Judgement – To seek out old civilizations
by Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Commander Richard Dunham & Lieutenant Vincent Tan & Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Colonel James Darson & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & 1st Lieutenant April McKinnon
Post Details
ON:
Tasha read the report sent back from Lieutenant Erikson, who was currently holding station in the docking bay.
She tapped her console, opening a signal to the scout ship.
=^= "Lieutenant Erikson, I think we have been patient enough with our guests. Take a ship of your choice, large enough to carry a contingent for boarding the Horatio and for tractoring back to the station. Ensure you approach with weapons ready and shields to full." She ordered. Now was the time to show the Horatio that silence was not the best policy when dealing with a celestial class station, no matter when they were from or if they were friendly or hostile.
=^= Aye Captain. I'm already on route to one of our Runabout vessels =^= In fact he was at the air lock and was already typing in his security code, and getting his retinal scan for entry. He had opted for a runabout for its maneuverability and toughness, he only needed a co-pilot and small security team with him, as it was likely the marines would be taking part in most of the boarding operations. He just hoped the Colonel was still as efficient as he remembered him to be. He cleared all moorings, umbilical's and lines to the runabout. The last to go was the airlock as the last security officer came onboard. The runabout cleared its private hanger into the main hanger of the station, then swooping out it headed for the old federation starship. Erikson looked at the old constitution class, it was in his opinion a thing of beauty
Tasha tapped at her comm a second time, signalling intelligence, security and marine departments.
=^= "Ensign t'Sahen, Kato, Work with Lieutenant Tan. We are about to be boarding a Constitution class and either bringing back an ancient or hostile crew. We need both Cells and quarters to be prepared." She said as her thoughts raced, trying to cover all bases. "Kato, Colonel, I require four teams from each department to assist Lieutenant Erikson." She instructed.
Rhiana walked into ops half expecting to get read the riot act for a slow response time again, it was getting harder with the Lieutenant missing still, and Starfleet breathing down her neck about closing the case and moving on. Realizing that that wasn't the topic of discussion she chimed in "Don't put any of the phaser settings above level seven, especially near engineering, there are three major EPS systems that aren't exactly protected very well against boarding actions, and life support could be at risk if something does happen."
~Ok what the hell is going on I'm not in trouble beyond the Constitution Class on the monitors.~ she thought.
"Aye, aye, Captain," Vincent responded, flicking his eyes up from his console long enough to give brief nods of acknowledgement to the security and intelligence officers he had been ordered to work with. "This is where things get exciting," he uttered to no one in particular, whilst keeping a keen eye for any changes or signs from the vessel that might bring sudden danger.
Lieutenant Deborah Kato looked up from her padd as the signal came through to her office. Her breathing began to quicken as she began to comprehend what the orders were.
~A Constitution Class vessel? Where could anybody find one of those outside of a museum, and even then, who would be crazy enough to travel in them?~ She asked herself as she began to gather her items and head towards the indicated location on her padd. She waited several moments until the information downloaded to her padd and she began to exit her office within the Security Department complex.
~Boarding parties. . .why did it have to be a boarding party? I'm an investigator, not some MACO or even a Marine.~ She continued to think to herself.
Of course she had gone through the requisite training for all Starfleet Security officers, and she had received her required time on the holodeck shooting range; however, she was an forensic investigator by training. She didn't get an adreneline rush from kicking in forcefields and storming the beach. Her battlefiled was in a laboratory or behind a desk.
She took several deep breathes as she entered the turbolift. ~Just remember your training, and stay calm, Deborah. Besides. . .it's only a Federation vessel. . .from over 100 years out of commission.~
=^= Acknowledged Captain,” =^= Darson said curtly as he swept through the doors of the Marine HQ like a galleon in full sail and headed to the Command and Control Center, =^= “An ancient or hostile crew you say? Well, I always have the cells prepared, for just such an occasion. Also, the banquet hall is fully stocked and ready to go. One way or another, I think we’re good. I’m prepping a platoon now, hopper will be off the deck in five.” =^=
Tasha allowed herself a small smile after acknowledging the intel from Rhiana.
=^= "Clockwork as usual Colonel." She said as she stepped up onto the operations rostrum alongside her comms officer.
"William, send the Horatio a signal Deep Space five is sending 2 ships. Respond or prepared to be boarded."
Harris gave a single nod as he acknowledged the captains order and opened the hailing frequencies to wide spectrum meaning that all the ships in this area of space was about to hear.
=^= "USS Horatio. Registration number NCC 4893. This is Federation Starbase Deep Space Five. Respond or prepare to be boarded." He quoted the Captain word for word, dispensing any pleasantries.
The silence and tension were so palpable that Vincent just had to chime in. In a stage whisper to Captain Tahir he said, "Sounds like they've popped out to the shops. Maybe we should check back later?"
Tasha felt herself grin a little and humour had it's place and in honesty, now was not that time but nevertheless, she did nothing to hide the grin.
"I hope for their sake that they are not onboard." She replied in an equally hushed tone.
As the small runabout approached the old piece of starfleet engineering, it banked slightly and did a gliding flyby of the constitution class. From the pilots chair, Erikson could see lights on in the ship and his sensors could pick up life signs.
Harris reported to Tahir.
"Captain, life signs confirmed." He stated with a matter of fact voice ad continued to monitor the runabouts telemetry.
Tahir folded her hands behind her back waiting for more news.
[Marine HQ]
Back in the Marine HQ, Darson entered the Command and Control Center overlooking the main area and made a beeline towards his brand new MXO, “Lieutenant McKinnon! Good news, I have an assignment for you. Drop whatever you’re doing and walk with me,” Darson continued past her and out the other side, “As you may or may not be aware, there is currently a Federation ship sitting off our fine station, a hundred years out of date and quiet to boot. So we’re going to go knock on their door and see who answers.”
April jumped at the sound of his voice: she'd been in deep concentration reading a padd with information about the unit on it. She jumped up from her seat and followed straight behind Darson. "I'm only new on this ship, remember? But hey, any chance of action sounds good to me!" A smile on her face was quite evident at the thought of it.
“I’m going with the boarding party. Consider this your trial by fire…I was going to have you actually have a trial composed of fire, but that was passé years ago. This is Darson Quality. You’re going to head up the CIC and keep an eye on this whole thing, patch into my communications uplink with the Bridge, keep us advised and guide us through the ship. If things go south, I want to know about it as it happens. CIC callsign is Goliath, and you’re now Goliath Actual. So show me what you’ve got. Dismissed.”
"I'm on it, Sir." April responded, heading off down a corridor towards the nearest turbolift.
--
About a minute later, he glided into Marine Hanger 3, where a platoon of heavily armed Marines from the Rapid Reaction Force were mounting up into two Firefly class transports, themselves fitted with Dynamic Entry Pods for breaching a ship’s shields and hull. Darson approached the Platoon Commander who was directing traffic and said, “Lieutenant, are we ready to fly?”
The Marine, already knowing the tendencies of his superior officer responded smoothly, “Yes sir. We are locked and ready to rock and roll. Will you be joining us today?”
“Indeed I will. I will be both briefing you and your team, and operating independently. And seriously, what kind of commanding officer would I be if I didn’t lead my loyal Marines into the thick of it from time to time?”
The lower ranked officer grinned and responded, “Hoo-rah sir. Mount up and we’ll get underway.”
Inside the lead ship, the two-person crew pressed their button sequences with the ease and rapidity of thousands of hours of flights. Darson opened the compartment door and stuck his head in, “At ease Marines. Status report, how long till skids up?”
“Less than a minute sir, we’re sealed and engines are spinning up now.”
“Good. Contact the Air Boss and get us out of here. Form up on whatever one of our Starfleet ships that’s already out there, and we’ll find out how to proceed. Carry on.” With that, he disappeared back into the hold.
The co-pilot manipulated his controls and called out, “Retro, confirm green across the board, we are detached, all moorings clear. We’re ready to launch.”
The pilot manipulated the Comm frequencies to the one reserved for Deep Space 5 MTC, and said, =^=“Break-Break; Marine Operations, Marine Operations, this is Mongoose-One at Sierra-Mike-Hotel-Three, we are requesting immediate operation departure clearance.”=^=
=^= “Roger that Mongoose-One, your vector is clear of traffic. Clearance to depart from Hotel-Three. Good hunting.” =^=
The pilot nodded to her partner, and with that, both ships shot of the hanger in quick succession, the arced silently around the curvature of the station, moving at high impulse. They came about with the Horatio in view and formed up on either side of the runabout.
Darson triggered his communications equipment, patching back into the channel and said professionally, =^= “Captain, we’ve formed up on the Runabout and we’re heading for our mysterious guests. Just so we’re clear, what exactly are our rules of engagement here?" =^=
Tasha tapped at her console responding to both ships.
=^= "I think the time for pleasantries has passed. Shields up, weapons ready. If they don't respond, you have clearance to board the ship and neutralise any hostile forces." Tasha was clear in her instruction not knowing if they were friendly or foe and with two ships heading out, she had to be sure that her own staff were safe.
= Aboard the USS Horatio =
He chewed on the ends of his fingers, something he had not done for many years, the academy in fact. This though, warranted Captain Paul Buckley chewing on his nails as he was never taught what to do in circumstances such as these as the second of two ships loomed closer to the Horatio. His eyes never left the screen, fear like a rabbit caught in the LED lights of a car.
Catherine watched her captain chew on his fingers, a sure sign of nerves and she though just as nervous, kept her demeanour at least outwardly.
The first officer leant over the rail towards the Captains chair, closing the gap between them.
“Captain, I think we should respond to the hail. We have one ship at station keeping on our port and another heading directly for us and they are either going to board us, or blow us out of existence.” She regretted her choice of words as soon as they left her lips.
Paul eased himself around to her and gave a single nod of acceptance.
“Live today or die today. As far as history is concerned, we died over a hundred years ago. Do we let our records speak for us, or shall we…” He didn’t finish the sentence as the second craft continued to advance.
Commander Cousins heard the hushed conversation, despite the captain and first officers attempts at keeping their voices to a hushed level.
Both had relative points, but he would prefer life, no matter how the circumstances affected them. He weighed his options before spinning his seat around to look directly at his commanding officers.
“Captain, permission to speak?” He requested as his hands went to his lap.
Paul nodded.
“Sir, I think we should respond. They have now identified themselves as a Federation Starbase. Until now, they have made no hostile movements and we have failed to respond to several hails. They are running by the book. If we identify ourselves under section three of the fleet code, they cannot board us. We have offered no resistance, they can see that we are not hostile, but if we don't respond..."
Captain Buckley nodded as Cousins swung about and responded to the alert on his own console.
"Sir," He swallowed as he brought his chair back to look at Captain Buckley, his face draining of colour, "both ships have fully charged their weapons. Shields?" He advised nervously in statement more than question.
TBC
OFF
Captain Tasha Tahir
CO: DS5
Crew of the USS Horatio
NCC4893 - Constitution Refit Class
Captain Paul Buckley
Commander Catherine Burrell
Lt Commander Brian John Cousins
Colonel James Darson
MCO: DS5
1st Lt April McKinnon
Marine XO
Lieutenant JG Erikson
Wing Commander/ Acting CAG
NPC'd by Dunham
by Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Commander Richard Dunham & Lieutenant Vincent Tan & Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Colonel James Darson & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & 1st Lieutenant April McKinnon
Post Details
| Title | To seek out old civilizations | |
| Mission | Judgement | |
| Author(s) | Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Commander Richard Dunham & Lieutenant Vincent Tan & Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Colonel James Darson & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & 1st Lieutenant April McKinnon | |
| Posted | Fri Sep 30, 2011 @ 10:20pm | |
| Location | Space - DS5 / Ops | |
| Timeline | SD39 10:25 |
Tasha read the report sent back from Lieutenant Erikson, who was currently holding station in the docking bay.
She tapped her console, opening a signal to the scout ship.
=^= "Lieutenant Erikson, I think we have been patient enough with our guests. Take a ship of your choice, large enough to carry a contingent for boarding the Horatio and for tractoring back to the station. Ensure you approach with weapons ready and shields to full." She ordered. Now was the time to show the Horatio that silence was not the best policy when dealing with a celestial class station, no matter when they were from or if they were friendly or hostile.
=^= Aye Captain. I'm already on route to one of our Runabout vessels =^= In fact he was at the air lock and was already typing in his security code, and getting his retinal scan for entry. He had opted for a runabout for its maneuverability and toughness, he only needed a co-pilot and small security team with him, as it was likely the marines would be taking part in most of the boarding operations. He just hoped the Colonel was still as efficient as he remembered him to be. He cleared all moorings, umbilical's and lines to the runabout. The last to go was the airlock as the last security officer came onboard. The runabout cleared its private hanger into the main hanger of the station, then swooping out it headed for the old federation starship. Erikson looked at the old constitution class, it was in his opinion a thing of beauty
Tasha tapped at her comm a second time, signalling intelligence, security and marine departments.
=^= "Ensign t'Sahen, Kato, Work with Lieutenant Tan. We are about to be boarding a Constitution class and either bringing back an ancient or hostile crew. We need both Cells and quarters to be prepared." She said as her thoughts raced, trying to cover all bases. "Kato, Colonel, I require four teams from each department to assist Lieutenant Erikson." She instructed.
Rhiana walked into ops half expecting to get read the riot act for a slow response time again, it was getting harder with the Lieutenant missing still, and Starfleet breathing down her neck about closing the case and moving on. Realizing that that wasn't the topic of discussion she chimed in "Don't put any of the phaser settings above level seven, especially near engineering, there are three major EPS systems that aren't exactly protected very well against boarding actions, and life support could be at risk if something does happen."
~Ok what the hell is going on I'm not in trouble beyond the Constitution Class on the monitors.~ she thought.
"Aye, aye, Captain," Vincent responded, flicking his eyes up from his console long enough to give brief nods of acknowledgement to the security and intelligence officers he had been ordered to work with. "This is where things get exciting," he uttered to no one in particular, whilst keeping a keen eye for any changes or signs from the vessel that might bring sudden danger.
Lieutenant Deborah Kato looked up from her padd as the signal came through to her office. Her breathing began to quicken as she began to comprehend what the orders were.
~A Constitution Class vessel? Where could anybody find one of those outside of a museum, and even then, who would be crazy enough to travel in them?~ She asked herself as she began to gather her items and head towards the indicated location on her padd. She waited several moments until the information downloaded to her padd and she began to exit her office within the Security Department complex.
~Boarding parties. . .why did it have to be a boarding party? I'm an investigator, not some MACO or even a Marine.~ She continued to think to herself.
Of course she had gone through the requisite training for all Starfleet Security officers, and she had received her required time on the holodeck shooting range; however, she was an forensic investigator by training. She didn't get an adreneline rush from kicking in forcefields and storming the beach. Her battlefiled was in a laboratory or behind a desk.
She took several deep breathes as she entered the turbolift. ~Just remember your training, and stay calm, Deborah. Besides. . .it's only a Federation vessel. . .from over 100 years out of commission.~
=^= Acknowledged Captain,” =^= Darson said curtly as he swept through the doors of the Marine HQ like a galleon in full sail and headed to the Command and Control Center, =^= “An ancient or hostile crew you say? Well, I always have the cells prepared, for just such an occasion. Also, the banquet hall is fully stocked and ready to go. One way or another, I think we’re good. I’m prepping a platoon now, hopper will be off the deck in five.” =^=
Tasha allowed herself a small smile after acknowledging the intel from Rhiana.
=^= "Clockwork as usual Colonel." She said as she stepped up onto the operations rostrum alongside her comms officer.
"William, send the Horatio a signal Deep Space five is sending 2 ships. Respond or prepared to be boarded."
Harris gave a single nod as he acknowledged the captains order and opened the hailing frequencies to wide spectrum meaning that all the ships in this area of space was about to hear.
=^= "USS Horatio. Registration number NCC 4893. This is Federation Starbase Deep Space Five. Respond or prepare to be boarded." He quoted the Captain word for word, dispensing any pleasantries.
The silence and tension were so palpable that Vincent just had to chime in. In a stage whisper to Captain Tahir he said, "Sounds like they've popped out to the shops. Maybe we should check back later?"
Tasha felt herself grin a little and humour had it's place and in honesty, now was not that time but nevertheless, she did nothing to hide the grin.
"I hope for their sake that they are not onboard." She replied in an equally hushed tone.
As the small runabout approached the old piece of starfleet engineering, it banked slightly and did a gliding flyby of the constitution class. From the pilots chair, Erikson could see lights on in the ship and his sensors could pick up life signs.
Harris reported to Tahir.
"Captain, life signs confirmed." He stated with a matter of fact voice ad continued to monitor the runabouts telemetry.
Tahir folded her hands behind her back waiting for more news.
[Marine HQ]
Back in the Marine HQ, Darson entered the Command and Control Center overlooking the main area and made a beeline towards his brand new MXO, “Lieutenant McKinnon! Good news, I have an assignment for you. Drop whatever you’re doing and walk with me,” Darson continued past her and out the other side, “As you may or may not be aware, there is currently a Federation ship sitting off our fine station, a hundred years out of date and quiet to boot. So we’re going to go knock on their door and see who answers.”
April jumped at the sound of his voice: she'd been in deep concentration reading a padd with information about the unit on it. She jumped up from her seat and followed straight behind Darson. "I'm only new on this ship, remember? But hey, any chance of action sounds good to me!" A smile on her face was quite evident at the thought of it.
“I’m going with the boarding party. Consider this your trial by fire…I was going to have you actually have a trial composed of fire, but that was passé years ago. This is Darson Quality. You’re going to head up the CIC and keep an eye on this whole thing, patch into my communications uplink with the Bridge, keep us advised and guide us through the ship. If things go south, I want to know about it as it happens. CIC callsign is Goliath, and you’re now Goliath Actual. So show me what you’ve got. Dismissed.”
"I'm on it, Sir." April responded, heading off down a corridor towards the nearest turbolift.
--
About a minute later, he glided into Marine Hanger 3, where a platoon of heavily armed Marines from the Rapid Reaction Force were mounting up into two Firefly class transports, themselves fitted with Dynamic Entry Pods for breaching a ship’s shields and hull. Darson approached the Platoon Commander who was directing traffic and said, “Lieutenant, are we ready to fly?”
The Marine, already knowing the tendencies of his superior officer responded smoothly, “Yes sir. We are locked and ready to rock and roll. Will you be joining us today?”
“Indeed I will. I will be both briefing you and your team, and operating independently. And seriously, what kind of commanding officer would I be if I didn’t lead my loyal Marines into the thick of it from time to time?”
The lower ranked officer grinned and responded, “Hoo-rah sir. Mount up and we’ll get underway.”
Inside the lead ship, the two-person crew pressed their button sequences with the ease and rapidity of thousands of hours of flights. Darson opened the compartment door and stuck his head in, “At ease Marines. Status report, how long till skids up?”
“Less than a minute sir, we’re sealed and engines are spinning up now.”
“Good. Contact the Air Boss and get us out of here. Form up on whatever one of our Starfleet ships that’s already out there, and we’ll find out how to proceed. Carry on.” With that, he disappeared back into the hold.
The co-pilot manipulated his controls and called out, “Retro, confirm green across the board, we are detached, all moorings clear. We’re ready to launch.”
The pilot manipulated the Comm frequencies to the one reserved for Deep Space 5 MTC, and said, =^=“Break-Break; Marine Operations, Marine Operations, this is Mongoose-One at Sierra-Mike-Hotel-Three, we are requesting immediate operation departure clearance.”=^=
=^= “Roger that Mongoose-One, your vector is clear of traffic. Clearance to depart from Hotel-Three. Good hunting.” =^=
The pilot nodded to her partner, and with that, both ships shot of the hanger in quick succession, the arced silently around the curvature of the station, moving at high impulse. They came about with the Horatio in view and formed up on either side of the runabout.
Darson triggered his communications equipment, patching back into the channel and said professionally, =^= “Captain, we’ve formed up on the Runabout and we’re heading for our mysterious guests. Just so we’re clear, what exactly are our rules of engagement here?" =^=
Tasha tapped at her console responding to both ships.
=^= "I think the time for pleasantries has passed. Shields up, weapons ready. If they don't respond, you have clearance to board the ship and neutralise any hostile forces." Tasha was clear in her instruction not knowing if they were friendly or foe and with two ships heading out, she had to be sure that her own staff were safe.
= Aboard the USS Horatio =
He chewed on the ends of his fingers, something he had not done for many years, the academy in fact. This though, warranted Captain Paul Buckley chewing on his nails as he was never taught what to do in circumstances such as these as the second of two ships loomed closer to the Horatio. His eyes never left the screen, fear like a rabbit caught in the LED lights of a car.
Catherine watched her captain chew on his fingers, a sure sign of nerves and she though just as nervous, kept her demeanour at least outwardly.
The first officer leant over the rail towards the Captains chair, closing the gap between them.
“Captain, I think we should respond to the hail. We have one ship at station keeping on our port and another heading directly for us and they are either going to board us, or blow us out of existence.” She regretted her choice of words as soon as they left her lips.
Paul eased himself around to her and gave a single nod of acceptance.
“Live today or die today. As far as history is concerned, we died over a hundred years ago. Do we let our records speak for us, or shall we…” He didn’t finish the sentence as the second craft continued to advance.
Commander Cousins heard the hushed conversation, despite the captain and first officers attempts at keeping their voices to a hushed level.
Both had relative points, but he would prefer life, no matter how the circumstances affected them. He weighed his options before spinning his seat around to look directly at his commanding officers.
“Captain, permission to speak?” He requested as his hands went to his lap.
Paul nodded.
“Sir, I think we should respond. They have now identified themselves as a Federation Starbase. Until now, they have made no hostile movements and we have failed to respond to several hails. They are running by the book. If we identify ourselves under section three of the fleet code, they cannot board us. We have offered no resistance, they can see that we are not hostile, but if we don't respond..."
Captain Buckley nodded as Cousins swung about and responded to the alert on his own console.
"Sir," He swallowed as he brought his chair back to look at Captain Buckley, his face draining of colour, "both ships have fully charged their weapons. Shields?" He advised nervously in statement more than question.
TBC
OFF
Captain Tasha Tahir
CO: DS5
Crew of the USS Horatio
NCC4893 - Constitution Refit Class
Captain Paul Buckley
Commander Catherine Burrell
Lt Commander Brian John Cousins
Colonel James Darson
MCO: DS5
1st Lt April McKinnon
Marine XO
Lieutenant JG Erikson
Wing Commander/ Acting CAG
NPC'd by Dunham