Lt. Cmdr. Alieth - The Vulcan Hello
Alieth
OOC: I've moved the comm tags to the Ronin/Khitomer further down in the text to make it make more sense with the simmed so far + Tucker's mission closure. It flows better that way! I have also translated Raedai's tag that was left in Castilian Spanish, so everything runs in the same language ;)
[[Bridge, Deck 1, USS Excalibur-A ]]
On
the main screen it could be seen how the larger ship was powering up,
waves of radiation visible on its crystalline surface. The Ronin was
still firing, torpedoes exhausted, now all its phaser arrays were
shooting at the nearest ships, mortally wounded, but still with fight
in her.
Something had to be done, and even Alieth, the
conscientious objector, couldn't help but come to that conclusion.
After all, the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few...
or the one.
The Excalibur, moreover, with its oversized
main deflector, could give the larger, still combative ship a
knockout punch. With luck, the rest of the other ships would try to
avoid the same fate and retreat.
She
told as much to the Commanding Officer of the Vesta Class.
Alieth: The lieutenant can give you more technical details, but a pulse of the main deflect at the moment they activate the weapons will completely destroy them.
The human seated in the centre seat remained largely unconvinced, her eyes locked on one of the damaged enemy ships outside, and she kept her stern silence. To the Vulcan's surprise, though, the Romulan stepped out to support her.
Raedai: The configuration for the pulse can be found in the database we have brought. Since this is a Vesta class ship, the main deflector is oversized for proper QSD operation. So the pulse can be much stronger than it has been so far.
He pointed to the operations console, where he could see the effects of the chronitrons along with the Sencha radiation. There were measurements of ambient radiation, and spikes in local clusters where S-Radiation weapons had been fired or hit. They would need to take finesse to avoid those clusters, but even so, the plan was feasible.
Nicholotti: Do we feel that is needed at this juncture? Would it ensure success?
Raedai: It is a powerful resource for sure. But the main reason to use it is as a threat, this ship is radiation shielded, the rest are not. If using the S-Wave is a risk they will use conventional weaponry and given the state of the ships, it should give us an advantage at this point.
Alieth nodded in agreement.
Alieth: It is a risk worth taking to save the lives of our shipmates... and those in Deep Space 33.
Finally, the commodore nodded thoughtfully as the fighters swarmed and yet more enemy ships faded out.
Nicholotti: It may be that we have already won this battle, but that very plan may win the war.
Raedai: The Laticce Alliance ships should be taken into account, the Ronin and the Khitomer are almost in pieces.
Alieth: If we indicate them our plans, they can follow suit, a joint action will be more effective, and will prevent both ships from being caught up in the explosion. :: she tilted her head slightly on one of her shoulders:: I am however concerned that the state of their shields will prevent them from withstanding the subsequent shockwave if they are not properly aligned.
Raedai: we can extend the shields over one of the ships, but it would draw fire to the other.
Alieth nodded. With that, they could cover the most damaged vessel, so that only one of the ships would have to manoeuvre to ride out the blast wave.
Nicholotti: Response
The commander glanced over at her teammate, and found him silently
and longingly staring at one of the Ops consoles, manned by one of
the Excalibur's officers. She understood that experience, immobile
and unable to take action, to help, to assist in the execution of the
plan. Being a passive bystander to what was going on wasn't something
that suited the Romulan, and in Alieth's case, it was just something
that a lot of hard training had achieved. Nor was she particularly
fond of it. Not when lives, lives dear to her heart, were at stake in
the execution of the plan.
The petite Vulcan exchanged a glance with the science officer on station and gave him a slight nod to proceed. The man nodded in response and, with the intuition of one who knows his peers, motioned to the tiny padd that hung from the Vulcan's hip. Alieth unclasped it and glanced at the data, then narrated what was unfolding.
Alieth: The Ronin is powering up her deflector. The Excalibur will reach the chroniton critical mass in 20 seconds.
The science officer reported on the status of the Khitomer's involvement as Alieth paused.
The spike reached the optimum level on her tiny screen, the amount of chronitrons compressed into a narrow wave just powerful enough to countermeasure the Alliance weapon, but not so powerful as to cause a chain reaction with the radiation in the space around the Starfleet ships and the station. Despite everything, Alieth decided to give the enemy one last chance. One last warning to avoid further loss of life, even if it was the lives of those who had killed so many of their own.
Alieth: =/\= To all Lattice Alliance ships and forces; we are targeting your flagship with a unique countermeasure we have developed against your weapons technology. Not only that, but this ship, and soon all Federation ships in the area, will be immune to your technology thanks to information provided by an informant recovered from your facilities. We urge you to withdraw from Sector Alpha 113 as quickly as possible. =/\=
The petite Vulcan breathed deeply when she finished her speech, waiting for some sign, some movement that would indicate that it had reached its goal and, not only that, that the enemy understood that this was not a bluff.
Of course, there was no response. Only the static of a communication that refused to open. One of the Alliance frigates fled, but the rest remained in place, defiant to the point of insanity. The petite Vulcan stifled a sigh before she spoke.
Alieth: Armed and ready to fire:: Looking at Nicholotti:: On your mark, ma'am.
Nicholotti/Raedai: Response
What happened next was nothing short of spectacular. Along with the beam from the Khitomer and the Ronin hitting the same place and crossing the streams, explosions moved like waves across the beach along the top hull of the gunship. As the gunship exploded in fury, the Ronin rocked, causing it to list in one direction, no longer facing the large ship, her power drained and her lights darkened, except from the sparks and flames in the place where she formerly had the deflector dish.
Meanwhile, the largest of the Alliance ships shattered into pieces, one explosion after another sending out crystalline fragments, dust and shrapnel that shimmered like a forming stellar nebula. A spectacle of magentas and purples that hid the destructive nature of the act. There was cheering on the bridge as the first Alliance ships began to withdraw. Even more so as many more followed.
In the meantime, the shockwave arrived, crashing harmlessly into the Excalibur's shields. The main screen showed the blue ripple of the shields, the inertial dampers let out a pained groan, but they performed their function. A pair of consoles on the bridge let out beeps of alarm and a third, just at the edge of the commander's vision, let out a puff of smoke, overheated.
Just then, Alieth's combadge let out a cheerful beep, and her minion's voice followed a second later.
Lorana/Syrex: =/\= Response =/\=
Alieth: Understood officers, those are good news.
Lorana/Syrex: =/\= Response =/\=
One of the Vulcan's eyebrows furrowed, in a tiny gesture of concern, while the other raised a few microns, in confusion and surprise. Movements that would go unnoticed in most humanoids, but that for a Vulcan was an obvious emotional outburst.
Alieth: =/\= Will they only talk to Sencha? Will they talk to Niac? =/\=
Lorana/Syrex: =/\= Response =/\=
Alieth: =/\= Keep trying though, and stay in touch, Alieth out.=/\=
When the petite commander looked up, she found the Commodore establishing communication with her ship. Niac's face, stained with blood and soot, appeared on the viewscreen. The Vulcan's myopic eyes scanned the bridge behind him in search of familiar faces. Carpenter in the background, the earnest expression on the exhausted face, as usual, refusing to give up. Tucker, with that boyish, positive air he always had, his eyes sunken in their sockets with fatigue, but the smile so human he had, still clinging to his features. The scarred face of an ensign she had never met before, the yellow shoulder pads determining that he was one of the minions of either of the former two officers.
Nicholotti/Raedai: =/\=Response=/\=
Niac: =/\=Response=/\=
Tucker: =/\=Can the give us a helping hand? We’re going to have to start holding our breath very soon.=/\=
As if on cue the computer chimed with a warning.
Ronin’s Computer: =/\=Warning life support offline, five minutes of oxygen left. =/\=
Despite the dire situation in which it was clear that her shipmates found themselves due to the darkness of the bridge and the red glow of all the screens, Alieth's dark eyes twinkled in a smile that never managed to reach her face.
Alieth: =/\= Gentlemen, I am pleased to see you all again in one piece... more or less. =/\=
Nicholotti/Raedai/Khitomer/Ronin: =/\=Response=/\=
Alieth: =/\= In fact, Captain, not only did we find information on how to shield our ships from Sencha Radiation, but we rescued an old acquaintance of yours. =/\=
Niac: =/\=Response=/\=
Alieth: =/\= The Salix symbiote is on board under the care of Lieutenant Lorana and Ensign Syrex. They has stated that they will only talk to Sencha... although I assume that you will be the next best option, if you are able to rock a skant like she used to do. =/\=
In the flat, deadpan tone of the Vulcan's voice, there was a cheerful and playful intent, especially for those who had been working with her for months. A hint of a joy she could not express seeing her companions, her friends, safe.
Niac: =/\=Response=/\=
Nicholotti/Raedai/Khitomer/Ronin: =/\=Response=/\=
As the officers on the bridge of the Excalibur began to establish the protocols for a ship to ship power-sharing that would save the Ronin from a final catastrophe, the Vulcan commander turned on her heels and headed for the nearest turbolift. She would make a stop at the sickbay to check the work of her team in person, and then head to the main transporter room to finally welcome her shipmates and friends back. After all, despite all the odds against them, they had survived and prevailed. And with what Salix could inform them, they had probably turned the tables in the situation with the Lattice Alliance in the Isles.
[[TAGS/End Of Act Three For Alieth]]
Lieutenant Commander Alieth
Chief Science Officer & 2O
E239702A10
=================================