Season 15: Episode 3 - Restless Spirit

[Zavrol Gohun]

Gohun personal log
The mission to infiltrate the Breen base was successful and even got me another shiny badge.  While I am excited about this shipwise everything had ground to a halt. I think it has to do with all of the upgrades that are being put into the ship. Many of the upgrades seemed to be Borg technology in nature. Gohun knows because he has been installing the upgrades. While they are not hard upgrades they take time to install.
With that Gohun left to start his day.

His first start was main engineering. He had to grab some parts and go to junction 57 near a pool table where Lek was at this moment. Today was going to be a good day. Gohun finished his coffee placed in a replicator and was ready to head into engineering.

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]
Lek's eyes flashed and he closed on Vila faster than she would have thought he could move. Stopping inside her personal space and speaking in a tone as cold as space itself.
"First off Ensign, you are now on report for insubordination. I don't care what the Ops chief does, but in Engineering, ensigns know their place and yours is not in Engineering. When you become Chief of Engineering, you get to tell me how to do my job. Now I suggest you get out here before I call Security and you find yourself in the brig!"
Lek then waited for Vila to make another mistake.

It was at that point that Gohun who walked in behind Lek decided to stealthily grab the parts and walk away. Today's not the day to deal with that shit. So much drama on this ship. With that Gohun walked to section of the ship that needed upgrades and started working. Today was going to be a peaceful day.

[Sydney Reid]

[USS Discovery-B | Deck 13 | Cryptology Lab]

As she watched the system, an alert pinged on one of the screens of Ensign Lorut logging into an auxiliary console up on the Bridge, automatically logging her out of the Comms Center console she'd previously been manning. This told Sydney that the Commander had decided the best place for the rebellious Bajoran was within eyesight, which surely made the cryptologist's job easier.  With but a few quick commands, the woman had logged in and taken control of the system, which automatically sent a message to both the Ops Stations up on the bridge as well as to the consoles of the Captain and XO.

Primary Communications Control Transferred to Deck 13 Cryptology Lab. Authorization Ensign Reid, Sydney.

This message was quickly followed by the Ensign opening an open channel to the Bridge.

"Ensign Reid to Bridge. I have established an Open Comms Channel to the Bridge to better facilitate any orders and relay any hails that come in. I am currently attempting to complete the 'handshake' with the USS Titan-A, but may still be just out of range to secure one. Would this be a test of the new Comm Upgrades, Sirs? I am currently monitoring the new data stream, and have detected no anomalies so far, leading me to believe the upgrades are functioning as intended.

"Any other orders at this time?" she requested, unsure if there was more she should do given the recent change in heading, which seemed to be putting the Discovery on an interception course with the Neo-Constitution. The only reason she could see was to complete yet another test of the numerous upgrades the Discovery had received in the last few weeks.

[J.B Dersch]

Alright, so this guy was an interesting one. Tanner nodded and picked up the PADD. Slowly she thumbed through the new tasks, "Bring it on." She moved over to the first locker, "As for tomorrow,  let you know if its is better." Tanner grinned and set to work. This wasn't how she'd expected her shift to go, but it felt nice not to be alone.

[Weapons Locker -  USS Discovery - Ensign J.B Dersch - SEC/TAC ]

"I will, Tomorrow should be a better day," He said and went back to his checks and then he felt the ship Change course, and Head in a Different heading...We have changed course...This can't be good...New Mission, New Dangers....Great...But hey I live for those types of dangers!. He pulled out a Rifle and Checked and Loaded it and put it back in the Locker and did it again after checking it off the list. Then Back to another One. "Hey Tanner, What made you join Star Fleet? Was it a Long Time Dream or Something Last minute?" This answer will be really different from me, Ever since I was at least 15 I wanted to join Star Fleet and Reach for the Stars, And Also find my Parents, But hey I found out who My Parents are...Worthless Pieces Of....ARGH! Damn Parents are just a huge head ache! Should have just told them that I don't know who they are but they sent me the original Birth Certificate, So they were legit. Now Thats enough of them.. He also was creating Some Lockers just for Away Missions, And have everything ready for them in those Lockers then trying to get them from Multiple Lockers, But in One Locker, So Go to that one locker and there everything you need.

[Tekin Nevir]

Cmdr. Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery-B - Deck One - Bridge] (enroute to the wormhole)

There was an old adage on Earth that Rayek had learned when he was a teen studying the enemy species.  When it rains; it pours.   That seemed to be true at the moment.

No sooner had the network system issued an alert, than orders to intercept had been received and acted upon by Rayek.  Now his PADD chimed with an incoming message - from Lek.  He knew from the pitch of the chime who the sender was - he had most of his contacts with preset 'ringtones pitches'.  To the average Human there was barely a difference but to the Romulan (or nearby Caitian) the sounds were rather distinctive.

Since Rayek next to never received messages from the Ferengi, the First Officer took the time to check his PADD to at least read the Subject Line.  That alone told him that today was not going to be a good day.

While Rayek opened the missive, he heard the Captain order the correction to Helm, and noticed in his periphery the Captain turning towards him.  Rayek lowered his PADD to give his attention to the Captain as Tekin explained his hope to be able to 'talk some sense into' the Captain.

"His personnel record does seem to make him out to be someone who does not break the rules."

While the Captain contacted Engineering, Rayek lifted his PADD to continuing reading about the incident with Ensign Lorut.

With his attention on his PADD and the newly forming headache, Rayek didn't notice Garrison's arrival until she spoke.    He gave a nod in greeting but left the answer to her question to the Captain.   He noted that Lek had send the message to Lieutenant Banan as primary, so for the moment was content to let the Department Head deal with the disciplinary action in regards to Ensign Lorut.   It was a shame.   She hadn't seemed to have this problem with authority figures on the Lionheart.  Mind you she was just a teen back then and it had been an entirely different universe.

No sooner had Rayek mentally dismissed the issue to Banan to deal with than Lorut called in back on shift.  Adding a bit of commentary at the end that had the Romulan questioning how the woman had made it past the Academy.

That the Captain overheard the ensign, had Rayek regretting that he had forgone the use of his usual internal ear comms.

"Unfortunately, so Captain."

This was not her first disruption, and Rayek had hoped his first 'talking' to her on the journey to Katra, had put things into perspective for her.  Apparently not.

"Excuse me Captain, I'll deal with this."  By disrespecting Lek in front of the Captain, she had just bypassed her insubordination being something that Rayek could could pass off to Banan to deal with.

The Romulan rose from his seat and strode towards the back of the room where even his mouth movements wouldn't be seen by others.  He wanted this to be a private discussion.

Rayek pressed behind his ear activating his silent comm mode.  Now his internal implant would read his jaw movements and translate into speech on Lorut's end.    Her responses in turn would be sent to his ear comm so his conversation would not be overheard.

"Ensign Lorut, must I remind you that Starfleet officers - even junior ones have a level of professionalism they must maintain?  Your comment was overheard by the Captain so if think your words are merely humorous and will be dismissed with just a warning, well, we are beyond that now.  Lek has sent in report on the incident earlier in Engineering.  Given our current situation, I don't have time to review it fully nor do I have the manpower to waste by letting you sit idle in your quarters until I do.   If you are capable of following orders without the disrespect and if your position on this ship is something you actually want, then prove it. Get up here and assist Lieutenant Addams with Ops on the Bridge - where I can keep an eye on you. If not... then you are relieved of all duties until I can review Lieutenant Command Lek's claims of your insubordination.  tr'Lhoell out."

The Romulan closed the comm line before the woman's rebellious nature had her saying things immediately in reply that she might not truly wish to say. He would give her 5 minutes.  If she didn't show in that amount of time, he'd have Banan go down to the Comms room with Security and have her removed. She could cool her heels in her quarters until he had more time to discuss her future on the ship.

Rayek then opened a new comm - this time to Ensign Reid.  Because there was no real need for strict privacy, he turned off the silent comm mode, with a double tap behind his ear.

"tr'Lhoell to Ensign Reid.  I'm going to need you to cover off Comms duty for the remainder of the shift.  Ensign Lorut should be signing off any minute now.  If she doesn't, you have permission to override  her console in order to assume your new duties.  Understood?"

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

The Captain sighed and nodded to his XO.  He certainly didn't miss the days when he was responsible for personnel issues.  Especially with mouthy crewmen.  Sometimes the decorum in Starfleet was just.. lacking.  Especially when Starfleet prided itself on tolerance and acceptance.

After Rayek left, the bridge was notified that they were almost on top of the Titan.  A knot in his gut made him stand up, as it was reported, and he took a couple of steps.  "Drop us out of warp."

What he didn't expect was to end up on top of the signal and see... nothing... in the blackness of space.  He stood there confused and had to double-check that there was still a signal.

"Open a channel... Titan, this is Captain Tekin Nevir of the USS Discovery.  Captain Shaw, if you are out there, please stand down.  And let's talk about this. You and I know each other; I don't want to do anything against you."

Of course, there was no reply... or even confirmation that the signal was accepted.  Either they shut off their comm relay somehow, or...

"Scan for any debris.  Anything with a Federation signature. I have a feeling."

[Lek]

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

Lek had tried and rejected several options to disable the Titan without firing on the ship. Finally, he settled on an idea that would further prove his point about the ship's most recent upgrade. However, to make this happen, he'd need Ops to pull it off.

"Lek to Bridge. I believe we can use the Fleet Communications Program to our advantage. I think if we can send a counter resonating pulse through the deflector dish, it will initiate a full system reboot. It won't last long, less than a minute, but if we have security teams ready, we can board the Titan and perhaps stop this madness before it gets any worse."

Lek hoped they would listen. No one wanted to hear what he had to say when the program was installed. However, if his plan worked, it would prevent bloodshed and proof the program was as flawed as he thought it was at the same time.

[Sydney Reid]

[USS Discovery-B | Deck 13 | Cryptology Lab]

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]
After Rayek left, the bridge was notified that they were almost on top of the Titan.  A knot in his gut made him stand up, as it was reported, and he took a couple of steps.  "Drop us out of warp."

What he didn't expect was to end up on top of the signal and see... nothing... in the blackness of space.  He stood there confused and had to double-check that there was still a signal.

"Open a channel... Titan, this is Captain Tekin Nevir of the USS Discovery.  Captain Shaw, if you are out there, please stand down.  And let's talk about this. You and I know each other; I don't want to do anything against you."

Of course, there was no reply... or even confirmation that the signal was accepted.  Either they shut off their comm relay somehow, or...

"Scan for any debris.  Anything with a Federation signature. I have a feeling."

Sydney had been quick to reply, "Broadcasting," just before Captain Tekin had begun his message. The order to drop out of warp had been a clear signal for her to be ready. Unlike those on the bridge, she had no clue they'd arrived to find nothing.

After the Captain's message had been broadcast, Sydney's confusion was apparent in her voice when she called up, "No response, Captain. No"¦" she started before reflexively looking over to the new system's data stream to find that it was as if the Titan had suddenly disappeared. Her confusion had only heightened, "Sir, I'm no longer detecting any Comms Traffic from the Titan." What the Ensign didn't know was that she was telling Tekin something he already knew: the Titan was not where it should be.

Entering a few commands, the cryptologist brought the data stream of the new system to the monitor in front of her. She had begun back-tracking through what the Discovery's system had received when Commander Lek's voice came over the open channel she'd initiated with the Bridge.

"Lek to Bridge. I believe we can use the Fleet Communications Program to our advantage. I think if we can send a counter resonating pulse through the deflector dish, it will initiate a full system reboot. It won't last long, less than a minute, but if we have security teams ready, we can board the Titan and perhaps stop this madness before it gets any worse."

Between the order given by the Captain to whoever was manning the Sensor Array and then the Chief Engineer's suggestion, Sydney couldn't be sure if Lek's solution was viable, but knew enough that if it did work, especially with the recent Fleet-Wide upgrades, there was a chance, "If the Commander's tactic proves effective, I may be able to force a connection with the Titan just as its Comms Relay comes back online." There was no way for the cryptologist to be sure that it would work, but if she could do it, she'd need to be ready given the few seconds she would have to do so before automatic countermeasures would initiate. Quickly Sydney got to work preparing a data package to deliver the brute force attack, just in case the opportunity presented itself.

[Kinley Garrison]

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

The Captain sighed and nodded to his XO.  He certainly didn't miss the days when he was responsible for personnel issues.  Especially with mouthy crewmen.  Sometimes the decorum in Starfleet was just.. lacking.  Especially when Starfleet prided itself on tolerance and acceptance.

After Rayek left, the bridge was notified that they were almost on top of the Titan.  A knot in his gut made him stand up, as it was reported, and he took a couple of steps.  "Drop us out of warp."

What he didn't expect was to end up on top of the signal and see... nothing... in the blackness of space.  He stood there confused and had to double-check that there was still a signal.

"Open a channel... Titan, this is Captain Tekin Nevir of the USS Discovery.  Captain Shaw, if you are out there, please stand down.  And let's talk about this. You and I know each other; I don't want to do anything against you."

Of course, there was no reply... or even confirmation that the signal was accepted.  Either they shut off their comm relay somehow, or...

"Scan for any debris.  Anything with a Federation signature. I have a feeling."

[Bridge]
At the mention of potential debris, Kinley focused the scanners onto the area. No sign of debris anywhere nearby, but she was also picking up something"¦ it looked like a transponder signal. She double checked it. Yup, definitely transponder signals.

"œI'm not reading anything in terms of a debris field, Federation or otherwise, but I'm getting a faint transponder signal nearby, sir. Currently amplifying the signal to track it better."œ

[Tekin Nevir]

[Bridge]
At the mention of potential debris, Kinley focused the scanners onto the area. No sign of debris anywhere nearby, but she was also picking up something"¦ it looked like a transponder signal. She double checked it. Yup, definitely transponder signals.

"œI'm not reading anything in terms of a debris field, Federation or otherwise, but I'm getting a faint transponder signal nearby, sir. Currently amplifying the signal to track it better."œ

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

He clenched his fist as she confirmed what he suspected.  The Captain walked forward and around the helm, standing in front of the viewscreen.  He looked to be looking for something... and his eyes lit up.

"There!" he stated, turning and walking back to his chair, though he only turned back and stood in front of it.  "Computer, magnify viewscreen."

A box appeared in the center left of the screen, zooming in to see a probe floating in front of them.  As it rotated, he could see the words clearly.

USS TITAN - 3

"Dammit Shaw..." he muttered, shaking his head.  So much for that.  "He jury-rigged his probes.  Probably wasn't even here long enough to leave a trail. Clever... make it seem like he was coming into the Gamma Quadrant and maybe pull Starfleet's ships out here."

The Captain finally took his seat and tapped the comm for Engineering.  "Nevermind, Lek. Its a decoy.  I'll let you know if we find them.  Instead, let's resume course."

"Ops, get the probe beamed over, and then let's resume course.  Let's also get a distance scan in, in case we can find a warp trail."

[Rayek trLhoell]

Cmdr. Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery-B - Deck One - Bridge] (enroute to the wormhole)

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

The Captain sighed and nodded to his XO.  He certainly didn't miss the days when he was responsible for personnel issues.  Especially with mouthy crewmen.  Sometimes the decorum in Starfleet was just.. lacking.  Especially when Starfleet prided itself on tolerance and acceptance.

After Rayek left, the bridge was notified that they were almost on top of the Titan.  A knot in his gut made him stand up, as it was reported, and he took a couple of steps.  "Drop us out of warp."

Rayek hadn't truly left the bridge, more just had moved to the back of it, out of sight from the Captain to conduct his discussion with Ensign Lorut.  Soon, he was back at his seat with arrival of the Bajoran ensign.   Moments later, they dropped out of warp.  The fact that the Captain stood at receiving the news of their proximity, told the Romulan that the Captain was highly invested in this Captain Shaw and his ship.  The Romulan wondered how close the two Captains were?   Was it possible that Tekin might side with the rogue officer?

Rayek watched the Captain discreetly, as the situation unfolded.

What he didn't expect was to end up on top of the signal and see... nothing... in the blackness of space.  He stood there confused and had to double-check that there was still a signal.

"Open a channel... Titan, this is Captain Tekin Nevir of the USS Discovery.  Captain Shaw, if you are out there, please stand down.  And let's talk about this. You and I know each other; I don't want to do anything against you."

Of course, there was no reply... or even confirmation that the signal was accepted.  Either they shut off their comm relay somehow, or...

"Scan for any debris.  Anything with a Federation signature. I have a feeling."

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

"Lek to Bridge. I believe we can use the Fleet Communications Program to our advantage. I think if we can send a counter resonating pulse through the deflector dish, it will initiate a full system reboot. It won't last long, less than a minute, but if we have security teams ready, we can board the Titan and perhaps stop this madness before it gets any worse."

[USS Discovery-B | Deck 13 | Cryptology Lab]

After the Captain's message had been broadcast, Sydney's confusion was apparent in her voice when she called up, "No response, Captain. No"¦" she started before reflexively looking over to the new system's data stream to find that it was as if the Titan had suddenly disappeared. Her confusion had only heightened, "Sir, I'm no longer detecting any Comms Traffic from the Titan." What the Ensign didn't know was that she was telling Tekin something he already knew: the Titan was not where it should be.

Between the order given by the Captain to whoever was manning the Sensor Array and then the Chief Engineer's suggestion, Sydney couldn't be sure if Lek's solution was viable, but knew enough that if it did work, especially with the recent Fleet-Wide upgrades, there was a chance, "If the Commander's tactic proves effective, I may be able to force a connection with the Titan just as its Comms Relay comes back online."

[Bridge]

"œI'm not reading anything in terms of a debris field, Federation or otherwise, but I'm getting a faint transponder signal nearby, sir. Currently amplifying the signal to track it better."œ

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

He clenched his fist as she confirmed what he suspected.  The Captain walked forward and around the helm, standing in front of the viewscreen.  He looked to be looking for something... and his eyes lit up.

"There!" he stated, turning and walking back to his chair, though he only turned back and stood in front of it.  "Computer, magnify viewscreen."

A box appeared in the center left of the screen, zooming in to see a probe floating in front of them.  As it rotated, he could see the words clearly.

USS TITAN - 3

"Dammit Shaw..." he muttered, shaking his head.  So much for that.  "He jury-rigged his probes.  Probably wasn't even here long enough to leave a trail. Clever... make it seem like he was coming into the Gamma Quadrant and maybe pull Starfleet's ships out here."

The Captain finally took his seat and tapped the comm for Engineering.  "Nevermind, Lek. Its a decoy.  I'll let you know if we find them.  Instead, let's resume course."

"Ops, get the probe beamed over, and then let's resume course.  Let's also get a distance scan in, in case we can find a warp trail."

A ruse.  How the probe had managed to make its way out here on its own in such a short time since the Alert notice?   Had Shaw and the Titan dropped it off and fled as suggested by the Captain?  Or perhaps the probe was supposed to make them think it was a ruse.  Maybe the ship was nearby and only wanted them to think they were gone?

The ever-paranoid Romulan, called up the long-range scans which science and tactical would each be reviewing also, on his chair console.  Where could one hide a ship?  There was a nebula in the adjacent sector... a bit off the normal commercial route to and from the wormhole and Katra.

While Ops was getting the probe, Rayek called on Science.  "Commander Garrison, is there any way you can narrow the long-range scan to get better resolution of that nebula in the adjacent sector?  It seems like it could provide good cover to hide a ship from a cursory sensor scan."  Though he spoke to the Chief of the Science department, Rayek glanced momentarily towards the Captain, hinting at an alternate route for the ship.

[Sydney Reid]

[USS Discovery-B | Deck 13 | Cryptology Lab]

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

"Ops, get the probe beamed over, and then let's resume course.  Let's also get a distance scan in, in case we can find a warp trail."

With the open channel to the Bridge, Sydney was able to hear Captain Nevir's assessment of what was found, as well as his order to use the transporters to pick up the jury-rigged probe left by the Titan. Given what it had been able to do in regards to the Comms System, the cryptologist was curious as to how they had managed to duplicate the signals to fool the new upgrades, which should have been impossible.

Usually, the Ensign would have either handled it herself or called on one of her two Petty Officers, but after dismissing the one for the day and knowing the other was indeed sleeping, Sydney found herself going through a list in her head of who she could ask. There was one name that came to mind, yet she hoped the Caitian hadn't already been dispatched to busy work by their Ferengi Chief. Muting her side of the open channel to the bridge, Sydney located who she needed and opened up a comm link.

"Ensign Reid to Ensign M'Nia. Hey, M'Nia. So the Captain is having the Titan probe we found beamed aboard. He said it was jury-rigged. Do you think you could take a look at it for me and download a copy of its programming to an isolated partition so I can check it out? If we can figure out what they did, we should be able to make it so we can weed out these fake signals from the real ones. Can you do that for me?"

As Sydney waited for the Engineering Ensign's response, hopeful that it wasn't too much to ask of the propulsion specialist. The computer scientist was already plotting how to get around the Titan's ingenious tactics, but couldn't be sure until she got a look at the probe's programming.

[Kinley Garrison]

[USS Discovery-bridge]

Alex was at the pilot seat observing everything as the ship was cruising at warp speed six. He kept an eye out in case there were any abnormalities or any chance that he would need to make some adjustments. He noticed the new crew mates aboard the ship. He was going to have to once he has the chance to get to know the new people. It was something that was going to have to wait until some time later. While it was quiet he was ready to make a status report if he needed to.

Cmdr. Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery-B - Deck One - Bridge] (enroute to the wormhole)

Rayek hadn't truly left the bridge, more just had moved to the back of it, out of sight from the Captain to conduct his discussion with Ensign Lorut.  Soon, he was back at his seat with arrival of the Bajoran ensign.   Moments later, they dropped out of warp.  The fact that the Captain stood at receiving the news of their proximity, told the Romulan that the Captain was highly invested in this Captain Shaw and his ship.  The Romulan wondered how close the two Captains were?   Was it possible that Tekin might side with the rogue officer?

Rayek watched the Captain discreetly, as the situation unfolded.

A ruse.  How the probe had managed to make its way out here on its own in such a short time since the Alert notice?   Had Shaw and the Titan dropped it off and fled as suggested by the Captain?  Or perhaps the probe was supposed to make them think it was a ruse.  Maybe the ship was nearby and only wanted them to think they were gone?

The ever-paranoid Romulan, called up the long-range scans which science and tactical would each be reviewing also, on his chair console.  Where could one hide a ship?  There was a nebula in the adjacent sector... a bit off the normal commercial route to and from the wormhole and Katra.

While Ops was getting the probe, Rayek called on Science.  "Commander Garrison, is there any way you can narrow the long-range scan to get better resolution of that nebula in the adjacent sector?  It seems like it could provide good cover to hide a ship from a cursory sensor scan."  Though he spoke to the Chief of the Science department, Rayek glanced momentarily towards the Captain, hinting at an alternate route for the ship.

[Bridge]
[As Ensign Murphy]

Ensign Murphy was really trying to stay awake as he helped pilot the ship. However, he didn't want the captain or XO to realize, so instead of getting a good night sleep as he should have, he was instead trying his luck on five cups of coffee. Not a very good combination.  As twitchy as he was, he was copiloting the ship along with Graham.
He jumped slightly as the captain ordered the ship to move at full speed towards this nebula.

Looking at the scanners ahead, he turned to Graham, trying to see if he was seeing the same thing. "œThis- this nebula seems pretty thick, don't you think?"œ he asked. He knew just how dangerous these sorts of nebulae could be if they didn't fly carefully

[As Kinley]

Kinley nodded as she tapped a few systems and recalibrated the scanners to focus on a different wavelength of light, and different frequencies of particles, especially known Federation materials.  projecting the screen onto the main computers. "œGot something here. "œ she said, noting the faint energy signature flashing through the dense clouds of stellar matter. It was deep in there, but it was an energy signature. And it would have matched with the estimated size of one of the Neo-Connies. "œthere's a faint energy signature coming from there. It's not moving however, and definitely matches the profile of what we're looking at.""œ

[M'Nia]

[USS Discovery-B |engineering]

With the open channel to the Bridge, Sydney was able to hear Captain Nevir's assessment of what was found, as well as his order to use the transporters to pick up the jury-rigged probe left by the Titan. Given what it had been able to do in regards to the Comms System, the cryptologist was curious as to how they had managed to duplicate the signals to fool the new upgrades, which should have been impossible.

Usually, the Ensign would have either handled it herself or called on one of her two Petty Officers, but after dismissing the one for the day and knowing the other was indeed sleeping, Sydney found herself going through a list in her head of who she could ask. There was one name that came to mind, yet she hoped the Caitian hadn't already been dispatched to busy work by their Ferengi Chief. Muting her side of the open channel to the bridge, Sydney located who she needed and opened up a comm link.

"Ensign Reid to Ensign M'Nia. Hey, M'Nia. So the Captain is having the Titan probe we found beamed aboard. He said it was jury-rigged. Do you think you could take a look at it for me and download a copy of its programming to an isolated partition so I can check it out? If we can figure out what they did, we should be able to make it so we can weed out these fake signals from the real ones. Can you do that for me?"

As Sydney waited for the Engineering Ensign's response, hopeful that it wasn't too much to ask of the propulsion specialist. The computer scientist was already plotting how to get around the Titan's ingenious tactics, but couldn't be sure until she got a look at the probe's programming.

"Hi Sydney!" She felt a flush come over her as she heard sydney's voice. A soft purr came from her. "Ohh check out the probe? I'd love to. It sounds fascinating! And if it's for you, well all the better!" Her tail flicked back and forth excitedly. "Where is it and I'll slide on down and take a look!" this sounded like something she could sink her claws into!

[Sydney Reid]

[USS Discovery-B | Deck 13 | Cryptology Lab]

"Hi Sydney!" She felt a flush come over her as she heard Sydney's voice. A soft purr came from her. "Ohh check out the probe? I'd love to. It sounds fascinating! And if it's for you, well all the better!" Her tail flicked back and forth excitedly. "Where is it and I'll slide on down and take a look!" This sounded like something she could sink her claws into!

Sydney was momentarily left speechless as she found it curious how the Caitian always seemed quite excited to interact with her. While she was fairly certain, the Ops Officer was sure M'Nia had seemed so ever since they first met. It was curious, but there wasn't time to ponder it. They had work to do.

"Good..I mean thank you. Give me one second"¦"

Checking the transporter logs, it seemed that a target for the probe had already been selected. Luckily it seemed Sydney wasn't the only one thinking something could be learned from the probe.

"Okay, M'Nia. It's going to be arriving any moment in a shielded, auxiliary cargo room on Deck Ten. Sending you the location now."

It was probably only a few seconds after the woman said it that the Engineering Ensign's PADD beeped with a notification of where to go to find the probe.

"Just be careful. We don't know what they did to get it to replicate the Titan's signature, so they could have rigged it with countermeasures to delay or disable whatever ship found it. Hence the shielded room. Let me know when you have uploaded the data. If you need any help, contact me and I'll see if I can walk you through it from here. Reid out."

Sydney trusted that the Propulsion Specialist wouldn't have any issues handling a probe, but couldn't be sure that it was just any ordinary probe.

[Tekin Nevir]

Cmdr. Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery-B - Deck One - Bridge] (enroute to the wormhole)

Rayek hadn't truly left the bridge, more just had moved to the back of it, out of sight from the Captain to conduct his discussion with Ensign Lorut.  Soon, he was back at his seat with arrival of the Bajoran ensign.   Moments later, they dropped out of warp.  The fact that the Captain stood at receiving the news of their proximity, told the Romulan that the Captain was highly invested in this Captain Shaw and his ship.  The Romulan wondered how close the two Captains were?   Was it possible that Tekin might side with the rogue officer?

Rayek watched the Captain discreetly, as the situation unfolded.

A ruse.  How the probe had managed to make its way out here on its own in such a short time since the Alert notice?   Had Shaw and the Titan dropped it off and fled as suggested by the Captain?  Or perhaps the probe was supposed to make them think it was a ruse.  Maybe the ship was nearby and only wanted them to think they were gone?

The ever-paranoid Romulan, called up the long-range scans which science and tactical would each be reviewing also, on his chair console.  Where could one hide a ship?  There was a nebula in the adjacent sector... a bit off the normal commercial route to and from the wormhole and Katra.

While Ops was getting the probe, Rayek called on Science.  "Commander Garrison, is there any way you can narrow the long-range scan to get better resolution of that nebula in the adjacent sector?  It seems like it could provide good cover to hide a ship from a cursory sensor scan."  Though he spoke to the Chief of the Science department, Rayek glanced momentarily towards the Captain, hinting at an alternate route for the ship.

[Bridge]
[As Ensign Murphy]

Ensign Murphy was really trying to stay awake as he helped pilot the ship. However, he didn't want the captain or XO to realize, so instead of getting a good night sleep as he should have, he was instead trying his luck on five cups of coffee. Not a very good combination.  As twitchy as he was, he was copiloting the ship along with Graham.
He jumped slightly as the captain ordered the ship to move at full speed towards this nebula.

Looking at the scanners ahead, he turned to Graham, trying to see if he was seeing the same thing. "œThis- this nebula seems pretty thick, don't you think?"œ he asked. He knew just how dangerous these sorts of nebulae could be if they didn't fly carefully

[As Kinley]

Kinley nodded as she tapped a few systems and recalibrated the scanners to focus on a different wavelength of light, and different frequencies of particles, especially known Federation materials.  projecting the screen onto the main computers. "œGot something here. "œ she said, noting the faint energy signature flashing through the dense clouds of stellar matter. It was deep in there, but it was an energy signature. And it would have matched with the estimated size of one of the Neo-Connies. "œthere's a faint energy signature coming from there. It's not moving however, and definitely matches the profile of what we're looking at.""œ

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

So it wasn't yet over... shame.  Nevir sighed, and changed his order.  "Alter course for intercept.  I need a full analysis of that nebula before we fly in.  Looks like there is a nearby red supergiant about a system over, so let's be careful.  If Titan is hiding in there, its a good location."

[Lorut Vila]

USS Discovery
Bridge
MD01

That is a fallacy, Ensign.  There are many parts of the ship that are restricted to department personnel and only to those on personnel on shift - Engineering is one such place, for obvious security reasons.   These restrictions are also one of the reasons why it is protocol to ask permission to enter the Bridge, when not scheduled for bridge duty....And I would highly recommend that THE BAJORAN learn better manners when addressing or speaking about a superior officer like Lieutenant Commander Lek, or the ROMULAN will have to re-educate her.

As the Romulan SHOULD, being her direct supervisor...and if she wasn't mistaken, he'd ORDERED her up here.

"I will make sure to review the handbook, sir,'' she said. She wouldn't, of course, but it sounded good.

The ship has been ordered to intercept what appears to be a rogue Federation ship. So, we are going to prepare briefing notes on the USS Titan-A and her Captain to provide to Security personnel in the event that a boarding party is called on.  Let's do some research and gets these out quickly.

Vila nodded. "Yes, ma'am," she turned back to her console, and tapped away. Someday, these people would learn that leaving Vila idle was the worst idea-she needed to be always doing something. She was well educated, and her time with the Bajoran militia had fed her need to be constantly stimulated-but also, fed her tension and neurosis. "Lt. Torra, should I look for something specific?" She asked.

Another rogue ship? What the HELL was happening out here?!