The Snare
Posted on Sat Jul 20th, 2024 @ 6:45pm by Captain Marc Kidd & Commander Mariko Tao & Lieutenant Commander Faith Benson & Lieutenant Christopher Blake & Lieutenant Sorine Kaida & Lieutenant Vincent 'Ghost' Zandrell & Lieutenant Sarah Graesyn & Lieutenant Siadra Molaur & Lieutenant Maya Canak & Lt JG Adalyn O'Rourke Ph.D. & Ensign Nala Rider
Edited on on Sat Jul 20th, 2024 @ 7:06pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 2 - The Sins of History
Location: Main Bridge - Deck 3 - USS Artemis
Timeline: MD010 1300 hrs
Marc sat with his hands between his legs and his head down. One could say that he sat on the edge of his seat. The hours seemed to go by slower than the hour before. It seemed to him that they had hit a brick wall despite having a tracking device. It was nigh impossible to track in the Badlands and so here they were on search pattern as they tried to find the perp that would close this case. Marc asked what he believed he had asked only five minutes ago, but it gave him something to do. "Anyone have anything to report?"
The Badlands had been somewhere Mariko had managed to avoid in her career so far and even now as she watched the large plasma blasts light up the viewscreen she felt it had been right to do so. The ionic interference from the storms created havoc with sensors meaning they were near enough blind, deaf and lacking in information aside from the hope they'd detect the locator Lieutenant Molaur had placed on Gul Vamcet. Mariko was keeping an eye on the Cherenkov radiation the storms produced as best she could but also knew the crew had this well in hand for the moment. She was assured Lieutenant Blake was an impressive pilot.
Faith sighed more than once, giving a shake of her head, though there had to be something else they could try. Now just think of what...then it hit her. "Shuttles and probes. All of them. We can set them up as a mobile sensor grid. I know just how nasty the Badlands are, but still if we use enough and tightly knit... just maybe..."
"Similar to the tachyon detection grid that stopped the Romulan invasion." Chris chirped up. "If we can get the sensors to account for the radiation and the storms, we could deploy our own grid. It's a long shot, but it's better than nothing."
From her place on the bridge, Adalyn was attempting to appear the epitome of calm and patience. Under the circumstances, there was very little else she could offer. Until they found a way to track Vamcet and they can actually lay eyes on him in person, none of her profiling would be of any use. That said, she had faith in the team and knew with enough patience and perseverance they would find a way forward.
The idea may not work, and Marc knew it. However, it was better than the monotony of nothing that they were in right now. "Good call! Lieutenant Blake, you and Commander Benson get it done." There was a small amount of excitement in his voice now that they had something to do.
Pretending was something Kaida was very good at. She pretended she didn't need anyone, she pretended she was okay with most social situations and she pretended she wasn't bored out of her mind while the others tried to find Vamcet. "I wish I could get into his head temporarily, figure out where he was hiding and lead you to him." She smiled apologetically at Chris.
Nala watched from a corner of the Bridge, curious as to the workings of the ship.
Maya sat on the bridge where she could be on hand when needed. As there was little to do except watch and wait, she kept her hands and part of her thoughts busy crocheting. It helped a great deal for times like this when tensions could escalate quickly. While she worked, she listened to what the others were doing to get a feel for for how they worked together.
The signal, where was the signal, was going through Siadra's mind. At the moment it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. However she wasn't going to give up. Each sector they combed through, she worried her lower lip. The eddies of the Badlands energies was a bit daunting. At first she thought she had found it, but then it was lost. She rubbed her eyes momentarily, wiping the perspiration that had dripped down into her eyes. Then, that elusive signal there it was... she had almost lost it. Looking up from the viewscreen, Siadra smiled. "I found it! I found the signal!"
Nala's head popped up as she'd almost fallen asleep.
[Sweet! Huntin' time!] Nala thought excitedly.
Maya turned from looking at the viewscreen to looking at Siadra and smiled. This was excellent news. She finished a row and wondered how long it would take to reach their destination.
"Great work Lieutenant!" Marc stood and made his way to the science console. Once there he saw the faint but present blip on the screen that indicated Vamcet. "Faith can you scan the area where this signal is see what's out there."
"At least that's something to help with that." Working on her console, "You know this would be a great time for my mumbo-jumbo Q-space-time ability to kick in and just tell us." Faith paused a moment, "Wait.." Double checking a beep. Looking to Vincent, "Is that what it looks like? How in the hell is a Nor-Class station in the middle of the Badlands. Bearing 128 mark 36 to port."
Nala was trying to wrap her head around that concept when Faith called out about the station. What the heck!? How do they get supplies to that thing!? Was Nala's first thought.
Vincent was on the bridge, standing off the the side of the tactical station, remaining out of the way but still in a good position to watch things unfold and jump in should the need be. He kept his hands behind his back and watched what was going on until he was called over. Immediately, he went into business mode and approached the tactical station, looking at what Faith pulled up.
"What the hell?" Vincent replied, seeing the Nor Class Station. He was aware of the known Cardassian designed Station from being on Deep Space Nine, briefly, as well as being part of a group that boarded Empok Nor. However, this one was a station he didn't know of. It wasn't even on Starfleet's radar, as he tapped on a nearby console to see if any information came up on it. "Nothing. Not even a whisper." He replied softly as he looked to Faith for a moment, before looking back to his screen. "Good news is, thanks to our knowledge of DS9, we have an idea of its defenses." Vincent wasn't about to mention his trip onto Empok Nor, mainly because, it was a Starfleet Intelligence mission.
Siadra almost gave herself whiplash when she turned to look at Faith, stifling a small giggle. The feeling passed, when she heard the utterance about the Nor class station. "That is where they are at?"
Maya wasn't sure what to make of the space time mumbo jumbo, so she chose to ignore it as it was clearly made up. But the part about the Noor class station was enough for her to put away her crocheting and focus all her attention on what would happen next.
"On screen..." Marc called out and as soon as he did the image of a Nor Class Station among the swirling eddies of the Badlands came into view. "...I would love to know how they did this without anyone knowing. My guess it was the Order but that is a discussion for another time. Mr Blake take us to that station best possible speed. Commander Benson open a channel, although I doubt they will answer. Lieutenant Molaur scan that station. Passive sensors only. I would like to know life signs aboard in particular." He leaned over to the XO. "Mariko I would like you to work with Ms Frost and prepare a team to board that station and get Vamcet if we have to." The idea of a station here was absurd, however, if this was where Vamcet was he would not let him get away.
Sarah tapped across her console and pulled up the sensor readings from the scans Lieutenant Molaur was doing, trying to get a gauge on the energy levels of the station. She was looking for any telltale tremors or peaks in the readouts that might provide some form of insight as to its presence but found nothing that seemed out of the norm for a Nor Class Station.
Mariko was also confused as to how anyone had managed to get a Nor class station into the Badlands. The radiation and turbulence enough would be enough to cause a ship problems, let alone a station. Maybe whomever did so knew how to stabilise themselves and that in itself warranted investigation as it may help safer passage through the area. As Captain Kidd spoke to her she nodded, "Yes captain. I'll go speak with Ms Frost." she commented before standing up to go do so.
[Now comes the fun part] Nala thought as she watched everyone jump to their tasks.
Vincent overhead the order to get Frost, his CO, as well as a team on board the station. He saw this as a chance to prove his worth to the Captain by speaking up. "Captain..." He said with a slight raised voice before approaching him. "I may have some experience on a Nor Class Station that could prove useful." He continued, lowering his voice slightly, as he tried not to go into much detail as to way. "Permission to join the team with the Commander and Frost?"
"Granted Lieutenant." Marc said with a glance toward Vincent. He simply could not keep his eyes off of the station for too long. It was that intriguing just that it existed."
Sarah looked to the viewscreen from the Engineering Station on the bridge and shook her head slowly as she thought, in the process she nearly missed the conversation about an away team until she noticed Mariko stand up and she had a feeling that this was something she had to see. "Captain, permission to join the away team? I may be able to figure out some of the workings of the station... and I am familiar with Cardassian Technology. Perhaps I can gain insight as to how it's out here and seemingly stable?"
Marc smiled as he was happy to see his new Chief Engineer looking to get her feet wet as it were. "Granted... Join Commander Tao. But do not take any unnecessary risks. We are here to get Vamcet and get out. That goes for all of you." He spoke to both Sarah and Mariko as they made their way off the Bridge.
Sarah grinned, excited and nodded. "Understood; no unnecessary risks." She checked over the readouts one last time and then stepped away from the console and toward the Turbolift.
Faith gave a little glance a moment at not being asked about the ESU going with out her agreeing, but that was kind of their job. She'd do better suited for now where she was at Tactical. Hailing twice, and waiting, still no response. "They're either not willing to respond, or unable to respond. I can just open a channel instead, "Captain."
"Lets hear it..." Marc said in response to Faith. When the channel was open he spoke to the image of the station on the viewscreen. "Commander of the station, this is Captain Marc Kidd of the Federation starship Artemis. We believe that you are holding a fugitive from justice. Please respond."
There was a shake of Faith's head, "Of course..no response still."
Navigating the Badlands was like riding through a minefield on an elephant. Go to fast and you were likely going to blow up. Chris Blake had only done simulations of the Badlands before this mission had started so he was aware of the dangers. A steady hand and an eye on the sensors kept them going at a decent clip without getting too close to a storm.
Nala found a spot to sit as it was getting a little bumpy despite Blake's fantastic flying.
Siadra felt the shifts of the ship as Chris guided it through the badlands,several occasions she had to hold on. Inside her mind Keema was commenting The chief helmsman would be perfect for traveling through the white water rapids in the Grand Canyon. Matter of fact this is certainly reminding me of that trip I had taken...
Not Now Keema. I need to concentrate. Siadra said internally.
When they got nearer to the station, Siadra became even more focused, there her scans picked up something of which she found rather strange, looking up she said to Captain Kidd, "Sir I am picking up only Fifty lifeforms on that station."Frowning at not being able to get anymore details as to the life-forms.
Fifty? Maya thought. How could they run a station with so few people? How much of it was actually functioning? And was there even a doctor on the station? Did any of them need medical assistance? Something to verify once they got there. For now, she would simply watch and wait.
Nala watched the station get bigger. It didn't look old, but there was something VERY old about it, but Nala decided to keep that under her hat for now.
"Alright lets do this by the book. Commander Tao assemble an away team. Keep in mind that transporters are out of the question. So, you are going to have to take a shuttle. Lieutenant Molaur work with Lieutenant Graesyn the team is going to need a way to dock without getting detected. We are not sure what we are in for, but the one thing I am sure of is that Vamcet is on that station. Let's go get him..." Marc spoke confidently and sat back down in his chair when he finished. He projected an aire of confidence and hoped that his crew would follow his lead.
"I'll get us as close as I can sir, but I wouldn't risk docking or staying in one place too long out here." Chris comment without looking up. He was adjusting for a storm when an energy discharge shot across the brow. Artemis shook as the inertial dampeners were reaching their limit. He did manage to glance up at the seeming stationary station. How in the hell could they be so stable and not get blown apart? Part of him wanted a peek, but this was where he was needed, this... this kind of piloting was what he needed.
"Understood, Mr Blake get us close but keep us out of range of their short range sensors. We are going to have to dock a shuttlecraft." Kidd replied to his helmsman. He did not like the sound of that and knew that he was going to have to send Blake to pilot the away team.
[WHOA! That was COOL! Scarry...but cool!] Nala thought, trying to refind her balance in the little cubby area she'd found.
Nala was starting to get one of those 'I've got a bad feeling about this' vibes the closer they flew, but she wasn't an officer, nor was she even needed up here, so she kept her mouth shut and waited to see what would happen next.
Mariko had welcomed Lieutenant Zandrell into the turbolift with her. =/\= Tao to Frost, please bring yourself and a small team to transporter room one of deck 6. We are to prepare to board the station should communication attempts fail. Tao out. =/\=
The doors closed and she stood with perfect poise. "Deck six." she said before looking at Zandrell. "Do you have experience in suspect extractions?" she asked. She hadn't read the man's file so knew nothing about him other than his name.
Vincent fallowed the XO into the turbolift and nodded in thanks. There was a slightly paused when she asked her question, not because he didn't have an answer, but he knew it would require a little more information without revealing too much. "I do. More importantly, I know the lay of the land. I know this station and Deep Space Nine are similar, but there are a few sections and areas not commonly utilized that we can use to get around undetected. Plus, I am familiar with a sensor gap which we can use to transport in without drawing any attention." He gave a bit of a pause again before elaborating a bit more. "I once worked with an Intelligence Team who were asked to extract a defector from a similar station. We managed to get in and out without a confrontation. No promises the same will happen here, Sir... Uh.. Ma'am." He smiled a bit covering his face slightly. "Sorry, Commander. I'm still getting used to being back in uniform."
"Commander is fine, Lieutenant." Mariko nodded and smiled at the man. "I'm glad to have someone who's been on one of the Nor class station before. I've visited DS9 but I wouldn't say I am an expert on layout by any means. Once we get to the transporter room we'll have a quick chat with Ms Frost and we can set out our plan to apprehend Vamcet if he's not willing to come on board quietly and quickly, and if the people on board don't want to give him up." she raised her hand and placed it on his shoulder. "I'm glad to have you with us, Lieutenant." she said to help bolster his confidence about being back in the uniform as he'd just mentioned.
Vincent nodded his head again. "Well then... Commander... It goes without saying that, before we leave, it would be a good idea to obtain some kind of Legal PADD from Starfleet Command which lists Vamcet's crimes and any solid evidence we can provide. Cardassians, while their legal system is completely backwards, they won't try and fight us if we go in with solid proof. Chances are they may see it as a chance to stick it to Federation while also bolstering how superior the Cardassian Central Command is. Also, given their own crimes, they may be willing to let us take one of theirs just to stay face."
He paused, smirking slightly, before adding. "On the other hand, if we have to use force, we may be able to get Vamcet out of the way and onboard the Artemis. Remans once used drones to tag civilians and Starfleet Officers in order to beam them onto their ships. The team I was on had a hand held device that used the same idea. It fires a projectile, like a dart, which acted as a tag for a transporter pad. We didn't get to use it, but if given enough time, I can pull up a schematic which we can upload into a replicator."
"It can't hurt to be prepared and I know that a similar device was used in the Briar Patch on the Baku to try and get them off their planet. Thankfully that didn't happen but I can see how a device like that can be useful if used for more justifiable purposes." Mariko smiled at Vincent as well. "We have a little time so I think you'll be able to replicate it before we leave, if we leave. I'm hoping Captain Kidd can work some diplomatic magic and we can do this without having to fire a shot. He'll list off Vamcet's crimes to the station commander who will likely refuse or play coy. If so then we'll be going in 'discreetly' and our need for explaining ourselves will be not be needed. We'll follow the tracker placed on him and you can use your transpo-gun to get him."
Sarah had glided into the turbolift moments before the door had slid closed and taken a position slightly behind Mariko and against the back wall where she rested one hand on the internal railing to keep herself steady as the turbolift moved. She had been running a mental checklist of what she would need to grab but the conversation about the transpo-gun had piqued her interest. "I can save both of you the time required to replicate that; if you would be so kind as to transfer the schematics to main engineering Lieutenant Zandrell; I'll get the replicator there working on a few of them so that we can arm multiple people in the team."
Vincent gave a slight nod to the Chief Engineer. While it made sense to allow her to use the replicator in engineering, his concern was he wasn't even sure he could still access the schematics. His clearance may not be at the same level it was before he was removed from active duty long ago, so it was prudent of him to suggest it before checking on that fact. However, he wasn't about to get the Chief Engineer in trouble for accessing a file she may not be permitted to, so he thought it best to come clean. "While that is sound idea, Lieutenant, I am not sure I can still access the file that has the schematics. I was made aware of it a long time ago and, my current status, may not be the same as it was then. So, while I appreciate the idea and I'll may take you up on it in the future, I would prefer to try to do it myself. That way, if I get flagged for accessing a file I am not permitted to, It's my head on the block and not yours. Again, thank you, but its best I take care of it." He then offered her a friendly smile. In a way, he saw this as a small test to see exactly where he stood not that he was back on active duty.
Sarah gave Zandrell a small smile and nodded. “That’s completely fair. If I can help in any way please feel free to let me know…. I wish you luck in accessing the file and if it comes down to it I will happily vouch for and go to bat for you if things go wrong.” She was touched by his concern; it being something she was somewhat unaccustomed to from prior assignments.
"I'll keep that in mind, Lieutenant." Zandrell replied with a smile. "Appreciated."
A Joint Post By
Captain Marc Kidd
Commanding Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Commander Mariko Tao
Executive Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Faith Benson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer, USS Artemis
Second Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Christopher Blake
Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Sorine Kaida
Criminal Investigations Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Vincent Zandrell
Tactical Officer, USS Artemis
Executive Officer, Emergency Services Unit
Starfleet criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Sarah Graesyn
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Siadra Molaur
Chief Forensic Science Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Maya Canak
Chief Medical Officer/Medical Examiner, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Junior Grade Adalyn O'Rourke
Ship's Counselor/Profiler, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Ensign Nala Rider
Facial Reconstruction Specialist, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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