Finding Raimus

Posted on Sat Dec 31, 2016 @ 2:08am by Lieutenant Vincent Kramer & Commodore Michael Aravan & Captain Madelina Weisz & Major James Mattis & Lieutenant Commander Arrda & Lieutenant Martha Cusack & Lieutenant Phen Caticasse & Lieutenant Krem & Lieutenant Commander Alex Rho & Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Barnes & Vashkele & Lieutenant Akash Misra
Edited on on Thu Jan 5, 2017 @ 6:00pm

Mission: An Orion to Die For
Location: Sappora System
Timeline: MD 3 || 1300 Hours

The Triumphant headed deeper into the Sappora System and drew closer to Invernia II between New Sydney and Stameris. The Captain came out of his ready room with a dour look on his features and headed onto the bridge where Commander Weisz was in the center chair. "Anything yet, Commander?" he asked.

"Nothing yet, Captain," the redheaded Commander replied. "I'm actually beginning to question the information I was given."

"Give it time, Commander," Michael said. "We aren't there yet." He turned his attention to the Ferengi Science Chief. "Mister Krem, anything on sensors?"

"Yes," the Ferengi frowned, "It looks like three vessels are coming to pay us a visit. Their warp signatures suggest cruisers of some kind, though one of them has a strange warp echo... I don't like it..."

===Tactical===

Martha had finalised her tactical plan and she was confident that it would be enough to defend the ship and prevent it being boarded in the first place. Then again it was always good to have a back up plan and she was glad that she'd collaborated with Douglas and James and formulated a ship-wide defence plan.

===Marines===

Mattis, along with his men, were going through their equipment, checking and double checking each and every square inch of it. Anything that was frayed of missing was replicated and put right back into circulation. Mattis himself had thrown on half his combat gear already, ignoring the flurry of activity around him. Raising his voice, he yelled, "Check and double check the Artillery and the Explosives Marines".

===Intelligence===

Alex had been back on the Bridge for a little while prior to everything happening. So he was having to play catch-up for a bit. Then he quickly accessed the senor readouts once he felt some nervous anticipation on the Bridge. The Ullian-by-birth had been keeping his mind open to the general emotional feel of the Bridge. Perhaps they would find out what they were facing and he could see if SI had anything that might help.

===Bridge===

Douglas had, directly following the Meeting of the Three, set his security personnel to their tasks. Some were now, in collaboration with the Marines, scattered in stationary guard positions around the ship, protecting the areas that they had agreed upon. Others were running roving patrols, along with Marine roving patrols, in a pattern that, to the outside, would appear to be chaotic and without pattern. The remainder were held in a ready but waiting state should they need to repel a larger threat somewhere on the ship not covered by the other two groups, or should one of those former groups need backup.

Now, he was on the Bridge, standing his own post. His teams sent him reports every ten minutes. So far, so good. Now all they could do was wait, and that was always the hardest part of any Mission... the waiting.

Like many of the others, Tom sat at his station, keeping an eye on power levels and the status of all critical systems. Should anything suddenly go awry, he knew he'd have to act quickly to make the appropriate adjustments to favor defensive systems.

Lt. Kramer stepped off the turbo lift, walked over the the Engineering console, and with a confirming nod relieved the Ensign on Bridge duty. Vincent could feel a slight tension in the air, across the bridge. He confirmed that all warp and power systems were at 100% efficiency. He glanced over to see Chief Barnes at the Ops station. He knew together they could handle any situation.

Michael looked at Lieutenant Krem as he made the announcement that the sensors had picked up three cruisers. "One with a weird warp echo?" He thought back about what he had been told. "That has to be Raimus' ship. Red alert."

A moment later, the alert signal went off and the outer edges of the holographic terminals tinged red as well as every display on the ship. Crew scrambled to battle stations on every deck and prepared for action as the mighty ship prepared for an encounter.

"Shields up. Arm phasers and torpedoes," Michael ordered. "Our mission is to take Raimus alive. The one with the warp echo should be his and he isn't coming without a fight. Fire to disarm only."

Martha nodded. She raised the Triumphant's shields and armed the phasers and torpedoes before waiting for the enemy vessels to come into firing range. Three days into life on the Triumphant and she was already getting a chance to fire the Odyssey-class starship's weapons at a target that fired back. She was delighted.

"Shields up. Weapons armed," Martha called.

Tom quickly tapped a few controls, compensating for the new strains on the power systems. His eyes also kept an eye on the shield's harmonics, wanting to see how Raimus' weapons would interact with them.

The Chief Engineer watched the power drawn from the available source. In response, power was increased from the Tri-Core anti-matter engines to compensate.

Douglas watched the reports come in from his teams as they responded to the shift in Alert status. The Standing Guards were in place as they had been, but Phasers were readied in case they needed to be used. The Roving Patrols were all where they were supposed to be, ready and watchful, their Phasers also double-checked -- again. A quick message was sent to the Marine commander to know the status of his people in their combined effort.

Mattis recived the message and sent a quick reply stating that his men and equipment were at 100 percent operational readyness.



Instead of coming towards the Triumphant, the ship with the weird warp echo and another one split off from the formation and began to move away from the massive Starfleet vessel. The other changed course and began to head for them while broadcasting a message.

"Federation vessel, you are in Orion space and ordered to leave immediately or we will open fire."

"Open the channel," Michael ordered Barnes.

"Aye, Captain," Thomas replied, accessing the controls for the communication array. After tuning their transceiver to the appropriate frequency, Tom activated their end, a success rewarded with the telltale chirp of ship-to-ship communications.

"This is Captain Aravan of the USS Triumphant and you are harboring a fugitive named Raimus. He is wanted for many crimes against the Federation and we plan to bring him in," Michael said.

A snort was his answer. "Then you'll have to get through us first," came the response.

"So be it," Michael said and made a slash across his throat to end the communication. "Helm, set a course for those vessels, maximum warp, that are heading away from us. "Tactical, prepare a full spread of quantum torpedoes across their bow along with a phaser barrage."

Tom caught the motion and immediately killed the open transmission. He also prepared to adjust power output based on the Tactical Chief's actions.

Martha nodded and turned to face her console. She targeted a position close to the Orion vessel's bow before firing a barrage of quantum torpedoes which detonated close enough to get their attention but not do any serious damage. She then fired the phasers at the vessel as instructed before looking back over at her commanding officer.

"That should get their attention Captain. Their shields are down to 67%" Martha reported.

Michael looked at Maddy. "It looks like the Orion's information is paying off, Commander."

"We'll see," was the only response Maddy could give. She didn't trust Vash, and planned to keep that to herself. There was only one soul on the ship that knew, and if word got out, she knew where she as going first.

Michael glanced at his XO, then looked over where the Intel Chief was. "Lieutenant Rho, start jamming all frequencies in this area. We don't need them calling for assistance."

"Understood, Captain. I'm on it," replied Alex. He brought up the communications section of the holographic display with the slide of a finger. He quickly entered some codes and set an alert if some of them were breached. "Communications jammed on all frequencies, Captain."

The ship that had been fired on changed it's course, but a moment later a brace of torpedoes leapt from it and closed the distance to detonate against the Triumphant's shields with very little damage. It followed the attack with a barrage of disruptor fire a moment later.

The helmsman send the Triumphant into an Alpha maneuver, jinking it from side to side as his fingers moved across the holographic interface. "Course laid in. Going to warp nine point five, Captain," he said as the massive starship leaped ahead and left the cruiser by itself for the moment. "Distance to the other ships is fifteen million kilometers and closing."

Commander Weisz turned her attention over to the Captain. "Two ships are better than one, Captain. We should get the Victorious in on the action. I don't doubt the Triumphant's abilities even a little, so that isn't an issue, I just think the odds of two to three are a bit better."

Martha heard the suggestion of using the Victorious to boost their numbers. It was one from a Tactical perspective she fully agreed with and added her support to the idea.

"I agree Captain. In addition to better odds it won't make us a single target" Martha commented.

"I agree," Michael said to Maddy. "Assemble a team and get to the Victorious. We'll continue to go after Raimus and the two ships while you take care of the one after us."

Maddy nodded her head and rose to her feet. It was go time. She made her way to the turbolift as she tapped her combadge and began ordering specific personnel to meet her at the Victorious. They'd be operating at a minimal crew, but it'd be enough to handle what needed to be done.

"Prepare to drop out of warp when the Victorious is ready to disengage," Michael ordered the helm.

"Aye, Sir," Misra replied. "Distance to the Galor ships is eight million kilometers and closing. The other one is falling behind. They can only do warp eight."

"Lieutenant Cusack, prepare to engage," Michael ordered. "Lieutenant Mallory, be ready in case they try to board. Lieutenant Caticasse, prepare for casualties. Chief Barnes, how are our shields?"

Douglas was ready. He made one last check with each of his teams, then looked back to the captain. "Security is ready." he reported. Part of him hated that he was up here instead of with his people -- like his mother, Teleth Norr, he was a 'lead from among' sort rather than a 'lead from behind' sort -- but he did understand the need for what he was currently doing, coordinating. So he quelled the part of him that wanted to be with his people and watched the Security console for any signs of boarding, or even attempt of same.

"Shields are holding," Thomas said, shunting some additional power in their direction, taking it from the nonessential systems. "Eighty five percent currently."

Martha nodded and targeted the nearest vessel to the Triumphant - preparing to fire with a mix of phasers and torpedoes. She then steadily kept her right index and middle finger around an inch away from the console ready for the order to fire.

"Ready to fire on your command Captain," Martha called.

"Sickbay ready to recieve casualties in five minutes," Caticasse spoke up from one of the extra consoles, before heading towards the turbolift. He had been on the bridge a bit more, trying to stay on top of events when they happened. "Emergency Medical teams on standby. We'll be ready when you need us."

"Distance is five million kilometers and closing," Misra responded. "The Victorious indicates it is ready to depart."

"Drop us out of warp," Michael said and felt the ship's response as the helmsman responded.

"Victorious is away."

"Take us back to warp nine, Mister Misra," Michael said. "Time to intercept?"

"Two minutes. The ships are on an evasive course heading for Stameris."

"Lieutenant Cusack, prepare to disable their engines," Michael ordered.

Martha nodded and re-focused her targets to disable the enemy ships' engines. She had the phasers locked on ready to fire with the torpedo bays ready and loaded. Once confirming the targets were locked Martha confirmed she was ready.

"Ready when you are Captain," Martha said.

The ship that was giving off the unusual readings suddenly veered off while the second one turned to face the Triumphant while firing from it's four phaser banks and main disruptor. The Triumphant shook from the assault and Misra began to engage an evasive maneuver.

"Damage reports!" Michael called. "Fire at will. Keep track of that other ship."

Martha replied, "Shields holding. Firing phasers and torpedoes"

Martha targeted the ship that fired on the Triumphant before firing a barrage of phaser fire and then six volleys of torpedoes which caused massive damage to the enemy ship. It was still in tact, but it wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

"They're disabled Captain. Targeting the second ship now," Martha reported.

"Minor damage to the Engineering hull," Tom instantly reported. "A couple fused EPS relays which are causing a headache with the secondary systems. All defensive measures are unaffected. Shields at seventy eight percent."

"Anything else on sensors, Lieutenant Krem?" Michael asked.



Kramer saw the power fluctuations and tried to compensate. Most of the issue was the cooling system of the 'Alpha Core'. It was still maintaining a 74% energy output, which was fine for the moment. But as soon as the battle was done, that Core would need to be shut down for realignment and correcting the cooling system. "Sir, Engineering is reporting a slight reduction in power, but it can maintain our power needs for the moment."

"Get Damage Control to it," Michael ordered as the Triumphant came out of warp within firing distance of the fleeting Galor class ship. A moment later, four powerful disruptor blasts hammered the Triumphant's shields as Misra attempted to evade.

"Lieutenant Cusack, target their weapons. We need to take that ship in tact!" Michael ordered.

Martha changed her tactic and diverted full power to the phasers and started targeting the Galor-class' tactical systems. She fired and almost immediately it was clear this wasn't going to be easy. Martha had inflicted damage on the enemy but it wasn't as severe as last time - and keeping it in tact was key - whereas with the others it didn't really matter too much.

"Fuck it. They've reinforced and upgraded the shields around their tactical systems...permission to use low-yield torpedoes sir? If we go at it with phasers we could be here all day...at least the torpedoes will mean we're not here until after dinner," Martha said.

Michael turned his attention to the Chief Tactical Officer. "Watch your language on the bridge, Lieutenant, and target their engines" he said before he looked at Chief Barnes. "Can you lock on with a tractor beam?"

Martha usually contained herself well, but in this instance she mentally berated herself for swearing whilst on the bridge. She then turned her focus to the engines and targeting them with a volley of torpedoes and phaser fire she pressed the trigger. This time she had more luck as the low-yield torpedoes hit their target and the Galor class' warp engines exploded and left an easy target for them to shoot at. However she chose not to speak feeling a little ashamed of herself for her uncharacteristic outburst.

Tom had acknowledged the order for the tractor beam and set to work with the computer on establishing a lock. Within a few moments after Martha's torpedoes did their job, a beam lanced out from the Triumphant and latched onto the Galor. "Lock established," he said, even though they could clearly see from the viewscreen that the task was complete.

Lt. Kramer continued to monitor Engineering from the bridge. Power output from the Alpha-Core was still at 74%, which was still acceptable. Unfortunately, the damage to the Engineering hull had blown out an EPS conduit with secondary damage on those adjacent decks. He didn't have those details, but had dispatched additional engineers to replace the fallen. He had to remain focused on the power issues and put aside worries for his crewmen for the moment.

"Lieutenant Mallory, Major Mattis, prepare a boarding party," Michael ordered as the other ship became locked in the tractor beam.

Douglas acknowledged the captain's order, sending orders to several of his men to meet him in Transporter Room One. He then summoned his relief to the bridge, exiting when the relief arrived. On his way to the Transporter Room, he gave one final check to both of his weapons, the Starfleet-issue Phaser and the Marai weapon that never left his arm. Seeing that both were ready, and the Phaser was fully charged, he entered the Transporter Room to meet his people and Mattis'.

Mattis walked in the doors a few moments later with several of his men, sliding a sword into a holder on his back and double checking his Phaser Rifle. Looking at Mallory, he said, "Ready to party?"

Douglas wasn't at all sure he would call what they were about to do a "party:", but he understood the marine commander's reference. "We're ready when you are, Major." he answered crisply, his Enforcer neutrality securely in place.

"After you Mr. Mallory", Mattis said grinning.

TBC