USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202008.14 Bridge & Main Engineering: . The Penumbra was in interstellar space, at Red Alert with MIRAGE engaged, stalking two Kyrathian Swarm Colony Ships. They'd launched the Cerberus to sneak up and board one of them. Neither of the two Federation ships could see the other through their cloaking systems. Neither could risk open communications that might compromise their stealth. And, they all knew, anything that a single Kyrathian noticed would be known by all of them in mere moments through their telepathic link. . They'd positioned the Penumbra to provide assistance, if and when needed, to cover the Cerberus' escape. They all knew that while the Cerberus was fast and agile, and packed a hell of a punch with its WAR drivers and a handful of torpedoes, it wasn't cut out for a drawn out battle with two Colony Ships by itself (especially if they launched dozens of Energy-Siphoning Pods to contend with). The Penumbra had their six Delta Flyers on standby, and a full complement of torpedoes, Montgolfier decoys, point-defense lasers, and the Bug Zapper technology. But, they'd had their own trouble dealing with a pair of Colony Ships before, with all their Pods and Fighters. Certainly, none of them wanted a dogfight out here all by themselves!

. On the Bridge, Capt. Zak Taylor sat in the Command Seat, trying to avoid the urge to jump up and pace. Lt. Cmdr. Relok was sitting in Patterson's XO seat, again, looking all calm and collected (on the outside at least). Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter was at the Helm, keeping the Penumbra in range of their long-range sensors of the two Kyrathian Colony Ships. Lt. Cmdr. Tabeshk Tibris was at the Operations console, keeping a close eye on power levels and the MIRAGE system. LtJG. Katarina Hawke stood at the Auxiliary Medical Station keeping an eye on the vital statistics of the Away Team as transmitted securely by the Combat Armor of the Marines and the Biosuits of the Starfleet personnel. Ens. Jackson Carshel was manning the Primary Science Station, and Ens. Filler manned the Tactical Station in the absence of Lt. Denovan Hawke, who was with the Away Team. . Down in Main Engineering, Lt. Cmdr. Bevin MacArdry kept the engines running smoothly and quietly in stealth mode, while keeping an eye on the monitor she kept linked with the Bridge to keep her informed. She began working a backup configuration for the MIRAGE, just in case the main system failed. . Zak turned his head to address his Tactical Officer, "Filler, any sign they know we're here?" . Filler checked his board again and replied, "Nothing I can see, sir. They're just moseying along on the same course they had before." . Relok spoke to the junior Science Officer, "Carshel, get the best scans you can on both of those ships ... passively, Ensign." The Ensign acknowledged quietly. . The Captain picked up his coffee cup and took a sip, then made a face at the cold coffee. "Eew! OK, need a fresh cup." He stood and crossed the Bridge to the replicator. . Carter spoke as the Captain walked, "Might be worth closing the gap a bit more. I think I can get us closer without risking being seen." He glanced at the Captain, then to Relok.

. Zak turned from the replicator and gave Carter a nod. "Nudge us carefully, Commander." . Carter nodded and engaged the impulse engines for a 3-second burst as he said, "I'll slide us closer. Filler, keep both eyes on those ships." . Zak turned back to the replicator, "Coffee, black, sweetened." He glanced over at Relok, and then added, "Oh, and decaf." . Relok steepled his hands in front of his face and drew a breath, seeking that calm place while he waited. . Carshel muttered, "I'm keeping an eye on the signatures." . A second or two later, Filler nodded, "Everything seems just hunky-dory so far, sir." . Zak took his coffee, blowed steam off the top and took a sip as he turned back to face the Bridge. "Damn, I hate just sitting here!" . Just then, Kat got a sort of far-away look in her eye, then smiled. She was reacting to a message she'd received over the residual Borg interlink she shared with her brother. The siblings were both former Borg and while most of their Borg cybernetics had been removed, their interlink was one of those systems that could not be removed without risking death or permanent brain damage. And while the connection to the main Borg collective had been severed, their connection with each other was still present. And it could not be heard by anyone without a functioning Borg interlink. . Lt. Denovan Hawke had called his sister, saying, ~We're about to board, Kat.~ . She'd responded, ~Good to hear from you, bro. Your vitals were strong, I wasn't worried.~ . Relok noticed the look on her face. He said, "Kat! You can talk to Den!" . Kat jumped slightly at the Vulcan's outburst. "Um ... yes. They're about to board." . Zak also stiffened at Relok's statement. "What?" . Kat explained, wondering if she might be in trouble, "It's a Borg-link between us. Den says they're about to board." . Relok cried out, "Their Borg interlink! The Kyrathians can't hear it!" He turned back to Kat and asked, "Right?"

. "Right," she answered. "It's not exactly telepathic, it's a link, so they can't hear it unless they are Borg." . The Captain once again forgot about the coffee cup in his hand. He blurted out, "Tell them about the second Swarm Ship! And that we're standing by! And get frequent updates on their progress!" . "Yes, Captain," she responded, making another connection with her brother. ~Den, the Captain says that there's a second swarm ship and that we're standing by.~ . Then Carter said, "Guys ... not to interrupt, but, we're literally in their wake now ... like we've slipped into their aerodynamics." . Zak turned back to Carter. "You're drafting the Swarm ship?" . Before Carter could answer, Filler grinned and said, "And still no reaction from the Swarm. We're surfing their wake! I love it!" . Carter smirked, "Everyone has a blind spot. They're almost like bald-spots on old Captain's heads. Trick is to look for the grey hairs." . Reflexively, Zak reached and ran a hand over his head, then realized what he'd done and glared at Carter. "I'm not that old!" . Kat had forgotten the second half of the Captain's instructions and called Den again. ~Oh, and any updates you want me to relay back?~ . Den responded, though only Kat could hear it, ~Nothing yet. I'll let you know.~ . She looked to the Captain, "No updates yet, sir." . Relok turned to Kat and gave her a smile. "They have to do something to give us an update, Kat. Relax and just keep us informed if Den says anything important." . She blushed and nodded, not used to being this noticed by the Bridge crew. . Zak finally sat down, then remembered the cup in his hand and took another sip. Carshel decided, he too would like a coffee and went to the replicator, getting a cup and then returning to his station. . As Zak sipped his coffee, he did he studied the main viewscreen, then said, "Carter, you've got us nearly up the a-- um, aft end of that ship."

. Carter commented, "Yeah, I don't think we could get any closer without being noticed." . Filler mumbled, "I can almost smell Kyrathian farts from here ... um, sir." . Relok turned and glanced up at Filler. "I'm not sure Kyrathians experience flatulence, but I'm sure T'Lin would know." He was referring to her eidetic memory and the fact she'd downloaded and processed all that trivial data from the first Station. . Zak hid a smirk in his coffee cup as he took another sip. . After a moment the Captain said, "It's a testament to the design engineers of this fine ship that the MIRAGE works so damn well even this close. Filler, they still don't see us?" . But it was Carter who answered first, "As long as the MIRAGE holds, we'll be able to hide in their own shadow for days like this." . Bevin heard Carter's comment from her feed down in Main Engineering. With a silent smile, she trimmed more of the un-needed power systems and transferred it to the MIRAGE. She was sure that would hold it for ages! . Filler checked his Tactical board, then answered, "Not a clue from them, sir. All's well. Just cruising along towards .... that spacial anomaly! Commander Relok, they're headed towards that anomaly you detected!" . Relok frowned slightly then stood and moved over to the Science station, "Carshel, pull up our scans of that anomaly." . Carshel answered, "Aye, pulling up now." He did so and projected it onto his screen. . Relok leaned over Carshel's shoulder, careful not to touch the man, who'd mentioned he didn't like physical contact. "Look," he pointed, "there, you see that? That might be gravimetric interference." . "Nah," Carshel said, "that can't be right." His fingers moved across his board as he fine-tuned the readings. . Zak asked, "Relok, what's the significance of that anomaly? Is it dangerous? And why are they headed for it?"

. But before Relok could answer, Carshel interrupted, "Captain, we need to get away from the anomaly! It's like a whirlpool, we'll get sucked in!" . Relok looked back to Carshel's sensor readings. "Not gravimetric interference, exactly ... gravitational distortion! Captain, it's a mini black hole!" . Carter turned and looked briefly over his shoulder at Carshel. "Can you send that to the nav display?" . "Aye," Carshel said, "that I can." He quickly did so. . The spacial anomaly was indeed a tiny black hole distorting the gravitational field in the local area. The second Swarm Colony Ship was headed straight for it, though the first one (where the Away Team had boarded) would only pass dangerously close. . Carter reviewed the navigational data, adjusted for the gravitational distortion, and said, "Well, that's gonna be hell to fly through, but ... possible." . "Oh, fun," Carshel quipped. . Carter tapped his commbadge, calling Engineering, "Carter to MacArdry. I'm gonna need everything your mechanical miracle hands can muster for Helm control ... we've got a Black Hole singularity, Type 8, on our flight path ... and I'm gonna need that done in 20 minutes or less." . Kat interrupted a moment, "Den says they're at the Node. No resistance yet." . Zak turned to the Head Nurse, "Kat, tell Den they're headed into a black hole!" Without waiting for a response, he turned back to his Helmsman, "Carter, why the hell do they want to fly into a black hole?" . Relok said, "Captain, I'd speculate they don't even see it. Our sensors are pretty advanced, and the distortion is rather small, only about the size of a shuttlecraft." . Carshel speculated, "It's the energy. I think they want to harvest that and reuse it." . Relok turned back to Carshel and replied, "Romulans have used controlled singularities as their power cores for years. You could be right." . Carshel made a noise, "Pfft. Of course I'm right. I literally can't be wrong unless I try to be."

. Zak abandoned the now cold coffee in its cup in the cup holder and stood. "It's been too long. They've got to get the hell out of there!" He was, of course, referring to his two Away Teams on that Kyrathian Swarm Colony Ship. The Away Teams: . On the Cerberus, Patterson had divided the crew into two Away Teams with different objectives. . Team One consisted of Lt. Col. Travis Patterson (command/security), Dr. Shadow K'Trevala (medical), Lt. T'Lin (science/communications/warrior), and Lt. Denovan Hawke (security/tactics). Their objective was to hack a plant node, download intel, and if possible, hijack the ship. . Team Two was MstGny. Derek Hines (demolitions), Gny. Khal'Gon (heavy firepower), SSgt. William Davies (light infantry), and PFC Homer Kyle (combat medic/light infantry). Their objective was to make their way to the propulsion systems and set a bomb if needed to make an escape. . On the Cerberus, Shadow had been showing everyone how to use the "Miracle Gro" Plant Bombs, grenades filled with various herbicides and infused with Merasha to help shut down any telepathic effects as well. . Finally, Patterson lowered the visor of his Combat Armor and locked it into place, powering up the enhancements and electrostatic field that helped repel the Plant Spores. "Ninety seconds ... lock and load, everyone." . Den nodded, locking the seal on his Starfleet-issue Biosuit. T'Lin did as well, tapped the special button on her spear and extended it to its full length, applied a dose of Merasha to its tip, verified the placement of the half-dozen throwing daggers scattered around her belt, boots, and leg pockets, and then adjusted her tricorder. "Ready," she said. . Patterson looked at T'Lin's spear and shook his head. "That's not gonna be very effective against a Kyrathian Soldier. Better than nothing, but all you're gonna do is buy yourself about ... 3 seconds with that. Better take a rifle with you as well."

. Den agreed, "Just keep it as a backup, but take a rifle, like the Colonel said." . T'Lin eyed the two with a hint of disdain. She was a highly trained D'Vir of her clan, the N'Ereon, an elite warrior of the "Crimson Shadow". She said, "Do you know how many ways I have learned to kill things from far distances with just my spear?" She paused, then added, "But, I am not foolish, and I will have a rifle as well." . Shadow too might have been merely a Tayledran empathic healer, but he had advanced archery skill as well. He had a powerful bow and a quiver filled with 60 arrows, each topped with Merasha to sap a Kyrathian's telepathic connection to their hive mind. But he too, slung a rifle over his back to use as needed. . The Marines locked their visors and readied their various weapons as well. AEGIS, the AI built into the Cerberus found an apparent cargo hatch, or possibly a waste disposal port, and began easing up to it. Patterson gave the AI the controls and muttered, "Easy, AEGIS." He moved to the hatch and said to the others, "Ten seconds." . Den took the opportunity to call his sister over their Borg interlink, ~We're about to board, Kat.~ He double-checked his rifle and moved up behind Patterson at the hatch. . Though no-one could hear but Den, Kat responded, ~Good to hear from you, bro. Your vitals were strong, I wasn't worried.~ . Den spoke to Patterson, "I let Kat know we're about to breach, sir, so she should be relaying that to the ship." . Patterson smirked and gave a nod, "All that Borg tech is coming in handy more and more." . "It has its uses," he replied with a grin. Then he tilted his head as if listening before adding, "And there's a second swarm ship, they are on standby." . There was the slightest bump and AEGIS reported, "Soft dock complete."

. "Ready everyone?" T'Lin asked. They all gave nods or grunts of acknowledgement, then T'Lin said, "Den, get Science to isolate their lifesigns ... let us consider the option of beaming them off their ship completely, and with Merasha they would not even get to relay that their ship was taken." . Then Patterson gave a curt nod. "All right, AEGIS, open the hatch. Hines, you guys know what to do. Keep comms to a minimum. I'll break chatter when we make contact. From there, we've got 2 minutes to exfil." . T'Lin muttered a brief prayer, "Watch over us all, Grandmother." . Shadow added, "Da'Gretha, keep us in your care." . Den tapped Patterson's back, signifying he was in position and ready to follow behind him. They advanced through the hatch into a roundish corridor that extended about 5 meters straight ahead to a "T" intersection. There was nobody in sight. Den quickly swept both directions of the corridor, taking a position to guard the right. . Patterson stepped up, also quickly scanning both directions, stepping to guard the left side, then glancing at T'Lin for directions. She had her rifle raised, her spear extending over one shoulder in readiness. Shadow had his bow with an arrow notched and his Plant Bombs handy at his belt. T'Lin checked her PADD then tapped Patterson's left shoulder twice, signaling the direction to the Plant Node she hoped to tap into. . Patterson gave the "knife hand" signal for Team Two (the Marine Pathfinders) to go to the right towards the propulsion area of the ship, and he and the rest of Team One went to the left. Their "clock" started ticking. . Team One arranged themselves with Patterson in the lead, hugging the right-hand wall, followed by T'Lin and then Shadow in the center of the corridor, and Den bringing up the rear along the left-hand wall.

. Without any sound but the soft shuffling of feet in the corridor, they advanced along the corridor. Finally, they began to see tendrils and fibers of the Wild Growth the Kyrathian Swarm used as the basis of their technology, and up ahead another 10 meters or so they saw a bundle of them that could well be the Node they sought. . T'Lin approached the Node but quickly scanned the hallway behind them to make sure it was clear before attempting to access the Node. Den crouched to take the best defensive cover position to guard their rear as Patterson stepped past T'Lin to guard their forward position. As he did he whispered, "Two minutes once you're in, T'Lin. We only get one shot at this." . Shadow stepped up behind T'Lin to be her close guard as she accessed the Node. Den called Kat, ~We're at the Node. No resistance yet.~ . T'Lin pulled the auxiliary cable from her PADD and plugged it into the Node. Immediately it began to download data, displaying Kyrathian glyphs on its tiny screen. She had grown familiar with the glyphs through all her studies and started navigating the system towards more useful information (unlike the random data dump she'd taken from the Station not so long ago). In her mind she began a silent timer counting down the 120 seconds she was allowed. Patterson went one step further, tapping an actual timer on his ArmPADD that also relayed the countdown to Hines and Team Two. . Around the same time, Team Two arrived at some kind of power junction that could be propellant tubes or something. But ... there was a Builder-class Kyrathian working at the end of the corridor about 10 meters away. Hines noticed the timer start on his Heads-Up-Display. He softly whispered, "Davies, weapons free. Drop the Builder."

. Davies was the sharpshooter for Team Two. He took careful aim and let fly a single shot from his WAR rifle. It punched a hole right through the back of its head, spinning it around. Hines quickly advanced, popping three more quick rounds to its chest, just in case. The Team moved up and Hines gave one more shot to the thing's head to make absolutely sure it was dead, and not calling for backup over their telepathic link. He said, "Set charges and move fast!" . Back at the Node, T'Lin tensed. "Patterson," she whispered, "Soldiers are on their way, the Node detected an unauthorized access." . Patterson gave a nod, then turned to Hawke, "Hawke ... green light to engage anything you see." . Den gave a nod and answered softly, "Weapons free. Gotcha." . Shadow prepped a few Merasha canisters and drew his bow to 3/4 pull to be ready to drop the first Kyrathian he saw with a Merasha-tipped arrow to shut down its link to the hive mind. His arrows also had transporter tags that he hoped would allow either AEGIS on the Cerberus or Tabby on the Penumbra to beam Soldiers off the ship (and into space for all he cared) to minimize threats to their Team. He handed T'Lin a hypospray filled with Merasha to use on the Node, though neither of them was sure whether the anti-telepathy drug would work on the Plant's network. . Patterson saw Shadow handing T'Lin the Merasha. He shook his head and said softly, "We can't separate the node from the network or we won't get the intel we need." But, T'Lin took the hypo and loaded it into her PADD to deliver if and when needed. . Suddenly a lone Kyrathian Soldier turned into the corridor. Patterson quickly raised his weapon, ready to fire. He whispered, "T'Lin ... 60 seconds. Download everything you've got access to. We're about to have a very bumpy ride."

. T'Lin's fingers were flying across her PADD, adjusting codes and trying to disable the "alarm". She deduced that "unauthorized access" implied there would be some kind of "authorized access" and so found a list she presumed were "names" of various Builder-class Kyrathians on the ship. She selected one at random and attempted to "sign in". . Shadow saw the Kyrathian Patterson saw and loosed his arrow. It flew straight and hit the bug in one of its multi-faceted eyes. It immediately fell to floor, motionless. . Suddenly, Den swore, "Crap. Patterson, the Pen just said we're headed into a black hole. We need to move." . T'Lin said, "I have access! I signed in as a Builder on this level. It will only work for a minute or so." . Patterson sent the "prepare to fire" signal to the Cerberus from his ArmPADD. He turned to T'Lin, "All we're gonna have, T'Lin. Make it quick!"