Mission 1.8: Cubed

[Daniel Shepard]

[Bridge]
Daniel was in the turbolift on his way to the bridge, this was to be his first assignment and he was nervous about it. Before he reported to the Captain he triple checkled his uniform.

Danny stepped out onto the bridge and adressed the Captain.

"Cadet Martin reporting in, Ma'am." said Danny.

"Hopefully it will go smooth today" Danny thought to himself.

[Leonard T. Scott]

{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.

...

(Bridge)

"You got it Cap," Leo replied before exiting the bridge. Once at the torbolift, he tapped his combadge.

"Lieutenant Scott to Cadet White. Damien, I need you to meet me at the Zeus. Cap wants needs it fitted with a signal boosting sensor relay, and time is of the essence. Scott out."=/\=

Leo knew he could count on White. He was on young and on his nesting assignment, but he knew his stuff. The Scotsman arrived at the Zeus and began to make the necessary preparations for the array.

Shortly thereafter, Cadet White arrived with the array.

"Sir, here is the array you need. Any idea what's going on? I heard you on the ship wide comm."

"Well, we've been asked to investigate a Borg cube. I'm not exactly sure what Starfleet has in mind, but this reeks of a trap to me. I need you to stay here and assist Klorglax if he needs it," the department head said as he worked on getting the array in place. "Don't worry though, the captain has a plan which is why we're getting this array set up. The ship should be fine. There, all set. Stay close to the shuttle bay just in case we need a pilot."

"Aye, sir," the young cadet replied. "Fair winds and following seas."

With that, the cadet headed to the shuttle bay. As soon as he was clear, Leo tapped his commbadge.

"Scott to the captain. Ma'am, we are all set here. The Zeus has completed the preflight checklist and will launch when you are ready. Scott out."=/\=

"The leaf in the wind has returned," he thought to himself as he sat down in his chair.

Posting as NPC Klorglax the Destroyer

{Bridge}

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

"Aye, ma'am," replied Klorglax gruffly. "We shall be approximately three thousand kellica... I mean kilometers away."

The Klingon was still getting used to the Federation's measuring system. He had grown up traditionally on Qo'noS, but was picked up by a passing Federation freighter in his late teens that lead to him joining Starfleet.

[Selden Perren Mestral]

[Holodeck]

"Out!" Dylan called, as the runner tried- and failed- to slide into second base. It was very close, but Dylan was pretty sure in his call. Following the programming, the scoreboard updating, the red bulbs for the "outs" now blazing two. The crowd reacted in kind, some booing, some cheering, and others just screaming because they could. The score was four to three in the bottom of the fifth. Two men on, and a third coming up to bat. The aroma was just as it should be, and the environment was almost perfect.

Though on some days Dylan might have preferred to take on the sport, today he felt like not playing, and observing the scenarios around him as the umpire. The next batter walked up, and Dylan resumed his position between second and first bases, watching. With a man on first and third, and the team at-bat down by one, what Dylan would have done was to aim for either a hard hit outside the park or a line drive down one of the foul lines. They only needed a base hit to get this game tied. What happened next, however, was very different from what he had expected.

The runner on first faked a steal, starting to move toward second. The instant the player moved, it was called out by the first baseman. The pitcher heard, and turned, firing the ball straight to second faster than a rocket, as the runner on first doubled back. By that time, the runner on third was halfway toward home. Before the fielders could react, the second baseman had fired the ball at first, trying to cut off the runner, to no avail. By now, the runner was almost home as the catcher called out in futility. The ball was quickly spun and shot toward Home, as the runner at home dove headfirst into home, barreling over the catcher as he dove, the ball reaching the catcher a half second too late. Run scored. The pitcher screamed for interference, but Dylan shook his head. The programming and reactions were very human, almost perfectly so. With the argument presented and denied, the game continued, the gutsy play having payed off.

Dylan saw the holodeck open, and as the next play resulted in the third out, called the out. The ball was a line drive straight toward the center fielder, who ran backwards and caught the ball off of an off-leg jump. Keeping possession, as the teams filed into their respective dugouts to receive their gear and switch sides. An announcer's voice boomed over them. "And a terrific play by Peterson sends us into the top of the sixth, with one left on. It's four four today at Great American Ballpark!"

Indeed, the field around them was a perfect imitation of the field, before it had been destroyed in the nuclear wars of Earth's past. Dylan waved back at the figure who had entered the deck. As if it had been planned, one of the teams called a timeout, and Dylan was more than willing to oblige. He walked over to the new arrival, a foolish grin on his face. He wasn't in his Starfleet uniform anymore, he had sometime changed into appropriate clothes for his role.

"Ms. Rose. Welcome to my little corner of the galaxy." He said with a chuckle. He wasn't upset at all with her coming, he did feel a bit self-conscious about how into the game he'd been. "What can I do for you?"

Rocket smiled back at him and replied "Oh, I just noticed the game on the holodeck". She paused to take in the scene, impressed by how accurate it was. "My family has always been one of baseball fans," she continued, looking back to Dylan, "and my sister plays softball whenever she can".

Picking up a ball, Rocket examined its stitching, wondering what kind of programming the holodeck had to do to make someting like it. Putting it down again, she turned back to the engineer.

"I was just going to counciling, sir. I think I might need to recomend a crew member. If ms.Maddux isn't there, though, I might just leave a note for her". Rocket said, stretching her arms behind her back. Tensely sighing, she said "I think these kinds of encounters might be getting to some crew members".

Rocket paused for a moment, turning away from Dylan briefly. She breathed in the crowd's excitement, remebering all of the nights her family spent in bleachers. Smiling once again, she turned back to Dylan. "So, how long have you been a baseball player, sir?".

(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."=/\=

Hearing this, Rocket quickly turned on her PADD. She had been carrying it in case another problem came up on board, and it seemed that it did. Pushing her hair out of her face, she said "Oh, looks like I have to go down to the shuttle docks. It seems like they need extra security down there". Putting her PADD away, she looked up at Dylan. "I hope that we can talk about baseball more at a later time, sir", she said, nodding curtly as she left the holodeck.

[James Carter]

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

[Bridge]

James offered a small nod before tapping his comm badge. Lieutenant K'Shore and Crewman Rose. Please report to the transporter room and report to Captain Lafayette for the away mission. As James finish speaking he looked over to the new security arrival and spoke again. "Cadet Shepard. Welcome to the Athena. I want you to accompany the captain on the away mission over to the Borg cube." His command was firm and blunt. After a moment the man began pacing again, no matter how hard he tried to avoid looking at the view screen his gaze constantly moved to the massive cube.

After another moment Carter tapped his comm badge again this time calling for someone else. Lieutenant Commander Torngate. Please report to the bridge as soon as possible.

[Daniel Shepard]

[Bridge]
"Aye, Sir." Danny replied to the command, he headed for the transporter room.

Danny saw the view screen on the Bridge, this mission sounded dangerous enough, what if the cube was just in a state of hibernation waiting to be awoken? There were too many variables and he was nervous about it. The job was simple though, protect the away team.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Danny thought as he stepped into the transporter room.

[Dylan Torngate]

Rocket smiled back at him and replied "Oh, I just noticed the game on the holodeck". She paused to take in the scene, impressed by how accurate it was. "My family has always been one of baseball fans," she continued, looking back to Dylan, "and my sister plays softball whenever she can".

Picking up a ball, Rocket examined its stitching, wondering what kind of programming the holodeck had to do to make someting like it. Putting it down again, she turned back to the engineer.

"I was just going to counciling, sir. I think I might need to recomend a crew member. If ms.Maddux isn't there, though, I might just leave a note for her". Rocket said, stretching her arms behind her back. Tensely sighing, she said "I think these kinds of encounters might be getting to some crew members".

Rocket paused for a moment, turning away from Dylan briefly. She breathed in the crowd's excitement, remebering all of the nights her family spent in bleachers. Smiling once again, she turned back to Dylan. "So, how long have you been a baseball player, sir?".

Hearing this, Rocket quickly turned on her PADD. She had been carrying it in case another problem came up on board, and it seemed that it did. Pushing her hair out of her face, she said "Oh, looks like I have to go down to the shuttle docks. It seems like they need extra security down there". Putting her PADD away, she looked up at Dylan. "I hope that we can talk about baseball more at a later time, sir", she said, nodding curtly as she left the holodeck.

[Holodeck]

"Indeed? Guess those doors aren't quite a soundproof as one might think. Seems like I got a new project then." he said, thinking. As she said she'd been one of the fans of baseball, he nodded. "It seems for a dead sport it finds more fans all the time," he said, wondering to himself why it faded out of existance.

He noticed her examining the programming and smiled, viewing the area around as he took another ball out of his belt. "Yeah... I may or may not have spent way too much time on this programming." he said with a grin.

"How long have I? Whoo.. let's see here..." he said, thinking. It was a bit over a decade that he'd played the sport, and longer than that he'd been a fan. "Around 12 years playing, longer a fan." he said. "Played for the Pike City Pioneers for a year, actually."

(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."=/\=

[Bridge]
After another moment Carter tapped his comm badge again this time calling for someone else. Lieutenant Commander Torngate. Please report to the bridge as soon as possible.

He heard the summons and sighed. "Computer, save and end program." he said, as the field and aroma fell out of existence, but his umpire gear still on him. He set the mask down and it too faded out of existance, as he fetched a PADD out of his pocket. He looked it over with a frown. "Aye, feel free to hit me up anytime with baseball." He said with a smile. "Excuse me..." he said as he worked his way up to the Bridge. Aye Sir, On my way.

[Bridge]

Dylan entered and took up place at the engineering station, reading over the PADD and waiting for his orders. He didn't like it... at all. Borg were never good, and the timing of this was too odd to not be intentional. Someone was messing with them again. "Commander Carter, what can I do for you, sir?" he asked, looking up at the man.

[Race Warez]

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."

"Aye, aye Ma'am" Race opened a comm channel. =^="Ensign Sweet. Science Crewman Syduc. Prepare for away team duty. Check all equipment, including standard phasers for the mission. Details to follow."=^=

Having started the first of many balls rolling, Warez got up from the sensor station and turned towards the new crewman. "Miss Volzhin. Welcome aboard!"

He bowed to her in the Spanish style and clicked his heals one time.
"I'm Lt.(jg) Warez. At least temporarily leading the science potion of this mission. Did they get your quarters squared away? I afraid the Athena isn't much on amenities but she's the fastest warp-lab in the fleet." He grinned at her in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

"Are you feeling ready to go to work? We have a team getting ready to investigate a dead-in-space Borg cube. I want full micro scans of as much Borg technology as possible, with special detail on interface nodes. Plus I'm sure the Captain has assignments for us as well. Please gather any equipment you may need, including a phaser and standby."

[Ashlynn Ren Morgaine]

[Mess Hall]

Ash had only taken a few steps when the Captain's message came through and she froze in her tracks.

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

Ash's eyes widened, and, for a split second, were filled with panic. She exhaled the breath that she had been holding and regained control of her expression, then slowly turned back towards Luke. She slowly walked back to the table and tapped her commbadge. Ash to Captain. I'm on my way. Her voice was steady, but lacked it's usual excitement; she had a pretty good idea why she was being summoned, and it was making her heart flutter in an entirely unpleasant way.

"Looks like our time relaxing is over. Think we can do this again when I get back?" She placed her hand on his arm and offered up a small, reassuring smile before trying to quickly clear her spot.

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.

Ash finished up just as Cat came over, and looked up to meet her eyes. "Yes, please." It was reassuring knowing she'd have Cat next to her the entire time. "We should get going. Don't wanna keep the Captain waiting any longer." She looped her arm through Cat's and started walking to the door.

[Transporter Room]

It wasn't long before they reached their destination. Ash felt out of place in the bustle of everyone getting ready for the away mission. Unsure of herself or what she should be doing, she spotted the Captain and made her way over. "You... um, wanted us for the away mission, Captain? What should we, er, I do?"

[Anastasia Volzhin]

"Aye, aye Ma'am" Race opened a comm channel. =^="Ensign Sweet. Science Crewman Syduc. Prepare for away team duty. Check all equipment, including standard phasers for the mission. Details to follow."=^=

Having started the first of many balls rolling, Warez got up from the sensor station and turned towards the new crewman. "Miss Volzhin. Welcome aboard!"

He bowed to her in the Spanish style and clicked his heals one time.
"I'm Lt.(jg) Warez. At least temporarily leading the science potion of this mission. Did they get your quarters squared away? I afraid the Athena isn't much on amenities but she's the fastest warp-lab in the fleet." He grinned at her in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

"Are you feeling ready to go to work? We have a team getting ready to investigate a dead-in-space Borg cube. I want full micro scans of as much Borg technology as possible, with special detail on interface nodes. Plus I'm sure the Captain has assignments for us as well. Please gather any equipment you may need, including a phaser and standby."

[Bridge]

"I was informed that I had to be squared away in a double bunk crew billet, too"

That would mean a utility belt, with a microscan-capable tricorder, a PADD, a type-2 phaser (in case they would encounter hostile Borg), but, since they would beam deep enough into the Borg cube for it to be holding atmosphere, there would be no need for an EV suit. If everything she heard about the Borg was accurate, the inside of the cube would be hot and humid, but nothing outright toxic. And possibly some extra engineering equipment on the utility belt. These items are in working order, hopefully these won't fail her. Right now her brain was getting much more active, but that might be a function of her being on an away mission for the first time, and inside a Borg Cube no less. Even the veteran instructors that survived multiple encounters are nervous when they are sent on missions involving Borg hardware or Borg forces. But she knew better than to give in to panic, however tempting it was; nevertheless, the mental effort required not to give in to panic was sufficient to give her some headaches. The reassurance of having her equipment in order is not enough.

"Should I head to a transporter room? Or am I to report to another location entirely, like a shuttle or runabout?"

She began to think about the possibility that even a dead-in-space Borg cube could still adapt to a transporter beam. It was obvious that she still had a lot to learn, but that she was willing to do the legwork. Hopefully she would be able to pull her weight...

[Constance Lafayette]

{Bridge}
Constance regarded Cadet Shepard with an approving glance. She liked a spotless uniform and she remembered being in his place as a medical cadet in one of those blue skirts...

"It's a pleasure Mr. Shepard. Like Mr. Carter said, you will be accompanying me on this away mission. While I will have the other security officers guarding the away team, I'd like you to stay by my said as my adjunct. You'll be my second set of eyes cadet so keep them peeled." She said with a confident nod.

[Transporter Room]

It was a brief turbolift ride and short walk to the transporter room. That was something she liked about the Intrepid class- they were small and ergonomically designed. No wasted space. When she'd served on the Chin'toka as its first officer it was a bit of a trek and they often had to use site-to-site transports for time-sensitive matters.

The Captain blew into the transporter room like a strong, cold, wind; refreshing but forceful.

"I will make this brief. We have been assigned, by the highest levels of Starfleet, to investigate a Borg cube that has appeared on the edge of Federation space." She paused to let this sink in.

"Though it appears to be deactivated this is, without a doubt in my mind, a trap. Very likely this trap was set specifically for us- as we detained the borg AI we named Á¢â,¬ËœDanny'. She was a prototype, an early copy, of the personality matrix of the Borg Queen."

Again, the Captain's slow but confident voice ceased to let them digest what she was saying.

"Still, the advances the Federation could make from observations made while inside an intact Borg cube are too valuable to pass up. I want everyone to observe, scan, and quantify everything they see. There will be a very detailed debrief after this. I intent to spring this trap, but not on us- but them. We are the best in the fleet, bar none, when it come to matters of scientific investigation and exploration of the unknown."

She paused and looked at the faces gathers in there. Some new, some well-tested friends.

"Together we've deciphered an indecipherable alien language, saved a world from mind-altering chemicals, performed surgery on a living planet, shone a light on Section 31, defeated our own mirrored reflection, destroyed undestroyable world-destroying meteorites, and battled pirates. There is nothing this crew cannot do. So no Borg, no statistical improbability, no half-baked AI can stop us." She asked- her voice quiet yet powerful. It had an almost shy quality that begged the listener to hang on her every word. Like a soft-spoken sage imparting advice.

"We can do the impossible." She admitted and once again looked to each and every person in the room, her gaze locking on theirs for a brief moment.

[Daniel Shepard]

[Transporter Room]
Danny was impressed by the Captains speech. It was good to know a strong leader would be in charge of evergone in this mission if the borg were involved.

"Aye, Captain, I'll look for anything suspicious but I do have a couple of questions, what kind of equipment will we be using? And what are the Athenas orders should the worse come to pass?" Danny asked with uncertainty.

God forbid if the Athena left the away team on the cube. Danny heard about the Borg and their complete and utter ruthlessness and their collective hive mind. Danny certainly did not want to become apart of that hive mind.

[Constance Lafayette]

[Transporter Room]

Constance turned to the new security officer.

"We should be able to beam in, but should it activate we won't be able to beam out to the ship. Should the worst come to pass we will have a shuttle with a signal booster and a site-to-site transporter that should be able to allow us to escape if we are close enough to it." She explained.

"I believe the only change from standard away mission gear is that we should all have a signal booster on our com badge and the phasers we have are modified with a frequency modulator. If we come into contact with borg we can cycle the frequency of our weapons. They still take a lot to go down and they will eventually catch on to the cycling, but it should afford us some time to escape or do some damage should we encounter drones."

[Anastasia Volzhin]

[Transporter Room]

After checking whether her equipment was in order back on the bridge, Anastasia felt ready to proceed to the nearest transporter room, which was a brief turbolift ride and a short walk from the bridge. She was eager to embark on her first away mission, and she wouldn't feel the same again about the Borg, regardless of what happens, that much she knew. Upon overhearing the captain talking about frequency modulators and signal booster on the combadge, she wonders whether her own phaser actually is modified with the frequency modulator. While she readily accepted the need for these two items, there was one item that her commanding officer did not mention just yet, but she feels is important for the mission's success: the pattern enhancers, to the tune of a set of three.

"Captain, if we are to equip a signal booster on our combadge, then I believe some pattern enhancers with frequency modulators are in order. Oh, sure, that would mean that we have to beam the pattern enhancers themselves back in once we are finished. I will carry those myself if necessary"

Pattern enhancers, as I understand them, serve a similar function to the signal boosters but with transporters. That way, we could possibly and maybe even dispense with the shuttle provided the Borg don't catch on to the frequency cycling on the pattern enhancers. But for them to catch on to the frequency cycling would require them to be activated in the first place. I know security will provide cover for everyone else, including me, she thought, wondering whether the higher-ups will actually roll with it. However, the shuttle should remain as part of the plan for their getaway from the derelict cube: the ship would, if the pilot did its job, maintain some distance from the cube. And not attempt to ram the cube, however tempting that is: she estimated that an Intrepid-class ramming a cube at full impulse could destroy it, if it truly was in a state of dereliction that could be described as dead-in-space, but at a great risk to the ship; even a crew foolhardy enough to try that maneuver would need to have their shields raised first.

[Race Warez]

The transporter room was crowded even before Captain LaFeyette and some more officers entered. Warez wasn't even sure the ship could manage everyone in a single beam out.

Race had hurriedly taken time to run to the armory and retrieve the special equipment needed. And being Warez he recorded each item to ensure it returned. But like most of the large team he had made it before the Captain.

He scanned the room for the science team and checked in with each of them. Ensign Sweet seemed anxious while Syduc was calm and ready.

"And Miss Volzhin. My apologies for throwing you in to things so quickly.  How are you feeling?" He took the opportunity to adjust his equipment belt as he spoke.

[Bridge]
"I was informed that I had to be squared away in a double bunk crew billet, too"

Race laughed in commiseration with the new officer. Pleased to have someone more talkative than a Vulcan around he gushed, "I spent my Ensign time in one and I'm still there. Not by choice. I'd prefer a nice starbase apartment, but out here is where the science gets done. Which reminds me, picking up those pattern enhancers was good thinking." He said sincerely. "At the very least the Captain can decide if we need them. Here. Let me carry part of them for you, please. And in any case, it's brave of you to take on this mission."

It was encouraging for the crew to hear Captain LaFayette's words, but Race was anxious to get going. Most people were coping with the idea of invading a Borg cube in their own way, but it was only a matter of time. So better to be on our way

[James Carter]

[Holodeck]

"Indeed? Guess those doors aren't quite a soundproof as one might think. Seems like I got a new project then." he said, thinking. As she said she'd been one of the fans of baseball, he nodded. "It seems for a dead sport it finds more fans all the time," he said, wondering to himself why it faded out of existance.

He noticed her examining the programming and smiled, viewing the area around as he took another ball out of his belt. "Yeah... I may or may not have spent way too much time on this programming." he said with a grin.

"How long have I? Whoo.. let's see here..." he said, thinking. It was a bit over a decade that he'd played the sport, and longer than that he'd been a fan. "Around 12 years playing, longer a fan." he said. "Played for the Pike City Pioneers for a year, actually."

He heard the summons and sighed. "Computer, save and end program." he said, as the field and aroma fell out of existence, but his umpire gear still on him. He set the mask down and it too faded out of existance, as he fetched a PADD out of his pocket. He looked it over with a frown. "Aye, feel free to hit me up anytime with baseball." He said with a smile. "Excuse me..." he said as he worked his way up to the Bridge. Aye Sir, On my way.

[Bridge]

Dylan entered and took up place at the engineering station, reading over the PADD and waiting for his orders. He didn't like it... at all. Borg were never good, and the timing of this was too odd to not be intentional. Someone was messing with them again. "Commander Carter, what can I do for you, sir?" he asked, looking up at the man.

[Bridge]

It took a moment for Dylan's words to register to him. By the time Carter had realized what he said the Captain was gone. "Right. As of this moment Mr. Torngate you are the acting first officer of the Athena and have all of the "privileges" that come with that." The word privileges was sarcastic in its tone. "The captain is leading the away team over to the Borg cube, and until she's returned I've taken command of the ship."

James paused for a moment as he walked to the empty captain's seat looking it over for a moment before finally taking a seat. "That said, I'll need you here with me for advisement. So please, take a seat." He said motioning over to the XO's seat.