USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202005.29 ANNOUNCEMENT: . This is the fourth installment of Lt. Tibris' sim plot. It is really only now revealing itself! Bridge & Main Engineering: . The Penumbra was now under the command of Acting Captain Relok and Acting First Officer Jason Carter. Captain Zak Taylor and Lt. Col. Travis Patterson had relinquished their command codes since both would be off the ship in a potentially hostile scenario and they didn't want to risk the security of the ship. . Leaving Taylor and Patterson and an Away Team with the Cerberus at the friendly Kyrathian ship, the Penumbra had warped back to the Gas Giant where they'd left a batch of Kyrathian eggs on a tiny moon of the Giant. They hoped to recover the eggs and return them to the friendly Kyrathian Mother. . They were traveling under Yellow Alert with the MIRAGE engaged and shields up. Relok was in the Command Seat; Carter was at the Helm, being the best pilot aboard; Lt. Tabeshk Tibris was at his usual post at Operations; Lt. Denovan Hawke had returned from a brief check of the Kyrathian ship and was back at the Tactical Console; and LtJG. Katarina Hawke was at the auxiliary Medical Station, keeping an eye on the Away Team's vitals (while they remained in range). . Relok asked, "Are we there yet?" but most people just ignored the question. . Carter glanced back at Hawke, "Sensors picking up on anything?" . Hawke answered, "Not currently so far, which is odd. Let me reconfigure the sensor bandwidth." His fingers danced across the console and then he reported, "It's coming in now. There are three ships. I'm detecting weapons fire and more than likely with the Aslan Frigate." . Relok glanced at the Tactical Officer and then sat up straighter, "Red Alert!" The klaxon sounded and lights flashed red around the Bridge. He asked, "Den, Tabby, we've got MIRAGE engaged?" . Hawke answered, "For the moment, yes, Commander. Shields up, weapons armed."

. Carter dropped them out of warp and prepared for evasive maneuvers. He said, "We don't even know if we're still in the Aslan Heirate's good graces anymore." . Relok said, "Tabby, hail the Aslan Frigate, tell them help has arrived." . Tabby groaned as he said, "Aye, sir, hailing now." . Hawke said, "I have an idea. How about we position ourselves between the two but not fire on the Kyrathians. Defensive stance." . As they dropped out of warp near the Gas Giant they found three Kyrathian Colony Ships and at least two dozen Energy-Siphoning Pods deployed around the single, lonely, Aslan Frigate! Hawke updated his idea as he assessed the tactical situation, "Shoot, never mind! Twenty-four pods attacking and in range. Locking phasers and quantum torpedoes." . Relok gasped, "Great Sehlat! They're being swarmed! Um, no pun intended." He too assessed the situation and then barked orders, "Carter, scramble Delta Flight, we need flyers out there to target some of those Pods ... MAX, you've got the Point Defense System. Den, target pods at will." . Hawke nodded grimly, "Unfortunate, but gladly. Firing at will." He set up a firing pattern, synchronized with the helm to allow for particular movements to sweep in quick, get out, and then come about just as fast. . Down in Main Engineering, Lt. Cmdr. Bevin MacArdry had been monitoring the situation over an open comm channel, as was her way. She called the Bridge, her strong Brogue barely intelligible, "Cammandir, ye waint tae yase tha baillawns aigin an thaim?" She was referring to her Project Montgolfier where she used several mylar balloons with fake transponders to appear like additional craft, and to attract the Kyrathians' Energy-Siphoning Pods away from actual ships. . Relok tapped his commbadge, answering Bevin, "Yes, Commander, we'll need all the tactical advantage we can get. Launch your decoys as soon as you have them ready."

. Carter deactivated the inertial dampeners to conserve power and allow for quicker maneuvers. He rolled the ship and called out, "Hawke, dorsal banks! Gotta give Delta Flight enough time to get out the Hangar!" . Hawke responded, "Zero-elevation burst, confirmed." . Bevin quickly set up another taskforce of balloons. Even as the eight Delta Flyers streamed out of the Hangar Bay, a dozen balloons inflated and zipped out with them, headed towards the Aslan Frigate as a sort of protective shield. . But even as Delta Flight and Project Montgolfier converged on the Aslan Frigate, it was engulfed by at least half a dozen Energy-Siphoning Pods. It began to lose power immediately. The decoy balloons tried to lure Pods away from the Frigate so that Delta Flight could get through to them. . Relok turned to Kat, "Kat, find out if the eggs are still there. They were on a tiny moon with a shield and a stasis field." . Kat nodded, "Aye, sir." Her fingers moved across her console scanning for the eggs to see if they were still there. She almost missed them because of the moon's protection. A moment later she reported, "They are there, but deep in the moon. I almost missed them because of the metal laced with the moon." She paused then added, "We won't be able to beam down inside the moon unless we get creative. We'll only be able to beam to the surface." Then, almost as an afterthought she said, "Also, our shields are up, so that will make it more complicated. I'm also reading shields protecting them, which also complicates things." . Relok said, "There were hundreds of eggs in those tunnels! How do we get them out of there with all those Pods and Kyrathians out there?" . Kat frowned, trying to think of how they might get the eggs to safety. She asked, "Too bad we couldn't just beam them out?" . Hawke reported, "The Freighter is losing power. It's engulfed. I have got a stupid idea." . Carter grinned back at him, "So do I, actually!"

. Tabby groaned, "What is this idea?" A moment later he said, "We vanish!" . Relok quickly glanced between the three of them. "Vanish? If you guys are sharing your ideas telepathically it isn't helping me? Speak up!" . Hawke shook his head at Tabby, "Not even close, Lieutenant. We ram ourselves down the pods throat. Maximum shields, and a burst of quantum torpedoes, and burn all phasers right in the middle of them. Battering ram and damage." . Tabby spun to look more directly at Hawke, "I was thinking we cloak and go the stealthy way and NOT guns blazing like an idiot!" Suddenly, he keyed in on what Kat had said and turned quickly to her, "WAIT! We can beam them out! The Mind-The-Gap method!" . Kat grinned as she realized she'd actually thought of something helpful. Relok raised an eyebrow at Tabby, "Mind-The-Gap? Like we did with the Omega Moon? Interesting idea! Pry open a hole through the shield." . Tabby grinned, "See, I can be a genius ... when needed." . Then Relok said, "But Mind-The-Gap was a tedious procedure, and we can't do it while engaged with 2 or 3 dozen Pods and 3 Kyrathian Colony Ships!" . Tabby answered, "We can if we combine efforts!" . Then Carter suggested, "What about the Bug-Zapper? If we can slide past the Freighter in close proximity, boost and extend our shields ... we can fry them off." . Tabby nodded, "Bug-Zapper WITH Mind-The-Gap." . Relok gave a quick nod. "Let's do it. Den, Carter, keep the Kyrathians busy with Delta Flight and torpedoes. Tabby, you'll need to get as many of those eggs as you can ... without benefit of a transporter lock ...," he trailed off. . Tabby spun back to his panel, "Got it." He tapped his commbadge, "Bevin, I'm gonna need power ... a LOT of power." . Hawke nodded, "Understood. We can do that." He collaborated with the Helm station and then said, "I believe, after this Commander, I owe you a drink: Romulan Ale!"

. Carter also nodded, "Switching to manual controls. Hawke ... we're gonna be at point-blank range for a lot of this. MAX, keep the Point Defense targeting anything that gets within 200 meters of the hull. Computer, disengage safety procedures for all Helm controls, and silence all alarms." . Hawke said, "At least point defense is mostly automated, so there is that. Focusing on manual anyway." His Borg-enhanced fingers flew lightning fast over his console, showing that someone had been holding back all this time. . Suddenly, the Aslans showed they had learned something from the Penumbra. The Frigate did something very much like the Bug Zapper! Energy-Siphoning Pods sparked and sizzled, some of them falling away dead! Tabby responded, "HEEEEEEY that's MY trick!" . Carter chuckled, "About time they learn a thing or two, huh?" He maneuvered the ship again and said, "Hawke, ventral, port forward. Should have an angle on one of those Colony Ships' pod bays in a few seconds." . Hawke grinned, "Actually, I already fired on it, sir." . Then Relok turned to the Head Nurse, "Kat, set up some kind of facility in the Cargo Bay to receive the Kyrathian eggs. We don't have any of their incubators and I have no idea what condition they'll be in. Oh, and make sure everyone is in biosuits, who knows if there's any Kyrathian Plant Spores down there." . Kat looked surprised that she was being given this order, but said, "Yes, sir." He quickly logged out of the medical console on the bridge and hurried to the lift. She guessed she would need to stop off in Sickbay to get a biosuit for herself. . Carter looked at Tabby sitting beside him, "How strong is the Bug Zapper?" . But it was Hawke who answered, "I can channel the primary phaser couplings through the secondary power conduits to boost the output, however, it may burn out some of the phaser emitters."

. Carter shook his head, "Can't risk losing weapons systems, Hawke." Without warning he rolled the ship to the right, and started venting plasma. "But ... plants don't like fire. Hawke... light our tail!" . Hawke grinned, "That works as well!" He paused, then said, "Holding to set up a pattern through them, firing in 3 ... 2 ...1 ... it's away!" And the monkey flipped the switch. The torpedo ignited the plasma trail behind the Penumbra, and effectively created a fiery blaze as the ship passed between the Colony Ships and lit up a dozen of the Pods in a spectacular firestorm! . "Ooh!" Hawke muttered, "That's pretty!" . With the combined efforts of the Aslan Frigate's own Bug Zapper with the Penumbra's Zapper, Point Defense, well-placed torpedoes and so on, they managed to get the Aslans free of Pods. But it was in bad shape, its power levels hovering at merely 15%. . Relok called, "OK, Tabby, are we in position for the accelerated Mind-The-Gap? You'll only have a few seconds of peace before the next wave of Pods descends on us!" . Tabby nodded grimly, "Understood." . Carter was still on manual sticks. He piloted the Penumbra close to the Nursery Moon, trying to keep her close enough for Tabby's Grabby-Hands to do their job. "Five seconds!" he announced. . Relok stood and moved over to the Science Console, "I'll do what I can to target eggs amongst all that metal, but ... we'll be aiming blind. I'm just hoping that any lifesigns we see are eggs and not Kyrathian Soldiers or Gatherers patrolling the corridors!" Cargo Bay & Sickbay: . Kat left the Bridge but as the Turbolift headed for Sickbay for her to pick up a biosuit she shook her head and redirected it to go straight to the Cargo Bay. She realized her Borg adaptive shielding would protect her from any Kyrathian Spores. . Soon the lift opened and she strode into the Cargo Bay. She called out, "I need everything that can be moved, moved! We need to fit 100 eggs in this room!"

. Various technicians from Operations and Engineering, as well as a few Marines that were on duty in the room, quickly began rearranging the Cargo Bay at Kat's direction. . Kat added, "Also, get bio-suits to protect us in case there are any spores." After a moment she tapped her commbadge, "Katarina to Sickbay, I need Melody and John down here in the Cargo Bay to help me with preparation." . The voice of Melody, one of the nurses in Sickbay, responded, "On my way to you. I've got John, too. We're grabbing biosuits." Away Team on the Ivorez Kyrathian Ship: . An Away Team consisting of Capt. Zak Taylor, Lt. Col. Travis Patterson, Dr. Shadow K'Trevala, Lt. T'Lin, and GnySgt. Khalgon had beamed over to the friendly Kyrathian Colony Ship to meet with the Ivorez, the "Pure Plant" of the non-Swarm Kyrathians. Parked near the Colony Ship was the Cerberus, in case they needed a way out. . They found themselves in a huge chamber literally FILLED with the Kyrathian Plant. Huge trunks and clustered Nodes and Fibrils slithered everywhere. Moth-like Kyrathians of the Tender class, varying in size from a few inches to several feet, crawled and flittered all over the place. Patterson scanned the room they found themselves in and said, "Not what I was expecting, honestly." . T'Lin looked around for a Plant Node console that she could use for her interface. Finding one nearby, she walked over and plugged a cable from her PADD into it. The PADD carried her translation algorithm that could read the Kyrathians' written language glyphs and translate them into Federation Standard English. Then it would read those words using a computer-generated voice, allowing them near real-time communication. The program could even listen to the voices of the Federation officers and translate those into glyphs that would be displayed on Bulbs of the Plant for the Kyrathians to read.

. Zak said, "This does not look like the Bridge that was described to us. Shadow, T'Lin, where are we?" Those two had been on the original Away Team that had come previously to this ship's Bridge to meet the Kyrathian Noble they'd come to call "the Mother". . Shadow responded, "Definitely not in Kansas, but I'd imagine this to be the heart of the ship, so to speak." . But it was the Mother who answered, via the computer-generated voice from T'Lin's translation algorithm. "The Ivorez asked to meet you in person, so ... we brought you directly here, to him." . Khalgon, a Klingon Marine Gunnery Sergeant, raised an eyebrow and adjusted the bat'leth slung across his back. . Then another voice came through T'Lin's algorithm, a deep male voice. "This is my ... brain ... if you will. I wanted to speak to you personally." . Shadow sent a telepathic message, saying the words out loud so the others could hear him, "Greetings, Ivorez, and thank you for being willing to meet with us." . The Ivorez continued in a low tone, "You're probably surprised at my ability to speak so very clearly." . The Captain looked over T'Lin's shoulder at her PADD contraption that made talking to the Kyrathians possible. Softly he said, "Good job, Lieutenant." . T'Lin responded, "Thank you, sir." . Patterson glanced at Khalgon and gave a gentle nod, then checked his armPADD, no doubt confirming that the Cerberus was nearby and on stand-by just in case. . The Ivorez continued, "I reached out through my ... Kyrathians, as you call them ... to ask for aid in a ... dire need." . Patterson said, "I would assume with the Wild Growth, no doubt?" . Shadow also had the same conclusion. "Dealing with the Wild Growth Swarm? To protect the next generation?"

. The Ivorez responded, "Yes. My dear cousin has ... lost herself ... into madness. She makes creatures who harm us, who harm others, when we are made to nourish instead. But ... we cannot go near her, or we'll be forced to join her in her madness." . Zak asked, "Ivorez, you say you can't go near the Wild Growth? She'll ... infect you?" . "Yes," the Plant growth answered, "We are of the same race, but her madness has twisted her roots into something of wrong. I fear if something is not done, we may have to end her misery. We can feel her crying out but ... she is so very lost." . T'Lin asked, "Do you know how to help her? Or ... how it happened?" . Shadow asked a similar question, "Is there anything that we can use, that you know of, to help reverse her madness?" . Zak said, "I read the logs of Captain Hardin's mission to the Kyrathian Homeworld. I thought they'd cured the Wild Growth when they restored the planet's ecosystem with weather control satellites and stuff." . The Ivorez answered, "It helped for some time, but I fear she has done too much wrong to go back." He paused and then added, "Something has changed her. I wonder if it's the planet dying. The planet was once much like what you call Earth, but it's been on a slow decline since even before Davik's time." . Zak asked, "And ... how does the Wild Growth on that planet cause the Kyrathians to ... Swarm? And why aren't yours Swarming? I don't understand." . The Ivorez responded, "We don't swarm because we have no need to. It is not a normal thing we do." . Zak said, "This may sound over simplistic, but ... can't you just send your Kyrathians, your independents, to the planet and ... fix this? You're all telepathic, right? Connected to each other?"

. Shadow turned to Zak, "Captain there is the possibility that the influence of the Wilding might be too strong for the independents and force them to join the Swarm." . The Ivorez confirmed this. "She'll take them as her Swarm. She is older and far more cunning than I and my sibling's combined. I believe my dear cousin is acting out of desperation from a dying planet." . Patterson rubbed his chin, "If this swarming tactic is being influenced by a wild plant in an act of desperation, it leads me to believe that Davik's mission has failed." . Zak stroked his greying hair, "Yeah, the Ambassador feared as much. We lost contact with the Federation outpost there over a decade ago." He turned back to face the largest trunk of the Plant nearby, "So, you, the Ivorez, can't get close for risk of being infected, and your Independents can't get close because the Wild Growth will turn them. That's why you wanted us, right?" . T'Lin asked, "She can take your swarm as hers? How does that work? It cannot be as simple as persuasion, right?" . The Ivorez answered, "Brainwashing. She slowly picks their will apart until they're an empty husk of a shell, then she fills them full of her own madness." . T'Lin sighed, "That is ... fascinating." . Suddenly Zak slapped his forehead as he finally clued in to the obvious. "The Plants, both the Wild Growth and the Ivorez, are telepathic with the Kyrathians! Direct mind contact. The Wild Growth would just dominate new Kyrathians like she does the Swarm!" . Shadow said, "What I was imagining she'd be doing: overwhelm their will with her madness and force them to join her." . The Ivorez said, "Like I mentioned, we are of the same race ... same abilities, same drawbacks." . T'Lin cut a glance at Zak, "It is fascinating that you managed to become a Captain with how little you sometimes pick up, Zak." . Zak glared back at T'Lin, "Shut it, Lieutenant."

. A sound very much like a chuckle came from the Plant itself, echoed by T'Lin's PADD. The Ivorez said, "Who knew humanoids are so funny?" . T'Lin shook her head as she let out a soft chuckle as well. Khalgon turned to look at Patterson, "So ... when do we leave?" . Zak mused a moment, "So, we need to get to the Kyrathian Homeworld, probably through dozens or even hundreds of Swarm ships, land and do ... something ... with the Wild Growth. But ... what?" . T'Lin echoed the question, "What do we do?" . Shadow joked, "Massive dose of valium and lithium?" . The Ivorez responded, "Simple answer: we are plants, and fire is not our friend." . Patterson asked, "Ivorez ... are you recommending that we destroy the Wild Growth?" . The Ivorez answered, "First the planet needs to be tested. If the soil is powdery, then that will confirm my beliefs. Feel free to act as you deem fit." . Shadow said, "So, you're saying that we might have to do a heck of a lot of pruning to get back to what might be left of the good plant?" . T'Lin asked, "How do you know that the same thing will not happen to the rest of you, once you return? And what about the thousands of ships that do not have direct contact with the planet?" . The Ivorez answered, "Simple answer: we aren't going back. We know the risks, so we stay away ... far away." . T'Lin pressed, "So, where will you go? When the new planet dies, what happens then? We repeat this over and over again?" . A pair of Bulb-like protrusions on the huge trunk opened like eyes and glared at T'Lin as the voice said, "Yes! As many times as history shall repeat itself!" . T'Lin didn't care for this answer. She said, "Yes, but you said this is because the planet is dying. So, every time your planet dies, you burn and resettle?"

. But Zak said, "From Hardin's log, I think the Wild Growth went insane because of planetary eco-disaster ... global warming or something brought on by planetary war ...," he trailed off for a moment before continuing, "If they have new planets with stable ecosystems, and the Ivorez can ... seed it with Pure Plant ... well, they should be fine, right?" . The Ivorez let out another chuckle, "This one gets it." . Zak rubbed his head again and said, "OK, so, we know where we need to go, and some idea of what needs to be done, we just don't know how the hell we're supposed to pull it off!" . Shadow commented, "Too bad we can't smother the Wildings with kudzu and strangler figs." . Patterson grumbled, "I don't get paid enough to be someone's gardener." . The Ivorez responded, "We don't ask for a gardener, we simply ask to prevent this from happening again." . T'Lin was still peeved at the idea of burn and forget. She asked, "And what happens to the inhabitants of the planet? Will they be spared? Will you coexist or slaughter them?" . The Ivorez answered, "If this happens again and another planet dies, we'll remain ship-bound with no home, if that is what it takes. We shall coexist. Slaughtering isn't in our DNA, you should know by now, shouldn't you?" . Shadow nodded silently, but T'Lin continued, "We have watched as the Wild Kyrathians slaughtered our friends, and attempt to take over friendly planets. We have not yet learned what 'normal' Kyrathians do. These are logical questions, Ivorez, and we do deserve these answers." . The Ivorez responded, "The Swarm were not taught like mine are. So, you see me comfortable here, where I fit. I understand your logic, you ask good questions and so I'll give answers. Normal Kyrathians are what you see before you now. Take a look behind me into our atrium."

. T'Lin glanced beyond but then said, "Simply looking at what seems normal does not tell me what will happen when you get what you want. But," she gave a sigh, "I can see your emotions, and I am not worried about you lying to us. Thank you." . Zak stepped in again, "So, let me get this straight. If we can ... prune the Wild Growth and stabilize its planet, shouldn't it regain its sanity? Or maybe it's just grown too damn big? Hardin said the thing once spanned the whole freaking planet. Maybe that was the problem?" . The Ivorez answered, "Perhaps, it worked before. She just hasn't had something ... caring for her." . Shadow asked, "Once we find you a new place, do you need anything to help you out? Other than the wildings never learning of your new home?" . But the Ivorez did not answer right away.

@everyone The latest Sim Log Narrative is posted!