Lt JG Quentin Beck - Doctor Grumps
Quentin Beck
((Main Conference Room, Deck 3, USS Ronin, At High Warp))
Quentin's mood had plummeted significantly following the news of the Changeling infiltrator; this was in part because it threw a spanner in the works of everything they'd been planning, but also because it brought back to mind the rather recent trauma of everything he'd been through on the Artemis and immediately following on his short jaunt to Earth. He'd felt tingling where his hand should have been since that moment and while he should have been getting more used to the hook and used his left hand for everything, he'd continually tried to do things with his right hand instead, as if it was still there.
It was damned frustrating.
An empty mug rested on the conference table in front of him, the coffee long since drained and the scattered remains of a powdered donut he'd been stress-eating littering the front of his uniform. He swiped at it occasionally with the back of his hand, but mostly that just served to spread it out even more.
Niac: Before we get into it I'd like a status from each one of you. Mr. O'Connor, what's our ETA to the station?
O'Connor: We are still a couple hours out. I’ve tried a number of different ways but so far this is best course and as far as speed, we are certainly pushing beyond, well…, beyond pretty much anything recommended..
The Captain sighed and Quentin sympathized. Short of ripping a hole in the fabric of the universe, it sounded like they couldn't do much to make things any faster.
Niac: I know you're doing your best...we're going to make the trip back in nearly a third of the time it took us to get out to J-0922A. Do whatever tuning you can on the impulse reactors while we're at warp...we won't have time to do any after we get there.
O'Connor: ::nodding:: Aye Captain. We’ll be in as good of shape as we can be.
Niac nodded before turning to the Chief Engineer.
Niac: Chief Tucker, how's the ship holding up? Are we going to be in condition to fight once we get to DS33?
Tucker: Response
Quentin could appreciate the fact the Captain was actually taking notes for this meeting; it was something he'd taken to doing himself, especially when he was working on research, though he opted for the far more primitive pencil-and-paper approach because… hell, he wasn't exactly sure why, but there was something about it that helped him focus and come to the conclusions he needed. There was something satisfying about rubbing out a note that was incorrect and wiping it away before putting in the correct information. It could be simulated on a PADD, but it wasn't the same.
Niac: Very well Chief, for what it's worth I've put a citation in the ships log for you and your whole team. A cursory glance through the library computer suggests you've just set a new upper-speed record for this hull. Well done. If we survive I'm sure the folks at Utopia Planitia will have a few questions for you.
Tucker: Response
A grim chuckle followed before the Captain turned to Kirsty. She looked… tired? And maybe a little frustrated, which was typical, but at least now it didn't seem quite like she was annoyed with herself anymore. That was a relief.
Niac: What's the status on our prisoner, Lt. Cmdr. Carpenter? Did they say anything useful before you incapacitated them?
Carpenter: Useful, yes, but not entirely heartening, sir. Transport into the Brig filtered out a sabotage kit and a number of illicit substances Medical tells me were taken in large quantities to fool biofilters. But these same substances made the Agent wildly unstable, which led to their discovery by Ensign Syrex. After they reformed and we got them stabilized under status, they admitted to the sabotage of our ship. ::she took a slight pause:: And to being a deep-cover informant for the Lattice Alliance.
The Doctor tensed a little as she reported on the Changeling, his jaw growing taut. It had been so easy for them to infiltrate not just the Ronin but Starfleet Command, it made his teeth itch. His tongue swept over his upper teeth in an attempt to dispel the feeling, but it didn't work.
Niac: At least we know how we got played so badly...they've been feeding information to the Alliance. They knew our exact time table, our deployment route...everything they needed to turn our plan to their advantage. Any idea how long they've been creeping around?
Carpenter: After reviewing security feed and cross-checking it against biometric data, it seems they came aboard shortly before our deployment to J-0922A. I'm guessin' joinin' up with us was a secondary objective and the main infiltration was for DS33. But I warned the Kitty's Security crew of the possibility they might have a mole all the same. This L.A....they just keep addin' new reasons to give them a smack.
While all evidence pointed to the new arrival being the only Changeling on board, Quentin had taken the liberty of screening the rest of the crew. Thankfully the ship's sensors had seen some upgrades since the Dominion War that would allow them to better scan for those biosigns and there wasn't a need for a blood draw unless it was for confirmation of the scan.
Niac: Thank you, Commander. Before the day is over you'll have your chance to even up the score and that's a promise. What's the status of our tactical systems?
It was… amusing, the way her face shifted at the question, and Quentin thought if she'd had a tail it would have been wagging excitedly while she gave this report.
Carpenter: Green across the board now, Captain, thanks to Mar-...to Mister Tucker's people. All bays are launch capable and full beam functionality restored. When we stop, we will be ready for whatever's there.
He could appreciate how she felt. They'd had so much bad news recently, it was refreshing to know they'd actually be prepared this time around should things go belly up.
Niac: Thank you Commander...I want those torpedo bays loaded with our entire stockpile of tri-colbalt ordinance before we drop out of warp. I want our arrival to draw as much attention off DS33 as possible and there's nothing more attention getting than a few hundred thousand isotons exploding in your face. Doctor Beck, well done getting those innoculations distributed. How's the crew?
Quentin leaned back in his chair as the attention shifted his direction, pretending like he didn't have powered dust scattered over his chest as he tapped the tip of his hook against the conference table.
Beck: Pretty shaken up and morale has taken a beating, but… we're holding in there. There were more people affected by the radiation than we expected, and of course it hit our telepaths the hardest. No casualties, though - we distributed the inoculations right on time. Anyone we missed, the bodies would be piling up in Sickbay, but I'm glad to report it's mostly empty.
The Captain shook his head.
Niac: Sencha's original research never predicted this....telepathic backlash that seems to have affected some of our people. Apparently it completely disabled several officers on the Khitomer. Have you had a chance to confer with their medical staff?
Beck: Not yet. I intend to reach out to Doctor Ohnari following this staff meeting. While we thankfully didn't have anyone knocked unconscious due to the Sencha waves, we still had to treat a few pretty serious headaches that led to people collapsing and needing treatment. Plus a few of Marty's folks have sustained some injuries performing repairs that took some effort, but I have sent a remote team down to take care of them while they're working from this point forward.
Niac huffed and tapped the controls built into the table.
Niac: Understood Doctor, we've all had our hands full the last few hours. It's part of why I wanted everyone here...we have a bit of time left to adjust our tactics and coordinate our offensive with the Khitomer.
The screen on the wall shifted to display the Khitomer's bridge and Shayne looking decidedly less drunk than the last time he'd seen him, which was probably a good sign.
Niac: =/\= Captain Shayne, what's your ETA to DS33? =/\=
The comm crackled before Shayne's voice came through, though it sounded a little more distant and tinny than usual.
Shayne: =/\= Call it another twenty, give or take an eddy, Captain Niac. =/\=
Niac: =/\= Sounds like you'll get there a few minutes before we do. Any chance you got an update on the Excalibur? =/\=
Like everyone else in the room, Quentin was anxious to know if the cavalry was going to show up; the Excalibur was a formidable ship, especially when joining the ranks of the Khitomer and Ronin.
Shayne: =/\= Not a whiff- but I’d like to think the commodore’s slipping through subspace like spit through a goose. =/\=
What Quentin was dubbing Niac's Resting Scowl Face settled into place as he looked out of the viewport.
Niac: =/\= With any luck she'll show up in time to help the evacuees from the station. Until then it's on us, Captain. I don't suppose that ship of yours has any surprises we can throw the Alliance's way when we get there? =/\=
There was a momentary pause as Shayne regarded the others on the Bridge.
Shayne: =/\= In a manner of speaking. The Sheliak and the Tholians are wicked bastards, but they’re not the brightest. We can use that. =/\=
Shayne paused again.
Beck: =/\= Couldn't pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel, huh? =/\=
Niac: =/\= RESPONSE =/\=
Carpenter: =/\= We can assist as needed, Captain...s...But what's the play? =/\=
Ronin Bridge: =/\= RESPONSE =/\=
Shayne: =/\= By, uh… ::he cleared his throat, regretting that he’d be saying this on an open channel.:: By firing at the station. =/\=
Both of the Doctor's brows rose and nearly disappeared into his hairline.
Dewitt: =/\= Fire on our own people? =/\=
Niac: =/\= RESPONSE =/\=
Carpenter: =/\= To...to what end, sir? =/\=
Ronin Bridge: =/\= RESPONSE =/\=
Quentin leaned forward in his chair, quite curious with the line of thought; actually, he thought maybe he could follow the reasoning, but he wanted to see what Shayne had to say.
Shayne: =/\= They distracted us to capture the station, which means they’re grinding down the forces over there. We come in swinging at the enemy, and it’s business as normal. But if we fire at a non-inhabited part of the station away from anything vital- a cargo bay or the like- they’ll think we’re trying to destroy a vital asset rather than let it fall to them. Guile isn’t their strong suit. They’ll divert boarding parties there to secure the “asset”, let our ground forces regroup, and if I’m right, they’ll be confused as all hell for a few minutes- long enough for Ronin to follow us in and help us take advantage of their hesitation. =/\=
Beck: . . . it's a rope-a-dope.
Dewitt: =/\= We buy time - both for our makeshift chroniton pulse and for the Ronin to follow. If we decrease phaser power to 50-60% we could simulate battle damage from the alliance trap and we’d have more shots and more time. =/\=
Shayne/Niac: =/\=RESPONSE=/\=
Carpenter: =/\=We're muckin' around with MORE exotic particles? Where's that gonna get us? =/\=
Quentin grimaced. There wasn't an easy way to prep for chroniton exposure.
Beck: =/\= A damned headache, that's what. =/\=
Ronin Bridge: =/\= RESPONSE =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= We know from the Ronin’s reports that the interaction between chronitons and Sencha wave radiation create time fissures. If we can generate a chroniton pulse to interact with the Sencha radiation at its origin, we might be able to create quickly deteriorating micro-fissures that destabilize the weapon system and hopefully render it - or maybe the entire ship - inoperable. =/\=
Shayne/Niac: =/\=RESPONSE=/\=
Carpenter raised her hand.
Carpenter: =/\=We'd need output harmonics first, right? In order to neutralize the wave proper, yeah? =/\=
Ronin Bridge: =/\= RESPONSE =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= Yes, we’d need to know the exact energy build-up signal of the weapon as well as it’s phase variance. =/\=
Shayne/Niac: =/\= RESPONSE =/\=
Quentin blinked. He wasn't a tactician, but normally he was at least able to kind of follow the path of the conversation when talking about fights, but he was very quickly getting lost. Every time they offered another thought, instead he heard them saying 'prep for more casualties, doc'.
Carpenter: =/\= We've got plenty'a waveform scans from our previous engagements. But these would have to be real-time. We would have to take 'em during the fighting for them to be worth a cuss. =/\=
Ronin Bridge: =/\= RESPONSE =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= That might be a possibility, if Commander Alieth can provide these kinds of scans. ::looking at his PADD:: We might have 5-6 shots before this makeshift solution fries our deflector. That means 5-6 big ships… =/\=
Shayne/Niac: =/\=RESPONSE=/\=
Carpenter: =/\= I would say, ten, twelve minutes to glean a full and clean scan of the whole area. Prolly a little less if we sync up our sensor arrays. Granted, we will have to do what we can under fire. Even with our unexpected aimin', the L.A. won't just let us sit there. =/\=
Ronin Bridge: =/\= RESPONSE =/\=
Dewitt: ::nodding:: =/\= Got it… We should prepare the Khitomer to fire on the station then and identify suitable targets… =/\=
Shayne/Niac: =/\=RESPONSE =/\=
While Kirsty stiffened under their gaze, Quentin's shoulders slumped and he laid his hand and hook over his face, leaning his elbows on the conference table and letting out a groan.
Carpenter: Sirs, yes, sirs. ::without one iota of irony::
Ronin Bridge: =/\= RESPONSE =/\=
He sat up again, letting his hand/hook fall but still leaning on the table, and glanced from Niac to Shayne.
Beck: =/\= Please let Doctor Ohnari know I'll be reaching out to her to discuss how badly things went over there with the Sencha radiation and what help I can offer, if any. And maybe we can collaborate on a way to memorialize the Ronin and Khitomer post-humously. =/\=
The latter half of his statement was dripping with sarcasm… and the look on his face suggested that part was one he hadn't meant to say out loud.
Shayne/Niac/Any: Response
His shoulders pulled in a little sheepishly as he sat back in his seat, tucking the hook into his lap and lightly drumming his fingers against the table as he cleared his throat.
Beck: =/\= Sorry, sirs. =/\=
Shayne/Niac/Any: Response
He was glad to make his escape after the failure of his inner monologue, rotating out of his seat and making a beeline for the door so he could make his way back to the relative safety of Sickbay. Down there at least he'd have less chance of putting his foot in his mouth in a highly tense situation.
((OOC: Anyone can feel free to stop the Doctor from making his escape if they want!))
Tags/TBC
Lieutenant JG Quentin Beck
Acting Chief Medical Officer
USS Ronin NCC-34523
A238810SA0