[Asteropax]

USS Ares
Bridge

Captain Teriir was able to observe all of the action on the bridge from his unintentional seat on the floor. His shoulder was burning in pain but he refused to let it show. Lieutenant Vars hurried back to him, medical kit in hand, to treat his wound. Her eyes shone with concern as she started using one of the tools from the kit., “Hold still, Dyrell. I’ll patch you up until we can get you to Sickbay.”

“Jenha, I’ll be okay,” he replied, realizing that he’d called her by her first name. He stiffened to signal her that he didn’t want to talk right now. It was more important to keep his mind on the battle. The Nausicaan ship was now under fire from both the Ares and then the Lakota, with one focusing on the weapons and the other targeted the engines. He had to give the Nausicaan Warlord some credit; he was constantly maneuvering his ship to try to keep vulnerable sections safe.

R’Turan frowned nearby, his tail lashing in frustration, “We have to get our communications back up so we can better coordinate the attack!”

(( TAG: Storm: Whatever you want to do to clear up the communication problem. ))

“Do it!” the Commander answered as Lieutenant Nagi moved to help him, “And quickly; The Destroyer is making another pass at the Lakota!”

As he spoke, the Destroyer dove towards the saucer section of their fellow Starfleet vessel, weapons blazing. The shields flared to hold off the attack as the Lakota turned hard to one side, firing its phasers while doing so. Every shot hit home and left solid scorch marks on the enemy ship.

“How much of a pounding can that thing take?” Helmsman Jedur wondered aloud, “It’s shields are almost completely gone and they haven’t slowed down at all!”

“They must’ve salvaged the armor plating of the Battleship too,” Lieutenant Eleutherio guessed, “No Nausicaan ship can take this level of abuse.”

“Incoming!” Lieutenant Kenny shouted a moment before the ship shook from another attack, “Jeez! That last blast was focused towards of our life support systems! And that previous strike on the Lakota was at their bridge!”

“Alright, if they want to play rough; we’ll play rough,” Teriir decided, an idea leaping into his head as he looked over to Commander Biiqs. He stood up as he did so, causing Vars to grab ahold of him to continue working on his shoulder, “Standby tractor beam and divert power to the forward phaser arrays. I want you to fire the phasers in one focused burst at the spot where you grab ahold of their ship.”

(( TAG: Biiqs ))

“Whoa!” Lieutenant Eleutherio spun around in his seat, the borg implants in his head adjusting themselves slightly, “That’s a Borg tactic! Where did you learn something like that?”

“I’ve had to fight them before,” he explained, “If there’s anything I know from previous combat experiences; it’s to learn your enemy’s tactics so you can both create defenses and, possibly, use their own strategies against them.”

(( TAG: Storm ))

“Good work, Mr. Storm!” Teriir acknowledged him, “Hail the Lakota!”

A few moments later, the viewscreen switched from the battle to their friendly’s bridge. The bridge looked undamaged but Captain Terry looked concerned, “About time we got through that jamming signal! That Destroyer is swinging around for another pass at us. Let’s focus our fire on their weapon arrays!”

“Actually, we’re getting ready to spring a trap the next time they come after us,” he informed her, “Can you lure them close to the Ares so we can catch them in a tractor beam?”

Captain Terry hesitated before answering, “Understood. Is there anything we can do after you hit them?”

“You should have enough time to get behind them when we do this,” he told her, “Take out as many of their subsystems as you can as I want us to beam their survivors aboard!”

“Let’s get to work,” she answered with determination as the channel closed.

“All due respect, Captain,” R’Turan said a moment later, “Taking them alive will likely be harder than just taking them out.”

“You heard the message from earlier,” Teriir replied, “One, maybe two of their leaders are on that ship. Maybe news of their capture will make the Nausicaans on the surface more . . . amenable to surrendering.”

“Here comes the Lakota!” Nagi signaled. Sure enough, the Excelsior was about to fly right over the top of their ship, the Destroyer pursuing them.

“Wait for it . . .” he said in anticipation. The Nausicaan ship drew closer . . . closer . . . , “Now!”

With that, a tractor beam grabbed the Destroyer at the very center of the vessel, avoiding the arms of the ship. A phaser beam lanced into the enemy ship and began burning into it. He looked over to the tactical station, “More power to that phaser array!”

(( TAG: Biiqs ))

The increase in power resulted in the ship producing a low hum which rumbled through the floor. Watching the phaser beam, he waited for any sign of the target weakening. Nagi spoke up again, “The enemy ship’s armor is failing!”

An instant later, Teriir saw the phaser blast tear deep into the enemy ship like a knife through butter. The Destroyer managed to pull away from the tractor beam but the phaser kept going, carving the ship along the length of its hull. He realized the shot was going through its target now, “Cease fire!”

The Nausicaan ship stopped trying to pull away and began floating through space. A volley of torpedoes, courtesy of the Lakota, slammed into the now helpless ship. Two of its arm-like sections tore off and what used to be the engines disappeared in a blast of fire. It was engrossing, watching what used to be a powerful starship turned into little more than a scrapheap. He turned around and asked no one in particular as a number of cheers erupted from the officers, “What’s the status of the enemy ship?”

“The Destroyer has lost all power except to life support systems,” Kenny reported, “Hull integrity is down to 36% and there are 43 lifesigns scattered around what’s left of their ship.”

“The Lakota just contacted us,” the Communications Officer stated, “They’ve noticed our people starting the rescue mission down below and want us to move over to help them. They’ll handle the Nausicaan survivors from the Destroyer.”

“Hopefully their leader survived,” the Captain observed, “Acknowledge their message and move our ship into orbit over the Mountain Base. Start making the necessary repairs to the ship and patch us through to the rescue teams so we can help coordinate their - Hey!”

(( TAG: Biiqs, Rosek, Storm ))

His last order was interrupted by Vars, who made an effort to pull him towards the turbolift, “Come on, Dyrell! Now that the fight’s over, we need to get you to Sickbay. R’Turan can handle things on this end and everyone knows what they need to do!”

“Jen - erm, Miss Vars!” he began protesting, noticing most of the Bridge Officers looking curiously at their exchange, “I’m alright! Don’t rush me!”

“You already got blood on the carpet!” she snapped back, “Now hurry up before that shoulder gets infected and the doctors have to amputate your arm!”

“Okay, okay!” Teriir answered as he half walked, half got dragged towards the turbolift, much to the confused amusement of the others present, “I’m going!”

(( TAG: Everyone ))

[Josh Broughm]

Uss Ares
Bridge

Max gave a thought to the XO's order. An idea came to his head.
- I think we need to shunt more power into the comms. There's a small chance that it might blow out the communications array.

As the captain gave him permission to proceed, Max got up from his console & headed to the coms operations console. He pointed to the crewmember to indicate that he should watch the circuits. This was riding a fine line between a controlled ramp & a overload.
- Watch the communication relays so they don't arc. I'm going to slowly creep the power up.

Storm slowly & steadily put more power into the comms, periodically checking to see if a signal broke through. He was a bit panicked, but his calm demeanour in this time of crisis steeled him. The crewmember called over to him & said,
- Long Range comms circuit showing indications of-

Max cut him off, saying,
- Cut that loop.

The crewmember nodded & his fingers danced across the console. On max's screen The transmission waveforms were starting to look normal. Then suddenly, a spike in the waveform.
- Sir, Comms are back up.

Once the battle was over, Max flopped back into his ops position. He heard the captain's order to acknowledge the order.
- Aye sir!

Once he completed his task, he turned to the captain, who was now being dragged to sickbay. Max had a silent chuckle, turned to check his console & said,
- Do you want me to do a damage report up, Commander?

[Josh Broughm]

USS Ares
Sickbay

((Posting as Sam))

Sam was about to enter Sickbay when he noticed the Captain was being pulled into the facility, when he said,

- I assume the battle went well?

((TAG Terrir))
He smiled a bit, saying,

- Remind me to talk to engineering. I need some sort of seat belt for my office chair. *points to gash on head* Split myself open....AGAIN!

((TAG Terrir))
Sam laughed, saying,

- Dryell, we both know what we got ourselves into.

((TAG Terrir))
The nurse came over to Sam & said,
- Let's get that gash looked at.

Sam followed the nurse to a bed and lied down on it. A voice was heard in the sickbay, saying,
=^= Sam Urquhart, we have a transmission coming in from a civilian ship. They just entered the system. =^=

Sam's brow furrowed. The nurse, who was closing the cut, said,
- Keep still, you!

Sam chuckled, asking,

- Who's it from?

The voice said
=^= Someone named Akyv. Do you wish to take it there?=^=

Sam said, politely,

- Tell her I'll get in contact soon.

The comms snapped off.

((TAG Terrir))

[LogicalLeopard]

USS Ares
Deck 1 - Bridge

“Alright, if they want to play rough; we’ll play rough,” Teriir decided, an idea leaping into his head as he looked over to Commander Biiqs. He stood up as he did so, causing Vars to grab ahold of him to continue working on his shoulder, “Standby tractor beam and divert power to the forward phaser arrays. I want you to fire the phasers in one focused burst at the spot where you grab ahold of their ship.”

Biiqs' eyes lit up as he realized what the Captain was planning. "Oh, excellent sir, he said with a fierce grin. "Like a can opener!" Biiqs started transferring the power to the forward phasers and isolating a weakened spot to focus them upon, targeting the tractor beam just below. After a few moments, he announced. "All ready."

“Whoa!” Lieutenant Eleutherio spun around in his seat, the borg implants in his head adjusting themselves slightly, “That’s a Borg tactic! Where did you learn something like that?”

“I’ve had to fight them before,” he explained, “If there’s anything I know from previous combat experiences; it’s to learn your enemy’s tactics so you can both create defenses and, possibly, use their own strategies against them.”

(( TAG: Storm ))

“Good work, Mr. Storm!” Teriir acknowledged him, “Hail the Lakota!”

A few moments later, the viewscreen switched from the battle to their friendly’s bridge. The bridge looked undamaged but Captain Terry looked concerned, “About time we got through that jamming signal! That Destroyer is swinging around for another pass at us. Let’s focus our fire on their weapon arrays!”

“Actually, we’re getting ready to spring a trap the next time they come after us,” he informed her, “Can you lure them close to the Ares so we can catch them in a tractor beam?”

Captain Terry hesitated before answering, “Understood. Is there anything we can do after you hit them?”

“You should have enough time to get behind them when we do this,” he told her, “Take out as many of their subsystems as you can as I want us to beam their survivors aboard!”

“Let’s get to work,” she answered with determination as the channel closed.

“All due respect, Captain,” R’Turan said a moment later, “Taking them alive will likely be harder than just taking them out.”

“You heard the message from earlier,” Teriir replied, “One, maybe two of their leaders are on that ship. Maybe news of their capture will make the Nausicaans on the surface more . . . amenable to surrendering.”

“Here comes the Lakota!” Nagi signaled. Sure enough, the Excelsior was about to fly right over the top of their ship, the Destroyer pursuing them.

“Wait for it . . .” he said in anticipation. The Nausicaan ship drew closer . . . closer . . . , “Now!”

With that, a tractor beam grabbed the Destroyer at the very center of the vessel, avoiding the arms of the ship. A phaser beam lanced into the enemy ship and began burning into it. He looked over to the tactical station, “More power to that phaser array!”

"Increasing power" Biiqs shunted more power into the forward arrays until the safety warnings began to trigger. Using a few tricks, he'd be able to eke out a bit more if needed, so long as he kept careful watch on the system to prevent a dangerous EPS overload.

The increase in power resulted in the ship producing a low hum which rumbled through the floor. Watching the phaser beam, he waited for any sign of the target weakening. Nagi spoke up again, “The enemy ship’s armor is failing!”

An instant later, Teriir saw the phaser blast tear deep into the enemy ship like a knife through butter. The Destroyer managed to pull away from the tractor beam but the phaser kept going, carving the ship along the length of its hull. He realized the shot was going through its target now, “Cease fire!”

Biiqs shut down the phasers immediately, ending the trembling in the deck. He made a mental note to check over the relays himself when he had time.

The Nausicaan ship stopped trying to pull away and began floating through space. A volley of torpedoes, courtesy of the Lakota, slammed into the now helpless ship. Two of its arm-like sections tore off and what used to be the engines disappeared in a blast of fire. It was engrossing, watching what used to be a powerful starship turned into little more than a scrapheap. He turned around and asked no one in particular as a number of cheers erupted from the officers, “What’s the status of the enemy ship?”

“The Destroyer has lost all power except to life support systems,” Kenny reported, “Hull integrity is down to 36% and there are 43 lifesigns scattered around what’s left of their ship.”

“The Lakota just contacted us,” the Communications Officer stated, “They’ve noticed our people starting the rescue mission down below and want us to move over to help them. They’ll handle the Nausicaan survivors from the Destroyer.”

“Hopefully their leader survived,” the Captain observed, “Acknowledge their message and move our ship into orbit over the Mountain Base. Start making the necessary repairs to the ship and patch us through to the rescue teams so we can help coordinate their - Hey!”

"Aye, sir. I'll go down to the CIC to help coordinate. Lt. Kenney?" Lt. Kenney relieved him at Tactical I as he made his way to the turbo lift.

His last order was interrupted by Vars, who made an effort to pull him towards the turbolift, “Come on, Dyrell! Now that the fight’s over, we need to get you to Sickbay. R’Turan can handle things on this end and everyone knows what they need to do!”

“Jen - erm, Miss Vars!” he began protesting, noticing most of the Bridge Officers looking curiously at their exchange, “I’m alright! Don’t rush me!”

“You already got blood on the carpet!” she snapped back, “Now hurry up before that shoulder gets infected and the doctors have to amputate your arm!”

“Okay, okay!” Teriir answered as he half walked, half got dragged towards the turbolift, much to the confused amusement of the others present, “I’m going!”

Near the turbolift, Biiqs struggled to suppress a smile at the Captains handling. He remarked in a deadpan manner, "You two go ahead, I'll take the next car."

[Asteropax]

USS Ares
Bridge

Near the turbolift, Biiqs struggled to suppress a smile at the Captains handling. He remarked in a deadpan manner, "You two go ahead, I'll take the next car."

“Alright, Commander,” Teriir replied swiftly as the turbolift door nearly closed on him. He looked over at Lieutenant Vars, who was standing by his injured shoulder. Noticing a small streak of blood trickling alongside her cheek, he spoke up in alarm, “You’re hurt!”

“I’m fine, Dyrell” she answered strongly, brushing her hair to cover the injury, “Just a little cut from when you pushed me away from that beam.”

“We’re already on our way to Sickbay so we can get you checked out,” he suggested, speaking quickly to prevent her from protesting, “Do I need to remind you of Vediim VII?”

“When I got that cold which I insisted I could fight off?”

“Which then turned out to be a parasite that is 95% fatal if not removed within a week,” he reminded her. He huffed slightly and rolled his eyes, “Ever since we met, I’ve practically had to carry you to a medical facility just to get you to get yourself checked out!”

“Look who’s talking, Mister I-Almost-Bled-Out-In-My-Sleep!” Vars snapped back. Dyrell instantly rounded on her to argue but a shriek of protest from his shoulder made him wince and clutch it instead. Her hand went over his, as though she’d completely forgotten their argument barely a second ago, “Thanks for shielding me. That beam would probably have hit me in the head if you weren’t there.”

“You’re welcome,” he said hesitantly, suddenly finding himself unsure of what he should do, “Hey Jenha . . . Thanks for helping me up there.”

Jenha didn’t reply, instead flashing him a gentle smile which disappeared as the turbolift doors opened. The two of them made their way over to Sickbay. He noticed Sam was on his way over there too.

Sam was about to enter Sickbay when he noticed the Captain was being pulled into the facility, when he said,

- I assume the battle went well?

“The fight is over, although there is still much to do,” he admitted, “People to rescue, new captives to question, and two bases to take down. Looks like you’ve had an argument with an immovable object.”

He smiled a bit, saying,

- Remind me to talk to engineering. I need some sort of seat belt for my office chair. *points to gash on head* Split myself open....AGAIN!

“I know the bridge stations have such seat belts,” he answered, “I don’t think there are any in other sections of the ship though. I’ll put in a request so other seats get the modification too, including those in your office. That way everyone is safe.”

Sam laughed, saying,

- Dyrell, we both know what we got ourselves into.

“Indeed we have,” he smiled as he was pulled over to one of the medical beds by Jenha. He sat down on it while she went over to the one opposite him. They looked at each other with shy smiles until Doctor Riley stepped over to where they were seated, “You can start with her. I can wait a minute.”

“Nothing doing, Captain,” the Doctor answered as he began inspecting his right shoulder, “We need you to be healthy. Plus, there’s a hunk of metal sticking out of your shoulder.”

“Wait, what? Seriously!?!” he shot a look at Jenha in surprise, “Someone failed to mention that while patching me up on the Bridge.”

“You always said it’s best to leave an obstruction in until it can be properly treated!” she argued indignantly, “It helps prevent you from losing too much blood! Not to mention, I didn't want you and everyone else on the Bridge to have a heart attack over it.”

“Erm, yeah . . . you're right,” he commented apologetically, “Sor - ARRRGH!!!”

“Got it,” Riley answered as he began running a medical tool on his back. Dyrell didn’t know whether he was glaring at Jenha because she didn’t tell him the full extent of his injury or from the surprise removal of the debris. The Doctor didn’t notice his expression and continued, “You know, some treatments work better when you aren’t expecting it.”

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of!” he tried to spin around to see what was going on behind him, “Next time just knock me out!”

“The guy who’s afraid of needles is asking for one? Okay.”

“Wait, don’t! I’m okay, you do not need to inject me with something!” he scooted across the medical bed to get away from the Doctor. Managing to look at him, he saw Riley only had a Regenerator in his hand while Jenha was snickering in her seat. A Medical Technician was treating the cut on her head with a smile. He sat back upright and glanced around in embarrassment, “You said that just to see what I would do, didn’t you?”

“I just need a batch of popcorn and this show would be perfect,” Jenha teased from her seat.

Dyrell shook his head and laughed, “In these outfits? I think it would make a better drama than comedy.”

She shrugged back at him and waited patiently with a smile while the Technician continued working on her. When he was done and she was given permission to go, she got up and stood in front of him, “Hey, can we talk when you’re better? I . . . um . . .”

“Of course, Lieutenant,” he replied, trying to feign a sense of professionalism. As she walked away with a relieved grin, she passed by Doctor Riley, who was looking at the exchange in confusion. He sighed, trying to figure out where to begin, “I take it Nurse White informed you of my prior relationship with her?”

“Naturally,” he commented, returning to his work on his shoulder, “You two became engaged a few months before the Dominion War ended but got seperated following a costly battle. Unable to contact each other, you drifted apart and continued on with your lives. Neither of you knew what happened to the other until you were assigned to our ship, accepting that you were only friends.”

“Jenha Vars and I met during that battle,” he explained, “We became friends afterwards and I considered starting up a relationship with her but wanted to stay loyal to Mell. About a year and a half after the War ended, I finally accepted that I may not see her again and began kindling a relationship with Jenha. We became very serious about each other and did many things which I never did with Mell, or Diane for that matter.”

“She even topped the girl you’re currently in a relationship?” Riley observed. Dyrell could feel the medical tool pause in its work as the Doctor stopped to check on something, or shifted his attention to the story, “Why did you two break up?”

“Well . . . two years ago, a few days before my critical injuries at Lazon II, we had a talk about getting engaged and starting to raise a family. It went along well until I brought up the idea of having us transfer off the Icarus and going somewhere else. We ended up getting into a fight about it and weren’t able to resolve anything before I had to depart to help the ground teams. We promised to talk more once I got back; I didn’t see or hear from her for five months. By that time, I’d begun my relationship with Diane and learned she started seeing someone else.”

“So you two have one fight and then quit on each other?” he muttered.

“Hey!” Dyrell instantly stiffened and looked over his good shoulder at the Doctor, “I had a lengthy hospital stay for two months and she never came in to see me! We promised to talk about any problems we end up having with each other so we can work through them and I didn’t hear from her! Before you ask, I tried contacting her daily and didn’t get any responses back; even going to her new quarters to speak with her. She locked the door. Honestly, I’ve tried to forget we were even in a relationship!”

“So, nowadays, you’re only friends because the ‘workplace’ demands it,” Riley summarized and glanced back to the doors where Jenha left Sickbay, “I’m no expert on relationships, but it’s obvious you still care about each other; fight, other relationships, and all.”

“Even though I still love her, I don’t know if I can trust her in a relationship again,” he admitted, letting a number of pleasant memories flow over him. No matter how hard he tried to continue his relationship with Dianne, his own feelings for Jenha often got in the way. He occasionally wondered if the truth was he 'd been cheating on Jenha and Dianne was a comeback girl. Lost in thought, he felt a weight wrap over his bad shoulder and looked at it. It looked like a sling of sorts but much sturdier, preventing him from moving his right arm away from the center of his chest, “What’s with the sling?”

“Combined sling and cast,” the Doctor clarified, “You need to keep your arm and shoulder immobilized so you aren’t damaging it further, so this is going to hold that part of your body still. Although you can take it off, you need to wear it while you’re sleeping and as often as possible for at least a week when on and off duty. The more you wear it, and the more regularly you check in here with me, the sooner you’ll get completely fixed up.”

“Understood, Doctor,” Dyrell replied as he departed Sickbay. A part of him wanted to question the computer about where Jenha went but also needed to respect the Doctor's orders. Ultimately, he headed off to his quarters, both to start getting some rest and see about a call. Doctor Riley was blunt and straightforward about his relationship with Jenha, making him question all of his relationships. He needed a mother's advice.

(( TAG: Sam & Biiqs ))

[Blaster]

Dorvan V
Airspace

Tess's fighter sped down to the planet, in an arrow formation like the others.

"Watch the skies everyone" she said over comms.

"Copy that Ma'am," came the reply.

Tess looked out over the area, looking at everything to make sure she wasn't missing any AA platforms.

"Everyone, lets head towards the mountain base, and see if we can help out in anyway" Tess said.

The fighters sped off towards the base.

[LogicalLeopard]

USS Ares
Deck 15 - Combat Information Center





There was an odd feeling in the CIC, as well as something else. Not so much a tension, more like a tautness, like an ancient sail stretched by the wind.

Like the commander of a seagoing vessel, it was Biiqs Tarquin's duty to direct the deck crew to steer the rescue operation aptly, being subject to the fickle "winds" of uncertainly many miles below on the surface. He watched the readouts, and the movements of the Nausicaans within the cavern, waiting for the right moment...

"Now," he said aloud as he saw another guard move to the front of the cave. "Get me Lt. Tess," he said to the communications officer.

"Channel open, sir..."

"Lt. Tess, this is Commander Tarquin. Please divert your forces toward the mountain barracks for the strafing runs we discussed earlier. Remember, circle a bit as if you're having difficulty getting a weapons lock, and get a few phasers shots on that barracks to soften them up. Your distraction will allow the Runabout to land with additional forces and our team on hand to secure the hostages inside."

(( TAG: Blaster))

[Asteropax]

USS Ares
Bridge

Captain Teriir stepped off the turbolift to the bridge and looked at the main viewscreen, the unexpected guests in a close formation. Although the Sydney Class starship was the ship in question, one could not ignore the powerful escort of two Prometheus Class starships on either side. He moved further in so Science Officer C’elle, the Violacean Lt. Junior Grade who fetched him, could head back to her station. It looked like she'd relieved Ensign Falora at the Secondary Science Station a short time ago. He walked over towards the center of the bridge, “Report.”

“These three ships entered the system a few minutes after we finished off the Nausicaan Destroyer,” Lieutenant Kenny replied, “That Sydney Class vessel claims to be the S.S. Memphis.”

Teriir grunted, “Let’s see if we can figure things out. Hail them.”

“Channel’s open,” the Communications Officer announced.

“This is Captain Teriir of the U.S.S. Ares.”

A moment later, the small bridge of the Sydney appeared. The ship’s Captain, a Haliian, stood at the center proudly, “Greetings, Captain. I am Captain Sallen. We are transporting a delegation of Federation Officials to Cardassia for a conference. At the request of several Ambassadors, we departed early from Starbase 310 to come here.”

“Here is not exactly a safe place to bring Ambassadors,” Teriir looked over at where the beam that hit him barely an hour ago hung. He barely had enough time to change into a new uniform and start thinking through what he would potentially say to his godmother before C’elle came to get him, He left behind his sling to disguise the fact he’d been injured. Not the best idea but he needed to keep up appearances at least until they sorted this out, “We just finished re-securing the system’s orbit from a group of Nausicaan Pirates.”

“That’s nothing four Starfleet Vessels can’t handle,” Captain Sallen dismissed.

“Have you scanned what’s left of the Nausicaan Destroyer?” he interrupted, “The ones here are more dangerous than you think.”

The Haliian looked over to one side and waited for someone to finish a scan. A moment later his eyes flared in panic, “Dominion Battleship grade torpedo launchers!?! Where in the world did they find weapons of that scale?”

“Our intelligence believes one crash landed on the surface of the planet,” Teriir explained, “We have yet to locate the wreckage. Currently, we are working on rescuing a number of hostages the Nausicaans have taken from the main settlement.”

“I would say we would leave you to it, but a number of the Ambassadors insisted on visiting this system,” Sallen apologized, “An Ambassador requested to travel with us to reach you in order to transport a number of civilians who were waiting at our departure point. From what I know, they’re families of some of your crew.”

“I thought the starship Angelic was going to transport them for a late rendezvous with a number of additional Officers and families?” he wondered aloud.

“That ship’s orders still stand but the civilians and a few members of the Federation Diplomatic Corps were welcomed aboard my ship,” the Haliian clarified, “The Andorian Ambassador stated he wished to assist your crew due to how important your upcoming exploration mission is to the Federation. He believed transporting the staff of your Diplomatic Envoy and these families would be a symbol of appreciation for all your crew has done and have yet to do. A number of the Delegates we are transporting also felt this would be a good way to go on a fact finding mission to help with the negotiations.”

“Ambassador A’ral Th’votrak?” Captain Teriir inquired further. After Sallen nodded, slightly confused by the question of identity, he understood what was going on. The Andorian Ambassador’s daughter, Akyv, was engaged to Sam Urquhart, their Diplomacy Officer. He’d figured out how to get her, a number of families, and his soon-to-be son-in-law’s staff on board early with a little political maneuvering. He smiled as he responded to the Haliian Captain, “Tell him everything is deeply appreciated! I would like to thank him in person for his generosity before people start visiting or moving over here; can he transport over soon?”

“Yes, I can!” a formally dressed Andorian stepped into view a moment later, “How soon can preparations be made?”

“We need an hour or two, Ambassador,” Teriir responded with a courteous bow. He straightened himself up and frowned slightly, “We need a little time to prepare as we weren't expecting you. I will apologize in advance for any damaged sections on my ship; our fight with the enhanced Nausicaan Destroyer concluded right when you arrived. Although the damage and casualties are minor, there hasn’t been a lot of time for us to straighten everything out.”

“All of which is understandable and I will take responsibility for that,” Ambassador Th’votrak stated with a wave of his hand, “It was by my request that we didn’t announce our incoming arrival as I wished for this to be a pleasant surprise for your crew than a scramble to fix everything.”

“The surprise is more than welcome,” he grinned back, “I’ll see to it the Officers of the families that are coming aboard are informed. Are there any special accommodations we can prepare for you?”

“You should find a request I submitted and was later approved by Starfleet Command in your communications log soon,” the Ambassador informed him, “My personal staff and I will be joining you until your ship heads to Starbase 310 to receive all of your scientific equipment. We won’t require anything overly special. The Caitian Ambassador’s Attaché, M’iia, has also been granted permission to come aboard your ship as well.”

“We’ll get rooms ready for all of you. How long is the Memphis and the Delegation staying?”

“Just for the remainder of today. I wish to have the Cardassian Official to Dorvan V join us for awhile as I promised to deliver details of my time here to the Delegates for their fact finding. This way they have knowledge from the . . . frontier during the conference.”

“Understood; I’ll work on getting all of the arrangements,” Teriir paused for a moment to make a request of his own, “Do you wish for you and your people to transport down separately? I have a feeling you wish to speak with our Diplomatic Envoy personally.”

“Indeed, I do wish to speak with him,” Ambassador Th’vortrak smiled, as though realizing he was giving him and his daughter an opportunity to meet Sam before attending to official business, “I will leave it up to you on how to proceed. Together or divided up, it doesn’t matter to me as long as the result is the same.”

“It will result in the best way possible. We will contact you when we are ready. Ares out,” he promised as the communications channel closed. He let out an audible huff and looked around the bridge before placing his good hand on his head, thinking about what they’d just gotten themselves into, “This is going to be a frantic rest of the day.”

“Do you wish for me to assist the Ambassador and these Delegates?” R’Turan asked, “You’re still hurt.”

“No,” the Captain replied, shaking himself out a little to clear his head, “I want you to work with Commander Biiqs on the rescue mission as planned, so join him in the CIC to lend assistance. I’m going to head down to the transporters with Councilor A’Mand and Mr. Urquhart to speak to our special guests. Mr. Storm, you have the Conn for now. See to it all of the Officers whose families are coming aboard are contacted.”

Seeing his orders were being carried out, he departed the bridge to get everything ready.

(( TAG: A’Mand, Storm, Biiqs, Sam ))

[Blaster]

Dorvan V
Airspace

"Copy that Sir" Said Lt Tess.

"All fighters, once we get to the mountain barracks, we are to fire phaser arrays down, and circle around to make it look like we are having trouble locking on" Tess said.

"Copy that" Came the response.

"Spear-2 through to 4 follow my fighters. Spear-5 through to 8 do the run after we do ours." Tess said shortly after.

The fighters went into an arrow formation, and approached the mountain base.

Spears 1-4 went in first, firing a single phaser array down, causing damage, before swerving off.

Next came Spears 5-8 who fired the phaser array down into the inner areas, doing damage and causing the base to crack in places.

"Just two more passes each" Tess said.

They each took two more passes, resulting in some damage to the barracks, and softening them up for the security.

Tess looked out the cockpit window and saw a shuttle landing with security forces.

"Our job is done, Commander. Should we head back to the Ares?"

[Josh Broughm]

USS Ares
Bridge

“No,” the Captain replied, shaking himself out a little to clear his head, “I want you to work with Commander Biiqs on the rescue mission as planned, so join him in the CIC to lend assistance. I’m going to head down to the transporters with Councilor A’Mand and Mr. Urquhart to speak to our special guests. Mr. Storm, you have the Conn for now. See to it all of the Officers whose families are coming aboard are contacted.”

Max held in a small internal scream, calmed himself & said,

- Aye sir.

Sam's office - Diplomatic Complex

Sam was in his office, reading a document when he heard the door chime.

- Its open!

((Tag Terrir))

Sam put the document away & said,

- How's the shoulder?

((Tag Terrir))

A wide grin came across his face.

- You're kidding?

((Tag Terrir))

[WelshAvenger]

Dorvan V
Forests of Dorvan V


Attachment 9773

Attachment 9774

Christopher worked silently on the wounded and unconscious Nausican lying on the ground while the Chief and Martin hovered nearby talking casually. Every now and then, Christopher glanced in the direction that Jei had wandered off, hoping that any moment he would see her safe and sound.

"Give it up, lad." The Chief said in a fatherly tone. "She'll be back when she's ready and not a moment before."

"I'm sure you're right, Chief," Christopher replied, "I'm just worried is all."

The Chief gently patted Martin on the back, "Why don't you go take a break in the crater with that rifle of yours and give us some steely eyed sniper cover?"

Martin wore a mock hurt expression, "You know you can just say,'Hey Martin I wanna talk to the doc and I don't want you to hear.', right Chief?"

The Chief actually chuckled, "Go!"

When the Chief was certain that Martin had settled himself comfortably, he turned to Christopher, "Now then, lad, how about you tell me what's going on in that head of yours?"

Christopher thought back to the gruff and unfriendly man he had met at the shuttle just the day before and the patronly, sage man in front of him. Disarmed by the contrast, Christopher blurted out, "I'm scared Chief." He looked at the man for any sign of judgement but found none.

"The way you ran through disruptor fire when Martin was injured could have fooled me." The Chief replied.

"That's different, Chief," Christopher began, "that was automatic. If I'd have thought for an instant about what I was doing, I probably wouldn't have ran to him."

The Chief smiled, "I think you're wrong there, Doctor." Putting a little more emphasis on Christopher's title.

Christopher flashed a brief smile, "Thanks Chief. What I mean is that I'm scared that we may not come out of this. We're in poor shape physically and if there are any more Nausicans chasing us, we're going to be hard pressed to prevail. I don't want to see anyone else die Chief and it's like a weight on my chest."

The Chief let out a sigh, "Look here, son, we're in a bad spot but Martin and I have your back, Jei's too. In fact, I'd be willing to put money down on our engineer against any Nausican you'd care to find. You've had basic training so you know how to compose yourself in a fight. That weight you're feeling? That's combat fatigue. I had a case of that once when one of my previous ships was boarded by Jem'Hadar, took hours for us to get rid of them as they'd taken half the ship. It does go away eventually, you just have to remember to breathe deep and slow."

"Deep and slow." Christopher nodded and looked slightly ashamed, "Sorry Chief, some officer I am, stressed and scared."

The Chief grasped Christopher's shoulder and squeezed gently, "You're doing a great job. Besides, if you were the other kind of officer, the kind to run toward the enemy full of guts and glory, I'd have shot you myself." With that, the Chief turned to the crater.

"You wouldn't, would you Chief?" Christopher asked.

The Chief just smiled and walked away.

"Chief?..."


Attachment 9774

[Asteropax]

USS Ares
Deck 10 - Diplomatic Reception Lounge

“Ambassadors?” Ohige Frotor, the ship’s Bolian Chef commented in surprise before a pleasant smile crossed his face, “My cooks and I can whip together something special for anyone who comes aboard! Are we expecting anyone in particular?”

“For sure, an Andorian Ambassador, his staff, and a Caitian Ambassador’s Attaché,” Teriir informed the chef, “They will be staying with us for a time. We don’t know for sure about the others, so a banquet of sorts would be a good choice.”

“A good suggestion, Captain,” Frotor commented, clasping his hands together in anticipation for the chance to show off his culinary arts skills, “We’ll get started right away!”

“Thank you,” he smiled as the Chef hurried off to the kitchen. Despite the hurried preparations, everyone he’d spoken to was eager to welcome the Ambassadors; it wasn’t everyday when Federation Officials went out of their way to visit a starship. Turning, he looked over to Lieutenant Vars, who’d been helping him get everything arranged. The rooms were being prepared, locations for a tour were notified, and now the Chef was preparing a meal, “I believe that covers everything.”

“I think so too,” Vars mused as she looked at her PADD, “I know security will be a tad of an issue due to us having a collection of prisoners on board, but we may be able to transfer them over to the Lakota for the time being.”

“Maybe, although I think we should keep the Orion, Therta, separate from the others,” Teriir thought aloud, “Her intel gave us what we needed to prepare a defense against the Nausicaans and indirectly warned us to their movements. She’s earned herself a place in a Federation facility instead of a holding cell to await a prisoner transfer to the Cardassian Government.”

“Hmph,” she answered quietly, still flipping through her PADD. She didn’t look up until he moved beside her and peered over her shoulder, “I was just finishing looking through the list of civilians coming aboard. It’s nice seeing several families are coming here.”

“Yes, it is,” he murmured back, knowing what she was thinking about. Although most everyone lost something during the Dominion War, Jenha lost everything. She was born and raised on a colony which was attacked during the War by the Jem’Hadar, leaving no survivors. Her first ship had been destroyed and, despite the best efforts of his own shipmates, only found her alone in an escape pod. She almost threw what she had left away if he hadn’t noticed her and kept a close eye on her throughout the final months of the war. It was anything but the best way to start a relationship.

“You haven’t done that in awhile,” Jenha commented quietly.

He raised an eyebrow in confusion, “Done what?”

“Held me by my lucky stripe, dummy” she snickered. He recoiled his left hand, realizing he’d wrapped it around her side. Like any other Trill, she had the usual two rows of spots running down the sides of her body except for one section on her flank. The spots there joined together to form a stripe instead.

“Erm, okay,” he glanced around nervously, “Sorry. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately and now isn’t exactly the best time to talk about our relationship.”

“It always seems like something is in a rush around here,” she shrugged, “But please make some time; we’ve been pretty much avoiding each other for two years.”

“You’re right, we have,” he answered with a sigh, “Still, I think we’ve been doing much better since our shore leave before reporting to DS9.”

“Risa was fun,” she blinked at him. She opened her mouth to say more but reconsidered. A moment later she was frowning again, “Okay, I’ll head up to Transporter Room One to make sure everything is ready. You better go inform someone their fiancé is here and then join us.”

“Thanks for the reminder, I’ll go tell him right away,” he replied, grinning when he realized a Captain was taking orders from a Lt. Junior Grade. She had a way with people. He headed off to find Mr. Urquhart.

He quickly narrowed down the search to his office nearby and tapped on the doorbell.

- Its open!

Stepping inside, Teriir spotted the Diplomatic Officer at his wooden table, oak by the looks of it. He guessed he’d interrupted some light reading as Sam put a document away upon his enterance.

Sam put the document away & said,

- How's the shoulder?

“It has seen better days. It seems like a running pattern to get injured there. The doctors want me to wear a special sling for it but right now I need to keep appearances up,” he answered, “A Sydney Class starship just entered the system under heavy escort. They’re carrying Diplomats enroute for a conference on Cardassia but stopped here upon request. A Caitian Attaché and Andorian Ambassador’s party are going to be staying with us for awhile and the delegation includes someone named Akyv Th’votrak.”

A wide grin came across his face.

- You're kidding?

“She will be coming aboard soon along with a small delegation of Ambassadors at Transporter Room One,” he smiled, not missing the excitement in Sam’s eyes, “I’ve made some plans so you can greet her and her father upon their arrival. I’m going to see to it the Ambassadors are taken on a tour of the ship, minus Ambassador Th’votrak. As far as the other Diplomats know, he’s requested to speak to you upon their arrival.”

(( TAG: Sam ))

“Alright, let’s get up there so they can come aboard,” Teriir said as they began heading over to the turbolift.

[LogicalLeopard]

Dorvan V
Airspace

"Copy that Sir" Said Lt Tess.

"All fighters, once we get to the mountain barracks, we are to fire phaser arrays down, and circle around to make it look like we are having trouble locking on" Tess said.

"Copy that" Came the response.

"Spear-2 through to 4 follow my fighters. Spear-5 through to 8 do the run after we do ours." Tess said shortly after.

The fighters went into an arrow formation, and approached the mountain base.

Spears 1-4 went in first, firing a single phaser array down, causing damage, before swerving off.

Next came Spears 5-8 who fired the phaser array down into the inner areas, doing damage and causing the base to crack in places.

"Just two more passes each" Tess said.

They each took two more passes, resulting in some damage to the barracks, and softening them up for the security.

Tess looked out the cockpit window and saw a shuttle landing with security forces.

"Our job is done, Commander. Should we head back to the Ares?"

USS Ares
Deck 15 - Combat Information Center





As Biiqs opened his mouth to speak, a voice rumbled from behind him.

"Negative, Lieutenant....circle the area and stand by."

He turned to see Commander R'Turan, who had entered the area and escaped his notice. To Biiqs, he said, "We haven't seen any deployment of heavy weapons, but that doesn't mean they dont have any."

"Certainly, sir. I would have ordered the same myself." He turned back to the communication specialist on duty. "Give Brag's team the signal. It's now or never."

(((TAG: Blaster)))

[LogicalLeopard]

Dorvan V
Nausicaan Barracks



G'rarthik cursed the ancestors of his unseen tormentors, as the barracks shook violently from another phaser blast. A web of fissures began to form in the walls of the prefabricated building. With every blast, the barracks seemed less and less stable. As did his command.

He could feel it in the hackles of his neck, in the back of his jaws. Eyes that scanned the skies for the Starfleet craft firing upon them were now glancing back at him. Weapons held at the ready near windows were slackened against the frames. Even though his men had not been privy to any direct contact with their leaders, they seemed to sense that things were going badly on Dorvan V. The fact that they had been fired upon with impunity by Starfleet was proof of that.

G'rarthik had been plundering the stars since his 13th nameday. He'd seen many raid leaders arise, and he'd seen many raid leaders fall, torn apart by their own raid parties. Whenever it happened, it was always clearly portended with an atmosphere of quiet rebellion.

He felt that same atmosphere hanging thick and heavy in the barracks, threatening to choke him with each nervous breath he took.

A shrill voice pleaded behind him, "The caves. The caves! We have to seek cover, we have to fl--"

G'rarthik whirled and seized Karkam by his throat, slamming him against the nearest wall. "You misbegotten, cowardly, degenerate, toothless unghub! You thrice-poxed whelp of ten generations of soft loined undari! The CAVES!? So you can be trapped, and die in the dark like a coward? Have you no guramba?

G'rarthik was so happy Karkam provided a distraction, he could have kissed him, despite the facetious anger he had to portray.

Karkam, who possessed a weak wit, looked upon him with wild eyes, grasping for words that weren't there. "I should kill you for your cowardice," continued G'rarthik.

"You may not have to waste the power cells on that," said Gurrk calmy from across the room. As I'd on cue, the building shuddered again. He was turned from his window, disruptor rifle pointed down, but fingers clutching the pistol grip dangerously. "If not the caves, what is your plan?"

G'rarthik turned from Karkam and stared down Gurrk, straightening himself to his full 2.2 meter height. Gurrk represented a serious challenge to his leadership. He had served with him long enough to know he was not only as strong as he, but cunning and deadly.

Before he could speak, a tech studying instruments in a corner exclaimed, "Starfleet vessel approaching. Runabout class. Its landing!"

G'rarthik's heart leapt again. He had never wanted to show affection to so many people outside of a Orion bordello. Whirling back to Gurrk, he announced loudly, "THAT is what I plan to do! The Starfleet attack was OBVIOUSLY a diversion to send in a LANDING party to rescue their people. Obvious at least to ME, which is why I am leader! Starfleet cannot risk transporters here, so they must send a ship capable of holding troops and hostages! And that ship," he shouted, turning to meet the eyes of all his men, "Is OUR plunder." A slow chorus of satisfied grunts began, as the implication of his words sank in. The unspoken fears that their higher leadership had either lost or abandoned them were assuaged by the knowledge that they could take a ship and flee themselves.

"We wait for them to leave the ship and rescue their people, rush and overwhelm them, and then take the ship! Or are you simpering slugnecked cowards with no guramba?

The roar of approval warmed his heart. Power was as intoxicating as Saurian Brandy. He could kiss them all...

[Asteropax]

USS Ares
Deck 4 - Transporter Room 1

“Urk!” Teriir complained as his collar choked him slightly when Nurse White made an adjustment to it, “Stop that! It’s straight!”

“The shirt’s straight!” she argued back as she made a more subtle change to his jacket, “It’s the jacket that’s crooked.”

He sighed as he let her finish pampering. When he was about to enter the transporter room with Sam, she and Doctor Riley were waiting for him. Nurse White had guessed he left the medical sling for his shoulder in his quarters when it was announced they would be receiving guests. The Doctor came to give him a series of regenerative patches to go under his uniform, specifically his dress uniform. It was new and custom made by the ship’s Tailor for him. Realizing he needed to dress up for the Ambassadors, he changed into his third outfit in that many hours.

“There we go,” she commented, stepping back to admire her work. Teriir glanced over to A’Mand, who was also in her dress uniform, and Sam, in his official FDC clothing. They both gave him a signal of approval. Transporter Chief Khaira didn’t bother looking, keeping her eyes focused on the console. A moment later, Nurse White let out a relieved breath, “Well, if the Captain isn’t planning on disobeying another Doctor’s order today, I’ll be on my way.”

“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Lieutenant Vars promised for them. After Nurse White left, she began scrolling through her PADD, likely looking for any additional information on the delegation.

As she did that, Teriir thought about the various Federation Members and how many changes had occurred since the conclusion of the Dominion War 6 years ago. Reminding himself of the Caitian Attaché who would be staying with them soon, he thought specifically of Cait, or Ferasa in their native language. Their homeworld was spared from most of the war due to their location far to the south of the front lines, thus they were becoming much more prominent in the Federation. Yes, the Dominion did attempt an invasion of their solar system but the attack was wiped out and humiliated by the Caitian's Militia Fleet.

Khaira snapped him out of his reminiscing, “We’ve got a message here; a party of nine is coming over. They’re dividing into two groups for transport; 5 and 4 respectively. They’re ready when we are.”

“Then let’s start welcoming them aboard,” he nodded to Khaira.

The first group to beam over began materializing onto the Transporter Pad. The five of them were extremely well dressed, making their status as Ambassadors obvious to all. A Human man and Benzite woman appeared towards the front while two others, one a Saurian and the other an Andorian, stood behind. Teriir recognized Ambassador Th’votrak from the conversation they had just a short time ago on the subspace channel. He caught himself adjusting his posture to make himself look a bit taller when he recognized the Caitian standing at the back. He gave them a moment to get acclimated with their new surroundings before speaking.

“Welcome aboard the starship Ares! I am Captain Teriir,” he turned and introduced the senior officers present, “These are two of my officers; Councilor A’Mand and Diplomatic Envoy Urquhart.”

“I am Ambassador Morgan, Federation Ambassador to Cardassia,” the Human introduced himself as he stepped off the pad. He looked back and named the others as they joined him, addressing in order the Benzite, Saurian, Andorian, and Caitian Ambassadors, “May I present Ambassador Mociqa. Ambassador Krate. Ambassador Th’votrak. And Ambassador R’kaan.”

“A pleasure to meet all of you,” he shook the hand of each Ambassador as they stepped off in line with their introductions. As Ambassador Mociqa paused at the edge of the Transporter Padd, he offered her his hand in a courteous gesture.

“Thank you, Captain,” she complimented with a subtle smile, “I wish for a tour of your ship before we begin any official business; I have not been aboard a Sovereign Class starship before.”

“I’ll make sure the tour is very inclusive,” Teriir responded, thinking quickly on where to take everyone. There were number of places to visit and he decided to have them stop by the Arboreum just outside the Diplomatic Complex. He turned to Ambassador R’kaan and the two clasped each others’ wrists in a firm grip; a customary greeting between Caitians who were considered friends, “Congratulations on your recent elevation from Consul to Ambassador!”

“And the last time I saw you, you were a Lieutenant Commander. Congratulations on your promotion to Captain!” the Ambassador responded in kind, “You’re young, but I have every confidence you’re ready.”

“Thank you,” He smiled, noticing the other Ambassadors were looking at them curiously. He released his grip and stepped back slightly to explain, “Ambassador R’kaan and I have met on many occasions and I served alongside two of his three children for many years aboard the starship Icarus; the Chief Medical Officer and recently promoted Chief Tactical Officer.”

“On your recommendation,” R’kaan’s whiskers tweeked slightly, proudly thinking of his children, “I know you trained her extremely well.”

“We’ll have to hear more later,” Ambassador Krate respectfully intervened as Ambassador Morgan started heading towards the door to the corridor, “We have much to do.”

“Ahem,” Ambassador A’ral Th’votrak coughed to get their attention, “Aren’t we forgetting something?”

“Oh! The rest of our party!” Morgan gasped slightly, stopping and doubling back to the others, “My apologies; I’m more used to travelling with my full party via airlocks than transporters.”

“Are they ready?” the Captain looked over to Khaira again. At her acknowledgement, he flashed a smile, “Then bring them over.”

A moment later, four new people materialized on the Transporter Pad. This group contained a man and three women, two Humans, one Andorian, and another Caitian. Teriir smiled at the later two as he knew who both of them were. Morgan introduced the Humans, “These are my aides, Erikson and Xau.”

“This is my daughter, Akyv,” A’ral stepped in to welcome his kin, keeping her close to his side to make it clear now was not yet the time for her reunion with Sam. He was right, as they’d been promised the chance to speak privately while the Captain took the others on a tour.

“And this is my daughter and Diplomatic Attaché, M’iia.,” R’kaan let out a rumbling purr as he introduced the final party member. M’iia let out a purr of her own as Teriir performed the same gesture he had with Mociqa; an escorting hand hold while walking down steps. She joined her father but not before flicking her ears at Lieutenant Vars in greeting. As Vars and he both served aboard the Icarus, she knew the Caitian Officials too.

“Now that everyone is here,” Mociqa spoke up, clasping her hands together in anticipation, “We have much to do and see.”

“Of course,” the Captain replied and moved over to the door, leading the party out and into the ship. He knew A’Mand, Vars, and the other Ambassadors were following him.

“Aren’t you coming?” Krate’s voice made him turn around. A’ral was hanging back with his daughter and Sam.

“Not yet,” the Andorian Ambassador replied, “I was wishing to speak with Mr. Urquhart here first.”

“That’s right,” Teriir said to the other Ambassadors, “You made the request when we first made contact. We’ll leave you to it and you can join us later.”

“Thank you,” A’ral grinned, “And please know that the families on the Memphis are ready for transport when you are ready.”

“They are welcome to start beaming over whenever they’d like,” the Captain smiled back as he signaled Khaira to leave the room with them. The rest of the party was out in the corridor a few seconds later to tour the ship.

(( TAG: Sam, A’Mand))