Lt. Cmdr. Alieth - The First Wave
Alieth
((Stellar Cartography, Science Lab Complex, Decks 10-11, USS Ronin, Outside the J-0922A System))
Finally, after the
long wait, the Ronin's passive scanners had picked up the arrival of
the enemy starships. Two frigates, one with a rather Tholian design
and the other with a somewhat more Sheliak one. All with the
distinctive upgrades that showcased the terrible technology of the
Laticce Alliance. As soon as they appeared at the edge of the
cloaking field that occupied a large region of the interior of the
J-0922A system, the science team began to scan them, using the
limited means at their disposal. Lorana soon came across signs that
both vessels were equipped with Sencha Generators, and possible signs
that these were associated with weapons such as those they had
previously encountered. For better or worse, they currently remained
idle, which would give the bridge team some more time, but would
limit the data that they could obtain on stellar cartography.
The
diminutive Vulcan tapped away at her console, relaying this input to
the bridge consoles it was linked to, before she turned to where the
obnoxiously muscular Romulan was working.
Alieth: How are the probes' status? Have we been able to penetrate inside the system?
Raedai: not yet, Until the escape pods explode, I can't hide the probes trail.
The height at which she stood prevented the officers below from witnessing how Alieth pursed her lips at that response. It was technically sound, but also utterly useless. Fortunately, the resident Caitian took barely a moment to keep reporting the progress of the enemy ships.
Lorana: The frigates are approaching the escape pods :: to Raedai :: Get ready. :: reading from the bridge communication stream :: Carpenter has activated the detonation sequence … 3 … 2 … 1.
In the holotank, the
silhouettes of the LA ships progressed towards the pods, with one of
them assuming the initiative and approaching with increasing speed. A
few seconds later, there was a flash in the tank. The two decks that
Cartography covered lit up with the orange glow of the ferocious
detonation of metreon
in its gaseous state. Back in the Holotank the nearest vessel
silhouette began to flicker, and a stream of data appeared around its
outline: shields damaged, several systems down. It looked like it had
taken a massive blow, but the Sencha Generator remained stable and
the background radiation it emitted was unaltered. This caused the
Vulcan's slanted brows to furrow faintly, and she sent a warning
message to the bridge about its status: The enemy ship was apparently
disabled, but it still had the full destructive power of its weapons.
As she entered the warning transmission, the Romulan
finally told her something useful.
Raedai: Moving the probes into the subspace field.
Taking advantage of the explosion, the probes made a strong impulse that should bring them closer to the cloaking field. The greenish lines that represented the probes moved across the holographic display that filled much of the lab, and they all waited with bated breath for the few seconds it took them to cross move close threshold where their sensor readings vanished.
Lorana: No indication that they detected the probes :: To Raedai:: Great work. Data should start to come in once the resynchronization completes.
A few more tense seconds passed before his little-reliable Lieutenant JG spoke again.
Raedai: first data arrives...:: Alidar was silent for a moment and reviewed the data coming into the console, did a quick check of the probe systems before saying anything. :: This doesn't make sense... or we have a huge problem.
Almost instantly, one of the frigates in the holotank began to turn a deeper shade of orange. Input from the consoles revealed a Sencha Radiation surge, possibly associated with the activation of one of the weapons. But more than that, the data began to course through from the probes.
It was a superstructure. Not exactly the same as the one they had encountered previously in the Olidra system months ago: it was in a more bulky, cuboid shape, and appeared to be erected with various communication pylons that protruded from it, making it resemble a pin cushion. Their level of Sencha Radiation emissions was well below what they had previously observed, but the overall shape made it clear what their proposition was. It was a communications relay. It was not what they expected, and its presence gave them as many answers as new questions. Worse yet, surrounding and protecting it, with weapons blazing and ready to defend the station, there were six more frigates.
Lorana: They do like their stations big I see. Commander, that's a listening post. Perhaps that's how the LA has been keeping one step ahead of movements in this region.
Alieth: It sounds logical.:: The commander said the phrase softly, but her frown deepened:: However, it conflicts with what we have known so far about their movements... where is their base or their rendezvous point, then?
Raedai: Responses
The image of the holotank shifted, and the undamaged frigate started to retreat very slowly, pulling the disabled one along with it in a tractor beam.
Lorana: The frigates appear to be pulling back towards the border? They have charged the Sencha weapons and locked the Ronin… I'm not sure why they haven't used them…?
Alieth peered over the railing, a smile dancing in her dark eyes.
Alieth: What did we learn in the Rhine about how their Sencha weapons work, Miss Lorana?
She couldn't give too many details about the mission they had undertaken to return the Temporal Displaced Officers to their time, let alone with the suspicious Romulan with them, but Luxa would easily get the hint.
Raedai : Response
Luxa observed the new data that was coming in, her golden eyes focused in the line of the border, which marked the cloaking devices. Suddenly, she turned to Alieth, practically yelling at her on the mezzanine above.
Lorana: :: smiles :: We're too close to the border … :: turns to Alieth :: Remember what happened when the Sencha radiation interacted with the chronitons from the cloaking technology? :: in a science tangent :: It created quantum fissures, some of these fissures then resulted in wells that absorbed all the objects around them. They don't want to risk their valuable listening post being pulled into a fissure?
She looked to Raedai, and then back to Alieth. The petite Vulcan nodded, subtle pride percolating through the tiny tensions of the muscles around her mouth.
Alieth: Exactly. So they would need to put distance to prevent their weapons from interacting with the field that cloaks them. :: tapping as she spoke, forwarding her theories to the Captain:: It is possible they will sacrifice the damaged ship to attack us, or try to force us into the cloaked sector if they intuit the trap, but they will not risk a subspace fracture so close to a critical facility.
Raedai: Response
The Romulan's words made her turn to the man, then to her console, and finally, she narrowed her eyes to look at the Holotank.
Alieth: Elaborate on what you have found, Lieutenant.
It was not something they expected at all, but it fit with the reckless behaviour they had witnessed previously in the LA. No loss was considered excessive if it led to a victory, no matter how many people died or who or what had to be sacrificed.
Lorana/Raedai: Response
Data from both officers was passed from one console to the other as they spoke, and Alieth wasted little time in transmitting a condensed summary to the bridge crew.
Alieth: Leave passive sensors out, switch to active sensors. Lieutenant Raedai, use whatever means you need to give us as much information as possible about what is happening inside the cloaked area. That formation is not something we have previously encountered, nor are those radiation bursts.
It seemed that there was a sort of harmonic coordination in the radiation surges, it was just way too perfect. It couldn't be a coincidence, they were arranging something... but for what? It was impossible to know yet.
Lorana/Raedai: Response
All the laboratory consoles began to resonate, while in the Holotank the damaged frigate acquired a bright yellow hue that approached white.
Alieth: Brace for impact!
As she spoke, the petite Vulcan felt the familiar pain in her psionic points. Her eardrums ringed, the tips of her pointed ears grew numb. And, less than a second later, the whole lab rattled.
Lorana/Raedai: Response
[[Tags/TBC]]
Lieutenant Commander Alieth
Chief Science Officer & 2O
E239702A10
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