S3:E9 All Bad Things Come To An End

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

Captain's Personal Log - Aboard the Mjolnir, somewhere between Qatar and Zakdorn

We have been travelling a week in the Mjolnir, finally contacting the USS Polaris who agreed to keep an eye out for the Bathory, as well as join us when contacted again in the final assault on Leyton.  I have no doubt they have contacted the Challenger in regards to our whereabouts, I expect the call daily from Will asking me when I think I'm going to come back to him.  As he hasn't yet I can only assume he's either so mad at me that he's already contemplating divorce, or that the whole debacle that was our wedding party sent him so far into a 'what the hell just happened' mode, that Liv had had to put him into a medically induced coma to save him from himself!

We have followed the Bathory at a safe distance first to DS3, then to DS2 and their final port of call was Starbase 514 before they headed on a bearing of 152.8... almost directly for Zakdorn.  Could Leyton be hiding there on his own?  We've not been able to get to a position to take the Bathory and rescue the girls, but they're still in our sights... well, sensors.

The Mjolnir shuddered suddenly twice and the delta flyer slowed.  "We don't have an engineer aboard do we?  I'm wondering what that could be.  Of all the departments I've served in, engineering is not one of them."

Ruth checked her controls, trying a few things but the craft continued to slow.

"Well it's not the inertial dampeners, as we still aren't' falling out of the sky, but I wish Lek, Gianetti or Kali were here right now!"

Sighing the Captain shrugged.  "T'Varn, Grelek... one of you, would you be so good as to try to get a message to the Challenger. I've got no choice now, if we want to keep the girls and the Bathory in sight, we need back up."

Almost in tears she admitted to herself, if to no one else that it would be good to have a hug off Will, to see Lahr and thank him for keeping them off her trail as long as he could.  She was playing on the hope that if Will was on the Bridge, having someone else put through the call would mean that they didn't get the 20 questions about her well-being rather than getting with the job in hand.

[Richard James Litt]

[USS Mjolnir]

One week has passed since the wedding party. And at that moment, no one was really enjoying anything. The small crew from the delta flyer was made really quick, and just because the captain was prohibited to do that on her own.

Litt was part of that small crew, and he and the captain were the only ones able to fly, and they were taking long shifts between them. But, one thing was missing at that moment, an engineer.

"No ma'am, we don't have engineers... But if what I can try to discover what is going on..." He said looking to the captain. "But I won't be able to fix anything..."

Right after that, he waited for the captain's orders.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

NPC PO2 Grelek
[Delta Flyer Mjolnir]

Captain's Personal Log - Aboard the Mjolnir, somewhere between Qatar and Zakdorn

We have been travelling a week in the Mjolnir, finally contacting the USS Polaris who agreed to keep an eye out for the Bathory, as well as join us when contacted again in the final assault on Leyton.  I have no doubt they have contacted the Challenger in regards to our whereabouts, I expect the call daily from Will asking me when I think I'm going to come back to him.  As he hasn't yet I can only assume he's either so mad at me that he's already contemplating divorce, or that the whole debacle that was our wedding party sent him so far into a 'what the hell just happened' mode, that Liv had had to put him into a medically induced coma to save him from himself!

We have followed the Bathory at a safe distance first to DS3, then to DS2 and their final port of call was Starbase 514 before they headed on a bearing of 152.8... almost directly for Zakdorn.  Could Leyton be hiding there on his own?  We've not been able to get to a position to take the Bathory and rescue the girls, but they're still in our sights... well, sensors.

The Mjolnir shuddered suddenly twice and the delta flyer slowed.  "We don't have an engineer aboard do we?  I'm wondering what that could be.  Of all the departments I've served in, engineering is not one of them."

Ruth checked her controls, trying a few things but the craft continued to slow.

"Well it's not the inertial dampeners, as we still aren't' falling out of the sky, but I wish Lek, Gianetti or Kali were here right now!"

Sighing the Captain shrugged.  "T'Varn, Grelek... one of you, would you be so good as to try to get a message to the Challenger. I've got no choice now, if we want to keep the girls and the Bathory in sight, we need back up."

Almost in tears she admitted to herself, if to no one else that it would be good to have a hug off Will, to see Lahr and thank him for keeping them off her trail as long as he could.  She was playing on the hope that if Will was on the Bridge, having someone else put through the call would mean that they didn't get the 20 questions about her well-being rather than getting with the job in hand.

That the Flyer would begin to break down after a week of pushing the shuttlecraft to its limits to keep up with the kidnappers in order to not lose its trail was not unexpected to the Vulcan.  He would have offered the Captain his estimate of the likelihood of it but such statement of odds always seemed to be unwelcome, so had kept the numbers to himself.

At the Captain's order to contact the Challenger Grelek raise a single eyebrow.  It was his way of showing surprise.  They'd spent an entire week keeping silent despite repeated attempts by Challenger to contact them.  But the Captain had a point, if they did not call for 'backup' as she said, then the Bathory would indeed escape with the Siggurdsdottir twins.

"Of course, Captain." he acknowledged, before opening up a commline.

"Mjolnir to Challenger.  The Mjolnir is experiencing mechanical issues.  Assistance is requested in order to continue following the Bathory.  Coordinates to follow."

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[USS Mjolnir]

One week has passed since the wedding party. And at that moment, no one was really enjoying anything. The small crew from the delta flyer was made really quick, and just because the captain was prohibited to do that on her own.

Litt was part of that small crew, and he and the captain were the only ones able to fly, and they were taking long shifts between them. But, one thing was missing at that moment, an engineer.

"No ma'am, we don't have engineers... But if what I can try to discover what is going on..." He said looking to the captain. "But I won't be able to fix anything..."

Right after that, he waited for the captain's orders.

[Delta Flyer Mjolnir - One Week after Wedding]

"Mr. Litt, just what is wrong would be a good thing, we can at least give the information to Mr. Grelek to pass onto any prospective rescue parties.  Lt. Bailey, how we doing with keeping track of the Bathory?  I don't want to lose their ion trail if at all possible, I need to know where they're going from here, it's impossible to fathom out what they're doing.  DS3, DS2, SB514, are they trying to starbase hop from here to... where exactly, in order to look like passing space tourists?  Rather than space terrorists?!  When I get my hands on them... " Ruth seethed.

NPC PO2 Grelek
[Delta Flyer Mjolnir]

That the Flyer would begin to break down after a week of pushing the shuttlecraft to its limits to keep up with the kidnappers in order to not lose its trail was not unexpected to the Vulcan.  He would have offered the Captain his estimate of the likelihood of it but such statement of odds always seemed to be unwelcome, so had kept the numbers to himself.

At the Captain's order to contact the Challenger Grelek raise a single eyebrow.  It was his way of showing surprise.  They'd spent an entire week keeping silent despite repeated attempts by Challenger to contact them.  But the Captain had a point, if they did not call for 'backup' as she said, then the Bathory would indeed escape with the Siggurdsdottir twins.

"Of course, Captain." he acknowledged, before opening up a commline.

"Mjolnir to Challenger.  The Mjolnir is experiencing mechanical issues.  Assistance is requested in order to continue following the Bathory.  Coordinates to follow."

"Incidentally, did you locate any other ships around here, Grelek? Freighters, Civilian or Fleet?  If so messages to them pronto to have then continue to follow the Bathory's progress would be sensible.  Obviously non-fleet just need to be told we are looking for information rather than 'follow them!' just in case of security.  We can't be too careful who is being a look out for Leyton."

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

[Science Labs > Bridge USS Challenger - One Week after Wedding - Somewhere between DS2 and SB 514]

[As NPC CSO - Lt. Cmdr Evie Wardropper]

Evie stood up and stretched.  She was finding that she was doing that more and more often lately.
"Old bones... " she muttered to herself, making a mental note to get the 55 years of her down to see Liv and Maggie sometime soon.

Briefly putting into bases but no time even to get out and go stretch her legs on a promenade, just to go into synchronous orbit with them and pick up any information then on.  It seemed the Captain wasn't taking a direct route between any of these places, as they would have intercepted her long before now having the better warp speeds.  She had said she was happy to help out but as far as putting her in command due to her rank... there were better placed people to do that namely Will and Kyle, even if Will was still in pieces, understandably, at the sudden departure of Ruth.

However, it had been decided by someone with more tactical knowledge than herself, that a big ship lumbering in the general direction of the Bathory, at full speed, was probably not a good idea if the Captain's safety wasn't to be compromised.  If they turned to look at the whale and saw the sardine...

She decided to take a walk up and see how Will was faring, if he was even on the Bridge, and talk to Kyle if he wasn't assuming he was there.

[Bridge]

It was unusual to step onto the Bridge and not see the infamous redhead in the centre chair, she saw Dradis however sat at the helm and walked over.

"No Litt?" she asked concerned for the young man's welfare.

"On the Mjolnir with the Captain.  My best pilot, and 2nd best pilot... don't tell the Captain she's 2nd best!, on a damn Delta Flyer, so you have to put up with me!" the Betazoid grinned.

"We could do worse than the Chief of Flight!" she replied.  "Any news?  Anyone??" Because she

[Olivia Briggs]

[Mess Hall - Challenger]

Walking into the mess hall, Liv looked around, feeling slightly reminiscent of when she used to run one, before heading over to the counter, to choose what she wanted. The last week had been one of mixed emotions, as the crew followed Ruth in the attempt to not only catch up with the Captain but also to help with the search of the missing twins. With that in mind and having a scheduled break, during her shift, Liv had wanted to spend that time, in the mess hall as opposed to grabbing something from the CMO's replicator.

Besides it felt good to walk about and attempt to focus on something else, other than worry or concern. Not that those particular emotions would leave her anytime soon. Luckily she had Kyle and Elijah, to help come to terms with what had happened and to also support Will during what must of been an incredibly difficult time for him. Whilst she understood why Ruth had gone ahead and left them, to follow, she wished that she hadn't, purely for what it had done and the fall out it had caused.

Hopefully once they got to her and brought her back to the ship, things would be resolved and would do what she could do to help. But for now and wanting to fuel up, so she could be ready for the rest of her shift. Liv engaged in friendly conversation with the mess hall manager, before picking a rather tasty looking, seafood salad, with a side of homemade bread and a fruit smoothie.

Thanking them, Liv then found a table near the window and sat down, happy to have a few moments of silence as she then reached for her cutlery. 

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck One - Bridge]

[Delta Flyer Mjolnir - One Week after Wedding]

"Mr. Litt, just what is wrong would be a good thing, we can at least give the information to Mr. Grelek to pass onto any prospective rescue parties.  Lt. Bailey, how we doing with keeping track of the Bathory?  I don't want to lose their ion trail if at all possible, I need to know where they're going from here, it's impossible to fathom out what they're doing.  DS3, DS2, SB514, are they trying to starbase hop from here to... where exactly, in order to look like passing space tourists?  Rather than space terrorists?!  When I get my hands on them... " Ruth seethed.

"Incidentally, did you locate any other ships around here, Grelek? Freighters, Civilian or Fleet?  If so messages to them pronto to have then continue to follow the Bathory's progress would be sensible.  Obviously non-fleet just need to be told we are looking for information rather than 'follow them!' just in case of security.  We can't be too careful who is being a look out for Leyton."

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

[Bridge USS Challenger - One Week after Wedding - Somewhere between DS2 and SB 514]

[As NPC CSO - Lt. Cmdr Evie Wardropper]

It was unusual to step onto the Bridge and not see the infamous redhead in the centre chair, she saw Dradis however sat at the helm and walked over.

"No Litt?" she asked concerned for the young man's welfare.

"On the Mjolnir with the Captain.  My best pilot, and 2nd best pilot... don't tell the Captain she's 2nd best!, on a damn Delta Flyer, so you have to put up with me!" the Betazoid grinned.

"We could do worse than the Chief of Flight!" she replied.  "Any news?  Anyone??"

Lahr had glanced up from his console at the sound of the turbolift doors opening.  And was relieved that it was just the CSO.   Though to date it seemed as if he'd managed to successfully get away with having 'sabotaged' the ship's initial search for the Captain, Lahr was becoming more and more nervous that it would be found out.  This made his a little bit on edge and it showed in the twitches of his antenna.

When the CSO called out for any update, Lahr hesitated a moment before responding.  "Nothing new.  The preparations that the Captain asked for in Commander Waring's letter have all been implemented.   We are enroute to SB514 following the Captain's 'trail of breadcrumbs'.  Beyond that things are.."

He was about to say 'quiet' when he heard and incoming call on his earpiece.

"Roozh!" he swore under his breath at the information from the call.

"ch'Verret to Commander Waring.  Sorry to disturb you sir.  But your gonna want to hear this.   It's the Captain.  She's had Grelek call the ship.  They are experiencing engine problems are calling for assistance. They've sent their coordinates."

As he noted this he was sending a copy of those coordinates to the Helm officer.

"Your orders, sir?" the Andorian prompted.

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

NPC Grelek
[Delta Flyer Mjolnir]

[Delta Flyer Mjolnir - One Week after Wedding]

"Mr. Litt, just what is wrong would be a good thing, we can at least give the information to Mr. Grelek to pass onto any prospective rescue parties.  Lt. Bailey, how we doing with keeping track of the Bathory?  I don't want to lose their ion trail if at all possible, I need to know where they're going from here, it's impossible to fathom out what they're doing.  DS3, DS2, SB514, are they trying to starbase hop from here to... where exactly, in order to look like passing space tourists?  Rather than space terrorists?!  When I get my hands on them... " Ruth seethed.

"Incidentally, did you locate any other ships around here, Grelek? Freighters, Civilian or Fleet?  If so messages to them pronto to have then continue to follow the Bathory's progress would be sensible.  Obviously non-fleet just need to be told we are looking for information rather than 'follow them!' just in case of security.  We can't be too careful who is being a look out for Leyton."

Grelek didn't glance up from his cramped work station.  He reviewed all the sensor logs, despite having already known that answer.

"Challenger is closest to our position being half way to SB514.  Other allied vessels in the vicinity are most likely the Curie or possible the Tal'bath, as last intelligence on Hecates location put her somewhere between SB514 and SB301."

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck One - Bridge]

Lahr had glanced up from his console at the sound of the turbolift doors opening.  And was relieved that it was just the CSO.   Though to date it seemed as if he'd managed to successfully get away with having 'sabotaged' the ship's initial search for the Captain, Lahr was becoming more and more nervous that it would be found out.  This made his a little bit on edge and it showed in the twitches of his antenna.

When the CSO called out for any update, Lahr hesitated a moment before responding.  "Nothing new.  The preparations that the Captain asked for in Commander Waring's letter have all been implemented.   We are enroute to SB514 following the Captain's 'trail of breadcrumbs'.  Beyond that things are.."

He was about to say 'quiet' when he heard and incoming call on his earpiece.

"Roozh!" he swore under his breath at the information from the call.

"ch'Verret to Commander Waring.  Sorry to disturb you sir.  But your gonna want to hear this.   It's the Captain.  She's had Grelek call the ship.  They are experiencing engine problems are calling for assistance. They've sent their coordinates."

As he noted this he was sending a copy of those coordinates to the Helm officer.

"Your orders, sir?" the Andorian prompted.

[USS Challenger - Bridge, Between DS2 and SB514]

[As NPC CSO Evie Wardropper]

Evie spun round when Lahr swore.  She didn't know much Andorian but when it came to swear words you didn't need the UT or a degree in Xenolinguistics to understand at least the gist of what was said.

Fearful that the blue guy had picked up some of Leyton's ships she slid into the Science console and raised a quizzical eyebrow.  She got her answer soon enough, the Captain was in trouble.

Looking over the Science scans she smiled.

"I can tell you one thing, she's not alone out there, the Curie and the Tal'Bath are around.  Hecate is slightly closer to her than us but not by much, just come around by Balancar, Curie was last at DS4.  Might be worth calling them too just so Ruth hears a friendly voice.  We're likely faster though."

She looked to the centre seat, no one seemed to want to sit there.  Almost like doing so was disrespectful or thinking that in doing so meant they weren't going to get Ruth back, even Kyle had seemed to sit in the XO's seat the once she'd seen him, that might have been automatic however as he normally operated the Bridge from the Tactical Station when he'd been left in charge if, say, the Captain was going into her Ready Room even when she was on the ship.

She waited impatiently while Lahr responded to the call sending a message to Will.  She almost begged the XO in her mind to come to the bridge and handle this like a man.  He must be broken, but he needed to dig deep in his officer training now and step up to the job in hand.

NPC Grelek
[Delta Flyer Mjolnir]

Grelek didn't glance up from his cramped work station.  He reviewed all the sensor logs, despite having already known that answer.

"Challenger is closest to our position being half way to SB514.  Other allied vessels in the vicinity are most likely the Curie or possible the Tal'bath, as last intelligence on Hecates location put her somewhere between SB514 and SB301."

[Delta Flyer Mjolnir near Zakdorn

"See if you can locate Hecate.  I would hope that the Challenger can get hold of the Curie, but the Tal'Bath had to go 'dark' following our activities at the Crimson Nebula.  If you do open a channel and I'll explain the situation." Ruth ordered, hoping that Will would soon come to the comms and not just scream at her.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck One - Bridge, Between DS2 and SB514]

[USS Challenger - Bridge, Between DS2 and SB514]

[As NPC CSO Evie Wardropper]

Evie spun round when Lahr swore.  She didn't know much Andorian but when it came to swear words you didn't need the UT or a degree in Xenolinguistics to understand at least the gist of what was said.

Fearful that the blue guy had picked up some of Leyton's ships she slid into the Science console and raised a quizzical eyebrow.  She got her answer soon enough, the Captain was in trouble.

Looking over the Science scans she smiled.

"I can tell you one thing, she's not alone out there, the Curie and the Tal'Bath are around.  Hecate is slightly closer to her than us but not by much, just come around by Balancar, Curie was last at DS4.  Might be worth calling them too just so Ruth hears a friendly voice.  We're likely faster though."

She looked to the centre seat, no one seemed to want to sit there.  Almost like doing so was disrespectful or thinking that in doing so meant they weren't going to get Ruth back, even Kyle had seemed to sit in the XO's seat the once she'd seen him, that might have been automatic however as he normally operated the Bridge from the Tactical Station when he'd been left in charge if, say, the Captain was going into her Ready Room even when she was on the ship.

She waited impatiently while Lahr responded to the call sending a message to Will.  She almost begged the XO in her mind to come to the bridge and handle this like a man.  He must be broken, but he needed to dig deep in his officer training now and step up to the job in hand.

While the Andorian waited on the XO, he prepped a communication to both the Curie and less enthusiastically, the Tal'Bath.  It was likely his own personal grudge against Hecate and her crew of pirates that had him silently griping about having to involve them.  But if they could help the Captain, he supposed that is what mattered.

It didn't take Lahr long to prep the messages.  When he was done he frowned, his antenna drooping at the lack of response as yet from the Commander.

Lahr looked to Chief Wardropper.  "The messages are ready to send, ma'am.  Shall I go ahead or wait on the Commander?"

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

NPC PO2 Grelek
[Delta Flyer Mjolnir near Zakdorn]

[Delta Flyer Mjolnir near Zakdorn

"See if you can locate Hecate.  I would hope that the Challenger can get hold of the Curie, but the Tal'Bath had to go 'dark' following our activities at the Crimson Nebula.  If you do open a channel and I'll explain the situation." Ruth ordered, hoping that Will would soon come to the comms and not just scream at her.

"Yes, Captain." the Vulcan Ops petty officer acknowledged without any inflection to his voice.

Grelek ran a number of various scans in the vicinity that the drug-runner ship had been rumored to be but was unsurprised his scans turned up nothing.

"She's either improved her ship's cloaking or not in the vicinity my scans were focused on.  I will put out an open call for the 'Greek Goddess of Magic and Witchcraft' and hopefully she will call us in response."

Grelek sent out the call for Hecate.

[Zavrol Gohun]

As Gohun returned from emergency leave he was incredibly happy to have missed all the wedding drama. As he checked in with his officer he went on duty to discover all the drama that unfolded. There really wasn't a dull moment on this ship.
With that the signal from the Mjolnir came in and Gohun decided to tell his immediate supervisor that he was willing to help out.

(OOC Post restored due to server outage - Rayek tr'Lhoell)

[Lek]

[Shuttle Onizuka at the edge of the Briar Patch]

Rayek's wedding was a success and Lek had departed the Healy as soon as it cleared the chaos of the Briar Patch. Taking the shuttle to warp, he set the autopilot and began planning on how he was going to make up to Helga for not bringing her to the wedding. He had an idea he thought would work, but the limited resources of the Onizuka's replicator would complicate things. However, he was a skilled engineer and he knew he could make it work.

"Leave it to Hyoomons to come up with a 'plus one'".

He grumbled.

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck One - Bridge, Between DS2 and SB514]

While the Andorian waited on the XO, he prepped a communication to both the Curie and less enthusiastically, the Tal'Bath.  It was likely his own personal grudge against Hecate and her crew of pirates that had him silently griping about having to involve them.  But if they could help the Captain, he supposed that is what mattered.

It didn't take Lahr long to prep the messages.  When he was done he frowned, his antenna drooping at the lack of response as yet from the Commander.

Lahr looked to Chief Wardropper.  "The messages are ready to send, ma'am.  Shall I go ahead or wait on the Commander?"

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Evie considered and looked around for Lt. Briggs.  She knew as far as rank she was higher, but he was 2nd Officer.

Not certain when Will was likely to show up or respond, and knowing somewhat his mental state at the moment, coupled with the 'not a moment to lose', she came to a decision.

"I'm pretty certain that both Mr. Waring and I will be of one mind.  He wants his wife back and we want the Captain safe.  Send them, also... did Mr. Grelek send co-ordinates?  If so send them to the helm.  Mr. Dradis, I'm a scientist not a helmswoman.  Set a speed for that location that will allow us to be there in... about 2 hours."

She gave a quick look to Lahr which willed him to read between the lines.  "That will give us plenty time for all departments to prepare to take the Mjolnir back aboard.  Mr. ch'Verret, alert Engineering of the situation, and medical for any potential casualties.  Maybe even the Mess Hall manager to rustle up something hot and filling?!  Sorry, I let my grandmotherly-ness come out there! Maybe get Dr. York to sort out anything Medical needs to while Dr. Briggs turns down the bed and so on so the Captain can just rest.  I'd prefer, as I'm sure our Medical staff do, that she not be bombarded from all sides, although I can't shield her from everyone!"

The look was to mean '...and to let Will get his head in gear so that he doesn't approach the reunion in the wrong way.'

NPC PO2 Grelek
[Delta Flyer Mjolnir near Zakdorn]

"Yes, Captain." the Vulcan Ops petty officer acknowledged without any inflection to his voice.

Grelek ran a number of various scans in the vicinity that the drug-runner ship had been rumored to be but was unsurprised his scans turned up nothing.

"She's either improved her ship's cloaking or not in the vicinity my scans were focused on.  I will put out an open call for the 'Greek Goddess of Magic and Witchcraft' and hopefully she will call us in response."

Grelek sent out the call for Hecate.

[Aboard the Mjolnir]

Ruth let out a chuckle despite how she was feeling.  "Well if anyone can magic her here Grelek it's you! and that might do it!"

[...a few hours later]

=/TB\= 'Greek Goddess of Magic and Witchcraft' to 'Thors Hammer'... has my favourite Valkyrie broken a wing?  Can't tell you where I am, but if that blue skinned wizard of yours is with you he'll find me.  What's your emergency?  =/TB\=

=/M\= Actually yes, something went 'clunk', Mr. Litt is finding out what that is.  I don't have my blue man with us but I do have Grelek, also a bit of a wizard, afterall he flushed you out! =/M\=

=/TB\= So he did.  I actually have your quarry in my sights, the Bathory, should I come rescue you, engage or continue to follow? Currently heading past Azel but wait... she's turning... I assumed they'd be going to SB204 but they're turning... =/TB\=

=/M\= Follow them, tail them I presume that they haven't seen you. =/M\=

=/TB\= To be honest, they aren't looking for us.  They'd find us at the moment since I've broken radio silence, but only if they're paranoid. Any other news?  Other than belated congratulations! =/TB\=

=/M\= Thanks... and no.  Keep us posted.  Can we guarantee on your assistance in the onslaught against Leyton?  I know you've got a bit of a target on your back now. =/M\=

=/TB\= We're fine, but yes I'll be with you, get Challenger to use your callsign for me, you know, the one Grelek I think you said he was called used, I'll answer. =/TB\=

=/M\= Roger that, I'll talk... soon?! Valkyrie out!=/M\=

Ruth turned with a slight grin to Grelek.  "Well... looks like we have our 'eyes' on the Bathory again, please inform the Challenger of the turn of events, and the request by the Tal'Bath to use your inventive callsign."

[Kyle Briggs]

[Turbo lift to Bridge - USS Challenger]

A week. A long, agonizing, excruciating, nerve racking week. That's how long it had been since Ruth took off and how long Kyle had been running down what he was positive were inside sabotage jobs preventing them from reaching the Mjolnir. With everything that had been going on, he had been able to discover that the majority of the treachery were done with the Captain's codes and there had not been time for Ruth to have setup everything before she had left.

Add that to Kyle being pissed at her in the first place for leaving without even considering his help. Or the Challenger's. She knew she didn't need to go it alone like she did. She was one of his oldest friends and he loved her like a sister. Then Will had a nervous break down. Luckily, Liv was working with him and things were looking up. Hopefully, he was on the Bridge now and they were getting closer to Mjolnir. He was at least thankful that Bailey was with the Captain.

His comm chimed as he continued to ascend. It was Gohun informing him of his return.

Welcome back. Report to me on the Bridge right away. Briggs out. 

As the lift came to a halt and the doors parted, the first thing he noticed was the empty seat in the center of the Bridge. He released a silent sigh as he stepped out and resumed his role as Acting XO.

"Reports, please?" he called.

The various stations started filling him in as he noticed Commander Wardropper.

"Commander." he acknowledged with a nod of his head as he continued listening to Lahr's report of the incoming message from the Mjolnir and how Commander Wardropper had ordered them to head in that direction.

"By all means. Carry on. Let's go get our Captain and crewmen back." Kyle said with another nod toward the CSO. "Good job, Commander. Should we put in for your transfer to the Command track?" he teased with a wink.

He had also been informed that Will had already been notified so he didn't repeat that unnecessary action.

[William Waring]

[Turbo lift to Bridge - USS Challenger]

A week. A long, agonizing, excruciating, nerve racking week. That's how long it had been since Ruth took off and how long Kyle had been running down what he was positive were inside sabotage jobs preventing them from reaching the Mjolnir. With everything that had been going on, he had been able to discover that the majority of the treachery were done with the Captain's codes and there had not been time for Ruth to have setup everything before she had left.

Add that to Kyle being pissed at her in the first place for leaving without even considering his help. Or the Challenger's. She knew she didn't need to go it alone like she did. She was one of his oldest friends and he loved her like a sister. Then Will had a nervous break down. Luckily, Liv was working with him and things were looking up. Hopefully, he was on the Bridge now and they were getting closer to Mjolnir. He was at least thankful that Bailey was with the Captain.

His comm chimed as he continued to ascend. It was Gohun informing him of his return.

Welcome back. Report to me on the Bridge right away. Briggs out. 

As the lift came to a halt and the doors parted, the first thing he noticed was the empty seat in the center of the Bridge. He released a silent sigh as he stepped out and resumed his role as Acting XO.

"Reports, please?" he called.

The various stations started filling him in as he noticed Commander Wardropper.

"Commander." he acknowledged with a nod of his head as he continued listening to Lahr's report of the incoming message from the Mjolnir and how Commander Wardropper had ordered them to head in that direction.

"By all means. Carry on. Let's go get our Captain and crewmen back." Kyle said with another nod toward the CSO. "Good job, Commander. Should we put in for your transfer to the Command track?" he teased with a wink.

He had also been informed that Will had already been notified so he didn't repeat that unnecessary action.

[Bridge]

Will stepped out of the corridor that lead to the Ready Room to see Kyle now on the Bridge. He had stepped out to grab himself a coffee and allow himself a few moments to pace while it replicated. He noticed that some of the crew weren't too fond of the incessant pacing while on duty so he held off for when he wasn't on the Bridge.

Nevertheless, he was back now and saw Kyle getting a report. "Kyle" he said flatly as he made his way to the XO's seat and sat down "I trust you took the liberty of laying in our course while I stepped away?" he asked, his mind elsewhere. At this point, it was basically his instinct and training doing his duties while he was still replaying it all in his head. It had been a week but it still felt like it was only minutes ago. He hardly slept, he hardly ate, he hardly spoke. He was what some would call a zombie in the uniform. The only uptick was in his caffeine intake while the only words spoken were those directly related to his duties. When not on duty he usually stayed in his quarters, only coming out if absolutely necessary.

He keyed up his display to show a condensed version of the helm interface "Two hours... two hours... I thought this was urgent. Let's put our foot down. Get there double time."

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck One - Bridge]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

"I'm pretty certain that both Mr. Waring and I will be of one mind.  He wants his wife back and we want the Captain safe.  Send them, also... did Mr. Grelek send co-ordinates?  If so send them to the helm.  Mr. Dradis, I'm a scientist not a helmswoman.  Set a speed for that location that will allow us to be there in... about 2 hours."

She gave a quick look to Lahr which willed him to read between the lines.  "That will give us plenty time for all departments to prepare to take the Mjolnir back aboard.  Mr. ch'Verret, alert Engineering of the situation, and medical for any potential casualties.  Maybe even the Mess Hall manager to rustle up something hot and filling?!  Sorry, I let my grandmotherly-ness come out there! Maybe get Dr. York to sort out anything Medical needs to while Dr. Briggs turns down the bed and so on so the Captain can just rest.  I'd prefer, as I'm sure our Medical staff do, that she not be bombarded from all sides, although I can't shield her from everyone!"

Nodding his acknowledgement of the orders to send off the messages, Lahr did so. "Messages sent, ma'am."

When Wardropper then suggested he forward Helm the coordinates, Lahr gave her a grin.  "Already been done, ma'am." he bragged, his antenna waving lazily.  It was a much better feeling having the same goal as the rest of the ship, instead of having to continue sabotage them.

The Andorian then turned his attention to the list of other tasks, she'd asked of him.  He was just beginning on his when Lt Briggs arrived on the Bridge.  Lahr quickly updated him.

[Turbo lift to Bridge - USS Challenger]

His comm chimed as he continued to ascend. It was Gohun informing him of his return.

Welcome back. Report to me on the Bridge right away. Briggs out. 

As the lift came to a halt and the doors parted, the first thing he noticed was the empty seat in the center of the Bridge. He released a silent sigh as he stepped out and resumed his role as Acting XO.

"Reports, please?" he called.

The various stations started filling him in as he noticed Commander Wardropper.

"Commander." he acknowledged with a nod of his head as he continued listening to Lahr's report of the incoming message from the Mjolnir and how Commander Wardropper had ordered them to head in that direction.

"By all means. Carry on. Let's go get our Captain and crewmen back." Kyle said with another nod toward the CSO. "Good job, Commander. Should we put in for your transfer to the Command track?" he teased with a wink.

He had also been informed that Will had already been notified so he didn't repeat that unnecessary action.

With more of the same orders, Lahr sent a call down to Engineering.  "ch'Verret to Gianetti.  Sir, I've been asked to pass along a situation update.  The Captain has contacted us and we are enroute to her position.  The Mjolnir has experienced some sort of engine malfunction, so you'll likely want to have a team on that to get the Captain's Delta Flyer in working order quickly.  I might even suggest you have one of your best people maybe try to trouble shoot the issue with one of them in the meanwhile."

Lahr didn't like the notion of the Captain or his roommate being stranded in space.

He was just about to contact Medical next when the Commander arrived on the Bridge.

[Bridge]

Will stepped out of the corridor that lead to the Ready Room to see Kyle now on the Bridge. He had stepped out to grab himself a coffee and allow himself a few moments to pace while it replicated. He noticed that some of the crew weren't too fond of the incessant pacing while on duty so he held off for when he wasn't on the Bridge.

Nevertheless, he was back now and saw Kyle getting a report. "Kyle" he said flatly as he made his way to the XO's seat and sat down "I trust you took the liberty of laying in our course while I stepped away?" he asked, his mind elsewhere. At this point, it was basically his instinct and training doing his duties while he was still replaying it all in his head. It had been a week but it still felt like it was only minutes ago. He hardly slept, he hardly ate, he hardly spoke. He was what some would call a zombie in the uniform. The only uptick was in his caffeine intake while the only words spoken were those directly related to his duties. When not on duty he usually stayed in his quarters, only coming out if absolutely necessary.

He keyed up his display to show a condensed version of the helm interface "Two hours... two hours... I thought this was urgent. Let's put our foot down. Get there double time."

Lahr looked over his shoulder towards the Command Chair almost expectantly, but the human said nothing to him.  No request for a report, nor an acknowledgment or thank for the call letting them man know  that his wife was located.  Something.  Anything.  But no.

Lahr might have begun to wonder if it was some bias against him personally - maybe even that the Commander knew what he'd done, but the man also barely greeted his own friend.  It was just an aspect of the man's being unable to cope with his wife's leaving without him.

Hearing the Commander's  order to Helm, the Andorian's antenna shot straight.  Sure, Lahr was no helmsman, but his thought had been that even reaching the Captain in 2 hours was pushing it.  The sheer distances in involved were literally astronomical.  Yet the Commander thought the ship was capable of cutting that time in half by 'double- timing'!?  Sure, maybe if they were one of those newer ships with 4 nacelles.

As it were they were being asked to basically travel half the distance they'd covered in a week at a cruising speed... now in an hour.  That would have to be over the ships rated max, wouldn't it?

Lahr looked to Dradis to see if the man balked at the order.

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

NPC Grelek
[Shuttlecraft Mjolnir][/cb]

[Aboard the Mjolnir]

Ruth let out a chuckle despite how she was feeling.  "Well if anyone can magic her here Grelek it's you! and that might do it!"

[...a few hours later]

=/TB\= 'Greek Goddess of Magic and Witchcraft' to 'Thors Hammer'... has my favourite Valkyrie broken a wing?  Can't tell you where I am, but if that blue skinned wizard of yours is with you he'll find me.  What's your emergency?  =/TB\=

=/M\= Actually yes, something went 'clunk', Mr. Litt is finding out what that is.  I don't have my blue man with us but I do have Grelek, also a bit of a wizard, afterall he flushed you out! =/M\=

=/TB\= So he did.  I actually have your quarry in my sights, the Bathory, should I come rescue you, engage or continue to follow? Currently heading past Azel but wait... she's turning... I assumed they'd be going to SB204 but they're turning... =/TB\=

=/M\= Follow them, tail them I presume that they haven't seen you. =/M\=

=/TB\= To be honest, they aren't looking for us.  They'd find us at the moment since I've broken radio silence, but only if they're paranoid. Any other news?  Other than belated congratulations! =/TB\=

=/M\= Thanks... and no.  Keep us posted.  Can we guarantee on your assistance in the onslaught against Leyton?  I know you've got a bit of a target on your back now. =/M\=

=/TB\= We're fine, but yes I'll be with you, get Challenger to use your callsign for me, you know, the one Grelek I think you said he was called used, I'll answer. =/TB\=

=/M\= Roger that, I'll talk... soon?! Valkyrie out!=/M\=

Ruth turned with a slight grin to Grelek.  "Well... looks like we have our 'eyes' on the Bathory again, please inform the Challenger of the turn of events, and the request by the Tal'Bath to use your inventive callsign."

The Vulcan inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement.  "Yes, Captain."

Grelek opened an channel to the Challenger.

"Mjolnir to Challenger.   Situation update - no assistance available from nearby friendlies.  We will require Challenger to collect us.   New information on the Bathory's whereabouts as come to light.  A reliable source has eyes on the ship and has reported it turning past Azel.   What is your anticipated ETA?"

~~~~~~~~
Back on the ship Lahr received the message, and listened to it briefly before forwarded it to Captain's chair.  "Inbound message, sir, from the Mjolnir. No new coordinates.  Just information of where the Bathory is and that they have someone who has 'eyes on it.  They want to know our ETA. ''

[Kyle Briggs]

[Bridge]

Nevertheless, he was back now and saw Kyle getting a report. "Kyle" he said flatly as he made his way to the XO's seat and sat down "I trust you took the liberty of laying in our course while I stepped away?" he asked, his mind elsewhere. At this point, it was basically his instinct and training doing his duties while he was still replaying it all in his head. It had been a week but it still felt like it was only minutes ago. He hardly slept, he hardly ate, he hardly spoke. He was what some would call a zombie in the uniform. The only uptick was in his caffeine intake while the only words spoken were those directly related to his duties. When not on duty he usually stayed in his quarters, only coming out if absolutely necessary.

He keyed up his display to show a condensed version of the helm interface "Two hours... two hours... I thought this was urgent. Let's put our foot down. Get there double time."

Kyle nodded to Will as he acknowledge the greeting and replied to the Acting CO's inquiry.

"Actually, Commander Wardropper already had us underway." Kyle answered. From there, the former Engineer in him kicked in. "And if I may, Sir? The shuttle already has a week head start on us and we've been pushing it to get this far. The engines have some more to give but not enough to make it less than two hours. We both know the Captain. She's resourceful. If she's made it this long, a couple of more hours won't hurt. And she wouldn't want us to damage the Challenger in the process."