Star Trek: Theurgy

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

Reply #50 – May 23, 2018, 12:28:25 AM

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

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It was just the way of the universe. When a person is achieving success, prevailing against all odds, the universe invariably finds a way to kick that person firmly in the rear end. Such was the case with the crew of the Theurgy: just as they seemed to be convincing the Cayuga crew, just as they thought that the deception might actually work, the ship rocked, the red alert sirens blared, the holographic camoflage failed and everything turned to chaos.

Of course, Lillee and Yukimura didn’t bother waiting to give Captain Zeigler an explanation. The Romulan pilot was already halfway out of her chair even as Yukimura called for her to hurry, flinging her wig aside and following right on the lieutenant’s heels as the ship rocked again under weapons fire. Within moments they were on the Bridge, and Lillee didn’t hesitate as she got to the helm, not even waiting for the relief CONN officer to move before she started entering course corrections over his shoulder.

"Matsuda, get me a bead on whoever is out there and open up. We don't have time to play nice." Natalie started pulling up bits of information on the small display for her. "Give me an analysis on the weapon damage. Since we're still here, there's no way that was Borg attack." She watched as her people took their stations and brought the ship about, hard. From Ops, Yvette shook, but looked at the readings. Not Borg, but still..l

"Captain," she called towards Stark, "It's Asurians, Ma'am."

"Oh, great," Natalie snapped off. "Matsuda, get me a bead and blow that out of the sky." She pointed two fingers towards the helm. "t'Jellaieu, evasive action. Take us closer into towards the Cayuga. They're barely holding on as is. We cannot let the Asurians take them down. Get us between them and the ship." The next part would be the hardest.

“Yes ma’am,” Lillee answered, now firmly in her seat, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. ‘Evasive action’ and ‘be the Cayuga’s physical shield’ were inherently contradictorary, but she reminded herself grimly of the old truism that a day of work without an officer giving contradictorary orders was a day without officers. Thus the Stallion duly began moving its immense bulk under Lillee’s care towards the stricken Cayuga, the much smaller Asurian saucers harrassing both Starfleet ships like mosquitoes. Before long, they finally entered visual range of the Cayuga amidst the bright soup of the nebula, and the true extent of the starship’s wounds became apparent.

Zeigler and her crew hadn’t been lying: the Nebula-class ship really had been horribly damaged by the Borg. Thin black scars had been sliced into the great silver-grey saucer, clear evidence of Borg cutting beams, while only a small handful of windows were lit, hinting at some serious power generation problems. The shields were flickering from intense Asurian weapons fire, the small saucers spinning as they moved and fired from each beam emplacement sequentially, a heavy barrage that was severely straining the Cayuga’s defences. Then, as Lillee obeyed Stark’s orders and brought the Stallion in for a risky attack run that would end with them physically covering the Cayuga, it happened.

As the Cayuga lumbered about, its port nacelle flickering before falling dark as phaser fire kept lancing out, one of the Asurian saucers lined up close behind it with a menacing intent. Even as the Stallion roared in, phasers blasting desperately to stop the saucer before it did whatever it was planning, the Asurian ship put on a burst of extraordinary acceleration...right into the Cayuga’s aft port quarter.

Whatever small amount of shield energy the beleaguered starship had generated failed instantly, allowing the saucer to slam right into the hull. However, there was no great explosion, none of the awful destruction caused by two warp cores exploding. Instead, the saucer appeared jammed inside the Cayuga, although on the viewscreen, the size difference made it look like a fly upon a horse’s flank. Even before her mind could consciously process what had happened, Lillee instinctively aborted the maneuver to get close to the Cayuga, instead altering course a little to allow the Stallion’s weapons a better chance of inflicting damage on the other Asurian saucers inbetween the two Federation ships. They couldn't have an enemy inside their own shield, so the idea to extend it around the Cayuga was moot. Even as the Stallion changed course, the Asurian saucer lit up inside the Cayuga, using its green-hued graviton weapons to inflict horrific damage on the larger starship from the inside out. Whole hull sections burst from within - venting personnel into the nebula.

“Captain,” Lillee called out, keeping her attention firmly on the viewscreen as her fingers danced across her console, “recommend that we abort the maneuver to cover the Cayuga. There’s already a saucer inside their hull, and the others would savage us if we tried to run the gauntlet. I can execute a close-in attack run on the other saucers instead, give Lieutenant Yukimura a chance to hurt them.”

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

Reply #51 – May 23, 2018, 07:55:44 PM

Lt Kaylon Jeen|Failing/Failed HoloConference Room "USS Jamestown"  Attn : @Arista

In two centuries, Jeen had seen a lot of things, and wasn't surprised all that often, but when the conference room flickered and finally failed, the look on Kaylon's face was one of pure shock.  What the hell?! he thought.   Where are we?  He saw Ekon make his way onto this "new" ship's bridge and speak to the person who was apparently the real captain of the vessel once the officers that they had been discussing the Cayuga's issues with rushed out of the room, leaving only a single crewmember of this ship in there with them.

Standing and moving around the room as quickly as the shaking ship would allow him.  He approached the LCARS display and tapped at the panel.  He figured he wouldn't have access to any of the systems, but it didn't matter.  All he needed was for the display panel to light up.  It did and he saw what he needed to see.  Right there in bright Yellow in the corner..."USS Theurgy   NX-79854"  His eyes widened as he quickly moved up behind Captain Ziegler and spoke quietly in her ear.  "Captain, this ship...It's the Theurgy!"

It was entirely possible that the captain had already surmised this, but in case she hadn't, it was definitely something she needed to know.  

"The Cayuga can't really do much of anything right now.  She's worse than a sitting duck, and right now, her only hope is this ship and crew.  What do we do?" he asked.


As he stood there, waiting for orders, a hundred myriad thoughts raced thru his mind.  The Theurgy.  Supposedly worst traitors since the Maquis.  He wasn't sure if he believed it or not, but they were officially labeled traitors that any ship in Starfleet was to open fire upon on sight.  But here they were going to very elaborate lengths to try and assist the Cayuga.  Would traitors do something like that?  There was certainly more going on here than meets the eye.

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

Reply #52 – May 25, 2018, 12:20:37 AM

[ "CAPT" Armstro--ERROR-- | 1200 hrs. | "Conference Loun-- ERROR-- | Deck 1 | --USS--ERROR-- James-- "--mmy" Mariner, Starfleet Security (ren.) ]
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@Auctor Lucan @Doc M. @FollowTomorrow@Masorin @Gadget @lisavw @Veridian @Fife @Absinthe @Brutus

Things unraveled out of control rather quickly from the moment he heard damage reports piping into his earpiece. The façade ended and as if on queue, the holofilter began to show signs of malfunction and Jimmy's disguise faltered. While Yukimora and t'Jellaieu scrammed out of the room, Jimmy stayed behind momentarily. He still had a responsibility in the name of the gold uniform that presented itself through the flicker; it was his moment of truth.

Jimmy blurted out in his native accent, "I'm not from Theurgy, I'm from the Starship Resolve." Mariner came clean and put his hands out assuredly as if to calm down an angered beast. "These people rescued my crew from a Founder-class alien threat commanding Starbase 84 destroyed my vessel. There's more of those impostors out there." There was no time to say the term 'parasite' so Jimmy had to use a keyword in what precious moments he had before he had to get the bloody hell out of this mess. As if on queue, Natalie chimed in over the intercom. One final card played on the table, no more poker face.

"Bridge to Conference Lounge. We've got a lot of talking to do later,  We're under attack by a race of warlike aliens called Asurians. They've taken a bit of umbrage with the Federation in general. We're moving to place ourselves between them and Cayuga. Captain Ziegler, I'd appreciate it if you'd order your ship to take up a defensive posture and kindly not shoot at us."

"We mean you no harm, but those goat-headed hulks out there do, so how about we listen to Commander Stark?" feeling more now like a heretic in a superstitious village, based off the intensity of the stares he was collecting, he knew, it was time to make a dramatic exit. Mariner got out of his chair and bolted out of the conference room like someone whose hand phaser shorted out due to radiation, "Sorry about the theatrics!" The outnumbered but battle-ready veteran hoped he'd dropped the right keywords before he had to prepare to put down even more of those walking horny bastards. He'd rather face them than have to send anyone here to sickbay, namely potentially the large CPO who'd almost gotten between Jimmy and the bridge.

Under a minute later, Mariner was outside of the checkpoint and got rid of three pips befitting rank propriety; good thing he had his gold collar under the filter. He frowned at not uttering the words 'captains' log' in his next personal opportunity-- but he got himself a personal holophoto Meony often called a 'selfie' to pose for her during his rehearsal before he wore the face of a more wizened officer. The moment didn't last more than a second before he was at his station, awaiting orders to stand by to protect the Stallion or render any aid to the Cayuga. Under different circumstances, he would have gloated to his peers, though it remained to be seen if his performance would've had any lasting effect.

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

Reply #53 – May 25, 2018, 04:41:45 PM

[Lt. Rhys Williams|Failing/Failed HoloConference Room "USS Jamestown"] Attn: @Arista, @alphawiz

Everything seemed to Rhys as if it were happening in slow motion. First was the feeling of the ship rocking, then, the image of the Jamestown’s conference room flickered violently. The flashes of images distorting, and replacing one another made his eyes water. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out, his voice had completely failed him. He watched in complete astonishment as the ‘Jamestown’s’ senior staff swept out of the room.

He turned his head to the rest of the Cayuga’s crew seeing his own shock reflected in the faces of many of his compatriots. Perhaps some had seen this coming, but not Rhys. He had put the oddities and inconsistencies down to the stress of their situation. He watched Lt. Jeen, cross over to a control panel and return quickly to their group. He over heard the word “Theurgy” and suddenly a lot of what had happened during this meeting made much more sense to him. He felt a cold chill, as though someone were pouring ice water down his spine. The senior staff were all under the power of a group of ruthless traitors. It was true that he had wanted to save the Theurgy if it ran up against the Borg, but actually being on their ship was a different matter entirely.

When Jeen pointed out that the Cayuga was a wreck and dependent on the kindness of a group of people who had every reason to be nervous of their presence, Rhys sighed. It seemed to him there was not a lot they could do.

Until he spoke up again, Rhys had not really noticed ‘Captain Williams’ was still there. He had been far too preoccupied with his own thoughts. The change of accent was a surprise as were the stream of words that came out of the imposter’s mouth. Rhys struggled to take all, or indeed any of it in and the message from the Bridge did not make things much clearer. Before he knew the imposter was apologising for the theatrics and leaving the room at break neck speed.

Rhys slowly turned to the other senior staff, his bright blue eyes wide. The one thing he had understood in all of this was that, both ships were under attack from something that did not give a damn who was a loyal Federation vessel and who were traitors. Swallowing and finding his voice again, “Captain, I suggest we give the Theurgy whatever help we can.” He imagined this would not go down well, “They could have hurt us at any time, and right now we are all in danger traitor or not.” He ran his fingers through his hair, a gesture giving away his nervousness. He was not really ready to trust the crew of the Theurgy, but he saw no choice  other than to go along with them. Rhys had initially been afraid when he learned where they were, but now he relaxed a little. Had the Theurgy’s crew intended to hurt them they would have done so by now, had they intended to capture them, he doubted they would have gone through with such an elaborate charade. Ultimately though the decision lied with his Captain, and he looked to her to make it.

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

Reply #54 – May 25, 2018, 07:46:43 PM

[ Lieutenant Zelosa Ejek | Battle Bridge | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ]

Ejek did not mind ensign Six. She was former borg, yes, but she had done just enough reading to soothe some of the fears she may have had. That she still had a lingering connection to the collective did not come as a surprise to her. Yet, she did not stand up for her, even though she could have. That was Six's job, not hers. If she could hear them though, that was only confirmation that they were here, for sure. In the wrong part of the galaxy.

Before her very eyes, the situation blossomed from bad to worse. Asurian saucers, out of nowhere. They were quite skilled at being annoying, she thought. The ship rocked, but she held onto her seat and managed to not fall out and tumble around.

There were two main situations at hand here. The first was with the Asurian attack. The Cayuga would not be able to hold on very long. It was battered, beaten, in worse state than the Resolve was. Even if she did have shields and structural integrity, she would still not last very long considering how scarce experienced officers were there. On top of that, not a single officer or crewman aboard that ship had yet seen an Asurian until just now.

The second was that the lie they had so carefully crafted was now exposed quite rudely. The Theurgy’s crew would seem even more insidious than they would have if they had just flown right up with no disguise. To earn the favor of the Cayuga’s crew once more would be difficult…

There were some solutions, but none of them were satisfactory. The Theurgy had firepower, but not quite the speed. A good match would be yet another saucer, which they had, but no Asurian pilot. Six was just as likely to kill as she was to get killed. She did not like the idea of setting Six out on the world in a saucer they knew nothing about, up against enemies they didn't know much about. She put that idea on the back burner, for now...

“Captain,” She began, sitting back up correctly in her seat. She wasn’t satisfied with the idea she came up with. Quite honestly, this should be someone else’s job. That she was apparently the most capable person to be the XO was alarming. “We need to rescue the Cayuga. She’s not going to hold on. We might be able to earn some favor if we can rescue the crew.”

"Six. " She addressed, but with a cold sternness. It was a sudden change from her earlier suggestion tone. This was a demand. "You will take the saucer with caution. If there is even so much as a question that it is not safe to operate, or that you are unable to understand the controls, you will return back here at once. There will be no martyrs. Is this understood?"

She did not want to authorize this. Everything in her being said no. In all honesty, she had no idea why she even entertained the idea of allowing it, let alone allowed it. But her words had been said, and she would not go back on them. Hopefully she made it exceedingly clear that no stupid deaths will happen here.

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

Reply #55 – May 25, 2018, 08:46:19 PM

Lt Kaylon Jeen|Conference Room|USS Theurgy - Vector 03| @Arista @Fife @Auctor Lucan @Juzzie @FollowTomorrow, et al

Speaking a bit more normally so the rest of the Cayuga's senior staff could hear, he said "Captain, I don't know whether what we've been told about the Theurgy is true or not.  Personally, I have some doubts, but regardless of that fact, right now, they are our ONLY hope of getting out of this anywhere near alive and in one piece.   I'll follow whatever order you give...I just hope it's a good one, Captain.   We can't offer much of a defense, but we can try laying some of the Cayuga's torpedoes as mines." he offered as a suggestion.  "Maybe the bastards will take some damage that way"

He stood looking at Captain Ziegler, expectantly.

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

Reply #56 – May 26, 2018, 02:52:48 PM

[Ensign Six | Battle Bridge | Deck 11 | Vector 3 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Brutus @FollowTomorrow @Auctor Lucan @Triage @Triton @Fife @Doc M.
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"You will take the saucer with caution. If there is even so much as a question that it is not safe to operate, or that you are unable to understand the controls, you will return back here at once. There will be no martyrs. Is this understood?"

“Understood, Lieutenant,” responded Six to Ejek, and immediately departed the bridge. She had a feeling the impounded saucer will be safe to operate, and as a former drone, who learns from other species in the same way drones learn from assimilated species, she had a feeling she will understand the controls. In fact, she may not need to.

She felt a rush of determination, and for a good reason. She was instrumental in saving the lives of the Resolve. With her hacking skills, she kept the warp core stable long enough for the Resolve crew to evacuate, but she failed to save the ship. Now there came a chance to save two ships. Well, a ship and a third, but saving the Cayuga will mean making a positive impression.

Besides, she knew the odds were against the two ships. Especially with one damaged and the other operating without as much power, per traveling in the Azure Nebula.

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

The saucer lay before her when Six entered. Now that she saw an Asurian ship up close, she was disappointed in the design. She had expected something more…intimidating, given how the Asurian species were in a whole, in her opinion. Then she recalled the words of James T. Kirk when he had to use a Klingon ship to infiltrate a system-wide facility:

“While its design is crude by our standards, its simplicity will be of assistance in this mission’s objective.”

Six felt those words were appropriate in her own objectives.

Inside, it didn’t take long for her to find its communications systems. She was ready to upload. Granted, she had a computer for hacking skills, but linking her implants to any system grants her abilities. She was a walking, talking, organic and emotional computer, after all. Her instructors at Starfleet Academy raved about her hacking abilities. One of them pretty much drove the point home.

“Link her up to a padd, she’s good. Link her up to a console, she’s great. Link her up to any sort of computer, she’s great. But link her up to a computer core, she’s invincible,” he was raving with pride.

Six smiled as she recalled those words, but there was no official position for “hacker.” Which was why she was a forensics officer. In Starfleet, it’s the closest one could come as an investigator, and she had a reputation at the Academy as an investigator. Well, a positive reputation anyway, given she scared often scared people just by displaying her implants.

Putting recollections aside, especially as the ship rocked from another impact, jolting her back to reality, she set to work at once. She extended an arm and sent her tubules, a prominent feature in a drone, whether or not he or she belonged to the Collective, into the system. Her ocular implant uploaded frequencies. Hacking into their frequencies. Six let herself smile. She knew she can do plenty of damage to the Asurians by hacking into their frequencies, their overall communication systems.

Let’s start small, shall we? thought Six, letting in a smile and an emotion she rarely ever felt: smugness. She continued to access, continued to upload frequencies, and prepared for her own cyberattack. As the average human would say, the Asurians are about to be screwed.

---

OOC: As a side note, the quote by Kirk, it comes from the game Star Trek Legacy, on a mission involving infiltration using a Klingon ship.

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

Reply #57 – May 26, 2018, 08:09:56 PM

[ Lt JG, Salem Martin | 1200 hrs. | Conference Room|USS Theurgy - Vector 03 ]
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Well that explained how they knew where the task force was. Martin hated the deceit but paused when the fake captain revealed that they were from the Resolve, he blinked for a moment and practically jumped over the table to face Jimmy. "Wait your from the Resolve? My sister, Vivian Martin, she was chief science officer on the resolve, is she on this ship?"

He let his emotions get the better of him for a moment, but it seemed somehow more purdinant information than the fact that the Theurgy was under attack by goat headed people. He looked to the Cayuga's captain for a moment waiting for some kind of order. Were they gonna try and wrest the control of this ship? The Theurgy had been trying to warn them about several threats, and had offered repairs. He had so many questions and so few answers.

The Cayuga was on her last legs, and he didn't really want to loose it, but it had no weapons, as the guy who normally shoots things he felt pretty useless at the moment unsure of what he could contribute to this fight. On the other hand as a guy who could punch really hard, he was confident that he could take his frustrations out on some of the Theurgy's crew. Depending on the answer to his question.

"Captain what are doing?"

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

Reply #58 – May 27, 2018, 04:56:00 AM

[ Captain Anya Ziegler | Conference Lounge > Bridge | Vector 03: The Stallion | USS Theurgy ]
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Anya Ziegler just hadn't been able to shake the idea that there was something amiss, and the feeling had not abated any even when Captain Armstrong had begun to speak of a new alien threat in the Quadrant, and shown them the Versant - what they had come to call the Axe. She'd noticed several signs that her senior staff were not at ease, but afterwards, Anya would have have been hard pressed to actually single out a specific detail. In the end, it hadn't even mattered, since the message from her First Officer had come, and shattered the illusion about what had really been going on.

[This is Commander West! We are under attack by an unknown hostile force! Our damaged sensors can't make a clear reading, but we're under enemy fire!]

As if throwing a rock through a window, the the whole situation fell apart. Some were shouting, most were talking on top of each other, trying to override the others. Ziegler had bolted to her feet, and since she was on the wrong ship, she had to make the crew of the Cayuga her priority. Therefore, she'd answered West first, even as others asked her for orders in the false room they'd ended up in. "This is Ziegler. Red Alert," she said after tapping her combadge, her order likely superflour since West must have rallied the stricken crew already, "reroute whatever power we have left to shields and phasers! Power up the aerowing too and prepare it for immediate launch! We've saved it for a rainy day, and this might be it... I'll return to the bridge with the staff as soon as we're able."

As the deck beneath her feet shook, she cast her eyes about, meeting those of the staff that spoke to her. She also heard a female voice on the intercom, saying that there was a lot to talk about later. That voice sounded eerily familiar... but through the barrage of information and words that washed over her, she could but keep a single priority, and that was the Cayuga. If this was her old ship - the Theurgy - then so be it. The ramifications of it all had to wait. She had to save her crew. The way her heart felt like it would beat itself out of her chest, it was all for them - her fears for the Cayuga paramount.

"Follow me," she ordered her senior staff, not about to remain in the briefing room they had found themselves in, almost expecting them to be locked in there. She couldn't see the tactical situation from there, so she set a brisk pace out of the room, following the man that had posed as Armstrong and not taking 'no' for an answer. Ekon was already on the bridge - which proved to be one of the two Battle Bridges - but her eyes were not for him. Her gaze was already on the viewscreen and the tactical situation they faced. She wrapped a hand around a piece of railing and swore under her breath - eyes darting about to take it all in.

When the Cayuga came into view, she gathered that one of the enemy crafts had rammed itself inside the Warp Trail lounge and was blasting its way through the spine of her ship - green beams exiting the hull from within. Despite the turbulence and movements of the Theurgy - which had to be just one of the Vectors - and the glow of the Azure Nebula, she could see bodies tumbling away from the Cayuga. She had to get back there.

Casting her eyes towards whomever sat in the command chair on the bridge - was it Stark? Natalie Stark? - she made herself perfectly clear. "Get me back on my bridge," she said, barely keeping her tone civil. The Cayuga might be done for, but she loved the people in her senior staff, and didn't want them to die. A Captain should go down with her ship, and not drag her crew with her if she could avoid it. "Immediately."

The woman at the Ops station was unknown to her, sure she hadn't seen her on the Theurgy back in the day, whoever she was, Ziegler's voice of authority made no compromise. "Did you not hear me? Prepare a transport, beam me to the bridge when you drop your shields, and then I want you to transport the rest of my officers to the Cayuga's aeroshuttle, now." Then, Anya Ziegler looked towards Natalie Stark. "Save my ship, then we'll talk, but don't expect us to just stand here and watch."

Then, she looked towards the present officers from the Cayuga. The fact that it might be the last time she spoke to them was not lost on her, but she wasted no time on that notion. "Work together. The aeroshuttle still has teeth," she said, and while she both loved and trusted them equally, she had to pick someone among the Lieutenants to command the damn thing. They needed a chain of command. She could have picked anyone, but her eyes fell on Kaylon Jeen, the Trill having fought in the Dominion War. "Lieutenant Jeen, you'll be in command. Good luck..."

Then, her bitter eye fell on Stark again, not about to take 'no' for an answer.

[ Lieutenant Masuda Yukimura | Holographic Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | "USS Jamestown" ] ]
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At the tactical station, Masuda Yukimura was doing his best to repel and target the Asurians that accosted the Stallion, but given the number of Cayuga officers that entered the back of the bridge, it was impossible to not notice the development. He could sympathise with them, but dropping the shields at that moment was...

...unless? "Captain Stark, I can give us enough time for a transport!" she called, the deck shaking as the Stallion's shields were diminished yet again by continued Asurian fire. Once he finally got the affirmation from Stark, he turned towards Conway at Ops. "Ready the transports and energise on my mark! Petty Officer t'Jellaieu, initiate evasive manoeuvre Beta-One-Four-Zero in three... two... one... Now!  "

Then, once the series of rapid turns began, Yukimura staved off their pursuers with a continuous stream of phaser bolts from four different phaser emitters on the Stallion - effectively discouraging the two saucers for a while. "Dropping shields! Energize!"

And then, while she looked at her senior staff, Ziegler was beamed to her bridge, while the rest of the Cayuga officers on the Stallion ended up on the bridge of their aeroshuttle.

Yukimura could but hope that aeroshuttle was launched quickly enough to aid in the fight....

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OOC: Since @Arista has not been able to post yet, I have decided to progress the story and not keep everyone waiting here. I hope this development works for everyone. 7 days response time begins now for all! Multi, however, you let a lot of IC time pass in your post so let us catch up with you before posting again. Writers with Cayuga characters, your characters will end up on the bridge of the Cayuga's aeroshuttle. See the Cayuga page for more info, but it's the auxiliary craft underneath the saucer. Here is the bridge, where I suggest Rhys take the Communications role on the port side, and T'Panu prepares to take on injured crew in the aft compartments of the craft. I have ideas for that too. Hope this image help! [Show/Hide]

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

Reply #59 – May 27, 2018, 10:55:27 PM

[ CPO Ekon Okotie-Eboh | Bridge | Vector 3 | USS Theurgy ]
Attn: @Auctor Lucan @alphawiz @Veridian @Gadget @Masorin @Juzzie @lisavw

Ekon turned his head to face Captain Ziegler as she spoke, addressing the bridge crew of the Theurgy. She spoke with a tone that would broker no arguments or compromises. The Captain had remained silent for much of their meeting with the crew of the “Jamestown”, but now she had resumed her usual heir of confidence and command. She turned her attention to the Officers from the Cayuga next, addressing them without the anger in her tone than she had directed at the Theurgy’s crew.

”Work together. The aeroshuttle still has teeth.” She instructed them, scanning the group until her eyes fell on the Chief Engineer. ”Lieutenant Jeen, you’ll be in command. Good Luck…”

Ekon stared at the Captain for a long moment, etching her face into his memory. He had been in similar situations and heard similar speeches several times throughout his Starfleet career, and in his experience there was usually a good chance of never seeing people again when such words were spoken. He nodded to the Captain, knowing there was nothing to say in such times, especially as an NCO. She only needed them to do their duty.

Ekon turned from the Captain to face the viewscreen once more and stared at the Cayuga, eyes lingering on the saucer that had embedded itself in the rear of the ship. He took in the catastrophic damage the Iroquois-class ship had sustained as Yukimura spoke.

”Dropping shields! Energize!”

The viewscreen and the horrific image it displayed disappeared from Ekon’s view, being replaced by the cramped bridge of the aerowing shuttle as he and the officers from the Cayuga were beamed aboard, minus the Captain.

---

[ CPO Ekon Okotie-Eboh | Bridge | Aerowing Shuttle | USS Cayuga ]

No sooner had they materialized on the aerowing’s bridge than the ship rocked violently, the saucer lodged in the Warp-Trail Lounge having fired another burst through the heart of the Cayuga. Ekon stumbled on the quaking deck, and barely managed to keep his feet as he moved towards the Ops console at the forward station of the small bridge. Ekon glanced around the bridge as he moved, his gaze moving over each of the officers in turn as he grabbed the back of his seat to steady himself against another tremor. Lieutenants Jeen, Williams, T’Panu, and Vanya. Lieutenant J.G. Martin and Ensign Dumral. And himself. The bridge of the aerowing was rather crowded, though from what he could see, the bridge was intact and undamaged.

Thank goodness for small miracles. Ekon thought, glad to find the condition of the aerowing’s bridge to be significantly better than the state the rest of the ship appeared to be in. His gaze lingered on one particular officer for a moment before he turned and took his seat.

Once seated at the Ops console, Ekon began running a systems check and readying the aeroshuttle for launch as he waited for Lt. Jeen to begin giving out orders.

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

Reply #60 – May 29, 2018, 03:19:14 AM

[Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Stark, Captain | Temporary Quarters | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy 01 ]Attn: @Arista @Auctor Lucan @Multificionado  @FollowTomorrow @alphawiz @Gadget @Masorin @Juzzie @Fife @Griff @lisavw @Veridian @Triton @Doc M. 
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Oh, shit was all that Natalie could think as she stood back up in front of her chair, barking orders, acknowledging and confirming the suggestions from the helm - orders interrupted by the presence of Captain Anya Ziegler. It was as if the past few months had not happened, and Natalie was that shy, Assistant Chief, working for Hedricks, and was suddenly caught in the cross fire with the first officer. Except now, both women were in command of their respective ships. Natalie was doing her best to protect her former XO's vessel from more damage, but with an Asurian Saucer already deeply embedded in the wounded vessel - and therefore disrupting their ability to extend the shields - there was only so much she could do.

Part of her wanted to argue with Anya. Dropping her own shields right now was pretty damn stupid. Sending Anya back to that ship might very well be a death sentence. What a poor favor that would be to her former XO, assisting in her suicide by Asurian. On the other hand, if she were in the same seat as the Cayuga's Captain, she might be arguing for just that. There was another part of her that wanted to shout down the woman for threatening to undermine her very tenuous command as is. Ordering about her people on her bridge could be damned problematic. But a quick glance around showed that all of her people were doing their jobs, or looking to her for confirmation.

"We'll deal with this later," Natalie said in agreement. "Get them beamed over safe," she ordered, keeping her calm. She would not allow Anya to get under her skin. Not with so many moving parts in play. Even as the two stared each other down, Masuda was executing a brilliant assault run, paired with Lillee's impressive piloting skills. Ensign Six was down in the Stallions shuttle bay, doing her best to unleash an electronic blitzkrieg on the attacking Asurian fleet, if only she could successfully hack the captured saucer they currently had impounded. In short, Natalie had too much to worry about to give a damn right now.

It was not the reunion she would have preferred.

Just before the transporter beam took Anya off her bridge, Natalie locked her gaze with the Cayuga's Captain. There was a hardness to Natalie Stark that would not have been there when Cpt. Ziegler had last seen the then Lieutenant Stark.  A coldness that spoke of horrors few could understand, and a cold steel will that not even Natalie herself knew she possessed, tempered by the tutelage of Jien Ives and Carrigan Trent. "Good luck, Captain Ziegler."

And then they were gone and Natalie was left turning to look at her crew. "Get those shields back up," she snapped her fingers, feeling the ship shake slightly as a beam smashed into their hull, even as the shields snapped right back into place. She kept a frown off her face - getting the Cayuga's crew off her ship had been a must for various reasons. Right now, they had to simply survive the encounter before she'd deal with the repercussions. I couldn't know, I couldn't trust. This was too important. God knows I wanted to she thought, before setting those thoughts aside in that steel locked box in the back of her mind.

"Helm, bring us back around and lets see if we can provide some cover for our friends over there to launch their aerowing," For whatever good that will do, she bitterly thought. "Tactical. Which ever one of those saucers you pegged earlier looks the worse off? Take it out. Now. We need to get those numbers down." She was back in her seat, arms braced on the chair, looking straight ahead, trying to project confidence to her crew.

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

Reply #61 – May 29, 2018, 04:57:24 PM

Lt Kaylon Jeen|Bridge - Vector 03 - Stallion -  USS Theurgy

Kaylon listened as the captain ordered the officers of the Theurgy to beam her back to the Cayuga, and the rest of them to the aerowing.  Then she turned to them and said  "Work together. The aeroshuttle still has teeth . Lieutenant Jeen, you'll be in command. Good luck..."

Surprised at that last, it took him a full two seconds to process it, but still he nodded and said "Aye, Captain...and we'll see you soon" Either on the Cayuga, or in the hereafter, as the thought finished inside his head.  As he felt the transporter effect take hold, the last conscious thought before becoming nothing but energy and a transporter pattern was  Oh hell!


Lt Kaylon Jeen|Bridge - Cayuga's Aerowing Shuttle  ((OOC : Shouldn't this thing have a name?))

He materialized and a second later, the ship rocked as the Cayuga took a grazing hit.  Chief Eboh was already at the Ops station running a systems check and the others were quickly getting to their stations.   Captain Ziegler had put him in command, so that's where he'd be.  He hoped her faith in him was justified.  He thought he'd done a pretty good job as the new Chief Engineer since the Borg attack, but he hadn't really had a lot of choice in the matter.  Just like now, he mused, but there wasn't time to get all introspective.  They had a job to do.

"Chief, get me a systems readout.  Martin, I need a weapons inventory and status of the phaser power.  Before we undock, transport a  half dozen full sized torpedoes into our cargo hold.  We can't fire them, but I have a couple of ideas.  The Cayuga can't really use them anyway.  Communications - contact the Theurgy and request any and all tactical data they have on those ships, and transfer it to tactical.   Maybe we can find a way to be more than just a fly to be swatted!" 

Looking down at his PADD, he linked it to the aerowing's systems and pulled up an engineering readout.  All the systems were fairly intact.  They hadn't tapped any of the power systems here yet.  If they made it back in one piece, that may change.  The Cayuga was still in bad shape and getting worse by the minute now that the Asurians were pounding away at it.

It was now or never.  "Alright.   Release docking clamps and launch as soon as all systems are ready.  We have a job to do."

He took a deep breath wondering just how much longer he'd be breathing.  Well, he'd survived the Dominion War, a Borg attack, and three lifetimes.  Mathematically speaking, the odds were still in his favor, he thought smiling.  Unless, of course, his number was finally up.

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

Reply #62 – May 31, 2018, 10:54:46 PM

 [ Chief Medical Officer T'Panu | Bridge | Aerowing Shuttle | USS Cayuga ]

T'Panu stood in horror, thinking about those poor souls still stuck on the Cayuga, and still wondering about the crew from the Theurgy. Wasn't there more they could have done to protect the Cayuga? Certainly at least until they could transport more crewmembers off the ship. If only they could have acted quicker, told them who they really were quicker, so they could have gotten to work on a battle plan. But who could have seen this attack coming? Certainly none of them, and definitely no one from the other crew.

As she began to find her way around the bridge, she walked quickly back to the aft compartment to see what sort of supplies were there. It was a small med bay, but she was grateful to at least have a room she could run. There were 3 beds in close quarters, a decent amount of cabinets and some counter space so she could setup her emergency stations. She grabbed her dermal regenerators, fluids, medical tricorder, hypospray and placed them all out on the counters. Anyone who would be coming back here she would need to mend them up as quickly as possible to free up the beds, and even with everything laid out, she still wondered if it would save enough time to treat more people. T'Panu put the medical tricorder on the left side of the counter, as it would be the first thing she needed. Next she put the dermal regenerators and the hypospray. She hung the battlefield trauma kits on a few hooks near the door, so if shit hit the fan someone could grab them and tend to the people on the bridge while she was doing what she could in the med bay. She carried another one to the bridge, and placed it where it could be easily grabbed.

T'Panu knew if they were hit in this thing it would take some devastating blows, but was hoping there was still enough crew left to transport to the Aerowing Shuttle to save. They could pack this thing full like sardines, if they had to. With her med bay ready to take patients, she grabbed her bag with the few supplies she had taken from the other ship. She hadn't realized how much they'd come in handy, especially since she couldn't go back to the Cayuga to replenish her supplies.

T'Panu setup one final station, which she deemed the "last resort" station. On the other side of the room she placed isotropic restraints for anyone who may have been assimilated, or well on their way. She also thought these would be a good idea for anyone in severe pain or confused so she wouldn't get attacked. Next she placed the subdermal bioprobes, tissue mitigator and neural interface. Her working theory was if someone were to have Borg parts (she severely hoped not) she could use the tissue mitigator to stop more cells from attaching to the technology and use the neural interface to sever the connection from the Borg technology and the brain, hopefully sparing the patient.

She also wondered about the unknown aliens, but she could only prepare for so much. Her OCD kicked in as she was setting up all the medical supplies, but she still wondered if it would be good enough. "I will not lose as many people as I did during 359, I can't allow myself to let that many die," she thought. She knew she did everything she could, but had always wondered if there was more she could have done. Why she couldn't save them all she'd never know, but she swore to herself this would not be the same outcome. She will run herself as long as she can on lack of sleep to ensure they are all saved.

As she had everything she needed, she realized there was nothing left to do but sit and wait. She walked back up to the bridge to see what was going on until she had news of their crew and what their next plan was.

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

Reply #63 – June 04, 2018, 02:07:48 AM

[CONN Officer Dumral|Bridge | Vector 3 | Stallion | USS Theurgy]
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Mektari was, much to her chagrin, caught completely unawares to the deception. All seemed perfectly normal to her, in a conference room discussing, unfortunately, new prospective enemies and formulating plans to repair their ship; she had no reason to be suspicious. She felt a deep pang of remorse, for when the holographic bridge flickered she could practically see the look of disappointment on her father’s face. What proper Cardassian didn’t plan to be double crossed at any moment?

She bolted from her chair, hand immediately aiming for her hip. Had she been on an away mission a weapon would have been there, but this wasn’t an away mission into hostile conditions, so her hip was left bare. At least they thought it wasn’t hostile conditions until now. Instead she stood tense, apparently awaiting an attack at any moment as she quietly listened to the entire conversation  between the other officers. It was a sound tactic to stay silent and just follow orders, not letting the utter surprise of the impossible situation creep to her face, instead keeping the whirl of emotions locked tight as they made for the bridge of what turned out to be the Theurgy of all ships! There was no time to react to that fact though, they were under attack and it was time to act.

Bu her whole body stiffened as her Captain Ziegler gave the order for them to report to Aerowing Shuttle. All attempts at staying professional disappeared momentarily as she burst out, “But you can’t go back by yourself! Besides, I would be far more useful to you on the bridge!” Only a few seconds were able to pass by before she caught herself, gathering herself with a steadying breath before amending her actions, “..Sorry Captain, I’ll do as ordered. And good luck to you as well.”

[CONN Officer Dumral|Bridge | Cayuga’s Aerowing Shuttle

The familiar sound of the transporter beam whirled around her, the bride disappearing for a far more familiar and substantially smaller one. She made sure to keep herself regularly updated with flight simulations for situations such as this. She might have not actually flown the shuttle before, but she had started her flying career in such small ships and she felt confidence bleeding back into her. This was something she could get behind. No deeper thoughts of what to do or how to react to the volley of information and subsequent attacks was needed. All she had to do was pilot and follow the orders of her superior officer.

She was quick to settle into her seat, back straight, fingers running across the controls with quiet concentration. Her head tilted slightly to listen to listen to Lieutenant Jeen’s commands. She a gave a curt nod as she checked all systems, “Conn is at peak efficiency sir, we’re ready to go.” As long as everyone else reported in the same she would unlock the shuttle, following Jeen’s orders and making her way through the docking bay doors into the familiar haze of the nebula.

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

Reply #64 – June 04, 2018, 04:33:56 AM

[ Acting XO Lt. Zelosa Ejek | Battle Bridge | Vector 03 | U.S.S. Theurgy ] @Gadget @Brutus

Though she had no empathetic powers, it did not take an empath to detect unease within the Captain, and Ejek did not blame her. To craft such an elaborate ruse was a risk, to see it fall apart a horror. The crew was headed their way. She expected confrontation, she stood up to meet it head on and her gut knotted...

What she did not expect was this.

Though this Captain Ziegler did not act as if she knew Natalie, Ejek could read Natalie a little better. They knew one another, and apparently, at least the Theurgy’s acting captain still seemed to care enough, if that hesitation meant anything. Regardless, she did not heed Zeigler’s commands. Instead she waited patiently for Natalie to give her commands. Meanwhile...she had her eyes locked on one peculiar appearance on the bridge. One Cardassian woman, much like her and yet so different. She restrained her desire to run up and talk to her like some little girl. Far more serious was going on. Still...

Zeigler had her wish, courtesy of the Captain Stark standing near Ejek. The Cardassian took her seat once more, in the midst of panic appropriate for the situation. She almost seemed calm. In reality, she felt the seriousness of the situation weigh in. If Stark and Zeigler were familiar, it might be yet one more card in the Theurgy’s favor.

The transition from poignant moment to being a Captain again was seamless, mostly. As she felt herself rocked in her seat, she decided she’d save the back-patting for later. She remained stoic in her chair, letting Natalie lead, because she is the worst possible candidate for leadership in combat situations and she’s still rather ticked off that she was chosen.

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

Reply #65 – June 04, 2018, 08:33:39 PM

[Lt. Vanya|Bridge | Cayuga's Aerowing Shuttle

Vanya took her place at the science station.   She knew that she wouldn’t be scanning for anomalies or looking charting nebula.   Her main role was to get the aereoshuttle’s not inconsiderable scanning capabilities on the battle.   As she made sure that the sensor resolution was optimised for ships and damage, she couldn’t ignore the fear anymore  

A renegade Starfleet crew  

Seeing such a thing firsthand was bizarre to her.   She had learned about the Maquis of course, but these were Starfleet Federations officers who had fought for their principles, in the true Federation Spirit, instead of the law in a treaty that had caused much dissatisfaction, even amongst those who had remained loyal  

As recently as the USS Enterprise E in 2375, crews had been known to rebel against orders, although this was usually defined as “Cowboy dipolamacy.”  

This was different.    A crew was working against Starfleet and the very fabric of the Federation.   The implications terrified Vanya.   She had to protect the ideals of the Federation, and the best way to do that was do do her duty, in this case, whatever she can to save her home, the Cayuga.  

“Science standing by.” She said once she was happy with the configuration.   “Sensors are at maximum and stand ready.”  

She would protect Starfleet, however she could.    Ironically, for now that meant working with their deceivers.  

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

Reply #66 – June 04, 2018, 10:19:17 PM

[ ENS James "Jimmy" Mariner | Battle Bridge | Vector 3 | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy
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https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/324685651205292032/424732806736904228/mariner_by_auctor_lucan-dbc9o0j.png

In the moment he realized the jig was up and the Cayuga's officers were on his heels, Mariner managed to report, "Vivian's on another vector, but she's okay." was all he could get out before standing in formation along with two other security personnel from the checkpoint who he'd whistled at, appearing with phasers in holster, plus one more for the vector's acting chief, he passed when it was offered but declined the sidearm as a show of good faith, but if any of them tried to wrest control from Stark, that would be a point of disagreement.

It was clear he didn't intend to let them pass, not without Stark's expressed command. Personally, he would have loved to hop into his exo-suit, grab the equipment he'd worn or collected from Sud Lang and have a tactical advantage against any of the Asurians below for him to seek and destroy, or if he gave his orders right, 'track and capture'. The last thing he wanted was a melee that would include the Borg in some 3-way battle. They were the one race he wouldn't dare take lightly or collect trophies from, not when they posed an virus-like threat. Not even when in his latest full fighting form, which he could hop into at a moment's notice or even sooner if beamed into it, equipment pre-loaded.

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

Reply #67 – June 05, 2018, 04:57:40 AM

[ Lt JG, Salem Martin |Bridge | Cayuga's Aerowing Shuttle ]
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Vivian was alive, so said the random man claiming to be from the Resolve. Martin could already work backwards from that. There wouldn't have been any reason to plant that information, no way the other crew could have known the connection between him and the Resolves lead science officer, why claim to be from a ship no one had ever heard of if they were on the Theurgy?

The only thing that made any sense was that the man had been from the resolve, and because of that Salem was left with the knowledge that his sister was alive, but in another vector of the Theurgy, helping the crew defy the orders of Starfleet. He trusted his sisters judgement she was the smart one in the family, but why would she join forces with traitors?

Sure Vivi could be a little on the mad science side if she had a bad day, but there was a difference between that and full blown treachery. Walking slowly to his tactical console he didn't even really have time to register the fact that they had been transported, or that their captain hadn't been sent to them, the Cayuga was mostly in tatters and the only thing he could focus on was the mix of Joy and frustration that his sister was alive somewhere in space. When the Resolve had been lost he hadn't been sure what would happen.

He tapped at his consol for now he had an enemy to fight against the other set of aliens which seemed to lump them in with the Theurgy. "Tactical online, standing by, we have very few weapons on this shuttle, I will try to make them count."

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

Reply #68 – June 05, 2018, 07:34:46 AM

[ CPO Ekon Okotie-Eboh | Bridge | Aerowing Shuttle ]

At Lieutenant Jeen’s order, Ekon’s hands danced across the console as he called out an ”Aye sir!”. He worked quickly, checking the status of the aerowing’s various systems and calling them out to the Acting Captain as he went.

”The aerowing has not yet sustained any major damage from the attacks on the Cayuga.” Ekon reported. ”Power, life support and inertial dampeners are online. We have full power to shields, and to the transporters.” Ekon’s right hand tapped out a few commands on the console, then he placed both hands on the console and slid them towards his torso.

”The torpedoes have been beamed aboard, sir.” Ekon reported as he turned his chair and looked at Lt. Jeen. ”All systems are operating normally. I’m not quite sure how, with the state the Cayuga is in.”

Ekon finished his report and turned back to his console, taking a deep breath as he waited for the aerowing to launch. They would be leaving a dying ship, only to be putting themselves directly into the line of fire.

Looks like our Chief Engineer will be earning his spots today… Ekon thought with a chuckle as they waited for the command that would get them underway.

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

Reply #69 – June 05, 2018, 02:48:39 PM

[Lt. Rhys Williams|Bridge | Vector 3 | Stallion | USS Theurgy]

Williams had trailed after his Captain, as there was little else he could do. His mouth dropped open when he saw who was commanding this Vector of the Theurgy. Natalie Stark, they had graduated the Academy together. They had taken some of the same classes, especially when Rhys had been learning starship operations rather than Counselling. It seemed from the tone of his Captain that she knew who the woman sat in the chair was too. He remembered Stark, as being quiet and shy but with a mind as sharp as a razor.

However, his reminiscences were interrupted by his Captain taking complete charge of the situation. He was always impressed by how quickly she could take command, how she could take quick decisive action. He always felt slightly trapped in her wake and this situation was no different. She demanded to return to the bridge of the Cayuga and for her senior staff to be sent to the Aerowing shuttle. He was glad when his Captain was listened to after a moments awkwardness, no one wanted to talk about the elephant in the room. The Theurgy’s deception and their position of enemies of the Federation. This made him worried about what would happen if and when they survived this, but they had a job to do. The Captain placed Lt. Jeen in charge, Rhys was more than happy with this.

He stood among his crew mates as the transporter beam took them, and hoped like hell this would not be the last time he saw the Captain.

[Lt. Rhys Williams| Aerowing Shuttle]

As soon as they materialised, it seemed like Lt. Jeen sprang into action barking out orders left and right. Rhys took his seat at communications, just like the crew had drilled hundreds of times before. He was tasked with sending communications back to the Theurgy requesting tactical information on the aggressors.  “Aye Sir.” He said, allowing his brain to shut down as his fingers started operating on their own. This was a blessed relief, as dark thoughts swirled on the edge of his consciousness, longing to take root in his mind. Fear, panic, the nightmares of his past, and thoughts of his mother all attempted to batter their way into his head.

In short order the Theurgy responded providing the tactical information that would hopefully keep the little shuttle alive. “I have the tactical information from the Theurgy, transferring it now to the tactical station.”

As Lt. Jeen gave the order to lave, Rhys swallowed hard his face paling and held on to the console tightly in front of him. He was going into battle again ready or not.

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

Reply #70 – June 08, 2018, 07:01:37 PM

Lt Kaylon Jeen | Bridge | Cayuga Aerowing Shuttle | Attn @Auctor Lucan  @Veridian  @Gadget  @Masorin  @Juzzie  @lisavw @Fife



"The torpedoes have been beamed aboard, sir.  All systems are operating normally. I'm not quite sure how, with the state the Cayuga is in." reported Ekon.

"Small favors, eh?" he said,
"Right now, we're about the only hope that the Cayuga has, so let's get to it, shall we?  Do we have any response from the Theurgy on tactical information yet?  Helm, release docking clamps and let's launch.  We're a sitting duck where we are."

Kaylon watched the viewscreen as the aerowing launched.   Now all he had to do was find a way to keep from getting blasted into oblivion, at least long enough to try and do some damage.   "At this point, I'm open to any and all suggestions as far as how we try to solve this little problem.  In the meantime, Helm bring us about on an intercept course to the Asurian ship that's wedged into the Cayuga.  Use their hull to get us cover from the other vessels, and let's see if we can give them a few hull breaches to worry about."

A

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

Reply #71 – June 08, 2018, 07:35:40 PM

[ Chief Medical Officer T'Panu | Med Bay | Aerowing Shuttle | USS Cayuga ]

T'Panu stood in the Med Bay, impatiently waiting for something to happen. After everything they have gone through thus far, she couldn't help but expect the worst. They were lucky to have made it this far, but they weren't in the clear yet. She still had no idea how the Aerowing Shuttle was in perfect condition, despite how battered the USS Cayuga was. She wondered what happened to the rest of the crew, praying they died quickly and painlessly.

She stood, deep in thought, staring at the subdermal bioprobes, tissue mitigator and neural interface. She grabbed her PADD and began some calculations, just in case they were able to bring some more crew back; or worse, the Borg attacked again. She also drew out an artificial neural network (ANN) to test out her theory and start making calculations. She drew out all of the artificial neurons that would be potentially connecting the Borg technology with the human brain synapses. If this system will "learn" these processes, maybe I could teach it to differentiate between human and Borg mechanics.

T'Panu thought about a subdermal scalpel to help with the procedure. If she could sharpen its focal point to just a single cell at a time, she could control exactly how much of the attached technology was cut. She could focus on one single synapse at a time and reroute the pathways around the Borg technology so the entire system wasn't shut down at once. Judging by her calculations of the ANN, if she were to cutoff too much of the Borg technology at once, she would essentially leave her patient brain dead. On the contrary, if she were to operate on a single synapse at a time, she could, hopefully, get the patient back with all of their mental faculties intact. T'Panu speculated that if she attached a tissue mitigator at the beginning of the operation, not only would the Borg technology cease connecting to new cells and synapses, it would also stop new cell regrowth so she could control how much technology she had to remove. After that, she would use the subdermal scalpel to, in a timely fashion, cut off the Borg technology. Once all of the Borg parts are disengaged, she could take the tissue mitigator off and use a stimulant to allow new cells to regrow. Hopefully in the process T'Panu would be able to surgically remove all of the Borg parts; if they were only rendered useless, hopefully that would be good enough.

T'Panu was snapped back to reality as she felt the Aerowing Shuttle taking off. She put her calculations away and prepared for more casualties, hoping there wouldn't be any. She wasn't naive, but she was also hopeful that this next attack would end up better than the previous one. She prepared for the worst as she walked to the Bridge to see what they were getting themselves into.

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

Reply #72 – June 10, 2018, 03:12:16 PM

[ Lieutenant Masuda Yukimura | Battle Bridge | The Stallion | USS Theurgy ]
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With two saucers chasing them, and the other two engaged with the Cayuga, Masuda was painfully aware that they were risking their own necks for the Cayuga crew, stranded as they were on their already disabled ship. Stark's orders were clear, however: They were still to give the Cayuga cover fire, at the cost of their own Vector. "Acknowledged, Captain," said Masuda through his teeth, judging how soon they would be at the Iroquois-class wreck, and tapping his fingers against his touchscreen. "Ops, I need power rerouted to the aft shields!"

"We have little to spare," said Conway and looked towards Chief O'Connell, "Chief, if you can power down any more auxiliary systems, now would be the time! We need all you can spare for defences and phasers."

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

And while heading there, Masuda had his answer ready for Stark. "Sensors say they are of equal condition, so I will single out the one firing upon the Cayuga. It migh-" The bridge shook, one of the two Asurian saucers managing to cut into their hide with their graviton beams. "Aft shields at 40 %!"

Conway spoke again. "Captain, the hole in our starboard side is collapsing around the edges! We have depressurised areas on Decks 19, 20, 21 and 22!"

"Dealing suppression fire now!" called Masuda, firing with the Stallion's aft pulse phasers, trying to deter their pursuers and give them some time. The years on the Black Opal hadn't been kind to his manual aim, but he was about to lock on to the selected saucer ahead of them with computer assistance. The Cayuga hung in the balance. "Target acquired. Four photon torpedoes away in three, two, one!" He hit the button, and the four torpedo launchers on the stallion sent glaring lights through the gases of the Azure Nebula. The saucer, which kind they knew were agile from previous engagements, managed to evade the first one. Even the second one missed by a small margin, but the third hit... and fourth managed to penetrate what was left of their shields. It looked in a bad condition, but not completely disabled.

"Captain!" called Conway, and placed a marker on the viewscreen, showing how the saucer inside the Cayuga was still tearing its way through the Iroquois-class ship. "At this rate, the saucer will be able to reach the duterium cryo tanks above the warp core within the minute!"

Masuda clenched his teeth, having seen the same thing. "I can fire at it from the outside, Captain, through the Cayuga's hull, but we'll likely kill a lot of the crew, perhaps even hit those tanks before the Asurians. At the same time, we could save the rest of the crew if we act now," he called, and the ship shook again, taking more fire from the Asurian saucers still chasing them. "We could beam people down there too, to stop that saucer on-site, but we might already be too late!"

If only they had come up with that sooner. Now, the Cayuga might be lost. At least he had sent all the data they had on the Asurians to the Cayuga and its aeroshuttle both.

[ Captain Anya Ziegler | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Cayuga ]
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On the Cayuga's bridge, where they barely had enough power to keep all the displays lit, Captain Ziegler sat down in the Commanding Officer's chair.

"Status report!" she called, the reverberations of the saucer's progress inside the Cayuga's hull keenly felt.

"Sickbay has been compromised! Last we heard from T'Panu's appointed officer, they were evacuating. Internal sensors suggest the whole deck is depressurised!"

"We need to counter those energy beams! Forcefields, sheilds, anything! Ziegler to Bannin, have all security forces converge on the craft inside the hull. Hit it with whatever we have! Isomegnetic disintegrators, phasers, everything!"

Which, unfortunately, wasn't a lot. They didn't have an adequate number handheld armament, being a science ship.

"This i-" began Ziegler, but the bridge shook from another hit directly against the bridge module. While hardened in hull, one of those aquamarine beams entered the bridge, depressurising it by tearing up the deckhead above them. Ziegler was yanked out of her seat, tumbling against the hole...

...until a structural integrity field snapped into place. Ziegler had lost all manner of orientation when she came crashing down again, her head hitting the edge of the Ops station.

The last thing she saw before slipping into oblivion, was the Asurian saucer outside their hull being hit by photon torpedoes. At the same time, a muffled voice, calling the aeroshuttle. It was her XO. "West to the aerowing! The Captain needs medical attention, and there are no facilities available! Stand by to momentarily drop shields for transport! All non-essential personnel, prepare to abandon ship!"

Then, everything went black for Anya - all her worries and regrets bleeding out of her.

[ Chief Marshal Akri Sitaio | Overseer-saucer K'thill | Azure Nebula ] Attn: All
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Giving chase to the Theurgy's tertiary hull, Sitaio bared her teeth at the prey ahead of them. It was firing into its wake, almost hitting them with rapid pulse phaser energy bursts, but so far the Chief Marshall had managed to stay on its tail.

"Chief Sitaio! They almost disabled one of ours! The Cayuga is launching a second ship from its saucer too!"

"Stay on the Theurgy! She is coming part soon enough!" snarled Sitaio, baring her teeth as she watched their beams decimate the shields of their prey. Hers and the other saucer next to her own were about to cut the Theurgy apart from behind, leaving the Cayuga to it's fate. While the cravens had been lucky enough to hit one of their saucer, there was still another tearing the Theurgy's allied ship apart from within. The Cayuga would soon be nothing more than a husk.

"As soon as the shields of the Theurgy are down, you two will beam over to our overseer saucer inside their shuttle bay. Then, you will power it up, and take the same voyage through the Theurgy inner structure as our brothers have done on the Cayuga!"

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OOC: Response time set for seven days for all, in which the development above has happened. The saucer that was hit by torpedoes is still spaceworthy, almost adrift, but it's going to open fire on the Cayuga's aerowing nonetheless. There are two saucers chasing the Stallion, and the fourth one is about to kill the Cayuga permanently from within, lest something definitive is done about it...

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

Reply #73 – June 11, 2018, 07:51:09 AM

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

Combat is chaotic.  Combat is confusing.  Situations change, new crises arise, and you have to have your head on a swivel just to maintain situational awareness, let alone react to conditions appropriately.  That’s why training is so important.  When the feces hits the series of vanes radiating from a hub rotated on its axle by a motor your mind goes blank and if your drill instructors did their job your training kicks in.  After his extremely brief stint on the bridge of the Resolve during the Dominion War, William Robert “Billy Bob” O’Connell took a course on bridge operations during his time as a student/instructor at Starfleet Academy, ostensibly to train officers, but he took it nonetheless.  

That was no substitute for the thorough and intense bridge training that officers received though.   On the bridge in officer country, O’Connell felt out of his depth.  Worse yet, they were actually expecting him to come up with creative solutions to solve the problems while being distracted by the enemy that was trying to kill them.

"Chief, if you can power down any more auxiliary systems, now would be the time!” Yvette Conway called out.  “We need all you can spare for defenses and phasers.”

“Yes Ma’am!” Master Chief O’Connell called back.  “Don’t you worry none; a lot a systems ain’t workin’ enough tuh waste power on ‘em nohow!”  Unfortunately, that meant that many auxiliary systems were already inoperative and that there wasn’t as much extra power to juggle around as Conway and Masuda would like, but Billy Bob would do as he could.  It didn’t seem like enough when the enemy nearly took out shield five.

"Aft shields at 40 %!" Masuda declared.

“Structural integrity fields are compromised in our midsection!” Billy Bob shouted as his fingers raced across his console.  “Attemptin’ tuh reconfigure!”

Conway spoke again.  "Captain, the hole in our starboard side is collapsing around the edges! We have depressurized areas on Decks 19, 20, 21 and 22!"

"Dealing suppression fire now! " Masuda announced.   "Target acquired. Four photon torpedoes away in three, two, one!"

"Captain!  At this rate, the saucer will be able to reach the deuterium cryo tanks above the warp core within the minute!" Conway proclaimed.

"I can fire at it from the outside, Captain, through the Cayuga's hull, but we'll likely kill a lot of the crew, perhaps even hit those tanks before the Asurians.  At the same time, we could save the rest of the crew if we act now," Masuda offered.  

That got Billy Bob to look up from his console.  “Of all the hair-brained…” he muttered under his breath.

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

Reply #74 – June 11, 2018, 03:22:41 PM

[Ensign Six | Lower Shuttle Bay/Impounded Asurian Ship | Deck 21 | Vector 3 | USS Theurgy]
 Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Brutus @Masorin @FollowTomorrow @Doc M. @Triage @Triton @Fife
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It took Six longer than anticipated to hack into the Asurian communications system. She wanted to be sure she was connected to the frequencies between all four ships, not to mention writing up hailing frequencies of her own to disable ship systems. Judging from how much the ship was rocking and the occasional sparking, she had the impression things weren’t going well.

She found out how bad when she pulled up a viewscreen of her own on her ocular implant, as a separate window, and let out an involuntary gasp. It probably didn’t sound dignified of her, but she couldn’t help it. Things were worse than she anticipated. Notwithstanding one of the saucers was taken out momentarily, two were chasing the “Stallion” and the fourth was tearing a path of destruction through the Cayuga.

She needed to make a decision, and fast, of which of the attacking saucers to hit first.

[ Marshal Belek | Warmonger-saucer Belegar | Azure Nebula ]

Marshal Belek laughed, practically cackled, as his beloved saucer tore through the puny ship known as the Cayuga. It was too easy. It will be moments before the fools were crippled permanently, and in the meantime, boarding parties swarmed in to butcher the crew from within. Belek has never had this much fun in a long time.

“More! Destroy more! Kill them all!” he bellowed with an ecstatic cackle. He added in a loud aside, “This is too easy!”

But he barely spoke those words, and so close to crippling the Cayuga, when it all went wrong. The communications began doing something queer. A jumble of languages screeched around. The viewscreen turned to static. Everybody was instantly incapacitated by the noise; they practically threw themselves to the ground, clutching their ears, and some blood flowed from the ears of some.

“What in the inferno is happening?!?” screamed Belek at the communications officer. “I’ll have your head for this!”

“I don’t know what’s happening! Something’s happening to the communications system!” the officer screamed shrilly. He’s not just screaming over the noise. That officer was the fifth communications officer to hold the post, the previous four, along with other operators who had messed up in various ways, had been subsequently executed by Belek in a succession of months, and the man feared he’s next on the execution list. It was easy why Sitaio added him to this fleet; he wasn’t called among the Asurians “Bloodthirsty Belek” for nothing.

Suddenly, messages in Asurian blared from the saucer. It kept repeating itself:

“All boarding parties! Return to the Belegar at once! That husk of a ship is a trap! Its self-destruct sequence is activated! It will take your ship out along with it! Disengage and return to fight the Theurgy!”

It was, undoubtedly, blaring to all the boarding parties on the Cayuga. Quite a number stayed aboard to make the most of the bloodbath, as any true Asurian, in Belek’s view, would, but the rest scrambled back aboard. Belek was seething. Looks like another long execution list. At least he will make sure the warriors would be remembered.

But the noise being made barely kept him from thinking.

“Idiots! Cowards! Why don’t you make the most of the fight? Somebody find out if the Chief Marshal sent that…!”

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

Six let out a smile at her handiwork. She had enough time to send a hailing frequency when she quickly executed her viral matrix, designed to incapacitate communications. In addition, that “retreat” order (Six wasn’t sure if there was a word for “retreat” in the Asurian vocabulary, given the nanoseconds it took to learn the Asurian language), carried a viral matrix that allowed her to hack into the systems, but only a few at a time. And that system was the engines and helm control. It was all she needed. The Cayuga was in trouble, and that saucer was barely at the duterium cryo tanks near the warp core. She was glad that there were plenty of Asurians stupid enough to believe that message; she may have just saved not just the ship, but its crew in the process.

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GM Note: For those who already read this post, is has now been edited since it took things too far too soon. The saucer is not pulling out of the Cayuga, not going in full reverse, and not in any way or form attacking the other saucers. It is still lodged inside the Cayuga.