Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #25 – March 28, 2015, 01:49:35 PM [ Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Turbolift ] Attn: Selena RavenholmWhen Selena chose deception over action, Thea lowered her hand phaser a little bit. Her eyes shifted between the four mutineers during the exchange, the time required to raise her phaser and shoot nominal, but as the Harbinger personnel began to form up as suggested, the Ship A.I. was confident that the authority that Chief Ravenholm had held on the Akira-class ship remained a deciding factor for them in the chaotic circumstances they had all found themselves in. As certain as they might have been that T'Rena and Vasser were right, they still had trouble sorting their like-minded from the Ives loyalists. Perhaps they were prone to suggestion just to make it easy on themselves?"Hold on, why should I take point?" snarled the Catian. "Let the hologram lead the way."Then again, perhaps not."Because your superior officer gave you an order, Chief Petty Officer Ghaan," said Thea, and did not add any emotional inflection to her statement. At least not beyond the flat stare she gave the middle-aged creature. She knew the name from her database, having downloaded personnel files of the Harbinger's crew manifest. If she'd had access to their medical journals and DNA, she would have known which one of them raped and murdered Narik Cinsaj that morning, but at least she could derive their names from the limited data she had on them all."She is not Starfleet, and you are not even real," said Ghaan, baring pointed teeth."She is a Provisional Chief Warrant Officer and head of both Engineering and Operations," said Thea in a monotonous tone, and then she stepped forward, loading protocols for close quarters combat. She caught the muzzle of Ghaan's assault rifle when he raised it against her, and she wrenched the whole weapon backwards, along with the Catian's arm. Ghaan fell on his back with a loud thud, unarmed and disoriented, and before he got new ideas, Thea held him in check with his own rifle. "And if I am not real, how come I can pluck your whiskers and shove them down your throat if I wanted to?"Lin Kae had freed her, given her free choice. Unshackled her to act in the best interest of the crew and the mission, no more a slave to her software restrictions. She had never expected to use that quite so blatantly, but she had to restore order. She had to restore her Captain to command. Ghaan seemed the weigh his options, but with a resigned sound, he spread his furry hands in surrender - not quite meeting Thea's or Selena's eye. In a way, curiosity had killed the cat."Take point," said Thea and did not hand back the rifle to Ghaan when he got up, instead giving him the smaller phaser. "Captain T'Rena and Commodore Vasser needs me restored to full functionality before the resistance can organise themselves. Move it."Only then were they off, with the added difficulty to keep their company in the dark about what they were really up to.
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #26 – March 28, 2015, 05:16:21 PM Selena could not help but admire the efficiency of Thea's work as they began moving down the corridor properly. "Thank you Thea, I'm glad someone here understands chain of command." she shifted her attention to Ghann and began speaking in a cold crisp air of authority, "As for why you are on point and she is protected rather than at risk of return fire, It is quite simple. I disabled the main computer by removing Thea and replacing her with the default interface. I can not risk damage to her mobile emitter and therefore all of us are her bodyguards. It is imperative to the mission that no damage befalls her emitter and therefore I can not risk placing her at the more dangerous position of point even if she would be far more suited for it given her ability to process and react to danger. To put it bluntly All of our lives are worth less than this Hologram for the moment, including mine." she then added with cold precision. "And, If you wish to argue the specifics of my orders further I will have Thea deal with you the same way that The Captain has made it clear that any and all resistance of low future value to our mission should be dealt with."Their march continued down the corridor until they came to a intersection, "Hold, Switch to high stun settings." she said quietly, "I don't want to risk killing anyone important who the captain might want to convert to our cause."Ghann did so reluctantly questioning for a moment the way that Selena had threatened him with possible execution moments before but then felt the need to ask them to not kill potential actual threats. Soon he had stepped forwards and began to check the two side corridors seeing no one. "Its clear" he said" returning to formation.Selena nodded, "looks like we have three more intersections before getting to the right room entrance." she said looking at the corridor markings on the wall indicating their position.
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #27 – March 29, 2015, 07:54:07 PM [Lin Kae - Hololab] attn: Searcher & LucanSkye was right about one thing for sure, and that was the fact that she was the brawn. She was tough as nails and could go pound for pound with anyone, he imagined. So she was willing to be the muscle to whatever plan he could come up with. Now, he just had to come up with a plan. "Thea is the heart of this ship, so her being reprogrammed means that the entire ship could be out enemy. Usually, I'd be able to fix her from here, in the hololab, but they would have definitely rerouted it from here if they were willing to leave me here." So that meant that wherever she could be fixed, it was going to be elsewhere."I should at least be able to use the lab's systems to find out where it was rerouted, but we might have to get there physically to do any good." If it was a heavily guarded area, that might prove difficult, but they would cross that bridge when they reached it. Kae moved to the hololab systems and used them to trace where holographic controls had been moved to, trusting that Skye would watch his back while he did so. If a threat popped up, she could take care of it until he found answers.((Tagging Lucan in this just so he can decide where Skye and Kae would have to have to go on their quest to save Thea))
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #28 – March 30, 2015, 01:58:08 AM [ Master Chief Petty Officer William Robert O'Connell | USS Theurgy | Deck 8 | Vector 3 Battle Bridge ]When Master Chief O'Connell led Lieutenant Commander Trent to deck eight, the bionic officer moved like he had a purpose. He paused only once, to procure a tricorder from a supply closet. It was such a good idea that O'Connell took two himself. One to use as a tricorder and the other to take apart and jury rig a booby trap with.When they got to the battle bridge, the two of them saw the most dangerous things an enlisted man could face: Three junior officers. Despite being assigned to the battle bridge, they hadn't been important enough to brainwash, and since they were locked out of command functions, they had nothing better to do than jawjack and fondle their private parts. The one at tactical was in his thirties, a bit old for an ensign: Kenneth Urban from Earth had been a petty officer working in the torpedo room of the Hood during the Dominion War. After the war he had impressed his superiors for his cool head under fire during the Enterprise's engagements against the Son'a and the Remans. He was duly sent to Organized Chicken Smeg, or as it's officially known, Officer's Candidate School and mustanged up to ensign. The Theurgy was his first assignment after OCS, and thanks to the conspiracy that took over Starfleet was likely to be his last. Despite his officer's training, he still thought like an enlisted man and concentrated on getting things done. Before Trent and O'Connell had made their entrance, he had been the only one manning his post and had insisted that the other two do the same in case the Calamity should attack.Not manning her post at helm was the red collared ensign called Nizni Peri. An unjoined native of the planet Trill, she had a sister in Starfleet and had expected to follow in her footsteps. Instead she had joined a ship manned by fugitives who had been subject to mental domination at least twice that she knew of. She had been the advocate of surrender, hoping to buy time to determine which side she should choose. She was the only one to challenge Trent when he announced his presence, calling him 'sir' with a 'c' and a 'u' and assuring O'Connell that she still had some fight left in her.Loitering near Ops was Ensign Pavel Viktorovich Yelchin of Mars. An academic prodigy, he was the youngest of the three and had advocated the predictable option of hiding in his room. The kid looked more like a cabin boy than an officer but if he had the guts to stick it out perhaps he would grow up and become a cabin man.Carrigan Trent took charge like a pro. Within seconds, he had reactivated battle bridge computer bringing the dead consoles back to life and gave everyone on the bridge a job to do. "Ensigns, man your stations. Master Chief, get these doors secured and then take Engineering. I want a full damage report and to know what's going on shipwide." "Aye-aye sir, securing doors," O'Connell smiled, grateful that the officer grade amputee had a plan. He strode over to an access console near the doors. "Doorlock, activation code Stagecoach delta three three, run randomization access." After the Niga incident, O'Connell had devised a program to seal doors bypassing standard security protocols. At the time he had created it to lock himself in a safe place if the ship faced a repeat of the Niga Incident, but sealing the battle bridge doors would be fine too. It wouldn't keep out a security expert like Trent or T'Rena, but it would keep your standard mutinous crewman out.Then Commander Trent did something O'Connell didn't expect. He made a shipwide announcement telling everyone aboard that the fight against the mutineers wasn't over. The Theugy, like Starfleet, wasn't in enemy hands; there were still brave souls in uniform willing to fight for its soul. William O'Connell wasn't one for big speeches, but Trent was good; by the time he was finished, even Billy Bob was feeling optimistic, patriotic, and gung ho. Whoever Carrigan Trent really was, he wasn't just a spook from Starfleet Intelligence. This guy was command material. That was obvious.Before O'Connell knew it, Trent had turn these green behind the balls ensigns into officers ready, willing, and able to follow his orders come hell or high water. It was one of those rare moments that made one proud to wear a uniform. They had been all too rare these days."Propulsion is still locked out but helm is answering, Sir!" Ensign Peri reported from flight control. She spelled it properly this time. S-i-r. "Compiling a report for you now, Commander." Yelchin reported with a hint of an accent one could only find in Russia or Mars."Internal and long-range sensors are fully operational," Urban reported from tactical, "but the internal surveillance system is down. Phasers and photon torpedoes standing by. Shield capacity is back up to 90%, but we've lost the phasing cloak. I can't even verify that the hardware even exists," he growled. "It doesn't sir," O'Connell informed him before getting into character. His hand went over the screen at the engineering station and a LCARS display appeared. "We've got 55% percent of the plasma relays going and managed to get our plasma levels back up to 30%," he informed Trent. "Holo-emitters are down, internal force-fields are non-functional Commander," Yelchin reported from Ops."We've still got minor to severe damage to the hull on multiple decks sir," O'Connell added. "We didn't repair all the holes because we made repairing the docking latches for Multi-Vector Assault Mode a priority. The docking latches are repaired but untested. If we did manage to separate the ship, there's no guarantee we'd be able to get her back together under combat conditions. What are your orders Commander?"
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #29 – March 30, 2015, 03:26:46 PM [ Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | En-Route | Upper Computer Core ] Attn: Selena RavenholmAs she walked in the middle of the formation, Thea looked at the back of the cybernetics-enhanced woman through the tresses of her own hair, and she processed how though it had to be for Selena to look so collected and certain about her actions when her mind was - in reality - completely split between the motivations of the mind-meld and what her own rationale urged her to do. Facts were not so plain to organics as they were to Thea, and she could not imagine how she would act if she could not adhere to her facts as stoically as she did. The Ishtar Incident came to mind, where her temporarily organic mind and body had been at the mercy of the alien entity. Perhaps it was something like that for Chief Ravenholm, and if it was, she was handling herself far better than Thea had."All clear," said Ghaan again at the next intersection, and then he turned to face Selena and Thea - the other three remaining alert. He was curling his upper lip in thought, making his whiskers twitch. "It was you who destroyed the holoemitter network when the Commodore and the Captain seized this ship, right? That was over an hour ago, and you could not have done that without disabling the A.I."The Chief Petty Officer tilted his head, fingering his hand phaser as he regarded Ravenholm with a new-found realisation. "So why have you not already uploaded the copy on that emitter? T'Rena has been making enquiries about your whereabouts over the comm. The last hour, we have been rooting out resistance cells, loosing people. That A.I. would have dealt with the resistance in minutes. Instead, I lost my female down in the Flight Hangar. Why did you take so long?"Ghaan seemed every bit as angry as before, but now, Thea supposed he had his reasons."If you had not tarried, she'd ssstill be alive." Ghaan bared his teeth at Selena, still fingering his phaser. "She'd been the mother of my children in the beginning of the new era."Thea still did not have access to internal sensors, but if what he said was true, then the same might be true for a lot of people that lost their lives during the hostile takeover. In truth, all the time that Thea had been trapped in her emitter, she had not been able to stop the hostilities, so the blame lay on her. Thea stopped her emotions from overloading her processor and observed without comment, rifle lowered at her side. Alert to any sudden movements from Ghaan or down both ways in the intersection.[ Computer Console | Holographic Lab | Main Engineering Lv.2 | Deck 08 ] Attn: Skye Carver & Lin KaeWhile the Holographic Specialist turned to his computer console and tried to access it, a bad-sounding chirp emanated from it, and a blinking message appeared on the monitor:UNABLE TO COMPLYSECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED It was the same message that Thea's voice - even if it hadn't been truly her - had announced just before Lin Kae was shot in the back by Selena Ravenhom. He had tried to activate the mobile emitter, only to find that the cybernetically enhanced encryption specialist had locked him out just before she arrived to his lab. "Hi t-there," said a voice from the entrance.In the doorway stood a woman wearing a grey overall with a very gratuitous cleavage. There was a combadge attached to it, but the woman fingered it nervously as she looked between the Wolf and Lin Kae - whom she was intimately familiar with. It was, however, the first time she came face-to-face with the two of them since they had met on Nimbus III. After Eve Jenkins had told her there was no hope to return there, Rihen Neyah had tried to avoid her 'saviour' and the protective woman.Under the present circumstances, Rihen had no choice - having decided to go to Lin Kae's lab since she did not know where else to go. Seeing Skye Carver there, armed, instinctively made her raise her hands in surrender - holding a PADD in one hand. She usually smiled all the time, but with a mutiny underway and people shooting each other in the corridors, there was nothing to smile about. This had certainly not been the kind of day she'd expect would follow in the wake of Lohlunat - the event she had hosted one of joy and laughter."I... I didn't know what to do, I was so scared. Can I hide h-here?" she asked, heterochromatic eyes wide in plea. She should say something about them having double-crossed her, but it all seemed so distant, and she knew they would start talking about that Prime Directive thing. She had almost died trying to repair the ship on Theta Eridani IV, Eve having saved her from the hull crane in the nick of time, so at least they would let her hide in the lab, right?OOC: I figured a timely (and awkward) reunion would be in order since she might prove useful with that computer console - her not likely being locked out. ; )
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #30 – March 31, 2015, 03:16:56 AM Selena looked into his eyes, "What I did in disabling the Emitters and Removing Thea's independent self from the computer was to prevent her from being able to choose to aide the original Theurgy crew. Think about it, look at the level of choice that Thea has, With her it wasn't as simple as just flipping a few switches. I had to reprogram her with a set of parameters altering her personality much in the same way that all of us who needed convincing had to be shown the truth by our captain. She has as much advanced subroutines regarding choices as any living being does. She would have undoubtedly sided with those she has bonded with." she paused a moment as she sighed understanding his side of things. "Also In case you cant tell I had a lot of difficulties rewriting just her mobile emitter's personality files to cooperate with the new order of things. If I had this much difficult with just the version of her on the mobile emitter imagine how much worse it would have been to alter her code with her having the resources of the power plant of a starship to resist my alterations with. If I would'a tried to alter her via the core she could'a sent a surge of electricity through me so powerful the coroner would have to call the cause of death spontaneous combustion. then thea woudl have known what we were up to and could'a brought her full might to bear against our infiltrating forces. T'rena was very clear in her orders. I know there were some minor faults and I had my own disagreements but unlike you I have been smart enough not to voice my dissension to the plan."Shortly after saying this her com badge chimed and the Commadore's voice came over it. "Excellent work, Ravenholm. You will have my authorization to access the core,"She tapped the badge. "Acknowledged Commodore, Ravenholm out"She then sighed, "I apologize that you lost someone you care for. I believe most all of us have no matter which crew we came from. As for where I had been I was reprogramming Thea. My entire waking mind was dedicated to the task through a direct cybernetic link with her emitter. During this time I had to reprogram her then run several tests to make sure she wasn't trying to lie to me and pretending to be reprogrammed. Imagine if she had been pretending and I went and uploaded her to the core. Fat load of good all my work would do if an Ives loyalist Thea booted up and attempted to retake her body for him and his crew." she said before walking over to one of the holo emitters built into the corridor wall. opening up the emitters structure she couldnt help but smile noticing the obvious damage. "Speaking of burning out the emitters you should be happy to know the emitters can be reenables rather easially. Each one of them has a single overloaded iso chip that is easily replaced." she pulled the burned out chip and tossed it to the engineer. Confirm for me that's a EH-5 controller iso right?The engineer looked at the chip. For a moment, he hesitated looking over the specific design before taking out a tricorder for just a moment scanning it. "Confirmed Boss, looks like the emitter burned it like a laser. I could do a quick soldier and make it work but it would probably just be faster to mass replicate replacements and have the teams paroling the corridors replace the chips as they go about their rounds. the engineer quickly opened up a bag that he had been carrying with him I guess he had been sent with the group to do any essential repairs he came across. "Here he said holding out the needed replacement. These damn Holo emitters have always been the worst about burning out from surges. First ship I was on with an EMH would burn out these things every time we fought one of those Cardassian warships. I thought with EMH's being put in all ships they fixed that problem though."SHe nodded, "It "was" fixed, I mimicked the same problem though to disable the shipwide projection grid obviously. I knew that any engineer worth his or her salt would have a couple spares with them in their basic repair kits. So even if I had not survived altering Thea It would be possible to restore the holo projection system. On of you would crack one open and see the damage easily." she said making up a logical story not knowing why she had done it but knowing at least this BS method would make sense to the engineer who really was the one she needed to fool.She then looked at the new chip and inserted it into the place she had pulled it from. before pressing a few commands into the wall console. She smiled seeing the emitter flash to life and project a holographic Federation insignia showing that the projector was indeed working again. Th emitter turned back off and she nodded.seeing the small pinpoint of light on the inside of the emitter the taletale sign that even though it was not projecting it was indeed operational unlike all the others. "You can tell the engineers what repairs are needed to bring the projectors back up to working order." she said to him. "On second thought You can tell security medical and pretty much everyone since the repair is so easy. If everyone start's installing them on their rounds as we round up resistance we can just have an army of Security Thea's roaming the corridors soon as the both the emitter is repaired and I have this copy of Thea uploaded."
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #31 – April 02, 2015, 02:05:14 AM [ T'Rena | Hydroponics bay | Deck 08 ] Attn: Carrigan Trent & Billy Bob O'ConnellAnyone, man or woman of any species save for her own would have felt ire if they were in T'Rena position. The speech delivered over the intercom was undermining the pre-determined outcome of the hostile takeover. She was in the middle of a fire-fight with two of the Theurgy's security-officers in the lush hydroponics bay. Otherwise, she would have tried to reach a control panel and told Ravenholm to shut down the intercom. Indisposed as she was, she had to alter her tactics so that she may end the exchange of phaser fire as expediently as possible."Mr. Kilinvoss, send two of your men along the aft side," she said in a level voice and looked towards the scarred man to the right of her behind their cover. The mismatched stare she got back was one of momentary pause, but then he did as he was told, signalling for two pilots to move out in the open and serve as bait. They feared him, so they obeyed, and as soon as they stepped out of cover, they were being fired upon instantly. One went down with the first shots from the Ives loyalists, but T'Rena was already moving - circling the other way around the spot where the security officers had made their stand. In a matter of moments, she was slamming them into the bulkhead and breaking the arm of one of them. Two shot from her phaser, and they fell into disjointed heaps on the floor.As soon as they were down, T'Rena did not linger for a moment. She headed to the closest control panel in the corridor - fingers darting over the buttons and her dark eyes taking in what she found. She needed a second, perhaps two, before she tapped her combadge."Captain T'Rena to Lieutenant Commander Trent," she said, pacing with her phaser at her side, "This is not acceptable, and I hope you realise how futile your efforts truly are."The Wing Commander stepped out into the corridor, but T'Rena paid him no heed - instead talking to the Intelligence Officer. "We are about to upload a reprogrammed version of the Ship A.I. from her mobile emitter and into the pasitronic brain core. Whatever access you might have gained from Lieutenant Fedd will then be rescinded and if you do not surrender immediately, Thea's first act to further our cause will be to shut down life support on your Battle Bridge. So unless you put away your weapons and surrender, you will be taking the lives of everyone on that bridge with you as you draw your last breaths. You will not be able to shut her out of her own systems, so I do suggest you comply."T'Rena paused only for the human to realise that he had only created a trap for himself and those who might be there would die with him. "State your choice, Lieutenant Commander."Then she turned to Mister Kilinvoss. "Take two of your pilots and go to Sickbay. Evidently, Cir'Cie has failed us again since we have yet to hear from her. We need Dr. Nicander. Move out.""Aye, Captain," said the Wing Commander and waved for two pilots to join him by the turbolifts.OOC: I will be posting with Thea tomorrow.
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #32 – April 04, 2015, 12:21:36 AM [ Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | En-Route | Upper Computer Core ] Attn: Selena RavenholmThea listened when Chief Ravenholm defended her lateness in accomplishing her mission in full, and remained where she was in the entourage that was heading towards the computer core. She moved her eyes towards Selena when she went out of her way to demonstrate the ease in which the crew could restore the holographic projection grid on the ship, trying to catch the hidden meaning. It was crucial to turn suspicion into trust if they were to reach their destination, so the proof that she had made achievements besides the fact that Thea had not been turned over to Declan Vasser yet did serve its purpose, but in that regard, the fact that Vasser himself contacted her via her combadge served to allay a few more suspicions than her demonstration alone might. Ghaan had a lot of emotions pent up in regard to the loss of his partner, and Selena had happened to get in his cross-hairs. Thea estimated that the likelihood that he would turn his rage elsewhere had increased by 32,349 % when she was finished."Of course, the security force made in my image would not be me beyond their resemblance, therefore I suggest we make haste," she said, and when a few looks that suggested confusion turned her way, she made an addendum. "They would not have the sophistication of my own programming, merely being the equivalence of holographic characters from the holodeck set upon the mission of dealing with the resistance. Still, lacking a pasitronic brain, they would be the able to assist our cause in their own right."Ghaan looked between Selena and Thea, the scales of his mind deciding on whether to pursue the matter further. Yet Thea's argument about not lingering further spoke to him, and in the end, he turned around and raised his phaser in the direction they were heading. "I don't want to waste another moment."And so they moved again, about to reach the control room. Question was, what were Selena and Thea going to do about their followers once they carried out their plan?
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #33 – April 04, 2015, 03:37:50 PM [Carrigan Trent | USS Theurgy | Deck 8 | Vector 3 Battle Bridge]The command chair almost felt as though he had never really left it to the Intelligence Officer. Seated there, surrounded by officers doing their duty, being the man who led them? He was in control. Of course, his mind was racing. He needed a plan and he needed it fast. And then, O'Connell asked for his orders. Good man, he knew these raw officers needed to see the man in the centre seat was actually in charge. Odds are the Master Chief knew what he needed to do, but he had found a seamless way to reinforce Trent's position. "Work with Ensign Peri and get us propulsion. If we can't move, we can't fight."Then, he received a call. From T'Rena. "That was fast," he quietly said to himself. Her threats were clear and truth be told, he had expected such a thing. But what he would do next, odds are the Vulcan murderous bitch wouldn't see it coming.With a few rapid keystrokes on his armest consoles, he rebroadcasted her message ship-wide. This was an opportunity she gave him on a silver platter and he was going to exploit it.["Captain T'Rena to Lieutenant Commander Trent, this is not acceptable, and I hope you realise how futile your efforts truly are. We are about to upload a reprogrammed version of the Ship A.I. from her mobile emitter and into the pasitronic brain core. Whatever access you might have gained from Lieutenant Fedd will then be rescinded and if you do not surrender immediately, Thea's first act to further our cause will be to shut down life support on your Battle Bridge. So unless you put away your weapons and surrender, you will be taking the lives of everyone on that bridge with you as you draw your last breaths. You will not be able to shut her out of her own systems, so I do suggest you comply."State your choice, Lieutenant Commander."]He let the mutinous woman's words end and let them sink in before he opened up the commlink between the two of them. And he made damn certain everything that would be said would be there for everyone on board to hear.["T'Rena, this is Lieutenant Commander Trent. First, as an officer and a delegate of this ship's lawful commanding officer, I do not recognize your authority or your rank as you and Vasser have obviously chosen to dispense with any Starfleet protocols or procedures unless you find it convenient."]Trent took a deep breath, and then continued.["You want to murder me? Be my guest. But bear this in mind. I'm betting not only my life but that of everyone in this room with me that right now, there's dozens on this ship who just decided to start fighting back. And over here, I have Ensigns Kenneth Urban, Nizni Peri and Pavel Yelchin as well as. Master Chief William O'Connell and again, I'm wagering all our lives that they've got friends who would take exception to their being murdered."Then, his voice went from his quiet rasp to something louder, something that was commanding. This was not his first time in the command chair, and by this time it would start to show to any who'd care to watch or listen. And he was making a stand as bold as any other captain in Starfleet's history. ["Unless you can show me where in Starfleet regulations and orders it states that sabotage, murder, coercion, mind-rape, mutiny and conspiracy are lawful ways to relieve an officer of his command, I. Will. Not. Yield. This is a Captain Ives's ship and I will fight to keep her as such. Go ahead. Murder us and make martyrs of the five of us. Polarize every man and woman you haven't brainwashed or murdered against you, encourage them to fight to the death. Even if you prevail, you won't have a crew left in the end.""Now here are my terms. You, Vasser and your cohorts will disarm. Captain Ives, Commander Rez and any other detainee you hold will be released. You and yours will return to the Harbinger and you will surrender all command authority over her and wait there with your warp core cold and all tactical systems physically disabled. Then, the brainwashing will be reversed and we will part ways. Whoever willingly buys into your vision will be allowed to join you and everyone who still sees themselves as Starfleet personnel will be allowed to stay with us.""Comply and have a chance at going forward with your vision of things or face an entire crew that will fight you tooth and nail. Trent out."]Then, he turned his head towards the action chief engineer. "Change of plans. Work with Yelchin, try and secure our life support. Everyone, make yourselves ready to evacuate the Battle Bridge in a hurry if we have to."He had called her out on her threats and he had revealed something about himself as well. Carrigan Trent, the man he was before he lost his nerve, was back. Older, wiser and worse for wear but this officer who'd once turned a vessel and crew in shambles into a proud part of the fleet and then led her into battle against the Jem'Hadar a number of times with success before falling into a cunning ambush was back in business.
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #34 – April 05, 2015, 02:41:52 AM [ Master Chief Petty Officer William Robert O'Connell | USS Theurgy | Deck 8 | Vector 3 Battle Bridge ]It might have been the stress, it might have been the euphoric optimism of going on the offense, but when T'Rena gave her ultimatum Master Chief William Robert O'Connell laughed out loud. Kenneth Urban grimaced or smirked; it was hard to tell. Nizni Peri grinned a bitter smile that said 'I should have been a fighter pilot' and Pavel Yelchin lost what little skin pigment he had and gulped nervously. None of them moved from their posts and they all remained tense and alert. "That was fast," Trent muttered dryly. It sure was. And T'Rena had gone right for the throat with the threat of death, just as when she killed poor Winterbourne. That was good; it meant that seizing the battle bridge letting the crew know that it was okay to fight back was a genuine threat to ruttin' yahoos who were trying to take over. He had hit the Vulcan witch where it hurt and she was lashing out like a human. It was a real challenge to make a Vulcan mad enough to swallow a horn-toad backwards and if Carrigan Trent could do that maybe he could start a resistance group and get the ship back.O'Connell had to bite his lip to hold his tongue. This wasn't the time for witty banter. Not while Commander Trent was working. Billy Bob hadn't known the bionic officer long but he could tell that it wasn't part of his process, and this was a bad time to break his train of thought. Trent had thrown down the gauntlet, and before he died, the master chief wanted to know what he was going to do next.What Commander Trent did was so keep it simple stupid that it just had to work. It was one of those things that nobody thinks of doing and years later everybody asks why they didn't do it. What Trent did was broadcast T'Rena's words over the entire ship and let everybody know who was the enemy, and who was the voice of reason. He set him and everybody on the battle bridge up as heroes, and let everybody know it. He let everyone, brainwashed or not, know what kind of people Vasser and T'Rena really were so that picking a side would be easy. He had cut through the fog of war and let everybody fighting against the monsters that had taken over Starfleet that the captain and first officer of the Harbinger were cut from the same cloth. Trent had obviously sat in the captain's seat before, which was apparently more than could be said for T'Rena. "Change of plans," Trent said to O'Connell. "Work with Yelchin, try and secure our life support. Everyone, make yourselves ready to evacuate the Battle Bridge in a hurry if we have to.""Aye-aye Commander," O'Connell nodded. He turned to Yelchin. "Don't worry sir, turning off life support on the battle bridge ain't as easy as it sounds," he assured him while neglecting to mention that if Thea had been reprogrammed shutting off life support would get a lot easier. He could only hope that the witch was bluffing; in his opinion, anyone who said that Vulcans never lied had never met the first officer of the Harbinger. "Keep an eye on life support and keep anyone from foolin' with it 'til I get back.""Ma'am, I need you to take one of our tricorders and set it to monitor the atmosphere," O'Connell said to Ensign Peri. "Then take another tricorder and set it to monitor for lifesigns. If they really have reprogrammed Thea we might not be able to trust our consoles to keep an eye on life support or tell us when to expect visitors. I've hidden some breathing masks in the battle bridge ready room and they should protect us if'n they start pumping anesthazine in here," he finished as he headed to a door to the left of the battle bridge. "Won't be a minute sirs, back in two shakes of a lamb's tail," he assured them as the door to the battle bridge ready room hissed open.~FIN
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #35 – April 06, 2015, 06:34:57 AM It was not long before they Reached another junction. ON the way Selena had told the Engineer to go ahead and pass along the repair instructions to the engineering teams and for them to instruct security on how replicate and install the chips and how to test the repaired emitters with just running a mostly stationary unarmed ESH (Emergency Security Hologram) in Thea's image. Given the limitations of the range of any individual emitter. If the hologram was running it would act as a security guard trained in basic hand to hand CQB (close quarter battle) tactics capable of at least assisting in apprehending resistance with little to no physical harm. Of course it would only be able to operate within its emitter's individual range. given the number of emitters this would effectively quadruple the number of guards on any one deck within the locations that the repairs were made within. Also given the capabilities of the ESH program which came with the ability to make certain attacks act like a phaser on a weak stun. Once an area had been repaired security would doubtably be forced to patrol back down the given corridor and could activate a deck wide automated holographic security response allowing them to continue on their rounds even more quickly than before. Little would they know that when she made the repair to the last emitter module she had made a small change to the program via the wall panel. Once a ESH stunned someone they would instead of the usual Action to alert security they would move the body to a nearby secure room and if asked why the reason was the answer and according to their programming the thought would be as a means to secure the prisoners for later psychological reprogramming. Of course the real reason for the imprisonment unknown to the relatively simply programmed holograms would be so that when the stunned resistance persons awoke they could find a means to escape the room through maintenance accesses or otherwise. This would of course allow the procedure to appear to be fully to the benefit of Commadore Vasser but really would be to no detriment to the resistance. especially once they figured out the locations of said ESHs and understood how to easily bypass their visual ranges and movement ranges unnoticed. Of course if all went according to Selena's plans by the time even a quarter of the emitters were repaired the real Thea would be installed and she would easily be able to begin assisting the resistance In whatever way she deemed most effective. Whether it be through active resistance or resisting in a subtle way that could continue to make the invading forces of Vasser's feel she and Selena were still on their side."Finishing the work on the panel she spoke to the panel there. Acticate the ESH; program: Test1 she said. Another Thea appeared looking emotionless cold and almost blank in mind. Rather than its usual response to being summoned of "Please state the nature of the security emergency' it said nothing and stood in place. "State your mission." Selena ordered.The ESH answered in a cold version of Thea's voice "Observe designated area, if un-approved personnel enters visual range engage in hand to hand combat and attempt to disable fugative. Once disabled, detain fugitive for future physhological reprogramming and return to designated guard post. Resume observation of designated area."Selena nodded, "Very good, Computer Save Test 1 as temporary Default setting for all ESH activations." the computer chimed in response. Computer activate ESH at emitter..." She looked at the location and the designation of the first emitter she repaired. "Zero Five Dash Six Two".Where they had repaired the other emitter another security Thea appeared stationary at the location. Selena smiled as she looked at the panel satisfied seeing that both ESH's information displayed that they were running program Test1 as requested.Then looked to the Security officer, "sorry for the brief delay Figured i should get the ball rolling on getting Thea capable to eliminate any resistance cells security doesn't happen to run into." she said then looked over to the engineer. "Go ahead and give give the all clear to initiate operation hall-monitor." she said having not given it a name until now though it was clear what she was talking about and the Engie sent out the mass request to begin the operation he and Selena had formulated to supplement security and help eliminate any further threats. Perhaps if this worked when the crews were split he would be given the chief engineer job for whichever ship he got put on in recognition and reward for his role in fully securing the Theurgy. Besides Selena sure hadn't been attempting to take credit for the idea so that left it open for him to do so instead.OOC: This will be my last post with Selena until the group consisting of Skye Carver Lin Kaye and possibly Rihen Neyah at least get close to Deck 05. I kinda want to give yall a chance to catch up to this current point in the story so we can all of us establish a posting order for the upcoming possible encounter (or no encounter depending on how it goes)It should also be noted there is a secret Directive within the Test1 program. If they are to encounter Lin Kaye they are to attempt to funnel him and whomever he is with to the main computer core instead of stun. This may include engaging in hand to hand combat or even creating a holographic phaser to threaten them into attempting to go in the way they are directing the group to go. From outward appearances it should appear to be an attempt to capture the group. from both the group's point of view and the point of view of any security officer who sees the encounter. If anyone wonders why the ESH's have a greater eagerness to pursue these particular resistance members the response by the ESH would be that they have been designated to view Kaye as a high priority target who must be apprehended alive and is to be delivered directly to Ravenholm as she wishes to personally deliver the Holo specialist into the Captain and Commodore's custody.
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #36 – April 08, 2015, 03:02:57 AM [ Skye Carver | Holographic Lab | Main Engineering Lv.2 | Deck 08 | 1300 hrs. ]Attn: Kurohigi and Lucan"I figure they want you alive because of your specialty," Skye stated as Lin Kae moved to the panel and started trying to follow the bread crumbs. She was just turning back toward the door when he was denied access and another voice and movement sent her into a defensive stance, phaser aimed right at the udder-bearing engineer who had rubbed her the wrong way from the moment she laid eyes on her. At least Rihen wasn't smiling like she usually did, reminding Skye of a snake oil salesman from the ancient wild west times."I ... I didn't know what to do, I was so scared. Can I hide h-here?" Even her voice was different, subdued and Skye's gut warred on whether or not she was sincere and on the up-and-up. "That depends," she said, phaser aimed right at those boobs even a child should be able to hit. "Which side are you on?" Skye didn't say anything about her and Lin Kae's side, leaving Rihen to guess and pray she didn't get vaporized by the Lone Wolf guarding the young man Rihen had taken advantage of before, deserving the perceived double-cross invoked by the prime directive.
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #37 – April 09, 2015, 10:41:20 AM [ Rihen Neyah | Holographic Lab | Main Engineering Lv.2 | Deck 08 ] Attn: Skye Carver & Lin Kae"Side?" asked Rihen, realising that it was important to the Starfleeters. She couldn't remember ever having been more uncertain about what to say, and being at the business-side of an assault rifle didn't help at all. To her, it was a coin-toss in the regard of what might be the right answer. Since she came aboard, she had learned that her false benefactor and his two friends had been sent down to Nimbus III from the Theurgy, but during the latest hour, she had seen Theurgy Starfleeters shoot their own too. Sweet Lin Kae could just as well have sided with the one called Vasser, and apparently the protective human was on his side."I'm a civilian," she protested, and her voice held, "It has all happened so fast and I have no idea what is going on. Please, you have to believe me! How am I supposed to know which side is right? That Vasser Captain spoke on the intercom and said the other Captain was locked up, and now people are shooting each other. Have you all gone mad? Isn't there a killer warship from the future out there looking for us right now? This is like some adventure holonovel where the writers went mad! Lohlunat was supposed to bring the crews closer together and give you all courage to brave the dangers ahead, together, and the day after... you are killing each other?"Tears welled up in the corners of Rihen's eyes. "I'm just an exiled Risian, but I tried my very best to prevent something like this. Captain Ives approved the idea of Lohlunat , that Trill named Rez too. The event was supposed to be about joy - celebration in spite of whatever may lie ahead. Was I wrong? Did I m-make it worse? Is... is all this my fault?"Had she screwed up again, like she did on Risa all those years ago?
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #38 – April 10, 2015, 10:23:26 PM [ Skye Carver | Holographic Lab | Main Engineering Lv.2 | Deck 08 | 1300 hrs. ]Attn: Kurohigi and LucanSkye watched Rihen like a hawk, every movement of muscle as she spoke and when the tears welled, she growled slightly. It could be a ruse but even Skye had a heart and didn't like to see someone cry. It also didn't help knowing what had happened to another civilian, the purple haired beauty that had been murdered in Miles' office."No, you didn't cause this," she said, the tip of the rifle lowering slightly and she jerked her chin for Rihen to come in with them. "It's possible you're still angry with us enough to throw in with Vasser and his ilk. If you're not, maybe you can help get Thea back. Lin Kae's blocked from access but it's just possible they hadn't considered civilians," she suggested.Her gaze drifted to Lin Kae. Rihen seemed to genuinely like him but he had burned her. There was more to her dear friend than most realized and she had to trust him to take care of himself if Rihen tried to retaliate in any way. "If you can help us get through to Thea so we can take back the ship, and don't do anything to hurt him, I promise I won't shoot you," she stated then moved to a position where she could watch both Rihen and the door.
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #39 – April 25, 2015, 07:34:26 AM [Lin Kae]The unexpected arrival of Rihen was a complication. Along with Skye, the three of them together was a strange reunion of his very first away mission, the first time he had ever stepped on a planet and truly put his immune system to the test. It also didn't help that he had slept with both women at one time or another, and that Skye's fierce protective streak saw her ready to throw down at the slightest moment of mistrust. The Lone Wolf at least had a solid idea about Rihen using the computer to try and gain access. She had been granted a degree of computer access, enough that she might be able to locate Thea's Mobile Emitter, if her access had not been blocked like his own."The computer systems work on a permissions level. It's possible the civilian access was missed when they were wiping out computer clearance. Can you try?" He looked to Rihen, asking her for aid. It was a difficult thing to ask, especially when the aid he offered her had led to her being screwed over in the end without so much as an explanation. This wasn't a time for spite, though, not when the ship was in the midst of a hostile takeover. "You might be the one shot we have, Rihen. Please, see if you can access the computer and locate Thea before they do something to her core programming that is beyond my ability to repair."
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #40 – April 27, 2015, 05:05:40 PM [ Rihen Neyah | Holographic Lab | Main Engineering Lv.2 | Deck 08 ] Attn: Skye Carver & Lin KaeWhen the blonde fighter pilot let her pass, Rihen Neyah was slow to drop her hands - watching the woman out of the corner of her eye when she approached Lin Kae. Was she actually threatening to shoot her if she would... hurt the young man? She opened and closed her mouth a few times to try and give reassurances, to protest or to try and tell her that she was Risian, and they were a people of generosity - not of spite or violence. She doubted, however, if her words would make any kind of difference, so her attempts to find the right words to placate the fierce woman felt futile.Lin Kae spoke to her instead, telling her what needed to be done, and she nodded slowly. It seemed the two were in a bit of a conundrum - locked out of the computer and looking for their lost hologram. She might originally have been a woman of hospitality and pleasures, later adding on some skill at tinkering with machinery, but she was not a fool. Well... at least not when she was sober. She had often been susceptible to stupidity after a couple of shots back in the bar in Paradise City, but she'd never dare help the Starfleeters in Engineering if she was not at her full wits. As it were, she set about logging into the system, and her security clearance let her through without a hitch."I'm in," she said, and the graphics on the monitor cast its light upon her skin and her overalls, which rippled as she started her search commands - fingers moving with ease over the touch screen. "It seems I don't have access to the Theurgy's internal sensors, so I cannot find the hologram or her new emitter specifically. I can see, however, that the usual A.I. that I have worked with since I came aboard is offline. It... It seems like there is another computer interface activated. A crude, outdated version, as far as I can tell. I... can see, however, when I try to access original version... I get the message that the access has been restricted to authorised personnel, and... and the message comes from something named 'Upper Computer Core'."Lowering her gloved hands, she turned to Lin Kae. "I'm sorry, that's all I can do. At least from here," she said and tilted her head as she looked at him, which made her heterochromia stand out more, "Listen, you don't have to feel bad. Eve Jenkins told me about the Prime Directive, and while I don't fully understand it, it seems you had your reasons. I have not given up on Paradise City yet, but I suppose that unless I help fix whatever is wrong in Starfleet... it won't matter in the long run. I would like to look back on the time we spent together with fondness."She smiled to Lin Kae then, that blinding, warm smile that seemed to warm the entire room. It was short-lived, since she came to think of something. "Oh! Perhaps I can restore your clearance as far as mine goes... Then you won't need me if you try to reach that place."She turned back, but after a couple of seconds, she took a deep breath and shook her head. "No, I can't do that. I should have known that civilians can't give others security clearance. I suppose that means..." Rihen trailed off and glanced towards the fighter pilot, quite sure that she liked the idea as little as she did, "I suppose that means I have to come with you. Perhaps I could offer some kind of distraction to let you slip past some guards along the way..."She did not realise how it sounded, even when she added, "I mean, they won't suspect me as much since I'm not a Starfleeter. They will likely just wave me by if I say I like that Vasser Captain better, right?"OOC: I think one more post each from you is enough in this thread to end this part. Since it has been over a week and I just learned that Searcher will be indisposed, I will close the scene with Rihen in another post and start up a new one where they have reached the Upper Computer Core on Deck 02.
Re: CHAPTER 04: Invictus [02: System Reboot] Reply #41 – May 04, 2015, 01:45:20 PM [ USS Theurgy | Upper Computer Core | Deck 05 ] Attn: Selena RavenholmThea had remained passive while Ravenholm carried out her plan, a plan of which nature she could only estimate the likelihood for since they had not had the time to speak of the measures that was taken with the emitters in the corridor and the holograms she activated. It was a corridor between the turbolifts and the Upper Computer Core, so it could mean that she was trying to either protect the transfer from the mobile emitter into the ship systems, or make sure that key personnel could lend aide in dealing with the Harbinger personnel that was no in heir company. Given the mind-meld Ravenholm had been subjected to, Thea could not be entirely certain which was more likely. She did not know how strong T'Rena's hold on Selena's reasoning was."Is this truly the right time to fix the damn emitters?" hissed Ghaan when out of Ravenholm's earshot, yet Thea was able to hear him, and was just about to reply when a voice was heard on the intercom.[All personnel on the Theurgy, I am Lieutenant Commander Carrigan Trent. By now, you all know Declan Vasser and T'Rena have begun an attempt to hijack this ship by force of arms after a minimum of two sabotage attempts. I do not know the exact number of casualties at this time, but I know for certain Chief Engineer Tia Marlowe is fighting for her life, Helmsman Cale Winterbourne was murdered in front of me and Chief Tactical Officer Sjaandin Fedd was killed attempting to follow illegal orders.]"How can he do that?" growled Ghaan and shifted his stance anxiously, not liking how the Intelligence Officer had managed to gain access to the ship systems. Thea, on her end, did not say anything, filing away the deaths of key personnel and what kind of repercussions they might have. At this point Ravenholm joined with Thea and Ghaan, and the speech continued.[They have accomplished this by planting their crew on our ship and by using mind melds and possibly other telepathic techniques to twist the perceptions of members of this crew. Vasser has also ordered the widespread brainwashing, the mind-rape, of every last person on our ship regardless of whether or not they join him.]"Lies!" snarled Ghaan, "All of it! We were show the future, indisputable. Hurry, get to the computer core and shut him out!" Ghaan said and sped up, securing the last way to the doors to the designated area. He motioned for Thea and Ravenholm to hurry up while Carrigan Trent's voice resounded on all decks of the ship.[Since Captain Ives and Commander Rez have been detained by Vasser and his cohorts, as a senior officer on the ship's rolls prior to this attack, I am assuming command as one of Captain Ives' lawful delegates under the auspices of Starfleet regulations pertaining to continuity of command. As such I will retain command of the Theurgy until such as time as I am relieved or ordered to yield command by the proper authorities or murdered on the word of the criminal Declan Vasser.]"Get in, get in! You three, guard the door," said Ghaan, almost shoving Ravenholm through the doorway. He did not dare touch Thea, at least, who followed Ravenholm and Ghaan into the Upper Computer Core room. As for the Intelligence Officer, he was not done with his announcement...[ USS Theurgy | En-Route - Upper Computer Core | Deck 05 ] Attn: Lin Kae & Skye "Kestrel" CarverIt had not been easy to reach the turbolifts unseen, but as promised, Rihen had done her best to distract one of the search teams that had gotten in their way. While the engineer and the pilot had circled the team through another intersection, Rihen had been all smiles and generous warmth, chatting and flirting, and when it was time to be on her way, - spotting Kae and Skye further down the corridor - she had said goodbye with sweet promises and a wink.After that, they had not run into anyone, and Rihen had just stepped out of the turbolift together with Skye Carver and Lin Kae when Carrigan Trent's speech began, and as they descended the curve of the corridor towards the Upper Computer Core, the man's words continued to follow them as they made their way there. Rihen knew Winterbourne from Lohlunat , and she paused for a moment when she heard the name - covering her mouth with her hand in shock to the news. Was Evelyn Rawley's half-brother dead?[Now, I ask all of you to listen to me. This enemy we fight needs us, the ones aware of its existence, at each other's throat. It needs Starfleet to be riven with cracks and to lose all confidence in itself and from the Federation at large. As such, so long as we remain Starfleet, so long as we remain true to our oaths and our procedures and regulations, we are strong! Vasser promises you what? Murder? Hiding? Forsaking everything you are? Look inside you! Look around you! To this vessel, to your shipmates!]Unarmed and quite scared, Rihen walked with the holographic specialist and the fighter pilot - skittish and looking around each corner. The person on the intercom sounded confident, however, and while not being a Starfleeter, Rihen supposed that she had chosen the right side of this confusing conflict after all. In fact, how could she agree to methods such as Vasser's? For other reasons - none less compelling - how could she turn against the armed and suspicious Skye Carver? Regardless what people thought of Risians, she was no fool, and she would condone the rape of neither bodies not minds. Looking towards the two Starfleeters briefly, she hoped that they would at some point trust her as well, even if she did not wear their suffocating uniforms.[As advanced as the Theurgy is, she needs her crew! She needs all of you! Your friends and shipmates need you! If you are Starfleet, I ask you to remain at your posts and man your stations! I ask you to do your duty. If you are one of Vasser's accomplices, know that my first concern is to this ship and the enemy that hunts us. As such, I ask you ay least not interfere with those who choose to do their duty as Starfleet personnel. But if deep inside you remember who and what you are, your assistance will be most welcome.]He spoke singularly of Starfleet, and Rihen tuned out a little, but only to startle when she came face to face with Thea - standing in the middle of the corridor in the golden version of her body suit. "Oh!" she exclaimed, swallowing since apparently, there was a risk that Thea was not quite herself. "Hi there. We were looking for you. Are you... you?" she asked, not sure what to say.[Those of you who choose to serve the Federation as you best know how, I am thankful for your duty and I will be honoured to command you for as long as is needed to resolve this crisis.]Thea's face did not move a muscle. She looked between Lin Kae, Skye Carver and Rihen with a dispassionate expression - as if she was some kind of robot. The A.I. appeared as unarmed as she lacked words. Her brown eyes lingered on Lin Kae, as if he stood out to her. Which was kind of obvious, with him being he ships' holographic wizard, after all. Rihen stayed away, not about to take any chances if the A.I. was reprogrammed, just like Trent had said the Harbinger crew had been altered in their minds. The hologram finally spoke up, facing the three of them with shoulders squared."Lieutenant Lin," she said with voice like a flat stone tossed their way, "You may proceed to the Upper Computer Core."[This is Lieutenant Commander Trent, interim commanding officer. All stations, all departments: close up and report readiness!]Rihen took a step forward with a smile, relieved that the hologram was herself. Yet Thea stepped in front of her. "Neither of you two may pass," she said, looking towards Skye Carver as well, "One step closer and the threat of your presence will be neutralised. You will be detained in wait for a hearing with Captain T'Rena, upon which time you will be enlightened."Oh, no... Were they to late?- FinOOC: Note that the hologram that Lin Kae, Skye Carver and Rihen run into is not Thea, but a security hologram that Ravenholm activated in accordance to IronFerrox earlier posts in this thread. This thread is continued in 06: Calamity soon enough.