Trial by Fire: Purging the System


 * Katie BanningaTrial by Fire: Purging the System:: Larkus II::
 * Aboard the Jason ::

Katie was looking out of the window. Sand everywhere. How could people live here. That immerse hot. When she was home, she had wished a thousand times for some sunshine. Somehow it was always raining in her home town. But at this time she would do a lot for some rain.

Katie and another security officer, Peter Branning, were waiting in the shuttle for almost an hour since the others left. After a while waiting they had turn down the power of the shuttle, to preserve some energy. You never know. The only down site of it was that the heat was coming in the shuttle. When she got back to the atlas first thing she would do was take a shower.

Only the XO had come back. She still couldn’t figure out how he got his hands on all that money. Or he had friends everywhere or he was one hell of a good communicator. How else could someone get that kind of money together in so little time. It was more money she had ever seen in her life.

“We got some visitor’s” her colleague said. Shit, why can’t they just leave us alone. “What kind of visitor’s? Are they friendly looking” “Define friendly, they look very curious to our shuttle”

Katie walked up to her colleague to see who the visitors were. “What are they for species. Have you ever seen them” she said to him. “Nope, I haven’t. What is that on their nose?” he said. She tried to take a better look. “Are you sure that’s their nose?”

The visitors were walking around the shuttle. Apparently trying to get more info about the owners.

“What should we do? Play hide and seek or go out and talk to them?” Peter asked her. “They’re not stupid, I hope. I think one of us should talk to them and try to get rid of them. You want to? “Why me, your better in diplomatics.” Peter said with a grin on his face. Katie looked at Peter with a look that said more than words. “I wish I didn’t told you that. I knew you would take it against me.” She said while she was walking towards the door. “Please close the door after me, I'll keep an open com-link with you”

When she walked out the shuttle more heat came over her as a warm blanket. There were only four other shuttles on the landing spot. None of them had she ever seen before. And she had seen her kind of shuttles and ships on the many travels she made with her grandfather.

She walked to the two man that were standing to the front of the shuttle. “Good afternoon, my name is Cadet Banning, I'm one of the pilot’s of this ship. Can I help you with something.” Katie decided that it wasn’t such a smart idea to say that she was a security officer. That would make a hostile conversation right away.

The elder of the two turn towards her. “My name is Kral and this is Mleg, we’re the pilot’s of the shuttle over there.” And he pointed towards an blue egg like ship. “We we’re looking at your ship because we have never seen such an odd shape ship. It’s completely pointy and straight. There isn’t a curve in the ship. Isn’t that very uncomfortable?”

Katie looked at the man and then there ship. Their ship was very small. Talking about uncomfortable. “No, it’s not uncomfortable at all. It is kind of crowded with seven people on board, but it’s not uncomfortable at all.”

“You know” Mleg said “you should take a look on board our ship. Maybe than you’ll understand what real comfort is.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I can’t leave our ship at the moment.” Katie replied.

“I understand, if you want to see our ship, we’re here for the 25 hours. Were picking up some friends. Nice meeting you, cadet. May peace be with you” Mleg said while he started walking away, back to their ship.

When the two man where half way Katie walked back to the shuttle. At least we made some friends here, I think.
 * 06-24-2011, 07:28Laramie Walking Bear:: Larkus II ::

The name Prince Felix seemed to hold some weight among the sellers and traders on the asteroid, so Laramie and Amy soon found themselves walking into a cave entrance in the side of an enormous earthen hill. The entrance itself was large enough to allow a shuttlecraft to land inside, and appeared spacious enough within to house a flight of them, but the dirt floor was empty of flying craft. Instead the walls were lined with crates made of everything from wood to military grade, explosive-resistant polymers, in all manner of sizes and with all manner of writing stamped or tagged or scrawled on the sides of them. The pair from the Atlas walked to the left, past bustling groups of figures who were busy cataloguing and checking the containers. Following a corridor made between stacked crates, they walked some two hundred yards before the man-made path added an intersection to the left, which led to a freight elevator cut into the wall of the hill. It was of ancient design. It had once been painted yellow, but decades of use had chipped, dirtied, and worn the paint down in most places, exposing the grey metal beneath the cage doors that came from the car's top and bottom, to meet with an echoing clang in the middle. The elevator was manned by a huge being that Laramie recognized as a Brikar; nearly seven feet of grey, stone-like mass. His massive, three-fingered hand threw the latch that connected the upper and lower gates, while his other hand gripped a handle that caused the car to travel up or down the length of the shaft.

In a voice that sounded like the smoothest avalanche they'd ever heard, the Brikar asked, "Floor?"

"Uhhh... Prince Felix's?" asked Amy Finch, unsure of what else to say.

The elevator operator pushed forward on the handle, and the car lurched with such force that Laramie had to throw a hand out to steady herself. "You're a Brikar!" she said to the big man.

"Thank you," replied the figure.

Laramie knitted her brow. "For what?" she asked.

"For reminding me," said the Brikar. His stony face gave no indication of expression, so the science cadet had no way of knowing if he was being sincere or sarcastic.

Pulling the handle back to center, the car slowed to a stop, whereupon the Brikar unlatched the gate and pulled the doors open again.

"Go into the light," said the Brikar.

"Um, yeah, you go into the light too," said Laramie with a small salute as she exited the car behind Amy.

The Brikar sighed. It sounded like two huge bricks rubbing together. "Go to the light on your right. It's where Prince Felix is. If you go to the left, you won't like it."

"Oh!" said Laramie. She chuckled and put her hand to her chest, embarrassed. "See, I thought you were giving us a blessing or something. You know, 'Go to the light.' Sorry. My friend and I--"

The Brikar shut the gates again, quickly and loudly.

"Dick," muttered Laramie.
 * 06-24-2011, 16:38Lisbet Ulrika:: USS Atlas ::'''
 * Sickbay ::'''

Gabriel was just finishing up prepping for surgery. Lirik Jaxx, the Surgery Nurse was making sure that all of the medical instruments were sterile. Despite Gabe’s obvious nervousness at participating in his first official surgery, he was confidant. Confident in his abilities and skills learned over years of study and practice. At least he would not have to lead his first surgery; that duty would go to Lisbet Ulrika, his immediate superior. Though Gabriel had only been aboard ship for a short time, he could tell that this ship’s crew had to easily be one of the best in the entire Starfleet Command. Gabriel was especially happy with his Chief Medical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Lisbet Ulrika. She had proven herself to be a competent and experienced Medical Officer. Gabe watched as she finished being prepped as well. This was what Gabe had wanted for the longest time - to serve as a Medical Officer in Starfleet Command and help a multitude of people.

''Gerhardt had been flying through space, nacelles trailing behind and disc section plowing forward. He could feel the power of his warp core coursing through his systems and all had been at ease. But something had happened, something terrible. He couldn’t quite remember what it was, but it had left him without power and drifting in the void. At first, he was worried that he would be lost and the crew he carried left for dead, consigned to float forever or until he hit a sun, but his trust in the engineers on board overcame his trepidation.''

Looking down at Gerhardt Rahner, the ship’s Chief Engineer, Gabe realized the importance of the surgery that he and Lisbet were about to undertake. This was one of the most important men on the vessel. Not only that, his skills and knowledge were desperately needed to keep the ship running. Adina Wolfe had been one of the first people for Gabe to have met aboard the ship. Apart from being beautiful and friendly, Gabe new that she was a damn good engineer and that she would more than be able to fill in for Gerhardt until he was back up on his feet. Bringing his mind back to the task at hand, Gabe took a deep breath and looked up at Lisbet.

“Ready when you are, Dr. Ulrika,” Gabe said, calmly.

Bet surveyed the operating room as she finished her own preparations, impressed (as she always was) with the swiftness with which it all came together. The scans of Rahner’s heart showed a blockage in his left marginal artery. They would need to isolate that blockage before it could break loose and cause more damage, to do so they would need to place him on bypass and stop his heart. The technology was such that this was a relatively simple procedure, but Bet knew that something could always go wrong and felt a pang of nervousness as the thought.

“Ready.”

PO1 Jaxx activated the sterile surgical field, which surrounded Rahner’s torso. Bet started to handle the laser scalpel and paused a moment, “Would you like to make the incision Doctor?”

''Something felt different. What were those engineers up to? He could hear them fiddling around inside him, Chief Engineer Ulrika and Cadet Surgeon Holt''

Gabriel looked up from Garhardt’s torso and into Dr. Ulrika’s eyes. He felt a slight tinge of nervousness combined with excitement as he reached for the Laser Scalpel. “As you say, ma’am,” replied Gabe. Carefully taking the laser scalpel from her, Gabe quickly referenced the scan of Rahner’s chest. The laparoscopy was a procedure that Gabe had learned very early on in his medical training. The procedure itself was simple, but complications could always arise.

Gabe could feel his heart pounding inside of his chest. His first operation aboard his first assigned ship posting and on the ship’s Chief Engineer, no less! This was an exciting moment for Gabe. With precision and caution, Gabe applied the laser scalpel to Rahner’s chest. Guiding the laser, Gabe made an incision exactly 1.5 centimeters long. Blood slowly began to ooze from the incision that Gabe had made. The amount of blood was substantially less than in times past when steel scalpels were still in use. One of the great things about the laser scalpel is that it served to cauterize the wound as the incisions were made, which lead to much less blood loss due to the incision. Once he had made the incision, Gabe looked back up at Dr. Ulrika. “Incision made, Doctor.”

''OW! Someone had cut through the secure casing around his warp core. Gerhardt hoped they would be careful not to cut one of his plasma conduits.''

Bet activated the 3-D display of Rahner’s heart and moved it to a hovering position over the biobed. She carefully inserted the probe and hit the button that would initiate the computer’s surgical program. She and Gabe watched the display as the probe head navigated around to the left side of the heart, the blockage clearly visible as the probe neared the site.

''Suddenly, a holographic image of Gerhardt’s warp core appeared in space, right in front of him. For some reason, he beamed with pride at the inter-mix dual-core.''

The next phase of the procedure was tricky, the Shearwave head embedded in the probe would allow them to “blast” the blockage to tiny microscopic pieces with sound waves. The computer gave notice that it was ready to administer the blast, and after checking all readouts Bet hit the command to proceed and they watched as the blockage suddenly disappeared. The probe head withdrew to a safe distance.

Gabe continued to monitor the vital signs of the engineer as the machine continued its processes within Rahner’s heart. His attention hovered between the 3-D display in front of him as the machine worked to clear the blockage and the read outs of Rahner’s anatomical and biological functions down to cellular levels. “All read outs on the patient are clear, Doctor,” Gabe said to Lisbet. “Ready to administer the next phase of treatment.” Gabriel looked over to the machine that would release the nanobots into the patient’s blood stream. The nanobots would then go to work clearing the pieces of the blockage. From his position around the surgical table, Gabriel would be able to not only monitor the nanobots, but also control them if the need arose.

Bet checked, and double checked that Rahner’s vital signs were strong and that his brain function looked good. She then activated the defibrillator to start his heart, and nothing happened. She hit the button again and his heart started to faintly beat, growing stronger with every passing moment.

''The image of his warp core began to thrum with energy. Gerhardt always liked watching that, feeling the pulse of energy in his EDS system, the ebb and flow of space travel.''

The system controlling the nanobots chirped, alerting them to their successful eradication of arterial clogging bits. The next command they were given would allow them to scour for any other plaque deposits, preventing future blockages.

Thus far, the nanobots had proven to be quite effective. Gabe continued to monitor all of the various read outs. His eyes move from screen to screen and even over Rahner’s body. “Heart rate steadily increasing,” Gabe said to Lisbet as his eyes moved to another screen. “Neurological patterns are steady but high indicating possible dreams,” Gabe said as he again turned his gaze to yet another screen. “Biological functions are normal, blood flow is steady and growing stronger.” Gabe had learned early on in his time at Starfleet Medical that communication in the operating area was critical. He had no intention of forgetting that principle now. His first operation aboard ship was going quite well, and Gabe was thankful for that. This is what he had always wanted. He was getting to put all of his knowledge to use and help people. All while making a difference in the universe as a part of Starfleet. His attention stayed steady and focused on the task at hand.

Bet initiated the removal of the probe and watched it maneuver away from Rahner’s heart. She pulled it out the rest of the way and looked at Gabe, “Why don’t you close up?”

Gabe looked away from the monitors. “Aye, ma’am,” Gabe replied. He looked over to PO1 Jaxx who stood next to him. “Laser Suture, please, Nurse,” Gabe said holding out his hand. The nurse moved efficiently, retrieving the device and placing it firmly into Gabe’s hand. Taking the device, he powered it on and watched the beam come out from the device. The red pulse was steady. The countless times of practice from the Academy came flooding back to Gabe as he moved his hand to its point it over the wound. Slowly and precisely, Gabe moved the beam back and forth over the wound. Depressing the left trigger of the device would cause a tiny tractor-like beam to pull the two sides of the skin together before pressing the right trigger which would cause the two pieces of skin to come together. The whole process had to be done quickly as the skin only stayed together until pressure had been released off the trigger. But, Gabe was able to do it with speed, and with precise efficiency. He spoke as he worked over the wound. “He’ll have a scar, but I am sure he can think up some lie of a battle in some far off galaxy to impress the ladies,” Gabe laughed as he finished the suturing. “Finished, ma’am,” Gabe said handing the device back to Nurse Jaxx.

“Very nice work Doctor. Jaxx, let’s wake him up. She stood by while the nurse eased off the anesthetic that had kept Rahner from waking during the surgery. She was looking down at him as he slowly came to, “Welcome back Mr. Rahner.”

Light blurred through Gerhardt’s eyelids and he could hear a far off voice talking. He thought he could taste metal bananas, but was having trouble making words form in his head to describe it. The light started to focus more and Gerhardt could suddenly realize that a woman was standing over him. He recognized her, but the anesthetic was still confusing him a bit. “Chief Engineer Ulrika?”

''Wait, that’s not right. I’m the Chief Engineer,'' he thought. His memory kicked on and information flashed through his brain quickly. He shook his head and tried again, “Dr. Ulrika? Where am I?” He looked around himself at the sterile operating room and the various machines that had been keeping him alive. “Did I die?”

“Very nearly, but we managed to keep you around for a while longer. Cadet Holt rushed you here and we too care of a serious blockage in your heart. Which brings me to a discussion we should have about your health. But, we’ll save that for another time, I understand you have other things on your mind at the moment.”

“Unless they retrieved the warp core and re-installed it while I was out, I should probably get back to work,” Gerhardt reluctantly agreed. “That is, if my doctors are releasing me?”

“I would be inclined to restrict you to Sickbay, but our circumstances are such that I’ll let you go. But, and this is huge, you MUST come back if you feel tired or short of breath. Any signs of trouble, you come back here immediately. I’m going to have one of the nurses check in on you too. Once this emergency is over, you come back here for a thorough check up and that talk we need to have...deal?”

“Deal,” Gerhardt said. He slowly rose from his reclined position and lowered his legs over the side of the bed. He felt a little weak, but he had enough strength to get back to work. He stood warily, ensuring his legs could hold him. “Thank you, Lisbet. I will be on the bridge when you want to send one of your lackeys to poke and prod me.”

This joint post brought you byGerhardt Rahner and Lisbet Ulrika :: Sickbay ::
 * 06-25-2011, 04:32Gabriel Holt:: USS Atlas ::

Gabriel walked from the operating area over to his station in the Sickbay. A small table in one corner of the room was what he could call his "office." The words his father had spoken to him once began to play in his mind. "A doctor's office is wherever he is called to treat the sick, and help those in need." A smile came across Gabe's face as he sat in the chair of his station. They were words that he took to heart. Words that inspired him and helped him along the way as he learned his trade. He could remember the days he sat in his father's office, watching him treat his patient's one by one throughout the course of the day. But now, it was Gabe's turn at treating patients of his very own.

The table was large and curved in a slight semi circle around his chair. The table was gold in color and while not large in size, it still afforded Gabe enough space for his work. Atop the desk, Gabe had placed a small plaque that had been given to him by his father when Gabe had left to attend Starfleet Medical. It read in Latin: "Quod alius vivat." The phrase meant "That others may live." The plaque was placed in the center of the desk for all to see what Gabe was about. Two large screens came up from within the desk itself and took up most of the desk itself. Each of these were used to monitor the vital signs of everyone within the ship. The screens were filled with all the names of those currently aboard the ship. Sensors placed throughout the ship constantly monitored the biological functions of the crew and served to alert the medical staff if a problem was occruing with someone aboard. This was one of Gabe's responsibilities.

Apart from the two large, main screens, four more smaller screens were on the top of the desk itself. These also served their own purposes. From these screens, Gabe could monitor all the patient's within the Sickbay itself, he could pull up an individual's file and current biological, nuerological and pathological functions, check over volumes and volumes of medical references and access the ship's cameras in case he needed to visually check a crewmember somewhere on the ship.

Currently, it was Gabriel's shift to monitor the ship's personnel. His eyes went over the list of names on the screen. As this was a shakedown cruise, there were many less names on the list than there would have been with a full compliment of ship personnel. The names all read out normal functions. Though Gabe kept his eyes fixed to the monitors, he began to reflect over his first official surgery. The entire procedure had gone very well, and no complications had arisen. A textbook operation as Gabe's professors used to say. It was an accomplishment for him. No longer would he wonder if he would be able to utilize the skill his he had learned. On his voyage to the Atlas, he had also put his skills to the test in what his position really was, Trauma Surgeon. Gabriel dealt in the severe, critical and emergency cases - the kind that required the quick assesment and treatment of wounded personnel who were facing imminent death.

Garhardt Rahner's name appeared on the monitor in front of Gabe. Good, he thought to himself, he's up. Gabriel tapped the Engineer's name on his display and on one of the screens below came up a display. The outline of a body took up the left side of the screen and on the right were various charts and readouts all concerning the Chief Engineer's current bodily functions. Steady heart-rate, and smooth blood flow were both things that Gabe looked carefully over. So far, Rahner was in good condition. A smile crept across Gabe's face. Gerhardt would make a swell recovery.

Tapping the display to close it out, Gabriel then brought up the medical file for Rahner. As he had just had a surgery, his file would need to be updated. It was seen as a tedious routine by some of his peers at Starfleet Medical, but it was a job that Gabriel took to heart. An up to date and accurate medical file could very well be the difference between life and death, and Gabe took it seriously. Flipping through the pages, Gabe got to the end of the file and began typing in the newest information. It was almost like an "After Action Report" but for doctors.

Gabe spent a few minutes typing all of the information into the file before saving it and forewarding it to Dr. Ulrika to glance over and approve it. He hoped that she wouldn't mind him filling it out. Turning his attention back to the monitors, Gabe began to peruse other personnel medical files as well. He hadn't gotten much of a chance since he got the assignment to look all of them over. It was important to know every patient's file as it would help in times of treatment. As a Trauma Surgeon and Emergency Responder, Gabe had to be able to assess injuries and apply the correct course of treatment in the shortest amount of time possible. If he knew the files, it would make his job that much easier.

There wasn't much to currently do aboard the ship until the others had gotten back from their mission. So Gabe decided to be as productive as possible until their return. The medical files was just the place to start. He was eager and wanted to be the best doctor he possibly could be to his patients. Gabe could tell that Dr. Ulrika was a damn good doctor and so he decided to learn as best he could from her. As Gabe continued to leaf through the files, he knew he had found his calling. And this was only the beginning...
 * 07-05-2011, 15:40Laramie Walking BearLaramie and Amy followed the dimly-lit corridor as indicated by the less-than-charming Brikar. It ended in a blast-plate door cut into the rock wall. The smell of incense filled their nostrils as they approached. A round glass porthole had been cut into the metal door, and a decorative brass knocker had been deftly welded beneath it. Laramie used it to knock loudly on the door.

Moments later it opened, and the science cadet and medic squinted slightly as the light from within hit their eyes.

"Whadja?" asked the figure that loomed in front of them. Though not as large as the Brikar, the man still possessed more than enough height and girth to be sufficiently intimidating.

"We're here to see Prince Felix?" said Laramie.

"Fuhwat?" asked the hulk.

"Fuhjob?" said Laramie.

"Sway," grunted the large man, walking away from them. Laramie and Amy shrugged at each other and followed, assuming that was the laconic man's intention. Amy pushed the door shut behind them courteously.

The floor of the space they were in was covered in carpeting that seemed to come from many worlds. Colors and patterns clashed haphazardly; but all seemed to be of uniform thickness. On the walls, electric lights were spaced at intervals, providing a soft, shadowless illumination. The walls themselves had been painted a warm if uninspiring tan.

Prince Felix stood in the center of a control room. Surrounding him in a semi-circle was a ring of aging computer panels, some showing live video feeds from various parts of the market above, others scrolling trading data or weather charts. The Edosian turned as the young women entered. Even he seemed larger than normal.

"Is everybody in this place a freaking giant?" muttered Amy as they approached, looking up at the 6'2", orange-skinned alien. Like all Edosians, Prince Felix was a triped, with a third arm and hand sticking out of the center of his chest. Laramie noticed the extra hand was a left one. He was dressed in a purple suit with a green paisley tunic beneath that wrapped around his lean frame.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" asked Prince Felix in a musical baritone voice.

"I'm Flinch," said Amy Finch, "and this is Larry. We're pilots. Looking for work. We heard your name upstairs a few times and thought you might be looking for couriers."

"Flinch?" asked Prince Felix, grinning. "Is that a nickname?"

Amy smiled back. "Yeah. Like, 'two for flinching?' I got it a long time ago after a fight in a bar on Skelos."

"Two for flinching. Got or gave?"

"Gave," said Amy.

"I like you," said Prince Felix. He turned his knobby head towards Laramie. "I don't like you though, Larry. You haven't told me a story yet."

"Um..." Laramie shifted her weight uneasily. "I'm just...I'm just a courier, sir. I don't tell stories."

"You keep your mouth shut, do you, Larry?" asked Felix.

"Uh yeah. Yes, sir."

Felix nodded. "Good. Okay, you two. It just so happens that my Ferengi friend Woroq told me you might be coming by, and I am in fact in need of some crew for my post-auction goods transport. I'll take you both." He keyed some information in to what must have been a desktop replicator, and two objects shimmered into existance. Picking them up, Prince Felix tossed what appeared to be dogtags on chains to the girls with two of his three hands and pointed with the one in the center. "Those are your IDs. If you tell someone you're working for me and flash those, they'll scan them and you'll pass. Don't lose them. You'd regret it."

Laramie and Amy put the tags around their necks.

"Are you going for that big warp core?" asked Amy out of the blue. Laramie bit her tongue, shocked that her partner would be so bold.

Felix narrowed his eyes, which had the effect of nearly blocking them beneath his large brow ridge. "What do you know about warp cores, Miss Flinch?"

Amy shrugged. "I know there's one up there, and it's gonna be auctioned off. Woroq and I were discussing how much it'd go for. Woroq said no more than 200,000. I told him he was nuts. Larry agrees with me."

"Miss Larry?"

"He's crazy," said Laramie, repeating what she'd said to the Ferengi and hoping Felix didn't talk to her any more. She could feel persperation beading on her brow.

"As it happens, Miss Flinch, I am planning on bidding on the warp core. In fact, I'm planning on winning it. In fact, when I do win it, you and Larry will be helping to transport it."

"Great!" piped Amy. "Where we going?"

"A small moon near Cardassia. Ever been to Cardassia, Miss Flinch?"

"Yup," admitted Amy. "Did some relief work there. Flew in supplies, med staff, things like that."

The Edosian regarded Laramie once again. "And you, Miss Larry?"

Laramie shook her head. "I think I'm going to throw up," she said honestly.

Prince Felix made a clucking sound with his tongue. "Well that won't do. Not on my Thellian rug. It must be the heat. Out, the both of you. Get something to drink. Rehydrate yourselves. The warp core will be the fifth lot of the second session. You will find me on the right side of the auction room, three quarters of the way towards the front. Be there so that, should I win, you can stay with the core once bidding is complete. You will help get it to a transport that is standing by. Once underway you will receive further instructions."

"That's it?" asked Laramie, shocked at how smoothly it was all going.

"Yes," replied Felix. "Why? Do you think there should be more to this? We're moving towards a sun. Time is of the essence. If you aren't able to do the job, I'll know it soon enough, and you'll be put off on Cardassia. Which, believe me, is punishment enough. Nice to meet you. Now, off with you!" He waved his middle hand at them and turned back to his semi-circle of computers.

Amy and Laramie, now Flinch and Larry, exited Prince Felix's lair, waited for the elevator car, ascended without speaking to the Brikar ("Dick Brikar," as Laramie had silently named him), and walked back into the baking sunlight.

"Back to the shuttle," said Laramie, moving off at a quick pace.

"Were you really going to throw up back there?" asked Amy, falling into place beside her partner. "You really were looking pale."

"I was, and I still might," said Laramie. "On you. What the hell were you playing at?"

Amy shook her head and pointed at the tags. "You're just jealous because Prince Felix likes me more than he likes you." She covered the tags by wrapping her hand around them and mouthed silently, "He may be able to see or hear us!"

Laramie nodded. "That's why you're the talker and I'm the thinker," she said, flipping a particular digit in Amy's general direction, which caused the medic to laugh. "Come on. I really do need to get some water."

Flinch! Sickbay'''
 * 07-07-2011, 17:29Gerhardt Rahner'''USS Atlas

Gerhardt had just left major surgery, but he felt like he’d experienced a normal day. The wonders of modern science never ceased to amaze. As he strolled out of sickbay, he almost felt like dancing and whistling. And why not? he thought to himself, and began whistling a merry tune to a lively pulse. No, beat.

He turned a corner in the corridor and almost walked straight into a crewman apprentice in a blue uniform.

“Ah! Sorry, sir,” the poor woman fumbled before coming to full attention. “Did you hear someone whistling just now?”

“Oh, ja, Crewman,” Gerhardt paused. “I am sorry, but what is your name?”

“Rand, sir.”

“Crewman Rand, pleased to make your acquaintance on this lovely day.”

“Lovely day, sir?” Rand seemed genuinely confused. “The Atlas is in extreme duress, without a warp core, rumor has it you just had a heart attack, and you think it’s a lovely day?”

Gerhardt sobered up quickly. “Erm, quite right. I suppose I was experiencing some after effects of the sedation.”

Rand’s expression softened. “Or maybe your close brush with death provided a momentary lightening of your load. Maybe you just needed to slow down for a moment.”

Gerhardt smiled at this. “Perhaps that is correct, Rand. Thank you.”

She smiled and laid a hand on his arm before continuing on her way. Gerhardt watched her turn the corner, smiling at her back. He turned to head for the turbolift, but stopped when he heard the same tune he had just been whistling. It was muted, not in a whistle, but something closer to a hum or vibration around him. He backpedaled and poked his head around the corner.

“Crewman Rand? Was my tune catchy?” he called out, but received no answer. Tapping his commbadge, he said, “Computer, locate Crewman Rand.”

=/\=There is no person matching that description on board.=/\=

Gerhardt was thoroughly confused. He could still hear the strange, tonic vibrations around him. He leaned in and placed his ear against the hull. The sound grew stronger. The vibrations were coming from the ship itself! Suddenly, Gerhardt realized what he was hearing; the ship was at warp! He had spent so much time feeling the sound of his ship’s life with a warp core that he could anticipate a problem just by the sound the ship was making, but he had never considered the possibility that the structures of the ship could resonate the very warping of spacetime. Now that he knew what it was, Gerhardt realized that it was quite lovely, harmonious and symmetrical.

Then it hit him: the ship was at warp. His experiment was working. They were under way and making way. Gerhardt slapped his commbadge.

“Lieutenant Rahner to the bridge. Captain, if I am correct and we are under way, then I will return to Main Engineering and begin repairs. We must be ready to use what systems we have when we drop out of warp.”
 * 07-08-2011, 23:26Edward PellewEdward was sitting at his console running communications diagnostics. He began thinking about how he found himself in this craziness. Edward did not expect all of this excitement on his first mission. He thought back to his first day that he arrived on the ship. Edward was met at the air lock by a Petty Officer 1st Class Smith.

“Crewman Recruit Pellew reporting aboard.” The PO was wearing an] operations yellow uniform, he looked at Edward as if slightly annoyed.

“Crewman, I am Petty Officer 1st Class Smith I am the Leading Petty Officer of the Operations department. You will follow me and I will show you to your work station and then to your quarters.”

The LPO walked Edward around and showed him the Operations department and where he would be working. From there he was shown his quarters, which were small, by all sense of the word. He sat his bags down and sat on the bed.

“Well”, he sighed, this is home. His mind drifted back to reality. His work to maintain communications was monotonous, but every little effort was important.
 * 07-11-2011, 08:38Tom O'FlaghertyScience Lab 2

Ensign Mark Rademaker had been called in fairly early to help with the investigation of the explosive residues from Lt. Gerhatdt Rahner's quarters. The science department had already broken the samples down into their most basic compounds. From the preliminary results, Rademaker could understand their confusion. There was a an excellerant from Tholian torpedoes, a Breen Demolitions stabilizer an then basic Federation anti-matter that could have been taken from just about any ship or installation in Starfleet. It was a mess.

"Lieutenant, I'm going to need to take these results with me for a bit. I'll need some time to make heads or tails of it." Rademaker already had the ratios and full results on a padd.

"That's fine, Ensign, but you have to be the one who informs the Captain. And no comms. He wants this kind of information face-to-face." Edwin Solari, the chief science officer, flashed what was supposed to be a reassuring smile, but the young Ensign was already shaking.

"Couldn't you tell him, sir? It's out of the way to go up to the Bridge."

"Nice try, but the bridge is on this deck, Ensign. Not Deck One, now get out of here." Solari shooed the young man out the door before turning back to his empty lab. "Well, now what am I supposed to do?"

Bridge

Mason York had taken the watch on the bridge with the ill-health of Lt. Rahner. Things had been fairly quiet, accept for the random vibrations that would rumble through the ship from time-to-time, and the continuous attempts by Cadet Wolf to make conversation. York couldn't tell what was more irritating, the constant adjustments that needed to be made between the shuttles to soften the vibrations, or the voice of the girl sitting beside him. In his mind, he had already disposed of her in a number of different ways, each leading him to the brig.

With no other options, he had resigned himself to serving probably the longest shift of his rather inauspicious carreer when and Ensign from the Tactical department walked onto the bridge and straight to the Captain's chair. York would have paid him little attention if not for the way he guarded what was on that padd by clutching it to his chest as if hiding a great secret, and so the older officer did his best to listen in on the conversation while trying not to appear curious.

"Sir," the Ensign started, "I've been aiding the Science and Security departments with their investigation into the explosive residue recovered from the chief engineer's quarter's."

"What have you found, Ensign?" The Captain seemed particularly dull this time, and York wondered if it was because he was Irish and just looked that way or the man was actually stupid.

"So far, sir, we've found different explosive compounds from across the alpha and beta quadrants, including chemicals from the Federation. It's going to take some time to track down the specifics, but this seems to be from someone with a lot of connections." The young man looked almost seasick to be standing so high above the mainfloor of the bridge, which York found to be exceedingly comforting.

"Wait a minute," Tom interrupted. "You said all of the compounds were from the Alpha and Beta quadrants. Do you think this person is either a stow away or a member of the crew we picked up on Earth or DS9?"

York tensed at the Captain's words, fortunately no one was paying attention. Had he been caught? Was he about to be thrown in the brig? Luckily, the Ensign unknowingly saved him. "I don't know, sir. I will need to compare the results against known bombs used, but I was going to narrow the search to the other side of the wormhole. With your permission, I was going to take these results to the Tactical Office and use the secure uplink."

"Granted." The captain dismissed the young officer quickly, and York could feel the noose beginning to tighten.
 * 07-12-2011, 00:42Christopher Vaughn:::Plaza near pirate hanger:::

The container with Atlas’s stolen warp core lay in the middle of the landing bay seemingly begging to be rescued, if it weren’t for the ring of armed guards surrounding it. Jackson Lebowski had replicated an number of generic Bajoran religious flyers and stationed himself near the hangers handing out the tracts to passing spacers.

“The time to repent is nigh.” He told one passerby.

“The Prophets seek your redemption.” He offered to another.

“The Pah Wraiths are attempting to steal your soul!” he wailed at the next person. He wasn’t really sure if the Pah Wraiths were interested in souls or if the Prophets gave a damn about redemption. But Lebowski had learned from his time as a private investigator, it was that people on the street didn’t want to be panhandled for money or religion. In fact the more rhetoric he spouted at people the more everyone did their best to completely ignore him. But the effect was just the same. This made keeping an eye on the landing field with their warp core relatively easy.

There had been little action thus far. The pirates had set up a security perimeter and some technician occasionally came out and scanned to core to insure it was stable and dormant. Other than that and the changing of guards on duty it had been quite.

It was several hours into the impromptu stake out when that started to change. Several lift loaders started to gather around the container holding the core and using tractor beams slowly lifted it from the ground. After a moment of fine tuning the beans holding the core they began to move out of the hanger and into the city proper, still under full guard.

Lebowski stepped into a side alley quickly making sure no one was following and withdrew his combadge from under his jacket. “Lebowski to XO.”

=/\=Yes.=/\=

“Looks like our friends are moving the core…I’m going to follow.”

=/\=No.=/\= the XO replied quickly. =/\= Get back here ASAP. I already know where the core is going. =/\=

“Roger that sir.” Lebowski tucked the comms into his jacket again carefully scanning the alleyway before starting back down the street at a brisk pace. With any luck the Atlas was already in orbit and he would be able to call down a full security strike team to rain down terror on the little shits that had stolen the warp core.



“…and there will be no strike team from the Atlas I’m afraid. But I have alerted the captain of our situation and I’m told they are underway with an ETA of…sometime.”

Lebowski shook his head. “So what's the plan XO?”

Chris sipped on his coffee and reclined in the pilots chair mulling the thought over. “Well until our miracle powered starship arrives we have to find a way to keep that warp core here. Cadet Walking Bear.” He pointed to her, “may I call you Laramie?”

Chris continued without waiting for a reply. “Lovely Laramie has received the time and location of the auction and a way in. So we will try and buy it back with that,” he pointed to his briefcase. “Fat roll of cash – handsome isn't it?”

“If that doesn’t work, then we resort to shooting and ultra-violence.” Chris turned back to the security chief. “I need you to fashion some method of keeping our phasers from showing up on the scan at the auction.”

“I’ll see what I can do…”

“Splendid.” Chris finished.

Feautering NPC:

Lt. Jackson Lebowski, CSO
 * 07-18-2011, 21:28Edward PellewMain Engineering

Gerhardt stepped off the turbolift and walked briskly to the pit where engineers were scattered about working on the various tasks that would ultimately save the ship. He was greeted with light cheers and mild applause, which he was quick to acknowledge and wave off. Looking around, Gerhardt felt a niggling sensation at the back of his mind, something reminding him of something that had blown past his attention.

“Lt. Cressida, report,” Gerhardt shouted into the light buzz of engineering lingo and the sounds of tools being put to their uses.

Ayla was overseeing the replacement of the circuitry of a console near the warp core that had been fused and hadn’t noticed Gerhardt’s shortly celebrated return. Ensuring that the work was going well, she excused herself and made her way to the pit. She came to an abrupt stop in front of Gerhardt.

“How are you feeling, sir?” the concern in her voice leaking through a normally stoic exterior.

“I am well. Report,” came his terse answer.

She wasn’t deterred from her sympathy. “Only, I heard you had a heart attack, sir?”

“Yes, and now I am back. Report.”

Ayla huffed noisily at the chief’s recalcitrance and stepped closer to him. Gerhardt started to pull back in confusion, but Ayla reached out and wrapped him in a tight bear hug. Shock, confusion, and horror twisted Gerhardt’s face as he looked to the engineers he could see for some sort of help or explanation. Everyone he could see gaped at the awkward pair; all work had come to a standstill to witness the utter breakdown of the assistant chief’s social barrier.

“Don’t ever scare us like that again,” Ayla whispered in Gerhardt’s ear before she pulled away and straightened her uniform in an uptight “Picard maneuver.” She wiped a tear away from her right eye and came to complete attention. “I’ll contact all the teams and get a report to you immediately, sir.”

Everyone in engineering watched in awe as she trotted to the turbolift. When the doors closed, all those eyes shot back to Gerhardt. Crewman Liu slowly approached Gerhardt. “Sir? Is everything ok?”

Gerhardt looked hard at Liu. “I was not sure what to do. I thought she might try to kill me.”

Liu started to chuckle, then broke out into full force laughter. Everyone else in the pit started laughing with him and Gerhardt grinned, then laughed along with them. The awkward moment had allowed the tension of the crisis to break and, for those few moments, the engineering crew laughed back the stress that had been driving to the edge.

The laughter started to die and Gerhardt waved his hand to catch everyone’s attention. “Alright, people. One crisis averted; focus on the life-threatening one. As you all know, we are currently at warp using the trio of shuttles, and we are not sure what the situation will be when we reach our destination with two exceptions: criminal forces have stolen our warp core and we have a team working to retrieve it. These two facts tell us that we will need transporters ready to pull a human element from the planet and I would be remiss if we assumed a need for anything less than combat readiness.

“We are on secondary power and have only impulse, so we should prepare this ship to act as a weapons platform, meaning we need phasers, shields, and torpedos. That makes four major systems apart from ops and life support, on secondary power. We have work to do and a currently unknown amount of time to do it in. I want hourly reports from all stations. Get to work, people!”

All the engineers scurried off to do their tasks. Gerhardt tapped his commbadge and called, “Rahner to Lieutenant Mari. Could you send someone from your department to engineering. I need a report on your plan for bare minimum power usage throughout the ship, and an update on communications. And send someone well acquainted with our ops situation; I may require him to remain in engineering for a while.”

Stepping to an empty console, Gerhardt typed out a message to appear at any console Adina was using for a report on the bridge situation at every half-hour and to notify him about any changes.

A few moments later the console beeped indicating a reply message, attached to the small note welcoming him back to work was a sizable collection of files, their individual names indicating a backlog of status reports from the bridge written roughly every 20 minutes since they’d initially entered warp.

”That woman is a saint!” Gerhardt thought to himself and began to peruse the reports.

'''Deck 7 Operations Office'''

Lieutenant Mari walked over to where Edward was sitting. “Pellew, come here.” Edward got up from his station and came to attention before her.

Edward came to attention. “Yes Ma’am, how can I be of service?” As he spoke the Lieutenant looked him over, the expression on her face seemingly saying ‘You’ll have to do.’

“Crewman, the Chief Engineer needs an update on where we are with the communications and how we are containing power usage. I can’t spare anybody else so I need you to go and deliver the report as well as assist him with whatever he needs you to do.”

was taken aback. Atlas was his first assignment out of the Academy and this seemed like a pretty important job. He snapped himself back to attention. “Yes Ma’am I’ll deliver the report.” Mari nodded, handing him a large padd loaded with information, as the Lieutenant moved to go back to her desk Edward left the office and headed down the corridor towards the turbolift.

“Deck 11.”

In a few second the doors slid back and Edward found himself just outside Main Engineering. Another brisk walk and a quick visual scan later for his destination Edward was stood to attention beside the Chief Engineer.

“Sir, Crewman Pellew from Ops reporting sir!”

Gerhardt glanced up from the reports and looked the man over. “Thank you for your promptness, Crewman. Just set the report there on the console. I assume Lt. Mari told you that you would be joining us here for some time. Are you prepared to speak on our ops situation and readiness?”

Edward felt tense but he was confident. “Sir, I am, Sir. I handled the communications upgrades myself and they should be in working parameters. Also as far as I can tell the best way to lessen our power usage is to shut down power to non-essential systems as well as lower power to less essential systems.”

Edward finished and awaited the chief engineer’s response, his palms and brow were sweating about as much as if he had Andorian Shingles. Gerhardt barely contained a smile at the Crewman’s obvious discomfort.

“Um... at ease, Crewman,” he said reassuringly. “You are not in Admiral Frost’s office. And thank you for your advice, but that has been the standing order for power consumption. Now we are preparing to go into an unknown situation which could involve a great deal of danger.”

Edward looked embarrassed, “Yes sir, of course. What else would you like me to do?”

Gerhardt looked at the station reserved for ops use by the turbolift on the ground floor of engineering. It was currently unmanned. “Crewman Pellew, I need someone who can keep my engineers’ plans in line with the power schedule laid out by ops, with the understanding that our definition of ‘essential systems’ will be changing soon and will not be static. If you are this person, please man your station,” he said and indicated the ops console.

Edward Smiled and headed toward his station to begin his work.

JP with Edward Pellew, Adina Wolfe and Gerhardt Rahner. Bridge=='''
 * 07-20-2011, 15:02Lisbet Ulrika'''==USS Atlas

"Mr. Castillo, bring up a tactical overview of the Markus system, complete with known shipping lanes." This marked Tom's 13th consecutive hour on-duty, and it was starting to wear on him. They had been traveling at a bumpy warp 4 for the last few hours and still had an estimated three and half hours before they arrived. Engineering was working on getting all the weapons systems to full readiness. Energy was stretched thin, and shifts were stressed as most, if not all of the crew were working around the clock. The last update from the away team indicated that they had located the core, but the auction was supposed to begin soon.

Tom stood with Lt. Castillo looking at the traffic through the system with real-time updates from the long range sensors. There were fewer planets surrounding a white dwarf star in this system than Sol with a much smaller Kuiper Belt. The third planet, where the indicator from the shuttles glowed brightly, had a smoothe even orbit. Most of the ships moved through that planet following the plane of the system. It seemed that with their improvised warp propulsion, it would be more difficult to approach the planet without being seen. They were going to have to do something different.

"Sir," Castillo began, "normally we would want to drop out of warp directly over one if the planet's poles. I don't think it will be possible to be that accurate with our current needs."

"I agree." Tom turned to Flight Control where Lt. P'Rim was busy trying coordinating the shuttles flying support around the ship. Without fully acknowledging them, the Vulcan shook his head to answer the question Tom was going to ask. It was official, they would have to find a new way to approach the planet.

Just as Tom was about to make a suggestion, he felt a slight tug at his mind and turned toward the main door to the bridge just before Lisbet entered. A smile threatened to spread across his face, but he held back the emotion when he noticed Castillo looking quizzically at him. "Let's keep looking at options and we will meet back here in thirty minutes to see what we've got."

"Aye sir." And with that, the Tactical Chief went back to his station leaving Tom to walk across the bridge towards Lisbet.

“Bad time?” Bet asked as Tom approached. In her hands was a covered plate, “I brought you lunch, and I must insist the Captain of this ship stop long enough to eat, as your CMO that is.” She was teasing, but knew he hadn’t eaten in a long while.

"With a situation like this, I don't think there could ever be a great time." He took a look around at the crew on duty before turning the watch over to Mr. Castillo. Once that was done, he led Bet to his ready room where she set the plate on the table. He didn't give her a chance to reveal the food, but instead wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his body. "Let's take the captain's yacht and run away."

“While that is a marvelous idea, neither of us could live long knowing we had abandoned our post in a crisis.” Bet relished the feel of his arms around her, “I’d be happy to just be here with you like this for a while,” she said as she rested her head against his chest.

Tom sighed heavily taking a deep breath of the fragrance of her hair. "Tell me about it." Reluctantly, he let her go and walked around the desk to flop, heavily, in his chair. "So, what's on the menu," he asked as his stomach made a rumbling protest.

“Just a tuna sandwich with some fruit. I didn’t want to get you anything too heavy, I know things are a bit stressful right now,” she answered as she placed the plate in front of him on the desk. She started rubbing his shoulders, feeling the tightness in his muscles, as he contemplated the plate of food.

A low rumble rolled from his throat as her hands kneaded his shoulder muscles. "Thanks for the food. I didn't even realize I was hungry." He took a handful of fruit and and popped a single grape into his mouth. The juice felt good in his mouth, and for a moment he almost forgot all the craziness on the ship. "We are just so close to having this thing finished. I want things back to normal."

“Normal? You’re in Starfleet and part of Megiddo...is there a normal?” she teased as she continued to massage his tense shoulders.

"Good point," he mused as he closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. "We need to get Chris back on the ship, quickly. The longer that team is on that planet, the more dangerous it becomes." Taking the sandwich, Tom nibbled at the edge before putting back on the plate. His hunger, which had come on strong, left just as quickly.

"This command thing is really starting to put a kink in my laid back style," he joked as he looked up into Lisbet's dark eyes.

“I don’t know, I think you’re handling all this with aplomb. Not laid back, but still poised and confident, for command that’s better than laid back.” She was starting to feel his shoulders ease, but knew that until their current situation was solved Tom would be far too uptight to talk wedding plans. Moira was still sending Bet ideas and she’d managed to save a large stack of things to ask Tom about. This current crisis can’t last forever.

Tom took her hand and kissed it gently. "I'm sure it won't last forever." He leaned forward and let her hands slide off his shoulders. "Wait? Did you say that out loud?"

“What?” She rounded the chair and placed a kiss on his forehead, “I’ll let you eat the rest of your lunch in peace. Call if you need anything. Love you!” she said as she headed toward to door to his ready room. “Eat the fruit at least please, you need to keep your energy up.”

Tom looked up at her wide-eyed as she walked toward the door. That is just creepy.

“Not creepy Dearness, you’ll get used to it eventually. Bye.” She blew him a kiss as the doors closed.

Tom stared at the door for a long moment after it closed behind her. As he concentrated on the way Lisbet made him feel, he could sense her moving back across the bridge and toward the turbolift. It would take some time for him to get used to that feeling. It was exciting and terrifying all at the same time, but because of her, he felt like he wasn't doing this alone.

He pushed that moment of contemplation aside and activated the computer terminal on his desk. As he looked over the chart of the Markus system, an idea came to mind''. Maybe this will be finished sooner than I originally thought''.

A JP brought to you by Tom and Bet Bridge'''
 * 07-23-2011, 17:34Tom O'Flagherty'''USS Atlas

It had taken some time for the Science, Engineering, and Flight Control Departments to collaborate on how to make the large course change that brought the toward the system perpendicular to it's radial plane. Now, they were busy crunching the numbers on how to bring the convoy out of warp without ripping a hole in the universe. Again, this left Tom sitting in the big chair, unconsciously gripping the armrests to try and redirect his stress into something inanimate.

Tension radiated off the huddle near the Engineering stations on the right wall of the bridge even thought the conversation was hushed. The young captain could tell that things weren’t going quite as planned. That was not something he wanted to think about. Time was running out and running past the planet at break-neck pace, only to have to turn around, was not an option. Chris’s team was on the planet, and without support, they would either have to let the core go to the highest bidder. Knowing Chris, he would try to stop them even without the Atlas though.

“Captain, we believe we are ready to exit superluminal speed.” P’Rim, the Vulcan Chief Helmsman broke Tom’s reverie and snapped im back to the moment. “We will be ready to proceed in thirty seconds.”

All the personnel on the bridge looked up to their young captain expectantly while a small tremor, much like the numerous others that had rolled through the ship since going to warp, vibrated the deck under his feet. Tom looked at each one of them slowly. Not long into their first mission on this new ship, and they were already about to do something extremely dangerous. He thought for a moment of something to say, but there seemed to be nothing other that trite cliches. "Thank you Lieutenant. Sound red alert, advise the shuttle crews if their breakaway procedures, and have weapons and shields on stand-by for when we drop out of warp."

The gathered officers all acknowledged their orders and began to get the ship ready. Tom turned to Johanna Mari at Ops who was busy setting up new power transfers throughout the ship. "Lieutenant Mari, once we drop out of warp, I want you to begin locating the shuttles and our warp core."

"Sir, I though we were going to hide in the polar magnetic distortions. From there we would be unable to scan the surface."

Tom cracked a smile in response. "I want to surprise them, not hide from them." The Operations Chief looked concerned but acknowledged his orders and got to work on prepping the scanners while Tom turned to P'Rim and gave him the order to proceed.

The lighting dimmed and changed to red as the klaxon whooped twice before silencing. Then, the coordinated effort to bring the makeshift tug line out of warp began. The sporadic rumbling began a steady vibration as the ship pushed against normal space. P'Rim's monotone Vulcan voice called out the countdown over the din of the ship. Tom gripped the arms of his chair tighter as the ship pitched underneath him. The countdown continued as crashes could be heard in the aft section of the bridge and circuit breakers failed, sending sparks erupting from panels. Both secondary stations against the aft wall exploded, shooting flames into the air, filling Tom's nostrils with the smell of ozone as the sentries put them out with extinguishers.

P'Rim's countdown reached zero and something like a collision struck against the hull of the ship. Tom was almost thrown from his chair, and when he looked up, the planet of Larkus II hung in the main viewer, turning slowly. "Bring the weapons online and begin scans. I want a damage report, now! All departments!"

The reports came quickly from every corner of the ship. Minor damage to the hull and power distribution network, no casualties, and they were ready for a fight. It was P'Rim, however, who waited for everything to quiet down before giving his news. "Sir, the shuttle Antigone is reporting complete power systems failure. They are floating dead in space."

"Beam the crew aboard and set course for the planet, standard orbit. I want a line with Commander Vaughn immediately." Tom called up the summarized damage reports on his armrest panel, as well as sending a message to Security to have a team ready in full tactical equipment. "Now, it's time to see who wants to come out and welcome us."
 * 07-25-2011, 00:40Jacey AdamsEdward sat at his station monitoring the power converters when a flashing light caught his eye. He shot up from his seat with great alarm in his voice.

“ CHENG! The power converters are starting to flow off the charts. if we are not careful it may blow the deflector dish and the phaser array!”

“Relax,” Jacey said with a wave of her hand ,”Given the method of travel we’re using it’s only natural that the power’s is going to fluctuate slightly as we try to stop. The ship will handle it.” She didn’t mean to wave away the danger but from what she’d heard of their new Chief, and she’d heard a lot; he seemed to know what he was doing.

“Alright” he said. Edward went back to his console, and his hands began flying over the controls. after a minute or so had taken place, alarms in Engineering began to scream.

“Sensory overload.”

Sweat on Edward’s brow began trickling down his face. “Re-routing power from the back up converters.” As he was speaking the computer’s voice sounded unforgiving as it counted down.

“Overload in 60 seconds.”

“Perhaps...I think too highly of my Chief.” Jacey said quietly to herself as she began to play with the controls, “Edward- here comes the cliche! Reverse the polarity, let’s pull in all we can to calm her!”

“Aye aye ma’am. Reversing polarity now!” As Edward did so the console next to him exploded. It was fortuitous that there was no one there. Edward’s fingers went even faster.

“Ma’am, the reversal has slowed the overload but not fixed it.”

“Come on you, don’t even think of killing me before I get to kick Vaughn’s ass one more time,.”She growled. With a short prayer and a twinkle in her eye Jasey swiftly booted the console. The resounding thud resonated throughout the whole of engineering.

“Power levels normal,” the computer said as everything moved into a steady rhythm.

“Guess we just had to show her who’s running the show here,” Turning to Edward she offered a calming smile “ Fascinating isn’t it?”

“Shoot ma’am, that seemed too close for comfort. The Damn Sensors are back where they’re supposed to be.” Edward wiped his face. He was sweating worse than a doughnut thief in line at the crispy cream shop. Edward moved his hands back across the console.

“Ma’am, I got the power converters back to the normal operating parameters.”

“Good, I’m going to go get a cup of coffee. I’ll bring you back something herbal - you’re jumpier than a cat on a full moon and we have a hell of a lot more work to do.” She surveyed the fried consoles and sparking wires, "At least we're not dead." Moving over to the replicators she released a sigh of relief and loosened her tense shoulders, “I need rum for this coffee.”

A Jp with the epic Edward!
 * 07-27-2011, 00:21Christopher Vaughn::: Auction Warehouse :::

Chris approached the massive warehouse structure with the assorted crew of the Atlas playing the part of his ‘entourage.’ He wore a three piece linen suit with a matching fedora; if he was going into a high price criminal swap met he felt he needed to look the part. The linen suit proved more comfortable then he might have otherwise expected as the planet was nearing the terminal orbit of the star and the weather was getting erratic.

The warehouse was abuzz with movement as the lasts pieces of merchandise were being loaded into the auction hall and would-be buyers worked their way through security. People were casting apprehensive glances toward the sky, most eager to finish their business on the planet and be gone before the obit trapped them. Chris felt similarly apprehensive, amplified by his ships lack of a warp core. The very core that he could see in the distance of the warehouse, removed from its armored case the mercenaries originally stored it in. The soft glow of the core in standby mode cast a spiral of light similar to a reflection of water across the roof of the warehouse, visible even from the line to get through security.

“Next.” One of the guards growled.

Chris stepped forward with the five other Starfleet personnel in toe behind him; all in civilian clothes. “About time.” Chris snapped irritably. Lebowski had fabricated a small sleeve which would deflect a basic weapons scan (or so he claimed) which meant each of them was armed with a single phaser. The Chief of Security only had time to produce five, deciding a ‘tactical’ retreat might be needed he instructed the rest of the away team to keep the shuttle ready to go.

“Only two per group allowed into the auction hall.” The guard said, ignoring his tone.

“I am Roland Starbuck a Dilithium tycoon and corporate fat cat.” He figured the phrase ‘fat cat’ might not easily translate but so much the better. The guard looked unimpressed by his declaration. “Admitting you don’t know my name is conceding your own ignorance! I was promised my entourage would be granted access and I will not be denied.”

The guard had clearly had this problem many times today. “The rules are the rules, if you don’t like it…”

“…if I don’t like it I can take it to Prince Felix and see what he says? I guess that’s what I’ll do.” He pulled his comlink out, instantly the guards rolled there eyes and people in the line behind him started grunting and sighing at the obnoxious delay.

“Just go, it’s the last day of the auction.” The lead guard said in annoyance.

“There’s a clever lad.” Chris mumbled as he breezed through the security scanner without incident, followed by the rest of the away team. Lebowski’s weapon bags worked, note to self – put him in for a commendation.

Last word from the Atlas put her at low warp near the edge of the system and drawing near, the real question was could they either buy the warp core or stall long enough for the Atlas to arrive.

Taking their seats they patiently waited for the auction to start. Nearly forty-five minutes later the auctioneer took center stage and began. Naturally the warp core was the last item on the block however being as it was the last day were travel too and from the planet was safe the auction block was relatively short as most buyers and sellers wanted out of the system.

“And our last item is a warp core from a Federation starship. It is a very high output device and was previously aboard the newest vessel in the fleet, an experimental Vesta class. Only a few thousand light years on it and easily able to be resold to any number of rival nations – quite the bargain.”

The crowd ogled over the warp core for several moments before the auctioneer spoke again, “I’ll start the bidding at 300,000 GPL.” Someone motioned. “I have 300 can I get 330?” another motion. “400,000 GPL do I have a 400?” Someone else motioned.

“Half-a-million GPL.” Chris announced.

Several heads turned. One voice shout out almost immediately after, “650,000 GPL.” It must have been Prince Felix.

“750,000.” Chris countered.

“Eight.” The deep voice resonated.

“Nine.” Vaughn said casting an annoyed glance toward Felix.

“One million GPL.” Felix shouted. The warehouse went up into a wave of cheering as the other buyers watched the heated bidding war.

Fuck this. “Two and a half million bars, cash money.” He stood and held the briefcase high.

The room fell suddenly silent for what felt like minutes before the auctioneer spoke, “Two and a half on the table.” Silence. “2.5 million, first pass……second pass.”

“Three million GPL.” Felix spat finally.

Shit. Chris glanced over to Lebowski. “Shit.” He was only able to score 2.5 mil, for the first time in his life he was actually lacking enough cash for something.

“Mr. Starbuck…was that another bid…?”

Chris felt his throat tighten. “No…” the patrons of the auction let out an audible sigh at the apparent end of the bidding war. “But if you will give me access to a long range subspace channel I can get you six million.”

“No time for the funds to be transferred, the planet is already nearing terminal orbit.” The auctioneer replied. “3 million first pass….second pass…..third pass…”

Chris glanced at Lebowski and the rest of the team. “Ok, time for plan B: we cause as much of a distraction as possible until the Atlas gets here.” He withdrew the phaser from the sensor blocking sleeve.

“That’s plan B?” Amy said incredulously, clearly beating Jackson Lebowski to the punch.

Looking over at Amy he offered a lopsided smile, “You make it sound so….impulsive.”

“The final lot is sold to Price Felix for 3 million GPL!” the auctioneer announced. Chris promptly disengaged the safety on the phaser and fired three rounds in quick succession into the air.

Pandemonium followed. Main Engineering'''
 * 07-28-2011, 02:10Gerhardt Rahner'''USS Atlas

Gerhardt, T’Lara, the Reactor Division head, and Heath McDaniels, the Damage Control Division head, had been trying to plan the smoothest transition for when they got the warp core back on board when the ship dropped out of warp, throwing them all into the console in front of the MSD.

When everyone had straightened up and given the all clear, Gerhardt shifted the course of the meeting. “T’Lara, continue working on that plan. I will look it over later. I think right now we may have larger fish to cook.”

McDaniels snorted back laughter, drawing a questioning look from the Chief Engineer. “Sir, the phrase is ‘bigger fish to fry,’ not, umm... But that’s hardly important right now,” he quickly backed down. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to gather intel on any damage from the DC teams.”

McDaniels made a hasty retreat to the engineering DC station. “Dummkopf,” Gerhardt muttered at his back. He turned back to T’Lara and continued, “Regardless of our current situation, we will need a plan for re-installation of the warp core when we get it back on board. If you can find enough power in the sche-...”

A console explosion at the Ops station cut him off. He spun around to look in that direction just in time to see Cadet Adams give the console a kick that resounded around engineering. He heard the computer announce the normal power levels and could see that the two cadets were calming the situation.

Gerhardt and T’Lara looked at each other, T’Lara with a classic Vulcan eyebrow raise, Gerhardt with a shrug. “Good, old-fashioned engineering?” Gerhardt suggested, to which T’Lara rolled her eyes and sighed. “Anyway, if you can find enough power in the ops schedule to transport the core directly into place without detracting from shields, weapons, impulse, or personnel transporters, grand; we can install it as soon as the away team gets back. In the much more likely occurance that is impossible, find the fastest plan. If we can jump to warp two minutes after retrival of the core, find a way to make it one minute."

T'Lara nodded and went to work, leaving Gerhardt free to find out what was blowing up. "Cadet Adams," he called. "Is everything under control?"

Jacey cringed lightly, her new Chief’s voice startling her as she turned about. She nodded in response, her words seeming to catch in her throat.  Not again..I thought I’d gotten over this  Not wanting to seem rude or insubordinate she forced the words out, “F..Fine. Ju..just sorting out a s..slight power issue.”

Gerhardt made his way over and looked at the console where she was working. He had noticed the stammer and could see that Jacey seemed shaken, but couldn’t decide what to make of it. “Hmm... an overload in the power converters? That is not good. I am glad to see you were able to bring the levels back to normal, but this could be indicative of further problems.”

Jacey nodded, “It’s har..hard to tell with the setup we’re dealing with. Without the warp core...it’s still a little over my head. I..I’m trying to adjust it as best I can although I think we’re all a little hardwired..for..for the simpler things.” She added a shrug, “I guess...me..denting it doesn’t help.”

Gerhardt looked at her somewhat confused. “Cadet, are you sure you are alright? You have nothing to fear from me. I truly understand that there is often a need to resort to brute force in engineering,” he tried to comfort her, but wasn’t sure what the problem was. He spied the cup of coffee sitting by her on top of the console. “Have you considered switching to decaf?”

A slight chuckle escaped her silent barrier, “That...could perhaps help.” Jacey relaxed and felt a slight blush touch her cheeks, “I’m sorry for...” she lowered her voice, “I mean...I can speak a straight sentence. I’m not slow or anything like that.”

Gerhardt cocked his head to the right with a slight, worried grin. “I did not mean to imply any such thing. I simply do not want the stress of our current situation to override what I expect will be an excellent showing of skill on your part. Trust me, I understand stress. I do not want to see a talented, young engineer like yourself having a heart attack before she is fifty... um, like me, that is.”

“I hope I look as good as you when I get that old,” She quickly touched a single finger to her lip and winced, “I mean...not old but more...yea...I can’t find a way around that...one...sorry.”

Gerhardt laughed deeply, throwing his head back and truly enjoying the release of tension. “Not to worry, Cadet. I have been around the galaxy enough to not feel offended by a mention of gray hairs or wrinkles. Now then, shall we get back to work? Perhaps we can solve this power problem together.” With the satisfaction of one who feels he has solved a crisis without ever grasping the thread of the problem, Gerhardt smiled jovially and patted Jacey on the arm.

Nodding lightly, whilst resisting the urge to leap away from the friendly touch on her arm, Jacey realized she was overreacting. He wasn’t trying anything and it was obvious he was normal...minus looking more like a rather large mass of humans combined into one form. He dwarfed Jacey completely,”I..” She paused, collecting her words whilst remembering this was a slow work in progress, “I think...that we need a warp core. That would solve the problem in a snap.” She attempted a short smirk, “But...in the meantime I guess paperclips and ducktape will hold...”

“And she was such a pretty ship when she was new,” Gerhardt sighed, but quickly donned a smirk. “And now she will be a functioning ship. Never let anyone discourage the use of whatever means to keep a ship flying. I only wish the build team on McKinley Station could see how my reassessment of the ship’s component is paying off now. Imagine what a hell storm we would be in now if I had not... well, never mind that. We have, er, bigger fish to fry.”

“I hate fish,” Jacey mumbled.

“Well then damn the fish and hand me that hyperspanner. We will have to double-check all the converters connected to this console’s main line at some point, but for now, we can be safe just ascertaining whether or not this one is salvageable.”

Jacey looked back towards the other corner of the room, “Coffee?..” Pulling her eyes away she nodded, “Hyperspanner..consoles...spare parts...”She cocked her head, “Do we get a treat for working triple shifts?”

Gerhardt chuckled as he removed the front panel. “You should see my office. It looks like a caffeinated graveyard. Lt. Cressida would absolutely destroy me if not for the fact that in our current crisis, she has added her fair share. Oh, so that would be a yes to the coffee.”

“Last time someone asked me to see their office...” she laughed and flushed, “Anyways, Coffee..do you take it black; as it should be or do you water it down with cream and sugar?”

“I am an engineer,” he said, taking on a haughty air, “not some silly ops officer. Black, strong, and deadly, if you please.”

“That’s a point in your favour..” She said with a slight smile, “Not bad for an old guy.” Jacey offered a cheeky short smile before leaving quickly for the replicator. Work could wait a few seconds, given the amazing stop they’d pulled off. The repairs weren’t going anywhere either...not without a magic wand or some supreme miracle.

A JP with Jacey Adams
 * 07-28-2011, 13:13Laramie Walking BearLaramie and Amy had just begun to approach Prince Felix's new warp core when the phaser fire rang out, punching a trio of holes into the warehouse ceiling.

"They're set on kill?" yelled Laramie as the stampede began. She moved closer to the warp core, looking for her erstwhile employer, and saw the Edosian behind a wall of three burly bodyguards.

"Larry?" called a voice from nearby. "You still here?"

"We need a plan!" the science cadet shouted back, trying to keep Vaughn and his posse in her line of sight while keeping a lookout for any itchy trigger fingers close to her and her partner. She caught Prince Felix's eyes and mimed rolling the warp core away from the mayhem. "You, you, you and you!" she yelled to four more of Felix's entourage. "I want two of you on each side of the warp core! Flinch! Behind it with me! Activate the anti-grav on the sled and when I give the word, push it towards the door!"

"That's crazy!" argued one of the men. "We ain't goin' towards that lunatic!"

"It's not crazy!" argued Laramie. "This is a warp core! It's full of matter and anti-matter and dilithium and who knows what all else! If they shoot at us, they might just blow the damn thing up!"

"And us with it!" countered the man.

"And the whole damn asteroid!" returned Amy Finch. "It's powerful enough to run a starship! Let's go!"

Everyone dashed to assume their positions.
 * 08-02-2011, 08:04Edward Pellew:Engineering

Edward was sitting at his station absorbing all of the commotion. Who would have thought that someone from his background would be a crewman on a far-reaching star ship in God knows where almost getting killed by an exploding computer console. The though came in his head that he was in fact the “black sheep” of the family. Edwards grandfather was a retired admiral who still held the knight hood passed down from his patriarch Sir Edward Pellew of whom he was named.

His head was deep inside a conduit fixing power converters. He started thinking he came to Starfleet. He could still see the tears in his mothers face and the disappointment in his father, Admiral George Pellew’s, eyes as he headed down to the shuttle station. He trudged down the road of Portsmouth where his ancestors walked to board their great ships of the line as their commanders. Edward walked down it as a common crewman with his sea bag in one hand and a holo-reader in the other.

Edward was brought back to reality as a gruff voice bade him reveal himself. When he crawled out of his hole and got to his feet, an Engineering Chief Petty Officer greeted him with the usual niceties of a man of his station.

“Pellew what the hell do you think your doing at a time like this?” Edward was speechless probably for the first time in his life.

The man inquired again, “well? Are you awake you dozy Englishman?”

Edward regained his composure and sounded off. “I was manipulating the power conduits so conserve power Chief.”

He huffed, “no you’re not your coming with me to prepare the power couplings to receive the warp core.”

Edward nodded, “Aye Chief where to?”

“Just follow my ass and well get started.” The two started off out of main engineering and went down the corridor into the service section just behind main engineering.

“Alright crewman we have to start compensating the engineering power grid in so it doesn’t blow the system when the away team gets the damn thing back to the ship.”

“Aye Chief, what’s the ETA on the core?” The Chief just shrugged and commented.

“Hell son when it gets here you’ll be the first to know.”
 * 08-02-2011, 13:34Laramie Walking BearLarkus II

Laramie engaged the massive pallet’s anti-gravity field, and the might starship warp drive rose six inches from the floor of the warehouse.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” asked Amy.

“Hiding behind a warp drive!” replied Laramie. “We’ve got total cover back here!” Raising her voice, the science cadet hollered, “GO!”

While most of the buyers at the auction had been disarmed, clearly the crew of Atlas weren't the only ones who smuggled in weapons. A few most shots rang out from another part of the warehouse and in short order armed security was also showing up. With only two exits, the exit the crew and most of the guests came in through and the service entrance the swarms of people running and shouting found any escape point bottle-necked.

One of the security came around the corner levelling a pulse weapon at them, instinctively Jackson Lebowski presented is Mk. 23 in a blur firing off a controlled pair into the man’s chest. “XO?” he glanced back to see that his superior was unharmed.

“The girls are already at the core.” he shouted over the roar of the chaos. “We need to get over there.” he waved his phaser in the direction of the core.

A rain of sparks came down from another wave of rounds being fired into the roof on the other side of the warehouse, “Whats the plan now sir?” the security chief asked.

“We prevent the warp core from being bought.” Chris fired a few less precise rounds at some armed criminal - possibly from Prince Felix party - who approached. The other ducked behind a series of crated labeled “Medical Equipment (which Chris doubted).

“Ok, we’ve done that, whats the next part of the plan.” Lebowski paired another controlled pair at the man Chris was firing at as well, keeping him pinned down as they moved toward the core.

“The next part?” Chris almost laughed. “We make up as we go. I’m hoping the Atlas is near by otherwise this is going to get real interesting.”

The man behind the crate poked his head out to see Lebowski and Vaughn backing up to the core before he stood to bring his weapon to bear. Both the XO and the security chief sent a volley of fire into his chest, dropping him.

“Ladies.” Chris started taking a quick look over the core as he spoke. It seemed ok to him, but he was no engineer. “So, how is everyone?”

“I hate this, sir.” replied Laramie, crouching every time she heard gunfire. She was sweating profusely now, and not all of it was from the ever-increasing heat of the approaching sun. “I hate this a lot.” She looked down and saw that someone had dropped their illegal firearm in their haste to get away from the fray. Shaking her head, the science cadet picked the strange pistol up, just in case.

“We’re fine, sir!” added Amy. “Oooh, nice gun, Larry!”

The firearm had a rectangular body and grip, like a gunmetal lower-case “n”, with a small muzzle at the front. It settled comfortably into her hand. She was still looking for the trigger mechanism when the four big men who had helped to push the warp core all gathered together.

“What the hell’s going on here?” barked the largest.

Laramie ducked again as the security officers opened fire, dropping the quartet where they stood. “For God’s sake!” she said, not knowing where to look next. In the distance, she saw a lizard-like form, probably a Pahkwa-thanh, she thought casually, standing next to Prince Felix on an elevated platform and levelling a large rifle at the party guarding the warp core. Raising her newfound alien pistol, Laramie shouted “Look out!” and somehow pulled the trigger.

A beam of brilliant blue-white energy shot forth, streaking above the heads of the remaining auction attendees. It missed the Pahkwa-thanh entirely, but did disrupt his aim as it punched a hole clear through the chest of Prince Felix. The Edosian toppled sideways, his three legs collapsing under him.

“Oh shit, come on,!” said Laramie, stunned. “Really?”

USS Atlas Transporter Room 2

"When we get to the surface, we will follow standard protocol. All weapons on heavy stun. Watch your sectors and cover each others backs." Some of the younger crewmembers looked as if they were going to throw up. For most in the room, this was their first assignment. So, none of them had experienced an actual confrontation before this, which was why Tom had suited up to with them. The Mk. 23 rested comfortably on his right hip as he gave the final pep talk.

When the overhead comm system beeped, everyone gave a slight jerk. =/\=Bridge to Captain O'Flagherty.=/\=

=/\=O'Flagherty here. Go ahead bridge.=/\=

=/\=Sir, we are detecting weapons fire in the vicinity of the away teams.=/\=

=/\=Roger that. O'Flagherty out.=/\=

"Alright boys and girls. Let's get down there, and remember, be ready to roll hard six." The gem quickly stepped onto the platform in their various positions and started readying themselves for a hot deployment. Weapons were leveled at bulk heads and bodies crouched into ready positions as Tom ordered the transporter operator to spread them around the area for their deployment. To which the young Petty Officer behind the controls informed him that they couldn’t be beamed into the room because of transport inhibitors.

“Fine,” he responded in anger. “Just put us down outside the building and we will storm the place. Pick the main entrance and an area with enough room for all of us. And make it quick!!!” The young Takaran was shaking as she programmed in the new coordinates and sent the team of armed personnel to the surface.

Larkus II

As the tingle of the transporter dissolved, Tom found himself in the middle of a chaotic melée as people tried to escape the sounds of weapons fire by running in every possible direction. Through the morass, he spotted a Xepolite who had seen him materialize and started to level a weapon in his direction.

Tom's practiced reflexes brought the weapon up and snapped off two rounds before he truly realized what he had saw, sending the opponent crumpling to the ground in an unconscious heap. Well, it's good to see somethings haven't escaped me, yet.

The warehouse continued to be a patchwork of skirmished between the quasi-legit security, the criminal element who had smuggled in arms and didn't plan on leaving without their goods and lastly the Atlas away team and the behemoth warp core. More of the Larkus security was arriving and the patrons of the auction where nearly all gone, leaving little cover between the away team.

“Sir,” Jackson shouted as he discharged another round of suppressing fire. “They are moving to bracket us.”

Chris glanced over and took in the situation. On one side Larkus security was swiftly moving in, behind them the pirates that originally took the warp core were approaching an to the other side Price Felix’s men (minus Prince Felix it seemed) were bearing down on the small group. They were effectively surrounded - not that it seemed likely the away seem was going to be scampering off into the city streets with a warp core in tow.

“Everyone one....time out for a second!” Chris shouted holding up one of his hands while keeping the phaser pointed at the encircling mob. “Truce, we want to talk.”

“Another part of the plan, sir?” Jackson mumbled.

“Sure.” he lied quietly. He heard Laramie moan quietly next to him, shaking her head.

“There is nothing to talk about, you have our warp core.” said someone who seemed to be taking a leadership position with Prince Felix’s men.

“Not yours till we get our money.” Said some Orion from the other side with the pirates.

At this point the lead Larkus officer chimed in, “You are all in violation of a severe breach of the peace....”

“It’s my fucking warp core actually.” Chris shouted back. “A point you awful jackasses keep seeming to forget.”

There was a series of muffled screams from Felix’s men and the leader stepped forward with Amy Finch. Chris was momentarily deflated. Only seconds ago she had been right here with the group, Chris hadn’t even noticed she had been grabbed as they fought there way across the warehouse with the core.

“Drop your weapons or we kill your female.”

Chris could feel Lebowski shifting and jockeying for a clear shot at the alien leader who now had a hostage. The situation had grown even less stable than moments ago. Atlas better be coming and bringing hell with them because we are now officially off the maps down here.

“She isn't my female.” he replied trying desperately to sound casual and in control. “Although I wouldn't mind if she was.” he offered a wink to the assorted bandits.

With kick to her back they dropped her to her knees and three of the man leveled a weapon at the back of her head. “I said drop your weapons and step away from the core you stupid ranashi!!”

“Drop yours.” he snapped back. “I plan on leaving this planet with all my females and my males and my warp core. So drop your weapons or I’ll kill you all.”

There was a wave of chuckles from each of the groups. Chris frowned, “Perhaps you didn’t grasp the subtext of our previous exchange - DROP YOUR FUCKING WEAPONS.” he slammed the barrel of his Mk. 23 into the front of the intermix chamber and pulled the trigger against the softly humming metal. A blast of sparks danced across the face of the reactor and left a tacky sizzling scorch mark. All three groups instantly withdrew a solid ten meters, a few ran and none laughed. In the commotion Amy had pulled free and run back to the core. The pirates and Felix’s men no longer seemed as interested in her.

“Well, it seems I can play the hostage game too.” Chris snorted.

To be continued!A JP between Chris Vaughn and Laramie Walking Bear
 * 08-04-2011, 00:23Tom O'FlaghertyOh my God, he’s insane, thought Laramie, tyring to decide if she should drop her weapon or point it at someone.

They had creeped up to the door when the heard all the commotion die down. The conversation inside had been heard through the doors with pressed ears by Tom and Master Chief Brockman, who said he wouldn’t let the young Captain leave the ship if he wasn’t allowed to tag along. Breaching charges had been rigged to the now sealed doors while the occupants yelled inside, and when a shot rang out, Tom knew it was time to move.

“Alright, it’s time to go in,” he whispered to the mostly inexperienced bunch. “Make sure you have clear lines of sight on targets. Take your time to discern between friend and foe, and keep moving.” They they all slid back from the doors as Tom pressed the detonator sending the doors flying open and sparks raining down as they filled into the room quickly.

Heads started to snap in the direction of the new commotion as the first volley of shots were unleashed by Tom’s team. Seconds later, the room quieted down again with when another shot pinged off the dilithium chamber, but little had changed. Tom was standing next to the leader of the constabulary with his Mk. 23 aimed directly at the leader of the remnants of Prince Felix’s men. “Actually, that is MY warp core, and I don’t give a damn if you gave an entire sector for it, you can’t have it.”

“Well well well,” Chris shouted tapping the warp core with his phaser. “Now its a party!”

Laramie relaxed slightly, though she continued to keep a tight grip on the alien pistol. At leasther CO wasn’t likely to shoot at his own warp core. As far as she knew. Actually, she realized, given the short amount of time she’d been aboard the Atlas, that might be exactly the kind of thing he’d do. Maybe this was all Standard Operating Procedure for him and Vaughn. Feeling sick again, she looked over at Amy Finch. The medic smiled and have her an enthusiastic thumbs up, clearly enjoying herself.

Prince Felix’s lone representative, Taluk, continued to hold his phaser on the crew. “I don’t care how many weapons and people you have, we are taking this. If you stand in our way, we might just take you as slaves.”

Chris let out a whistle. “Excuse me, slaves?” Taluk glanced over at him. “Don’t look at me. Look at this warp core. I mean, seriously. Look at it.” he waved his Mk. 23 expansively. “Shit, its massive. What sort of king-hell starship do you think it powers? Not a fucking tugboat. And what do you suppose my esteemed college arrived on? And where - prey tell - do you plan on escaping with this warp core between here and orbit?”

Taluk visibly paused, the wheels turning in his lumpy head as he contemplated the possibilities. He looked around the room, as if expecting to find a new source of information. “If we take you as slaves and hostages, your ship won’t attack for fear of killing you. Believe me, if they try, I will start to kill you all.”

Oh hell no, thought Laramie. Here’s where the shooting starts again.. She steadied herself and tried to decide which way to duck.

Tom holstered his pistol as he continued staring Taluk. “You need to understand something.” Slowly, he started to walk toward the beast. “I wouldn’t let you leave this building. The ship is under orders to level this place if we are unsuccessful. Would you like a demonstration?”

Before Taluk could respond, Tom activated his comm to the ship. =/\=Atlas, this is Alpha One-Actual, proceed with demonstration.=/\=

The building began to shake, at first, subtly and then with a great amount of violence. The roof of the single story building began to crack, sending dust tot he floor, before the roof peeled back to reveal bright blue sky. The sound was almost deafening as the beams and cross-braces slowly gave way. “You see!” Tom shouted over the roar. “I don’t think you understand gravity of the situation!”

“Now drop your weapons and leave this warehouse.” Chris commanded still threatening the core.”If you waste much more of our time not only will you lose the core but I’m going to start charging you.”

As the group of low-lives gathered their seriously wounded boss and began to move out slowly - reluctantly. Still standing at the ready was the Larkus security. “This doesn’t change the fact your under arrest for breach of peace.” the lead officer announced.

As he passed, Taluk leaned towards Laramie. “Don’t think we’ll forget you, Fleeter,” he said with a dangerous grin. “You made a lot of new enemies today.”

Laramie began to protest, “I didn’t--” but she was cut off.

“There’s no place safe enough for you, ‘Larry.’ We’ll see you again. Soon.” He pantomimed a gun with his thumb and forefinger, pointed it at the cadet, and winked,

As the last of Felix’s men withdrew Chris holstered his weapon as well. “I’m sure we can work something out.” Tossing the briefcase of credits to the lead officer he offered a smile, “Two and a half million in latinum should...cover the time you and your men took to respond to this situation.” The officer remained hesitant, weighing the case in his free hand slightly. “My people will get the core off your world and installed then we will be on our way....works for everyone.”

After a long moment the officer holstered his pistol and turned, “You have four hours to be off planet.”

“Clever lad.” Chris waved.

Tom smiled at his antics as he got the Security team to set up a perimeter, then had the Engineering department setup the retrieval of the core. In the meantime, Tom had the transporter chief bring him, Chris, and Cadet Walking Bear back to the ship. “Man, I am so glad that is over.” He let off a big sigh as he headed for the door, but stopped short. “Cadet, I would like to see you in my office at the beginning of your next duty shift. In the meantime, get some rest. Chri...Commander Vaughn, you get some rest as well.”

“Yes sir,” replied Laramie with a nod. Realizing she was still gripped the alien gun, she placed it carefully on the floor of the warehouse and kicked it away with her foot, sending it spinning towards the center of the room.

“Very well sir,” Chris replied and turned to the rest of the away team. “I’ll also need everyone who was on the planet to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding some of the specifics of the mission.” he added with a chuckle.

A JP with Chris Vaughn and Laramie Walking Bear
 * 08-06-2011, 16:08Adina Wolfe'''::USS Atlas::
 * Main Engineering::'''

Most of the engineers on duty were still running around the ship performing damage control on the power distribution network. The repairs were coming to a head, but the away teams had reported that the warp core was secure and they had less than four hours to get it re-installed and get the hell out of the system. To that end, Gerhardt had called all the remaining engineers to the ‘pit’.

“Ok, people, this is the situation,” he began. “Our teams have secured the warp core, but it is on the planet surface. We have less than four hours to retrieve and install it. Suggestions?”

“Any way to beam it up?” Jacey asked with a raised brow, “That’d be the simplest way.”

“It would,” Gerhardt quickly agreed, “I just wonder if a transport of an object that large and complex would be available on our current secondary power schedule? We cannot plan for a re-installation that will take power away from life support. Until we get a report on the power schedule, let us consider the transporter out of the question.”

“With respect sir,” Adina piped up, her attention partially buried in a pair of padds, “We have four hours before the local star flares up and cooks us like a can on a campfire. Now we already have life support confined to a small number of decks, even if we lost the system completely we’d be flash fried long before we ran out of air.” The young Cadet handed Gerhardt one of her padds, its display stacked full of calculations. ”And again, with respect sir, at this point saving power is a null point, we either have full power in four hours and escape flamey doom or we don’t. I recommend we beam the core up now and use the time we save to ensure we have a much larger margin for error...”

“Hmm,” Gerhardt studied the offered padd. It always helped him to see things written down when facing a vast quantity of variables. Looking at the equations, he saw his problem immediately: decades of engineering on small ships that were barely holding together, using every joule Gerhardt could pull out of the core, and stuffed to the gills with personnel had driven habits of extreme power and resource conservation deep into him. The very same habits which had saved them without a warp core were stubbornly about to cripple him.

“Sir?” Adina offered, looking up at the Chief... “What’s your call?”

“You are right, ladies,” he confessed. “Thank you, as usual, for keeping my old head out of the clouds. Let us get our core back.”

Adina smiled and passed Gerhardt her second padd, “Location already sent up to Transporter Control and awaiting your go sir.” The Cadet shrugged, “Just in case.”

-- “Ok, systems check!” Gerhardt called out across Engineering from his station on the main console, looking up at the MSD. “Just give me a ‘go’ call if you’re ready!”

They had transported the Warp Core on board and Adina was leading a team that was almost done giving it a thorough check-up. Jacey’s team was double-checking the core housing and shielding and Crewman Pellew had earned himself a place beside Senior CPO Sunday earlier and the pair were still working on the power connectors. Gerhardt crossed his fingers and hoped for an all systems go. He was ready to get this ship back into its intended shape and get out of this system for good.

“EPS?”

“Go, Chief.”

“M/ARA?”

“Go.”

“Antimatter containment?”

“Go.”

“Anti-matter injector?”

“Go.”

“Warp core inspection team?”

Adina’s eyes boggled at the rather nasty looking burn mark on the side of the Warp Core’s Intermix chamber, “What in the name of England’s right teste did they do to our Core?” She hissed to the equally boggle eyed Crewman beside her.

“I-I-I dunno, casing reads as intact though.” he muttered, apparently intent on making sure Gerhardt didn’t overhear a word.

Adina nodded before leaning around the core and shouting the affirmative to the Chief. As soon as that was done she turned back to the crewman, “Get me a sonic screwdriver, a portable phase plate and the specs for the chambers composition. I reckon we’ll all be better off if the Chief doesn’t see this, right?”

The crewman simply nodded before bolting for the requested equipment.

Gerhardt noticed some busy motion by the core, but trusted his crew to do their jobs correctly. “Power conduits?”

“Go.”

“Warp transfer conduits?”

“Go, sir.”

“Core housing?”

“In need of a wash, maybe some glue but it’s holding.” Jacey said with a nod.

-- Edward was in the access hall behind main engineering with Senior Chief Petty Officer Sunday. The two were desperately working on preparing one of the the power connectors ready to receive the warp core.

The Chief gruffly commented, “Pellew watch your damn hands. If you touch the business end of that coupling then we’ll be scraping your charred body off the deck.”

Edward’s brow began to sweat with what seemed to be alligator droplets of water. “Aye Chief.”

“Just relax Crewman.” Sunday offered. “Take a deep breath and just keep an eye on what you’re doing, we’re a few hours away from proper panic time just yet...”

“Roger that Chief.” Edward spoke with a twinge in in his words. He could not hide the fact that he was worried, something just seemed a little off. Looking at the connectors again Pellew noticed...something. Almost seemed as if some of the connectors had blown a fuse...

“Chief, you may wanna come look at this.”

Chief Sunday got up and peered over at what Pellew was indicated. “Sweet moses!” The Chief’s spun towards Edward, “Get your ass to the Chief and tell him that if he installs the core without looking at this, we may very well be left without an Engineering!”

A quick burst through a seemingly reluctant door later and Pellew was in front of Gerhardt. “Sir! Chief Sunday sent me to tell you to hold everything. We have an issue with the connectors!”

“All stations hold!” Gerhardt yelled. With a grunt of frustration, he slapped his commbadge. “Rahner to CeePeeOh Sunday. What the hell is going on?”

"Commander, we’ve got a problem with the power connectors to the aft section. If we can’t get this fixed, installing the core will be exceedingly dangerous."

Gerhardt turned to the crewman still standing before him, “Elaborate, Mr. Pellew.”

“Well sir we noticed some of the connectors have already been disabled or rerouted, some even spliced together. If we connected the core now it will probably reverse the power flow mid start-up and blow the core.”

“Scheißkerl!” Gerhardt hissed under his breath. “Crewman Pellew, get back there and record everything that has been damaged. Cadet Wolfe, if your team is done with the core, please accompany him. I want to know what caused this and how long it will take to repair.”

Adina nodded, handing the still working phase plate to her Crewman colleague, “Keep it going for two more minutes, she’ll be as good as new..” With that she jogged over to Pellew, following the Crewmen back to the connectors in question...

“Sweet mother of Kronos....Good call Pellew, this thing is cocked.” Adina shook her head as she tapped her commbadge. “Wolfe to Rahner. Aft section connectors are jumbled five ways to Sunday, no offence. “Adina interrupted herself, smiling to the CPO sat next to her. “I’d estimate...6 hours to fix proper, I’d recommend a second check on the other connectors and re-route power through the good ones.”

"We do not have 6 hours."A brief silence followed as the Chief thought over options. "Do you see any way to cut that down by half, at least? If we can get her working, even hobbling, we can get out of the system and fix it while adrift, though I think this time we will avoid ejecting the core."

Adina chuckled, “Like I said sir, if we re-route through the good connectors we’ll be smashing our way out of the system at high warp.”

"Very well. Take care of it. I’ll inform the Captain..."

A JP put together by the Atlas Engineering Corps: Gerhardt, Jacey, Pellew and Adina!
 * 08-12-2011, 23:03Tom O'FlaghertyTom's reverie over the getting the warp core back had been cut short when Gerhardt Rahner had told him about the damage. Instantly, his mood had changed to one of smoldering anger, making his voice growl slightly as he responded to the Chief Engineer while making his way back to the bridge. =/\= I don't care if you have to get a group of engineers out their in thruster suits. You get this ship out of the system in 4 hours or less! =/\=

The doors to the bridge opened as he approached, and everyone turned to look as Tom walked in still wearing his tactical gear. Paying no attention, he continued to the command chair, "Status report."

"Sir," Lt. Mari replied. "The next star cycle will begin in under four hours."

"How far away do we need to be to remain unaffected?" Tom took his seat as he looked at the status display on the main viewer. The secondary and tertiary screens gave a running update of the power supply ofthe ship and relative speed.

"Current estimates show 30 AU from the corona." Mari's brow started to glisten as she compiled all the information. She turned back with an apologetic look toward Tom before trying to muster a solution. "What if we reconfigure the shields to block out the effects of the star's shift in output?"

Eduardo Solari, the Chief Science Officer was the first respond. "The very nature if the shield's operating system wouldn't stop the corresponding failure of electronic systems. If nothing it would amplify them."

"Lieutenant P'Rim, make vest possible speed to the system's Kuiper Belt. Maybe the dwarf planets and planetary particles can give us some sort of protection." On the main viewer there was a noticeable shift in the speed at which the starscape shifted, showing the change in the Atlas's velocity. Even with that, when Tom turned toward the Science station on the bridge, Lt. Solari solemnly shook his head. ''Come on! I don't plan on missing my wedding over this.''



No one said a word for a long time. Instead, they continued to work their stations with dedication while continually checking the status on the screens. Engineering had given updates every hour, and while they were making progress on reinitializing the warp core, it was looking unlikely that they work would be completed before their time ran out. Even though it was 60 minutes before the start changed phases and the ship would become trapped, the ship would need to be at warp 15 minutes before then, and that was only if they were able to obtain maximum speed immediately.

Johanna Mari, the young brunette woman who had stayed at her Operations console for the duration of the of their mission, stood and approached Tom’s chair with a forlorn look on her face. She appeared to be rethinking what she was about to say, but steeled herself and completed the distance to his chair before speaking. “Sir, I haven’t had the chance to really get to know you, but I wanted to tell you it has been an honor serving under you.”

He quickly looked around to make sure no one was close enough to overhear, even though he was pretty sure a few of the non-human crew with enhanced hearing had certainly understood what she was saying. “Lieutenant, I think your sentiments, while greatly appreciated, may be a little premature.”

Embarrassment immediately flushed her cheeks, and she looked down to try and hide her feelings. Tom attempted to diffuse the situation with a smile. “It’s OK, Lieutenant. This is your first shipboard posting, am I right?”

“Yes, sir,” she replied meekly. “I was an operations manager for McKinley station before this, sir. I had served there for two years prior to the Atlas shipping out.”

“Well,” Tom began. “This may not be the first time we end up against the clock, so to speak. Until the timer strikes ‘zero,’ try to stay on the positive.”

“Aye, aye, sir. It won’t happen again.”

“I’m sure it won’t, Lieutenant. As you were.” As she took her seat back at the console, Tom turned to the controls in his chair and began messaging Engineering. Quietly, he was pleading with them to hurry. Once he was done with that, he began a note for Lisbet. There was still twenty minutes before they had to be at warp, but he was thinking about it now and needed to do something to occupy his mind.

“Captain, we are approaching T-minus 20 minutes to star phase change.” Lt. P’Rim, still pushing the whining impulse engines as hard as possible, kept track of the countdown and relative positioning of the ship. “We are 10 AU from the Larkus corona. At the current pace, we will not even make the Kuiper Belt before the star changes.”

''Dammit Rahner!!! Come on!'' Suddenly, the lighting on the bridge dimmed and flickered as the ship stuttered to a halt. Tom felt helpless as he guessed that the star must have started its metamorphosis early, and they had all overestimated their window of escape. The, the lights returned as suddenly, and rumble was felt through the decks of the ship as the overhead speakers piped the chief engineer’s voice through the bridge. =/\=Warp power restored. We will need to stop as soon as we are in interstellar space to make some final adjustments.=/\=

=/\=Very well. Good work, Mr. Rahner.=/\= Tom stood from his chair with excitement. “Mr. P’Rim. Punch it!” The rumble of the warp engines as they seemed to cycle towards terminal capacity seemed much more noticeable than ever before, regardless of the ship. They the stars streaked into lines before a flash sent them hurtling out of the system.

With a brief appearance by Gerhardt Rahner