Fleet Captain Diego Herrera, "Do or Die"

[Diego Herrera]

((USS Vigilant, Deck 1: Dorsal Bridge))

::The fact that they were receiving a communiqué from the ventral section had to mean that the interference was subsiding. He wasn't sure why or how, but it had definitely happened at a convenient time.::

Herrera: On screen.

::The ventral bridge looked a little beaten up, as did Udas, who was at the helm.::

Herrera: =/\= Gentlemen, how's everything holding together? =/\=

Jaxx/Eerie/Udas: =/\= Response =/\=

::There wasn't a huge amount of time for talking, so Diego got cracking with issuing orders.::

Herrera: =/\= We're about to start evacuating Romulans from the station. They just engaged their self destruct over there and I assume they've been boarded. I want to reconnect the dorsal and ventral sections. Udas, are you up to it? =/\=

Udas: =/\= Response =/\=

::There was pretty much no keeping the Andorian down. Eerie looked his usual stoic self and Diego was sure the Admiral would be able to handle things even better than he could have himself.::

Eerie/Jaxx: =/\= Response =/\=

Herrera: =/\= We need to start the docking process right now. We're matching your course and speed. As soon as you're done, head up to the main bridge. =/\=

Eerie/Jaxx/Udas: =/\= Response =/\=

::The comm closed. The computer would assist them with the docking process; each section of the ship was fitted with microtractors that would assist with getting the ship sections perfectly aligned. Doing it manually would have been a nightmare.::

Rulak:=/\= Commander Rulak to Federation starship Vigilant. =/\=

::Not only was the interference greatly diminished, but people were certainly taking advantage of the renewed ability to communicate. If Rulak was contacing the ship then it had to be important.::

Herrera: =/\= This is Fleet Captain Herrera. Go ahead, Rulak. =/\=

Rulak: =/\=Stand by, Captain. =/\=

::The commander was understandably busy, trying to stay alive no doubt. Diego felt a jarring sensation and another dull metallic clunk rang through the deckplates.::

Avery: Dorsal and Ventral sections are docked, all systems linked and functional.

Herrera: Alright, reroute power to the dorsal shields. Helm, keep our belly to the station. T'Mihn, stand by transporters.

Avery: Copy Sir, shields re-routed to compensate ... :: She checked the readouts for any abnormalities, then happily reported ::  Power grid functioning with only nominal drain.

T'Mihn: On other.

::Commander Rulak's voice came back onto the comm while the officers were preparing the evacuation.::

Rulak=/\= Please beam aboard a small token of appreciation from me. It is quite old, but I don’t need it any more. =/\=

::Diego had no idea what Rulak was trying to beam aboard. He hadn't seemed to be quite as duplicitous as To'Rul, and maybe he could be trusted, but precautions needed to be taken nonetheless. Running it through their own cargo transporter would disarm any weapon that Rulak might have been trying to send, or render any biologically active items inert.::

Herrera: Oot, take care of it.

::The Ensign at mission ops nodded and turned back to his console to execute his orders.::

Oot: It looks like it's a bottle of Romulan ale, Sir.

::Considering some of the things it could have been, Diego was grateful for both the report and the gift.::

Herrera: =/\= Thank you, Commander. We'll hold off the Andorians for as long as we can, but you should get yourself out of here. =/\=

Rulak: =/\=Thank you Captain for everything. My report will reflect your service, to the Romulan empire. if anyone cares to read it. =/\=

::Diego appreciated that. Rulak was the commander in charge of the research station and his word that Starfleet had defended them would lend credence to the fact that the Andorians who had attacked them did not represent the Federation.::

Herrera: =/\= Jolan tru, Commander. Herrera out. =/\=

::With that, Diego's attention turned fully back to the evacuation process.::

Herrera: Irina, keep up the barrage. Let's make those ships think twice about coming too close.

Pavlova: Captain, torpedoes almost depleted, can’t keep this up much longer.

Herrera: Avery, T'Mihn, let's get this evacuation underway, shall we? Helm, keep a close eye on the station's power core. The minute it looks like it's going to go critical, get us away from it.

::With a little luck, it wouldn't take them much time to get the Romulan evacuees aboard. They would be able to treat them, then ferry them back to DS6 for a handover; that would provide another opportunity for a diplomatic exchange.::

T'Mihn: I have the station's crew targeted . They are in motion,it will be tricky to get them. Ensign Avery, could you expand the confinement beam just a bit, please.

Avery: Absolutely ... I've added some auxiliary power to the coils and expanded the beam.

T'Mihn: Thanks.

::On the viewscreen, the second Andorian ship came around again and was met with a flurry of weapons fire from the larger, combined section of the multivector Vigilant. Irina's shooting penetrated the weak point she had created earlier and damaged their nacelle; without it, the Andorians were going to be unable to go to warp.::

Pavlova: Second Andorian ship disabled, and we’re all out of torpedoes.  Recommend we beam as many Andorians aboard as possible before they destruct this one as well.

::That was easier said than done; they were committed to rescuing the Romulans and, no matter their emergency transport capacity, attempting to beam refugees aboard from two sources was not going to end well.::

Herrera: We have to get those Romulans aboard. T'Mihn?

T'Mihn: Lieutenant Commander Pavlova, drop shields. Now!  Energizing.

::There was an interminable pause; Diego could hear the tones from T'Mihn's console as she frantically tried to lead the evacuation.::

T'Mihn: Hhsss.  :: quiet mutter::  C'Mon,stay still.  

Avery: I've re-routed power from non-essential systems to the energizing coils and the sensor array ... hopefully it helps to compensate at least a tiny bit.

Herrera: Good work, Ensign.

::Other than cheerleading and watching, there was very little that Diego could do in that moment. He just had to trust in his crew's abilities and hope they would succeed.::

::And hope that the torpedoes that the Andorians had just fired at them, which were looping dangerously low and on course for the stricken ventral part of the ship, didn't take them out.::

Pavlova: Incoming.

T'Mihn:  ::as calmly as she could.:: I see them, I can compensate. 

Herrera: Helm, roll the ship, turn our backs to those torpedoes!

::Diego watched on the screen as countermeasures took out two of the torpedoes, but the third stayed doggedly on course. Phaser fire latticed around it, but it would not be stopped.::

Herrera: Brace for impact!

::Diego gripped onto the arms of his chair, frantically trying to keep himself from being thrown out of his seat and straining his thighs in the effort as the torpedo exploded within a few hundred metres of the Vigilant's unshielded belly. Debris rained from sections of the bridge's ceiling, clattering down close to the helm station as the air filled with the tang of burning metal.::

T'Mihn: Are you OK?

Avery: Response 

T'Mihn: I agree, that's too close. 

Herrera: Report!

Pavlova: Hull breaches aft ventral section, decks 6 and 7.  Aft ventral shield emitters destroyed.  ::she paused:: : That was close.

Herrera: You're not joking! T'Mihn, do we have the Romulans?

T'Mihn: Half of of them are aboard, I need another ten seconds.

Herrera: Helm, buy us whatever time you can.

::The helmsman pulled a series of evasive manoeuvres that were bordering on white knuckle. With their aft now vulnerable, they were walking a tightrope with every manoeuvre.::

T'Mihn: I have them all. Dispatching medical to cargo bay two.

::Diego breathed out a long, slow breath. Rescuing the Romulans hadn't been a given, and this might just get them one step closer to redemption in the eyes of the empire. With Rulak's report and the account of the staff who they had just saved, he was confident that they would be able to mend bridges now.::

Herrera: Great work, T'Mihn. Irina, what's our status?

Pavlova: Shields at 49% overall, 12% at aft ventral.

T'Mihn: Thank you Ensign Avery.  I could not have done this alone.

Avery: Of course ... I'm glad I was able to assist.

::There was only a second's pause before Avery spoke again, her tone much less relaxed than it had been previously.::

Avery: Reading a massive power shift in the Andorian vessel ... It looks like they're taking every system they have offline ...

T'Mihn:What are they doing?  

Herrera: They're powering down?

Avery: If I had to guess, they're probably going to re-route it to a system that Commander Pavlova disabled.  Possibly warp or ... :: Then it hit her, hard.  Commander Pavlova ... she had already told them exactly what was happening!:: Sir, good chance Commander Pavlova already said it ... they might be re-routing power to utilize some type of self-destruct mechanism!

Pavlova ::Dropping shields again, quickly:: : Get them out of there!

T'Mihn: Understood. Suggestions where to put them?

Oot: Sir, the station!

::They didn't need sensors trained on it to track the series of explosions that blazed along the surface of the station. They were dangerously close to the combined dorsal and ventral sections of the Vigilant and currently to their aft. It had obviously seemed like a safe move to the helmsman as the Romulans on the station were effectively their allies, and it cut down the firing angle from the remaining Andorian ship.::

T'Mihn: Transporting. 

::There was barely any time at all to make a call; if they had their shields down for even a second too long then everyone aboard was going to wind up dead. This was no torpedo exploding off their aft; this was a series of fusion generators large enough to power an entire science station.::

Herrera: Belay that! Shields up! Helm! Hard to starboard!

::The station lurched to one side of the viewer and Diego was almost thrown from his seat again with the abrupt manoeuvre. The Andorian ship and its build up to self destruct weighed heavily on his mind but with their aft ventral shields gone and pointed directly at the station, they were vulnerable. Losing the ship and the Romulans they'd just saved would do more than just set back their diplomatic relations.::

T'Mihn/Avery: Response

Herrera: Brace for impact! All power to the shields!

::The screen was filled with incandescent light as flame and debris spewed past them; sparks flew overhead as EPS conduits blew and the consoles flickered before eventually settling down.::

Herrera: Damage report!

Avery: Response

::It didn't matter any more whether the Andorians had self destructed or if the station had destroyed their ship in its own death throes. There was just the Vigilant and one Andorian cruiser left.::

Pavlova: Response

Herrera: Put it on the speakers.

Tagren: =/\= Response =/\=

::Diego was relieved to hear the voice of his first officer. He'd lost track of the central section during the battle; recent events had pulled everyone's attention a little closer to home.::

Herrera: =/\= We're alive over here, Ari, how's the central section holding up? =/\=

Tagren: =/\= Response =/\=

::Their conversation was interrupted by a report from mission ops.::

Oot: Sir, the remaining Andorian cruiser is powering its engines.

Ki'Kay: Should I lay in a pursuit course?

::With the bulk of the Vigilant struggling to keep its shields up, coupled with the fact that the central section hadn't been built with warp drive, only slipstream, Diego could read how pursuing the last remaining cruiser might go.::

Herrera: No, let them go. Starfleet Command won't let this lie. They'll have people sniffing after them soon enough. I get the feeling they won't exactly be welcome back in Andorian space.

Pavlova: Response

T'Mihn: Response

Avery: Response

::The doors at the back of the bridge opened, admitting some of the crew from the ventral section.::

Herrera: Good to see you gentlemen. Is everyone alright?

Eerie/Udas: Response(s)

TAG/TBC

Fleet Captain Diego Herrera

Commanding Officer

USS Vigilant

NCC-75515-A

Deputy Commandant: UFOP: SB118 Academy

UFOP: Executive Council