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Topic: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ] (Read 19748 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #75 –
[PO1 Lillee t’Jellaieu] | Battle Bridge | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @@Arista, @@DocM, @Follow Tomorrow, @StarDuster, @Brutus et al.

[Show/Hide]


In the chaotic, maddening rush of battle, Lillee’s hands danced over her helm console in a blur as she tried to simultaneously fly the Stallion and keep the vector’s overpowered impulse engines balanced, all while trying to avoid putting the Stallion into a compromising position. Everything was happening too fast to plan, for specific maneuvering orders to be given by the command staff and to be received by her, and so Lillee found herself improvising evasive and offensive maneuvers at break speed. The Stallion’s brutal speed and acceleration was disrupting the Asurians’ own maneuvers in concert with continuous weapons fire, but by the same token, the Stallion was a hyper-sensitive dart-fly with its overpowered engines and absurd thrust-to-mass ratio. Keeping the vector under control at such accelerations and in such tight quarters was testing Lillee’s skills to the limit.

Thus, Lillee barely even noticed when Commander Stark ordered them back around on an attack run to protect the Cayuga. Feathering the port impulse engine to compensate for the power surge in a damaged EPS conduit, Lillee duly began to bring the Stallion about, her mind swiftly becoming trance-like as she multi-tasked as much on raw instinct as thought.

Meanwhile Masuda glanced towards the Helm station, who had executed all the turns and twists of their previous evasive manoeuvre. Sometimes, a more precise measuring angle system, beyond the 360-degree system, was required.  "Petty Officer t'Jellaieu, recommended heading; Three-One-Eight Mark Nine. I mean to drive a wedge between the Cayuga's and its external assailant. Use whatever evasive manoeuvres you need, just get us there as fast as you can!"

Too deeply focused to acknowledge verbally, Lillee instead demonstrated her acknowledgement by angling the Stallion in with a lightning-sharp flip-and-thrust that stressed the Vector’s compromised spaceframe with the sheer violence of the maneuver, but nevertheless put the Stallion on a direct line to the Cayuga while putting the surprised Asurian saucers directly to aft. The ship’s state-of-the-art inertial dampeners kept the crew safe, and while the Asurians inflicted some damage, managing to worsen the big hull breach in the Stallion’s starboard side, it did put both saucers in a perfect firing position for the aft torpedo launcher.

Even so, Lillee barely noticed Yukimura’s torpedo volley or its effect. Her long blonde hair was a mess, her eyes wide and moving constantly, her pointed ears alert for Commander Stark’s next order as the Stallion roared in at full impulse on what would likely the attack run that determined the USS Cayuga’s fate.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #76 –
[ ENS James "Jimmy" Mariner | Main Engineering | USS Cayuga ]
[Show/Hide]
@Auctor Lucan @Doc M. @FollowTomorrow@Masorin @Gadget @lisavw @Veridian @Fife @Absinthe @Brutus

Mariner was glad his hunch about Leftenant Martin was on point, and that he had hopefully gained an ally in the Cayuga's Chief Tactical Officer; the guy could wind up working with Leon. In the current helmswoman's hands, Jimmy felt like he was on the bridge of one of the old but confident Aries-class starships in its prime and he had a sense of hope that their crew would come riding to the rescue now that he had someone with the ear of the Captain. As usual, the ground fell under his feet as the battle flared around them.

The thought of two Martins being better than one was abruptly halted as Jimmy saw the Cayuga's bridge take a direct hit. Jimmy winced at the vessel's readouts, given his own recent encounter with that situation. Only those people weren't armored. Something had to be done. One bystander vessel destroyed because of this nonsense was enough. At the very least he could prevent an explosion that could consume the vector but his goal was to save their crew, especially now.

All aroud her, Natalie Stark's crew seemed to rise to the occasion. One after another, warnings were called out, observations made, suggestions acted upon. Hanging there in the distance, in full display on the viewscreen was the impedning destrcution of the Cayuga. She'd been given options, but none of them were particularly palitable. She raised a hand to gesture to Masuda when another voice alled out first, snagging her attention.

Sixty Seconds...

"Mariner to Quartermaster, Ready to beam Exo Suit 'JM-01' with last known loadout." It was his move, and he had to roll the dice. A redshirt's gotta do what a Redshirt's gotta do. "Configure phaser configs to combat Asurians." combat, as in 'kill'. It was us-or-them situation, where the rules of war applied. And those of revenge. These savages took Heather and tried to Kill Meony.

On that note, one weapon came to mind. Something she snuck into an Evel Knievel holodeck simulation. "Prepare an Isomagnetic Disintegrator." The authorization hung in the balance to execute his plan. In Kenievel's spirit, this was comparable. "Captain, I can beam right to the Cayuga in force and stop that thing." a sense of urgency made him forget his place.

Fifty-Two Seconds....

Natalie looked at him, stern faced. The Dominion War veteran security officer was offering her away out. She hoped no one noticed how tightly she was squeezing down on the arm rests of her chair. Now was hardly appropriate for showing just how affected she was by the dual blight of her Vector and her former XO, the Cayuga's current captain. Natalie couldn't show hesitation or weakness. Not now.

"Time is short Ensign. Go. Now. If you can't deal with the threat soon we'll have to do as Tactical suggests and take it out ourselves." And damn anyone on that ship that happenes to be in the way. But Natalie knew she didn't need to say it aloud. "Clocks ticking, Mr. Mariner. God speed."

Jimmy recalled that this vector had heavy personnel weapons aboard, namely one he was personally familiar with. He continued, minding the minute he had. Time had become even more valuable.

"I need to be twenty meters ahead in the trajectory of the vessel inside the Cayuga's hull, but keep transporter lock on my signal and standby beam-out. Energize when ready."

[ Acknowledged. Suit JM-01 Ready for Transport. Transporter Lock Made. Energizing. ]

For heaven's sake, don't drop that bloody ball, Computer.

Thirty-Three Seconds.

Natalie and the bridge crew were left to fend off the Asurian's blazing at them. "Helm, keep us out of their firing arcs. Tactical, be prepared. If Ensigns Mariner and Six cannot deter the assault inside the Cayuga we'll have to take that saucer out the hard way."

James assumed a Klingon-style boarding stance, ready to beam into his suit and summarily felt as if he slid into his evening wear when he apparated into his Security-Exo suit (he privately called it his 'sexy' suit for short). The likes of which had the familiar weight of a phaser pistol with his favorite four fire rates at his two-handed grip; full auto, heavy hitter or pulsewave. Beam of course was excessive. An understatement compared to the heavy weapon that beamed to his location aboard the Starship Cayuga, to a scene of disparate phaser fire, smoke and flames everywhere, making Jimmy at once miss the relative security of the Stallion's battle bridge.

In the Dominion War, Jimmy and other ground-pounders, mainly other humans called the Isomagnetic Disintegrator for what it was, 'A Bazooka', or 'zooka for short. The weapon was a response to Dominion gravity stealth mines and Jem'Hadar mortars. A humble infantryman could stop a vessel many times more armored and dangerous in its tracks. This could not have been a more apropos test of that weapon platform as the Asurian saucer forced its way to the Cayuga's deuterium tanks. If those went off without warning, there would be no beam out, not in this world, anyway.
 
Ten Seconds...

 Like a knight slaying a great horned dragon, Jimmy picked up this zooka in a corresponding shoulder-mounted firing stance and took aim at the nearest of the two graviton beam emitters, charged the weapon and summarily brought the Asurian saucer to a shuddering halt, forestalling disaster; the First blast hit its mark and heartbeats later, Jimmy fired another HUD-guided direct hit on the second eye-shaped graviton beam emitter, which had an apparent chain reaction on the Saucer-shaped craft that brought its systems offline. Any trace of the vessel's death throes was slow to a dead still. For the moment, the deuterium tanks were safe... but then the dragon's maw opened slowly, with the familiar, foul-smelling and pending wrath of the occupants within... and from the gravestone-colored ash and chemical fires in the saucer's hideous wake "Time to serve the birria."

All the same, Mariner didn't get cocky, he just reloaded this weapon and aimed it at the team of debarked Asurians when around and behind him, the welcome and unmistakable sound of additional phaser fire was heard in concert with an ensuing display of Starfleet Security volley fire from a team of Cayuga, who also fired on the saucer when it flickered, and crackled from purple Isomagnetic disintegrator fire. Jimmy joined in with another blast directed at the Asurians, landing a direct hit on one warrior, but getting the attention of another, hoping Jimmy could single out the man in charge and either kill or capture him. Jimmy made a Vulcan salute in the form of an infantry hand signal to his allies behind him, indicating that he was from Starfleet, marking him as a friendly to new arrivals on the scene.

Cayuga Security's weapons volley still used beams, which staggered or angered several Asurians now arriving from the gaps in the bulkheads behind them, shouting to eachother like beasts or hellspawn reveling in the slaughter and rearing to attack anyone in this room. Through concerted shots from the crew, several of these warriors fell. One singled out the armored human and drew those dreaded wrist-blades. Jimmy doubted the brute wanted a hug, but he made a friendly-enough offer to "Catch!" the 'zooka that Jimmy seemingly 'here-you-go' passed. The Asurian covered its head as the hefty weapon was thrown at its face, distracting it long enough to fumble with the weapon, only to stagger from several high-setting kill bursts that riddled its torso and ended with a shot-of-grace to the back of its developed horned head. The Disintegrator hit the floor before the Asurian did.

Pistol Drawn, Jimmy made sure the Asurian was dead before reclaiming the Disintegrator and reloaded it as soon as he could. While he still had a knife and could request his last mission's 'souvineer' without its sheath to fight honorably, there was no way Jimmy was going to realistically hold his own for very long in the time he had, so he had to scour the battle for the great-horned-jackass running this little party. The creature he just killed wasn't ike the one he'd killed back on Vector 2, which implied there was still a threat from the Asurian craft, as if the wake in the Cayuga's hull and perforated bulkheads made clear. Jimmy rounded a corner, Disintegrator in hand as he hailed the Stallion,

"Mariner to Stark: Enemy Contact. At least a dozen and counting; we can make a good stand for now; Warp Core is safe for the moment, but I can't guarantee it'll stay that way. Many casualties, systems... minimal. Orders?" Jimmy knew full well the Stallion's sensors were detecting the saucer's neutralization, but he didn't know what he was up against; staying here was as dangerous as it was hellish.

[Show/Hide]
Lt. Commander Leon "Striker" Marquez
Chief Tactical Officer, USS Theurgy
"No one left behind."

Ensign James "Jimmy" Mariner
Security Officer, USS Theurgy
"Showtime!"

Lieutenant (J.G.) Alessia "Angel" Garcia
Valravn Fighter Pilot, USS Theurgy
"You're not the only one with a gun,"

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #77 –


Lt Kaylon Jeen | Bridge|Cayuga Aerowing Shuttle | Attn @Doc M.  @Fife @Auctor Lucan  et al.


The comm crackled.
"West to the aerowing! The Captain needs medical attention, and there are no facilities available! Stand by to momentarily drop shields for transport! All non-essential personnel, prepare to abandon ship!"

Kaylon turned his attention to Tactical and saw that for the moment at least, they were still quasi-protected by the Cayuga's hull.
"Communications - Open Channel.   This is the Aerowing, coordinate with Ops on shields.  We'll have to make it fast or we'll all need medical attention or an undertaker.  Aerowing out!"  Turning to Chief Eboh at Ops, "Chief, get the window as tight as you can to get the Captain aboard, then get those shields up ASAP."

Hitting the intercom switch, he spoke quickly, "Doctor, prepare to receive casualties.  Captain Ziegler's been injured.  No report of her condition."

Things were happening way too quickly for his liking.  Although if the Captain recovered quickly enough, maybe she'd take command and all he'd have to worry about would be the shuttle's engines.  Not likely. he thought to himself. 

Turning his attention to the helm he said "Keep as much of our hull turned away from the Asurian ship until we get the Captain aboard.  The smaller target we present to them, the less chance we'll be hit, and keep running evasive."  Kaylon felt like a fool giving obvious orders, but without anything else to focus on, what more could he do?  Until Ziegler was beamed aboard and they were clear to start engaging the Asurian ships, there wasn't a lot.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #78 –
[ CPO Ekon Okotie-Eboh | Bridge | Cayuga Aerowing Shuttle ] @Auctor Lucan @alphawiz @lisavw @Veridian @Gadget @Juzzie @Masorin

”Aye, sir!”

Having anticipated Lieutenant Jeen’s command after hearing Commander West’s report, Ekon’s hands were already dancing over the Ops console as the Acting Captain doles out his orders. He was already working on getting a transporter lock on Captian Ziegler, preparing to beam her to the Aerowing’s medical bay. Once the transporter was ready, Ekon readied himself to drop the Aerowing’s shields momentarily and initiate the transport.

”I have a transporter lock on the Captain. Dropping shields and initiating transport.” Ekon called to Lt. Jeen as he punched in the command to bring the Aerowing’s shields down. He was aware the speed was key in their current circumstances. As he lowered the aerowing’s shields in the middle of the engagement with the Asurians he said a silent prayer, something he hadn’t done since he had gone to church with his step-father when he was a small boy. ”Shields down. Energizing.” Ekon watched his readouts with unblinking eyes as the transport initiated and was completed, and immediately began punching in the commands to bring the shields back up around the all too vulnerable aerowing shuttle.

”Transport is complete. The Captain is aboard and in the medical bay. Raising shields.” Ekon reported, working quickly to finish bringing the shields back online. ”Shields are at full, sir.”

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #79 –
[ Chief Medical Officer T'Panu | Med Bay | Cayuga Aerowing Shuttle ]

T'Panu was checking over her equipment one last time as she heard the intercom.

"Doctor, prepare to receive casualties.  Captain Ziegler's been injured.  No report of her condition."

Shit, T'Panu said aloud. She sprung up, heart racing, readying her equipment. What could have happened to her??

Before she could really finish her thought, Captain Ziegler was beamed onto her medical table. She pulled out her medical tricorder and began scanning her to see exactly what happened.

"Captain. Captain. Can you hear me?" T'Panu noted no response.

As she scanned, she noted a 4" laceration with moderate bleeding above her left eye, along with a few smaller lacs around her left eye and face. Some deep bruising around her orbital lobes, redness and inflammation around her cervical spine from C-1 through C-4. The tricorder did not show any further damage besides the inflammation, which she was thankful for. There was also a rather large goose egg to the right side of her forehead, where T'Panu judged was when Captain Ziegler hit her head and lost consciousness. Her left shoulder was dislocated, which T'Panu concluded she had tried to stop herself from flying when she was pulled by the depressurization. There were also first degree burns to approximately 11% of her body and she was slightly hypotensive and bradycardic.

T'Panu scanned Captain Ziegler from head to toe, and merely found contusions and abrasions.

T'Panu grabbed her dermal regenerator first to stop the bleeding and repair her lacerations. She started with the 4" lac above her left eye, as it was bleeding moderately quickly. As the bleeding slowed and the tissue was repaired, T'Panu grabbed her hypospray to replenish the fluids lost from the bleeding and the burns. The Captain's blood pressure began to normalize, as well as her pulse and colour.

Captain Ziegler looked less in shock, and T'Panu was hoping that would help her to regain consciousness. With her current state, however, it was better for her to not feel the pain. T'Panu grabbed her med kit and administered 10cc's of Triptacederine for the pain. She also administered Anesthizine 60 parts per million, according to weight via nebulized mask and noted the time. T'Panu had to reset her arm, and there was no way in hell she was allowing the Captain to wake up during that.

T'Panu grabbed her right arm, bent it at a 45 degree angle, and draped her hand behind her head. She then carefully grabbed her left arm and secured it momentarily to her left side. T'Panu dragged the sheet the Captain was laying on, pulled it towards herself, and the Captain slowly rolled onto her right side. She then pulled her arm back a careful 15 degrees with her left hand, placed her right hand on the captain's scapula, and with one quick motion, snapped her shoulder back into place. T'Panu made sure the Captain was still unconscious, and thankfully noted she was. She grabbed her medical tricorder to ensure her nerves were unharmed and her shoulder was back in place. Everything looked good, so T'Panu fashioned a sling out of a triangular bandage to support it.

T'Panu slowly rolled the Captain back onto her back so that she was comfortable on the bed. She ensured the sling was still supporting her arm and grabbed a blanket to put under her arm alongside the bed for added support of her shoulder. She reassessed her contusions and abrasions, and used her Dermal Regenerator to repair the rest of them, including the ones to her neck and face.

T'Panu treated the first degree burns with Dermaline Gel and applied a thick coating to her arms and hands where the burns were. Between the Dermaline Gel and the fluids, T'Panu knew her dermal layer would be treated in no time. She then administered a maintenance dose of 5cc's of Triptacederine for the pain.

There was nothing left for T'Panu to do but wait for the Captain to wake up, so she cleaned up the med bay and began her report. She added that she would be rechecking her vital signs and neural response every 15 minutes for the next hour, and for every half hour every subsequent hour after that. She would also continue to administer 5cc's of Triptacederine every hour for the pain.

T'Panu began her report and included the Captain's initial presentation, treatments and improvements as she awaited patiently for the captain to become alert again.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #80 –
[ Acting XO Lieutenant Zelosa Ejek | Battle Bridge | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ]

The speed at which things were happening would’ve been dizzying to a mind less prepared for chaos. Lieutenant Masuda was doing what he could. The Asurians tore through the ship and rattled her in her chair. The Asurian menace was about to destroy the Cayuga completely, and the choice Masuda offered was to let them execute the ship. or execute the Cayuga themselves. She wasn’t fond of either option.

At the same time, she knew six had left and was likely doing something to the saucer. She didn’t expect her to actually succeed, considering the sheer alien-ness of the saucer itself. It was likely she’d open up her systems to alien corruption, and then what? She kept an eye on the structural integrity of the Theurgy, worrying that something Six would do would cause the decks around it to collapse further. That part of the ship was still deeply wounded. If the fool thought she could wrangle the saucer out of the ship proper, then she’d likely cause a lot of damage just to do so, and she still wouldn’t be out in time to change the situation with the Cayuga.

While this was going on, Jimmy was...Jimmy. She couldn’t exactly say she was surprised, but she was irritated that both him and Six were both playing Big Damn Hero roles at the same time. Big Damn Heroes only got to live at the end of their stories because the genre required it—they were not living in a comic book. And the worst part is that the Captain sanctioned this. She felt her get twist into a black hole. She tried not to focus on Jimmy. She didn’t want to look. She’d know if he did his job or if he failed.

Beset on all sides by fools, she kept her gaze on the Cayuga. She wasn’t looking good, not at all. She tapped the console on her armrest, pulling up communications with multiple heads of departments. Medical, Engineering “Lieutenant Ejek. Be ready to receive escape pods. If the Cayuga doesn’t make it, we must make sure her crew does.”

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #81 –
Lt Kaylon Jeen | Bridge | Cayuga Aerowing Shuttle | Attn @Fife @lisavw @FollowTomorrow @Auctor Lucan @Arista @Masorin @Gadget  et al.

"Transport is complete. The Captain is aboard and in the medical bay. Raising shields.  Shields are at full, sir."

"Good job, Chief.  Now let's let's kick some ass-urian!  If we can." he said.  Turning to Lt Martin, Kaylon asked, "Has the Theurgy sent us any useful tactical info yet?  I'd really like to know what we're shooting at."

Until he had something else to go on, it was going to be like throwing rocks at a mountain lion.  All it would do is probably piss the lion off.  "Chief, get any kind of scans you can think of of these things and shunt the info over to tactical.  If you have any ideas, I'm open to them.  I know you have a good deal of combat experience. "

"In the meantime... Mektari, let's fly along the underside of the closest ship and drop a couple of torpedoes in their path, then bug out...and let them see us flying away.  Maybe they'll chase us and run into the torpedo mines.  Let me know when we're in position.  Use your best judgement.   Chief, get ready to drop those torpedoes on my mark."

Kaylon took a deep breath.  He hoped that his plan was going to work, or at the very least, not get them blown straight to Perdition's Flame.  Now that Ziegler was aboard, he felt even more pressure to succeed.  It was doubtful that she was going to recover in time to join the battle, but with her unconscious in the medical bay, that meant the Cayuga didn't have much of a command structure left.  The XO was still aboard, but still everybody else in the chain of command was here, and the Cayuga was in bad enough shape as it was.

Oh well, there was nothing for it.

"Martin, as soon as you get those scans from Ops, see if you can find any kind of a weak point.  If you do, fire at will!"

OOC : It'd be great if someone on board the Theurgy would take a few seconds and transmit at least some kind of tactical info on these saucer things.

GM Note: I already wrote Masuda sending the tactical info in the end of his section in my latest post, so no worries there! :)

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #82 –
[Lt. Rhys Williams| Cayuga Aerowing Shuttle| Attn @alphawiz @Fife @Auctor Lucan etc

It was amazing how many different ways danger could effect a person. Some people ended up in a state of shock, others panic, as he looked around the crew of the shuttle Rhys noted the grim determination of his colleagues. He himself was best described as numb. He was operating on automatic pilot, responded to requests from Lt. Jeen but otherwise blank faced and stunned.

He had received the message from the Cayuga about the injury to the Captain. That had changed things. She was a woman he very much respected and admired, as did all her crew. She had helped him a great deal over the short time he had known her. He felt genuine and warm feeling towards her, and now she was in trouble and there was nothing he could do. The numbness was replaced with shivers down his spine and a nervous energy he could do very little about.

Working communications in a battle, left you taking a back seat. You relayed what you were told to and passed on messages received. He dutifully searched for communications from their attackers, but he was not even sure how their communications system worked, or even if he could understand anything if he intercepted it. Still there was little else for him to do. Not that as a Counselor he would be doing an awful lot in battle scenarios anyway. Helplessness and uselessness were not good feelings to have, with adrenaline pumping through your body.

Lt. Jeen was showing himself to be a capable manager of other people. That much was obvious. The little attempt he had made to lighten the mood, 'ass-urians'. He found himself chuckling and shaking his head even though it was clearly the worst joke he had heard in his life. However, Rhys knew danger bred gallows humour.  He did not say it out loud but in his head the phrase "We who are about to die make shitty jokes to distract the conscious mind from the nightmare we are facing." rattled around.

He sucked in a deep breath and did the job that was in front of him for it was all he could really do.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #83 –
[ ENS James "Jimmy" Mariner | Main Engineering | USS Cayuga | Stardate: Showtime ]
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@Auctor Lucan @Doc M. @FollowTomorrow@Masorin @Gadget @lisavw @Veridian @Fife @Absinthe @Brutus

Jimmy stood by as he opened as many schematics and piped a secure line to Vector 3's mainframe and downloaded any readouts to his helmet. Upon letting the blue-fonted interface download to his padd, he was able to wave over one of the Cayuga's surviving engineers and waved them over.

"Input this into your main computer core!" he barked amid the sounds of bulkheads rattling and conduits popping as terminals cracked and their circuits spewed out electricity every which way. "Get it to override and execute! My crew will take it from there, now move it!" Mariner conveyed.

A sickening metallic shudder interrupted the command, like the sound of an airlock being ripped out by an external kinetic force, then another, and as the lights sputtered and flickered out. "That's an Order! Get this to the ranking officer! It'll save your ship! BLOODY -MOVE!-" Jimmy shoved the crewman while handing out his suit's partnered datapad to the courier. He could replicate another padd later as this one got to where it was supposed to. The Armored Ensign continued his mission as he used his suit to pipe into Cayuga's comms.

"This is Ensign James Mariner of Starfleet Security to anyone aboard Cayuga:" While auxiliary power was the only thing holding many systems aloft, this was on a priority channel. "Enemy Away Team converging on main engineering". He transmitted to the immediate comm network "Requesting Security reinforcements are to converge upon my location. Set phasers to kill, but enable sidearm safety protocols. If you hit the reactor, we're all toast. " Mariner reported, using his credentials to convey general orders across the local comms network, warning of an imminent enemy attack.
 
Even in spite of the darkness and bloodshed, James knew the animals responsible, and of their ability to regenerate from their injuries. "JM-1 to V-3: Send in Unit Foxtrot-Utah-1-2-3 to my vicinity. The Disintegrator has outlived its usefulness for the moment." Jimmy placed the Disintegrator aside, assigning it to an already-armed-and-qualified officer sporting a rifle. James identified her by rank and sec and assumed a posture intended to catch an item to be beamed into his hands. He was glad at his tendency to categorize his reliance on equipment, particularly when he had availability of resources on-hand. Thus far, Mariner was the only thing resembling an expert these poor blokes had to the Asurians, apart from those who had thus entered their ranks as defeated conquests.

The object he requested materialized in the span of a wink but fell directly into Mariner's hands as he tested the weight of last mission's reward item with a handful of test-swings. Grateful that the Computer had taken his orders to prepare his suit in accordance with his last mission's  configurations, he had the initiative as the lights went almost completely out in Main Engineering.

More than anyone, Jimmy was prepared to do what he had to to protect the ship. Thus far, he was the only thing resembling an expert these poor blokes had to the Asurians, apart from those who had thus entered their ranks as defeated conquests. The humanoids vanquished by these goat-headed savages. Unless of course, Jimmy could call upon one more way to buy time at a bargain from the Asurian Threat.

The bulkheads shuddered yet again, and the only illumination came from the fires being put out by engineers, midshipmen and noncom officers. Jimmy would have radioed in for more time and options if he only could, but being the only soul from the Stallion Vector aboard, the most he could do yet was to get ahold of that Saucer and interface that ex-Borg Ensign Six to connect and rip the turn of battle out of their hands.

Lt. Commander Leon "Striker" Marquez
Chief Tactical Officer, USS Theurgy
"No one left behind."

Ensign James "Jimmy" Mariner
Security Officer, USS Theurgy
"Showtime!"

Lieutenant (J.G.) Alessia "Angel" Garcia
Valravn Fighter Pilot, USS Theurgy
"You're not the only one with a gun,"

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #84 –
[Ensign Six | Lower Shuttle Bay/Impounded Asurian Ship | Deck 21 | Vector 3 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Brutus @FollowTomorrow @Triton @Doc M. @Triage @Masorin
[Show/Hide]

Six smiled at the status of the saucer in the Cayuga. Whoever shut down the engines of that saucer, she could kiss in gratitude. It saved the trouble of working up a viral matrix to hack into the engines through a hailing frequency. She let the “retreat” order continue to be sent, in case the systems of the saucer would come online again.

The next order of business were the saucers chasing the Theurgy. Perhaps she can hurt two birds with one stone. That fourth saucer was dead in the water, but it still had teeth. She can help things along, make the odds better, and besides, the Cayuga was safe for now.

[ Marshal Kangar  | Warmonger-Saucer Berserker | Azure Nebula]

Kangar, Marshal of the Berserker, leered as his crew kept up the pursuit of the Theurgy alongside Chief Marshal’s Sitaio’s saucer, the K’thill. It wouldn’t be long before the shields would be crippled. Neither the Theurgy nor their fellow Starfleet vessel would have a chance in the Inferno. It was too good to be true.

They came so suddenly. Something happened to the systems. Noise stunned the crew, and the consoles and the viewscreen fizzled into static.

“What’s going on?” Kangar shouted. “Status report? I’ll have the head of whoever broke my beloved Berserker!”

But then it stopped. The noise lessened but the viewscreen was disabled. Still static.

“Helmsman, keep up the pursuit!” he shouted.

“Sir?” came the answer. “Marshal, the helm’s received a new set of coordinates. We’re no longer following the K’thill.”

“WHAT?” Kangar was furious, and he rarely got furious. “What’s our new bearing? Well, never mind, I want that viewscreen!”

His engineer was at work on it, and he soon got the screen back up…and what came up was the hull of another Asurian saucer. And not a nanosecond later, the impact send everybody sprawling and sparks exploding everywhere.

[Dr. Francis Franklin | Battle Bridge | Deck 11 | Vector 3 | USS Theurgy]

Dr. Franklin had been watching on the bridge, standing by for medical assistance. The battle was going poorly, he could see. Now he saw the saucer slicing through the Cayuga had stopped and now, one of the saucers chasing the Theurgy had broken off pursuit and rammed into the fourth saucer, still adrift. He winced at how much damage was done.

He could see the enemy wouldn’t intentionally do something like this. He remembered Ensign Six was up to something in the impounded saucer in the “Stallion’s” bay. And he remembered her skills that helped the crew in evacuating the Resolve.

“Ensign Six has done it again,” he said with admiration. He turned to the ranking officers.

“Commander Stark, Lieutenant Ejek, I think you’ve just unleashed a monster,” he said with an ever-widening smile. “But thank God she’s our monster.”

[Ensign Six | Lower Shuttle Bay/Impounded Asurian Ship | Deck 21 | Vector 3 | USS Theurgy]

Six let out a laugh. She couldn’t help it, and she was more emotional than any ex-drone, even Seven of Nine. It was better than she fought. That frequency she sent to one of the pursuing saucers produced a doozy: a set of coordinates diverting their course, practically setting up a collision course. Right to the disabled saucer. There was no time to admire her handiwork. She still had work to do.

The odds, of course, are getting better. She hoped things will be easier for the crews of both the damaged ships.

OOC: Part of this is a set-up to a joint post between me and Triton for a confrontation between Jimmy Mariner and Belek. Apologies if it's too soon. Feel free to imagine the damage the disabled saucer sustained. And, in case anybody's wondering, I'm not writing Six stealing the show. She's just making the odds better, making it easier for the crews.

GM Note: Belek section removed and Triton's post sent off for a JP creation of the scene instead! :)

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #85 –
[Lt. Vanya|Bridge | Cayuga's Aerowing Shuttle

This graviton technology was like nothing Vanya had ever seen before…   and yet as the battle progressed, the android science officer was beginning to see a pattern.  It was one of the things she took great comfort in her entire life since she woke up in Federation space.   Despite the oddness of emotions, the minefield of relationships and the downright vipers nest of contact, one of the things that gave Vanya comfort was science   If the math was good, everything made sense.   With each shred of data that danced across her monitor, it started to become clear that there was a solution.   A way out.  

“Oh yes!” she exclaimed.   “I think we can slow them down a little.” 

She performed one last scan.  

“Their saucers use some kind of Graviton beam emitters.   I think we can reconfigure our shields.   We use about 630 MCH.   If we divert power from the landing systems we can reconfigure the graviton emitter of the shields to give out 870.   We could be without landing capabilities for a while, but I don’t think we’re going to be landing planet side anytime soon.”  

She watched as the power systems were ready to go   Several fail safe warning popped up against the screen, she disabled them all.   Rightly or wrongly what she would to next could save the day.  

“There, the algorithm is ready to go   Just give the word, Sir.”

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #86 –
[ Lt JG, Salem Martin  | Cayuga's Aerowing Shuttle  ]
[Show/Hide]

Arming his consol was a little clunky, the Aerowing thankfully hadn't been used in their engagement with the borg so it's weapons were all still good to go, but it was still only an Aerowing. Smaller more agile, but it didn't exactly punch above it's weight class. Plus someone else had used this station before him and it took a few precious seconds to wipe the food crumbs off the station, and get his settings punched in. The last thing he wanted was to not have the buttons configured correctly. He didn't want to firing a missile when he was trying to shoot a phaser.

As for the tactical data from the Theurgy he was going over it trying to find the important information. Figure out exactly what they were up against.

"They are called the Asurian, these guys are decked out. They are using RF resonant cavity thrusters they got omnidirectional movement, their weapons are graviton based. They have stuff I can't actually pronounce that uses folds in space as weapons."

Martin had always considered himself a bit of a tech, especially when it came to weapons. But the stuff he was seeing from these scans were well above his pay grade. It was mostly considered theoretical work that by Federation standards shouldn't exist. He was pretty sure he would kill to get his hands on one of these things.

At the same time though as he was reading over everything he was trying to get a better read on the shielding. The omnidirectional engines gave off no singular form of radiation he could detect, but there had to be something to it. Hephaestus would always put some critical flaw in even his greatest works. There was always some thing that someone overlooked something that could be used against them.

And then he found it. He was taking a look at the compounds that they used to make the hull. Chemical compounding that made it friction less in atmospheric conditions. "Martin to Theurgy I think i found something, sending my findings back to you, taking aim."

He was hoping he was right about this the more he broke it down the more he figured he was right. The best way to make something near friction-less, is a magnetic coating, if he was reading these compounds correctly that meant it was ionizing the hull, if he shifted the polarity of his weapons to the opposite their biggest advantage wouldn't matter, they could curve the phaser towards the smaller objects. It wasn't much, but it might get them a few hits before the Asurian's figure out what was happening.

And with that advantage it was time to go a little ham, Martin's fingers danced across his panel, and he started shooting them with abandon.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #87 –
[ Lieutenant Masuda Yukimura | Battle Bridge | The Stallion | USS Theurgy ] @Gadget @Griff
[Show/Hide]
Upon getting the word from the aerowing, Masuda Yukimura had just witnessed how one of the pursuing saucers had rammed the disabled one they'd left in their wake. It was as if their computer had turned the map for them, and their present course had been aligned with their unfortunate companion's coordinates. A medical officer in the background of the bridge suggested the obvious, that it had been Ensign Six that had successfully entered the navigational system of that saucer. Masuda was far too busy to say anything about it, instead working with the firing solution that the Tactical Officer on the aerowing had suggested.

"Calibrating polarity now," he said through clenched teeth, seeing that the blinded saucer had compromised the graviton systems in the impact. The portion of the viewscreen that showed their pursuers laid the mayhem bare, and if Yukimura hadn't seen saucers fall during the battle at Starbase 84, he wouldn't know what he was looking at. Where the collision had taken place, a gravity well had flared open, with light and space warping and getting distorted. The great density of the conflagration siphoned the deuterium waste and twisted it, coughing out eddies. The reaction was instantaneous, where the deuterium waste detonated in a chain reaction. The shockwave of the gravity well detonation rocked the last remaining saucer - setting it off course.

It lent respite to their battered shields, which Conway was quick to announce. "Aft shields at 5 %, regenerating!"

"Polarisation complete!" said Yukimura, eyes snapping towards Lillee t'Jellaieu at the helm. "Petty Officer, turn us around! I need attack manoeuvres, now!"

The aerowing was already sweeping in, lithe and true, and firing repeatedly with its phaser emitters towards the last remaining saucer. Since Salem Martin had the polarisation made, the beams bent and hit the saucer, compensating for the craft's great speed and manoeuvrability. No longer could it stay ahead of their automated targeting system, and manual aim had become redundant. Thus, Masuda Yukimura armed all pulse phasers on the Stallion, and gave the auto-fire command with a single target high-lighted. All phasers that had the saucer within its firing arcs would spew phaser energy towards the last Asurian ship.

Victory was just within reach. They just needed to converge on the last hostile ship.

[ Chief Marshal Akri Sitaio | Overseer-saucer K'thill | Azure Nebula ] Attn: All
[Show/Hide]
Snarling through her teeth, Akri Sitaio climbed back to her feet, her pale skin freckled with translucent blood. One of her officers had been cast sideways from the close proximity gravity well, and he'd cut himself on her sindt. He lay dead on the deck before her, but she spared him no glance, needing to stay on top of the situation and bear witness to the damage caused.

It was obvious to her, what had happened.

"Sever subspace links!" she snarled, stepping up to one station and doing it herself across the shoulder of a disoriented officer. "They were using the stolen saucer to enter our systems!" Sitaio was furious, but at least she'd made sure there was no uplink any more when she stepped back to the front of the small bridge. What she saw there, on the viewscreen, gave her pause.

"They are coming for us..." she said, seeing how both the small aerowing and the Theurgy Vector were doubling back towards them, no longer being the hunted. They were about to go head to head with the K'thill - the Monarch - which made Akri bare her teeth at the viewsceen. "Perhaps they are not so craven after all... Arm all emitters, get between them and fire on them both! Tear shields and hull alike asunder, and show them the spirit of Asuria!"

The bridge crew answered her. "For Asuria!"

And then, the saucer spun and rolled, and the great gravition beam emitters along the edge of their hull drilled into the two Starfleet ships that converged on them.

With widening eyes, Akri saw their crude phasers match their great speed, and the bridge of the K'thill began to shake from the bombardment. She knew not what had happened, holding on to the back of a seat, and began to shout new orders.

OOC: Next posters are A) @Griff and @Gadget , where the two helm officers can converge on the last saucer for optimal phaser exposure on the enemy. B) @Veridian had a solution to boost the aerowing's shields, so I suggest this was immediately approved and implemented lest this last confrontation will hurt. @Fife , your guy at Ops can redirect power towards the augmented shields? C) @Doc M. can something more be done for the Theurgy's shields? Can the phasers get any more juice? If nothing else, keeping track of damage and spaced officers from the depressurised sections? A, B and C has no real order to it, so just post at your earliest convenience!

I know there is a JP underway for the scene aboard the Cayuga, so that can be posted whenever its finished too.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #88 –
[ Marshal Belek | Engineering Corridor | USS Cayuga ]
&
[ ENS James "Jimmy" Mariner | Main Engineering | USS Cayuga | Stardate: Showtime! ]
[Show/Hide]
A joint-post by Multificionado and Triton
@Auctor Lucan @Doc M. @FollowTomorrow@Masorin @Gadget @lisavw @Veridian @Fife @Absinthe @Brutus

The deck flickered to almost medieval torch lighting as Mariner's HUD filters rendered the battlespace visible to him. He holstered his pistol but kept it ready for a surprise attack. Despite being rather shaken, the battered and determined Cayuga crew obeyed, raising their fists and lowering their rifles, maintaining aim at the Asurians as they rallied to the scene of the crashed saucer. "This is Mariner, cease fire. Let 'em assemble. I got some stinkers for these stinkers." Jimmy used the security codename for some nonlethal items he'd beamed aboard. The Asurian Marshal was a tempting target indeed.

"Get back out there, you idiots! That retreat order is bogus! You will follow me and not let these peons get the best of you!"

Marshal Belek was seething with fury. He wasn't going to let anything stop his bloodlust. Not a communications malfunction, and certainly not the puny fools cutting down his troops. Sick of the noise on the bridge and of the stupid insubordination of his boarding parties, he departed to rally the fools to fight.

"To me! TO ME! Let us eviscerate these puny fools! EVISCERATE! KILL! KILL!! K...!"
 
"Batter up." Jimmy flung one armed flashbang around one flank of this leader. One Asurian picked up the curious item to inspect it, putting the ensuing explosive at eye level with anyone in radius. Owch. "Steeeeri-yiiiiike WUUUN!!" The nonlethal 'stinker' arced through the air, narrowly avoiding hitting Jimmy's main target on purpose, but Jimmy had to toy with the off-chance the stun grenade would strike the lead Asurian in the face, given how big a target profile those horns were. The Flashbang went off, instantly popping a numbing blast as it spoutied a shockwave of noxious gaseous chemicals into the area as the Asurians collapsed or staggered in dumbfounded shock. Mariner didn't give the order to kill these defenseless creatures, to stand apart from these savages.

The Asurian was howling his war cry when he was unexpectedly interrupted. Something flew past Belek's head. He barely turned when a flash emerged, and he quickly averted his eyes. The rest of the troops weren't so lucky. He knew flashbangs when he saw it, and recognized, especially from the glow originating behind him, it was a powerful one. It took a powerful flashbang to take down an Asurian, let alone a whole troop. Perhaps too powerful.

The golden opportunity for a second strike appeared and Mariner and took it. remembering his baseball sessions in the holodeck, Jimmy remembered his inward pitch, and threw a speedball pitch, as if to knock a batter off plate. He kept his backup flashbang in reserve for now, in case the rabble got up after that first pitch.
"Steeeeri-yiiiiike TWOOOO!!!"

Somebody shouted. Belek tried to determine who said that. Was it some kind of war whoop? But then something struck Belek, something as hard as a handheld rock. He flinched; it got his attention.

Jimmy got a second hefting piece of debris that must've weighed as much as a small marble statue. Tempting as it was to settle this with a quick-draw to the hostile's face, these barbarians favored brute force. It was time to strike the visiting team captain out. And to shut him up.

"Steeeeri-yiiiiike Thuhreeeeeeeee!!! You're out!!!" the piece of fist-sized debris must have been made out of pure marble, based on how hard it met the Asurian's face. Jimmy was almost reminded of his ancestral neighbors, the Maori and some of their war chanting ways, in how tribal warfare was exchanged among feuding chiefs. The representative from his clan, Jimmy stepped forward in strides, picking the right place for his next move.

Belek's rage increased, and he finally saw the assailant. He was human, undoubtedly, and his weapon was huge. He was different from other humans, from other of the puny Starfleet types. He didn't even seem to come from the Cayuga. He must be from the Theurgy. Belek smiled. Finally, was an opponent worthy of his salt, and those were few. And he never expected such from Starfleet. Still, Starfleet or not, it had been far too long since Belek fought in a duel.

"You!" Belek shouted. "Come and face me if you have the courage! Man to man! IF you are man enough!"

"IF?!" The Australian sneered. "You talk a lot of shite for tomorrow's breakfast, you livestock." Jimmy answered back, his helmet amplifying his voice through the mechanical sounds of metallic churning and fires raging. Mariner began the duel by stepping forward like a bullfighter, exploiting his rival's injury, and timing his next step to keep the sword's tip facing the enemy's eyes. Anything else came secondary to keeping the brute off-balance and in fear of losing the initiative. Stepping up his game, Mariner stepped into the Asurian's guard attacked with unexpected (or at least uncommon) familiarity with Terran swordsmanship, and a fast-passed exchange of steel and bone ensued. At one point, Jimmy was able to throw an uppercut with his offhand that connected, staggering the Asurian, who spat out a tooth. Uh oh. So much for talking out of this.

Belek leapt at the man, toting a sort of sword, and landed some blows. Made some sweeping moves with his head, swinging his horns about, and shattered the sword after a few blows.

Before Jimmy could mourn the weapon's loss, a hairline crack on his visor began to widen and branch out. Then came a sharp, searing pain as the sentient livestock punched through it and connected with Jimmy's moustache. The blow connected with Jimmy's skull, and the Australian doubled back and recomposed himself as he tasted what he only knew was a tooth or two knocked out of his upper jaw. It made him mad more than anything. But it still limited his ability for glib remarks and crushing comebacks; -that- was painful.

Belek smiled as his opposition picked himself up, scowling at him.

"Any last words, human?" he chuckled, ready to give his final blow.

The human spit a tooth out at him and then let out a smug smile as he stood up and produced a pathetic human knife from his suit of armor.

Well, shit. If he didn't pull this off, he knew Meony was going to haunt him in the afterlife to no avail for dying so stupidly. Jimmy got up, seemingly backed into a corner in the engineering room, and noticed for a split second enough to find a way out of this fight, despite the pain singing in his head like the front row of a rock concert. "Olé."

Belek turned his head to the side in a puzzled expression.

"What kind of final words are those?" he said. Humans seem so strange. First the "Strikes" and now this.

"It mean-sh 'Shtand down' or 'Shh-howdown,' Cow boy." Mouth bleeding and speaking through an opera of pain, Jimmy seemed resigned to hold his ground till the bitter end, knowing full well he had the high ground in this fight. The human stood up, brave as he was in his beaten state, and made a gesture like he was beckoning Belek into saying it to his face. "Toro! Toro!" he shouted. That'ssh right, you stupid bull... Man to Freak."

"Enough! You're making me angry!" It was true. As far as he could tell, that gesture and those words sounded like an insult.

"I am Belek the Bloodthirsty! And I will have your head!" He charged at the human...

...only to wind up ramming his head, horns first, into a console and getting electrocuted. The electrical currents surged through him and he shouted amidst the pain. The last thing to go through his mind was that he couldn't believe he fell for something as stupid as this.

Unsatisfied the Asurian was still moving as sparks flew out of his fallen enemy (and mainly out of anger that he'd actually gotten hurt), Jimmy fired three pulses from his pistol at the twitching brute's carcass before asking the nearest engineer of the Cayuga, "Doesh zhiss zship haff a denn-tisht?"
Lt. Commander Leon "Striker" Marquez
Chief Tactical Officer, USS Theurgy
"No one left behind."

Ensign James "Jimmy" Mariner
Security Officer, USS Theurgy
"Showtime!"

Lieutenant (J.G.) Alessia "Angel" Garcia
Valravn Fighter Pilot, USS Theurgy
"You're not the only one with a gun,"

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #89 –
[PO1 Lillee t’Jellaieu] [ Battle Bridge | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan, @@Arista, @@DocM, @Follow Tomorrow, @StarDuster, @Brutus, @Gadget, et al.

[Show/Hide]

The collision between the two Asurian saucers came as a complete shock to Lillee at the helm, but it was welcome nonetheless. The enemy threat had suddenly lessened, and by some miracle, the ailing Cayuga was still intact. The besieged Federation ships might just survive the Asurian attack after all.

"Polarisation complete!" said Yukimura, eyes snapping towards Lillee t'Jellaieu at the helm. "Petty Officer, turn us around! I need attack manoeuvres, now!"

“Yes sir,” Lillee acknowledged curtly, now with a tinge of ice resolve in her tone. She flung the Stallion around as if it were a racing yacht, the inertial dampeners barely compensating for the sharp maneuver, but it nevertheless meant that both the Stallion and aerowing could attack the damaged surviving saucer simultaneously. Lillee had no idea who was piloting the aerowing, her mind having been too focused on other things, but she had noticed that the aerowing was flying with remarkable aggression in a fight that it was supremely undergunned for. The crew of the small craft were showing true mnhei’sahe in how desperately they defended their beleagured mothership.

As the Stallion and aerowing advanced on the surviving saucer, however, preparing to zoom by the enemy craft on each side while firing, Lillee sucked in a hard intake of breath at a sudden realisation: the Asurians weren’t trying to evade, but instead were charging! With only a split second to see the danger and no time to ask Commander Stark or Lieutenant Masuda, Lillee instead rapidly tapped the comn controls.

“Theurgy CONN to aerowing,” Lillee said quickly as she eyed the tricky maneuver, “you’ve flown honourably so far, so don’t take this personally.”

And with that, Lillee pushed the immense Stallion a touch to starboard and accelerated, cutting across the saucer’s bow and hurtling past the saucer moments before the more fragile aerowing could get there. The broadsides of the two vessels blasted mercilessly at each other in the split-second high speed pass before the aerowing could have its turn. While the aerowing had been firing with minimal effect for most of the attack run, now its small phasers were able to savage the Asurian saucer at point-blank range without fear of reprisal, the Asurians too busy recovering from the awful exchange with the larger Stallion to retaliate against the Cayuga’s support craft.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #90 –
[ William Robert O’Connell | Vector Three Battle Bridge | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Atten: @Brutus, @FollowTomorrow, @StarDuster, @Triton.

Master Chief Petty Officer William Robert ‘Billy Bob’ O’Connell was using an earbud in order to communicate with his subordinates without having their voices distract the officers on the bridge.  Small and compact, it fit snugly in the ear and was invisible to the naked eye, unlike the earpieces Starfleet had used over a century before.  It was perfect for holding a private conversation.

That is, it would have been if O’Connell had engaged the sound dampening field around his workstation.  As is was, the officers on the bridge could hear only one half of his conversation. 

“Dagnabbit, Herber!  Reroute plasma feeds an’ increase power tuh forward shields n’ forward phasers pronto!  Structural integrity’ll keep ‘till we need tuh go tuh warp!  Where’s Manfredi?  Oh.  He’s in th’ Helmet.  Well in the meantime we need maximum power on the tactical systems!”

He glanced up from his station to see the Cayuga and the Asurian vessels dart onto the main viewscreen, despite the fact that injured ship was stationary.  The Stallion was turning to fight.

“Ah got yuh full phaser power an’ kin git th’ forward shields back up tuh 85 %! ” the master chief called out.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #91 –
[CONN Officer Dumral|Bridge | Cayuga’s Aerowing Shuttle]

Mektari couldn’t believe it. Only moments ago she had been trying her hardest not to focus on the sheer impossibility of them winning this fight. And how quickly that thought was reaffirmed by the news that their captain was injured, only able to give a curt nod of understanding as she turned to keep their hull in the clear as they performed the dangerous maneuver of beaming her on board. Right when Mektari was ready to start veering the shuttle into position to drop torpedoes in their wake, the whole scene changed. Her body went stiff as she watched the two saucers collide, the logical part of her mind trying to understand why it had happened, the operational part of her mind already working to convert the current plan and take a new form of action.

The Stallion charged forward and Mektari was right on her starboard quarter, falling in line with the more heavily equipped ally as if the two pilots had coordinated the move from the very beginning. She gave a mental nod of respect to the unknown CONN officer she was following the lead of and in those precious seconds there was enough time for tactical to let loose a barrage of everything they had on the enemy saucer, but it was short lived.

At least until the voice of the unknown female contacted them and Mektari had to act fast as the Stallion veered into place, cutting out the enemy and filling the viewscreen with the impromptu ‘shield’ of the ship that guarded them from attack. She always knew she would face a moment such as this, but it didn’t stop her from dreading it. She had to make a decision and there was no time to consult anyone; it was up to her how the next critical moments played out.

The two seconds she took to analyze it all felt like an eternity. The Aerowing was small and sleek, not a lot of speed but the maneuverability was quite impressive. She could dip past the Stallion, veer off in any direction and expose the enemy again to fire on them even more, making their valiant effort of the Stallion moot. Or follow the new flow of direction, move with the Stallion and stay shielded by her. Some might have seen it as a cowardly choice, but instead all Mektari could do was run the numbers. The entire senior staff of the Cayuga was on the vessel she piloted that was severely outgunned by the enemy. To keep any sort of command structure in place for what few survived on their ship, she had to place their safety above all others, especially if the vessel saving them was part of a treacherous group on the run from Starfleet.

Though her unhappiness about the situation was easily heard as she snapped into a quick reaction. Some alien word blurted from her lips, the translator unable to handle the Cardassian phrase, but from the way she spat the sound it was obviously some form of cussing. They could all feel the weight of the move, the g-force pressing upon them for mere moments until the Aerowing could compensate. She fell in line again, turning in tandem with the Stallion and hiding behind the vessel as the enemy surged on.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #92 –
[ CPO Ekon Okotie-Eboh | Bridge | Cayuga Aerowing Shuttle ]

Chief Eboh had prepped the transporter and gotten a lock on a pair of the photon torpedoes that had been beamed aboard before they launched from the Cayuga. He had the transporter ready to drop them in the areowing’s wake on Lt Jeen’s command, the intention being for them to either deter the Asurian’s pursuit, or damage the saucer should it decide be persistent. ”Transporter locked, sir. Torpedoes ready to be dropped on your mark.” Then the two saucers had collided and Mektari had brought them into an attack run alongside the Theurgy's vector.

Ekon heard Lt. Vanya’s suggestion about rerouting power and heard her tell the Acting Captain that her algorithm was ready. He turned his head away from the Ops console and looked over his right shoulder, seeing the back of the dark haired science officer’s head. ”I’ll try to shunt any power I can to the shields for you, ma’am.” Ekon said, glancing briefly at the Cardassian sitting next to him as he turned back to his station. If felt strange seeing a Cardassian at the helm, even if he knew Mektari. The last time he has been in combat in a small craft like this had been against the Cardassians.

How the times have changed… Ekon thought to himself as his fingers tapped at the console.

”Sir, do you still want to drop those torpedoes? I would suggest we take the transporter offline and divert the power to the shields as well.” Ekon called to Lt. Jeen. ”If the shields fail, we won’t have a chance to beam off the aerowing anyway, and it might just keep us in the fight.” Ekon said, his fingers getting to work diverting power from anything not essential to the fight and throwing it towards the aerowing’s shields.

”I am diverting everything else I can to bolster the shields.” Ekon called, ”It is not a lot, but it should give the shields a little more holding power.” Ekon said as he leeched power from the last of the non-essential systems, hoping it would be enough to keep them in one piece.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #93 –
[ Chief Medical Officer T'Panu | Med Bay | Cayuga Aerowing Shuttle ]

T'Panu had drifted off in her chair. As she slowly began to wake, she realized she had been up for more hours straight than she cared to mention. Watching over the Captain was nerve-wracking, but someone had to do it. She wanted her to wake up from her coma soon so that she knew all her medical interventions had, indeed, made a difference.

Medically speaking, she was moving along quite nicely. Her shoulder was healing since it was put back into place. Her burns, thanks to the Dermaline Gel, had nearly vanished; except in parts where there were still first degree burns, she was happy with the recovery thus far. She would be able to take the c-collar off soon, but wanted another day or two to make sure it was set properly. She wanted to make sure it was plenty healed so there wouldn't be any lasting damages.

Every hour on the hour, T'Panu rechecked vital signs and alertness. Thus far, there had been no changes to either. She was in a very stable coma. Her vital signs stayed completely within normal range, and T'Panu was very happy about that. The fluids she replenished the Captain with helped maintain good cardiac function, and she was beginning to get some actual colour back into her. T'Panu ensured she had a steady supply of fluids and nutrients.

T'Panu continued with her treatment, 5cc's of Triptacederine every hour for the pain. The last thing she'd want is for the Captain to wake up with more pain than she should. She ran a dermal scan and repaired some more burnt tissue, almost returning her to good as new. She was wary how much she healed, as she didn't want the skin to lose its elasticity and leave her with any lasting scars. The Captain was tough, T'Panu admired that. She knew she wouldn't mind a few scars after the hell she went through, but T'Panu wanted to tell her she was good as new when she woke up and inform her they kicked those Asurian asses back to where they came from. She was hoping to give out no bad news.

T'Panu grabbed 3% Hydrocortilene for the headaches and applied it. She ran a final diagnostic with her Medical Tricorder, pulled out her PADD, and wrote her updated report. Her reports were all beginning to sound the same, but as long as they weren't sounding worse, she was content.

T'Panu noticed she had some extra time and made sure her med bay was prepared for more patients. She looked through all her equipment for what felt like the tenth time now, but wanted to ensure she was ready and prepared. The more she checked the supplies, the quicker she would be able to help her patients. If she could find her supplies simply by muscle memory, that could make a huge difference for anyone else that was under her care.

She wondered what was going to happen next, if they would beat these Asurian's soon, or if the fight for survival would drag on longer. She had the utmost respect and confidence in all of their crew, and was grateful for each and every one of them that put themselves in harms way to ensure everyone's safety. Despite the fight, T'Panu had a good feeling that they would find a way to defeat them and escape to safety. Only time would tell, but hope was a good start.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #94 –
[ Acting XO Lieutenant Zelosa Ejek | Battle Bridge | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ]

If her knuckles could go white, they would. She gripped her arm rests as if squeezing them would ease her anxiety. To no surprise at all, it did not. She was just...sitting there. There’s nothing she could do to make this situation any better. Worst of all, she couldn’t get away. To get up and just leave the bridge, that’d be like admitting defeat. Morale would plummet. She certainly couldn’t order the ship to turn around and high-tail it out of there as fast as the helm could take them. So she was stuck.

Stuck watching everything, everyone. Two Asurian ships crashed into one another, likely not an accident or an Asurian oversight. She was watching O’Connel’s half of a conversation, ordering people around. He needed someone else to help him do his job, clearly, but they were sorely lacking in staff. The Lieutenant Yukimura making orders, the petty officer piloting the ship sounding the way a bitter drink goes down the gullet.

She thought about Six, but tried not to for very long. Worry consumed her too much to let her mind linger. She wanted some assurance that she wasn’t putting her life in danger and she knew she would not get it. No point in worrying.

Jimmy...she didn’t even want to think about him. It was almost certain he was putting his life in danger. It physically sickened her to think about him. And yet…

Below her hand, she saw a text-only message

“JM-01 to Doc
Beam in "Shiney.”

And her mouth fell open, stunned. The...the sheer nerve of contacting her out of the blue, treating her like some sort of transporter operator. The gall of charging forward and just forgetting something, and sending her a little text message asking for her to get it for him. Does she look like some sort of maid? Is she a yeowoman? And on top of it all—just what does he think he’s going to do? Didn't she specifically forbid being big damn heroes!?

Here she was, sat with a choice, to either enable this little man-child’s heroism, or to potentially let him die because she could not be relied on. Her head sank into her other hand, massaging her temples. Her other hand typed in the command she was thinking of. The item of interest was on it's way...

Her next action was taking out of impulse. She felt her cheeks rise with the heat of her own anger, and she just had to know. What in the world is Jimmy doing that requires her to do this. So her hand went to the console, she leaned over, waited for the connection to his helmet-cam to be made--
"Huhaaah!!" She startled, not expecting that much...blood. She hoped it wasn't his, but it probably was, knowing Jimmy. "Ensign James Mariner!" She began, with a voice much like a furious mother, hoping to nonexistent gods that he wasn't dead already, "You have exactly thirty seconds before I have you beamed right onto a sickbay bed!"

She would have words with him later. Many words.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #95 –
[ ENS James "Jimmy" Mariner | Main Engineering | USS Cayuga | Azure Nebula]
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@Auctor Lucan @Doc M. @FollowTomorrow@Masorin @Gadget @lisavw @Veridian @Fife @Absinthe @Brutus

Jimmy sat down as Security Personnel appeared on the scene to stun, detain or otherwise secure the Asurian boarding parties to their fates to be hauled somewhere in a cargo bay, as the brig was almost certainly powerless. Mariner privately hoped they would be detained in a bay they damaged, at risk of decompression, those bastards.

They weren't going to be a problem for much longer, and he was sure his helmet cam captured as much of the engagement as he could. The danger had passed, but James Mariner was no warp core engineer. If the officer he'd given the padd to could patch his uplink to an undamaged computer terminal, the Stallion vector could access the Cayuga and remotely engage failsafes and essentially help put out the fires and possibly beam in engineering and medical teams.
 
It was the immediate lack of medical equipment on hand which was the reason the otherwise sturdy Ensign was hunched over at a seat, cradling his injury as a Vulcan medic with a green-blooded gash across his face tended to James' injury. Jimmy had a hairline fracture on his maximillia, and needed proper medical attention. The medic at best could diagnose him, unable to find a dermal regenerator for himself. Unwilling to talk, Jimmy simply made the Vulcan salute and waved him past as a mercifully welcome voice appeared through his headset.

"Ensign James Mariner!"

The Australian had never been so happy to hear the 'snake-charming dragon lady' before. It took monumental effort past the pain roaring in his head to mumble. "G'ahead." he winced as the Resolve counselor continued in that catchy furious tone of hers that made him jest idly about Cardassian seduction techniques.

"You have exactly thirty seconds before I have you beamed right onto a sickbay bed!"

"I love you too, Doc" Jimmy said without separating his jaw, tasting the coppery, sharp flavor of his own blood. One of his canine teeth was hanging on by a very tender thread, while his upper left molar teeth moved uncomfortably about. On that note, he added. "Make it three."

"I'll let your girlfriend know. Beaming to sickbay" came Ejek's response.

"I love her more." Jimmy tried to smirk, but as he cradled his destroyed yan sword's hilt and looked remorsefully at it. Bloody Ass-urine jackass. he thought to himself as he stood up and stood in position. The electric hum around him took ahold as he got one last look at the Cayuga on his way out. He'd saved a ship from complete destruction and made an example of the opposing force. The first round of medical treatment felt all that much better when he beamed in to sickbay and was helped into a bio bed and gestured at his injury with a red-toothed smile of accomplishment, praying he wouldn't get braces for this.



Lt. Commander Leon "Striker" Marquez
Chief Tactical Officer, USS Theurgy
"No one left behind."

Ensign James "Jimmy" Mariner
Security Officer, USS Theurgy
"Showtime!"

Lieutenant (J.G.) Alessia "Angel" Garcia
Valravn Fighter Pilot, USS Theurgy
"You're not the only one with a gun,"

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #96 –
[Ensign Six | Lower Shuttle Bay/Impounded Asurian Ship | Deck 21 | Vector 3 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Brutus @FollowTomorrow @Triton @Doc M.
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Six wasn’t bothered at all when the subspace links between Asurian ships were severed, cutting her off essentially from the ships. She did what she had intended to do. The rest was up to the Theurgy and the Cayuga aerowing. There was one more thing she planned to take care of, though.

She remembered how one of the saucers tore a path of destruction through the Cayuga. And it began to occur to her how the saucer she was inside got in. Perhaps it wasn’t impounded as she had assumed. Either way, she intended to be sure that this saucer would be used at all. There was a likelihood of a boarding party to come in, commandeer the saucer, and tear a path of destruction of its own until the “Stallion” shared what had been averted on the Cayuga.

Still liked to the systems, she sent a viral matrix throughout the saucer to permanently shut down the majority of its systems. Weapons, navigation, helm, propulsion, pretty much everything that would make the saucer roar back to life and carve a path of destruction. There were a handful of systems, however, that she left intact, like communications and their database. Six had came across a gold mine of knowledge that would prove essential in coming days. Hopefully, there would be a way to talk sense to these brutes. She had learned they were, for want of a better word, endangered; there was hardly any left.

The job was done, the saucer would no longer move at all. And Six had set up a viral matrix to prevent anybody but herself and whomever she permitted from accessing the impounded saucer’s systems. Otherwise, the booby trap in her viral matrix will set off an electric surge to incapacitate them. She made sure that it would be set so that she’d be notified when it went off, to arrest the intruders.

Six made her way back to the bridge. Her job was over, and soon, the battle with it. She figured on returning to the bridge to report her mission to Commander Stark and Lieutenant Ejek…and then she heard them again. The voices. The call of the Collective. But it was still so faint. Six brushed them aside. She was too busy to be concerned about the call for now.

OOC: Pardon if it's too soon for me to post, but then again, there's no point in Six hanging around longer now that the battle's almost done.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #97 –
[Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Stark, Captain | Bridge | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy 01 ]Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Multificionado @Griff @FollowTomorrow @Triton @lisavw @Fife @Doc M. @Veridian @Masorin @Gadget  
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Natalie Stark now sat at the center of the storm, hands gripping the armrests of her chair. All around her, the men and women of the Theurgy gave their full, best measure, devoting themselves to the task at hand - namely, surviving the ambush with the four Asurian saucer's and trying to keep the Cayuga intact. There were far too many lives at stake for them to cut and run, despite the impressions that Natalie was getting from some of the crew. She would not abandon the other starship in its time of need. At first blush, it seemed as if both Ens. Mariner and Ens. Six had made good - at least somewhat - with their proposed efforts. She could tell - even not being a combat specialist - that the Asurian's were becoming more and more uncoordinated. Hopefully that was a result of the two security personnel.

They had spared her the hard decision of having to fire on the Cayuga to save the Cayuga.

"Keep her steady, helm," Natalie ordered on the heels of a suggestion from Lt. Masuda. The tactical officer knew his job, and knew it well. And in turn, Natalie knew she was, perhaps, relying too much on the man. But she would make use of the resources she had at hand. Her eyes caught Ejek's, glancing her way, and she tried for form a reassuring - if tight - smile on her lips. She had no idea if she succeeded. Quietly, she made a mental note to brush up on combat tactics. Provided they survived. Given the condition of the aft shields, the decks that had collapsed around the patched hole the Savi had left them with, and the deadly efficiency of the graviton beams being deployed - well, it was anyone's guess. But they still fared better than the poor Cayuga - that took another hit.

No she thought, worry gripping her heart. Cpt. Ziegler has been injured and - and recovered, it sounded like. They had an open tap on the comm traffic between the Cayuga and its Aerowing support craft. Useful, yes, very useful, but now, hearing that Anya had been hurt - unconscious. Natalie knew she had to put that out of her mind, just as she had to put out of her mind the familiar face of Rhys Williams - but at the same time the young woman refused to allow Ziegler to die before they had their talk. There was entirely too much left unsaid in such a short amount of time for it to end like this.

"Mariner to Stark: Enemy Contact. At least a dozen and counting; we can make a good stand for now; Warp Core is safe for the moment, but I can't guarantee it'll stay that way. Many casualties, systems... minimal. Orders?"

She was out of her chair in a moment, snapping her fingers, "Good job Ensign," she called out, focusing on what she could work with. "Hold that core. Do not, i repeat, do not let the Asurian's get to that engine room." Natalie was well aware that she could have just ordered James Mariner to his death. It was a possibility that all Stafleet officers faced, and very, very recently it was something that she had born witness to, courtesy of Carrigan Trent and his training program. But this was no program. This was real. She heard Mariner ordering up something else beamed over and piggy backed her own orders on top of that. "Whatever he asks for, get it to him. Keep the hole in the shield away from those saucers, helm. Coordinate with Ops."

Even as she spoke, her attention was drawn to the view-screen with a sharp call from Conway. There before her, one of the attacking vessels that had been in pursuit of the Stallion smashed into the back of the other. It was clear to everyone what had to have happened - an Asurian captain did not make a mistake like that without help. Natalie let out a savage "Yes!" And pumped her fist. Before she could issue any other orders however, the voice of Dr. Franklin called out.

"Ensign Six has done it again. Commander Stark, Lieutenant Ejek, I think you've just unleashed a monster," he said with an ever-widening smile. "But thank God she's our monster." In truth, Natalie had utterly forgotten that the doctor was on the bridge. She'd had very little interaction at all. There was a knee-jerk reaction to tell the doctor off but she wasn't going to deal with it now.  And on top of that, a hail from the Aerowing let them know that they calibrated a new phaser setting. Natalie pounced on it without a second thought, trusting in the other officers of their sister ship.

"Quite right, Doctor," she called to Franklin, and turned to face Tactical. "Masuda. Target the remaining ship." Her own vessel bucked for a moment, then stabilized as the shields began to regenerate. "Implement the variance protocol from the Aerowing and blow that vessel out of the sky." Orders given, she settled back into her chair once more. And sure enough, the lieutenant came through moments later, ordering the ship to change direction. She nervously tapped her fingers on her armrest, resisting the urge to comment aloud, as if her words could force the computer to attack faster. Even as the enemy tried to bring its own weapons to bear.

End this end this, we need to end this now. We have to end this now, she kept a running mantra in her head, followed sharply by an OH, Shit! moment. Lt. t'Jellaieu had surmised exactly what was about to happen and done precisely what Natalie would have ordered, had their been time. There had not. The Romulan woman whipped the ship around and drove it between the Asurian' saucer and the Aerowing shuttle.  Weapons fire was exchanged, a maelstrom of phaser and graviton fury, rocking both ships. Lights flickered all over the bridge and she heard more than one officer cry out in shock and pain. She barely kept her seat herself as the ship shook itself nearly apart at the seams, before coming out of the other side of the onslaught.

Thank God, she thought idly, That Billy Bob boosted the shields in time or we would have been hulled. As it was, the shields had to have taken a pounding, and the poor Engineering Chief was going to have his work cut out for him. "Helm, come about for another pass. Lieutenant Yukimura, let them have it again," she ordered,  not even taking the time to sweep her hair back, the mess having come loose from the tail she'd kept it in. Her face was flushed, eyes shinning bright. "Dr. Franklin, please see to the wounded," came the next order, followed by, "Lt. Ejek, confirm damage reports and coordinate with Ops for repair teams. Everyone,  we're not out of this yet, but if we hold it together just a bit longer, we will be. I want to see that saucer carved up into a field of debris."

Of course, that was when the XO let out her shocked outburst. Natalie turned and cocked an eyebrow up, the whole situation utterly at odds with the battle around them. Wisely, she kept her mouth shut until after Ejek and the Australian ensign finished their exchange and sighed.

"Dr. Franklin, you have have a patient waiting for you in sickbay. Yvette," she called to the woman at Ops. "I hate to implore upon your talents again so soon, but we need another window in the shields. Please do try and keep it on the side facing away from the enemy, if you please?"  She found herself leaning to the left, her elbow on the arm rest, her chin cradled between her thumb and forefinger.

"Transport initiated...." Conway called out, followed with, "Transport complete. Ens. Mariner is aboard." The relief in her voice was palpable, and it mirrored what Natalie felt in her heart. The man had just saved the Cayuga after all.

"Very good," she praised Conway. "Now that we've sorted Ens. Mariner, can we please destroy that saucer." A part of her felt remorse over the loss of life that was about to happen. Any life, even an enemies, was precious, at some level. But Natalie Stark had the crews of two Starfleet vessels, as well as the truth of infestation of Starfleet command to safeguard. And the knowledge that the Borg were active in the Azure Nebula, where they had absolutely no business being. Added to that, the stubbornness of the Asurian's, their prideful mannerisms and the fact that they were hell bent on killing her and her people....No. Natalie would regret that more could not be done.

But as she watched the Stalion's pulse phasers tear into the wounded Asurian ship, she knew she'd not lose a wink of sleep over the decision.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #98 –
[ Lieutenant Masuda Yukimura | Battle Bridge | The Stallion | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All
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When Captain Stark ordered another pass to be made, Masuda still kept the auto-fire command activated, awaiting the Petty Officer at the helm to turn the massive Stallion around. By leaving it on, he was draining power reserves for the pulse phaser emitters along the whole side of the ship, but at the same time, even at a distance, the counter-polarity energy bolts still homed in on the last saucer, smiting the shields from a distance.

In the meantime, the aerowing was left in a more vulnerable position since the Stallion had passed by already, but it seemed the Cayuga's officers were one step ahead, having done something strange to their shields. It was almost as if the graviton beams from the Asurians abated upon impact. Anitgraviton particles? Masuda thought, bewildered, or some kind of increased graviton emission? Either way, the aerowing was still there - blasting the saucer from her angle as well.

Yet as if that wasn't enough... when the viewscreen zoomed in on the development, it looked to Masuda that the aerowing suddenly ejected a full size photon torpedo through its airlock, and the next second, it armed - flaring up - and shot off towards the Asurian saucer. Wáng bā dàn!

[ Chief Marshal Akri Sitaio | Overseer-saucer K'thill - The Monarch | Azure Nebula ] Attn: All
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Her Asurian officers fought bravely, despite their incompetence, even when beset from two ships at once - one small and another immense and fast. Overriding the roar of leaking plasma and detonating consoles on the bridge, Akri Sitaio had ordered to concentrate fire on the aerowing. Only the Starfeet cravens proved crafty, since their onslaught of graviton beams didn't tear the shuttlecraft to pieces the way it should. Akri saw hull plating getting stripped away on the aerowing, baring the hidden layers behind it, and she saw it buckling under the stress of their sustained fire, but it still kept firing.

"That's it!" she called, the heatwave of another part of the bridge hitting her from behind - another plasma explosion flaring up. "Activate kinetic shielding and ram it!"

Then she saw it, the shuttle's airlock ejecting something. Akri narrowed her eyes.

"Chief Marshal, our shields... they are almost gone!"

No time, the fight must not end, she told herself, foreseeing the object's nature. She scrambled for the transporter controls, scanning for options. The was only one, non-shielded vessel. More explosions, more guttural cries behind her. She kept her footing. Quickly, she entered commands into the console, swearing under her breath while the consecutive phaser bolts from the Theurgy and the aerowing kept pounding them.

Then, the object flared up, and shot off towards the Monarch, the light from the armed torpedo bathing Akri's face through the viewscreen. She glared, looking up at it's rapid approach, and hit the activation command. Whilst the shimmering, aquamarine light engulfed her, she looked around, seeing that most of her officers were already dead.

By the time of impact... she was gone.

[ Chief Marshal Akri Sitaio | Abandoned Corridor | Deck 04 | USS Cayuga ] Attn: All
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When she materialised, she stood in a dark corridor aboard the Cayuga, her Asurian attire scourged and her sindt still bloodied. She turned her horns and her eyes towards the viewport next to her, and out there, she saw the gravity well of her lost ship, the Monarch gone after a century of battles and forage. Her bridge officers had failed her, and she wouldn't mourn them, but the Monarch? It had been hers.

Snarling through her teeth, Akri Sitaio set off down the corridor with a murderous gait, flexing her fingers in wish to rend flesh and break bones. Death on the cravens, the Chief Marshal of the Asurians thought bitterly, knowing - however - that the Cayuga was an ideal hiding place; its sensors and power systems nigh depleted. She would hide, bide her time, and strike at the most opportune moment. Perhaps she might even free any Asurian prisoners, and carve her path through the ranks of the Starfleeters.

For those fallen at the starbase, and for this defeat, I swear... She pulled her large graviton pistol and checked its power setting without even breaking her pace. ...I will kill them all.

THREE HOURS LATER | DAY 04 | 1500 hrs.
“Tactical Log. Supplemental. It has been three hours since the Asurians found us, attacking the Stallion and Cayuga both. United against a common foe, and with feats of bravery on both sides, the initial distrust of the Theurgy crew seem to have abated. Long talks have been had between Stark, Ziegler, Ejek and West, all of them conducted on the Theurgy since Ziegler is still on the recovery, and the Cayuga's Sickbay was destroyed by the Asurians. All surviving medical officers on the Cayuga are now serving on the Theurgy, taking care of the wounded, and I am about to go there myself together with my counterpart on the Cayuga. For after Salem Martin and I spoke with Ensign Six about what she said on the bridge about the Borg, the need to speak with the Captains has become urgent.

Repairs of the Cayuga have begun anew, supervised by the senior officers in Engineering and Ops, and between them all, I have confidence that the Cayuga might - despite all that she has been through - make it out of the nebula at some point. I am not privy to the reports about the full extent of the damage, but between O'Connell, Jeen and Okotie-Eboh, the Cayuga is in good hands. Of course, should she prove irreparable, the Stallion can be a lifeboat for Ziegler's crew.

As for the surviving Asurian prisoners, three of them if I recall, they are currently held in the Cayuga's Brig, and there has yet been any decision made on what might become of them. Sufficed to say, they are not overjoyed by their captivity.”
― Lieutenant Masuda Yukimura, the Stallion, Vector 3 of the USS Theurgy

[ Lieutenant Masuda Yukimura | Battle Sickbay | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Brutus @FollowTomorrow @Masorin @Arista @Multificionado @lisavw
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When Masuda Yukimura, Salem Martin and Ensign Six stepped into the CMO Office - where Lieutenant T'Panu had temporarily moved in - Masuda was met with the sight of Captain Ziegler sitting in a chair, and both Stark and Ejek standing up in front of her. He did not know what they had been speaking of, but their arrival was acknowledged soon enough. Masuda spoke up when bidden.

"It would seem Ensign Six might be able to follow the... whspers of the Collective, and let us learn where the Borg are, perhaps even where they came from, since they have appeared on the 'wrong' side of the Alpha Quadrant," he said, cutting straight to the chase without preamble. "Already, we have launched new probes from the Cayuga towards Federation space to warn Starfleet - or at least the ones who are still themselves - about the Borg presence, but without knowing more, there is only so much we can tell them. Therefore, a plan for an away mission has been formed, where a small crew combined by people from both the Theurgy and the Cayuga are to set out in search for where they are."

Masuda expected the obvious reactions, but he continued, since if the mission was approved, there were a lot of preparations to be made. "It will be a mission of high risk, but great reward, and since the aerowing suffered damages when fighting the Asurians, the Allegiant would be ideal in its capacity as the fleet's most advanced scoutship. As for the crew complement," Masuda paused, the debate between him and Junior Lieutenant Martin having been inconclusive, "we have no firm recommendation. It might be a suicide mission, if we are unlucky, so one suggestion was that the crew would be volunteers in majority. Then again, some key roles might need to be filled, so some of the crew might have to be ordered to embark on this mission. And lastly... the mission also needs someone to lead it. If neither of you take on this role, then it would have to be either Mister Martin here, or me, that leads it. It all depends on who you deem ought to stay behind here."

Having told the present women about the mission, Masuda fell quiet, not glancing towards Six or Martin at his side.

OOC: There! So, now we have an opening for Supplemental threads in Chapter 03, spanning from 1200 hrs. on Day 04 (directly after the battle) to 0800 hrs. on Day 05, where the USS Allegiant will disembark on its mission to find the Borg. As you may have noticed, the scene in the Stallion's Battle Sickbay above takes place at 1500 hrs. on Day 04, so those with characters present there will have to keep that in mind when making new Supplemental threads for this Chapter. The time-slot of 1500 hrs. is - of course - available for all characters in this Chapter too, but if you'd rather write a scene at some other point in time, the naming convention for such threads that belonging to Chapter 03 is: Chapter 03: Supplemental [ Day XX | XXXX hrs. ] Insert Title.

As for the mission on the Allegiant itself, it will have its own thread posted where it is launched from the Stallion in the morning. Until that thread is posted, everyone needs to post in the Plot Discussion thread, stating whether or not they want their character on A) this "suicide" mission on the Allegiant, or B) if they want to stay behind, and deal with both repairs and the surviving Asurians, who will break out eventually. So, depending on what you like to write (ship-based or exploratory), the OOC choice is free, whereas the IC choice could either be your character(s) volunteering, or being ordered to come along for some plausible reason. The full crew complement, which can be adjusted, is this: 10 officers, including the Commanding officer, a Helmsman, an Operations officer, a Tactical officer, a Communications officer, an Engineering officer, some kind of Mission specialist (Ensign Six, in this case), a Medical officer & 2 Security officers.

As soon as the brief scene in Sickbay is done with here, we move the hands of time forward to after the Allegiant has launched on Day 05... and Akri Sitaio makes her move.

Re: Chapter 03: From the Ashes [ Day 04 | 1130 hrs. ]

Reply #99 –
[Ensign Six | Sickbay | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Brutus @FollowTomorrow @Masorin @Arista @lisavw @Doc M.
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Six hung onto every word Lieutenant Yukimura spoke, and the discussion between herself, the tactical officer and Salem Martin hung onto her, as with the increasing frequency of the call of the Collective. This time, she was more than willing to let them in, and in doing so, with the right concentration and meditation, she would be able to pinpoint where in the nebula the Borg would be, and the only reason she was willing to do so. Otherwise, she would’ve just turned down this assignment…but then again, this assignment didn’t exist if it wasn’t for her telling her ranking officers about the call within earshot of others.

She had analyzed the Allegiant en route the briefing through her ocular implant. The Delta Flyer it was not; in fact, she had a feeling Tom Paris would turn green with envy just by looking at it. He was fond of his beloved Delta Flyer, and Six would agree with him. There was only one Delta Flyer. Still, the Allegiant looked capable, if not more so, to kick some butt. Six felt it seemed to fall between the Delta Flyer and the average Defiant-class starship. In a nutshell: Tough little ship.

She took note of the ranking officers during Masuda’s proposal (calling him Lieutenant Yukimura was a mouthful). She knew Stark and Ejek well enough, but Captain Zeigler seemed to be a different case. She had a feeling this was a woman, let a lone a captain, you did not want to cross. She looked tough-as-nails enough to have difficulty convincing. And yet, Stark dropped everything to help her. Six had checked her records and found that Stark used to serve with Zeigler. There was a familiarity, but it didn’t necessarily mean they were friends, and Six could tell just by looking at Zeigler.

“The mission also needs someone to lead it. If neither of you take on this role, then it would have to be either Mister Martin here, or me, that leads it. It all depends on who you deem ought to stay behind here."

Now there was the most vital part of all. Six wondered who it would be. It all depended on who decides, despite the fact that all three were needed. Stark was placed in charge of the “Stallion.” Ejek had no experience in combat and strategy; she was more comfortable as a shrink than a strategist, as Six recalled when she first met her in therapy. And Captain Zeigler…well, it was self-explanatory. Nonetheless, it all depended on their decisions. Who decides who goes and who stays. Six kept herself silent; it wasn’t her place to voice her opinion: that was for the ranking officers, unless they asked her opinion.

OOC: This is strictly just Six's perspective on the briefing. I'm assuming it's okay since because she's a part of the briefing. That actual discussion between herself, Masuda and Martin would easily be in a supplemental and I await the thread with the Allegiant mission. Also, pardon the references to Voyager, but Six used to live on it, so it makes sense to relate to crew often.
 
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