Compile#34 October 01-11 (USS Rosenante & USS Boudicca Joint) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mission: Once More Into the Breach Day 5 Stardate: Age of Makto Compile Summary (USS Rosenante - Turbo Lift- Science Officer - Ensign Andrew Maddox - 1123) (USS Rosenante - Turbolift - Science Officer Ensign JG Joseph Willowbrook - Day 5 - 1126) (USS Rosenante - Deck 10 - Hard Dock -Science Officer - Ensign Andrew Maddox - 1127) (USS Rosenante - Turbolift - Science Officer Ensign JG Joseph Willowbrook - Day 5 - 1130) (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge - Science Officer - Ensign Andrew Maddox - 1137) (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge - Science Officer Ensign JG Joseph Willowbrook - Day 5 - 1141) (Starbase 989- Base Commander's Office- T'Lela-1430 ) (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab/ Isolation Bay CEO Lt. Steven Matrix , Day 5, 1511) (USS Rosenante, Main Sick Bay - CMO, Lt jg Kimiko Ichijo - Day 5, 1512) (USS Rosenante - Biohazard Lab/ Isolation Bay - aFO - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5 - 1513) (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel - Day 5, 1514) (USS Rosenante, Main Sick Bay – ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel – Day 5, 1515) (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - CEO, Lt. Steven Matrix - Day 5, 1516) (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - aFO - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5 - 1517) (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - CEO, Lt. Steven Matrix - Day 5 - 1519) (USS Rosenante - BioHazard Lab 1 - aFO - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5, 1522) (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel - Day 5, 1525) (USS Rosenante - Sickbay - aFO - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5, 1530) (USS Rosenante - Biohazard Lab - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5 - 1532) (USS Rosenante, Main Sick Bay - CMO, Lt jg Kimiko Ichijo - Day 5, 1535) (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - CTAC/SEC Lt. jg Ben Soma - 1545) (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - CTAC/SEC Lt. jg Ben Soma - 1559) (USS Rosenante - Deck 20 - ATAC/SC Ensign (jg) Jessica Signos- 1617) (USS Rosenante, Main Sickbay - ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel, Day 5, 1649) (USS Rosenante - Sickbay - FO - Commander T'Larah Sullivan - 1750) (USS Rosenante - Docking Port - Lt (jg) Ael Harkonnen T'Rillian - Day 5 - 1840) (USS Rosenante- Comm Suite- CSec- LT Chance Raschen- 2015) (USS Rosenante- Comm Suite- CSec- LT Chance Raschen- 2029) (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab/ Isolation Bay, CEO Lt. Steven Matrix , Day 5, 2033) (USS Rosenante- Deck 9 -Comm Suite- LT Tom Jackson -2nd Officer / COPS - Day 5 2034) (USS Rosenante - Biohazard Lab/Isolation Bay - aFO - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5 - 2035) (USS Rosenante, Commo Suite, Deck 9, Lieutenant Tom Jackson, 2nd Officer / COPS, Day 5, 2100) (USS Rosenante Deck 9 Commo Suite Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer / COPS Day 5 2105) (USS Rosenante- Commo Suite- CSec- LT Chance Raschen- 2108) (USS Rosenante - Deck 9 - Comm-suite - ACEO Ensign(jg) Henry Jacobs - 2109) (USS Rosenante - CommSuite - TAC/SC Lieutenant(SG) Detron Trei - 21.10) (USS Rosenante, Communications Suite Deck 9 Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer / COPS Day 5 2115) (USS Rosenante - Deck 9 Commo Suite Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer / COPS Day 5 2122) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Turbo Lift- Science Officer - Ensign Andrew Maddox - 1123) "Forgive me for not having just had the Collective's knowledge dumped into my brain and controlling my actions," he said verbally spilling his thoughts out. "I'd rather keep my "elementary" human brain." He shook his head. "Don't you see what they've done to you? Well...no, of course you don't. Why would you be able to? If what they did was successful, you wouldn't be able to analyze your own actions from a third person perspective. You'd just keep trudging along until you--" he stopped, and never finished the thought verbally. "Until I what?" Maddox asked simply "Finish what you were going to say." he encouraged. "Until you get someone hurt," Joseph answered, and his brow lowered. "What do you plan to tell the Captain? That the Borg gave you a crash course in diplomacy and you'd like to come out with your hands up and negotiate?" Anger creeped into Joseph's words, "The Borg don't negotiate, Andrew! They just steal! They steal technology, they steal after they've promised you they won't steal, they steal from babies, they steal from parents, they steal everything! They steal your mind, as anyone can see with you...but you can't see it, because they've already stolen it! Please...please just get checked out. Prove to me I'm wrong. Come on, if you're right, then you'll be able to go on and diplomatically change the universe. If I'm right, you'll be better off when someone helps you." The hum of the lift was the only other sound then the voices of the two men, but even that was soon drowned out. Joseph's volume was raising, Andrew's was staying relatively level. "That was the past Joseph. Volus has told me they've changed. They are no longer interested in subjugating other races. They see humans as having the potential to evolve, they want to help us out, give humans a helping hand, raise us to their level." Maddox explained. (Reply Willowbrook) Seemingly unswayed by Maddox's explanation Willowbrook had brought up the Borg's behavior earlier in the mission. "What would you do? If you were trying to accomplish a mission and then suddenly neanderthals showed up and started pounding your head with a club? I'll tell you what, you'd defend yourself. What's more the Borg have selected individuals to be enlightened and they resist why?" (Reply Willowbrook) Maddox ignored Joseph's answer as what was in his mind simple non-sense. "You know Joseph, you are my friend." (Reply Willowbrook) "...and if you continue outbursts like this, maybe you aren't deserving enough to be there when peace is negotiated between the Federation and the Borg." (Reply Willowbrook) As the pair arrived to Deck 10 Maddox stepped out and began walking towards the hard dock. {{Seek out Captain Salid. The sooner he is found the sooner negotiations can begin.}} "Understood." Maddox responded verbally to the Collective's call. It was obviously not in response to anything Joseph had said. (Reply Willowbrook) "Don't worry Joseph, they don't control my actions, they are giving me advice on how to proceed." he answered his companion's worried question. (Reply Willowbrook) The pair had made it to the hard dock in short time. Maddox looked around. ~Where is the Captain?~ {{Probability, Unit Salid has relocated in his own vessel. Begin systematic search starting on Deck One.}} Maddox began walking with no explanation towards a lift that would take them to the Bridge. (Reply Willowbrook) (Posted by Todd) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Turbolift - Science Officer Ensign JG Joseph Willowbrook - Day 5 - 1126) "That was the past Joseph. Volus has told me they've changed. They are no longer interested in subjugating other races. They see humans as having the potential to evolve, they want to help us out, give humans a helping hand, raise us to their level." Maddox explained. He snorted. "They help us by restraining us on a table where our limbs are torn off and our eyes are cut out!" He shuddered at his own statement, his voice now shaking in anger. "Or they just blast us into oblivion. If we won't be assimilated, we'll have to be disintegrated. That's the kind of *help* the Borg offer." "What would you do? If you were trying to accomplish a mission and then suddenly neanderthals showed up and started pounding your head with a club? I'll tell you what, you'd defend yourself. What's more the Borg have selected individuals to be enlightened and they resist why?" "Because enlightenment isn't enlightenment if it doesn't come from the person being enlightened!" Joseph screamed. Maddox seemed to ignore him. "You know Joseph, you are my friend." Willowbrook was breathing heavily. "Yes..." he said, his voice still shaking. "...and if you continue outbursts like this, maybe you aren't deserving enough to be there when peace is negotiated between the Federation and the Borg." "There will be no negotiations," he said definitively. "You'll be killed before that ever starts, Andrew. And if I happen to be next to you, so will I." As the pair arrived to Deck 10 Maddox stepped out and began walking towards the hard dock. Joseph followed him, and Maddox randomly said, "Understood." Joesph realized at that moment that Andrew was receiving instructions in his brain. He nearly froze in horror. "They're controlling you...they're speaking to you in your brain. Aren't they?" "Don't worry Joseph, they don't control my actions, they are giving me advice on how to proceed." he answered. Joseph glanced at his friend worriedly. In fact, he didn't take his eyes off of him from that point forward. The pair had made it to the hard dock in short time. Maddox looked around. Maddox began walking with no explanation towards another turbolift. "Where are we going, Andrew?" (reply Maddox) "Why? What do you plan to say?" (reply Maddox) "And you think he'll listen to you? Do you think you'll be able to convince anyone in a position of authority if you can't even convince me?" (reply Maddox) (Posted by Morgan G) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Deck 10 - Hard Dock -Science Officer - Ensign Andrew Maddox - 1127) "Where are we going, Andrew?" Joseph asked. "Straight to the top, to find the Captain." Andrew said. "Why? What do you plan to say?" the man asked. "I'm going to propose to the Captain Volus' proposal. I'm sure that it will provoke the Captain's interest." Andrew explained. Joseph seemed unconvinced. "And you think he'll listen to you? Do you think you'll be able to convince anyone in a position of authority if you can't even convince me?" "The Captain is a man of vision. The higher rank someone has the more that Star Fleet trusts them to see the future. Admirals look to the next campaign using the current state of the fleet and their experience to predict what their fleet will need or come up against. Captains look to the next mission in the future and look after their officers ensuring their well being, the first line that has to make the hard decisions for the good of the many. He'll see, he has the wisdom, trust me my friend, the negotiations will be short." Maddox said as the pair entered the turbolift that led to deck 1. (Reply Willowbrook, but not necessary) (posted by Todd) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Turbolift - Science Officer Ensign JG Joseph Willowbrook - Day 5 - 1130) "He'll see, he has the wisdom, trust me my friend, the negotiations will be short." Maddox said as the pair entered the turbolift that led to deck 1. Joseph was silent for a moment. Could Maddox be right? He should at least entertain the idea. He sounded rational enough, even though it seemed crazy on the surface. It was clear he had thought the idea through. Could the Borg actually want to negotiate? Maybe it was because they were winning? Maybe a brief alliance, and then... ...No. The Borg didn't negotiate. Joseph remembered enough of his history classes to recall the last time someone tried to 'negotiate' with the Borg. He remembered a quote from some Native American Human commander..."The Scorpion kills the turtle carrying it across the water because that's it nature." The Borg would rather the entire ship be obliterated and there be no vessel left to assimilate than have this ship get away intact. He turned to Maddox, and commented on his friend's last statement. "That's what I'm afraid of, Andrew. For your sake." (reply Maddox iyw) (posted by Morgan G) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge - Science Officer - Ensign Andrew Maddox - 1137) It didn't take Maddox long to reach the very top deck of the Rose, especially with all the turbolifts at his command. On a hunch he checked the Observation lounge first and was rewarded by the sight of Captain Salid with a pile of PADDS that were presumably department reports. "Sir, I know you must be busy, but I have a matter of some importance and I wanted to speak to you." he said. (Reply Salid, Willowbrook) "News of my assimilation has been greatly exaggerated." Maddox answered. "However I did have a rather stimulating conversation with a Borg named Volus. He is the head of the Collective's mission." (Reply Salid, room for more) " No, Volus told me. They aren't interested in assimilation out of malice. They have decided that the human race is worthy of evolving to the next level. I have been chosen to be their spokesperson to the human race. Being an artificial life form raised by humans, I was the logical choice. The bridge for the gap, the proverbial missing link." (Reply Salid) "Yes, I was created by Doctor Maddox in such a way that a normal scans show me as human. All my functions mimic normal human biological functions, I have a positronic brain and an android skeleton with a biological sheath." he explained. (Reply Salid) (Posted by Todd) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge - Science Officer Ensign JG Joseph Willowbrook - Day 5 - 1141) Joseph was surprised they found the captain so quickly. He was hoping they would roam around aimlessly for a while...as long as Maddox was with him, he didn't think he'd be assimilated. But he was starting to grow as afraid of his friend as he was of the rest of the Borg. They had done something to Andrew, and now that they were met with the Captain, Joseph feared Andrew would try to kill Salid if he didn't agree with his plan. ~If it comes to that, what will you do? Cower in fear, run away? Or jump in front of Salid and take the hit, save the Captain? Which is it? You've done both today--self-sacrifice and cowardly retreat. It's time to decide ahead of time so your nerves don't decide for you.~ "Sir, I know you must be busy, but I have a matter of some importance and I wanted to speak to you." Maddox said. (Reply Salid) Joseph stayed quiet, but gave Salid a worried look. His heart was still pounding from the argument he had with his friend earlier, and the reality that Maddox was completely insane was kicking in. With his proximity to the Captain, Willowbrook felt panic starting to form in his chest. "News of my assimilation has been greatly exaggerated." Maddox answered the Captain. "However I did have a rather stimulating conversation with a Borg named Volus. He is the head of the Collective's mission." (Reply Salid, room for more) "No, Volus told me. They aren't interested in assimilation out of malice. They have decided that the human race is worthy of evolving to the next level. I have been chosen to be their spokesperson to the human race. Being an artificial life form raised by humans, I was the logical choice. The bridge for the gap, the proverbial missing link." (Reply Salid) "Yes, I was created by Doctor Maddox in such a way that a normal scans show me as human. All my functions mimic normal human biological functions, I have a positronic brain and an android skeleton with a biological sheath." he explained. (Reply Salid) "I saw Volus show Andrew how he was created, Sir," Willowbrook found his voice. He heard the undercurrent of fear in his tone as he spoke. "They opened his skin and then repaired it." Hopefully, the Captain was as smart as people said he was, and he would catch the innuendo Willowbrook was trying to plant. If they had opened up Maddox, they could easily have planted a control device in his friend's arm. The alternative that Maddox had been brainwashed in so short amount of time, or that he was actually complicit in these plans, made Willowbrook want to throw up. And he thought he had done quite enough of that for one day. (reply Salid, Maddox) (posted by Morgan G) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Starbase 989- Base Commander's Office- T'Lela-1430 ) It had been over 48 hours since the base commander had informed T'Lela that the Rosenante and Boudicca simply failed to report in. "Check back in an hour or two. I may have more information to pass on." He had said to her. So for almost every two hours for the last couple of days, T'Lela would be at his office trying to find something out, anything. She had been frantic. Just like the other dependents off of the Rosenante and the Boudicca after she had let them know that Starfleet had lost contact with the two ships. There was once a time in another universe, she was feared almost as much as Emporer Doenitz himself. T'Lela had once been an 'Emporer's Hand'; and she carried out his judgment upon those who had inexplicably failed him. When she was offered the mission to cross over to this universe to help keep Raschen in line for Admiral Heatherby, she jumped at the chance. To be with the alternate version of one of her lovers, Temerarious. Raschen was different, yet was equally driven as Temerarious. Each man had the main personality of the other's pseudonym. T'Lela had tried her best not to get angry; but her dealings with the base commander were infuriating to say the least. When she entered the outer office, the yeoman asked her to have a seat as she proudly strode right past him and into the inner office. As the Romulan woman storm into his office he ingenunously smiled. He had gotten sick of seeing her every couple of hours. "T'Lela, always a...nevermind. I haven't heard any..." Was all he said before she cut him off. "Don't bother to denie it. You must know something by now." She hotly stated. "As a matter of fact, I have. The Nova-class ship that was dispatched to the last known whereabouts of the Rosenante and Bouddica has reported their findings." He said as he sat back down behind his desk. "AND!" She exclaimed holding on to the back of the chair that she stood behind. (Reply: none) (Posted by: Charlie) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab/ Isolation Bay CEO Lt. Steven Matrix , Day 5, 1511) "Okay we've isolated the nanoprobes and Mr. Carter has that discovered their attack code. Excellent Mr. Carter." (Reply Carter) "Given these probes can act independently and as a group, even communicating with one another. I would suspect they act much like the Borg collective when they're working together. If we can isolate and mimic their communication sequences we might be able to modify one or a dozen and have them issue some sort of self-destruct or attach command. Have them shut their Borg host down." said Matrix. "What do you think?" asked Matrix. (Reply Carter, Caskie, anyone) "We can use the replicators to create new probes and the computer sequencer to program our rogue probes. We'll need to be careful that we don't infect ourselves with these things. We need to come up with a way to program the probes to ignore non-Borg hosts should they come into contact with any other human, or non-human aboard either ship. In fact, with any non-Borg at all in case these things somehow make their way off ship. Any ideas on how this could be accomplished? Is Borg DNA, for example, different that any other species?" asked Matrix. (Reply Carter, Caskie, any) "The other problem is how we deliver these nanoprobes? By air, direct contact?" continued Matrix. (Reply Carter, Caskie, any) "Well lets test some theories and see what works best." replied Matrix. (Reply Cater, Caskie, any) (Posted by Steve) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Main Sick Bay - CMO, Lt jg Kimiko Ichijo - Day 5, 1512) Kimiko heard that response of the science officer. ~Isra.~ Kimiko reminded herself ‘Wired’ was a strange term for overmedicated, the doctor thought but the sensation of every nerve in her body humming after her last injection reminded her that maybe it was not such a bad expression. Isra seemed to a moment to process her last statement then replied. "Oh! you mean my arm!, I can't feel a thing, whatever is in this spray is great." Kimiko nodded “Although it would be great to not feel any pain, no discomfort at all could raise issues later. Although I don’t wish anyone to be in pain, walking around addled may be worse, particularly with minimally treated injuries.” As the Chief Medical Officer spoke, she ran the tricorder over the injury. “How did this happen?” she asked conversationally "It happened earlier today, a Borg drone shattered most of the bones in that area..." Isra explained, The doctor winced sympathetically, “It looks like a displaced fracture that had been realigned, but had become offset once again. “It looks like you may have reinjured your arm again, I need to reset it again, but it should not hurt too badly. After that I will put you in a semi-rigid cast to follow up on to see if you might need surgery.” (Reply Caliel) “Yes, this is one of the reasons that I believe that it is a good idea to reduce you dosage.” Kimiko replied "To be honest, what I need more than stimms or painkillers is rest, like everyone else." The science offer stated quietly. A guilty expression passed over Kimiko’s face but vanished almost as quickly. “That is something that we are in very short supply of, I would start ordering people to take rest breaks if I thought for a minute that anyone would obey.” As she spoke, she deftly maneuvered the bones into place and started to wrap the arm. “I know that it may seem pretty hopeless at times with the Borg, but I have complete confidence in our crew and our ships and I know that we will triumph.” Right after she spoke, the words rung slightly hollow in her ears, almost as if she was trying to convince herself. She knew for a fact that the Borg would not succeed at their plans, but there was a tiny worrisome doubt that anyone would survive to enjoy their success. (Reply Caliel) (Reply Jack) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Biohazard Lab/ Isolation Bay - aFO - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5 - 1513) Josh listened as Matrix began reviewing what they had already covered. "Given these probes can act independently and as a group, even communicating with one another. I would suspect they act much like the Borg collective when they're working together. If we can isolate and mimic their communication sequences we might be able to modify one or a dozen and have them issue some sort of self-destruct or attach command. Have them shut their Borg host down. What do you think?" Josh smiled. "Not a bad idea Mr Matrix. If we could have them carry a command that would have their host become temporarily catatonic that would help immensely. Glutamin acid was a know catatonia inducing drug way back when. Perhaps if they could mimic that.?" (Reply Matrix, Caliel, Carter, Vanik) Matrix continued his though processes. "We can use the replicators to create new probes and the computer sequencer to program our rogue probes. We'll need to be careful that we don't infect ourselves with these things. We need to come up with a way to program the probes to ignore non-Borg hosts should they come into contact with any other human, or non-human aboard either ship. In fact, with any non-Borg at all in case these things somehow make their way off ship. Any ideas on how this could be accomplished? Is Borg DNA, for example, different that any other species?" asked Matrix. Josh shook her head. "To be honest I don't think we have the time just now to be so finicky. We probably need to concentrate on a simple way for them to shut the Borg nanoprobes down and possible program them with a timed self destruct." (Reply Matrix, Caliel, Carter, Vanik) "The other problem is how we deliver these nanoprobes? By air, direct contact?" continued Matrix. Josh shook her head again. "That's where I keep hitting the proverbial brick wall Mr Matrix. I can't come up with a way that will only deliver them to the Borg and no-one else." (Reply Matrix, Caliel, Carter, Vanik) (Posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel - Day 5, 1514) Josh smiled. "Not a bad idea Mr Matrix. If we could have them carry a command that would have their host become temporarily catatonic that would help immensely. Glutamin acid was a know catatonia inducing drug way back when. Perhaps if they could mimic that?" "That would be crippling if they affected us as well. Maybe if we could set them to do that only if Borg probes are detected, it would send all newly assimilated drones into a state of catatonia." Isra replied, her mind swimming with all the new information she'd picked up. Caskie spoke up at that point, which caused Isra to look up. "To be honest I don't think we have the time just now to be so finicky. We probably need to concentrate on a simple way for them to shut the Borg nanoprobes down and possible program them with a timed self destruct." "Self destruct would be potentially bad. We don't know how a human system devoid of white cells would react to dead nanoprobes throughout the body. If we're going down that line, we need to test it." Isra replied, as the conversation continued. "The other problem is how we deliver these nanoprobes? By air, direct contact?" continued Matrix. Josh shook her head again. "That's where I keep hitting the proverbial brick wall Mr Matrix. I can't come up with a way that will only deliver them to the Borg and no-one else." "What about dart guns and hyposprays? Simple, but they could be effective." Isra interjected. Indeed, it would be the most simple way of spreading them only to intended targets. (Reply Matrix, Carter, Vanik, Caskie) Written by Andy Jones --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Main Sick Bay – ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel – Day 5, 1515) "It happened earlier today, a Borg drone shattered most of the bones in that area..." Isra explained, “It looks like a displaced fracture that had been realigned, but had become offset once again. It looks like you may have reinjured your arm again, I need to reset it again, but it should not hurt too badly. After that I will put you in a semi-rigid cast to follow up on to see if you might need surgery.” “I couldn’t even feel it... I’d never have noticed if you hadn’t asked...” Isra said, “Yes, this is one of the reasons that I believe that it is a good idea to reduce you dosage.” Kimiko replied The rest of their conversation went past slowly, as the bones in her arm were put back into place. The dosage was reduced, and the young science officer returned to her station in the biohazard lab. ~Why did I have to go and break my wrist so badly?~ she asked herself as she scanned through the code that had been put together so far. “So... this bit is what makes it attach to blood cells...” she said out loud, though it was targeted at no one but herself. “Now how does it tell what are blood cells and what aren’t?” (Reply any) Written by Andy Jones --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - CEO, Lt. Steven Matrix - Day 5, 1516) Josh smiled. "Not a bad idea Mr Matrix. If we could have them carry a command that would have their host become temporarily catatonic that would help immensely. Glutamin acid was a know catatonia inducing drug way back when. Perhaps if they could mimic that?" "That would be crippling if they affected us as well. Maybe if we could set them to do that only if Borg probes are detected, it would send all newly assimilated drones into a state of catatonia." Isra replied, her mind swimming with all the new information she'd picked up. Caskie spoke up at that point, which caused Isra to look up. "To be honest I don't think we have the time just now to be so finicky. We probably need to concentrate on a simple way for them to shut the Borg nanoprobes down and possible program them with a timed self destruct." "Self destruct would be potentially bad. We don't know how a human system devoid of white cells would react to dead nanoprobes throughout the body. If we're going down that line, we need to test it." Isra replied, as the conversation continued. "The other problem is how we deliver these nanoprobes? By air, direct contact?" continued Matrix. Josh shook her head again. "That's where I keep hitting the proverbial brick wall Mr Matrix. I can't come up with a way that will only deliver them to the Borg and no-one else." "What about dart guns and hyposprays? Simple, but they could be effective." Isra interjected. Indeed, it would be the most simple way of spreading them only to intended targets. Matrix thought a bit, "A hypospray requires close contact and would put anyone within reach of a drone at risk. We could devise a...oh what was it called?" ask Matrix "...a blow gun. It used simple air compression to eject a dart. It was used on Earth centuries ago for various purposes, but is quite effective as I recall. The schematic shows these things as upwards of 3 meters long...I don't think that would be effective in this circumstance. " said Matrix (Reply Carter, Vanik, Caskie) "I don't think it would take the replicator anytime at all to replicate enough of these air compressed guns. With a dozen or two we could equip the crew with an effective short range weapon while keeping them out of harms way." continued Matrix. "What do you think?" (Reply Carter, Vanik, Caskie) "If I can access the ancient Earth database...it shouldn't take long to simulate both the weapon and the delivery mechanism." said Matrix while he accessed the computer database. "The primary core is a bit overloaded trying to keep up with ships systems...but I have access to the archives. This is interesting...a 'paintball' gun was an effective weapon within 60 to 80 yards using compressed CO2 gas to deliver a projectile to a target. The replication database has several versions available for replication." said Matrix. (Reply Carter, Vanik, Caskie) (Posted by Steve) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - aFO - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5 - 1517) Ensign Caliel jumped into the conversation. "Self destruct would be potentially bad. We don't know how a human system devoid of white cells would react to dead nanoprobes throughout the body. If we're going down that line, we need to test it." Josh looked up at Caliel, a sad smile on her face and shook her head. "I'm sorry Ensign, but I have my orders and they are to find a way to remove the Borg from both ships. My order also cover our dealings with any crew member who has already been assimilated. We are to help them if possible, if not... I leave the rest up to your imagination Ensign. Our job here is to stop the Borg any way we can. If I find out that the only way we can do so causes harm to members of our crew who have already been assimilated then I am sorry, but that is what it takes." (Reply Caliel iyw) The conversation moved on to the delivery system and again Caliel came up with a solution. "What about dart guns and hyposprays? Simple, but they could be effective." Isra interjected. Indeed, it would be the most simple way of spreading them only to intended targets. Josh simply shook her head. "Sadly both of those solutions are ineffective. Borg screens will rule out all but the first few hits of the dart gun and I will not order anyone to get close enough to a Borg to use a hypospray." "There has to be something that we can use that will simply target the nanoprobes and destroy them and nothing else. So what makes the nanoprobes different from everything else in the body? They are mostly a metal alloy construct with computer programing that converts organic tissue into whatever is needed for the host body to be assimilated. They change the organic structure of everything they infect so that the assimilation process can begin otherwise why use them in the first place. The Borg still finish off the process manually so therefore, if we stop the nanites we stop the assimilation process. Josh stopped for a moment and then smiled at everyone else in the room. "I think I might have the beginnings of a idea here. We need to rewrite the program so that the nanites are programmed to start to reverse what they have been doing to peoples organic tissue so that they cannot be assimilated. We have been looking for an off switch for the nanites, perhaps what we should be looking for is a reverse switch." She turned to Matrix and Caliel. "Surely it is easier to reverse a process than to simply turn it off completely." (Reply Matrix, Caliel, Vanik, anyone) (Posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - CEO, Lt. Steven Matrix - Day 5 - 1519) Matrix pondered the discussion. "I like your idea Josh, but I've been thinking if we can't target the nanoprobes because of the interaction between inorganic and organic why can't we target them by their EMF signature? They have to emit a frequency that should be detectable and discernible from any organic signature around it...them. " said Matrix. (Reply Caliel, Carter, Vanik) "I'm sure we can devise a portable scanner, even modify our standard tricorders to detect these EMF signatures with some level of certainty. The delivery system is still an interesting challenge. If we simply spray an area my concern is obviously infecting humans, but also the ship itself. We could create a larger problem." continued Matrix. (Reply Caliel, Carter, Vanik) "Well for example, I've seen instances where nanites have infected computer cores." Matrix grinned, "Not that our computer core is in tip top shape at the moment, but nonetheless, if we don't carefully quarantine our solution when deployed we might infect the ship's systems further." "Does anyone else share that concern or am I being paranoid?" asked Matrix. (Reply Caliel, Carter, Vanik) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - BioHazard Lab 1 - aFO - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5, 1522) Josh had waited whilst Ensign Vanik had assured her that he understood her orders and finally she smiled at him. "Thank you Ensign, I knew you would understand. Please feel free to go back to what you were working on." Before he could answer her a shout from Carter caught their attention. "He's dying! The probes are shutting down! Doctor Caskie if we lose him, we lose the research! We'll have to get another drone. You've got to save him, somehow!" Josh was already half way across the room before Carter had finished speaking and running her tricorder over O'Neill she began reading the results although she was fairly sure what was happening. She had already told Caliel that she could not keep O'Neill alive for much longer without sending him to Sickbay and although it was happening faster than she had anticipated, it seemed that what she had been worried about was indeed happening. His body was trying to re-assert itself but without the vital organs that the Borg had removed during his assimilation he had very little change of staying alive. Josh thought about it for all of thirty seconds, thirty vital seconds that meant the difference between life and death for O'Neill and thirty seconds that meant the difference between possible defeating the Borg here and now or losing to them for good. She already had her orders from Captain Salid, defeating the Borg was the reason she was in charge of everyone in this lab. If that meant that someone had to die then she had to learn to live with it. However as Carter had said, if they lost O'Neill they would have to start all over again from the beginning and Josh wasn't sure if they could. Certainly as a combined crew they had worked miracles with little more than smoke and mirrors to be honest, but smoke and mirrors only work for so long against advanced technology. In the thirty seconds that Josh had to make up her mind, her mind raced around trying to find a way to save O'Neill and the project both until finally just as she was sure it was going to slam up against a brick wall something in the back of her mind clicked and she shouted out. "Left hand wall behind me, bottom right hand corner, there is a personal stasis chamber, someone get it out and bring it here and help me get O'Neill into it now." Suddenly someone appear beside her with the chamber and helped her to load O'Neill into it. She slammed it shut and activated it. Not even turning to whoever had brought it she activated the chamber's antigravs and began to haul it towards the door. "Help me get this to Sickbay now. Once out of it's chamber this tube only has an hour of charge before it stops working. Carter, if you don't want to see all your work ruined you better come with us now." (Reply Carter, Vanik and all in the Bio Lab) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel - Day 5, 1525) "We're not getting anywhere." Isra said to herself, staring at the code that was in front of her. It looked more like strands of quadruple helix DNA than coding for machines by this point. Isra leaned her head forwards, but instantly brought it back up again, eyes wide. Anyone watching would assume she was again fighting off fatigue. ~how long has it been since those stimms?~ she asked herself, checking the clock that showed up on her computer screen. Not long enough for the downer to hit. She shook her head, trying to get some feeling back, and enough from her energy reserves to carry on working, but it wasn't helping. "Pem." she said, standing up. She walked over towards him, hoping that the exercise would kick in enough adrenaline to keep her going, but it was more to do with the mix of painkillers and stimulants in her system. Half way across the room, she hit the floor with a thud. (Reply Pem/any) (Dreamland - Isra Caliel) "Where am I?" Isra asked, opening her eyes again. Around her, the mechanical workings of a Borg Cube hummed and flashed systematically. As she looked around in her dream, her unconscious form in the real world twitched. "We are the Borg. You will fail. Resistance is Futile." the normal Borg voice spoke to her from the depths of her subconscious. "What about Assimilating me?" she asked, not used to this differing ultimatum. Just as she spoke, the Borg workings vanished, and she began falling into darkness. Surrounding her, the code that she'd been staring at for hours flashing around her, spinning into different forms. Each of the strands that she'd seen before intermingled into one, coherent line of code. The darkness vanished in a flash, leaving her lying on a green field on Earth. Nothing in the sky, no sign of civilisation in any direction. She stood up, and looked around, yelling for anyone that could hear her. --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Sickbay - aFO - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5, 1530) Later on Josh would never remember the mad dash to Sickbay with the chamber since one minute she was in the lab and the next it seemed that she was in the Rose Sickbay screaming her head off for Dr Ichijo. (Reply Ichijo) One Kimiko appear Josh quickly brought her up to speed regarding O'Neill, his multiple injuries and what Josh had been able to treat and what had been impossible for her to do given the circumstances in the lab. She then informed Kimiko about the project they were working on in the lab and how important this patient was to it. She introduced Kimiko to Carter briefly telling her that he needed access to the patient and then slammed up against a brick wall as Kimiko whisked the tube away to be dealt with by her staff. It was no longer Josh's problem but at heart Josh was still a doctor, she wanted to be in that room and doing something to help. Finding herself excluded caused Josh a great deal of pain. She turned to Carter. "I need an update both on his condition and on any progress you make. I'll be back in the Lab if you need me. (Reply Vanik, Carter, Ichijo and anyone else in the lab) (Posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Biohazard Lab - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5 - 1532) It was something that Josh had been aware of in the back of her mind. No-one, no matter how strong they were, how great their stamina was or how much they simply forced themselves to keep going could keep going indefinitely and Josh, given how little sleep she and everyone else had recently, knew that something had to give sooner or later. Given what they had to accomplish Josh had been praying for later rather than sooner, but wasn't really surprised when it happened sooner than she had expected. One minute Ensign Caliel had been fine, speaking to another member of the team and the next she was simply a heap on the floor. Josh wasn't surprised that Caliel was the first to succumb. Carter seemed to have not been hurt at all during the invasion by the Borg. Vanik was also unhurt and also a Vulcan with greater stamina than most of them but poor Caliel had been seriously injured earlier on in the day and although she had carried on, totally disregarding her injuries, Josh realised that something had to give somewhere. Rolling Caliel over into a recovery position Josh began checking her vitals and was glad to realise that whilst she was out cold, it was probably nothing major. A combination of her pain medication and the stimulant that Josh had administered had finally proved too much for the poor ensign in her injured state. She turned to Carter, Vanik and everyone else currently working on the project and reassured them that Caliel would be fine and placing her on a gurney she started wheeling her towards Sickbay. (No reply needed) (Posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Main Sick Bay - CMO, Lt jg Kimiko Ichijo - Day 5, 1535) Kimiko was standing over the bio bed that contained the young engineer who had been partially assimilated by the Borg. The progress was arrested by the cryo-therapy; however the crewman could not remain under indefinably, the she was no closer to an answer then when she started. She heard her name called out and turned towards the direction of the voice. Commander Caskie was at the doorway with a static cabinet and had a very worried expression on her face. Kimiko made her was very quickly over the first officer. “Yes, Ma’am, how can I…” Kimiko had looked into the chamber and came to a halt, the form was still recognizable as the earnest young ensign who called for her help during that tourney several lifetimes ago and the grinning junior grade lieutenant who had just received his grade. Part of her mind absorbed the information that Caskie was giving but the other part was dealing with the wreckage of her self control that just had been blown apart. Kimiko brutally shoved her feelings into a small cupboard and looked anew at the body, giving a brief nod toward Carter. “I’ll get it from here, ma’am, I assure you that I have no intention to allow anything to happen to Mr. O’Neil.” Kimiko stated as she motioned two attendants to move the device to theater three. As she headed towards the suite, she nodded at Dr Sammas in a wordless communication that stated both that she would be tied up for awhile and that he would need to salvage what he could from his nice orderly board. He gave a visible sigh and a slight shake of the head, Kimiko responded with a small shrug and grimace that might be liberally be called a smile, then she disappeared into the surgical suite. (Reply Any) (Posted by Jack) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - CTAC/SEC Lt. jg Ben Soma - 1545) Ben was still watching the door leading into the biohazard lab, at the first sign of trouble his standing orders were to jettison the module and condemn its occupants to certain death. On the other side of the door Eian, now a drone, was the subject of an experiment that would hopefully give them the upper hand against the Borg. He had no idea how that was proceeding but considering that the module hasn't been jettisoned yet things must be going according to plan, either that or Eian had broken free and had assimilated everyone inside. Either way something was happening and he wasn't a direct part of it. He had his orders and was going to follow them, even the ones regarding shooting anyone trying to get out. Out of all the scrapes he'd been in he rated this one as the worst. It had been the most trying and stressful mission he'd been on to date. He thought back to the Maltorian mess, they'd been stranded on the planet and when they thought they had gotten a break the away team had been gassed and two of it's members were abducted. Then there was the ferry mission, a supposed milk run. The civilians aboard the Wanderlust had rioted and trampled him, then in another brawl a child had been severely injured which was the last straw for him. He could tolerate some minor fighting but when an innocent was caught in the cross fire, especially a child, it was more then he could take. After that was his own abduction from the Magee, he'd been taken and subjected to experimentation himself so he sympathized with Eian's current position. Then there was Axtis III, some R and R, what a joke. He'd nearly been hung for the murder of Kavol. The bright side of that incident was meeting Marah. Now he didn't know where she was or if she was even alive, but there was one thing he was sure of, if he managed to find her he'd know where she was in the future. He'd left certain things unsaid between them, as he often did, things he intended to put right as soon as he could. This mission had brought back painful memories of losing his parents, he was an only child so he lost what family he had. He wanted a family now more then ever, he wanted Marah to be a part of his family. He felt as if the crew was family but it was different, it wasn't the same feeling. Sanok was the closest he had to a brother, he had said as much and meant it. But now with the Borg so close he truly missed his family, he wanted them back. He wanted to be seventeen again, convince his parents to stay on Earth, put the run off for a day. Had he done that they would be alive now, he'd be with his family. Had that been the case he might not have joined Starfleet, he might not have met Sanok or Eian or Steve or Tom or any of his friends and he wouldn't have met Marah. He pushed that from his thoughts and concentrated on the matter at hand. (reply any, none required) (posted by Milo Young) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab - CTAC/SEC Lt. jg Ben Soma - 1559) Ben had been standing outside of the biolab for what felt like hours, he was growing more tired by the minute. Now that he didn't have anything to do except watch a door he was feeling the exhaustion catching up on him. He didn't know how things were going on any other part of the ship, he hadn't seen or heard anything since the door was sealed. Did Sanok make it back to the Captain, how was Jessica doing in sickbay, had the Borg taken more of the ship, was Eian still alive? All questions and no answers. He wasn't good at sitting idly by while others were in danger, it went against the grain. He began pacing back and forth in front of the biolab door, trying to keep himself occupied and awake. He needed to know what was happening so he tapped his commbadge and hoped it would work short range at least. "Soma to Commander Caskie," He said. "how are things going in there?" He patiently waited for a response, or at least as patiently as he could. (reply Caskie, any) (posted by Milo Young) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Deck 20 - ATAC/SC Ensign (jg) Jessica Signos- 1617) Lily lived up to her reputation has being an agent of death and hell rode in with her. Has she moved from shadow to shadow. The unsuspecting drones could little to time or predict her movements. Such was the case now, the access above one of halls of deck twenty were open and Lily hide with in waiting for the party of drones to pass beneath her position. In her hands lied the blades she liberated from the armory. There keen edges waiting to bring swift justice to her enemies. The first two of the four drones passed under her, and Lily dropped among them bring the wakizashis across before her and into two of the drones, They fell has the blades left deep lines across ones back and another chest. Lily then sprung and something that looked more like a dance move spun lashed out with her blades and the final two borg fell. The blades passing in an angled motion though there heads, passing though brain, wire, and bone. Lily continued to make her way to what she hoped would be her chosen target. She dared the use of a turbolift, the doors to the lift slide open with a loud hiss. It was the dark, with only the greenish glow that accompanied most borg adaptations, but luckily no drones. She entered the lift has the doors closed surrounding her in darkness. She punched the floor command into the device on the wall. The lift then drove downward toward the bowels of the Rosenante. The lift slowed unexpectedly. ~Crap~ was the one word that flowed though Lily's mind has in a few moments the tiny expanse of the lift was assuredly gonna be filled with borg drones. She had to think quickly if they saw her then all would be lost, They would know Eian had failed in her assimilation and send more drones to attempt her capture or death. She had to vanish and quick. Again the doors to the lift opened but Lily was no ware to be seen. Well maybe if the somewhere in there collective intelligence one of the borg decided to look above them they would of seen the small woman braced against the ceiling of the lift. Lily was not about to give them that chance to discover her. With slow deliberate movements lily wrapped her feet around piece of conduit that she was sure would hold her small frame. She then let her hands free of there purchase and she fell inverted in behind the group. She measured her swing in the darkness. Then there was a flash has her blade caught the light right before it caught the throat of the borg that shared the turbo lift with her. She watched has the bodies fell into a hep on the floor under her. ~ How many borg does that make dead? ~ She had long ago lost count of the number. She also knew she was walking a fine line. It was the quickness and the unexpected nature of her attacks that were leading to her success. She knew the borg could not afford to keep their personal shields active all the time. It was to hard a drain on their reserves. She hoped that was the fact. The doors to the lift opened once again and she dispersed into the darkness of what had become deck 28. (reply none need,but welcome.) (posted by Matthew Locke) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Main Sickbay - ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel, Day 5, 1649) "What happened?" Isra asked, seeing the familiar ceiling of the Rosenante once more. She felt the cold tip of a hypo spray withdrawn from her neck, and a doctor standing over her. (Reply any) "How long was I out for?" Isra asked, pulling herself to a sitting position. She put her head in her hands for a moment, as it was throbbing. (reply any) "It felt like no more than a few minutes..." she said, remembering everything that had happened in her dream. She swung her legs over the side of the bio bed, and got to her feet, albeit slowly. "I have to get back to the computer. I know how to do it." she said, seeing the coherent code in her head still, almost imprinted into her vision. All of it made scientific sense to her as well, so it wasn't just a random string of numbers and letters cobbled together in a drugged sleep. (Reply any) Written by Andy Jones --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Sickbay - FO - Commander T'Larah Sullivan - 1750) "Commander, this is important." the Captain explained, "Did you see or hear anything that might indicate what the Borg are trying to accomplish? Any goals or objectives any indication of how far along they may be?" She blinked bringing tears to her dry eyes. "The sphere on the planet. The Tykon Sphere, they've come to the past to assimilate the future..." (Reply Salid) "I can't remember, it's not much time...." and the numbness of unconsciousness began to claim her again. (Reply Salid, Ichijo, Fuller) (Posted by Todd) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Docking Port - Lt (jg) Ael Harkonnen T'Rillian - Day 5 - 1840) Ael was grateful when Rosenbauer immediately grasped the situation and took charge "Lieutenant, we're moving to two-man fire teams. One man does all the firing until the Borg adapt and then the second member of the team steps in while the first man steps back and demodulates his weapon. You're my wingman." Ael simply nodded her agreement and noticed that Showers and another crew member stepped forward as their second team. Rosenbauer let Ael down the corridor and then motioned her to move to the other side as he brought his weapon up and ready to fire. Squeezing off two shots before the Borg adapted he began to retreat telling Ael that she was up next. Simply nodding Ael took aim at the nearest two Borg and dropped them both drilling a neat hole clean through their foreheads. The third shot she took bounced off the Borg's shield and Ael swore loudly in Romulan. She scuttled back down the corridor tapping someone else in passing telling him that he was up next. It was Flowers or Showers, she wasn't quite sure what his name was, but he indeed nodded to her in acknowledgement. He barely took thee Borg out before they adapted again and then his partner took over as he retreated. He only managed to pick off one before the Borg adapted once again and began their relentless slow march down the corridor. Ael had always wondered why everything she had read about the Borg had mentioned how slowly they had moved and indeed wondered, if they moved so slowly, why it had not been easier to defeat them. All her questions were answered now. Yes indeed they were slow, but she now understood why. They had no reason to move fast since they were relentless in their pursuit of what they wanted or needed. Time simply wasn't a factor to the Borg since time was probably irrelevant to their needs. That sparked a though in Ael's brain and she tried her hardest to work it out and she and the team she was working with hop scotched their way back up the corridor. (Reply Rosenbauer, Showers and anyone else who is playing) (Posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante- Comm Suite- CSec- LT Chance Raschen- 2015) "Nice bit of work Chance" Jackson replied. "Thanks. You know what they say? Youth and skill will never defeat old age and treachery." Chance told his friend. Tom followed his friend to a side area and looked at Chance with a tired, quizzical look. "Tom, let's talk my friend" Chance said. Chance's opening comment wasn't very subtle "You're scared you're not gonna see your lovely bride again, aren't you?" Jackson's mask slipped as he looked at a dear and close friend for a long moment before replying. Tom's eyes were about to fill with tears but Jackson's will regained control. "Chance, you know me all too well. Oh h*** yes I am scared to my mortal core" Jackson said sputtering to a pained silence. "You'll see her again. I'm sure of it. Tell me a little about her; when did you figure out she was the one?" Chance replied. "Well we sort of grew up together. Dahlia was a bonded servant of my step father Pez". Tom paused remembering those happy days. "I went off to SF Academy after working on a Ferengi merchant ship. I lost track of Dahlia at that point" Tom said softly. "So what happened at the wedding?" Chance asked. "Well, you arrived at SB 989 shortly after the Boudicca and the Rose docked right?" Tom asked. "Kind of. I got there close to the end of the trouble." "Well my step dad Pez was there and asked me to see me. Pez wanted to have ask the SB commander to release his freighters. As I was about to reply, Dahlia entered. I was stunned by her beauty and as you know, Pez and my mom are quite the match makers" Tom said laughing. Raschen just smiled as he remembered how he and his late wife, T'Lela, first me at he father's house on Romulus. Besides, Tom's smile was almost contagious. "Before I realized what I was doing, I signed the marriage contract and she was mine" Tom smiled. The two old friends sat together in silence, each thinking of the woman in their lives. Raschen leaned in close to his friend and quietly said "Dahlia is back at 939, waiting for you to return to her. That is what you need to focus on..." Chance started to say in hopes of encouraging his friend and superior, "the rest of this is just obstacles and a means to an end." (Reply Jackson iyw) "I promise you, I will do everything I can to help get you back to your bride. Now sir, go catch a quick nap and recharge your batteries. I'll get you when something happens." (Reply Jackson) (Reply: Jackson) (Posted by: Charlie) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante- Comm Suite- CSec- LT Chance Raschen- 2029) Raschen suddenly sat up straight when he heard the skipper's voice. =^=That's the best news I think I've had all day. I will immediately dispatch a couple of marines from the Boudicca to your location. Stand fast and hold the fort.=^= Words of encouragement never had a more profound affect than those of Captain Salid in that moment. After Romanoff closed the connection, Raschen looked at him and Jacobs. "Good work you two. Now calm down and one of you go rest up. And pray those Marines get here before the Borg comes to retake this position." (reply any iyw) Chance couldn't help but smile and silently give thanks as he watched Jacobs move away from the console with a certain air of success about him, Nickolas continued to monitor the communications network to make sure there was no interference from any outside source. As he deftly danced his fingers across the console he couldn't help but maintain a smile. (Reply: any iyw) (Posted by: Charlie) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Biohazard Lab/ Isolation Bay, CEO Lt. Steven Matrix , Day 5, 2033) Matrix took his eye off the view screen when the Captain hailed him. "Salid to Matrix" "Aye sir. Matrix here." "We've retaken main engineering, and it is now clear of threat of recapture by Borg at this time. feel free to take some engineers and assess the situation. Get us mobile and armed as quickly as you can. make weapons and engines your priority, then focus on shields. But be aware that the Borg haven't been kicked off the ship yet." Matrix was both surprised and dismayed at the Captain's comments. He feel a job unfinished by not being part of the retaking of engineering. =^= Excellent news Captain. I'll recall my engineers and get to work. Thank you for the good news Captain. Matrix out. =^= "Salid out." "Looks like we're needed elsewhere Commander. " said Matrix. (Reply Caskie) =^= Matrix to Cohen, assemble all available engineering teams and meet me in engineering immediately. Friendly forces have retaken engineering and we need to get busy with repairs. =^= "Steve...good to hear. I'm stuffed in a jefferies tube working on a conduit repair. I'll be done here in about 15 minutes. Meet you in engineering as soon as possible. Cohen out." Matrix turned back to the task at hand. "Lets see how our computer model has turned out." (Reply Caskie, any) (Posted by Steve) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante- Deck 9 -Comm Suite- LT Tom Jackson -2nd Officer / COPS - Day 5 2034) Tom and Chance went on talking. As tired as Tom Jackson was, it helped him to speak to someone close to him. Jackson's close circle of friends included Chance, Ahmed Salid, Steve Matrix and his beloved Dahlia. Chance went on - The two old friends sat together in silence, each thinking of the woman in their lives. Raschen leaned in close to his friend and quietly said "Dahlia is back at 939, waiting for you to return to her. That is what you need to focus on..." Chance started to say in hopes of encouraging his friend and superior, "the rest of this is just obstacles and a means to an end." Tom put his hand on his friend's shoulder and said simply "Thanks old friend". (Reply: Chance) Raschen went on. "I promise you, I will do everything I can to help get you back to your bride. Now sir, go catch a quick nap and recharge your batteries. I'll get you when something happens" he added. "Thanks. I do need to rest" Tom replied. "Chance, you are in charge while I am out" tom instructed. (Reply: Chance) (Posted by: Bill W.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Biohazard Lab/Isolation Bay - aFO - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5 - 2035) Josh was had never been so glad to hear someone's voice as she was to hear Captain Salid contacting Matrix over the comm. She was already looking over at Matrix and smiling when he began speaking to her. "Looks like we're needed elsewhere Commander." Josh simply smiled at him and nodded her head. "Understood Lieutenant. You go fix the Rose. We'll be fine here." (Reply Matrix iyw) (Posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Commo Suite, Deck 9, Lieutenant Tom Jackson, 2nd Officer / COPS, Day 5, 2100) Tom essentially turned things over to Chance and Eva and laid down and tried to rest. As the stimulants wore off and he wound down, his thoughts drifted to Dahlia. He was remembering their times as kids on Feringinar. Tom remembered when Pez first bought her family’s contract from Orion traders. He, like most seven year old terrain boys thought girls had ‘cooties’ and stayed away from Dahlia. Dahlia of course thought Tom was a nice boy and wanted to be friends. Tom smiled mentally as he remembered their teen years. Dahlia was a beautiful child and a knockout as she got older. She always liked him and was never shy about letting him know it. Pez and his mom Chris were always ‘suggesting’ Tom pay more attention to Dahlia. He began to but the time came when he moved out into Pez’s merchant fleet and began the path that lead to Star Fleet and the Rosenante. Tom’s unconscious mind drifted to the adventure at SB 989. He had been the COPS only then. Tom had been asked to see his step-dad by Pez’s Security Chief. A summons from his step-dad was a rarity. Jackson had hurried to see Pez – his mom was due to arrive in a few days. At the time he didn’t suspect a thing. Tom went in and saw Pez – Dahlia had entered and Tom was stunned by how beautiful she was. Pez smiled. Tom should have suspected something was up at the time. Pez and he chatted about what Pez had wanted. Pez then made an off-hand comment “Beautiful isn’t she Thomas?”. Tom dumbly nodded his agreement. Pez whipped a standard marriage contract. Tom signed it without much thought. This act meant Dahlia was his! She, of course, was ecstatic. Tom smiled – anyone in the suite would wonder what the 2nd officer was thinking by the breath of his smile. Tom woke up and realized where he was. Reality saddened him. (reply: None) (Posted by: Bill W.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante Deck 9 Commo Suite Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer / COPS Day 5 2105) Tom woke and took a second to get his bearings. He checked with Chance and Eva on what had happened while he cat napped. “Chance, Eva what’s been happening while I was being lazy?” he asked the two trying to smile. (Reply: Chance, Eva) Tom looked at his two ship mates. Each looked worn – gad knows they all were. “Ok., I want the two of you to take a short nap. I think I can manage things while you are enjoying some down time” Tom added. (Reply: Chance, Eva) Two started to resist, but tom put on his ‘senior officer’ hat and said that is an order with a smile. (Reply: Chance and Eva) Tom turned and walked around the area. He saw ensign Jacobs and went over to the man. “Ensign, nice job – you did well. I am glad you are with us” told the man. (Reply: Jacobs) “Also, send the CO a message that we have some booby trapped Borg at the rear entrance and to use the front/ Try to word it so the Borg, should they tap our comms, wont realize quickly what we did” Tom ordered. (Reply: Jacobs) (Posted by: Bill W.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante- Commo Suite- CSec- LT Chance Raschen- 2108) “Chance, Eva what’s been happening while I was being lazy?” Jackson asked the two while trying to smile. "Mercifully nothing much. No sign of the Borg coming to retake this position. Commo is still up with no major glitches. And no sign of our expected Marine Corps re-enforcements." Chance replied simply as he was trying to keep his 'Z-Monster' at bay. Let's face it, the guy was exhausted but was still willing to go on if need be. Tom looked at his two ship mates. Each looked worn – God knows they all were. “Ok., I want the two of you to take a short nap. I think I can manage things while you are enjoying some down time” Tom added. "You sure? I can..." Chance started to resist, but Tom apparently put on his ‘senior officer’ hat and said that is an order with a smile. Raschen patted his friend on the shoulder; and without any further argument went to find a quiet spot. He dozed off under a console where he could see the door easily, and yet was difficult to be seen from the door. (Reply: any iyw) (Posted by: Charlie) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Deck 9 - Comm-suite - ACEO Ensign(jg) Henry Jacobs - 2109) Jacobs had been spending the last few moments nodding in and out of sleep. Every time he nodded off some dream would form but would soon be ruined with the appearance of Borg drones and total destruction. This went on for several minutes before Lt. Jackson came over to him and spoke. “Ensign, nice job – you did well. I am glad you are with us” he told Jacobs. ~Yea i did do a good job didnt I?~ "Thank you very much sir," Henry replied. " Just doing my part to keep us alive." Also, send the CO a message that we have some booby trapped Borg at the rear entrance and to use the front/ Try to word it so the Borg, should they tap our comms, wont realize quickly what we did” Tom ordered. "Aye sir." Jacobs lifted himself up off of the ground and walked over to the communications console. "Ensign Jacobs to Captain Salid." (reply Salid) "We forgot to mention before, before that relief team arrives instruct them to report to the front entrance. We have secured the rear entrance and if anyone tries to come from that direction those still on the Boudicca would be able to hear them as they passed." (reply Salid) "Also sir, any word from Captain Durand? It's a little unsettling that I have not yet to see him or others from the Boudicca for that matter." (reply Salid) "Understood. I am just a bit eager to get back to her to see how she is fairing and what repairs need to be done. Henry closed the channel and contemplated how much longer it would take the relief officers to arrive and how long it would be before he got back to engineering on the Boudicca. (reply any) (posted by Darryl) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - CommSuite - TAC/SC Lieutenant(SG) Detron Trei - 21.10) Detron stood post with the Rosenante first officer next to him. He really didn't like standing post with someone he had no knowledge or good relationship with for it was easier to pass the time that way. He did however feel for LT Jackson being away from his new bride. He would feel similar anguish if Dorga Cha'Noras was away from him since he considered her potentially a great mate down the line. He had a great relationship with her and her twins Rivers and Parami. He wondered what they remembered of him being on Vulcan for so long. He would greatly enjoy seeing them again and resume their connection.. The fact was a job had to be done before that could happen. He focused back on the door. (Reply None) (Posted by Edward) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Communications Suite Deck 9 Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer / COPS Day 5 2115) Tom paced nervously. The reinforcements dispatched by the CO had not arrived. This was not good. Jackson knew they could hold out for a short time but how long was that? Tom tapped his comm badge. "Jackson to the CO. Please come in" - Tom waited for a reply. (Reply: CO) As he waited Tom scanned 'his' command. Yet again he longed to explore. His favorite stories as a boy had been of the old explorers. Unconsciously Tom rubbed his wedding band. It had been made from a small fragment of the Apollo 11 module that had been called 'Eagle'. Pez had went to a lot of trouble to get it for Tom. Tom smiled as Pez's toothy image came into his mind. The little capitalist loved his mom and doted on Tom. Pez had been perfectly serious when at SB 989 he had offered to get Jackson his own command. Tom had been tempted to take him up just to call his bluff. He had turned his dad down - preferring to earn it himself. Pez was secretly pleased Tom refused his offer. Despite being Ferengi to his core, Pez respected humans and Tom especially. (Reply: any present) (Posted by: Bill W.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - TAC/SC Lieutenant(SG) Detron Trei - 21.20) Detron felt a pang of emotion from LT Jackson mostly longing for his wife but also some dread at the ongoing mission with the Borg. He was not supposed to use his empathic senses except when asked to do so, but the wave of emotion felt was too strong to ignore. He opened his mind to send a soothing wave of comfort to Tom hoping it would ease his pain. That was all he could do at this point. If he could contact him telepathically, he would to counsel him through the time away from his wife. He waited for any pang felt that he was making a difference. ~By God Lets hope so.~ (Reply Jackson) (Posted by Edward) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Deck 9 Commo Suite Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer / COPS Day 5 2122) As Tom was thinking of Dahlia, he experienced a wave of calmness and reassurance. He didn't know its source but it was wonderful and he was greatfull. Tom was able to push his fears into the background. His military side came into the forefront. He often had feelings his ancestor 'Stonewall' Jackson was with him. On very rare occasions the general 'visited' Tom in his dreams. This had been one of those rare times. ~Thomas, this is a time to hold. Reinforcements are nearly here~ the old warrior whispered as his image faded from Jackson's mind. Tom sat up blinked a few times to orient himself. He saw his crewmates. His heart ached as he saw their sad shape. (Reply: Any) (Posted by: Bill W.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- End Compile ---------------------------------------------------------------------