Task Force: Gamma

Aria · Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 11:39 am Post subject:

She nodded. It was a starting place. She felt like a fish trying to fly in this situation. It was unnerving, though she was determined to handle it. Still, Calodan's words, obviously meant to be comforting, made her feel a lot better.

"I'll punch the information up, then," she said. "With permission, sir." She looked to Qech.
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Davynn Qech · Graphics Chief Joined: 16 Jun 2009 Posts: 809

"The Commander Qech Im used to is still very much pregnant. Any chance you might want to let me in on his birthdate? Temporal prime directive be damned...I want to win my betting pool."

Qech gave a genuine, almost mischievous smile. "Oh no. I wouldn't sacrifice the look on your face that day for anything. You'll just have to be surprised, Jim. I know I was."

"He's here? Now?!"

Qech turned her attention quickly to Lioy as she blurted this out, seemingly out of nowhere, and knew instantly what had happened. She knew.

"I'm sorry, sir. That's none of my business. Is there a way to get back to our timeline from this side of things? We...don't want to get in the way. You sound like you have your hands full."

"There really are no guidelines on how to handle this situation.We very much both wish to return to our own timelines..but as for how to do that I dont have any idea. We are also currently inhabiting the bodies of people who have responsibilities. I don't need Lt. Lioy's telepathic powers to have seen the stress levels this crew is under..yourself included Captain. To lose two crew members now would be added strain. I would very much like to be of assistance however I can."

The Captain listened as the two threw their theories and questions forward, but her eyes were still on Lioy. Her exclamation about Taj had cut through her like a knife, playing off the fears that she had battling with since they had started on this damned mission. She took a deep breath and looked to Calodan, who she still trusted as her first officer.

"You're absolutely right, Jim. As I said before I can't afford to lose either of you now. Under normal circumstances, getting you both home would be a first priority. But as Lieutenant Lioy has no doubt discovered, these are not normal circumstances, and I need you both at my side."

She steadied herself mentally, her ears still ringing with Aria's outburst. To hell with the Temporal Directive.

"Yes Lieutenant, my four-year-old, along with many other civilians, is aboard a ship that may very well be heading straight into another Wolf 359. That idea has done little to settle my stomach about the mission, believe me. But there is nothing I can do."

She stood up straight, and her face took on a mask of authority, as if she were finalizing a decision. "Lieutenant Aria Lioy was charged with keeping the emotional well-being of those people during this crisis. I hope I can still count on her to take up that duty."
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ArjimCalodan · Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 12:06 pm Post subject:

Aria · Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 9:36 pm Post subject:

Davynn Qech · Graphics Chief Joined: 16 Jun 2009 Posts: 809

"Whatever I can do. I'll do my utmost. But...you probably would be better off with my future self. She has knowledge of what's come before which I don't. So if we can switch back before anything happens, we should try."

"I couldn't agree more, Counselor. The trouble is, I don't have the manpower to deal with two situations at once right now. We're nearly at our destination, and I have all hands preparing for what's to come. Yes, it would be better if this had not happened. But we just don't have the time, unless Jim can pull a rabbit out of his hat... Which, granted, I've seen him do many times."

She smiled at Calodan, and looked back to Aria. "I wish I knew what I could do to get you home. But for now a quick education is the best I can give. I hate to have to tell you this, but we're looking at the end of... Well, everything here."

"The Borg are back? How bad is it?"

"Bad" Qech replied simply. "The Borg are using sub-space tunnels to enter Federation space. We're headed for the mouth of one of those hubs. There are other ships tasked with finding a way of shutting them down, but we'll be on the front line, along with about 300 other ships. The Borg have already destroyed several other planets... Yes, destroyed."

She paused at the looks on the others' faces. It was difficult having to tell them this.

"They're done playing with us. They don't seem to be interested in assimilation anymore. They're just slaughtering everything in their path now."
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ArjimCalodan · Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 11:09 pm Post subject:

Antonio Coelho · Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 4:07 pm Post subject:

Location: Hartington-A Science Lab 03

Lt. Coelho stood watching as two security officers adjusted their phasers and fired, repeatedly, at a force field. Time and time again, their shots had no effect upon it. Disruptors similarly were shunted aside. "Have power levels stabilized as in the simulation?" he asked the ensign manning the science consul.

"Yes, sir. I think we've finally got it."

Coelho looked to the security officers, "Check the power levels on your weapons. Are they where we projected?" They nodded, and Antonio double-checked their numbers against his own.

"Good," Coelho nodded. "Time to show this to the Admiral. Maybe it'll buy us a little more time. Clear up all the evidence of the tests, and thank you all for your hard work. This project will remain classified until Starfleet Command says otherwise." Coelho picked up the PADD with complete notes on his project, and left for the bridge. Admiral Brennon would hardly be anywhere else...

The turbo lift gave him time to reflect on the last few weeks, the despair and shades of hope which mixed through them, bringing him to get authorization for Project: Dissonance. Shielding, as it was normally done, used a stable resonance around which the whole shield-matrix was constructed, but once that frequency was discovered, as had happened few times before, weapons could be tuned and fired through the shielding as though it was not there. Antonio suspected this was able to explain much of the Borg's ability to destroy Federation ships so quickly...

By changing the frequency at which the shield operated, frequently, and at random, broad spectrum energy weapons wouldn't be able to find a stable harmonic to penetrate, taking away one vulnerability in the face of this war. The side effect, that the ever-changing shields tended to cause small amounts of feed back in the weapons shot at them, was a happy surprise. Sadly, it was one that Coelho hadn't managed to capitalize on very well. Some additional power drain here, a few random shorts and blown power relays there, but there wasn't the time or computer power to run the full battery of tests he wanted. A stable shield that could stand up for a few more hits, one that could potentially tax a little more of the enemy's resources, would have to suffice.

As he entered the bridge, Coelho checked his station and with the duty officer. A bit late? Well I've interrupted enough meetings to know better than to fall back into that habit... He tapped his com badge, "Admiral Brennon, when you have a moment, I have the reports you asked me about."
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Science has two purposes, to enhance life and to protect it. I embrace the former, what do you choose?

Captain David Brennon · Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:39 pm Post subject:

*

Location: Main Bridge, USS Hartington-A

Admiral Brennon was about to acknowledge the Security Chief's message when the Operations Officer called out to him.

"Admiral, one of the apertures is opening!"

This is it Brennon thought to himself, but he truly had no idea just how absolute those words would become in the moments that followed.

"Red alert, Captain Qech to the Bridge. Weapons lock on the aperture."

As Qech, Calodan and Lioy stepped out onto the bridge the first cube flew through the opening and into the waiting weapons of the allied armada. Followed by the second, and the third, and the fourth, and the fifth, continuing on until there were more than could be easily counted... not that that mattered as the metallic monsters opened fire on the fleet.

"All weapons, fire at will!"

The Hartington shook as it was blasted with, through the carnage Lieutenant Woods at Ops called out a report.

"Captain, Admiral... the computer has tallied at least 7,000 individual cubes have come through the tunnel... We've lost contact with the Klingon and Romulan contingents. The Cardassians are sounding a general retreat. I'm not picking up Voyager's transponder signal... Our lines are collapsing!"

As the words left her mouth the console in front of Bethany Woods erupted in flames, throwing the woman backwards over her seat. She collapsed onto the ground, her face unrecognizable.

Chaos closed around them all as the Borg rushed past the crumbling fleet, proving once and for all that resistance was in fact futile. Admiral Brennon's face was a mask of horror. He stood from his seat, taking a step forward as the ship rocked to one side. In the last moments, he had no orders to give, no words of encouragement... This is it.

OOC: Feel free to continue posting. Just because things look bleak doesn't mean that you're dead yet!
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ArjimCalodan · Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:50 pm Post subject:

Calodan rushed forward to Woods. The young Ops officer had apparently taken over his job with his promition. He pulled her away from the shatter remains of her console and felt for a pulse....nothing. She was dead.

The ship rocked violently as more and more cubes emerged and just pushed through the fleets. The viewscreen was still online, albeit staticy and showed little in the way of weapons fire. The Borg were just bulldozing their way through. Through the smoke he saw Admiral Brennon and Captain Qech at the back of the Bridge helping other wounded officers. He had to do something, temporal prime directive or not. He sprinted across the bridge to a working console and entered his command codes to reconfigure it to show all the functions he needed to act as the Ops officer.

"Captain, Admiral...we have hull breaches on deck 11 through 14, sections 21a through g. Emergency forcefields are offline, we're venting atmosphere. Attempting to reroute power." His fingers danced over the console. Luckily, Ops design hadnt changed much in the last 50 years, so the new Hartington's systems were pretty similar to the old. The ship rocked with another hit and spun on its axis...throwing him to the floor. Consoles blew and pieces of bulkhead spun around the bridge..then everything was quiet. He struggled back to his feet and examined the console. "Captain, the Borg have broken our lines. They are accelerating out into the Quadrant. Im reading multiple distress calls throughout the nebula." He coughed, the acrid smoke that was in the air was irritating his lungs, "We're not in any shape to help anyone though. Main power is offline, comms are down, life support is at minimum. We've lost gravity on several decks." A list of damaged or destroyed systems scrolled past the screen. "It would be a lot easier to tell you what is working which at this point is nothing."
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Davynn Qech · Graphics Chief Joined: 16 Jun 2009 Posts: 809

Qech staggered as the first wave of enemy fire rocked the ship, feeling the heat from exploding consoles as shards of shrapnel cut against her face. She rushed to aid those closest to her, hearing Calodan call out over the roar of panic that gripped the crew.

"We're not in any shape to help anyone though. Main power is offline, comms are down, life support is at minimum. We've lost gravity on several decks. It would be a lot easier to tell you what is working which at this point is nothing."

At that moment, the Captain locked eyes with Brennon, and knew that he was thinking the same thing she was. They were adrift, a dead stick. Time to save as many lives as they could. Steeling herself against what she had to do next, Qech looked to her first Officer.

"Abandon ship."

The alarm blared around them, red flashing lights lighting up the smoldering bridge like something out of a horror movie.

"Let's go everyone! Get to the escape pods!"

With that final order, Qech's next and only thought was to get to her son.
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ArjimCalodan · Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 11:52 am Post subject:

Aria · Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 3:05 pm Post subject:

Davynn Qech · Graphics Chief Joined: 16 Jun 2009 Posts: 809

"All decks have been informed of the evacuation order. My last readings show escape pods beginning to launch."

Qech nodded slowly, finding at least some relief in the fact that the pods were at least left undamaged. She leaned in toward Calodan and Lioy. "Get yourselves off this ship. Consider it a priority. I don't want to know what might happen in the past if you die here... I need to get my son."

Qech felt dazed. Everything had happened so quickly, and the events unfolding around her felt so surreal as she made her way quickly through the red flashing corridors toward her quarters. She found her son outside in the hallway, crying. His caretaker, Ensign Baker, lay bleeding on the floor beneath a heap of fallen shrapnel. It only took a moment for Qech to determine that she was dead.

She held her arms out to Taj, who threw himself into his mothers arms so fast it nearly knocked the wind out of her. "It's alright baby, I've got you. Hang on tight."

With the crying child hugging her neck she turned and made her way quickly back to the bridge where she knew she would still find Brennon. She could only hope the rest of her friends were on their way to safety, and she could not leave him.
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