[sb118-khitomer] Lieutenant (JG) Ezra Zerva - I’m A Security Officer, Not A Needleworker.

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BC Cooper

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Jun 21, 2026, 11:41:18 PMJun 21

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(( Bridge, Deck 1, USS Khitomer, Ceram Archipelago ))

Zerva: That’ll do it. ::beat:: Got it! We’re detecting the same readings on it as the Jorogumo’s hull. Shall I bring it on the viewscreen sir?

Before the words left his mouth, it was on the viewscreen.

Semara: Whatever it is, the Alliance was irradiatin' the nebula most heavily on the object's vector. The nebula's a lot cooler in that darker-colored bit. Nebula probably took a beatin', but no clue 'bout the object itself.

The viewscreen changed its view, now the screen was filled with deep blues and purple swirls of the nebula.

Semara: :: Voice far-off :: It almost looks like the nebula's tryin' to cover it, or pull it in deeper…

Naxell: And our Velithari hosts haven’t said anything about it. Which might mean they don’t know.

Zerva: Or they are keeping it a secret from us? ::shruging:: I mean it’s possible they don’t want us to know what they are hiding inside the nebula.

Morda: Is it possible the Lattice ship isn’t just arbitrarily attacking the nebula -- that instead it’s trying to hollow out a path to recover that object?

Semara: With Sencha Radiation? :: Beat :: But that doesn't make sense, unless you're real sure you ain't gonna rip what you want apart with Sencha when you get deep enough…

The Bridge went quiet, what was Semara thinking?

Semara: That's it! They gotta know their weapons didn't work last time. Now they wanna know why. If the Velithari structure is resistant…

Naxell: They’ll study it and apply it to their ships, and then come back to finish the job.

Zerva: That’s as good of a theory as I've heard of an explanation.

Morda: If that’s the case, then the Tholian ships aren’t waiting to run interference for an attack from the nebula: they’re positioned to go in and secure it. And alerting that Leviathan’s to our presence means we're a potential poacher for their objective.

And that’s not good for anyone. Least of all the Khitomer.

Semara: Judgin' from nebula die-off after their last barrage, it might only take another shot at full power - maybe two - to have a safe lane. There's already radiation bleed-through to the object.

Zerva: ::checking sensors:: Can confirm sir. Sensors are detecting small traces of radiation surrounding the object. If we don’t act soon, those small traces will only get bigger and cause more problems for us and the nebula.

Naxell: Is it possible for us to get in their way?

Ezra sure hoped so, knowing Semara was at the Helm, he was pretty confident she would be able to pull it off.

Semara: It'll take a coupl'a minutes to get there at half impulse. More, if we have any problems with the thicker patches a' nebula in our way. The spinners could make it in less than half that, if they had a clear path.

Morda: We could try stalling them -- probes giving off Starfleet identifier beacons, that sort of thing. But that’d take some time to rig up, and might just as quickly accelerate their actions.

Zerva: Engineering is already busy loading a torpedo and the one probe that’s assisting it.

Was the captain frustrated at their responses?

Semara: Earlier, we were thinkin' a usin' the tractor beam to move bits a' nebula around. Maybe we could push some into the lane? Encourage re-growth, slow 'em... :: Interrupted by an alarm from the console. :: Energy build-up in the Leviathan's weapons array!

Naxell: ::snapping his fingers, pointing towards Morda:: Time between bursts, Mr. Morda?

Morda: Three minutes between bursts, plus or minus seven seconds.

Zerva: Those seven seconds could make a huge difference.

Right at that moment, a call came through to the bridge.

Dewitt: =/\= Engineering to Bridge. =/\=

Naxell: =/\= I’ve already offered you my kingdom, Number One. I’m not sure what else I have. =/\=

Dewitt: =/\= Captain, the probe and the torpedoes are loaded. Torpedo has five masses sealed in. Probe controls are transferred to Mr Morda. They are yours. ::beat:: I’ll be staying down here, making sure Anti-Sencha systems are operable. =/\=

The Captain didn’t respond right away. Was that a good thing or bad? What was he thinking?

Dewitt: =/\= It’d be good if we don’t need them. Dewitt out. =/\=

Indeed it would be good not to have to use them, but it was also good to have them as a way to get out of the nebula and stop the Alliance. He just hoped it would work if they did use them.

Naxell: Mr. Zerva, how’s your needlework?

Needlework? What was the Captain thinking?

Zerva: Uh… My tailor is a replicator sir. I’d probably stab myself if I tried.

The Captain did a quick jog up next to him.

Naxell: ::To Semara:: One more blast and they move in, right? ::not waiting for the answer:: I want the torpedo delivered directly at their primary Sencha wave emitter, but don’t go straight for it. The probe clears, and the torpedo pulls, right? Let’s sew the cloud up behind those cruisers.

Okay that made more sense once he explained it.

Zerva: ::nodding:: Yes sir.

Semara: Leviathan's re-alignin' now. I think they're goin' for the object. Better get ready quick.

The Captain had all but taken over the console to where the two of them stood. He didn’t take it personally as it was Naxell’s idea. Ezra did his best to assist, following along the best he could. So this is what the Captain meant, much like a surgeon trying to get to the part they needed to fix the problem without damaging anything along the way. Well it might not be quite right, but in his head it made more sense.

Morda: Understood, sir. Linking flight control to the science station. Boosting the subspace radio gain to better compensate for any interference from the nebula.

Ezra was looking over at Naxell to see if he was getting it just right, as he worked on the tactical display of the torpedo and the probe.

Zerva: Like this sir? ::moving his fingers about working:: And this over here?

Naxell: ::leaning in:: Good. Yes, and then there. ::watching Zerva longer:: Mind the flight time, they need to hit before the Leviathan can fire again. And don’t wait for my order! As soon as the next blast is over, launch.

Ezra gave a nod and kept working, making sure the two they were about launched matched the correct speeds.

Morda: Aye, captain. Any second now.

Ezra could hear several computers doing their things and beeping around him.

Semara: Leviathan's firin'!

Zerva: Almost got it… ::Sweating his eyes locked onto the tactical display:: Ready!

Semara: Impact!

Morda: Torpedo away. Probe away.

Ezra looked up as both the probe and the torpedo launched in tandem. The two beautiful objects cascaded forward towards the Leviathan in a bright glow that stood out among the purple and blue hues of the nebula, using it as both cover and a pathway to its intended target.

Zerva:: Monitoring the sensors, whispering under his breath:: Come on, come on, you both got this.

Naxell: Response

Semara: The cruiser's movin' to cover the Leviathan... :: Beat :: Web-spinner alterin' course... Counter-fire incomin'!

Crap. Not good at all! The shields were up. Ensign Morda was working their controls as Semara kept the Khitomer on defense, ensuring their next hit would be a miss, but one that was a little too close. The resulting impact with the nebula caused the ship to rock from the resulting explosion. Ezra stayed his hand at his post. It wasn’t the first time he was in a battle with the Alliance. He knew just how hard their weapons could sting.

Double checking the sensors, the two had reached their intended target. The torpedo’s five filament mass payload came into contact with the Leviathan spacecraft. The viewscreen showed a low-yield kinetic explosion.

The question was, did their plan work?

Morda: Glancing impact to shields; no damage, and ready to return fire. The filament masses have been released on target - no indication yet as to their status or effect. Interference from the nebula -- Lieutenant Zerva, anything coming across on your screens?

The nebula was becoming an increased problem. Its interface resulted in more power to the sensors than he’d like to get an accurate reading.

Ezra found himself taking a deep breath, waiting for the same results the rest of the bridge crew’s eyes were as they rested upon him.

It took a few seconds too long before the sensors finally kicked in. And then there it was, a mass developing over where the Levithan’s weapon would be. It was difficult to make out at first,

Zerva: ::checking senors, beat:: Yes ::beat:: Direct hit! I’m showing all five masses have begun to take its effect.

Ezra gave a smile at both Captain Naxell and Ensign Morda. They weren’t out of the woods yet as it were, but at least now they had a win. The question now was whether it would prevent the Sensha weapon from firing as they’d hoped.