Posted by Civilian Sair Songz (Counselor) in side - sim: Out of the Frying Pan

Posted by Fleet Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in side - sim: Out of the Frying Pan

Posted by Commander Shedda Mal’athar (Executive Officer) in side - sim: Out of the Frying Pan
Posted by… suppressed (12) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“Put it on audio and keep transmitting our response and request.” The waiting was hard, especially when you were sitting on the holodeck and the temptation was to try and speed up the program. Circumstances could change in that time. “Helm how long to destination?”

Mal’athar, XO

She was sure a trained tactical officer would run through a series of tiny tasks and checks while in this waiting place, but Sair knew none of it, so she simply did what Alex told her and took a breath and trusted.

~Sair Songz, CNS

Bump

The comms began playing and it was unintelligible for a long moment. Finally, through a combination of closing proximity and skill of the comms officer, the message came through.

=/\= This is the USS Benedict Arnold. We are under attack from multiple hostiles. Tholians. We are at critical on shields and life support, and have hull breaches on multiple decks. Warp drive is off line. Please assist. =/\=

Cochrane, CO

bump

“Inform the Benedict Arnold we are enroute,” Shedda told the comms officer. Then turned to look at Sair, “Tactical I want everything there is to know on the ship and crew of the Arnold. Continue hailing the Tholians. Tell them we are responding to a distress signal from Benedict Arnold and add a request for cease fire and why they are firing on the Arnold. Science can sensors confirm how many ships or weapons fire yet?”

Mal’athar, XO

Comms nodded and increased power to insure the signal was reaching the Thailand. Science reported scanners showed three Tholian vessels and the Arnold, multiple disruptor signals… and the presence of a Tholian Web.

Cochrane

“Three Tholian vessels, plus the Benedict Arnold. Weapons fire present with disruptors and there is an energy barrier present. I can’t be sure but I think it might be one of those webs mentioned earlier,” Sair said, though she had no idea what that meant in reality.

~Sair Songz, CNS

“When we are close enough I want a visual. Can we tell if the web is complete yet?” Shedda turned to the console on her chair and pulled up all information on thr Arnold. Ship specs to crew manifest to personal records on the crew.

Mal’athar, XO

The files began pouring in. The Arnold was a research vessel with a crew of almost nine hundred… and then the personnel files began flooding her console. Name after name after name.

Cochrane

Alex had said to be aware of captains and ships and other important personnel. She concentrated first on the command and senior staff to see if anything flagged for them. She also pulled up the current mission assignment for the ship. What were they supposed to be doing, where and why.

“I believe so, but I will double-check,” Songz said, eyeing the readings again and trying to discern the difference between a full web, a partial one and one that might be close enough to complete that it would register as complete. She did understand that if there was even a small hole in it there could be an opportunity for escape, though Sair had to admit she didn’t even know what the weapon did exactly.

~Sair Songz, CNS (fixing split thread)

“When we get close enough, I want IDs on the Tholian ships.”

Mal’athar, XO

“Yes, Captain,” Sair said matter-of-factly. As much as this was a test for herself, it was also one for Shedda. She was a bit curious how the woman would react to the standard protocol. After all, she did know that the one in charge, regardless of rank, was the Captain.

~Sair Songz, CNS

=/\= Computer, pause simulation. =/\= Cochrane said. He pushed off the wall where he had been leaning and said “Ok. Let’s take a minute.” He walked over to the Ops console and sat on it, facing Mal’athar and Songz. He motioned Sair to join them.

Sognz sighed to herself and moved over. She had no way to know how any of this was going except that she was clearly way out of her depth here.

Shedda rolled her shoulders and watched Cochrane move over to the ops station. If she felt out of her depth, she could only imagine how Sair felt. This was totally outside her realm of experience, and Shedda wasn’t performing stellar. Of course that was why she asked Alex for this training. If she always got it right there was no reason to be here.

“One of the hardest, but most important lessons, you have to learn in a combat scenario is that you don’t know everything. And there isn’t time to learn it. Shedda. You are looking at the crew files and perso. El records, right? Because I told you learn about other ships and officers. And that’s good. But its not the right time. One of the first things you are going to want to do, and I’m sure they taught this at the Academy, is to pull up a tactical display, right?” and he smiled. “Its a really easy first step to forget.” He said =/\= Computer. Set tactical display of current simulated conflict on main screen. =/\= There was a chirp and a map appeared on the main screen. It showed the location of the Tholians, the Arnold, and the Manhattan. There was distance between ships, time to target, and weapons statuses.

Shedda nodded even as she felt really inept as Cochrane pulled up the tactical display. Yes they taught that at the Academy. She hadn’t thought to put it up until they were closer, and she wasn’t sure why she thought to wait. She was out thinking herself, a bad habit she had. Trying to think of everything that could possibly be done rather than doing.

“So a lot of what you need to know is here. Seeing that and keeping it active will save you and your bridge crew a lot of yelling and confusion.” He looked at Sair and said “Now I know, and Sheddah knows, that you have little to no experience at a tactical station. Don’t be afraid to say ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I can’t do that.’ Thats why we practice, so you don’t have to say that when it’s real.” and he winked. “A Tholian web is an an energy field between three or more Tholian vessels that ebtrapts and drains rhe energy of any ship or powered structure caught in it. Its nasty, its unique, and it’s a damn nightmare to deal with if you are unfortunate enough to get caught in one.” He paused for a moment.

Sair frowned. It sounded worse than she had even imagined.

“Now tell me what you both know about the Tholians.”

Cochrane, CO

“Absolutely nothing,” Sair said. “Except that they are from an entirely different area of space to Kobliad and we’ve have not interaction with them.”

~Sair Songz, CNS

Cochrane snorted softly and said “Fair enough. Shedda?”

Cochrane, CO

Shedda ran through what she remembered, “They are crystalline species that require extreme heat to survive. Cold can harm them. They are xenophobic and don’t tolerate stranges in their space. I remember reading they will become aggressive if they think you are being deceitful. Their web is impossible to escape from once it’s finished.”

Mal’athar, XO

“Correct.” Cochrane said. He looked at Sair and said “Imagine really pissed off crystals. Thats a Tholian. Now, understanding them as a xenophobic, hostile to all outsiders, extremely territorial species…” and he pointed at the tactical display, “… what do you think is going on there?”

Cochrane, CO

Behaviour she could understand, decipher. Finally something she could do! “The Benedict Arnold invaded their territory, either in actual fact or by perception. It’s an act of aggression that will not be tolerated and we can’t just swoop in, fire weapons and hope for the best. We need a strategy going in, perhaps an element of surprise. And we need to do it fast before they finish their web.”

~Sair Songz, CNS

“That was my thought as well. I don’t know if the Tholians tend to give warnings or not. So it is possible the Arnold wasn’t aware they had crossed the boarder. However I can’t imagine a captain, this close to their space wouldn’t keep an eye on their position.” Shedda nodded at Sair, “With a web in place and 3 Tholian ships we can’t just fly in and get in between them and take some of damage and hope they will talk. We could get trapped too. I would aim to take out the device on the aft section of the ship’s, but if I remember correctly, a web has only been stopped by destroying at least one craft that was creating it.”

Mal’athar, XO