Lt JG. Alidar Raedai - An evidently graceful ship

[Alidar Raedai]

[[On Warp, Bridge, Deck 1, USS Excalibur ]

Firing weapons was a matter of last resort, or at least a matter of last resort in person. It was something that even if necessary indicated that the job had not been done well. That the Rhine's pursuer had been shot down by a ship they were not expecting was partly fortuitous and partly because they had done a good job with the escape plan.

After finishing off the pursuer, the Runaboat was picked up by the starship Excalibur. As the Rhine entered the hangar, Alidar glanced at the Vesta class. It was an evidently graceful ship, closer to his personal tastes.

As soon as the ship landed and completed the shutdown protocol, the commander led them outside. Alidar knew the ship's specifications, but the commander moved around the ship almost as if she knew it. Alieth split the Rhine crew in two, sent Lorana and Syrex to take care of her guest, and ordered him to follow her.

Alieth led him to a turbolift, on a trip that was rare, by the commander's own choice. The petite Vulcan tried to avoid looking at the Romulan at all times, which caused him to smile and shake his head slightly. As he took notice of the sounds of the turbolift itself, which was almost nonexistent unlike the other ships he had been on. That thing was well-designed and well maintained.

After the short trip, they arrived at the bridge, where the Excalibur's commanding officer, Commodore Nicholotti, was waiting for them.

Alieth: Commodore, Commander Alieth reporting for duty. :: She raised her right hand in the traditional ta'al :: We are here to serve.

He smiled slightly, she had stepped on his phrase.

Raedai: Lieutenant Junior Grade Alidar Raedai, USS Ronin operations.

The Romulan introduced himself to the CO.

Nicholotti: Welcome aboard Commander.  It is my hope that your duty aboard will be temporary.

The Vulcan nodded firmly.

Alieth: Indeed, we belong to the crew of the USS Ronin, the last time we were on board they were heading at maximum warp towards Deep Space 33 to avoid an assault by the Lattice Alliance, as the intelligence we had was false. We have not known about their activities for a while now.

Raedai: We had to maintain communications silence to avoid detection and to be able to carry out our mission. But in the Rhine are the logs of the Ronin until before we separated. In case they lost in the combat they were headed for.

The Romulan added in support of Alieth's statement.

Nicholotti: We have some limited information, but nothing to say what they knew heading back there, or what they may have found. ::She paused a moment.:: My question is why would they leave behind a tiny runabut and a few crew?

The Vulcan folded her hands behind her back, fingers closing over her damp sleeve. A distinctly unpleasant experience that she kept well hidden.

Alieth: Our team remained behind to obtain intelligence from one of the LA stations, where we have obtained key data on how to shield our ships from the Sencha Radiation, the Lieutenant can brief you on the technicalities of it.

The Vulcan paused for a short breath before she continued speaking, dark eyes fixed on the Commodore's crystalline blue ones. Alidar took the opportunity to look around and observe the bridge.

Alieth: We also rescued a captive Federation citizen that the Alliance has held captive for decades, if you will excuse me for a moment while Lieutenant Raedai gives his report, I will give you more information on their current status.

Nicholotti: Very well. Let's hear it - it is my intention to not have much time before arrival.

Raedai: All the data obtained by the Rhine and what we have been able to download from the database of the Alliance complex is worth an in-depth study. But for what it's worth we have data on how the Alliance itself contains Sencha radiation so that it can be manipulated with some level of security. Which should help us shield the Starfleet ship against it.

Alidar did not want to go into the details, it was of little use at that moment, applying them to the Excalibur would be more of a problem for other Excalibur officers and not for her, and time was pressing to keep repeating information.

Nicholotti: So, what can we do to implement these protections? And do we have any offense?

Raedai: In theory, we should be able to use the ship's shields to implement the necessary subspace field to protect the ship from radiation. And this is a vesta class, its main Deflector is oversized for QSD, but it will come in handy.

Nearby, her first officer was listening in. When the Romulan was finished speaking, she nodded towards him. About that time, the Vulcan commander rejoined them.

Nicholotti: Make it happen. :: beat.:: Commander?

Alieth: Response?

Nicholotti: They will be well cared for and hopefully restored to their full selves soon. In the meantime...we're working on implementing possible shielding based on some of this information.

She gestured towards the Romulan officer.

Raedai: Of course commodore.  I need to plug in the sensor data from the Rhine.

He really hadn't even had time to look at them, when he got them they were running away from the complex and whatever they threw at them.

Alieth: Response?

Nicholotti: And we don't have long, so let's do what we can do.

The Romulan went to a secondary console, one of those attached to the wall, and began to work. And he raised his eyebrows in surprise as he looked at the data. Already, just from what he had been able to observe from the Gormangander was tremendously useful in its own right.

Raedai: I have what we need, but there are weeks of work to do to figure all this out.

Alieth: Responses?

((Timeskip, Bridge, USS Excalibur - A))

They had spent every possible minute making modifications with the data they had obtained from the complex and the Rhine's sensors. The Excalibur should be able to hold its own against Sencha radiation. So combat would be more traditional.

It felt strange to be on the bridge but not at his post, just standing. He had always had something to do.

S'yok: Fighters are standing by, ready to launch as soon as we drop. Ground teams are prepped and ready in transporter rooms.

The Romulan shook his head... didn't anyone read the mortality reports on those things? For how little damage those things do in naval combat.

Nicholotti: Very well. Quick scans as soon as we arrive to find the best places for them to transport into. Pay attention to where the inhibitors are.

Smith: Weapons stand ready. All tubes are loaded and primed to fire. We've made a few adjustments based on the data the Ronin team brought aboard and hopefully they will be a little more effective.

Kali smiled at that.

Nicholotti: Fire all LA targets as soon as we arrive, prioritize those actively attacking our assets, and the biggest targets.

Another brief nod of acknowledgement.

Faar: Medical teams standing by, sickbay is prepped and set for incoming casualties and injuries.

Nicholotti: Anything you'd add, commander?

Alieth: Response?

Alidar kept quiet as he looked over his shoulder at the officer who occupied the operations console. It was a quick way to find out everything, with something that was simple for him.

The stars stopped streaking by and space resolved into the trainwreck that was Deep Space 33 and the space around it. The burned out hulk of a huge ship drifted, debris was everywhere, and the darkened hulls of the Khitomer and Ronin seemed to drift nearby. Slowly, the Ronin seemed like it was gaining life, it's nose pointed at a Leviathan that seemed to be primed to make an attack run. Kali gestured to the screen.

Nicholotti: Prioritize that one. Take it out. And put us between them and the Ronin and Khitomer.

Nicholotti: You're welcome to watch from here, if you wish, or you can join one of our teams beaming over.

Raedai: I can be of further assistance to you here in case any adjustments need to be made to the commodore modifications.

They had really improvised everything a bit, it was better to have any extra hands in case there was a problem.

Alieth: Response

With a nod, Kali gave her blessing and then looked to the officers in front of her.

Nicholotti: Open a channel on an open frequency.

She waited until the chirp from the computer told her it had been done. Only then did she speak.

Nicholotti: =/\= To all Lattice Alliance ships and forces; you have picked the wrong day and the wrong people to bring this fight to. You have ten minutes to withdraw, or I will take care of that for you. Your time starts now. =/\=

Raedai: Why did the Alliance send troops to the station? To wipe out most of the defenders, they just had to destroy the life support system. It is not prepared for their needs, they have to make a new one. And those that survived would have problems with having to wear vacuum suits, so it would be easier to kill those that remained.

He still refused to believe that those who had nearly destroyed Starfleet forces in the sector were not such idiots. The Alliance needed life support suits so why not simply hole the station all over the place to level the scales, if they won they would have plenty of time to rebuild it under their needs.

Alieth / Nicholotti: response?

Raedai: Unless they are looking for something that needs the life support of a humanoid... or someone.

Alieth / Nicholotti: response?

TAG/TBC

--

Liutenant Junior Grade Alidar Raedai
Ops Officer
USS Ronin (NCC-34523)
Cpt. Karrod Niac Commanding
E239702S10