Lt. (j.g.) Ian O'Connor- The Properly Prepared Possum Plan
rob mahardy
|
|
((Main Bridge, Deck 3, USS Ronin, Outside the J-0922A System.))
The Ronin limped around like a one-legged duck stumbling home from a bender. Actually, stumbling was too graceful a word. Although Ian outwardly hated threatening the ship this way, deep down he was enjoying the challenge of the deception. He’d actually taken quite a bit of time studying to mimic the best facsimile possible. He would make sure that his portion of the elaborate plan the tacticians put together would go off, well smoothly wasn’t the right word either…accurately.
Niac:
Apologies, I realize a tumble like this is offensive to your
instincts as a pilot Mr. O'Connor.
O'Connor: :: shrugging:: Eh, It’s nothing but ignoring a
life time of training and every fiber of my being, Captain.
Niac: How
long will it take to get the impulse engines online once the Alliance forces
show up?
O'Connor: It’ll depend on where within a rotation during a
stumbling maneuver we are at the time, but overall not long. Within 35 to 40
seconds.
Ian knew that might be an eternity if they were up against too powerful a force.
Karrod nodded his understanding and smiled.
Niac: I wouldn't have anyone else as my wheelman for this
particular getaway.
O'Connor: Thanks, Captain.
The
captain crossed authoritatively over to Marty at his station. Ian listened
in for any updates from any of the other departments that might affect him.
Niac: How are we looking, Chief? Any indication we're
anything other than a crippled shift drifting through the void?
Tucker: ::he smiled.:: So far, so good, captain; right
now, just playing possum...
Chuckling now, Karrod Niac lilted his burly head back towards the helm.
Niac: The plasma scorching on the nacelles was definitely a
nice touch but you'll have to explain to the dockmaster at DS33 why we need
those repairs...again.
Tucker: Trying to get the old gal into character. And as far as the
dockmaster goes, I can’t get in any deeper with him than I already am. ::he ran
a hand along his neck:: And still hearing about you blowing the moorings on our
shakedown cruise…::a devilish grin slithered across his features::
Karrod Niac chuckled once more, giving Marty an affectionate pat on the
shoulders, even when he didn't have to. Ian appreciated the way the captain
took time and reaffirmed his officers.
Niac: Just try to keep the nacelles connected to the ship,
I'm pretty confident we'll need both of them before the day is over. As
you were, Chief.
Taking a step back in sync with her CO, Kirsty felt his collected and clear
eyes sweep her direction. Her knuckles ached slightly from the effort of her
nervous movement, but she couldn't help herself, allowing one last crone-like
hunch over the scopes and sensor readings, squinting down into what wasn't
there as if trying to will them onto the "field".
Niac: Commander Carpenter, I think you're making that display
uncomfortable. Anything to report yet?
She
looked up to her Captain with a furrowed brow.
Carpenter: Nothin' on sensors just yet. Countermeasures and
the decoy pods still primed in the mine line and reserves waiting in the pipe,
but they haven't gotten any closer for the moment.
The Captain nodded, his own brow standing annoyingly un-furrowed, but Kirsty
tried to connect with as much of his confidence as she could. Looking with him
from behind into the Main Viewer and the myriad of information that was
spooling across it even in their "lamed" state.
Niac: They'll show, I'm sure of it. They've had enough
time by now to see us and realize the easy picking we represent. Then
they spent a few minutes arguing with one another about what to do and who gets
the privilege of coming to kill us. They'll have the particulars worked
out soon enough and then it's time for our little surprise. Tell me,
how's our little present in escape pod sigma-two six doing?
Her
own smile widened to reveal more of her teeth.
Carpenter: Just waitin' to be unwrapped, Captain. Alieth and
Marty's people knocked out 600 cubic feet of meteron, ready to turn those dummy
pods into about a metric ton of plasteel, diuranium, and silicate grapeshot.
Unconventional, sure, but it's gonna be one helluva first volley.
They looked once more to the Main Viewer, Kirsty's breath quickening and
turning now molten in anticipation.
Ian
glaned back toward Kristy and could see the determination. She was ready to go
on the offensive.
Niac: I'm leaving the timing of the detonation to you - we'll
have some empty escape pods out there to cause a distraction...the Alliance
doesn't take prisoners so they'll start picking them off. As soon as
their ships are in the blast zone...you're authorized to press the big red
button.
Carpenter: Aye freakin' Aye, Captain. We'll get 'em,
sir.
Cap Niac almost sauntered back to his Big Chair.
Niac: I'm sure everyone has confidence in your judgment,
Commander. Just try to make sure we leave a few for the Khitomer or
Captain Shayne will be disappointed.
Tucker: As long as Commander Carpenter doesn’t get too trigger-happy, I’m
sure she’ll leave some scraps for the Khitomer. She wouldn’t want them to
scratch that new paint job.
Carpenter: I'm not promisin' nothing.
Ian turned back around as the captain opened a comm channel.
Niac: =/\= Bridge to Stellar Cartography...what's your
status, Lt. Cmdr. Alieth? =/\=
Alieth: =/\= Unchanged from the last half hour, Sencha radiation
fluctuations are still consistent with the occlusion field generator we found
in Olidra system, but we have not detected any Sencha radiation surges or
radiation derived from the use of the Alliance's weapons. We will need to go
past the cloaking threshold in order to gather more information, sir. =/\=
Niac: =/\= Once we get inside the system we'll need you to build
up a picture of priority targets as quickly as you can, especially any S-Wave
generators. The faster you can pass that information up to us, the
quicker we can be in and out of the system. =/\=
Alieth: =/\= We are ready for it, sir, my terminal is directly
connected to the main screen, to the tactical console and to the one in your
chair. You will receive real-time feedback as soon as we have something to
report. =/\=
Niac: =/\= Very well. Mr. Raedai is there to coordinate
any sudden resource needs or probe operations and I believe he'll have a good
eye for finding the things we want to eliminate. Give his insights
weight, Commander. =/\=
Alieth: =/\= I will take your suggestion into account,
Captain. =/\=
Ian smirked at the Commander’s not quite politically correct appeasing
response.
Niac: =/\= Very well, standby. I suspect it'll be any time
now. Niac out. =/\=
He drummed his hands once more across the haptics of the Big Chair.
Niac: =/\= Bridge to Sickbay...how are you doing on those
arithrazine inoculations, Doctor? If we get hit by one of those S-Wave
weapons I want to have more than enough prepared for the entire crew. =/\=
Beck: =/\= Steady going. Our new Ensign Syrex has almost completed the
tenth batch of a hundred doses, and we're lined up to make at least ten more if
all goes well. That'll leave us with approximately four doses per crewman once
all is said and done. It's just time-consuming since we have to do a lot of
this by hand. =/\=
Cap Niac swept his eyes up and toward his own nearest chronometer, turning back
into the open comm when he was (seemingly) satisfied.
Niac: =/\= I realize it's not ideal but it's the only protective
measure we have at the moment. Make whatever final preparations you can,
I expect things will get busy up here in the very near future. =/\=
Beck: Beck: =/\= Aye, sir. I'll get a couple more sets of hands on these
if it comes down to it. We certainly have enough for the initial assault, at
the very least. =/\=
Finally, the dam broke. A single sensor ping echoed through the tense Bridge
like an ancient gunshot. Ian tensed but stayed to the plan.
oO Wait for it.Oo
Niac: =/\= Standby for action, Doctor. Bridge out. =/\=
More contacts and warp signatures were humming across the probe-supplemented
sensor net. Nothing nearly as big as profiles of the Juggernaut or the Persecutor,
but we were getting to the sabre rattling for sure.
Ian turned slightly to look at the senior officers over his shoulder.
Niac: Well Commander...what's the word?
Ian
held as Kristy darted her eyes between the captain and her station.
Carpenter: Buzzards circlin', Captain. One of 'em is even
painting us with passive scans. It's workin'. For now.
Ian tensed further turning back his full attention to his station’s display…
oO
Wait for it. Oo
The Captain leaned back into his chair and Kirsty leaned FORWARD on her
station, laser focusing now on the Main Viewer as their own scans and scopes
honed in danger close to the incoming Sheliak and Tholian cruisers. She
breathed a quiet sigh of relief. No heavy guns just yet, but the L.A. were
looking hungrily at the snare they had spooled out. Just a little bit closer
now...
Just a little. Bit. Closer. Even before he said it, the Bridge plunged into blood.
oO
N…o…w…Oo
Niac: Red Alert. Wait another few seconds and begin a
staggered launch of the starboard escape pods. Chief Tucker, standby to
get us back to full power. Mr. O'Connor, use the RCS thrusters, lets make
a show of trying to get away.
Ian engaged thrusters continuing the erratic motions of a severely wounded vessel trying to crawl away, keeping the illusion going just a bit longer.
Tucker: Alright, flyboy. Hit that button on your console that is
flashing green when ready, and it’ll bring the Ronin to bear with full power at
your disposal.
Ian counted out the seconds as Ronin tumbled.
Niac: RESPONSE
A
blocky, ghoulishly blinking brick of a ship blinked into reality in the Main
Viewer as the ship "listed" like a stuck pig. Waiting until they were
well and truly settled, Kirsty danced her thumbs up and through the launch
controls. Like a row of swollen honeybees, the dummy pods (interspersed with
maybe a few extra metreon tanks, per Kirsty's orders) detached and spurted
themselves lazily into a very visual impression of escape velocity.
Carpenter: Second decoy wave deployed. They are still movin' to
bear.
O'Connor: 31 seconds to full power.
More shrill alerts from the whole of the "injured" Bridge. Marty's voice started to call out what the terminals were telling them just half a second before.
Tucker: Uh, sir. They didn’t come alone. Another Alliance frigate,
bearing 156 by 25. Its shields are raised, and I can detect a build-up of
Sencha radiation. ::he gulped at the last words::
Niac: RESPONSE
She did fast, bad math on her Tactical display. The necklace of decoys and depth charges widened into a deadly string of tourmaline coffins. The Sheliak block was accompanied now by a Tholian chandelier. Kirsty once more was shocked at the eldritch beauty and impossibly of the Tholian craft.
But now was time for a different sort of artful. She "checked" her calculations with the Computer Core assessments of the deployment arrangement now in relation to the two enemy ships. Close...but not close enough.
Carpenter: Hold.
O'Connor: 23 seconds to full power. About a second less for those ships to get in weapons range.
Niac/Tucker: RESPONSE
Carpenter: Not yet...
The two ships continued their approach, now both ships washing the exterior of the still-turning ship with all sorts of scans. But now close enough for the Ronin to get plenty of her own in return. And what they were now yelling to Kirsty's wide, astonished eyes...
They were now almost completely flush with the decoys and charges...
Carpenter: N-
But the idiots saved her the trouble. Or at least a Sheliak one did. Biting out petulantly from their ugly, brutalist ship to the escape pods with a plasmic beam from one of the trapezoid points...which immediately triggered one of the primed pods right next to it. Buffeting both ships with debris and scorched space, instantly putting a bulwark of damage and shattered equipment between them and their quarry.
She stood back sheepishly.
Carpenter: Well, nobody said bullies were smart...
O'Connor:
Huh, well that worked out better than I thought. ::glances
back toward Kristy:: Not that I didn’t have faith in you.
Niac/Tucker: RESPONSE
O’Connor: Full power restored. First enemy vessel appears completely disabled. Coming around to bear on the second Sheliak vessel. Their shields are down as well but registering a plasma build up in weapons systems.
Niac/Carpenter/Tucker: RESPONSE
Tags/TBC
---------------------------------------
Lieutenant (j.g.) Ian O’Connor
HCO
USS Ronin NCC-34523
R240009IO4