Commander Serala: Cloaked Peril
Serala
With their acknowledgements, Serala nodded to T’Khio’ri.
Serala: Open the channel,. Ensign.
T’Khio’ri: Channel open, Commander.
Serala: =/\= This is Serala. Colonel, don’t do this. We don’t want to fight, but if you insist we will have no options. =/\=
Brodie: =/\= Response =/\=
Serala gave the Counselor an approving nod, then turned to T’Khio’ri as she began to confirm the ready status of the ship.
T’Khio’ri: All decks are reporting ready, Commander.
Serala: Very good, Ensign.
Brodie / Ketteik: Responses
Xiron: Captain, I believe the Valcarian battlecruiser is pushing its engines beyond the safe operation point. I don’t think they have the power to run the cloak and operate the ship.
T’Khio’ri: So it would seem. By my calculations, if Brez’art does not either drop the cloak or come to a halt, they will experience a complete and devastating warp core breach within 33 seconds. Commander, I recommend warning Brez’art at the same time as we back away precipitously. Additionally, it may be a planned Kamakazi attack, which would explain why the smaller vessels have withdrawn for their own protection.
It was great tactical information. Serala glanced down at the console attached to her chair’s armrest and noticed the commline to the Valcarians was still open.
oO Maybe Brez’art heard that. I wonder if I can use that to convince him to stand down. Oo
Serala: =/\= Commander Brez’art, I know you’ve heard the tactical reports. You cannot stand up to us. Stand down and let’s discuss this, Commander. =/\=
T’Khio’ri / Brodie: Responses
Brez’art: =/\= You’re bluffing, Captain Serala. These cloaking devices are state of the art. My advisor has assured me that there is no way we can be detected. =/\=
Serala smirked and shook her head.
oO How very Romulan. If he only knew… Oo
Serala: =/\= You heard the report, Commander. We know where you are and what your status is. You can’t win. Let’s just talk this out. =/\=
Serala noted the incoming message from Lieutenant Ketteik and acknowledged it with a punch of a button.
T’Khio’ri / Brodie / Xiron: Responses
Brez’art: =/\= You will die, Captain Serala. You and your Caraadian allies. =/\=
T’Khio’ri: I cannot affirm that Brez’art is aboard the battlecruiser, Sir. He might be aboard one of the smaller vessels, in which case he could continue to direct the assault if he intends to use his largest vessel as a weapon.
Xiron: Captain, the masking around their engineering section has completely fallen. The Valcarian battlecruiser is leaking large amounts of radiation. High probability they are about to suffer a core breach.
Serala: Acknowledged, Lieutenant. Good work. Mister Ketteik, track that radiation. Ensign T’Khio’ri, try to get lifesigns and prepare to transport if that thing blows. Xiron, reinforce our forward shielding, but we’ll need to lower it long enough to transport, so we’re going to need some quick reflexes.
Brodie/Ketteik/T’Khio’ri: Responses
Xiron: The battlecruiser is now leaking warp plasm from their port nacelle.
And then a thought occurred to her…
Serala: T’Khio’ri, I need confirmation of lifesigns on that ship. Xiron, I need to know if the ship is on auto destruct.
Brodie/Ketteik/T’Khio’ri: Responses
Serala: I suspect they’re going to blow their own ship up in an attempt to cripple us so those other ships can circle back and try to finish us off.
Ketteik: Response
Serala: They may be gone, Lieutenant, but I wouldn’t put it past them to circle back around trusting their outdated cloaking devices to conceal their movement. Callahan, back us off, emergency full.
Callahan: Emergency full, aye, Captain.
She felt the ship lurch under her at the sudden reversal of momentum, but a second later the inertial dampeners compensated and it was smooth sailing once more. And then the Valcarian’s cloak failed altogether as their warp core began to go critical.
Serala: T’Khio’ri, any life signs?
T’Khio’ri: Response
Serala: Lock on and energize. Get as many as you can.
T’Khio’ri: Response
She heard the commands being entered and knew transport was in progress, but there couldn’t have been time to beam many off the ship as seconds later it exploded.
The explosion streaked out in a ball of white light, impacting on their forward shield even as it snapped into place. The Chin’toka was pushed up and back by the shockwave and she could see the stars whirling in the main viewer even as Callahan fought to regain control of the ship. It took a moment, but finally the ship stopped, closer to the planet than it had been only seconds before.
Serala: Status report. What’s the condition of the ship, and how many did we get before the battlecruiser exploded?
Xiron / T’Khio’ri / Ketteik / Brodie: Responses
Serala: Commander Brez’art? Well, have him escorted to the bridge. Have the others taken to the brig for now.
T’Khio’ri: Response