Captain Taybrim - Big Badda Boom (Tags/FAO: ALL)

[Jamie LeBlanc]

((Bridge - USS Albion))

::Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

They had a plan. It was, under other circumstances, a crazy plan. But in this case it was considered brilliant. Spook the Sienov, ignite the nebula, flush the Seinov, destroy the Sienov.

What Sal knew, the thing that nobody was really talking about is that the Albion would take a lot of damage pulling this maneuver off. They could mitigate this. They could prepare, shift shields, and evacuate non-critical sections. They could position themselves to lessen the damage; but in the end there was no way the Albion was walking away from this. At best she would be limping.

And the answer would stay 'at best' - They had come too far and done too much work to have any other answer.::

Taybrim: =/\= Captain Taybrim to Councilor Dempok; we have a plan to flush the Sienov out of hiding like an Alderveran game bird. I'm sending you a basic outline. =/\=

Dempok: =/\= ?

Taybrim: =/\= It will be a destructive explosion, and we're charting the assumed shockwaves - we'll need to be out of range. However, if the Sienov survives, it'll be heading out of the cloud as fast as possible. =/\=

Denpok: =/\= ?

Taybrim: =/\= We will signal when detonation is ready. =/\=

Dempok: =/\=

::Flynn expertly piloted the Albion into position. Sal took in a breath, looking towards his hailing frequencies team.::

Taybrim: ::turns toward Trel’lis, Aitas and Zinna:: As we get this charge prepared I want your hail to be ready. We need him to spook and hopefully move deeper into cover and deeper into the nebula.

Trel'lis: I have the hail prepared, thanks to Ensign Aitas’ intelligence. I plan on releasing in such a way, that it will appear ‘natural’ and thought out.

Zinna/Aitas: ?

::It sounded like a solid plan. All they needed has Arrhimen to be spooked into making one wrong move..::

Taybrim: I think it'll work. Get it ready, we'll need it soon.

Trel'lis: Aye sir. Prepping it now to link to the hailing frequencies.

Zinna/Aitas: ?

Taelon: =/\= Commander Kelly? ::He waited and was visibly relieved when he heard a voice on the other side. If he was alive, the others had to be too, right….?:: This is Ens - Liuetant Taelon. I understand you’ve just come back but we need your help in the deck 15 weapons control room as soon as possible - can you make it there? =/\=

Kelly: ?

Taelon: =/\= The plan is to rig several torpedoes with a combination of their antimatter load and tricobalt and then detonate them at careful point in the nebula, which should ignite it. But it seems the control teams are over taxed. Can you supervise? I’ve sent the needed schematics to the team on deck 15. ::He paused.:: We don’t have much time, b-but if you’ve any ideas for improvement on the layout, it’d be appreciated… =/\=

Kelly: ?

Taelon: =/\= Thank you, Commander. The Captain wants this done as fast as possible...if possible…we’re really no longer than 5 minutes til deployment. =/\=

Taybrim: ::looks up:: Taelon, how long until go time?

Taelon: I - I’ve asked Commander Kelly to assist, sir. We’re trying for soon...er than 5 minutes. Maybe two.

Taybrim: Make it happen. Flynn, maneuver the Albion to the safest possible position. Call Theo on the comms, have engineering get ready to shunt all possible power to the shields once the charge is set. You'll be the first to see it coming on your monitor so it will be on your mark.

Flynn: ::His hands worked the controls as he adjusted their orientation.:: Understood.

Taybrim: Diego, this charge is your shot. Make it count.

Beyett: ?

Taybrim: Let's go. We have sixty seconds to get this into place. Everyone be ready.

Bridge: ?

Flynn: =/\= Bridge to Commander Whittaker. =/\=

Whittaker: =/\= This is he. What can I do for you Antero? =/\=

Flynn: =/\= We have a plan in motion to draw the Sienov from the nebula, but the result will be somewhat... =/\= :: pause :: =/\= ... dramatic. =/\=

Whittaker: =/\= Taelon has briefed me on the salient details. When does this crew not do 'dramatic'? =/\= :: he allowed himself to indulge in a small smile. Though he had phrased his comment in good humour, he has long since resigned himself to the fact that the crew worked best when they were allowed to be as bombastic as they could get away with. Igniting a segement of the Jenatris Cloud was just another day in the life of Starbase 118 Operations. ::

Flynn: =/\= It's what we do best. =/\= :: be smirked :: =/\= How long would it take engineering to shunt available power to the shields? We have about a sixty second window. =/\=

Whittaker: =/\= I can give you the power in about... fifty seconds Antero. Standby. =/\=

Flynn: =/\= Much appreciated, sir. I'll signal you directly once the charge is set. =/\=

Flynn: Engineering is on Standby.

::Sal walked over to the readouts, and he frowned. The damage to engineering was showing in a general sluggishness of response - something that had nothing to do with the skill of those doing said work.

He needed to make a decision; one he didn't like. It wasn't the first one he would make in this mission and certainly wouldn't be the last in his life.::

Taybrim: =/\= Captain to all crew; evacuate decks ten through nineteen. I want all crew under the protection of the primary hull. Repeat, evacuate the shuttleback, docking controls and secondary engineering areas.=/\=

::It would put all the defense in the center of the ship and the saucer, including sickbay. It was also a grim admission that Sal was gambling the lifespan of the Albion in return for the safety of her crew.::

Taybrim: How's that hail coming?

Trel’lis: Holding –

::One silent prayer. He hoped this worked.::

Taybrim: Everyone ready? Make sure we're in position...

Trel’lis: Ready…

::Deep breath in. Here came the moment of truth.::

Taybrim: Lieutenant Trel'lis; transmit the message.

Trel’lis: Transmitting!

::There was a flare in the nebula, and Sal wondered what was going on inside the Sienov. He imagined Arrhimen getting angry and spouting his hatred towards 'green blooded tyrants' and 'everyone who allied themselves with the rotted green roots of corruption.'

Arrhimen never really saw how much his actions were worse than the very people he was trying to incite to war...::

Taybrim: Diego, are you reading the Sienov's movement?

Beyett: ?

::He nodded, looking up at the viewscreen.::

Taybrim: Good. ::towards Taelon:: Are we ready to fire?

Taelon: Torpedoes are ready to launch on your mark, sir. They’ve been set to go off 45 seconds after entering the nebula.

::Forty five seconds. In less than a minute they would see what their brilliant ideas had wrought.::

Taybrim: =/\= Kelly are you reading us? We need a good clean shot into the nebula to ignite it. This is all on you and Diego now...=/\=

Beyett/Kelly: =/\= ?

Flynn: ::Looking to Diego's station:: Ready when you are partner.

Beyett: ?

Taybrim: ::He felt the need to give one last reminder. His voice was calm, commanding, like a rock one could lean on.:: =/\=Captain to crew. In less than a minute we will ignite the nebula. There is no way we'll outrun the shockwave. We're in the best position to endure it - but I want you all to secure yourselves for impact. Decks 10-19 have thirty seconds to complete evacuation. Make your preparations.=/\= oO And may the gods be with us. Oo

Bridge: ?

::Sal turned, getting to the command chair and sitting down to face what could end up being their own personal hell head-on.::

Taybrim: Same goes for the bridge crew - strap in if you can. And get ready.

Bridge: ?

::He gave them just long enough to do so before he straightened his spine and started calling out the orders that would end this fight - one way or another.::

Taybrim: Uzalla, hail the S'Tarahk; give them the signal. Taelon, load torpedo.

Taelon: ?

Taybrim: Beyett, Kelly: Fire!

Beyett/Kelly: ?

::Silence. The sound of the torpedo was a faint 'whoosh' that severely contrasted the amount of noise that was about to enter the interior of the Albion. But, hanging here in the heartbeat pulse of the red alert, there was forty five seconds to think about life.

All the mistakes. All the triumphs. Would they live? Would Starfleet rake him across the coals for getting the Albion nearly destroyed twice to the same man if they lived? How many shuttle crafts named Aramis would StarBase 118 Ops go through? Would peace be preserved by the actions this day? Would they all find one another in Sto'vo'kor?

Dempok was right. Today was a good day to die. And a good day to live.

There was a tiny fire in the nebula where the torpedo pierced it, and Sal's voice broke the silence.::

Taybrim: Flynn, evasive maneuvers - best possible position. ::He fixed his eyes on the Risian pilot. They both knew this was the point where they took the damage in the places where the people weren't and tried to survive. There were no heroic tactics that could save the Albion altogether.::

Flynn: ?

Taybrim: =/\= Engineering, full power to shields! Pull everything you have to shields!=/\=

Whittaker/Antraydin: =/\=

::And there it was. The detonation. As the Albion fled for cover, and the S'Tarahk took the best defended position possible to be able to fire upon the Sienov, the nebula started to flare. It was beautiful. It was mesmerizing. It was deadly.

And the Sienov was well aware of this. As the fire started to spread across the swirling gasses, the big green bird streamed out of the nebula with as much speed as she could muster, igniting a contrail of fire behind her. Green death poured from every working orifice that she could spit hatred from. Most of it flared across the S'Tarahk's shields, but a few stray shots buffeted the Albion as she fled. The maw of the Klingon warbird flared bright orange as two prepared torpedoes hit their target, and the Sienov lost shields. The massive green bird was stripped of feathers just as the nebula blew.

The destruction was quick, vicious and complete. The rolling shockwave hit the warbird directly in the gut, breaking her in half before rolling her pieces into the fray. The last then the Albion saw before the cracked viewscreen went dark was the top section getting pulverized into pieces by the firestorm.::

Taybrim: ::Second time in the same day. That was never a good thing:: =/\= All hands, brace for impact! =/\=

::Alarms wailed. Systems screeched and the bridge crew was plastered into the back of their chairs by the force. The horrific sound of metal rending filled the ship as the Albion screamed in protest. She was hit hard in the back end, which reverberated all the way up to the bridge and every deck in between.

Flynn's maneuvering was true - the ship took the hit in the shuttlebay, ripping the evacuated decks apart and tearing off the port nacelle. It sheared the docking bays in a terrible rend that stretched nearly to the neck of the ship, but the shields of the saucer section stayed up even as the ship was tossed, a piece of flotsam that still held its most precious cargo.

The lights dimmed, guttered. The alarms faded, failed. They came to a stop in the dead of space as the wave faded, with only the pinpricks of battery backup lighting to let them know they were alive.::

Taybrim: We've lost main power - is everyone alright? ::His voice was hoarse and raspy in the darkness. But it was there. He could breath. There was life.::

Bridge (any): ?

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tags/tbc
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Captain Sal Taybrim
Commanding officer
StarBase 118 Ops / USS Albion

"Why do we fly? Because we have dreamt of it for so long that we must"

~Julian Beck
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