Posted by Ensign Tellek Bog (Engineer) in Main-Sim – Command Information Centre (CIC)

Posted by Commander Ryder Raauhl (Executive Officer) in Main-Sim – Command Information Centre (CIC)

Casela would see that the Einstein did, in fact, cheat the Ferengi for the device and had reported of Ferengi ships trying to stop them, which would explain why they were in the Nebula so close to the Neutral zone.

• LCARS

Casela passed the information to Ryder. She didn’t want to announce out loud to an already high stress room, that the Ferengi would be coming after them next for whatever it was they were retrieving. She’d had good dealings with them in the past, but if several ships had been sent out to retrieve the artifact, then it was doubtful it would be a pleasent encounter. And speaking of which where was Cobb? He should have returned by now. And Fenrir hadn’t reported finding Gen yet either. She moved back to her chair and glanced at the left hand screen to see what Fenrir was up to.

Lt. Synthi-er, CNS

Bog’s eyes narrowed as a plan began to develop, checking the scanners to insure that the nebula didn’t contain anything that might react negatively to his plan. “I think I can clear up some of the interference, but it will require an active anti graviton stream from the tractor array.” If he could clear a narrow corridor of ionized gas and debris he would be able to establish a secure tight beam connection. It wouldn’t have a an unlimited band width but if the ship’s internal come were active he could insure communications with the away team and limited telemetry from her internal sensors.

Tellek

OOC: Holding for the away team to beam across.

• Jakeus Maximus

If he was keeping his Tellar eyes on his computer screen he would see a message from the Transporter room inform him that the transport of the away team was a success.

• LCARS

“Away team away” barked Bog, but he was much more interested in the telemetry from the transport it’s self. Perhaps he could learn more about the sub space interference effecting communications that way.

Good little piggy

Ryder turned to look towards Bog who was stationed with his entourage up on the second level of the CIC over the engineering control table. It was at this point he wondered where Captain Cobb was and half considered sending someone down to the lounge to check if he had detoured for a momentary refreshment.

• Commander Raauhl, XO

The screen that Casela had been monitoring would show that NE Blaire’s the science officer who had joined the away team life signs had ceased and the away team were no longer moving on the bridge, all this happened before the Einsteins shields suddenly raised and the links they had with the ship ceased, including Bogs Engineering link. It was a total communication blackout.

• LCARS
  Years of getting bad news steadied her voice and her hands, but there was an edge to it now, “Cmdr. We lost NE Blaire’s life signs, the away team made it to the bridge, they’ve stopped moving.” As she spoke the shields raised and the link was lost. “Einstein is raising shields and they cut off our link. Trying to re-establish, but with the shields and nebula I don’t know if I can.” She glanced up while working. One hand over her commbadge to summon Cobb and Fenrir. Because without another shield from Hampton, Fenrir was possibly the only choice.
  Lt Synthi-er, CNS

Bog saw the spike in power readings on the scan feed he was monitoring, seamlessly he attempted to lock in the shield frequency, it was a narrow window for that class of ship but still…

As a secondary he brought up the Einstien’s specs. porting the request to the XO for his command codes. “X! Eyes to your console I need your authorization!” Bog bellowed.

This done he issued commands to lock down the external feeds to the main computer and to rotate the shield frequency to prevent just what he had in mind.

Again he wished he was on a shuttle, and Leviathan was at a safe distance…

Bog

“Try and regain communications and senor links on the away team.” Ryder tapped his comm badge, =^= CIC to Captain Cobb, We’ve lost communications with the away team and our last readings showed us that one of the team was down. =^= There perhaps that would invoke the presence of their Captain. He looked around the CIC looking for answers but he knew he wouldn’t find them there.

To make matter worse the science officer station at the ship’s sensor station would see that their long-range science sensors had identified two D’Kora class starships plotting an intercept course to the Einsteins locations.

OOC: Ens Echo, This is a good spot to jump in.

• Commander Raauhl, XO

“I was right! They spoofed us!” Bog growled, with out the restricted archive on the shield harmonics it would take time to reduce them from the scans. With out them they couldn’t transport anything in or out.

once the enemy ships came to his attention Bog put in a request for a class V probe to use as a transporter and com relay wile the ship pulled clear to fight. That would give him the time he needed to get the frequencies. Even then they weren’t going to transport the team out of there. But they could just push Fenrir and a set of enhancers over. That would open the door. Porting the request to the XO’s station.

Bog

At that moment, the captain charged onto the bridge and headed immediately for his chair, tapping furiously at his terminal for a few moments before raising his head and surveying every crewmember in the room.

“Would someone like to explain to me what the hell just happened?” he asked. “How did we lose them so quickly?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

“They spoofed the feeds from the Einstein and sprung their trap just as our people reached the bridge.” Bog growled from the engineering station, hoof like fingers flying over the controls as he issued commands to the engineering and damage control teams abound the Leviathan. Even tho it had been mere seconds sense he had sent his requests to the XO’s screens, to the Tellurites racing mind it had seemed an eternity.

Bog
“They got to the bridge, we lost life signs on NE Blaire. The team was on the bridge and then, sheilds went up and all connection was lost. I’m trying to get it back.” She glanced at the other screen monitoring Fenrir and Gen. She was playing fetch with Fenrir. “If the away team is compromised, Fenrir is an option.” She might be able to maintain a connection with him, or she might have to go with him. “If this thing affects the minds of humanoids. His AI shouldn’t be affected. Send him with confinement beams to help them.”
Lt. Synthi-er, CNS

“Get a second squad on line and ready,” Cobb ordered. This was what the RTF was meant to do best. He’d been a damned fool to risk his own engineers and scientists into the mix. “We’ll establish a tractor-lock on the ship and rig up a physical passageway if we have to!”

On her control panel she alerts 2nd squadron, The Black Devils, to prepare for deployment. 2nd squad, the one Manhattan has been having her train. They have no regent. Manhattan had wanted her to take that spot. She’d been putting it off, she had too many other duties to do that. She glanced at the other screen. Gen and Fenrir were still on the counseling deck. “Sir do you want me to have Fenrir readied to deploy as well?”

=^=Niven to CIC. Black Devils are ready to deploy.=^=

=^=Acknowledged Niven. Stand by=^=

He got to his feet and approached the engineering station. “Mr Bog, what can you tell me about these Marauders? Just a blip? Or is our day about to become a whole lot worse than it already is?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

“Let me look at the long range scans, sir.” Bog brought up the feed from the scan station on a split screen. It didn’t take an expert to see the pair of D’kora.”There is your confirmation, Ferengi.”

“Ferengi!” Cobb spat out the word as if it soured on his lips. “Now what the hell do they want? The same thing as us, no doubt!”

Casela brought Cobb up to date, “The Einstein stole this artifact from the Ferengi. They chased Einstein into the nebula. They want it back. It is ill gotten gains. There is one captain’s log that we were able to recover. It needs your authorization to open and read it. It’s waiting on your console Captain.”

On the other half of the screen his plans to use a mark V probe as a relay as well as sending over buffer enhancers. Was clear to see.

“If you’ll unlock the archives perhaps I can get Einstens shield frequencies” and you can get your self some maneuvering room.”

“Aye, I like your thinking, Mr Bog,” the captain replied, quickly supplying the requisite authority to unlock the information. “See what you can do with that now, eh?”

A truly nasty idea came to him “ Of corse I could as easily use the probe to relay quantum torpedoes out to meet our friends wile you scramble fighters, sir”

Bog the diabolical…

Despite their precarious situation, Cobb could not quite stifle a chuckle at the Tellarite’s words. Leaning in close he murmured “I really like your thinking, Mr Bog.”

But then straightening up, he added, “Unfortunately the Ferengi are not considered a hostile entity at this time and we have no call to attack them outright.”

He moved to return to his seat but at the last returned to the engineer and added, “But no harm in being prepared, eh, Mr Bog?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

“Ay, sir” as Bog opened the secure archives to see what the shield frequency for the Einstien, he ordered a second probe configured and both to be launched when the transporters were ready. Then launching the two probes.

With the Einstien’s shield frequencies in hand he checked them against his scan data before transporting a test dummy to verify he had it right.

Bog

Lt. Synthi-er, CNS/RTF/KAI9 Handler

OOC: SO sorry! I didn’t realise we had info needing my authorisation!

IC: Cobb hurried back to his seat and pulled up the log Synthi-er had just informed him about. As he punched in his codes and waited for the information to be revealed, he glanced at the Counselor.
“Well, let’s see what this can tell us then, eh?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

The file began playing immediately at the moment Cobb entered his command codes.

I am Captain Endust of the USS Einstien a classified science vessel who answers to the RTF task force, if you find this log then it is most likely that I am no longer breathing. Our ship had been dispatched to take control of an artifact from a Ferengi trading merchant and when negotiations failed we stole the device but were caught in our escape. We thought we had contained the artifact. We noticed the artifact was emitting a sleep suppressive sound wave which was affecting the crew, our scientist disabled this particular component but when we interacted with the box it released whatever was being held inside. We later found out the box was a prison for a type currie Abbell entity which we nicknamed ‘Sandman’.

The Immediate science team that was working on the box was placed in a coma by means we could not tell and the remainder of the crew began seeing apparitions or shadows and it slowly drove them mad. I too have been affected and all attempts to contain the being have failed. We believe sandman is somehow manipulating a dreamscape environment our original science team had been forced into and only there could he be defeated but we had run out of time. I am going to try and face sandman by inducing myself into a deep sleep where I can manipulate the dream if this fails, you must destroy the ship. I hope this information falls into the rights hands and one last thing, don’t fall asleep, it’ll be your last. Gods speed.

The recording ceased and began to repeat.

• LCARS

Casela taps a finger against her chest, or the rune stones under her shirt, deep in thought. “He was going to face him in his sleep?” She ponders it, her mind racing. “Captain, I…well maybe. Betazoid sleep at a different alpha wave frequency than other species. There was a report, Deanna Troi, the ship’s counselor,” the irony is not lost on Casela, “she’s half Betazoid. She was able to enter a dream state in order to communicate with an alien life form. It worked for her because the alpha wave frequency was different, allowing her to have control rather than succumb.” Her fingers dance over her console looking for the log entry in the data base. Once she finds it ( https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Night_Terrors_(episode) ) she sends it to Cobb and Ryder’s consoles. “If Cpt Endust was attempting something similar.”
Lt. Synthi-er, CNS

As the message ended, the captain’s first act was to tap his commbadge and murmur into it, =^=Yeoman. I need coffee on the bridge. Lots of coffee. Say, enough to keep me awake for at least…a week?=^=

His second act was to consider Synthi-er’s suggestion regarding Betazoids, although the more he played it over in his mind the more his frown intensified. “Now Cas, I hope you’re not attempting to offer yourself up as a sacrifice here?” he asked her, quietly. “Because I’m in no mind to authorise anything so dangerous until we have more information on this thing.”

“No, Sir. I’m providing options,” she said quietly. “A sacrifice is useless unless you know it would be successful. Another option, if we can get through the shields is to send the AARM. But I’ll need to program it with specifics or allow him free reign since we’ve lost communication. We could also have him carry over signal enhancers to help boost the transporter confinement beam to get the team off. Then we could blow the ship to bits as Cpt Endust suggests. Of course loss of communication does not mean that something has happened to them. Could we send a shuttle to get closer and use it like a relay for communications? But it would be a sitting duck for those Ferengi.”

Then, glancing over at Bog once again, he called out, “Anything, Mr Bog? It is vital that we relay this new information to the away team. If they’ve somehow fallen under the influence of this thing then there’s no telling what they’re going to see over there. Or be driven to do.”

He felt tricked. Cheated. Had he known the Einstein had been an ARU vessel then he might have been tempted to leave them to their anomaly and keep the Leviathan clear. So, that was the way they liked to do things! With another glance at the Counselor, he added, “Is there anyone who will tell me the bloody truth in this organisation?!”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Casela didn’t have an answer, and THIS, this was why she’d done what she had. And no matter what sacrifice she paid in the end it was worth it to give Cobb some advantage. She had no idea what was on the isochip she gave him, but she hoped it had something useful for Cobb.

Lt. Synthi-er, CNS

“From the message, it seems the entity can only sustain the dreamscape for a handful of crew. I think our best option now would be to try and secure the prison the Captain spoke about and subdue the entity whilst trying to aid the away team. Perhaps we could use a meditation technique to infiltrate the dreamscape, has anyone ever heard of Lucid dreaming before?” Ryder asked looking around concern creasing in his frown.

• Commander Rauuhl, XO
  

Casela nodded, “That is very similar to what Troi did according to the report. And from a psychological stand point, lucid dreaming is the only safe way to do what Cpt Endust was attempting. Otherwise you are at the whims of your subconscious and what ever influencing forces are around you. It would require close monitoring. And the situation isn’t quite the same. The crew of the Enterprise was unable to sleep, where with this Sandman, they can’t stay awake.”

A bark of grim laughter escaped Bog, “Well now, who ever spoofed us is rotating the shield frequencies to keep us out. Only option we got is to Shuttle over or pound a hole in the shields and take out the grid.” Seeing the probes were sighted off on and peeped he orders them launched, one tord the Einstien and one ore the incoming Faringi. “Probes away” as he sent telemetry to tactical and the transporter Chief.

Another evil thought crept in to his mind “ When our ‘friends’ get feisty, we can use their electromagnetic weapon to take down the Einstein’s shields.” He was confident he could modify the navigational dish to do the same, but it would over load the circuits and require either a toe back to dry dock or a long trip on impulse.

Bog

Casela looked at Bog. “I like how your mind works.” She looked at Cobb, she wouldn’t look at Ryder, “I could pilot the shuttle for Mr. Bog. I’m a fair pilot, but more importantly, if the Ferengi should happen to catch the shuttle, I have a few surprises I could leave them.” She’d need to get into the weapon locker in Ryder’s quarters.

Lt. Synthi-er, CNS/RTF/S31