Mission 15 - Be Wary Of Your Friends (JM with Starbase 386)

[Starbase 386 Crew]

ON: <USS Ticonderoga, Bridge, Station Day 4, 1720>

Manley tugged on his uniform jacket and took a deep breath before stepping onto the bridge. He didn't want to command this ship into battle. It wasn't that the Ticonderoga wasn't a good ship, or that he didn't have a good crew, the few of them that there were. No, the fact was that this wasn't HIS ship. And it just didn't seem right being in command of a ship he wasn't permanently assigned to and taking that ship into a battle.

Unfortunately, that might be just what he'd have to do in mere minutes. Steeling himself for the worst, Manley stepped through the door and onto the bridge. He looked towards the view screen only to see... the starbase and the Elyshan Fleet floating silently. If he didn't know better he'd think this was just a giant picnic in space.

"Report," Manley called as he sat down in the center chair.

James looked up from the helm. "We're on approach to Starbase 386 sir. Our approach vector has been plotted and confirmed," he said, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. The sight of the Elyshan fleet sitting like a pack of wolves in the distance was disconcerting at best, and the young Ensign wondered, not for the first time, how the senior officers could look so calm.

Hearing Thomas ask for reports, Alina pulled up the Ops report. Allocation levels all seemed to be within range, but considering what they were going into, a boost to shields and weapons certainly wouldn't hurt. Her finger tapped on the console then slid to the right to activate. She then switched to a sensor view - with no Science Officer it was her job to also keep tabs on the sensor readouts. "I've boosted resource allocation to weapons and shields, sir. The Elyshan Fleet is ahead and blocking all sensible routes to 386. There appears to be a defense perimeter near the base comprised mostly of Federation ships, but also some ships that likely belong to the Summit Ambassadors."

From a tactical perspective, at first glance, Greg (NPC) could see that they were severely outnumbered by the Elyshan force surrounding the station. The station and starships surrounding it all seemed to still be intact, which meant that things were still somewhat positive, though the outlook remained slim. He knew that if they had to fight their way through the Elyshan fleet, they would undoubtedly sustain heavy damage. Still, it was his job to ensure that they were prepared for armed conflict, if it came to that. "Shields and ablative hull armor reading one hundred percent," Greg reported, "phasers and torpedoes standing by."

Manley rubbed his chin as he looked at the main screen. "Are we within range of sub-light communications with the base yet?"

Alina brought up the Communications interface on her console, along with a map which indicated their current position and Starbase 386's. "No, sir, I'm afraid we'll need to be closer for sub-light communications to be effective."

"Alright," Manley said, "Then we'll just need to get a little closer. Helm, bring us to 4,000 kilometers from the fleet. All stop at that point. Tactical, keep our shields up and all weapons armed. Don't fire unless they do. Miss Tek, as soon as we're in range, open a channel to 386."

"Four thousand kilometers and all stop, aye," James announced, keying in the commands to his board. To himself he murmured softly, "4000 klicks? We may as well be down their bloody throats!"

Greg turned his attention from the viewscreen and focused on his own station. Staring across space at the large fleet arrayed against them was already sending jitters up and down his nerves. The Defiant class may have been known for its prowess in battle, but he was pretty certain that this was one fight that he wanted to stay out of. Per the commander's orders, however, he made sure that the shields and weapons were online, ready to go in case someone on the other side got an itchy trigger finger and decided to start shooting.

Though she was doing her best to remain outwardly calm, Alina was quite nervous, especially being so close to the Fleet. The Trill waited, then saw her display flashing, "We're within range, Commander!" Three of her fingers flew across the console as she carried out his orders, "Channel open."

"Starbase 386, this is the USS Ticonderoga, Lieutenant Commander Thomas Manley commanding," Manley said as calmly as he could manage. It had been a long time since he'd been in combat, and he'd never been in command during a battle before. "Request status update and instructions."

After a moment the forward screen switched to a view of 386's Operations Center with a man wearing Captain's pips standing in the center of the view. "Ticonderoga, this is Captain Lange. At the moment our... visitors... aren't making any noise, but I'm not sure how long that will hold up. I don't want to provoke them if I can help it, so hold position for now."

Manley nodded. "Aye, sir. Helm, thrusters at station-keeping. Be ready to move if any ships approach."

James touched his controls. "Thrusters at station keeping, aye," he responded. The young man keyed in a series of commands, programming a series of evasive maneuvers designed to leave the Elyshan ships dazed and confused should it become necessary. Only as he finished the programming that his hands were shaking.

Manley returned his attention to the screen. "We'll wait here for your command, Captain."

Lange nodded in return. "Good. I don't think I need to tell you not to fire unless fired upon, but do whatever you have to to protect your crew, Commander."

"I'd do that anyway, Captain," Manley replied. "Good luck, sir. Ticonderoga, out."

Lange's image disappeared from the screen and Manley sank back into his chair. It would seem that for now they would just have to wait and see what the Elyshans wanted to do.

Alina stood at her station quietly. At first they'd been waiting to get here, now they'd simply be waiting... She could understand not wanting to provoke the Elyshans if they could help it, but nonetheless the Trill was uncomfortable being so far, comparatively, from the Starbase and other Federation starships. At least they weren't surrounded, but Alina still didn't like it. To occupy her mind, she started scrolling through the resource allocation screen of her console.

Nose to nose with a hostile fleet was not the first place that Greg wanted to be spending his time. Come to think of it, staring down the Elyshans wasn't even in his top one hundred, yet here they were. Both sides had their weapons powered, locked, and on standby, waiting to see who would pull the trigger first. Waiting like this was nerve wracking, which always seemed to exacerbate the problem to an exponential degree. The longer they sat here, watching the Elyshans watching them, the more likely it was that someone was going to slip up...and then it would be too late to do anything about it.

"Once more unto the breach..." James muttered to himself darkly, wondering, not for the first time, if it was too late to request a planet-side posting.

Manley looked at each of the ensigns that made up his bridge crew. They were good officers, but they seemed like children. Of course, it didn't help that he'd been an ensign and climbed to his current rank twice within the span one of their lifetimes. He wasn't especially happy about the idea of getting himself killed, but it was a thought he'd learned to live with a decade before. But getting this shipload full of raw recruits killed, that was not a thought he was comfortable with at all.

Unfortunately, retreat was not an option. At least not as long as Starbase 386 still remained intact. And Manley knew that if any reinforcements showed up for the Elyshans, not that they'd really need any, the Ticonderoga would be first in line to head them off. "In the words of a general long dead," Manley whispered, "'We are the flank.'"

OFF: This has been a joint post by:

Ensign James May (NPC)
Acting Chief Flight Control Officer
As Played by: Chief Petty Officer Raven'nik

Ensign Alina Tek (NPC)
Acting Chief Operations Officer
As Played by: Warrant Officer First Class Nira

Ensign Greg Sanders (NPC)
Acting Chief Tactical Officer
As Played by: Commander Richardson

Lt Commander Thomas Manley (PNPC)
Officer-in-Charge, USS Ticonderoga
Dockmaster, Starbase 386
As Played by: Captain Lange

[Starbase 386 Crew]

On: <<Danube Runabout Thames. Day 4. 17:00.>>

To: The office of the Department of Personnel. 8th Fleet.

It is with a vast amount of consideration and contemplation, that I must tender my resignation from Starfleet.
---
Lenarra read that same sentence for the twentieth time on the PADD in her hand, not quite knowing how else to go on. She had so much to say, but how to word it was proving a challenge. So much going around in her head, so little ability to verbalise it all.

With her free hand, Lenarra gingerly removed the hot black Terran coffee from the replicator, it had been a long, long trip from Trill with only a damned Bolian for company. A Jem’Hadar, fine. A blood-sucking mutant from the 90th dimension, fine. But why, why did they have to assign her a Bolian pilot? The young man sighed for the third time in two minutes. “A Nor Class Starbase does not simply disappear, Petty Officer” she told him sternly.

The young man raised his hands in a mixture of confusion and frustration; “I don’t know what to say Lieutenant” he said, “...well they’re not answering, anyway.” Lenarra had forgotten his name and was too embarrassed to ask again, so far ‘Petty Officer’ seemed to be fine though.

“Try hailing them again” She ordered, sitting down at the secondary console and sipping her coffee, placing her PADD in her lap.

The pilot sighed and leaned, over exaggeratingly, over the communications control panel. “Come...in...Starbase 386....this....is....Thames....Thames......!” he rolled out with slow, dry sarcasm. Lenarra cocked an eyebrow in annoyance. Her hand instinctively rushed to her brow and her forehead relaxed, she was getting rather annoyed with Tibar’s old eyebrow habit. Of all the habits that the Zari symbiont could have carried over, it would be the eyebrow thing. The pilot gave her a ‘what did you expect’ look, “no response.”

She sighed and leaned back. “Maybe they’re having communication problems?” she asked herself audibly. “No...” she answered. “No... they’d have launched a relay buoy, or have sent the message out on the Starfleet channel from another ship...” She looked at her colleague. “The frequency discriminator is working correctly, right?”

“And the transceiver array, just liked I checked seven times already Lieutenant” came a dull, bored reply.

“I’m contacting Starfleet.” Lenarra ran through the sector directory and quickly round the closest subspace relay station. “Computer” she said, “begin recording and prepare for transmission to relay station X-ray, X-Ray, Lima, Pappa, two-five.” There was an acknowledging chirp and Lenarra took in a breath:

“This is Lieutenant Lenarra Zari of the Federation Runabout Thames. We have lost all communications with Starbase 386, we cannot raise them and we have received no traffic reports since we entered communication range. Request Instructions.” Lenarra ended the recording. “I’m setting it...” she spoke as she worked, “to transmit to the relay and from there to go out on a priority three cyclic transmission....Starfleet frequencies only...” She pressed transmit.

“Erm...Lieutenant”

Lenarra turned around again to look at the Bolian; “I know...” she turned back to work out why the transmission was still holding. ‘It should have gone’ she said to herself. “It might have gone...what the...?” She shook her head in disbelief as the communications array wouldn’t repond. The message was displaying as transmitting...but it wasn’t actually going anywhere. Lenarra swore in Trillian; there was nothing wrong with the system it just...didn’t work. “I think our communications are being jammed” she informed her subordinate.

“Why have we only noticed now?” he queried.

Lenarra shook her head trying to reason it out; “Well...if there’s some local anomaly affecting communications...we may have only recently entered its range – of course the Starbase would never have received our hails since it would theoretically be in range of...whatever....I don’t know...”

“I’ll bring us about” the pilot told her, “we can leave the jammed area and call for help”

“No” Lenarra said firmly. “We’ve no reason to believe anything untoward is going on; it could be natural and at the moment there’s no reason not to proceed... we’ll keep an eye out and reverse course if necessary. Plus, we have no way of knowing how far we've been affected for, it could take us hours or longer to get out of range”

Lenarra re-checked the long range sensors, the Starbase was definitely there, along with several other vessels that she couldn’t identify at this range. Nothing out of the ordinary really, the Taevon summit was roughly now so it would make sense that there were ships there. She opened up the transceiver logs; it would take some time but if the filters were checked then she might find that something was transmitted or received after all...

Her letter, for now, would wait.

OFF

Lieutenant Lenarra Zari
Chief Tactical Officer
Starbase 386

[Barrett]

<<USS Malinche - Beta Section>>
<Sickbay 1, 1730, Day 4>

Adam (NPC) hated waiting...almost as much as he hated the fact that the Elyshans had invaded the system. At the moment he was one of two medical officers assigned to the rather small cramped sickbay on the Beta section of the now split up Malinche. He was sitting at the small desk, drumming his fingers lightly on it. Jason had told them a few moments earlier that they were to continue to wait.

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, he hadn't had a chance to talk to Jason yet. The truth of the matter was that even thinking about leaving him made his stomach turn in knots. Jason had been his everything for so long...but Adam was ready for the next step and Jason wasn't. He swallowed hard, refocusing his mind on the task at hand. He was comforted by the fact that Jason was in command and that Joey (NPC) was on the Beta section as well.

He had wondered if telling Joey that he was leaving Jason before the battle was such a good idea, then again he didn't know that they were going to be riding into battle. The decision was still bouncing around his head and his heart; he loved Jason...he really did. But he needed more, wanted more...and if that meant that his heart would have to break to get that then that's what he would have to do.

"Are you ok?" Chelsie Marsid (NPC) asked.

"Um..yeah."

"You look a little distracted."

Adam merely shrugged, Chelsie had yet to really see any combat and Adam had learned from experience that it wasn't near anything that they showed you at the academy. She adjusted the phaser at her waist before sitting down across from Adam.

"Just thinking about something, although I suppose I would be concentrating on the here and now," Adam stated. He had a phaser strapped to his side as well and his bat'leth laying next to the desk.

"Do you really know how to use that thing?" she asked. Adam could tell that she was nervous, she always talked when she was nervous.

"Yeah, pretty damn good too," Adam smiled. "Listen if they board the ship then they probably aren't going to head right for sickbay so I wouldn't get to worried. If they do then find some cover, I'll take care of the rest of them."

She nodded.

"Relax, Captain Kersare and Barrett will have them running for the hills pretty soon."

Off:

Adam Townsen
Medical Officer
USS Malinche

Played By:

[Steele]

On:
USS Malinche/ Gamma Section
Day 4: 16:50 hrs

"Alpha section, secure. Beta Section secure. … Starbase communications secure."

Aaron turned to Lt. Masterson. "All communications are secure, the Elyshan fleet should have a difficult time listening in on our communications."

Just as Aaron finished his report, the Operations officer spoke up. "The Elyshan fleet is now within range. Their shields are raised but weapons are not active. Awaiting orders from Starbase."

Aaron didn't need to be a telepath to feel the rise in tension levels now that the opposing fleet had arrived. He entered the proper code to decrypt the communiqué from the Starbase and relayed the message.
"Our orders are to maintain current position and status. If the Elyshans are here to provoke a war, we are to let them make the first move."

Why the Elyshans were not opening fire, Aaron wasn't sure. It was possible this was all a show of force. Given past actions however; it was more likely they were simply waiting. It seemed to him that the Elyshans were taunting Starfleet. In his studies, Aaron had often come across similar stories from various cultures. The aggressor knew they had the upper hand. Instead of outright attacking the other side, they would make a big show of building up their forces before the actual attack. It was almost a warning to others; "we can take you on anytime and there is nothing you can do about it."

Off:

[Starbase 386 Crew]

ON: <Starbase 386, Ops, Station Day 4, 1725>

Lange signaled for the comm line with the Ticonderoga to be closed. That answered a few questions, at least. But now, there was still that fleet out there. A fleet that hadn't made so much as a peep since showing up half an hour ago.

It was time to deal with them, one way or the other. Turning towards Lt Scott, Lange motioned towards the main viewer overhead. "Hail the lead Elyshan ship. I want their commander on that screen."

"Aye sir," Quinn responded, opening a channel to the lead ship. Given their present situation he wasn't sure how talking was going to do them any good. The posture of the ships told him that they were ready to blow the whole station out of the water.

Raven felt her body go tense with apprehension and adrenalin, even as her fingers arranged themselves across her tactical board, ready to bring to bear the awesome weaponry of the entire station should Captain Lange request it. While part of her reveled in the excitement, she fervently hoped that weapons would not be necessary. Unbidden, the voice of Andreas Jol (Major, Ret.) one of Raven's Marine instructors, sounded in her mind. "A soldier who wants war has already lost. A soldier's primary job is to ensure his or her skills are never needed," he had told her at the time. As she stood at her tactical console, the former Marine now truly understood the old man's words.

Watching quietly, Kilana's eyes moved slowly around the room, observing the various officers still on the bridge. She'd finished her modifications slightly over an hour ago, but had no guarantees they would actually work. Though she at least had a little reference material on the subject, the situation on 386 was somewhat different than Deep Space 9 and therefore, she'd had to use some of her own ingenuity. Hopefully the same trick would work against the Elyshans.

"Hailing frequencies are open," Quinn reported.

A middle-aged Elyshan man with stern face appeared on the viewscreen. "I am Sovereign Yatan of the Elyshan Guard," he said gruffly, "I hereby claim this system in the name of the Elyshan Empire. You will surrender control of the station to us. You will withdraw all Federation starships and personnel from this system within twelve of your hours. If you fail to comply, we shall take it by force."

There was silence in Ops as everyone waited to see how the captain would respond to the Elyshan demands. Thomas (NPC) glanced up from his place at the command table, though he avoided looking toward the viewscreen. Instead, he turned his attention toward Captain Lange and waited. The young Betazoid didn't need his empathic abilities to know that everyone was tense. As Commander Richardson had said, they were poised on the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and they might not live to regret it. At the time, Thomas hadn't necessarily understood the metaphor, but it was becoming clearer with each passing moment.

Lange didn't even bat an eye at the Sovereign's proclamation. As he understood the Elyshan Guard's rank structure, Yatan was about his equal in seniority. And that meant he was either operating with someone else's backing, he wielded a lot more authority than someone at his rank should, or he was out on a limb that the right force could snap. Lange hoped it was the last, as either of the other options didn't bode well for this standoff.

"Sovereign Yatan, this is Captain James Lange, commander of Starbase 386. You have no right or authority to claim this system, which has been claimed and settled by the United Federation of Planets for over a century. I must request that you withdraw your fleet within 12 hours or your incursion into Federation territory will be considered an act of war and will be met with all necessary force."

Having lived through the Occupation and Dominion War, Kilana did not like the idea of a war. Part of her wished with all her might that this was all simply a bad, bad dream. She knew it was not. The potential horror was right in front of her. However, she had to remain confident; she - and more importantly James - had to convince everyone that they were confident in their ability to win this fight, despite the truth.

Quinn had to give his new commanding officer credit, he certainly sounded imposing. He took another look at his displays, they were still outnumbered. Although given the ships that were defending the station it certainly would be a spectacular fight. He turned his attention back to the screen.

"Are all Starfleet captains this dense," the sovereign demanded, "Perhaps you fail to realize who is commanding the superior force. Your defenses are no match for this armada."

Lange quirked an eyebrow at the Sovereign's response. The man certainly was sure of himself, and his fleet.

Raven looked down at her console and muttered softly, "Charming isn't he?" The Sovereign's demeanor made her sick, that kind of arrogance was something the Chief had always found profoundly distasteful.

Kilana could think of a few responses to the Elyshan, but it was not her place to make them and they undoubtedly would not help the situation. Of course, Yatan certainly believed everything he was saying. And why shouldn't he? While the Elyshans didn't actually realize it, the Starbase didn't have functioning defense platforms and had, comparatively, only a handful of ships to assist. By sheer numbers, the Elyshans were the superior force. However, they likely weren't counting on the ingenuity of StarFleet - perhaps that would be a key element to evening the odds.

"I assure you that I am quite aware of the tactical situation, Sovereign," Lange replied calmly, pretending not to have heard Raven's comment. He decided to start building his bluff. "I am also aware that a fleet as large as yours cannot have gotten this far into Federation space undetected and it's only a matter of time until Starfleet assembles a large enough force to defeat you. Whether I or my base are still here at that point is rather inconsequential in the larger picture."

"We shall see about that, captain," Yatan snarled. He waved his hand and his image disappeared from the viewscreen in an instant.

"Well, he certainly got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I wonder if all Elyshans have the personality of a bulkhead," Quinn stated, his hands were moving across his various panels. "Sir, I've been scanning for subspace signals, aside from the normal com traffic so far nothing. That means that if they brought subspace weapons they aren't online...yet."

"I'll take that as good news, Lieutenant," Lange replied, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "That means they aren't going to attack... yet."

"I'd feel better if they were turning around and leaving," Kilana noted. "They may end up being slightly more cautious given our bluff...or they may call us on it. For our sake I hope it's the former."

"Me too," Quinn sighed, turning back to his displays. So far, the Elyshans were just sitting there, no doubt trying to figure out if they were actually bluffing or not. Quinn would hand it to Lange; he was turning out to be a lot different then he had assumed he would be.

"Any word yet on further reinforcements sir?" Raven asked from her position at tactical. 386 was far from helpless, but the fact was, the Elyshans knew that, and no doubt they had taken appropriate measures.

"I'm still not detecting any other warp signatures inbound, if Starfleet is sending us reinforcements they are still a long way off," Quinn reported. "But I'm also not detecting any additional Elyshan ships...guess that's one good thing."

"Indeed," Lange replied somberly, "But I'm not expecting anything major. Most of the ships within range to get here in time aren't in a condition to do so. However, if I were Yatan, I'd be thinking long and hard about firing on this station. Not because we can take out his fleet without some form of reinforcements, but because he knows he's got me in a corner. I don't know much about the Elyshans, but I have to imagine they have an expression very similar to any number of other races warnings about the dangers of a trapped animal."

"If you grab a tiger by the tail, you better have a plan for dealing with its teeth," Quinn said, it was something that his grandfather used to say a lot. "Or something like that."

"Right. He has to worry about what we might try out of desperation that just might work because he's not expecting it." Lange shrugged. "I'm hoping those worries plus our other surprise will be enough to dissuade him from attacking."

Kilana replied, "Under normal circumstances, I'd probably agree...but having a Fleet of Elyshan ships out there isn't exactly normal circumstances."

"I have a feeling we're going to find out, one way or the other, before too long," Lange said, turning back to the Situation Table.

OFF:

A JP by

Warrant Officer First Class Kilana Nira
Chief Engineering Officer
Starbase 386

Lieutenant JG Quinn Scott
Chief Of Station Operations
Starbase 386

Sovereign Yatan (NPC)
Commanding Officer
Battleship Kareth
Played by: Cmdr Richardson

Ensign Thomas Gates (PNPC)
Executive Officer's Yeoman
Starbase 386
Played by: Cmdr Richardson

Chief Petty Officer Raven'nik
Armory Master
Command Chief
Starbase 386

&

Captain James Lange
Commanding Officer
Starbase 386

[Kersare]

<<USS Malinche, Alpha Section Bridge, Day 4, 1625>>

The separation had been successfully completed. Isabel knew that some would question her decision to use MVAM and would argue that there were no actual benefits to it. It was true that some sections would now be less manueverable or have less firepower - that she couldn't deny, it was simply a fact. However, in a way it was like having three ships instead of one, thus increasing the number of "ships" defending the base and increasing the number that could fire on the Elyshan Fleet if necessary. Smaller sections would also give them, overall, more manueverability.

In any event, it was already done and she wasn't about to order the ship back together at this point in time. Isabel finished her short stroll around the bridge and took a seat. Jason's chair was empty as he was in Beta section, but Nora was in her seat. Isabel turned to her Counselor, "Any problems prepping the Sickbays?"

“No, Captain,” Nora said, angling in her seat to face Isabel. “Dr. Dormand seemed to have everything pretty well in hand.” In fact, Julie had apparently been in her element, talking over her proposed arrangements with Nora before calmly and efficiently delivering her instructions to the Medical personnel. “I also sent my Counseling staff to the Sickbays. Some of them have basic medical knowledge, just in case…well, just in case we get into a tight spot.”

Isabel nodded, "Good idea. I certainly hope that their services aren't needed, but better to have them there just in case." Pausing, she considered her next question before asking, "How does the crew seem? I'm guessing most aren't as calm as the Doctor..."

Nora smiled weakly at the Captain’s unfortunately accurate guess. “Well, speaking on what I’ve both seen and sensed, I can tell you that a large majority do seem nervous, at the very least. But overall, they’re determined and prepared, ready and willing to do their part.”

"Good, we'll certainly need their preparation and determination, I'm afraid. At least we will if the Elyshans decide to start firing," Isabel replied. Really, with that many ships they either wanted to intimidate the Federation into giving up or blow the Federation out of the water...so to speak.

Nora nodded, observing the crewmembers around her. From her experience aboard the Malinche so far, she thought there was an abundance of preparation and determination on the ship regardless of the situation.

Looking over at her Chief Counselor, Isabel asked, "And how about you? How are you feeling about this situation?"

“Better,” Nora replied, glancing back at Isabel. “I’ll admit that the news of the Elyshan Fleet brought up some unpleasant memories for me, but my confidence has returned,” she candidly explained. “If the Elyshans do start firing, we’ll be ready for them.”

Nodding, Isabel replied, "That's what I'm hoping. Though I must say that the fact that they have subspace weaponry is, at best, disconcerting..." She certainly hadn't encountered it before - mostly because subspace weapons weren't allowed, but the Elyshans didn't follow those rules.

“Disconcerting is an apt way of putting it, I think,” Nora agreed. “I hope you don’t mind if I turn your question around on you, but how are you feeling?”

"I would expect nothing less from my Chief Counselor," Isabel said with a grin. "I have to admit that I'm somewhat nervous...I've not taken a ship into this size of a battle before as Commanding Officer. I know Captain Lange has something up his sleeve, but a Fleet of 237 ships is nothing to simply dismiss. But I also know we have a good crew and I have to remain strong for them."

“That’s comforting to hear. To be honest, I’d be concerned if you didn’t feel at least a little nervous. And I for one have complete faith in you,” Nora smiled. "We’ll know soon enough what the Fleet decides to do, I suppose.” It was the waiting that Nora hated. With so much ship-wide tension flooding her senses, she felt that the sooner they knew what they were truly up against, the better.

"Thank you, Counselor," Isabel said. "I wouldn't think the Fleet would wait too long to make a move, but they may hold off at first to attempt to intimidate us." Pausing, Isabel thought back to the assignments she'd given, "Have you had a chance to meet Lieutenant Masterson?"

Thinking for a moment, Nora recalled the pleasant session she’d had with Lieutenant Masterson just a few days before. Humming an affirmative answer, she replied, “I met with him for a few minutes when he first came aboard. If first impressions count, he seems to be an excellent addition to the Malinche.”

Isabel nodded, "How do you think he'll do with being in charge of Gamma section?" In her opinion, he seemed to be a person who thrived with challenges, which was one reason she'd chosen him. The few other times the Malinche had gone to MVAM Isabel had put her Chief Security/Tactical Officer in charge of the Gamma section as well - theoretically the person was good at tactics, which was certainly necessary if they were using MVAM.

“I think he’ll do extremely well,” Nora said. “I believe he's certainly up to the task.” Pausing for a moment, the counselor then added, “I have to admit, I’m still not completely used to MVAM. It’s of great comfort to me to know that each section is in very capable hands.”

"Agreed. If we're lucky, in the end this will have seemed more like a drill than a true battle, but I'm afraid we can't count on that," Isabel replied. Her eyes drifted back toward the main viewscreen, taking in the Fleet before them. Their fate was before them.

OFF: JP brought to you by:

Lieutenant Nora Zeral
Chief Counselor/Second Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

[Starbase 386 Crew]

[[Operations, Starbase 386, Station Day 04, 1928]]

Thomas (NPC) looked from the PADD he held in one hand to the visual display that occupied the center of the command table. In the past few hours, very little had changed other than the location of one or two vessels on either side. Other than that, the two fleets, the Elyshans on one side and the Federation on the other, continued to stare at one another across open space.

In the all the time he'd served aboard Starbase 386, he had never been part of a standoff, let alone one of this scale and magnitude. It was a nerve-wracking experience for the young Betazoid. He thought about Commander Richardson, whose experience likely prepared him for a situation such as this one. The commander always seemed to project an aura of calm, despite whatever inner feelings he might be having. Right now, though, the commander was on the Peacekeeper, holding position with the rest of the defending starships. Even though he'd only been working with the commander for a short time, Thomas already missed the calm that the elder officer provided.

The tension on the station was high and Thomas could feel it, even without his empathic senses. It was one of those feelings that permeated everything, which only caused one to feel more anxious the longer they were surrounded by it. Thomas' eyes fixed on the location of the Peacekeeper, which hadn't moved from its assigned location. Not only was Commander Richardson aboard, but Thomas knew that most of the station's auxiliary personnel had been distributed across the fleet, which meant that Charlie (NPC) had been called upon to fill a role elsewhere. When Thomas had learned that Charlie had gotten aboard the Peacekeeper, he had almost sighed with relief. Other than being aboard the station, Thomas had a pretty good feeling that the Peacekeeper was the next best place to be assigned. He would have been there himself, if the commander had not asked him to remain behind.

Adjusting the PADD in his hand, Thomas looked over toward the formidable woman sitting at a station opposite the command table on the upper level of Ops. Of all the personnel in the room, she seemed to be one of the few who was not showing any signs of anxiety...at least, not on the outside. Thomas rose to his feet and stepped around the table. He crossed the short distance to the stairs and ascended to the upper deck, coming to stand next to the edge of the console.

"Uhh...chief..." he began, feeling slightly awkward in the near silence that filled the room. There were others speaking and consoles chirping, but other than official business, no one seemed to be engaged in any form of conversation, they were all waiting for the same thing.

Raven noted the young Ensign approaching her console and the Chief did not need Betazoid powers to see the fear that etched his features. "Ensign," she said with what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Despite the fact that her adrenalin was into overdrive in her desire to act, to do SOMETHING, the former Marine knew that panic would be a hindrance. Her station was here, and sooner or later, she would be called on to act.

"...any change," Thomas asked in what he hoped was a somewhat casual, business-like tone. He remembered the training on the firing range and he was pretty certain that the chief would be even less forgiving, now that they were in an actual combat situation.

"None yet," Raven murmured, watching Gates carefully. He was attempting to be casual, and the Chief was about to ask him why when a realization suddenly hit her. 'He has nothing to do!' her action-oriented mind screamed in horror. Suddenly the Chief felt a pang of sympathy for the young officer. As the XO's Yeoman, his job did not cover situations such as this, and there was nothing worse in a tense situation than having nothing to do. "You ok Ensign?" she asked, eying him warily.

Thomas shrugged apathetically, not quite sure how to answer the woman's question. "As well as could be expected," he replied, knowing that he wasn't being very specific in his answer.

The woman nodded and smiled. "Just remember your training," she said softly. "Sooner or later, this stalemate will end, and we'll all be very busy."

Glancing down at the PADD in his hand silently, Thomas thought about what the chief had said. It was said that one should be so well trained that when it comes down to it, they don't need to think about what they're doing, they just do what they need to do. For Thomas, it was one of those things that he'd never experienced before. He could not say whether he'd be able to draw on that training without thinking about it or if a sudden attack would paralyze him with indecision.

The Chief watched him carefully, reading the concerns on his face as if he had spoken them aloud. "Don't worry Mr. Gates, I know you'll be ready when the time comes. You're wearing the proof of that," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you think..." Thomas began, lowering his voice so that it would not carry across the room, "do you think they'll actually attack us?"

Raven's smile vanished and she looked quite serious. When she spoke, her voice was soft and pitched darkly. "I don't know mister, I truly don't know. We can only hope that they aren't that stupid." She frowned at the viewscreen. "If the Elyshans want this station, they'll find it far more costly then they realize."

OFF

A JP by

Ensign Thomas Gates (PNPC)
Executive Officer's Yeoman
Starbase 386
Played by: Cmdr Richardson

and

Chief Petty Officer Raven'nik 'Raven'
Armoury Master/Command Chief
Starbase 386

[Starbase 386 Crew]

ON: <Starbase 386, Ops, Station Day 4, 1805>

Lange stared at the situation table and scowled. He was starting to get annoyed. On the one hand, the Elyshans hadn't yet opened fire, which meant they were at least thinking about his warning. On the other hand, they were still here and they were still jamming his subspace communications.

"Incoming message from the Elyshans," Quinn stated. "Looks like they want to talk to you now."

Lange looked up at the main screen and took a breath to calm himself. "On screen."

"Your time is up, captain," Yatan announced smugly, "I have been more than gracious in my patience, but I will not wait forever. You will surrender this system or suffer the consequences."

Lange shook his head. "Sovereign, you have violated Federation space, jammed my base's communications, and effectively blockaded this system. That's as close to an act of war as I've ever seen without shots fired. I am going to give you one final warning. Withdraw to your own territory or I will use the full defensive power of this station to remove you from this system."

"Then it would be you who would be starting this war, captain," the sovereign snarled, "Surrender and I shall be merciful. Force my hand...and we shall see who can back up their words in deed."

Lange rolled his eyes and turned away from the screen. "End transmission. Raven, fire a warning shot across the lead ship's bow. Six quantum torpedoes should do it."

Quinn arched an eyebrow; they were certainly cutting it close. Clearly the Elyshans thought that they could bully the station into something, which was turning out to be the exact opposite case. He took a quick look over his sensor readings, taking note of the positions of several enemy ships, none of which had moved since they had arrived.

Looking down at the Engineering readouts, Kilana was glad to see that everything was within normal ranges, for now. There were some very slight power fluctuations, but that was to be expected on any vessel or base. Besides, the revised PID calculations she'd put through had smoothed out the fluctuation curve to minimize any wild swings. Knowing the torpedoes would be needed, Kilana gave the weapons systems a boost of extra power, as well as the shields.

Raven nodded and splayed her fingers across her board. "Aye sir. Torpedoes... away," she reported, the adrenalin now flowing through her system at full force. Touching a control brought the viewscreen to life, showing six crimson balls of light streaking toward the lead Elyshan vessel. They streaked across her upper hull in the universal command to stand down in lieu of hostilities. She wondered idly if the Elyshans would make the distinction.

"Sir, looks like one wing of ships is pulling back from the station," Quinn said, his hands dancing across his displays. "I'm still reading full power on their weapon systems though...if you wanted them irked you should have just let me talk to them." Quinn hoped the lighthearted comment might ease the tension in operations.

Kilana raised an eyebrow as she looked over at Quinn. She guessed the comment was his way of breaking tension, but it still wasn't entirely appropriate. While one section of the Elyshan Fleet might be pulling back, it certainly didn't mean that the others wouldn't react in some way.

Quinn took note of her reaction to his comment and fought the urge to tell her to lighten up, which would have been very out of line. He knew full well that just because one wing pulled back the other might not do the same; he took another look at his sensors and noted that a second wave of attack fighters had pulled back to cover the first. He frowned, scanning the remaining area.

"Sir, I think I maybe able to clear the jamming signal," Quinn said, turning around to hit a few buttons on the station behind him, he spun back around to face ops. "Chief I am going to need a 20% increase to the subspace antenna. We tried this once on the Athena, hopefully their jamming signal is similar to the Dominion's. Ready when you are chief."

Raven raised an eyebrow at the Ops Chief, wondering exactly what he was talking about. She understood in theory what he was trying to do, but not why he was doing it. Instead of responding, she looked to Lange for orders, with an expression that showed what she thought of the idea.

Lange nodded. "Give it a try, Chief. In the mean time, Kilana, would you mind bringing the Defense Platforms into attack position?"

Quinn set to work, his hands dancing across the displays. With any sort of luck this would be able to clear the jamming signal and not burn out the antenna, although that had happened before. Raven nodded, giving him the signal. Quinn pressed the button...and nothing happened. Well, at least nothing bad happened but then again nothing good happened either.

He swore in Klingon, much louder then he had intended, causing everyone to turn and look him.

"Sorry," he stated, clearing his throat. "I've never seen this sort of jamming signal before sir. Doesn't look like we are going to break through it any time soon."

Lange quirked an eyebrow at Scott. "Understood, Lieutenant. And my mother DOES have a smooth forehead."

"Of course sir," Quinn responded, slightly caught off guard about Lange's apparent knowledge of Klingon swears. "I do have some good news though, they have got to have one big honking power generator for a jamming signal of that size. Should actual shooting break out I might be able to hone in there carrier wave. But until then I have nada. I am picking up an increase in com traffic though...I wonder what they are saying about our mothers right now."

During the exchange between James and Quinn, Kilana did her best to tune it out while she worked. Before moving the defense platforms into position, she wanted to make sure her...adjustments...were alright. Bringing up the thoron field strength, she noticed it had dipped somewhat. Kilana brought up another control screen and slowly released a stream of thoron particles into the field. Seeing the concentration numbers rise, she turned her attention to the duranium shadows. With both in place, Kilana switched her display to the defense platform controls. Her fingers quickly entered the attack sequence settings and then she waited for them to confirm placement. "Defense platforms are in place, Captain."

Lange nodded. "Thank you. Hail the Elyshans."

"With or without the swearing?" Quinn asked, the joke did not appear to amuse anyone, which probably shouldn't have surprised him. "Sorry, hailing frequencies are open sir."

The livid visage of Sovereign Yatan appeared on the viewscreen. Behind the anger, there appeared to be something else, a sense of accomplishment. "For all your talk of peace and cooperation, captain, it is just that...talk," Yatan snarled, "Your actions speak louder than your words. The Elyshan Guard will not take this lying down. Surrender the system now!"

"Well... that went well," Raven said softly, her expression thoughtful. She was most impressed by Captain Lange, keeping cool when many others would have answered the Sovereign's bluster with bluster. The Chief had always admired those who resorted to violence as a last resort, but she hoped that if it became necessary to fight, the Captain would be ready to do so. Once again, the words of her Mariner instructor echoed in her mind. 'Never start a fight, but by god ALWAYS finish one!'

Judging by Yatan's reaction...and the fact that he was reacting at all, Kilana deduced that the warning shot had made an impression. Whether it would simply provoke the Elyshans into opening fire or inspire them to use caution remained to be seen. In any event, they certainly weren't happy.

Lange resisted the urge to snarl back at the Elyshan. Instead he merely gave the sovereign a calm, scornful look. "Sovereign, desiring peace and cooperation does not mean that the Federation is a group of pushovers. You have violated our space and ignored a request by an authorized representative of the Federation to withdraw. I have merely fired a warning shot. If you withdraw I will be perfectly content to pretend this entire incident never happened. But I want to make this perfectly clear: I will NOT surrender this system to you, no matter how large of a fleet you have."

Lange paused for a moment as he glanced at his tactical display. "As you may have noticed, Sovereign, there are now one hundred orbital defense platforms in position to defend this station. If you persist in starting a battle here today, I am prepared to finish it."

"You're bluffing," Yatan scoffed, but his eyes drifted ever so slightly to the readouts being displayed on his own bridge. According to the information he had been given, the system would not be able to compare to the force that he had brought. The platforms were obviously a desperate gamble meant to scare him off.

Raven consulted her board for a moment. "Sir all orbital platforms are active and standing by," she said, loudly enough to be heard by the Sovereign, but not loudly enough to make it SOUND like she was trying to be heard. Looking back down at her board, the Chief said in a barely audible voice, "Let's see how he chews on that one."

Kilana felt her heart race as she waited. Surely Yatan would realize the strength of the defense platforms.... Or would he? To her, albeit limited, knowledge, the Elsyhsans hadn't attacked a Starbase yet - particularly a Nor Class. Still, as teachers liked to say, it paid to do one's homework. She had to assume they knew at least something about the platforms. The question was, did Yatan truly believe they were bluffing, or was he just trying to portray confidence?

Quinn had to admit that he enjoyed the Sovereign fume with anger and frustration; no doubt compounded by the fact that he was probably told 386 would be an easy target. Quinn typed in a few more commands, he had been working on a way of piggybacking a carrier wave so that he could determine the source of the jamming signal. It was pretty hard doing, the Elyshans were routing it through at least a dozen or so different subspace radio arrays through dozens of ships. Lange hadn't told him to specifically to track it down but there was no harm in looking.

He opened up a new screen and sent a flash text message to monitors that those in ops could see. If you can keep him talking for another 20 minutes or so, I might be able to pinpoint the source of the jamming.

Lange saw the message appear on the situation table and immediately cleared it. He stepped away from the table and turned back towards the main viewscreen. "You could be right," he told Yatan. "I could be bluffing. Those platforms could be armed with nothing more than duranium shadows and thoron fields. On the other hand, this base has been operational for over 2 years, and under construction for 8 years before that. Do you really believe that in that amount of time proper defensive measures haven't been put into place?"

Yatan surveyed the Starfleet captain for a moment, narrowing his eyes. The man made an excellent bluff, one that was almost believable. A moment later, a wry smile appeared on the sovereign's face. "Nice try, captain," he said with some confidence, "I must admit, you have made quite an adversary...but it's time for the game to end."

Lange gave his best impersonation of a Vulcan Eyebrow Raise. "Sovereign, I never play games with my people's lives."

Quinn fought the urge to swear out loud again; he was still tracing the signal. If they were to have any hope of getting help if the fighting started then they would need to take out whatever ship it was out there that was doing the jamming. He saw Lange glance sideways and he shook his head; he would need another ten minutes to locate it. And it didn't look like he was going to get those ten minutes.

During the exchange, Kilana looked closely at the setting she had in place for the defense platforms. Everything was still within believable levels, but perhaps she could make it even more believable. Her index finger slid along the along display to slowly increase the supposed power levels associated with the platforms.

Raven noted the change in levels on her board as well. Raising an eyebrow at both the audacity of it and the brilliance, the former Marine looked over at Kilana, giving the woman a slight nod to indicate the Chief saw and understood what she was doing. "That should give them something to think about," she murmured softly.

"You are trying my patience, captain," Yatan snarled, growing weary of the back and forth.

"No more than you are mine, Sovereign," Lange responded immediately. He had one more gambit. It might come off as desperate, or it might through the Sovereign for a loop. Either way it was time to try it.

"You may have noticed that there are Romulan, Klingon, Cardassian, and Breen vessels among this base's defenders," Lange said calmly, with a tone that indicated he was about to impart a great secret. "That's because there are delegates from each of those races, and more, on this base. If you destroy this station and kill those delegates you are not only committing an act of war against the Federation, but also against every other major power in this region of space. Do you really want to be facing opponents on all sides?"

Yatan scowled and a moment later, his angry visage had vanished from the screen, replaced by an exterior view of the waiting Elyshan fleet.

"You know, I really don't like him," Lange commented quietly, moving to one side of the situation table and sitting on one of the stools there.

Raven scowled at the viewscreen for a moment and then looked at the Captain. "Do you think they'll back off sir?" she asked, her tone indicating her opinion.

"We can only hope, Chief," Lange replied. "We can only hope."

OFF:

A JP by

Lt. JG Quinn Scott
Chief of Station Operations
Starbase 386

Warrant Officer First Class Kilana Nira
Chief Engineering Officer
Starbase 386

Chief Petty Officer Raven'nik 'Raven'
Command Chief/Armoury Master
Starbase 386

Sovereign Yatan (NPC)
Commanding Officer
Battleship Kareth
Played by: Cmdr Richardson

Captain James Lange
Commanding Officer
Starbase 386

[Peters]

<Malinche, Station day 4, Engineering 1540 hrs>

L'Randil heard the call over the intercom about the fleet and decided to stow her tools and equipment in the appropriate place in the bay's tool room. She sighed a deep breath, looking at the almost spotless bay of shuttles and crafts, thinking about the impending battles.

The technician decided to make her way to main engineering to check in with Cmdr Peters. He was in his office when she entered the bustling room. She walked up to his door and hit the door bell and waited, tail twitching.

"Come in," Peters called as he gathered up a handful of PADDS and a few isolinear storage chips. He wanted to be in the Alpha section Engineering bay within the next ten minutes, but he had a lot of things to get done between now and then.

She walked into the office and stood at attention with her hands behind her back. "Sir, I heard I could be of use outside the shuttlebay?"

"Ah, Ensign," Peters said as L'Randil entered his office. "I need you to report to the Beta section Engineering. You'll be assisting Lieutenant Schulz while the Malinche is in Multi-Vector."

She nodded. "What duties will I be performing, if I may ask, Sir?"

Peters picked up a PADD off the desk and looked at it,then held it out to L'Randil. "You'll be working as Lieutenant Schulz' assistant, so you'll be performing whatever duties he assigns you. I'm sure it will be something in line with your knowledge and experience."

She nodded. "I see. I have not yet met Mr. Schulz. Anything else I should know, Sir?" She asked.

Peters thought about that for a minute. Unfortunately, L'Randil had not had the amount of time most new assignees got to get acclimated to the Malinche's unique systems. And she'd spent most of her time aboard so far fixing the issues plaguing the shuttles. He'd need to give her a two minute crash-course...

"Well, first off, the implementation of Multi-Vector mode basically enforces the limiting of resources allocated to non-essential systems. Even though we have three complete warp cores and three complete sets of impulse engines, we only have the amount of fuel that one ship would carry, even though it's split up into three sets of tanks, each with their own set of piping," Peters said, watching to make sure L'Randil was following.

She nodded and raised an eyebrow. "I think I follow. There are a great deal of extras on Starfleet ships I will say."

"Right. Replicators and holodecks and lighting in low-traffic areas are an unnecessary power drain. Also, the engineers that designed the ship for some reason gave different operating specs for the warp core for docked and separated flight modes." Peters did his best not to roll his eyes at that little quirk. He'd been trying to program it out of the computer's automatic diagnostic system ever since he'd first noticed it. So far he hadn't had any luck.

"So let me get this straight." L'Randil stated. "When the ships are separate they have their own control-laws? Is this because of an interlinked balance of distribution?"

"Basically, it will be on the borderline of an overpressure alarm the entire time we're in separated mode, but if you drop the pressure more than a few kilopascals you'll kill the reaction rate and force the ship into a second-stage powersave mode.

"Ah, I see. The smaller core design with the higher demand makes the efficiency rating such that it is sensitive." She shook her head. "Hopefully that won't be an issue. This core design has been in service how long now?" She asked with a strangely curious tone and a hint of sarcasm.

"Active service? A little over ten years. They spent a few years testing it, in whole and in part, before that, too, so we're talking longer than I've been in Starfleet." Peters shrugged. "I've always said I wouldn't make a good yard engineer... they're way too conservative with their tolerances and safeties. And then once in awhile they just completely forget that Starships tend to encounter uncommon phenomena with a, well, rather regular basis."

The Caitian smirked and rolled her eyes. "In my short time with the fleet I have observed the same. The yard engineers, especially Utopia seem to be idealistic. That's just a furry ensign's opinion though." She sighed. "We digress. In the future I would like to take such projects as fit to do. This transfer was for promotion potential after all."

"I'll see what I can do," Peters said with a smile. "For now, though, you need to get to the Beta section in a hurry. We go to MVAM in less than twenty minutes."

"Understood." She nodded and turned to leave but hesitated a moment to give him a chance if he was going to say anything else.

Peters had already turned his attention back to his stack of PADDs. He had an appointment with Lt Hansen in a little over a quarter of an hour to try and work out the shielding issues and he had a lot to do before then.

OFF:

A JP by:

Ensign L'Randil N'Rass
Shuttle Maintenance Specialist
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

&

[Barrett]

<<USS Malinche - Beta Section>>
<Bridge, 1810, Day 4>

Waiting. Waiting was an evil game that Lt. Commander Jason Barrett was no good at. He was also no good at sitting around doing nothing when a fleet of enemy ships were poised to strike at a Federation station. He hated to admit but he really wished that someone would hurry up and open fire and get the whole damn thing over with. The looks on the faces of his bridge crew told him that they were thinking the same thing.

He moved from the auxiliary weapons station down to the operations station were Joey (NPC) was idly tapping his fingers against the display. There was something bothering him...despite their current situation.

"Are you ok?" Jason asked.

"When this is over you and Adam really need to have a talk," Joey responded.

That instantly got Jason's attention. "Is everything all right?"

"You have to talk to him, I didn't want to bring it up, especially since we are about to ride into a dangerous situation but you REALLY need to talk to him when we get through this."

"Don't you mean if?" Ryan (NPC) asked from tactical.

"No, I mean when," Joey responded. "I have a date with an Orion when I get back to the station that I intend to keep."

Jason rolled his eyes, although his mind instantly wandered off to what could have been wrong with Adam. He shoved those thoughts aside and decided that they better concentrate on the here and now.

"Damn," Joey muttered.

"Something wrong?" Jason asked.

"Just been trying to trace the source of that jamming signal...I can't even begin to narrow it down, they are flooding subspace with all sorts of interference."

"That could be good and bad," Ryan stated from tactical.

"How so?" Jason asked.

"Means that they are probably pretty limited in their ability to communicate among the fleet," Ryan said. "Although they have enough ships that I really don't think that will be a problem."

Jason only nodded in agreement. He really hated waiting around.

OFF:

[Zeral]

OFF: This is a back post
ON: <USS Malinche, Day 3, 1730 hrs>

Jake stood up and stood himself to attention before leaving the ready room. His next stop would be to see the counselor courtesy orders from Captain Kersare. Although her doubt in him disappointed him slightly. He understood where she was coming from, she was unaware of Jake's capabilities behind the helm and his ability to cope with stressful situations. However she would soon become aware.

As he made his way through the main bridge towards the turbolift he stopped at the plaque mounted to the wall. "USS Malinche, NCC-38997-A. Siempre Vigilante: We await the unknown with eyes open." He smiled and raised his hand to touch the plaque as he had the first day he set foot on the bridge of the Destiny.

A blinding flash filled the room. Jake rubbed his eyes with his sleeve as if to clear his vision. When he let his arm down, his smile disappeared changing to a look of complete shock. "USS Destiny, NCC-4985, Our destiny lies beyond the next star." He stepped back. "This isn’t right." He said to himself. He began looking around. Jake found himself on the battered bridge of his old ship, except unlike he last remembered it. No one was to be seen.

Another blinding flash. This time Jake simply shut his eyes. When he opened them he found himself looking at the plaque aboard the Malinche, his hand placed firmly upon it. "What in the hell was that?" He asked himself. Jake removed his hand from the plaque and proceeded into the turbolift shrugging off the recent daydream.

"Computer, take me to the deck the counselor's office is on." The computer chimed and the turbolift began to move, he was sure the computer would have laughed at him could it show emotion. Upon reaching his destination and after some quick inquiries he made his way to Lt. Zeral's office. Once he arrived he pressed on the keypad requesting permission to enter.

The day was getting away from Nora again. She’d promised herself some time to visit the starbase, but somehow she’d already lost track of the time. Hearing the doorchime, she paused a moment to set aside the PADD she’d been perusing. “Come in,” she called shortly after.

Jake stepped through the door. The counselor was sitting on a chair and greeted him with a warm smile when he entered. During his research on his new assignment he had come across information on Zeral. She was a Betazoid which didn’t sit well with Jake as he was not entirely comfortable with the notion that she could read his mind. He did, however, understand why most Starfleet Captains choose Betazoid females as ship's counselors. The Destiny did not have a Betazoid for a counselor as Captain Conaway felt it would make some of the crew uncomfortable, needless to say Lt.Cmdr. Sheridan did an excellent job especially within the last few weeks of his stay there. He had also read the Lt. Zeral was a very kind and generous woman and had a great reputation amongst the crew. When Jake looked at her he did not feel uneasy like he expected, her smile was very welcoming to him. Jake returned Zeral's greeting with a smile of his own. "Good evening counselor, Captain Kersare requested I come see you. Is now a good time?"

Rising from her chair behind her desk, Nora approached him with a smile. “Now is a wonderful time. Have a seat wherever you like.” Choosing her favorite chair, Nora made herself comfortable. “I don’t believe that we’ve met before. You said that Captain Kersare wanted you to meet with me?”

Jake took a seat adjacent to the counselor. "I am Lieutenant JG Jake McCarty the new assistant flight control officer, it's a pleasure to meet you. Captain Kersare requested I see you as a precaution because of what happened on the Destiny before I came here. However I feel I should tell you I am just fine so I don't waste too much of your time."

“Welcome aboard, Lieutenant,” Nora said, folding her hands in her lap. “I appreciate you not wanting to waste any of my time,” she continued with a slight smile, “but if the Captain’s concerned in some way, we should probably talk about it at least in some part. Why don’t you start by telling me about your experiences on the Destiny?”

Jake sighed. "What would you like to know? She was a great ship and it was an honor to serve aboard her. I made my share of friends and believe it or not an enemy or two. All in all when it came down to it she had the finest crew and we made it out of some tough battles."

“It sounds like you were happy there,” Nora remarked. “Can you tell me about what happened on the Destiny before you came to the Malinche?” The ship's name sounded familiar, but Nora couldn't quite place why it was familiar to her.

Jake was surprised by the counselor's question. Had she not already extracted the information from him or was she just seeing if he would choose to hide the truth from her? He decided he would omit certain details in hopes she would leave him be and let him go on with his duties. "Before I came here the Destiny had been attacked by the Borg. She sustained some heavy damage but I managed to get her home, it took some more time than usual, but she made it in one piece." Jake laughed. "Captain Conaway once told me if that ship had a mind of it's own, you could probably split it in half and she would tow herself across space, stubborn like it's pilot."

Nora nodded as he finished. She could sense his unease concerning her telepathy, and, afraid that it would interfere with their session, Nora tried to explain her position to him. “I feel I should tell you, Lieutenant, that although I am a Betazoid, I would never read your thoughts. We Betazoids follow a code of ethics that strictly prohibits us from intruding on another person’s thoughts without their express permission. While I can still sense emotions, I would never intrude upon your personal thoughts. I promise.”

Quirking her head, Nora continued, “That being said, I wonder if you’d tell me more about the Borg’s attack on the Destiny. I know it can’t be a pleasant subject; I’ve had my own experiences with the Borg before. But if those memories are affecting you, and I rather suspect that they are, it can help to talk about them. That’s what I’m here for,” she finished with a smile.

Jake was intrigued by Nora's remarks. He admired her honesty and respect for his privacy but was slightly troubled by the fact that she was conducting an assessment of his fitness for duty and was not taking all the measures available to do so. Quite a moral dilemma, one reason he did not choose to become a counselor. He decided to continue on as he planned because he knew the Malinche may need one of it's best pilots very soon and he did not want to be on the sidelines....history would not repeat itself, not so soon.

"Well counselor, the attack was an ambush by 2 spheres. We had very little time to react and took the better part of our overall damage within the first minutes of the battle. During this time the Chief Flight Control Officer was killed by a piece of falling structure. I had been on the bridge at the time and quickly took over for him. That was the turning point for Destiny. From that point the bridge crew showed why Destiny was one of the federation's best battleships, we all coordinated ourselves together, the tactical chief matched our shields with my maneuvers allowing the strongest sections only to be exposed to the spheres. We managed to destroy one but the other took out our weapons."

"I scanned and found a nebula nearby that would mask us from the Borg and with the Captain's blessings we took her in. We spent hours in that nebula until the sphere finally left. However with the enemy gone the struggle was far from over. We had no warp drive, intermittent impulse power and main and auxiliary power was constantly in a state of flux. The Captain and An...I mean Lt.Commander Ferris were busy writing condolences to the families of the lost while sickbay dealt with the wounded. Commander Schaeffer was to lead the ship home and I was of course at the helm. Many crewmembers were tired and over-tasked. Not to mention the food shortage due to power failures. It wasn't easy but we found our way here, the rest is history...." Jake's voice faded near the end as he fought back tears as he could see Anna holding his CFCO in her arms. The countless bodies lining the corridors, the broken families. This was no time for tears though, he could not let Nora know he was broken, she would not allow him on duty for certain.

Absorbing his story, Nora couldn’t help but feel as though he were leaving something out. “Would you say that your experiences affect you in your daily life? Do you experience any nightmares, for instance?”

Jake shook his head. "I would have to say no Counselor. Keep in mind I flew the Destiny home despite the circumstances and well, I think I am a little old to be having nightmares." Jake figured his deception would work as she had asked about nightmares not flashbacks....

Nora felt uneasy about the way the session was going. Although she didn’t know Jake very well, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the more they spoke, the less he seemed to be telling her. “No nightmares, then. That’s good,” she commented, threading her fingers together as she observed Jake for a moment. “And you're sure that there's nothing else that's been bothering you?”

Jake leaned back into his chair and placed his hands behind his head. "Not really, I mean the food on the station is exceptional, the ship is beautiful, there are ample opportunities for new challenges ahead and there's even some rather attractive women on board that could present ones equal to flight. What more could one want?" He said smiling at Nora.

Smiling weakly, Nora looked at her hands in her lap for a moment, thinking how best to proceed. She knew very well that Isabel wouldn’t have sent Jake to her without good reason, and both her gut instinct and her senses told her that something wasn’t right here. “I’ll be perfectly honest with you, Jake,” she said at length, glancing back to Jake. “I’m concerned that you may not be telling me everything. The reason we’re examining this unfortunate experience you had in detail is not just for your benefit, but for the benefit of the crewmembers you’ll be working with aboard the Malinche. If, for example, your experience comes back to haunt you, so to speak, while you’re at the helm, you could potentially put the entire ship at risk. Post traumatic stress, which I do believe is the issue at hand, is nothing to be ashamed of, and there are many possible ways to treat it. But I simply can’t help you if you don’t tell me everything.”

Jake stood up from his seat and raised his voice. "Don't sit there and lecture me on flight! I know the risks all to well especially after what happened." He turned and took a deep breath. "What do you want from me? Admit I'm crazy? Run to you every time the enemy or another member of the crew hurts my feelings? Or perhaps curl into a damn ball during every attack. A quarter of a ship's crew die but that's all secondary to the fact that my god damn feelings might be hurt!" He turned back to the counselor. "My job doesn't give me the luxury of time off...."

Stunned by his outburst, Nora tried to keep her face neutral, watching him wide-eyed from where she sat. It was not the first time a crewmember had reacted so strongly to a counseling session, but she was sure she’d never quite get used to it. It was disappointing, to say the least, and at times like these, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more she could have done to prevent this sort of outcome.

“I’m sorry to have upset you,” Nora said quietly and sincerely, rising from her chair to face him. “I’m afraid, however, that I have no choice but to remove you from active duty for the time being.” Although she was afraid that he’d think she was being patronizing, Nora continued, “I believe that you need some time to adjust to the changes in your life...some time to come to terms with what you experienced aboard the Destiny. I will, of course, be available, should you feel that you would like to talk to me about it after all. Until then, I’ll speak with Captain Kersare about the best way to proceed.”

Jake closed his eyes and raised his head. "Listen..." He stopped when he looked down and realized he was no longer staring at Nora, now it was Anna standing in front of him.

Her eyes filled with tears, cuts across her face. "Jake why are you shutting me out?" she asked.

Jake turned from her. "Anna I'm not shutting you out there's nothing wrong I'm a big boy and I can handle myself." he replied.

"Jake everyone needs a hand sometime. After all that has happened...you're no robot, I know you all to well."

Jake remained silent.

"It's your new assignment isn't it? Although you look forward to the new challenge, you think you're abandoning us." She paused for a moment. "Well you're not. Because you, Jake McCarty, never run from those in need."

Jake turned to her looking her in the eyes. "Destiny needs me Anna!" he exclaimed.

"Jake you can't save everyone, but you can choose not to abandon your duty. The Malinche needs you now, the federation needs it's best pilots on it's best ships. You need to let go, start a new family."

Jake sighed. "What about you Anna?"

Anna smiled. "I'll be fine Jake, I will take care of Destiny for you."

A tear fell from Jake's eye. "Thank you, for everything."

Anna bowed her head. "Can you do me one favor Jake?"

He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Anything for you."

She looked him in the eyes, tears now streamed down her face. "Keep in touch okay? Don't you ever forget me, I will never forget you."

Jake wrapped his arms around her still looking her in the eyes. "There isn't a galaxy large enough to keep us apart. I will miss you Anna."

Anna pulled him in closer and whispered into his ear. "I will miss you terribly."

Jake decided now was the time to say something he had waited a long time to say. "I love you." He leaned back, however the smile he had on his face quickly changed to that of shock as he now found himself looking into Nora's eyes.

Swallowing thickly, Nora had watched in mild alarm as Jake had stood before her with a distant look in his eyes, presumably lost in some sort of memory or flashback. By the stunned expression on his face now, she felt reasonably sure that he had returned to the present. “Jake, I want you to get some rest,” she said, hoping that what he had just experienced right in front of her would convince him that he couldn’t ignore the problem at hand anymore. “Get some rest, and then come and see me again when you feel ready. I know you may not like the idea of speaking with a counselor, but I do want to help you, if you’ll let me.”

The initial shock of returning to reality had left him. Jake now found himself in a predicament he did not wish to be in. Nora was now well aware he was actively hallucinating and he knew this would slow down his case to go back to active duty. He looked back into Nora's eyes and smiled. "Very well Ma'am." He turned and left her office, he had no interest in disclosing any details concerning himself and Lt.Cmdr Ferris. For now he would follow her advice and get some rest. However he was unsure if he would return to her office. He was never good with feelings.

Alone in her office once more, Nora exhaled deeply, feeling discouraged and regretful over the session’s outcome. She knew very well that it wasn’t within her power to help everyone, yet she still couldn’t help feeling as though she had failed in some way. Still, she was hopeful that, once she had a chance to speak with Captain Kersare, a positive solution would be found to help Lieutenant McCarty transition back to active duty.

OFF: A JP brought to you by:

Lieutenant JG Jake McCarty
Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

[N'rass]

ON: [[Malinche Beta section engineering, Station Day 04, 1800 hrs]]

L'Randil walked down the corridor leading from main engineering to the beta section engineering room. It was a region of the ship that she had not spent much time exploring, so she made a couple wrong turns before reaching the destination.

Lt. Schulz was walking by the door when she walked in. Apparently he had heard that she was a caitian because he greeted her with a smile and a recognizing look.

"Lt. Schulz?" She asked with an uncertain tone.

"Yes," Will (NPC) replied, glancing up from the PADD he had been looking over, "Ahh, Ensign N'Rass...welcome to beta engineering." Will swept one arm out in a gesture that indicated the room around them. When Peters had asked him to assume command of the Beta Section team, he hadn't argued. It was important, especially when the Malinche was separated, that each section was operating at peak efficiency.

Will finished skimming over the PADD's contents and quickly passed it off to a nearby technician before turning his full attention to the caitian ensign who had just entered the room. "I apologize," he said, "As you can see, we've been a little busy." At this, he flashed a smile to show that he wasn't being gruff. If Peters had seen fit to assign the ensign to his team, then Will was going to make sure that she had something useful to do.

The ensign smirked and nodded. "That's quite alright, Sir. I will do what is needed of me."

"That's the right attitude to have," Will told her, lifting a PADD from the top of the workstation he was standing in front of and checking the readout. He tapped a sequence into the console, then compared the display to what was on the PADD. Satisfied, he turned the PADD around and offered it to the ensign. "See what you can do about making these modifications to the redundant power distribution for the secondary shield generators," he explained, "if things start heating up out there, I don't want to be caught without something between us and whatever they decide to throw at us. You should be able to use engineering station beta-two." He used his free hand to point to the workstation only a few feet away from where he was standing.

"Yes, Sir." She nodded, taking the PADD. "I will get right on it."

Will watched the Caitian cross over to the workstation he had assigned her to begin working on the assignment. Turning his attention back to his own console, he tapped in a command sequence and paused. Another crewman approached with a PADD in hand. Will took the PADD, glanced at it, then handed it back to the crewman. "See to it that we've got a repair team standing by, just in case things start heating up down there," he said. The crewman nodded and headed off to carry out his orders.

L'Randil smiled as she looked over at him interacting with the crewman. He had a pleasant but firm demeanor that she found reassuring. The console beeped, which drew her attention back and she worked the series of diagnostics and routines. The activity of the engineering department was refreshing in a way. It took her mind off of the fact she had already had an almost full shift beforehand.

It was the assignments like this that reminded the engineer of why she transferred to the Mali in the first place. Variety and growth potential. She turned to look at him, "Sir, can you check this? These readings don't seem quite right."

Securing his own workstation, Will stepped over so that he was standing next to the Caitian. He looked over her shoulder at the readings on the display. There was a slight imbalance in the secondary EPS junction leading to the impulse manifolds that hadn't been there a few moments earlier. "Run a level five diagnostic," Will suggested, "see if anything comes up."

"Aye, sir." She nodded. The console flashed its indication sequences then results. The imbalance flashed red.

The computer stated, "Junction C-14-Alpha. Further attention required."

L'Randil rolled her eyes and muttered. "Does the fleet ever make a power system to spec the first time?" She sighed as she entered the information into the Padd to investigate the unit.

Will chose to ignore the comment and continued to look at the readout on the screen. It was possible that there was something out of alignment or that it was a simple malfunction in one of the sensors in that junction. There were a number of systems that served only as redundant back-ups when the vessel was integrated, meaning that they didn't receive the same priority in maintenance and repair that the primary systems did. Most of that was due to the fact that they did receive as much use under normal operation, which translated into simple visual inspections most of the time, rather than the more thorough assessment and usage that more frequently used systems underwent.

"Sir, I should go investigate. It may be minor but we would be remiss to neglect it." She stated with intent, placing the PaDD on her belt holder.

Thinking for a moment, Will finally nodded. "Yeah," he agreed, "better to be safe than to be sorry, especially with an entire enemy fleet out there. Go take a look, but make it quick." He watched the Caitian head off to inspect the offending junction, then made his way back to his own workstation. If this was the most they were going to have to worry about, they would all be more than thankful.

OFF

A JP by

Lieutenant Will Schulz (PNPC)
Chief Systems Manager
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Played by: Lt. JG Aaron Masterson

and

[Starbase 386 Crew]

ON: Runabout Thames. Day 4. 18:00

"Got it!" Lenarra exclaimed, looking up to the auxiliary display from the main comms screen she had been working on. "There" she pointed to a line in the data; the Bolian Petty Officer got up from his station and stood behind her, looking over her shoulder.

“I see it...” he told her, clearly just as puzzled as the Trill was.

“This was sent hours ago” Lenarra commented, puzzled. She had gone through the transceiver filter logs line by painstakingly tedious line, hoping to find any clue as to what was going on locally. Her perseverance had paid off; in the log was a coded priority one transmission sent on the Starfleet Command frequency, that means some very, very important information had been sent from Earth to all the CO’s out here. “The fact it’s in our logs...” she began, bringing up the filter log to refresh her memory, “...means we’ve been within the dampening field for no more than a few hours. We received this some time ago, but the log has registered comm. traffic up until about two hours ago, then the filter logs go dead.”

“I wonder what’s going on” said her subordinate, returning to his seat.

“Whatever it is, it sure isn’t a natural phenomena – I’m willing to bet the interference is linked with that message from Earth” she said with some urgency in her voice.

“Lieutenant” her pilot said, having just looked at the display; “we’re showing three Talarian freighters two million kilometers to port holding position.”

“Odd, freighters don’t sit still for much” And Lenarra would know, having come from a shipping family herself. “Intercept course”

“Three minutes” the Bolian reported, anticipating her ETA request.

Perhaps they would know something she deliberated.

Lenarra had just had time to slip into the back and put on a clean duty jacket, as she entered the flight compartment the cross-shaped aft sections of the freighters slowly moved past the windows as the runabout was brought into formation between the other ships. “Can we open a channel at this range?” she asked.

The Bolian shook his head; “We can certainly transmit...but I doubt their communications assembly is powerful to receive it.”

Lenarra sighed and holstered a phaser and tricorder; “beam me to the bridge of one of them” She took the transporter pad and within a few moments a busy Talarian bridge appeared all around her; dismally it was hardly bigger than the runabouts flight compartment.

A Talarian bearded man stepped up towards her and held his hands out wide, his empty palms displayed in the Talarian gesture of welcome of peace, showing he held no weapon. She nodded respectfully to him and took some small pang of comfort from the design of the bridge; the architecture was homely to her and a welcome familiar sight having been away from the colony for so many years. “I’m Lieutenant Lenarra Zari of Starfleet” she said in a firm manner, projecting her authority onto him.

“Captain Walos Ta’aan” he greeted back.

She nodded, “Captain, what are you doing here? Can we help at all?” She nervously clicked her tongue...
-----
The rain beat against her face, her brow was furrowed trying to keep it out of her eyes as she stepped silently through the Fariun street, her slim, curvy form hidden from view by the dark night and the awnings from the closed shops that she crept past. Involuntarily, she clicked her tongue, it was a nervous habit of hers; it irritated her to no end, but hopefully soon it would be one habit lost amongst an array of others in the joining.

Stepping into the street to prance silently across it, her bare back felt the warm drops run against exposed flesh now unprotected by the high buildings, her hooded cloak billowing sideways in the wind. All the while, Kala did not take her dexterous fingers of her right hand from the warm metal of the retrofitted Starfleet phase pistol strapped to her right bum cheek; she needed him dead without too much cellular damage and the antiquated weapon had taken her some considerable effort to lit from the Starfleet museum.

Rounding a corner, Kala could see him, drunk, walking with a swagger towards his home. She dropped her windswept cloak to the floor, leaving her in only a revealing outfit, her chest glistening wet with the rain, her curves accentuated by the dim lighting in the back street. She neared within a few meters; out of nerves she clicked her tongue as she reached for the weapon – the man wheeled around shocked; “who the hell are you!”

Kala leaned purposefully against a grimy building wall; she raised one leg slowly and bent her knee, placing a foot against the wall as well. “Would you like to know?” she asked innocently, she lowered her head and gazed up at him, she locked her piercing green eyes onto his seductively and ran her hands down her wet body, gasping as she did so, never breaking the stare.

He walked towards her, fumbling with his belt buckle. “How much?” he asked with a slurred voice.

She smiled at him, a pleasant loving smile, as she took his arm and pulled him towards her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her groin into his; “Depends what you’re looking for...” she said, walking around the back of him, her hands sliding over his wet shirt. Her fingers traced the Trill spots on the side of his neck as her lips grazed his ears. “You know...” she began in a soft, seducing voice, her fingers gently grasping the pistol grip, one hand reached into his trousers, a distraction as the other hand brought the pistol to bear on the back of his head “...men are always, so, so easy...” She fired a short burst and released the trigger as he went lifelessly heavy in her arms.

Kala was careful to lower him gently to the soaked floor that was dancing with raindrops. She exhaled deeply, her stomach wretched. She had killed before, many times, being a bounty hunter of sorts she had developed a strong suppressive instinct towards killing; but this one was different, it wasn’t a job it was personal. Kala ran back down the street to her cloak, she wrapped the soaked cloth around her again and ran back to the body, unclipping the transport beacon that was in attached inside the only pocket on the simple garment.

She crouched next to him, unable to resist lightly caressing his stomach as if it would in some way bring about the joining quicker, bring her closer to the symbiont. She attached the beacon and pressed it down, within a few seconds the warm and dry, yet poorly lit and decorated, rented apartment materialized around her. She stood up and let down the cloak, moving towards the side room that had been converted for its purpose; “are you ready?” she asked the hired surgeon as he, a Trill as well, stepped into view.

“We need to move quickly” he said with a nod. “And even then...”

“I know the risk” she answered, cutting him off mid-sentence. One look back at the corpse on the floor and she stepped into the side room, unclipping her clothes so they fell to the floor. Kala Zari was about to be born.

---
“...Lieutenant?” Captain Ta’aan had a hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Lenarra nodded briskly and gently removed his hand; “I’m fine, long day.” Came the unconvincing reply. “So what’s going on here” she asked, walking at the Captains gesture further into the bridge, hopefully some answers would soon avail themselves.

OFF:

Lieutenant Lenarra Zari
Chief Tactical Officer
Starbase 386

[McCarty]

OFF: This is a backpost. Also, sections in italics indicate a hallucination.

ON:
<<USS Malinche, Lt(JG). McCarty's Quarters: Day 4 1350 hours>>

Jake hadn't slept well since he returned from the Counselor's office. He had spent most of the night either tossing or turning in his bed or pacing across the room trying to figure out how he was going to piece himself back together. His restlessness was due to the fact that Nora had not only removed him from duty, but learned some very intimate details of his personal life. Now he would be forced to divulge even more details to her or face being removed from the Malinche if not Starfleet.

He was unaccustomed to the feelings he was experiencing as he was usually so very good at masking his inner thoughts. Somehow Nora had got to him, but he did not blame her. She was doing her job and ensuring the safety of the crew. Jake knew he would not be able to live with himself should he cause any harm to anyone as a result of his hallucinations. For now he decided he would keep to himself and spend some extra time on the holodeck until he was ready to talk with the Counselor again. He also had to take a trip to sickbay for a physical evaluation. Considering the current circumstances, that appointment was not high on his priorities at this time. Right now however, it was time for a drink, that would surely calm his nerves down.

"Vodka on the rocks." he stated. A swirl of light appeared in the replicator followed by his beverage. He picked it up and took a drink. "Perfect." he said to himself satisfied with his choice. He sat down at the table and began to ponder his activities for the day.

Suddenly the thought of Captain Kersare mentioning his need to train on MVAM came to mind. This would be a perfect opportunity to explore the new flight system and he had the added bonus of being able to have the computer design 2 other flight officers to his liking. He quickly finished his drink and began to make his way to the holodeck.

When he exited his quarters, he was met with surprise. There were people scrambling throughout the corridors and the ship was at Red Alert. Jake had no idea how he could not have heard the announcement or the clamor outside his door. Regardless he had to determine what was going on. He ran down the corridor in hopes to find an officer who might know what was going on.

"Tomlinson to McCarty, report to the bridge immediately."

Jake tapped his commbadge. "Aye, Sir, I'll be there in a few minutes, McCarty out."

Jake made his way to the nearest turbolift. "Main bridge." he told the Computer.

<<USS Malinche, Main Bridge, Day 4, 1410 hours>>

Jake stepped onto the bridge.

Lt.Commander Tomlinson was waiting for him at the entrance. "Jake I apologize for bringing you on shift ahead of schedule but there is a matter I need to deal with. Are you ready to start shift?"

"Sure thing Sir." Jake replied.

"Alright we are maintaining course en route to rendezvous with the USS Nightingale. She is carrying precious cargo and we have been directed to escort her back to Starbase 226." Tomlinson said completing his debrief.

"Too easy! You go ahead and deal with whatever you're going to do." Jake said with a smirk.

Suddenly the ship rumbled and went into Red Alert. "Report!" Captain Conaway yelled to Ferris.

Tomlinson rushed down the ramp towards the helm leaving Jake at the entrance.

"Two Borg spheres approaching Starboard." She replied.

"Shields up! Return fire attack pattern Conaway Alpha 2." He barked.

Another rumble. "Sir! Shields at 92%, Direct hit on 1 sphere, minor damage to their shields." The Tactical officer stated.

The Communication officer turned to the Captain. "Sir we are being hailed."

"On screen." A Borg appeared on the viewer.

"We are the Borg. Lower your defenses and prepare to be assimilated."

Conaway signaled the Communication Officer to cut the transmission. "That is really getting old, they need to add some more feeling to it. Richards focus fire on the flanking sphere."

Sparks flew from the tactical station knocking Lt. Richards to the floor. Cmdr Schaeffer jumped over the station and took the controls. "Firing Quantum torpedoes and phasers." The ship shook violently. Sparks flew from several more places. "Captain, shields at 67%, however Dorsal shields are beginning to buckle."

Another violent shake but this time a piece of the hull crashed down onto Lt. Cmdr Tomlinson.

Conaway turned to McCarty. "Son you take the helm!" Jake nodded and rushed for the controls. As he was about to reach his station he felt something pull him back, spin him around and strike him across the face.

He rubbed his cheek, when he lowered his hand and opened his eyes he found himself standing in front of Captain Kersare.

OFF:

[Kersare]

ON: <Starbase 386, Day 4, 2210, Ops>

Lange stood at the main situation table in the center of Ops and looked at the sensor contacts moving around. A flicker of motion by one of the indicators made him nod. “I was right, they’re testing that flank. Communications, kindly request that the Revok swing out and cut off that frigate.”

Lange heard the officer at the communications panel acknowledge the order and then the brief exchange of the message being relayed to the Romulan ship. A few seconds later one of the three Romulan emblems on the situation table’s display began to move, cutting across the path of the Elyshan indicator that was moving towards the far edge of the line of Orbital Defense Platforms. The Elyshan ship, predictably, fell back into the mass of Elyshan ships.

That was the fifth such feint in the last hour, and Lange was beginning to wonder what the Elyshans were looking for. So far the pattern had been so obvious as to be monotonous. A small group of Elyshan ships would shift position in the larger fleet formation, then one of those ships, never larger than a frigate, would make for 386’s defensive lines. And every time, as soon as Lange moved one of his ships to head them off, they’d retreat back into the fleet.

Lange was beginning to wonder if they were going to sit here staring at each other until the Apocalypse. With the exception of the Ticonderoga, all of Lange’s forces were clustered in and around Starbase 386 and the small shipyard the base shared its orbit with. The Ticonderoga had trailed the fleet in and was sitting in the middle of the easiest route out of the system. Not that one Defiant class ship would stop a fleet that size from going any direction it pleased. Still, it was one more thing the Elyshans had to think about.

Suddenly another icon appeared on the situation table, moving in towards the Elyshan fleet and 386. Lange watched it for a moment, then spoke. “Computer, identify newest sensor contact.”

“Sensor contact is the USS Orlando, Excelsior Class.”

“Are they within range of sub-light communications?” Lange asked, all but certain what response he was going to get.

“Negative. Sub-light communications will be possible in three minutes.”

Lange nodded to himself. More waiting. Of course, he’d already spent several hours staring at the Elyshan fleet. He could spend another three minutes doing the same. At least, it would seem, someone had noticed that 386 had suddenly gone silent.

[[USS Orlando Bridge]]

Quinn sat on the edge of his command chair, hands gripped tightly on the edge of the armrests in an attempt to squeeze the flurry of emotions he was feeling out of him. Looking around at the bridge crew he could see Janis (NPC) to his side at the tactical station, Jason (NPC) near the front of the bridge at the operations station, Tobias next to Jason at the flight control station, and several other officers at the various stations throughout the bridge.

"Report." Quinn ordered, hoping that they would arrive soon enough to make a difference.

The El-Aurian did not even need to reference the readouts on his console before providing a prompt reply to the commodore. "Three minutes until we reach the station," Tobias reported, making another minor adjustment in an attempt to keep the warp field steady. There was no way of knowing what they would find when the Orlando dropped out of warp, but Tobias was confident that he would be prepared to react however was necessary to ensure the safety of the ship.

Janis, hearing Quinn's order for a report, looked down at her console to be sure the information she had was still valid. Her index finger slid across the display, switching from a tactical readout of the Elyshan Fleet to one about Starbase 386 and the vessels there. "It would appear they are at some form of standoff, sir. The Elyshan Fleet has weapons armed and shields raised. The same is true for our side...it would appear that we have the base, one Prometheus class in MVAM and one not, an Intrepid Class, a Defiant class, and less than a dozen others which are a mix of StarFleet vessels and presumably the ships of the Summit delegates," Janis reported.

[[USS Malinche, Alpha Section]]

Isabel had given up on remaining in her chair. She was growing frustrated with waiting to see what the Elyshans were actually doing. Technically though, she'd rather it be like this than to have her ship blown up. Other than one incident, the Malinche had simply been waiting in formation... They'd had to move up to counter an Elyshan vessel that had approached about a half hour ago.

"Ma'am! Another vessel is approaching," Caitlyn (NPC) exclaimed. Technically the person at the Operations console probably should have been the one to announce it, but she had gotten excited seeing that another Federation ship would be in communications range soon.

"Can you open a channel to them? Isabel asked, standing and walking over to the Communications Officer.

Caitlyn frowned, "Not yet, ma'am. They should be in range shortly though."

[[USS Malinche, Beta Section]]

"I've got another vessel incoming," Joey (NPC) reported, looking up from his station.

Barrett had decided long ago that remaining sitting down as not something that was going to happen...at least not with the fleet bearing down on them.

"Elyshan?" Barrett asked.

"Negative," Joey responded. "Federation, it’s the Orlando."

"Well, at least thats one more ship to add to our side."

"Doesn't really even the odds," Ryan (NPC) grunted.

"Better then nothing," Barrett responded. "Any change in any of thier positions?"

Joey shook his head. Other then a move by a wing of fighters the Elyshan fleet appeared to be just sitting there in space, doing nothing. Barrett knew that wouldnt' last, although maybe with the appearence of the Orlando it would make them think twice.

"Any luck clearing up that jamming signal?" Barrett asked.

"No sir, we need a signal analyst for that. Whatever they are doing its damn good."

"Orders?" Ryan asked.

"Just like we have been doing...we wait."

[[USS Malinche, Gamma Section]]

“What do you think they’re waiting for,” Sychorski (NPC) asked from where he sat at the helm console to the forward of the bridge. The young man was looking at the large Elyshan fleet that had been visible on the viewscreen for the past few hours. His question vocalized the thought had been on all their minds since the Elyshans had first arrived. Other than a few brief exchanges between the station and the fleet, the two sides had pretty much been staring at each other.

“I’m sure they’re wondering the same thing about us,” Aaron replied from the center chair. He had also been watching the Elyshans on the viewscreen. Every so often, he would break the monotony by casting his gaze around the bridge, but it would always end up focused on the viewscreen again.

“Lieutenant,” Warrant Officer Bak (NPC) interjected, “Sensors have detected a vessel approaching at warp speed.” The Cardassian glanced toward the center of the bridge as he spoke, making eye contact with Aaron.

The presence of another starship could certainly alter the status quo, a dangerous action when engaged in a standoff such as the one they had been sitting in. To what extent that change would affect the situation depended on which side the approaching vessel was coming to support.

“Looks like someone else wants to join the party,” Mike (NPC) muttered under his breath. Aaron heard the remark but did not respond. Something was about to change and he wanted to be ready for whatever effects that would bring.

[[Main Bridge, USS Orlando]]

“Now entering the Aldani System,” Tobias announced as he watched the readouts on his console. The moment of truth was now at hand. They had been pushing the Orlando to her limits and then past them to reach Starbase 386, wondering what they would find there. Within a few moments, they would have their answer.

Quinn nodded and stood from his seat. "Take us out of warp, Commander. Mr. Saunders (NPC), open a channel to the Starbase."

Without a word, the El-Aurian slowed the Orlando to sublight speeds. The shuddering that had persisted throughout their journey faded away as the ship dropped to impulse power. No doubt Lieutenant Deveraux would have more than a few things to say once this whole situation was over. With that brief, humorous thought, Tobias turned his gaze up toward the main viewscreen.

Hearing his name, Jason looked over at the Commodore and nodded before turning back to his console. His fingers slid across, bringing up the available channels. Jason selected one and opened a communication line to the Starbase, "Channel open, sir."

"Starbase 386, this is Commodore Quinn Androski of the USS Orlando." Quinn announced over the comm channel. "I hope we're not intruding, Captain Lange, but we heard you were having a party and wanted to join the fun."

Jason once again turned to look at the Commodore. At least the man had a sense of humor about the situation. If this was a party though, Jason would have preferred to stay home. One thing was for sure - he certainly wouldn't be bored at this party...

[[Operations, Starbase 386]]

Lange grinned to himself as the commodore’s voice came over the speaker. Tapping a quick command into the panel in front of him, he replied, “The more the merrier, Commodore. I hope you brought your own drinks, though, the punch fountain’s a little low.”

[[Main Bridge, USS Orlando]]

Quinn smirked, it was good to hear the commander of 386 was able to play along in the stressful situation he was in. "I think we're good here, Captain. The Orlando stands ready to assist, just tell us where to go."

Though slightly surprised that the Starbase's Commanding Officer would be making jokes at a time like this, Janis could also understand it. When faced with a situation that seemed utterly absurd - such as being surrounded by 237 enemy vessels - there was little else one could do. It was a mechanism to deal with the situation and make it seem not as bad. Being uptight only increased the likelihood for more mistakes. Janis looked down at the tactical readout on her console...it definitely seemed absurd to her.

[[Operations, Starbase 386]]

Lange looked down at the situation table and considered the arrangement for a moment. Much like the Ticonderoga, the Orlando wasn't going to be able to get through the fleet on their own if the Elyshans decided to take exception to ships crossing their "picket line." "You're not too far from the USS Ticonderoga, Commodore," Lange replied. "Take up a position to support them for now. I don't want to provoke the Elyshans by having you try to run their blockade. If a firefight starts you may be able to take out a few of them from behind. Otherwise, just be ready to move out of the way if they decide removing us isn't worth an all-out war with every major power in two quadrants."

OFF

Commodore Quinn Androski
Commanding Officer
USS Orlando

and

Captain James Lange
Commanding Officer
Starbase 386

and

Lieutenant Commander Jason Barrett
Executive Officer
USS Malinche

and

Lieutenant Commander Tobias Naros
Chief Flight Control Officer/Second Officer
USS Orlando

and

Lieutenant JG Aaron Masterson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche

And

Various NPCs
Played by:
Captain Isabel Kersare, USS Malinche (Alpha Section NPCs)
Lieutenant Commander Jason Barrett, USS Malinche (Beta Section NPCs)
Lieutenant JG Aaron Masterson, USS Malinche (Gamma Section NPCs)
Lieutenant Aniela Darvetti, USS Orlando (Orlando NPCs)

and