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OOC: Please note to use =^= when you are speaking over comms so it is easier to see and cross post to the persons thread you are speaking too.:)

=^=The intruders are contained for now.=^=~Pawl said calmly to the open connection to the bridge. It was if he had spoken too soon as the tactical display changed without warning. The gravimetric distortion marking the concealed vessel sharpened abruptly. What had been a carefully controlled signature expanded as power surged through the contact. Almost simultaneously, the encrypted transmissions directed toward the derelict stopped.=^= “Aye, sir, already done.” =^=

For several seconds, there was nothing. Then Lieutenant Marcus Hale’s console sounded. “Captain, contact is moving!”

The concealed vessel accelerated from the debris field, no longer attempting to disguise its position. Its projected course brought it directly toward the Chernov and the derelict. A second alert followed. Four smaller contacts separated from the larger distortion and they were moving rapidly.

Hale’s hands worked across Tactical. “Four probes. Same signature family as the devices we’ve been tracking. They’re coming directly at us.” The first probe swept past the Chernov’s bow and a concentrated energy pulse struck the forward shields causing the bridge lights to flicker.

“Impact confirmed,” Hale reported. “Low yield, but definitely weapons fire.”

Operations registered another development almost immediately. The unknown vessel had begun transmitting again, but the signal was no longer directed exclusively toward the derelict. Powerful overlapping bursts were now washing across the Chernov’s sensor and communications bands.

The second probe altered course, this time it was aiming directly for the ship. Whatever had been observing them had stopped watching and had begun attacking.

Nosferatu
Your Darkest Nightmare

The bridge lights flickered once before stabilizing, the tactical display painting the approaching probes across O’Neil’s command interface. His eyes followed the second contact as it broke from the formation and altered course toward the Chernov. The first probe had already fired. There was no ambiguity about that. O’Neil rose from the command chair, his voice cutting cleanly through the bridge.

“Red alert. Shields up.”

He turned toward Tactical. “Hale, track all four. Give me a weapons solution on the one coming at us.” His gaze shifted briefly toward the main viewer before returning to the tactical display. “Weapons free against anything that fires on this ship. Until then, we hold our fire.” O’Neil looked toward Operations as the overlapping transmissions continued to interfere with the Chernov’s systems. “Mercer, isolate those transmissions. Keep our communications and sensor systems clean. If they’re trying to blind us or get inside our systems, I want to know before they succeed.”

O’Neil returned his attention to the tactical display, the larger unidentified vessel continuing its approach somewhere beyond the probes. “Archer, stand by to maneuver. Keep us clear of the derelict and that debris field.” A measured pause followed. “T’Sol, continue monitoring the gravimetric distortion. I want immediate notification of any change in its behavior.” His expression hardened as the incoming probe closed the distance. “Nobody chases them. Nobody fires on that larger vessel. We protect the Chernov, we protect our people, and we find out exactly what these things are trying to accomplish. Let’s see what they do next.”

THADDUS CHARLES FRANCIS O’NEIL
Captain, Starfleet
Commanding Officer, USS Chernov NCC-1790

Lt. Valharra coded the translation. He read it, and he sent it to science and the captain to look over, right before the attack. It confirmed it was trying to regain control of the four contacts, and they finally found the correct one and regained control. After the attack, he continued reading the translation, then turned to the Captain, “There is translation in whatever that was that hit the ship” He stated as he continued watching the translation populate. “They are looking for Tamm, I’m not 100% sure that was a weapon attack, or an invasive scan to see if Tamm is aboard.”
Lt. Valharra, Communications Officer

Red alert lighting washed across the bridge as the Chernov’s shields snapped into place. At Tactical, Lieutenant Hale tracked the approaching probe as it swept past the edge of the ship’s defensive perimeter. “Contact is still maneuvering, Captain. No conventional weapons discharge.”

Another pulse struck the shields. This time the effect was immediately visible across the bridge consoles. Sensor displays distorted for several seconds, fragments of unfamiliar data appearing among Starfleet telemetry before the computer began clearing them.

Mercer worked rapidly at Operations. “Whatever that pulse was, it penetrated portions of our sensor processing despite the shields. I’m not detecting physical damage or an attempt to access the computer core.”

He glanced toward Vallarta’s station as the Communications Officer’s translated fragments continued populating. “It may support Lieutenant Vallarta’s assessment. The signal is interrogating our systems rather than trying to disable them.”

The tactical display suddenly changed, one of the four contacts aboard the derelict began moving. Hale immediately transferred the information to the main viewer.
“Captain, we’ve got movement aboard the derelict. One of the four signatures just separated from the others.”

The contact moved rapidly through the ancient vessel, following a course toward the hull breach. Then the approaching probe altered course and instead of continuing toward the Chernov, it turned directly toward the derelict.

Mercer stared at the correlation forming across his display. “The probe changed course the instant that contact began moving.”

Another alert sounded. The gravimetric distortion surrounding the larger unidentified vessel intensified briefly before stabilizing again. Hale looked toward the command area. “Larger vessel is holding position, but its power output just increased.”

Across the tactical display, the remaining three contacts aboard the derelict stayed contained while the fourth continued moving toward the breach. Whatever had regained control of it appeared to be trying to bring it home. And whatever had struck the Chernov now had reason to believe Tamm was aboard.

Gamemaster Nosferatu

Nosferatu
Your Darkest Nightmare