Standoff

Posted on Sat Dec 5th, 2020 @ 2:38am by Chief Science Officer Mika Rai'z D.Sc., Ph.D. & A.I. Specialist Jaime Treva & Chief Counselor Serephima Anilon & Chief Security/Tactical Officer Sarah Dominie & Commanding Officer Maralen Seitha & Ship's A.I. Lyta & Flight Control Officer Merrynda
Edited on on Sat Dec 5th, 2020 @ 2:43am

Mission: What Lies In The Darkness
Location: Sector XR-46, Near the Sector Post
Timeline: 248001.01 1215

Mika was already on his way to the Bridge when the order came through the ship-wide com. The lift door opened and he stepped out with an inquisitive expression, heading straight towards Maralen as he looked around at the activity. “What’s happened, Sir?” he asked, his eyes going to the screen.

Maralen turned as his Executive Officer approached. His expression was the trained calm. "Nothing yet, but I expect it to. It is... too quiet."

"Too quiet?" Mika questioned. "Do you mean there's no activity?" Then his eyes narrowed, "As if we're alone?" It wasn't what he'd been expecting.

Maralen flicked calm brown eyes to his Executive Officer. "A distress signal implies, by definition, attack. There is nothing within our sensor range. It's as if whatever was going on here stopped, waiting." It made his fur stand up, or would if he allowed himself to think about that aspect. "Call it an instinct, but I don't think it's as quiet as it appears." There was an old Earth saying that it was always calmest just before the storm. That was how he felt just now.

Mika nodded, "Understood," and proceeded over to the science console, where he started checking on both long and short-range sensors, their appropriate levels for the perimeter being scanned, and that nothing was interfering with them, while beginning science scans in the process.

The door opened again and it was Jaime, who immediately headed towards the ops console to stand beside the ops officer already there. She started filling herself in while keeping an eye on the signal, swiping it up before her for all to see.

Chief of Sec/Tac Sarah Dominie entered in her usual neat but practical working uniform. Sarah went to the security/tactical area of the bridge but at a different station then the tactical officer already there, a stocky, bearded man who was busily checking FarVoyager's tactical systems. He glanced up and nodded respectfully, she returned the nod as they both worked to smoothly to ensure they were ready.

Serephima quietly entered the Bridge, inclining her head respectfully to Maralen, the stepped to his left, joining him in watching the screen. She had entered just in time to hear Marslen’s opinion that things were too quiet, and spoke, her soft voice serious, “I agree with you Commander. Even in the most peaceful of times, there is something detectable in the background...now there is nothing—almost as if they were waiting for something...”

Maralen looked at Serephima, studying her expression for a moment. "Exactly."

He didn't have a chance to say anymore because just then, the communications system stopped receiving the signal. It was the same signal that the Builder Empire had been receiving, only stronger because they were in the same Sector with its source. The communication system went quiet, and the long-range sensors detected ships... a large fleet of them. They were heading in the same direction as the FarVoyager was.

"We just lost the signal, Captain," Jaime said while working at her console, going to another encryption, just in case. "They stopped sending it."

Serephima closed her eyes, her brow furrowed in concentration. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked to Maralen, telling him, “I have limited telepathic abilities, sir, and I sense malevolent intent...I am sorry I cannot be more precise...”

Sarah frowned, "Captain, there's a fleet of ships on a course that tracks to take them to the Sector Post and Serephima's feeling." Though to be fair more because of it being prudent but hey she did not need much in the way of hints, "Recommend Red Alert but I can keep weapons on hot stand by if you prefer." Hot stand by was a common tactic of prepping the weapons but not to the point they were detectable as armed. It was slightly faster than going from a yellow alert weapons start. Her voice was calm but efficient.

Serephima closed her eyes again, frowning, straining her telepathic abilities to the limit. When she opened her eyes again, she was breathing hard as she told Maralen, “I was able to sense great satisfaction in these others, sir. That leads me to believe that this was a trap...”

Maralen nodded at Serephima, but his training told him never to assume that connection. There were many reasons a force like this could feel satisfied. He did value her insight though. "Thank you, Counselor," he said quietly to her. He then studied the viewscreen as he spoke to his Chief of Security. "Set status to Yellow Alert, but keep the weapons on hot standby. And inform the fighter wing to prepare to be launched at a moment's notice." He had never been military, so he didn't know the proper terms, but he was sure that his crew got the idea.

Suddenly Jaime spoke out, "Sir, it hit me before coming here on why the post's signal's been intermittent; they don't have enough power. And this scenario only confirms that as they've raised their shields."

Maralen frowned. That did seem too much of a coincidence, and he did not believe in coincidences. The signal stopped just as the place was attacked, and then its shields went up. That sounded as if someone was moving power between the systems. "Good thinking, Miss Treva," he complimented.

"Helm, increase speed. Put us on an intercept course with those ships."

Merrynda grinned. "On it!" And the FarVoyager surged forward.

Maralen nodded, pleased with the efficiency of his crew thus far. "Miss Thatcher, do we have a report from the fighter bay yet?"

"Aye, Fighters are Scrambling but not yet on post." Sarah reported. A moment passed and she glanced down at a signal on her console, "Fighters reported green, they are ready for launch."

Serephima’s eyes lost focus for a moment as more impressions came to her. She looked to Maralen, saying, “Our advance has surprised them greatly, sir.”

Maralen merely nodded to Serephima, acknowledging her report. Her talents were coming in quite handy; he suspected they would be more so as time went on. "Place us between the Station and those ships," he ordered the helm.

Merrynda acknowledged happily. Hell, anytime she got to fly, she was happy. She shifted in the Navigation Arena, the ship matching her movements in real space. The FarVoyager moved ahead of the advancing vessels and stopped between them and the Sector Post. "Helm is at Station-keeping, sir."

Maralen nodded, touching a key on his chair. "Fighter bay, launch."

There was an acknowledgment, and fighters began to drop from beneath the large vessel. As each wing launched, they began to form a barrier between the FarVoyager and the enemy. They were in a ready and waiting pattern, waiting for the commanding officer to order the attack.

"Scan the hostiles," Maralen ordered. "I want to know what we're fighting."

"Scanning, Aye." Sarah replied crisply, her eyes roving over the console for the results. The data came back quickly "Inferior design but they do have numbers. It seems to be a swarm of runabouts flittering around a central vessel of moderate size." She paused studying the data, "They are moving in unison, perhaps some sort of continuous communications network...they have pulse cannons and fairly strong shields but I believe our weapons can get through." She reported concisely.

Serephima frowned as she listened to Dominie’s report. Such continuous contact would be very unusual...

“Sir, it may be a hive mind,”. Serephima told Maralen. “The way the small ships move about the larger one is reminiscent of certain insects I have seen on my home world and read about in my studies. If this is the case, the larger ship is the key.”

"Possible," Maralen answered after a few seconds of consideration. "We need more information, though." He turned to Thatcher. "Can you detect any form of communication between the ships?"

Dominie nodded, "Aye one way, the larger vessel to the smaller." She replied after a moment to double check.

With the information they had and Seraphima's profile, Mika started diving deeper into the database.

Meanwhile, Jaime had been scanning continuously. She threw up a schematic holographic image, "Sir, the station's definitely in really bad shape." She actually wasn't surprised. "Sensors show severe damage to their hull and the internal damage done is just as bad. However, the signatures of the weapons that did the damage do not match the signatures of the incoming ships." she sent that data on over to tactical, "Most of its systems appear to be offline, although they have power to their shield system and the AI core is online. And Sir, there is one life sign on board."

Maralen frowned. The weapons signatures not matching made him wonder if these ships were simply opportunists. But he never assumed anything. Always verify. That was the way he had been trained. "Thank you, Ms. Treva. Keep your eyes on the station's status."

"Yes, Sir"

"Sir," Merrynda called his attention to the Nav Arena.

"Yes, Merrynda?"

"We are now directly in the path of the oncoming ships."

"Thank you. Dominie, shield and weapons status?"

"Shields at full, weapons ready." Dominie replied crisply.

"Excellent. Fighters' status?"

"Fighters ready to launch Captain." Sarah replied as her eyes skimmed her readouts.

"Again, excellent. Our main concern is not the ships," he told his bridge crew. "Our main concern is the station. Treva, does the station have short-range communications still?"

"Within this range, most likely, Sir." Jaime checked, regardless. "And, yes."

"Good, see if you can get me a channel to the station?"

"On it..." Jaime's fingers worked, "Channel's open."

He looked sidelong to his Counselor now. "You are going to be extremely helpful at this point as well. I want you to see what you can sense of the life form Treva detected on the station."

“Yes, sir,”. Serephima replied, then took a deep breath and closed her eyes in concentration. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and looked to Maralen, saying, “Whoever this being is, he is very tired, quite worried, and very focused. I’m afraid I cannot sense more at this time.”

Maralen nodded to Serephima but focused on the communications channel which had been opened. "To Sector Post inhabitant, this is the starship FarVoyager. We have received your distress call and are here to help. Can you receive me, Sector Post?"

For a moment, there was nothing. Maralen was not sure the station had received the signal. But a voice, the voice from the distress call, came back. "This is Sector Post XR-46. I hear you. But I can't lower the shields yet. There are hostiles in the area. Can you assist with this?"

Maralen looked at Treva. "Can we get a visual?"

Jaime worked on it. "No, Sir.." she answered while looking perplexed as she tried again, and then shook her head in a finality when they still weren't able to.

Maralen nodded and returned his attention to the man on the comm channel. "We are doing so now. We will contact you again when it is finished."

"Understood, FarVoyager. Thank you." Then the channel cut.

"See if you can get me an open channel with that central ship."

Jaime's fingers continued working on the console, and looking unhappy, more like annoyed, informed him, "I can open one on our end, Sir, but they're not reciprocating." The assholes, she thought to herself.

Serephima frowned and began to concentrate again. After a few moments she turned to Maralen and told him, “These beings must be very different from us, sir—I can sense only basic emotions from them, basic thoughts as well—loyalty being the strongest...”

“Captain,” Mika said from over at the main science console.

Maralen turned from the now-blank screen. "Yes?"

“According to the Kryll/Builder database, they’re Hyrokkin, a species from this sector, and classified as a ‘lower power’. Altogether, there’s very little information. The entry is quite old.”

Maralen stood silently for a few moments as he used his old Realm training. Patience. Don't feel it. Use it. He channeled his frustration into determination, and his calm reasserted itself as a side effect of that channeling. "Thank you, Mika."

Mika had been watching him, "You're welcome, Sir."

"Lyta, I want you to collect everything we are picking up on those ships and their inhabitants into a single file. When this is over, we will send that to the Builders along with the report."

Lyta nodded. "Yes, Captain."

Maralen did not address that just now. He was not a ranked officer in any military, but now was not the time. Instead, he spoke to Jaime. "Miss Treva, send a warning to those ships. Tell them that this station" what's left of it anyway "is protected and they are to withdraw or we will be forced to act. They may not open communications, but they should still be able to hear us." After that, if they chose to press this, he would act, just as he had said he would. He did not make threats; he made promises. And he always kept his promises.

Sarah watched the constantly updating sensor reports on the ships, mentally prepared to a variety of orders as her people stood by. She kept a special eye on the central ship or 'the brain' as she mentally called it.

"Sending that warning, Sir," Jaime had replied, emphasizing that they would be forced to act. "And...they definitely heard us, Sir."

For several long, agonizing seconds, nothing happened. The FarVoyager and her fighter wings sat barring the way to the Sector Post, and the enemy ships sat facing them, waiting orders from their lead ship. Then something shifted. Communication surged between the central ship and its subordinates. Again, it was one-way. That was followed by sudden movement.

Toward the station and its protectors.

*END - To Be Continued in next Post(s)*