NRPG: I took a bit of a holiday. The other guy still isn't back yet. I don't know how long he'll be gone. Gods I can't do this forever. Okay, well here's your theme song. It's the best I could do. Slight hand puts a coin into a machine. Sound of coin sliding down machine. *starts music* Sunday, Monday, Happy Days. Tuesday, Wednesday, Happy Days. Thursday, Friday, Happy Days. The weekend comes, My warp core hums, Ready to race to you. These days are all, Happy and Free. (Those Happy Days) These days are all, Share them with me. (oh baby) Goodbye grey sky, hello blue. There's nothing can hold me when I hold you. Feels so right, it can't be wrong. Rockin' and rollin' all week long. Sunday, Monday, Happy Days. Tuesday, Wednesday, Happy Days. Thursday, Friday, Happy Days. Saturday, What a day, Groovin' all week with you. These days are all, Share them with me. (Those Happy Days) These days are all, Happy and Free. (oh baby) These Happy Days are your's and mine. These Happy Days are your's and mine, Happy Days. Today's compile index is brought to you by AAAAAAA!!!!! Day 4 (USS Boudicca, Personal Quarters, StratOps\MCO Lt. Colonel Eva Straton and aFO Lt. Cmdr. Sasha Stolev, 03:30) Day 12 (USS Boudicca - Sickbay - ACMO Gates - 1300) (USS Boudicca - Engineering - ACEO Lorimar - 1302) (USS Boudicca - Engineering - ACEO Lorimar - 1428) (USS Boudicca - Bridge -- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren- 1447) (USS Boudicca - Sickbay - ACMO Gates - 14.48) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - aCO - Archibald Stakes - 1449) (USS Boudicca - Bridge -- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren- 1450) (USS Boudicca - Sickbay - Nurse Carl Masterson - 15.50) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - aCO - Archibald Stakes - 1600) (USS Boudicca - Bridge -- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren- 1601) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - aCO - Archibald Stakes - 1750) (USS Boudicca - Bridge -- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren- 1752) (USS Boudicca - Bridge -- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren- 1801) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - aCO - Archibald Stakes - 1802) RPG: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mission: The Fires of Heaven, Day 4 Stardate: 2407.07.01 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (USS Boudicca, Personal Quarters, StratOps\MCO Lt. Colonel Eva Straton and aFO Lt. Cmdr. Sasha Stolev, 03:30) Eva awoke suddenly, tears streaming down her cheeks and her hands going to her swollen pregnant belly. She turned over suddenly and shoved Sasha completely out of bed and onto the floor with a loud thud. "I'D KILL YOU!!" She shouted at him as she struggled to get out of bed. "YOU HEAR ME!? I'D KILL YOU!!" With tears running down her face the image of Sasha passionately kissing another woman in her mind, Eva ran as best she could into the bathroom slammed the door shut and locked it. Suddenly out of breath and panting heavily, Eva sat down on the toilet and leaned back, her hands on her belly, as she sobbed while trying to catch her breath. Sasha sat up slowly, rubbing his head and wondering what the hell had just happened. One minute he had been sound asleep, and the next he found himself on the floor, being screamed at by his pregnant wife, who then turned and ran for the bathroom, locking the door behind her. ~Did I dream something that she picked up on?~ wondered Sasha. He searched his mind but whatever he had been dreaming about had fled in the abruptness of his awakening. He walked slowly to the bathroom door and knocked tentatively. "Eva? What's the matter?" he asked, keeping his tone as gentle as possible, still trying to figure out what could have provoked such a fierce outburst. Eva didn't immediately reply, thumping her head against the wall behind her instead as she tried to clear her head and get her emotions stirred into a frenzy by the seeming realism of the dream back under control. ~It was just a dream, none of it actually happened.~ "You cheated on me," She finally yelled back to Sasha. "You ever cheat on me and I will break both your legs!" She was silent for a few more moments as she started getting her breathing and emotions back under control. Feeling a little foolish for over reacting to a simple dream, she got to her feet and moved over and unlocked the door. She opened the door coming face to face with Sasha. "It was a dream," She explained, going on to describe the dream to him and everything that had happened in it. "It seemed so real at the time. The emotions were so strong. I'm sorry for pushing you onto the floor. I over reacted." She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes as she finished speaking. "I'll say," replied Sasha, rubbing the back of his head. He idly wondered who the woman in Eva's dream had been. Could it have been Ensign Jacobsen, the very stubborn -- and very attractive -- science officer who had insisted on continuing her experiments in spite of the order to shut down the science labs, until Sasha had had to personally confront her earlier today? "I'm glad your dream was just about me and not about some strategic fleet issue, or else we might all be in trouble!" Sasha said this with a grin, fully intending it to be merely a teasing comment to break the tension, but the smile slowly faded from his face as the truth of it hit him. If she felt that dream were so real that she shoved him so forcefully out of bed because of it, what would happen if, in the strategic operations center, she implemented a real world reaction to something that she had only dreamed about? "Of course, that'll never happen," he added lamely. "No, it won't ever happen," She snapped angrily, glaring at Sasha as she stepped out of the bathroom, pushing past him and moving back toward her side of the bed. "I can't believe you would even suggest such a thing. Gods what are you thinking; that I'm completely delusional? I suppose it doesn't even bother you that I'm having nightmares that you're out there screwing around on me and leaving me alone to care for the twins all on my own." Sasha sighed as he walked back to his side of the bed. "No, I don't think that you're completely delusional," he said as he stood next to the bed. "I think you're under a lot of stress and a lot of pressure, and being pregnant on top of it all can't help. And what bothers me about your nightmares is that on some level, you must think that could actually happen. Well, it won't." Eva sighed as she crawled back into bed, using the pillows to prop herself up into a sitting position. She sat putting her hands over her swollen abdomen, fingers interlaced. She closed her eyes for a moment taking several deep breaths. Finally, she opened her eyes looking at her belly thinking of the twins. She looked from it to Sasha and then back again. She was silent for several moments before she finally looked back up at Sasha. "Sasha, do you think I've made a terrible mistake?" She asked with a pained expression. "The dream made me feel powerless, betrayed, hurt, and angry. When I made the decision to keep the twins and not to abort the pregnancy, I thought they were a blessing sent by the gods. A chance to bring new life into the universe. A divine promise that everything would work out in the end for good. Now we are heading into the largest battle of our lives and I can't even run from the bed to the bathroom without getting winded. I'm a warrior Sasha been one my entire life, and now I feel weak and defenseless. Maybe my dream is just my sub-conscious forcing me to deal with these emotions, not that I actually think you will be unfaithful or a rotten father. War and combat, tactics and strategy I know, I've lived with them my entire life. Being a wife and mother are completely new to me. Did I make a mistake in not aborting the pregnancy when I had the chance? Will we all die, our mission a failure, because I am not where I am supposed to be; leading the Wolf Pack in battle? All of us have a place, a purpose. I've always known mine, without a doubt, until now." Sasha sat down on the bed next to her and took her hand. "No, you haven't made a mistake, Eva," he said with a gentle smile. "You are where you're supposed to be. Only instead of just Wolf Pack, you are leading the entire fleet into battle. You still have your place, and your purpose. It's just evolving a little bit, as life and circumstances evolve for us all. Of course it's not easy -- very little that's worth doing is. But you will handle it just as you've handled every other challenge you've faced. I have faith in that, even if you may not." Eva smiled gently, caressing Sasha's cheek with one hand. "At least you still have faith in me," She said, with a small nod. "Just wish I didn't feel like a beached whale." She shook her head. "Just have to hope that StratOps doesn't turn into a shooting gallery during the battle." She turned on her side then toward Sasha. "Oh! I think they're awake! Feels like I've got an Aldarian tentacle beast in my belly again." She took Sasha's hand and placed it on her belly. "Can you feel it?" Sasha laid down on the bed beside Eva and smiled. He could feel something very faintly, but he didn't know if it was the twins, or just Eva's breathing or pulse that he was feeling. "I do feel something..." he murmured as he focused on the sensations beneath his fingertips, his eyelids fluttering closed, his mind lapsing into a dream where he imagined himself feeling three distinct heartbeats. Eva watched as Sasha slowly drifted off to sleep. A small smile crossed her lips as she closed her own eyes and in the darkness drifted back to sleep herself. (Reply Any, None) (posted by Aaron & Wes) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mission: The Fires of Heaven, Day 12 Stardate: 2407.07.09 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (USS Boudicca - Sickbay - ACMO Gates - 1300) Georgia had found herself pacing nervously up and down in her office. It wasn't just the upcoming battle that was making her nervous. She had managed to convince herself in the past few minutes that giving Lorimar one of her stones was *not* a good idea. In fact, she was beginning to wonder what on earth she had been thinking in the first place. ~he won't understand what it is, I think I really must be losing my mind~ Stopping beside her desk, Georgia began to tidy the Padds she had stacked up there. She had planned on finishing with them earlier, but the note to Lorimar had distracted her. =^=Lorimar to Doctor Gates.=^= The shock Georgia felt at the sound of his voice was immediately apparent. There was a crash as the Padds she had been holding hit the floor. Ignoring the startled looks from the nurses in sickbay, Georgia took a deep breath to try and steady herself. ~I didn't think he'd......... maybe he didn't like it........... or was offended~ Trying not to let her voice shake, she hit her commbadge. "Dr Gates here, um, what can I do for you Mr Lorimar?" Georgia did her best to try and ignore the accent and just focus on what Lorimar was saying. It wasn't easy. =^=Doctor, ah'd come in person tae thank ye... but ye'll need pardon mah manners, we are right busy here. There wasnae any need tae return anythin'... but ah appreciate it greatly. Perhaps ye can take the time tae tell me the tale o' yer stone sometime? Until then, ah'll keep it in mah pocket... ah need all the help ah can get. Thank ye kindly Doctor.=^= About the same time as Georgia became aware of her cheeks heating up, she also became conscious of the nurses hovering near the doorway, obviously trying to listen in. She shut the door to her office. "Um, you're welcome. I just, well, I wanted to repay your kindness...." ~stop talking! you're beginning to sound even more of an idiot than he probably thinks you are~ "......... and I find alot of comfort...... well, the stones have healing qualities if you believe in that sort of thing, and um....... I hope you find as much comfort in them as I do." she finished lamely, feeling her cheeks grow even hotter. ~why can't I explain it better, so I don't sound like such an imbecile~ She suddenly recalled what he had first said, something about manners and not coming in person, and she felt mortified. Was he having a dig at the fact that she has sent a note like a coward rather than fronting up to him herself? Maybe he had been aware that she was under the desk when he came in. ~and he said I didn't need to do it, does that mean he doesn't really want it but he felt obliged to say thank you anyway?~ (reply Lorimar iyw, any nosy nurses) (posted by Wendy) (USS Boudicca - Engineering - ACEO Lorimar - 1302) =^=Um, you're welcome. I just, well, I wanted to repay your kindness....and I find alot of comfort...... well, the stones have healing qualities if you believe in that sort of thing, and um....... I hope you find as much comfort in them as I do.=^= Bob just... well, he sort of stared at his commbadge for a moment, attempting to process the hesitant and yet somehow almost staccato burst of words that had come from Doctor Gates. In reality he only paused for a half dozen seconds, but no doubt it seemed longer to his listener. He only hoped he didn't sound rude. "Doctor... mah kindness was a very small thing indeed... nae bother at all in fact. Ye just seemed tae be haein a bad day when we met, was hopin' tae turn things around for ye." ~Didn't work... not one bit, from the sound of her voice... she still sounds a wreck!~ 'In any case Doctor... thank ye again. Ah've got the stone in mah jumpsuit pocket... ah will be needin all the luck ah can get, hopefully nae any healin' though! Ah'm yet going to ask ye tae tell me the full story of yer lovely stone... but ah'm needin' tae get back tae the machines. Lots tae do here afore the fight starts in earnest." He paused a moment, then pressed on. "So ah'll be lookin forward tae hearin' yer story after the brawl is done Doctor. Thank ye again, ye are most kind." (Reply Gates IYW, Any) (Posted by Russ) (USS Boudicca - Engineering - ACEO Lorimar - 1428) Things were picking up in earnest now. Standing at the master situation display, Lorimar's eyes constantly swept the displays, his hands making rapid and precise adjustments as needed to supplement those being made by the ship's computers. Bio-neural gelpacks or no... there was no substitute for the human mind. Particularly in the highly fluid environment of combat. Bob had noted the arrival of the security force in full battle gear a few minutes previous, along with the activation of the supplemental transporter inhibitors. They were only visible on the status boards, but present nonetheless. He could not help but wonder just exactly what the Captain was expecting. He put that out of his mind quickly, only giving his phaser an almost subconcious tap to ensure it was securely available in his holster outside his jumpsuit. The not unexpected but still jarring call came next. =^= All hands, brace for impact!=^= Lorimar had no time to worry or wonder, just react. He held on tight to the panel in front of him, and flexed his knees to absorb the expected motion of the deck as though he were riding a horse. It worked, barely. He kept his feet as the ship shuddered around him. His eyes swept the displays quickly, then the engineering crew. He raised is voice loudly enough to be heard by everyone in engineering. "Right. Is anyone hurt? Keep yourselves ready, ah'm sure that this is the least we can expect." Back to the panels. The bridge had evidently diverted full power to the forward shields... the new generators to be precise. They'd held but they had taken multiple hits from the looks of it. ~Torpedoes, likely... judgin' from the reaction of the ship and the power drain~ He responded almost immediately to the call from the bridge for damage reports. "Bridge, reserve power at 93 percent. No damage in engineering as yet." (Reply Any on Bridge IYW) The next few minutes were much the same, despite the growing intensity of the incoming fire. The engineering crew managed to keep everything together for the most part. The more intense pounding dropped reserve power into the upper eighty percent range. Lorimar did his best to stay on top of things, waiting for the really heavy stuff to come. Surely it couldnt be long now.... (Reply Any) (Posted by Russ) (USS Boudicca - Bridge -- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren- 1447) The ship bucked like a wild Bronco with a nasty burr stuck under it's saddle. Matthew held on to the auxiliary engineering console with all the strength he could muster. As it was, his knees nearly buckled twice from the sudden jarring and once he was lifted entirely off his feet. "Captain" he shouted over the warning alarms and the din of the impacts." Forward outer shields are holding at 65%. I'm detecting two power surges in the forward shield emitters. They're dissipating, but very slowly. At this rate, we're going to over load and our outer shields will fail in roughly 12 minutes! Mister Johnson, see if there's anyplace that you can safely discharge that power buildup, would you please?" Matthew added. The ship bucked again as torpedoes from the platforms and phaser and torpedoes from the fighters assailed the Boudicca's forward and side shields. "Captain we have a plasma fire on deck 9, fire suppression systems are active" he said as the warning alarm sounded on his console. (reply Any on Bridge) (posted by Daniel Greene) (USS Boudicca - Sickbay - ACMO Gates - 14.48) Although they had known it was going to happen, the sudden rocking of the ship sent a wave of panic through Sickbay. Georgia could see it on the faces of the nurses and doctors although they did their best to maintain a professional manner. Surprisingly, she felt almost calm. It was almost as if she had slipped into auto pilot. All the trivialities of the previous days melted away, and she became the Doctor she had trained to be. Later of course she would probably wonder how she had managed to cope, but for now, there was no time to worry about that. "Is everyone okay? I expect it will start getting busy around here soon, so if anyone has any problems they'd better speak up now." She glanced around, noted nobody seemed troubled, so she continued. "If we're lucky, it'll be a few minor injuries at best at this stage, but we can't expect to get away with that for too long, so everyone needs to be concentrating on the job at hand, and getting these guys fixed and back out there as soon as possible. Okay? Right, lets get to it then." She headed across to the first couple of crewman who had entered and picked up a tricorder. ~And so it begins.~ (reply any) (posted by Wendy) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - aCO - Archibald Stakes - 1449) "Captain! Forward outer shields are holding at 65%. I'm detecting two power surges in the forward shield emitters. They're dissipating, but very slowly. At this rate, we're going to over load and our outer shields will fail in roughly 12 minutes! Mister Johnson, see if there's anyplace that you can safely discharge that power buildup, would you please?" Archibald nodded in response, as it became harder and harder to remain standing on the heaving floor. He realised that soon he would have to sit down. Too often had he had to grab onto the CONN chair to keep him upright. He didn't particularly want to sit down as there was little for him to do in the chair. He could read the reports that no doubt came flooding in but he never did in a battle, as he knew that the people best placed to deal with them, WOULD deal with them. And so far no urgent shouts had rang out. "Captain we have a plasma fire on deck 9, fire suppression systems are active" Archibald looked at the Lieutenant Engineer and then his gaze turned to Stolev. "Better make sure the fires don't reach our torpedo lockers on Deck 8, Commander," he stated rather matter-of-factly. "That would give us a few additional problems." he finished, looking ahead to the viewscreen again. He had, briefly, considered saying something else, but truthfully he thought that he had already said more than was required. After all, the Commander knew the Boudicca better than himself. (reply McLaren, Stolev, any on the bridge, room for more) (USS Boudicca - Bridge -- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren- 1450) Archibald looked at the Chief Engineer and then his gaze turned to Stolev. "Better make sure the fires don't reach our torpedo lockers on Deck 8, Commander," he stated rather matter-of-factly. "That would give us a few additional problems." "Agreed, " Matthew replied, mister Tollian dispatch a damage control team to deck nine and have them verify that the fire is out visually." "Yes, Lieutenant" The Efrosian answered and immediately started tapping out the commands on his console. (reply Any on Bridge, Room for more) (USS Boudicca - Sickbay - Nurse Carl Masterson - 15.50) ~It is so darn cold.~ he thought, as he rubbed his shoulders trying to get warm. Most of the nurses and doctors had coats on, but he had forgotten his in his quarters and couldn't leave to get it. The regular uniforms weren't really made for these kinds of conditions. He was resisting the urge to bury himself in thermal blankets, but he was using them to help with some of the patients that had come in. They had already been notified that this was just a hiccup and engineers would be getting to it eventually. Truthfully in the grand scheme of things it wouldn't or rather shouldn't kill anyone, so why divert precious resources at such a critical time. They would do their best to weather this. As long as it didn't jeopardize lives. Carl sat down at his station monitoring various patients' life signs. He picked up his mug and took a sip of warm cider. It warmed the body, not like a good synthehol, but it was better than nothing. So far nothing serious had occurred, well nothing that had sent the doctors into surgery anyways. But the ship was shuddering a good deal more now. Suddenly a hard blow shook the ship sending his mug flying. Carl cursed under his breath as he bent down to pick up his mug. ~Huh~ he thought, as his hands felt the floor. ~Why is it damp and cold?~ He got up and looked around and noticed the whole floor was actually wet. ~What's going on?~ He looked around and searching for the cause of this unusual situation. ~Just like being in security again~ he thought, as he carefully studied his surroundings. The battle had brought back memories of serving on tactical teams, getting ready to repel boarders. But now he had a better calling. All the same he felt a little helpless being in sickbay at the moment. Finally his eyes spotted a couple of ventilation vents slowly streaming water. He put his hand to the wall beneath the vent and detected the faint odor of salt. "Computer, shut off ventilation shaft liquids." he said. [Unable to comply] "Why?" he wondered allowed. [Unable to comply] ~Fantastic. Just what we need.~ he thought, as he decided to look outside of sickbay to see if it was affecting the outside a well. He headed to the door and was quite surprised to find himself bumping into it and slipping right onto the floor. "Ouch" he yelped in surprise, as his uniform became damp. Other nurses were now looking in his direction. "I'm fine, I'm fine. The floor's wet." he gestured, as he got himself up. And just to help emphasize his point, someone else fell dropping a tray of blood samples. He sympathized as folks now moved a little more slowly to help their fallen comrade clean the mess. He looked up at the ventilation shaft again and now saw that the water was coming in in greater quantities. "Umm... Doctor Gates?" he said in a loud worried voice, as he wished he had learned how to swim. (Reply Gates, Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - aCO - Archibald Stakes - 1600) ~Just in time~, Archibald considered as he had finally sat down in the CO-chair when a burst of two platforms hit them with torpedoes. He was violently pushed against the left side of the chair and he thought he heard something snap. His right hand went over to his left side as he gingerly felt for signs of any broken ribs. It was painful but he could not find any evidence of a break but the pain indicated to him that something had been fractured or at least severely dented. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and looking at his left he saw Esme looking suspiciously at Archibald's left side. "I'll get medi.." she started to say but stopped when he raised his hand and shook his head. "For what?" he asked in a strong voice but coughed once after he spoke. "There is nothing wrong with me that an aspirin won't cure." He could see her bristle for a moment then nodding and suddenly smiled sweetly. "Yes, Sir," she said, as she tapped her comm badge. "Yeoman Stakes to sickbay. Commander Stakes requires an 'aspirin'. Please send a medic to the Bridge." She quickly retreated to her position behind his chair, sticking a tongue out at him as she walked away. (Reply Gates, anyone in Sickbay, any, room for more) (USS Boudicca - Bridge -- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren- 1601) Matthew barley managed to stay on his feet as the torpedoes slammed into the forward shields. They were barely staying active as the weapons fire from the platforms pounded the Boudicca as if they were an angry sea taking vengeance against the shore. They teetered at or around 35% and it was all that he could do to keep the outer shields online. The emitters had taken a beating as a charge of antileptons was building up on the emitter surfaces. Antileptons would slowly cause a degradation in the shield matrix which would result in a decrease in efficiency. Under normal circumstances, the emitters could purge themselves of the antileptons, but under the near constant impacts, the antileptons were building faster than the emitters could purge. The real issue is that the leptons were stripped from the incoming weapons discharges by the ship's shields as the energy dissipated. Because of the lepton number laws, you couldn't just destroy them, as the process would cause others to form to take their place. That's why they were routinely stripped and stored for Bussard discharge at a more convenient time. While antileptons themselves were reasonably harmless, when they lined up along the surface of the emitters, they prevented the clean emission of desired gravitons. That in turn caused the eventual degradation of the shields as more and more gravitons were unable to coalesce on the emitter surface. Starfleet design engineers had developed the purging systems to allow shield regeneration and to prevent extended use degradation. Matthew didn't think that they had ever thought that any Starfleet ship would be under the sort of constant and terrible attack that the Boudicca was facing right this instant. (USS Boudicca - Bridge - aCO - Archibald Stakes - 1750) "We're through!" Archibald looked up from his chair to the viewscreen and nodded. They had finally left the last of the platforms behind them, creating a hole in the defensive set up. It had come with costs but that price was reasonable, considering there was nothing now that stood between them and Valhalla. Unfortunately as they had pushed themselves to get through the platforms they had not disabled as many ships as they thought they would and by now there was a large group of pursuers following them through the gap that they created. Behind them units of the remainder of the 19th were trying to catch up with the enemy group but they were hampered by the platforms that were still fully operational. "Status of our groups?" "Thirty four ships have made it, Sir, some more damaged than others. In total fourteen in B-group." "Amazing," Archibald commented, looking towards Sasha but was cut short by a shout. "Sir!" it came from the tactical position. "I'm reading sixteen enemy vessels between us and the Starbase. They are holding their position." Archibald looked at the tactical position and nearly cursed. So close and yet so far. It was now clear to him why the pursuers hadn't pressed them harder. They were just the sheepdog that had driven the sheep on towards the pen. And the pen was now awaiting them. Sixteen ships, sixteen fresh ships, not damaged, not beaten but in perfect condition. An anvil, awaiting the steel that was driven to them by the enemy pursuers, acting like a hammer, to crush anything in between them. "What's our status?" Archibald asked. "Shields holding at 45% in the front section but our dorsal and ventral shields are down to 15%. The powerdrain of the additional front shields is slowing their regeneration. Other than that we are in decent shape." Archibald fell silent for a few seconds. "Contact the B and C-group. Ask C-group to hold off the pursuers for as long as they can. B-group will take on the group of sixteen in our front. Mr. McLaren, get our front shields up to the maximum. CONN, how long until we reach weapons range of the group in front of us at full impulse?" "Twenty four minutes, Sir." Archibald bit his lip. "Mister McLaren, you have fifteen minutes to make it so. Any information on the enemy group in our front?" "Scanning, Sir. They are all heavy vessels, five Nebula's, eight Galaxies and three Sovereigns. I'm searching the database for their transponder signals. Got them. The unit is the 42nd Black Watch, Sir, with four additional vessels, one of the Sovereigns and three of the Galaxies are part of the 53rd heavy battle group." Archibald cursed as he heard a yelp from behind him. He sat back in his chair and looked at Sasha. "We are either extremely lucky, Commander or unbelievably unlucky. I wonder which one it will be." He fell silent for a moment. "The 42nd is commanded by Rear Admiral Stakes," he mentioned to the Commander as if it was an afterthought then looked back at Esme. He gave her a sort-off smile before facing the front again. "I guess there is only one way to find out. Mister Sevant? Set course for the enemy group. Best speed." He then turned back to Sasha. "This is going to be .... interesting," he said. (reply by McLaren, Stolev, any on the Bridge, any, room for more) (USS Boudicca - Bridge -- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren- 1752) "We're through!" Matthew heard someone exclaim. The rumbling in the ship's deck plating subsided, as the old girl finally exceeded the range of the closest functional defense platform. "Status of our groups?" Archibald queried "Thirty four ships have made it, Sir, some more damaged than others. In total fourteen in B-group." Sasha replied. ~Incredible!~ Matthew thought to himself. ~Out of 50 ships to run the perimeter, only 16 had been lost. That was simply incredible.~ "Sir!" a shout came from the tactical position. "I'm reading sixteen enemy vessels between us and the Starbase. They are holding their position." Matthew jerked his head up from the display console to look at the main tactical display on the viewer. Despite the fact that he was an engineer, even he recognized the inherent danger in the situation. "Sunova…." he muttered. "What's our status?" Archibald asked. "Shields holding at 45% in the front section but our dorsal and ventral shields are down to 15%. The power drain of the additional front shields is slowing their regeneration. Other than that we are in decent shape." Matthew replied without looking down at the display, he had been doctoring it the entire hell-filled trip through the MDF. "Contact the B and C-group. Ask C-group to hold off the pursuers for as long as they can. B-group will take on the group of sixteen in our front. Mr. McLaren, get our front shields up to the maximum. CONN, how long until we reach weapons range of the group in front of us at full impulse?" Archibald asked. "Twenty four minutes, Sir." "Mister McLaren, you have fifteen minutes to make it so. Any information on the enemy group in our front?" Stakes stated. "Aye captain. I'll have it ready." Matthew said and turned back to his console. The first thing he did was bring the inner layer of shields on-line. The lights on the bridge flickered under the additional power drain. He then took the outer shields off line and started the purge process. It was going to take 28 minutes…. ~Too long!~ He tapped his commbadge. "McLaren to Engineering. I need a couple of volunteers with handheld antilepton field collectors to report to the outer and lateral shields emitters and start manually purging the emitter coils. We've got less than 15 minutes so I need it done now." (reply Engineering) "Understood. I am also using the installed purging system to aid. Please exercise extreme caution. McLaren out" He then turned towards the Operations station. "Ops, please pump any power you can spare up to 20 Cochranes into the lateral shield capacitors. Do not exceed a transfer rate of 5 Cochranes as you build to the 20 Cochrane limit." he ordered as he finished setting up the purge cycle. "Inner forward shields are active, Captain and holding steady at 100%. Engineering teams are en route to the emitters to purge them so that they can start regenerating faster. Nothing else for us to do except for us to wait for the purging process to be completed." He added. (reply Engineering, Any) (USS Boudicca - Bridge -- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren- 1801) =^=We're finished with the purge, sir.=^= Came the response over the commchannel. "Understood, thank you ensign. Bridge out." They had lost Ensign Carpenter to a field breach during the purging. The skin on his body blistered, curled and turned black in an instant as the breach allowed the extremely radioactive energies to escape the shield emitters cohesion field. He had expired on scene before the medics could even be notified. Matthew knew that it was a possibility, and that was why he had asked for volunteers. Because he and the other engineers had done their duty, the ships shields had been restored to 96% and the regeneration was back on schedule, in another 20 seconds, they'd be back at maximum capacity, with a few minutes to spare. "Captain," he said as he brought the outer shields back on-line and shut down the inner shields. "Engineering reports all shields restored to 100% efficiency. Crewman Joshua Carpenter was killed in the restoration, sir." he added uncertain as to why he mentioned it at this time. "The ship is ready for action sir." (reply Stakes) "Sir! Enemy ship decloaking aft port! It's a Spectre class! She's firing her torpedoes!" Matthew heard the shout and grabbed his console with both hands in a vary white-knuckled grip. ~Goddess protect us~ he thought, then was slightly surprised at his invocation of the Iradonian deity. The ship bucked hard enough that both of Matthew's knees slammed into the console with enough force to crack the laminate housing. Matthew's knees buckled and he went face first into the top of the console. Despite all of that. He never lost his grip. He awkwardly pulled himself back to his feet, noting the reflection in the panel display that there were several small cuts on his face and a split lip to attend to later. "Status!" the captain barked. "Dorsal shields are gone, Sir! Heavy damage on decks seventeen, eighteen and nineteen!" Matthew replied as he took in the console information. "What in God's name did they hit us with?" he asked. Matthew quickly reviewed the ship's shield logs. They had come up as he had ordered and were to full strength before the Spectre class ship had attacked them. So there had not been a mistake or mechanical failure that had allowed them to get past their shields. There was a shrill series of alarms indicating that the ship had been boarded. "Mister McLaren, get those shields back up! Mister Stolev! As Mister Laroon is busy at the moment, take charge of the boarder repel action." "Aye, captain." Matthew replied as he was already attending to the console. After a quick look at the displays, he took the power to the aft shield emitters off-line, there was a breach in the EPS conduit somewhere. The line had been severed prior to it reaching the aft emitters. "Mister Tollian I need a power flow diagnostic on Line 12-Tau, from the primary trunk to the aft shield emitters post haste." "Running the diagnostic now." the Efrosian replied as he tapped his fingers against the buttons on his console. After a couple of moments he replied. "There is a break in the line near Jeffries tube junction 28A between decks 18 and 19. Internal sensors indicate there is a thermal increase in that compartment. I can not say for certain but we may have a plasma fire. Fire suppression in the section does not seem to be responding." Matthew nodded. "Send that information to Engineering, tell them we need a damage control team to respond immediately in fire control gear." Matthew replied "Understood, sir. Internal sensors also indicate that it was decks 18 and 19 where the intruder alert was sounded." "Oh, and Commander?" he heard stakes say from the center of the bridge, "They are Starfleet personnel, just like you and me. Offer them quarter, if you can." (reply Stolev) "Captain, we have a power relay break between decks 18 and 19 along with a plasma fire." Matthew reported, " The fire suppression system in that section has failed. I am requesting a damage control team to report to the area to fix the problem." He paused for a second. "Captain, request permission to leave the bridge and assist the damage control team." (reply Stakes, Any) (posted by Daniel Greene) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - aCO - Archibald Stakes - 1802) "Sir! Enemy ship decloaking aft port! It's a Spectre class! She's firing her torpedoes!" Suddenly Archibald was thrown forward out of his chair. His head hit the floor and it took him a few seconds to clear his head and disregard the headache. He got up with buckling knees and felt his right temple as he felt liquid dripping down. He watched his fingers and saw the telltale red stains. He looked around him and saw other officers on the ground. "Status!" he barked. "Dorsal shields are gone, Sir! Heavy damage on decks seventeen, eighteen and nineteen!" Archibald cursed. "Mister Laroon! Return fi........." Archibald was suddenly silenced by alarms going off, indicating intruder alerts. "Mister McLaren, get those shields back up! Mister Stolev! As Mister Laroon is busy at the moment, take charge of the boarder repel action." Archibald sat down again, shaking his head lightly, in the hope of clearing it from the fog. "Oh, and Commander? They are Starfleet personnel, just like you and me. Offer them quarter, if you can." (Reply by St..... oh, what the h****, ALL) (posted by Adrie Geuken) NRPG: We had a good lead, but he was gone by the time we got there. I'm not sure what we're going to do. Is he really gone? Am I stuck with her? Can I get her job? ..... hmmmmm.... -USS Boudicca, NCC 49901 Star Trek: Freedom - http://www.startrekfreedom.com