Following Breadcrumbs
Posted on Thu Dec 23rd, 2010 @ 11:10am by Captain Elsie Halliwell & Commander Curtiss Drake & Captain T'mpest Michaels & Lieutenant Commander Dylan Blake & Lieutenant Alessandro Reynaldi & Lieutenant JG Jason Fisher & Lieutenant Jimmy Cooper
2,112 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
Lost Friends
Location: USS Ranger, Bridge and Cargo Bay
Timeline: Current
Cargo Bay 2
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As T'kaarch walked into the cargo bay, he noticed Lieutenant Reynaldi had already begun on the probe. He weaved around a few parts and hatches, before purring "Found anything yet, Lieutenant?"
"Just cracked her open." Alex said as he worked on the probe. "The power systems on the probe were fluctuating for a bit, but she's working fine now."
"Well, let's get this puppy up and rrrunning and find out wherrre she came frrrom and what her message is." T'kaarch purred as he walked to one of the cargo bay consoles to use the computer wherever necessary.
T'mpest walked up to the other two. "How may I be of assistance?"
"We'll need to stabilize the powerrr supply and confirrrm it's orrrigin... Maybe therrre's some kind of message in it too. I don't think anyone would dump one of these forrr fun." T'kaarch purred while using the internal sensors to get as much information about the probe as possible.
"I'll see if I can find a message," T'mpest said. She went to a nearby computer terminal and began to work on a way to access the message -- if there was one.
"Powerrr up... making link..." T'kaarch skillfully handled the console. "You should have access now, Commanderrr." He nodded to T'mpest while focussing on his own task. "Signaturrre... USS Archimedes confirrrmed."
"Excellent. Thank you," she said. Now that the probe had power, she was ready to see what the porbe contained. "There's a message, but it's encrypted," she told the others. "Give me a few minutes..."
She inserted a data rod into the computer and linked it to the Intel database. That, and a few tricks of her own, soon had the message decoded. "It's from the Archimedes."
"What does it say?" T'kaarch purred, more out of interest then anything else. "We should inforrrm the brrridge."
T'mpest pushed a few buttons and the message began to play.
Mayday, mayday. This is the USS Archimedes. We've been attacked by an enemy vessel. Power is almost gone. Urgent. Need assistance.
Reynaldi shook his head at the message. "I hope we weren't too late..." He murmured.
T'mpest tapped her combadge. "Michaels to Halliwell. We've decrypted the message."
[[Patch it through,]] she replied tersely.
Bridge, Deck One
____________________
Elsie shot a look to her First Officer as the information came deafeningly across the comm. channel from the cargo bay. “We have our confirmation,†she said more to herself as she felt her heart skip in her throat. Now standing a little shakened, she turned to Lieutenant Fisher. “Red alert, Mr. Fisher. You’ve been dead once before, I have no intention of letting that happen a second time. Keep us battle-ready.â€
"Aye, Captain." Fisher responded, a wry smile creeping across his face as he reflected that he had no intention of dying again anytime soon either. "Red alert." He activated the alert status and looked up briefly as the bridge lights dimmed and the klaxons began to blare.
Now walking down to the front of the bridge, she called over to Commander Zhukov again. “Take us to those coordinates, Commander. Quickly, but easy. I don’t want to draw any unwanted attention to us whilst we’re in this area.
"Yes, Captain." Zhukov said as he maneuvered the ship.
As Halliwell sat back down, a subtle yet striking beat resounded around the bridge.
"Captain!" yelled Zhukov from the Helm. "I think I have...something." he said as he hurriedly tapped the buttons in front of him on the console.
"I have a ship...she's a drift behind the moon there." Zhukov said as the image of the moon appeared on the main view screen.
"She measures 140.2 meters in length, and is definitely of Federation origin. Her power is down to almost nothing. Can't get any life sign readings yet though, we are too far away. With your permission, I'd like to move the ship in closer to verify my readings and obtain a definite ID on the ship." he said as he held his hand directly over the acceleration controls waiting for the Captain to give him the OK to proceed.
“Slowly, Commander,†she said, as both her and Drake inched forward to perch on the edges of their seats in weighted anticipation. She looked to Fisher again and nodded. “Continuous tactical scans, Lieutenant."
Jason was barely able to make out the captain's orders above the red alert klaxon and so decided to switch the red alert status to visual only. "Scans are on-going, sir," he reported, "the vessel presents no threat..." he paused as he confirmed his colleague's readings. "Minimal power confirmed... no shields or power to weapons."
Drake watched with baited breath, mirroring his Captain's movements as the events unfolded before him. Instinctively, his hand hovered over the panel to his left, along with the tactical override command. He trusted Tactical to make the right decision at the right time, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be prepared to do the same.
As Zhukov slowly took the ship around the moon, a distant dark object came up on the screen. "Magnifying now." he said as he tapped a button and the very clear image of a Nova Class starship appeared on the viewscreen in front of them.
"It's the Archimedes alright, and she's been damaged severely." said Zhukov as he slowly read the hull name and registry number off the ship on the screen. "There are two hull breeches, and they are on emergency reserve power. Reading several life signs aboard." he said with an optimistic tone.
“Hail them.â€
"Hailing received Captain, opening channel," Lieutenant Blake called.
The hail was replied by mostly static. "This is Lieuten... aal of the ... edes"
"Boost the signal and clean that up!" Drake barked over his shoulder, his voice carrying the length of the deck and betraying his inner dialogue slightly. He was nervous, and rightfully so.
The Operations Officer keyed a few selected buttons to improve the transmission.
The static started to clear up a bit. "..ou read me?... This is Lieutenant T'alaal of the USS Archimedes"
Halliwell turned to Fisher, her eyes wide with anticipation. “Confirm her identity,†she said, muting the comm. as she spoke.
"Working..." Fisher responded as he moved to the back of the tactical station to access the main intelligence database. A few seconds later he turned back to the captain. "I.D. confirmed, sir," he reported, "Lieutenant T'alaal, is the gamma-shift officer-of-the-watch aboard the Archimedes."
Turning to now face the viewscreen, Elsie said, “Lieutenant T’alaal. This is Captain Halliwell of the USS Ranger. What is the status of your ship and your captain?â€
"Good to hear a fr...ly voice, USS Ranger. We have been struck by a power failure and subsequent sabotage... You... elp would be greatly app..ciated." The comm signal was still a bit dodgy, but at least there was a comm signal.
"Is the artifact safe?" Teegan asked, her voice piercing sharply above the others.
Ignoring her, Elsie focused on the disembodied voice of the Science officer. “Can you patch me through to Captain Kerr?â€
"Of course, patc...ou through to the rea... room." The silent static cut out momentarily, then returned with the sound of Captain Kerr.
“Halliwell?†the Trill murmured whilst sitting in his flickering ready room, speaking with the voice of a broken man. “Sonaata. They took Sonaata!â€
Halliwell shot a look at Teegan and locked her brow with confusion. “Is that what the artefact is called?†she asked, genuinely concerned and for once inline with Ms. Mar’s thought process.
"No. It's a piece of classical music. I have no idea who or what he's referring to." She was now positive Captain Kerr had lost his mind.
“Captain,†Elsie cut back, her voice authoritative and urgent. “What is a Sonaata? And what assistance do you and your ship need?â€
Kerr wimpered audibly over the comm. as he placed down a framed picture of his love, of his life: Sonaata. A beauty that caught his breath when he thought of her loss. The comm. fell silent again as Elsie rolled her eyes and shot a loaded glance at her First Officer. She sighed in a way that betrayed her almost motherly responsibility for her fellow captain. Taking charge, Elsie stepped up to the plate and began.
“Commander,†she said, looking at Drake, “take the bridge and coordinate efforts from here. Liaise with the Archimedes’ Chief Engineer, find out what he requires and dispatch Mr. Reynaldi and a team over there to assist.â€
"I'll take care of it, Captain." Drake replied, taking a step towards the Engineering station, "If we have it to offer, the Archimedes will get it." he continuned, "Maybe we can boost the deflector to clean up the signal?" he asked, turning about to face the Captain, but seeing that she had something else on her mind. He clenched his jaw and set his feet defiantly. "I can take an away team, you should stay here, Captain." he said, his voice marketly lower as he stepped closer to the Captain. "If there's trouble, I'm the more qualifed." he added, making sure no one else heard that particular part.
It was the truth. He was the Tactical Officer, trained extensively in Starfleet Security as well as the Naval Patrol. If there was anyone on this vessel that could handle a weapon or a hostile party, it was him.
“I’m heading over,†she replied defiantly. “I can’t get any sense out of the man over the comm.. I need to get over there and establish exactly what’s happened and where our next move should be placed.
"It's too dangerous." Drake replied simply, "I don't like this situation one bit. You should stay here and let me take care of this. I can relay the information to you. You're not a fighter, Captain - I am."
“I realise that,†she counter-acted, “but I’m taking Lieutenant Fisher with me and need an experienced combatant at the controls in his stead.†Her face relaxed somewhat before she added, “What good are you to me if you’re not my ‘go-to’ guy?†Her attempt at defusing a tense situation was uncharacteristic to say the least.
Curtiss flared his nostrils and clenched his jaw tighter. "I am your go-to, Captain." he growled. "I simply don't like you going into the thick of things. I can take Fisher..." he said, realizing he'd been defeated. He just shook his head, "Allright skipper... but first sign of trouble and I'll pull you out... even if I have to come get you myself."
“Fisher,†she called out over the bridge, “you’re with me.†She then turned back to Drake as she pulled her own phaser from its holster beneath her seat and said, “Tell T’mpest and T’kaarch to meet me in Transporter Room One immediately.â€
Curtiss nodded and turned to the Bridge staff, his silent gaze enough to make it happen.
As she strolled up to join Fisher from in front of his own station behind the main rail, she looked over at Zhukov with her steely eyes and then flicked her attention up to the quiet and darkened Archimedes as it lay adrift in space before them on the viewscreen. “Commander, move us to within transporter range and then lock onto her with a tractor beam to stabilise her. When you’re done, take a shuttle to ferry Reynaldi and a med-team over to join us. It looks as though they could use every bit of help we can offer them.â€
Zhukov nodded. "Aye, Captain. Moving into position now." he said as the Ranger slid forward and slightly to starboard.
"We are in range. Initializing tractor beam." Vladimir said as a small blue beam emanated from the Ranger and onto the Archimedes. After a few seconds, the panel in front of him began to beep.
"Captain, we have secured her. The Archimedes is no longer adrift. Transporter room is standing by for your arrival." he said to her.
“Thanks,†she nodded silently to Zhukov and then, as she turned for her and Fisher to head to the turbolift, the frame of Teegan Mar blocked her path.
"I'm going with you. It is imperative I find the artifact and assure its safety," Teegan said.
Not wishing to argue further Elsie just nodded as the four officers (and Teegan) left the bridge.
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