Luck, Strategy, Diplomacy. Part III of III

Posted on Sat May 5, 2018 @ 3:36am by Captain Maritza Soran & Commander Caleb Ryan & Commander Amia Telamon M.D. & Lieutenant Liam Reynolds & Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Lieutenant Alanna Wells & First Lieutenant Gordon Blue

1,703 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Victory Conditions
Location: DS5 Local Space
Timeline: MD 08 1100

Previously on Luck, Strategy, Diplomacy
And then the science station started to blink. "Ma'am, I'm detecting increased levels of gravimetric interference. Hyperonic radiation is spiking."

Soran frowned. Svikiri's weapon had been disabled, like all others, they shouldn't be detecting anything, unless of course the simulation accounted for that. "Verify if that's real, or part of the simulation."


And now the conclusion

[Ararat Bridge]

"Sir," Alanna said, her voice clearly indicating there was a problem. "Levels of gravimetric disturbance are increasing beyond safety levels around the Svikiri. And the hyperonic radiation levels are spiking. This is very bad. If they don't get it under control, we could be caught in the aftermath." It was also what she'd feared when she first saw the data.

“Minimum safe distance?” Caleb snapped, looking to Science. “Comms, open me a channel to the Svikari!”

"Safe distance is about fifty million kilometers," Alanna said.

The channel squealed and squelched, barely audible.

"Commander, Lieutenant, there's a way to send a signal through Astrometrics--if anyone there is watching," Alanna said. "I was able to use it as a back door to the Svikiri to gather data. I'm not sure how successful it will be, but I can try."

“Do it!” Caleb said.

Alanna nodded and set up a quick link to her computer on DS5, then sent a previously programmed worm to the Svikiri’s astrometrics with a message. She didn't have time to use finesse, and hoped that the interference would mask the rush job. The message was quick and dirty. Urgent! Detecting increased gravimetric disturbances and hyperonic radiation levels. Shut down weapons immediately. Repeat, shut down all weapons immediately.

There was no response from the Promethean Class. If they had heard it, they weren't talking.

The war-game was turning real fairly quickly with problems arising around the Svikiri. Annora switched focus on her console, ready to respond to the possible threat when given permission.

"Shield strength is holding steady, but I have reserve power available if we need to shore up our defenses."

“Good. Keep it ready,” Caleb said.

Caleb walked up behind Amia, surveying the developing chaos of the battlefield. “Helm, lay in a course. Take us down Svikari’s ventral plane. Ah want us so close, the prox alerts are soundin’. Then punch it. We’re goin’ for the prize.”

He turned. “Tactical, prepare a full spread of torpedoes. Target phasers. Give that target ever’thin’ we have.”

Real or simulated, there was something about a full weapons barrage that appealed to Annora.
"Aye, sir. Full phasers and torpedoes."

After a short time, her console showed all green for a weapons lock. "I have a firing solution, sir. Just give the word."

Amia set in the course and adjusted it to take the best advantage of their current position and the most direct arc needed to bring their ship into the optimum angle to their target that she could achieve without compromising on the speed it would take to get there. With it set in, she looked up at Caleb behind her and nodded. "Ready, sir," she acknowledged, waiting poised and ready for his mark to initiate.

Alanna was concerned that if they didn't stop the Svikiri's weapons, there was a very real chance that this game could turn deadly. She checked to see if there was a reply to her message. So far, there was not.

A lance of green shot past them on the view screen, Svikiri's tracer line, showing the path where her new weapon would have fired. The green beam hit the Galaxy class ahead of them square in centre of mass. Its shields shimmered and snapped apart like a bubble bursting.

“Go!” Caleb ordered Amia at the helm, taking a seat finally in the center chair as even the inertial dampers needed a moment to catch up to the sudden acceleration of the ship.

With the increase in speed, the Ararat was in firing range in short order. As soon as they were within weapons range, Annora unleashed on the designated target. "Firing, sir."

Alanna began to scan for any changes in the readings. She was concerned that this might cause the ship to implode into its own micro gravity well.

The modified torpedos and phasers blasted at the asteroid carrying the target sensor. It lit up, sending an alert to all the ships in the war game alerting them that the game’s success condition had been met.

Caleb surged up from his seat again. “Swing around. Status on the Svikari and the gravimetric disturbances and hyperonic radiation? With the game over, Ah hope we’ve given everyone a chance ta cool down.”


[DS-5 Project Offices.]

Jen was just finishing up the last bits of data into her connection. All the files were being relayed to the secure data core the team had carefully hidden. Too many files to have on a padd, but the small core needed could be easily taken like regular baggage disguised as something normal.

"Done here," she relayed as she started to do the second part of her plan. "Do I want to delete all data after transfer?" She chuckled. "Oh, hell yeah." She gave the command to eat the rest of the data from the office core.

"Things are set here," Leader said as he touched the last micro charge. "No time to take them with us." He shrugged. "Plan B is make it look like we did not get anything." He moved away from the secure file cabinets. "The automatics will set off a laser grid within, frying all the secret papers and save us having to lug them along," Leader explained.

"That will cut into the profits," Dev cut in.

"Yes, but we are getting out of time." He set the detonator on his wrist.

[Playtime is nearly over,] the Ferengi sent his text.

"Go, Jen," the Leader ordered.

The woman went out of the office into the corridor, breaking to the right and heading for the nearest turbo lift

"Dev." The Leader motioned to the tall Human with black hair.

With the same casual briskness he had learned over the years, Dev walked out, also going to the right and continuing past Jen, who was just getting onto a turbo lift.

[Jackpot sounding off,] the Leader texted as he opened the doors to leave.

Once out of the door with his tool box in hand, the ops officer was heading off towards another job, it seemed. He checked the time and pressed the toggle.

Explosives on the locking mechanisms fired, forcing the doors open. The alarms sang out to Security as the laser safety protocols incinerated the paper records.

The Leader kept walking away as the alarms sounded. It would not be good for him to get in the way of charging Security people. He turned the first corner and would find the planned turbo lift exit.

[DS-5 OPS]

Blue was monitoring the feed of the information, routing the records to the proper storage section of the computer when he noted a .0001 hesitation in the recording. He was a communications expert, and that data stream was a direct line; nothing should be slowing it.

An alarm sounded on his panel. The passive monitor of the project had sounded when an interior security alarm sounded. Blue had passive monitoring of anything concerning this project. The code words had noted the alarm in the project main offices.

"Commander, we have disturbance in the Svikari Project Center. Security is being dispatched." He glanced to the Commander. "The timing is rather odd. don't you think? Permission to deploy Marine support. If the Information of this project is at any risk, the alarm in the Project Center would be high priority, ma'am."

Odd timing her foot. She was entirely sure it was another one of Blue's clever little tactics. They'd been tasked to try and get hold of the Svikiri's technical details. No one had specified from where. "Granted." She allowed. "But notify security as well."

Admiral T'Vel raised a vulcan eyebrow, bu made no fuss. She must have come to the same conclusion.

=^= Blue to Ready Patrol.=^= Blue began. =^= Alarm in the secure Svikiri Project, deploy, this is not a drill. Repeat this is 'Not' a Drill. =^=

"Ma'am, the backup to science is taking less time to reach its destination than the data going into the main computer." She ran a check of the main computer itself. "Umm...the data isn't in the main computer. I'm sending it to both, but it's only showing up in science."


[USS Ararat Bridge]

The science panel get bleeping warnings, the Hyperonic radiation and the gravimetric disturbances only growing, not decreasing.

And then, in a flash of bright light, the USS Svikiri vanished. Before anyone could draw breath, it pinged back onto sensors, millions of kilometers away, on the other side of DS5. In the midst of the squadron of Cardassian ships holding in space nearby.

The gravimetric disturbances graph on Alanna's read out went from a steep angle to a vertical line, as the Promethean-class ship fired.

There was nothing obvious to see, only the warping of light around it marked its passage. The whole ship looked suddenly warped, as if seen through a distorting lens, then there was
a flash of darkness - nothing, not even starlight, could be seen where its mid section had been. And suddenly the Cardassian lead ship was in two pieces. Its midsection had been completely obliterated. Only the bow and stern were left, one hundred meter chunks from either end, venting gasses and furniture and supplies and bodies. Three hundred meters of mid section were just gone.

To Be Continued

Commander Maritza Soran
Commanding Officer
DS5

1st Lieutenant Gordon Blue
Marine Commanding Officer
DS5

Lieutenant Liam Reynolds
Chief Counselor
DS5

Commander Amia Telamon
Chief Medical Officer
DS5

Commander Caleb Ryan
Executive Officer
DS5

Lieutenant Alanna Wells
Chief Science Officer
DS5

Lieutenant Annora Tessaro
Asst. Chief Security/Tactical Officer
DS5

 

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