Mission 1.8: Cubed

[James Carter]

{Bridge}

Constance nodded to James's suggestion but said, "That sounds like a solid area for improvement but I don't want us to take away from one department to bolster another. We should be able to find a way to have flight live within quota."

The ship got underway and in no time at all they were out of the system, traveling at warp speeds under Leonard's careful guidance.

"Hold on a second James. There's a priority one message reaching us." She said and put it on screen after she'd settled into her chair.

"Captain Lafayette." A Bolian admiral, whom Constance recognized as Yews Nadin, greeted her.

"Admiral Nadin." She replied, casually and respectfully.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your current mission, but a situation is developing near Theta Cygni that requires your immediate attention." The older man reported with a nod. There was urgency in his voice.

Constance thought about it for a long moment and nodded. She'd done the calculations her head and, the back of the envelope math suggested the far point was well within their effective range. They'd just restocked for a few months and would endure no hardships.

"I'm sure some of our passengers from Risa will be a little upset that we will be detaining them."

"I'm afraid it's a matter of some immediate importance. A borg tactical cube has been discovered by a deep space probe. It seems deactivated and old, drifting towards Federation space. Your ship is the only one with a crew that has experience with Borg in the area. You are to travel at high warp there when we have finished."

The wheels in Constance's mind were clearly turning. A borg cube, singular, that was on a trajectory for Federation space? She didn't buy, for a second, that it was really deactivated like the probe suggested. It was more likely a trap and she knew that Admiral Nadin knew it too. He was just reporting the facts to her without any of his own opinions.

"Understood Admiral." She replied stonily, her jaw now set, "And when we get there are we to destroy the Cube? Redirect it? Haul it in for dissection?" Constance added.

The Admiral seemed uncomfortable and shifted in his seat. It took a lot to make an Admiral sweat so Constance didn't like the reaction he'd given.

"You are to... explore it." The words fell like a death sentence and fell like hammers on her. She would NOT send her people knowingly into a trap. Especially not after what happened with Danny. The Admiral saw her reaction and shifted a bit again, "I know Captain... these orders come from the top though. We haven't had a chance to explore a Borg ship in detail since the borg queen incident."

Constance sat silent for a long time to let the information sink in. She had no choice in the matter she knew, but she could chance the circumstances.

"I will not risk the life of my crew members Admiral, not even for something as valuable as Borg technology. You'd sooner have to drum me out of Starfleet but... I'm willing to appraise the situation and evaluate the best ways to obtain information on the Cube."

The Admiral squirmed, but acquiesced.

"You have your orders Captain. The fate of the Federation may very well be in the hands of your crew- so I'll defer to your good judgement on the matter of how it is explored... oh... and Captain. Good luck."

The last few words before he cut the signal were genuine. The Admiral clearly hadn't wanted them to take these steps but had been forced to relay the message that was handed down. She didn't blame him.

"Helm. Lay in a course to the Theta Cygni system, maximum warp. Mr. Carter, my read room." She said bluntly, standing and tugging down her uniform a bit.

"Relay the situation to department heads Mr. Scott... and include Ash in the discussion. You have the bridge." She said, a little more softly, before she entered her ready room.

[Bridge]

James let out a small sigh as the admiral spoke. The borg? They want us to explore a borg ship? Do they realize how stupid that is? That's when the Captain called him into the ready room. He stood and followed the woman into the room, waiting for the door to close before speaking. "We're not really going to do this are we?"

[Constance Lafayette]

[Ready Room]

Constance sat down in her chair and waited for a long moment, rubbing her brow as James asked.

"It wouldn't be my first choice James. You know that. But... yes. We're going to do this. I wanted to call you in here for just that reason." She admitted, clear frustration somewhere in her tone.

"It's clear to me that this is a trap. Without a question. I'm also convinced this has something to do with Danny and us personally.
I believe in statistics and the chances that a Borg cube would just show up out of the blue after our situation with Danny are so low as to believe it's unreasonable." She explained.

"That having been said, we will need an away team. I talked about avoiding it with the Admiral but, in all likelihood we are going to have to send a team over. We've tried piercing the internals of Borg ships before and it's near impossible." She explained darkly.

"I am going to lead the away team myself. I don't want an argument over this. I don't want my crew undertaking a risk I'm not willing to undertake myself. Besides- on this ship I'm one of the most knowledgeable people on the Borg thanks to the period I had studying Danny before Ash broke in. When I leave I will be transferring over all my command privileges to you due to the high degree of risk involved in this. Should I be compromised- you are to assume command. Understood?"

There was no joviality in her voice- less than normal. This was an ugly situation with terrible undertones.

[Catrin Maddux]

[Mess Hall]

Before she could elaborate further, Ash was cut short by the appearance of a familiar tribble on her foot.

Ash instantly brightened again. "Cat! No, no, don't worry about it! We were just catching up; you're totally welcome to join us!" Ash looked down and picked up the ball of fuzziness on her foot and set it on her shoulder with a smile. "You're welcome as well, Trip. You're just lucky Dylan isn't here, you little floof. I've got some rose earl grey here, Cat, if you wanted some - oh, and I've got a few... surprises in the kitchen. You should definitely check it out. I think you'll enjoy it." Ash offered Cat a mischievous smile, knowing she had a sweet tooth almost as big as her own; she'd definitely enjoy it.

[Mess Hall]

He too was relieved when someone else showed up. Stafford smiled at the pretty young officer. The captain was a grizzled, meager looking older fellow. But when he smiled and his eyes twinkled it took a few years off his face

"A tribble? I haven't seen one of these in a long time." Stafford said. "Hello Lieutenant. Cat, is it? I'm Luke Stafford. I was formerly executive officer here until Captain Lafayette realized she could only get rid of me by promoting me."

[Mess Hall]

Cat grinned at Ash and treated Captain Stafford to a respectful nod. "Catrin Maddux, Ship's Counselor, sir. Cat's just fine, though. I hardly ever get to use my rank but it sounds so official and fancy." She gave a saucy wink. She wasn't one to stand on formality, unless the situation demanded.

"I was just getting situated here when you were on the way out. Nice to have you back for a while. I know Captain Layfayette was extremely pleased to see you. Although I half expected steam to billow from her ears when you called her 'Connie.' She chuckled and sauntered off to the kitchen.

[Leonard T. Scott]

{Bridge}

Constance nodded to James's suggestion but said, "That sounds like a solid area for improvement but I don't want us to take away from one department to bolster another. We should be able to find a way to have flight live within quota."

The ship got underway and in no time at all they were out of the system, traveling at warp speeds under Leonard's careful guidance.

"Hold on a second James. There's a priority one message reaching us." She said and put it on screen after she'd settled into her chair.

"Captain Lafayette." A Bolian admiral, whom Constance recognized as Yews Nadin, greeted her.

"Admiral Nadin." She replied, casually and respectfully.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your current mission, but a situation is developing near Theta Cygni that requires your immediate attention." The older man reported with a nod. There was urgency in his voice.

Constance thought about it for a long moment and nodded. She'd done the calculations her head and, the back of the envelope math suggested the far point was well within their effective range. They'd just restocked for a few months and would endure no hardships.

"I'm sure some of our passengers from Risa will be a little upset that we will be detaining them."

"I'm afraid it's a matter of some immediate importance. A borg tactical cube has been discovered by a deep space probe. It seems deactivated and old, drifting towards Federation space. Your ship is the only one with a crew that has experience with Borg in the area. You are to travel at high warp there when we have finished."

The wheels in Constance's mind were clearly turning. A borg cube, singular, that was on a trajectory for Federation space? She didn't buy, for a second, that it was really deactivated like the probe suggested. It was more likely a trap and she knew that Admiral Nadin knew it too. He was just reporting the facts to her without any of his own opinions.

"Understood Admiral." She replied stonily, her jaw now set, "And when we get there are we to destroy the Cube? Redirect it? Haul it in for dissection?" Constance added.

The Admiral seemed uncomfortable and shifted in his seat. It took a lot to make an Admiral sweat so Constance didn't like the reaction he'd given.

"You are to... explore it." The words fell like a death sentence and fell like hammers on her. She would NOT send her people knowingly into a trap. Especially not after what happened with Danny. The Admiral saw her reaction and shifted a bit again, "I know Captain... these orders come from the top though. We haven't had a chance to explore a Borg ship in detail since the borg queen incident."

Constance sat silent for a long time to let the information sink in. She had no choice in the matter she knew, but she could chance the circumstances.

"I will not risk the life of my crew members Admiral, not even for something as valuable as Borg technology. You'd sooner have to drum me out of Starfleet but... I'm willing to appraise the situation and evaluate the best ways to obtain information on the Cube."

The Admiral squirmed, but acquiesced.

"You have your orders Captain. The fate of the Federation may very well be in the hands of your crew- so I'll defer to your good judgement on the matter of how it is explored... oh... and Captain. Good luck."

The last few words before he cut the signal were genuine. The Admiral clearly hadn't wanted them to take these steps but had been forced to relay the message that was handed down. She didn't blame him.

"Helm. Lay in a course to the Theta Cygni system, maximum warp. Mr. Carter, my read room." She said bluntly, standing and tugging down her uniform a bit.

"Relay the situation to department heads Mr. Scott... and include Ash in the discussion. You have the bridge." She said, a little more softly, before she entered her ready room.

(Bridge)

"Aye, ma'am," Leo replied as he set the course before switching chairs. He turned to the Ops.

"Mr. T'Ves, please open a channel to all department heads, Cat, and Ash," he said calmly.

The young Vulcan ensign replied, "Channel open, sir."

"Ladies and gentleman, the captain has asked that I apprise you of our current situation. On your main console screens you will find our new orders. We are currently en route to the Theta Cygni system. Standby for further instruction, bridge out."

Leo adjusted in the seat slightly. "A guy could get used to this," he thought to himself as he looked at the main viewscreen. "Maybe this is where I should try to work my way up to."

[James Carter]

[Ready Room]

Constance sat down in her chair and waited for a long moment, rubbing her brow as James asked.

"It wouldn't be my first choice James. You know that. But... yes. We're going to do this. I wanted to call you in here for just that reason." She admitted, clear frustration somewhere in her tone.

"It's clear to me that this is a trap. Without a question. I'm also convinced this has something to do with Danny and us personally.
I believe in statistics and the chances that a Borg cube would just show up out of the blue after our situation with Danny are so low as to believe it's unreasonable." She explained.

"That having been said, we will need an away team. I talked about avoiding it with the Admiral but, in all likelihood we are going to have to send a team over. We've tried piercing the internals of Borg ships before and it's near impossible." She explained darkly.

"I am going to lead the away team myself. I don't want an argument over this. I don't want my crew undertaking a risk I'm not willing to undertake myself. Besides- on this ship I'm one of the most knowledgeable people on the Borg thanks to the period I had studying Danny before Ash broke in. When I leave I will be transferring over all my command privileges to you due to the high degree of risk involved in this. Should I be compromised- you are to assume command. Understood?"

There was no joviality in her voice- less than normal. This was an ugly situation with terrible undertones.

[Ready Room]

James had begun pacing back and forth in the room at this point. He let out a long sigh as he listened to every word the captain said and absorbed it all. "As your XO it's my duty to remind you of regulation. However, it's also my duty to advise you on what I think is the best course of action. Unfortunately a Borg cube isn't the place to test if the Q did anything I don't know of. Plus, you're right. You do have more knowledge of the Borg than I do." Carter stopped pacing and stood facing the wall for a brief moment before turning back to the captain. "If I don't know this was a trap already I'd tell you that at the first sign things are going sideways to pull out....but we've already had that sign. If at any point I think the safety of either you or the crew is at jeopardy I will pull the plug on the mission. This ship isn't equipped to deal with a bloody Borg cube." The man finished in a blunt tone. "If I let you go you are to stay in constant contact with the Athena. There's not to be radio silence. Deal?"

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Mess Hall]

Cat grinned at Ash and treated Captain Stafford to a respectful nod. "Catrin Maddux, Ship's Counselor, sir. Cat's just fine, though. I hardly ever get to use my rank but it sounds so official and fancy." She gave a saucy wink. She wasn't one to stand on formality, unless the situation demanded.

"I was just getting situated here when you were on the way out. Nice to have you back for a while. I know Captain Layfayette was extremely pleased to see you. Although I half expected steam to billow from her ears when you called her 'Connie.' She chuckled and sauntered off to the kitchen.

[Mess Hall]

"Of course, don't let me keep you." Ordinarily, Stafford was an old school gent and would have risen when the female lieutenant entered and departed. But his injury made that a damnable pain, so he offered her a friendly nod as she left.

"Nice lady," He said to Ash casually. "I'm glad you're making friends. It felt strange leaving, especially with you. It's not everyday I can sit down and have an actual conversation that isn't only about work."

[Ashlynn Ren Morgaine]

[Mess Hall]

"Of course, don't let me keep you." Ordinarily, Stafford was an old school gent and would have risen when the female lieutenant entered and departed. But his injury made that a damnable pain, so he offered her a friendly nod as she left.

"Nice lady," He said to Ash casually. "I'm glad you're making friends. It felt strange leaving, especially with you. It's not everyday I can sit down and have an actual conversation that isn't only about work."

[Mess Hall]

Ash looked back over at Luke and offered a genuine smile. "Yeah, Cat's pretty great. She's really laid back. Easy to talk to. Gives good hugs. But, I guess that's all part of the reason she's our counselor." She paused to put her hand on Luke's arm before continuing. "But I know how you feel. I miss our regular chats. You used to be a facet of my mess hall, and-"

Ash would have said more, but just then the message from Cat's Leo came through.

(Bridge)
"Ladies and gentleman, the captain has asked that I apprise you of our current situation. On your main console screens you will find our new orders. We are currently en route to the Theta Cygni system. Standby for further instruction, bridge out."

"Oh. Oh my..." Ash shared a rather confused glance with Luke, while her left hand fiddled with her napkin as a small frown grew on her face. She wasn't included in discussions that regularly, and, when she was, it was usually a sign that things weren't good...

But, without any definite proof, she decided to try and stay positive for the moment. There was no point in worrying without knowing the whole situation, so she did her best to bring a smile back to her face. Whether or not she succeeded, she didn't know. "I guess... You're stuck with us a little longer. At least, until whatever this is gets sorted."

After a brief moment of thought, Ash moved to her feet. "I'm going to grab my PADD from the kitchen and see what I can find out. I'll be right back."

[Anastasia Volzhin]

[Bridge]

Anastasia was about to embark on her first voyage away from Starfleet Academy. She was rather green in the more practical areas of life within Starfleet while in space, but apparently they were en route to the Theta Cygni system for whatever reasons she will soon find out. And she has been summoned on the bridge, as customary with any new commissioned officer being transferred in a ship. Admittedly, she had to be ready for anything, even though, officially, she isn't technically an ensign. She is marveled at the different bridge consoles: the engineering, tactical, conn, operations and science consoles, with, of course, the MSD. So much technology! She wondered what capabilities do these sensor arrays truly have. So this is the person they call the commanding officer? Perhaps I would be placed at the science station on the graveyard shift, as is often the case for new arrivals, she thought.

"I'm Anastasia, the new science officer, reporting for duty. I'm a little green as to the practical aspect of the work, but I am willing to pull my weight onboard for the duration of my tour of duty onboard. May fortune favor us all"

[Race Warez]

[Bridge]

Risa ââ,¬â€œ It's very name meant paradise in several languages. It was a fantasy land conjured from Race's imagination. What else could it be, since he was raised in the old ways? His family was conservative, changing little in the last centuries. They ran their affairs, business and personal lives carefully, with an eye for tradition.

Not that any of this mattered as he watched the planet fade behind Athena at warp speed. Someday he would really visit the ââ,¬Ëœso-called' pleasure planet and explore it's possibilities. Especially the possibility of opening up a market there for high quality Terran meats and leathers. A place like Risa which caters to so many visitors would be natural market to expand the Warez family business. But not today apparently.

Actually none of Races' plans had been going very well since returning to the ship. He had at least hoped to transfer to real officers quarters now that he had made ââ,¬ËœJG', but he had been informed by the ships' purser that due to the extra guests being transported, no additional quarters were available. So he was still stuck living in a double bunk crew billet.

On the brighter side, with Lt. T'Lara gone on leave he was being given more responsible duties, including a regular rotation manning the sensor station on the bridge. He spent as much time there as possible now. He had watched the Captain and the XO emerge from the ready room and Mister Carter did not look happy.

But they left after the Captain gave Mr. Scott new orders.

(Bridge)
"Aye, ma'am," Leo replied as he set the course before switching chairs. He turned to the Ops.
"Mr. T'Ves, please open a channel to all department heads, Cat, and Ash," he said calmly.
The young Vulcan ensign replied, "Channel open, sir."
"Ladies and gentleman, the captain has asked that I apprise you of our current situation. On your main console screens you will find our new orders. We are currently en route to the Theta Cygni system. Standby for further instruction, bridge out."
Leo adjusted in the seat slightly. "A guy could get used to this," he thought to himself as he looked at the main viewscreen. "Maybe this is where I should try to work my way up to."

Race called up the orders on his console. Now what do you suppose this is all about? He wondered.

[Constance Lafayette]

[Ready Room]

Constance was glad James was on the same page as her. She had the same reservations he did regarding this and she was happy to hear him voice them.

"So noted Mr. Carter. There are allowances made by the regulations for situations like this. It's clear however- we both can't be off the bridge. The Athena will be under your command." She said gravely, letting the implied high level of trust sink in.

"I'll signal in every 5 minutes. Transporter locks won't work in there so keep a shuttle on stand by with a site-to-site transporter and a signal booster. With luck, if things go wrong it should be able to beam us out if we are near an exit." She added as she stood up.

"Mr. Cater... before we return there is a small box on my desk. Given the gravity of the situation, I'd like you to open it when I leave. I know we haven't always meshed as well as other command teams given the speed at which we were thrust upon each other with but I want you to know, regardless of the outcome of this mission, you have not only my trust but my respect." She added sincerely and nodded.

As she left, the small black box that contained his full Commanders pips sat open on the table.

{Bridge}

"Report. Mr. Scott, if my estimates are correct we should be arriving in about... 10 minutes or so. Do we have an available shuttle we can use for an emergency signal booster?" She asked casually, "We are going to need one for the away mission."

Then, she addressed Anastasia.
"It's a pleasure Gospazha Volzhin. It's a pleasure to have you on board." She said with rather professorial overtones. She'd chosen the Russian equivalent of "Ms." because she knew the value of respecting one's culture in a place as far from home as this far star.

Then, turning to Race, she nodded and added.
"Mr. Warez. I'm going to be leading the away team. I want you to select 4 science officers to accompany me. I'd like you to put Gospazha Volzhin on the team if she's up to it."

She turned to look at the new officer, "I'd like to see if your stellar academy records reflect your skill by inviting you to join us."

[Leonard T. Scott]

...

{Bridge}

"Report. Mr. Scott, if my estimates are correct we should be arriving in about... 10 minutes or so. Do we have an available shuttle we can use for an emergency signal booster?" She asked casually, "We are going to need one for the away mission."

...

(Bridge)

"You are correct ma'am," Leo replied. "To my knowledge, we still have Zeus, our runabout, all our medium to long range shuttles, and the cargo craft. For the away mission itself, I would recommend the Zeus. As for the signal booster, medium range well suffice."

The helmsman arose from the captain's chair a bit reluctantly and returned to the helm.

"I can have both prepped and ready to go in five minutes if you'd like," Leo had been itching to get back into a shuttle seat and couldn't resist this opportunity.

[James Carter]

[Ready Room]

Constance was glad James was on the same page as her. She had the same reservations he did regarding this and she was happy to hear him voice them.

"So noted Mr. Carter. There are allowances made by the regulations for situations like this. It's clear however- we both can't be off the bridge. The Athena will be under your command." She said gravely, letting the implied high level of trust sink in.

"I'll signal in every 5 minutes. Transporter locks won't work in there so keep a shuttle on stand by with a site-to-site transporter and a signal booster. With luck, if things go wrong it should be able to beam us out if we are near an exit." She added as she stood up.

"Mr. Cater... before we return there is a small box on my desk. Given the gravity of the situation, I'd like you to open it when I leave. I know we haven't always meshed as well as other command teams given the speed at which we were thrust upon each other with but I want you to know, regardless of the outcome of this mission, you have not only my trust but my respect." She added sincerely and nodded.

As she left, the small black box that contained his full Commanders pips sat open on the table.

{Bridge}

"Report. Mr. Scott, if my estimates are correct we should be arriving in about... 10 minutes or so. Do we have an available shuttle we can use for an emergency signal booster?" She asked casually, "We are going to need one for the away mission."

Then, she addressed Anastasia.
"It's a pleasure Gospazha Volzhin. It's a pleasure to have you on board." She said with rather professorial overtones. She'd chosen the Russian equivalent of "Ms." because she knew the value of respecting one's culture in a place as far from home as this far star.

Then, turning to Race, she nodded and added.
"Mr. Warez. I'm going to be leading the away team. I want you to select 4 science officers to accompany me. I'd like you to put Gospazha Volzhin on the team if she's up to it."

She turned to look at the new officer, "I'd like to see if your stellar academy records reflect your skill by inviting you to join us."

[Ready Room]

James hated that he didn't even try to stop the captain from going. But he knew it was the right thing to do. Even if the Q didn't do anything to him he didn't know about, the away team needed her knowledge of the Borg. Once the captain was out of the room Carter opened the box and quickly realized what was in it. He let out a long sigh before putting on his pips. He wondered if deserved them. There was no time to think about it now though. After a moment he left the room and stepped back on the bridge.

[Bridge]

James stood quietly listening to the conversation between his colleagues. "We'll need to be prepared for external retaliation from the Borg as well."

[Anastasia Volzhin]

{Bridge}

"Report. Mr. Scott, if my estimates are correct we should be arriving in about... 10 minutes or so. Do we have an available shuttle we can use for an emergency signal booster?" She asked casually, "We are going to need one for the away mission."

Then, she addressed Anastasia.
"It's a pleasure Gospazha Volzhin. It's a pleasure to have you on board." She said with rather professorial overtones. She'd chosen the Russian equivalent of "Ms." because she knew the value of respecting one's culture in a place as far from home as this far star.

Then, turning to Race, she nodded and added.
"Mr. Warez. I'm going to be leading the away team. I want you to select 4 science officers to accompany me. I'd like you to put Gospazha Volzhin on the team if she's up to it."

She turned to look at the new officer, "I'd like to see if your stellar academy records reflect your skill by inviting you to join us."

[Bridge]

"Roger, roger"

Gospazha Volzhin wasn't addressed as such for years now. No one at Starfleet Academy, not even the regulars of the pre-law office, on which she served during all her time there (but that's mostly a function of Starfleet Academy prioritizing other areas) addressed her as such. She couldn't complain, but four science officers on an away team meant that she was going to be the most junior of the gang (in terms of time-in-service onboard). She always heard about how other ships, especially the Galaxy-class and the Sovereign-class ships (or other ships of similar mission profile and crew complement), had the more junior crewmembers stay onboard the ship while the more senior guys are beamed out. She took the time to inspect her equipment: a PADD, a tricorder, a comlink, knowing that the team isn't assembled yet. Once the team is assembled, security, science, possibly engineering or other operations, maybe even medical, then they would be made to wear the appropriate protective suit. Possibly with an integrated comlink.

"Oh, yes, I'd love nothing more than the chance to go on an away mission, Lieutenant Warez. Before I forget, I would like to know what equipment would typically be brought on an away mission, other than a PADD, a tricorder or a comlink"

Even if I have the lingering impression that some people want to see me fail, but that's not exactly uncommon to wish someone to fail during their first away mission. Relax: even though the Borg would adapt to whatever Security would throw at them, it's to protect everyone else in the away team, she thought. While, of course, they made cadets learn a lot of different things, of which only a fraction was to be used by any single cadet in their service lifespans, she had to make sure the appropriate equipment would be brought with them, and for all members of the away team to do their jobs properly.

[Constance Lafayette]

{Bridge}

"Understood Mr. Scott. Prep the Zeus and have your team double check the signal boosters. I don't want the site-to-site cutting out because of a lost signal if things go sideways." She replied confidently. Leo had this well in hand she knew, she just needed to make sure all the i's were dotted and the t's were crossed.

She nodded to James as he emerged- the full pips of a commander now adorning his collar. He'd earned them (actually posthumously, but that had been adjusted) and it was as much for him as for her. He needed to know that whatever had happened to him- she trusted him.

"Mr. Carter's right. There is a good chance of that. We will need to make sure we have rotating shields and frequency modulators on the ships weapons. That goes double for the away team's weapons. It doesn't work for long but we might get a few shots in." She said with a nod.

Constance nodded when Anastasia acknowledged her but let Race address her question.

The viewscreen, filled with an empty traces of the starfield they passed through at warp, would soon hold their prize and all the dangers that came with it.

"Helm, bring us out of warp. Settle into a wide orbit around the cube when we are in range."

"Mr. Carter. Can you coordinate tactical? I need three security officers for this mission." She asked decisively before tapping her badge,

"Ms. Morgaine. Ms.Maddux. Please join me in the transporter room for an away mission."=/\=

She knew it was highly irregular for a civilian ship's cook to join an away team but Ash knew more about how the borg thought than most and Constance wanted her close at hand for a situation like this. Besides- if Danny was involved in this at all, Constance knew she'd want Ash and thus the Captain wanted to keep an eye on her personally.

[Catrin Maddux]

[Mess Hall - Kitchen]

Ash had certainly set up quite a spread of sweets and the cheesecake called her name in sweetly dulcet tones. Leo's message came through just as she was about to take a bite of a somewhat sizeable slice.

"But... Cheesecake? She complained in a plaintive tone. Fork held as a weapon, she attacked the dessert in a small act of defiance. She could find out what was going down after she finished this plate of heavenly glory. She reasoned this out while she chewed.

"Ms. Morgaine. Ms.Maddux. Please join me in the transporter room for an away mission."=/\=

Oh heck. She cursed internally, swallowing quickly so she could respond. A quick tap of her commbadge and she answered.

"I'll be there presently, Captain."

Looked like things were gonna get a lot more eventful. She devoured the last bite. If her intuition was correct, she'd need the energy boost. She brushed off whatever crumbs remained, and cleaned up the mess before she headed back out to where Ash and Luke were seated.

"Looks like we've been summoned. Wanna walk together?" It was a bit odd being asked to an away team like this, but she'd keep an optimistic view, and hopefully a calming aura.