Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02

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Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #25 – December 24, 2020, 05:33:36 PM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | The Aerodrome | Erudite ] Attention: @Auctor Lucan @Stegro88 @Number6 @Augusteo

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'Ida to Arnold! Thalaron bomb in place to be jettisoned!' That was what snapped Frank out of his idle trance, breaking the cycle as his hands flew back to the touch display, figuring out where the drone actually was, and where his target was. His fingers flitted over the display, re-orienting the craft as he identified the airlock, conveniently triangulated by the comms signal.

"Arnold to away team, Jackrabbit's coming!" He would wait patiently for the airlock to open, for the bomb to materialize, flanked by a space fighter. He grunted into the comm, "Any time now..." And, nothing. And so he waited. And then all of a sudden the skies opened.

The exterior door of the airlock quickly turned the color of pre-molten metal, before the center section melted, and was quickly sucked outward by the pressure differential in globules of bright orange and yellow. They were of course followed almost immediately by the rest of the door, wrenched open by physics, assisted by the hole in the center of the door.

What came next was very chaotic. Like a starting gun, the frigate opened fire towards the drone clearly having figured out the plan. While the jackrabbit got a lock on the bomb, it had to stay on a standard approach path, and as such, it took a hail of disruptor fire. The shields failed moments before the bomb was taken into the buffer. The thalaron bomb winked out of existence with a mere sparkle, simply part of a buffer now.

On the about face towards the Erudite the sickly green beam of a disruptor lanced straight across the left wing, and another across the belly. With a spectacular plume of warp plasma, the drone shuddered. "Arnold to all craft, the drone's coming in hot!" Zig zags were off the table, not enough power, now it was all about one big burst of speed.

That said, fingers slid all sliders to power the engines. Shields gone, no need for weapons, it was all about speed. A bated breath later, the drone took off like a rocket, a proverbial streak of lightning streaming across the sky. Like a comet trailed by its warp fire, it screamed towards the Erudite at insane speeds. A passenger would have succumbed to the g-force by now. Fortunately, thalaron bombs and tritanium panels cared little for such weakness.

In the meantime, Frank was all white knuckles, waiting for confirmation of the away team, "Arnold to all fighters, away team status?" He asked, crushing the edge of his control panel beneath his mitts.

He'd have to wait for an answer, as the Jackrabbit burst through the opening to space, landing on the deck with a hard crash, and a skitter, landing gear nowhere to be seen. And once again Frank didn't have time to think or to worry. Savi were about in a minute, likely drawn by the intense warp plasma fires emitting from the buckled panels of the drone, She'd fly again one day, maybe. He wasted no time in grabbing an extinguisher in each hand, clipping the straps about his wrist as he went to combat the warp fires. If the buffer failed now, it would be a catastrophe in of itself. "Why do you do this to me?"

He took to shouting orders, very much in his element here, "Bring some backup power cables! Once the fire is controlled we need to get her hooked up to main power before we can power down the warp drive, if that buffer fails we're in for it!" He actually didn't know what happened to a thalaron device that lost pattern integrity, but he couldn't imagine it was good. He aimed his extinguishers around the docked tail, and fired white Starfleet fire suppressive dust.

He grunted after one more moment, as the Savi materialized a field around the drone, shields, and then a moment later the fires just died, starved of oxygen in the local atmosphere of the forcefield. He looked to the eggheads next to him, "Good idea. Now let's get her hooked up to power yeah?"

With an able support crew of little white headed men, he was now able to return at haste to his panel.

With the deck in utter chaos, smoke billowing towards the lofty ceiling of the aerodrome as the Savi released the field, and began affixing the lifegiving power umbilical, Frank clicked his combadge "Arnold to...everyone, we got it, get your asses back here!"

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #26 – January 04, 2021, 11:51:04 PM

Lt. Vanya| Romulan Vessel | Andoria ] @uytrereee @Stegro88 @Auctor Lucan

Being the only person on the team without an exo suit make Vanya anxious. Although she could survive in the Vacuum of space for longer than a human, there would be damage to her epidermal layer that would transmit the sensation that Vanya would interpret as pain, not to mention the risk posed to her by prolonged exposure to cosmic radiation and spacial particles. So while she could survive, the it would not be far from a picnic, not would it be too much longer. She prepared herself as she darted into a corner of the airlock, barely noticing Donna being attacked behind her. The door hissed shut, and the android closed her eyes.

She started to count, she lowered herself into position wrapping her arms around her bent knees. as she watched Ida’s hand reach her way to the open control. Vanya held her breath, the battery systems in her body coming online. They would only last a few hours, but it would be hopefully enough. It felt odd for her to be so still, it had only happened a few times. Before she could ruminate any further, she was blown out of the airlock.

Her audio receptors blew out immediately from the pressure. As her curled up body tumbled into space Vanya mused that she would need to rely on her lip reading capabilities until she was able to get a day or so in sickbay, to say nothing of the fact that she would resemble the something that most humanoids would find increasingly goulish the longer she did spend out there.

She registered a figure that wasn’t performing a regular ascribed pattern. She realised that someone was unconscious. Unable to communicate as her lungs weren;t operating, Vanya moved her body to surf in the airless void. Satisfied that she had reached a vector to approach she unfolded her body and propelled herself towards her unconscious compatriot, her eyes were already beginning to freeze over so detail was becoming difficult. As she grabbed their arm, Vanya wasn’t sure but she was starting to make out the outline of a figher.

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #27 – January 19, 2021, 02:30:35 AM

[ Lt. ThanIda zh'Wann | Tractor Beam, Outside Romulan Star Navy Veles-class Frigate | Andor's Orbit ]
Attn: @uytrereee @Number6 @Stegro88
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The moment she had squeezed the trigger of her Accipiter rifle, the airlock had been compromised, and they were all immediately sucked into the cold embrace of nothing outside the Romulan ship.

Hardly a smooth transition, since they were all jettisoned at the same time as thalaron bomb and a grav sled, along with the debris of what was left of the airlock door. The contrast of the dead silence that seized them, compared to the jarring exit and what Ida saw through her visor, was so acute she almost lost the grip on her weapon. The sled had struck her over her shoulder, making her cry out inside the tight confines of her helmet. With wide eyes, as she tumbled through the battle, she saw the Valkyries fighting for survival and to protect the approaching drone. The Romulans didn't delay a moment more than they had to before they opened fire against that drone, having understood that the thing had deployed the boarders and was likely capable of extracting the bomb too. Ida was spinning in space when the green disruptor fire lit everything around her, and exploding counter measures from the Valkyries made her cover her eyes.

In that moment, Ida had rather remained on the frigate and faced the impossible odds, only firmly on her feet.

Only her shallow breathing kept her from screaming as she tried to fire up her exosuit's thrusters, but she was spinning too fast. There was too much going on, and she had lost all orientation. She believed she glimpsed Vanya holding on to Petterson, the latter seemingly unconscious. One Valkyrie interposed itself between the drone and the Romulan ships, even using its shields to protect it. Another one swooped in towards them, and she could hear comm chatter inside her helmet amidst the chaos. Frank's voice, and Evelyn Rawley's. [Ghost to the Erudite, get that bloody bomb before they get a fucking transporter lock on it and beam it back aboard!]

Ida couldn't see the bomb any more, and just like Vanya and Petterson, she was caught in the light of a tractor beam - yanked sideways and speeding away. Only then could she make out the third Valkyrie, far off by the Romulan ships. [Bollocks, shut the fuck up! Isley, where are you? Retreat, retreat!] said Ghost, and Arnold was insisting they returned to the Erudite as well. In that moment, looking at that distant Valkyrie, Ida realised what Nathaniel Isley was doing. Even before he spoke over the team's comm channel.

[I'll keep them busy, else you won't make it!] said Isley, dancing between the barrages sent his way, barely keeping ahead of the onslaught. [Just get out of here, and tell the Captain... I'm no-]

Five disruptor banks had triangulated him, and the Valkyrie vanished as the quantite core detonated.

"Shelat..." Ida cursed, as memories of their brief times together, before and after Skye Carver's death, flashed before her eyes. Her duties had come between them, and whatever there was to salvage was now gone.

And so was the distraction that Isley had provided, making both the remaining Valkyries the prime targets along with the drone.

[ Lt. JG Evelyn Rawley, callsign "Ghost" | Cloak Envelope of Romulan Star Navy Veles-class Frigate | Andor's Orbit ]
Attn: @uytrereee @Number6 @Stegro88
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"Maverick!"

It was his old callsign, but one Rawley had known him best as, for far longer than he'd adopted the name 'Icarus'. She remembered how she'd convinced her to stand down when she'd put a phaser in Ravon's face, calling him out for what he'd done to her. She remembered how both those Wolves had been mind-melded by Doctor Maya to kill and hurt people, all orchestrated by Nicander.

Fuck! Focus! she told herself, since she was nearly out of shields, interposing herself as she was between the Romulan ships and the escaping drone. She was all out of counter measures at that point, and so was Foxfire - having taken an even harder beating than Rawley had. Arnold had asked for a status update, but what the hell was she supposed to say? She had neither breath or time to spare, and the loss of Isley might not even have registered with the Engineer. "We're on our way, dammit!"

With all three Romulan ships focusing their fire on Rawley and Isel Nix, the two remaining Lone Wolves were all that remained between the drone and the enemies trying to keep it from getting away. "Computer, reroute everything we can spare to the aft shields!" she called, focusing on the flying alone. The change in percentages were nominal, however, making her swear - tasting sweat on her lips. "Foxfire, incoming!"

No more had the words left her mouth before her wingmate was hit- making the Valkyrie spin and drop in speed. "Fuck! Nix, you okay? Give me your status! Can you make it?"

[Lost alt--- Contr---- Life Su---] was all that could be heard, the comm array bust, but the trajectory was still good enough, with sensors saying the invisible Erudite was still ahead of them. Rawley took another hit, shaking her in her seat, and her canopy had cracked open. The seat restraints held her in place, and the exosuit let her breathe. Arnold was telling them to get their asses back aboard, but Rawley was screaming as she had a vice-like grip on her flight stick, fighting to keep herself from missing the cloaked dreadnought. She had no way to see if Foxfire was still alive. She didn't even know if her tractor beam was still engaged and carrying the boarding team.

The light of Andor's moon winked out, and another jolt had Rawley cry out, believing she was hit and done for...

...but it was the atmospheric pressure of the Erudite's bay.

She yanked her throttle backwards, made a quick judgement call and disenagaged the tractor beam before she smashed the away team against the deck of the dimly lit bay. It would make for a rough landing on their part, but Rawley hoped their exosuits would keep them safe. The noise of Foxfire's Valkyrie crashing inside the bay was a raw metallic sound that overrode Rawley's stuttering engines, heard clearly through her broken canopy. She hoped Frank Arnold and Doctor Hernandez weren't anywhere close in the vast bay area, because he had no means to make a controlled landing. She simply zeroed her altitude control as soon as she managed to throttle down to a stop, and crashed straight into the deck plating.

Panting hard, she scrambled to get out of her Valkyrie, about to make a beeline towards Nix's downed fighter. "Isley's gone, so tell the Savi to get the fuck out of here!" she called after she'd torn off her helmet and thrown it away, and leaped down unto the deck. She could see the boarding team's distant figures on the deck behind her Valkyrie, but Doctor Hernandez was already running towards them with his medkit. Rawley had no idea what was going on with the drone, but she was not going to loose two squadmates that day.

OOC: If someone can contact the Savi, I'll post with the Voice next. The 7 day deadline begins now, an boy this was fun.

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #28 – January 21, 2021, 04:31:27 PM

[ Ensign Isel “Foxfire” Nix | Fighter Escort 02 | Andor’s Orbit ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Stegro88 @uytrereee @Number6
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”Fuck fuck fuck! C’mon! C’mon!!” Isel snarled the words through gritted teeth as she tried to coax more speed from her Valkyrie. Isley had just been blown to pieces, his last words lost to the void of death before they even left his mouth. Now she and Rawley were under fire as they made a mad dash back to the Erudite, Rawley dragging the away team along in her tractor beam.

”Computer, reroute power form cockpit life support, weapons and all auxiliary systems to aft shields and propulsion and get this fucking tin can moving!” Isel barked out the order, sparing a glance out of the Valkyrie’s canopy to check on Rawley and the away team, the latter being horribly exposed in their current situation.

[Foxfire, incoming!]

Isel didn’t even have time to release the stream of curses which was welling up inside her before she felt the impact, alarms blaring all around her in the Valkyrie’s cockpit. The canopy was breached, Isel’s limbs being pulled away form the controls as the air around her was sucked into the void, though she couldn’t see where the breach was as the fighter spun out of control. One of her restraints must have failed, because the brief vacuum, as well as the continued motion, caused the left shoulder of her suit to lift away from her jump seat, making it yet more difficult for the Vulpinian to try and manage the controls. A display on her left overloaded, a bust of sparks and flames erupting for the briefest moment before being snuffed out by the vacuum.

[Fuck! Nix, you okay? Give me your status! Can you make it?]

Isel yelled a half-assed status report, though judging by the state of her comms display she doubted much of it got through to Ghost. Not that Isel had time to worry about status reports, Ghost, or the away team as she frantically tried to regain function of the out of control fighter. Alarms continued to blare inside her helmet, adding confusion to the already muddled Vulpinian’s thoughts as she fought to focus through the loss of inertial dampeners. Her head swam from the spinning of the Valkyrie, the speed of the motion threatening to plunge her into unconsciousness, and Isel wished those fucking alarms would just shut the fuck up for even a moment so she could think.

”Computer, emergency eject!”

[Unab-zz to compl-zzz, syst--- comp--zied.]

Isel cursed again, desperately trying to focus her vision through the ever-increasing dizziness. ”Computer, activate ETS!” The Vulpinian was glad to have set the transport location to the Erudite before they launched. Unfortunately, this time the computer didn’t even manage a garbled reply, instead simply making a static-filled screeching noise inside her helmet.

Then, before Isel could attempt any other form of recovery or escape, the Erudite’s bay materialized into existence around her and Isel knew she was well and truly fucked. She felt the impact of her fighter on the bay floor, the sudden present of friction jarring her right shoulder painfully, even through the flight suit, and causing her flight helmet to slam into the canopy. Her Valkyrie had been moving at too high a speed for the impact to slow her enough to prevent what was coming next. Disoriented as Isel was, she knew the wall was coming. The screeching of metal filled her ears as the fighter ground it’s way along the bay floor, fire sprung up from the console to her left now that the fighter had entered a sustained atmosphere.

”SHIT!”

Isel felt a violent jolt as the Valkyrie’s wing buckled and caught underneath the wildly skidding fuselage, the wing acting as a wedge that caused the fighter to roll. If she hadn’t been utterly terrified, Isel might have made a joke about dogs doing tricks. Then everything stopped, the impact as her fighter slammed into the bulkhead making a horrific noise for the brief moment that Isel remained conscious.

Then everything went black.

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #29 – January 26, 2021, 03:55:01 AM

[ Lt. George Hernandez | Aerodrome | Erudite | Andorian Space ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Fife @uytrereee @Number6
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Much like when he had been stationed aboard the Black Opal, George Hernandez found himself unable to do anything as he sat and watched the mission unfold before him. He was not a pilot, nor a security officer and felt that he would have been nothing more than a burden for the away team aboard the Romulan vessel. Which, consequently, left him nothing to do but spectate as the mission hit one unforeseen issue after another.

They had lost two so far. First the Klingon Valkra and then Isley as he tried to divert attention away from the drone and away team. Now, he was on the edge of his seat as she watched the screen. Everyone was returning now, with the Romulans revealing their presence as they fire on the Theurgy crew as they made their escape. Picking up his kit from beside him, the doctor made ready to assist those that would need it.

The crunching sound of metal heralded his crewmates arrival, and he was jogging away from where Lieutenant Arnold had set himself up towards the away team as they lay sprawled on the deck. He could do little for the Android Vanya, that being more Arnold’s department than his own but he was certain that the two other women on the away team would need his help after the impact they had just suffered.

“Deputy, can you hear me?” he asked, reaching the Andorian first. He knelt down beside her and pulled out his tricorder before beginning his work.

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #30 – January 27, 2021, 11:33:57 PM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Aerodrome | Erudite ] Attn: @Stegro88 @Fife @Auctor Lucan @Number6 @Augusteo
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The momentary triumph of the return of the Jackrabbit, laden with the payload that spelled the success of their mission, winked out right about the time that other flights began to hit the deck. Not with a quiet whimper, but with a crash and a bang. Fire and smoke came shortly after the Valkyries carried the away team, less a member, onto the Aerodrome of the Erudite.

With spindly egg heads clambering about the Jackrabbit now, attaching an umbilical charging cable, more out of fear of a thalaron bomb destabilizing in a pattern buffer inside their mighty ship, than out of any altruism; Frank took off towards the Valkyries. They, and their pilots, were just as valuable, if not moreso than the Jackrabbit. Certainly the Theurgy's longetivity relied on the space fighters.

Frank only counted two fighters, and his already knotted stomach contorted further, twisted too tight like a circus acrobat. He'd not been back to his display yet, and the comm chatter had been washed out by the pounding well of adrenaline in his ears. With him he carried his wrist extinguisher at least, his toolbelt jangling like santa's sleigh as he carried towards the downed crew members. His fear was confirmed as he heard the matter of fact assessment from one of the two pilots called out, Ghost, he believed. 'Isley's gone, so tell the Savi to get the fuck out of here!'

He slapped the combadge upon his chest far harder than he needed to. He'd not been aboard Theurgy that long, he certainly didn't know Isley or Valkra personally, and even during the course of this mission they'd only had cursory contact outside of briefing. But they were part of his team, not the team, his team. He was ultimately responsible for returning his away team whole, and two members of the Crew would not be returning today. Whether or not their demise was avoidable, through a better plan, better luck, better performance on his own part really couldn't ever be known, but it would be something Frank would ruminate on from now until the end of time. He spoke into the channel they'd established with the Savi, "Our mission is complete, a quick exit is in order before we cause any more commotion, the Andorians are unlikely to have missed the disruptor fire."

Those dark imaginings however had to be shaken out of his head as he drew upon the chaos surrounding the spacecraft. He looked between the Valkyries, glowing with incipient fires, and his first instinct was to rush to extinguish such things, but the sight of Vanya there, her dermal layers having suffered considerable damage with exposure to the vacuum of space, stopped him mid stride. The doctor, Hernandez, he could help the others, but Frank was the only technician aboard.

He slid to his knees, and produced his tricorder starting to scan, but Frank also did something very human in that moment, in his massive mitt, he took Vanya's left hand, giving it a squeeze. He doubted if she could hear him, it had been a hell of a ride, but he spoke anyway, more for him than for her. "Lieutenant, Lieutenant Vanya! " The vacuum of space was unkind to moisture, to volatile organics, to trapped gases, between temperature and pressure, basically everything a person was made of was torn and tortured after an exposure. Vanya's machine nature, did not change the severity of being spaced.

He began to scan her, speaking out loud, "It appears your dermal layers have suffered some damage, as well as your ocular equipment, sensory processing, and...auditory equipment, so I am talking to myself." He'd start with her eyes, trying to gently open one of her lids if it were closed, doing his best with regenerative pulses from his ultrasonic prep device to clear her eyes of the harsh frost and incipient oxidation that would cloud her view. Once he'd gotten those somewhat clear, he'd try and position himself to be over her, but his face clearly in view of her. Throughout all this, he still wore a thin smile, and he'd say slowly, and clearly, "Lieutenant, I know you are currently deaf, but can you understand me? Squeeze my hand if you can." He'd wait a few moments after replacing his hand into hers, "I'm going to do my best to get you fixed up, at least on your feet. I don't know all of what's been affected yet, and I'm not going to go under the hood on the deck."

With time, more Savi begrudgingly aided in extinguishing the small fires that plagued the hulls of the Valkyries, with only their self interests at heart, but for the moment Frank had forgotten the machines, for now he needed to deal with the manpower. He'd call out, "Doctor, how's everybody doing?!"

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #31 – February 07, 2021, 09:08:29 PM

[ Lieutenant Vanya| Aerodrome | Erudite ] Attn: @Stegro88 @Fife @Auctor Lucan @uytrereee @Augusteo

One of Vanya’s flaws, such as they were was that her mind used to run away with itself. She would become lost and “day dream”.   She had long learned to control this habit, however, as she floated alone in the starry void, sightless and soundless, a myriad of possibilities played ou9t in her sensor depriviation.

She imagined waking up in a Starfleet lab, her identiy verified from the Cayuga, and her transfer to the Theurgy unearthed, then every single secret ripped from her brain, or worse, being repurposed to find a way back to the crew and promptly betray them all, including Nat.   A pang of regret filled Vanya’s heart.

Perhaps she would simply float there for hundreds, possibly thousands of years, discovered by whatever beings had survived the conflict that was carving up the galaxy today Before she could lose herself n either reality, she became aware of something different.   She was feeling pressure again, So she wasn’t going to wake up in some far future, put she could be on the Romulan, or Federation decks.   Again, neither side filled her with hope.

Recognising that she was within a vacuum, she brought her emergency sensors online.   Unfortunately they too, were severely damaged.   Her auditory sensors were already blown out, but her optical systems were pnly functioning at 14.7 percent.   If it wasn’t for the ice over her eyes she’d be able to recognise nearby faces, but not much else.

As the icy veil started to clear from her eyes – far quicker than normal melting, which meant someone wanted her to see.   So she wasn’t being thrown into a disposal unit or a locker until they could go home and rebuild her. In fact, she registered that her eyes were being repaired by ultrasonic pulses.   By the time her vision returned, her capacity was at 33 percent, and she registered that she was safely aboard the Erudite, and looking down at her was Frank Arnold.   The human was a welcome sight for what remained of Vanya’s optical processing unit.

The servo’s in her arm were shot, but she managed the faintest of squeezes in her hand. She had several links that needed to be patched up, and she’d need a few days for her skin to grow back, or possibly a sold 4 hours with a dermal regenerator. Perhaps this mission might soon be behind them…

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #32 – February 19, 2021, 10:53:32 PM

[ Echtand qi Versant | Bridge Module | The Erudite ]
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Seated in the command chair on the bridge, Echtand qi Versant was observing the development on the large viewscreen; how the Theurgy crew fared in their efforts to prevent further incitement of war. This, meanwhile it was too late for the Flotilla, in which the Antecendents fought the Scions and those still following the falsified Code. Seated there, the Voice could only give the Romulan ships and the initial reactions from Andor a cursory glance, since his thoughts were mainly upon his own many battlefronts, which were seen on yet other screens in front of him, where rebel commanders in all four Quadrants reported on the development.

When one of his bridge officers patched through the words of one of the specimens in the Edudite's main research vessel bay, it served as a momentary distraction. The voice was male, and loud noises from the bay area filtered through the static. [Our mission is complete, a quick exit is in order before we cause any more commotion, the Andorians are unlikely to have missed the disruptor fire.]

Reaching for the data tablet on his wrist, Echtand summoned a feed showing the bay, and frowned when he saw the crashed warp fighters and the running people. "This is the Voice. Acknowledged," was all that he said to the one named Arnold, and then glanced towards the helm station, giving a nod. It didn't take long until a pre-determined course was set, and the reactors were powered up - the massive Precept-class ship going to warp.

As an afterthought, he turned to the lead officer representing the bio labs and the subset medical branch. "Offer them medical attention," he said quietly, and when some of the present Antes stirred, he added, "The Old Code states that when a rare accord is made outside the Flotilla, and it doesn't threaten the integrity of the Archive, we must offer emergency relief."

"It is stated," came he answer from the bridge, and they did the Voice's bidding.

[ Lt. JG Evelyn Rawley, callsign "Ghost" | Main Vessel Bay | Aerodrome | Erudite ] Attn: All
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Running, leaping across the debris and flames left in the wake of Nix's Valkyrie, Rawley's bloodied lips were drawn back in a steady stream of silent curses.

Breathing hard through her clenched teeth, having crashed her Valkyrie as well, she was stumbling, falling, but getting up once more so that she might reach her wingmate. She saw dark-clad Savi moving there as well, carrying devices she would assume to be the equivalent of fire extinguishers. She saw, through the smoke and fires, that the warp fighter was lying upside down, which made her curse louder whilst closing the distance.

Once she got to the side of the Valkyrie, it was impossible to get inside the cockpit. She could just see the outline of Foxfire's white exosuit - splattered with blood. "Fuck! Don't this bloody bay have any tractor beams?" she demanded from the Antecedents behind her, but didn't wait for a reply. She seized the splintered edge of the canopy and tried, using the artificial muscle servos of her exosuit, to turn the warp fighter over a bit. It barely budged, a few inches of access gained at the most. She screamed through her bloodied teeth and tried again, but to no avail.

Finally, the Savi caught on, and the Valkyrie was bathed in blue light. The fuselage groaned while it slowly levitated from the damaged deck plating, and Rawley quickly reached into the cockpit to try and free Nix from her seat. The electronic release was busted, so she reached further to get to the manual safety release, which finally allowed the Lone Wolf to drop down. Rawley was there, catching her, and pulled her free from the Valkyrie.

"Medic!" she barked in anger, but Hernandez was on the other side of the vast bay area. Luckily, one of he Savi answered her.

"Be calm," she said with her alien tone, and the tall, female Antecedent actually reached out to put a three-fingered hand on her exosuit's shoulder. "We will treat you both. Transporter sequence initiated."

"Fine, but oh, just you dare do something more than tha-"

And both the Lone Wolves vanished from the Aerodrome.

[ Lt. ThanIda zh'Wann | Main Vessel Bay | Aerodrome | Erudite ] Attn: All
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"Deputy, can you hear me?"

Discombobulated, Ida heard the voice through her cracked visor, but her suit no longer carried the sound through her helmet's ear-pieces. As if underwater, she picked up other sounds as well. Running feet. Shouting. Other voices, not too far away. By Lor'Vela, everything hurt, but she was alive. Groaning into her silenced helmet, she spoke in answer, but it was likely unheard since the helmet had short circ'd. "Aye..."

The light from the medical tricorder was distorted through the cracks in front of her eyes, which made her flinch and wave away the attention she was receiving. She reached for her neck and released the pressure seal of her helmet. Slowly, she sat up and pulled it off, feeling her white hair snag when it tumbled free, the bun undone. She stretched her antennae, and turned her scowl towards the Doctor. "I'm fine."

"I'm reading multiple contusions an-"

"I said I am fine, pinkskin." She nodded towards Donna instead, who laid lifeless on the deck of the Aerodrome. "Check on Lieutenant Petterson."

Hernandez moved away, thankfully, and Ida remained sitting, looking around herself. She saw the drone being seen to, carrying the thalaron bomb in its pattern buffer, and two of the Valkyries. It was hard to digest what she'd seen from within the grip of the tractor beam - how Isley's Valkyrie had been destroyed. "Shelat..." she murmured, shaking her head, for looking at the state of the two remaining warp fighters, she knew that Isley wasn't the only Lone Wolf they might have lost.

"Doctor, how's everybody doing?!" It was Frank Arnold.

"I believe Lieutenant Petterson needs medical attention," came the answer, "I can't get the suit off her and her bio readings are masked by it."

"Theurgy crew," said a male Savi that had joined them, black eyes blinking against the firelight, "two of your officers are already in our medical care, being seen to. We can treat this specimen as well."

Ida turned her glare towards the speaker, wondering if Savi doctors was a good idea given her own experiences, but she took a deep breath, and decided to forego her bias. She glanced towards Vanya as well, seeing how the android's Romulan meat sleeve needed treatment too. "Our gratitude.... Doctor, I think you should accompany them. They need a known face when they wake up."

Hernandez nodded, so when the word was given, the Savi typed something into his wrist tablet, and the Doctor, Vanya and Petterson vanished from the deck. Gingerly, Ida got on her feet, and as the streaming stars of warp travel could be seen outside the still-open bay doors, she walked over to Lieutenant Arnold. Frowning, more from the outcome than the pain, she brushed her white har back from her eyes. "Mission accomplished," she said quietly, thinking of those killed in action, "but at great cost."

A cost yet to be determined, the results of the Savi medical teams yet to be heard. Ida looked towards the drone. "Still, we got the bomb, and the... 'fireworks' ought to have drawn enough attention from planetary defences to intimidate the Romulans. Hopefully, they will have the sense to retreat from Andorian space before they are caught red-handed."

Deep down, she had wanted to side with her own species, destroyed that cloak emitter on the ship, to protect Andor. As an exile, however, loyal to her oaths to Starfleet and the protection of her crew, she hadn't. "My people may suspect Romulan presence because of what happened on Earth... but without confirmed sighting? I doubt they will act on it."

Looking out of the bay doors whilst they slowly closed, her addendum was unspoken.

By Lor'Vela, at least I hope so.

OOC: All right! @uytretree! Could you move the hands of time forward roughly 10 hours in your next post (Day 03, 0900 hrs.), during which the Theurgy crew has been getting medical attention and could recover? My suggestion is that Arnold has summoned all the crew that can stand on their feet to come down to the bay at that point? Go ahead and set the scene in the bay area, becase at that point, the Erudite will begin it's QSD jump back to Breen space and the Allegiant. Since they have been cut off from the Allegiant, they don't know what awaits them there. Speech opportunity? Either way you want to play it, I will chime in with my characters in answer, and if the rest is on their feet, they can reply as well. I’ll arrange for the QSD jump!

As soon as Zark's fate is set in Horns of a Dilemma, we can feature the Erudite being back to Breen to pick up the survivors on the Allegiant. After that, the next jump takes them back to Klingon space. Check the Advent of War Calendar for more detail!

This post opens up for Supplemental threads in Chapter 05 on the Erudite, and the naming convention for these threads, set between 2200 hrs. on Day 2 (the end of the mission) to 0900 hrs. on Day 03 is CH05: S [DXX|YYYY] Insert Title. I will be writing a starter for Nix's and Rawley's medical treatment, but if more writers want in on that, just let me know!

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #33 – February 26, 2021, 05:18:23 PM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Aerodrome | Aerodrome ] Attn:
[Show/Hide]

A flicker of life, that was all he got, a flicker. But a flicker of a flame, was a flame nonetheless. Vanya below him looked more machine than the woman she most often resembled at this point in time. While likely off-putting for most, it actually put Frank at ease. Machinery he understood, maybe not all of it, but he understood enough of the commonalities between systems to fumble through most days. People, people were a mystery, but machines, machines had instruction manuals, technical data sheets. If Frank could find the technical data sheet that described the proper birthday gift on a two year anniversary...well he'd probably have been married and never been on the Theurgy.

While Frank worked on Vanya, slowly the bay began to become more populated. Unbeknownst to Frank, by now the head dick in charge had extended to them the grace of medical aid. This materialized in the form of a number of spindly Savi, come to save the day. Eventually he was ushered away from Vanya by particularly insistent Savi, despite his protestations.

As he stepped away from her, and looked around the bay, all the details that had been lost in the adrenaline and the urgency, came rushing back into his field of view. The blinders were off, and Frank was overwhelmed to say the least. With hand to forehead, pinching the corner of his eyes, he said loud enough for anyone conscious to hear, anyone still on the deck at least "Anyone who can, get some rest, our journey doesn't end here." Frank made his way to his console, collected his PADD, and went to tuck himself away a while, to think, maybe to get an hour of kip, or maybe just to take a moment to freak out, he'd never tell.

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Aerodrome | Aerodrome - Approximately 10 hours later...]

By now, he'd written up his report of the away mission, emphasizing the valiant sacrifices of his team, both those who had come back, and those who hadn't. Once he'd done his log, he'd tried to sleep, but his PADD kept calling. Eventually he found himself slowly thumbing through the service records of each of the members of his away team. He'd done this before he left the Allegiant too, after his game of operation, after Jaya had dozed off. Through this exercise he was looking for something, hope? The right words to say? Maybe just a silver lining? Whether or not he'd found what he needed, was left to be seen.

At the tenth hour, Frank stood front and center in the Aerodrome. Through all his musings, he hadn't figured out what to say, only that he knew that he had to say something, at least he thought he did. He'd never pretended to be good at this, and his head continued to spin around why the Captain had picked him to lead this mission when he was obviously less qualified than he should have been. Wracked with self doubt, Frank stood in front of the assembled shambling remains of his away team. It felt smaller, because it was smaller, but in that moment he tried not to focus on that. The Jackrabbit kept catching his eye as people gathered, scarred, and beaten, but not broken. She'd fly again, and so would this little crew.

He stood silent for what was an awkward length of time in front of his little team, hands clasped in front of him. The knot in his stomach wouldn't go away, but this wasn't going to do itself either. His uniform hung half open at the front, looking as tired as he felt. He took a single deep breath, and enjoyed the cool that came over him as he exhaled just as deeply. One more breath, and he spoke, in a low and deep tone, loud enough to be heard in the intimate setting, but no louder.

"I've been wracking my brain trying to find something profound to say. All I've found is that I'm just not that profound it seems." He rolled his shoulders, and continued, "The last fourteen hours have been some of the most difficult of my career, and no doubt yours as well. Some of the people that came on this adventure with us, are no longer with us. Some are still fighting for their lives. We're halfway across who-knows-where from our friends and crewmates, and we're looking pretty ragged I'll admit it." He chuckled gently, and offered, "But we've done everything asked of us and more today. It's a small consolation in the face of lost friends, but it's one we must focus on now."

He took a deep breath, "I wish I could say that we got to rest now, back home for tea and medals, but I can't. I wish I could say that one day a grateful galaxy will know what was done here, how this was a tipping point so valiantly pushed back, but I can't. Not today at least." He paused, "What I can say is, I'm proud of what we did here, and I hope you are too. Carry your grief, but forget not your pride, it will light you through these dark times. Keep the names of who we've lost right on the cusp of your lips." He stroked his chin, and then he just looked at them.

"Now any rational person would want to quit right about now. Deep in every one of us there's a little voice that nags at our lowest points, fills us with the fear of failure and the anticipation of defeat. I've heard it in these last ten hours, and I know you have too. He whispers sedition, that it would be easier, better, safer, cleaner, for you to just quit, to lay down and die, that we've done enough, given enough." He chuckled, in a place that seemed so out of place, "And he's right, each of you have given more than your fair share already, but all I have to say to that is, tough. Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other." Maybe he just had to hear himself say it, just once.

"From here, we've got a few races ahead of us. We've no idea if the Allegiant has been successful in her mission, nor the Theurgy. We don't know if either or both are still even in service. What I do know is, if they've half the gumption of you, we're in proper good shape." He chuckled, and then took a deep breath, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts." He nodded, "The man who said that stood on a cusp as perilous of our own. Beset by foe on all sides, alone, outmanned, outgunned, and seemingly without a prayer."

He gave a nod, "And they prevailed, so shall we." He looked about the group and offered, "Anyone had enough? I can ask the Savi to pull over at Risa." He waited a moment as if for them to speak, but expected no reply, "That's what I thought, let's go to work."

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #34 – February 28, 2021, 10:17:45 PM

[ Lt. ThanIda zh'Wann | Main Vessel Bay | Aerodrome | Erudite ]
Attn: @uytrereee @Stegro88 @BZ @Number6 @Fife @RyeTanker @DaValle
[Show/Hide]

What the engineer spoke of was profound in content but made digestible with its of-the-cuff delivery, and it was the kind of speech that Deputy zh'Wann appreciated the most. The non-pretentious kind. Honest, and true.

"Well said, Lieutenant," said Ida with the ghost of a smile on her lips, and she glanced towards the others. She was about to say something more, but a holographic figure appeared in their midst.

It was the Voice.

[ Echtand qi Versant | Bridge Module | The Erudite ]
[Show/Hide]

Standing in front of the command chair on the Erudite's bridge, looking at the maelstrom of intel that showed up on different parts of the viewscreen, Echtand qi Versant was keeping himself appraised of the development in the Savi Flotilla's rebellion against the Scions. He noticed the success of the guerrilla warfare that his fleet's Initiator fighter pilots were conducting against the larger vessels that were still loyal to the Scion High Council, and also the insurrections of Antecendents on others. New rebels, that had come to learn about the False Code and how they had been manipulated their whole lives to serve the Scions in their despotic ambitions. Standing here, Echtand saw messages from the Commanding Officers of yet other ships, whom reported fleet movements in all four Quadrants - outlining the moving frontlines of the civil war. The Voice watched it all, his black eyes moving between each new update, in wait for the word that it was time to set a new course.

"How much longer?" he asked quietly, and the closest bridge officer raised his wrist tablet to give him the answer - the numbers showing up in front of him on the viewscreen as well. Two minutes and thirty-six seconds...

Echtand took a deep breath, and raising his own wrist tablet, he sought out Lieutenant Arnold's location and projected his appearance as a hologram in the Main Research Vessel bay, in which the majority of the present Theurgy crew had gathered as far as a cursory glance around the holographic spectres in front of himself suggested. He pursed his thin lips to speak. "This is the Voice. Quantum slipstream jump imminent. We will be in Breen space in one hour. You will be notified when - and if - we make contact with the vessel you denominate 'Alllegiant'."

After almost terminating the transmission, Echtand realised that he had espied something consequential for the Starfleet officers, which they might have interest in. So, as if an afterthought, he continued.

"Andorian transmissions in the sector indicate that in order to keep the peace among civilians, the defences of Andor have publicly stated that a military exercise was conducted in the area in which you undertook your mission." Echtand rolled his shoulders and added his personal reflections based on his experience with the Federation as a whole, which was more extensive than most Antecendents in his rebel fleet. "No doubt unofficial investigations continue, but given the lack of further strife, and with no Romulan ships on the Erudite's long range sensors, no more consequences have come of your mission. It would seem the Romulan ships retreated from Andorian space, either heading for the RNZ or some other target. My condolences on your losses, but at least those who made it back aboard the Erudite will live. My gratitude for cooperating with our medical scientists and giving them the benefit of the doubt... given past experiences you may have had with us. As for the thalaron buffer pattern you retrieved, we have neutralised it safely, and your... drone will soon be fully operational. Echtand, out."

Not having time for further discussion with the specimens, seeing how more intel from his rebel fleet was coming in, he terminated the transmission and returned his attention to the viewscreen - silently issuing new deployment orders with his wrist tablet all across the Galaxy. When the timer he'd asked for reached zero, he gave the order.

"Lay in a course for the Beta Epsilon-Venturi System, planet Breen. Power up the ZPE reactors and initiate quantum slipstream jump. Execute."

And the cloaked Savi dreadnought's gravitic displacement engines came alive, turning it towards its new destination. Once the qunatum slipsteam initiators were engaged, the Erudite left Federation space behind.

MEANWHILE | HALL OF HEROES | BREEN CONFEDERACY

When Jennifer Dewitt had come to, she'd been in a dark room, chained to the floor by the wrists, and with figures surrounding her in the darkness. Suited figures, spouting screeching questions distorted by the helmets they wore. Breen military officers, rank unknown, and the universal translator the only means in which she'd been able to answer them - defying the skull-splitting headache he had after the blow she'd took aboard the patrol ship.

Soon enough, her voice had become hoarse, and she had no way to telling if the Breen were listening or even caring what she was telling them. At the top of her lungs, for over an hour, she'd given them the truth, only making sure to omit the most damnable facts that could turn them against the Federation as a whole just because a Starfleet ship had been present. Well, two, counting the Allegiant, but she had no way of knowing if her small crew had managed to stay cloaked and stayed safe. She was in no position to ask either, knowing that protecting them openly when they had managed to get away wasn't something that helped her case.

Eventually, having recieved punches and kicks from her interrogators, and professed the truth for what felt like the hundredth time, one of the Breen stepped up to her, hooked a new chain to the ones wound tightly around her wrists, and promptly dragged her out of the dark room. She stumbled along, and when the door opened, she was momentarily blinded by the glaring light outside the interrogation room. She found herself being led down a winding corridor, which ended in tall double doors. They swung open for her and the security detail of armed Breen soldiers that led her on... and Jennifer found herself in an immense chamber with a pyramid ceiling.

It was the Hall of Heroes, no doubt, and lining the chamber were representatives from the entire Breen Confederacy, Thots representing whatever districts of systems they belonged to, she reckoned, and at the focal point of the room... a Breen with an overly ornate refrigeration suit. The leader of the Confederacy? The Domo? She could but assume so. She was dragged in front of him. Her? Either way, she wasn't alone, because standing there was another individual in a Starfleet uniform. Someone Dewitt recognised from a personnel file on the Allegiant. Captain Bellum, of the Eirene...

Since she didn't know if he was one of the Infested, she had no idea what to expect.

"I don't know this officer," Bellum said, turning back towards the Domo and gesturing towards her. "She does not belong to my crew, but there were more than her in that basement of the Embassy which were no officers of mine. The survivors reported sighting an injured Andorian, and two other male officers in exosuits. They also saw a dead Trill down there. So, my crew were not responsible for what you found in the Embassy, but I cannot speak for the involvement of this person."

Rather than professing her innocence, Jennifer thought of the Trill mentioned.

Zaryn Arn... she realised, eyes momentarily widened. She could but hope the rest of the away team were safe. She kept calm, and once she reached Captain Bellum's side, she tried to stand tall, defying the pain in her face and in her body, bruised and battered as she was. She had difficulty seeing with one eye, but nonetheless stared at the Domo - seated high above them.

"<Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt>," screeched the leader of the Breen Confederacy - the electric sounds of that ornate helmet translated in real time. "<Is what you have professed the truth?>"

"Aye," she said, swallowing, but she stood her ground, not looking at Captain Bellum next to her. Had they really listened, despite the abuse she'd suffered? She cleared her throat, talking more loudly. "It is. There is only one way of knowing, and I have told you what you need to do in order to verify what I've said. On my oath as a Starfleet officer, I swear it is the truth."

Her words were met with silence, and she could feel the eyes of Captain Bellum on her, and he no doubt wondered what she was talking about. He said nothing, however, given present company. It was not his place, standing as they were below the Thots of the entire Confederacy. Eventually, however, the Domo raised a hand.

All around the large chamber, the doors opened, and some kind of technological devices were rolled in. Moreover, the vents along the ceiling began to hiss as well. Knowing what was happening, Jennifer turned towards Captain Bellum and backed away from him, waiting for it...

But Bellum, he merely seemed perplexed, unknowing what was happening in the chamber. There was no sign of him reacting otherwise.

Yet close to the Domo... one of the Thots screeched - the helmet distorting the vocal pain. Like a ripple effect, the Breen took their distance as the Thot began to flail and thrash. He tore off his helmet, and Jennifer could see a face there. A bronze face... twisted in torment. Chartreuse eyes wide and teeth bared, it clutched its torso in pain. Jennifer might have known what was happening, but it was nonetheless the first time she'd witnessed the effect it would have on them.

In short order, the Infested toppled over, his insides phase-fused with his parasite.

Both dead.

Shocked, Jennifer remembered what Doctor Nicander said in his witness account, that he'd been seeing through a visor in his vision. Of course it hadn't been Bellum or the Ambassador. It had been one of the Breen he'd visited when using his farsight.

"<You may go,>" said the Domo after some time spent looking on the prone Thot, turning to Captain Bellum. "<Return to your ship and set a course back from whence you came. The Eirene will be escorted to the border of Breen space, and the Confederacy today sever all diplomatic ties with the Federation. Our border is hereby closed, and any approach by Starfleet vessels is hereby considered an act of aggression... and Breen will answer in kind.>"

As if slapped in the face, unsure what had actually just transpired, Captain Bellum looked at the Domo, then at Dewitt... "What is the meaning of this? I have lost crew, and I have no answers. We..." Then, trailing off, the Captain resigned himself to the fact he had nothing to barter with. Eventually, he tapped his combadge. "Bellum to Eirene. One to beam up."

Jennifer had mixed feelings about what had happened, thinking of missed opportunities and risks, before the Domo addressed her again.

"<Since they brought the explosive, there might be others on that starship, and given what almost happened here today.... the Confederacy will not risk further Starfleet presence while we purge our ranks from this new threat - scorching our halls with these anyon particles.>"

Dewitt raised her chin, and as much as she felt like collapsing on the floor in the knowledge that she had made her interrogators listen... she stood tall. She took another breath and wet her broken lips. "Does that include me?" she asked, clenching her jaw.

The Domo had in answer ready, and did not wait long before he gave it.

1 HOUR LATER | 1000 HRS. | OUTSKIRTS OF THE SYSTEM | USS ALLEGIANT

In hiding, the cloaked Manta-class scoutship bid its time while the injured recovered, waiting for a sign of life from their lost Captain or the potential return of the Erudite - neither of which were guaranteed.

Without options, cut off from communications and with no allies for hundreds of light years, the remaining officers in the away team had no recourse but to wait, in hope for a sign of what would be the ideal option for them. It could be, if they made no contact, that the only option was to begin the long, long voyage out of Breen space. With weeks and months of travel ahead, they could merely hope to access a Federation relay network in order to get their subspace communications reaching a friendly ear.

It had been almost three hours in limbo since the orbital strike next to the Embassy, and the extraction of the remaining away team. Too short of a time to make a definitive call on what to do next, and too long to not feel the vast extent of doubts creeping in.

Alone, in silence...

...until a chirp was heard on the bridge.

[USS Allegiant, this is the Voice,] said the Savi rebel leader on the screen, standing there in his black body suit and even blacker eyes. [The Erudite has returned to Breen space. We are currently orbiting the planet. I believe your mission in Andorian space must be deemed successful, and the majority of the away team survived. Do you require extraction?]

In twelve hours, the Erudite would be ready to return to the Theurgy with a final quantum slipstream jump. Before then, the fate of Captain Dewitt remained unknown, just like the potential retaliation of the Breen Confederacy.

Decisions needed to be made, and soon enough, the crew of the Allegiant were able to trade words with Frank Arnold's half of the away team.

OOC: Since @uytrereee just posted, the 7 day deadline begin for all other writers, which can both cover reactions to Arnold's speech (if your character was recovered enough and present on the Erudite for that), the 1 hour QSD flight to Breen, and the arrival. The remaining crew of the Allegiant have the above segment to react to, and just like it was stated, decisions needs to be made for the 12 hours ahead. When that time is up, the Erudite is ready to return to the Theurgy in Klingon space.

Tentatively (In-Character decisions pending), this post opens up for Supplemental Threads belonging to Chapter 05, and the naming convention of those threads is CH05: S [DXX|YYYY] Insert Title.

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #35 – March 05, 2021, 05:55:08 PM

[ Ensign Isel “Foxfire” Nix | Aerodrome | The Erudite ] Attn:
[Show/Hide]

Isel was far from 100%.

She felt like shit, was still sore despite the painkillers, and was still wracked with dizzy spells, though the Savi medical staff assured her that those would be controlled once the medications built up to a proper therapeutic level in her system. Even so, Isel managed to limp and wobble her way to the Erudite’s aerodrome, where their mission commander had asked everyone who was able to assemble. Isel probably shouldn’t have attended, but quite frankly she wanted to get out of the medical wing even for a few minutes.

And so it was that she found herself standing on the edge of the small group who had gathered around Lieutenant Arnold and the gold shirted officer made his speech. Isel swayed slightly as she tried to focus on what was being said, unsteady on her feet and finding it hard to concentrate on Arnold’s words. She glanced around at the group of surviving officers, their number a few less than when they had set out on the mission.

Arnold wrapped up his little speech and Lieutenant zh’Wann give him a “well said”, though Isel hadn’t been able to focus enough to agree or disagree with the Andorian. Isel had been about to turn and wobble her way back to the medical wing when a new figure appeared among them, the Voice of the Savi. The sudden appearance of the hologram caused Isel to stagger back a pace or two, surprise and unsteadiness making for an unfortunate mix. She blinked and tried to focus her mismatched eyes on the Savi, and was mildly successful in the endeavour. The Voice informed them that a Quantum slipstream jump was imminent, and that they would be arriving in Breen space in approximately an hour.

”Oh joy…” Isel murmured to herself, wondering if she’d have any negative effects following the slipstream jump. She almost fell ass-over-teakettle earlier just trying to get off the biobed, and while she’d noticed a slight improvement in the hours since, she wasn’t sure what sort of reaction she’d have to the jump. She could end up on her ass on the deck. Or she could end up yakking all over one of the Savi orderlies. In her rather dazed state, she giggled softly at the notion.

The Voice was still talking, and Isel had missed about half of what he’d said, only tuning her attention in once she realized he had kept going. Something about the Andorians and Romulans and whatnot. Apparently their drone would be fully operational soon as well. Isel doubted the same could be said for her fighter, if it was in half as rough shape as she was.

The speeches done, Isel turned and began to head back to the medical wing to get some more sleep, trying to keep her progress in as straight a line as possible. She had exited the aerodrome and paused in the corridor, placing her hand against the wall to compensate for another wave of dizziness when they Erudite’s Quantum slipstream drive engaged.

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #36 – March 09, 2021, 03:36:54 AM

[ T'Less | Bridge | USS Allegiant | Breen Space ]
[Show/Hide]

She had tried to meditate several times after Ensign Thorne had announced their arrival to where she felt comfortable with them waiting. With the Reman cloak restored, they were undetectable so long as they avoided the planet’s atmosphere. They had been tracked by the disturbances left in their wake and T’Less was not about to let that happen again. The real question was what were they going to do now?

The recent events hard further eroded her emotional control, leaving the Vulcan clutching at her mind to maintain herself. She had clawed some of it back when Zark’s surgery had gone well and Lorad had regained consciousness without any serious issues but that still left several issues to be resolved. Chief among them was what they were going to do about Commander Dewitt and her being held by the Breen. The Commander’s orders had been very clear; do not attempt a rescue. The only way for T’Less to get around those orders were to speak with someone that ranked higher than the Terran female and receive new orders. Unfortunately, despite her earlier, emotionally driven words, she could contact the Theurgy until the Erudite returned.

That raised another issue, who had seniority of command? Dewitt had passed command of the Allegiant to T’Less but Lieutenant Arnold was in command of the away mission to Andoria. The Vulcan had an earlier commissioning date for the rank of Lieutenant than any of them aboard but her sojourn away from Starfleet after the war complicated matters if based on time-in-rank service. And all her thoughts about rescuing her commanding officer, against orders, and logic, were based on the premise that Commander Dewitt was still alive.

CHIRP! Glancing down at her console, T’Less identified the incoming hail as from the Erudite and immediately responded.

[USS Allegiant, this is the Voice,] said the Savi rebel leader on the screen, standing there in his black body suit and even blacker eyes. [The Erudite has returned to Breen space. We are currently orbiting the planet. I believe your mission in Andorian space must be deemed successful, and the majority of the away team survived. Do you require extraction?]

“We do, please transmit coordinates for a rendezvous,” T’Less requested politely. “There is much we need to discuss.” The Erudite’s sensors, being far superior to the Allegiant’s, would hopefully be able to tell them Dewitt’s status and location. After that, they would all need to meet and decide amongst themselves or attempt to contact the Theurgy for further instructions. They had a minimum of 12 hours until the Savi’s ship’s drive was recharged.

They had time.

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #37 – March 12, 2021, 04:11:38 PM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Aerodrome | Erudite ] Attn: @Stegro88 @BZ @Augusteo @Auctor Lucan @Fife @Number6
[Show/Hide]

The trip to Breen space had been, for an observer, almost instantaneous. Their ragged away team, held together by medical knowhow and a strong will carried back to their compatriots, who unknown to them, were in just about as rough of a shape. Their team was two members lighter, their personal crafts ripped from tip to toe, and to show for it, they had a Thalaron Bomb, now inactive, ominously sat aboard the aerodrome deck of the Erudite, like the 800lb gorilla in the room, just begging the question.

He'd returned from the medical wing some hours ago, and now as he studied the monstrous machination, 'We should shoot it into the nearest star' was what came to Frank's mind as he watched the Voice come alive on the view monitor graciously provided to them. Once the Erudite had made contact with the Allegiant, Frank had begun packing, and had asked the other able members of the away team to do the same. They'd need to transfer the fighters and the drone, as well as the bomb.

His first priority of course, was the transfer of his after action report, many sacrifices had been made in orbit of Andor, even if it was just a crew of blackballed traitors, they deserved to know what happened to preserve the fragile peace in the galaxy.

It was these events that led to Frank standing in the Aerodrome, awaiting patiently the arrival of the Allegiant on the deck, hopefully piloted by Jaya Thorne, who if she could would no doubt wave to him through the front viewer as he stood and waved to the craft, hands clasped with the other members of the away team, awaiting it to touch down. He found himself strangely excited to see Jaya again, to hear her version of the events on Breen. Once they'd been able to make comms contact, Frank had comm'd in with the acting commander T'Less, following up on the Voice's comments of success to fill her in on the mission.

He'd spent the time mulling over what they could possibly need to discuss, a complication no doubt in the Breen mission, which was in of itself wrought with possible complications.

Over these same airwaves he'd offer lightly now, "Just ease her in now Ensign, nice and gentle. You're a sight for tired eyes today." Once the Allegiant had set down with a satisfying thud and click of the locking shoes onto the deck, Frank would look to his assembled team, "Alright everyone, gather your things, get them aboard the airlock, no doubt your bunks have been raided." He laughed gently, throwing his own seabag over his shoulder, to head to the airlock.

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #38 – March 15, 2021, 12:47:44 PM

[ Lt. JG Evelyn Rawley, callsign "Ghost" | Main Vessel Bay | Aerodrome | Erudite ]
Attn: @BZ @Stegro88 @uytrereee @DaValle @RyeTanker @Fife @Number6
[Show/Hide]

Having spent the night in that medical area of the Erudite, Rawley had donned her regular uniform for Arnold's previous speech, all the while throwing a worried glance or two in Foxfire's direction. When she left, she didn't follow her, knowing she needed to recover and cope with the personal fallout of the mission. Evelyn's exosuit was already packed, so one hour later, when the Allegiant entered the Aerodrome, she had her stuff ready to be carried back inside the scoutship. The other Andorian, besides Deputy zh'Wann, was taken aboard the Erudite for medical treatment.

As it were, however, there was a situation after the Breen mission. Besides those who had died - the Trill spy and the Ops officer - Dewitt was missing, having sacrificed herself so that the rest of the away team could get away from the patrol ships. It seemed the Reman cloak was't perfect, since just like in the Azure Nebula, a ship with the cloak still disturbed gasses and particles it passed through - thus alerting the Breen. The briefing had started out immediately, since Dewitt was missing, and Rawley dumped her things to the side in the airlock and kept listening to those remaining after the accomplished mission. Most, if not all, of the two teams were gathered, and the briefing about what had happened on both ends of their split mission took place. Arnold detailed what had happened over Andor's orbit, and T'Less explained what had happened in the basement of the Federation Embassy.

Shaken, Rawley might not have known much about what a Genesis Device was, but the Devore had deduced plenty when he defused it and safely destroyed the device afterwards. Evidently the device wouldn't just have destroyed the city down there on Breen, but levelled the entire planet, perhaps even kinda... imploding the star system in the process. Some kind of fucked up terraforming shit, and evidently it had historical connotations that would pin the device on the Federation.

In the end, despite the losses, it seemed the split away team had averted pulling both the Breen and the Andorians into armed conflicts, with enough bad blood in it to keep them fighting no matter what.

"Fucking hell," was all she could say to it all, shaking her head. "All in a bloody day's work."

[ Lt. ThanIda zh'Wann | Main Vessel Bay | Aerodrome | Erudite ]
[Show/Hide]

As one of the four present Lieutenants, Ida stood next to Arnold during the group debriefing, her arms folded underneath her chest and looking towards the deck in thought. It had been a detailed account on both fronts, but the question remained.

What about Commander Dewitt?

"The Savi need time before they can do another jump to the Theurgy, time in which we both have to explore our options and act on them. T'Less," she said, and raised her eyes to look at her friend in Tactical, whom had gotten the orders to not try and rescue Dewitt and instead take the away team to safety and back to the Theurgy. "What do you think motivated Dewitt to give you the order to leave her behind? Do you think she had a motive beyond trying to save the Allegiant from being destroyed by the Breen patrol ships?"

Asking this, she looked towards the rest. "Anyone have an idea? Personally, I wonder if she wanted to try and talk the Breen out of joining the war in case that Infested woman in the Embassy had succeeded. Perhaps she thought it best to keep the away team out of it not just to protect us, but to assume sole responsibility if some kind of bomb detonated. She didn't even know what kind of device the Infested had brought here. In any case, that's no longer required, with that Genesis Device dealt with. So, what's left is the protection of this away team, with the orders to return home and leave her here. That is, unless there is some other reason she gave the specific order to not be rescued. Either way, the question remain... if we follow that order, or take it upon ourselves to bring her back. I suppose the ramifications of that depends on what Dewitt might be achieving in her captivity, and if we would be interfering. Then again, if we don't make the attempt, we will have to live with leaving her behind... potentially being tortured, killed or sold off as a slave."

The Breen kept slaves, that much was well known.

Ida looked towards the present officers, to hear what they preferred to do, before they asked the Savi for any further favours.

OOC: All right! 7 days of posting begin now for everyone, and it's a matter stating whether your character A) Push for trying to save Dewitt or B) That they shouldn't, because she said so. Looking forward to your replies! @RyeTanker , if you prefer to have Zark conscious and somehow present for this meeting in the airlock, let me know!

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #39 – March 16, 2021, 12:14:05 AM

|LT. Vanya |Main Vessel Bay | Aerodrome | Erudite ]
Attn: @BZ @Stegro88 @uytrereee @DaValle @RyeTanker @Fife @Auctor Lucan
While some parts of her were happy to be amongst Starfleet officers again, others were very worried indeed. The news that gathered them together, and it didn’t take Vanya long to pick up on the grim mood

Vanya listened very carefully, there was so much to assimilate. A genesis device was something that was whispered about at the Academy. Because it was forbidden technology, virtually nothing about it was known, other than its destructive power and the fact it was originally intended as an aide to terraforming. As such, it had become almost as mythical as Pandora’s box, or Iconian gateways. However, what was known is that In its own way a genesis device was just as dangerous as a Thaleron weapon

Of more import was the missing crew member. Dewitt. It was a difficult thing for her to consider, on one hand, the part of the Romulan android that was pure machine could see it as an exercise in numbers, cool hard and inescapable

“She gave an order.” Vanya said. “Isn’t that the point of the Kobayashi Maru, to teach Starfleet officers that there is no such thing as a no win scenario? Sometimes as Starfleet officers we have to give up our own lives if it means that we save as many other lives as possible. We’ve already lost so many people, here and at Andoria. We just don’t have the resources we would if we were part of Starfleet.”

Vanya let the thought hang in the air. She wasn’t completely sure that she believed it. The other side of the issue. She didn’t know Dewitt personally, but what if it was Nat that had made that call? Right now Vanya may well be trying to steal a auxillary craft, or take over the whole damn ship to find her again.

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #40 – March 16, 2021, 05:12:54 PM

[ Lieutenant T'Less | Airlock | USS Allegiant | Breen Space ]
[Show/Hide]

The Vulcan’s recount of the events of their mission, both on the Allegiant and down on the planet itself, was as factual as the tactical officer could make it. She had had discussion with everyone present to consolidate what they knew into a single report that would be clearly understood by whomever read it. T’Less had tried her best to be sympathetic to the losses they had sustained but her training told her that now was not a time for emotional breakdowns. There was too much at stake if a more desirable and positive outcome was to be achieved before the Erudite’s systems were recharged enough to allow them to jump back to the Theurgy.

ThanIda’s familiar voice broke her recollection of her report and she listened more closely as the Andorian asked her opinion about why Commander Dewitt had done what she had done by surrendering to the Breen. Her words after that, had echoed several of the Vulcan’s own thoughts in regard to the Terran’s motivations for her actions and what they were going to do now about potentially recovering her.

“I cannot speak to Commander Dewitt’s motivations, only what I believe was the intent behind her actions. She wished for the mission to be successful, and, in the moment, surmised that the highest chance of that success was with her surrendering herself to the Breen. Given time to look back on the events of the mission, I cannot disagree with her course of action,” T’Less said, her voice even and curt as she came to a decision.

“Before we can begin planning any sort of rescue, even against orders, we must know the location of Commander Dewitt and, if possible, what her status is,” T’Less declared, crossing her arms. “If the Breen have executed her, then there is no mission to perform. I will go to the bridge to contact the Savi and ask them if they could use the Erudite’s sensors to attempt to locate the Commander. I doubt that there are many other Terran females within the system now that the embassy staff have been evicted.”

T’Less had left the airlock and returned to the bridge, heedless of anyone accompanying her after her pronouncement of what needed to be done. The chain of command was still in disarray, so she used that to her advantage to set events in motion. It was the logical course to take if her belief on their time restraints was accurate.

“Allegiant to Erudite, Lieutenant T’Less requesting to speak with The Voice. I need to make a request for his assistance,” T’Less said politely over the channel. When the hail was accepted and a Savi face appear on the screen, the Vulcan continued. “I respectfully request to know how long it will take for the Erudite to be ready to jump again. I also request that you use your ship’s sensors to try and ascertain the location and status of Commander Dewitt.”

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #41 – March 17, 2021, 09:37:33 PM

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Somewhere in Erudite]

Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell felt awareness come back slowly, then it seemed to stop. Her consciousness was attempting to bring her back to the world of the living, but it was running into a solid buffer that refused to let her waken fully. It was almost like an out of body experience, except with no vision whatsoever. Her ears weren’t working to well either. She could hear voices and noises, but it was like they were being filtered through a pane of glass, muffled and distorted. Her shapely brows would have knotted if she’d had control over them, but that wasn’t the immediate problem she had. Thoughts began to form in her head at a syrupy pace. What were they saying about me? Where am I?

“…frankly surprised she’s still alive after all the trauma she’s taken. Her insides look like Swiss Cheese…….It’s a human food with lots of holes in it.” That voice is familiar….was it Doctor…….Hernandez?

”I see. The comparison is apt. My people have not seen such damage to an organism in many many of your years. The work is crude but effective.” That voice is very strange, it sounds like a…..Savi?

”She is in critical, but not life threatening condition Doctor Hernandez. I will begin immediately to repair the damage. She will be whole when I am done, but in some pain from the recovery. It will take 3 to 4 of your hours.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the biomonitor. You hang in there Lt. Zark, we’ll have you fixed up in no time.”

Thanks Doc With anesthesia rolling into her veins, the corners of Lt. Zark’s mouth tried to pull back into a little grin as unconsciousness took her again.

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #42 – March 20, 2021, 05:01:43 PM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Airlock | USS Allegiant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Stegro88 @Number6
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Frank had hoped that by now, back on the Allegiant, perhaps they'd get some good news. Their mission on Andoria had left him beleaguered, and the time afterwards licking their wounds, hadn't done anything to lift his spirits. Now back on the Allegiant, or at least in the airlock, things were equally as dire, Jen was not with the ship. Either missing in action, presumed dead or irretrievable. The news had almost flattened him, perhaps among the four gathered Lieutenants, Arnold and Dewitt might have had the longest relationship, and if he had to guess, certainly the most personal. The prospect of another loss today, turned his stomach.

He stood next to Ida, close but not shoulder to shoulder. These last events had hardened Frank's exterior, but for some reason he felt a previously unknown closeness to both ThanIda, and the rest of the crew that had joined him on their away mission. He wasn't bubbly, or his animations laden with chuckles, he was plain spoken. Perhaps it was fatigue, grief, Frank couldn't put a finger on why his first words after the briefing were, "We're not leaving her here" but they were.

He took a breath, and offered, "It's irrational, unreasonable, and almost foolhardy to think we'll be able to just get J...Commander Dewitt back, but I think we've all had enough of leaving friends behind for today." He gave a slow nod, "I served with Commander Dewitt during the Dominion War. She's always had a streak of pragmatism that overrode self preservation." He rolled his shoulders, and offered, "She's ordered us to leave, but she can court martial us when we get her back. I can't put together who the ranking officer is among us, but it's safe to say one of us is now. The authority to guide command decisions on this mission with information as it exists from our point of view, is ours. Has been since Commander Dewitt went missing in action."

He rolled his shoulders and took a breath, "It is my interpretation that we have an obligation to confirm Commander Dewitt's fate, and if she is alive, make every attempt to return to the Theurgy with her without extending our time here beyond the time it takes the Savi to charge their drive. We're Starfleet, Kobayashi Maru be damned, we do not fritter away our allies to achieve our aims."

Frank's mind was made up, unless one of the other officers could change it. He looked between the other three lieutenants, service jacket hanging open, revealing a grey tank top beneath it, tired eyes carrying heavy saddlebags, and the look of fierce determination as he searched each of their three pairs for a counterpoint.

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #43 – March 25, 2021, 01:40:22 PM

[ Lt. JG Evelyn Rawley, callsign "Ghost" | Airlock | USS Allegiant, on the Erudite ]
Attn: @BZ @Stegro88 @uytrereee @DaValle @RyeTanker @Fife @Number6
[Show/Hide]

With the higher ranking officers having said their part respectively, Rawley felt she didn't had much to offer. For while Lieutenant Vanya took a less overt stand for liberating Dewitt, instead being more cautionary in how they had already suffered losses after their bi-font mission, and the Andorian Deputy tried to determine if they might be doing the wrong thing in doing so - possibly having in mind that the Breen weren't to be provoked further - Frank Arnold obviously wished they'd make the effort to bring the Dewitt back. In the end, T'Less took the pragmatic approach in how she went to the bridge in order to contact the Savi leader, just to explore their options.

Frowning, Rawley looked towards the deck while the briefing was wordlessly adjourned. This, in wait for T'Less to have news. She looked up, seeing Jaya Thorne there - the shuttle pilot - as well as Eun Sae Ji, whom Rawley knew well from the Fighter Assault Bay. Just like herself, neither of them seemed to have words to offer, just like the Devore engineer and the Reman. Their superior officers had spoken, and for the time being, no decision had been made. Until they heard ought else, Rawley supposed they had to sit on their hands. "Fuck I hate waiting..."

Having made that comment, she went below decks to bring her stuff to her bunk. To rest, and think of how Nix wouldn't be flying with the Lone Wolves any more. She thought of Isley too, whom she'd known since they fled Earth, and all the other Wolves she'd seen die or leave the squad. She laid there, thinking about what would become of her squad in the mission ahead, and if they would ever be a fully numbered squadron yet again.

[ Echtand qi Versant | The Quarters of the Voice | The Erudite ]
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"On screen," said the Voice, after one of his bridge officers transferred the transmission from the Allegiant, which had docked in the Aerodrome some time ago. Once the screen revealed a face, it wasn't Dewitt's, but that of the Vulcan tactical officer. "This is the Voice."

In quietude, Echtand qi Versant listened to the requests made, and he sighed quietly, a frown touching his pale brow. "Our reactors have already begun compensating for the last usage of our quantum slipstream drive. The normal cycle for full utilisation is twelve hours, but from what I gather, that is not what you are asking. At the cost of a longer time for subsequent maintenance, the cycle can be halted at seven hours in order to grant passage back to the Theurgy ahead of time. Klingon space is not too far away, after all."

The second question implied, perhaps, the manner in which he'd already granted the Theurgy officers that were at Andor usage of the Erudite's sensors to aid them in their mission. Slowly, he folded his arms across his chest, not liking the development in how he - again - were supposed to directly aid non-Savi. This, in violation of the Old Code, but a decision on his own part to make amends for what had befallen the Theurgy crew on his birth-ship, the Versant. Had he given them too much, making them expect this manner of direct assistance on a continual basis? As it were, given the aid already rendered, and knowing the priority the Federation officers held on saving their peers instead of considering them expendable for the greater good, Echtand... felt himself moved by the foolish empathy.

Perhaps it was contagious? A parasitic idea transferred between alien minds? Not literally, but the way beliefs make themselves manifest across cultures.

"I will look for her, and collect as much data as our sensors can. This, to assist you in any attempt at liberating her." In case the Vulcan missed the preamble of the accord, he clarified. "Consider this a personal favour, for it remains a violation of the Old Code. I will gather the intel under the pretence of Savi interest, and send it to you from here. Do not speak of this to anyone."

Then, he terminated the transmission and stepped away, questioning his choices.

By the Archive, my sympathy for these primates will be my downfall.

FIVE HOURS LATER | 1500 HRS. | JUST AFTER THE END OF THE BATTLE OF THE HOUSES IN KLINGON SPACE

[ Lt. ThanIda zh'Wann | Airlock | Erudite ]
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Over the course of the past five hours, there had been opportunity for personal time of reflection, before the Voice contacted them with a data batch of sensor readings detailing the Hall of Heroes. There was no dearth of intel in the package he sent them, for not only was the life-sign of Dewitt high-lighted as a code input for the Allegiant's sensor array, but the leader of the rebel Savi had also transferred detailed schematics of the Breen's seat of power. There was such a wealth of information about possible insertion points and landing zones for the Allegiant that it had taken the away team more than an hour to just sift through everything. Maintenance tunnels, weaknesses in internal surveillance systems, sensor nodes and guard rotations were all just the top layers of the information, but most importantly...

...it showed that Dewitt was still alive, her life-sign active yet stationary in one room. That was all they needed to make the call.

They wouldn't leave her behind.

"Attention," said Ida, whom being the combat veteran was going to spear-point the infiltration team. She was wearing her scratched and dented exosuit, with her helmet under her arm, and she rested her Accipiter against her shoulder. The survivors of the away team as a whole were gathered in the airlock once more. Even Zark, whom the Savi had patched up well enough to participate in the mission as well. Something quite welcome, given their diminishing numbers. "We are taking a great risk, all for sake of bringing back one of our own. By all indications, the Breen have not been provoked to declare war against the Federation, but we cannot know for certain what their long term ambitions are. So, by Lor'Vela, if we attempt to bring Dewitt back now, we might provoke them to do something that will cost countless lives in a war to come."

Ida angled her antennae towards them all. "In other words, I don't think I need to stress how important it is that we are not caught as we extract her. This is downright folly, in the greater context, but we have the Savi intel on our side. If anyone could successfully infiltrate this pyramid, it would be us, so while we are taking a great risk... it is a calculated one."

He looked between their individual faces, knowing that they were familiar with the plan, and it was merely a matter of completing the mission within two hours, since the Erudite would be leaving for Klingon space then - returning to the Theurgy.

"Thorne! Launch the Allegiant. T'Less, we'll be on comms, and good luck. Away team, stand ready for insertion!" she ordered, and donned her helmet, so that her voice was heard through the internal mic. "Let's bring her back. "

OOC: All right, we're off! Here is the Round-Robin plan, as discussed over Discord!

~~0) Mission Prep~~ - @Auctor Lucan
1) Insertion - @Fife
2) Infiltration - @DaValle
3) Brief Mishap - @Number6
4) Getting To The Right Place At The Right Time - @RyeTanker
5) Dewitt Encounter - @Auctor Lucan
6) Exfiltration - @Stegro88
7) Escape - @uytrereee
8) Boarding the Erudite. Chapter Ending with QSD Jump - @BZ

Those on the Allegiant's bridge, whom will be following the development on the screens showing the feeds of helmet-cams, are T'Less, Thorne, Rawley and Nix. Ji will be in engineering. The rest are in exosuits and ready to move out. Those not qualified to use the exosuits, this being Frank and T'Kolla, are wearing bio-dampening Savi suits with accompanying helmets. Next poster is Fife, whom through Nix's POV handles the insertion into the Hall of Heroes, alluding towards the cloaked Allegiant heading down into the city once more. Remember to try and not puppeteer each other's characters overtly, but ensure progress with each post. Have fun everyone!

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #44 – March 25, 2021, 11:20:46 PM

[ Ensign Isel “Foxfire” Nix | Bridge | USS Allegiant NX-80978 ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @BZ @Stegro88 @uytrereee @DaValle @RyeTanker @Number6
[Show/Hide]

Isel sat at the Ops station on the bridge of the Allegiant, her gaze moving between the view of the Erudite’s bay on the viewscreen and Thorne at the CONN station to her right as the Human piloted the Manta-Class scout ship clear of the Erudite.

"We're clear of the Erudite." Thorne announced, and Isel knew that was her cue.

”Engaging cloaking device.” Isel said as she punched in the command on the Ops console. ”Cloak operational and functioning normally.” She hoped it would stay that way. She wasn’t used to operating this sort of equipment, and had only received a hasty crash-course on the cloak’s controls prior to the launch of the mission. It felt strange to the Vulpinian to be on the bridge of the Allegiant rather than the more cramped cockpit of her Valkyrie, the ship being much larger than what she was used to operating. Though with her record of crashing and nearly dying as a result of heavy damage twice over the past month or so, it might not be a bad thing that she wasn’t in the cramped confines of her fighter. Or what was left of it, at least.

Isel activated the restraints on her chair as the Allegiant gained speed, the action taken as a precaution against her being hit with another wave of dizzying imbalance rather than in anticipation of any sort of turbulence. She hoped the precaution would be unnecessary given that she had taken an extra dose of the medicinal cocktail the Savi had provided her prior to the mission’s launch The Savi had warned her against taking excess amounts of the drugs, speaking in their usual complex and incomprehensible jargon, though Isel figured these were extenuating circumstances which warranted the risks. Whatever those risks may be…

Isel glanced at the viewscreen again as Thorne piloted the Allegiant past the Erudite’s cloaking field and towards Breen, watching as the planet grew larger as they closed the distance. Forcing her eyes back to the console in front of her, Isel tapped in a series of commands and brought up a portion of the data the Savi had provided them for this mission. A schematic appeared on one of the screens before her, with three possible insertion points marked as primary, secondary and teriary respectively, as well as primary and secondary exfiltration points. If all went according to plan, then the secondary and tertiary insertion points would not be needed.

Cross your fingers… Isel thought to herself, the Vulpinian knowing it was a gesture the Humans used for luck, though she refrained from actually performing the action.

There was mostly silence one the bridge as the Allegiant continued on course, and the tension in the air being almost palpable. Isel wondered briefly if the away team gathered in the airlock was feeling the same sense of tension, though he thoughts were interrupted as Thorne spoke once again. "We're entering Breen's atmosphere. Tell the away team to get ready."

After a quick glance down at her console, Isel reached up and tapped her combadge. ”Nix to away team. We’re three minutes out from primary insertion site. Get ready.” The team alerted, Isel prepped for the transport of the team to the surface. The transport cycle would have to be completed quickly, with as narrow a beam as possible to avoid detection. Isel continued to monitor their progress, and a short time later tapped her combadge again to open the channel to the away team once more. ”Twenty seconds out. Standby.” Isel ran through the countdown in her head as the cloaked Allegiant was maneuvered closer to the Hall of Heroes, their timing on point to coincide with a gap in the Breen security patrols. ”Five seconds…” Isel could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears as her fingers hovered over the transporter controls in anticipation.

”Energizing.”

With that word, Isel initiated the transporter cycle which would quietly deposit the away team in the Hall of Heroes. ”Insertion complete. Away team successfully deployed.” Isel reported over her shoulder to the rest of the bridge.

They’re on their own now… She thought, though she chose not to speak that last part aloud.

OOC: Thorne's dialogue written with BZ's permission.

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #45 – March 26, 2021, 01:19:39 AM

[PO2 T’Kolla | Hall of Heroes | Breen]
^{Attn: @Auctor Lucan @BZ @Stegro88 @uytrereee @RyeTanker @Number6 @Fife}
[Show/Hide]

The time passed second by second and just before the Allegiant would eventually transport them down to the surface Taa’gur took one last breath and closed his eyes. The energy field that build up around him and transported his matter from the ship down to the planet forced him to open his eyes again though. Now he was on a mission again and any performance under one hundred percent was too less. By the time he opened his eyes, he already stood on solid ground, raised his weapon and his view scanned the area where the away team just materialized in. The room was mainly filled with huge barrels filled with unknown liquid, but beside them there was nothing else, or more specifically no one else, in the room.

“Clear.” Taa’gur told the remaining team through their intercom, waiting for the other team members to conform it. As soon as they did so he lowered his rifle slightly and made his way for the first door on their way through the building. The main reason he rushed there as the first was to ensure that neither of the security officers would just go through it before he could disable the camera’s system as good as possible. He opened a smaller hatch beside the door and connected his suit with the Hall of Heroes’ intern system. It almost felt like cheating as the suit interacted with the system and offered the Devore options, he could have never archived so fast with Starfleet equipment only. After some seconds he had direct control over the cameras for almost all levels and the easiest thing to do for him, he thought, was to simply stop the live feed. None of the surveillance systems would have stopped working on the first view and it was at least partially his hope that no Breen guard would be able to tell the difference during their mission. “Surveillance systems are down.” He mentioned for the others and watched how two of them were moving through the door already. One of their security officers was the last of the group and waited for him to went through the door as the second to last. On his way out he saw Arnold in the extraction room, as it was his job to secure it till they would come back. He gave his superior a last nod before he moved behind the remaining members.

Whenever they reached a corner or heard voices on their way the tension rose significantly. Though they just had to make a rather short way to the turbo lifts it still took them almost forever as they had to evade guards multiple times. Taa’gur carefully observed the timer he has programmed in his helmet. The two hours they had were elapsing drastically fast against them. Still after all they reached their first goal, the turbolift. Now they had to get all the way down to one of the lowest levels to reach Dewitt’s location. Briefly Taa’gur overwrote the turbolift’s commands to ensure that it wouldn’t stop on it’s way for any Breen office worker. At least for one side such an encounter would have ended in a disaster and considering the sheer muscle power the away team had only from Ida and Lorad Taa’gur doubted it would have been them. The Devore checked the rifle he carried with him several times while they were standing in the lift. Not that either the fire option – stunning – nor the general status of it changed, but it calmed him down knowing that his weapon was ready. He glanced at the display in front of him. “We’re almost there. Fifteen levels left.” He said aiming his rifle back at the door in front of him. Eventually the elevator stopped. The ends of six rifles pointed at the door as it slid to its sides and offered them a view on what was behind it.

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #46 – March 28, 2021, 10:04:30 PM

[Lt. Vanya| Hall of Heroes | Breen]
Attn: @Auctor Lucan @BZ @Stegro88 @uytrereee @RyeTanker @DaValle @Fife

As they traversed the Corridor, Vanya became enamoureed with the decorations. Set into the walls of the corridor were several items that Vanya recognised as early versions of Breen helmets. These belonged to Thots and other agents that were clearly revered for one reason or the other. Some were apparently heroes of the planets early conflicts. Curiously, instead of soldiers or pilots, they were dedicated to spies and saboteurs, some with their deeds not revealed until decades after their death. As Vanya moved down the corridor, the displays began to get more ornate. As well as helmets that were gradually becoming more like the ones worn by contemporary Breen there were other aspects too. Phasers, weapons, PADDS, trophies of infiltration missions.

Then something caught her eye, something that was intimately familiar to her, yet it was something she had never seen before.

It was a patchwork of six spherical “lobes” tied together with densely bound fibres. She didn’t need to know Breen (although she did) to understand what the title plaque read.

“Romulan Duotronic Brain, captured by Breen operatives.” Her eyes caught the date on the plaque. From Vanya’s understanding of the Breen calendar, this was five years after she escaped Romulus. All the other android were supposedly destroyed, and her mother was presumeably killed as well.

So where did the brain come from?

She decided it was time to get an answer to that question. The underground layer was in one of the most secure areas of the hall. The objects seemed to celebrate espionage, and appeared to be momentos of ill gotten gains.

Before any of the away team could react, she went over to the stand. Holding out her hands, she pressed against the glass, and lifted it up. There was a pregnant pause as Vanya expected an alarm to trigger, or a siren, or some other sign of danger.

Instead, there was silence.

“I knew it wasn’t linked to any alarm.” She said as she gently set the alarm to one side, and picked up the brain. “I need to know who this was.” She said defensively as she tucked the glass to one side. “It’s Romulan, it could be… family.”

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #47 – March 30, 2021, 05:11:32 PM

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Hall of Heroes | Breen]

Being in less than optimal condition, she'd followed the rest of the team at the rear of the pack. Her suit HUD occasionally flickered showing all the damage hadn't been totally repaired yet. Her abdomen was also quite sore still, but she pushed that aside. Not really intending to get into a fight, she'd only brought a Type-II pulse pistol a few stun grenades, and a couple of extra hyposprays. The most important items were on her back, a full out field medical kit and a collapsible hover stretcher. It seemed almost anti-climatic the approach to the supposed location of their mission commander. A few times her breath seemed to shallow as they had to stop and wait for some obstacle to be bypassed as if willing herself to be more invisible. Reaching the Corridor, there were clearly trophies all over the hall, items and trinkets taken with great pride in how they were acquired. A 23rd century phaser, various blades of some ancient make, most of some historical interest, but most were quite irrelevant to the mission at hand as the team continued.

Seeing Lt.Vanya suddenly peel off and head towards a display triggered a sense of consternation in the Andorian which almost turned to panic as the Romulan reached for a piece of glass that held....something and lifted it. Lt. Zark sucked in her breath bracing for the inevitable klaxon of alarms that would be triggered. Her eyes and antennae moved around in confusion as nothing happened. 1 breath, 2 breaths, 3 breath...nothing. Shoving aside her anger and confusion, she touched the android's shoulder. The answer of why Vanya had put the whole mission at risk didn't satisfy the Combat Medic. "Stay focused on the mission at hand. Zark took a moment to check that the hack T'Kolla had put in place was still active. Thankfully it was. "We're falling behind, let's move." the Andorian said as she gently guided the wayward Romulan Lieutenant back on the track of the rest of the team before gently closing the glass case. The entire team had halted to let the two lagging officers catch up and when they did the look on the team leader's face was even more unpleasant than normal. Uh Oh. This isn't going to figure well in the after mission debrief. What was that delightful human phrase? Hopefully it's nothing more than an ass chewing?. With the order to move out, the team got going at a faster pace, possibly straining the suits stealth systems.

Does Theurgy drag the absurd around with it? Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell thought to herself, her mouth was pulled back in a brilliant smile. To anyone that didn't know it, it looked like the Andorian had finally cracked under pressure. Her eyes gave lie to that as she was totally focused on the mission at hand. On the face of it, the situation was absurd, she'd been shot, nearly bled out, broke several medical good practices that were going to set Starfleet Medical frothing at the mouth, engaged an nigh-unkillable alien from another dimension, and did life saving surgery on herself. Now she was on a final do or die mission to leave no one behind having barely woken up from surgery by another species. Her abdomen still hurt and Doctor Hernandez had warned her she was currently drugged up to the point of somewhat capable. So, she followed behind in her patched up exo suit. She'd have to remember to thank whoever did the repairs while she was out on the surgical table. The area where she'd been shot had a metal plate welded over it, so the colours didn't match, and the arm she'd used to jam the grenade into the infested ambassador still had dried blood all over it. Scarred battle veteran indeed. The shrinks were probably going to want to talk to her after this was over. She'd have to start thinking on how to dodge them later.

This delightful reverie and a relaxing of her facial muscles carried her down the Corridor of trophies to another lift system. The team piled in and headed down quickly coming to a stop. As the doors opened, the Lt. Zark's heart seemed to stop for the second time that day as the they entered a long hall, this time with what appeared to be cells sealed by force fields telltaled by active light frames. Had they been spotted? It didn't appear so since nobody reacted to the door opening. As the team moved towards Commander Dewitt's signal, nobody reacted to the intruders. This is eerie. Zark thought to herself as the team moved forward a bit more gingerly than before. Taking in the details, there were long slabs of stone that looked curiously like benches and some surfaces that appeared to tables. There were also some bits of decorations that didn't make any sense. Nothing could be heard from the cells, but some of the occupants looked like they'd gone mad and their cells reflected it from the destruction of it's contents. Others seemed to be making the best of their time and the cells looked quite well stacked with books or screens. One occupant was even playing a musical instrument of some sort and still no noise. A few of the cells seemed quite bare and only held chained souls lost in despair.

Lt. Zark's eyes suddenly widened in understanding and the rictus smile was back as the team arrived at Commander Dewitt's cell. Is this a VIP zoo?

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #48 – April 07, 2021, 12:47:00 PM

[ Lt. ThanIda zh'Wann | Hall of Heroes | Breen ]
Attn: @BZ @Stegro88 @uytrereee @DaValle @RyeTanker @Fife @Number6
[Show/Hide]

Reaching the cell, Ida walked up to the forcefield, seeing Commander Dewitt inside. She took a hard look at the force field emitters, and planned to disable them somehow. It would likely call attention from the Breen, but she saw no other way of extracting the pinkskin. Frowning, she hefted her weapon and was about to take aim...

...when Dewitt was right there at the forcefield, waving her arms in a manner that was universally understood as 'cease and desist'. Ida looked away from the sights of her weapon and upon the Commander, her frown deepening. The pinkskin was trying to say something, muted as she was, and then she pointed at the control panel next to the cell. She wanted to be heard, and there had to be a way to let sound travel past the forcefield. "She wishes to speak. Can someone figure out how to let her do so?" said Ida and lowered her weapon, stepping back to let someone more technically able figure it out. The trick was to do so without triggering any alarm, but fortunately enough the Breen seemed almost arrogant with their security protocols, not expecting the Hall of Heroes to be infiltrated. When they could hear Dewitt's voice, she was talking quickly.

"Listen to me, you need to leave, immediately," she said, lips tight in urgency. "I am being moved any minute now, and if you are caught here, everything will be ruined."

"What?" said Ida, looking at the woman. "Shelat, we can bring you out of here before that." The first thing evident about Dewitt's appearance - which had completely pulled attention from the partial Breen uniform she wore - was the bruising on her face. It had signalled rough treatment... yet the discolouration seemed almost residual, as if she'd been given medical attention.

"They are preparing to house me in the upper levels of the building, as I will be advising the Domo and the Thots on the nature of the enemy," she said, and gestured towards a table inside the cell, upon which a helmet sat - looking just like the kind all the Breen wore. "I helped them catch an Infested at the Breen Council. They all saw him die when subjected to subatomic anyon particles, using the phase variance that Vael Kaeris discovered not long ago. They found the parasite fused to his insides, and they believe me."

A shiver running up her spine, Ida recalled how Nicander had said an Infested had been wearing a Breen helmet. It had to be the one through which the Doctor had seen the insides of this building, not the Ambassador.

Dewitt continued talking, even as Ida was beginning to see where she was coming from. Their conversation was being heard on the bridge of the Allegiant as well, the feed from their helmets seen on the viewscreen, and Frank Arnold would be overhearing the feed where he awaited the team on the way out.

"Do you understand? I managed to convince the Breen that the Federation isn't the enemy, and the USS Eirene is being escorted safely to the border of Federation space. This, despite the bomb, and despite how you fired into the Breen capital with the Allegiant. I pointed out how the power conduits had been the target after they found the remains of the device in the basement of the Federation Embassy. See? I have been swaying the Breen to stay out of the war, but if you are caught here, the pendulum might swing right back, and the trust I am building will be completely undermined! You need to get back to the Theurgy and leave me behind!"

Frowning, Ida cursed, looking down both ends of the hallway, as if expecting the Breen to show up any moment. "Are you sure, Commander?"

"Yes. Whenever I can, I will try to establish some means of communication with the Theurgy, but I am in a position where I can make the most difference for our mission, so I must continue on my own! They are barely trusting me, and certainly not enough for that trust to extend to all of you. My word will not save you if you are found running around these halls, so get out while you can. That's an order."

Ida took a deep breath, shouldering her weapon. "Understood. You're a brave woman. You should know, also, that we managed to save Laikan at Andor. The thalaron bomb is now aboard the Erudite."

The smile of genuine relief on Dewitt's face lit her green eyes. "Well done, all of you. Now please, go, and tell Ives I will hold the Breen at bay as best as I might, but one day..." she paused, as if unsure how much she ought to say, "the Captain might find more of hir own kind here. I would tell you more, but there is no time. Hurry now, and don't get caught!"

"You heard her, let's go," said Ida and with one final look over her shoulder at the Commander, Ida set a grim pace towards the best available escape route they'd found before they entered the building. Jennifer Dewitt stood there behind the forcefield when the team left her behind, hands clenched at her sides in a mix of worry and determination.

OOC: All right, we're off! Here is the Round-Robin plan again!

~~0) Mission Prep~~ - @Auctor Lucan
~~1) Insertion - @Fife~~
~~2) Infiltration - @DaValle~~
~~3) Brief Mishap - @Number6~~
~~4) Getting To The Right Place At The Right Time - @RyeTanker~~
~~5) Dewitt Encounter - @Auctor Lucan~~
6) Exfiltration - @Stegro88
7) Escape - @uytrereee
8) Boarding the Erudite. Chapter Ending with QSD Jump - @BZ

Next poster is @Stegro88 !

Re: Chapter 05: Veiled Valiance [ Day 02 | 2000 hrs. ]

Reply #49 – April 16, 2021, 01:25:54 AM

[ T'Less | USS Allegiant | Breen ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @BZ @uytrereee @DaValle @RyeTanker @Fife @Number6
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Even as she had kept a wary eye on the sensors, T’Less had listened via the ground team’s inbuilt cameras as they had reached Commander Dewitt and released her from her confinement. Only it seemed, that the situation was quite a bit different from that which they anticipated that she would be in. Somehow, the Terran had managed to expose an infested within the midst of the Breen council and was now poised to act as some sort of ambassador or envoy from the Theurgy to the Breen. Still, it didn’t sit right with the Vulcan that they were leaving her behind to an unknown fate, no matter what her present situation, and long-term potential gain, might provide.

The beep from beside her drew her attention away from the main viewer and she pursed her lips as she gazed down at what the computer had flagged.

[ Lt. JG Donna ‘Chance’ Petterson | Wolf -11 | AKA Maxine ‘Max’ Gentry | Hall Of Heroes | Breen ]
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“Can we pick up the pace please?” Max hissed as they moved back to their insertion point. This was the downside, she knew, of playing a role instead of being herself. The need to do things that were against what she herself would have chosen. But if she wanted to stay in control and eventually be truly free, then, if at least for now, she would have to play the part of a loyal Starfleet officer. Or a loyal renegade one at any rate.

“If want not be seen,” Lorad said from his position at the head of the column. “Then must take time to be shadow.”

“Ground team, be advised,” came the Serious tone of Lieutenant T’Less’ voice across their coms. “Breen patrol ships have altered their patrol routes and appear to be converging on our position. I estimate that you have less than 10 minutes before extraction will be impossible. I would suggest as much haste as can be maintained.”

“Now what do you say big guy?” Max quizzed, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

“Shadows are fleeting,” the hulking Reman intoned as he moved off at a loping pace down the passageway.