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Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #75 –


[ Lt. jg. Tessa May Lance | Wolf-07 | Outer Space |  Outside the RNZ ]

Tessa was so intent on following Rawley that she didn't notice how close they were getting to the hull of the warbird.  She let out a squeak as she deployed her tetryon pulse cannon and veered away just in time to avoid colliding with the warbird's dark green hull.  Bright explosions erupted off the dark green hull, momentarily lighting up the darkness of outerspace.  Then she hurled her Valkyrie back into the void, keeping Rawley's fighter in sight.


[ MCPO William Robert O'Connell | Transporter Room One | Deck 05 | USS Theurgy  ]  

"O'Connell to bridge," Billy Bob announced as his large meaty hands operated the transporters.  "I got me ten transporters beamin' the swag aboard.  Lemme know when you're a wantin' me t' start beamin' up people!"  This was a matter of life or death.  If the Theurgy needed to put up shields on the side facing Black Opal Station there could be no rescue.  Those who were left behind might stay behind.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #76 –
[ Commander Trent | Black Opal Command Deck ]

To say the situation had degenerated quickly would be a serious exercise in understatement.  Between the Romulan warbird decloaking weapons blazing and their own boarding action, suffice to say that Theurgy's crew had its hands beyond full.  However, Theurgy's XO did not take any further action for a moment, instead choosing to look at the displays as they'd just come back to life, thanks to the efforts of Thea and Selena Ravenholm and he took in the situation.  At this point, he needed to make sense of the tactical situation in a hurry in order to make the right decision, and a rash one could be disastrous.  However, there were two points he needed to address.

He had reviewed the files of key personnel involved in the mission, including Covington and he had a firm idea that what he was about to say would stick in the older man's craw.  But he was certain the Chief of the Deck would understand the nature and reason behind his orders.  After all, the ship and the mission were a priority, even at the cost of directions some might find hard to digest.  So, he tapped his combadge.  "Commander Wenn, Mister Covington, this is the XO.  Chief, you and a minimum of the resupply party will continue tagging ordnance, and have your mule drivers keep bringing out pods and drop them all directly in space, and keep them coming until instructed otherwise or the situation in space is resolved.  The remainder of your people are to reinforce Commander Wenn and his teams in repelling the boarders.  Commander Wenn, Black Opal's personnel is unarmed and defenceless.  Deploy as many of your people as you need to protect them.  Keeping them safe is the single greatest priority beyond holding the command deck."

As he spoke, Trent looked towards Dewitt.  The woman still seemed to have some doubt about things, but if that would not at least seriously make her reconsider her opinion towards Theurgy and her command team, he did not know what could.  But there was also a battle to win, so he addressed the redhead.  "Commander Dewitt, I would need your assistance, assuming you're willing to take orders from me."  Carrigan's voice was his usual near-whisper, and despite his civility there was a hard edge of command there but there was still the option not to follow his directions should her conscience dictate otherwise.  "My men are outnumbered, and they are the only thing standing between the Romulans, your people and this station's key systems and compartments.  I need you to take control of internal blast doors and forcefields and slow them down, while giving my people better access.  Can you do this?"

As he spoke, he made his way towards the one station that had a tactical configuration.  As Thea had said, combat systems were online and he was quick to open a communications link to Theurgy's Bridge as his fingers flew over the console, computing firing solutions and linking to as many deployed pods as Black Opal's systems could control, which to say was less than half of Theurgy's maximum capability.  But a dozen pods would still represent a hundred and eighty warheads, and that would do quite well.  "Captain, this station's on-board weapons are not sufficient to be any real help, but I can control plenty of pods."

As he spoke, he saw how Theurgy changed course and heading and her main tubes and pulse phasers blazing.  The spread of quantum torpedoes was something he followed, and given the punishment the Lone Wolves had inflicted upon the warbird's defences, he watch the ship's ordnance bypass what shreds of shields it still possessed and slamming into the hull.  He did not need to imagine what it was like as hull and armour plating was vaporized, framing members were smashed and broken and whole sections were opened to space before forcefields and blast doors would stop the loss of atmosphere.  But not that Trent was particularly fond of Romulans, especially some that knew the location of a supply depot whose existence was classified so high that it was only available on a need-to-know basis, and that anyone who was ever entrusted was sworn to silence to perpetuity in this regard, but according to his sensors, the Romulan warship was streaming atmosphere, debris and plasma and its fire had slackened, probably as a result of trying to balance the need to fight with their crippling damage.  So now, it was time to put an end to his fight.

It was a good thing he had started his career as a Tactical Officer, for it meant that when Sankolov took his Task Force out, Trent had been checked out on the new torpedo pods and their operation when they had gotten underway.  And that allowed him to readjust his initial firing solution and sequence, and instead of a single, massive, concentrated volley he let out a ripple of a dozen, one pod at a time, at two seconds' interval.  But the target was not the Warbird, it was the space immediately off its most intact side and well clear of his ship's fighters and he allowed the torpedoes to detonate harmlessly in open space in what he intended to be another display of firepower, and something else: a show that he did have ammunition to burn.  He then followed with a direct hail, which he shared with Theurgy's bridge.

"Romulan warship, this is Starfleet Depot Black Opal.  You have violated the Neutral Zone and Federation space.  You have opened fire on a Starfleet vessel and forcibly boarded a Starfleet facility.  Each and every one can be considered acts of war on its own and I will treat your actions as such unless you start recovering your people in the next thirty seconds and withdraw back to Romulan space at your best speed while you still can.  Or so help me God my next salvos are NOT going to be a fireworks display and I will erase you from space.  As of right now, you're on the clock so if I were you I wouldn't waste my time responding to my hail.  Black Opal out."

Trent's voice and his usual quiet tones were not one that many would associate with ultimatums.  Granted, he knew much of his crew had heard him speak with this sort of conviction, but there could be no denying to truth of his threats.  Through Covington's efforts, there were dozens of pods just outside of the station, and while he only had a dozen targeted, they were set to fire three at a time, and once they would be fired and the torpedoes' internal seekers would take over, the computer had been instructed to automatically take over the next three in line, and so forth until commanded to cease fire... or pods would run out. 

And, from behind the XO, where he was keeping an eye on the remainder of the station's command deck crew, Rivard let out a low whistle, and he found himself speaking to no one in particular.  "Never knew the Sir had that in him... remind me not to piss him off!"

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #77 –
[ Kanti MacTavish | Wolf-08 | Space ]

Kanti well and truly had not expected it to be that big. When the warbird had decloaked, her head had pulled back slightly; staring down a hostile ship of that size, in person, in an actual combat situation, suddenly caused a mass sense of overwhelming smallness. Compared to that towering hulk of Romulan firepower, her zooming off-balance Valkyrie felt downright tiny, a miniscule little firecracker compared to a ship that could reduce a continent to slag.

Paralyzed temporarily by the shock, she managed to make two fantastical blunders. One was the slight loss of straightness, her already off-kilter flying magnifying the problem to the point that she was starting to veer off course. She muttered a few obscenities to herself off the channel, finding she had caught the problem and corrected just in time to notice her second mistake: everyone else had already unleashed their contribution to the opening salvo.

Living up to that callsign, wasn't she? Right at the last possible second, Kanti's hand flew to the fire control, triggering the EMP torpedo first before following up with a trio of launches from her three other hardpoints. The very second her ordnance had cleared the tube, she was overcorrecting hard for the imbalance in order to orient back towards the Theurgy, mentally chiding herself for the delayed reaction as she tried to at least get back into her flight position at the rear of the formation. One hell of a terrible first combat showing, wasn't this?

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #78 –
[ Amelya Duv | Sickbay | Black Opal ] Attn: Anyone on Opal? and Theurgy Bridge

As the status of Ryuan Sel seemed to be more dire than anticipated, Amelya wished to transport her back aboard the Theurgy for immediate surgery. Yet when she tapped her badge the sickbay came under attack as the security detail opened fire by the doors towards the invading Romulans. A few shots got through the doors from the Romulans, hitting some healthcare personnel as they lay lifeless on the floor. Panic erupted and it took the best of Amelya and her remaining emergency crew to calm them down or to move people out of the lines of fire.

"Theurgy for Duv, the Opal Sickbay area is under attack. If anyone could help us out it would be much appreciated. I'm not sure for how long the security forces will be able to hold them back. Duv out."

[ Simon Tovarek | Morwen Angharad's Office ] Attn: Lucan

While skimming through the notes and research of the Opal base, Simon Tovarek found it to be oh so quiet on the research deck. He had found some interesting notes and had moved around in the office to find follow ups on PADD's that had been written full of research details. Yet the eerie silence kept him on guard. Especially when he thought he had heard something, something along the line of footsteps but nobody would come here, now would it? A PADD that still laid on the ground drew his attention as he kneeled down to pick it up, yet at that exact time a flurry of phaser fire rained above him. He ducked down entirely and clenched his teeth together as the phaser fire hit an old exoskeleton of what seemed to be a prototype droid. The fire however shooting it to shreds. Yet the fire continued as he heard multiple discharges from the weapons which indicated that his assailant wasn't alone. Yet he couldn't make out with how many they were.

Out of reflex, he rolled under the desk of Morwen, hiding underneath and taking his own phaser out, meaning to either catch the attackers off guard as they would inspect their kill. Yet how would he deal with any company? Sure, he had noticed some compounds that if mixed could cause for a world of hurt for any attackers, but those were spread throughout the office. The only thing he had with him was a hand phaser and research PADDs.

Thus, he choose to wait it out and see what these men would be doing. Were they Opal resistance members or a third party? He hadn't figured it out yet. Yet time would tell it seemed.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #79 –
[Ensign Christopher "Husker" Slayton | Wolf Zero Four| Space around the warbird]

Husker ducked his fighter underneath a disruptor pulse as he heard Thea replied into a channel. "Thea,  my brother once told me that he was able to use his ship'separately evacuation transporters as they use a different system then the ones used for the crew, couldn't that help you get the ordinance aboard?"

After he offered up the suggestion, he throttled back his impulse input to duck his bird up and over a pulse array from the hostile ship.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #80 –
[ Lt. JG Evelyn "Ghost" Rawley | Wolf-09 ] Attn: All

The Black Opal's defences chimed in with the Theurgy's staccato pulse phasers - streaming deadly energy against the second ship that had come to raid the base.

Diverting all excess power to her aft shields, Rawley sped away from the Romulan warbird at maximum impulse, and she was somehow surprised at the lack of disruptor fire that caught her in her flight. It took her a couple of seconds before it dawned on her that not only had the wolves scored multiple hits against the warbird, but the Theurgy had swivelled about too - launching several torpedoes from her forward launchers. The energy readings on her HUD went off the charts when the quantum torpedoes hit the warbird, and it provided ideal cover-fire for herself and the rest of the wolves.

With those detonations behind her, Rawley led the wolves back behind Thea for a second fly-by, but she was not about to lead it herself when Renard was back. She might not like the new SCO, but she figured it was good fucking form to pass the command back to him. "This is Ghost. Fox, they are all yours. I'm ready for a second run!"

That, however, was yet to be decided - the command Renard's again.


[ ThanIda zh'Wann | The Black Opal | Command Centre ] Attn: All

"Black Opal Station is online.  Red Alert. Shields powering up, and phasers banks online. Firing on enemy vessel."

Like the base defended itself, the Andorian Deputy defended it's Command Centre. As Ida bared her teeth and leaned out of the doorway - discharging her rifle against the oncoming Romulans - she heard Thea answer the pilot that was talking to her.

"I read you, Ensign Slayton, but transporters are now back online and ordinance is being beamed aboard me already. Ravenholm lifted the encryption. Be advised, I am opening fire now, providing cover for you and the rest of the Lone Wolves." And as she said it, the viewscreen was lit by the detonations against the warbird's shields and hull - smiting it with several hits of the highest yield she had available.

Down the corridor, ahead of Ida's defensive position, she could see how Dyan - or Sar-unga - held back to spring an ambush against the second wave of Romulans once they came up beside her. The Romulan ground forces had not expected the sudden attack on their flank, and several ones fell over. Those that didn't were returning fire against the white-haired demon that had attacked them. That, however, gave Ida the chance to take proper aim, picking them off in rapid succession since she did not have to be on the defensive. Together, Dyan and she managed to decimate the entire second wave, save for one Romulan...

He reached across Dyan's cover and seized her by the neck, pulling her towards himself and attempting to use the Asurian as a living shield - disabling Ida to fire at him without hitting the Petty Officer too. Ida swore, unable to see what happened after the Romulan dragged her behind the corner. Quickly, she motioned for Zaraq to stay put as she moved at a brisk pace down the corridor, not about to leave Cardamone behind, and as she did, she hoped there wasn't a third wave about to arrive anytime soon since that would leave her completely open. Eyes along the sights, she hurried to aid the Asurian, in case she couldn't deal with the Romulan on her own.

Behind her, Ida thought she heard the Black Opal's commander answer Trent - the sound of the voice fading while she left the Command Centre. "Aye, Commander. Activating blast doors."

And just like that, a thick bulkhead slid in place in front of Ida, and she was unable to reach Dyan Cardamone - the white haired Asurian left to her fate. "By Lor'Vela," Ida cursed, realising that opening the blast door again was not tactically advisable - a potential third wave of Romulans prevented from reaching the Command Centre with the blast door left in place.

All she could to was to hope Cardamone could take care of herself.


[ Morwen Angharad's Office | Black Opal ] Attn: Nolan

"Black Opal Station is online.  Red Alert. Shields powering up, and phasers banks online. Firing on enemy vessel."

Hearing the announcement, Sub-Lieutenant Lai Radaik narrowed his slitted eyes as the Red Alert lights were switched on - painting the inside the science office crimson.

"Spread out. Find whoever is hiding here," he said to his squad, curling his lip as he said so. He had wished they'd held their trigger fingers long enough to look around and spot the source of the moving shadow, but alas, now they were all ignorant to their target's location. His four companions fanned out, while Lai himself slowly walked towards the desk that had been riddled with fire from their disruptor rifles.

For a second, his focus lapsed, and that was when one of his men called from him, having found something in the area. Lai turned away from the desk, wondering what    had been found...


[ Captain Ives | USS Theurgy | Main Bridge | Deck 01 ] Attn: All

Jien both heard Ravenholm's announcement and saw the Black Opal's phaser arrays opening fire against the Romulan warbird, still standing as she were in front of the viewscreen with her fists at her sides. Thea's own pulse phasers were coughing orange hellfire against their adversary, and as soon as the Lone Wolves had done their run, Jien saw - with some satisfaction about Arisaka's timing - how the rapid succession of quantum torpedoes provided cover for their escape from those fearsome disruptor banks. Not only that, but the multiple hits caused the warbird a severe blow, all thanks to O'Connell and Covington's thrifty efforts.

Hearing O'Connell's report, Jien noted the message but did not order a change of tactics yet, still needing ordinance to be the priority. She also heard Duv's plea for assistance down on the Opal, which was of greater concern. "Patch the message through to Commander Wenn, unless he already heard it," she said with tight lips, eyes still not looking away from the warbird, counting the seconds left until she might be able to deal another broadside against the warbird, hoping the work bees could still carry the pods to the tractor beam emitters even though Thea was moving - swivelling about close to the Black Opal.

Trent's voice on the intercom followed a series of detonations just off the Romulan ship's hull - a demonstration of fire-ower -  and with a faint smile, Jien recognised the fact that Carrigan did not opt to introduce himself as he made his demand. She was pleased by the forethought, since they really did not want to make things personal with the Romulans - rebels or not. Things were already on too much of a personal basis with Starfeet, and they did not need their names and faces circulating the Empire as well. Good man.

After a couple of seconds... the warbird ceased its disruptor fire, making Jien do the dame by raising a hand in Arisaka's direction.

At first, it was just floating in the distance, and Jien's ears rang in the aftermath of the exchange. The lack of energy bolts and disruptor fire also made it easier to see, with her eyes alone, what kind of punishment they had dealt upon the warbird, and it was severe. The Valkyries must have utilised one or two tetryon pulse cannons to decimate its shields, since the green hull was showing hull-breaches that went deeper than the eye could see.

[Incoming transmission,] Thea said.

"Patch it through," said Jien quietly, still not about to drop her guard an inch. The people down on the Opal was likely getting the same transmission.

[We y-----ield!] said a voice through the static of the speakers, and the quality of the audio was poor, [Grant us mercy wh----- we ensure th------ propulsion. We are ---- ground forces when transpo----. We retreat as so----. Grant us---- ore time!]

Jien thought for a second before she nodded towards Stark to open a channel. "You will be granted your lives on one condition," she said, her crystal clear voice cutting as she dealt those syllables like the strokes of a blade. She gave them neither name nor identification, for the source would be plain in their comm systems. "You will give us your source. You will tell us who gave you the coordinates to this hidden depot, and you will do so within twenty seconds... or we will open fire once more."

At first, Jien's demand was met by silence, and for a few seconds, she thought the warbird was about to jump to warp - leaving them ignorant. Yet after fifteen seconds had passed, another audio transmission came.

[llhusra veruul! We know on---- our source by a taken name---- The source ----me be Aidoann--- our word for 'Moon'. His or her ----- transmissions ---- through a relay ---- one of your starbases ---- located ---- sectors away ---- behind a defence grid we cannot pass ----detected.]

Whatever relief Jien had felt about the Romulans standing down was short-lived, for she realised that it was likely Starbase 84 the Romulan captain spoke of, and that there might be someone like Acreth there - feeding the Romulans the intel available on the base.

As she thought about this, likely sharing her thoughts with everyone present on the bridge and down on the Black Opal, she saw the Romulan warbird swing about and jump to warp - the captain leaving as soon as he could. That meant he had beamed back all the ground forces too, and that they were alone again. Jien had no idea how bad things had been on the Black Opal before the forces were beamed back, but she hoped there were no casualties.

"Good work everyone. Damage report," she said quietly. "Lone Wolves, resume presence on the Black Opal and set another patrol route. Medical, send down more personnel there. Resume loading preparations... for we cannot linger either. Wenn Cinn, what's the status down there?"

OOC: Before this thread can end, we need to learn how the people down on the Black Opal fared, at the very least. I will then post an ending here, and then start up a clean-up thread where discoveries are made and the Black Opal ends up destroyed - all personnel beamed up on the Theurgy.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #81 –
[ Lt. Cmdr Miles "Iron Fox" Renard | Wolf-01 ] **Part 1 of 2**

"Roger that Ghost.  Squad,  I'm reading com signals coming both ways,  Wolves break into three formations and take up positions around that Warbird.  09, You've got point and I'm forming up on your wing.  Everyone, get ready to light that bird up if they resume hostilities,"  he said watching as he saw the Romulans cease fire then the Theurgy as well as the base.

[ Aisha S'Iti | USS Theurgy | Deck 01 | Main Bridge]
Hearing the captain deliver the ultimatum the conn officer allowed inertia to glide the Theurgy into an aggressive position primed to shove her full deadly potential strait down the Romulan aggressors throats, should they give the Captain reason to order the finishing blows.

[ Selena Ravenholm | Black Opal Facility | Command Center ]
Sensing through the computers the theurgy ceasing fire as well as the romulans she cut the firing sequences she had initiated and soon felt as the warbird seemed to attempt to pierce the stations now-active shields with transporter beams. She made the necessary holes in the shielding to allow the retreat.  and spoke through the station intercoms.  "Romulan Ground forces in retreat, Enemy vessel powering down weapons and powering up engines."  Watching through the sensors she sensed the warbird going to warp then the weapons systems and shields began powering down. and she allowed herself to back herself out of the deeper reaches of the AI systems allowing the Backup AI of the station to "think for itself" once again.  Coming back to alertness she looked around to Thea then to Trent.  "Weapons systems and shields powered down, Commander.  OH and I took the liberty of altering the security clearances for our Captain.  Or should I say in the perspective of this station as of the moment, our Fleet Admiral."

[ Lt. Cmdr Miles "Iron Fox" Renard | Wolf-01 ] **Part 2 of 2**
Watching the Warbird retreat he spoke into the com again. "Great job Ghost, not many get to claim that on their first command they made a Warbird run off with its tail between its legs?" Miles throttled up a little and got alongside her ship fora moment before giving her a visual thumbs up.  "I'm leaving you in charge up here for the duration of the mission.  You seem to have a handle on everything, no reason to mess up a good thing while it's still going." 

In reality there was something miles needed to take care of before the situation got any worse.  Breaking from Ghost's wing Miles set himself on a course joining the Theurgy just off the bridge's starboard.  To be exact right outside the window of the captain's ready room as he sent an encrypted transmission through the private band to the mission ops desk. "SCO Renard to mission ops.  Please, quietly inform the Captain I'm right outside his Ready room and need to speak with him Privately Asap."

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #82 –
[ Simon Tovarek | Morwen Angharad's Office ]

Biding his time for the men to make a mistake, Simon could hear the Romulans as the man in charge seemed to order for his men to fan out. Simon his Romulan was a bit rusty, so he couldn't actually get a decent conversation going and at this point he doubted he'd have to keep one with them. At the same time, the red crimson lights began to shine as he heard the announcement of the red alert. He was about to mumble something to himself as the red lights indicated a shadow coming closer towards him from over the desk. Simon shook his head and readied himself for the attack.

With a quick peek he spotted Radaik and opened fire at him without any delay or hesitation. Two or three shots of the phaser hit him, one in the torso the other on his limbs. He watched the man fall down to his knees before he fell face down to the floor. His men reacted in kind and returned fire now to Simon. He ducked away and started to blind fire overhead. Hitting some of the scientific chemicals and substances, the chain reaction created a smokescreen. A very irritating smokescreen that wasn't toxic but that would irritate the mucous of eyes and airways. Soon enough he heard the other men cough and stumble, yet before he took a look where they were, there was nothing more but smoke.

He frowned and waited a few more minutes, only to realize that the men had been beamed out once more. Their dead comrade included. Simon shook his head and started to look for a gas mask or a re breather of some kind. Yet what he found instead proved to be much more interesting as the smoke spread further to the entrance of the office and the labs, moving away from him.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #83 –
[ Fasha "Morrigan" | Wolf-03 ]

Fasha fell into formation behind Rawley her aft shields powered up to full to soak up the impending volley from the Romulan Warbird. Surprisingly however Fasha felt no jolts or shakes from disruptor impacts against her shields. Were the Romulan's blind or had their attack done so much damage that they were no longer capable of retaliating. Her eyes drifted to her heads up display she noticed the visible spike in energy readings. They'd unloaded an abundance of ordnance but what they had in terms of on-board weaponry was in no way capable of generating energy readings of that yield.

She turned her head and could see that the Theurgy had turned to bring it's weapons to bear on the Warbird as well. The Warbird likely decided that with the Theurgy joining the fight there we much larger threats to face instead of chasing after wolves. As the squadron regrouped behind the Theurgy's hulking mass Fasha took a moment to gather herself. Experienced or not combat had a way of fraying nerves and getting far too much adrenaline surging through ones veins. Adrenaline was good it kept a person focused but too much of it could have a negative effects as well. She'd seen it far too often during the Dominion War soldiers felt invincible when adrenaline kicked in. They'd run headfirst into the enemy without fear but when the enemy had a firing line of disruptor rifles at the ready bravado would do nothing in the face of firepower.

She closed her eyes craning her head back to rest against the back of her seat taking in deep measured breaths. Soon her breaths were steady and her mind focused. As Ghost handed over command back to Fox she did a quick check over her remaining armaments. She still had two Mini-Torp launchers fitted to her wings along with her on-board weapons. "I'm ready for another run as well...Just give the word." Fasha said. However rather than receiving orders to commence another strafing run on the Warbird she heard Fox inform the squadron that the Warbird had ceased fire and gave the order to take up positions around the warbird just in case of renewed hostilities. "Affirmative Lead, Husker form up on me we're gonna take up formation on the Warbird's Starboard end." Fasha said kicking her Valkyrie into gear and setting a course for the location her weapons primed and ready to engage at a moments notice.

Before long the Warbird made it's retreat and once more command fell to Ghost. "Awaiting orders lead." Fasha said.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #84 –
[ Cameron Henshaw | USS Theurgy | Deck 01 | Main Bridge] Attn: Wolves & Ives

The wolves had done some impeccable work against the warbird and Cameron looked from her console up to the viewscreen to see the damage it seemed to just soak up. Everything happened reasonably fast and the next thing she knew the warbird had left their space and retreated to the RNZ. Overhearing the conversation between Miles and Rawley, Cameron gave Rawley a new patrol route to follow with her fellow wolves. She also complimented the pilots on their jobs with a personal message to each of them which would appear on their HUD for just a few seconds.

Next however Miles contacted her on a secure channel and she nodded before looking towards Ives. "Understood, I will do what is needed. Also could I advise to call Maverick back to hangar, sir? Just to give his bird a thorough check due to the incident," she replied to Renard before she left her station with her earpiece still connected in case Miles would reply. She walked over to her captain and stood beside her before whispering in her ear "Ma'am, Squadron Commander Renard would like to see you in your Ready Room. I think it might be urgent." She looked at the bridge staff to see who would be eyeing them before she added "Also, ma'am, if you need someone to go over what happened on the mission... You know I'm at your service."

With that she returned to her station, and oversaw any other problems that might arise with the wolves.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #85 –
[ Wenn Cinn | The Black Opal | Loading dock ]


As the fighting had began the loading docks wee again one of the focal points of the fighting, but with help to put together barricades and makeshift fortification, the Romulan infiltrators were grossly outmatched. With the delay on beam in, with a fully armed an alert group fighting back, the Romulans did not have the edge they had been hoping for, but with greater numbers, and some luck a handful of their force manage to gain a foothold in the loading docks. as soon as they were digging in Cinn called for his team to fall back, being at half strength Wenn did not want to push the fight more than he had to. So with some covering fire from above Cinn pulled his meager force back to the bottle neck of the corridor, to keep the Romulan's locked away in the same area that had left him unable to push into the station, here their numbers would be worthless, so long as they kept up a proper perimeter as well.

With the benefit of moving crates up to work as barricades Cinn and the remains of his team wee able to push back the Romulans, forcing them to sit in the Loading dock, cut off from the rest of the station, unable to do anything of any tactical value. It was not anything glorious, but at this location Cinn was able to keep one of the front's of the attack tied down without any real major drain on their forces. During the rest of the battle the rest of Alpha squad worked to move unarmed members of the Black Opal crew and any injured crew out of danger, and into safe locations around the station.

As Cinn was called upon for a report he pulled back and tapped his combadge as he moved out of the way. "Cinn reporting in, we have pulled back from the loading dock, their numbers were too many for us to hold it safely, but there is nothing they can do to push out. They have tried already, but we have been holding them in the same position we were in before Captain. We have managed to keep from taking any casualties at this point. I am certain that we will be able to hold this point indefinitely if needed captain. As far as I can tell sir, we have been holding our own pretty well so far. I am ready to move my unit as you want sir, but for now we will hold our point. Currently Captain we have most of my squad moving out to get the unarmed crew of the Black Opal into safe places."

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #86 –
[ Captain Ives | USS Theurgy | Main Bridge | Deck 01 ] Attn: All

Wenn Cinn reported right away, and Jien heard him out where she stood on the bridge. "Very good, Mr. Wenn. While you reported in, the Romulans ought to have beamed up from the base. Commander Trent will likely check for Romulan life-signs on the Opal and give you a status report, verifying that your opposition has just left the loading bay. Once you have verification that the ground forces just left with the warbird, secure the situation on the Opal and continue to ensure the safety of all unarmed personnel. Their medbay made a distress call not long ago, so you need to head there next. Ives, out."

By then, Cameron Henshaw had made her way over to her, and Jien leaned her head in to hear what her Yeoman said, and nodded. She did not know what Renard wished to speak about, but she supposed ithad to do with the loss of Ensign Carver. When Cam said that she was available for a debriefing, and likely having seen how Carver's death and Lin Kae's betrayal had affected her, Jien inclined her head again and gave her a faint smile of understanding. In all honesty, she did not know what to make of her own feelings towards what had happened, especially not when they were in the direct aftermath of a diplomatic incident on top of all else - having just nearly destroyed a Romulan warbird in Federation space. She said nothing to Cam since she was already returning to Mission Ops, instead turning her oaken eyes towards the Ops station.

"Lieutenant Commander Stark, you have the bridge. I will be in my Ready Room if you need me, and keep me posted if there is any more... unforeseen development." A mild understatement when referring to having the Romulans attack again, but they knew what she meant. "I will return shortly."

Stepping into her Ready Room, she saw Renard's Valkyrie hovering outside the ship, and she heard the chirping from her computer console. "Thea, open a secure comm channel to Lieutenant Commander Renard," she said, walking over to the view screen and folding her arms underneath her chest.

[Aye, Captain. Channel open.]

"You wished to speak, Miles?" she asked, looking towards the SCO where he sat inside his cockpit, with the backdrop of the Black Opal behind the attack fighter. Over the course of the bare month where the Vulpinian had been a part of the Senior Staff, and the countless meetings they'd had over matters high and low, Jien and him were on a first name basis, just like many others that had remained loyal towards her. Not that they would drop her rank in kind, but it was at least a small sign of positive development after the mutiny.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #87 –
[ Amelya Duv | Sickbay | Black Opal ]

After the Romulans had beamed back the good doctor made her rounds to check in on the casualties. The fighting had been ferocious even though this was just a make shift medical center. In total, 2 Opal survivors had been hit while trying to evacuate the wounded out of the line of fire. Be it from indirect fire of the Romulans towards the security detail that had been beamed down together with Duv and Tovarek. The security detail itself had taken some mild casualties as well so to speak, with 2 men killed from hits to their faces and another one down on a sickbed with a heavy concussion.

"Duv to O'Connell. If you have the time and resources to spare, I could use some site to site transports from severely injured personnel towards the Theurgy Sickbay. Please inform Doctor Maya and Doctor Nicander that we do have some surgical patients on the way with trauma. I'd rather have these people in a surgical suite sooner than later." she said, adding the last as a means to prioritize wounded transport above torpedoes.

She marked the patients that needed the most urgent transport and checked on the rest as she still had her hands full with the minor injuries.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #88 –
[ Dyan Cardamone | Black Opal Facility | Security Squad Beta] Attn: Auctor Lucan

Dyan hadn't seen the last Romulan. The sight of Romulan bodies stacked about the corridors eased her into a false sense of victory, quickly shattered when the lone survivor grabbed her by the neck.

She struggled hard, kicking and squirming the best she could, but he had an advantage over her. He dragged her behind the bulkhead, and the blast doors closed behind them. No more Ida, no more Zaraq. Just her and the lone wolf Romulan.

Her only 'speech' to the Romulan was a litany of swear words too foul to be repeated. She drove the heel of her boot into the Lone Survivor's shoe, the pain of a well placed hit to the top of his foot rendered him off-balance just long enough for her to grab the arm used to hold her neck and twist, hard. She swept her leg behind his to knock him over, all while maintaining her death grip on his arm. Her retaliation happened so quickly and fluidly, that she had to stop a moment just to register that she did, in fact, disable her captor. She smiled down at the stunned lone survivor. It felt like power, like she had control.

That was, she felt she had power right up until she heard the sound of a third wave of Romulans, storming up behind her.

The withered look on her captor faded as he saw his compatriots. He kicked her gut and she fell onto her back. Here, she had a wonderful view of the ceiling and the sole of the Lone Survivor's boot as he came at her again with another kick, this one for the sake of revenge. She curled around herself, biting back the pained grunt so as to not give him the satisfaction of knowing she's hurt. She turns her head to see a crowd drawing closer to her, a severe looking Romulan woman aiming a disruptor at her. Dyan shuts her eyes and prepares for the pain...

....but instead of pain, she hears a familiar sound. The sound of transporters.

She opens her eyes to catch the last glimpse of transporter light, and then an empty hallway. There's nothing left for her to fight. She sits up and relishes in her victory once more.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #89 –
[ Lt. jg. Tessa May Lance | Wolf 07 | Outer Space | | Outside the RNZ ] 

Tessa's heart swelled as the Romulan warbird retreated and she heard Captain Ives' praise.  Both a sense of relief and a sense of self-worth permeated her being, a sensation she hadn't felt since the Calamity's first attack.


[ MCPO William Robert O'Connell | Transporter Room One | Deck 05 | USS Theurgy ]  

"Duv to O'Connell. If you have the time and resources to spare, I could use some site to site transports from severely injured personnel towards the Theurgy Sickbay. Please inform Doctor Maya and Doctor Nicander that we do have some surgical patients on the way with trauma. I'd rather have these people in a surgical suite sooner than later."

"Roger that, Doc," O'Connell replied as his large meaty hands made some adjustments on the transporter panel.  "Transporter room to sickbay.  Prepare to receive incoming wounded.  We're fixin' t' beam a passel o' patients straight t' sickbay."

"Acknowledged transporter room," Doctor Maya's disembodied mezzosoprano voice replied.  "We are ready to receive."

"Standby sickbay," Master Chief O'Connell replied.  "O'Connell to Koizumi.  Transporter rooms one and two are gonna be beamin' up wounded and sendin' 'em directly t' sickbay.  The rest of th' transporters'll be handlin' the swag."

"Aye-aye Master Chief," Petty Officer Tenchi Koizumi's disembodied voice replied.

"Locking on triage frequencies now," O'Connell muttered as his right hand made a downward motion along the three glowing vertical lines on the transporter console.

On the transporter pads, glowing horizontal silhouettes appeared before disappearing again before they were fully formed. 


OOC:  I'm assuming that medical personnel activate a function on a patient's commbage to let the mother ship know who's wounded and who's not.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #90 –
[ Lt. Cmdr Miles "Iron Fox" Renard | Wolf-01 ]

"Understood, I will do what is needed. Also could I advise to call Maverick back to hangar, sir? Just to give his bird a thorough check due to the incident,"

Miles spoke into the com.  "Negative on that, tower."  He replied using an archaic form of earth navy jargon that he had picked up a while back.  "I just sent him silent orders to help Papa Bear on the Opal.  He should be making his way back to the base and be set to report to Covington in the docking bay.  Please Inform Papa Bear that I will be helping out his crew with processing whatever equipment he beams over or has tugged directly to the fighter bay as soon as I land."

Waiting a few moments he was greeted by a small display of the captain projected on his helmet not taking up much of the display but enough that he could still effectively talk to her.
"You wished to speak, Miles?"

"Yes Maa'm  Captain."  he said with a bit of a somber tone.  "Based on info from both Isley and the other pilots it appears his craft was the one that fired the Tetrion pulse that disabled Skye Carver's fighter.  I am not fully familiar with all of  Starfleet's UCMJ*"  He began, recalling from his understanding Starfleet's Uniform code for military Justice was an almost article for article rewriteing of the one used by the United states Armed Forces of the late 20th century.  "But, from my understanding the policy regarding Friendly fire incidents is that if the incident results in the loss of Mission Critical Hardware, a fighter craft or the major injury or death of a pilot an article 32 investigation is required.  With your permission Captain I will be ordering downloads of all the fighters sensor logs and com recordings of the incident sent to security as soon as they are available to be downloaded into the computer.  The same will go for the recordings of His own craft, including system operations at that time, as well ordering a full diagnostic of his craft and an in depth diagnostic of the craft's Tetrion cannon weapons systems and Sensors in order to assure everyone that there was a malfunction as he has stated."

"I would like to request that due to his degree of concern and his refusal to use his craft's weapons post incident that he be allowed to be met upon landing my myself personally and escorted to his own quarters for house arrest rather than be subjected to an arrest by security and confinement to the brig per standard procedure.  The reason i ask this is I would like to extend the olive branch of reasonable doubt to him due to the obvious feelings of guilt he has already shown over the incident."

He sighed a moment glancing down at the floor of his craft then back up.  "I would also like you to, if you would not mind, make a personal request to your Yeoman.  From what I understand she has experience in counseling from her time on the Harbinger.  I imagine that given her role in mission ops,  speaking with a familiar and likely trusted voice would be invaluable to his psychological well being.  As I said not asking you to order her to or anything, just you know, A request for her to drop by his quarters after he lands as a concerned friend is all.  Of course if she could ask him kindly to submit to a psych evaluation, his voulentarially doing so could go very far in terms of establishing that even if no evidence of malfunction is found that given his remorse in the events the argument could still be made that the incident was purely accidental."

"Of course," he added, "there is the unfortunate fact that when something like this happens foul play may exist.  The reason i am requesting all of this is two fold.  If Isley is innocent I want to do everything I can to protect one of my pilots from long term repercussions  its my job as his superior to b his advocate after all.  But if Skye was in any way murdered by Isley or anyone else on this ship I want to make sure that the investigation looks over nothing so that the guilty party or parties can be brought to the fullest extent of justice possible.  After all my job as her superior is to make sure that if her death was murder that her killer no matter who does not go unpunished.  I just lost a member of Sten's cubs to a coldblooded act of murder.  I am not in the mood to be told that my own wingman was a victim of the same pathetic crime."  he said a bit of anger seeping through his words despite the calm exterior he made sure to keep projected at all times.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #91 –
[Nathaniel "Maverick" Isley|wolf 05| Black Opal Facility | Engineering ] Attn: Lucan and IronFerrox, and Covington.

Reading the silent orders Nathan blinked for a moment before his ship banked and started to return towards Black Opal station. He still felt unnerved. Should he try and run a test on his ship? the thought crossed his mind, but he immediately froze up on it. He wasn't going to touch anything. Letting the proffessionals go over the records would allow him more time to think, and grieve.

Nathan would be the first to admit he didn't love Carver, but at the same time the two of them had shared intimate moments, she had been a wolf and a valued friend and he had killed her. He was certain of that, he had fired the shots, and he felt sick. Part of him really didn't know why he wasn't just ordered to the brig at the end of the day. He felt like he deserved that much. There was likely to be an investigation into his ship and what ever errors went wrong...

He hoped they found something, but even if they did it was still his fault. He had still been the one to pull the trigger, he had still been the one out of formation doing something that everyone else had thought impossible. Even if it was his ships fault... he couldn't blame it on the equipment not entirely. Deal with your guilt later Nathan, now is time for work.

The thought wasn't as empowering as he wanted it to be. As he arrived onto Black Opal he landed and got out of his ship. "Reporting to covington now." he said over his comlink, and started to head to work. He could worry about how to live with himself after they got the new weapons on board the ship.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #92 –
[ Commander Trent | Black Opal Command Deck ]

The seconds following his ultimatum crept by, each feeling like an eternity, and then the Romulan warship responded.  At this short a range, there was no reason for the transmission to be so badly garbled.  That is unless the damage caused by the first volley from the pods had been even more effective than he'd have dared hoped it would be.  After all, Trent might have been qualified on the pods, even fired a few salvos live as part of his familiarization, but no one had ever seen these weapons used against a live starship before.  Oh, certainly Starfleet had blasted ships otherwise headed for the breakers, vessels seized for their crews' and captains' crimes and asteroids, but never a vessel intended for combat, let alone one that was at full power and in a position to return fire.  Certainly, if they were still on speaking terms with Starfleet, the Weapons Development Board would love to see the after-action report of this engagement as a validation of the pod concept. 

However, the Romulans were quick to take the demand for their speedy departure to heart, and Captain Ives' amplification of the ultimatum was an inspired idea.  After all, the only reason Ives herself knew about Black Opal was because Trent, as Sankolov's staff intelligence officer, had known about it in that particular capacity.  But hearing there was a contact at a nearby Starbase protected by a tachyon grid was, to say the least, rather unsettling. 

But that was for another time.  Once the Romulans beamed away and their battered ship managed to get to warp, at rather unsteady and pitifully low speed at that, the Commander turned to his ersatz command deck crew after he put an end to the alarm klaxon and secured weapons and what shields the depot had.  "Standing down red alert.  Good work, ladies."  There was not much else he could say regarding this.  Thea and Ravenholm's computer wizardry had done wonders, as had Dewitt's efforts with forcefields and blast doors.  However, there was plenty still to do, and he started by addressing the station's commander.

"Commander Dewitt, thank you.  You've saved a lot of lives, your people and mine."  That much was true, and hopefully she would remember the initial orders he had given, to divert his own personnel away from better-fortified positions to protect her unarmed and interned personnel.  "I understand our conversation was interrupted, but the Romulans' arrival raises a lot of questions here and we need to investigate the matter and figure out what is going on.  Though I hope you've come to realize we aren't exactly on speaking terms with the Romulans either, and that Captain Ives isn't the monster you've been led to believe.  In fact, I think you should meet with her while we sort ourselves out down here."

And following this, he tapped his combadge.  "Captain, this is the XO.  Black Opal is secure and we are resuming resupply ops.  I would recommend you beam Commander Dewitt aboard and meet with her personally.  Also, I would like a forensics team down here to work with Thea and Ravenholm and go over what's left of the computers, figure out if there's anything we need to know, especially about the Romulans.  In the meantime, I will remain down here to coordinate the investigation and keep a lid on things."

Now that those duties were completed, he had other matters to worry about.  He knew Lieutenant Tovarek and Doctor Duv had come aboard.  And he needed to see if they were all right.  "Deputy zh'Wann," he called out.  "Track down Lieutanant Tovarek and report his status.  If he is hurt, beam him directly to Theurgy's sickbay."  

However, the Trill physician was another matter entirely.  And he opened a link directly to her.  "Doctor Duv, this is Commander Trent.  Amelya, are you all right?"


OOC: More to follow with Covington later today

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #93 –

[ Lt. Cmdr Natalie Stark | USS Theurgy | Main Bridge | Deck 01] :Optional tag: Henshaw, Covington, O'Connel

Awful - full of awe was what the word meant. And in that moment, pulling her eyes from the transport of torpedoes, squeezed in as fast as O'Connell could manage, Natalie understood the true meaning of the word. For what she watched was both awe inspiring and harrowing. First from the Theurgy's own pod complement, and then from those sent up by CPO Covington, launched into space from Black Opal and slaved to Thea's weapons control. A massive cluster of torpedoes, bright pinpricks of light against the backdrop of space, turning into a cocoon of mater/antimater explosions, encasing the newly de-cloaked warbird.

Awful.


[We y-----ield!] said a voice through the static of the speakers, and the quality of the audio was poor, [Grant us mercy wh----- we ensure th------ propulsion. We are ---- ground forces when transpo----. We retreat as so----. Grant us---- ore time!]

The voice, the hail from the Romulan ship, surrounded by destruction, broke Natalie away from her dark thoughts. She watched the CO, and saw her nod.  A quick command, and the channel was open.


"You will be granted your lives on one condition," Natalie heard Ives say, listening as her CO continued, "You will give us your source. You will tell us who gave you the coordinates to this hidden depot, and you will do so within twenty seconds... or we will open fire once more."

Natalie swallowed, her eyes drawn back down to her controls again, trying very, very hard not to drum her fingers on them, or show just how anxious she was to get the same answer her captain was. And how scared she was of it. Would it be someone she knew?

[llhusra veruul! We know on---- our source by a taken name---- The source ----me be Aidoann--- our word for 'Moon'. His or her ----- transmissions ---- through a relay ---- one of your starbases ---- located ---- sectors away ---- behind a defence grid we cannot pass ----detected.]

A frown crossed over her features as she listened to the reply from the Romulan's, and she worried what that foretold. But true to their word, the wardbird then turned tail and ran - or more accurately limped  - back towards the neutral zone and away from the Black Opal base. Natalie just wished she could be sure that this was the last they'd see of that particular warbird, and that it wasn't a forward scout for a much larger fleet, lurking in the shadows of deep space.

"Lieutenant Commander Stark, you have the bridge. I will be in my Ready Room if you need me, and keep me posted if there is any more... unforeseen development." A mild understatement when referring to having the Romulans attack again, but they knew what she meant. "I will return shortly."

The brunettes head snapped up and away, looking back at the captain, "Aye aye, Ma'am," she replied smartly, once more swallowing the same bubble of anxiety that had risen up the last time she'd been given the center seat - or when she'd been sent to lead the rescue mission for the survivors of the Harbinger. This time she had to oversee - well, a mess, that was for sure.

With a few quick commands entered into the console she pushed her chair back and stood, surrendering ops to one of the replacement officer from her department, and making a bee line for the center seat as Cpt. Ives vanished into her ready room..

Make a decision, any decision, but make it. She told herself, the mantra that Trent had imparted upon her earlier that week once more in her head. As before the, seat was considerably more comfortable than it looked, a nod to the fact that a captain needed to be in peek condition. Natalie sunk into it, and her fingers danced across the arm rest console, bringing up a few reports. She addressed the bridge as she read.

"I want a full scan of the base, look for damage  from the assault," she said softly, as she continued on, "Updated status on the supply transfer from the base - whats been brought aboard, whats been expended and what's left to store."

She tilted her head to the side reading a notification of injured being transferred, a stark reminder of the butchers bill from their quick and nasty firefights - both with the base personnel, and with the Romulan Warbird. Which, with that ship in mind, she requested, "And someone give me a status run on our wolves," she wanted to make sure they still had enough ordnance on hand in case the Romulan's decided to come back around for another shot. Natalie knew she'd just ordered a laundry list of updates, but she now had a lot more to keep track of than just the ship operations.

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #94 –
[ CWO1 Sten Covington | Black Opal Supply Depots ]

Sten was no stranger to combat.  Between his considerable experience in shipboard assignments and the few times he had been involved in battle in much closer quarters, he knew what to expect, mostly.  Combat was one of those things no one could really predict, and while he'd gotten used to that kind of uncertainty, it did not mean he particularly enjoyed it.  And when he had been ordered to detach as many of his people as he could spare to stiffen up the boarding party's efforts to keep the Romulans at bay, he was ready to lead them into the furnace.  However, his own directives had been to manage the supply of ordnance between Theurgy, Black Opal and open space.  And as much as he wished he could be sharing the danger his people were facing, he knew the reasoning being the XO's commands: he was simply one of the most experienced non-commissioned members of the crew and while anyone could fire a phaser as directed by Security personnel, the command team could not afford not to make use of his talents where they would be most needed.

And as such, he had simply muckled on and did his job as best he knew how.  But that did not last over long, for as suddenly as the Romulan assault had commenced, he started hearing reports of them beaming away, and then there was the call from the ship, requesting a status on operations.  So, it appeared they'd won.  Whether the Romulan warship was an expanding cloud of plasma and debris or they'd withdrawn, he didn't know.  But he certainly knew that he had work to do.

Tapping his combadge, he made contact with his various team leaders and before long the second and third waves of the resupply party beamed aboard, and work began in earnest again.  But only after the last of the men and women he was in charge of on Black Opal arrived did he contact the Bridge directly. 

"Bridge, this is Covington.  I have all of my people here, and we're resuming resupply operations.  And it looks like we have transporter control back down here so well be able to speed up the process once everyone gets orientated."

As he finished up, he turned about to see Maverick reporting to him.  What in the world was he supposed to do with him?  Well, he was a pilot, and ostensibly Iron Fox's XO for tactical matters... "LT, can I get you to play flight ops for the shuttles and the mules doing the resup runs we can't do with the transporters?  In the meantime, I need to check on the other cargo bays, see how things are going."

With that said, the grizzled veteran started making his way between cargo bays, and not long afterwards, he received a particular call.  "Chief, this is Heinrich in Cargo Bay 17.  I... I think you'll want to see this."

Heinrich was young to have made Chief Petty Officer, but she was smart enough to know that kind of cryptic call should not be made frivolously and instead of calling for clarification, the Chief of the Deck made his way to the right hold, and when he got there, he let out a pleased whistle.  For they had just hit the motherlode so far as supplies for the fighter deck were concerned.  Pallets of tools and spare parts, torpedo racks.

But what caught his attention was at the back end of that bay.  They were sitting on wheeled cradles, only awaiting to be pushed under a fighter's wing to be raised and attached.  And next to them were entire pallets of ammunition, tens of millions of rounds' worth, much more than would ever have been in Theurgy's magazines.  He had seen them before, he had helped design them as part of the ground crews, right alongside the late Lieutenant Rennan Cooper.  And that he had to report.  "Iron Fox, this is Papa Bear."  Then, he allowed himself a grin, and to give a very much unprofessional report. "Do your people celebrate anything like Christmas?"

For before him were weapons he'd only seen as prototypes before, but their serial numbers were production ones, lacking the prefix associated with pre-production models.  He was looking at a number of M-142 rapid-fire mass drivers.
 

Re: DAY 04: Weapon Storage Raid [0750 hrs.]

Reply #95 –
[ Captain Ives | USS Theurgy | Captain's Ready Room | Deck 01 ] Attn: All

When Miles Renard asked to personally undertake the handling of the mission data from the Valkyries - sending it to Security for a proper investigation into the incident that had taken Skye Carver's life - Jien inclined her head quietly. It was a collective responsibility to initiate such procedures with Security, but in the end, it was Miles' duty to make sure it happened. Wishing to learn how something so random could have happened during a carefully planned tactical advance, Jien very much liked to know the results of the investigation. Learning that it was Nathaniel Isley's Valkyrie that had fired upon Skye Carver's, memories of the times she had shared with Isley flashed before Jien's eyes, and she couldn't possibly know what might be going through the pilots' mind at that point - the likely guilt and grief unfathomable. Nathan might have had a history with slight discord and questioning authority, but to be so careless as to hot one of his own? No, Jien was convinced this had to be a malfunction in the Valkyrie, which were all prototypes after all.

So when Miles suggested that Isley would be placed under house arrest in his quarters instead of being escorted to the brig, Jien took a deep breath and acquiesced the request - raising a hand to rub her forehead while she stood there in front of the viewscreen. "Granted, but follow protocol and ask Wenn to post guards outside. The death of Skye Carver can't be treated as an accident until proven so either. Specialist Lin Kae just committed treason right on the Main Bridge, among other things accusing me to take her death in stride. Yet he's in a holding cell in the brig right now, so I would likely grant neither of them any favours if I put them both in the same area on the ship. I don't know what to say about it, but evidently, Carver meant a lot to Lieutenant Kae..." Looking up again, Jien folded her her arms across her middle once more and shed any personal concerns from her demeanour. "I will speak with Ensign Henshaw and ask her to see the both of them, if she can. Otherwise, Counsellor O'Connor and her team will see to it."

The matter sorted, Jien took a deep breath, feeling like the rigour of command had her tense - not prepared to appreciate the fact that they had come through with the mission to the Black Opal after all. "Give my regards to the Lone Wolves. Aside from the incident, they preformed well out there. They should know it. Ives, out."

No more had Thea ended the transmission to Miles than a sound came from Jien's combadge. It was Commander Trent, so Jien tapped her badge to acknowledge his report. "Granted, request the people you need directly and keep me informed. I will ask Thea to beam Dewitt up here. I am in my Ready Room, so now is as good a time as any to speak with her," she said quietly as she walked away from the view of the Black Opal. "My compliments on your shooting back there, not to mention the forethought to deploy some pods while arming Thea's broadside array. Well done, Commander, and I will speak with you later.."

Said and done, Thea carried out her task, and Jien folded her hands behind her back - waiting for the base commander to materialise.


[ Just Earlier | Lieutenant Commander Dewitt | The Black Opal > USS Theurgy | Captain's Ready Room | Deck 01 ] Attn: All

When Commander Trent had complimented her on her efforts, Dewitt felt split between pride and spiteful resentment. On her part, she was struggling to fit things together because of all that she had just witnessed. For months, she had been fed the reports and news about Captain Ives and the Theurgy's atrocities and the alliance with the Romulans, and she had no reason to doubt Starfleet Command when they warned her about what the Multivector Dreadnought was capable of. Yet now, she had fought alongside them against the Romulans, and the First Officer of the ship had proved to be nothing but truthful to his word. She was raised to believe what she saw, and now she had seen both the dead bodies from the Federation starships that the Theurgy had destroyed... and she had also seen it fight the very same faction Starfleet Command had claimed it had defected to.

She could but nod in acceptance of Trent's praise, unsure what to say, while the woman called simply 'Thea' made an announcement on the base, using the intercom after the Commander ended the Red Alert. "Attention," she said, and her tone almost sounded like an automated computer voice when she spoke, even if her announcement seemed like an initiative of her own, "All Romulans have left the base. I repeat, the Romulans have left the Black Opal. Resume previous operations and alert medical of any injured personnel."

Dewitt did not know which of the two women by the main console were the strangest one; the one in the body-suit that shifted colours or the one with the openly displayed cybernetic augmentations. The Andorian female seemed more grounded and familiar to Jennifer, who dutifully adhered to Trent's orders when he gave them. "Aye, Commander," she said and turned both eyes and antennae to a large Klingon and another... oddity with horns and white hair that just returned to the Command Center. "Zaraq and Cardamone, with me. The rest of you, keep this area secure. The Chief Science Officer can't have gone too far..."

Jennifer watched the three from security leave while she heard the answer from this Doctor Duv that Commander Trent had contacted. [We've sustained some injuries, Commander, but the security detail did their job admirably,] she replied through his combadge, [I've recommended the Theurgy to beam over the critical or severely injured crew.] There was a pause, and then the woman spoke again, there was something rueful in her tone. [But don't worry Carrigan... I'm fine, just a bit of an adrenaline rush. Feel free to debrief me tonight...]

What she heard almost made Jeniifer fail to realise that the woman in the body-suit had come to stand before her. Frowning, she saw the woman named Thea raise her hand towards her, pursing her lips to say something while a familiar sensation began to envelop her. "Captain Ives will see you now."

Next, Jennifer realised that she was no longer on the Black Opal, and that alone was a strange feeling itself given how long she had been posted on the base as its commander. She found herself in an office, and she saw the Opal through the transparent viewscreen, a couple of kilometers away. She raked back tresses or red hair from her eyes and turned her head. She saw the occupant of Ready Room standing next to her; the one Trent had wanted her to see. The one that had become infamous, feared and hated amongst the whole of Starfleet... and yet that day at the Black Opal, also proven not all that she seemed to be. Captain Jien Ives, standing in front of her desk with her hands folded behind her back with a faint smile underscoring hard yet weary eyes.

"Welcome aboard the USS Theurgy, Lieutenant Commander. I think you deserve an explanation at this point... but I am not sure you'll like what you'll hear,'" she said to her, and Jennifer thought she'd never heard so much regret contained in so many words. "All I ask is that you try to listen with an open mind. So open... that you are prepared to challenge what you have come to learn about me and this crew's mission, regardless what you may have come to hear so far."

In her presence, Jennifer could not help but struggle to retain her scepticism - the presence of the woman in front of her making her want to listen. Stoically, she folded her arms, but knew that she was more willing to hear out the Chameloid than she let on. "With all that I have heard... Captain... I can but promise that I will listen to your claims towards the opposite. No more."

What she didn't know was that she would never again set her foot on the Black Opal, all because of that conversation with Theurgy's Commanding Officer.


[ Dr. Nicander | USS Theurgy | Morgue | Main Sickbay ] Attn: All

[Transporter room to sickbay.  Prepare to receive incoming wounded.  We're fixin' t' beam a passel o' patients straight t' sickbay.]

Doctor Maya had replied to the Chief Engineer on the intercom as she stood by Lucan's side in the morgue, allowing him to focus on the process of scanning Skye Carver's body instead - a routine done before she would be put into her storage chamber. They had just admitted the body from the personnel that had brought it in on an anti-grav stretcher, arriving soon after the dutiful Vulcan had come to Lucan and told him about what she knew had occurred at the onset of the battle. She knew enough to let Lucan understand the missing parts, even though he pretended appear ignorant about the nature of the incident.

For while it might not have been what Lucan foresaw would happen... he had cast the die.

Oh, how difficult the thing inside made his act of regret - writhing in glee - because when the pilot's remains had got there, Lucan had to maintain a subdued demeanour. Nonetheless, qualified as he was to do all the required tasks pertaining to morgue duty, he had taken on Ensign Carver himself with Maya assisting him - tending to the brave Lone-Wolf that he had killed. Maya had already pronounced the pilot dead in the hangar, and now, Lucan was confirming the body's identity by comparing DNA of the remains to her medical records. "I will be in Surgical Suite 02 within the minute," he said to Doctor Maya after O'Connell had contacted them, "you go on ahead."

Putting his tricorder away, Lucan used the sheet that the body laid on to transfer it to the morgue storage unit. After the messy task was done - leaving his pristine lab coat soiled with ichor and blood - he tapped in the stasis cycle and tasked the unit to levitate into its compartment. While it did, Lucan moved to the duty station and completed the necessary clerical work to document the admission. As he did, tattooed hands covered in his random victim's blood, he could not help the small smile that crept into his face at the thought of what he had achieved. For as easy as Skye Carver had been on the eye, and the many contingency plans he had for any kind of outcome at the Black Opal, the result of her death served him perfectly.

It had been a plan many would see far-fetched, but Lucan knew that this was but the first step towards something even more elaborate, and something the parasite thought immensely more gratifying. For once, indeed, their interests had been aligned, because it was seldom he got the chance to lay the blame of all his clandestine acts at the feet of another... and he had just found the perfect scapegoat. The most ironic thing was how the solution to his problem had been right there all this time, and he only realised the potential a couple days earlier... when the other wolf had come to have his injuries treated.

The only thing Lucan idly wondered, as he left the morgue in darkness, was if the wolf even knew his own true nature.

- FIN
 
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