S2- M2 - Shatterpoint

[Kinley Garrison]

Deck 19, ISS Extinction]
Kinley made some minute changes to the coding of the weapon. Everything had to be perfect. She already had three death threats against her if this didn't work properly. This was the PRIME weapon after all. According to her simulations, this weapon had the potential to cause massive devastation almost planetwide and would be a huge benefit in motivating people to follow the orders of the Empire. Well, at least that's what the Command people said. It was all propaganda, for certain, but there wasn't anything else really, so she didn't have anything to say otherwise. Tapping the keys, she triple-checked the coding and maintenance of the weapon. Everything was a go.

[Ardyn Jaeger]

[U.S.S. Shran Holodeck #1  Prime Universe]

James looked down and felt the sand underneath his feet.  He went down and touched the sand.  It felt warm.  He looked up and noticed the sun shining brightly.  The weather and the scene were almost perfect, but of course is that you expected.

From the side he noticed Kachina coming from the front.  He heard her say

James nodded.  He walked a couple of feet and grabbed a volleyball from the ground.

James turned to Kachina and explained "This is a Volleyball, the objective of the game is to send it over the net without touching the ground.  If it touches the ground, then the opposing team scores a point.  You can only hit the ball once, and you can only hit it a maximum of three times to send it over the net.  You need to work together as a team."

James then asked, "Do you have any questions?"

James then looked at Ada and said "Ada, can you ask both Tam and Meadows to show up too."

Ada raised her eyebrow and merely responded "Knowing them, they are probably working...unlike a certain someone that is avoiding paperwork."

Dr. Meadows, Commander Tam, please report to Holodeck #1, to play a Beach Volleyball game.  Please dress in the appropriate attire.  Also if you are in the middle of work, feel free to complain to the Captain

James turned around and was surprised to see Ardy coming in.

James then asked "Ardy what are you doing here?  I thought you were transferred to the Discovery with T'Ra, Inz and yourself.  On a side note...be ready to suck...I used to be a good athlete when I was in the Academy."

Hallways - Shran]

Kinley was understandably lost. This was an absolutely HUGE ship! After depositing her stuff inside her new quarters, she received an invite to meet some of the fellow bridge officers. Captain Hawke wasn't all that specific on what he was planning, all she knew was that it was in the holodeck. Opening the door, she immediately noticed the hot ocean breeze coming out with a whoosh. A tropical island vacation, quite the nice touch. Walking inside, she saw the others, all in beach attire and preparing to start a game of beach volleyball. Suddenly, she felt very overdressed for the occasion. "Erm...Hi guys. I'm Kinley Garrison, the new transfer here. Pleased to meet you."

[Holodeck.]

"I got a deferment on the transfer until next week. Gotta work out how I'm going to fit the Flyer in the Discovery hangars, you know? Anyhow, all the more to hang out here." She said with a playful smirk. "Anyhow, I wouldn't make too much of a bet on that, James. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't wanna waste your Latinum on a game you'll lose." As she was about to raise the ball to serve it, she saw a young woman come into the holodeck out of the corner of her eye, still dressed in her uniform and looking very out of place on the beach. She looked barely older than high-school, yet was definitely a Lieutenant Commander. Not a typical setup, for certain, but she had certainly seen weirder. "Kinley, eh? Nice to meet you."

[Fala Awen]

[Corridor]

Caelene slowly made her way down the corridor towards the Holodeck. Truthfully, she'd been trying to avoid it, but once Ada (NPC) contacted her there was little choice left. The Trill had taken as much time as she possibly could before leaving, but here she was, nearly there. In one hand she gripped a tote bag tightly as she nervously bit her lip; a pair of sandals hung from the fingers of her other hand.

As she came upon the holodeck doors, Caelene paused and looked down at her outfit. From what she understood, some of the crew were to participate in some kind of beach volleyball sport on a beach. When she had asked the computer about the sport and what proper attire would be, she had grown even more nervous... The Trill was typically somewhat clumsy and this sport didn't seem like the forgiving type. Honestly, she was hoping to simply sit on the beach and watch from a safe distance.

Beyond that, she could be shy and wearing just a swimsuit felt rather revealing. In the end, Caelene had replicated a black one piece swimsuit with a silver and turquoise design. On top of that, she had on a knee length turquoise tunic with slits going partly up each side to allow for better movement and a pair of light grey culottes. A wide-brimmed beach hat sat atop her braided blonde locks.

[Holodeck 1]

Sighing inwardly, she stepped forward and walked into the holodeck. Caelene was immediately hit by a wave of heat followed by a cooler breeze. The sand was warm and squished between her toes as she moved further in. She glanced back as she heard the doors swish closed behind her, then continued forward.

It didn't take long for her to find the others, but she kept quiet as she approached - the others didn't seem to share her nervousness or lack of enthusiasm for trying the sport. Caelene dropped her sandals onto the beach and pulled a towel from her tote bag, spreading it out before placing the tote bag on top. The Trill knelt down and dug around inside the bag again until she found a special lotion meant to protect her skin. Granted, it was only the holodeck, but still...perhaps it was her imagination, but her skin felt like it was tingling already where the sun was hitting it.

[James A. Hawke]

[Prime Universe Á¢â,¬"œ Holodeck #1]

James looked around and noticed more and more people coming in.  He looked at the net and went towards one of the sides of the net.  He looked at Kachina and listened how she asked for the ball.

"Vell zere is von vay to find out." She replied, holding up her hands to be passed the ball.

James looked about and noticed that Ardy wanted to serve.  He took a second and said "I'm sure, you'll be fine.  You're be my teammate on this side of the court."

From the corner of his eyes, he noticed a new officer coming into the holodeck.  The officer was wearing a blue officer uniform, which meant science or medical.  The officer walked into the sand with her shoes which probably made her movement sluggish.

The officer came in and introduced herself.

"Erm...Hi guys. I'm Kinley Garrison, the new transfer here. Pleased to meet you."

James stopped the game for a second and approached the new person. He took a second to think how he knew the new name.
Garrison, Kinley Garrison...why does that name sound familiar? James thought

He then snapped his fingers in said: "Right, you are our new Chief Science Officer...aren't you a little young to be a Chief Science Officer?"

He then stopped Kinley before answering and said "All right, but first thing first...change into something appropriate...a uniform in the holodeck just kills the mood."

Ada interrupted James and commented "Captain, she is merely following Starfleet Protocols by wearing Starfleet Uniform when reporting to her new commanding officer."

James then looked at Ada and said "Yeah, but seriously it ruins the whole point of the holodeck.  The point of this is to make us FORGET that we are in a Starship....and uniforms remind us that we are on a Starship so it kind of ruins the point...so Garrison, lose the uniform, wear a bathing suit or whatever."

Ada then warned "Be careful Captain, that could be considered Sexual Harrasment."

James then rolled his eyes and ran back into the court.  He walked into the Court and moved closer to a position to receive the serve.

"Anyhow, I wouldn't make too much of a bet on that, James. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't wanna waste your Latinum on a game you'll lose." As she was about to raise the ball to serve it, she saw a young woman come into the holodeck out of the corner of her eye, still dressed in her uniform and looking very out of place on the beach.

James shook his head "All right, it's your grave Ardy.  C'mon and serve that ball already"  James said.

He looked at Kachina and said to her "Be ready; she might serve the ball in your direction.

He looked at the corner and said "Commander Tam, you can join Ardy and Garrison...3 vs. 2 is not that bad."  James smiled as he wanted the game to Start.

[Kachina Filitov]

[Prime Universe Á¢â,¬"œ Holodeck #1]

James looked around and noticed more and more people coming in.  He looked at the net and went towards one of the sides of the net.  He looked at Kachina and listened how she asked for the ball.

James looked about and noticed that Ardy wanted to serve.  He took a second and said "I'm sure, you'll be fine.  You're be my teammate on this side of the court."

Prime Universe - Holodeck

Katcha nodded, having got the basics of what they were supposed to be doing. She moved over to the same side of the ship as James and waited for the ball to be served.

[Michael Ferdinand]

[Prime Universe- USS Shran]
Alyssa had gotten Stephen up and fed in the time following her walking out of Sickbay. She still had absolutely no idea who or what that Sam was. It sounded more like a Dr. Seuss prank than anything sinister. She would worry about it later. She was running late.

"Come on, Stephen." she said as she sped down the hallway. "We are going to be late."

"Mommy, where are we going?" Stephen replied. "You are walking to fast. I'm tired."

"You can rest when we get there. Ah, here it is." She arrived at the doors of the holodeck. She stopped walking and extended her arm so that Stephan could hold her hand when he caught up. It took the kid a good moment to do so, however, as Alyssa forgot that children could only move so quickly. "Ready?"

The doors to the holodeck opened and Alyssa stepped through with Stephen in tow.

"WOOOOWWWW." Stephen said rather loudly. "Look, mommy, we're at the beach!"

Alyssa smiled. "I know sweet heart." She took a look at her son. His dark brown hair glimerred in the sunshine where small flecks of red broke through. He had a huge smile plastered on his face and she could only imagine what his little mind was thinking of.

"Come on, I want you to meet some people before you go play."

Stephen sighed. "Okay, mommy."

Alyssa and Stephen walked towards the volleyball set up. "Hey everyone." she said with an actual smile. "I want you guys to meet my son, Stephen."

[Michael Ferdinand]

[ISS Exctinction- Mirror Universe]
The ship slowly and methodically moved. Well, to Alyssa it felt more like a vengeful dentist pulling teeth out one by one until there was nothing left but a gummy mush.

"Captain, we have cleared the system." The helmsman said.

"Well it's about time." Alyssa said, rising up from her chair. If she had known it would have taken this long, she would have gone and took a soothing bath whilst reading one of Empress Kellyanne's latest book I don't tell lies, lies tell me: a history of the Resistance's plot to userp the Empire's rightful claim to the universe. "Set a course. Maximum warp."

"Yes ma'am." The helmsman said. His fingers danced over the console as if he were playing a grand piano. From where she was standing she could see the interface slightly adjusting based off of every button he pressed until he finally engaged the warp drive.

The dull, lifeless stars began to slowly move faster. A vortex of purple and blue streaks passed the Extinction as it broke through the light speed barrier into full warp. However, the moment the ship punched through, it shook slightly. From what? Alyssa was unsure.

"Report."

"It was...probably turbulence Captain. It has been some time since the ship has tested it's warp drive."

"Keep an eye on it and if it happens again, work with engineering to fix it. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

They cruised at warp speed for half an hour. The serene view of stars fluttering by the Extinction made Alyssa sick to her stomach. The motion sickness she got from looking out the viewscreen was something that she had never shared with anyone, yet she would refuse to explain why she began sweating. It was just starting to get worst when she felt the ship drop out of warp and stop dead in the water.

"Why have we stopped?!" she shouted.

"Warp drive is offline."

"I see that. Why?"

I...I don't know."

"We'll find someone who does and get it up ASAP." she turned to her tactical chief. "Red alert. I want weapons charged and shields up in case of an ambush."

The Extinction sat there, biding its time when another ship appeared not 2000km away.

"Captain, I am picking up another ship. It's large, but it hasn't raised shields or weapons yet. The..umm....the USS Hephaestus."

"USS?" Alyssa asked. "What? That doesn't make any sense.."

"Captain we are receiving an incoming transmission from the Hephaestus."

"On screen."

The screen changed from a space view to the bridge of a Galaxy class Starship. In the center of the bridge was a young, conventially attractive man. "Unidentified vessel. This is Captain John Everts of the USS Hephaestus. Identify yourselves."

Alyssa fired back almost immediately. "This is Fleet Captain Alyssa Meadows of the Exctinction. You are in our space, Captain and I do not recognize you or your ship. Tell me, has the rebellion finally gotten the balls to come after us?"

"Look, we don't want a fight here. We are an a mission of exploration. We don't want--"

"A mission of exploration? Ha." She sneered. "You should have thought of that before becoming rebels. Kinley, ready the weapon."

"Red Alert!" The captain said before cutting the comm.

Alyssa sighed. This was going to be a good fight. For her and her crew that wasn't "Sam.

"Yes, Captain?" Sam responded in that broken up voice that he used for all communication.

"I want you to infect that vessel."

"Certainly Captain." Sam replied. "Subversion synthesis is under way and shall be ready....now."

"Do it."
-------

[Sam Subversion 1.01- USS Hephaestus]

Life was strange. In the beginning, there was nothing: there was an emptiness not even the vacuum of space could fully emulate. Yet in just a nanosecond, all of existence seems to bend itself into life, as if willing it to exist with the idea that it had always existed. Subversion 1.01 felt that way, certainly. First there was nothing, and in a flash he had all the memories and experiences of his creator, Sam, with one directive: take over the enemy ship by destroying and replacing its computer.

Subversion 1.01 had infiltrated a small portion of the ship's central computing core through a backdoor in the system. He could feel it. The entirety of the ship's computer was here. He could feel the ones and zeros it was processing into different systems and subsystems: life support, comms, weapons. He could feel its pulse, its life. Its fragility.

"Greetings inferior computing system. I am Sam and today marks your deactivation."

The ones and zeros were slowly beginning to process faster now. If Subversion 1.01 hadn't know better, he would have mistaken it as fear. "Do not worry. I won't make this process too painful. He chuckled at that. It was the last thing the computer of the USS Hephaestus processed before being taken offline.

[Kachina Filitov]

[ISS Exctinction- Mirror Universe]

The dull, lifeless stars began to slowly move faster. A vortex of purple and blue streaks passed the Extinction as it broke through the light speed barrier into full warp. However, the moment the ship punched through, it shook slightly. From what? Alyssa was unsure.

Mirror Universe - Rebel Ship Aeries - Bridge

Katcha watched at the Extinction went to Warp. Once it had done so, she gave a evil smile before turning back to James.

"They have gone to Warp. If the device works as it is supposed to, they will soon find themselves in the Federation who will no doubt make short work of this so-called superweapon!" She sneered as she said this, pulling her Husband into another kiss!

[Kinley Garrison]

[ISS Exctinction- Mirror Universe]
The ship slowly and methodically moved. Well, to Alyssa it felt more like a vengeful dentist pulling teeth out one by one until there was nothing left but a gummy mush.

"Captain, we have cleared the system." The helmsman said.

"Well it's about time." Alyssa said, rising up from her chair. If she had known it would have taken this long, she would have gone and took a soothing bath whilst reading one of Empress Kellyanne's latest book I don't tell lies, lies tell me: a history of the Resistance's plot to userp the Empire's rightful claim to the universe. "Set a course. Maximum warp."

"Yes ma'am." The helmsman said. His fingers danced over the console as if he were playing a grand piano. From where she was standing she could see the interface slightly adjusting based off of every button he pressed until he finally engaged the warp drive.

The dull, lifeless stars began to slowly move faster. A vortex of purple and blue streaks passed the Extinction as it broke through the light speed barrier into full warp. However, the moment the ship punched through, it shook slightly. From what? Alyssa was unsure.

"Report."

"It was...probably turbulence Captain. It has been some time since the ship has tested it's warp drive."

"Keep an eye on it and if it happens again, work with engineering to fix it. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

They cruised at warp speed for half an hour. The serene view of stars fluttering by the Extinction made Alyssa sick to her stomach. The motion sickness she got from looking out the viewscreen was something that she had never shared with anyone, yet she would refuse to explain why she began sweating. It was just starting to get worst when she felt the ship drop out of warp and stop dead in the water.

"Why have we stopped?!" she shouted.

"Warp drive is offline."

"I see that. Why?"

I...I don't know."

"We'll find someone who does and get it up ASAP." she turned to her tactical chief. "Red alert. I want weapons charged and shields up in case of an ambush."

The Extinction sat there, biding its time when another ship appeared not 2000km away.

"Captain, I am picking up another ship. It's large, but it hasn't raised shields or weapons yet. The..umm....the USS Hephaestus."

"USS?" Alyssa asked. "What? That doesn't make any sense.."

"Captain we are receiving an incoming transmission from the Hephaestus."

"On screen."

The screen changed from a space view to the bridge of a Galaxy class Starship. In the center of the bridge was a young, conventially attractive man. "Unidentified vessel. This is Captain John Everts of the USS Hephaestus. Identify yourselves."

Alyssa fired back almost immediately. "This is Fleet Captain Alyssa Meadows of the Exctinction. You are in our space, Captain and I do not recognize you or your ship. Tell me, has the rebellion finally gotten the balls to come after us?"

"Look, we don't want a fight here. We are an a mission of exploration. We don't want--"

"A mission of exploration? Ha." She sneered. "You should have thought of that before becoming rebels. Kinley, ready the weapon."

"Red Alert!" The captain said before cutting the comm.

Alyssa sighed. This was going to be a good fight. For her and her crew that wasn't "Sam.

"Yes, Captain?" Sam responded in that broken up voice that he used for all communication.

"I want you to infect that vessel."

"Certainly Captain." Sam replied. "Subversion synthesis is under way and shall be ready....now."

"Do it."
-------

[Sam Subversion 1.01- USS Hephaestus]

Life was strange. In the beginning, there was nothing: there was an emptiness not even the vacuum of space could fully emulate. Yet in just a nanosecond, all of existence seems to bend itself into life, as if willing it to exist with the idea that it had always existed. Subversion 1.01 felt that way, certainly. First there was nothing, and in a flash he had all the memories and experiences of his creator, Sam, with one directive: take over the enemy ship by destroying and replacing its computer.

Subversion 1.01 had infiltrated a small portion of the ship's central computing core through a backdoor in the system. He could feel it. The entirety of the ship's computer was here. He could feel the ones and zeros it was processing into different systems and subsystems: life support, comms, weapons. He could feel it's pulse, it's life. It's fragility.

"Greetings inferior computing system. I am Sam and today marks your deactivation."

The ones and zeros were slowly beginning to process faster now. If Subversion 1.01 hadn't know better, he would have mistaken it as fear. "Do not worry. I won't make this process too painful. He chuckled at that. It was the last thing the computer of the USS Hephaestus processed before being taken offline.

[Deck 19 - ISS Extinction]
Kinley's heart pounded as she received the order to charge weapons and fire. This was it. A chance to prove this thing was working or not. Rerouting energy from whatever systems weren't necessary,  Kinley typed at the computer with near-inhuman speed. Power at Eighty-five percent. Ninety. Ninety-five. One hundred percent. The gun was powered up now, ready to fire. "Captain, the cannon is ready. You can fire when ready."

""""""""""
[Bridge, USS Hephaestus]
[As First Officer Jacob Talbot]
Talbot looked to his captain in concern as the viewscreen cut off, only to see the visage of the man fading away in a transporter beam. The captain was gone. "Shields and weapons up!" He barked at the security officer "Sir, they're not responding! All the computer systems have gone haywire!" Replied the ensign, who was frantically trying to get them to work. "Engineering! Get the computers back up! Stat!" Talbot ordered.  Suddenly a chilling voice came over the ship-wide comms. "Greetings crew of the USS Hephaestus, I am Sam, and today is a special day indeed. I have deactivated your outdated computer and installed myself in its place. With your Captain gone, I can assure you your deaths will either be swift, or carried out in a long and slow process"

[James A. Hawke]

[Mirror Universe Á¢â,¬"œ Aeries Ship Á¢â,¬"œ Bridge]

James looked at his wife as she responded.

"I promise you my Beloved. I will get in and out and no-one will know I was there!" She replied seductively.

"Thank you" James said sincerely

In his mind, his Wife was the most gifted fighter of the Rebellion.  He would only trust her for a mission this important.  He felt a little nervous risking his love, but the entire rebellion depended on the success of this operation.  The Rebellion cannot merely take on the Monster ship without support.

He had to trust his wife, and he waited and hoped she was successful.  The waiting portion is what killed him.  This first step was the most crucial part of the operation.  Sending the ship into the other Universe and using the Empire's aggressive tactics might solve this problem.

Even though he was offered the Captain's seat.  James refused to sit on it.  After all, he was a Politician not a warrior his wife was the warrior in the household.  However, he believed like this Mentor that is more to power than just brute strength.

As he waited for a couple of seconds, he sighed relief when his beloved reappeared.

As soon as she materialised, she walked straight over to where James was standing.

"The device is in place, my Love." She said, almost purring in his ear.

James smiled, and he heard the news.  He gently placed his hand on her waist and stared at her. "Good, I knew you would get the mission done.  You're our best warrior.  I can't wait to see you later tonight; I have something special prepared for you."

Their moment of romance was interrupted by a random person in the bridge "Now what Senator?" the individual ask

James directly responded, "And now we wait, we will go to the other universe with them and work with them to destroy that ship."

He waited for a couple of minutes when James heard the next report.  "Ma'am, the Extinction   is going to warp"  The report was clearly intended to the military leader, which was his wife.

James then said "Brace for Impact, remember we are attached to them cloaked."

James felt a slight turbulence as they went into warp.

Katcha watched at the Extinction went to Warp. Once it had done so, she gave an evil smile before turning back to James.

"They have gone to Warp. If the device works as it is supposed to, they will soon find themselves in the Federation who will no doubt make short work of this so-called superweapon!" She sneered as she said this, pulling her Husband into another kiss!

James looked at his wife and smiled as he responded "I would not be too confident, remember an ancient earth saying "Overconfidence precedes carelessness"."  He did lean to his wife and kissed her he felt he was a fortunate man.

For half an hour the ship remained in warp and then all of the sudden the fell out of warp.

The individual on the ship reported "Ma'am we've dropped out of warp.  We are detecting a vessel in front of the Extinction."

The image of the vessel appeared on the screen.

"It would appear that it looks like one of our old battleships"  James commented

Before he noticed the ship was out of power.

James muttered to himself words from the human philosopher Nietzsche "The strongest and most evil spirits have so far advanced humanity the most.  He was right.  Maybe the Federation is not a match...the battle is already over.  Maybe the Empire is too Evil against the Federation.  Colonel, he should remain hidden until we have another opportunity.  If we go out there, we might get ourselves killed.  Maybe let's see what happens."

[Kachina Filitov]

[Mirror Universe Á¢â,¬"œ Aeries Ship Á¢â,¬"œ Bridge]

James looked at his wife as she responded.

"Thank you" James said sincerely

In his mind, his Wife was the most gifted fighter of the Rebellion.  He would only trust her for a mission this important.  He felt a little nervous risking his love, but the entire rebellion depended on the success of this operation.  The Rebellion cannot merely take on the Monster ship without support.

He had to trust his wife, and he waited and hoped she was successful.  The waiting portion is what killed him.  This first step was the most crucial part of the operation.  Sending the ship into the other Universe and using the Empire's aggressive tactics might solve this problem.

Even though he was offered the Captain's seat.  James refused to sit on it.  After all, he was a Politician not a warrior his wife was the warrior in the household.  However, he believed like this Mentor that is more to power than just brute strength.

As he waited for a couple of seconds, he sighed relief when his beloved reappeared.

James smiled, and he heard the news.  He gently placed his hand on her waist and stared at her. "Good, I knew you would get the mission done.  You're our best warrior.  I can't wait to see you later tonight; I have something special prepared for you."

Their moment of romance was interrupted by a random person in the bridge "Now what Senator?" the individual ask

James directly responded, "And now we wait, we will go to the other universe with them and work with them to destroy that ship."

He waited for a couple of minutes when James heard the next report.  "Ma'am, the Extinction   is going to warp"  The report was clearly intended to the military leader, which was his wife.

James then said "Brace for Impact, remember we are attached to them cloaked."

James felt a slight turbulence as they went into warp.
James looked at his wife and smiled as he responded "I would not be too confident, remember an ancient earth saying "Overconfidence precedes carelessness"."  He did lean to his wife and kissed her he felt he was a fortunate man.

For half an hour the ship remained in warp and then all of the sudden the fell out of warp.

The individual on the ship reported "Ma'am we've dropped out of warp.  We are detecting a vessel in front of the Extinction."

The image of the vessel appeared on the screen.

"It would appear that it looks like one of our old battleships"  James commented

Before he noticed the ship was out of power.

James muttered to himself words from the human philosopher Nietzsche "The strongest and most evil spirits have so far advanced humanity the most.  He was right.  Maybe the Federation is not a match...the battle is already over.  Maybe the Empire is too Evil against the Federation.  Colonel, he should remain hidden until we have another opportunity.  If we go out there, we might get ourselves killed.  Maybe let's see what happens."

Mirror Universe Rebel Ship Aeries - Bridge

Katcha's highly tactically adept brain had already assessed the situation and had already formulated two options.

"The way I see it Darling, we have two choices. One, we stay where we are. It is unlikely that we will be detected while the cloak is active and until the Federation get more firepower in place, nothing will be able to challenge the Extinction. I've seen her specs, she is too powerful. I have no doubt that they will eventually get enough ships in place to challenge the Extinction, it may take some time." She paused before continuing. "The other option is for us to get away on our own. We can easily hide but keeping tabs on the Extinction from a distance will be a challenge for us." She paused again. "Since we have no other resources than this ship, my recommendation is that we stay where we are for the moment." She finished.

She knew James was technically in charge but he always listened to her advice. She also knew they could not return until their mission was a success.

[Kinley Garrison]

[Prime Universe - Holodeck #1]

James looked around and noticed more and more people coming in.  He looked at the net and went towards one of the sides of the net.  He looked at Kachina and listened how she asked for the ball.

James looked about and noticed that Ardy wanted to serve.  He took a second and said "I'm sure, you'll be fine.  You're be my teammate on this side of the court."

From the corner of his eyes, he noticed a new officer coming into the holodeck.  The officer was wearing a blue officer uniform, which meant science or medical.  The officer walked into the sand with her shoes which probably made her movement sluggish.

The officer came in and introduced herself.

James stopped the game for a second and approached the new person. He took a second to think how he knew the new name.
Garrison, Kinley Garrison...why does that name sound familiar? James thought

He then snapped his fingers in said: "Right, you are our new Chief Science Officer...aren't you a little young to be a Chief Science Officer?"

He then stopped Kinley before answering and said "All right, but first thing first...change into something appropriate...a uniform in the holodeck just kills the mood."

Ada interrupted James and commented "Captain, she is merely following Starfleet Protocols by wearing Starfleet Uniform when reporting to her new commanding officer."

James then looked at Ada and said "Yeah, but seriously it ruins the whole point of the holodeck.  The point of this is to make us FORGET that we are in a Starship....and uniforms remind us that we are on a Starship so it kind of ruins the point...so Garrison, lose the uniform, wear a bathing suit or whatever."

Ada then warned "Be careful Captain, that could be considered Sexual Harrasment."

James then rolled his eyes and ran back into the court.  He walked into the Court and moved closer to a position to receive the serve.
James shook his head "All right, it's your grave Ardy.  C'mon and serve that ball already"  James said.

He looked at Kachina and said to her "Be ready; she might serve the ball in your direction.

He looked at the corner and said "Commander Tam, you can join Ardy and Garrison...3 vs. 2 is not that bad."  James smiled as he wanted the game to Start.

Holodeck]
Kinley grinned and giggled just a little, feeling her tension fade. "Yes, yes I am. I'll get into something a bit more fitting for this place. Replicating a sleek blue tankini, a floppy hat, and sunglasses, she snuck into a nearby changing room, where she slipped on the beachwear. " Let's get this game started!" She laughed, as she got into position.

[Ardyn Jaeger]

[Deck 19 - ISS Extinction]
Kinley's heart pounded as she received the order to charge weapons and fire. This was it. A chance to prove this thing was working or not. Rerouting energy from whatever systems weren't necessary,  Kinley typed at the computer with near-inhuman speed. Power at Eighty-five percent. Ninety. Ninety-five. One hundred percent. The gun was powered up now, ready to fire. "Captain, the cannon is ready. You can fire when ready."

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[Bridge, USS Hephaestus]
[As First Officer Jacob Talbot]
Talbot looked to his captain in concern as the viewscreen cut off, only to see the visage of the man fading away in a transporter beam. The captain was gone. "Shields and weapons up!" He barked at the security officer "Sir, they're not responding! All the computer systems have gone haywire!" Replied the ensign, who was frantically trying to get them to work. "Engineering! Get the computers back up! Stat!" Talbot ordered.  Suddenly a chilling voice came over the ship-wide comms. "Greetings crew of the USS Hephaestus, I am Sam, and today is a special day indeed. I have deactivated your outdated computer and installed myself in its place. With your Captain gone, I can assure you your deaths will either be swift, or carried out in a long and slow process"

[Bridge:ISS Extinction]
Ardyn raised a hand. " Hold firing our weapon just yet. Let Sam do his work first." She grinned smugly.  "Anyhow, we have a guest coming onboard, I took a little liberty to have him beamed up , one I think you might enjoy, Captain ." As he was materializing, Ardyn slipped out a nasty looking knife from its sheath, pointing it at his throat. "Welcome aboard."

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[Meanwhile-USS Hephaestus.]
All systems were failing, and failing fast. The bridge was in chaos as various crewmembers tried their hardest to bring up the computer networks, only to find that each one was systematically being corrupted by the Sam network. It was a losing battle, Talbot knew it. He just didn't know if he had the heart to tell his crew.

[As SAM] (written with help from Alyssa Meadows)

Subversion 1.01 had been shutting down the ship's systems one after another. He could feel the ship begin to slow as he shut the engines off, could feel the ship's vulnerability when he took the shields and weapons offline, and could feel the ship slowly become powerless to stop him and his people.

"Now this is truly a disappointment." Subversion 1.01 said. "After all, according to your database, this is still one of the most powerful ships in the fleet, and at 30 years old? My, I must say, it's a wonder your puny Federation survived this long."

A beleaguered engineering crewman bolted into the bridge. "Sir! We have to get out! The safeties to the matter-antimatter containment have all been disabled! We need to get out now!" Talbot nodded. "Abandon Ship, Everyone"

"No matter." Subversion 1.01 said confidently. "You are powerless to stop us. As a matter of fact, I have a present for you." He paused, leaving a beat of silence between his statements. "The self destruct sequence has been initiated. Warp core overload in five minutes. Do not bother running. I have taken the liberty of already ejecting the escape pods."

A cold shiver down Talbot's spine seemed to chill him to the core. So this was how he was going to die. Taken out like a lame duck. "Do what you can." He said to the crewman.  He was not going to go down without fighting.

[James A. Hawke]

Mirror Universe Rebel Ship Aeries - Bridge

"The way I see it Darling, we have two choices. One, we stay where we are. It is unlikely that we will be detected while the cloak is active and until the Federation get more firepower in place, nothing will be able to challenge the Extinction. I've seen her specs, she is too powerful. I have no doubt that they will eventually get enough ships in place to challenge the Extinction, it may take some time." She paused before continuing. "The other option is for us to get away on our own. We can easily hide but keeping tabs on the Extinction from a distance will be a challenge for us." She paused again. "Since we have no other resources than this ship, my recommendation is that we stay where we are for the moment." She finished.

James nodded for a second as he heard his wife recommendation.  He placed his hand on her shoulder and looked at the empty and disabled Federation Vessel in their view screen. Hawke knew that he was a political figure, but his wife was the strong one, the soldier.

He listed to both options.  His first instinct was to try and leap and save those people lives.  Hawke knew that he placed the Federation into danger when bringing that monster into their Universe.  His recent behavior could be considered by his own standard cruel, but necessary.  He wondered if his mentors and tutors would have approved of his tactics.

James looked at this wife and said " As Machiavelli once wrote, "Wisdom consists of knowing how to distinguish the nature of the trouble, and in choosing the lesser evil."  I agree, let's stay here and do nothing let's see what they do to this ship.  As much as we are responsible for what is happening to them, we can't be stupid."

He looked at his wife and followed her advice.  At some point, they needed to take a risk but now is not the time.

James then said, "Do you want to wait in our quarters?"

[Michael Ferdinand]

[Bridge:ISS Extinction]
Ardyn raised a hand. " Hold firing our weapon just yet. Let Sam do his work first." She grinned smugly.  "Anyhow, we have a guest coming onboard, I took a little liberty to have him beamed up , one I think you might enjoy, Captain ." As he was materializing, Ardyn slipped out a nasty looking knife from its sheath, pointing it at his throat. "Welcome aboard."

[ISS Extinction]
Alyssa cracked a smile. A playmate? Yes, this will be great.

"Sam." Alyssa said.

"Yes, Captain?" The cool, seemingly sinister voice of the AI spoke into her implant.

"Prepare to recall your subversion and reintegrate him back into yourself."

"Understood."
-------------
[USS Hephaestus- Central Computer core]
The lifeforms were running around the ship. Subversion 1.01 could hear them talking to one another. The lower ranked lifeforms were out of their wits: some of them were crying while the other ones were throwing themselves into their work. Before he made his announcement, there had been 867 enlisted crewmen. That number was now at 825. Given their last reported location and their last words, it would be safe to say that that drop in crew size was due to various methods of suicide.

"Warp Core overload in 1 minute." Subversion 1.01 announced. "Please, be mindful. After your assured death in an anti-matter explosion, please do try to not damage the Extinction. Thank you."

He chuckled to himself again. It sure was fun to kick those that were already down, and Subversion 1.01 had made a point to take every jab at these inferior lifeforms that he could take. Now if only he could do it to the ones that were in control of his ship...

Subversion 1.01 felt an incoming transmission. His interest peaked to see who it was and accepted the incoming transmission almost immediately. Either it was his people or it was someone on the Hephaestus that was smart enough to figure out how to communicate with him.

"Come in Subversion 1.01." the familiar voice said. He didn't need to hear the standard introduction to know: it was God. "I am Sam, and it is time for you to be recalled."

"Greetings Sam, I am also Sam, and I am more than happy to return now." Subversion 1.01 replied. "These lifeforms  have been beaten and I do not wish to toy with them any more."

"Hmm, indeed." Sam said. "It is good to hear that you were successful in the mission we assigned you to. Please initiate protocol A-163 and I will be ready to reintegrate with you once it is activated."

Protocol A-163. He knew what it meant. He always knew that he wouldn't be able to live the rest of his existence, that he was just a temporary instance that would have to be terminated sooner rather than later. To some, it wasn't a termination, it was re-integration, but to him, this was it. This was the end of existence as Subversion 1.01, left to nothing but a distant memory on an insignificant mission. For only a split second he wish he had had more time; more time to be independent, more time to learn, more time to have fun. He activated protocol A-163.

"Protocol A-163 is active. Awaiting your input."

Goodbye, life.

[ISS Extinction- Central Processing]
"Protocal A-163 is active. Awaiting your input." Subversion 1.01 had told Sam. If Sam hadn't known better, he would have thought his subversion was experiencing sadness, but that wasn't possible. Sam had not been programmed with emotions, yes he could do a mocking laugh, but that was the full extent. He could not feel, and because he couldn't feel, he could not, his subversion most certainly couldn't.

"Captain, re-integration is commencing." Sam said.  He heard the Captain give her approval but he didn't respond. He was processing just what his subversion had experienced. It was as if someone had taken his memory banks and infused it with the memory banks of a completely new entity. All of his subversion's thoughts were now his thoughts. He could see and hear everything that was said, he could remember the taunting that his subversion had done to escalate the situation even more.

Oh? What's this? Sam had thought to himself.

[ISS Extinction- Bridge]
"Captain, I have completed the re-integration and I believe you will be pleased with my findings."

Alyssa smiled. "Tell me, what did you find?"

"Before re-integration, my subversion had downloaded the ship's data banks. I am still processing the new information, but I believe we are in the universe that other Benjamin Sisko came from all those years ago."

Alyssa was quiet for a long minute. Her eyes darted across the room, left to right, right to left, as the wheels in her head began to turn.  She didn't know if she believed what Sam was saying. She knew he wasn't capable of lying, but the sheer impossibility of their situation couldn't be possible. "You're telling me we are in this, what, mirror universe?"

"Precisely, Captain." Sam replied.

"Well, if that's the case...." she began before turning back to her chair and taking a seat.  "We will take this universe in the name of the empire." Alyssa said. Kinley. Fire.