LtJG Lambert – Fly suicide ramming

[Brell]

LtJG Lambert – Fly suicide ramming

((Bridge, Deck 1, USS Atlantis))

:: The Frenchman was a little uncomfortable with the situation they were facing right now. First, the naive attempt of breaking down their communications had jeopardized the entire mission and put all away teams in great danger. Now the inspection team was trying to outwit one of the disputing parties in a direct violation of their stated rules. That behavior clearly would not buy Starfleet more respect. ::

Williams: =/\= I hope you are right about that. If they catch those too we are in a lot more trouble and you are at the front line. Be advised things out here are getting dangerous too. We have gone to condition yellow. We have a lock on you. The moment you hit trouble let me know. A simple distress signal from a badge is all we need =/\=

Danara:=/\= Copy that Atlantis. =/\=

::The science officer checked again the planetary readouts in a hope to get something to ease his mind from those worries. But before he could continue to amuse himself with the scientific aspect of that mission, the acting commanding officer spoke his mind.::

Williams: Alright everyone. We have 10 minutes to come up with a damn good excuse and a counteroffer. I want options and I want them now. We are not turning over anyone of this crew and I don’t want our away team in even more danger.

Tel-ar: What about the Caraadians?

Williams: It might be a bit premature to fill them in. I’m sure that they will follow their foes if they turn on us. Then we can still ask for help if needed.

::In a burst of concern, the scientist started to talk about what was wandering at his head.::

Lambert: We must avert confrontation here. ::paused to think:: This will jeopardize the mediation meeting for sure.

:: As the debate continued Christopher distracted himself looking the viewscreen. The four larger ships had moved a little from previous positions but nothing to worry yet. The intense and slow flow of freighters and shuttles was the same with a tiny little exception that grabbed everybody’s attention. ::

Williams: What’s that?

Lambert: ::returning his attention to the science console:: It is a shuttle of ...

Tel-ar: :: When he paused for some reason Tal responded. :: It is an older civilian style shuttlecraft of Valcarian origins.

Lambert: Yes. Valcarian in origin. ::tapping some commands:: I´m detecting Humans life signs aboard, sir.

::Christopher knew that everything concerned tactical and security was the responsibility of Commander Tel-ar, and was not his intention to overstep him, but he got curious. And judging from Captain’s next question he got intrigued as well.::

Williams: Humans? Are you sure? Could they be refugees of some sort, looking for asylum?

T’Bel: The only logical conclusion is they wish to proceed and arrange for a prisoner exchange, a very common occurrence in these kind of situations.

::The reasoning of the Vulcan was sound. It could be some psychological move to force Williams’ hand, but if it was a prisoner exchange why send so many for just one Starfleet officer? Sending a shuttle right between the station, the Caraadian destroyer and Atlantis seemed a bold move. Unless…::

Lambert: oO He wouldn't dare to use them as a human shield. Wouldn't he? Oo ::eyes wide opened::

Williams: Surely they don’t expect us to turn over one of our own… Run a full scan on it.

::Christopher was very used to think straight despite not been Vulcan. Several years as a researcher and physicist taught a trick or two to him. And at that time, nobody was willing to consider the obvious. So, the science officer gave voice to those ideas.::

Lambert: ::standing up:: Sir, I know you do not want to hear that but we may be forced to deliver T’Bel to them.

Williams: How so?

T’bel : The shuttle in itself is not a threat. If I may commander, our predicament is dire, we could perhaps have the upper hand against those two Valcarian Cruisers but they is no saying whether the nobles will ally themselves to us or remain neutral or even worse choose the Valcarian’s side hopping to benefit from it. We are outsiders here, thus we should not try and assert a dominance stance here.

Tel-ar: Considering the history between the Valcarians and the Caraadians the odds of them ever fighting together are astronomical improbable. It would be like Romulans and Klingons suddenly becoming the best of friends. :: slight pause :: Not to say that they would automatically side with us against the Valcarians and not to discount the possibility that they would encourage open hostilities between us and the Valcarians. In this anything is possible, except them co-operating, that is highly unlikely.  

Williams: You’ve GOT to be joking!

T’bel: No Sir, they are still in our system, they were successful in uploading a subroutine, as it stands it is trying to gain control of our propulsion and weapons systems. I am containing it as we speak, and setting up counter measures to wipe it out, but there is no telling at this point if I will be successful. I may have to implement a computer core shut down and do a cold restart. I will need to head to main engineering for that.

Tel-ar: The alien electronic attack is highly sophisticated and completely new to our systems, that is making it extremely hard for the us to isolate, stop and eliminate from our systems.

Williams. UNACCEPTABLE!

::Those were all valid points. The cybernetic attack could be a self-defense mechanism but it could be a real and implacable attack. Enter into a battle with a compromised computer core was a very risk alternative. It could affect the shields and weapons and let Atlantis defenseless. Once again Christopher spoke his mind.::

Lambert: Sir! ::waiting for the commander to calm down:: They seemed do not have intentions to back off, and we must guarantee a chance of success for Commander Brell.

Williams: Given the situation.. it might be best to check in with the captain...

T’bel: Before you do that, allow me to head to main engineering Commander?

Williams: Response

Tel-ar: At this time I would say that the first priority is to disable the alien program that has infected our systems. After that, we can deal with their demands regarding Ensign T’Bel.

::Christopher agreed with all arguments. He did not want T’Bel to die, but she could buy some time for them. Commander Williams could request that he went for a federation trial after the end of the mediation or something like that. They could implant some safety mechanism to secure that as well.::

::As Ensign T’Bel left the bridge they continue to discuss the possible outcomes of the next move. To purge the computer’s core from the cyber virus was the most logical and safe way to proceed that moment.::

Lambert: I know, I know. ::thinking hard:: We could implant a subcutaneous transport beacon on the Ensign. ::stroking his chin:: As soon as she activated it, we beamed her back. ::sitting down:: Besides, we would have a team aboard the station who could support her.

Williams: I think it's best if we inform the captain first… Open a channel

::Christopher took a deep breath and tried to relax a little while he started to prepare his station for the cold reboot. He saved all the important files and started to cancel one by one all the sensor sweeps and probing he had requested the short-range pallets to make.::

Williams: =/\= Atlantis to Brell =/\=

Brell:=/\=  Go ahead Commander. =/\=

Williams: =/\= Sir, I am sorry for interrupting. Can we speak for a moment?=/\=

Brell: =/\= One moment. =/\=  ::He tapped the badge again to silence it for a moment. He then looked to the representatives.::

::The chat over the comm did not delay to resume.::

Brell: =/\= Go ahead Commander. =/\=

Williams: =/\= We tried to log in to the space stations comm system. Its seems we walked right into a trap. They now demand we turn over T’Bel for questioning and trail… maybe even worse. It seems they have taken a few humans from the station and sent them in an automated shuttle towards us. No doubt as a signal that we must comply…

Brell: =/\= They expect us to trade her for them? They can’t be serious. =/\=

Williams: =/\= The way I see it we can either bluff and threaten them to support the Caraadians in their claims if they use foul play against us… Or we give in and turn T’bel over and hope for the best.

Brell: =/\= I doubt it would for the best. =/\=

Williams: =/\= I came to the same conclusion… but i wanted to consult you first.

::Lambert was not sure yet what was the intention of the Imperial Advisor with that move. He just sent the shuttle. He did not contact Atlantis again and made more demands. Just sent and wait. Could he be a strategist? Could he be trying to get some knowledge about Starfleet’s modus operandi? There were much more variables than equations in that situation and in this case, the result was undetermined.::

Brell: =/\= Recover the Federation citizens, but I do not intend to give over one of our officers. I am going to try and get things moving fast here knowing it's getting tense up there. =/\=

Williams: =/\= response =/\=

Brell: =/\= I don’t like this. I need to quickly establish if this is trap down here as well, or a diversion. =/\=

Williams: =/\= response =/\=

::But before they could reach an agreement a new situation seemed to arise. The Andorian Commander got nervous with his station what grabbed Lambert’s attention from his table.::

Tel-ar: Unauthorized transport has been initiated from transporter room 2, deck 4. Ensign T’Bel has beamed to the Valcarian shuttle and beamed the 5 humans and 2 Aselans to transporter room 2.

Williams: Response

Lambert: She’s a crazy dude. ::shocked:: Without any means to recover her!!!

Williams: =/\= response =/\=

Brell: =/\= Commander, do what you have to to get her back, try contacting Lieutenant Danara’s team and let them know their mission is about to become a rescue as soon as that shuttle gets back to the starport if the Ensign is still aboard it. =/\=

Williams: =/\= response. =/\=

Brell: =/\= Tell her the extraction needs to quick and then she is to get back to atlantis on the shuttle they took. Stun only if they they encounter resistance. =/\=

Williams: =/\= response. =/\=

Brell: =/\= I am going back in there to give them some choices to de-escalate things. Hopefully you won’t be shooting up there by then. =/\=

Williams: =/\= response. =/\=

Brell: =/\=  Do your best Commander, Brell out. =/\=

::After the channel was closed the reports continued to come from the Transporter room. That could be considered an act of bravery for a human but a Vulcan… The chief of security was concerned about something that Christopher could not anticipate and started to give orders.::

Tel-ar: =/\= Security team to transporter room 2. Detain and secure all 7 individuals. None have authorization to be here let alone to wander around. Cmdr. Tel-ar out. =/\= Lieutenant Commander Ensign T’Bel has tampered with the transporter controls. No transport can be attempted at this time.

Williams: Response.

Lambert: Sensor confirmed Ensign T’Bel aboard the Valcarian Shuttle, but …. ::waiting some seconds::

Tel-ar: Might I suggest that once the Ensign has been retrieved that they are examined by both medical and the ship’s counselor.

Williams: Response

Lambert: One more second, sir… ::frenetically checking and rechecking the sensors::

Tel-ar: Simple, her actions are extremely illogical, not at all what one would expect from a Vulcan.

Lambert: Sir, I can´t read T’bel life signs anymore. Somehow his commbadge was destroyed or they created a dampening field.

Williams: Response

Tel-ar: Response

Lambert: I can't be sure of that… It can be something T’Bel did with the Transporter’s controls as well.

Williams: Response

Tel-ar: Response

::And then the final blow came. From nowhere and without warning. As T’Bel’s behavior, it was not anticipated but could have been predicted, as one of the side effects of the cybernetic attack. When the shields went down the entire bridge got scared. They were now defenseless and could be easily destroyed with a single torpedo volley.::

Lambert: The shuttle continues in an intercept course. ::looking to Tel-Ar:: A fly suicide ramming, Commander?!

Williams: Response

Tel-ar: Response

TBC

 

Lieutenant JG Christopher Lambert

Science Officer | Physicist

USS Atlantis

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“When you have eliminated all that is

impossible, whatever remains must be

the truth, no matter how improbable.”

– Sherlock Holmes

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Edited November 26, 2017 by Brell