USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202010.16 BONUS! Behind the Scenes, Pre-Sim Shenanigans: Note: The actions of this part of the sim are not officially part of the story, but this week's activities were so good I just had to share it as part of the Narrative! . LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry was first to arrive. She flicked a switch to turn on the lights. . LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris slipped in just behind her and flicked the switch back off again! . LtCol. Travis Patterson stepped in and barked out in his commanding voice, "Computer, activate the lights." . But the Computer asked, "Please specify which lights." . To which Patterson responded, "ALL of them." He cut a glare at the mischievous duo, Bevin and Tabby. . Suddenly, millions of high-intensity LED lights and consoles illuminated, blinding everyone! . Capt. Zak Taylor had stepped in just as the lights flashed on. He cried out, "Ahh! Not ALL of them!" . Ens. Jackson Carshel had also just arrived. He cried out, "AHH! My eye!" . Tabby cried, "BOTH my eyes!" . Dr. Katarina Hawke sauntered in wearing a pair of fancy new shades. Looking around she covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud, but instead just giggled. . Carshel stripped down to his speedos, slipped on a pair of shades, and pulled out a reflector to begin sunbathing. . LtCmdr. Relok entered just in time to see Carshel in his speedos and cried out, "Ahh! My eyes!" . Finally, Patterson, his face covered against the brilliant lights, shouted, "TURN THEM OFF! TURN THEM OFF!" . LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke entered the now darkened room but had seen the lights through the door slit. He tossed a flash-bang grenade into the room. . Blinded once again by darkness and then a flash-bang followed again by darkness, Tabby again cried out, "I can't see! Aaahh!" . In the darkness, Dr. Shadow K'Trevala popped a glow-stick to provide minimal light.

. As their eyes adjusted once more, they noticed the new seat-cover on the Command Chair, the one with the strange cockroach pattern, was ... glowing! . Capt. Zak Taylor shook his head and muttered, "You guys are crazy!" . Finally, MAX managed to get the lighting back to normal levels and they were able to begin their shift. Introduction . The Penumbra was still officially under the command of Acting Captain Travis Patterson and Acting First Officer Relok even though Captain Zak Taylor was back aboard and on the Bridge. The Away Team that had gone down to the Kyrathian Homeworld had returned, but just as they'd made their way to the Bridge, Lt. Standin, manning the Tactical Station while LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke was on the Away Team, had detected a Romulan d'Deridex Warbird near the Rift. Before the Away Team had officially reclaimed their various posts, Standin detected weapons fire from the Warbird. Acting Captain Patterson ordered Red Alert and the Penumbra rushed back to the Rift. . When the Penumbra arrived back at the Rift, they found the huge Warbird just in front of the Rift, and one of their graviton emitters, part of the web-like construction that had been holding the Rift stable, had been destroyed. The web's influence was already being slightly compromised and the Rift was beginning to lose the fragile stability they'd established. . The Warbird was nearly twice the size of the Penumbra and was a powerful Battleship, whereas the Penumbra was a Reconnaissance Cruiser. A straight-up head-to-head battle might not go in the Penumbra's favor! . The Captain had wanted to try to return to the Kyrathian Homeworld to discover what they could about the "Evil Vine" and the "Heart of the Ancients", and maybe even help them with their problem, but ... if they lost the Rift and possibly their only way home ..... Blocking the Exit

. The Captain sat in the Counselor's Seat, since he did not officially have a post on the Bridge at the moment, having transferred command to Patterson. . Patterson stood in the center of the Bridge while Relok was in the Executive Officer's Seat. . LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry was finishing up her replacement of the seat-cover on the Command Chair (she'd replaced the garish neon-green and pink paisley pattern with a dark brown and black cockroach pattern!) and was packing up her tools. . LtCmdr. Jason Carter relieved Ens. Filler at the Helm while LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris kept tabs on the MIRAGE systems at the Operations Console. LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke relieved Lt. Standin at Tactical. . Dr. Katarina Hawke had already logged into the Auxiliary Medical Station on the Bridge and stood there, shifting from one foot to the other and nibbling on her bottom lip. She hated Red Alert. Ever since being disconnected from the Borg Collective, she worried about so many things. . Lt. T'Lin had returned to Sickbay, her dual souls still out of balance in this parallel universe. She was being monitored by Dr. Shadow K'Trevala, whose telepathic and empathic powers gave him enhanced ability to sense her discomfort. . In T'Lin's place, Ens. Jackson Carshel continued manning the Primary Science Console. He was keeping tabs on the status of the Rift. . Patterson called out, "Relok, Tabby ... I need to know the status of that Rift. Carter, set a course ... we're going home whether it's stable or not." . Relok looked over at Carshel at the Primary Science Station. "How's it looking, Ensign?" . Carshel checked his sensors and saw that the Rift remained "technically" stable, but was beginning to show a slight wobble. He answered, "Well, it's looking good, aside from that ship looming over it. Kinda blocking my view, man!" . Carter agreed. "That warbird is blocking the rift, Colonel ... least, it would be to most people."

. Den smirked and said, "They could always be given a nudge out of the way." . Relok commented, "Um, Carter, you know Standin was kidding when he said we could fly through the hole without scraping the paint, right?" The Warbird had upper and lower hull sections around a large open "hole" in the middle (even though the forward section of the ship, the "head" of the Warbird, jutted out in front of it). . Bevin finished her clean up and stepped into the Turbolift headed back to Main Engineering just as the Captain asked, "Tabby, our MIRAGE is active?" . Tabby double-checked and said, "Everything looks good, sir." . Zak turned to Den and said, "Den, those big Warbirds are tough ships. I don't know about the whole 'shoot first ask questions later' mentality." . Den responded, "I know they are, sir. They still have their weaknesses just because they are that big. Also, the connecting struts that link the two warp nacelles and the two hulls are not near as reinforced as they think they are. Design flaw." . The Artificial Intelligence known as MAX manifested its face on several convenient pedestals. "That design flaw could easily be rectified. Based on visual alone, I can confirm that the warbird is not entirely Romulan in nature." . Tabby sputtered, "What? Not Romulan? What the hell?" He grumbled a moment then muttered, "Yeah, I don't like this." He thought for a second and then said, "Romulans don't normally mix. They only do in certain circumstances." He paused and then added, "Obviously I was not an intended mix." . Den mumbled, "Hmm, hold on." He proceeded to double-check his tactical readings. Resuming Command . Bevin had made it back to Main Engineering, and as was her usual procedure, she pulled up a monitor to the Bridge so she could stay on top of everything that was going on up top while she stayed close to the heart of the ship.

. Patterson turned and looked at Zak, then said, "Computer, transfer command codes back to Captain Zak Taylor." . The Computer trilled, "Acknowledged." But then it asked, "Does Lt. Cmdr. Relok concur?" . Relok glanced between Patterson and Zak then asked, "Is this the appropriate time, Colonel? Captain?" . Zak shrugged at Relok's questioning look. "If we're going into battle, I'd like to have command of my ship, but ... that decision is not mine to make at this time." . Patterson turned to Relok and said, "This ship was placed into Zak's command when she was officially commissioned, Relok. He oughta be the one in command if we face dying ... and I know what that Rift did to us coming through the first time." . Relok nodded, "Understood. Computer, Acting First Officer Relok concurs with Acting Captain Patterson. Transfer command codes to Captain Zak Taylor." . The computer trilled and then responded, "Command codes transferred. USS Penumbra now back under the command of Captain Zak Taylor and First Officer Lt. Col. Travis Patterson." . With the transfer of command done, Relok was no longer "Acting First Officer" and reverted to his normal role of Chief Science Officer. He strode over to stand behind Carshel at the Primary Science Station. . Carter gripped the manual flight sticks, then rolled his head around, cracking his neck and shoulders as he said, "You said you were joking about flying through without scratching the paint ... but paint is just for aesthetics." . Bevin's thick Brogue came over the commlink, "Ye skraip tha pint, I'll hae yeer haide fer a pintbtash whain we gait thraw!" She clearly did not agree with Carter that the paint was just aesthetics. She said she'd have his hide for a paintbrush if he scraped the paint!

. Tabby grumbled, "Am I chopped liver? We need to leave! Something just does not feel right. Something is VERY wrong here! And that something definitely has something to do with that ship," he gestured at the Warbird on the main viewer, "as well as that planet," he waved his arm back to indicate the Kyrathian Homeworld they'd just left. . The Captain stood and moved to the "Cockroach Chair". As he took his seat he spun to face his Tactical Officer and said, "Den, let's see what the Romulan Warbird is doing before we open fire." . Den answered, "I was still trying to get any reading of the hulls composition and components first, Captain." . Zak spun his chair back to the front and said, "Carter, plan your route, but don't engage just yet. Let's have a good look shall we?" . Tabby spun his chair to face Zak, "Captain, are you crazy? Something is wrong with that ship and we really need to leave! Must I remind you we have a big enough job to do already on the other side of that rift?" He gave the Captain a hard glare. . Carter rolled his eyes at Tabby's anxious urging and said, "We're gonna get a close enough look trying to get TO the damn Rift, Tabby ... I suggest keeping your temper in check." . "You're right," Tabby gave a sigh, "I just wanna go home. I still need to introduce Bevin to my father back home." . Bevin, listening in from down in Main Engineering, responded in her Brogue, "An I naid tae gi tha raist o tha faimily a chaince tae mait haim!" She expressed that she needed to introduce Tabby to her own family as well. Tactical Analysis . Kat still stood at the Medical Station, quietly biting her lower lip. She sent a worried call to her brother, Den, over their private telepathic Borg interlink, ~Do you think we're going to die?~ . Den turned to look at his sister and sent back, ~Of course not, why would we let that happen?~

. She answered him, ~Hello ... Patterson just said it so ... casually!~ Then she smirked at him and gave him a wink. . Patterson moved to the Master Systems Display at the rear wall of the Bridge and said, "MAX, display an analysis of the warbird onto the MSD. Identify any distinct components or identifiers." . While MAX was doing his own analysis of the Warbird, in addition to Den's tactical scanners, Zak turned in his chair and asked, "Den, any indication they see us?" . "Not that I can tell," Den answered. "Maybe they are blind firing, or going to do so on the rift." He was growing frustrated in his analysis of the Warbird and its tactical status and was almost ready to kick the console. "Why is this lagging so much?!?" . MAX too had not yet announced his findings on the Warbird, and he was an advanced Reconnaissance Artificial Intelligence designed specifically for such analyses. . While they waited, Relok pointed over Carshel's shoulder and said, "The Rift's center of gravity is shifting. That rotation isn't going to stay balanced like that." . Carshel agreed. "Then we need to go through it, and soon, very soon. I think that ship is going to be a pain in my ass anyway ... and I hate people. I swear, if that ship messes with all that beautiful work I'm going to be pissed." He was referring to the delicately positioned graviton web to constrain the Rift from expanding, and the precariously balanced Magneto Warheads that gave it a controlled spin to keep it stable. . Finally, both MAX and Den concluded their tactical analyses of the Warbird. MAX was first to announce his results. "The energy signature coming from their weapons is a combination of polaron and disruptor type discharge. I suspect their Romulan-based disruptors are upgraded with Dominion technology."

. Den heard the report and said, "Wait, what?" He double-checked his own readings and reported, "It's Romulan materials, with upgrades from Federation components. It is definitely upgraded in a lot of ways." . Dr. Shadow K'Trevala, quietly monitoring the Bridge from Sickbay, piped in, "Sounds like you need to destroy its engines." Destabilization . But they didn't have time to consider the ramifications of their results as the Warbird suddenly fired its disruptor beam at a second graviton emitter. The emitter instantly vaporized! . Carshel exclaimed, "WHAT THE HELL?!?" . Kat's jaw dropped. . With two emitters down, the web that held the Rift to its size and shape couldn't hold it back any longer. The Rift flared and began a distinct wobble in its rotation. . With an uncharacteristic show of anger, Carshel punched a nearby computer screen and spewed a string of curses, busting his knuckles in the process. . Relok cried out, "Whoa! Watch the spin! Those Magneto Warheads are going to be overwhelmed!" . Zak just stared open-mouthed at the screen a moment before saying, "That graviton web was what's keeping the Rift from growing, right? We can't let him take out any more of them!" . Patterson gripped the railing and said, "MAX, can we stabilize the rift with the remaining warheads?" . MAX responded, "The Rift will only remain stable for another 2 minutes. It will collapse after that. There is nothing we can do to extend that timeframe." . Zak spun to look at Patterson, "Do we try to talk or start shooting? I'm not liking a straight up fight." . Den barked out, "Could always target the singularity core. Only problem is, I have no idea what that going up would do to the rift. Mini black hole and all." . Carshel turned to Relok and asked, "Relok, do we have any more of those warheads to fix it? Also," he flexed his bloody hand and muttered, "Ow."

. Relok gazed calmly at the Ensign and said, "Ensign, you need to learn self-control. When this is over, maybe we can schedule a meditation class for you." . Carshel did a slight eye roll, "Yeah, that'll help ... after I patch myself up. It's swelling now." . Patterson rubbed his chin and responded to the Captain's query. "Well ... they've already fired their weapons at Federation tech, Captain. Some would say that is an unwarranted act of aggression." . The Captain spun back around and said, "Tabby ... hail the Warbird. Let's see what they're trying to accomplish. But ... keep the MIRAGE up." . "Will do," the half-Klingon Operations Manager said. "Hailing now." Familiar Stranger . The familiar face of the Android Ambassador appeared in a window in one corner of the main viewer, so they could continue to see the Rift and the Warbird. He said, "I'm sorry, who's calling?" . Zak stared at the Android on the screen, confused, and mumbled, "Uh ...." Quickly he stood and said, "Ambassador! I ... uh ... this is awkward. We, um, why are you shooting at our emitters?" . The Android in command of the Romulan Warbird with an amalgamation of Romulan, Dominion, and Federation technology that had just destroyed two of the graviton emitters holding the Rift stable tilted his head and muttered, "Processing ...." Then he straightened and said, "Ah, you must be Captain Taylor! Where is your ship, Captain? I can't see you." . Den muttered some obscure movie reference, "'They mostly come at night ... mostly.'" But nobody really got the reference. . Kat glanced at him and asked over their personal Borg interlink, ~What was that?~ . He tilted his head and responded over their private link, ~Old movie quote. Essentially means bad things are coming.~ . She shook her head. ~Oh, you know you're going to have to explain or show me what this old movie you talk about means.~

. Den replied over their link, ~You have to see the first one before that. We'll do it sometime when we get a chance.~ . Meanwhile, Tabby quietly spoke to the Captain, "Captain ... the Ambassador should have recognized me on sight. Something's wrong." He was referring to the fact that he was born on the Android's ship, the ISS Reciprocity, and met Adam Android several times over the intervening years. In fact, Tabby frequently referred to him as "Uncle Adam". . Zak nodded at Tabby, understanding what the half-Klingon had said. . Patterson had moved down to the central part of the Bridge and looked at the Captain then at the Android on the screen. "The distortions of the Rift, combined with the instability your weapons have created, may be interfering with sensors." . Almost at the same time as Patterson's statement, Zak addressed the Android, "Yes, we're still some ways off, but ... we detected weapons fire and our emitters sent us an error code, so ...," he trailed off. . The Android responded, "Those emitters are trapping some kind of spacial rift. We're trying to clear them so we can get accurate scans. And ... there do not appear to be any malfunctions in our sensors." . Zak answered, "Yes, we placed the emitters to stabilize the Rift. We didn't want to risk any damage to subspace traffic in the area. Please leave the rest intact." . Suddenly MAX announced, "Ninety seconds to destabilization." Collapse . Carshel had wrapped his bloody hand in a bandage taken from the emergency first aid kit. He tapped his commbadge and called Sickbay, "Shadow, I ... uh ... need to visit Sickbay. I messed up my hand badly. It's probably fractured. I'll explain when I am there, but I must get back to work, and soon." He started for the Turbolift to head to Sickbay. Relok slipped into the seat at the Primary Science Station.

. Carter said, "We won't make it to the Rift without the Slipstream ... and with that Warbird blocking the entrance ... we can't use it." . Tabby whispered to the Captain, "We need him to move out the way I don't want him following us." . Carshel had hesitated just outside the Turbolift, holding his bandaged hand. He commented, "Captain ... uh ... we need to move, like now, before the Rift gets worse. I don't know if I can fix it." . Den glanced down at his console and discreetly typed a text message to Relok that said, [Can you send out a pulse that will disrupt their sensors?] . But before Relok could even read the message, the Rift flared and consumed one of the four Magneto Warheads, causing the Rift's rotation to go haywire and setting it to wobbling erratically! . The Vulcan Chief Science Officer began frantically trying to reposition the remaining three Magneto Warheads to try to distribute the electromagnetic forces. Carshel saw the Rift's motion on the main viewer and rushed back to Relok's side, saying, "Relok, try to form an equilateral triangle formation! We'll see if that works." . Patterson turned to the Tactical Officer. "Load and arm quantum torpedoes. Overload the phased-plasma arrays and begin rotating modulation." . Den grunted, "Or, that could work too." He was all for blowing stuff up if necessary. He quickly configured the armament and said, "Weapons ready ... target locked." . It seemed the Warbird's sensors had also detected the destabilization of the Rift. Still visible in a corner of the main viewer, the Android barked out orders, "Back us off! What the hell did you do to it?" He was apparently accusing someone on his own Bridge of having done something to the Rift. . Carter checked the navigation sensors, his fingers flying frantically over the boards trying to compute a trajectory. Finally, he said, "I can't get us through that, Captain!"

. But Zak had other plans. "Carter! You heard the Android! Back us off! We need some distance from that thing!" . Again, the Rift flared in a huge blast, spinning wildly. . Patterson lowered his head and gave a sigh and then said, "MAX ... overload the graviton emitters at the Rift ... and self-destruct." . Relok barked out, "We're losing it, Captain! The Rift is destabilizing!" . Tabby looked at the Helmsman, a tone of desperation in his voice. "Carter! We have to just go for it, there's no time thanks to him! Just go for it! I'll help, just ... full throttle it!" . MAX calmly reported, "Graviton emitters on overload. Auto-destruct in three ...," he began the countdown. . Carter glanced at Tabby as he forced the sticks to full reverse. "Tabby, we aren't gonna make it. Get that through your thick Klingon skull." . But Tabby just replied, "If it closes ... we won't get home!" . Carter finally snapped and glared at Tabby. "We aren't going home! Not this way, at least!" . MAX continued counting, "Two ...." . "Damn it!" Carshel cursed. "Can we fire to stabilize it? Maybe another blast?" . Den said, "Someone check the size between the two hulls of the Warbird. If it's wide enough, we can fly through it to the Rift instead of going around it." He said this even while his finger was hovering over the fire button, awaiting the order. . MAX's countdown continued, "One ...." . Tabby refused to give up. He barked back, "Then how? Do you have any ideas, then?" . But nobody was able to answer as MAX reached the end of his countdown and said simply, "Goodbye." . The graviton emitters self-destructed in several relatively small explosions, but ... the Rift was caught in the graviton wave and began rapidly collapsing! . The Penumbra and the Warbird were also buffeted by the graviton wave that rocked the two ships in spite of both having backed off from the Rift. Next?

. "Ow," Den said as he shook off the buffeting from the graviton wave. He quickly checked the ship's status and reported, "Shields down to 60%. Targeting scanners offline." . Relok watched the Rift displayed on his monitor, his face going pale. "It's ... collapsing!" he said. . Carshel actually slapped Relok to get the man to come to his senses. "There is always a chance! Like I said, do we have any more of those emitters? We'll use the same method, in reverse." . "Damn it!" the Captain cursed. "Relok, is it gone? We have no way back?" . Relok checked his scans. "Checking ...," then he said, "No, not gone, sir, but ... it's hardly big enough for a Delta Flyer now." . Patterson shook his head and slammed a fist into the rail before turning and walking around it to flop into the XO chair. After a moment he said, "We aren't going home this way. Let's stop wasting our efforts on the Rift, and focus our attention on that damn Warbird." . But Carshel was still thinking, his augmented intellect running through ideas. "Let's try this, Relok. Magnets first, use three of them, then we use another web to pull it back open, just big enough to fit." . But the Android appeared on screen again, the commlink still active. He was furious! He shouted, "What have you done?!? You ... blew the web? What are you doing?" He moved off screen to do something on his own Bridge. . Den rebooted the targeting scanners and reported, "Sensors back online. Also, what about what I said? Go through the Warbird, if we can fit." . It was Carter who answered, shaking his head. "The Penumbra isn't gonna fit through THAT, Den," he gestured at the main viewer where the much smaller Rift spun erratically and pulsed with flares. "I'd barely get a Delta Flyer through it at this point." . Den shrugged, "That gap is a lot bigger than you think, Commander." He was still focused on the Warbird, not the Rift itself, and was thinking of the hole between its two hulls.

. Relok was still slightly dazed but recovering. He reported, "It collapsed ... to a fraction of its original size. But ... it's stable now, just sitting there barely pulsing." . "What about Grabby Hands?" Tabby asked, referring to the dual Tractor Beams they'd developed a while back to manipulate shields and force fields, thinking maybe they could find a way to grab the Rift and pry it open, or something! . "Tabby," Zak responded, "We can't Grabby Hands the thing with that Warbird on top of us!" . Suddenly Patterson jumped up from his seat, shaking his head, and stomped off towards the Turbolift. . The Captain hardly noticed Patterson's movements as Tabby continued to argue, "Then tell him to move!" . Kat had, however, noticed Patterson's movement, and picked up on his emotional state. She quickly slipped into the Turbolift just as Patterson barked out, "Flight Deck One." . She looked up at the Marine with an arched brow and asked, "What are you planning?" . Carter, too, had noticed Patterson's movement and had just caught the words "Flight Deck One" before the Turbolift doors slid shut. More than just the ship's helmsman, Carter was the Chief of Flight Operations. As such, he punched in the commlink, "Delta Flight, scramble onto Alert One. All Flyers ready to mobilize, and I want them ready NOW!" . But on the Bridge, the Android moved back into the window on the main viewer and scowled. "You'd better explain yourself, Captain. First, what are you doing in my Subjugate? Second, why did you create and then destroy that Rift? And third, who is this Ambassador you've mentioned? I think you and I need a chat." . Zak stared at the Android on screen and answered calmly, "I'd love to have a chat, um ... whoever you are ... but, seeing as how we have urgent business elsewhere, it's gonna have to wait. Tabby, close comms."

. Tabby nodded with a slight smirk, "Understood. Closing now," and he pressed the button and the Android's face disappeared as his window of the main viewer closed. Tabby turned to better see the Captain and said, "I told you we needed to leave." . Zak sighed and said, "Carter, back us off a few hundred klicks and park us. Tabby, keep that MIRAGE powered up. I want to see what he does." He looked around then said, "And where the hell is Patterson going?" . Den shrugged, "He's run off again on his own thing." . In the Turbolift Patterson looked at Kat and shook his head, "I don't plan, Kat. Don't have the time for it most days. But I do need to get some way to track that warbird."