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Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #25 –
[ Ensign Ryuan Sel | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
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There was a tiny ping in her helmet and the message popped up. She almost cursed aloud as she scanned it quickly. She wondered how long it was going to be before there was dissent within the ranks, how long it would be before someone took a shot, and it wasn't like she could pretend that Trent was making the best decisions for the task they had been given. There was no point in standing and fighting, not unless their goal was to join their crewmates in whatever was beyond this life. Yet she knew not to question and order, she knew to be ready.

She would have questioned the judgment of removing the Commander from the Captain's chair, she would have even let him defend himself, but the message made it clear that if she did not act one of the yahoos from her own department would. Her choices were to quickly adapt and fall in line or to stand against not just the Lieutenant Commander, but also any members of her own department who might get any ideas about replacing her as well.

So she turned toward Lieutenant Commander Dewitt and gave a simple nod. She had her Accipiter strapped to the back of the exosuit and she could have it in her hands and ready to fire in less than a second. She would only need to move.

Without a word she logged off of the console she was using and moved to a more strategically advantageous position, picking near one of the two accessible turbolifts on the bridge. Her eyes drifted to the other security officer on the bridge and she gave him a subtle nod, letting him now to position himself at the other turbolift entrance. They would cut off the methods of escape and they would move into position making it look like they were guarding the bridge access points. It was all done wordlessly and with the efficiency to make it look like it was planned, and really it had been. She'd run a couple of drills as to how they would handle a rogue member of the bridge crew without alerting that member until the time came. She had thought the drill was in preparation to find out someone on the bridge was one of those fucking monsters, she had not ever banked on taking part in what was basically an officially sanctioned mutiny.

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #26 –
[ Commander Carrigan Trent | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @The Ostrich @Triton @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @BZ @Absinthe

Trent's focus was on the plot before him.  Even as the Helmet moved in a vector that would take it complete off its original course, he could see how they were still being followed.  That bloody plasma trail was dong them absolutely no favours, and they had to stop that bleeding before long.  Especially since it would seem there were infuriatingly capable crews on those ships, and they were following the trail with a dogged precision.  And until it could be physically clamped shut, all they could hope for was to use gross physical movement to break up the stream.

And those fighters in hot pursuit were a genuine concern.  Their fire was getting closer and closer, and he heard, from behind him, the idea to resort to an EMP to deal with them.  Electromagnetic phenomena were something Starfleet vessels were designed to deal with quite well; even fighters were meant to have some kind of scientific value, and entirely too many natural occurrences put out enough energy on the EM spectrum that was far beyond what could be generated by a starship.  But the fact their 'advisor' had thought of it did lead a part of Trent's mind to wonder if Klingon vessels exhibited a weakness to the electromagnetic spectrum.
 However, subspace interference was another problem entirely so far as Starfleet vessels were concerned. 

"Belay EMP," he said softly.  "All that would do is light up a flare.  Commander Martin, rig the main deflector to emit a narrow-pattern, maximum power, broadband subspace blast and activate as she bears.  Mister Veradin, bring our bow about but maintain our current vector; get the pursuing fighters lined up with our  deflector dish; once the blast is away, bring us bow down and change our vector 90 degrees down, full impulse again, maintain our corkscrew and roll pattern about the base course."

But more information came in even as he gave those orders.  The Sabine was there, with fighters behind her.  But there was something odd about their flight profile.  They had to have a good solution, but they were not firing.  "Ensign Eloi-Danver, narrowbeam secure channel to the Sabine, use Ensign Zeshryr's encryption; inquire as to their status."

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #27 –
[ Dyan Cardamone/Sar-unga Neleo | Thea's room | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @Auctor Lucan

She rolled her eyes, because for as much as Drauc spoke, she knew she was not being understood. She shook her head and her hair went flying, as if trying to make the anger that pressed against the insides of her skull just go away. Her head hurt. Her heart hurt. She didn’t know why either of these things hurt.

She glared up at him, her own eyes hidden by strands of near-translucent hair. The ship turned sharply, but she had two legs and a tail to balance her. It whipped about and she stood without falling. Drauc fell towards her, she grabbed the collar of his shirt with her fists. And held him up with teeth bared. Her sindt punctured his shirt, entirely by accident, but it served to emphasize her aggressive mood. She brought him close, very close, their lips almost touching and her heated breath on his neck. Just as randomly as her anger had appeared, so appeared...a furious desire. Like hatred, but combined with a want to take him. A confusing emotion, even for Dyan.

“Your skills mean nothing if your character is weak.” She muttered so quietly he could hear. “You’re laying yourself low like you want to submit...” Her eyes were locked onto his, brief flashes of both violence and sex flitted through her mind as she realized she could probably work those character flaws of his out of him, if she “trained” him well enough. Her teeth were close to his bottom lip, she made as if to bite...

“This is Master Chief PO Klex Sonden--” Interrupted a voice, and she threw Drauc at the floor the way one throws a tantrum. Her anger was prickly, her mind becoming an unpleasant substance to be exposed to. Thankfully, she was no longer targeting Drauc, even though the ideas she had were still there.

“Those of you who are away from your PADD’s, please check your messages.” He asked, almost stupidly cheerful compared to Sar-Unga’s sheer hatred of everything right now. She grabbed Drauc’s wrist and stomped, like a child, towards where she knew the nearest console could be, her mind filled with a cacophony of swear words, so she could read whatever god-forsaken message was more important than fucking the wimp out of Drauc.

“This had better be fucking good--” She muttered, but when she opened the message, she thought Damn. This IS fucking good. A wicked smile broke her fury. Suddenly, she had a new target in her mind, and the thirst for blood re-ignited.

"We're going to the bridge Drauc. You're gonna love this party."



[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ]
Lorad had a great idea. Using the shields to keep a plasma trail inside, that was perfect. It’d solve all his problems right now. But between him and F’rell, there just wasn’t enough power to work on shields and cloaking. This ship was not built to multitask like that. It was one or the other and he chose the one that would keep them covered.

Suq stood at his console, he had to manually maintain some parts of the cloak, but not all. He had to focus particularly on the temperature of the EPS conduits and how much plasma was leaking. He was trying to shut down conduits, redirect flow, but spirits, just where was this leak anyway?

Silently, he prayed, because he felt death bear down on him like an asthma attack.

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #28 –
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triage @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet  
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"Ensign Eloi-Danver, narrow beam secure channel to the Sabine, use Ensign Zeshryr's encryption; inquire as to their status." Carrigan Trent issued the orders to Faye without missing a beat, before plowing along to the next task on his mind. Simple enough orders, easy to follow. Easier still if she couldn't sense the worry rolling off Trent.

He was trying, very hard, to stay on top of the game. To keep them alive while not giving up on the other vectors. And her own treacherous heart wanted them to reunite with the vectors as well. With the rest of the wayward crew. The only others in the Galaxy that understood the situation. And of course, with Riley.

This is why they are careful with relationships and chains of command, Faye thought to herself. Though she was command track, as a diplomatic attache and specialist it was unlikely that she herself would ever command anything more than a purely diplomatic vessel, and likely not have to make the cold kind of command decisions that was being asked of Carrigan Trent. A man whom, Faye knew, intimately longed to save the life of a woman he loved. And she suspected that she was not the only one aware of this. For she could feel worry and concern rolling off of Trent's acting first officer, Dewitt.

The further away from Faye, the harder it was to pick up individual thoughts. She got more of an impression, and stark one, that Dewitt thought Trent might jeopardize them all with his desires. They had a truth to carry to the Federation, to the Galaxy. It was a heavy responsibility and there was concern that Trent might not be able to meet that burden.

Heavy lies the head, she thought, a half remembered bit of jargon from her mother. She shut her coal black eyes and then looks back at her controls. The computer had called up Lt (jg). Zeshyr's encryption code. A few keystrokes and this was in turn entered into the burst command. Taking a deep breath and shutting out Trents fears, Dewitts suspicions and her own deep desires, Faye spoke.

"USS Theurgy calling Sabine on encrypted channel. Lt. Zeshyr," A picture of the Orion woman, recently promoted, filled Faye's mind. "Status please? Respond on this frequency, tight beam only. The less we do to be detected the better." How, Faye wondered, did she keep her voice so calm when everyone around her was full of fear and worry?

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #29 –
[ Drauc T'Laus | Main Computer Core | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
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Challenge or not, the turn of the ship had caught Drauc unawares, his focus having entirely been upon Dyan. When he caught his balance, it was with the aid of Dyan grabbing his collar, and slicing his threadbare attire in the process. She believed she'd nicked his skin as well, but the glare she gave him made him remain still. As precaution, since the Asurian seemed almost intent to kill him, his scarred hands had balled into white-knuckled fists at his sides, his entire frame taught in promise of sudden movement...

...yet the Asurian whispered to him, and seemed rather prone to kiss him than kill him, making his scarred forehead crease in a frown of consternation. She might be questioning his character, but the tension between them was something other, a kind he wasn't sure he'd experienced before. Her mind... it was like the night before, when they had ended up sharing quarters. Did she truly..?

A message, breaking the spell, and Dyan seemingly catching herself at what she was doing. It made her attempt to throw him to the deck, a motion which merely made him stumble a step or two, and he caught his balance by grabbing her wrist. She'd grabbed his as well, and they were locked in something between a fight and the opposite of it, staring at each other while the message was heard. It seemed important enough, and Dyan tugged at him, leading him towards a wall-mounted control panel. He followed, wordlessly, and read the contents of the message across Dyan's shoulder.

"We're going to the bridge Drauc. You're gonna love this party."

Having read the message, Drauc was not entirely in agreement. Still, if the First Officer's words held any merit, and the acting Captain was emotionally compromised, then he'd lend a hand. He was a mere civilian, but Dyan wanted him with her, so he'd go, since one might see it has her requisitioning his aid in defending the ship. Perhaps not from an external threat, but a domestic one.

"Lead the way," he said, glancing towards her, wondering what had just happened between them. Likely, he'd never know.

OOC: Lunchtime, but this part of the post is finished, so I might just post it before the other two sections with Sera and Dewitt. :) Stay tuned!

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #30 –
[ Sera vers Aldnoah | Cockpit | SS Sabine NX-59846 | Azure Nebula ] @Triage @Vox @Fife @Stegro88 @bru
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Having been piloting the Sabine at a cautious pace through the part of the nebula where the task force had been spotted, Sera vers Aldnoah had just been leading the way for the three fighters from the Black Wolves that had decided to defect to the Theurgy's cause. Doing so, she had been keeping an eye on her scanners to spot any activity in their path. A'vura had been silent as well, neither of them sure how to best make conversation with the three fighters behind them. They were likely talking amongst each other instead, and Sera could just hope they weren't having second thoughts. Then again, it was far too late for that now, since they had attacked their own squadmates already.

Ten minutes after they had set their marching pace, adjusted to be ideal for the slower Gryphon fighters as well, there was a sound from Sera's sensors, and her eyes widened. "For a moment there, I am positive there was phaser fire detected within the sensor range."

"Drop out of warp, it must be the Theurgy," said A'vura quickly, and her green hand had already gone for the warp throttle.

"Burn you, what...!" Sera hadn't been quick enough, and the Sabine was back at impulse speed. The sensors gradually managed to pinpoint the energy bursts again, since they had overshot the disturbance, and Sera was left to communicate with the fighters before they went too far. "Sabine to Lone Wolves," she said, having designated them all in her comm system in that fashion, "drop out of warp and follow. We've likely detected the Theurgy, or at least readings of phaser fire"

This was really not what Sera had hoped for, rather wishing to have avoided another confrontation and waited at the given coordinates for the Theurgy instead, but A'vura had made the call for her. Grudgingly, she set a new course, turning the Sabine around, and shot off towards the blazing trail of phaser fire emissions on her sensors.

"I hope we are not too late," said A'vura, a worried crease on her green forehead.

"Late or not, burn me, I don't like our odds either way," said Sera quietly, intercepting the trail of fiery emissions through the Azure Nebula. It was odd, she found, for while she soon could pick out individual fighter crafts and how they were firing at something, she couldn't really see anything in front of their trajectories on her sensors. Eventually, she was able to see two capital ships that were following the fighters, and she swore in Câroon under her breath. She had no interest going up against those in the Sabine. If it came to that, she'd have to knock out the Orion and blast off. She'd miss Zyrao on that ship, perhaps Lorad, but she'd rather stay alive.

Then, the hail came, from the Theurgy, originating out of nowhere on some kind of encrypted channel. A'vura leapt at it, punching in a few authorisation numbers before they could eat the message. "This is A'vura Zehryr," she answered the hail, "we're inbound... I think, but we can't see you?"

Sera shook her head, knowing what the Theurgy really wanted to know. "Sera here. About the fighters on our tail, they're with us now. Don't shoot at them if you want them to stay that way. Repeat, mark them as allies," she said, no time for further explanation. "The other fighters, bearing Nine-Two-Five-Mark-Zero, they are casing you,right? Blood and ashes, if that's the case, we'll try to take some heat off your backs, but we're still outnumbered. Can you do something to even the flaming odds for us?"

A'vura was talking to the fighters behind them, informing them about the situation as she heard it.

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton @CanadianVet @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe @FollowTomorrow @chXinya @Stegro88 
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Hearing the voices from the Sabine over the hail, Dewitt stepped up next to Faye's shoulder, already having something in mind. Trent had already given the order for it, adapting Zyrao Natauna's excellent base idea by using the deflector array instead, and setting Vivian Martin to the task of calibrating the burst.

"This is Dewitt on the Theurgy," she said over the open comm channel. "Hold back for a little while longer, then have at them! You'll see your cue!"

Then, she rounded on Derik Veradin. "Now!"

"Yes, ma'am." Derik yanked the short flight stick on the helm controls sideways, and the Helmet turned on a dime mid-impulse. The helmsman from the Resolve adjusted the impulse throttle in sync with the turn, letting the Vector continue along it's trajectory at the same approximate speed, yet turning the bow of the pointed saucer section of the Theurgy around to face their pursuers. Once aligned, Dewitt turned to Vivian Martin. "Fire!" followed by a glance towards Leon Marquez at tactical, since according to the Reman Lorad, they were able to use the weapon systems even if cloaked. "Weapons free!"

Unfortunately, the Black Wolves on their tail were able to score hits against them, making their cloak fluctuate during the shoot-out, and the Helmet shake violently from impacts against their un-shielded hull.

OOC: All right! Seven days of posting time begins after @The Ostrich posts next!. The Dauntless and the Bellerophon are behind the Black Wolves, no more than 30 seconds behind. And behind them, the remaining Task Force Archeron. Please remember that the Thames is prepped and ready, and the readied torpedoes. High speed chase and combat, go! This is also a new posting cue for @Stegro88 , @Fife and @Vox who may introduce their characters Chance, Foxfire and Wraith in this thread, attacking Warlock and the others on the Helmet's tail.

All Supplemental Threads that are started between characters on this Vectors will have to be set before this time of 0810 hrs. on Day 06, but not afterwards, and they should also be posted on the Part 1 board. Just like in the interregnum, Supplemental one-on-one threads are started at your leisure! Supplemental threads should be named Chapter 05: Supplemental [Day XX | YYYY hrs.] Insert Title, and can extend as far back as right after the battle with the Versant and all the way up to 0810 hrs on Day 06, where the third Rendevouz began.

Main Bridge & Deck 01: [Show/Hide]
Known staff on the Helmet: [Show/Hide]
The Black Wolves Squadron, those marked in yellow are inbound: [Show/Hide]
Present ships from Task Force Archeron, the ones marked in yellow inbound: [Show/Hide]

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #31 –
[ LtCmdr Vivian Martin | Bridge | Deck 1 | Vector 1 |USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Triton @CanadianVet @BZ @Absinthe @FollowTomorrow @chXinya @Stegro88

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Everything was happening at once now, it was almost a struggle to keep up with each new development. The Theurgy had finally cloaked, the fighters and ships of the pursuing Task Force were bearing down on them, the Sabine had returned, and now Commander Trent had orders for her too. A narrow-pattern, maximum power, broadband subspace blast, to be emitted from their main deflector.

Vivian’s mind raced as her fingers danced across her console. She had an idea as to where the commander was going with this plan, and she knew that she would need to be ready with her part at precisely the right moment. The key to everything would be timing, and ensuring the power drain from her deflector trick wouldn’t cause the cloak or another key system to collapse at a crucial moment.

She checked over her calculations and ensured that the deflector was prepared and primed once more before she swallowed nervously and turned to face the centre of the bridge. ”The deflector is ready on your command.” She quickly faced her screen again, her finger hovering over the button which would release the blast.

Time seemed to stretch into an eternity. She heard orders being given to bring the Vector around. Vivian held her breath as the Vector seemed to take forever to line up with their hunters. Finally the order came, and Vivian slammed her finger down on the button, the lights dimmed as power was temporarily drawn away from other systems and she unleashed the power of their deflector in the direction of their pursuants. ”Deflector blast away!” she called out as the Vector shuddered under the impact of incoming weapons fire. Wincing in sympathy with the tortured hull Vivian reached out and patted her console. ”You’ve done well, don’t fail us now.” she whispered to the ship.

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #32 –
[Zyrao Natauna |  Bridge Duty | Strategic Movements | Gathering Intel |  Shift in Power]
@Auctor Lucan

Another bite.  The sweet yet not too sweet fruit filled her mouth.  Chewing slowly grey eyes didn't dart around the bridge.  That was an amateur move.  That gave away everything, it was the subtle art of being able to look and worth through your peripheral vision that did so much good.  She looked down at the bowl but she was actually watching the Bridge.  The subtle shifts.  The tension in Dewitt's shoulders that only got more pronounced even after she mentioned that the EMP was a good idea but one best saved for later.  Even after Zyrao had assured her that all plans had at least some merit.  Not that the merit was high, but everything had at least a spark.  Still, there was that, and then there was the eye contact of the woman sitting at the security station.  The one that nodded. 

Communication had happened.

Zyrao could not read Standar and that was just fine with her for the time being.  She would learn, given time, to read it just as she had learned how to read Klingon, Breen, Cardassian, and other languages that she had come across.  Right now it was unimportant nor did she have the time to devote to giving herself such opportunities.  Still, something was a foot and Zyrao's interest was piqued.  She could not tell what was going on but the moment that the other woman rose from her console and shifted herself on the Bridge, Zyrao put another piece of fruit in her mouth and chewed slowly leaning back a little bit. Stretching her neck side to side to work out the muscles in her neck and shoulders for a moment.  She spotted where the woman had moved. 

Prime location if one was to make an attack on the Center Seat.

Zyrao smirked softly to herself.  She made eye contact with Dewitt and gave her a bit of a nod.  Stating, silently, that if it came to whatever plan she had in mind she was game.  She was not a fan of the man that was playing Captain, and she felt that Dewitt seemed to have a better head on her shoulders.  Though, if that was going to be something easily done or even something that would actually happen in any way remained to be seen.  But Zy had picked out everything that she could from reading the Bridge.

Trent decided to twist her idea into something more usable and she was glad for it.  There was something to be said that he hadn't discounted her completely but saw the merit in her work and she had been able to help a little bit.  Even if she was currently having a snack.  There was a voice, and Zyrao stood up straight and looked over at the communications device that gave her Sera's voice from the Sabine out there doing a fight.  Still alive, that was amazing, and she hoped that she could see Sera again.  She knew that the woman had entertained others the night previous, and Zyrao had slept and played in other Quarters while collecting her uniform just to fuck with Trent.  But, for now, she was just glad that the woman was alive. Whether they ended up being something or not that would be something to be seen later.  Right now, they had battles to fight, and wars to win. 

She wished that she could say something to the woman and give her a boost but it would only be distracting and they weren't really in a place to actually do that for one another.  Maybe later, maybe not, but she was glad for the woman who had been one of the only kind people here on the ship so far.  The plan began to take place and Zyrao finished the last of her fruit as her attention turned to the fact that they were waiting to see if the plan they had collectively come up with had been able to do any good.  She knew that Trent was trying to rendezvous with the rest of the ship.  That it had been broken up into various different pieces and they were waiting but, she specifically, would like to not die just because they were waiting for others to come up and join them.  She hoped that he would see the necessity to survive but then she wasn't sure what kind of Catpain he was when he made decisions.  So far, her opinion of him had changed little. 

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #33 –
[ Lt Cdr Leon Marquez | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy | Lighting the Fireworks ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @The Ostrich  @JayLatte  @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe

The Witching Hour had begun. "Contacts, two Gryphon fighters, one Valravn, same course as Sabine. No weapons fire or hunting pattern." Leon's display reflected sensor findings on the holo-table, which included a render of the nebula's conditions in this spot. Leon wanted to get out of this soup and see real stars again.

The Sabine's arrival had given the Tactical display a much-needed ray of hope. No weapons fire heralded this. Leon manually strode over to the display as the Vector turned, making walking look easy in this maneuver, as if surfing while he walked. While getting a grip on the holo-table, Marquez displayed the readouts and life signs. Câroon and Orion. Female. Witching hour indeed, given Vivian's pending magic. Leon made sure they had a private channel.

"This is A'vura Zehryr," she answered the hail, "we're inbound... I think, but we can't see you?"

"Good to see you, Sabine, we're using a Reman cloak to elude the incoming task force." Leon reported before the tactical display indicated Theurgy was about to fire its deflector blast. Vivian's words were spoken in time as another voice, Sera's, was heard, stating that the ones behind her were allies. How did that happen?

"The other fighters, bearing Nine-Two-Five-Mark-Zero, they are casing you,right? Blood and ashes, if that's the case, we'll try to take some heat off your backs, but we're still outnumbered. Can you do something to even the flaming odds for us?"

"We're on it. Advise your escorts: detonation imminent. You'll get your ashes.... now." Marquez reported. 

The CTO felt the ship's center of gravity tilt as Veradin maneuvered the Helm into a turn. The deflector was ready to fire. Then, it gave off its pulse, draining power momentarily from other systems. A dark beam distorted the Azure Nebula, as lightning-like white electrical discharges in its wake.

Then came the XO's authorization for weapons free. From the station, Marquez activated as much of the torpedoes he'd left in his wake on prior orders, and set the forward phaser arrays to auto-target the hostile contacts. He didn't fire all the torpedoes at once, but the sudden launch and feints he'd preset before were now going live in real-time as his indicators scored direct hits on the shields of a couple of fighters. Marquez rightfully considered the Dauntless's much more numerous torpedoes a higher threat, followed by her phaser array, so if they came into range, wasn't about to spend all the torpedoes. 

Normally, the partially-dormant streak of barbarism some humans allegedly still had in them would've given just a modicum of satisfaction, but those weren't Dominion or even Borg forces out there, it was a hunt to the death. It was only a personal score to settle with Hawthorne's species and those under their sway that kept Leon's focus and stayed his hesitation. Despite not having the same amount of firepower or assets that another vector would have, the ability to cloak and fade was the best advantage they had. "Discharge complete. Torpedoes away, phasers lit. Marking your escorts' IFF as Friendly, have them report in."

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

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

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

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #34 –
[ Tesserarius Lorad | Vector 01 Engineering | Deck 06 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]


Lorad had waited with gritted teeth as they ship coasted through the nebula. He waited for the tell-tale vibrations of the ship taking weapons fire from the ships that were seeking them out. If they had been close enough and seen them cloak, then that was the only way that they would be able to penetrate the cloak; kinetic impacts.

With all the frenzied chaos in Engineering, Lorad was almost sure that no one noticed their arrival, but he did thanks to his training. Two armoured members of the ship’s security force now stood in prime positions just inside the main doors. From that position, they could easily defend the room from anyone trying to breach it while at the same time giving them a clear field of fire around the room in case an attack came from another entrance or within the room itself; say from a force that transported in.

If Lorad was planning a boarding action; several groups deployed both in and around the Engineering room would have the highest chance of success. But a thought niggled at his mind; why had they only arrived now? What had changed? Did Lorad need to contact Trent so that he could move to Sickbay and defend his sister?


Lt. JG Donna ‘Chance’ Petterson | Wolf 07 | Azure Nebula ]
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Donna had been silent for most of their journey through the nebula as the Sabine led them back towards where Sera and Lieutenant A’vura believed the Theurgy to be. Donna was silently hopeful that they were right. The nebula around them was crawling with Taskforce Archeron ships and sooner or later they would all be alerted to what she and Isel had done. Moments ago the Sabine had dropped out of warp and she and the other fighters had been quickly directed to do the same, to chase an unknown source of phaser fire.

“Phasers, awesome,” Donna thought to herself as she and the others careened through the nebula towards the unknown.

“Lone Wolves, we have reached Theurgy,” A’vura’s voice came across the comm channel they all shared. “They are currently cloaked and being pursued by 6 members of your former squadron. We have been directed to hold here until something detonates and then to have at them.”

“Cloaked, that’s a neat trick,” Donna thought to herself, wondering how they had managed to pull that off. “And what is detonating?”

No sooner had she considered what she had been told than a beam of… darkness, was the best she could do to describe it, distorted the nebula from an invisible point. The beam travelled away from that point with white electrical discharges arching around the beam. Moments after that appeared, phaser fire erupted from the same originating point and Donna got her first true sense of the ship’s location.

“Wolves engage. IFF has been tagged as friendly and the Theurgy added to comms,” A’vura reported to the three fighters. “Please report in.”

“Theurgy, this is Wolf-07, callsign Chance,” Donna said as she brought her fighter up onto the port wing of the Sabine in the beginnings of an echelon formation. "Glad to finally reach you," Donna said as she readied her fighter for combat. She was about to ask Foxfire to form up when she heard the Vulpinian begin to speak.

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #35 –
[ Ensign Isel “Foxfire” Nix | Wolf-08 | Azure Nebula ]

Foxfire sighed as she finished checking her fighter’s status and flight path for the umpteenth time before glancing outside her cockpit at Wolf-07 to her starboard side. They had maintained silence throughout the trip, leaving Isel to her own thoughts. Those thoughts, coupled with the silence, had left the Vulpinian in a grumpy mood. The comms silence wouldn’t have been so bad if she had been able to talk with Bourbon, her RIO. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Bourbon was still out cold as a result of the gassing she’d received as part of Chance’s plan for defection. And so, Isel was left to wonder what lay ahead of them. If the two Black Wolves they had disabled had managed to get word to the rest of the squadron, then Wraith, Chance and herself would all be branded as traitors by the rest of the Black Wolves. The accented woman aboard the Sabine had referred to them as Lone Wolves when they had set out following the engagement, though Isel suspected the Theurgy’s Lone Wolves squadron wouldn’t be too quick to accept them into their ranks either.

The Sabine suddenly dropped out of warp, instructing the three traitorous pilots to follow suit as they move to investigate phaser fire. As she brought her fighter about and moved back into formation with the others.

[Lone Wolves, we have reached the Theurgy,] A’vura’s voice came over the comms from the Sabine, [They are currently cloaked and being pursued by 6 members of your former squadron. We have been directed to hold here until something detonates and then to have at them]

So we wait for things to blow up, then waltz our way into a 4-on-6 dogfight? Great… Isel thought to herself, though she stopped her mental grumbling when she saw something seem to come out of nothing, from an unoccupied point in the nebula. A beam of some sort, though not one she’s ever seen before, seeming to comprise of darkness with electrical discharged arching all around it. Just moments later, Foxfire saw phaser fire lancing out form the same point that the beam originated, leading the Vulpinian pilot to conclude that must be the Theurgy’s location.

[Wolves engage. IFF has been tagged as friendly and the Theurgy added to comms,] A’vura informed them, [Please report in.]

She heard Donna report in as her fighter maneuvered to take up position off the Sabine’s wing. Isel brought her own fighter into position off Chance’s port wing as she keyed her own comm line open.

”USS Theurgy, this is Wolf-08, callsign Foxfire.” Isel said over the comms. The Vulpinian fought the urge to say more, knowing that she had a tendency to get herself into trouble when she let herself talk. Sneaking through a nebula trying to reach a cloaked traitor ship which was being hunted by an entire task force was hardly the time to start running her mouth.

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #36 –
[ Commander Carrigan Trent | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @The Ostrich @Triton @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @BZ @Absinthe @Stegro88

And just like that, even before Theurgy's current captain could speak, Jennifer Dewitt abandoned his current policy of stealth and maneuver and committed Vector 1, these incoming fighters and Sabine to action.  His head snapped towards the Tactical station, and it would take a rare fool to not pick up on the searing yet cold fury in his eyes, while his face had remained locked in the cold, calm mask it had been so far.  And then, he understood. 

He thought he had heard a hint of defiance in her voice, a challenge when she had asked him what his orders were earlier.  And he had known she had been all for making a run for it the second Task Force Archeron had appeared.  She knew she vehemently disagreed with his decision to at least make a serious attempt to rescue the crew that had been taken by the Savi in order to maintain the morale and loyalty of the crew. And now, with fighters whose pilots they had no particular reason to trust and a heavily armed shuttlecraft she had sent into action, with the weapons fire she had ordered from Marquez, she not only forced his hand, she shattered every hope they had of remaining hidden and making good their escape on his terms.

"Cease fire!  Shipboard weapons hold!  Helm evasive action!"  His voice exploded in a whipcrack reminiscent of a chemically-powered gunshot.  Oh, he had seen the auxiliary craft screaming in for their attack run on the fighters.  But the real threat was Bellerophon.  She was the one exploration vessel, the one that had led the chase along their dissipating plasma trail.  And if they had someone on board who knew their job that well and could track that, weapons fire would be just as bad as decloaking and heaving to in terms of suicidal behaviour. 

Normally, he would not have countermanded his XO so publicly, but she had given him no choice; that was something that would need addressing immediately after they would secure from Red Alert.  Assuming they survived her folly.  But he could not leave the fighters out there. Even a ship as small as Bellerophon could make short work of small craft, and he could not just leave them to die.  "Helm, shape a course for us to wait for the Bellerophon. Lay an ambush for her arrival, get us close, just short of scraping shields, full impulse.  Mister Marquez, you will have one pass to give her everything we've got to effect mission-kill."

Mission-kill. To render the ship unable to continue effectively in operation.  Going for the hard-kill, to cause sufficient damage for the ship to break apart or explode, that was fairly easy; but to simply render her helpless?  That required a lot more skill and finesse.  But Carrigan Trent simply would not kill any more Starfleet personnel than he had to; there were already enough of those on his conscience.

And only then did he open a channel to the fighters and Sabine.  "This is the Captain. Focus on the remaining fighters and when she arrives, take the Dauntless out of the fight. We have the Bellerophon."

GM Note: Post edited because of a misunderstanding about the distance to the Dauntless and the Bellerophon, as previously stated, they are 20 seconds behind Vector 01 and the Black Wolves, and out of weapon's range. The change is about fighter on fighter action and preparing for the arrival of the Dauntless and the Bellerophon.

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #37 –
[ Lt. Jg. Suq | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ]

He wasn’t too sure what was happening. He had no warning that anything was going to hit them until it hit them, and then he was forced to hold onto the console to make sure he didn’t go flying.

He heard the cloaking device falter. Just as the cloak flickered, the whine of the electronic behind him did too. There was a high chance this console would explode right in front of him if the battle kept up.

The ship was still rocking from the barrage of blows, so he could only operate the console with one hand. Shit didn’t just hit the fan, shit surrounded the fan on all sides. As he started to feel real, tangible pain across his body once more, his mind returning back to the real world, he felt his chest burn. He would not fail.

The cloak was going again within seconds, and he’d be doing what he could to keep it that way.
[ Dyan Cardamone/Sar-unga Neleo | Outside the Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @Auctor Lucan

Sar-Unga Neleo, she thought, she liked the ring of her own name. She was thinking about that on the way up there. The sound of her name, the way Drauc said it. There were a number of thoughts that he was exposed to that were downright lewd. The task she had just been assigned came up a grand total of zero times. She didn’t think once about the brevity of it, the tactical situation. She came up with no plans. She didn’t even feel as if she needed one.

So when Dyan brought Drauc outside the bridge’s entrance, it would have been only too understandable to feel nervous. Dyan, however, did not. She had her orders. She liked her orders. She would carry them out, when the cue was given.
“You ready?” She asked Drauc, smiling over at him like nothing had happened just a few moments ago. Like she wasn’t just thinking of him naked a few seconds ago.

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #38 –
[ Lt Cdr Leon Marquez | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy | Lighting the Fireworks ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Mathis @The Ostrich  @JayLatte  @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe

"Cease fire!  Shipboard weapons hold!  Helm evasive action!" Came the CO's commanding bellow.

"Ceasing fire, weapons hold." Leon reacted without hesitation, and he realized that the festering but barely-transparent rivalry was growing on the two. Marquez's gut sensed something behind a glare he reflected to with a Vulcan-grade raise of an eyebrow; it was the extra shifts, the frayed nerves but also the hawkish way Leon noticed Dewitt regarding the Acting CO. He had fired a couple of torpedoes against the pursuing fighters, result unknown, but the forward phaser arrays wasn't firing any more.

"Helm, shape a course for us to wait for the Bellerophon. Lay an ambush for her arrival, get us close, just short of scraping shields, full impulse.  Mister Marquez, you will have one pass to give her everything we've got to effect mission-kill."

"Aye, sir. Floor it, Derik!" Leon barked, breaking the flow of report exchanges by reading confirmation, hoping they could swing around the ensuing fighter-to-fighter dogfight unscathed. "Targeting solution on Bellerophon underway, Captain." Leon reported from his corner of the holographic table display to take direct command of the moment where they'd pass the Intrepid ship.

"This is the Captain. Focus on the remaining fighters and when she arrives, take the Dauntless out of the fight. We have the Bellerophon." Trent reported.

Leon acted before his orders could be countermanded and prepared for the ambush, by calibrating random warhead-approaches for the soon-to-be-fired photon torpedoes. He would let only the best-timed torpedoes be guided by Marquez's fingertips on the holotable, indicating how hard to hit, and where from. This would be only the first salvo, before Veradin would steer them into a path for an alpha strike while the now-IFF-registered allied Gryphon fighters began their attack on the Dauntless; fortunately they were loaded as ship-killers, a divine twist of irony. As easy as it was to imagine Leon's adversaries as parasite-controlled unwitting-accomplices, the possibility to 'accidentally' settle the score with William Ross made this situation even remotely palatable to him.

GM Note: Post edited because of a misunderstanding about the distance to the Dauntless and the Bellerophon, as previously stated, they are 20 seconds behind Vector 01 and the Black Wolves, and out of weapon's range. The change is about fighter on fighter action and preparing for the arrival of the Dauntless and the Bellerophon.
Lt. Commander Leon "Striker" Marquez
Chief Tactical Officer, USS Theurgy
"No one left behind."

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

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

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #39 –
[ Sera vers Aldnoah | Cockpit | SS Sabine NX-59846 | Azure Nebula ] @Triage @Vox @Fife @Stegro88
[Show/Hide]
Oh, the cue was unmistakable.

Sera's yellow eyes widened when that subspace distortion lanced out towards the warp fighters - seemingly out of nowhere. Harried as the saucer section of the Theurgy was by the pursuing fighters, it was as if it had turned around in defence without loosing much impulse velocity, firing off that... thing, along with phasers and torpedoes. Only the silhouette of the Vector could only be seen in flickering moments when it was hit by the phasers of its pursuers. No more, after the Theurgy made it's riposte.

That weird beam had caught two of the Gryphon fighters, which were tumbling onwards by their own inertia, disabled by the distortion pulse. Sera had no idea if Starfleet tech could recover from that or not, but she dismissed them as targets when she throttled up the Sabine again. Moreover, the dissipated shields of the remaining fighters had taken the toll of the Theurgy's pulse phaser arrays, forced to break away, and one of the Gryphon fighters had been unable to anticipate a torpedo, and had been blown out of existence - fiery vapour all that remained. That left three fighters, two Valravn-versions and one Gryphon, and they were no longer in direct pursuit of the Theurgy, regrouping. As Sera saw this, she heard the voice of the human named Trent, the temporary Captain that had behaved like a delusional sand-flea towards Zyrao Natauna. They were supposed to deal with the rest of the fighters and one of the capital ships of the task force?

"I'm an explorer, not a blasted fighter pilot," she swore, though 'explorer' was a kind term for what she did, and she did know how to fly the Sabine. She just hoped Melissa Wright hadn't fiddled too much with the spaceframe, so that it would behave as it had done in the past. So far, so good, but this would be something entirely else than the action she'd seen since Starbase 84. "Burn me..."

"Wait, are we...?" asked A'vura, dark green eyes watching Sera as she began to input commands.

"Seems like we are," said Sera, hardly believing it herself. At least they had the numbers on their side. She opened a channel to the three fighters she'd brought. "Let's haul their ashes! Yet I might have to leave the big guy to you when he comes along!"

It was not like she had the kind of ordinance on the Sabine to do more than irritate a Federation starship.

[ Lt Cmdr. Ashton "Warlock" Bates | Black Wolf-01 | Mk II Valkyrie Cockpit ]

Eyes narrow slits, Ash glared at the outcome, seeing how he was alone with two of the former White Wolves - the rest of his present wolves disabled or destroyed. Oh, how that ship had vexed him for the past five months, and now, yet another of his wolves had been lost to the traitors. The minute shock of seeing his wingmate - Turret, and his RIO, Boone - disintegrated by a torpedo had turned into a cold fury, and he wasted no time in turning his Gryphon back to the fight.

"ETA on the Dauntless and the rest of the pack?" he hissed, and his RIO answered.

[The Dauntless will catch up with us in fifteen seconds. The rest of the pack... is still a minute out. They got the call, though. The Bellerophon is still feeding us with sensor readings. That's not all though, Wraith, Chance and Foxfire are inbound, together with... one of the Theurgy's known shuttles.]

While Warlock listened to Badger's voice in his helmet, he spotted them. His gut feeling was saying something was wrong. It was the echelon formation they held, with that "Sabine" shuttle at the head. Whatever doubts he'd momentarily had, were gone the next moment, when the Sabine opened fire against him, Metalhead and Tinker. Their shields were still regenerating from the onslaught of the Theurgy's phaser arrays, so he had to break off. "This is Wolf-Leader, evasive manoeuvres!" he called, voice tight, eyes ablaze, "They are traitors too! Have at them!"

For ten more seconds, the three Black Wolves would have to hold their own.

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Triton @CanadianVet @Blue Zephyr @Absinthe @FollowTomorrow @chXinya @Stegro88 
[Show/Hide]
Dewitt's face was a mask of tightly controlled anger, at how Trent didn't care to defend the ship from the fighters when they are punching holes in the hull, not seeing how using the subspace beam had been perfect to open up fire against the fighters as well. The only merit to the cease-fire was that they were about to ambush the Bellerophon, and blind their pursuers. It would, possibly, give them the chance to go to warp and leave the Rendezvous zone once and for all.

She did not look at Ensign Sel, not even to turn her head and shake her head - to signal for her to wait. If they actually managed to do something about the Bellerophon, and the Dauntless didn't destroy them... then she would relieve Trent from command if he didn't take their last chance to escape. The rest of the Task Force was inbound, and every second counted. There was no chance in hell they could remain for another ten minutes, when the ship's core was barely able to handle non-combat operations.

Dewitt met Zy's eyes when she turned back to the holo display table, and she wasn't sure where the El-Aurian stood with the present development. She'd heard rumours about her and that Câroon, Sera, and she just hoped the short-haired strategist wouldn't do something rash in knowing that her lover was likely to die out there. The Akira-class was made for war with the Borg. What was three fighters and a shuttle to it? She didn't like the odds for these new Wolves, and she had no idea what the scavenger had done to get them to fight on their side.

Dewitt grabbed the edge of the table hard while Derik Veradin set Vector 01 into a course that would take them to the approaching Bellerophon. She just hoped he could fly fast enough, and that they didn't have time to break away.

OOC: I'll post separately with Drauc when the time is due. Now, seven days of posting time begins after @Vox posts next with Logan Hale!. The Dauntless and the Bellerophon are behind the Black Wolves, now only 10 seconds behind. And behind them, the rest of the Black Wolves and the remaining Task Force Archeron. Please remember that the Thames is prepped and ready if needed.

All Supplemental Threads that are started between characters on this Vectors will have to be set before this time of 0810 hrs. on Day 06, but not afterwards, and they should also be posted on the Part 1 board. Just like in the interregnum, Supplemental one-on-one threads are started at your leisure! Supplemental threads should be named Chapter 05: Supplemental [Day XX | YYYY hrs.] Insert Title, and can extend as far back as right after the battle with the Versant and all the way up to 0810 hrs on Day 06, where the third Rendevouz began.

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #40 –
[ F'Rell of the Twelfth House | Main Engineering | Vector 01 |USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]

The pad of her appendage worked the controls of the console at near lightning fast speeds, accounting for a never-ending stream of variables and fluctuations as F'Rell's silvery eyes never left the display. If anything the display of finesse and warp field mechanics alone would have earned her the respect of any engineer in Starfleet, but now was not the time for showboating, she had to maintain focus, she had a job to do.

As she ship shook again and her long agile body shifted to keep herself stationary she was tempted to begin deactivating the ship's weaponry. What in the world were they thinking? they were cloaked, any projectiles coming from them would only serve to give away their coordinates and make them a target. Someone up on the bridge was truly being an idiot!

She clicked her modified tricorder to open a channel to the bridge. "<Using the ship's weapons is not advisable at this time,>" she said, her voice sounding more than a little frustrated. "<Unless you wish to overload the power systems.>"

---
[ Ensign Ryuan Sel | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]

Sel could not help but feel conflicted. She could feel the weight of her massive rifle on her back as well as the weight of the decision she had yet to make, not really. She was not truly loyal to either the XO or the CO of the Vector they were on, not really. In her mind, she planned to pick the one who gave her the best chance to see Sarresh again and make it out of this situation in one piece. But she planned to keep her loyalties to herself. She had moved more because she wanted to make sure that when it happened, she was ready for it. And she had made sure that her movement could be of use to either side.

She would arrest someone very shortly, she knew that. If Lieutenant Commander Dewitt didn't make her move before the end of the battle, Sel knew she'd have to give the memo she had just gotten to the Commander. If Dewitt actually moved before then... well then she'd have to come up with a very different plan.

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #41 –
Lt. JG Logan ‘Wraith’ Hale | Wolf 15 | Azure Nebula ]

The journey to the Theurgy's vector had been a quiet one for Logan and Ezekiel, the two friends quietly contemplating what they had decided to do. No doubt they too would be labelled traitors the second they joined for fight. For Logan it wasn't too much of a big deal to him, given his less than legal career after he'd originally retired from Starfleet, going against them wasn't something he no longer bothered him, especially when he was sure he was doing the right thing....or if he didn't care.

This time however he did care, and he was, assuming what he had been told was true about the invasion of Command, doing the right thing here. Although he would have to admit now he was back in Starfleet and a lot of the people they would fight would just be fellow officers doing their duty, assuming those giving the orders were just like them, it was...troubling. He would have asked the big guy behind him how he was doing but they were getting closer now and there was a communication coming through the comm system between the Sabine, Chance and Foxfire's ship as the Theurgy's so that coversation would have to wait.

When the check in request came he opened the comm "Theurgy this is Wolf 15, Callsign Wraith." He said, keeping it short and sweet as he started focusing on the upcoming fight, his eyes glancing over his console's readouts, all the display's telling him that his Valravn was ready to fight.

Scanning the HUD he saw the three Black Wolves and read their IFF's, not surprised to see Warlock there, right in the thick of it. "I bet he's not happy with us." He muttered with a grin, although it quickly vanished when the Captain of the Theurgy's vector came over the channel telling them to take the Dauntless out of the fight.

"Well that's going to be an....interesting exchange." He muttered before smirking "....And fun."

From behind him Zeke sighed "Of course you would find that fun." His RIO said with a shake of his head.

"Ah relax Zeke, everything will be fine. Now focus, we've got a fight to win." The hotshot pilot countered as he brought his fighter into formation with Chance and Foxfire.

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #42 –
Lt. JG Donna ‘Chance’ Petterson | Wolf 07 | Azure Nebula ] 
[Show/Hide]

"This is the Captain. Focus on the remaining fighters and when she arrives, take the Dauntless out of the fight. We have the Bellerophon,” came the man’s voice over the comms.

“Funny, I never pictured Ives sounding like that,” Donna thought to herself as she checked the status of her fighter’s systems. Besides the Mk27s she had fired at Wraith and Junkrat earlier, she was in as good a condition as when she had launched from the Dauntless. “This is going to be interesting, going against the Dauntless.”

Yet, even as Donna checked her screens, her mind was already at work trying to figure out how to take out the Dauntless. “All that training and I don’t remember a single time we had to figure out how to take down one of our own ships,” Donna mused. “Akira-class starship. Two Type-XII phaser arrays and five photon torpedo launchers with 12 tubes between them and over a thousand torpedoes behind them. But the fire arcs are limited. Only one of the phaser arrays can fire straight down. That’s how we can do it. And as long as we don’t hit the weapon’s pod we shouldn’t turn the ship into a miniature supernova.”

"Let's haul their ashes! Yet I might have to leave the big guy to you when he comes along!" Came Sera’s distinctive voice. Donna wasn’t sure why she’d need to do that but simply put it down to lack of heavy armament.

“Sabine, this is Chance,” Donna said. “Foxfire and I can probably take the Dauntless out of the equation but we’ll need some cover to do it. Can you and Wraith hold the fighters long enough for us to make a run on it when it gets here?” Donna asked of her companions as Warlock, and the two Valravns with him, came into weapons range. “Foxfire, do you remember how we first met? Think we can pull the same stunt on the Dauntless? Knowingly this time?”

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #43 –
[ Ensign Isel “Foxfire” Nix | Wolf-08 | Azure Nebula ] @Auctor Lucan @Stegro88 @Vox

Isel heard Donna hail the Sabine following the Theurgy’s message. The Theurgy’s Captain, presumably Ives, had told them to deal with the fighters and the Dauntless while the Theurgy dealt with the Bellerophon. Isel hoped Ives appreciated the lengths they’d gone to go get Donna’s message to him when this was all over.

Oh yeah. No problem. We’ll just deal with the Black Wolves we pissed off, then assault a fucking Akira Class Starship. No fucking problem at all… Isel thought bitterly as the listened to Donna. Her lover was telling the Sabine to cover them and deal with the fighters while they engaged the Dauntless. The Theurgy had evened the odds for them somewhat, thinning the incoming pack so that only Warlock and two Valravns remained. Wraith and the Sabine would have their hands full once she and Chance broke off to make an attack on the Dauntless, though with the Sabines firepower they would hardly be outgunned.

[Foxfire, do you remember how we first met? Think we can pull the same stunt on the Dauntless? Knowingly this time?] Chance’s question caused a mischievous grin to spread across the Vulpinian’s features behind her helmet. Oh, she remembered how they had met alright.

”Oh, I remember Donna!" Isel replied in a suggestive tone. "We could certainly try that, Chance. Though I didn’t bring a frisbee, and I don’t know what good throwing myself naked at the Dauntless will do!” Foxfire laughed as she spoke, suspecting Wraith and the two women aboard the Sabine might be fairly confused at the statement. Then it dawned on her that the Theurgy might be picking up on their transmission as well.

Well fuck, so much for first impressions… She thought to herself with a sigh.

”I think I catch your meaning though. Worth a shot! I’ll follow your lead. Isel said, acknowledging Donna’s plan. ”We’ll move on your command. I’m assuming I can use the torpedoes this time without getting a “bad dog” from you?” She added, unable to resist the teasing remark.

And hopefully I can keep my foot out of my mouth until this shit is over...

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #44 –
[ LtCmdr Vivian Martin | Main Bridge | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]

[Show/Hide]

Vivian sat tensely watching her screens as the battle unfolded around the ship and the nebula. There was little she could do in this situation where the tactical officers ruled the bridge. She forced herself to stay calm, they were cloaked, the other ships wouldn’t be able to find them very easily.

Almost as quickly at the combat had begun, it ended. Trent’s voice cracked across the bridge, orders loud and clear to cease firing and take evasive action. Vivian frowned slightly and turned in her seat to get a better view of the bridge. Evasive action made sense, but ceasing fire? Surely they needed to defend themselves. Thankfully her confusion was soon cleared up as Trent issued more orders, preparing an ambush for the Bellerophon.

As Vivian turned back to her console she noticed something which caused her to pause and glance back. Something was off. There were officers at various stations across the bridge, as well as several security personnel, stationed at strategic points across the bridge. Her frown deepened as she fully returned her attention to her screens, she couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but something felt off about the way they were arrayed across the bridge. She shook her head to clear it as she watched their new friendly fighters moving into formation. She was probably just a bit tense and paranoid...right?

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #45 –
[ Drauc T'Laus | Security Checkpoint | Outside Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]
There had been no need for his Asurian companion to drag him along after they left the Main Computer Core behind. Drauc had followed her on his own accord, but with each step, it had become increasingly obvious that he hadn't imagined the way Dyan thought of him. Instead, it had become clear that little else occupied her thoughts, the contents of the message he'd read with her not lingering at all at the forefront of her mind.

The task set for her and the others in Security seemed dire indeed, yet instead, he'd thought he might say something during the very short turbolift ride to the next deck. He had glanced at her through the tresses of his burgundy hair before they stepped out of it, wondering how the Asurian could feel such urges at that time. Carnal pleasures had never been a priority on his own part, and certainly not in the middle of battle. He supposed there was some overlap in physical exertion?

When they entered the security checkpoint room outside the Main Bridge, she had turned to him and asked if he was ready, and truthfully, as lambasted as he had been by the very graphic things she wanted to do with him, Drauc was not entirely sure what she meant. Especially since there was a security officer right there at the duty station behind her. The Ensign got to his feet, seeing her arrive, and he gave Dyan's blade as well as Drauc a perplexed look before he spoke to Cardamone.

"You got the message, right Petty Officer? If you take my post, I can go arrange Commander Trent's custody. Aside from the regular shift of guards inside the bridge, Ryuan Sel is there too, and she's been briefed as well. Is this guy with you? Does he know?"

Drauc glanced at the Ensign, answering for himself, not keen on entering a debate about his current security clearance. "I am, and I do," he rasped to the flat-cheeked Human. "I am here on Petty Officer Cardamone's request."

The Ensign waited just for a moment for a confirmation from Dyan before he left, while the ship shuddered from enemy fire. "I will let you and Ensign Ryuan know where he will be held!"

Once they were alone in the security checkpoint, Drauc turned his dark eyes to Dyan, wondering still how her mind had come to focus on him so, which - in turn - made her thoughts affect his own. With her notions seeping into his own mind, he could not help but being encouraged towards the same end - his stare errant instead of remaining on just her eyes. "By ready, did you mean...? As much as I... wouldn't mind to indulge," he said quietly, an odd tension in his voice, "is this truly the right time? Your duty awaits just beyond the door, and you might be called for any moment."

OOC: Another post to come here soon enough, from Sera's and Dewitt's perspective!

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #46 –
[Zyrao Natauna | If Looks Could Kill | Shifting Powers | Mutiny Forthcoming | Fucking Fleeters]
@Auctor Lucan @CanadianVet @Absinthe

Zyrao was interested in the shift on the bridge.  A Klingon would have never let this happen, but then a Klingon wouldn't have been afraid of the battle that was coming ahead.  Her brow rose as she looked at the cold fury in Trent's face.  She had thought him completely devoid of emotion all together.  Of course he could be pissy and his little whisper orders drove her up the fucking wall.  She was surprised that he had other emotions, rage looked good on him.  Shame he didn't use it more frequently.  He might actually be able to get shit done.  Perhaps the problem was that he was far too interested in trying to remain politically correct.  Something that pleased everyone at the same time and offended no one else.  It was something that truthfully, could not be done.  Each and every order would have some kind of fall out because you could never have an entire ship, race, people that believed your decisions were correct.

To watch the coming mutiny though made her sick to her stomach.  This was neither the time nor the place.  In the midst of a battle, it was not the place to decide that you were better equipped to handle the situation.  She knew other people had to be better at controlling the Bridge and making the decisions than Carrigan Trent, but that didn't mean this was the right move.  Still, she could only sit back and watch.  Trent made it crystal clear he wished for her to keep her mouth as shut as possible, and just stick to assisting.  Right now, the drama raging on the Bridge was quite entertaining.

This never would have happened on the Hakkarl.

Trent called out cease fire.  Well there goes your last chance to keep your seat, buddy.  Can't say as I'm particularly sorry. she thought as she crossed her arms over her chest.  Her eyes shifted to Dewitt and could see, in her face, just how she was taking the cease fire order.  Evasive actions made sense, truthfully, but ceasing fire would only open them up.

“You should at the very least, Trent, continue with suppresive fire.  Otherwise, you are opening us up to as many hits as possible.  Your power has proven to be undependable and I do not know with this level of pressure that your shields can stand up well to such a barrage.  You are leaving us open.” she said quickly and decisively. 

Zyrao felt the eyes on her and shifted her grey eyes to find Dewitt staring at her.  A cool brow rose curiously on her forehead.  She had no abilities to tell what Dewitt was thinking so she could not help in answering or allaying her fears.  Anything to keep her mind of Sera.  It wasn't as though she loved Sera but she was her only friend and she hoped that the woman survived.  She did care about Sera in her own way and didn't like to think that she would be out there getting herself in trouble.  It was her job, she guessed, or the one that the people here had given to her.

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #47 –
[ Commander Carrigan Trent | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @The Ostrich @Triton @Brutus @chXinya @FollowTomorrow @Absinthe @Stegro88 @BZ

As the distance closed on Bellerophon, Trent watched on the plot before him how Lieutenant Commander Marquez was planning to allocate his fire, and he nodded, ever so slightly.  Whatever he may have thought of the Resolve's former first officer, the man knew what he was doing with weapons, and he understood the meaning of a mission-kill.  However, from behind him he did hear their advisor speaking, and he, for a change, had time to reply to her. 

"Miss Natauna, Bellerophon tracked us, under cloak, through a plasma trail that is being controlled and dispersed; what do you think they could do with something as energetic as weapons fire?  We can take the fire from fighters, but not from a starship, not without shields.  Hence why I want to hit them from as close as possible so they have no time to react."

The distance was still closing, only seconds to go now.  "Mister Veradin, once we rake Bellerophon, give me a parabolic intercept for Dauntless, full impulse.  Commander Marquez, you will have to open fire at longer range than we'd like, but you will have one chance to give the fighters some supporting fire.  Make it count."

And only then did he turn his head to look at the Ensign who had been managing their communications.  "Once we open fire on Bellerophon, broadcast the previous message, still encrypted.  Omnidirectional, full power."  Of course, he knew that may raise some eyebrows, and while he should have no need to explain himself, he did regardless.  "We'll already be telling the galaxy where we are by firing weapons; might as well make full use of that window."

Less than ten seconds now...

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #48 –
[ Sar-Unga Neleo/Dyan Cardamone | Security Checkpoint | Outside Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan


“I’ll take your post. Scram.” Dyan waved off the officer, grinning wide like she was showing off her teeth in particular. Her mind did not even consider the existence of this person. It was as if he was a part of the environment. Her mind was truly insulated from empathetic concerns. She took his post, her tail whipping about, and finally let Drauc’s hand go. He was speaking again, and it entertained her. Just as quickly as he had fouled her opinion of him, he was right back in her good graces.

Unfortunately, the answers he sought just weren’t there. Even if he were to dig deep, Dyan’s mind was perplexing to even herself. She acted with no logic, felt with no precursors, thought without sense. A Vulcan would find her mind a repulsive place to be.
“What?” She laughed, a hearty one that came from the chest, “That’s not what I meant. I guess you could go down on me if you wanted real quick, but we’ve got a job. Why’s your mind so dirty?”

Truth was, Dyan had no clue what she had meant, when she asked if he was ready. Regardless of what Drauc asked, she was likely to tell him he was wrong, just because she liked to do that sort of thing. She folded her blade back in it’s defensive position, parallel to her forearm, and readied her phaser rifle. Indeed, the rush that came before battle was so similar to sexual foreplay in her mind...it was almost identical. The seething hatred she intentionally summoned up for Trent, her designated target, it was as close to love as her brain would go. The mystery storm that was her mind raged on, thunder and electricity rumbling and making her muscles twitch.
“Hope he fights back. Man needs a good kick in the ass, he does. Or a kick to the throat.”

Her mind imagined the image, and it was the same hatred and arousal she felt while dreaming up lewd things to do to Drauc, and while having sex with him earlier. There was no compassion in all three experiences. She saw no humanity, as it were. No kindness dwelt in her heart in all three events. Was this what tragedy looked like? Did she know the spectrum of emotions she did not experience?
"Try not to step on my tail or I'll have to gank you."
Probably not.

Re: Chapter 03: Knife's Edge [ Day 06 | 0840 hrs. ]

Reply #49 –
[ Sera vers Aldnoah | Cockpit | SS Sabine NX-59846 | Azure Nebula ] Attn: @Vox @Fife @Stegro88
[Show/Hide]
It seemed the one named Douna - Doh'na? - had a good idea about how they might split the dire tasks between the four smaller ships that fought on the Theurgy's side.

"I think I might be able to show those sand-fleas trick or two," she replied ruefully to the new Lone Wolf, and veered off in a new course, heading straight for the agitated Black Wolves that had managed to stay in the fight after the Theurgy showed it's bite. The comm-chatter between those two women in the Gryphon fighters wasn't lost on Sera, but right then, she was about to head-to-head with two Valravn-class warp fighters and that last Gryphon that had shown reflexes like none of the others. Wraith - the Valravn pilot that would be fighting on her side - had better fly his new banner clearly, and give her the kind of fire support she needed to stay alive.

"Wraith," she said, her browridge drawing down over her yellow eyes as she armed her weapon systems, "You better not let me down."

"Sera, I have never been in a dogfight before," said A'vura, her green knuckles whitened around the armrests of the co-pilot chair.

"Burn you, it will be fun!" said Sera, and grinned when opened up the micro-torpedo tubes underneath the Sabine. "Reroute power to shields, give me all the thottle I can get, and enjoy the storm!"

When the three fighters ahead of Sera and Wraith opened fire, she pushed the Sabine into a barrel roll and fired off a steady stream of the torpedoes. They were already locked to targets when leaving the tubes, making them track the white silhouettes in the blue particle clouds in which the battle raged. Many of them lost the signal, from countermeasures or plasma beams, but she managed to deal some damage to their shields - which were already degraded because of the conditions of the nebula and the need to deal with the radiation. She was already swinging the Sabine around for another pass, when their own shields took a heavy bludgeoning.

"I don't think I can do this," said A'vura, quickly tapping at the controls to compensate, tresses of black hair hanging before her face.

"You're already doing it," said Sera in cursory encouragement, glancing over to her. "Where is your helmet? We might have a hull breach, so go get it. I can do the next pass myself." Saying this, she quickly did her hair up in a bun and put her red helmet on, the air-pressure seals automatically sealing her in. If A'vura said anything in answer, it was lost in the sound, and Sera's eyes were already on the three fighters anew, seeing how Wraith had fared...

At that time, the Dauntless had arrived as well, seen far off in the distance, firing phasers beams in rapid succession towards the female fighter pilots. Before Sera had to look away, she saw how ordinance appeared from out of nowhere, which only could meant that the Theurgy had spared some attention towards the Akira-class ship as well. Moreover, the pointed saucer of an Intrepid-class ship could be seen as well - entering the fray.

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Main Bridge | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All 
[Show/Hide]
To his credit, Carrigan Trent did order Tactical to lend support to their new fighter pilots out there, but the challenge for Marquez would be to both lay an ambush trajectory for the Bellerophon - in tight communication with Derik Veradin - and lay fire against the Dauntless without giving them away.

Dewitt held on to the holo table next to Zyrao Natauna, Marquez at the table too, designing the attack points with better ease. That was when the digital voice of the T'fanrell reached them from Engineering, in a most dire warning. Dewitt's eyes widened, as F'Rell was telling them to not use the weapon systems. Indeed, they might compromise the core with this volley towards the Intrepid-class ship. Still, there was no sign of Trent calling off the assault. Subconsciously, she knew she was holding her breath, seeing the image of the Bellerophon coming closer above the table. Not even the stray comm-chatter from the new fighter pilots over her ear-piece helped ease her trepidation.

Fortunately, Marquez and Veradin did it, somehow, and the ship did not detonate from a warp core failure. Not yet...

The Trill helmsman put the Helmet through a series of manoeuvres that almost seemed to defy the abilities of its unique space-frame. It took them up close to the Bellerophon, almost to the point where they brushed shields with each other, and Marquez - used to the flying of the Trill at the helm - might have known exactly when to open fire. Dewitt didn't have the opportunity to see exactly what the former First Officer on the Resolve did in those dire seconds were Trent's orders could have killed them all, but the result was clear. For when she raised her green eyes, the devastation was larger than expected.

The Bellerophon had suffered more damage than intended, since it had the ability to detect their plasma leak, and it's belated evasive actions had changed all the vectors of the Theurgy's assault. What had been meant to be an ambition to disable the starship turned out destroying far than it should. Perhaps the Intrepid-class hadn't had the chance to fortify its diminished shields in time. In either case, by the time the cloaked Vector 01 passed the Bellerophon by, it left behind a ship broken in two by internal explosions. The omnidirectional message ceased to transmit, and Dewitt's heart went out to all those officers, who had just been doing their duty in ignorance, but now...

...now, it had to end.

The closest sensors in Task Force Archeron that had actually been able to see them had been blinded. This meant that Trent would try to remain and continue to risk the ship and crew. Not just that, but he'd do it even if Task Force Archeron bore down on them, which would happen before the time of the Rendezvous ran out. She had to preserve the crew and the mission, so she opened up the second message, sending it to all of Security on the Vector.

Dewitt to all Security officers. The time to relieve Commander Trent from command is now. Execute operation in accordance with the enclosed instructions in this message. It is imperative that the transition is made quickly, but without hostility, and that there is no confusion about what has happened. I repeat, execute.
While she was glad to be alive after the ship fired that barrage, it meant she had to act on one of the heaviest duties as a First Officer. Even as the profound damages to the Bellerophon were tallied in the edge of the viewscreen, Dewitt gave a nod to Ensign Ryuan Sel, and made sure the other security officers posted around the Main Bridge of the Theurgy had been alerted, giving them a sweeping glance. She stepped up next to Carrigan Trent, and made her declaration in a clear voice to the whole of the bridge.

"I am sorry, but I am hereby relieving you of command under Starfleet Regulation Six-One-Nine. You should have let us leave, when we had the chance. Now, too many officers have been killed because of you and Heather MacMillan." She moved her eyes to Sel, hoping she would take the cue to keep Trent in check, and then addressed the bridge in whole.

"Because of Heather McMillan being abducted by the Savi, Commander Trent has become emotionally compromised and unable to make rational decisions. The proof of this is obvious, but also made in personal confession to me days ago, in how he will try to go up against the Versant with this Vector alone purely to reclaim her. This, in complete disregard to this crew and of how this last Vector alone now carry the truth of Starfleet Command. You have seen how Commander Trent is now jeopardizing the future of the Federation by irrationally fighting when the ship is not fit for it, risking a warp core detonation. He wants the ship reintegrated towards the purpose of reclaiming Heather, at any cost, even though we are clearly the last Vector remaining. We are lucky to yet be alive... and I need not remind you. Captain Ives' orders were to protect the truth."

She then gestured to the present Security personnel, two additional ones entering from the Security point - one strangely dressed. "My orders have gone out to the entire ship. Security has secured all centers of operation, and present personnel will incapacitate Trent on these grounds if so needed... but he will now be Transported off bridge for confinement until further notice."

Jennifer looked back at Trent. "I don't do this on a whim, and despite the risk you have put us through, your actions were a matter of the heart. This is the least I can do now to spare your dignity... and not have you dragged off the bridge." She then looked towards the stationed Security officer from the checkpoint, Dyan Cardamone, who would have prepared the transport protocol on a PADD in accordance to her instructions. "Energize."

Then, looking away from the grinning Asurian - tail whipping in glee - Dewitt weathered whatever Trent had time to say before the Transport was completed. She would not give any external signal to acknowledge it, just simply take the seat in the vacated Commanding Officer's chair, with Ensign Ryuan Sel and her Accipiter rifle being an effective deterrence towards second-guessing her authority.

Not just Sel, but all the present security personnel around the bridge. Seven in total, counting the one in strange clothing... They were all a deterrence towards each other as well, if there was anyone refuting Dewitt's orders. As it were, she had already received confirmation from key areas of the ship that they were secured - Engineering included.

From the centre seat of the bridge, Dewitt took a deep breath to still her heart, and looked towards the present officers. Orders. "Do not interfere with the Bellerophon's evacuation. They would already have shared their sensor input of us with other ships, if not all, which means they knew what happened here, and can save those still alive. I need an ETA on the rest of the Task Force, but the rest of the 'Black Wolves' are already here." She looked to the deckhead. "Bridge to Engineering, we need to know exactly how much defensive fire we can deal to save the officers on those fighters without compromising the core, and how much time you need down there until we can safely jump to warp. If there is anything to do about the plasma leak, fine, but we need to leave as soon as possible."

Ten minutes left, then, the Rendezvous would be over. It was already too late. They couldn't stay. The Theurgys's mission was theirs alone, since Task Force Archeron would find them, just like the Bellerophon had.

OOC: Consent has been collected from @Triton and @FollowTomorrow for the development in this post. Now, on the bridge, the initial posting order is this, followed by others: 1) @FollowTomorrow posts with Dyan about beaming Trent out, perhaps heading to guard the VIP quarters Trent will be housed, plus with Suq in reply to Dewitt? 2) @Absinthe posts with Sel and F'Rell in accordance with development and tasks at hand. 3) @CanadianVet posts Trent's goodbye. 4) @Triton posts about the unfortunate fate of the Bellerophone, and sets off all the reactionary posts to this development, including @The Ostrich , @Brutus and @BZ . @chXinya can post freely in response to new input from @FollowTomorrow and @Absinthe down in Engineering. Unsure if Lorad is leaving or not, but if not, same goes for @Stegro88 and Lorad.

In the battle with the Dauntless, however, the posting order does not apply. Instead, this post is the cue for the arrival of the rest of the Black Wolves squadron, including posts from @patches @Vox @Fife and @Stegro88 . No set posting order so have fun! Don't make the Dauntless too easy to disable, nor the hostile Black Wolves, led by Warlock.

All Supplemental Threads that are started between characters on this Vectors will have to be set before this time of 0810 hrs. on Day 06, but not afterwards, and they should also be posted on the Part 1 board. Just like in the interregnum, Supplemental one-on-one threads are started at your leisure! Supplemental threads should be named Chapter 05: Supplemental [Day XX | YYYY hrs.] Insert Title, and can extend as far back as right after the battle with the Versant and all the way up to 0810 hrs on Day 06, where the third Rendevouz began.
 
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