Decisions, Decisions

Posted on Mon Dec 17th, 2018 @ 10:57pm by Captain Cynthia Jackson & Ensign T'Peal & Lieutenant Commander Charlotte Hudson & Lieutenant Zoe Cayce & Lieutenant JG Neza Glenn & Lieutenant JG Ayden Kennett

1,752 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Mission 1 - Klingons on Starboard Bow
Location: Bridge
Timeline: 2261.189 2200

In a rare moment of impatience, Cindy rose from her Captain's chair making her look taller than her already six feet in height. She called out to her teams over the comm, =^= I need my answers, teammates! Please come to the bridge and report what you have found so far! =^=

Ayden and Neza had already been making their way back to the bridge once they had their timing down. "Three-quarters of a second instead of half a second, not what I wanted," stated Kennett as they got to the bridge.

"I know, Lieutenant. But that's the best we're going to be able to give tactical." Glenn looked over at Jackson, but Kennett spoke. "Got the timing we mentioned, close as we could get it."

"Specifically this timing is related to firing from becoming visible? Is that right? Or something else?" Cindy inquired.

Neza nodded to the question. “The window isn’t very big but...should be enough for tactical to get it if they need to.” She went back over to her station.

“Now we have to hope we don’t need it,” stated Ayden, “because if it fails, we all know the results.”

Cindy's smiled slipped. However it soon came back and wondered allowed, "I wonder what it would take to contain that kind of energy and fire it." More determined she continued, "There has to be a weakness!"

Ayden shook his head, "The only thing we found was a slight power level drop the moment before it fires. That's what we're," he nodded back to Neza, then look to Cindy again, "hoping is a weakness."

"Without hope, we have no reason for much, Ayden. Why continue doing anything, if not for hope? We must always seek the greatest possibilities or we will regress into nothingness."

Nodding, "Then we will hope that it is a weakness. And if nothing else, we have some timing." Ayden went over towards the bridge's engineering console, still not used to being on the bridge.

Bec walked onto the bridge, wiping her hands on a cloth. "Lieutenant Cayce and I have been modifying as many torpedoes as we can. We intend to create a mine field setup so we can attempt to track their movement," she reported, coming to a stop next to her chair.

"Lieutenant Cayce?" Cindy asked, momentarily seeming confused. "Of course, I assigned you to do that did I not?" Why does the name Grayson Hawk come to mind where Zoe Cayce should? Very odd! "A mine field? Resourceful. We should put out a warning to Federation ships, if we do that, though, don't you think, Bec? Secure channels?"

"We should, though Cayce and I have set them to target the tetryon particles this ship emits," Bec nodded, draping the cloth over the arm of her chair. "But yes, let them know they're out there and to avoid the area."

"Then, put out that warning. How many of those torpedos do we have?"

"Aye, Cap," Bec moved to a console to start sending out an encrypted message over secure channels to all Federation vessels in the area. "We have about 10 already done up, more in the works," she said over her shoulder.

Zoe murmured her agreement; several members of security now understood the adjustments as well as herself and the commander. She had never been much for hugging information to herself.

"Good work, you two! Let's see if those girls can give us something to see!"

"Where's Lieutenant Hallewell? I need his report!"

Ensign T'Peal looked at Cindy and asked, "Hallewell? There is no Hallewell on this ship, Captain."

Neza raised an eyebrow, wondering who Cindy was talking about. What additional reports could she be asking about?

Cindy wondered how that could be possible but a quick check of the manifest showed that T'Peal was correct. Covering her awkward feeling, she called over the comm, =^= Doctor, do you have any psychological or other theories for me? We believe that we are dealing with Romulans. Any insight would be great since we have not heard from them since the treaty creating the Romulan Neutral Zone.=^=

Cindy let that statement sit for a moment so that everyone who was on the bridge could hear it.

Though she already knew it, having been on the bridge earlier, the word Romulans sent a shiver down Neza’s spine.

Ayden looked over and tried to catch Bec’s eye, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in when the Commander had brought up the Romulans.

=^= Romulans..hmm. I may have something, Captain Cindy,=^= returned Cole, =^= I’m on my way up.=^=

Bec frowned at the mention of Romulans and the conversation about Hallewell, another name that sounded familiar and yet wasn't there. She picked at her nails idly while she though about the implications. Though she'd noted Ayden on the bridge, she hadn't really paid any attention to him, too caught up in her thoughts and the present situation. She did however, notice him trying to catch her eye and gave him a half smile before turning her attention back to Cindy.

Ayden caught Bec's half-smile and knew she had to be stressed. This was a lot, everything going on. He would make sure she was okay once they had time away.

Zoe had returned to her station on the bridge, standing easily with arms folded across her chest, listening to the conversation and watching the displays. "In an either/or situation, there is a definite weakness. This way they have of shielding themselves from view ... it s either that or they fire their weapon but not both at the same time. That says to me that there are energy concerns and where there are power concerns, there's a weakness."

Cindy ordered that the torpedoes be fired at random intervals. The night sky was lit up with explosions from the detonations. She pointed as some of the explosions went off and shouted out, pointing at one sector, "THERE!" She turned to Bec and Zoe. "Did you see that?! THERE! Again!" A brief glimpse of something metallic lit up, probably a ship.

Watching, Neza's eyes went wide when the explosions showed something metallic. She moved the sensors so that they were pointing straight to that area. The scans were kicked up to full power. "Running sensor sweep now!"

Grinning like a she-devil, Bec went over to one of the free consoles and began assisting the tactical officers. "One more sweep of torpedoes, see if we can get Neza some more data for her sensor sweep," she said to Zoe and the tactical officer. "Center the spread on the last spot we got a hit on!"

From out of the nothingness, metal debris appeared. It started to spread out and was not disappearing.

Neza's eyes watched the sensors carefully. She wanted to look at the view screen, but would likely miss something. "I've got...debris? What..." She dared to look over at the view screen. "Those weren't supposed to do that, were they?"

Cindy gave a questioning glance at Zoe, "Well, were they?"

"No," Zoe said at once. "The only way that could have happened is if the ship was made of glass or something equally as fragile. Something else is at work here." She bent over the scanners and studied the debris.

Thinking through the matter, Cindy had thoughts of what might be going on but she did not trust her tactics, "Bec, what are your thoughts?"

"I don't think," Zoe said after a minute, "that the amount of the debris equals a ship of any real size. This could be a feint. Transferring data to Science for confirmation."

Hearing that information was being sent over to her, Neza glanced at what was being sent from Zoe. "Hell, this debris could be from a shuttlecraft even. But if those weren't meant to cause any destruction," she turned back to look out the viewscreen, "Then why did they?"

Ayden stared at the screen from the engineering controls. "False trail?"

"Trying to throw us off? Make us think we've destroyed them," Bec thought aloud, looking at the console. "Those torpedoes didn't have enough of a payload to damage them." She turned to look at Cindy with a frown.

Cindy's thoughts confirmed, she said, "Great job, crew! I agree! Zoe, send out a volley of phasers in the general area. Light it up. Let's see what that ship does next. I think we have a very wiley Captain over there."

Zoe complied, firing off a phasers in a pattern intended to take in as much of the area as she could. "Why show his hand so soon," she mused, talking as much to herself as anyone else. "I mean ... he could have stopped moving and as long as he didn't hit a torpedo, we wouldn't know he was there. So why ... is he vulnerable in some way that he doesn't want us to know about. Better to think he's been destroyed? Did his earlier display of power cause some problem? Hmmm. That could be. He's not running because he can't?"

"Interesting theory... maybe firing that weapon so many times has finally resulted in a malfunction," Bec mused aloud, tapping a finger on the console in front of her. "But if he wanted us to think he's been destroyed, he should have let out more debris..."

"They have to have known that we've seen how massive they are. Why send out just that little bit?" Neza sat back, trying to think.

Ayden tapped his fingers on his leg. "Without a proper scan, I wouldn't know if their engines are going or not, or any malfunctions for that matter. But it is obvious that debris is not enough for that ship we saw."

Zoe, who had been watching her screens intently, did not look up as she said, "course, maybe that's all the 'debris' he had available. But you're right, its all guesswork until we can get an actual look. I am picking up the tiniest stream of tetryon particles ... just enough for a fully charged torpedo to lock onto, Cindy."

Pleased that Zoe called her Cindy, rather than Captain, Cindy ordered one word, "Fire!"

Targeting the densest part of the tetryon particle stream, Zoe sent a volley of torpedoes streaking to that point and waited, leaning forward as though she were trying to follow the torpedoes to their goal, and was rewarded, moments later to see an explosion blossom silently in space. "Direct hit, Cindy."

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