S3:M2 There is Always Soma

[Djann Tempest]

[Bridge]

A few moments after the Captain issued Yellow Alert, some of the lighting and wall mounted screens illuminated in the yellow distinct to such an alert while readiness reports began coming in. "All deck report they are standing by" he reported as both the CSO and XO entered the Bridge.Will pulled up his own readings that came in and looked them over "Readings confirmed Captain. I'd put money on that its their Warp Core." He said as he queued up more detailed sensor scans "Tempest, sensors are running a subspace scan. If it was a core detonation, there should be a big disruption in subspace."

It wasn't the most common of knowledge, hence why he ran a scan looking just for such a disruption. While nowadays most Federation Ships have modern Warp Cores that don't damage subspace, the older freighters either can't afford or can't handle the newer cores. This means a distinct mark would show up on scans in the subspace bands if an older core was detonated.

[ USS Shran - Bridge ]

"Aye, Mr. Warring" Tempest replied while checking the scan results. He looked over them several times and even tried to refine the resolution a bit.

"I would definitely expect to see those readings but I'm seeing minimal subspace disruption" he replied. They were getting close enough that sensors should resolve and give them more information about the vessel any moment....

"Hmm. I'm reading a few non-standard upgrades here. Shield emitters with redundancies, retrofitted disruptors and that's just on the surface. If I had to wager a guess, this ship is a bit of a sleeper".

Tempest realized that term may not be familiar to everyone on the bridge. "A Ramshackle appearance on the outside to hide upgrades that may come in handy in a scrape" he explained.

[Michael Ferdinand]

[Bridge]
Michael's ears perked up. Subterfuge he thought to himself. It seemed like was scrappier than the readout made him believe. His kind of party.

"Thank you for the insight, Lieutenant." Michael affirmed. "Tactical, take note and practice caution with them as well. While we seemed to have caught them with 'their pants down,' there is still a possibility that they have a few more tricks up their sleeves than what Lieutenant Tempest has uncovered." Finally he turned his attention forward. He gazed at the speeding stars on the  viewscreen, the lull of sleep quietly trying to steal him away. "Helm drop us out of warp. Ops, open hailing frequencies: General frequencies so that both ships can hear."

Michael firmly tapped the commbadge at his breast. He cleared his throat over the open comm to assert his own dominance.   =/\=Ferdinand to Sickbay: We are about to engage with a disabled freighter. Prepare to take wounded. ETA: 15 minutes.

He quickly switched gears, tapping his commbadge again. Ferdinand to Security: Prepare a four man boarding party. Be ready to go in half an hour=/\=

He might have been jumping the gun a bit, but he wanted all of his ducks in a row. He was planning for every contingency, attempting to anticipate every possible snag, so that they wouldn't have to waste time attempting to react down the road. Maybe this was nothing, but he couldn't have been sure. There was no way of telling until they were in the thick of it. For now, he would settle with being the paranoid CO of a low-key war vessel.

[Chris Taylor]

[Bridge]

"That's a combat vessel, if this old memory serves correct," The admiral commented. The younger man's frayed nerves amused him slightly, or perhaps he was alleviating his own anxiety by a bit of friendly teasing.

"i do hope you plan on raising shields and adopting a defensive posture when we exit warp, son," Adeyemi said with a heavy handed attempt at a fatherly tone."

The comment again made Taylor look towards the Admiral "I have them ready Sir, but shouldn't i wait for an order unless we are threatened"? It was an honest appraisal the shields and weapons would be fully available at the tap on the panel but the Captain or XO had not called for it.

"With respect sir I was taught that many issues were made worse by over enthusiastic Tactical officers". His adopted Father had told him many times of a fight with a Romulan D'Derridex Cruiser that may never have happened if a young ensign had not overstepped his Captain and armed weapons.

He was calming down now and he looked again at the Admiral. "Sir, are those scans showing any threats"? He asked just as the Captain spoke.

[Bridge]
Michael's ears perked up. Subterfuge he thought to himself. It seemed like was scrappier than the readout made him believe. His kind of party.

"Thank you for the insight, Lieutenant." Michael affirmed. "Tactical, take note and practice caution with them as well. While we seemed to have caught them with 'their pants down,' there is still a possibility that they have a few more tricks up their sleeves than what Lieutenant Tempest has uncovered." Finally he turned his attention forward. He gazed at the speeding stars on the  viewscreen, the lull of sleep quietly trying to steal him away. "Helm drop us out of warp. Ops, open hailing frequencies: General frequencies so that both ships can hear."

Michael firmly tapped the commbadge at his breast. He cleared his throat over the open comm to assert his own dominance.   =/\=Ferdinand to Sickbay: We are about to engage with a disabled freighter. Prepare to take wounded. ETA: 15 minutes.

He quickly switched gears, tapping his commbadge again. Ferdinand to Security: Prepare a four man boarding party. Be ready to go in half an hour=/\=

He might have been jumping the gun a bit, but he wanted all of his ducks in a row. He was planning for every contingency, attempting to anticipate every possible snag, so that they wouldn't have to waste time attempting to react down the road. Maybe this was nothing, but he couldn't have been sure. There was no way of telling until they were in the thick of it. For now, he would settle with being the paranoid CO of a low-key war vessel.

"Aye sir" He called out to the CO. When the Captain called for a Landing party the Ensign prepared to go as the duty officer he would be probably going to get the call.

[William Waring]

[ USS Shran - Bridge ]

"Aye, Mr. Warring" Tempest replied while checking the scan results. He looked over them several times and even tried to refine the resolution a bit.

"I would definitely expect to see those readings but I'm seeing minimal subspace disruption" he replied. They were getting close enough that sensors should resolve and give them more information about the vessel any moment....

"Hmm. I'm reading a few non-standard upgrades here. Shield emitters with redundancies, retrofitted disruptors and that's just on the surface. If I had to wager a guess, this ship is a bit of a sleeper".

Tempest realized that term may not be familiar to everyone on the bridge. "A Ramshackle appearance on the outside to hide upgrades that may come in handy in a scrape" he explained.

[Bridge]

"It is a 'sleeper' but not a particularly common one. Most common are augmented shield controls and variable thrust configuration. Makes most any ship appear like any other ship you want. Good for black market trade." He said as he read over the new reports "Not that I would know of any of that." He looked over the the Admiral "My ship was all squeaky clean" he gave a devious grin as he continued his work.

"I'm willing to bet they were running a Fiver with quad Chillers to it. That puppy was probably contained by its own mojo. Wouldn't put it past them to strap a Sixer to the Skillet" he spoke what must've sounded like nonsense before clearing his throat and 'cleaning it up' "My guess is that the ship had a Warp Five Core with quadruple intercoolers. The core was probably contained by the large amount of coolant that was ejected alongside. Thats if it was a core breach at all"

[Bridge]
Michael's ears perked up. Subterfuge he thought to himself. It seemed like was scrappier than the readout made him believe. His kind of party.

"Thank you for the insight, Lieutenant." Michael affirmed. "Tactical, take note and practice caution with them as well. While we seemed to have caught them with 'their pants down,' there is still a possibility that they have a few more tricks up their sleeves than what Lieutenant Tempest has uncovered." Finally he turned his attention forward. He gazed at the speeding stars on the  viewscreen, the lull of sleep quietly trying to steal him away. "Helm drop us out of warp. Ops, open hailing frequencies: General frequencies so that both ships can hear."

Michael firmly tapped the commbadge at his breast. He cleared his throat over the open comm to assert his own dominance.   =/\=Ferdinand to Sickbay: We are about to engage with a disabled freighter. Prepare to take wounded. ETA: 15 minutes.

He quickly switched gears, tapping his commbadge again. Ferdinand to Security: Prepare a four man boarding party. Be ready to go in half an hour=/\=

He might have been jumping the gun a bit, but he wanted all of his ducks in a row. He was planning for every contingency, attempting to anticipate every possible snag, so that they wouldn't have to waste time attempting to react down the road. Maybe this was nothing, but he couldn't have been sure. There was no way of telling until they were in the thick of it. For now, he would settle with being the paranoid CO of a low-key war vessel.

Hoping to quickly move past his slippage into his past, he pulled up comms and hailed the freighter.

"This is the Federation Starship Shran hailing the SS Good Vibes. Repeat, USS Shran to SS Good Vibes"

"Hail is away Captain. All bands. No encrypting"

[Djann Tempest]

[Bridge]

"It is a 'sleeper' but not a particularly common one. Most common are augmented shield controls and variable thrust configuration. Makes most any ship appear like any other ship you want. Good for black market trade." He said as he read over the new reports "Not that I would know of any of that." He looked over the the Admiral "My ship was all squeaky clean" he gave a devious grin as he continued his work.

"I'm willing to bet they were running a Fiver with quad Chillers to it. That puppy was probably contained by its own mojo. Wouldn't put it past them to strap a Sixer to the Skillet" he spoke what must've sounded like nonsense before clearing his throat and 'cleaning it up' "My guess is that the ship had a Warp Five Core with quadruple intercoolers. The core was probably contained by the large amount of coolant that was ejected alongside. Thats if it was a core breach at all"Hoping to quickly move past his slippage into his past, he pulled up comms and hailed the freighter.

"This is the Federation Starship Shran hailing the SS Good Vibes. Repeat, USS Shran to SS Good Vibes"

"Hail is away Captain. All bands. No encrypting"

[ USS Shran - Bridge ]

Tempest raised an eyebrow typical of the Vulcan half of his ancestry. Warring had some surprising knowledge of black market vessels, although he wasn't the only one. Djann's former organization had utilized some similar vessels in order to appear as un-starfleet as possible. Now that they were closing in, sensors should give him a lot more information so he pushed the memories away and focused on the situation at hand.

Composition of the hull wasn't special, 4-6 lifesigns aboard, radiation signatures indicated warp core ejection so at least that mystery was cleared up. The rear compartments were coming into view and...

"Oh" Djann let slip audibly as the sensors returned data at the speed of light, traveling from their emitters and back in a few seconds. He recognized the configuration of several of their aft compartments as set up for containment and refinement of primarily illegal substances, most of which produced narcotic drugs or could be configured for synthesis of volatile substances. Which any on a vessel of this sort would again be illegal. Tempest had been aboard such ships several times, spending over a month aboard one of Rigellian origin. While he couldn't speak openly about some of those operations he had no choice but to warn the Captain, despite the presence of an Admiral. Taking a moment to think about the phrasing, he called out to the Captain.

"Captain, would you mind stepping over to my station. There's something that I believe requires your attention" he said as evenly as possible.

Damn he thought to himself. This is going to raise some questions.

[Jenna McKinson]

[ Medical Bay ]

Jenna had just finished her first round of analysis. She was told she had time to conduct her investigation so the information she gathered was good enough in her book. She closed out the file and encrypted the data. She went to begin normal operations. After cleaning up and checking any outstanding issues that were plaguing the systems from the night before. Having the cross training from engineering allowed her to diagnose things with the access she was allowed. After she finished she heard a message from the captain.

=/\=Ferdinand to Sickbay: We are about to engage with a disabled freighter. Prepare to take wounded. ETA: 15 minutes.

She tapped on her combadge to reply. "Aye Captain. Everything will be ready should anyone need assistance." After she closed the channel she began to prepare things. She thought for a moment and she thought she could use an extra set of hands to help her. She tapped on her combadge. " "Doctor Newton, I could use an extra set of hands to set things up here in sick bay."

[Jed Newton]

[Medical Bay]

Seeing the Starfleet doctors and nurses moving around with purpose, Jed stayed in the corner, where Xoran had pointed. After a moment, she was gone and another doctor had taken over directing the crewmen and nursing staff. He watched quietly from his corner, observing how they moved as a well worked team. Then the doctor stopped.

"Doctor Newton, I could use an extra set of hands to set things up here in sick bay."

Jed's civilian badge was more simple, plain when compared to the Starfleet badges, but it beeped and carried her voice just as well. It was an odd kind of stereo, hearing the doctor speak from a few meters away and from his badge.

Jed stepped forward to try to get the doctor's attention. "Uh, Actually, I'm here already. I was just tucked out of the way to avoid pile ups." He smiled with a self-deprecating sort of look. "Where do you need me, Doctor?"

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

The comment again made Taylor look towards the Admiral "I have them ready Sir, but shouldn't i wait for an order unless we are threatened"? It was an honest appraisal the shields and weapons would be fully available at the tap on the panel but the Captain or XO had not called for it.

"With respect sir I was taught that many issues were made worse by over enthusiastic Tactical officers". His adopted Father had told him many times of a fight with a Romulan D'Derridex Cruiser that may never have happened if a young ensign had not overstepped his Captain and armed weapons.

He was calming down now and he looked again at the Admiral. "Sir, are those scans showing any threats"? He asked just as the Captain spoke.

"Aye sir" He called out to the CO. When the Captain called for a Landing party the Ensign prepared to go as the duty officer he would be probably going to get the call.

[Bridge]

Good man. Adeyemi thought to himself, but what he said was:

"It never hurts to be cautious, of course. Especially with Orion in combat vessels." The admiral held up one of his large hands. "Spare me any Starfleet social justice jargon, if you've got any to give, ensign. I had an Orion woman serve under me for a bit on the Columbus, and she would confirm that those of her people that slave are among the worst scum in the galaxy."

"We can't go around painting in such broad strokes all the time, however." The admiral told the younger man. "Your initial impression was correct."

When the young man logged off to join the away mission, Adeyemi unobtrusively switched places with him, logging onto the main security station. He awaited further orders, continuing scans and remaining true to his word that he would not provoke a fight.

[Bridge]

"Thank you for the insight, Lieutenant." Michael affirmed. "Tactical, take note and practice caution with them as well. While we seemed to have caught them with 'their pants down,' there is still a possibility that they have a few more tricks up their sleeves than what Lieutenant Tempest has uncovered." Finally he turned his attention forward. He gazed at the speeding stars on the  viewscreen, the lull of sleep quietly trying to steal him away. "Helm drop us out of warp. Ops, open hailing frequencies: General frequencies so that both ships can hear."

[Bridge]

"Aye," Adeyemi said loud enough for the bridge to hear. He increased scanning power and range, not blatant enough to alert the Orion to any trouble, but he needed more information.

"Interceptor class, as Ensign Taylor said." The admiral told the captain before the hail was answered. "Combat vessel. Torpedo launchers fore and aft, standard Orion disruptors configured to broadside."

The computer was still displaying information for him as he relayed it. Adeymei resisted the urge to cross himself after he realized what they were up against. It wouldn't look good, a flag officer doing so, and they weren't in any trouble, anyway. A Sovereign class was more than a match for whatever dredge Orion slavers could get afloat.

"Looks like something a bit nastier on their port side, sir," He told Ferdinand. "I'd say its a jury rigged tricobalt device. It's Federation in origin. Maybe not Starfleet, but I'd say she's seen some scraps before, captain. And won them."

[Jenna McKinson]

[ Medical Bay  ]

Jed stepped forward to try to get the doctor's attention. "Uh, Actually, I'm here already. I was just tucked out of the way to avoid pile ups." He smiled with a self-deprecating sort of look. "Where do you need me, Doctor?"

Jenna jumped a bit after Jed spoke. She then laughed for a moment. She then turned to her colleague with a smile. "The captain has informed us that we are engaging with a disabled freighter. ETA is 15 and I could use as many hands as possible to prep for any injured that come along ," Jenna said in reply to Jed.  She then moved to help a nearby nurse to begin the needed prep work. "I am expecting us to be prepared for capacity. We don't need any casualties so let get to it." She moved with a quickness and efficiency that she had when she was an engineer. It was no different to her.

[Michael Ferdinand]

"This is the Federation Starship Shran hailing the SS Good Vibes. Repeat, USS Shran to SS Good Vibes"

"Hail is away Captain. All bands. No encrypting"

[Bridge]
At first there was the crackling of the comms. A chirp went off to signify that the hail had been accepted. The sound of static and wooshing parts came through the hail. Even without a visual link, the Good Vibes sounded desperate for rescue.

"This is......S Good Vibes....requesting emergency transport....wounded.....attack ship.... Please, help." The hail dropped almost immediately after the request was stated. The Good Vibes barely had enough power for life support, let alone a hail. Any longer and the artificial gravity would go, followed by life support. On a ship that small and that damaged, they had maybe ten minutes of breathable air left. If the Orions didn't kill them first.

"Looks like something a bit nastier on their port side, sir," He told Ferdinand. "I'd say its a jury rigged tricobalt device. It's Federation in origin. Maybe not Starfleet, but I'd say she's seen some scraps before, captain. And won them."

As the seconds passed, the Orion vessel turned and began making its way to the Shran.

"Get a transporter lock on their crew and beam them directly to sickbay." Michael said. "While you're at it, get a tractor beam on the freighter and bring her in slowly. I don't want to give our Orion friends any cause for concern. " He clenched his jaw as he finished the statement, giving him a gaunt complexion. "Status on the Orion vessel?"

[William Waring]

[Bridge]
At first there was the crackling of the comms. A chirp went off to signify that the hail had been accepted. The sound of static and wooshing parts came through the hail. Even without a visual link, the Good Vibes sounded desperate for rescue.

"This is......S Good Vibes....requesting emergency transport....wounded.....attack ship.... Please, help." The hail dropped almost immediately after the request was stated. The Good Vibes barely had enough power for life support, let alone a hail. Any longer and the artificial gravity would go, followed by life support. On a ship that small and that damaged, they had maybe ten minutes of breathable air left. If the Orions didn't kill them first.
As the seconds passed, the Orion vessel turned and began making its way to the Shran.

"Get a transporter lock on their crew and beam them directly to sickbay." Michael said. "While you're at it, get a tractor beam on the freighter and bring her in slowly. I don't want to give our Orion friends any cause for concern. " He clenched his jaw as he finished the statement, giving him a gaunt complexion. "Status on the Orion vessel?"

[Bridge]

Will rolled through the various screens before stopping on tractor beam control. It would take a few moments for the computer to get a proper lock on the freighter so in the meantime he switched to his other console and began the process of beaming the Good Vibe crew aboard.

A few more moments had passed and with the transporters working double time, both tasks were completed almost simultaneously. "The crew is aboard sir and the vessel is being acquired by the tractor beam"

[Jed Newton]

[Medical Bay]

Just as Jed took up a station, familiarizing himself with the station and its tools. This ship's medical bay was better equipped than anything he'd seen on Bajor, and even better than the hospitals he'd studied in on Luna. It was a nice set up, and he whistled low and quiet. He looked up and saw one of the nurses smiling at him. "I'm just a head shrinker from the backwaters... this is all real shiny."

Her grin got wider, but before they could continue chatting, there was a warning chirp as an Emergency Transportation locked onto the bed he was standing next to. The air shimmered and hummed as a groaning, injured man appeared in front of them.

Jed froze. It had been years since he'd worked with a bloodied patient. Someone who needed healing of the body as well as the mind.

A sharp cry from the man snapped Jed back into the present. He ran the tricorder over the loudly groaning man, who still hadn't said anything understandable, and began formulating a plan. "Nurse, please apply a hypospray of Metorapan then one with 20cc of Melorazine to sedate him. After that, help me get the patient out of his uniform. He's got plasma burns and is showing signs of damage to his nervous system from direct electric shocks. Once he's unconscious and not in pain anymore, we'll determine how extensive the burns are."

While the nurse began to administer the hyposprays, Jed ducked to the replicator and requisitioned dermaline gel for the minor burns. Back at the bed, he helped the nurse strip their patient. His uniform seemed to have saved him from the worst of the burns, but on his face, neck, hands and feet, he had significant burns... more than dermaline gel could help with.

The patient's face was peaceful, resting in the arms of modern medicine. Jed handed the pot of gel and the applicator to the nurse who immediately began applying it to the minor burns.

Jed found a second hypospray and loaded it with the injectible form of dermaline, which would begin healing the deeper burns. Then he returned to the medical tools cabinet, where he was able to find an anabolic protoplaser quickly... thank the prophets Starfleet labeled everything.

He set the anabolic protoplaser to one of the most intense settings, and began to apply it to the worst of the burns, where it began pulsing energy into the damaged tissues. Jed slowly passed it over the deepest burns, watching as the cells withered and died and were replaced by healthy tissue.

The treatment took all of Jed's focus, leaving him unaware of everything that was happening around him.

[Mondo'li Nari]

USS Shran - Transporter Room

The female Ensign at the transporter console received a message on her display, and quickly went into action.  Mondo recognized that she was engaging the protocols for beaming in someone, but nobody appeared on the transporter pad.   Finishing her work, she noticed Mondo looking in her direction.

"Direct transport to medbay," she explained.

Mondo nodded, "Thank you.  I am Crewman Mondo'li Nari, incidentally.  This is Crewman Toddok.  I don't believe we've met, Sir."

"I'm the smart one," Toddok interjected.

"Ensign Holly Cooper.  I usually work on the bridge.  Just rotating into the transporter room to keep my transporter certifications up... and I prefer Ma'am."

"Apologies, Ma'am." Mondo said, "It is a pleasure to know you."

"I'm glad to know you both.  And no need to apologize.  Until you're told, you can't know.  Everyone likes to be addressed differently."

Mondo bowed his head, "Thank you, Ma'am."

Holly received another message on her party, "We're on standby to receive personnel for a beam out.  Your boss might be here soon."

"Better put on a clean uniform, Mondo," Toddok said.

Mondo started to check his uniform with alarm, but quickly caught on to the Tellarite's joke.  Flashing him a sour smile, he stood a bit straighter in anticipation of imminent action.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Bridge]

"Get a transporter lock on their crew and beam them directly to sickbay." Michael said. "While you're at it, get a tractor beam on the freighter and bring her in slowly. I don't want to give our Orion friends any cause for concern. " He clenched his jaw as he finished the statement, giving him a gaunt complexion. "Status on the Orion vessel?"

[Bridge]

Adeyemi nodded, his fingers automatically obeying the captain's commands. Nearly 30 years of service in Starfleet would do that to a person.

The transporter came first, as people were hurt. The crew of the freighter rematerialized in sickbay after he was done.

The freighter was then locked on with a tractor beam and rocked. The admiral made a note of it. Apparently its damage extended to the inertial dampers. If so, it might be more extensive than they thought.

In response, the Orion combat vessel's engines flared, as if it were gathering itself for a mighty leap. It leaped forward through space.

"The Orion are on an intercept course," Adeyemi said in an urgent tone to the captain. "They're powering weapons, captain."

[Kachina Filitov]

Bridge

Katcha had been keeping the Shran steady close to the stricken vessel while the transport was completed. When the Admiral confirmed the transport was complete, she was about to begin manoeuvring the Shran away when he advised of the Orion ship moving to intercept. Having already plotted their course away, she also began on using the Orion ship's location to compute attack and evasion manoeuvres.It took only seconds, so she waited for the Captain to confirm which he wanted to do.