USS Feynman FEB 1997
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February 1997 Posts
TOTAL FEBRUARY 1997 POSTS: *TBD*
GRAND TOTAL POSTS: 720
Posts By Each Year
- 1996 Posts - 642 Posts
- 1997 Posts - 78 (Jan-Mar) Posts
- 1998 Posts - TBD Posts
- 1999 Posts - TBD Posts
USS FEYNMAN: Finally
by Mike Dawe 2-1-1997
SD: 90201
He grumbled to himself as he set up the briefing holocubes and quietly deactivated the recorders for the holodeck. Having been a former instructor at ALB and Psych Eval he knew how to make a deck sing and he used all his skills to cover his tracks this time. What the staff heard, they heard but he would not allow a permanent record beyond memory. There was nothing he could do about the android so he tried to ignore that aspect of the problem.
They were looking at him as though they wondered whether he might need help, he snorted softly and set the overlayer and had a direct feed to his right contact for a visual feed of Tamarian. Maybe he could bypass the androids memory. Dusting his hands he stepped back from the briefing rig and nodded to the senior staff. As they approached he keyed in a database request and read the reply off of his contact. To Maril he said "After the monk left the court."
Maril looked surprised at the request for this to be kept off the records but nodded slowly and drifted over to the Captain and murmured something in his ear. Azariah hoped it was a message and not a request for permission to record. He shrugged, nothing to do but go on.
The first image sprang up at the touch of a button. It was a three dimensional map of the area under SILVER fleets mandate and range. It now included the Kzin sphere of influence and the Lions Mane nebula. As he touched a second control the little indicators of SILVER ships sprang onto the map.
- Regent, almost at the nebula
- Andromeda, on an intercept course with a base in tow
- Bismark, on the outer reaches of the Kzin sphere, nearest the nebula
- Pearson right next to the Bismark
- Hawking had two indicators but the brighter one was with the Bismark and Pearson
- Elizabeth Blackwell was heading along the edge of the nebula
- Endeavour was well separated from all else, near a join of the Klingon Romulan neutral zones
- Saratoga was heading out into deep space after another base dimly lit.
- Feynman was indicated as docked at Epsilon
A blunt finger stabbed at the trio of ships in Kzin territory, close to a colony planet named Hoji. "An armada of xanthandi ships has left the Nebula and made a beeline for the colony there. The Bismark, Pearson, and Hawking are doing their best to delay the force long enough for the colony to prepare."
The CSO perked up at this and leaned forward to get a better look. To accommodate him Azariah keyed in the invading fleet. Ten warships against three smaller Star Fleet ships, it was not a fair fight.
"I have called in to Command to have them allocate any and all resources to aid and defend." His face turned grim. "They refused. I have been expressly forbidden to order any more ships into the area of Hoji. If the colony falls we will lose three ships and all the marines I could squeeze onto the Bismark. And I can't do a damn thing about it."
"Why?" The Admiral did not even look up to see who had asked the question.
"Unknown, but this basically means that we will be failing to honor our part of the treaty we cut with the Kzin less than a year ago." He tapped another key and the ships dimmed and the three bases glowed brighter. "The Saratoga is going out to revamp an old research station in deep space. The Andromeda is towing a new base into position if and when the Regent makes the door into the nebula."
"Door?" This came from Meleah.
"The Captain of the Regent is going to create a portal through the gravitational anomalies that keep the larger ships out of the nebula."
"How is he going to do that?" The CSciO pressed for more details.
"Stellar creation. He is in the process of publishing a paper on it, I'll have my people get you a galley copy of it if you wish. Now then, we will have the new base, Zinderneuf in position in a few more weeks. Unknown timeline for the Saratoga mission to Theta 6. That means we may be without a home for a while." He let this sink in.
Landers was the first to speak. "I have caught a few political broadcast but do you think that . . . "
"My people tell me there is a 72% chance that the Independence Party will win a sweeping victory in the elections on Cait. As a key plank in the platform is to remove the Star Fleet presence from insystem I am making plans for alternative bases. Only problem is I don't have a place to jump to. That is where the Feynman comes in."
He tapped another key. The image zoomed in on the nebula. "The Husnock were here, you brought back proof of that yourselves. I want you to go back in and find if they had a base or any other ships. Since they liked to build large maybe we can salvage something. See if you can bypass the pirate involvement but don't fail to defend yourself if you encounter hostile forces." He looked to Maril "The train to Dumro."
Maril nodded slowly. A strike at supply lines would distract a force that might have an upper hand otherwise. But this kind of mission was a going against fleet intent. The Admiral was lending aide while sticking to the letter of the orders but he was distorting the meaning.
"So it is mapping and scavenging for you right now. I know it may seem a little boring compared to the other ships but I am sure your people could use the rest. As a matter of fact you might want to leave some behind for extended R&R while you do this little errand." Grey eyes met those of Captain Zane. There was a second meaning to the suggestion.
<<<nrpg>>> Mission presented.
You may want to check out the other ships once and a while as a lot of threads are beginning to tie together. or not
Azariah is playing a close game right now as he feels under pressure from the Caitians and his hands tied by fleet. He has suggested to Maril that if you find xanthandi forces in the nebula to disrupt their supply lines if possible to distract the war fleet.
This order could put him in front of a tribunal. He has couched the orders in such a way and tried to block most recording as a way of covering his bases. He is not setting you up for plausible denial. Zane would know this.
The double reading for the Hawking is because the Hawking senior staff has taken the husnock vessel and is using it as a force in the defense of Hoji. Only problem is they still haven't figured out how to activate the weapons systems. This means you are already short staffed because the skeleton crew has not returned.
The R&R thing is a subtle suggestion to remove the civilians or non essential personnel since this may get 'hot'/
Your play people . . . make me proud
mike--->who wonders what will happen next
Vice Admiral Azariah Nicholas CINCSILVER
Captain Christof Fife USS REGENT
GM USS SARATOGA
Lt. Cmdr Eskat Eskat USS HERMES
Lt James Cardiff USS SARATOGA
mdawe@islandnet.com
USS FEYNMAN: Gearing Up
by Andrew Catterick 2-1-1997
SD: 90201.0930
MD: 1.1300
Scene: Holodeck
Husnock were here, you brought back proof of that yourselves. I want you to go back in and find if they had a base or any other ships. Since they liked to build large maybe we can salvage something. See if you can bypass the pirate involvement but don't fail to defend yourself if you encounter hostile forces." He looked to Maril "The train to Dumro."
Maril nodded slowly. A strike at supply lines would distract a
force that might have an upper hand otherwise. But this kind of mission was
a going against fleet intent. The Admiral was lending aide while sticking
to the letter of the orders but he was distorting the meaning.
Zane couldn't help but smile at that. A trip back into the sack
was going to be dangerous but he found that somewhat appealing. Perhaps
having his hands tied in the encounter with the Reavers made him all the
more eager. Besides, he thought, as she proved the last time, FEYNMAN was
built for the hostile environment of the sack. And, he noted with an
almost smug satisfaction, for disrupting SLOCs.
"So it is mapping and scavenging for you right now. I know it may
seem a little boring compared to the other ships but I am sure your people
could use the rest. As a matter of fact you might want to leave some behind
for extended R&R while you do this little errand." Grey eyes met those of
Captain Zane. There was a second meaning to the suggestion.
The admiral was probably right on that. Zane's initial reaction was to order all civilian's off the ship. But before he spoke Meleah broke in. "Captain will you be ordering civilians off the ship?"
In the background Bat cleared his throat but appeared to be engrossed in clearing up the buffet. He generally did not remain during the meetings but with the admiral here his curiosity must have got the better of him. He'd need Bat aboard if only to keep 10-Forward running smoothly. But he couldn't play favorites.
"We've been through dangerous missions before but this one could be a little more so. Ironically, all the civilians aboard are relations of each of you so I will leave it up to you to decide your individual case. I would 'suggest' that civilians do not remain aboard for this trip. However I will not be ordering my relation off.
"Your damn right you won't be." Came the reply from the buffet.
Zane turned to the admiral. "Will there be anything else sir?"
"No captain you and your people have a mission to get to. And I have some pressing business as well." They all stood.
"Very well, Commander we'll get under way at 1600 hours."
"Aye sir."
As the officers filed out of the room which had changed back to the black and yellow holodeck grid Zane grabbed Meleah's arm and pulled her closer. "Do you have a complete recording of this meeting?"
"Of course sir." She replied somewhat puzzled.
"See that you don't lose it."
<<<NRPG>>>
Short and to the point!;) Lets get back out there!
Kevin: We were in the sack the mission before you arrived. If you haven't already done so you may want to read the mission summary on the web page http://homepage.interaccess.com/~sgant/feynman.htm
(I'm going from memory, is that right Kris?)
Of course feel free to post reactions to the briefing, ask questions etc. Unfortunately I'm leaving for work so I wanted to make sure we were rolling after keeping us around for so long....
Respectfully, Andy-->Wondering why he always has to go to work when things get going:(
-Captain Zane, Commanding Officer, USS FEYNMAN
-Commander Horatio Sinclair, Fleet Intelligence Officer, BLUE FLEET
USS FEYNMAN: Starting the Search
by Jason Bostjancic 2-1-1997
SD: 90201
MD:1.1310
Scene: Outside Holodeck
Although it was a hard thing for the CEO to do, he had suppressed his inquisitive nature regarding the Husnock technology when the Feynman was sent away from their find during the last mission.
But, as Tarrant slowly fizzled from his stunned nature during the lift trip, that curiosity began to invade once again. The possibility of their being a Husnock Base... But if the Feynman was to find it, or any remnants of it, they'd need some insight.
"Stop Lift... Take me to the Bridge"
........
Scene: Bridge
A slightly quizzical Zane turned to see the who the arrival was. "What brings you to the Bridge, Lieutenant..*Commander*?"
The title still seemed odd. "Sir, before we break dock I'd like to see if we can get as much information as possible from Epsilon that's been cataloged from our Husnock ship's database."
"Anything in particular?"
"Star charts. From what I saw when we loaded up our core last time, the ship was full of data."
Zane's brow scrunched, "I doubt that we could carry too much of that data without filling our banks again, Mr. Koreth."
Tarrant nodded, "Yes, sir. That's why I'd like to limit it to nebula's or anything that we can define as being in the area. We might find something to at least lead us to the right direction."
"I can put in the request." nodded Zane thoughtfully, "but I'm not sure what you'll find."
...............
<NRPG>
Just a short one to get some gears turning. Perhaps the Sciences or Navigation would be interested in going over some of the charts?
Not that Jerran needs any extra-navigational aids, but It could help just in case he gets stuck into a shuttle with a new promotee... hmmm.
Respectfully,
Jason
Commander Tirrin Vorak - XO - USS BURKE
Lieutenant Tarrant L. Koreth - CEO - USS FEYNMAN
Potest esse nur unus
USS FEYNMAN: NRPG: "Most Intriguing"
by Kristen Gant 2-2-1997
>Anyway, it sounds like an interesting mission. Let's get going. BTW, does
>this mean instead of chemistry, I have to sound knowledgable about stellar
>creation????
<G> I think as Chief Science Officer they expect you to know everything :) This is were NPC deligation comes in. You know all the best managers are so good because they now how to deligate responsibility :):)
Kristen
Kristen & Scott Gant
http://homepage.interaccess.com/~sgant/gant.htm
USS FEYNMAN: Leads?
by Andrew Catterick 2-2-1997
SD: 90202.2200
MD: 1.1315
Scene: Access Hatch
With the meeting adjourned Zane escorted the admiral to the main access tube leading back into EPSILON. Both men, lost in thought, proceeded in silence. For his part, Zane went over various alternatives for best exploring the sack and finding a likely place for a Husnock base to hide, assuming there even was one. And that just might be a pretty weak assumption. He looked down absently at the computer chip that the admiral had handed him as they had rode in the turbolift. Apparently Mason, the pirate turned spy, that they had found on the pirate base had been fulfilling his part of the bargain Zane had offered. He just hoped the information Mason had provided would be useful.
"Well Captain you have quite a task ahead of you." The admiral said as they both came to a halt at the access way. The two marine sentries snapped to attention as they noticed Nicholas' presence.
"Anything else would be boring." Zane replied with a cocky smile he certainly didn't feel. "We won't let you down sir." He offered more earnestly.
With a nod the admiral turned and made his way down the gangway.
Zane watched him go and promised himself again that if anyone was ever
crazy enough to offer him an admiral's flag he'd run away screaming. All
the pressure, all the decisions, all the blame and little thanks. It just
didn't seem fair.
________________________
The turbolift doors parted to reveal a bustling bridge, not a rare scene on the FEYNMAN but certainly not standard for a ship in port. But only in port for two more hours and as always the promise of a new mission always served to energize the crew like little else.
"Commander, I'd like you to go over this file. Our friend Mr. Mason has provided us with some information, very little by the looks of it, on ship movements inside the sack. Cross reference it with our scans of the sack as well as SILVER's database and see if you can pinpoint likely places to find some supply lines to disrupt."
"Yes sir." The OPS officer replied. Zane tried hard not to laugh at the look on her face. She hadn't even seen the information but she had already guessed that looking for a needle in a very large haystack would be easier. Much easier. To her right Jerran chuckled quietly.
Behind him the turbolift doors parted and Zane turned to see LCDR Koreth emerge. So close to a launch and the CEO was not polishing the engines? That did seem strange.
<<Insert Jason's post here.))
The captain relaxed into his chair feeling a little more confident in the immediate future. With Krysa following one set of leads and Tarrant pursuing another they might even have a reasonable guess as to a destination before they arrived at the sack.
And what more could he ask for?
<<<NRPG>>>
Kevin: I've been racking my brains as to a description of the Xanthandi but I can't remember if we even had one. Unfortunately I can't keep past files:( Basically they are a warrior race that, if I remember correctly, are an offshoot of the Kzin. Essentially they have been hanging out in the sack locked in factional fighting but recently they have unified which is bad news for those who border the sack...SILVER and Kzin.
...someone please fill in any blanks and make any corrections.
Respectfully,
Andy
-Captain Zane, Commanding Officer, USS FEYNMAN
-Commander Horatio Sinclair, Fleet Intelligence Officer, BLUE FLEET
USS FEYNMAN: NRPG: "Leads?"
by Kristen Gant 2-3-1997
>Kevin: I've been racking my brains as to a description of the Xanthandi
>but I can't remember if we even had one. Unfortunately I can't keep past
>files:( Basically they are a warrior race that, if I remember correctly,
>are an offshoot of the Kzin. Essentially they have been hanging out in
>the sack locked in factional fighting but recently they have unified which
>is bad news for those who border the sack...SILVER and Kzin.
We only encounter their ships. We never actually met anyone from that race, so don't know much about them.
Kristen
Kristen & Scott Gant
http://homepage.interaccess.com/~sgant/gant.htm
USS FEYNMAN: Groundwork
by Andrew Catterick 2-5-1997
SD: 90205.1004
MD: 1.2330
Scene: After the shift change, Captain's ready room
"...and LT Stark and I have come up with a few ideas on slowing down the trade lines while we're there," Jerran said as he handed Capt Zane a PADD.
"During the occupation, some of the Resistance scientists came up with a
weapon to use against Cardassian shipping lines. Essentially, it fired a
particle beam of highly charged ions at the other ship. Those charges
tended to wreak havoc with the internal electronic systems of the ship,
disabling weapons, maneuvering control, and the like without effecting the
actual superstructure of the ship. Its main drawback is that the beam has
to come in direct contact with the hull, meaning that the shields have to
be pierced by phasers before this ion gun will work. But, against
freighters and transports, it shouldn't pose too much of a problem."
<<<SNIP>>>
"Good." Zane swipped at his still too hot coffee. "Casualties?"
"I don't anticipate any on either side but there is the possibility that someone might be killed by an exploding station etc. If these ships are like most bulk carriers I've seen then their state of repair," The FCO shrugged, "well they're not Starfleet."
"Zane to Ensign Fuhrman."
[Fuhrman here.] The transporter chief replied.
"Ensign what kind of a range would a transporter have on your average bulk carrier inside the stack?"
"Uhhh...not much sir. And even at close range there would most likely be a small degree of molecular breakdown."
"What if the FEYNMAN was providing site to site transport?"
[You'd definitely have more range and less chance of any anomalies.]
"And the NOGURA?"
[Same thing as the FEYNMAN but the larger the range the larger the power that would be drawn from primary systems.]
"I see. Consider it a problem and see if you can get us maximum range with minimum risk."
[Aye sir.]
"Sir?" Jerran asked.
"Back on the seas of ancient Earth commerce raiders and national navies used to disrupt an adversaries supply lines much as we are about to do. They found that merely disabling a vessel did only so much. It is often much easier and less expensive to repair than rebuild. So when they happened on a merchant vessel they would disable her, remove any interesting cargo and then scuttle her. The crew would either be taken prisoner, set adrift in lifeboats or even stranded on a deserted island. More often than not they found passage back to a safe haven."
"And you'd like to the same?"
"Yes, we aren't at war...yet." Zane replied, pausing to remember that he had said the same thing in the last mission, tens of parsecs away. SILVER was beginning to boil. "This mission the admiral has sent us on...I'm sure you realize the implications. The FEYNMAN class was originally designed to be a stealth ship, a 'black' ship if you like. We've functioned in that capacity before but never on both sides of the coin. Disrupting SLOCs is a necessary step, although not everyone will agree. But taking lives ups the ante. Considerably. If we're going to disrupt their shipping then were going to disrupt it as much as we can. If we find a convoy, I want it destroyed. We'll leave one ship to transport all the crews to as well as any medical supplies and the like that may be in transport. But everything else goes."
Jerran considered the problem. "It'll be a bit more dicey for the shuttles but I don't see any problems unless they have some heavy escorts."
"In that case you'll move on and look for another convoy."
"We'll need boarding parties."
"Agreed. You'll have to coordinate with Mr. Allard. But keep things loose for now. FEYNMAN's primary mission is still locating a suitable base so I don't know exactly where she'll be in relation to you and your shuttles. I don't want either group far from the other, its pretty hostile out there. If we hit a stoke of luck and find a suitable location we can land an away team and then use the FEYNMAN to support your operations and provide a platform for boarding/demolition parties."
"If the FEYNMAN is used for the convoys why even use boarding parties? Both the ship and the shuttles can disable and then after the crews have been transported a couple of torpedoes should finish the job."
"I'd prefer to stick with your plan and have the FEYNMAN provide point. Every indication points to the Xanthandi as being very able warriors. I'd feel safer if the FEYNMAN is doing its imitation of a hole in space so if the bad guys show up they'll have a very large surprise on there hands. Besides, I want teams aboard those ships to tell me what is being transported as well as finding out where it came from and where it is going."
"Will we be taking prisoners?"
Zane leaned back and thought for a moment. "No. We can't take prisoners because officially we were never there. Does this present any problems?"
"No sir. Other than the modifications discussed we're ready to
go."
"Very good, LT. It looks like you've got this part of the mission well in hand, in theory at least. Tell me, how is your new AFCO working out?"
"Quite well, sir. I knew that he was an excellent pilot, and now I also know that he's a rather good leader. My crew have come to accept his transfer here quite well."
"And LT Cartwright? How are your feelings on her absence?"
Jerran raised an eyebrow, as he had not expected this meeting to become a counseling session, least of all not one with the captain. "I have accepted her transfer as well, sir. Both of us knew that it would happen someday, and we've accepted it as a logical ending to a fulfilling relationship. It's regrettable that it had to end, but we both must move on."
Zane nodded and said, "I'm glad to see you're taking it so well, Mr. Jerran. I've seen perfectly good officers fall apart because of these sort of things, and I have no doubt that you'll never have a problem with that."
"Of course not, sir. I am a Vulcan, after all."
"And you never let us forget it. Thank you for the report, LT.
Dismissed."
<NRPG>
Well were not even there yet and we've got threads sprouting up all over the place:) Strangely I think we'll be lucky both in finding somewhere for the Away team to explore and for Jerran and his shuttles to play. That probably leaves me minding the store so like Zane says, who knows where she'll be so I just wanted to leave the door open so I can have some fun too!
Respectfully,
Andy
-Captain Zane, Commanding Officer, USS FEYNMAN
-Commander Horatio Sinclair, Fleet Intelligence Officer, BLUE FLEET
USS FEYNMAN: Finally More
by Michael "Mike" Dailey 2-5-1997
SD: 90205.2200
MD: 1.1230
SCENE: STAFF BRIEFING - HOLODECK
> He grumbled to himself as he set up the briefing holocubes and
> quietly deactivated the recorders for the Holodeck. Having been a former
> instructor at ALB and Psych Eval he knew how to make a deck sing and he used
> all his skills to cover his tracks this time. What the staff heard, they
> heard but he would not allow a permanent record beyond memory. There was
> nothing he could do about the android so he tried to ignore that aspect of the problem.
It truly had been a briefing full of surprises so far, as most FEYNMAN briefings go. Many promotions, decorations, and compliments were issued. J.C. considered how quickly his friends, comrades, and CO's on the FEYNMAN had grown in the seven plus months he had been part of her crew.
Thinking of surprises, the CSO glanced over at the CINCSILVER, who at the moment seemed frustrated at something on the holodeck's ARCH. *Rule #1, never mess with an angry Admiral.* Since J.C. had no desire to serve as the CSO of an ore freighter, that was enough to keep him seated and await the rest of the briefing...
> They were looking at him as though they wondered whether he might
> need help, he snorted softly and set the overlayer and had a direct feed to
> his right contact for a visual feed of Tamarian. Maybe he could bypass the
> androids memory. Dusting his hands he stepped back from the briefing rig
> and nodded to the senior staff. As they approached he keyed in a database
> request and read the reply off of his contact. To Maril he said "After the
> monk left the court."
>
> Maril looked surprised at the request for this to be kept off the
> records but nodded slowly and drifted over to the Captain and murmured
> something in his ear. Azariah hoped it was a message and not a request for
> permission to record. He shrugged, nothing to do but go on.
>
> The first image sprang up at the touch of a button. It was a three
> dimensional map of the area under SILVER fleets mandate and range. It now
> included the Kzin sphere of influence and the Lions Mane nebula. As he
> touched a second control the little indicators of SILVER ships sprang onto the map.
Like most CSO's, J.C. tried to keep informed of 'fleet-wide activities as best they could, time permitting. Looking at the Admiral's display with genuine interest, J.C. wondered what was going on. Though he had friends on the ELIZABETH BLACKWELL and some Academy-mates on the ENDEAVOR, he had not kept up with individual ship's activities as much as he would have liked.
- Regent, almost at the nebula
- Andromeda, on an intercept course with a base in tow
- Bismark, on the outer reaches of the Kzin sphere, nearest the nebula
- Pearson right next to the Bismark
- Hawking had two indicators but the brighter one was with the Bismark and Pearson
- Elizabeth Blackwell was heading along the edge of the nebula
- Endeavour was well separated from all else, near a join of the Klingon Romulan neutral zones
- Saratoga was heading out into deep space after another base dimly lit.
- Feynman was indicated as docked at Epsilon
> A blunt finger stabbed at the trio of ships in Kzin territory, close
> to a colony planet named Hoji. "An armada of Xanthandi ships has left the
> Nebula and made a beeline for the colony there. The Bismark, Pearson, and
> Hawking are doing their best to delay the force long enough for the colony
> to prepare."
At Admiral Nicholas' mention of the Xanthandi, a sudden knot formed within the depths of J.C.'s stomach. The BISMARK was a Galaxy, the HAWKING of course was a FEYNMAN-class, and while J.C. was not familiar with the PEARSON, he though it was a HOOD or WOLFE-class. They were a well-rounded group of ships, but by far no match for and equal number of dedicated Xanthandi battleships, let alone an entire 10-ship fleet! *Spirits, those poor people* though J.C.
Worse than the Rihannsu, it was always a guessing game with the Xanthandi. A poker game of sorts, as one never knew what they had in their hands, or for that matter, if the entire deck were stacked. *Poker, hmmm. That gives me an idea...*
> The CSO perked up at this and leaned forward to get a better look.
> To accommodate him Azariah keyed in the invading fleet. Ten warships against
> three smaller Starfleet ships, it was not a fair fight.
> "I have called in to Command to have them allocate any and all
> resources to aid and defend." His face turned grim. "They refused. I have
> been expressly forbidden to order any more ships into the area of Hoji. If
> the colony falls we will lose three ships and all the marines I could
> squeeze onto the Bismark. And I can't do a damn thing about it."
*Loose three more starships, just like that!* J.C. closed his mouth that had been hanging open for a brief few seconds at the shock of the Admiral's words. Starfleet had lost so many ships, so many people over the last year, especially SILVER. J.C. recalled reading the anger in the newsgroups. Anger towards command. Many were saying the usefulness of smaller destroyers and frigates has been outgrown. The cries for more battleships such as SOLAR, S'HARIEN, and ROYAL SOVEREIGN classes were growing louder and louder with each reported loss. At first, J.C. had dismissed it with the usual garbage in the newsgroups, but now, perhaps they were right.
> "Why?" The Admiral did not even look up to see who had asked the question.
Suddenly feeling VERY self-conscious, at his outburst, the CSO was much relieved when Nicholas continued without missing a beat.
> "Unknown, but this basically means that we will be failing to honor
> our part of the treaty we cut with the Kzin less than a year ago." He
> tapped another key and the ships dimmed and the three bases glowed brighter.
> "The Saratoga is going out to revamp an old research station in deep space.
> The Andromeda is towing a new base into position if and when the Regent
> makes the door into the nebula."
>
> "Door?" This came from Meleah.
>
> "The Captain of the Regent is going to create a portal through the
> gravitational anomalies that keep the larger ships out of the nebula."
>
> "How is he going to do that?" The CSciO pressed for more details.
>
> "Stellar creation. He is in the process of publishing a paper on
> it, I'll have my people get you a galley copy of it if you wish. Now then,
> we will have the new base, Zinderneuf in position in a few more weeks.
> Unknown timeline for the Saratoga mission to Theta 6. That means we may be
> without a home for a while." He let this sink in.
*Without a home? The Federation COULDN'T abandon this sector? Could they* J.C. looked at the Counselor, who spoke up...
> Landers was the first to speak. "I have caught a few political
> broadcast but do you think that . . . "
>
> "My people tell me there is a 72% chance that the Independence Party
> will win a sweeping victory in the elections on Cait. As a key plank in the
> platform is to remove the Starfleet presence from insystem I am making plans
> for alternative bases. Only problem is I don't have a place to jump to.
> That is where the Feynman comes in."
J.C. quickly glanced at Captain Zane. After hearing the Admiral, his first thought had been that Nicholas would operate from onboard the FEYNMAN. But just as quickly, J.C. dismissed the idea. If things came to that extreme, the CINCSILVER would choose Captain MacMaster's ANDROMEDA as his Flag instead of their tiny FEYNMAN.
> He tapped another key. The image zoomed in on the nebula. "The
> Husnock were here, you brought back proof of that yourselves. I want you to
> go back in and find if they had a base or any other ships. Since they liked
> to build large maybe we can salvage something. See if you can bypass the
> pirate involvement but don't fail to defend yourself if you encounter
> hostile forces." He looked to Maril "The train to Dumro."
J.C. frowned slightly. As much as he had come to respect their Tamarian XO, he still never quite understood his native metaphorical tongue. But, he surmised what the Admiral intended for them. A crippling blow in their weak area. Plus, some boarding and scouting action seemed to be in store for his department, if they found anything of Husnock value. *I'll have to talk to Alex Tamarov, and call a meeting with the NCO's*
At the thought of his ACSO, J.C. remembered Alex's decision to enter the Academy, and his request to talk to Maril. He would try to catch the XO after the briefing.
> Maril nodded slowly. A strike at supply lines would distract a
> force that might have an upper hand otherwise. But this kind of mission was
> a going against fleet intent. The Admiral was lending aide while sticking
> to the letter of the orders but he was distorting the meaning.
>
> "So it is mapping and scavenging for you right now. I know it may
> seem a little boring compared to the other ships but I am sure your people
> could use the rest. As a matter of fact you might want to leave some behind
> for extended R&R while you do this little errand." Gray eyes met those of
> Captain Zane. There was a second meaning to the suggestion.
[SNIP}
> "Your damn right you won't be." Came the reply from the buffet.
> Along with most all of the senior staff, J.C. tried to stifle a
> laugh at the ex-CSO's 'colourful input'.
>
> Zane turned to the admiral. "Will there be anything else sir?"
>
> "No captain you and your people have a mission to get to. And I
> have some pressing business as well." They all stood.
>
> "Very well, Commander we'll get under way at 1600 hours."
>
"Aye sir. DISMISSED" said Maril.
Outside the Holodeck, the tension of the briefing rapidly evaporated into comments, speculation, and more congratulations to the promotees and decoration recipients. J.C. approached Dr. Glin'kharr, who was speaking to Kyrsa Jenn and Tarrant Koreth.
"Commanders," he said to Koreth and Jenn. "Congratulations, Sirs." J.C. offered his hand to the CEO, and in turn to the second officer. He glanced over to Lt. Meleah, who was speaking with Loren Landers. Somehow she looked 'different', pride? Naa. Not from an android. J.C. shrugged it off.
"Thank you, Mr. Allard, said Koreth." He dismissed himself, on his way to catch up with Captain Zane.
"Yes, thank you, J.C.," said Kyrsa. "I'm glad everyone decided to remain. I hate breaking in new people." Even Glin'kharr chuckled a bit at that.
"For a moment I thought you were going to request a transfer," said the second officer.
"What! If I would leave, who would keep you Senior officers out of trouble... Sirs." said J.C. Krysa rolled her eyes at the comment. Glin'kharr pushed his glassed back into place and looked at J.C.
"Grg. We'll, Mr. Allard. Speaking of 'trouble' Seem's we're off to the sack again," said the CMO. *Oh no, here it comes.*
"Perhaps this time yourself AND your staff can keep from becoming patients of mine." said the Doctor in a matter-of-fact tone. J.C. could feel his face turning red, and looking over at Krysa, she was enjoying the poor CSO's torment.
"AND keep from getting, oh how shall we say...'lost'." added the second officer. J.C. held up his hands in surrender,
"O.K., O.K., I surrender. I lay myself on your mercy, Sirs." The 2-0 and CMO laughed, heading for the lift. J.C. turned and saw Commander Maril exiting the Holodeck.
"Commander Maril". The XO acknowledged the CSO.
"Yes, Mr. Allard."
"Sir. My ACSO, Mr. Tamarov asked to have a short meeting with yourself and me following our briefing. Something he wants to discuss with us both." said J.C. Onta opened his wrist chrono, and thought for a moment.
"I have a few things to attend to right away, but have yourself and Mr. Tamarov in my office at 1400 and we'll see what's on your NCO's mind." J.C. already knew, but he would let Alex explain for himself.
"Aye, Sir. I'll relay that to Mr. Tamarov." J.C. started to head for the lift, and Maril added,
"Lt. Allard,"
"Sir?" he turned to again face the XO. "Remember, Thoma before the council."
"Umm. Yes Sir." *He must mean be on time* "Aye Sir."
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
- Lt., j.g. J.C.M. Allard CSO - USS FEYNMAN Alt.Starfleet.RPG *
- Lt. (Dr.) D'doj Zzawj Ckorji - OPS/20 - USS E. BLACKWELL SILVER FLEET *
- Lcdr. Jordon Kabreigny CNS - USS BURKE GREEN FLEET *
- Lcdr. Ion Steiner L.C. - SFDOC TEAM ALPHA-1 SFDOC *
- Codr. Johan Baurr - COMSFDOC "All I ask is a tall ship..." *
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
NRPG:
Hello all! Just some of J.C.'s thoughts/reactions, etc. Sound like the makings of another great FEYNMAN mission.
- Mike - and WHEN have we never surprised you?
- Kevin - did you catch what I was talking about earlier? RE: while enroute
- Max - just a memory jog. Alex decided to apply to the Academy through the NCO's rapid acceleration program. All he needs are two Command-level sponsors... He already has one, but...One down, and one to go. <G> This will probably be his last mission (as an NCO, anyway).
as always,
cheers!
Mike Dailey
USS FEYNMAN: Banana Splits?"
by Kristen Gant 2-7-1997
Stardate: 90207.2147
MD: 2.0030
Scene: Bridge
Krysa felt her eyes beginning to cross as she looked at the screen in front of her. She been going over this for far longer then she likely should have. Fatigue had set in several hours earlier, and yet she felt no closer to accomplishing her goal.
She startled when a cup was placed on the small counter next to her. She looked up to see the captain. "Don't wear yourself out."
She smiled, "I'm not." She turned back to the screen. "It's in here somewhere, I know it."
"Perhaps you're looking at it too close. Take a break and go get some sleep."
She shook her head. "No, I can't. If I do that, I'll lose it. I can almost see it now .. just a little longer .. I know." Her fingers moved over the key pads changing the screen slightly.
"Don't make me order you commander," he said with a hint of amusement.
She looked up at him. "Honestly it won't take much longer."
"And how long have you been saying that?"
She looked up at the clock, and groaned, "You don't want to know."
"Okay, that's it. You are out of here," he said sternly. "Besides, don't you have a shift tomorrow?"
She chuckled, "I don't remember." Then she saw the look in his eyes, "I'm not going to be able to sleep anyway. I'll just be laying in bed seeing these charts in my head anyway."
He frowned, "You should at least take a break."
She nodded looking back at the screen and yet another screen angle. "I could probably use a break .." Then suddenly she grinned. "That's it! Look .. look at the breaks .. here .. here .. and here." She laughed almost hysterically. "And here too .."
"I'm not sure I see what your getting at." He said peering at the screen.
She chuckled, "That's because you haven't been looking at it long enough. Trust me it's there. That is definitely the supply line we want to disrupt!" She looked at him still trying to see what she had spotted. She smiled, "Don't worry, I'll chart it all out in bright red marker in the morning."
"So you're going to take my advice after all."
"Nope!" she grinned. "We are going to go celebrate, I'm to excited to sleep right now. Do you know how long I've been looking at that thing!" She groaned, "I don't even want to think about it. Right now I need a great big banana split! What about you?"
Regards,
Lt. Cmdr. Krysa Jenn
OPS/2O, USS FEYNMAN
NRPG: Who says you can't have a Banana Split in the middle of a mission :}
Kristen
--
Kristen & Scott Gant
http://homepage.interaccess.com/~sgant/gant.htm
USS FEYNMAN: Even More Groundwork
by Andrew Catterick 2-8-1997
Stardate: 90208.1000 Scene: Captain's ready room MD: 1.2340
"More so Lt. We stand to gain two things from this. First, the Xanthandi know more about the Coalsack area of space than we do. Capturing one of their ships and then taking it back to their supply depot could gain us a wealth of info about the area and shorten our time to search for a Husnock base. Secondly, if we take a captured freighter back to their supply depot and then sabotage the depot itself, the Xanthandi offense in this area of space will suffer tremendously."
Now, it was Zane's turn, "Sabotage? How could we accomplish this?"
Loren retrieved a PADD from his pocket. "Nanites sir. Place them on the freighter and then take that ship back to the supply depot, infect it, and the Xanthandi will have a lot more to worry about than attacking the Federation."
Zane sat rubbing his chin in thought.
Loren took this opportunity to add one more thing. "The Xanthandi
respect power and with a major supply depot inoperable, they'll know we
have a power they should respect. I realize that this
will be a very risky operation sir. That's why I'd like to volunteer for
this mission, if you feel it is necessary."
"Okay. The basics of your idea are sound but there are two things that needed to be worked out. Its a good thing your a diplomat ensign." The captain said with a faint smile.
"Sir?"
"The nanites could be a problem. Ever since Picard's ENTERPRISE established them as sentinent beings we haven't really been able to 'use' them, for lack of a better word for anything they do not agree with. So for this part of your plan you are going to have to contact the planet they were given to colonize, Kavis Alpha IV, and receive permission from theri ruling council. We'll be inside the sack in 3 and half days and out of communication. It'll take just about that long to send a message there and receive a reply so I'd get moving."
"If you receive the nanities permission you're also going to have to persuade Dr. Glin'kharr to let you even tell 'his' nanites about it. I can't see the good doctor being thrilled about losing them, whether their homeworld agrees to it or not."
"Next," Zane continued, "I want you both to draw up contingency plans for disabling any supply depot we might come across without any loss of life on either side. As I told Lt. Jerran, we are not officially at war and I will only go so far until we are. Of course by then we might be in the middle of a big shooting match so keep the plans fluid until we are ready to undertake them."
Zane stood. "Well, Mr. Jerran it seems you have your first volunteer and a mission to plan. Keep me aprised. And make sure you discuss team personnel with Commander Maril. Our primary mission is still exploring the rumoured Husnock base in their. If it is there Koreth will find it and I want to make sure Commander Maril has everyone he needs for his team."
"Understood sir."
<<<NRPG>>>
Well, this should solidify the idea of two sub plots. One group disrupting supply lines and possibly a base while the other gets to explore the Husnok installation. And then there will be poor Zane with a ship full of NPCs. Maybe I'll find a supply line or two of my own to disrupt. <EG>
Joesph/Kevin: Well it seems you have some planning to do. What the eventual mission will be is up to you guys as long as it means alot of disruption for the bad guys!
Kris: I'm sure Zane would love a Banana Split as long as he is back in his ready-room at 2300 hours to meet with Jerran.
Respectfully,
Andy
-Captain Zane, Commanding Officer, USS FEYNMAN
-Commander Horatio Sinclair, Fleet Intelligence Officer, BLUE FLEET
USS FEYNMAN: NRPG: Even More Groundwork
by Kristen Gant 2-8-1997
>Kris: I'm sure Zane would love a Banana Split as long as he is back in his
>ready-room at 2300 hours to meet with Jerran.
Hmm Andy... You get to meet with Jerran first :) My post didn't happen until MD 2.0030. About an hour after you met with Jerran... unless I missed something. Which is possible as I've contracted Kevin's cold and have been reading and writing mail with a head that feels like it's about to explode!! :)
Kristen
------------------------------------
Kristen & Scott Gant
http://homepage.interaccess.com/~sgant/gant.htm
USS FEYNMAN: A Little Bit of a Leap
by Andrew Catterick 2-12-1997
SD: 90212.1700
MD: 4.1200
Scene: Ready-Room
"Captain's Log, mission date 4.1200. We have been on station at the edge of the sack for a little over two hours completing final preparations before entering. While still a daunting environment it seems somewhat less intimidating than it was on our last visit. Of course, perception and reality are rarely compatible. Even with the tremendous information gathered by us and our sister ships the nebula still presents us with one big question mark. I'm trying to keep that thought in the forefront of everyone's mind but the excitement of beginning another mission seems to be the only emotion readily available. I must confess that this last minute scanning and probing is grating on my nerves. We've seen the inside of the perimeter, its time to go deeper. But patience will reign supreme. For awhile at least.
Lt. Jerran and his team have spent the better part of our journey here running countless drills and boarding simulations on the holodeck as well as one unofficial but well executed storming of 10-Forward. Our bartender has threatened to lodge a complaint with JAG for being tied up and detained in one of his food lockers but I'm confident that he won't actually follow through. Besides anything that gets the better of Bat Durensten is always endorsed by me. Of course the fact that there are no witnesses helps the case.
Commander Koreth has seemingly been in hiding for the last four days. My spies tell me that he has been pouring over the Husnock databanks determined to locate the seemingly mythological Husnock base. If any one can find it Tarrant can. If he doesn't? The gods help any Xanthandi we run across. Fortunately Commander Jenn has had a degree of succes with the star charts in locating possible supply lines. She and Jerran have discussed likely routes that will be most lucrative and once inside the sack we will begin to move in that general direction barring any breakthroughs from our CEO.
With everything seemingly in place and the mission stretching out ahead of us I'm finding it hard to concentrate. I keep playing the admiral's briefing, specifically SILVER's strategic situation, over and over in my mind. Three ships against 10. I am confident that we will complete our mission. That the beginnings of a possible, or will it be probable, new installation for SILVER will be found. But will there be anyone left to call it home?
"End Log."
____________________
Scene: Bridge
The doors of the ready-room parted to reveal Captain Zane striding purposefully onto the bridge. If he had to choose the most exhilerating time of a mission it was this. The real leaping off point.
"Status." He asked as he lowered himself into his chair. A quick flick of his left thumb and the lock was released. He gently began to spin to the right. His eyes scanning each station, each officer.
"All departments report ready." The Tamarian first officer began efficently. "Shields are at full and all non-esstial power has been routed into SID/IDF. Telemetry from the probes identify grid 08cg3-fb891 as a likely entry point. It will be like Kijde on Hijo but more manageble here than anywhere else."
"Thank-you commander." Zane answered as his chair came to a halt facing forward once again. Another flick of his thumb and the hydraulic lock was reactivated. "Mr. Jerran take us in, 2/3s impulse."
"Two-thirds ahead, aye."
As the impulse engines flashed red FEYNMAN lept forward eager to grasp at the unknown.
<<<NRPG>>>
Well I think its time we really get rolling so in we go!
Respectfully,
Andy
-Captain Zane, Commanding Officer, USS FEYNMAN
-Commander Horatio Sinclair, Fleet Intelligence Officer, BLUE FLEET
USS FEYNMAN: Team Setups
by Max Felsher 2-13-1997
SD 90213.0330(GMT)
MD 3.1200
First Officer's Office
Maril reviewed the file quickly and hit the "send" button. He was eager to get to the 'Sack and look for a Husnock base.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Begin
Message>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
FROM: Commander Maril
TO: All Senior Officers
RE: Mission Personnel
Regarding the personnel for the different portions of the upcoming mission, there will be at least two away teams.
In search of the Husnock base, and using two Type 7 shuttlecrafts with, possibly, two Type 16 shuttlepods, Team 1 will be commanded by Commander Maril. The team will consist of these officers and crew: Commander Maril Lt. Commander Koreth Lieutenant Meleah a squad of engineers, selected by Lt. Cmmdr. Koreth a team of science officers, selected by Lt. Meleah pilots for the shuttlecraft: Harkone, McShane, Cadet Alera
Disrupting the Xanthadi and pirate supply lines, and using the Nogura II and two attack bees, Team 2 will be commanded by Lieutenant Jerran. The team will consist of these officers and crew: Lieutenant Jerran Lt.(jg) Allard Ensign Landers a team of security officers to be used as boarding parties pilots for the auxiliary craft: Dunnon, Mendorn, Dar, Sirana
Both teams may be modified before we reach the Coalsack.
The senior staff of Team 1 will meet in the Observation Lounge at Mission Time 4.1500.
Team 2 will meet at Lieutenant Jerran's request.
Commander Onta Maril,
First Officer
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>End
Message>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Having sent this message, Maril turned his attention back to the actual mission. Where could the Husnock base be? What would it be like? And, if they found it, could they use it?
The sun has met the sea,
Commander Onta Maril,
First Officer, USS Feynman,
aka Max Felsher
NRPG: Okay, in the post are the team assignments. They're not set in stone, but they will be soon. If you absolutely think that you're on the wrong team, send something to me soon because your time is running out. :)
Unless there is some problem, Team 2 (the supply lines) will take the _Nogura II_ and the two attack bees. Team 1 will take the "Cousteau" and the "Cochrane", two Type 7 shuttlecrafts. Depending on where the Feynman stays, Team 1 might or might not take the two Type 16 shuttlepods. If the Feynman stays near to the base (assuming we find it), we won't use the shuttlepods. If and when the Feynman leaves, the two shuttlepods will be used, both as extra transport platforms and as defenses (Type 16 shuttlepods have Type IV phasers, but Type 7 shuttlecraft have no standard weapons.) Of course, the shuttlepods have no warp capability, so the Feynman would have to come back for them. All of this alright with you, Andy?
Joseph, Mike, Kevin: Good luck on disrupting the supply lines! Just remember that, once you leave the shuttlebay, you're under Joseph's power. <G>
Jason, Melanie: We'll have a few-post meeting in the Observation Lounge just to get things straight and figure out who's doing what on the away team. It might be a good idea to have Zane, and possibly Jenn, at the meeting.
Jason: You should probably just have some basic (or not-so-basic) clues as to how we can find the Husnock base.
Andy, Kristen, Ted: Good luck pent up on the ship!
USS FEYNMAN: Doing Some Research
by Kevin Thigpen 2-14-1997
Stardate: 90214.0211
Scene: Main Shuttlebay
MD: 4.1600
Leaving his office for a while had felt good. Between talking with Dr. Pasteur and pouring over the available data on the Xanthandi, tired would be an understatement.
Loren rechecked the sealed cylinders' small vis-screen to make sure that the nanite 'doctor' and his associates were all present and accounted for.
Reaching into his pocket he also made sure he still had the smaller palm-sized cylinders Glin'kharr had given him in case he needed something more concealable.
"YES, WE ARE STILL HERE STUPID. OF COURSE IT'S NOT LIKE WE ARE GOING ANYWHERE IN THIS %$#* SMALL TUBE. YOU HUMAUNOIDS REALLY HAVE A PROBLEM BEING HOSPITABLE, AND PERSONALLY...."
Loren shut off the vis-screen and audio projection.
The tinny metallic voice the universal translator approximated for the nanite doctor's voice was just about as annoying as the doctor himself.
- Must take after Glin'kharr* playfully thought Loren.
Nevertheless, the little creatures were quite crafty and would be invaluable on the upcoming mission.
Several team members were milling about, making last minute checks on the equipment. Like Loren, their standard issue Starfleet uniforms had been exchanged for more appropriate attire.
The dark colors of the ensemble made Loren as well as the rest of the team members look like pirates, or some other scum of the galaxy. They'd fit right in were they were going.
["Attention main shuttlebay."]
Loren recognized the familiar voice of Cmdr. Maril.
["Team 2, we've got a target for you."]
Nothing else needed saying. The alert klaxons went off and the lighting went to red alert status. The milling about stopped. Team members went to their duties.
Loren made for the NOGURA and once inside stationed himself in the hatchway to the command module. Jerran had the foresight to give him a little piloting training but not let him anywhere near a navigation console. Good counselors didn't make for good pilot is what Loren had heard.
Respectfully submitted,
Kevin Thigpen
Ens. Loren Landers
USS FEYNMAN CNS
[NRPG: So we have a target now. Oh boy, things are going to get rough now.]
USS FEYNMAN: Poked By the Needle
by Jason Bostjancic 2-14-1997
SD: 90214
MD: 4.1645
Tarrant blinked, then blinked again. It was.. well, he didn't know what time it was. Although he knew it was a few days since they had left Epsilon. The CEO had set up some holo-emmiters in what the engineering staff was calling 'Koreth's Lair' - Three temporary walls were set up in one of the corners of Main Engineering.
At first, he found himself drawn toward the technical readouts of this thing or that.. most of which he couldn't figure out intuitively, and that almost ALWAYS caused the inquisitive partial Klingon to dive deeper into the pool. But now he had grown into zombie mode.. searching for any clues to where a base might be.
It had taken less than a day to program the computer to make the time and astral change projections for the star chart that was now being holo-projected in 3-d. But that information was far from complete. Paritally because Epsilon was more interrested in the tactical capabilities of the Husnock ship, with her current situation, than they were with astral history. Thus, large darkened sections of incomplete data of the SACK tormented Tarrant.
Also, what made the data extraction so complicated was that large portions of the Husnock data itself was encrypted. Trying to translate encrypted data and language into another form that is not fully understood in itself poses quite a problem. He had tried to translate the encrypted data directly... but without a full working knowledge of basic Husnock the majority of the information came back garbled.
What Tarrant was now brought down to was having the computer try to find any bits of data that it could correlate with anything else, within the set aprameters... then he would have to overlook that bit and determine if it 'made sense'.
<Correlated data section found: Probable 86% match.>
Eighty-six... it was better than some, but worse than most.
"Computer, Display data section"
It sounded more like a plea than a command. But the computer wasn't picky.
A stream of symbols flashed across the terminal. Some Tarrant had deciphered.. Even with the translated symbols substituted there was little to be gained.
"Computer, show comparison of known correlated data."
What came up on the screen was a complex chemical formula. On the Husnock side a section of certain repeated symbols had trigered the correlation. It was the third time Tarrant had seen a formula pop up.
The compound itself held only about three unknowns, while the rest of the compounds were easily identified and quite common.
"Computer, what's the source of the 'known' sample."
<Known sample was obtained from the Husnock Vessel at Starbase Epsilon, Stardate 8.10..>
Tarrant butted in. "Computer, display those sample reports."
Although he had almost loaded the FEYNMAN's data storage with anything that the Starbase had learned, there was enough left behind that he worried that the report wouldn't be there.
Luckily it was. The compound came from part of the Husnock's ship's hull, near the aft section. The best Tarrant could remember from being on her, it was near the engine area.
"Computer, cross reference the three unknown element symbols with all data relating planets and moons. List results in highest to least by correlation."
.......................
Scene: Bridge
Visually tired, Lt. Commander Koreth stepped onto the Bridge.
Zane spun in his chair to face him. "Have you found anything Mr. Koreth?"
"I have two possible destinations. A moon and a planet. I'm not sure as to what the Husnock's called them.. but they've been delegated ST318 and SV107 by our computer."
"And how did you come by those destinations?", asked Maril.
"For the short of it.. a compound that makes up part of the Husnock's hull has three unknowns. Of those three unknowns, one of each of thier symbols was found in Husnock data files that contained starchart information... more specificly, those two locations."
Maril frowned, "That dosen't mean that there is a base there."
"True," agreed Tarrant, "but we do know the Husnock were there, that its in the Sack, and some how they relate to elements they used in thier ships."
Zane summed it up, "It sounds like a start."
<NRPG>
Will the base be there? Probably not. But maybe we'll find some evidence of mining or a huge red arrow pointing to the right destination ;)
It is just a start.
Respectfully,
Jason
Commander Tirrin Vorak - XO - USS BURKE
Lieutenant Tarrant L. Koreth - CEO - USS FEYNMAN
Potest esse nur unus
USS FEYNMAN: I Think We're Alone Now
by Kristen Gant 2-15-1997
Stardate: 90214.2314
Scene: Krysa's Quarters
MD: 3.1750
Krysa was humming as she set the small table in her quarters. Looking up at the clock she noticed that there was still nearly 10 minutes before her guest was due to arrive. She found herself feeling a bit nervous though she couldn't understand why. After all they had been friends for quite a while now. Though this was the first time they would be having dinner alone in her quarters. But it had just felt right when she asked him the other night over empty banana split boats.
She smiled remembering that evening. She had been positively giddy between her success with the trading routes and the sheer amount of chocolate syrup she had drenched her ice cream with. They had laughed and had an great time chatting, though surely he must have thought her a bit loony. But truly nothing could have calmed her light-hearted mood that evening. Still he had agreed to come tonight for a last night of relaxation before they enter then 'sack tomorrow.
She turned to rearrange some plants on shelves and pictures on walls as time ticked slowly by while she waited for him. She checking the clock which was just about to strike 1800 when her door chime rang. She grinned, on time as usual.
She moved to the door releasing the locking mechanism and smiled at the tall captain waiting outside her door.
"Good evening, Commander," he said quietly.
"Won't you come in, Captain," she said moving aside to allow him in.
His eyes looked over the elegant table setting and soft light as he sniffed the spicy aroma, "Something smells wonderful." He said.
She smiled, "Well thank you, it is one of Bat's recipes."
He raised an eyebrow remember the last meal Bat had prepared for them which they had shared in his office. She chuckled, "Don't worry, I checked over every ingredient myself. Of course you realize that means it may not be as good as some of Bat's recipes. I'm sure that man has secrets which would .. uhm .. best be left as secrets."
Zane laughed, "I agree."
He moved to take a seat at the table. "Candlelight?" he asked with a teasing grin.
"Uhm huhm," she hummed, and her eyes twinkled, "Bat told me that candlelight makes food taste better. Even replicated food."
<<NRPG: Hey it's Valentine's day! I couldn't resist as I sit home alone cause my sweetie has to work :{>>
Scene: Bridge MD: 4. 1730
<Team two, ready for take off, sir,> came Jerran's voice over the comm system.
<Team one, ready as well, sir,> Maril's voice followed.
"Team two is in line to leave first, Captain," Krysa said looking up at Zane in his center seat.
"Team two, you are cleared to leave," Zane told the waiting team.
Krysa switched the view screen to the side of the Feynman as the Nogura II and two attack bees flew appeared on the screen briefly before veering off on their course for the supply lines. "Team two is clear of the FEYNMAN."
"Team one, you are cleared to leave." Zane repeated for Maril's team.
They watched as the two shuttlecraft, along with two shuttlepods flew onto the screen crossing a different direction the first team had gone.
"Team one is clear of the FEYNMAN, sir," she said. Then under her breath she added, "Take care of yourselves."
The ship suddenly felt empty though in reality it was far from empty. But with all their friends heading into unknown and dangerous situations, they couldn't help but feel a sense of emptiness.
Regards,
Lt. Cmdr. Krysa Jenn
OPS/2O, USS FEYNMAN
NRPG: "I think we're alone now.."
I know I didn't add much but it was a fun post anyway :}
Kristen
--
Kristen & Scott Gant
http://homepage.interaccess.com/~sgant/gant.htm
USS FEYNMAN: The Plots Thicken
by Andrew Catterick 2-15-1997
SD: 90215.2130
MD: 3.1750
Scene: Deckway
Zane walked along the deckway trying his best to look inconspicuous. The bottle of wine he carried was cradled in his arm pressed firmly against his side. As FEYNMAN crew passed him in the hall they exchanged polite greetings but as they continued by he thought he caught the odd 'look' the odd 'knowing glance'. He had to admit it, with a small tension relieving chuckle, he was nervous. In a big way. And the fact that he was nervous made him even more nervous. And he found that very discomforting. He had never really been nervous since...well he couldn't remember. His first day at the Academy? No problem. Facing Admiral Nicholas as a wet behind the ears ensign? Exhilerating. His first shift as CSO? He had been born to do it. Having a dinner in his second officer's cabin? Well a red alert right now would be a godsend. And, he told himself, a very large disappointment. The 16 hours since Krysa had invited him had been some of the longest hours in his lfe. Even with all the pre-mission activities he found he couldn't keep himself busy enough to stop looking at the chrono.
But now he was here. "Computer time."
<<Ship's time is now 17:59>>
His heart raced as he pressed the signal. Seconds later the doors swished open and he prayed that his face portrayed a look that was much calmer than he felt. And in reality it did until he saw Krysa. Unconsciously he let out a gasp which he immediately prayed to the god of every religion everywhere she didn't hear. Simultaneously he was filled with a sense of victory. He had struggled all night with the decision of what to wear. Uniform or casual. He had picked correctly.
"Good evening, Commander," he said quietly.
"Won't you come in, Captain," she said moving aside to allow him in.
His eyes looked over the elegant table setting and soft light as he sniffed the spicy aroma, "Something smells wonderful." He said.
She smiled, "Well thank you, it is one of Bat's recipes."
He raised an eyebrow remember the last meal Bat had prepared for them which they had shared in his office. She chuckled, "Don't worry, I checked over every ingredient myself. Of course you realize that means it may not be as good as some of Bat's recipes. I'm sure that man has secrets which would .. uhm .. best be left as secrets."
Zane laughed, "I agree."
He moved to take a seat at the table. "Candlelight?" he asked with a teasing grin.
"Uhm huhm," she hummed, and her eyes twinkled, "Bat told me that
candlelight makes food taste better. Even replicated food."
"May I?" He asked, suddenly, and finally, feeling at ease. He gestured towards the wine.
"Please." She replied
With a smile he quickly opened the bottle and poured each of them a glass.
Scene: Bridge
MD: 4. 1730
<Team two, ready for take off, sir,> came Jerran's voice over the comm system.
<Team one, ready as well, sir,> Maril's voice followed.
"Team two is in line to leave first, Captain," Krysa said looking up at Zane in his center seat.
"Team two, you are cleared to leave," Zane told the waiting team.
Krysa switched the view screen to the side of the Feynman as the Nogura II and two attack bees flew appeared on the screen briefly before veering off on their course for the supply lines. "Team two is clear of the FEYNMAN."
"Team one, you are cleared to leave." Zane repeated for Maril's team.
They watched as the two shuttlecraft, along with two shuttlepods flew onto the screen crossing a different direction the first team had gone.
"Team one is clear of the FEYNMAN, sir," she said. Then under her breath she added, "Take care of yourselves."
The ship suddenly felt empty though in reality it was far from empty. But
with all their friends heading into unknown and dangerous situations, they
couldn't help but feel a sense of emptiness.
Zane rose from the center seat and stood between OPS and HELM, silently watching the shuttles speed away. He had not wanted them to leave this far out. He had prefered to have the FEYNMAN in the vicinity of each group as it departed to counter any possible lurkers. But both teams had argued, correctly he admitted to himself, that with a nebula this size and with very little intelligence pointing to enemy movements it really wouldn't matter. They would either have good luck or bad and whether they launched today or next week they'd still be on their own.
Fortunately the two locations Commander Koreth had pinpointed as a possible Husnock base were close enough to one of the major Xanthandi spacelanes. So while both groups would be seperated from each other and the FEYNMAN they'd all still be realtively close if things got hairy.
"Helm have the FEYNMAN take a leisurely course towards Commander Maril's teams. Half impulse."
"Half impulse, aye."
The captain stared out at the swirling gases of the nebula. He hated having to choose between the two but when it came dowen to harsh realities, locating and securing the Husnock base was of primary concern. That knowledge didn't make the decision any easier.
As if sensing his thoughts Kyrsa looked up at him. "Jerran can take care of things"
"I know." He looked down at her. "Besides, they've got the Nanities on their side. Both smiled at the thought. In the briefing Zane had expressed concern in the fact that using the Nanites to disable any supply depots might mean a one way mission. He had explained quite bluntly to Dr. Pasteur that they might not be coming back. The answer began with a diatribe of insults at the captain's expense. Of course they weren't coming back, Pasteur argued, that would be foolish. After they had done enough damage they would transfer themselves over to a Xanthandi ship and move to the next base and render it useles and then continue the process as long as they could. Starfleet and the Federation had done much for their race and this, he reasoned, was an excellent way to repay their debts. Nanites, apparently, always payed their debts.
He wondered if he could give a medal to Nanites.
<<<NRPG>>>
Just tying some things up...
Kris: Zane grew up on REPULSE where there were no other civilians or females his age. In the Academy he was too busy trying to ace his courses so now he is on his very first date!<BG> So if you want to continue that please be understanding<EG>
Respectfully,
Andy
-Captain Zane, Commanding Officer, USS FEYNMAN
-Commander Horatio Sinclair, Fleet Intelligence Officer, BLUE FLEET
USS FEYNMAN: The Date
by Kristen Gant 2-16-1997
Stardate: 80216.1616
Scene: Krysa's Quarters
MD: Evening of the third day... (backpost stuff)
As the platter cleared, the wine bottle drained, and the candle burned, the two talked. With chatting about Krysa's life in the Betazed Embassy on Earth and Zane's life on the REPULSE they were able to avoid the subject of the 'sack' and the dangers that awaited them and their colleagues there. Which helped to make it a very relaxing evening.
They had moved from the table to the couch where they could sit more comfortably. Krysa was very happy. They were able to spend time together and learn something of the other. The wine added to the feeling as it made her a little light-headed and giddy.
As she sat there watching Zane speak of his Academy days, she couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't done this sooner. Even were nothing more to ever come from this, at least for tonight she was having wonderful time. She was glad to see that he was enjoying himself as well.
"So you were a serious student, were you?" she asked.
"Oh yes." He nodded. "Weren't you?"
Krysa chuckled, "In some things. I was very serious in my quest to try and understand the psyche of intelligent beings .. but most of my time studying that was social time. Most other things came easily enough that I could pass without much difficulty. Which left me plenty of time to hang out in the Student Union and study the behavior of my fellow classmates."
She looked at him, with a twinkle in her dark eyes. She might as well tell him the truth. "Can I tell you a secret? Without fear of being demoted?"
"I won't make any promises. But maybe you'd better tell me anyway," he said, his tone light.
She grimaced lightly, "Honestly .. I joined Starfleet because otherwise my father would have sent me to Betazed, and I wasn't ready to leave Earth."
"Why?"
"I love Earth. I was born there, in the embassy, of course. But, my father is a traditionalist as you've no doubt realized. He thought I'd be much more likely to find a 'suitable match' there. And I've not doubt the fact that Kavan was there was as much a part of his decision as anything. But being an ambassador, he really couldn't fault my decision to stay on Earth and go to the academy. Of course, I know it was the right choice no matter what the original reasons were .. but it was a bit of an escape." She fingered he glass a bit before continuing. "I have to admit to feeling a bit guilty at my success, considering that fact. Not that I haven't worked very hard for every bit of it .. but .."
She grinned, "So do you think less of me."
"No," he said quietly.
"Good," she smiled
The hours went by quickly, and Krysa lost track of time. In fact when Zane pointed out how late it was getting she looked at the clock in shock.
"I can't believe I've kept you here so late," she said apologetically. Especially with all the work they had to do in the morning as they would reach the 'sack and the difficult part of their mission would begin.
"I'll be all right. You're the one who needs sleep .. not me."
She nodded, with a smile, "I can see where not needing sleep would have it's advantages."
He shook his head, "Not necessarily. It only give you more hours in the day to fill."
"Well, if you fill them with something other then work," she grinned, "It's not so bad."
"No, that's true."
"So you don't mind me keeping you here for so long?" she asked, looking at him.
He shook his head, "No, not at all. But I should probably leave so you can get some sleep before tomorrow." He stood.
Krysa frowned. She hated to see him go, but she knew he was right. She would have horrible dark circles under her eyes if she did not get some sleep. And that was definitely not a very flattering look for her. She stood following him to the door. "I'm glad you came."
"I'm glad you asked me."
She smiled, "You did leave it in my hands." She looked up into his eyes, "I finally decided I was ready to do something more then just think about things."
Regards
Krysa
--
Kristen & Scott Gant
http://homepage.interaccess.com/~sgant/gant.htm
USS FEYNMAN: The Calm Before the...
by Michael "Mike" Dailey 2-15-1997
SD: 90215.1300
SCENE: CSO's Office - Deck 15
MD: 4.0830 (back in time a bit)
J.C. lay his PADD down on top of the desk with a thud, angry at being distracted by the growling of his stomach. The jitters in his gut made him feel like a new Cadet arriving at the Academy for his first day. *Ridiculous,* he thought. Getting up, he made his way to the replicator for a drink, hoping it would calm the excited butterflies darting about his stomach. Seems before each mission, his stomach decided to have a mind of it's own. Unfortunately, now was one of those times.
"Large glass of orange juice," instructed the CSO to the replicator. The citrus beverage fizzled into existence, and he seized the glass an downed a few gulps. *That should do the trick,* he thought. Seated once more, he picked up his PADD and made the final selections for the away team. SCPO Alex Tamarov, his second in command, would lead P0/2 Ivan Karr's squad. While J.C. would command SCPO T'boc's squad. He had ordered both squad commanders report to the Main Shuttle Bay by 1200 hrs, in their 'blacks', full gear loaded. Also they were ordered to conceal their comm badges and any other Starfleet or Federation markings on them or their gear.
With both J.C. and Alex elsewhere, security command would fall on the shoulders of PO/1 Jerry Jonas. Glancing at his chronometer, he expected Mr. Jonas any minute for a little talk.
He sipped more of his cold orange juice, thinking of Alex Tamarov. If things went well for the young NCO, this could be his last mission with the FEYNMAN. A few weeks ago, Alex had announced his decision to apply to Starfleet Academy, through the OCS for non-commissioned officers. Alex had requested to meet with Cdr. Maril, but the XO must have forgotten. He would help Alex attempt to 'corner' the Commander after the mission.
The swoosh of the main doors to security opened, and Jerry Jonas bounded in, and greeted Alex seated at the watch officer's desk. J.C. always kept his door open, and waved the NCO inside. Jerry walk up, and stood at attention.
"Have a seat, Mr. Jonas," gestured J.C. to the two padded chairs opposite his desk. Relaxing slightly, Jerry gingerly took a seat.
"Thank you, Sir." said Jonas. J.C. handed the NCO the away team roster, and he scanned the contents quickly.
"Myself and Tamarov are taking T'boc's and Karr's squads. That leaves Matsumii's tac squad, plus the three aux. weapons squads." J.C. looked into his deep green eyes. Jerry nodded, understanding his CO's words. J.C. continued.
"Also, that leaves YOU in command, Mr. Jonas. I want you to stay at Tactical, especially if you succeed in finding a Husnock ship or base. If the Captain orders an away team, I've already ordered Matsumii to go. He's had more experience on away missions, Jerry. I need you on the bridge where the Captain and 2-0 can use your experience." The expression on Jerry's face revealed the effect of J.C.'s words of encouragement on the NCO.
"Thank you, Lt. Allard." beamed Jerry.
"And Mr. Jonas..." , J.C. paused a brief moment. "Sir?"
"Any order the 'old man' gives..." said J.C., referring to Zane. Thinking of their run-in with Mr. Mason during their last 'sack mission, and the Captain's 'unpleasant' mood for several days following, J.C. really didn't want to endure that ever again.
"Will be carried out, word for word. Orders received and understood, Sir."
"Dismissed, Jerry." The NCO stood, nodded a playful grin to his CO, and the office.
"Now," said J.C. "to get changed into something a little more appropriate to our clandestine operations," He got up and headed for his quarters...
<- SNIP ->
MD: 4.1130
SCENE: Turbolift
"...and he actually scaled that mountain all by himself. I was really impressed." said J.C. to his ACSO, Alex Tamarov. Both dressed in the Tactical Operation Uniforms, or 'blacks' for short. Tricorder, sidearm, and rifle all just in case.
"I wish I could have been there to see the Admiral for myself." replied Alex.
"That would be a good learning experience. Maybe I'll suggest letting the senior NCO's in mission briefings. Maybe rotate departments or something." said J.C. The lift stopped to deposit them onto Deck 11.
"Yeah. Officers have all the fun," said Alex teasingly. They stepped out of the lift and made their way to the Main Shuttle Bay, their rifles bouncing against the men's backs.
"Watch it there, Alex. You may be trading all those silver pips for a single gold one soon." They both laughed, and reached the Shuttle Bay entrance. The doors parted to the expanse of the home to the FEYNMAN's auxiliary craft. Flight Department people were making final preparations and double-checking (and per Lt. Jerran, probably triple-checking) each attach bee and the NOGURA. J.C. spotted the Counselor, Ens. Loren Landers, leaning against the VON BRAUN checking some small containers.
"Hello Loren," greeted J.C. After quickly becoming friends, the CSO and CNS had dispensed with formalities and protocol, except when in the company of their superiors. Loren exchanged greetings with J.C. and Alex. The ACSO spotted the security squads assembled at the far side of the bay.
"Excuse me Loren," said J.C. "Have to go check up on my people." Alex and J.C. made their way to the group of security officers. SCPO T'boc noticed their approach, and ordered them to attention. J.C. removed his rifle for a moment, tired of his bouncing against his back.
"Attention on deck," though his calm Vulcan tone was a far cry from many NCO's, the two security squads formed up and became silent, T'boc and Ivan Karr standing in front of their respective squads. J.C. ran over the briefing again, and when no one offered any questions, Alex released them.
"Dismissed, But stay on the flight deck." said the ACSO. J.C. started to go back to Loren. He had heard strange stories about the nanites, and was quite curious.
[Bridge to Main Shuttle Bay.] Commander Maril's voice boomed through the flight deck like an announcer at a sporting event.
[Team 2, we have a target for you. Usani, his army with fist closed. Good luck men.]
The two security squads instantly scrambled into the runabout, J.C. paused at the door until the last of his people were aboard, then climbed through the NOGURA II's hatch. Making his way to the conn, J.C. took a seat in the ops chair to the left of Lieutenant Jerran.
"Welcome aboard, Mr. Allard," muttered the FCO, and temporary Captain of the NOGURA II. "I trust all of your team members are aboard?" Jerran asked.
"Yes sir. We're ready." said J.C. The FCO nodded, and began departure procedures. While J.C. did hold a Level-6 pilots rating, it had been over a year since he had taken one out, let alone in potential combat. Moments later, clear of the FEYNMAN, J.C. turned to the sensors, trying to coax some more information about what they were facing.
"Lieutenant Jerran. I read three ships, unknown type. Now this is strange." said J.C. Jerran frowned.
"Can you enlighten us, Mr. Allard." said Jerran.
"Sir. Massive leakage from the phase coils, several hull breaches in unoccupied area of each ship. The SIF is at 77% on the best ship. Also... this can't be right?" J.C. paused, and keyed in a quick level-5 diagnostic on the short-range sensors, but the system responded 100%.
"I thought the sensors were in error, but I'm definitely reading large quantities of Uranium aboard EACH ship." Jerran leaned over to observe J.C. console. Loren had gotten up from his seat to take a look.
"Uranium...?" said the Counselor. "That could only mean ...?"
Submitted,
Mike Dailey
splatter2@qtm.net
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
- Lt., j.g. J.C.M. Allard CSO - USS FEYNMAN Alt.Starfleet.RPG *
- Lt. (Dr.) D'doj Zzawj Ckorji - OPS/20 - USS E. BLACKWELL SILVER FLEET *
- Lcdr. Jordon Kabreigny CNS - USS BURKE GREEN FLEET *
- Lcdr. Ion Steiner L.C. - SFDOC TEAM ALPHA-1 SFDOC *
- Codr. Johan Baurr - COMSFDOC "All I ask is a tall ship..." *
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
USS FEYNMAN: Moving the Rock
by Kevin Thigpen 2-17-1997
Stardate: 90217.2305
Scene:USS NOGURA II (runabout)
MD: 4.1650
"Slowing to two-thirds impulse," reported Jerran to no one in particular.
Loren's eyes widened but he said nothing. Jerran was in charge and the best damn pilot he knew right now. He wasn't going to interrupt him.
He could do something to help though. Turning back to his screen, Loren extended the sensors to extreme range. Those freighters were carrying uranium...that much the sensors and Allard had told. Why they were carrying it was easily seen too.
An old element used so far back he couldn't remember, but what is was once used for he could recall. Old-fashioned atomics. Planet cleansers. Destroys all life rendering a planet completely uninhabitable. Tapping in a few commands Loren could also determine a projected course for the freighters...a point midway to the Kzin homeworld.
If the Xanthandi couldn't have the planet, then apparently they'd decided no one could.
A hard blast suddenly rocked the runabout pitching her to port. Sparks flew from Loren's sensor console. Putting up his arms barely protected him from the spray.
"Hey, okay?"
Loren could barely make out the words of Allard who had come up from the back of the runabout.
"Yea, I'll make it."
Picking himself up off the floor, Loren's ears readjusted as the warning klaxons onboard the runabout became audible.
"Have the killer bees come about and form back up. This starship isn't letting up even in this asteroid field," urgently but emotionlessly spoke Jerran.
The Cheyenne class cruiser had pursued the NOGURA II into the field and not slowed a bit. Asteroids continued to glance off it's forward shields but it relentlessly pursued the small shape weaving and ducking behind the space rocks several kilometers in front of it.
"Spearhead formation with the bees on wings, full impulse" came Jerran's next order.
He knew that the small team was outgunned and outmaneuvered. The only option was to change the rules of engagement a little. This one would require skill. Fortunately, he didn't doubt himself.
"Come to course 34 mark 3."
"Sir, that's right on course for the heart of the asteroid belt," came the tremulous voice of CWO Dunnon.
"Tell the killer bees to stay on my wings and copy my maneuvers EXACTLY," replied Jerran ignoring Dunnon's announcement.
Allard had taken off to the back of the runabout with his team, as Loren scrambled back into his chair. Outside the window, Loren could make out the dim shape of a large asteroid, directly in the middle of the window.
The NOGURA seemed to creep up on the asteroid as Dunnon called out distances at which the unknown starship was to their aft.
"150,000 km."
Another blast rocked the runabout.
"Aux power to rear shields. I need them up for another ten seconds. Tell the bees to break port and starboard on my order."
A look passed between Jerran and his copilot, who simply nodded. Loren didn't need to be a telepath to see that more was communicated between the two than actually said.
"80,000 km and closing."
The asteroid seemed to fill up most of the front window.
"Keep her steady."
The runabout shook again from another glancing blow.
Dunnon yelled over the klaxons, "Port stabilizer gone. Losing attitude control!"
"Compensate with maneuvering thrusters," forcefully spoke Jerran.
Dunnon reported again, "40,000 km. They've gone to full impulse!"
"Now," ordered Jerran in his usual flat tone.
Loren felt the gees as he slunk lower into his seat and Jerran pulled off a maneuver worthy of years of bragging rights in the FCO lounge on EPSILON.
The killer bees broke left and right as ordered. But the NOGURA pulled an unbelievably sharp turn straight up...and back in the direction it was running from.
Heading directly for the starship which had gone to full impulse, in a shuttle which was at full impulse, Jerran didn't even break a sweat.
Banking the shuttle right at the last possible moment to avoid the starship's shields, Jerran put the shuttle close enough to nearly SEE into the dorsal viewport directly over the ship's bridge.
Obviously, Jerran's kamikaze run directly at the starship frazzled an FCO already frazzled by flying at full impulse in an asteroid field. The starship, lacking the maneuverability and gall of the NOGURA's pilot glanced off the asteroid several times its mass.
It's shields went from green to a fiery orange and then vanished altogether as the starboard side of it's saucer section gave the asteroid a glancing blow. Bulkhead pieces gave way as parts of the starship floated along the solar winds helped by the force of impact.
"Reading severe damage to its power distribution system. Weapons offline and engines inoperative," happily reported Dunnon. "They're not going anywhere for awhile."
The thought of boarding the starship crossed Loren's mind, but he thought of the mission instead. There was a supply depot that needed destroying and on top of that boarding a fully armed starship was very different from capturing a freighter.
In a few minutes, the small minorly damaged team found themselves back at the coordinates for the freighters.
The two ships hung silently in space. Apparently the damage inflicted had been more than the team initially thought.
"One of the ship's has no engine capability. It's the one that one of their own fighters ran into. The ship is completely adrift. I'm also detecting high levels of lethal radiation and no life signs onboard," came Dunnon's report.
"Apparently their cargo got to them before we did," commented Loren.
"Well at least we have a target now. Counselor if you would please notify Allard and his men that boarding will commence shortly on the other freighter. We'll try to put them in a quiet place on the freighter if we can," ordered Jerran.
Respectfully submitted,
Kevin Thigpen
Ens. Loren Landers
USS FEYNAM CNS
NRPG: Well, I hope I resolved the issue of the starship. I didn't think it'd be feasible to destroy them. Besides now, they can come back and haunt us. :) . I like the uranium twist! The ball's in your court now Mike. Of course, if it's possible, Loren will accompany the team onto the freighter. I was thinking we'd capture the freighter and find the coordinates for the supply depot and then do some real damage.
USS FEYNMAN: The Trip to ST318
by Max Felsher 2-18-1997
SD 90218.0330(GMT)
MD 4.1800
Shuttlecraft "Cochrane":Forward
Maril looked out the front window into empty space. Except it wasn't empty. It was like the great sea of Reval, swirling, moving, attacking. Slowly, Maril tore himself away from the view and turned his attention back to the display, which showed most of the basic known information on the Husnock.
Suddenly, Maril looked up. "Commander Koreth," he began, "I want you to take command of the 'Cousteau'. Keep her on the same course. Just tell Mr. Harkone that you're taking command. I want to have someone over there when we get to ST318."
Koreth looked surprised, but stood up and walked over to the transporter pad, ready to energize.
"Maril to Shuttlecraft 'Cousteau'. Position yourself for transport. Commander Koreth will be beaming over."
[Aye, sir. We're in position.]
Maril nodded to an engineering officer who was sitting by the transporter control console. "Energize."
Maril watched the form of Lt. Commander Koreth shimmer and fade before turning back to the communication. "Do you have him, Cousteau?"
[Yes, sir, Commander Koreth is safely aboard.]
"Good. Continue on previous course. Cochrane out."
MD 5.0000
"We're approaching ST318, sir," Lt. Meleah reported clearly.
Maril stood up from the chair he had been sitting in for the past six hours, reviewing the technology and society of the Husnock to have a better understanding when they came to whatever was on the moon. "Good. The snails of Imelvin could have beaten us here." The shuttles had been slightly delayed by an encounter with some space debris, but they had finally reached their destination.
Mariil touched the communications console. "This is Commander Maril to all shuttles. We are nearing our destination of the moon ST318. The 'Daystrom' and the 'Reyga' should circle the area, making a makeshift perimeter of defense. Keep your sensors on maximum. With the little firepower we have, we want to detect any threats as soon as possible. The 'Cousteau' and the 'Cochrane' will orbit ST318 and beam down their teams, leaving a small crew behind on each shuttle. Maril out."
Maril stepped back from the console and walked to the pilot's seat. "Lieutenant Meleah, I want you to stay here on the 'Cochrane' for now. We need someone in orbit to manage the shuttles if there is a problem."
"Aye, sir," came the reply, the speaker not changing her expression one bit. "We are now nearing the moon, sir."
"Report."
"The moon appears to be fairly rocky and about twice the volume of Earth's moon. There is one liquid nitrogen ocean near the southern pole. Atmosphere is 85% nitrogen, 12% oxygen, 3% carbon dioxide. Temperaure is approximately -3 degrees centigrade at the equator and -75 degrees centigrade at the poles. Geological action near-"
"Any signs of artificial structures, perhaps built by the Husnock?"
Meleah looked over the sensor display for a moment before responding. "Yes. There appears to be an abandoned mining station in the southern hemisphere, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter."
Maril again touched the communications control. "'Cochrane' to 'Cousteau'. We'll be beaming down to the abandoned mining base. Ready your team, Mr. Koreth. We'll be beaming down in about twenty minutes."
[Aye, sir,] Koreth replied. [Should my team beam to any particular location?]
"Try to get close to the main power grid and get basic systems online. From there, try to access the computer logs for clues to the location of a base. My team will search the base for information on the Husnock and their technology and buildiung structure." Turning to Meleah, he asked, "Is it habitable inside the base?"
Without looking at the sensor readout this time, Meleah answered, "It should be. Most of the basic systems, even life support, may have failed, but by that time, all the Husnock were dead. The atmosphere should be breathable for a time, although the temperatures will be below normal humanoid levels. Are you sure you do not want me accompanying you, sir?"
Maril smiled. "No, that's alright, Lieutenant. If we need you, we'll call for you."
MD 5.0020
Maril stood with a group of science and engineering officers with various equipment standing on the transporter pad. Actually, only half of the beamdown team from the 'Cochrane' was on the pad, but that was only becuase of the pad's size. The rest of the team would be beam down right after this section did.
Maril nodded to Lieutenant Meleah. "Energize."
The sun has met the sea,
Commander Onta Maril,
First Officer, USS Feynman,
aka Max Felsher
NRPG: I decided to skip over the meeting, since most of what was going to be mentioned was in this post, and I wanted to move the mission along. Unless someone had something important to say in the meeting, it really was not important.
Jason, Melanie: Choose about half of your team to be on the 'Cochrane' and half on the 'Cousteau', plus one each on the 'Daystrom' and the 'Reyga'.
Melanie: Maybe you could generate some disaster to affect the shuttles so you don't get bored. <g>
All: While looking through my files, I found the actual posts, *on paper*, that have the crash of the orginal _Nogura_ on an asteroid in the 13 Persei system, with Jenn piloting and Jerran lying helplessly in the aft compartment (also known as the Great Shuttle Accident). I think I'll wait a while before releasing them, though. :) Unless someone would like to know what actually happened. ;)
USS FEYNMAN: Old Enemies
by Kristen Gant 2-18-1997
NRPG: The first portion of this post was written by Ted. I decided it was
time to bring our friend home .. Hope you're ready, Ted :}
Kristen
______________
SD: 90211.2100
MD: ????
Scene: An obscure port within the Coalsack
To an outside observer, Dee was a humanoid female, attractive by the standards of her genus, confident, purposeful, and in somewhat of a rush. In short, almost identical to any one of hundreds of individuals who tread the dull metal corridors on a daily basis.
But it was a sham. The confidence, the purpose... merely a thin veneer reflexively assumed by a natural actor. Terror and angst circulated through her system, wrestling with her reason, her will, her instinct to survive. Alpha Centauri was far away; hence, the fear was manageable. Nonetheless, the image of the twisted, broken body was forever burned into her retina; her contact, one of three, her partner in extortion. Dead.
The other two were also dead. She discovered it almost incidentally, as she fled from the system. The voice of the news announcer echoed in her head... 'Motive unknown.' Not frightening words in and of themselves, but terrifying in their implications.
They'd discovered her. They'd not been fooled one instant.
And they would surely seek revenge.
She had kicked herself so often she just couldn't feel it any more. Why had she done it? Why did she think she could? Why did she think she could extort a whole _race_ of Machiavellian killing machines?
She reached the docking berth and handed over the token to the being waiting there. "Ru sent me," she said simply. The creature took the token, slipped it into its PADD, and motioned her into the ship. Dee entered.
She wondered how long she could keep from screaming...
___________________
Cold claws clicked on the shuttle's controls; impassive eyes absorbed information thoughtlessly. The shuttle's pilot steered the craft through space with ease. The shuttle's owner lay in the copilot's seat.
Dead.
His usefulness was done.
Idly, the pilot mused upon the apparent predictability of humanoid life forms. Their patterns of flight were consistent, repetitive. One had to wonder how they survived for as long as they had. Evidence, apparently, that they faced no overwhelming threat during their millions of years of development. Their instinct for flight was residual, imperfect. Soft with disuse.
Which was just as well. Silently, the Trader-Monk once known as 'Sparky' set a course for the Lion's Mane nebula, confident that its prey would be waiting.
___________________
Stardate: 90218.1215
Scene: In the 'Sack
MD: 4.1800
"Are you done yet?" she snapped as he stood over her with a tissue regenerator. She hadn't really meant to. Unfortunately her nerves were frayed.
"Listen, lady. I don't need to take this crap from you. Had Ru told me you were such a bitch, I never would have taken this job." He smirked. "Guess I'll just have to leave the signs of my .. handiwork visible."
"I'm sorry," she said forcing herself to be apologetic, "I'm just a bit drained. You don't know what these things are like .."
"What? Those over grown Storks!" he scoffed.
"They got Pauly .. and Dex. Don't think they can't get us if we aren't careful," she hissed. "Now please, finish your job, or we won't be able to pull this off."
The man looked about ready to refuse. He did not like this woman, and was almost instantly sorry he'd agreed from the moment she'd stepped on his ship. But Ru was paying him a lot of money. And this would be a breeze .. simply hide the woman away. He could do that.
With a resigned sigh he went back to his job. He was almost finished anyway. A few more passes .. "There you are. You're own mother wouldn't recognize you."
"God, I hope not," Dee groaned, "Where's a mirror?"
The man handed her a mirror. She smiled happily at the smooth cheekbones, and pert nose. "Excellent. Do you have the uniform?"
He nodded, "Of course." He turned and handed her a box. She quickly opened it, pulling out a neatly pressed mustard and black Starfleet uniform. She frowned at the single pip in the collar of the turtleneck. "An ensign?? Why an ensign?"
"Because there are so many of them. It's much easier to impersonate a new ensign."
She continued to frown, but grudgingly had to agree. "Now you're sure you'll find a ship in here?"
The man chortled, "Of course. My sources tell me that nearly every ship in Silver is hiding somewhere in this nebula."
"Fine, I'll go change and then we start looking."
___________________
She was putting the finishing touches on the uniform and admiring herself when the ship rocked. Instantly her heart was in her throat. How had he found her so quickly? She raced out the door and into the main room, "What's going on?" she cried, afraid of the answer.
The room was smoky and as there was no answer she had to conclude the man was either dead or unconscious. She slowly made her way to the front of the civilian shuttlecraft, gripping the walls as she went. She nearly fell flat on her newly redone face as she stumbled over the body of her colleague. She reached down to see if he was alive when the ship shook once again and a voice spoke over the comm panel.
<This .. Xanthandi Raider .. surrender, or .. destroy ..>
The Xanthandi? Then Sparky hadn't found her yet! She breathed a sigh of relief and she hurried to the console to signal the Xanthandi.
___________________
Scene: Bridge, USS FEYNMAN
MD: 4.1850
"I believe your shift is over, Commander," she heard the Captain's voice behind her.
She nodded, "I know. I just want to keep an eye out a little longer."
He leaned down over the console, "Garrett can keep an eye out .." The Captain's words were interrupted by a chirping from her console.
The ensign at Navigation began moving her fingers over her panel just as Krysa did. "Phaser fire at Mark 34 point 5." She said.
"Confirmed. Looks like a Xanthandi Raider, firing on a civilian shuttle .. possibly a cargo shuttle." Krysa added.
"Our mission is clear .. and policing the nebula isn't a part of it." Zane began, setting his face.
Krysa looked up at him, "Sir, we have a distress signal from the shuttle. From an Ensign Mardee Wilson. She's on that shuttle .."
Zane frowned. He couldn't ignore a distress call particularly from a Starfleet officer. "Ensign, set an intercept course. Commander Jenn, continue tracking Team One. Hopefully we won't get out of range."
Regards
Lt. Cmdr. Krysa Jenn
OPS/2O, USS FEYNMAN
NRPG: Well Andy, Ted .. I'll leave the fate of Ens. Wilson in your hands for the moment. Will they figure out who she is?? Well, I'm sure under Glin'kharr careful examination they could. But she will strenuously object to going to sickbay :}
I think it likely that Krysa may take an instant dislike to her.. but she won't know why. :}:}
Kristen
--
Kristen & Scott Gant
http://homepage.interaccess.com/~sgant/gant.htm
USS FEYNMAN: Reporting But Not Ordered
by Andrew Catterick 2-18-1997
SD: 90218.1400
Scene: Krysa's Quarters
"So you don't mind me keeping you here for so long?" she asked, looking at him.
He shook his head, "No, not at all. But I should probably leave so you can get some sleep before tomorrow." He stood.
Krysa frowned. She hated to see him go, but she knew he was right. She
would have horrible dark circles under her eyes if she did not get some
sleep. And that was definitely not a very flattering look for her. She
stood following him to the door. "I'm glad you came."
"I'm glad you asked me. Next time Ill make the plans. If your interested of course."
"I am." She replied with a smile.
Zane leaned forward and she moved to meet him and before he was sure it was evening happening the kiss that he had longed for all evening was over. "Goodnight."
______________________________
Scene: Bridge, USS FEYNMAN
MD: 4.1850
The ensign at Navigation began moving her fingers over her panel just as Krysa did. "Phaser fire at Mark 34 point 5." She said.
"Confirmed. Looks like a Xanthandi Raider, firing on a civilian shuttle ..possibly a cargo shuttle." Krysa added.
"Our mission is clear .. and policing the nebula isn't a part of it." Zane
Krysa looked up at him, "Sir, we have a distress signal from the shuttle. From an Ensign Mardee Wilson. She's on that shuttle .."
Zane frowned. He couldn't ignore a distress call particularly from a
Starfleet officer. "Ensign, set an intercept course. Commander Jenn,
continue tracking Team One. Hopefully we won't get out of range."
"Tactical." He ordered as he sat back into his chair. The swirling mists of the nebula were replaced with an overview image of the vicinity. FEYNMAN was represented as a blue fleet insignia, the Xanthandi raider, a red arrowhead, the shuttle a yellow diamond. The red and yellow icons were virtually one and the blue insignia was closing rapidly on them both. "ETA?"
"Forty-five seconds." The tactical officer replied crisply.
"They don't seem to have noticed us."
"Its likely their sensors cant penetrate the nebula at this range. By the time they realize we're here we'll be right on top of them." Jenn added.
"They'll never know what hit them. Shields, weapons release."
"Aye sir." The excitement in the security officers voice plainly evident. "We are in range!"
"Arm weapons."
The seconds ticked by.
"They've picked up something on their sensors." Jenn said after a warning beep from her panel. "They're trying to evade."
"Fire!"
"Target destroyed. No other ships in the vicinity. The shuttle is beginning to break up."
"Bridge to transporter, beam all occupants of the shuttle aboard." Zane ordered. In the background the officer at TAC/SEC was ordering security to Transporter Room 3.
"We've got one survivor sir."
"Very good. Destroy whats left of the shuttle. Helm layin an evasive course back towards Commander Maril's team. Commander you have the bridge."
___________________
Scene: Transporter Room 3
"Report." The captain said as he strode into the room On the floor, with two security officers, lay a Star Fleet ensign.
"Human female, unconscious. She's banged up pretty good but nothing serious sir."
"Lets get her to sickbay."
Gently the two guards began to lift her and as they did so she stirred. As her eyes opened she tried to focus on the grey face staring down at her. Finally the fog cleared. "You!" She gasped.
"Do I know you ensign?" Zane asked feeling he did.
"No captain. I just didn't ever expect to see you. Ensign Mardee Wilson reporting for.." A soft moan and she went limp.
Zane motioned to the door. "C'mon lets get her to the doctor."
<<<NRPG>>>
Just a short (and fairly wooden one) to keep things rolling
Respectfully,
Andy
-Captain Zane, Commanding Officer, USS FEYNMAN
-Commander Horatio Sinclair, Fleet Intelligence Officer, BLUE FLEET
USS FEYNMAN: Enemy Amongst Us
by Andrew Catterick 2-19-1997
SD: 90219.1000
MD: 4.1910
Scene: Sickbay
As the patient was tended by Dr. Glinkharr, Captain Zane moved to one of the small staff offices to call the bridge.
[Bridge.] Came Krysas calm reply.
"Status."
[We're well clear of the shuttles last position. No ships appear to be in the vicinity. I've put all offensive and defensive systems on stand-down and sensors are back to passive mode. If anyone noticed us they are going to have a hard time finding us now.] Zane let out a sigh of relief before Jenn continued. [We just received a short burst from Commander Maril. Code word: EUREKA.]
EUREKA. The word agreed upon to describe that they had found something of interest. "Good. Were you able to pinpoint the signal?"
[No. It looks like the signal was bounced off just about every piece of debris in the sack before it found us. If anyone else picked it up they won't know where it came from.]
"Any word from Team 1?"
[No.] That was good, there wasn't supposed to be. [How's our guest.]
Zane looked up at the doctor as he entered the office.
"Shaken-up" He answered. "She suffered a mild concussion and a certain level of shock but she should be alright after two days of rest."
"Has she said anything?"
"Only that she is Ensign Mardee Wilson and that she was assigned to us as a supply assistant."
"You expecting some replacements for your department Commander?"
[Well I did put in for some more operations staff including supply but they were low priority. I wouldn't expect anyone until we had completed this mission maybe even the next.]
"I see. Well, I think its time I introduced myself. Zane out."
Zane considered the lupine doctor for a few moments. "This is a little out of the ordinary."
"When Starfleet bureaucracy is involved nothing is out of the ordinary."
"True." He answered, rising from the desk and heading for Ensign Wilsons biobed. "How are you feeling ensign?"
Wilson began to try to rise up from the bed but Zane motioned her still. "Ensign Mardee Wilson reported as ordered sir."
"Ordered by who?"
Wilson looked slightly confused. "Commander G'tek at SILVER OPS. I reported their from ALPHA on stardate 90203. My orders are in my duffel."
"Unfortunately your belongings were destroyed with the shuttle ensign. Who attacked you? What happened?"
"I'm not sure I was sleeping when it all began. We left EPSILON.." She paused and her eyes went wide. "Where is Chief Kilret?"
Zane assumed she meant the shuttles pilot. "Im afraid he didn't survive the attack. I'm sorry ensign but we need this information."
"Yes sir. Sorry sir. We left EPSILON 4 days ago trying to catch up to you. The chief said he had to maintain communications silence so we couldn't let you know we were behind you. When we got to the edge of the sack our sensors picked up what the chief thought to be your trail so we followed it in. He was sure that we were now only a few minutes behind you. We entered the sack and, well the swirling gases were mesmerizing I must have fallen asleep. Next thing I knew I was picking myself up off the deck. Some sort of fighter was attacking. The chief said it had come out of nowhere and taken out our shield generators with its first salvo. He tried to get away but it was more maneuverable. I tried to target it with the shuttles phasers.." She paused "I've never been in combat before!
"Its ok ensign, your safe now."
"It just kept coming at us. Pounding us on all sides. I thought....I thought" She began to shake. "I thought I was going to die. Life support went and I guess I must have blacked out because suddenly I was on this biobed."
"You don't remember the transporter room."
Wilson thought for a moment and then shook her head slowly. "No. Captain who attacked us? Was it pirates? Commander G'tek told me their where pirates in the sack.."
"There are a lot of dangerous things in the sack ensign which makes it a little strange that SILVER would send out a replacement officer for supply." *Especially when no one but the admiral knew we would be here.* He thought to himself. "No offense ensign but it is not exactly a crucial position. You could have waited until we returned."
"I know sir. But I wanted to get here. I wanted to start my career. Commander G'tek was going to assign me to EPSILON operations until FEYNMAN put in again but I asked him to let me join you now. He checked with his CO and decided I'd be able to catch you in time." Her voice trailed off. "I guess if I had waited the chief would still be alive. Oh captain I'm so sorry. What have I done?" She began to cry.
Glinkharr muscled in beside Zane. "Captain I think it would be best for Mardee to get some rest she's been through quite a lot."
"Understood doctor. Try to relax ensign." He smiled. "Now that your here you've got lots of work to do. So hurry up and get out of here."
She gave him a weak smile. "Yes sir."
MD:4.1930
Scene: Ready-room.
"...so you dont believe her." Jenn said, summing up what the captain had just told her about Ensign Wilson.
"I'm not sure. Its a very mysterious situation. No one is supposed to know we are here and yet we're sent a non-essential supply officer. Into a dangerous environment no less. I've seen personnel do some pretty stupid things in the past but this one?" He came back to the argument that gave him the most trouble. "The admiral was pretty concerned about secrecy I just don't seem him throwing that to the wind to send us a supply clerk. It doesnt make sense."
"No it doesnt but do you have an alternate scenario?"
"Only ones that make as little sense as the one weve been handed. Look shes in your department so see what your staff can find out. Until we have any real evidence to the contrary we just have to believe what we've been told. But I don't want her near any crucial ship operations and I like her kept under surveillance. Unobtrusively of course."
"Of course." Jenn replied.
<<<NRPG>>>
Kris: Back to you.
Respectfully,
Andy
-Captain Zane, Commanding Officer, USS FEYNMAN
-Commander Horatio Sinclair, Fleet Intelligence Officer, BLUE FLEET
USS FEYNMAN: Moving the Rock - Episode II
by Michael "Mike" Dailey 2-19-1997
STARDATE: 90219.2120
SCENE: USS NOGURA II
MD: 4.1650
Both squads of security troops gazed beyond the NOGURA II's viewports, into the bitter, numbing realities of combat. Majestic, and yet gargantuan when compared to their FEYNMAN. The CHEYENE class starship that had engaged and pursued the runabout now lay to their port side, dwarfing the NOGURA II. Sleek in the design of her pearlescent hull, save for the missing starboard side of the saucer section.
Starfleet officers and non-commissioned officers alike dealt with the risks and hazards of space. That loss had touched, and wrenched at the hearts and minds of nearly every trooper, save J.C. Starfleet losses had been overwhelming recently, especially in SILVER. If this mission didn't have some success, the BISMARK, PEARSON, and HAWKING could follow as SILVER's casualties mounted.
*Spirits, we've got to help them,* the CSO thought to himself. Swallowing hard, J.C. tried to suppress the screams of their ghosts in the back of his mind. *I don't remember a CHEYENE on regular patrol in this sector.* Then, it occurred to J.C. the may not even been 'fleet, perhaps Maquis or renegades? Grey fleet?
Another shuddering though came to J.C. * If Lt. Jerran were to order his squads split-up, J.C. would resolutely object, in the log if it came to that. With just fourteen people total, the odds were already leaning in a direction he did not favor. Their luck, they would board a troop transport.
Gradually everyone regained their composure, except for SCPO T'boc, who of course never lost his. Returning to their seats, J.C. called his three NCO's T'boc, Karr, and Tamarov.
"LT. Jerran will give us the 'go' any minute. As soon as they maneuver into position and locate a appropriate point of entry for us." He halted as the front cabin door parted to deposit the FEYNMAN's Counselor, Ens. Landers. Nodding to Loren, J.C. continued on briefing his NCO's.
"I want a final weapons check. No last minute surprises for us." ordered the CSO.
"Sir," T'boc added, "I recommend a comm check also. In addition to serving a useful purpose, it will provide a distraction from the waiting period." Everyone wore the standard hands-free comm headset. Two channels, one for squad-level communications, the other tied into the NOGURA II. Both scrambled, of course.
Alex, standing a few paces behind SCPO T'Boc, made a strange face as if to say 'I was about to suggest that', but decided to leave the Vulcan NCO alone, for now. Mr. Karr, the most recent security NCO on the FEYNMAN, remained silent likewise.
"So ordered, Mr. T'boc. Complete all checks in five minutes, then have the troops stand ready, Alex." A trio of 'aye Sirs trailed them, as they barked out the necessary orders. J.C. turned his attention back to the inquisitive Counselor.
"What's on your mind, Loren." J.C. checked both channels of his own comm unit, though he had already done so at least four times.
"Hey, I'm supposed to ask that question." Loren painted a sly smile on his face. In the few months their friendship had grown, J.C. knew the Counselor was scheming something.
"Need an extra man?" asked Loren, seemingly from out of nowhere.
"With 'Captain Jerran's' approval, sure." J.C. reached over beside his seat, grabbing his MARK-VII rifle. He held it upright, and tossed it to Landers. "That is, if you think you can handle one of these." Loren picked the weapon from mid-flight.
"Now you really don't want me to remind you about my last qualification score, do you 'Sir'?" *Touche,* good one, Loren.
"Mr. T'boc, get the Ensign set up in blacks and gear. He'll be joining us." ordered J.C.
"Aye, Lt. Allard."
"Loren, how quick can you get rid of your pretty blue uniform," said J.C.
[SNIP]
Darkness. Beyond darkness. Alex and Mr. Karr's squad were beamed into the freighter's bridge, while J.C. and T'boc's squad with the addition of their versatile CNS were beamed into Engineering.
J.C. made a quick sweep of the area, grateful for the light mounted upon his rifle. Chilling coldness of the freighter was evident as he could see their breath vapors in the light. Eight including himself, all accounted for. Reaching on the side of his comm set, J.C. keyed the transmit and diagnostic toggles twice in rapid unison. Jerran would be looking for this signal, which to anyone else would appear as 'space noise'. Once back aboard the FEYNMAN, he would thank Bat for that little trick he had shared.
Cold, dark, and J.C. covered his mouth, as did a few others. The freighter, with age in excess of fifty years or more, had evidently not been cleaned or aired out since it's construction. PO/3 O'Rorke nearly lost his breakfast, but regained himself. A quick look at Loren told he was not much better shape. Giving the signal to fan out, the group broke off into pairs. J.C. motioned for Loren to stick with him.
Engineering was dead, in both power and crew, as many bodies, or remnants of such lay sparsely about here and there. Extensive damage from exploding consoles and falling structural pieces were the warrantors of death. Of the three freighters in the convoy, one had succumbed to the battle, and the second had been a victim of it's own toxic cargo. Not exactly the outcome Captain Zane had planned, but then when did plans ever develop properly. This one, the lead ship, was the only one left to board. Briefly startled at Alex Tamarov's voice in his ear, J.C. switched to channel 2.
"Sir, No resistance at all. Actually only three survivors, and none are conscious or in condition to offer any resistance. They do need medical attention though." said the ACSO.
"As far as the bridge, 90% destroyed. No power. Perhaps if we had, we could access the computer, if this junk heap even has one." J.C. agreed, expecting a portion of the hull to simply fall off any minute.
"Acknowledged. Send two men back to the NOGURA with the wounded, and advance toward engineering. We'll proceed towards you, and meet." ordered J.C.
"Aye sir, Tamarov out." J.C. motioned for Loren to follow. Through engineering, the came to an access ladder leading down. It took both men to force the manual override lever down to release the hatch. Gazing into the eyes of his friend, J.C. held his own rifle, unaware his knuckles were turning white.
"I'll go down first. Shoot ANYTHING that moves, Ensign." J.C. ordered with a forced calm. Loren did need to be a telepath or esper to know how J.C. felt, as he shared the same uneasiness. Loren aimed his rifle-light beam down the hatch ladder, but revealed nothing but continued blackness of damp darkness. J.C. tuned to back down the ladder, rifle clutched tightly in his left hand.
Step after cautious and gradual step, J.C. descended. After a dozen or so, he looked down, and from the powerful beam of Loren's light, could still see nothing more than the blackness. Looking up, Loren shrugged.
Continuing on, the ability to breath 'good air' was disappearing as he made his descent. He had climbed down nearly fifteen meters. "Loren, I don't think this leads anywhere. We may..." but the sentence never concluded. The hand that had grabbed hold of his ankle in the same instant all color drained from the CSO's face. Clutching for dear life to the ladder rungs with his right hand, J.C. pivoted and brought the rifle to bear on more than a dozen pairs of eyes.
"LOREN, HOLD YOUR FIRE", he blurted out, though knew not what forced had allowed him to think. Shining his light, they saw their faces matched their forms, ragged, dirty, and probably undernourished.
Submitted,
Mike Dailey
splatter2@qtm.net
******** * NRPG * ********
Hello all. Well, our battle already strayed us a bit from the original plan, so I (of course) took another little detour. <G> Joseph, enjoy interrogating the three 'guests' Alex will have beamed over. I'm sure Jerran is as good an inquisitor as a pilot? Hmmm. (How many light do you see?? ....)
Kevin - Well, you wanted to come along, so here you are. Hope you don't shoot J.C. accidentally <BG> Develop the dozen+ 'survivors' as you wish... refugees? or perhaps slave laborers? Also, order my troops about as you wish. You're an officer and all are NCO's or below.
Team 1 - You guys are quiet??? Melanie, I wondered what Meleah was up too..<G>
FEYNMAN - Talk about surprises from nowhere! I thought she was recaptured and sent back to some prison - rehab colony???
Cheers All!
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
- Lt., j.g. J.C.M. Allard CSO - USS FEYNMAN Alt.Starfleet.RPG *
- Lt. (Dr.) D'doj Zzawj Ckorji - OPS/20 - USS E. BLACKWELL SILVER FLEET *
- Lcdr. Jordon Kabreigny CNS - USS BURKE GREEN FLEET *
- Lcdr. Ion Steiner L.C. - SFDOC TEAM ALPHA-1 SFDOC *
- Codr. Johan Baurr - COMSFDOC "All I ask is a tall ship..." *
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
USS FEYNMAN: NRPG: "If you were on a desert island"
by Kristen Gant 2-20-1997
>NRPG: > >I considered crashing into the moon, but that's been done before :) Now, not really. It was an asteroid, and if you think about it the asteroid was moving. So therefore the asteroid crashed into us. If it were not for Krysa's skill the Nogura I and all occupants would be dead....
Kristen-> who will never admit it might have been Krysa's fault!
------------------------------------
Kristen & Scott Gant
http://homepage.interaccess.com/~sgant/gant.htm
USS FEYNMAN: Husnock Mining Facility
by Jason Bostjancic 2-20-1997
SD: 90220
MD: Whenever we officially beamed down
Scene: Husnock Mining Facility
As the light from the transporter faded, Tarrant and the rest of the away team had a sinking feeling in thier stomach's. Not because there was nothing there of intrest, but because the gravity was turned off, leaving only the limited moon's gravity to hold them down.
There was only one large room that made up this level of the facility. Much of the equipment appeared to be attached to the ceiling and floors facing inward, though there was no sign of power or recent use.
Cdr Maril float-bounced, and turned to Tarrant, he looked quite uncomfortable. "Perran without direction."
The partial klingon pulled out his tricorder and started, "Scanning... hmm, It's an interresting setup. It seems that this facitity was meant to rotate, which increases gravity"
"And the axis looks like some large drill bit that's burrowed into the moon itself." added Chief Bate. She was a recent addition to the Engineering team who looked to have promise.
She looked a bit confused, "Why would the Husnock's use such an archaic method to drill?"
"Perhaps the element they're looking for is too volatile for energy beam extraction." It was one possible answer, "but right now we need to get power and find our arrow."
The teams 'bounced' to designated sections to try and determine anything and everything they could. Tarrant and Maril meanwhile looked at a large cylidrical device that went through the center of the building.
"Myra around the axis of Chapar?" asked Maril.
"I'm not sure. Most of the Husnock technology turned itself off or blew a backup relay that caused shutdown when thier people were ... " Tarrant tried to find the right word but failed. "Anyway, we should be able to reset the system and it'll come back on line."
Maril pointed towards a 'charred' looking cuplink.
Opening his kit, Tarrant pulled out his micro-welder and set about bypassing the link.
"Look out people, I thing we might have movement..." announced. Tarrant after a few minutes.
Soon after, the room and building started to rotate. As the speed slowly increased so did the lighting brightness. Eventually everything was sent 'to the walls', as the sideways gravity set in. As was usual with the Husnock, once everything was operating it ran perfectly.
The gravity was not too much to force thier bodies to the floor/side, but was enough to put them solidly on thier feet. Then, all of a sudden, the computers lit up as if everything was immediately turned on at once.
"Tarrant to Meleah..."
There was no reply.
<NRPG>
Well, now we need to find our arrow to the next spot.
AS for the building... I really like that ride at the fair's called the Gravitron, and that's kind of what I was thinking of, but not as extreme. With the moons diminished gravity as it is I think this might work.
Although it'll be a little disconcerting lookin up and seeing the rest of the room :p
Respectfully,
Jason
Commander Tirrin Vorak - XO - USS BURKE
Lieutenant Tarrant L. Koreth - CEO - USS FEYNMAN
Potest esse nur unus
USS FEYNMAN: Always Watch Your Back...
by Max Felsher 2-21-1997
SD 90221.0120(GMT)
MD 5.0030
ST318 Mining Installation: Third Level: Corridor
Maril and his team of seven officers scanned the corridor they were traveling along, first for signs of life, then for other pieces of information.
"The corridor walls appear to be mostly composed of multi-layered ferric compounds and several unknown polymers," CWO4 Nicodemus reported.
"Wait, there appears to be a door in this section of the wall." He cleared away a thick layer of dust as Maril stepped forward.
"Can we open it?" Maril asked, his voice unintentionally raising a bit in hope that they might find something.
"It is possible," an engineering officer said. "Most of the base's systems are probably offline, but if we provide a constant pulse to activate whatever kind of sensor they use, we might be able to activate the door-opening sensor here."
Maril nodded. "Make it so."
The engineering officer pointed his tricorder at the door and seemed to use some sort of electromagnetic pulse. After a few moments of waiting, the door opened, quite surprisingly, like a door on a Federation starship.
Maril put up his hand to stop anyone from entering the room. "Wait a moment. We are still at a strange base, and we do not know how the systems work. Half of you stay out here and continue to scan the hallway. The other half, come with me."
The officers obeyed and the four of them walked into the room.
Maril looked around. There were tables and utensils with plates. Off in another corner there was some sort of receptacle, apparently for food. It was amazing. Almost everything was exactly like it must have been when all the Husnock died.
"This appears to be a mess hall," PO/1 Franklin observed.
"Yes," Maril answered, almost in awe of it. "We'll walk around the room to search for clues to where a Husnock base might be, and then we'll leave. Try not to disturb anything unnecessarily." They silently walked through the room, trying to find something of value to their search. Finally, they exited, with not much more information, but a new sense of the Husnock people.
"The army of Bilmaelel. Let us continue," Maril ordered calmly and quietly.
They kept on walking down the hallway. Most of the rooms along the way were entered and visually searched for clues. After another hour, they had moved to a different section of the base.
Suddenly, along one wall, they found a door that was locked in the open position. Maril quickly drew the team back.
"We do not know what is in there, or why the door is open. Everyone, have your phaser ready. You four, stay out here and watch the hallway," Maril ordered, gesturing towards four of the officers in the group during the lasat sentence. He tapped his communicator. "Maril to Shuttlecraft 'Cochrane'. I want you to have a lock on all our signals and be able to pull us out of here at my command."
There was no response.
"'Cochrane', are you there?"
Still, there was no response.
"Well, I think we'll have to be extremely careful. Everyone, watch your back." As he said that, he stepped into the room, motioning for three other officers to come with him.
Quickly, they searched the room. The room had been ransacked and many objects were on the floor, but no one remained in the room, which appeared to be an officer's quarters.
"Suggestions on what happened here?" Maril said after they had regrouped in the hallway.
"It is possible that someone did this just before all the Husnock died," an engineering officer said with not much confidence.
"Unlikely," MCPO Pomeroy said, shaking his head mournfully, "I scanned the phaser burns made in that room. They were made by a Federation issue rifle."
The sun has met the sea,
Commander Onta Maril,
First Officer, USS Feynman,
aka Max Felsher
NRPG: Well, I wonder who did this. New Grey Fleet ships angry for revenge (we did destroy or capture all of the original four, correct?)? Pirates who have acquired Federation weapons? Xanthadi who were able to get Federation rifles? I don't know. :)
I'm noticing some interesting parallels between this mission and the mission of the Great Shuttle Accident. One: an away team led by the FO of the ship is exploring a base built by an extinct civilization. Two: a shuttle with the FCO and the CNS heads towards an asteroid. The shuttle is then destroyed. Three: there are two away teams once again. Of course, the next parallel would be for the Feynman to lose most of their primary systems so that they can't contact either away team. :)
BTW, I've received two requests for the posts which document the Great Shuttle Accident. Anyone else want them? <g>
USS FEYNMAN: Xanthandi, Husnock, and Kzin... Oh my!
by Michael "Mike" Dailey 2-23-1997
SD - 90223.0030
MD - 4.1900
SCENE - Bridge of Xanthandi freighter
> Looking around at his crew members, Jerran added, "I think we should find
> out just what this ship is capable of before we do develop a problem with
> our cargo."
"Mr. Allard," Jerran called from the seat formerly occupied by the Xanthandi Commander, "Try to determine this ship's previous heading." J.C. was standing behind Loren, while the CNS did his 'Merrick' performance.
"Aye, Sir." He Maneuvering towards the Ops station, J.C. stepped over a few piles of rubble and broken chunks of machinery that had been working systems in better days. The CSO still was amazed that this ship was holding itself together. Glancing at the NAV console, the ship's former helmsman had been so kind as to leave the course still entered.
"Lt. Jerran, course is 177 mark 35," said J.C. He looked at Jerran and then Landers,
"Straight for the Hoji system,?" asked Loren.
"Right, 'Marrick'." retorted J.C. Perhaps Mr. Landers' acting abilities could come in useful in the future.
"Mr. Landers, ship's status?" asked Jerran. Loren apparently found the right mode to access internal sensors, after a few wrong attempts.
"SIF down to 81%, sheilds at 30%, looks like this ship was due for a maintenance check a few thousand light-years ago." reported the CNS.
"Not good, but sufficient for now. Mr. Allard, same course, ahead full impulse." ordered Captain Jerran.
"Aye Sir. I hope the entire Engineering Deck doesn't fall off." J.C. coaxed the intermix up, and slid the toggle bars up to 100%. He could see Loren trying not to laugh too much.
"We shall have to trust our skills to hold our ship together, gentlemen." said Jerran.
Submitted, Mike Dailey splatter2@qtm.net
******** * NRPG * ********
Hello all. Just a quick one to keep moving. Joseph, you're up. Take us where you wish. Kevin, not sure what J.C. hates more 7-ft tall cats or Husnock 'bugs'... <BG>
Cheers! Mike
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
- Lt., j.g. J.C.M. Allard CSO - USS FEYNMAN Alt.Starfleet.RPG *
- Lt. (Dr.) D'doj Zzawj Ckorji - OPS/20 - USS E. BLACKWELL [LOST] SILVER FLEET *
- Lcdr. Jordon Kabreigny CNS - USS BURKE GREEN FLEET *
- Lcdr. Ion Steiner L.C. - SFDOC TEAM ALPHA-1 SFDOC *
- Codr. Johan Baurr - COMSFDOC "All I ask is a tall ship..." *
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
