Lt. T’Fearne - Flash Bang (Part 2)
Teayl Thorn
((Briefing Room, Security Complex, Deck 11, USS Ronin))
Akani: ::bowing her head:: I understand. How long do we have before we make contact?
A display held a countdown that ran backwards and occasionally jumped up or down. The ship seemed to be making a series of minute course corrections and adjustments. At the present time they had just two hours until their arrival at their destination.
Kessler: Not as much time as we would like to have Ensign. We need to work fast, but smart.
S'tek: Responses
Akani: Apologies for my questions, Sirs, but just how big is this thing?
Venn: No worries. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, we’re not entirely sure due to the poor sensor data we’re getting, but it seems to be on the magnitude of kilometers. Very, very big.
Kilometers was not what she wanted to hear. She pictured the sheer scale of the entity beside the length of the Ronin. She glanced at S’tek.
T’Fearne: Mr. S’tek, you get a little bit of the tour speech early. I’ll abbreviate it. The Ronin is four-hundred-and-sixty-four meters in total length from bow to stern and includes the nacelles, the main hull extends to three-hundred-and-seventeen meters at its widest point and is eighty-seven meters in height. We are not even half a kilometer long. A Sovereign-class is at least seven-hundred meters long, and a Dreadnought-class, like a borg cube, can reach over three kilometers in every dimension.
S'tek: Responses
The room quieted slightly for a moment before Kessler brought them back to the tasks at hand.
Kessler: ::unfolding his arms and picking up his PADD:: Ok, here's the plan. Akani, I want all relevant data on any spaceborn lifeform Starfleet has encountered to date. How were they dealt with in a non-lethal encounter? S'tek, you specialized in Tactical systems at the academy. I want you working on options for the shields and how to best optimize them against an unknown energy output. T'Fearne, Venn; please coordinate any data from other ships in the area that have made any reports about this thing or any obscure mention of a biological encounter that might have been overlooked in subspace coms traffic. ::looking around:: There are workstations in here we can use so we do not need to leave the area, this will give us the best chances of finding some of Mister S'tek's puzzle pieces.
T’Fearne accepted her assignment with a swift nod.
T’Fearne: Ensign Akani. Here, ::transferring access to the reports:: I already had a search going through the Ronin’s previous mission files for similar encounters with stellar-mega-fauna or vessels classified as equivalent to Dreadnought-class and larger. I’m not sure you will find anything, but it is a place for you to start, but widen your search at your discretion.
S'tek/Akani: Responses
Kessler: Use your PADDs to add your findings. Even the smallest puzzle piece left out can leave a gaping hole in the overall scheme. Let's get to work and do not hold any questions back.
Venn: Yes, sir.
T’Fearne: Understood.
S'tek/Akani: Responses
The officers in the room shifted into motion as they dispersed towards nearby workstations.
Kessler stopped beside T’Fearne before she could approach Venn.
Kessler: I wanted to officially congratulate you on your promotion. Sorry it was over the coms and not at a ceremony where it properly should have been done.
His words caught her a little off guard. In truth, she had momentarily forgotten that particular detail with the unfolding events of the mission. The promotion felt strangely unreal as yet.
She turned towards him, one hand rising to cover the half-pip. The full lieutenant pip remained waiting in Captain Niac’s ready room for when she had time to collect it. Until then, she was technically out of uniform regulations, but she knew he didn’t care about that right now.
T'Fearne: Thank you, sir. ::throat a little tight:: It is an honor to serve this ship and her crew in any capacity. The mission comes first and there will be time to celebrate later. ::The corner of her eyes crinkled just a little:: I was with the crew during the announcement. The people who mattered most were there.
Kessler held her gaze as he held out his hand. A very Human gesture that she was accustomed to participating in. T’Fearne accepted it without hesitation, her cool fingers fitting smoothly into his large, warmer grip.
Physical contact was something she usually reduced to only when necessary as it tended to cut through her mental defences, a being's emotions flowing right to her paracortex with uncomfortable clarity. But Jack had offered and in this case she wanted to accept.
The moment their palms touched, his emotions flooded her senses, respect, trust, pride in her accomplishments over the last few missions, it was still overwhelming, but it seemed important to him that he communicated this in a way she truly understood.
For a moment, T’Fearne wished she could effortlessly show Kessler how she felt the Betazoid way. Grateful for the opportunity. Pride at the way he had re-tuned the department to run smoothly with the way he worked. Respect he had earned with the example he set as a Chief who served beside his officers rather than above them.
Kessler: I also want you to know that I want you to take on the job of my 2IC (second in command) of the Sec/Tac department. How does Assistant Chief sound?
Something deep in her chest vibrated like a drum. More responsibility meant more weight and expectation…but she wanted to do this, and he clearly believed that she could.
T'Fearne: I accept.
Her two simple words carried the gravity of an oath.
He smiled and released her hand, his mood towards Venn now seeming more accepting, Kessler stepped away, returning to work on the problem at hand.
Around the room, S’tek and Akani worked on their tasks, and Venn worked at a nearby display. With her senses slightly overloaded, T’Fearne, still slightly shell shocked, carefully packaged-up those emotions and folded them away for later, applying a little mental discipline to sharpen her focus on the task at hand.
Venn glanced up as T’Fearne approached, acknowledging her with a friendly enough manner.
Venn: So, we don’t have much to go on here. There were some sensor contacts by a few ships, but honestly the best we got was the one image that’s already been shared. The Jacksonville reported that their science team was convinced it was biological, but from what I could see, there was no actual scientific data to corroborate that.
T’Fearne: We can prepare for the likely alternative contingencies, but if the opinion of the various ships’ science departments is that it is biological, then without evidence to the contrary I’m happy to proceed with that assumption. We can update our plans as needed.
Venn: I would like to think we can avoid harming it. I’m actually hoping for that, despite what some would think. I’m just worried about what could happen if the Lattice Alliance or the Consortium got their hands on it. And there is always a concern that it might be dangerous to us, even if unintentionally. But we just don’t have enough data that I’ve been able to find.
She glanced at Venn and then towards the enormous blurred silhouette on display.
T’Fearne: Agreed. ::brows rising:: If the entity needs our protection from those other Alpha Isles factions, I am confident the Ronin is ready for that. If it’s a case of moving the creature, leaving it be or in the worse case…destroying it. I would be more comfortable if we had any other details to go on to prepare us for what we will face.
Venn nodded and looked back to the screen. Information streaming to the display from all their gathered research.
She nodded and looked back at the screen. The enormity of the task was almost overwhelming, but she was optimistic this crew could solve this mystery with the best possible outcome. They had a reputation for that.
Venn: Well, maybe you can find something I can’t. I’ve been staring at this data for so long, I am sure I’m not going to find anything new. A fresh set of eyes couldn’t hurt.
T’Fearne: It seems like you have had this information for some time. I doubt I’ll see something you haven’t, but we will all take a look. Honestly my latinum is on the Science department to update us with something actionable before anyone else.
Akani/Kessler/S'tek/Venn: Response
She grinned a little at the banter and leaned closer to the imagery, but the blur was even less revealing. Eyes narrowing, she leaned back, took a long slow look at some of the other distorted readings and telemetry. She paused as something about the interference caught her attention.
T’Fearne: This interference pattern is interesting. There is variation, but the interference itself seems to be repeating. I see that it’s been noted already by Starfleet’s data analysts. Maybe we could modify our tactical sensors to counter this frequency. ::glancing at Venn:: You mentioned the need for tactical sensor calibrations earlier. I think it’s time to pull in Ops for this.
A private flicker of amusement crossed her emotions as she tapped her delta.
T’Fearne: =/\= T’Fearne to Evinrude. Are you free to assist with modifying our tactical sensors? =/\=
Evinrude: =/\= Response =/\=
Despite herself, the corner of her mouth twitched up slightly.
((OOC: I’m leaving some optional tags here for Evinrude if he wants to jump in on this scene with Kessler and Venn leaving for the bridge at some point. If not all good, just leaving an option open there.))
((Time Skip - An Hour Later, USS Ronin approaching the entity))
The subtle fluctuations of the warp-field could be felt in the Security Complex as the Ronin continued to navigate its approached the entity. The Ronin’s inertial dampeners seemed to be working overtime to compensate, but T'Fearne's sensitive ears picked up changes more often the closer they approached the end of the countdown. She wondered if S’tek was registering the fluctuations as well.
Around the briefing room the various officers poured their focus into their assignments.
Akani sifted through reports on spaceborn megafauna while S’tek analyzed evolving shield harmonics. The officer Ops had sent to assist with sensors worked on pulling the data from the calibrated sensors. Fresh telemetry rolled across the display screens. Kessler stood in front of the main display, arms folded as he reviewed the latest of their compiled findings.
Kessler/Venn: Response
Akani/S'tek: Response
T’Fearne folded her hands behind her back as she studied the pulsing data streams then gave her own report.
T’Fearne: We sifted through the submitted pieces of data gathered from other vessels. Nothing particularly stands out to me other than that interference pattern. If the interference is just part of the entity’s biological function, then matching frequencies with the interference may allow the Ronin to approach closer without triggering a defensive response.
Evirude (optional) : Response
Kessler/Venn: Response
Akani/S'tek: Response
She listened carefully to the others reports, thinking on what the implications could mean for their defensive measures. They had torpedoes, phasers, the ability to create a gravimetric pulse and several other options.
T’Fearne: One of the offensive options I’ve come up with should we need it is the equivalent of a flash bang. We have the ability to create a large gravimetric pulse. That should get its attention. A sufficiently powerful pulse may encourage it to withdraw.
Evirude (optional) : Response
[Tags / TBC]
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Security Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
R240107T14