[Josh Broughm]

USS Ares
Deck 10 - CDO's office

Sam arrived back at his office just after the Captain made his departure speech. He sat at his desk, readying himself for some research.

- Computer, what is the current political situation in concerning to the Cardassian Union?

The computer beeped, saying,

- *"A new Legeat was elected approximately six weeks ago. No other information on this individual is available."*

Sam got up from the desk & started to pace.

- Is there any opponents to Starfleet responding to the Union's request to resupply their colonies?
- *"An entity known as the True Way has adamantly opposed Federation interference in the union's affairs. They are recognized by the Federation, the Bajoran government & the Cardassian Union as an terrorist organization."*
- Has there been any reports of True Way activity in or around the colonies that we are servicing?
- *"No incidents have been reported in the interim."*

Sam stroked his chin and said,

- Contact Starfleet Intelligence on diplomatic channel eight.

As the computer processed the command, Sam went to get a cup of coffee. A voice came over the coms, saying,

- *sigh* This is Adm. Roberts, what can I do ya for, Sam?
- What information do you have on the True way?

A silence came over the comms as Roberts started to bring up intelligence files.

- *Yawns* What's your clearance level?
- Epsilon 5 MARK 8.
- Alright, we've only seen True way activity in the adjacent sector in the last three months using old Cardassian assets. The thing is that their competing for control with The Orion Syndicate.
- How hard have they been 'competing'?
- Skirmishes that amount to galactic version of a slap fight between two children.
- *laughs* If their fighting each other, their bound to ignore a Soverig-
- I wouldn't count on that. Our ears have been hearing of a plan to spring an attack on any Federation ship that comes anywhere close to that colony.
- Did you send this info to Capt. Williams?
- We're trying to confirm it now before we send it.
- Thanks Roberts!

Sam closed the channel. He contemplated informing the captain. He knew that this information should save the ship a lot of trouble.

- Urquhart to Williams, we might have a problem.

END POST

[Vox]

USS Ares
Deck 8, Logan's Quarters

Sitting on the couch in his quarters, Logan was busy taking a last minute look at the specs of the fighters the Ares had. They were certainly tough little things judging by the armouring and weapons load-outs, well designed too they would certainly be able to take a bit of a beating from other small sized craft and maybe a hit or two from a larger craft if they were lucky, although he wouldn't personally recommend it. All he hoped was that Starfleet had given him everything he'd need to keep the things flying over the course of their mission, like his own machine shop for example, that would be nice. It would also mean he wouldn't have to keep pestering Engineering for parts or requisition replicator resources if he had his own setup down in the hanger bay...but he doubted it, it was nice to think of though. On the other hand maybe he would be pleasantly surprised.

=/\= "All hands, this is the Captain. As you know, we're about to restart Starfleet's biggest project, the very definition of why the Federation is existing since 220 years: to seek out new worlds and explore space. We have no idea of the dangers we're going to face, but one thing is clear: we will make some friends there, and unfortunately some enemies. In a few minutes there will be no turning back, but if you are on this particular ship that's because you all signed for this. I know that I can count on everyone and that this crew and this ship are about to make History." =/\=

Glancing up at the ceiling at the sound of his friend, now Captain's disembodied voice coming through the ship's intercom he tossed the PADD to the side and stood up. "I swear that man has a speech for everything." He chuckled, with a shake of his head. His reading had taken up more time than he thought so checking in with the Captain would have to wait for now, as he should probably head down to the hanger bay. He highly doubted the fighters would be needed so soon into their mission, but then again this was Starfleet where the phrase a typical day had pretty much zero meaning.

USS Ares
Machine Shop, Deck 15
Taking the Turbolift to Deck 15, Logan made his way down the curved corridors until he reached the entrance to the Machine Shop. It had been decided that since the fighters would be seeing quite a bit of action that they would most likely require more repairs and maintenance than the regular shuttles would have and so were given both their own hanger bay and machine shop dedicated to doing just that.

The combined machine shop and hanger bay took up sections of 3 decks starting on deck 15 and dropping down through the related sections directly below on decks 16 and 17, making for one relatively large but divided room. However only the machine shop and Hanger Bay had doors leading out into the corridors, the service deck had no door, the only access to it being the personnel elevator that passed between the three decks.

The first two levels covering decks 15 and 16 were the machine shop service decks. Deck 15 consisted of several large replicators spread around the room, hooked up to their own power supplies so that parts could be replicated without taxing the rest of the ship’s systems or using up its resources. It also meant that Logan wouldn’t have to bother engineering whenever he needed to replicate something, essentially the entire level was for production. Glancing around the room, he saw several elevators similar to the ones they used in Engineering to move between floors, a large window along the opposite wall, which looked out over the lower two floors and a small room off to one side. Making his way over to it, he smiled when he read the words Chief Technician’s Office on the door.

“They gave me my own office? Nice.” He chuckled under his breath before hitting the button to open the door. Stepping inside he took a look around the room and nodded in approval. He had a desk with a computer terminal on it, a comfy chair and a larger screen along the side wall. He had quite a bit of room behind his desk and took a moment to study the area before a slight smile spread across his face “I could probably fit a hammock up there…” He muttered to himself.

The section on deck 16 was the fighter service area, where an major repairs would take place. The room had several more replacators and tools as well as various sections marked out on the floor. Each section was an elevator that would bring one or more of the fighters up for repairs to save having parts and tools scattered around the hanger bay when the technician was working on them.

Finally the section of Deck 17 was the actual Hanger Bay, where the fighters were stored. Like the shuttle bays, there was a large bay door that slid open to space for the fighters to enter and exit the ship. An elevator to the repair and machine shop levels above was along the left wall and on the right was the pilot’s locker room, with the rest of the room open, with enough space for navigation between the fighters and room for minor repairs to be made. Each fighter looked identical in design, although most had images and or callsigns of their pilots applied to the hulls of the ship, although he hadn’t met any of said pilots yet.

Stepping out of his office, he made his way over to the elevator and took it down into the hanger, wanting to get a quick look at the fighters and possibly run a diagnostic or two on them, just to make sure they were indeed combat ready.

As he was making his way towards the elevator his Commbadge chirped, causing him to glance down at it as a voice addressed him.

USS Ares
Deck 11 - Turbolift, en route to Deck 17

“Chief, this is Lieutenant Cole. I’m heading to the aft hangar bay on Deck Seventeen. If you're not otherwise engaged, can you meet me there? I’d like to sign off on my fighter, and see what Lt. Lechiem has in store for us.”

He recognised the man from both the crew manifest as well as from a certain engineer back on the station where these fighters had been made and tapped his badge to respond.

"Ral here, I'm practically there already Lieutenant. Was just about to give them them once over myself, I'll meet you there."

He replied as he stepped onto the little elevator and hit the button that would take him down to the hanger. Giving a whistle as it descended down through the floor, he had to admit the fighters certainly had a good look to them, much better in person than in the holo-images and schematics he'd read.

((TAG: Cole))

[Allan Hood]

USS Ares
Deck 1 - Bridge

=/\= "All hands, this is the Captain. As you know, we're about to restart Starfleet's biggest project, the very definition of why the Federation is existing since 220 years: to seek out new worlds and explore space. We have no idea of the dangers we're going to face, but one thing is clear: we will make some friends there, and unfortunately some enemies. In a few minutes there will be no turning back, but if you are on this particular ship that's because you all signed up for this. I know that I can count on everyone and that this crew and this ship are about to make History." =/\=

While finally sitting on his chair, Captain Wilson ordered:

"Ensign Ulyanov, set a course for Cardassian territory, Warp 7."

After a few hours, Lieutenant Hood noticed two blips on his screen. He double-checked and confirmed his findings. “Captain, long-range sensors detect two Orion Interceptors leaving Cardassian space on an intercept course.”
((TAG Bridge Crew))

OOC:Just pretend this picture isn't 300 years old haha

[Scarlett]

USS Ares
Deck 1 - Bridge

A’Mand had been quietly observing the Bridge crew go through their expected routines. Her schedule had been clean for the beginning of the cruise which allowed time on the bridge. There had been some small talk among the crew but was mostly focused on career specific duties versus congenial conversation. This also gave her an opportunity to catch-up on certain protocols and procedures for a ship the size of Ares and the console at her station provided quiet feedback.

Lieutenant Hood noticed two blips on his screen. He double-checked and confirmed his findings. “Captain, long-range sensors detect two Orion Interceptors leaving Cardassian space on an intercept course.”

With the announcement, A’Mand could tell tensions rose as everyone shifted from passive actions to more alert behaviors. She sat straight in the chair as her own awareness was heightened.

[Generator]

USS Ares
Deck 17, squadron hangar bay

As he got off the turbolift onto Deck 17, Jim was relieved to take the comm from the Chief.

=^="Ral here, I'm practically there already Lieutenant. Was just about to give them them once over myself, I'll meet you there."=^=

"Great. I'll be there in a moment. Cole out." With a bit more purpose in his stride, Jim made for the aft hangar bay.

When he got there, Jim saw a Trill in a gold uniform checking over Lt. Lechiem’s fighter. "Chief? Hi, I’m Lieutenant Cole." Jim returns the Chief’s salute. "At ease. It’s a pleasure to meet you." Seeing that the Chief is in the process of checking out the fighters, Jim says, "I’ll let you and your crew do your jobs, but before I get out of your way, let me ask you something." He jerks a thumb at his fighter, indicating his call sign painted on the side. "Who ratted me out," he grins.

OOC: assuming after a few moments’ conversation with the Chief, Lt. Cole will eventually get out of his hair so he can, you know, do his job. Jim will head off to wherever the pilots’ ready room is and meet the rest of the squadron. Safe to assume the pilots have a “ready room” somewhere nearby, yes?

After speaking with Chief Ral, Jim heads over to the pilots’ ready room, where he sees the other pilots have begun to gather. He sees two Andorians in there, and desperately tries to recall his review of the roster. ~Wait, he’s Thram, and she’s Thon. Right? Don’t screw this up, Jim.~

He enters, and starts greeting the rest of the squadron. Jim notes it’s a mix of junior officers, Ensigns and Lieutenants. ~I guess adding fighters back into Starfleet’s tactical doctrine is still new enough that everyone doing this is just a junior officer. Makes for room to advance, I guess,~ he thinks to himself.

After a few minutes, it’s clear that Lt. Lechiem is conspicuous in his absence. When Lt. Thram mentions it, Jim registers some mild surprise, rapidly turning to concern. "Hold on, none of us have seen him yet? Okay, hang tight, folks." Jim taps his combadge. "Lieutenant Commander Teriir, this is Lieutenant Cole down in the squadron bay. Do you have a 20 on Lieutenant Lechiem? No one down here seems to have seen him."

((TAG: LCDR Teriir))

OOC: I still have to come up with names and ranks for the squadron, working on that.

[Nesta]

After a few hours, Lieutenant Hood noticed two blips on his screen. He double-checked and confirmed his findings. “Captain, long-range sensors detect two Orion Interceptors leaving Cardassian space on an intercept course.”
((TAG Bridge Crew))

R'Turan, who had taken a seat in the XO's chair on the bridge, glanced at the science officer over his shoulder, yellow eyes narrowed at the science officer.
"What can you tell us about the Orion ships, Lt. Hood?" He purred, the Caitian's tail swishing back and forth under his chair, indicating excitement, or mild interest.

Not waiting for the science officer's answer, R'Turan refocused his attention on the captain, awaiting his command, while keeping one ear turned towards the science officer.

((TAG: Allan Hood, Matthew Wilson))

[Allan Hood]

USS Ares
Deck 1 - Bridge

R'Turan, who had taken a seat in the XO's chair on the bridge, glanced at the science officer over his shoulder, yellow eyes narrowed at the science officer.
"What can you tell us about the Orion ships, Lt. Hood?" He purred, the Caitian's tail swishing back and forth under his chair, indicating excitement, or mild interest.

Hood replied after double checking his display, then scrutinized the results. "Each appears to have six disruptor arrays, two disruptor cannons, and two quantum torpedo launchers. Though their disruptors have a higher energy output, they should lack in accuracy and have a slower discharge rate than our weapons." He looked up from his console, "they'll hit harder than us, but there will be a slight delay before they can fire that same cannon again. They'll have a higher maneuverability than the Ares."

((TAG R'Turan, Teriir))

[Asteropax]

USS Ares
Turbolift

"Just two Orion ships?" Teriir asked the Tactical officer over his communicator.

=^=Aye, sir,=^= was the response from Ensign Aerign, the Coridan he briefly encountered on the bridge earlier.

"I'm on my way to the bridge now. Are you trained in synergy tactical duties?"

=^=I am. I'll start getting the sensor data to you if we end up fighting them.=^=

"Very good," Teriir approved of anyone who was trained in this sort of operation. It made his duties much easier. No sooner had he hung up with her that someone else chimed onto his combadge.

After a few minutes, it’s clear that Lt. Lechiem is conspicuous in his absence. When Lt. Thram mentions it, Jim registers some mild surprise, rapidly turning to concern. "Hold on, none of us have seen him yet? Okay, hang tight, folks." Jim taps his combadge. "Lieutenant Commander Teriir, this is Lieutenant Cole down in the squadron bay. Do you have a 20 on Lieutenant Lechiem? No one down here seems to have seen him."

"I have yet to see him either, Lieutenant. I'll let you know if I run into him," Teriir answered. After giving his reassurance, he caught himself remembering what happened to the last few officers he met who slacked off on their duties. Hopefully he wouldn't have to be the arresting officer, accompanying someone to their quarters where they would be confined until being transferred off so soon. The turbolift doors opened to the bridge just then and he stepped off.

Hood replied after double checking his display, then scrutinized the results. "Each appears to have six disruptor arrays, two disruptor cannons, and two quantum torpedo launchers. Though their disruptors have a higher energy output, they should lack in accuracy and have a slower discharge rate than our weapons." He looked up from his console, "they'll hit harder than us, but there will be a slight delay before they can fire that same cannon again. They'll have a higher maneuverability than the Ares."

"Standard Orion Interceptors. Their weapons and engines are modern but their shields run on a low energy frequency which can be penetrated upon scanning their specific frequency by our phasers. Detecting the exact frequency their weapons fire at, we can recalibrate our shields to reduce their weapon's effectiveness by 60%," Terrir commented, getting a few glances from the other officers. A few looked impressed by his confident, or possibly seen as dismissive, demeanor towards the oncoming ships and others appeared uneasy. He gave them a subtle nod as he took over his station, "I hope we'll be able to convince them to turn off from their objective but if we do end up needing to fight them; we'll be ready."

((Tag: Cole, R'Turan, Wilson, Allan))

[Generator]

USS Ares
Deck 17, squadron hangar bay

=^=”I have yet to see him either, Lieutenant. I'll let you know if I run into him,"=^=

"Thank you, Lieutenant Commander. Cole out." Jim turned to address the rest of the squadron. "I won’t lie, that’s a little bit weird. But we’ve all got jobs to do, and we all know what they are; this isn’t our first rodeo, so let's get started." The confidence in Jim’s voice allowed him to steamroll right past the fact that at least for him, it was in fact his first rodeo.

"So, everyone’s signed off on their craft with Chief Ral’s crew, right? If you haven’t, get out there and get it taken care of." Jim watched as Ensign Page’s face lit up in acknowledgment, followed by his getting up and going out to the hangar bay. As a few mild snickers rise up, Jim says, "Okay, we’ve all been there, give the kid some slack. Now, it’s my understanding that the controls and instruments in the Adrestia-class are very similar to the Peregrines that we’ve all used up to now. That said, she’s gonna handle differently, so we’re all going to have some learning curve here. Lieutenant Lechiem and I will set a schedule for training sessions on the Holodeck, and we’ll see about getting some actual stick time once we’re out of warp somewhere..."

OOC:((TAG: someone who can let the squadron know we’ve got company...))

[Allan Hood]

USS Ares
Deck 1 - Bridge

"Standard Orion Interceptors. Their weapons and engines are modern but their shields run on a low energy frequency which can be penetrated upon scanning their specific frequency by our phasers. Detecting the exact frequency their weapons fire at, we can recalibrate our shields to reduce their weapon's effectiveness by 60%," Terrir commented, getting a few glances from the other officers. A few looked impressed by his confident, or possibly seen as dismissive, demeanor towards the oncoming ships and others appeared uneasy. He gave them a subtle nod as he took over his station, "I hope we'll be able to convince them to turn off from their objective but if we do end up needing to fight them; we'll be ready."

Both science ensigns reacted to his self-assured and indifferent bearing concerning the Orions. Falora half-turned over her left shoulder, arching her eyebrow while Eleutherio’s eyebrows momentarily shot up in disbelief. Hood smiled to himself, again. If his team is reacting this way, he imagined the rest of the bridge was, too.

For the benefit of the crew, Hood confirmed Terrir’s assumption after a quick scan. “The Interceptors’ shields run at a significantly lower energy frequency than ours, sir,” Hood addressed Commander R’Turan.

“Confirmed, sir,” Ensign Falora chimed after completing her calculation and turning in her chair to face the commander. “After obtaining their firing frequency, we will be able to determine the necessary deviation to ascertain the proper shield frequency to reduce the efficiency of their disruptors.

“The effective percent in reduction rate yet remains to be seen, sir, considering we have not yet collected the necessary firing data from the Orions' weapons,” Falora stated matter-of-factly, slightly turning her chair to address Lieutenant Commander Teriir, directly. Hood hoped Falora's Vulcaness would not be...misunderstood.

How did Terrir know those stats off the top of his head? Hood reminded himself to ask Terrir after the cosmic dust settled.

((TAG Teriir, R’Turan))

OOC: I'm going to eventually have Falora discover that Teriir's 60% reduction checks out, "yielding a calculated 63.2 percent reduction rate." I'm just throwing in some Vulcan logic/smalltalk in there haha for the record, she's not intentionally trying to challenge his authority, but your character can take it however he wants haha

[Nesta]

"Standard Orion Interceptors. Their weapons and engines are modern but their shields run on a low energy frequency which can be penetrated upon scanning their specific frequency by our phasers. Detecting the exact frequency their weapons fire at, we can recalibrate our shields to reduce their weapon's effectiveness by 60%," Terrir commented, getting a few glances from the other officers. A few looked impressed by his confident, or possibly seen as dismissive, demeanor towards the oncoming ships and others appeared uneasy. He gave them a subtle nod as he took over his station, "I hope we'll be able to convince them to turn off from their objective but if we do end up needing to fight them; we'll be ready."

For the benefit of the crew, Hood confirmed Terrir’s assumption after a quick scan. “The Interceptors’ shields run at a significantly lower energy frequency than ours, sir,” Hood addressed Commander R’Turan.

“Confirmed, sir,” Ensign Falora chimed after completing her calculation and turning in her chair to face the commander. “After obtaining their firing frequency, we will be able to determine the necessary deviation to ascertain the proper shield frequency to reduce the efficiency of their disruptors.

“The effective percent in reduction rate yet remains to be seen, sir, considering we have not yet collected the necessary firing data from the Orions' weapons,” Falora stated matter-of-factly, slightly turning her chair to address Lieutenant Commander Teriir, directly. Hood hoped Falora's Vulcaness would not be...misunderstood.

"Good to know, gentlemen. Yellow alert, better be safe than sorry." R'Turan ordered, as the alarm sirens began blaring, and yellow emergency lights lighted up throughout the bridge. R'Turan's ears flattened slightly at the blaring noise, as he looked to the viewscreen.
"Lieutenant Oma, hail them. Let's see if they want to talk." He purred, before looking to the captain.
"Captain Wilson, we proceed on your orders."

((Tag Allan Hood, Matthew Wilson, Gytaik Oma, Dyrell Teriir))

[Saelanna]

"Lieutenant Oma, hail them. Let's see if they want to talk."

Oma bristled at the First Officer’s incorrect use of her given name; she made a mental note to remind him of Bajoran naming conventions after the current situation was over. Her hands moved over her console:

“Hailing frequencies open.” She called to the Captain and the rest of the bridge crew.

((Tag Matthew Wilson, R’Turan))

[Generator]

USS Ares
Deck 17, squadron hangar bay

Jim was thinking about how to requisition Holodeck time for training when he was forcefully brought back to the here-and-now by the Ares having gone to Yellow Alert. "Aw, hell…!" There was a split-second when he wondered what the hell the other pilots were staring at him for. Because Lt. Lechiem isn’t here. You’re the man today, Jimmy.

"Okay people, let’s suit up, now!" This order was largely unnecessary, as most of the squadron was halfway into their flight suits already, Lieutenant Cole included. "PAGE! GET BACK IN HERE! Spear Three and Four, you’re flying with me as a single three-craft flight element. Five/Six and Seven/Eight will be your normal, two-craft elements. I’ll say it again: these are not the Peregrines we trained on. Don’t get cute out there today!" Jim took a second to go for his combadge. "Chief, I hope your folks are ready to toss us out the door!"

The squadron was ready in what felt like record time to Jim. Once inside his fighter, Jim opened a channel on the comm. "Tactical, this is Spear Two. I have seven fighters on the deck, awaiting RoE and launch authorization. What are we facing?"

OOC: I’ve been assuming that the Squadron CO’s “direct report” would be Lt. Commander Teriir, as Chief Tactical Officer. Do I have that right?

RoE: Rules of Engagement

((TAG: LCDR Teriir, Chief Ral (optional)))

[Asteropax]

USS Ares
Deck 1 - Bridge

"Lieutenant Oma, hail them. Let's see if they want to talk." He purred, before looking to the captain.

Teriir cringed internally and was about to correct the Caitian before remembering that this was the Executive Officer of the ship. He remembered when he called Colonel Kira by her first name. It was the last time he made that mistake. Any sort of correction on the fact Bajoran names were reversed from what most species were used to would have to wait. There was no point in talking about that in such a public setting. Or perhaps others didn't know about that either? Before he could make up his mind, the comm distracted him.

The squadron was ready in what felt like record time to Jim. Once inside his fighter, Jim opened a channel on the comm. "Tactical, this is Spear Two. I have seven fighters on the deck, awaiting RoE and launch authorization. What are we facing?"

"We have a pair of Orion Interceptors on approach. Their intentions are unknown at this time and we are attempting to hail them. Have your people standing by," Teriir informed the pilot. He hesitated for a moment, wondering why only seven of the eights fighters were ready and if he'd already talked to the flight control officer. He knew it would be best to inform him of something he learned very fast having previously engaged Orion Interceptors; They're fast ships so almost all of their weaponry was in the forward firing arc, with only two disruptors watching their stern, "Be advised, the oncoming ships are lightly armed on their aft section."

He knew he wouldn't need to clarify any further. Orion Interceptors were fast but the fighters onboard were even faster and would have no trouble taking the ships on from behind. There was a second reason he made this suggestion; Peregrine Class fighters could be destroyed, with their shields at maximum, by a single hit by most larger ships. Every time one of those ships got hit during the Dominion War, two people died; The pilot, who focused on flying, and the gunner, who controlled the weapon systems. Both posts were among the riskiest positions in the Federation. He cared deeply for pilots and their gunners. There was a new fighter which had begun production at the Antares Ship Yards but it could take awhile before they were registered for duty.

~"They brought me in for a few days at Antares so I could make recommendations to their engineers on what must be included on those Adrestia Class fighters three years ago."~ His thoughts quickly soured. ~"They better have improved the shields and maneuverability on those new fighters or else we will practically condemn our pilots to death every time we ask them to take off. The Icarus' Captain wrote the casualty letters to the ship crew's families and had me write those of the fighters, saying it would be good practice if I were to ever move up the chain of command: All 164 of them over the course of seven years."~

Shifting away from the console, he looked at the viewscreen and looked at the empty space laying before the ship. He wasn't religious but he still gave a silent prayer that the fighters would be alright.

OOC: Go back and watch either of these DS9 episodes: Sacrifice of Angels (S6) or What You Leave Behind (S7). You'll see that all of the Federation Attack Fighters, aka Peregrines, were destroyed upon being hit by either Dominion or Cardassian weaponry. One shot kills. No wonder my character is concerned for their safety as he previously served on an Akira Class starship which carried 40 fighters at standard capacity and I believe the ship had 72 during wartime. He doesn't know that the Adrestia Class fighters, rather than Peregrines, are onboard.

((Tag: Ulyanov, Gytaik, Wilson, Allan, Cole, R'Turan))

[Generator]

USS Ares
Deck 17, squadron hangar bay

Jim was scrambling to set up a comm network for the fighters when Lieutenant Commander Teriir’s voice came back on the comm. =^="We have a pair of Orion Interceptors on approach. Their intentions are unknown at this time and we are attempting to hail them. Have your people standing by."=^= There was a slight pause, then the Lieutenant Commander came back on the channel. =^="Be advised, the oncoming ships are lightly armed on their aft section."=^=

"Roger that, Tactical. Standing by for launch on your command." Jim then flipped his comm over to his fighter’s computer. ~If they’re gonna give me time in the launch bay, may as well use it!~ "Computer, designate Bandit One and Two as Orion Interceptor-type vessels. Using known specifications, display effective weapon ranges and fire arcs."

*"Request complete."* Almost instantly, the two dots on his sensor display what was almost a squashed ellipse ringing them. Sure enough, the shape extended out much farther in front of the ships than it did behind. He touched the screen and the projected areas of overlapping fire arcs were color-coded around the ships. Lots of red up front, shading toward orange, and an almost welcoming-looking yellow at the rear. ~Just like Tactical said.~

Jim opened another channel to the rest of the squadron, sharing out the image of the weapon arcs to all fighter crews as he did so. "This is Lieutenant Cole. Our bad guys are two Orion interceptors. As Tactical noted, this class of ship has very little in the way of aft weaponry. If we engage, the plan is to skirt around them at max ECM, and take the targets from behind once they engage the Ares. My group will take Bandit One, Spear Five, you’ll have Bandit Two." He stared across the launch bay at Lieutenant Thram in Spear Five, who stared back and nodded at Jim, not exactly smiling as he did. Jim nodded in return, and it occurred to him that Thram was a full Lieutenant, and Squadron XO or not, the Andorian outranked him. ~Don’t overdo it, Jim,~ he thought to himself.

"Now, let’s just hope these two develop a sudden attack of common sense..."

((TAG: LCDR Teriir (as soon as it’s go time)))