In Pursuit (Part 1 of 3)

Posted on 07 Jul 2012 @ 9:40am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Lieutenant Commander Chauncey Remington III (KIA) & Lieutenant JG Kestra Orexil & Lieutenant Commander Pola Ni Dhuinn M.D. & Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Coleman & Lieutenant Theron Rhodes & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lieutenant Kiri Cho & Commander Andreus Kohl & Commander Scarlet Blake & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Lieutenant Lilou Zaren & Chief Petty Officer Lucalin Mrina Ph.D. & Ensign Im'er Mor'an & Lawrence Gibbs & Rachel Hardaway Ph.D. & Anthony Hardaway Ph.D. & Justice Abernathy Ph.D. (MIA) & Eric Anderson & Emma Kennedy (MIA)
Edited on on 14 Aug 2012 @ 9:37am

4,174 words; about a 21 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo - Bridge
Timeline: MD 07 - 2025 hrs

Previously, on Compromised (Part 3)...

"I am General D'Grath of the Klingon Defence Force - the Federation has been developing advanced technology without involving it's most trusted ally. I'm sure you know yourself Commander that this is a violation of the Khitomer Accords"

That sealed the deal as far as John was concerned. The Klingons did indeed have knowledge of the Sienna project, much as the crew of Galileo had been thinking for quite some time. It seemed almost pointless to try and lie, but nevertheless, it seemed to be worth a try.

"General" John began, shifting himself in his seat and placing both of his hands firmly down on the arms of the command chair, trying to make himself look a little more authoritative.

"I'm afraid you are in error - this is a resupply and repair station - there are no research or scientific development facilities here whatsoever, if you would like to scan the station you'll see that there is--"

"Do not lie to us petaQ! We know exactly what this facility is for, and we know all about your Project... Sienna. You will prepare to transfer all materials and technical information pertaining to the project immediately."

"Or you'll do what exactly?" John threw back - knowing that the best way to deal with Klingon rage was to hit back with just as much, something that the XO rarely had trouble doing. In fact, it was difficult for him to not just throw every torpedo and phaser volley he had available to him at the General's flagship - not that it would have made much difference based on the probable reinforcements sat under cloak around him.

"Or..." The general replied, taking a moment to smile, or at least as close to one as a Klingon could do, bearing his fang-like teeth at the XO as he did so.

"We shall cripple your vessel and take it for ourselves! You have thirty minutes to make your preparations!"

Before the XO could reply, the General closed the channel, with the viewscreen changing back into the menacing image of a Vor'cha class cruiser hanging in space... ready to strike.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

"Dammit... options people?" John called out to his senior staff, trying to think of any way they could avoid giving the Klingons exactly what they wanted.

Coleman watched from her station with a concerned expression. "I have two. The Second Khitomer Accord has no provision on propulsion research, so their accusation is unfounded and we can share the preliminary research and then attack the Empire's honor in terms of their actions towards the Petersham." Evelyn adjusted in her seat, "The second suggestion, we comply, but instead of research and materials, we submit a Computer Virus and transport an armed quantum warhead."

Kiri thought hard, her first idea just hadn't been fast enough. There was no way to win this fight short of creating a crippling subspace anomaly, something that was completely against the interstellar rules of war. If running away was the only option, then run away it had to be. Having returned to her station while the conversation between the first officer and Klingon went on she again turned around, first looking towards her CO before turning back to the bridge. Her voice panicking slightly she fought to remain in control, "Sir, the Starbase has a full range of external holographic emitters, if we can uplink to the command core," She took a deep breath, "We can make it appear as if several other ships have warped into the area, if the Starbase's Thoron reactors are fully active they can mask the signatures so they don't realize right away. Then we could try and escape." With the time they had, she thought it was possible, it would get them a minute or two, that was something.

"If I may, Commander," Remington interjected, "we are not dealing with these Klingons well..." It was as much a jab at the way the commander hand handled the situation as he could get without crossing the line. "Deception and tricks will only get us killed. We don't know how much they know and any slip up... the minute honor determines we deserve to be blown up, we will be. Nor can we outright deny them," Will glanced towards Coleman, "they can easily overcome us and they know it, they will not tolerate defiance and if we challenge them at all they will accept and we will loose. With the Federation dishonored in their eyes because of the deception, any attempt to jump through legal loopholes will infuriate them and insult their honor, and make us appear weaker. We need to work with them for now, delay as long as we can until help arrives or we find a way to make peace with them. It may be best to share Project Sienna with them; that would bring them to our side again. Better to be the two dominant powers in the galaxy as trusted allies than for the Klingons to make themselves the only power, with a vendetta against the Federation."

Coleman turned to face Will, "The Khitomer Accords do not stipulate any requirement on our part to share research or development of new technologies with them. If anyone is at fault here, it is the Klingons. The moment the Federation Council condemned their invasion of both the Gorn Hegemony and the Romulan Star Empire they've been looking for ways to end this Alliance." Evelyn shook her head, "Where is the honor in what they did to the Petersham? The fact the Captain over there called the project out by name means they tortured the crew of that ship and violated interstellar law with regards to the treatment of prisoners. Or what about them lying to our Ambassadors about not knowing anything about the Petersham?" Evelyn took a deep breath trying to keep herself calm, "Besides even if we give them what they wanted, what guarantee do we have that they won't blow us out of the sky anyway?"

Orexil listened to them all, splaying her hands on the console. "We are both at fault; the Federation and the Klingons. They are right, in a way; while the Khitomer Accords did not state outright that we would share development of new technologies with them, we did make a pledge that we would work together as equal nations with access to the same resources. Technology is a resource. Knowing your allies are working on something that would put them lightyears ahead of you in one field without sharing even an inkling of their intent... that is a dangerous situation waiting to happen. On the other hand, their actions with the Petersham - if you are correct, Lieutenant Coleman, and so far I've still not seen proof of your suspicions - are inexcusable. There's something to think about in addition, even if you are correct in your assumptions: how did they know there was information to be gathered from the crew of the Petersham?" She shook her head, "They had to have known, before any interaction with that ship, what they were looking for. What they suspected. Which means they have eyes in the star base or they have someone on the inside feeding them information. Which makes all of their actions with the Federation since a kind of posturing; they are trying to force us to share our information." She looked at Holliday, "How far along in the research are they? If we were to hand over a portion of the study now, without Hardaway and the team, would they be able to reverse engineer any of it? Is it more important to the Admirals that the research be secured from the Klingons than available for further study by the Federation? There's another point to consider as well: if we did hand over that, or anything - even if it were false information, which I very strongly would advise against citing Remington's earlier appraisal of their cultural response to lies - we would, in effect, be rolling over and submitting. There is no honor in submission in their eyes; their warriors die before they give themselves over as prisoners. And Coleman is right about that; if we hand over what we have without a great deal of repositioning, they will simply take what is given and kill us." She frowned towards the view screen. "Where is the Captain? We can't outrun them, nor overpower them, but we can outmaneuver them and this..." She crossed over to peer at the sensor scans over Cho's shoulder. "We have built in traps here if we use them to advantage." She looked up again, "Even if we get away, sir, the star base... I fear it will be lost without a great deal more defense than we're able to provide. It's something else to consider."

"It's not me you have to convince," Will reminded Coleman softly, "it's General D'Grath. We are at his mercy if he decides to attack."

Feeling slightly uncomfortable that someone was so close to her, Kiri slid back against her console as she expanded, "If we can hide in the nebula, make them think we have the research," Which they actually did leaving almost nothing behind, "Then we might be able to save the Starbase while they look for us."

"I agree with Mr. Remington and Miss Cho," John eventually replied, having taken a moment to consider the options available to him. They were not going to win an all-out firefight, and right now the XO had no wish to fire the first shot, or do anything to give the Klingons reason to blow them out of the stars.

"For now the Klingons wont risk doing any serious damage; they'd lose their precious research... which gives us time to run. Miss Barel, Miss Cho, which of those nebulae out there are going to give us the best smokescreen?"

Again Kiri looked to her CO while pursing her lips before turned her eyes back towards the XO, her voice somewhat more confident now he had agreed with her. The pronunciation of the Klingon was almost perfect, "The Z'Tarnis Nebula is a Mutara class, it will disable sensors and shields," So if they had to fight, they were on a much more even playing field, "But the Krai'Jih'Na Nebula is a Radioactive Sirillium Nebula, it disables sensors but can explode if exposed to high energy, if they could be lured inside." While she would side with the former, she felt she had to give him all the options.

It was essentially a choice between fight or flight - one of the most basic instincts for almost every living organism in the galaxy. With the advantage of an explosive nebula material, at least it would be less likely the Klingons would try to shoot at them... unless of course they decided their access to the secrets aboard Galileo was lost... in which case they might decide just to deprive everyone of the Sienna project.

Stepping up from the chair, John began to pace around in the centre of the Bridge... it seemed really there was only one option to go for.

"Lieutenant Mialin, if we jumped to warp how quickly could you get us in that Mutara class nebula?"

"At warp speed our ETA to that Mutara class nebula is 15-20 minutes," Dea reported as she skimmed through the data being fed to her console. One way or another it was Mialin's duty to have Galileo prepared for anything. She could be better prepared for that by reviewing any data that passed her way as soon as feasibly possible.

Quinn was going over the latest diagnostic report on the Warp Core with Willis when he suddenly took notice of the sensor readings on the MSD showing a Klingon vessel. Willis shook his head and Quinn titled his head towards the core. Without a word Wilis took off of the core command console and entered the command encryption codes. Quinn tapped his badge. =^=Quinn to Bridge. Please tell me that our friendly neighborhood Klingons are here to give us a nice friendly send off.=^=

The sudden arrival of his Chief Engineer on the comm wasn't something that John had been expecting, but at least this time it didn't mean that there had been some kind of serious malfunction, if it had, there would have been substantially more swearing involved.

=^=Wish I could Chief - we're gonna need every bit of speed you can coax out of the impulse engines pretty shortly...think you can have a word with them on my behalf? =^=

=^=Aye, I even gave an offering of Bajoran Brandy to be sure she complies Commander. I may even be able to squeeze a micro-burst of High-Warp Speed.=^=

Ens. Rhodes had heard the conversation between the Chief and the Bridge. Since he had not received notice from Tactical, this meant that the current security situation was about to change. He had to decide, 'should he initiate a high level of security or wait for Tactical to pass down the directive. He reached up and tapped his comm-badge, =^= Security channel beta only - Tactical officer, I recommend we move to General Quarters Level Three. =^=

=^=Negative, Rhodes,=^= Kestra replied, switching her combadge to the beta channel. =^=Team, maintain your assigned positions. We are holding shields to prevent transporter access. T'Paaru, keep monitoring the sensors as you have been. Rice, ten-forty-two, on our guests.=^=

=^=Annoyingly, they are still fine.=^= Rice's voice sounded a bit less than calm. More fuming.

=I want an immediate ten-forty two on the Captain as soon as she hits the shuttle bay. Keep your lines open, people. And any Red Alert ten thirties are to be confined to quarters or sent immediately to their stations. Copy?=^=

Rhodes replied, =^= Understood Lieutenant. =^=


Shuttlecraft

Lirha nervously tapped her foot on the ground as she and Gibbs quickly closed the distance to Galileo. According to the flight computer, there were only 130 seconds before they were in range of the shuttlebay's tractor beam system, which would guide them in for an automatic landing. Her mind raced as she tried to make sense of the Klingon general's demands. Of course, she had been listening in to his hail and subsequent communication with John aboard Galileo through the shuttle's comm system, and now feared the worse. The small craft's sensors had registered the large Vor'Cha Class battlecruiser, but she was unable to make out any additional signatures through the starbase's EM interference. She had no idea how many more vessels were out there, but she knew that this D'Grath was probably not alone. At least he had given them thirty minutes. A rather long period of time, she thought, given the impatience of Klingons she had dealt with in the past. If he kept his word, it would give her crew enough time to formulate an escape plan, since she had serious doubts about SB-152's ability to defend itself. Nervously, she glanced through the cockpit out into space, craning her head around to look for signs of any cloaked ships. Her eyes settled on a distant bright star, which appeared to be twinkling rather quickly. Then another star. And another. Suddenly, a large shimmer rippled through the emptiness of space to the starboard side of the shuttle, and Lirha snapped her head around to the opposite window to confirm what she just saw. "Did you see that?" she hurriedly asked the computer specialist next to her, hoping he had caught a glimpse. She quickly glanced back down at her flight console. One hundred seconds till they were in range of Galileo.

Lawrence brought up a small window overlaying Galileo on the front viewport. His fingers flew over the console, and in mere seconds a video was playing in slow motion. The outline of a Klingon cruiser emerged from the background, then faded once more. The encryption specialist didn't bother to answer out loud.

Ever since he had overheard the conversation playing through the shuttlecraft's speakers, he had become even angrier than he had already been. Although it was in line with regulations to deny the existence of Sienna, it also put the starbase and the ship he was heading to in danger. He didn't particularly mind danger, but a Nova class starship couldn't take on a single Klingon cruiser, let alone more--and Gibbs didn't feel like dying today.

The seconds ticked by painfully slow as Lirha and Lawrence finally came within range of the shiny Nova Class. Once again, the Orion captain used slow inputs on the thruster controls to position the shuttlecraft behind and between Galileo's nacelles, on optimal approach. A slight jolt to the craft and a few blinks on the navigation console signified the lock-on of the tractor beams, and the Type-9 was quickly pulled inside its mothership. With a rather abrupt thud, Lirha touched the shuttle down in an empty spot in the far corner of the main shuttlebay, then quickly powered down the craft's systems. The aft ramp deployed with a hiss and the captain looked back over at Gibbs, her green eyes appearing focused yet betraying a slight sign of concern.

"Welcome aboard." she managed with a small, forced smile. "I wish it was under better circumstances," she began as she looked around at the crowded and hectic shuttlebay. The red alert sirens were silently pulsing along the large gray walls, and there were numerous personnel from all departments moving in a hurriedly between destinations. Cargo crates of all sized were stacked along the far walls and upper level, adding further obstacles to the organized chaos. Lirha turned her attention back towards the gold-collared man. "Leave your belongings here, someone will take care of them." she instructed, "Right now I need you to report to Chief Quinn in main engineering. I bet he could use your assistance." she said.

Lawrence stood, waited for Galileo's captain to exit the shuttle and left. He walked quickly to a console, recieved directions to engineering and walked briskly through the corridors, and into where he would spend most of his time for the next two years, more or less.

"Commander," Remington was saying to Holliday back on the bridge, "destroying the Klingon vessels inside the nebula could irreparably harm relations with between the Empire and Federation. There is still an opportunity for a peaceful solution."

"The shuttles have been retrieved." Mor'an's soft but audible voice called out the status of the shuttles.

"Don't worry, Mr. Remington," John said, "we aren't going to be destroying anyone today... we're just going to play a little game of cat and mouse... if we can get out of this without having to fire a single shot, I'll be happy..."

"So will we all," Kestra murmured, scanning the security console carefully.

The return of the shuttle meant that finally, Galileo was back to her full crew complement, and sooner rather than later the XO would be able to surrender the centre chair back to it's rightful owner.

"When we run the Klingons are going to come after us pretty sharpish I imagine... transfer auxiliary power to the aft shields as soon as we engage the engines... that way we might get away with a few less scratches"

"Diverting auxiliary power," Will replied, "we have two hundred gigawatts free for shielding."

"Accepted," Kestra announced as she tapped the console and routed the auxiliary power to the shields. "Aft shields are full green, running at maximum strength."

"Very good Lieutenant....stand by all weapons....I don't want to use them, but similarly I don't want us to be caught with our pants down and fumbling around for a weapons lock" John replied, keeping his eyes locked on the viewscreen.

With a swish, the turbolift doors on the bridge parted and the green-skinned captain stepped into the ship's command center. Looking around at the various officers and personnel manning their stations, she let out a small mental sigh of relief, happy to be back aboard Galileo and in the company of her own crew. For the moment, however, there was no time to relax, as the situation had appeared to take a turn for the worse. With an entire Klingon task group possibly in the immediate vicinity, her attention was now focused on finding a way to escape from the sector and returning to Starbase 001. Lirha moved into the center of the room, looking at her brown-haired XO as she took up her position near the captain's chair. "Commander, what's our situation?" she asked him, wondering what the status of Galileo was and if the crew had made any preparations for departure.

Having been so focused on what was going on around him, John hadn't paid the slightest bit of attention to the sound of the turbolift doors opening, in fact with so many crew members coming and going to perform various services aboard the ship, it had become an almost expected background noise. The voice of his captain however, wasn't. Turning to look at the green-skinned Orion, John couldn't help but leap from the centre chair, knowing that it was time to hand it back.

"Ma'am. The Klingons are being less than cooperative....we're at full battle readiness and are preparing to make a dash for one of the nearby nebulae, I thought given the situation it might be prudent to hide rather than try and punch our way out of this...."

Lirha nodded, "Yes, I was listening to the communique." she confirmed, in reference to the short conversation that the lieutenant commander had engaged in with the Klingon general. She agreed with John's assessment, it would be wise to seek refuge since the small Nova Class was severely outgunned, even against just one Vor'Cha battlecruiser. But there was much that didn't make sense to her, and several questions burned in her head which needed to be answered. Her green eyes locked onto Holliday, then to Coleman, and finally over at Ensign Cho, lingering for a moment before she looked back to the viewscreen and spoke, "How did they find out about Sienna? How did they locate Starbase 152?"she demanded with apparent frustration in her voice.

"How do you think?" Evelyn responded looking at the Captain. "The Admirals told us in our Intelligence briefing the Petersham was carrying cargo specifically for Sienna, even shared with us the Captain knew of the project. Remember at the end of that meeting, he told us the Klingons may know if they were responsible for the disappearance." She turned her head to gaze out the viewscreen and at the Klingon cruiser. "We have the image of the Klingons towing the Petersham now they're here, demanding the project by name."

With green eyes locked on the intelligence chief as she spoke, Lirha furrowed her brow at what she perceived as a rather condescending reply from Coleman. Lirha was well aware of the contents of the classified intelligence briefing and had already considered that option. In fact, she was not very pleased that Evelyn had just disclosed the contents of the briefing to the rest of the bridge crew. Of course, Lirha had done something similar in the past during the initial mission briefing shortly after they departed Earth, but that was her prerogative as ship's captain, and it only involved the ship's senior officers. Perhaps she had set a bad example by doing that. But regardless, she had a strange feeling... as if there seemed to be other forces at work. She couldn't put her finger on it, but judging from the unexpected and mysterious computer core problems, as well as Ensign Cho's seemingly-nervous and guilty mannerisms when confronted, Lirha's suspicions were on high alert.

Kiri had been scanning, noting and scanning again the ships in front of them and the space at large for more signals. The young woman was doing her job as best she could, yet a primal defense mechanism made all the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Maybe it was the fact that something strange had been brought up regarding a ship she knew something about, more likely though she didn't know it was the eyes that were drilling a hole in her. With a gulp she kept working, doing her best to keep their eyes wide open.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

All Player Characters
All Positions
USS Galileo

Rachel Hardaway, Ph.D.
Lead Scientist
Project Sienna
NPC'd by Tarishiana Barel

Anthony Hardaway, Ph.D.
Lead Scientist
Project Sienna
NPC'd by Chauncey Remington III

Justice Abernathy Ph.D.
Scientist
Project Sienna
NPC'd by Lilou Peers

Eric Anderson
Scientist
Project Sienna
NPC'd by Pola Ni Dhuinn

Emma Kennedy
Dr. Hardaway's Secretary
Project Sienna
NPC'd by Pola Ni Dhuinn

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