Rear Admiral Quinn Reynolds - A Quinn, Enthroned

[Quinn Reynolds]

((Bridge, USS Gorkon))

::While Quinn had been ensconced in her ready room, it seemed that Harry and MacFarlane had been hatching a plan to establish communications with the Labyrinth's Scream. It involved a holographic disguise and a charade of friendship, and it seemed just the thing they needed to establish communications. Once the door was open, they could choose how else they might want to walk through it.

::Their ship was to be the Blazing Aurora. Quinn would assume the role of a Jelna captain named Col Bhoda. MacFarlane was a Cardassian by the name of Kaeleirah Zheeca, and Harry was staying human, assuming the name Jack Rackham. Personas decided upon, MacFarlane was putting the final touch to their holographic disguises when the Gorkon plunged in the honeyed, deadly clouds of Ma no Umi.

::The hunt had begun.::

Reynolds: Alright. Let's push the sensors as far as they can go. See if we can spot them before they see us.

::It was an irony not lost on Quinn that one of the people most capable of pushing the sensors to the bleeding edge of effectiveness, was aboard the very ship they were searching for.::

MacFarlane: Aye sir, before we do so ‘owever, may I present t’ yeh, the bridge o’ Th’ Blazin’ Aurora.

::As the punctuation to her announcement, MacFarlane brought a finger down on her console. While unable to make any changes to the physical layout of the bridge, she had in fact altered just about everything else. Consoles became bulky and inelegant, painted in swamp colours of moss and pale brown. Her own chair stood out from the rest, not far off the throne Johns had suggested; regal in dark polished wood and sapphire velvet, with inlaid screens to give it as much utility as it had impact.

::Harry looked around, a broad grin forming as he took in the full extent of the illusion. A low whistle came from the front of the bridge, the young petty officer impressed at MacFarlane's handiwork. Quinn had to admit, it was quite the engineering trick, working around the limitations of the bridge's holoprojectors to create such a convincing facsimile of a pirate ship.::

MacFarlane: What do you think sir? ::And there was the final part of the disguise. The engineer's brogue was gone, her voice shifted frequencies into deeper, serpentine speech that suited her new appearance.:: And before you ask, yes, I have disguised your voice too, Captain.

Johns: Oh, this should be good.

::She took a breath, then gave it her new voice the proverbial test drive.::

Reynolds: This is excellent work, Lieutenant.

::Gone were Quinn's clipped, efficient tones. In their place was a rasp with a pronounced accent, someone who'd learnt Federation Standard much later in life and had never quite been able to shake off the quirks of their native tongue. The Scots engineer beamed in delight, perhaps a little too widely as the Cardassian disguise twisted to accommodate the expression.::

MacFarlane: Thank you, Captain, now, let us see what Johns and I can pull out of the sensors.

Johns: Science is reporting that all fifty of the pallets are in full operation and are sucking power like a leech. ::The corner of his mouth twitched, though it wasn't in a smile.:: They're still limited, though.

Ross: Admiral— ::it still sounded strange, coming from his lips,:: —I'd recommend we go to Yellow Alert, given the circumstances.

::He was right, and she nodded. As unlikely as it was that anyone would be able to sneak up on them *completely* unnoticed, it wasn't worth taking the risk. Ma no Umi was exactly the kind of place where odds and statistics weren't really worth the PADDs they were displayed on.::

Reynolds: Alright. Yellow alert, and put the shields up.

::There wasn't much to indicate the change in alert status, except for some wall panels that now pulsed the colour of sunshine like a heartbeat. But behind the scenes, power was shifted, systems warmed up and readied for engagement, able to throttle up to full power and effectiveness the second they were needed.::

Johns: Cae--Commander Nkai said something about Commander Reynolds attempting a workaround to make the two deflector dish millicochrane static fields to work together, but they weren't designed to. ::He paused, while his dark eyebrows lifted and lowered.:: But then again, she has done the impossible before.

::On a daily basis, some would argue. In the alternate universe, she'd managed to hold the Triumphant together for years with little more than alien components from the scrapheap and sheer determination. She'd helped Stoyer do much the same as the months wore on, when the Gorkon began to fall apart as a result of the Dominion's repeated assaults on the lonely ship. Botanist she now might be, there weren't many who knew the Gorkon and its limits as well as Erin Reynolds.::

Reynolds: Let's hope she can work a miracle again. In the meantime, I'm open to any other suggestions.

::Johns was focused on the viewscreen, his fingers tapping on the edges of his console, jaw working as he chewed on his tongue in thought. Seconds ticked past, then he looked back over his shoulder with a suggestion.::

Johns: What about a disguised probe? It might extend the range a little further and give us something to bounce our signals from.

::Quinn crossed her arms as she thought the answer over, the scruffy, patchwork clothes oddly smooth under her fingers, the tactile sensation of the holographic projection not matching the appearance. Given the potential violence of Ma no Umi's storms, they had a few options when it came to disguising a probe. She could think of a few, but she wanted to hear a little more of what MacFarlane and Johns had to offer, particularly as they were both relative newcomers to bridge duties.::

Reynolds: I like it. How far ahead of us will it be able to scout, with the limitations on communications?

MacFarlane/Johns: Response

::Anything was a gain, really, and while it was nowhere as far as the Gorkon's eyes could usually see, it would likely be a good deal further than the Labyrinth's Scream could manage.::

Reynolds: What sort of disguise?

MacFarlane/Johns: Response


((A few hours later…))

::The viewscreen image was filled with static and distortion, but flickering there among the interference was the dark shape of a starship. The elegance of its long body was someone hampered by bulbous sections that almost looked as though the hull had bubbled out under internal pressure. As she looked at the vessel, Quinn found herself thinking of Sienelis and Marshall; what were they thinking, what they were doing, how they were coping…

::...were they still alive? She hoped so. She believed so. They had their wits and the resources to manage it. Albeit with difficulty, but they were hardly mediocre individuals and two who'd proven more than capable of rising to unusual challenges.

::She sat back on her "throne", leaning an elbow on the armrest. All she could do now for Sienelis was hope that the plans she'd set in motion would continue bouncing along to their final destination. There was no way to influence events or support their key players while the Gorkon was entangled in its current escapade. "Fingers crossed" was no how she liked to run her operations.::

Reynolds: There it is. What information can we get at this distance?

MacFarlane/Johns: Response

--
Rear Admiral Quinn Reynolds
Commanding Officer

USS Gorkon

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