S1E3 - New Horizons

[Jynaral Rkeran]

"Hey there! Let me buy you a drink!" she said to the engineer, really hoping that she didn't come across as too weird. He might have to just have to join them now.

R'keran paused. He knew Commander Garrison, that's for sure; one makes a habit of knowing the identities of one's superior officers. But certainly they had never spoken in person, nor had they engaged in anything that might be called a social interaction. Of course, it could just be the Commander being friendly...but he smelled something strange at work.

"Oh. Thank you." Caitians were hard to read at the best of times, as he looked down at Commander Kinley, doing his best to appear friendly. Truth be told, he had no idea what was going on, but then again senior staff not explaining strange situations to the enlisted was pretty much par for the course.

"Do you have any thing you recommend?" R'keran waited for Kinley to lead, prepared to follow; might be inappropriate to make assumptions. "I...like to try new things."

He wanted to say he was working. He wanted to ask what was going on. He wanted to say that it's probably not a good idea buying drinks for a seven foot tall caitian unless you wanted to wrack up quite a bill. Of course, he didn't even know what he WAS supposed to say. Did he talk about the station? How a combination of software mismatch and old inducting capacitors along with the stations newer power core meant the replicators wasted 5% of all power they drew? How he was currently writing a spy thriller novella about the Dominion War?

In the end he decided to say nothing. Seemed like the right choice.

[Kinley Garrison]

R'keran paused. He knew Commander Garrison, that's for sure; one makes a habit of knowing the identities of one's superior officers. But certainly they had never spoken in person, nor had they engaged in anything that might be called a social interaction. Of course, it could just be the Commander being friendly...but he smelled something strange at work.

"Oh. Thank you." Caitians were hard to read at the best of times, as he looked down at Commander Kinley, doing his best to appear friendly. Truth be told, he had no idea what was going on, but then again senior staff not explaining strange situations to the enlisted was pretty much par for the course.

"Do you have any thing you recommend?" R'keran waited for Kinley to lead, prepared to follow; might be inappropriate to make assumptions. "I...like to try new things."

He wanted to say he was working. He wanted to ask what was going on. He wanted to say that it's probably not a good idea buying drinks for a seven foot tall caitian unless you wanted to wrack up quite a bill. Of course, he didn't even know what he WAS supposed to say. Did he talk about the station? How a combination of software mismatch and old inducting capacitors along with the stations newer power core meant the replicators wasted 5% of all power they drew? How he was currently writing a spy thriller novella about the Dominion War?

In the end he decided to say nothing. Seemed like the right choice.

[The Jackal]

Kinley grinned, more out of awkwardness if anything. She didn't recognize the (really) tall Caitian - He must have come onboard in the most recent personnel transfer, she guessed. Either way, she realized that she had probably made this situation way more  awkward than it should have been. "I don't really drink, but I do like the Shirley Temples here, " she said, denoting her glass and  taking a sip of the reddish fizzy mocktail. "Kinley Garrison, by the way.  I'm the CO here, but you don't have to be all formal right now. " she reached out for a handshake and gestured to her normal civvie clothes, trying to denote she was not bringing too much attention to the fact she was Starfleet at the moment.

She saw the look of confusion on his face. She didn't blame him. Not many folks who worked on the "lower decks" really expected to be getting drinks with the Commanding Officer just casually like that. She liked to try to break that stereotype when she could, but it unfortunately still existed.

She drew closer to the tall Caitian and lowered her voice. Could she trust him? She might just have to. "So, currently, we're looking for someone who may be accessing the Jeffries Tubes to access critical systems. I'm with the Ensign you're looking for. She's in there," she said, hoping that might clear up some things on the fly.

[Danjar-Torra Addams]

Lieutenant Danjar-Torra Addams
[Outpost Solaere - Deck One - Operations Center]
[DAY TWO - (Launch of the Horizon)]

[Ensign Jynaral R'Keran| Outpost Solaere| Miscellaneous Jefferies Tube]

On his back, cramped and uncomfortable, R'keran pondered the design decisions that had led him to this point. It was routine maintenance - the Vallanium plating on the sequence fuses slowly degraded and needed to be replace regularly, much more so on stations like these - and as such required little real concentration. Busy work, which left time for the Caitian's thoughts to wander.
.
.
With a click he finished replacing the plating, closing up the panel behind him. He'd be back here in this exact position in what...a month? two months? R'Keran couldn't help but sigh, a wash of sullenness passing over him; this...this wasn't what he'd wanted to do when he signed up. But here he was, might as well make the best of it.

A tap on the com-badge. "I'm finished up in Junction-3a2, moving on to my next assignment." He waited, a moment, just enjoying lying down on the job for a minute or so, before he started the arduous and unpleasant process of sliding out of the narrow passageway.

Torra was still manning the Operations console up in the Operations Center while Commander Garrison was away.
She heard the engineer call out his completed task.

"Acknowledged, Ensign."  Torra responded warmly.  This new ensign seemed to be very focused.

The Grazerite had known several Caitians during her 5 years in Starfleet.. but she had to admit this one's black panther-like coloring was far more striking than the others... well maybe accept for Zhuk.. but with Challenger's Sec/Tac Chief it was his bearing that was most notable - Zhuk was very much a gentleman.  Thinking of him, Torra smiled.  She was glad she got a change to visit briefly with him while Challenger was at the station.

[Cloten's Bar]
"Main Ops,  could you do a scanning sweep for torpedoes? Mr Aune has more details on what he wants for that."

The call from Commander Garrison was unexpected but Torra replied immediately.

"Yes, Commander. I'll reach out to him now."   After closing with the Commander, Torra opened a comm line to Lieutenant Aune's comm badge.

Ops to Lt. Aune.  The Commander indicated you had some ideas for a sweeping scan for more torpedoes?  What did you have in mind, Lieutenant?"

[Feeva Drylo]

Feeva stiffened at the voice below her.

Ensign Feeva Drylo...This is Cadet R'keran, I am below you in the bar. I am here to....catch you, I suppose. And offer any assistance as needed, ma'am.

She let out a long sigh, and clicked her transponder, hissing into Kinley and Sven's ears.

"What bloody hell is that?" She asked, still moving forward. "He gave me away!! I just found a trap door, and... AUUUGGHHH," she called out. She was...falling?! Her foot caught a beam and she was flat on her back in a moment.

It went dark for a second.

A moment later, she sat up, rubbing her head. Ow. She looked around. She was still in the ceiling above Cloten's, but the floor had nearly given away. She peeked down. No one gave her any mind, but what was that NOISE?! She stood up again, and made her way in the direction the sound had come from. This time, she had her phaser out.

Heirs, protect me, please. She sent a silent prayer to the Heirs of her house, the keepers of the rings of truth, to keep her safe. What was she DOING?! She was a counselor, not a bloody SPY. 

[Jynaral Rkeran]

[The Jackal]

Kinley grinned, more out of awkwardness if anything. She didn't recognize the (really) tall Caitian - He must have come onboard in the most recent personnel transfer, she guessed. Either way, she realized that she had probably made this situation way more  awkward than it should have been. "I don't really drink, but I do like the Shirley Temples here, " she said, denoting her glass and  taking a sip of the reddish fizzy mocktail. "Kinley Garrison, by the way.  I'm the CO here, but you don't have to be all formal right now. " she reached out for a handshake and gestured to her normal civvie clothes, trying to denote she was not bringing too much attention to the fact she was Starfleet at the moment.

She saw the look of confusion on his face. She didn't blame him. Not many folks who worked on the "lower decks" really expected to be getting drinks with the Commanding Officer just casually like that. She liked to try to break that stereotype when she could, but it unfortunately still existed.

She drew closer to the tall Caitian and lowered her voice. Could she trust him? She might just have to. "So, currently, we're looking for someone who may be accessing the Jeffries Tubes to access critical systems. I'm with the Ensign you're looking for. She's in there," she said, hoping that might clear up some things on the fly.

[Cadet Jynaral R'Keran| Outpost Solaere| Cloten's Bar]

oh.

OH.

OOOOOOOOOOHHH.

R'keran didn't move, but the pupils in his eyes dilated enormously, realization of the nature of what was happening dawning on him. Wow this was...way out of his league, and he had ever so nearly - perhaps even had - dropped the ball on it. Suddenly being crammed in a jeffries tube replacing degrading plating sounded, well, really nice actually. Turning to look forward, he pondered the situation. Did he leave? Ask for more instruction?

It seemed the best course of action was to ride it out. He was involved now, whether he wanted to be or not...

'What is a...Shurlee's Temple?" R'keran asked, admiring the drink. "Is it of religious significance?"

[Lindsey]

[Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Horizon NCC-75668-B]

When Lindsay sent up some summaries and requested security clearance, Nira nodded as she got the information. It looked important enough, though granting a security clearance would be something else. "Of course, Ms. Aubrey," she said. "I could provide it, but for you to have the right authorization...I feel to provide a temporary rank."

Commander Mail from her post looked around and raised an eyebrow. "Temporary?"

"At least when aboard the Horizon," Nira said. "So here aboard the Horizon, Ms. Aubrey, I will grant you position as a Chief Petty Officer...also, I can ensure a good section for your shuttle in one of the bays in the Docking Ring."

"I can give clearance authorization as well," Commander Mail said. "As temporary First Officer here."

"Go ahead, Commander," Nira said. With that, Ruzal Mail approached Lindsay's side and unlocked the security clearance for Lindsay to pursue more information. The information about the Khalas and the Baluns were certainly significant to Nira. Still, they were some groups to identify, there had to be more than just a family or a gang joining in the piracy, not with the amount of ships involved; Nira was sure a whole quarter of Orion pirate personnel - for want of a better word - were committed to this situation.

[Chief Petty Officer Lindsey Aubrey | Bridge | USS Horizon]

"No, no, no, you don't need to trouble yourselves because of me.."
Her objection died as the rank was granted with the usual starfleet efficiency.

She sat there, jaw opening and closing without any sound coming out.
had her brain been a computer core - it would have been forced into diagnostic mode due to the utter gibberish running between her ears.
she tried raising a finger to object for some reason - to be fair she had always avoided any opportunity to join starfleet - bunch of rule loving goody two shoes the lot of them - but in that moment - she couldn't come up with anything.
Why were they so nice all the time, it was like they were trying to make you like them.  like treacle.  really good stuff, but hard to shed later on.
But..
She mentioned somewhere to store the Surprise didn't she?
Oh fudge.  Principles were all good, but they didn't mean jack when offered a lifeline.

Slowly she gathered her marbles which were scattered across the sector and put them back in their metaphorical bag.
"Alright" she turned back to the computer which now had 'new' buttons and access nodes "Talk to me" "Working" "Mute.." She added quickly.  "that was rhetorical"

She continued to dig through reports, some with speculation, others with facts woven in deception.
A whole tendril of data that looked like a covert (even for Orions) smuggling ring being discarded after she worked out that it was just smuggling with no ulterior motive.
there were 3 factions at work here.  The Orions, The Klingons, and Starfleet.. What did they have their treacle covered fingers in?

It took time, this was all new to Lindsey.  Other's could have done it faster, but she did at least understand some of the material.  Multi directional cloak and dagger.

A Klingon world, (an ex Orion one) with a strong Orion colony working in partial harmony for the benefit of each other.  Neither side would admit it if an outsider got involved.  Old Klingon war stock being made available to the Orions to use as they wanted - so long as some of the wealth came back to the Klingons.  Almost like a Privateer of old.  Due to it's location it was use as a monitoring station and had many 'unwanted' members of the Empire pseudo exiled there - though there was a suggestion that might be a front for something more.
there were also records of Starfleet ships going there with (x) numbers of crew and returning with (x+1 or x-1) crew which raised more questions that she was going to get answered.  There was a comment attached to a Starfleet report that referred to Khalas as "Checkpoint Charlie" - but she didn't understand the reference - and the rest of the file was redacted.  Still some things that were beyond her temporary security clearance.

She bundled up her findings and sent the summery to the Captain - then rubbed her eyes - this Brain stuff was tiring.  Why didn't starships have cupholders on the consoles?  She was going to change that.  Should be easy enough to design.

[Nira Said]

[Chief Petty Officer Lindsey Aubrey | Bridge | USS Horizon]

"No, no, no, you don't need to trouble yourselves because of me.."
Her objection died as the rank was granted with the usual starfleet efficiency.

She sat there, jaw opening and closing without any sound coming out.
had her brain been a computer core - it would have been forced into diagnostic mode due to the utter gibberish running between her ears.
she tried raising a finger to object for some reason - to be fair she had always avoided any opportunity to join starfleet - bunch of rule loving goody two shoes the lot of them - but in that moment - she couldn't come up with anything.
Why were they so nice all the time, it was like they were trying to make you like them.  like treacle.  really good stuff, but hard to shed later on.
But..
She mentioned somewhere to store the Surprise didn't she?
Oh fudge.  Principles were all good, but they didn't mean jack when offered a lifeline.

Slowly she gathered her marbles which were scattered across the sector and put them back in their metaphorical bag.
"Alright" she turned back to the computer which now had 'new' buttons and access nodes "Talk to me" "Working" "Mute.." She added quickly.  "that was rhetorical"

She continued to dig through reports, some with speculation, others with facts woven in deception.
A whole tendril of data that looked like a covert (even for Orions) smuggling ring being discarded after she worked out that it was just smuggling with no ulterior motive.
there were 3 factions at work here.  The Orions, The Klingons, and Starfleet.. What did they have their treacle covered fingers in?

It took time, this was all new to Lindsey.  Other's could have done it faster, but she did at least understand some of the material.  Multi directional cloak and dagger.

A Klingon world, (an ex Orion one) with a strong Orion colony working in partial harmony for the benefit of each other.  Neither side would admit it if an outsider got involved.  Old Klingon war stock being made available to the Orions to use as they wanted - so long as some of the wealth came back to the Klingons.  Almost like a Privateer of old.  Due to it's location it was use as a monitoring station and had many 'unwanted' members of the Empire pseudo exiled there - though there was a suggestion that might be a front for something more.
there were also records of Starfleet ships going there with (x) numbers of crew and returning with (x+1 or x-1) crew which raised more questions that she was going to get answered.  There was a comment attached to a Starfleet report that referred to Khalas as "Checkpoint Charlie" - but she didn't understand the reference - and the rest of the file was redacted.  Still some things that were beyond her temporary security clearance.

She bundled up her findings and sent the summery to the Captain - then rubbed her eyes - this Brain stuff was tiring.  Why didn't starships have cupholders on the consoles?  She was going to change that.  Should be easy enough to design.

"Yes, ma'am, we are standing by on weapons and shields. We are now at full yellow alert and awaiting further orders." As JB issued the command, the simple lights on the control panel turned yellow and began to flash, signaling the heightened state of readiness.

[Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Horizon NCC-75668-B]

Nira could feel the different emotions emanating around the bridge as she reviewed Lindsay's findings on Khalas. Lindsay's discomfort Nira could understand; she certainly recalled when a lot of chairs used to not have seat-belts.

Nira found it especially interesting about Khalas, how the planet changed hands between Klingons and Orions over the years, how it could easily serve as a potential stronghold. If it was between Klingon and Orion space, it fit. It was in good proximity to Orion Syndicate worlds like Nimbus and Verex, and thus it wasn't far from the Romulan border. The problem was, it was a long ways to go, particularly when using antique vessels. She was intending to mention Khalas and the Balun family when she made her next interrogation with the lead Orion pirates she had held in the brig.

They were barely three light-years into the Ciden System when they came.

"Commander," Ruzal said sharply. "Ships decloaking. 150 kilometers flanking either side of the convoy...Nelois, Therem, Aburey, can you confirm?"

"On Screen. Split screen between angles," Nira ordered. A side-by-side view came from the viewscreen, showing two different sides. Ships were decloaking alongside the convoy on either side. Nira could see the various pirate symbols painted on the sides, but she had no trouble recognizing the crest of the Baluns.

"Red alert! Power to weapons!" Nira ordered. "Commander Mail, total count of vessels?"

"I read three and a half dozen vessels," Ruzal said. "Twenty-six T'Liss Birds of Prey and sixteen Romulan K'Tingas."

"Holy Allah, this has to be a huge portion of their fleet!" Nira exclaimed. "Not even the worst attacks in the Ciden system had this many ships!"

"Or maybe they represent a portion of whatever the hell's remaining of their fleet," Ruzal said with a shrug.

Nira got a good look and stared hard. "Something's wrong," Nira said with worry. "Why aren't they attacking us immediately? They outnumber us escort ships, why aren't they...?"

"Admiral Gillespie's ships are coming in," Ruzal said. "The Legacy, Okinawa and Hati are approaching one flank, the Endurant, the Quagmire and the Yoimiya on the other, all their weapons hot. The Hood, the Ayato and the Carlson are a on course and are estiamted to back us up from the stern in fifteen minutes, approaching from high warp."

Nira shook her head in amazement. So many modern ships coming to help, had to be a benefit of being more closer to the Federation core worlds, especially when the Bolian sector was just the sector diagonally across.

"Is it possible the pirates have detected the incoming ships?" asked Nira. "They're waiting to fight them?"

Ruzal scoffed. "If they are, they got to have absolute balls to stand up against these latest ships when all they have are antiques."

"Nonetheless, there were moments when the pirates were able to overcome Norexean class cruisers, so how in Allah's name will they...?"

The ships had just entered visual range and were coming in when it happened. As they approached, clusters seemed to zip at them, zero in on them...and Nira finally realized what was going on.

"IT'S A TRAP!" Nira shouted as a series of mines zeroed in on the incoming escort ships. Some simply hit on impact, some merely dispersed some kind of gas that fireballed a moment later. Nira could see that plenty of them were heading at the nacelles, but enough explosions rang to set a lot of ships on fire. Most, if not all, have slowed to a stop, disabled or otherwise. Some ships, like the Quagmire, had especial nacelle damage. Only the Legacy and the Hati could manage to limp along...

"Mines! The pirates have mines set up!" Nira shouted as the pirates turned, some to engage the disabled ships, others to the convoy. "Nelois! Therem! Aubrey! Get on the sensors, I want to know what the hell kind of mines they have out there! Fawkes! Scan for tachyons, plenty of those mines had to have been cloaked. Addams! Head us against those incoming pirates! Dersch! Lock weapons on the first incoming pirate ship and fire!"

[Nira Said]

[Cadet Jynaral R'Keran| Outpost Solaere| Cloten's Bar]

oh.

OH.

OOOOOOOOOOHHH.

R'keran didn't move, but the pupils in his eyes dilated enormously, realization of the nature of what was happening dawning on him. Wow this was...way out of his league, and he had ever so nearly - perhaps even had - dropped the ball on it. Suddenly being crammed in a jeffries tube replacing degrading plating sounded, well, really nice actually. Turning to look forward, he pondered the situation. Did he leave? Ask for more instruction?

It seemed the best course of action was to ride it out. He was involved now, whether he wanted to be or not...

'What is a...Shurlee's Temple?" R'keran asked, admiring the drink. "Is it of religious significance?"

[Cloten's Bar]

Kinley had a pretty decent understanding why Sven avoided The Jackal.  Probably much for the same reasons she tended to avoid it. However, she made sure that he'd be informed if and when they found things so they could take action.

Hearing his suspicion about the explosives, she nodded.  Pardoning herself from the conversation briefly, she tapped her comm.

"Alright then. let's do it. I'll give Ops the authorization for you. "

"Main Ops,  could you do a scanning sweep for torpedoes? Mr Aune has more details on what he wants for that."

Coming back to the group after her sudden call, she nodded, taking a drink as she listened to Cloten mention about some of the "ghosts" that haunted the back tunnels. That would do it. She had never even thought of the Mole using the Jeffries. Supposedly, the Jeffries would have been locked down for Starfleet personnel use only, but given how large and old this station was, it had yet to give all its' secrets up for her and the crew.

She gave a long hard look to the scraggly rat-like owner when he suggested a form of payment for his info.  She had expected it, knowing him, but still.  Really? It was for the greater good, but it felt a bit slimy to her, just on principle.

"I'll make sure you're properly compensated for your services and information," she said, placing a handful of GPL slips on the table, sealing the deal like one of the pirates she was hunting. "That should be a good enough advance,  for now. "

She really hoped that the others would have gotten that info. She knew Feeva was up there somewhere, watching.

Kinley was somewhat surprised to see someone mention Feeva's name. A Caitian,  who reminded her more of a panther if anything. That was not in the plan. A look of panic flashed over her face as she looked around. It didn't seem anyone had noticed, but things could have been compromised.

So, Kinley waved him over.

"Hey there! Let me buy you a drink!" she said to the engineer, really hoping that she didn't come across as too weird. He might have to just have to join them now.

[Meanwhile]

[Somewhere in the Jeffries, not too far away ]

The Mole opened up a panel and began patching into the outdated systems. Ops and Engineering had yet to get to this area, given how dusty it was,  which made it a perfect place to get to business. His coordinated attack would hit several systems; Computers, gravity, and power. Any more and people might be able to pinpoint him.

Suddenly, his hands slipped, sending his PADD clattering to the ground %&#@ hand tremor! he cursed silently to himself.

[Deej Cloten | The Jackal | Promenade | Deck Ten | Outpost Solaere]

"Fair 'nuff," Cloten said. "Then we have a deal."

He was surprised when a Caitian boy stumbled in. Fortunately for him, Garrison was covering for him, but all the same, Cloten couldn't help but smirk. Greenhorns.

"Little kitten, there are two kinds of Shirley Temples, neither of religious significance," Cloten explained with the amusement of "teaching." "One's a twentieth century actress. The other's a kind of booze, like this."

He snatched up an incoming Shirley Temple and waved it before the Caitian greenhorn before settling it on the bar before turning back to Garrison, making a show to divert attention.

"Now that that's over with, Commander," he said, "I can guide you to your ghost. Oh, sure, you would probably know about any potential hideaways - what with a certain admiral and fellow spook sneaking around looking for 'em, I know about that, nothing gets past me - I can let you know how to zero in on him...at least when the time is right."

[Crewman Lenexah Seran | Jefferies Tubes | Deck Twelve | Outpost Solaere]

"Okay, Doctor,"  Lenexah called to the EMH.  "Hopefully this will ensure that Sickbay will be secure."

"Appreciated,"   The EMH responded. "And I will let Mister Rimos know as well. Doctor out."

Lenexah was about to report to Lieutenant Addams when she heard a loud clatter from further down the tubes. She perked up and followed the direction of the noise. Two junctions later, she found a dropped PADD. Who dropped it, she wondered? She collected it and departed, calling the computer as she went.

"Computer, locate Lieutenant Aune."

"Lieutenant Aune is in Science Lab Two."

Lenexah headed off. Looking at this, something was off, and the Chief of Security needed to know, unaware...

"Seran to Ops. Lieutenant, I think I may have found something. I'm taking this to Lieutenant Aune now."

[Therem Estraven]

"Mines! The pirates have mines set up!" Nira shouted as the pirates turned, some to engage the disabled ships, others to the convoy. "Nelois! Therem! Aubrey! Get on the sensors, I want to know what the hell kind of mines they have out there! Fawkes! Scan for tachyons, plenty of those mines had to have been cloaked. Addams! Head us against those incoming pirates! Dersch! Lock weapons on the first incoming pirate ship and fire!"

[Bridge | Deck One | USS Horizon NCC-75668-B]

"Scanning."

Therem's monitors flashed with imagery and composition analysis screens as he rapidly input commands to the ship's sensors. As he read the results he let out a short whistle.

"Roughly 700 objects. fifty-one percent are dumb torpedoes, thirty-eight percent are antimatter mines, and the rest is debris. Most of those mines have ion warheads to take out electronics, so the pirates really want us dead."

[Charlotte Fawkes]

[Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Horizon NCC-75668-B]

Nira could feel the different emotions emanating around the bridge as she reviewed Lindsay's findings on Khalas. Lindsay's discomfort Nira could understand; she certainly recalled when a lot of chairs used to not have seat-belts.

Nira found it especially interesting about Khalas, how the planet changed hands between Klingons and Orions over the years, how it could easily serve as a potential stronghold. If it was between Klingon and Orion space, it fit. It was in good proximity to Orion Syndicate worlds like Nimbus and Verex, and thus it wasn't far from the Romulan border. The problem was, it was a long ways to go, particularly when using antique vessels. She was intending to mention Khalas and the Balun family when she made her next interrogation with the lead Orion pirates she had held in the brig.

They were barely three light-years into the Ciden System when they came.

"Commander," Ruzal said sharply. "Ships decloaking. 150 kilometers flanking either side of the convoy...Nelois, Therem, Aburey, can you confirm?"

"On Screen. Split screen between angles," Nira ordered. A side-by-side view came from the viewscreen, showing two different sides. Ships were decloaking alongside the convoy on either side. Nira could see the various pirate symbols painted on the sides, but she had no trouble recognizing the crest of the Baluns.

"Red alert! Power to weapons!" Nira ordered. "Commander Mail, total count of vessels?"

"I read three and a half dozen vessels," Ruzal said. "Twenty-six T'Liss Birds of Prey and sixteen Romulan K'Tingas."

"Holy Allah, this has to be a huge portion of their fleet!" Nira exclaimed. "Not even the worst attacks in the Ciden system had this many ships!"

"Or maybe they represent a portion of whatever the hell's remaining of their fleet," Ruzal said with a shrug.

Nira got a good look and stared hard. "Something's wrong," Nira said with worry. "Why aren't they attacking us immediately? They outnumber us escort ships, why aren't they...?"

"Admiral Gillespie's ships are coming in," Ruzal said. "The Legacy, Okinawa and Hati are approaching one flank, the Endurant, the Quagmire and the Yoimiya on the other, all their weapons hot. The Hood, the Ayato and the Carlson are a on course and are estiamted to back us up from the stern in fifteen minutes, approaching from high warp."

Nira shook her head in amazement. So many modern ships coming to help, had to be a benefit of being more closer to the Federation core worlds, especially when the Bolian sector was just the sector diagonally across.

"Is it possible the pirates have detected the incoming ships?" asked Nira. "They're waiting to fight them?"

Ruzal scoffed. "If they are, they got to have absolute balls to stand up against these latest ships when all they have are antiques."

"Nonetheless, there were moments when the pirates were able to overcome Norexean class cruisers, so how in Allah's name will they...?"

The ships had just entered visual range and were coming in when it happened. As they approached, clusters seemed to zip at them, zero in on them...and Nira finally realized what was going on.

"IT'S A TRAP!" Nira shouted as a series of mines zeroed in on the incoming escort ships. Some simply hit on impact, some merely dispersed some kind of gas that fireballed a moment later. Nira could see that plenty of them were heading at the nacelles, but enough explosions rang to set a lot of ships on fire. Most, if not all, have slowed to a stop, disabled or otherwise. Some ships, like the Quagmire, had especial nacelle damage. Only the Legacy and the Hati could manage to limp along...

"Mines! The pirates have mines set up!" Nira shouted as the pirates turned, some to engage the disabled ships, others to the convoy. "Nelois! Therem! Aubrey! Get on the sensors, I want to know what the hell kind of mines they have out there! Fawkes! Scan for tachyons, plenty of those mines had to have been cloaked. Addams! Head us against those incoming pirates! Dersch! Lock weapons on the first incoming pirate ship and fire!"

| Lt. JG Fawkes | Science Officer | Bridge | Deck One | USS Horizon NCC-75668-B |

With the asteroid's trajectory mapped, Fawkes took the initiative to launch a probe to its surface possibly. Knowing the rock came from outside the Ciden system, Fawkes plotted the asteroid's reverse course using the ship's scanner in a broad sweep. "Where did you come from, little fellow?" But her science experiment had to wait when a group of T'Liss Birds of Prey and Romulan K'Tingas decloaked, flanking the convoy. Considering prior events, Fawkes initiated a tachyon scan, but the carnage began.

"Already on it, Commander. Sensors indicate another hundred clusters of tachyon build up." Fawkes quickly compared the scans with Mr. Estraven's findings. "Cloaked, I can't get exact readings, but each cluster likely contains a hundred or more mines. I'm also picking up hundreds more smaller tachyon blips spread throughout the area, likely torpedoes. Most, if not all, the clusters are comprised per Estraven's findings."

Quickly, Fawkes pulled up the asteroid's trajectory. "Commander, the asteroid will move through the field. We may be able to use that to our advantage."

[Stryker]

Science lab 2

Sven received the call from operations.

"Yes, lt. Addams.  I have reason to believe that there may be more torpedoes littering around the station, set as a poor mans mine.  I've isolated the frequency of contact.  Could you do a narrow beam sweep around the station set to 55-105 hertz."

This was concerning.  The more he thought about, the more he became convinced that this wasn't due to the Washington.  But rather made to frame that ship.  It was all too convenient.

The computer notified him that a crewman had inquired about his location.  He had gotten sick of being left in the dark and decided to be more proactive.  Whenever anyone inquired into him, or his location he was notified.  Apparently someone needed to talk to him.

[J.B Dersch]

[Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Horizon NCC-75668-B]

Nira could feel the different emotions emanating around the bridge as she reviewed Lindsay's findings on Khalas. Lindsay's discomfort Nira could understand; she certainly recalled when a lot of chairs used to not have seat-belts.

Nira found it especially interesting about Khalas, how the planet changed hands between Klingons and Orions over the years, how it could easily serve as a potential stronghold. If it was between Klingon and Orion space, it fit. It was in good proximity to Orion Syndicate worlds like Nimbus and Verex, and thus it wasn't far from the Romulan border. The problem was, it was a long ways to go, particularly when using antique vessels. She was intending to mention Khalas and the Balun family when she made her next interrogation with the lead Orion pirates she had held in the brig.

They were barely three light-years into the Ciden System when they came.

"Commander," Ruzal said sharply. "Ships decloaking. 150 kilometers flanking either side of the convoy...Nelois, Therem, Aburey, can you confirm?"

"On Screen. Split screen between angles," Nira ordered. A side-by-side view came from the viewscreen, showing two different sides. Ships were decloaking alongside the convoy on either side. Nira could see the various pirate symbols painted on the sides, but she had no trouble recognizing the crest of the Baluns.

"Red alert! Power to weapons!" Nira ordered. "Commander Mail, total count of vessels?"

"I read three and a half dozen vessels," Ruzal said. "Twenty-six T'Liss Birds of Prey and sixteen Romulan K'Tingas."

"Holy Allah, this has to be a huge portion of their fleet!" Nira exclaimed. "Not even the worst attacks in the Ciden system had this many ships!"

"Or maybe they represent a portion of whatever the hell's remaining of their fleet," Ruzal said with a shrug.

Nira got a good look and stared hard. "Something's wrong," Nira said with worry. "Why aren't they attacking us immediately? They outnumber us escort ships, why aren't they...?"

"Admiral Gillespie's ships are coming in," Ruzal said. "The Legacy, Okinawa and Hati are approaching one flank, the Endurant, the Quagmire and the Yoimiya on the other, all their weapons hot. The Hood, the Ayato and the Carlson are a on course and are estiamted to back us up from the stern in fifteen minutes, approaching from high warp."

Nira shook her head in amazement. So many modern ships coming to help, had to be a benefit of being more closer to the Federation core worlds, especially when the Bolian sector was just the sector diagonally across.

"Is it possible the pirates have detected the incoming ships?" asked Nira. "They're waiting to fight them?"

Ruzal scoffed. "If they are, they got to have absolute balls to stand up against these latest ships when all they have are antiques."

"Nonetheless, there were moments when the pirates were able to overcome Norexean class cruisers, so how in Allah's name will they...?"

The ships had just entered visual range and were coming in when it happened. As they approached, clusters seemed to zip at them, zero in on them...and Nira finally realized what was going on.

"IT'S A TRAP!" Nira shouted as a series of mines zeroed in on the incoming escort ships. Some simply hit on impact, some merely dispersed some kind of gas that fireballed a moment later. Nira could see that plenty of them were heading at the nacelles, but enough explosions rang to set a lot of ships on fire. Most, if not all, have slowed to a stop, disabled or otherwise. Some ships, like the Quagmire, had especial nacelle damage. Only the Legacy and the Hati could manage to limp along...

"Mines! The pirates have mines set up!" Nira shouted as the pirates turned, some to engage the disabled ships, others to the convoy. "Nelois! Therem! Aubrey! Get on the sensors, I want to know what the hell kind of mines they have out there! Fawkes! Scan for tachyons, plenty of those mines had to have been cloaked. Addams! Head us against those incoming pirates! Dersch! Lock weapons on the first incoming pirate ship and fire!"

[Lt. JG JB Dersch | Sec/Tac Officer | Bridge - Deck 1 - Tactical | USS Horizon NCC-75668-B]
They were barely three light-years into the Ciden System when they came.

"Commander," Ruzal said sharply. "Ships decloaking. 150 kilometers flanking either side of the convoy...Nelois, Therem, Aburey, can you confirm?"

"On Screen. Split screen between angles," Nira ordered. A side-by-side view came from the viewscreen, showing two different sides. Ships were decloaking alongside the convoy on either side. Nira could see the various pirate symbols painted on the sides, but she had no trouble recognizing the crest of the Baluns.

"Red alert! Power to weapons!" Nira ordered. "Commander Mail, total count of vessels?"

"Aye Commander, Red Alert, Sheilds are Up" JB Replyied as he tapped the commands

"I read three and a half dozen vessels," Ruzal said. "Twenty-six T'Liss Birds of Prey and sixteen Romulan K'Tingas."

Damn, that can't be good

"Holy Allah, this has to be a huge portion of their fleet!" Nira exclaimed. "Not even the worst attacks in the Ciden system had this many ships!"

"Or maybe they represent a portion of whatever the hell's remaining of their fleet," Ruzal said with a shrug.

Nira got a good look and stared hard. "Something's wrong," Nira said with worry. "Why aren't they attacking us immediately? They outnumber us escort ships, why aren't they...?"

"Admiral Gillespie's ships are coming in," Ruzal said. "The Legacy, Okinawa and Hati are approaching one flank, the Endurant, the Quagmire and the Yoimiya on the other, all their weapons hot. The Hood, the Ayato and the Carlson are a on course and are estiamted to back us up from the stern in fifteen minutes, approaching from high warp."

Good, We have back up

Nira shook her head in amazement. So many modern ships coming to help, had to be a benefit of being more closer to the Federation core worlds, especially when the Bolian sector was just the sector diagonally across.

"Is it possible the pirates have detected the incoming ships?" asked Nira. "They're waiting to fight them?"

Ruzal scoffed. "If they are, they got to have absolute balls to stand up against these latest ships when all they have are antiques."

"Agreed, But Pirates tend to have balls now days"JB replied to no in particular.

"Nonetheless, there were moments when the pirates were able to overcome Norexean class cruisers, so how in Allah's name will they...?"

The ships had just entered visual range and were coming in when it happened. As they approached, clusters seemed to zip at them, zero in on them...and Nira finally realized what was going on.

"IT'S A TRAP!" Nira shouted as a series of mines zeroed in on the incoming escort ships. Some simply hit on impact, some merely dispersed some kind of gas that fireballed a moment later. Nira could see that plenty of them were heading at the nacelles, but enough explosions rang to set a lot of ships on fire. Most, if not all, have slowed to a stop, disabled or otherwise. Some ships, like the Quagmire, had especial nacelle damage. Only the Legacy and the Hati could manage to limp along...

"Mines! The pirates have mines set up!" Nira shouted as the pirates turned, some to engage the disabled ships, others to the convoy. "Nelois! Therem! Aubrey! Get on the sensors, I want to know what the hell kind of mines they have out there! Fawkes! Scan for tachyons, plenty of those mines had to have been cloaked. Addams! Head us against those incoming pirates! Dersch! Lock weapons on the first incoming pirate ship and fire!"

SONOFAB>>>>

JB cursed, and quickly locked weapons. "Locking Now Commander!....Fireing" on screen the first coming ship was hit with 3 phaser bursts

[Jynaral Rkeran]

[Deej Cloten | The Jackal | Promenade | Deck Ten | Outpost Solaere]

"Fair 'nuff," Cloten said. "Then we have a deal."

He was surprised when a Caitian boy stumbled in. Fortunately for him, Garrison was covering for him, but all the same, Cloten couldn't help but smirk. Greenhorns.

"Little kitten, there are two kinds of Shirley Temples, neither of religious significance," Cloten explained with the amusement of "teaching." "One's a twentieth century actress. The other's a kind of booze, like this."

He snatched up an incoming Shirley Temple and waved it before the Caitian greenhorn before settling it on the bar before turning back to Garrison, making a show to divert attention.

"Now that that's over with, Commander," he said, "I can guide you to your ghost. Oh, sure, you would probably know about any potential hideaways - what with a certain admiral and fellow spook sneaking around looking for 'em, I know about that, nothing gets past me - I can let you know how to zero in on him...at least when the time is right."

[Cadet Jynaral R'Keran| Outpost Solaere| Cloten's Bar]

Placed before him was a drink, translucent and bright red, iced and cool. The Cathian paused, considering the offering, catching senses of fruity flavors emanating from it. Ineresting.

"Thank you." R'keran offered, after which Cloten had already moved on, as he grasped, considered the drink, and took a sip. It was...

actually quite nice.

fruity, bubbly, and certainly alcoholic, though he intuited this was an addition to the drink, perhaps a modification to make it more appealing to a wider audience, and encourage more drinking. He could make out the conversation happening beside him clearly - caitians were known for their remarkably sharp hearing - but offered no reaction to it; he was, as it were, an uninvited guest.

Man he was not looking forward to reviews after this.

Another drink. They were looking for someone...would he be called on to help when the time was right? Or perhaps he should stay put, follow orders...

all he could do was sit, stare, and enjoy an ancient human cocktail, it seems.

[Kinley Garrison]

[The Jackal]

Kinley nodded. "Yup. I remember seeing her on Old Holomovie night. She was pretty good at dancing, if you asked me ." she laughed "I asked for mine the classic way with ginger ale but it's pretty good, " she said to the Caitian, nodding and sipping her drink. They didn't have much time to waste. She messaged Feeva on the encrypted comms .  She didn't want Fee to get stuck in a situation where she encountered someone unsavory. or got lost in there to begin with.

  "I don't know if you heard, but be careful in the Jeffries. Our "friend" might be confirmed to be lurking there, or at least finding hacking ports there. How are you doing up there?   

Looking at her new Caitian engineer friend, she asked. "Do you know the Jeffries well?" She wasn't sure how well she would fare given her broken ribs, but they needed to find this guy soon. Now they just had to catch him.

[Lindsey]

[Bridge | Deck One | USS Horizon NCC-75668-B]

"Scanning."

Therem's monitors flashed with imagery and composition analysis screens as he rapidly input commands to the ship's sensors. As he read the results he let out a short whistle.

"Roughly 700 objects. fifty-one percent are dumb torpedoes, thirty-eight percent are antimatter mines, and the rest is debris. Most of those mines have ion warheads to take out electronics, so the pirates really want us dead."

| Lt. JG Fawkes | Science Officer | Bridge | Deck One | USS Horizon NCC-75668-B |

With the asteroid's trajectory mapped, Fawkes took the initiative to launch a probe to its surface possibly. Knowing the rock came from outside the Ciden system, Fawkes plotted the asteroid's reverse course using the ship's scanner in a broad sweep. "Where did you come from, little fellow?" But her science experiment had to wait when a group of T'Liss Birds of Prey and Romulan K'Tingas decloaked, flanking the convoy. Considering prior events, Fawkes initiated a tachyon scan, but the carnage began.

"Already on it, Commander. Sensors indicate another hundred clusters of tachyon build up." Fawkes quickly compared the scans with Mr. Estraven's findings. "Cloaked, I can't get exact readings, but each cluster likely contains a hundred or more mines. I'm also picking up hundreds more smaller tachyon blips spread throughout the area, likely torpedoes. Most, if not all, the clusters are comprised per Estraven's findings."

Quickly, Fawkes pulled up the asteroid's trajectory. "Commander, the asteroid will move through the field. We may be able to use that to our advantage."

[Chief "Petty" Officer Lindsey Aubrey | Bridge | USS Horizon]

She was starting to speed up with her console use - practice and all that, but she was still a long way behind any trained personal.
None the less, she sat in her designated chair and worked the problem.
there was a sort of serine peace in being utterly focused in a task - perhaps that was why she tended to prefer the more challenging situations in life.
Asteroids, torpedoes, cargo ships, pirates, cloaks.  There was a lot of items to consider.  Start with the closest threat and work outwards.
That was a lot of ordinance!  Had she been Vulcan, she might have justified both eyebrows (one then the other - both together would be a bit much)
"Sys Opps concurs with the weapon assessment.  Enough to destroy a moon I'd reckon.  Actually.."  She drifted off back to one of her displays, an idea that need a little bit of work at the front of her mind.

Diverting the focus of the secondary scanning array she sent a few million watts of energy towards the asteroid and looked at the return signals.
"Iron!" She uttered to herself.
Screen two, Ships interface, emitting grid, configuration, amplitude, there it was.
"Computer, check hypothesis and run simulation - A pulsed polarising beam at the iron core of the asteroid, will it create a magnetic signature significantly stronger than ours, that will attract the ion warheads?"
Working... Simulation suggests an 85% likelihood of success.  There is a 45% chance that the asteroid would be destroyed.
"Good enough for me."
She span in her chair to face the Captain
"We can turn 'Rocky' out there into a giant magnet.  A bit of steering and it might clear a good amount of those thorns in this briar patch"

Probably not the way most people talk to the one in charge, but it'd do