Terran Crucible (Part 5 of 8)

Posted on 31 Oct 2015 @ 4:45am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Commander Norvi Stace & Commander Luke Wyatt & Lieutenant Benice Gyce Ph.D. & Ensign K'os Beaumont & Lieutenant JG Cyrin Xanth & Senior Chief Petty Officer Keval zh'Erinov & Petty Officer 1st Class Taliesin Cynwrig & Crewman Ezra Koenig
Edited on on 31 Oct 2015 @ 4:49am

2,037 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: USS Galileo - Various
Timeline: MD 06 - 2240 hrs

Previously, on Terran Crucible (Part 4)...

Quite suddenly, Dr. Olsam Mott looked up, searched the room with his eyes until he spotted his colleague, and then asked aloud, "Do you suppose the food will be different here? I do wonder. I do wonder..."

Allyndra looked up and shook her head. Leave it to Mott to be more worried about his stomach than anything else. At least somethings were the same no matter what universe he was in.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

The allotted thirty minutes had passed and now both Galileos were in formation at impulse with the much larger warship version leading the small science vessel to a place seemingly on the far side of the asteroid. On each flank were several more Terran Empire vessels which escorted the command ship and kept a close eye on the Nova-class.


USS Galileo - Deck 7, Main Engineering

The large double-doors to main engineering swooshed open and the Orion admiral stepped into the small warp core bay. The lights were now dimmed and pulses of yellow alert strobes illuminated the crew members and bulkheads, all accentuated by the large softly-pulsing blue glow of the core.

"Mister Beaumont, Commander Stace" began Saalm as walked towards both of them and motioned for both of them to join her at the large master systems display. "I want engineering locked down and all command code access changed as soon as possible. Level 10 authorization only for all primary and secondary starship functions."

The only people aboard Galileo with that level of access were Lirha and John, and it would have to be through one of them that anyone -- friendly or hostile -- would gain access to the starship.

"I also want propulsion and weapons system control re-routed to here," she added for an extra measure of security before tapping her commbadge.

Understanding the need for caution, Stace hesitated a moment before approaching the admiral. She took a breath and considered what she was about to question. "And if you both get taken from the ship, how are we meant to seize any opportunity to escape, Admiral? I understand that should we all get captured, it's safer for the crew if none of us are able to assist the Terran Empire with our Galileo, but we're vastly out-gunned. Running is our only option at this point."

Lirha turned towards the spotted joined-Trill and tilted her head questionably. "Do you mean to say you would leave us behind if anything happened to Captain Holliday or myself?" The corners of her emerald eyes crinkled a bit while she attempted to figure out what Stace meant.

Stace paused for a moment, shifting her weight on her heels as her face softened into its familiar confidence. She closed her mouth and then exhaled. "There's an old Earth tale Cadwyn - the new gardener we have here," she clarified, unsure whether the admiral would be familiar with her personal request to post him, "is fond of. It's about an ancient traveler called Ulysses who has to journey for almost a decade to return to his wife after some war or other. On this journey he travels through a strait guarded by a monster called Scylla on the one side, and on the other, a deadly whirlpool called Charybdis. Whichever direction he chooses will result in loss. The whirlpool will drown everyone, so he chooses the monster and loses only half his men as Scylla rips them from his boat. But his ship survives and Ulysses sails on wards for home with who's left." Stace paused for poignancy. "We'd all choose the monster, Admiral. And if we can make good an escape whilst leaving a few people behind to regroup and come back, then it sure beats just sitting on this rock waiting for us all to all drown one by one."

"So, Ulysses tale implies that the lesser of two evils is the best?" Lirha wondered. The fable sounded strangely familiar and perhaps she had read it at one point during her Starfleet Academy year. She wasn't quite sure.

"I would prefer to think we will not find ourselves in such a situation where we would have to sacrifice half our crew," she added. "Surely we are better than that."

The Trill's eyes fell into a squint that, subtly, indicated her thought. That's not exactly what I'm saying, she intimated silently. Leaving any crew with a slim chance of escape because of a security lock down was beyond her. But the admiral had made her decision and Stace wasn't about to question it twice. She simply nodded and let the matter drop.

While the two senior officers philosophized about people he'd never heard of before, the hybrid had begun organizing the enlisted personnel into teams. He knew their strengths and weakness and what each of their specialties were. It took no time at all to have everyone organized and running off to their respective stations around engineering. In contrast to many Chiefs, acting or otherwise, before him K'os stood a calm delegator. Where many would be shouting orders and running from station to station to do everything themselves, K'os' skill came in utilizing the people in the department to work together to efficiently and quickly solve a problem or fix an issue. It gave him the freedom to think and formulate action plans.

"Saalm to Holliday, I am in main engineering and securing the warp core. I am upgrading the primary and secondary systems' access codes to level 10 authorization and rerouting weapon and propulsion controls down here," she informed him through her communicator. "I recommend we also secure our computer core and all other essential areas of the ship."

Taliesin, along with the security team consisting of Ezra Koenig, Abbey Wyatt, and Rachel Yates had just finished their first sweep of Engineering after having been deployed to defend it. He nodded to the other Security personnel for them to take up positions. There had been little talk, just quick, quiet orders and observations as they planned the defence of Engineering. Taliesin waited a respectful distance away from the Admiral and in silence as she had spoken to the Captain, and only once she was done did he speak up.

Abbey took the nod as its intended purpose and took up position next to the main set of doors her phaser set to high stun. She could feel the adrenaline pulsing through her though er fathers security details were experienced she doubted they could to much against an Armada of Federation ships

Ezra took up position on the second level by the exit to the corridor. From his position he could see the main floor entrance and could provide elevated cover for Abbey if needed but also positioned to defend the second level should anyone attempt unauthorized access there.

"Admiral, Engineering is secure," Taliesin said in a quick voice. There were definitely no curse words as he reported in. "We checked as we came in, the computer core is being secured as we speak, sir. Lieutenant Wyatt has deployed Security teams after we armed the crew, and I respectfully suggest that he might be the best person to speak with in regards to our internal defence status, sir." He had made the report quick, concise, and fell silent immediately afterwards, showing all the respect a Petty Officer could an Admiral.

"Internal defense..." Lirha thought over those words and the status report the MA had just given her. "Petty officer, we have surrendered our vessel...while I appreciate the precautions, I feel there is only so much we can do at the moment. Should we be boarded, it is best to not provoke our adversary, for they have the upper hand."

"Understood, Admiral," Taliesin replied immediately. He turned and gestured to his fellow Security members to holster their weapons or sling their rifles onto their backs for now. He looked at his own Type II for a moment, sighed, then slipped it into the holster at his waist. "We will be ready the moment you give the word, sir." Taliesin nodded and walked back to the team he'd come here with. No matter how much he didn't like the idea of giving in without a fight, it wasn't his call to make and Taliesin had to admit that provoking this enemy was likely a bad, bad idea.

Although Abbey had previously thought the same thing as the Admiral the words coming from another person sent daggers into her chest. How dare someone dispute the work of her father after all he had seemed to be able to survive anything even the Dominion, Klingons and the Borg.

"Thank you. Maintain readiness, for now," the Orion replied to the gold-collared crew members. She appreciated their presence but there was only so much they could assist with at the current moment. And hopefully, the expertise would not need to be requisitioned...although deep down in her gut, Lirha thought it was the most likely eventual outcome.


USS Galileo - Deck 1, Bridge

=^=Understood Admiral.=^= John replied, with a tap of his own commbadge to close the channel afterwards. At least with a level ten lockout in place, should the worst come to the worst, it was only himself or his former CO that would likely be facing the prospect of torture.

"Alright people - I want everything on this ship locked down if it isn't already. All databases, research projects, schematics, you name it. If it's here, it needs securing. Anything mission-critical is now designated level ten clearance only. Anything secondary I want securing to level seven or above."

He announced to his Bridge crew. The Empire would surely try to make their way aboard ship at some point, and the less they were able to access the better. He was tempted now by the option of the self-destruct - just as a precaution, something he would have to mull over as their journey continued.

Cyrin, after his quick conversation with Commander Kohl out in the corridor, turned a gaze that spoke volumes to his department head at their orders, but quickly turned back to double check on the computer core. It, along with all the Science Department's current research, had been locked down while the Captain had been in his ready room. There was basically nothing the ensign was able to access anymore besides his sensors.

"In the event we are boarded, I would suggest we have the Admiral in civilian attire... She'll be the first they go after for fleet intelligence and secret technological R&D projects," Gyce pointed out to Holiday as she locked down her station, saved her case data to her personal drive, and encrypted the rod before sticking it in her bra.

'May I make a suggestion Captain?" Keval said, "I'm not sure if we have the time to do this, but in addition to locking down our data, couldn't we manufacture some? The longer they are chasing down wild geese, the more time it gives us to keep the real stuff hidden away."

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

LCDR Norvi Stace
First Officer
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Cyrin Xanth
Astrophysicist
USS Galileo

PO1 Taliesin Cynwrig
Master-At-Arms
USS Galileo
[PNPC Xanth]

LCmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Tyrion Faye
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

2nd Lt Wintrow Paragon
Mercenary Pilot/ISS Saalm pilot
USS Galileo
[pnpc Tyrion]

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign K'os Beaumont
Acting Chief Engineer
USS Galileo

Ensign Lenaris Marika
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

CA Abbey Wyatt
Scientist's Mate
USS Galileo
[PNPC Wyatt]

CPO Keval Grayson
Operations Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Nicholas]

LTJG Benice Gyce
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Tuula Voutilainen
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

LT Olsam Mott
Asst. Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Naois Mercy
Counselor
USS Galileo
[PNPC Faye]

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