Lieutenant Commander Lael Rosek: A Lot Going On
Lael Rosek
((Bridge, USS Astraeus))
Delri’ise: Commander Rosek, Captain, you might want to take a look at this.
Mei’konda: Yes, Ensign?
She said nothing, her brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of the incoming data. Warnings and data. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t good.
Delri’ise: Scanners are picking up trace amounts of tetryon particles in the area, I think we should keep a closer eye on the shuttle, I have a bad feelin’ about these readings.
Tetryon particles. Well, damn. The Watson wasn’t equipped with the tetryon-blocking Reskari like the Alliance. If it hit a pocket, the particles might impact the functioning of the runabout’s systems. Dependent on the concentration of tetryon particles they were looking at, it could see the Watson disabled entirely. The last thing they needed was the vessel carrying the Bajoran prisoners to become a sitting target in case the Son’a came back with reinforcements.
Galven: She’s right, sir. If we ignore this small issue, it might turn into something bigger. Is this ship equipped with a tetryon pulse launcher?
Mei’konda: Mmh. Phasers and quantum torpedoes only, Commander. What are you thiinking?
Galven: Since the Son’a are using subspatial weaponry, the pulse reactor would cancel out the amount of damage their weapons could cause. It would also give us enough data to determine the main target sending a phaser bolt directly to them.
Mei’konda: Interestiing. Well, our new main deflector is one of the most versatiile in Starfleet. You miight be able to use it in lieu of weaponry. Please explore the possibility.
Galven: ::nods:: Understood, sir.
Awatto: Response
She was only half listening, stuck on the problem of the tetryon particles. The Son’a had stopped firing, putting them in a standoff. It almost felt like a distraction...a stall tactic. If they fell in line with it, there was a good chance that they would be so focused on navigating around the particles that they’d miss something...possibly something important.
Mei’konda: Good work, Ensign Delri’ise. Keep an eye on it.
Delri’ise: Aye sir, I’ll keep a close eye on those readings in case I detect a spike. But, I wouldn’t underestimate the Son’a at this point. We don’t know what they’ve got in their bag of tricks.
Mei’konda: Understatement of the day, Ensign. You’ve already shown yourself competent - I expect you’ll contiinue to give this ship your best. Keep an eye on it.
Delri’ise: ::she let out a slight chuckle.:: Thank you, sir. It all comes with experience. Couldn’t have done it without Wrader’s help, it’s not easy managin’ every side of the ship.
Wrader: Not at all, ma’am. If I may :: he pointed at his station :: I believe the tetryon particles have been deliberately scattered through the area by the modified disruptors the enemy has been using.
Rosek: ::grimaces:: I wouldn’t be surprised. Frankly, it’s very clever. They’ve essentially created a minefield for us to navigate. The tetryon particles, in high enough concentrations, can obscure our sensors. If the area has been saturated enough, it could shut down ship’s systems entirely.
It wouldn’t be the first time. Due to Commander Victor Yeager’s poor decision to exceed the recommended warp factor for the Shoals, the Astraeus had become trapped, unable to form a stable warp field because of the high tetryon radiation in the area. The vessel had required the Veritas to tow her out. Hopefully they’d be able to navigate around the tetryon particles so they wouldn’t need someone to tow them out.
Though the Son’a couldn’t outgun the Astraeus, they could do their best to outsmart her crew. They knew the weaknesses of the Galaxy class and the effect that tetryon particles had on Federation technology. It was damned clever. But the Astraeus crew was sharper than the Son’a gave them credit for.
Awatto: Response
Galven: That doesn’t seem too bad. =/\= Galven to away team =/\=
Riley: =/\= Go ahead, chief. =/\=
Galven: =/\= After the successful diversion from the tactical station, there’s about 13 unfrendlies surrounding you inside that hanger. =/\= ::to Wrader and Delri’ise:: Can you confirm?
Wrader: Yes, sir. Unable to ascertain weaponry nor are we able to track movements in real time, but we can confirm the quantity.
That had to be the effects of the tetryon particles. She grimaced. Decreased sensors accuracy didn’t bode well for either ship. It gave the Son’a gray areas to operate in. Gray areas meant it would be easier to sneak up on and disable the Galaxy-class ship.
Riley: =/\= Got it. Any word on how many prisoners we’ll find inside? =/\=
Galven: =/\= Exact numbers inside the prison camp is 52 survivors. =/\=
Riley: =/\= Acknowledged. Riley out. =/\=
Galven: I’m not quite sure. There’s only one Cardassian down there. Is there a way to figure out who he is?
Her brow furrowed. Only one? She’d have thought the place would be crawling with them. The tetryon particles had to be screwing with the sensors somehow. They couldn’t be getting accurate readings between the jamming signal and the tetryon particles. She sighed. The Reskari just wasn’t applicable for whole ship uses.
Mei’konda: Yes. We wait for the jamming field to fall, and then we beam him straiight to the brig. Until then, everyone - provide our team down there with all of the support you can.
Rosek: ::grimaces:: I’m not a fan of waiting, sir. We have a limited idea of what the away team is up against down there.
Dalen: =/\= Response =/\=
Rosek: =/\= We’ve got our hands full at the moment. Just know we’re working on retrieving your people. =/\=
Dalen: =/\= Response =/\=
Rosek: =/\=Thank you for your patience. We’ll let you know as soon as we have them aboard. Rosek out.=/\=
She cut the comm. The minister sounded impatient. Understandably so. This whole situation had been a test of her patience. She wasn’t much a fan of feeling useless and that was precisely what she felt like right now. The situation was out of her control and she was struggling to make sense of all the information being thrown at her.
Delri’ise: Sir, if I may ask, what’re we gonna do with the Cardassian once he’s aboard?
Mei’konda: Reponse?
Wrader: I would recommend an immediate interrogation. It is probable this individual would have knowledge regarding the Son’a weaponry and tactics and could assist us in avoiding any surprises from their…unorthodox methodology.
Galven: Are Cardassians easily persuaded?
Rosek: ::grimaces:: I’m not sure how amenable our “guest” will be to answering our questions, but I’d say it’s worth a shot. It might help us figure out a way to disable the jamming device.
If this was as she suspected and this Cardassian was working outside of the Cardassian government, he could face serious disciplinary measures. In general, after the Occupation of Bajor and the Dominion War, she highly doubted the Cardassian government wanted any more trouble with the Federation...and that was exactly what they’d get for aiding and abetting a known criminal.
Mei’konda/Awatto: Responses?
Delri’ise: That makes sense, in that case we should probably signal for a security detail to be on guard. Even a medical team, assumin’ the away team doesn’t rough him up too much. It might be worth tightenin’ some security around the brig for good measures.
Wrader: ::nodding:: Sir, I stand ready to assist in that effort. There are particular details regarding the tetryon particles on which I should like to question him.
Rosek: ::nods:: I’d like some answers myself.
Mei’konda: Response
She wondered if Mei would allow her to participate in questioning the Cardassian. It would certainly be an experience to add to her repertoire of skills. Her gaze shifted to Wrader, curious what his definition of interrogation was. Even without knowing the Cardassian in charge of this operation, his tactics spoke of a man committed to a cause...one he would die to protect. She grimaced, knowing that she had similar tendencies when she set her mind to something.
That alone, she felt, made her a reasonable person to participate with Wrader. She’d be able to understand the man’s reasoning and possibly manipulate him in giving away a key piece of information.
Galven: Ensign, what’s going on with the away team? It appears that someone is injured.
Awatto: Response
Wrader: Nothing concrete, as of yet. However, the scattering of particles was undeniably deliberate, and, as Lieutenant Delri'ise has said, we cannot assume that the Son'a do not have a method to utilize those particles against us or against our efforts to recover the away team and prisoners.
Rosek: ::nods:: They know our systems are vulnerable to the particles.
Galven: I’m detecting Lieutenant Hamasaki’s lifesign readings and it appears that she’s injured, but in stable condition. Her heart rate is elevated. ::taps his commbadge:: =/\= Galven to Hathur =/\=
Hathur: =/\= Response =/\=
Galven: =/\= Move a little closer to Mr. Hamasaki. =/\=
Mei’konda: Response
Delri’ise / Wrader: Responses
Awatto: Response
Galven: Sir, the readings I’m getting from his tricorder are elevating. I have a feeling I’m not only getting her lifesigns, but a huge influx of biometrical readings.
She arched an eyebrow. The fact that they’d managed to work around the pockets was impressive. Maybe the concentration wasn’t as high as she’d thought...or the fields were concentrated in certain areas. She wondered if the Son’a had miscalculated somehow. Either way, she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. They’d needed some sort of miracle and this appeared to be it.
Hathur: =/\= Response =/\=
Galven: =/\= Great job, ensign. I’m going to keep you on the line. =/\= I’m transmitting what he’s getting to the main viewscreen now. There’s quite a bit of environmental data on there. How far deep are they?
Mei’konda / Delri’ise: Responses
Wrader / Awatto: Responses
Lael opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by the beeping of German’s console behind her. She turned, her brow furrowing. That look on his face, eyes narrowed...it usually meant bad news. Her suspicions were confirmed moments later when German spoke up.
Galven: Looks like we’re not out of danger’s path just yet. It seems the Son’a are coming back from the direction of that dark matter nebula I detected a bit ago with bigger ships. We may need to do what you said, Captain, and use the deflector to overload their weapons.
Rosek: ::nods sagely:: That’s going to take a lot of power and we may only have one shot.
Mei’konda: Response
Galven / Wrader / Delri’ise: Responses
Rosek: Ensign Wrader, Lieutenant Delri’ise...are there any systems we can draw power from to increase strength and accuracy?
Wrader / Delri’ise: Responses
The tetryon particles. That was what this all came back to. The Alliance would be vulnerable to attack by the Son’a, but Lael wasn’t adverse to the risk. If it meant that the Bajoran prisoners and the away team stood a better chance of getting back to the ship unharmed, it was a chance she was willing to take. Her gaze flickered momentarily to German before turning to Mei.
Rosek: If need be, the Alliance could navigate the tetryon fields with relative ease thanks to the reskari alloy we lined it with. Once we’ve disabled the ship, sir, I could take Ensign Wrader with me and we could use the Alliance to guide the Watson safely back.
Mei’konda: Response
Wrader / Delri’ise: Responses
Galven / Awatto: Response