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<DIV>[ Freighter Oregonian ]<BR><BR>Ethan Armstrong sat and waited on the
control bridge for the other<BR>members of the infiltration team to
arrive. He surveyed the room with<BR>its control panels and black padded chairs
and found it hard to<BR>imagine that just a few hours ago they had been occupied
by Nausicaan<BR>soldiers.<BR><BR>A team of from the armory had secured
the freighter and confirmed<BR>their external assessment that the
Nausicaans had 'downed tools' and<BR>ran away at the sight of trouble; no-one
had been found left aboard.<BR>An engineering health check confirmed the
vessel's engines were still<BR>operational and that several systems had been
rigged with automation<BR>circuits meaning it could be manned by less than the
usual minimum<BR>crew compliment. The Nausicaans had done the bare minimum
required to<BR>ensure its safe delivery to the Xantia system where they
had<BR>presumably intended to leave the problems to the Romulans.
These<BR>circuits and short-cuts had
now inadvertently helped the mission the<BR>infiltration team
planned to carry out.<BR><BR>His quick run through the helm and navigational
systems had brought up<BR>a few surprises as certain things did not respond as
they ought too.<BR>He'd have to compensate for some unexplained drifting, a slow
response<BR>from the inertial dampeners when accelerating and
decelerating and a<BR>few other idiosyncrasies on the control board.
But he felt confident<BR>within a short space of time he'd have it sussed. And
if the Ca'daar<BR>from the Yorktown was correct two engineers would shortly be
arriving<BR>who could ironing out some of the creases.<BR><BR>He was not
surprised to see Lieutenant Arturo Mendez arrive a little<BR>ahead of time as
all he had needed to do was walk across the docking<BR>gangway currently
attached to the Intrepid that just happened to be<BR>the closest to the
Oregonian's control bridge. The Yorktown team was<BR>expected to arrive by
shuttle at another docking hatch a bit further<BR>down. "I'm glad you agreed to
tag along" Ethan smiled and shook the<BR>hand of his communications chief as he
approached.<BR><BR>Mendez scratched his head, while looking at the freighter's
small comm<BR>station. "Thank you, sir. I'll try to... do my best", he replied
while<BR>trying to adjust the comm station's chair to his height. "Anything
you<BR>need me to do now, sir?", he asked at the same time he initialized
the<BR>console and started a general diagnostic of the comm.<BR><BR>"Run a
diagnostic and check the communications system is working<BR>properly. Then I
think you should keep an eye on the signals coming<BR>out of Xantia once we get
closer. Anything out of the ordinary then<BR>shout." Ethan
replied.<BR><BR>Michelle stepped through the door onto the tiny bridge and
turned to<BR>offer Ensign Bolenski a hand over the threshold. The
Ensign<BR>immediately began waving the hand off violently, scowling at the
CPO.<BR><BR>"Dammit woman." The armory officer said as he stepped in behind
her.<BR>"I can still walk you know. Doc from Intrepid patched me up
real<BR>good." Bolenski banged a fist against his chest for
emphasis.<BR><BR>Yearly sighed and rolled her eyes. "I know that Ensign... but
you ARE<BR>hopped up on painkillers. Just looking out for you..." She looked
down<BR>at the Ensign's feet. Word had traveled fast about the
amazing<BR>exploding foot episode. "And the rest of us."<BR><BR>The Warp Core
Reactor Chief quickly scanned the bridge, turning to Lt.<BR>Mathews, who had
made his way through the door as well. "She's not<BR>much to look at
sir."<BR><BR>“Nope.” Cody didn’t say much as he looked around the
place.<BR><BR>As Cody and Yearly looked over the bridge, the inimitable
Bolenski<BR>stepped forward, slapping a hand to his forehead by way of
salute.<BR>"Yorktown detail reporting Captain Intrepid!" - and promptly
tripped<BR>over the bridge hatch. Fortunately the mix of pain and
brain killers<BR>with a healthy application of nose and chin broke his
fall. "How very<BR>strange- they've put gravity plates on the walls
here!" Staggering to<BR>his feet, straightening his uniform while shaking
his head to clear<BR>away the little stars and birds circling in his brain "I'm
so sorry<BR>Captain Intrepid- for some reason I seem to be highly allergic
to<BR>officers over the rank of Commander. Terrible things seem to
happen<BR>when I meet them for the first time. I suggest you ask Captain
Morgan<BR>how I met her"<BR><BR>Ethan took a breath to compose himself. It
wasn't every day he saw an<BR>officer arrive to his duty station apparently
still under the ill<BR>effects of medication. He considered calling Ca'daar to
ask if they<BR>had sent the right man, then decided to let the Ensign continue
before<BR>speaking.<BR><BR>Blinking his eyes in confusion- "I'm so sorry- but
why are you called<BR>Captain Intrepid? I thought the ship was called
"Intrepid?" Shaking<BR>his head to clear his thoughts "I apologize Captain-
between being<BR>burned, lung problems, high as a cloud on pain meds
the<BR>past,,,,however long it’s been I don't get all the memo's I should
be<BR>reading"<BR><BR>"Ensign... it is Armstrong. You must be Bolenski" Ethan
remembered<BR>some of the names from the list send through to him. He was going
to<BR>have to trust this colourful character with the phase cannon
and<BR>defensive systems.<BR><BR>"So Captain Intrepid- how can we help
you? I've got some new phase<BR>cannon upgrades you might be interested
in, some spatial torpedoes'<BR>upgrade, and I'm sure we need to exchange mail
since we don't have<BR>subspace radios yet. Or do you and Yorktown needs
that upgrade?"<BR>Pausing for a huge breath "I would like to introduce
Lieutenant Cody<BR>Matthews happens to be our Chief Engineering Officer.
Awesome for<BR>repairing things like Warp Reactors, Warp Engines and
unplugging<BR>stuffed up toilets. He's good,,,,really!" Taking
another deep breath<BR>and shaking his head listening to his brain rattle around
in his skull<BR>like a rock being shaken in a large tin can. "I'd like to
introduce<BR>our Warp Core Reactor Chief Michelle Yearly. Extremely
competent,<BR>versatile and professional she may know a few tricks to give you
more<BR>power out of your engines, and might have a few parts to swap
with<BR>your Warp Core Reactor Chief"<BR><BR>"Well.. thanks for those
introductions Ensign" Ethan replied.<BR>"Lieutenant, Petty Officer" he nodded,
turning to each respectively<BR>whilst a medical attendant spoke with the
Ensign. Sick Berth Attendant<BR>Patterson who had been silently watching all of
this strode over to<BR>Bolenski and putting his right hand over Bolenski's mouth
and shouting<BR>while whispering,,,,,,"Mac,,,,,SHUT UP! N O W!"
Pulling out a<BR>medicine injector and waving it in his face "If you keep
talking and<BR>making an ass of yourself, I'm going to give you enough "happy
juice"<BR>to knock you out- then you'll have to explain to the captain how
you<BR>failed- FAILED- this mission. Now knock it off and SHUT
UP!" Mac<BR>shook himself, straightened his uniform then said
soto voice "That<BR>bad?" Patterson growled out "No.
Worse"<BR><BR>With the crew assembled on the bridge before him Ethan struck up
a<BR>quick situation briefing, although most already knew what was about
to<BR>happen.<BR><BR>"Ok everyone. We're heading into the Xantia system to
gather<BR>intelligence and report back. If we find the Romulan hostiles
we<BR>expect, then they may order a sortie against these targets. In
that<BR>event we'll have to sit tight until the others get here and pull
us<BR>out. The latest reports link the dilithium this freighter is
carrying<BR>to the Romulan cloaking technology. We are going in to find out
more."<BR>he summarized.<BR><BR>"Matthews. Yearly. You might want to get down to
engineering and check<BR>everything is au fait. An engineering team has been
down there and we<BR>should be able to reach Warp 3.5 but I'd like your opinions
on that."<BR>he said. Once I have your go ahead I will take us to warp." he
said.<BR>"Bolenski. The Oregonians single phase cannon is not likely to do
much<BR>against a Romulan ship. We'll keep weapons powered down until
the<BR>absolute last minute. Upon arrival in the system I'll need you
to<BR>perform a battery of ship-to-ship scans for other vessels. And
Mendez,<BR>keep your ears open and be ready to open a channel to Yorktown
or<BR>Intrepid at short notice".</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"Aye Captain." Michelle said, a stern look on her face. "If anyone can
squeeze</DIV>
<DIV>some extra juice out of those engines it's the Lieutenant and me. May
I also</DIV>
<DIV> suggest sir, that perhaps one of us could coordinate with Mendez to
take a look at </DIV>
<DIV>those sensors once we're underway. Given a few modifications we may be
able to</DIV>
<DIV>boost the gain and increase the range somewhat."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"If we can improve our vision, then make it so, but be careful not
to<BR>push these systems too far. She's not quite running on
Starfleet<BR>quality components!" Ethan replied and continued. "Bolenski.
The<BR>Oregonians single phase cannon is not likely to do much against
a<BR>Romulan ship. We'll keep weapons powered down until the absolute
last<BR>minute. Upon arrival in the system I'll need you to perform a
battery<BR>of ship-to-ship scans for other vessels. And Mendez, keep your
ears<BR>open and be ready to open a channel to Yorktown or Intrepid at
short<BR>notice".</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"Aye, sir", replied Mendez to his commanding officer. Meanwhile, the comm
system was already up and running, and the diagnostic routine was almost
complete. The hardware aboard the Oreganian was far less impressive than
Intrepid's, but it would do the trick. The problem wasn't the shorter comm
range; in fact, Mendez was worried with something else: the possibility of
getting in trouble with the Romulans.<BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Bolenski cocked his head to the right and screwed his eyebrows<BR>together.
"Ah, Captain Armstrong" a statement of understanding.<BR>"Let me
understand this, make sure I've got it right- so please don't<BR>take us to warp
quite yet." Taking a breath Bolenski continued "As I<BR>understand it,
we're going after a freighter, using this freighter and<BR>we're going into
Romulan space right? We have one older model phase<BR>cannon, and civilian
sensors to aim it right?" Pausing because of his<BR>lungs "I have an idea-
can we take an hour, grab a few parts from our<BR>ships that we think we'll need
to increase our likely hood of<BR>surviving? Something like,,,,,take
2 torpedoes from Yorktown, 2<BR>torpedoes from Intrepid, install
them outside on the ships hull to<BR>make them look innocent then fire them off
if we need them?" Almost<BR>panting trying to get the lungs to work better
and in a pleading voice<BR>"I know we're in a bit of a hurry but an old bulky
phase cannon plus 4<BR>torpedo's might allow us to maybe shoot our way out just
in case? I'm<BR>sorry Captain Armstrong, but I'm really highly allergic to
dying,<BR>please, take my word for it"<BR><BR>"Mr Bolenski. We leave within the
hour, I'm not sure you'll have time<BR>to make these modifications, even with
this fine engineering team<BR>you've bought along with you" Ethan raised an
eyebrow.<BR><BR>SBA Patterson glared at Bolenski then nodded, saying
"Captain<BR>Armstrong- I'm sorry for Ensign
Bolenski's nonmilitary bearing.<BR>Granted his problem solving skills
are not orthodox but they are<BR>highly effective. He's asked
for an hour and if I know him as well as<BR>I do, I've learned that his "one
hour" is more like 20 minutes.<BR>Please consider his request seriously"
Bolenski glared at him,<BR>Patterson returned the glare, Bolenski then
crossed his eyes, stuck<BR>out his tongue, PPPPFFFFTTTTTT!! and
grinned.<BR><BR>"If you think you can boost our armament before we depart then
it<BR>might make the difference in a tight spot. Torpedoes might take
too<BR>long, but a secondary phase cannon patched in somewhere may work?
Just<BR>make sure we when we leave we still have the primary phase
cannon<BR>on-line!" Ethan authorized the work. "Just remember we aren't
going<BR>there looking for a fight"<BR><BR>Cody stood there with his arms folded
over his chest shaking his head.<BR>He looked at Yearly out of the corner of his
eye. This was going to be<BR>an annoying mission. “Com’on Michelle, let’s get
down to<BR>engineering…..Maybe we could unblock some toilets on the
way.”<BR><BR>Michelle's eyes shot daggers at Yorktown's colorful ensign.
"Perfect, I already</DIV>
<DIV>know where to find a plunger." Then she turned to the other junior armory
officer</DIV>
<DIV>who had managed to stumble onto the situation at the last moment.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"You got your work cut out for you if you're going to try and protect that
maniac."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Mike nodded and replied, "I'll do my best, though in his present condition,
all we can do is hope."<BR><BR>Ethan turned to Mendez as the engineers left the
control bridge.<BR>"Communications operational?" he asked with a reassuring
grin.<BR><BR>."Yes... one-hundred per cent, sir. However, the overall comm range
we have here is about half of what we get with Starfleet standard issue. I
thought you might like to know this, and..." he leaned a bit over the console
and lowered his voice, "what's this guy all about? I know were are not supposed
to engage in small talk now, but... boy, this one makes Merrick looks like
a bureaucrat!". He then shook his head, while still trying to make himself
comfortable in this new - and smaller - environment. <BR><BR>"D'you ever
hear of cabin fever?" Ethan asked with a grin. "On a more<BR>serious note, he
seems to have a lot to say for himself. Let's hope he<BR>can shoot
straight"<BR><BR>Cmdr Ethan Armstrong<BR>Commanding Officer<BR>ESS Intrepid,
NX-07</DIV>
<DIV> &</DIV>
<DIV>Lt. Cody Mathews</DIV>
<DIV>Chief Engineering Officer</DIV>
<DIV>NX-05 Yorktown</DIV>
<DIV> &</DIV>
<DIV>LtJg. Arturo Mendez<BR>Comm Officer<BR>ESS
Intrepid<BR>
&</DIV>
<DIV>Ens. Mike Chester</DIV>
<DIV>Armory Officer</DIV>
<DIV>NX-05 Yorktown</DIV>
<DIV>apb</DIV>
<DIV>Lt.Cmdr. Nat Cameron</DIV>
<DIV>CAO</DIV>
<DIV>NX-05 Yorktown</DIV>
<DIV>The Fighting Lady</DIV>
<DIV>
&</DIV>
<DIV>Ensign Mac Bolenski (and Patterson)</DIV>
<DIV>Armory Officer</DIV>
<DIV>NX-05 Yorktown</DIV>
<DIV> &</DIV>
<DIV>CPO Michelle "Firecracker" Yearly (apb Leo)</DIV>
<DIV>Warp Core Reactor Chief</DIV>
<DIV>NX-05 Yorktown</DIV>
<DIV>The Fighting Lady<BR></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 size=2 face="Franklin Gothic Demi" FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face="Times New Roman"
FAMILY="SERIF" PTSIZE="10"><I>You ever dance with the devil in the pale moon
light?<BR>I always ask that of all my prey...<BR>I just like the sound of
it.....<BR><BR></I>Jack Nicholson- Batman</FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>