NRPG: *hic* Near....*hic* far..... *hic* where ever you *hic* *clunk* Oh Jack..... Silence........... Today's compile is brought to you by Celine Dion: Day 12 (USS Boudicca - Bridge - AOPS, Lt. Tollian Yalix- 1452) (USS Boudicca - Sickbay - ACMO Gates - 15.55) (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign Lorimar - 1600) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 1605) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - AOPS, Lt. Tollian Yalix- 1607) (USS Boudicca - Deck 7, outside Sickbay - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 16.10) (USS Boudicca - Deck 7, Sickbay - MO Dr. Jahlen - 1611) (USS Boudicca - Deck 7, outside Sickbay - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 16.13) (USS Boudicca - Sickbay - ACMO Gates - 16.14) (USS Boudicca - Outside Sickbay - Ensign Lorimar - 1614) (USS Boudicca - Sickbay - MO Ens(Jg) Dr. Jahlen - 1615) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - AOPS, Lt. Tollian Yalix- 1754) (USS Boudicca - Deck 5 - SO Crewman Abu Nighy - 1800) (USS Boudicca - Deck 13 - Marine Staging Area - Sgt K'nan K'iria - 1805) (USS Boudicca - Deck 3 - Exeter MCO Col. Joseph Patten - Day 12 - 1807) (USS Boudicca - Deck 3, Corridor - SO Crewman Abu Nighy - 1808) (USS Boudicca - Deck 19, Corridor - MO Sgt. K'nan K'iria - 18.10) RPG: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mission: The Fires of Heaven, Day 12 Stardate: 2407.07.09 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (USS Boudicca - Bridge - AOPS, Lt. Tollian Yalix- 1452) Tollian was working furiously to keep everything powered. Relays were starting to fail from thermal exposure and at the rate things were going they'd have major shipwide cascades inside two hours. He silently directed as much power as he could, shifting it through various relays as the conduits came closer to reaching their thermal failure limits. It was getting to the point that he was only able to keep power flowing through some conduits for less than five minutes at a stretch. They weren't cooling fast enough. =^=, this is Ensign Lorimar. I'm on my way to meet the damage control party on Deck 9, will advise.=^= "Understood, Ops out." Tollian replied. He didn't have time for small talk. "Damage control parties en route to deck nine," he reported aloud. He remained silent again until the ACEO contacted the bridge again. =^=Lorimar to OPS. The fire is out on deck 9. Damage is confined to section 21. Several EPS taps overloaded. The mess hall replicator system is down, we lost a bio neural processor node, and power to this section of the deck. It'll take time to fix, but its all repairable. No critical damage, recommend we leave it shut down for now. Until its fixed ye'll hae tae reroute power around this section of the EPS... it's shot in this section=^= ~Wonderful!~ Tollian thought, yet another set of relays that he couldn't use. "Thank you Ensign Lorimar, I understand, Operations out." (USS Boudicca - Sickbay - ACMO Gates - 15.55) Trying to ignore the chill in the air, Georgia busied herself with the patient notes in front of her. The worst part of engaging in any type of battle was waiting for the casualties to arrive. So far, there hadn't been too many, and most of them had been superficial injuries which hadn't taken much to patch up. She was aware though that this was just the start of things, and soon there would be more damaged bodies needing a lot more healing. As if to confirm her thinking, there was another hard blow to the ship, which almost threw her from her chair. ~if that hit didn't do some serious damage I'd be very surprised~ She got to her feet, her joints aching slightly from the cold. ~with any luck they'll get the temperature sorted soon, before it gets much more like a refrigerator in here~ There was a muffled crashing sound from the other room, which made Georgia frown. something about it had sounded odd. She made her way across to the door of her office, intent on finding out what was happening, just as she heard one of the nurses call out. "Umm... Doctor Gates?" Georgia stepped through into sickbay, her mouth open ready to ask what the problem was, and quickly found herself flat on her back gazing at the ceiling. She lay stunned for a second or two, wondering what had happened, before she felt liquid seeping through her clothes. ~what on earth?!~ Grabbing an offered hand, she pulled herself to her feet, and surveyed the room. "What in blazes is going on?" "There's a small leak Doctor, in the ventilation vents." Georgia's eyes fastened on the vents in question, where a stream of water was pouring out, getting heavier by the second. In the short time since Georgia had exited her office, it had grown to about ankle depth. "Computer, shut off ventilation shaft liquids." [Unable to comply] ~damn!~ "Okay guys, obviously something is wrong, and we can't stay here. We'll have to evacuate." She began heading carefully across the room toward the doors, when a voice stopped her in her tracks. "Uh Doctor Gates? The doors won't actually open, I've tried." There was a moment when something almost like fear threatened to overcome Georgia. With the doors sealed, and the water pouring in at the rate it was, it wouldn't take long before Sickbay resembled a swimming pool. With slightly trembling fingers, she hit her commbadge. "Sickbay to Engineering. Um, we have abit of an emergency down here involving a heck of a lot of water." (reply iyw) =^=Yeoman Stakes to sickbay. Commander Stakes requires an 'aspirin'. Please send a medic to the Bridge.=^= ~requires a what?! surely he can't expect us to send someone up there for such a trivial matter, when there's people who are really injured needing our help~ Georgia tried to ignore the water which was still rising around her legs, and steadied her voice as best she could. "Gates to Yeoman Stakes. If all that the Commander requires is an aspirin, you will find a hypospray of Hydrocortilene in the Bridge medkit. We're a little preoccupied with drowning at the moment, but when we have the flood under control I'll be sure to send a nurse up." (reply any) (posted by Wendy) (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign Lorimar - 1600) Lorimar was making his rounds from console to console, trying to stay a step ahead of the ever changing and certainly not improving situation. The Boudicca was taking a heavy pounding; he guessed (and hoped) that they were nearing the most intense part of the battle. ~Perhaps... perhaps not... but ah certainly hope it doesnae get much worse, we've our hands full now as it is!~ Just then the ship made a heavy lurch, whether from weapons fire or radical evasive action he could not be sure. What he could be sure of, however as he barely kept his feet by grabbing a section of conduit, was that Lieutenant al-Sharif came tumbling rather unceremoniously out of a Jeffries tube and pitched onto the floor with a thud. He heard her muttering something about Kahless, but it was not quite clear above the din in engineering. Unsure what the ship might do next, Bob kept his grip on the conduit with one hand, bent his knees and reached out with his free hand toward the aCEO. "Kind o' ye tae drop in lass... ah'm afraid the hoose is a bit messy, but we're glad tae hae ye in any case." He grinned, then recalled the last time he had tried to help someone off the deck. He'd been thought a crazy goat-wrangler then... and the person he had only wished to help had practically run screaming into the night. ~What'll happen this time? A kick in the groin? A curse? Phaser pistols at twenty paces? Hmm...~ (Reply al-Sharif, Any) Several minutes later, Lorimar heard his name being called from below. He had climbed into a Jeffries tube and was just finishing up adjusting a balky flow control module when he craned his head around and looked back down to the source of the voice. "What is it lad?" "Sir, there is a problem in Sickbay," came the response from below. "We had a repair team enroute but they were diverted to a fire on deck four. What do you want us to do about?" Lorimar buttoned up the junction he was working on, then half slid, half climbed back down the tube to emerge in main engineering. He cast a glance around, seeing everyone was busy. "Do ye ken what the problem is lad?" "Not sure sir. Something about water in Sickbay." "Water?" "Yes sir, that's what the message said." "Right lad, I'll take care of it. Let the CEO know where ah'm goin' please." With that Bob sprinted out the doors with his toolkit, bound for Sickbay. (USS Boudicca - Bridge - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 1605) Donald was holding on to his console with one hand while his other danced over it adjusting the power as need be, trying to keep the sensors online which were threatening to shutdown despite their efforts to make sure that system remained stable no matter what happened. All across the ship repair crews were being sent to hold the ship together. A number from OPS and other departments were pressed into make shift repair units lead by engineers. They had managed to scrounge up nearly forty additional bodies, thirty from his own department to supplement the repair crews. And at the moment they were being well used. He was so engrossed with his work that he almost missed Dr. Gates say =^=...with drowning at the moment, but when we have the flood under control I'll be sure to send a nurse up.=^= ~What the?~ thought Donald in surprise as he called up the section in and around sickbay. ~Oh my...~ He looked up from his console to stare at his two subordinates sternly. How something like this could happen, he had no idea. But he would get to the bottom of this. "Captain, permission to assist our watery medical staff?" he said. (Reply Stakes) Donald stood up and headed for the turbolift, padd in hand. "Mr. Yalix, you have OPS", he said as he stepped in. "Deck 7, Sickbay." He leaned against the turbolift, staring at the padd in his hand reviewing the environmental systems. They shouldn't be doing what they were doing, but they were in combat. Who knows what could have been damaged since Boudicca was taking a pounding. ~Hang on, guys.~ he thought, as he watched the turbolift panel, willing the doors to open. (USS Boudicca - Bridge - AOPS, Lt. Tollian Yalix- 1607) "Captain, permission to assist our watery medical staff?" Tollian heard Johnson ask. (Reply Stakes) The COPS officer headed for the turbolift, padd in hand. "Mr. Yalix, you have OPS" "Aye, sir." he replied, still focused on his boards. ~Watery medical staff?~ Tollian sent a message to Karft, who was working on the environmental systems, to review the ventilation system, although he suspected that the ensign already was hard at work on the problem. Of course, Johnson was going to review the problem on site. (reply None) (USS Boudicca - Deck 7, outside Sickbay - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 16.10) Donald ran to the doors of sickbay and found them sealed, unwilling or unable to open. Trickles of water were coming out, but not enough to force it open. ~Where is that repair team?~ he wondered, as he cursed the fact that he had no tools to do anything with except the padd, which he was desperately trying to access the controls remotely, but to no avail. He pounded on the door and said, "Can anybody hear me?" (Reply Stakes, Any in Sickbay, Any in Engineering, Any one at all) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) (USS Boudicca, Deck 7, Sickbay - MO Dr. Jahlen - 1611) ~As if we don't have enough problems, now we have to put up with THIS?~ Jahlen fumed silently, to angry about the flood to be afraid of drowning while wading through the ankle high (and quickly deepening and very cold) water, in order to raise every bed manually to its highest setting. It was a tedious chore and seemed to be taking forever, but a couple of the nurses were helping while the others were trying to keep the patients calm. The last one had been raised and Jahlen was mopping the sweat from her brow with her sleeve, despite the chill, when a pounding came at the door and a muffled voice could be heard. "Can anybody hear me?" She sloshed her way to the door through the water, that was now halfway up her shins. "Of course we can hear you, dammit! We're drowning...Not deaf! What's being done about this...this...situation?" She growled. (reply Johnson) "Is that IT?" She almost yelled with frustration. "At this rate we'll all be swimming in another ten minutes." ~And probably dead in another twenty.~ Came the unvoiced thought. She rolled her eyes at Dr. Gates, exasperated with the whole fiasco. (Reply Johnson, Gates, any) (posted by Sal) (USS Boudicca - Deck 7, outside Sickbay - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 16.13) "Of course we can hear you, dammit! We're drowning...Not deaf! What's being done about this...this...situation?" shouted a gruff sounding voice. Donald winced at the rebuke. Well, things must not be that bad in there. "I am going to try to shut off the environmental system's aquatic protocols from here, since they weren't working from the bridge." he replied. "Is that IT?" replied the voice from within. "At this rate we'll all be swimming in another ten minutes." Donald paused unsure of how to reassure the frustrated voice within. "Just give me a minute." he replied. He tapped his padd, calling up the environmental system controls. He had better access now, as his fingers danced about trying desperately to reroute the power to the system to shut it down. Suddenly the ship rocked and his fingers slipped, as he dropped the padd trying to keep his balance. He heard a scream from within. "What's happening?" he shouted, as he bent down to grab his padd. Before he heard the response, he saw that power had increased to the system. Which meant that the water was probably going in a good deal faster. ~Where is engineering?~ he thought, as he realized he would have to get to the system with special gear, since it could be under water as well. (Reply Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) (USS Boudicca - Sickbay - ACMO Gates - 16.14) Georgia was busy trying to shift the last of her things, those that could be shifted anyway, out of the reach of the water. With the ship under attack who knew how long it might take the already no doubt overworked engineers to fix the problem. She knew there was a rescue team of some sort outside the door, because she could hear Dr Jahlen yelling at them. "Of course we can hear you, dammit! We're drowning...Not deaf! What's being done about this...this...situation?" From her office Georgia couldn't hear the reply but it was evidently not what Jahlen wanted to hear. "Is that IT? At this rate we'll all be swimming in another ten minutes." ~lets hope it doesn't get that bad!~ Georgia assumed if things got much worse there was always the transporters as a last resort to get the patients to safety. Assuming of course that they were still working, and there was enough power to use them. The nurses, under Jahlen's guidance, had moved the beds up as high as they could go, and done their best to calm the patients. Georgia began squelching her way across to where Jahlen was. The water was definitely deeper than it had been, and now licked at her knees every time the ship rocked. As if on cue, there was a huge lurch and Georgia found herself knocked off balance and falling face first into the water. For a moment or two she was fully submerged, before scrambling back into a kneeling position. There was a scream from somewhere behind her as she tried to shake the water from her ears. Ignoring the muffled cry of "what's happening" from the other side of the door, Georgia turned her head and felt her mouth drop open. The water which had been streaming in through the vent had now become a raging torrent. Georgia waded across to the door, and pounded loudly on it. "Um, some help right about now would be good. Whatever you did to the water? Its not working!" (reply any) (posted by Wendy) (USS Boudicca - Outside Sickbay - Ensign Lorimar - 1614) Lorimar arrived to find Lt. Johnson outside the sickbay doors, his head cocked in what appeared to be a listening pose. Bob thought he could hear faint words from within... something about deaf, but he couldn't be sure. Upon closer inspection, Bob could see a trickle of water coming from the door seals. He looked at Johnson. "Sir, ah know ye were expecting a repair team, but they were diverted tae fight a fire. Ah'm all that's available at the moment. What's with the water? (Reply Johnson, Any) (Posted by Russ) (USS Boudicca - Sickbay - MO Ens(Jg) Dr. Jahlen - 1615) "I am going to try to shut off the environmental system's aquatic protocols from here, since they weren't working from the bridge." The voice from outside replied to Jahlen's inquiry as to what was being done about the situation. "Is that IT?" She replied. "At this rate we'll all be swimming in another ten minutes." "Just give me a minute." he replied. ~Good grief!~ Dr. Jahlen rolled her eyes. The ship lurched suddenly and Dr. Gates fell face first into the water while Jahlen slammed into the door which painfully saved her from falling into the water but didn't stop the curse that burst from her, although that was drowned by a scream from somewhere behind her. ~One of the nurses also falling into the water no doubt.~ "What's happening?" The male voice from the other side of the door shouted. "I guess he heard that scream." Jahlen muttered mostly to herself just before Dr. Gates began pounding at the door. Now the water was up to her belly button, well that is, if she'd had a belly button it would have reached it, and it was rising at a faster rate. "Um, some help right about now would be good. Whatever you did to the water? Its not working!" Georgia informed him. "That's highly understated, Doctor!" Jahlen commented as she began to shiver violently. The water was up to her waist now and it was icy cold. "Where is *all* this water coming from? HELLO OUT THERE, YOU'D BETTER HURRY, THE WATER IS RISING FAST!!!" That's when Jahlen suddenly remembered something very important.... She'd never learned to swim. For some strange reason she'd never thought it was likely that she'd drown aboard a space ship. Go figure. "Oh crap!" ~I'd better learn, and fast!~ "I've heard that drowning isn't such a bad way to die." She smiled wanly at Dr. Gates with blue lips that were turning purple, a pretty shade that went well with her slowly bluing skin. "Hypothermia isn't so bad either." (reply any) (posted by Sal) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - AOPS, Lt. Tollian Yalix- 1754) Out of 40 primary power distribution nodes, Tollian was working with only 12. Everything else had failed or was unreliable. ~Thank goodness for secondaries.~ he thought to himself. "Just a little bit longer." he mumbled to himself. =^=OPS, engineering. We need tae find a way tae reroute power for the ventral phaser strips, or slow the firing rate a wee bit. We're dangerously close tae an overload. Ah've got the cooling system running beyond maximum, but that will only buy us five... maybe six minutes at the current rate of fire.=^= "Understood Engineering, I am addressing the problem now." Yalix replied. He rerouted the power through the last fully operational conduit in that section that he had. He had been trying to save it for an emergency. This was the emergency in question. "Engineering, I have rerouted the power through the tertiary phaser array. Please monitor the thermal indicators. If we lose that conduit, we lose all phaser power to that array." (reply Engineering, Any) (posted by Daniel Greene) (USS Boudicca - Deck 5 - SO Crewman Abu Nighy - 1800) Abu stood rigidly at his post with his partner. They had been posted on the deck in the event the ship was boarded. At least that's what Abu thought the commander had said. He hadn't been paying attention quite as closely as some might have liked. His mind had been drifting toward trying not to shoot himself in the foot. It wasn't that Abu was a bad shot or anything. On the contrary, he was actually quite the marksman, not that you could tell by the way his fellows treated him whenever he handled a phaser. In fact he had been partnered based on whomever was brave enough to stand next to him while he was armed. It just seemed that whenever he was carrying a phaser something would happen. It wasn't his fault. He used to serve with Carl, but Carl was now in sickbay. But he was the only one wouldn't treat him like a leper with a phaser rifle. Fortunately he hadn't had to visit Carl professionally for over a week. Abu sometimes wondered why he hadn't been transferred out, but he figured they knew what they were doing. He was here to serve and this was the best place or so he had been told when he signed up by the star fleet recruiter. He remembered the last words the recruiter had told him, "How much damage could you do?" And really it hadn't been that bad. A few minor wounds, nothing the doctors couldn't fix. Besides they were alive. It wasn't like they had lost an eye. Suddenly his commbadge came to life. =^=Boarders on Deck 3, report to Deck 3!=^= Abu tapped his badge, "Nighy reporting. Orders understood." =^=Nighy? Wait..=^= If there was anything more he never heard it, Abu had already tapped his commbadge and was heading toward the turbolift. (USS Boudicca - Deck 13 - Marine Staging Area - Sgt K'nan K'iria - 1805) K'nan sat with her men as they waited to be called to battle. This was the hardest part, as they sat while the ship was rocked by deadly torpedoes and lethal phaser beams. She only prayed that they would have a chance to serve and that the ship would hold until they reached their objective. It was already several hours since the battle started and she hoped that it would not be much longer. She tried to push it out of her mind using meditation techniques. The job of worrying were for those higher up. Hers was to execute their orders and prosecute their war with lethal results. Fortunately, for K'nan, she did not have long to wait. "K'nan, Glover, Toral! Get your squads in gear. We've got company on Deck 19," shouted Major Thrall, as he shouldered his rifle. K'nan sprang to her feet, signaling her men to follow. Major Thrall was already out the door, with the three squads trailing him. (USS Boudicca - Deck 3 - Exeter MCO Col. Joseph Patten - Day 12 - 1807) The boarding party had materialized in the middle of one of the crew decks, which under the circumstances was nearly deserted. They had therefore encountered no resistance until they had reached the nearest turbolift door, which they had discovered was not only locked but blocked by a level ten force field. "Linus, you and Kori work on that door. We'll cover you." No sooner had Patten given his orders than his BDU HUD flashed, indicating a group of enemy security personnel approaching their location. He held up his fist and then silently motioned for his marines to take their positions. Within moments, they heard the approaching footsteps. At the first sign of motion, a half-dozen phaser rifle blasts slammed into the bulkhead behind which the approaching security team had wisely taken cover. They had returned fire, but their combination of standard phaser rifles and hand phasers were significantly less powerful than the marines' heavy weaponry, and the BDU was effective against it for at least a few shots. Patten spotted some additional movement; apparently someone else had joined the security squad, a suspicion confirmed by his HUD. He then saw, for the briefest moment, a clear sight to a uniform shirt -- he quickly aimed and fired, striking the man in the shoulder and disintegrating him. Suddenly, the security forces unleashed a heavy coordinated assault, forcing his marines to momentarily retreat. As they did this, Patten saw someone reach out and slide a metal object towards them. It slid to a stop right in front of where he was standing. It didn't look like a grenade or any other piece of weaponry he was familiar with. He raised his foot to stomp on the unknown device; the next thing he knew, his vision went black, his ears filled with static, and he couldn't move. "What the hell?" he said, then his BDU came back online and he could move again. Now, however, there was what looked like a phaser hovering in midair in the corridor, dancing from side to side and firing in their direction, seemingly at random. "Jones, Boleor, get rid of whatever that is," ordered Patten. =^= Marine down! =^= Patten glanced over his shoulder and saw Jones slumped against the bulkhead behind him, the front of his BDU marred by a blackened cavity. "Seville, take Jones's spot. Help Boleor get rid of that phaser," Patten commanded. With a flick of his eyes he pulled up the squad leader options in his BDU, and remotely activated the beam-out transponder on Jones's BDU. The next time the Boudicca's shields were compromised, the Exeter would automatically beam the body back -- Patten never left a marine behind if he could help it, even if all he could do was provide for a decent burial. =^= Almost there, sir, =^= announced Linus. Patten nodded, pleased that he had brought his most experienced shipboard CE with him. Linus was the best he'd ever served with. His attention was distracted as something bounced off his BDU; he looked down to see what it was and was momentarily horrified to see a dismembered arm clatter to the deck at his feet. He glanced back and saw Whitcomb writhing on the deck, his remaining arm clutching uselessly at the gaping wound left at his opposite shoulder. "Medic!" he bellowed, hoping that the field medic could at least stabilize him long enough to get back to the ship. =^= Got it! =^= shouted Linus excitedly, and sure enough the doors to the turbolift hissed open. However, Linus's delight was short-lived, as a phaser blast caught him on the side of the head, sending him staggering backwards. The BDU held integrity but the force of the blow, combined with the angle of impact, knocked the CE unconscious, and he fell to the deck. "Cover and retreat, men!" ordered Patten as Kori dragged Linus's limp form into the turbolift. Under the cover of intense phaser fire, the marine squad scrambled into the lift, but before they could all make it, no fewer than three distinct phaser blasts caught the marine nearest the turbolift door square in the chest; Patten saw one of the beams emerge from the backside of the BDU and strike the bulkhead on the other side of the lift door just before it closed. "Kori, get us to deck one. Lucic, how's Linus?" asked Patten, given a momentary respite from the firefight. =^= He is unconscious but not seriously injured, =^= replied the medic. =^= Preliminary scans indicate a grade three concussion. I am treating him now but he is likely to be disoriented for several minutes after he awakens, and will require further treatment for post-concussion syndrome. =^= Patten sighed. This whole thing would be over in several minutes, and he couldn't afford to have a dazed and confused CE to drag along with him. He reluctantly activated Linus's remote beam-out transponder, and then hoped that Kori would be up to the task. The other CE was less experienced, but competent. He checked the settings on his phaser rifle as he considered the best plan of attack for taking the bridge, now that he was down three men from his original squad of a dozen. (reply any) (posted by Aaron) (USS Boudicca - Deck 3, Corridor - SO Crewman Abu Nighy - 1808) Abu stepped onto the deck leading the way. In fact he often found himself at point. So far he had not heard from his fellows over the commbadge, so he decided that he and his partner should wait here and guard the turbolift. How else would they get to the bridge. So there they stood, when Abu noticed something roll towards him. ~Hmm... what's this~ he thought, as he walked over to examine the small cylindrical device. As he bent down his knee wobbled and he ended up stepping on it, sending it flying behind him around the corridor. "Whoops!" he said, as he tumbled to the ground, his phaser slipping and firing. "Augh!" he heard someone say. "What's..." shouted his partner, who seemed to hitting the ground. A small explosion hit, sending a body flying past Abu. "Oops, I'm sorry, so sorry, let me help you," he said, as he tried to get to his feet. (Reply Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) (USS Boudicca - Deck 19, Corridor - MO Sgt. K'nan K'iria - 18.10) K'nan stepped out onto the deck, her rifle at the ready. Their orders were clear. Disable if at all possible. She signaled to her group to hold while the second half of her squad arrived. They had split up so as not to get caught by the borders. Moments later they were joined by the rest of the squad and so far things were good. Forcefields had been set up to contain the intruders. On one hand, Deck 19 was a recreational deck and had been emptied. On the other hand, life support was not functioning here because it had been shut off to conserve power, which also included the standard lights. Fortunately in their combat gear, the marines were ready for thin atmosphere. It was unknown how the enemy was fairing. Sensors were spotty, as the boarders used scrambling devices to confuse the ship's internal sensors. A short piercing whistle broke alerted K'nan to the enemy moments before phaser beams lanced out of the darkness. Her squad scrambled for cover. She signaled to her communications man to let the Major know the situation and then began to return fire. Already the forcefield had been drawn closer, while several of her men had disappeared into side rooms to make their way to the other side of the enemy. The curvature of the corridor helped provide cover, prevented the enemy from knowing their true numbers, but at the same time prevented K'nan to know how many she faced. (Reply Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) NRPG: She passed out? Where the heck did they get this lush? And more importantly do you think she'd notice if I confiscated her bottle. Purely for medicinal purposes of course. What? It helps dull wounds. Didn't you know that? Besides what have you discovered? What, do you mean you thought I was doing something? Of course, I am. My job. Do yours! -USS Boudicca, NCC 49901 Star Trek: Freedom - http://www.startrekfreedom.com