S:5 E:14 - Conflict of Interest

[Kaniehtiio Denton]

[USS Challenger-A | Deck 19 | Main Shuttlebay]

"It is indeed against Starfleet regulations to leave a phaser rifle unattended and unsecured, which is why it should be in the Armoury where it belongs."  He pursed his lip at her counter-question, giving him even further attitude about his effort to brief her.

"As you may have noticed, Denton, when I contacted you, I strangely did not refer to any other officers. That would be because the other officers were briefed separately as they would need time to prepare supplies to beam over. That is also why you were given 20 minutes to complete your preflight checks - Not so you could run around acquiring weaponry, but so they would have time to pack their kits." He held up a hand to halt her from talking over him before tacking on: "I also requested you only answer the questions I ask you."

When he opened the floor for her to ask questions, she had a lot to say, and not a lot he was interested in hearing. He didn't stop her though, allowing her to get it off her chest in the hopes she would eventually relax. "I'll remind you again that unless you are secretly a telepath, you have no knowledge of who else was or was not contacted, what they were informed of, or evidently much of anything."

"I've been a 'spacer' since before your great, great grandfather was born, and I've been in Starfleet long enough to know that your superstitious, hyper-paranoid survival instincts do not justify breaking the protocol you have spent four years of your life learning. If you disagree with something, take it up with your superior. If your superior disagrees, get over it or consider a new career path. If you take issue in participating in this cursed mission due to religious or spiritual reasons, I will happily contact Lieutenant Espada to provide you a new assignment and have someone else prepare and man the shuttle." He paused a moment, if she dared to respond to that much of his speech, before pushing on once again.

"To answer your question, no, you will not be getting your improperly acquired phaser rifle back, and your returning to your duties depends entirely on whether you understand that simply thinking something is a good idea is not justification for making decisions above your pay grade. I'd like to not be concerned you may also decide it beneficial for the Mjolnir to have a cloaking device installed as well, or the arrays to be modified for 'efficiency'."

Jettis would be keeping the rifle aboard, however he needed to properly return it and have whoever stupidly gave it to Denton removed from duty so all of the day's logs could be checked properly. Unfortunately, his report to Mackenzie would have to wait until after the away mission was completed. "Now, will you be completing your assignment of going through the Starfleet provided preflight checklist and reporting any issues to me? If so, I will briefly elaborate on the information I have currently for this mission, and you can continue with your work after that."

The Ensign just waited"¦ Waited until Lieutenant Jyur had gotten through everything he had to say in response. She wasn't surprised by him flexing his knowledge and rank, he was a Scientist who had seemingly spent too much time in Starfleet to remember what Real Space was like, in her opinion. But she had no argument. If this is what it meant to work through the bureaucracy to one day be a Captain, it's what she would suffer through.

When Jettis finally came to an end of his list of expectations and explanations, much as he'd let her, Tiio didn't immediately respond but instead brought out the PADD she'd been using during the pre-flight checklist. Entering in a few commands, she turned the PADD around to the Lieutenant and simply requested, "Thumbprint, please, Sir," in that dry, cold tone that she often used when dealing with superior officers. Almost being certain that the man would want a further explanation, she added, "It inventory form saying you taking possession of the rifle, Sir." If the man wanted to do things as 'by the book' as he seemed to, then it should be an easy exchange for him to provide the necessary credentials.

Of course, once Lieutenant Jyur applied his thumbprint and accepted the responsibility of the rifle, the inventory form would disappear to display the Pre-Flight Checklist that had been settled into the background, showing only the first of the laundry list of checks having been completed. With the matter of the rifle settled, however, Tiio took the PADD back and nodded in the affirmative, "Yes, Lieutenant. I await your briefing."

[Nira Said]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian winced when yet another distress signal came in as it seemed like this entire sector had chosen this very day to come apart at the scene. He listened to Nira's suggestion, which was basically a good idea, but he had an different take on how it should be implemented.

"The Mjolnir, is a braw brawler, but she's no match for a starship, nae even a wee one. As the Burke is driftin', odds are she's either completely dead in the water or abandoned. This station is under attack and still resistin' that means ta me, there are still people ta save. Here is what we will do. We'll send the Mjolnir ta investigate the Burke, the Challenger will head for the station."

Ian turned toward the science station.

"Lieutenant Jyur, you will command the Mjolnir. You will need a pilot, take two medical and two engineers with you. Launch as soon as you are ready and Godspeed Lad."

Turning toward the helm, Ian added.

"Mister Shepard, full impulse ta Iota Thelonis IX. Commander, assemble your away team, go heavy with security, medical, and engineers. The attackers may still be there and if'n they're Klingons, as they are likely ta be, be ready for a fight."

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

"Aye, sir," said Nira. "Mister Mackenzie, assemble security teams, and you're with me in the lead team."

Then she tapped her comm badge and called in: "Doctor Fellows, Chief Ch'Verret, Commander Catalan, assemble in Transporter Room One. Send some medical and engineering officers to join some other teams."

[Bridge - USS Challenger arriving at Iota Thelonis IX]

The Challenger arrived, shields up, weapons hot, and looking for trouble. Lieutenant Randell at Science One was making intense scans of the area and reported.

"The station is heavily damaged as are the ground installations. No signs of any ships....wait...wait...I'm picking up three possible ion trails two leading out of the system, one leading further in. Let me see if I can get better resolution..."

Ian found himself holding his breath as Randell scanned, ready to issue orders to take the ship to battle.

"Sir, I have more information. Two of the trails are consistent with lithium-fueled anti-matter drives, the third, the one heading inward is consistent with deuterium fuel."

Ian picked up Randell's thought.

"And the Federation, the Jyn, along with most other warp powers use deuterium. While our friends the Klingons have a preference for lithium fuel. Well, seems we've got a couple of cloaked ships nearby. Alright, let's run these lithium trails down."

Ian turned to face Tactical.

"Lieutenant Davenport, keep us at red alert and the weapons ready. This is likely ta be Captain Kharn again and this time, he may nae be so willin' ta back down as before."

Ian's thoughts were racing as he tried to cover all the pieces that were in play at the moment.

"Mister Cheizex, hail the station and find out what help they need."

Today was already a complex one and certainly seemed as if it was going to get more complex before it was over.

Savar remained on the bridge alongside Lieutenant Randall and worked on the sensors to assist him. He heard out the readings and nodded.

"Confirmed, Captain. Two lithium-based trails and a third deuterium trail heading deeper in the system."

[Lt. Commander Kyan Mackenzie | Armory | USS Challenger]

When the doors to Challenger's main armory parted with their trademark mechanical "œswish" Kyan entered to find the room packed to the bulkheads. Lieutenant J.G. Trova (Benzite female) and Crewmen Thompson and Masters (Human Males) were hustling to get weapons and equipment assigned, and the others were in various stages of kitting up. Kyan had met Chief Blackfeather (Human male) on his way to the armory and between them had come up with the three teams that the Captain ordered. Half of Challenger's Security Department were either new to the ship, or new in general. For most of them this would be their first real away mission.

"œAll right. Mouths shut and ears open." Blackfeather called out as he walked in behind his pint sized boss.

"œAt Ease!" came a shout from the back of the room, followed by a series of confused looks and chuckles from around the room.

"œShut up Slater!" (Crewman Roscoe Slater, Human male) someone answered and was followed by several shouts of "œyeah" and "œwhat she said".

Blackfeather's eyes narrowed. "œStow it." He bellowed. "œFirst off, There's two officers in here already.. second, Commander Mackenzie is right in front of me. Pay attention to your surroundings Slater!"

This time no one piled on. Blackfeather waited a moment for the chatter to die completely before continuing. "œOk. Commander Mackenzie's gonna give the briefing. So listen up."

Kyan took a look around, ensuring everyone was present before he began. "Ok." he began when he was satisfied that he had everyone. "A Jyn mining station above Iota Thelonis IX was attacked so it has, probably by some Klingons. Not regular Klingons, the sadness of it, but the pirate kind."

Petty Officer Koroz shook his head. "Honorless Pe'TaQu!" he grumbled.

Kyan nodded. "Yep. So we're gonna beam in there and see what's what the now. We'll be splitting up intae tree teams. Chief Blackfeather here.." he indicated the Chief with a nod, and Mister Mrekrerhas will lead two of the teams. And Cadet Denton, you'll be in charge of the third. I'll be going with your team, but you'll be in charge of it."

After a moment he continued. "The Klingons are probably gone so they are, but they might not be. And if they're still there, then we're tae clear em out and take the station." Kyan held up a padd. "The rosters is on this padd here, so after we're done here, finish gettin yer gear an look tae see what team yer on. Any questions?"

Team Rosters

Pos.	Species	Name	Rank	Gen	Age
Team A
Chief of Security	Onlie	Kyan Mackenzie	LTCDR	Male	450
Team Leader	Human	Eva Denton	Cadet	Female	21
Security Officer	Bolian	Sahri Arat	CRN	Female	24
Security Officer	Klingon	Kolkris, Daughter of L'Gor	CRN	Female	19
Security Officer	Human	Roscoe Slater	CRN	Male	18
Security Officer	Human	Manilla O'Sullivan	CRN	Female	21
Team B
Team Leader	Human	Ryan Blackfeather	SCPO	Male	46
Security Officer	Klingon	Koroz	PO1	Male	32
Security Officer	Ithenite	Pyzak	PO3	Male	32
Security Officer	Human	Callahan Rega	CRN	Male	28
Security Officer	Bolian	Taxa Choss	CRN	Female	20
Team C
Team Leader	Caitian	Zhukdrasher Mrekrerhas	LT	Male
Security Officer	Efrosian	Savliv Si-Okrei	PO3	Male	20
Security Officer	Ferengi	Zala	CRN	Female	18
Security Officer	Human	Sharen Anchors	CRN	Female	19
Security Officer	Human	Rasalie Beaux	PO3	Female	25

[Commander Nira Said | Transporter Room One | Deck Four | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira awaited her assigned team, consisting of Kyan, Jess Fellows and Lahr and Commander Catalan. Zhuk was leading one team, Ryan Blackfeather a second, and...to Nira's surprise Elva Denton was leading the third. Nira had the impression Kyan was impressed with her greatly.

She looked down her list of assigned officers to each team: Team one, Lieutenant Fisk (Engineering) and Ensign Rasher (Medical); Team two, Ensign Tal (Engineering) and Petty Officer Heesou (Medical); and Team three, Petty Officer T'Roth (Engineering) and Crewman Th'vyrrol (Medical). Each one will be in charge of engineering and medical personnel as they assist the Jyn.

As each of the officers arrived, when Nira saw Doctor Fellows, she said, "Don't worry, Doctor, this won't be anything like our infiltration mission. We're coming to aid."

Once the team assembled, they took their positions on the pads and Nira told the transporter chief, once the coordinates were put in, "Energize."

[Commander Nira Said | Operations Center | Jyn Outpost | In orbit of Iota Thelonis IX]

Nira and her team beamed onto the outpost to meet some Jyn Faisha leaders in the middle of their outpost operations center, which definitely showed indication of damage. It brought back memories of Melek Nor as it was being destroyed. Some Jyn saw them and approached them.

"Ah, you're from the Federation vessel! Thank the Wandering Gods you're here!" one said.

"That we are," said Nira. "I'm Commander Nira Said from the Starship Challenger. Who's in charge here?"

"The outpost commander is dead," one important-looking Jyn said as he approached. This was definitely the first Jyn that definitely struck Nira as Bedouin-like. It wasn't just the robes, but the headdress. The ornate and elaborate attire indicated he was someone of great importance. The Jyn officers were dressed in dull robes with scarves, almost similarly to Captain Llydin.

"Unfortunately, many of the outpost officers have been detained," he continued to explain. "I'm Administrator Bikole, colony administrator at Iota Thelonis IX. I had, of course, been informing your captain of where we need people, and I had asked for assistance down at the colony."

"Of course, Administrator," Nira said. "I can direct two teams down to the colony." She then tapped her comm badge and gave orders. "Said to Challenger Transporters, send Lieutenant Mrekrerhas' and Cadet Denton's teams down to the Jyn colony to help there."

"Understood, Commander," came the reply.

Then Nira turned to Bikole. He definitely didn't look like the political type. This was somebody who knew how to run and defend a colony.

"Can you give us details of the raid?" asked Nira.

"Very," Bikole said. "However, sensors had been knocked senseless, so I can't mention much. All we know is that we've been hit hard. And this was the fourth time this has happened in the past three weeks."

Nira flinched. Fourth? So it's happened before. And she had an inkling...she turned back at the team, significantly at Kyan and Catalan; they were on Llydin's ship as well, of course.

"We've had garbled communications," piped up a Jyn officer. "Lieutenant Jarol, by the way, second officer. We know the colony's been hit hard, but we can't tell the casualties as of yet. A lot of our systems are down. It's a good thing you and your ship is here, if the raiders come back, we're doomed."

"Well, we do have functioning communications," said Nira. "We can coordinate with our teams as they work on the planet. Mackenzie, Fellows, Ch'verret, Catalan, let's see what we can do here."

[Nira Said]

[ USS Challenger - Bridge ]

As the ship raced towards the Burke, the announcement of yet another hail incoming made Jettis wince. It felt like someone was playing bingo with worst case scenarios. Only a matter of time before they had five in a row. Pulling up his readings, his eyes scanned, identifying the deliberate jamming once again. Either the Klingons were as dumb as bread and chose to launch another attack right in front of the Challenger, or whoever had stranded the Burke was feeling especially ambitious today.

As Galloway turned to address him, Jyur gave a nod of affirmation. "Aye, Kapitan." There wasn't a moment to waste - if they had lost life support and were adrift, there was no telling what state they would be found in. Swiftly, his fingers moved across the screen to pull up a crew roster, followed by swiftly tapping his commbadge.

"Lieutenant Jyur to Ensign Denton, please report to the main Shuttlebay and prepare the Delta flyer MjÁ¶lnir for launch within 20 minutes. We shouldn't have a fight on our hands, but we will need to get there in a hurry. I will elaborate further when I get down there, Jyur out."

As he relayed his message, his eyes finished scanning his list, and with that he logged himself out and gave a nod to N'Jeer to take over for him. With that, he strode to the turbolift, tapping his combadge once again.  "Commander Tharn, Ensign Cordon, Lieutenant Davies, Petty Officer T'ealc. Please report to the main shuttlebay for an away team as quickly as possible, within 20 minutes. Prepare for heavy ship damage and many casualties, equip yourselves with type two phasers as a precaution."

[ USS Challenger - Shuttlebay ]

The brief stopover to retrieve two phasers still left Jettis as the first to arrive at the Shuttlebay. The Burke, more or less appeared to be in one piece, and at least had not suffered a major breach. As such he had opted to forgo a full vac suit, but was curious if the Ensign would opt for one as caution once again.

When the woman would emerge from her work, Jettis offered the phaser. "Ensign, how are we on preparations?"

[USS Challenger-A | Deck 10 -> Deck 9 | Shuttlebay Control -> Armory]
Tiio's posture of having her ankles crossed and feet propped up on the edge of the console didn't change as her commbadge bleeped and the Lieutenant's voice came through. Listening to the orders, it wasn't until Jettis suggested they 'shouldn't' have to be ready for a fight that the woman's eyebrow raised in concern. She knew better than to ask him outright, but even mentioning such was cursing them to have to face such. Glancing at the chronometer around her wrist, she was about to answer back when Jyur quickly bleeped out. Offering a silent shrug instead, she thought twenty minutes was an exceptionally long time, but she now had to make a quick stop along the way.

Swinging her feet off the console, she put a hand on the Petty Officer's shoulder as she leaned down to casually order him, "Can you move the"¦" but was left with the look of the word in her head without the tongue to say it. Shaking it off quickly, the officer continued, "...the Delta Flyer out to be ready to launch? Thanks," with a firm pat on the man's shoulder before heading off out of Shuttlebay Control. She'd only been there because they had the comfiest chairs she had access to in an area where she could 'officially' be considered 'on-duty' anyway.

Luckily, the Armory was only one deck up and was conveniently located almost directly above by way of a set of stairs. Even with twenty minutes being a lengthy amount of time in her mind, Tiio did hustle up the stairs, knowing it was going to take a good bit of hustling to get the Petty Officer in the Armory to allow her to sign one out. It might have been the casual confidence she showed or the way she quickly rattled off a bunch of regulations about 'expedited mission circumstances' which may or may not have been factual, but soon she was strolling onward to the Turbolift with a rifle strapped to her back, signed for by her, to take a ride down several decks to the Main Shuttlebay...

[USS Challenger-A | Deck 19 | Main Shuttlebay]

"¦Stepping into the Main Shuttlebay, Tiio grinned as she saw the"¦Delta Flyer sitting right where she'd wanted it. Walking right up to the back, since it had thankfully been set nose towards the shuttlebay airlock - which wasn't always a given depending on who was manning Shuttlebay Control - Tiio hit the control to open the rear hatch and stepped in to start her pre-flight checks, not that she was concerned she'd find any issues.

As the most recent addition to the Flight Control Team and the most junior of the Officers in the department, supervising and double-checking the readiness of all of Challenger's various shuttlecraft fell on her shoulders, and she'd had been made to do the checks and file the reports every day since reporting from Starbase 153. While sure she would find no problems with the shuttlecraft, there were always a few things to ready before a trip, and, given what the Lieutenant had said, a few settings adjustments to make. Hence why, just as she started, she was surprised to notice the Lieutenant emerging onto the Main Shuttlebay Deck far earlier than she had expected. Getting up quickly to emerge from the back of the shuttle, Tiio had forgotten to stow the rifle that was draped across her back, but not in any way concealed.

One didn't need to be a Betazoid to notice the woman was a little surprised by the Lieutenant's hasty appearance. Glancing at him, and then down to the offered Type-2 Phaser, Tiio's right hand came down to rest on the one holstered on her hip as her eyes came back up to meet Jettis' gaze. "...As expected," she answered, which wasn't a lie but certainly wasn't illuminating in any way. The moment of silence that followed was short, though the awkwardness certainly made it seem longer before she was able to comment, "I still have the one from when I went to move the Satra earlier. 'Primary Shuttle Pilot Duty'," she offered with a shrug before turning back towards the hatch of the Delta Flyer; as if that was enough to explain why she already had the weapon strapped to her hip.

Tiio said nothing about the rifle strapped across her back as she seemed by all appearances to be returning to continue her pre-flight checks as if nothing was amiss and they just were waiting on the other Away Team members to arrive.

[ USS Challenger - Main Shuttlebay ]

Jettis' gaze scanned from Denton, to the phaser, to the rifle, and back. A few moments of silence passed, as Jettis pursed his lips, brows twitching up. The surprise at the flight officer's not one, but two phasers made her first statement glaze past him. He wasn't sure which factor to address first, the apparent lack of a start on preparations, or the phaser rifle she had somehow procured. Before he'd even had time to collect himself and respond, she'd already vanished back inside the MjÁ¶nir without waiting for him to speak.

Ah, one of those new recruits. He stood still for a moment longer, before deciding to give himself a few moments to parse his thoughts. Rather than immediately calling her again, he twisted on his heel to return the now-extra phaser to the locker within the shuttle bay. The deep breaths he took on the way there and back unfortunately didn't seem to help much.

Returning to the MjÁ¶lnir, he stared blankly at the open hatch. "Ensign Denton, step out here for a moment." He gave her ample time to halt whatever checks she was doing to do so, hopefully with a bit more haste than usual.
"I'm going to ask a few questions before I decide whether or not to brief you on the mission, I'd like you to only answer the questions I ask, if you would." While the words themselves were foreboding his voice was more casual out loud than it was in his head.

"Firstly and perhaps most pressingly, why the f[spoiler]lol[/spoiler] do you have a phaser rifle while performing routine pre-flight checks?"

He paused, giving her a moment to stammer for an answer to the accusatory question. It was unlikely that any of the answers she had would qualify as good necessarily, but at least knowing what her thought process was might shed some light. Given her earlier incident with the flight suit, it seemed she was a precautionist. Always attempting to be one step ahead of the danger and having a tool in her pocket to solve the problem. It was admirable, and a quality he liked. That is, it would've been if said precaution wasn't an ensign barely aboard a week, checking out a phaser rifle without learning what the situation was.

"Now, I applaud your readiness for duty, however I only asked you to prepare the shuttle for an away team, you haven't given me the chance to ask you to be on it yet." He couldn't fault her assumption, it was logical enough, but one didn't just operate on assumptions. "I said I would be down to elaborate further with the details, and from that point on you could suggest that perhaps type three phasers might be more appropriate gear. As it stands you currently have a phaser rifle without orders, without reasonable cause."

He let that sink in, though he had a feeling that it wasn't going to, before continuing. "Now, second question - what is the name of the officer who gave you this rifle? I'll need to have a conversation with them after this. Especially on ensuring all personnel who requisition T3s have the necessary knowledge of protocol beforehand." It can be so easy to assume that everyone on the ship knows what they're doing simply because they're here. Unfortunately easy was sloppy, that would need to be addressed.

"To be honest, I don't really have the energy, or the time to address walking away before I've even briefed you. I will however take the phaser rifle now, thank you. You can however keep your type 2 phaser." The request was punctuated by his moving to accept the rifle, provided she willingly handed it over without throwing a fit. "Any questions before I continue?"

[USS Challenger-A | Deck 19 | Main Shuttlebay]

Hearing her name being called, Tiio stopped in place as she had just dialed in one of the numerous adjustments she knew would help fulfill the mission objective of getting to wherever he wanted to as quickly as the shuttlecraft would allow. Taking in a deep breath, already knowing this interruption was only going to delay things longer, she pushed herself up out of the pilot's chair and made her way back through the Delta Flyer to stop in front of the Lieutenant.

While she probably should have shifted some more formal posture, the Ensign seemed to just stand relaxed as she answered, "Yes, L.T.?" His instructions seemed fairly clear, so she kept quiet, just staring at the man, as she waited for him to ask a question.

While some might be bothered by the officer's use of language, it paled in comparison to the slurs her father had hurled his children's directions when they were first learning their laundry list of responsibilities on their family ship. As he paused after, the woman's head twitched slightly as if asking the question was more offensive than his choice of language. Appraising him briefly with her eyes, Tiio's answer came almost too casually, "It is against Starfleet Regulations to leave a weapon unsecured." as if it was an answer the Lieutenant should have already known. If that was the question he had, Tiio had no issues answering it, even if it seemed like a ridiculous question to ask.

The way the woman stared at him, with a coldly precise gaze that seemed to track his own gaze almost too easily, might have intimidated others in the past, but only reflected Tiio's own unflinching nature as the Lieutenant asked his second question but then didn't give her a chance to answer it. Besides blinking, the Ensign didn't move, didn't shift, didn't even seem to be really breathing as she continued to watch Jettis as he rambled on, moving beyond his second question to arrive at his third, which was only proceeded by him moving towards her to take the phaser rifle from her, for which Tiio only offered a shrug before easily slipping it off over her head and holding it out for the Scientist to take.

When he finally stopped to let her answer, she could only answer with a question of her own, "Do you plan to repeat your briefing for each member of the Away Team you assembled, or would it be smarter to wait for all of us to arrive before doing it?" While it was certainly an inflammatory question compared to what was being leveled against her, her words had come as steady as her steely gaze, albeit flavored in her more natural accent. She didn't need an answer. The Lieutenant's reaction was enough to answer it for her, allowing her to continue, since he'd opened the floor to Her asking Him questions.

Tipping her chin up to him sharply, the Ensign asked, "You Scientist, yeah? You know of Space? Of Her rules? You act like you know Starfleet's, but then you treat me like you not invite me to your team? An officer of another department can only directly request the involvement of another department's officer if they intend to conscript that officer to their mission. That mean you picked me for your Away Team. Otherwise you would have contacted through proper channels to have the shuttle readied.

"You told me two more things when you contact me directly. This first is that the shuttle needs to get somewhere fast, but you get upset when I prioritize pre-flight checks over being individually briefed. If time is so valuable, why you waste it by briefing each member individually?" Tiio didn't give much more than a breath's worth of pause before continuing,

"The second was how you told me you are no real Spacer, because you cursed the mission by saying something 'shouldn't' happen. Any real Spacer knows if you say something shouldn't happen, then it will definitely happen. You say we shouldn't expect a fight, but you order most heavily armed shuttlecraft Challenger has to be readied, and then question the pilot you chose why she brought a rifle? Why?

"To answer your question you didn't let me answer, I don't know their name. Some Petty Officer," she stated with the slightest of dismissive shrugs. "Challenger has over five hundred crew, and I've been aboard less than a week. You expect me to know all five hundred crew in less than a week? By requesting a shuttle ready in under the three-hour regulation, the request is then considered 'Expedited' which allows for the crew chosen to make expedited requests, such as requisitioning equipment," she said, motioning slightly with her brow towards the rifle the man was holding, "they deem necessary for the success of the mission outside of normal channels. That rifle has been signed for by me; your chosen pilot, because I deem it necessary.

"But, Sir, you don't need to answer my questions. You're a Scientist, right? You know all the regulations before contacting me, so you know that I have only acted in best way to ensure the success of your mission. So, really, I only have a single question. Can I have my legally acquired rifle back so as to continue my pre-flight checklist while we wait for the rest of the team to arrive so you can brief us all at one time and stop wasting time on this conversation? Can you answer that question for me, Lieutenant? I'd like to have the shuttle as ready as possible so that we may depart as soon as possible, so as not to waste time."

Tiio had said her piece, though she wondered how much of it the Science Officer had understood given how easily she'd slipped back into her colloquial manner of speech. She had worked very hard to train it out of her when at the Academy, but there were always moments; causes that would bring it out in her. The Lieutenant's interruption of her duties to complain about wasting time, which in her previous world was much more valuable and had a tangible cost, had done so. If time was so valuable to the Science Officer, his smartest, most efficient course of action was to hand her back the rifle and let her return to her duties. Otherwise, Tiio was happy to return the rifle properly and skip the Away Team. Jettis had already ensured Space would enact its toll by bringing a fight to the mission. The pilot had been ready for that inevitable fate. The true question was whether the Lieutenant was prepared to face that fate or not?

[ USS Challenger - Main Shuttlebay ]

Despite Jettis giving her every opportunity to come up with some sort of reasonable explanation, he was sorely disappointed. Somehow every explanation only undercut his expectations, which was saying a lot. Still though, he managed to mostly keep his expression in check, merely raising his brows at her intense stare and blatant disrespect of authority. A look he'd often directed toward his daughter when she decided to throw a particularly bratty insult his way, as loudmouth teenagers often do. Unfortunately it seemed Starfleet hadn't quite mastered teaching the loudmouth teenagers to be reasonable adults yet, he would need to keep that in mind before Theresa went off to the academy.

"It is indeed against Starfleet regulations to leave a phaser rifle unattended and unsecured, which is why it should be in the Armoury where it belongs."  He pursed his lip at her counter-question, giving him even further attitude about his effort to brief her.

"As you may have noticed, Denton, when I contacted you, I strangely did not refer to any other officers. That would be because the other officers were briefed separately as they would need time to prepare supplies to beam over. That is also why you were given 20 minutes to complete your preflight checks - Not so you could run around acquiring  weaponry, but so they would have time to pack their kits." He held up a hand to halt her from talking over him before tacking on: "I also requested you only answer the questions I ask you."

When he opened the floor for her to ask questions, she had a lot to say, and not a lot he was interested in hearing. He didn't stop her though, allowing her to get it off her chest in the hopes she would eventually relax. "I'll remind you again that unless you are secretly a telepath, you have no knowledge of who else was or was not contacted, what they were informed of, or evidently much of anything."

"I've been a 'spacer' since before your great, great grandfather was born, and I've been in Starfleet long enough to know that your superstitious, hyper-paranoid survival instincts do not justify breaking the protocol you have spent four years of your life learning. If you disagree with something, take it up with your superior. If your superior disagrees, get over it or consider a new career path. If you take issue in participating in this cursed mission due to religious or spiritual reasons, I will happily contact Lieutenant Espada to provide you a new assignment and have someone else prepare and man the shuttle." He paused a moment, if she dared to respond to that much of his speech, before pushing on once again.

"To answer your question, no, you will not be getting your improperly acquired phaser rifle back, and your returning to your duties depends entirely on whether you understand that simply thinking something is a good idea is not justification for making decisions above your pay grade. I'd like to not be concerned you may also decide it beneficial for the Mjolnir to have a cloaking device installed as well, or the arrays to be modified for 'efficiency'."

Jettis would be keeping the rifle aboard, however he needed to properly return it and have whoever stupidly gave it to Denton removed from duty so all of the day's logs could be checked properly. Unfortunately, his report to Mackenzie would have to wait until after the away mission was completed. "Now, will you be completing your assignment of going through the Starfleet provided preflight checklist and reporting any issues to me? If so, I will briefly elaborate on the information I have currently for this mission, and you can continue with your work after that."

[USS Challenger-A | Deck 19 | Main Shuttlebay]

The Ensign just waited"¦ Waited until Lieutenant Jyur had gotten through everything he had to say in response. She wasn't surprised by him flexing his knowledge and rank, he was a Scientist who had seemingly spent too much time in Starfleet to remember what Real Space was like, in her opinion. But she had no argument. If this is what it meant to work through the bureaucracy to one day be a Captain, it's what she would suffer through.

When Jettis finally came to an end of his list of expectations and explanations, much as he'd let her, Tiio didn't immediately respond but instead brought out the PADD she'd been using during the pre-flight checklist. Entering in a few commands, she turned the PADD around to the Lieutenant and simply requested, "Thumbprint, please, Sir," in that dry, cold tone that she often used when dealing with superior officers. Almost being certain that the man would want a further explanation, she added, "It inventory form saying you taking possession of the rifle, Sir." If the man wanted to do things as 'by the book' as he seemed to, then it should be an easy exchange for him to provide the necessary credentials.

Of course, once Lieutenant Jyur applied his thumbprint and accepted the responsibility of the rifle, the inventory form would disappear to display the Pre-Flight Checklist that had been settled into the background, showing only the first of the laundry list of checks having been completed. With the matter of the rifle settled, however, Tiio took the PADD back and nodded in the affirmative, "Yes, Lieutenant. I await your briefing."

[Chief Petty Officer T'ealc | Delta Flyer Mjolnir | | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

T'ealc had arrived before Chloe Davies, seeing as how medical officers were being assembled and the EMHs activated to help with the medical officers in their absence.  She had arrived in time to watch Lieutenant Jyur and the new flight officer, Ensign Denton, momentarily...well, she can't decide whether they were arguing or not, but it was veering toward the former. Then she saw the rifle and she had a good idea.

"Ensign," T'ealc said. "Good to meet you. Chief T'ealc from Sickbay. By the way, the rifle is a good precaution, but probably unnecessary."

T'ealc waited until Chloe arrived, along with the engineering officers Tharn and Cordon. She looked toward Jyur for the briefing.

[Jettis Jyur]

[ USS Challenger - Shuttlebay ]

When the Ensign finally conceded - though not without attitude, Jettis noted - he accepted the PADD to take responsibility for the rifle, which he would promptly call down before the red alert was sounded. Unbeknownst to him, a good portion of ship's security was about to be shipped off - likely what had delayed the klaxxons, and what enabled the most incapable petty officer to be left in charge of the armoury. His stepping away to notify the security team was followed up by him giving Kaniehtiio a brief rundown of specific checks he wanted added, given the murky circumstances surrounding the ship. It was far too large for them to tow, so if there were survivors they would have a lot of people to deal with on their hands, and possibly a lot of

When the remaining four members of the away team arrived, he would repeat his earlier message and add the necessary context for those not present on the Bridge: "We received a distress signal from the USS Burke roughly 45 minutes ago, that was being disrupted before we encountered the Jyn Faisha ship. We've now located the Burke, but she's dead in the water - no telling if it has emergency reserves for life support, has already lost it, or how long it would have been out. We also don't know who attacked the Burke, but there are no ships detected nearby, so current assumption is pirates."

When each member relayed their understanding, the small team was off. Disembarking from the Challenger and arriving at the USS Burke gave them a few answers, but many more questions. As expected, the ship had gone dark, and was in predictably rough shape. An old frigate, that looked like it shouldn't even be flying in this day and age, but shockingly there was no major hull breaches that would prevent them from beaming aboard. Jettis gave the go ahead for the team to transport to the bridge, in hopes of finding someone to answer the many questions they had.

[Kaniehtiio Denton]

[USS Mjolnir | Stationed within Transporter Distance of the USS Burke]

[ USS Challenger - Shuttlebay ]

When the Ensign finally conceded - though not without attitude, Jettis noted - he accepted the PADD to take responsibility for the rifle, which he would promptly call down before the red alert was sounded. Unbeknownst to him, a good portion of ship's security was about to be shipped off - likely what had delayed the klaxxons, and what enabled the most incapable petty officer to be left in charge of the armoury. His stepping away to notify the security team was followed up by him giving Kaniehtiio a brief rundown of specific checks he wanted added, given the murky circumstances surrounding the ship. It was far too large for them to tow, so if there were survivors they would have a lot of people to deal with on their hands, and possibly a lot of

When the remaining four members of the away team arrived, he would repeat his earlier message and add the necessary context for those not present on the Bridge: "We received a distress signal from the USS Burke roughly 45 minutes ago, that was being disrupted before we encountered the Jyn Faisha ship. We've now located the Burke, but she's dead in the water - no telling if it has emergency reserves for life support, has already lost it, or how long it would have been out. We also don't know who attacked the Burke, but there are no ships detected nearby, so current assumption is pirates."

When each member relayed their understanding, the small team was off. Disembarking from the Challenger and arriving at the USS Burke gave them a few answers, but many more questions. As expected, the ship had gone dark, and was in predictably rough shape. An old frigate, that looked like it shouldn't even be flying in this day and age, but shockingly there was no major hull breaches that would prevent them from beaming aboard. Jettis gave the go ahead for the team to transport to the bridge, in hopes of finding someone to answer the many questions they had.

After Lieutenant Jyur took official responsibility for the rifle, briefed her, and then finally allowed the pilot to finish the preflight checks, of which he added extra steps for entirely as punishment, Tiio wasn't shocked by just how little encompassed the brief. It wasn't terribly surprising that the El-Aurian had an ego. They'd always been rumored to and alleged to be as bad if not worse than the notorious Q's. The Scientist was just proving the Spacer's previously heard theories to be correct.

Despite the needless delay, the Delta Flyer was more than up to the task of getting the small team to the last known location of the USS Burke rather swiftly. Tiio had increased a few settings here and reduced the need for some power there to up the duration of the shuttlecraft's maximum warp to ensure they got there as swiftly as possible. Within moments of dropping out of warp, she'd used the Delta Flyer's impressive sensors to locate and track down the unresponsive ship. It was only as she made their final approach that the Lieutenant informed the pilot of their method of boarding the Burke.

"Can't tell what's wrong with it, Lieutenant. She just looks dead in the water. I'll wait here in case the team needs beamed out." There was certainly more Tiio could have said, but she had learned that the El-Aurian was not one to actually listen to the plights of regular, ol' humans. Waving the small team farewell as she activated the small transporter in the rear of the shuttlecraft, Tiio returned to her seat at the Helm of the Delta Flyer and continued to scan the area around them, hoping that it would stay just as deathly quiet as it had been once they first arrived.

At least forgetting her EV suit was paying off. There was no telling If or How Long the Life Support on the Burke would last. Her one regret was not bringing a holo with her on a PADD. It would have been better than just staring at Sensor Logs and the silhouette of a powerless frigate.

[Nira Said]

[ USS Challenger - Shuttlebay ]

When the Ensign finally conceded - though not without attitude, Jettis noted - he accepted the PADD to take responsibility for the rifle, which he would promptly call down before the red alert was sounded. Unbeknownst to him, a good portion of ship's security was about to be shipped off - likely what had delayed the klaxxons, and what enabled the most incapable petty officer to be left in charge of the armoury. His stepping away to notify the security team was followed up by him giving Kaniehtiio a brief rundown of specific checks he wanted added, given the murky circumstances surrounding the ship. It was far too large for them to tow, so if there were survivors they would have a lot of people to deal with on their hands, and possibly a lot of

When the remaining four members of the away team arrived, he would repeat his earlier message and add the necessary context for those not present on the Bridge: "We received a distress signal from the USS Burke roughly 45 minutes ago, that was being disrupted before we encountered the Jyn Faisha ship. We've now located the Burke, but she's dead in the water - no telling if it has emergency reserves for life support, has already lost it, or how long it would have been out. We also don't know who attacked the Burke, but there are no ships detected nearby, so current assumption is pirates."

When each member relayed their understanding, the small team was off. Disembarking from the Challenger and arriving at the USS Burke gave them a few answers, but many more questions. As expected, the ship had gone dark, and was in predictably rough shape. An old frigate, that looked like it shouldn't even be flying in this day and age, but shockingly there was no major hull breaches that would prevent them from beaming aboard. Jettis gave the go ahead for the team to transport to the bridge, in hopes of finding someone to answer the many questions they had.

[USS Mjolnir | Stationed within Transporter Distance of the USS Burke]

After Lieutenant Jyur took official responsibility for the rifle, briefed her, and then finally allowed the pilot to finish the preflight checks, of which he added extra steps for entirely as punishment, Tiio wasn't shocked by just how little encompassed the brief. It wasn't terribly surprising that the El-Aurian had an ego. They'd always been rumored to and alleged to be as bad if not worse than the notorious Q's. The Scientist was just proving the Spacer's previously heard theories to be correct.

Despite the needless delay, the Delta Flyer was more than up to the task of getting the small team to the last known location of the USS Burke rather swiftly. Tiio had increased a few settings here and reduced the need for some power there to up the duration of the shuttlecraft's maximum warp to ensure they got there as swiftly as possible. Within moments of dropping out of warp, she'd used the Delta Flyer's impressive sensors to locate and track down the unresponsive ship. It was only as she made their final approach that the Lieutenant informed the pilot of their method of boarding the Burke.

"Can't tell what's wrong with it, Lieutenant. She just looks dead in the water. I'll wait here in case the team needs beamed out." There was certainly more Tiio could have said, but she had learned that the El-Aurian was not one to actually listen to the plights of regular, ol' humans. Waving the small team farewell as she activated the small transporter in the rear of the shuttlecraft, Tiio returned to her seat at the Helm of the Delta Flyer and continued to scan the area around them, hoping that it would stay just as deathly quiet as it had been once they first arrived.

At least forgetting her EV suit was paying off. There was no telling If or How Long the Life Support on the Burke would last. Her one regret was not bringing a holo with her on a PADD. It would have been better than just staring at Sensor Logs and the silhouette of a powerless frigate.

[Commander Dashlish Tharn | Delta Flyer Mjolnir >- USS Burke NCC-3210-A]

Tharn didn't like having to leave Engineering at a time like this, but if another ship needed help, as Mister Jyur had indicated, so her hands were needed. She was glad for the assistance of Ensign Cordon, and nodded at Nurse Davies and Chief T'ealc.

She had to admit, she was impressed with Ensign Denton. She was a stubborn one, like a Tellarite. And in a moment, they had arrived.

She cringed at the sight. The Burke was something that should've been put into the Fleet Museum. It was virtually the Kirk-era precursor of a Yeager-class. It had a huge Miranda-class saucer, two nacelles extending on either side, and an Oberth-like body underneath. She could figure what happened, from a system bugging out to...the mention of raiders made her wonder if it had been attacked...

She perked up at Ensign Denton's words, and not just the tone. If something had transpired between her and Jyur, she was going to find out once they had this piece of junk back up and running.

"That's an idea," she said, "but I think we can take chance by docking at an airlock. We'll only need beam-outs if we have to get out of here in a hurry."

She looked at Jyur, part challengingly. Much as she outranked him, he was team leader; Chief Engineers often deferred to team leaders. Tharn can at least advise Jyur of what to do.

She went to a console and made some tapping. "Now, Ensign, we may have to leave you behind so you can, as they say on Earth, keep the motor running. It may get a little lonely up here. Fortunately, I have just the thing if you feel bored. I know I have a fellow officer who is overly fond of music, uses it to pass the time. It's understandable on his part, I have come to realize. He has a musical library in the ship database, you can access playing functions to hear. But be prepared in the event we have to call for you to beam us back aboard."

Tharn was firm, and she was also a fair person, and she believed in teamwork in Engineering, but it helped to channel it on an away mission, and she didn't need to be a telepath of any kind to know something was going on between her and Jyur.

"We should be back soon, though if we do restore the Burke's power, we can summon you to temporarily helm the ship," Tharn added. "Miss Cordon, you'll be with me, we'll head for Main Engineering. Will that be all right with you, Jyur?"

[Kaniehtiio Denton]

[USS Mjolnir | Stationed within Transporter Distance of the USS Burke]

[Commander Dashlish Tharn | Delta Flyer Mjolnir >- USS Burke NCC-3210-A]

"That's an idea," she said, "but I think we can take chance by docking at an airlock. We'll only need beam-outs if we have to get out of here in a hurry."

She looked at Jyur, part challengingly. Much as she outranked him, he was team leader; Chief Engineers often deferred to team leaders. Tharn can at least advise Jyur of what to do.

She went to a console and made some tapping. "Now, Ensign, we may have to leave you behind so you can, as they say on Earth, keep the motor running. It may get a little lonely up here. Fortunately, I have just the thing if you feel bored. I know I have a fellow officer who is overly fond of music, uses it to pass the time. It's understandable on his part, I have come to realize. He has a musical library in the ship database, you can access playing functions to hear. But be prepared in the event we have to call for you to beam us back aboard."

Tharn was firm, and she was also a fair person, and she believed in teamwork in Engineering, but it helped to channel it on an away mission, and she didn't need to be a telepath of any kind to know something was going on between her and Jyur.

"We should be back soon, though if we do restore the Burke's power, we can summon you to temporarily helm the ship," Tharn added. "Miss Cordon, you'll be with me, we'll head for Main Engineering. Will that be all right with you, Jyur?"

Tiio looked at the Commander with the same blank stare she seemed to give to everyone at first. It wasn't so much a sign of disrespect as it was her waiting for them to show her what kind of person they were. The Engineer's suggestion did elicit a slight eye-roll from her, but not to the woman's words, but in the direction of the Lieutenant before she muttered half-heartedly, "I would have suggested the same, but L.T. wanted you to beam over. I think it safer to initiate airlock. Go in slow. Never know what kinda shape that ship in. You beam in and there no air, you'll be half-dead before I can beam you back." It wasn't an understatement by the Ensign, either, given the limitations of the shuttlecraft's transporter buffer and how it would take a few cycles to get all of the team over.

Turning as she watched the Engineer approach the console; her console more or less given she was the assigned pilot, Tiio raised an eyebrow in concern until she heard the Commander out. It wasn't until Tharn had turned back to return to the grouping with the others at the rear of the Delta Flyer that the pilot started to wander back towards her seat, but stopped short of giving the opened library more than a quick glance before turning back to the others.

After Tharn's request to the Lieutenant, Tiio spoke up to add, "If you get the power on, I should be able to initiate remote docking procedures for the shuttlebay. Put this shuttle down in there so we got no need for beaming." Given that it was a Starfleet ship, the protocols for such would already be in the Mjolnir's computer and be fairly normal for any Starfleet shuttle to initiate given how the two crafts would recognize each other as allies.

It didn't change the fact that Tiio would be sitting and waiting in the shuttle until there was a call or need to do any of that. The Engineer would have to get the power going, first, or Jyur would have to give the go-ahead for the Pilot to find a suitable airlock to interface the shuttlecraft with. She was fairly certain the former was much more likely to happen before the latter, given the Lieutenant's prior attitude toward her.

[Abas Th'vyrrol]

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

"Aye, sir," said Nira. "Mister Mackenzie, assemble security teams, and you're with me in the lead team."

Then she tapped her comm badge and called in: "Doctor Fellows, Chief Ch'Verret, Commander Catalan, assemble in Transporter Room One. Send some medical and engineering officers to join some other teams."Savar remained on the bridge alongside Lieutenant Randall and worked on the sensors to assist him. He heard out the readings and nodded.

"Confirmed, Captain. Two lithium-based trails and a third deuterium trail heading deeper in the system."

[Commander Nira Said | Transporter Room One | Deck Four | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira awaited her assigned team, consisting of Kyan, Jess Fellows and Lahr and Commander Catalan. Zhuk was leading one team, Ryan Blackfeather a second, and...to Nira's surprise Elva Denton was leading the third. Nira had the impression Kyan was impressed with her greatly.

She looked down her list of assigned officers to each team: Team one, Lieutenant Fisk (Engineering) and Ensign Rasher (Medical); Team two, Ensign Tal (Engineering) and Petty Officer Heesou (Medical); and Team three, Petty Officer T'Roth (Engineering) and Crewman Th'vyrrol (Medical). Each one will be in charge of engineering and medical personnel as they assist the Jyn.

As each of the officers arrived, when Nira saw Doctor Fellows, she said, "Don't worry, Doctor, this won't be anything like our infiltration mission. We're coming to aid."

Once the team assembled, they took their positions on the pads and Nira told the transporter chief, once the coordinates were put in, "Energize."

[Transporter Room]

As the medical crew was split up to the various teams, they received their orders in brief. They were beaming to a Jyn outpost and colony who were in need of aid. From the rumors and what he'd been able to piece together, there had been some sort of attack, and there were civilians injured. That was all that he needed to know for now. Once the Commander had beamed over, and gotten a sense of the information, further orders were distributed. His team was being sent to the surface, along with a rather substantial complement of the ship's security officers. One by one, they stepped onto the transporter pad and winked out of existence, materializing moments later in the colony, taking in the chaos around them.

[Jyn Colony]

As the transporter cycle completed, the acrid smell of fire in the air and heat around told Abas that the colony was very much worse off for wear. He quieted himself, listening around for a moment to try and establish his bearings before beginning to walk carefully around, trying to find either a good place free from debris to set up a triage station or see if anyone was immediately calling for a medic within earshot. He didn't say much, but worked on trying to understand where they were and what the situation was.

This wasn't the first time he'd beamed into the aftermath of a combat zone, either simulated or real, but it was always uncomfortable. So much suffering, for so little purpose. But, he had to make sure that wherever he went, the rest of the team was also aware and with him. He thought quickly to the rest of the team with him - a Vulcan engineering crewman, a handful of enlisted security officers, and a Caitian Lieutenant leading them all. Until given further orders, he'd stay close to the Security and try and obtain his bearings. He flipped open a tricorder, setting it to scan for bio-readings, and tried to establish a "normal" baseline to try and find anyone who might be injured or trapped, just in case.

[Jettis Jyur]

[ Delta Flyer Mjolnir ]

Jettis nodded absently at the pilots initial observation, looking down at the scans of the frigate. "The atmosphere is failing, but breathable enough. I haven't detect any immediate dangers so far without going in."

When Commander Tharn piped up, Jettis cast an unreadable look at the chief engineer, pondering her words. Though she was respecting his status as the away team leader, there was the air of challenge, unsurprising from the engineer. He had no interest in further fighting though, especially not when he'd have a whole lot of paperwork once he got back.

"If you think you can get this antique to interface, you have my blessing. The power being down should at least make your job a simpler one." Though Jettis noted Tiio's eyeroll, he didn't comment on it - only hoped the Commander noticed it as well. The atmosphere was stable, at least for the moment, so he failed to see how cracking the airlock of a dead power ship was going to be the safer option - however, if that meant he could keep an eye on Denton and the possibility it would allow them to evacuate the crew faster, so be it. Jettis waited for Tharn and Denton to dock at the airlock, before the team would move forward.

[Ian Galloway]

[Commander Dashlish Tharn | Delta Flyer Mjolnir >- USS Burke NCC-3210-A]

Tharn didn't like having to leave Engineering at a time like this, but if another ship needed help, as Mister Jyur had indicated, so her hands were needed. She was glad for the assistance of Ensign Cordon, and nodded at Nurse Davies and Chief T'ealc.

She had to admit, she was impressed with Ensign Denton. She was a stubborn one, like a Tellarite. And in a moment, they had arrived.

She cringed at the sight. The Burke was something that should've been put into the Fleet Museum. It was virtually the Kirk-era precursor of a Yeager-class. It had a huge Miranda-class saucer, two nacelles extending on either side, and an Oberth-like body underneath. She could figure what happened, from a system bugging out to...the mention of raiders made her wonder if it had been attacked...

She perked up at Ensign Denton's words, and not just the tone. If something had transpired between her and Jyur, she was going to find out once they had this piece of junk back up and running.

"That's an idea," she said, "but I think we can take chance by docking at an airlock. We'll only need beam-outs if we have to get out of here in a hurry."

She looked at Jyur, part challengingly. Much as she outranked him, he was team leader; Chief Engineers often deferred to team leaders. Tharn can at least advise Jyur of what to do.

She went to a console and made some tapping. "Now, Ensign, we may have to leave you behind so you can, as they say on Earth, keep the motor running. It may get a little lonely up here. Fortunately, I have just the thing if you feel bored. I know I have a fellow officer who is overly fond of music, uses it to pass the time. It's understandable on his part, I have come to realize. He has a musical library in the ship database, you can access playing functions to hear. But be prepared in the event we have to call for you to beam us back aboard."

Tharn was firm, and she was also a fair person, and she believed in teamwork in Engineering, but it helped to channel it on an away mission, and she didn't need to be a telepath of any kind to know something was going on between her and Jyur.

"We should be back soon, though if we do restore the Burke's power, we can summon you to temporarily helm the ship," Tharn added. "Miss Cordon, you'll be with me, we'll head for Main Engineering. Will that be all right with you, Jyur?"

[ Delta Flyer Mjolnir ]

Jettis nodded absently at the pilots initial observation, looking down at the scans of the frigate. "The atmosphere is failing, but breathable enough. I haven't detect any immediate dangers so far without going in."

When Commander Tharn piped up, Jettis cast an unreadable look at the chief engineer, pondering her words. Though she was respecting his status as the away team leader, there was the air of challenge, unsurprising from the engineer. He had no interest in further fighting though, especially not when he'd have a whole lot of paperwork once he got back.

"If you think you can get this antique to interface, you have my blessing. The power being down should at least make your job a simpler one." Though Jettis noted Tiio's eyeroll, he didn't comment on it - only hoped the Commander noticed it as well. The atmosphere was stable, at least for the moment, so he failed to see how cracking the airlock of a dead power ship was going to be the safer option - however, if that meant he could keep an eye on Denton and the possibility it would allow them to evacuate the crew faster, so be it. Jettis waited for Tharn and Denton to dock at the airlock, before the team would move forward.

[Shuttle Mjolnir - In Orbit of Iota Thelonis II]

As the Mjolnir moved in close to the Burke, it was clear the old ship had taken extensive damage. Scans showed hull integrity was at 76% with several compartments open to space. Damage was clearly from phasers which eliminated the Klingons as responsible for the attack. Internally, scans showed fire damage on all decks with an atmosphere still breathable, but with an unsafe level of carbon dioxide. In addition, the temperature was only 8.43 degrees C, boarding would require oxygen masks and cold weather gear.

It took some effort to find an undamaged airlock, but one was located lower mid-ship. Once found, it was a simple maneuver to bring the Mjolnir to where she could dock. When the computer indicated a good seal, it required some effort to manually get the airlock open.

So far, there had been no attempts to hail the Mjolnir, thus it was unknown if there were survivors. Learning more about the derelict was going to require entering the Burke to learn her secrets.

Never one for subtlety, Tharn, after grabbing her oxygen mask, her Tellerite hide could tolerate the cold better than the others, so she skipped the cold weather gear.

"Ensign Cordon, Engineering is aft and up three decks from here. That is our destination."

With that, Tharn, carrying her large tool kit strode off without looking back. In her mind, Neva would either keep up or get left behind.

Lieutenant Davies and Chief Petty Officer T'ealc looked to Jettis with a questioning expression.

"Where would you like us Lieutenant?"

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

[Commander Nira Said | Operations Center | Jyn Outpost | In orbit of Iota Thelonis IX]

Nira and her team beamed onto the outpost to meet some Jyn Faisha leaders in the middle of their outpost operations center, which definitely showed indication of damage. It brought back memories of Melek Nor as it was being destroyed. Some Jyn saw them and approached them.

"Ah, you're from the Federation vessel! Thank the Wandering Gods you're here!" one said.

"That we are," said Nira. "I'm Commander Nira Said from the Starship Challenger. Who's in charge here?"

"The outpost commander is dead," one important-looking Jyn said as he approached. This was definitely the first Jyn that definitely struck Nira as Bedouin-like. It wasn't just the robes, but the headdress. The ornate and elaborate attire indicated he was someone of great importance. The Jyn officers were dressed in dull robes with scarves, almost similarly to Captain Llydin.

"Unfortunately, many of the outpost officers have been detained," he continued to explain. "I'm Administrator Bikole, colony administrator at Iota Thelonis IX. I had, of course, been informing your captain of where we need people, and I had asked for assistance down at the colony."

"Of course, Administrator," Nira said. "I can direct two teams down to the colony." She then tapped her comm badge and gave orders. "Said to Challenger Transporters, send Lieutenant Mrekrerhas' and Cadet Denton's teams down to the Jyn colony to help there."

"Understood, Commander," came the reply.

Then Nira turned to Bikole. He definitely didn't look like the political type. This was somebody who knew how to run and defend a colony.

"Can you give us details of the raid?" asked Nira.

"Very," Bikole said. "However, sensors had been knocked senseless, so I can't mention much. All we know is that we've been hit hard. And this was the fourth time this has happened in the past three weeks."

Nira flinched. Fourth? So it's happened before. And she had an inkling...she turned back at the team, significantly at Kyan and Catalan; they were on Llydin's ship as well, of course.

"We've had garbled communications," piped up a Jyn officer. "Lieutenant Jarol, by the way, second officer. We know the colony's been hit hard, but we can't tell the casualties as of yet. A lot of our systems are down. It's a good thing you and your ship is here, if the raiders come back, we're doomed."

"Well, we do have functioning communications," said Nira. "We can coordinate with our teams as they work on the planet. Mackenzie, Fellows, Ch'verret, Catalan, let's see what we can do here."

[Transporter Room]

As the medical crew was split up to the various teams, they received their orders in brief. They were beaming to a Jyn outpost and colony who were in need of aid. From the rumors and what he'd been able to piece together, there had been some sort of attack, and there were civilians injured. That was all that he needed to know for now. Once the Commander had beamed over, and gotten a sense of the information, further orders were distributed. His team was being sent to the surface, along with a rather substantial complement of the ship's security officers. One by one, they stepped onto the transporter pad and winked out of existence, materializing moments later in the colony, taking in the chaos around them.

[Jyn Colony]

As the transporter cycle completed, the acrid smell of fire in the air and heat around told Abas that the colony was very much worse off for wear. He quieted himself, listening around for a moment to try and establish his bearings before beginning to walk carefully around, trying to find either a good place free from debris to set up a triage station or see if anyone was immediately calling for a medic within earshot. He didn't say much, but worked on trying to understand where they were and what the situation was.

This wasn't the first time he'd beamed into the aftermath of a combat zone, either simulated or real, but it was always uncomfortable. So much suffering, for so little purpose. But, he had to make sure that wherever he went, the rest of the team was also aware and with him. He thought quickly to the rest of the team with him - a Vulcan engineering crewman, a handful of enlisted security officers, and a Caitian Lieutenant leading them all. Until given further orders, he'd stay close to the Security and try and obtain his bearings. He flipped open a tricorder, setting it to scan for bio-readings, and tried to establish a "normal" baseline to try and find anyone who might be injured or trapped, just in case.

[Jyn Station - In Orbit of Iota Thelonis IX]

The air of the station was tainted with the acrid tang of smoke and burned circuits, but it's orbit seemed to be stable. Shields were out as were most of the weapons. Despite the chaos, Administrator Bikole seemed to have a good grasp of the situation.

"Casualties here are heavy. At least 12 dead and another 30 injured. The colony got off fairly light, 2 dead and 11 injured. A half-dozen surface structures have been destroyed, along with the outpost's shield generators and defensive systems. Worst of all there, has been a collapse of one of the mines.

"It was obvious what the Klingons wanted, 50 tons of refined kemocite was stolen. That represents a substantial portion of the entire colony's production for the last six months. The monetary loss is crippling. That loss aside, We desperately need help with rescuing those in the mine and whatever medical attention you can provide."

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

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As Ian monitored the situation on the Jyn station through Nira's combadge, Lieutenant Randell was conducting extensive sensor scans to try and locate the attackers.

"Sir, I have an idea. If we reconfigure the deflector dish to emit a low-level ionic pulse, we might catch the Klingons unaware and cause their cloaking device to reset for a moment. It would be just enough for us to be able to find them before they escape."

"Excellent idea Evan, go ahead."

As he'd anticipated that he'd be given approval, it took less than two minutes before the pulse went out. As Randell scanned, Ian stared intently at the viewscreen and just moments after the pulse went out, both men exclaimed simultaneously.

"There/There!"

At the indicated point, there was a shimmer as a Klingon Bird of Prey rippled into existence.

"Hail that ship!"

Ian barked.

Lieutenant Davenport at Tactical managed a connection and soon the starscape was replaced by a very angry Captain Kharn.

"What is the meaning of this outrage!"

"I could ask the same of you Captain. I believe you have summat that belongs ta the Jyn."

"That is a lie!"

"Then you wouldn't mind if we inspect your cargo hold."

"I do mind and I will fire on you if you try!"

"That seems a little aggressive Captain, after all, we're allies."

"You are no ally I mine!"

"Captain, I believe we can talk-"

"No more talk! You have interfered with me for the last time!"

At that point, Kharn cut the connection as a second Bird of Prey decloaked. The two ships spread out and immediately began an attack run!

[Neva Cordon]

[Neva Cordon >- Delta Flyer Mjolnir >- USS Burke NCC-3210-A]
Neva was in mid-slurp of her Spaghetti when the order came from the Captain. Biting off what wasn't in her mouth, she stood and grabbed her kit as she joined the rest running for stations. She was next in line for the Turbolift when she got the comm message from the Bridge, she hit her badge and replied "Aye, Sir. On my way. Cordon out." Neva slipped out of line and toward the area of the ship that would lead to the Shuttlebay.

[Delta Flyer Mjolnir >- USS Burke NCC-3210-A]
Neva settled into the chair in the Flyer and nodded with a smile to Chief Tharn. She put the gloves for cold weather in the pocket of the coat she'd gotten at the last minute and pulled the knitted earband over her head to rest around her neck. She never liked the cold much, but the earband was a gift from a friend's mom. Neva loved how she'd managed to knit the comm badge shape into the band.
Neva looked around at those assembled as they flew off, sensing the anticipation and other interesting emotions. She was brought out of her reverie by the Chief's declaration to her. "Aye, Sir." she replied crisply and hurried after the Tellarite, putting on gloves, pulling up the earband, and grabbing her kit from its place on her knee.

[USS Burke NCC-3210-A]

Neva adjusted her oxygen mask as she marveled at the state of the Burke. It almost broke her Engineer's heart to see the ship in its current state, but such were the hazards of space travel.
At the Commander's direction, Neva's head snapped to look at the Chief, checks burning with embarrassment. "Aye, Sir!" Neva jogged along behind the Commander as she rubbed her gloved hands together and smirked. "Time to get my hands dirty!" she murmured to herself.

[Kaniehtiio Denton]

[USS Mjolnir outside of the USS Burke]

"If you think you can get this antique to interface, you have my blessing. The power being down should at least make your job a simpler one."

A small grin flashed on the pilot's face, "Of course, Lieutenant. It be nothing." Glancing at the Engineering Commander as she turned to return to her seat at the Mjolnir's helm, Tiio was quick to enter commands and get the shuttlecraft moving slowly towards the damage Burke. With just a few adjustments to settings, the once speedy Delta Flyer was now able to float through space with extreme agility as the pilot kept its nose facing the starship as she moved them around it, examining the damage both visually and with the sensors, in an attempt to find a good airlock to interface with.

"Burke Hull Integrity at seventy-six percent. There are several breached sectors that have been exposed to the vacuum of space. Seems the emergency systems activated to seal them off. There signs of thermal damage on all decks. Probably from fires. Air quality is not good. 'CO2' at unsafe levels, and the ambient temperature is barely above Eight degrees."

While the repeating of the sensor data was useful, it didn't help as much with finding an available airlock as other, simpler options. Reaching up to flip a switch, two large lights located near the nose of the Mjolnir showered the hull with a bright, white glow as the pilot continued to slowly buzz around the damaged starship like a botfly looking for decaying flesh to feast and lay their eggs upon. Searching the saucer section first, it was clear that none of those airlocks showed promise. It wasn't until Tiio took them lower, to the engineering section that she finally stopped the shuttlecraft's movement and seemed to study the closed airlock in front of them.

"That one looks good, yeah?" she asked Tharn before quickly getting a confirmation. They'd already spent a good bit of time finding an option, and this one had certainly looked the best so far. "Maneuvering into position and initiating manual docking procedures."

Approaching the Burke's hull closely, Tiio used the precise manipulation of the RCS thrusters to bring them to a dead halt before spinning the shuttle in place. Pressing several options on her console, the screens built into them filled with a rear-view of the Mjolnir before she slowly started to reverse the craft towards it. It seemed the woman couldn't help but let out a small chuckle before softly commenting, "There are stations that would fine you for not having warning sounds when backing up like this." It seemed the differences between Starfleet and Civilian regulations were once again mildly amusing to her.

Narrating as she went through each step, as she had been taught to do, "Enabling forcefield and lowering ramp." The rear-view showed the ramp start to slowly come down to become perpendicular to the Burke's hull before stopping to create a level walkway that was the same length as the Delta Flyer's protruding tail. Inching the shuttlecraft closer and closer, there was a slight shudder as the Mjolnir's hull kissed that of the starship, with Tiio quickly shifting to activate, "Activating magnetic docking system," followed quickly by, "Extending docking tunnel," and "Securing and testing docking seal."

Once the whole maneuver had been completed, the pilot shut down the shuttlecraft's propulsion systems and reinforced the power going to the docking system. With only a few more commands, she turned in her chair to look to the Mission Leader, "Docking successful. The docking tube is secured, reinforced, and pressurized. I also have activated the rear forcefield to be semi-permeable to retain pressurization on the"¦shuttle" The pause had been the woman looking as if she was going to naturally attempt to pronounce the name of the Delta Flyer, but found herself unable and choose a generic term instead of showing her unfamiliarity with the Earthen language-derived name.

"Ensign Cordon, Engineering is aft and up three decks from here. That is our destination."

With that, Tharn, carrying her large tool kit strode off without looking back. In her mind, Neva would either keep up or get left behind.

Lieutenant Davies and Chief Petty Officer T'ealc looked to Jettis with a questioning expression.

"Where would you like us Lieutenant?"

Given the conditions registered inside of the Burke, Tiio followed the lead of the others to grab one of the cold-weather overalls to step into before taking one of the oxygen masks from the storage cabinet. Making sure she was all zipped and velcroed tightly before donning the mask, she blinked and sucked in a deep breath of the crisp air as the mask sealed around her nose and mouth.

Grabbing one of the smaller tool kits that were always in the inventory of every Starfleet shuttle, the pilot was the last to step up to the edge of the Mjolnir's hatch before looking to Jettis and asking, "You want me here? Or am I following you?" While it was a simple enough question on its surface, the way Tiio said it clearly was giving the Lieutenant the option of leaving her behind if he didn't want to continue to deal with the independent attitude she'd already presented, given his penchant for absolute control.

[Zhukdrashar Mrekrerhas]

[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Armory | Deck Nine | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

[Lt. Commander Kyan Mackenzie | Armory | USS Challenger]

When the doors to Challenger's main armory parted with their trademark mechanical "œswish" Kyan entered to find the room packed to the bulkheads. Lieutenant J.G. Trova (Benzite female) and Crewmen Thompson and Masters (Human Males) were hustling to get weapons and equipment assigned, and the others were in various stages of kitting up. Kyan had met Chief Blackfeather (Human male) on his way to the armory and between them had come up with the three teams that the Captain ordered. Half of Challenger's Security Department were either new to the ship, or new in general. For most of them this would be their first real away mission.

"œAll right. Mouths shut and ears open." Blackfeather called out as he walked in behind his pint sized boss.

"œAt Ease!" came a shout from the back of the room, followed by a series of confused looks and chuckles from around the room.

"œShut up Slater!" (Crewman Roscoe Slater, Human male) someone answered and was followed by several shouts of "œyeah" and "œwhat she said".

Blackfeather's eyes narrowed. "œStow it." He bellowed. "œFirst off, There's two officers in here already.. second, Commander Mackenzie is right in front of me. Pay attention to your surroundings Slater!"

This time no one piled on. Blackfeather waited a moment for the chatter to die completely before continuing. "œOk. Commander Mackenzie's gonna give the briefing. So listen up."

Kyan took a look around, ensuring everyone was present before he began. "Ok." he began when he was satisfied that he had everyone. "A Jyn mining station above Iota Thelonis IX was attacked so it has, probably by some Klingons. Not regular Klingons, the sadness of it, but the pirate kind."

Petty Officer Koroz shook his head. "Honorless Pe'TaQu!" he grumbled.

Kyan nodded. "Yep. So we're gonna beam in there and see what's what the now. We'll be splitting up intae tree teams. Chief Blackfeather here.." he indicated the Chief with a nod, and Mister Mrekrerhas will lead two of the teams. And Cadet Denton, you'll be in charge of the third. I'll be going with your team, but you'll be in charge of it."

After a moment he continued. "The Klingons are probably gone so they are, but they might not be. And if they're still there, then we're tae clear em out and take the station." Kyan held up a padd. "The rosters is on this padd here, so after we're done here, finish gettin yer gear an look tae see what team yer on. Any questions?"

Team Rosters

Pos.	Species	Name	Rank	Gen	Age
Team A
Chief of Security	Onlie	Kyan Mackenzie	LTCDR	Male	450
Team Leader	Human	Eva Denton	Cadet	Female	21
Security Officer	Bolian	Sahri Arat	CRN	Female	24
Security Officer	Klingon	Kolkris, Daughter of L'Gor	CRN	Female	19
Security Officer	Human	Roscoe Slater	CRN	Male	18
Security Officer	Human	Manilla O'Sullivan	CRN	Female	21
Team B
Team Leader	Human	Ryan Blackfeather	SCPO	Male	46
Security Officer	Klingon	Koroz	PO1	Male	32
Security Officer	Ithenite	Pyzak	PO3	Male	32
Security Officer	Human	Callahan Rega	CRN	Male	28
Security Officer	Bolian	Taxa Choss	CRN	Female	20
Team C
Team Leader	Caitian	Zhukdrasher Mrekrerhas	LT	Male
Security Officer	Efrosian	Savliv Si-Okrei	PO3	Male	20
Security Officer	Ferengi	Zala	CRN	Female	18
Security Officer	Human	Sharen Anchors	CRN	Female	19
Security Officer	Human	Rasalie Beaux	PO3	Female	25

Zhukdra'shar proceeded to stand up straight after the arrival of Senior Chief Petty Officer Blackfeather, and the subsequent appearance of his commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie. He remained completely straight at the chatter, with only his ears pivoting around to pick up the talk, but he did not laugh, nor jest with the rest of the Security officers. His face remained serious, as he listened to the instructions provided by Kyan.

He was pleasantly surprised to realize that he would be commanding a Security team, smiling to himself as he looked forward to clearing the base out of hostiles. Though he had been trained by his old handler to fight Klingons, as the enmity between them and Romulans seemed to be considerable, he had not yet been able to properly combat them before. Besides, of course, some training with the Klingon Security members. It was an exciting prospect that made his Catian warrior's blood tingle, though he knew he would need to be careful.

Like Kyan, his height made him stand like a sore thumb amongst the other officers, and he didn't quite have the strength to outright battle a Klingon warrior. But he had his speed, dexterity, and stealth to do the job, and he hoped that would prove enough.

"No questions, sir." Zhukdra'shar stated, succinctly.

[Commander Nira Said | Transporter Room One | Deck Four | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira awaited her assigned team, consisting of Kyan, Jess Fellows and Lahr and Commander Catalan. Zhuk was leading one team, Ryan Blackfeather a second, and...to Nira's surprise Elva Denton was leading the third. Nira had the impression Kyan was impressed with her greatly.

She looked down her list of assigned officers to each team: Team one, Lieutenant Fisk (Engineering) and Ensign Rasher (Medical); Team two, Ensign Tal (Engineering) and Petty Officer Heesou (Medical); and Team three, Petty Officer T'Roth (Engineering) and Crewman Th'vyrrol (Medical). Each one will be in charge of engineering and medical personnel as they assist the Jyn.

As each of the officers arrived, when Nira saw Doctor Fellows, she said, "Don't worry, Doctor, this won't be anything like our infiltration mission. We're coming to aid."

Once the team assembled, they took their positions on the pads and Nira told the transporter chief, once the coordinates were put in, "Energize."

[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Transporter Room One | Deck Four | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Soon enough, after the briefing, Zhukdra'shar and his team moved out. He was looking forward to working with them, as he could swear that they were new faces. He was especially surprised by Zala, the Ferengi woman, coming along. He had not heard of a Ferengi ever being in Security, but he supposed that with what he had seen over at his mission in Ferenginar, they could be quite capable individuals.

They arrived at Transporter Room One, where Commander Nira proceeded to assign Petty Officer T'Roth, a Vulcan female assigned to Engineering, and Crewman Th'vyrrol, the Aenar male whom he had met in Medical before, to his team. He was glad that Heesou was not coming along with him, as such an interaction would have been awkward at best. And while he trusted T'Roth's ability to repair and work with tech, it was a shame Lahr was not coming along. He missed working with him, though he supposed that he would be much more needed with Nira if things got dicey. Yeah, better that way.

He offered a nod of acknowledgment at both his new teammates, "Welcome to Team Three. 'Tis but a pleasure to be working alongside you. Do remember to stay behind me and the rest of the Security team, if things prove to be unpleasant."

He offered a small chuckle, trying to smooth out any feelings of apprehension amongst his crew. It partly stemmed from the comment made by Commander Nira to Doctor Fellows about what had happened before over at Melek Nor. Man, that had been a horrid show, hadn't it?. But yes, he was also confident that this wouldn't go that way.

His team was the last one to position themselves on the pads, and he took a deep breath to better handle the uncomfortable feeling of having his molecules transported, as the system engaged...

[Jyn Station - In Orbit of Iota Thelonis IX]

The air of the station was tainted with the acrid tang of smoke and burned circuits, but it's orbit seemed to be stable. Shields were out as were most of the weapons. Despite the chaos, Administrator Bikole seemed to have a good grasp of the situation.

"Casualties here are heavy. At least 12 dead and another 30 injured. The colony got off fairly light, 2 dead and 11 injured. A half-dozen surface structures have been destroyed, along with the outpost's shield generators and defensive systems. Worst of all there, has been a collapse of one of the mines.

"It was obvious what the Klingons wanted, 50 tons of refined kemocite was stolen. That represents a substantial portion of the entire colony's production for the last six months. The monetary loss is crippling. That loss aside, We desperately need help with rescuing those in the mine and whatever medical attention you can provide."

[Transporter Room]

As the medical crew was split up to the various teams, they received their orders in brief. They were beaming to a Jyn outpost and colony who were in need of aid. From the rumors and what he'd been able to piece together, there had been some sort of attack, and there were civilians injured. That was all that he needed to know for now. Once the Commander had beamed over, and gotten a sense of the information, further orders were distributed. His team was being sent to the surface, along with a rather substantial complement of the ship's security officers. One by one, they stepped onto the transporter pad and winked out of existence, materializing moments later in the colony, taking in the chaos around them.

[Jyn Colony]

As the transporter cycle completed, the acrid smell of fire in the air and heat around told Abas that the colony was very much worse off for wear. He quieted himself, listening around for a moment to try and establish his bearings before beginning to walk carefully around, trying to find either a good place free from debris to set up a triage station or see if anyone was immediately calling for a medic within earshot. He didn't say much, but worked on trying to understand where they were and what the situation was.

This wasn't the first time he'd beamed into the aftermath of a combat zone, either simulated or real, but it was always uncomfortable. So much suffering, for so little purpose. But, he had to make sure that wherever he went, the rest of the team was also aware and with him. He thought quickly to the rest of the team with him - a Vulcan engineering crewman, a handful of enlisted security officers, and a Caitian Lieutenant leading them all. Until given further orders, he'd stay close to the Security and try and obtain his bearings. He flipped open a tricorder, setting it to scan for bio-readings, and tried to establish a "normal" baseline to try and find anyone who might be injured or trapped, just in case.

[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Jyn Colony | Iota Thelonis IX]

Zhukdra'shar made sure to scan the area with his rifle as he took in the destruction of the colony. He had brief flashes of something, like a Deja VÁº coming upon him. He quickly ignored them, however, as he focused on exploring the area with his eyes, his ears constantly swishing around to pick up any sounds. He managed to pick up how Crewman Abas had retrieved his recorder and was scanning the terrain for any wounded. Smart.

"Very well. This is certainly a sad sight, but we must remain alert, gentlemen and ladies, for any interlopers who may still remain. And for any individuals who may require our aid," He finally spoke up, before pointing at Savliv, and then at Abas,
"We shalt comb this area thoroughly until further orders arrive from Command.  Chief Petty Officer Third Class Si-Okrei, protect and assist Crewman Abas," He then turned towards Rasalie, "Chief Petty Officer Third Class Beaux, I wish you to do the same with Crewman Th'vyrrol. I require both of your expertise in keeping our non-combatants safe. Now, let us proceed,"

Zhukdra'shar proceeded to move his team towards the remains of a building, what once might have been an administrative building, as he hoped that Abas would be able to pick up something. He did not shout, lest they would be exposed, but also, to avoid drowning out any faint sounds that he, or perhaps the Ferengi Security officer, could pick up with their hearing.

[Ian Galloway]

[USS Burke NCC-3210-A]

Neva adjusted her oxygen mask as she marveled at the state of the Burke. It almost broke her Engineer's heart to see the ship in its current state, but such were the hazards of space travel.
At the Commander's direction, Neva's head snapped to look at the Chief, checks burning with embarrassment. "Aye, Sir!" Neva jogged along behind the Commander as she rubbed her gloved hands together and smirked. "Time to get my hands dirty!" she murmured to herself.

[Engineering - USS Burke]

Tharn took one look at the state of the engine room and swore in multiple languages in an extremely colorful manner. She looked at Neva and growled, because growling was her default means of communicating.

"I wouldn't get too excited Ensign. The dilithium matrix is fused and there's no way we're going to be able to do anything about that. Impulse might be salvageable, but given the nature of the jury-rigging I'm seeing everywhere, I won't risk trying to bring it online. Focus on the fusion generators. I think we can get those working without blowing up, but don't quote me on that."

With that, Tharn moved to investigate the deuterium injectors.

[Jettis Jyur]

[Shuttle Mjolnir - In Orbit of Iota Thelonis II]

As the Mjolnir moved in close to the Burke, it was clear the old ship had taken extensive damage. Scans showed hull integrity was at 76% with several compartments open to space. Damage was clearly from phasers which eliminated the Klingons as responsible for the attack. Internally, scans showed fire damage on all decks with an atmosphere still breathable, but with an unsafe level of carbon dioxide. In addition, the temperature was only 8.43 degrees C, boarding would require oxygen masks and cold weather gear.

It took some effort to find an undamaged airlock, but one was located lower mid-ship. Once found, it was a simple maneuver to bring the Mjolnir to where she could dock. When the computer indicated a good seal, it required some effort to manually get the airlock open.

So far, there had been no attempts to hail the Mjolnir, thus it was unknown if there were survivors. Learning more about the derelict was going to require entering the Burke to learn her secrets.

Never one for subtlety, Tharn, after grabbing her oxygen mask, her Tellerite hide could tolerate the cold better than the others, so she skipped the cold weather gear.

"Ensign Cordon, Engineering is aft and up three decks from here. That is our destination."

With that, Tharn, carrying her large tool kit strode off without looking back. In her mind, Neva would either keep up or get left behind.

Lieutenant Davies and Chief Petty Officer T'ealc looked to Jettis with a questioning expression.

"Where would you like us Lieutenant?"

Given the conditions registered inside of the Burke, Tiio followed the lead of the others to grab one of the cold-weather overalls to step into before taking one of the oxygen masks from the storage cabinet. Making sure she was all zipped and velcroed tightly before donning the mask, she blinked and sucked in a deep breath of the crisp air as the mask sealed around her nose and mouth.

Grabbing one of the smaller tool kits that were always in the inventory of every Starfleet shuttle, the pilot was the last to step up to the edge of the Mjolnir's hatch before looking to Jettis and asking, "You want me here? Or am I following you?" While it was a simple enough question on its surface, the way Tiio said it clearly was giving the Lieutenant the option of leaving her behind if he didn't want to continue to deal with the independent attitude she'd already presented, given his penchant for absolute control.

[ USS Burke ]

Once the Mjonlir was successfully docked to the airlock, and the engineer and pilot ensured it was structurally sound enough to not send them into space. Once that was done, Tharn grabbed Cordon and jetted off to engineering, leaving Jettis with the flight officer and two medical officers.

Giving a nod, he answered her question simply. "Yes, you will be joining us Ms. Denton." Turning to the two medical officers, he wished he'd had some proper schematics for the ship. "Scans haven't picked up any lifesigns, so we'll have to manually scan a few decks until the power is back up. Don't force open any doors unless you know there's no breaches on the other side, this ship has so much patchwork that there's no telling what you'll find on the other side of a door."

"Hopefully by the time we catch up to the engineers, we'll be able to see if any lifeboats were deployed."