Posted by Lieutenant Saxon McCleary (Chief Intelligence Office) in [DD] - Arrival - Bridge

Posted by Lieutenant Jack ‘Blaze’ Turner (Chief Sec/Tac Officer) in [DD] - Arrival - Bridge

Posted by Captain Aiden Voss (Commanding Officer) in [DD] - Arrival - Bridge
Posted by… suppressed (21) by the Post Ghost! 👻

[Snip]

“Err… Sir…”, said the Ensign at the helm. “I don’t think there is a need to track that vessel,” he continued, as the view screen showed the unknown vessel bank away from where the Ferengi ship used to be, and start to pursue the Memorial.”

GM

“Change course and increase our warp factor by one tenth, let us see if its pure coincidence,” Aiden ordered stroking his chin thoughtfully, perhaps it was the Ferengi themselves. “Ask security to bring whichever Ferengi claims to be the leader to the bridge immediately. Perhaps they may have some clues as to who these are.”

Captain Aiden Voss
Commanding Officer
USS Memorial

The Ensign shook his head. “They’ve changed course… and increased speed… expected time to intercept is 10 minutes.”

At that moment, the turbolift opened and Frax, along with McCleary and Bragason, stepped out on to the bridge.

GM

Aiden’s voice rang with urgency as he snapped out his orders. “Send a priority one message to Starfleet—inform them of our situation immediately. Red Alert! Increase speed to one-tenth off emergency warp. Notify Engineering that I need warp efficiency optimised, and prepare for emergency speeds. Science, begin scanning for any advantage—planets, gas clouds, subspace eddies, anything. Find it!”

He turned to face the chief intelligence officer, flanked by the Ferengi and Bragason. His gaze was steady, but his tone was formal. “So, this is our guest. Welcome aboard the USS Memorial. I am Captain Voss.”

Captain Aiden Voss
Commanding Officer
USS Memorial

Tyr stood just behind the Ferengi to his left, his stance outwardly casual. He stood where his holstered sidearm was further away and could easily be drawn with his left if necessary.

Ensign Tyr - Sec

“Captain, this is Frax, the sole occupant of the freighter. He was guarding a single object, a metallic cube of unknown origin. It’s in a stasis field and under guard right now.”

Lieutenant Saxon McCleary
Chief Intelligence Office USS Memorial

Aiden nodded his thanks to Saxon, appreciating the succinct update. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

He then turned his full attention to the Ferengi, narrowing his gaze slightly as he studied the diminutive figure. “Frax,” Aiden began, his tone calm but probing, “this unknown vessel that made your freighter vanish—could they be the rightful owners of the metal cube you were transporting? And more importantly, did you or your associates acquire it through… less than legal means?”

The bridge was silent as Aiden waited for Frax’s response, the tension in the air palpable. Every word, every gesture, would matter now as the truth behind the mysterious disappearance began to unravel.

Captain Aiden Voss
Commanding Officer
USS Memorial

“All salvage is legal,” the Ferengi said, in frustration. “Just because you hewmons insist in awarding those who are negligent in losing such treasures, doesn’t mean the rest of the galaxy does.” he continued.

“We found it on a ship, that was abandoned.” he snarled. “And then we were attacked by the droidlings!”

GM

“And as is common someone has come to reclaim what is rightfully theirs.” Aiden considered for a moment. “Do you know anything about the device in which you took? Could it be that they want it back?” He asked both the ferengi and anyone who may have a suggestion.

Captain Aiden Voss
Commanding Officer
USS Memorial

“We never took it from them, it was from the other ship?” the Ferengi said through clenched teeth.

“Sir!” the Ensign at the helm shouted out. “I can’t seem to outrun them. Every time we increase speed, they meet it and then some. They’re now only 3 minutes away.”

“There is a nebula, approximately 4 minutes to port… we can probably make it if we increase speed further.” replied the ops officer.

GM

Jack looked to his console and confirmed the officers calculations. “Sir, I concur with the ops’o we would make cover, or we try to make contact again. They will however, be caught up with us and we’ll have too confront them.” he noted. “Sir I would like reenforce security around key area’s of the ship just incase.” he asked

Lieutenant Jack ‘Blaze’ Turner
Chief of Security / Tactical Officer

Sifeda stepped onto the bridge, her eyes immediately scanning the room. She moved quickly her chair beside the Captain.
Her processed bits and pieces of the conversation happening around her. The Ferengi’s protest, the helm officer’s shout, the ops officer’s suggestion, all pieces of a puzzle she was trying to fit together.
She focused on her console, the tactical display, the ship’s trajectory. The nebula was close, but so was the pursuing ship. Sifeda calculated the odds, weighing the risk of heading into the nebula against the certainty of being caught if they stayed on their current course.
“Captain,” Sifeda said, her voice steady despite the urgency in her thoughts. “I believe we can make it to the nebula, but it’s going to be tight. I suggest we divert power from non-essential systems to the engines. It’ll give us the boost we need to make it in time.”

Commander Itri
(Executive Officer)

OOC: Just moving this along a bit…

IC: It did indeed give them a boost, although it was quickly wearing out the engines. The would make it to the nebula within the minute, but the ship pursuing them was only seconds behind.

Suddenly, a beam shot out of the ship, and glanced across the Memorial’s shields. Most of the power continued past the Memorial, but her shields were down by 27%.

Curiously, after firing that shot, the other ship slowed down briefly.

GM

McCleary stepped to one of the sensor consoles to get readings. “Interesting,” Saxon said quietly. “It appears, Captain, their energy weapon takes a lot of power to operate. Their speed has decreased significantly as the weapon fired. This could give us the time we need to reach the nebula.”

Lieutenant Saxon McCleary
Chief Intelligence Office USS Memorial

Aiden nodded at Saxon’s assessment, his mind racing as he weighed their options. The pursuing ship was powerful, but it had its limitations. The brief slowdown after firing their weapon gave the Memorial a narrow window of opportunity.

“Helm, take us into the nebula as first as our hull can bare it,” Aiden ordered, his voice decisive. “Divert power weapons if you have too, I don’t think were shooting our way out of this one… not yet at least.” He turned once again to this XO, tactical officer and Saxon. “An energy weapon that drains that much power must also weaken their defensive capabilities, could we some how get them to fire at us, miss and use it as an opportunity to disable their weapon? I am open to suggestions.”

Captain Aiden Voss
Commanding Officer
USS Memorial

The Memorial raced toward the nebula, with the other ship in close pursuit. As it got close to the nebula, there was a sudden power surge registered on Deck 4, before the ship juddered to a halt.

GM

Saxon jumped to the nearest console to find out what happened. “Power surge on deck 4, Captain,” he reported as he continued to search for why the Memorial just stopped.

“Rupture in the upper impulse bay, sir”

Lieutenant Saxon McCleary
Chief Intelligence Office USS Memorial

“Dispatch a repair team and close off that area, do we have any readings on the following ship?” He wondered if their efforts to hide in the nebula would work.

Captain Aiden Voss
Commanding Officer
USS Memorial

Crosspost
“Thalia to the bridge. We’ve got a situation down here. The cube has activated or did something and it seems to be reacting to whatever just hit the ship.”

Ensign Summerhill
(Science Officer)

The ship had come to an abrupt halt, and the power surge on Deck 4 was more than a minor inconvenience it was a critical problem that needed immediate attention. But the mention of the cube caught her attention. The cube’s activation couldn’t be a coincidence, not with the timing of the energy weapon and the sudden power failure. Sifeda felt they were dealing with more than just a simple pursuit; this was quickly turning into a multi-faceted threat.

“The cube,” she murmured to herself, quickly cross-referencing its energy signature with the readings from the power surge. Her tactical mind raced, trying to connect the dots. If the cube was reacting to the energy weapon, there could be an opportunity here or a disaster.
“Captain,” Sifeda said, “The cube’s activation might be linked to the power surge. It’s possible that the energy weapon interacted with it in some way. We need to assess whether it’s a threat or if it could be used to our advantage. I recommend isolating the cube’s energy signature and monitoring any fluctuations. If it’s reacting to the weapon, we might be able to manipulate that reaction.”

She glanced at her console again, the tactical display showing the pursuing ship still on their tail, though its speed had decreased. They had precious little time before the enemy closed the gap. “We should also prepare to initiate evasive maneuvers as soon as we regain impulse power. The nebula will provide some cover, but we can’t rely on it alone.”

Commander Itri
(Executive Officer)

The ship continued to close. Scanners started to register a power increase in the enemy vessel, indicating their primary ‘weapon’ was powering up. The crew would need to act fast to prevent a disaster from unfolding.

The helmsman started to program in an evasive course, ready for engineering to regain power to the impulse engines.

GM

Aiden’s mind raced as the situation rapidly evolved. The cube’s activation, the power surge, and the approaching enemy ship all demanded swift and precise action.

“Helm, initiate evasive maneuvers the moment we regain impulse power. Use whatever thrusters and remaining engine power we have—get us moving and unpredictable. I don’t want to present a sitting target.”

He turned to Tactical. “Fire several probes, spread them out in random directions. Have them emit transponder signals matching our own, like flares. Let’s confuse their targeting systems and buy us some time.”

Aiden quickly moved to the communication console. “Transporter, lock onto that cube. Prepare to beam it into open space, right between us and the incoming ship.” His voice carried the weight of command but also a calm determination. He knew this would be a risky maneuver, but if the cube was somehow tied to the enemy’s pursuit, it might be the distraction they needed.

With a final glance at his bridge crew, Aiden spoke again. “On all frequencies, open a channel. Let them know we have no interest in fighting here. We’re willing to talk.”

Captain Aiden Voss
Commanding Officer
USS Memorial

Jack made a few calculation and quickly gave them same signature as the Memorial, his fingers dancing quickly across his consol. He programed them to fan out in different natural direction the ship might take including it’s original course and waited for the helm to begin it’s maneuver. “Countermeasures away sir” he said as the ship lurched in a turn.

Lieutenant Jack ‘Blaze’ Turner
Chief of Security / Tactical Officer

“Captain, I don’t know why it wasn’t done, but I told them to get that cube into a stasis field. That may have kept this from happening.”

Keeping his eyes on the forward viewscreen, Saxon added, “I also think it would be a good idea to get Frax to the brig, where he can be locked down before he decides to do something stupid on his own.”

Lieutenant Saxon McCleary
Chief Intelligence Office USS Memorial

The other ship was confused for several minutes, as it probed the decoys, however it was not long before it was back on the trail of the Memorial. There was also no response to their hails. Instead, another shot of its primary weapon split through space, just missing the Memorial thanks to the interference that was being generated by the nebula’s periphery.

=^= Transport Room to Bridge. =^ = broke a voice over the comms system. =^= I’m unable to gain a transporter lock on the cube; it seems surrounded in some form of temporal flux. =^=

GM