Terran Crucible (Part 3 of 8)

Posted on 15 Oct 2015 @ 1:41am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Commander Norvi Stace & Commander Andreus Kohl & Lieutenant Min Zhao & Lieutenant Jared Nicholas & Commander Luke Wyatt & Lieutenant Benice Gyce Ph.D. & Ensign K'os Beaumont & Fleet General Jack Holliday
Edited on on 15 Oct 2015 @ 1:49am

2,006 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: USS Galileo - Main Bridge
Timeline: MD 06 - 2105 hrs

Previously, on Terran Crucible (Part 2)...

From over Gyce's right shoulder K'os stood by the Engineering wall panel. He glanced once over his shoulder as others were conversing but gave Gyce's back a scrunched up look of horror and dismay. Blow the ship up? The fact that she would so casually suggest ending the lives of every single one on board simply in the hopes it might take out a part of the behemoth of a ship threatening them was beyond conscionable in his mind. "Ridiculous!" K'os rose his voice for the first time on the bridge and immediately regretted his short outburst. "Instead of giving in to our disadvantages we can use our advantages till there are no other options. Captain, the experimental secondary deflector is online and waiting for use. Scans indicated not just their weapons platform but that they do not have the same advanced EM warfare components we do. Advanced weapons or not, we have the capability to jam their systems at the very least. I vehemently disagree with the notion of self destruct as an option." Where before K'os' calm demeanour was steadfast, he stood their with his chest rising and falling, and his expression hard set for the first time while on duty. K'os would not go silently into death with such a cowardly action.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

"We are outgunned and we are outnumbered ten to one at minimum estimate," Gyce reminded K'os very hotly. "As a last resort, blowing the ship is protocol to keep the opposition from stealing our technology... Which you'll note has already been done with the decloaked fleet surrounding us. Of which, several of their ships are out of range for EMPs and the like. So your suggestion is merely a stalling tactic, since they can take us out at range. So to be frank, guerilla warfare, which is my suggestion for once they board this ship would also yield the same result."

Maybe it was her Resistance years speaking, but she understood the situation for what it was. And that the only way to win was to make a hard call. At least, so far as a massive fleet bore down on them and cut off any means of escape. It was not like Galileo had the legs to outrun these ships, afterall.

A frustrated eruption spewed forth from the commander's mouth that shocked even herself. Channeling into her previous host's command temperament, she turned her head around again to view both the Bajoran and the man. "If either of you don't stop bickering like school children immediately, I'll remove you both from the bridge myself!" She could feel the captain's stress levels rise as with her own, and the chatter about them, having already been quashed, seemed rife again. "Captain?" she asked quietly as the same scenarios were running through both their heads.

School children? K'os thought to himself as he was literally stunned into silence by the frustration spewing from Stace. He nodded towards her and said nothing further. His eyes cut to Gyce briefly before turning back towards his console to log it off. He nodded to an engineering crewman at another station to take over. He stood, waiting to be dismissed back to Engineering where he would be needed more.

Having remained silent as his crew discussed and bickered amongst themselves, Holliday eventually found his voice. Up until now he had been too fixated on seeing his own visage in the view screen. That meant if they were indeed in the mirror universe, he would have to think like himself, and worse, out-think himself.

"We are going to comply. For now. They have us outnumbered, outgunned and we are sitting ducks on the surface of this rock. I want all nonessential personnel retired to quarters. Mr Wyatt take what security forces you have and secure key areas. Lieutenant Min Nicholas and Mr Kohl - start encrypting our main computer. I don't want them getting our database without a fight. Mr Beaumont the same is true for Engineering."

Holliday immediately tapped his own command code into the control console beside him, ready to take part in his own element of locking down the main computer core.

"I want no sudden moves - keep the shields up for now but do not under any circumstances transfer power to weapons. If he truly is my counterpart he won't hesitate to follow up on his threat."

"I can do it," Tyrion insisted, "and I want to try ma'am." He cast Stace an empathic look. "They won't notice, and I can get into their systems and give you control. You could power down their weapons at a command."

Stace remained silent as she allowed her original orders to hang in the air.

"You heard my orders Ensign. Stay your hand." Holliday called back to the intelligence officer before turning back to face his console.

"Understood Captain." Min responded. She began to input a code sequence initiating a fractal encryption routine that proven resistant to most hacking attempts, even a rumored Borg attack on Starfleet's flagship a decade before. If the borg couldn't break it, their counterparts didn't stand a chance.

Spinning his chair to look aft, Kohl offered a nod in Min's direction. Kohl said, "I've dispatched a team to the computer core. They can assist however you need. I'll monitor from here."

=^=All Available Security personnel this is Wyatt Report to the Armoury Immediately, this is not a Drill=^= Shutting down his console resting it to the normal layout he walked over to Gyce quickly "I will keep you informed of everything down below, I'll be sending extra security to Sickbay, Engineering and here."

"Arm everyone," Gyce spoke quietly to Luke. "We only have fifteen on department staff. That's not enough to repel. So draft from the squints and sprocket folk if you have to."

Giving a acknowledging nod he placed a hand on her shoulder, this was one thing they didn't need right now and he also wanted to show her he supported her fully. "Gods be with you" He muttered before leaving the deck.

"Ms Nicholas - open a channel to...me." Holliday called to his chief of Operations. It was time to give his answer to this general who had him at the point of his spear.

"Channel Open."

"This is Captain Holliday of the USS Galileo - we are prepared to comply with your order. But I have terms of my own."

It took a few moments for the General to respond, but respond he did as the view screen flashed back into life with that same rigid stare the bridge crew had seen only moments before.

"Terms? You offer me terms now Captain? Do you have the slightest idea who you are dealing with you pathetic fool?"

John gripped his right hand into a fist as he listened to the procrastination that flooded down the comm channel.

"I could ask you the same question General. If you and I are one and the same then you know I won't hesitate to use force where necessary. And I doubt this would be a productive meeting if all you end up to show for it are a few hull fragments?"

The general remained silent for a moment as he stared into the reflection of his own eyes ahead of him. Eventually, he spoke.

"Your terms?"

John breathed a silent sigh of relief, before replying.

"No harm comes to my crew whilst we are in your custody. We in turn will offer no resistance. And we meet - face to face - a parlay if you will."

"Agreed. You have thirty minutes to bring your vessel to a flight ready status upon which time you will follow my flagship at a distance no greater than five thousand metres. Holliday...out.

And with that once again the channel closed, the signal shut off from the General's end.

"Very well people you heard our orders. We have thirty minutes to get off the surface. I expect us ready in twenty. Do what you have to do. Admiral Saalm, Commander Stace - would you join me in my Ready Room for a moment?"

The Orion nodded prudently. After just witnessing what could no doubt be Holliday's alter-ego, she realized that everything had now changed. No longer were they within the safe confines of Federation space, and their mission had now just become much more volatile. The Terran Empire was well-documented and studied by members of Starfleet's admiralty but there had not been an encounter with the alternate faction for many years. What new developments had occurred in their timeline remained a mystery, one which gave Lirha a very uneasy feeling considering the Empire's historic hostility towards their prime universe counterparts.

The Trill, with a knowing and stern nod, also took to her feet and followed behind the admiral and captain around the railing and towards the ready room.

"Wait, wait...what?" Tyrion turned around, facing the command pit. "Are we surrendering, just like that? No resistance, nothing? You can't be serious captain!"

The rear admiral looked back towards the grey-collared officer and frowned. "Your captain just gave you an order and I expect you to follow it...without questioning him." And with that, Lirha disappeared into the ready room on the heels of Holliday, anxious to discuss what had just been revealed to them and formulate a plan to get themselves out of what appeared to be a very dangerous situation.

As the admiral addressed the newly promoted intelligence officer, Stace stemmed her own frustration at the outburst as she clenched her jaw. Perhaps Tyrion's elevation to department head was something that needed further consideration if he was so quick to question direct commands. Intelligence officers towed the line as a rule but always seemed a little above their station when it came to the chain of command. She made a mental note to bring the ensign in for a chat once they had gotten out of this predicament. If they got out of this predicament.

Over at the forward science station, Kohl kept his eyes on the down throughout Tyrion's alarming declaration and then Lirha's withering riposte. Kohl's head had bobbed up initially, but he pursed his lips and lowered his gaze to his LCARS interface. He allowed the senior-most officers to address the outburst. As soon as Kohl heard the ready room doors close behind Admiral Saalm, Kohl locked out the science station controls. He got to his feet and sprinted back to the clutch of secondary science stations along the aft of the compartment. To the science officers stationed there, Kohl said in a hurried undertone, "Before Security commandeers our entire department, I need analyses of those ships out there, and if they're a match for anything in our databases..."

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

ENS Tyrion Faye
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

Lt JG Luke Wyatt
Asst. Chief of Secuirty
USS Galileo

Crewman Abbey Wyatt pNPC by Luke Wyatt
Scientist Mate
USS Galileo

Ensign Cyrin Xanth
Astrophysicist
USS Galileo

PO1 Taliesin Cynwrig
Master-At-Arms
USS Galileo
[PNPC Xanth]

LCmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Olsam Mott
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lt JG Nizan Rydit
Security Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Min Nicholas (née Zhao)
Chief Operations Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Benice Gyce
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

CPO Keval Zh'Erinov
PNPC Jared Nicholas
USSGalileo

Ensign K'os Beaumont
Acting Chief Engineer
USS Galileo

Crewman Ezra Koenig
Security Crewman
PNPC K'o Beaumont
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Jynn
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

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