Full Steam Ahead

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 8:26am by Cailus Griffin & Captain Nycolas Temple & Commander Owen Nash & Lieutenant K'Laus & Commander Mindo & Lieutenant Kalin Brennan-Griffin PhD & Lieutenant Commander James Smith & Lieutenant JG Vecon Fick
Edited on on Tue Jul 7th, 2020 @ 1:46pm

Mission: Into the Wild
Location: Bridge

A Mission Post by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Commander Owen Nash & Major Leo Haliwell Sr. & Lieutenant Mindo & Lieutenant K'Laus & Lieutenant Kalin 'Shae' Brennan PhD & Lieutenant Katniss Wakefield & Lieutenant Mera Richmond MD & Lieutenant James Smith & Lieutenant JG Cailus Griffin & Ensign Vecon Fick
Mission: Into The Wild
Location: Bridge
Timeline:
Sun Oct 22nd, 2017 @ 2:38am


A vast field of emptiness stretched out on both sides of the USS Pandora as she sailed towards the Planet Salvaxe. On the distant horizons in either direction, the two parallel suns of this system were sparkling brightly, with nothing but Salvaxe between them. Having escaped the jagged teeth of the killing field and then the forceful waves of the dark matter, this was a welcome stretch of smooth sailing.

On the Pandora's Bridge, Captain Nyx arrived for what would be a challenging day for him, as it was the first without Commander Glyndar by his side as Executive Officer. Times had changed, as they unmistakably were prone to doing, and a new era of the Pandora was about to begin. As he aporoached the Captain's chair, seeing Lieutenant Commander Nash holding the Bridge, Nyx gave him a firm smile. "Morning Commander."

Having decided to start his first watch as XO a little early, Owen stood up to greet the Captain as he heard him arrive. "Good Morning sir, I hope your well," Owen began. "We're enroute to Salvaxe with no problems or issues reported so far. We should arrive in orbith within the next couple of hours." He finished.

"Thank you, Commander," Nyx smiled broadly, giving the XO a bow of his head. "I'm enjoying the calm seas today, I must admit." The Captain laughed as he took his place in the big chair.

Owen nodded in agreement. "Well lets hope it stays that way... It would make for a pleasant change..." He offered.

With Lieutenant Commander Nash on watch, K'Laus had found himself holding down the Operations station. "Hopefully we will not hit any dark matter or 'sand barges' in space" commented the Klingon with a grunt. "I do not enjoy the turbulence. It makes my afternoon racht come back up" added the lieutenant. K'Laus continued to monitor the power flow of the starship, making sure no abnormalities reared their ugly heads again.

The Major stepped onto the bridge, pausing at the door to return the salute of a Marine sentry, then strode onto the bridge, the boots of his combat rig echoing against the deckplating with each quick step. He continued his quick stride down one side of the bridge, his Marine Assault Rifle slung across his chest, his hand lightly resting on it. He paused upon seeing the Captain stood, moving quickly so he was nearer the Captain, quickly but quietly snapping a salute.

Nyx returned the salute to the Major, glad to see him surfacing after a long period training his crew. He was hoping the Mendazians would continue to be unaware of their presence, but should they have turned hostile in Starfleet's absence, Temple knew he would have to call on Major Halliwell's marines for help.

Fick did his usual morning routine that consisted of a hard workout and meditation, then a shower and a cup of coffee, before he slipped into his uniform and headed for the bridge. When he arrived, cup of Raktajino in his hand, he stepped off the turbolift and grinned. "Morning..." he said to the room in general, before making his way forward and relieving the overnight shift crewmate from helm. He sat down in the seat, once it was vacant, and did a quick systems check.

As Fick and the senior officers settled into work, the turbolift ascended to the Bridge with its usual, quiet efficiency, carrying the Chief of Security and Chief Science Officer within. They didn't speak to one another for the brief turbolift ride, although the silence was due to comfortable companionship rather than anything else. Before the doors opened, Cailus favoured Shae with a warm look and his half-smile before schooling his features into their usual cool sternness as the doors opened. He moved to the Tactical console behind the command pit without hesitation, taking over from the ensign on duty and immediately working the console.

Shae answered Cailus' smile with one of her own before splitting off to take up a seat at the Science station. Truth be told, she didn't overly care for Bridge shifts, preferring instead to stay down in Astrometrics when the opportunity afforded it, but this was one time she was eager to get to the Bridge; it wasn't everyday that Starfleet came across a new world with a new civilization, and it was exciting to be part of the welcoming crew.

=/\=

Meanwhile, Mindo arrived in Engineering for his shift on schedule and immediately took the report PADD from Zo, who had already been there an hour before; engines at 90%, shields back to maximum, and all systems ready.

"She's running just fine, Chief," said Zo. "We're still working on some repairs, but the Pandora is ready for a fight, if it arises."

"Let's hope it doesn't," said Mindo. "Where's Greep?"

"In your office," said Zo, nodding back to the Chief Engineer's office door.

"Thank you, crewman," said Mindo, tucking the PADD under his arm. As he headed to his office, he thought of a million things he wanted to say to Greep. Could he trust him? Why was he here? Was the ship in danger? These things ran through his head, but as he entered his office, Mindo flushed them out. Now wasn't the time for such madness. They had work to do.

"Greep," he said, crossing to his desk. "Good to see you again."

Greep did not have much in the way of facial expressions, but Mindo knew him well enough to note the surprise on Greep's face at Mindo's words.

"Thank you, sir," Greep squawked.

"Cut the 'sir' crap, Greep," said Mindo. "After all we've been through I think we'd be on a first name basis by now."

"You're still my superior officer," noted Greep.

Mindo sighed. "This is true." He sat down in his chair and set the PADD on the desk in front of him. "Look, I don't know why you're here. I don't know if Chase sent you here, and I've decided it doesn't matter. We'll deal with whatever problems you've brought aboard some other time. Right now I need you on duty. I'll be out in five minutes for inspection. Dismissed."

"Mindo..." Greep started, but was cut off by Mindo.

"Dismissed."

=/\=

Smith spent most of his early morning in the gym for him it was a place of relaxation, and of course he had been doing it since he was a cadet and the routine stuck with him. After a quick shower and some breakfast he made his way to his office. The door opened and he was quickly greeted by Lieutenant Ryan.

“Good morning, sir. I’ve taken the time to prioritize today’s schedule and we’ve also been scanning the area for anything out of the ordinary.”

Smith nodded as he took the Padd and looked over its contents. “Very good Lieutenant, make sure we are scanning everything and keep an eye on all sub space traffic on all bandwidths no matter how trivial. We need to be prepared if the Captain needs answers.” Pausing to collect his thoughts, Smith continued, “Also bring up the scans that I uploaded when I came onboard the Pandora, these scans will have the latest info we have on the Ravagers ships, also transmit everything we have to the science lab as well.”

Ryan nodded, “Aye sir” and quickly went about her daily duties.

=/\=

"All navigation systems are a go, Captain," Fick said from his seat, turning a little in his seat so he could see Nyx out of the corners of his eyes and grinning.

"Very good," Nyx smiled as he stood, pulling down on his jacket hem. "The Mendazians are an isolated species, and from all accounts, intentionally so. It is my honour as your Captain to follow the USS Merrimack's lead by invoking the Prime Directive upon our time in this region. We will be maintaining a safe distance and respecting the Mendazian's clearly established seclusion as we repair and recover from our troubles in the dark matter. I am pleased however, that will be embarking on our first scientific observation of another species, as we will be making some nonintrusive monitoring and surveying of the planet and I encourage everyone to participate in our long-distance investigation of this fascinating people. I myself am very curious to see what has changed in the time since the Merrimack last passed through, and it's really a wondrous day to be the first Starfleet vessel to be able to observe them again."

Owen smiled as he listened to the Captains orders about their time in this region and what the crew would be doing. Whilst the Pandora was under repairs, it was good to be doing the exploratory part of being a Starfleet officer again.

"Well, its nice to be a proper Starfleet officer once more and doing some actually exploring and learning...sir," he admitted as he noticed the Captains look back at him. "After all, we are explorers at heart and this is the best ship and crew I can think of being with for exploring..."

=/\=

Mera arrived in her office early and caught up on the few subspace messages from her mother and former colleagues that she had received prior to coming aboard the Pandora. She was feeling a little nostalgic, but shook it off after remembering how inviting her new crewmates had already been.

She spent most of the morning compiling the data from the previous day's sessions and writing up small reports for each crewmember she had met with before going over the reports from the initial discovery of Salvaxe.

=/\=

"Alright, Mr. Fick," The Captain smiled as he returned to his seat. "Take us in towards Salvaxe and keep watch for any beacons or border control. We must ensure we do not cross into their territory and risk being detected by them."

"Aye aye, Captain," Fick responded and set in a course for Salvaxe. He started out slow and turned a little in his seat to look over his shoulder at the Captain for a speed confirmation. If they were in a serious prime directive situation he didn't want to just be zipping around like a speeding teenager with a new car. He had made sure, with his course settings, that they didn't get too close to any of the Mendazian settlements.

As the Captain began giving orders, the Major stepped back and lowered himself into the chair to the left of the Captain's chair, adjust his tactical vest with a mumble to himself "Bloody thing, they should of stuck with the old vests..." before settling, his eyes fixed on the front of the bridge.

The Pandora soon came across the small class-L planet in the distance, an unassuming green-blue ball in the dense empty region of space. It's no wonder so many people couldn't find it, or didn't even know it was there. Hiding in plain sight, Salvaxe was a diamond in the darkness.

"Reduce speed and monitor all sensors," Nyx instructed, "Let's see if there are any border protections in place."

"Aye, aye Captain," Fick responded, slowing the ship to impulse. He couldn't take his eyes off the viewscreen. The sight there was incredible, at least to him. He'd read about all sorts of planets at the Academy, but he hadn't really seen a whole lot in person. He'd been on Risa and Earth and that was pretty much it.

Owen moved over to the Auxiliary Ops console and performed a sensor sweep of the surrounding area. Once it was complete, he returned to the XO seat. "We're in the clear, Captain. There's no sign that we've been detected planetside."

Keeping a safe distance from the planet, the Pandora quietly sailed around her left hand side - Nyx asking for the view screen to constantly monitor Salvaxe as they passed by. Finally the Pandora came to a halt on her far side, which was currently bathed in nighttime darkness as the region's two suns were beaming down on the other pole of the planet's surface.

"Alright, all stop." Nyx ordered, "Send a subspace message to the Palatine and let her know where we are. I want all crews to finish their repairs and all decks to report fully functional as soon as possible."

Owen sent out the coded subspace message to Captain Rao on the Palatine to provide them with confirmation of their location and their co-ordinates to rendezvous with the Vesta Class support vessel.

Cailus at Tactical reported in next. "Planetary scans match the USS Merrimack's survey from last year," the lieutenant reported. "The two primary cities on the poles are protected by some impressive energy shields, but besides some primitive nuclear missile silos, they have no serious anti-space military capacity that our sensors can detect."

"Still?" Nyx commented with a slight frown. Although he was duty bound to respect the Prime Directive, there had been a little part of him that had wanted to meet this mysterious species and their extraordinary planet.

As all stations had reported in, the sensors on the Aux Ops console started calling for attention. Owen went over to check out the sudden alert and confirmed his worst fears.

The Klingon looked at the First Officer / Chief Operations Officer glaringly with a small silenced growl. Lieutenant K'Laus was on the verge of letting out a fairly loud snarl at Nash, but K'Laus was already on very thin ice as it was. He kept his temper in check.

"Captain, we've been followed to Salvaxe," he reported. "Sensors have picked up two Ravager vessels entering the system." Owen then looked over at K'Laus who was manning the Ops Station and realised his error.

"Apologies Lieutenant, first day on the job and force of habit kicked in automatically, can you track the progress of our univited guests please."

The Klingon grumbled. "Tailgating PetaQ," added the lieutenant.

Fick snorted in humor at the Klingon's comment and nodded. "Confirmed, Captain... three Ravager vessels coming in at bearing 224 mark 5."

The Major tensed in his seat at the mention of the Ravagers, his eyes visibly stealing as his hand went instinctively to the grip of the phaser resting across his chest. Turning his head to look to the Captain, he quickly and sharply said, "Shall I put my Marines on Standby, Sir?"

Swallowing hard, Nyx looked to the Major with a worried glance. "Yes, Major, have your Starfighters prepped too. We may have to fight them one on one, so we don't risk alerting the Mendaz."

Smith and his team continued to keep an eye on the sensors and what was happening around the ship. The arrival of the two Ravager ships did not sit well, and he knew from experience that where there were two their had to be more. Heading for the door he looked at Lieutenant Ryan, "Keep monitoring those ships, and inform me immediately if anything changes."

Smith hit his communicator as he left Intelligence, =/\=Bridge this is Lieutenant Smith, I would recommend boosting the signal strength on our long range sensors, experience has taught me that their is always more than just three Ravager ships. I'm on my way to the bridge now, =/\= Smith ended the transmission before anyone could answer and headed to the turbolift. Upon entering the lift, Smith said, "Bridge," and stood there, mind racing, as he waited for the lift to drop him at his destination.

Nyx acknowledged, giving a nod to K'Laus to follow the idea, "Agreed, Lieutenant. We'll see you soon."

=/\= Mindo to Bridge, =/\= Mindo's voice came through loud and clear over the comm. =/\= I think those are the same Ravagers that followed me and Nash into the storm. It's possible they're looking for our two Talarian survivors. =/\=

=/\= Aye, Mindo, =/\= Nyx returned. =/\= We may need to abandon our recovery and lure the Ravagers away. I'm going to need full warp. =/\=

=/\= Aye sir, =/\= Mindo replied.

The Captain turned to Lieutenant Griffin, "Send a squad to protect the Talarians in the guest quarters."

"Yes sir," Cailus answered automatically. He'd dispatched the team the moment that the Ravagers had been detected, actually, but knew better than to say so.

"Mr K'Laus, arm photon torpedoes and get a target lock on the Ravager scouts as soon as they're in range," Nyx ordered. "Nash, help coordinate our weapons. We have to protect the planet and keep ourselves hidden."

The Klingon nodded at the Captain's order.

Owen nodded as he headed over to Aux Ops to assist K'Laus. Having dealt with the Ravagers when picking up the two Talarians, Owen performed a short deep scan of their vessels looking for a weakness.

Once he found it he sent over a detailed scan to the Klingon officer. "Lieutenant, target the ventral sensor array on one of the Ravager vessels...they have a small flaws that can blind them and disable the entire sensor array," he explained as he joined K'Laus at Ops.

Lieutenant K'Laus was able to carry out the order simply enough. He moved aside a bit as Nash joined him. "I agree with your assessment, Commander," the Klingon added agreeingly.

"Mr. Fick, plot a course through to the other side of the corridor, be ready to go if we can't eliminate the Ravagers," Nyx added as he stood next to Helm and patting a hand to the Ensign's shoulder.

"You got it, Captain." Fick set about plotting a course to the other side. Once the course was in the computer he set it up so that he could just tap a button and pull them back up at a moment's notice. "Alternate course is standing by," he confirmed when he was done.

"How much longer?" Nyx asked aloud to no one in particular, as he knew the whole Bridge would be monitoring the situation, trying to prepare for the fight to come.

"Just a little bit longer, Captain..." Fick replied, giving Nyx a smirk over one shoulder. "Keep your pants on." the joke had several layers and Fick thought that perhaps this might not be the time, but he couldn't resist and keep his mouth shut.

The Klingon rolled his eyes. "Be honored, Captain. That is probably the first time in his life he's issued that request," teased K'Laus.

Fick tipped his chin up. He seemed to be contemplating. "You might be right, Lieutenant," he said with a grin.

Nyx cast a stern eye over the pair, feeling this was neither the time or the place for such jokes.

The Pandora was alone, damaged, and stuck in an isolated region. Starfleet had enough difficulties shaking the Ravagers back in their own territory, but now this lone ship was about to face a convoy of scouts with the odds stacked against them. They had to be smarter, quicker, and more aggressive than their enemies - they had to strike first.

All they could do was watch and wait as the Ravagers drew closer and closer...

OFF