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[Commander Nira Said | Runabout Mississippi >- Docking Pad Ninety-Four | Burji Khalifa Penthouse >- Tamansarret Shipyard | Earth]

The runabout proceeded to take the crew up to where the Revenant was docked. When Nira asked why they were heading to the Tamansarret rather than the nearest planetary shipyard across from the Strait of Hormuz (the planetary shipyard she could always see at the top on a good day), she was informed that there was no pad facility there, and the Revenant has a spot there awaiting them.

In any case, after they left, Nira could see the shipyard before they had arrived.

She had heard plenty of how the planetary shipyards were in extreme demand since all of Earth's orbital facilities were destroyed on Frontier Day. But what surprised her was the sheer amount of ships around.

"Yeah, you're wondering about that," said the runabout pilot. "Most of the ships have elected to come down here to get worked on and having that swarm program erased. I think it's mostly because Earth is now unprotected. Not all the ships hacked by the Borg at Frontier Day are at Earth; some had to go farther afield. Alpha Centauri, Vulcan, Andor, Tellar, Betazed...but most of the ships are here. And this isn't the only shipyard that's packed; they all are."

"Good thing they're so isolated," said Nira. She turned and explained to the crew. "Shipyards like this are set up in the middle of nowhere as a safety measure; in the event of something catastrophic, there's nobody around to affect them. There are plenty of these planetary shipyards around Earth for that purpose. Like in Riverside, Iowa, for example."

As they drew closer, the starship traffic was all the more apparent. Whatever ships weren't docked at the facilities were parked in various ways. Those with landing capabilities made themselves comfortable in whatever flat piece of surface they could find, although Nira was sure that some ships could tip forward or backward if they weren't careful; forward in the case of the Neo-Constitutions and Sutherland classes, backward with the Alitas. Those without landing capabilities hovered stagnantly airborne, although a few ships were docked at the mountains; if one didn't know better, from the angle, one would assume saucers had parked on those flat topped mountains. Of course, given the program being worked on, Nira could see a few workbees buzzing around the ships, an obvious indication of show. As they drew in closer, tents could be seen around the landed ships, and there were so many of them, it almost looked like a tent city.

"What's with the tents?" she asked.

The runabout pilot shrugged. "Far as I know, some of those ships' crews had set them up to have fun in the sun," he said.

"And I wonder how many of those tents are Bedouin tents?" asked Nira.

"Oh, plenty," the runabout pilot chuckled. "They've been there for a while now. At least modern technology helps them and their animals as they continue to wander."

Finally, they reached the landing pad facility, like a Regula station with pads, albeit they extended out at multiple levels. Even then, Nira could see all the landing pads were occupied. A good deal of the landing pads were big enough to admit even smaller starships, but even then, those ships there never all fit; some of their nacelles extended outward, in the case of the Steamrunners and the Reliants. Some, like the Edison classes, looked too wide.

"There she is," said Nira, spotting the Revenant. Aside from the fact that it was the only ship of its class there, it was also among the only starships to fit perfectly on its landing pad.

"We're coming in for a landing at the shuttle hangar," the pilot said. "Revenant is on Docking Pad Ninety-Four."

A moment later, the crew approached the Revenant. It was positioned in a way that its rear was facing toward the main building, along with the walkway heading for the pad. The launch bay hatch was open and extended downward as a ramp. The launch bay itself can be seen, and two pairs of shuttlepods were being tucked into each side of the bay further inside.

Off to the side, clearly away from the crowd, just close to the pad entrance, three young officers were checking out equipment. Nira could tell it was three of the Revenant's crew, however there was left. Aside from recognizing them from the personnel files, Nira recognized them from their glum, mournful emotions, expressions and body language; the only way one could find a more sorrier, guilty bunch of young fellows would be if one went back in time to more than three decades past and witnessed the disgrace of Starfleet Academy's Nova Squadron.

Two of the officers were in gold uniforms, Engineering officer Feeka Olisa and Security officer V'Larinn. Both had lone pips of ensigns, and both looked to be young; Feeka looked to be the youngest, though V'Larinn looked to come at an extremely close second. Nira could definitely see how serious it is if sorry, guilty and mournful body language was indicative even in a Vulcan, despite their reputation for suppressed emotion and logic. The third, who definitely looked older by two or three years, was in a red uniform and with one blacked pip next to the shiny one, a junior lieutenant. Helmsman Nathan Cutter, Nira recalled from the personnel file. She had a good idea why those three officers were standing away from the crowd.

As the immediate ranking officer, Cutter was the one Nira headed to. "Mister Cutter?" she asked as she approached.

Feeka and V'Larinn looked up as she approached. V'Larinn then turned a different direction, making as if the saucer of a Ross-class starship parked on one of the Tamansarret mountains was the most interesting bit of scenery there is. Feeka looked like she wanted to hide her head into her uniform the way a turtle would hide its head in its shell. Nira could see them from the corners of her eyes, but their reactions weren't lost on her.

"Mister Cutter, I'm Commander Said," said Nira. "I'm your new temporary commanding officer. And these are your new crewmembers. And you must be Ensigns Feeka and V'Larinn," she said in greeting to Feeka and V'Larinn, nodding at the ensigns. "You'll have new department heads to report to; Feeka, you'll be reporting to Chief Engineer M'Nia, V'Larinn, to Lachlyn and Dersch."

[Docking Pad Ninety-Four]

Nathan stood stiffly at attention, but he looked through Nira with dead eyes as he spoke.

"Good to meet you Captain, welcome to the Revenant."

He replied in a respectful tone and figured he'd let the new officer get settled before he put in his request to resign.

["Report."]

[Transporter Room Four --> Bridge - USS Challenger]

When the transporter cycle finished and Ian found himself surrounded by a sea of civilians he was confused for a moment. He marched over to the transporter chief and barked.

"Report."

"There was an explosion on an overcrowded transport. We're holding it in orbit with a tractor and beaming off more people than I've ever seen on one ship Sir."

Ian blinked at this information, but waved absently for the chief to resume his duties. He had to push his way out of the transporter room and through the crowd in the corridor. Ian could see security was trying to maintain some semblance of order, so he did not interfere. Once he got to the bridge he could see Catalan was issuing orders rapidly as he tried to get control of a situation that refused to be in control.

"I have the deck and and the conn Commander."

Ian said as he returned to the command chair and noted the look of relief on Catalan's face.

"What's the current situation Fernando?"

"So far we've pulled over 4,000 survivors off the transport Sir, but that's less than half aboard. The transport's orbit is stable in our tractor. Medical is swamped. Security, even with reinforcement is only just keeping the crowd from turning into a mob."

Ian was having difficulty trying to process that the transport on the viewscreen could carry so many people. Based on the number he'd just been given, there were more passengers on the transport than the Challenger was rated to carry.

"Very well Mister Catalan. New plan. We will act as a way point rather than a terminal. We beam them aboard Challenger. If'n they are uninjured, we immediately beam them back ta the planet. Notify the Anax and tap into the Angdarri resources ta assist. As the transport's orbit is stable, stop the evacuation of uninjured immediately and start beamin' the civilians we have aboard ta Angdarr as second priority after the injured."

"Aye Sir."

Ian could see the state of the transport, the registration pinged as S.S. Guppy, and he wondered how a ship in such poor condition was allowed to even try to break orbit. Then he was able to answer his own question.

"Desperation and greed. That damn Machine has got the population terrified. We have ta do summat or they will have every reason ta be so."

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

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 4 - Transporter Room One]

Lahr groaned at the news of his 'conscription'.   He'd done this sort of thing before.   It never ended well.  Rhymus had taught him that much.  But orders were orders and his had him headed to Transporter Room One to help with crowd control.  He'd been issued a phaser and an armband that read: Auxiliary Security.  When he arrived, he found that it had become a triage area, which only slowed process of moving the evacuees out of the room.  The Andorian felt a tad overwhelmed by the press off so many people, all desperately in need of help.

He looked around to see if he could find the Security officer in charge to report in and be given more specific orders but the area seemed vacant of any Security whatsoever.   No wonder he'd been drafted!  He tried to find among the sea of faces someone in at least a Starfleet uniform, other than himself.

Having been in the Security department years back, the Andorian was familiar with emergency procedures.   He gave a sharp whistle to draw attention to himself, as he held up a hand as he shut the door and held the door lock with his other hand, ensuring he got people's attention.

"Any person who is not injured are to make their way to the Observation Lounge or the Enlisted Mess Hall.  You can get directions by merely approaching any wall panel and saying 'Computer, directions to the Observation Lounge' and then following the arrows along the wall the computer will provide.". In response to his request, the wall nearest him lit with a deck floor plan and a large digital arrow pointed in the direction of the room exit.

"Once at either location, remain there unless directed elsewhere by an officer. Your personal details will be collected as soon as possible.  Families and or individuals who indicate they are traveling together will be assigned to temporary shelter together or near to one another.  However, until then, please be patient and orderly while we treat your injured first."

Lahr then stepped out of the way of the doors and released the lock, allowing a flood of uninjured to make their way through the hallways towards the turbolift.  He idly wondered how many would get lost even with such easy instructions.

As the transporter beam gripped him and began it's usual routine of separating his molecules and sending them hurtling through space to be reassembled back on the ship, Kyan's last thought was that he really wanted to punch that Jindrak guy... but he didn't know why.

[Lt. Commander Kyan Mackenzie | Transporter Room 1, U.S.S. Challenger]

When the transporter put him back together back on Challenger, Kyan was greeted not by the usual tranquility of the transporter room and Chief Morow, but by a cacophony of sounds and a gaggle of people. Galloway, Smiley, and himself weren't even the only ones that had beamed aboard. But looking around, he didn't even see Galloway or Smiley. Other people occupied the transporter pads. Most of them were the Simian denizens of Angdarr, but there were representatives from several other species too.

The scene was distilled chaos. Over the din of people talking, and complaining, and a few who were moaning in agony from their injuries, Kyan could see Jalen doing triage. The person operating the transporter was herding everyone off the pads now so Kyan hopped down to avoid getting shoved off by the crowd around him.

"Where's Captain Galloway and Smiley?" he demanded when he got down.

"They went to another transporter. We've been beaming people over from the Guppy sir." the transporter tech informed him. "Doctor Kartos is doing triage for the wounded."

The first question he had was, What the hell is "the Guppy. It seemed like a weird name for a ship, but he didn't ask it. Instead he simply nodded. Since there was still a lot of time left before the Planet Killer arrived, Kyan figured he wouldn't be needed on the bridge now, and if he was, they'd call. So he weaved through the masses until he got to where Jalen was looking at one of the wounded Angdarr.

"Heya." Kyan offered. "D'ya need some help the now?"

[Transporter Room One - USS Challenger]

Before the doctor could reply, Kyan became aware of a disturbance behind him on the transporter platform. A crowd of civilians had formed around a recent arrival on the Challenger.

"There he is!"

"Get him before he can run."

"You greedy idiot!"

"KILL HIM!"

At least two dozen civilians of at least four species had started throwing punches at a human as he tried to defend himself from the onslaught. The only 'security' in the transporter room was Lahr and the mob wasn't paying him any attention. Things looked about to go from very, very bad to murderous if something wasn't done quickly.

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

[Commander Nira Said | Shuttle Cutty Sark | Warbird Necropolis | Andgarr Prime]

Nira watched in amazement at Espada's flying and Zhuk's shooting. They were so high up the canopy that there were so much more branches and more limbs of the huge trees; any higher up, and they'd break free from the canopy and would see it like a green sea, as Nira figured. And the shooting was good enough for the Scorpion to break off.

Now that it was gone, the shuttle was able to close in on the signature Tora found. Once again, it was a descent from great heights to feeling like reaching the bottom of a huge well...or rather, a very deep crater. Only this time, they were coming down deeper until they reached the ground. It was slightly dark, maybe a bit of murkiness, but the details can be made out well enough.

The wreck was certainly more than two and a half centuries old, maybe two and three-quarter centuries old. In point of fact, the hulk was a Battlehawk, the biggest of Romulan battleships ever to be face during the Human-Romulan War that led to the formation of the Federation. It rested at an angle in a way that it looked to tilt. One of its nacelles was missing, and it side missing the nacelle was the side more on the ground. Part of the Battlehawk was covered in foliage, almost like a model ship buried under leaves, and its rear was set against the roots of the huge tree, and after two hundred and seventy or eighty or so years, the roots were growing around and on top of it, absorbing the ship over time; Nira remembered hearing stories of ancient metal wedges placed amidst a tree, forgotten, only to be found a few decades later to have been partially absorbed into the tree, eventually leading to splitting the tree, but it was more rather the case of something being buried by a tree over time.

Looking around, Nira saw the huge trunk of an ohn'garr tree laying on the side like a log huge enough to bear semblance to the body of an old Constitution class...assuming Consitutions were made to be built as big as Galaxy-classes.

Remembering the secret Andgarr weapon of tractor emitters hidden on the tree trunks, Nira looked around. "Hey, look at that," she said, pointing. It was just at the top side of the trunk, a rusted piece of machinery, also partially absorbed into the tree.

"There's a reason for the wreckage and the junkyard," Nira said, addressing Taja and Tora and anybody who didn't see what the Andgarr did to the Praetorian Triumvirate earlier. "A long time ago, two hundred and seventy or eighty or so years ago, the Andgarr thwarted a conquest by the Romulans. There was a battle among the treetops, ships engaging each other among the trees. The climax was when the fleet was brought down by the trees. It was done using tractor emitters; the Andgarr cut partially into the trees, the emitters caught the ships, the ships tried to break free, and the result let to the trunks breaking free from their force. Some ships were crushed or flattened, others damaged.

"Looks like this ship may have gotten its nacelle sheared off and the trunk dragged it the rest of the way down," said Nira. "It wouldn't be surprising; if the ship didn't get crushed, it would've gotten dragged down by the trunk to the forest floor below, pulled by the weight of the trunk. If there was total sunlight, I'm sure we'll probably see indications of impact craters or indications of damage.

"Okay, here's the plan now that we found it," said Nira, giving instructions. "Mister Espada, take the Cutty Sark back to Challenger, just in case of any more scavengers; it's too exposed out here and I don't want any more surprise scavengers. The rest of us will proceed inside and head for the ship's Main Engineering. Aarwendil, Neva, Tora, you'll be our guides, your tricorders ought to point the way. Doctor Grippen, Nekab, medical support, particularly in the event of potential radiation leakage. Zhuk, you handled okay back up there against the Scorpion, but if you or the doctor feel you're not in any good shape to come with us, you can head back to Challenger with Espada, and Kyan can change places with you if you wish. And on the subject of the Challenger..."

She then tapped her comm badge.  "Said to Challenger. We found a warp core in the wreck of a Romulan ship with an active signature. We'll be heading inside the ship it's in. Please inform Davenport and Tharn to send a team from each of their departments and beam them to my comm badge signal. Phasers distributed to both away teams and weapons heavy with Security, I want to make sure we discourage any more potential hostiles or be able to respond to an engagement better if we get surprised."

[Romulan Wreck - Angdarri Prime]

Espada looked skeptical at being told to leave, but nodded and lifted as soon as the other six members of the away team left the shuttle. There were myriad sounds all about as small animals darted, always just out of sight, as they neared the hull. Despite the lost nacelle, the hull looked to be mostly intact at least intact enough to suit their purposes.

It took a bit to find an airlock that still functioned and wasn't blocked by the tree's assimilation of the hull. Entering the old hull felt like breaking into a tomb or some sacred place. Once they had an entry point, Nira called the Challenger only to be told that there was a rescue in progress and that the requested security and engineering support would be delayed.

Obviously Nira had questions, but it was clear by the tone of Lieutenant Booker's voice that now was not the time for answers. They would have to proceed on their own. As the entire venture of getting the old hulk depended on the readings Tora had located, Engineering would be their first stop.

As they made their way aft through the old hull, Nira had another thought. As this ship dated to the Earth-Romulan war, her power would not be a singularity or even matter/anti-matter. It would almost certainly be fusion and that caused a whole chain of questions of whether or not such an engine could generate a large enough explosion to disable the Doomsday Machine.

However, before the away team could figure out if this old ship would serve their purpose, Nekab, possessing the best hearing in the group shouted a warning.

"There is someone hiding ahead of us!"

The warning was just enough for the away team to dive to cover as a storm of disruptor bolts, most decidedly not set on stun, swept the corridor.

[[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | NCC-40117 'Cutty Sark' | Over the Skies of the Warbird Metropolis | Angdarr Prime | Angdarr System]]

[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | NCC-40117 'Cutty Sark' | Over the Skies of the Warbird Metropolis | Angdarr Prime | Angdarr System]

The small moment of rest was interrupted by the sudden comment from Tora. His ear wriggled to her location, as he listened in to the potential discovery of an intact singularity core. A small smile came into his muzzle, though it took little for it to fade, as she stopped. The Ensign was quick to inform them that they were being trailed by an armed vessel. Not good. He quickly got out of his seat, extending the claws on his feet to get a better grip on the floor in case Lieutenant Espada had to engage in evasive maneuvers.

He wandered over to where Ensign Zalos was and took a look at the scans on display. He frowned at that, as he glanced over to the pilot seat, "Be advised, Lieutenant Espada, you are about to be engaged by a Scorpion-class fighter. We are better armed, but it is a rather negligible margin."

He glanced over at Commander Said, once she had given him the orders. A brief smirk came over Zhuk's face, as he quickly moved over towards the weapon console, "Gladly, Commander~"

His tone was peppy, and he indeed was quite happy to charge up the Type-VIII Phaser Arrays, before he proceeded to fire an initial salvo at the Scorpion-class once it went in range. He aimed towards its weapon system, and one of the wings, hoping to disable it before it could properly put up a fight.

[Shuttle Cutty Sark/ Warbird Necropolis/ Andgarr Prime]

Aarwendil went to work in the scan, searching for the Romulan warp cores. However, Ensign Zalos found them first. Not only that, but she also identified that there was another ship chasing them. The young Betazoid thought that it was the scavengers trying to pursue them. However, the revelation that it was a Scorpion-class chasing them changed his mind. Such a type of shuttle wasn't used by simply criminals.

"œMa'am." Nekab said, while approaching Commander Said. He was so silent since their retreat that the Betazoid forgot about his presence. "œA Scorpion-class has a peculiarity that can help us." the Romulan was close to the scanners, watching the signal of the enemy shuttle in deep thought. "œTheir weapons have a delay of how many times they can fire before needing to recharge. It's usually seven consecutive shots. Being fast enough to evade them, you can attack while recharging. It's a time limit of 60 seconds."

Nekab said with so much certainty that gave the impression, at least for Aarwendil that he had saw one of the ships closer than a simple doctor would be. He wondered how the Romulan knew it.

[Canopy - Angdarr Prime]

The Scorpion lanced in blazing away as it closed. Espada dodged most of the salvo, but a few hits registered on the shields, which held firm. The task of hitting the nimble fighter was greatly complicated by the need to constantly evade the branches, limbs, and trunks of the massive trees the two small ships darted around as the fought.

The combination of Zhuk's accurate firing and Espada's excelling flying skills soon gave the Cutty Sark the advantage and Zhuk scored a solid hit. The fighter pilot must have decided the target was no longer worth the effort as it broke off trailing smoke and finally allowing the away team to reach the power source Tora had discovered.

Espada brought the shuttle in for a smooth landing within a hundred meters of the old Romulan hulk that was the source of Tora's readings. A quick scan of the area didn't show any humanoid lifesigns within twenty kilometers. The wreck looked bent, rusting, and forlorn as it rested at an angle on the forest floor, ready to be explored.

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

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

To a casual observer, there really wasn't a single word that could capture the frenetic energy and action that was sickbay. Medical personnel were almost automatons as they reacted to the events in front of them. Medications, equipment, and procedures, were in constant flux as the casualties mounted. The sheer number of injured civilians soon swamped the available biobeds to the point that first gurneys, tables, and eventually, any flat surface large enough had to do.

Some of the civilians became irate as they had to wait for treatment, this forced the security officers pressed into litter bearing duty to shift to crowd control. The Challenger had an emergency evacuation capacity of 6,250, the Guppy, which was clearly operating without proper licensing and certification had crammed some 8,649 terrified refugees into her dilapidated hull. Given the panic that rippled through her passengers, it wasn't fully clear if the security department could manage the crowd along, this forced Commander Catalan to draft a large portion of Ops and even Engineering to help maintain order which was how Lahr found himself dragooned back into the role of security officer. The influx of Starfleet presence was working, but only just.

[Minutes Later - Sickbay]

Abas walked into Sickbay and was immediately almost overwhelmed with the strong emotions coming from the high number of casualties. It seemed that the alert was well and truly called for - this qualified as a mass-casualty event. The dull whine of the transporter was heard as another load of casualties was deposited directly in the medical bay. Abas sensed one of them about to collapse, and quickly moved in to grab the ailing victim, supporting them and trying to determine where an open bio-bed was.

Abas noted the presence of the CMO, directing traffic and organizing the finely tuned machine that was the medical staff. Many of them had extensive training in combat medicine or quick triage - and it was coming in handy now. "Doctor," he said, trying to gain the attention of any of the medical officers in the area. "Where to with this one?"

Jess scanned the casualty with her tricorder and scowled.

"Dammit, internal injuries. He needs immediate surgeries. I don't have any other surgeons at the moment or nurses. Mister Abas, you're going to have to assist me and we're going to have to operate right here in the hallway. Fasten your seatbelt, it's going to be a bumpy night."

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

[Great Hall - Angdarr Prime]

Ian and Avolus were shown into Anax Jindarr's office as soon as they arrived. The Angdarri leader looked as if he'd aged a decade since the last time Ian saw him.

"Bless the Canopy you are here Captain, Commander, tell me you have good news."

"I have news Sir, but tis nae good. We met with that wanker Burton King of Kinglines and he pretty much told us ta bugger off unless we were willin' ta be extorted for over 8,000 bloody bricks of gold pressed latinum. With whatever is happenin' on Earth, I can nae reach Starfleet Command and I cannae authorize or even produce that much latinum on my own authority. And as this is nae a Federation world, I can neither intern his ship under emergency regulations or legally take his ship by force."

"I see, and what is the stance of the Free State Commander?"

"I regrettably face the same limitations Anax."

"It is the height of irony that your government's perspective regulations, which I would normally laud for keeping your larger power from treating my people as pawns in your Great Game, are keeping you from saving us from annihilation. That is a bitter pill to be certain. However, while you may face rules that keep you from seizing the Cosmos Royale, I do not face such restrictions. While there will be repercussions for such an act, I am prepared to give the order to take the ship by force if you can guaranty such an action is necessary and will succeed."

Ian looked over at Avolus who looked just as uneasy as he felt before he replied.

"Anax, while I can guaranty the need for such an action, I can nae, in good faith, promise you it will work. All I have is the historical data that showed explodin' a ship's impulse drive inside a Doomsday Machine was able to disable the only other example encountered, I simply won't guaranty success this time."

"I see. What other options do I have to save my people and home?"

"As we speak, my crew is searchin' your 'Warbird Necropolis' for a ship we can get workin' long enough ta feed it ta the machine."

"Then there is hope."

"Aye Sir, there is."

The Anax seemed to relax for the first time since the away team entered and he said.

"Then I will leave you gentlemen to your business. Please keep me informed on your progress."

"Absolutely Anax, thank you for your time."

The group left the office and Ian said to Avolus once they were outside.

"Given your people obviously have more experience with your systems, I propose that we work together ta get one of the wrecks operation Commander."

"A logical conclusion to which I concur. I will return to my ship and have a team standing by as soon as you find a suitable vessel Captain."

"Very good Commander, speak to you soon."

Ian then tapped his combadge.

"Galloway ta Challenger, three ta beam up."

As the annular confinement beam captured him, Ian could see Avolus and his guards beaming out as well.

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[[USS Challenger-A - Deck 12 - Upper Engineering Support]]

After Kyan had left Jalen had back-to-back appointments with some of the ship's children. Nothing out of the ordinary or strange, in fact it was all rather run of the mill. He was just finishing up with a young Bolian girl, when the captain's announcement game across the intercom. Jalen quickly and politely finished up with the girl, ending by giving her a sucker. He then ushered he from the office as calm as ever and handed her off to her expectant parents.

"œDon't worry, all is well. The ship isn't in combat so you and your family should be relatively safe. Just head back to your duty stations and home, and everything will be alrighty. You're going to be a brave girl for us, right? And keep your brother and the stuffies safe right?" Jalen asked squatting down before the girl who beamed a smile at him and nodded fiercely.

"œGood now run along, Dr. Jalen has work to do." Jalen the showed the family out of sick bay and reported to the CMO.

"œCommander Fellows, where would you like me?"

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

There was a stunned pause as the announcement of a mass casualty event was made, then the entire on duty medical staff sprung into action, highlighted by directions from the CMO, Lieutenant Commander Jessica Fellows.

"Alright, we've planned and practiced this multiple times. Now we execute the plan. Chief T'ealc, notify all off duty personnel and get them moving, we're going to need everyone we have. Lieutenant Davies, you will do triage here in sickbay. Doctor Kartos, go to transporter room one and do triage there. Doctor Rashar, you have transporter room two. Doctor Zorr, room three. Doctor Rars, room four, Doctor Booth, room five, and Doctor Yoder, room six.

"All black tags to Cargo Bay One. Red tags get beamed here. Yellows, if they can walk, they will make their way here on their own. If non-ambulatory, security personnel will assist."

She then tapped her combadge.

"Sickbay to Bridge, do we have any idea how many casualties we are talking about?"

"Catalan here Doctor. We only have intermittent communications with the transport because of their damage in addition to being poorly maintained, it looks like the ship was grossly overloaded with people fleeing Angdarr, sensor readings are difficult because of local radiation from the explosion, but at a guess, the ship was carrying 8,000 people. I don't have a number of casualties yet. Estimates based on the damage pattern is hundreds at the least."

"Thank you Commander. Sickbay out."

On closing the channel Jess faced the wide-eyed medical staff.

"This will be the biggest medical event any of us have ever faced. Follow your training and be prepared to be flexible. This is uncharted territory."

No sooner had Jess finished speaking, than the first of the most critical casualties began to arrive and there wasn't time for talk.

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

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 12 - Upper Engineering Support]

Moments later, lights were flashing all over the room, as multiple transporter beams were initiated all at once and nearly overloaded the patched EPS lines.

Lahr called up to the bridge.  "Engineering Support to Ops.  Any chance you can have your transporter personnel, who are beaming out survivors, time their beams outs in a series - one after the other -  as we are close to overloading the lines when they all activate at the same time.  I know time is of the essence by even a two second pause between beam start ups will keep the flow steady and avoid a worse catastrophe.  Think about it... ch'Verret out."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Lieutenant Adelle Booker was at Ops and took Lahr's call. She had snared the crippled Guppy with a tractor beam and was keeping the ship's orbit stable. Once she was certain the Guppy was secure, she replied to Lahr.

"Understood Engineering. Things are just short of out of control on that transport, we may need security to get a handle on the situation."

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

Tora sighed and turned to look down at her console. Here was better than being shot at and kidnapped by scavengers, at any rate. Once again, no thanks to being made into less than she was now.

Her fingers swept over the controls. Romulan drives were ever so easy to pinpoint. The tiny singularities that powered their warp cores were detectable from large distances away always - soon enough there was a blip on her sensors, small at first but steadily growing larger as the shuttle travelled forward. "Commander. Sensors indicate a Romulan singularity core straight ahead of us. Two hundred klicks." She reported, glancing up from the console for just a moment to look at the First Officer. "And-"

Tora never finished her sentence. Frantic beeping sounded from her console; she glanced sideways at it. What she saw made her stomach churn. "We are being followed." She announced. "By... a small craft of some sort. And it is armed."

[In the Canopy - Angdarr Prime]

Further scans showed Tora the small craft was a Scorpion-class fighter not quite as combat capable as the Type-17 shuttle, but nothing to be scoffed at. It was on an intercept course with it's weapons charged and shields up.

[Commander Nira Said | Shuttle Cutty Sark | Warbird Necropolis | Andgarr Prime]

Nira looked over at Hector and raised her eyebrows with interest. "It could....and," she added with a smile, "in any event, it was required to take the ship into its gullet. An explosion did take the other one down, but an implosion..."

She was grinning even wider now. "Holy Allah, I can imagine the possibilities. Not even its neutronium shell could handle a self-consuming singularity...a black hole that would consume it..." She stopped herself from laughing and added, "Well, considering the technology back then, comparing it to the technology now...despite its neutronium, whatever we can throw into it, even at partial power, would potentially do a lot more damage to the thing..."Nira beamed in delighted interest at Tora, only for the other shoe to drop when she mentioned a follower... "Allah forbid, it better not be who I think it is," Nira muttered with a scowl.

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

[Office of Burton King - Kinglines Corporation - Angdarr Prime]

When Ian and the others entered, they found a human male of about fifty with graying brown receding hair who seemed otherwise, fairly fit. He had a cold expression as the away team came into his office.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion? First, you intimidate my receptionist and then you barge in here as if you own the place. I get you might be important where you come from, but here, I'm in charge."

He snarled, visibly angry at the away team.

"Apologies Mister King, but time is of the essence. I am Captain Ian Galloway and my associate is Commander Avolus. It is my understanding you have a large ship in orbit. We're here to ask to use it to save this planet."

"And exactly how is my unarmed liner going to do that when the two of you have warships that cannot do it otherwise you wouldn't be asking for my ship."

"Fair question. We aim to fly it down the maw of the approaching machine and detonate its warp core."

King sputtered for a moment in utter amazement.

"You want to destroy the Cosmos Royale? I have to assume you've suffered a head injury recently. That ship has a value of 8,250 bricks of gold pressed latinum. Do you seriously think I'm going to allow you to just destroy that sort of investment? You can leave now."

"Now, Mister King, let's nae be hasty. We're here ta negotiate."

"No we are not. Angdarr is not a Federation world. And even if it was, Kinglines is a privately owned corporation. You have no legal means to take my ship and I'm not going to lose my company's most valuable asset to some hare-brained nonsense. Get out."

"You would let an entire planet be destroyed to protect an investment? You can put a price on a planet and the hundreds of millions of lives at risk here?"

"It is unfortunate for Angdarr and it's people, but I am a businessman and I will not allow you to guilt me into parting with my ship. Now, you and your Romulan friend have armed ships and soldiers, I cannot stop you from taking the Cosmos Royale by force if you choose to do so, but I will sue you, Starfleet, and the Free State without mercy and I will win. Now, I've told you to leave twice now. Do I need to call the Angdarri police to have you escorted out?"

"Very well Mister King. Good day."

Was all Ian could say as King was right, he had no legal basis to seize the Cosmos Royale. The away team left the Kinglines office building and headed for the office of the Anax.

[[Mess Hall==>Crew Quarters ==>Bridge]]

[Mess Hall==>Crew Quarters ==>Bridge]

As the Challenger had been heading back to Earth, it had been a perfect time for Cole to take some time off after all the flying he ad done during their last excursion. During his down time, he had been practicing his martial arts and had taken a fall that had fractured his tibia. The doctors had repaired it and ordered him to rest and take it easy. He had been content with the orders when they were headed back to the Sol System but as soon as the Challenger sounded Red Alert and changed course, he had left the Mess Hall and went to his quarters to dawn his uniform.

With his uniform on, he left and made his way to the Bridge. He passed several crew members that were hurrying along and heard them mention an away team. He stepped into the lift and headed upward.

When the doors parted, he made his way to the edge of the walkway. He knew the Captain had been informed of his injury so he tried doing things by the book.

"Ensign Shepard reporting for duty, Sir. I'd like to take my post with your permission, Captain." he said as he stood by and waited for a reply.

[Shuttle - Cutty Sark]

As the shuttle took cover in the canopy of the trees. When Nira was finished speaking to the Challenger Espada asked a question.

"Commander, I admit, I'm no engineer, but when you mentioned singularities, that got me to thinking. Wouldn't a singularity core implode? Don't you need an explosion?"

["Captain Ian Galloway, Starfleet and Commander Avolus, Romulan Free State Navy to see Burton King."]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Anywho Science Two was wear Jamil was seated. There was all kind classes leaving Avolus he had hoped they were able to bring whatever the can to get off the planet. The fear losing your home. The hope. Faith in your lifestyle was taken from you. Your own home. That was sad.

There were anti-matter flow readings on 12.44.55 direct by the side of the Challenger. Where was the trace coming from. "œ"¦at 12.44.55 possible an anti-matter situation but having hard time getting the scanners to penetrate the laviteous semi-lak gas." He bit his lower lip. The laviteous semi-lak gas was not dangerous but it was due of a atmosphere built from the flow of the gases of Avalos. The fellow wished he could penetrate it by himself and get the credit, but it was best to get teamwork."Something is there but can't get a clear readout. Hmm..."

The planet had a toxic in world. Which caused the disturbance of the planet's atomsphere. The data he searched on the Planet Eater had nothing mention of that gas, or any other toxin he was looking for. There had to be something missing. He was determined to find it.

"Oh. Lenexa-Class transport is low orbit...OH! We got a warp core readings that's breaching, sir. That explains the anti-matter leakage,"  he explained.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Lieutenant Commander Fernando Catalan grimaced when he heard Jamil's report Lieutenant Adelle Booker was covering Ops as he sat in the command chair with both the Captain and the First Officer off the ship.

"Hail them and-"

Was all he managed to get out before there was an explosion aboard the transport. Fortunately, it wasn't the catastrophic blinding flare of a warp core breach, but it was bad enough. The stricken ship, the S.S. Guppy was falling out of orbit, her aft end wrecked by the explosion.

"Helm, intercept course. Ops, standby tractor beam."

Catalan then hit the comm control on the command chair.

"Medical, emergency, prepare to receive multiple casualties. There's been an explosion on a civilian transport and I am declaring a mass casualty event."

Switching channels he added.

"Bridge to all transporter rooms, prepare for multiple transport of injured civilians, many will need to be beam directly to sickbay. Act on your discretion."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Outside Kinglines Corporate Office - Angdarr Prime]

When Ian, Kyan, Ensign Morales, and Commander Avolus arrived on the planet, two stern looking Romulan soldiers were waiting. The group entered the building a were met by a smiling receptionist.

"Captain Ian Galloway, Starfleet and Commander Avolus, Romulan Free State Navy to see Burton King."

Ian said pleasantly.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"We do not."

"Then I am afraid Mister King is unavailable."

Ian's expression became far less pleasant as he replied.

"You tell Mister King he's about ta have company whether he wants it or not, whether he still has doors is up ta him."

The Bolian man cringed at Ian's demeanor and spoke softly into a microphone briefly before replying in a shaky tone.

"M-Mister King w-will see you now."

[Bridge - USS Revenant]

Nathan sat at the helm of the Revenant and tried not to scream. The images of Frontier Day would not leave him and it was tearing him apart inside.

"The things I did. How could I kill my friends? It's not right I get to live and so many who did nothing wrong were killed...by me. I don't deserve to be here. I should resign. As soon as I find out who the new captain is, I'm going to go. I don't deserve to wear this uniform any more."

This internal monolog continued without stop as he looked off into nothing and seeing nothing.

[Commander Nira Said | Shuttle Cutty Sark | Warbird Necropolis | Andgarr Prime]

Nira was impressed by Zhuk's prowress, but it did get him shot up a little. She got two or three of the scumbags and got a graze on the shoulder, but she felt the heat of the disruptor; a few more inches down and the beam would've sliced her arm off at the joint.

Aboard, she nodded at Taja's treating Zhuk and, as the shuttle took off, was surprised at Neva's calculating a return course to Challenger.

"Belay that, Ensign," she said. "We still have work to do. However, I downright hesitate to set down on the planet again, what with these scavengers and salvagers. Maintain an airborne position, Mister Espada. Put us among the trees, we'll look suspicious if we just hang around up here. Cheizex, Zalos, man the sensors, scan for any readings of Romulan warp cores, based on what the databanks can tell of Romulan singularity drives...generally how Romulans power their warp cores," she added. "One of them has to be intact and easy to be powered up."

She then opened a channel to Challenger. "Cutty Sark to Challenger. This is Commander Said. We made it to the planet, but we ran afoul of a bunch of criminal salvagers. We're maintaining airborne vectors and we'll scan for Romulan warp cores. I may need to call in for an additional security detail with a second team of engineers once we find it, just in case we do run into more scavengers once we find the core."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Sitting in the command chair, it was Lieutenant Commander Catalan that replied to Nira.

"Catalan here Commander. The Captain has met with his Romulan counterpart and the two of them are beaming down to speak with the owner of a space liner that meets our needs. I will inform Lieutenant Davenport and Commander Tharn to have teams standing by if you require assistance."

["Aye Mister Shepard, glad to have you back.]

When the doors parted, he made his way to the edge of the walkway. He knew the Captain had been informed of his injury so he tried doing things by the book.

"Ensign Shepard reporting for duty, Sir. I'd like to take my post with your permission, Captain." he said as he stood by and waited for a reply.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian smiled at the young officer as he reported in.

"Aye Mister Shepard, glad to have you back.

Kyan gave the old El-Aurian a wide eyed smile. "But I AM actually young by comparison." he laughed. "An I get tae be so fer a looooong time still." Then as he made for the door. "See ya later Jalen!

[Bridge | USS Challenger]

When the turbolift doors opened, Galloway was in the middle of what looked like a pleasant conversation with some Romulan. Kyan caught pieces of it as he made for the tactical station where he found Ensign Morales. The fresh faced hispanic grup had recently come aboard with the other new crew and always seemed to be smiling nervously.

That had earned him the nickname "Smiley" from Chief Blackfeather, which he didn't seem to mind. Kyan thought it appropriate. After all, the Chief had done worse. The Onlie shuddered to as he recalled the woe begotten tale of Ensign Min "Cheeks" Grix. His name had nothing to do with his smile, but an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction that the Ensign didn't notice until everyone else already had.

"G'mornin Smiley." Kyan greeted him. "What's going on?"

The Ensign turned, startled by his boss suddenly appearing. "Oh.. Good morning.. sir umm.. Well, Commander Said took an away team to the planet to find a derelict to feed the planet killer."

Kyan nodded. "And yer tracking em." It was a question but spoken as a statement.

"Oh.. yeah.. I was recalibrating the umm.. ventral.. yeah." Morales searched through his console's tasks until the needed window popped up. "Oh." he muttered, his expression no longer befitting his nickname.

Kyan looked down at the console, saw the status, and then down to where Galloway had finished his con fab with the Romulan. "Cap'n." Kyan called out. "Looks like the away team's gotten into a wee scrap with somebody so they have.
There's phaser and disrupter fire down there. Looks like the Cutty Sark's shooting too."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As Ian was rising to head for the turbolift to meet Commander Avolus, Kyan reported the away team had encountered trouble. His kneejerk reaction was to return to the Command Chair, but decided against that.

"I'm fair certain if'n Commander Said needed help she'd have called for it by now. Keep an eye on them and take us ta yellow alert, but keep shields and weapons offline. We nae want ta be spookin' our Romulan friends. Commander Catalan, you have the bridge."

It was a short trip to the transporter room and Ian arrived in time to see the Commander materialize. He seemed shorter than Ian had imagined for some reason, but the man carried himself with a gravitas that bespoke confidence and competence.

"Welcome aboard Commander. The briefing room is this way."

"Thank you Captain. Your ship is Trailblazer-Class? I've read the intelligence reports about them. Her hull is roughly as old as that of the Deletham Mosarum. However, it seems our governments diverged substantially in their thinking regarding the use of older hulls."

"Can't argue with you there Commander. I can say that regardless of her age, she's a fine ship."

On reaching the briefing room, Ian and Avolus took seats across the table with the Romulan speaking first.

"I am aware of the tactic used by your all too clever Captain Kirk on how to defeat this 'Doomsday Machine' of yours. I also am aware of a certain large ship in orbit named the Cosmos Royale. The owner of this ship is known to me, one Burton King. He's driven completely by avarice and the only way you will obtain his ship is if you buy it out right."

"Buy it? He would let a planet die over latinum?"

"Without hesitation, he's virtually a Ferengi. I know this as his gambling ship does a circuit of Free State territory that is very popular throughout the quadrant. I do not partake, but I know many that do. Plus he knows that large starships are at an absolute premium right now, putting him in a position of power over you Captain. In addition, he is planning on using the ship to evacuate himself and his staff before it is destroyed."

"Bloody hell. As you mentioned it's a gamblin' ship, looks like he holds all the aces."

"Indeed."

Ian raised an eyebrow at Avolus' understanding of his reference to which the wily old Romulan replied.

"I do not gamble Captain, but am aware that many of your kind do. I learned to game to better understand how a possible adversary thinks."

"Why aren't you Praetor Commander? You seem ta have the gift."

"I abhor politics. I command a ship, that is all I have aspired to do. It suits me and pleases me."

"Do you drink spirits Commander?"

"I do."

"Then, I believe we're ta be friends Commander."

"Based off of your record and my personal assessment of you Captain. I believe this ta be true."

Ian smiled and found himself truly amazed to have such a kindred spirit with a Romulan. This man was the very antithesis of Thelal and it seemed his interactions with the commander of the Khranu had colored his perceptions of what all Romulans had to be, it was a mistake he would not make again.

"Commander, I believe it's time we met with this Mister Burton King."

"Agreed."

"We can head there immediately. I will bring two security with me as things on Angdarr last time I visited didn't go well. You can have two of your people meet us on the planet."

"That is acceptable Captain."

They rose and headed for the turbolift. As they did, Ian tapped his combadge.

"Galloway ta MacKenzie. I want you and one of your best kitted out for trouble. You're ta be joinin' me and Commander Avolus on a wee trip ta the planet. Galloway out."

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

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As Lieutenant Randall was occupied tracking the progress of the Doomsday Machine and running simulations to calculate the yield necessary to destroy the massive weapon, Jamil and Ensign Alexandria Winsdor at Science Two and Science Three were using their time to keep track of the chaotic traffic of ships fleeing the potentially doomed world. The two would argue later who noticed the anomaly first, but for now, that didn't matter. They both had detected and old Lenexa-Class transport in low orbit. It's trajectory was unstable as it labored to break orbit, what was worse was it looked as if the anti-matter flow regulators were failing and the ship's warp core was close to breaching....

Ian can only be Gryffindore.

Lek, probably Ravenclaw.

[[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Warbird Necropolis | Angdarr Prime | Angdarr System]]

[Commander Nira Said | Shuttle Cutty Sark | Main Shuttlebay | Deck Nineteen | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira was certain Taja's charm - that relaxing affect from Taja's eyes - was going to work on the green scumbags. But not this time. Did it maybe require eye contact from whom Taja is staring at to work? Nira thought briefly before the leader made his retort. His right hand Orion said, "If you want the gold-hair, I get the dark-hairs, specifically I get the Cardassian. Lord Hirim will want the other dark haired females."

"You green perverts," snarled Nira. "You're not taking our shuttle to take apart! And you won't be taking slaves!" And then, she primed her rifle. The right hand stepped forward, his eyes aflame with lustful desire, and Nira shot him in the foot. And thus the fighting retreat started.

"Back to the shuttle, everybody! Fighting retreat!" called Nira, then looked at Zhuk. "Lieutenant! Covering fire! Everybody else, take your shots as best as you can."

And they moved back to the shuttle, Nira and Zhuk covering the team as they proceeded inside, taking one side of the door. As people scrambled in, Lieutenant Espada looked around in surprise.

[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Warbird Necropolis | Angdarr Prime | Angdarr System]

Zhuk never truly thought he would go back to the Warbird Necropolis that saw him defeat the Romulan forces in such a spectacular manner, and much less, so soon. If the battle had been any bigger, he would have been sure to be lauded as a brilliant tactician. Maybe one day, he thought, one day...

He kept his pride, however, to himself as the 'Cutty Sark' made its descent, expertly flown by Lieutenant Espada. It gave the crewmembers coming along a wonderful view of the tree canopy, one that Zhuk too enjoyed. He sighed, truly wishing that he had the time to climb the bark with his claws, jumping and swaying through the branches. Would have been an excellent way to relax.

Finally, the doors were opened, and Zhuk proceeded to hold his rifle close as he descended, watching the carnage that remained upon the junkyard. Lots of twisted metal, both rusted and new, greeted him as he took point, making sure to move in first to protect Neva, Doctor Grippen, and Tora from potential danger, as well as the rest of his squad. His eyes marveled at the remains, as the pieces had taken shapes and forms of all kinds, now that he was no longer in an active combat role. Still, something began to bother him, as his nose picked up hints of a rather pleasant scent. One he was much familiar with.

His sightseeing was over as he lifted his rifle to confront half a dozen or so scavengers, which were led by a huge Orion male, and an accompanying female of the same species, who wore a set of metal armor that gave her an absolutely wild look. Almost immediately, he proceeded to adopt a more defensive stance, lowering his form as he let out a hiss, showing his sharp canines.

He stopped himself from any hostile actions besides those, as he decided to use the fact that the scavengers had apparently resorted to talking to scan for possible defenses and advantages. His green dichroic eyes examined the ruins, finding that a couple of Nausicaans that were trailing their guns on them were quite badly positioned over what once seemed to be an aileron of a vessel. He could see that a small shower of dust and rust was falling from it, and even though his ears were flat behind his head, he swore he could hear the pieces groaning underneath their weight. Zhuk too noticed a triangular-shaped fin a few meters from him to the right, which he believed would serve as good cover when shots were fired.

He did his best to ignore his heart accelerating at the pheromones exuded by the Animal Woman, though he calculated that it would take more than that to make him submit to her wiles. And he staunchly refused to serve another Orion mistress once more. What surprised him though, was the way that Doctor Grippen proceeded to use her Risan charm to try and convince the Orion male to cease hostilities.

Though the Caitian Lieutenant was well aware of flirting maneuvers, he still felt his legs weak for a moment after that display. She certainly knew what she was doing, though unfortunately, he knew Orions too well. That man was nothing but a front, as the one leading them probably was the woman at his side. Typical Orion behavior. Her attempt would not work, even though it had been valiant.

As expected, there would be no quarrel here. Zhuk bared more of his teeth at the comments made by the Orion, though he noted the stun setting. That would be an advantage to their team, though he wondered whether it would be correct for him to extend the same courtesy. He decided against it, considering that he could just feign ignorance if anyone on the team noticed that. Soon enough, shots began flying as Nira opened fire on the large male, hitting him on the foot.

Zhuk kept himself from laughing at that, as he instead fired against the aileron where the Nausicaans were standing, sending both of them toppling a few feet into a lower level of the junkyard. At the orders of retreating, Zhuk replied with a, "Yes ma'am!" ushering cover fire for the rest, catching another Nausicaan square on the chest while he used his natural agility to weave, twist, and spin out of the way while covering against the pieces of metal and garbage that surrounded him.

As he reached the shuttle once more, he proceeded to cover at the left side of the door, fighting with his Commander without giving one step back. He managed to catch another Orion by the shoulder, and as he noticed the approach of the Animal Woman, he made sure to aim at her, wanting to put her out of commission for good. Unfortunately, her plates proved to be an excellent defense, with her having enough common sense to keep her face out of Zhuk's sights.

The luck for Zhuk only continued to get worse, as a couple of shots did manage to hit him. The first one hit his leg, which made him yowl with pain, as the area was seared, though he remained combat effective. The other pulse, thankfully set to stun as one of the women of the team was the intended target, hit him on his upper chest,  which caused him to slump over against the door, falling to the side as the effects quickly set to him.

"A-Agh... g-guh... r-reprobates...! A-agh..." Were the only things he could muster, as he was down and out for the count.

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Shuttlecraft Cutty Sark | Angdarr Prime]

What was that phrase some of her Academy classmates used when encountering something preposterously dangerous or huge? Oh, right. Oh, hell no. It certainly captured the nasty mix of panic and fear that bubbled inside Tora's stomach as she turned and fled for the shuttlecraft well. Why exactly did the universe have to do this to them, exactly? She hadn't expected puppies and rainbows when landing, of course, but this was a little too much. Captured by Orions and made into something less than she was? Um, no thank you! She was happy with the woman she was, moreso than as a dabo girl.

She had only barely begun to settle down when she heard the feline yowl of pain cut through the air like a razor. Without thinking she sprang up from her seat, grabbed the Caitian and dragged him into the shuttle. "Help! He needs medical attention!" Tora was hollering as she touched her hand to his upper chest. Her fingers came away red. Not good...

[Shuttle Cutty Sark - Warbird Necropolis - Angdarr Prime]

As the snarl of weapons fire shattered the clearing, it was clear that the scavengers, while not Rhodes Scholars, they did know how to fight and it was only Nira's quick order to retreat that saved the away team. As members leapt aboard the Cutty Sark, Lieutenant Espada was caught open mouthed with surprise, but when splashes of weapon's fire began pinging off the hatch, he sprang into action.

"Sweet Merciful Crap!"

He exclaimed as he fed power to the shuttle's thrusters and brought the shields on line. This cut off the scavenger's fire completely as none of their weapons were heavy enough to punch through the Cutty Sark's defenses. Once everyone was aboard, he closed the hatch and lifted off in a hurry, quickly climbing beyond the range of the ambushers.

"Well, that didn't go as planned. What now Commander?"

[[Angdarr Landing Site]]

[Commander Nira Said | Shuttle Cutty Sark | Romulan Landing Pad | Warbird Necropolis | Andgarr Prime]

Nira stood between Neva and Hector and watched with awe as they dove into the huge canopy. It was well worth seeing again, but now they had to save it. Save it from the monster of Kirk's day.

Upon landing, she smiled at Hector's jokey reply. "Good flying with you. Keep the engine running, we may need to get going once we find the core, we don't want to go it on foot." She looked over at Taja and Tora Zalos and said, "Well, you'd be surprised by the huge trees, especially if you saw them coming in."

Indeed, it's easy enough to be. Nira had to admit, she was so busy looking up at the huge trees above that she was taken by surprise by typical represenatives of the galaxy's wretched hive of scum and villainy. There was certainly plenty of green; they mostly consisted of Orions and Nausicaans.

Nira was at the front with Zhuk, both with their rifles at the ready. The way they indicated interest in the shuttle.

"Let me guess: Scavengers," said Nira. "Well, you're not taking our shuttle, we need it."

A few of the Nausicaans sniggered. The spokesmen, a tall Orion, merely curled his lips at them. "Well. Regardless, we can have your shuttle, and we could even take some slaves. The warlords would pay a fortune especially for beauties like you females."

Nira curled her lips back. "Screw you, you green bastards," she snarled. "Besides, there are some new ships that had their recent flights tragically cut off..."

"...we know," sneered another Orion at his side, and she certainly had the look of an Animal Woman; she would've looked like a barbarian princess if it wasn't for the metal armor pads and the green skin. "All of them made from the husks around you. And there's still enough to go around."

Well. This was going to get tricky. Nira was suddenly regretting stepping out. She knew there was a reason to go for a shuttle. First they had to get out of this.

[Angdarr Landing Site]

Taja listened to the briefings with interest and thoroughly enjoyed the slightly hair-raising descent through the planet's atmosphere. The forest canopy of Angdarr was beautiful despite the dangers that lurked beneath. Once disembarked, the Risan stayed with the group and further admired the trees and other foliage, reminiscing about her paradise home but it was to be short lived.

Taja watched as Nira 'negotiated' with the scavengers. They looked like they hadn't bathed in a month and smelled like it to, she tried not to let her disgust show at their words and appearance. Perhaps it was her being amped up on that damned 'Go-Juice', or perhaps she was just exceedingly stupid, but Taja stepped forward with both hands raised in the air. She had no place doing this, but was to hyped to do anything about it.

"Hold on there just a minute. There's no need for hostilities." She unleashed her full Risan charm, the same charm that made Starfleet shore-leave personnel weak at the knees. Putting on her best smile, she continued. "I never imagined we'd meet such a handsome and beautiful group of pirates. Perhaps we can come to a deal, we have with us inoculation against the insect's spores. I'm sure you to have suffered the effects. If that doesn't interest you, I'm more than happy to take care of any medical needs you may have...any nasty cuts or half-healed broken bones. What do you say, you fabulous hunk of Orion masculinity?" She winked at the Orion male, terrified on the inside and expecting to be blasted into oblivion at any second.

[Warbird Necropolis - Andgarr Prime]

The leader of the scavengers smiled in a way that made Taja cringe as he looked her up and down, clearly thinking thoughts no one wanted to know.

"Well, well lads. Looks like not only are we going to get a shuttle, but some prime merchandise as a bonus. Although I may just keep this blonde tart for my personal entertainment. As we have product to protect, set for stun. Kill the men if they cause too much trouble. Try and spare the women if you can, but if they prove troublesome, kill them too."

And with that, the clearing came alive with sound of phasers and disruptors.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Before Ian could call for red alert, Lieutenant Commander Catalan said.

"The Romulan ship is hailing us Sir."

"On screen."

Ian said reflexively and the screen resolved to a distinguished looking Romulan of at least 150 years, who spoke in a grim tone of voice.

"Captain. I am Commander Avolus of the Romulan Free State Ship Deletham Mosarum. I am aware of the threat approaching this system and wish to assist. Although my vessel is now given over the role of cargo ship and I am on reserve status. I am subject to recall at times of need. In the absence of a higher authority, I now consider myself, crew, and ship reactivated.

"I have notified Fleet Command of the situation and they have assured me that assistance is on the way. I believe it to be in our best interests to ally our cause with yours to pool resources to combat the threat to Angdarr, a planet the Free State is on friendly terms with. Is this course of action acceptable to you Captain?"

Ian who had been coiled tight as a spring when the Romulan ship decloaked, visibly relaxed as he replied.

"It would be my great honor ta ally with you Commander. There is a known defense against a Doomsday Machine, but it requires the sacrifice of a starship. I have an away team on the planet attemptin' ta acquire a hulk from the Angdarri Graveyard at this moment. They will be reportin' soon on their progress. In the meantime, I can offer the hospitality of the Challenger should you wish to continue this conversation in person."

Avolus' eyebrow quirked it what might have been amusement as he replied.

"'Doomsday Machine', 'Graveyard' you humans do have a flair for the dramatic."

Ian could only reply with a sheepish grin.

"Aye Commander, that we do."

"Is ten minutes enough time to organize your 'hospitality'?"

"That is is Commander."

"Very good then Captain. I will see you in ten minutes. Avolus out."

As the viewscreen returned to the display of the planet below, Ian said with some irony.

"That is the most polite Romulan I have ever met."

[Character Details]

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Character Name: T'Salea Raven
Character Age:45
Character DOB:June 21st
Character Image:FC is actress Erica Durance
Character Species: Vulcan
Gender:Female
Character Family:Orphaned at the age of 3 on home planet. American archaeologists rescued and adopted her.
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T'Salea lost her biological parents at a very young age, so she was raised "human." Isn't in touch with her Vulcan side, but would like to be, especially now that she is part of Starfleet.
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Previous Role-Playing Experience: I've been role playing for 25 years.
Department Preference: Science
Secondary Department Preference: Education
Commissioned, Enlisted or Civilian: Enlisted

Sample post: T'Salea entered her quarters and got settled in. Looking out the window, she got lost in amongst the vast amount of stars zooming past the ship. She wondered if her Vulcan thinking dna would just click in or would she have to learn how to do it?

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How did you find Shadow Fleet? Facebook post