***Sim Log Narrative, SD 201909.06***
Bridge:
The Penumbra was skirting just above the roiling atmosphere of an enormous gas giant, using its MIRAGE cloaking system to remain hidden from the more than 100 Kyrathian craft in the planet's moons and ring system.
Somewhere below them, in the violent atmosphere, was the Cerberus, possibly crashed and out of communications due to the highly ionized atmosphere. Further out, two Delta Flyers scanned the dozens of moons and millions of asteroids.
The Penumbra had just launched a torpedo at an incomplete Kyrathian Colony Ship that had been loaded with insecticides, herbicides, Merasha, pheromones from Krigeth's beetle-people of Janidor, and a variety of other "bioweapons" that Dr. K'Trevala and other Medical and Sciences staff had developed for use against the Kyrathians.
On the Bridge were Capt. Zak Taylor, pacing (again); Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter, manning the Helm; LtJG Tabeshk Tibris, sitting tensely at his Operations Console; LtJG T'Lin, stoically working the Primary Science Station; and Ens. Denovan Hawke, carefully watching the Tactical Console.
Carter cracked his neck and reported, "We're holding steady at 135 meters above the atmospheric threshold."
A call came through the intercom. It was Ens. Lea Kalawai'a in the Engineering Design Lab. "Bridge, what's this about 'Super Shields'?"
It was Hawke that answered her, "Just that, we need to work together on setting up something to boost the shields about 200% from what they are now."
Lea responded, "Two hundred percent?!? We're already giving her all she's got!"
Hawke replied, "Yes, an extra 200%. We've already shunted power from all unnecessary compartments and decks. Also, there is the idea of channeling power from the phaser emitters, since they are directly tied into the warp core. We'll still have torpedoes."
Lea quipped, "And what exactly do you want me to do about that?"
Hawke responded, "What do you mean? Shunt it over to the inertial dampners and the shield emitters."
But, with the comment about torpedoes, the Captain asked, "T'Lin, Hawke, has that torpedo breached the target's hull?"
T'Lin answered, "Captain, I confirm we are receiving telemetry from the torpedo."
Hawke added, looking up from his console, "In three ... two ... one." As he reached the end of his countdown, the torpedo struck the targeted incomplete Colony Ship and punched clear through its outer hull.
Watching the impact on the main viewer, Tabeshk said, "Ooooooh! Look's like we hit bullseye!"
Hawke commented, "Well, it wasn't supposed to go all the way through. Maybe my aim was too good!"
Carter added, "We should've kicked up enough atmosphere to keep us hidden from where that torpedo came from, but ... I wouldn't want to stay in one place."
The Captain turned to Hawke, "We needed it inside, Ensign, so good shot. Now, it should have dispersed it's payload on impact."
Tabeshk glanced at his console and added, "And so far, so good, on power, Captain." Then he added, "Though, personally, it's a royal pain in the ... ugh!"
The Captain raised an eyebrow at Tabeshk's comment then said, "We're good on power so long as we keep all the lights off, right? We need more power."
Tabeshk coughed through a comeback, "No sh--!" Then he said, "Captain, I'll see what else I can do, though we only have so much DAMN ship."
Hiding a smirk, Zak added, "Oh, and Tabby ... while you're working there ... any chance you can get a commlink to Patterson? I'd like to chat with him. At your convenience, of course."
Tabeshk grinned a moment, "Hey! Wait, why'd my power go up?" He paused just a moment then slumped again, "Aannd, no ... gone again."
The Captain turned to his Science Officer, "T'Lin, what do we see on sensors about the bioweapons?"
T'Lin answered, "Captain, the readings are ... many of the lifeforms on the ship are dying out, quickly. We did it."
Zak smiled a weak smile, "Finally, some good news! Keep watching to see if they recover ... and to see how long the effect lingers."
T'Lin answered, "Yes, sir," and gestured to one of the Ensigns wearing the Sciences Blue directing him to monitor the Colony Ship so she could turn her attention to searching for the Cerberus.
Zak tapped his commbadge, calling Dr. Shadow K'Trevala in Sickbay, "Doctor, your Bug Bomb worked perfectly! Good job!"
Shadow replied, "Sir, I'm feeling there's a LOT of 'Psychic Distress' over there. Hopefully, it's meaning what I'm hoping it means."
Zak responded, "You put Merasha in that Bug Bomb, too, right? Maybe it interrupted their contact?"
Shadow answered, "Aye, sir, I did. Maybe they'll feel alone for once in their existences."
Zak's face darkened slightly, "One thing though ... will the others notice the silence of those effected?"
Shadow responded, "Possibly, and it would give us a good chance to take care of the next bunch as well."
Hawke reported, "I've got a complete scan of all the targets in the area now."
Zak turned to his Tactical Officer, "Hawke, watch the Kyrathians carefully, they may be alerted to having been attacked."
Hawke answered, "Nothing so far. And there actually is only one station capable of fighting back and one colony ship. Though ... the smaller craft could be a mess if they bore down on the Flyers."
Zak turned back to Tabeshk, "Tabby, what about calling Patterson, any luck?"
Tabeshk gave out a grunt of frustration and growled out, "Nnnnnooooppppeeee ... sir."
About that time the turbolift doors opened and Dr. Shadow K'Trevala stepped quietly onto the Bridge, striding down to one of the secondary Science Stations and taking a seat. Nearby, T'Lin was struggling with the sensors, trying to see through the dense atmosphere, roiling clouds, and flashes of intense lightning, but with no luck. Carter saw her intense concentration and suggested, "What about a probe?"
Then suddenly T'Lin blinked and cocked her head and said, "MAX, you were able to see through the maelstrom, correct?"
MAX, the Artificial Intelligence imported from the advanced Reconnaissance Dome of the Darmok into the mainframe computer of the Penumbra responded, "I was able to use the information from the Delta Flyers to compile a theoretical display of information based on star charts of the area, and the multiple angles from the Flyers ... but if you're implying I could see through a gas giant ...," he trailed off.
T'Lin replied calmly, "It could be possible MAX, so I need access to your sensors to make an attempt."
MAX answered, "You are mistaken, T'Lin. I did not use anything more than what the ship already has available. I am not equipped with any additional input."
T'Lin responded, "Then it would be where I do not have access to, MAX."
But before they could do anything else, an enormous, highly-focused beam of high-intensity energy suddenly launched from the Installation in the atmosphere out towards one of the tiny moons!
Hawke was the first to react, "What in the hell was that?!?"
The Captain jerked, "Holy sh--! Hawke, um, Tabby, uh, T'Lin ... what the hell was that?"
Tabeshk sat gape-jawed a moment then said, "I have no idea."
Hawke glanced down to his console to try and get readings, and forwarded the feed to T'Lin's Science station as well. T'Lin said, "I am not sure what the beam was, sir. Could be a weapon test?"
Zak barked out, "Hawke, T'Lin, find out where that thing went!"
Hawke immediately answered, "We're working on it, sir! T'Lin, check the origin point while I check the weapon signature?"
Zak ran a hand through his hair, "If that's one of their new weapons, we're horribly outclassed! That's like a freakin' Death Star!"
T'Lin said, "Hawke, I would focus that scan towards the moon it was fired towards. We are not sure it was a weapon at all."
Hawke gave a small shrug, "What else could it be? That, or a power transfer beam." But he did as suggested and scanned the apparent target of the beam.
As everyone tried to track the beam, Zak finally caught up to the conversation between T'Lin and MAX. He said, "Wait, MAX, you did get the original scan of the installation. By ... geothermal filters or some such. T'Lin, try that. Get us a look at that installation."
Then the Captain turned back to Tabeshk again, "And Tabby ... I need to talk to Patterson, now!"
Before Tabeshk could respond, MAX interrupted, "Captain, the Cerberus made contact with us using subharmonic frequencies. I can attempt to remodulate the communications to accommodate for that request."
But the Captain didn't notice MAX's suggestion. Instead he turned back to his Chief of Flight Operations, "Carter, contact one of our Delta Flyers, send it towards that moon the ... thing ... shot."
Carter accessed the comm system, "Penumbra to Delta Flight. Trace whatever that beam was to the surface of that moon and find out what's over there ... it could be weapons testing."
The pilot of Delta One replied, "You owe us a round, Carter! We're on our way."
T'Lin had waited patiently for the Captain to finish his orders, then said, "Sir, I do not have access. It is password protected. I need your code."
But the Captain didn't focus on T'Lin's problem as his brain suddenly caught on something else. He turned to Hawke, "Wait ... did you say 'power transfer'?"
It was T'Lin that answered, "We did scan that it was collecting the energy from the lightening, sir." She jogged across the room to Hawke, and pointed at a tiny spec on the moon's surface. "There, Hawke. Scan that."
Again, the Captain's brain caught up to previous comments. He stared a moment, open-mouthed at T'Lin then said, "What? Access ... uh, password? Oh! Right, sheesh!" He cleared his throat and said, "MAX, grant access to advanced sensor processing to the Bridge Science Station, Taylor Seven-Alpha-Nine-Three-Gamma."
MAX answered, "Acknowledged, Captain. Rerouting reconnaissance systems to Bridge Science configuration. Standby."
As T'Lin jogged back to the Science Station to use the advanced sensor processors, Hawke redirected the Captain, "Yes, power transfer. Why not? Think about it. They have to be sending that power somewhere."
Zak again ran a hand through his hair, "How the hell can they receive and process power on that level? If we could do that, our power distribution problems would be a thing of the past!" Thinking of power reminded him, "Tabby ... Patterson ... anything?"
Tabeshk was grinding his teeth in frustration. "No ... nothing."
T'Lin responded to the Captain's question about power, "Kyrathians think in a very different way than we do, sir. I doubt it was even an option."
Hawke added, "I don't know, but something is on that moon to accept it, has to be, otherwise there would be no purpose." Delta Flight, and now Hawke's sensors, had picked up a smaller installation on the targeted moon, a collector station.
They were interrupted by a call from Lea, "Captain, permission to push the warp core past safety? We need more power!"
Zak responded, "Push it as far as you're comfortable, Ensign. But please don't blow us up!"
As the Captain was responding to Lea, Hawke was scanning his console. Suddenly he said, "Oh ... this isn't good. Two dozen Kyrathian ships are headed for the moon, and right for where the Flyers were sent."
Zak turned to Hawke, "Damn! I think they know somebody is out here. We need to collect our people and bug out."
Hawke replied, "I think they are headed in response to that pulse, actually. If they can get out, we might be safe from detection. I'm also willing to bet, that transfer doesn't work both ways. They have to be stored in tanks and then taken to the construction yards." Watching the Kyrathians converging there, however, he reacted, opening the commlink, "Flyers, abort mission! Abort and head back, still under guise, if you can."
As the Delta Flyers made the turn to fly back to the Penumbra, a plume erupted from the gas giant beneath them and the Cerberus shot out at high speed, plainly visible on sensors and to the naked eye on the main viewer!
Tabeshk saw them first and quipped, "Welp, looks like they're okay, Captain!"
But the Captain didn't seem excited. He responded, "Oh, crap. If we can see the Cerberus ...," he didn't finish the statement because instantly a dozen of the small Kyrathian craft all turned towards the Cerberus and initiated pursuit!
Tabeshk didn't censor himself this time. He curse, "Well, shit."
Hawke grimaced, "Or that happens."
Zak barked orders, "Carter, get the Flyers in the Hangar, immediately! Time to go!"
Carter barked back, "Acknowledged!" He activated the Emergency Retreat and Rendezvous button (clearly marked as "ERR").
The Captain tapped his commbadge, "Lea, we're gonna need Slipstream in just a few seconds. As soon as our Flyers are inside."
Lea answered, "Understood."
Shadow, who had been quietly watching and listening, commented, "Captain, we could always send a few more bug bombs after their crafts."
Hawke said, "Well, I guess it's time to plow the road!" He tapped his Tactical Console, seeing he still had torpedoes loaded with the Bug Bombs at the ready. "Setting torpedoes for a full spread detonation at the ones headed for the Cerberus ... and firing!"
Even as the torpedoes headed towards the smaller Kyrathian craft, the fully operational Colony Ship started towards the Cerberus as well. As it turned, a dozen of the dangerous Energy-Siphoning Pods poured out of its launch bays.
Tabeshk squeaked out, "Eeek! Run guys!"
But as the Pods came within inches of the Cerberus it suddenly jumped to Slipstream and disappeared! Tabeshk let out a wheezing breath, "Okay, Patterson has serious guts, Captain. Best damn show I've ever seen! Holy ... just ... wow!"
Zak glanced over his shoulder, "Hawke ... we can't hide any more. Make the way clear for our Flyers to board."
Hawke muttered his response, "I thought I just did, without asking." A sudden thought occurred to him and his tapped his commbadge, "Lea, I could use those phasers back online now, darlin'."
Zak turned back to his Helmsman, "Carter, get 'em in and get us out! Slipstream on your mark!"
Carter answered, "Delta Flight in proximity ... 30 seconds ...," he paused then said, "Coming about, heading 315 mark 240." He opened the comm system, "All Hands! Condition Orange. Prepare for Emergency Slipstream!" Buzzers sounded and orange lights flickered around the ship.
And just as the two Delta Flyers came screaming into the Hangar Bay, force fields flickered in place behind them, and the Penumbra instantly jumped to Slipstream.
Engineering Design Lab:
Ens. Lea Kalawai'a strode into the Engineering Design Lab, activating the lights only to find them dimmed due to the power strain. She tapped her commbadge, "Bridge, what's this about 'Super Shields'?"
It was Hawke that answered her, "Just that, we need to work together on setting up something to boost the shields about 200% from what they are now."
Lea responded, "Two hundred percent?!? We're already giving her all she's got!"
Hawke replied, "Yes, an extra 200%. We've already shunted power from all unnecessary compartments and decks. Also, there is the idea of channeling power from the phaser emitters, since they are directly tied into the warp core. We'll still have torpedoes."
Lea quipped, "And what exactly do you want me to do about that?"
Hawke responded, "What do you mean? Shunt it over to the inertial dampners and the shield emitters."
She turned on one of the displays, seeing a diagram of the power distribution throughout the whole ship. Carefully she began routing power from the phasers toward the shields. Even as she shuffled power around, she muttered to herself, "But ... how do I boost power?"
She worked at it for some time, shuffling energy but never able to increase the available power. She dialed up the warp generators to compensate but was stopped by a security lockout as they reached critical safety levels. She tapped her commbadge, "Captain, permission to push the warp core past safety? We need more power!"
Zak responded, "Push it as far as you're comfortable, Ensign. But please don't blow us up!"
She replied with a grin, "Gotcha!" and pushed the warp core to its limit. The voice of the main computer came through the speakers, "Warning! You are exceeding recommended engine output. Extended use could result in a warp core breach."
She tapped her commbadge again and asked, "Bridge, did that work?" But she got no response. She figured that if there had been a problem, she would have heard something, so she continued working on power distribution even while watching the core for the "red line".
A short while later, a call came from the Captain, "Lea, we're gonna need Slipstream in just a few seconds. As soon as our Flyers are inside."
Lea answered, "Understood." She moved power from the phaser emitters to the Slipstream drive, muttering, "Less fight, more flight."
Less than a minute later, a call came over the Public Address system. It was Carter saying, "All Hands! Condition Orange. Prepare for Emergency Slipstream!" Buzzers sounded and orange lights flickered around the ship. A moment later, the ship lurched into Slipstream.
Sickbay:
Dr. Shadow Wind K'Trevala was in Sickbay preparing the medical triage teams in case any Kyrathians managed to penetrate the hull and swarm the ship. He went over all of the emergency evacuation centers and routes to escape pods, the whole drill.
Once he was sure his team was prepared, he returned to his work on the blend of insecticides, herbicides, pheromones, and Merasha they'd deemed their "Bug Bombs" so that if this test proved their worth they could go into mass production as needed. He knew they'd launched the first torpedo loaded with a Bug Bomb into one of the incomplete Colony Ships, and like many of the other crew, waited with bated breath for the report of its effectiveness.
As a strong telepath, Shadow had dosed himself (along with several other psychically aware members of the crew) with Merasha, a drug that suppresses psychic abilities, but still the sheer number of highly telepathic Kyrathian insectoids in the vicinity had kept a dull pressure on his psyche, an awareness of "presence" that he'd almost gotten used to.
But then there was a shift in that awareness. He quickly put away what he was working on and left Sickbay, headed for the Bridge. In the corridor, before he'd reached the turbolift, a call came through his commbadge from the Captain, "Doctor, your Bug Bomb worked perfectly! Good job!"
Shadow replied as he stepped into the lift, "Sir, I'm feeling there's a LOT of 'Psychic Distress' over there. Hopefully, it's meaning what I'm hoping it means."
Zak responded, "You put Merasha in that Bug Bomb, too, right? Maybe it interrupted their contact?"
Shadow answered, "Aye, sir, I did. Maybe they'll feel alone for once in their existences."
Zak's face darkened slightly, "One thing though ... will the others notice the silence of those effected?"
Shadow responded, "Possibly, and it would give us a good chance to take care of the next bunch as well."
A moment later, Shadow stepped out of the turbolift onto the Bridge. He stepped quietly over to one of the secondary Science Stations and took a seat.
Cerberus:
The Cerberus had risked the violent atmosphere of the gas giant to go down and investigate a unique Kyrathian installation they had detected there. The trip down had been as bad as they had anticipated, and worse! One of the massive bolts of lightning had caused the Cerberus to go careening out of control and by the time Patterson and the on-board Artificial Intelligence called AEGIS had managed to right their course, their only hope of survival was a controlled "crash" onto the installation itself.
Now, Lt. Col. Travis Patterson, Lt. Cmdr. Relok, and Lt. Cmdr. Bevin MacArdry were stranded in the small ship atop the Kyrathian installation a few kilometers deep into a hellish atmosphere of howling winds and massive lightning bolts with no power to escape.
Bevin was working on a capacitor setup, hoping to fry the gridwork by attracting so much energy as to overload it. She hoped it might fry the whole installation of energy siphoners.
Relok was attempting to access the Cerberus's sensor network, only to be thwarted by AEGIS's security protocols. The Cerberus was originally a top-secret Starfleet Intelligence craft with secret technology and programs. When Patterson had "acquired" it from SFI, he had enhanced some of those systems on his own, some he'd loaded with the experimental nanites from his own bloodstream, some he'd paid some not-so-savory types handsomely for. And since technically, Patterson owned the ship personally, he'd tightened the security routines even further than what SFI had originally put in place. Relok tried to remain calm as he said, "AEGIS, stop blocking my access!"
Patterson was standing near the rear hatch of the Cerberus. He'd been pacing but had stopped a moment, stroking his stubble. Nearly absentmindedly, he ordered, "AEGIS, override all security access protocols until further notice."
AEGIS responded automatically, "Authorization required."
Patterson rattled off, "Code ... Raven, one zero four niner, black, one one zero eight."
AEGIS trilled and beeped then said, "Voice and code acknowledged. Security override in effect. Decryption of classified material in progress."
Relok accessed the console again and then said, "That's better! Thank you, Colonel. Now ... what the heck is this thing we've landed on?"
Patterson moved back up to where Relok and Bevin worked, "Any tech you two come across ... doesn't leave this committee. Ever. That said ... MacArdry, what do you know about quantum singularity cores?"
Bevin smiled back at him and spoke in her strong Scottish Brogue, "Laive wha whair sair? An I ken same bit, nae a tirribil mich aiboot thaim."
Patterson waved her over to a console where AEGIS was compiling schematics for the Cerberus's quantum singularity cores to create an engineering summary. Bevin began studying intently, muttering, "Tapadh leibh, AEGIS, think ye."
Relok interrupted, "Colonel, this installation is storing a massive amount of power ... I don't like it." A moment later he added, "It appears to be in the business of ... harvesting power. From the lightning and from the kinetic energy of the turbulent atmosphere ...," he trailed off.
Patterson turned to the Vulcan, "Cerberus is outfitted with a multi-spectrum tetralinear sensor array. Think Astrometrics on the Penumbra in a compact state, hence the Smart HUD. If this ... thing ... is sucking up massive amounts of energy, it has to be sending it somewhere. Can't hold infinite resources ...," he trailed off as well.
Bevin, intrigued at the idea of a power harnessing plant, tries to tap into the vast power at her fingertips, hoping to augment the power aboard the Cerberus to help them escape.
Suddenly, Relok looked up, a startled look on his face. "Colonel ... sucking up energy ... like one of those pod things? What if it starts ...," he trailed off.
Bevin said, "I'm werkin an ait, Relok. Yawsin tha daiflaiktir tae raybaund tha ainirgy antae tha pods, sae thay sack ip thair awn ainirgy."
But Relok stopped her, "Bevin, wait ... if we start channeling off some of the power, they might notice, and getting noticed would be ... bad."
Bevin raised her hands, "Ailraight, I hae nae dane innythaing yait, ait's staill thairitikal raight naw." But she resumed working on a variant of a Faraday cage around the Cerberus to try and fend off the lightning, at least.
Patterson gave a slow nod. He said, "AEGIS, suggestions?"
AEGIS added, "Ionization could be enough to polarize the hull. We would attract a lightning strike. Sensors would likely get fried, but the extra energy would be enough to activate the impulse drive ... though we would be flying blindly."
Patterson drummed his fingertips on the console nearby, then said, "AEGIS, I need statistics. If we clear the atmosphere of the gas giant, and deactivate the AbGen ... would we have slipstream capability?" He referred to the Ablative Generator that continuously created a kind of plating along the hull that would "burn off" as it was exposed to damaging energy, dispersing the energy before it could damage the ship itself.
AEGIS responded, "Calculating .." A second passed before the AI answered, "The Slipstream Drive would require 13.4 seconds to arm. We would lose cloaking capability during that time ... and we wouldn't have Warp speed either due to atmospheric damage. We could sustain slipstream for 2.31 seconds before forced destabilization."
Before Patterson could respond, Relok interrupted, "Colonel, I'm reading a massive build up of energy in the installation."
AEGIS confirmed, "Affirmative. Energy readings from the Kyrathian facility is 300% above previous indicators."
Relok continued, "Colonel, it occurs to me, and initial scans seem to correlate ... this installation is like a giant Energy-Siphoning pod. But ... doesn't it need to ...."
Before he could finish his thought, an enormous, highly-focused beam of high-intensity energy suddenly launched from the Installation up and out of the roiling atmosphere.
Relok continued from where he'd left off, "Uh ... discharge! Colonel, that beam was the equivalent of five or six of those massive lightning bolts, focused like a laser beam!"
Both Bevin and AEGIS were tracing the beam trying to find its other end. Although they couldn't see it through the dense atmosphere, of course, or even scan through the thick soup, their unique position at the base of the beam allowed them to accurately project it upwards, and correlating it with the star charts and orbital observations previously recorded allowed them to identify the specific moon to which the beam was headed. Bevin said, "Sair, luiks lak we faund thair callakshun pawint."
Patterson slapped a console in frustration. "We have to get back to the Penumbra. We can't sit here longer than we have. AEGIS, polarize the hull and prepare for maximum impulse as soon as we get the energy to do so. All flight controls to manual. Relok, Bevin ... I suggest strapping in again." He moved back to the pilot seat and attached his flight harness.
Relok returned to his seat, "No arguments, there, Colonel." He strapped in securely.
Bevin also simply returned to her seat and strapped in, "Aye, sair." But even as she strapped in she resumed scans of the installation, trying to gauge how much energy had been transferred, how much might have been lost to space, and how much would likely have been stored at the target. She asked, "Cammandir, raikwaist pairmaisshun tae aiksaiss ANLY tha scains o tha faicility aind aits tairgit ance we're baik aibaird tha Painimbra."
Relok agreed, "Um, yeah, Patterson, we'll need to analyze everything we've recorded. Once we make it back."
AEGIS reported, "Ionization in progress. Hull polarization at -15 ... -20 ... -25 ...," he continued counting off the level of ionization. Suddenly, the Cerberus was struck by a large buildup of static from the surrounding ionized atmosphere.
AEGIS said, "Impulse online! Ablative Generator at 22.4%. Hull Integrity at 65%. Shields at 41% and holding ... sensors are compromised." The Cerberus rumbled violently as the impulse engines went from zero to full in less than a second! The Cerberus seemed to catapult from the installation and leap into the roiling atmosphere, hurtling towards space.
Patterson said around clenched teeth, "AEGIS ... deactivate the cloaking device ... deploy all emergency munitions once we clear the atmosphere ... and charge the slipstream device. One thing at a time, Commanders."
Over the rattle and bucking of the tiny ship, Bevin said, "I'm nae aiskin fer aiksaiss tae AEGIS and yer bairn's ainnir werkins, ait laist nae wi'aut yer pairmaisshun." She said the last around a grin even as she gripped her seat and gritted her teeth against the bumpy ride.
AEGIS reported, "Clearing atmosphere in 7 seconds ... 6 ... 5 ...," and as the countdown reached its end he said, "Clear of atmospheric density. Ablative Generator offline. Shields at 40%. Hull Integrity up to 82%. Slipstream online in 10 seconds. Recommend evasive maneuvers." A second or so later he reported, "Emergency munitions deployed."
Clear of atmospheric interference, Patterson turned the Cerberus so that it was pointed directly at the Penumbra, now clearly visible in orbit. Then he adjusted his heading by two degrees aft and dorsal and said, "AEGIS, get me that slipstream STAT!"
AEGIS started his countdown, "Slipstream in 7 seconds ... 6 ... 5 .." As he counted, a dozen or more small Kyrathian craft began to hone in on the Cerberus. Before he reached the end, the fully-operational Colony Ship had turned towards them and launched a dozen Energy-Siphoning Pods!
Patterson barked out, "Brace for a blind jump!"
As AEGIS reached the end of the countdown, several of the dangerous Pods were inches from contact with its hull when it lurched into Slipstream.
In Attendance:
Capt. Z. Taylor, Dr. K'Trevala, Ens. Lea Kalawai'a, Ensign Denovan Hawke, LtCmdr. J. Carter, LtCmdr. MacArdry, LtCmdrRelok, LtCol. T. Patterson, Ltjg Tabeshk Tibris, Ltjg. T'Lin, MGySgt. Hines (as MAX)
NPCs:
MAX (Reconnaissance AI, played by Hines), AEGIS (Cerberus AI, played by Patterson)