To the Rescue

Posted on Tue Feb 15th, 2022 @ 10:08pm by Lieutenant JG Kassandra Selin & Captain Ivan Petrov & Commander Cyrus Cain & Lieutenant Commander Troy Marshall & Lieutenant Cael Maz & Captain Fergus Williams & Callie Marshall & Lieutenant JG Melissa Jones & Lieutenant JG Karen Lamont & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov & Lieutenant JG Revana Nazar & Ensign Mika Petrova
Edited on on Fri Feb 18th, 2022 @ 10:20pm

Mission: S1 Episode 1: Caretaker, Part I
Location: Various Locations
Timeline: MD 33, 1800 Hours
3753 words - 7.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Bridge, Deck 1
24 days after the start of their journey, Vengeance was under cloak and running at maximum warp toward the Badlands. They had been so far undetected and the plan seem to be going very well, with the ship running smoothly the whole way and the crew seeming more and more prepared for the fateful day when they would drop hellfire on Quonor and turn their Cardassian foe to dust. It was two hours into Beta Shift and Commander Cain sat in the XO's chair reading personnel reports. He sighed and pulled his mug of evening coffee to his lips for a sip.

The assistant chiefs were at the stations on the bridge as was typical for his shift. The only difference was that McMillan was acting as Chief Flight Control Officer in the absence of Lieutenant Anderson, who have been stabbed just a few days before. They still had not been able to sort through that mystery and the security department was still full of infighting because of it, with Lieutenant Marshall being pointed out as being possibly responsible. One thing was clear: the crew of Vengeance were certainly becoming acquainted, be it in romance, friendship, or enmity. He didn't like it; he thought it was sloppy.

An alert sounded from the Ops console and he instinctively swiveled his neck around to look at the junior officer stationed there.

At Ops the young Assistant Chief looked at her readouts. “Sir! We’re receiving a distress signal from a Terran Resistance ship!”

“How far?” Cain asked, furrowing his brow.

Looking at her readouts again she looked up at Cain. “Approximately four minutes away at current speed Sir.”

“Ensign McMillan, slow us down to Warp 5; buy us some time.” Cain said, and then tapped his commbadge. “Captain Petrov, report to the bridge.”

Saundra turned to look at the Commander. "Aye, Sir," she replied as she nodded. Turning back to the helm, she adjusted the ship's speed." She was trying not to be distracted but he fact that her department chief was laying in sickbay, seriously injured.

Since the captain was in his ready room, it only took him a few seconds to emerge onto the bridge. Marching out to the command area, he looked at his first officer.

“Distress signal, sir, from a rebel ship, close by.” The Commander said, standing in front of the XO’s chair.

The Captain looked at the view screen which displayed the blue-shifted streaming stars of warp speed and seemed to mull over the situation in his mind. Should they stay hidden or render aid? Finally, he nodded, assured of his answer.

“We will help our brothers in their struggle where we can.” He said, looking stalwart as he stood in the middle of his command center. “Red Alert. All hands to battle stations!”

As soon as you finish this statement, red lights begin to blare across the room and the red alert klaxon began to sound. Soon, senior staff would begin streaming onto the bridge from all around the ship.

It didn’t take long for the turbolift doors to open. Stepping out of the turbolift Callie nodded respectfully as she made her way across to Ops to take her station.

Troy had been in his quarters when the bridge summons came. He had been placed on restriction to quarters pending the investigation into the attack on John with visitor privileges also suspended. He stepped on the bridge and relieved Andrei at Tactical One. He hiked a thumb over his shoulder. "Monitor from the Tactical Two stations, report any discrepancies immediately." He turned his full attention to his console after issuing orders to his subordinate.

Callie’s gaze turned towards Troy, she was struggling with not being able to see him after hours. She gave him a brief smile before turning her attention back to Ops. She knew he’d pick up on her stronger feelings via the bond they now shared.

Cael exited the lift and proceeded to a science station located near the back of the vessel. He switched his view on the console to the torpedos that were being guarded and sustained carefuly. He did not want a premature detaination of the device by any means.

Ensign Selin entered the bridge in silence, moved passed Andrei to the Intelligence console. Morrison was down in Intel and she began the uplink to him and the CIIC internal situation table.

Engineering, Deck 11
Melissa was busy examing the ship's situation monitor. "Ensign Nazar... Ensure that all damage control teams are ready for repairs under fire."

“Yes, sir.” Ensign Nazar said as the Chief Engineer entered the room. This wasn’t her first rodeo, but she didn’t have the experience of older officers. Nevertheless, she felt the rush of adrenaline she always felt when danger was near.

Sickbay, Deck 5
In Sickbay, all three doctors were to be on duty as well as all the nurses. The number of bodies in the room was steady climbing and Mika was the newest arrival. If anything made her anxious, it was the fact that this one be her first taste of war and conflict. She wasn’t sure how she would fair, but she would rely on the knowledge and confidence of others to get her through it.

"You've all trained for this," Karen said to her team. "Your instinct will be to respond to each patient around you. Remember triage protocols. If intake begins to exceed our capacity, I will activate the EMH."

Bridge
Ivan lowered himself into the command seat and watched as the stars streamed by. They were only a few moments from the origin of the distress signal and the tension on the bridge was palpable.

“Stay calm and focused, soldiers. Remember your training.” He said to the officers around him.

“Prepare to drop out of warp,” came the voice of Commander Cain who was studying the command console between them, “in 3….2…..1!”

The Assistant Flight Control Officer manipulated her controls, bringing the powerful warship out of warp speed. Once the wap nacelles had completed their transition, she brought the impulse engines online, waiting for speed and movement orders.

On the viewscreen, two vessels were bearing down on a third which was much faster and smaller, yet still taking a beating. As the Vengeance moved toward them, the two large vessels angled slightly toward them.

“Assessment, Troy.” The Captain asked, looking over his shoulder.

Troy analyzed the data on his console before meeting Ivan's gaze. "Two Galor class warships using pincer maneuvers to corner a Rebel corvette. The corvette has minor hull damage, but is utilizing its advantage of better acceleration and maneuverability at impulse to avoid more serious damage." He returned to study the sensor readings. "The Galors have changed course to intercept us."

Ivan’a brow became stern as he watched the scene playing out on the screen.

“Vali, hail the lead vessel.” He said, then leaned back again into a comfortable position.

“Aye Sir!” Callie tapped the comms sending out a hail to the Cardassian ships. “We’re receiving a response...” She put the transmission on screen.

The viewscreen transitioned to a stern looking Cardassian Gul with an angry look on his face.

Gul Kirot's face was clearly angry. "Terrans! You are violating Alliance Space!" He all but roared. "The Alliance will not stand for this!"

The Captain bristled. Just seeing a Cardassian made his blood boil after years of forced service to them. He longed to kill more of them, if he were to tell the truth.

Kass meanwhile was tracking the Rebel ship, it appeared on Troy's screen as well as several possible routes it could take.

“This is Ivan Petrov, the Butcher of Rakal V, Captain of the ISS Vengeance. We go where we like, Cardassian filth.” The Captain said, lacing his gloved fingers in his lap. “We can destroy you and, to be honest we would very much like to. Power down your weapons and prepare to be boarded.”

The Gul Spat off to the side. "You are washed up Petrov, Your so called glory days are long gone. We will not stand down nor will you board us. WE will board your ship, and you will serve the Alliance as slaves! FIRE!" Both cardassian vessels launched attacks on the Vengeance.

“Helm, evasive maneuver gamma-42. Execute.” The Captain barked.

"Aye, Captain!" McMillan replied as she started to work her controls, causing the Vengeance to dive below the relative positions of the attacking Cardassian vessels. She made her speed full impulse, turning the Vengeance in a tight corkscrew, allowing each weapon system an opportunity at returning fire.

“Marshall, target the power generator on the lead ship. I want Kirat alive.” He keyed the comms open. “Marines, standby for transport.”

Troy set the main phaser array to emit short bursts with the secondary phasers engaging the other Cardassian ship with a constant withering barrage of fire. Fire on the lead ship caused a drive plasma leak that cut the ship's velocity by 40%.

"Devil dogs ready to go sir." The marine said as his men rolled a black sphere onto the transporter. " Make sure that goes out three seconds before the rest of us and close suit visors. " the veteran barked to his men.

The ship rocked as yellow phaser beams crashed against the double reinforced shielding. Vengeance was extremely tough, and took every hit with little difficulty. For every hit she took , she gave two away as her many phaser banks kicked light back toward the second of the two Galor ships.

“Damage report.” Commander Cain called out.

“Sir, we have several hits, Shields holding.” Selin called out. “One of those hits has sent feedback through our intelligence comms.” She continued. “Rerouting it. Compensating” She sent information to security/tactical.

“Ensign Selin, contact the rebel ship and have them coordinate their fire with ours.” The Commander ordered.

"Yes Sir" Selin replied and did so.

“Status of the lead vessel, Marshall.” The Captain requested.

"Shields at 30%, impulse engines are all but gone. They may possess some limited offensive capability, but nothing our shields cannot handle." He prepared to blast the ship when the woman at the helm brought them around for another pass.

“Good.” The Captain said with a smile. “Take down their shields.”

Troy unleashed the full phaser arsenal on the ship. The Cardassian shields failed and large swathes of the main hull ruptured venting atmosphere and unprotected Cardassians into space. "Lead vessel is dead in space. Second ship is trying to flee at half impulse. Her warp engines appear to be offline. "

The lead Galor’s shields lit up with the sudden massive volley of phaser fire from both the Vengeance and the rebel ship and then an explosion on the central side of its hull caused their shielding to flicker off.

“Williams, we’re beaming you over now and placing you on a special comm. Razzle dazzle, shock and awe campaign. Leave no one living except the Gul. I want to talk to him personally.”

The Captain then nodded to Callie to get the transport and comms done.

Callie nodded as she prepared to send over Fergus and his marines. “Comms is set and ready Captain, ready to transport as soon as you’re ready Captain Williams.”

Kassandra’s hands moved quickly as she saw the readings. “Captain, that last shot, affected the aft shields… we have a cascade happening in the neural gel packs,” She began to inform them of the issues. “It is feeding back through the system!” Was the last thing she said as her console exploded, sending sparks, steam and Kassandra flying.

She was flung back against the railing between the upper level and the command well and she toppled over, landing unconscious beside the XO’s chair. Her face was cut up and bleeding, and her left arm was obviously broken.

Andrei watched as Kassandra was tossed across the bridge from the security station directly behind the tactical station. Instinctively, he ran across the bridge along with a few relief officers, but he arrived before the rest of them and fell down to his knees beside her. Seeing that she was injured, he reached his arms underneath her and propped her up. Tapping his commbadge, he called out, “Computer, sight to sight transport to Sickbay.”

The transporter caught them and beamed them off the bridge to medical.

Callie cursed silently to herself as she worked on rerouting power. “Diverting all power from unnecessary systems to the shields.”

Alliance Ship Relkara, Cargo Bay
The detachment of Imperial Marines shimmered into existence within the cargo bay down the corridor from the bridge in full combat gear. With weapons pointed and visors down, they were a terrifying sight and the last people these Cardassians would ever see alive. At their arrival, many of the occupants of the bay bristled in surprise and either ran or reached for their weapons.

"Knock knock." Williams hissed as the ball exploded in a burst of bright flashing strobing light in the outside corridor. Any of the Cardassians still on their feet were immediately holding their heads and screaming from their damaged retinas. " Move out we need the Gul alive." The marine commander barked to his detachment.

Orders blared over the comm on the Galor class vessel. "REPELL ALL BOARDERS!"

Those Cardassians in the bay who had been blinded by the flash stumbled and were easy target practice for the Marine’s whose phaser fire tore them apart like a hot knife through butter. Those who had their sight offered some resistance, and stood between the Marines and the Cargobay exit.

Williams didn't have to even bark the orders as his team of marines took cover and began returning fire against the reaming Cardassians. Hitting one of them square in the chest the veteran increased his phasers levels firing through the crate another was hiding behind. The shot spread through taking the Cardassians head off as his body slumped tot he floor.

Sickbay
The transporter deposited Andrei and the unconscious severely wounded Kass in the middle of medical.

"What happened??" Karen said, already scanning Kass with her medical tricorder.

“Console overload.” He said, still holding Kassandra. He looked at her beautiful bloodstained face and pushed back a lock of her hair. Turning to the doctor he let out a sigh. “Is she going to be alright?”

"Maybe someday they'll design a starship where consoles don't explode whenever someone hits the..." She sighed. "Put her on the biobed," she said as she got out her medical tricorder, scanning her. "10 ccs of tri-ox and a dermal regenerator!" she yelled to her staff before finally looking back at Andrei. "She'll make a full recovery."

"Need any help?" Igarashi asked as she entered the sickbay. 2

"I don't think so," Karen said.

Andrei looked at the unconscious woman with a furrowed brow for several long moments, then he turned back to Karen.

“I need to get back to the Bridge, Doctor.” He said in one of his rare moments of awkwardness, as if he didn’t know what to say.

"Put her on the bed," Karen repeated. "Mika, tri-ox and a dermal regenerator!"

Andrei did as she bid him and sat her down on the bed. His eyes then wandered to the striking doctor as he waited for additional orders, if she had them.

Karen did not seem to notice his eyes. In any other moment, she might have gotten modest or she might have made a show of seeking attention. The uniform did show her figure off well with a bare midriff, short skirt, and high boots. But with a patient on the biobed, her mind was laser-focused. Her movements natural. Her gaze quick. She offered a small smile. "You can return to your duties, Lieutenant."

He winked at the Doctor, not concerning himself with whether or not she noticed, and quietly it quickly made his way out of the room. He needed to get back to the Bridge.

As ordered, Mika went for the nearest cart and, opening it, grabbed the familiar hypospray and dermal regenerator. The regenerator she handed to Karen and the hypo she kept for herself. “Yes, Doctor.” She said, her voice shaky from adrenaline and anxiety as she pressed the tri-ox up to Kass’s neck and injected it, giving the patient a quick blast of oxygen enrichment.

“Now what?” She asked, looking at the older woman with full attention as she repaired damaged skin on Kass’s face. “She’s losing a lot of blood.”

"We'll have to operate quickly to stop the internal bleeding," Karen said. "Then it's a simple matter to..." The ship shook again. Karen steadied herself on the table but a blast came from one wall of the sickbay. "That can't...There has to be some way..." Karen was frustrated. Of all the systems in the whole ship, it was the plasma! "We're going to need a living donor. We have to get her stabilized and then we have to find a living donor."

“I’ll search the database, ma’am. We’ll see if she has a match on the ship.” Mika said with a determined expression, moving out of sickbay to the nearby lab.

"Thank you, Mika," Karen said as she worked desperately to stabilize Kass until a donor could be obtained.

Bridge
Callie was busy trying to do what she could with damage done by the feedback. “Captain I’ve rerouted what power I can through auxiliary systems, damage repair teams are working flat out. Engineering are checking the extent of any damage to the bio-neural gel packs.”

Troy brought every weapon to bear on the second Galor class warship. He unleashed continuous beams of phaser fire that first brought down shields and then killed the impulse engines. He looked up at Ivan with a satisfied grin. "Captain, the second vessel is now dead in space as well. A single photon torpedo should obliterate her. Shall I teach these vermin the last lesson they will ever have?"

“Yes, Lieutenant, yes.” The Captain answered a hungry look in his eyes as he stared at the ship, dead in space. “Destroy them.”

Troy launched a single photon torpedo which streaked out from the launcher and impacted the engineering spaces and detonated. Much bigger explosion was set off when the matter-antimatter chamber ruptured.

As the light of the explosion filled the Bridge, Ivan stood and watched with awe as the bright display surged his adrenaline. He had missed this power during his exile. He clinched his fists and his jaw, and when the fire quickly dissipated, he turned to the rest of the Bridge and grinned.

“Glory to the Empire!” He shouted, raising his fist in the air.

“Glory to the Empire!” Callie echoed Petrov’s call before turning her attention back to the job at hand.

Troy smiled at the viewscreen and glanced at Ivan "Glory to you Captain Petrov."

“Bridge to Engineering. Damage report.” Cain demanded.

Melissa responded. "We have eps overloads on decks three and four. I have successfully redistributed the power systems through auxiliaries. We have damage to several portsode phaser arrays. Repairs in progress.

Alliance Ship Relkara, Bridge
Kirat was fuming, for years he had fought to his position of power and now some upstart Terran was going to take it away. He barked orders left and right and moved to the small hatch that lead to escape pods. He would not be taken alive if he could help it.

His Bridge crew watched as their Gul made his way for the escape pod, leaving them all to die, and they all shared similar sentiments with each other. How often the wheel of power rolled over those who had little of it. They turned toward the entrance to the Bridge, steeling themselves for the arrival of the Terrans.”

The door to the bridge exploded as the marines burst into the room. The first thing through the door was a bagful of flash grenades. As the last armed cardassian dropped Williams grabbed the last standing one a young Cardassian female and smashed her into the consol. With a phaser pressed to her head his question of " Where's the Gul?" was quickly answered.

" He's heading for the escape pods." He yelled into his mic as he walked over to one of the Cardassians drawing his personal knife as he did so.

=/\=Vengeance to Williams. Don’t let the Gul escape you!=/\= Petrov said, now watching the video feed on the main viewer.

"Don't worry boss he ain't going nowhere." The marine said calmly as he quickly severed the Cardassian officer's hand. Slapping the severed digit on one of the consol the marine began typing. " Come on you..." He began before he found it.

A video feed of the escape pod bay was brought up. Just as the gul was about to enter one the Scotsman activated the emergency launch. The pods activated the backdraft throwing the gul back against the wall. " He isn't going anywhere sir." Williams said with a grin on his face.

The Gul was groggy but he pulled his phaser and aimed at Williams. "Die terran!"

"Better men than you have tried you ugly $%$%. " the marine replied mockingly as he easily dodged the phaser shot. His armoured boot sent the phaser flying before crashing down onto his arm. " Now I believe someone wants a word with you." the devil dog hissed as he painfully forced him onto his back before clamping his arms together.

The doors to the bridge opened and one of the marines escorted in a woman. “Sir!” The female marine looked towards Williams. “Seems he...” She motioned to Kirat. “Was holding Terran prisoners. She’s the last one left alive.”

"How did I guess he would have prisoners. Bet he has some human fetish." the marine hissed as he put more pressure on the Cardassians broken arm causing him to scream in pain.

The woman looked towards Williams, from the web on her hand and the implant glinting above her right ear it seemed she had a checkered past of her own. “I’m a nurse, he was keeping me alive because I was useful.” She gave Kirat a glaring look.

"Well it's okay miss your safe now. what's your name?" the jarhead asked.

“Dana... err Petty Officer 2nd Class Dana Monroe.” She offered a relieved smile. “I appreciate the rescue Captain.”