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Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #25 –
[Ens Jaya Thorne | Focusing on the Job | Time for Kisses Later | Get This Show on the Road]
@uytrereee




As everyone geared up to leave and head out, Jaya felt a little left out.  She probably should have volunteered for the Allegiant mission, but she had hesitated a little too long.  That was her fault, but also, she felt that it would be important that she and Arnold were not always following each other around.  She needed to make sure they were good together and apart.  Not only that, but she needed to make sure that diving into a new relationship would not hinder either of their work ethics.  Jaya was a fun girl, she thrived on a good time and laughter, but she also would not give up the controls to her favorite ship even after death.  She wanted to fly, she always wanted to fly, adrenaline was always pumping through her veins it was what fueled her life, got her out of bed in the morning, if she wasn't flying it was as though she was missing a great part of herself.

The others slowly left the Bridge only to be replaced by those that would sit in those seats for now.  Arnold was almost always in the Engineering seat, she wondered who they would send up next.  Though rumors abounded about the Chief Engineer but Jaya had not ever actually seen the woman.  Rumors were that she stayed down on Deck or was in her Quarters or with her husband.  However, there was also information floating about her husband, the First Officer, having gone down.  Jaya's experience on the Bridge meant she had worked with Ducote several times since he had come on board the ship and had nothing but good things to say about him.  But, he was gone now, and they had Stark standing temporarily in his place, though.. rumor had it, it was likely to become permanent.

At the comment behind her from said person, Jaya shifted the ship, pulling her in such an angle that there was little possibility that anyone would see the Allegiant leaving.  She was ready for some down time, but to get there they had to finish the job at hand, and Jaya hoped that this would be something that they could do quickly and completely.  Once the ship was in the proper position she looked over at Stark and gave a quick nod so that it was clear they were ready for the Allegiant to do her thing.

Jaya's console chimed in front of her, and she pulled up the message.  A warm smile crossed her face as she sat at the Helms station.  She read the message and the odd little animated emoji from her.. well.. she wasn't sure what he should be quantified as.  Should he be a boyfriend, a friend?  Something?  She wasn't really sure.  She needed to figure out what they were going to actually call it.  She had mentioned that she was only interested in seeing one person, and if he wanted to see others then he needed to be clear from the start because there was no way she was going to share.  She supposed that might shock some people but she also didn't care whether it did or didn't.  Jaya needed something real in her life and she was the kind that wanted to commit all the way.  Whatever it was, she was enjoying it in ways she had not expected to enjoy a relationship like this.

[Stay Safe out there, don't do anything I would do.] she sent back to him with a grin on her face.  It was nice to be comfortable with someone, and honestly, she felt like they got along so well.  It was almost like he was tailored for her.

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #26 –
[ Ensign Lauren Pierce | Bridge | USS Allegiant | Approaching Praxis ] Attn: @Fife @Stegro88 @Sqweloookle @uytrereee @Auctor Lucan @Griffinsummoner @jreeves1701
[Show/Hide]

Ensign Pierce sat at her controls. A slight giggle erupted from her which she quickly caught as the words of the Engineer Lt. Arnold hit her ears. The thought of actually pulling off a barrel roll was funny to her. Not that she was opposed to the idea but it hardly seemed the time for it. In an attempt to stay tuned in to Commander Cross, she perked up, with a slight turn to her head. Thankfully she'd been paying attention as she heard her name again.

"Ensign Pierce, take us up and keep us in low orbit. Keep us in a position where we can extract the away team quickly if things go sideways."

Lauren changed back to front facing the view screen and her controls. "Aye sir. Maneuvering accordingly." She paused her speech to make the necessary adjustments on the navigation. Delicate fingers brushing various locations on the touch panel. Seemingly as if in a musical orchestra. The feeling of the engines and the deckplates reverberations under her feet made her know the vessel was responding. It was something she sorely missed since coming back to Starfleet.

"Now entering low orbit. We should be still in transporter range Commander." She said in acknowledgement. Her eyes brown eyes locked onto the instrument panel to observe the flight pattern and the drop zone.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was having fun again being the CONN officer. Maybe that's why Tessa does what she does still despite the vast array of injuries. Granted, she was safer being here than a Valkyrie as it's more a small ship than a fighter of one. She felt ready in the event that she was needed for combat. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that but these were uncertain times.

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #27 –
[Zyrao Natauna & Zephyr Praise | Bridge Duty | Another Day in the Books | Girl Power on the Bridge]





The tall El-Aurian leaned against the walls of the Turbolift as it rocketed her upwards towards her destination, the Bridge.  Now that they had entered Klingon space, and even better, Qo'nos, she needed to be front and center.  Her time with Foval still a pleasant memory playing around in her mind giving her a sated feeling and it wasn't the physical nature of their relationship but the slow growing built trust and life experiences that they had only begun to tread through.  A metallic container, a deep almost navy blue color, shimmered slightly in the over head light as she brought the metal rim to her lips and took a sip of the newly brewed tea.  It seemed a luxury to have stopped off at her Quarters to brew fresh tea but if she was going to deal with the stares, unspoken questions, and glares of un-belonging in the Bridge crew for yet another rousing eight plus hours she was certainly going to need fortitude. 

The Turbolift stopped momentarily at another deck.  The doors slid open to show a curly haired young thin little thing with pale skin and kind eyes.  They weren't quite green, nor were they quite brown, they were intriguing.  Zyrao didn't move from her position as she screwed the lid back on her tea to keep it as warm as possible for as long as possible.  Luckily, in this modern day she could almost ensure indefinitely when she used this container.

Zephyr stepped onto the Turbolift, looking up from her PADD only long enough at first to notice the woman who was already in the circular tube.  There was an earthy leafy smell that greated her, and her hazel-green eyes widened slightly as she tried to pin point the smell of the clearly brewed leaves that emanated from the container in the El-Aurian's hand.  Zephyr never kept her empathy to herself, but she never invaded the thoughts of others, she was able to keep her eyes, even though she was now Full Betazoid thanks to V and all the fun DNA work that was done to her on the Versant. 

“Your tea smells wonderful.  Is that Vega Root?” she asked as she tucked her PADD away in it's little pocket on her pant leg. 

The El-Aurian rose her brow and her grey eyes shifted to the slight thing, and gave a nod.  “Excellent nose.” she stated simply. 

“Botanist, more than just nose, but yeah, I guess so.” she said warmly a bit of a smile on her face.  “You going to the Bridge?”

“Indeed, you?” Zyrao inquired.

“Yep, Science console needs someone to man it and I figured it'll at least keep me busy.  Boyfriend is out with the fighter pilots and I figure it's best that I am busy.” she chuckled. 

“Oh, dating a fly boy?”  Zyrao rose her brow again.  “Been there, done that, chose a Vulcan this time.” she admitted with a shrug of her shoulders.  “Well mostly.” she chuckled knowing that Foval was also part Borg but there was no reason to go into all of that. 

“Yeah, it's been kind of a thing for a while, but then off, then on, it's complicated.”  Zephyr admitted with a sigh.

“It usually is.” Zyrao said with a nod.

The doors to the Turbolift opened and the pair stepped out, first the El-Aurian who made her way over to the Tactical station in the back where Cross usually was.  It wasn't that she worked with or for Tactical but a lot of the information she needed to be an adequate Liaison was contained here and her battle prowess could also be counted on as a consultant when it was needed so seeing the battlefield, if there was one, laid out for her was also a boon. 

“Natauna, reporting.” she stated to the Acting Captain, simply enough as she signed into her console just to the side of the main tactical table, the El-Aurian script shimmered to life allowing her to do what she did best, be the Middle man.

Zephyr followed the confident woman with her gaze for a moment as she settled herself in.  The slight woman in Science blues made her way to the Science station.  “Lt. Zephyr Praise, reporting for Science.” she stated.  It was odd to be up here, usually this was where Vael would have been.  Or they would have sent their choice up here.  But, because of Vael's recent death, there was no one to step into that role just yet.  Zeph knew that it would be her.  She would forever be marked as the Niga Creator and she doubted it would ever be easily forgotten despite all her efforts to change it, her work for the Theurgy, and Thomas' backing her up.  It didnt' matter, it was something she had done, and even if it hadn't been intentional it didn't take away the horrors that her creation had wrought.  Vael getting cut down by the Klingon boarders was nothing short of a tragedy, Zeph didn't have much experience with the Chief but Vael had mostly left her alone and let her do her thing so long as she was careful and did what she was supposed to staying out of trouble. 

Signing into her console, she was ready to rock.

=========================================
OOC:  From here on, I will probably combine Jaya, Zephyr, and Zyrao into one singular post.  Depending on what is going on.  But I will probably break them up into their own segments unless it's easier to do a joint post like this!  Lets get these ladies some love :)

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #28 –
[ Lieutenant Elro Kobol | USS Allegiant | Approaching Praxis ] Attn: @Fife

Although his grieving Derik had yet to pass, Elro was glad to be off the Theurgy and in the thick of action so he couldn't dwell on the pain. It had threatened so many times to take over completely but his Physician mind kicked in earlier to keep the emotions at bay.

He appreciated Lieutenants Madsen and Kile for resetting his priorities as he had his duty as Chief Medical Officer to the crew. Although they had lost 70 of their family, they had to keep going as the Klingon Empire needed them to prevent the Parasites from screwing up everything. He was still filling out death certificates when he was summoned for the away mission to Praxis.

He casually made the half decision to seek counseling later, though it will be a long time before he could be okay. A part of him still had the desire to join Derik, it was sneaky and occasionally got to the forefront of his thoughts when he was distracted.

Elro had greeted each of his fellow Allegiant crew members before he approached the Vulpinian. ”Ensign, I'd like to do a quick check up of how you are recovering at your next convenience,” he said with a smile that didn't really reach his eyes. He then headed for the small sickbay just down the corridor.

He sat at the console and connected his datapads to the Allegiant's computer. They had the medical files of all the 70 crew members that died and the death certificates he was working on prior. Additionally the battle reports and sensor logs from Thea. Elro got to work on the certificates once again.

"Cross to Doctor Kobol , what's your status?" Cross' voice came over the intercom, "I know the Allegiant's Med Bay isn't as well equipped as you're used to, but make whatever preparation you can. We don't know what the away team might run into down there."

Elro half smiled at his friend's voice, he was glad that he was still with them. Suddenly the war between survivor's guilt, self loathing and desire for revenge as well as to live in Derik's honor played inside him for several moments. He clamped down on his emotions and tapped at his combadge.

”Kobol  here Commander, I managed to get just enough supplies and equipment but I hope you made it clear to the infiltration team that as well and not get into too much trouble.” He stated, ”also why isn't there a medic with them?”
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Lieutenant JG Adam Kingston, Master-at-Arms, (Vector 03 Security) Profile Clickie

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Lieutenant/Dr Elro Kobol, Chief Medical Officer, (Vector 02 Medical) Profile Clickie

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #29 –
[PO1 "Scruffy" LeBlanc | Rear Airlock | USS Allegiant | Approaching Praxis ] @Auctor Lucan

Here he was, his second mission in as many days.  He had been running around Theurgy trying to help with the shipwide repairs underway.  Between that and checking on Tessa’s fighter, he was exhausted.  But he had been called up again for his technical expertise.  He’d take it as a compliment to his fresh dedication, if he wasn’t half-sure they were just desperate for personnel at the moment.  Still, he checked the arm and leg guards cannibalized from a Savi infiltration suit, overlaying his Starfleet stealth suit, securing his helmet and the light collection of tools and equipment he had connected by harness.  When Ida commented on his familiarity with the suits, he responded with “Yeah, I remember how overbearing they are.”  His joking tone quickly soured, however, when she joked about leaving Fisher behind.  Her reassurances as to the rescue effort did little to reassure him, and he was annoyed by the embarrassment he felt.  He certainly wouldn’t choose to leave anyone behind.

As they arrived at the surface, Scruffy pulled himself together and moved out the airlock.  As they moved across the surface, he pulled his PADD and pulled up the mission brief and the limited scans of Praxis.  “At this stage, it could be anything.  We know there isn’t much more than trace dilithium left on the moon after the collapse, but the burst of activity means they are probably trying to get access to whatever’s left.  It would take time to refine enough for even a primitive subspace kinetic warhead, but with all the remaining factories working together, it might be reasonable, depending on how many workers they’ve got on the project.  There was too much EM interference for long-range scans to get a better idea of what is going on under the surface, but I’ll have a better idea once we’re inside.  Only thing that bothers me is they seem to have reinforced the forcefield over the open end of the moon.  Set up to prevent illegal mining from further destabilizing the moon, they probably just didn’t want anyone beaming in and trying to stop them, but it could indicate something more.”

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #30 –
[Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Auctor Lucan @BZ @BipSpoon @Hope 
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With how up and down the past 24 hours had been, hearing that there was a Starfleet starship inbound to the Qo'noS system did little to warm Natalie's heart. That this was a lone vessel was something of a small relief. No Starfleet task force about to descend upon them like a swarm of Tirellian Gnats out to strip the Theurgy and her crew to the bone. That the ship was an Iroquois-class caused her heart to flutter slightly, wondering if, by some miracle of miracles, Anya Ziegler had managed to rise up from whatever shadows she'd been hauled off to and gotten her hands back on the Cayuga. This small hope was swiftly dashed upon the rocks of reality as a channel was opened between the two vessels, and the newcomer was identified as the Oneida, under the command of Captain Jackson.

A bittersweet smile flashed across Natalie's face as the magic words were spoken. While she personally thought the code name 'Freedom Sentinel' a tad pretentious, she wasn't going to begrudge Admiral Anderson his preferences in code names. Nor was she going to turn down a verified ally. They had been few and far between and she felt a bit of a shift, as if a weight was at least partially lifted off her shoulders.

"I'm Lt. Commander Natalie Stark, currently in command of the USS Theurgy. You are a sight for sore eyes, Captain." Natalie had no issues admitting this, as Thea expressed her own thoughts on how their new friends could be of aid. Thoughts that Natalie found reasonable to say the least. "As Thea has noted," Stark gestured to the ships AI, with a fond smile flickering across her lips, "we have the warp fighters if you have the pilots. We're happy to outfit them and put them to use. And it'll be good to have Mr. Hale back."

Before she could continue, she heard the lift opening and noted the arrival of both the ships current liaison on behalf of the Empire, Zyrao Natauna, and a science officer that Nat recognized in passing, having read her file, but having not worked directly with up until this point, Lt. Zephyr Praise. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but then nodded to the two, inclining her head. "Thank you both. Please take your stations."

Returning her gaze to the viewscreen, she smoothed out a non-existent wrinkle on her jacket and moved forward to lead over the Operations console, checking visually that their channel was currently encrypted. Satisfied that it was, the Martian woman addressed the commanding officer of the Oneida. "As you can see sir, the situation is fairly fluid at the moment. I'll have Thea transfer over some of our recent logs. The long and short of it is House Mo'kai has issued something of an ultimatum and we're doing our best to...toe that line to buy time. We lost contact with the Sabine but have teams on the surface following up with both search and rescue operations and...other activities with our allies." Scrambled channel or no, there was only so much that she felt comfortable divulging.

"As noted however, our biggest concern is the potential presence of a Romulan  vessel of some form inbound to the system. We think it might be hiding somewhere out in the wreckage of Praxis, but in all honesty we're not sure. We scrambled what fighters we had, and with the pilots you've...rescued, you said?" That was a story that Natalie would want to know more about later, "That would greatly improve our odds of finding the vessel. Especially if you can offer support there."

Frowning for a moment, she hesitated to ask - seeing as the other ship had taken some obvious damage - but felt she had to press. "We were involved in a shooting match between the two primary waring parties in the Empire's current struggle a short while ago, in an effort to forestall further hostilities that would leave our allies vulnerable to outside threats." Such as Romulan's with thalaron bombs, or our infested 'friends' lurking at the edge of every shadow. There was no need to state it aloud. "Our sickbay was heavily damaged during the fire fight, and the boarding action that followed took a heavy toll. If you have them, we would appreciate any medical officers and assistance you could spare."

Taking another breath, she forced herself to add, "By that same token, if you need any assistance we're willing to spare what we can. Our scan's show you have taken some damage in getting here?"

OOC: I think I covered all the bases there, lemme know if I missed anything critical.

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #31 –
[ USS Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]
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The Oneida dropped out of warp, positioning herself parallel to the Theurgy and the House K'Tal ships. This, while Ensign Henshaw had delivered her sitrep from the different fronts of the development. Thea also followed the development on both her sensors and viewscreen alike, and while the House Mo'Kai ships - with the Ta'rom front and centre - did not stir at the new arrival, they undoubtedly noticed it. They might even have known of the role the 'Freedom Sentinel' had held in making Chancellor Martok reach Qo'noS ahead of the usurper leading their House. A vexing sight, to be sure.

After the Klingon Empire Liaison and a new Science relief officer arrived to the bridge, Stark had replied to Jackson's offer and it seemed she agreed with Thea's suggestions in regard to the inbound Romulan ship. So, in short order, the plan was underway, with Jackson dealing out the orders as needed on the viewscreen. [While the Oneida is damaged,] he said in deep thought, [this is not the time to be idle. If the Praetor has ordered to bomb the First City, we will lay in an intercept course and join the warp fighters in stopping that warbird. Operations, have the Tactical CONN officers aboard appraised and lower our shields for the Theurgy to beam them over, along with any medical officers that we can spare at the moment. Lieutenant Lail, when we have the course setting, move out on my command.]

While the Oneida's Ops officer set to action on his orders, Jackson briefly directed himself to those on the Theurgy bridge again, for while there was a lot to be said in regard to them joining forces... there was only time for so much given the circumstances. [Like I told Captain Ives when he left for Qo'noS... Thank you. If the Theurgy crew hadn't persisted these past months, this new enemy would still have kept us in the dark, tearing us apart from within. I think I speak for all my crew when I say that we are proud to join your cause, because despite the odds, we are fighting for the truth, and that is the best means to challenge the lies that now undermine us all. With the hope that we may speak further later on...]

Jackson then went to his Captain's chair, ending the hail by inclining his head. [...Oneida out.]

While she found herself smiling at hearing Captain Jackson's words, Thea noticed how Conway at Ops sent the coordinates for the inbound Romulan ship, along with the mission details, and arranged for the beaming over of the Oneida officers. So, the Oneida didn't linger in the formation facing the House Mo'Kai ships, instead joining the new warp fighters that launched from Thea's fighter bay - off to assist the Lone Wolves in on their mission farther out in the sector.

That was when something familiar pierced through the background processes of Thea's runtime.

Her eyes widened momentarily. "Captain, the Sabine..." she turned to Stark. "My sensors are picking up her warp signature, not far from where she was estimated to have been shot down over the city. That means the shuttle should be more or less intact, and the crew might have made it. Also..." The excitement faltered. [...the Ta'rom is hailing us."

Once the Klingon bridge appeared on the viewscreen, a gaunt Klingon stood there in Gorka's place - the latter undoubtedly having beamed down to the Klingon High Council. The new Commanding Officer had a sour mien. [This is Captain Aakan of the Ta'rom,] he said gravelly, fists balled at his sides. [We know you sent a shuttle to the Great Hall. So, we can only interpret this in one way; that you still wish to interfere. You were warned, were you not? I will now send the order to have the limbs of your dear officer cut off, one at the time, and this will only stop... as soon as you give the order to cease and desist. Will you comply? You have ten seconds...]

With the face of Andrew Fisher at the forefront of her memory banks, Thea ran a tactical analysis of the situation - the Klingon beginning to count down. There was plenty of time to find possible solutions, less so to actually implement them. Neither of the solutions would preserve the deterrence between the ships orbiting Qo'noS, yet be that as it may... there was an opportunity to exploit. Within milliseconds, she had sent a message to Stark's armrest as well as Thorne at the helm, Zyrao Natauna as well as the three Tactical officers on the bridge. The text flashed before their eyes on the LCARS displays.

THEY ARE BEAMING DOWN MORE MO'KAI WARRIORS
THE SHIELDS OF THE TA'ROM ARE LOWERED
THIS IS THE TARGETTING VECTOR FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS ARRAY
RECOMMENDING A SWIFT FIRING SOLUTION
I SUGGEST HOUSE K'TAL'S SHIP RECIEVE FAIR WARNING

No doubt a new battle was about to begin, but the tactical odds were better than that of the battle they fought hours earlier, and it may save Commander Fisher's life. Thea just hoped the organics around her could act in time, and that House K'Tal would be prepared when the Ta'rom undoubtedly retaliated.

MEANWHILE | PRAXIS
[ Lt. ThanIda zh'Wann | Praxis Surface ]
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"So, Sithick. Do you recognise this area, and Leblanc, do you have any theories on what the Infested might be planning here?"

With crewmen Vansen and Tucker flanking their formation, rifles raised, the Gorn and the pinkskin answered Ida's question. Apparently, the partially destroyed facility ahead of them, which filled one of the cracks of Praxis' surface, had belonged to House Duras. Ida wasn't entirely familiar with Klingon politics, but she did recall something about sisters of that old House, so she trusted that Chief Sithick had the right of it. As for the aims of the Infested, what they might be trying to do, it was rather early to tell, but Petty Officer Leblanc was likely right in that there had to be something on the remains of the moon that could be utilised, somehow. Unfortunately, the tricorder wasn't giving them any clues, so they had to get inside to learn more... though there was a shield preventing them from entering the canyon.

Yet given the state of this place, will that emitter reach every single crevice? she wondered and signalled the team to stop, frowning as she looked down a slanting ravine that might bring them below the surface, and with some luck, through a subterranean path into the ravine that held the bottom of that derelict base. "The shield emitter can't project its shield through solid matter. Let's go."

It quickly turned out they were on to a solution, since there were tracks in the gravel of the moon. Large feet. "Councilor K'Tal's operatives may have come this way as well," she said into the mouth-piece of her helmet, eyes along the sights of her weapon as the static of her voice reached the rest of the team. "Since they haven't reported back, we should be ready for anything. In fact... we might need a distraction."

Tapping the LCARS screen on her wrist, Ida opened a channel to their scout ship. "Away team to the Allegiant. We have found how K'Tal's men got through this shield over the canyon, but since they vanished without reporting back... I wonder if you can create a distraction for us? With a diversion, we hope to get inside the facility from below. We may loose the overall element of surprise... but they can't know we're at their doorstep. What say you?"

The Allegiant was in low orbit of the moon, unseen due to the cloak, but as Ida raised her eyes, she saw how more warp fighters shot past Praxis - vanishing in the same direction that the first group ha gone. Yet these new fighters weren't alone. A Federation starship, Iroquois-class, flew together with the warp fighters... all coming from the Theurgy's coordinates. By Lor'Vela, what is going on?

"Shelat, that can't bode well," she muttered, focusing on the assignment at hand. She couldn't be on top of everything, she knew, so she concentrated on leading the way down the ravine and into a tunnel. She tapped her wrist screen to light the way with her helmet and her rifle, and both Tucker and Vansen did the same with theirs.

OOC: USS Theurgy Bridge officers: So, as you can see, it's time to stop the Ta'rom from contacting the planet-side base that now hold Andrew Fisher. Thea has provided what's needed for any kind of creative solutions you may come up with on the bridge, but I suggest the K'Tal ships gets a wee bit of heads up too as the shit may hit the fan. Here is an image of the Main Bridge for sake of reference. @Hope , feel free to wrap things on the Oneida end here with Lail heading off towards the Romulan ship together with the warp fighters, and then you're bound for the thread Hidden Raptor, and Oneida joining the Lone Wolves there. Just to be clear, however, the Oneida leaves before the spectacle with the Ta'rom begins, everyone! :)

USS Allegiant crew: The infiltration team needs a distraction so that they can sneak inside the shielded facility, drawing attention away from the bottom entrance of the place. Whatever you guys come up with, the cloak might be dropped in favour of power to the weapon systems, right? It may be a Reman cloak, but there isn't enough juice for both. Of course, the facility might have defences too, right? Something appropriate? Which means that the Tellarite NPC in Ops could end up needing medical attention? In any case, here is the crew on the Allegiant (Click "show/hide") for sake of reference again: [Show/Hide]
USS Oneida Medical Officers: Given the onset of a new, much smaller and quicker ending battle with the Ta'rom, I believe there is call for a separate onboard thread for the Theurgy, and as it happens, @Aharon writes the Theurgy's Head Nurse, and we can arrange for that with him now, starting with the Oneida medical officers being beamed into Main Sickbay, right? Doesn't matter to me whom of you write the starter, @Aharon , @Tae or @Luciain , but since there may be other places to feature aboard the Theurgy, I'd love if anyone could set up a new Group thread for that if you'd feel so inclined.

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #32 –
[ Lt. T'Less | Tactical Station | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Allegiant | Praxis ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Fife @Pierce
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In between watching the vid-feeds from the away team, T’Less was also monitoring the larger situation beyond Praxis. Another Starfleet vessel, an Iroquois-class starship, had dropped out of warp and taken up position alongside the Theurgy before changing course and moving off. With it were additional warp fighters and they were all heading off on the same bearing that Commander Ravon and the original Lone Wolves had taken.

“Reinforcements,” T’Less surmised as she adjusted the settings on her sensors. “But I do not see anything along that bearing. Perhaps a cloaked Klingon force?” She redirected her attention to the away team’s location and noted they were advancing cautiously.

“Commander, the situation beyond Praxis is developing but I do not have a complete enough view to be able to do more than surmise at what is occurring,” T’Less informed her superior. “The away team is also approaching the...” Her words were cut off by Ida’s own as she reported in from the surface and requested a distraction.

“Commander, I would recommend moving away beyond visual range and decloaking. We could then return in full view as if we mean to land an away team,” T’Less proposed. “If that doesn’t generate a response, then I would estimate that nothing short of opening fire will.”


OOC: I am happy to post again with T'Less to reflect the changing situation before Lucan posts again if needed.

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #33 –
Lt Sabrina Lail | Main Bridge | Deck 1 | USS Oneida ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Brutus @BipSpoon
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Not diverting her eyes from the viewscreen, Sabrina observed the subtleties of the Theurgy officers as Lieutenant Commander Natalie Stark and Captain Jackson negotiated a plan of action with the Oneida’s newfound arrival in orbital formation over Qo’noS. She wasn’t quite certain what she was looking for - after all, the Theurgy were allies and only hours earlier she had spoken to Captain Ives regarding the Qo’noS situation and the Theurgy. However, given the events of the past hour, could she be blamed for being guarded after arriving at the Sabine’s destination to a scenario she did not expect? Lail pushed all that aside when Stark and Jackson came to a quorum.

A small sense of relief came over Sabrina as Jackson agreed to pursue a potentially inbound Romulan warbird with the support of launching Theurgy warp fighters. The Iroquois-class was in no condition for a full-scale fleet engagement over Qo’noS should one break out but even with the damage and repairs thereto, the Oneida could however take on a single threat with support, Lail thought.

With the ship-to-ship communications channel closed, the Theurgy bridge being replaced by the forward view, the damaged bridge of the Oneida once more came to life as words were put into action. The shields were lowered for the transport of officers immediately aiding the Theurgy and the coordinates of the Romulan threat were received and routed to Sabrina’s station at the front of the bridge. “Captain,” Sabrina turned slightly as she entered the vector into the LCARS display, “we received the coordinates of the Romulan warbird from the Theurgy. The indicated coordinates are deeper in this sector beyond Praxis,” Lail stated.

“Lieutenant,” Captain Jackson began as he adjusted his posture in the command chair, “once our Tactical CONN officers and the requested medical staff disembark, put us in formation with the Theurgy’s warp fighters and set course for the designated coordinates.”

Sabrina nodded her head in acknowledgment of the order while turning to face directly forward. She began inputting commands into the Oneida’s computer to maneuver the vessel away from the Theurgy and into a flight formation with the newly launching warp fighters - the smaller Iroquois-class starship distancing itself from the significantly larger vessel.

“Transports complete,” the Oneida’s Operations officer stated.

“Raising shields,” Lieutenant Commander Ikthan notated.

Executing commands, the Oneida maneuvered from its original position parallel to the Theurgy to a plane above the larger vessel nearing the launching warp fighters rally point.

“Ready for warp,” Lail declared as she made final adjustments to the position of the Oneida to clear the vessel from the Theurgy and provide it a warp fighter screen.

As Sabrina maneuvered the Oneida, Ops and Tactical were busy coordinating with the warp fighters in preparation for the intercept under the mission parameters sent over by the Theurgy. With the warp fighters launched and the Oneida in position, Captain Jackson gestured to engage the intercept course. Following the warp fighters, with a press of one button by Lail, the Oneida’s three working warp engines powered up and the turquoise glow emanating from the engines illuminated the surrounding space as the starship followed the Theurgy’s fighters into warp - on course for the Romulan warbird.

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #34 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Warp Core Room | Lower Deck | USS Allegiant ] Attn: @Stegro88 @Auctor Lucan @Pierce
[Show/Hide]

Frank sat in the engine room. He'd put on some Jazz, because he was lonely down here. Well not really, he put the jazz on because he loved jazz. It got his rhythm thumping for the mission. He couldn't help himself, he paced around the cramped bay, from monitor to monitor. Each time he only paced for three steps, and then he was at the next console. As a result, it ended up looking like a ill-paced dance, where the only move was a long step.

Once they had entered low orbit, he'd switched his sole focus to monitoring the power situation. He took his PADD and a folding chair and sat by the main power junction. Ideally the two engineers in this bay would split the functions of monitoring and on-line adjustments. They unfortunately would not be afforded that luxury. Frank's skill with on the fly damage control, would have to see them through.  He could monitor the power from the PADD in a simplified display, and make tweaks.

He listened to his open channel with the Allegiant's bridge, trying to keep his thumb on what they were going to do next. He listened to T'Less's suggestion, and offered as an additional comment, "Engineering to bridge, I could also very likely drop the cloak in such a way, as to make it look like a power failure, rather than intentional. It might make them more likely to fall for our ruse if that's the way we want to go." He nodded, "And I can have the available power for either weapons, or propulsion. Not running the cloak opens up a world of power possibilities." He cleared his throat and followed up with, "Ensign Pierce, barrel rolls are back on the menu." His tone was jovial, and his jokes were delivered in the same manner as one would deliver a statement of fact. His humor was dry today, and the jazz in the background of his transmission was juxtaposed.

He shifted his position back to the central power control, running his fingers over the touch controls to ready the auto-macro that would make the power adjustments far faster than a human could. This would allow the 'failure' to look more real, since it would not be slowed to the coordination of a person. He shut off his music, to talk more seriously, "Arnold to Bridge, I have a sequence prepared that can drop our cloak, and make it look accidental. Or we can drop it the less deceptive way. Engineering standing by either way."

He added as a last minute note more for himself than for the bridge as he tucked his stylus behind his ear, "I'm going to hold five percent in reserve for emergency transport." He returned to quietly working, and waiting for orders, no more jazz.



Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #35 –
[Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: all on Theurgy Bridge
[Show/Hide]

The proverbial ball had started to roll. With allies now in-system - a notion that Natalie was going to have to wrap her head around swiftly - things didn't look quite as dire as they had before. Having someone of considerably higher rank, with - she presumed - years more experience in the art of command agreeing to her general plan of attack was a sort of confirmation that Nat didn't realize she'd needed - until she had it. Being thanked for what she and her crew were doing...was not something she'd thought to hear. Even her former XO, the Captain of the [i[Cayuga[/i] hadn't quite done what Cpt. Jackson did. She found it mattered, at least to her, quite a bit.

The Oneida would seek out the Romulan threat lurking in the debris of Praxis, thus alleviating Natalie of much further responsibility on that front, and allowing her to focus more on the events in orbit, and on the surface, of Qo'noS. Bolstered thus, she was able to meet, head on, the new threat that bubbled up from the house of Mo'Kai.

In truth, such actions should not have surprised her. While Natalie wanted to revel in the fact that Thea's sensor sweep had located their missing ship, there was no time for such joy. Natalie knew that they had all been living on borrowed time, operating as best they could, to skirt around the line in the sand that the devious Klingon House supporting Gorka had drawn, in an effort to curtail the threat that the Theurgy posed. Dangling the life of the ships Chief of Intelligence by a string in an effort to curb any action that Natalie might take. She liked Andrew Fisher. He was nice, and more so, reliable, a welcome addition to the ship's complement of spies and analysts. In short, he'd had the fine makings of a friend, who was now behind enemy lines.

This was the kind of challenge that the late Carrigan Trent had tried to prepare her for in some of his brutally blunt holodeck training programs. This was the kind of choices she'd watched Ranann Ducote, and even more so, Jien Ives, make time and time again. The needs of the many, she thought, the Vulcan axiom rising in her mind's eye.  She had done, and would do, everything she could to recover Andrew Fisher, including authorizing clandestine rescue attempts. But now all those efforts might very well be for naught.

Listening to Captain Aakan, Natalie could not help but be reminded of Administrator M'Kish, back on Aldea. While this man was clearly a warrior, his gaunt nature reminded her of the beardless bureaucrat, whom had presided over her first encounter with Gorka. One that had nearly cost her the head attached to her neck, an unresolved assault that still made her blood boil (when it didn't wake her up at night in a blind panic). Unfortunate for Gorka's subordinate, the association did little to hide the small look of disdain that flickered over her features, long enough to be noted. Something flashed out of the corner of her eye and she glanced down, noting the text on the panel of her arm rest.

She aught to find some way to talk this through. That's what Starfleet did. But then, Starfleet officers knew that sometimes, decisive action had to be taken regardless of any desire for peace. They'd reached the bridge head of such a moment here, and now. It came down to Natalie. Could she accept that, with her next actions, more lives might be lost.

In the end, standing down was not an option. She nodded curtly, letting Aakan take that as he wished. With her hand on the controls, she typed out a burst message and sent it toward the flagship of House K'Tal, as well as all the officers Thea had contacted . It read simply:

HOUSE MO'KAI OVER PLAYED THEIR HAND.
TA'ROM HAS ISSUED ULTIMATUM.
THEIR SHEILDS DOWN.
ENGAGING ENEMY.
GLORY TO YOU AND YOUR HOUSE.

"Fine. So be it. You authorized our landing and yet use this as an excuse to murder one of my crew. Reap that which you have sown." Even as she spoke, she felt the thrum of the Theurgy as her weapons lashed out...


OOC: Here we go here we go here we go. Sorry for the delayed response on this, works been a beast, but lets get the ball rolling. Anyone on the bridge, feel free to write your characters reactions. Please note that the tactical station is mostly helmed by NPC's, so if anyone wants to include anything from them, have at.

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #36 –
OOC: With few replies, I will have to push events forward at this point nonetheless. Summertime can be busy, so no worries, but with the lack of writing activity I will aim to wrap the events of this thread prematurely so that the story goes on.

[ USS Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
With a feeling of relief permeating her runtime, Thea witnessed the rapid development in a multitude of ways. Not only in the scope of her tactical sensors, but that of her projection watching the viewscreen on the Main Bridge.

Natalie Stark had noticed the message she sent to the Command Chair, and acted on it. Not only in the manner of giving the go-ahead to Tactical a weaponry response to Captain Aakan's threat, but she even acted faster than Natauna in forewarning House K'Tal. It was an efficient method, one message going to all those Thea had contacted, and the outcome was that the Ta'rom had no chance to raise her shields in time.

After the refit that Thea had undergone at Aldea, she had a grand total of eight forward-facing torpedo launchers when in Standard Operation Mode, and the three Tactical Officers on the bridge had already kept their fingers on the proverbial trigger for any kind of sudden development. So, at the go-ahead of Stark's word, a full barrage of photon torpedoes were off and bearing down on the Negh'var-class flagship of House Mo'Kai. The majority of them struck into the unprotected hull of the Klingon ship before the shield emitters lit up again, tearing up the hull and making Thea squint against the silent detonations of ignited air and the loss of pressure of the affected decks.  The hail with Captain Aa'kan was terminated by the impacts. She could see distant specks of debris and Klingon warriors whisking through the conflagrations...

...and the reaction of the Vor'cha-class support ships.

House Mo'Kai's immediate answer.

"They are powering up disruptors, opening fire... but so is House K'Tal," she stated, and the battle began. The critically damaged Ta'rom bit back in its death throes - firing back even as it keeled over. The Vor'cha ships charged, yet as did those belonging to House K'Tal. The stand off had ended, and in orbit of Qo'noS, Thea found herself fighting on behalf of the Martok Loyalists to end the beginnings of a Klingon civil war before it tore the Empire apart.

MEANWHILE | PRAXIS

[ Lt. Cmdr. Cross & Ensign Isel Nix | Bridge | USS Allegiant NX-80978 ] Attn: @uytrereee @Stegro88 @Sqweloookle @Pierce @Griffinsummoner @jreeves1701
The remark from his friend Kobol  had been met with a 'duly noted' and a dismissal, since it was far too late for picking up additional medical officers from the Theurgy at that point, sickbay also being filled to the deckhead with injured from the last battle and not leaving more than Kobol  available for the mission.

Then, with a request made from the Andorian leading the away team - in which a need for a distraction from the Allegiant was merited - Commander Cross listened to what T'Less suggested and what Lieutenant Arnold said they could reasonably do. They had no time for alternatives, and they knew far too little about what the Infested had planned to do from the facility on Praxis, so Cross inclined his head.

"Pierce, you heard her," he said, nodding towards T'Less. "Feign another deployment of a ground force after we decloak, but be ready for evasive manoeuvres. The Breen already did a number on this ship, and there was little time for repairs, so any enemy fire making it past the shields will be keenly felt. Let's go everyone."

Said and done, the manoeuvre was executed, and there was no mistaking the reaction from that supposedly destroyed and abandoned moon facility they'd approached. In short order, weapon signatures flared to life on he viewscreen, indicating that they were being targeted.

"Okay, make her dance, Pierce. Arnold! Any time you can restore the cloak now... T'Less fight back until then, but make sure you avoid firing against our own down there."

[ Lt. ThanIda zh'Wann | Praxis Surface ]
[Show/Hide]
With crewmen Vansen and Tucker flanking their formation, rifles raised, Ida and the others on her away team heard the reply from Commander Cross in their helmets.

[This is the Allegiant. We're drawing their eyes now. Go in, find out what they are up to and stop it. Cross, out.]

"Acknowledged, moving in," said the Deputy, and motioned towards the narrow crevice in which they'd get past the shield and to the bottom of the ravine. And while there were no sounds to accompany the display, the fallout of the Allegiant's distraction was plain above them all. Clearly, the base wasn't as destroyed as it originally appeared, or some of the defence systems had been repaired, because the cliffs around them were suddenly lit by green surface-to-air disruptor cannons. Clearly, those inside the base weren't keen on being approached. Ida could but hope the new officer at the helm of the Allegiant knew what she was doing, and that T'Less could handle it on her end.

It didn't take them long to follow in the footsteps of the House K'Tal operatives, with the narrow path leading them past the projected shield and into the ravine. There, a narrow path descended to the side of the destroyed structure, and with a short and deft climb to another plateau in the side of the ravine, they could see an airlock, likely used for small utility crafts not unlike the worker bees on a starship.

"The K'Tal operatives must have entered the same way," commented Ida quietly, eyes unblinking as she approached - leading the other four officers to the access panel. Once there, she could see that it had already been tampered with, and the manual release had been bared next to the airlock doors. She reached out, and with a firm grip on the release, she pulled it, and the doors slid open without making a sound - the lack of atmosphere not even granting them a whisper.

Inside, four Klingon bodies in spacesuits laid sprawled across the floor plating of the airlock, and the other side of the airlock was closed.

"I guess we know what happened to Concilor K'Tal's men," she said tightly, and saw how they'd been shot multiple times, likely from whomever had greeted them on the other side of that airlock. In all likelihood, the Klingons hadn't held the element of surprise, much less had the benefit of the distraction that the Allegiant was creating. Ida motioned for the away team to follow inside, and she began to look for the next manual release. She couldn't see any such thing, which had her worried.

And once they were inside... the airlock closed behind them, trapping them.

"Shelat," Ida exclaimed, raising her rifle against the door ahead, ready to meet any firing squad awaiting them. Her cobolt blood beat in her ears in rhythm with her heartbeat while the airlock was being pressurised, the hiss a loud noise around them. Only when the doors opened...

...there were no Klingons awaiting them.

Instead, a pinkskin Starfleet officer stood there, apparently having let them inside.

OOC: USS Theurgy Bridge officers: A short and decisive space battle has ensued, with House Mo'Kai facing the Theurgy as well as three Vor'cha-class ships of House K'Tal. House Mo'Kai's flagship is almost adrift, firing back still, but Mo'Kai also have three Vor'cha-class ships on their side. Have fun illustrating the development and how the Ta'rom meets its end! Feel free to NPC the Klingons on both sides in this battle and make the most of the situation! :)

USS Allegiant crew: In the distraction manoeuvre that takes place here, please have the Tellarite NPC in Ops end up dead or needing up needing medical attention from Doctor Kobol ? Otherwise, illustrate the tactical situation and the development with the defence systems in place. @Griff , here is your cue to post with Alistair! :)

Lastly, here is the crew on the Allegiant (Click "show/hide") for sake of reference again: [Show/Hide]

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #37 –
[ Ensign Cameron Henshaw | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Bridge crew, @GroundPetrel
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Cameron turned away from the overview sprawled out at her station, hands still deep in the holograms, she stared up at the viewscreen as the visage of the Iroquois’ Captain came into view. She paid little attention to the newcomers on the bridge. She quickly pulled open the scan of the friendly vessel that had been captured on approach, and gave a quick nod. Part of her was certain it was a trick of some sort, but the sane part knew that she was being paranoid. Paranoia seemed like an apt response anymore though, when so far as she knew, anyone could house a parasite. Particularly those from Starfleet.

She dropped a marker on her overview, around Praxis. It was red, and continuously spun, and had the shape of a question mark. Not knowing the location of the Romulan ship, it was simply a placeholder. Cam opened a small direct line to the operations officer aboard the Oneida, requesting information on any transfers they choose to send over, and requesting that they include any assistance they require. It was short, and to the point, designed only to help with easing the operation, when it did eventually happen.

She received another transmission, and listened closely as it played through her earpiece. Her face fell, and horror took over. She tried to relay it as it came in, “Sir.” She looked to Stark, “Tesla has made planetfall. They’re working on repairs.” She tapped a button on her console to roll it back as she pressed the earpiece in further, some static having taken the line. “Lieutenant Zark is in command, Arisaka is down. Oneida forces engaging hostiles at site of wreck.” She let out a breath that screamed nothing short of relief. “The Captain and Martok are continuing on to the Great Hall. They’re holding their ground for now, but they need some support. They want orders.” She kept her gaze locked on Stark, waiting. “Hold one, Zark.” She kept her chatter to the ground team short, and to the point. Just as she would with the pilots.

She received another transmission, and listened closely as it played through her earpiece. Her face fell, and horror took over. She tried to relay it as it came in, “Sir.” She looked to Stark, “Tesla has made planetfall. They’re working on repairs.” She tapped a button on her console to roll it back as she pressed the earpiece in further, some static having taken the line. “Lieutenant Zark is in command, Arisake is down. Oneida forces engaging hostiles at site of wreck.” She let out a breath that screamed nothing short of relief. “The Captain and Martok are continuing on to the Great Hall. They’re holding their ground for now, but they need some support. They want orders.” She kept her gaze locked on Stark, waiting. “Hold one, Zark.” She kept her chatter to the ground team short, and to the point. Just as she would with the pilots.

Hearing the news about the Sabine, she started working on her console, but stopped in her tracks, staring at the vaguely blinking Ta’rom as they hailed. Her gaze locked onto the viewscreen. Her face shifted as the Klingon spoke. Cameron was a counselor. She was understanding, compassionate, and she tried to empathize with everyone. Everyone. Her face however, shifted into a look of utter hatred. To her, it was all so petty. There was an invasion of parasitic aliens taking over, and here the Klingons stood, mindlessly killing. Her jaw tightened and she gripped the edge of the console.

As the transport came over from the Oneida, Cam took a quick look at the new biosigns aboard, trying to cross match any that were already familiar and in the database. The others, she set aside to look at later.

Reap that which you have sown. It was a phrase she wouldn't forget. She knew, at some level what the words meant but it took her a moment before the words even seemed to register. The false peace had held, and she hadn't even considered that there was likely only the one way out of the situation.

When it did finally register in the young womans mind, the phrase sent a shiver up her spine, and she braced herself against the console. She wasn’t sure who would fire first, and didn’t particularly crave another head injury. At once she looked over the spread in front of her and watched as all ships went to work. It was over in seconds. The torpedo array opened up and the Klingons had hardly been able to react. The flash caused her to squint, almost closing her eyes. Despite all they had done to the ship and her crew that day, Cameron still didn’t revel in the loss of life of the Klingons. Every life mattered anymore. She turned away and looked at her console, checking for survivors.

There was certainly nothing left of the hull sans melted, derelict pieces of twisted metal. Within moments again however, the Klingons had opened fire. Without a flagship, it seemed like little more than a half-baked reaction. K’tal had made quick work of them, and it was done. She kept her eyes dashing between the viewscreen and the hologram in front of her. When it was done, her eyes locked on the viewscreen, her body finally relaxing, but her face looked anything but relaxed.


Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #38 –
[ Ensign Lauren Pierce | Bridge | USS Allegiant | Approaching Praxis ] Attn: @Fife @Stegro88 @Sqweloookle e@uytrereee @Auctor Lucan @Griffinsummoner @jreeves1701
[Show/Hide]

Lauren heard Arnold's retort of the barrel roll capability, her rosy lips contorted into a smirk as she acknowledged him. She continued to monitor as the situation escalated and the command was given by Lt. Cmdr. Cross to "make it dance" on the battlefield. "Acknowledged sir!"

She could hear the sounds of disruptor fire hitting near and close to the vessel. Gracefully her hands worked the touchpad as well as a musician could play a difficult song on the piano. Carefully avoiding fire but giving some appearances that damage was taken before real fire began to hit the Allegiant.

Her thoughts flashed back to the battle of the Dominion War and anxiety began to well inside her briefly before the thoughts of what recently happened to Tessa struck the cords of her heart and mind again. The Klingons were her target now. The only thing present was keeping her and her comrades alive as she leaned into her console from a hard jolt on the port side of the small vessel. "Ugh!" she yelled as the ship lurched again. The lights flickered overhead briefly before restoring. She hoped the shields would hold up in this close proximity fight.

"Barrel roll commensing! Hold tight!" She whisked her hands across the touch pad, watching for the somewhat pattern of the Klingon's disruptor fire was heading and hit a sequence into her console. The Allegiant turned briefly to the side as the ship missed some fire and the ship flipped a few times before settling in over the facility once more. "If you have cloak capabilities, now would be a perfect time!"

She waited for further instructions while she continued to dodge the incoming blasts.

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #39 –
[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Praxis Surface ]

[Show/Hide]

When the airlock doors opened, the away team were greeted by a bizarre sight; in place of the Klingons they had been expecting, they instead saw a human, a Starfleet officer. He was a perfectly ordinary man in a bizarre situation, given the extreme lengths that the away team had resorted to just to reach the facility. The human just stood there, bold as brass, his phaser holstered as if it was just another day, a padd attached to his belt.

"Hi!" he said far too jauntily, even waving, but when everyone's phasers automatically swivelled to aim at his chest, he raised his hands in panic. "Oh shit, woah, friendly, friendly! Look, it's a long story, but I'm Alistair Leavitt, I was sent here by time travellers from the future, and I'm here to stop this moon from exploding. Again. I know that's a lot to swallow, and this is a little messed up, but seriously, here to help. I know what the Infested are planning to do here, and I know how to stop them, but I need to talk to Lieutenant Commander Stark on the Theurgy right now. Uh...please. Freedom Sentinel, if that helps? That's the code in this timeline, right?"

In the confused silence that followed, Alistair grinned anxiously, painfully aware of the various armed strangers in front of him (including, Alistair was trying very hard not to notice, a Gorn who could probably bite his head off with ease). "Pretty please? We really don't have much time."

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #40 –
[ Lt. T'Less | Tactical Station | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Allegiant | Praxis ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Ellen Fitz @Griff @Sqweloookle @Pierce @uytrereee @Griffinsummoner @jreeves1701
[Show/Hide]

The command had been given and T’Less watched and waited to see what, if any, the reaction would be. As the cloak was lowered and they moved back, the Vulcan focused on the sensors, looking for any change. She didn’t have to wait long because as soon as the Allegiant came into sight of the facility, her sensors detected the activation of weapons emplacements.

“Detecting multiple weapon emplacements coming online,” T’Less announced calmly, her mind focused on her console. “They are firing.” Cross’ orders came swiftly and soon enough, Ensign Pierce had the Allegiant evading the majority of the disruptor fire that was aimed at them. Unfortunately, she was unable to avoid all of it.

“Shields at 87%. Returning fire,” T’Less reported as her fingers danced. To avoid as much collateral damage as possible, she had chosen to use the secondary beam arrays instead of the main cannons. It would take longer to accomplish her goal of neutralising her targets, but she would be able to avoid terminal damage to the structure this way. As the Allegiant manoeuvred, T’Less utilised all four of the beam arrays to begin destroying the disruptor cannons firing at them.

“Shields at 73%,” she commentated as she fired again. “Second emplacement destroyed,” she added as the Allegiant shook from a rather violent shield impact. A console sparked and shorted from the shock of the impact, the event setting the facial hair of the Tellarite manning the console aflame. CWO Luff growled and smacked at his face as it burned before collapsing to the deck, the remains of his beard still smoldering. 

“Shields at 54%. Medical team to the Bridge!”

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #41 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Warp Core Room | Lower Deck | USS Allegiant ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Stegro88 @Griff @Pierce
[Show/Hide]

They'd dropped the cloak, and all hell had broken loose. He wasn't exactly sure if his sequence had done it, or a power fluctuation, but either way he was going to take all of the credit.

He'd pried himself away from the main console now, adjustment tools in hand. As a point of note, he'd taken a grease pencil, expertly replicated some years ago, and written 'Five Percent!' on the back of his hand, to avoid allocating the emergency power needed to transport the away team back to the Allegiant in the course of a dire emergency.

As they began to cross sabers with the Klingons, or more accurately do their best to not get obliterated, Frank said firmly to the computer in the warp core room, "Computer, Arnold funky mix one." He worked better to music, that much was sure. Without further adieu, Carl Douglas's Kung Fu Fighting started, and in the same breath Frank started flitting around the bay to the music.

He heard the notion to restore the cloak, and he spoke over the comm he'd left open with the bridge, the early nineties ballad able to be heard gently playing in the background, "I'll have the cloak online in due course Commander, but there is a sequence that must be obeyed, unless you'd rather I just make the Klingons job easy!" It was said loudly, over the working machinery of the warp core room, but it was said jovial enough as the music gave way to 'Fox On The Run' by Sweet, sliding back into the dog days of humanity.

He added to the bridge, "The startup sequence will take me a few minutes, for the moment..." He started to move to make the appropriate adjustments, allocating all but the necessary startup power to the propulsion and tactical stations, "...I'm going to rob Peter to pay Paul." He cracked his knuckles and started the cloak priming sequence, while the remaining power rushed to be at the fingertips of Pierce and T'Less.

As he began to speak again, it was now LaBelle with Lady Marmalade that played in the background, as Frank adopted his best imitation of Burgess Meredith having got a bit carried away, "This guy, he don't just wanna beat-cha, he wants to murder ya!" He cleared his throat, and took a more serious tone, "Ensign Pierce, you've got an additional nineteen percent power. You're fighting Foreman in a phone booth in time square, get your dancing shoes on!" He added, "And T'Less you've got the rest, twelve percent, you can use it to cover up, or start swinging. Dealer's choice!" He cleared his throat, and offered, "But that's all you've got for now, unless you want me to start getting crazy down here."

He got off the comm, and took up station near the warp core. His recent adjustments had put them near the red-line. His five percent had become four percent, but his head math said that'd still be enough. He imagined he could hear the warp core whining, breathing hard, as he popped one of her cowlings, and took a spanner to one of the intake valves to open it for more fuel flow, even if it wasn't strictly allowed by Starfleet regulations, as he said under his breath "There there girl, a bit more air for you to breathe. Just gotta make it a bit longer." It was time to get crazy down here it seemed.

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #42 –
MEANWHILE | PRAXIS - Joint Post by @Griff & @Auctor Lucan, with help from @BipSpoon

In the confused silence that followed, Alistair grinned anxiously, painfully aware of the various armed strangers in front of him (including, Alistair was trying very hard not to notice, a Gorn who could probably bite his head off with ease). "Pretty please? We really don't have much time."

From behind her visor, Ida had watched the Starfleet officer as he gave his cursory greeting and urged them ahead, and she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. She had no way of knowing he wasn't one of the Infested, however, so she didn't lower her rifle. She just decided against shooting him down where he stood. "How did you get inside here... unless you are one of them?"

Alistair winced. "Okay, fair point, I'll give you that," he admitted nervously, although at a realisation, he suddenly became much more serious, his face rapidly paling in the poor light of the tunnel. "No...it's not a fair point. I met one of the...uh...the Infested, not long ago. Well, not long ago in my perspective, a few years ahead of now. I've seen what they're capable of. One of those things would've killed you all by now, and there wouldn't have been anything you could do it. There wasn't anything we could do about it."

Alistair took a deep breath, remembering the ticking clock, and forced him to focus, enormously grateful for whatever miracle drug the Relativity doctor had given him so that he wasn't a whimpering mess. He concentrated on the Starfleeters and the markings on their exosuits, recognising one immediately..

"I'm going to take my PADD out, please don't shoot me, please don't shoot..." Alistair pleaded as he very carefully took the PADD off his belt, rapidly tapping it. "Lieutenant ThanIda zh'Wann. Born on Lor'vela in 2352. Enlisted in the Imperial Guard in 2361, Starfleet in 2369...okay, not helping, anyone could get that information...um...first victim of the Niga virus, first vector of the Niga virus too...damn. I'm sorry, Lieutenant, I lost friends to that thing too in the timeline I came from. Uh...still not helping, that's not secret."

Ida bared her teeth at the indignation of having her past brought up, and her patience was running low. "You're in our way."

Alistair read on quickly, and then he paled again. "Crap. I'm sorry, Lieutenant, I really am, but there are billions of people on Qo'nos who will die if you don't trust me right now, and I don't see another way to do it. The man in your...uh...how do you pronounce it...Ushaan? His name was Bhaer th'Vaesi, a friend of your father's. It says here...seriously, Lieutenant, so sorry. It says you were attracted to him, even when you were fighting him. During the duel, he was much better than you, but he never struck a fatal blow. You never knew why. Then at the end, he brushed aside your hair, and you thought it might be a romantic gesture, before you killed him."

The whites in Ida's eyes flared behind the visor. The memory of the event that started her exile was like an old wound, and as he struck it, the pain reminded itself keenly. "How... do you know about that?"

Alistair winced, forcing himself to look Ida in the eye (well, visor) despite his discomfort. "The Relativity can see alternate timelines. There's a timeline where neither of you killed the other. The duel started something there. All of this comes from an alternate future, long afterwards, from some sort of memoir. In that future, th'Vaesi said 'she kept dropping her left, her antennae telegraphed everything, but when she got up that fifth time and screamed at me, I knew that our love had been forged."

The more he spoke, the deeper Ida's frown got. A strange sense of renewed loss came over her. th'Vaesi...

Yet she realised that the man ought to be telling the truth, knowing as she did about the Relativity and its role in the current events, so she signalled for the infiltration team to fall in line, and shook of the old memories. She began to walk in the direction the Lieutenant had indicated. "As many questions that I may have, I suppose the most obvious one is why the Relativity would break their rules by sending you here. What's at stake? Talk on the way there, will you? Keep up the pace, people."

Alistair talked quickly, staying next to (and in front of) Ida, trying to clamp down on his nerves at the sheer insanity of where he was and what he was doing. "They didn't have much time to brief me, but long story short, there's a bomb up ahead, well guarded, and the Infested are planning on using it to detonate the dilithium deposits inside Praxis. We've got half an hour, at the most, before what's left of this moon explodes and destroys Qo'nos for good."

The questions Ida may have had crowded on her tongue, but given the stakes made plain by the Lieutenant, the urgency was quite real. Perhaps more so emphasised by the manner in which the base was being hit by retaliatory fire from the Allegiant - the distraction manoeuvre yet to end. "By Lor'Vela. What are we facing inside there? The Klingons in this facility can't know what's about to happen, right? That means..."

"Yeah, there's an Infested here, we're sure about that," Alistair said, as they walked, clearing his throat. The tunnel was starting to widen up ahead, and Alistair nervously moved a hand to the butt of his phaser, even knowing how useless it was against the Infested. "We don't know who they are, but there's definitely one here somewhere. They're going to sacrifice themselves to ensure the bomb goes off no matter what happens. We need to stop them."

Alistair was hardly portraying indomitable courage thus far, but when he stopped to turn and look at Ida squarely, there was surprising strength in his blue eyes. "The Theurgy can help us, so long as they're not busy fighting someone and so long their systems are in good shape. They can generate a subspace field around Praxis that can render the dilithium inert for a while, so the bomb doesn't start a chain reaction, but they need to get started right now. If they can't help us, and we have to fight one of those...uh...those monsters, to disarm the bomb," (Alistair winced reflexively), "then the odds aren't on our side. I've seen what the Infested they can do. We'd be lucky to survive more than a minute."

Hearing this, Ida nodded and didn't dally for a moment. She looked down at her wrist to access her subspace comm channels and raised Mission Ops, being the viable means to reach the Main Bridge on the Theurgy. “Lieutenant zh’Wann to Mission Ops. Do you read me? We are in urgent need of assistance at Praxis.”


[ Ensign Cameron Henshaw | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
Cam heard a muffled call in her ear and furrowed her brows, quickly clearing it up and listening again. Her face fell and she shook her head, as if the person on the other end could actually hear her.

"No can do, Lieutenant! We've got some problems of our own up here!" An audible crash and crackle of a console shorting out could be heard over the comms, "Some Klingon's decided to test their luck. Keep us updated. Henshaw out."

She ended the communication on her end, guiltily. There wasn't anything she could do though, they'd have to hold out on their own.


[ Praxis ]

"Damn it." Alistair closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath. "Shit. Okay. We're doing this. Alright, listen up. There's a large deep pit up ahead, originally dug for dilithium mining back in the 23rd century. The bomb is on the rim, and there's a tractor emitter which is supposed to shift it out there and drop it precisely onto a rich dilithium vein five kilometers down. We need to stop that happening. I might be able to disarm that bomb if I can get to it, I don't know, but there are eight Klingon guards in defensive positions near the bomb, one of whom is Infested, we don't know which."

Grimly, Ida nodded, and looked towards the team to gauge their readiness. Sithick was straggling behind, looking at the interior of the place. The Gorn had removed his helmet, breathing quickly. “Chief, what’s the matter?”

“Memoriezzz,” the former slave wheezed quietly, apparenlty not coping well with the return to the starbase they were in. He looked like a frightened animal, and Ida was relieved that the officer from the Relativity seemed to know the insides of the base, because the Gorn didn’t seem able to continue. She’d hoped that the Gorn would be an asset in the upcoming fight, but it was clear she couldn’t rely on him.

“Chief, look at me. Hey!” she said, sharply enough to get his attention. “Stay here, and cover our escape route. Hide in that alcove, weapon ready. You hear me?”

“Ayeee, azzzz you zzzzay,” Sithick answered, still looking unnerved.

“Tucker, Vansen, LeBlanc, I don’t have to tell you the stakes. We can’t let the Infested drop that bomb. Set weapons to their highest setting. The Infested won’t go down easily.” While they pressed on towards the chamber that the man from the Relativity indicated, she raised Commander Cross.

“Lieutenant zh’Wann to the Allegiant, as you heard, we have a situation on our hands,” she said, knowing that those on the bridge had overheard the conversation with Alistair and followed the progress through the helmet-feeds. “Can you see the mining shaft indicated ahead on sensors? Is there any other way to stop that bomb from reaching the dilithium in case we are too late?”

OOC: Next to post, @Ellen Fitz , but don’t worry, I will PM all those writing characters on the Allegiant with the overall plan for this ordeal with Praxis. Kudos to @Stegro88 for the brainstorming on VC that allowed for this idea to take shape, and also to @Griff for being able to whip up this JP to facilitate the new direction of the plot.

Next from me in this thread... the battle with the Ta’rom! Stay tuned!

Oh, for those interested in how Alistair could appear on Praxis, check this out!

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #43 –
[ USS Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]
[Show/Hide]
The fact that the infiltration team down on Praxis' surface had contacted Mission Ops largely went by unnoticed on the bridge of the Theurgy, since all other stations were committed to the present battle in orbit of Qo'noS.

The Theurgy and the Ta'rom had faced each other in a stand-off for almost an hour before the fighting began, with the Vor’cha class ships at their sides joining the fray. The Theurgy had struck the first blow, preventing the Klingon Captain from giving the signal to end Commander Fisher's life wherever he was held down on Qo'noS. Stark had given the order, and the blow had been devastating to the Negh'Var flagship of House Mo'Kai. As she stood there on the shaking bridge, Thea couldn't help but feel responsible for the situation, having made the recommendation of a pre-emptive strike.

"House K'Tal has lost one ship, Captain!" called Zyrao Natauna from the screens behind Mission Ops, where she were in communication with Martok's loyal forces. "Though ETA for House Mo'Kai reinforcements is just five minutes, seven ships strong. Unless something happens in the Great Hall... this will just escalate until the Qo'noS sky is ablaze."

On the viewscreen, the three Vor'cha ships belonging to House Mo'Kai left the ship they had destroyed in their wake and went in full force against the Theurgy, having deterred the other two House K'Tal ships for the moment. Ensign Thorne, whom had proven herself capable at Thea's helm in the Azure Nebula, didn't need to be told what to do, executing an evasive manoeuvre that still allowed for those at Tactical to respond to the assault. "Heads up! Pivoting to starboard in three, two, one... Starboard phasers lined up! You'll have forward torpedo launchers in five!"

"Captain! The Ta'rom might be adrift, but its still firing! Aft shields at 60%!" called Conway from Ops, and another barrage of torpedoes was already on its way. It seemed Captain Aakan wasn't entirely pleased with how the Theurgy had cast the first stone.

"I'm getting word that Martok's Houses are rallying to our coordinates," shouted Zyrao from the back, "but they will be too late. We'll end up facing House Mo'Kai alone before then."

Thea had a question for Zyrao, not being privy to Klingon subspace channels like the Liaison was. "What of the Houses we fought before? I'm not detecting them on my sensors with an approach vector."

Zyrao shook her head. "Unknown. Could be cloaked. I am not seeing any other Houses that swore themselves to Gorka. It could be they are waiting on word from the Great Hall before they make any decision on involving themselves. I like to believe the word about Gorka's conduct has spread as well."

Glancing towards Natalie, Thea had to wonder, given the odds being in their favour at the moment, was it tactically sound to destroy all the House Mo'Kai ships before the reinforcements arrived?

"Orders, Captain?" asked the the officer at Tactical, being of similar mind.

Meanwhile, Mission Ops got new reports coming in... and Thea detected something that had to be an internal sensor malfunction due to the damages she was taking. She began to run a diagnostic...

...because how could Doctor Nicander be in two places aboard at once?

OOC: @BipSpoon , Cam would get a report from Security that the Spearhead Lounge bomber has managed to escape from his holding cell in the brig (due to the damages caused in the previous battle). Reports are mixed, stating that Blue Tiran and Chief Ji were present during the escape, and that Doctor Nicander reported a medical emergency, to which sickbay is responding. There is also mentioning of Kai Akoni, the Chief of Security, being in pursuit, but he's not cleared by medical after his incident. Reports are conflicting to say the least.

@Brutus , in your next post with Sarresh Morali down there on Qo'noS... you guessed it. Another seizure, due to someone crossing over from an alternate timeline. My suggestion for a posting order on the Bridge is that @BipSpoon posts first, followed by @Brutus , and in that latter post, I suggest Stark’s orders either put a definitive end to the battle, in which the two remaining House K’Tal ships are available for the depiction of the action as well. All NPCs on the bridge, formerly having had writers or not, are viable to use as needed.

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #44 –
[ Lieutenant Elro Kobol | USS Allegiant, Medbay<>Bridge | Praxis Space ]

He heard the call, though considering it was just him, wondered why they couldn't have just called him as he didn't have a team. Elro rushed through the two doors to the Bridge with his kit, medical tricorder already out and active. Upon entering the Bridge, he was immediately drawn to the sparks over at the Ops station and found CWO Luff on the floor growling in pain which Elro could feel just outside his emotional barriers.

Already kneeling next to CWO Luff, Elro scanned the burned area to assess the severity of it. It seemed to be in sections of degrees, his beard unfortunately couldn't be saved. Elro grabbed a spray. ”Luff this is going to hurt, I'm sorry.” He said, ”but you will feel better. I promise.” He started to spray the beard and the burned skin.

It was mainly to numb the pain receptors and give some relief. The more the burned area moved the more it caused pain so Elro had to get Luff to relax. ”I need you to focus on your breathing Luff.” He instructed the Operations non-com.

Elro then replaced the spray and retrieved the dermal regenerator which would hopefully fix as much as it could quickly as it had just happened. Slowly and steadily waving the regenerator over the burned area starting at the middle of it and spiralling outwards Elro kept one eye on Luff's expression. ”I'll regenerate what I can but the rest we will need to go to the medbay for.” Elro explained.

He heard some of the conversation from their ground team, a bomb was heading to the Dilithium deep in Praxis' core. Elro wasn't a tactician or engineer, he was a doctor but still an idea occurred to him. ”Commander, can we beam up the bomb and hold it in transporter suspension? Or tractor it out into space?” He offered as he kept steadily treating Luff's burns.

The Betazoid had to shift Luff onto his lap in order to keep the Tellarite from shaking with the Allegiant too much.
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Lieutenant JG Adam Kingston, Master-at-Arms, (Vector 03 Security) Profile Clickie

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Lieutenant/Dr Elro Kobol, Chief Medical Officer, (Vector 02 Medical) Profile Clickie

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #45 –
[ Ensign Cameron Henshaw | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Theurgy ]
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Cam quickly answered the call before returning her attention to the battle. Her eyes dashed across the layout in front of her, trying to find any pattern in the attacks. There was none. It was a mad-dash, final effort to deal as much damage as possible, or destroy, Theurgy . One of the Vor’cha class vessels began to fly for the port side of the ship, and Cam immediately transferred all relevant data to tactical as she announced it, “One moving to port, they’re giving us their neck. Likely gearing up for a torpedo volley.”

She watched it move down the side of the ship, flipping it’s front towards them. A quick, brutal burst of phasers, courtesy of Starfleet, punched a hold right through the shielding; it was brief but good enough. As she began to quirk a grin, she saw a flicker on her readout. There was another, and it was right on top of them. “Another one decloaking!” It had already fired. Cam saw the trajectory and immediately braced. “That’s coming right for the bridge!” She shouted, to make sure everyone in the room heard her. She held strong through the impact, almost going to a kneel but managing to catch herself. Seconds later, there was a high pitched squeal coming from the ground near science.

Her eyes went wide, and she opened her mouth as she saw various crewmembers diving out of the way. Too late, however. The EPS conduit exploded, sending crew-members flying. Two of them, hit the ceiling and fell, limp. The bodies on the ground smoking and giving off the telltale, fetid stench of seared flesh and muscle. She knew immediately there would be casualties, and sent out a call for medical assistance. She left her earpiece in and ran over towards one of the officers that had landed in the arch between tactical and science. She shouted as she moved, “Opening in their shields!” She kept one hand close to something to hang onto at all times.

Cam crouched next to the body, spotting a tattoo beneath some of the scorched clothing, through a large hole in the shoulder. The half that wasn’t twisted and malformed by plasma fire,  was beautiful. A fantastic display of purple flowers. Cam’s face fell, turning the body over to see if the victim was still alive. As soon as she saw her face, she knew she was too late. The conduit had exploded directly beneath her, sending radiant fire up against her shoulder, and into the right side of her face. The left was still intact mostly, frozen at the instant of her death. Her hair, far neater than Henshaw’s own, was brown with gentle highlights. Her skin was pale, and near perfect. The right side however, had been ransacked by flame. Her flesh was melted tight against the bones, her hair nearly burned entirely off, and still smoking. It smelled foul, and while the other side looked painful, this side was pulled into a horrified gaze, twisted by flame.

She just shook her head and grabbed a wrist to check her pulse, already knowing the answer.

There was nothing.

She grabbed the combadge, confirming her identity off of the back. “Praise, Zephyr.” She muttered to herself before she cleared her throat and decided to speak, closing her remaining eye with a gentle touch as she stood. “One casualty.” She returned to her station quickly and checked an incoming message, her face going wide with rage.

“He’s out, the bomber is out. I have...conflicting reports. Tiran and Ji were there…” She sifted through a little more and took a breath, “L-” She started but almost instantly corrected herself, “Doctor Nicander sent out a call for a medical emergency, they’re on their way. Akoni in pursuit.” She ground her teeth and looked at the battlefield, watching a torpedo from Theurgy punch straight through the Klingon to the port's neck. Debris, bodies, and fire sprayed from it, like arterial blood from someone living. The ship went dark, power gone to the fore side of the vessel. She was adrift, the aft flickering with continued failures as the front went dark. A chunk of debris flew off its side, flying at terminal speed towards the newest Klingon vessel.

The one that decloaked however, remained in its place. Even as the debris slammed into it, it maintained its assault. A tactical officer had recovered quickly however, and was firing phasers directly into the torpedo barrage, sparing the bridge the worst of it.

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #46 –
[CPO Sithick | Praxis] Attn: All @Auctor Lucan @Griffinsummoner

For the large Gorn who spent the majority of his life aboard stations and starships, the pull of natural gravity had sparked something in the back of his reptilian brain. Like a roaring waterfall, the torrent of repressed memories came crashing to the forefront of his consciousness. In the beginning, he had tried to ignore them as he answered Lieutenant zh'Wann's queries. The best he could manage was a nod and point in various directions. Eventually, his comrades faded into the background as visions of the past enveloped them like a growing holodeck program. Damaged walls healed, dead terminals came to life, and slowly the whole station returned to life.

The final words from the present were orders to lay low and guard their escape route. As the footsteps of the team faded another sound replaced them. A low hum of electric static, the throbbing of Sithick's temples, and then the sheer agonizing pain ripping through his skull.

"Careful sister, we don't want to damage our new merchandise." The voice caused Sithick to snap his eyes open. He was no longer standing on Praxis but was strapped into a chair aboard what Sithick recognized as a Klingon Bird of Prey. He could feel two triangular devices on the sides of his head.

"Please, you think I didn't know how to properly use one of these." Came another all too familiar voice. Both Sithick would later learn belonged to the infamous Duras Sisters, Lursa and B'Etor. The two had procured him off his previous Orion owner.

"I'm sure you do sister, but the chair is old, and we don't know what effect it will have on a primitive mind. You may actually boil this lizard's brain rather than get the information we need."

"Bah!" was the response of the sister holding the remote. She then turned a dial and Sithick's mind went pop. "He will tell us all we need to know about the Syndicate's operations within the Empire, especially where we can find......" Sithick failed to catch the rest as his mind was siphoned for all its knowledge.

Back in the here and now, the Gorn was paralyzed, his eyes clouded over as the traumatic flashbacks proceeded to play out. Being subjected to a Klingon Mind-Sifter, having his memories forced from him, was only the beginning of his torment at the hands of the Duras Sisters. He had hoped to be of value on this mission but soon looked to have become a liability. When the time came to aid the team escape Praxis, would Sithick know a friend from a foe?
CPO Sithick [Show/Hide]
CWO1 Larrant [Show/Hide]
BG Natauna
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Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #47 –
[ Lt. Cmdr. Cross | Bridge | Deck 01 | USS Allegiant | Praxis ]Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Griff @Sqweloookle @uytrereee @Brutus  @Stegro88  @BipSpoon  @stardust  @Swift

The knuckles of his one flesh hand were white from gripping the armrest. He had asked Ensign Pierce to make the ship dance, and she’d more than delivered. The barrel roll had been flawless, leaving Cross impressed and curious if there was a medal for such a feat. If there wasn’t, “Barrel Rolls on Battlefields” would need to be made with the Ensign in mind.

Though her skills were impeccable, those in the business of seeking their destruction were not about to be outdone entirely. Lieutenant T’Less called out the percentages of their shields after every lurch and shudder the ship made when the enemy’s weapons' fire contacted their hull. At 73%, a console burst into flames, sending CWO Luff to the ground with a seared face and smoking facial hair.

Not unsurprisingly, Ensign Pierce pleaded for the cloak to come back online without relaying the request through Cross, and he couldn’t blame her. Shit was going down, and it was going down fast. He was curious who Peter and Paul were that Lieutenant Arnold intended to rob to restore the cloak, as for as far as Cross knew, there were no individuals onboard of that name. 19% to Pierce and 12% to T’Less, compliments of Arnold and a phone booth in Times Square, whatever that meant, and the Allegiant continued on its fight for survival, both for the ship and their away team.

That was when Lieutenant zh’Wann’s report came in, adding another layer to this little ballet of chaos they were currently dancing. A half-hour. That’s it. No room for error, especially not with a bomb big enough to take out the remains of Praxis and Qo’Nos was involved. From somewhat behind him and to the side, Cross heard Doctor Kobol voice a question on the option of beaming the bomb and turned to see Kobol holding Luff protectively as he treated the Tellerite’s burns.

“Too much interference for that kind of maneuver,” Cross replied without bothering to check the sensor log for confirmation. He’d seen the sensor readouts from T’Less before, and with the present firefight added to their conundrum, it wasn’t likely anything had improved since then. “But do a sensor sweep for any updates.”

Cross glanced down at the armrest display and double-checked the newer sensor readouts. Looking to T’Less and then Pierce, he indicated the readings that had caught his attention.

“There appears to be a second mining shaft leading to the one zh’Wann indicated.” He hadn’t been in command for long, but already he had a time crunch type decision to make, and no doubt the higher-ups were not going to like the decision he was already committed to. “If we can fit, Ensign Pierce, and I mean, you may scratch the paint job type fit, I want you to take the Allegiant down there. You heard the away team, we’re up against the clock, and time waits for no one.”

“Aw shit.” A voice from Comms interrupting the flow of command had Cross turning towards the Vulpian seated there. She’d since turned away from her console and sat looking perplexed, or at least Cross assumed it was an expression of perplexity on her canine-like features.

She reached her right paw behind her back and jerked, her whole body spasming with pain, pulling her paw back in front of her, holding what looked to be a bloodied piece of jagged metal. Cross quickly glanced over towards the fried console, Doctor Kobol and CWO Luff, then tracked his eyes across, noting how bits and pieces of the console had indeed sprayed across the bridge and embedded into other consoles, chairs, the ceiling, and it seemed Ensign Nix’s back. Cross watched as the Vulpian stood awkwardly to her feet, then collapsed to all fours. The piece had been long and deeply embedded into her body, making Cross curious if there were important internal organs near that particular spot, for no doubt the shrapnel would have punctured or severed them.

The formerly pristine fur was quickly discolored with her lifeblood now that the shrapnel was free. Nix lifted her head and made eye contact with Cross, giving what seemed to be an indignant sniff at the situation before she fainted on her face. Cross was thankful Doctor Kobol was already on the bridge and ready at hand.

“See to Ensign Nix, Doctor Kobol.” He felt for her, he truly did, but now was not the time to slow down and coddle. Looking back towards Pierce, Cross nodded towards the moon. “Time for some sightseeing, Ensign Pierce. Punch it.”
Please let me know if I need to edit anything to make it more technobabble-friendly or if I missed some details. Thanks for the patience and have fun!

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #48 –
[Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Main Bridge | Deck 01 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @BipSpoon 
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A shudder rippled out across the combined vectors of the USS Theurgy, causing Natalie Stark to flex her jaw, willing herself not to flinch further than that. The Ops Officer in her was already cataloging in her mind what that might mean for the structural integrity field, the EPS conduits and the Optical Data Network. The humanitarian in her wondered if that shot meant someone had just been hurt, or more so, died. And then the Commanding Officer in her knew that she had to set all of that aside, analyze the situation, and give the next order.

Thankfully she wasn't acting in a vacuum. Well, not a metaphorical one in any case.

Feed back came at her from all directions, and a frown passed over her face as Zyrao Natauna dropped the new that their allies had lost a ship. They had done serious damage to the Ta'rom, but not without cost to those pledged to their cause. And they were hardly out of the fire yet. The situation was far from ideal. Nat let out a short sigh and squared her shoulders off. Seven ships. Great. There was nothing else for it.

Tugging on her jacket she stood up in the face of the enemy, watching, even as Ens. Henshaw narrated from behind her, the approach of the Vor'cha class cruisers. The sharp, deadly lines of ships she'd seen serving along side her own during the end of the Dominion War, and here and there on assignment since. A strikingly familiar profile from the last  month at Aldrea. Now bearing down her her. Again. But before she could give the order she knew she needed to issue, another decloaked, and unleashed a torrent of fire upon the Theurgy.

Behind her, crew were dying. In front of her, smoke billowed, and the viewscreen showed the enemy in flight. Watched as her ship broke the neck of one of the Mo'kai Vor'cha, whose name she never knew. She watched the bridge module spin away as the star drive buckled and spat plasma into the void around Qo'noS. Snarling, hauling herself up, she gripped the back of Jaya Thorne's chair, braced between her and Yvette Conway. Barely registering the news from Cam, the confirmation that her choices, her decisions, had cost someone under her command their life. No time for it now. "Helm, lay in course, directly head, pitch down ten degrees, run right under its belly, just before we would collide. All weapons. Target lead ship and fire."

An easy enough order to give. Certainly better than thinking about what Lucian Nicander was up to. To say her relationship with that man was complicated was like saying water was wet. Nothing for it. To Cam she called back, "Keep monitoring the situation, Ensign. If it escalates let me know, otherwise we have a battle to win."

Even as she spoke, the vision of the enemy craft loomed closer. Klingons, being Klingons. didn't even budge. Didn't flinch away, which was what she planned on. At the last moment they did indeed duck down, and behind her, the trio of surviving Tactical officers unleashed every blast they could from the dorsal array. She refused to look away as they bore down on each other, coming close enough that their shield bubbles nearly grazed.

There!

"Roll 180 degrees along Y axis. Tactical, fire quantum torpedoes at that buckling shield. Ops, redirect power to ventral shield array. All hands, brace."

The orders came one on top of the other in rapid succession, from the instant she saw the shield ripple away. It would require pinpoint precision, and there was a solid chance that the ship was going to be rocked by the back blast. She watched as the world spun away, but Conway - even as she readjusted power flow to reinforce the shields covering the belly of the Theurgy - managed to shift the view to ventral sensor nodes. The Vor'cha, realizing the danger, was trying to pull away, twisting in space, but not fast enough. A short, snap barrage of four, blazing blue white orbs slammed into the under belly of the Klingon war machine. It was over in seconds, even as yet again, Nat was nearly knocked off her feet.

A thunderous cacophony of noise rolled over the bridge, one shuddering boom after another. Sound did not travel in space, of course, but when the impact was felt, a noise accompanied it all the same, that much energy dissipating along the Starfleet Dreadnought made an impact. Physically, and audibly. The ventral shield array's had not suffered the same brutal assault as the dorsal shields, had not been forced to hold off a torpedo barrage. But the quantum detonations tearing the enemy ship asunder was enough to tax them, and the inertial dampeners, to their limits.

But Theurgy rose to the occasion. Ens. Thorne managed to turn the ship, using the shock wave of the detonation to propel the massive ship away from that first vanguard of House Mo'kai, like a swimmer diving backwards from a platform, in an almost lazy, beautiful arch.

The Ta'rom was not as lucky. Caught on the far side of the detonating battle cruiser, and with no engines to maneuver or evade, the shock wave hit Gorka's flagship along its broadside, from neck to flank. As the Theurgy found her feet once more, nestled now between two of House K'Tal's surviving ships, Natalie watched as hull plating was peeled away from the Neg'var behemoth. Minor explosions followed, and while the hull did not crack apart, nor did the core explode, it instead hung there in space, plasma fires burning along its battered carcass, the green vapors the only lights coming from its hulk.

"Ta'rom is adrift without power," Natalie couldn't properly place the voice of the tactical officer over the ringing in her ears, but she nodded, stepping back from her position between the two seated stations at the fore of the bridge, and sweeping her hair back out of her face. "Martok's allies are still too far out. The remainder of the Mo'kai fleet will be here in two minutes Captain."

Huffing, almost indignantly, as if what they'd just accomplished was for naught, Natalie watched the debris clouds from the battered Vor'cha. The remaining house K'Tal cruisers had managed to cordon off one of the enemy vessels and deal with it, the bulk of that ship drifting in a perpendicular direction from its starboard nacelle, which hung lifeless in the increasingly crowded void. Ironically that was what the Mo'kai vessels had attempted to do to Theurgy Was it sheer luck that had allowed the Starfleet vessel to turn the tables and leave her assailants as nothing more than crippled shells or rapidly dispersed atoms? Or was it the skill of her people that managed to overcome those odds?

Natalie didn't know, and didn't have the time to wax poetically on the subject. She couldn't run that many trains of thought in her head at once, there was too much to deal with to spare the brain power. She had to act fast, and she hated it. "Yvette, ships status. Can we enter Multi-vector assault mode?" She wasn't keen on doing so. The last battle had taxed them rather severely, and the assisted ride from the Savi had not exactly been easy on them either. She knew the engineering department had been running around the ship affecting repairs as best they could during the brief impasse between her ship and the Ta'rom, prior to the commander of the latter vessel accusing Natalie of disregarding their warnings.

"Yes Captain. We have the power and capability." Lt. Conway's voice sounded strained, and Natalie couldn't blame her. Capability yes, but was it the best option? In Nat's mind it was the only choice they had to even the odds. Letting out a long sigh, she stalked back to her chair, gesturing to Ops with a lazy flick of her wrist.

"Make it happen Lieutenant." Sinking back into the center chair, face flushed and sweaty, but otherwise composed, she punched up the ship's intercom. "All hands, prepare for multi-vector assalut mode. Helm, bring us a bout, bearing 227 mark 5. Tactical, prepare MVAM Attack pattern  Fedd-Beta-Five. Tell our friends to mind our flank."

Even as she gave the order she could hear various officers running through the break down, Thea speaking calmly, narrating the events. Natalie had not much cared for the late Lt. Sjaandin Fedd, but the man had known his way around a Multi-Vectored assault, and since Ives' had left Natalie in command of the ship earlier that day (had it been that same day? Or longer? She couldn't remember), the Martian had been reviewing anything and everything she could about battle options. She was a tinkerer, not a tactician, but she was more than willing to rob ghosts long dead of their tricks and put them to use now.

"Open a hailing frequency." She paused, as her ship split apart around her, the Helmet swerving around in tandem with the Stallion, each vector orbiting the Sword in a counter clockwise pattern along the ships spine. Ahead of her, dropping out of warp: the reinforcements had arrived. One more Vor'cha cruiser, flanked by what appeared to be a pair of retrofitted K'Tinga class battleships, and four smaller B'Rel-class Birds of Prey. Natalie shot off a silent prayer to whomever was listening up there to her please, for that small blessing. Though deadly in large numbers, and certainly so when attacking from a position of stealth, coming at her ship in such a brazen display negated much of the smaller attack ships advantages. Had they been the larger K'vort-class starships...

Well they aren't, and you've got an ultimatum to issue.

"Ships of the house Mo'Kai," she began, once again trying to channel Captain Ives as best she could, knowing she fell short. "Stand down your weapons and move into a holding orbit above Qo'noS, on vector 137 mark 2. This battle is already over, and there is no glory to be found here for you. Not today. Even now Martok is dealing with your scion's challenge, in the Great Hall. As I said during the previous battle between ourselves and your fleet, the matter at hand will, and must, be settled in the First City of the Klingon Empire. Not by your House and your smattering of remaining allies bleeding themselves dry on the receiving end of our phaser arrays. Not when your true enemies lurk in the shadows, playing you against one another, House versus house, Klingon versus Klingon.

"Spend yourselves against our swords here in orbit if you must, but know that if you do, you leave your Empire weaker for doing so. You leave all of us less than we could - then we should be - against the coming storm." She crossed one leg over the other, tucking her heel in against the support strut of the center seat, resisting the urge to tap her foot as she stared dead ahead at the fleet hanging in space before her. "Honor the rights of DevwI'. Honor your oaths to the betterment of the Empire. Do not dishonor yourselves now by fighting a pointless battle. There is glory in death, yes, but only if that death serves a worthy purpose. There is a larger battle that needs - that demands - your service and your lives, should they be spent at all. And it is not this...misinformed power grab, but something far darker. I say again - there is no Honor for you to gain here this day."

She flicked her fingers in a signal to cut the transmission, leaving the channel open for a response, her throat feeling raw and acrid. So far, the warriors of House Mo'kai had shown a stubborn loyalty to Gorka. Understandable, she supposed, if unfortunate. Playing upon the better angels of Klingon's was something of a lost cause in and of itself, she supposed. They probably slew all their angels when they killed their gods. That thought nearly set her into a titter of giggles, but she managed to restrain herself to a mere twitch of her shoulders and mildly manic grin, quickly smothered. Ahead of her, she could see the glow of the enemy weapons ports, deadly energy crackling, waiting to be released.

And then, to her shock, the glows began to fade. A rough, angry voice barked over the comm channel. "noHQapmeHwo' Qaw'lu'chughyaychavbe'lu' 'ejwo' choqmeH may' DoHlu'chughlujbe'lu'." That was it, nothing more. She could hear the channel cut, and watched, eyes growing steadily wider, as the fleet turned and pulled into the orbit she'd ordered. In a low mutter, she repeated the words in Federation standard,

"Destroying an empire to win a war is no victory, and ending a battle to save an empire is no defeat."

OOC: Klingon's have the best proverbs.

Re: CH07: S [D03|1725] Praxis Crucible

Reply #49 –
[ Ensign Lauren Pierce | Bridge | USS Allegiant | Approaching Praxis ] Attn: @Ellen Fitz @Stegro88 @Sqweloookle @uytrereee @Auctor Lucan @Griffinsummoner @jreeves1701
[Show/Hide]

Lauren sat back in her bridge chair aboard the Allegiant. The fresh experience of being on the bridge again of a ship, albeit a smaller one, still gave her thrills in her spirit. All of which from the tasks and the mission seemed to keep her energized with adrenaline for anything that could be thrown her way. She after all didn't want to fail the team, especially being so new to the Theurgy crew. The thoughts of what would Tessa do in this situation also amplified her level of excitement knowing that the other pilot would likely revel in this.

Her graceful movements across the navigation panel only displayed her skills further. She continued to dodge weapons fire from the surface. The shields too continued to take a rapid pounding despite her capabilities in navigating the smaller vessel. Moving into range for their own attack, the console nearby that burst into flames startled her slightly as she saw it send CWO Luff to the ground with a rather nasty burn.

She prayed silently for the cloak to come back not knowing how much more of this beating that they could take. Nevertheless, she licked her lips to moisten them again and placed all of her determination back at the task at hand. That was when the intercom came on to report the big bomb. Not something she had thought she'd hear today when she was assigned to the Allegiant.

Lauren could make out the faint sound of the doctor over the weapons peppering their shields about possibly beaming it away. She couldn't hear much else beyond that point as she laser focused back at the defenses watching as a shot was fired back destroying a planet side turret. Before Pierce could do another barrel-roll, Cross spoke up loud enough this time to be heard.

"There appears to be a second mining shaft leading to the one zh'Wann indicated. If we can fit, Ensign Pierce, and I mean, you may scratch the paint job type fit, I want you to take the Allegiant down there. You heard the away team, we're up against the clock, and time waits for no one."

She turned slightly giving a nod before verbalizing the request from the Commander. "Aye sir! I think I can make it." She chuckled loudly enough to be heard. "And I'm going to hold you to that on scratching the paint job!" Her fingers strummed the controls as she focused in on the secondary shaft, placing the coordinates for the Allegiant to move towards it.

Other elements of hurt personnel could be heard on the bridge. She heard the Vulpian officer express pain and heard her fall to the deckplates with a hard thud. A shiver shook her to her core. As concerned as she might feel for a fellow officer, if they didn't make this mission count, there'd be a lot more to worry about than those falling on the bridge. It was her hopes that they can avoid another "Dominion" war-like situation in the Klingon Empire.

Cross' voice could be heard behind her, "See to Ensign Nix, Doctor Kobol." She turned and looked at the Commander as she caught his nod towards the moon. "Time for some sightseeing, Ensign Pierce. Punch it."

"On it!" Her brown eyes twinkled as she felt more adrenaline pumping through her to the point she was jittery. She fired the thrusters at maximum to boost past the shots and into the core.

With any luck they wouldn't explode on impact. As they closed the final moments, she activated the inertial dampeners at maximum and hit the thrusters at 1/4 the speed. The edges of the outer nacelles scraped the rock faces into the cavern, pieces of the hull tearing off slightly. Silver and blue now marred with a charred black. She couldn't help but smirk that she was not only allowed to do this but that she was going to piss off the engineers with more work. Something Lauren relished in her academy days.

The distance must be closing to the internal bomb within the core. She scanned ahead and discovered they weren't as far as they thought from it. Likely near a repository of sort that appeared to be nearby it. They were still a ways from it but the distance was closed fast. "Sir! We appear to be getting close. It may take us another few minutes however." She winced as she heard the hull scraping more as they got closer. The sound of the duranium metals being put to the test with solid rock. "We may get stuck too unless this cavern opens up further at the other end."

Lauren continued to navigate further towards the target as she awaited what came next.
 
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