander we'll be ready." He looked back at Angeletti. "Excuse me for a moment." He heard the transporter hum and saw Tahlmari lift Orde onto a near by bio bed. As Andrew crossed to the bio bed he could see slight wisp of smoke rising from Orde. ~this is not good~ He reached the bio bed and saw that Orde was badly burnt. He scanned the monitor. ~this is not good~ "Quick get me the defib were going to need it." He kept staring at the monitor as he used the defib. ~it looks like we've losing him. Damn~ There was a piercing tone from the monitors. "Shock him again." ~Come on, come on, come back.~ "Again." ~put a bit of effort into it man." "Again." ~dam not good~ Andrew looked at the monitor the vitals had not changed since Orde had arrived in sickbay. ~all his vital signs had stopped. There is not brain function. There is nothing~ He stepped over to the monitor and turned it off. He glanced over to Tahlmari and shook his head. "Dam, dam, dam. Not how it should have been." he muttered to him self. Andrew turned back to Tahlmari. "What happened?" "He was in the StratOps centre when, I can only guess, a power feedback went through his body." "Commander if it makes you feel any better. He was dead before he left StratOps. There was nothing you could have done." Andrew turned back to Orde picked up a sheet and covered his body. "Tahlmari to Captain Remae, there's been an accident in StratOps. You might want to come down to sickbay. It's Lt. Orde, sir. He's dead," said Tahlmari. ~this is turned out to be a wonderful day~ He looked back at Orde and shook his head sadly. ~God I have to last offices~ (Reply Any) (Posted by Robbie) (USS Spectre, Sickbay - StratOps, Commander Tahlmari - 1036) When the transporter effect cleared Tahl lifted Orde onto the nearest bio bed. There was a flurry of activity as the medical staff went to work. Tahl stepped back to let the experts do their magic. When Williams asked what had happened he explained. "He was in the StratOps centre when, I can only guess, a power feedback went through his body." (Reply Williams) Tahl stepped to the side, suddenly feeling not very well. He tapped his comm. Badge. "Tahlmari to Captain Remae, there's been an accident in StratOps. You might want to come down to sickbay. It's Lt. Orde, sir. He's dead." (Reply Remae) (Posted by Al Muir) (USS Spectre, CEO's Office - CEO, Ensign H'Chir - 1546) In between the various reports from members of his team, H'Chir had been researching the expansive universe of phase-space. In theory, there was an infinite realm of phase-space the cloaking device could push the ship into, but in practise the current Federation cloaking devices were comparatively limited in how far they could push. Push too little and you'd still be partly within the grasp of normal space, yet the power drain meant that the infinite realms were as yet still just a pipe-dream. Still, it was a long-shot to believe there'd be another cloaked ship within the right phase to see them, just waiting around in orbit of Betazed. Tactically, he supposed, they'd only cloak if they were intended to move out on the offensive, and by then, spotting the Spectre would most likely come too late. All the same. "Computer, send the report to Captain Remae." (Reply Remae if wanted, none) (Posted by Michael Drake) Stardate: 2407.01.16 Day: 4 (USS Spectre, Personal Quarters - Counsellor Divon Lronen - 0921) Divon had tossed and turned throughout most of the night. He had not had a moment's rest since they had gone into orbit. He could feel the pain, fear and defiance emanating from his homeworld. He felt drawn to do something, to attack. His people needed him and the task force assembled. But still, it was what he couldn't hear that was most troubling. The gaps, the vacancies echoed more loudly than any mind that had touched his. What's more, some of the minds he heard contemplated the use of things long prohibited in his culture. Divon knew he looked haggard and that many crew members simply passed it off as concern for his family and friends on Betazed, but any Betazed, any telepathic race, knew better. Doenitz did not know what he awaked on the hitherto peaceful planet. Divon had to make Remae aware. (USS Spectre, CEO’s Office – CEO, Ensign H'Chir – 1015) The console chirped and a minor alarm bell of recognition fired in the Chief Engineer’s brain. “H'Chir to Ensign Grant; we’ve just exited the subspace tunnel. As of now I want reports on the status of the cloaking device every 15 minutes, including projects on how we can prevent it from failing. Remember, we don’t have the luxury of decloaking in order to fix any problems.” (Reply Grant, iyw) “I’ll be in my office. H'Chir out.” Despite the door to his office being closed, H'Chir could see the knowledge of the Spectre’s status behind enemy lines sweeping from person to person out on the main deck. He picked up the next in a long line of reports and tried to ignore the knot of tension forming at the base of his gut.” (Reply Grant, any) (Posted by Michael Drake) (USS Spectre, Ready Room - CO, Captain Remae Ktell - 1105) Remae had just sent out the orders to prepare the away missions he had in mind, when the door chime sounded. "Come," said Remae and he looked up at the FO as he came in. "Sir, the one man away team you mentioned", said T'Vhor, "is this to be a mission running concurrent to the landing parties or are you planning this to take place once my own away team arrives back on the Spectre?" said the FO. "Yes, I think so - although you'll have to access the risk factor in your briefing." "I believe I am the best qualified for this mission sir", said T'Vhor, "I have done exactly what you require on three separate occasions, plus I am familiar with the computer systems & the cryptographic routines employed on these vessels", he added. "I AM the logical choice for success sir," said the Vulcan. "I am sure you are Mr. T'Vhor, put together your two mission submissions, I'll inform you of my decision once I have reviewed your plans," Remae said nodding at the FO. "Understood," he said simply. "Dismissed," he said and once he had left, Remae looked back at the PADD that LoDona had given him, simply titled 'Biography of Lt Col Krige.' (USS Spectre, Ready Room - Counsellor Divon Lronen - 1112) Divon had spent some time acquiring texts and information useful to the report he now intended to give. Once as ready as he could be, the exhausted counsellor made his way to the Captain's Ready Room and pressed the door chime. (Reply Remae) Divon entered the room and saw both his Captain and the First Officer. He nodded curtly. "Sirs, there are a few things you should be aware of," stated the counsellor slowly with no small amount of trepidation. (Reply Remae, T'Vhor) Divon nodded and looked at them through bloodshot eyes. "There is general panic on Betazed. That isn't surprising in and of itself. Most of the other Betazoid crew have been able to 'mind touch' their families. I don't think that Doenitz has resulted in widespread slaughter, yet." (Reply Remae, T'Vhor) Divon straightened himself and looked past his captain and First Officer. "I have not been able to find any of my immediate family so far. Perhaps they are in detention under the ground or have been removed from the homeworld. That is, however, not the most pressing issue." (Reply Remae, T'Vhor) "Sirs, I believe that some factions of the Betazoid resistance are preparing to use empathic assaults. This is an... Ancient... discipline that was banned several centuries ago. Just like many civilizations, we went through a much more violent stage than we find ourselves in now. A faction has freed a rare breed for a people, a serial killer Hent Tevren, who employed this discipline. The problem is that once you start using it, it becomes... addictive... for want of a better phrase. The users lose their abilities to distinguish between friend and foe and they get pulled deeper into the minds of the people around them. This could make Orlon every bit as dangerous as Doenitz when we are doing recon and preparing for attack," stated Divon. He felt more than a little conflicted. On the one hand he supported every effort to push Doenitz off his home planet, but he was afraid that this cost may be too high even for that task. To lose several hundred years of progress in an instant was unconscionable. (Reply Remae, T'Vhor) (Posted by Jeff) (USS Spectre, Transporter Room - Lt Col Krige - 1116) "Sir, the officer is er...um aboard, he may need a shower & a change of clothing before he reports to the captain though" The Marine frowned just ever so slightly as he reached up and cracked the seal on his helmet after a whispered security word to his mic. Fresh air rushed into the helmet, along with the aroma that he had come to recognize so well. His entire BDU was covered in muck from the swamp-bottom, weeds rested in every joint, and he was generally a mess. He lightly touched a button on his left arm, changing the cameo pattern from 'swamp' to 'standard', a metallic silver scheme. The colours swirled over his armour, finally becoming as bright and shiny as was possible considering the rest of the muck. All the while this was happening, he listened to the First Officer give orders that he should report to the bridge once he was cleaned up. "A shower will not be necessary." The Marine said as he pulled the Pallas battle helmet off and put it gently on the floor. "Time is of the essence." He touched a couple more buttons and detached a few more pieces of the BDU, taking it off a piece at a time. The pieces he dropped carefully to the transporter pad in an ever growing pile. After approximately a minute and a half, he was fully stripped of the outer-BDU armour, all of which was sitting in a pile beside him. His SDU uniform was stained with sweat, and he had his own aroma as they hadn't been able to risk more then a handful of quick sponge baths in the entire time they had been on the system. He would remedy that once he'd had his words with the Captain, a shower sounded divine. "Beam this material directly to some quarters, and send an Engineer to drop off a repair kit if you will be so kind." He took a deep breath and looked down at his uniform. He certainly wasn't pretty, but his orders didn't give him room to manoeuvre. He shrugged and stepped out with a final nod to the transporter chief. (USS Spectre, Bridge - Lt Col Krige - 1121) Krige stepped onto the bridge with all the inborn arrogance of both his race, and his profession. He wasted not a second as he stepped up to the command chair and came to perfect attention. "Lieutenant Colonel Krige reporting for detached duty." His eyeballs clicked hard on a place on the far side of the bridge as he continued with, "Please forgive my current state of uniform and hygiene, my orders specified all due haste." (Reply: Any on the bridge) (Posted by Trout) (USS Spectre, Bridge - First Officer T'Vhor - 1122) The moment the man had stepped onto the bridge, everyone was aware that he had arrived, for one the smell was very evident & secondly, he was not what one would expect from a Starfleet marine being far shorter than the average marine would be. What he lacked in stature however, he more than made up with demeanour as he marched almost arrogantly to the centre chair to report as ordered. "Lieutenant Colonel Krige reporting for detached duty," said Krige, "Please forgive my current state of uniform and hygiene, my orders specified all due haste," he added. For a moment, the FO looked the man in the eyes as he stood there, he was more than used to grime & dirt of course, but rarely had he seen it on the bridge of a federation starship. "The Captains is expecting you Lieutenant Colonel Krige", said T'Vhor, noticing the increased aroma now emanating from the marines rather soiled SDU's as he spoke. The marine simply smiled as though pleased that his state had provoked such a response, then he turned about to march towards the Captains ready room, all eyes of the bridge crew now firmly fixed upon him in a mixture of disbelief & sheer surprise that he actually intended to enter the CO's ready room in such a state. The FO watched as the man rang the chime to the CO's ready room before disappearing from sight within it. He could only imagine what Remae was now thinking as he returned his attention to the forward viewscreen half filled as it now was with the planetfall vista of Avandar. (Reply Any, None) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre, Bridge - ACSO, Lt. Yayla Nollys - 1125) As Yayla sat on the bridge, once more trying to focus on her task at hand, she was momentarily interrupted by Williams. "Lt. Nollys it looks like everything has worked. Thank you." "No sweat. Call me whenever you need me." With that, she turned her head just in time to watch Williams walk away and the image of a dirty man step onto the bridge. ~....the hell happened to him?~ From head to toe, his uniform was completely mucked up with mud and whatever else was sticking to that. However not wanting to stare and be impolite, not that she really cared, she turned around to face her duty station and watched the reflection of the Colonel in the panelling. She knew he must have figured all eyes would be on him as he was rather dishevelled looking, but it beat staring at the console all day long, if only for a few seconds. As the Colonel then disappeared into the Captain's ready room, Yayla sighed and mumbled, "Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to work I go...." (Reply: Any, none) (Posted by: Stacey) (USS Spectre, Ready Room - CO, Captain Remae Ktell - 1130) "Come," said Remae once again the chime of the door bringing him out of his work. (Reply from Krige) "At ease Lieutenant Colonel," and Remae extended his hand to the Marine, he looked at him directly and made no comment on the state or smell of the officer. "Admiral LoDona asked me to look you up while the Spectre was on operations on the Betazed system, Colonel. He speaks very highly of you. We won't keep you away from your unit for long, in the meantime, is there anything we can supply them with before we leave orbit of Avandar?" asked Remae. (Reply from Krige) "Alright then, onto what I need from you. LoDona wants the Spectre to recon the system and get information about the forces on and off Betazed, the sheer mass of the welcoming committee already station here seems to suggest this is a staging area but we know nothing about the forces on Betazed," said Remae has he continued, he turned around his screen to show the classes and names of the ships they had already identified. "I intend to send to teams, one onto an enemy ship to capture a copy of their tactical database and a second team to head down to Betazed and access a few cities, see what strengths the 52nd is up against." "My First Officer, T'Vhor is putting a proposal together now for both teams, and I want you to provide him with all intel you have gathered. When the plans are complete, I think your skills will be best served by attending the Betazed landing party." "Work together with T'Vhor Colonel, especially when it comes to equipment and support, there is a good chance the most experience the majority of the party will have in this kind of operation is the 2 weeks of field training in Australia. we'll need to get them ready, a crash course in survival in hostile theatres would be a great advantage, can you prepare that too?" said Remae slightly angling his head to the side. (Reply from Krige) "Very well, I will look forward to seeing what the two of you can put together, as fast as possible Colonel, understood?" said Remae. (Reply from Krige) "I have another favour to ask of you, if you'd indulge me, recently, we've been assigned a new Security Chief, Lt Vasilyovna and I don't know anything about her. can you assess her for me? Perhaps in tactical and hand to hand combat?" Remae asked. (Reply from Krige) "Thank you, dismissed," he said nodding at the Marine as he left, Remae turned to the pile of paperwork he had, including a report from the Chief Engineer regarding the cloak and power usage. (Reply from Krige, Any) (Posted by Anthony Keen) (USS Spectre, Ready Room - Recon Marine Squad CO, Lt Col Krige - 1130) "At ease Lieutenant Colonel. Admiral LoDona asked me to look you up while the Spectre was on operations on the Betazed system, Colonel. He speaks very highly of you. We won't keep you away from your unit for long, in the meantime, is there anything we can supply them with before we leave orbit of Avandar?" The colonel came to parade rest as the Captain spoke, and then said, "Not without threatening their cover, Captain. I will bring any supplies necessary on my person when I re-insert myself." "Alright then, onto what I need from you. LoDona wants the Spectre to recon the system and get information about the forces on and off Betazed, the sheer mass of the welcoming committee already station here seems to suggest this is a staging area but we know nothing about the forces on Betazed." Krige took a step forward to look as the Captain spun a monitor. "I intend to send to teams, one onto an enemy ship to capture a copy of their tactical database and a second team to head down to Betazed and access a few cities, see what strengths the 52nd is up against." "My First Officer, T'Vhor is putting a proposal together now for both teams, and I want you to provide him with all intel you have gathered. When the plans are complete, I think your skills will be best served by attending the Betazed landing party." The Marine refocused on the Captain as he continued on. "Work together with T'Vhor Colonel, especially when it comes to equipment and support, there is a good chance the most experience the majority of the party will have in this kind of operation is the 2 weeks of field training in Australia. we'll need to get them ready, a crash course in survival in hostile theatres would be a great advantage, can you prepare that too?" The Marine took a moment to consider that, "I can give everyone a crash course, as long as you don't expect miracles, Captain. It will depend on the timeline and the proposed plans. Everything else you have my full cooperation on, as per my orders, Sir." "Very well, I will look forward to seeing what the two of you can put together, as fast as possible Colonel, understood?" "Yes Sir." The Marine said evenly. "I have another favour to ask of you, if you'd indulge me, recently, we've been assigned a new Security Chief, Lt Vasilyovna and I don't know anything about her. can you assess her for me? Perhaps in tactical and hand to hand combat?" That caused the Marine to quirk his eyebrow, "Aye Sir." "Thank you, dismissed." Krige came to attention again, "Sir!" and spun on his heel. He stepped out onto the bridge again and stepped up to the First Officer again. "Sir, I've been tasked to work with you. When would be convenient for you?" (Reply: FO) (Posted by Trout) (USS Spectre, Bridge - First Officer T'Vhor - 1132) The moment Krige re-entered the bridge from his meeting with the CO, everyone knew he had done so once again, for he smelt like a bog, it was evident to every nose there. And of course it had to be the FO that seemed to be his next target as he immediately approached him to stand directly before the command chair. "Sir, I've been tasked to work with you. When would be convenient for you?" said the marine. T'Vhor paused briefly as he looked down to the status panel set into the arm of the command chair, a few button presses assured him that everything was coming up green across the board so in consequence he turned to look up at the man once again. "I would imagine that the Captain has suggested you join the Betazoid landing party Lieutenant Colonel Krige", said the FO, "I have been tasked with organising this team so as soon as is possible would be as convenient a time as any", he added. (Reply Krige) "I would suggest also that you take advantage of one of the showers in the quarters assigned you beforehand Lieutenant Colonel", said T'Vhor, "for the sake of everyone on the ship", he added looking around at the bridge crew as he spoke. (Reply Krige) "Let's say thirty minutes, I will meet you in the conference room", said T'Vhor as he watched the marine turn about & march off towards the turbolift after he had acknowledged the FO's request. (Reply Krige, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre, Bridge - Recon CO ,Lt Col Krige - 1133) "I would imagine that the Captain has suggested you join the Betazoid landing party Lieutenant Colonel Krige", said the FO, "I have been tasked with organizing this team so as soon as is possible would be as convenient a time as any" ~Well enough.~ "Yes Sir." He responded. "I would suggest also that you take advantage of one of the showers in the quarters assigned you beforehand Lieutenant Colonel", said T'Vhor, "for the sake of everyone on the ship" The Marine nodded once, sharply. "Aye Sir." "Let's say thirty minutes, I will meet you in the conference room" The Marine executed one more crisp nod, then turned for the turbolift, wasting no time. He rubbed his eyes once he was in the turbolift, "Computer, location of temporary quarters for Lieutenant Commander Krige," he said. The computer started speaking; he caught the number wearily and cut the computer off mid-stream, "Take me there." He said simply. As the lift was moving, however, he tapped his badge. "Colonel Krige to Lieutenant Vasilyovna, I have been tasked with over-seeing your readiness by the Captain, keep your schedule open tonight." (Reply: Vasilyovna) (USS Spectre, Security Centre - TAC/SC Yelena Vasilyovna - 1134) Yelena had been overseeing her new department & introducing herself to the team members present in security when the com went off, momentarily distracting her from what she had been doing at the time. =/\=Colonel Krige to Lieutenant Vasilyovna, I have been tasked with over-seeing your readiness by the Captain, keep your schedule open tonight.=/\= Yelena tapped her commbadge in response to the somewhat abrupt communiqué. "Yes sir, of course", said Yelena. "Let me know when you require me", she added & then turned to the task she had been engaged in beforehand. (Reply Krige, IYW, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) (USS Spectre, Temporary Quarters - Recon CO, Lt Col Krige - 1150) Krige looked over his armour with a frown as he rubbed his hair dry after what constituted nearly a sinfully long shower. It had been nearly two months since he'd taken one, he'd had to make do with sponge-baths done on the quick since his squad had landed. But it was worth it, if only to get rid of the swamp stench. He dropped the towel to the side and picked up his helmet, it showed its wear. A couple areas were scorched for one reason or another, the armour was scratched in half a dozen places... impressive, considering it was made of plated duranium and a few other sandwiched things. Like the scars criss-crossing Krige, the armour showed its hard use. ... he would have some work to do. Thankfully someone had dropped off the tools he requested. He picked the towel back up and wrapped it around his neck, which was all he was wearing at the moment, and walked over to the replicator. "Computer, replicate a standard Marine Dress Uniform along these measurements..." he tapped in a few commands onto the keypad. "And the proper ranking pips for a Lieutenant Colonel." [Authorization Necessary for Ranking Pips] "Lieutenant Colonel Krige, authorization number tango five niner four." He turned and towelled off the last of the wetness as the replicator sang to life. He tossed it to the corner after a few moments and looked back with a smile. He grabbed the uniform and picked it up, holding it up to him. It was at least three foot to long for him in the legs, and it could have held three of him from side-to-side. "Ahh, to get out of this small form." He said in a voice that gradually deepened as his form began to expand. Bones popped, sinew reformed rather then ripping, and a deep brown pelt grew all over his body. Within moments he was no longer a 5 foot human-like creature, but rather an 8 foot monster, complete with fangs and tusks. ~Damn, always good to get back to my natural form~ he thought with amusement as he started slipping on the SDU. One of his greatest skills, and benefits, as a Recon Marine was his shape-changing ability. It had saved his life more then once in the field, but he hated holding small forms for any length of time... even if 'small' went unnoticed while 'beastly' did not. He'd only kept his form until now so he could clean up faster... an 8 foot hairy body was MUCH more difficult to keep clean when compared to a hairless 5 foot humanoid. He clipped on his rank-pips as a final touch and turned to look at himself in the mirror. "Much better." His gravel voice said. "Computer," he said. "Replicate an under-arm holster along the same measurements as my uniform." The computer complied as he pulled his side-arm from a built-in holster on the armour. He only paused long enough to grab it and sling it over both his arms and attach it to the couple hard-points to be found on a SDU, before stuffing the phaser under his left arm. He flexed his arms a few times to make sure it was sitting properly before nodding. He gave his armour, now many sizes to small, a pat as he exited his temporary quarters. (USS Spectre, Conference Room - Recon CO, Lt Col Krige - 1205) Krige chuckled in silent amusement as he stepped into the ready room. He'd already gotten half a dozen very strange looks, but then, he was used to that. He came to loose attention after he ducked into the Conference Room door, "Lieutenant Colonel Krige, reporting as ordered." He said agreeably. (Reply: Any) (Posted by Trout) (USS Spectre, Conference Room - First Officer T'Vhor - 1206) The First Officer stood silently by the observation window, hands clasped behind his back gazing out onto the darkened hue of Avandar below them. He had visited this moon before, it was a barren place but as barren as it was, it was still the moon of his maternal home place & for that it seemed strangely good to be back here, irrespective of the circumstances surrounding this. His concentration however was soon broken by the arrival of - something - entering the conference room, T'Vhor turned in response & stepped back slightly at the sight of the creature that had just entered the room. "Lieutenant Colonel Krige, reporting as ordered," said Krige with just a hint of what appeared to be a smile. ~Krige!, I knew this man was a shape shifter but.....~ T'Vhor took a deep breath as he acknowledged the somewhat gravel voice & took in the furred appearance of him, then he advanced towards the Lieutenant colonel noticing as he did so that the horrendous smell of before had now thankfully vacated Krige's presence. "You are not, how shall I say, what I expected", said T'Vhor, "Am I to assume that you are in your native form at this time?" he added looking up into the Lieutenant Colonels eyes. (Reply Krige) "I suggest we get down to planning then", said T'Vhor, "at the request of the Captain, I have outlined two drafts for our planned missions, one to an as yet undecided Vessel belonging to Doenitz's fleet, the other a surveillance away mission to Betazed itself", he added. "I'll not task you with further descriptions as I assume the Captain has already informed you of the details anyway", said T'Vhor handing Krige a PADD detailing the complements of each team fully. (Reply Krige) "I have suggested myself for the retrieval operation to the vessel, although as you can see this has not yet been authorised at this time", said T'Vhor walking around the table & taking up a seat. (Reply Krige) T'Vhor raised his hands slightly in a palm up gesture of acquiescence. "I am the most logical choice", he said, "I have carried out such missions before, I have the technical expertise to fulfil the mission with the minimum of fuss & disruption", said T'Vhor. "Of course, the Captains word on this is final should he decide otherwise, I am merely looking at this from a logical point", added the FO. (Reply Krige) "So what of Betazed?" said T'Vhor, "I'm assuming that you have managed to infiltrate certain positions in your time here of course", said the First Officer. (Reply Krige) T'Vhor nodded as Krige took a seat opposite him. The damndest thing though was that even seated, he was still having to look upwards to speak to him. (Reply Krige, Any) (Posted by Alan Reading) -USS Spectre Star Trek: Freedom - http://www.startrekfreedom.com