Star Trek: Theurgy

CH03: S [D06|0915] Smokejumpers

December 15, 2018, 07:53:20 PM

Chapter 03: Supplemental [ Day 06 | 0915 hrs. ] Smokejumpers

[PO2 Kino Taer | Security Operations | Security Centre | Deck 7 | Vector 2 ] @CanadianVet @Top Hat

Being in the bowels of the ship had the benefit of diminishing the impact of the combat reintegration but not to the point of negating the need to hold on to something in order to avoid falling down. The screens also flickered and momentarily dimmed as the power grid adjusted, but nothing exploded. The center hologram of the ship changed to reflect the Helmet’s security situation. There was a minute or two of shouting from Ensign McArthur as he retasked one of the other NCOs to support the Helmet’s Security operations before things settled down again.

Well, relatively settled down, that is. The ship was rocketing towards an unknown destination at speeds the engines and core were clearly not well rated for and there was damage to all three vectors that cut across decks seemingly at random, creating difficulties for security teams not tasked for damage control parties to get around the ship quickly. Adding another layer of difficulty was the question of multiple cargo holds and sickbays worth of Bellerophon officers and crew that suddenly found themselves on the very ship that destroyed their own. They were not taking to the change very well. The Theurgy’s Chief Tactical Officer had delegated many of his Tactical personnel to assist with Security in managing the chaos, which Taer could hear McArthur thanking him for under his breath when those signals came online in the map as manageable assets.

“Situation developing in Cargo Bay 13. Taer?” McArthur called out suddenly.

“Got it, sir. Men down?” Taer responded, noting the blinking alert on her screen.

“Possibly. Talk to the crewman, find out what’s going on.”

“Roger. Security Ops to Crewman Ganak, report.” Kino tagged the alert as controlled by her as she sent the communication. It wouldn’t do for one of the other operators to mistakenly try to take this over.

“Ganak here. We were escorting two orderlies to give first aid to a group of Bellerophon crew in Cargo Bay 13. When the integration happened, all hell broke loose. My partner and I managed to get out, but the orderlies and the other half of our squad are still in there. One of the Bellerophon officers is demanding we release them or else they’ll harm our crew.”

Oh fuck, a hostage situation.

“Thanks, crewman. Stand by.” Kino looked over at the ensign in the center of the room, waving to get his attention. “Sir, hostage situation. We have …. Bremmer and her team available.”

Colin paused before responding, his brows furrowed in thought as he looked at a list on his PADD. “Go for it. Task Commander Ducote there, though. He can talk them down before we need to escalate the situation with Bremmer.”

What?

“Uh, yes - yes sir. Will do.” The Trill responded slowly as she returned her attention to her screen. She sighed before opening a channel to Ducote. They were definitely not each other’s favorite person right now, but if her superior officer says to involve him…

“Taer to Commander Ducote. We have a potential hostage situation developing in Cargo Bay 13, Deck 19. Crewman Ganak is on the scene and will brief you. Petty Officer Bremmer and her team will meet you there as backup. Your task is to talk down the Bellerophon officers there and get our people out safely.”

After she got his response, she switched to Bremmer.

“Security ops to Bremmer. This is Taer. Take your team and meet Commander Ducote at Cargo Bay 13, Deck 19. We have a developing hostage situation involving medical and security staff in the hands of potentially hostile Bellerophon officers. Ducote will be the officer in charge at the scene.  We need you there in case he can’t talk them down. Crewman Ganak will brief both of you on the situation when you arrive.”

With that, all she could do was wait and see what would happen now. It wouldn’t take long for both of the others to arrive, even with all the damage to the ship.

Re: Chapter 03: Supplemental [ Day 06 | 0915 ] Smokejumpers

Reply #1 – December 16, 2018, 03:01:32 AM

[ PO2 Eliska Bremmer | Security Centre to vicinity of Cargo Bay 13 | Deck 7 | Ranger ] @patches  @Top Hat

As it turned out, Bremmer was no immediately deployed when the call came to make ready.  Instead, she had been put in charge of one of the several quick-response teams that well might be called upon in the very near future.  So, really, more hurrying up and waiting so far as she was concerned.  Of course, other teams would be dispatched first to deal with issues, while she would be held back to put out fires that would develop too fast for a regular team to handle, or to back up a team that was being overwhelmed.  And it often meant going in practically blind and having to rely on the team leader's instincts to deal with it. 

Well, at least apparently someone did trust her judgement enough to put her in one of those semi-independent roles. 

And then the call came.  Hostage situation.  That was always bad.  At least, the phasers carried by the team that had been looking after the survivors from Bellerophon would be pretty much useless to them; standard procedure was to key them to specific user sets.  And in this case, no one from those people they had been fishing out of space would be part of those groups.  Now, it was possible to bypass that safeguard, but without access to the ship's security systems and the right access codes, it would take quite some time. 

But backing up Ducote?  Really?  The man had just been a prisoner!  But, if Commander Wenn was willing to let him have free run of the ship without a minder to keep him on a leash and would approve sending him out to negotiate, then that was good enough.  Even though Bremmer did not know him from a hole in the ground.  "Bremmer and team, acknowledged, we're on our way."

Then, she turned to her team.  "So, anyone here got close protection experience?  Not a single voice, not a single hand raising." 

"Kurwa,"¹ she swore.  That would mean she'd have to go in there with Ducote.  On the bright side, she'd have a good view on what was going on, but it would do murder to her ability to respond if the situation escalated around other locations.  Oh well, can't win them all.  "So, I guess I'm heading in there with the Sir."

And on those words they set out for the cargo bay. 

And, as it turns out, they did not precede Commander Ducote by much, but she did have enough time to give Crewman Garnak a quick once over.  The Bolian, slumped to the deck and resting against a bulkhead, had obviously been badly beaten.  His nose had been broken, his mouth was streaming blood from either busted teeth or some internal lacerations, and the misshapen arch of his broken left eye socket, framed an eye left swollen shut from bruising and gummed up with drying blood.  And that was even before Bremmer noticed how he was favouring his right side and his breathing was shallow and laboured; broken ribs at the very least.  That, and his left foot was at a decidedly unnatural angle, flopping at the end of an ankle that could not support it properly.
 His holster was empty, but it was clear he had put up a fight to retain his weapon, an observation reinforced by the mangled, broken-fingered right hand he cradled to his chest.  That he had managed to extract himself from that mess in that condition spoke volumes about just how tough the man was, a trait not often associated to his species.  And he was still conscious, but probably fading fast.

And it had been just as Ducote arrived from behind her that Bremmer asked the first question anyone on the scene should be asking.  "All right, what do we have in there?"

---

¹Generic Polish swear words, literally "whore"

Re: Chapter 03: Supplemental [ Day 06 | 0915 hrs. ] Smokejumpers

Reply #2 – December 18, 2018, 08:44:58 PM

[ Cmdr Ranaan Ducote | Turbolift | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @patches @CanadianVet

Ducote was heading for sickbay. With Akoni in charge of Security, he had 'been granted permission' to quit the bridge and head below. Well, across; sickbay and the Vector 03 bridge were on the same deck but the car would take him there quicker. The background gestalt of the ship - stressed enough as it was - had even more of an edge to it since taking on the Bellerophon survivors, not to mention whoever still lived from the Dauntless' boarders. He clenched his jaw, praying no one set a fuse to this particular powder keg.

[Taer to Commander Ducote.] Well, there was a turnout for the books. But she didn't sound particularly rancorous at having to comm him, and her message rather succinctly told him why. [... talk down the Bellerophon officers and get our people out safely.]

Very briefly, he considered some quip related to their impromptu bout the previous night, but decided against it. There was no need. "On my way, Taer," he said, before tapping his badge.

"New destination; deck 19, cargo bay 13. Priority."

[Acknowledged.]

The lift stopped and rerouted, disgorging him on a lower deck, at the closest exit to the requested bay. He had the computer light the proper path along the LCARS displays on the bulkheads so he wasted no time getting there. He felt an encroaching headache at the psychic impression of several injured people (and at least one very injured person) coded across half a dozen species. His face set into a mask as he tried to ward it all off.

"All right, what do we have in there?"

He recognised her from the brig; one of Nicander's guards. If he'd heard her name then, he didn't remember it, but Taer had provided it on the way - PO Bremmer. She and all but one of her team were crowding a Bolian on the deck. Crewman Ganak, I presume. The other crewman was accessing the sensors.

"Th- they have my type-II," he slurred, wheezing through the pain. "The transports sanitised them of any weapons on the way over... b'they weren't happy when they found out who beamed 'em off."

Ducote winced as he listened; the act of paying him conscious attention produced a sympathetic subconscious mirror in his empathy, and the man had been very thoroughly beaten. It was a wonder he made it out of the bay, in the hybrid's opinion, especially on that foot. He frowned, old suspicious habits resurfacing. "Were you the only security in the bay? What about the medics?"

"No. No, they got Talin too." So, at least another sidearm... "Two orderlies." ... aaaaand a bunch of pharmaceuticals.

"How many attacked you?" He wanted to know how many belligerents he'd be facing.

"Al- also four. The rest... stayed out of the way."

Well that could mean any number of things. But four people laying such a beatdown on someone... It felt excessive. And this, he reflected wryly, from someone who threatened to incinerate a couple of dozen people just the previous day. Ducote nodded. "Someone get this man to sickbay; that chest sounds awful. Beam him up there."

"Well, they haven't started building barricades at least," said the crewman checking the sensors. "Got.. forty warm bodies in there not wearing a Theurgy badge. One of those that is isn't looking great; tag says it's Talin. The others are mostly fine... They're in the opposite corner."

Ducote's empathy told him that there was no one too near the door, but that didn't mean they weren't simply deeper in and waiting to rush. Should he go in? There was the obvious risk of just handing them a new hostage, though he at least would be unarmed. But he'd avoid a fight if he could. The Bellerophon, after all, was part of the same Starfleet he was; he had no desire to deepen their problems. Not to mention the fact that after the fun-filled evening with Kino last night he wasn't feeling particularly spry.

"Open the door halfway," he ordered. "I'm going to talk to them. Rest of you; hold the door. Seal it back up for now."

He stepped through, not failing to notice the petty officer materialising at his elbow. I suppose that makes me the clueless Rupert providing more work for the put-upon working enlisted? The self-deprecating smirk was easy to keep from his face as the smell of smoke and the feeling of quiet desperation hit him. He strode through it all, walking between the hastily-replicated bunks and portable head units, apparently heedless of the survivors around him as he fixated on the huddle in the far corner of the compartment.

Until he raised a hand to point, without looking, at a crouching goldshirt near one of the beds as his march carried him past. "That one's feeling brave, Bremmer. Keep an eye on him, please."

Ranaan Ducote came to a halt a couple of metres away from the suspicious, angry glares aimed his way from the group with the hostages. One of them had an inspection plate off the type-II, and was digging through the circuitry beneath before giving up and raising it to point at him. "Biometric lock? That'll take some work to bypass," he commiserated, acknowledging it without giving the impression he was concerned.

"I am Commander Ducote, of the USS Endeavour. Let's talk."

Re: Chapter 03: Supplemental [ Day 06 | 0915 hrs. ] Smokejumpers

Reply #3 – December 20, 2018, 11:58:09 PM

[ PO2 Eliska Bremmer | Cargo Bay 13 | Deck 18 | USS Theurgy ] @patches @Top Hat

"You got out and you're here to tell us what's what.  You did good."

That much Bremmer had managed to tell Crewman Ganak before he was beamed away.  The Bolian must have been like a demon when he tried to retain his weapon and made his way out of the cargo bay.  If he'd fought any less, he'd still be in that bay, probably dying, and he would never have made that report. 

As he was being beamed away, the Petty Officer started directing her people, amplifying on the Commander's orders.  Now, of course they would need eyes on the door, but she also had them broken up into two partial sticks in case they would need to assault the bay to recover their people; hopefully it would not be necessary, but if it came down to it, she meant to put an end to that kind of trouble as quickly and effectively as she knew how.  And there was something to be said about speed, surprise and violence of action, even with weapons set on stun, to make people think twice about continuing to make trouble.

As Ducote stepped towards the door he ordered cracked open, Bremmer followed up close on his heels.  Of course he hadn't ordered for someone to go with him in there, but then again he would have to be either especially naive to think he'd be going in there alone, or that no one had enough initiative to see to it he'd have someone to watch his back.  And as she moved, the Human moved her combadge from where it sat on her chest and pinned it to her collar.  Of course, they'd gone out there without proper equipment for close-protection, but that meant she'd have to improvise to maintain contact, and call for help in a real hurry.  But at least, that placement would let her whisper to her team and Security Ops rather than broadcast everything loud and clear within the room.  Sure, she'd have to touch her neck unless she made a general call, but it would at least be a start. 

As she followed the man who was now her principal, Eliska's eyes were already moving across the crowd.  A great many of the survivors in the bay were in various degree of shock.  After all, their ship had apparently been shredded around their ears.  A great many showed signs of having been near a fire, while others had eyes that were streaming freely, either from exposure to noxious smoke or recovering from a brief vacuum exposure.  But, there were some whose head was more about themselves, and some who were obviously displeased with the situation.  She could feel the eyes on the pair of them as they walked down the aisle between rows of cots.  Some were indifferent, some were hostile, and more than one gave her an uncomfortable itch between her shoulder blades.  But then again, she was used to being looked at like a piece of meat; she did not, after all, match the appearance of most Security personnel. 

When Ducote pointed out one man, not even turning to look at him, her head snapped in his direction, and her hand came to rest on her hip, just up from the grip of her pistol.  Her eyes met the man's, and she shook her head.  Don't try it, she meant to say, and he sneered.  This one was going to be trouble all right.  For now he was content to sit on his rack, but there was no telling how much longer that would last. 

As they neared where the hostages were kept, Eliska moved a little off to the side as to be able to haul her principal to safety while still being able to fire if it came down to it, and she spied the two who were armed.  One had an inspection panel open, but that drew a quiet, dry chuckle from her.  For one thing, it meant no one who was involved with this little uprising was a weapons maintainer... for anyone would have known that on the Type II pulse phaser pistol the access to that component was by removing the power indicator panel.  The other phaser, though, it also came up and it was streaked with blood, Bolian and Human both.  And judging by the one mutineer with a badly mashed nose and a lacerated cheek, Ganak had at least gotten back some of his own when he got jumped. 

As Ducote made his introduction, a voice sounded from behind them.  When Bremmer turned about, it was, of course, the one that had been pointed out to her.  And it would seem he had managed to arm himself with a length of what looked like a piece of his cot. Lovely. "What if we don't want to talk?  I'd say you can leave, but I think we can use a Commander.  I know we can use your baby sister here, too."

Of course.  That was to be expected.  But instead she just shot him a quick, contemptuous look.  Oh, it was one thing to acknowledge the threat, but there was also a fine art in letting a threat know they'd been seen, acknowledged, catalogued... and found to be contemptible and not that serious. 

Re: Chapter 03: Supplemental [ Day 06 | 0915 hrs. ] Smokejumpers

Reply #4 – December 24, 2018, 07:27:09 PM

[ Cmdr Ranaan Ducote | Cargo Bay 13 | Deck 19 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @patches @CanadianVet

"... I think we can use a Commander. I know we can use your baby sister here, too."

Ducote, still looking at the hostage-takers before him, made a show of sighing and turning to look back at the brave young idiot. "Were you standing near an exploding conduit? In a decompressing compartment, perhaps? You might have missed where I said I was from the Endeavour. And between you and me, Crewman, I wouldn't test my 'baby sister' here either. She'll fold you into a pretzel before you could tap out."

He had no concrete idea if that were true, but she carried herself well, was exo trained, and her confidence hadn't flapped an iota since walking into the room. And it never hurt to dissuade the antagonistic. However, playing the 'authority of force' would just confirm everything they'd been told about this ship, as it had for him during his own arrival aboard the Niger. The hybrid turned back to the others without bothering to see if there was a reply coming. "Listen, none of this should be necessary," he resumed, holding his hands out in a placatory gesture before letting them drop back to his sides. "What has the Theurgy done to you since you came aboard?"

"You mean after they destroyed our ship?" spat the lieutenant aiming the pistol at Ducote's chest. The ex-XO clenched his jaw for an instant, annoyed at having left himself open to such an obvious rejoinder. He waved a hand.

"They were shooting to disable," he asserted, ignoring the disbelieving snort from one of the man's compatriots. "And even if they weren't, why beam you off? Leaving you there with failed shields would have been job complete, right? The nebula would have killed the survivors in minutes."

The smell of smoke, impregnated into the fabric of the uniforms of the Bellerophon crew, made him want to cough. He resisted the urge for now. He could feel one of the people keeping an eye on the orderlies waver, but squash the notion. "And after rescuing you from the ship they didn't mean to kill, they sent medics."

"Meat shield's no good if it's dead, right?"

"You can take me at my word here or not, but the Archeron fired on this ship as soon as they dropped out of warp, after a cursory scan to attain a weapon lock. And they weren't shooting to disable. As meat shields, you're useless regardless; you're as lucky as we are that Engineering managed to keep the warp engines working."

Ducote held their gazes for a moment. They didn't say much, and he could feel them continuing to weigh their options. "Put the weapons down a second, alright? We won't move," he glanced at Bremmer to indicate she should agree (sincerely or otherwise - if someone did try their luck it would be daft for either of them to stay completely still), "but enough people have been hurt today."

Speaking bluntly, things were going well. They were talking back to him, weren't shouting unhelpful things (except for the crewman most around him seemed unsettled by; veiled threats of violation were so... archaic), and no one had tried to shoot anyone yet. He could work with this, a little time though it might take.

He just hoped there were no new revelations coming from the security centre in the meantime.

Re: CH03: S [D06|0915] Smokejumpers

Reply #5 – January 12, 2019, 09:40:16 PM

[PO2 Kino Taer | Security Operations | Security Centre | Deck 7 | Vector 2 ]

Kino had to stop herself from continuing to tap her foot impatiently as she waited for a status update from Ducote or Bremmer. Neither explicitly reported in so when she finally reached out, she ended up getting a curt report from one of the other members of Bremmer’s team that she and Ducote had already gone in alone to track down the hostage leader and begin negotiations. In the meantime, it seemed that another group of Bellerophon survivors had staged a breakout in Cargo Bay 1. Other members of Security were already responding and Lieutenant Kai Akoni had issued orders to put the ship on a full security lockdown. This wouldn’t really affect Taer’s own crisis handling, but it did mean if shit hit the fan, there would already be measures in place to limit it outside of Bremmer’s team.

“Taer to Bremmer, a security lockdown has been issued by the acting Chief. Let me know when Cargo Bay 13 is secure or if additional support is necessary."

She pulled up what she could of the sensors in the cargo bay and surrounding area. If the other Bellerophon group were daring enough, they could potentially link up with their fellows in bay 13 and complicate her situation. Her job now included monitoring that in case the other response team failed to contain it.

[ PO1 Winnie Bjerre | Cargo Bay 13 | USS Theurgy ]

Another Bellerophon crewmember walked up to join the small but growing crowd that lined the walls, sat on containers, and leaned against makeshift beds. She pushed her way up to the front to see what was going on, whispering a few sharp words for one crewman crouching in a walkway. When the nurse finally got the view she needed, she sighed and shook her head.

That damned fool Frankie. He would start something.

Winnie had been on the other end of the cargo bay when it all went down, calming down a hysterical – and very newly pregnant – operations crewman after their situation started sinking in. That woman couldn’t find her partner and narrowly missed being included in the long list of casualties from the science ship. Winnie had no idea why that crewman hadn’t already requested reassignment due to her pregnancy, given that everyone on the ship knew they were going to be a part of the task force hunting down the rogue dreadnought.

Some people just don’t think ahead, I guess.

She was tempted to intercede here, but she reconsidered. If the Theurgy sent a negotiator here instead of just a security team, it meant something. The veteran nurse wanted to know exactly what that was.

[ Lt Frankie Babineau | Cargo Bay 13 | USS Theurgy ]

Frankie sneered at the commander’s words.

“Oh, enough people have been hurt today, you think? Like our entire ship? Let me guess, they were just trying to ‘disable’ the Orcus too. Or Starbase 84. What kind of fool do you think I am?”

He studied Ducote for a moment, barely listening to the start of his response before he interrupted, his voice dripping with scorn. “You claim to be from the Endeavour. Where are they? Another casualty at the hands of these traitors? And you joined them.”

Re: CH03: S [D06|0915] Smokejumpers

Reply #6 – January 13, 2019, 12:00:46 AM

[ PO2 Eliska Bremmer | Cargo Bay 13 | Deck 18 | USS Theurgy ] @patches  @Top Hat

When her combadge, relocated to her collar as it was, chirped, Bremmer brought a hand to it to receive the message, using the bulk of her palm to muffle the sound.  "Got it.  Let the crew outside the bay know about this; if there's any warm bodies to spare, see if you can reinforce them; we got enough people if there's a fight in here, but not if there's one out there too."  That was as much as she could do for now.  Her job was to handle the hostage crisis, and incidentally keep Commander Ducote in one piece if things got ugly. 

The loudmouth behind them, for now, was taking the hint that trying for the Commander's baby sister would be ill-advised, but then another voice came from the front.  That one wasn't just accented, it was deeply accented.  Almost to such a point that Federation Standard, which was already Bremmer's second language, was just about incomprehensible through the nasal, drawling pronunciation and the overly stretched syllables.  Assuming some were not dropped entirely.  But when the Lieutenant was done speaking, the Petty Officer felt the need to get her point across.  Perhaps Commander Ducote was the negotiator, but she was the muscle for this operation, the steel fist in that silk glove.  "Sir, I was on Resolve.  I was shot at and damn near killed by people who should have welcomed us with open arms for no reason, and instead it was the renegade that saved us when Orcus and the rest of that fleet were trying real hard to kill us all."

Her voice remained calm through her heavy,  clipped accent, but she continued.  "And if we were of a mind to end this the real easy way, I have a large security team outside that door that could come in and stun first and ask questions later, but Commander Ducote was sent here to see if we can do things the easy way instead of the real easy way."

Re: CH03: S [D06|0915] Smokejumpers

Reply #7 – January 17, 2019, 10:47:06 PM

[ Cmdr Ranaan Ducote | Cargo Bay 13 | Deck 19 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @patches @CanadianVet

"... What kind of fool do you think I am?"

Ducote cut off the sigh that tried to escape him, instead turning into taking a breath to respond. He didn't get the chance. 

"You claim to be from the Endeavour. Where are they? Another casualty at the hands of these traitors? And you joined them."

His jaw clenched shut as he swallowed his preferred retort. Bremmer took the lead, serendipitously allowing him a moment to make sure he stayed diplomatic. Her story was a revelation to him, too, and he detected no deceit. Just a justifiable indignation and anger at her treatment by a Fleet that was supposed to shelter her. For a second, he considered one of the deckplates between him and the hostage takers.

Funny, how a single statement could do more to erode his confidence that the Theurgy were traitors than literal hours of lecture from Commander Wenn in conference rooms.

"And if we were of a mind to end this the real easy way, I have a large security team outside that door that could come in and stun first and ask questions later, but Commander Ducote was sent here to see if we can do things the easy way instead of the real easy way," she continued.

"Or just flood the compartment with anesthezine," he put in, finding his voice again. "But they have done neither of these things, because they would rather you were conscious and communicative." He ignored the exaggerated eye-roll from the lieutenant while he paused. "To answer your question, Lieutenant, the Endeavour was boarded and destroyed about a week ago at the fringe of the Azure Nebula by a Borg Cube. The runabout I was on was rescued by the Theurgy some time later." Not even a pause before 'rescued' there, I'm improving.

The impact of his declaration, though, was palpable. A murmur ran around the room; even after the grinding progress of the Dominion War, there was nothing quite like the body-horror instilled by the prospect of assimilation. The nigh-unstoppable cybernetic beings were considered galactic boogeymen by many.

"One of the Theurgy's scouts also discovered a debris field of Task Force vessels." His gaze drifted into a high corner of the bay, while one eye screwed closed with the effort of recall. "The ships Ark Royal, Kusanagi, Encounter, Fairchild... there were others, too. And the debris from more Borg vessels. One Cube would be bad enough, but there are more in the Nebula. And there is credible intelligence-" Yeah, right- "-that there are hundreds more on the way. This ship knows their exit point, and is currently travelling to a final staging point before shutting them down."

He looked the officer in the eye, his voice hard. Sometimes people just walked right into a bullrush. "That is why I am here, Lieutenant. We - for now, at least - have a shared goal."

Ducote allowed the silence to brush into uncomfortable territory, to allow all that to sink in a little, then asked, "What's your name, Lieutenant? You have me at a disadvantage here." The hybrid appreciated the irony in the statement.

"... Babineau."

"Alright, thank you. Tell me, Mister Babineau, was Commander Jav still assigned to the Bellerophon? Security. Do you know if she made it?"

"I... didn't see her," the man replied, caught flat-footed by the change in tack. "It was a bit of a mess over there, remember?"

"Damn. I've known her a long time, the grouchy old bastard. Perhaps she's in the other group."

"There's another group?" Babineau couldn't help but ask.

"Another bay's worth this size, yes. I don't know the full count, I'm sorry."

"Let us talk to them," one of Babineau's colleagues demanded.

"Put the guns down," Ducote sent back, but with the tone of a counteroffer rather than an order. "Things are hairy enough, folks. No need to make anyone's day worse."

Re: CH03: S [D06|0915] Smokejumpers

Reply #8 – March 18, 2019, 02:35:27 PM

[ Lt Frankie Babineau | Cargo Bay 13 | USS Theurgy ]

Listening to Ducote, Babineau frowned, and he ended up looking towards his fellow officers. Some claims were more than outrageous, ranging from Borg to the idea that the Theurgy could - despite all that they had been told and shown since November the year before - actually be anything else than the Romulan traitors Starfleet Command claimed. The restrictions on communicating with the Theurgy, before and after the event at Theta Eridani IV, had it's merits. The paranoia against the computers of the Task Force to be compromised had been a daily focus. The Theurgy was, after all, a ship with a sapient A.I. installed. That such a ship would be the one to go renegade was quite telling, and could hardly be a coincidence.

Personally, Frankie had not expected there to be any crew besides the Captain on the Theurgy, that the shapeshifter would have hijacked that A.I. and let it kill the crew - replacing every living soul aboard with a loyal hologram. It was one of the favourite theories among the ships of the Archeron's fleet, and even Sankolov himself had been saying things that would suggest it.

But here stood this Commander that knew Jav, and as advanced as any A.I. might be... surely it couldn't..?

"Fine," he said, eventually, and when there were movements from his fellow companions, Frankie turned his head. "I said fine, let's hear them out. If they have evidence, I sure would like to see it all before things escalate needlessly. We really don't have the odds in our favour."

So Babineau surrendered, the rest following his example soon enough. In the end, he was looking the Commander in the eye. "This better be a good story..."

- FIN