Friend or Foe?

Posted on Thursday 18 August 2016 @ 23:47 by Captain John "Apollo" Barstow, M.D. & Commander Cale Llewellyn DSci & Captain Melody Jones & Lieutenant Commander David Tan

Mission: Old, New Ship
Location: Bridge
2778 words - 5.6 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

Melody was seated at the helm monitoring the activity in the shuttlebay. She had just finished talking to Cale and was waiting for his teams to be ready. Also Dragon squadron has just checked in and all was quiet so far."

That's was worried her, it was all just a bit too quiet.

"Jones to Tan. David, can you clean up the sensor resolution? I'm still having difficulty what with all the EM interference. That and the sheer amount of rock present in the asteroid field."

John stepped off the lift after meeting with Carson, "Lieutenant, status?" John asked and walked across the Bridge, coming to a stop behind and between the helm and ops stations and turning to face the screen. The mystery below had him worried. Over his time in Starfleet and the Marines the only story of someone coming out of stasis on good terms was Captain Scott when he was found on the Jenolan, every other story ended in attempted murder, aggressiveness and a myriad of other antisocial behavior. While Melody pulled the information together to give him an update he slapped his comm badge, "medical, bridge. I need you to put together a dossier outlining what behavioral changes occur from prolonged stasis."

Melody looked up at Barstow "It's all quiet at the moment Captain, and that's what's worrying me. You'd think we would have had some kind of response by now. Sensor effectiveness at serverly limited by te asteroid field. It's like trying to scan through fog. I've asked lieutenant Tan if he can clean them up."

... In Tac Ops David instructed two Officers to carry out Melody's request. After several moments there were having no luck. He got out of the seat and walked down to the lower level, leaning over the shoulder of one of those trying to enhance sensor resolution to the Bridge, or more precisely to the Flight Control Officer's station. He could see that the EM band was causing the issues, with all the low-level radio bouncing between countless hunks of rock, it was going to be difficult, but he thought he had an idea:

"Let's increase the output frequency and narrow the emitter range, with luck that should rid us of the lob-band interference."

"Sir, a thought." the Ensign said as he worked. Tan told him to continue, "Our issue, the myriad of rocks not withstanding, is how much we're getting back through the shields themselves."

"Agreed. let's lower the shield regeneration by, one point two kilojoules ...." the Ensign did so and the EM interference dropped markedly, it wasn't completely clear, but he couldn't risk dropping their shield power any further, and it would need to back to full strength once the Vulcan's or Romulans, arrived, "OK, let's keep it there and ensure we have constant monitoring of the quadrant we expect the Vulcan's to arrive in." he walked back to the upper level and sat down before opening a Comm to the Bridge:

=^= Tan to Jones .. .. Melody .. I can't do much about the rocks unfortunately .. But I've reduced shield modulation a fraction until we have any signs of our visitors .. You should be getting much clearer resolution now ? =^=

He waited to hear if it had worked on the Bridge .....

Watching the sensor readouts, Melody hit her comm badge again "That's a lot better David. Thank you."

The comm system then beeped and Cales voice came up from the shuttlebay.

"Runabout Camelot to bridge. We're prepping for launch."

"Copy that Camelot" Melody responded. "Both runabouts are cleared for launch. Good hunting."

The turbolift doors open and Carson stepped onto the bridge carrying a PADD. This was his 1st visit to the bridge and he was most impressed. He walked over to stand just behind Melody and next to the Captain. "Greeting Miss Jones, All quiet on the western front? Captain, I managed to get some information but not much I'm afraid."

As he handed the PADD to Barstow, Caron continued "The ships mission was to find a suitable planet for habitation. The Captains name was Tal'vin. From what I have gathered he was a quite violent man, not afraid to uses his mental power to discipline or even kill anyone who challenged him. His first officer tr'Ren was almost as bad, but more tempered with reason. I'm sorry I couldn't find anything else captain. Records from that era are....... sketchy at best.

John took the PADD and read it over, nodding to himself, "well.....that isn't good...." he said to himself before looking back up, "I appreciate you getting even this much, Mister Carson," Barstow replied with a smile and gave the man a nod, "it at least confirms my gut."

"It's no problem Captain. Glad I could be of assistance" Carson placed a hand on Melody shoulder "And how are we keeping Miss Jones?"

"I'm fine Mr Carson" Melody replied looking back over her shoulder. "Thank you for asking."

"Well my door is always open" Then turning back to Barstow "If that's all Captain, I'll make a discreet exit at this point."

"Of course," John replied with a nod, greatful to have the librarian and historian on bored.

With that, Carson headed for the turbolift.

Cale's voice came over the comm system. "Runabout Camelot to bridge. We're ready to depart. Wish us luck,"

"Copy that Camelot, Good luck" Melody replied smiling to herself. Watching on her console "Captain , both runabouts have cleared the shuttle bay."

Apollo nodded, "copy that, tell them to watch their six," he said as the shuttle appeared on the view creen and was quickly met by two of the Raptor fighters to be escorted down.


Her attention was suddenly drawn to something on her console. "Captain! Tachyon surge off the starboard bow. A ships' decloking."

The view screen automatically focused in on the areas, showing a shimmering which resolved into a impressive ship of the Romulan empire.
Medley reported "It's a Romulan warbird, Mogai-class. Sir! She's raised her shields and locked her forward disruptors on us!"

... In the Tactical Information Center, David too was seeing the suddenly de-cloaking Warbird !

"Ensign, restore full power to the shields, begin modulation. let's get sensors on that thing .... 'DAMN' !" he said, realising that the Romulans must have had a vessel very close, even closer than they had first thought. but, while the Merlin was a vessel even a Valdore Class War-bird would struggle with in a face to face encounter, the myriad of in comparison, relatively gnat-sized fighters out there were a completely different matter. Should the Romulan's decide to start firing, they would need to do what they do best, and move quickly, hopefully irritating the Valdore Class enough to allow the Merlin to fire on it themselves ! .. Quickly he opened a Comm link to the Flight Control Officer on the Bridge, just in time to hear her comment to Commander Barstow: .....

Melody initial shock turned to surprise. "Sir, they are hailing us."

John looked at the screen, "don't reply, let them sweat for a second," the CO ordered, knowing the warbird decloaked right in front of them as a tactic to intimidate the Starfleet crew, "tactical, keep an eye on their weapons and launch bays," he ordered then looked to Melody, "report on our birds."

"I've got eyes on all our fighters. All in position. Incoming transmission Captain!" Melody reported

=/\= Merlin, be advised, another tango inbound.....my sensors read the power signature as Vulcan, please confirm and advise.=/\=

"I've got the inbound ship on sensors, confirmed Vulcan signature. They are placing us between the warbird and them." Melody then responded.

=/\= Dragon squadron, Merlin. Vulcan ship confirmed, Standby. =/\=

... In the TIC, David was mirroring the information he had on his main screen up to the Bridge. He could see the arrowhead on the screen depicting the Merlin, along with all the fighters deftly positioned throughout the asteroid field. Now though, there were two other indicators on the screen, the Romulan vessel, holding station in relatively close proximity to them, and the newly arrived Vulcan vessel, still some distance away, but more than capable of causing the Merlin, the fighters, and most importantly, the people risking their lives out there, a lot of trouble .... He still could not believe that the Vulcan's would make an aggressive stance, but the Romulans, they were another matter.

'Why do they want to talk ?' he thought, eyeing the icon signifying the location of the Romulans, he couldn't understand their sudden 'friendliness' ... One thing was certain, if they were going to get any more information from the Tri'Jema, they needed to get it quickly. The Vulcan vessel had already halved the distance between them, and still ensured the Merlin was directly between them and the Romulans, 'nothing like a shield' he thought wryly. He opened the Comm to the Bridge:

=^= Tan to Lieutenant Jones .. We are watching the Vulcan's closely .. They will be at the outer edge of the asteroid field in forty seven minutes .. They have not raised shields or brought weapons on-line at this point .. I have requested Dragon Actual send someone to go look at our newcomer .. .. .. =^= ....

=^= Copy that Tan. Any sign that the Romulans are aware of the Vulcan ship? =^=

... =^= If they do they are showing no signs .. I can't imagine they would not be aware .. If this Romulan vessel is indeed from one of the breakaway factions as the Commander believes they would have likely intercepted our initial communication to the Vulcan High Command .. Then sat back and waited to see if we extended the same to the Romulan's .. Also I have the feeling they may not be alone .. Their whole demeanour is atypical of the Romulan's in my opinion .. I have already tasked two of my Officers to keep a close eye on them and any communications they might make =^= David replied, watching the main Tactical Information Center's view-screen, which he had asked to be split to show both the Romulan and Vulcan vessels side by side. 'One of you has got to bite at some point, it would be interesting to hear what the Romulan has to talk to us about.' he thought wryly ...

"Son of a...." Barstow muttered under his breath and moved back to sit in his command chair and pull up the tactical overlay, "Tan, Bridge, move our birds out another little bit, push both bogey's back as far as you can and hold the perimeter...Jones, warn both ships to fall back until they're told by our birds they can stop and put the Romulan commander on screen, let's take care of the ones most likely to shoot at us first...." he said and stood back up, puffing out his chest and standing up to his full height and his face taking on a seriousness.

... Confirming the Captain's instruction, David opened a Comm to Lieutenant Tillatix:

=^= Dragon Actual .. Merlin Tac-Ops .. Expand cover a further two thousand kilometers from present fighter locations .. With both incoming vessels now in play we need to emphasise our positions .. Have fighters approach both vessels to within seventy five kilometers and hold .. Flight Control will be instructing both vessels to fall back .. Be aware Dragon Actual that we have no way of knowing to what extent they will comply if at all .. Hopefully with fighters directly ahead of them they will be willing to cede for the moment .. Tan out =^=

"Aye Sir" Melody responded, working her console. Both ship have been told to fall back and the Romulan Commander is coming on screen........ Now sir."

The view screen bust into lift with the Romulan commander appearing on it.

=/\=Federation vessel, this Commander Hexce of the Romulan warbird S'Trak. Explain your presence in this asteroid field.=/\=

As the Captain was exchanging veiled pleasantries with the Romulan, Melody was half listening and half keeping her eye on the sensor readouts with the Romulan ship, Vulcan ship, the runabouts, our fighters and wait................. What was That! She tried to get better resolution. Still the same. She couldn't interrupt the Captain and also, she didn't want to tip of the Romulans so she began typing quickly.

Down in TIC, a message suddenly popped up on Tan's screen.

=/\= **********From Helm Station, Bridge. Lieutenant M Jones to TIC Station 001, Lieutenant D Tan. URGENT URGENT. David, picking up at least 4 / possibly 5 discreet energy emissions coming from the asteroid field. Unable to identify. Heading for Dashit. Possible hostile fighters. PLEASE CONFIRM. Warn Dragon squadron and runabouts. Think Romulan is distracting us from incursion. PLEASE CONFIRM. Melody.************** =/\=

... In TIC, two of his Officers were simultaneously eyeing the anomalous readings that had suddenly appeared and were transferring the information to his main view-screen when the message appeared !

"Ensign. Maximum sensors on those emissions. I want to know what they are NOW !" he said, leaning forward as he manually typed a reply that he was seeing the readings, sending it direct to Melody, "Sir, whatever they are they are moving slowly towards the Tri'Jema." That was all he needed to know. He opened a Comm instantly:

=^= Dragon Actual .. Merlin Tac-ops .. URGENT .. URGENT .. .. Be aware .. Five unidentified energy sources .. Quadrant 2 - Heading 72 mark 18 distance 300 kilometers and closing .. Possible incoming hostiles .. Intercept immediately for investigation and possible contact .. Recommend moving runabouts back to safe distance =^= he knew that the Bridge would be considering the next move and if they need to consider firing on the unknown craft.

"Ensign Gentor, modify one sensor to scan for impulse engine emissions, you never know, we may get lucky." They needed every break possible now. If those emissions 'were' Romulan craft, or even Vulcan for that matter, then it was clear that whoever sent then were trying to ensure that the Merlin Officers were not going to fully investigate the Tri'Jema ! ...

Barstow could see Jones working quickly at her console, but, didn't take his eyes off the screen, "I'm Commander John Barstow of the USS Merlin and I might ask you the same, Commander. This was Federation space even before your government opened your boarders to us," John said.

"I don't recognize that claim, Captain. But in the spirit of cooperation, I am willing to allow you to complete whatever mission you are in the middle of...with one condition...We are going to send our own team down to the surface."

"How did I know know you were going to say that," Barstow replied, "I'm sorry, but, I am going to have to ask you to refrain from that sending anyone. We are conducting live fire and bombing exercises with our Marines right now as part of our shakedown cruise, I'd hate for your officers to get caught in friendly fire," John said, listening to Melody as he spoke to Hexce.

... In TIC, David was looking at the situation from a new perspective: Rather than the Tri'Jema and the Merlin being hemmed in, he looked at it like they were the center of a sphere, with fighters located at the northern and southernmost points, they were covered should either of the other vessels choose to approach from above or below Zee. The majority of the fighters were now holding an almost circular pattern throughout the three sixty degree perimeter. Both the Vulcan and Romulan vessels had, albeit with the urging of the nearby Raptors, reluctantly extended the distance between them and the Merlin and were now approximately two hundred kilometers away. Sav's Raptors were holding station one hundred meters from the bow of each vessel. he sat in silence as the conversation between the Bridge and the Romulan Commander was played out on one of his screens. He still couldn't shake the feeling that they were not going to allow the Merlin free reign for too long, and would eventually begin to make a harsher stance ...

Melody also had one not the Captains conversation. Also she needed to inform him of this latest development without tipping their hand to the Romulans. Hoping the Captain knew his history, and the Romulans didn't "Sir" she spoke softly "I think we have a Pearl Harbour situation here that needs your attention" and locked eyes on Barstow.

Apollo just gave a quick nod before walking around in front of the consoles, "I mean it, Commander," he said in a low, way to calm tone and giving the Romulan a hardened gaze, showing a seriousness and fierceness her not had to show to any of his crew.


TBC in part 2

OFF:

Commander John "Apollo" Barstow
Commanding Officer
USS Merlin

Lieutenant 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