round 11 Lt. Commander Kaitlyn Falcon - The Trials and Tribulations of the Communications Ear Thingy

[Sal Taybrim]

(( Holodeck 7; Starbase 118 ))

Falcon: oO This is SO COOL! Oo

::Kaitlyn was honestly not sure how old she felt as she sat at Armstrong’s communications station, adorned in the now classic late 23rd century Starfleet uniform.::

::She knew Constitution-class ships very well, seeing as both her father and her eldest sister captained the last two of them.  Kaitlyn remembered well many of her visits to her father’s Yorktown back in the day.  While she had, technically, been an adult, she felt like a kid almost every time.::

::While this program had been billed as a dramatization, just a game, Kaitlyn could see that the makers cared enough about the source material to actually do some studying about Connies.  Armstrong’s bridge, at least, felt very accurate.::

::Then you threw in the old uniform, and the whole thing felt like a costume party.::

::Sal spoke over the rules, which were straightforward enough for Kaitlyn to hear as she continued to nerd out over the bridge’s accuracy and extreme levels of nostalgia.  Finally, the options popped up for the program’s level of difficulty.::

::That part was a bit of a question mark for her…  Go for broke, or coast along and have fun with this?  In the end, Kaitlyn decided to split the different and pick level 2.  Enough of a challenge to keep her awake, but not so much that she could not enjoy what happened around her.::

::Moments later, the action kicked off.::

Computer: Red Alert! Red Alert! Engines have been locked at Warp 8, course heading: directly into Klingon territory.

Falcon: oO Well, that was quick. Oo

Taybrim: We'll hit the neutral zone in two minutes, sirs!

Anders: ::turns to face Flynn’s station:: Mute that alert, ::looks at Taybrim:: Yeoman record it in our log, set all logs to send to Star Fleet Command and launch a class 1 transponder right away.

::Kaitlyn looked around her console for a moment, finding the… communications ear… thingy… and putting it in its proper place.::

Flynn: ::Returning his smile.:: Aye, Captain!

Anders: Are we able to use thrusters to change course?

::Wait…  No…  It felt wrong in her left ear.  Were these things not worn in one’s left ear?  Maybe it was the right…  Kaitlyn popped the ear thingy out and switched sides.::

Trel'lis: I believe so Depends on how much power can be allotted to said thrusters, sir!

Greyson: Seein' what I ken do about it, sirs. Reroutin' power from non-essential systems.

::Kaitlyn paused for a moment.  No…  That did not feel right either.  How in blazes did communications folks use these blasted ear thingys?!::

Whittaker: Getting on it now!

Taybrim: The rules of the Khitomer Accords state that any unauthorized entry across the neutral zone can be seen as an act of war!

Anders: Anyway to override our warp core while still at work?

Flynn: :: nodding :: If we can slow down even a little, it will buy us time.

Whittaker: Not without risking the magnetic seals around the matter/anti-matter reaction assembly. :: beat :: It will lead to a warp core breach... and nobody wants that. :: he looked back to Greyson. :: I'm open to suggestions Ensign.

Trel'lis: I'm getting no response from thruster, sir.

::And a bit more forward…  No…  Twist back a touch?  Maybe…  Test signal?  OUCH, TOO LOUD!::

Taybrim: Mr. Vondaryan, could this be sabotage? Or is there a more scientific explanation for this malfunction?

Taelon: Possibly, sir - ::As he said that, the computer told him his attempts to override some of the systems had failed. That pretty much settled it, didn’t it? He looked at Vondaryan before he looked back to their honorary Captain.:: Computer overrides are failing, sir. While it could be a mechanical issue, that’s highly unlikely...

Vondaryan: Internal sensors not detecting malfunctions. ::beat:: Though I believe we're nearing the Borderland Detection Device.

Anders: What does the Borderland Detection Devices look like where we will enter Klingon Space?

Whittaker: The moment we cross the border, the Klingon early warning network will light up like a gaudy Christmas tree. They'll be on top of us within seconds!

Vondaryan: I'll have security teams standing by in the transporter rooms, just in case.

::Okay.  Maybe this would not be so bad.  Volume reset, support in position…  Test signal?  Yes!  Finally!  Communications was good to go!::

::Kaitlyn swung back toward the bridge… freezing before a smile could reach her features.  It was pretty much chaos out there.::

Falcon: oO Umm…  What did I miss? Oo

::Kaitlyn twisted half back toward her station, trying to keep an ear pointed toward the others as she tried to catch up.::

::No…  No, keep the OTHER ear toward the others.  The ear thingy was kinda muffling everything on her right side.::

Flynn: Increase power to the shields and route...

Anders: No!!! Keep the shields down, as a matter of fact start killing as much power to the ship as we can!

Taelon: Aye-aye-

Flynn: ::Turning to Cain.:: Stay sharp though, if we're detected we're going to want to be combat ready quick.

Cain: Response?

Trel'lis: :: turns slightly, looking to Anders :: Why is that, sir?

Anders: I want the smallest amount of power signature we can be once we cross... in 40 seconds.

Greyson: On it, sir.

::The ear thingy was smooth, cool metal.  HOW COULD IT POSSIBLY BE ITCHY!::

Anders: Mr. Whittaker, and if you can find a way to kill to our warp core, I would be very happy.

Whittaker: :: unable to help himself, a grin crossed his face :: Aye aye sir.

Greyson: Jettison the core?

Whittaker: Great minds think alike Mr. Greyson.

Falcon: oO But…  Don’t we need that to flee from things? Oo

::Eerily enough, Trellis seemed to be thinking the same thing.::

Vondaryan: But if we jettison the core, we won't be able to escape any Klingons that come upon us.

Falcon: Pretty much what I was thinking, yeah…

Anders: Can we use our sensors and deflectors to maybe hide us when we come across the Klingon net?

Taelon: Uh - ::looks at the Captain:: I’ve shut down our sensor array, sir, as the border security might detect its emissions - ::His hand rested on the panel, wondering if he should just flip them back on or stand by his earlier decision.:: But in theory, we may be able to disguise ourselves if we could calibrate them to appear to come from a different kind of vessel. It’d take only - ::looks at time index:: More time than we have, sir.

Whittaker: If we were able to determine the frequency of the sensor nets we can modulate our own shields to match. The detection net would register us as elevated background radiation.

Vondaryan: Can you do that in time?

Trel’lis: ::mutters:: That depends on how sensitive that net is.

::Okay.  Ear thingy was back in place, this time with a lot less fuss.  Maybe now it would…  WHY IS IT SHARP?!::

Trel’lis: If the net is too sensitive, it’ll pick up *everything*, no matter *how* minuscule!

Greyson: Good news and bad news, sir. I've managed to recalibrate the power signature so we're a smaller vessel. Bad news, if the net's too sensitive and we wind up dumping the core, the signature disguise won't hold.

Whittaker: You're good, aren't you? :: grinning ::

Greyson: Response?

Any: Responses?

Flynn: :: looking to Falcon :: Are there ANY other vessels in communications range?

::Kaitlyn looked to her console… finding a weird little puzzle instead of the data.  Oh…  Right…  Game…  Kaitlyn quickly solved it, the program finally allowing her the answer.::

Falcon: Nothing on my scopes.  Then again, if there IS someone out there, they might be cloaked.

Flynn: I recommend we prepare for the worst where we can, short of turning the lights back on.

Flynn: Vondaryan, are your men prepared in case of a boarding party?

Vondaryan: Security teams standing by at the transporter rooms and in other key areas around the ship. I can have tractor beams ready as soon as the lights turn back on, if we turn them on.

Greyson: In the event we're boarded, we may need to seal engineering. In the event we wind up needing to dump the core, we probably won't be at nearly as much risk.

Whittaker: I can have engineering sealed at a moment's notice.

Vondaryan: I'll station teams just outside to be safe.

Falcon: I’ve finally got this setup figured out, so notifications should go easily enough.

Flynn: :: looking at Mirra and Freya :: Are you equipped for field treatments?

Ezo/Andersen: Responses?

Flynn: ::Nodding:: Counselor Nadia. ::He paused and admitted a smirk.:: I don’t suppose you’re going to tell us that Klingons in this era had a more peaceful and resolution oriented mindset?

Nadia: Responses?

Greyson: That'll be the day....

::Suddenly, Armstrong lurched hard enough that Kaitlyn wondered, briefly, if the station itself had taken a hit.  Thankfully, her instincts were strong enough to let her latch onto her chair before she could go too far.::

Greyson: We have a problem.

Falcon: oO Ya think? Oo

Whittaker: What happened?

Greyson: Well, we came out of warp which is the good news. The bad news... um... Falcon, where are we?

::Another look to her console and…::

Falcon: oO Oh, come on!  Another puzzle just to see the MAP? Oo

::Thankfully, it was, again, quickly solved.::

Falcon: Plowed straight through the neutral zone and into Klingon space.

Greyson: That's what I was afraid of.

::Another alarm sounded in the bridge, this time Theo speaking up… after fighting with his console for a bit.  Something told Kaitlyn he had picked option 3.::

::Boy, was she glad she had not picked option 3…::

Whittaker: Sensors are reading a large neutron radiation surge approximately seven hundred kilometers off our port nacelle. :: recalling the information from memory :: It could be a Klingon vessel. Klingon cloaking devices during this period were known for their radiation output.

Falcon: And, seeing as I had nothing on my scopes when I looked a few minutes ago, I’d say there’s pretty solid odds that it’s a Klingon ship.

Vondaryan: Are we detecting any communications or other emissions from the area? ::he blinked:: Does anyone speak Klingon?

Falcon: ::Shrugs.::  I know a bunch of swears, but I don’t think that’ll really help us in the situation.

Whittaker: :: glancing at Greyson :: It's possible, but I've never heard of Klingons experimenting with tele-capture systems. :: beat :: That's more of a Romulan technique from the Earth-Romulan War.

Vondaryan: Could some remnants of the Klingon-Romulan alliance still remain? It didn't collapse that long ago, so there may be some residual friendships lingering. That might explain the mixed techniques.

Greyson: Response?

Falcon: I also haven’t seen indication of any incoming signal telling our systems what to do.  Doesn’t mean for certain there’s nothing, as they could find a sneaky way to hide the signal.

Vondaryan: Sir, I'm detecting an unauthorized power surge in the transporters.

::Kaitlyn sighed.::

Falcon: oO I knew I should have brought my phase pistols with me… Oo


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Lt Commander Kaitlyn Falcon
Chief Helm Officer
Starbase 118 / U.S.S. Albion
F237507RF0
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