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Posted on Sat Jan 4th, 2025 @ 4:14pm by Lieutenant Hezaar & Lieutenant 0110 & Ensign Talyn Daughter of Moya & Commander Galatea & Lieutenant Commander Ash Randall & Lieutenant Alexia Toryn & Commander Zhora zh'Roothi
Edited on on Sat Jan 4th, 2025 @ 6:17pm
2,959 words; about a 15 minute read
Mission:
Tosk
Location: USS Enterprise
Timeline: 2439-03-10, 11:00
Ensign Talyn, Daughter of Moya, sat at her console on the Battle Bridge of the Enterprise. Normally assigned to the Night Watch, she had been asked to stay on for Alpha Shift since the crew needed to use the Battle Bridge this morning because of the construction on the Main Bridge. Based on the Bridge of an Escort Class vessel, the Battle Bridge featured all of the same workstations as the Main Bridge but in a compact form.
Talyn liked working on the Battle Bridge because it was quiet and she, rarely, interacted with others. Today though had been somewhat draining because of all the people. Having grown up in the remains of the Romulan prison camp on Carraya IV, Talyn didn't experience as much diversity as most in Starfleet. While she was an abomination to most Klingons and Romulans due to her heritage, few aliens ever visited her world. The Romulan Free State had tried to reclaim it at one point, but the Federation prevented them. That was the extent of her understanding of galactic diversity and politics. Her time in Starfleet had been eye opening to the number of species in the galaxy, but she still found the number of people in the galaxy somewhat daunting.
Lex entered the bridge. Talking under her breath. "Minor Construction. Minor Construction they say? 'Oh we can use the battle bridge. It is a bridge.'" Lex noted. "I'm so pleased that starfleet wants us commanding ships from the lower decks." She was brimming with sarcasm this day, and her handwrap was still on her left hand after she smashed it on purpose."
LT. Randall peered around the back of her chair at Lt. Toryn while she made her entrance and shrugged in response to her observation, the sarcasm seemingly lost on the Tuansee engineer. Ash was, a little, miffed that she'd been cut out of any involvement in what was being done, repair and remodel wise, aboard ship. Ash, as the Chief Engineering Officer, considered Enterprise HER ship so, not being provided the courtesy of even a cursory review of what was being done rubbed the felinoid the wrong way. "How are you doing, Lt. Toryn?" The Engineer asked, from her seat at the Engineering console.
"I've been mindf*$#ed by a space whale. If it was not for my wondrous Betazoid brain and it's remarkable ability to heal itself, I would be in a coma. Fortunately the hand stopped hurting. The dreams however are like Tim Burton's acid overdose." Lex mentioned.
"I see." Ash replied back, quietly, while she continued to review detailed scans of the brown dwarf in an effort to satisfy her curiosity. The gas giant should already have collapsed in on itself to become a red dwarf. That it had not done so presented a bit of a, frightening, possibility the creatures were preventing its collapse. What else could they do? Ash was also troubled by the widespread attack/ effect by the creature on the telepathic and empathic beings aboard ship and why she had been unaffected. Granted, her abilities were limited to touch but, that seemed an unlikely answer. One more thing to add to a long list of things the engineer did not know about herself and her species.
Having been standing over the situation table at the rear of the compact battle bridge, tucked away from immediate view Commander zh'Roothi observed the two Lieutenants interact with one other. Having heard enough she called out inviting the science officer to join her at the table: "Lieutenant Toryn, come here if you please?"
Lex stood up and joined the commander over at the table. Already folding her arms.
Noting her aggressive stance zh'Roothi wanted to keep things calm. "I heard you talking to Randall," the Commander started in a soft tone. "How are you really? If you required more time to recover it can be arranged."
"I've tried every meditation and mind meld I can think of, but it cannot all be removed. I've even tried counseling, but that's the thing when you have telepathic trauma. It can take a long time for the wounds to heal. That is partly why my people have opposed this alliance," Lex mentioned, "The Dominion is hideous, and I wonder if Starfleet Command has lost its mind? This is the Dominion that sent Founders as spies to get us to fight each other before the war. This is the Dominion that infected a race in the gamma quadrant with a reproductive and aging virus and called it mercy. I've even heard stories that Weyoun was ready to destroy escape pods after Chintoka, and my great grandma? I have to reintroduce myself to her several times a year because they used her for telepathy experiments." Lex noted. "It is why House Toryn's seat in the great hall of Medara is empty. Because they surrendered. They say it was to spare our people a brutal occupation. We say it was treason and cowardice."
The XO nodded as Lexi spoke noting just how much there was to unpack from her explanation of what could have been an easy response. "We'll support your recovery as long as necessary," zh'Roothi replied. "The decision to return to the Gamma Quadrant to establish connection with the Dominion comes from far above us both. I understand your reluctance given the violent history during the War. However," her tone dipped slightly. "We are Starfleet Officers and pledged a commitment to form new bonds to enhance society - how can we improve and evolve ourselves if we allow the past to cloud our judgement?"
"Yet there is another saying. Those who do not learn from history, are condemned to repeat it. They do not view us as equals, and their servitor races, far less." Lex mentioned. "I'll follow orders, yes. But my idea of diplomacy with the Dominion is building another minefield around the wormhole."
The Commander bit back a chuckle, though she felt her lips twitch with mirth. "I wouldn't recommend it." She shifted her weight slightly: "Your resolve will be bested Lexi, we're to have a Vorta Administrator join us throughout our mission. Will you be able to conduct yourself appropriately?"
"A Vorta Ambassador? Son of a... I will conduct myself appropriately as long as we conduct ourselves carefully. The Dominion's administrators can be as dangerous as many Jem'hadar. Though they were how my house turned the tide on Betazed. We got one so paranoid he cancelled Christmas."
"Let the Captain and I worry about that," zh'Roothi assured her. "In the mean time we'll take things one step at a time."
On the Engineering console, manned by Lieutenant Commander Randall, the alert indicator for a message from the Stardrive Engine Room started to flash.
The Chief Engineer eyed the alert indicator and waited a, beat or two, her, gloved right hand, poised over her comm-badge before she tapped it. "Lieutenant 0110? Report, please?" She asked, then waited.
"Commander," the highly mechanical voice of Bynar Lieutenant 0110 came through, "We are experiencing difficulties with the polytitanium output baffle of the Waste Management system. We require your assistance with repair."
"I will be right there, Lieutenant." Ash replied, after a second or two and contemplated the possibilities of what issue with the output baffle might require her presence, as she logged out of her station, and then considered whether the call for her might be a pretense for something else. Why her thoughts would go in that direction, was a mystery to the engineer so she set them aside as she boarded the lift.
Talyn watched as the Chief Engineer left the Battle Bridge and returned her attention to the Tactical monitors. A notice came in on her display and she opened it quickly. "Sirs," the hybrid called, "Quartermaster reports that ordinance prep has been completed. We're fully loaded."
Having finished her discussion with Toryn stepped towards the centre of the small bridge and took the customary single seat in the epicentre. "Good," she responded before turning to Moore. "Please ensure the payload is secure and in order. It will be a long journey to replenish if the Quartermaster has miscounted."
Lieutenant 0110 stood at the central control panel in the Waste Management compartment of the Stardrive Section staring at the data details that were scrolling over the long workstation. Being a Bynar, 0110 was able to process an incredible amount of detail in a short period of time thanks to the data processor installed in his brain. Normally working in pairs, his analysis would have been far faster had his counterpart been involved in the analysis, but he was assigned to the Operations division as a helmsman and not available. Not that he would have been of much good though.
Much like this polytitanium output baffle seemed to be. A component within the matter reclamation system, the output baffle was situated at the exit point and had been designed to prevent solid waste and scum from leaving the tank and entering the drain field by directing the water flow upwards, allowing only the clarified liquid to exit the system properly. Without it, the whole waste reclamation system would fail and, for some reason, it was registering an error.
Pressing a series of commands on the console, the Bynar was about to attempt to purge the entire system again when he heard the doors open.
The Chief Engineer entered the Waste Management compartment and paused, just inside the door, to take in the overall space and swished her tail out of the open doorway just as the doors were closing. Ash spotted 0110 and, silently, moved his direction. "Thoughts?" She asked, when a few feet away, and waited for 0110 to summarize his assessment of the issue.
The diminutive alien turned toward his commander, "Apologies, Commander Ash, but I am at a loss to describe the cause of this error. The polytitanium output baffle is not a system that is prone to breakdown aboard a starship. I was attempting to purge the system in an effort to correct."
Ash thought, for a few seconds, and nodded to herself. "I doubt another purge is going to solve this error. Some strange things can happen during a 'quick' retrofit that's happening in conjunction with significant repairs. I doubt there's a physical issue with the output baffle or you would have found it, easily, with the most basic of scans." Ash observed, quietly. "The firmware of the control interface could be corrupt as a byproduct of one, or more, changes made elsewhere as part of our repairs." She added, with a sigh. "A purge would have resolved anything else." She finished and looked to the Bynar engineer. "Do you want to flash or replace the control module?" She asked him.
"My background is not in the diagnosis and repair of these systems, Commander. I was called in as you were initially unavailable on the Bridge and our desire was not to interrupt your service," 0110 explained. "I defer to your experience."
"Well, in that case, I will swap out the control module." Ash replied, quietly. The Bynar Lieutenant was one of the few personnel in Starfleet that Ash could, literally, see eye-to-eye with. "I will require your assistance, manning this station, while I make the swap out. I'll retrieve a replacement module and will contact you when I am in place to make the swap. You will initiate a, step-by-step, purge and I will swap out the module between step two and step three. any questions?" The Chief Engineer asked, while she eyed the elevated position of the access port where the control module lived.
The purple skinned alien shook its head as it had learned Humans did, "No questions, Commander. Shall we begin?"
The felinoid engineer flicked her ears in the affirmative and trotted off and out of sight, for a moment, before reappearing on the catwalk near the access port and opening it. The engineer tapped her com badge. "0110, begin the purge process, step-by-step, please." The engineer requested and waited while step one and then step two completed as the baffle cycled open. Ash, visually, confirmed the baffle was open, from her elevated position on the catwalk, and tapped her com-badge. "Lieutenant, I believe I know what the problem is and it is NOT with the control module. Summon security. We have a stowaway." She announced.
"Bridge, this is Lieutenant 0110. We have an intruder."
Arriving on Deck 9, Lieutenant Hezaar exited the Turbolift flanked by a contingent of Engineers and other technicians. The Chief Engineer of Starbase 419, she had been working for a full day now to get the Bridge of the ship ready and now she was ready to move on to the Battle Bridge. She knew that they didn't have much time left though because Enterprise was scheduled to depart later today, and they still had a lot of work to do. All she really wanted though was to go get a nap because this had been back breaking work.
"How are we possibly going to get this finished before they have to leave? This is next to impossible," a Bajoran technician protested as they walked down the corridor.
A second engineer, this one Human, added, "I just want to go get a shower and to bed."
"That sounds good," another Human interjected. "This has been a long day."
"And it's not over yet," the Bajoran answered.
So far, the Chief Engineer had said nothing. Instead, she listened as her team talked and complained. She made a gentle sound though, so they knew it was time to get to work as she reached forward and pressed the control to release the Battle Bridge door. As the door slid open, the Gorn looked back at her team, "This shouldn't take too long. The Battle Bridge needs some fairly extensive modifications, but the crew isn't..."
Having finished her discussion with Toryn stepped towards the centre of the small bridge and took the customary single seat in the epicentre. "Good," she responded before turning to Moore. "Please ensure the payload is secure and in order. It will be a long journey to replenish if the Quartermaster has miscounted."
Looking back into the room, the Engineer was surprised to see that a collection of officers and other technicians were in the small Battle Bridge. "You'll have to excuse me," Lieutenant Hezaar said, "I was under the impression that this room had been vacated for the refit. You're going to have to leave."
Commander zh'Roothi stood and scrutinised the crew momentarily before replying. "And go where Lieutenant?" she asked the lead Engineer. "Or have you completed the required upgrades to the bridge ahead of your own projections?"
"The Main Bridge was completed about half an hour ago, Commander," the Gorn Engineer explained. "The Commodore's already been up there and he's given it his ok. Last I knew he was still there."
The Andorian bit back a sarcastic remark about being kept in the dark when another item took her attention:
"Bridge, this is Lieutenant 0110. We have an intruder."
An intruder when docked at Starbase 419? Commander zh'Roothi frowned with concern before addressing the new arrivals. "Hezaar, are all your crewmen accounted for?" she asked.
The Gorn opened the HoloPADD function on her TriCom badge and looked at the data display for her personnel, cross-referencing it with Lieutenant 0110's position. Lowering the hologram, she turned toward the Commander with a nod, "Indeed they are, Commander, none of my team are out of place."
"Dammit," the XO muttered. "Lieutenant Moore, take a team, investigate this unexpected guest."
"Don't mind us," Hezaar interjected. "Pretend we're not here."
"Intruder Alert," the main computer announced.
"Ash to bridge. Our intruder has cloaked and is on the move. I've ordered a complete lock down of this space. I recommend flooding it with anethizine or neurozine gas to incapacitate our stowaway. Requesting emergency transport of myself and Lt. 0110 out at this time."
"Cloaked?" zh'Roothi repeated with concern. Certainly more than a simple runaway and most likely how they were able to avoid security.
Ensign Talyn turned from the Tactical station, "I have the internal intruder defense system ready to go, Commander. I can activate the gas when ordered."
"Do it," zh'Roothi nodded. "And put us on yellow alert. The rest of you close down your stations we're returning to the bridge to give Hezaar the space required."
From her vantage point on the catwalk, Ash eyed their stowaway, now exposed in his hiding place, and tapped her com-badge. "Bridge, this is Ash. I see no sign of movement from our stowaway. A medical team may also be required though, it might be a case of playing possum, to use an Earth colloquialism, as I believe it is a Tosk." The Chief Engineer reported, flatly, the history, exploits and adventures of the DS9 personnel not being unknown to the Tuansee.
Realizing he had been spotted, the alien prey looked upon the Engineer for a moment before shifting his weight. Within a second of time the alien had vanished.
"Intruder Alert," the main computer announced.
"Computer, lock down the waste management space, all doors, hatches and engineering spaces accessible to or from the waste management space." The Chief engineer ordered and tapped her com badge.
"Ash to bridge. Our intruder has cloaked and is on the move. I've ordered a complete lock down of this space. I recommend flooding it with anethizine or neurozine gas to incapacitate our stowaway. Requesting emergency transport of myself and Lt. 0110 out at this time." She announced, calmly.
As the transporter beam engaged, Lieutenant 0110 could feel pressure around his body, almost like a Humanoid hug.
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