Stardate:2406.10.03 (USS Nimitz - CSO's office - Lt. Saleke - 10:30) Saleke waited as the young man got to his feet and prepared to leave. "Thank you for seeing me, sir." He said as he stood. "I'll get started on the device as soon as I get back to Engineering. I look forward to seeing you again." The Vulcan nodded in acknowledgement of Mile's parting comments. After this mission was over he intended to get to know the young ACEO better, he had a great deal of potential that needed to be encouraged. After Miles O'Neill had left his office he ckecked the computer terminal again, the computer had come up with a list of names of possible pilots for the trawler, he immediately began bringing up their bios for inspection. (Reply: Any, none) (Posted by Charles) Stardate:2406.10.03 (USS Nimitz - FO's Office - FO Commander Kestra Troi - 1046) Kestra heard the door chime, "come" she had said and was pleased that Ensign Tom Slytherwald had arrived in a timely manner. She got up as he entered and motioned the formality away then pointed to the couch. Tom waited until she had sat down before he also sat down on the couch. She still had her tea and did not want to seem unpolite toward him, "Please Ensign feel free to get you something to drink if you would like." she said to him with a wave toward the replicator. Tom then entered the room. Came to Commander and crossed his hands. "You wanted to see me, ma'am?" Kestra smiled at him and as they both settled down, it was time for business. "Ensign, I wanted to call you here to discuss a matter or two with you. What I say is in no respect undermining your duty or saying that you lack the expertise to do it. Lt. Tagon will be joining us on the mission as long as the captain does not object to it. He will be assigned to me, not only to protect me but he could be useful in breaking any command codes that we come across. I want you to protect Lt. Saleke primarily and with Tagon, keep an eye out for the good doctor that will be acompanying us." Kestra hoped that professionalism would prevail in the Ensign and that he would not be offended that She had not wanted him to guard her. Kestra had figured for one thing was that it would free him up to interact more with his team on the bridge and the other reason was what Tagon could do for her. (reply from Slytherwald, any) (Pb Frank Rogers) Stardate:2406.10.03 (USS Nimitz - Sickbay - Lt.(jg) Saleke & Dr. Michaella Kirien - 14:18) Not wanting to startle the weeping woman Saleke said softly. "Doctor Kirien I am Saleke. Is there anything I can do for you?" Michaella looked up at the man who had appeared before her. "I apologize for my unseemliness, Mr. Saleke." She said, her rich melodic voice harsh with tears. She snuffled, looking around for a handkerchief. "Is there anything that I can help you with, Mr. Saleke? I'm afraid that I won't be much help at the moment." The tears threatened to start again. Then Michaella realized that he was Vulcan, therefore a telepath. "Were you drawn here by my grief, Mr. Saleke? If so, I am sorry." Her face was a classic mask of sadness. Saleke suddenly realized at her question that much of the weeping he had heard had indeed been in his mind and not sensed through his hearing. The illogic of the situation was apparent to him in that he had come over to her with the intent of helping her and had said so but she had in turned asked if she could be of assistance to him. The young woman it seemed was not completely coherent. "No Doctor Kirien you need help me with nothing. I had originally come here with the intent of speaking personally with Dr. Kincaid but it seems he is unavailable at the moment." Saleke avoided telling her about the reason for his indisposition, her grief was clear and strong enough without being added to. "I came to you with the intention of talking with you if you wished, I find conversations stimulating and have some time before my next appointment, would you be willing to participate?" Michaella sniffled again, thinking. He was a Vulcan, he didn't understand her emotions. The death of her baby was just a fact of life to be accepted and moved on past. "What do you wish to talk about ?" She asked, the tears beginning to clear up as her mind moved past the loss of her child and the horrible dream she had just had. The Vulcan appropriated a nearby chair and set it beside Doctor Kirien's bed as he considered her demeanor, she appeared to be calming already and the tears had stopped which he knew to be a sign of increased emotional stability although he knew he must tread carefully with the conversation lest she be pushed back into an emotional display. Many Vulcans would have bored straight into their questioning with no thought to the other's feelings however Saleke had made the study and understanding of sentient beings to be a prime focus of his scientific endeavors therefore he understood far more about how to deal with them on their terms than many would credit him for. "I am fascinated by other cultures Doctor Kirien and have never been to Betazed. Would you tell me something about your planet and culture? Any information you present to me would be appreciated." Michaella thought for a moment. "I'm Betazoid but I've never been to Betazed." She began. "I only know about myself and my parents." She told Saleke about growing up on isolated planets with no athmosphere, and about space stations and what it was like to be the only child there. "Does that help any ?" She finished up. A sad look crossed her face. "I had hopes that you were my Imzadi, who appears to be ignoring me." And with that the tears began again. Saleke watched her cry for a moment and when the tears finally slowed asked a question that he had long wondered. "Doctor the word Imzadi to my understanding means something similar to Life's Mate but I am aware there are far deeper conotations to it than that. Do you think perhaps you could explain the term to me?" Michaella thought for a second, snuffling. "It means, literally, first. On Betazed, when you mate for the first time you mate for life. That has changed now, and well, your first is generally not your Imzadi... your Imzadi is your life mate now. But.... I thought that John was mine. I've never felt the kind of bond that I have with him with other people. But... no Imzadi would ignore me the way he has." "Mr. Saleke, you are a Vulcan. May I ask a favor of you?" Michaella knew that she could not continue to exist this way, she needed to put the grief off and work for the benefit of the crew. When this mission was over, she could grieve. "I would like your help in putting the grief at bay, please, so that I can better serve the ship." What she was asking him was more intimate than sex to a Vulcan, and she felt a little uncomfortable doing it. Saleke considered her words for a moment before speaking; this kind of request was not made nor answered lightly. Before he answered her though he could not pass up an opportunity for a compliment. "Your comment Doctor, according to my understanding of the term Imzadi, I find to be extremely logical. I do not know what "John " you speak of therefore I can say objectively that one who fits the description of your definition of the term would not behave in such a fashion. I also find your request to be logical. As important as our upcoming mission is it would be beneficial to the ship and crew if every member were working to the fullest of their abilities and without distractions. I could arrange for such a mental state to dissipate gradually if you would like; this according to my understanding would help you deal with your grief over a period of time rather than all at once. Also understand that during a mind-meld there sometimes takes place a sharing of cognizance and or memories, I would not want to enter into such a state without you being aware of this." Michaella nodded. "I know a bit about mind-healing from one of my courses on Starbase 262, And a bit about how Vulcans and mind-melds work. I trust that you wouldn't delibrately hurt me, Saleke. And maybe you will learn a bit about Betazoids in the process." She quirked her mouth a bit in a half-smile. "I appreciate this." She said, being very careful not to touch him. Saleke nodded and stood above her then leaned down and placed his fingertips upon her face, the thumbs above the eyes, the index fingers on the temples and the other fingers upon her cheeks as he began to let down the shields upon his mind that were continually maintained. As he did so he closed his eyes that he might focus more clearly and felt her consciousness drawing near to his. As his fingertips touched her face, Michaella felt something that she hadn't felt in a while. A kinship with him. She let down her shields and relaxed, allowing her eyes to flutter closed as the mental contact began. She found herself standing eye to eye with Saleke in a dark room, a single spotlight shining down on her. She turned as she heard a sound and began to relive her dream, this time darker and more sinister. She cringed as John, her daughters and her dead son advanced on her, knives in hand intent on killing her. Each spoke with anger, and each had a different thing to say, until all the voices melded together. She put her hands on her ears, trying to block them out. Saleke knew now of course who the John she spoke of was as he walked around her and toward the group that was approaching and intent on attacking her. Saleke was no psychologist but he had heard of the "Demons of the Mind"; the grief, fear, guilt and rage that at times tormented emotional beings. As they neared him he turned his back to them and faced the young woman. She cried a warning as a knife wielding hand slashed at him but it passed harmlessly through him. "Doctor Kirien you have nothing to fear from them, these are nothing but images and phantasms in your mind... and the mind can be controlled." Suddenly they were standing on Vulcan, the Edgeron Plateau near his family home. He had only been here a few times, once before his parents had accepted an assignment on the Nahru and several times on leave from the V.A.A.S.. In the distance was what to an emotional being would be a breathtaking vista of browns and reds in the surrounding valley. Vulcan's binary suns shone high in the sky but he made sure the memory contained a temperature she could bear. "I could implant this memory for you if you wish or another." And now they were on the VSRS Nahru, Saleke was 13 and working in the Geology lab cataloging specimens, including a very rare and beautiful crystal that was a pale blue."Or perhaps you have a pleasant memory of your own you would prefer." She shook her head, indicating that any that he chose would be acceptable. She moved close to him, feeling the warmth of his body against her skin. "Please do what you feel is right." She said, wanting it to be done and over with. The only person she wanted to be this exposed with was a lover, and this Saleke, while handsome and typically Vulcan in his arrogance, was not that. She admitted to herself that she rather liked the arrogance, actually, it was one of the reasons she had been drawn to Wilson so strongly. "Very well." He said and they were once again on the plateau facing the valley. "I will implant this memory as a buffer between your mind, both conscious and sub-conscious and the negative emotions that are attacking you. It will be a safe haven for you if you will. Beginning the fifth day it will begin to dissipate allowing those emotions to filter through at a manageable level and by the tenth day it will be gone. To allow it to linger longer might cause you to become dependent on it and result in some psychological trauma at its loss. I will begin." He closed his eyes and for the next minute it felt as though goosebumps were crawling over her skin as her nervous system reacted to the mental manipulations he was making then he opened his eyes again. "It is finished Doctor." And once again he was standing over her but this time taking his hands from her face. Michaella caught Saleke's wrists, holding in her firm grip. "Don't." She said very quietly, then shook her head, feeling confused and a tad bit disoriented. "I'm sorry." She spoke softly, stopping the contact. He'd burned through the telepathic barriers that the medicine had put on her artificially. It was all right, since now she was no longer projecting grief. Salek's eyebrow lifted at this new display as she released his wrists then with an incliniation of his head said. "Goodbye Doctor Kirien," while he wondered as he walked away what had just transpired to cause her to do such a thing. ~ When dealing with emotions there is little rational sense .... much less logic." He thought as he walked through the door. (Reply: Any, none) (Posted by Charles and Melinda) Stardate:2406.10.03 (USS Nimitz – Holodeck 5 – TAC/SC Ensign Kateb - 1825) When Saleke entered Onyx and him started to work right away and once Miles walked in it was even better. From her view points, she would give this 2 more hours because with those extra hands she knew that the work on this simulation would be very good and give the away teams a good platform to practice. “Well, it looks like we're all here, should we start now?” “Yes, welcome on board!” She gave him a wink. “We will have to push the safety limits on the program. I have created a special holo weapons program that leaves a mark of color on clothes. There's 3 basic colors, green for a mild stun, yellow, for a stun that knocks out, and red for the maximum setting that kills. The color disappear after 5 minutes.” (Reply from O'Neill, Saleke) “The hard part is the dynamic program, and the computer once we feed it everything can do the rest.” (Reply from O'Neill, Saleke) “Yes, it should be interesting.” NRPG : There could be more Rpg (USS Nimitz – Holodeck 5 – 2025) Onyx, Saleke and O'Neill look at there work. “What do you think? I don't think we can add anything anymore in the program.” (reply from O'Neill, Saleke) “I guess we are ready.” Onyx tap her combadge. “Ensign Kateb to Comdr Troi... we have finished the holo program. Now we are waiting on the away teams to get a practice run.” (Reply from O'Neill, Saleke, Troi anyone) (Posted by Laurence) Stardate:2406.10.03 (USS Nimitz – Holodeck 5 – ACEO Ensign (jg) Miles O'Neill - 1826) “Yes, welcome on board!” She gave him a wink. “We will have to push the safety limits on the program. I have created a special holo weapons program that leaves a mark of color on clothes. There's 3 basic colors, green for a mild stun, yellow, for a stun that knocks out, and red for the maximum setting that kills. The color disappear after 5 minutes.” "That's a good idea." Miles said. “The hard part is the dynamic program, and the computer once we feed it everything can do the rest.” "This is going to be interesting." Miles said. His engineers agreed. “Yes, it should be interesting.” (USS Nimitz – Holodeck 5 - ACEO Ensign (jg) Miles O'Neill – 2025) Onyx, Saleke and O'Neill look at there work. “What do you think? I don't think we can add anything anymore in the program.” "I agree, I think it's about as good as it's going to get." Miles said. "I guess we should inform Commander Troi of our progress." (Reply any) (Posted by Matt Kirk) Stardate:2406.10.03 (USS Nimitz – Holodeck 5 – CSO/3O Saleke - 1827) The simulation that the Tac/SC chief had set up was an interesting challenge for Saleke and he found working with her to be not unpleasant. He knew it was important to make the simulation as real as possible so that the boarding parties would be well prepared when they hit the Trawler .As Ensign O'Neill arrived he said. “Well, it looks like we're all here, should we start now?” “Yes, welcome on board!” Onyx gave him a wink. “We will have to push the safety limits on the program. I have created a special holo weapons program that leaves a mark of color on clothes. There's 3 basic colors, green for a mild stun, yellow, for a stun that knocks out, and red for the maximum setting that kills. The color disappear after 5 minutes.” Saleke nodded his approval, "That should be more than sufficent Ms. Kateb." “The hard part is the dynamic program, and the computer once we feed it everything can do the rest.” She said. Saleke considered her comment for an instant, as always it would be the actual inputting of the commands and mission parameters that would take up the most of the actual time, the computer once it had the information would extrapolate the scenario from it. "Agreed," He said. “Yes, it should be interesting.” "One other thing Chief Kateb, " Saleke said. "I would recommend a scenario in which the crew attempts to destry the Trawler rather than allow it to be taken, it is always a logical choice to prepare for any eventuality." (USS Nimitz – Holodeck 5 – 2026) Onyx, Saleke and O'Neill look at their work. “What do you think? I don't think we can add anything anymore in the program.” Saleke nodded his approval. “I guess we are ready.” Onyx tap her combadge. “Ensign Kateb to Comdr Troi... we have finished the holo program. Now we are waiting on the away teams to get a practice run.” Saleke settled in to wait for the other participants. (Reply: Any) (Posted by Charles) Stardate:2406.10.03 (USS Nimitz - Sickbay- CO- Captain Devan Sash- 20:05) This was the first time Sash had a chance to get down to sickbay and check on Michaella. He had stayed with her for as long as he could after she lost her baby, but the doctor had kept her sedated for the most part, and Sash knew what she would need most is time. He had been to visit his arboritum and brought her a little something that he hoped would make her feel better and he also brought her a small wrapped box. It was funny, he hadn't known her more than a day, yet he felt connected to her. Perhaps it was her daughters. He enjoyed being witht them. They were so young, and he enjoyed watching them interact. Such sister. A nurse came up to him but they exchanged a few glances as if she were expecting him to say something. Then she simply turned and went back to her duties. Sahs nodded and then walked over to Michaella's bed. Her eyes wer closed and her breathing was easy, so he didn't disturb her. He pulled up a chair and sat next to her. His eyes closed. Sash heard a strange sound. Whenhe opened his eyes all he could see was a farm, desolated and laid to waste. The acrid smell of burning filled the air. He looked at the caved in wall of his farmhouse. he had built with is own hands. But that wasnn't the problem right now. He ran to the house, without shouting. Some how he knew. Somehow, he had always known. Why couldn't they have let them alone. There had been no revolution until they had cecided that the warrior caste was no longer a benefit to keep around. He looked at the dvestation around him. ~And they worried that we were violent. Sash stopped at the doorway. He says he never knew what to expect, but he really did. He was sure from the moment he had seen the smoke across the field that he knew what he'd find. Slowly, and carefully he made his way through the enterance. He refused to use the hole in the wall. He looked down at his hands, surprised to see that they were already covered in dried blood, which was now being covered with soot from burned timbers. Then he caught the smell. There's no mistaking the smell of burned flesh. He looked carefully now, tears already starting to burn his eyes. There was a small mass in a corner. He looked over to see his wife, or what was left of her. She had been trying to protect their children. Even in her dying moments, reaching for them. Less than a meter away was the two lifeless form of his youngest son and daughter. Each with a neat hole through them. Sash fell to his knees looked up at the sky and wondered why this had happened. His eyes opened with anger as he reached to grab the God that allowed this to happen. But the only word that escaped his mouth was a long, moaning, loud, "Nooooooooooo!" Sash sat up in his chair suddenly, catching his breath. it had been a while since he'd had that dream. Rubbing his eyes he looked over to see Lynda, no it was Michaella, looking at him with a smile. "Well hello there," he said, trying to repress his emotions. (reply Michaella) (posted by Al Muir) Stardate:2406.10.03 (USS Nimitz - Sickbay- CO & ACMO- Captain Devan Sash & Dr. Michaella Kirien- 20:25) "Nooooooooooo!" Michaella heard shouting as she watched the farmhouse burn. She saw the man standing there, and with a wrench threw them out of the memory, forcing Sash awake. "Well hello there," he said, thinking for a moment that she was his dead wife. The smile that she gave him was tinged a bit with sadness, and she shook her head. "They gave me something to block the projection of my grief." She said out loud. "I'm sorry, that was my fault." She looked down at her hands. Sash wasn't sure what she was talking about when she said that she was sorry. "You have no reason to appologize," he assured her "I had hoped you were John. He hasn't come." She said, trying to choke back the tears. She needed to talk to a Counsellor and the Counsellor had not come. She hoped that those simple words were enough. "I think that the Counsellor on Geneva was right, my Captain.... I am not a good mother. I used to be...but now I am not." Sash was glad for the change of subject. But this change was not the one he was looking for. He had to drop his own mourning, again, to help another. "The way I see your girls," Sash said with a genuine smile, "I can't believe that. Your girls are a bit "mischievious" at times, I'm sure, but they are well cared for, and obviously loved by their mother. You can hear it in their voices when they talk about you." He reached down and held her hand. "Michaella, don't ever let anyone convince you that you are less than you are. Not John Wilson, ot Captain what's his name, nobody." Michaella looked at the man next to her, his big hand in her small, elegant one. She showed him with her eyes how much the last couple of months had hurt her. Then she told him about the dream, and how it ended. "He said I didn't want him...but that isn't true. I did." She realized the tears were coming again. "I thought that with the way John was acting, that it might be better if I wasn't pregnant, and now this." She shook her head, crying again. "I feel like such an awful person, Devan. How could I think that? How could I think that life would be better off if I'd never had the chance to have him? It's my fault he's gone." She showed him how much the knowledge that the baby was dead being her fault hurt her. "I'm supposed to be a doctor, Devan...." She realized that he was hugging her at that point holding her close. She clung to him, sobbing. Sash slowly, relaxed and began to rub her back. He just let her cry, until all there was left was the dampness on his shoulder and the sound of some sniffles. Once she had calmed down some pulled her away and forced her to look him in the face. "Michaella, I was there," he said, "and I read the report. You were not to blame. The making of a life is a miricle in itself. You should know the odds of getting pregnant in the first place. Then the odds of that life coming to full term without any hitches. It's a miracle that any species has prospered. If anything, it gives me hope in a supreme being watching over us." His hand cupped her cheek. "Listen, I know you're not going to believe this for a whiule, but you are not to blame. All parents have their doubts. I know I did, and I didn't have the same relationship issues as you do. With each child I wondered what the hell I was thinking about." He smiled and shook his head. "And believe me when I say that I know how to blame myself for the deaths of my children. I often think that if had been there, instead of..." his voice trailed off. "Anyway," he physically shook himself out of his funk. "Suffice it to say I understand. But remember this, you did not kill your baby, it just died, and there was nothing you could have done about it. It just happened." Michaella nodded. "Saleke came to see me earlier, we are working on putting the grief aside so that I might be able to resume my duties in two days." She said, the tears still there. "At this, Devan, I am an improvement over earlier." "Don't rush it," Sash said, "but sometimes it is helpful to stay busy." He knew that it worked for him. Suddenlyhe remembered that he brought a couple of items. First he broought out the plant. It wasn't an overly attractive plant, but it did have it's uses. "This is an Organian cocoaplant. If you rub the leaves it gives off a distinct aroma of chocolate. Also when the plant polenates, the seeds can be ground and made into a hot cocoa drink. The good news is, it polenates every three days." Michaella laughed. "You know Betazoids very well, Mr. Captain Devan Sash Sir." She rubbed a leaf then grinned at the very chocolatey smell that came out. "Oh and I also brought you this," Sash pulled out the small gift wrapped box and handed it over. She took the small wrapped box and then like a little girl shook it. She giggled at the sound it made. She slowly undid the ribbon then ripped into the wrapping paper. She made an "ooo" with her mouth at the pretty little music box that came out. "It's beautiful." She said, turning it over and winding it up. She sat it down on the table beside the biobed and let the little ballerina figurine dance around. "How did you know that I danced?" She asked him, looking up curiously. Sash smiled. "The girls, of course. They were more than happy to tell me all about you. In fact I probably know more about you than you might want me to." He gave her knowing smile and a wink. "I've gotten to know them over th past couple of days. In fact, while you're in here I thought I'd volunteer Captain Sash's sitting services. At least for tonight. They seem to be comfortable with me, and I don't like the idea of them spending their second night on board, alone... and unsupervised." He gave her a little grin at the last part, knowing quite well how teenagers left to their own devices would most assuredly find themselves in trouble. "Thank you very much." She said, feeling that this visit was drawing at an end. She reached out and touched his arm. "I mean that, Devan. Thank you for everything." "You're welcome," he replied, putting his hand over hers. "You look tired. I don't want to over tax you. Get your rest and I'll bring the girls by to see you tomrrow." He stood to leave, then turned back. "Sleep well Michaella." (reply none) (posted by Al Muir and Melinda Martin) Stardate:2406.10.05 (USS Nimitz - Bridge- CO & CEO - Captain Devan Sash and Lt. Zzt- 0940) The last ten minutes had been painfully slow. Sash watched the progress of the trawler and it's escort. Suddenly the Alamo had disappeared from their sensors. "Looks like she's gone to cloak," came a report from Ops. Sash just nodded. He tapped his comm badge. "Sash to Zzt," he said, "do you have our little secret surprise ready?" Zzt was working hard in main engineering, the strong magnetic fields of the asteroid belt where playing havoc with the Nimitz anti-matter containment fields, which were also strong magnetic fields. Zzt and his best people were working feverishly to keep the containment fields stable. Zzt slapped his comm-badge with out looking up from his console. "It ready, though Zzt not recommend using it unless have to. It only last 20 minuets and we be in bad shape afterwards till Zzt get fixed," He replied to the Captain, question. His paws dancing over his console. "Let's hope we don't have to use it, Lt," Sash said. "But if we'll need it, I'll keep my," he liooked at his hands and thought about the Gerratlian's anatomy, "claws crossed that the ship holds together." Stardate:2406.10.06 (USS Nimitz - Bridge- CO- Captain Devan Sash- 0912) Sash sat in his chair and looked out from the asteroid fiel into open space. There was no sign of the trawler yet, although he hadn't expected there to be any just yet. The magnetic fields between the asteroids were going to play havoc with their sensors, he just hoped that Saleke's adjustments worked. However, they also made them quite invisible to the sensors of others. Captain LeBeau would know this aswell, and perhaps anticipate something like this, so Sash had the ship in an area that might lend to a false sense of security for the Alamo. Sash looked over at Kateb, who spent a great deal of time reminding the captain that he needed to plan more for the Defiant class warship. She didn't really appreciate his, "we'll deal with them when thime is right", attitude. And she expressed this discontent every chance she had. Sash had worked out a strategy, but he just wasn't ready to share with the crew yet. He figured they'd just balk at the idea anyway, if they knew what he planned. They didn't need to worry about the sanity of their captain right now. It was best to let them think he was unprepared. He looked over at Kestra for a moment, marveling at how, even in these circusmstances, she could manage to look radiant. "Well FO, we're here. Have all the preparations been made?" (reply Troi) "Good," Sash replied. Then he turned to Saleke. "Mr. Saleke, it's time to see if all of those enhancements that you made to the sensor array were worthwhile. Let's see what you've got." (reply Saleke) Then he turned to Kateb. "Keep a sharp eye on the short range sensors Onyx. I want to know if a particle of space dust moved funny." (reply Kateb) "Keep her steady Mr. Asoru," he went on. "It wouldn't do for us to have a nasty accident with one of these asteroids." (reply Asoru) Then he looked over at O'Neill at the engineering station. "Mr. O'Neill, I'm gooing to want those shield specs on the trawler as soon as possible. We need to bring those shields down quickly, but we'll also need make sure that they can stay up once you're on board her." (reply O'Neill) He tapped his comm badge. "Sash to Dorkin, is the boarding team in place?" (reply Dorkin) "Sash to sickbay, I'm hoping we're not going to need your services doctor Kirian, but be ready." (reply Kirian) He looked over at a very nervous looking CMO, who was standing next to the counselor. Sash stood up and made his way behind them. He put his hands on both their shoulders. "Relax gentlemen, you look like you're expecting quadruplets. Dr. Kinkaid, just listen to Commander Troi and Major Dorkin, keep your head down. If they need you, they'll need you fast. Front line medical treatment in unlike anything else. Go through the ABC's and get the injured back to the ship as quickly as possible." (reply Kinkaid) "Whenever you're ready Mr. Saleke," Sash finally turned, waiting for the sensor report. "What have we got?" (reply Saleke, oh the heck with it, everyone reply) (posted by Al Muir) Stardate:2406.10.06 (USS Nimitz - Sickbay- ACMO- Dr. Michaella Kirien- 0915) "Sash to sickbay, I'm hoping we're not going to need your services doctor Kirian, but be ready." Michaella nodded and tapped her comm badge. She said in a voice somewhat more confident than her own. "Aye Aye, Captain. We are ready down here" Michaella sat back down at her desk, and called up the bridge viewscreen, as well as the live feed from the bridge. She wanted to know what was going to happen, when it happened. She took a deep breath, and reminded herself that she was a trained professional. She knew what she was doing. At least, she hoped that she did. (reply any, none) (posted by melinda :-) Stardate:2406.10.06 (USS Nimitz – Bridge - TAC/SC Ensign Kateb - 0916) Onyx had been helping out the away teams get ready for some more then others, just like she did to get ready for the Defiant and other craft that might be there, just in case. She also found the Captain's attitude of non-chalence of the situation frustrating and she was trying her best to fight the urge of telling him. She suspected that he knew and more so she kept her focus on the sensors. Then he turned to Kateb. "Keep a sharp eye on the short range sensors Onyx. I want to know if a particle of space dust moved funny." “I am on it Sir! So far nothing abnormal.” Onyx like the captain was waiting on Saleke on the long sensor scan.” (Reply from anyone) (Posted by Laurence) Stardate:2406.10.06 (USS Nimitz - Bridge- FO Commander Kestra Troi - 0916) Kestra sat beside Sash in her chair while they both looked out at the asteroid field. All they could see was the asteroids as the Trawler that they were going to try and take had not arrived. She knew as well as Sash did that the magnetic fields would play havoc with the sensor readings. Lt. Saleke had made some adjustments to them since he also understood that they would be needed. Kestra just hoped that he was as good as he thought he was. Sash had explained a bit of his plans for when the time came with her and she hoped that he had success with it. She knew that he had doubts of his own on whether or not he had done everything he could to get ready. He did not have any doubts about his crew as he knew they would perform as he wanted them to. Kestra knew that the crew had doubts about the mission and themselves, but, when the time came, she was certain that the crew would do as they had been trained. Kestra had attended some of the practice runs in holodeck 5 that Ensign Kateb had come up with. It would seem that her Away Team would be ready, but, there were always the things that come up that you just could not plan for. She really did not want to let Sash or the Fleet down in trying to get this fuel they so desperately needed. She had tried to think of everything that could happen during the take over and even some of the team had come up with things that she had not. Kestra noticed that Sash looked over at her for a moment, before speaking. She did not scan him to find out what he was thinking as he really did not like that and she respected that. She tried to portray a confident air not only to him but to the rest of the crew, but, in reality she was scared to death. "Well FO, we're here. Have all the preparations been made?" "Sir, as far as we can we have done all that we could and tried to come up with contingence plans for anything that might come up. I believe the crew is ready to show what they are made up of." She replied to him as officially as she could sound. She sat listening as he went through the preparations to get the attack on the way. She knew that it would be soon that the trawler would be arriving. (reply everyone that has not replied yet) (pb Frank Rogers) Stardate:2406.10.06 (USS Nimitz - Bridge- Lt. Saleke, (jg) - 0917) Saleke was continually monitoring the long range sensors as the Nimitz waited for the arrival of the Trawler and her escort, with the help of the sensor maintenance engineer the modifications had been made speedily and the sensors were working as normally as they would get within the electromagnetic effects of the asteroid field. With the incresed load on the components caused by bypassing several of the buffers it was only a matter of time components began to burn out but according to Saleke's calculations they had 10.8 hours to spare yet before that happened. The electromagnetic field here was unstable and he was busy making adjustments to the array to keep it at maximum effectiveness. It was after one such adjustment he heard Captain Sash say behind him. "Well FO, we're here. Have all the preparations been made?" "Sir, as far as we can we have done all that we could and tried to come up with contingence plans for anything that might come up. I believe the crew is ready to show what they are made up of." Kestra said. Though it was spoken at a normal conversational level the Vulcan heard them quite clearly. "Good," Sash replied. "Mr. Saleke, it's time to see if all of those enhancements that you made to the sensor array were worthwhile. Let's see what you've got." The Vulcan spoke without turning from his station. "Maximum sensor range is currently at 20.7 light years Captain at Medium resolution however because of the unstable electromagnetic fields our range is currently approximately one third of that at 7.2 light years. We will have a significant tactical advantage over the Trawler and escort however, their sensors will be ineffective until they are within 225,000 kilometers. Then he turned to Kateb. "Keep a sharp eye on the short range sensors Onyx. I want to know if a particle of space dust moved funny." (reply Kateb) "Keep her steady Mr. Asoru," he went on. "It wouldn't do for us to have a nasty accident with one of these asteroids." (reply Asoru) Then he looked over at O'Neill at the engineering station. "Mr. O'Neill, I'm gooing to want those shield specs on the trawler as soon as possible. We need to bring those shields down quickly, but we'll also need make sure that they can stay up once you're on board her." (reply O'Neill) He tapped his comm badge. "Sash to Dorkin, is the boarding team in place?" (reply Dorkin) "Sash to sickbay, I'm hoping we're not going to need your services doctor Kirian, but be ready." =^= Aye Aye, Captain. We are ready down here =^= He looked over at a very nervous looking CMO, who was standing next to the counselor. Sash stood up and made his way behind them. He put his hands on both their shoulders. "Relax gentlemen, you look like you're expecting quadruplets. Dr. Kinkaid, just listen to Commander Troi and Major Dorkin, keep your head down. If they need you, they'll need you fast. Front line medical treatment in unlike anything else. Go through the ABC's and get the injured back to the ship as quickly as possible." (reply Kinkaid) "Whenever you're ready Mr. Saleke," Sash finally turned, waiting for the sensor report. "What have we got?" The Captain had read the time correctly and the ships were now entering sensor range. "I have the Defiant class escort on sensors Captain followed by the Trawler traveling at warp 6. Current position is 6.8 light years and bearing at 76 degrees. Fighter escort is running point and flank. (Reply: Captain Devan Sash, any) (Posted by Charles) Stardate:2406.10.06 (USS Nimitz - Bridge- CMO- Lt. [Dr.] BigWill Kinkaid - 0918) The bridge of the USS Nimitz was teaming with life. As the ship approached the asteriod field, Kinkaid could feel the butterflies in his stomach starting to make him a bit nervous and queezy about what the next few hours were in store. The ship's inertial dampers in flux with the magnetic field from the asteriods was the likely cause for the strange feeling in Kinkaid's stomach. Kinkaid monitored the medical comm station to ease his nervousness by making sure that there were no reports of injury or illness as the result of the ship's arrival to the area and then stood right beside Counselor Harrison at his station. Captain Sash glanced over at the nervous looking Kinkaid. As Sash made his way behind Kinkaid and the counselor, he put his hands on both their shoulders and said. "Relax gentlemen, you look like you're expecting quadruplets." Kinkaid did not know how to take the captain's humour, but only chuckled instead. Sash turned his attention towards Kinkaid. "Dr. Kinkaid, just listen to Commander Troi and Major Dorkin, keep your head down. If they need you, they'll need you fast. Front line medical treatment in unlike anything else. Go through the ABC's and get the injured back to the ship as quickly as possible." Kinkaid felt the confidence boost when he replied to Sash. "Captain, be assured that frontline medicine is formost on my mind." Kinkaid paused to catch his breath before continuing. "Trust me when I say, Sir, that my head will be down with a tricorder in one hand and a phaser in the other fighting my way through to victory!" (Reply CO, Sash or anyone on the bridge) (Posted by Nathan M. Williams) Stardate:2406.10.06 (USS Nimitz - Bridge- CO- Captain Devan Sash- 0919) "Trust me when I say, Sir, that my head will be down with a tricorder in one hand and a phaser in the other fighting my way through to victory!" Sash had to force himself not to laugh. "Save your enthusiasm for when you get over there Doctor. Remember your main focus is to keep our people alive, not a cambative one. If I hear that you put yourself in danger unneccesarily I may have to do something about it." He looked very serious for a moment then he smiled and winked. "You better get yourself ready." He turned to the counselor. "Are you alright counselor?" (reply Harrison) (posted by Al Muir) Stardate:2406.10.06 (USS Nimitz - Bridge- CO- Captain Devan Sash- 0920) "I have the Defiant class escort on sensors Captain followed by the Trawler traveling at warp 6. Current position is 6.8 light years and bearing at 76 degrees. Fighter escort is running point and flank." "Excellent," Sash replied. He turned to Kestra. "Well, FO, get your team assembled and prepare for transport to the trawler." (reply Troi) As she was leaving he called after her. "And Kestra, be careful." (reply Troi) Then Sash became all business. he looked over at Slytherwald. "Mr. Slytherwald, is our little surprise ready?" (reply Slytherwald) "Very good," he said. "I want it deployed at the begining of the asteroid field, but not until the trawler is close to us. I hope that the holoemitters we're using will hold up under the electromagnetic fields in the belt. You better go join Commander Troi." (reply Slytherwald) "Look sharp people," Sash announced, "we have about 30 minutes before the fireworks start. Do your jobs and this should be quick, and hopefully painless." (reply Troi, Slytherwald, any) (posted by Al Muir) Stardate:2406.10.06 (USS Nimitz - Bridge- COUNS- Ensign John Harrison- 0921) The away team prepared to board the trawler. Harrison had sat in silence on the bridge so far. If you didn't have anything to say, there was no point in saying anything. The captain turned to him. "Are you alright counselor?" "Of course, sir," he said, "Just hoping that this all goes well. The trawler will be waiting for trouble." (reply sash) (posted by James Batchelor) Stardate:2406.10.06 (USS Nimitz - Deck1, Bridge - TAC\ASC - Ensign Tom Slytherwald - 0923) Sash looked over at Slytherwald. "Mr. Slytherwald, is our little surprise ready?" "It's ready now more than it will ever be." Tom had a wicked smile on his face, he wondered how will look the face of the Captain of the Alamo, when he seas Tom's diversion - another Sovereign class Battleship "Very good," he said. "I want it deployed at the begining of the asteroid field, but not until the trawler is close to us. I hope that the holoemitters we're using will hold up under the electromagnetic fields in the belt. You better go join Commander Troi." "Aye Captain." said Tom and nodded with head "Look sharp people," Sash announced, "we have about 30 minutes before the fireworks start. Do your jobs and this should be quick, and hopefully painless." Tom then looked at the others, their morale was back up again, they were ready for anything, Tom thought. (Reply from None) (posted by Edward) Stardate:2406.10.06 (Shiping Trawler - Bridge- CO - Captain Larry Madden- 0930) Captain Larry Madden sat in the captain's chair and shifted his weight , contnuously uncomfortable. For about the millionth time he wondered what the hell he was doing sitting in a captain's chair. he was an engineer, and a damn good one at that. But some how Bob Smart at the depot had talked him into commanding a ship "It would be a good career move for you," Bob had told him. Larry snorted at the thought. He had forgotten how badly he hated administration duties. And now that was all the occupied his time. So much for his advanced degree in anti-matter manufacturing theory. This was as about as exciting as watching radioactive isotopes decay. A call came over his shoulder. "We're approaching the asteroid belt Captain. You asked me to inform you when we did." "Thanks Thompson," Madden replied. "How are the scans looking so far?" "Same as always Larry," Thompson replied, "nothing unusual to notice. We need to be sure that those magnetic fields don't affect the anti-matter storage containers. I'm just glad we're not flying through that. Just imagine what it would do to our matter/anti-matter injectors." Madden nodded, "Yep, wouldn't be a pretty sight, for sure. Makes you wonder why Starfleet is so paranoid about this sector. Who would take a ship out there?" Starfleet has had them terrified of potential raids, but in the last five shipments through this area there had been nothing. He wondered if they were just giving excuses to run escorts. "Send a message to the Alamo that we are following the flight plan as requested." "Aye sir," came the call from Billings, the communication officer. "Looks like it's going to be another eventless trip people." He hit the comm button on his chair. "Madden to engineering, keep an eye on thos containment fields. I want to know the first sign of any fluctuations." (reply none) (posted by Al Muir) Stardate:2406.10.06 (USS Alamo- Bridge- CO, Captain Henre Labeau - 0935) "How close are we to that asteroid belt Mr. Belite?" Captain Labeau looked to his right toward the Science station where his Deltan CSO was engrossed in his readings. The officer looked up from his screen and said in that disgustingly smooth voice of his, "Asteroid belt is currently 6.5 light years from our current position Captain." "Sensor readings?" "Nothing to report Captain, the electromagnetic field is of course blocking our sensors, if there is anything inside we won't know until we're right up on them." "Tactical, report." Labeau barked. "All weapons fully functional Captain and defensive systems are green for go." Called Lt. Calder from his left. Labeau watched the viewscreen through narrowed eyes, one of the few places on this accursed milk run where they might actually run into trouble was approaching. The fact his ship was even on this damned escort mission was a source of disgust to him; whoever thought to have his warship playing nursemaid to a transport vessel? The Alamo was designed to be on the front lines fighting the enemy and his ship was damned good at that as well. His ship and crew had been through many a scrape and come out victorious and here he was creeping along at warp 6 in the middle of god-forsaken nowhere running a convoy. The fact it was his turn and every other Captain probably felt that way was of no relief to him. He shook his head and leaned back in the command chair and considered the debris field, their route ventured close to the subspace river in this area that those louts with the rebellious 52nd used and it was large enough to hide a quarter of their fleet. There was the sound of a door sliding open to the bridge and he looked around to see the red headed ensign from Mr. Damas' OPS department enter and he watched her closely as she walked by going forward to the OPS station that was situated directly in front of the viewscreen on his right, she bent over to hand him a PADD and lingered there for an instant saying something to him. Labeau smiled, a woman like that stirred his French blood, he shook himself from his reverie and wiped the smile from his face as he looked at his Tactical officer. "Mr.Calder go to yellow alert, I want this vessel prepared for battle on an instant's notice, we are in a high risk area." "Aye Captain, initiating yellow alert and placing all weapons and defensive systems on full standby." Calder said and the yellow alert beacons began to flash upon the bridge as the other 21 members of his crew were notified to stand by for possible trouble. He noticed the woman was standing beside him as he turned back to his right. "Captain, Mr. Damas asked me to forward this to you, it's the updates on the new power consumption grid for the cloak." Captain Labeau smiled as he took the PADD. "Merci` Ensign," then dismissed her from his thoughts as he looked at the PADD, this was no time for playing; he had contingencies to prepare for. (Reply: None) (Posted by Charles) Stardate:2406.10.07 Mission: Homecoming Day: 1 Stardate: 2406.10.07A (USS Mystique - Conference room; ATC Ensign Travis Keswick 1617) Travis listened as the FO went over the shift rotations. As Travis looked down to find his name on the rotations list. ~hmm 1800 to 0600 Sounds good to me~ Travis thought to him self. When the FO started to talk about the Away team designations travis picked up the PADD that was on the table and looked it over. ~ Gamma Team Sarouk, Ketal, Weir, this should be interesting~ he thought to himself. Travis followed Lt. Cmdr Belinia with his eyes has he walked back to his seat. Travis was looking around the room at the crew trying to get a felling of how the new crew would work together When he herd his name his Quickly looked over at the CO who was sitting at the head of the table. "Mr. Dema and Mr. Keswick, when that Escort peels away, we are going to be very vulnerable and the intelligence says we will expect an attack. Please test all the weapons systems before 0600 tomorrow, and get me a full report on them." "Right away Ma'am". Travis sead then looking over at Ensign Dema hoping he did over step his place. Then Travis continued to lesson as the CO when on with the meeting. "I want us at full readiness by 1200 tomorrow. I hope that the attack doesn't come, but we all know that it will, Starfleet's intelligence is just as good, if not better, than our own. Any questions ?" She asked. (Reply Any) (Posted by Travis) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.07 (USS Mystique, Personal Quarters, Lt(SG) Sarouk & Dr. Weir, 0400) Sarouk enter his quarters, letting the hot dry air wash over him. He always kept his quarters environment set to Vulcan norms. Yet on entering his quarters he immediately felt that the temperature and gravity had been altered. The room was exactly 3 degrees cooler than when he had left for his duty shift, and the gravity was exactly . 3 G less. Both were testament to the arrival of Kellita, his wife. Not that Sarouk need these clues, he had known the second she had set foot on the Mystique. Their bond was very strong, stronger than most Vulcan couples, due to Kellita being betazied and Sarouk's own above average telepathic ability. The current temperature and gravity settings where the compromise they had made not long after their wedding. Many times Sarouk thought marriage was nothing more than an exercise in the art of compromise. Quietly, he moved to the bed room where Kellita lay sleeping. He watched her sleep for a short time, aware that she was dreaming. Her emotions traveling along their link to him. Without a sound, he undressed and moved into the bathroom for a quick sonic-shower. Exiting the bathroom 4.56 minuets latter Sarouk noticed that Kellita had rolled over onto her back, exposing her swollen abdomen. Sarouk's normally impassive face soften as his thoughts turned to their daughter, still in the womb. ~Her presence here is illogical.~ Sarouk thought, turning. He grabbed one of his traditional vulcan robes from the closest and moved into his study wrapping the robe around him. ~We are in the middle of a war. Our survival uncertain. Yet she insists to be by my side. She should be on Vulcan. Her and our child would be safe there. Yet she refutes my logical arguments and chooses to remain. I do not understand her reasoning.~ Sarouk sat on his meditation stone and began to clear his mind of the days burdens. Seeking his calm center. Kellita was exhausted by the time she had stumbled into Sarouk's Quarters after managing to save both of the girls. Her superior, Dr. Radchenko, had fallen asleep at his desk, to which Kellita had just smiled and taken herself off to her Quarters. She'd managed a quick shower, feeling much better after washing off the sweat and grime of the last several hours, then changed into a nightgown and climbed into bed. That was when she had realized that the temperature settings were wrong, and had changed them to where they were supposed to be. She spared a shaft of love to her husband, who was busy working in Engineering, and fell asleep. She would know when and if he made it back to Quarters. She hoped. Kellita had slept deeply, then woken all at once when her husband had engaged his meditation techniques. "Of course." She said out loud. "Excellent timing as always, Kellita." She laughed, then snuggled down into the blankets. ::Can't you meditate in here?:: She sent down their bond. ::Your emotional bundle of illogic needs a hug.:: Sarouk's brow rose as he heard his wife's 'voice' in his mind, but he did not immediately open his eyes. ::I was not aware you had awakened,:: He replied, ::I shall be coming to bed momentarily.:: Sarouk quickly cleared his mind of distractions and preformed a quick mental technique to center his mind. Then rose and walked back into the bed room. Removing his robe, he slid under the covers next to his wife. Allowing her to snuggle up next to him, resting her head on his bare chest, his arm draped around her protectively. At the direct physical contact, their mental bond flared into full life and spoken words no longer became necessary. ::I am pleased to see you again, my wife, though your presence here is illogical,:: Sarouk sent down the link, ::You put yourself and our child at undue risk.:: ::Don't care.:: She sent back, liking the feel of his arms on her. ::Want to be with you. There is no life without you. Being separated from you all this time was so hard on me.:: She showed him how hard it had been. ::Don't leave me again, Sarouk. I am made to be with you.:: She showed him how much this was true then looked up at him. She showed him what was bothering her, the needless almost death of two children who had done nothing more than be with their parents. ::I don't understand how an Admiral who claims to have Starfleet's best interests at heart can act the way that Doenitz does. I don't understand how he thinks he can gain anything. All he'll gain is the destruction of the UFP:: She waited for her husband's wise answer to come and make things make sense. He truly was a good match for her. Sarouk's brow rose slightly at his wife's illogical arguments, but he had come to expect such things from her. ::Admiral Doenitz has only his own interests at heart. He seeks to seize power for himself. He serves no one but his own petty desires, and he does not care who or what is harmed as long as his desires are met.:: ::But what are his desires?:: Kellita asked, pressing the issue. ::To be supreme dictator of a world at war? How is that logical?:: ::That is an illogical question,:: Sarouk replied, ::I can not say what his desires are. I can only hypothesize by the actions witnessed and the evidence presented. He is human. Humans are not known for their logic. Power is a drug, my wife, as intoxicating as any drink. Doenitz has tasted this drug and craves more. Logic does not dictate his actions.:: Kellita sent back an acknowledgment, beginning to fall asleep again. ::Promise me you won't leave me again ?:: She asked through her sleepiness. This pregnancy was certainly taking a lot out of her. It was well known that pregnant women needed to rest more than others, but this was ridiculous. She yawned aloud and snuggled deeper into Sarouk's arms. ::We are never truly apart, my wife,:: Sarouk replied, gently stroking her hair. ::I do what I must. Sleep now. We will talk more in the morning.:: She yawned and finally gave into his suggestion, the events of the day overwhelming her. Everything was right again. (reply none) (posted by Wes and Melinda :-) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Day:2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique, Officer Quarters, OPS, Lt (jg) HHril, 1950) It had been a day without event, and that was unusual for a Starfleet vessel. Usually something... anything happened. The discovery of a nebula, or star formation. But this day had passed without incident. Even the problems of the previous day seemed to have gone away. Lieutenant Sarouk and Ensign Ketal had made short work of the faulty node. Very efficient to say the least. Being that they were the most familiar with the systems he had stayed out of their way, available had they needed his assistance but not wanting to overstep his bounds. And so, day 2 aboard the USS Mystique, Starfleet registry number NCC 68125-C had ended for him, and he found himself alone once more in his quarters, half filled with his belongings with room for so much more. As he was about to sit down to read the daily OPS reports, the Red Alert Klaxon sounded. Grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair, he ran out of his quarters in the direction of the nearest turbolift. (USS Mystique, Main Bridge, OPS, Lt (jg) HHril, 1953) HHril arrived on the bridge and headed to his post, the crewman covering OPS during the night shift was relieved to see his superior arrive to take over what was bound to be a stressful situation. Tapping the console in the top right corner, HHril switched from the generic OPS display used by the crewman to the display with his specs. LCARS console moved on the screen, until everything appear as it should. ~So much for nothing happening today.~ he thought to himself. Instinctively, HHril began checking sensor logs and running extensive sensor sweeps of the ship, attempting to discern exactly what had caused the commotion. His answer came in the form of Lt Cmdr Balinia. "Bridge to Ensign Radchenko, the Captain has had a traumatic experience and is recovering in her ready room. I would appreciate it if you came to check her condition. Bridge out." ~This isn't good.~ "Major Lee, report to the Bridge immediately. Priority One." The summons of the MCO to the bridge signified the extent of what was happening. It was obviously not a good situation, and the worst part was the lack of information. "Sir," broke in the voice of the TAC/Sec from his station. "With allude respect, Helm, lower speed to warp 7 if the Commander agree's" "I'm sorry Ensign, but last time I checked you don't outrank the captain." replied Herk from his post at the Conn. "This ship is not in any danger from the warp engines or the cloak, so unless the captain states a counter manding order, I will not make any changes." "Commander," retorted the young Ensign from Tactical. "This ship can withstand warp 9.5 for about 12 hours, which means it can stand warp 9 for approximately 16 hours and 48 minutes, after which we'll have to drop to impulse speed and make repairs, which will slow us down more then if we hold warp 7." HHril was about to answer the Tac/Sec, but was beaten to the punch by the Conn officer. "Ensign Dema, I am not new out of the academy." began Herk, in a more authoritative tone. "I did not realize that you had a working knowledge of this ship that I did not have. True that at warp 9.5 things will get a little dicey after 12 hours, but if you took the time to study the data, you would know that the risks of problems drop logorithmically as we go from 9.5 to warp 9. The 16 plus hour warning is put in the ships schematics as a guideline to the uniformed. We will have plenty of time to arrive at Geneva. At warp 9 we should be arriving in about 18 hours." "I did read the tech specs about the ship as I was told to do, I'm only concerned for the safety of the crew, and that is doing my job, protect the lives on this ship, and out of precaution, I'm informing the Commander about the situation, but like I said, if the Commander agree's." replied Dema. "I think we need to settle down and just do what the captain has ordered until she arrives..." Dr Riven interjected. "Ensign Dema," broke in the FO, obviously having heard enough. "The Captain has given an order and on two occasions since you reported to the Bridge you were told to accept the order by a senior officer. Report to your station, I want to know what happened, NOW! Lieutenant Herk, well handled." He said as the Captain exited her ready room. Assuming the end, HHril returned to the task at hand, which was to try and figure out exactly what had happened in the ready room. His logs showed him one thing for certain, a phaser had been discharged. By who was still a mystery to him. He was brought back to the reality of the bridge once again by the sound of the Captain's voice. "Mr. Ketal, I need you to meet with security to analyze both the weapon and the internal sensor readings." "I assume Security is already en-route Captain therefore I will check the sensor logs immediately." replied Ketal. Time passed quickly in the next few minutes. HHril was busy running his own analysis of the situation, corroborating data from different systems. He suddenly heard Ketal speaking to the Captain. "Pardon me Captain but the internal sensor logs showed an inter-ship beam from Transporter Room 2 on deck 15. I attempted to contact the transporter officer and received no reply therefore I have sent a security detail to the area." "Confirmed by my station, Captain." interjected HHril. "There was an internal transport from Transporter Room 2 to your Ready Room at 1951 hours and another a few moments later." "With your permission Captain I will attend to the weapon in your Ready Room." The CSO seemed to be unnerved. An unusual predicament for a Vulcan to be in. "Please have a tricorder sent to the Captain's Ready Room immediately." "Yes... Sir" replied HHril, as the CSO headed away without another word. "Mr HHril." The young crewman HHril had replaced at OPS earlier approached the station. "Tactical would like any information you have attained downloaded to a PADD so notes can be compared, Sir." "I will present him with what information I have found." replied HHril. "Crewman," he said as the young man retreated to the rear of the bridge once again, "Would you please bring a tricorder to Mr. Ketal in the Captains Ready Room." The Crewman nodded his response and headed off to perform the task asked of him. It was a rather odd feeling, being on the bridge with no one sitting in the command chair. The fact was, everything had happened so quickly, including the impromptu meeting between the Captain, First Officer, and MCO that everyone was still busy performing their tasks. At this particular moment, Lt Herk was the ranking officer on the bridge, whether s/he realized it or not. A smile played on HHril's lips as he shot a quick look around the bridge. It was wonderful to see. Everyone was busy at one task or another. A well oiled machine. Starfleet trained it's people well. Having completed the download of information, HHril picked up the PADD and headed for the tactical station to the rear of the bridge to discuss his findings with Ensign Dema. "Ensign," began HHril as he approached the tactical station. "Here is the limited information that I have obtained so far. There was an internal transport at 1951 hours to the Ready Room which originated in transporter room 2. I would like to meet with Ensign Ketal we proceed any further." (reply Dema, any) (posted by Matthew Elias) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Mission Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Ready Room - CSO Ketal - 1954) Ketal took two steps into the Ready Room and stopped as the door closed behind him and cut him off from the Bridge. Alone here in the chamber he began to relax and regain his composure as he looked about the room, the Captain's desk was set near the wall on the right and the furnishings were completely set up and he realized he had not been inside to check on her progress with it before. His breathing slowed and he concentrated on an exercise his mother had shown him to increase his mental discipline as he waited for the tricorder to be brought and advanced no farther into the room. ~I am not sure why the Captain asked me to head this investigation as I have no experience in Security however I shall certainly do this to the best of my ability. ~ The chime sounded and he said, "Come." A young man in Tac/Sec uniform stepped into the room and held out a tricorder to the Vulcan, Ketal took it with a nod and said. "Thank you ensign you are dismissed." The fellow nodded thankfully and immediately left the hotspot, he didn't want to disturb an investigation ongoing. Ketal looked about the room again before activating the device. The small replica of a Chippendale Cherry wood table was placed in the far right hand corner, it was covered with a white cloth upon which sat a tray of food that was growing cold as it sat waiting for its consumption, in the left hand corner was the adaption of a Louis the XIV divan that was well padded and placed there for Captain Winters' comfort, it too had a cherry stain finish. Behind the Captain's table was hung a reproduction of a painting by the Betazoid painter Jen der Ha`ve and in the floor in the center was a hand knotted red and gold persian rug. The only thing out of place in the room was the hilt of a knife that was protruding from the rose stained wall cabinet mounted above the Chippendale table. Ketal ignored the knife for the moment, it would have been thoroughly cleansed and the attacker would have worn gloves that were molecules thick if this assassination attempt were ordered by Doenitz, it was a 73.8% probability that the knife would provide very little in the way of clues. The tricorder began to hum as he powered it up and began to take energy readings, the transporter trace had of course long ago dissipated but the device began to pick up a trace from farther into the room and he followed it to the divan and looking under it he saw a small metallic ball slightly larger than the point of a ball point pen (For those of us who use such archaic devices), before picking it up he ran a thorough enzyme and DNA scan on it and satisfied he finally picked up the device and placed it in his pocket. While the knife was meant to be left behind the small transporter beacon device would not and had traces of the attackers DNA, it had no doubt rolled from his unconcious person as the return beam was initiated. The transporter failsafes would of course have held the bio signs in transport and left the device behind as it rolled away. The half-Vulcan sighed slightly as he straightened up, this investigation was allowing him to regain his composure after his lapse on the bridge, he was sure no one had witnessed it except the Captain though he regretted that it had happened and he also regretted his earlier thoughts on leaving; running away from his failures was no way to improve himself and he would not abandon a friend, he would stay on the Mystique as long as he was needed. He was going to have to get his emotions under control though. ~ I do not doubt that she will chastise me for my earlier behavior,she will be justified in doing so and I will take it stoically because it will be well deserved. ~ He walked over to the knife and examined it visually for a moment and shook his head at the crudity of it, he could think of a dozen ways more effective that did not require an energy discharge that would be picked up by the ship's internal sensors, the whole job was crude and fortunately not very professionally done. It looked as though the job was set up hurriedly and at the last moment, that was one of the factors that had no doubt saved Vanyssa's life. The scan of the knife showed a 40/60 ratio of Vibranium and Duranium, making it extremely light, hard and with a wickedly sharp edge, the hilt was of the same composition and wrapped with a red dyed leather strip. Finding no traces on the knife as he had assumed he pulled it from the cabinet, it was a simple throwing knife, available just about anywhere though the metal would be much harder to come by. "Ensign Dema to Ensign Ketal, I need your help on something I've found." Ketal had just pulled out the knife embedded in the cabinet when his combadge beeped and the voice of the Tac/Sec Chief came through, he listened carefully then replied. "I will be finished in approximately 5 minutes Mr. Dema and I will meet you on the bridge then. I have found something in the Ready Room that you will also be interested in but will not discuss it on an open channel. Ketal out." After examining the cabinet and considering its replacement later he stepped back to the door and considered the room again. A full spectrum scan turned up no more clues and he turned back to the door and after checking the setting on the hand phaser clipped to his belt he stepped through. NRPG: Some background data sources mention a phaser as a requirement for bridge crew so I am assuming he has one on him. RPG: (USS Mystique - Bridge - CSO Ketal - 20:07) Ketal stepped through the door to the bridge and seeing Jason Dema walked over to him. "Yes Mr. Dema how may I help you?" (Reply: Jason Dema, Any) (Posted by Charles) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Day2 Stardate 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Bridge - Ensign Jason Dema - 1955) Jason was reading the logs when suddenly Lt.HHril talked to him. "Ensign, Here is the limited information that I have obtained so far. There was an internal transport at 1951 hours to the Ready Room which originated in transporter room 2. I would like to meet with Ensign Ketal we proceed any further." NRPG: me and charles were allready doing a joint post so I'll have to do it this way. RPG: "Ensign Ketal is in the Captain's ready room, he'll be out in a few minutes, I'll show him these reports when he comes out." (reply HHril if needed) (posted by Anthony Struelens) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Mission Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Bridge - ATC Ensign Travis Keswick 2000) Travis stood at his Tactical Post on the bridge going over the Tactical scans Relating to the attack on the Captain. ~ I can't believe Someone mad it all the way to the Captains ready room and attacked her~ travis thought to himself. ~ Well I can't let that happen agen No I wont let that happen agen ~ he thought to himself. "Captain I'm Sorry I let this happen I was the security officer on the bridge it was my responsibility to keep you safe I will never let any thing like this happen agen Ma'am". Travis sead looking at the co with anger in his eyes for failing in his duty. (Reply CO) Posted By Travis Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming, Day 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Conference Lounge - Major Richard Ian Lee - 2000) "I assume, since this is a temporary position, I will be keeping my Marine ranking?" It was the first officer who answered, "You will be able to keep your rank. Also, I do not see any need to change uniforms as it will be obvious who you are anyway. I doubt anyone other than Dema would object." Rich nodded slightly, though he looked at the Captain for confirmation. Once the issue of his status had been taken care of, the First Officer said. "Captain, I would like to take the Danube Runabout that the new crew arrived in, to scan the area where the attack occurred, it may shed some light on the situation. I think it would be safe now, the speed at which we left would have scared any other vessel away. Hopefully." "The Danube doesn't have enough of a sensor package to scan for anything major," Rich said as he took a seat by the table. "We can take a class eleven probe, set to scan for cloaking field signatures, communication relays, long range comm signals, comm buoys not from the 52nd Fleet. I think that would cover it." Rich sat back in his chair, "Better, especially if you don't want the ship put in danger." He folded his hands on the table." (reply: Winters, any) "I guarantee that at the first sign of trouble we will head back at maximum warp. We can hold an open comm link if we take a class six comm relay probe." (Reply Winters) "Understood Captain. I will be back in a flash." As the First Officer left, Rich was left alone with the Captain. He took a deep breath and said nothing for a few moments. Finally, he said; "I would prefer to have you under care of a bodyguard, since I'm certain I won't be able to convince you to stay in a secure spot, at least until we have this ship purged. Security and the Marines can have this ship turned upside down within a few hours." (reply: Vanyssa) (posted by Trout) Stardate:2406.10.08 NRPG: error from my side, ignore the last post, both parts and take this one in account, sorry for the confusion Mission: homecoming Day 2 Stardate 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Bridge - Ensign Dema & Ensign Ketal - 2002) Jason was running over the sensor logs, when suddenly he realised that this ship had paramedtric subspace field stress scanner, wich could detect cloaked ships, so if there was a cloaked ship, why didn't they detect it? "Ensign Dema to Ensign Ketal, I need your help on something I've found." Ketal had just pulled out the knife embedded in the cabinet when his combadge beeped and the voice of the Tac/Sec Chief came through, he listened carefully then replied. "I will be finished in approximately 5 minutes Mr. Dema and I will meet you on the bridge then. I have found something in the Ready Room that you will also be interested in but will not discuss it on an open channel. Ketal out." Five minutes later Jason saw Ketal coming on to the bridge, so he walked towards him. "Yes Mr. Dema how may I help you?" "Mr. Ketal, as science officer you probably know the different sensor systems, under wich the Parametric subspace field stress scanner, this scanner as you know has the capability to detect cloaked ships, my question to you is, if there was a cloaked ship that beamed the attackers aboared... why didn't we dtected the ship? any thoughts?" "Mr. Dema, the report from transporter Room 2 was shown to have taken place after the intraship beamings that revolved around the attack on the Captain though all three beamings took place from the same transporter. As for the Parametric subspace field stress scanner as well as all of the other sensor systems, they were checked exhaustively before we left Spacedock Phoenix. Any cloaked ship should logically have been detected." He looked at the Security Chief for a moment then said." There is a human saying Mr. Dema that goes like this. There is something fishy going on. Come with me to Science 1." Not looking to see if Jason was behind him Ketal ran a level 4 diagnostic and once again everything was green , from there he accessed the field stress scanner directly and checked its response, it also was working perfectly.The half breed's face grew hard and he brought up the logs on transporter two then turned to the COS. "Mr. Dema because of Doenitz's use of SFI Black Ops personnel and methods to attack several of the 52nd's ships of which your former post the Nimitz was one I wrote a new program to seek out and disrupt Black Level subroutines and entries upon command but I had not had an opportunity to notify you or test that program until today. He turned back to the console . "Computer access program KS243 Alpha 5 3432Y, this is Ketal CSO, identify voice print. [ Ketal voiceprint recognized] "Add voiceprint command for Dema, Jason. Mr. Dema please speak and add your own code phrase. "Alpha eta theta omaga, this is Dema, chief tactical and security." Jason heard the computer beep incknowledgement. "let's see what this program can do." "Computer scan logs for transporter 2." It didn't take long for the program to do its job and the last entry for transporter 2 began to blink red. [ Invalid entry found ] "Explain." Said Ketal [Entry made by Black Code G18] The log for the intership transport blinked then disappeared. [ Log entry invalid] Ketal turned to Ensign Dema then said, " Just as I thought Mr. Dema, the intership beam was a decoy to redirect our attention. There was no other ship and the asassins are still on board this ship! We need Mr. HHril to run a check on power consumption for transporter 2 to verify these findings and then report to the Captain." "well, just before I talked to you, Ensign HHril gave me his reports, here they are." Jason handed over the reports to Ketal. Ketal looked the reports over and had he not recently regained control of his emotions he would have smiled. "Thank you Mr. Dema these reports show the internal transports but no transport outside the ship, it confirms our own researches. Please report to the Captain about this while I begin analyzing the evidence I found in the Ready Room." Ketal pulled the transport beacon from his pocket and showed it to the COS. "This beacon has traces of the assailant's DNA on it, with it we should be able to determine just who attacked the Captain!" Having said that he began loading the information from the tricorder into the main computer from Science 1. Just then, Major Lee contacted Dema. "Major Lee to Ensign Dema, report to my office in the Marine Quarter on the double." "This is Dema, I'll be on my way Sir." Jason closed the channel. "Notify me when you found something." (reply none) (posted by Charles and Anthony) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Mission Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Bridge - CO Captain Vanyssa Winters - 2005) Vanyssa looked up from issuing her orders to see her Tac/ASC standing there. She thought his name was Keswick. "Captain I'm Sorry I let this happen I was the security officer on the bridge it was my responsibility to keep you safe I will never let any thing like this happen agen Ma'am". Vanyssa's heart softened at the Ensign's very sincere apology. She reached out and patted his shoulder. "You did the best that you could." She said very gently. "That is all that I can ask of you." (reply Keswick) (USS Mystique -Conferance Lounge- CO Captain Vanyssa Winters - 2017) "Ill be in the Marine Center for a while, that's where Ill make my office for now." Richard stated. Vanyssa looked over to him. "Thank you for your time. Please make sure an adequate set of bodyguards is assigned to my daughter." She stated first. "And to myself." She frowned for a second. "Just make sure it's someone I can stand." She said, smiling, rising. She headed out to the bridge. As she arrived on the Bridge, she saw that security had been doubled. She nodded to herself and took her seat, listening to the hub-bub around them. Not long afterwards, a marine showed up and stationed herself behind Vanyssa. Vanyssa smiled up at her, and applauded the Major on his choice. Not long after that, some security officers showed up, saying that they were to be her bodyguards. Before a heated argument rose, Vanyssa stood between them. "The Master Sergeant will be my bodyguard, not that one is needed on my own ship. You are welcome to watch discreetly, if you would like." Vanyssa said. "You are dismissed, Crewmen." She said, sending them back on their way. ~At least my crew love me.~ She thought to herself. "Report." Vanyssa said, seeing both her Ops and her Science Officer huddling and talking. "What have the two of you discovered?" She asked. (reply Ketal or Hhril) "Mr. Hhril, aren't you going with Commander Bellinia?" She asked, mildly confused. (reply Hhril) (USS Mystique - bridge - CO Captain Vanyssa Winters - 2115) =/\= Ensign Dema to the Captain, if you have time, can I talk to you privatly?=/\= Vanyssa heaved a mighty sigh, mostly mental and replied. "Absolutely. When you can make your time up here, Ensign, we'll see about that talk." She said, trying not to sound surlish. Fact was, she had missed her dinner, she was tired, and the adrenaline was wearing off. She felt like she had sent her first officer into a trap to go stir up some hornets. "Conn, all stop, until we hear back from Commander Bellinia. I have a bad feeling." She stated, frowning. "I don't want to be too far from him." (USS Mystique; Bridge; CO Captain Vanyssa Winters ; 2215) Almost an hour later, the Mystique got their first reports from the shuttle, which was about an hour away. Vanyssa felt like she was on pins and needles, with the anticipatory feeling that something was going to happen. She leaned slightly forward as she heard they had recovered one of the Myste's subspace relays. ~What the hell is that doing out there ?~ She wondered. Not too much later they heard. "Hood to Mystique, we are being followed by a Defiant class ship. Need urgent assistance, over." Vanyssa stood up and started issuing orders. "Red alert. All senior Officers to duty stations." She turned to Ops. "Get the Ambassador up here." She stated. She turned slightly towards Conn. "Get up to the Hood as quickly as you can. What is our ETA ? Can we see them on long range sensors ?" (reply) Vanyssa turned slightly towards Engineering, Science and Ops. "THis is going to take some ... coordination. As soon as we are close enough, beam them on board. I don't care what you have to do to do it, just get them back here as soon as possible. That shuttle isn't capable of taking on a Defiant." (reply) "Tactical, issue a call to Geneva and to our Escort, requesting assistance. I doubt anything is in range, but include what we've found." She stated, taking her seat again. She watched the Hood racing towards them, the Defiant not far behind. (reply those mentioned, if not everyone :-) (pb melinda) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Day 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Marine Staging Area - Jennah Winters-Dark - 2005) Jennah had been surprised when the security officers had come to get her. She hadn't done anything wrong. They said that her Mummy had asked them to keep watch over her. Their thoughts were worried, so she went along with it. Then Cassie had showed up, and she wasn't very happy. Jennah would guess that Cassie didn't really understand that they were here because the Captain wanted them kept safe. Jennah had felt a note of panic from her mother, then she had re-shielded, so it must be bad. And when Cassie's brother ordered them into the staging area, Jennah knew something was really wrong. And all Cassie wanted to do was run away, like a stupid teenager. Jennah sighed to herself and watched the hysterics. "Cassandra!" Jennah said harshly, sounding all to much like her mother. "That is enough. They aren't going to let you see your brother, and they aren't going to let you out. Something bad is happening. You know how I know this ? Look around you. The Major isn't here, and the MXO is shouting at his troops. We're safe here, the marines are loyal to the great Admiral. " Seeing that her words weren't having any effect on Cassie, Jennah left her to pout in peace and took a seat against the wall, watching the marines, remembering when it was her Daddy who had commanded the marines, and she had sat right here, watching them. She remembered the invasions of the ships, and how she had spent at least two of those locked in a closet. Cassie was only making the job harder for the security people, who were uncomfortable being around the marines. Heck, Jennah didn't have to sense it, she could see it. Jennah crossed her arms over her chest and thought rebelliously that she would rather be guarded by the marines. They were commanded by the great Major Lee, who led the battles against the Romulans and won, and again against the evil altiverse people and won, and....... and she found herself falling asleep against the wall, dreaming of her Daddy. Anyone trained by her Daddy would protect her..... (reply Cassie if you wish) (posted by melinda :-) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Day 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Marine Staging Area - Cassandra Dema - 2006) After Cassie's scene Jennah told her to calm down, that they were safe here, but Cassandra kept trying to get outfinally Cassie calmed down seeing that Jennah gave up on her ~I'm acting like a fool, Jason wants the best for me, and he'll protect me at all costs~ she thought. With that she tried to cheer her up that she would see her brother again. And to put those thought away, she walked over to one of the marines. "Would you teach me how to fight?" She asked. (reply marine if one is present....., Jennah iyw) (posted by Anthony Struelens) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Mission Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Bridge ACTSO Ensign Travis Keswick 2010) Travis realized that he needed to do something to prevent this from happing anymore so he hits his combage. =/\= This is ATSO Ensign Keswick to all Security officers meet me in the Armory on the double. =/\= After he sead that he had he went to the terbolift. Deck 15 he sead to the computer when the doors closed. ~now that Lee is the new CTSO he will be pulling double duty so that means I need to work twice as hard but hay Keswick your up to it you never back down from anything~ he thought to himself as the doors opined. (USS Mystique - Armory deck 15 ACTSO Ensign Travis Keswick 2030 When Travis walked threw the door he saw about 50 Security officers already there he made his way to the front of the armory. "My Name is Ensign Travis Keswick I'm the ACTSO". he sead as he stood at the front looking at everyone. "We will be working closely with Major Lee and the Marines search teams so be ready when that time comes". "But for know we are in a vary dangerous situation but this is what we trained for. "I wont officers posted on every deck and I wont extra security in main engineering, sick bay and main bridge". he sead in a commanding voice "I wont every one to have hand phasers and phaser rifles". "I wont reports from all decks every 15 min until I say other wise is that clear". "I know this is going to be a a hard next couple of days will not get any sleep but you need to be strong now more the ever" . "Check the padd for your post dismissed". Travis waited as they filled out of the room then he stopped two of them. "I wont you two to stay with the captain at all times". "Do not let her out of your site is that clear". Hes sead to the Vulcan and Klingon security officers. "Good dismissed". Travis then went back to the bridge. (Reply any ) (PB Travis) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming, Day 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Conference Lounge - CO Captain Vanyssa Winters - 2010) Vanyssa had approved both that the Major would continue with his current rank, and that he would wear his current uniform. All of the administrivia seemed so trivial to her. She had so much on her mind right now. She looked up as her FO suggested taking one of the runabouts and going to check on cloak and transporter traces. She nodded in approval, realizing that it was a long shot. She felt vaguely wrong, sending her FO off ship...especially with all that had been going on. But the ship wouldn't be in danger. She listened to the Major and her FO debate and finally come to a conclusion. She approved their course, and was unsurprised when her Major was sitting there looking at her in concern, and the FO had gone. "I would prefer to have you under care of a bodyguard, since I'm certain I won't be able to convince you to stay in a secure spot, at least until we have this ship purged. Security and the Marines can have this ship turned upside down within a few hours." Vanyssa nodded at the wisdom of it. Unlike other Starfleet Captains, she wasn't convinced that she was infallible or immortal. She also knew that she wasn't the best at hand to hand. "I don't want this to become permanent, Major. This is not the altiverse." She said, her eyes shadowing at the memories that she had finally managed to construct from the alter-Kestra. "I know that my duty is to keep myself alive and my ship as intact as I can. I know that there isn't anyone else." She said, leaning back and sighing. "I don't want this to become a witch hunt, Richard. I also don't want armed marines patrolling the ship. While we are at war, it doesn't seem right. That is too close to saying that I don't trust my crew, and the reverse that they don't trust me. Work with Dema, Hhril and Ketal to determine what is going on. Ketal and Sarouk are the experts on how this ship works." She closed her eyes briefly at the thought of sabotage. "Station security teams in the critical areas, as a deterrent to sabotage. I don't think whoever this is would happen to be well organized. That knife..." And she shook her head. "It seems too crude. What are your thoughts on it ?" (reply) Vanyssa nodded. "I should get back to the Bridge." And then she smiled. "Good luck with Ensign Dema." She said rising, and wishing that she could drop her aura of 'mighty CO' and get a hug from a friend. She wished that Sash was here, she wished that David was. But barring Sash or David, Richard was one of the best people to protect her. (reply Lee, any) (pb melinda ;-) Stardate:2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Marine Staging Area - Rich Lee - 2010) Rich crossed his arms behind his back as he looked at the two kids and shook his head slightly. "Sergeant!" He suddenly bellowed, "I want you." The active sergeant of his squad came up, "Sir!" The MCO gestured to the kids, "See that they're put somewhere safe, Gunny, and put em under guard. If anything happens that doesn't involve mass destruction of the ship, and even hair on their head is hurt, Ill eat the heart of the Marine that failed on guard." "Sir Yes Sir!" Rich turned his head back to the kids as the Gunny walked over to talk to them. The Marine Center in full swing was not a place for Children, though there were few places safer. Not many would be stupid enough to waltz into a room filled with armed Marines, none of which would die from a single hit from any phaser and would certainly fire back, with prejudice. NRPG: Joint post later for the kids? RPG: Rich turned on his heel and tapped his badge. "Major Lee to Ensign Dema, report to my office in the Marine Quarter on the double." (reply: Dema) He closed the connection and stepped into his office, just off the Main Staging Area. He paused just inside the door and looked back out, the Marines were on full standby, an assassination attempt on their captain was not well appreciated. "Tarl, in the office." The CCE stepped away from the Combat Engineers and into the office. Rich let the door slide closed, "I want one counter-terror CE on the Captain at all times, starting ten minutes ago, preferably one with infiltration and sniper experience." The 1st Lieutenant tapped his badge without saying a word, "Master Sergeant Oo'lish to the Captain, immediately, body-guard duty in casual kit." The badge buzzed and fell silent in confirmation. "Twenty four hours Chief, until we figure out just what the hell is going on here. We had a secure break-in and assassination attempt, Ill get you more details as I get them." The CCE nodded, "Consider it done." "Good," Rich said. "Send in the Assistant Chief when he comes." NRPG: You can come in pretty much as you like, the CCE will wave you in whenever you show up. RPG: Rich sat down in his chair when the Assistant Chief walked in. He put his right hand out to the desk and tapped his fingers a few times. "Stand at attention, Ensign." (reply: Dema) "I've been made the acting Security Chief, so it's time you got to know me and how things are going to be for a while. I've heard of your little escapade earlier, that will not happen again while I'm here, I can promise you that." Rich took a breath and continued to look at the Assistant Chief. "You are going to be cross-training with the Marines for a while to learn some discipline, you will learn the chain of command amidst bloody training and the hardest of exorcizes. And when you are done with that, you will be continuing your duties as Assistant Tactical Chief." Rich sat back, "Do you have a problem with this, so far?" He paused and shook his head, "Actually, no, I don't care. So keep your mouth shut and keep looking pretty." Rich sat back in his chair, though his hand remained on the desk, he had a long arm after all. "I don't think you are a bad person, but you require a reminder of how to treat your superior officers. We don't have the time to cosset you, so you are going to be given a trial-by-fire, and I'm the bloody blow-torch. You might think you dislike me now, you might even be thinking that you hate me..." Rich smiled, devilishly. "but you don't, not yet. When I'm done with you, THEN you will hate me." He leaned forward, "And one more thing. If you trying pulling with me what you tried pulling with the others, I will whip up a burial detail and have your ugly rear pushed out an open airlock so fast you won't be able to scream 'sorry sir!' before you feel short of breath." Rich looked at him, his face a solid mask. "As far as you are now concerned, I am God. This ship and your duties are now your entire universe, your life begins and ends with me riding you're a$$ until you straighten out and are considered righteous again. You will eat, sleep and live in your duties; you will revel in pain and exhaustion, you will be training with the Marines in the morning and seeing to ships Security at night." Richard stood up to his full seven foot plus height. "And in doing so, you will stay out of the Brig for Conduct Unbecoming, Insubordination, High Treason, and a list of other things. If you work hard, we will have no problems. But if you screw with me too much, kid, Ill put you back in the brig myself. Questions?" (reply: Dema, if desired) "Very well, you start tomorrow. Dismissed." (reply: Dema, any) (posted by Trout) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Mission Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Bridge ACTSO Ensign Travis Keswick 2010) Travis realized that he needed to do something to prevent this from happing anymore so he hits his combage. =/\= This is ATSO Ensign Keswick to all Security personal meet me in the Armory on the double. =/\= After he sead that he had he went to the terbolift. Deck 15 he sead to the computer when the doors closed. ~now that Lee is the new CTSO he will be pulling double duty so that means I need to work twice as hard but hay Keswick your up to it you never back down from anything~ he thought to himself as the doors opined. (USS Mystique - Armory deck 15 ACTSO Ensign Travis Keswick 2030 When Travis walked throw the door he saw about 50 Security officers already there he made his way to the front of the armory. "My Name is Ensign Travis Keswick I'm the ACTSO". he sead as he was stood at the front looking at everyone. "We will be working closely with Major Lee and the Marines search teams so be ready when that time comes". "But for know we are in a vary dangerous situation but this is what we trained for. "I wont officer posted on every deck and I wont extra security in main engineering, sick bay and main bridge". he sead in a commanding voice "I wont every one to have hand phasers and phaser rifle". "I wont reports from all decks every 15 min until I say other wise is that clear". "I know this is going to be a a hard next couple of days intell we reach Starbase Geneva will not get any sleep but you need to be strong now more the ever" . "Check the padd for your post dismissed". Travis waited as they filled out of the room then with headed back to the bridge. (Reply any ) (PB Travis) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming, Day 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Conference Lounge - Major Lee - 2012) "I would prefer to have you under care of a bodyguard, since I'm certain I won't be able to convince you to stay in a secure spot, at least until we have this ship purged. Security and the Marines can have this ship turned upside down within a few hours." The Captain nodded, and Lee sighed a silent breath of relief. He folded his hands together as she said; "I don't want this to become permanent, Major. This is not the altiverse. I know that my duty is to keep myself alive and my ship as intact as I can. I know that there isn't anyone else." She sighed and leaned back, "I don't want this to become a witch hunt, Richard. I also don't want armed marines patrolling the ship. While we are at war, it doesn't seem right. That is too close to saying that I don't trust my crew, and the reverse that they don't trust me. Work with Dema, Hhril and Ketal to determine what is going on. Ketal and Sarouk are the experts on how this ship works." Rich nodded as she continued with, "Station security teams in the critical areas, as a deterrent to sabotage. I don't think whoever this is would happen to be well organized. That knife..." And she shook her head. "It seems too crude. What are your thoughts on it ?" Lee shrugged, "Crude but effective. Phasers are more efficient, but knives have more terror value. This strikes me as psychological warfare." His face was hard as he considered what had happened with Falthgood on the Nimitz. "Psychological Warfare, and pure Terror Tactics. When we find the culprit, I would suggest making an example of him or her in a way that the message does not go unnoticed." (reply: if desired) Vanyssa nodded. "I should get back to the Bridge." And then she smiled. "Good luck with Ensign Dema." Richard stood himself, "Luck isn't a factor, but I don't promise your Ensign will be in a very good mood by the time I'm with him." He smiled tightly, "Ill be in the Marine Center for a while, that's where Ill make my office for now." (reply: CO, if desired) (posted by Trout) Stardate:2406.10.08 mission: Homecoming Day 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 NRPG, about the joint post for the kids, I'm all in. RPG: (USS Mystique - Bridge - Ensign Jason Dema - 2013) Jason was still viewing the date gathered together with Ketal when suddenly his combadge beeped. "Major Lee to Ensign Dema, report to my office in the Marine Quarter on the double." Jason was wondering what it would be about, but he didn't know wether to continue working first or going directly to Major Lee. "Ensign Dema here, I'm overlooking the data we gathered with Ensign Ketal about the attack on the Captain, I request permission to finish Sir." (reply Lee) NRPG: I'm gonna leave an open space depending on what you're gonna answer, but I'll continue at the point where I walk in Jason entered the room where Major Lee was sitting, the chief was looking at him and while doing so he was tapping his fingers "Stand at attention, Ensign." "I'm here as you requested Sir." "I've been made the acting Security Chief, so it's time you got to know me and how things are going to be for a while. I've heard of your little escapade earlier, that will not happen again while I'm here, I can promise you that." When Jason heard those words, he wasn't in disbelief, he knew something would follow after that last incident on the bridge. "You are going to be cross-training with the Marines for a while to learn some discipline, you will learn the chain of command amidst bloody training and the hardest of exorcizes. And when you are done with that, you will be continuing your duties as Assistant Tactical Chief." Rich sat back, "Do you have a problem with this, so far?" Jason was wanting to ask a question, but the the Major interrupted immediatly "Actually, no, I don't care. So keep your mouth shut and keep looking pretty." Rich sat back in his chair, though his hand remained on the desk, he had a long arm after all. "I don't think you are a bad person, but you require a reminder of how to treat your superior officers. We don't have the time to cosset you, so you are going to be given a trial-by-fire, and I'm the bloody blow-torch. You might think you dislike me now, you might even be thinking that you hate me..." Jason saw a smile appearing that he didn't like "but you don't, not yet. When I'm done with you, THEN you will hate me." He leaned forward, "And one more thing. If you trying pulling with me what you tried pulling with the others, I will whip up a burial detail and have your ugly rear pushed out an open airlock so fast you won't be able to scream 'sorry sir!' before you feel short of breath. As far as you are now concerned, I am God. This ship and your duties are now your entire universe, your life begins and ends with me riding you're a$$ until you straighten out and are considered righteous again. You will eat, sleep and live in your duties; you will revel in pain and exhaustion, you will be training with the Marines in the morning and seeing to ships Security at night." Then Jason saw Lee standing up, it was a tall man, and only his image would scare people away. "And in doing so, you will stay out of the Brig for Conduct Unbecoming, Insubordination, High Treason, and a list of other things. If you work hard, we will have no problems. But if you screw with me too much, kid, Ill put you back in the brig myself. Questions?" Jason did not show he was intrigued by the Major's yelling. "No Sir, give me the schedule and I'm all yours to command." (reply Lee if needed) "Very well, you start tomorrow. Dismissed." (posted by Anthony Struelens) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Mission Day: 1 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Bridge - CSO Ketal - 20:15) Ketal heard the conversation between CSO Dema and the Marine Commander as he was downloading the DNA and enzyme readings from the transport beacon into the science computer. =^= Major Lee to Ensign Dema, report to my office in the Marine Quarter on the double.=^= "This is Dema, I'll be on my way Sir." After Jason closed the channel he caught Ketal's attention. "Notify me when you found something." "Very well Mr. Dema," Ketal said as the young man walked off. The half-Vulcan considered the man for a moment and decided there was indeed much potential in him if he would learn to temper his excitement. ~ And what of me? ~ Ketal wondered, ~ I who cannot control myself either, perhaps we are not unalike in many ways. ~ After the readings were entered Ketal began the process of breaking them down, it would take some time for the final analysis. Even with the processing power of the finest computers a DNA pattern could still take an hour to be decoded. Making a decision he took the PADDs and walked over to the OPS station to the Romulan Officer. "Mr. HHril I must apologize for my earlier brusque treatment of you, I have no excuses." (Reply: Chief HHril) Ketal handed over the PADDs to him. "Your reports Mr. HHril show that the supposed intership beam was a ruse and is backed by my researches and those of Mr. Dema. Mr. Dema was called away rather quickly and I do not take chances, he was supposed to contact the Captain about our findings but his errand was rather urgent. Would you contact the Captain for me about the beam discrepancies?" (Reply: Chief HHril) "Also Mr. HHril." Ketal handed over another PADD. "This PADD shows the composition of the intended murder weapon, as you can see the 40/60 ratio of Vibranium and Duranium is rather rare. The knife could have been smuggled aboard but it is possible it was replicated here. Would you check your reports for the last three days to determine if that is so?" (Reply: Lt. HHril) After listening to LT. HHril's answer Ketal nodded and said. "Thank you Mr. HHril" before returning to Science 1 to await the outcome of his investigations. (Reply: Lt. HHril, Any) (Posted by Charles) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Mission Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Bridge - CSO Ketal - 20:20) Ketal was leaving Mr. HHril's OPS station when he heard the voice of the Captain and realized that he had missed her return during his conversation with the Romulan. Ketal turned to see Lt. HHril hurry to the turbolift leaving the PADDs at his station and gave a slight sigh, he had planned on one of the others. (Posted by ?? find out before continuing!!!) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Mission Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Bridge - E8 Master Sergeant Oo'lish - 2020) Oo'lish slid onto the bridge, and immediately looked around for the Captain. She had been made aware, briefly, what was going on by way of her small communications device planted in her ear, something that the CE's usually fell in love with, her combadge was keyed to it so all her conversations would be private. Such would be especially useful on the bridge, where constant Marine com calls would have been annoying. She located her target and immediately took position behind her. The bridge was bustling, lots of people moving around. It was something she just had to deal with as she crossed her arms after nodding to the Captain. With her arms crossed, she had her right hand on the hilt of a combat knife attached to the left chest of her SDU, she could have it out in a half-heartbeat. Not long after that, when she was confident she had made herself a shadow on the bridge, the doors opened and Security crewmen came in saying they were her bodyguard. Oo'lish's face didn't betray a thought, but she didn't know the security force yet and her grip on the knife tightened at the possible threat. She looked them both over and noted they were both had nothing more then standard security equipment, but those type 2 phasers were imminently deadly. Still, if they turned out to be the Enemy, she could have their throats sliced in the same amount of time it would take to get their phasers out of their holsters. That was the advantage of close-combat, beam weapons were somewhat unwieldy. Not that she would have ever left her own sidearm behind, it was resting comfortably in its under-shoulder holster. "The Master Sergeant will be my bodyguard, not that one is needed on my own ship. You are welcome to watch discreetly, if you would like." The Captain said to them after a short time, "You are dismissed, Crewmen." Oo'lish relaxed again slightly, then discreetly tapped her badge when the Captain had taken a few steps off to talk to some people at the science stations. "Oo'lish to Lee, you might want to check the bridge tapes and confirm the identities of two individuals." A second passed, then Lee's voice came through her ear-piece, =^=Stand-by.=^= The Marine turned her eyes again to the retreating security guards, though she relaxed minutely when Lee said again, =^=They are who they say they are, Sergeant." (USS Mystique - Bridge - E8 Master Sergeant Oo'lish - 2017) The Combat Engineer, a long veteran of combat, stepped to the side and made herself part of the bulkhead when the Captain called red alert. The last thing the bridge crew needed was to trip over her in the rush. However, she *did* pull her sidearm and place it discreetly behind her back, if she couldn't be close to the Captain, then she would be ready to deal phasered death at a moments notice. Over her earpiece, Lee was barking orders. =^=All Marines to hot stand-by, Ensign Dema to the bridge!=^= Oo'lish's face constricted slightly at the activity on the bridge, her spiritual tattoo's folded into lines with her face as she concentrated on everyone. Not long later her earpiece buzzed, =^=Sergeant Oo'lish, keep an eye on Dema and make sure he doesn't screw up, Ill never be more then 2 minutes away from the bridge.=^= The Sergeant looked around and noted Dema's presence. Quietly she reached up and tapped her badge twice, for confirmation. Her arm once again went behind her back where she stroked her sidearm silently, unknowingly. This was a woman who truly enjoyed her work. (reply: any) (posted by Trout) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Mission Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Bridge - CSO Ketal - 20:20) Ketal was leaving Mr. HHril's OPS station when he heard the voice of the Captain and realized that he had missed her return during his conversation with the Romulan. "Report." Vanyssa said. "What have the two of you discovered?" Ketal nearly gave a sigh, he had planned on one of the others reporting their findings for two reasons. #1 he had investigations to continue and #2 He had just recently gained an emotional equilibrium and didn't want to confront the Captain this soon but being the CSO it was his duty to bring the matter to her attention. Bracing himself he turned and walked to Captain Winters, being careful this time to leave a comfortable four feet of distance between them as he made his report. Having clamped down tightly on his emotions his face had gone the typical Vulcan impassive while beneath the mask he was fighting to stay in control. "Captain the intership transport reported earlier has been found to be false by the reasearches of Mr. Dema and myself and verified by the reports Mr. HHrill made on power consumption from Transporter #2. The Intership transport Captain was a ruse, perhaps to lead us to believe your assailants had escaped the ship or perhaps for some other purpose. At the least your attackers are still on board Captain and at worst they may have something else planned that we do not know about. I urge extreme caution. Also Captain I have found evidence in your Ready Room that should prove invaluable in identifying your attacker." He handed the PADDs to the Captain. (Reply: Captain Winters) While the Captain digested his report she seemed to remember something. "Mr. Hhril, aren't you going with Commander Bellinia?" She asked, Ketal stood waiting for her reply as he considered much of his rest time this evening would have to be spent on meditation, this battle he was in for emotional control would have to be won outright and soon ... or surely he was lost. (Reply: Captain Winters, any) (posted by Charles) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Day: 2 Stardate; 2406.10.08 (USS Hood; FO Lt Cmdr Peter Belinia; Lieutenant HHril, Ensign Tourana; 2035) Peter was sat scanning the console as the telemetry started to come in from the probe. He was able to assimilate the data quickly, due to his Ops background. It was not long before he found something interesting. "Mr HHril, are you detecting anything unusual at bearing three nine seven, mark two five one?" Peter looked back at the Ops officer. "Scans indicate an unusual anomaly localised to those coordinates, Sir." replied HHril. "I will triangulate in an attempt to get a better reading. " "Ensign bring us to that bearing, one quarter impulse." Peter started to triangulate the exact location of the device to determine it's purpose. Tourana tapped in the co-ordinates, replying " Aye Sir, one quarter impulse " The vessel turned and Tourana began to feel both excited and nervous, not knowing what to expect. She had no idea her first couple of days on the Mystique would send her into such a strange situation so soon. "Cmdr." began the young Romulan. "Cloaking devices all work on the same general pretext. If in fact this is a cloaked device, we should initiate a tachyon sweep. This will disrupt the cloak and allow us to lock onto whatever it is that is causing the disturbance." " Do you wish me to raise shields Sir " enquired Tourana, now feeling a little edgy. "Not just yet Ensign, but have them on hot standby." Tourana had to trust in the FO`s judgement but she wished he had said yes. She was only just out of the Academy and had been thrust into this situation - she hoped she was not showing her nerves. " Mr HHril, initiate Tachyon sweep when ready." Peter was rather apprehensive about all of this, it wasn't everyday a Starfleet Captain was targeted for assassination. He accessed the Tactical systems, just in case. "Mr HHril, how is that Tachyon sweep coming? Ensign get ready to beam the device aboard." "Aye, Sir." replied HHril and began the sweep. "I have detected a device approximately 700 KM directly ahead sir." HHril continued to scan. "It is much too small to be a ship. Best guess at this time sir, a probe or communications relay buoy." " Sir ? Are you...I mean...is that wise when we don't know what it is ? " asked Tourana. There was no hiding the beads of perspiration on her brow... "Ensign, it will be fine. Once we determine what it is then we will transport it, not before. " "Cmdr. Belinia," began HHril. "I believe a direct tachyon burst at the object will disrupt the cloak and allow us to lock onto the device. But we would have to get within 250 metres for the burst to have it's full effect." " Thank you Lieutenant. Ensign take us within two hundred and fifty metres of the co-ordinates and transport it directly aboard once it is determined to be safe." Tourana steadily guided the runabout to the distance stated. HHril had immediatly began preparing for the tachyon burst that would disrupt the cloaking device. "Tachyon burst ready, Cmdr." "On my mark, three, two, one...mark" Peter counted. Tourana realised her jaw was set so hard it was hurting. "Tachyon burst away." replied HHril as he tracked the progress of the burst. "Lieutenant, scan the device. Is it harmful?" HHril followed the orders of his FO. "It appears to be a subspace relay device, Sir." HHril continued his scans, "Cmdr," he began, his voice showing the concern and surprise in his voice. "The device carries the same subspace frequency as the Mystique. This probe is one of ours." Tourana looked at Hhril then at the FO. She was confused. Meekly she simply said " Sir ? What does this mean ? " He refused to answer the question because he was unsure of the answer. " Ensign, transport the device aboard. Lieutenant, with me." Peter stood and headed to the aft compartment where the device was being beamed to. Tourana just gulped and responded affirmitively. " Energising...." As Peter and HHril entered the compartment Peter grabbed the nearest tricorder. "Lieutenant, I want to know everything you can get from this." "Aye, Sir." replied the Romulan. If there was one thing that he had been trained for during his time with the Tal Shiar as a child it was to find out everything about every situation he was in. "I shall report to you once I have something worth reporting." HHril then grabbed the tricorder from Belinia as the Commander left him to the task. Tourana sat, not moving in her seat. She saw the Commanders _expression, something was going on here and she did not like it one bit. Peter re-entered the Bridge. "Ensign, open a comm channel to the Mystique and inform them of the current situation." " Aye Sir, channel open " stated Tourana, trying to sound efficient and calm. This mission was not going too badly, although it had raised more questions than it answered, at least they had not been confronted by a hostile ship. All they had to do now was inform Mystique of the situation and head back home. Peter started to scan the local viscinity for anything unusual. He had a bad feeling that all was not right. "Ensign, up shields." Tourana raised the shields and was most relieved to have finally been told to. She felt incredibly vulnerable, here in open space in such a small craft. "This is the USS Hood to Mystique, come in." Peter started to talk over the comm. (Reply Mystique) "We have discovered one of our own probes, if you take an inventory you will find one of them missing. Also, it was equiped with a small cloaking device." (reply Mystique) "We are returning now. Have Sarouk meet us when we dock. Hood out" HHril turned to the device in front of him. It was a standard Starfleet subspace communications relay. The only modification done to it was the cloaking device that had been added. The crudeness of the addition showing the urgency of he or she who had deployed the device. HHril began with the most obvious, the markings. It was, in fact, a relay from the Mystique. HHril had been certain to load in as many of these as he could before their departure from Space Dock Phoenix. Where they were going, communication could be the key between life and death. Tourana gazed out at the stars. She had never seen them like this before. She felt so insignifant. Just then, she thought she saw something odd. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Did she say something or not ? She did not want to appear foolish as well as nervous. Finally, she decided to speak up. " Commander ? I...um...." "Go ahead Ensign." " Well, I`m not sure, but, well, I thought I saw something...out there....a sort of ` flickering ` ? " " I'll scan the locality with the Tachyon sweep. Just in case, can you pin point it?" Peter did not like the sound of that at all. " Yes Sir, inputting the co-ordinates now " she said, relieved that he had not looked at her like she was mad. Meanwhile, in the aft compartment, the OPS officer ran scans using the tricorder, attempting to get the maximum amount of data possible. ~Without a proper science lab, there isn't much that can be discerned from this probe.~ He closed the tricorder and headed to the command compartment. He arrived as to hear that Cmdr Belinia was preparing to initialize another Tachyon sweep. Peter noticed HHril enter the Bridge. "Report Lieutenant." "The subspace relay is definitly one of ours, Sir." replied HHril as he took his station. "The markings indicate that it was brought on board at my request from Spacedock Phoenix. But it was never launched, Sir. It was beamed out." "Beamed? But there was only one concealed transport. Something is not right. Initiating the Tachyon sweep." Peter said. ~This is getting weirder and weirder.~ As the Tachyon sweep took effect Peter saw his screen change. A Defiant class ship was in the place of several stars. " Oh! crap... Ensign, come about and head back to the Mystique! " " You`ve got it Sir " she said quickly and did as she was told. Peter brought the weapons on line and prepared to fight, if it was nessecary. "They're following us, change course - bearing two seven five mark nine one three." " Bearing two seven five mark nine one three, Aye Sir ". Tourana was now determined not to lose her cool - if there was one thing she knew it was how to pilot a shuttle ! Peter did not like this, they were not equiped to fight with a Defiant, but if they had to they would. "Hood to Mystique, we are being followed by a Defiant class ship. Need urgent assistance, over." Peter set the message on repeat with their current co-ordinates. "Bearing seven three two mark eight one four, engage." Peter ordered. (Reply Trouana, HHril, Mystique, any) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - personal quarters - Ensign Jason Dema - 2100) NRPG: especially for you Melinda, I'm going a bit back to where it all started ;-) RPG: Computer, record message The computer beeped in acknowledgment and Jason started talking. "Hello lieutenant, Ensign Jason Dema here, I hope you remember me. I wish I was writing under better circumstances. The only good news I've been promoted to chief of tactical and security. But the real reason I'm writing you is because of the mistakes I've allready made, and as my instructor I think you're entitled to know. On the Nimitz I've made the mistake of appearing twice without uniform, one for a meeting wich I didn't wanted to be late and didn't change, the other time there was a red alert, in wich I thought it wasn't necesarry, but it seemed it was. Now I'm serving on the Mystique wich is on route to Starbase Geneva. here I've allready ran in against the FO during our introduction on the first day, cause he made a judgement about me without knowing me... but later it seems I verified his judgement, as today I made the error of entering the bridge under red alert, and instead of suggesting to the Commander, I just issued an order. Now I've been made assistant chief tactical and security, and am serving under Major Lee, who has been ordered to train me following the protocols and rules of starfleet. He's a very capable man and I sure hope he can help me. seeing all this, I realise what a fool I've been, I'm so sorry to dissapoint you, I wish I did better. But now I'll do my best to clear my record, and become a fine officer. By the way, I've met with Vanyssa Winters, I believe she was the one you knew, as you said, she's a nice person, and very capable With all my respect, Ensign Jason Dema." "Computer, end recording and send the message to Lt. Laoise O'Ceallaigh, Starfleet academy" [Message has been sent] After sending that message, Jason started to realize the severity of the situation, so he decided to apologize to Vanyssa, hoping she was wanting to talk at this moment. =/\= Ensign Dema to the Captain, if you have time, can I talk to you privatly?=/\= (reply Vanyssa) (posted by Anthony Struelens) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Mission Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - quarters - Ensign Jason Dema - 2116) "Absolutely. When you can make your time up here, Ensign, we'll see about that talk." Jason was relieved that Vanyssa had time. "I'll be there in 5 minutes Ma'am." Jason left his room as soon as the com was closed (USS Mystique - Bridge - Ensign Jason Dema - 2120) Jason entered the bridge, and went to Vanyssa. "reporting in Ma'am, if you have the time." (reply Vanyssa) (USS Mystique - quarters - Ensign Jason Dema - 2150) Jason was kinda tense from the long day, he was about to faint and decided to go to sleep, so he changed and went to bed, thinking about his sister who was kept safely with the marines, and he dozed away. (USS Mystique - quarters - Ensign Jason Dema - 2216) Jason just fell asleep when suddenly the red alert was ordered, and over the comms sounded Vanyssa. "Red alert. All senior Officers to duty stations." ~Not again, this is killing me~ Jason thought, but work is work, he got up and put on his uniform as fast as possible, then he ran out to the bridge. (USS Mystique - Bridge - Ensign Jason Dema - 2220) Jason arrived at the bridge, seeing everyone working tense at their station. "reporting for duty Captain, what's the situation?" NRPG: and please don't say that was out of order about asking for the situation :-s (reply Vanyssa) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Mission Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Marine Center, MCO's Office - Major Lee - 2217) =^=Red alert. All senior Officers to duty stations.=^= Rich looked up as the Red Alert klaxons started going off, and made the effort to bite back a dozen curses. He hadn't reworked the duty roster yet, his Red Alert duty station was still here in the Marine Center rather then on the bridge, that could rapidly get confusing. He was on his feet a moment after that, "All Marines to hot stand-by, Ensign Dema to the bridge!" He stepped outside the office into the controlled chaos of men in various states of dress running to the armory. There was always a squad on duty, Hot Standby meant that several others would get suited up for action. His own BDU was always available, he grabbed it's modular pieces off the rack before he was hit with inspiration. He tapped his badge, "Lee to Oo'lish, Sergeant Oo'lish, keep an eye on Dema and make sure he doesn't screw up, Ill never be more then 2 minutes away from the bridge." A couple seconds passed, then his badge buzzed twice in confirmation. ~Good,~ he thought; ~she is discreet.~ He was in his BDU three minutes later and had it fully activated. He slid the Pallas Battle Helmet on and attached it securely. "Boot up," he intoned to the Suit AI. It's command functions immediately opened, giving him various readouts on his HUD. "Tap me into the Security network." he said a moment later, he had other duties now after all. The processor took a moment, then flashed a new grid to the left with ships status. Rich nodded slightly and stepped into his office again. "Computer, Tap me into all security functions, Authorization Lee Omega Seven Beta Seven" he said shortly. His wall monitor blinked, then everything the Tactical console was seeing came into existence. He crossed his arms as he looked at it, waiting. (Reply: any) (posted by Trout) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Mission Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique; Bridge; CO Captain Vanyssa Winters ; 2255) Abotu half an hour had passed, as Vanyssa's Mystique shot towards the Runabout, and the Runabout raced back to the Mystique as quickly as it could. The shuttle pilot was doing the best that it could to dodge and weave among the phaser blasts, and luckily there had only been a couple of hits. Vanyssa breathed a sigh of relief when Sarouk had stated that they were within transporter range. He was, of course, in Engineering. "Can we beam them out ?" Vanyssa asked, wanting someone on the Bridge to say yes. (reply anyone :-) Vanyssa's heart sank as the runabout took a direct hit to their propulsion. They were spinning out of control. "I don't care if we have to lower our shields, get them aboard." She demanded. She rose without hearing the answer. "Do we have an ID on that vessel ?" (reply anyone :-) "Open me a channel." Vanyssa stated. "This is Captain Vanyssa Winters of the Federation Starship, USS Mystique. Why are you firing on my runabout ?" Vanyssa was unsurprised to see another Starfleet Bridge wink into existance. nrpg: I figured that this will be a JP between myself and the FO (reply : those who want to answer ) (posted by: melinda. ) Stardate:2406.10.08 Mission: Homecoming Mission Day: 2 Stardate: 2406.10.08 (USS Mystique - Bridge - Ensign Jason Dema - 2257) As Vanyssa was trying everything she could to get the crew of the hood, Jason targetted the defiant and put all weapons on hot stand-by "Captain, I got the defiant targetted, all weapons are standing by." NRPG: was thinking of putting this in front of opening the channel, leaves you an open option. (reply Vanyssa, anyone) (posted by Anthony Struelens) Stardate:2406.10.3 Harrison had finished up everything he'd been doing and decided he needed to see Doctor Kirien. He felt guilty for not having done so before. He felt morally and, he realised, professionally obligated to see her, to offer his condolences and his services. After all, he was the counsellor. He turned into Sickbay and found Dr. Kirien in her office. He would have thought that she would have been in her quarters coping with this. He walked up to her office door and knocked politely. (reply Kirien) He walked in and smiled weakly. "Doctor, I...uh...I heard about your loss," he said. He really should have thought about what to say beforehand, "I'm truly sorry. You've probably heard this all day, but is there anything I can do?"