NRPG: Compile Index: Day 184 (USS Dennison - Shrekt's Office – Marine XO 2L Leola Bracken - 0955) (USS Dennison - Shrekt's Office - TAC/SC Lt (sg) Joan Shrekt - 0957) (USS Dennison - Shrekt's Office – Marine XO 2L Leola Bracken - 0958) (USS Dennison - Shrekt's Office - TAC/SC Lt (sg) Joan Shrekt - 1000) (USS Dennison - Shrekt's Office – 2L Leola Bracken - 1001) Day 185 (USS Dennison - Bridge - ACEO EnsJG tlha'nISta' - 1941+) (USS Dennison - Bridge – CMO Dr Nymes - 1942) (USS Dennison – Ready Room – CMO Dr Nymes – 1950) (Maltoria, First Ministers Office, First Minister Aleth– 1952) (USS Dennison – RR-CMO Dr NYmes – 1954) (USS Dennison- Primary Engineering- Crewman Morgan Randell- 2045) (USS Dennison- Torpedo launch control- Crewman Morgan Randell- 2100) (USS Dennison - Deck 9, Operations Support Systems - OO Petty Officer 1st Class Chrystine Nicklaus - 2130) (Maltoria, Power Station, CSO/2O Dale Bracken, 2148) (Maltoria, Power Station, Ensign jg Sanok, 2149) (USS Dennison - Deck 10, Sickbay - OO Petty Officer 1st Class Chrystine Nicklaus - 2150) (USS Dennison - Bridge - TAC/SC Lt (sg) Joan Shrekt - 2200) (USS Dennison – Sickbay – CMO Dr Nymes - 2201) (Maltoria- Power Station- Commander Trevan West - 2210) (Maltoria, Power Station, CSO/2O Dale Bracken, 2212) (Maltoria- Power Station- ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma-2213) (USS Dennison – Bridge – ACEO Lanista – 2214) (Maltoria, Power Station, Ensign jg Sanok, 2214) (Maltoria - Power Station - Security Officer Crewman Abu Nighy - 2215) (Maltoria - Power Station - ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma- 2218) (Maltoria- Power Station – CSO/2O Dale Bracken - 2220) (Maltoria- Power Station – ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma- 2223) RPG: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Healer in the Tower Stardate: 2408.01.09 Day: 184 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (USS Dennison - Shrekt's Office – Marine XO 2L Leola Bracken - 0955) "Tell me Lieutenant, what do you make of this Maltorian business?" Shrekt looked at the officer across from her desk and said, "It is a troubling thing. But we go where we are ordered and execute our duty to the best of our ability. I do not care for the source of our data and the confusing briefing in which it was delivered. I feel we are going in with one hand tied behind our back and blinders fitted on our heads. The Captain says we need friends now more than ever and that they extended the invitation to us, then we should go in good faith. But I still do not like it." Shrekt admitted. Leola nodded, “I have to admit, I tend to agree. Intel wants tech, and i think that we both know well enough that they’ll try and get what they want, one way or another.” "Now to this spy business," said Shrekt, as she picked up a Padd to begin taking notes as needed. "What measures, if any, are currently in place?" “Well, we have the usual security measures, background sweeps of all new crew and the like. That said though, any of that can be falsified all too easily.” (Reply Shrekt) Leola shrugged slightly, “it shouldn’t be difficult to go through personnel files, that said though, Intel could have a sleeper cell on board, could have come on months ago, when she was first launched perhaps. That will be a whole lot more difficult to detect, believe me, I know.” (Reply Shrekt, Any) (posted by Mark) (USS Dennison - Shrekt's Office - TAC/SC Lt (sg) Joan Shrekt - 0957) "Well, we have the usual security measures, background sweeps of all new crew and the like. That said though, any of that can be falsified all too easily." Shrekt nodded in agreement. "Given the recent issues in the war, I would imagine active Intelligence officers are far more skilled than we may be used to dealing with," she admitted. Bracken shrugged slightly and said, "It shouldn't be difficult to go through personnel files, that said though, Intel could have a sleeper cell on board, could have come on months ago, when she was first launched perhaps. That will be a whole lot more difficult to detect, believe me, I know." Shrekt regarded the Lieutenant, particularly after the comment referencing her past experience. "I believe a standard background check would insufficient for what we are searching for. Nor do we have time or the resources to do deeper checks on the entire crew, given the time frame that we are under. Might I suggest a two pronged approach then?" Shrekt paused as she organized her proposal. She continued, "While a background check should reveal nothing, it doesn't hurt to execute it, just in case something simple slipped past. Second, I think we should initiate a program that will track anomalous signals that originate from the Dennison along with anomalous glitches in the system. Given the sensitive nature of these activities, I believe we should restrict those involved to the two of us for the time being. Until such time as we are able to identify those who are trustworthy. What do you think?" (reply Bracken) (Reply Bracken, Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) (USS Dennison - Shrekt's Office – Marine XO 2L Leola Bracken - 0958) Shrekt paused as she organized her proposal. She continued, "While a background check should reveal nothing, it doesn't hurt to execute it, just in case something simple slipped past. Second, I think we should initiate a program that will track anomalous signals that originate from the Dennison along with anomalous glitches in the system. Given the sensitive nature of these activities, I believe we should restrict those involved to the two of us for the time being. Until such time as we are able to identify those who are trustworthy. What do you think?" Leola nodded “I agree, at the moment we can only assume that it’s us, and us alone that we can trust.” (Reply Shrekt) Once more Leola nodded, shifting slightly in her chair, “On the subject of ship security, you should know that the marines on board are ready to defend the ship at all costs, should it be invaded. They’re pretty well trained, not quite up to my standard yet, but even as they are they’re more than a match for most that’ll try anything. Any tactical ideas, defence points and the like that you have would be well received, I have my own ideas, but am open to any suggestions.” (Reply Shrekt, any) (posted by Mark) (USS Dennison - Shrekt's Office - TAC/SC Lt (sg) Joan Shrekt - 1000) With the matter regarding spies seemingly settled for the time being the Marine Lieutenant decided to shift the focus of their conversation to interdepartmental relations. "The marine contingent is not sizeable on the Dennison," started Shrekt, "But I recognize that even a small force of highly trained personnel can make a huge difference in the battle. I shall review the ship's schematics once more with that in mind and will send you my thoughts on the matter." (Reply Bracken) "If that is all for now, Lieutenant, we both have other duties to attend." said Shrekt, her mind already trying to reorganize her day with the new information she had just received. (Reply Bracken, Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) (USS Dennison - Shrekt's Office – 2L Leola Bracken - 1001) "The marine contingent is not sizeable on the Dennison," started Shrekt, "But I recognize that even a small force of highly trained personnel can make a huge difference in the battle. I shall review the ship's schematics once more with that in mind and will send you my thoughts on the matter." Leola nodded, though kept silent momentarily, “If you could, like i said, it’ll help tailor a training regime for them.” "If that is all for now, Lieutenant, we both have other duties to attend." said Shrekt, her mind already seemingly elsewhere. “Of course Lieutenant, we both have much to do.” She got up and nodded a farewell to Shrekt, then turned and headed out the office, her loping stride effortlessly carrying her down the corridor, toward the turbolift. (Reply none, Any) (posted by mark) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Healer in the Tower Stardate: 2408.01.10 Day: 185 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (USS Dennison - Bridge - ACEO EnsJG tlha'nISta' - 1941+) Shrekt said, "Ensign tlha'nISta', assist I would like you to assist them in outfitting the shuttles with a stronger sensor suite so that we may get better readings than what we are getting from the Dennison's sensors." "Alright, I'm on it..." Lanista was pleased Skrekt had attempted the Klingon pronunciation of her name. (USS Dennison - Bridge – CMO Dr Nymes - 1942) Nymes had eased back into his once-forgotten bridge persona, and his lifetimes of experience were slowly recovering their polish. He was moderately affronted when the TAC/SEC had presumed to remind the Trill of his priorities, daring to suggest that he would break one of his duties. The fact was that the Captain, though a “VIP”, he was not treated any differently by the Trill. Partly this was engrained in the medical staff, as everyone was equal when they were unwell; partly it was from Nymes’ rare view of life itself; where rank was just a badge that people tried to keep score with, and in the end mattered an inproportional amount. In a fire-fight, torpedoes didn’t discriminate between rank or file, and Nymes was of the same mind regarding medicine – about the only thing he could possibly relate himself to in war. He nodded as he was given his orders, and retired to the ready room to check on the Captain, ensuring his patient’s stability was important for the smooth running of the ship; though an incapacitated Captain would add to the lists of Command officers that the vessel had gone through. Even Nymes had been affected – losing a rank in the process of serving as a2O. He just hoped Dee wouldn’t suffer a similar fate as she joined the echelon. (USS Dennison – Ready Room – CMO Dr Nymes – 1950) Nymes tapped the monitor on the captain’s temple and rescanned the man, confirming what he expected from the first scans less than an hour before. Tapping his commbadge, he arranged for a nurse to report to the ready room, carrying a supplemental med-kit, turning the RR into something approaching field hospital clinic. While he waited for the nurse to arrive, Nymes took the Captain’s chair with unease, tapping a commchannel into operation, starting a call with the Presidential office on the ground. “Talispkae, First Minister Aleth.” He said, greeting the primary in the high language, the syllables slowly rolling off his out of practice tongue. It was a strange sensation, one that almost spanned 5 lifetimes and a gender. Nymes knew that the danger was in using the wrong declensions, inferring that he, himself, was female. Thankfully, the PADD in front of him was helping in returning to speed. (reply Aleth) “My captain remains involved in the search for our crewmembers, First Minister, but again has asked me to talk to you. Do you have any news of our missing people?” (reply Aleth rfm) “We also respectfully request that we be allowed to use two specialised shuttlecraft to aid us in our search, if that is acceptable to you?” Nymes asked. It was the difficult question, and he did not know how it would be received by the Maltorian. (reply Aleth) (Posted, in haste, by GC) (Maltoria, First Ministers Office, First Minister Aleth– 1952) “Talispkae, First Minister Aleth.” He said, greeting the primary in the high language, the syllables slowly rolling off his out of practice tongue. It was a strange sensation, one that almost spanned 5 lifetimes and a gender. Nymes knew that the danger was in using the wrong declensions, inferring that he, himself, was female. Thankfully, the PADD in front of him was helping in returning to speed. Aleth was concerned to see a different human then before on the screen on the tabletop display, "Talispkae to you as well. Am I to take it that your," he took a moment to pause to search for the correct word in his mind, "Captain?" he said with a bit of wavering in his voice, "is no longer concerned with the matter at hand?" “My captain remains involved in the search for our crewmembers, First Minister, but again has asked me to talk to you. Do you have any news of our missing people?” "I do not as of yet. Our search teams are moving as we speak, and the moment I have any news regarding them I will of course contact you. I am concerned that they did not transport to our office, I hope your transporting device is working correctly." “We also respectfully request that we be allowed to use two specialized shuttlecraft to aid us in our search, if that is acceptable to you?” Nymes asked. Aleth, muted the audio and blanked out his visual sensor and turned to the man seated across the table from him, "Lipse re'lea mo fortod?" The man across from him replied tersely, "Rijo aoi roda!" Aleth nodded and then reactivated the viewer with the Dennison, "My apologies. The use of craft of that type will not be needed, our own search teams have such things themselves. If my teams need any additional help, I will pass on your request to our search leader. In the meantime, we hope you respect our customs. My people are not used to outsiders, especially if they are flying over the planet using sensors. We have a slight tendency towards xenophobia and I do not wish to alarm the public." (reply Dennison) (posted by Kerry Fletcher) (USS Dennison – RR-CMO Dr NYmes – 1954) "My apologies. The use of craft of that type will not be needed, our own search teams have such things themselves. If my teams need any additional help, I will pass on your request to our search leader. In the meantime, we hope you respect our customs. My people are not used to outsiders, especially if they are flying over the planet using sensors. We have a slight tendency towards xenophobia and I do not wish to alarm the public." Nymes nodded, knowing that his superior wouldn’t accept that as a final result, and tried to press the diplomatic buttons. “I understand your concern, sir, but if I may be so bold, I would point out that your Search and Rescue craft may not be technologically compatible with our systems, and thus we would like to conduct a discreet effort, if that would be allowable.” (reply Aleth, rfm) “If that is not acceptable, may I suggest that one of our own personnel be included in the search attempt as a liaison?” (reply Aleth) Nymes sighed, he doubted that he was getting anywhere with the SAR attempt, and decided to change tack, moving onto the reasons why the Dennison was called to Maltorian Space. “First Minister, the disappearance of our team notwithstanding, we would like to continue to reopen diplomatic relations with your people. As our protocol forbids the use of our transporters when there is a potential problem, I would suggest a communication conference be timetabled for the morning. In the meantime, I am forwarding our diplomatic briefing information in good faith.” Nymes said, professionally drawing the conversation to a close. (reply Aleth) (posted by GC) (USS Dennison- Primary Engineering- Crewman Morgan Randell- 2045) Morgan had attempted to boast the sensors and failed. He was becoming frustrated and that he did not enjoy, he liked being in control and enjoyed his work. Today was not a good day for him, he had found the signal but was unable to do anything with it because of the dampening field on the planet. Frustration was not something he handled well, he needed to do something to occupy his time. Getting up from his terminal he headed towards the turbo lift and said, " Chief, I'm going to prep the class III probe. I'll see what I can do to enhance the on board sensors and integrate a communications relay. You know where to find me if I'm needed." (reply Freeman iyw/any) (posted by Milo Young) (USS Dennison- Torpedo launch control- Crewman Morgan Randell- 2100) Morgan was bending over the class III probe adjusting the sensor gain to its maximum limits. He wanted to be sure that the probe would operate at its best performance level. When he was satisfied with the sensor array he began to install an on board communications relay. The interior of the probe was pretty tightly packed already but he was certain there was enough space for him to install the relay. Grabbing various tools from his kit and the relay itself he began the process of tying the relay into the probes circuitry. Checking and rechecking every connection with a tricorder to be sure everything would operate as it should. Minutes passed as Morgan continued his work, glad to have something to keep his mind occupied. As an Engineer Morgan was not good with free time as such. Any time he was not concentrated on a specific task he became fidgety and at times frustrated. Working on the probe was just what he needed whether it was going to be used or not. The brass on the bridge got to make that call if they could get the Maltorian's to agree to the plan, which he hoped they would. Morgan did not like the fact that the ship was missing personnel for any reason. After a few more connections Morgan realized he had finished his task, so he ran a few scans on the probe and was happy with the results. Everything seemed to be functioning properly. Closing all but one of the probes access panels Morgan decided to run a diagnostic on the probe as well, just to be certain. Entering the commands into the interface he waited for the diagnostic to run its course. Moments later the diagnostic was completed and the display showed every system was functioning within normal parameters, the probe was ready for launch. Morgan closed the access panel and tapped his comm badge, "Morgan to Chief Freeman, the probe is prepped and ready for launch. I'm on my way back to Engineering." (reply Freeman/any) (posted by Milo Young) (USS Dennison - Deck 9, Operations Support Systems - OO Petty Officer 1st Class Chrystine Nicklaus - 2130) Chrystine's head throbbed and she had no idea why. She was doing her best to focus on the task at hand to fix some of the glitches that had appeared in the system a few hours ago, when they had entered Maltorian space. However they had been brought here had wrecked havoc on a number of the systems. She had heard other departments were calling in extra hands to help get some systems fixed. The sensors and the communication system were a priority and Chrystine stared numbly at the screen before her trying to figure out how to help. The headache numbed her usually perky personality and Chrystine was unusually depressed by it. In any other circumstance, she would have tried to soldier on, but after a while, her mind blanked and she found herself wandering the corridors of the ship. She didn't really have a replacement to take her place, but at the moment, her mind was elsewhere and the normally responsible Petty Officer was being slightly deficient in her duties. (Maltoria, Power Station, CSO/2O Dale Bracken, 2148) "Sir, my recommendation is, that we not go beyond this door," said Sanok. "I know we're searching for answers, but your tricorder may not have given an accurate scan because of the EM field. We may actually be in danger, if we entered. Perhaps one of the others discovered something. Perhaps we should report our findings before continuing." Dale turned toward the ensign, for the moment he was right, at the moment they had to assume that any readings that they had were not 100% accurate, especially in the light of such a massive EM field. “Good point Ensign,” Dale nodded, then paused slightly, “I’ll run a diagnostic, see if we can’t recalibrate, allow for the interference.” (Reply Sanok IYW) (Maltoria, Power Station, Ensign jg Sanok, 2149) Bracken said, "Good point, Ensign. I’ll run a diagnostic, see if we can’t recalibrate, allow for the interference." "Yes, sir," said Sanok. While he watched Bracken scan, his thoughts returned to the Maltorian men the group had seen in the city. Something was still nagging at him, but he couldn't figure it out. He was beginning to become irritated, so he had to take a deep breath and do a silent meditation technique to rid himself of the unwanted feeling. (USS Dennison - Deck 10, Sickbay - OO Petty Officer 1st Class Chrystine Nicklaus - 2150) Somehow Chrystine found herself the door step of sickbay and decided that since she was here, she might as well get some help. She passed through the threshold and noticed an unusual number of patients within. At least she thought there were more there than she thought there would be, since they hadn't been in any major incident. Finally she said, "Does anyone have anything for a headache?" (Reply Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) (USS Dennison - Bridge - TAC/SC Lt (sg) Joan Shrekt - 2200) Shrekt sat in what she now believed to be the most uncomfortable chair in the world. Now she knew why captains tended to stand so much. It made one wonder why they did not simply remove the chair altogether. She glanced down at the various reports that were sent to the seat, trying to piece together the larger picture. What she saw at tactical was just a fraction of what the command officers saw and while she had pulled command duty in the past, it was not often and it took her a bit to readjust to the flood of information that was now passing before her eyes. Now she also remembered why captains would so often ask for verbal reports. So taking that into consideration, she tapped her commbadge and said, "Shrekt to Nymes" (Reply Nymes) "What is the status of the Captain, Doctor?" asked Shrekt. (Reply Nymes) "I see," nodded Shrekt, after hearing of the captain's condition. She then remembered the incident in ten-forward and decided to inquire on that matter as well. "Doctor, do you also have an update on the condition of the wounded crewman from ten-forward earlier this evening?" (Reply Nymes) After she had finished speaking to the doctor, Shrekt then contacted engineering, "Shrekt to Chief Freeman." (Reply Freeman) "What is the ship's status, Chief?" inquired Shrekt. (Reply Freeman) Once she had been updated, she returned her attention to the bigger picture. She was contemplating their next move, when Ensign tlha'nlSta approached her. The ensign reported on what she had worked on in the past few hours and handed Shrekt a padd outlining her plan. Shrekt took a moment to review the requisition request as the ensign explained what she wanted. Finally, she said, "Very well, Ensign. Get down to engineering and talk with Chief Freeman to see if we have everything you need. I am giving you permission to proceed, but once you have completed the upgrades, notify me first before we launch the vessels. We are guests here and I do not plan to offend them any more than we have to." (Reply tlha'nlSta) Shrekt watched the ensign leave, while a bemused smile appeared on her lips. ~Guests,~ she scoffed inwardly. She did not feel that they were being given the treatment of guests, especially from people who desired assistance from the Federation and who had initiated the contact. Even so, she kept those comments to herself. She tapped her badge once more and said, "Shrekt to Coleman" (Reply Coleman) "Have you apprehended the Lieutenant?" asked Shrekt. (Reply Coleman) (Reply Nymes, Freeman, tlha'nlSta, Coleman, Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) (USS Dennison – Sickbay – CMO Dr Nymes - 2201) =/\= Shrekt to Nymes=/\= Nymes was picked out of his own world of concentration and brought back to the land of Sickbay, with all the sights and sounds of the department before him as the door opened onto the organised chaotic scene. Nymes, as CMO, and one of only two doctors on board, had been pulling double duty since his understudy had left planetside, and now was easing himself back into a on-call mentality. The fact that the Captain was incapacitated, and now lay in Side room A1 on the ward recuperating from his travel through to Maltorian Space, meant that Nymes had to do more ceremonial tasks as well as looking after the crew’s well being; he had to organise a formal diplomatic meeting with Maltorian representatives. Sorting out the minutiae with First Minister Aleth had been challenging, but despite the differences, especially the sticking point of sovereignty, a brief common ground had been reached, and had allowed the Dennison to adopt a more formal relationship with the planet. Lewis had felt himself drifting back to his first host’s “memory”, the recollection was hazy at best; glimpses of the past more like déją vu rather than the firm beliefs of hard memory. It was in a pensive mood that the doctor tapped his commbadge to answer the acting captain “Nymes here.” =/\=What is the status of the Captain, Doctor? =/\= Shrekt was on the commline, but Nymes was unimpressed. Personal issues aside, Confidentiality was still something that the trill would protect. “My patient remains stable, Lieutenant.” Nymes said, not angrily, nor impatient, but cautiously. =/\=I see. Doctor, do you also have an update on the condition of the wounded crewman from ten-forward earlier this evening?=/\= “The wounded crewman...”Nymes said, jogging his memory. “Again, my patient is stable, sir. Any other information would be breaking standard confidentiality, and is not critical to the mission.” Nymes was pleased that the TAC wasn’t pushing the issue regarding information, it showed a composure and experience in the centre chair that was good, considering the situation they were in. “Nymes out.” The sickbay was filling up – the departments’ having made the critical repairs, had sent the walking wounded and shaken up to Sickbay for a check up, and had all started to arrive within the last 10 or so minutes. Sickbay itself was split into 4 main areas – opposite the main, frosted glass doors was the Waiting and Administrative area, with the CMO and ACMO offices, the Staff room and Medical Stores in a central hub. Forward and Port was the main Triage area, with 6 treatment beds and a diagnostic biobed. On the starboard side, the two ten bed wards were situated, with the port and aft being the labs. The waiting room was full, with people standing around the walls when Nymes returned to his office. The EMH was working overtime, triaging the patients in the absence of Dr Porter, and sending cases for further treatment and scans to the triage ward. Nymes was picking up the pieces from there, and seeing those that the EMH deemed necessary. It wasn’t an infallible system, but it did screen the minor cases quite well, with arranged follow up and a less busy time. “Christine Nicklaus, please.” Nymes said, glancing at the next name on the PADD. “Please come through.” He asked, letting the PO walk through to his office, which doubled as treatment room and administrative room, with a bed at one end of the room, and a desk on the other. A door led from the CMO Office to the Triage ward, its frosted glass marred by the soot and explosions of the last battle of the war, a reminder that Nymes had insisted on keeping after Sickbay was fully restored. Otherwise, the room was Cream, and frosted glass, a light, airy room, appropriate to its function. “What can I do for you today?” (reply Nicklaus) (posted by GC) (Maltoria- Power Station- Commander Trevan West - 2210) After regaining his composure, he managed to avoid that part of the database again. If he had more time, he would love to have a more in-depth look into it, but time was not their friend so he downloaded as much as the tricorder would hold and hoped it would be enough to send back to the ship whenever, or if they ever regained contact. The main computer display was now static once again with what appears to be an official seal or logo of some kind, similar to the UFP image on most Federation consoles when they are not in use. "Ben, go check on the others and see if they need any help. I'll stay here and see what else I can dig up." he said to Ben Soma, not realizing quickly enough that his comment may be a quite bad pun regarding the 'dust'. Looking to his immediate left, Trevan saw that the room extended about ten meters and then came to a stop. Several conduits ran above his head along the ceiling and in and out of the walls themselves and Trevan glanced at them only for a moment before looking ahead and moving towards the end of the corridor. Near the end of the hall, two doors were on his right. One was locked while the other was ajar slightly, so he slid his foot into the space between the door and the wall and gave the door a slight nudge and took a quick peek inside. The room was not lit at all, but a small yellow light was emanating from a small viewer and that made the shadows seem quite long and ominous looking to Trevan. Abandoning all logic, he pushed the button and the screen came to life with a tremendous amount of data. A moment later, it was gone and was replaced by the standard directory that he had seen just a few moments ago, but this one was slightly different. This directory contained an entire list of departments on the entire planet! "Bingo" he said aloud. Although it was a communication device, it seemed to only able to contact other such units hardwired into the planetary grid. Bringing up the first name he could think of, Trevan tapped the panel and the image of First Minister Aleth came into existence. "First Minister I am Commander Trevan West from the Starship Dennison. We seem to have been mis-transported and my team and I are currently fine in this power facility." he said quickly to the man. "Ah, Commander West. I am very much relieved to see you and your team are alive and un-injured. We had search teams out looking for you with no luck. I am dispatching a rescue team to your location, and they should be there in the next twenty minutes," said Aleth, "You are quite a distance away from us." he said not feeling the need to elaborate on where they were exactly. "Field Liaison Droketh will meet you. Do not move from your location, and I will of course contact your ship to inform them of the news." Trevan nodded and thanked the Minister before ending the transmission. Tapping his badge he informed the entire team of what had transpired and urged them to quickly contact the Dennison if they could. He felt the need to tell them on his own what was going on. (reply Any) (posted by Kerry Fletcher) (Maltoria, Power Station, CSO/2O Dale Bracken, 2212) A few minutes had passed, Dale had tried every trick that she knew to try and allow for the interference, all to no avail. “Bracken to West, we’ve got something up here, massive EM field, at first i thought it was the communications array, but now i think it’s what’s preventing us communicating with the Dennison. Do we have anything from the Database as yet?” (Reply West) Dale listened to West’s reply, her face falling, “Dear god no.” (Reply West) (Posted by Mark) (Maltoria- Power Station- ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma-2213) "Ben, go check on the others and see if they need any help. I'll stay here and see what else I can dig up." West said. Ben thought that the reference to "dig up" was unintentional considering what they had just learned about the dust they were breathing a short while ago. But made no comment. He looked at West and said, "Aye, Sir." Ben looked around the room and remembered having seen Lt. Bracken and Ensign Sanok heading in that direction so he decided to start there. He began walking down the corridor and came to a flight of stairs. ~ Guess they went up~ Ben thought as he began climbing the stairs to the next level. When he reached the next floor he looked around in the pale light and noticed two shapes in the distance. Continuing forward silently and as carefully as he could he was able to determine the shapes were Bracken and Sanok. Ben continued to their position and spoke in a low tone so he would not startle anyone. "Commander West wanted me to check in with the rest of the team to see if there was anything I could do to help. Is there anything I can do to assist you here?" (reply Bracken/Sanok) Commander West's voice chose that particular moment to bring their comm badges to life. He explained the situation and the rescue party and then said they should do whatever they could to contact the Dennison if possible. "Looks like we’re going to have some company, not sure I really like the idea given the nature of the broadcast we heard. I hope the First Minister has loyal men coming for us." Ben said as he remembered the broadcast they heard informing the public about the away team. (reply as above/any) (posted by Milo Young) (USS Dennison – Bridge – ACEO Lanista – 2214) Lanista had examined the materials available to accomplish what Lt, SG Shrekt required: create a new and improved sensor palette for the Dennison’s shuttlecraft. She presumed that meant the Danube-class runabouts also carried by the starship. The hybrid Vulcan-Klingon (“Vulgon”?) knew runabouts could be outfitted with sensor modules, but as Dennison only carried 2 “River-Class” substarships, sensor modules would likely be insufficient for the task at hand. Growing up on a heavily-modified Bird-of-Prey colored tlha’nlSta’s view of how to accomplish things. If sensor modules would not solve the problem, perhaps weapons would. Runabouts could be outfitted with microtorpedoes. A quick scan on the LCARS interface at her station revealed to Lanista that the Dennison’s auxiliary craft did indeed carry these weapons. Now torpedoes in Starfleet were structurally and functionally similar (except with respect to payload) to a few types of probes. A microtorpedo launcher, just beneath an auxiliary craft’s cockpit, should be able to launch microprobes. The Danubes already had such launchers. The remaining 8 shuttlecraft, and perhaps even the Captain’s yacht, could be equipped with an outboard version – essentially just the probe magazine and delivery system. Of course, the Maltorian government might protest the utilization of ten or eleven missioncraft in their airspace. tlha'nISta’ pondered the puzzle for a few minutes, then…! ~qaSStaHvIS wa' ram loS SaD Hugh SIjlaH qetbogh loD!~ “Ever care to see the Four Thousand get revenge!” she murmured. Lieutenant,”¯ tlha’nlSta’ said, “I think I have it. We can fire tens, or even hundreds, of microprobes preprogrammed to deploy to the vertices of a geodesic configuration – something like a FFullerene molecule or an Old-Earth Hoberman sphere except writ large. The formation should be centered on whatever phenomenon it is you wish to observe. They can be kept in place with miniature RCS thrusters, tractor beams or even gravimetrics. Using Euler-Lagrange equations of motion regarding the differential geometry of curved space-time will ensure the microprobes stay on specified extremal, autoparallel trajectories. This application should allow for an exponential increase in sensor capability, provided – of course – the Maltorians don’t start shooting the probes.”€¯ Lanista handed Shrekt a requisition PADD. “I will need these to make this work,”¯ she said. The list of equipment included the following: Christoffel distance minimizers, Hamiltonian flow regulators, Hopf-Rinow bundles, Intrinsic Frobenius meters, Jacobi vector field generators, Levi-Civita connections, and Riemannian manifolds. (Reply Shrekt, any on bridge) (Posted by FT) (Maltoria, Power Station, Ensign jg Sanok, 2214) While Bracken was still scanning, Sanok heard someone coming, taking a position to protect Bracken. Seeing it was Soma, he resumed his previous position, nodding to his fellow security officer when he greeted them. Giving up on the scan, Bracken reported in to Commander West. His report apparently chilled her to the bone. "Dear, God. No." People. The abundant dust all around the city, was the remains of people. Sanok stared at nothing, as he considered this unpleasant news. Just what sort of civilization were these Maltorians? (Reply Any) (Posted by Bob) (Maltoria - Power Station - Security Officer Crewman Abu Nighy - 2215) Abu was on his knees, the last of his Maltorian filled lunch having been reproduced in an unsightly manner. He clutched his stomach and began to sit down, when he recalled that the dust was not just any old dust. He hopped to his feet, scanning the area a bit wildly trying to find some section of the floor that might be as Maltorian filled as the next. He moved about a bit, while the Commander seemed to be speaking to someone. When he stopped moving, Abu found himself beside Ensign Sanok. He caught the tail end of the Commander's conversation and was a bit stupefied. Rather than question the commander, Abu turned to the ensign and asked, "Is it really safe to wait here for them, Ensign?" Abu's eyes flitted about the room, continuing without waiting for the Ensign’s reply. "I mean, look what happened here. What if we're next? Are we just going to just wait?" (reply Sanok) Abu looked at Sanok hoping for some sign of comfort, even though a Vulcan might not have been the best candidate for what he was looking for. (reply Sanok, Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) (Maltoria - Power Station - ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma- 2218) Ben listened as he heard approaching footsteps, he crouched and prepared for a possible attack. Then Crewman Nighy came into view and stopped beside Sanok. He had obviously heard the Commanders announcement and began asking questions to Sanok. "Is it really safe to wait here for them, Ensign?" And without waiting for a reply he asked another question. "I mean, look what happened here. What if we're next? Are we just going to just wait?" Ben figured the Crewman was becoming very nervous and might possibly cause a little trouble if he did not compose himself. As a security officer it was necessary to remain composed and level headed in any situation, the survival of an away team or the successful completion of a mission could depend on how well a security officer acted and interacted with others and his or her surroundings. He wanted to tell the crewman to compose himself and remain calm but it was Sanok who the questions were directed to and it was Sanok's place to respond not his. Ben could understand the Crewman's concerns as he had similar concerns himself, but he remained calm and concentrated on his job and his duties, the years of martial arts training and discipline would not allow him to do any less. Ben had become a security officer because of his level of discipline and self control, he was proud of his upbringing and his parents’ insistence on teaching him such discipline through martial arts training it had served him well over the years. So he waited for Sanok to handle the situation with Nighy and hoped that Sanok would be able to dispel the Crewman's concerns about their current situation. If necessary Ben would aid his fellow security officer in calming Nighy, after all a nervous security officer could be a future liability to the mission. It was their job to safe guard the rest of the personnel in the away team and see that everything went smoothly for the good of the mission. (reply any) (posted by Milo Young) (Maltoria- Power Station – CSO/2O Dale Bracken - 2220) The past half hour had been awash with thoughts and abandoned ideas, Dale had been almost dumbstruck by what West had told her, what had been discovered about the dust that pervaded everything around them. Ludicrously, Dale remembered visiting a beach with her father when she had been about 12, the sand had got everywhere, this however, was worse, so much worse. They had been breathing this in, swallowing, threading on all this since the moment that they had arrived here. Dale knew that some would be horrified, as indeed was she, however, that was eclipsed by her feelings of absolute, stone cold anger. It had brought to her a grim determination to focus, to pull her whole mind into trying somehow to get around the dampening field to at least get into contact with the Dennison, and now, some thirty minutes later, she thought that she had an idea. “Soma, Sanok, I’m to understand that we’ll be having company soon?” Dale didn’t turn away from looking at the device in front of her. She had managed to recalibrate the tricorder, it still showed that although a high EM field filled the room, it had been all that had, though she didn’t hold anything against Sanok from pulling her back earlier. Dale knew that she could be a little prone to ignoring everything around her when presented with a problem such as this. (Reply Soma/Sanok) “Head downstairs, I want as much warning as possible of their arrival, I’ve got an idea here, but I’m afraid you guys can’t help, you’ll be better off keeping guard downstairs.” (Reply Soma/Sanok) She watched as the two security officers headed back down, she then turned back and, still looking at machine, hit her commbadge. “Bracken to West, I’ve got what appears to be a small, but very powerful subspace array here sir. It’s a good possibility that it’s this that’s interrupting out communications with the Dennison. Now, I think that it’s using a semi-adaptive phasing field, seems to respond to and cancel out our frequencies. Now, if we alter our signal, so that it’s of phase with the field itself, I think that we can use it to amplify our own signal rather than cancelling it out, In short sir, I think that we’ll be able to hail the Dennison.” (Reply West) Dale smiled slightly at the remark, “Perhaps, all that said, it’ll still be horrifically weak, and it’ll be a racing certainty that we still can’t transport out.” (Reply West) “Understood. It’ll take a couple of minutes to fully adapt the signal.” Dale stopped, suddenly, a thought that had begun to niggle a while ago suddenly coming to the fore. “Sir, I’ve just had a really weird thought. You know there’s two options to explain our presence here, why we ended up here rather than in the office of the president, discounting accident I mean.” (Reply West) “Well,” She began “either someone didn’t want us to get there, and sent us here to try and keep us out the way....or....well, or someone wanted us to find out what we just have.” (Reply West, any as above) (Posted by Mark) (Maltoria- Power Station – ATac Ensign (jg) Ben Soma- 2223) “Soma, Sanok, I’m to understand that we’ll be having company soon?” Bracken asked. "A Maltorian rescue party is en route to our position as we speak." Ben responded. "They will be arriving soon." “Head downstairs, I want as much warning as possible of their arrival, I’ve got an idea here, but I’m afraid you guys can’t help, you’ll be better off keeping guard downstairs.” "You'll get as much warning as we can give, which probably won't be much time, thanks to the dampening field. As soon as we see them we'll give you a heads up." Ben said before turning to walk down the corridor and return to the main floor. Ben waited for Sanok to join him before heading down the stairs to the lower level. He thought back to the events of the past few hours, redirected transport, being in the warehouse breathing the remains of god knows who, avoiding the Maltorian's in the recreation grounds and outside, and now the upcoming meeting with the Maltorians en route to the power station. "This mission has been full of surprises wouldn't you say." He said to Sanok. (reply Sanok) (posted by Milo Young) -USS Dennison Star Trek: Freedom - http://www.startrekfreedom.com