USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

<<USS Malinche>>
<<Bridge, 0950, day 20>>

OLD:

Grayson considered the information P'ayanna had just given him. "So, they were removed from the High Council because they killed defenseless people," said he, thinking aloud. "Their presence here could be an indication of some kind of scheme to make them regain honor, somehow."

P'ayanna nodded the affirmative, not out of an intention to disrespect his position but, rather, because he was still speaking.

Mark looked over the Tactical console before looking at P'ayanna."Do you think they have enough manpower to help one faction?"

"They are Klingon warriors," P'ayanna stated. "On the ground, we are in our element. One brigade of shock troops would influence what one faction could accomplish. If juH raQ'tor gains power here, claiming a world or riches for the Empire, then perhaps it might help them restore their good standing."

Of course, she didn't state the obvious: interference on a Federation world was tantamount to an act of war. juH raQ'tor did not honor the alliance and risked much (if her suspicions proved true) for her people. It made her wish that they would dare to come into the open and face her so that she could pave the decks with their blood.

"Thank you, Cadet. You honor me sharing your information with me. I'll see you later." With that, Mark limped his way to the Captain, who needed know this ASAP in order to properly plan the Malinche's next move.

"Qapla'," P'ayanna replied, beginning to feel the excitement of the battle that was likely coming soon.

OFF: thanks to Grayson for snippets
_________________
Cadet P'ayanna
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche
NCC-38897-B

ON: <<USS Malinche>>
<Holodeck 1, Day 20, 1000>

Everyone had already arrived and the meeting had begun. The holodeck was once again filled with table and chairs filled with the bodies of the tactical staff. Cheetara was pacing back and forth going over all of the information that had been given, stressing key factors that could possibly interfer with the mission.

"Now. This will be our last simulation before we reach Celtron V. We need to make sure that everyone is prepared for what is ahead. We don't have that much info on what is to be expected. All we know is that some kind of battle is about to take place, and that the Chancellor has been taken hostage. P'yanna will be taking care of the search and rescue with an away team of her choosing while we defend the space. We may have to split into MVA mode, which is why these simulations are important. We CAN NOT afford to mess up on this. It is IMPERATIVE that tactical run smoothly so we can succeed in this mission. If for any reason you think that you are not going to be able to stay calm, you need to let me know NOW!"

Cheetara stopped pacing and looked around the room at all the faces in order to see the reactions on their faces.

"Now, let's begin the simulation. Computer, begin program Thundera 17 Omega."

<2 hours later>

"Computer, end program" Came Cheetara's voice.

The holodeck went to it's original state of black with green lines forming checkered patterns along the walls, floor, and ceiling. Cheetara stood there facing everyone with no expression on her face at all, waiting for to see if someone spoke up before she said anything. After a moment when noone said anything, she spoke.

"Very good." she began. "However, the simulations can only prepare you for the battle. I hope that you remember all that we have done when it comes down to the real thing. Everyone go back to your posts. I want reports on all tactical systems from your respective positions. Dismissed."

Cheetara watched as everyone filed out of the holodeck. She was the last one to leave. As she told everyone else to get to the respective positions, she did the same. She headed for the bridge. She was sure that their had to be more info on what was going on by now.

<Bridge, 1210>

Cheetara entered and went to her station. She looked over at the Captain. "My men have done well in the simulations. I believe they are ready for action. Any more news of what's going on?"

OFF: tag Captain.

<<Outside Science Labs, 0952, Day 20>>

Isabel still wasn't overly happy about P'ayanna and Mark having their little rumble in the holodeck, however, it seemed to have brought them to an understanding, which was good. She was also interested to see how Amanda and P'ayanna got along during the hostage rescue...

Leaving the doctor to get ready for the away missions - the hostage rescue and the medical team assisting the So'Kra - Isabel headed towards the science labs. Petra had sent her some information the previous day and she was eager to find out what else the young officer had come up with.

Entering the science labs, Isabel spotted Petra on the other side of the room. She headed that way and spoke when she got closer, "Good morning Ensign."

Petra looked up from her console, a smile spreading across her face as the captain approached. "Captain! It's so nice to see you! I was going to be contacting you soon regarding our findings." She walked towards Isabel. "I also wanted to say that I'm so, so, so, SO sorry for the speed we've been progressing at. After all the database errors and whatnot we've been a little behind schedule."

She paused for a moment. "The Database error puts me to mind of a time when my brothers, Dalte and Rivlis, screwed around with the replicators back home... not sure if I ever told you that story. All they would ever replicate were mudpies." She chuckled lightly as she continued. "That was a very messy error."

Isabel grinned. "Actually I do remember you telling me that story. And don't worry, I realize that the errors would hinder your findings; so long as I get them, that's fine." Looking around, she noticed the astrometrics officer missing. "Where is Ensign Riker?"

Petra quickly glanced around the Lab, then slapped her forehead as Isabel mentioned Riker's name. "Yea, I contacted Ensign Riker earlier, but he ended up saying that he wasn't feeling very well." She sighed. "I need him here, but I don't think forcing him to come in when he's not feeling well. I told him he should go to Sickbay, but he said it wasn't that serious."

"Well, I certainly hope he starts feeling better soon; we may need some more of his skills," Isabel nodded towards the display in front of Petra, "What are you working on?"

She looked over where the captain nodded. "Oh! I was reviewing all the information that we were finally recieving data, thanks to the ship's super awesome Engineers. They should all get medals for being incredible miracle workers... The Scotty Award!" She pulled the captain over. "Actually, ma'am, it's information about the wormhole that this entirely silly dispute is over."

Isabel grinned at Petra's enthusiastic attitude. She did seem to have a rather simplistic view of things though, like her comment about the 'entirely silly dispute'...It may seem silly to the young girl, but not so all around. "First off Ensign, I'd like to remind you that although the matter may seem silly to you, it is a very serious matter for the Celtronians - some have already been killed over it and a man has been kidnapped. That said, what have you found out?"

Petra looked at the captain. "But there's no need for it, ma'am. I mean, if they both looked past their own differences they would find more common ground instead of killing each other. I meant no disrespect." She finished as she pointed Isabel to the monitor. "The wormhole appears to be stable. It's stability and surrounding particles are almost the same as those found at the Bajoran Wormhole."

"Would it be safe to travel through this wormhole, since you say it's stable?" If the wormhole itself wasn't stable enough for travel, Isabel thought, there was nothing to fight over anyway - the To'Ma wouldn't be able to go through.

Petra looked at Isabel. "Oh, definitely ma'am. I would have no fears what-so-ever of a ship going through." She pushed a few buttons on the console and a scanned map of the wormhole was brought up onscreen. "As you can see from this diagram from our gathered scans, " she tapped a few other buttons and brought up a map of the Bajoran Wormhole "and the map of the Bajoran Wormhole, this one is just as safe for travelling as the one located at Bajor."

"Well, there goes that thought," Isabel mused, getting a closer look at the maps. "Alright, it's safe for travel, what else can you tell me?"

Petra looked back at the screen, pressed a few buttons and layed the general mapped Wormhole onto the Galactic Map, a blip simulating a vessel travelling through the wormhole. "Actually, ma'am, this wormhole travels deeper into the Beta Quadrant, past both regions of Klingon and Romulan space." She zoomed in closer to where the wormhole ended. We know extremely little about this region of space. All I can tell you is that it ends about 50 light years away from a planet called Canopus."

Isabel considered this news. "I can't say my travels have taken me to Canopus, let alone beyond it. Allowing limited travel through the wormhole may be beneficial, although I imagine the Federation would want to send some vessels through to explore it to make sure there are no hostile races or dangerous areas first....Do you have more information, Ensign?"

Petra shook her head. "This is actually completely theory based from our scans. I have to admit though, I'm so very excited to see the other side. I could be a part of something really, really, really big here."

Nodding, Isabel replied, "Ensign...earlier you said that this wormhole is 'almost' like the Bajoran wormhole. What did you mean?"

"OH! Yes, I almost forgot!" She brought the screen back to the original scans of the wormhole. "Wormholes, as we all know are composed of many of the same particles. In this case, the particles are all present, with the addition of a few others that our scans picked up." Zooming the screen closer to this end of the wormhole, she displayed the layout of the normal particles of the wormhole.

"This is what the wormhole should look like." She indicated by nodding at the screen. "But our scans detected residule Tachion particles near the wormhole itself." She inputted the actual scans of the wormhole, the Tachion particles became visible. "Now, this could also be mixed up data from the database after scanning the Klingons following us, but these particles indicate a larger vessel." She finished, looking up at the Captain.

"A larger vessel near the wormhole? Can you tell how large of ship it would be, based on the amount of particles, or if the ship has been in the wormhole?" The Celtronians, as far as Isabel knew, didn't have any really large ships, they were mid-size at best... However, as Petra had mentioned, the data could be corrupted due to the sabotage and database errors. Still worth keeping in mind though.

Petra sighed. "Actually, I was just about to run tests like that now." She looked at the scans again. "If I had to guess though, I'd have to rule out Romulan Cloaking technology... it's not nearly as sloppy as what we're reading. It's actually similar to a vessel larger than the Malinche, perhaps of Klingon design." She pointed at the scans of the particles. "I doubt they were in the wormhole. The particles are too focused and centralized, perhaps investigating the wormhole on their own is my best guess."

Isabel nodded, "So it is possible we have an enemy already there...which would actually support the idea that there is someone else helping the To'Ma, and most likely Klingons which would help explain the vessel following us. Interesting. Anything more you can tell me Ensign Mavose?"

She looked at the captain, not having the slightest clue what she was going on about. "I could run checks on the particles and what we know about Klingon Cloaking technology and come up with a few matches. I could also give you an approximation on how long they've been around." She looked at the screen again. "Once again, this is all assuming that this iformation is accurate."

"Please do run those checks, Ensign. I want as much information as you can possibly get. I'd rather be prepared than go into a situation completely blind. I certainly hope the information is accurate...considering that engineering has been checking the databases daily, I would think most of those errors have been fixed," Isabel said.

Petra started running the tests, comparing the ship's databases to the scans and running the residule Tachion particles through a series of equations. "Actually ma'am, I could have that all ready for you in a mere matter of moments. The ship's computers can run through these types of scans and combine data in mere moments, making my job easier." She finished, running her hand over the console.

Smiling, Isabel looked at Petra, "Very well, thank you Ensign. I take it you've taken a liking to the Malinche's computers and science labs then?"

"Well, I'm definitely not complaining. The ones back at the Academy were more laggy, thanks to the countless other users." She stood up straight and stretched, turning to look at Isabel. "I'll be honest, I love it here. My entire family has been through Starfleet... Dad's a Commanding Officer, Mom's at the Academy and Riv is the Commanding Officer of Obsdian Command."

"Obsidian Command, hmm? Quite impressive. I'm very glad that you like it here," Isabel said. It always pleased her to know that her crew enjoyed being on the ship. "And how are you finding the rest of the crew?" She decided that while they were waiting for the results, she could talk with her Chief Science Officer a little more.

"I haven't met much of the other crew yet. Yourself, Ensign Riker, Ensign Harrison, Cadet P'ayanna..." He eyes sunk. "Did you know that Klingons have no like for Group Hugs? I mean, how many people don't like group hugs? Everyone back at the Academy liked them. Everyone back home liked them. But nooooo... nobody likes them here."

Isabel's eyes went wide for a moment...Petra had tried to group hug with a Klingon?? Even Isabel wouldn't have tried that one...the girl definitely had guts, that was for sure. Either that or she didn't have common intelligence. Laughing as Petra continued her spiel on group hugs, Isabel then replied, "Well, Ensign, not everyone likes the same things - if they did, the universe would be quite dull. I'm certain that some people here like group hugs, but I wouldn't recommend trying a group hug with a Klingon again."

Petra pouted. "It would be dull, but everyone would be in peace... and I wouldn't have a sore bottom..."

"A sore..," Isabel began, "Let me guess, Cadet P'ayanna's reaction to the group hug?" She placed a hand on Petra's shoulder, smiling at her, "Try not to take it to heart, she just isn't accustomed to some things, like hugs. Things are going well with the others though, are they not?"

Petra nodded sheepishly. She was about to mention that she liked 'Rebekah' more than 'Two', but was interrupted as the console started beeping, letting her know that it finished it's analysis of the data. She motioned Isabel over to have a look at it with her.

Hearing the console beep and seeing Petra motioning her over, Isabel followed her. "Results are in, I take it. What have you found?"

Petra began looking through the data. "There is more than likely a ship already there, and it's Klingon in design. According to the degradation of the Tachion Particles and taking in account the effect the wormhole would have on them, the computer says they've been around for a minimum of four days... I would assume longer, perhaps eight or nine days." She brought up a list of Klingon vessels. "The ship could be anything from a Vor'Cha to Negh'Var Class. I can't give anything more specific than that without more accurate scans."

Isabel nodded, "Very good Ensign, at least we have a better idea of what we're up against. Although it is curious that the ship would merely sit and wait there, especially for that long, without acting. We're getting closer to Celtron V, so you'll have your more accurate scans then. Is there anything more you can tell me, or hypothesize?"

Petra looked at her monitor and slightly shook her head. "Sometimes sitting and waiting is the best strategy as opposed to acting. I mean, if they think we don't know they're there, they have the advantage of surprise. Maybe they are acting already?" She looked at Isabel. "That's all I can think of. I'm sorry I can't be of much more use."

"Quite the contrary; you've been a great help. The information you've provided will prove very useful in the negotiations and in other matters regarding the ships surrounding Celtron V. And you have a point, Ensign, perhaps they are using that strategy," Isabel said. Technically, if the Klingons were the ones helping the Celtronians they had breached that strategy somewhat, although they had not revealed themselves as of yet. "Thank you very much; I'm quite impressed with your knowledge," she smiled.

Blushing, Petra turned from the captain. "Uhh... ummm... Thanks. And you're more than welcome." She stammered. "I can't wait to see the other side of that Wormhole, to be honest. We'll see things that nobody in the Federation has ever seen."

Smiling at Petra, Isabel responded, "First things first Ensign, we must negotiate some form of peace on Celtron V, and most likely we'll need to deal with this Klingon vessel you've found. But I do hope we shall come back again and perhaps see what lies on the other side of the Wormhole."

Smiling from ear to ear, Petra nodded to the Captain. "That would be so super awesome! I'll then have to tell everyone back home! And then Riv! I can laugh at him since he's stuck on a Starbase while I'm out flying among the stars in such an incredible ship! I mean, how often do people get the chance to visit a new region of space? Very, very few. I'm so excited I could pop!"

Isabel chuckled, "I'd prefer that you didn't pop Ensign; I'd much rather have you in one pieces, although I am glad you're so excited. Indeed it would be an exciting opportunity. We'll see what StarFleet says about it. If anything new comes up, you'll be sure to tell me?"

"For sure, ma'am!"

The Captain shook her head slightly, smiling...some of these expressions the Ensign used... Ah well. "Very good. If you have nothing further, other things are waiting to be attended to."

"Yes ma'am. I'll keep an eye on anything else scans pick up."

"Thank you. Keep up the excellent work. Good day Ensign," Isabel said as she got up to leave.

Petra stood up with the captain and nodded. "No problem ma'am. You have a super-awesome day too." she said with a smile.

Isabel chuckled, waving good-bye as headed out the door. Never a dull moment when that girl was around.

OFF: This JP brought to you by

Ensign Petra Mavose
Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche

and

<<USS Malinche>>
<<Deck Five, Day 20, 0710>>

A pitcher of fizzling emerald liquid, atop an inactive widescreen PADD, atop a cage containing something furry and cooing, atop a brick of Idanian rock candy, atop an engineering case filled with empty tricorder casings, atop a wide cylindrical tube that was strobing light in various colours, atop two folded plaid kilts, atop another couple of PADDS, atop a pair of legs, all strolled out of a turbolift. (There also appeared to be a pair of arms jumbled in the mess; although one arm was wrapped up in a vine, which trailed behind the legs like a tail.)

With his specifically selected gear piled up in his arms -- and therefore blocking his view -- Ensign Viraj could only hope that no one else on deck five was carrying as many items as he was. His hope proved to be well-founded, when a nonplussed human Engineer strode well clear of Viraj, as he came down the passageway from the opposite direction. Once the Engineer was close enough to see the hairless Deltan behind the pile of cases, Viraj casually blurted, "Team conjugal exercise," as if that explained it. The Engineered continued to walk past Viraj, with only more confusion in his eyes.

Viraj turned to face him, and so couldn't see him from behind the tower of objects in his grasp, and corrected himself with an exasperated, "I meant team joining exercise! No, I mean team forming exercise. Team... bonding? Team building? Trust breeding?"

At 'I meant...', the Engineer had already boarded the 'lift, and had turbo'd away.

With a carefree mental shrug, since a physical shrug would certainly have caused a topple, Viraj continued on his course down the passageway. Having already memorised the location of the science lab that was furthest from the bridge, and how many steps it would take to reach the lab, Viraj arrived without incident. "Hello," he declared brightly as he stepped through the threshold. He turned back and forth, looking for a flat surface to set down the tower of team-building-exercise-tools, but only found downsloping computer consoles. All the while, he went on, "I am Ensign Viraj, the Assistant Chief Science Officer. But you can call me Viraj. Please don't call me Vee, or Rahj. Thank you, kindly."

Managing to firmly set down the pitcher, the cage, the case, the PADDs, the candy, the light tube, the kilts and the vine -- without spilling a drop of the fizzy juice -- Viraj slightly puffed up his chest, in a half-moment of self congratulation. And then he noticed that he was entirely alone in the science lab.

"Oh." Viraj deflated.

For the past three weeks, Viraj had been familiarising himself with the Science department by working as a member of each of the late shifts. His intention had been to personally get to know all of the officers who would normally be working when he would normally be sleeping, and made sure to learn about the strengths, weaknesses and peculiarities of every one of the labs. His team building exercises had gone over well with the night shifters, and he hoped to repeat his success with members of alpha shift, who would be his permanent colleagues. In addition to making himself known in his department, there had been other benefits to working the night shifts.

There was generally more time to focus on the Malinche's secondary mission objectives, such as the Toro botany experiment, the analysis of stellar cartography data from the Sunari sector, and the extensive upkeep that needed to be performed on the scientific databases of late. After his own shift, he also found that there were fewer patrons of the gymnasium and the holodeck during the primary day shift, giving him ample opportunity to maintain his calisthenics schedule, to get in some traditional Deltan wrestling, and to begin learning archery. He always liked to learn something new at the start of a new assignment.

"I'm sorry, sir" Petty Officer Esthero (NPC) muttered as she stepped into the science lab. "Did you want a team of technicians in here today? I don't believe it was on the schedule."

"No, I suppose I got my schedule contorted. I'm probably supposed to be in Astrometrics, or Science Lab One, or the Bridge? It's my first day on alpha shift and my circadian rhythm hasn't adapted yet," Viraj replied, blinking the lack of sleep out of his eyes. "Team building will have to wait. ...There's got to be somewhere I'm supposed to be..."

"I believe our historian specialist is awaiting you in your office," Esthero provided cheerily.

Thoughtfully rubbing his lower lip with a pair of fingertips, Viraj responded, "...I have an office?"

And then the light tube cracked and shattered, sending the pile of team-building-exercise-tools crashing down to the deckplates.

Sarcastically, Viraj sighed, "Tasty."
_________________
Ensign Viraj
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche
NCC 38997-B

ON: 1100. Turbolift. Halting at Deck Four.

Ensign Kai rubbed her tired face and nearly lost her sense of up versus down when the turbolift halted, more sharply than she remembered it ever doing before.

Lieutenant Abubakar Jaran exhaled deeply as the turbolift doors before him opened, last night had not been a restfull night. He had been up thinking of combat scenarios and flight manauvers should things turn ugly at Celtron, as they most likely would. He cast an unapporoving look at the fatigued Ensign who was nearly falling over herself.

Sharon quickly re-composed herself and stood bolt upright as a Superior Officer walked in and gave her an arrogant and annoyed look. She hated that, arrogance, with a passion. Still, she smiled and said "Morning"

Abubakar rolled his eyes, he was like a Vulcan in this respect; he saw no point in small-talk. "Yes, it is." he said in a mocking voice. "Bridge" he ordered the lift.

She turned to face him at his condescending remark and caught herself, she suddenly stopped, noticing for the first time how attractive he was. Tall than her, broad and muscular. Very tanned, almost golden skin. "I..." she began, without a word to go after it, which was probably a good thing then when the turbolift doors opened to reveal most of Alpha Shift already on the bridge.

Abubakar turned slightly out of reaction when the strange Ensign wheeled round at him, all through the very brief moment that passed he did very little but check her out. "Great ass" he breathed as they disembarked the turbolift. He shook his head as he walked over to the Helm. "Move" he ordered the duty helm officer, who oblidged quite quickly. He sat down and took a quick reading. "Celtron in approximately One-point-nine hours Captain, at present speed."

<Tag Keptin>

Sharon slumped into her uncomfortabe chair-come-stool at the aft of the bridge and slowly lowered her head onto Ryan's shoulder for a few seconds. "Rough night?" he asked.
"Rough ride, and I predict a few rough nights in the near future"
Tamlin was probably going to inquire further but visibly restrained himself.
Sharon leaned over closer to him and whispered, "That Helm Lieutenant. See his right arm?"
Tamlin quickly glanced over to Lieutenant Jaran, then back to Kai. "Yeah?"
"The red band tied round it, he's part of the Pah Wraith cult."
"Pah wraith?!" he answered, astounded and far too loud.

Abubakar had been trained in Intelligence to listen well, so when he heard the words "Pah Wraith" exclaimed near to where Ensign Crazy was sat, his ears pricked up. He turned slightly and then decided it best not to debate religion on the bridge and so turned back to his console again.

After a brief and angered exchange of words under whispers, Kai pointed to the turbolift and Tamlin left. She liked the man, but he was an ass at times. But in the short time they had known eachother, they had develeoped a level of understanding.

"Ensign Kai, inform Celtron of our arrival time and that we will be sending medical and security teams" the Captain ordered.

"Yes ma'am" Kai replied, the began to modify her equipment quickly to the right frequency.

"Celtron, this is Malinche, do you read?"

"Malinche this is Celtron, we hear you." came the slightly-edged static reply.

"I need to speak with Tekel Osrad please, this is Ensign Kai, Chief of Communications" Kai requested politely.

"Yes, of course, I'll send for him immediately. Standby Malinche"

<Tag Osrad>

Lieutenant Abubakar ran his hands through his hair and tried to stifle a yawn, which surprisingly worked. He made a course correction to avoid a rather sizeable asteroid and then put them back on course. Knowing he'd have a couple of hours of doing very little, he decided to open up the Shuttlebay Emergency Landing Protocol and read and revise it, since he was Flight Control Officer he thought it best.

OFF:

A joint post between

Ensign Sharon Kai
Chief Communications Officer
U.S.S Malinche

and

OFF: My first tag! *Glows* Thank you. And again, let me know if I step outta bounds...

ON:

<<So'Kra Council, Celtron V, 1110, Day 20>>

"Hey, Orsad!" Miltuk (NPC) yelled from the comm station.

"If you're going to tell me it's broken again," Tekel grumbled as he strode over, "I think my nose will start bleeding again."

"Well we'll be spared the mess. It's not the clearest transmission, but it's definately functional; Starfleet's calling."

Tekel's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"

"The Malinche," the communications officer elaborated with a nod. "One Ensign Kai for you."

Taking a leaping stride the rest of the way to the comm station, the ragged diplomat wasted no more time in switching the audio link back on and answering, "Ensign Kai, this is Tekel Orsad of the Cardassian detachment."

The woman's voice that prickled over the channel was only just coherent. "This is the USS Malinche. We we be arriving at your location in about one point nine hours."

"About time," Orsad replied, the grim smile almost audible in his voice. "We've cobbled together a damage report, and things aren't looking pretty."

"We will be sending medical and security teams upon arrival," Kai assured him.

"Thank you, Starfleet." A heavy sigh heaved through him. At least now things were starting to pull together.
_________________
Warrant Officer Tekel Orsad
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer (to be)
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B

When I was a kid I claimed that all the warring worlds should set aside their differences and bloody well get along. That argument still stands, only now it needs a cane.

<<Bridge, 1214, Day 20>>

Isabel looked over at Cheetara. "Good to hear Lieutenant. Nothing new thus far. The So'Kra know we'll be there in a little less than an hour." She spotted Mason off to the side and walked over to him. "How are things going, Commander? Anything specific to report?"

Without sounding redunant Mason turned to her, "Everything is status quote Captain. How goes everything with you?"

"Just fine. I talked with our Chief Science Officer earlier about the wormhole, and a few other things. I felt it might be vital to our negotiations, which I'd like you to be present for," she told him.

" What did our people down there find out?, of course Captain but with the klingons at our back door shouldn't I remain aboard ?"

"The wormhole is stable, meaning ships could pass through it. Also, there is evidence that a large Klingon vessel has been there for many days already," Isabel said. "My guess is that they might be the ones helping the To'Ma. I'm waiting for further information from Lieutenant Grayson. And actually the negotiations will be taking place on board the ship, seems more neutral."

"Seems logical to have them here, has command been informed of this wormhole being stable. What do they plan on doing about security?"

Isabel smiled, "Slow down Commander. I believe the Science department will be informing StarFleet about the wormhole's conditions. We'll tell the Celtronians about it when we start negotiations. As for Security...some of our security officers are going down to try to retrieve Garshon Trelin (NPC) - they'll be led by Cadet P'ayanna. The rest will be here to take care of ship security and tactical responsibilities. Lieutenant Thundera has been running the tactical officers through some simulations, actually."

Mason wasn't trying to be overly excited, but sat there as Isabel continued.

"We recently sent a message to a man named Tekel Orsad, who is helping with negotiations to let him know we're on our way. I can't think of many other things we need to do to prepare, to be honest. Perhaps have a final check with engineering, find out what Lieutenant Grayson has learned, and also talk with Ensign Navdante about how dynamics would have changed now that there's been a kidnapping. Can you think of anything else? Or are there any of those three things that you in particular would like to check on?" Isabel looked over at Mason.

"Well I don't think engineering needs me poking about down there, perhaps we should go over the meeting room arrangements just so that we don't have anyone complaining about who has the better view?"

Isabel chuckled, "Sure, we can do that. What did you have in mind?"

"Each of the chairs should have at least....," Mason started. A call came from the tactical position.

Turning to face the tactical position, Isabel spoke, "What is it?"

"I'm picking two ships on an intercept course. Now a message claiming they are our escourts," replied the tactical officer.

"I wasn't aware we'd be having any escorts, were you Commander?"

"No, ensign request a security clearance code." said Mason racing over to watch what the officer was observing on her sensors. "They are have stopped responding and have activated their weapon systems."

Just what we need... "Go to red alert and raise shields," Isabel commanded, moving to the center of the bridge. "What kind of ships are they?"

"The designs don't conform to any know design, they are targeting our aft shields." said Mason. The ship was attacked from all sides until the shields were weakening.

"Captain, I'm reading transporter signatures on decks sixteen and main engineering. A total of four ma'am." said the security officer.

Mason shouted aloud, "All hands intruder alert security teams to main engineering and deck sixteen."

Isabel didn't like this at all. "I want everyone ready for anything. Tactical, return fire - I don't want them destroyed, just disabled; we need to figure out who they are and why they're attacking us." She tapped her comm badge, "Kersare to Security teams, keep me informed about the intruders."

After their response, she tapped her commbadge again, "Engineering, damage report."

OFF: Tag crew! Seems our XO has created some excitement for before we even get to the planet. Wink FYI, this is the To'Ma attacking us, with a few of the rogue Klingons helping.

JP by:

Commander Mason Hunt
Executive Officer
USS Malinche

and

ON Bridge: 1217 Day 20.

Ensign Kai quickly opened a channel to the approaching vessels, "This is the Federation Starship Malinche. Transmit Security Clearance Code" she ordered.
She winced a few seconds later as the ship was pelted from all sides, clutching onto her console as she was shaken around. She swiftly relayed the CO and XO's orders over the comm. She was panicking, she'd never been in combat before and she was sweating, barely managing to get a good hit on her buttons.

Lieutenant Jaran braced himself against the helm as the attack commenced. He remained calm, cool and fired up the impulse engines to full power, quickly. Everyone on the ship was pushed backwards for a second as the interial dampners caught up to compensate. It was a simple move, shooting off really fast in one direction. But it gave him a few seconds to turn the ship around to give Tactical a better arc of fire.

Kai's stomach felt like it was being pushed down as the Helm Officer made a sickening turn, rotating the ship on two of its axis' at a dead halt, yawing the ship 180 degrees to port and pitching it hard port to present the dorsal phaser array as it turned.

Jaran winced slightly as an ODN line overloaded in his console, spraying his face and right arm with burning hot plastics and metal. He gritted his teeth as the pain seared through him and pressed home his firing run. He quickly glanced at his status readout after the next volley of weapons slammed into the hull and caused a small fire to erupt at the aft of the bridge. "Captain, they're targetting our impulse engines! My engines are becoming heavy!" He caught himself again as another hit struck home and rocked the ship.

Sharon tried desperately to get through to Engineering to get a report on the intruders, the only sounds she recieved down the open channel was weapons fire not unlike what had been on one of the transmissions from Celtron V. As she worked her console, she looked to the left of her and met eyes with a fellow Ensign who looked just as nervous and terrified as Sharon felt, she chanced an uneasy smile that was supposed to be reassuring and then turned back to her console, breathing deeply. Using her own command clearance as a Senior Officer, she tried to lock-down Engineering. It worked. "Captain!" she shouted over the noise. "I've erected level four forcefields around Engineering, that should keep them contai--" she never finished the end of her word as the console next to her overloaded and busrt into flame. The force of the blast sent her sprawling onto the floor, her hands and the left side of her face erupted with white-hot pain. She struggled to get up but couldn't muster the energy, she looked over at a form on the floor and recognized it to be the broken body of the Ensign that had been at the console next to her. She could barely hear, well not anything above the high-pitched sound that rung out in her ears anyway, a warm and wet feeling down her face told her she was bleeding. A blue-shirt hurried over to her, tripping along the way as a result of another blast, he said something inaudible and then pressed a hypo against her neck. The cool liquid raced through her and she gently faded out of consciousness.

Abubakar tried hard to rotate, pitch and yaw the ship to defend the engines and also to give Tactical a good shot. He pressed the button on his console that would light up a message on the Tactical console, indicating he was preparing for a torpedo run. He rolled the ship 160 degrees to port and then pulled a relative 'up'. This move meant they were effective diving upside down to what their previous trajectory had been, and gave Tactical a few seconds to throw out a torpedo volley. It was a half-foolish move as it presented their aft once the other ships had banked into a pursuit, hopefuly Thundera would be able to throw off enough shots to get rid of them, as he was fast running out of ideas to shake them off. The other ships might not be as advanced, but damn they were faster...

<tags to Captain, Hunt, Thundera. bridge>

A JP by

Lieutenant Abubakar Jaran
Chief Helmsperson
U.S.S Malinche

and
_________________

Ensign Sharon Kai
Chief Communications Officer
USS Malinche
NCC-38897-B

<Engineering, Day 20 1217>

Rebekah was busy in Engineering. The ship was taking hits. For once, her preplanning was coming in handy. They were ready to do repairs as soon as something broke. It was not fast enough but it was faster than trying to divert people to the spot where they were needed.

"Red alert, folks. I want to seal the Engineering section where it will take them a while to burn through and get into here," she called out.

Two was busy trying to determine where everyone was on the Mali. She was busy getting the computer to detect where life signs were being detected. One by one, she was removing the combadge signals from each of the levels.

"I see three people heading for Engineering," she called out.

"Forcefield is up in the sections you had them installed at" came from another engineer.

Two, if she was human, would have smiled. But this was Two, the ex-Borg. She was too busy to stop and smile.

"I want to have all four of the force fields up and running," she ordered.

"They are holding strong."

As the first force field was burned through, the invaders would be caught by the next one. Meanwhile, the first one was going to be repaired, forcing them to either continue for Engineering or to burn their way OUT of the corridor. Two felt like she could count on them continuing towards Engineering. Once Engineering was captured, the main computer could be hacked into and the command of the ship could be rerouted from the bridge to the enemy's command there.

They had two members of Security in Engineering with them. That was not enough but still.....Two was wishing that one of the two was P'ayanna since P'ayanna was as mean as four men herself. Two was nothing if she wasn't resourceful.

"Get ready for anything, Two called.

<<USS Malinche>>
<Bridge, 1219, Day 20>>

The klaxons sounded louder than ever before, like birds flying from a nest after having been scared security officers took stances at every access point to the bridge. Mason grabbed his hand phaser and whipped into its holster.

He grabbed another one and tossed it to Kersare, she was racing around the bridge getting reports on the ship?s intruders. The ship continued to be attacked but this time on the port side.

?Captain, they are trying to take out our port shield emitters. The one thing I don?t understand is why. That wouldn?t do anything. Either they are really stupid or have a hidden agenda.?

<Tag Kersare>

Two klingons managed to take out three security guards and made their way into one of the auxiliary power generator rooms attaching a couple of explosive devices to it and vanished.

?Ma?am, now reading energy build on deck ten section four one. I can?t make out the signature.? Said Mason.

Both ships began to move off with the Malinche in pursuit.

OFF: Tag Kersare and Crew!

<<USS Malinche>>
<Bridge, 1219, Day 20>

"I don't really care why," Jason responded from operations. "Just that they don't seem to get the job done."

Another volley rocked the Malinche from the stern as the smaller vessels made yet another strafing run. Phaser fire darted out from the arrays, striking the ships but apparenlty not doing any real damage.

"Why aren't we doing anything to them?" Kersare asked, looking at Jason.

"I have no clue sir," Jason responded. "Thier sheilds appear to be holding though, ours are down to 60..."

The Malinche shuddered again.

"Make that 50%," Jason reported. "Energy signature in that area has been identitifed...its a bomb!"

Kersare didn't even have to be given the order, Jason's hands flew over the displays so fast that the bomb had been beamed away moments after it materialized. However, things were not going to go that well for the crew of the Malinche. The bomb appeared right outside the Malinche's upper port nacelle...and then promptly blew apart, shattering the sheilds in that area.

The explosion sent arcs of electricity through every station on the bridge, blowing out more then one power conduit. Jason's displays were now flashing red in more areas then one.

"At least that didn't blow up in here," Mason said.

"You have a point there," Kersare responded. "Damage report?"

"Sheilds have been heavily damaged, hull appears intact though. Our upper port nacelle is venting plasma though," Jason responded. He gripped his station as the Malinche shook again.

OFF: tag all!

1220 Day 20

"Engaging pursuit Captain" he reported as the other ships veered away from Malinche in an apparent retreat.

He heard the word 'bomb' coming from aft and after a second of listening, realised that OPS was trying to beam it off the ship.

Abubakar quickly noticed it when it appeared on his sensor display right by the port nacelle, he quickly tried to bank to starboard to minimize the damage it was likely to create.

The ship shook tremendously, ODN lines and various other conduits blew out all over the bridge, a whispy layer of white smoke blanketed the crew. "Captain" he coughed, "the upper port nacelle is overloading, I'm also reading heavy damage to the port imulse engine, it's causing a surge reaction back through the drive. I have to shut down impulse and that nacelle or we'll be history."

Without waiting for approval, since he knew better anyway, he opened a line to engineering, "Engineering, overload, clamp off lines to the upper port pylon" He then quickly fired commands into the helm, trying to re-route all the power that was in the Impulse manifolds elsewhere, otherwise the engine would completely overload with no where for the energy to go to when the drive was shut down. He input the shutdown sequence into the computer, the starboard engine re-routed the energy fine automaticly, but the port one was damaged and had to be shunted manualy. "Screw it" he said as the overload countdown went to critical.

He shut down the drive and the ship felt like it jumped, the feedback through the cold drive from the excess energy had been enough to completely destroy the power conduits to that engine.

"Captain, port imulse engine inoperable, it's going to take us at least a few hours to get it workable. Impulse drive is cold and..." he glanced down at his status monitor, "upper port nacelle is cold too."

He turned to face the Captain and noticed the wierd ensign he had met in the lift being carried out on a stretcher, she looked like she was burnt and he head had clearly been bleeding profusely.

"It wasn't so much what we were hit with, it was where. We just hit an exposed and vulnerable area when the bomb was beamed out. We're not going anywhere for a little while, sir." The whole time he had been talking about the bomb, he was glaring at the officer that beamed it off.

His proximity alarm sounded at his console and he wheeled round to see what was going on, "Captain, one of the ships has turned back and is making another pass, our shields are down to 30% with the blast, and shields in that area are offline. My guess is they're coming back to pick up their boarding party" If it weren't for the stabilising thrusters, they'd be drifting, he only hoped Tactical could take this one out, and that the Captain would let her.

"They're right on top of us!" he shouted as the bridge rocked again and the lights flickered.

<Tags to bridge and engineering>

OFF

1220 Day 20

"Engaging pursuit Captain" he reported as the other ships veered away from Malinche in an apparent retreat.

He heard the word 'bomb' coming from aft and after a second of listening, realised that OPS was trying to beam it off the ship.

Abubakar quickly noticed it when it appeared on his sensor display right by the port nacelle, he quickly tried to bank to starboard to minimize the damage it was likely to create.

The ship shook tremendously, ODN lines and various other conduits blew out all over the bridge, a whispy layer of white smoke blanketed the crew. "Captain" he coughed, "the upper port nacelle is overloading, I'm also reading heavy damage to the port imulse engine, it's causing a surge reaction back through the drive. I have to shut down impulse and that nacelle or we'll be history."

Without waiting for approval, since he knew better anyway, he opened a line to engineering, "Engineering, overload, clamp off lines to the upper port pylon" He then quickly fired commands into the helm, trying to re-route all the power that was in the Impulse manifolds elsewhere, otherwise the engine would completely overload with no where for the energy to go to when the drive was shut down. He input the shutdown sequence into the computer, the starboard engine re-routed the energy fine automaticly, but the port one was damaged and had to be shunted manualy. "Screw it" he said as the overload countdown went to critical.

He shut down the drive and the ship felt like it jumped, the feedback through the cold drive from the excess energy had been enough to completely destroy the power conduits to that engine.

"Captain, port imulse engine inoperable, it's going to take us at least a few hours to get it workable. Impulse drive is cold and..." he glanced down at his status monitor, "upper port nacelle is cold too."

He turned to face the Captain and noticed the wierd ensign he had met in the lift being carried out on a stretcher, she looked like she was burnt and he head had clearly been bleeding profusely.

"It wasn't so much what we were hit with, it was where. We just hit an exposed and vulnerable area when the bomb was beamed out. We're not going anywhere for a little while, sir." The whole time he had been talking about the bomb, he was glaring at the officer that beamed it off.

His proximity alarm sounded at his console and he wheeled round to see what was going on, "Captain, one of the ships has turned back and is making another pass, our shields are down to 30% with the blast, and shields in that area are offline. My guess is they're coming back to pick up their boarding party" If it weren't for the stabilising thrusters, they'd be drifting, he only hoped Tactical could take this one out, and that the Captain would let her.

"They're right on top of us!" he shouted as the bridge rocked again and the lights flickered.

<Tags to bridge and engineering>

OFF

<<So'Kra Council, Celtron V, 1220, Day 20>>

Zura (NPC) furrowed her pale, scaled brow. "What in the..."

"What is it, Ven?" asked Tekel from where he was applying a dermal regenerator to one of the Celtronian guard's foreheard, a wound on which had split open again.

"I've got the sensors activated..."

He walked over and looked over her shoulder. "And?"

"I'm detecting weapons fire."

"Not the To'Ma again-" he started, turning to alert the others, but Zura grabbed his ponytail and yanked him back.

"It isn't here," she told him. "External sensors show weapons fire not far from the planet. There's a Starfleet signature in here."

Tekel sighed gruffly. "So the To'Ma are pecking at the Malinche now? What the hell are they playing at?"

"Trying to scare them off, perhaps."

"Well, there's not much chance of that. The To'Ma are easily outmatched, but they are creating a distraction."

"Holding Starfleet up," Venari agreed.

"Just when the head of the council had been abducted and we need them the most. Is there anyway we can help them swot those radical flies?"

"If only we were so lucky. We're still in lockdown, rememember? The To'Ma might come back here, and we need to be ready if they do."

"Well, ask around and see if we can't spare a ship or two. Those ships need to be disabled quickly, Venari. The sooner we get this rescue underway, the sooner we can start those damned negotiations."

"I'll see what I can do, sir. But in all honesty, I think the most we can do right now is wait."

Tekel groaned, then strode off in search of Miltuk (NPC). There was nothing more infuriating than just waiting when so much needed to be done.

OFF: And I'm off! Until a few weeks, folks. Include Orsad and his buddies in your posts, if you like.
_________________
Warrant Officer Tekel Orsad
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer (to be)
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B

When I was a kid I claimed that all the warring worlds should set aside their differences and bloody well get along. That argument still stands, only now it needs a cane.

<<USS Malinche, Astrometrics>>
<<Day 20, 1217>>

Having excused himself from the science post on the Bridge several minutes earlier, Ensign Viraj made his way to where he hoped to be most helpful. Serving as the conduit between the science department and the command staff was certainly useful, and often challenging, but it simply wasn't needed during standard warp transit. What was needed was another pair of analytical eyes on the wormhole. Upon entering the Astrometrics Lab, Viraj overestimated the speed of the doors' recession, and bashed his left shoulder on the duranium door, before it fully retracted.

"Ow," he blurted out lamely, and clutched his sore shoulder, as he stumbled the rest of his way into the lab. Abruptly finding the shade of his boots fascinating, he remarked, "Well, that was clearly stupid."

Sudden Red Alert klaxons and lights heralded the rocking of the Malinche, which sent Viraj lurching towards the starboard bank of consoles. He pinwheeled his arms to retain his balance, but still tumbled down to the deckplating. From the floor, he loudly ordered, "Esthero: get our auxiliary database wirelessly connected to the main computer, and copy another backup of all scientific data. Solec: contact the Bridge for authorisation to launch our intelligence on the wormhole in a class nine probe to the nearest Starbase. Be prepared to shout out its self-destruct code, if it looks like -- like they -- like whomever are going to intercept the probe."

By the time he had given the second order, Viraj was back on his feet, and was walking with only the barest of limps. He strode towards the central console, but only then noticed that Ensign Mavose was already standing there. Never intending to have undermined the Chief's authority, he stammered, "Oh. Sir. I didn't-- I'm sorry to have-- It won't happen again, as--"

Viraj's apologies went limp when the sensor composite of the attacking vessels vanished from the holoviewscreen, and were replaced by internal sensor composites of intruders aboard the Malinche. Petra's own reply to Viraj was drown out by the first officer announcing over the comm, "All hands intruder alert security teams to main engineering and deck sixteen."

"Computer, scramble Astrometrics' entry code and seal the lab up with a forcefield," Viraj barked out, and his face flushed crimson in utmost embarrassment before he even finished talking. By the time the forcefields hummed to life, the Deltan covered his face with his hands, and mumbled into his palms, "I did it again. I'm sorry, sir."

While Viraj had slowly grown to be comfortable with taking charge in front of superior officers, it was different with Ensign Mavose. Despite his position as her Assistant Chief, and his confidence in his own abilities, he felt nauseous every time he gave orders to her department while she was in the room. They had history. It made the current situation... complicated.

And so he did the only thing he could do, and asked, "What should we do?"
_________________
Ensign Viraj
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche
NCC 38997-B