Relics

Posted on Saturday 6 August 2016 @ 02:31 by Captain John "Apollo" Barstow, M.D. & Commander Cale Llewellyn DSci & Captain Melody Jones & Commander Caroline Miller & Lieutenant JG Velin Ikiri & Lieutenant Commander David Tan & Lieutenant JG Zitla & Marine Captain Elias Walker & Commander Save'ena (Sav) Tillatix

Mission: Old, New Ship
Location: Various
Timeline: MD7 Afternoon
4091 words - 8.2 OF Standard Post Measure

On:

Barstow was sitting in the Observation Lounge after having seen the video sent up by the Marines. They had just arrived back at the asteroid when he had gotten the feed. Now he was just waiting for his new exec, science and Medical officers and had Walker on comms, "Lieutenant Walker, how's your copy?" he asked as he turned to look at the widescreen to his left, inset on the bulkhead.

Elise continued to tinker with the subspace antenna clearing the signal. "Better now after our little equipment failure Captain."

John nodded, "excellent. I've called science, ops engineering and Medical up, they should be here momentarily. Once they arrive I'll let you run through everything and brief us."

... David had spent his free time wisely he thought, he needed time with his Wife and Children, he'd wanted to try out the '1939' program in the holo-suite, and he needed the rest, having been thrown right in, figuratively, after travelling from the Galapagos. so when his Comm badge chirped he was almost expecting it:

=^= Bridge to Lieutenant Tan =^=

=^= Tan =^= he said, smiling at Lana, who was rolling her eyes.

=^= Sir .. Your presence is requested in the Observation lounge =^=

=^= On my way =^= he said, closing the Comm and getting up. The girls ran to him telling him they were going to be busy all day, but he didn't have time to sit and listen. He told them they will have to tell him all about it that evening, kissing them bye he left his quarters ..... Entering the Observation Lounge, he realized quickly that he was the first to arrive:

"Captain." he said, taking his seat .....

A newly promoted Lieutenant Commander Cale Llewellyn entered through the door nearest the captain and sat down, all the while playing with his new pips nervously. He smiled and nodded to Lieutenant Tan the he regarded the captain with a nod and a smile as well. But his thoughts got the better of him and he blushed a bright red. 'I hope I don't do this for the rest of the tour.'

Caroline walked in after the newly promoted XO, smiling at Cale's blush at he fiddled with his new pip she turned her attention to the Captain.

"Sir Lieutenant Ikiri is in sickbay at present but knowing engineers and there need to still be "tinkering around" I made sure that there was a workstation in his private room, so we can patch him through to participate in the meeting on comms. from there. I hope that's okay." She turned round and then noticed that the marines were also on a comm. screen. This was going to be an interesting meeting she decided taking a seat next to Cale.

"Sounds good, Doctor," Barstow replied with a nod and typed in a command to bring Ikiri up on the widescreen behind the CO then entered a command for it to soon in on whomever spoke so the engineering chief was as involved as if he were sitting at the table with them.

Velin stood and walked to the console he looked visibly shaken but took a moment to compose himself before he accepted the comm signal, "Lt Ikiri here sir, thank you for the consideration."

"Am I late?" Lieutenant Zitla asked no one in particular as she entered the lounge - seeing that a number of officers were already present the question was already answered in a way. She placed a small pile of padds on the table in front of one of the chairs, "I just had to spend a little bit longer than I thought compiling the relevant data - for some reason it was difficult to categorize certain elements - I don't usually have to revisit data but this time. Ah, would anyone like anything from the replicator while I'm there?" she asked curtailing the detail just a little.

"I would like a mint hot chocolate with a touch of Irish creme, please," the new XO asked smiling at the young Bolian woman.

Zitla flashed a quick smile as she deposited the drink and took her own seat with a glass of grapefruit juice.

"Not a problem," Barstow replied to Ikiri then looked to his Book an officer with a raised eyebrow, "quickly, Lieutenant, these long distance charges are going to kill us," he said with a smirk, motioning to the screen the Marine Commander was on.

=/\= Well you can always bill me. I have a strip or two of latnum somewhere. =/\=

"Ok, Walker, I think we're all settled here, go ahead and brief us on what you found," Apollo said and sat back in his chair.

“From what we have been able to put together; which isn't much. We have discovered an ancient Romulan or Vulcan ship.” Elias said, then entered a command on his PADD. On the display in the observation room, a picture of the exposed section of the hull appeared. “As you can see the ship is still covered by rock and dirt. We were able to uncover this section were the hull was breached and gain entry.” Elias paused and changed the picture. “In this still, you can see what lead us to investigate this site to begin with. The low power readings we discovered, are powering life pods that are occupied.”

... David looked at the 1st Lieutenant: Was it possible they had come across something beyond their expectations, yes, but finding a vessel that was likely to be Romulan, or even Vulcan, without being able to distinguish on first evaluation, was worrying. It was a fact that other races used Hayes, but for someone like the Vulcan's not to inform the Federation of the loss of a vessel was practically unheard-of, unless they had something to hide of course ...

Is there any way we can get at whoever is in those life-support pods Lieutenant, without compromising our own safety ?"

Elias considered his earlier problem with the ship. "I believe we can. What happen with the marines, I think was a isolated incident. However, I believe we need some crew down here that are a little more technical than marines."

"Were you able to get a ship name?" Barstow asked as the video played through for everyone.

Velin looked over the video and said, "Sir i think ensign Brex should lead a engineering away team, though we will need to replicate a... " He seemed distracted for a moment but was back in another, "We should replicate several older tools and power conversion matrices. If we cannot identify the power signature from the vessel. Both the Romulans and Vulcans from their early days of space exploration used rather unique power systems and if were not very careful, we could damage the pods."

Elias nodded in agreement with Velin's assessment. "I'm not positive but I believe the ship is named the Tri'jema." Elias replied.

Barstow nodded to Ikiri, "alright, send him the playback and loop him in here," he said then looked to Tan, "Lieutenant Tan, send a message to both the new Romulan homeworld and Vulcan and request information about ship and crew, but do not tell either one we found surviving crew," he added, not wanting it to get out to the news nets or to have both sides trying to lay claim yet, "Doctor, whats your take on those pods?" the CO asked then sent the video to both Saveena and Melody before telling them to report to the briefing room. John had thought this only a quick look type thing, but with survivors things were changing and he realized he should have had them there from the start, a mistake he would have to talk to them about later and made a mental note so he did not make that mistake again.

"I think you need a medic down there. If there are some intact samples well - records of ancient Romulan and Vulcan DNA has not been forthcoming from either species. Whether information has been lost or for other reasons, this could be a momentous find. If those pods have not decayed and we have survivors your going to need a team. I request permission to allowed down to the ship sir," Caroline told him.

=== Deck 9, L'Tandrey CAG Quarters ======

In her rather plush quarters, Sav was going over the Dragon Pilot flight records. She was wanting to know their strength and weaknesses for both training and where to put them to fly. Her console beeped with the invite to the observation lounge for the meeting after first viewing the video. She activated the video and watched it.

=== Deck 3, Observation Lounge =====

... David nodded and got up to sit at a side console. He asked Comms to contact the Vulcan Home-world and patch it through to him. Ten minutes later he repeated the request, this time to the Romulan Senate on their new Home-world. shaking his head, he returned to the table to brief Barstow:

"Sir, the Vulcan High Council deny the existence of a vessel named Tri'jema. As for the Romulan Senate,they refuse to allow me to speak with anyone high up enough to matter. Although, somewhat unsurprisingly, the Vulcan's are refusing us access to the vessel until they can send a ship of their own to investigate, and request we depart the asteroid field immediately. I did tell them that we could make the first approach and reconnoiter, passing any information we can gather on to their ship, but they insist, rather strongly, that if we ignore their demand to move away, we will incur their wrath. The Romulan adjutant was rather 'graphic' in his opinion should we interfere." David said, trying not to think about their mode of reaction to the Merlin's investigating of the found vessel, "Neither Governing body are aware that I have contacted the other ..... The Vulcan's assure me they will have a vessel in this System in six hours, and I doubt the Romulan's have completely ignored my request for information." he finished ...

"If there are survivors sir, they may not have 6 hours with us disturbing the vessel," Caroline stated firmly.

The door opened and Melody walked in "Sorry I'm late, I was detained on the bridge. Have I missed much?"

Barstow blinked, "Tan, double check that comm, I've been briefed that any communication with the proper Romulan government and not one of the factions will take a minimum twenty four hours for reply," he said before looking to Jones with a quick nod then to Miller and nodding, "Alright, Doctor. I want each of you to put teams together. Ex, you'll be leading this, engineering, before you mess with anything make sure with Doctor Miller it will not kill those pods. Jones, Tan, keep an eye out for any ships besides ours, no one gets within two hundred thousand k of this asteroid and send fighters to set up a perimeter."

"No problem Captain, I'll be monitoring from the bridge" Melody replied as she made a few notes on her PADD.

… "Aye Sir." David said,turning once again to the auxiliary console while keeping an eye on proceedings of the meeting. He once again asked Communications to contact the new Romulan Homeworld via sub-space. Again he was connected, and surprisingly, to the same Sub-Commander as previously. Frustratingly, he was again informed that due to 'other more important issues' there was no-one in the Command hierarchy available to speak with him, and it was 'suggested' he refrain from attempting to speak with anyone in the near future. He was about to ask for confirmation when the Comm snapped off abruptly ! .. David immediately heard the monitoring Comms Officer in his earpiece:

=^= That communication did not originate from the Dewa System Lieutenant. It was cleverly done, but there was an almost undetectable sub-harmonic that showed it had been relayed through one of the remote orbital monitoring platforms in the Guilett system, less than one hundred light-years from us =^=

=^= Find that platform Ensign ! =^= he said, closing the Comm. He waited until the Commander was free then briefed him on the Romulan communication. Once done he needed to speak to Lieutenant Tillatix. Pushing his chair back from the table, he tapped his Comm badge:

=^= Tan to Lieutenant Tillatix .. How soon could you deploy your fighters to establish a perimeter ? .. .. It will need to effectively cover our position from two hundred thousand kilometers, three sixty cover ? =^= he asked the Commander of the Merlin's impressive Air Group ...

Sav, in the turbolift on the way to the meeting, was surprised to hear her name from a new officer. As she was touching the interface, she gathered his name and station from the Merlin. She responded to David. =/\= Lt. Tan, Lt. Tillatix here. The Dragons have been on Alert 15. We can have all fighters deployed in 20 minutes with appropriate pods. Are we going in dog fighting, ship combat, or a mix of both, Sir? That will determine what pods.=/\= Even as she was speaking to him, she switched the turbolift from Deck 3 observation to Deck 39.

... =^= Twenty minutes .. Thank you Lieutenant .. As for configuration .. I think I should leave that in your capable hands .. We will need to expect that at minimum one Vulcan vessel will be in theater within six hours .. But I wouldn't rule out any 'unexpected' guests .. You might need to show your teeth so to speak .. If you will give me a second I will ask the Captain to approve =^=

John looked over, "CAG, your fighters were ordered to alert status fifteen minutes ago, I expect your birds airborn in no more then ten," he ordered, wondering why the new CAG hadn't reported to the briefing room after the message to come up went out, "scouts can follow after. Tan, you'll report to TOC and take on strat ops duties for the time being."

In the turbolift, on its way to Deck 39, Sav grimaced. They had went to alert, and as no bogeys were in the area, Alert 5 was not necessary. Still, she had wanted her team ready on short notice, so she had them got o Alert 15 instead of the Standard Alert 30, and the Captain was complaining that they weren't ready? But, he was in a meeting, and so as to not cause any problems, she instead answered back, =/\= Captain, Lt. Tillatix, once the pods are in place, we will be outbound, ASAP. The scouts will be 30 out as they need diagnostics. Not to worry sir, we have your back. =/\=

... "Aye Sir ....." David got up and left the meeting, heading directly for the turbo-lift he requested Deck Four ... Entering the upper level of the Tactical Information Center he went immediately to the seat reserved for the TIC ... The room was essentially circular, with large screens covering the uppermost and mid level. from his position he could effectively view a three hundred and sixty degree panoramic view of the space surrounding the Merlin ...

=/\= Lt. Tan, Lt. Tillatix, Ship Deterrent Combat understood. Thank you sir. I am heading that way now. Both fighter groups will be deployed in a one per quadrant by 2x2 rapid support deployment for 360 around the ship. I will have two pilots in ECM/ECCM equipped Talon Scouts top and bottom, and three Bombers are going to equip for Ship fighting and station themselves on the Asteroid. That should cover for most eventualities and also keep a surprise waiting as the bombers won't be on the Merlin, as expected. Any other instructions? =/\=

=^= At this stage you are there as eyes and a deterrent .. If anyone approaches closer than say one thousand kilometers I suggest you send out a welcome party to enforce the 'no-fly' zone at your digression of course .. We don't want an open conflict but neither do we want them ignoring our closed door .. If they make contact with your Fighters or make any demands regarding you move aside refer them to the Merlin .. How does that sound to you ? =^=

=/\= Sounds Good, Sir. I will get the Dragons to extended ops deterrent party. Lt. Tillatix out.=/\=

=/\= Dragons, Lt. Tillatix, we are going into ship deterrent operations, extended. We are expecting a possible friendly in six hours, possible unfriendlies same period. The raptors are as is, Valkyries get micro-torps, and Broadswords get assault U+ fighter pods. I will go over the rotation and surprise package contingent when I get there. Oh, get the two Talon scouts outfitted with ECM/ECCM pods, they will go North and South pole. Copy.=/\=

... Tan could hear the communication between Lieutenant Tillatix and her fighter Wings. He was impressed at her ability to preempt unforeseen problems. He was new to the ship so obviously didn't want to step on anyone's toes too early, but the CO had assigned him a task, and he intended to carry it out ....... He requested a panoramic tactical view and watched as the fighters took up positions, the Merlin being the center of their attention. Providing the Vulcan's were amenable to their request, at least in the first instance, he didn't envisage any serious problems, but the Romulans, they were a very different issue altogether ! ... He opened a Comm to Tillatix:

=^= Lieutenant Tillatix .. Given our information regarding the possible compromised reply from the Romulans .. I would suggest you reinforce the Beta and Gamma quadrants of your perimeter .. The signal is thought to have originated in the Guillet System .. Reinforcing those two quadrants will cover us if they turn up and try a flanking maneuver .. Can you assign two of your more experienced pilots as point guard for the crashed vessel ? =^=

Sav had to think about this for a second. Her fighters were on standard hex sector deployment with nearest open space being 'One' encompassing the 11 o'clock to 1 o'clock area, then two being 1 to 3, three being 3 to 5, four being 5 to 7, five being 7 to 9, and six being 9 to 11. She applied a four quadrant overlay, then hit her comm. =/\= Lt. Tan, Lt. Tillatix, I am covering Beta and a Broadsword with best pilot covering Gamma. Next to him are a Valkyrie and a Broadsword, while next to me are two Valkyries. We have Raptors running inside 2 x 2, so that any thread incoming will mean immediate reinforcement of the lone fighter by two Raptors. Is this acceptable? =/\=

... David looked at the tactical schematic on the main screen. He inwardly complimented the Chief of the Air Group, there was a small gap where two of the fighters had moved out past the cordon, two hundred meters only, so nothing he needed to inform the Lieutenant about, as it was actually covered by at least one of the fighter groups and nothing could approach without being detected. He informed the Bridge they were ready and asked for long-range sensors to check for the approaching Vulcan vessel. Nothing was there, but it just meant they were still out of range. After all, in their opinion, they had no reason to hide their arrival, it was the Merlin under orders not to go down to the stricken ship ... The Romulans however, were a different matter, if, or indeed, 'when' they arrived, the Merlin would need to be on her guard. He tapped the Comm link to Lieutenant Tillitax:

=^= Looking good Lieutenant .. One suggestion .. Do you think it viable to position a lone fighter in hiding close to the location of the Tri'jema .. .. It could come in useful if we suddenly require additional back-up or need to stop anyone from boarding the ship while we're over there ? .. Otherwise .. Nothing on long-range sensors regarding the Vulcan's or anyone else who may be coming to the party .. Tan out =^= ......

Sav, in her fighter, did not reply as Lt. Tan had already sighed off. In truth, she had three Broadswords nearby Tri'jema. She just kept track of her pilots as eight of them dodged asteroids and kept a lookout for ships. The Marine Asteroid, named Dashit for her squadron, was partway into the Asteroid field, meaning any ship coming in and trying to get to it would have to dodge asteroids besides taking on her fighter, with Merlin nearby. For a position to hold, this was actually ideal.

Elias had been listening to the entire conversation. If the was a ship only a hundred light years away. The asteroid he was on could get crowded fast. =/\= Captain what do you need me to do over at the ship? =/\=

Apollo looked back towards the screen, "hold down the fort, the Vulcan will likely adhere to our perimeter, but, if a rebel Romulan faction did catch our comm we can expect.....something to happen, be ready. I'll be sending a few security squads as well so you can rotate your people to rest and get chow."

=/\=Understood. I had the same feeling. I've taken the liberty of ordering a second squad of marines over, with anti-ground and aerospace weapons.=/\=

=/\= 1st Lt. Walker, Lt. Tillatix, I will be having three Broadswords stationed at your place for a basement surprise. However, would you like to have one be by the ship to double front her shields in a dome configuration? This would help block scans and provide protection for any teams on the derelict ship. Even those losing one, I can still rapid deploy 5 fighters to any facing sector around the Asteroid. =/\=

Elias thought about it. =/\= For now just send one. Like you said, we can use its shields. We need to minimize expendable equipment if we can. Romulans are masters at shock and Aww. =/\=

=/\= Understood. I will have the other two go to flanking positions around the main base, just to keep the surprise in the basement, and the other will park by Tri'jema. She will remain on full ECM to remain hidden and only activate her shields if needed. The asteroid and asteroid field will keep the Tri'jema and Broadsword hidden unless somebody comes up close, which we aim to prevent. However, you have her, just in case. CAG out.=/\=

"Lieutenant Zitla, you'll be taking charge of the science teams," John said as he looked to the Bolian science officer, "we need any information you can get from the computers down there," he said then looked at each of the gathered officers, "be careful, people. The Enterprise and Captain James Kirk found themselves in just this scenario with Kahn Noonian Singh and that haunted him for fifteen plus years. The fact that this already has two governments incoming on us make wonder if these aren't along those lines here. No accidents and no waking these guys unless we have to until we have more information, and CAG and Knight Actual, keep it tight, Oorah?" he asked out of habit as he once again looked around the table and at the monitors.

Zitla nodded and added a quick, "Yes, Captain," her enexpected elevation from lab to leader hadn't quite fully settled yet, but she was up to the task.

Caroline nodded at the CO. There wasn't much more she could say until she knew exactly what she was dealing with. But if there were preserved survivors and she could revive them things could get very interesting.

"Alright, let's do it then. Lieutenant Jones, a word before you go?"

Melody turned to the captain "Sir?"

Barstow waited until everyone had left then stood up, "Captains are supposed to keep up the appearance of perfection, but, I need to apologize to you for a mistake," he said and sat on the edge of the conference table, "I should have had you and Sav in here from the start."

"That's quite alright sir, I was needed on the bridge. I'm sure I'll be kept apprized of all relevant information. Try not to make a habit of though" she added with mock sternness.

"Aye, ma'am," John replied with a chuckle then motioned for the door and followed Melody out to the Bridge.

... In the Tactical Information Center David watched the screens intently. He was still concerned with the Romulan issue, and rightly so, it was enough that the Vulcan's had made demands on them. He looked down at the Officer covering the ships sensor arrays:

"Let's keep a very close eye on long-range sensors Ensign. I don't want any surprises."

"Aye Sir." ......


OFF:

Commander John "Apollo" Barstow
Commanding Officer
USS Merlin

Lt. j.g. Saveena Tillatix
CAG / Uroboros Squad Leader
Bridge Command Specialist
USS Merlin

Lt. Melody Jones
Chief flight officer / Second officer
USS Merlin

Lieutenant jg. David Tan
Chief Operations Officer
USS Merlin

Lieutenant Commander Cale Llewellyn
Executive Officer
USS Merlin

Lieutenant JG Zitla
Chief Science Officer
USS Merlin

1ST Lieutenant Elias Walker
Marine Commanding Officer
USS Merlin