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DAY 03: Phasmids [0900 hrs.]

DAY 03: Phasmids [0900 hrs.]

[ Commander Carrigan Trent | Deck 03 | Main Computer Core | 0900 ] Attn: Thea, Aisha, Ravenholm, Lin Kae

With the boarding of Starbase 84 coming closer every hour, Commander Carrigan Trent was a busy man.  There was training and drilling to supervise, repairs to keep on top of and a lot of planning and preparation to take into consideration before the mission would begin.  And on this morning, he had left the Bridge and his Ready Room behind and instead was working in the main computer core, his old workspace when his responsibilities were only that of Intelligence Officer. 

But for the time being, he needed this space with its abundance of console space, its more complex hologrid and direct access to Thea and to staggering amounts of computing power.  Also, it was a secure space that was only accessible via being put on an access list and when it had become Theurgy's intelligence center that list had been extremely short.  But considering what was about to happen, it had been greatly expanded as to allow the various experts in their fields he would require for this part of the operation. 

The prior evening, he had sent a message to several people.  Aisha S'ithi, their chief helmsman, Selena Ravenholm the hacker and encryption expert and Lieutenant Lin Kae the computer and holographic expert.  Granted, Trent himself was a very well-rounded officer and he could fly a ship, he had an expertise in encryption and security protocols and he had extensive knowledge of Starfleet heuristics and computer systems but he was a specialist in none of those areas.  For what he had in mind, he would need the best they could get.  And he and the personnel he had requested would also need Thea's support to crunch numbers and run simulations.  In fact, he had booked an inordinate amount of computer resources for this particular project since time was a factor.

Over the main console, he brought up a hologram displaying Starbase 84 at its center, along with a representation of its cloak-defeating tachyon grid and of its active and passive sensor envelopes, all courtesy of the back door he had into Starfleet's systems.  And those were all critical obstacles that would need to be bypassed when they would reach their current objective.  All measures that would need to be defeated. 

Of course, the Executive Officer already had an idea in mind, but now he needed the right people to turn his concepts into reality.

Re: DAY 03: Phasmids [0900 Hrs]

Reply #1 –
[ Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Deck 02 | Main Computer Core ] Attn: Carrigan, Aisha, Ravenholm, Lin Kae

When Commander Trent arrived to the Pasitronic A.I. Brain Core, Thea was made aware of her entry in more than one way. One might think her brain being there, which had been made visible though two feet of transparent aluminium - which would be lowered into the floor and further enforced by a thick titanium casing if the ship's alert status changed - would somehow let her see the man, but that was not precisely the case. For while her video-log surveillance system was destroyed by Cala, her internal sensors showed his identity, and she could detect how he accessed the hologrid and created a holo-image of their final destination. The security systems aboard also gave her a proximity alert if the visit wasn't sanctioned, which had been the case when Ravenholm had come to visit during Lohlunat . This time, she spoke up to her visitor through the intercom.

[Good morning, Commander Trent. The people you have invited has been sent reminders on their computer consoles and I gave them a second reminder five minutes ago through their individual combadges. They are all on their way now. If you are in need of my inter-phase projection, my mobile emitter is currently four decks below, but I can make myself present as soon as my present interaction  with Lieutenant zh'Wann is over. By the way, she sends you her regards after I told her I might have to leave. She told me to tell you to take care of that head and don't 'bump it' again. Should I give her a message?]

Thea had no idea what the Andorian had meant, but the readings from her projection's optical sensors had detected that she had said it with a wry smile.

OOC: Second version of this post since the first was swallowed by a connection failure. Hope it will do.

Re: DAY 03: Phasmids [0900 Hrs]

Reply #2 –
[LT Lin Kae | Deck 02 | Main Computer Core] Attn: Carrigan, Aisha, Ravenholm, and Thea

Kae entered into the core, his mind was still focusing on the passing of Oracle which strangely was affecting him more then he had originally thought and with the presence of the last surviving Harbinger pilot aboard after what he had heard of the scuttlebutt, he was made even more uneasy with the way things had been going as of late.

So when word came down that the new executive officer had work for him to do, Kae welcomed it with open arms as a great man once said "give me work, my mind stagnate at the lack of proper thoughts of puzzles."

Kae nodded respectfully towards Carrigan when he noticed the man standing there. "Congratulations, Commander. I hope that you are settling into your new position well?"

Re: DAY 03: Phasmids [0900 Hrs]

Reply #3 –
[Aisha S'Iti and Selena Ravenholm | Deck 02 |Corridor to Main Computer Core] Attn: Carrigan, Kae, and Thea

The chief helmsman walked the corridor.  Though some had heard of her unprecedented chance at promotion she still wore the patch of the MCPO rank having not yet taken the necessary tests to yet be properly qualified to be put in line for said promotion.  Of course the tests in question were far from the normal load.  First she had to pass the CPO to Ensign officer transition then the Ens to Lt JG officer exam then the JG to Lt Exam.  Still it wasn't like she hadn't taken mock tests of them all before still the captain was willing to give her the opportunity to advance that she believed herself deprived of by some conspiracy against her from within the fleet itself.

As she walked  towards Thea's "Brain room" she noticed another making their way down the hallway.  Clad in a rather plain black set of flexible fabric that seemed to contour to her silhouette while flattening out and smoothing over every detail of her body that would normally show on something so seemingly tight.  The outfit was only worn by one person on this ship.  The civilian whom she had met before on the harbinger who had been tasked by their former XO to sabotage and rewrite Thea into a more compliant computer to Vasser's cause and mysteriously defied the mind-meld unlike any other who had received it,  Selena Ravenholm.  "Good to see you again, Ives not give you an official rank here yet?" She asked not seeing any form of insignia on her collar.

The half cyborg human smiled, "For the time being I'm just a civilian trying to be helpful where I can."  she said looking towards the Cardassian who had rebelled against their shared commander glad that there were others from the Harbinger who had been able to fight against Vasser.

"She nodded, "So exactly how did you break that mind-meld?"  the Cardassian asked as they made their way to the room.

She was a little surprised, obvious by S'iti's reaction Ives hadn't went and talked about her past that much or the soon to be Lt. would have known of her past.  Still she guessed that the new XO had been told or else she wouldn't be told to meet with him and a few others on this crucial mission.  "Tried to do what the Vulcan did to me to Thea.  Guess Thea don't take to mind melds as well as I do.  She pushed me out of her head and it fried my interface equipment and caused my tertiary memory device to load on me."

"Tertiary memory device, you mean like a hard drive?"  the Cardassian asked.

She nodded,  and the Cardassian couldn't help but double take. "Are you sure you aren't part Borg?"

In a rather deadpan way as her voice became more monotone the human began after shaking her head, "The borg utilize systems far more efficient and advanced than mine but are reliant on their hive mind for certain functions.  Disconnect them from the subspace transmissions that govern the link and they malfunction.  my systems are based primordially on Federation Isoliniar chip and positronic circuit research.  My alterations probably have more in common with a Soong Type Android or Thea than the Borg."

Aisha just laughed at the diatribe of technobabble the human gave, "I was joking, Selena."

Selena blinked a moment. "Oh, you were being sarcastic instead of expressing interest in the technological schematics of my implants."  she stated in a deadpan and neutral tone.

Aisha sighed as the door to the computer core room opened allowing her and the human to step into the room.

Re: DAY 03: Phasmids [0900 Hrs]

Reply #4 –
[ Commander Carrigan Trent | Deck 03 | Main Computer Core | 0900 ] Attn: Thea, Aisha, Ravenholm, Lin Kae

Trent was reviewing his notes when Thea's disembodied voice sounded in the room.  At first, having the computer talk to him without being prompted had been a little unnerving but it was interesting how quickly he'd adapted to that particular concept.  After all, Thea was a sentient intelligence and in a way a cross between Voyager's EMH and the late Lieutenant Commander Data.  But when she mentioned the Andorian security officer and her recommendation to avoid bumping his head again, the Commander chuckled.  "Thea, please convey my compliments and my thanks to Ms. zh'Wann and inform her that I will do my best not to give myself a concussion the next time I'm stunned without warning."  There was no reproach to the Executive Officer's voice, just a kind of amusement.  After all, it had been how it was found he was not compromised as the thing wearing Ensign Acreth's body down in the Brig. 

But next was Lieutenant Lin arriving, and even though the promotion was a few days old at this point, he congratulated the ship's former Intelligence Officer.  Of course, he had not had the time to see the entire complement since Captain Ives had pulled that prank on him so that was nothing to worry about.  "Thank you, Lieutenant. And I'd say I'm settling in well enough.  The quality of the crew is helping a great deal making the transition fairly seamless."  And that much was true.  Granted, there were still some growing pains and there were members of the ship's complement who didn't take overly well to his different command style and the grueling training and maintenance schedules he was enforcing, but Theurgy was a ship that was effectively at war and her crew needed to be kept on that kind of footing. 

And finally, the two women arrived and Trent greeted them with a smile.  "Ah, Ms Ravenholm, Provisional Lieutenant S'Iti.  We're all here.  Although, Lieutenant, you are out of dress.  When you have a chance, please pop by the Quartermaster's and get him to issue you the appropriate rank insignia."

With the housekeeping taken care of, the Commander pointed to the chairs surrounding the main table and sat himself down.  "Please, take a seat.  There is also a pot of coffee if you feel the need."

Now, it was time to explain what was required.  It was a bold plan, but it needed all of their expertise.  "As you all know, we need to get to Starbase 84 to make use of its communications facilities.  Unlike the standard subspace network, it's equipped with a whistle-blower system that overrides all comm channels in case of an attack from the Romulans.  The Captain aims to use that system to transmit our evidence and a message to the entire Federation.  Programming the message and recording it will happen later but we have a bigger problem.  We need to get past passive and active sensor perimeters and an anti-cloaking tachyon grid.  Not that we still have a working cloaking device.  Let's face it, regardless of what we do, we're going to be detected."

Then, there was a hint of a savage grin on his face, the same kind that had graced his features while he was commanding the action against the Calamity.  He was first a Tactical Officer and he developed an interest and then an expertise in electronic warfare and Starfleet Intelligence put a later polish on that.  Despite his hiatus resulting from the post-traumatic stress disorder he had suffered early in the Dominion War, the warrior he'd once been was back in the saddle.  "We're going to let ourselves be seen all right.  But we're going to let everyone think they're seeing something entirely different."

And now, he awaited the inevitable questions.

Re: DAY 03: Phasmids [0900 Hrs]

Reply #5 –
There was a pause before Thea's voice was heard on the intercom in the room, and without the projection present, it was inevitable that the present positionric brain on display behind the transparent aluminium drew one's eye when that voice was heard.

[Without disabling the tachyon grid, my hull has to appear something non-threatening, and after reviewing operation protocols for Orunal-class starbases, there are a few alternatives. Given my size in Standard Operation Mode, I would recommend passing through the grid while in Multi-Vector Assault Mode. That way, the readings might become more believable, all depending on what nature our signal will hold. There is also the tactical advantage of ship separation from the onset of the engagement, since according to the recent flight logs you provided us, Commander Trent, there is chance for a high number of docked starships at Starbase 84 when we will arrive.]

Thea paused before adding another prospect. [Speaking of which, may I suggest that - if possible - effort should be put into the intervention of the docking release mechanism in the Drydock Section? This might enable us to keep the starships that are docked inside the base from engaging us. After the element of surprise no longer aides us, we already have the base's tactical defence systems to handle.]

Then, she fell silent, merely the hum of her body permeating the background noise of the room, just like every other compartment aboard her.

Re: DAY 03: Phasmids [0900 Hrs]

Reply #6 –
[Aisha S'Iti and Selena Ravenholm | Deck 02 |Main Computer Core] Attn: Carrigan, Kae, and Thea

Aisha smiled hearing his words, "Will do sir, and I think I will help myself to a cup." she said walking over to the coffee and pouring herself some before heading over to take her seat.

Meanwhile Selena listened to the briefing from the commander then Thea.  "Commander, I believe the two of us can easily produce something lock down the stations docking systems."  she paused thinking about the means to do so.  "yes that should be easy given the file structure and computer schematics of an Ornal class."  she confirmed having ran a few basic scenarios through her head.

Aisha smirked a bit.  "Which still leaves getting us in, and I assume I am here because its up to me to look at the star-charts and see if I can come up with a way to sneak us in looking like rogue meteors or something right?"

Re: DAY 03: Phasmids [0900 hrs.]

Reply #7 –
[ Commander Carrigan Trent | Deck 03 | Main Computer Core | 0900 ] Attn: Thea, Aisha, Ravenholm, Lin Kae

Once the participants to his meeting settled in, Trent listened to what Thea had to say.  Of course, the idea of locking down the docking gates was a good one.  After all, it would not do if the Starbase could disgorge every starship, fighter and support craft within once the element of surprise would be lost.  However, he did have something to say about the idea of going into MVAM when crossing the tachyon grid.  "No, Thea.  That would call for too much risk.  We'd need to come up with three simulacra instead of just the one.  However, once we'll have lost the element of surprise we could definitely use the added flexibility.  Especially if we can get the magazines topped up good and proper."

There was a lot to discuss still, and he would get right down to it.  Granted, the helmsman and the hacker were already well on their way towards reaching the conclusions he wanted to see reached.  "Ladies, you are already on a good start.  Mister Lin, your job will be to design a simulacrum for Theurgy.  Ms Ravenholm?  Your job will be using the covert links I have set up with Starfleet's networks and you will have to reprogram the recognition database.  We can't alter our readings or our signatures.  You will have to create computer associations that when anything that is us, and we're talking shape, gravimetric profile, energy readings, anything, it correlates with what a chunk of rock would look like.  And you, Lieutenant S'ithi, you will have to come up with a warp vector that will send the burst away from the Starbase when we drop out of warp outside the passive sensor range and from there, you will send us on a ballistic course at a speed consistent with such a chunk of rock right towards the Starbase but that will take us between forty and thirty five thousand kilometers, close enough for transporter range but far enough they'll have no idea we're really there even if they look out a window."

"Thea, your job will be helping crunching numbers, mostly, and running simulations.  We'll only have one crack at this and once we've done it we won't be able to pull that trick again.  But it has to be absolutely perfect." 

Then, the Executive Officer rose from his chair and poured himself a cup of coffee.  After taking a long sip, he looked at the team he had assembled, he grinned.  "Are the four of you up to it?"

Re: DAY 03: Phasmids [0900 hrs.]

Reply #8 –
[Lieutenant Lin Kae | Deck 3 | Main Computer Core | 0900 | ATTN: Thea, Aisha, Trent, Ravenholm

Lin calmly and quietly listened to everything that was being said, rubbing his chin as he took it all in. "I can have it and running with a few hours, three at least on the outside, using what information that we have at present and complie it with the recent..situational data of recent events." he said calmly as he picked up a PADD and started doing a rough outline of what the Executive Officer asked.

As he started his work, a thought slowly crept into his mind as he twirled his stylus between two of his fingers for a few seconds before asking "Thea, if we use the MVAM for this operation, is there a possible way that we can also..shave for the lack of a better term..our sensor outline so that the different sections don't appear as hostile or what have you?" the young bajoran asked as he looked over at Aisha with a questioning look.

Re: DAY 03: Phasmids [0900 hrs.]

Reply #9 –
At the point when her Holographic Specialist had asked his question, the sliding doors opened, and Thea walked into the Main Computer Core. Her conversation with Deputy zh'Wann had come to an end, so she had come to join the meeting in person - her mobile emitter projecting her in their company.

"Good question, Kae. Your inquiry pertain to the benefit of a lesser mass profile, and my calculations of those benefit. Commander Trent already had concerns about having to create three simulacra upon tacyon defence grid entry, and my simulation proves him right. MVAM is not a priority." She said this as she walked towards them with a small smile given in greeting. She was wearing her yellow body-suit, but it changed colour to red when she joined them at the round table in the middle of the room. "Coordination of three trajectories after the vectors drop out of warp, and maintaining momentum for all three once we are past the grid is up for Chief S'Ithi to decide whether it is an option. You must be thinking that it might be beneficial despite the difficulty, but any way I run the tests, my calculations indicate that whatever percentage we might gain in lesser mass profile will be lost in the difficulty of coordination and convincingly programming separate sensor profiles. My initial idea was also that MVAM would be a viable option, but Commander Trent has - indeed - a point. Mass profile is not the issue. It is how Starbase 84 will interpret the sensor readings of the mass."

Setting her hands on the edge of the table, she leaned forward and looked up at the base that they were going to approach with the optical sensors of her projection. Her brain at the centre of the table did not possess optics quite such as those Lin Kae had made her, so she preferred to look at it with her projection instead of the data of the holographic file - the raw digital information already at her disposal.

"I have already begun to run simulations in my background processes based on the overall plan, and in 20,365 seconds, I can provide suggestions of trajectory and velocity in order to achieve the proper momentum. Lieutenant S'Iti can then make any amendments for space debris or asteroid believability that I cannot properly calculate."

And then, they were underway with creating the perfect opportunity to take Starbase 84 by complete and utter surprise.

- FIN
 
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