Star Trek: Theurgy

Star Trek: Theurgy | Season 1 => Episode 05: Courage is Fear | Part 2 => Topic started by: Auctor Lucan on August 26, 2018, 04:57:14 PM

Title: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [D06|0840]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on August 26, 2018, 04:57:14 PM

CHAPTER 03: KNIFE'S EDGE | DAY 06 | 0840 hrs.


“If we're going to be damned, let's be damned for what we really are.”
― Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Commanding Officer of the USS Enterprise

(https://orig00.deviantart.net/041e/f/2018/237/f/7/archeron_azure_nebula_by_auctor_lucan-dcl43e7.png)
Mission Log, stardate 57556.08. It was in November last year that we began the hunt for the Theurgy, and over the course of the past five months, she and her traitorous Captain has continued to elude us. We thought we finally had her at Starbase 84, only to learn they had found allies in an alien species that had eluded the notice of the Federation. Clearly, Ives exploited the poor creatures, sacrificing them so that the Theurgy might escape. Truly, Ives' deceitful nature knows no bounds. It was with great regret that I had to destroy that fleet of saucers, since judging by the destruction dealt upon the starbase alone, it is clear that the Theurgy must be stopped at all cost.

Now, finally, we might have chance.

The present half of Task Force Archeron intercepted one of their subspace messages in the Azure Nebula forty minutes ago, and since then, the noose is tightened around one of the Theurgy's vectors. The others are surely present, but spread out as far as they seem to be, they are weaker than when operating in a coordinated unit. They have tried to elude us, to fool us, using probes and armed torpedoes in their wake to discourage us. They have tried to infect our computers again with subspace messages, but since Theta Eridani IV, we know what the Theurgy's A.I. can do. We will not be left adrift again, having spent a weak in futile repair and computer purging efforts as we did. No, we have offered one chance at surrender, and they have forsaken it.

After the damage done to the First Minister, and the loss of the Telemachus and Captain Slayton, I have discontinued the random search pattern and ordered all ships to move in a net. Why? To catch this elusive fish in the murky nebula, we now move in a relay network, which enables communication inside the nebula despite it's nature. My ships do not drift apart far enough to loose communication with the ships closest to them. As soon as we sight the Vector again, we can converge on the coordinates without delay.

Despite further attempts, I have yet to receive word from the other half of the Task Force, led by Captain th'Veral on the Ark Royal. We have not received any transmissions from any of the eleven ships since yesterday, and I fear that something might have happened to them. Could it be that the Theurgy are so widely spread apart in the nebula, that they enountered them, and were contaminated by the A.I. once more? The only proof of life was a single warp probe, which bore the markings of the Kusanagi. I had the contents of the message sent to my command chair, but when I opened it, it was empty, and even when Ops pried the thing open, it seemed like there hadn't been any message there to find either. My best guess is that the A.I. scrambled the data inside the probe, so that we couldn't learn where they had engaged the Theurgy.

I guess we will never learn what the probe said. I can but pray for the lives of the people on all those ships, and hope we can come to their aid, should the worst have happened.

― Admiral Ian Sankolov, Commanding Officer of USS Archeron

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All
[Show/Hide]
Hands at her sides, Jennifer Dewitt had came to a stop in front of the bridge crew, her green eyes finding Trent's.

"What say you, Captain?"

Neither option she had presented was palatable, but with the detonation of the USS Thames, they did have a chance of escaping, before they drifted into the kind of sensor range that would make it impossible to avoid detection, leaking a modicum of plasma as they still were. Perhaps the other Vectors might pick up on the encrypted message Trent had ordered to leave behind, before Task Force Archeron discovered their arrival? In the soup of the nebula, it seemed unlikely, but there was still hope in that, even if the broadcast would likely be lost. As it were, with no warp capabilities and no cloak to hide them, it was only a question of time before either of Admiral Sankolov's ships found them.

Staying, there was the hope that - in the remaining 20 minutes - the other Vectors would arrive, even if they hadn't during the previous two RVs. This was the last one. The last chance for the Theurgy to reassemble. If they couldn't it was each Vector on their own, all having the same, independent mission, to continue what they had begun. The primary objective of the Continuance Protocol was survival, regardless what had become of them all.

"The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth," she said, looking at Trent, and knowing that he might be emotionally compromised in this moment, knowing as she did about his personal loss of Heather McMillan, and how their Commanding Officer had wanted to prepare the crew of the Helmet for an infiltration mission aboard the Savi dreadnought - completely in disregard to what Ives' orders had been, and what the Protocol entailed. Luckily, she had managed to talk Trent out of it at that time.

Yet what of this moment, when their Captain stood to loose any chance of getting Heather back?

Would he do the rational thing, and leave, while they still could, or were the lives aboard Vector 01 worth nothing compared to the single one he wished to save?

Dewitt hoped he would see reason... lest she might have to tell the bridge what she knew, and relieve Trent from command. She really hoped she wouldn't have to do that, since even if she was confident in such an action, the timing for it was as catastrophic as it was necessary.

In three minutes, they would enter sensor range of the starships ahead of their trajectory, and all their lives hung in the balance.



Meanwhile, elsewhere on the ship, Drauc T'Laus had made Dyan Cardamone an offer, having learned of the plights she'd suffered aboard the Theurgy, and in Engineering, the officers there were desperately trying to keep the Vector's warp core from failing them, and to make the Reman cloaking device activate without further compromising their position in the nebula.

(https://orig00.deviantart.net/8f02/f/2018/237/6/8/vector_01_plasma_by_auctor_lucan-dcl43dm.png)


OOC: Now begins the final part of these events! In this part of the nebula, regular shields are operable by 50 %, with some emitters still needing to keep out some radiation. Passive sensor range limited to 10 000 meters. Next poster: @CanadianVet, after he has posted, a seven day response time begins for all.

This is the starter for Chapter 03: Knife's Edge. This thread features the last 20 minutes when the Helmet waits for the other Vectors in the third and final Rendezvous. All Supplemental Threads that are started between characters on this Vectors will have to be set before this time of 0810 hrs. on Day 06, but not afterwards, and they should also be posted on the Part 1 board. Just like in the interregnum, Supplemental one-on-one threads are started at your leisure! Supplemental threads should be named CH05: S [DXX|YYYY] Insert Title, and can extend as far back as right after the battle with the Versant and all the way up to 0810 hrs on Day 06, where the third Rendevouz began.

Main Bridge & Deck 01:
[Show/Hide]
Known staff on the Helmet: [Show/Hide]
Inbound ships from Task Force Archeron: [Show/Hide]
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [Day 06 | 0840 hrs.]
Post by: CanadianVet on August 26, 2018, 11:36:21 PM
[ Commander Carrigan Trent | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @The Ostrich @Triton @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @JayLatte te @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe

What say you, Captain.

Dewitt's question was sharp, perhaps more than was proper, but he was willing to let that pass given the situation.  But when he met her eyes, he saw the doubt there.  He knew of her stance with regards to his preferred course of action and that weight hung, invisible and unsaid in the air.  And what followed, stating a Starfleet officer's duty was to the truth.  And that brought the ghost of a mirthless smile to Trent's lips for a mere heartbeat; he recalled the conversations about truth he had held with Jien Ives. 

His pale grey eyes locked with this XO's and in them, alongside a cold flame of determination and focus, danced fear and doubt and grief.  And the remembered horror of nightmares that plagued him even when he no longer slept.  But in the end it was that implacable focus that won out.  "Until Engineering reports a stable warp drive, we can't go anywhere," he simply replied. That was something that needed no further explanation; everyone on the Bridge knew about the warp core damage and how attempting to go to any kind of sustained warp velocity was liable to breach it and kill them all with a flash that would put the heart of a star to shame.  That, and it was just moments past he had given orders to shut it down to effect emergency repairs and perform a crash restart. 

But that did not mean they were out of the woods just yet.  The Task Force was arraying itself in such a way as to comb the area, going for a methodical, close sweep rather than the broader dispersal that had endangered its ships.  So, it would seem the damage to the First Minister had not done much to slow them down.  How many dead, for nothing, harshly thought the man in the command chair.  Well, what was done was done. 

They still needed to move, try to get themselves out of the way, buy themselves more time.  Thruster wash would light up the nebula like a flare; the impulse drive's emissions would put a beacon on their hull.  And going to warp just now was simply not going to happen.  But they needed motive power... and an idea dawned on him.  "Bridge to shuttlebay, if you haven't gotten all the physical work done, get into suits and prepare for decompression.  Do everything else you can remotely."  Then he called up a display of the ship, and he sectioned off a portion of all decks on the port side.  "Ops, evacuate these sections, seal them off from the rest of the ship and override all internal doors, emergency bulkheads and pressure doors in the area to keep them open.  Once that's done, open Airlock Beta 29 exactly... one point seven centimeters.  Simultaneously, you will open a half-meter square portion in the top, port-side corner of the shuttlebay's atmospheric forcefield.  Helm, your part will be the exhaust thruster fuel, unlit, through the lateral RCS thrusters."

It was a long shot, but it would buy them some time.  Not much, but hopefully enough for the engineers to finish what they were doing.  "Mister Arisaka, keep us hidden.  If we are hit with active emissions, bring up the reactive arrays and disrupt the return signals, make it look like natural distortion within the nebula.  Commander Marquez, an open engagement is our very last resort.  Though should it come down to it, your priority is to take out the Archeron.  All other targets are secondary."  And with Sankolov dead, there's a chance the next officer in line will be willing to entertain a proper surrender, with guarantees of treatment and trial as enumerated in Starfleet regulations as well as Federation and interstellar law.

And still, he was not done.  "Ensign Eloi-Danvers, call up the message that was sent earlier through the MVAM link and upload it to the Thames.  Remotely program her comms suite to broadcast it on all frequencies, maximum power, Priority 1, encrypted with the vectors' unique keys just before she goes to warp."

And finally, he called up the very heart of his vessel.  "Engineering, this is the Bridge.  Mister Suq, I understand these things take time, but I need you to expedite repairs and restart on the warp core.  Cut every corner that won't kill us outright, bypass redundant tests and diagnostics, I don't care.  But get me warp power."  But the alternative, or we are all dead, remained unsaid.

Carrigan Trent had never been a particularly devout man.  He recognized there were powers greater than mortals out there, but in his whole adult life, he had never beseeched them.  But now, he did.  Please, don't let me be wrong.  Let us live.  Let us find the others.  Let me see Heather again. 
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [Day 06 | 0840 hrs.]
Post by: FollowTomorrow on August 27, 2018, 01:24:03 AM
[ Lt. Jg. Suq Reylin Efreya-Xan | Jeffries tubes behind the warp core | Vector 01 ]

"Engineering, this is the Bridge.”

Suq’s brain didn’t properly register the words at first. Rather, he heard an annoying sound coming from the vicinity of his chest and he waved his hand about, as if he could swat away the sound and continue on. He was standing in a jeffries’ tube, most of the wall tore out to expose the main EPS and cooling pipes that lead to and from the warp core. At his feet were a variety of thick, heavy canisters, and he had installed a huge, thick, black coiling lattice around the EPS vent. It was terribly long, but thankfully modular and easy to carry up here. He was in the midst of installing an ‘IV’ into the pipe when Trent interrupted him.

That’s it, that’s Trent’s voice, isn’t it?
“Mister Suq, I understand these things take time, but I need you to expedite repairs and restart on the warp core.  Cut every corner that won't kill us outright, bypass redundant tests and diagnostics, I don't care.  But get me warp power."

He was still on autopilot. It took him a while of just standing there to realize he ought to talk back, and keep working. He thumped his chest with a hardness, he could feel it in his lungs.
“...” He stood there, his jaw open. Words were boiling in his mind but they were not coming out. Instead, his hands finished with the shunt and started hooking up one of the canisters.
“...I’m gonna break Thea a bit.” He warned.

And so, he filled the lattice he installed with a mix of dangerous chemicals that together made an extremely effective supercoolant more befitting of the Breen than the Federation. The plasma, sufficiently cooled, would no longer flow directly to the warp core and overload it’s temperature. Coolant would still leak, but to hell with it. It’s a dumb coolant anyway.

After overseeing the successful transfer of the supercooling mixture from canisters to lattice, making sure nothing exploded, he left the setup as it was and walked, casually, back to main engineering.
"If it feels cold, don't turn the heat on."


[ PO Dyan Cardamone/Sar-Unga Neleo | "Thea's room" | Vector 01 ]

“Wait--” the Asurian woman stopped in her tracks, her mind whizzing and whirling like a teacup ride at a fair turned up to 11. She’d already tried to leave with her own kind and did not do so. Now, she could leave again. But would there be strings attached? She briefly thought of her former lover, trying to push himself on her, how satisfying it was to sock him right in the face.

“You...can get me off the ship. And you’re offering to do so.” She repeated, trying to understand her own wild waterfall of thought. Questions bubbled up, so many questions-- “Where exactly would we be going? How would we be getting there—why are you offering this to me? What’s in it for you?” What about the parasites? Her brain silently demanded.

She felt it acutely. She may not be able to see them, but she knew the parasite menace was there. War was on her doorstep.

Would she answer the call?
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [Day 06 | 0840 hrs.]
Post by: Triton on August 27, 2018, 10:27:43 AM
[Lt Cdr Leon Marquez | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @The Ostrich  @JayLatte  @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe


  "Bridge to shuttlebay, if you haven't gotten all the physical work done, get into suits and prepare for decompression.  Do everything else you can remotely. Ops, evacuate these sections off from the rest of the ship and override all internal doors, emergency bulkheads and pressure doors in the area to keep them open.  Once that's done, open Airlock Beta 29 exactly... one point seven centimeters.  Simultaneously, you will open a half-meter square portion of the shuttlebay's atmospheric forcefield.  Helm, your part will be the exhaust thruster fuel, unlit, through the lateral RCS thrusters."

The wait was killing Leon, much as any direct hit or mistaken order from the center seat could. His time, tenure, trials and tribulations in, out around and away from the center seat had all prepared him for moments of truth like this one. Experience had taught him indeed to stand his ground unless the orders were compromised, or chance of crew survival relative to a mission's ultimate outcome were outweighed. The scales, bleak as they weighed here and now were beyond Marquez's control.

"Mister Arisaka, keep us hidden.  If we are hit with active emissions, bring up the reactive arrays and disrupt the return signals, make it look like natural distortion within the nebula.  Commander Marquez, an open engagement is our very last resort.  Though should it come down to it, your priority is to take out the Archeron.  All other targets are secondary."

If Exposing the parasite could be done, there was a glimmer of hope for redemption, vindication and indeed hope itself. Otherwise, Leon would still rather incinerate any Parasite field officer in range than let this legacy of their ship go unpunished or their mission to reveal the truth die unchallenged if the other Vectors didn't arrive. That made the confirmation of Leon's prepared orders that much more difficult to utter, "Tactical ready, Captain." Too bad negotiation was not an option; only the comfort of peace only victims of crows' nest eqiuvalents would judge in this eternal infinite tomb called space.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: BZ on August 29, 2018, 12:16:10 AM
[Zyrao Natauna | Bridgin' Ain't Easy |  Time to Make Moves |  Dance You Fuckers, Dance | Snack Time, Anyone?]
@Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Triton

Trent being unhappy with her suggestions was nothing new.  It was no skin off her back and she wasn't even remotely surprised.  She had told him that it wouldn't be a popular option, nor was it likely to be implemented.  “Just listing your options, T.” she said with a bit of a shrug of one shoulder.  The tattooed skin around her shoulder shifting against the muscles of her body.  The fact that he agreed that the cloak needed to be less a priority and instead a pocket idea for the future was nice.  At least he could see the merit in other people's ideas.  She hadn't been sure, earlier, that he could.  He took her other idea, the Shuttle Decoy, and twisted it to work a bit better with the anti-matter pods that would simulate a core breach. 

I give him props for that.

Zyrao shifted her weight.  She was a strong woman, and she didn't mind standing but after a while the joints just ached.  It was best to shift around so that the fluids and muscles would have a chance to move.  Stretch out the tendons and the body when she could do so.  It was time to make decisions.  It was time to go into action.  Shit had to go down, and they had to make the hard choices.  Or rather Trent did.  He was the one that had to decide to pull the trigger, to follow her advice, or to come up with a stellar plan with a less percentage chance of turning them all into atoms.  Now it was the time to see if the upstart in the center seat had an actual brain between the ears. 

Love to take bets on that, could make a killing.

Sometimes, Zyrao tickled herself.  She smirked slightly at her own mental joke but she kept herself quiet as she folded her arms across her chest.  Dewitt was asking the hard questions, waiting to see what the man was going to do.  It was time for him to make the fun choices.  In the set of his shoulders, Zyrao could tell that it wasn't an easy decision to make.  To her, there was only one decision that was the 'most right' because none of them were going to be without casualties.  But then, that was life, and this was battle.  There wasn't a battle fought that would not include casualties.  There was no limit, no number, nothing that would fully have a tally of the lives that would be lost. 

Greater good was in the eye of the beholder, and had nothing to do with right or wrong.

Trent burst into action and began barking his orders about.  Zyrao shifted off the holo computer where she had been leaning for the time being and found herself the replicator.  When she had last eaten, she wasn't aware, the cookies she supposed that the Security Ensign had kindly brought her earlier.  Such a dear, she would have to look him up later, he seemed to be receptive to her charms and she hadn't even fully turned them on yet.  Someone like that could be rather lucrative.  She replicated herself a small bowl of the Klingon snacks she most enjoyed.  Bits of fruit, the very fruit she had been eating when she had conversed with Ives and Martok not all that long ago.

Yet somehow it seems like it was eons ago. she mused to herself.

Returning to her spot on the holo computer, she watched the feed.  Training it as best as she could on the shuttle because she was most interested in how that plan worked out more than anything else.  Snacking, using only her fingers, she munched on the fruit and watched everything unfold.  Then a thought occurred to her. 

“Computer, show me the schematics for Acheron.” she stated in her native El-Aurian.  The melodic language slipping off her tongue beautifully.  Those around her would be able to understand her anyway with the UT doing it's job without even having to be initiated.  Fancy part of having a ship like this.  Once the Schematics came up on the screen in front of her she began to poke about.  Deck by deck to look for a vulnerable place where they could actually attack the ship with the minimal number of casualties.  She might be an old War Hero.. or veteran, whatever someone wanted to call it, but she didn't go about wishing the genocide of entire ships. 

She still mourned, secretly, in the back of her mind the loss of the Hakkarl that she had called home for so many years.  Many of those Klingon were family.  She had yet to allow herself the down time to mourn or really process.  She pushed it to the back as she did many other tragedies in her life.  Tears solved nothing.  Neither did anger.  None of those feelings would solve a damn thing.  It was best to fuck with later when she was alone and not on a Bridge full of people.

Chewing slowly on the fruit she worked her way through the computer lay out deck by deck.  Come on you fucker, I know you have a weakness.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Stegro88 on August 31, 2018, 06:11:54 AM
[ Tesserarius Lorad | Vector 01 Engineering | Deck 06 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @chXinya @Auctor Lucan @Triton @CanadianVet @Blue Zephyr @JayLatte @FollowTomorrow @The Ostrich @Brutus @Absinthe
[Show/Hide]


Lorad hissed again as he moved his arm the wrong way. He had almost managed to ignore most of the pain that the plasma burns were causing every time he moved the limb but then he would move just the wrong way and it would flare up again.

He and the two crewmembers he had ‘recruited’ had been working on assembling a new Reman cloaking device that had an enlarged capacity from what was left of the Apache’s. They had replicated components as necessary or salvaged what they had too from the old device; namely the control chip and interface board. Working on the basis that the cloak’s maximum size and output were designed for the Apache, and the section of the ship he was on was about 20 times larger; they had built the cloak to have a maximum field size 600 metres long.

They had been fitting the last components when Lorad heard a cracking sound and a moment later, an EPS conduit in the wall near them exploded. The male crewmember helping them had taken the brunt of the blast on his back and right side while Lorad had taken a glancing hit to his left arm and side. That doctor hologram was now kneeling next to the male while Lorad and the female worked to fit the last component.

“That’s it,” the female declared as she finished connecting the component. “The cloak is finished.”

“No,” Lorad said through gritted teeth. “Control chip. It thinks its Apache. It must think Theurgy.”

“I can’t reprogram it,” the female responded, seeming to grasp what the Reman meant. “I don’t know how.”

“Get her,” Lorad ordered as he pointed at the back of Selena Ravenholm. “She can.”

“I hope so,” the female replied as she got up from where she had been kneeling.

“I have done all I can do for him here,” the holographic doctor said as he signalled to another crewman. “Take him to sickbay,” he commanded before turning to look at Lorad. “You should report there too. You have 2nd degree plasma burns.”

“Later, after ship safe,” Lorad retorted as he looked down at the completed device. He didn’t know if it would work. The PADD with the specifications said it should work but who knew if it would. Or what the consequences of its use would be.

“As you wish.”


[OOC] Have discussed with @chXinya about reprogramming the chip. So it's Selena's turn now.  :)
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: chXinya on September 06, 2018, 05:04:28 AM
[PWO Selena Ravenholm | Vector 1 Engineering | Deck 6 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy] attn: @FollowTomorrow @Stegro88

Having moved over to the console F’Rell had pointed to with her tail, Selena kept trying to balance out the flow rates from the matter and antimatter injectors.  It was much harder than one would think: same amount of matter and antimatter reach the dilithium chamber at the same moment, but these streams weren’t from a water faucet.  Two separate series of magnetic constrictors kept the flows in check, but if any one of them were off it would throw the entire intermix out with disastrous results.  A quick glance at the system showed the analyst that this was a job normally left to the computer.  The balance coding was right at the top level and easily accessible, but with all of the damage and strain on the core it was having trouble optimizing the streams.

Selena’s fingers jumped from one input to another, brow furrowed as she had to bounce between adjusting the subroutines so that they could take over again and manually adjusting the magnetic constrictors on the fly.  Somehow she’d managed to keep them from exploding into quantum vapor in a runaway annihilation reaction so far, and the computer was doing better at cancelling out sudden spikes with every passing minute.  “I think I have it.  Computer should regain full control of the matter/antimatter streams in just another minute or two.”  Who knew that heuristic data processing algorithms would work on controlling a warp core?

Watching the final variables click into place, Selena started the upload when someone called out to her from behind.  Turning to look, she saw one of the engineers by the cloak waving her over.  “Yell if you need need me to work on the core.” she throws at the flying eel.  There wasn’t much more she could do at the moment anyways, but a dead core will definitely kill them, while a dead cloaking device only makes it easier for others to kill them.

Bounding over to the cloaking device, the woman who waved her over held out a PADD.  Lorad was busy looking at something inside the device so it was up to her to give the news.  “He said the cloak is stuck on its original design, or something like that.”  Curious as to what that meant, Selena looked at the PADD, metal fingers clicking against the casing.  Status reports from the device’s internal diagnostics all seemed to check out, verified by tricorder scans.  By all respects the cloak should work but it’s not pulling enough energy from the core.  “Original design…” she muttered, and then the connection was made.

“It’s made for a ship barely bigger than a shuttle, that’s what he meant.”  Interfacing the PADD with the cloak, Selena keyed up the universal translator and started parsing through the Reman programming.  This was going to be fun.  “It’s not drawing enough power to generate a large enough cloaking field.”  A split-screen view showed the original Reman on the left with Federation Standard translations on the right.  The PADD was doing ok with the translating, but it wasn’t perfect.  Red text showed where it couldn’t quite figure out what it was saying, but the more she read through the fewer gaps there were.  “Just need a few minutes to find the proper variables.  Has anyone done the math on how much juice we need here?”

Of course the answer was no, for some reason no one had thought to check the original values.  Rolling her eyes, Selena quickly searched for the proper terms and tossed the power curves to a nearby console.  “Run it quickly please.”  While the engineers worked on the match her fingers danced across the PADD, unlocking different lines of code for editing and patching in whatever updated she could think of requiring.  After what seemed an eternity, the new numbers were ready.  Entering the new power variables as they were called out, Selena stopped just before she sent the patches.  The quoted number was familiar.

Looking around the room, her steel-blue eyes darted between each consoles, her augmented vision automatically zooming in so that she could read them without having to approach.  In the end she ended up needing to focus on the antimatter regulator she gave up just a few minutes ago.  Displayed right on the screen was the predicted usable power output coming out of the dilithium chamber, and it was almost as large as what the cloak needed.

“Oh not good.  We can’t cloak and run.  Someone has to choose one.”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on September 06, 2018, 05:45:26 PM
[ Drauc T'Laus (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Drauc_T%27Laus) | Main Computer Core | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]
Dyan Cardamone's questions were born of skepticism and doubt, which Drauc should have known to expect. Standing there in the circular chamber of the Main Computer Core, he was unsure how to allay her fears, and make her see the nature of his altruistic offer. There was even a fleeting sense of... was it regret? Regret about failing in carrying out the mission? Most of it, he think he gleaned, was uncertainty.

"You say 'we'," he rasped to her, facing her with his intense stare, "yet the offer was for you. Of course, if you want me with you, I can leave with you, but my offer was to help you leave, and only if you wish to do so."

He raised a scarred hand, seeing how a band of her white hair had come loose from behind her ear. "To return to your people, to your mother, and if there is any interest in doing so, make this... Queen of yours understand that you have returned to stay loyal," he grated quietly as he stroked the loose hair back behind Dyan's ear. "You need no protection, but should you want it, I offer it freely. You deserve the chance to return to your people, if that's what you want to do, before it is too late. It is a chance I never got, having remained outside the Romulan society, with nothing to my name. I burned by bridges early on, and now, there is no way back. I am, and remain, off the grid, and without any people to call my own. I am a bastard of Romulus and the Federation, whom neither wants any more."

He dropped his hand to his side, his stare remaining. "I have told myself I don't need to belong anywhere. I have lived many different lives through the minds of others, seeing the joy and misery of many races, but after I lost my brother, the impressions and passions of other minds have paled compared to what I lost in him. I make this offer, to let you return to those closest to you, because I do not wish you to walk the same path that I did."

He turned his torso towards the exit, the sliding doors from whence they had entered the room. The overhead light rippled through the tresses of his hair and the corrugated leanness of his bare chest and abdomen. "You claim a shuttle in the bay, and I make sure the bay doors and the force field remain open for you." It would be at his expense, since the crew likely needed their shuttles, butit was not like they could demote him for it. "Whether you stay or go is not for me to argue. What you do next in this long life of yours... is your decision. I merely wish to enable you, Dyan Cardamone, because you deserve it."



[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton @CanadianVet @Mathis  @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe @FollowTomorrow @chXinya @Stegro88 
[Show/Hide]
When Trent spoke, and began to deal his orders, Dewitt remained where she stood, closely studying him. The announcement was at the tip of her tongue, that they had to leave while they had the chance. It was not about the people present on the bridge, but the hundreds of lives aboard the Helmet and the mission. They had to leave, and yet Trent chose to not take the opportunity, and remain. Did he do it because he wished to assert his command as XO over all the Vectors and try to make them forsake their real mission, or was he merely following the Continuance Protocol to the letter, and wished to remain for the full hour that it entailed? Or, was it as simple as avoiding to use the warp core at that given moment?

Dewitt clenched her jaw, thinking over the dilemma she faced. It would have been easier, she surmised, if he hadn't admitted to his feelings towards Heather McMillan, and said his objectives weren't affected by the presence of McMillan on the Sabine.

Numbly, she found herself walking back to the holo display table, joining Zyrao. She blinked, seeing how the El-Aurian had replicated herself something to eat in the midst of all that was happening, but made no comment. Instead she looked towards the latest passive sensor readings. Trent's orders to the Helm would - potentially - give them a couple of minutes before Task Force Archeron's closest ships would detect them. They had until then, to find a way to defend themselves...

...or to leave, while they still could.

She found herself looking towards Ryuan Sel with the Accipiter rifle. She was the only one with apparent armament, and it was her that Dewitt would have to sway if she were to protect the crew from Trent's folly. They were likely the last remaining Vector, and the one in the CO chair was emotionally compromised. How could it have come to this?

Closing her green eyes a moment, Dewitt took a deep breath, and began to type messages.

[ Meanwhile | Aboard the USS Bellerophon ]

The Intepid-class ship's bridge was quiet, the assorted officers all focused on different kind of sensor output on their screens. As a science vessel, with a long and prestigious service, and a crew that were used to the kind of tasks currently at hand, she were one of the best ships in Sankolov's Task Force when it came to searching the Azure Nebula for the elusive Vector.

"Captain..." said Ensign Berg at the Ops station, almost as if not hearing himself speak.

"Yes, Ensign. Do you have something?" said Captain Belfrag, running a hand over his grey stubble.

"I'm not sure... It's within sensor range, but there is like... I am not sure if it is some kind of natural dampening field from the nebula radiation that is covering it, and it's just debris. There is a minimal heat source there too, which comes and goes. I am tracing its trajectory for now, to see if anything hap-"

Belfrag frowned. "Ensign?"

"Debris doesn't change trajectory, right?" said Berg, turning around and looking at the other officers. The silence that followed was telling. "Because I'm not quite certain, but I think it just did."

Belfrag didn't have much confidence in Berg, so after a couple of seconds, he rejected the idea to give the alert, and have the task force converge on this piece of debris that might - and mightn't - have changed course. "I'll report it to the other ships, but I will not sound the alert yet," said Captain Belfrag. "Keep your eyes on it, Ensign, in case you get certain of what you're seeing.

Thus, the notation about the debris became one of thirty other similar messages on the Archeron's bridge. Ensign Berg wet his lips, eager to do well, and bent over the readings anew.


OOC: Unfortunately, not everyone have posted here since last, but again a seven day response time begins for all. Please make sure you chime in? :) I have a lot in store in this Chapter.

All Supplemental Threads that are started between characters on this Vectors will have to be set before this time of 0810 hrs. on Day 06, but not afterwards, and they should also be posted on the Part 1 board. Just like in the interregnum, Supplemental one-on-one threads are started at your leisure! Supplemental threads should be named CH05: S [DXX|YYYY] Insert Title, and can extend as far back as right after the battle with the Versant and all the way up to 0810 hrs on Day 06, where the third Rendevouz began.


Main Bridge & Deck 01: [Show/Hide]
Known staff on the Helmet: [Show/Hide]
Inbound ships from Task Force Archeron: [Show/Hide]
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: FollowTomorrow on September 06, 2018, 08:46:24 PM
[ PO Dyan Cardamone/Sar-Unga Neleo | "Thea's room" | Vector 01 ] ATTN: @Auctor Lucan

Mother, she thought, mother needs me. Her mind conjured up the images of her mother, crying, all alone with no more husband, no more children but Sar-unga, her precious baby girl. She was never a very strong warrior, her own inner demons haunted her for so long that it was all she could do to show up some days. Dyan was old enough now that she knew what it was like to be fighting yourself so much. Mother needed her, mother needed someone.

To say she didn’t want to go back was a lie too. She hurt so badly inside. Her family was ripped from her so suddenly, their lives cut to an end that shouldn’t have happened. They had so much more to do, so much they needed to accomplish, wanted to accomplish...and it was all over now. She wanted to go back home and just grieve. Maybe cry with her mother a while. Start over in life, forget this stupid mess of a world and all the little people in it who made it a mess.

Drauc was the one who triggered her mind to explode with thought and anger and disgust. The same path Drauc walked, he was trying to keep her from walking the same path he did. She looked over at him, her eyes meeting his and filled with the fire that comes from, well, crazy.

The strange, scarred-up man had lost a brother. She’d lost more. He was unwanted by both Federation and Romulans, she had betrayed both her people and her Federation. She did not like the way Drauc moped. To think that, after all she had lost, if she kept going she’d turn into a brooding, glowering, useless lump--

“If you think--” Her voice echoed off the walls, a near shout made louder by the acoustics of the room and the hatred on her face, “--that for a moment, because I lost everything, I’d turn into someone like you--You have no idea who I am. I am Sar-unga Neleo, Dyan Cardamone—and I’m going to kick the asses of everyone who thinks they can bring me down. I don’t just give up on life and being happy and shit just because the universe fucking sucks—I get up again and I kick ass. I will not let myself fall down to your level of mopey. I am going to stay here and slaughter. You get on that stupid shuttle and fly yourself away if your life is so awful. I’m staying right here.”

So the fire continues to burn.



[ Lt. Jg. Suq Reylin Efreya-Xan | Jeffries tubes behind the warp core | Vector 01 ]
ATTN: @chXinya @Stegro88 @Absinthe @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet

He was starting to run out of steam, if the headache growing in his shoulders and up his neck was anything to go by. It was real pain, just like the real pain in his hands and fingers. It was bringing him back into the real world, and if he dipped his feet in the real world, he’d likely panic. If he panicked, he wouldn’t get things done. If he wanted to work at the maximum efficiency he’d come to be proud of, then he would have to remain in the space between real and dreams.

He climbed out the Jeffries tube and took a moment to purposefully kick himself right back out of reality. The pain kept trying to bring him back, but he would have none of it. To the outside world, he was standing in front of the tubes, staring at the ladder.

It was a good thing he did it too, because he saw Selena leaving the warp core console and it was just F’rell. He wasn’t a warp theorist by any means, but he knew enough of what F’rell taught him to do the job in an emergency—much like this one. So he meandered to the newly-emptied console, stared down the words and numbers flying by. He hated this part of the job. At the very least, the brace he put on the EPS conduit was doing a good job. Better than he thought it’d do. He made a mental note for later…

He heard Selena Ravenholm. She said they couldn’t cloak and run. It took him a moment to parse his console and the situation before he understood what that meant. It meant the cloak was ready, but they could only do one thing at a time. He tapped his badge, gentler than he had been doing all this time,
“Trent,” He started, disposing of any formalities for the sake of speed, “We can cloak or we can warp, not both.”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Triton on September 06, 2018, 08:51:15 PM
[Lt Cdr Leon Marquez | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @The Ostrich  @JayLatte  @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe

During his cadet years, Marquez balanced his free time with studying by use of holodeck renditions of historical warfare scenarios, and the one dynamic Leon had truly studied during the Maquis crisis had been submarine warfare. There couldn't be any more differences between the Azure Nebula and the Badlands, or for that matter, the atmospheric difference betwen a U-boat or Submarine against a fleet of hunters. The Hunt For Red October in Leon's opinion, should have been a required read for tactical officers alongside Crimson Tide. But in the former's case, there was something Leon was considering as he ran a simulation overlay over his console to keep his attention trained on his duties while actively running theoreticals. His thoughts on the matter were interrupted when an Intrepid-class Bellerophon entered sensor range.

Leon almost hoped Admiral Ross was aboard in the event one of Leon's torpedoes would hit its mark if ordered to. Leon was going to propose to his then-girlfriend at the time upon receiving the blessing of her parents when the Admiral invited himself over and interrupted the evening to issue Leon's posting to the Resolve in the days after the Dominion War was over and the celebrations had died down as the fallout rose. Threatened me with AWOL charges during shore leave, that fat fool. I'll send you a charge or two if you're a damn parasite.

"Captain, contact. USS Bellerophon They're getting close and are within sensor range. They've probably spotted us." Leon reported. "Science, are we sure we're not giving anything away? Intrepid-class sensors are built for nebulae like this one." Leon asked Vivian while making sure everything that he was doing everything possible to maintain stealth while keeping first-reply torpedo salvos ready to ignite this nebula with one four-lettered F-word. If the cloak wasn't fixxed, they'd be... another F-word'ed. Marquez would be out of line to rush the cloak's deployment but his hunch about Intrepid sensors was well founded.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on September 07, 2018, 09:34:24 AM
[ Drauc T'Laus (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Drauc_T%27Laus) | Main Computer Core | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]
Since the experiments upon him began when he was so young, Drauc rarely took someone else's words at face value. The speaker's mind and his or her words worked in tandem, and gave a more nuanced impression. One might say someone's words were laced by seen and unseen emotion, and dishonesty was a stain upon anything spoken.

Yet Drauc did not think the Asurian was dishonest with him, much less did he take offence at her words. Others might, but not when her mind told him exactly how much he'd ended up hurting her. He regretted his offer immediately, having caused her such distress.

"My apologies," he rasped, and looked away - frowning at his own indiscretion. He should have known better than to prod her memories too deeply and to incite emotions with his findings.

He realised, also, that his offer was not the same as the one Jovela had given him, when he escaped from Starfleet Medical. He had stepped aboard that shuttle in fear of consequence, confused and alone, in grief of his brother's demise. Dyan Cardamone had already made her choice, when she chose to remain on the Theurgy. It was clear that he had erred, since her mind was already set on completing the Theurgy's mission. All he had done, was to cast doubt and confuse her objectives. While he had noble intentions with his offer, and he had thought he knew this Asurian after such a brief time, it was clear that memories alone were not enough to understand another person. She was, also, different than anyone else he'd met.

"All of my words, if not well put nor well taken... were well meant,” he added quietly, looking back at her. "Kindly intentioned, but not considerate enough. You have chosen your battlefield, and I should not have undermined your fortifications. It would be my privelage to still fight this battle at your side, if you still want me here."

Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Absinthe on September 07, 2018, 10:43:57 AM
[ F'Rell of the 12th House | Vector 1 Engineering | Deck 6 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy] attn: @FollowTomorrow @Stegro88 @chXinya

While the world around her moved, F'Rell did her best to still herself, letting her body move so much as was necessary to maintain her current position. There were a nearly infinite number of variables in stabilizing the warp field, including the warp core's power output, which was fluctuation as it went through cycles of more or less matter/anti-matter mixture in the reaction chamber. Thus she needed to directly feed in new instructions to keep the field both stable and functioning.

It meant the warp nacelles could not properly cycle down and that the plasma network was gaining heat much faster than it was losing it, and with the damage already done that was not a good thing, but it also meant that she could insert new commands in between power cycles rather than needing to wait for a complete warp cycle each time. It was all a matter of heat, compression, and coolant. There was to much heat, the pressure was being held in by a number of clamps, and the coolant was actively leaking into a sealed off area. In some ways the situation was well in hand, solving it would mean simply powering the affected systems down and doing the needed repairs, but F'Rell knew that was not an option.

No, they needed to push the system farther than it was meant to go. She gazed at the power readouts, the spikes in output. There was a possibility, but a dangerous one, one that should not be considered and if it was not a situation like this she would not have considered it at all.

"<I can double the output of the power grid for 5 minutes, but then it will need a full repair and several power cycles to purge the code I will need to put in,>" F'Rell intoned calmly. She was forcing her emotions out of her mind, blocking them all out. She had to ignore the building panic, the building sense of fear deep inside. "<With the extra power it should be possible to make a series of cloaked warp jumps, but then we will need to power down or the entire system could go critical.>"
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: The Ostrich on September 07, 2018, 11:44:50 PM
[ LtCmdr Vivian Martin | Main Bridge | Deck 1 | Vector 1 |USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triton @CanadianVet @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @JayLatte @Absinthe

[Show/Hide]

Vivian was on the edge of her seat, both literally and figuratively. This game of cat and mouse was working upon her nerves, making her incredibly twitchy and causing her to jump at even the smallest objects which appeared on her sensors.

It had been a couple of minutes since Martin had received a signal return marking anything larger than stray stellar debris, and she was almost beginning to breathe easier when a sudden larger ping caused her to sit bolt upright at her station. She wasn’t the only one to have seen it, as Commander Marquez beat her to the punch and began issuing orders.

"Captain, contact. USS Bellerophon They're getting close and are within sensor range. They've probably spotted us."

Martin’s eyes were glued to her screen, looking for any sign that the other vessel may have detected their presence.

"Science, are we sure we're not giving anything away? Intrepid-class sensors are built for nebulae like this one."

”I’m doing what I can, but those Intrepids are fiendishly good.” Her eyes were still fixed on the blip marked as the Bellerophon, looking, perpetually searching for anything that might be able to give them an edge over their adversaries.

”There’s a small radiation pocket between us and them, its working to scatter some of the sensors, but I’ve analysed both our trajectories. We have another four minutes before it will no longer have an effect on either us or them.” Vivian quickly searched her scans, hoping to find another similar pocket that could be utilized to the same ends, but alas, came up empty.

A sudden stronger sensor pulse from the Bellerophon bounced off their hull and Vivian swore quietly under her breath ”Sir! Bellerophon just pinged us. We will be showing on their sensors now. To what extent I am still unsure. We’re running on low power, and with this background interference I doubt they can detect any emissions from us. I...I’m not seeing any reaction from them yet...they may have flagged us as stellar debris...shit...we can’t do anything until they look away sir, or the game will be up.”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Stegro88 on September 09, 2018, 12:59:57 PM
[ Tesserarius Lorad | Vector 01 Engineering | Deck 06 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @FollowTomorrow @chXinya @Triton @Brutus @CanadianVet @Absinthe @JayLatte @Mathis @The Ostrich
[Show/Hide]
 

Lorad tried to cradle his arm as best he could, using his other hand to hold it steady so as to avoid aggravating the plasma burns. It was not easy as every breath he took annoyed the ones he had sustained to his side, sending pain through his body. But he had suffered worse pain for longer; he would survive.

He had watched as Selena Ravenholm had worked on reprogramming the control chip and he had listened as she ordered for something about power to be run. And then some numbers came back and Selena had paused.

"Oh not good.  We can't cloak and run.  Someone has to choose one,” she had said. Lorad didn’t understand. This ship should easily have enough power to jump to warp while cloaked. He didn’t know about using weapons but going to warp should be possible. Unless they were damaged.

“You!” Lorad called out to the female that had helped him build the cloak as he whirled around. “Ship hurt. How?”

“I don’t know the full extent,” the engineer replied. “But I know the core is damaged in some way and that we are venting plasma.”

“Venting? What this mean?” Lorad asked, not knowing what the word meant.

“Seriously?” the woman said incredulously. The look on the Reman’s face, however, said it all. “Leaking. It means we are leaking plasma.”

“No. Bad,” Lorad said as realisation coupled with understanding. “Cloak cannot hide plasma.” He racked his brain, trying to remember a mission from his past. They had been sent to raid a Romulan supply depot that was supposedly lightly defended. It hadn’t been. They had still succeeded in their mission but their Hawk had sustained damage, specifically, they were leaking plasma. Lorad remembered that this had negated their cloak as it did not conceal the plasma. The situation had gotten worse when Romulan reinforcements had arrived. But how had they escaped?

They hadn’t stopped the leak because they had had to stop on another planet to make repairs. It had delayed their return by almost 2 days. They hadn’t fought their way free; their shields couldn’t take a hit from a D’deridex-class Warbird. Shields!

Bursting to his feet, Lorad looked around, searching and finally spotting the person he needed. Striding across the room with a purpose, Lorad released his injured arm and used his good arm to grasp the uniform from of the man known as Suq, lifting him up into the air until they were eye to eye. 

“Ship venting plasma,” Lorad stated, using the word he had just learned. “Cloak cannot hide this. Must use shield. Hold plasma inside cloak.”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Brutus on September 10, 2018, 03:48:19 AM
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: 
[Show/Hide]

"Ensign Eloi-Danvers, call up the message that was sent earlier through the MVAM link and upload it to the Thames.  Remotely program her comms suite to broadcast it on all frequencies, maximum power, Priority 1, encrypted with the vectors' unique keys just before she goes to warp." Faye's head snapped upward, turning to look over to Commander Trent. She hoped she kept her face calm. Someone had to. It would be very undiplomatic of her to show fear at a time like this.

"Aye, aye, Sir," she replied, acknowledging the order and setting to the task. What else could she say? Faye forced her coal black eyes to focus on her control panel and not wander the bridge. She couldn't risk the crew seeing what she knew, reflected in her eyes. Couldn't give away what she could sense all around her. Duty, she reminded herself. You have a duty to this crew and to the truth. The mission. You have to stop them so that you can then mend the fences of this Federation. You cannot let the others see what you know.

The orders, in and of themselves were not terribly hard to handle. Communications courses - the basics at least - were part of the Diplomatic specialty. Not only did they cover the technology side of it, but they covered the sociological aspects, linguistics. For a bit anyways, the two tracks ran parallel in the Academy. She had the skills to fall back on to handle this, and handle it she did. Falling into the routine motions, the commands entered.

Patch the channel to the Thames easy peasy. she told herself, another one of her mothers borrowed phrases. They were going through small craft at an alarming rate here in the nebula. She wondered idly if they would get any of them back. Not likely. Priority one...encoded. Uploading message....done. Yes, much easier to focus on this, and not thing about the possibility that the Bellerophon with its impressive Intrepid-class sensor suite might be pegging onto them.

Much better than the prayer that she heard Carrigan Trent mutter, to a God or gods he hand't spoken to in a long, long time. Or the face in his mind - a woman that Faye knew, from before. One she used to have tea with, back before everything went to hell. Now was not at all the time to try an analyze why her commanding officer was picturing Heather McMillan. Or why that thought would give Dewitt even more reason to ponder what she pondered.

No. Focus on the job. Encryption key laid. File your report Ensign.

"Commander," Faye called on the heels of Leon Marquez and Vivian Martin - vibrant Vivan, that long hair and those delicate fingers - not the time. "The Thames has been remotely prepped. Payload encrypted and uploaded. She's ready on your order." She hoped there wasn't a warble of fear - Trent's fear - on her voice. Because as much as Trent wanted to see Heather again, so too did Faye want to see Riley.

Please.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: BZ on September 12, 2018, 07:34:25 PM
[Zyrao Natauna |  Bridgin' Ain't Easy | Finding Weaknesses | Snacks and Strategy | Stressful Situations]

@Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet

Dewitt was stressed.

One look at the young woman and Zyrao was worried that she might just sway in her boots.  Not that she would, the woman was stronger than she looked, but it was no secret she was not a fan of the plans from Center Seat.  Zyrao couldn't blame her.  There were things that weren't easy.  Figuring out how to keep everyone alive and yet give the ship a chance to merge.  It was not a bad decision, but then there was no right decision honestly.  There was no right thing to do.  Run and lose the rest of the crew?  Stay and possibly die?  It was hard to say and that was something that no person really wanted on their shoulders.  Trent had the express pleasure of doing it. 

As Dewitt came to join Zyrao at the holo table, the El-Aurian woman looked up with those striking grey eyes of hers.  She could tell she was being judged, or at least, spectated.  She cared not for the thoughts of Dewitt and whether she decided to have a snack on the Bridge or not it shouldn't matter to a single person.  She had been around a long time and there was very little that took away her appetite.  The Bridge was not hairy enough to do that at this time.  The young woman stepped over to Dewitt and reached up laying her strong hand on the shoulder.

“Fear not, all hope is not lost.  Every plan has merit.” she said to the young woman. 

Giving a bit of a quick of her lips, Zyrao let go of the young woman's shoulders and turned her attention back to the deck plans of Acheron.  She was looking for something that was a weakness.  Something that they could exploit somehow.  Zyrao was a strategist and Acheron was a very large ship.    If it was just the one ship, they could out maneuver it probably, with some tricks from Helm.  But they weren't a solitary ship they were fighting a whole force of ships that were hell bent on capturing whatever they could.

There has to be something.  Somewhere.  Something we can sabotage without killing everyone since Trent is against a little massacre to save his own ass.  Not that he probably hasn't killed people before.  That's practically the Fleet's motto.  We'll help you unless you're bad then we kill you because you're bad.  It's really ridiculous.  All those electronics... all those little parts there has to be wait....

Zyrao pulled back and straightened her back.  Her grey eyes alight with an idea.  It would be evident in her face for a moment as her mind puzzled it out.

Electronics.

Zyrao turned her back to the holo table so that she could face the back of the head in the center seat.  “An EMP.  We need to set one off before warp.  Well no.  What we actually need to do is set one to detonate after we get out of range.  Or remote detonate, whatever the terminology is.  If we do this, we'll be able to eliminate the threat briefly from the Acheron and it's Task Force.”

She waited for the verdict.











Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on September 13, 2018, 11:44:54 PM
[ Aboard the USS Bellerophon ]

Ensign Berg couldn't help but feel like there was more to the readings he stared at than he had let on. The debris was quite large, about sixhundred meters, give or take. He frowned, and then looked at the other screen on his console, showing the three Vectors of the Theurgy. The top one, that's the one that the reports had mentioned before, it did have the approximate same size to it, and the odd contour? As if it was... perforated? Ensign Berg had come aboard the Bellerophon at Starbase 84, and he had yet to earn any recognition in Captain Belfrag's book, but...

Why was he doubting himself? Was it because he was treated like a Cadet again? No, he should have been more confident in what his instincts told him. He made a mental list of his findings, and added together, he had stand by his word.

"Captain. What I am seeing, when the Nebula doesn't dampen the readings, is a shape more than just reminiscent with the saucer section of the ship we are hunting. The way the readings are so obscured could also be caused by an artificial dampening field. This, added with the course change I did see, which set it off in a course away from us, and moreover, the faint heat source, I am convinced that we are looking at one of the Theurgy vectors, sir. I recommend we alert the rest of the Task Force!"

In his chair, Captain Belfrag looked at Berg, perhaps conflicted about what to think about the fresh-out-of-the-academy Ensign on his bridge.

"I can confirm the Ensign's findings to a degree, sir," said T'Vira from the Tactical station. "Yet I did not see any course change."

In the end, after another moment of thought, Captain Belfrag made a compromise. "Tactical, send this message to our closest ship, which would be the Dauntless, I believe. 'Suspicious readings found at the following coordinates. The Bellerophon will relay to all ships in the Task Force; Diverging from current course for investigation. Stand by for verified contact. Question, will the Dauntless join us to take a closer look?'"

"Sent, Captain. Relaying our course change to the rest of the fleet as well." T'Vira fell silent for a moment, but the answer came quite soon. "The Dauntless will accompany us. She verifies our find, also seeing something there, and they have ordered the closest of the Black Wolves to take the lead. ETA: Thirty seconds for the fighters, one minute for us."

Ensign Berg looked happy enough. "So, shall we, Captain?"

"Indeed we shall. Helm, take us there," said Belfrag, hoping that the Ensign was smarter than he looked. Soon enough, they were on a direct course towards the suspicious readings, and the Dauntless came in from another direction. Yet ahead of them, six warp fighters converged on the coordinates, led by their Wolf Leader.

[ Lt Cmdr. Ashton "Warlock" Bates | Black Wolf-01 | Mk II Valkyrie Cockpit ]

Keen on the information of a sensor anomaly, Ash Bates had immediately taken the lead of the wolves that were flying with him.

"Wolves, shields up. We go in at full impulse," he said, and while the deflector shields of the pack were diminished in capacity so that they might handle the radiation as well, he wanted battle readiness. "Pulsar, Banshee, echelon formation with me and Turret- Metalhead, Tinker, you follow, ready to engage." He did not trust those from the disbanded White Wolves squadron, but at least Metalhead seemed to share his loathing for traitors, having been very vocal about his hatred for Terror and those that had defected with her.

[This is Metalhead, acknowleged,] came the tight-lipped reply from the Anglosian, but Ash didn't care. If the new Black Wolves were to earn their recognition, they might have a chance soon enough. What was strange, however, was the lack of communication from Sneaky and Whiskers, who were flying with two of the other former White Wolves. They had another patrol route entirely, of course, but something seemed off - his gut feeling uneasy about the silence.

There was no time, however, to follow up on the rest of the squadron. They were thirty seconds out from the coordinates of the anomaly, and Ashton "Warlock" Bates curled his thumbs around the firing triggers on his Gryphon. The six Black Wolves were on the prowl, having scented prey, and he'd be the first to bite.

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton @CanadianVet @Mathis  @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe @FollowTomorrow @chXinya @Stegro88 
[Show/Hide]
No more had Dewitt managed to send one message, before she was interrupted by the El-Aurian, who approached her and spoke with her. Dewitt carefully schooled her features, and it took her a moment to remember that the short-haired woman couldn't have read over her shoulder, since she didn't know how to read Federation Standard. She smiled back at Zyrao, trying to be make the facial expression genuine. "I... don't think that applies to all plans, personally, but I will try to share your optimism."

That's when the officer in Ops swore, which was right after they heard the status from Engineering about the state of the cloak and the capacity to use it. The announcement followed. "Captain, two ships have changed course, both heading towards us. It's the Bellerophon and the Dauntless, sir.... and there are six warp fighters inbound ahead of them. ETA 20 seconds for the fighters and counting."

Dewitt closed her eyes. She'd been right. She switched the view on the holotable to a zoom in on the movements, seeing the six inbound wolves. Soon enough, she could see what kind they were; four Gryphons and two Valravn fighters. "There is no time to launch the Thames now!" she said, eyes darting as she thought, speaking fast. "And they are too close. They'll see us trying to bolt. There are two Valravn there too, and they have a very high warp capacity."

We should have run away while we could... Dewitt thought bitterly, wishing she could send more messages, but there was no time for that any more. "We need to try and cloak, now!"

Morgan Song was already shouting the same down to Engineering, listening to Dewitt and Trent both. Little did they know of F'Rell's solution, which had come too late.


OOC: Unfortunately, not everyone have posted here since last, but again a seven day response time begins for all. I had to push events forward a bit, so please make sure you chime in? :) As you all may have figured out, we have the Sabine and White Wolves inbound soon to aid a bit!

All Supplemental Threads that are started between characters on this Vectors will have to be set before this time of 0810 hrs. on Day 06, but not afterwards, and they should also be posted on the Part 1 board. Just like in the interregnum, Supplemental one-on-one threads are started at your leisure! Supplemental threads should be named CH05: S [DXX|YYYY] Insert Title, and can extend as far back as right after the battle with the Versant and all the way up to 0810 hrs on Day 06, where the third Rendevouz began.


Main Bridge & Deck 01: [Show/Hide]
Known staff on the Helmet: [Show/Hide]
The Black Wolves Squadron, those marked in yellow are inbound: [Show/Hide]
Present ships from Task Force Archeron, the ones marked in yellow inbound: [Show/Hide]

Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: FollowTomorrow on September 15, 2018, 10:29:50 PM
[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ]

“Initiating Cloaking sequence.” Announced Suq, and his hands tapped across the console to begin cloaking, again. His eyes screwed shut and he focused on hearing the ship. Listening to the way she hummed. He would not be able to see any changes from the inside. He would not know that they were cloaked without confirmation from a tactical console. This was his way of knowing.

There were seconds of normal humming. There was some fluctuation in the harmonics of the sound that aligned with the fluctuating temperature of the warp core, and he heard volume and pitch increasing as the core pushed out more and more power... but he did not hear anything that indicated the cloak had worked. He was holding his breath. His heart fluttered...

Sure enough, a near imperceptible tonal drop suggested that something was changing. There was a deep bass-y sound he was sure everyone could hear. He opened his eyes, and there were no visual changes in engineering. No fires, explosions, no lights fluctuating. All was relatively well.

Outside, the form of the Theurgy’s first vector faded away. Sensors and visual alike saw nothing left of the vector or it’s signs. It was as if nothing was there, save for maybe a sensor echo.

Except for the plasma.

Suq’s eyes snapped open and he turned around to the group behind him. F’rell, Lorad, Selena, the important people. He tapped his combadge to speak to the bridge as well, they were probably important too.
“We’re cloaked but bleeding plasma. They’ll find us. If you have a solution, go do it, because I need to babysit this cloak.”


[ Dyan Cardamone/Sar-unga Neleo | Thea's room | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @Auctor Lucan


“You don’t get it!” She screeched, no longer caring much for Drauc’s feelings. Though she wanted him here, paying attention to her, she also wanted to strike back. Her desire for vengeance was as native to her as thirst or hunger.
You don’t mean well. You can’t mean well. You wallow in self pity—you fucking built a house and live in self pity! Like your life is so awful and horrible and everything is bad. Oh, boo hoo--” Her tone switched, she was mocking now. She used her un-bladed hand to mimic crying near her own face, “Look at poor Drauc! No family! And he has telepathy! It’s so hard! Fuck you and fuck your entire life. Don’t ever try and drag me into running away and crying like you do.”

This time, it very much was an attack Dyan had always felt Drauc to be...weak, maybe? Unwilling. Pathetic. She herself wasn’t too sure which was the right answer, but she knew he was living a life that she thought was wrong. Even when she had been calm, that had been there as a basic disdain for him, disguised as an inflated ego.

Her inflated ego was still there, but now he saw in full color the hatred she had for his weakness. Be better, she thought, become better than this. Don’t allow yourself to stagnate. It was not said in a nice way, and if Drauc did not have the ability to skim her mind, he would’ve never seen it. She was trying, in a backwards way, to see him become the blazing fire of change in the world that all strong warriors must be.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: CanadianVet on September 18, 2018, 01:33:59 AM
[ Commander Carrigan Trent | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @The Ostrich @Triton @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @JayLatte @BZ @Absinthe

In the command chair, Carrigan Trent was remaining silent.  Between the plot, the readouts on his own consoles and his own mind, he was furiously crunching numbers.  So far, the math had been working out.  And by rights, it ought to have worked, even against the sensor suite of an Intrepid-class ship, for that matter.  Hell, if Theurgy's state of the art sensors had been all but blinded, in open space no less, by Calamity's EW, a system that was a direct adaptation ought to have kept them all but invisible at this time.  But no, it would see they had been detected.  Whoever it was who had managed it, was skilled and smart, and it did serve as a rather pointed reminder that Theurgy did not hold a monopoly on officers and crews who knew what they were about. 

And ships were moving to intercept.  They had been made.  But, it would seem, the cloak was working and not a moment too soon, and it was Jennifer Dewitt who took the decision out of his hands by calling for Engineering to bring it up immediately.  Well, that was not the option Trent would have preferred, not until it was an extreme last resort, and while he had a few tricks left up his sleeve, those became a moot point all right. 

But a rather unpleasant fact was how she was rattling off what was common knowledge about the Valravn fighters.  Was she truly this shaken?  Well, in truth he could hardly blame her for it. 

The lights dimmed as the cloak came online, and Trent's mind immediately shifted gear to the other problem they had, the plasma they were still venting.  It was but a trickle compared to the initial leak, but it would still show their position.  And they needed to be somewhere else, and fast at that. 

"Helm, hard about, bearing 250 mark 45, full impulse."  The command snapped out quickly and decisively, yet he had not even raised his voice past a conversational level.  "Continually roll ship and take us in a corkscrew pattern across our base course.  Petty Officer Song, personally join the damage control party looking after that plasma leak and close it down by whatever means necessary." 

In the meantime, he could only hope that the movement he had ordered Derek Veradin to adopt would be enough, that between the cloak, their wake and the physical movement of the ship, the plasma stream would be sufficiently disrupted to prevent serving as a trail of breadcrumbs across space.

Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: The Ostrich on September 18, 2018, 05:45:25 AM
[ LtCmdr Vivian Martin | Main Bridge | Vector 1 |USS Theurgy ]

[Show/Hide]

Vivian took a deep breath, calming herself as she watched the Taskforce vessels approaching. They were drawing awfully close, very soon they would be close enough to positively identify the Theurgy, and shortly after that they would be within weapons range. It was incredibly tense and Vivian almost jumped out of her skin as the lights on the bridge dimmed and a small notification popped up on her screen, informing her that the Helmet was now cloaked.

She smiled to herself, the geniuses down in engineering had pulled through and now the Theurgy had a distinct advantage over the predators lurking in the Nebula. Vivian gingerly entered a command into her console, as if the slightest rushed move might accidentally dispel their cloak. A small display appeared in the corner of her screen, a status readout on the cloak. She knew that down in engineering there would be another officer keeping their own eyes fixed to a similar readout, but Vivian wanted to be prepared. If the cloak suddenly failed, the command crew on the bridge would need to know instantly, and the engineering crew would most likely be too busy repairing the cloak to immediately call the bridge.

Commander Trent’s plan for dispersing the plasma seemed a good one. That was one of the few things which still had the potential to give away their position. Although they wouldn’t truly be out of the proverbial woods until the leak itself was properly sealed. There was little Vivian could do about the leak, there was already an engineering team on the job, and if she joined them all she was likely to do was get in the way.

Her eyes returned to their previous task, watching the incoming vessels. Without a doubt they had now vanished from their sensors, something which would hopefully be causing a fair amount of concern and hopefully even a little bit of panic aboard the opposing ships. A faint smile crossed her lips as she imagined the faces of the officers watching them disappear. It was an oddly pleasing image.

The next few minutes would be very telling. Everything was teetering and with the slightest mishap the entire situation could easily slip, and one side would have the opportunity to seize the advantage. And Vivian doubted that either side would be willing to pass up that opportunity.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Stegro88 on September 18, 2018, 10:15:21 AM
[ Tesserarius Lorad | Vector 01 Engineering | Deck 06 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]


He had stood back, leaning against a bulkhead and continuing to cradle his arm as he watched Suq start up the cloak. He had never seen one activate before; hidden under the deck plating as it was but in hindsight he would later say it was a boring event. He was sure that if the casing around the device had been installed even this activation would have been boring. As it was, not much happened. Lights came on, a humming started up and the lights dimmed for a moment before returning to normal.

Lorad was about to push himself off the wall when Suq turned away from the console he had been standing at and looked at him, Selena and some snake-like creature that had appeared at some point. 

"We're cloaked but bleeding plasma. They'll find us. If you have a solution, go do it, because I need to babysit this cloak,” he had said to them. Despite Lorad’s rather, overt reminder about needing to hold the plasma inside the shield, they hadn’t done so. He didn’t even know why they hadn’t. And now wasn’t the time to ask.

But what could he do? He was no engineer and couldn’t fix whatever was leaking plasma. His skills were rather more the opposite of fixing stuff. He broke it instead. Whether it was living or not. His skillset wouldn’t become usable unless the ship was boarded. And if that happened, even Lorad knew that they would have worse problems than a boarding party. 

Maybe I should get my arm looked at? Just in case?

Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Absinthe on September 19, 2018, 09:24:59 AM
[ F'Rell of the 12th House | Vector 1 Engineering | Deck 6 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy]
[Show/Hide]

In her world there was only the display and the controls. F'Rell could not allow herself to be distracted. She knew how to increase the output of the warp core, to give them enough power to keep the cloak active and jump the ship into warp. The power demands were astronomical and could very well overwhelm the system, but she'd heard of ships pulling such a feat off, she knew it was possible. But now was not the time for that, now she had to keep warp power online to power just the cloak, and that was no easy feat given the growing instability in the system.

---
[ Ensign Ryuan Sel | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]

It seemed as if the world moved around Sel and she was detached from it. Her men were in position and waiting, the most logical entry points covered by what few security personnel she had, all waiting to see if they were going to be needed, if they were going to be boarded and taken. Now all she could do was wait and watch those around her work. Her eyes drifted to Vivian and she pondered the shape of the woman for a moment. There was a pang of guilt in her mind, that she would think about someone besides Sarresh in that moment, but she wasn't even sure if he was alive, wasn't sure if they were really exclusive or what the nature of their relationship was. She didn't know and she kept pushing it. She was grateful that the exosuit she wore at least hid some of her facial expression, she was glad the rest of the bridge could not see exactly how anxious she was, on on the edge she was.

Not that it would matter soon anyway. They might have been cloaked, but there was no guarantee that the ships out there wouldn't find them and blow them into a million pieces. And it wasn't like she and him believed in the same afterlife. Hell the only one normally on the ship that even close was living proof that the Prophets, the celestial dickheads that they were, were only interested in interfering with her people when it suited them.

So yeah, even if she died, she knew there was no reunion waiting for her. There was barely a chance of one if she made it through all of this.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Triton on September 20, 2018, 06:14:06 AM
[Lt Cdr Leon Marquez | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @The Ostrich  @JayLatte  @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe

Leon indicated the incoming Valravns on the tactical displays with blinking outlines highlighting the largest threat. Per prior orders, he could send torpedoes from drift-release and sudden-launch strikes. At the fighters, or the Ship drawing a bead on the Helm-Vector. Depending on the orders, he had the ability to shoot out the searchlight or scatter the hounds as needed. Both options presented in Plan-A and Plan-B colors of blue and green.

"An EMP.  We need to set one off before warp.  Well no.  What we actually need to do is set one to detonate after we get out of range.  Or remote detonate, whatever the terminology is.  If we do this, we'll be able to eliminate the threat briefly from the Acheron and it's Task Force."

"Torpedo Rooms report drift-release ready, Captain. New priority targets updated. Fighters are raising shields and arming weapons, Captain." Leon highlighted and magnified readouts of the plasma leak's wake in their current nebula pocket. "Reccomend we tripwire-this leak to our advantage and load it with a red herring: debris, spare parts... nonessential cargo." Submariners often feigned their own destruction with the bodies of their dead, which was the artless word for Leon implying as much. The thought of a photon grenade hidden with in the uniforms of fallen comrades as a booby trap for whoever beamed them aboard to collect them. It was barbaric but not unheard of, particularly in the Viet Nam Conflict.

Playing possum was a risky and destructive venture, but if the leak was patched and they could warp out, perhaps Plan C would be a realistic bet. Then they could have a shot in reuniting with the other vectors, given the gravity of the hour. "Perhaps we could stow the passive-aggressive bullshit while we're at it, and program it into the Torpedo that hit's Stink-love's bridge." Marquez crudely remarked as he nodded at Zyrao with a respectful, almost impish regard; akin to giving a compliment to a Tellarite. It also implied that any lingering feud or point of contention be put on pause; for now, 'Time and place, Buddy, save it. For now, have fun with it later.' At the same time, the Chief Tactical Officer just combined the El-Aurian's reccomendation as a purple plan with its projected vectors taking the color on the tactical readouts in the event Trent went with that option at a point when they could.

Or they could sit here like a deer on train tracks.

Come on, Suq and your little Reman, too. Leon muttered as the Cloaking Device staggered online.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: BZ on September 21, 2018, 08:57:59 PM
[Zyrao Natauna | Patience is More than a Virtue |  Still  Running Thin | Unwanted Assistance |  Place Unwelcome Mat Here]

Even if, Dewitt did not believe that every plan had merit, Zyrao did.  There was always a chance that something would work and sometimes the most infinitesimal amounts of success could and would change everything.  She didn't know if her words would help or aid the woman but she hoped it would be so.  The El-Aurian battle warrior brushed a hand through her thick short hair trying to make sense of the map and come up with her own idea.  One that she pitched to him a moment later. 

Ignored.

She rolled her eyes.  Unsure if it was merely that she hadn't used his name or the unearned moniker of Captain, but she didn't appreciate being wholly unheard.  Perhaps it was only that the bridge jumped into motion and words like cloaking device were thrown around more quickly again.  She wasn't sure that the ship could handle that pay load and like she had stated earlier, the risk was real.  To overload the system like that again would be their death nail.  Why the fuck they were trying to put all their hopes and dreams on a shoddy piece of equipment than no one seemed to have any fucking idea of how to use was just absolutely ridiculous to her.

This was battle.

They were at war.

It was not the time to be playing with magic and rubbing sticks together in the hopes that there would ignite a spark betwixt them.  The EMP would have taken out those fighters, they could have sent something out there to them.  However, she wasn't privy to repeating herself especially in present company and she was really just tired of being an advisor that seemed to have no real purpose.  Come to the Bridge, they said, come advise us, they told her.  Yet, it seemed that all she did was consistently try to prove herself, come up with ideas, and try to help.  To be shut down or forced to defend herself in a situation where pettiness need not apply. 

Zyrao was frankly over it.

Her eyes flickered to the door of the Bridge.  Wondering if it was wiser to take her leave or to sit down somewhere and wait until she was called upon again to offer aid.  Only hoping that at the point they realized she was needed it wouldn't be so late that she couldn't help bring them back from it.  She shrugged her shoulders, Marquez said something but she didn't quite register what it was.  Perhaps she didn't quite understand it, the language barrier in her exhaustion becoming too large or her frustrations with the whole situation just sitting heavily on her stomach.  She was just over feeling unwanted and not helpful in the least.  So the El-Aurian fell quiet. 

If they went to their doom at least she had gone down trying to help.  Instead, she leaned against the holo table and watched the view screen in front of her.  The scrambling of the officers on the Bridge to make Trent's decisions a reality.  Slowly she slid another piece of fruit in her mouth and chewed. 

The replicator made good snacks.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on September 21, 2018, 09:04:09 PM
[ Drauc T'Laus (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Drauc_T%27Laus) | Main Computer Core | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]
Once more, there was a schism between what the Asurian was saying and the impression of what she was thinking, and Drauc remained quiet through her tirade. At one level, he was perplexed at her reaction to his altruism, yet when she finished, he spoke without pause. "You seek to provoke me, as if my anger would prove something," he said and slowly, and he began to circle Dyan where she stood. He tilted his head sideways, quizzical to what she might be getting at.

"You will find two facts that might impede you." Walking around her, he made no motion of hostility, much less ire - his stare through the tresses of his hair intense yet unperturbed. "For one, whether I am angry do not prove my strength, it rather undermines it. My experience was once honed by ire, yet at this point, I do not need anger to fight. I need purpose. I see no purpose in proving myself to you."

Having said this, Drauc came to stand in front of Dyan again. "Secondly, I am confident enough in my skills, so I do not believe myself weak. Whether you chose to think so - in ignorance - is entirely up to you," he added, his stance remaining the same, yet the stillness of his figure belied his readiness. He was so still, that it seemed he might explode into sudden, brutal movements at any moment. The difference was in his mind, how he suspected that the Asurian might not like being wrong. "I don't see the point, yet if you want to test your assumption... you may do so at your earliest convenience."

Suddenly, the deck beneath their feet moved, as if the ship suddenly made a sharp turn. The inertial dampeners struggled to compensate, and Drauc caught his balance, but stumbled one step towards Dyan...

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton @CanadianVet @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe @FollowTomorrow @chXinya @Stegro88 
[Show/Hide]
For once, or finally, something went well, in how the cloak did activate, the dimming of lights and the makeshift program interface program loading on consoles around the bridge being a clear sign. They had pulled through in Engineering, Ravenholm likely being the designer behind the new LCARS screen. They'd had but miliseconds to spare before the fighters would have been right above them, and Trent gave the order to the helm to put a wide berth between them and the Black Wolves. A rotating, full-impulse course set. The reason was what Suq had told them.

The plasma leak, she remembered, how it was minimized but still there. Trent ordered Morgan Song to tend to the problem, but as Dewitt saw the young man bolt out of his chair and become replaced with Lavar Manfredi, she was thinking that - given the damaged cause to the warp core - there was little chance that anything could be done without further compromising it. There was no time either. The excess plasma had to go somewhere, and they were at the brink of power consumption already with the cloak activated. Still, Trent would continue their presence in the RV zone....

...and as Dewitt held on to the tactical holo table while Vector 01 spun along its trajectory, she thought of the message she had prepared, and looked at the button that would transmit it below her - flashing in her green eyes,

From: Lieutenant Commander Dewitt
To: Ensign Ryuan Sel

I am hereby relieving Commander Carrigan Trent of command of this Vector under Starfleet Regulation One-Six-Nine. Because his love interest Heather McMillan was abducted by the Savi, the Commanding Officer has become emotionally compromised and unable to make rational decisions. The proof of this is in personal confession to me, and in how he will try to go up against the Versant purely to reclaim her. He wants the ship reintegrated towards this purpose, at any cost. In disregard of this crew and of how this last Vector alone carry the truth of Starfleet Command, Commander Trent is now jeopardizing the future of the Federation by irrationally not taking the chance to leave this Rendevouz Zone.

My order, Ensign Ryuan, is to incapacitate Trent on these grounds, on my signal. You are not alone in receiving this message. The whole of the Security Department will be given the same instructions, should you fail to carry out your order.

I do not give this order lightly, and to not further cause chaos aboard, only act when I give a signal, not before.

Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt
Executive Officer of Vector 01 - The Helmet
Gritting her teeth, loose red hair across her eyes, Dewitt looked around the bridge. The deciding factor of whether to send the message or not, she recked, was if the Black Wolves would give chase. Her green eyes were firmly on the sensor readings. Still, she spoke to Zyrao, who was the closest. "I think we might need that EMP pulse - best sent from our deflector - to take out warp fighters, should things still turn sour..."

Please, she thought bitterly, looking at the symbols that marked fighters in their wake. Stay where you are. She didn't want to send the message to Sel's helmet HUD. She truly didn't, but she might not have any choice.

[ Lt Cmdr. Ashton "Warlock" Bates | Black Wolf-01 | Mk II Valkyrie Cockpit ]
One moment, Warlock had seen the marker for the anomaly on their sensors, just ahead of them. In the rolling particle clouds of the Azure Nebula, he had expected to see it, and he magnified ahead of time, to peer at it as soon as it entered the visual range of the Gryphon's systems.  There was still one cloud obscuring it, even if he was at the point of the echelon formation.

Then, for the barest of moments, he saw it, his eyes widening - seeing the distant lights of a ship.

And then, it seemingly shimmered out of existence.

"Black Wolves, I got an ocular verification that a ship just cloaked ahead of us, and the anomaly is now gone on sensors. The Theurgy cloaked above Theta Eridani IV," he said, having seen it with his own eyes, just before the whole Task Force had gone dark. As to why she hadn't cloaked earlier was anyone's guess. "Therefore, I am positive on enemy contact, Over. Spread the word to the fleet."

There was verbal verification from the pack, followed by the Dauntless and the Bellerophon, and the news spread like wildfire. Yet the Black Wolves were closest, and Ash was tasked to investigate. Of course, the Gryphon's sensors couldn't see shit in the nebula, but evidently, someone on the Bellerophon had sighted the Vector to begin with.

"Wolf Leader to the Bellerophon, I need your eyes. Are there any signs of presence left, or a trace to follow?"

After a couple of seconds, a young voice answered. "This is Ensign Berg on the Bellerophon, we detected a heat source, and it's now confirmed as plasma. I am seeing a faint trace leading away from your position, bearing Two-Five-Zero mark Four-Five. Hurry, for it is dispersing fast."

Ashton didn't bother to reply, instantaneously throttling up his Gyphon and adjusting his course for pursuit. "Wolves, on my lead, now! Weapons free! Fire phasers along the given trajectory! Compromise that cloak! Ensign Berg, if you are still there, keep talking to us!"

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton @CanadianVet @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe @FollowTomorrow @chXinya @Stegro88 
[Show/Hide]

And on the Helmet, where she saw the fighters give chase, Dewitt's heart sank. She closed her eyes momentarily, the shouts of pursuers and pulse phasers in their wake heard. She pressed the button, and sent the message to Ryuan Sel and the rest of Security.

The message was away...

...when she saw new symbols appearing. She frowned, hardly believing her eyes. "It's... It's the Sabine, with three warp fighters in pursuit!"


OOC: All right! Seven days of posting time begins today. Please notice how Dewitt has not given any signal to Ryuan Sel yet, merely informed her, Dyan Cardamone and the rest of Security (Not sure Dyan would be able to see the message now anyway?). The phaser fire of the Gryphons - firing at random along the trajectories that the Bellerophon is feeding them - will gradually compromise the cloak, and there is no power for shields! The Dauntless and the Bellerophon are behind the Black Wolves, no more than 30 seconds behind. And behind them, the remaining Task Force Archeron. So... Keep moving!

Please remember that the Thames is prepped and ready, the EMP pulse possibility, and the readied torpedoes. High speed chase and combat, go! This is also a posting cue for Stegro88 and Fife, who may introduce their characters Chance and Foxfire in this thread! Their close proximity in the right time and place is largely incidental, yet drawn in the last couple of seconds by the phaser fire of the Black Wolves.

All Supplemental Threads that are started between characters on this Vectors will have to be set before this time of 0810 hrs. on Day 06, but not afterwards, and they should also be posted on the Part 1 board. Just like in the interregnum, Supplemental one-on-one threads are started at your leisure! Supplemental threads should be named CH05: S [DXX|YYYY] Insert Title, and can extend as far back as right after the battle with the Versant and all the way up to 0810 hrs on Day 06, where the third Rendevouz began.


Main Bridge & Deck 01: [Show/Hide]
Known staff on the Helmet: [Show/Hide]
The Black Wolves Squadron, those marked in yellow are inbound: [Show/Hide]
Present ships from Task Force Archeron, the ones marked in yellow inbound: [Show/Hide]
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Absinthe on September 22, 2018, 09:16:07 AM
[ Ensign Ryuan Sel | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]

There was a tiny ping in her helmet and the message popped up. She almost cursed aloud as she scanned it quickly. She wondered how long it was going to be before there was dissent within the ranks, how long it would be before someone took a shot, and it wasn't like she could pretend that Trent was making the best decisions for the task they had been given. There was no point in standing and fighting, not unless their goal was to join their crewmates in whatever was beyond this life. Yet she knew not to question and order, she knew to be ready.

She would have questioned the judgment of removing the Commander from the Captain's chair, she would have even let him defend himself, but the message made it clear that if she did not act one of the yahoos from her own department would. Her choices were to quickly adapt and fall in line or to stand against not just the Lieutenant Commander, but also any members of her own department who might get any ideas about replacing her as well.

So she turned toward Lieutenant Commander Dewitt and gave a simple nod. She had her Accipiter strapped to the back of the exosuit and she could have it in her hands and ready to fire in less than a second. She would only need to move.

Without a word she logged off of the console she was using and moved to a more strategically advantageous position, picking near one of the two accessible turbolifts on the bridge. Her eyes drifted to the other security officer on the bridge and she gave him a subtle nod, letting him now to position himself at the other turbolift entrance. They would cut off the methods of escape and they would move into position making it look like they were guarding the bridge access points. It was all done wordlessly and with the efficiency to make it look like it was planned, and really it had been. She'd run a couple of drills as to how they would handle a rogue member of the bridge crew without alerting that member until the time came. She had thought the drill was in preparation to find out someone on the bridge was one of those fucking monsters, she had not ever banked on taking part in what was basically an officially sanctioned mutiny.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: CanadianVet on September 22, 2018, 10:51:27 PM
[ Commander Carrigan Trent | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @The Ostrich @Triton @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @BZ @Absinthe

Trent's focus was on the plot before him.  Even as the Helmet moved in a vector that would take it complete off its original course, he could see how they were still being followed.  That bloody plasma trail was dong them absolutely no favours, and they had to stop that bleeding before long.  Especially since it would seem there were infuriatingly capable crews on those ships, and they were following the trail with a dogged precision.  And until it could be physically clamped shut, all they could hope for was to use gross physical movement to break up the stream.

And those fighters in hot pursuit were a genuine concern.  Their fire was getting closer and closer, and he heard, from behind him, the idea to resort to an EMP to deal with them.  Electromagnetic phenomena were something Starfleet vessels were designed to deal with quite well; even fighters were meant to have some kind of scientific value, and entirely too many natural occurrences put out enough energy on the EM spectrum that was far beyond what could be generated by a starship.  But the fact their 'advisor' had thought of it did lead a part of Trent's mind to wonder if Klingon vessels exhibited a weakness to the electromagnetic spectrum.
 However, subspace interference was another problem entirely so far as Starfleet vessels were concerned. 

"Belay EMP," he said softly.  "All that would do is light up a flare.  Commander Martin, rig the main deflector to emit a narrow-pattern, maximum power, broadband subspace blast and activate as she bears.  Mister Veradin, bring our bow about but maintain our current vector; get the pursuing fighters lined up with our  deflector dish; once the blast is away, bring us bow down and change our vector 90 degrees down, full impulse again, maintain our corkscrew and roll pattern about the base course."

But more information came in even as he gave those orders.  The Sabine was there, with fighters behind her.  But there was something odd about their flight profile.  They had to have a good solution, but they were not firing.  "Ensign Eloi-Danver, narrowbeam secure channel to the Sabine, use Ensign Zeshryr's encryption; inquire as to their status."
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: FollowTomorrow on September 22, 2018, 11:19:13 PM
[ Dyan Cardamone/Sar-unga Neleo | Thea's room | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @Auctor Lucan

She rolled her eyes, because for as much as Drauc spoke, she knew she was not being understood. She shook her head and her hair went flying, as if trying to make the anger that pressed against the insides of her skull just go away. Her head hurt. Her heart hurt. She didn’t know why either of these things hurt.

She glared up at him, her own eyes hidden by strands of near-translucent hair. The ship turned sharply, but she had two legs and a tail to balance her. It whipped about and she stood without falling. Drauc fell towards her, she grabbed the collar of his shirt with her fists. And held him up with teeth bared. Her sindt punctured his shirt, entirely by accident, but it served to emphasize her aggressive mood. She brought him close, very close, their lips almost touching and her heated breath on his neck. Just as randomly as her anger had appeared, so appeared...a furious desire. Like hatred, but combined with a want to take him. A confusing emotion, even for Dyan.

“Your skills mean nothing if your character is weak.” She muttered so quietly he could hear. “You’re laying yourself low like you want to submit...” Her eyes were locked onto his, brief flashes of both violence and sex flitted through her mind as she realized she could probably work those character flaws of his out of him, if she “trained” him well enough. Her teeth were close to his bottom lip, she made as if to bite...

“This is Master Chief PO Klex Sonden--” Interrupted a voice, and she threw Drauc at the floor the way one throws a tantrum. Her anger was prickly, her mind becoming an unpleasant substance to be exposed to. Thankfully, she was no longer targeting Drauc, even though the ideas she had were still there.

“Those of you who are away from your PADD’s, please check your messages.” He asked, almost stupidly cheerful compared to Sar-Unga’s sheer hatred of everything right now. She grabbed Drauc’s wrist and stomped, like a child, towards where she knew the nearest console could be, her mind filled with a cacophony of swear words, so she could read whatever god-forsaken message was more important than fucking the wimp out of Drauc.

“This had better be fucking good--” She muttered, but when she opened the message, she thought Damn. This IS fucking good. A wicked smile broke her fury. Suddenly, she had a new target in her mind, and the thirst for blood re-ignited.

"We're going to the bridge Drauc. You're gonna love this party."




[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ]
Lorad had a great idea. Using the shields to keep a plasma trail inside, that was perfect. It’d solve all his problems right now. But between him and F’rell, there just wasn’t enough power to work on shields and cloaking. This ship was not built to multitask like that. It was one or the other and he chose the one that would keep them covered.

Suq stood at his console, he had to manually maintain some parts of the cloak, but not all. He had to focus particularly on the temperature of the EPS conduits and how much plasma was leaking. He was trying to shut down conduits, redirect flow, but spirits, just where was this leak anyway?

Silently, he prayed, because he felt death bear down on him like an asthma attack.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Brutus on September 28, 2018, 04:22:35 PM
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triage @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet  
[Show/Hide]

"Ensign Eloi-Danver, narrow beam secure channel to the Sabine, use Ensign Zeshryr's encryption; inquire as to their status." Carrigan Trent issued the orders to Faye without missing a beat, before plowing along to the next task on his mind. Simple enough orders, easy to follow. Easier still if she couldn't sense the worry rolling off Trent.

He was trying, very hard, to stay on top of the game. To keep them alive while not giving up on the other vectors. And her own treacherous heart wanted them to reunite with the vectors as well. With the rest of the wayward crew. The only others in the Galaxy that understood the situation. And of course, with Riley.

This is why they are careful with relationships and chains of command, Faye thought to herself. Though she was command track, as a diplomatic attache and specialist it was unlikely that she herself would ever command anything more than a purely diplomatic vessel, and likely not have to make the cold kind of command decisions that was being asked of Carrigan Trent. A man whom, Faye knew, intimately longed to save the life of a woman he loved. And she suspected that she was not the only one aware of this. For she could feel worry and concern rolling off of Trent's acting first officer, Dewitt.

The further away from Faye, the harder it was to pick up individual thoughts. She got more of an impression, and stark one, that Dewitt thought Trent might jeopardize them all with his desires. They had a truth to carry to the Federation, to the Galaxy. It was a heavy responsibility and there was concern that Trent might not be able to meet that burden.

Heavy lies the head, she thought, a half remembered bit of jargon from her mother. She shut her coal black eyes and then looks back at her controls. The computer had called up Lt (jg). Zeshyr's encryption code. A few keystrokes and this was in turn entered into the burst command. Taking a deep breath and shutting out Trents fears, Dewitts suspicions and her own deep desires, Faye spoke.

"USS Theurgy calling Sabine on encrypted channel. Lt. Zeshyr," A picture of the Orion woman, recently promoted, filled Faye's mind. "Status please? Respond on this frequency, tight beam only. The less we do to be detected the better." How, Faye wondered, did she keep her voice so calm when everyone around her was full of fear and worry?
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on September 30, 2018, 12:24:44 PM
[ Drauc T'Laus (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Drauc_T%27Laus) | Main Computer Core | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]
Challenge or not, the turn of the ship had caught Drauc unawares, his focus having entirely been upon Dyan. When he caught his balance, it was with the aid of Dyan grabbing his collar, and slicing his threadbare attire in the process. She believed she'd nicked his skin as well, but the glare she gave him made him remain still. As precaution, since the Asurian seemed almost intent to kill him, his scarred hands had balled into white-knuckled fists at his sides, his entire frame taught in promise of sudden movement...

...yet the Asurian whispered to him, and seemed rather prone to kiss him than kill him, making his scarred forehead crease in a frown of consternation. She might be questioning his character, but the tension between them was something other, a kind he wasn't sure he'd experienced before. Her mind... it was like the night before, when they had ended up sharing quarters. Did she truly..?

A message, breaking the spell, and Dyan seemingly catching herself at what she was doing. It made her attempt to throw him to the deck, a motion which merely made him stumble a step or two, and he caught his balance by grabbing her wrist. She'd grabbed his as well, and they were locked in something between a fight and the opposite of it, staring at each other while the message was heard. It seemed important enough, and Dyan tugged at him, leading him towards a wall-mounted control panel. He followed, wordlessly, and read the contents of the message across Dyan's shoulder.

"We're going to the bridge Drauc. You're gonna love this party."

Having read the message, Drauc was not entirely in agreement. Still, if the First Officer's words held any merit, and the acting Captain was emotionally compromised, then he'd lend a hand. He was a mere civilian, but Dyan wanted him with her, so he'd go, since one might see it has her requisitioning his aid in defending the ship. Perhaps not from an external threat, but a domestic one.

"Lead the way," he said, glancing towards her, wondering what had just happened between them. Likely, he'd never know.


OOC: Lunchtime, but this part of the post is finished, so I might just post it before the other two sections with Sera and Dewitt. :) Stay tuned!
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on September 30, 2018, 04:53:38 PM
[ Sera vers Aldnoah (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sera_vers_Aldnoah) | Cockpit | SS Sabine NX-59846 | Azure Nebula ] @Triage @Vox @Fife @Stegro88 @bru
[Show/Hide]
Having been piloting the Sabine at a cautious pace through the part of the nebula where the task force had been spotted, Sera vers Aldnoah had just been leading the way for the three fighters from the Black Wolves that had decided to defect to the Theurgy's cause. Doing so, she had been keeping an eye on her scanners to spot any activity in their path. A'vura had been silent as well, neither of them sure how to best make conversation with the three fighters behind them. They were likely talking amongst each other instead, and Sera could just hope they weren't having second thoughts. Then again, it was far too late for that now, since they had attacked their own squadmates already.

Ten minutes after they had set their marching pace, adjusted to be ideal for the slower Gryphon fighters as well, there was a sound from Sera's sensors, and her eyes widened. "For a moment there, I am positive there was phaser fire detected within the sensor range."

"Drop out of warp, it must be the Theurgy," said A'vura quickly, and her green hand had already gone for the warp throttle.

"Burn you, what...!" Sera hadn't been quick enough, and the Sabine was back at impulse speed. The sensors gradually managed to pinpoint the energy bursts again, since they had overshot the disturbance, and Sera was left to communicate with the fighters before they went too far. "Sabine to Lone Wolves," she said, having designated them all in her comm system in that fashion, "drop out of warp and follow. We've likely detected the Theurgy, or at least readings of phaser fire"

This was really not what Sera had hoped for, rather wishing to have avoided another confrontation and waited at the given coordinates for the Theurgy instead, but A'vura had made the call for her. Grudgingly, she set a new course, turning the Sabine around, and shot off towards the blazing trail of phaser fire emissions on her sensors.

"I hope we are not too late," said A'vura, a worried crease on her green forehead.

"Late or not, burn me, I don't like our odds either way," said Sera quietly, intercepting the trail of fiery emissions through the Azure Nebula. It was odd, she found, for while she soon could pick out individual fighter crafts and how they were firing at something, she couldn't really see anything in front of their trajectories on her sensors. Eventually, she was able to see two capital ships that were following the fighters, and she swore in Câroon under her breath. She had no interest going up against those in the Sabine. If it came to that, she'd have to knock out the Orion and blast off. She'd miss Zyrao on that ship, perhaps Lorad, but she'd rather stay alive.

Then, the hail came, from the Theurgy, originating out of nowhere on some kind of encrypted channel. A'vura leapt at it, punching in a few authorisation numbers before they could eat the message. "This is A'vura Zehryr," she answered the hail, "we're inbound... I think, but we can't see you?"

Sera shook her head, knowing what the Theurgy really wanted to know. "Sera here. About the fighters on our tail, they're with us now. Don't shoot at them if you want them to stay that way. Repeat, mark them as allies," she said, no time for further explanation. "The other fighters, bearing Nine-Two-Five-Mark-Zero, they are casing you,right? Blood and ashes, if that's the case, we'll try to take some heat off your backs, but we're still outnumbered. Can you do something to even the flaming odds for us?"

A'vura was talking to the fighters behind them, informing them about the situation as she heard it.

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton @CanadianVet @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe @FollowTomorrow @chXinya @Stegro88 
[Show/Hide]
Hearing the voices from the Sabine over the hail, Dewitt stepped up next to Faye's shoulder, already having something in mind. Trent had already given the order for it, adapting Zyrao Natauna's excellent base idea by using the deflector array instead, and setting Vivian Martin to the task of calibrating the burst.

"This is Dewitt on the Theurgy," she said over the open comm channel. "Hold back for a little while longer, then have at them! You'll see your cue!"

Then, she rounded on Derik Veradin. "Now!"

"Yes, ma'am." Derik yanked the short flight stick on the helm controls sideways, and the Helmet turned on a dime mid-impulse. The helmsman from the Resolve adjusted the impulse throttle in sync with the turn, letting the Vector continue along it's trajectory at the same approximate speed, yet turning the bow of the pointed saucer section of the Theurgy around to face their pursuers. Once aligned, Dewitt turned to Vivian Martin. "Fire!" followed by a glance towards Leon Marquez at tactical, since according to the Reman Lorad, they were able to use the weapon systems even if cloaked. "Weapons free!"

Unfortunately, the Black Wolves on their tail were able to score hits against them, making their cloak fluctuate during the shoot-out, and the Helmet shake violently from impacts against their un-shielded hull.


OOC: All right! Seven days of posting time begins after @The Ostrich posts next!. The Dauntless and the Bellerophon are behind the Black Wolves, no more than 30 seconds behind. And behind them, the remaining Task Force Archeron. Please remember that the Thames is prepped and ready, and the readied torpedoes. High speed chase and combat, go! This is also a new posting cue for @Stegro88 , @Fife and @Vox who may introduce their characters Chance, Foxfire and Wraith in this thread, attacking Warlock and the others on the Helmet's tail.

All Supplemental Threads that are started between characters on this Vectors will have to be set before this time of 0810 hrs. on Day 06, but not afterwards, and they should also be posted on the Part 1 board. Just like in the interregnum, Supplemental one-on-one threads are started at your leisure! Supplemental threads should be named Chapter 05: Supplemental [Day XX | YYYY hrs.] Insert Title, and can extend as far back as right after the battle with the Versant and all the way up to 0810 hrs on Day 06, where the third Rendevouz began.


Main Bridge & Deck 01: [Show/Hide]
Known staff on the Helmet: [Show/Hide]
The Black Wolves Squadron, those marked in yellow are inbound: [Show/Hide]
Present ships from Task Force Archeron, the ones marked in yellow inbound: [Show/Hide]
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: The Ostrich on October 01, 2018, 10:26:36 AM
[ LtCmdr Vivian Martin | Bridge | Deck 1 | Vector 1 |USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triton @CanadianVet @BZ @Absinthe @FollowTomorrow @chXinya @Stegro88

[Show/Hide]


Everything was happening at once now, it was almost a struggle to keep up with each new development. The Theurgy had finally cloaked, the fighters and ships of the pursuing Task Force were bearing down on them, the Sabine had returned, and now Commander Trent had orders for her too. A narrow-pattern, maximum power, broadband subspace blast, to be emitted from their main deflector.

Vivian’s mind raced as her fingers danced across her console. She had an idea as to where the commander was going with this plan, and she knew that she would need to be ready with her part at precisely the right moment. The key to everything would be timing, and ensuring the power drain from her deflector trick wouldn’t cause the cloak or another key system to collapse at a crucial moment.

She checked over her calculations and ensured that the deflector was prepared and primed once more before she swallowed nervously and turned to face the centre of the bridge. ”The deflector is ready on your command.” She quickly faced her screen again, her finger hovering over the button which would release the blast.

Time seemed to stretch into an eternity. She heard orders being given to bring the Vector around. Vivian held her breath as the Vector seemed to take forever to line up with their hunters. Finally the order came, and Vivian slammed her finger down on the button, the lights dimmed as power was temporarily drawn away from other systems and she unleashed the power of their deflector in the direction of their pursuants. ”Deflector blast away!” she called out as the Vector shuddered under the impact of incoming weapons fire. Wincing in sympathy with the tortured hull Vivian reached out and patted her console. ”You’ve done well, don’t fail us now.” she whispered to the ship.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: BZ on October 02, 2018, 04:28:42 AM
[Zyrao Natauna |  Bridge Duty | Strategic Movements | Gathering Intel |  Shift in Power]
@Auctor Lucan

Another bite.  The sweet yet not too sweet fruit filled her mouth.  Chewing slowly grey eyes didn't dart around the bridge.  That was an amateur move.  That gave away everything, it was the subtle art of being able to look and worth through your peripheral vision that did so much good.  She looked down at the bowl but she was actually watching the Bridge.  The subtle shifts.  The tension in Dewitt's shoulders that only got more pronounced even after she mentioned that the EMP was a good idea but one best saved for later.  Even after Zyrao had assured her that all plans had at least some merit.  Not that the merit was high, but everything had at least a spark.  Still, there was that, and then there was the eye contact of the woman sitting at the security station.  The one that nodded. 

Communication had happened.

Zyrao could not read Standar and that was just fine with her for the time being.  She would learn, given time, to read it just as she had learned how to read Klingon, Breen, Cardassian, and other languages that she had come across.  Right now it was unimportant nor did she have the time to devote to giving herself such opportunities.  Still, something was a foot and Zyrao's interest was piqued.  She could not tell what was going on but the moment that the other woman rose from her console and shifted herself on the Bridge, Zyrao put another piece of fruit in her mouth and chewed slowly leaning back a little bit. Stretching her neck side to side to work out the muscles in her neck and shoulders for a moment.  She spotted where the woman had moved. 

Prime location if one was to make an attack on the Center Seat.

Zyrao smirked softly to herself.  She made eye contact with Dewitt and gave her a bit of a nod.  Stating, silently, that if it came to whatever plan she had in mind she was game.  She was not a fan of the man that was playing Captain, and she felt that Dewitt seemed to have a better head on her shoulders.  Though, if that was going to be something easily done or even something that would actually happen in any way remained to be seen.  But Zy had picked out everything that she could from reading the Bridge.

Trent decided to twist her idea into something more usable and she was glad for it.  There was something to be said that he hadn't discounted her completely but saw the merit in her work and she had been able to help a little bit.  Even if she was currently having a snack.  There was a voice, and Zyrao stood up straight and looked over at the communications device that gave her Sera's voice from the Sabine out there doing a fight.  Still alive, that was amazing, and she hoped that she could see Sera again.  She knew that the woman had entertained others the night previous, and Zyrao had slept and played in other Quarters while collecting her uniform just to fuck with Trent.  But, for now, she was just glad that the woman was alive. Whether they ended up being something or not that would be something to be seen later.  Right now, they had battles to fight, and wars to win. 

She wished that she could say something to the woman and give her a boost but it would only be distracting and they weren't really in a place to actually do that for one another.  Maybe later, maybe not, but she was glad for the woman who had been one of the only kind people here on the ship so far.  The plan began to take place and Zyrao finished the last of her fruit as her attention turned to the fact that they were waiting to see if the plan they had collectively come up with had been able to do any good.  She knew that Trent was trying to rendezvous with the rest of the ship.  That it had been broken up into various different pieces and they were waiting but, she specifically, would like to not die just because they were waiting for others to come up and join them.  She hoped that he would see the necessity to survive but then she wasn't sure what kind of Catpain he was when he made decisions.  So far, her opinion of him had changed little. 
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Triton on October 02, 2018, 03:39:46 PM
[ Lt Cdr Leon Marquez | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy | Lighting the Fireworks ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @The Ostrich  @JayLatte  @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe

The Witching Hour had begun. "Contacts, two Gryphon fighters, one Valravn, same course as Sabine. No weapons fire or hunting pattern." Leon's display reflected sensor findings on the holo-table, which included a render of the nebula's conditions in this spot. Leon wanted to get out of this soup and see real stars again.

The Sabine's arrival had given the Tactical display a much-needed ray of hope. No weapons fire heralded this. Leon manually strode over to the display as the Vector turned, making walking look easy in this maneuver, as if surfing while he walked. While getting a grip on the holo-table, Marquez displayed the readouts and life signs. Câroon and Orion. Female. Witching hour indeed, given Vivian's pending magic. Leon made sure they had a private channel.

"This is A'vura Zehryr," she answered the hail, "we're inbound... I think, but we can't see you?"

"Good to see you, Sabine, we're using a Reman cloak to elude the incoming task force." Leon reported before the tactical display indicated Theurgy was about to fire its deflector blast. Vivian's words were spoken in time as another voice, Sera's, was heard, stating that the ones behind her were allies. How did that happen?

"The other fighters, bearing Nine-Two-Five-Mark-Zero, they are casing you,right? Blood and ashes, if that's the case, we'll try to take some heat off your backs, but we're still outnumbered. Can you do something to even the flaming odds for us?"

"We're on it. Advise your escorts: detonation imminent. You'll get your ashes.... now." Marquez reported. 

The CTO felt the ship's center of gravity tilt as Veradin maneuvered the Helm into a turn. The deflector was ready to fire. Then, it gave off its pulse, draining power momentarily from other systems. A dark beam distorted the Azure Nebula, as lightning-like white electrical discharges in its wake.

Then came the XO's authorization for weapons free. From the station, Marquez activated as much of the torpedoes he'd left in his wake on prior orders, and set the forward phaser arrays to auto-target the hostile contacts. He didn't fire all the torpedoes at once, but the sudden launch and feints he'd preset before were now going live in real-time as his indicators scored direct hits on the shields of a couple of fighters. Marquez rightfully considered the Dauntless's much more numerous torpedoes a higher threat, followed by her phaser array, so if they came into range, wasn't about to spend all the torpedoes. 

Normally, the partially-dormant streak of barbarism some humans allegedly still had in them would've given just a modicum of satisfaction, but those weren't Dominion or even Borg forces out there, it was a hunt to the death. It was only a personal score to settle with Hawthorne's species and those under their sway that kept Leon's focus and stayed his hesitation. Despite not having the same amount of firepower or assets that another vector would have, the ability to cloak and fade was the best advantage they had. "Discharge complete. Torpedoes away, phasers lit. Marking your escorts' IFF as Friendly, have them report in."

Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Stegro88 on October 02, 2018, 05:37:40 PM
[ Tesserarius Lorad | Vector 01 Engineering | Deck 06 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]


Lorad had waited with gritted teeth as they ship coasted through the nebula. He waited for the tell-tale vibrations of the ship taking weapons fire from the ships that were seeking them out. If they had been close enough and seen them cloak, then that was the only way that they would be able to penetrate the cloak; kinetic impacts.

With all the frenzied chaos in Engineering, Lorad was almost sure that no one noticed their arrival, but he did thanks to his training. Two armoured members of the ship’s security force now stood in prime positions just inside the main doors. From that position, they could easily defend the room from anyone trying to breach it while at the same time giving them a clear field of fire around the room in case an attack came from another entrance or within the room itself; say from a force that transported in.

If Lorad was planning a boarding action; several groups deployed both in and around the Engineering room would have the highest chance of success. But a thought niggled at his mind; why had they only arrived now? What had changed? Did Lorad need to contact Trent so that he could move to Sickbay and defend his sister?



Lt. JG Donna ‘Chance’ Petterson | Wolf 07 | Azure Nebula ]
[Show/Hide]

Donna had been silent for most of their journey through the nebula as the Sabine led them back towards where Sera and Lieutenant A’vura believed the Theurgy to be. Donna was silently hopeful that they were right. The nebula around them was crawling with Taskforce Archeron ships and sooner or later they would all be alerted to what she and Isel had done. Moments ago the Sabine had dropped out of warp and she and the other fighters had been quickly directed to do the same, to chase an unknown source of phaser fire.

“Phasers, awesome,” Donna thought to herself as she and the others careened through the nebula towards the unknown.

“Lone Wolves, we have reached Theurgy,” A’vura’s voice came across the comm channel they all shared. “They are currently cloaked and being pursued by 6 members of your former squadron. We have been directed to hold here until something detonates and then to have at them.”

“Cloaked, that’s a neat trick,” Donna thought to herself, wondering how they had managed to pull that off. “And what is detonating?”

No sooner had she considered what she had been told than a beam of… darkness, was the best she could do to describe it, distorted the nebula from an invisible point. The beam travelled away from that point with white electrical discharges arching around the beam. Moments after that appeared, phaser fire erupted from the same originating point and Donna got her first true sense of the ship’s location.

“Wolves engage. IFF has been tagged as friendly and the Theurgy added to comms,” A’vura reported to the three fighters. “Please report in.”

Theurgy, this is Wolf-07, callsign Chance,” Donna said as she brought her fighter up onto the port wing of the Sabine in the beginnings of an echelon formation. "Glad to finally reach you," Donna said as she readied her fighter for combat. She was about to ask Foxfire to form up when she heard the Vulpinian begin to speak.

Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Fife on October 02, 2018, 10:08:47 PM
[ Ensign Isel “Foxfire” Nix | Wolf-08 | Azure Nebula ]

Foxfire sighed as she finished checking her fighter’s status and flight path for the umpteenth time before glancing outside her cockpit at Wolf-07 to her starboard side. They had maintained silence throughout the trip, leaving Isel to her own thoughts. Those thoughts, coupled with the silence, had left the Vulpinian in a grumpy mood. The comms silence wouldn’t have been so bad if she had been able to talk with Bourbon, her RIO. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Bourbon was still out cold as a result of the gassing she’d received as part of Chance’s plan for defection. And so, Isel was left to wonder what lay ahead of them. If the two Black Wolves they had disabled had managed to get word to the rest of the squadron, then Wraith, Chance and herself would all be branded as traitors by the rest of the Black Wolves. The accented woman aboard the Sabine had referred to them as Lone Wolves when they had set out following the engagement, though Isel suspected the Theurgy’s Lone Wolves squadron wouldn’t be too quick to accept them into their ranks either.

The Sabine suddenly dropped out of warp, instructing the three traitorous pilots to follow suit as they move to investigate phaser fire. As she brought her fighter about and moved back into formation with the others.

[Lone Wolves, we have reached the Theurgy,] A’vura’s voice came over the comms from the Sabine, [They are currently cloaked and being pursued by 6 members of your former squadron. We have been directed to hold here until something detonates and then to have at them]

So we wait for things to blow up, then waltz our way into a 4-on-6 dogfight? Great… Isel thought to herself, though she stopped her mental grumbling when she saw something seem to come out of nothing, from an unoccupied point in the nebula. A beam of some sort, though not one she’s ever seen before, seeming to comprise of darkness with electrical discharged arching all around it. Just moments later, Foxfire saw phaser fire lancing out form the same point that the beam originated, leading the Vulpinian pilot to conclude that must be the Theurgy’s location.

[Wolves engage. IFF has been tagged as friendly and the Theurgy added to comms,] A’vura informed them, [Please report in.]

She heard Donna report in as her fighter maneuvered to take up position off the Sabine’s wing. Isel brought her own fighter into position off Chance’s port wing as she keyed her own comm line open.

”USS Theurgy, this is Wolf-08, callsign Foxfire.” Isel said over the comms. The Vulpinian fought the urge to say more, knowing that she had a tendency to get herself into trouble when she let herself talk. Sneaking through a nebula trying to reach a cloaked traitor ship which was being hunted by an entire task force was hardly the time to start running her mouth.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: CanadianVet on October 03, 2018, 01:30:26 AM
[ Commander Carrigan Trent | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @The Ostrich @Triton @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @BZ @Absinthe @Stegro88

And just like that, even before Theurgy's current captain could speak, Jennifer Dewitt abandoned his current policy of stealth and maneuver and committed Vector 1, these incoming fighters and Sabine to action.  His head snapped towards the Tactical station, and it would take a rare fool to not pick up on the searing yet cold fury in his eyes, while his face had remained locked in the cold, calm mask it had been so far.  And then, he understood. 

He thought he had heard a hint of defiance in her voice, a challenge when she had asked him what his orders were earlier.  And he had known she had been all for making a run for it the second Task Force Archeron had appeared.  She knew she vehemently disagreed with his decision to at least make a serious attempt to rescue the crew that had been taken by the Savi in order to maintain the morale and loyalty of the crew. And now, with fighters whose pilots they had no particular reason to trust and a heavily armed shuttlecraft she had sent into action, with the weapons fire she had ordered from Marquez, she not only forced his hand, she shattered every hope they had of remaining hidden and making good their escape on his terms.

"Cease fire!  Shipboard weapons hold!  Helm evasive action!"  His voice exploded in a whipcrack reminiscent of a chemically-powered gunshot.  Oh, he had seen the auxiliary craft screaming in for their attack run on the fighters.  But the real threat was Bellerophon.  She was the one exploration vessel, the one that had led the chase along their dissipating plasma trail.  And if they had someone on board who knew their job that well and could track that, weapons fire would be just as bad as decloaking and heaving to in terms of suicidal behaviour. 

Normally, he would not have countermanded his XO so publicly, but she had given him no choice; that was something that would need addressing immediately after they would secure from Red Alert.  Assuming they survived her folly.  But he could not leave the fighters out there. Even a ship as small as Bellerophon could make short work of small craft, and he could not just leave them to die.  "Helm, shape a course for us to wait for the Bellerophon. Lay an ambush for her arrival, get us close, just short of scraping shields, full impulse.  Mister Marquez, you will have one pass to give her everything we've got to effect mission-kill."

Mission-kill. To render the ship unable to continue effectively in operation.  Going for the hard-kill, to cause sufficient damage for the ship to break apart or explode, that was fairly easy; but to simply render her helpless?  That required a lot more skill and finesse.  But Carrigan Trent simply would not kill any more Starfleet personnel than he had to; there were already enough of those on his conscience.

And only then did he open a channel to the fighters and Sabine.  "This is the Captain. Focus on the remaining fighters and when she arrives, take the Dauntless out of the fight. We have the Bellerophon."


GM Note: Post edited because of a misunderstanding about the distance to the Dauntless and the Bellerophon, as previously stated, they are 20 seconds behind Vector 01 and the Black Wolves, and out of weapon's range. The change is about fighter on fighter action and preparing for the arrival of the Dauntless and the Bellerophon.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: FollowTomorrow on October 03, 2018, 02:22:44 AM
[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ]

He wasn’t too sure what was happening. He had no warning that anything was going to hit them until it hit them, and then he was forced to hold onto the console to make sure he didn’t go flying.

He heard the cloaking device falter. Just as the cloak flickered, the whine of the electronic behind him did too. There was a high chance this console would explode right in front of him if the battle kept up.

The ship was still rocking from the barrage of blows, so he could only operate the console with one hand. Shit didn’t just hit the fan, shit surrounded the fan on all sides. As he started to feel real, tangible pain across his body once more, his mind returning back to the real world, he felt his chest burn. He would not fail.

The cloak was going again within seconds, and he’d be doing what he could to keep it that way.

[ Dyan Cardamone/Sar-unga Neleo | Outside the Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @Auctor Lucan

Sar-Unga Neleo, she thought, she liked the ring of her own name. She was thinking about that on the way up there. The sound of her name, the way Drauc said it. There were a number of thoughts that he was exposed to that were downright lewd. The task she had just been assigned came up a grand total of zero times. She didn’t think once about the brevity of it, the tactical situation. She came up with no plans. She didn’t even feel as if she needed one.

So when Dyan brought Drauc outside the bridge’s entrance, it would have been only too understandable to feel nervous. Dyan, however, did not. She had her orders. She liked her orders. She would carry them out, when the cue was given.
“You ready?” She asked Drauc, smiling over at him like nothing had happened just a few moments ago. Like she wasn’t just thinking of him naked a few seconds ago.

Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Triton on October 03, 2018, 05:22:31 AM
[ Lt Cdr Leon Marquez | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy | Lighting the Fireworks ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @The Ostrich  @JayLatte  @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe

"Cease fire!  Shipboard weapons hold!  Helm evasive action!" Came the CO's commanding bellow.

"Ceasing fire, weapons hold." Leon reacted without hesitation, and he realized that the festering but barely-transparent rivalry was growing on the two. Marquez's gut sensed something behind a glare he reflected to with a Vulcan-grade raise of an eyebrow; it was the extra shifts, the frayed nerves but also the hawkish way Leon noticed Dewitt regarding the Acting CO. He had fired a couple of torpedoes against the pursuing fighters, result unknown, but the forward phaser arrays wasn't firing any more.

"Helm, shape a course for us to wait for the Bellerophon. Lay an ambush for her arrival, get us close, just short of scraping shields, full impulse.  Mister Marquez, you will have one pass to give her everything we've got to effect mission-kill."

"Aye, sir. Floor it, Derik!" Leon barked, breaking the flow of report exchanges by reading confirmation, hoping they could swing around the ensuing fighter-to-fighter dogfight unscathed. "Targeting solution on Bellerophon underway, Captain." Leon reported from his corner of the holographic table display to take direct command of the moment where they'd pass the Intrepid ship.

"This is the Captain. Focus on the remaining fighters and when she arrives, take the Dauntless out of the fight. We have the Bellerophon." Trent reported.

Leon acted before his orders could be countermanded and prepared for the ambush, by calibrating random warhead-approaches for the soon-to-be-fired photon torpedoes. He would let only the best-timed torpedoes be guided by Marquez's fingertips on the holotable, indicating how hard to hit, and where from. This would be only the first salvo, before Veradin would steer them into a path for an alpha strike while the now-IFF-registered allied Gryphon fighters began their attack on the Dauntless; fortunately they were loaded as ship-killers, a divine twist of irony. As easy as it was to imagine Leon's adversaries as parasite-controlled unwitting-accomplices, the possibility to 'accidentally' settle the score with William Ross made this situation even remotely palatable to him.


GM Note: Post edited because of a misunderstanding about the distance to the Dauntless and the Bellerophon, as previously stated, they are 20 seconds behind Vector 01 and the Black Wolves, and out of weapon's range. The change is about fighter on fighter action and preparing for the arrival of the Dauntless and the Bellerophon.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on October 03, 2018, 11:35:44 AM
[ Sera vers Aldnoah (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sera_vers_Aldnoah) | Cockpit | SS Sabine NX-59846 | Azure Nebula ] @Triage @Vox @Fife @Stegro88
[Show/Hide]
Oh, the cue was unmistakable.

Sera's yellow eyes widened when that subspace distortion lanced out towards the warp fighters - seemingly out of nowhere. Harried as the saucer section of the Theurgy was by the pursuing fighters, it was as if it had turned around in defence without loosing much impulse velocity, firing off that... thing, along with phasers and torpedoes. Only the silhouette of the Vector could only be seen in flickering moments when it was hit by the phasers of its pursuers. No more, after the Theurgy made it's riposte.

That weird beam had caught two of the Gryphon fighters, which were tumbling onwards by their own inertia, disabled by the distortion pulse. Sera had no idea if Starfleet tech could recover from that or not, but she dismissed them as targets when she throttled up the Sabine again. Moreover, the dissipated shields of the remaining fighters had taken the toll of the Theurgy's pulse phaser arrays, forced to break away, and one of the Gryphon fighters had been unable to anticipate a torpedo, and had been blown out of existence - fiery vapour all that remained. That left three fighters, two Valravn-versions and one Gryphon, and they were no longer in direct pursuit of the Theurgy, regrouping. As Sera saw this, she heard the voice of the human named Trent, the temporary Captain that had behaved like a delusional sand-flea towards Zyrao Natauna. They were supposed to deal with the rest of the fighters and one of the capital ships of the task force?

"I'm an explorer, not a blasted fighter pilot," she swore, though 'explorer' was a kind term for what she did, and she did know how to fly the Sabine. She just hoped Melissa Wright hadn't fiddled too much with the spaceframe, so that it would behave as it had done in the past. So far, so good, but this would be something entirely else than the action she'd seen since Starbase 84. "Burn me..."

"Wait, are we...?" asked A'vura, dark green eyes watching Sera as she began to input commands.

"Seems like we are," said Sera, hardly believing it herself. At least they had the numbers on their side. She opened a channel to the three fighters she'd brought. "Let's haul their ashes! Yet I might have to leave the big guy to you when he comes along!"

It was not like she had the kind of ordinance on the Sabine to do more than irritate a Federation starship.

[ Lt Cmdr. Ashton "Warlock" Bates | Black Wolf-01 | Mk II Valkyrie Cockpit ]

Eyes narrow slits, Ash glared at the outcome, seeing how he was alone with two of the former White Wolves - the rest of his present wolves disabled or destroyed. Oh, how that ship had vexed him for the past five months, and now, yet another of his wolves had been lost to the traitors. The minute shock of seeing his wingmate - Turret, and his RIO, Boone - disintegrated by a torpedo had turned into a cold fury, and he wasted no time in turning his Gryphon back to the fight.

"ETA on the Dauntless and the rest of the pack?" he hissed, and his RIO answered.

[The Dauntless will catch up with us in fifteen seconds. The rest of the pack... is still a minute out. They got the call, though. The Bellerophon is still feeding us with sensor readings. That's not all though, Wraith, Chance and Foxfire are inbound, together with... one of the Theurgy's known shuttles.]

While Warlock listened to Badger's voice in his helmet, he spotted them. His gut feeling was saying something was wrong. It was the echelon formation they held, with that "Sabine" shuttle at the head. Whatever doubts he'd momentarily had, were gone the next moment, when the Sabine opened fire against him, Metalhead and Tinker. Their shields were still regenerating from the onslaught of the Theurgy's phaser arrays, so he had to break off. "This is Wolf-Leader, evasive manoeuvres!" he called, voice tight, eyes ablaze, "They are traitors too! Have at them!"

For ten more seconds, the three Black Wolves would have to hold their own.

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton @CanadianVet @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe @FollowTomorrow @chXinya @Stegro88 
[Show/Hide]
Dewitt's face was a mask of tightly controlled anger, at how Trent didn't care to defend the ship from the fighters when they are punching holes in the hull, not seeing how using the subspace beam had been perfect to open up fire against the fighters as well. The only merit to the cease-fire was that they were about to ambush the Bellerophon, and blind their pursuers. It would, possibly, give them the chance to go to warp and leave the Rendezvous zone once and for all.

She did not look at Ensign Sel, not even to turn her head and shake her head - to signal for her to wait. If they actually managed to do something about the Bellerophon, and the Dauntless didn't destroy them... then she would relieve Trent from command if he didn't take their last chance to escape. The rest of the Task Force was inbound, and every second counted. There was no chance in hell they could remain for another ten minutes, when the ship's core was barely able to handle non-combat operations.

Dewitt met Zy's eyes when she turned back to the holo display table, and she wasn't sure where the El-Aurian stood with the present development. She'd heard rumours about her and that Câroon, Sera, and she just hoped the short-haired strategist wouldn't do something rash in knowing that her lover was likely to die out there. The Akira-class was made for war with the Borg. What was three fighters and a shuttle to it? She didn't like the odds for these new Wolves, and she had no idea what the scavenger had done to get them to fight on their side.

Dewitt grabbed the edge of the table hard while Derik Veradin set Vector 01 into a course that would take them to the approaching Bellerophon. She just hoped he could fly fast enough, and that they didn't have time to break away.


OOC: I'll post separately with Drauc when the time is due. Now, seven days of posting time begins after @Vox posts next with Logan Hale!. The Dauntless and the Bellerophon are behind the Black Wolves, now only 10 seconds behind. And behind them, the rest of the Black Wolves and the remaining Task Force Archeron. Please remember that the Thames is prepped and ready if needed.

All Supplemental Threads that are started between characters on this Vectors will have to be set before this time of 0810 hrs. on Day 06, but not afterwards, and they should also be posted on the Part 1 board. Just like in the interregnum, Supplemental one-on-one threads are started at your leisure! Supplemental threads should be named Chapter 05: Supplemental [Day XX | YYYY hrs.] Insert Title, and can extend as far back as right after the battle with the Versant and all the way up to 0810 hrs on Day 06, where the third Rendevouz began.

Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Absinthe on October 03, 2018, 12:15:54 PM
[ F'Rell of the Twelfth House | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]

The pad of her appendage worked the controls of the console at near lightning fast speeds, accounting for a never-ending stream of variables and fluctuations as F'Rell's silvery eyes never left the display. If anything the display of finesse and warp field mechanics alone would have earned her the respect of any engineer in Starfleet, but now was not the time for showboating, she had to maintain focus, she had a job to do.

As she ship shook again and her long agile body shifted to keep herself stationary she was tempted to begin deactivating the ship's weaponry. What in the world were they thinking? they were cloaked, any projectiles coming from them would only serve to give away their coordinates and make them a target. Someone up on the bridge was truly being an idiot!

She clicked her modified tricorder to open a channel to the bridge. "<Using the ship's weapons is not advisable at this time,>" she said, her voice sounding more than a little frustrated. "<Unless you wish to overload the power systems.>"

---
[ Ensign Ryuan Sel | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]

Sel could not help but feel conflicted. She could feel the weight of her massive rifle on her back as well as the weight of the decision she had yet to make, not really. She was not truly loyal to either the XO or the CO of the Vector they were on, not really. In her mind, she planned to pick the one who gave her the best chance to see Sarresh again and make it out of this situation in one piece. But she planned to keep her loyalties to herself. She had moved more because she wanted to make sure that when it happened, she was ready for it. And she had made sure that her movement could be of use to either side.

She would arrest someone very shortly, she knew that. If Lieutenant Commander Dewitt didn't make her move before the end of the battle, Sel knew she'd have to give the memo she had just gotten to the Commander. If Dewitt actually moved before then... well then she'd have to come up with a very different plan.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Vox on October 04, 2018, 10:48:33 PM
Lt. JG Logan ‘Wraith’ Hale | Wolf 15 | Azure Nebula ]

The journey to the Theurgy's vector had been a quiet one for Logan and Ezekiel, the two friends quietly contemplating what they had decided to do. No doubt they too would be labelled traitors the second they joined for fight. For Logan it wasn't too much of a big deal to him, given his less than legal career after he'd originally retired from Starfleet, going against them wasn't something he no longer bothered him, especially when he was sure he was doing the right thing....or if he didn't care.

This time however he did care, and he was, assuming what he had been told was true about the invasion of Command, doing the right thing here. Although he would have to admit now he was back in Starfleet and a lot of the people they would fight would just be fellow officers doing their duty, assuming those giving the orders were just like them, it was...troubling. He would have asked the big guy behind him how he was doing but they were getting closer now and there was a communication coming through the comm system between the Sabine, Chance and Foxfire's ship as the Theurgy's so that coversation would have to wait.

When the check in request came he opened the comm "Theurgy this is Wolf 15, Callsign Wraith." He said, keeping it short and sweet as he started focusing on the upcoming fight, his eyes glancing over his console's readouts, all the display's telling him that his Valravn was ready to fight.

Scanning the HUD he saw the three Black Wolves and read their IFF's, not surprised to see Warlock there, right in the thick of it. "I bet he's not happy with us." He muttered with a grin, although it quickly vanished when the Captain of the Theurgy's vector came over the channel telling them to take the Dauntless out of the fight.

"Well that's going to be an....interesting exchange." He muttered before smirking "....And fun."

From behind him Zeke sighed "Of course you would find that fun." His RIO said with a shake of his head.

"Ah relax Zeke, everything will be fine. Now focus, we've got a fight to win." The hotshot pilot countered as he brought his fighter into formation with Chance and Foxfire.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Stegro88 on October 06, 2018, 05:47:55 AM
Lt. JG Donna ‘Chance’ Petterson | Wolf 07 | Azure Nebula ] 
[Show/Hide]

"This is the Captain. Focus on the remaining fighters and when she arrives, take the Dauntless out of the fight. We have the Bellerophon,” came the man’s voice over the comms.

“Funny, I never pictured Ives sounding like that,” Donna thought to herself as she checked the status of her fighter’s systems. Besides the Mk27s she had fired at Wraith and Junkrat earlier, she was in as good a condition as when she had launched from the Dauntless. “This is going to be interesting, going against the Dauntless.”

Yet, even as Donna checked her screens, her mind was already at work trying to figure out how to take out the Dauntless. “All that training and I don’t remember a single time we had to figure out how to take down one of our own ships,” Donna mused. “Akira-class starship. Two Type-XII phaser arrays and five photon torpedo launchers with 12 tubes between them and over a thousand torpedoes behind them. But the fire arcs are limited. Only one of the phaser arrays can fire straight down. That’s how we can do it. And as long as we don’t hit the weapon’s pod we shouldn’t turn the ship into a miniature supernova.”

"Let's haul their ashes! Yet I might have to leave the big guy to you when he comes along!" Came Sera’s distinctive voice. Donna wasn’t sure why she’d need to do that but simply put it down to lack of heavy armament.

Sabine, this is Chance,” Donna said. “Foxfire and I can probably take the Dauntless out of the equation but we’ll need some cover to do it. Can you and Wraith hold the fighters long enough for us to make a run on it when it gets here?” Donna asked of her companions as Warlock, and the two Valravns with him, came into weapons range. “Foxfire, do you remember how we first met? Think we can pull the same stunt on the Dauntless? Knowingly this time?”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Fife on October 08, 2018, 12:52:11 AM
[ Ensign Isel “Foxfire” Nix | Wolf-08 | Azure Nebula ] @Auctor Lucan @Stegro88 @Vox

Isel heard Donna hail the Sabine following the Theurgy’s message. The Theurgy’s Captain, presumably Ives, had told them to deal with the fighters and the Dauntless while the Theurgy dealt with the Bellerophon. Isel hoped Ives appreciated the lengths they’d gone to go get Donna’s message to him when this was all over.

Oh yeah. No problem. We’ll just deal with the Black Wolves we pissed off, then assault a fucking Akira Class Starship. No fucking problem at all… Isel thought bitterly as the listened to Donna. Her lover was telling the Sabine to cover them and deal with the fighters while they engaged the Dauntless. The Theurgy had evened the odds for them somewhat, thinning the incoming pack so that only Warlock and two Valravns remained. Wraith and the Sabine would have their hands full once she and Chance broke off to make an attack on the Dauntless, though with the Sabines firepower they would hardly be outgunned.

[Foxfire, do you remember how we first met? Think we can pull the same stunt on the Dauntless? Knowingly this time?] Chance’s question caused a mischievous grin to spread across the Vulpinian’s features behind her helmet. Oh, she remembered how they had met alright.

”Oh, I remember Donna!" Isel replied in a suggestive tone. "We could certainly try that, Chance. Though I didn’t bring a frisbee, and I don’t know what good throwing myself naked at the Dauntless will do!” Foxfire laughed as she spoke, suspecting Wraith and the two women aboard the Sabine might be fairly confused at the statement. Then it dawned on her that the Theurgy might be picking up on their transmission as well.

Well fuck, so much for first impressions… She thought to herself with a sigh.

”I think I catch your meaning though. Worth a shot! I’ll follow your lead. Isel said, acknowledging Donna’s plan. ”We’ll move on your command. I’m assuming I can use the torpedoes this time without getting a “bad dog” from you?” She added, unable to resist the teasing remark.

And hopefully I can keep my foot out of my mouth until this shit is over...
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: The Ostrich on October 09, 2018, 03:54:02 AM
[ LtCmdr Vivian Martin | Main Bridge | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]

[Show/Hide]

Vivian sat tensely watching her screens as the battle unfolded around the ship and the nebula. There was little she could do in this situation where the tactical officers ruled the bridge. She forced herself to stay calm, they were cloaked, the other ships wouldn’t be able to find them very easily.

Almost as quickly at the combat had begun, it ended. Trent’s voice cracked across the bridge, orders loud and clear to cease firing and take evasive action. Vivian frowned slightly and turned in her seat to get a better view of the bridge. Evasive action made sense, but ceasing fire? Surely they needed to defend themselves. Thankfully her confusion was soon cleared up as Trent issued more orders, preparing an ambush for the Bellerophon.

As Vivian turned back to her console she noticed something which caused her to pause and glance back. Something was off. There were officers at various stations across the bridge, as well as several security personnel, stationed at strategic points across the bridge. Her frown deepened as she fully returned her attention to her screens, she couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but something felt off about the way they were arrayed across the bridge. She shook her head to clear it as she watched their new friendly fighters moving into formation. She was probably just a bit tense and paranoid...right?
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on October 10, 2018, 01:30:42 PM
[ Drauc T'Laus (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Drauc_T%27Laus) | Security Checkpoint | Outside Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]
There had been no need for his Asurian companion to drag him along after they left the Main Computer Core behind. Drauc had followed her on his own accord, but with each step, it had become increasingly obvious that he hadn't imagined the way Dyan thought of him. Instead, it had become clear that little else occupied her thoughts, the contents of the message he'd read with her not lingering at all at the forefront of her mind.

The task set for her and the others in Security seemed dire indeed, yet instead, he'd thought he might say something during the very short turbolift ride to the next deck. He had glanced at her through the tresses of his burgundy hair before they stepped out of it, wondering how the Asurian could feel such urges at that time. Carnal pleasures had never been a priority on his own part, and certainly not in the middle of battle. He supposed there was some overlap in physical exertion?

When they entered the security checkpoint room outside the Main Bridge, she had turned to him and asked if he was ready, and truthfully, as lambasted as he had been by the very graphic things she wanted to do with him, Drauc was not entirely sure what she meant. Especially since there was a security officer right there at the duty station behind her. The Ensign got to his feet, seeing her arrive, and he gave Dyan's blade as well as Drauc a perplexed look before he spoke to Cardamone.

"You got the message, right Petty Officer? If you take my post, I can go arrange Commander Trent's custody. Aside from the regular shift of guards inside the bridge, Ryuan Sel is there too, and she's been briefed as well. Is this guy with you? Does he know?"

Drauc glanced at the Ensign, answering for himself, not keen on entering a debate about his current security clearance. "I am, and I do," he rasped to the flat-cheeked Human. "I am here on Petty Officer Cardamone's request."

The Ensign waited just for a moment for a confirmation from Dyan before he left, while the ship shuddered from enemy fire. "I will let you and Ensign Ryuan know where he will be held!"

Once they were alone in the security checkpoint, Drauc turned his dark eyes to Dyan, wondering still how her mind had come to focus on him so, which - in turn - made her thoughts affect his own. With her notions seeping into his own mind, he could not help but being encouraged towards the same end - his stare errant instead of remaining on just her eyes. "By ready, did you mean...? As much as I... wouldn't mind to indulge," he said quietly, an odd tension in his voice, "is this truly the right time? Your duty awaits just beyond the door, and you might be called for any moment."


OOC: Another post to come here soon enough, from Sera's and Dewitt's perspective!
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: BZ on October 12, 2018, 04:47:56 PM
[Zyrao Natauna | If Looks Could Kill | Shifting Powers | Mutiny Forthcoming | Fucking Fleeters]
@Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Absinthe

Zyrao was interested in the shift on the bridge.  A Klingon would have never let this happen, but then a Klingon wouldn't have been afraid of the battle that was coming ahead.  Her brow rose as she looked at the cold fury in Trent's face.  She had thought him completely devoid of emotion all together.  Of course he could be pissy and his little whisper orders drove her up the fucking wall.  She was surprised that he had other emotions, rage looked good on him.  Shame he didn't use it more frequently.  He might actually be able to get shit done.  Perhaps the problem was that he was far too interested in trying to remain politically correct.  Something that pleased everyone at the same time and offended no one else.  It was something that truthfully, could not be done.  Each and every order would have some kind of fall out because you could never have an entire ship, race, people that believed your decisions were correct.

To watch the coming mutiny though made her sick to her stomach.  This was neither the time nor the place.  In the midst of a battle, it was not the place to decide that you were better equipped to handle the situation.  She knew other people had to be better at controlling the Bridge and making the decisions than Carrigan Trent, but that didn't mean this was the right move.  Still, she could only sit back and watch.  Trent made it crystal clear he wished for her to keep her mouth as shut as possible, and just stick to assisting.  Right now, the drama raging on the Bridge was quite entertaining.

This never would have happened on the Hakkarl.

Trent called out cease fire.  Well there goes your last chance to keep your seat, buddy.  Can't say as I'm particularly sorry. she thought as she crossed her arms over her chest.  Her eyes shifted to Dewitt and could see, in her face, just how she was taking the cease fire order.  Evasive actions made sense, truthfully, but ceasing fire would only open them up.

“You should at the very least, Trent, continue with suppresive fire.  Otherwise, you are opening us up to as many hits as possible.  Your power has proven to be undependable and I do not know with this level of pressure that your shields can stand up well to such a barrage.  You are leaving us open.” she said quickly and decisively. 

Zyrao felt the eyes on her and shifted her grey eyes to find Dewitt staring at her.  A cool brow rose curiously on her forehead.  She had no abilities to tell what Dewitt was thinking so she could not help in answering or allaying her fears.  Anything to keep her mind of Sera.  It wasn't as though she loved Sera but she was her only friend and she hoped that the woman survived.  She did care about Sera in her own way and didn't like to think that she would be out there getting herself in trouble.  It was her job, she guessed, or the one that the people here had given to her.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: CanadianVet on October 12, 2018, 09:08:04 PM
[ Commander Carrigan Trent | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @The Ostrich @Triton @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Absinthe @Stegro88 @BZ

As the distance closed on Bellerophon, Trent watched on the plot before him how Lieutenant Commander Marquez was planning to allocate his fire, and he nodded, ever so slightly.  Whatever he may have thought of the Resolve's former first officer, the man knew what he was doing with weapons, and he understood the meaning of a mission-kill.  However, from behind him he did hear their advisor speaking, and he, for a change, had time to reply to her. 

"Miss Natauna, Bellerophon tracked us, under cloak, through a plasma trail that is being controlled and dispersed; what do you think they could do with something as energetic as weapons fire?  We can take the fire from fighters, but not from a starship, not without shields.  Hence why I want to hit them from as close as possible so they have no time to react."

The distance was still closing, only seconds to go now.  "Mister Veradin, once we rake Bellerophon, give me a parabolic intercept for Dauntless, full impulse.  Commander Marquez, you will have to open fire at longer range than we'd like, but you will have one chance to give the fighters some supporting fire.  Make it count."

And only then did he turn his head to look at the Ensign who had been managing their communications.  "Once we open fire on Bellerophon, broadcast the previous message, still encrypted.  Omnidirectional, full power."  Of course, he knew that may raise some eyebrows, and while he should have no need to explain himself, he did regardless.  "We'll already be telling the galaxy where we are by firing weapons; might as well make full use of that window."

Less than ten seconds now...
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: FollowTomorrow on October 14, 2018, 05:53:25 AM
[ Sar-Unga Neleo/Dyan Cardamone | Security Checkpoint | Outside Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan


“I’ll take your post. Scram.” Dyan waved off the officer, grinning wide like she was showing off her teeth in particular. Her mind did not even consider the existence of this person. It was as if he was a part of the environment. Her mind was truly insulated from empathetic concerns. She took his post, her tail whipping about, and finally let Drauc’s hand go. He was speaking again, and it entertained her. Just as quickly as he had fouled her opinion of him, he was right back in her good graces.

Unfortunately, the answers he sought just weren’t there. Even if he were to dig deep, Dyan’s mind was perplexing to even herself. She acted with no logic, felt with no precursors, thought without sense. A Vulcan would find her mind a repulsive place to be.
“What?” She laughed, a hearty one that came from the chest, “That’s not what I meant. I guess you could go down on me if you wanted real quick, but we’ve got a job. Why’s your mind so dirty?”

Truth was, Dyan had no clue what she had meant, when she asked if he was ready. Regardless of what Drauc asked, she was likely to tell him he was wrong, just because she liked to do that sort of thing. She folded her blade back in it’s defensive position, parallel to her forearm, and readied her phaser rifle. Indeed, the rush that came before battle was so similar to sexual foreplay in her mind...it was almost identical. The seething hatred she intentionally summoned up for Trent, her designated target, it was as close to love as her brain would go. The mystery storm that was her mind raged on, thunder and electricity rumbling and making her muscles twitch.
“Hope he fights back. Man needs a good kick in the ass, he does. Or a kick to the throat.”

Her mind imagined the image, and it was the same hatred and arousal she felt while dreaming up lewd things to do to Drauc, and while having sex with him earlier. There was no compassion in all three experiences. She saw no humanity, as it were. No kindness dwelt in her heart in all three events. Was this what tragedy looked like? Did she know the spectrum of emotions she did not experience?
"Try not to step on my tail or I'll have to gank you."
Probably not.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on October 14, 2018, 11:27:59 PM
[ Sera vers Aldnoah (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sera_vers_Aldnoah) | Cockpit | SS Sabine NX-59846 | Azure Nebula ] Attn: @Vox @Fife @Stegro88
[Show/Hide]
It seemed the one named Douna - Doh'na? - had a good idea about how they might split the dire tasks between the four smaller ships that fought on the Theurgy's side.

"I think I might be able to show those sand-fleas trick or two," she replied ruefully to the new Lone Wolf, and veered off in a new course, heading straight for the agitated Black Wolves that had managed to stay in the fight after the Theurgy showed it's bite. The comm-chatter between those two women in the Gryphon fighters wasn't lost on Sera, but right then, she was about to head-to-head with two Valravn-class warp fighters and that last Gryphon that had shown reflexes like none of the others. Wraith - the Valravn pilot that would be fighting on her side - had better fly his new banner clearly, and give her the kind of fire support she needed to stay alive.

"Wraith," she said, her browridge drawing down over her yellow eyes as she armed her weapon systems, "You better not let me down."

"Sera, I have never been in a dogfight before," said A'vura, her green knuckles whitened around the armrests of the co-pilot chair.

"Burn you, it will be fun!" said Sera, and grinned when opened up the micro-torpedo tubes underneath the Sabine. "Reroute power to shields, give me all the thottle I can get, and enjoy the storm!"

When the three fighters ahead of Sera and Wraith opened fire, she pushed the Sabine into a barrel roll and fired off a steady stream of the torpedoes. They were already locked to targets when leaving the tubes, making them track the white silhouettes in the blue particle clouds in which the battle raged. Many of them lost the signal, from countermeasures or plasma beams, but she managed to deal some damage to their shields - which were already degraded because of the conditions of the nebula and the need to deal with the radiation. She was already swinging the Sabine around for another pass, when their own shields took a heavy bludgeoning.

"I don't think I can do this," said A'vura, quickly tapping at the controls to compensate, tresses of black hair hanging before her face.

"You're already doing it," said Sera in cursory encouragement, glancing over to her. "Where is your helmet? We might have a hull breach, so go get it. I can do the next pass myself." Saying this, she quickly did her hair up in a bun and put her red helmet on, the air-pressure seals automatically sealing her in. If A'vura said anything in answer, it was lost in the sound, and Sera's eyes were already on the three fighters anew, seeing how Wraith had fared...

At that time, the Dauntless had arrived as well, seen far off in the distance, firing phasers beams in rapid succession towards the female fighter pilots. Before Sera had to look away, she saw how ordinance appeared from out of nowhere, which only could meant that the Theurgy had spared some attention towards the Akira-class ship as well. Moreover, the pointed saucer of an Intrepid-class ship could be seen as well - entering the fray.

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All 
[Show/Hide]
To his credit, Carrigan Trent did order Tactical to lend support to their new fighter pilots out there, but the challenge for Marquez would be to both lay an ambush trajectory for the Bellerophon - in tight communication with Derik Veradin - and lay fire against the Dauntless without giving them away.

Dewitt held on to the holo table next to Zyrao Natauna, Marquez at the table too, designing the attack points with better ease. That was when the digital voice of the T'fanrell reached them from Engineering, in a most dire warning. Dewitt's eyes widened, as F'Rell was telling them to not use the weapon systems. Indeed, they might compromise the core with this volley towards the Intrepid-class ship. Still, there was no sign of Trent calling off the assault. Subconsciously, she knew she was holding her breath, seeing the image of the Bellerophon coming closer above the table. Not even the stray comm-chatter from the new fighter pilots over her ear-piece helped ease her trepidation.

Fortunately, Marquez and Veradin did it, somehow, and the ship did not detonate from a warp core failure. Not yet...

The Trill helmsman put the Helmet through a series of manoeuvres that almost seemed to defy the abilities of its unique space-frame. It took them up close to the Bellerophon, almost to the point where they brushed shields with each other, and Marquez - used to the flying of the Trill at the helm - might have known exactly when to open fire. Dewitt didn't have the opportunity to see exactly what the former First Officer on the Resolve did in those dire seconds were Trent's orders could have killed them all, but the result was clear. For when she raised her green eyes, the devastation was larger than expected.

The Bellerophon had suffered more damage than intended, since it had the ability to detect their plasma leak, and it's belated evasive actions had changed all the vectors of the Theurgy's assault. What had been meant to be an ambition to disable the starship turned out destroying far than it should. Perhaps the Intrepid-class hadn't had the chance to fortify its diminished shields in time. In either case, by the time the cloaked Vector 01 passed the Bellerophon by, it left behind a ship broken in two by internal explosions. The omnidirectional message ceased to transmit, and Dewitt's heart went out to all those officers, who had just been doing their duty in ignorance, but now...

...now, it had to end.

The closest sensors in Task Force Archeron that had actually been able to see them had been blinded. This meant that Trent would try to remain and continue to risk the ship and crew. Not just that, but he'd do it even if Task Force Archeron bore down on them, which would happen before the time of the Rendezvous ran out. She had to preserve the crew and the mission, so she opened up the second message, sending it to all of Security on the Vector.

Dewitt to all Security officers. The time to relieve Commander Trent from command is now. Execute operation in accordance with the enclosed instructions in this message. It is imperative that the transition is made quickly, but without hostility, and that there is no confusion about what has happened. I repeat, execute.
While she was glad to be alive after the ship fired that barrage, it meant she had to act on one of the heaviest duties as a First Officer. Even as the profound damages to the Bellerophon were tallied in the edge of the viewscreen, Dewitt gave a nod to Ensign Ryuan Sel, and made sure the other security officers posted around the Main Bridge of the Theurgy had been alerted, giving them a sweeping glance. She stepped up next to Carrigan Trent, and made her declaration in a clear voice to the whole of the bridge.

"I am sorry, but I am hereby relieving you of command under Starfleet Regulation Six-One-Nine. You should have let us leave, when we had the chance. Now, too many officers have been killed because of you and Heather MacMillan." She moved her eyes to Sel, hoping she would take the cue to keep Trent in check, and then addressed the bridge in whole.

"Because of Heather McMillan being abducted by the Savi, Commander Trent has become emotionally compromised and unable to make rational decisions. The proof of this is obvious, but also made in personal confession to me days ago, in how he will try to go up against the Versant with this Vector alone purely to reclaim her. This, in complete disregard to this crew and of how this last Vector alone now carry the truth of Starfleet Command. You have seen how Commander Trent is now jeopardizing the future of the Federation by irrationally fighting when the ship is not fit for it, risking a warp core detonation. He wants the ship reintegrated towards the purpose of reclaiming Heather, at any cost, even though we are clearly the last Vector remaining. We are lucky to yet be alive... and I need not remind you. Captain Ives' orders were to protect the truth."

She then gestured to the present Security personnel, two additional ones entering from the Security point - one strangely dressed. "My orders have gone out to the entire ship. Security has secured all centers of operation, and present personnel will incapacitate Trent on these grounds if so needed... but he will now be Transported off bridge for confinement until further notice."

Jennifer looked back at Trent. "I don't do this on a whim, and despite the risk you have put us through, your actions were a matter of the heart. This is the least I can do now to spare your dignity... and not have you dragged off the bridge." She then looked towards the stationed Security officer from the checkpoint, Dyan Cardamone, who would have prepared the transport protocol on a PADD in accordance to her instructions. "Energize."

Then, looking away from the grinning Asurian - tail whipping in glee - Dewitt weathered whatever Trent had time to say before the Transport was completed. She would not give any external signal to acknowledge it, just simply take the seat in the vacated Commanding Officer's chair, with Ensign Ryuan Sel and her Accipiter rifle being an effective deterrence towards second-guessing her authority.

Not just Sel, but all the present security personnel around the bridge. Seven in total, counting the one in strange clothing... They were all a deterrence towards each other as well, if there was anyone refuting Dewitt's orders. As it were, she had already received confirmation from key areas of the ship that they were secured - Engineering included.

From the centre seat of the bridge, Dewitt took a deep breath to still her heart, and looked towards the present officers. Orders. "Do not interfere with the Bellerophon's evacuation. They would already have shared their sensor input of us with other ships, if not all, which means they knew what happened here, and can save those still alive. I need an ETA on the rest of the Task Force, but the rest of the 'Black Wolves' are already here." She looked to the deckhead. "Bridge to Engineering, we need to know exactly how much defensive fire we can deal to save the officers on those fighters without compromising the core, and how much time you need down there until we can safely jump to warp. If there is anything to do about the plasma leak, fine, but we need to leave as soon as possible."

Ten minutes left, then, the Rendezvous would be over. It was already too late. They couldn't stay. The Theurgys's mission was theirs alone, since Task Force Archeron would find them, just like the Bellerophon had.


OOC: Consent has been collected from @Triton and @FollowTomorrow for the development in this post. Now, on the bridge, the initial posting order is this, followed by others: 1) @FollowTomorrow posts with Dyan about beaming Trent out, perhaps heading to guard the VIP quarters Trent will be housed, plus with Suq in reply to Dewitt? 2) @Absinthe posts with Sel and F'Rell in accordance with development and tasks at hand. 3) @CanadianVet posts Trent's goodbye. 4) @Triton posts about the unfortunate fate of the Bellerophone, and sets off all the reactionary posts to this development, including @The Ostrich , @Brutus and @BZ . @chXinya can post freely in response to new input from @FollowTomorrow and @Absinthe down in Engineering. Unsure if Lorad is leaving or not, but if not, same goes for @Stegro88 and Lorad.

In the battle with the Dauntless, however, the posting order does not apply. Instead, this post is the cue for the arrival of the rest of the Black Wolves squadron, including posts from @patches @Vox @Fife and @Stegro88 . No set posting order so have fun! Don't make the Dauntless too easy to disable, nor the hostile Black Wolves, led by Warlock.

All Supplemental Threads that are started between characters on this Vectors will have to be set before this time of 0810 hrs. on Day 06, but not afterwards, and they should also be posted on the Part 1 board. Just like in the interregnum, Supplemental one-on-one threads are started at your leisure! Supplemental threads should be named Chapter 05: Supplemental [Day XX | YYYY hrs.] Insert Title, and can extend as far back as right after the battle with the Versant and all the way up to 0810 hrs on Day 06, where the third Rendevouz began.

Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: FollowTomorrow on October 15, 2018, 12:35:29 AM
[ Sar-Unga Neleo/Dyan Cardamone | Security Checkpoint | Outside Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet

The time had come much quicker than she had anticipated. Her whole body felt like it quivered. She entered the bridge with a wicked smile. Her tail was whipping about in delight. Not only was she prepared to fight Trent, but anyone who did not follow in accordance with these orders. Not that she was a religious rule-follower herself, but any chance to stir up trouble was one she took with delight.

She stepped over towards Trent, a billion words rushing by and she wasn’t sure which ones to say. She allowed Dewitt to continue her announcement, and while she was talking the Asurian readied the transport protocol. In a few short seconds, they’d be beamed away, Trent in his fancy VIP quarters, and herself and...someone, probably, left there to guard him.

Unlike Dewitt though, Dyan did glance up at Trent. Partly because she wanted to hear what he had to say for himself, and partly because she hoped he would fight. The struggle would be the most delicious thing. So she paused, just a short moment, and then even if he was mid-word, she spoke.
“Energize”

And off they went.



[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ]

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing up there--” Suq answered the bridge, his voice starting to crack and show the actual fear underneath, “But if you hear F’rell say ‘don’t fire weapons or we’ll probably explode’, then don’t fire our weapons.” When he heard the awful, awful sound that came from...somewhere, deep in the bowels of the ship, he was sure they would die in seconds. But by some miracle, they didn’t. He had abandoned the cloak in that split second to work on keeping them alive. “You’ll kill us all, every last one--” He couldn’t handle this stress for too much longer. What happened to all his stamina, all his courage? He used to be better than this. Right now, his voice sounded like a man who had just barely missed a bullet. Death missed by centimeters.

Curiously, he realized that he wasn’t speaking to Trent anymore. The new voice he heard sounded like...a female, at least, nice timbres going on there. Probably Dewitt. He’d like to meet her.
“Got it, okay, give me five seconds, I’m re-routing power from auxiliary systems, but you don’t have much, and whatever you do fire will break cloak. Keep power to weapons below 17% and we won’t die, but they will see us.” His voice stabilized, he forced it to, but his hands trembled because death was so close and he couldn’t slip back into his dissociated, out-of-this-world mind again. He was so, so scared.

He left the console he was at and sprinted back to the one used to control the cloak. With power re-arranged, he’d been given himself just enough to create a shield bubble that would keep the plasma in. But, he realized, if they were really firing weapons, there’s no reason to hide the plasma trail. They’d be visible regardless. In hindsight, the cloak was a shitty idea if they were going to fire.
“You’ve got a choice. Take the cloak off and I can get us out of here in a few minutes, or keep it on and it could be a half hour to three hours, depending on how much power you’re drawing.”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Absinthe on October 17, 2018, 08:35:39 AM
[ Ensign Ryuan Sel | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]

Sel wasn't sure if there was expected to be any conflict when Dewitt made her move, yet as the order came in she grabbed her Accipiter and held it firmly in her grasp, not activating the auto-targeting system yet. She didn't want to engage any function of the rifle unless she had to, knowing full well what the gun could do to someone. It was not her goal to ever use it on one of her crewmates, but she knew she had to stay alive. She'd spoken to Lorad about this. If she did her duty it increased her likelihood of seeing Sarresh alive, or at the very least she had to keep the people around her alive. She had to at least keep Vivian alive, even if she had no clue what her encounter with the scientist meant, if anything.

She watched as people around them moved and reacted, the uncertainty of the moment came crashing down and it seemed there was a freezing effect of everyone who had not been prepared. Her security personnel all pulled weapons and stood at the ready. If anything was about to go down, if anything at all was about to happen, she knew they were going to be ready for it. The question was, who would stand with Trent, and if anyone did, were they going to be an idiot about it.

---
[ F'Rell of the Twelfth House | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ]
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At the sound of Suq saying her name F'Rell almost looked up at him, almost commented in thanks that he trusted her judgment, but there was no time. The ship around them was red-lining left and right and it did not seem that she had the time to do anything. And just like that, as if on cue, a console near F'Rell blew as a power surge ripped through it and blew the conduit under it. The whole of the plasma network was unstable and the warp core was hanging on by a thread. F'Rell could see all of this and she knew full well that the ship could not stand much more of this. Between the cloak draining on their systems; the damage to the coolant systems, something it seemed Suq had done something about yet they were still gaining more heat than they were losing; and the drain of the weapons systems; it did not seem like the ship would hold together all that much longer. They were running out of options and the whole of the power system would go into a critical overload if they did not act.

And then the solution became clear. If the system were purged, if a massive burst of energy went through it and they focused the burst into the warp nacelles and then shut the system down, they could achieve warp speed almost immediately and then they could begin repairs as soon as the network cooled down. The longer it took the more likely it would be that the system would overload and be unrecoverable. There was too much strain. They needed one massive push and to shut the damn thing down.

She once more activated her translator to connect her to the bridge. "<I have a possible option to get us out of here, but I must advise that it is completely dangerous and likely to cause an overload, but unless we act soon the core will breach and we will lose the ship anyway,>" she explained, the voice of her translator tense. "<Currently the system keeping the dilithium crystals from fracturing is working at full functionality, due to the increased pressure inside the core, if it shut down for only a second the crystals would fracture and a massive outpouring of power would flood through the power distribution network and likely overload the whole ship.>" She explained as best as she could as simply as she could. She knew that most humanoids were not experts in this matter and indeed many of her own kind could barely keep up. "<However if we deactivate the system and funnel all of the excess energy into the warp nacelles it will throw the ship into an uncontrolled jump, likely exceeding speeds of 9.9997 warp according to the Starfleet scale. I believe the ship can handle such a jump, but we would need to deactivate every other system on the ship the instant before the crystals fractured or we would blow those systems as well, likely until we can repair the nacelle we will lose the ability to go to warp as well. We can get life support back within hours of the jump, there is enough oxygen in the system to sustain the crew that long.>"

It was a dangerous plan. A plan that would see the ship flinging itself in whatever direction it was facing for as long as it took to burn off the power output of the surge, which according to the F'Rell's rough calculation would throw them between 6 and 15 light hours from their current position in only a handful of seconds. But it would make them fundamentally untraceable, their warp trail would be destroyed by its own volatile nature due to the imbalance.

"<I can program the jump to prevent it from taking us into anything dangerous, but I cannot determine how far we will go because I cannot predict how much power will be unleashed by the increase in surface area of the dilithium crystals. The choice is yours Captain.>"
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Stegro88 on October 18, 2018, 02:06:30 AM
[ Tesserarius Lorad | Vector 01 Engineering | Deck 06 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
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Lorad could tell that something had changed, and it wasn't just with the engineering crew and the warp core; although that was serious in and of itself. But Lorad couldn’t help with that. Which left him free to watch the comings and goings of the engineering room. Injured crewmembers were assisted out while healthy, or at least less injured, ones moved about trying to make repairs. And through all of this, the pair of armed guards stood like silent shepherds guarding their flock; relaxed but alert. And then everything about them changed.

All at once their postures shifted. They stood up straighter, more alert and their hands dropped to rest on their holstered phasers. If Lorad had had to guess, he would have said that the ship had been boarded but there were no alarms. Something wasn’t right.

"Bridge to Engineering, we need to know exactly how much defensive fire we can deal to save the officers on those fighters without compromising the core, and how much time you need down there until we can safely jump to warp. If there is anything to do about the plasma leak, fine, but we need to leave as soon as possible."

Lorad knew that voice. That was Commander Dewitt. Had something happened on the Bridge? He knew that the ship had been using its weapons; the floating snake and short man kept going on about not using them but they still had fired. But that didn’t explain the guards’ shift.

“I think I am going to go to sickbay,” Lorad thought to himself as he heaved himself up off the deck. “Maybe they can tell me what is happening,” Lorad considered as he made his way out the door, cradling his arm and side as he moved.


Lt. JG Donna ‘Chance’ Petterson | Wolf 07 | Azure Nebula ]
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“This is crazy Donna, even for you,” Chance thought to herself as she pulled down and away from the Dauntless. Foxfire and herself had been nudging in ever closer to the Akira-class starship, seeing how close they could get before their former home decided to fire back at them. “Playing chicken with an Akira is a quick way to end up dead. Where the hell is the Theurgy? Them taking out the Bellerophon would make for a lovely diversion anytime now.”

Chance didn’t have to wait long before her request was answered. Weapon’s fire erupted around the Intrepid-class vessel and the Dauntless, seeing its companion under fire, immediately turned to lend aid.

“Foxfire, Delta-1. Execute,” Chance ordered, bringing her fighter around in a dive that would take it underneath the Akira. Advancing her throttles to the maximum, Chance readied the photon torpedoes that the crew of the Dauntless had loaded aboard her warp fighter that morning. Now she would be returning them.

One she and Foxfire were low enough in relation to the Dauntless, they executed the 2nd half of the attack pattern, pulling back on their controls to point their ships directly up at the belly of the beast; the weakest point on an Akira.

“Remember, we detonate the weapons pod and we can kiss the ship goodbye,” Chance reminded her wing mate. “I know you love your torpedoes but try to make sure they only hit the nacelles.”

Any reply that Foxfire might have said was lost on Chance as someone proved that they were still paying attention on the Dauntless. The ventral phaser array charged up and fired a beam at Chance and it took all of her considerable skill at the controls to pull Wolf-07 into a barrel roll that literally took her around the phaser beam. Alarms blared in the cockpit as the fighter let its pilot know that energy was being depleted from the dorsal shields. But the beam ended and Donna straightened out.

“That was too close,” Chance whispered as she lined up her sights on the larger vessels starboard nacelle. “Targeting the starboard nacelle,” Chance informed her wing woman as the Dauntless fired at Foxfire. Wolf-08’s evasive action once again reminded Donna what a talented pilot Isel Nix really was. “Among her other talents,” Donna added silently as she waited for the target lock. “Locked!” she called out as the tone changed to signify a lock. Mashing her thumb down on the stud, Chance fired off a pair of torpedoes that were quickly followed by a second pair. Holding her fire, Chance waited to see what effect hers and Foxfire’s combined 8 torpedoes would have.

The torpedoes sailed through the clouds of the nebula and impacted the ventral side of the Akira; the shields flaring into life before he collapsed under the strain. It had really only taken 7 torpedoes hitting the same small area to bring the shields down. The last torpedo had actually passed through between the spars that connected the nacelles and weapons pod to the main hull.

“Shit that was close,” Chance exclaimed a seeing how close the torpedo had come to the pod. “But the shields are down. Switch to hellhounds. We have to get them through before the shields come back up." An urgent beeping suddenly began to ring around the cockpit. “Foxfire, break off. We’ve got company,” Chance said as she reefed the control stick over. Ahead of them, two warp fighters launched from the Dauntless and immediately bore down on the evading Wolves.

“What the...?” Chance wondered after checking her screens. “Wolves 05 & 06. They aren’t supposed to be here. Fuck.” She was trying to think of a new plan that would keep them alive when the beeping started again.

“Oh great, this keeps getting better and better,” Chance lamented as her former flight leader began to fire at her.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: patches on October 19, 2018, 04:05:29 AM
[ CWO3 Liliana "Meerkat" Walton | Wolf 13 | Space around the Dauntless | Azure Nebula ] @Auctor Lucan @Stegro88 @Fife @Vox
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“Alright, we’re coming up on the Theurgy’s reported position. Status check, Bulkhead?”

“All systems green. Scylla and Blizzard are confirming the same for theirs.”

“Great. Dropping out in 3 … 2 … 1.”

The silence resumed as the Valravn returned to realspace, its twins appearing on other side of it. Liliana Walton, aka “Meerkat”, had already discussed what they were going to do over a shared encrypted channel that Blizzard had opened upon her return. It was a lengthy and heated conversation, but the decision was mutual and final. They would join with the rest of their pack on the Theurgy.
[Whoa, is that…?]

“Yup, Blizzard. That has to be the Theurgy firing from cloak somehow.”

Liliana watched soberly as the Bellerophon belatedly attempted to defend itself against the sudden assault. She heard audible gasps from the others over the open communications channel as the Intrepid-class ship was destroyed and she closed her eyes momentarily with a sigh.

[They just destroyed the Bellerophon.]

“Pretty quick too. Did you see how she rolled at the last minute? They must have hit the deuterium tanks rather than the lateral sensor arrays.”

[How do you figure that?]

“I’ve done it in simulations. It’s a weird angle to hit, but easier than you’d think when both ships are moving. Go help Wraith, Blizzard. Scylla and I will assist Chance and Foxfire. Remember to update your IFFs, people.”

Affirmatives rolled in with a short, but notable pause from both pilots. Walton couldn’t really blame them either. The scene they were arriving at painted a far more catastrophic picture than they anticipated. With the Bellerophon’s death, those few survivors would need to be rescued quickly but the Dauntless and Black Wolves would still prioritize the Theurgy’s destruction. Already, chatter indicated that the Dauntless’s commanding officer was demanding the Black Wolves clear the space around the Akira-class ship. Warlock hadn’t responded yet, but Lily could easily enough see what he would want her to do.

“Open a channel to the Sabine and the, ah, other ‘traitorous wolves’ that Metalhead was talking about.”

“Done.”

“Hi, Sabine, Wraith, Foxfire, and Chance. This is Black Wolf-13, callsign Meerkat. Wolves 14 and 16 are accompanying, callsigns Scylla and Blizzard respectively. Requesting you mark us as friendly. Blizzard will assist you, Sabine. Scylla and I will deal with Whiskers and Sneaky.”

[This is the Sabine, I'm a bit busy here!] There was a pause in which the reception broke, likely from the shuttle taking a hit. [Yet burn me, your timing couldn't be better. I'm passing the word to the Theurgy, 'Lone Wolves'!]

Lone Wolves…?

With a shake of her head at the odd accent and sign off, Liliana accelerated her fighter to combat speed, her wingmate following closely behind. Blizzard sped off in a different direction, her heading clearly indicating her intention to intercept one of the fighters in the melee centered on the Sabine. Hopefully, the loyalist Black Wolves would be none the wiser about the former White Wolves intentions until they actually opened fire but Meerkat knew of Warlock’s paranoia. Metalhead’s own open distaste for his former squadmates had similarly rubbed the veteran pilot wrong. She had flown for over twenty years by this point, gathering ratings for an assortment of small Federation craft that ran the gamut from the smallest shuttle to even larger runabouts. Even with the friends and fellow officers that defected to the Maquis, she could recognize the underpinnings of honor and duty in the reasoning they used to turn traitor.

It was the same here. The speech given at by Commander Trent, the words from the Theurgy’s own squadron commander, and the way she noticed Theurgy’s Valkyries seemed to aim towards disabling all indicated a strong morality that still aligned with Starfleet’s principles even as they took aim at the same officers that they used to call fellows. There was a righteousness to their cause that didn’t mesh with the tone given by Captain Ives in hir broadcast. Liliana just couldn’t shake the nagging feeling of something deeply wrong as the orders and story given seemed to contradict what she had seen and heard personally. She had flown and drank with the White Wolves that abandoned the Orcus for the Theurgy and Wraith, one of those leaving now, was a member of her own flight. They were her pack, far more than Warlock’s own squadron could be at this point.

“Looks like we’ll have to approach nearly head on for this, but surprise should be on our side. 25 seconds to intercept.” She paused for a moment, drinking in the sight of the looming Akira-class she was about to help disable. “Y’know, Haqr, we’re well within transporter range. You don’t have to come with.”

“I know. I would follow you to Sto’vo’kor, Liliana Walton.”

“Kind of creepy when you say it that way, but thanks? Scylla, Meerkat. Let’s do Delta-3. It’ll be close, but you remember the dance we practiced during phase 2 testing? Yeah, that. Remember to disable, not kill.”

“Weapons hot. Targets acquired.”

“Great, here goes!”

The two Valravns skimmed the ventral side of the Dauntless before suddenly diving steeply on an intercept course for the pair they were targeting. They flew close together, turning into a slow corkscrew that alternated phaser fire on the Valkyrie Mk IIs that were chasing Chance and Foxfire. The fire was meant more to catch the pursuers’ attention and force them to break off.

“Scylla, go to port!”

As they passed through, Scylla banked hard to port and Meerkat did the same going starboard and from there, the two would now pick at their self-assigned targets. Liliana picked the one following Foxfire. Lily herself had kitted out her fighter for space superiority – the skill and tenacity of the Theurgy’s fighter pilots being known to her pursuers by now. She hadn’t expected to use that kit against fighters launched from the Dauntless, but then again, she hadn’t also expected the Theurgy to be cloaked either.

Life is funny that way.

She saw her target break on her sensors, ostensibly to reposition to a less vulnerable firing position. Walton flipped her craft around, the frame and inertial field complaining slightly at the sudden high-G maneuver, and took off after it. She bracketed the fighter’s course with phaser fire and then suddenly she was being bracketed by phaser fire.

“We’re being targeted by one of the Dauntless’s arrays, Meerkat.”

“Oh, is that what all this is? Thought we bought tickets to a fireworks show.”

It seemed the Dauntless had caught on to what was happening now and were dedicating its ventral and stern weapons to the threat posed by the defectors. An alarm rang out when one beam very nearly connected but for a last-minute turn out of its way. She accelerated to full combat speed after that, knowing it would take a few seconds for the capacitors to recharge. The next shot was still close, but more easily dodged. The pilot she was attempting to pin down, Sneaky, was living true to his callsign and managed to evade her fire long enough to double back in another attempt to get at Foxfire.

“Target bearing –“

“I got him, I got him.”

In her rush to get back on his tail, Liliana’s fighter took a direct hit from the Dauntless, setting off another alarm.

“Shields down to 20%.”

She frowned at the report from Bulkhead as she finished getting a lock on Sneaky, her left hand quickly selecting one of her EMP missiles.

“EMP 1 away.”

Her Valravn’s phasers kept firing, scoring a pair of solid hits that brought the enemy fighter’s shields down. When the EMP missile hit, what was left of the shields evaporated and the Gryphon fighter started to fly more erratically. Thinking quickly, Meerkat aimed specifically for the fighter’s wings, firing off shorter beam bursts that largely, if narrowly, missed. The ones that connected nearly broke off Sneaky’s starboard wing and she could tell the other pilot was struggling to avoid going into a spin. Between that and the residual electro-magnetic energy from her torpedo, Sneaky suddenly couldn’t maneuver well enough to dodge her fire, a fact that the more veteran pilot took advantage of nearly instantly with a well-placed shot to one of his impulse engines. The Gryphon began spinning out of control and the pilot launched his escape pod.

“Scratch one. Foxfire, this is Meerkat. Your tail’s clear.”

“Torpedo incoming!”

“Shit!” She pushed the throttle back to the max and pulled hard to port, both to avoid the escape pod and the incoming torpedo. This time, she also took a moment to drop one of the ECM micro-torpedoes she carried for this sortie, silently thanking whatever bugged her about today enough to make sure she had them. It worked, fooling the torpedo’s guidance systems towards the chaff but it didn’t detonate on contact. Instead, it exploded within a few meters and it took Walton a moment to figure out why. It wasn’t unusual, but it was definitely something significant.

“Oh, stars. Meerkat to Foxfire, Scylla, Chance. The Dauntless is firing torpedoes set to proximity. Watch out!”

The space around the Dauntless was suddenly going to be a lot more hostile with the Akira-class ship pulling out more of its stops to stay in the fight. Lily turned the fighter to go back to the other three, diving to dodge more phaser fire. She laughed loudly when Bulkhead piped up from behind her.

“Well, you did say we had tickets to a fireworks show.”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: CanadianVet on October 19, 2018, 06:22:20 PM
[ Commander Carrigan Trent | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @The Ostrich @Triton @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @BZ @Absinthe @Argyros

And at last, the distance closed, and Vector 1's weapons lashed out.  Not in the long-range, position-marking way Dewitt had initially ordered, but it was the executioner's stroke Trent's hand had been forced into by his Executive Officer when she ordered the incoming fighters not to break off and regroup elsewhere but to come in and engage.  Streams of coherent energy lashed out, and at such a short range, Bellerophon's shields, at merely at a fraction of their maximum potential, were criminally insufficient against the onslaught. 

Shields failed, and the hull behind them was mercilessly pounded.  Primary deflector, impulse engines, communications, warp nacelles.  He watched before him as the Intrepid-class ship heaved and bucked under the unexpected attack.  How the helmsman tried to madly twist her away from the massacre, to interpose intact shields. 

And then she broke her back and two uneven halves drifted apart, spewing atmosphere, plasma and debris.  Yes, Trent had ordered a mission kill rather than the destruction of the vessel, but one could never be certain when calling for the use of starship weapons.  There was always this chance of what his instructors referred to as the Golden BB, whatever a BB was, that would cause catastrophic damage through sheer dumb luck, even when taking care to avoid such a fate.  It had many causes, from a non-standard placement of components, something that failed in just the wrong way under fire, or any of a million others.  "Move to intercept Dauntless," he then called out. 

There was no time for anything else.  The fighters would never last long against that ship either. 

But Dewitt spoke again after she came to him.  What was she doing there in the first place?  And her tone, it was a clear challenge.  "I beg your pardon?", was all he managed to get out before she went on her explanation. 

And her words hit him like a hammer.  She attacked him, openly and publicly.  That alone was bad enough.  But not only had she misconstrued his words and intents, she utterly abused his trust and violated the confidence in which they had been spoken.  That was when the mask of calm fell. 

Trent's face contorted into a mask that at time showed grief, anger and betrayal.  But mostly, a fierce fury and in his eyes danced the light of a dangerous, black hate.  He had carefully metered out his fire at the strike on Black Opal to avoid casualties, even refrained from firing to take out their computers because it would have gutted the station, even when not taking them off-line would have cost them that resupply stop.  He had personally boarded the station to secure a faster surrender to prevent the further loss of life.  He had trusted her with a key role as his adjutant.  She had counseled him to keep hope alive and not fall to despair.

But she, who now stated the success of the mission as her priority, had said his own honour, integrity and sense of duty were meaningless.  That he would lead them all to their deaths; as if she was morally superior, effectively murdering their captured shipmates by being so willing to abandon them. 

And when he met her eyes, he did not even try to hide just how much he hated that woman at this time.  What made it all worse, there was no chance to resist; there were simply too many armed people on edge on the Bridge, that making any sort of effort to fight would end in a bloodbath; so for now, he had no real choice but to submit.  But it hardly meant he would do so meekly or quietly.  "You are a hypocritical faithless coward and murderer who hides behind the letter of her orders, and I am ashamed I ever put any trust in you, you fucking disgrace to the uniform."

His voice was low and hard and cold enough to turn the heart of start solid, dripping with a loathing he could not, would not, bother to hide, and before he could enjoin the others to resist the attempt, the call to energize the transporter was made, and he dematerialized, barely stifling a scream of rage.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Triton on October 21, 2018, 09:15:59 PM
[ Lt Cdr Leon Marquez | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy | Attack Maneuvers ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @The Ostrich  @JayLatte  @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe @Argyros

There was an unusual sense of calm before the scene that unfolded, starting with his opposite on the holotable. Leon had designed an opportune strike on the Intrepid-class. Like the Starbase 84 personnel he stunned in the control room there, there was no emotion in the need to carry out his duties as Chief Tactical Officer on a mission to save the Federation. From all threats, foreign and domestic. A cold comfort to the people he was about to kill.

"Mister Veradin, once we rake Bellerophon, give me a parabolic intercept for Dauntless, full impulse.  Commander Marquez, you will have to open fire at longer range than we'd like, but you will have one chance to give the fighters some supporting fire.  Make it count."

Like wasn't the word or term Marquez would have... liked to compare his attacks with. Despite the almost-forgotten score with Admiral Ross for leaving the Hornet out to dry more than a few occasions, interrupting him from proposing to his then-girlfriend was the last straw. And the fat man probably wasn't even aboard. Just more Federation lives sacrificed. Wasted. What was there to 'like' about killing his own people?

Despite F'Rell's warnings from Engineering, Leon had to coordinate to make his barrage count. Just another wrinkle. Marquez replied with a firm but reassuring address when the options were presented to him, and he had to work with them. Reman and human tech were probably nemeses in compatibility.  "F'Rell. Trust me. Firing." Avoiding the gaze of the XO, Leon's focus was on his handiwork, reacting to the T'fanrell's admonitions and at the last moment, the CTO initiated the computer's safest projected firing solution and intensity. If this was a hunt, it was logical for the fugitive to take out the searchlight before the hounds were given a mark. Marquez found his own mark on the Intrepid-Class and Theurgy fired. Leon made his shots count before heeding F'Rell's warning.

Aiming this nubile vector and its arsenal was almost second-nature with this new interface. Privately, Leon likened this tool to designing homes or architecture in an old holodeck program. The presence of several armed personnel however, was not a good omen. Despite their initial meeting, Leon was additionally avoiding the loose cannon El-Aurian sabotaging Commander Trent's grip on control; Leon would have ordered her off the bridge long ago if it were him. Given the barely-contained menace between the two senior officers, Leon was ready for anything in the event one of them or their allies was another parasite. Cautiously, he avoided their path and their view, lest he had to respond to the worst-case scenario; hiding his apprehension.

It was just a sense of justice that he felt as he disconnected himself from watching Voyager's sister ship explode out of view. It was in two distorted halves with debris and presumably humanoid remains on display "Target..." he snorted for a heartbeat or less "... destroyed. Reading Escape pod distress signals and life signs, many injured. Many... KIA." At least not all hands were lost when that ship tried to evade the Helmet's alpha strike as their fighter support kept the Akira-class busy. One more moral conundrum to fear.

Things went to hell almost in synch with that damned report, not having the gall to turn to live feeds of the destruction he'd caused. Dewitt made sure of that.

"I am sorry, but I am hereby relieving you of command under Starfleet Regulation Six-One-Nine. You should have let us leave, when we had the chance. Now, too many officers have been killed because of you and Heather MacMillan."

What an excuse.

"Because of Heather McMillan being abducted by the Savi, Commander Trent has become emotionally compromised and unable to make rational decisions. The proof of this is obvious, but also made in personal confession to me days ago, in how he will try to go up against the Versant with this Vector alone purely to reclaim her. This, in complete disregard to this crew and of how this last Vector alone now carry the truth of Starfleet Command. You have seen how Commander Trent is now jeopardizing the future of the Federation by irrationally fighting when the ship is not fit for it, risking a warp core detonation. He wants the ship reintegrated towards the purpose of reclaiming Heather, at any cost, even though we are clearly the last Vector remaining. We are lucky to yet be alive... and I need not remind you. Captain Ives' orders were to protect the truth."

What Bullshit. The Rendezvous option was the best hope of pooling resources toward the next step in fighting them together. A full crew and reunified ship was the best hope to ultimately succeed in their primary mission. They beamed out Sinead right before his eyes and . This proclamation didn't inspire confidence--especially about being lucky. Despite this moment, Leon continued  to track the situation in the battlespace. Time wouldn't stop for excuses or big words. More ships were on their way and the Fighters were already in play, as was A'vura. If he could screen them in a snap-judgement call, he'd do it while the coup played out.

"My orders have gone out to the entire ship. Security has secured all centers of operation, and present personnel will incapacitate Trent on these grounds if so needed... but he will now be Transported off bridge for confinement until further notice. I don't do this on a whim, and despite the risk you have put us through, your actions were a matter of the heart. This is the least I can do now to spare your dignity... and not have you dragged off the bridge. Energize."

Incredible. Renegade ship or not, this was not a good mutiny. "Reading Escape pods and distress signals." He reminded the person occupying the center seat. "Commence Rescue Operations?" An expert at concealing emotion through an unflinching poker face, Leon asked out of necessity, knowing well that Dewitt didn't seem the humanitarian type, despite her words. Best not to give her a reason to make enemies with a face he recognized from the Academy at his years there. Leon would be lying if he said he didn't pity the CO. If anyone betrayed him like that, Marquez would have activated the PA and declared a mutiny was in progress in mistranslation of Starfleet regulations.

"You are a faithless coward and murderer who hides behind the letter of her orders, and I am ashamed I ever put any trust in you, you fucking disgrace to the uniform."

God knew Leon agreed with him. This would not stand, not now. Not in the name of the Bellerophon. That was when he picked up comm chatter on his earpiece and marked a new formation of Valravns on the holotable display into green icons. Perhaps the great mapmaker in the sky worked in mysterious ways after all. 

"Steady on, Helm. Designating new allied contacts." Leon glanced at his former crewmates, innoccuously turning his head as if to crack his neck, but was the most subtle 'Don't.' expression to Martin in particular who knew that was discreetly a signal not to get involved, implying no one do anything foolish. His mind meanwhile was on the mission, "Sabine, Confirm new IFF Status on incoming Fighters?" a good architect [even one of destruction] worked with as many tools at his disposal as possible. Trent's final orders regarding the USS Dauntless were in the balance. Would Dewitt be cold enough to kill another one of her own ships? Marquez might have.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Fife on October 22, 2018, 12:51:12 AM
[ Ensign Isel “Foxfire” Nix | Wolf-08 | Azure Nebula ] @Auctor Lucan @Stegro88 @patches @Vox @Firefox013

[Shit that was close] Came Donna’s voice over the comms, the concern audible in her tone. Their torpedoes had only narrowly hitting the weapons pod. Isel heard the rest of what Donna had to say over the alert that had just begun to ring throughout her cockpit. [Foxfire, break off. We’ve got company.]

Isel gritted her teeth as she pulled hard to port, pulling back at the same time so as to spiral in an erratic pattern, making it harder for the two warp fighters that had just launched form the Dauntless to get a clear shot. Isel only barely registered what Donna said next before she had to slam her fighter out of the spin, just barely avoiding the incoming phaser fire that was lancing in her direction from Wolves 05 & 06.

”I don’t think they’re happy to see us, Chance!” Isel snarled, her concentration and the rapid change in her course causing a strain in her voice that drowned out her sarcasm and humour. ”And after I let Cactus cop a feel the other day, too! Prickly bastard! Fuck!” The last curse was prompted by an impact against her shields as one of Sneaky’s shots scored a glancing hit. Her fighter’s shields held, though they were still recovering from the Dauntless’ barrage. ”Donna, tell these fuckertards that I’m cute and I'm little, and that they should stop fucking shooting me!” Isel couldn’t help but laugh as she spoke the words, at the same time she sent a few phaser shots of her own lancing back at their pursuers, the aft wing-mounted type VII phasers scorning a hit on Sneaky’s port shields as they scrambled to evade the erratic fire.

”Hah! I hope Cactus’ console blows in his face! Fucker had sticky hands anyway!” Isel growled with a dark smile crossing her features. The reprieve was short lived, however, as the two bandits maintained their pursuit and kept up their harrying fire. The Vulpinian’s expression turned from dark satisfaction to frustration at their dogged pursuers, then to puzzlement as a new voice came over the coms.

[Hi, Sabine, Wraith, Foxfire and Chance. This is Black Wolf-13, callsign Meerkat. Wolves 14 and 16 are accompanying, callsigns Scylla and Blizzard respectively. Requesting you mark us as friendly. Blizzard will assist you, Sabine. Scylla and I will deal with Whiskers and Sneaky.]

Meerkat and Scylla are coming too, huh? The thought played through Isel’s mind even as the preoccupied-yet-still-alluring accent of the Sabine’s pilot could be heard responding. The phaser fire lancing past her fighter became more erratic, and Foxfire took the opportunity to quickly check her sensors. Sneaky and Whiskers were dodging fire from Meerkat and Scylla.

Give ‘em hell, ladies!

Isel kept up her evasive maneuvers the incoming fire from Sneaky being more easily avoided now that they, in turn, were being fired upon by Meerkat. Another quick glance at her sensors told Isel that Scylla had taken up pursuit of Whiskers, who had taken up pursuit of Donna. Suddenly Sneaky’s fire became more concentrated, and Isel was hard-pressed to dodge the bastard’s phasers. Sneaky managed to land several more glancing blows, leaving Isel’s shields greatly diminished.

The incoming fire suddenly let up, and a moment later Meerkat’s voice came over the comms.

[Scratch one. Foxfire, this is Meerkat. Your tail’s clear.]

”My tail's white, fluffy and adorable, Meerkat, but roger that! I owe you one!” Isel grinned as she spoke, then pulled her fighter about. She was hoping the reprieve would last long enough to allow her shields to recover somewhat before they made another run at the Akira-class. She quickly checked her sensors to see how Donna and Scylla were fairing against Whiskers, though she only had time to note that both Chance and Scylla were still alive before a dangerous glow illuminated the inside of her cockpit. An explanation quickly followed as she once more heard Meerkat call out.

[Oh, stars. Meerkat to Foxfire, Scylla, Chance. The Dauntless is firing torpedoes set to proximity. Watch out!]

”Fuck, that doesn’t help things.” Isel muttered before keying open her comms, ”Meerkat, this is Foxfire. Once Scylla and Chance deal with Whiskers we need to try and render the Dauntless immobile.” Isel saw more torpedoes being launched by the Dauntless and cursed the fact that she didn’t have an RIO to help feed her combat data. ”And I guess try not to get blown the hell up while we’re at it…” She added the last part while maneuvering her Valkyrie to try and get out of the cone of vulnerability of the Dauntless’ torpedoes. "If we can score some hits and keep their shields from fully recovering, Chance and Scylla can hit the nacelle once they're clear."
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Absinthe on October 22, 2018, 03:15:16 AM
[ Ensign Ryuan Sel | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] attn: peeps on the bridge
[Show/Hide]

Watching the scene unfold before her eyes, the readouts on the visor of the helmet of her exo-suit telling her everything she needed to know, Sel felt her gut tie itself into knots. This wasn't right. She was loyal to the cause, she always had been, but this was not what she had signed up for, she knew better than this, and hearing as there was a pause between the request to begin rescue operations and the order to do so. At this point, she was security chief so any that they rescued were her responsibility, but she knew she couldn't allow them to stay in space, in those nightmarish escape pods.

With a gesture she pulled off the helmet and tossed it aside, showing her face for the first time since she stepped onto the bridge, her tired eyes moving directly to Dewitt. Now was not the time to hesitate, they had already taken the center chair from one of their own and now she was looking at the one who ordered it and having a doubt. This was dangerous. She would take the responsibility for this one. To hell with the consequences.

"Do it, Mister Marquez, get as many of them as you can, while we still can," she said in a strong, clear voice as she stepped toward the new captain of the vector, her eyes never leaving the other woman's. She directed what came next directly at Dewitt, her tone almost pleading. "We are Starfleet, we don't do it like this. We need to rescue the survivors. I stood by you before, don't make me doubt that now."
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Argyros on October 22, 2018, 04:31:20 AM
[Lt JG Derik Veradin I Main Bridge I Vector 01 I USS Theurgy] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @The Ostrich @Absinthe

"Mister Veradin, once we rake Bellerophon, give me a parabolic intercept for Dauntless, full impulse.  Commander Marquez, you will have to open fire at longer range than we'd like, but you will have one chance to give the fighters some supporting fire.  Make it count."

Derik's fingers danced across the controls, keeping one step ahead of the power requirements as each maneuver was ordered. With strains on the core from the cloak and weapons systems, he pulled the absolute minimum power necessary. It was a challenge to say the least. Everything on the ship was screaming for power but without propulsion, they would become target practice. One eye checking flawless keystrokes, one on the holo-display and viewscreen and his ears open for the next command was all Derik could do.

Then the tension on the bridge reached a crescendo.

"I am sorry, but I am hereby relieving you of command under Starfleet Regulation Six-One-Nine. You should have let us leave, when we had the chance. Now, too many officers have been killed because of you and Heather MacMillan."

A mutiny?! Now of all times?! Here in the middle of a crisis, Derik could hardly believe what Commander Dewitt was doing. They needed unity not division. He half turned in his chair, keeping one hand hovering just over the controls. He couldn't help but watch. Mutiny aboard a Federation starship, even in desperate times, was rare.

He listened to Dewitt's reasons, each one a hammer blow against Commander Trent. She had betrayed his trust, revealing the deeper meanings behind his actions. What greater reason to fight than for love? It was only as she was explaining her actions, that Derik finally saw the security officers stationed at key positions on the bridge. His leg itched where he kept his knife. Defending the captain would be useless however, despite his sense of honor screaming at him to do so anyway. Those security officers could take down anybody before they got a shot off. Dewitt had planned this well even if it was for the wrong reasons.

If they didn't stay here, and the other vectors were still out there, they may never reunite. They were stronger together. She had to know this. Derik wanted to reunite with the others for personal reasons as well. There were people on those vectors he cared about. She had to care about those people too, right?

"You are a hypocritical faithless coward and murderer who hides behind the letter of her orders, and I am ashamed I ever put any trust in you, you fucking disgrace to the uniform." Commander Trent's words were quiet, but there was no mistaking what he said. They were filled with barely contained loathing and a rage so deep it was like staring into the darkest part of a deep, deep ocean.

Derik ground his teeth as Trent was beamed off the bridge, stomach twisted into a tightly bound knot. This wasn't the way things should be done. It spit in the face of everything he had learned at the Academy, everything the Federation stood for. Then the question came if they were to initiate rescue operations for the survivors of the Bellerophon. He desperately hoped they would. Even if they were being controlled by those parasites, they were no doubt killing people Derik knew. Academy friends? Classmates? Certainly people who where just following orders. If they could rescue any of them they had to try. Too many had been lost already.

"Your orders Captain?" The last word laced with restrained venom.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: BZ on October 23, 2018, 06:07:57 PM
[Zyrao Natauna | Strategist |  Starfleet Shit Storm | Mutiny |  Poor Tastes & Bad Decisions]
@Auctor Lucan @Triton @Argyros @Absinthe

They were told not to fire.

They fired anyway.  Of course they did.  Zyrao put the bridge of her nose in between her forefinger and thumb and squeezed for a moment.  There were times she wished that she had just stayed with the Hakkarl and become space dust.  At least then she wouldn't have to sit around and be testament to the idiocy that had clearly infected the universe while she was with the Klingon.  In a genitalia measuring contest on the Bridge the whole situation just ramped up.  You had Dewitt that was plotting and planning something, Zyrao could feel that it was coming up the culmination of whatever her plan was.  There was a shift on the Bridge, something that stated without words, that the dynamic here was about to change.  Trent was pissed, he didn't like Dewitt going behind him countermanding his orders, and while his orders were often shit, he was the boss.  Not her boss, but the boss to the people in the horrible uniforms and collar jewelry.

Dewitt turned, her eyes burning into Trent's back side, as she began to speak.  Starting with the moniker of 'I'm sorry'.  Was she?  Zyrao doubted it, she didn't seem, at all, sorry for what she was about to do.  Zyrao sat there watching everything begin to unfold.  She had no idea who Heather MacMillian was or why that would have anything to do with Trent.  She imagined it was a lover, family, something that would cause him to make poor choices.

The Savi?

Her grey eyes shifted around the bridge.  Surely, someone would stand up for him.  While Zyrao didn't agree with his methods when they met, surely he was not the same with his own crew.  He had been someone that had been the First Officer for a while, as far as she could tell.  There had to be those that were loyal to him.  Those that would not stand for such a display of disrespect.  Mutiny was a hard street to walk.  It was a career ending move, at best.  Both parties would likely lose their places in the Fleet.  Trent because he would have now lost the respect and confidence of the crew around him for having been tossed out on his ass.  But also, Dewitt because she decided, in the middle of battle no less, to relieve the man of duty.  In a very public and demeaning way. 

Zyrao saw not a single person rise, not a single officer on the Bridge stood up to defend the man that had been sitting in the center seat all this time.  Either he is more inept than I thought, or these people have no sense of loyalty. she thought and shook her head in disbelief.  [/i]What the universe have I done.  I should have stayed with the Klingon.  Who wants to work, or command, a ship of people that could be swayed so easily.  Her stomach turned.  I wish Sera were here, she would understand my disgust of this bridge. she thought nastily as she watched Trent stand up with the first fire in his eyes that she had seen on the Bridge yet.  His horrendous whispering habit had finally been tossed to the side for something garnering actual volume.

This man would have kept his seat. she thought cooly, but it was too late for him to rally the troops and get things done.  He had been deposed, tossed off his seat, and before he could even give them the earful they likely deserved, he was beamed off the bridge.  Zyrao looked at everyone on the Bridge making eye contact with the few that were watching the spectacle and did nothing.  She felt it was not her place, nor did she know Trent well enough, nor did she feel that going after him would be prudent.  Part of her wanted to spit on the deck plating at take her leave.  Loyalty was something that she thought she would find an abundance of here, it stuck her as very odd that she had found none on this Bridge.

The other part of her realized that Dewitt had likely not made the decision lightly.  While, it was not done in the manner that Zyrao would have preferred there was likely no 'right' way to do it.  She couldn't want for him to make more poor choices.  Lives were at stake here.  They needed to get themselves safe and secure.  They needed to get away from the Task Force and they needed to figure out what the next step was.  There was a plan in place, and now, sadly, Trent had no part of it.  It was his own doing.  He made poor choices, whether he was actually compromised or not, Zyrao couldn't say.  She hoped that he would find himself a stiff drink in his Quarters and pass out.  Take a load off, and let the Bridge go.

She doubted that would happen though, Trent seemed like that guy that was going to pace grooves in the deck plating with worry.  Everything now, was out of his control.  Slipped through his fingers and he would likely not have control of the ship again.  For someone like Trent, it would bother him greatly and weigh on his shoulders that he had no control of what would happen now.  Marquez was working behind the scenes getting things set up and waiting for someone to give him the nod to get a escape pods to the now wounded ship.  Her eyes shifted over to Sel when the woman stated to do it, they were Starfleet and didn't do it 'this way'.

What way is that? she thought to herself as she stood up and brushed a hand through her shorter hair.  She hoped it meant that they were the kind that offered aid.  Wasn't that the point of the Fleet, though if rumors were true this ship was no more a part of the Fleet.  They were nothing more than a ship of deserters and law breakers.  Those things she didn't really mind, over much, but she didn't understand where the Fleet she had always heard tale of had gone.  It certainly didn't seem to be present on the Bridge at the moment.  At least, it hadn't been.  Maybe now, maybe things would settle down now. 

Veridian, she liked that guy.  The venom in his voice was enough to prove that not everyone was accepting of the situation.  She smirked a bit at the helmsman but she wasn't sure that he saw or not.  She hoped that he had though.  While she didn't exactly think that Trent should be in charge she was not certain Dewitt had better ideas.  But, this was what they had to work with now, and they were going to have to get themselves out of the shit storm they were sitting in the center of.

Zyrao's eyes shifted to Dewitt.  “What's the plan?” she asked the woman, surely she hadn't taken the center seat without one.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: The Ostrich on October 23, 2018, 11:21:34 PM
[ LtCmdr Vivian Martin | Main Bridge | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ] Attn:

[Show/Hide]

The Vector moved with grace, swooping in close to the Bellerophon and decorated its hull with weapons fire. Vivian watched the results on her screen and gave a small gasp of horror as they cleaved the Intrepid class vessel in two. Her fingers raced across the controls of her station quickly confirming that the Bellerophon had launched its escape pods. A moment later Marquez confirmed that reading and announced it to the bridge. At almost the same moment, as Vivian turned to face the rest of the bridge, Commander Dewitt made a move of her own.

Vivian sat, frozen in shock as she watched Commander Dewitt take command with frightening speed and precision. The quick actions of the Security department in support of Dewitt clearly stated that they had received prior warning that this was happening. Vivian’s wide eyes followed everything, flinching at the venom in Trent’s last statement as the transporter energized and carried him off the bridge. Even after he was gone Vivian still sat frozen in shock, it wasn’t until Sel (Oh beautiful Sel) spoke, confirming Marquez’s request to save the crew of the Bellerophon, that Vivian finally snapped back to reality.

”Commander Dewitt” She called, her voice carrying clearly across the bridge ”While I don’t approve of your actions, you have my support for the time being. However, I agree with Ensign Ryuan, we are still Starfleet. It is our duty to help those survivors. If we don’t help to rescue these people you will lose a vast majority of those who currently support you.” Vivian surprised herself with the steely defiance in her voice. She would not take no for an answer.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Brutus on October 26, 2018, 04:01:33 AM
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: 
[Show/Hide]
The battle began in earnest - lashing out of the array, on Dewitts orders and the out right anger she felt from Trent. Her head snapped around as she looked at him, and for all the anger in his eyes, it paled to what she felt rolling off of the man. A tremble ran down her spine, and it was not at all pleasant. She watched him collect himself and begin to issue orders.

"Once we open fire on Bellerophon, broadcast the previous message, still encrypted.  Omnidirectional, full power. We'll already be telling the galaxy where we are by firing weapons; might as well make full use of that window."

"Aye aye. Sir." Faye barely managed the words. Jennifer Dewitt, another figure she barely knew, had just stepped away from where she had loomed over Faye's shoulders, giving orders to the vessel know as Sabine, before Vivian had worked her magic. The first officer left Faye reeling in the emotional and mental riptide of Dewitt's thoughts, on top of what she'd felt from Trent. So much anger, so much frustration, such doubt, tightly bound by determination. Something under the surface that she just couldn't peg down, that source.

In truth, Faye was entirely too scared and keyed up to sort it all out.  Too many people, too many thoughts, too many emotions. Focus she said to herself as Dewitt went away and more orders were issued. She pulled the message from before and readied the comms array. As she worked, more and more calls came in, which she routed into the overhead systems as required. She'd let the other Wolves handle their own IFF designations, though she did let out a bit of a snort at some of the banter.

She almost went hysterical over it - a very near thing indeed.

That feeling went away as the combat renewed. Horror swept over her, even as she pressed the button to trigger the message, as per orders. Once again, the Helmet called out to her sister vectors, a beacon in the night, as space filled with energy discharges, and the USS Bellerophon broke its spine, venting atmosphere and bodies. She could feel the horror from others, the regret - Trent - and the inhmane coldness from Marquez, whom had taken the time to plot things just so, and had seen his tactical planning turn into wholesale slaughter by one wrong turn.

She was breathing fast. Too fast. Hyperventilating? near enough. She was listening in on the calls from Engineering. She couldn't avoid it. If she had been able to keep her head, and focus on more than just the task of routing queries and sending encrypted messages she would have known.

But she failed to realize that the mounting tension was all drawn into a mutiny, until Dewitt spoke, and once again, the anger from Trent stole her breath away. Her hand smacked down and the burst signal was cut off. Transmission sent, but perhaps not as long as it could have been.

Her eyes swung over to Vivian, but she saw that she was looking back at Leon. Faye saw his little shake of a head, and felt, more, the silent message of don't. She swallowed, and watched, waiting for the order to begin rescue operations. This was wrong. This was all so wrong. We need to reunite with the other vectors....its the best chance we have for survival. its.... She stopped. Faye realized, in that moment, that she was as compromised as Dewitt had just accused Trent of being. She wanted to meet back up with the rest of the ship because she wanted to see Riley again. She was scared for the nurse, worried that she'd not see her again. Dewitt was going to rob her of that chance.

But she was just a low ranking Ensign. What could I possibly do? Apparently, force the issue, if you were an angry Bajoran woman. A gauntlet of a sorts was thrown by the acting security chief, and backed by Vivian Martin. There was very little that Faye could add to the situation, but she coughed, quietly, an spoke up. "Per regulations, Captain, we are required to render aid in such circumstances." Her voice was soft, but it did not shake. Which was surprising, all things considered. Must have been that diplomatic training. Her gauntlet was more subtle, perhaps, but thrown none the less. If Dewitt was going to quote regs to lock up Carrigan Trent....
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Firefox013 on October 26, 2018, 03:56:17 PM
[ LtJG. Sephiria “Scylla” Arn | Valravn class Warp Fighter “Wolf 14”| Flying Chance’s wing | Near Vector 01 | Asure Nebula ]

Fingers drummed on the padding of the figher’s throttles, same for the ones on the stick. Fingers moving, tapping to a rhythm that could be faintly hear through the pilots reflective visor, the armor giving her a more powerful, mechanical-esque, appearance than normal. The suit was the latest version pilot armor for warp fighter pilots. The music being played on the pilots personal audio channel was classical earth music from the early 21st century, an American band called Disturbed, their song titled “Are You Ready?” The Bajoran RIO in her back seat, just rolled his eyes.

Alert eyes scanned the readouts on the advanced Fighter’s cockpit displays and on her built-in HUD system too. Though alert, the pilot was nonetheless thinking over a great many things. Her feelings and convictions heavily shaken by recent events, things had gone to hell in a hand-basket and now everyone wanted the destruction of one of Starfleet’s greatest assets and her crew. Some of her friends were among them and she definitely didn’t want to have to hurt them, which is why she went along with this harebrained scheme the others had come up with.

She thought of the arguments, what she had seen and heard, what was said and by whom, it felt wrong, all of it. Specially the dogged determination of these forces sent after the Theurgy, there was some odd, almost palpable something wrong about it all. “This damn thing is so messed up. But I have to trust in Meerkat and the others.” she thought as her left hand went and hovered over a special toggle she had set up in her cockpit.

Their Warp Fighters smoothly dropped out of warp after Meerkat called the mark. So far, things had gone smoothly with her just following chances lead but the other fighters were starting to worry her and the Dauntless was not far behind at all. “Meerkat, this is Scylla, whatever you’ve got planned just get on with it cause I think we are about to have company.” She said, while bobbing her head gently to “Black Wedding” from This Moment.

Just then, before them, the intrepid class starship Bellerophon was destroyed by an attack from what was, if anything, the Theurgy’s number 1 vector, the saucer section of the ship, there were 2 more out there, but it seemed like they weren’t around at the time. “Ouch, that had to hurt!” Was Sephiria Arn’s first emotional comment. She did care about the deaths but, this sort of thing happened far too often for it to perturb her the same way it does most.

Scylla listened in as some of the others spoke up then, listened to something a bit more to the point from the flight lead. [I've done it in simulations. It's a weird angle to hit, but easier than you'd think when both ships are moving. Go help Wraith, Blizzard. Scylla and I will assist Chance and Foxfire. Remember to update your IFFs, people.] After hearing that, Sephiria quickly modified her IFF settings, making sure to send it to Meerkat for when she contacts the odd shuttle called the Sabine she had spotted earlier. “Wolf 14 copies team leader, weapons are hot, flashing IFF codes to you for transfer, codes sent.” Was her calm reply as she manoeuvered as ordered.

Scylla’s menacing Valravn fighter gently, smoothly fell into place, it’s pilot still enjoying some old Earth music, part of their classical styles and a type known as Hard Rock or Metal depending on taste and preferences. Her hands gracefully moved the controls in a deft, confident grip, the grip someone far higher rank than she was would have normally developed, damn that accident and her PTSD. “Right with you Meerkat, keeping formation, following your lead.”

She moved her bird gracefully, following Meerkat, smirking a bit. “Sorry peeps, but yall get to see what I can really do today, no holding back I’m afraid!” She said, engaging her manoeuver to port after Meerkat indicated she do it, firing as ordered, even signing one of the now hostile Mk.II Valkyries, the Gryphon type as some called them. Soon though she was dodging return fire and something else, something felt odd. “Stay alert girls, I do not like WHOAH!” she dodged a torpedo and managed to slam extra power to her rear shields, literally riding the blastwave clear. Alarms rang in her cockpit but she silenced them while moving back around, deftly twisting the agile Valravn in on a supporting course to Meerkat, opening fire alongside her. “I got your back Meerkat, Chance! Let's save Foxy’s tail!” She said then blinked, seeing torpedoes coming at them. “Oh well, holy crap, that’s bad!”

[Oh, stars. Meerkat to Foxfire, Scylla, Chance. The Dauntless is firing torpedoes set to proximity. Watch out!] She deftly dodged yet another blast. “Okay that’s it no more missus nice host!” The joined trill grinned as she locked onto the same fighter Meerkat was on, adding her own considerable firepower to the mix. Sephiria’s feet, hands, eyes, everything, legs, arms, all working together as the skilled pilot unleashed many more years experience at the stick than many were graced with as she tapped into memories, experiences, those that would help her fly and fight. Her breath slowed a bit, eyes focusing. “Move and I’ll back you up Meerkat!” She spoke as she slid back in with her wingmate, keeping tight and lending her own fire as well as some very fancy blocking manoeuvers, the new Valravn was definitely proving its worth in Scylla’s hands. “Come on Chance, stick with me, we gotta get this guy!” her fingers gently squeezes the trigger, firing a volley of advanced phaser canon shots out at the enemy fighter.

A barrage of phaser beams lance out at incoming torpedoes, taking a few out well away from them. “Hahah, this fighter has phasers in the back too numbnuts!” She said, apparently taunting the Dauntless crew, on an open frequency no less. Well it didn’t take long for them to try lobbing more torpedoes at them. “Whoops! Hah! Missed!” She said, her fighter's rear banks helping prevent many torpedoes getting even remotely close.

“Chance, I’ve got your six, concentrate on Whiskers and take that bastard out!” She said in her clear, matter of fact tone as she deftly moved her Valravn with foot pedal, sliding control system use, judicious throttle and thruster usage, to keep herself as a shield for anything coming from the rear. “You got this!” She smirked, keeping position, following the other fighter. “Scylla on station here, don’t worry, we’ve got this!” She stated as they engaged their targets.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on October 27, 2018, 11:34:00 PM
[ Sera vers Aldnoah (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sera_vers_Aldnoah) | Cockpit | SS Sabine NX-59846 | Azure Nebula ] Attn: @Vox @Fife @Stegro88
[Show/Hide]
To her great chagrin, after the brief talk with the one called Meerkat and confirming the IFFs to the Theurgy, Sera had lost track of Wraith. Thus, the second pass was uncoordinated, and she hadn't any assistance from A'vura - being in the aft compartment and trying to find the helmet while the Sabine tossed and turned. The inertial dampeners couldn't quite compensate for the manouvres that Sera had to put the Sabine through, and when one of the Valravn fighters came in from on high and pelted her dorsal shields with phaser beams, Sera had to hold on not get flung out of her seat. Burn me, those emitters had bite...

When she got her bearings back, she felt herself being pulled at from behind, as if the Sabine tried to suck her out of her seat. She turned her helmet, and saw the hull breach in the deckhead. Her yellow eyes wide, cursing in Câroon under her breath, two things were clear. The Valravn had managed to penetrate her shields, and A'vura was nowhere to be seen. As if to punctuate the fact that the Orion Starfleeter was gone, the Sabine's structural integrity field kicked in, and sealed the breach. Able to move again, Sera checked the sensors, trying to spot the life-sign, but A'vura was lost in the soup of the Azura Nebula. She had to remind herself that there were three hostile crafts out there, and she'd lost the initiative in the fight.

Burn you, Sera, focus! There was nothing she could do for the green woman. She spotted the second Valravn heading her way, and she had to do something about it. She had no time to ask the computer for a damage report - having muted the irritating voice a long time ago - but armed her heavy pulse phaser cannons, charging them for a warm reception. "Think I will break off? Guess again."

Instead, she set a course straight towards the Valravn, pushing her impulse throttle all the way forward, and jammed her gauntleted thumb down on the firing command. The heavy cough of her wing-mounted cannons reverberated in the Sabine's spaceframe, and to avoid the beams coming her way, she rotated her trusted ship, In the end of her charge, she turned it sideways, so that she could continue firing whilst the Valravn shot her by. Before she came to Starbase 84, she'd only had a couple of phaser strips to use in situations like that, but now? Oh, this was so much better. Once more a stray thought went to Melissa Wright, in thanks for the Sabine's refit.

She had sustained two grazing hits, and there was a fire somewhere behind her on the ship, but the Valravn was bleeding too - the plasma trail of the hostile craft vanishing into a blue particle cloud. Time to find that Lone Wolf she'd lost. "Sabine to Wraith. Burn you, what's your status? Where the the bloody ashes are you at?"

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All 
[Show/Hide]
Before he had been removed from the bridge, Trent had sent them towards the Dauntless, leaving the broken Bellerophon behind in order to aid the fighters. TFA was inbound, Dewitt had demanded clarity from Engineering in what options the Vector had, and Suq had needed a few seconds to give her an answer. What they got at first, was a mere 17 % of weapon capacity without the cloak. It was a rather depressing preliminary reply.

In that time it took for Engineering to give her a clear answer, the aftermath of relieving Trent from command was clear on the bridge. The present officers advocated rescue operations of Bellerophone personnel, even though Task Force Archeron was almost on top of them. Where was the logic in getting themselves killed? Didn't the mission matter to them? Dewitt suspected that a few of them had officers dear to them on the other Vectors, or on the Versant, and they refused to accept how they were gone already. Ensign Sel even tore off her helmet and told Marquez to commence resque operations, even though he had no means to do anything of the kind from the Tactical station. It was the officer at Ops that might start beaming in officers. Sel's thinly veiled threat didn't pass unnoticed either, and when other officers offered support to the idea, it became clear that they were just as emotionally compromised as Trent had been. Do they think I am stupid? That I don't see how they try to make the ship linger for just a little while longer?

"I sympathise with the idea to lend aid if we can," she said, her voice clear and loud in her authority. "But if we stay, we'll be destroyed, and we won't be able to help our own on those fighters. You heard Mister Suq. As much as we all want to do more, we simply can't. If we stay, we are toothless and exposed - the chance to escape and continue the mission lost. In six minutes, the third and last Rendezvous is over. I can't stress this enough; don't you think the others would have come by now, if they were still alive?"

Then, Suq spoke again from Engineering. [You've got a choice. Take the cloak off and I can get us out of here in a few minutes, or keep it on and it could be a half hour to three hours, depending on how much power you're drawing.]

This, with the meagre 17 % of phaser energy output, Dewitt assumed.

She gave it a couple of seconds of thought, keen on adapting to the situation. Command was not to stick to your guns if given new information. She regretted the situation, but there was no helping it. She tapped the buttons on her armchair, summoning the holographic tactical display on the deck before Ops and CONN. She spoke again. "ETA for the closest of the Archeron ships is only three minutes at the most, Mister Suq. You have that much. Deactivate the cloak, and set to it. Dewitt out."

Then, she addressed the present bridge officers again. "Three minutes, everyone. We have no shields, meagre phaser output, but we ought to be able to launch a few torpedoes via atmo-release. Furthermore, we have the Thames, and its prepared payload. So, we use these three minutes as best as we might. Ready? Tactical, distract the Dauntless and lend aid to the fighters that way, but from afar. Helm! Stay within transporter range to the Bellerophon. Evasive manoeuvres? Fine, just don't leave transporter range. Ops, rescue those in most dire need. As many as you can. Security, prepare to receive hostile survivors in sickbay and the transporter rooms, and coordinate the your staff deployment with Ops. Zyrao Natauna, you should be able to access remote control of the Thames and detonate it close to the Dauntless. Not too close though. Ensign Eloi-Danvers, we're about to have Bellerophon survivors aboard. Use the intercom in the beam-in areas to try and convince them that we're not hostile. Natauna! Since Eloi-Danvers will be too busy, brief our fighters and the Sabine what's about to happen as well. Martin, you worked with F'Rell to get us away from Starbase 84. Work with Engineering and help her and Suq get the powe-"

The electronic voice of F'Rell could be heard again, speaking fast. [<I have a possible option to get us out of here, but I must advise that it is completely dangerous and likely to cause an overload, but unless we act soon the core will breach and we will lose the ship anyway. Currently the system keeping the dilithium crystals from fracturing is working at full functionality, due to the increased pressure inside the core, if it shut down for only a second the crystals would fracture and a massive outpouring of power would flood through the power distribution network and likely overload the whole sh-.>]

Dewitt had heard enough to realise it was an option that needed far more clarity to it. It sounded vastly unsafe. She tapped her armrest and transferred the incoming call from F'Rell to Martin's station - it continuing to play out there. There was no time to waste. "Like I said, Martin, work with F'Rell and let us know what consequences that option will have. Will we live through it?" She then looked towards the bridge officers, most already have set to their tasks. "Make each second count before we leave, people!"

If they couldn't leave right away, then they would make a difference while they could. Oh, how she regretted that Trent had made them stay, exceeding their ship's abilities, but now, Dewitt had no choice but to adapt. It was what Command was about.

Decloaked, Vector 01 would defy the odds, and charge enough power to beam out.


OOC: Since there were three separate instances with input from Engineering, I shaped the timing in accordance. Since there were no tangible references towards what Suq and F'Rell said in prior posts, I think this timing is most plausible. Hope it makes sense! Free posting order for all. I noticed that Ravenholm is a bit out of the loop in Engineering,@chXinya, so perhaps some new input from @FollowTomorrow's Suq? Plan something fitting? @Stegro88, Lorad is going to Sickbay, so please set the scene with the injured Bellerophon officers getting beamed in there.

All Supplemental Threads that are started between characters on this Vectors will have to be set before this time of 0810 hrs. on Day 06, but not afterwards, and they should also be posted on the Part 1 board. Just like in the interregnum, Supplemental one-on-one threads are started at your leisure! Supplemental threads should be named Chapter 05: Supplemental [Day XX | YYYY hrs.] Insert Title, and can extend as far back as right after the battle with the Versant and all the way up to 0810 hrs on Day 06, where the third Rendevouz began.

Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: FollowTomorrow on October 29, 2018, 12:24:17 AM
[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ] @Absinthe @chXinya @Auctor Lucan

He had been praying, quietly, under his breath as he worked. There was an old children’s prayer, meant to guide the lost, frightened child back home, and he was reciting that. After a few moments, he did not hear anything from the bridge. He had no way of knowing exactly what their plans were, or even what just happened, but he saw that, at least for now, they were not overdoing it with the weapons system. His prayers answered, he tried to feel relieved. Instead, he just felt like his chest was closing up.

A quick puff-puff from his inhaler to force his airways back open and he was back in business, for now. After he said not to fire, they didn’t fire. As much as he loved his Resolve Family, some of them were stubborn. Stubborn enough to put Suq’s own life, and the lives of other Family members at risk. Whatever happened up there, he thanked the Spirits for it.

"ETA for the closest of the Archeron ships is only three minutes at the most, Mister Suq. You have that much. Deactivate the cloak, and set to it. Dewitt out."


So that was it then, they were running. The last stop to regroup and Archeron ruined it, for good. He had the cloak down in a second after her command.
“No more cloak guys. Folks up top said we’re getting out of here.” He announced to engineering, “Let’s get her ready to warp. We got three minutes, hear me, three minutes. No more crazy shit, we’re leaving and we’re leaving in one piece.”  Apparently, F’rell had an option, but Suq had already received orders and passed them on. He stepped down from the console dedicated to the cloak as it powered down. The warp core sounded a little bit better now that the cloak was off, but this ship wasn’t in good shape. She needed her other vectors. Facing a whole task force? Out of the question.

Still, it hurt. Knowing that his family, his real Family, they were...shattered. He felt shattered too. He already lost his blood family. What would he do without his Family?

He would operate, he supposed. Just like he always had.
"Ravenholm, I need you to pull as much power as you can from all systems save weapons. F'rell, I dunno what you're doing, but I need you to keep an eye on the math. I'm going to start the warp process and I need you ladies to keep us from overheating." He called out, and as he did, he moved towards the core itself. Really, jumping to warp shouldn't be such an involved process, but they were hurting and hurting bad. He wanted one person on each task, so they could focus only on that task. The more hands, the less likely they were to die.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: BZ on October 30, 2018, 03:34:43 AM
[Zyrao Natauna | Brigadier of Badassery | Shit Needs Done |  Leave it to the Expert |  Time to Shine]
@Auctor Lucan @Wolves @Brutus @Absinthe @Firefox013 @The Ostrich

Science spoke.  Zyrao's eyes shifted to the woman that said she could back Dewitt but would not stand to see the Fleet kill it's own.  What is this?  Sudden loyalty?  Where was this when the Asshole in the Center Seat was tossed on his ass?  She wondered how long these people had been sitting on their dislike for the man.  She had apparently not been the only one that disliked him, though hers had been from the get-go.  Watching people he served with discount him so quickly, so easily, unnerved her and made her wonder just what kind of ship that Ives had run.  The impressions she had attained of Ives during their very brief conversation before her inevitable departure from the Klingon Defense Force. 

Grey eyes shifted again, looking at the woman at the sstation that seemed to be having a hard time filling her lungs.  She did not quite seem to be hyperventalating but she was fairly close to it.  That wasn't something that they could handle right now.  If she ended up passing out due to the panic that was seemingly taking over her in this situation Zyrao would have to pull her to the side and taken over her seat.  However, she hoped the woman was strong enough to get through this.  She was necessary to the Bridge.  She needed to get her shit together and make this happen.  Everyone did.  Dewitt had thrown the bridge off of it's rhythm.  Now they had to find a new one, they had to find their voices again. 

“We have a job to do here, Officers of Starfleet.  We will not let the events of today mar what our purpose here is.”  she said to them all quickly.  Her voice was firm, but there was an uplifting quality to it.  It was as good of a pep talk as anyone got out of Zyrao but it wasn't as though they hadn't worked in the past.  She had been an officer, a general, she had been commanding troops when these Officers had not even been born for the most part.  She hoped that now, her words would help those on the bridge focus better and get the jobs done.  Whatever had happened was done, they could do Trent no service, Ives no service if they failed now.

The weight of the office sat heavily on the shoulders of Dewitt.  Zyrao could almost see the physical change that came over her as she realized that the bridge, itself, was emotionally charged.  It wasn't just that Trent had made poor choices but that they all were still holding out the hope that missing officers, and those other vectors, were still out there.  They would just appear in the darkness and rejoin.  They would kick some mother fuckers and get the fuck out of here and back to safety.  But, that was not easily the case.  They may not be able to remerge the vectors, they may not be able to find their missing officers, they may never see those crew again.  Sera. the lone thought entered her mind before she pushed it back outward.  She could not have a moment of weakness.  What Dewitt needed now was action, strategy, and support. 

Dewitt wasn't wrong.  They couldn't wait around with the cloak engaged forever.  They needed to lend support to the engines so they could get out of here without melting themselves down.  Staying here to let their loved ones come home to a melted chunk of floating space metal was not going to do anyone any good.  She could understand the hope behind wanting to reunite with the others, but she could understand the necessity to save their skins first.

“perhaps there is a way to leave a message for the other Vectors.  Encrypt it with something that only Ives or the other Vectors would know.  Something that perhaps could be used to attain our new position once we leave this one.” she shot across the Bridge, hoping that perhaps it was doable and there fore would bridge a gap for those that wanted to stay and the orders to pull anchor and go.

Her name was called out in the midst of Dewitt giving her orders.  I have.. orders?  her brow rose in surprise, but she didn't mind at all.  She was finally being allowed to be part of the ship and the Bridge.  The whole point of being up here was to lend her aid and she hoped that she could finally prove that she had the worth inside her that the Klingons and other races had seen from her as well.  Her chin rose and she gave a simple nod.  But, realizing that Dewitt might not have seen it she quickly said, “On it.” without all the senseless uses of ma'am and sir, and all that shit that was grossely unnecessary and she found too many Fleeters worried far too much about whether the monikers were used or not.  There were so many other ways to show respect which had nothing to do with titles.

She looked over at the PADD in her hand.  Sure enough, she had the control of the Thames.  She was going to have to get it to the Dauntless, close enough to wound them, not close enough to really do the kind of damage that would take the ship out, she assumed.  Just close enough to give them too much busy work to be able to come after them.  That was what was important right now.  Being able to get away without someone tailing them.  Finally, she was called again, her eyes flickering up from the PADD where she was making her thoughts and plans for the Thames as she heard that she would be the voice that could speak to the fighters and the Sabine to explain what was going on for the moment.

Her back straightened significantly.  “Got it.” she quickly stated.  It would be best to do that part first, let the Wolves and the Sabine know what was going on with the ship.  So they knew what to prepare for.  She had received a small badge for her chest when she had fully integrated herself on the ship so that she could be paged for such instances.  It was this device that she used now.

“Natauna to Sera.” she said calling the Sabine first.  “We are dropping our cloak and preparing to leave the area.  We are sending a payload to the Dauntless to incapacitate them while we make our escape.  Be warned of possible explosions and of our possible vacation of the area.” she said quickly, but then added.  “Be safe out there.”

Letting the badge go she tried to get herself to contact all the wolves that were out there.  “Strategist Natauna to the Theurgy Wolves Squadron.” she said giving a momentary pause so that the words could sink in.  “We are preparing to vacate the area.  A payload is being sent to the Dauntless, prepare for the fall out there of.  If we chose to vacate prepare to follow.  Adjust your flight paths accordingly.” she stated calmly and then she let her badge go again. 

Now, it was time for the Dauntless to get busy.

She pulled her PADD up and perched her hip against the holo table.  She wasn't using it right now but she was appreciative of the support.  She looked over the various controls that would work on the Thames and she was glad to be of service.  To actually be able to use her abilities for the good of the ship.  Quickly she began to pilot the ship.  It was a war zone out there, litterally with all the fighters, the massive ships, and the Sabine.  She hoped that she wouldn't have to say good bye to Sera already.  That would be a harsh thing to have to go through all of a sudden.  It wasn't love, no, Zyrao was unsure that love would ever be in the cards again.  But, she appreciated the companionship that she shared with Sera and didn't wish to lose it.  Besides, the bunk on the Sabine would be much less comfortable when it was cold and lonely.

It wasn't exactly hard to get the Thames into proper position.  There was enough space between the Theurgy and the Dauntless.  But it was littered with the crew that flew the fighters and of course the Sabine.  She needed to get it close enough to the Dauntless and yet in a place where she could imagine the Fighters at least stood a chance of being outside the blast zone.  The debris field floated around the Thames as she moved it closer.  She knew exactly the spot that would cause enough damage to be debilitating but not enough to murder the people on board.  They didn't wish for a massacre they wished for a distraction.  When she knew that it was in the right spot she informed.  The Thames came to a stop at the port side.  She tried to get it as close to the Dauntless as possible and as far from the Fighters as she could.  The Thames sat to where the blast zone would most definitely damage the Dauntless but hopefully the casualties would be minor.  Though she had settled it closer to the back of the ship's port side.  So that she could cripple their engineering systems if possible.  Without full engines they could not follow the Theurgy and therefore they would have a better chance at getting away.

“I am initiating the detonation now.”  she informed the Bridge only seconds before she depressed the position on the screen that would make the explosion a reality.  Now it was time to see if all her years of strategy and training had paid off and she had been a boon to the Bridge as a whole.

It felt good to be useful.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Stegro88 on October 30, 2018, 11:37:09 AM
Lt. JG Donna ‘Chance’ Petterson | Wolf 07 | Azure Nebula ] 
[Show/Hide]

Chance grunted as she threw Wolf-07 into a gut-wrenching turn to avoid another of the Dauntless’ proximity fused torpedoes. The Akira-class starship was starting to become a real problem as it moved towards where the Theurgy had destroyed the Bellerophon. A warning chime from her sensors caused Chance to roll to the side just in time to avoid a stream of phaser shots from Whiskers.

“You are really starting to annoy me, Whiskers,” Chance said absently towards her former Flight Leader, despite her inability to hear Chance’s words, even as Chance brought her Valkyrie up in pursuit of the Caitian. The pursuit should, by all rights, have been difficult and dangerous but luck was on Chance’s side and Whiskers found her flight path cut off by one of the others. As she tried to evade, Chance cut her off and a long burst from her pulse phaser cannons brought the shields down on Wolf-05 and stitched a series of impacts across the dorsal side of the warp fighter.

As the craft, its nacelles beginning to flicker and dim, drifted off under its remaining momentum, Chance closed for a final pass that ensured that one of those darkened nacelles would not function ever again. Satisfied that the fighter was removed from the fight, Chance brought her fighter around and began to look for Foxfire. She was just about to call Isel when another woman’s voice addressed them instead.

"Strategist Natauna to the Theurgy Wolves Squadron," the voice addressed them. After a brief pause to ensure she had their attention, the woman went on. "We are preparing to vacate the area.  A payload is being sent to the Dauntless, prepare for the fall out there of.  If we chose to vacate prepare to follow.  Adjust your flight paths accordingly," she directed calmly before the channel closed again.

“Nice of them to let us know,” Chance thought to herself as she finally spotted her Vulpinian lover/ex-lover just ahead of her. As she glided up beside Foxfire, her mind considered their options. “We still have to take out the Dauntless. And Wraith and the Sabine, while maybe not needing the help, could probably use it.”

“Chance to Foxfire, Meerkat and Scylla,” Chance called, activating her coms. “Depending upon the success of the Theurgy’s strike, I recommend that Wolves-07 & 08 roll in for a follow up secondary strike,” Chance proposed. “Wolves-13 & 14. Up to you if you want to stay around for a tertiary run or break off to assist your element mates and the Sabine.” A beep from her console informed Chance of a new contact approaching the Dauntless’ port quarter. From her position under the Dauntless, she had a clear view of the detonation of the craft.

The nebula writhed and twisted away from the explosion and the Dauntless itself was pushed sideways by the blast. Its impulse engines flickered and Chance looked down at her screens to confirm what she already suspected.

“The Dauntless has lost shields,” Chance called out. “Now's our shot. Foxfire, call the run,” Chance asked of her wing mate give that the Vulpinian was ahead of her. “Meerkat and Scylla. See you on the other side.”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Brutus on November 03, 2018, 02:11:48 AM
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: 
[Show/Hide]

As Faye focused on the bridge, she could feel the aftermath of Jennifer Dewitt's actions wash over the group. More and more, people realized what had just happened. Almost as if a switch had been thrown, mind after mind registered, and accepted the new state. They weren't all happy about it - far from it in fact. If she so desired the young diplomat could start pointing from one officer to the next and voicing aloud their position. She could keep it simple - yea, or nay. Of course, Ens. Eloi-Danvers did no such thing. Of all the things she could do, short of pulling a phaser on Dewitt and shooting her there on the spot, there was little worse the telepath could do right then.

 So she buried her thoughts and everything she knew about what everyone thought deep into the recesses of her mind and turned back to her console. She slid her hands over the controls and took a steadying breath. Dewitt was on edge. Ryuan Sel was on edge. Leon Marquez was...well. Now wasn't the time. Not with one engineer after another talking over each other with ideas and options on an open comm line. She worked to fliter out any background noises as she opened up her own channel (as well as ignore the frustration coming of of the First off - Captain? Off of Dewitt).

Taking a deep breathe, Faye opened a channel to the sickbay and transporter rooms. "Attention attention, prepare to receive personnel from USS Bellerophon. Security is en route. Sickbay, prepare for triage. Casualties inbound." She waited and watched her board, and then, as her control board notified her of the first wave of survivors being beamed aboard, the diplomat put on her game face.

"Attention, Bellerophon survivors. This is Federation Diplomatic Attache Eloi-Danvers, currently assigned to USS Theurgy. In accordance with Starfleet General Order 9, regarding the treatment of injured in a combat scenario, as well as Federation Regulation 27-b; we are affecting search and rescue operations as able to rescue as many of you and your fellow crew. Repeat, we are in the process of rescuing as much of your crew as we can. We are prepared to receive injured parties in sickbay. Anyone with medical training, please self identify to the officers as you arrive, and you will be escorted to help treat your fellow shipmates," she paused and centered herself, before continuing.

"I know you are scared right now, and angry. You have every right to be. But we are trying to save as many lives as we can. And we cannot do that if you attempt to impede rescue operations. Please. We will make this clear, but right now, despite everything that you have been told, and everything that has just happened, we are not the enemy. We are trying to defend ourselves, and we are trying to save your lives.  Again. This is Federation Diplomatic Attache..." She began to repeat the message. Faye figured that using her diplomatic rank (a title granted to her in 2378 upon her assignment to the Cortes). Maybe they'll listen to a diplomat over what the perceive to be a traitor. I just hope to the Gods Sickbay is ready for this. I wish Riley was down there to help...
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Stegro88 on November 05, 2018, 01:42:32 PM
[ Tesserarius Lorad | Vector 01 Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]


Lorad sat on the bed and watched the goings on inside the aptly named battle sickbay of this Vector. Most of the staff were treating members of the crew who had come in with a range of injuries; most of them from in or around Engineering he guessed. He had seen enough burn injuries to recognise easily.

“Alright Mr Lorad,” came a cheery voice from beside him and Lorad turned to see a female nurse standing there with a smile and a tricorder. “Let’s see what ails you, shall we?”

“Burn here and here,” Lorad stated simply as he pointed to his left arm and side. “Plasma conduit.”

“Well,” the nurse began, taken aback by both the Reman’s voice and matter-of-fact nature, as she raised her tricorder. “Give me a second to see how bad they are and we’ll get them all fixed up.”

“Him say 2-degree burn,” Lorad said as he pointed to the holographic doctor on the other side of the room.

“2-degree?” the nurse wondered, trying to puzzle out the Reman’s odd speech pattern before her tricorder gave her an answer. “Oh, 2nd-degree burns. Well he was right. Not to worry. We’ll have you fixed in a jiffy.”

“Jiffy?” Lorad mimed, not knowing the word as the nurse walked away to retrieve something.

"Attention attention, prepare to receive personnel from USS Bellerophon. Security is en route. Sickbay, prepare for triage. Casualties inbound," came a female’s voice over the ships internal broadcast system. Lorad didn’t understand the entire message but he did understand enough of it to know that the sickbay was about to get a whole lot busier.

“Alright then,” the nurse said as she returned. “Let’s see if we can get you out of here before this place becomes a madhouse.” It was not to be, however, as she had bearely begun to heal the burns on his side before the first casualties from the Bellerophon were transported directly into the sickbay. As everyone began shouting, some desperate and some angry, the woman’s voice from earlier began to speak again.

"Attention, Bellerophon survivors. This is Federation Diplomatic Attache Eloi-Danvers, currently assigned to USS Theurgy. In accordance with Starfleet General Order 9, regarding the treatment of injured in a combat scenario, as well as Federation Regulation 27-b; we are affecting search and rescue operations as able to rescue as many of you and your fellow crew. Repeat, we are in the process of rescuing as much of your crew as we can. We are prepared to receive injured parties in sickbay. Anyone with medical training, please self-identify to the officers as you arrive, and you will be escorted to help treat your fellow shipmates," there was a pause in the broadcast before the woman’s voice continued.

"I know you are scared right now, and angry. You have every right to be. But we are trying to save as many lives as we can. And we cannot do that if you attempt to impede rescue operations. Please. We will make this clear, but right now, despite everything that you have been told, and everything that has just happened, we are not the enemy. We are trying to defend ourselves, and we are trying to save your lives.  Again. This is Federation Diplomatic Attache..."

The repetition of the woman’s message was cut off by a renewed wave of shouting and yelling even as more casualties were transported in. But it was the arrival of a quartet of armoured security officers that set off a dangerous situation.

One of the less-injured crew from the Bellerophon snatched a nurse’s phaser from her hip and held her in front of him as a human shield with the phaser held to the head. He began to shout demands to be released and for the ship to ceasefire and surrender. At the same time, the security officers drew their phasers and pointed them at the hostage taker and his hostage while also covering the remaining casualties in case any of them tried something similar. But even as everyone was shouting, no one was doing anything; it was a standoff.

“Is that set to stun?” Lorad whispered as the nurse stood beside him, paused in her treatment as she watched the situation unfold.

“Err, ah, yes,” the nurse stammered back. “I always set it to stun.”

“Good,” Lorad said as he casually stood up, snatched the weapon from the nurse’s hip and bought it to bear on the hostage. Without hesitation, he shot the hostage in the torso. Now deadweight, the injured Bellerophon crewman did not have the strength to support her weight and as his shield fell to the deck, Lorad fired again and stunned him as well.

The silence in the sickbay was deafening at what everyone had just witnessed. Violence that was both abrupt, calculated and succinct all at once had ended a situation before it turned bad. Taking a step forward, Lorad straightened up to address the new arrivals.

“I hungover, burnt and in pain,” Lorad declared loudly and clearly for all to hear. “Choose treatment awake or asleep. Choice yours.” His declaration delivered, Lorad waited to see how everyone would react. When it seemed that everyone was relaxing and settling down to do what was needed, the Reman walked back to the nurse that was treating him as the sickbay returned to life. Holding out her weapon, Lorad apologised. “This yours. Sorry.”

“Ah, you’re welcome,” the nurse stammered, accepting and holstering the phaser. “What you just did was...”

“Others need you more,” Lorad said, cutting off the nurse gruffly. “Go them,” Lorad directed as he turned towards the door. His injuries weren’t that serious in comparison to the others that were arriving and he was pretty sure he could treat them himself. Even Reman Shock Troopers were taught combat medicine.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Fife on November 06, 2018, 10:27:10 PM
[ Ensign Isel “Foxfire” Nix | Wolf-08 | Azure Nebula ]

Isel had seen the small craft approaching the Dauntless from the port side and wondered what the hell it was doing there. Then the craft, which appeared to be a runabout, had detonated in spectacular fashion, the blast causing a stir in both the Dauntless and the nebula around her. The Dauntless’ impulse engines flickered, their power appearing to be momentarily disrupted by the runabout’s suicide run. Isel absently wondered if there had been anyone aboard the runabout, though that hardly mattered in here and now. If there had been a pilot, they were nothing more than space dust now.

Foxfire’s thoughts were interrupted when she heard Chance’s transmission and glanced out of her cockpit, seeing Chance’s fighting off her starboard wing. The Vulpinian let out a long breath when she saw that Chance was still alive and in one piece, though there was no guarantee of that remaining the case as they still had the Dauntless to contend with.

”Roger that, Chance. Follow my lead.” Isel replied over the comms, giving her Human lover a thumbs-up before turning back to her controls and bringing her fighter about so that they’d be attacking from the ventral aspect of the starboard side. ”Let’s hit this bitch hard and fast and get the fuck outta here! Use Hell-Hounds set impact detonation.” Isel called to the fighter off her wing as she readied herself for the attack run. ”Attack pattern Delta-4, Chance. Drive those torps home quick while they’re still recovering. Target is the starboard nacelle.” Isel drew in a deep breath before calling the final command. ”Execute!” As she growled the final word, she pushed her fighter up to speed for the attack run, arming her Hell-Hound hardpoints. The Vulpinian’s brows knit together in concentration as she targeted the starboard nacelle while at the same time attempted to maneuver and avoid the fire still coming from the Dauntless as it struggled to recover from the runabout’s attack. Even so, the diminutive pilot couldn’t resist the urge to add another quip for the woman in the other cockpit. ”And for fuck’s sake, lover, don’t be stingy with the torpedoes!” Isel added cheekily.

”When am I ever stingy with you, you vixen.” Chance responded. The Vulpinian grinned as she imagined Donna rolling her eyes in her own cockpit.

A moment later the fighter let out a small beep, confirming the targeting lock. ”Target locked! Firing Hell-Hounds!” Isel reported, punching in the command even as she spoke. Isel watched the twin cluster bombs streak off, making a beeline for the Dauntless’ nacelle. A moment later another pair of torpedoes raced forward from off to Isel’s right as Donna let loose with her own payload.

”Bombs away, let’s… Fuck! Incoming!

The Dauntless was wounded, but she was hardly crippled, and once their torpedoes were away the two fighters were quickly forced to take evasive action as the Dauntless fought back with her ventral phaser array. The first shot of the Dauntless’ phasers streaked past, coming dangerously close to Isel’s port wing, the Vulpinian just barely having gotten out of the way by putting herself into a corkscrew maneuver. As it was, her shields still took a light glancing hit from the beam, leaving them once again diminished. Luckily for Foxfire, someone aboard the Dauntless had been paying attention and had realized their plight, and the ventral phasers quickly redirected their fire to intercepting the incoming torpedoes that threatened their warp nacelle.

The Dauntless’ second volley managed to knock off one of Isel’s torpedoes, the third taking one of Donna’s as well, though they could hardly hope to destroy them all. The remaining pair of torpedoes found their mark, detonating as they struck the Starboard nacelle and sending their payload of smaller ordnance to spread damage across the body of the nacelle. The numerous explosions left a series of deep scores in the outer casing of the warp nacelle, the power faltering as a result of the massive damage inflicted by the multiple strikes. What was left of the Dauntless’ starboard nacelle finally flickered and died as the two Gryphons streaked away from the Akira-Class starship.

”Starboard nacelle is down. That’ll stop them going to warp anytime soon, though they can still pursue at impulse.” Isel said over the comms as she put her fighter through it’s paces, flying through a series of evasive maneuvers as the Dauntless turned her ventral phasers back on the two offending fighter craft. A quick glance at her sensors told her they were far from being in the free and clear, however. ”Shit, the Dauntless is coming about to a pursuit coarse, and I’m picking up weapons signatures. Looks like the Dauntless hasn’t given up just yet.” Isel keyed open a channel to the other two pilots in the area.

”Meerkat, Scylla, this is Foxfire. The Dauntless is still pursuing the Theurgy at impulse.” Foxfire reported, ”If you ladies would care to have a go at knocking out their impulse capabilities, Chance and I will try to use our ECMs to keep some of their torpedoes away from the Theurgy as it withdraws.” Isel grunted as she sent her Gryphon into a hard turn, rolling herself laterally to just narrowly avoid another lance of phaser fire from the Dauntless. ”And watch yourselves. They’re plenty pissed at this point!” Isel spared a quick glance at sensors to make sure Chance was still in one piece, having lost sight of the woman during her mad evasive actions. ”Chance, we’ll try and disengage without getting our asses blown off. Arm your ECM. We may need to try and help screen the Theurgy from some of those torpedoes.”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Vox on November 07, 2018, 11:36:11 PM
[ Lt. JG Logan "Wraith" Hale | Wolf-15 | Azure Nebula ]

Once the attack had begun the plan had been simple, take out the Dauntless. Accomplishing that would be a hell of a lot harder granted but in terms of where to go and what to do, simple. That however changed once the other Wolves showed up and started giving them hell.

Which had led to the current scene of Wraith's Valravn fluidly dancing in twists and twirls, zigs and zags through the battlefield as he dodged phaser beams and torpedoes, the pilot thankful for how nimble the fighter was, although that fluidity was interrupted when he had to throw the ship hard to the right to raise the crafts left wing, glancing out the window as he watched what he was sure was at least his 5th torpedo in as many minutes fly beneath the raised wing.

"That was a little closer than I'd like." he muttered as he straightened the craft out, only to see an enemy fighter in front of him only to frown when his HUD showed another enemy appear behind him. Smirking slightly, Wraith throttled down on his ship, letting the craft behind him catch up a little.

"Uh what are you doing?" Zeke asked from the seat behind him.

"Something crazy." Logan replied, waiting a few seconds before hitting the thrusters and speeding up again, grinning behind his helmet when the ship behind him increased it's speed to give chase, even as the ship in front of him continued to close in as well.

"What do you mean something crazy?" The RIO asked as he watched the scene unfold before him, the enemy fighter ahead getting larger and larger across the front window as the HUD showed the rear enemy closing in as well. "Logan? .... Logan? ... Loooogaaaan!" The man said and then screamed as it looked like they were seconds away from dying before he felt the G's hit him even through the inertial dampeners when the Valravn sudden shot upwards in a corkscrew straight up, the area behind them lighting up in bright orangey yellow as the two craft collided and exploded.

"Yeeeees?" Came the far too cheery voice of his pilot from the seat in front of him.

"I. Hate. You." Zeke panted back as he tried to get his heart rate to lower, only to hear his friend chuckle.

"No you don't, you love me." Logan replied as he levelled the ship out again only to realise that during his whole amazing piloting display to not get blown up as well as the game of chicken he had just played had pulled him way too far out of position to help Sera and cursed under his breath, quickly turning the ship around and heading back towards the main battle.

As the fighter flew back towards the chaos of the battle before them, Logan found himself frowning down at his console when a voice he recognised came over the Comm.

"[Hi, Sabine, Wraith, Foxfire and Chance. This is Black Wolf-13, callsign Meerkat. Wolves 14 and 16 are accompanying, callsigns Scylla and Blizzard respectively. Requesting you mark us as friendly. Blizzard will assist you, Sabine. Scylla and I will deal with Whiskers and Sneaky."]

"Guess that our Flight Leader listened to Blizzard." Logan said aloud, not that Zeke wouldn't have figured that out.

From behind him Big Zee nodded as he tapped on his own console "I guess soo. IFF is updated and the Sabine is on a heading of Mark 143 point 59, marking her on the HUD."

"Thanks big guy." Logan replied as he adjusted the heading and flew towards the craft, grateful that Blizzard had not only made it back but managed to find some help too, he owed that girl a beer or two once they had settled...well wherever they were going to end up, be that on the Theurgy or another ship.

As he closed the distance he could just make out the Sabine ahead of him when his comm beeped and her pilots voice came over the system.

"Sabine to Wraith. Burn you, what's your status? Where the the bloody ashes are you at?"

Taking a moment to pull his fighter up beside the craft he hit the comm "My status is alive and well thank you as for where I am....well if you'd care to direct your attention to your left, you'll see me." He said as he glanced to his right and waved out the window at her. "Sorry I'm late, I was busy trying not to get blown out of the sky."

Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Triton on November 09, 2018, 12:32:18 AM
[ Lt Cdr Leon Marquez | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy | Attack Maneuvers ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @The Ostrich  @JayLatte  @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe @Argyros

The holographic display table continued to produce a visual representation of the situation with Sabine and her fighter escorts. One by one, green icons appeared on the display and Leon clapped to himself lightly, uttering a trio of words that clearly indicated approval <That's more like it>. Just the remedy for the change in leadership-- the shortest of moments to think out his feelings as he sensed they could be under scrutiny; In what time they bought before this mutiny occured, there was hardly anything else that could be done to stall or resist this coup. Not without serious consequences or the fact that a Betazoid junior officer was on the bridge and could sense his barely-contained fury at the prospect of being stranded here without a plan and forced to fight to the death against further Starfleet incursions. Guilt and vengeance eclipsed Leon's mind --though far from any thin red line of emotional compromise-- as he surveyed the display's readout of debris that the former Intrepid-class ship which housed a Flag officer who had unknowingly set the Lieutenant Commander and former XO away from the command path post-Dominion War, and into this chain of events.

Those lost were his fault, though in reality, the blood was on the usurper's hands; Leon wished he could overpower a security officer and force an immediate stalemate. This was still in the wake of the momentary jolt his mind could afford. Either Leon or Vivian would be in command if he could do what he knew he had to do. Ensign Sel's willingness to save the Bellerophon survivors was hope he wasn't alone in his contempt for Dewitt. And from this moment on, he could focus on the mission at hand to put to rest any thoughts of contesting the change in command.

Marquez would mourn his involvement in this situation later. In any pertinent window of time and incidentally, survival, everything hinged on how the Vector could slug it out without cloaking and without her captain. The Kinetic and phaser cannons were priming up to intercept and destroy any incoming photon torpedoes the Dauntless could unleash on the Vector or their allies, which he now had IFF diagnostics and scans aligned in the computer and with real-time comms.

Meanwhile, as Theurgy primary weapons continued on their attack vectors, Marquez magnified a quadrant of the holo-display around the detected distress signals and escape pods from the Bellerophon. In secret, he was scanning around for Admiral Ross's signal, but only to a lesser extent as he indicated precisely which pods had survivors and wounded, for priority medical treatment and transporter activation.

"Attention attention, prepare to receive personnel from USS Bellerophon. Security is en route. Sickbay, prepare for triage. Casualties inbound." The Diplomatic Officer (and cause of Leon's concern) reported.

The Betazoid, Ensign Danvers, admirably got to work in the olive branch toward these survivors as he patched the escape pods to her station, allowing him to return to focus on the usurper's orders. Hopefully, Faye was too busy with her duties than to sense any willingness to countermand her 6-1-9. Leon knew he could be next and tacked that thought alongside his intentions to play along for now; the CTO avoided eye contact with Jennifer Dewitt out of habit, but carried out his orders. The thought of recommending her promotion would have to wait as a security alert buzzed in an orange overlay and buzzed an alert:

"Security alert: Arm-fast reported in Sickbay. Constable Klex: Security detail to intervene and seal off that deck." Leon reported at Ensign Sel, "Ensign Sel, I believe the situation is well under control here. Apparently not everyone might consider our translation of General Order Nine valid." He chose his last word carefully from any list of reasons to state in as neutral a tone as possible. There simply was no logic in disrupting the transfer of command and he had his part to play, but matters had to be adressed. A throne made of bayonets was a tough chair to behold. Get comfy, 'Captain' he internally growled.

"Screening callsigns:.... Scylla, Blizzard, Wraith, Meerkat, Foxfire, and Chance. Any other friendlies speak now or forever hold your peace." Leon transmitted to the friendly IFF frequency-identified pilots, to finally draw the battle lines, adding any vessel engaged with the Dauntless to their roster of allies, which included Sabine. If only they could spare a RIO to make off with a Runabout from the Akira's hangar. Leon would have risked an officer for such a venture in guerilla-like tactics to make up for the loss of their runabout. Without Vector 2's industrial replicators, there was no assurance of a replacement craft.

Meanwhile, the battle buzzed on the tactical display and several fighters and particular callsigns were demonstrating what the advantage of carrier-based craft could accomplish thanks to carefully-selected combat simulations against Federation craft. When contact with the Mirror Universe was made, Leon and a few in his course were pit against Terran counterparts of identified vessels of that abominable universe. It was disturbing to see that training pay off; in another lifetime, he might have been aboard one of those Valravns. He wondered if somewhere out there, Alessia was--

The allied fighters were under fire, and his Capt-- his *acting* captain had given him orders to cover them by any means necessary.

The pulse cannons and phasers snuffed torpedoes that were fired from angles unexpectedly launched at delayed-ignition sequences against the fighters engaging the Dauntless. Her CTO was good, but Leon grimly realized he was better, despite his dwindling advantage of their temperamental cloaking capabilities. The fighters were doing the heavy lifting in this engagement while he made sure they survived long enough to neutralize their pursuers. The holographic display made it easier to aim and manually prioritize the torpedoes targeting the escorts. A timer ran indicating the estimated time of the Task Force's projected arrival.

With the rest of the Task Force all hearing reports from the Akira's bridge, vengeance would motivate the other ships to punish Vector One with that much more incentive. Undoubtedly, despite Danvers's heartfelt urgency, reports of hostages were sure to cross into the reports throughout TFA. The USS Benjamin Sisko alone was enough to make short work of the Vector with what little weapons power remained. The Runabout was among their last cards to play.

"We are preparing to vacate the area.  A payload is being sent to the Dauntless, prepare for the fall out there of.  If we chose to vacate prepare to follow.  Adjust your flight paths accordingly," came the El-Aurian Tactician who was at least pulling her weight in taking the burden off his shoulders for ancillary tactical support, though he'd much rather have Tarsi up here, she was where she was needed most, securing Theurgy's torpedo bay.

"Theurgy to Friendlies: Confirm. Break off and bug out: Game-changer inbound. MOVE!" the former runabout skipper, callsigned Striker, barked on Zyrao's heels. Despite their decreasing odds, Leon was gaining confidence with the trusted helm control that Veradin was demonstrating as the Vector managed to set up the inbound game-changer Leon indicated in the form of their runabout.

One of the tactical displays lit up as the Thames accelerated to ramming speed and detonated just off the Dauntless's hull, stripping off its shields as the warp nacelles dropped offline. Fortunately, this wasn't a fatal repeat of the Bellerophon, at least not at first. "They're vulnerable, Captain." He indicated, waiting final confirmation before opening fire.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: patches on November 09, 2018, 06:03:45 AM
[ CWO3 Liliana "Meerkat" Walton | Wolf-13 | Azure Nebula ] @Auctor Lucan @Vox @Stegro88 @Fife @Firefox013

Liliana smirked and shook her head slightly at Scylla’s taunting as she and Chance finished off Whiskers. She barked out a laugh at Isel’s response to her message.

[If we can score some hits and keep their shields from fully recovering, Chance and Scylla can hit the nacelle once they're clear.]

“Roger that, Foxfire.”

She turned the fighter to begin an attack run on the Dauntless, but didn’t have time to do much more than line up a shot before another voice came over the comms. This woman sounded unfamiliar and with a strange accent reminiscent of Bulkhead’s own Klingon accent.

[Strategist Natauna to the Theurgy Wolves Squadron.] I guess that’s us now! [We are preparing to vacate the area.  A payload is being sent to the Dauntless, prepare for the fall out there of.  If we chose to vacate prepare to follow.  Adjust your flight paths accordingly.]

The channel was closed, preventing an immediate response but it sounded to Walton like this “Natauna” wasn’t prepared to listen to a response anyway.

“Alright, Bulkhead. Where’s this ‘payload’ she’s talking about?”

“Looks like a … runabout. Danube-class. I’m not seeing any weapons active on it. Heading to the port side of our target.”

“… Wait. Are they – are you really saying they’re going to detonate a fucking runabout next to the Dauntless?”

Fortunately, all of the fighters were on the opposite side of the ship but there was still quite a visible effect from the runabout’s explosion just off the port side of the Akira-class ship. She didn’t need to check her sensor readings to confirm what was visually very clear – the Dauntless had lost her ships and was likely dealing with some pretty severe damage to her port side.

“Meerkat, I’m showing some power fluctuations. Shields are down.”

“Their power grid is probably dealing with some issues after that hit. It’ll reroute quickly. This will let Chance and Foxfire make their run.” Liliana keyed open the channel to her wingmate. “Hey Scylla, let’s do as they suggest and go assist the Sabine. Also run interference between Theurgy and Dauntless. If you can get a couple hits on the Dauntless’s sensors or their impulse engines on the way, go for it. Bulkhead will send your RIO the targeting data.”

“I’m sending what now?”

“The stuff she needs to hit either impulse engines or sensor arrays without hitting something sensitive like what the Theurgy did to the Bellerophon.”

“Sending. You should see the possible targets as well.”

“Good boy.”

She smirked, knowing that the Klingon behind her was probably shaking his head at her response. He was used to her teasing by now, having weathered it for a good portion of the Valravn test flights she flew. The two made an unexpectedly good team despite a rocky beginning when the Klingon felt mildly insulted that a petite human woman was barking orders at him out of seemingly nowhere upon his arrival to Luna Base. Apparently, someone hadn’t informed him of who Chief Warrant Officer Walton was. Liliana was oddly proud of helping him develop a sort of wit that played well with her own, especially since he had moments that reflected why he was “Bulkhead”.

The path she too for her burn to the Sabine and the lonely Valravn making a bold last stand against the Sabine, Blizzard, and what looked to be a Wraith that was coming around to the Sabine. Her helmet’s HUD lit up targets of opportunity on the way, but she didn’t look to be in a good path to take advantage of any of them unless she changed course or risked exposure to additional phaser arrays. The gunner on the Dauntless was devilishly good, stripping away most of her fighter’s shields but she managed to avoid any physical damage. At the range she was flying the Valravn, any direct hits would mean almost certain death.

Lily could tell the Sabine was clearly damaged, but it had done the job. The remaining Valravn was trailing plasma.

Ah, that’s Metalhead, looks like. I guess the two others must have gotten scratched out by Wraith.

“Open a channel to that fighter.”

“The one you want to shoot at?”

“That very one!” She waited until she got the confirmation from Bulkhead. “Hey, good job lasting this long!”

Meerkat. I thought you were one of the loyal ones.”

“You seem a little angry, Metalhead.” Her voice tightened as she continued, dropping the pretense of joviality as she made some weapons selections. He would be too busy with Blizzard and the Sabine to realize what she was going to do, she figured. “Just out of curiosity, did you know what was happening before you forced me to make a blind choice?”

“Does it matter? You didn’t defect then. Why not?”

“You know why. But hey! Don’t fret. You are right about something, though.” There was silence from the other end, likely because his focus was staying alive. “I am too pretty to associate with jackasses.”

She pulled the trigger and let loose a barrage that tore at the other pilot’s damaged nacelle, lighting up a plasma fire that brilliantly illuminated the doomed craft for one beautiful moment before its destruction was complete.

“I saw an energy signature right before it blew. It looks like the ETS got them out in time.”

“A pity. He always was better at giving denials than receiving them. Meerkat to Sabine, you still alive in there? You look a little banged up.”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Absinthe on November 09, 2018, 06:38:41 AM
[ Ensign Ryuan Sel | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] attn: peeps on the bridge
[Show/Hide]

With the word given to start rescue procedures, Sel stood down. She could feel how tired she was, just how broken she felt, as she turned away. She put her helmet back on, hiding her face from the rest of the crew on the bridge, hiding the shame and anger that painted itself across her features. This was not what she wanted. She wanted Sarresh back, she wanted to go to him and feel his arms around her, to hear his voice, and let him give her what little comfort could be had in this never-ending nightmare. 

But now it seemed she would have to be without him. She would have to fake being strong and pretend she knew what she was doing for even longer. She felt the eyes of the bridge crew on her, she felt how some of them would think she had both betrayed them and their cause by not fighting against Dewitt when she had taken command. She had made her stand, she had drawn her line and it seemed that Dewitt had yielded. But what good had it done? They had lost the majority of their friends, of their ship, of all that mattered. All they had now was a truth they could not share. 

She hated the universe with an active passion at that moment. She wanted it all to burn.

With the word given from Lieutenant Commander Marquez she gave a stiff nod to her remaining security officers on the bridge and made her way to the turbolift. "I'm on it," she said flatly, her tone betraying the conflict within her.

She knew how to handle this situation at least. She'd go to sickbay and tend to those who were being rescued from the debris of the Bellerophon and her escape pods. It would be a matter of explaining to them that as of that moment they too were fugitives, but they were alive, which was more than could be said for some of their crewmates.

--- 
[ F'Rell of the Twelfth House | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]

In engineering, things were only marginally better. Without the cloak drawing power from the core F'Rell was able to route power back to systems and lower the power output of the core. It was still redlining, but now the problem was within hand. The ship would not be able to take much abuse if it were to enter a fight and though she was aware of this being their last chance to reunite with the rest of the crew, that was not a problem F'Rell concerned herself with. She had those she cared most for there. True, her 'Noble Ancillary' was much reduced at this point, but she knew the chances of them standing and fighting the massive ship that had broken them before was highly unlikely. 

Survival was the only objective. There was no greater concern. 

"<I am sending you my equations,>" she said over the comms after she had been transferred to whoever was in charge of the science station on the bridge and quickly hit a button on her translator to patch the mathematical formula for the unregulated warp jump to the said science station. It was an unstable and dangerous thing to do, but it would be the fastest option and if her equation was correct it would allow them to burn off the excess energy from the core without risking a warp core breach. Any attempt at a controlled acceleration would only risk more damage to the ship. 

"<Mr. Suq, do not engage the warp core beyond its current level without letting me know. Any additional pressure inside the matrix will fracture the dilithium crystals and we will be forced to make the unregulated jump. If I can plot out the jump with the science department it would work better than if we simply jump,>" F'Rell said not even looking up to her friend. Her voice was strained, clearly stressed. Though the translator that allowed for the strain to be heard was new, the subharmonics that always could be heard of her true voice seemed to show more stress. There was clearly something wrong, more than just what she was talking about, but she had no time.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: The Ostrich on November 10, 2018, 08:43:36 AM
[ LtCmdr Vivian Martin | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn:

[Show/Hide]

Vivian was immensely relieved when Dewitt agreed to allow them to rescue the Bellerophon survivors. Not only because it was the right thing to do, but also because she had no idea what she would have done had Dewitt denied this request. When the next order flew her way, to assist F’Rell Vivian nodded and took a seat back at the science station.

“<I am sending you my equations,>” The electronic voice of F’Rell buzzed through to Vivian’s station, along with the promised equations.

”I’ve got them F’Rell, thank you.” Vivian’s fingers danced across the console commands as she manipulated the math before her. Quickly scanning her eyes over it Vivian nodded to herself, the plan seemed sound, and very risky. The fact that the jump would be unregulated was the biggest cause for concern, that and the fact that they would be losing so many systems, even temporarily. She worked quickly and calmly, ordering the computer to begin plotting possible headings for the jump.

Watching the data flowing across her screen Vivian nodded in approval and tapped her combadge ”Martin to F’Rell. Your numbers look good. What else do you need from me? I’ve already got the computer working on possible headings, how far do you estimate this jump will take us?”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Firefox013 on November 13, 2018, 03:12:38 AM
[ LtJG. Sephiria “Scylla” Arn | Valravn class Warp Fighter “Wolf 14”| Flying Chance’s wing | Near Vector 01 | Asure Nebula ]

{If we can score some hits and keep their shields from fully recovering, Chance and Scylla can hit the nacelle once they're clear.}

Sephiria smirked as she kept formation, eyes moving around, checking her consoles and sensor displays, backing it up with mark 1 eyeball checks too to make sure, it sounded like a good plan to her, a tad risky but if it worked. “Whatever we do, we better do it soon flight leader.” Was her only response right then.

The comms from this Natauna lady were pretty curt and direct but, if, by the accent, she ended up being a Klingon or from their neck o the woods like a ferasan or some other being from the Empire, that wasn’t important as much as what she said. “okay… what the heck… a Runabout?” she blinked after spotting it herself as her RIO did. “Yeah Scylla, that’s the projectile… what they do, rig it to blow and and stuff it full of explosive materials?” He asked, Scylla shrugged. “Better adjust!” She stated as her hands deftly moved the fighter along with her wingmans.

Moments later a massive explosion shook the opposite side of the Akira class and Scylla whistled softly. “Hooeeh!” Just then Kenny Loggins’ song Danger Zone started playing in her cockpits media system , making her smirks as her fingers deftly moved over her controls.

{Their power grid is probably dealing with some issues after that hit. It'll reroute quickly. This will let Chance and Foxfire make their run.} Sephiria nodded softly, hearing this then, what followed made her grin evilly. {Hey Scylla, let's do as they suggest and go assist the Sabine. Also run interference between Theurgy and Dauntless. If you can get a couple hits on the Dauntless's sensors or their impulse engines on the way, go for it. Bulkhead will send your RIO the targeting data.}

Sephiria grinned more. “Oh heck yes were doing this!” She verified that all her weapons were fully ready still as she moved her bird along with Chances. “This is gonna be fun..." Said Sephiria as her RIO worked "Data acquired, got it, strafing course set, here.” She nodded to her Rio who confirmed their Enhanced Reality Assist course. “Follow this and it should minimize counterattacks!” He stated as the ERA course flashed on their HUDs.

Sephiria nodded. “Chance, keep going to help the Sabine, I’ll catch you up in a moment!” She said in a happy go lucky tone as her Warp Fighter’s thrusters went full afterburner when she engaged the course, soon, the Valravn was streaking around the exposed Dauntless’s sides, firing incredibly precise shots along the course while dodging a good deal of return fire, shields soaking up enough of the rest that they made it out near unscathed after having critically hit at least three critical power junctions, a shield node and a weapons targeting system, causing them to lose half their targeting arcs. “That ought to slow em down some!”

Scylla banked out of the course at its end and swang back around just in time to see Chances fighter literally barbecue one of the fighters from the dauntless in a massive barrage of fire. “Wow… someone pissed her off.” Her RIO nodded, chuckling. “Emergency beamouts confirmed, the guy and his RIO live to insult her another day!” He stated, causing her to roll her eyes. “Heh, whoever that guy was, certainly pissed Meerkat off.” Sephiria brought her bird alongside Meerkats and kept an eye out for any new developments as Meerkat contacted the sabine.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on November 13, 2018, 12:39:54 PM
[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All 
[Show/Hide]
When Dewitt had heard Zyrao offer a couple of words of encouragement, directed to the whole bridge, she had been grateful, turning her head a bit and giving the El-Aurian a nod. This was shortly followed by a suggestion to leave a message behind for the other Vectors, Zy suggesting that they would encrypt the message for them alone, detailing a new place to rendezvous.

"Such a message has already been encrypted and sent (https://uss-theurgy.com/forum/index.php/topic,2333.msg15519.html#msg15519), before you arrived to the bridge, and after Task Force Archeron appeared," she told Zyrao, impressed with how she had come to the same conclusion, and it served to illustrate the fallacy in Trent's decision to stay. A reminder for the present officers. "This is why there was never any point in staying here and risking the lives of this crew and the mission as a whole, and why Trent is no longer present. If the other Vectors are still out there, they could have found us. In fact, Martin, Veradin, if you can control the heading of our pending warp-jump, set it for the fourth planet in the Ithacae System (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=The_Coreless_Moon)."

Meanwhile this exchange happened, Ryuan Sel had left the bridge, alone, and Derik Veradin had been preforming evasive manoeuvres that had them brace themselves in their seats. Nonetheless, the Trill had stayed within transporter range to the Bellerophon's wreckage. Ensign Eloi-Danvers had been heard in the background, doing her best to try and allay the fears of those rescued, while the Dauntless tried to destroy them from afar. The Akira-class remained beleaguered by their allied fighters all the while, up until the point when Zy got the Thames into position, having warned those fighters to break off before detonation. The plan was followed through, and once the blinding flare receded... Dewitt let out a small sigh of relief at seeing how the M/ARA detonation had just laid waste to the Dauntless' shields and exterior plating on the port side, bringing a momentary end to the ceaseless barrage of ordinance it was sending towards the Helmet. Leon Marquez had been doing a stellar job at having the Vector on the defence, intercepting torpedoes while Veradin dodged those their ship had no weapon system output to handle. Even at 17 % weapon ouput, they had been holding the Vector together, with neither shields nor cloak to protect them.

It had been nerve-wracking, knowing that if only one of those torpedoes had hit them, there had been nothing but the hull between them and death. As it were, they had been scourged by phaser beams, which had carved deep rifts into their Vector. The present Engineering officer was announcing damage reports, telling them which decks had been breached. Fortunately enough, all personnel had been withdrawn from the outer compartments, so the loss of lives was nominal.

"They're vulnerable, Captain." Marquez indicated in the wake of the Thames' detonation, waiting for her order before opening fire. Dewitt rose to her feet without looking at him and the holo-table behind her, since the display area in front of the viewscreen showed the same tactical layout. She saw how the fighters harried the wounded beast, targeting propulsion and weapon systems, and there were excellent fighter tactics on display. Now, however, was the time for the wolves to return to their new den, in wait for the jump to warp. The fighters would, in all probability, not be able to keep up with the Vector, if F'Rell's solution turned out to be a viable option.

"Pick her teeth," she ordered, looking back at Marquez. "Precision firing, using the minimal energy output we have to it's greatest advantage. Like wielding a scalpel, disable her subspace comm array, her phaser emitters, fuse her torpedo tubes, destroy her transport emitters, and blind her sensors. Veradin! Work with Marquez to give him the firing angles he needs, but if you can, stay within transporter range to the Bellerophon. Natauna! Tell our new friends out there - and the Sabine - that it's time for combat landings. Tell them they have less than a minute!"

Dewitt then turned to the front of the Bridge. "Ops, open the bay doors for them. What's the status on the warp jump, Martin? Can the ship survive the kind of jump F'Rell suggested?"

No more had she asked the question, feeling like they might be in the clear... when Ops piped up - a CPO Dewitt forgot the name of. "The Dauntless just managed to enter transporter range and is deploying boarding parties! Four of them!"

Jennifer's eyes widened, knowing that since they had no shields either, the Captain on the Dauntless was doing his utmost to continue the fight. There had not been any time for Marquez to hit all the transporter emitters yet. And with that immediate thought...

...bright lights appeared on the bridge. Six security officers, armed with pulse phase pistols, materialised in their midst. Dewitt's call came before the lights faded.

"Guards!" The response was immediate, their own six guards picking targets, three getting stunned by the boarders. Dewitt intercepted one of the Dauntless officers, baring her teeth as she kicked him in the back of his knee, and dealt an overhead strike into the nape of his neck. There was no telling who of the present bridge crew could continue their tasks, and who had to fight the armed boarding party. Nor did Dewitt know where the other three boarding teams had arrived on the ship.

She knew, however, that Task Force Archeron was less than two minutes away.


OOC: I will post with Sera after @BZ has posted, Zy relaying orders for combat landings, and once @BZ has posted, the posting order for all is free, within 7 days, starting then. At the end of these 7 days, I hope that the boarding team on the Main Bridge has been neutralised, since you are all free to NPC them. Besides the bridge, the other three boarding parties will have arrived in Vector 1 Engineering, in the Battle Sickbay, and the Upper Shuttle Bay (where the fighters will be landing). So, in all four areas, I hope to have the boarders dealt with in 7 days, but no worries if one or two are still on their feet, not yet unconscious/killed. There are six security officers from the Dauntless in each team, armed with handphasers or rifles, and if you want, they can have exosuits too (optional). Oh, and of course, 1,5 minutes until Task Force Archeron arrives, to give you a sense of the time-expenditure you have available. Have fun!

All Supplemental Threads that are started between characters on this Vectors will have to be set before 0810 hrs. on Day 06, but not afterwards, and they should also be posted on the Part 1 board. Just like in the interregnum, Supplemental one-on-one threads are started at your leisure! Supplemental threads should be named Chapter 05: Supplemental [Day XX | YYYY hrs.] Insert Title, and can extend as far back as right after the battle with the Versant and all the way up to 0810 hrs on Day 06, where the third Rendevouz began.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: FollowTomorrow on November 13, 2018, 08:15:03 PM
[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ] @Absinthe @chXinya @Auctor Lucan

Suq had made some preperations, but without a direction to go in, he was stuck waiting for F’rell and Vivian. He had turned around to call out to them, but no sooner than he laid eyes on F’rell was his vision suddenly blocked by the white light of a transporter. He wasn’t expecting anyone to beam in. Indeed, when he saw the people, he took a moment. Then, they fired.

“Boarders!” He called out, in case anyone in engineering couldn’t see. He reached into his tool kit and grabbed a hyperspanner. Technically, he wasn’t armed, but a hyperspanner was a heavy piece of equipment.

Boarding parties were not unfamiliar to him. This was actually so commonplace on the Resolve, that it’s why most of the crew was armed. He would have to have a talk with the captain later about getting his phaser back. He did not want to die here. He was scared, scared shitless really. He always was when boarders appeared. He wished he had time to puff on his inhaler.

“F’rell! Concentrate on getting us ready to warp!” He shouted, and ran at the boarders. His small stature made sure he wasn’t noticed until he busted someone's kneecap.

As phaser shots whizzed over his head, he just hoped he could count on this engineering crew as faithfully as he could on the Resolve.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Argyros on November 13, 2018, 11:28:51 PM
[ Lt. JG Derik Veradin | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All
[Show/Hide]
Derik’s hands work at a speed that put warp 9 to shame. The ship was in bad shape and it was getting worse by the second. With the amount of power being pulled by engineering for the warp drive, the CONN officer was losing options fast. He set the ship on course for the Bellerophon, using what little power he had left before he was cut off.

“Lost power to the impulse engines, switching to maneuvering thrusters.” Derik called out, updating on the ship's status.

He brought the vector in close, mostly on inertia, and began to execute as many evasive maneuvers as he could managed on just thrusters. With their limited movement, Veradin decided to use some of the broken hull fragments from their prey as makeshift shields. A couple of the floating fragments bounced off their hull but the rest formed a haphazard, if thin and sparse, net. Staying close enough for transporter range was easy, keeping them from becoming sitting duck was far less so. The size of the vector meant that without shields they were easy prey. As the dauntless hurled torpedo after torpedo their way, Veradin tried to set up shots for Marquez, keeping their functional weapons pointed towards their aggressor as much as he could. Marquez did a fine job of intercepting the projectiles, which made dodging the few that got through far easier.

A bright flash filled the viewscreen as the Thames impacted and detonated on the Dauntless’ port side. The Akira class ship rocked from the explosion, it’s hull getting ripped apart pretty badly. Yet still the damn ship hurled its arsenal at them.

Blasted ship can still fire torpedoes after getting hit by that? Fuck.

“Veradin! Work with Marquez to give him the firing angles he needs, but if you can, stay within transporter range to the Bellerophon.” Dewitt barked.

“Aye Sir.” Derik acknowledged. No time to fight with you now. Later.

The CONN officer set about his task, re-angling the vector again to clear some of the debris for better angles.

Just as Veradin activated the next sequence, bright flashes filled the bridge, their light reflecting off the bulkheads. OH FU... He spun in his chair, an armed boarder standing not 2 feet from him, raising his pulse phaser at Lieutenant Command Dewitt. In one fluid motion, the trill pulled his knife from its thigh strap, and stepped behind the intruder. With one hand he sunk the blade into the man’s back, its finely sharpened edge penetrating the armor and piercing a kidney. His other hand reached around and forced the phaser towards the ceiling, a round firing and missing Dewitt’s head by a few centimeters. The man let go of the phaser from pain and shock and it clattered to the deck with a resounding thud. As it fell for what seemed like hours, Derik wrapped his arm around the intruder’s neck, putting him into headlock while his other hand firmly held and ground the blade home. He knew the wound wasn’t necessarily fatal as long as the man got treatment soon and the blade didn’t twist, but the boarder wasn’t making it easy.

“Stop!”He ordered into the man’s ear.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: BZ on November 14, 2018, 09:59:38 PM
[Zyrao Natauna |  Dangerous Bridges |  Shit Out of Luck |  Ass Kicking Much More the Right Game | Boarding Parties Unwelcome]
@Auctor Lucan @Argyros @FollowTomorrow @Firefox013

It was chaos.

Organized as it was, but chaos would always be at the central hub of all that it was and could be.  Grey eyes watched the Bridge as it shot into action, waiting for the detonation of the ship that she had placed in the perfect position.  She hoped so, anyway.  There had already been an encrypted message sent out long before she entered the bridge so that the rendevouz could be extended to another unknown location.  Her brow rose smoothly on her face.  Yet another piece of information that the Ex-Asshole forgot to give to me.  How in the seven moons of some distant planet am I supposed to help when I don't have all the facts!?

She didn't quite appreciate the way mutiny was given here so easily, and how the unloyal bastards all around her stood by while their Current Captain was evicted from his seat.  Not that mutiny could ever be pleasant.  Still, she thought perhaps Dewitt was even more right.  To have left such a message and then stuck around in the face of such danger proved that he had likely been exactly as Dewitt said, emotionally compromised.  Her eyes studied the face of the woman that had done the unthinkable, and had likely ended her career in the move.  On the ship she had served on it would have been a match to the death, winner retaining the seat in the center without being questioned.

Now they were about to warp the heck out of here and Zyrao could not agree with the idea more.  There was no need to further endanger themselves waiting on ships that would likely not arrive.  Not in enough time to save the ship that was waiting for them.  It was a suicide mission and one that Zyrao was not privy to be a part of.

Zyrao closely watched her detonation and was quite pleased when it stayed within the parameters that she had hoped and that the payload had not gone over.  It could have killed a lot of people and that was something, apparently, Starfleet wasn't really into.  It was all great to be the arm of peace but that was only when peace was the acceptable option by those you were speaking to.  Right now, they were in danger of death or incarceration.  Death to another ship that was baring the way of the Theurgy survival seemed like a valid option.  However, it seemed the Fleeters were soft when it came to their moral compasses but strong when it came to the rule book.  She could not quite wrap her head around how they worked just yet. 

Again, chaos.

Dewitt started handing out orders and Zyrao waited to hear her name.  She didn't mind being called by her first or latter name, it mattered not they both represented her.  The fact that she was being called at all was what was important here.  When she did hear her name, grey eyes zeroed in on the would-be Captain waiting for her orders.  Orders were to tell the fighters to land and to get themselves on board before they warped out of danger the way the should have done a long while back.  When shields, weapons, and the engines were better equipped for it.  Shit decisions had lead to their current situation but at least Dewitt seemed to be handling it as best as she could.  All they could hope for was to survive.

“Right, on it.”

She reached out and tapped her combadge again.  “Natauna to all Fighters and Sabine.  It is time to come home and land.  The bay is waiting and ready to receive all the fighters.  I repeat, return and land in the Theurgy.  We are taking off at warp within the minute!”

She ended the communications and hoped that the Sabine was still in one piece when it hit the shuttle bay.  She could do with a dose of Sera right about now and tell her all about the shit that had happened on the Bridge and all the drama that she had missed.  Though she knew that Sera had been out there fighting for her life and the life of others.  She had been busy and would likely be glad that she wasn't intuned to all the unnecessary drama up on the Bridge.  Suddenly, one of the Bridge crew cried out that they were about to have boarding parties, four parties.  There was no real time to prepare before Zyrao noticed the beams of light that filled in around the Bridge.  Six of them.

Adding to the chaos of an already shit day.

She turned as the lights went off and her eyes quickly scanned the deck.  She could tell that there were others already fighting.  She felt a hand grab her across the chest, and instinct kicked in.  She ducked down to the floor, and remembered where she had been standing on the bridge prior to the lights going out.  She could not see everything but she knew that she had enough room.  She rolled to the side where she knew the assailant had been last standing.  With that she kicked out with her boot right in the knee cap and felt it connect.  The exhalation of pain gave her even more of an advantage as she quickly slid forward and kicked her knee, still raised, into the side of his neck.  A snap sounded, as it connected with the man's shoulder and broke the blade behind him.  A cry of pain as he slumped down to the deck.  Her elbow came down on the top of his head, though she couldn't be sure she had used enough force to actually crush in the skull the man finally lay in a lump on the floor of the bridge.

His cry of pain called another to her.  She could feel the arm around her neck and the pressure against her wind pipe.  Without thinking she held her breath and leaned forward for a second with her head allowing the tilt to be as extreme possible before she thrust her head back as quickly as she could.  A resounding wet crack filled her ears as she likely broke the nose of the assailant.  Turning without the power of the arm barring her movements she rose her knee quickly and slammed home into the back where the kidney was located.  A cry of pain as she hit it again the man fell and she slid her arm around his neck this time.  Applying heavy pressure she waited until they slumped against her elbow before letting him go.

She had no care to whether they were alive or dead, it mattered not.  They were intruders and would be dealt with that way.  Getting up off the ground where she had been crouching after taking out the second attacker she turned to the computer and quickly used the buttons to find out where the other boarding parties had landed.  The most worrisome one was the fact that it showed that there had recently been an external beam signature in the shuttle bay.  The red lights blinked angrily at her as she realized just what was going on.  It was time for action.  She had to warn them.  She slammed her hand on the combadge again.

“Fighters.. Sabine... intruders on the ship.  Watch your back.  Sensors show there is a boarding party in the shuttle bay.  Watch your six.” she said into the combadge trying to get to them before they found themselves in danger without being prepared.  She hoped they would get the message in time.  At least, she had tried to get it to them.  
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Stegro88 on November 15, 2018, 02:52:21 AM
[ Tesserarius Lorad | Sabine | Upper Shuttle Bay | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]


Lorad had descended the four levels from Deck 07 to Deck 11 and was approaching the entrance to the Upper Shuttle Bay when an alarm began to sound.

[INTRUDER ALERT ON DECKS 01, 06, 07, 11]

“Deck 01 is the Bridge,” Lorad noted as his mind worked on the other locations. He began to consider the other locations but never got the chance as the doors opened to reveal a group of 3 armed crewmen standing next to one of the shuttlecraft still in the bay. His clawed hand instinctively dropped to his thigh before he remembered that he didn’t have his weapons on him. But thankfully he was still faster than them as he ducked to the side before they could turn and fire at him.

Not pausing to take stock of the situation, Lorad dashed away from the entrance and looked to reposition before counterattacking. Unfortunately he was brought up short by another boarder stepping around the corner of the shuttle ahead of him, his phaser up and pointed at him.

“Hold it right there, traitor,” the man said before he realised he was speaking to a Reman. “So it really is true, the Theurgy sided with the Romulans. Well, no matter, the Admiral is almost….”

His words were cut off by the sound of the bay doors beginning to open and both of them looked over to see the light of the nebula beyond the forcefield. Lorad recovered first however as his combat senses kicked in and he ran forward and dove at the security officer. His considerable bulk and momentum added together to create a devastating impact against the boarder and Lorad drove his spear-movement home by pulling the man’s legs out from under him completely and trying to push him through the deck with his shoulder.

Recovering, Lorad looked down at the groggy man and punched him solidly in the face, knocking him out. Recovering the man’s phaser rifle, movement beyond the forcefield caught Lorad’s eyes and he looked up to see a pair of fighters approaching rapidly. Even as he watched, something detonated behind one of them.

Realising that they were going to land, Lorad grabbed the man he had just rendered unconscious by the collar of his shirt and pulled him along with him; both to save him and to secure him somewhere where he would not be any trouble any more.

And then he would go hunting for the other boarders in the bay.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Fife on November 15, 2018, 03:49:04 AM
[ Lt. JG Donna ‘Chance’ Petterson & Ens. Isel "Foxfire" Nix | Wolves 07 & 08 | Azure Nebula ] 
[Show/Hide]
Joint Post Between Fife and Stegro88

“That’s another one Foxfire,” Chance called out as she shot another of the Dauntless’ torpedoes out of existence. They had taken position between what was left of their former home in an effort to shield what was left of their hopefully future one.

“Nice shooting, lover.” Isel called back as she rolled her fighter laterally to dodge an incoming torpedo that had made it through her ECM cloud, the ordinance streaking past as its targeting sensors were still being disrupted by the countermeasure. “Though I can’t help but wonder what part of “cute”, “fluffy”, and “don’t fucking shoot me” they aren’t understanding!” The Vulpinian added in a tense growl as she targeted the narrowly avoided torpedo and fired, detonating it well before it was close enough to the Theurgy to do any harm.

“I….” Chance began before another voice interrupted her.

"Natauna to all Fighters and Sabine.  It is time to come home and land.  The bay is waiting and ready to receive all the fighters.  I repeat, return and land in the Theurgy.  We are taking off at warp within the minute!" the voice, this Natuna, both directed and warned.

“I think that’s our cue,” Foxfire said, her eyes scanning her fighter’s sensor readouts to guage how much distance they had to cover in such a short amount of time.

“Glad they gave us plenty of time,” Chance noted as she checked her sensors for additional torpedoes. There was another coming up behind her and she deployed several ECM decoys to divert it before flipping her fighter over and pointing it directly at the Theurgy’s Vector 01. It was currently angled away from them and Chance advanced her throttles to max as her fighter lurched forward in response.

“Range to Theurgy, 28,000km.” Isel reported. The Vulpinian couldn’t help but chuckle at Donna’s sarcasm as her lips curled into an amused smile behind the cover of her helmet. “We’ve gotta punch it if we’re going to make it in time for the jump to warp!” Isel called as both women pushed their fighters to maximum speed and sent the two MkII Valkyries streaking towards the Theurgy. “Now get your sweet buns on board, Donna! I still want my fucking apology!”

“If we get there, you’ll get one,” Chance promised as she made a minor course correction. “And how,” she added silently.

Isel could see Donna’s fighter just ahead of her as the two raced for the Theurgy’s Vector, her eyes glancing down periodically to check her sensors for more incoming ordinance as they raced against the clock to get aboard. She watched as the number displayed on the range indicator rapidly decreased as they closed the distance to the Vector, her mind mentally counting down the approximate seconds that remained before the Theurgy vacated the area. A small part of her wondered if Meerkat, Scylla and the others would have time to get aboard, though her priority at that moment was watching Donna’s back and getting the message her Human beau carried to Captain Ives. The weight of what rode on the completion of this mission vastly overshadowed whatever loyalties remained to Starfleet and her former squadron.

Donna rechecked the distance to the Theurgy on her sensors before looking up to see the ship growing ever larger. On the rear of the ship, the shuttlebay doors began to open and Donna almost smiled in her helmet at what kind of reception they might meet. A shrill alarm sounded in her cockpit and Donna had enough time to look down to see a torpedo headed directly at her. Frantically releasing a cloud of decoys, Donna wanted to manoeuvre away but quickly realised she couldn’t if she wanted to make the bay in time. Unable to do anything, Donna braced herself for the impact, praying that her rear shields had enough strength left in them.

The detonation lit up the nebula around her and her Valkyrie shook violently. Banging her head on her seat, Donna was relieved that she had a helmet on to protect it. But the impact still jarred her severely and she lost her bearings for a moment. As her senses returned, Donna corrected her heading to the beckoning shuttlebay ahead of her; feeling how sluggish her fighter was now under her hands.

Isel had cursed as she saw the torpedo streaking towards Donna’s fighter. She tried to bring her fighter about to take out the torpedo before it struck home, but she was too late. Isel’s heart seemed to stop in her chest as she watched the detonation, fear gripping her as she strained to see if Chance’s fighter had survived the impact. “Foxfire to Chance! Come in Chance!” Isel called over the comms, a note of desperation audible in her tone. “Don’t you dare be dead! Do you hear me?” As she spoke those last words, she caught a glimpse of Chance’s Valkyrie. Damage was visible on the hull, but it appeared intact and continued on its course to the Theurgy. “Donna! Do you read me?”

“Foxfire, I think I took a hit,” Chance said into her comms. She heard nothing in reply and a glance at her systems display showed that she had lost all communications from the torpedo blast; among other damage. Thankfully, it seemed to have hit one of her decoys rather than her; it had just done so REALLY close to her. Looking over at Foxfire, Donna sluggishly raised her hand to give a thumbs up before redirecting her focus to landing her now damaged warp fighter.

"Fighters.. Sabine... intruders on the ship. Watch your back.  Sensors show there is a boarding party in the shuttle bay.  Watch your six," came the call across Isel’s comms and her heartbeat quickened even more than it already was.

“Fuck!” Foxfire cursed, her eyes going back to Chance’s fighter. The craft was still flying, though she’d heard nothing from it’s pilot since the torpedo strike. Either Donna was unconscious or worse, and it was just sheer luck that had kept it on course, or Donna’s comms had been knocked out in the blast. Either way, Foxfire feared that her partner hadn’t heard the warning. This was bad.

As she closed to within 2 kilometres, Donna slowed her craft down and brought it around for a more direct entrance. As she closed the threshold of the hull and entered the doors, Chance slid her fighter around 180 degrees so that it was facing back out of the bay and edged it to the side of the bay as best she could. It was going to be a tight fit with all of them.

Isel had felt a wave a relief wash over her when she’d seen Donna’s limping fighter manoeuvre into the Theurgy’s shuttle bay, though she was still worried about the boarding party. The Vulpinian eased off on the throttle to let Donna land her fighter craft first, following close on her heels and bringing her fighter about sharply so that she would land her own fighter alongside Donna’s.

As her fighter settled to the deck, Donna began to shut down her systems and open her cockpit. Isel had just landed beside her and she could see the others approaching rapidly. Relaxing into her seat, she didn’t register the appearance of a man standing on top of the shuttlecraft she had parked beside, nor the phaser rifle he had pointed at her.

Isel’s eyes went wide as she glanced towards Donna's fighter and saw the gold-shirted man with the phaser rifle standing on top of the shuttle on the far side. Her lips pulled back in a silent snarl as she saw that he had the rifle trained on Donna’s cockpit, ready to fire one the hatch opened. Rage spiked within the Vulpinian, her left hand moving without thought to punch the canopy release as her right hand reached for the Type I hand phaser in the utility pocket on her right thigh. A hissing noise sounded throughout the cockpit as it’s contained atmosphere escaped, balancing with the atmosphere of the shuttle bay. The canopy rose at an agonizingly slow pace as Isel drew her phaser and waited, her heart threatening to beat right out of her chest. She could see Donna, the Human having not noticed the threat looming atop the shuttle beside her. Isel wanted to call out a warning, but knew Donna wouldn’t hear. 

Isel watched with horror as Donna’s canopy began to open, seeing the security member taking aim at her lover. Isel let out a snarl of anger as she thrust her arm through the opening left by the retracting canopy of her fighter and fired, the phaser’s shot streaking forward and passing within inches of the boarder. The man’s head snapped up to look to the source of the shot, his eyes wide with surprise as he took a step back. Isel ducked forward and shoved her head and torso through the gap as the canopy continued to open, taking proper aim. Her second shot struck the man square in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards off the shuttle and crashing to the deck of the shuttle bay.

Donna hadn’t known anything was wrong until the first phaser shot had passed nearby. In the time it took her to realise there was a threat, Isel had fired again and neutralised it. With a look filled with loving gratitude that she wasn’t even sure Isel could see through the helmet, Donna looked across at her Vulpinian lover.

Below them, Lorad stepped out from where he had almost been hit by the falling body and looked up at the two pilots. “Stop dreaming!” he called out. “More like him here!”

"Fuck me, would you look at the size of him!" Isel said, knowing Donna wouldn't be able to hear her. Isel released the helmet of her Tac CONN Exosuit and let it fall to the floor of the cockpit before climbing out of the cockpit, raising her voice as she spoke again to make sure she was heard.

"Hey! Big 'un!" She yelled at the Reman behemoth, "What the hell is going on with this fucking ship? We cover your asses from torpedoes and fucking Starships, and now we've got to clear boarders for you too? Fucking hell!" Isel turned her attention to Donna, seeing the other woman extracting herself from her own cockpit. "What sort of cluster-fuck have you dragged me into, Donna?"
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Absinthe on November 16, 2018, 07:49:25 AM
[ Ensign Ryuan Sel | Corridor outside Sickbay | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
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Each footfall toward sickbay was a reminder of how out of place she had felt recently. Even with the events of the night before, something deep inside Sel gnawed at her bones and she felt like she wanted to say something to someone, she only wished she knew what she needed to say and to who. More than anything she wanted to feel as safe as she had in the arms of Sarresh on their nights together, but even now she wondered if she ever could again.

The intruder alert slammed her out of her ruminations and brought her back to reality. She had not thought anyone would be stupid enough to beam a boarding party onto the Theurgy. They were fugitives and it was the truth they held that made them fugitives. But she had no time to consider this. She had to move. Based on the deck numbers she had a good guess where each of the boarding parties was, so she began to run.

When she spotted a man outside of sickbay in combat gear she reacted quickly. She didn't want to use the Accipter unless she had to, the gun was too powerful for use unless the situation was far more dire. So she broke out into a sprint and closed the distance between her and the man as quickly as she could.

Of course, he noticed her and took aim with his phaser rifle as she got close. The first blast slipped past her as she weaved to the right at the last second, the second hit her in the left shoulder. Even with the armor of the heavy exo-suit the kick of the blast dislocated her shoulder.

But by then she was close enough to respond. She quickly slammed her open palm over his ear and as his body moved bent her knee up to slam him in the ribs. With a twist, she caught the barrel of the phaser rifle with her body and twisted it out of his grip as she wrapped her only useful arm around his neck and flipped him around her body throwing him to the floor. The gun flew away and he tumbled. As he landed, before he could recuperate, she quickly hit his chin with the toe of her boot, slamming his jaw shut with a snap and sending him reeling. One more well aimed kick to the chest and he sprawled out on the ground, clearly only able to gasp for breath and too stunned to react beyond that. She quickly went over and grabbed his rifle, checking its stun setting and then shot him with it.

With that done she pulled the powerpack from the rifle and threw it down the corridor before dropping the rifle on the ground. With a soft cuss, she pulled at her arm, yanking the shoulder back into its socket. She then took the Accipter from her back and switched it to its primary stun setting and moved to the door of the sickbay, hitting to panel to open the door.

---
[ F'Rell of the Twelfth House | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ]
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Once more it seemed like engineering was exploding, only this time it was the result of intruders opening fire and not on any poorly integrated calculation of F'Rell. Not that the previous situation was any more managed now, at the very least the system had was no longer spiking in temperature quite as much and the coolant leak in engineering was contained, not that the emergency shield would do much good in a firefight.

Yet, all the same, F'Rell was used to being boarded. The Resolve had been boarded many times by those who had sought to do her and her friends harm. They had succeeded on occasion, but more often they were fought back, forced to retreat. And she did not have time to spend on fighting these intruders. She had a task to do and she planned on doing it.

"<It would depend on the exact ratio within the intermix chamber at the point in which we initiate the warp jump,>" F'Rell intoned into her translator, the line patched through to the science station. "<I would think no less than 2 lightyears and no more than 5, though again, exact measurements are not possible at this time. I can narrow it down if I can get the exact moment of our planned jump into warp. But even still subspace microcurrents can cause problems without the computer regulating the jump, thus making the exact nature of the jump difficult to precisely predict.>"
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Triton on November 21, 2018, 01:44:48 AM
[ Lt Cdr Leon Marquez | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy | Attack Maneuvers ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @The Ostrich  @JayLatte  @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe @Argyros

"Pick her teeth, Precision firing, using the minimal energy output we have to it's greatest advantage. Like wielding a scalpel, disable her subspace comm array, her phaser emitters, fuse her torpedo tubes, destroy her transport emitters, and blind her sensors. Veradin! Work with Marquez to give him the firing angles he needs, but if you can, stay within transporter range to the Bellerophon. Natauna! Tell our new friends out there - and the Sabine - that it's time for combat landings. Tell them they have less than a minute!"

Leon got to work as he prioritized the Akira's systems one by one, leaving the computer to autofire per the captain's weapons commands. "Nice going, Helm." Was his only way to utter neutral praise to the Trill helmsman for their continued advances. Together with anyone with flight experience, Leon had flown their share of combat drills, holodeck simulations and in a few cases, actual battle such as this. No, not like this; It made the situation easier to bear think of this as the Battle of the Mutara Nebula; the arena was apropos. "Firing. Their Torpedo Pod is offline; They're tumbling, I can't hit their transporter emitters-- Hostiles!" He barked, dropping his padd to the holotable to get the drop on whoever joined in uninvitedly.

Before more hits could register on Dauntless just less than a moment after the next exchange with Veradin, Bright lights and the telltale whiff of electric ozone was an all purpose Leon's response to the intruders came at the full force of an upward kick to the nearest guard's phaser arm against a lanky, but slightly taller Vulcan Lieutenant of Tactical or Conn, it didn't matter, He and Leon exchanged the instant duel-to-the-death understanding.

Leon's right-handed punch struck the Vulcan's chin, twisting upon impact for a stunning attack as the much stronger but still-materializing and defeated by that detail alone which made it possible for Leon to flip the Vulcan by his sidearm hand and leapt over the console for cover. "Armed Intruders on the Bridge!" He reported on his combadge. Exchanging fire behind the  tactical holotable with a grunt as it took a hit which momentarily lost power but quickly restored  as phaser fire passed over his display.  Marquez returned suppressive bolt fire, changing his setting to maximum stun and aiming at their legs, away from the consoles and at the hostiles' knees, wounding the recovering Vulcan for good measure. Before returning to cover and grabbed his padd which he left on the console, singing as a phaser bolt came within an inch of his wrist. No time to consider close calls, he activated his tactical commands to slave the weapons to continue their attack.

"Shots fired, Deck One. Repeat: Armed Intruders on the bridge and in the shuttle bay." Marquez crisply pinged Security and Tactical. Medical teams would have to be improvised for now. Reports were coming on Theurgy's deck listing display, indicating where throughout the decks the intruders had beamed and to which sections. They were after the shuttle bay. Leon was only concerned with the handful on the bridge as it became a bar room brawl. The Task Force was approaching. If they were going to make a run for it, it had to be as soon as possible in the minute he and their allies had. He hoped Trent's orders to blast the Archeron's bridge to hell still stood. Ironically, despite the shots fired and even a knife wound; Derik, of course-- His last promotion was well-earned for being ready for boarders at any time.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Firefox013 on November 22, 2018, 06:08:47 AM
[ LtJG. Sephiria "Scylla" Arn & CWO3 Liliana Walton | Valravn class Warp Fighter "Wolf 14" & Wolf-13 | Flying Chance's wing | Near Vector 01 | Asure Nebula ]

[Natauna to all Fighters and Sabine.  It is time to come home and land.  The bay is waiting and ready to receive all the fighters.  I repeat, return and land in the Theurgy.  We are taking off at warp within the minute!]

Sephiria grunted, hearing the message from the Theurgy's vector. "Oh for the love of!" She grunted again while deftly dodging a torpedo then taking it out as she hit full burn, her Valravn careening through the nebula towards the Vector. "Allright, Meerkat, Scylla here, get your booty in gear girl, we got like barely a minute to get on that thing!" She said, drift rolling her bird around more weapons fire from the damaged Akira. "Wow... think we hit their targeting systems bad? Those douchebags are firing all nimbly bimbly like some drunk monkey is on the damn weapons control system!" She said, grinning behind her visor.

"Stay alert Scylla, damnit, I wanna live through this you crazy Trill!" Spoke up her Andorian RIO, a touch of nervousness in his gruff voice as shots Vorped and Zorped all around them, only a few hitting. "Yeah, yeah Iceman! I got this!" She said, keeping the throttles pinned and flying like an absolutely insane bat out of hell as she moved towards the Theurgy. She keyed the comms again. "Meerkat you still with me?"

Liliana shook her head slightly at Scylla's insistent communications. Even in the best of times, she felt that the other pilot was a little too chatty during combat but then again, Meerkat herself was far from the quietest pilot. She nudged the throttle a bit more. It was going to be close. She couldn't blame Scylla for sounding more nervous than usual.

"I'm on your tail, Scylla. Just focus on the landing. Remember, we've still got to fit the Sabine, Wraith, and Blizzard in there so no taking up more room than you need!"

Bulkhead spoke up slowly from the back of their fighter as Meerkat yanked it to port to avoid another attempt at killing the nimble craft.

"Wait, is it not their fighter bay? It should be plenty big enough."

"My dear Klingon friend, look at the opening of the bay that we're rapidly approaching. Does that look like a nice, spacious fighter assault bay?" The silence was deafening, though less so than the targeting alert for Yet Another Torpedo (How the fuck do they still have torpedoes at this rate?!) beelined for her. She responded with more of her ECM, which was starting to show visible depletion on her weapons readouts. "Anyway, you might want to hold on. This is going to get rocky. Meerkat to Wraith and Blizzard, make sure the Sabine makes it in safely. Scylla, I'll be on your port side going in. Ready?"

Scylla grinned as she moved her Fighter, noticing Meerkat taking position as the two dodged another torpedo. "Whoah, endless supply much!?" She stated as "Here comes the Boom."  By Saliva was playing as they moved in. "Meerkat got word we've got boarders in there! Here goes!" Stated the trill, her Andorian RIO screaming as their Valravn careened into the bay while executing a sharp 180 degree spin, thruster wash searing some of the wall plating on the way in, blowing a hot deadly wind as the Valravn mag-locked into a slot after having incinerated one of the Dauntless's security officers, the woman had screamed in agony for a moment before being burned through and silenced as her ashes flitted off, creating a bit of a dusty mess on the deck from her engines exhaust. "Sorry lady... this is part of what's gonna be my new home and you ain’t takin it from me!" Was her statement after the fact as the fighter powered down in its spot.

Sephiria turned to her RIO. "Ready?" He nodded, hand already on the rifle stowed in his seat. Sephiria smirked and popped the seal, it was time for some up close and personal fun. As the Valravns canopy opened, Sephiria grabbed her own weapon, The two of them jumping out, checking their surroundings. As they moved to try and help secure the bay, Lily’s fighter came to a similar sort of landing nearby safely as well.

(A little joint action from patches and me)
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: The Ostrich on November 22, 2018, 11:30:49 AM
[ Ltjg Jhozahosh “Blizzard” sh’Avhennes | Wolf 16 | Azure Nebula ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Other people in the shuttlebay

[Show/Hide]

[Natauna to all Fighters and Sabine.  It is time to come home and land.  The bay is waiting and ready to receive all the fighters.  I repeat, return and land in the Theurgy.  We are taking off at warp within the minute!]

Well that was helpful. Jhozahosh clenched her jaw and hauled on the controls, swinging the Valravn fighter around, to face the Theurgy, off in the distance, through the gasses of the nebula. She activated her comm as she glanced at the Sabine off her port side.

Sabine, this is Blizzard. Make haste for the shuttlebay, I will escort you in.”

It was clear that the other ship had taken quite a beating, and it seemed the Dauntless was not quite done with them yet. Jhoza’s fingers danced across her controls as she placed her fighter between the Dauntless and the Sabine. She activated her ECM system to cover their rears as her fighter beeped an alarm to notify her that the Dauntless had fired a pair of torpedos at her and the Sabine.

Even though her ECM would almost certainly take care of the incoming torpedoes, it never paid to rely on one system alone, her years in the Imperial Guard had taught her that. As the torpedoes drew nearer she opened up on them with her aft phaser arrays.

”Scratch one torpedo.” Came the voice of her RIO, Trixie. A moment later she spoke again.  ”ECM got the second, we’re clear to land Blizzard, get us home.”

”I will, have I ever let you down Trixie?” Jhoza asked the rhetorical question, grinning under her helmet. She fell into line following the other fighters toward the waiting ship. The comm beeped and the voice of Meerkat floated through.

[Meerkat to Wraith and Blizzard, make sure the Sabine makes it in safely.]

Moments later another voice floated through.

[Fighters.. Sabine... intruders on the ship. Watch your back.  Sensors show there is a boarding party in the shuttle bay.  Watch your six.]

Jhoza swore, now was a great time to tell her, just as she was beginning her final approach to the shuttlebay. It was too late to try something else now and Jhoza followed the other fighters in. The small bay was cramped with the large fighters taking up most of the space. She saw the other pilots engaged in brief firefights with the boarders.

Quickly she set her craft down in one of the few empty places and began to unbuckle her flight harness as the cockpit canopy slowly slipped open. She jumped out and landed nimbly on the bay floor. Looking around it appeared that all of the boarders had been dealt with. She was just beginning to relax when she felt something jammed into her back “Don’t move traitor”

Her antennae drooped as she realized that they had missed one of the enemy, and that officer now had a gun against her back. She hoped Trixie would be able to do something, but apparently the boarder had her in mind to “Don’t take another step, or I shoot your pilot.”

”Do as he says Trixie.” She slowly raised her arms and gently placed them on her helmet, talking calmly and clearly she addressed the person pressing the weapon against her back ”I’m going to remove my helmet, nice and slowly, I don’t want to be shot today.”

“Slowly, no funny business.”

Jhoza nodded and began to remove her helmet. Her braids began to fall out of the helmet and she slowly leaned forward as she eased it slowly off her head. She straightened up again and began to slowly lower her helmet to the floor. She was at her waist height when she made her move. Blindingly fast she moved to the left, spinning as she did so Jhoza used her helmet to knock the rifle away from her and down. The shot impacted the ground where she had been moments earlier.

Continuing the same spin, Jhoza dropped the helmet as her right hand slipped to her Ushaan-Tor, clipped to her uniform. It easily slipped free and she swiped up with it, slashing the razor sharp blade across the security officers throat in a spray of red mist.

The boarder made a gurgling sound and slowly sank to his knees, a confused and pained expression on his face, it had all been so quick that he had barely registered any of it. With a low groan he pitched forward and collapsed, dead in a slowly expanding pool of blood.

She looked across the bay at the other pilots ”What is going on in here?” she asked to nobody in particular.



[ LtCmdr Vivian Martin | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow @Absinthe

[Show/Hide]

Suddenly the bridge was filled with the sounds of transporters and weapons fire. Vivian cursed and hunkered down over her console in an attempt to hide from the shots criss crossing the bridge. She did her best to ignore the boarders and continue her task with the crew in engineering.

”F’Rell, I can regulate the intermix ratio from here.” Vivian’s fingers raced across her console as she pulled up new sets of data. ”Five light years would be better, I will see what I can do from the bridge, and I’ll keep you on my comm. Our heading is the fourth planet in the Ithacae System.”

Regulating the intermix ratio would be a challenge, but Vivian was confident in her ability to work under pressure. She could get this done. She would get this done. For the sake of the crew, for the sake of her friends, for the sake of Starfleet, and for the sake of the truth they carried. She took a deep breath as more phaser bolts whizzed across the bridge, it was time for her to earn her keep.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on November 27, 2018, 03:06:18 PM
[ Drauc T'Laus (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Drauc_T%27Laus) | Outside Secured VIP Quarters | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]
Having left Dyan behind, affected by her conflicted rage, Drauc T'Laus emerged into the corridor of the Helmet.

Stepping out of the former CO's secured location, he was split between the wish to grant Dyan what she wanted - by leaving her without any witnesses as she confronted the one she wished to blame for the death of her family - and the certainty that her ire towards the man had faltered already. He could not be certain Dyan wouldn't kill Trent, but he had come to doubt it already, leaving the discussion of his misconceptions and differing views moot. Barely had his threadbare robe settled around his legs, before he could feel the Asurian follow him - her mind distinct in it's utter disappointment. Once the sliding doors parted for her, it was plain that there was no blood on her sindt. The Commander yet lived.

He rounded on her, and to prevent her from cutting him again with her weapon, he seized her wrist and pushed it against the bulkhead next to the door. Imbued by her rare ire, the action brought him closer to her, and he looked down his bared chest and into her green eyes. "Did you spare him out of conscience, or contempt?" he rasped to the woman, but he did not add his second question, about whether or not it was her time in Starfleet that made her stay her strike. H leaned down to her, emphasising his point as he stared into her eyes. "Either way, regardless your reason... it was the right thing to do... despite how you must hate it."

Whatever she said then, whatever intent he shared with her, the moment was interrupted by a klaxon different than the Red Alert.

[Intruder Alert, Intruder Alert, on decks 01, 06, 07 and 11.] It was the A.I:s voice, only it was just her voice files, emitted by a standard Starfleet computer.

It broke the moment, and Drauc looked away, seeing on the closest control panel that they were on Deck 11. It was the shuttle bay that had been beset by boarders, but even then, still having Dyan's sindt pinned to the wall, a security detail rushed past them in the hallway, heading in that direction. If there were boarders, the Theurgy security forces were already heading there. Moreover, it was a shorter distance to sickbay, the turbolift ride to Deck 07 quicker than running the full starboard length of the Vector.

There was a straggler in the security detail, a crewman, and Drauc seized the moment. Better yet, he seized the collar of the running guard, and hurled him to the deck in front of Dyan. Then, he looked at the Asurian, since it was she who could give the order to the man to guard the locked door. The turbolifts a mere couple of meters away. The intent was plain on his face, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

[ Sera vers Aldnoah (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sera_vers_Aldnoah) | Cockpit | SS Sabine NX-59846 | Azure Nebula ] Attn: @Vox @Fife @Stegro88
[Show/Hide]
Finally, the one called Wraith appeared beside the Sabine, and and Sera could focus on the comm chatter and the startling realisation that there were more fighters defecting to the Theurgy. She'd passed on their signatures to the Theurgy in the midst of her manoeuvring the damaged Sabine, her rapid breathing almost fogging up the T-visor of her helmet. There wasn't a second to spare any thoughts towards the loss of A'vura, her own survival her primary focus.

[Natauna to all Fighters and Sabine.] The sound of Zy's voice made Sera's eyes widen, the confirmation that she was still alive a sudden relief in the midst of chaos. What the El-Aurian said next snapped her out of it, however. [It is time to come home and land.  The bay is waiting and ready to receive all the fighters.  I repeat, return and land in the Theurgy.  We are taking off at warp within the minute!]

"One flaming minute?" she said in the confines of her helmet, and quickly tapped in the coordinates that would take her back to the Theurgy, seeing that she would be too late. "Blood and bloody ashes!"

Immediately, she raked her brain for solutions, meanwhile hearing one of the newly arrived fighters contact her. [Sabine, this is Blizzard. Make haste for the shuttle bay, I will escort you in.] She heard warnings from the computer about the Dauntless firing at her, but the warning died away once this 'Blizzard' woman used her countermeasures. Wraith was out there somewhere too, yet while she didn't have to worry about protection it was a matter of actually getting her damaged ship there. She didn't even have time to reply.

"Come on, come on," she said, rerouting power from damaged systems and deactivating everything she could just to get more juice to her impulse engines, closing the distance to the Theurgy at an awkward angle, and trying to keep her course from deviating. "This would be so much easier if that blasted shuttle bay wasn't moving!"

[Fighters.. Sabine... intruders on the ship.] Zy again, her voice sounding more tense. [Watch your back.  Sensors show there is a boarding party in the shuttle bay.  Watch your six.]

"Burn you, are you flaming kidding me?" she said, just as the Theurgy came into view. Blizzard was ahead of her, already setting down. She had no idea where Wraith was any more, but she wasn't about to wait for anyone, hoping the man was protecting her, but not counting on it. She was coming in towards the Vector from on high, and realised she'd have to claim power for her guidance thrusters if she'd ever be able to pull up in time. "Blast it, here I come...."

Grinding her teeth together, she pulled up just as she aligned her trajectory with the moving shuttle bay, and even if the Sabine would have been at peak condition, she'd never be able to land it unscathed. As it were, it wasn't like the bay was empty either!  Eyes wide, she made a minute correction so that she would slam straight down unto Valravn fighter. As it were, she scrapped the paint of the tip of the fighter's wing, and even though her landing gears were out, the Sabine was coming down too fast. Her landing gears were bent underneath her ship, collapsing, and Sera was tossed about in her seat like a ragdoll. A new plasma fire broke out, and a shower of sparks rained over her red exosuit. She lost her bearings completely for a few moments, her suit preventing her from whiplash damage, but in the end, she realised she'd done it.

"Blast it," she said, unbuckling herself, and getting back on her feet. Outside her cockpit, however, mayhem raged, with boarders facing off against the fighter pilots and... That Reman i found in my bed? Of course, he hadn't likely left the shuttle bay. She had no idea how he ended up between her legs the night before, her memories spotty and her hangover still not gone. She must have been drinking a lot, and been really bored, as intriguing as the notion of a Reman would be. Seeing him caused such confusion... and there was still a fight ongoing. She snapped out of it and snatched up her Klingon disruptor, heading for the airlock.

She had to use the manual release to get it open, kicking the ramp so that it folded out, and then stepped off the Sabine with her disruptor aimed towards the boarders. "Hey! Burn you!" she said in the mouthpiece of her helmet, her voice heard from a small speaker in the bay. "Get off this ship!"

Firing, she kept the last ones from being too bold, taking cover as best as they might from her.

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All 
[Show/Hide]
On the bridge, attention to the Dauntless was split between it and all the other myriad of tasks on hand. Yet the most prevalent thing was their own survival. The present security officers fired back at the boarders. Derik Veradin had been forced out of his seat, and unless Dewitt was mistaken, he may have saved her life. Leon, at Tactical, also had to engage with the boarders, meaning that they had neither helm not weapons. Thankfully, the Helmet was still firing, and it wasn't destroyed at the point when Dewitt struck down one of the borders with her fist, having wrenched the phaser out of his hand.

"Veradin," she called, shaking the pain out of her hand, and raised her claimed phaser towards the one their helmeman had put a parsteel blade into. It was impressive how the Trill had managed to get into the pressurised layers between the exosuit's armoured plating with the knife. "Thank you, now get back in your seat, befor-"

The ship rocked again, a phaser beam from the Dauntless impacting with their hull, carving deep into the unshielded exterior of the Vector. Dewitt stumbled, and the security officer with the knife in him cried out through his helmet - the blade likely twisted inside him by the commotion. Disjointedly, he fell forward, landing on the deck. It was the last boarder still not neutralised, and Dewitt's red hair was in a disarray when she stepped up towards the Command Chair again.

"What's the status on our warp drive?" she called, but then she saw - on the large hologram of the battlefield, how there were new indicators in the fringes of the display area. "What's..."

Her green eyes went wide. She check the ETA indicators another time. "Task Force Archeron is about to drop out of warp. Five ships. Including the USS Archeron herself." They must have accelerated, somehow, when the Bellerophon was destroyed.

Yet what was... "What is that?"

It took a few seconds to recognise the signature, because it wasn't just one ship.

It was the rest of their ship.

Dewitt could hardly believe her eyes. It was the the Sword and the Stallion, merged, and it just dropped out of warp. The sight of it came with such a sense of relief that she actually smiled. Never had she been more happy about being wrong, and while she didn't regret what she'd done, it was time for action. Even in this situation, it was time to act, and she did so selflessly, for the sake of the mission. She sat down in her chair, and opened a hail.

"This is Jennifer Dewitt, acting Captain of the Helmet," she said in a loud voice, so that the rest of the bridge could hear, even if they were busy with their individual tasks. "Task Force Archeron is about to drop out of warp. We have a warp solution underway, and we really could use your engines too. Commander Trent has been relieved, but as Captain of the Helmet, I am giving the reintegration order as my final command.... and then... I cede the conn to Second Officer Wenn Cinn, to be the Commanding Officer of the Theurgy."

Whatever consequences were in store for her, she'd accept them, knowing that in her mind, she had done the right thing given what she'd been told by Trent, and because of the development in the third Rendezvous Zone. It's not like there were any career opportunities in store for me anyway. But I will live with knowing I did what I could for the crew.


OOC: Free posting order for all the areas with boarding parties except for the Main Bridge. Please take out all the boarders at your leisure and posting frequency. As for the Main Bridge, and the V2+V3 ship that just arrived, @chXinya is next to post with Captain Wenn Cinn. The thread Reunion is not finished yet, but the outcome is pretty set. After @chXinya has posted, 7 days of posting begin for all on the Helmet's bridge. During this time, in these posts that are due, everyone can illustrate how the Theurgy reintegrates into one ship, Task Force Archeron arrives, the order to go to warp is made, and through a very impromptu joint venture between the Engineering officers on the three Vectors, the Theurgy warps the *beep* out of there. Make it as epic as you like! (Within plausible bounds, of course, lol)

All Supplemental Threads that are started between characters on this Vectors will have to be set before 0810 hrs. on Day 06, but not afterwards, and they should also be posted on the Part 1 board. Just like in the interregnum, Supplemental one-on-one threads are started at your leisure! Supplemental threads should be named Chapter 05: Supplemental [Day XX | YYYY hrs.] Insert Title, and can extend as far back as right after the battle with the Versant and all the way up to 0810 hrs on Day 06, where the third Rendevouz began.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Stegro88 on December 02, 2018, 02:21:40 PM
[ Tesserarius Lorad | Upper Shuttle Bay | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]


Lorad just stared down at the short, tailed female that had just delivered an onslaught of words at him. He managed to pick out several of them and between those and her general tone, he believed that she was complaining about something. Not that he was too worried about what it was at the time.

“Not time,” Lorad declared firmly. “Fight now. Talk Later,” he said commandingly as the human female pilot dropped down from her ship. Believing he had said enough, Lorad padded off without another word, stalking the bay for the remaining boarders even as more ships began to land. He heard a female scream that was cut off abruptly but didn’t see the cause of it before another ship entered the bay.

Lorad heard more phaserfire ahead of him and he ducked behind a pillar to shield himself while he tried to determine where it was coming from. Locating the source of it, he saw two people firing out from where they were sheltered at what looked like one of the men he had seen the previous day when he was assisting Veradan with the Apache. 

Having located his targets, he began to shift himself into a better position to fire when the Sabine came roaring into the bay, barely missing one of the other newly arrived ships before slamming to the deck in a shower of sparks. A momentary panic and wave of indecisiveness erupted in Lorad. Torn between eliminating a threat and rushing to aid Sera, Lorad made no move as he tried to decide.

His decision was made for him, however, when the Câroon female kicked open the Sabine's airlock and began to fire at the boarders. Surprised by this new offense, the two boarders moved to confront this new target and that was when Lorad seized his chance. Stepping out from cover, Lorad levelled his confiscated phaser rifle, long since set to stun, and shot at one of the men. His aim, while true, didn’t account for the unexpected movement of his target and his shot only hit the main in the upper arm.

As his target fell back behind cover, Lorad retreated back behind the pillar, unsure how effective a stun shot to the arm was from a Starfleet weapon.


Lt. JG Donna ‘Chance’ Petterson | Wolf 07 | Upper Shuttle Bay | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]

Donna had been shocked when Isel had fired on the man in her defence. She hadn’t even known there was a threat there. Shaking her head, she watched as Isel descended from her fighter’s cockpit and yelled at the towering Reman that had appeared. She had heard what he had said to them but hadn’t really understood it until she saw more phaser fire on the other side of the shuttle bay.

Removing her helmet, Donna climbed out of the cockpit and dropped to the deck below in time to see the Reman moving away.

“Uh, thanks Isel,” Donna said hesitantly to her wingwoman, unsure how she’d react given the morning they had had. It was certainly more than she had planned for. “For the save, and, uh, everything else too.”

Donna looked around the bay as the other fighters began to land; having to pull some pretty impressive braking manoeuvres to catch up to the Theurgy in the allotted time and then execute a landing in the limited space of the Upper Shuttle Bay.

“So, should we stay here with Tank and Bourbon or join whatever fight the Reman was talking about?” Donna asked her Vulpinian companion.



OOC: Wasn't sure how effective stun settings work if they hit a target's limb. So their is either 1 or 2 boarders left active at this point.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: FollowTomorrow on December 02, 2018, 09:53:28 PM
[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Main Engineering | USS Theurgy ] @Absinthe @The Ostrich

Even though Suq was talented in the art of busting kneecaps and anklebiting, there was only so much he could do without a phaser or collector in hand. He had neither right now. He heard a crack when he whacked someone’s knee, which should keep them from coming after him. He ducked behind a console, watching as engineering sprang to life. If he were on the Resolve, he wouldn’t even have to look to know what happened. If this were the Resolve, every single engineer would engage kick-ass mode all at once, and the result would be frightening. This wasn’t the Resolve, and these people weren’t used to frequent boarding. He prayed for just a split second.

The engineers were not armed but Suq could tell this wasn’t the type of crew to give in so easily. To add to their good fortune, there were security officers posted at the exits...wait, when did that happen? Since when was security supposed to guard engineering so quickly?

Was this whole thing...staged?

“Ladies! Are we ready to warp out?” He called out to F’rell, and by extension Vivian. He was 500% done here.

[ PO Sar-unga Neleo/Dyan Cardamone | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] @Auctor Lucan

To say Dyan was happy to leave was a lie of the highest extent. Dyan wanted to bash Trent’s face in. She wanted him to know just how much trouble he had caused, just how poor of a leader he was, just how inept, stupid, and awful he was. How he deserved all the shit that came to him today, and that he could fix it if he wasn’t such a coward. None of that worked though. Trent was truly so dense and insulated...and she was reminded, again, just how alien she was here. The disappointment, the anger, it felt like the sun in summer on Earth, like it was wilting her.

More than that, Drauc was being...weird. He was always weird, but in a way, he seemed more Asurian than he did before this all started. He had rounded on her, cornered her, again reviving the memories of her former lover in the saucer. She bared her teeth and snarled, and…was complimented?

The response was so baffling that it almost overshadowed the sheer absurdity of having done the right thing. Dyan doesn’t do the right thing. She does everything else but the right thing. Even there, in Trent’s confinement, Dyan wasn’t able to show him how wrong he was about everything. Nothing worked.

She was saved from having to come up with a response by the red alert klaxons. Finally, the boarding action she had been hoping for.

She wasn’t sure where the security officer came from, but he looked startled. That was good. She liked them frightened.
“Guard this room! Trent is in there. He comes out for nothing, for no one, and if I find him lost, I’ll have your head!” She shouted and flashed her blade in his face, much in the way a Klingon would carry out their security affairs.
As if racing Drauc, she bolted towards the turbolifts. She had anger to work out.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Fife on December 02, 2018, 11:55:01 PM
[ Ensign Isel “Foxfire” Nix | Wolf-08 | Azure Nebula ]

Isel grumbled a curse as the Reman barked at her, speaking in a way that led her to think he didn’t have a firm grasp of the language he used. She was surprised to find a Reman on the ship, regardless of the rumours that the Theurgy was in league with the Romulans. She had seen several Remans before, years ago in her old life, during dealings with the Romulans. Those Remans had been either labourers moving cargo during their transactions or bodyguards to the Romulans taking part in said transactions. This one didn’t seem to be either, speaking in such a commanding tone. Isel watched as the Reman’s massive form stalked off through the shuttle bay, apparently hunting the rest of the boarders, heading towards the distant sounds of phaser fire.

Isel turned her attention away from the behemoth as she heard Donna speak, thanking her. Isel turned her head to look at the other woman, giving her a wicked grin. ”You’re welcome, but don’t think a simple “thank you” is going to get you out of that apology!” Isel informed the Human woman with a stern tone. Her expression grew more serious as she turned to look in the direction of the sounds of battle. ”I’d say sit tight,” Isel said in answer to Donna’s question, ”if the Theurgy’s security teams storm the bay, they might confuse us with the boarders. I didn’t put my ass on the line getting this far just to be stunned by some trigger-happy asshole.” Isel turned back to Donna and grinned. ”Besides, there’s already one dead bastard on the other side of that shuttle. How much of their dirty work are we really expected to do?”

Isel stared back defiantly at Donna’s stern gaze, knowing the other woman’s dedication to her duty. It was precisely that dedication that had dragged Isel into this mess in the first place. ”Oh for fucks…” Isel growled, knowing she wasn’t about to let Donna go off hunting the boarding party on her own. ”Fine!” Isel sighed, hefting her phaser again and stalking off towards the sounds of fighting. ”But if I get my ass shot off because of this, you better believe you’re gonna be kissing it better!” The Vulpinian grumbled, her mismatched eyes scanning the area as she advanced with phaser at the ready. The other fighters and the Sabine were aboard now, the shuttle bay quickly growing crowded. The result was plenty of cover for potential threats to be hiding, as well as more friendlies in the area. Isel paused and quickly switched her phaser to stun, having set it to kill when they’d left on their mission to defect to the Theurgy.

Isel could hear Donna behind her as she crept around one of the landed fighter craft and saw a figure in a red flight suit standing by the Sabine’s open airlock. The red-clad figure what looked like a disruptor towards something she couldn’t see. She certainly doesn’t look Starfleet… Isel thought to herself before turning her attention to the direction the person was firing. I’m guessing our uninvited guests are over there. Isel crept forward a little more, but saw that the person by the Sabine was firing at something she couldn’t see. Must be in cover. Hopefully someone else gets a shot. I’m sure as hell not charging over there!

Isel took a step backwards to move back into cover, the motion causing her to bump into Donna, who had been keeping up with her. A slight smile player across Isel’s features as she glanced back over her shoulder at the other pilot. ”Easy, Donna!” The Vulpinian chuckled, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she spoke. ”There’ll be plenty of time for cuddling later. Besides…” Isel turned her face back towards the sounds of weapons fire, her amused expression hidden from the other woman’s view, ”I still haven’t decided how mad at you I am for dragging me into this insane shit-show…”


OOC: I figured I’d leave the fun for someone else since I already took out one of the boarder party members.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: chXinya on December 04, 2018, 12:50:22 AM
[Lt. Commander Wenn Cinn | Battle Bridge | Deck 11 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy]

The scene in the viewscreen was a nightmare.  Two halves of a Federation starship drifted nearby, the edges still glowing from whatever violence tore it apart.  Another ship was heavily damaged, but determined to keep fighting.  As soon as the combined vectors dropped out of warp the survivor speared the Helmet with a phaser, tearing a chunk out of the first vector, something that caused Cinn to grimace.  “Tactical, disable that ship’s weapons before they turn our way.  Ops, scan the,” glancing at the short range tactical display to see the transponder readings, “Bellerophon for survivors and beam them aboard.  Alert security, I want them in place just in case.”  It was a serious risk to run without shields for the moment, but he couldn’t leave Starfleet officers to die.

Standing up from the center seat, Cinn returned his focus on the center screen, Vector 1 now sitting right in the middle of it.  This was it, so close to making the Theurgy whole, but if they didn’t move fast it would be for nothing.  “Hail Commander Trent.” he ordered, plans already forming in his head.  As it happened, the Helmet managed to hail them first.

"This is Jennifer Dewitt, acting Captain of the Helmet, Task Force Archeron is about to drop out of warp. We have a warp solution underway, and we really could use your engines too. Commander Trent has been relieved, but as Captain of the Helmet, I am giving the reintegration order as my final command.... and then... I cede the conn to Second Officer Wenn Cinn, to be the Commanding Officer of the Theurgy.”

What happened to Trent? was the first thing in Cinn’s mind, but it was gone in an instant, there was no time to dwell on that right now.  “Understood Captain Dewitt.  Send the plans to us and we’ll make our preparations.  Get your people ready, this will be a little rough.  Theurgy out.”  Returning to his seat Cinn was in full business mode.

“The moment we’re in range extend our shields around the helmet.  Helm, bring us in for a combat reintegration.  Engineering, the moment you receive these warp calculations I want them loaded and ready to go ASAP.  We have one chance at this people, I know we’ll all do our best.”  Tapping the comm button to make a general announcement.  “All hands, brace for combat reintegration and sudden warp acceleration.”

Propping his elbows on his knees and interlacing his fingers together, Cinn waited to see his crew in action.

OOC:
Current Vector 2/3 Bridge Staff:

Captain: Lt. Commander Wenn Cinn
Executive Officer: Lt. Commander Natalie Stark
Tactical: Lt. T'Less
Helm: Ens. Jaya Thorne
Operations: Lt. JG Nator 159
Mission Ops: Ens. Cameron Henshaw
Security: Lt. Kai Akoni
Science: Lt. Commander Vael Kaeris
Support Staff: Commander Ducote
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Top Hat on December 05, 2018, 12:10:43 AM
[ Lt JG Nator 159 | Battle Bridge | Deck 11 | The Stallion ] attn: @chXinya @Auctor Lucan  et al

The journey after leaving the Cayuga was far less hair-raising than the mad sprint to meet the Stallion. Only one of their engines was in any serious danger of collapse, rather than half of them. And as if to prove their Engineering department smugly correct again, there were no problems this time either. Just a persistent (though muted) integrity alarm on the pylon itself, which wasn't about to be fixed without a layover somewhere. For approximately the sixtieth time that week, s/he wished for a fortnight's uninterrupted access to a shipyard.

Nator was still paying attention to structural integrity reports and fields balances when the captain ordered a scan of the Bellerophon for survivors. Looking up, s/he expected a hulk, or a merely crippled vessel. What s/he saw was a ship sawed in half, spewing atmosphere and conduits and bulkhead panels into space. And not a few bodies, either.

"Working now."

There were pockets of life signs all over the ship - their number shrinking as the Helmet beamed some off as well. Mostly they were clustered towards the bows and stern of the ship; the catastrophic split in the hull likely accounting for the void in readings amidships.

What even happened? Torpedo magazine hit? The Helmet can't have been aiming to so thoroughly destroy the Bellerophon - they wouldn't. Was... that why Trent had been relieved? S/he couldn't help the glance s/he threw around the bridge to see how everyone else was taking the news, before realising that s/he couldn't immediately match names and faces anyway.

The number of signatures on the Bellerophon dropped rapidly with the two currently-separate ships performing beamouts. Once it dropped to zero, s/he extended their shield envelope around the Helmet in preparation for integration. Grief, to have everything together again.

Suck it, Sankolov.

[ Lt T'Less | Battle Bridge | Deck 11 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy | I Said, I Have A Big Stick ]

As soon as they dropped out of warp, T'Less wasted no time in classifying the contacts in the local area. To see what was a ship, what was ordnance, what was debris, and what priority to address them in. Even the latter category could be dangerous if it was sufficiently large or fast and on a collision course.

There were plenty of all three to find. Between the Dauntless, her fighters, and the scattering remains of the Bellerophon, space was busy here indeed. Nevertheless, their shields were back up to nominal strength, their capacitors were charged, and tubes loaded. It felt good.

On the plus side, now that she had a functioning Tactical station to man, she wasn't going to worry the Hermat this time.

She began to passive-lock the fighters and Dauntless, ready to switch to active solutions if the order came; her intended firing pattern was already complete and ready to execute. But she didn't want to pull any triggers that she didn't have to - these were Starfleet vessels after all, not Klingon ones. And while even the latter were supposed allies, it was still a different matter to open fire on colleagues. Comrades.

If any were to die by her hand, she would not be the first to blink.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: patches on December 06, 2018, 11:04:02 PM
[ CWO3 Liliana "Meerkat" Walton | Wolf-13 | Theurgy Shuttle Bay ]

Liliana frowned when the last transmissions about boarders on the Theurgy came through to her helmet. Just what we needed. Scylla made a smooth landing into the shuttle bay and Lily matched it, flipping her fighter at the last minute to glide into a spot next to her wingmate. The maneuvering thrusters had to work overtime to reverse the high acceleration that the Valravn was putting in.

Ops crew is going to have some serious cleaning to do with all these scorch marks.

As she set the fighter down in a relatively careful hover, Lily watched Scylla and her RIO move from their fighter to roam the shuttle bay, presumably in search of these boarders. Nearby, she saw flashes from where her sensors tagged Foxfire and Chance’s fighters. She popped the Valravn’s canopy, digging around for the phaser pistol next to her pilot’s chair with one hand. Behind her, she heard a growl and then a roar.

“Wait, Bulk-“

The Valravn jerked, forcing Meerkat to correct the sudden movement as her Rear Intercept Officer jumped from his seat to the ground, hoisting a rifle high in the air with a battlecry after a landing he somehow didn’t end up limping from.

“Bulkhead, what the fuck are you doing?!”

His only response was to start singing in Klingon while he ran towards where the last of the shooting was happening. She started muttering curses under her breath as she finally let the Valravn’s landing gear take on the weight of the craft. Her pistol was finally found right as she started to unbuckle in a mad scramble to get out of the cockpit and onto the floor. She ran off after her errant RIO, only to see him disappear beyond a Reman and some woman in what looked like a fire-red Tac CONN flight suit.

“Don’t shoot! That’s my RIO! Bulkhead, get back here!”

The shooting abruptly ended after the sound of someone’s arm breaking, prompting another roar from the Klingon before he walked back to the group of pilots and lone Reman.

“I got one! The other one just cowered, holding his arm. He will not find glory in Sto’Vo’Kor, I think.”

Lily holstered her pistol and sighed deeply, the free gloved hand moving to palm her face before she remembered the helmet.

“Just … get back to the fighter and put your rifle away before they think you’re the enemy.”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Triage on December 07, 2018, 12:55:49 AM
[ Ens. Cameron Henshaw (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Cameron_Henshaw) | Battle Bridge | Deck 11 | Vector 03 | The Ranger, USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @FollowTomorrow, @chXinya & @Top Hat
[Show/Hide]
Cam watched the events unfolding from the monitors of Mission Ops, ready to relay any orders to Thomas Ravon and the remaining members of the Lone Wolves, with some of them still in sickbay fighting for their lives. Everything she'd talked over with Thomas, and then later T'Less, was still fresh in her mind, and after she had some semblance of rest and a form of breakfast, she was as ready and as alert as she was ever going to be. It had been a joy when they were able to catch up to the Stallion, and now they were going to be a whole ship again, such as they were, due to all the damages sustained, but it was better than being apart.

Although it had only been a few days, the separation felt like months, and Cam rather missed the main bridge of the Helmet.

“Flight Ops to Razor,” said Cam quietly, “we've located the Helmet. Stand by for reintegration to SOM.”

She studied the tactical map and quickly added, “Be ready to scramble, Vector One may require assistance. Updating your tactical feed.”

She was steady, her nerves steeled, and her resolve strong. She cast a quick glance at T'Less, then went back to her task, all fear, doubts and worries cast aside in favour of focus and getting the job done to perfection.

There will be time to mourn later.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: patches on December 07, 2018, 03:04:14 AM
[ PO2 Kino Taer | Vector 2 | Deck 7 | Security Centre | USS Theurgy ] @CanadianVet @trevorvw

Kino did not have enough caffeine in her. She was very sure of this. She had gone to Sickbay for a quick post-action checkup before her shift that way, something requested since she was also post-surgery. The nurse told her off for taking part in the counter-boarding action and reiterated that Taer was to be limited to light or administrative duties for at least a week until the Starfleet medical technologies at work in her body had time to finish the majority of the healing process. The other major limitation was in how much of any kind of drugs she could ingest, which unfortunately included caffeine.

So here she was, helping Eliska Bremmer in the Armory by stripping down the weapons used yesterday and inspecting them for anything that indicated they needed serious repairs or to be recycled. Her ACS training as well as her experience with various types of Starfleet armaments and explosives made the Trill fairly adept at assisting Masters-at-Arms or armory officers in weapons maintenance duties, though any serious work had to be done by the people actually qualified for it. Plus, this was a lot better than the alternative, which was to assist Ensign Colin McArthur with tackling after-action reports. Weapons and her favorite person on the ship in the same room!

Hunted by Starfleet’s finest and we’re still doing all of the paperwork as if we weren’t.

"All hands, brace for combat reintegration and sudden warp acceleration."

The general announcement from the familiar voice of the ship’s acting commander provoked a raised eyebrow and a smirk on Kino’s face. She poked her girlfriend’s arm and said jovially, “Hey, I guess we made it to the Helmet after all!”

The next voice to come over her combadge was nothing less than that of McArthur, sounding just as tired as Kino herself felt. She could have sworn there was an element of annoyance in his voice too, but maybe she was projecting.

“McArthur to Petty Officer Taer, report to the Security operations room. We’ve got incoming.”

“Taer. On my way. Boarders?”

“Nope. Bellerophon survivors. Oh, and Bremmer’s there too right? Tell her to wrap up whatever she’s doing. It’s all hands on deck right now. McArthur out.”

She shared a momentarily look of confusion with Eliska before shrugging and setting down the pistol she had been holding. A little wave and tight smile was her only parting interaction with the human before she jogged out of the Armory and entered the nerve center that Security used to coordinate their officers.

“Taer! Good.” McArthur called as soon as he spotted her. “I need you at that station. We’re starting to get reports from Vector 1 about boarding parties and the first wave of survivors from the Bellerophon are already onboard. You’ll be coordinating response teams with Lieutenant Akoni.”

“Wait, I thought that was your job.”

“It is, but the Bellerophon folks are already being a pain in the ass. I need to be able to focus on them for a few minutes until we have enough officers in place to control them. You’ll be fine.”

Kino sighed in frustration but nodded in an affirmative before taking a seat at the empty chair and computer station that was pointed out for her. It was already pulling up the information she needed with squads checking in and relevant information on the state of the Theurgy, offering a focused window on the parts of the security situation she would be assisting Kai Akoni in coordinating a response for. She tapped her combadge, opening a channel to the Security station on the bridge. Honestly, most of what she would be doing could be done from Akoni’s station on the bridge but she suspected there was a reason McArthur wanted her to do this, aside from keeping her away from combat. Taer was someone that was more familiar with the ship and the crew and vice versa.

“Petty Officer Taer to Lieutenant Akoni. I’m to assist you in coordinating Security response teams for now. What do you need?”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Numen on December 07, 2018, 04:40:08 AM
[ Lt. JG Izar Bila (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Izar_Bila)| Chemistry Lab | Deck 17 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy]
[Show/Hide]
@Auctor Lucan @bridge science officer

Sat in front of the console in the small cubicle that constituted the office of the empty laboratory, Bila chewed his nails. It was an abominable fixation, but the hybrid felt on the verge of a nervous breakdown, so a disastrous manicure seemed the least of the evils if he faced it with a new urgent call to the ship's counselor. He shouldn't be there. He was not supposed to be there. He should be aboard the Cayuga, reporting the status of the investigation he had begun to develop in the away mission to Captain Ziegler and, possibly, to his superior officer, Lt. Vanya. And instead, he was trapped in that ship chased by what remained of the Task Force Archeron. The hybrid had always considered that, despite the trials to which the Prophets had subjected him, he had a fortunate pagh. However, the last week made him think that the ebb and flow of his luck was a kind of sinister game for the inhabitants of the Celestial Temple and that, tired of managing their destiny, they had decided to end their scaly skin with the worst way possible. For the first time in his life, Bila felt real resentment against the Celestials Beings. He was willing to accept his fate, if it was the one they had designated for him. But that the chemist was, in a way, guilty of dragging Benmual and Eboh to the very same end made that guilt gnaw at his gut. It wasn't fair. Not even in Igor's case, no matter how nuisance he was sometimes. It was not fair. He didn't want that weight on his conscience. He should have distributed the vaccines and the ORE's  plans and...

Bila brought his hands to his temples and rubbed them, the tender skin of his shattered tips of his fingers protesting with every circular movement they exercised. It didn't make any sense think about what could have been, for better or for worse he was stuck in the Theurgy and could do little to solve that situation. He had to find something to do, something to entertain his mind. Something useful. Something that let him ignore the guilt. His right hand moved from the vicinity of his forehead ridges to the briefcase that rested on the desk. He had far fewer vaccines in his possession than he had when he arrived at this Starship, the rest now divided into different vectors' labs or aboard the Cayuga. Going back to improving the performance of the modified nanoprobes was tempting, but it didn't help anyone in the current situation. He had muted the warning calls as soon as he entered the lab, but he knew that red alerts flashed on the other side of the door. In the haven of peace that was the chem lab, the only memory of it was the continuous flickering of a red point in one of the corners of his console. There was or there would be soon a battle against the vessel. He had to do something useful.

He got back on his feet and began to walk through the nooks of the laboratory. There were five different work zones, in addition to at least three storage areas and the chemical replicator. It was a good lab, a modern lab, a big lab.He had more means at his disposal than he had in the away mission, or even aboard the Cayuga. The Theurgy wasn't a scientific starship, but it was one of the last prototypes of the Starfleet and it was well equipped. An idea began to form in his mind. "Computer," he said loudly as he retraced his steps to the small office. "Show in the console the feed of the stern long-range sensor array". The computer acknowledged his order with a short chirp, and the screensaver of the console was replaced by a data flow that began to move quickly through the screen. The eyes of the hybrid traveled with speed through the lines of text and graphics on the screen, with the ease given by custom. Without taking his eyes off the screen, he sat back in his chair, resting his elbows on the table, his torso leaning forward. Although he had not been in that kind of position in a combat situation for some time, the bajcardie had made that job for much of the Dominion War, serving as a sensor specialist aboard of the USS Thunderchild. There were things that it was hard to forget. "Computer, message to the bridge science console, text only." He ordered again before starting to dictate. "Liutenant Junior Grade Izar Bila, from the USS Cayuga reporting from the chemistry lab on deck 17, checking the long-range sensors for combat situation, with the arrays attached in this message. Consider my position as a support one for your duties, do not hesitate to give the necessary orders for a fluid cooperation. I'll leave communications open waiting for confirmation or order changes. Computer, send." Without waiting for a response, Bila began refining the sensor detection algorithm, fine-tuning its range. With the Task Force biting at their heels, Tactics would monopolize the close-range sensors, but there was much that could be done with the long-range.He COULD be useful. As he began to type the orientation of the sensors to check one of the data that was still flowing on his screen, he could hear the door hiss opening to his left. He didn't turn around to see who his visitor was, he was too focused to lose track of what he was doing.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Cosmos on December 07, 2018, 05:01:43 AM
[ Lieutenant Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Upper Science Labs | Deck 07 | The Ranger, Vector 2/3 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan , Any others there 
[Show/Hide]

Vanya stepped into the Upper Science labs on the Ranger. In the haste of the final repairs and departure of the Cayuga, she and more than a few other Cayuga Officers and crewmen had been aboard the Ranger when the Cayuga buttoned up and booked it on out of there to intercept the Borg.

Vanya had completed her biological repair in the Sickbay, and as the Cayuga had departed found herself on the reintegrated Theurgy. She found a console and fired off a quick memo to the acting XO of the Theurgy detailing her presence on the ship. Her rank, department, station as a department head on the other ship, qualifications and commendation. She requested temporary duty assignment on Theurgy, as she would surely need all hands for the upcoming engagements.

Some may have scoffed at doing such in a ship that had been met under such strange circumstances but the Romulans were a pragmatic people. It only made sense. If the Theurgy went down, with all hands, she would surely die. If absolutely nothing else it was in her own best and vested interest to do everything in her power to ensure it’s ongoing survival. 

Vanya had seen the holos. She’d been given the briefing on what the Theurgy had uncovered and the foe facing the Federation and indeed the entire Galaxy. It had chilled her, yes, even an android. What she had seen had practically defied science. It bordered on the realm of mysticism. Mysticism was something that made the Android uncomfortable, just in theory. She was a construct. A being built by other beings, but so were babies. Just biological instead of mechanical. The concept of a ‘soul’ was one of many questions she had about herself.

Religion though? The Romulan infiltration bot had no use for it. It usually amused her. Primitive beliefs of primitive people that had not yet the ability to use Science to explain the world and universe around them. Clinging to ‘faith’ in the dark fearful of the unknown. Vanya was Romulan. They were the ones to light the torch and venture out into that darkness, in spite of their fear. To hunt down that which scared them, to put it to the torch and set it ablaze to light the darkness with the corpse of their fallen terror. They no longer cowered and clutched religion as a shield. They forged their – own -- shields along side their swords. 

What she’d seen on that holo. That was.. different. That was… - Evil -. It made goosebumps appear on her biosynthetic flesh and her ‘breath’ caught in her throat for a long moment. Vanya had been a millisecond from turning off her emotion chip when she watched. Still she’d rallied in the end. Refusing to give into the fear that had flowed through her inner workings. She’d narrowed her eyes.

She’d told it “No”. She would not allow the Fear to freeze her mind. A frozen mind would bring total obliteration. She would let that fear pass over her, and through her. And when it was gone, she would look upon its path, and only she would remain.

Some others might quibble. Some might scoff at the strange inexplicable. Not Vanya. Not – this time -. She bought it. She saw what she’d seen. That was no clever trickery by a holonovelist. That was – real -. Real true evil and it meant to destroy them all.

So Vanya meant to – help – as best she was able. She would serve the Federation and it’s core ideals. At this moment, on this day, on this ship, it meant pitching in where ever she could to the absolute best of her abilities.

So she reported to the upper Science Labs aboard The Ranger. She nodded to the Officer in charge and looked to do exactly that. Pitch in until orders from the acting XO could make their way to her, telling her where to go.


OCC: Unsure as to the current acting XO, I think that it's Natalie Stark, so if so, Vanya's memo would go to her. If someone else, it'd be routed there.



Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Absinthe on December 07, 2018, 08:01:27 AM
[ F'Rell of the Twelfth House | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]

Her silver eyes moved quickly over the panel before her, quickly absorbing the information displayed, doing the mathematics in her head. It was a complex formula, constantly changing and shifting and involving more details.

"<If you can handle the intermix processes, and Suq can handle the warp core calibrations, I can focus on the warp field. It would allow us to make a nearly precise jump,>" F'Rell said thoughtfully. It was still a risk, there was no way they could be as precise as the computer handling the jump when the system was a peak performance, but it would be infinitely more stable than trying to do it purely unregulated. "<I am sending you my equations, Suq.>"

She tapped a few keys and sent the current intermix ratios and warp core dynamic ranges to both the science station on the bridge and Suq's station, a moment later she began to code in so they would have access to a live feed of it. All the while she continued to adjust the field dynamics of the core, working to keep it as stable as possible, continuing to disable more of the computer's functions as she took them over. "<I will be giving you control shortly, stand by.>"

---
[ Ensign Ryuan Sel | Sickbay | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]

Sickbay was a disaster. The smell of burnt wall tiles and fried ozone, phaser fire. She wrapped her hand tightly around the grips of her Accipiter and moved. She had no interest in wasting time. She had already taken out one intruder and she didn't know how many there still were to handle. She wasn't 100% sure who was on her side and who the intruders were, so she knew right away this was going to be difficult. It wasn't helped by the fact that sickbay had gone to emergency lighting and there was smoke from some stray phaser fire in the air. She cursed under her breath

"Everyone stay down, Theurgy Security," she called out, hoping anyone dumb enough to stay standing wouldn't be one of hers or someone they just rescued. She tapped a few buttons and set the Accipter to a stun setting, no need to get to rough just yet.

She moved quickly to cover after she had yelled and looked over, when she spotted movement she fired, letting her eyes and hands track the movement as her finger pulled back on the trigger. The beam shot out in a blaze of light, the beam struck someone and they fell back. She couldn't get a good look at them at first, so in a mad sprint, she rushed over to the fallen person to check their vitals.

They weren't in any kind of tactical armor, thus the stun setting had done its job. It was a woman with bright red hair, she didn't look familiar.

"Shit," Sel said and looked around, spotting someone in teal she hurried over to them. "Where the fuck are the intruders?" she asked in a hurried tone.

"They... they told us to get down, shot a few times and left, I think one was at the door," the nurse, a young cute thing Sel wouldn't have minded breaking said.

"Well fuck, who the fuck did I shoot?" Sel asked, suddenly feeling like a complete idiot.

"One of the survivors of the Belliphon," the nurse replied.

Sel cussed again, this was going to be a fun incident report, she just knew it.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: CanadianVet on December 07, 2018, 10:44:16 PM
[ PO2 Eliska Bremmer | Vector 2 | Deck 7 | Security Centre | USS Theurgy ]

The morning, after the events in the Whetstone lounge, had been going halfway decently.  Apparently, they had found someone at least partways competent to look after the armoury while Eliska Bremmer was getting the sleep she desperately needed.  And there was even a nice, concise reports as to which small arms had been checked out, fitted with a new power pack and sent back to the weapons lockers across the whole ship, which ones would need a secondary check, and there was even a list of those that needed maintenance that individual hadn't been qualified to perform.  Well, that was a good start all right.

Sure, they had reintegrated with Vector 3 at some point during the morning, but that had meant very little to Bremmer.  She had an armoury, a workbench, and a pile of work that needed doing.  Armour parts were being replicated for replacement, and she was good and busy. 

And, at least, Kino had managed to weasel out of desk duty to come and give her a hand looking after a lot more hand phasers and rifles that she could deal with in a short amount of time. 

And then, alarms sounded, and a call to prepare for a rough reintegration, and going out to warp.  That meant little to Bremmer and she simply shrugged as she was focused on reassembling a focusing coil assembly, and then, Bremmer started to swear again.  More on-board security action coming up?  There was no way she was ever going to get done.  Even as Kino was heading out of the compartment, Eliska was throwing her jacket back on, and she could not help herself.  "Why the fuck did they even put me in here if I'm being called up to deal with every little thing that happens on this fucking ship?" 

But there was no response as the Nova Kosicean retrieved her service pistol from the rack and affixed the holster to her waist.  Practiced fingers did their trick, checking the weapon's components automatically and bringing it online.  "Bremmer to Security Ops.  You want me to gather up a team, or head somewhere as a single when the time comes?"
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on December 08, 2018, 12:44:24 AM
[ Drauc T'Laus (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Drauc_T%27Laus) | Battle Sickbay Corridor | Deck 07 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]
The turbolift doors parted, and Drauc T'Laus stepped out into the corridor, not having spoken until then since their ascent from Deck 11 was swift. Together with Dyan Cardamone, he had left the secured quarters behind, the deposed Commander locked away, in order to answer the threat of boarders from the USS Dauntless.

"I hear them," he rasped, and turned his eyes down the corridor leading away from Vector 01's sickbay. He picked up on shouting and phaser fire. Evidently, the boarders had left the area behind, heading for the antimatter storage pods on the same deck, for obvious reasons. Drauc did not bother telling Dyan this, for she knew this ship better than he did. "This way."

With the threat evident, Drauc leaned forward and set off at a sprint down the corridor. He was still unarmed, but it mattered naught. The boarders did not know they were coming, and after having been subjected to Dyan's mind since the night before, he longed for the battlefield, small as he expected the engagement to be. Soon enough, after passing stunned officers in the hallway, he could sense their minds ahead... before he rounded the last intersection.

Six of them, moving in the coordinated way that was taught to all officers in Security. The two at the back were supposed to protect their flanks and from pursuers, but they were not doing as they were supposed to. They were looking ahead of the group instead, perhaps because of their highpace, and it was a grave mistake mistake on their part. Drauc seized the opportunity, and caught up to them. He struck the first down with an overhead strike to the neck, seized his rifle before he fell to the floor, and dealt a second strike with the stock of the weapon straight into the ribs of the guard next to him. They were both out for the count by the time Drauc brought the rifle up to his shoulder, and began to fire against the remaining ones.

Meanwhile he did, he made sure he didn't hit Cardamone, for she was right there too.

[ Sera vers Aldnoah (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sera_vers_Aldnoah) | Upper Shuttle Bay | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Vox @Fife @Stegro88 @Firefox013 @patches
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In Vector 01's shuttle bay, Sera had stopped firing her disruptor when a large figure in a grey exosuit appeared out of nowhere, attacking the boarders that Sera held pinned down. Behind the visor of her helmet, she raised her eyebrows at the display, the Klingon tearing into the two officers in hiding. Soon enough, it was over, and she lowered her weapon, looking around at the aftermath.

The Sabine was in need of heavy repairs, a part of the dorsal side missing - the breach through which A'vura had vanished. All Valravn and Gryphon fighters were accounted for, more or less, but the landings were not exactly within the outlines on the deck. Boarders were strewn across  the area, and the Reman - Lorad? - was still there. Sera turned her helmet his way, not sure what to day beyond what lay closest to heart. "Burn you!" she snapped into the mouthpiece of her helmet, until she reached up and unsealed it with a sharp hiss. She tore the helmet off her, and her dark hair came loose in a dark waterfall down the back of her exosuit. "My head aches like it was scorched from inside!"

Then, movement caught her eye, and she turned her head to look out the open bay doors.

Out there, she saw... Oh, it had to be.

"The rest of the ship! Burn me, it's here!" she proclaimed, the disruptor at her side as she stepped up to the opening. "Come on, it's time to leave! What are they all waiting for?"

That was when the doors further back in the bay opened, and a Theurgy security detail arrived, shouting and doing the regular noises when they 'secured' and area. The newly arrived fighter pilots were eyes warily, and one of them walked up to Sera. "Miss Aldnoah, where did you acquire that weapon? Civilians are not allowed to be armed."

"Oh, blast you," said Sera, realising that she had been caught, and reluctantly handed the disruptor to the man. He nodded towards the present Valravn fighters in the bay. "Not only did I give you Starfleeters time to hide, I even brought reinforcements. Is this the flaming thanks I get?"

[ CPO Liam Herrold (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Liam_Herrold) | Fighter Assault Bay | The Ranger | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BZ @Nolan @Doc M. @Triton @Multificionado @Havenborn
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In the Fighter Bay of the Theurgy, Liam Herrold was shouting to the last deck hands still out there on the deck.

"Come on! Get back behind the blast wall! They may get the order to launch any second!" he called, standing next to Ji and Covington. The last remaining Lone Wolves were prepped and ready for combat, and Liam's teams had geared the fighters for another battle, should it be required. There were only a few fighters left, yet they were all geared up. The canopies were open and the Tactical CONN officers that weren't already in the cockpit were climbing into their seats. The only one missing was Meony, who was still in surgery from the last engagement. The Red Alert klaxon made the fighter bay shimmer in crimson, and Liam couldn't help but wonder how many fighters would be left... if they had to launch once more.

"Does anyone know what's out there?" he asked, not having had the time to check any of the control panels that may reveal the scenario in which the Ranger had arrived to. All he knew was that they had dropped out of warp.

As he stood there, Liam favoured one leg to take the load off the knee that had been hurt. He glanced towards Ji, wondering if she was all right, and as it were... perhaps this was a good time to tell Covington, since they had him alone, and he might make less of a scene if they told him in public?

Then again, Liam didn't know Sten well enough, and perhaps that wouldn't matter in the slightest.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Stegro88 on December 08, 2018, 01:55:50 AM
[ Tesserarius Lorad | Upper Shuttle Bay | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy
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There had been no mistaking the exosuit wearing Starfleeter for anything other than a Klingon given his roaring, singing in Klingon and words about the Klingon afterlife. Lorad himself didn’t speak the language but he knew enough to know a Klingon when he saw one. Though he did have to admit to himself that the Klingon’s charge, though reckless, had been effective in neutralising the last of the resistance from the intruders.

Taking a moment, Lorad looked around the bay at everyone present, not knowing who they were, he said nothing, before his eyes fell upon the outline of the Sabine and the damage it had sustained before its landing. Searching for the shuttle’s pilot, Lorad found the red armoured figure staring at him. 

She growled at him as he approached her, before reaching up to remove her helmet and Lorad just stood and admired the way her hair fell free. And then he couldn’t help but chuckle as she complained about her head. Despite her odd way of speaking at times, Lorad found that he could understand her well enough; even over most of the other members of the crew.

His response was cut off by the Câroon’s proclamation about the ship and following her eyes, Lorad could see for himself what looked like the other sections of the ship that he had seen on various LCARS displays throughout the ship, approaching them. It was clearly damaged but obviously still operational given its entrance into an active combat zone.

He turned to speak to his previous night’s company when the doors that he had entered through opened again and a detail of the ship’s security force entered and began to sweep the room. Lorad stood still, his confiscated phaser rifle held by the barrel in his left hand so as to not be threatening as the detail ‘cleared’ the room. 

He said nothing as one of the new arrivals approached and had a short discussion with Sera regarding something about weapons and civilians. Assuming what the man had said and seeing the obvious reluctance with which Sera surrendered her weapon, Lorad guessed what he had said and slowly lifted his own rifle up for the man to take.

“Intruder in corner,” Lorad said as he used his free hand to point towards where he had stashed the unconscious body of the man he had taken down. “Behind crate. Need doctor.”

“Ah, thanks,” the man acknowledged awkwardly before moving off. Lorad turned back towards Sera and looked down at the golden-eyed woman.

“I told you Reman Whiskey put Romulan down,” Lorad said with a chuckle at Sera. “You injured?”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Masorin on December 08, 2018, 07:12:41 AM
Lt JG Salem Martin (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Salem_Martin) | Observatory Lounge | The Ranger ] Attn: @The Ostrich , @Auctor Lucan @Multificionado
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There is a terrible feeling in observing a battle from a lounge. Salem would have rather been on the bridge of a ship, than sitting here at a table looking out into the swirling blue's and the void of space. He would have rather manned a station or taken over guns, his preference to sit at a bridge and provide tactical support would have been another thing. Instead he was standing by drinking a beverage developed on earth in it's early years. The exact formula of Cola was lost to the ages, but the off brand stuff somehow survived, Root beer was not Salem's favorite drink, but as he needed to remain sober he was hoping that the drink would have the same calming effect as it's alcoholic brother.

Instead it was a gross, slightly fizzy drink made from ginger root... Every sip made him gag slightly, and yet at the same time he hadn't put down the cup, in fact he was considering a refill.

The loungue provided him with the front view of the ship, but without a station he was cut out from the sensor readings or the view screens magnification. Or the bridges holographic table that could have shown him a full tactical layout as well as what enemies they were up against. Instead he was forced to squint his eyes as they dropped out of the rushed blue hues of a warp trail, and into the murky horrible blue of the regular nebula. Ships could be seen, but without the visual magnification he was attempting to see things litterally miles away, leaving them dwarfed to his perspective.

It became clear why the Federation never bothered with paint jobs, he could barely tell the class of ships out in the nebula. The Helmet was much closer as they had of course dropped out of warp to get close to it, and he was releaved to see that piece of the ship still intact for the most part.

He sat back in the lounge sinking into a his part of the sofa. He put his feet up, and took another swig of the drink keeping it in his mouth for a moment to try and analyse the taste.

He took this moment of quiet before the fire started, before the chaos to think. Had he gone into this with both eyes open? There was no going back, he had left the Cayuga and it's crew behind. He had seen what he had liked of the Theurgy crew, and he trusted his sister, but his mind kept wondering to all of those other ships. To them the Theurgy was a crew of traitors, a crew of war criminals. He was a decorated officer, on the way to make full lieutenant. In a few more years of service he could have had a ship of his own.

Had he been prepared to go all of the way with this Theurgy crew?

What was the end game?

Out there was admiral Sankolov. Salem had met the man once, he had been the one to pin the medal on his chest when Martin had shown up alive at the medal ceremony on starbase alpha. The admiral had said that getting himself and his men out of that prison camp alive had shown dedication, bravery against all odds, and service befitting the highest order of Starfleet.

All words, and even back then Salem hadn't wanted to hear them. Salem still kept the medal, it was in his bag next to him as he hadn't been assigned a room to sleep in yet, but he didn't feel any spark of pride when he looked at the thing. The Christopher Pike medal of Honor, or as he called it, I escaped from a living hell hole and all I got was this piece of metal.

Yet the colonist had been a member of Starfleet now longer than when he had been a civilian. Stepping out of the rulebook that he had drilled into him should have been a lot harder than it was. 'Blood is thicker than water'

Vivian would have done the same thing in his shoes.

"It is one thing to see videos or a simulation, to know what happens when a torpedo hits the hull of those ships, it is another to press those buttons. If I am to work this ship, if I am to fire those weapons for them then I knew that meant having to go up against the Federation. To unleash weapons of mass destruction upon members of the Federation and Starfleet. To hit ships that could very well have civilian populations aboard. No going into this I need to be ready to go all the way." He took another drink, finishing his cup, and after a few moments longer he stood up, and went to get a refill.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Masorin on December 08, 2018, 08:51:03 PM
PO2 Sithick (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sithick) | Weapons Storage Bay | The Ranger ] attn: @Auctor Lucan , @chXinya , @CanadianVet  @The Ostrich
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The weapons storage bay had been turned into a mock Lab. SIthick had been working here for days and so he had gotten permission to modify the environment as he worked. The room was now humid, the ground was wet slightly and the light was more intensive. He had in essence turned the weapons storage bay into a small atrium so that his body didn't feel the need to dry up or itch during the long hours that he had been working on his new pet project.

Still the room was cramped. Partly because of the Asurian technology that he had stowed away in the room.  the generators that were littered through the room. He had been trying to get the gravity cannon he had cut out to work from the stolen saucer to work ever since he had started the project when the ship had broken into pieces and they first captured the ship.

The problem came down to a power source. The gravity cannon simply would not plug into any known Federation battery. It was like trying to plug alternating current into direct current and the Gorn had been shocked and burned several times for his efforts. Thankfully his scales were more or less burn proof, but he had made sure to stick a 'danger work in progress' Sign on the door.

The weapon wasn't the only thing he had been working on. Whenever he had felt too overwhelmed by one problem he had shifted to the other. The shields of the Theurgy. The gravity weapons of the Savi had pushed right through the shield, and ripped parts of the hull off. He had been working on better modulations that would harden the shields against such attacks.

All focus was on the Savi & Asurian gravity weapons. Simply put they were new more interesting puzzles, and he needed them to work by the time they ran into the Savi the second time around. They had taken someone important to him, and he couldn't allow himself to rest until Lahkesis was back safe. Vivian was also gone, and he missed her dearly but she wasn't in as much danger. She was just filling her job as the chief of a department on the helmet. He was looking forward to reuniting with her, but the work came first.

"engineer work log, attempt number 39, I has finally been able to measure the energy output for the gravity weapon. I has been working on a converter, one I had to build from scratch." The Gorn huffed, and scratched at the back of his neck. "I have included schematics in the working log before this one, and have put to use several portable generators . This room is now a very large Fire hazard... I have there for moved the explosives outside of the weapons storage area. I will speak with captain, and chief Bob, request the creation of a lab for future engineering projects."

"I also have set up a force field and extra cooling... and replicated a fire extinguisher." He Lowered some goggles over his eyes, the broad strap required to reach both his eyes was of his own practical design. He was also wearing a lab coat he had replicated that was flame resistant as well. Just because he was supposed to be fire proof didn't mean he was going to be reckless with his body.

"I initiate the test." He said pushing the button on his pad, and slowly the generators came to life power surged, and there was a very unfamiliar hum of electricity through the room, a whine that slowly died down, as the gun he had been trying to turn on came to life.

"It's alive! It's alive!"
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Nolan on December 08, 2018, 10:05:40 PM
[ Lt Cmdr Thomas Ravon | Fighter Assault Bay | The Ranger | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Havenborn @Multificionado @Triton @BZ @Auctor Lucan @Doc M. @Triage 

The crimson red flashes that colored the fighter bay in tune with the claxon were the scene that Thomas found himself in as he walked up to his fighter. The flashes of the red alert lights reflecting off his flight suit as he put his helmet on to cover up his face. The HUD already initializing as he climbed onto Kestrel, the essential repairs being made so he could fire his main weapons and torpedoes once more. Taking his seat he fired up the systems, ready to fly out at the order from the bridge. It didn't take long before the familiar voice of Henshaw greeted him.

"Flight Ops to Razor, we've located the Helmet. Stand by for reintegration to SOM."
"Be ready to scramble, Vector One may require assistance. Updating your tactical feed."


He smiled at hearing her voice and he replied "Roger that Flight Ops. Ready to engage when ordered. Will inform you when all fighters are ready for deployment."

Looking around he looked at his remaining squadron, glancing over at Daniel's, Evelyn's, Tessa's and Alessia's fighter. They were what was left of the remaining squadron and they'd have to do for that last line of defense if things turned sour. He opened up the squadron channel and his voice resounded through the channel "Fighters, sound off when ready. No launch yet, prepare fighters to fly out. Ready on my mark." he spoke before he closed the canopy and looked at the last deck hands run off to clear the hangar for eventual launch.

While waiting Thomas felt somewhat hopeful that reintegration would happen soon enough. That the ship would finally be whole again and that they could move on to the next thread as a front. He felt more at ease to know that if they faced the Borg it would be so as a collective and the full prowess of the Theurgy, instead of just Ranger or Sword doing the task on their own. His eyes narrowed as he looked around once more and looked at the empty fighter of Krystal. He hoped the surgery had gone well, he still hadn't heard anything back from the medical staff yet.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Brutus on December 08, 2018, 11:25:10 PM
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: 
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A beam of nadion particles ripped past Faye's head, which a moment before had been bent over her console as she tried to focus on her job.

At the time, the telepath had been driven to keep the new arrivals calm. She had a duty to minimize further casualties of the poor crew of the Bellerophon as they were beamed away from the broken form of their ship. So Faye couldn't allow herself to be distracted by the guilt and rage pouring off of Leon Marquez, or the worry that ran through Vivian Martin. Nor could she wallow in the second guesses ripping across the bridge, nor even the growing confidence that was Lt.Cmdr. DeWitts surety in her choice to evoke General Order 9. In truth, the most prevailing feelings were of fear - fear from her crew, and the new arrivals, laying in the air like a haze.

Until the boarders had arrived.

In that moment, the sensation of even more minds, right behind her, was overpowering - their rage. This was not how Starfleet officers were supposed to react. They were to be calm even in the heat of battle. To push past such baser emotions. Their hatred for the crew of the Theurgy burned bright, and was more than enough to tear Faye away from her work, slamming down on her like the proverbial ton of bricks her human mother would often refer to. The betazoid spun and saw a phaser coming up - screamed at the fury she felt - and dove. The beam lanced through the air where she had been and splashed against the far wall paneling that ran along from the edge of her console out towards the view screen, sending a shower of sparks into the air but otherwise harmlessly wasted.

She scrambled around the console, putting it between her and the intruders. Not her finest moment, not by far, but as another beam glanced off her controls, Faye wasn't about worry over her less than brave reactions. She was a diplomat, not a fighter (even if her previous posting had required a bit of violence when working with Klingons).  Before the intruder could get a better bead on the Betazoid, one of the Theurgy 's guards took care of the issue. And just like that, as fast as the assault on the bridge had started, it was over.

Disheveled, Ens. Eloi-Danvers hauled herself to her feet and swung back around to her station. Standing - her chair gone in the fray - she routed controls away from one of the shattered panels to a different screen. Nothing was so far gone that she couldn't bypass it. Comms would work, internal and external. Even the next glancing blow did nothing to deter the girl, once she was no longer being directly shot at from intruders radiating such all encompassing anger. 

Faye had it all working just in time to hear Dewitt's shocked voice trail off.. Those coal dark eyes darted up to the view screen where he mouth popped open in utter shock. It was the rest of her ship - The Ranger as the two stardrive vectors were called when they were joined together without the helmet. Her fingers twitched toward the comm buttons. She had a sudden, burning need to know. But duty won desire over, and she didn't open that channel, not until Dewitt ordered them to do so.

Orders were relayed, and Faye could feel, all around them, as the crew lept to action to get the Helmet reintegrated with the rest of the ship - and cede command. She could almost feel the shock coming from the other vessel, but the Betazoid's telepathic powers had never really allowed her to sense that far. Over an open comm...sometime. But not now.

Besides which, she was far too preoccupied with one burning question. Was Riley alive over there?

[ Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Battle Bridge | Deck 11 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy]Attn: ALL
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They arrived into chaos. Sitting to the side of Cinn, watching the large man issue orders to the crew, Natalie almost felt like a loose end. Nator was at Ops, a station that Natalie was most familiar with. Wenn Cinn was in command - in her chair, on her bridge. The Stallion'sbe bridge took over when the two vectors had reintegrated. It was in far better shape than the Sword's had been. So now Natalie sat to the left of where she had before. She was...first officer. So she tried to act like Carrigan Trent would, for Captain Ives, and take care of the orders Cpt. Wenn wasn't. Splitting the duties, ensuring the large Bajoran could focus on what needed to be focused on.

Even if part of her wished she were the one in the center seat. Her seat

With everything going on in the past few days, Nat, this is the last thing you need to be thinking about now. There in front of her, the Bellerophon lay burning and broken in space. The Dauntless had just lashed out at the Helmet and the console seated between hers and the Captains chair, with its tactical display, showed more Starfleet vessels inbound.

Of course, then she heard that Trent had been relieved and shock flashed across her face.

"What the hell happened on that ship?" She asked Cinn as the channel was closed and he'd issued the orders. Shaking her head she swept her hair back. She had been preparing herself to resume the roll of OPS Chief, with either Wenn or Dewitt taking over the position of overall XO. Thats out the window.

She was about to push up out of her seat, when she noticed a note transfered over to her. In the rush of things, many crew from the Cayuga had been left aboard the Ranger. Including, it seemed the ships chief science officer, lookoing for something to do. She scowled and sent it over to Lt. Commander Vael Kaeris, the current Science Chief, though in truth, Vivian Martin would take back over upon integration. Typing out a fast message, she ordered Lt. Vanya to loop in with Lt. Cmdr Kaeris, but suggested that she focus on enhancing the sensors in this soup, and keeping an eye out for any Borg signatures. The last thing they needed was a transwarp aperture opening up in front of them with Task force Archeron bearing down on them.

Ahead of them, the shields began to envelope the Helmet. She tapped a few buttons on the console between her and Wenn, then nodded to the Captain. The survivors had been beamed away from the broken ship. It was time for the next step, before the Dauntless could do any more damage to the Helmet. Before the next wave from the Task Force arrived.

Natalie stood up, tugged on her jacket and walked over to Nator at Ops, keeping her pace slow and steady, pushing aside her thoughts and worries over what had happened on the other ship, what would happen next. "Steady as she goes, Mr. Nator," she said quietly, watching over the Hermat's shoulder. She had not missed the problematic officer while she had been on the Stallion, yet at the same time, she was glad to see s/he had survived all the same. Nator was an original member of her crew, and thought Natalie had grown (in a very short amount of time) to consider those survivors of the Harbinger and Resolve as their crew as well (she was still coming to terms with the fact that they'd picked up strays from two more ships, though some might be returned to the Cayuga), she held a special place in her heart for those that had been with her from the beginning.

Even if they pissed her off, occasionally.

Natalie reached out and opened an intership channel, keeping her hands well clear of the controls that Nator would need for what came next, working in conjunction with helm. "All hands," she said calmly. "We are beginning integration process."
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Cosmos on December 09, 2018, 01:37:13 AM
[ Lieutenant Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Upper Science Labs | Deck 07 | The Ranger, Vector 2/3 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @steelphoenix

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Vanya got the reply from the XO and nodded. Her fingers flew over the console and sent the notice to Lt. Cmdr Kaeris. Informing the Bactrican, of her being on board, willing to assist as needed, and also that she was moving to assist in amplified sensor resolution, and scanning the local area.

Fingers flicker deftly over the console and her dark green eyes flicker as screens filled with the proper equations and formula to enhance the Ranger’s sensors. Once that was done she double checked with Ops to ensure she was not drawing needed resources from that which were allocated elsewhere. It would truly be bad for everyone if the new scans some how left shields, or weapon systems lacking at a critical moment.  

Once she had conformation from Ops she nodded and initiated the advanced and fine tuned sensor scans. The array lit up around the ship and her fingers tapped the screen. Singling out life signs that may had fallen OUT of the ship split in half that were rapidly fading and feeding them to the proper channel.

She tapped her Comm Badge. “Lieutenant Vanya to Transporter room. Priority transport solutions coming your way, preservation of life protocol”

Vanya fed the transporter chief targeting solutions based on her detailed scans and nodded then imput the secondary effect, reaching out with the Ranger’s eyes, ears and even her nose looking for _ Anything _ that might reek of the Borg.

When the scans were initiated, she fed them up to the bridge. Tapping her Comm Badge again.   “Lieutenant Vanya to Commander Kaeris. Enhanced sensor resolution fed to your console now commander. Hope it helps and will continue to monitor from down here as well.” 
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Argyros on December 09, 2018, 02:15:14 AM
[ Lt. JG Derik Veradin | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All
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Veridan released the boarder, reaching behind him wildly as the Dauntless’ Phasers lanced through their hull. He fell to one knee, supporting himself with his chair as the ship stopped rocking. His prisoner had fallen to the floor, screaming from the agonizing pain of a knife in his kidney being jostled about. A mere moment after he landed, he moved no more. Derik stubbled the half step to him, shoving his fingers between the edge of the helmet and his bodysuit to get to the artery. The pulse was weak but still beating. Unconscious then. Probably pain induced more than blood loss. Satisfied he wouldn’t die in the next thirty seconds, the trill returned to his station, stabilizing, and maneuvering the Helmet to leave the debris field.

A second lance ripped through the space their vector would’ve occupied, missing the hull by a few meters. The viewscreen and holoprojector lit up with new contacts. Derik’s breath seized. A Glimmer of Hope. A Miracle made Manifest. The Ranger. The rest of their ship. He heard Dewiit behind him shouting orders and ceding command after they escaped. What the hell? No time to ponder. Crisis now, philosophical debate later.

“Everybody brace! If we’re going to link up, I have to get us out of the debris field. We’re about to lose what little cover we had!”

The vector’s position inched, painfully so, on thrusters. Without primary propulsion, each of the assemblies were operating far to hard. His consoles had warning lights all over it. The sound of debris bouncing off the hull reverberated through the bridge, each one making Veradin wince. Sorry Thea. Please just hold on a little longer. They cleared the field just in time for the Ranger to swoop in. Shields extended, enveloping the Helmet in a desperately needed cocoon. Cover, true cover, finally. Derik released the breath he hadn’t realize he’d been holding.

Whatever divine being is looking out for us, Thank you. One more good hit and we wouldn’t be reintegrating at all.

“Standby. Aligning for combat reintegration.”

The Trill tapped the thruster controls again, trying to get them into position. New warning lights flared on his console. The Helmet rocked and their viewscreen began listing to port. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Derik checked the status displays. Schematics flashed up of the starboard side thrusters and surrounding hull. Their symbols flared red as data poured in. EPS lines had fractured from damage and under the prolonged stress of constant use. Power was no longer reaching them and the explosion had sent them into a heavy port leaning spin. With only port thrusters available, the vector couldn’t correct itself. If he fired them un-aided, the ship would instead just go into a starboard spin. He also ran the risk of secondary explosions from more EPS conduits exploding.

Fuck. Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.

“Veradin to the Ranger,” The CONN officer hailed. There was no time to go through the proper chain of command. The ships were far too close for that. “Primary AND secondary starboard thruster assemblies have blown. I can’t adjust for the spin. Could use some help over here guys. If you can give me 2 second bursts spaced 1 second apart from your tractor emitters along our starboard ventral hull, I can bring us back into alignment. Do not exceed 35 percent power however. Our hull is barely holding on as it is.”

Another explosion on the starboard side. Displays indicated additional EPS conduits had failed, further inward. Oh no… They were chaining towards the core. If they didn’t hook up to the main body soon so Derik could shut down the thrusters, the Helmet would explode from a chain reaction.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: steelphoenix on December 09, 2018, 10:12:22 AM
[ Lt. Cmdr. Vael Kaeris | Battle Bridge | Deck 11 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Brutus @Cosmos @Triage @Top Hat @FollowTomorrow

This ship was cursed. It was the only logical conclusion, as illogical as it seemed.  All things considered, given its component pieces, that truth had to be three fold.  What other vessel in the course of mere days could run afoul of the Borg, the Klingons, the Asurians, the here-to-fore unknown Vigilants of Sa, and Taskforce Archeron -- all within the relatively narrow confines of the Azure Nebula?  If he spent too long calculating the odds, it would likely detract him from the chaos of the moment -- chaos he was now expected to bring some order to for the sake of the vessel's command.

He had sincere reservations at confronting other Starfleet vessels.  Given the conditions by which his crewmates had been drawn aboard the ship in the first place, they could reasonably claim to have been captured, lured by false pretense, but the circumstances seemed wholly unlike any he would otherwise have expected from an encounter between Federation vessels, even those at odds.  It was as he had predicted to the rest of his crewmates from the Endeavour during their session together that morning -- their options had been effectively sealed, their ability to influence the outcome of this engagement limited solely to bad choices.  Assist the traitors to the Federation -- whether true or not -- and become traitors themselves, or through inaction or even sabotage, condemn the vessel to destruction and ensure their own deaths in the process.

It was this dilemma that had preoccupied the back of his mind since he'd sat at the station to which he'd been assigned.  But now, like the passing calculation into the odds of their being cursed, the odds of their being destroyed by their fellow comrades in arms, he had to set all such lingering thoughts aside.

"Lieutenant Vanya to Commander Kaeris. Enhanced sensor resolution fed to your console now commander. Hope it helps and will continue to monitor from down here as well."

He was unfamiliar with the voice, although under the circumstance, he could only claim ready familiarity with a scant handful of people on the ship.  A quick glance at a communique from the current second-in-command of the partially reintegrated Theurgy advised him that this was a fell science chief, lately of the Cayuga, now as much a hostage of circumstance as he.   Preceding that, however, had been another communication-- another member of the Cayuga crew.  There was some comfort in knowing that science vessels seemed to operate with an organic efficiency unlike other ships, their crew members thinking along common lines, anticipating needs and moving to solve problems before even needing to be asked.  There was a systemic simplicity to it, almost beautiful to a point.   "I am receiving now.  Thank you, lieutenant.  Please convey my appreciation to Lt. Bila as well," he replied, reviewing the enhanced feed, transferring the appropriate data to CONN, Tactical and Navigation.  If they were to reconnect with the last of their vectors in the midst of a firefight, they would need to ensure the clearest vision possible and that clear vision told them that the top third of their ship was suddenly surging out of alignment.

"Veradin to the Ranger. Primary AND secondary starboard thruster assemblies have blown. I can't adjust for the spin. Could use some help over here guys. If you can give me 2 second bursts spaced 1 second apart from your tractor emitters along our starboard ventral hull, I can bring us back into alignment. Do not exceed 35 percent power however. Our hull is barely holding on as it is."

Vael's lips tightened as he activated the tractor beam, making certain to limit the output so as not to over-stress the already weakened structural integrity of the listing vector, hoping it would prove sufficient to stabilize the Helmet's erratic motions long enough to survive this disaster.

"I would not recommend prolonging reintegration.  The Helmet is facing a cascading power failure that will leave them incapable of joining up," he reported, casting a glance towards the Bajoran in the command chair.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: BZ on December 09, 2018, 02:08:29 PM
[Zyrao Natauna | This Ship is a Mess | Any Klingon Vessels Around? | Re-Integration Eminent]

The fight was over.

Zyrao had enjoyed the fight.  The blood racing, her heart pumping, the enjoyment of movements.  She enjoyed the strategy of attacking and then attacking in the dark just soothed her very nature; the one that told her to challenge herself constantly.  She strove for the complicated and pushing herself out of the boundaries that she was comfortable with.  Fighting in the darkness leveled the playing field to the point that it could, technically, be anyones game.  Today she had won the game, not that she had doubted herself in the least.  One of the things that Zyrao had found out in her long live was the fact that you had to believe in yourself more than you believed it wouldn't happen at all.  Believing you would succeed was the key to success to begin with.  Having the knowledge on how to do that allowed it to be easier.

Suddenly there was a ship.

Zyrao looked at the feeds on the holotable that spun in front of her now that the battle had passed.  Forcing her heart to calm down as she tried to pull her brain back to anti-ass kickin' mode.  She was about to scan the ship and figure out what was going to be necessary to take down the new threat when someone mentioned it was the rest of their ship.

Well that's conventient.

Zyrao ran a hand through her short dark hair.  Now I need a stiff drink, a hot bath, and some company. she thought to herself for a moment allowing herself a second to just try to calm down.  She was so ready for them to be out of danger and she could only imagine that they felt the same as well.  More so, as they had been fighting and running long before she got there.  Everyone prepared for the ships to come back together, Zyrao was interested in the dynamic shift that was about to occur.

Dewitt further surprised her by the fact that Dewitt was ceding command to the next available command officer.  Natauna found herself respecting the woman severely for such a thing.  She had taken over the Bridge in a move because she felt it was necessary to pull Trent from the bridge.  Now, she was allowing someone else to take that seat which further proved it was not a power move even from the beginning.  It was something she had done for the ship because it had needed to be done.  It had needed to be done for the safety of the ship.

“Lets get back together and get out of this death trap.” Natauna said more to herself than anyone.


GM Note: Ji section removed for revision since there are no new fighters entering the Fighter Assault Bay, nor the Sabine, since they are on Vector 01 and the Upper Shuttle Bay.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Top Hat on December 09, 2018, 02:12:18 PM
[ Cmdr Ranaan Ducote | Battle Bridge | Deck 11 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ]

It was odd, again, to be afforded a bird's eye view of events and have no ability to affect them - even assuming he could work around his ongoing moral quandary on whether he should. Ducote lurked by one of the multipurpose displays, watching the updates and scan returns roll in. The scene as they warped in was... sobering. He paled as he saw the registry of the wrecked Intrepid-class. He tried not to watch the bodies tumble in the vacuum.

Santa Maria. What have they done?

He had a friend on the Bellerophon. Going back to his Academy days (the first time round). One of her Security officers who had been serving on that ship since Admiral Ross took command during the Dominion War; last he'd heard, she'd made lieutenant commander. Vufao Jav. Thinking about it, that irascible Tellarite was probably the reason Blue's foul mouth washed right over him. Even she didn't hold a candle to Jav in that regard.

The hybrid forced his hand back down to rest on the console, away from his combadge, as he fought against habit to call down and ask someone to keep an eye out. This wasn't his ship.

The Dauntless seemed intent on exacting revenge from the first Vector, that component of the Theurgy having taken a savage beating; venting atmosphere of its own. The mood on the bridge was souring by the second, but he couldn't immediately tell if it was because of the Bellerophon or the Helmet. At least they were taking on survivors... and he did his level best to ignore the cynical voice in his head that they were only doing it for the sake of having meatshields aboard when the rest of the task force arrived.

He could only think back to his conversation with Captain Ziegler after the meeting on Vector 02 a short while ago. Before she'd gone ahead to try and close the apertures prior to the Borg arriving. A task he'd nearly joined her for, but for the fact there were still some of his people from the Niger in sickbay who he could not abandon.

"Captain," he called, turning towards the centre seats. "Permission to assist Security in-" corralling? "-liasing with the Bellerophon survivors." He'd be more use down there than up here, he figured, long habit making him forget that the bridge they currently occupied was ensconced safely amidships rather than proud of the dorsal hull as usual.

[ Lt JG Nator 159 | Battle Bridge | Deck 11 | The Ranger ] attn: @Brutus @Auctor Lucan @Argyros

"Steady as she goes, Mister Nator."

The voice made hir startle in hir seat, though it was at least familiar. Stark? the scent fit too, mostly, though glancing back over hir shoulder was useless. S/he merely went back to running through hir checklists to make the process as swift as possible, while trying to ignore the ETA countdown to the arrival of the rest of Task Force Archeron.

"Our hull breach on the dorsal hull of the Sword might be problematic, sir... but at least the ventral surfaces of the Helmet are relatively undamaged. And-" s/he paused, interrogating the sudden realisation as it occurred to hir, "- I'm glad you made it, Commander."

Rather than prolong the Hermat's discomfort, Stark instead opened a PA channel. "All hands. We are beginning integration process."

As if on cue, the Helmet hailed them. [Veradin to the Ranger. Primary AND secondary starboard thruster assemblies have blown. I can't adjust for the spin. Could use some help over here, guys. If you can give me 2 second bursts spaced 1 second apart from your tractor emitters along our starboard ventral hull, I can bring us back into alignment. Do not exceed 35 percent power however. Our hull is barely holding on as it is.]

"Fffff-" Nator hissed, hands putting on an extra burst of speed over the console as s/he ran verifying scans and powered up the relevant emitters. Grief. Fucking dumbass TFA bullshit we are trying to save them why can't they just- The Endeavour scientist beat hir to the punch of activating the tractors. Nator hailed the inbound Vector instead. "Ranger Ops to Helmet Helm - we have you."

Now all they had to do was not allow their engines to chain away and hulk the Vector and they might even be able to warp away from here. Who knew? Anything was possible.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: fiendfall on December 09, 2018, 04:47:40 PM
[ PO1 Morgan Song | Main Engineering | Deck 06 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @FollowTomorrow @Auctor Lucan @Absinthe @Argyros

Morgan had only looked up briefly when the Lieutenant had brought up the cry of ‘Boarders!’; just long enough to assess the situation. Several armed hostiles, and Suq squaring up against them with a hyperspanner. The Lieutenant would die without help, but Morgan had never been a combatant. He would be little more than a body to throw at them, and better only one person die foolhardily than two.

He would feel bad about this later, but for now, he turned back to his work.

The system was no longer in danger of critically overheating, and the plasma leak was mostly contained to a single area, but that wasn’t to say anything was stable. The whole thing was teetering on the edge of system-wide failure, and all it would need was a well-placed torpedo or an unlucky malfunction to send them right over the edge into overload.

But they could still stop that.

He worked quickly, rerouting plasma flow from the remaining leakages, all the while keeping half an eye on the developing situation with the boarders. He’d be no use if they caught him unawares. Splitting his concentration was unfortunate but necessary given the circumstances.

And then the explosions started.

The ship shuddered, throwing Morgan off-balance; he caught himself just as the warning sirens screeched in awakening, Engineering now a strobe-lit, cacophonous mess of flames and steam and blaster fire. Everything blurred, the ship lurching and spluttering even as another explosion rocked through the Vector. The hasty first-aid Morgan had been doing on the EPS lines had been too little too late, and worse, had left some systems under-powered. And now they were in a tailspin. He was going to die here.

Snap out of it. You’ve got work to do.

He wasn’t sure if the thought belonged to him or Nuran, but it didn’t much matter. It was right. You’re only beaten when you give up. They still had a chance, and even if they didn’t — miracles can happen. He’d seen them.

A patient’s life can be saved by removing the afflicted limb. Time for some triage.

He could still stem the flow of the chain reaction to hold back the tidal wave of overloads, reroute what power he could from the affected systems and cut what he couldn’t, decouple the lines at the next junction along to contain it as best he could, and maybe, maybe, do just enough to stay afloat.

He got to work.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: FollowTomorrow on December 09, 2018, 08:36:39 PM
[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Main Engineering | The Floor | Vector 01 ]

Dodge and weave, dodge and weave! Suq was very good at being too quick to hit, but the phaser shots fired at him made his nerves fry, even if they never hit his body.

He hadn’t heard anything about combat re-integration. He had no time to stop his wild brawling and check a console or his PADD, and nobody had told him. Further, he knew nothing about the current state of the EPS conduits. There were boarders, so he could not stop and give them a check. While Suq was battling, he could only pray that his fellow engineers knew to keep up the work. The ship was simply too fragile to ignore her for a couple of boarders.

He lunged at a border, a woman, her face was round and pretty and Suq hated what he was doing when he saw her. She hadn’t seen him come from the side, and he swang that hyperspanner right onto her face. Down and out she was.

But then he felt a burning sensation on his side, over his ribs and lungs, and he felt numbness spreading from there to the rest of his body so quickly that it was total before he even hit the ground again. All he heard was ‘all hands’, and after that, nothing, because his ears were full of ringing. With spotty vision, he saw a much larger man—Vulcan, maybe? He couldn’t tell-- looming over him with a phaser. He must’ve just graze the Efrosian, because he was still conscious, but not able to do more than twitch.

Then the entire world rocked. Rocked wasn’t even the right word, rocking is what one does to a child to ease them to sleep. This was like violent flinging about. Suq had taken so much from the inertial dampeners earlier that he was really starting to feel the hits from the ship, and so were the boarders.

They went flying backwards, and Suq rolled onto his side, grunting and panting as he tried to force his numbed muscles to breathe. F’rell spoke, something about equations. That’s right, going to warp. They could get out of here!

He was struggling to his feet though. His head was spinning. A security officer blocked him from the boarders—or maybe there were three officers? He couldn’t count because they all kept moving. No matter. He had to get to the console. They had to get to warp. He couldn’t get up off his knees though, they just kept shaking.


[ PO Dyan Cardamone\Sar-unga Neleo | Battle Sickbay Corridor | Deck 07 | Vector 01 ]

Drauc heard them, so did Dyan. Her blood was already screaming for murder long before they even got in the turbolift. She knew where they would be heading. They would not get there.

She ran, her tail whipping about wildly as she took a corner at full speed. It balanced her so she did not fall. She was not telepathic, but she saw Drauc’s body, his movements telling her subconsciously where he would be going. She moved to compliment him, lunging at those in the front with the sort of power better expected out of a leopard than a bipedal such as herself. Phaser first rather than blade, she ran the mouth of her gun right up against someone’s gut and fired. It would hurt for a long time after. She span around and fired at the rest, cackling wildly, her mind beginning to experience the endorphin rush of being the superior warrior once more.

That is until they ran out of opponents to battle against. This wasn’t an endless horde of opponents, like on the holodeck, after all.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Multificionado on December 10, 2018, 03:32:54 AM
[Ensign Six | Transporter Room Three/Adjacent Corridors | Deck 12 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triage @Triton @Masorin @Numen @Fife @Griff @CanadianVet @chXinya @Top Hat @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]


Six had been in practice at the shooting range in the Security Center. She frankly had been enjoying it. Her ocular implant had helped her with her coordination and targeting, but in any case, she didn't want to show she was the best shot on the Theurgy. In fact, her marksmanship she could regard as average, and more things held her interest than target practice. However, it was a talent helped about by her Borg implants that she could make use of, especially if it came time for a combat situation.

When Lieutenant Kingston called her up, she was expecting that he had set up a simulation in the holodeck, but it wasn't the case.

[We're coming up on Vector One, Ensign. We're beaming aboard survivors from a ship the Helmet engaged, but we want Security on hand. Report to Transporter Room Three.]

"On my way, sir," said Six.

As it transpired, she arrived just in time. The first group of survivors had arrived, and there was an instant mob mentality. To say everybody was apprehensive at being taken aboard a ship of "traitors" seemed to be an understatement. The mob was lividly bloodthirsty, intent on breaking their way out, with Theurgy's security officers trying to hold them back.

One had broken past the Security detail and would've made a break for freedom...if Six wasn't in his path. Six crouched down and made a tripping sweep with an extended leg, tripping up the escaping survivor.

Rather than tumbling down, however, the man merely rolled and turned right back at Six. He took the ex-drone in as she made a martial art stance, and his expression contorted into an expression of loathing.

"So. A drone. What a fitting addition for these bunch of traitors."

Six's brow furrowed. Asian, obviously, what surprised her was his age - he had to have been just as old as she was, maybe a year younger - and what unnerved her even more was his eyes. How could such a gentle-looking young man have such a feral flames in his eyes?

"I don't know what Starfleet's been telling you about us," said Six, "but rest assured, we're not so cold as to leave you in the cold heart of space."

"Screw you," came the retort. "The rest of Task Force Archeron will be on your keisters in seconds. Even without the Bellopheron, they'll have your heads. All of you. Even if the other half's gone. And we won't be coming quietly."

Six took in the woman's words. Task Force Archeron? But her befuddlement gave the man an opportunity to strike with a kick.

Luckily, Six saw it coming and ducked out of the way.

The fellow's got moves, that's for sure. But he certainly wasn't going to expect some Tsunkatse.

It had been a while since she practiced Tsunkatse, but she knew it well enough so that she can execute them when the occasion called for. And it seemed the right moment.

Taking a Tsunkatse stance, Six parried, blocked, and struck wherever she could. The enhancements of her Borg implants helped to take the martial artist down a notch. Six held her ground and delivered a non-fatal finishing blow. He won't be escaping anytime soon.

Six looked up at the rabble, which seemed to be rooted at the spot, having seen their fellow survivor taken down by a Borg Drone. Her Security colleagues looked equally surprised.

"Now, then,” said Six with a hardened tone, “I hope you will come quietly. Or else next time, I'm stunning what butt who tries break away. And I assure you this: I. Don't. Miss."

She tapped the phaser holstered at her hip to drive the point home.

That technically wasn't true, given her marksmanship was average, but hopefully it would make the rabble think twice before they try a similar stunt. Considering they saw their colleague's butt get handed to her by an ex-drone, they'd be more cooperative at those words.

Seeing the expressions of apprehension in their faces, Six felt glad that she wasn't on Vector Two when they picked up survivors from the Endeavour. She had been thinking that when she heard about the circumstances when they were picked up, and that they were attacked by the Borg. It probably wouldn't have helped feel reassured if there had been an ex-drone present among the security detail.

She dragged her defeated opponent up, like the good sport she was, and proceeded with the rest of the security detail.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Firefox013 on December 10, 2018, 09:40:37 AM
[ Ens. Jaya Thorne | Vector 2, USS Theurgy | Vector two battle bridge | Deck 1| Azure Nebula]

The recombined Vectors two and three, the Ranger mode, dropped out of warp, Jaya's hands calmly working over the console as they dropped into yet another shit storm apparently, fighters, ships and lots of debris were everywhere in front of them. “Well great another beautiful SNAFU!” She stated calmly, turning to the bajoran in the command seat. “Am I going to need to do more fancy flying here sir?” She says, eyes glinting at the thought.

Other thoughts went through her head as well as others began reporting in, identifying the disabled Intrepid class as the USS Bellerophon, a member of Taskforce Archeron, that was bad, the heavily damaged Akira that was still fighting with what looked like an equally badly damaged helmet was also a member of the taskforce though that ones name had gone in 1 ear and out the other, Jaya really didn’t care much, she was sitting on her ship, her home’s helm console and she was concerned about THIS ship not THEIRS.

Jaya kept the ship moving on course as things unfolded. Listening as various reports came in, most importantly the Archeron was leading her group right to them and would be there soon, this did not bode well, specially with the heavy damage they had incurred already. “I don’t think we want to be here when the rest of those taskforce ships arrive either sir.” Which was her way of saying something like “I recommend an emergency reintegration and scoot the hell out of here.”

The young woman’s hands were soon flying over her controls as she received orders to begin performing reintegration manoeuvres. “All right, here we go, my first reintegration… well other than simulations.” She says in a happy go lucky tone, tapping on her console. “Doesn’t anyone ever think we need music up in here to help keep the tension down from critical mass?” She says offhandedly as the Ranger began moving towards the Helmet under her guiding hands, moving to line up with the missing vector to make Thea complete again once reintegration occurred.


[ LtJG. Sephiria “Scylla” Arn | Vector 1, the helmet. | shuttle bay | Azure Nebula]

The firefight in the Bay had not lasted long, the security troops that they had sent aboard were nowhere near good enough to take on the wolves and they paid the price. Scylla and her Andorian RIO Whiteout sat on their fighter, looking around, waiting to see what happened next. He didn’t look as good as she did, missing an antenna, the half cauterized wound where it got shot off by a stray phaser bolt still oozing some blood down his forehead and around the side of his face. “Well, this is great.” He grunted.

Scylla giggled. ”Oh, relax all right? It’s just an antenna, so your balance n all that will be off for a bit, you told me yourself, they grow back.” She said, punching him in the shoulder gently, eliciting another surly grunt but there was a glint of mirth in his eyes as he smirked back at her. She then turned and called out. “Hey! Meerkat, Foxfire, you ladies all there!? Anyone hurt?” She called out as she reached into their cockpit, grabbing an emergency care kit just in case.

She didn’t get to go far before three armored security guards in Theurgy marked armor hand their rifles aimed at them, ordering them to identify themselves. Sephiria facepalmed and sighed before looking him in the eyes. “Lieutenant Sephiria Arn, Callsign Scylla, White wolves Squadron, this is my RIO Lieutenant Asav Th’rehrol, callsign Whiteout, we’re part of the defectors!” The rifles were lowered, the Latino guard comes forward, nodding. “Good, i'm Ensign Gutierrez ma'am, we still have some boarders around and could use the help tracking the rest down.” The rifles were lowered.

“We’d appreciate it if you helped us clear the decks, there’s a few of them left and we need to deal with them!” Added Gutierrez just before a PA system chime is heard and the message comes through for an emergency reintegration. “Wait, that means the others got here!” Spoke Whiteout as Scylla realized it too. “All right, let’s get this vector clear of baddies so they can get that done, shall we?” She noticed the other white wolves nearby, signaling to them they were ok here. “Let’s help them finish clearing this thing, ready?” She stated, shouldering her rifle at the low ready stance.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Doc M. on December 11, 2018, 05:46:40 AM
[ Tessa May Lance, callsign:  Goldeneye (http://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Tessa_May_Lance,_callsign_%22Goldeneye%22) | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]

You never know who’s going to call in the middle of a head break.  Tessa May Lance had retired to the fresher at the end of the hall after completing a walk around inspection of her AC-409 Mk III Valkyrie.

[ Fighters, sound off when ready. No launch yet, prepare fighters to fly out. Ready on my mark,]   Thomas Ravon’s voice announced from Tessa May Lance’s combadge.

Less than a minute later, Tessa emerged from the head and dashed down the corridor passing the doors on her left to the squadron messhall/lounge, the pilot’s (and deck crew’s) gym, and the locker and shower room before ducking through a door to her right to emerge in the Fighter Assault Bay and climb up and enter her Valkyrie.  She checked the seals on her exosuit before gratefully accepting her helmet from Petty Officer First Class Adara Hussien and placing it on her head.

”Um… Wolf 03!  Goldeneye, ready to launch!” she assured Lieutenant Commander Ravon, callsign ‘Razor’.  Now it was time to do breathing exercises, ignore her personal issues and get her head in the game before she and any of her friends launched out into the black.



[ William Robert O’Connell (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/219/f/7/oconnel_row_01_by_auctor_lucan-d7u6n2x.png) | Main Engineering, the real one, NOT the Vector One or Two Warp Core but the one in Vector Three | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]

[ All hands. We are beginning integration process. ] Natalie Stark announced over the ship wide combination system.

“Yew hear thet?” William Robert ‘Billy Bob’ O’Connell called out to his subordinates.  “We’re gonna reconnect with th’ Helmet!  Coordinate with th’ Vector Two warp core an’ put thuh extra power intuh th’ structural integrity field!”

“Boss are we planning to reintegrate the ship under combat conditions?” Petty Officer Tenchi Koizumi asked nervously.

“It shore looks lahk it son, an’ if we try it at this speed an’ th’ Vector One  docking latches have been damaged it’s uh gonna be disaster fur all involved so yew better pray thet thet’s one part o’ th’ Helmet thet’s workin’ Jim Dandy!” O’Connell replied glumly.  “Otherwise our l’il trek through th’ stars maight come to uh screechin’ halt!”
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Multificionado on December 12, 2018, 02:33:43 AM
[ Lieutenant JG Evelyn Rawley, callsign "Ghost" | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Nolan @Triton @Triage @Havenborn
[Show/Hide]


[ Fighters, sound off when ready. No launch yet, prepare fighters to fly out. Ready on my mark.]

Rawley bared a smile at Tom’s words. She had been practicing with the Klingon blade from the souvenir with the boarding party; she really liked the feel of it, as she swung it about in the locker room. She had been trying out the Klingon blade in the locker for some time; much as a holodeck was preferable, she wanted to be near the Fighter Assault Bay should the Wolves assemble to take flight. Well, what’s one more armament on a tough little Celt like her? Tom’s announcement had her scurrying to her locker, piecing her flight suit together. Then, once she had the blade secure, she made for the Winterbourne and dove in as quick as a fox.

Ghost slapped her combadge once she was in the cockpit.

“This is Ghost, standing by,” she chimed in.

Much as Rawley was looking forward to taking flight again, regardless of what Maya would say, she had hoped the Lone Wolves would exercise caution if they should deploy. Half of the squadron was gone; if they deployed, depending what they found outside, fancy flying would be required and they would have to hit hard: hit and run, in essence. Depended on what was coming up, what’s outside the Ranger, as they’re at the moment calling the combined vectors without the Helmet.

Felt fitting: Rangers rarely wore helmets.

She hoped Meony will be alright.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Triton on December 12, 2018, 07:18:27 PM
[ Lieutenant Commander Leon Marquez | Main Bridge | Deck One | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
@Auctor Lucan
@Brutus
@Blue Zephyr
@Absinthe
@FollowTomorrow
@The Ostrich
@Argyros
@Cosmos




Leon was a good shot, but with only instants to react, the CTO had only scored a partial hit on the officer who hit the holotable and who had forced some of his friends and colleagues to hide for their lives, then he made an initial sweep of the area once he was sure there was only that last one in the area. Leon got back to work confirming the engagement in the hangar and elsewhere on the Vector. With some help from a brave technician, The CTO hard-reset the holodisplay manually by having replaced a damaged isolinear chip that now presented a replacement rendition of the Helmet's immediate sensor readings.

The CTO was sure to identify the areas of most immediate harm any saboteurs could reach, which included the warheads and engineering as well. By directing Security through his earpiece, they secured the warheads and armories remotely and Leon could now send armed Tactical personnel aiding their partners in Security. Fortunately, the vector's crew was taking care of itself. Suddenly, a proximity alert was declared. "New Contact." Marquez reported. The still-flickering but visible holodisplay zoomed out, from confirming the fighters' landings and their collective handiwork in the battlespace to the direction of the new contact. It was a change from the otherwise even-keeled Trill helmsman's bloody display; Good thing the new LtJG had taken Leon's combat training to heart, if not his strict rule of unauthorized weapons at station.

Scans revealed the inbound Federation signature soon arrived were as friendly as anyone could have hoped for: The other two vectors. Rage was replaced by Hope when Leon went to Danvers' side and helped her to her feet. Leon stayed quiet and let the moment of reunion speak for itself. It's a miracle..


When Dewitt stated her intentions to stand down as CO, Leon took that as a hint to lend his services necessary as a bailiff if it came to escorting her to the brig. Armed, Marquez continued to police the bridge, and called for the newly-arrived armed tactical personnel to secure any scattered phasers, and in one case, see to the individual Derik had ...cornered for basic medical attention. Marquez would have words with the Trill Helmsman and probably privately praise his aim despite a weapon on the bridge. To Leon's surprise, one of the trespassers had been unaccounted for, and he was on the hunt.


[ ENS James "Jimmy" Mariner | Security Center | Deck 07 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]

@chXinya
@CanadianVet
@Jm Von Cat
@trevorvw


Jimmy was off to a good day: practical joke, check. Leaving sickbay with a clean bill of health, check; but he was still licking his new set of teeth procured in sickbay after that Asurian fight. Morning-Startup and blowing off some steam? Well, check and then some. After that particular adventure, word had come from the bridge of contact at long-range. After swapping contact information with his new friend, Jimmy Hastily-dressed and properly ready for duty, the Ensign got to his station in C-Sec, ready to direct fire team deployments and issue arms and orders. If he had his way, he would've led a team himself against the stowaways and properly secured them before they could be convinced of The true threat to the Quadrant. The long-awaited moment of reunification was finally here. Talk about a long road.

Jimmy's station had received real-time reports about Vector One's bridge having a firefight. It was clear from the landing fighters he could see on his monitor that the Helmet had only survived due to these newly-convinced fighter escorts. Valravns, by the look of things. Good for Alessia. Bad for Sankolov.

"V-1 Bridge is Secure." Word came in from a familiar voice. Jimmy smiled in earnest as he made sure he was ready to reinforce any location under siege; hopefully some lives could be saved from friendly fire. "Mariner to Akoni: Teams Charlie and Delta are ready to Surf." Mariner responded to Bremmer and Taer's summons on the same channel, forming a pair of teams to lend to the Helmet if they were needed for anything from armed reinforcements to fire suppression. "You're doing Fine, Jaya, Think up some Wagner." Jimmy wondered idly, not realizing his channel to Akoni was open before he could end the transmission.



[ LtJG Alessia Garcia - Callsign:  Angel | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ]
@Nolan
@patches
@Firefox013
@Fife


Alessia had been ready for this moment at the first sign of a red alert. Previously, she had been physically exercising and sketching up alpha strikes in her paper notepad while she was thinking of what to say when she went looking for a certain officer on Vector One. Then, along came trouble and she had herself beamed securely into her outfit and had reported to her fighter in a sprint upon arrival to the F.A.B. and to her astonishment, Fury was already there! "Fury, Standing by!" Fresh out of sickbay, the New Jersey-born RIO saluted at attention when their paths crossed on the way to the the last Valravn fighter on the Vector, and the last of Orcus's squadron.

"Vamonos! <Let's go!> We'll chitchat later, we're in front of them all!" she exchanged just a quick handshake as they both sprinted to their Valravn, 'Sekhmet' after the Egyptian Fire Goddess. "What have we got?"

"ECMs, EMP, Shipbusters, Kinetic Cannons, And enough microtorps to make you smile." Vinny reported as his helmet was secured. Despite looking somewhat pale and having a telltale twitch on his regard, the New Jersian took his vitamins and hypostims issued by medical after his previous electrecution. He took any countermeasures to repeat that shocking experience from doing his duty.

Alessia's own HUD chimed in with word from the Sword Bridge. Launch prep, possible scramble. "Never too many of those. Welcome back, Fury." Angel beamed as the two helped eachother up into their Valravn and exchanged thumbs-ups with Covington's crews as they were sealed in and ready to fly. "Angel and Fury here, Wolf-10 Standing by." She responded to Razor. Hope is here. She prayed to herself in Spanish into the Azure Nebula just a few meters outside.

[ Lieutenant Commander Leon Marquez | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
@Top Hat
@Triage
@Numen


"Drop it, Crewman! We're not the enemy! I said dro-- pendejo." A stun bolt was fired as Leon had shot what appeared to be the last intruder on the bridge, who had been feigning his death to get a shot off at the center seat. This was  same hostile who intentionally fired at several key consoles and stations on behalf of his task force. I warned him. Leon saw to the unconscious and hopefully final hostile. Despite the grim payback for the one who'd threatened Vivian and others under his protection, Marquez had no pride in shooting someone in the back, even armed. The Dominion War was another matter. The rest of Bellerophon security had been summarily neutralized or otherwise detained, but Leon's personnel had methodically made sure they were all down for the count when the dust settled and no more fire was exchanged but holstered his weapon with intent to draw, all the same upon hearing 'Clear'.

Leon found secure footing on his placement on the bridge during Veradin's maneuvers despite the brief exchange of phaser fire just a moment before. The CTO strategically got himself away from any explosive console or other pitfall susceptible to Murphy's Law. Bitter experiences had warned him that such accidents were how many Starfleet Officers met their end. With the ball in Veradin's court and Sword's bridge, Tactical was remotely controlled by the CTO's paired padd and his earpiece was still in comms with his and the other vectors' departments.

The Stallion was in position as it extended its shields around the vulnerable Helmet when the sweep for survivors was complete. Unfortunately, the guidance thrusters finally gave out, and the Ranger's tractor beams moved to compensate right as a warning buzzed on the holo-rendition of the Vector that Leon responded to as he informed both Bridges at once: "Shutting down phaser relays, Captain, we're gonna have a burnout. Diverting fire suppression and activating forcefields."



"V-1 Tactical to V-2: We're taking the affected phaser relay off-line to prevent an overload, but we can still aim. Transmitting. Cover us as we link up. Advise Security: V-1 Bridge is secured." Leon reported as he synched his diagnostics with his counterpart's on the rest of the Multi-Vector Dreadnought with a venture to the still-crackling-somewhat holo-table; He'd have Ops repair it as soon as possible. It was just a bit different from combat-deployment of a saucer section on a Galaxy/Venture-class Carrier when the reintegration maneuvers began, a shrilling klaxon announced what they were all expecting.

Instead of reporting with dread, he afforded himself something of a confident half smirk, knowing they had better chances now at either escape or battle at last. "Incoming Warp Signatures." Leon reported some moments later in a clear tone befitting the size and expectation of the Task Force.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Jm Von Cat on December 12, 2018, 08:50:39 PM
[ PO1 Varder Ridun (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Varder_Ridun) | Vector 02 | Deck 12 |USS Theurgy ] Attn: @patches @CanadianVet @trevorvw
[Show/Hide]
A yawn escaped Varders lips, quickly covered by a hand as he continued his patrol route. A quick glance cast over his shoulder to the crewman accompanying him, Crewman Raatiel, a surprisingly young face. He knew his job at least, not that this part was difficult, walk around and be a presence. Respond if needed. Boring, for the most part, so the pair had been holding a fairly simple conversation as they did their beat. Most of the talk was around re-integration with Vector 03, an event which occurred as the Bajoran slept.

At least the Devoted had calmed down this last day or so, still. The images of what they had done and what they were willing to do were fresh, prophets, he had nearly been smooshed against the hull by one. At least he could trust his partner here was not one of them, being a Resolve crewman, something of a reassurance to the wary Varder.

As with all things recently, the quiet was shattered as alarms sounded. Integration and warp, borders on Vector 01.. shit. "Varder to Security ops, patrol 0-5-7, secure and standing by for instruction." A short nod to Raatiel as he drew his pulse phaser, "Weapons check kid, keep your head up. Survivors might not cooperate and borders are known hostile." With that, he would quickly clap him on the shoulder.

Now the pair could only hurry up and wait.
Title: Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]
Post by: Auctor Lucan on December 13, 2018, 09:47:53 PM
[ Drauc T'Laus (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Drauc_T%27Laus) | Corridor | Deck 07 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
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With copper green blood running hard through his veins, Drauc T'Laus took in the aftermath, with his dark eyes glinting underneath his hair and his scarred hands aching around his rifle.

Dyan Cardamone and he were the last ones standing, the boarding team from the Dauntless still or writhing upon the deck of the corridor. A small and short-lasting field of battle, perhaps, but after the emotional turmoil and having been beset by the Asurian's mind for too long, it seemed so much more. Dyan had made him feel the elation of battle unlike he'd felt before - fighting always having been his proficiency but never his joy. It was almost a release, to feel his blood rushing through him, the adrenaline thinning out, and he felt it keenly in Dyan's presence.

He looked at her then, overtaken by the urge to kiss her, for some strange reason he couldn't describe. He powered down the rifle he had acquired, removed the energy pack, and dropped them both on top of an unconscious body next to him. He stepped towards her, ready to deflect that long blade of hers, and to cease her head - to quench any words of hatred with his lips.

Yet as he came up close to her... he realised that this was not who he was.

He stared into her green eyes, breathing hard, teeth bared in reflection of her nature. He had caught himself too late, without Kraun to show him who he really was. His incentives were no longer entirely his own, even if he could see himself reflected in her eyes. This feral shadow she'd seeded in his mind. Knowing this... he did not follow through with his intent. He stared at her, whilst he centred himself. When he spoke, the quiet rasp sounded loud in the quietude of the corridor, the words contrary to his desires.

"Stay away from me," he said, and turned away, leaving her to deal with the neutralised boarders at their feet. "You are intoxicating."

He needed time alone, and without the help from Kraun, he had to remind himself who he was.

[ Sera vers Aldnoah (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Sera_vers_Aldnoah) | Upper Shuttle Bay | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Vox @Fife @Stegro88 @Firefox013 @patches
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The Reman spoke to her, and Sera shook her head at him. "No, I'm not hurt, but I have no idea what you may have said, nor what I might have done. Either way," she said, and smiled with her eyes, "if we make it through this, you better give me a few bottles of that stuff. I mean to celebrate being alive."

The security guards present seemed on edge, and Sera supposed that was to be expected given the situation overall. The fighter pilots that had landed together with her stood down, surrendering themselves - for questioning, perhaps? The crooked way in which they had managed to land in the shuttle bay was quite humorous, a spectacle to behold, and the fact that the Sabine missed a portion of its dorsal hull might have been jocular too... if it hadn't been for the fact that one of the Starfleeters had been lost because of it. Moreover, it was her ship, and she'd just managed to get it repaired.

The curses she made under her breath drew to a halt, however, when she saw through the open bay doors how the rest of the Theurgy was approaching rapidly, even if the separated parts were spinning almost uncontrollably. This was a fact that became quite poignant when standing where they were, since the rest of the Theurgy was closing very fast, and there was no telling if they were to find alignment. The security team and the fighter pilots had seemed intent on leaving to take care of boarders, but there was no time they'd make it out of the open bay before the imminent collision. Sera did not like the odds of the structural integrity field remaining and protecting them from the cold embrace of vacuum...

"Blast me," Sera said under her breath, and then ran to the closest Valravn's landing gears, bracing herself. She had no idea if the others ran for safety, but she could hear fearful shouts from the security guards and running feet. She struggled to get her helmet on, with one arm wrapped around the landing gear, when her eyes caught more movements in the distance outside the bay.

Ships dropping out of warp. Five of them, more likely inbound.

Task Force Archeron had arrived, just as the Vectors of the Theurgy came together.

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All 
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Remaining in her chair, Dewitt's knuckles whitened more and more as she kept her green eyes on the tactical display, seeing their spinning Vector being chased by the Ranger. She was biting her teeth together - after Zy and the others had spoken - trying to predict if the two helmsmen where able to time the combat reintegration right. After all they had been through the last hour, and when they faced the Savi, Dewitt had faith in Veradin, but his did not have full manoeuvrability. Even worse, the power expenditure was threatening to overload their warp core - a cascade failure leaping through the Helmet's conduits.

"All hands!" she said, having jammed her thumb down on the intercom for the Helmet, "brace for impact!" There was no telling, before it happened, if the timing was right, or if the two ships would collide and bounce away - tearing each other apart in the process.

"Computer, automate docking latches for combat reintegration! Proximity activation! Do not activate ventral tractor beam emitters! We don't have the power to spare!" she called, and she almost didn't hear the computer's cordial acknowledgement. For out there, aft of their position, were the contacts Leon called out. She could see them appear on the flickering tactical holo display before the Helm and Ops. There was no time making out registries, but the hull of the centre one was plain. Odyssey-class, almost as big as the Theurgy.

It was the USS Archeron.

The dreadful sight, when the ships immediately opened fire, gave such pause that Dewitt almost missed the moment when the Theurgy became whole again. The jarring impact threw Dewitt out of the command chair, and there was no telling what might have happened... until new power was routed into the Helmet from the other Vectors, the lights brightening, and a glance towards the tactical display confirmed it. The Continuance Protocol had come to an end.

"Bridge to Engineering!" she called from the floor. "Execute! I repeat, execute! Now!"

There was no delay, the crew wishing for naught else than to bolt out of the Rendezvous Zone.

The Theurgy went to warp, at a speed far exceeding the presets of the ship. The T'fanrell had taken them away from Starbase 84, and now, they escaped out of Sankolov's fist. Dewitt climbed back to her feet, seeing the stars and the Azure Nebula elongate around the warp field. She could hardly credit her eyes, seeing the readings, for Morgan Song must have done something about the plasma leak, and the cascade failure as well - exceeding any expectations of success.

Travelling at warp factor 9.9997, with the aid of two more cores to stabilise the flight, the uncontrolled jump would last long enough for them to reach immediate safety.

The question was... where might they go after that?

- FIN


OOC: This concludes Chapter 03: Knife's Edge. I know there are stragglers who have not met the 7 day deadline that began on the 4th of December, when ch'Xinya posted. Today is the 13th of December, and I have to move the story forward for the sake of the while sim. If anyone has planned to post here, you are too late, and you will have to make Supplemental threads instead.

Speaking of which, now begins 1 (one) In-Character hour of Supplemental threads for the whole crew (and non-crew) aboard the Theurgy. I would have made it more than 1 hour if the current warp speed wouldn't have taken the ship out of the Azure Nebula. This means between 0900 hrs. and 1000 hrs. on Day 06. The only characters not included in this are the abductees on/off the Versant and Captain Anya Ziegler, who is on the Cayuga. For one hour, the Theurgy is locked in it's crazy warp jump, preventing any course changes. The challenge is to make sure the Theurgy survives the duration without blowing up things aboard. Engineers and Ops can have fun with that as best as you wish. Furthermore, these Supplemental threads should be named Chapter 03: Supplemental [ Day 06 | XXXX hrs. ] Insert Title.

The starter for Chapter 05 will be posted next week, and it will begin when the In-Character hour is up, and the Theurgy drops out of warp. It is yet to be revealed if they indeed reach the fourth planet in the Ithacae System or not, because the crew does not know that the warp jump will last for one hour. More information will be posted and sent out via Newsletter. Have fun! :)
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