USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 201912.20 Bridge (& Turbolift): . The Penumbra was holding position just outside the heliosphere of the star system where they'd fought Kyrathians at a gas giant and then later detected the Omega Particle on its most distant moon-sized planet. They'd retreated to this location to regroup, rethink, and come up with a plan of action to deal with the Omega Particle. . On the Bridge were Capt. Zak Taylor, Lt. Cmdr. Relok, Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter, Lt. Tabeshk Tibris, LtJG. Denovan Hawke, and the Penumbra's newest guest, Nine Of Twelve (Denovan's sister, Katarina Hawke). . As the Captain stood from the Command Chair and strolled over to the replicator with his empty coffee cup, Lt. Col. Travis Patterson stepped out of the Turbolift and made his way to the Executive Officer's seat, taking the long way around the Bridge. . Relok had been occupying the XO's seat but was reviewing sensor data on both the radiation levels and the special density factors using the mini console built into the arm of the chair. He looked up as Patterson approached and stood, muttering, "Colonel." Patterson gave him a nod and took his seat. Relok moved over to the Primary Science Console. . Carter was at his usual post at the Helm. He was rotating and stretching his wrists, now that he wasn't having to manually hold flight sticks and fight against spacial density and intense forces from powerful radiation bursts. . Tabeshk glanced over at him. "You need ice, Carter?" . Carter shook his head, "Nah, they aren't swollen, just stiff." . "Ouch," the Romulan-Klingon winced. . Meanwhile, the former Borg, Nine of Twelve, looked around from where she stood beside Denovan at his Tactical station and watched the bridge crew activities. She noticed Patterson and recognized him from her time in Sickbay.

. Zak retrieved a fresh cup of coffee from the replicator and said. "So, a bubble." He turned around and noticed Patterson, "Welcome back, Colonel. We were talking about making a bubble to reinforce the containment field already down there." . Patterson nodded back at the Captain's greeting as Tabeshk lifted a hand, "Oy! My idea!" . Relok said, "We were considering trying to install something outside the field, but ... providing power to it reliably and consistently was problematic." . Tabeshk suggested, "Solar powered? We can use the reflective light from the stars, or the moon, ... or another planet." He grinned and poked the side of his head, "Use your head, Relok. I think yours is getting old!" . Relok glanced over at Tabby and said, "We're just about as far from this system's star as one can get and still be under the influence of its gravity. Solar power would be minimal here." . Tabby clammed up at that point. Patterson said, "I know the perfect battery." . The Captain continued, "And then our guest," he indicated Nine, "reminded us there was a ship down there." . Relok added, "Inside the field, however." Suddenly, his console chimed with a call from Lt. Cmdr. Bevin MacArdry, their Chief Engineer. It was some technical specifications on some ideas she had. He tapped his commbadge and called her back. "Commander ... you think you could capture the radiation as a power source?" . Bevin replied in her thick Scottish Brogue, "Aye, I thaink tha's a verra guid pawssibility, ain hae ait an bairst mawd." She mentioned having it set in some kind of "burst mode". . But before they could continue their brainstorming further, Hawke muttered in pig-Latin, "Ravimetricgay orpedotay." He was trying to remind them about Voyager's solution to blow up Omega Particles with gravimetric torpedoes. After it had been mostly neutralized, of course.

. Patterson turned to look at Hawke. "A gravimetric torpedo would indeed destroy the particle, but that would also end in disastrous damage to the surrounding area, Hawke." . Zak glanced at Patterson and then nodded to Hawke, "But it is in keeping with the Directive: destroy Omega at all costs." . Relok objected, "Captain, we still don't know how much is down there. Patterson and I had to evacuate as soon as we opened the chamber." . Hawke answered, "Not necessarily a disaster, sir. It depends. We discussed it. The inverse resonance frequency of 1.68 terahertz will neutralize it. And, if we use the sphere as suggested as the chamber it should contain the aftermath." . Relok finally got around to answering Bevin. "I see one flaw in your logic, Commander. If your shield reinforces the containment field, it would stop the radiation leaks that are powering the shield. In order for your shield to function, it has to fail." . Bevin argued, "Nae iffin we hae lak a blaid-awff carridir tae tha pawir yewnit." She was proposing some kind of "bleed-off corridor" for the power unit. . The Captain considered Hawke's suggestion a moment and then said, "A resonance chamber at the right frequency would potentially neutralize it, so long as the power holds out ...," he trailed off, then turned to his Chief of Sciences, "Relok, what happens when the Omega is subjected to the inverse resonance? What did Voyager report?" . The Vulcan answered, "Well, Captain, officially most of the logs of their encounter with Omega were deleted. We have only a few personal recollections to base theories on." . Hawke responded, "They aren't deleted from my and Nine's minds and memory from the collective, though."

. Nine fidgeted, thinking about the resonance chamber they had on the Borg sphere down on the tiny moon. She wondered if these Starfleet people could convert the sphere itself into a large resonance chamber, but ... Nine would rather stabilize the Omega Particles than destroy them. Omega was Perfection after all. She'd been trapped on that moon for almost a year, most of that time inside her sphere taking regular scans of the facility ... and what was inside it. . Patterson eyed Nine, then Hawke, then glanced at his armPADD as he said, "If you have any ideas, Nine ... now would be a good time." . Nine blinked at Patterson as he actually addressed her and then finally answered, "I was thinking of the resonance chamber on the sphere, considering the data the sphere collected over the year. Why not turn the sphere into a resonance chamber? Because I know how much of the Omega Particles are down there, you do not." . Patterson studied Nine a moment and then said, "Perhaps now would be a good time to share what you know with the rest of us, Nine." . Zak added, "You've been down there for a while it seems. We could stand to have your perspective. If you please." . Before she answered, Carter finally soaked in what Relok and Bevin had been discussing. He turned to Relok and asked, "Is Bevin trying to create some sort of a back-flow harmonic generator?" . Relok nodded at Carter as he answered, "Yes, she's proposed a shield generator on the outside of the containment field that can regenerate its batteries by the field's own leakage. It's ... intriguing." . Listening in over her open comm, Bevin agreed, "Aye, Cairtir, tha's eixaiktly ait!" . Carter rubbed his chin and then responded, "Well ... I know a decent bit about back-flow when it comes to Warp Theory, but ... containing a ...," he trailed off a moment and then exclaimed, "That's it! We have to treat this just like stabilizing a singularity!"

. . But before they could pursue Carter's epiphany, Nine chose to answer the Captain. She cocked her head to the side slightly as she said, "Omega has been stable, but since my arrival nearly a year ago, and our investigation causing the first destabilization, it has slowly lost stability over the months since." She sighed and glanced at Denovan, before continuing, "I was looking for a way to stabilize it so that the radiation wouldn't get any stronger. It was why my sphere was still in such a state of disrepair. I was a medical drone, not an engineer. But, I knew enough to keep my sphere from being destroyed. I almost had enough of the sphere turned to a resonance chamber to hold the Omega Particles, then you showed up and caused the destabilization to increase." . The Captain studied the ex-Borg a moment, looking for any signs of deception. He didn't see any and decided to believe her. He said, "OK, so, the sphere can serve as a large resonance chamber to neutralize the Omega Particles, if we can get them from the facility's reaction chamber to the sphere. Transporters?" . Relok chimed in, "Captain, need I remind you we have to punch a hole and hold it open forcibly in order to beam an away team through ... I don't know how we'd establish a lock on an unknown quantity of highly energetic and unstable Omega Particles ...," he trailed off. . Patterson added, "No way to isolate it to prevent outside contamination." . A call came over the comm system from Lt. T'Lin working in Astrometrics, "Patterson, almost done with defragmentation." But her call went almost unheeded as they continued their discussion. . Nine said, "Transporters would cause destabilization along the transporter beam. I just need to connect the conduit to the facility and route the particles to the sphere." She paused and then added, "Not to mention, finish the conversion." . Hawke agreed, "She is right. They cannot be moved but physically, in a stable chamber."

. Zak was growing frustrated, "But ... containment is already failed inside the facility. Relok and Patterson nearly died just getting the hell out of there! Who hooks up this conduit?" . Hawke commented, "That is part of the issue. The officer has to make the call to send someone potentially to their death. It's part of command ... even to get rank and stature past a certain point." He straightened and set his jaw, "Also, knowing if it's for the many. As such, I will go." . Patterson grabbed something from the arm of his chair and quickly stood. "Nine, Relok, you two are coming with me." He tapped his commbadge, "Patterson to MacArdry. Grab your toolkit and meet me in TR1." She acknowledged and Patterson turned to face the Captain, "Doesn't matter who. The Directive is clear: 'At all costs.'" . Patterson's commbadge chirped as T'Lin called, "Patterson, MAX shut down once it got to 92%. I'll continue on my own, on an isolated PADD, as a precaution." He didn't answer right away. . The Captain scowled at Patterson before setting his jaw and giving a grim nod. "Travis ... don't go off half-cocked. Get all the pieces in place before you go." . Tabeshk gave Patterson a stern look but with caring eyes. He said, "Whatever you're doing ... bring Bevin safely back to me, you understand? And keep the others safe as well." . Nine informed them, " I've already hooked it up. I was just finishing the conversion. I was at least half way through when you guys answered the distress signal I had sent out." She moved to follow Patterson toward the Turbolift. Something in his voice made her think she shouldn't refuse him. . Relok suggested, "We should also reinforce the facility's own containment field, maybe by using Bevin's idea as backup. I still don't like the idea of trying to shoot the facility to destroy the remnants of Omega ... we won't be able to control the reaction."

. Patterson nodded at the Vulcan Science Officer, "We've already gotten a message out to the Omega Team ... but ... they're a long way out." He turned to Hawke, "The fewer people we go with, the less of a dilemma I'll have if we have to make that decision. You're acting Chief of Security with Spearhorse on Medical Suspension. The crew needs you here." . Nine turned to look at her brother and said softly, "Don't worry, I'll come back." . The Captain added his perspective, "Hawke ... if Patterson's mission goes sideways ... we'll need a good shot to destroy the whole moon. And we'll all limp our way out of here for a few years to get out of the subspace desert." . Tabby exclaimed, "A few YEARS!?!" . Relok commented as he stood to join Patterson, "There's a sobering thought, Captain. If we lose containment and there is a subspace rupture, we're a long way from any other inhabited star system. Years might be an understatement." He turned directly to Tabby and said, "This is why Omega is so dangerous. It can prevent any and all faster-than-light travel through subspace. Meaning, several light-years to the nearest star takes several years of travel to get there. And it's more than a few light-years to the nearest inhabited planet from here." . Tabby stroked his long white hair, currently gathered into a hefty bun on the back of his head, and muttered, "I might wanna get a haircut then." One could only imagine what years of unchecked growth might do for his already long hair. . Hawke addressed the Captain and the Colonel, "That wasn't particularly the idea. It was that someone should go who knows what they are doing, and sir," he addressed the Captain, "you need Patterson, and ...," he paused and resisted the urge to glance at Nine, "I want my sister alive."

. Patterson activated the control on his armPADD that deployed his combat armor (all save the helmet still in Astrometrics). He opened a commlink and called T'Lin, "MAX went offline because I pulled his chip, Lieutenant ... I'm gonna need him on the surface this time." . T'Lin responded, "Understood. I will continue on my own." . As Nine and Relok followed Patterson to the Turbolift, the Captain realized he was standing in the center of his Bridge holding a cup full of cold coffee. He turned and placed it in the replicator and then returned to the Command Chair, flopping down into it. "I hate days like this." He sat there brooding for a moment and then muttered, "I just realized the nearest inhabited planet is probably Janidor. A medieval culture devastated by the Kyrathian Swarm and struggling to come out of its Dark Ages. If we have to limp our way out of a subspace desert, that may be where we spend the last days of our lives!" . Hawke watched the three enter the Turbolift. Suddenly he lifted one hand and Borg nanotubules extended from it, accessing ship functions through his Tactical station. Quickly he stopped the Turbolift and accessed transporter functions. . Tabby noticed on his Ops board the attempted access to transporter functions and traced it back to the Tactical station. He said without turning, "I can open a hole with Grabby Hands if needed, Denovan." . Immediately the computer's voice came through speakers around the Bridge, "Unauthorized transport attempt detected. Source; Borg Nanoprobes, Tactical console, Bridge. Initiating Lockdown, Level 10." . Hawke quickly countered, making a face as he muttered, "Well, that half worked." He glanced up at Tabby and said, "Please do, Tabby."

. They had both apparently forgotten that what the Captain had deemed "Operation Mind-The-Gap", the technique they used to beam the Away Team down to the installation, was a three-step procedure: launch a modified Torp-E-Probe, then use the dual tractor beam Grabby Hands, and THEN they could get a transporter beam through while Carter fought the radiation pulses through densified space. Oh, and that they weren't actually at the moon at that moment. . But Hawke didn't wait for Tabby to do anything. Instead, he switched other programs with his nanotubes and said, "Tactical code Hawke-Alpha-Theta-3-0-2-6." . But the only response he received was when the automated security system of the computer reacted to Borg nanotubes accessing critical systems from the Bridge Tactical console. It initiated a Borg reverse-feedback pulse that resulted in a shower of sparks as the console shorted out and sent Hawke flying backwards into the wall behind him! The former Borg collapsed to the floor, unconscious. . Carter saw Hawke go flying into the wall and turned to Tabby, "Belay that, Lieutenant!" He stopped the Klingon from activating the Grabby Hands (or granting access to the transporters for that matter). He grabbed a phaser tucked under his console for emergencies and moved towards the collapsed former Borg. . Tabby muttered, "Uh ... I guess I'll have to wait till after he wakes up now." . Meanwhile, on the Turbolift, Relok noticed the lift stopped for nearly a full minute. He asked, "What was that?" . Patterson tapped his commbadge, "Patterson to Bridge. Why did the TL just stop under lockdown?" He received no immediate response and called again, "Patterson to Bridge. Why did the TL just stop under lockdown?" . Tabby responded, "Uh ... I guess the ship doesn't like Den?"

. Nine guessed at what was happening. She said, "I think my brother doesn't think I can stabilize Omega and will get us all killed." She gave a sigh and moved towards an access panel on the wall of the Turbolift. Borg tubules began extending from her hand. . Patterson avoided touching her but said in a stern voice, "I'd avoid using Borg tech, Nine. This ship is specifically designed to combat it." . She quickly pulled her hand back and retracted the tubules. "Thanks for the warning," she said. . The Captain's voice came over the comm, "We've had a slight problem, but ... I think it's taken care of now. Carry on, Colonel." . Relok explained, "Nine, this ship was originally designed during the Borg War and then modified during the Dominion War. And then upgraded with cutting edge improvements." . Nine tilted her head in acknowledgement, "I see that now. So, what did he do to the Turbolift?" She arched her brow at Patterson. . Patterson nodded and stepped over to the access panel, pressing buttons on his armPADD while doing so. He spoke, "Computer, override Lockdown procedure. Acknowledge voice and hardlink." . The computer responded, "Voice and hardlink accepted. Lifting lockdown." . Patterson instructed it, "Computer, resume transit to Transporter Room One." . Back on the Bridge, Tabby watched as Carter crouched beside Hawke's unconscious form. He said, "Um ... Medbay, anyone? What the hell just happened? Someone care to explain?" . Carter studied the scene and then addressed the Captain, "Sir ... he tried to hack the Tactical console." Without waiting for a response he tapped his commbadge, "Sickbay & Security, Medical emergency. Beam Lieutenant Hawke to Sickbay. Have Security on standby." Seconds later, Hawke was beamed off the Bridge to appear on a biobed in Sickbay.

. Carter stood and gestured at Tabby, "Those little Borg needles? Yeah, he stuck them into the Tactical console ... and the ship was designed specifically AGAINST Borg, wasn't it?" . Tabby smiled sheepishly and opened a commlink. He started with a very exaggerated pronunciation of her name, "Beeeevinnn ... we ... broke another console on the Bridge ... again." Main Engineering & Sickbay: . Lt. Cmdr. Bevin MacArdry was in Main Enginnering, working on her "onion skin" project, as well as exploring methods to incorporate the concept into forcefields, and anything else she could think of. Redundant layers of power couldn't be anything but a good idea, she reasoned. As usual, she had a running feed from the Bridge so she could stay apprised of everything going on. . Dr. Shadow K'Trevala was in Sickbay, looking for ways to augment the biological resistance to radiation he'd inoculated the crew with, considering all the exposure they'd been experiencing recently. He'd taken to keeping an open line with the Bridge as well, just so he wouldn't be caught by surprise should there be an emergency. . Bevin finalized her first draft of the calculations for the multi-layered warp fields, and sent them, along with a proposal to attempt to use the bursts of radiation to power containment and force fields for the installation on the moon below, to the Chief Science Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Relok. . A few seconds later, her commbadge chirped as Relok responded, "Commander ... you think you could capture the radiation as a power source?" . Bevin replied in her thick Scottish Brogue, "Aye, I thaink tha's a verra guid pawssibility, ain hae ait an bairst mawd." . Relok answered, "I see one flaw in your logic, Commander. If your shield reinforces the containment field, it would stop the radiation leaks that are powering the shield. In order for your shield to function, it has to fail."

. Bevin argued, "Nae iffin we hae lak a blaid-awff carridir tae tha pawir yewnit." . On the Bridge, Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter, the helmsman (and former Science Officer in his own right) said, "Is Bevin trying to create some sort of a back-flow harmonic generator?" . Relok nodded at Carter as he answered, "Yes, she's proposed a shield generator on the outside of the containment field that can regenerate its batteries by the field's own leakage. It's ... intriguing." . Listening in over her open comm, Bevin agreed, "Aye, Cairtir, tha's eixaiktly ait!" . Carter responded, "Well ... I know a decent bit about back-flow when it comes to Warp Theory, but ... containing a ...," he trailed off a moment and then exclaimed, "That's it! We have to treat this just like stabilizing a singularity!" . But then Patterson's voice cut in, "Patterson to MacArdry. Grab your toolkit and meet me in TR1." . Bevin answered, "An me way, Karnil." She reached for her toolkit, stuffed with everything she could expect to need on a standard Away Mission, and then grabbed a couple more items that she thought might be useful on this particular mission, and headed for the Turbolift to ride to the Transporter Room. On the way to the TL she figured it might be a good idea to stop by Sickbay and get a booster of the anti-radiation shot, considering where she was headed. . But before Bevin made it to sickbay, Dr. K'Trevala received an emergency call from the Bridge. It came from Carter, "Medical emergency. Beam Lieutenant Hawke to Sickbay. Have Security on standby." . A few seconds later Lt. Denovan Hawke materialized on a biobed, unconscious. Shadow quickly ascertained he'd received a shock through his Borg implants and began to counter the affects.

. And while Bevin rode the Turbolift, she got a call from Lt. Tabeshk Tibris, the Chief of Operations. He gave an exaggerated version of her name as he began, "Beeeevinnn ... we ... broke another console on the Bridge ... again." Astrometrics: . Lt. T'Lin was virtually alone in Astrometrics, still going through Patterson's helmet camera, trying to reconstruct the data after the high dose of radiation it was exposed to. She was slowly beginning to reconstruct it, pixel by pixel. . The sentient computer program known as MAX was her only company, as the AI assisted the Science Officer with the process. His poorly-defined "generic" head was displayed on a nearby console. He said, "Defragmenting at 82 percent." . T'Lin breathed, "Almost there." She tapped her commbadge and called, "Patterson, almost done with defragmentation." . Patterson did not immediately respond, but a short time later MAX began by saying, "Ninety-two perce-," and then went silent, cut off in mid-sentence. . T'Lin looked over at the console where MAX's face had been and found it dark. She said, "MAX?" Concerned, she quickly disconnected and removed the data drive containing the restored helmet camera data, then tapped her commbadge, "Patterson, MAX shut down once it got to 92%. I'll continue on my own, on an isolated PADD, as a precaution." . Patterson responded this time, "MAX went offline because I pulled his chip, Lieutenant. I'm gonna need him on the surface this time." . T'Lin replied, "Understood. I will continue on my own."

@everyone The latest Sim Log Narrative (of the storyline anyway) is posted!