Lt JG Serala: And the chase is on!
Jim Davis
(( OOC: Sorry about the tardiness of my posts. Things have been crazy around here lately. I hope I didn't miss anyone's posts. ))
((Bridge, Deck 1, USS Atlantis, near Lydor V, Lydor System))
Brell: Re-engage pursuit course.
Gixu: You got it Captain!
::Soon they were open space and able to go to warp.
Brell: Lieutenant Serala, focus your efforts on your cloak detection scheme. As well as be ready to target their engines. I know you will use a gentle touch to keep that thing in one piece but make sure they can’t go anywhere.
Serala: Aye, sir!
oO At least I said it in Federation Standard that time. Gentle touch, my rear. I guess if I must. Oo
::Pivoting to the Engineering station at the forward starboard side of the bridge near the doors to his ready room, Captain Brell next addressed the Chief Engineer. ::
Brell: I need us ready to go to warp at moments notice, even if we are not yet in the stellar particle free corridor yet.
Dermont: response
::Next he looked to the OPS station at the port rear of the the Bridge.::
Brell: Ensign, keep watch for the signal transponders of our away team members. We should be able to get a lock on them through the cloak that way as well. Between that, and Serala’s efforts we should be able to triaxlate their exact location and spatial alignment.
oO Nice thinking. But, then that’s why he’s the Captain and You are still the Junior Tactical Officer. Oo
Termine: Aye captain, ::Turning to Serala:: I’ll try to see if I can pick up a transponder lock from some long-range sweeps but if the ship is cloaked, it will be unlikely since most of the energy inside a cloak gets reflected back inwards but I think I just might have an idea. That just might do the trick.
Serala: That would be extremely useful. What do you have in mind?
Termine: :: walking over to join her at her console :: Well, remember the transmission from The Observer that I picked up earlier? If they’re still listening from that signal, we may be able to provoke a response from them. They’ll most likely disguise the carrier wave in the noise the same as the original. If we can pick it up we’ll be able to triangulate a rough place of origin and even may be able to find their cloak frequency based on the disturbances created then the signal passes through their cloak.
Serala: That would be very helpful. Especially if they make it into that particle-free zone. My program loses all integrity if that happens.
Termine: I’ll patch all my data through your console Lieutenant, and free up every joule of energy I can for the sweep, just let me know if you need anything.
Serala: Make it happen, Ensign. I want this ship!
:: As he walked back to his own station, she thought of the 30 lives lost when these robots attacked her ship Just a few short weeks ago. She had failed to detect the ship until it was just too late. That slip had cost those people their lives. She would not fail her ship and crew again. Nor would she let her best friend and Captain McKnight be captured during what was supposed to be a boarding action. ::
Brell: I couldn't agree more Lieutenant.
Gixu: Just get me a lock and there’s no way they are getting away. There’s no way I’m getting out-run in my first race behind the helm of a starship!
Brell: Keep us ready to warp at a moment's notice… We will deal with any damage to the deflector later.
Dermont: response
Brell: Any signals from our people yet?
Termine: Not yet captain, but I’m hoping to change that soon. I’d like to send a message to the ship on the same buried frequency that we found before. Me and Lieutenant Serala hypothesize that if they answer in any sort that we’d pick them up with her new detection protocols. The only problem is, well…we don’t have anything to say. Nothing believable at least. Their messages are surely coded, but we don’t have enough data to even THINK of cracking the code. But we’ve got to send a message they will want to respond to….
Dermont: Response
Gixu: Now I’d DEFINITELY respond to that one.
Brell: Response
Serala: These are robots. Sentient ones, apparently, but robots nonetheless. I doubt they would respond outside of their pre-programmed sets of responses.
Termine: Hrmm…Is there some sort of base signifier that the consortium or the free worlds would use? Something akin to the red-alert klaxon or the 20th century “sos” telegraph tone? I’m sure that even the most logical computer would want to find out more about a possible, but vague, danger.
Gixu: Couldn’t we just say “danger, danger!” and garble it up a bit?
Termine: Not quite, if a voice wasn’t encoded, or the sender recognizable in any way as possibly NOT the mole, we could risk them catching on and we’ve only got one shot at this. Hold on.
Serala/Dermont: Responses
Brell: What about lingua-code. The Corsitium should use virtually the same set as the Federation.
Termine: Hrmm… now THERE is an idea that could work!
Termine: I've copied the frequency carrier wave from The Observer and matched the Atlantis’ emitters to output on the same frequencies. To make it seem like it's coming from The Observer I’m going to try to focus the emitter at a cloud in the upper atmosphere of Lydor V, near the observer. If it reflects the signal from the cloud, the message would be harder to trace back to the Atlantis. I think I’m ready captain, waiting your mark.
Brell: Lay your snare Ensign.
Serala: :: muttered to herself :: About time!
Dermont: Response
:: Serala was impatient. She was ready for action, to take her prey. Her program was giving her a general idea where the ship was, but it wasn’t sure enough. Only 62% accuracy. She didn’t like that number. She would prefer it be 100%, but she would settle for something in the 90th percentile. Termine’s plan had merit, but it was just taking too long to implement. Then, after an eternity of silence... ::
B371: =/\= ? =/\=
Termine: That’s it! we got them!
oO The Elements bless you Termine! Oo
Brell: Can you get a location fix?
Termine: Response
Brell: Are we in weapons range?
Serala: Affirmative, sir. Range: thirty-two thousand kilometers and closing.
Brell: Then by all means, fire.
Serala: Au’e, Riov!
:: This time, she didn’t even realize she had said it in Romulan. Then she noticed that the ship was becoming visible. ::
Brell: Belay that order. Tactical analysis.
Serala: Captain, the ship is de-cloaking! I am reading minor internal damage to the vessel. It’s shields are up, however, although, they aren’t military grade and we should be able to knock them out easily enough.
Termine: Response
:: Suddenly, the vessel jumped to warp and was gone. ::
Brell: Find their ion trial, and follow them, now.
:: He hadn’t really needed to give the order. Serala was already scanning for it. Still, she understood the frustration she heard in his voice. ::
Dermont: Response
Gixu: Response
:: Both of her hearts were racing now. They had them. The little ship just couldn’t match the speed capabilities of an Intrepid class starship. It was only a matter of time. ::
oO Like a cheetah chasing down a rabbit. Oo
Brell: Increase speed. We need to get right on their tail-fin.
Gixu: response
Brell: We need a way to knock them out of warp once we have caught up to them.
Termine/Dermont: Responses
Serala: Captain, once we are close enough, I can target their engines and disable them. It should knock them out of warp. It might get a bit bumpy for Raga and McKnight, but my scans of the vessel indicate it should be able to hold up to the stress of suddenly dropping out of warp. I would only need one or two shots to get past their shields and another for the engines.
Brell/Dermont/Termine/Gixu: Responses
TAGS/TBC
USS Atlantis NCC-76482
A239412S10