USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202011.20 Announcement: . This is the fourth sim in T'Lin's story plot (though it hasn't actually gotten into high gear yet!). Introduction: . The Penumbra was in orbit over the Kyrathian Homeworld of this Mirror Universe. Most of the damage from the fight with Golem Cain's modified Warbird and the bouncing through the Slipstream Corridor have been repaired, except for the dorsal starboard nacelle. LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry has surveyed the damage and has teams fabricating replacement parts. In the meantime, the Penumbra could, theoretically, disable the dorsal port nacelle and get by with the two ventral nacelles but ... it isn't advised. . A Reconnaissance Flight explored a power source that appeared to be an antimatter fusion reactor buried under an enormous growth of what the Kyrathians call "the Evil Vine", which we have deduced is the Mirror Universe version of the Ivorez. During that flight it was reported there were "more than a hundred" Kyrathians surrounding the ruined complex. . Delta One suffered some kind of power spike that burned SSgt. Bill Davies and blew out some of their flight controls and sensors and they had to abort further investigation. Capt. Zak Taylor decided a well-equipped Away Team should get a closer look. . On the Bridge, LtCmdr. Relok settled into the Executive Officer's seat again. He glanced around at the various young officers filling in for their primary Bridge crew and said, "All's quiet up here." . The Captain glanced at the Vulcan Chief of Sciences, "Yeah, too quiet! But, we need to see what's down there, so ...," he trailed off as he took his seat. Preparing to Launch:
. The crewmembers slated for the Away Mission were making their way to the Flight Deck. They would be using the Runabout, Tanagra, for the various Starfleet Officers, escorted by Delta Two and Delta Three with their five-man fireteams of Marines. The plan was to fly down under cloak, land the Tanagra and Delta Two while Delta Three remained airborne as support, disembark the Away Team, and then have all three craft back in the air to keep them safely away from any Kyrathians in the area. . LtCol. Travis Patterson, who would be leading the Away Mission, was already aboard Delta Two, as was CfWrnt. "Sandy" Sandoval. Newly promoted Lance Corporal Homer Kyle came sauntering into the Flight Deck and nearly hollered in his distinctive North Carolina twang, "I don't know 'bout y'all, but ... I's excited!" . MstGny. Derek Hines was walking with Gny. Khal'Gon not far behind Kyle. Hearing the Corporal's exuberance, Hines commented, "Good to see you didn't get lost on the way back down, 'Overalls'." . Khal'Gon raised an eyebrow at Hines' nickname for the country-fied Marine but said nothing. . Lt. T'Lin was sitting on a crate nearby, sharpening her spear. She glanced up as the Marines arrived and in one fluid motion, stood and pressed the button that collapsed her spear into a rod that she then slid into a narrow pocket on one leg as she started towards them. She gave them a silent nod and turned to board the Tanagra. . Standing by the Tanagra's hatch was LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke, the Chief of Security. Den scratched his head, "Are we ... um ... you know, going to complete what we're supposed to? In any ... expedient timeframe?" He was concerned that several members of the Away Team had not yet arrived, and was growing a trifle annoyed.
. Kyle stepped up to Delta Two and climbed in just as Patterson asked, "Sandy, you sure you're okay flyin' this thing?" Sandoval (and Kyle and Khal'Gon) had just returned from the Recon Flight, and might could have used a break. . Kyle, with his usual broad grin, said, "Aw, heck, Patty, he done flown down there once aw'ready!" Then his grin vanished as he ducked his head, "Uh, sorry, sir, that was a bit too informal weren't it?" He hurried to his seat without another word. . Sandy grinned back at Kyle then turned to Patterson. "If you're thinkin' I'm gonna let you fly one of my Deltas, Pat ... you'd have a better chance getting ol' Chesty to roll over in his grave!" . Patterson gave a chuckle. "I've probably already gotten him to jump right on out of it before, Sandoval." He settled himself into the co-pilot's seat. . Dr. Shadow K'Trevala was also slated for the Away Team as the Chief Medical Officer. He'd gathered several useful medicines (along with some of his more esoteric plant-based treatments) and a few pieces of his personal equipment (such as his bow and quiver of arrows) into his usual backpack, along with a standard-issue Starfleet Medkit he slung over one shoulder, and made his way to the Flight Deck. . LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry, Chief Engineer of the Penumbra, had been slated for the Away Team as their resident expert on antimatter fusion reactors. She collected her own personal equipment (which also included a bow and several arrows, along with her sgian-dubh, the traditional Scottish dagger) in a backpack, and slung a Toolkit over her shoulder as she, too, made her way to the Flight Deck. . LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris, Chief of Operations (and their resident "master hacker"), had been slated for the Away Team in hopes he could gain access to the facility and whatever sort of technology they found there. He and Ens. Jackson Carshel, the Assistant Science Officer, were hurrying along the corridor to the Flight Deck as well.
. Shadow and Bevin arrived nearly simultaneously. Bevin climbed aboard the Tanagra and took a seat next to T'Lin while Shadow inspected the survival sled fitted to the bulkhead of the shuttle. He planned to detach the sled and stash it nearby their landing zone in case of emergency. Once he was assured the sled was in good condition, he, too, climbed into the shuttle. . Tabby and Carshel arrived about then. Tabby noticed Den, scowling nearby and asked, "Sir, I have been informed that Carshel and I are to be on an Away Team?" . Before Den could answer, Bevin poked her head out of the hatch and called in her Brogue, "C'mon Taibby, way're waitin' fer ye!" . Tabby ducked his head slightly, "Aye! I'm-a coming!" He and Carshel quickly boarded and took their seats. . Without a word, Den turned and followed them aboard. Ens. Proximus "Proxy" Filler was already at the shuttle's flight controls, finishing up the pre-flight check. With a nod, Den confirmed that all the Away Team members had arrived and they would be ready to launch in moments. . Finally, the call came from the Captain, "Patterson, you're clear to launch all three craft on your order, Colonel." . On Delta Two, Patterson tapped his commbadge, opening a channel between all three craft and the Bridge, "Acknowledged. Final pre-flight checks complete. 30 seconds. Out." . The three vessels were then whipped along the Penumbra's launch catapult and hurled into space to start their descent to the planet. Descent: Delta Two . On Delta Two, Kyle said, "Wayull ... guess we's all better get sitty-ated!" He started strapping himself in for launch, as did the others. Once secure, he mused, "Colonel, I was wonderin' just what we plan to do when we get down there. There's lotsa them bugs crawlin' 'round ... an' all that kudzu stuff ...," he trailed off.
. Patterson turned his chair so he could see the Lance Corporal and said, "We're gonna push out and find a secure LZ for the Tanagra. From there, we'll probably have to find a path to that facility with minimal hostiles. Delta 3 is gonna be eyes in the sky for us. We're the advance party." . Hines checked over his shotgun, a variety of the favored Warp Accelerated Railgun that fired several projectiles in a spread pattern. As he did he said, "Good to get off the Bridge once in a while." . Kyle patted his rifle. "Ol' Gilly here is ready for some dancing, sir!" . Hines turned with a grin and said, "And it looks like Khal'Gon gets to do some bush-whacking afterall!" . Khal'Gon, the Klingon-Nausicaan hybrid, adjusted the bat'leth propped against him next to the bulkhead. With a wordless grunt he simply gave Hines the "one-fingered salute". . Sandy rolled his eyes as he suppressed a laugh, then opened a commlink. "Delta 2 to Tanagra. We're gonna push ahead and find a suitable LZ. Delta 3 will stay on your wing." Tanagra . On the Tanagra, Shadow sat watching out of the window as Bevin leaned forward and tickled Tabby's ear. Tabby politely pushed Bevin aside and said, "I need to sharpen and polish my bat'leth, be careful." He brandished the large curved blade with sharp points and edges. Bevin produced a bottle of oil and a whetstone and presented them to Tabby for him to use. He smiled at her, "Thank you, love." . "Nae priblim, mo croidhe," she responded in her heavy Brogue. . Tabby turned and gave her a kiss on the cheek as he poured oil on the blade and got to work. Bevin returned the kiss and started on her sgian dubh. . Carshel still fidgeted, nervous as hell, staying as far away from everyone else as he could on the small Runabout. T'Lin sat quietly, reading notes in her archaic paper notebook. Den was reviewing his notes on a standard PADD.
. After a few moments working his blade, Tabby realized he was getting strands of hair in the oil. He turned to Bevin and said, "You know, you could help me out by tying up my hair for me. I don't care how you do it, but ... here you go." He flipped his head so that his long white hair cascaded into her lap as he handed her a few hair ties for her to pick and choose from. . Bevin had finished with her small dagger and sheathed it, tucking it carefully into the top of her sock as she took the ties. She began quickly braiding Tabby's hair. . Tabby flinched once, "Ah! Easy with the hair around the ridges, love!" . She carefully collected more hair and murmured, "Dinna werry, I waill be!" She continued until she'd produced several plaits, then bound those together and secured them with several of the ties. . As Tabby completed sharpening and polishing the large blade, he put away the oil and whetstone and propped the bat'leth against the bulkhead and said, "Mind handing me a water? This thing's a beast and a royal pain in my arse." . Bevin smiled and handed him a bottle of water. Landing Zone: Delta Two . The vehicles flew in a wide circle around the target zone for a moment to find a clearing not far away that didn't have more than a handful of bugs within thirty yards. They noticed a Kyrathian Soldier-class bug look up as he apparently thought he heard something. He scanned the sky warily as the Tanagra flew over. The Runabout's cloaking system wasn't quite as advanced as the Delta Flyers, and was far less so than the Cerberus' or the MIRAGE system of the Penumbra. . Patterson leaned forward, looking out the main viewport, then pointed, "Looks like that's our best spot there." He gave a sigh then said, "Sure wish we had some sort of diversion to pull the remaining bugs away."
. Sandy adjusted their course. "Easy does it," he said as he did so. With a smirk, he opened the commlink, "Delta 3, this is 2, can you give us a little noise? We've got a few critters I'd like to get rid of." . Suddenly, the pilot of the other Delta Flyer hit the throttle, quickly accelerating to Mach 1 and generating an explosive sonic boom! Kyle flinched, "That was some noise, Sandy!" . Kyrathians from all around the area quickly scattered in a panic into the vine-covered ruins! The vines themselves seemed to be writhing. . Sandy said again over the commlink, "Tanagra, there's our cue. LZ at my front, 200 meters, grid 14193 mark 21841, reference the facility southwest, at the 'V' intersect of the tree lines." . He maneuvered the Flyer down and into the now vacated clearing. "Ten meters ... 7 meters ... 5 meters ...," he counted down until the Flyer settled gently to the ground. Tanagra . The Runabout followed Delta Two to the ground, coming to a soft landing beside the smaller craft. "We're down, sir," Filler announced. "Everybody out that's getting out. Cap'n said to dump you guys and then get back in the air, so ...," he gave a shrug as he trailed off. . Tabby waved off Filler in a sort of polite "I've done this before" sort of way as he stood, then quickly turned and gave Bevin a kiss on her forehead as he started for the hatch. Bevin gave him a side-hug and stood to join him. . Den stood, placing a hand on the back of Filler's seat as he gazed out the viewport at the vine-covered ruins. "Well, this is just lovely, isn't it?" He shook his head, collected his standard-issue Starfleet phaser rifle, and moved to the hatch, ready to deploy the team.
. T'Lin moved to guard the other side of the hatch, readying her own phaser rifle. Though assigned as the Science Lead for this Away Team, her D'Vir training made her as much a warrior as a scientist. Carshel followed T'Lin like a lost puppy, almost clinging to the only one he truly trusted. Shadow collected his gear and stood as well, moving up behind Carshel in case the young man needed help. Into the Vines: Disembarking . As soon as the ramp of Delta Two hit the dirt, Patterson stepped out and to the left. Hines quickly stepped to the right. They each scanned the area and deemed it reasonably secure, then Khal'Gon stepped off a quick 10 paces and a bit to the left. Kyle followed Khal'Gon splitting off to the right. . T'Lin and Den stepped out of the Tanagra, with T'Lin pausing near the shuttle and glancing around to make sure it was safe. She stayed close to the shuttle while Den sprinted over to the tree line. . Tabby stepped out next, his bat'leth in hand. He too, scanned the area, then gave a chin-point and a nod towards Khal'Gon and muttered, "Nice bat'leth." . Khal'Gon's bat'leth was hanging from its harness across his back. He grunted and nodded back at the other Klingon, then glanced around and chuckled, "Heh, sonic boom did the trick, huh?" . Shadow, Bevin, and Carshel emerged from the Tanagra, each cautiously scanning the area as well. Carshel was flinching at every movement of the vines, but trying to refrain from showing too much fear. Shadow stayed close to him, humming a quiet tune from home in an effort to keep him calm. . Patterson lowered his weapon, and glanced around the team. "All right," he said, "Hines, take point with the Pathfinders and push out 10 meters. Hold for me to regroup before pushing any further." . Hines gave a nod and turned to move towards the dense vegetation. He said, "Kyle, cover the right. Khal'Gon, get that heavy on my left."
. Khal'Gon smirked, hefting the special Warp Accelerated Railgun called the Squad Assault Weapon, a rapid-fire automatic weapon of devastating potential. He moved to stay about 5 meters to Hines' left and a little back from him. . Kyle had a lighter WAR rifle often used for long-range sniping or other shots requiring higher precision. He moved a similar distance off to Hines' right and they advanced into the vine-covered ruins of the complex. Advancing . Patterson turned to the Runabout and Delta Two, giving them a silent wave of dismissal. Both craft quickly retracted their ramps, closed the hatches, and lifted off. . Tabby stepped up. "Pat, where do you want me? I can fight too, if needed." Tabby was a well-trained Klingon warrior, proud of his heritage, even if he was only half-Klingon (and a bit of a computer geek). . Patterson nodded at Tabby in acknowledgement and gestured towards Shadow and Carshel without a word. While Shadow was a gifted archer, he was not truly a warrior, and Carshel was way out of his element. But, Patterson figured Bevin could probably hold her own if not overwhelmed. And there was always T'Lin, even though at the moment, she was scanning the foliage with a tricorder. . Tabby was slightly annoyed at being relegated to guarding the medic, even though he knew it was a logical decision. He fell to the back of the party and kept his eyes peeled. . Patterson turned to Den, "Hawke, stick to my heels while we're moving around down here, but try to give a good bit of distance. Let us take any heat off the mission so you guys can do your job. Say ... 20 meters back?" . "Got it, Colonel," Den responded, shifting along the tree line before gesturing at the trees and commenting, "I can find a good vantage point to cover if you like."
. Patterson nodded, "Yeah, bounding overwatch for my guys is always useful. Time to find a door." He gave Den a quick, two-fingered salute, and took off at jog to catch up with Hines and the other Pathfinders. . The Vine was a creeper that, like kudzu, had completely engulfed the ancient ruins of the complex. The shell of buildings remained, vacant windows and gaping doors, but everything was COVERED with dense leaves and creeping vines ... and bright yellow flowers! The wide, dark green leaves of the vines that engulfed the complex waved in a light breeze. It felt almost like it was ... watching them? . Den found a good spot and slinging his rifle over his shoulder, scampered up a tree covered in the clinging vines. From there, he had a wide view of the area and could easily cover the rest of the Away Team. He tapped his commbadge and whispered, "Patterson, position set." . Patterson heard Den and gave a gentle tap on top of his head in recognition. He muttered softly into the open commlink, "Slow and steady, gentlemen." In the "thiccck" of it . With the Pathfinders in the lead and a gap of a dozen or so meters behind them, the Away Team advanced into the thick overgrowth and into the ruins. A call came from Delta 3 flying overhead. "Away Teams, I've established clockwise orbit over your position, 1 km radial. Scanning for targets. Team and command designations as follows: Patterson with Recon, Hawke with Ground. No imminent contacts at this time." . After a short distance, Patterson called, "Hines, how thick you reckon that stuff is?" He gave a chin-point towards the thicker stuff further in. . Hines gave a quick look to where Patterson had indicated. He responded, "I'd say it's thick ... with three C's! Like ... grandma's puddin' thick, Pat!" . Khal'Gon paused, raised an eyebrow, then shook his head. "One of these days I'll bother trying to figure out what you're talking about, Hines."
. Tabby had moved to the front-left of the Ground Team with T'Lin to the front-right, since Den was watching their rear from his sniper's nest. He suggested, "I'll cut away any vines that block pathways while defending your guys." Then he added, a trace of his annoyance at being relegated to guarding the rear audible in his voice, "Not that I seem fit for anything else." He started to move forward. . Kyle gave a chin-point at the bright yellow flowers. "Hey, Pat," he said softly, "Ain't dem flowers purty? Mind's me of Mama's garden back home." . Patterson glanced at Kyle, gave a gentle nod, then said, "We're not here to pick a bouquet for your hair, Kyle. Maybe we'll schedule R&R for that later. I'm concerned those might be toxic though." . "Do not touch the flowers," T'Lin warned them all. "The plant will be angry." Tabby stopped in his tracks without cutting anything. Getting Noticed . Finally, the Kyrathians overcame their fear from the strange noise of the sonic boom and began venturing out from their hiding spots. Two were within Hawke's sight, and two were not far from where Patterson lead the Recon Team. They hadn't seemed to notice the Away Team's stealthy progress ... yet. . Hawke's voice came softly over their commlink, "I have tone on two. I can take both out quickly, once they move into the foliage." . Kyle heard Hawke and whispered, "Ain't these them bugs what got telepathy? One sees, all sees, thang?" . Patterson held up one hand, fingers together, then quickly spread them wide as he whispered, "Scramble!" Quickly the Marine Pathfinders spread out to form a hasty ambush. Patterson called back over the commlink, "Hawke, hold fire. I wanna take them out without firing a shot if we can. If we shoot, they'll track the noise. Stay hidden."
. Den responded, "If you say so, but I have a phaser rifle, it doesn't make a sound, sir." And, he was in a tree after all. The two Kyrathians nearest to him had separated and were heading in opposite directions. Another Kyrathian appeared, near the two close to Patterson and the Pathfinders. Den called again, "They're in a search pattern now." . Shadow, Bevin, T'Lin, Tabby, and Carshel continued advancing cautiously, the two Science Officers continuing to take scans with tricorders as they moved. Tabby still waved his bat'leth menacingly and Shadow and Bevin both had arrows nocked and ready to draw. . Another call came from Delta 3, "Ground elements, this is Delta 3. Have eyes on multiple unknown converging on your position from the east. By my count ... I'd say 10 of them. Hard to get an exact. Danger close of friendlies." The code "danger close of friendlies" usually meant that it would not be safe for Delta 3 to open fire on the Kyrathians without risking damaging the Away Team. It also could mean that the enemy was dangerously close to the Away Team! . Khal'Gon had noticed the additional Kyrathian near their squad. He shouldered his WAR-SAW and pulled his bat'leth from his back as he whispered, "Hines?" and gestured towards the nearby Kyrathians. . Patterson saw Khal'Gon prep his bat'leth. He gave a nod and holstered his own WAR rifle and grabbed his combat knife. He called Hawke back, "We've got WAR rifles, they make a bit of noise on our end." He paused, then added, "Free to engage." . Kyle muttered, "Colonel, I think it's 'bout time we get inside, don't ya' think?" He pointed at a gaping hole in a wall. But, unfortunately, it wasn't the 3-story target structure.
. Hines glanced at Kyle, gave a nod and moved towards him. Once in reach, he tapped the Corporal on the shoulder and said softly, "Check left." He gave another nod then began a countdown, "Three ... two ... one ... breach!" They quickly ducked into the building, each scanning their respective sides of the room. "Clear!" Hines called. . Suddenly, all the Kyrathians froze for a second, then ... they all started to converge on the Away Team! Did the ... Vines ... tell them where they were?