Compile# May 13-14 (USS Rosenante & USS Boudicca Joint) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mission: Once More Into the Breach Day 1 Stardate: 2414.01.15 Compile Summary (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - aFO - Cmdr Josh Caskie - Day 1 - 2217) ======================================================= Mission: Once More Into the Breach Day: 2 Stardate: 2414.1.18 Compile Summary (USS Rosenante - Engineering - ACEO Lt JG Eian O'Neill - Day 2 - 0136) (USS Rosenante- Security Offices- LMaj Lucien La Croix- 0146) (USS Rosenante- Security Offices- SO Tyrone Cooper- Day 2 0148) (USS Rosenante- Security Offices- LMaj Lucien La Croix- 0150) (USS Rosenante, Armory, Lieutenant jg Sanok, 0152) (USS Rosenante- Security Offices- SO Mike Rosenbauer- Day 2- 0153) (USS Rosenante- Security Offices- CSec- LT Chance Raschen- 0156) (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - aCEO Ensign Anton Gesar - 0201) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - ATAC/SC Jessica Signos - Day 2 - 0202*) (USS Rosenante, Main Engineering, SO, Ensign Tyrone Cooper, Day 2 0205) (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - CO Captain Durand - 0209) (USS Rosenante, Ready Room, CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid, Day 2 0234) (USS Rosenante - Transporter Room - ATT LCDR Lorimar - 0251) (USS Rosenante, Transporter Room - ATT Lt Cmdr Matthew McLaren - Day 2 0253) (USS Rosenante, Engineering Support Lab - ATT Lt Cmdr Matthew McLaren - Day 2 0302) (USS Boudicca – Main Engineering - aCEO Ensign Anton Gesar - Day 2 - 0328) (USS Rosenante - Engineering - ACEO Lt JG Eian O'Neill - Day 2 - 0332) (USS Rosenante - Engineering - ACEO Lt JG Eian O'Neill - Day 2 - 0333) (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - aCEO Ensign Anton Gesar - 0545) (USS Boudicca -Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign(jg) Henry Jacobs - 0548) (USS Boudicca – TAC/SC Offices – CO Captain Durand – 0557) (USS Boudicca - Trei's Office - TAC/SC Lieutenant(SG) Detron Trei - 0600) (USS Boudicca - Security Offices - ATAC/SC Jessica Signos - Day 2 - 0602) (USS Boudicca - Main Sickbay - ACMO - Dr Basil Candle - Day 2 - 0605) (USS Boudicca - FO's Personal Quarters - aFO - Cmdr Josh Caskie - Day 2 - 0608) (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge - aFO - Cmdr Josh Caskie - Day 2 0822) (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign(jg) Henry Jacobs - 0902) (USS Boudicca – Ready Room – CO Captain Durand – 2215) ======================================================= Mission: Once More Into The breach Day: 3 Stardate: 2414.01.17 Compile Summary (USS Rosenante, Ready Room, CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid, Day 3, 0900) ======================================================= Mission Once More into the Breach Day 4 Stardate 2414 01.18 Compile Summary (Private Shuttle Bloodwing - Lt (jg) Ael Harkonnen T'Rillian - Day 4 - 0004) (USS Rosenante- Bridge- Pilot- LMaj Brandy Shea- 0006) (USS Rosenante - Bridge - ACEO Lt JG Eian O'Neill - Day 4 - 0007) (USS Boudicca - Trei's Office - TAC/SC Lieutenant(SG) Detron Trei - 0010) (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign(jg) Henry Jacobs - 0011) ======================================================= (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - aFO - Cmdr Josh Caskie - Day 1 - 2217) “Commander… Josh… there are bound to be situations coming up in our very near future where I have to ask, and will expect, the unreasonable… in fact, the impossible from you and the rest of our people.” Josh simply nodded and watched as he ran his fingers through his hair and finally rested his elbows on the desk. “We haven't had much time together as a command team have we?” He held up his hand before she had a chance to reply, and he went on. “Trust and respect are *earned*, I realize. But I'm going to have to ask for a little faith in me. I haven't had time to earn it, but I need to know that we can operate smoothly on this mission. There may well be situations where we must act quickly – instantly – in order to save the crew or the ship. Maybe more importantly, if something happens to me, I need to know that you are prepared to take over, and do whatever is necessary to finish the mission. Now I don't expect, nor would I accept a first officer who doesn't think and act for herself. I certainly don't expect you to approve, or even agree with every order I happen to give. But I do need you to remember that none of us as individuals – not me, you, anyone – are as important as the success of this mission. Can you accept that?” Josh nodded again and looked over at him. "You know Ahmed said something similar to me when I first became his FO and I wonder if it's perhaps something to do with me having a medical background." She sighed slightly. "Everyone knows us as the people who save lives, but no-one really thinks too closely about how we go about doing that. If you have a virus attacking your body a doctor doesn't worry about how his treatment will affect the virus when he cures you. If something needs to be removed he does it as quickly and efficiently as he knows how. We are thought of as a soft and caring profession yet nothing could be further from the truth to be honest. Doctors are brutal, we have to be and we're trained to think and act that way." She allowed another sigh to escape her. "Sir, I understand the importance of this mission and I guarantee that I will do everything I can to ensure it's success, right down to rendering this entire solar system uninhabitable if that's what it takes to stop the Borg. I hope that answers your question." (Reply Durand) iyw but not necessary (Posted by Marilyn) ======================================================= (USS Rosenante - Engineering - ACEO Lt JG Eian O'Neill - Day 2 - 0136) "Good thinking, this just might give us an edge that the Borg aren't expecting." Ben replied. "It might even make the difference between assimilation and survival, though given the choice I'd set the self destruct before I'd allow an assimilation tubule to touch me." "How long would it take to set this up?" He inquired. "Well, I've already got the computer generating a random automodulation sequence for each shield generator. The number generators will be placed in each shield generator's central processing unit, which is accessible through..." he tapped a few keys on the screen, "this program here. All we have to do is select all of them..." he did just that, "And then apply it. The whole thing will be done in seconds. Though I've got to write up a memo about this and send it to everyone in the engineering department, because once we click 'apply', people are going to notice some very strange readings coming from the shield generators. And then there's about a half hour of work ahead of me, to make sure this doesn't conflict with any other systems before we actually apply it." (reply Soma) "So...I thought you mentioned before that you had some kind of experience with the Borg?" (reply Soma) (posted by Morgan G) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante- Security Offices- LMaj Lucien La Croix- 0146) "Statistics are a way for some to explain just how far 'Down the Rabbit Hole' they are willing to go." "Are they now?" Tyrone replied, but he went quiet when Mike shot him a quick glance. "I view statistics as a challenge. So how may I be of service to a Ranger?" La Croix asked, apparently oblivious to the response from Tyrone. "What's your skill set?" Mike asked. La Croix turned a disarmingly warm smile and his icy glare toward the former Ranger "I am a 90 year old El-Aurian and Assassin." (Reply Rosenbauer) Lucien locked eyes with Tyrone. He then suddenly sprang up out of the chair. Grabbing Tyrone by the neck, Lucien just as quickly slung the security officer back into the chair. Leaning down till he was virtually nose to nose with Tyrone, and in a calm menacing tone of voice, La Croix asked "Do you wish to see an impromptu example of my work at this moment?" (Reply any) Lucien stood up straight. Placing his hands behind his back he turned around and began moving around behind the desk. Once he stood next to Rosenbauer, "I don't wish to lead your 'Maniacs'. Chance was directed by your Captain Salid to send me to you to help you to kill more efficiently. If you do not wish for me to be here; then tell me. I will leave." (Reply Rosenbauer) (Reply Rosenbauer, any) Posted by Charlie --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante- Security Offices- SO Tyrone Cooper- Day 2 0148) La Croix turned a disarmingly warm smile and his icy glare toward the former Ranger "I am a 90 year old El-Aurian and Assassin." "I didn't realize that the Starfleet Marines were into assassination. Must be a left over from the civil war." Mike replied just as calmly. Lucien locked eyes with Tyrone, and that was when he realized that the marine was going to do something stupid. Problem was he'd realized it too late. The man suddenly sprang up out of the chair. A millisecond later he was grabbing Tyrone by the neck,squeezing his Larynx. Lucien just as quickly slung the Cooper back into the chair. It was the same one he had vacated a few moments before. Leaning down till he was virtually nose to nose with Tyrone, and in a calm menacing tone of voice, La Croix asked "Do you wish to see an impromptu example of my work at this moment?" Cooper just smiled. Already he'd drawn his combat knife and had the tip just a quarter of an inch short of the man's femoral artery. Eva and Mosh had both drawn their phasers and were pointing it at the Marine. At this range even on stun they'd probably kill him. "I suggest you back down Marine." Mike said calmly, "Anything happens to Mister Cooper and things are going to go downhill really fast." Tyrone watched as the Marine stood straight and moved away from him. Once he was at a safe distance Cooper put his combat blade away. He was glowering. The man had gotten the drop on him and that royally pissed him off. Lucien moved behind the desk near Mike, who didn't show any outward sign of concern for him. He stopped next to the team leader and said, "I don't wish to lead your 'Maniacs'. Chance was directed by your Captain Salid to send me to you to help you to kill more efficiently. If you do not wish for me to be here; then tell me. I will leave." "Drop this a%$hole, Boss." Tyrone stated clearly and concisely, "He's a hotshot, he's just going to get someone killed." "I concur,"T'Vyr added, "He lacks discipline, it is only a matter of time before he becomes emotional and jeopardizes the lives of the team and the ship." "What he said," Eva chimed in. Mosh said nothing, instead he just shrugged. "Well this isn't a democracy, so can it." Mike replied, "The captain wants him in this squad, that's were he stays until the Borg kill him or the skipper changes his mind. It's not under discussion and it's not for debate. Besides, we could always use another warm body to deal with the Borg." The squad visibly relaxed, although they still held their phasers in hand. It was clear that Mike was in control of the situation. "As for you La Croix;" Mike Continued, "so help me God if you pull another junior recruit stunt like that again, I'll see to it that you find yourself back in the Marine Academy so they can work the stupid right out of you. And if you so much as consider doing any more of those Cowboy Antics and put my people at risk, I'll fu^! you up so bad that you'll be resorted to sh%t#ing yourself for a living. And then Chance can spend the rest of his life feeding you baby food. We clear?" (reply LaCroix) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante- Security Offices- LMaj Lucien La Croix- 0150) The squad visibly relaxed, although they still held their phasers in hand. It was clear that Mike was in control of the situation. "As for you La Croix;" Mike Continued, "so help me God if you pull another junior recruit stunt like that again, I'll see to it that you find yourself back in the Marine Academy so they can work the stupid right out of you. And if you so much as consider doing any more of those Cowboy Antics and put my people at risk, I'll fu^! you up so bad that you'll be resorted to sh%t#ing yourself for a living. And then Chance can spend the rest of his life feeding you baby food. We clear?" Just then over the intercom speaker Raschen's voice sounded off saying "Now watch this." And all the lights went out making the room pitch black. (Reply any iyw) Nightcrawler sprung into action. With the sounds of punches being thrown and landing and bodies being tossed; within 90 seconds it was all over. When the lights came back on. With all of their weapons piled up on the desk, all but one of the maniacs was dazed and strapped to one another in some very compromising positions. The one exception was Mike Rosenbauer who was in a chair on the far side of the room facing the corner. Picking up Cooper's knife off the desk, Lucien quickly made his way over to the former Ranger and ran the blade of the knife into the back of the chair causing the blade to come out between Mike's torso and arm without cutting him. With a hushed tone Lucien hissed in Rosenbauer's ear "I will not tolerate foul language." Just then the door opened to reveal Raschen and Nunez. Turning to Nun, Chance asked "you think all the egos are done being bruised?" (Reply Nunez) "I know how to settle this." Raschen then signaled Nun to untie the Maniacs. "Whoever survives this mission, we'll go down to the Marine training Dojo and hold a tournament. Until then, everyone will respect everyone else accordingly or I will grind you all into the deck; got it." He finished saying as he looked around the room and locking eyes with everybody, and especially his friends Mike and Lucien. (Reply Nunez, any iyw) (Reply Nunez, any iyw) Posted by Charlie --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Armory, Lieutenant jg Sanok, 0152) Ben said, "I know the inventory stated the number of phasers we have, but seeing them spread out like this, really puts it in perspective." "Indeed it does," said Sanok, mot looking up from his work. Even a few seconds for friendly banter, could make a difference between one extra shot and the Borg adapting. He would not wish to be responsible for one of his shipmates paying the ultimate price for such an indiscretion. "Ensign Narvak is headed here," said Ben. "She has an idea about our Borg problem." Sanok waited until Narvak arrived with the idea before forming an opinion. There had certainly been no shortage of ideas on what to do to deal with the Borg, most of them not worth pursuing. He supposed it was normal when dealing with such a distinct enemy as the Borg. "I hope this idea is something we can use with effectiveness." Sanok grabbed a pile of phasers and slid them across the table, placing them in front of Ben. "Every bit helps." The men and women continued their work in silence, all conversation pretty much ended. They had all said what needed to be said to try to allay their fears. Now, it was time to get as much done as possible. Eventually, Narvak arrived. “I got that info you wanted,” said Narvak, a Tellarite. “Narvak. Sciences.” Narvak went on to describe the plan. It seemed too simple to work. It also seemed like someone else would have thought of it in the years since Starfleet first encountered the Borg. It had possibilities. “I was thinking of sending a remote with the group that would coordinate the launches,” said Narvak. Sanok looked at Ben. "What do you think?" (reply Soma, Narvak) (posted by Bob) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante- Security Offices- SO Mike Rosenbauer- Day 2- 0153) =^=Now watch this.=^= Raschen's voice sounded over the intercom just a split second before the lights went out. Mike didn't have to wonder what was happening, it was readily apparent by the grunts and sound of impacting fists what La Croix and Raschen were up to. Mike's blood was boiling at the unprovoked attack made by the Marine already. This was just about the last straw. When the lights came up, Mike could see the rest of his squad, half dazed tied together with some sort of binding tape. Only Mike was spared, probably because of his relative distance from the Marine when the 'example' started. He watched as the man picked up the combat knife that Tyrone usually carried, and which Lucien had liberated from the ex-ranger. He then casually walked over to Rosenbauer and punched the knife through the chair, so that it extended past into the sitting area, exiting between Mike's ribs and the inside of his arms. With a hushed tone Lucien hissed in Rosenbauer's ear "I will not tolerate foul language." Just then the door opened to reveal Raschen and Nunez. Turning to Nun, Chance asked "you think all the egos are done being bruised?" Nunez replied, "All but one." she replied and gestured to La Croix. Mike just sat there, still unmoving. The marine had no idea how close he was to being made an example of. "I know how to settle this." Raschen then signaled Nun to untie the Maniacs. "Whoever survives this mission, we'll go down to the Marine training Dojo and hold a tournament. Until then, everyone will respect everyone else accordingly or I will grind you all into the deck; got it?" He finished saying as he looked around the room and locking eyes with everybody, and especially his friends Mike and Lucien. Nunez went about releasing the members of Mike's squad. A few of them had bruises forming on their faces already. Mike stood, spun the chair around and withdrew the blade. He then walked over and placed it on the table with the other weapons. "I'll be more than glad to respect Mister La Croix. As soon as he starts doing the same here. In the meantime, I'm filing official charges against him for unprovoked assault against Starfleet Officers." (reply LaCroix, Raschen) He looked right at Chance. "Marine or not, he's serving in Starfleet. He follows the same rules and regulations we all do. Whether you condoned the action or not is irrelevant, sir. La Croix assaulted four Starfleet Security Officers without provocation. Regulations dictate that he is to detained until such time as the captain can determine whether there will be formal charges brought forward. As far as I'm concerned, he can fight the Borg from the Brig. He's too much of a liability for my team and I will not work with him. If you order me to do so, I'll make my case to the Captain, personally, sir." (reply Raschen) Mike looked over at his squad. "Report to sickbay and have your injures tended to and an action summary report filed. Dismissed." They paused for a moment and then left the compartment, their egos badly bruised. Mike turned to look at La Croix, giving him a very icy glare, before turning back to Raschen and waiting for his reply. (reply Raschen, La Croix) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante- Security Offices- CSec- LT Chance Raschen- 0156) Mike stood, spun the chair around and withdrew the blade. He then walked over and placed it on the table with the other weapons. "I'll be more than glad to respect Mister La Croix. As soon as he starts doing the same here. In the meantime, I'm filing official charges against him for unprovoked assault against Starfleet Officers." With out saying a word Lucien put his hands behind his back and very calmly walked over and and simply looked out of it without saying a word. Chance focused on the fuming Rosenbauer, "Mike..." and Raschen was cut off. Raschen just let it go though because he was responsible for his junior officer being pissed. Mike argued his point saying, "Marine or not, he's serving in Starfleet. He follows the same rules and regulations we all do. Whether you condoned the action or not is irrelevant, sir. La Croix assaulted four Starfleet Security Officers without provocation. Regulations dictate that he is to detained until such time as the captain can determine whether there will be formal charges brought forward. As far as I'm concerned, he can fight the Borg from the Brig. He's too much of a liability for my team and I will not work with him. If you order me to do so, I'll make my case to the Captain, personally, sir." Almost never had the Privateer ever kept his cool better than the Ranger. "From where I was watching on the monitor Mike, he was treated with a palpable amount of contempt by your subordinates from the moment that door opened." Chance then pointed his thumb at himself as he continued "A lot like this 'Pirate Scum' was treated the first time I took over this department." Then indicating the security members on the floor "Get your people out of here and to Sickbay." Chance said as he sat down in the chair with the knife hole in it. Mike looked over at his squad. "Report to sickbay and have your injures tended to and an action summary report filed. Dismissed." The Maniacs paused for a moment and then left the compartment, their egos badly bruised. Mike turned to look at La Croix, giving him a very icy glare, before turning back to Raschen and waiting for his reply. Taking a moment and looking at his three friends Chance decided to explain "I listened to you and your team for a little over a minute before I sent him in here with the directive to do what he did so that I might evaluate your performance. From what I saw on the monitor, I don't know how you expect to tell me that your team is ready to fight a squad of Borg Drones in the dark when they can"t beat a 90 year old when the lights go out. "Starfleet has had enough close quarters battles with the Borg to know they prefer to fight in the dark. We can't see so we make easier targets. The Borg have had more than enough encounters with Starfleet to know that our 'by the book' tactics are simply defensive aggression. I intend to fight a different way. We will not fight the Borg like Starfleet Security alone; we will fight using unorthodox tactics like the ones pirates, mercs, hitmen, and gangsters do. "Lucien will serve as Forward Scout for the Maniacs. His job will be to reduce the number of Borg Drones that your team has to deal with. Is that understood?" (Reply Rosenbauer, any iyw) Lucien spoke up while still facing the window "Of course you must do what you feel is right." Chance got up out of the chair and headed for the door. As it opened Raschen turned around and calmly chimed in saying "Mike, Lucien; the Maniacs and the Nightcrawler will learn to work together. That is an order." Raschen then turned and went out the door with Nunez with him, leaving Rosenbauer and La Croix. (Reply Rosenbauer, any iyw) Posted by Charlie --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - aCEO Ensign Anton Gesar - 0201) Anton was in his office looking over all the reports pouring in. Between the modifications that were being made to all the systems on the Rosenante and here on the Boudicca it was getting difficult to track them all. Which could really be moot as their chances of survival are pretty small. However, if they do survive, it would be nice to know what systems have been modified and how. Anton looked up to see through the small window in his office, the ACEO enter engineering and head in the direction of his office. Anton turned back to his work and tried to keep the stern department head face but was smiling inwardly. He had to admit to himself that he was very fortunate to have Henry as ACEO. The man had proven himself as a more than competent engineer and a dedicated officer. He looked up when Henry tapped on a glass pane to grab his attention. “Yes Ensign, how can I help you?” "Sir, where do you need me? I've spent some time in the holodeck studying response times of the Borg. I think with the modifications we are making we can somewhat react faster and be prepared for whatever the Borg have in store." “Yes, here are some power modifications I would like you to begin implementing,” Anton handed him a PADD. "Very well sir, I will get right to it." (Reply Jacobs, iyw) (Posted by Oleg Kislyuk) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Bridge - ATAC/SC Jessica Signos - Day 2 - 0202*) She listened to Josh's reply glad that what she found was being taken seriously and just put aside has conjecture. "As soon has I find out more information I'll make sure you and the Captain are informed." Jessica replied before just hurried off the bridge, there was so much more work that needed to be done. --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Main Engineering, SO, Ensign Tyrone Cooper, Day 2 0205) "Well...Mister?" Matrix replied asking for the his name. "Sorry, Sir. Cooper. Tyrone Cooper." "Ah, yes...Mister Cooper. Forgive me, I'm not entirely familiar with both crews yet, let alone my own at times. A lot of personnel changes of late." replied Matrix. "Well I could use all the help I can get here. What do you know about power emitters and projection waves?" asked Matrix. "I took an advanced series of classes at the academy. Did fairly well." Tyrone replied with a slight tip of his head. "Good, you're hired. That's more than I have currently on my roster in that particular discipline." said Matrix with a smile. "I need to get with my crack engineering leader, Lt. Cohen and get him to start work on another repair, but please pull up any schematics you feel necessary and start your work." Matrix looked over at the engineering lab board, "I see that engineering locker 14A is fully stocked and should provide you with the necessary components and test equipment to start your emitter builds. I think you'll need to replicate some portable power cells...most of the engineering crews have likely cleaned those out from our recent issues aboard the station." continued Matrix. Tyrone nodded. "Aye sir." He replied, already working out in his head where exactly engineering locker 14A was located in reference to his current position. "Please get started and I'll be back here shortly to see how things are going." said Matrix. "I'm on it, sir." the CE replied before leaving the CEOs company and heading for the indicated equipment locker. The locker was in good order, everything neatly labeled and in place. Tyrone pulled the test equipment and located an unoccupied work area. He transferred everything he'd need there and once that was finished, he grabbed a PADD and started pulling shield emitter schematics. There was a lot to read over, so before he started that process. he started replicating portable power cells. He wasn't certain how many he'd need, but figured ten would be a good start. Having set his order to auto-replicate on one of the unused industrial replicators, he returned to his work station to review schematics and determine which design would best suit the needs of the department. (reply Any or none) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - CO Captain Durand - 0209) Durand had put forth a few of his most broad concepts, then the discussion began in earnest. "If we reduce power signature on approach, only life support, sensors and thrusters we may be able to get a look at that pyramid to determine it's purpose," Sullivan offered. Alan nodded. “Yup, we could do that. However I’d be a bit leery about using a capital ship in such a way if we have other viable options. What about a shuttlecraft, or a probe. The Lorimar class runabouts are quite capable vessels in their own right, and can be configured for very specific mission profiles. An auxiliary craft or a probe or two would be more acceptably risked, I would think. Do you think we might get an equal risk/benefit outcome that way?” (Reply Sullivan) “Captain Salid will be the final arbiter as mission commander of course... but I’d like to be able to present the man a range of options. Hopefully he will find some merit in them. (Reply Sullivan iyw) "A photonic pulse to knock out their sensors?" she offered. “An excellent suggestion, Commander... though they might well perceive an attack on their systems as a general assault. Unless we could disguise the sourse of the pulse that is... Along those same lines, what about a tetryon burst? Because of the unique nature of their existence in subspace, I wonder if we might rig something to bypass the Borg shields and armor, at least until they adapt. As you suggest, any of these ideas might just be a single shot effect, but that might give us enough advantage to keep them reacting to us. If we could direct a high energy tetryon pulse at something vital... say, the Vinculum aboard the tactical cube? What do you think?” (Reply Sullivan, room for more) After they discussed that concept a bit, she went on. "A verteron pulse generated by both ships at different frequencies, channeled through the main deflector as a beam to knock out all of their subspace-based technology, sensors, shields, transporters and communications and hopefully what ever the pyramid is trying to do." He nodded vigorously. “I like all the concepts Commander. Unfortunately, I’m an engineer and tactics man, not a scientist. I’m a bit out of my depth with some of the theory... so I’m relying heavily on those of us with a greater breadth and depth of science behind them.” "Then perhaps weaponized as a torpedo? That would allow us to be farther away from the verterons to ensure we are not disabled as well." she offered back. He rubbed his hands together briefly, speaking as he did so. “Again, I like the creativity. From the research I’ve done, none of these have been tried before. I’m hoping that our engineers and tactical people can work with the scientists and quickly sort the wheat from the chaff here.” He stopped a moment as a thought occurred to him. “Commander, how much do you know about phasing technology? What if we could adapt a torpedo casing to shift it’s phase to penetrate the Borg defenses, then detonate inside near something vital. I vaguely recall rumors of something... I was having a few cocktails after a symposium a couple of years ago with a Master Chief from fleet tactical. He was pretty drunk and I had gotten him talking about the Borg... and he mumbled something about ‘transphasic’ weaponry, but then he shut up and left. Have you ever heard of any such thing? Or if you haven’t perhaps Captain Salid might?” (Reply Sullivan, Room for more) (Posted by Russ) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Ready Room, CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid, Day 2 0234) "Ahmed, I understand and I apologize too for reacting like a first year cadet" Tom added. The Captain shook his head. "Don't worry about it Tom. I was way out of line. I should know that there's no way for the crew to have any significant details to update me with after only an hour. I'm setting unrealistic goals." "Remember what Captain Sash told us - 'do your best and the rest takes care of itself'. We have the finest crew in SF Command. The Boudicca is another fine ship. We both know the FO and you know the CO. God willing, we will stop the Borg." Jackson added with false confidence. Ahmed nodded. "There's really not much more we can do than prepare, react and depend on our people to do their jobs. Sash knew that better than anyone. He always made being a CO look easy." Ahmed thought about his prior CO for a moment, how the man always exuded a strength of character and confidence that Ahmed had come to emulate when he had risen to command. He wondered how many of these sorts of talks the Angosian had conducted behind closed doors, confiding his fears and misgivings to a member of the ship's crew that he trusted. ~I'll never know.~ Ahmed thought. HIs mind snapped back to the present as Tom spoke next. "I'll get after Lt Soma and Lt Raschen. We'll get you an update, Sir." Tom replied. Ahmed looked at his second officer. He was a man that he'd known since their first posting out of the academy. They had graduated in the same class, yet sometimes Thomas Jackson could surprise him even after all these years. Ahmed shook his head. "Let's give them some time. Let's try to have an update for you to report at the 0830 command staff briefing instead. That will still put us at least 16 hours out from the Dovek system. If we can't have everything lined out by then, we'll just have to cope. I know my people Tom. They'll get the job done. I know they will." He smiled then. "Just like I knew that talking with you would be a tremendous help. Thank you Tom. I think I've got my mind straight now. I appreciate your advise. I'll see you at the briefing at 0830." (reply Jackson) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Transporter Room - ATT LCDR Lorimar - 0251) Bob spared a glance around the transporter room as he re-materialized. He had never been aboard the Rosenante, and of course his engineering curiosity was piqued by the technology. Pity there wasn’t time for a tour. He smiled across at his friend, albeit a fleeting one as his visit was far too serious in nature to waste any time. “Commander McLaren... permission tae come aboard?” (Reply McLaren) He stepped off the transporter pad and extended his hand. “It’s been a long time sir, how are ye keepin’?” (Reply McLaren, Room for more iyw) Bob debated whether to mention Matt’s wife Arania or not. ~Better not tae,~ he decided. This was surely a business trip anyway. “Is there a place where we might talk... privately?” (Reply McLaren, Any, More to come) (Posted by Russ) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Transporter Room - ATT Lt Cmdr Matthew McLaren - Day 2 0253) Matthew had just barely made it into the transporter room when Dawson indicated that Bob was ready to beam over from the Boudicca. There was both elation and apprehension worming their way through Matt's brain at the prospect of seeing his old friend again. The first was because he genuinely liked Bob. The man was a brilliant engineer, and a thoughtful and caring individual. The second was because of Ariana. There was no telling what sorts of conversations that she and Bob may have had in his absence. ~No doubt she considers me errant.~ He thought as his friend materialized on the transporter platform. "Commander McLaren... permissions tae come aboard?" "Granted Commander." Bob stepped off the transporter pad and extended his hand. “It’s been a long time sir, how are ye keepin’?” "Well enough. I can certainly ask you the same question." Bob gave him a smile and then asked, "Is there a place where we might talk... privately?” Matt nodded. "I've been give the permanent use of one of the Engineering Support Labs. We can talk there, it's private." (reply Lorimar) "Okay, let's walk." Matthew replied. --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Engineering Support Lab - ATT Lt Cmdr Matthew McLaren - Day 2 0302) Matthew stepped into the support lab with all the confidence of a man returning home. The trip from the transporter room to the lab was spent in an awkward silence. Matthew suspected, but could not prove that the relationship issues between he and his wife were behind it. ~Bob's caught in the middle.~ He thought. He stopped and cleared a stack of components, PADDs and technical schematics from the seat of one of the chairs and piled them up in one of the other already overflowing seats in the small lab. The entire place was filled to near overflowing with components, prototypes and other bits of technical riff-raff. It was most assuredly the sort of place that an engineer could get lost in without much effort. He gestured to the now-available chair and then took his own poised in front of the frozen display of the two Borg vessels. "Okay Bob. Get it off your chest." Matthew began, "then we can talk shop." (reply Lorimar) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca – Main Engineering - aCEO Ensign Anton Gesar - Day 2 - 0328) A message appeared on Anton’s console indicating that a request was sent from Lieutenant O’Neill. He looked up to see Henry standing by a terminal and walked in that direction. He walked up just in time to see the Lieutenant’s face on the screen and hear. =/\= Basically, the idea stems from a program I set up that enables people in different holodeck locations to use subspace channels to see, touch, and hear each other as if they were right there next to each other. It's the same technology that enabled us to feel like each others' crew was right there in the same room, during the briefing. And I don't think it would be difficult to latch onto the power cell pack signatures on the phaser rifles and hand phasers on board and track their locations, to enable the phase frequency mask to follow it around. It should work as long as the Rose and the boud remain holo-capable." Anton let Henry reply, ”…Coupled with the shield enhancements we should be able to hold our own. I do have questions however; like will the signature masking technology work if somehow the phasers are away from the crew member. Or what is the contingency plan if we loose holo-emitters? Can we do the same with the ships phaser systems? Im sure if things got difficult power would be rerouted from non primary systems." Eian shook his head. "The masking technology should link to the power cells, so as long as all the power cells are tracked in the computer, it doesn't matter where the phaser is. They would still appear to all sensors to be using a different frequency than what they're actually using. But if we lose the holo-emitters, we're pretty much screwed." He thought for a moment. "What do you think about replicating a bunch of mini-holo-emitters, small enough to stick on every phaser and phaser rifle? We could drain the power from the holodecks for the moment to do it, to make sure none of our systems suffer. Then we can beam them all right to the security office with a memo from us telling them to disperse them to the crew. We've still got about two days before we get there, we should be able to get it done before then. As long as the holo-emitters are attached to the phasers, the entire technology should have nothing to do with the ship whatsoever. And as far as modifying the ship's phaser systems, it should work the same way but it's a much less reliable system. If the Borg figure out how one phaser's holo-emitters are emitting the frequency, that doesn't mean they'll be able to read through the other hundreds of phaser and phaser rifle signatures. But as soon as they figure out what we're doing for the ship, they'll be able to counteract it." (reply Henry, room for more) Henry concluded, "I know both ships will be relying on their engineers to keep the shields defending and the phasers firing. How soon can we make the modifications to both ships?" "The replication and dispersion of the mini-holoemitters should take only a few hours. Depending on Security's schedule, that is. And as far as modifying the ships...I can put on an EV suit myself and go out there to install the holo-emitters on the hulls if need be. That shouldn't take long at all, maybe an hour tops. The code is already written, it just has to be implemented. It's just that...again, for the ship..." he shook his head, dissatisfied with his own conclusion, "There's only one system for them to break through, versus hundreds. This idea is really going to be more helpful for personnel in the event of a boarding than it is for the ship itself." “Lieutenant O’Neill, this is Ensign Gesar.” Anton stepped into view so that O’Neill could see him on his screen. “We will begin the replication of the mini-holoemitters immediately. However I think it would be best if we avoided anyone going outside the ship, especially while we are at warp. Perhaps we can modify the main deflector dish to act as one large holoemitter. Even if the borg are able to see through the trick anything that provides us with additional time should be worth the effort.” (Reply O’Neill, Jacobs) (Posted by Oleg Kislyuk) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Engineering - ACEO Lt JG Eian O'Neill - Day 2 - 0332) "Coupled with the shield enhancements," Henry responded, "we should be able to hold our own. I do have questions however; like will the signature masking technology work if somehow the phasers are away from the crew member. Or what is the contingency plan if we loose holo-emitters? Can we do the same with the ships phaser systems? Im sure if things got difficult power would be rerouted from non primary systems." Eian shook his head. "The masking technology should link to the power cells, so as long as all the power cells are tracked in the computer, it doesn't matter where the phaser is. They would still appear to all sensors to be using a different frequency than what they're actually using. But if we lose the holo-emitters, we're pretty much screwed." He thought for a moment. "What do you think about replicating a bunch of mini-holo-emitters, small enough to stick on every phaser and phaser rifle? We could drain the power from the holodecks for the moment to do it, to make sure none of our systems suffer. Then we can beam them all right to the security office with a memo from us telling them to disperse them to the crew. We've still got about two days before we get there, we should be able to get it done before then. As long as the holo-emitters are attached to the phasers, the entire technology should have nothing to do with the ship whatsoever. And as far as modifying the ship's phaser systems, it should work the same way but it's a much less reliable system. If the Borg figure out how one phaser's holo-emitters are emitting the frequency, that doesn't mean they'll be able to read through the other hundreds of phaser and phaser rifle signatures. But as soon as they figure out what we're doing for the ship, they'll be able to counteract it." (reply Henry, room for more) Henry concluded, "I know both ships will be relying on their engineers to keep the shields defending and the phasers firing. How soon can we make the modifications to both ships?" "The replication and dispersion of the mini-holoemitters should take only a few hours. Depending on Security's schedule, that is. And as far as modifying the ships...I can put on an EV suit myself and go out there to install the holo-emitters on the hulls if need be. That shouldn't take long at all, maybe an hour tops. The code is already written, it just has to be implemented. It's just that...again, for the ship..." he shook his head, dissatisfied with his own conclusion, "There's only one system for them to break through, versus hundreds. This idea is really going to be more helpful for personnel in the event of a boarding than it is for the ship itself." (reply Henry) (posted by Morgan G) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Engineering - ACEO Lt JG Eian O'Neill - Day 2 - 0333) “Lieutenant O’Neill, this is Ensign Gesar.” Anton stepped into view so that O’Neill could see him on his screen. “We will begin the replication of the mini-holoemitters immediately. However I think it would be best if we avoided anyone going outside the ship, especially while we are at warp. Perhaps we can modify the main deflector dish to act as one large holoemitter. Even if the borg are able to see through the trick anything that provides us with additional time should be worth the effort.” Eian nodded. EV walks had been performed before at Warp--it wasn't impossible. It just was relatively dangerous, and if they could get the same work done without a walk, it was probably preferable. "Modifying the main deflector dishes is probably the best course of action, I agree. Let's get started on that, and I'll write up a report for Captain Salid. I'd be willing to CC Captain Durand if you want to put your signature on it," he told Gesar. There would be no point, he thought, in two people doing the exact same work when time was of such essence. (reply Gesar or Jacobs iyw) (posted by Morgan G) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - aCEO Ensign Anton Gesar - 0545) Anton walked into Main Engineering. He had given the task of overseeing the replication of the mini-holoemitters to Ensign Jacobs deciding to look into the modification of the main deflector dish himself. It had taken quite some time to get the necessary components installed and tested for functionality and that they were successfully integrated within the deflector dish circuits. But now it was necessary for them to run tests and simulations in order to determine if the dish will be able to properly function within the parameters and whether the programming that Lieutenant O’Neill sent would work on the larger scale. Whatever fine tuning that was left to be done, could be done from Main Engineering. Anton looked around and spotted Henry. Anton spoke as he approached the Ensign. “Mr.Jacobs, where are we on the mini-holoemitter replication?” (reply Jacobs) “Good, do you have anything else to report?” (Reply Jacobs) (Posted by Oleg Kislyuk) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca -Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign(jg) Henry Jacobs - 0548) "Mr.Jacobs, where are we on the mini-holoemitter replication?” Jacobs smiled as he began to give respond, " well sir you know I aim to please, all the holo-emitters have been replicated and are ready to be transported to the security office to be installed on all fire arms. “Good, do you have anything else to report?" "Now that you ask, we stumbled across a secondary shielding program that had been previously installed around a civil war mission. Can you shed any light in it for me, sir?" (Reply Gesar) "Well, the computer says that Lt Cmdr Lorimar installed it. I took the liberty of asking him to brief me on it, but I haven't gotten a response. I hope that wasn't overstepping my bounds." (Reply Gesar, Lorimar, any and all) (Posted by Darryl) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca – TAC/SC Offices – CO Captain Durand – 0557) =^=Potential is the right word, sir. Unsure if it helps or confuses the issue but it does make me consider that the need to understand the Borg’s motivations is needed more than ever in this case. Are you aware of any conclusions made from the Rosenante?=^= asked Candle’s voice over the Captain’s commbadge. “There have been no updates that I am aware of since the joint briefing at midnight Doctor. Rest assured, if anything relevant comes through, the information will be disseminated through channels.” (Reply Candle iyw) After they concluded their discussion, he turned back toward Lt. Trei, who queried the Captain with his typical Klingon directness. "What can I do for you Captain? ENS Signos is relaying the current information we have for the Borg engagement to CDR Caskie. Do you have anything new that can help us plan?" “As I just told Doctor Candle, Lieutenant, nothing new has come through as yet. My purpose here is to review the planning you and the rest of the tactical and security people have come up with. Beyond the general directives issued by Captain Salid at the brief, what have you come up with? We need to keep the Borg off balance, keep them reacting to us. If we must engage them, we will need a sound tactical plan, and defensive plans need to be well rehearsed and in place should we need to react to a boarding action or anything of the sort. What do you have for us so far?” (Reply Trei, Signos iyw, Any, Room for more) (Posted by Russ) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Trei's Office - TAC/SC Lieutenant(SG) Detron Trei - 0600) Durand asked Detron what information he has on the Borg and any strategies that were though of. Detron turned to Durand. "Well Captain. As I told ENS Signos, I thought a variation of a previous tactic used will work this time. I told her that the telepathic connection used before to tell the Borg collective to sleep could be made to be a suggestion of bugs this time. The suggestion of bugs all over their ships to make them fight themselves. I believe with the help of the Borg on the Rosenante, I can make that connection again. What are your views on that sir? (Reply Durand) (Posted by Edward) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Security Offices - ATAC/SC Jessica Signos - Day 2 - 0602) She entered the security offices her face buried in a PADD. After spending several hours checking the modification, and placement of security post throughout the ship. She almost bumped into the captain only just catching him out of the corner of her eye. "I'm sorry, Sir." She said quickly " I did not know that we would have the pleasure of your company." Jessica continued has looked around the room. She hoped that she didn't interrupt a private meeting of the minds. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything." She continued voicing her thoughts, has she made her way to a near by console. (reply Trei, Durand) "That's good." Then she continued, "Sir, I have somethings I wanted to go over with you. One has you know we are quite frankly swamped and have a lot of ground top cover to get ready for the encounter with the Borg. What I wanted to know is would you authorize the use of the ship wide holo emitters and the holo marine program to bolster are security ranks. This will allow us one massively cut are preparations time, Two it will also more fighting power when and if the Borgs board the Boudicca, after all it would be kinda hard for them to assimilate a hologram." She stopped for a moment to let what said sink in, before continuing. (reply Durand, iyw or wait till end.) "Second, is there anyway that we can man the battle bridge on deck twelve, I believe that i would give us a large tactical advantage it would be like being able to fire from two guns instead of one and if one of the bridge's should fall it would give us a back up to continue fighting from. Last, this is something i came up with that I wanted you to look at." Jessica handed him the PADD she was working on. Upon which was an outlay of the ship with all tactical positions marked; including what equipment was at each sight, flanking locations, and teleport locations... "It's the last I wanted to talk to you about. I was wondering if there was anyway that we could set are teleporters to teleport anything that stepped into an known, definable space, and send whatever we caught into the nearest star. Sorta like using the teleporters has a snare. I believe if we can make this work we will have an indirect method of attacking the Borg that they are unfamiliar with and one that would be difficult to adapt to." Jessica stopped to catch her breath, let the Captain review her notes, and respond. She glanced over to Trei unsure of how he would take her ideals. (reply Durand, Trei) (posted by Matthew Locke) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Main Sickbay - ACMO - Dr Basil Candle - Day 2 - 0605) Basil wasn’t expecting an immediate reply but he got one =^=By all means Doctor I am awake. Why don't you join me in my quarters for breakfast and we can speak to the crew of the Rose at the same time.=^= ~Breakfast, hmm lovely - an omeltter right now sounds great~ he thought “Thank you Commander, I’ll be over shortly” he replied to her. Tidying himself up as best he can he left the sickbay, leaving instructions as to his whereabouts if anything came up. As we walked the corridors his mind drifted the decision he still hadn’t made yet, about whether he would stay or leave Starfleet. With all the events that had happened so swiftly after each other he hadn’t had a moment to even weigh the options. The last true time he thought about it was when he spoke to the Rosenante crew member, the engineer Eian. Even now with the ship heading towards a deadly encounter Basil’s mind was elsewhere. Only in brief moments did it flash to his future. At that moment Basil felt some bizarre affinity to the Borg drones, toiling away at whatever they had been ordered to do. Despite the cybernetic augmentations was there any difference between them? The Borg and Federation each trying to spread their influence, their appetites seemingly rapacious it just that the Borg were more honest about it. The Federation did it more subtly through coercion and idealism. Did Basil truly want to be a part of the Federation collective or did he want to be free, be a captain on his own ship to ply the tradeways in his own style? One thing for certain, Captaincy was definitely tempting. He reached the First Officers quarters and rang the door chime. (Reply Caskie, I’ll leave room for pleasantries here) Once Basil was seated and the pleasantries over Basil decided to get straight to the point, “So, Commander, what can you tell me about that mission?” (Reply Caskie) “I’ve also made a few observations about the Borg ships as well as information that may explain why they are there if you would like to hear them?” (Reply Caskie) (Posted by Warren Simkins) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - FO's Personal Quarters - aFO - Cmdr Josh Caskie - Day 2 - 0608) When her door chimed Josh immediately ordered the computer to open the door and Dr Candle entered. She offered him a seat, asked him what he wanted for breakfast and once it was replicated, set out and Josh had joined him at the table, she smiled over at him waiting for him to speak. She didn't have to wait long. “So, Commander, what can you tell me about that mission?” Josh smiled at him. "Well, that depends on what you want to know. Firstly the Opthidians are not immune to being assimilated they simply came up with a way to remove any Borg *infestation* was the word I believe they used. Basically they came up with a bio weapon that killed all life in the *infested* sector of space thus making sure that the Borg nanites could not survive and replicate." (Reply Candle) iyw "As to how they delivered it.." Josh smiled. "It was very low tech and totally foolproof. Three man suicide squads. Each Opthidian had a sac containing the biotoxin placed inside their bodies set to degrade at a timed rate. Terrorism 101 pure and simple. There was no antidote and no stopping it." (Reply Candle) The EMH and I managed to extract the sac from the last surviving Opthidian and once engineering had placed in into a torpedo we exploded it in the atmosphere over the planet making sure that nothing would survive there for a very, very long time. Believe me I've already thought long and hard about using it as a means to defeat the Borg this time around and I will be bringing it up at the joint Command meeting soon." (Reply Candle) iyw) "You also mention something about the Borg's potential motivation...." Josh waited and allowed the Doctor to begin talking. “I’ve made a few observations about the Borg ships as well as information that may explain why they are there if you would like to hear them?” Josh smiled. "I would indeed Doctor, please continue." (Reply Candle) (Posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge - aFO - Cmdr Josh Caskie - Day 2 0822) Josh followed Captain Durand into the Observation Lounge and watched as the holographic matrix seemed to allowed the Rose Command Crew to form opposite them. Smiling over at them she began her report. "Sirs, I'm fairly sure that more or less everything I have to report will no doubt also be covered by Tom as well since both crews have been working closely together so that nothing, no matter how small, or seemingly insignificant would be missed. As for the Boudicca we are well on our way to completing all the engineering modifications that both crews have come up with and should, more or less have them completed by the time we reach our co-ordinates. Security has set up numerous choke points around the ship where we can hopefully hold the Borg for a while at least should they board us and they and Engineering are working on both individual self modulation and individual holographic self modulation frequencies for our hand phasers. Basically we are almost as ready as we can be given the time we have had to prepare." "I've also had a few people come to me with information regarding possible reasons for the Borg incursion in this system and I have collated all the data and disseminated it shipwide on both ships so that everyone can study it. " Josh took a deep breath and looked over at Captain Salid. "However, before I finish my briefing there is one other point I wish to raise here as a possible 'final' solution should we find ourselves overwhelmed. Captain Salid if you look in the medical database under the code name Kismet you will find a file giving instructions on how to replicate the Opthidian biotoxin. This file can only be accessed using either your command codes or my old CMO ones and no-one else's. Given the nature of our adversary I think it is something that we might need to consider." (Reply Durand, Salid, Sullivan, Jackson) (Posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign(jg) Henry Jacobs - 0902) Anton was putting together his report to the Captain. The mini-holoemitter replication as complete. The deflector dish was successfully tested and ready to go. He was only waiting for Henry to submit his report to make sure he did not miss anything. Anton was tired, but if anyone was going to be the strong person here it would have to be himself. He took another shot of espresso. It was his 8th and he was beginning to feel jittery. He looked up in time to see Henry walk into his office. "Sir, engines and shield motifications have completed, here are the reports. With your permission I would like to notify Captain Durand and Commander Caskie of our progress.” “I’ll take care of that. There are a few things that I need to report up the chain as well. Just give me a PADD with all the pertinent data and then you are ordered to go to your quarters and get some rest.” (Reply Jacobs) (Posted by Oleg Kislyuk) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca – Ready Room – CO Captain Durand – 2215) After he and Caskie filled each other in, she told him that she did indeed have an idea, albeit one to be used in desperation. He smiled thinly in return, though he hardly felt like it. “Of course Commander… take all the time you need. Provided it’s not more than a few hours.” He chuckled lightly, then grew serious again. “Commander… Josh… there are bound to be situations coming up in our very near future where I have to ask, and will expect, the unreasonable… in fact, the impossible from you and the rest of our people.” He ran his fingers through his hair, then leaned forward slightly in his chair, elbows resting on the desk. “We haven’t had much time together as a command team have we?” He held up his hand before she had a chance to reply, and he went on. “Trust and respect are *earned*, I realize. But I’m going to have to ask for a little faith in me. I haven’t had time to earn it, but I need to know that we can operate smoothly on this mission. There may well be situations where we must act quickly – instantly – in order to save the crew or the ship. Maybe more importantly, if something happens to me, I need to know that you are prepared to take over, and do whatever is necessary to finish the mission. Now I don’t expect, nor would I accept a first officer who doesn’t think and act for herself. I certainly don’t expect you to approve, or even agree with every order I happen to give. But I do need you to remember that none of us as individuals – not me, you, anyone – are as important as the success of this mission. Can you accept that?” (Reply Caskie, Room for more iyw) (Posted by Russ) ======================================================= (USS Rosenante, Ready Room, CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid, Day 3, 0900) Ahmed flipped through yet another page of an informational report concerning Assimilation. The last three had yielded very little new data that he wasn't already aware of, so he had simply put them aside to take a look at the next one. It was entitled, 'De-Assimilation, a study of the physiological and psychological condition of reversing the Borg Assimilation problem'. For the first twenty pages of data, it, like the others, seemed to be anything less than encouraging, and not in the slightest bit helpful. It wasn't until he reached page twenty-one that he finally spotted something that caught his immediate interest. [...While the exact formulation of the exact Neural Suppressant used by the crew of Voyager in 2377 continues to prove elusive as a result of incomplete records, caused by computer core digression of the vessel, we have found that some lesser known Neural Suppressants have shown considerable promise in aiding in the physiological and psychological conditions associated with the process of de-Borg-ification.]] [...Three subjects exhibited improved recovery rates as a result of a proscribed post-operative schedule of 20 micrograms of Therbuterol, a common telepathic reception suppressant. In each of the three case studies, the subjects began to refer to themselves as individuals sooner than in studies where such drugs were not employed. There was also significant indications of a more complete and rapid physiological recovery in those subjects that had been assimilated for only short periods of time. There was no apparent change in any subject who had been assimiliated for a period of at least three months, indicating that this treatment may be limited to instances in which the invasive nature of the Borg process has not yet had time to reach full maturation.] [It is suspected that the use of Therbuterol in individuals prior to assimilation could aid in reducing the rapid onset of complete identity submergence during the Borg assimilation process. Granted, this process may offer only limited success or potentially no success at all, dependant upon Borg adaptations and the subject' particular biology. This could be a direct result of the suppression of those portions of the subjects brain in which the placement of the Borg Cortical Node is formed. It is believed that the node's ability to interface with the neural medium of the subject would be suppressed only temporarily, allowing the subject a greater degree of time in which they can more readily prepare themselves to resist the schizophrenic nature of the collective as it invades their consciousness.] [... Further evidence suggests that treatment with Therbuterol could slow the integration process by as much as 3%, thereby allowing a greater window of opportunity to conduct recovery operations of affected individuals. The prospects of utilizing Therbuterol in a preparatory stage prior to assimilation as well as during the recovery cycle, could significantly increase the odds of successful disassociation with the Borg Collective and subsequently reduce the psychological and physical trauma of the afflicted individuals.] [...Of course this is all conjecture as I can not test these theories as it is both dangerous and unethical to request an individual to willingly undergo Assimilation in order to validate or debunk this hypothesis. For now the matter seems academic, and Therbuterol must remain as an experimental treatment for aiding in the post-assimilation recovery process at this time.] Ahmed skimmed a few more pages of the document, noting a few very radical concepts into treating some of the other physiological and psychological conditions of recovering patients. And while all of that was interesting, the Therbuterol Treatment seemed to be the only mention of a potential inhibitor to slow the initial process in the first place. It was very clear that it would not stop the process, only that it helped the victim during the recovery stages should they be assimilated. That increased the chances of their full recovery and as a result the captain saw an immediate benefit to the procedure. Therbuterol was a well know drug in the federation and it's reactivity on physiological systems was well documented. It was safe to use, even for those not normally telepathic and he could see no harm in having it used as outlined in the document. He wouldn't have to ask his crew to volunteer to be assimilated, as the odds were likely that some of them would have it thrust upon them before this mission was over. If he could improve their odds of recovery and prove or disprove a potentially valuable hypothesis at the same time, why should he not consider it? He tapped his commbadge. "Salid to Ichijo" (reply Ichijo) "Doctor can you come to my ready room and bring your thinking cap. I have some data I'd like to show you and get a medical opinion on. If possible contact Doctor Candle and ask him to beam over if at all possible. I'd like his opinion as well and time is of the essence." (reply Ichijo) "Thank you Doctor, Salid out." (reply Ichijo) Daniel Greene ======================================================= (Private Shuttle Bloodwing - Lt (jg) Ael Harkonnen T'Rillian - Day 4 - 0004) Ael didn't have to wait too long for a reply and thankfully it was a civilised one. =/\= Lieutenant T'Rillian, I am Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid, commanding the USS Rosenante. I was unaware that the Romulan Star Empire would be sending any ships to this sector. We welcome your assistance. It is recommended that you dock your vessel with one of ours, and that we coordinate activities from there. =/\= She smiled at the person speaking to her. "Although the Romulan Star Empire is always interested in what is happening on their borders they have not sent any ships to this sector and nor will they do so at present." She allowed herself a wicked smile. "Well, not until they see the outcome of what happens here first. I am afraid Captain that we are very much on our own out here." She paused for a moment and then grinned again. "Well, unless of course you count the Borg." =/\= Then if you have no objections Lieutenant, please proceed to the Boudicca's landing bay. After you've landed we'd like to ask you a few questions, such as how long you've been here and what you may have observed of the Borg activity since your arrival, or what information you are willing to share with us in this circumstance. =/\= Ael nodded her head. "By all means Captain I will dock with the Boudicca. Please inform them that I will be docking in three minutes fifteen seconds from my mark. Mark." (Reply Salid, Durand iyw) Ael skilfully piloted the Bloodwing into the shuttlebay of the Boudicca, shut all her systems down and stepping outside her ship waited for whatever security detail its Captain had decided to send. (Reply Durand, any on the Boudicca) (Posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante- Bridge- Pilot- LMaj Brandy Shea- 0006) It was time. The two ships of the Federation taskforce were almost to their target coordinates. It was the end of preparations and the beginning of action. "Mister Shea, communicate to the Boudicca that were are dropping out of warp. Then drop us to full impulse, same course and heading." "Yes sir" Brandy replied as she punched in the commands on the helm console before reducing the Rosenante's speed to full impulse from warp. The captain then communicated with the captain of the Boudicca. The skipper then got updates from all the department heads. Salid then ordered "Mister Shea, please implement our approach vectors as indicated by Mister Dralar's system insertion plan. Transmit a copy of it, tight beam, to the Boudicca." Up until she sat at the helm of the Rosenante, the largest vessel Brandy ever piloted was a Roger Young-class ship for the Marine Corps. The biggest difference between the two ships is simply the layout of the controls. "Yes sir, altering course accordingly." Then Xim chimed in "Captain, I am detecting a high energy discharge. It is coming from the Borg Pyramid. It appears to be focused on a point on the planet's southern Hemisphere." Xim reported from one of the science stations. "I am also receiving a transmission on a normally inactive channel. It's a Romulan ship." Xim reported. (Reply none) Posted by Charlie --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Bridge - ACEO Lt JG Eian O'Neill - Day 4 - 0007) It was show time. Eian was in engineering when they arrived, and he felt the knot in his stomach grow. He usually would improvise a prayer at a time like this, but for the first time in his life the words didn't pop into his head automatically. They were about to encounter the Borg, they were gravely outgunned, and despite their ship modifications and planning, the odds were against them. ~I wonder if this is what Mum felt like right before she went into that battle?~ His father had told him that his mother didn't have any second thoughts, she just went in there and did what she had to do. He was finding that hard to believe now. ~The Lord is my Shepherd,~ he decided on the 23rd Psalm, and recited it in his head as he headed to the Bridge. He stepped off the Turbolift. "Reporting as ordered, Sir," he announced, and manned the engineering station. ~Watch over us, please...~ (no reply necessary) (posted by Morgan G) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Trei's Office - TAC/SC Lieutenant(SG) Detron Trei - 0010) The call went out to all departments assessing the level of readiness to the Borg encounter. Detron tapped his COMM. "Trei here. We are ready and waiting for orders. Trei out." (Reply O'Neil, Rose Bridge) (Posted by Edward) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign(jg) Henry Jacobs - 0011) Henry's terminal illuminated with a message from the Rose. It was the department readiness call that was issued since both ships were about to come out of warp to their destination. "Sir, message from the Rosenante, we are to report our status as we are coming to our destination. Shall I report engineering ready?" (reply Gesar) (posted by Darryl) --------------------------------------------------------------------- End Compile ---------------------------------------------------------------------