From: JoGoodman2@aol.com Sent: Monday, 15 September 2003 5:39 AM To: spectre-nrpg@freedom-squadron.com Cc: compiles@freedom-squadron.com Subject: Spectre compile Sept 1-8 Spectre Compile Sept 1-8, 2003 Mission: The Prisoners Dilemma, day 2 Stardate 2406.03.10 (USS Spectre - Observation Lounge - MCO/CCE Leonal 'Spider' Drizzt - 0658) (USS Steel Talons - Admirals Quarter, Admirals Office - Admiral Robert LoDona - 0700) (USS Spectre, Bridge, CMO Cambridge - 07.30) (USS Spectre, Bridge, CMO Cambridge - 07.30) (USS Spectre, Main Engineering, Ensign(jg) Hank Longfellow - 7:40) (USS Spectre, Bridge, Kahila Lono, 07:55) (USS Spectre - Observation Lounge - MCO/CCE Leonal 'Spider' Drizzt - 0658) The blue-skinned Andorian leaned back in the chair, arms crossed and looking comfortable, as he studied all the officers that had assembled. Most were chatting amongst themselves, not quite at ease, but there was no hint that any where incredibly uncomfortable, meaning their mission was either a cake run, or no one had the slightest clue what was going to happen. It wasn't, by far, the first time he had been sent into a combat situation without any prior knowledge, that was his job as a CE after all. But it was one of his first commanding more then simply his own squad of Combat Engineers, he was the default MCO of the ship for the duration of whatever mission he had been ordered on. He mentally shrugged as the Captain made like he was going to speak. The Andorian's full attention turned to him. "Thanks for coming everyone, despite the long hours you have been putting in recently. I am liberty now, to explain our orders and what we need to do to accomplish them." Spider, as he had been nicknamed as a young 3rd Lieutenant by the Senior Chief of the squad he had been a part of, raised an eyebrow. ~Yup, everyone was clueless.~ "A hostile alien species known as the Xenolithe made quite impressive inroads into Federation Space a few years ago, and more recently, the formation of Freedom Squadron inside Sector 221-G caused even more confrontations with this race, that had only one thought on its mind, kill everything and everyone." ~heard of em, nasty piece of work.~ "Resilient, cunning, thoughtful and very hard to kill, it took an all out assault to drive them away from Starbase 23, even after they captured an Admiral, we managed to get her back but she was never the same afterwards. Other encounters are available to you, I suggest you study them." ~They were required reading at the CE base on Paris~ he thought lightly, ~VERY nasty piece of work~ "Starfleet Command recently received reports from the Romulan Tal Shiar, indicating that the Xenolithe are preparing new bases deep within the Neutral Zone, from our perspective, its close, very close to the Romulan Border of the zone." ~I begin to see why they sent two standard Marine Heavy Infantry squads, and a CE unit.~ the Andorian thought wryly. "This is the sector marked out as containing these new bases. The entire area is awash with Ion Storms, Plasma is everywhere not to mention other hazards. Long range analysis of the sector proved inconclusive. Although Starfleet put together a plan to investigate on our own, cloaking technology will not work in this sector of space, so, on this matter the Romulans were contacted and a deal worked out, a temporally alliance for two ships, one Federation and one Romulan would contact a combined search in this sector." ~Mmm, not pretty.~ he thought with dark humor. He had seen some very quiet action against the Romulans, working with them would prove difficult. "If this is a trap by the Romulan Tal Shiar to draw the Federation in we will be in venerable position, but if the Xenolithe bases are there, we have orders to find out their strength and numbers and then return to Federation Space to assist in the planning of a Task Force to eliminate this threat.", he said before thoughtfully adding, "The relations between the Romulans and the Federation aren't good to say the least, any wrong move by us when dealing with them could lead us to war and the worse case scenario is to be at war with the Romulans and still have the Xenolithe bases to deal with." "Hand Phasers are to be given to all personnel; we'll be remaining at Yellow Alert until further notice. Mr Longfellow, bring the warp drive online, Pierce, I want continuous diagnostics on the weapons array, Sickbay is to be on permanent alert from now on. Full long range scans are to be completed continuously as well.", he said sanding once more. "Helm, set course for Sector 12512, dismissed." The MCO's antenna twitched, and with a touch of amusement he noticed that the general stress level of the room had risen a great deal, along with body temperature and other various things. This crew didn't seem to like the situation much... Not that he did, of course. He stood quietly and waited for the room to clear before heading to the cargo-bay they had appropriated as the Marine Staging Center. At least now they knew what they were going to be dealing with. (USS Spectre - Temp Marine Staging Center - MCO/CCE Spider Drizzt - 0725) As per usual standing directives, there was one squad fully armed and armored and waiting when he left his office after briefing his XCE (and MXO) about the situation at hand. As all officers were to be armed, they had decided that every Marine on duty, which was a single squad a shift, would be fully armed and suited as per usual, with everyone else wearing the SDU even in their sleep. That way, all Marines could be prepped and ready to rumble within 7 minutes of an alarm. A pity he didn't have more time for drills, even in these barbaric conditions he could have had it cut down to five and a half. All three squads of the Marines, his entire temporary command, stood at attention in their half of the bay. The BDU Storage modules were behind them, and their secured weapons lockup was behind that with two Marine guards standing watch. It was the best the Spectre had to offer for the time, it wasn't a traditional Marine troopship, it hadn't the usual facilities to deal with em. The MXO/XCE stepped up before him, and bellowed in a battlefield voice, "Commander on Deck!" The sounds of forty Marines coming to attention filled the room, and barely half a second later the Marine Yeolp filled the silence. "HOO WAH SIR!" ~So emotional, so filled with drive... Ahh, by the Gods I love my work!~ He stepped in front of them, and came to a proper military parade rest, hands behind his back and legs well spaced. "At ease." The rest of the command followed suit, and once they had finished, he looked them up and down. "I've worked with most of you, at one time or another. Some I've commanded for years," He nodded to the CE squad, the Black Knights of Grimnir. Then he looked at the rest, "You have all been assigned here on temporary duty to support the mission of the Spectre and her primary crew, you are all volunteers who volunteered without prior knowledge of the mission. I commend your bravery, and your commitment. Now, its time to learn." "Most of you should have heard of the Xenolithe by now, we have fought enough battles with them, spilled enough blood while locked in combat. They are our adversary, and have from the start. They are a warrior race, born and bred to kill. They are the epitome of the reason Starfleet Marines exist. And soon, men and women, we will likely lock horns with the foul wretches yet again, prove our metal in combat with a race that seems to feel nothing but hate and anger." He grinned twistedly, "And as if that wasn't enough, we have the added possibility that our 'allies', a ship from the Romulan Empire, could turn against us." Some of the men grumbled, most stayed stoic, a testament to their resolve. The grumbling he heard was a mixture of anger, mixed with the spice of healthy fear. The Xenolithe were scary enough, combined with a good dash of Romulan intrigue, it would make for an interesting mission. "The orders are," he continued, "All men are to be armed at all times. Rotation stays as normal, all on-duty personnel will be in full Modular EVO/C, everyone else will carry the standard Marine Type C sidearm. A couple of the Senior Chief's, who stood just in front of the enlisted's, and just behind their squad officers, nodded sagely. The officers themselves were all battle-hardened, and none of them cowards. They seemed to look on stoically. It was a good omen, Spider decided. "Keep the flags flying, men, and prepare for a hell of a party. Should it come to battle, we will bleed for a higher cause. The Xenolithe know not when to stop, they know not mercy, they shall receive none in return." He paused, "Squads, fall out to receive firearms!" The MXO stepped forward, "Disssssssmissed!" (reply: any) (posted by Trout) (USS Steel Talons - Admirals Quarter, Admirals Office - Admiral Robert LoDona - 0700) Robert rubbed his exhausted face, then waved away the officer that he had been talking too for the last hour, one of the Captains attached to his office and a former member of SFI to boot. So far, he had only involved about five people in the hunt for information, people he had known and trusted for more years then he had fingers. Even those five seemed too many, but he required more brains and contacts then he himself had. The results had been far from encouraging. In his mind, there were few questions left to answer, and none of them dealing with the validity of Captain River's accusations. Now, he had to decide just what he was going to do with the 200 ships he had en-route to Starbase Geneva, just how far he was willing to go to protect what he had bled for all of his Starfleet Career. He pushed a button on the desk, "Get me a data link with the Nimitz, Gold channel secure." [Aye Sir] A few seconds passed, then the link was created and LoDona sent through the orders he had preconceived for Rivers and her crew. They were going to scout the position that the Night's Watch had discovered less then a month back in their particular travels, and find the new resting place of the Starbase itself. He leaned back and looked out the window at Earth. It was a wondrous sight, one he was able to see so rarely as he was a Line-Animal, someone always out on the fringe. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to be seeing it for a long time to come. His decision was made, as if there was ever really a choice in the matter. "Commander Grailik to my office." he said gruffly to the computer. (reply Grailik) Robert looked at the PADD on his desk with all the information that he had received thus-far, and shuddered. This... This wasn’t going to go over well. He considered whom he was going to send it too, those that would make the most difference without starting an all-out civil war within the Federation. It was a small list, out of the half-billion members in Starfleet, he only had a couple hundred in mind. If Starfleet could take care of this problem within their own ranks without the ramifications of complete political fallout and loss of faith in the fleet, then he was all for it. Grailik arrived, and Robert waved to a seat without a word. He took a deep breath and tapped a button, "Prepare to send a secure communiqué to all ship commanders of the 52nd, all Starfleet Fleet Commanders, the CINCFLT, and the other Admirals in the list I am sending you now." He transmitted the entire list to ship Ops, and waited five seconds in silence. Finally, the Lieutenant on the other end said, =^=Ready at your command.=^= He looked over at the El Aurian, then turned and looked at his screen. "Begin recording, send on my signal." A small beep sounded, and Robert wasted no time. "For those that don't know me, I'm Admiral Robert LoDona, CO of the 52nd. It has come to my attention lately that things... are not as they should be." He looked over and hit a button on his desk, the one with all the information he had received from Rivers, everything from Admiral Aragorn, and everything he had found himself. He looked back up once that was done, "I am sending you a full database worth of information, what you choose to do with it is up to you. I can only tell you my thoughts on the matter, and my plans." He paused, "It is a foul time indeed when the same uniform and oath hides both traitors, and patriots. Such a time has come upon us, a time we must choose who is our friend; those that would help us preserve the Federation, from those that would simply remake it into a twisted shell of its previous glory. I have spent my life defending our boarders, and protecting the enduring philosophy that has become our way of life. In good conscience, I can no longer stand idly by as forces of evil and ambition rip apart the very foundation of the Federation. We no longer have anywhere to hide; we cannot turn blindly away and pray for the best any longer, we must stand our ground once and for all time. We are the Front lines, on the first of many battlegrounds, and we are the last line of defense. If we fail, we will be left with naught but oblivion." He stopped before he waxed too-far into the philosophical. He folded his hands together, "We will do what is necessary, anything more then that I cannot tell you. But for the record..." He leaned forward, "I hereby accuse and condemn Admiral Doenitz and all involved of High Treason, I curse their names and vow they will be removed, by any means necessary." He leaned back again, "I will be in touch, LoDona out." The screen went blank, and a couple seconds later a small message flashed on his desktop monitor that it had been successfully sent. It might take as long as a month for it to reach the furthest areas of the Federation, but it was out, now they were in danger. He quickly turned in his seat, "Admiral to Bridge, engage the cloak and head for the River, best speed. Make your course that for Geneva." The Captain, who hadn't yet gotten into his ready-room to read the certified message, replied with a prompt =^=Yes Sir, Geneva direct.=^= Robert cut the communication, then leaned back in his chair and covered his face. "God help me if I just started a war, but if that is the only path, then it’s a war we will have to fight." (reply: Grailik, any) (posted by Trout) (USS Spectre, Bridge, CMO Cambridge - 07.30) Chief Medical Officer Maxwell Alexander Cambridge stood at the back of the bridge of the USS Spectre. They had been given a mission, a mandate and an objective. For the CMO, it wasn't the mission details, it wasn't in the plans and it wasn't in the navigation, the warp speed, the dynamics of the creatures they might meet or how long it took them to get there. It was in the injury count he would have to look at and deal with. The blood spilled, the lives affected and the screams lifted in the midst of combat. His duty was a medical officer first. And his mind was always on that of his crew and the officers placed there to support them. Right now the stars that filled the screen meant next to nothing to him. It was what lay beyond the stars, beyond the orbit and beyond the beeping of the instruments. It was the moment the mission started. It was then that Mac would begin his work. Rain Anderson had come into sickbay earlier. Cambridge didn't really ask, and there hadn't been much words between the two. But as far as the Doctor could tell, she hadn't been abused. There was time to talk to the young lady. His thoughts were interrupted by the alert they had crossed into the neutral zone. And with that, Cambridge headed home to sickbay. (USS Spectre, Main Engineering, Ensign(jg) Hank Longfellow - 7:40) "Building up to speed," Hank said with a frown as he shook his head and started to move around Main Engineering to check on the various systems. "There's a problem with one of the flow acceleration coils," called out one of the other engineers and Hank shook his head with a soft sigh. Leaving the area was unwise at the moment but sending a backwash of plasma the wrong way through the EPS conduits to build up pressure therein would probably cause a lot more trouble. Glancing over his shoulder his eyes searched for a moment before he caught sight of the flash of purple. He needed someone he could trust for the moment. Well at least with the workstation. Truth be told Hank didn't trust anyone, not even himself. "Lt. Orde," Hank called out as the older man turned around and looked to him. "Sir, sorry to interrupt what you're doing but if you wouldn't mind I need someone to monitor the Warp Drive especially for any more of its little flashing problems, sir," Hank stated. He hadn't been sure what to do with the older Orde's in his department since it went against the grain for him to tell, ask or order a superior officer on anything to do. "Aye Mr. Longfellow," George said as he moved to the Duty Officer's workstation. Nodding in thanks Hank moved up to stand next to George for a moment with a glance over to Maria. "If you both would just baby sit this group and keep that..," Hank started to say then paused to gesture towards the Warp Core, "running I'd be thankful sir, once again I'm sorry to pull you away from your work and testing." (reply any ) (Posted by Mark) (USS Spectre, Bridge, Kahila Lono, 07:55) Kahila was scrolling through the reports from the Engineering department, when Pierce Orde strode onto the bridge and up to her. "Ma'am, would ye care t' get in some shooting practice later? I have the holodeck reserved for my security squad, and I dinna think one more would hurt. ~Ah, you picked up on my insecurities.~ Kahila created a smiling warmth to go with her inner communication. Then she said, "Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll gladly take you up on that. What time?" (reply Orde) posted by Josephine Goodman <>