Author Topic: S2 M10 - Advenæ  (Read 25812 times)

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Offline Paul Wessex

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #255 on: November 26, 2020, 05:43:54 am »
<Katra - OCC>


While he waited for the dematerialization of his physical form, Tess' question prompted Rayek belatedly to consider the method of how Kurros was holographically meeting with the embassies.  To the Romulan's knowledge, all holograms were just projections of light and energy contained by force fields.  This was done by a holographic projection system, or emitter, controlled by a computer.  In this case, it should be the station's computer.  If Kurros was using the station's projection system, it meant that the Thinker had managed to remotely hack the system, which due to Kurros' expected arrival had been prepped with additional securities.   

Alternatively, Kurros could have brought his own projection system in his shuttle and was projecting it through the station's defensive shielding which was usually up to control access to the station via transporters. 

"I recommend having Ops shut down the entire holographic projection system on the station." Such a move would surely upset the Dord the most who used the system to portray their servants.   It would also disrupt the Meridian administration; but such things were of minor consequence if it could prevent the Thinker from achieving whatever goal they intended.

"If Kurros is not highjacking our system, then he is projecting the holographic image through the station's shields - perhaps rapidly modulating their frequency can disrupt his transmission?"

His form disappeared in the swirl of a transporter effect.  Moments later, he reappeared on the station's transporter pad.  He looked to the Captain.  If it were he in charge, Rayek would order both done; but Rayek was never certain which of his recommendations the Captain would agree with, if any.

Feeling moderately miffed for the rebuffed call of co-operation by the sly Thinker, Paul couldn't fault Rayek's assessment as he rematerialised. "Captain, I have to agree - Kurros seems to have transmitted and communicated across the station with impunity. I'll have my team work with Operations to see how this may have occurred, if any of our infrastructure is somehow particularly vulnerable to his methods, but we also have to assume he's not done yet; I'll step up patrols around sensitive areas."

Paul rubbed his face, as if to scrub the tension from its skin. "Right. Guess I'll get started on final arrangements for the other diplomatic meeting." He grinned. "I can imagine there'll be a new topic on the agenda."

Offline Tess tLhoell

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #256 on: November 26, 2020, 09:32:48 am »

NPC Cadet Benjin Moreno (Flight)
[USS Healy - Bridge]

Eli stood to his feet. “Bring up all sensor information from right before the increase. Display on the main viewer.” He had noticed that he was not one to sit still. “Helm, assess possible courses they could use from their present location. If they make a break for the station prepare to follow on my mark.”
Their sensors wouldn’t give them much-the Thinkers would see to that. But, every single emission would have a path, of some kind. Energy increasing then decreasing meant an output. To where.
“Oloze, contact Katra and see if they have any energy spikes in their systems. Give them the time frame from our own sensors. Tight band, coded frequency.”

He walked up towards the viewer. "What are they doing, eh?"

The news that there was an energy spike of the Thinker's shuttle had Benjin sit up straight in alarm, expecting the small craft might break away from its position. But nothing happened - yet.

When addressed by the Captain, Benjin nodded. "Aye, sir." He began to compute the flight path from the shuttle's position to the station, considering the the speed with which the shuttle would move and then calculated the Healy's path to intercept in that event.

"Course plotted, sir", Benjin reported and then looked back at the view screen where the shuttle was displayed, waiting.

Species: Ba'ku
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Tess' biography (updated Nov 14th, 2020) - Previous name: Tess Moreno

Offline Beja

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #257 on: November 26, 2020, 12:08:22 pm »
Katra Station - Surface of Meridian to Katra

Once Kurros had left and the ‘official’ meeting had ended, Beja took out her PADD to see what the urgent message was from. Today was a day that was filled from top to bottom with challenges, that if it were one of the human sitcom shows the laugh track would have been blown out by all the different scenarios. Alas, this was not one of those sticoms, nothing would be answered and wrapped up neatly in a bow at the end of 30 minutes.

War was a real threat today. Not just with the Klingon Empire, but now with The Thinkers, and maybe the Arretans as well. That was if the information that Kurros’ replicant shared was factual. Beja suspected there were layers of truth to the information, the difficulty would be for them to find the hidden not quite truthful layers in order to make a fully informed decision.

The message had come from Zex, it appeared the Tholian meeting had been pushed up by 3 hours, but Beja was not sure why. What could have happened now?

Once Rayek had them all beamed back to Katra, Beja turned to the Captain in the transporter room, “Captain, sir, I’ve just been informed that the Tholian meeting with the Klingon empire has been moved up and is taking place shortly. I think it wise if you attended.”

Beja then tapped her combadge,  =/\=Ensign Zex, can you meet me in conference room 7 near the Klingon embassy to let me know what has taken place to move the meeting up by 3 hours? I will be there in 2 minutes.” =/\=





Offline Kirok

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #258 on: November 26, 2020, 04:31:05 pm »
Outside Tholian Embassy - Katra Station

As Eydis finished speaking, the hale from Beja came in.  "It seems that things just changed.  But I understand the change in your stance regarding the ship nonetheless" she said.

"Would you accompany me up to the meeting with Beja?  Then was can go to the meeting with the Klingons together" Zex proposed.  Then she typed the com badge.

-/\-This is Zex.  The Tholian's received a visit from one of the Thinkers.  I am with Eydis now.  We can easily meet you in conference room 7 together, unless you wish to speak to me privately-/\- she said.


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Offline Solluk

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #259 on: November 26, 2020, 11:23:20 pm »

Katra Station - Transporter Room

As the transporter shimmer dissipated, the Katra officers were deposited safely onto the station.  Solluk looked to Wessex and Rayek.  "I think you're both right.  I have to brief Starfleet Command about this right away.  Commander, get to the OCC and make sure station holo-assets are shut down, review recent computer logs for signs of systems infiltration, and go ahead and put the shields on random operating frequencies and nutation."

Beja interjected to advise him about the meeting being moved, and to suggest that he attend.  He nodded.

"Very well, Counselor.  I'll be with you as soon as I make my report to Starfleet.  Go on ahead."

Then he looked to Wessex, "While you're seeing to the security at the meeting site, see if you can pull any intel from the Diplomatic Security teams about anything unusual they may have witnessed or overheard in the vicinity of any of the ambassadors.  We won't overtly spy on resident diplomats, but any... unintentional observations... could prove vital."

With that, he headed to his ready room while everyone else was free to carry their duties forward.






USS Healy - Bridge

Aboard the Healy, a deeper analysis of sensor returns would reveal something unusual.  The lateral sensors had recorded an increase of Tetryon radiation that lasted for approximately five minutes, centered in the direction of Katra station.  This could mean that energy had been shunted from the Thinkers' shuttle into a subspace domain, only to return to normal space with Tetryon particles in its wake.  It was almost as though someone had created a subspace 'bridge' to take energy from one place to another, without passing through the intervening area. 

A further localization of the Tetryons would show that this energy emerged in several places along Deck 11... centered on the various embassies of the station.






In space near Nimbus III...




"They've jumped to an emergency warp speed," Vettice reported.  "Do not use active sensors.  Repeat: Do not engage active sensors.  It's up to our people on-board, now.  We'll trust them to do their business."

She watched as the bright flash of the high-warp engagement faded from view, thinking to herself, Come on, boys.  Do your business.  This could be the fattest payday of our lives...






Aboard the Wonderland...


Even depleted plasma from the drive systems carried a significant electric charge, so when the plasma was vented into the room, it momentarily erupted into a swirling plasma storm of crisscrossing lightning bolts confined within the metal bottle of the bay.  Had the boarders not been wearing combat vac suits, they'd have been cooked by the discharges.  But while they survived without injury, their equipment was not as fortunate.  The pattern enhancers were cooked, the circuits within them burning out.  Worse, the stimulated emissions from the crystal cargo created a field of energy that degraded the effectiveness of their heavy disruptor rifles.

The conflagration of electrified plasma lasted only for a moment, and then the competing energy impulses canceled each other out and the room reached stability.  But no sooner had that happened, than the freighter Captain was hurling himself into battle. 

The physical charge came quickly, before the boarders could recover their senses from the miniature plasma storm.  Creng was caught completely unawares.  He found himself staggering off balance with a blade in his abdomen, which had been stabbed through a weak spot between his torso plates and his waist. 

The pain was intense, and so was his response.  Unleashing a powerful backhand- enhanced by the mechanical assist motors in his combat suit- he struck out with enough force to send his opponent flying.

Norvis and Bretia tried their weapons in the usual way, but the disruptors only made rude noises to indicate that there was a technical problem.  Despite this setback, they did not hesitate for more than a second before positioning their weapons as clubs and advancing on the plucky crew members of this little freighter who had dared to engage them in the cargo bay.






« Last Edit: November 27, 2020, 02:14:05 am by Solluk »
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Offline Don Damien Addams

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #260 on: November 27, 2020, 01:40:31 am »

Katra Station - Transporter Room

As the transporter shimmer dissipated, the Katra officers were deposited safely onto the station.  Solluk looked to Wessex and Rayek.  "I think you're both right.  I have to brief Starfleet Command about this right away.  Commander, get to the OCC and make sure station holo-assets are shut down, review recent computer logs for signs of systems infiltration, and go ahead and put the shields on random operating frequencies and nutation."

Beja interjected to advise him about the meeting being moved, and to suggest that he attend.  He nodded.

"Very well, Counselor.  I'll be with you as soon as I make my report to Starfleet.  Go on ahead."

Then he looked to Wessex, "While you're seeing to the security at the meeting site, see if you can pull any intel from the Diplomatic Security teams about anything unusual they may have witnessed or overheard in the vicinity of any of the ambassadors.  We won't overtly spy on resident diplomats, but any... unintentional observations... could prove vital."

With that, he headed to his ready room while everyone else was free to carry their duties forward.






USS Healy - Bridge

Aboard the Healy, a deeper analysis of sensor returns would reveal something unusual.  The lateral sensors had recorded an increase of Tetryon radiation that lasted for approximately five minutes, centered in the direction of Katra station.  This could mean that energy had been shunted from the Thinkers' shuttle into a subspace domain, only to return to normal space with Tetryon particles in its wake.  It was almost as though someone had created a subspace 'bridge' to take energy from one place to another, without passing through the intervening area. 

A further localization of the Tetryons would show that this energy emerged in several places along Deck 11... centered on the various embassies of the station.










"They've jumped to an emergency warp speed," Vettice reported.  "Do not use active sensors.  Repeat: Do not engage active sensors.  It's up to our people on-board, now.  We'll trust them to do their business."

She watched as the bright flash of the high-warp engagement faded from view, thinking to herself, Come on, boys.  Do your business.  This could be the fattest payday of our lives...







Even depleted plasma from the drive systems carried a significant electric charge, so when the plasma was vented into the room, it momentarily erupted into a swirling plasma storm of crisscrossing lightning bolts confined within the metal bottle of the bay.  Had the boarders not been wearing combat vac suits, they'd have been cooked by the discharges.  But while they survived without injury, their equipment was not as fortunate.  The pattern enhancers were cooked, the circuits within them burning out.  Worse, the stimulated emissions from the crystal cargo created a field of energy that degraded the effectiveness of their heavy disruptor rifles.

The conflagration of electrified plasma lasted only for a moment, and then the competing energy impulses canceled each other out and the room reached stability.  But no sooner had that happened, than the freighter Captain was hurling himself into battle. 

The physical charge came quickly, before the boarders could recover their senses from the miniature plasma storm.  Creng was caught completely unawares.  He found himself staggering off balance with a blade in his abdomen, which had been stabbed through a weak spot between his torso plates and his waist. 

The pain was intense, and so was his response.  Unleashing a powerful backhand- enhanced by the mechanical assist motors in his combat suit- he struck out with enough force to send his opponent flying.

Norvis and Bretia tried their weapons in the usual way, but the disruptors only made rude noises to indicate that there was a technical problem.  Despite this setback, they did not hesitate for more than a second before positioning their weapons as clubs and advancing on the plucky crew members of this little freighter who had dared to engage them in the cargo bay.


[USS Healy - Bridge]

Kal got up from his seat and went to sensors station near the Science station. He had not wanted to dismiss the officer there. There was more screens to see at the Science station.

He had to scan the Thinker's ship and scan anything that can catch any trace in space from where they are, to the Katra and planet where the diplomatic party was

“sir there is Tetryons on level 11 on the Katra,” Kal reported to the acting Captain.
« Last Edit: November 27, 2020, 02:15:45 am by Kal »

Offline Paul Wessex

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #261 on: November 27, 2020, 08:06:47 am »
<Katra Station - Transporter Room 1>


Then he looked to Wessex, "While you're seeing to the security at the meeting site, see if you can pull any intel from the Diplomatic Security teams about anything unusual they may have witnessed or overheard in the vicinity of any of the ambassadors.  We won't overtly spy on resident diplomats, but any... unintentional observations... could prove vital."

With that, he headed to his ready room while everyone else was free to carry their duties forward.

Nodding, Paul gave his leave to Beja, Solluk and Rayek with a determined, "Aye aye. Captain. Commander. Leftenant. " but not before a quiet - but more sotto than discreet - friendly comment to the Romulan Second Officer. "Oh, and congratulations!". He lightly patted the Romulan on the back in felicitation, seemingly unconcerned with protocol with such good news, and with that he was in the turbolift car.

<Katra Station - Turbolift 1>

"Deck 11". Tapping his combadge, Wessex go to work. "=/\= Lt Wessex to Security Divisional Leads. In light of recent developments, please update me on progress to my PADD and flag any and all issues, however minor, temporary or intermittent, that you have encountered in the last two hours - System anomalies. Unscheduled arrivals at Docking Saucers. Unusual activities from our standard POI [persons of interest] pool."

The door to the lift opened, and he stepped out, continuing his conversation, allowing the AI to manage the flow of conversation without pause. "Ensign Chastain, please meet me at Deck 11, Section 7-D in 5 minutes. Thank you all. =/\="
« Last Edit: November 28, 2020, 10:11:26 am by Paul Wessex »

Offline Finn Moreno

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #262 on: November 27, 2020, 11:00:59 am »
[Aboard the Wonderland]
It soon became clear how slim their chances were against these powerful armor suits, even after the intruders had to deal with their weapons being disabled.
Unfortunately the same wasn't true for their suits. Before Finn could free the knife, a powerful, mechanically enhanced arm, backhanded him and sent him flying sideways against one of the precious cargo containers.
Out of reflex the freighter captain somehow tried to cushion his fall with his arms, but lost the other knife upon impact when his elbow hit the container.
A loud groan followed.
Momentarily his head was spinning from the blow and he needed a moment to collect himself. That's when he spotted a small, strange looking round device on the side of the container, that surely hadn't been there before.
No time for that as he had to scramble back to his feet and look for the knife, that had slid across the smooth surface.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the other raiders march towards him with his phaser elevated to bash him. Considering how much power their suits gave the creature underneath, he knew he'd better avoid being hit.

"Juraan, watch out!"

So, instead of fishing for his lost knife, he ran and ducked behind the crate. Breathing hard, Finn stood there for a moment, cradling his sore arm, but then had an idea. With a swift move he pulled the old fashioned rifle from his back, thumbed the safety off and tried his best to remember what he had learned about the weapon, that so far had only been a precious inheritance. With a bit of effort he climbed on top of the container and aimed, then fired.
Several times. Without any idea whether the bullets could even penetrate such armor suits. If not, he could still use it as a club.
« Last Edit: November 27, 2020, 05:22:30 pm by Finn Moreno »

Offline Tess tLhoell

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #263 on: November 27, 2020, 01:30:53 pm »

NPC Juraan Ren
[Aboard the 'Wonderland']

Everything happened so fast. Juraan had managed to dig the blade of his knife into one of the raiders, then he suddenly noticed a movement in the corner of his eye when Finn was thrown across the bay. Damn.

Warned that these suits provided mechanical enhancement of their movements Juraan tried to avoid being punched by them. They were definitely in the disadvantage here. It was frustrating that the spots for effective attack were so small and you needed a good portion of luck to hit the right spot. Juraan scrambled to his feet, casting a brief glance to Finn but luckily saw him getting to his feet again. Returing his attention to the boarders, Juraan tried to be nimble, hoping that these helmets they wore might be a bit of a hinderance to them.

Finn's call had him turn his head and duck his head in time before the club (rifle) hid him. Using the moment the weapon failed its target, Juraan threw himself against the man, hoping to throw him off balance and dig the knife at the spot he had injured the other one before.

Suddenly there was an odd sound - a loud bang that had Juraan turn around again to where it came from. Finn was firing an antique weapon at them - while he was in the middle. What the heck?!
Juraan believed he heard the crunch of the bullet penetrating the combat suit - but maybe it was his wishful thinking it was just the bullet scratching it. All Juraan could think of was taking cover so his Captain would not accidentially shoot him.

He had fled to the cockpit again, hiding behind the bulkhead near the door. "Cathy!", Juraan called to her, his breaths coming out in a huff. "Can you magnetize the deck plating?" He hoped the suits might cause them then to lie on their backs like an Alverian dung beetle.


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Tess' biography (updated Nov 14th, 2020) - Previous name: Tess Moreno

Offline Rayek trLhoell

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #264 on: November 27, 2020, 03:29:12 pm »
Lt Cmdr Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Katra Station - Transporter Room >>> OCC]

Katra Station - Surface of Meridian to Katra

Once Rayek had them all beamed back to Katra, Beja turned to the Captain in the transporter room, “Captain, sir, I’ve just been informed that the Tholian meeting with the Klingon empire has been moved up and is taking place shortly. I think it wise if you attended.”

Beja then tapped her combadge,  =/\=Ensign Zex, can you meet me in conference room 7 near the Klingon embassy to let me know what has taken place to move the meeting up by 3 hours? I will be there in 2 minutes.” =/\=


Katra Station - Transporter Room

As the transporter shimmer dissipated, the Katra officers were deposited safely onto the station.  Solluk looked to Wessex and Rayek.  "I think you're both right.  I have to brief Starfleet Command about this right away.  Commander, get to the OCC and make sure station holo-assets are shut down, review recent computer logs for signs of systems infiltration, and go ahead and put the shields on random operating frequencies and nutation."

Beja interjected to advise him about the meeting being moved, and to suggest that he attend.  He nodded.

"Very well, Counselor.  I'll be with you as soon as I make my report to Starfleet.  Go on ahead."

Then he looked to Wessex, "While you're seeing to the security at the meeting site, see if you can pull any intel from the Diplomatic Security teams about anything unusual they may have witnessed or overheard in the vicinity of any of the ambassadors.  We won't overtly spy on resident diplomats, but any... unintentional observations... could prove vital."

With that, he headed to his ready room while everyone else was free to carry their duties forward.

Rayek took note of Beja's report to the Captain.  His brow furrowed slightly at her mention of the meeting being moved up.  This was unfortunate. 

He hadn't yet had opportunity to check the new embassy for listening devices or other sensitive devices, nor did it seem like he'd have an opportunity the meeting now.  He'd just have to scan the room with all the attendees present.  Most didn't like having their 'little toys' pulled out and revealed in front of others.  Besides which, it limited his options to just removing the device. 

Rayek was also concerned that an immediate meeting gave Tess little time to rest.  She had already looked tired during the last meeting.

The Captain's approval of his recommendations refocused Rayek's attention back on the situation presently.  The Romulan nodded in acknowledgement of his orders.  "Yes, Captain."

He made his way up to the OCC directly, though he briefly considered stopping by their quarters to check on Tess.  He didn't because he'd just seen her via hologram not a minute before and even he realized that checking in on her so soon was bordering on the obsessive. Kurros' presence (or that of his replicant) made Rayek all the more paranoid.  Who knew what the man that really up to?

Once at the OCC, the Romulan ordered Ops to shut down the holographic system completely, and ordered the shield frequencies and nutation to be changed every 5 seconds and synchronized with the transporter emitter.  Changing shield frequency so often would limit how quickly the transporters could react in an emergency since the computers would have to time transporter activation for intervals between shifting shield frequencies.  Without the synchronization, getting caught mid-transport when the shield frequency shifted could mean only part of your atoms rematerialized.  Not ideal.

Then while Ops followed up on his orders, Rayek took it upon himself to call each of the Embassies to see if they'd had an unexpected visitor.  He contacted the Dord first. 

"tr'Lhoell to Dord Embassy." 

It took several chimes for his call to be answered.  The face on the other end of the video comm did not look happy.  "Ambassador Boz, I'm glad I caught you awake.  Due to an unforeseen issue and security breach, Katra has had to suspend all holographic system usage for the time being.  We suspect the individual responsible may piggyback onto your system.  We would kindly ask that you power down your holographic projection system until such time as we can confirm that the security threat has been neutralized - or else we cannot ensure your safety. The organization the individual is with is known to traffic people of importance - this is for your safety."  Rayek subtly stressed certain words to pander to the man's vanity hoping to gain better compliance.

"I would ask you direct.  Have you been contacted by Kurros? If so, is he still there?"  Rayek was trying to determine if any of their efforts to disrupt the Thinker were working.
 



NPC Cathy Daniels
[Freighter Wonderland]



Even depleted plasma from the drive systems carried a significant electric charge, so when the plasma was vented into the room, it momentarily erupted into a swirling plasma storm of crisscrossing lightning bolts confined within the metal bottle of the bay.  Had the boarders not been wearing combat vac suits, they'd have been cooked by the discharges.  But while they survived without injury, their equipment was not as fortunate.  The pattern enhancers were cooked, the circuits within them burning out.  Worse, the stimulated emissions from the crystal cargo created a field of energy that degraded the effectiveness of their heavy disruptor rifles.

The conflagration of electrified plasma lasted only for a moment, and then the competing energy impulses canceled each other out and the room reached stability.  But no sooner had that happened, than the freighter Captain was hurling himself into battle. 

The physical charge came quickly, before the boarders could recover their senses from the miniature plasma storm.  Creng was caught completely unawares.  He found himself staggering off balance with a blade in his abdomen, which had been stabbed through a weak spot between his torso plates and his waist. 

The pain was intense, and so was his response.  Unleashing a powerful backhand- enhanced by the mechanical assist motors in his combat suit- he struck out with enough force to send his opponent flying.

Norvis and Bretia tried their weapons in the usual way, but the disruptors only made rude noises to indicate that there was a technical problem.  Despite this setback, they did not hesitate for more than a second before positioning their weapons as clubs and advancing on the plucky crew members of this little freighter who had dared to engage them in the cargo bay.

[Aboard the Wonderland]

"Juuran, watch out!"

So, instead of fishing for his lost knife, he ran and ducked behind the crate. Breathing hard, Finn stood there for a moment, cradling his sore arm, but then had an idea. With a swift move he pulled the old fashioned rifle from his back, thumbed the safety off and tried his best to remember what he had learned about the weapon, that so far had only been a precious inheritance. With a bit of effort he climbed on top of the container and aimed, then fired.
Several times. Without any idea whether the bullets could even penetrate such armor suits. If not, he could still use it as a club.

NPC Juraan Ren
[Aboard the 'Wonderland']

Suddenly there was an odd sound - a loud bang that had Juraan turn around again to where it came from. Finn was firing an antique weapon at them - while he was in the middle. What the heck?!
Juraan believed he heard the crunch of the bullet penetrating the combat suit - but maybe it was his wishful thinking it was just the bullet scratching it. All Juraan could think of was taking cover so his Captain would not accidentally shoot him.

He had fled to the cockpit again, hiding behind the bulkhead near the door. "Cathy!", Juraan called to her, his breaths coming out in a huff. "Can you magnetize the deck plating?" He hoped the suits might cause them then to lie on their backs like an Alverian dung beetle.

Cathy continued to 'redline' the engines for every ounce of speed she could get.   Even a decimal point more of warp speed could mean the difference between escape and capture.  She couldn't be sure that the ship wasn't being followed - damn Romulans with their cloak technology! - so she assumed they were keeping up and that the one that could maintain this speed longest would survive.  Cathy intended that to be her.

The sounds coming from the back did not sound at all promising of Juraan and Finn surviving though.   Even across the whole of the ship... the impacts sounded painful.  She thought she heard Finn call out something (the words were muffled by the distance and bulkheads).

Was he calling out to her in warning?  Cathy glanced back but really couldn't see anything.  Then had the bright idea to call up the ship's internal security cameras in the cargo bay area.

Within moments, Cathy had the visual on a side screen to her helm console and she alternated watching the events unfolding in the cargo bay, and keeping watch for anything that could be used to help hide them from their pursuers.   

The 3 suited up boarders looked big and intimidating.  Cathy was kinda glad she was needed to fly the ship.  She saw Juraan grappling with one, while Finn climbed the crated cargo.  He had in hand a weapon type she'd never seen before.   The percussive recoil was loud and had Cathy flinching all the way up in the cockpit. 

The skirmish with Juraan and the red suit broke up at the gunfire, as the Bajoran took cover just outside the cargo hold.   If Cathy were in the Captain's seat rather than the co-pilot's spot she might be able to look over her shoulder to see him down below by the cargo hold door.

As it was though she could hear him call out to her. 

Magnetize the deck plating?  How the hell could she do that?

"Umm...  Sure.. Gimme a moment on that!" she called back to Juraan.

Turning back around Cathy, checked the engine status and the time at max. Three minutes so far. She hoped the ship could hold it for at least 10.

"Computer, describe step-by-step how to magnetize the deck plating of a Kaplan F17.. and keep it simple." And so began the process of Cathy learning something new.
« Last Edit: November 27, 2020, 04:10:37 pm by Rayek trLhoell »

Mrht Heis'he ehl'ein qiuu
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Offline Kirok

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #265 on: November 27, 2020, 04:39:50 pm »
Outside Tholian Embassy - Katra Station

Zex turned back to Eydis.  "Lets go ahead on up" the Deltan suggested.  She started to lead the way.

[Conference Room 7]

Zex arrived early.  She remained standing.  Unsure how long this meeting would take.

Species:  Betazoid/Vulcan.
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Offline Eli Ferris

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #266 on: November 27, 2020, 08:06:42 pm »

NPC Cadet Benjin Moreno (Flight)
[USS Healy - Bridge]

The news that there was an energy spike of the Thinker's shuttle had Benjin sit up straight in alarm, expecting the small craft might break away from its position. But nothing happened - yet.

When addressed by the Captain, Benjin nodded. "Aye, sir." He began to compute the flight path from the shuttle's position to the station, considering the the speed with which the shuttle would move and then calculated the Healy's path to intercept in that event.

"Course plotted, sir", Benjin reported and then looked back at the view screen where the shuttle was displayed, waiting.
“Excellent work. Keep a sharp eye on them.”
Eli’s voiced carried a strong level of confidence, projecting a surety that could at least stay on top of the Thinkers’ movements, even if there struggles in countering it.


Katra Station - Transporter Room

As the transporter shimmer dissipated, the Katra officers were deposited safely onto the station.  Solluk looked to Wessex and Rayek.  "I think you're both right.  I have to brief Starfleet Command about this right away.  Commander, get to the OCC and make sure station holo-assets are shut down, review recent computer logs for signs of systems infiltration, and go ahead and put the shields on random operating frequencies and nutation."

Beja interjected to advise him about the meeting being moved, and to suggest that he attend.  He nodded.

"Very well, Counselor.  I'll be with you as soon as I make my report to Starfleet.  Go on ahead."

Then he looked to Wessex, "While you're seeing to the security at the meeting site, see if you can pull any intel from the Diplomatic Security teams about anything unusual they may have witnessed or overheard in the vicinity of any of the ambassadors.  We won't overtly spy on resident diplomats, but any... unintentional observations... could prove vital."

With that, he headed to his ready room while everyone else was free to carry their duties forward.






USS Healy - Bridge

Aboard the Healy, a deeper analysis of sensor returns would reveal something unusual.  The lateral sensors had recorded an increase of Tetryon radiation that lasted for approximately five minutes, centered in the direction of Katra station.  This could mean that energy had been shunted from the Thinkers' shuttle into a subspace domain, only to return to normal space with Tetryon particles in its wake.  It was almost as though someone had created a subspace 'bridge' to take energy from one place to another, without passing through the intervening area. 

A further localization of the Tetryons would show that this energy emerged in several places along Deck 11... centered on the various embassies of the station.
[USS Healy - Bridge]

Kal got up from his seat and went to sensors station near the Science station. He had not wanted to dismiss the officer there. There was more screens to see at the Science station.

He had to scan the Thinker's ship and scan anything that can catch any trace in space from where they are, to the Katra and planet where the diplomatic party was

“sir there is Tetryons on level 11 on the Katra,” Kal reported to the acting Captain.
“Son of a…” Eli swore inwardly. Outwardly he took steps to analyze the on screen data presented.
“Alert Katra immediately to our findings. Saqa7, adjust our sensors to alert any tetryon emissions, regardless of how small. It might give use some clues as to where they are sending energy.”
Eli stepped back towards his seat to consider the read outs. Tetryons usually indicated working inside subspace, possibly for communication purposes. Could they jam it? And how would the Thinkers regard it? Possibly an act of aggression, if he were to guess. They were an odd bunch.
“Status of the shuttle since that surge, Mr. Jimrec?”

Offline Solluk

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #267 on: November 28, 2020, 01:46:36 am »



Katra Station - Dord Embassy



Director Boz glanced to one side, then he returned his attention to the viewscreen where Rayek was speaking to him.

"It is thoughtful of you to reach out, Commander.  Let me deactivate our holoprojectors now..."  Boz touched something on a panel offscreen, and a series of numbers briefly flashed on the screen.

01001011 01110101 01110010 01110010 01101111 01110011 00100000 01110111 01100001 01110011 00100000 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00101110 00100000 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 00100000 01110101 01101110 01110011 01100001 01100110 01100101 00101110

"I am unfamiliar with this 'Kurros.'  I'm not sure what you are ascii of me?"





Katra Station - Deck 11


=/\= Aye, Sir.  On my way. =/\=

The response came immediately to Wessex' query, followed by another:

=/\= This is Ensign Patrice in the Promenade.  Sir, I was about to report an oddity.  I saw the Numati ambassador in the small kiosk cluster on the lower level, and was keeping an eye on him.  Well, sir, he must have activated some kind of portable holographic communicator, because a man appeared next to him, but a quick scan I conducted showed no lifesigns.  Just light, heat, and sound.  They had a brief conversation, and then the apparent hologram vanished.  Sir... I know we're not meant to eavesdrop on the ambassadors, but I happened to be running that scan I mentioned earlier.  It was just in case the man was an intruder, I promise.  I didn't know it was just a hologram, Sir.  Anyway... I got it all on my security tricorder. =/\=






USS Healy - Bridge

Sensor readouts coming into bridge consoles would show various changes occurring.   The unusual particle activity on the station had now ceased completely.  However, the Thinkers' shuttle was showing a new energy increase.   It seemed the warp core- or whatever passed for an energy core on that craft- was suddenly generating a massive spike of energy.  It was unclear what this energy might be for, but usually an energy buildup of this nature was used either for propulsion or weapons systems.






SS Wonderland

The cargo bay filled with a staccato sound that had been seldom heard in modern times.  The antique rifle's bolt began reciprocating as it thundered forth with its pointy bits of supersonic lead.  The thunder was inconsistent, however.  One was louder, one was quieter.  The ammo was as ancient as the gun, and its chemical explosive charge had not been kept perfectly preserved over the ages.


Four bullets ricocheted loudly off of Norvis' breastplate.  One of them cut a hole in Juraan's clothing, miraculously missing the actual flesh of his body by millimeters.  Two bounced like angry bees around the cargo bay interior, their movement eventually consumed without hitting anything precious.  The final bullet bounced right into the flexible collar between Bretia's head and collarbone. 


Bretia reached up to grasp her neck, a gout of blood spilling from between her gloved fingers.  She gurgled, staggered, and fell to the deck.  Her eyes, visible through her helmet, opened wide in fear as her mouth invisibly opened in a silent scream.  Gradually, the light left those eyes.  They became dull and distant, no longer illuminated by the spark of life.


Creng was untouched in the exchange, though blood ran down the hip and leg of his combat suit from the blade still stuck into his abdomen.  He had enough knowledge of combat medicine to know it could be disastrous to dislodge the knife.  Instead, he fought on.  Wielding his useless disruptor like a baseball bat, he advanced and swung it at Juraan's head. 

Moreno's rifle finally found a weak primer and failed to fire, jamming. 

Norvis charged forward, bounding over cargo bay obstacles that might separate him from his target.  Rather than swinging his heavy disruptor rifle, he thrust it towards the Wonderland's owner/operator.  The rifle came forward like a fighting staff, buttstock-first, clearly aimed to crush the man's throat.


 
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Offline Finn Moreno

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #268 on: November 28, 2020, 03:23:44 am »
[Aboard the Wonderland]

There was no satisfaction when one of the intruders was hit by a bullet, not even relief because two more were here attacking Finn and Juraan, who made a run for the cockpit.

Inwardly Finn cursed the man for this cowardly move because the freighter captain would be left to fight two men in armor by himself. The injured one followed Juraan, swinging his phaser, though.
"Cathy, dooor!" He yelled on top of his lungs.

Again Finn aimed the old, loud weapon, but it jammed.
"Nonono!" Feverishly he tried to load again and shoot but nothing happened. Nothing but a phaser being thrust at him with incredible force. At the last second he moved to the side to protect his throat but caught it with his shoulder and was thrown backwards off the container.
At the bottom he landed in a heap, the rifle still in his hands as his only weapon.
The impact knocked the air out of him for a seemingly very long time.
Lying there on his back, he could see the lights overhead swimming. Then the raider came in his line of vision.
With both hands Finn lifted the rifle and a leg to block his blows. He was well aware that he was in a really bad spot now. Finn was only human and pretty afraid but that fear fueled his adrenaline.
Then he spotted the knife....30 feet away.
So he kicked his foot against the raider, got to his knees, then feet to try and reach it first.
« Last Edit: November 28, 2020, 02:01:09 pm by Finn Moreno »

Offline Catherine Goodspeed

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Re: S2 M10 - Advenæ
« Reply #269 on: November 28, 2020, 05:53:10 am »
Katra Station Enlisted Mess Hall / Replimat (Deck 7)

 Gossip.

 There was no power in the universe that could stop it.

 On every planet, in every system, in every quadrant, gossip would move as fast as whatever brain electrons could muster and sweep through cities like Yridian whispers at transwarp drive.
 
Cat was on her lunch break  in the Mess Hall and was enjoying a rather well replicated extra crisp French baguette spread with room temperature butter, layered with medium thick breaded ham, cold thinly shredded iceberg lettuce, cold thinly sliced cucumber with 1/4 teaspoon of cracked black pepper and table salt.
 
That was the only issue with replicators, you sometimes had to be oddly specific with your food requests otherwise it only led to a sadly disappointing lunch.
 
She was in mid chew when her friends and colleagues Petty Officer Torbjorn Gustafsson and Emily Parker slid into 2 empty seats on her table with their lunch choices which consisted of some strange pickled fish with cold potatoes and rye bread for Gus and a small sad grilled chicken and salad for Emily. 
 
Cat eyed both plates and mentally hugged her baguette.
 
They ate in silence for a few moments before Cat swallowed to speak.  "What?  What is it?"
 
Gus looked at her with a false air of innocence "I don't know what you mean Chief!"
 
"I know you, you're literally splitting at the seams to tell me something... What is it so I can enjoy my lunch.."
 
Gus and Emily looked at each other and both leaned into Cat like leeches on a fresh cut.
 
Emily was the first to spill "Oh. My. God!  The Thinkers are back!
 
"It's true Chief.. Beamed down to have a chat with senior staff... No idea where... Just beamed straight in...."
 
".. Don't know what was talked about but it's them again..."
 
Cat stared at both in turn.  "You're pulling my leg..."
 
"No Chief, honest!  Emily told me who got it from Chris from Cargo who got it from his mate who got it from...."
 
Cat waved her hand "Don't tell me!!  You know the rules, never snitch on the gossip source! You never know who's listening!"
 
Dear gods. The Thinkers.
 
The memories of her last encounter with them bubbled from the surface like air trapped in a thick stew. 
 
So many dead. 
 
So many people scarred physically or mentally. 

So many repercussions.

So much chaos.
 
Even if people hadn't died, some had left the station, possibly never to return again, like Lt John Saxon.
 
As much as the Federation's foremost approach was "Diplomacy First" Cat sometimes wondered if that was the best approach.
 
Sometimes Diplomacy worked.
 
Sometimes Diplomacy needed to be sent to a morgue filled with freshly dead low ranking Federation staff and made to sit amongst their silently judging corpses until it had written out by hand "Sometimes being nice doesn't work" 4,000 times.
 
Cat hadn't realised it but upon hearing the news she had been staring at an empty corner of the Mess Hall, tightly clutching her lunch until some cucumber slices had fallen to their death on her plate.
 
Gus touched her arm to bring her back to reality.  "Chief.. You OK?  We lost you there for a bit"
 
Cat shook herself and smiled.  "Fine my dear.. Just thinking.  Was it actually one of them or did the cowards send a clone?"
 
Emily screwed her small nose up in disgust "A clone they reckon"
 
Gus pointed his fork at Emily whilst chewing on a large piece of pickled mackerel.  "Makes sense, I mean why go yourself when you can sent a perfectly replicated copy in your place"
 
Cat took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. All 3 ate in silence for a while.
 
It was the normally quiet Emily that broke it. "I wonder if they can feel any pain their clones feel?
 
Gus shook his head "I doubt it, can't imagine they don't give a flying fig about their clones or what they can feel.."
 
Cat put the remainder of her baguette on her plate, her appetite somewhat diminished.
 
"That's a damn shame, always wanted to find out how much pain one of those Thinkers can take just by the use of an ion chisel and hot salted water spray..."
 
Gus and Emily looked at the Chief in surprise
 
"That's a very specific method to want to try Chief. And a bit disturbing if I may say so"
 
Cat picked up a mug of strong English tea, very hot, 2 sugars and milk and took a large gulp.
 
"I'm a very specific woman Gus and had a long time to think about it".   
 
Cat smiled like the animal of her nickname from Cheshire. "It's not like I want to kill them... Just hurt them.. Hurt them quite a lot".


Never turn your back on a species with tusks, teeth or claws sharper than your own wit.

 

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