USS Starfire Compile 2 Who'll Stop the Rain ==================== Mission: Who'll Stop the Rain Day 3 Stardate: 2414.11.09 ==================== (Starfire, Bridge, Sanok, Day 3, 0712) (Starfire, Bridge, Signos, Day 3, 0713) (Starfire, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0714) (Starfire, C'Nell, Day 3, 0715) (Starfire, Bridge, Corey, Day 3, 0717) (Starfire, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0720) (Starfire, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0722) (Starfire, Bridge, S'yes, Day 3, 0723) (Starfire, Transporter Room 1, Zyahn, Day 3, 0735) (Warship, Unknown Room, Zyahn, Day 3, 0736) (Warship, Signos, Day 3, 0737) (Starfire, Sickbay, Tesha, Day 3, 0739) (Starfire, Transporter Room 2, S'yes, Day 3, 0740) (Starfire, Transporter Room 2, Skyfire, Day 3, 0741) (Starfire, Transporter Room 2, S'yes, Day 3, 0742) (Starfire, Transporter Room 2, S'yes, Day 3, 0743) (Starfire, Transporter Room 2, Skyfire, Day 3, 0744) (Warship, Zyahn, Day 3, 0745) (Warship, Unknown Room, Corey, Day 3, 0746) (Warship, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0747) (Warship, Main Engineering, Corey, Day 3, 0750) (Starfire, Bridge, Stone, Day 3, 0751) (Cargo Vessel, Cargo Bay, S'yes, Day 3, 0752) (Warship, Corridor, Zyahn, Day 3, 0753) (Cargo Vessel, Cargo Bay, Skyfire, Day 3, 0754) (Warship, Bridge, Signos, Day 3, 0755) (Cargo Vessel, Cargo Bay, Gunn, Day 3, 0756) (Cargo Vessel, Cargo Bay, Skyfire, Day 3, 0757) (Warship, Engineering, Corey, Day 3, 0759) (Warship, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0801) (Cargo Vessel, S'yes, Day 3, 0802) (Cargo Vessel, Gunn, Day 3, 0805) (Cargo Ship, Skyfire, Day 3, 0807) (Cargo Ship, S'yes, Day 3, 0811) (Cargo Ship, Skyfire, Day 3, 0814) (Cargo Ship, C'Nell, Day 3, 0816) (Cargo Ship, Bridge, S'yes, Day 3, 0825) (Warship, Deck 3, Zyahn, Day 3, 0826) (Warship, Deck 3, Corey, Day 3, 0833) (Cargo Ship, Bridge, S'yes, Day 3, 0840) (Warship, Deck 3, Corey, Day 3, 0844) (Cargo Ship, Bridge, Gunn, Day 3, 0845) (Starfire, D'Artagnan, Day 3, 0848) (Warship, Deck 3, Zyahn, Day 3, 0858) (Warship, Deck 3, Corey, Day 3, 0904) (Warship, Deck 4, Corey, Day 3, 0907) (Starfire, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0910) (Starfire, Bridge, Signos, Day 3, 0913) (Starfire, Bridge, D'Artagnan, Day 3, 0915) (Starfire, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0916) (Starfire, Bridge, Signos, Day 3, 0919) (Starfire, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0922) ==================== (Starfire, Bridge, Sanok, Day 3, 0712) The Starfire left Starbase 989 two days ago for its shakedown cruise. Sanok had let Lieutenant S'yes command it into space, but once they were on their way, Sanok had taken over. As was expected, everything had gone smoothly, and they had been given the okay to begin their patrol route, which included the edge of the Silent Rift. Everyone was still getting settled. Departments were being organized. Duties were being assigned. The senior staff was beginning to work together. Roommates were becoming accustomed to one another. All in all, it was a good beginning. Early on the third day, the Starfire had picked up a distress signal coming from inside the Silent Rift. The comm signal was weak and distorted, so the details were not yet known. Since Chief Engineer Corey had experience in the Rift, Sanok was relying on him for help and information. They had gone in on yellow alert. Reaching the Rift, the Starfire could travel at only warp 2. Slower warp speeds was the main effect of being in the Rift, an area of space damaged by an omega particle explosion many years ago. Detecting two vessels, the Starfire moved towards them, ready for a fight, if necessary. The ships were of an unknown configuration, though one was clearly a warship, while the other was a freighter or cargo ship. Both had suffered heavy damage, and neither ship showed any life signs. There was interference from the Rift, though because the Starfire was so close to the ships, Sanok was certain their readings were accurate. However, just in case someone might still be alive, Sanok decided to send away teams to investigate. "Lieutenant Zyahn, assemble two teams, one to investigate and search each ship. Report your findings as soon as you learn anything." NRPG: Once the teams are in place, I will email some of you some background information on what is happening. (reply Zyahn) (posted by Bob B.) ----- (Starfire, Bridge, Signos, Day 3, 0713) She was already working the tactical station scanning the ships that laid before the Starfire. When the question came to her, her fingers and concentration not missing a beat she answered the question. "It seems that way, both seem to made from the same core materials and both ships share simular hull patterns. But we can't be sure until we can get over and see who they belong to. Has of now the rift is not allowing scans to punch though the ships superstructure to scan for any life signs. Attempting to compensate." (Reply any on bridge) She tried several other scanning methods in an attempt to gain more information on the ships before them but it was for not. Nothing seemed to work the way it seemed do to the rift and the unnatural effects it caused. (Reply any) (Posted by Matthew Locke) ----- (Starfire, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0714) The Silent Rift....everyone in Starfleet knew about it, and each had their theory what caused it. For a very long time, everyone believed it was a natural phenomena, until the rumors was it that it was created by the Omega Particle. Ayehla had checked before and she never found anything called Omega Particle. Based on the rumors...it was someone, who had a friend, who's friend was a friend of an officer on the USS Voyager. But what she did know though, since she was alive back then, was that something happened. She was pretty much sure that during the beginning of the 23th century, she moved in the area without any mention of the phenomena. Their placid voyage with the USS Starfire revealed their first sign of challenge. A distress call. Once they showed up at the location, they had found two ships. As anticipated, ensign Signos didn't wait for the order to make a tactical scan of the two ships. "What did you get ensign? Same faction?" (Reply Signos) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Starfire, C'Nell, Day 3, 0715) C'Nell was on his way to the bridge when he heard the call to action, so he doubled back and found himself meeting up with S'yes, over the past couple of days the two had got on better; C'Nell felt they could be friends though he only felt potential for now. "Your in charge roomie" he said with a smile, above anything he felt that S'yes was a good officer. He had C'Nell's respect, as did most of the senior crew, though he wasn't too keen on some of the newer science enlisted, Starfire didn't need a large science compliment so it seemed the most talented crewmen had been sent to larger research vessels. (Reply S'Yes) C'Nell also realised that prior to now, him and Signos had always at least been near each other in away missions. He got the uneasy feeling again. He wasn't worried for Jess, she could handle herself, it was him that was ineffective. He was a Judo dan, yet she had still had him seven times before he could outspar her. He was still convinced she hadn't tried hard in that last match.... (Reply None) (Posted by Nathan) ----- (Starfire, Bridge, Corey, Day 3, 0717) When everything and everyone was ready, Starfire was ordered for her maiden voyage, a shakedown cruise. Corey did pick some slight fluctuation inside the warp field but he was quick to repair it. Everything else ran smoothly and Corey was surprised by the ship's capabilities, surpassing the Defiant he once commandeered himself. When the shakedown cruise was over, Captain Sanok took the helm, giving out his first orders on the vessel. They were to patrol the route of space on the edges of a Silent Rift. Naturally when Wane heard it, he was surprised they were going back to where they found him and his ship. He gladly offered any kind of advice he could to the Captain, as it wasn't his first time in the Rift. Silent Rift was a lonely part of space, devoid of any light, encompassing 9 thousand lightyears from point of entry to the exit on the other side, suffering heavy gravimetric as well as subspace distortions and anomalies throughout, traveling through it would be limiting the warp capabilities of any ship as traveling too fast against the stream of distortions and anomalies would tear any hull apart. The Rift was originally created by an explosion of an omega particle, although it's now known how it exactly happened. Local pirate stories tell a tale of high technology civilization powering their energy needs through a single particle, other stories say the Rift is ancient and is as old as the three singularities syphoning it's power. The Starfire could travel safe at relatively low speeds, although Corey recommended no more then warp 2. Although there were pockets of clean space between the distortions where, theoretically, Starfire could attain highest speeds without issue, it was with a heavy risk, with every passing minute, new distortions and anomalies would form inside the Rift, and thus a completely working way around did not exist. Corey also mentioned to Captain Sanok the relative coordinates of three heavy singularities. The three large and ancient black holes took the lives of countless of men and swallowed countless of ships, if Starfire would ever travel too close to any, Corey did not know if they would be able to break free. Third day, they detected a distress signal emanating from deeper inside the Rift, where upon arriving, they encountered two vessels. Captain Sanok ordered the red alert, the Starfire was ready for a fight, if indeed the situation led to it. The two ships were of unknown configuration, although one was better armed and armored while the other was an armed cargo vessel, a freighter perhaps. The scans revealed that both suffered heavy structural damage and showed no life signs. Corey mentioned to Captain that sensors inside the Rift can sometimes relay inacurate data because of the subspace interference and sensor echoes, although judging by the close proximity to the ships, Starfire's sensors should have picked the true readings. Corey expected some kind of salvage operation, he wanted to find more about the ships from the Rift, perhaps learning something about the ship he escorted through the edges of the rift himself. Instead, Captain Sanok ordered two teams to search each ship for survivors. "Lieutenant Zyahn" Corey spoke, looking at the First Officer, "I am volunteering for the away team, specifically the team transporting to the other ship looking like a warship. I would like to study their warp engines, since they appear to be from this region, I might find something that could help us travel this area of space." he spoke graciously trading the looks with the Captain, he was looking for a head nod. (Reply: Zyahn or Sanok) (Posted by: Lani) ----- (Starfire, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0720) "Lieutenant Zyahn, assemble two teams, one to investigate and search each ship. Report your findings as soon as you learn anything." the CO said while Ayehla and Signos were quickly analyzing the tactical scan. "Yes sir, she said." So the two ships came from the same species...at least according to the ship materials and design which were too similar. If the two were attacked, it was more likely for the cargo transport than the warship. The cargo would reveal more about the intent of the attack. The warship would reveal more about the combat and opponent the two ships faced. She preferred to have Signos on the warship, but she also preferred to have S'yes and his computer skill on the cargo. But she couldn't be on the same away team that Signos. But if they weren't, that would mean Ayehla and S'yes would be sent on the same away team. Also there could still be people alive there with fain signals.... "Lieutenant Zyahn" Corey spoke, looking at the First Officer, "I am volunteering for the away team, specifically the team transporting to the other ship looking like a warship. I would like to study their warp engines, since they appear to be from this region, I might find something that could help us travel this area of space." he spoke graciously trading the looks with the Captain, he was looking for a head nod. "Noted." she simply said. She give it more thoughts. Opening a communication to the appropriate officers. "Lieutenant Corey, Ensign Andersen and Ensign Signos, you are with me on the away team to search the warship. Lieutenant S'yes, Ensign Gunn, Ensign Skyfire, Ensign C'Nell, you are on the second away team sent to the cargo transport ship. Lieutenant S'yes, you are in charge. We can assume information on the reason of the attack will be found on the cargo ship. Review their cargo bay and see if there is anything missing. If you can also get more information on the attackers, that would be useful. You can add any other objectives you may find appropriate." (Reply any) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Starfire, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0722) The rift seemed to be more than it seemed. If only subspace was damaged, the tactical and passive scans that didn't used subspace should have worked, but according to ensign Signos, it didn't. It was probably just a question of recalibrating the sensors. If they had no way to know how many people were out there, and how armed they would be, they were at least able to know where the walls were. It was certainly safer to beam in a room very close to the warship bridge, yet far enough to avoid any risk. "To my away team, we meet at Transport room 1 at 0735. Standard distress call protocol." She closed the communication. She then turned at ensign Signos and ensign C'Nell, hoping they would get more information on those two ships. (Reply any) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Starfire, Bridge, S'yes, Day 3, 0723) "To my away team, we need to meet at Transport room 2 at 0740 we will be using the standard distress call protocol." S'yesthen closed the communication channel. He thought about what they'd be looking for and tried to anticipate any and all possibilities. The Caitian 2O turned over the ops station to a young petty officer. Before heading out he learned bear her and whispered "Keep a transporter lock on both teams and be prepared for trouble ". She nodded and set to work. (posted by Bill) ----- (Starfire, Transporter Room 1, Zyahn, Day 3, 0735) Everyone from her away team had arrived at transporter room 1. She had hoped to have more information to give them but she had none. "We were unable to scan for lifesign on those ships. We don't know how many they are, if they are injured, if they are hostiles. Set your phasers on stuns. We will try the diplomatic approach first and announce our presence, but since we don't know how they are going to react, we need to be cautious and not expose ourselves to fire. We will go two by two. Ensign Signos and I will go first and secure the room. You will then beam on board. Then we are going to move to the bridge. Our first goal is to gain access to their ship logs. Ensign Andersen, there will very likely be people injured out there. Do your best. Questions?" (Reply any) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Warship, Unknown Room, Zyahn, Day 3, 0736) Ayehla and Jessica beamed on board the warship. You could see by their way of moving that they were used to that kind of mission. Ayehla didn't waited to have a visual of the entire room. As soon as she materialized, she moved away in case anyone was there and shooting at her...and then only looked around. Luckily, there wasn't anyone in the room. As the two exchanged a look, Ayehla nodded to confirm Jessica could proceed. The two understood each other quite well, so there wasn't even need for words. Once she knew Jessica was ready, Ayehla contacted the two other officers. "Ayehla to Lieutenant Corey, you are free to beam on board." Once on board, she nodded to confirm they were ready to move to the next room. Ayehla and Jessica walked in front. It was better to place the two officers trained in security and marine in front...they could react better to any potential threat. They moved along the corridor leading to the bridge. Once at the door of the bridge, she announced their intention. "This is Lieutenant Ayehla, first officer of the USS Starfire. We are from Starfleet. We received your distress call. We are here to help." She then exchanged a look with everyone in her team, checking if they were all ready to move. They were. She made a few signs to tell them what she expected of them... With her fingers, she started counting....3...2....1...go. (Reply none) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Warship, Signos, Day 3, 0737) Bightness faded has they beamed over to the unknown warship. The brightness from the beam had barely faded and Ayehla and Jessica were already on the move. One broke to the left while Jessica broke to the right each moved with purpose to clear the area where the rest of the crew were to beam in. The area of the warship they beamed into was dark, main lighting was down and only emergency lightning casted a dim light around the room. She kept watch has the rest of the away team beamed over. Once the rest of the team beamed over they made their way to what they figured would be the bridge. Jessica and Ayehla both took point has they moved side by side. Ayehla called out announcing their pressance, Jessica thought better of it. She started running the facts though her mind. Sharing the details with Lily. They continued to move thoughout the ship it seemed more and more of a ghost town. Jessica had bad feeling on what would happen soon. "Lt." Jessica spoke softly. "I have a bad feeling, think about it why would a warship and light transportship be in one of the most hostile places in space. Niether ship seems that badly damaged. So why the distress call, I have a feeling that the key to this mission lies in whatever the cargo was in the transport ship. For now I feel that was either weapons, prisoners, or both. Think about it if I was going to try to over throw an enemy ship by man power alone. This would be the area of space I would launch the attack." (Reply any) (posted by Matt) ----- (Starfire, Sickbay, Tesha, Day 3, 0739) On day three since leaving the starbase, the Starfire had received a distress signal that led them to two derelict ships. One was a freighter, while the other was its military escort. Both were dead in space, and there were no signs of any survivors, though the Silent Rift could have been causing interference in the scans. Away teams had been assembled, one being sent to each ship. Both Doctors Andersen and Skyfire were going, leaving Tesha and the only other medical person on board, a male nurse, Petty Officer Tim Parker, left to cover sickbay. Since there hadn't been any patients, Parker was off duty, leaving Tesha by herself. When Tesha had learned that the Rosenante was going to be out of service for a while, she had been concerned over what her next duty assignment would be. Getting the Starfire had been a relief, as she didn't want to end up on some backwater place in the middle of nowhere, but so far, things had been pretty slow, and quite dull. On the Rose, there was always some sort of medical task to perform. When off duty, there were a number of places on the ship one could go to enjoy various activities. On a Defiant, there was none of that, so the crew had to make their own entertainment. Because everyone was accustomed to the luxury of the bigger ships, it had been slow-going figuring out things to do, though an engineering crewman had begun talking about setting up in one of the cargo holds, something called a putt-putt golf course. Tesha was looking forward to seeing exactly what that was. Sighing and drumming her fingers on the biobed on which she had been reclining, her antennae moving in slow circles, Tesha wished she had been chosen to go on the mission. On Yora III, she had been surprised at the mistakes and questionable things some of the officers had done. That had made her feel she would be better off not going on missions. Now, as bored as she was, she would have jumped at the opportunity to get some action and excitement. She sighed again. "Computer, give me the details of an Earth game called putt-putt golf." (reply any) (posted by Bob B.) ----- (Starfire, Transporter Room 2, S'yes, Day 3, 0740) S'yes addressed Ensign Gunn, Ensign Skyfire and Ensign C'Nell. "We can assume information on the reason of the attack will be found on the cargo ship. We must their cargo bay bill of lading and see if there is anything missing." S'yes added. ((Reply: Away Team) (Posted by: Bill W.) ----- (Starfire, Transporter Room 2, Skyfire, Day 3, 0741) Skyfire had just barely enough time to drop his gear off in his quarters, having set them on the bed. The last two days, he'd been busy engaging in physical activity to prepare himself. He still hadn't met his room mate, who seemed to be in none of the groups he'd met with thus far. Armed with only his medkit, he pondered over the words of the leader of the away team. "You want us to examine their cargo bay and confirm if anything's missing?" (Reply: Gunn, C'Nell, S'yes) (Posted by Kat S) ----- (Starfire, Transporter Room 2, S'yes, Day 3, 0742) S'yes entered the small area . He smiled what the Earthers called a 'Cheshire Cat' grin. The team members started to arrive. dr. Skyfire entered. S'yes eyed the young doctor for a moment. Skyfire returned his look and asked a question. S'yes thought for a moment before responding. "I want you Doctor to search for anything that indicating any potential Heath or safety concerns," S'yes added. (Reply: Skyfire) (Posted by: Bill West) ----- (Starfire, Transporter Room 2, S'yes, Day 3, 0743) His team had assembled in the Transporter Room. S'yes reviewed each member's gear. They were as ready as they could be. S'yes had some thoughts he decided to share. "I want each of you to be careful. Set your phasers on stun and don't fire unless threatened. We are there to discover data not stage a shoot-out". His folks nodded in agreement. Since the transport capabilities of the Defiant Class were limited, he had decided to go over in teams of two. "Dr. Skyfire and I will go over first and make sure things are safe. Then I will have Mr. C'Nell and Mister Gunn will follow - questions?" the Caitian asked. (Reply: Those named) (Posted by: Bill W.) ----- (Starfire, Transporter Room 2, Skyfire, Day 3, 0744) "I want you Doctor to search for anything that indicating any potential health or safety concerns." S'yes said in answer to his earlier question. CD nodded and brought out his tricorder, holding that in one hand with his med gear in the other as he moved toward the transporter pad. "Dr. Skyfire and I will go over first and make sure things are safe. Then I will have Mr. C'Nell and Mister Gunn will follow - questions?" the Caitian asked. "Negative, sir. I understand my role completely." He waited for any others to speak from his group as he took his place alongside the lieutenant. (reply, C'Nell or Gunn) (Posted by Kat S) ----- (Warship, Zyahn, Day 3, 0745) "Lt." Jessica spoke softly. "I have a bad feeling, think about it why would a warship and light transport ship be in one of the most hostile places in space. Neither ship seems that badly damaged. So why the distress call, I have a feeling that the key to this mission lies in whatever the cargo was in the transport ship. For now I feel that was either weapons, prisoners, or both. Think about it if I was going to try to over throw an enemy ship by man power alone. This would be the area of space I would launch the attack." Ayehla reflected on what Jessica said. "You are right it is the perfect place to launch an attack and it does suggest the attacker didn't destroy or disable the ship but rather took it from within, probably by beaming an assault team. Yet, we cannot be sure of it and what follows from that is hard to tell. If they were here for the cargo, they would have either stole the transport ship, or stole the goods and leave the ship there. There is no trace of those who attacked the two ships.... and with the time we took to move into the sector, it is likely they have already left with what they came here for. But we cannot preclude the possibility the attacker is actually cloaked and still here. We must be cautious, yet pacifist. Soon enough, we will have our answers." (Reply Signos) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Warship, Unknown Room, Corey, Day 3, 0746) With the line of what the Trill First Officer ordered, they were using standard distress call protocols, although Corey only had so little time to remind himself of all the protocols of the Starfleet, so he wasn't quite sure on the details - he knew what it meant, more or less. Using a disruptor rifle was like a second nature to him, so the standard issue phaser rifle felt a little flimsy. He always thought how Disruptors are much more reliable, better constructed and much simpler to operate compared to a standard issue but now he was back at Starfleet so choosing his own weaponry was out of question - he simply needed to get along with what was the standard of the day. Signos and Zyahn went on the transporter pad first, beaming and then signaling Corey he's free to beam on board. He stepped on the transported pad. He didn't know what to expect, but the rush of adrenaline made him feel good, a familiar feeling, it was a nice mood pick-me-up. He materialized in a room where the others already were waiting, checking around for contacts. He pulled out his tricorder, while the others were making sure there's no one on board, he instead scanned for any kind of lifeforms. When his tricorder didn't pick up anything, he enlarged the scanning buffer, raising the resonant frequency of the scans, he knew with this, he would have better chances penetrating the sensor echoes from the Rift outside the ship. Indeed, he found dim life signs, but the problem was it was all over the place, as if the ship was alive, which of course made no sense. Considering the quick modifications he did to his tricorder, he was sure the scan was coherent enough to cut through the interference, thus he knew that someone is alive on the vessel but more then likely using a technology to mask lifesigns. Considering the ship was dead in the water, and parallel to the scans of the damaged EPS relay he scanned in the very room he materialized, he came to conclusion that if any kind of device capable of doing it is present on the ship, it would have to be in the Engineering, simple based on the fact alone that power for the said device couldn't be provided anywhere else on the ship. The ship was in ruins, by the internal design, it seemed to be a small warship, a destroyer or perhaps a light cruiser class and while the technology didn't seem to be the equivalent to the present Starfleet, it wasn't that much behind. This bothered his much, he looked at the preliminary scanning data of the other ship, and there hasn't been any clues whatsoever that the ship posses weaponry that could do this kind of damage to this ship. If indeed this was an skirmish between these two ships, there should have been only one victor emerging from the conflict, probably even without any scars. Signos and Zyahn already went on further towards the bridge, they didn't seem to order others to follow - perhaps this was a simple overlook, or perhaps they wanted to check the bridge themselves, feeling they are better suited for a fight then Corey and the good doctor, whatever the reason was, this was an opportunity he could use to better check the main Engineering, he would probably be back faster then the two would get back from the bridge. He was sure they would find nothing of value there, except the logs. He knew all too well the heart of the ship is in the main engineering, not on her bridge. "My dear doctor." he started, and the somewhat troubled-looking woman turned about. "Yes, Lieutenant Corey, how can I help?" "I will need help in the main Engineering, accompany me." "I think I should wait maybe there's someone in need of the medical assistance on the bridge." she shrugged, she seemed overly tense with the situation and didn't seem in control of her emotions. "I'm sure they will call for you if that's the case, come, let us proceed to the main engineering." "I am unsure we should proceed, sir." she said, somewhat protesting to the idea. "It wasn't a request, my good doctor." Corey said smiling. He used the tricorder to navigate the ship's corridors, and it wasn't a long journey, the main engineering was situated at the aft of the ship, following a straight long bridge-like structure between the forward part of the ship that housed the bridge and the aft that obviously had main engineering and the nacelles. (posted by Lani) ----- (Warship, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0747) After a short discussion with Signos, she gave the go ahead. Her and Signos entered the bridge, Ayehla covering the left side, Signos the right side, with Corey and Andersen covering their back. As they walked quickly to check every dark places, all they discovered was an empty bridge, with several dead bodies. The bodies all belonged to the Vilnians, the specie to whom the ship belonged. She hoped to see the body of another specie, but she didn't. Analyzing where the bodies were, it seemed the Vilnian crew was taken by surprise. None had weapons on them, except one. The weapon was still hanged on his uniform, with his hand not far from it. He was probably trying to reach it when he was shot. She realized neither Anderson or Corey were with them. They were supposed to cover their back and enter the room right behind them. There was no sign of threat and they had secured both the room and corridor. They were no sign of automatic defense system in the corridor or the room either. If they had been attacked, Ayehla would have known. "Ensign, continue looking over those bodies to get any useful information. If you could assess from where the attacker came from, and what kind of weapon they used, that could be useful. I'm going to look for our two missing crew members." (Reply Signos) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Warship, Main Engineering, Corey, Day 3, 0750) They stopped right in front of the entrance to the Engineering, the doors were wide open, and there were debris all over, blocking the doors from closing. He showed the doctor to wait, which she used to bring her own tricorder and start the local scans, Corey on the other hand, finally brought his phaser rifle to bear on the arc in front of him and slowly, carefully and very silently entered the room in front. The main core was offline, punctured on two sides, the devices that seemed to be a dilithium matrix or the equivalent was torn from it's own handles and was laying down above several of creatures on the floor. The creatures themselves looked humanoid like, but not quite human. Corey could not see their faces but considering what was laying on them, they couldn't have survived. The doctor stepped in now, despite Corey didn't call her as he hasn't make sure there was no danger for her. Instead, the doctor found someone barely alive behind a big bulkhead that obviously hit it and were pressing down on the creature. "Mind giving me a hand here, sir." she yelled trying desperately to move the heavy bulkhead. "Lemme try." he said pushing hard to move it. After several tries, the two managed to pull it up enough so that doctor Andersen could crawl in and get to the creature while Corey was handling it. "I don't know.. for how long I can.." "Won't have to be long, sir." Andersen said with a sad voice, she pulled the creature out from underneath the bulkhead, along with some kind of a device patched directly to the ship batteries. No doubt, a device that was masking life signatures. Corey finally let go of the bulkhead, and tried regaining his lost breath, while Andersen scanned the creature once again. "I'm sorry, sir. We were minutes too late." she said, closing the eyes of the creature. "We should relay our findings to the First Officer, but first, scan his wounds, we probably want to know what exactly happened to him." "Five fractures bones... no doubt from that heavy bulkhead... oh two defensive wounds from hand to hand combat coupled with several hours old wound from an energy weapon, unknown type. Sir, there's little doubt that this man was attacked by someone." "That might be why he turned on the device to mask his life signs, he was probably hoping that he wouldn't be found." "And he seemed to almost succeeded at it, sir. He couldn't have counted in the possibility of the failing ship's bulkhead falling on him." Corey pressed his commbadge. "Lieutenant Corey to Lieutenant Zyahn. We have followed a faint life signs to the main engineering but have only found several of the crewmen dead, alongside with one that died several minutes before we arrived. The most puzzling piece is he was running some kind of device for masking his life signs, and he shows defensive wounds. Moreover, I believe their warp reactor was damaged from the inside by some kind of explosive device, the extent of the damage does not correspond to the damage pattern we observed on the outside of the ship. I wonder, ma'am, did you find anything on the bridge that would corroborate what we have found here?" (Reply: Ayehla) (Posted by: Lani) ----- (Starfire, Bridge, Stone, Day 3, 0751) Isaac kept a sharp eye on the screen and his fingers touching lightly over the console. He looked at the warship and the transport ship making sure that the Starfire was at an acceptable distance in case they needed to do any evasive manoeuvres. A smile ghosted across his face as he made a minute adjustment to keep the Starfire where it was supposed to be. He had flown many vessels in his piloting career. Everything from the large and lumbering Roger Young class to the Tarawa Class Marine Runabout and even the small and nimble Mako Fighter but he really loved the chance to pilot a defiant class starship. Their run out to the Rift had given him the chance to properly get to know the Starfire, her quirks and nuances of how she handled. He had gotten to know his new crew mates. They were all very young apart from the Chief Engineering Officer Corey he was old enough to be a parent to some of them which had made his children laugh. His bunk mate James Gunn a security officer was a tall young man who seams friendly but Isaac needed to get to know him better. The two away teams had been transported to the two ships and he was keeping a close eye on them if they twitched he would be ready to react. His fingers were hovering over the impulse activation icon that would send the Starfire racing forward as he waitied for the command from Sanok. (Reply any) (Posted by Robbie) ----- (Cargo Vessel, Cargo Bay, S'yes, Day 3, 0752) S'yes and Dr. Skyfire materialized in what looked a standard cargo bay. After a moment to get their bearing, S'yes checked the area out. As far as the Caitian could determine there were no booby traps. The doctor nodded in agreement. He tapped his comm badge and ordered the last two team members to beam over. The four soon huddled together. S'yes ordered C'Nell to began intensive scanning to uncover any info. "Dr. Skyfire see if you can pull data fr anything that looks medical. Mr. C'Nell you scan for any indication of what this hold area had in it" S'yes ordered. (Reply: C'Nell, Skyfire) "Mr. Gunn you're with me. We're going to check the ship out. " S'yes added. (Reply: Gunn) (Posted by: Bill West) ----- (Warship, Corridor, Zyahn, Day 3, 0753) Ayehla had looked around the corridor and the room they had beamed to and there were no trace of Lieutenant Corey and Ensign Andersen. She thought of contacting them but she was afraid they might have been captured and that would give away her position. There were no trace of weapon fired. She received a communication. =/\= Lieutenant Corey to Lieutenant Zyahn. We have followed a faint life signs to the main engineering but have only found several of the crewmen dead, alongside with one that died several minutes before we arrived. The most puzzling piece is he was running some kind of device for masking his life signs, and he shows defensive wounds. Moreover, I believe their warp reactor was damaged from the inside by some kind of explosive device, the extent of the damage does not correspond to the damage pattern we observed on the outside of the ship. I wonder, ma'am, did you find anything on the bridge that would corroborate what we have found here? =/\= ~So there they were!,~ Ayehla thought. By going directly to engineering without neither informing his superior nor asking permission was a clear violation of Starfleet protocol. Ayehla had apprehended something like this, and voiced her concerns to the captain. This would probably prove her point. But at the same time, always going for the safe choices had also its disadvantages. Some of the most skilled politicians, architect, musicians she knew were rather esoteric. Part of her had the urge to say 'what are you doing there' but she knew better than reprimand an officer on a open comm. Moreover, if they were able to reach engineering without any incident, it was now very likely that the attacker had gone, therefore significantly decreasing the threat. "Not yet. We were looking for you" she said, to hint at her disapproval, while also showing it wasn't the time to discuss the matter. "We also discovered several dead bodies on the bridge. It seems the attacker has left, so continue investigating this. But keep an eye open. Report back when you are done." (Reply Corey, iyw) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Cargo Vessel, Cargo Bay, Skyfire, Day 3, 0754) Chythar looked around, his tricorder in one hand with his medkit in the other. ~There doesn't look to be anything deadly in the atmosphere, from what I can tell...~ It wasn't until he heard Lt. S'yes's order to pull data from medical instruments that he raised an eyebrow with a glance at his superior. "There are no medical instruments in this room, sir. I can attempt to scan for contaminants or trace remains of blood, if that would help..." (Reply S'yes) He looked down at his tricorder as it started making beeping noises in rapid succession. (Posted by Kat S) ----- (Warship, Bridge, Signos, Day 3, 0755) Aleyha left the bridge to find the two missing of thier team. Jessica knew she would not be happy when she found them. They should know better to stay with the team, or at least let the team leader know where you are going. But that was Aleyha's concern Jessica had other concerns to deal with. Bodies filled the bridge most were still behind their consoles, The crew of the warship was caught completly by surprise. Most were dead before they knew they were under attack. Which ment the bridge had to be taken in under twelve seconds. Most ships could raise some kind of alarm after that time frame. Jessica walked over to one of the bodies and checked the wounds it collected but one she most intrested in was the hole that was bored though the womans chest. She passed her tricorder over the wound linking heer tricorder to her tactical circlet. 'What do you think' She allowed the thought to pass to Lily, her alternate personality. Jessica was familular with many weapons and the wounds they caused but what she saw here puzzled her. The wound was a clean hole staight though the body but with no burn marks that were tell signs of a beam or energy weapon. 'Look at the skin directly around wound see how the skin has been pulled into the wound. That shows the passing of a high speed projectile, check the walls behind the woman you should be able to find the bullet. The problem is that there is not sign chemicals from the bullet on the skin. I would say the weapon that was used was a railgun.' 'I see' Jessica answerd Lily checking over the readings she was pulling off the tricorder. She moved from body to body most were the same a high energy projectile weapon like a railgun had to be used. She scanned the bridge looking for any spent casing but found none. She took a moment for a deep breath noticing the Lt. Had yet to make it back from looking for the two lost crew members. Jessica made her way over to one of the console stations to access the computer main files. It took a few moments to reroute the nessessary power to allow the console to power up. Then with a few key strokes on the console she accessed the computers mainframe but all she was able to access was a black screen with a binking dash. Not only were the files gone but the entire mainframe had been wiped clean operating system and all. "Damn" she cursed lightly has the door hissed open. Jessica looked to see who it was who entered the but her hand slid to the hand phaser at her side. She breathed a sigh of relief when Aheyla stepped back into the room. "Lieutenant Corey and Ensign Andersen are in engineering, investigating something. So, what have you find out?" Aheyla spoke has she entered the room. Jessica shook her head, 'And they went with out security to back them.' She watched has Aheyla crossed the room "I'm afraid not much most here seemed to shot by some high energy projectile simular to a railgun, and the main computer has been completly wiped. I was gonna mark the bodies and how the projectiles travered the bodies of the dead. We can then trace that back with the bullet holes in the walls to find out how many attackers where here and where they attacked from. That information could prove vital in how the crew was over thrown." (Reply Aheyla) (Posted by Matthew) ----- (Cargo Vessel, Cargo Bay, Gunn, Day 3, 0756) Lieutenant S'yes and Doctor Skyfire were the first to beam over to the derelict cargo ship. James could understand S'yes being one of the first, as he was the leader of the team, but it was odd that the 2O had chosen the CMO to accompany him. This was James' first ship assignment, and his first mission on that ship, so it wasn't his place to question the decision, but in an unknown and unsecured situation that could have been dangerous, procedure dictated that someone from security should have been on that initial team. While the seconds ticked by, seconds that seemed much longer than they actually were, James glanced at the chief of science, Ensign C'Nell. The two had not formally met, but James had heard a lot about the man. Scuttlebutt spread quickly on a ship anyway, but on a Defiant, it was like there were daily broadcasts of the things that were happening on board. It was strange that a Vulcan would be living with his emotions. Though, from what James had been told, the captain had once lived with his. On the other hand, why shouldn't a people live with emotions? They were part of who people were. He supposed so much diversity was what made the galaxy what it was. James was relieved when the call from S'yes for them to beam over finally came. Stepping onto the smaller platform, James and C'Nell soon found themselves in the cargo bay. James quickly looked around. The place seemed like a typical cargo hold. There were several crates stacked neatly in a corner. Next to them, were three blue, barrel-like containers. Nothing out of the ordinary. "Doctor Skyfire, see if you can pull data from anything that looks medical," said S'yes. "Mister C'Nell, you scan for any indication of what this hold area had in it. Mister Gunn, you're with me. We're going to check the ship out." James noticed that the doctor seemed to be a bit puzzled. "There are no medical instruments in this room, sir," said Skyfire. "I can attempt to scan for contaminants or trace remains of blood, if that would help." James remained still, with a neutral expression on his face. He was ready to look around, so once everyone was ready, he'd be moving out with Lieutenant S'yes. (reply any on team) (posted by Bob B.) ----- (Cargo Vessel, Cargo Bay, Skyfire, Day 3, 0757) The tricorder in Skyfire's hand did indeed cause puzzlement as he looked at the readings. "Sir, I'm registering a lifesign. Doesn't appear to be one of ours." He began moving toward it, saying to his team mates "The lifesign is fading rapidly." (reply, Anyone) (posted by Kat) ----- (Warship, Engineering, Corey, Day 3, 0759) =/\=Not yet. We were looking for you=/\= the First Officer said, sounding rather grunt, for a moment it seemed she didn't approve Corey's little detour, but considering this was probably the best thing to do, he stood behind his choice. =/\=We also discovered several dead bodies on the bridge. It seems the attacker has left, so continue investigating this. But keep an eye open. Report back when you are done.=/\= "Roger that, we'll keep our eyes open. Corey out." Andersen stepped towards him, handing him her tricorder, "Take a look at this." The ship, or what's left of it, went in low-light mode, there was still secondary batteries running. Across the room, on the pile of bodies squashed under the main reactor parts, something gleamed. "Very interesting, it would seem one of the explosive devices was somehow left and wasn't used on the reactor assembly." Corey spoke. He grabbed her tricorder, twisting it out of her hands, punching in commands in it like a child playing with a favorite toy. "Look at this. No matter how many times I rescanned it, those underneath that..." he said pointing to the reactor parts ".. are all of the same race. Whoever planted this explosive device, somehow got out of here before all hell's broke loose." "According to this readings, most died when a torrent of reactor parts, splinters and superheated plasma rained down on them... a horrible way to die, it was, but some were shot before. The tricorder cannot recognize the weapon risidual trace. I do not understand." she said gaining some distance from the silent pile of aliens. "It is simple. The devices were planted before the attack happened." Corey shrugged, getting down closer to the pile, looking at the wounds. "That means they had help. Internal help." "I'm afraid so. Although, it might have not been a spy. According to the main engineering officers log, the ship changed the course to 076 - 156, however it doesn't say why. Moreover, at the same moment, a higher speed was issued." "What all of that means?" "I have no proofs, but this stinks of a typical bait and switch, they were caught with their pants down." "And when their shields were taken down... it's a question if they even had them in the first place..." "The attackers simply beamed on board. This could explain why most of the wounds are defensive, they were caught by surprise, the attack was unexpected." Corey said rising from the ground, the phaser rifle on his shoulder. "Hmm, I'm going to extensively scan the damage done and the device and you can try to find any traces of transporter technology." "On it. Uhh, well actually our traces are the only ones." "This does not make any sense." He pressed the commbadge, Andersen looked at him wondering what is he about to report. "Corey to Zyahn. We found an inactive explosive device on one of the dead bodies in the engineering, it seems to be malfunctioning but any sign of tampering might set it off. I did a thorough scan, and it seems to be some kind of thoron-based internal high-yield explosive device that could be activated remotely or by a timer. The damage done to the reactor was definitely done by the same device, in fact, three of them to be precise. Considering the antimatter injection system is still in tact, I believe that one malfunctioned. Unlucky for the residents, the other three were more then enough to rupture the reactor. However, what's more interesting, is that the reactor was offline when that happened, clearly the attack on the reactor wasn't the first. Moreover, we have found several last quick logs belonging to the main engineer, on a kind of a PADD. They had no information, only the last three commands, first is warp factor 2, steady speed. Second is sudden change to coordinates 076 - 156 and third came right after the second, a speed increase. I believe we could extrapolate, from the coordinates, from where this ship originally came in." (Reply: Ayehla, iyw) (Posted by: Lani) ----- (Warship, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0801) Ayehla was back on the bridge and asked Signos for an update. "I'm afraid not much most here seemed to shot by some high energy projectile similar to a railgun, and the main computer has been completely wiped. I was gonna mark the bodies and how the projectiles traveled the bodies of the dead. We can then trace that back with the bullet holes in the walls to find out how many attackers where here and where they attacked from. That information could prove vital in how the crew was over thrown." Signos said. That was strange. Even when she recalled her memories from her first few hosts, energy weapon was already invented, so she could not even recall who and when someone would use projectile weapon. The only knowledge she had of projectile weapons were torpedo tubes, which were quite of a different type. "Proceed. I will try to see if we can find anything left on those computer." Ayehla said. She examined the blueprint of the ship, which was still working, suggesting it had a different data input. As she anticipated, there was a backup computer, but it wasn't providing any data to the system on the bridge. It was probably not set as a backup command processor, or emergency processor. If it was doubtful they would retrieve any new logs, it could contain recent enough data to be able to shed some light to this. The backup computer was not very far. "The backup computer is two decks below. But let's finish what you have started." she said. Ayehla then moved towards one of the dead body she knew Jessica didn't had time to check. Looking at the path of the projectile, it entered from the right side of the Vilnian back, close to the vertebral column. She didn't know though where the Vilnian's organs were located. What she had difficulty figuring out was how the person felt. She didn't know how to extrapolate where she was standing and where was the shooter based on the current position of the body and the trajectory of the bullet. Neither as a marine, nor as a security officer, did she ever really felt the need to learn about it, since it wasn't a obligation. She realized now it may have came handy... Well, she had to make a choice back when she was at the academy, and she chose another class related to security. All she knew though, was the fact it was doubtful the person who shot that person was standing any close to where Signos seemed to be looking. And neither where Signos nor Ayehla were looking were close enough to the bridge doors. She preferred to wait for Signos' more thorough analysis, but she already guessed they beamed directly to the bridge, which would explain why the bridge officers didn't had time to react. (Reply Signos, iyw) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Cargo Vessel, S'yes, Day 3, 0802) So far they had found nothing. This worried the second officer. S'yes,like most Caitians, looked for more than the surface things. As he was about to transmit their status report to Capt. Sanok, Dr Skyfire had found something. "Sir, I'm registering a lifesign. Doesn't appear to be one of ours." He began moving toward it, saying to his team mates "The lifesign is fading. rapidly." S'yes ordered the doctor and C'Nell to head there and render aid. "Mr. Gunn we better go too" (Reply: Gunn, C'Nell and Skyfire) (Posted by: Bill West) ----- (Cargo Vessel, Gunn, Day 3, 0805) After beaming into the cargo hold of the freighter, Lieutenant S'yes issued various orders. James was to explore the ship with the El-Tee. Exiting the hold with the El-Tee in the lead, they began sweeping the corridors, making their way towards the bridge. Just down the way from the hold, they found the first dead body. "He's a Vilnian, sir," said James after he scanned the corpse. "First contact was made six months ago by the USS Solomon, a science ship. There isn't a lot here about them, but they're one of five races that live in this section of the Silent Rift. They're primarily a culture high in science and technology." James and S'yes continued searching, but before they were able to leave the deck they were on, they received a comm call from Doctor Skyfire, stating that he was detecting faint life signs. S'yes ordered Skyfire and C'Nell to investigate. "Mister Gunn, we better go, too." "Excuse me, Lieutenant, if I may," said James. "I respectfully recommend that we continue to the bridge to see if we can uncover any sensor or log information about what happened here. The doctor can handle a wounded person, sir." James wasn't familiar enough yet about the 2O to know if he was allowed to make suggestions, or if he had overstepped protocol. He felt it was a good idea, but of course, it was the El-Tee's decision to make. (reply S'yes) (posted by Bob B.) ----- (Cargo Ship, Skyfire, Day 3, 0807) S'yes ordered the doctor and C'Nell to head there and render aid. Chythar continued following the tricorder reading, muscles tensing a little. He was nervous, as the lifesign was fading. He followed the trail, and knelt beside the injured man. The survivor's forehead contained ridges that vaguely resembled a Cardassian, but there was a faint hint of something else: Bajoran. The survivor's eyes open for a moment. "Rrgugh...." before he lapses once again into unconsciousness. CD sighed and began running scans, doing what he could to aid the survivor. He looked to C'Nell. "He's incoherent and concussed. Lost a lot of blood from this broken arm of his..." (Reply, C'nell) (Posted by Kat S) ----- (Cargo Ship, S'yes, Day 3, 0811) S'yes was about to haven Ensign Gunn and himself head to Skyfire's location when Mr. gun closed reasonable question. Gunn had restated an obvious question the Caitian had failed to consider. "You're correct the dr. Is capable to handle a causality" S'yes replied. The pair continued towards the bridge. S'yes was finding this mission strange to say the least. His thoughts were interrupted by the chirp of his comm badge. The doctor wad reporting in. He and C'Nell had found a survivor. "Doctor, do what is needed to save the individual " S'yes ordered. (Reply: Dr/C'Nell) S'yes informed the CO and FO of what they had uncovered . It sound like the survivor was in a very bad way. Gunn and S"yes were soon on the bridge. They started their efforts to salvage data. (Reply: None) (Posted by : Bill W.) ----- (Cargo Ship, Skyfire, Day 3, 0814) Skyfire heard S'yes's order and nodded, doing whatever he could to stabilize the vital signs of the survivor, who kept slipping in and out of consciousness. Anything said was incoherent, the doc's hands steady as he continued. "Forgive me if I'm not the best company at the moment..." he said to C'Nell, not having met all of the staff yet. (Reply, C'Nell) (posted by Kat) ----- (Cargo Ship, C'Nell, Day 3, 0816) "It is fine, you have a job to do" he responded to Skyfire; in truth C'Nell did too so far he'd been practically been a spare part. He was still thinking on the things the Captain had said, he felt mechanical at the moment; ironically cold. He wondered if he adopted the practice of Kolinar whether this kind of thing would happen. ~Later Thomas~ he told himself, and began to look around the room. Then he noticed, a cargo bin they had not seen when they entered. C'Nell began to scan it with the Tricorder, it took a few seconds but it was worth it; this one was different. It had trace amounts of radioactivity but the material was not something he had seen before, he began to think; it would be difficult to analyse here. ~difficult to analyse on that inadequate ship~ he thought, but he dismissed the idea. He was a science officer, it was his job to deal with this sort of stuff. As he approached the survivor and Skyfire; C'Nell thought how in some ways he was glad Skyfire was there; he was no longer the newest and most junior officer. "What do you make of this?" C'Nell showed him the tricorder, he was interested in a medical opinion. (Reply Skyfire) (Posted by Nathan) ----- (Cargo Ship, Bridge, S'yes, Day 3, 0825) S'yes and Ensign Gunn reached after a momentary stop to communicate with Dr Skyfire and Ensign C'Nell. The Caitian was waiting word on what condition they found the survivor in. Could they tell them anything about what had happened? This was a seeping mystery. S'yes smiled and absent minded lay seished his tail as he pondered the facts known. He turned to Ensign Gunn and asked the nan to see what, if anything, was in the logs. (Reply: Gunn) S'yes used his tricorder to scan the bridge. He was seeing indications of some type energy discharges reminiscent of phaser and disruptor fire. He tapped his com badge and reported in to the skipper. "S'yes to Captain Sanok" (reply: Sanok) (Posted by: Bill) ----- (Warship, Deck 3, Zyahn, Day 3, 0826) After having helped ensign Signos make an analysis of where the shooting came from, and how the attacker took the bridge by surprise, Ayehla ordered her away team (including)Lieutenant Corey and ensign Andersen) to join her on deck 3. Lieutenant Corey had finished completing the analysis of the damage done, and she needed his services with the computer. Moreover, Lieutenant Corey could always return to main engineering to inspect the ship configuration once they were done here. Once they arrived, she briefed on what she knew so far. "The attacker, we don't know who yet, beamed directly on the bridge and took the crew by surprise. Judging by the level of information missing, they wiped out the computer core before destroying it. Fortunately for us, there was a console on the bridge working with its own processor. The function were very limited, to actually the ship blueprints and some vital ships function, but I was able to find out that the ship has as backup computer. Or emergency computer. It's nothing like our emergency command processor. It isn't capable of running any main systems. From what I understand, it is only a kind of black box. It copies all the vital information there. If we were able to open it and decrypt it, I think we could know a great deal about what happened. Lieutenant Corey, this is your area of expertise." (Reply Corey) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Warship, Deck 3, Corey, Day 3, 0833) After letting the First Officer know the extent of the damage done to the reactor, and sharing his knowledge of the explosive device, both himself, and doctor Andersen were called up to join Zyahn on deck 3. He traveled with the doctor, an encounter was unlikely but far from unprobable, he was taking charge and she was trailing behind, watching at their backs. Last thing they needed right now was being caught unprepared just like the original crew of the ship. Once the duo arrived, the First Officer started to brief them on the current situation. "The attacker, we don't know who yet, beamed directly on the bridge and took the crew by surprise. Judging by the level of information mission, they wiped out the computer core before destroying it. Fortunately for us, there was a console on the bridge working with it's own processor." Doctor Andersen looked lost in her thoughts. "The function were very limited, to actually the ship blueprints and some vital ships function, but I was able to find out that the ship has as backup computer. Or emergency computer. It's nothing like our emergency command processor." Corey slightly bonked Andersen on the shoulder with his hand, so she starts paying attention. "It isn't capable of running any main systems. From what I understand, it is only a kind of black box. It copies all the vital information there. If we were able to open it and decrypt it, I think we could know a great deal about what happened. Lieutenant Corey, this is your area of expertise." "I'm on it. This might take a while though." Doctor Andersen intervened, doing a quick and subtle scan of the computer. "I'm picking up traces on the computer, not localized, it seems someone went on to a good deal to wipe it clean, but it was definitely tampered with. We are not the first ones to find this." (Reply: Zyahn, iyw) (posted by Lani) ----- (Cargo Ship, Bridge, S'yes, Day 3, 0840) S'yes and Ensign Gunn were working on trying to recover data from the logs. They were finding that this was difficult at best. The bridge was eerily quiet. The silence was overwhelming. The only sound was those of the instruments and indicator lights activating on and off. S'yes was wondering how the Doctor and C'Nell were progressing with the survivor. He tapped his comm badge and asked the Doctor to report their status. "Doctor Skyfire. Please give me an update Come in" the Caitian sent. (reply: Doctor) S'yes listened as the report came in. The survivor's status wasn't that good. S'yes made a decision and let the doctor know if need be, the take the survivor back to the ship after alerting the skipper. "Mr. C'Nell, discover anything?" he asked the young officer. (Reply: C'Nell) This was really turning out to be a mystery! (Reply: None) (Posted by: Bill West) ----- (Warship, Deck 3, Corey, Day 3, 0844) The encryption of the backup computer consisted of a fractal-based encryption code, and then further encrypted based on mathematical algorithm of the number 24. Corey didn't really understand the fascination, but the second encryption was slowing him down considerably. It wasn't extremely hard, but it was taking the tricorder an endless amount of time trying out all the possibilities, so Corey was narrowing them down by hand. For this, he needed two PADDs. He was sweating, and he paid no attention to the others, completely centering himself on the task. The doctor chose to help him a little, somehow she learned quite a bit of encryption methods, so she chose to manipulate the incoming logical sequences of the codes. She was cutting down the time by a considerable margin. It was really only a matter of time, and eventually, the time was over. The small backup computer chirped, and the black screen with dark green signs faded and switched to an shell composed of several smaller screens all showing their own thing, one was logs, the other sensor data, it was all cohesively placed under his hands. "Done. I'm reading numerous logs, sensor scans, communic... wait a minute, it seems a good deal of these are wiped. Yeah, they're just on the list, but the actual data is missing. I think I can find few that are still intact, or relatively intact, ma'am." he said, controlling the interface. "There's only a few of them around. Way too little for a situation we found them in. There's this one..." He opened a file, and then patched the sound through his own PADD. =/\= Prime Brigand Yoruk log, I cannot wait to finally get home. One thing is to be a husband, but another to finally become a father. All these... =/\= Corey cut down the video. "That one seemed to be an older personal log. I think I have found something newer, but the integrity of the file is really low. I don't know how much we will be able to understand." He once again patched it through his PADD. The video was mostly garbled. =/\= Prime ... (static noise) ... to any ... (static noise) ... attacked by ... (static noise) ... come out of nowhere, we need .... (sound of an explosion, continued by a static noise)... =/\= "That's the last file I could find. The log originated from the Captain's room, not from the bridge. This might explain why he was able to create the log by the time the bridge crew was attacked. There are few sensor logs as well, most are wiped, but whoever was trying to wipe this device's memory clean, was in a hurry, did a sloppy job. According to these logs, there's no mention whatsoever of that other cargo ship. My initial assumptions that they either escorted it, or attacked it were wrong. It would also seem the ship was attacked from both internal and external forces. The ship was engaged from multiple vectors, suggesting several ships, or a very fast one. The attack didn't last long, they had them before five minutes have passed. There seems to be a visual log of the beginning of the attack, ma'am, I guess I didn't see it sooner because it hidden deeper beneath the sensor logs. I'll see how much I can patch of it." "It seems to be pretty intact." he activated it, and the small screen turned to a point of view of an camera on the dorsal side of the ship's main structure. (Reply: Zyahn) (Posted by: Lani) ----- (Cargo Ship, Bridge, Gunn, Day 3, 0845) Gunn and Lieutenant S'yes reached the bridge of the Vilnian cargo ship and began accessing the ship computer. Much of the information had been deleted or corripted, so they were not able to learn much, though there were enough bits of information to do an analysis once they were back on the Starfire. While they were working, James had to force himself to concentrate and remain forcused on the task at hand. They had seen numerous dead bodies along the way, and the crew that normally manned the bridge were dead as well, their bodies in various spots, some still at their stations, and some lying on the floor. Each of them appeared to have been shot with some sort of projectile weapon, and they all seemed to have not expected the attack. After graduating from the academy, James had been assigned to SB 989, where he served five months before being transferred to the Starfire. In his time of service, he had never seen someone that had been killed. There was one time where he did see an actual dead body; an elderly person shopping on the promenade had collapsed and died from a heart attack, but never someone from a shooting or a battle. Of course, he had been through combat training at the academy, but that was always a holo-simulation, and though the sights, sounds, and smells were realistic, a person always knew it was a simulation. This time, what he was experiencing was real, which made a huge difference. When James and the El-Tee had finished, they were called back to the Starfire. More Vilnian warships were coming, so the captain wanted everyone back on the Starfire before their arrival. James was more than okay with that. For his first away mission on a starship assignment, he was eager to discover what was behind the mystery. (reply none) (posted by Bob B.) ----- (Starfire, D'Artagnan, Day 3, 0848) He looked at the tactical console in front of him. He could see the warship and the cargo vessel on the scans solid and strong. He watched the area surrounding the Starfire as the Silent Rift made a mess of the sensor readings. He saw the false echoes and fuzzy returned which appeared and then vanished just as fast. Two blips appeared and the vanished. They then appeared and vanished again. He paused and focused on them as they appeared for a third time. ~This is not random~ He tracked the blips as they appeared the fourth and fifth time. ~They are heading towards us~ He focused the ships sensors on the blips and got a partial scan of the blips. He crossed referenced the scan with the ships tactical database. ~Come on Come on~ He watched as the blips began to split off although they kept heading towards them. ~Come on I need a result~ The tactical computer beeped at him and gave him a result. ~Ow this is just grate~ He put a target lock into the computer ready for activation and brought the weapons system up to standby. “Captain, I have two warships on approach. I am sorry sir but the Silent Rift’s hidden their approach until just now. They are of the same type as the one with the cargo ship.” He paused for a moment as he looked again as the console. “They are going to be in comms range in a few moments Captain.” (Reply Sanok) (Posted by Robbie) ----- (Warship, Deck 3, Zyahn, Day 3, 0858) She listened carefully to what Corey said, then watched the recording. The video showed one warship coming out of warp on an intercept course with the Vilnians. The Vilnian warship maneuvered to protect the cargo. About twelve seconds later, two more ships appeared, one at starboard, the other on portside. By their positioning, they were cutting most of the Vilnians escape vectors. As the three ships became in range, their fired on the warship with everything they've got : fire and torpedoes. The defenders fired back. The fight had only be going for 4 or 5 seconds when an important explosion occurred. It was difficult to tell on the video, but a good bet was to assume that was the moment the warship' shield collapsed and the attacker beamed on board. The attacker continued attacking the warships a few more time with phasers and torpedoes before finally directing its fire on the cargo ship. Ayehla tried to focus on the recording. She had read a lot for this mission during the three days of travel, and she was pretty sure she saw those ships in the files she read...but couldn't recall to whom it belonged. There were also tactical information to retain from that recording, but knowing they were due back on the Starfire, especially since they got company, the situation was slightly too stressful for a quick and inefficient analysis, so she finally decided she would look at it again once back on the Starfire. "We got company, more Vilnians, so we may need to hurry. Complete you work here, and we will beam back on the Starfire to analyze the data." she said. "The Vilnians may oppose us returning to the ship so make sure you've got everything." (NRPG: If you want your character to stay for a little longer, I guess Ayehla could beam back on board the Starfire to assist on the bridge, while one or the two of you continue with information gathering until the time the Vilnians ask us to leave). (Reply any, iyw) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Warship, Deck 3, Corey, Day 3, 0904) The video Wane played showed what he anticipated - the ship was intercepted and attacked by multiple fast and highly maneuverable crafts from multiple vectors; maximizing damage and impact ratio, and making sure the shields are spread thinly and then brought down on all the sides of the craft quickly, no doubt the blitz attack led to quick troop transport to the ship, as the evidences found in the main engineering point to. The attack crafts were smaller then the ship they were attacking, video showed them being equipped with cannons - resembling phaser cannons and conventional photon torpedoes. What was the most puzzling piece was the most end of the video, even after taking heavy damage, the ship was trying to retaliate. The leading craft of the attackers then launched an unknown offensive weapon - resembling a large purple energy projectile, and was able to deal heavy damage and destroy the ship's ability to fire back. It also burned three decks on the impact point. First thing that went through his mind was a high energy plasma, but this didn't looked like one, and it was obviously able to home on the craft, changing it's trajectory. This was something he would have to scan back on the ship. He had the video transferred to his tricorder, just in case. Most surprising was the fact the Vilnians saw nothing, they were literally caught completely unprepared. How they didn't spot the attackers, when it was so obvious they were going to be attacked. Nature of the bodies that was lying in the main engineering told another story that went hand in hand with the overall opinion Corey had of the situation; they were unprepared for the attack, no one in engineering knew of the attack even seconds before an enemy team beamed in. Were they so lazy, they didn't even bother checking the windows? Or something else was at work here... but what? "We got company, more Vilnians, so we may need to hurry. Complete your work here, and we will beam back on the Starfire to analyze the data. The Vilnians may oppose us returning to the ship so make sure you've got everything." "I need to analyze an impact point of the weapon, ma'am won't be longer then few minutes, if you think you can keep them waiting for that long." (Reply: Ayehla) (Posted by: Lani) ----- (Warship, Deck 4, Corey, Day 3, 0907) Corey was working alone on this, no one else knew the job enough. He knew he couldn't really suit up and do the scans on the plating himself, he also knew that Starfire sensors wouldn't be able to get them a reliable scan without a direct swap of the impact area, but he had an idea. Of course, it involved an potentionaly dangerous explosion from a device he didn't really even know how it functions, and he knew the repercussions from a failure would provide extremely difficult situation for Starfire at this moment. The idea was to get to the floor beneath the dead center of the impact, put on the only explosive device he had - the one he found in the main engineering, and to direct the explosion towards a single point. The difficult part was blocking the Vilnians from knowing what was happening, because surely they would think it as an direct attack on their vessel, and would obviously blame the Starfire for it, something that more then likely was to come anyway. He made his way towards the lower decks, the weapon burnt three decks made of heavy reinforced duranium and no doubt some type of armor at the prime layer on the starship's hull, so he generally needed to go bellow. He set up an area, hooked up the explosive device like he was it laying in the engineering, and tried figuring out how to activate it. There was an issue, however, the device was malfunctioning. It seemed he could only activate it on a timer, not remotely, and the timer couldn't be reseted from it's factory safe settings - in case of tamperings, 3 seconds. "Corey to Ayehla, I may need a little help for this. Time is of the essence and we need to be fast for this to work." he stopped, he wasn't an science officer, and he was sure one would be able to come up with a better solution, but he needed to use his knowledge and apply it to the current situation. "I may need the Starfire to emit an antigraviton pulse aimed at this ship. I believe it would cloud the ship, and everything close to it, from the sensors of the advancing Vilnian ships for several seconds, until they find the frequency of the echo and equalize it out." While waiting for the confirmation from the First Officer, he punched his commbadge again, "Corey to Transporter Room 1, lock on my signal and beam me up in four seconds." he punched his commbadge again, closing the channel, and activating the bomb. "Here goes nothing." he yelled, hoping that regardless if he gets beamed up in time or not, that the First Officer figures his intention and transport the part of the armor propelled from explosion towards the Starfire for further scannings. (Reply: None, Ayehla iyw) (Posted by: Lani) ----- (Starfire, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0910) As soon as she returned, Ayehla headed to the bridge to assume her duty as FO. With the two Vilnian ships in the area, tension were high. Would they fire on the USS Starfire? Even if they were a Federation ship, which certainly vowed for their values, there was still a chance they thought the Starfire was responsible for what happened to their ships. As she was standing ready both for peace or a fight, she received a communication from Lieutenant Corey. =/\= Corey to Ayehla, I may need a little help for this. Time is of the essence and we need to be fast for this to work." he stopped, he wasn't an science officer, and he was sure one would be able to come up with a better solution, but he needed to use his knowledge and apply it to the current situation. "I may need the Starfire to emit an antigraviton pulse aimed at this ship. I believe it would cloud the ship, and everything close to it, from the sensors of the advancing Vilnian ships for several seconds, until they find the frequency of the echo and equalize it out. =/\= ~Cloud the ship?~ she thought. It sounded like an explosion of some sort. Was he trying some failed experiment? With her previous experience of Corey suddenly disappearing, he was again up to something. Ideas bumped in her head. She didn't knew how, but it seemed in a fraction of seconds, she had twenty thoughts in her mind at the same time, and she was conscious of them all. One was telling her the situation seemed suspicious enough, it could well decide the Vilnians to fire. Another that she needed to get Corey out of here. Another was wondering if she had any other choice but to do what Corey asked to prevent the worst. After considering all her thoughts, the decision came, like an illumination. She stood up, run towards the OPS console. "Move away" she said...before pushing the officer out of his seat as he was too slow to move. ~Hurry~ ... She looked for anything overloading plasma relay, or experiments, that could cause an explosion. As she couldn't be specific and there was no time, she simply decided to lock on everything that could be locked on and beamed it in empty space behind the Starfire, with the exception of Corey, which she beamed on the ship, hoping the Vilnians wouldn't notice. But it didn't work entirely. While some of the items did materialize in open space, other patterns degraded during transport and never materialized. She looked on the warship, but it wasn't there either, so she was successful in beaming it away. An alert appeared on the screen indicating one of the transporter 1 eps relay had overloaded. The captain was looking at her. She didn't know what to say. The explanation couldn't be given on the bridge in front of everyone...but they couldn't live the bridge with the two Vilnians ships in front of them. She tried to indicate to him, without any words, that they would be better discussing it later on, and they should focus now on the Vilnian ships. (Reply any) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Starfire, Bridge, Signos, Day 3, 0913) They had made it back to the safety of the Starfire with only minutes before the other warships came into the space where the Starfire resided. Jessica left with all haste to reach the bridge and one of the tactical stations there. She needed the processing power of the Starfire's stronger computer to analyze what they gathered from the secondary computer. With other warships inbound the need to identify the attackers, and clear the Starfire from the list of attackers. Jessica watches as the smaller attackers stuck both vessels from multiple vectors, it was a fighting style she was deeply familar with. It was the Achellies heel of the Federation. When you base you main fighting force on lager heavily armed craft. They become vulerable to smaller, quicker craft even if that means those craft are lighter armed. It's a fighting stradagy that wasn't taught in the acadamy, and so it was foreing to them. It was starting to make sense why the damage was so spread why the two ships fell so readly. The attack was well timed and fierce. It made sense that both ships fell so quickly, what was odd was that both ships were disabled not destroyed. Jessica knew that these tactics were designed to destroy a ship not disable it. It maxized firepower, and firing angles. Allowing for damage to be multipled, so a small number of ships could destroy a larger one. Also smaller attack ships normally did not have the extra crew to lauch a full out assult on one ship much less two ships. There had to be something else, a larger command ship, a carrier troop transport, or maybe they were betrayed by some one on there ships. Jessica watched has the FO made a series of teleports off the warship, before the incoming warships entered communications range. She wathed has knowing that they would try to establish communcation next. (Reply None) (Posted by Matthew Locke) ----- (Starfire, Bridge, D'Artagnan, Day 3, 0915) Two things happened in quick concession. This first was Zyahn who charged over to the OPS console and shoved the officer out of the seat. He glanced over but returned to his console as power was drawn from the main system to the transporter system. Then he saw his boss Signos enter the bridge. He scooted out of the main tactical seat which he was stationed at and moved over to the second tactical console. ~Okay lets carry on~ As he was now on the back up console he began to check the diagnostic checks on the ships weapons. He also made sure that the computer had good sensory information on closing ships. As the two forces collided in the coldness of space he began identifying every ship, its weakness and sent this information to the Signos at main tactical. "Ensign, right now our priority should be to analyze the information we collected. Those two ships may attack us, but they are no match for a Defiant-class ship, and I am still confident we can resolve the situation peacefully. The Chief can take care of the tactical duty on the bridge I put you in charge, with Lieutenant Corey, to analyze those data and report to me as soon as you are done." D'Artagnannodded to himself as his fingers danced faster over the console sending the information as it came in. (Reply any) (Posted by Robbie) ----- (Starfire, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0916) Ayehla was still wondering what the two ships would do once they were in firing range. Would they attack or will they try the diplomatic methods. She hoped the beaming and very small explosion in the warship, which she mostly prevent by beaming everything away, hadn't been detected. The option of the antigraviton beam had been there, as Lieutenant Corey proposed, but she could still not have resolved to have used it. She knew little about the Vilnians, and the opposite was also probably right. Why would the Vilnians trust the Federation? From what she knew, despite the infortune the species living in the Lantaru sector were in, the Federation never really tried to help them. Perhaps they hatred the Federation....perhaps they were suspicious, or perhaps they simply had no opinion on the Federation at all. But the way the situation looked...the Starfire being just beside two destroyed ships. Wouldn't it look like they did it? If Ayehla was in the Vilnians position, wouldn't they think the Starfire was the enemy and fired at them? Her reflection was interrupted when our eyes caught her attention to Ensign Signos. She was examining the bridge, as if she wasn't sure what to do. Ayehla went to talk to her. "Ensign, right now our priority should be to analyze the information we collected. Those two ships may attack us, but they are no match for a Defiant-class ship, and I am still confident we can resolve the situation peacefully. The Chief can take care of the tactical duty on the bridge (Nonrpg: I'm referring to one of the tactical officer in your department). I put you in charge, with Lieutenant Corey, to analyze those data and report to me as soon as you are done." (Reply Signos) (Posted by Nick) ----- (Starfire, Bridge, Signos, Day 3, 0919) Ayehla seemed to be lost in thought has Jessica work her way though the logs from the warship. To speed up her ability to process the information she had linked her circlet to the main tactical computer. The monocule lens playing back the attack that was stored in the databanks. Jessica saw as Ayehla's reflection was interrupted when her eyes fell on Signos. Jessica was examining the bridge making sure she kept up to the ever changing enviroment on the bridge. She watched with her other eye as Ayehla left her console to talk to her. "Ensign, right now our priority should be to analyze the information we collected. Those two ships may attack us, but they are no match for a Defiant-class ship, and I am still confident we can resolve the situation peacefully. The Chief can take care of the tactical duty on the bridge I am putting you in charge, with Lieutenant Corey, to analyze those data and report to me as soon as you are done." Jessica looked to Ayehla the computer records playing clearly in the monoclue lens of her circlet. "Yes, I agree and thats why I am processing the data." She started, a noticiable change to her deminor had taken place she had grown cold as one of her eyes had changed from blue to lavender showing that Jessica was sharing her mind with her alternate personality Lily. "Allowing the main tactcal computer to pull the weapon locations on the warship that was attacked. This will allow for better targeting solutions in case things go south. This will also allow Lt. Corey to do his own analyze in engineering and we can compare reports, Allowing both people to stay in the game." She glanced the Ayehla noting the odd look she was giving her has Jessica waited her reply, "But I will have a full report as soon as Lt. Corey is finished with his analysis of the data." (Relply Ayehla) (Posted by Matthew Locke) ----- (Starfire, Bridge, Zyahn, Day 3, 0922) "Yes, I agree and that is why I am processing the data." Signos started to say. But then, one of her eye suddenly changed color. That was the first time she saw something of the like in 300 years of existence. She lost part of what ensign Signos was saying and refocused only at "This will allow for better targeting solutions in case things go south. This will also allow Lt. Corey to do his own analyze in engineering and we can compare reports, Allowing both people to stay in the game." She was still used to the USS Titanic. On that ship, it was far more convenient to work in tactical on deck 6 than on the bridge. In tactical, you had several computers and several officers could work at the same time, considerably improving efficiency. That is why her reflex was to think that Signos would head to the turbolift. But she forgot on a Defiant class ship, everything had to be done on the bridge. "But I will have a full report as soon as Lt. Corey is finished with his analysis of the data." Signos finished. Ayehla nodded, but from Jessica look, it seemed she was expecting something. And then she saw the officer hesitant as to where he had to go. ~True, better leave that console to him ~ She moved to the tactical console and deactivated her command authorisation then left the seat to the officer. She then took place beside the CO seat. (Reply none) (Posted by Nick)