S3:M2 There is Always Soma

[Michael Ferdinand]

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

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

[Bridge]
"Mr. Tempest, your request will have to be placed on hold." Michael said. If it was something for his eyes only, he would take it in his ready room when this scuffle was over. Until then, survival was on the menu and he was prepared to serve it to the entire crew.

"Red alert. Target their weapons array and fire all forward phasers and a spread of photon torpedoes. Helm, evasive maneuvers. I want you to dance around them the best you can." The warm lights of the bridged swapped to an ominous shade of red. The overhead lights dimmed and aside from the glow of the consoles and the alert panels, the darkness nearly consumed those on the bridge.

[Kachina Filitov]

[Bridge]
"Mr. Tempest, your request will have to be placed on hold." Michael said. If it was something for his eyes only, he would take it in his ready room when this scuffle was over. Until then, survival was on the menu and he was prepared to serve it to the entire crew.

"Red alert. Target their weapons array and fire all forward phasers and a spread of photon torpedoes. Helm, evasive maneuvers. I want you to dance around them the best you can." The warm lights of the bridged swapped to an ominous shade of red. The overhead lights dimmed and aside from the glow of the consoles and the alert panels, the darkness nearly consumed those on the bridge.

Bridge

Katcha nodded.

"Da Keptin." She replied with a rather feral smile on her face. "Ewasive manoeuvres, Gamma sequence!" She announced loudly enough for those at tactical to hear and understand what she was about to do.

Her fingers immediately began dancing over the controls. The Shran responded at once, weaving and turning as per the little used sequence. The Shran was built for this. Despite her size, her manoeuvrability was only outmatched by the likes of the Intrepid and Defiant classes. Both smaller by almost a half. She would even give a Prometheus class a run for it's money, well one that was not using it's multi-vector mode at any rate!

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Bridge]
"Mr. Tempest, your request will have to be placed on hold." Michael said. If it was something for his eyes only, he would take it in his ready room when this scuffle was over. Until then, survival was on the menu and he was prepared to serve it to the entire crew.

"Red alert. Target their weapons array and fire all forward phasers and a spread of photon torpedoes. Helm, evasive maneuvers. I want you to dance around them the best you can." The warm lights of the bridged swapped to an ominous shade of red. The overhead lights dimmed and aside from the glow of the consoles and the alert panels, the darkness nearly consumed those on the bridge.

[Bridge]

The admiral was shocked. High strung, unorthodox, eccentric. He had heard all of these things about Captain Ferdinand before. But this was downright...piratical. He would have none of it, temporarily assigned to serve this man or not.

"Sir," Adeyemi said after a long moment. "We have not attempted to hail them. The vessel has made no overt moves to attack us. I will not fire upon what could merely be an overly curious group of sentient beings!"

[Michael Ferdinand]

[Bridge]

The admiral was shocked. High strung, unorthodox, eccentric. He had heard all of these things about Captain Ferdinand before. But this was downright...piratical. He would have none of it, temporarily assigned to serve this man or not.

"Sir," Adeyemi said after a long moment. "We have not attempted to hail them. The vessel has made no overt moves to attack us. I will not fire upon what could merely be an overly curious group of sentient beings!"

[Bridge]
Michael clenched his jaw even harder now, choosing his words carefully before he spoke. He moved his head down to his side, turning it just enough so that he could see the man from the  corner of his eye.

"Admiral, it would be wise of you to recall the orders I have given my crew. We have sent a hail on frequencies that both vessels could receive so that our intentions would not be misunderstood. We have rescued the crew of the freighter, and now the Orion ship is rushing towards us with charged weapons. Regardless of how you try to frame it, this is an act of aggression on their part." He paused for a moment to allow the words to sink in. "Do you not strike a dog across the nose when it tries to be aggressive? This is an act of self defense, Admiral, and unlike my predecessor, I only aim to disable their weapons systems, not obliterate them as you seem to believe."

Another pause. The flashing red lights seemed to glow off of Michael's darkened face. His already gaunt features were over exaggerated in the light. He quietly let in a deep breath and exhaled. "Mr. Taylor, I have given you an order. I expect you to carry it out."

[Djann Tempest]

[Bridge]
Michael clenched his jaw even harder now, choosing his words carefully before he spoke. He moved his head down to his side, turning it just enough so that he could see the man from the  corner of his eye.

"Admiral, it would be wise of you to recall the orders I have given my crew. We have sent a hail on frequencies that both vessels could receive so that our intentions would not be misunderstood. We have rescued the crew of the freighter, and now the Orion ship is rushing towards us with charged weapons. Regardless of how you try to frame it, this is an act of aggression on their part." He paused for a moment to allow the words to sink in. "Do you not strike a dog across the nose when it tries to be aggressive? This is an act of self defense, Admiral, and unlike my predecessor, I only aim to disable their weapons systems, not obliterate them as you seem to believe."

Another pause. The flashing red lights seemed to glow off of Michael's darkened face. His already gaunt features were over exaggerated in the light. He quietly let in a deep breath and exhaled. "Mr. Taylor, I have given you an order. I expect you to carry it out."

[ USS Shran - Bridge ]

Tempest gripped the sides of his station. The Captain had just contradicted an Admiral on the bridge and regardless of current assignment that was madness. The red lights of the alert status played on both of the flag officers faces. Djann looked to Commander Garrison to see how the XO would lean here, intending to follow her lead.

As the tense situation continued the sensors grabbed Tempest's attention from the show. The Orion's were leaking radiation and it was interrupting their port stabilizers. It looked like if they were the ones to initially attack the SS Good Vibes that they had been able to put up a bit of a fight.

"Admiral, watch your target lock. Radiation leak is interrupting their port stabilizers and could cause a possible EPS cascade if we get an unlucky strike. I would also recommend extending our shields around the SS Good Vibes if they are in any danger of stray fire. Sensors indicate high quantities of...reactant matter in their aft compartments" Tempest called out. In truth, it was a miracle the Good Vibes hadn't detonated from their initial encounter or one of a thousand things that could cause excitement of the narcotic compounds.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Bridge]

Adeyemi felt something old and ugly well up in him. It had been a long time since someone had seen fit to speak to him that way, even a superior officer. Being defied was not something he had ever liked, or experienced often in Starfleet. He saw himself, many years in the past, fists and voice raised. He wanted to fight. He has always been a very physical officer. When he had first started out in Starfleet he had settled more than one dispute with another cadet with violence. His blood thundered in his ears as he heard the hush of the crew around him. For a moment, it looked like it might go that way again.

The science officer's warning shook him out of it. He muttered something in the affirmative, eyes slitted and voice resentful.

"Extending shields," The admiral said in a low voice. In a moment, the Good Vibes was enveloped in a protective glow.

"Firing weapons," He then reported. The standard alarm rang out over the Shran as its phasers and a torpedo spread lanced out at the approaching Orion in an angry red burst.

[Kinley Garrison]

[bridge]
Smiling just a little at Will's... technobabble, Kinley quickly got back to work, looking up the stats on the live-feed scans her PADD was giving her on the situation. Her attention was diverted when she heard Ferdinand bring up the red alert.

While she wasn't all too certain just what this other ship was doing here, but seeing Ferdinand order weapons to fire, alarm bells immediately rang in her head, reminding her of the harrowing time she had last questioned her commanding officer. This wasn't Meadows, sure, but it still scared her to no end nonetheless.  Fumbling in her mind for a suitable response, she looked over at Tempest, who seemed to be leaning on her for his opinion on the matter.   The wonderful perks of leadership; having every single move being watched . She didn't like to be firing on potential innocents at all and hampering potential peaceful relations, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong.   "Bring up the shields." She said, grimacing as the weapons fired. She definitely didn't like it, but what was done, was done

[Michael Ferdinand]

[Bridge]

Adeyemi felt something old and ugly well up in him. It had been a long time since someone had seen fit to speak to him that way, even a superior officer. Being defied was not something he had ever liked, or experienced often in Starfleet. He saw himself, many years in the past, fists and voice raised. He wanted to fight. He has always been a very physical officer. When he had first started out in Starfleet he had settled more than one dispute with another cadet with violence. His blood thundered in his ears as he heard the hush of the crew around him. For a moment, it looked like it might go that way again.

The science officer's warning shook him out of it. He muttered something in the affirmative, eyes slitted and voice resentful.

"Extending shields," The admiral said in a low voice. In a moment, the Good Vibes was enveloped in a protective glow.

"Firing weapons," He then reported. The standard alarm rang out over the Shran as its phasers and a torpedo spread lanced out at the approaching Orion in an angry red burst.

[Bridge]
"Thank you." Michael responded, cold and detached. He would not tolerate dissent among his crew, especially from a guest. At his former posting, dissent lead to disappearing. Slowly the memories of all the sign offs he gave on countless disappearances came flooding back to him. He recalled the near apathy he had for the names on the PADDs that crossed his desk. He shrugged off the itch in the back of his head that that wasn't the correct way to handle things, but then again, he couldn't care less. He would have done the same thing to the Admiral without a second thought.

The Orion ship's shields flared for a moment, but it appeared that the ship took no damage from the phaser fire. It fired a few warning shots of its own at the Shran, the disruptor fire shaking the ship. A few of the consoles exploded, but it was nothing out the ordinary. Consoles seemed to always explode-- even on their own accord.

Yet even though the two ships exchanged fire, the Ops console beeped: The Orion ship was hailing them.

[Kachina Filitov]

[Bridge]
"Thank you." Michael responded, cold and detached. He would not tolerate dissent among his crew, especially from a guest. At his former posting, dissent lead to disappearing. Slowly the memories of all the sign offs he gave on countless disappearances came flooding back to him. He recalled the near apathy he had for the names on the PADDs that crossed his desk. He shrugged off the itch in the back of his head that that wasn't the correct way to handle things, but then again, he couldn't care less. He would have done the same thing to the Admiral without a second thought.

The Orion ship's shields flared for a moment, but it appeared that the ship took no damage from the phaser fire. It fired a few warning shots of its own at the Shran, the disruptor fire shaking the ship. A few of the consoles exploded, but it was nothing out the ordinary. Consoles seemed to always explode-- even on their own accord.

Yet even though the two ships exchanged fire, the Ops console beeped: The Orion ship was hailing them.

Bridge

As the shots from the Orion vessel hit the Shran, Katcha was almost shaken out of her seat. Luckily she had plenty of practice at maintaining her balance so she held on without too much effort.

Bringing the Shran about to get phaser and torpedo lock on the Orion vessel, they were interrupted by a hail. Keeping the Shran moving, she wondered who was calling!

[Jenna McKinson]

[ Medical Bay ]

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

Jenna watched the doctor work just in case she was needed an an extra set of hands. She scanned for any internal damage. The man was lucky he got to medical when he did. "Doctor Newton I noticed a slight bit of nerve damage on his left upper arm. Once the skin wounds heal make sure it isn't too bad," As she replied the lights went dim. It was code red and time to get to work as another patient was beamed in. She rushed over to help.

[William Waring]

[Bridge]
"Thank you." Michael responded, cold and detached. He would not tolerate dissent among his crew, especially from a guest. At his former posting, dissent lead to disappearing. Slowly the memories of all the sign offs he gave on countless disappearances came flooding back to him. He recalled the near apathy he had for the names on the PADDs that crossed his desk. He shrugged off the itch in the back of his head that that wasn't the correct way to handle things, but then again, he couldn't care less. He would have done the same thing to the Admiral without a second thought.

The Orion ship's shields flared for a moment, but it appeared that the ship took no damage from the phaser fire. It fired a few warning shots of its own at the Shran, the disruptor fire shaking the ship. A few of the consoles exploded, but it was nothing out the ordinary. Consoles seemed to always explode-- even on their own accord.

Yet even though the two ships exchanged fire, the Ops console beeped: The Orion ship was hailing them.

[Bridge]

Unlike the other more vocal members of the crew, Will didn't care one way or another if the Orion ship was destroyed. In all honesty, they were probably doing the universe a favor. It was only after a few shots had been exchanged that they decided to respond to the hail.

"Cowards" he mumbled as he pulled up Communications "Captain, they are hailing us. Seems they finally want to talk."

[Michael Ferdinand]

[Bridge]
A smirk crossed Michael's face. "Finally." he said. "On screen."

The view of the Orion vessel shifted from the exterior to the interior. A green woman sat at the center of the image. The surrounding region of the bridge was hidden behind her figure. There was rage in her golden brown eyes. The corners of mouth were curled up in a sneer, as if she were talking to a misbehaving pet rather than the crew of a Federation starship.

"Explain yourself." she hissed out. Her voice was hushed but the full force of her anger carried it.

"This is Captain Ferdinand. A pleasure." Michael replied. "You attacked our vessel. We merely responded in self-defense. I suggest you explain yourself so we can move on from what just transpired."

The Orion woman looked baffled at Ferdinand. Her nostrils flared as she contemplated her response. She came up with, "We were attempting to retrieve some stolen cargo. We do not appreciate your interference in this matter. We wish to reclaim it."

"Stolen cargo? That does not explain why you attacked our vessel. We have not touched the cargo on the freighter. Explain further."

The Orion woman's face was riddled with annoyance. Her eyes darted from side to side, probably to get a good look at her crew before saying anything. "They are wanted fugitives on our homeworld. We want them back to prosecute them for crimes against the Orion people."

Michael rose an eyebrow. "Well then why didn't you say so?" he asked. "If what you say is true, we will be more than willing to have a conference between both you and the freighter survivors and hopefully work out a compromise."

There was silence on the other side. The screen went black but the sounds of whispering could still be picked up. A few minutes later, the image of the Orion woman returned. "We agree to this conference on the condition that you return to us what has been stolen."

"Consider it done. We'll see you here in ten minutes." Michael said. He waved for the hail to be terminated and looked towards the admiral. The man had previously questioned Michael's intentions. Hopefully this would turn the tide in his favor.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Bridge]
A smirk crossed Michael's face. "Finally." he said. "On screen."

The view of the Orion vessel shifted from the exterior to the interior. A green woman sat at the center of the image. The surrounding region of the bridge was hidden behind her figure. There was rage in her golden brown eyes. The corners of mouth were curled up in a sneer, as if she were talking to a misbehaving pet rather than the crew of a Federation starship.

"Explain yourself." she hissed out. Her voice was hushed but the full force of her anger carried it.

"This is Captain Ferdinand. A pleasure." Michael replied. "You attacked our vessel. We merely responded in self-defense. I suggest you explain yourself so we can move on from what just transpired."

The Orion woman looked baffled at Ferdinand. Her nostrils flared as she contemplated her response. She came up with, "We were attempting to retrieve some stolen cargo. We do not appreciate your interference in this matter. We wish to reclaim it."

"Stolen cargo? That does not explain why you attacked our vessel. We have not touched the cargo on the freighter. Explain further."

The Orion woman's face was riddled with annoyance. Her eyes darted from side to side, probably to get a good look at her crew before saying anything. "They are wanted fugitives on our homeworld. We want them back to prosecute them for crimes against the Orion people."

Michael rose an eyebrow. "Well then why didn't you say so?" he asked. "If what you say is true, we will be more than willing to have a conference between both you and the freighter survivors and hopefully work out a compromise."

There was silence on the other side. The screen went black but the sounds of whispering could still be picked up. A few minutes later, the image of the Orion woman returned. "We agree to this conference on the condition that you return to us what has been stolen."

"Consider it done. We'll see you here in ten minutes." Michael said. He waved for the hail to be terminated and looked towards the admiral. The man had previously questioned Michael's intentions. Hopefully this would turn the tide in his favor.

[Bridge]

Adeyemi was left blinking. Ferdinand's solution was straight out of the book, but the heavy handed, dismissive way he'd dealt with the other captain was something else entirely. The admiral was left to ponder.

"The Orion ship is powering down weapons, captain." He said. Adeyemi paused. "If this 'stolen merchandise' is slaves, captain, we cannot return it to the Orions."

His tone was a touch bewildered, condescending. He had observed Ferdinand quite a bit so far this mission and had found him wanting. The other man was paranoid, jumpy, and a rule bender. Adeyemi made an emphatic note of it in his mind.

[Mondo'li Nari]

USS Shran - Transporter Room

In the transporter room, the alert status changed to 'Red' shortly before the ship shook.  Mondo reached out to a bulkhead to steady himself.  The transporter operator seized the console.  Poor Toddok, however, fell face-first onto the deck.   As soon as the shaking had stopped, Mondo went to the portly Tellarite to help him up.   The man's pudgy fingers were childlike in Mondo's grasp as he lifted his fellow security crewman to his feet.

Once Toddok was steady, he brushed off the assistance, "Careful, you giant.  Your tugging is almost worse than the shaking was!"

Mondo smiled and stepped back to his former position once Toddok was securely on his feet.  He knew that, among the Tellarite people, insults could be a friendly affair.   Indeed, the lack of one was more likely to indicate that something was amiss.

"I wonder what they are up to, out there," Holly remarked.  Some of the situational data was available on her console, but it often took minutes for emerging situations to be explained to those in the bowels of the ship.

"Perhaps whoever it was who wounded the persons in sickbay decided to make a try for us, as well," Mondo suggested.

"Since things seem to have settled down, I'm guessing that probably didn't go too well for them," Toddok said with an amused snort.

[William Waring]

[Bridge]
A smirk crossed Michael's face. "Finally." he said. "On screen."

The view of the Orion vessel shifted from the exterior to the interior. A green woman sat at the center of the image. The surrounding region of the bridge was hidden behind her figure. There was rage in her golden brown eyes. The corners of mouth were curled up in a sneer, as if she were talking to a misbehaving pet rather than the crew of a Federation starship.

"Explain yourself." she hissed out. Her voice was hushed but the full force of her anger carried it.

"This is Captain Ferdinand. A pleasure." Michael replied. "You attacked our vessel. We merely responded in self-defense. I suggest you explain yourself so we can move on from what just transpired."

The Orion woman looked baffled at Ferdinand. Her nostrils flared as she contemplated her response. She came up with, "We were attempting to retrieve some stolen cargo. We do not appreciate your interference in this matter. We wish to reclaim it."

"Stolen cargo? That does not explain why you attacked our vessel. We have not touched the cargo on the freighter. Explain further."

The Orion woman's face was riddled with annoyance. Her eyes darted from side to side, probably to get a good look at her crew before saying anything. "They are wanted fugitives on our homeworld. We want them back to prosecute them for crimes against the Orion people."

Michael rose an eyebrow. "Well then why didn't you say so?" he asked. "If what you say is true, we will be more than willing to have a conference between both you and the freighter survivors and hopefully work out a compromise."

There was silence on the other side. The screen went black but the sounds of whispering could still be picked up. A few minutes later, the image of the Orion woman returned. "We agree to this conference on the condition that you return to us what has been stolen."

"Consider it done. We'll see you here in ten minutes." Michael said. He waved for the hail to be terminated and looked towards the admiral. The man had previously questioned Michael's intentions. Hopefully this would turn the tide in his favor.

[Bridge]

It didn't take the Captain long to get the Orion into a conference onboard the Shran. If nothing else, he certainly knew how to make these things happen and Will wasn't about to see how it was managed.

"Sir" he said after the channel had closed "Shall I have the Observation Lounge prepared for our Orion guests?" he asked as he sent a message down to the Transporter Chief to prepare for Orion Transporter Signatures "Perhaps some light snacks as well? Never let the guests go hungry."