Messages

Hello Everyone! It is with great pleasure that I make the following announcement. Zhukdrashar Mrekrerhas has agreed to take on the role as Ship's Representative. Every SIMM used to have one, but when our numbers dwindled, the practice fell by the wayside. Now that numbers are up, Challenger is restarting the role.

The Ship's Rep serves a few primary functions, but may take on other duties or responsibilities based on the needs of the ship upon agreement with the ship's Command Staff. The main functions of a SR include:

Represent the crew's interests in Shadow Fleet Council discussions and to the ship's Command Staff.

Provide transparency and act as a check against abuse of power by Command Staff.

Anonymously relay feedback, concerns, etc of the crew to either the Command Staff as appropriate.

Introduce themselves and create rapport with crew in order to better serve their crewmates in the aforementioned ways; crew should feel comfortable approaching the SR as needed/desired.

Please join me in congratulating Zhuk for taking on this important role.

EXCELSIOR!!

["What have I done?"]

[Commander Nira Said | Flyer Mjolnir | In Proximity to Andgarr Prime and the Doomsday Weapon]

Recalling being informed that it was Neva who had succeeded in activating the probe, Nira said, "Neva, keep an eye on the probe.

"Meantime, let's get a channel open to the Challenger," said Nira. She got the viewscreen on, and instructed one of the officers to make sure to adjust the viewscreen angle where possible. When the viewscreen showed the bridge, Nira, hoping to be able to show Captain Galloway, so he can at least see rather than listen, gestured at the probe. Plus, since Ian knew code signals better than she did, she hoped he knew what it was.

"Captain, we've landed somewhere on the Weapon. The Probe's making a new signal now. I think it's interacting with the Machine. Can you tell what it's telling it?" Nira asked, and then called for silence so Ian can hear the signal clearly.

[Shuttle Mjolnir - Near Angdarr V]

As Nira asked her question, the signals between the probe and the Doomsday Machine synched up and exchanged a burst of data. Then they stopped. A moment later, directly in front of the small circular hatch in the depression in front them them closed and a much, much larger set of doors opened ponderously. Before Espada could break away, a more powerful tractor beam latched on and pulled the Mjolnir inside the Machine. As the Mjolnir settled in the enormous hanger bay, the massive doors closed, and when the integrity of the neutronium hull was thus restored, the away team lost all contact with the Challenger. Whatever happened next, they were now completely on their own.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian was glad to hear from Nira as watching the Mjolnir get speared with a tractor had been heart rending. However, in response to Nira's question, this time, he didn't have an answer, but before he could reply, the shuttle was dragged inside the Machine. Ian choked back a gasp and felt a cold sense of dread that he had just sent six members of the crew to certain death.

"What have I done?"

He murmured and wondered if he had completely misread the situation, a thought that made him feel ill.

["What?"]

[Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

When Ian finally placed where he heard the signal before, Nira was taken aback. IFF?

"IFF? I never heard of it! I had assumed the Machine was transmitting Morse Code, but..."

But when Ian mentioned about that the Machine was trying to acknowledge the probe, Nira grinned. "Holy Allah, you may be right, Captain!" she said. "And it would be more than just a means of telling the Machine not to fire; that probe sounds like it's the means to control the machine! A perfect way to defend ourselves against future powerful hostiles like the Borg and the Dominion! And it could prove advantageous if Unimatrices and cubes are assembled by the Borg if the core worlds of the Federation have fallen. It's just as well that stupid dog O'Flaherty hasn't realized that."

At her orders, Nira nodded. "Aye, sir. Mister Espada, Ensign Cheizex, with me."

She tapped her comm badge as she left with Aarwendil and Hector and said, "Ensigns Cordon, Zalos and Avant, report to the Mjolnir in the shuttlebay."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian watched the display on the arm of his command chair intently as the Mjolnir launched. Espada requested and acknowledged the transport of the probe onto the shuttle and it accelerated to intercept the Doomsday Machine. The Challenger matched the short hop to warp speed to reach the Machine as far from Angdarr Prime as possible, but that was still inside the orbit of Angdarr V, far too close in Ian's mind for comfort.

Ordering red alert and battlestations, the Challenger was 100,000 kilometers behind the Mjolnir, while the still silent Romulans remained trailing at a safe 500,000 kilometers behind Challenger. The Mjolnir closed steadily and soon entered the critical 50,000 kilometer response range of the Machine and... nothing! The massive weapon didn't fire. The probe did function as the IFF device Ian had hoped it was. However, before anyone could celebrate, Randall, who had returned to the bridge and was at the Science One station called out.

"Captain, a tractor has locked onto the Mjolnir!"

"What?"

"Wait, it's not the main tractor, this one emanates from aft on the Machine, they are being pulled toward a sort of plateau near the tractor emitter."

Every fiber of Ian's being cried out to open fire and swoop in to save the away team, but he forced himself to remain calm. Although alarming, the tractor was not an actual threat, yet. Steeling himself, he said.

"Let it play out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Mjolnir - Angdarr System]

When the tractor locked on, Espada initially attempted to break free, but after it became apparent they weren't being dragged into the maw curiosity took over and Nira allowed them to be pulled where the Machine was taking them. A close scan of the area of the plateau Challenger had detected found a small conical depression of slightly over a meter appeared. Next that was a circular bulge of neutronium that appeared to be a hatch of some kind.

The probe then began to emit a signal different from the one it had been sending and it was clear that the device was interacting with the Machine. Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing was, as yet, unknown.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas and Crewman Zala | Jefferies Tubes --> Sickbay | Deck Seven | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A | Angdarr System]

Zala fiddled with the door controls for a couple of minutes, until she let out a soft coo in delight. Zhuk squinted her eyes at her, though ultimately did not reprimand her. She had done a good job, and fortunately, she had not noticed his expression, "Alright... I just need to pull on this cable... and bam! We are in!"

Zhuk nodded at her, though took a moment to answer. In the time that had taken Zala to access the controls, he had changed his mind on the plan. It was unlikely that, even if the two were rather sneaky about it, they would be able to escape detection for long within the cramped areas of the Sickbay. And with him and Zala captured "" or worse, which would benefit no one, especially not his officers.

"Excellent work. Change of plans, however. We shalt return and get the rest of the team here. Understood?" He whispered at Zala, which proceeded to take a deep breath but approved ultimately.

The trip back and the one to return was uneventful, as the Security members moved carefully through out of the Jefferies tubes, and then back towards the door. Tension, even without being a Betazoid, was palpable in the air, but fortunately, Zhuk's tactic had proven effective, unknowingly, as they missed Hojik exiting Sickbay to return to the ship. Thus, they still had the element of surprise with them.

Still, Zhuk stopped just at the gates, as he decided how to approach the situation. He knew that he could either lead the attack, which would place him at risk, or have one of his officers make such an attempt. Truly, he felt that the people needed his leadership. His guidance. But then again, he was no coward. And many lives had been lost already. He had no family, or at least, he had none to return to.

Most likely no one would cry for him if he fell in combat.

The alarm made Zhuk's ears swish in its direction, and at that moment, he realized that he could not plan much longer. The sound had most likely been a distraction, either purposeful or not, which he needed to use. He finally took a decision,

"I shalt proceed first. Provide me with cover fire, and attempt to seek to shield yourselves. Excercise caution, forth there are innocents within,"

All in agreement, the Ferengi opened the door, as Zhuk poured in, followed by the rest of Alpha Team. He tried to reduce his profile as much as possible to keep himself from being an easy target. Beams set to stun flew from his phaser rifle, targeting perhaps what he unconsciously felt to be the biggest danger to the operation: the Orion animal woman. Perhaps, it had been the fact that her pheromones tickled at his nostrils. Or just he did not like Orions at all, but whatever was the case, two beams impacted her, one in the upper chest, and another in the left leg.

He then aimed towards the Nausicaans, firing once more, though if he could score a hit on them would be seen, as they replied in kind...

When he heard the disruptor, Kyan's first instinct was to go out and see what was happening. But before he could even fish his backup phaser from his ankle holster, Jalen had locked the door. Given the fact that there were six kindergarteners in the room with them, Kyan knew that Jalen had done the right thing for himself and them. But there was a part of him that bristled at the doctor's taking charge.... no, not taking charge... keeping him from jumping into the action.

Looking over at the El-Aurian, Kyan couldn't help but giggle. He remembered that some of the Onlies in his camp had adopted hand signs to communicate, usually when they needed to sneak around, but he didn't remember much of it. He figured Jalen had the same problem.... because one of the few things he did remember was the sign for girls, and he was fairly sure that it wasn't a pack of girls shooting up the sickbay. After he'd laughed, Kyan shrugged in reply to his question.

After a few minutes had gone by with no further shots fired, Kyan was beginning to think it might have been nothing. But then he heard the wail of the biobed alarm. And that was followed by more weapons fire, both phasers and disruptors. Kyan motioned for Jalen to lean down so he could speak to him. When he did, Kyan whispered in his ear.

"I need tae go an see. You let me out an then lock it back behind me. He could tell that the old doctor was reticent, but he nodded anyway. Kyan drew his backup phaser and stood by the door. "Ok" he said.

"Hey! Where are you going?" the little boy on the table piped up. The others chimed in with their concerns as well. Kyan looked at Jalen, and then over to the kids.

"Well, I gotta go and see about the others out there." he offered casually. "So you lot stay here with Doctor Kartos the now, an I'll be back in a minute."

"Well we wanna see too!" the boy complained. "We can help!"

Kyan looked up at Jalen, who hit the door panel. The sounds of competing weapons fore were louder now, and intermingled with shouting. Kyan stepped out into the corridor and the door hissed shut behind him. No sooner than it had, a strong hand grabbed the back of Kyan's shirt and lifted him off the deck.

"What's this...."

The question was answered when the Onlie shifted his weight to his right and pointed his phaser up and behind him, catching the Nausicaan under the chin. He grunted and fell to the deck, unconscious... or dead. At that range, even the stun setting could be lethal. Kyan dropped back down in a crouch before standing up. "Piss haid Nausicaans." he swore. "It figures that!"

When he turned around to head toward the main sickbay, a beam caught him in the chest, sending him backwards. He landed in a heap on top of the Nausicaan that he'd shot.

Ojegar had followed Doctor Fellows over to the bed to see what was happening with the patient. He was next to her when the security team had entered. His first instinct had been to fight them off but the old Nausicaan knew that this would only result in more injuries, and that wasn't his goal.

When he saw the Orion woman drop he grabbed Fellows around the neck from behind and trained his disruptor on her. "Stand down!" he ordered. "I do not wish further injuries."

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

The second Zhuk exited the Jeffries tube, distracted or not, the intruders began to fire. Fortunately, his small size and excellent agility gave him just enough time to get to cover before disruptor bolts began sizzling all around him.

Zala, also small was able to enter before most of the firing started, but Zhuk heard her yelp as a disruptor grazed her despite her best effort. The next two members of team Beta never made it out of the Jeffries tubes and just as it looked grim, Blackfeather's team Alpha burst through the front doors of Sickbay.

Already distracted by the biobed and then the appearance of Zhuk and Zala, the intruders were caught facing the wrong way and paid a heavy price for failing to maintain a rear guard. Several of the goons were mowed down before they even knew Blackfeather was there. This change of fortune prompted Ojegar to take Doctor Fellows hostage as he could see his plan was coming apart.

Unfortunately for him, his great size far exceeded the 'cover' obtained from holding Fellows in front of him. In addition, as he called out to stop the firing, he failed to notice when he grabbed her, she was holding a hypospray as she was treating the patient on the biobed. As he spoke, Jess slowly, quietly, by touch, dialed the hypospray to what she hoped was neurozine, the most powerful sedative in the device. As she worked, she thought.

"Somebody, just keep him talking for a little bit longer."

[Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Revenant NCC-99333]

"Bridge to Engineering, the word is given," ordered Nira, but just before the shield went up, they got hit. It was certainly expected, so much bunched up rocks.

It was reported that the hull breach hit the port side, tearing into one of the senior officer quarters. As small a breach as it was, a small breach on a small ship was on par with a big breach on a big ship. Force fields were soon up, covering that stretch of wall.

"That was a close one," breathed Nira. "Sorry to whoever has those quarters if they lost anything. Tactical, fire at will."

It was easy work, plowing through the asteroids with pulse phasers and torpedoes. Despite the composition of heavy metals, they were very easy to break up; they looked to still have been heated, as if having come from an exploded stellar body. Before there was a sense of ease, there was another impact. Despite the shields, it sent consoles exploding. One along the want sent Dersch flying, burned from the explosion. The viewscreen was frazzled out momentarily, "blinding" them, as it were.

"Dammit!" Nira shouted. "Doctor Novi?" she said, turning to Novi, glad as she was she was on the bridge. "Medical Emergency! Bridge to Ensign V'Larinn, report up here, now! Lieutenant Addams, can you get that viewscreen working?" she asked Torra, gesturing at the viewscreen.

Nira didn't like this. With Lachlyn back at the planet and Dersch incapacitated, V'Larinn was the only Security officer available. If there had been hostiles and boarders, it would mean having to activate starship lockdown systems and security traps.

Once V'Larinn got to Tactical, he set to work. He cringed when he looked down and quickly danced his fingers. In the viewscreen, through the static, Nira saw pulse phasers firing and breaking up something, but Nira was sure it was another meteor.

"Sorry...meteor incoming, I got it," V'Larinn said. "Commanders, those last two meteors weren't the result of a random obstruction. Sensors indicate they were flung back at us; the first meteor had some EM radiation emissions...spread from it..."

Nira pursed her lips. As much as she wanted narrow her eyes, she wanted to concentrate on the viewscreen, alongside Mister Cutter.

"Hmm...It seems the Klingons are being plagued by more than just meteors," she said with suspicion. Commander Garrison, Mister Ramort, initiate a tachyon scan around our radius. Mister Cutter, initiate evasive maneuvers, and keep an eye on the sensors until the viewscreen is fully functional. Mister V'Larinn, keep whittling down any meteors around us."

"Aye, Commander," replied the Vulcan from Tactical. He had been noticing on sensors that there was all the dust was accumulating somewhere, and he had a good idea why the Commander was suspicious about...

[Bridge - USS Revenant] - [Lt. Nathan Cutter]

As the ship rocked from impact, Nathan winced, and focused in on the viewscreen.

"Got to be better."

When the order came for evasive maneuver, he replied.

"Aye Sir, hold on to something everyone."

Nathan then put the small ship into a barrel roll and began slipping between the asteroids in full skids to get tactical the chance to fire as they passed. As he flew, for the first time since the Borg signal ended, he smiled.

["What is it about this bloody sequence? Message, acknowledged over and over. Ping and Pong. Sent and received. Wait, sent and received. I am me, I understand. Who goes there? Friend! That's it!"]

[Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira smiled warmly, sisterly. And the mention of Nekab did make her realize about the Unification Movement. In all the excitement, there was no realization about them...

"I'll see if I can have Commander Catalan inquire about where she is," said Nira. She was about to ask Commander Catalan when he called out something with the device...
Nira heard the signal being sent between the probe and the Machine going. When Captain Galloway mentioned it, she craned her ear to hear.

"It definitely does seem familiar, but I can't recall where," she said. She put herself up next to Commander Catalan, got a good look at the signal, and then said quietly, "Oh, Commander, when you have a moment, can you transmit a hail down to Old Angdarr down at Andgarr Prime, and keep an eye out for any Romulan frequencies. If you get one, send it to my chair. When you have a moment, that is."

And she returned to her chair and awaited what will happen next.

[{NPC} Lieutenant Savar | Cargo Bay Three | Deck Six | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

"Of course, Lieutenant Randall," said Savar. "I leave the honors, as Ensign Cordon indicated, up to you."

Nothing destructive occurred, but there was a definite signal going out. Savar raised an eyebrow and wondered what was going on. Did the Machine receive? Was there communication?

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

The signal the probe was sending and the response from the Machine was tantalizingly familiar and Ian felt taunted by a notion that danced just beyond his grasp of becoming an actual thought.

"What is it about this bloody sequence? Message, acknowledged over and over. Ping and Pong. Sent and received. Wait, sent and received. I am me, I understand. Who goes there? Friend! That's it!"

Ian sprang from the command chair to stand between Catalan and Cheizex at Ops.

"Have either of you heard of IFF? Identification friend or foe, it was a means of determinin' if'n a target was friendly or hostile when sensors of the time, mostly radar existed. I think this probe is a way ta tell the Machine ta nae fire on a target."

Ian turned to his first officer.

"Nira, get down ta the shuttlebay. Take the Mjolnir as she's the most resilient small craft we have. Take as many engineers and science as you deem fittin', Obviously, nae more than the six the Delta Flyer can carry.

"Once you are away, beam the probe aboard and approach the 50,000 kilometer range of the Machine. I ken full well how dangerous this is, so the Challenger will be ready with weapons hot ta cover you should the Beastie fire on you. But if'n I'm right, we may have a means ta protect Angdarr Prime."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Sickbay]

The situation in Sickbay was still incredibly tense. While Doctor Fellows had attempted to stand up to the hostage takers, she had been verbally rebuffed by the intruders. The disruptor blast had undoubtedly set off security alerts, and the crew would be taking appropriate action. Abas had not been able to make contact with anyone outside of Sickbay yet, but he was familiar with Starfleet operating procedures. They'd be planning an operation to liberate the ward, it was just a matter of providing an opening.

Thankfully, it seemed someone who was more brains than brawn had entered the picture on the side of the hostage takers. A Nausicaan woman had arrived and given the medical personnel permission to treat the wounded officer. It seemed they wanted to avoid additional bloodshed, which was a relief. The last thing anyone needed was Sickbay to become a shooting gallery. However... maybe there was something he could do.

The mood in the ward was somber, with the staff predominantly keeping their heads down and continuing their work. Even with the emergency, the patients still needed to be attended to. That didn't mean they would help their adversaries, though. They were likely waiting for an opportune moment to strike... and only needed an opening. A distraction of sorts could do the trick, and hopefully prevent anyone from taking further casualties. Abas would still much prefer the attackers to be taken alive... but he had an even greater duty to his shipmates.

He maintained his station by the wounded schoolteacher, monitoring her recovery and treatment. But perhaps... if her condition took a sudden and inexplicable turn for the worse...

Abas tapped quietly on a console next to him, pulling up one of the medical test programs used for training. A few short alterations, a little covert sabotage, and a knowledge of the medical system allowed him to trick the computer into thinking his patient had suffered a catastrophic cortical failure. Enough to set off every single alarm the bio-bed was capable of triggering. It should be quite noisy... as long as nobody looked too close. If anyone did notice, however, Abas only hoped he could pass it off as instrumentation failure.

Two minutes later, right on cue, as Abas had conveniently found himself a few strides away from the patient, the system indicated several simultaneous failures and triggered the patient alarms. A pitched beeping, followed by a low-toned whine indicated the patient's status, as Abas strode back over to the patient with speed. "Doctor?" he spoke, contorting his face into a look of concern as he busied himself with causing as much of a scene as he could while still appearing natural.

Hopefully, someone could use it. At the very least, it would keep the hostage-takers off-balance.

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 7 - Sickbay (main room)] [15:10-ish]

Lahr followed Zorr's gaze towards the tray mentioned and picked up the two items and brought the over to the doctor.  The Andorian was relieved that Chloe was just stunned.  Knowing that Abas was attempting to stay hidden, Lahr tried to keep attention on himself as much as possible.

"Hey, any chance you guys are working with Cloten?" Lahr did a name drop, while at the same time taunting them with an insult.  "This sort of third rate planning seems like it would be right up his alley."

A sudden chorus of alarms sounded from the civilian schoolteacher's biobed and Lahr's antennae leaned away from the cacophony.  It was then that he noticed the Aenar calling for the doctor.  When had he come out of hiding?

His musings about the Aenar however were put on the backburner when he noticed that the two nausicaans searching the room had their attention on the sudden activity of the doctors.  Oh perfect distraction.   Lahr subtly backed away from cluster of medical staff responding to critical patient.  He backed himself toward the Sickbay's jefferies tube wall panel access.

He watched to see how much attention the Orion woman was giving him, and when she too looked towards   medical emergency, he slipped his hand into his toolbelt and felt around for the necessary driver bit needed to loosen the wall panel fasteners, and palmed it into his hand.   The former security crewman, knew his buddies would be looking for a way to make a quick entrance when they did finally get the go-ahead to breach, so if Lahr could loosen the panel, that would make their job so much easier.

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

When the biobed began its shrill alarms, every weapon in sickbay pointed in that direction, but with the admonition from Ojegar fresh on their mind, none of the intruders fired, even when Jess surged toward the patient. As she worked, her eyes never left the injured woman as she snarled.

"I would appreciate you pointing those weapons anywhere but at my patient, she is clearly not a threat and I'm not a fan of gunpoint medicine."

The goons were taken aback and looked to the old Nausicaan, who nodded and the weapons were lowered. With the attention focused well away from the Jeffries tube access, it was now Zhuk's call to decide if they would breach and who would take point if they did.

[Working...]

[{NPC} Lieutenant Savar | Cargo Bay Three | Deck Six | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Savar listened to the exchange between Randall and Neva with interest. Little is certainly known of how the Doomsday Weapon operated, how it's programmed. The idea that it could be alive, thinks, that was new.

"I would have to concur with Lieutenant Randall on this logical regard," he said to Neva. "If it's alive, and this its brain...well, it would only have one purpose: to consume. If it is alive; as a machine, it is unknown how it is programmed..."

Then Neva proposed another idea, one that made Savar extremely interested. "Fingerprints?" he said. "And isolated from the last person who touched it, regardless of the suit...it could work...saves the time from having to track down the last person who had contact with it..."

[Ensign Neva Cordon|USS Challenger|Cargo Bay3]

Neva let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. She smiled a little as she grabbed the tricorder from her hip. Stepping forward, she scanned the button area, focusing on extracting data of the fingerprints. Once done, she put it away and grabbed her PADD from her kit once more. She tapped a few things then held it out to the group.

"Ok, here's the data." She widened the readout to show the buttons near the bottom of the screen, and a conglomeration of wavy lines above it.

"Computer, isolate the fingerprints on the buttons to find the first set."

Working... The display on her PADD showed prints being lifted from the clump, then the lowest one turning outward to view closer. Data Complete

"Computer, Superimpose these fingerprints on the buttons of the Planet Eater, adjusting to show hardest press on the buttons."

The display changed again, the fingerprints floating down onto the buttons, then row of the creature's display turning to face outward again to show a glow of deep presses.

"Ha!" Neva exclaimed, hand tilted toward the PADD's display with palm in and fingers angled down. "Sir, I think we have our answer." She looked up and her gaze swept between those assembled. Her face suddenly fell to show a sheepish and concerned look. "Who wants to do the honors?"

[Cargo Bay Three - USS Challenger]

Randall poured over the data Neva had collected and ran an additional focused tricorder scan of his own before doing some calculations in his head that he had Lieutenant Fisk verify before he spoke.

"I do like the idea that using the buttons would leave traces. However, it is unknown if the beings that made this thing even had fingers as we know them, I did pick up trace markings of silicates in varying amounts on the buttons. Combining those findings with that of Ensign Cordon's work, I am ready to make an educated guess at the correct order."

He tapped his combadge before he touched the probe.

"Randall to bridge, we are ready to try to access the probe, standby to beam it into space if we get it wrong."

Everyone in the cargo bay held their breath collectively as Randall pressed the buttons firmly and decisively in the order suggested by their findings. When he pressed the third button there was a pause before everyone's tricorder lit up as the probe began broadcasting a coded subspace signal in a cyclic pattern that repeated every 2.7 seconds. What this meant, no one in the cargo bay knew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

The Challenger, along with the seven Romulan ships some 500,000 kilometers behind continued their slow advance out system as the Doomsday Machine maintained its own steady course toward Angdarr Prime. Two hours, just two hours before the Machine reached the planet. The tiny ships arrayed to face it would intercept the behemoth in just half that time. Tensions were high on the Bridge as Ian wracked his brain for options he knew he didn't have. It was then when Catalan spoke.

"Sir, I am detecting a signal originating from the Machine. It matches the same low ban of the subspace spectrum as the one being broadcast from Cargo Bay Three. It doesn't appear they are exchanging data as they are just repeating the same subspace pulses."

Ian arched an eyebrow at this information as it seemed to represent progress, it just wasn't clear just what sort of progress had been made.

"It somehow seems like I've seen summat like it before. Anyone recognize that type of signal?"

[[USS Challenger-A - Deck 7 - Sickbay (main room)]]

[{NPC} Lieutenant Savar | Cargo Bay Three | Deck Six | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Savar accompanied Lieutenant Randall and Ensign Zalos to the Cargo Bay. While conferring with Lieutenant Fisk, Savar observed the device. Three buttons at random, they would be the ones to shut it off. Gotten wrong, something worse could happen. When Ensign Zalos gave her piece, Savar raised his eyebrow.

"If I may," he said, "the buttons pushed at random, and one sequence shuts it off...if that was the case...whoever found it, who did put the device online in the first place, and would he or she remember the particular buttons that turned it on? Because if that particular person would remember the buttons that activated the machine in the first place, the particular reverse could potentially shut it off."

That was what he figured, and the investigator in Nira that had rubbed off on Savar was what had him thinking in an investigative manner...

[Ensign Neva Cordon|Cargo Bay 3|Deck Six|USS-Challenger]

Neva walked into the Cargo Bay with Randall and to the Entity. She slowly circled it, PADD in hand, making notes. She kept an ear out for what was being said, adding this and that to her notations.

When she stopped among the group, her brow furrowed as she heard Lieutenant Savar's speculation. Her head tilted, thoughts suddenly racing. 'Buttons to push? Order?' Her silent shorthand queried.

"Pardon me all. I have an idea." She murmured, her whole attention focused on the Baby Planet Killer. Her hands hovered over the controls, fingers making tapping motions.

"Were the Salvagers feeling of anything specific when they were going over the Mama when it activated? Or thinking something?" Now Neva straightened and looked at Commander Said. "What I'm asking is this." She pointed at the thing. "All beings need energy to eat, move, release energy, etc. They have a rudementary 'brain' if you will." She pointed at the controls. "What if the buttons aren't buttons? What if they're essentially this thing's brain configuration?" She grinned at the Commander. "They basically patted its head and woke it up." The young Engineer scanned the group, looking for any light of understanding to glow. Finding only skepticism and blank stares, she shook her head quickly and continued.

"What if the key is we have to treat it like a being who needs to go back to sleep? That it's done eating a big dinner and needs to sit and let the body digest?" She looked at the Commander sheepishly. "Just a thought, Sir."

[Cargo Bay Three - USS Challenger]

Randall took in the two theories and mulled them over, looking for flaws in their logic, when he couldn't find any, he sighed.

"From what little information I got from the Captain, this O'Flaherty character found the probe and the Machine drifting. They tried to grab the probe, it activated and shot at them. O'Flaherty fired back and got blindly lucky, hitting something important enough to shut the probe down. They beamed it aboard their ship, scanned it and couldn't figure it out. If anyone pressed or even noticed these buttons, I don't know.

"As for feeding it and letting it nap, If we follow the example of the original Machine and what we have seen with this new one, they don't 'sleep' they eat and keep eating remorselessly. We could replicate something and toss in the probe's maw, but I think it would just get more powerful, sleeping seems doubtful.

"These buttons exist for a reason, we just don't what that reason is yet. If we can figure that reason out, I think we can operate this thing. What options do we have that can increase our odds of pushing these buttons in the right order?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 7 - Sickbay (main room)] [15:05-ish]

Lahr took an instant dislike to the Orion woman and was grateful that he'd been given a dose recently against the influence of her pheromones.  This way she couldn't 'charm' as she could some others who might have let their anti-pheromone vaccination lapse.

When the grey-haired Nausicaan entered, immediately drawing Larosh's attention he knew her superior had arrived on scene.  From her stark change in demeanor , Lahr got the sense she was almost fearful of the older Nausicaan.  That tidbit of info could be useful later.

While Hojik was sent away and the others ordered to check the room, Lahr remained where he was, partially blocking, their route the disassembled biobed, hands remaining upraised while he waited for an opportunity.  He had to wonder how the Nausicaan's were so easily coming aboard from another ship.  The ship was at red alert this entire time so shields should by standard protocol be raised.  Had they somehow managed to get the shield frequency for the ship?  Were other areas of the ship equally under a hostage situation?  He supposed it would be best to assume the Bridge was compromised as well.

He glanced about.  Hadn't he seen Commander Mackenzie in the room earlier?  Hopefully Larosh's ignorance about the crew extended to other senior officers as well and Kyan could slip in amongst the children easily.  But for all his discreet glancing about, Lahr couldn't see the Commander's distinctive hair among the children that were clustered together.

While Ojegar and doctor Fellows, moved off towards the CMO office to talk privately, Lahr looked to Dr.  Zorr working on Chloe.

"How is she, Doc?  Is there anything I can do to help?" he questioned, worried about his former girlfriend, even if she hated his guts for cheating on her with Ruth.  He still cared for Chloe... that would never change.

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Zorr looked up from Chloe for a moment and said.

"Tricorder says she's stunned. That damned disruptor caused some second degree burns. If you hand me that hypospray and dermal regenerator off that tray Chief, I believe she will be fine."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Cargo Bay I --> Jefferies Tubes | Deck Six --> Deck Seven | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A | Angdarr System]

"Understood Captain Galloway. Then the Teams shalt proceed with our current data set. If we have a dire need for an asset, you shalt be the first to be informed,"  Zhuk swiftly answered Ian, as he crossed the door that led into the Jefferies Tubes, closing it after him, with all of Team Beta inside. Before he proceeded any further, he tapped on his comm badge again, "Team Alpha, we are cleared to proceed. There is no new information on this situation. Excercise caution."=/\=

[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas and Crewman Zala | Jefferies Tubes --> Sickbay Computer | Deck Seven | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A | Angdarr System]

Though neither knew it, Zhuk and Zala were anxious about the current happenstances. Zala's expressions were much more notable, at least, but as she had taken point on the rear, none had noticed. Zala's thoughts were focused on her little brother, Mo. A rollercoaster of emotions had taken over when she had overheard the explosion in the classroom. Fortunately, her superior, Kyan, had been there to rescue the children and their teacher from further harm. She was thankful to the Onlie for that, though now, she once more feared for his safety. As he had been transported to Sickbay, he was now exposed to whoever crooks had decided to board it.

Besides, the fact was that Deck Seven was currently filled with wounded with rather nasty injuries. No child should be exposed to that carnage. But she was a Security officer. And now, she had the opportunity to save him. At least, she was mildly glad that her smaller size gave her an easier time traversing through the metal tunnels of the vessel, compared to the rest of her teammates.

Zhuk shared such an ability with her, due to his height. His mind though, remained on Chloe and the rest of the Medical Staff. He wondered if they had been hurt by the miscreants which had boarded them, under his whiskers. And if she had been hurt, well, Mrekrerhas would be forced to leave them as good as a Hawaiian pa'u skirt. His blood boiled just thinking on that, glad that no Betazoid was there to pick up on his feelings of violence.

Eventually, they reached the door that led to the Sickbay Computer. With that, he proceeded to contact Alpha Team,

"Blackfeather, Koroz. Do you read? We are in position... where do you be?" 

No response. Had the communicators been jammed? Quite likely. It was not a good sign. Coordinating in such a case would be quite hard. Still, Zhuk was undeterred, as he glanced over at the officers with him, "Please, wait here. I shalt proceed to scout ahead to obtain a better understanding of the situation. Crewman Zala. With me."

The Ferengi proceeded to zigzag through the rest to reach Zhuk, while he proceeded to carefully open the door. He took a peek outside, making sure that no enemies were in the vicinity, before proceeding to carefully advance into the room. Zala dutifully followed, closing the door behind her.

"Very well. Let us proceed to Sickbay, as silently as possible. I trust that with our combined senses, we may be able to perceive if anyone approaches"

Zhuk whispered at her, to which Zala nodded. Mrekrerhas squatted as he ventured outside, being imitated by Zala, his feet almost silent thanks to the soft padding underneath. The Ferengi, as he expected, proved to be rather inconspicuous as they approached the outside of Sickbay, by the Medical Staff entrance.

As the door was locked, however, Zhuk was met with vexation. Zala, however, had an idea almost immediately, "Sir... allow me..."

Zhuk nodded, moving aside as Zala began to put her engineering knowledge to work, attempting to pry off the panel to access the inner cables and mechanisms of the door.

[Jeffries Tubes Outside Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Having reached their destination, undetected so far as they could tell, Zhuk and his team prepared to force entry. The biggest concern was the small opening of the Jeffries tube meant they faced an extreme form of the 'fatal funnel' that all points of entry created in that they could only enter one at a time whereas the defenders had open fields of fire and movement. Unfortunately, their options were limited and it meant the first couple people through the hatch were at the highest risk. This presented Zhuk with a difficult choice. Did he take point, not willing to send someone to do something he himself would not do, but in so doing risk the leadership and stall the assault? Or, did he send in one of the other members of the team knowing their odds of survival were low? It was at times like this that Zhuk hated being in charge.

"What to do? What to do?"

["I know the waitin' is the worst. You could be down there with Zhuk, but the Lieutenant kens his craft well, part of sittin' center seat is learnin' ta trust your people ta do their jobs. He'll get it done."]

Larosh regarded the human woman with a casual smile. "œI'm afraid you're wrong doctor." She stepped over the sleeping Davies and made her way over to Fellows. "œAnd I'll also say that your bravado isn't convincing. I think you'll comply with our demands. Because if you don't"¦.

Larosh stopped mid-sentence and turned to get a look at the new arrival. The Orion woman arched an eyebrow at his suggestion. "œAnd what makes you think we have any intention of negotiating with your captain?" She asked, laughing. As she was speaking, the sickbay doors opened and a grey haired Nausicaan walked in. His posture and bearing indicated that he was in charge. The other Nausicaans stiffened and the Ferengi fidgeted nervously. Larosh turned to see who'd entered as well. Then, seeing who it was, she forgot about Lahr and turned toward the Elderly Nausicaan

"œOjegar"¦"She inclined her head, "œI was told that you were going to remain on the ship."

"œYou were ill-informed." The Nausicaan  replied dismissively. Then he noticed Davies lying on the deck with her uniform still smoldering around her disruptor burn. "œWho shot this woman?" he asked, his tone taking on a hard edge. When he didn't get an answer he whirled on the Nausicaans who'd come in with Larosh. "œI asked you a question!"

For a brief moment, no one answered him. Then the scavenger stepped forward. "œIt was me." He spoke up, "œI shot her."

Ojegar nodded. "œHojik." He sighed. "œReturn to the ship and send someone to replace you who isn't incompetent."

The other man bowed his head, turned, and left without another word. Ojegar turned back toward Larosh, who appeared eager to keep the old Nausicaan's favor.

"œThis," she began indicating Fellows, "œis the Ship's medical officer."

"œDoctor." He nodded. "œPlease accept my apologies for this inconvenience, and for the injury to your comrade. You may tend to her wound and then we will speak privately."  He turned to the other Nausicaans. "œAnd you will search this sickbay. I want everyone out here."

The others started for the exam room and stopped briefly when he added "œ"¦and NO ONE else is to be harmed. Am I understood?"

They replied in Nausicaan before continuing to the Examination rooms.

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

The change in the dynamics of the armed incursion changed as soon as the old Nausicaan, while he was clearly still a lethal threat, he seemed less psychopathic than the Orion and Jess relaxed marginally.

"Thank you... Ojegar was it? Doctor Zorr, please see to Nurse Davies."

As the Bolian male moved next to Chloe to treat her, Jess asked.

"May I ask what you hope to accomplish here?"

As Jess waited for an answer, her eyes fell on the Orion woman and she thought.

"I am going to make you hurt in ways you didn't believe were possible you wench. You will not leave this ship alive if I have anything to say about it."

Normally, Doctor Jessica Elaine Fellows never had thoughts of such violence, but this was her sanctum and she was not going to let anyone violate it without repercussions. So, she waited and one thing Jess was very good at was waiting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Cargo Bay Three - USS Challenger]

The assembled team of engineers and scientists scanned the small probe furiously and besides the already established dimensions of the thing, the only thing the close examination had revealed were three triangular panels 20 centimeters on a side, equidistant around the center of the probe. The probe was emitting a low power signal on a specific subspace band that was not unlike some of the signals the main Machine used.

Lieutenant jg Rebecca Fisk from engineering, an expert in computer system finished her evaluation and spoke to Randall who was nominally in charge of the project.

"Near as I can tell, these three panels are a sort of fail safe device. Press them in the right order and the communications system of the probe becomes fully active which, I believe, will allow direct communication with the Machine."

"Well, that's more than we knew twenty minutes ago. So, if I'm doing the maths right. Three buttons, pushed at random, that is... oh Jeez, only a 16% chance we get it right. I have an idea what would happen if we get it wrong, but indulge me Lieutenant, what is your take if we muck up the sequence?"

"I'm going to go with the probe would have an anti-tampering device built in and it would self-destruct."

"And we know the thing has the power of a warp core, so that would be a bad day at the office."

Randall looked stressed as he addressed the team.

"Anyone have any insights that might improve our odds?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian smiled wearily at Nira as he replied in as positive a tone as he could manage.

"I know the waitin' is the worst. You could be down there with Zhuk, but the Lieutenant kens his craft well, part of sittin' center seat is learnin' ta trust your people ta do their jobs. He'll get it done."

[Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Revenant NCC-99333]

Red alert was blaring as Nira entered the bridge with Torra and Dersch, Kinley back at her station upon her entering.

"Mister Cutter, initiate launch, and follow the Asclepius. Once we get in range of the meteor storm, we break from escort formation and start breaking up some rocks. We're going to need to get in and out of some tight spots. Mister Dersch," Nira added, turning to Dersch at Tactical, "eyes peeled and prepare to fire weapons."

She looked back and Dersch and reflected how similar this was feeling to her first battle at Tactical. At least the incoming meteors won't be shooting back, not like the Liberation, she thought to herself. "I know it'll be your first battle at Tactical...it was the same for me on my first battle, too, filling in for a department head. Don't worry about it, you can do it," she told Dersch with confidence.

Then, Nira called Engineering.  "Bridge to Engineering. M'Nia, get power to weapons and engines, we're going to be doing some fancy flying."

[Bridge - USS Revenant] - [As Lt Nathan Cutter]

For the first time in days, Nathan had a task that had meaning and he felt... something, which was a vast improvement over the nothing he'd felt since Frontier Day.

"Aye Sir."

He replied with something that almost sounded like a living person instead of the dead thing he'd felt like for so long. He actually had enough interest to pull up the local space on his console display and began calculating the route he'd need to maximize each firing pass as he thought.

"My name is Nathan Cutter and I fly the ship."

[[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Cargo Bay I | Deck Six | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A | Angdarr System]]

[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Cargo Bay I | Deck Six | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A | Angdarr System]

That seemingly would not last. The exhausted Zhuk responded immediately to the threat to Sickbay with a, "At once sir!" Before heading out towards the turbolift. He made sure to inform Security of their new assignment. Adrenaline was flowing within his body, and he was even angrier now. The boldness of attacking the bowels of the USS Challenger, and what was more, Sickbay made him seethe.

"I want two Security teams assembled at Cargo Bay I. Make haste,"

Zhuk was one of the first to arrive at the assigned destination, as Blackfeather and Koloz were already there. A polite nod of acknowledgement was offered, as the rest of the officers poured in. Even a rather surprised Crewman Zala came with phaser neatly placed on her hip to form up. He took note of a new Ensign, a human female with blonde hair just slightly taller than him, who he did not recognize right away.

Once the teams were prepared, Zhuk proceeded to walk with his hands on his back, to inform them of the situation at hand. His fur was messy and unkempt, looking even a little greasy at this point. His uniform was no better, a mess of cuts and burns, and it severely needed a washing machine. But time was of the essence now, and while he hated looking like this, as the Caitian was always presentable, he was required to act.

"Greetings, Ladies and Gentlemen. As thee may or may not know, Deck Seven has been left completely dark. It seems as if our ship has become host to a throng of interlopers. Otherwise, our information is limited. We do not know where exactly are they located, nor their intent thus far. Or their size. However, I want them detained and secured within the Bridge... in the... next hour...."

His head began to spin for a moment, forcing him to stop to shake the sensation off. He was glad that someone had taken the initiative, that same blonde girl from before. And her plan was quite sound to boot.

"Hm. Why, I do believe that is a superb idea. According to the ship schematics I have explored thus far, there should be an access point... I believe... by the Sickbay's computer. It shalt be a tight crawl, but I am certain it is doable."

He made a pause, and nodded,

"Very well, we shalt proceed in such a manner with this in mind. Senior Chief Petty Officer Blackfeather, Petty Officer First Class Koroz, I shalt request that you two lead what shalt be Team Alpha. You shalt explore the corridors for hostiles, but only engage if necessary. Assemble at the Main Entrance of Sickbay, but do not enter until we do. Team Beta shalt be lead by me, employing the Jefferies Tubes to get into position by Sickbay, before stopping the miscreants. I hope that our unlikely entry will divert their fire so that you may proceed with less resistance, thus minimizing potential wounds and injuries if we were to seize them off-guard. Questions?"

Once the queries were satisfied, Zhuk moved towards the nearest entry point, trusting Koloz' and Blackfeathers' team to do the same. He proceeded to inform the Captain by pressing on his comm badge,

"Captain, the two teams shalt be descending to Deck Seven shortly. Do you possess any updates we should know about?"

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian all but pounced to reply to Zhuk, but it wasn't as if it mattered, he didn't have any information to give as he replied.

"Bridge ta Mrekrerhas. No updates on the hostages or the hostage takers. We have anesthizine on standby and have good transporter locks on the Starfleet personnel. We can beam them out rapidly if'n you need so. You tell me what you need Lieutenant and it's yours."

Turning to face Nira, Ian added.

"The sickbay situation is a complication ta be sure, but nae so big a one as ta keep us from our goal of stoppin' that monumental Beastie. It's settin' me on fire that our people are in trouble as I'll bet real latinum, the hijackers are those scavenger wankers we promised ta help. They hurt anyone and you may just find yourself in command sooner than you predicted because the bloody regulations will go out the airlock if'n they do. For now, we focus on our mission and let security be the professionals they are, they will solve this."

[[Lt. Commander Kyan Mackenzie | Sickbay, USS Challenger]]

[Neva Cordon| USS-Challenger| Bridge]

When the Captain told the science officer to get with her Chief, Neva handed off her station and went to join Randall in the turbolift.

Smiling, she spoke calmly. "Hi. I dont think we'vemet. Im Ensign Neva Cordon. Im in Engineering, so if its fine with you, id like to help you if possible." Her smile turned into a smirk, dark eyes full of mirth. "That is if Chief will let me,  of course."

[Bridge --> Turbolift - USS Challenger]

Randall turned and gestured for Neva to follow as he headed for the turbolift.

"Good to meet you Ensign. Evan Randall, Chief Science. I hope you are good at miracles, because we've got less than three hours to figure out a completely alien technology and turn it to our advantage."

As they entered the turbolift, Randall went quiet, clearly lost in thought as the headed for the cargo bay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Lt. Commander Kyan Mackenzie | Sickbay, USS Challenger]

~~Elswhere on Deck Seven"¦

[Main Computer Core | USS Challenger ]

1445 hours

The dim light cast the Orion woman's face in a pale emerald glow as she worked. The face was a mask of concentration as seconds ticked by until finally a smile crept across her face. She produced a communicator and whispered into it. "œTheli to Larosh."

"œGo ahead." Another female's voice crackled over the device.

"œI've isolated and masked our bio signatures. We've also got a communications lockout in place. They won't be able to call out. We are free to begin." The woman called Theli replied as she gathered her tools. "œWe have a ten hour window until the system will correct itself."

"œGood work sister. Meet us in sickbay."

Theli grabbed her bag and spoke into the communicator again. "œI'll see you there." Then she put it away and walked out the door.

Back in sickbay"¦.

1505 hours

"¦in Exam room three

When Doctor Kartos had arrived, all the kindergarteners were shuffled into an empty exam room to be seen, mostly so that there could be some room for the medical staff to continue treating the Guppy casualties without twelve kindergarteners underfoot. As the rest of his classmates sat on the floor or in what few chairs there were, a little boy with a shock of blond curls sat on the examination table with his arms crossed. "œNo!" he declared loudly. "œI don't want to. I want to go home!"

The Onlie regarded him with more patience than he normally had for people. "œIt's ok the now. Doctor Kartos here is just after checkin yer lungs so he can make sure ye dinnae get too much smoke in there." Kyan indicated the towering El-Aurian with a thumb. "œHe's nice so he is. He been seein tae me own hurts too. And if yer good, he's not stingy with the Jumja suckers either so he ain't!"  All of which was said around the jumja sucker in Kyan's own mouth."

The boy considered this, his eyes shifting from Kyan and the sucker over to Jalen but it didn't move him. "œI want to go home." He reiterated finally.

Kyan looked over at the doctor with a shrug before addressing the boy again. "œSuit yerself mate. But yer missin out on this." Kyan gave an exaggerated slurp on his jumja before taking it out of his mouth and inspecting it; or rather, letting the kid inspect it. "œAnyways." He began, before popping it back in his mouth and turning away. "œMaybe you'll change yer mind on it."

Kyan was about to say more when he heard the distinct whine of a disruptor discharge somewhere beyond the doors.

In the Main Sickbay

Sickbay continued to be a raucous hub of activity. With all the activity going on, barely anyone noticed the Orion woman and her dapper Ferengi companion walk through the doors. When the Miradorn twins and a trio of Nausicaans entered behind them with disruptor rifles at the ready, they didn't go un-noticed.

"œWhat the hell's going on!?" Chloe Davies demanded as she stalked toward the group. This is a sickbay not a damned"¦."

A disruptor whined and Davies dropped unmoving to the deck. The Nausicaan who'd fired regarded the unconscious woman with a grunt. If anyone in the room hadn't noticed the new arrivals before, they certainly did now.

"œLadies and Gentlemen." The Orion woman spoke up, "œMy name is Larosh and you are all my hostages.  If you do as you're told, you will not be harmed." She gave a thin smile. "œNow then"¦" she continued, looking around the room. "œWho is in charge here?"

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Jess heard the sound of the disruptor and, for an instant, she was back on Melek Nor, but then she snapped into action. She tapped her combadge, but the sound it made indicated he wasn't working. She swore silently and was still trying to figure out how to let others know they needed help when a voice called out for who was in charge.

She stood and exited her office, barely choking back a gasp to see Davies crumpled on the deck before she straightened up to her full height and replied.

"I am Lieutenant Commander Jessica Fellows. Chief Medical Officer of the USS Challenger. This is my Sickbay and I will advise you now that whatever you have planned, it will fail."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian was going through his limited options, but was aware that the Romulan ships were following them some half a million kilometers behind.

"Bloody nice of them ta nae of cloaked, pillocks."

He thought when his head snapped towards Tactical as Lieutenant Davenport gasped and reported.

"Sir, weapons fire in Sickbay! I can't reach anyone on Deck 7, there's some sort of communications lock down in place!"

Ian's jaw dropped open for a second in shock before he growled.

"Where's MacKenzie?"

"He shows as being in Sickbay."

"That puts Mrekrerhas in charge, have him send two squads ta sickbay. Intruder alert. Lock down Deck 7. Standby anesthezine. I don't care if'n you have ta burn holes through the decks punchin' a signal through, but I want ta talk ta Sickbay!"

As Ian waited for his orders to be followed, he thought.

"Can any bloody thing else go wrong today?"

["The answer ta that is now in Cargo Bay Three. It seems that wanker O'Flaherty found the Machine in a dormant state. Of course he wanted salvage rights, which he was technically due, so he and his crew decided ta go muckin' about with a smaller object near the main Machine.]

[Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira was still going over the reports regarding the Guppy, catching up on recent on-board events, when Captain Galloway returned.

"Ah, Captain," she said. "We've tried to get in touch with the Free State ships, but there's no reply. And what did Captain O'Flaherty offer?"

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian returned to his place in the command chair and sighed as he answered Nira.

"The answer ta that is now in Cargo Bay Three. It seems that wanker O'Flaherty found the Machine in a dormant state. Of course he wanted salvage rights, which he was technically due, so he and his crew decided ta go muckin' about with a smaller object near the main Machine.

"They got it aboard their ship, but nae before it damaged their engines and sent a wake up call ta it's Mum. That's when he high-tailed it and we came into the story.

"In any case, we now have the smaller pod aboard and hopefully if'n we can figure that out, it will let us shut down the main Machine. At least that's the idea. In exchange, O'Flaherty wants salvage rights on the neutronium, assumin' we manage ta get control of the thing."

At that point, Ian turned to face Randall at the Science One station.

"Evan, this is now in your hands, take whoever you need ta crack this code. If'n you need Engineerin' support, you work that out with Dashlish. This is now your only priority. Get me some answers."

At that point, Ian spoke to the Conn station.

"Helm, intercept course with the Machine. Half impulse, we're nae in a hurry ta close that distance yet, we need ta give the boffins time for another miracle."

["What sort of terms are you ta be lookin' for?"]

[Mess Hall - Pride O'Rigel]

Ian had to choke back his surprise at seeing the Romulans, remembering they were Free State, not Thelal has his ilk. Besides Commander Avolus was present and he seemed to be an honorable man. Forcing a smile, Ian nodded to the Romulans and took the seat O'Flaherty offered.

"I know time is short ladies and gentlemen, so I'll be brief. You see, we weren't meanin' no harm when we went to explore that thing out there. Twas dead as a Klingon's enemy when we sighted it, and we were thinkin' salvege'd net us a pretty strip o' latinum or two, the sensors said it was pure neutronium! We didn't really know what t'make o' the big thing, so we decided t'check out a little pod thing we spotted orbitin' the big one.

"The pod was also neutronium and orbitin' just under a hundred kilometer from that monster. Me and some o' the boyos donned suits and checked it out. Thing is, soon as we got within ten meters, the little thing fired at us and hit the Pride, that's what damaged our engine. I fired back blindly and Saint's pure luck it hit something what shut it down. By the time we got it aboard, the big one was heatin' up and we had to run.

"The rest you know. Thing is, we don't really know what we snagged, but I figures you military types might know what t'do with it...leastways, more than me boyos can puzzle out. If you follow me, I'll shows it to you."

The ship captains, five men and three women followed O'Flaherty to the ship's cargo bay and found a cone-shaped pod three meters in length and a bit over a meter at the open end. Mostly covered in a thin plating of neutronium, but with several sections composed of a unknown translucent metal alloy with one section glowing brightly.

"Scans of the thing show power levels consistent with that of a warp core, but never seen one so compact before."

"This is quite the discovery Captain, but what is your point. As you said earlier time is short."

One of the Romulan Commanders said.

"Patience, patience, my good people. Let's return to the conference room."

O'Flaherty said with relish although it was clear none of those present felt the same level of enjoyment the Irishman seemed to be having. Back in the mess hall, drinks were served and their host took on a conspiratorial grin.

"Tis truly a pity that Monster got activated and pointed at Angdarr. It t'would be far worse if it were to be eatin' the planet. Even though tryin' to stick a ship down its craw didn't work so well, I believe that there pod thing might just offer a solution to your problem.

"Even though me boyos couldn't plumb out all its secrets, we do believe that pod is some sort of beacon, maybe even can signal the big one, might even be able to shut it down. As I see it, ladies and gentlemen, ye each have a stake in this. But o'course it's been me own risk and expense t'make all this possible. Sure'n I'm just a poor, hardworkin' businessman, and this is costin' me latinum. So I have t'recoup me losses somehow... so, before we get to the important work, I'll no be havin' any o' your bully boys tryin' anything unfriendly, that stasis field holdin' the pod has a self-destruct built into it and you'll no be wantin' its warp core to breach. Now, I'm willin' ta hear your bids."

It was difficult to tell externally, who was more outraged by O'Flaherty's gall, Ian or the Romulans. Each of the ship captains were so stunned by the naked money grab, they were at a loss for words. Until Avolus, the oldest of those present managed to recover first.

"I've met Ferengi less vile than you O'Flaherty. You would bargain for a planet?"

"You wound me Sir. I'm no Ferengi, I'm not askin' for payment up front or outrageous interest on a loan. I'm just askin' for... agreeable and profitable terms."

"Profit! And you say you aren't a Ferengi."

"What sort of terms are you ta be lookin' for?"

Ian asked seeing that the old Romulan was done with O'Flaherty. Who in turn recognized his opening and pounced.

"Well, that's simple enough to answer... salvage rights on all that neutronium would set everything right in the galaxy."

"And if'n I were ta throw in a 30 year old bottle of single malt?"

"You'd have a deal Captain."

"Then we have a deal."

"Wait I minute, that's it, we don't get any input?"

"He who hesitates is lost Commander." O'Flaherty turned back to face Ian. "We swap in ten minutes. Pod for that fine scotch?"

"Aye, Captain. Now, I've got ta return ta me ship."

"Pleasure doin' business with you Starfleet."

Ian tapped his combadge.

"Galloway ta Challenger, one ta beam out."

As Ian faded, the last thing he saw was the outrage on the Romulan's faces, except for Avolus, who seemed to sport a knowing smile.

[Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira sat at her chair, feeling hopeless. Even as Neva assumed her seat, her bridge station, Nira couldn't help but think she had let down lots of people and had now taken part in dooming Andgarr, a planet she had taken to liking so well as of late...

It didn't take long at all to get back to Andgarr at the speed they took, and there was still time. She was figuring that if they were going to sacrifice the Challenger, at least she has to be at Ian's side until Challenger makes the maw and she takes him with her...but then, the news came of half a dozen Norexean warbirds from the Free State.

But then, there was a call from the freighter captain O'Flaherty, and Ian seemed set on negotiating with him. Upon his handing over the bridge to Nira, she said, "Of course, Captain. You deal with O'Flaherty, I'll talk with our friends from the Free State."

When Ian was gone, she turned to Tactical and ordered, "Tactical, keep an eye on the Doomsday Weapon. Commander Catalan, hail the lead ship of those Romulans."

Upon channel open, she said, "This is Commander Said of the Starship Challenger. Captain Galloway is in negotiation with one Captain O'Flaherty of the ship Pride O'Rigel, and I'm currently standing in for him."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Lieutenant Commander Catalan tapped a few keys and replied.

"No response Commander. The signal is going out, but they are not replying."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Mess Hall - Deck 4 - USS Challenger]

The four figures sat at the back of the enlisted mess and spoke in quiet tones.

"Are we ready to act?"

"Yes, we've made our preparations."

"Then we strike at midnight."

"Excellent."

["Put him through Fernando."]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

The arrival of such a powerful squadron raised Ian's hopes, but he was curious as to what this O'Flaherty could possibly want. He would have thought the merchant would have already fled after loading up his ship with refugees, maybe not as many as the captain of the Guppy tried to do, but similar.

"Put him through Fernando."

The viewscreen resolved into the image of the young rakish captain, but he seemed hesitant and nervous for a change.

"Well, now, looks like you boyos didn't do so well that time around, eh Captain. I, er I think I might have stumbled onto something that can help. Leastways, I think you can use it. If you want to know more, I'll speak to you in person aboard me ship."

"I'm rather pressed for time Captain, what information do you have?"

"Sure'n that would be tellin'. Please, what I have will be worth your while and might just save the day."

As Ian was out of ideas, he sighed and nodded.

"Alright Captain. I'll be right over. Galloway out."

Ian stood and over his shoulder he said.

"Nira, you have the bridge."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bridge --> Transporter Room --> Pride O'Rigel]

Ian took the short turbolift ride to the transporter room and was beamed over to the transport ship. He was met by O'Flaherty who was not sporting a big smile and his confident demeanor again.

"This way Captain."

The doors to what Ian assumed was the ship's mess hall swished open and Ian found himself facing seven Romulan officers.