USS Penumbra - sim-summaries

USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202104.02 Introduction: . The Penumbra was still hovering in the "no-man's land" between the Klingon Empire and the Gorn Hegemony just within long-range scan distance of a hodge-podge jumble of containers and connecting corridors that we've been graciously calling a "Station". They had come there seeking a Gorn Ambassador, Ssissthiss (who, in fact, was little more than a minor dignitary), that had been apparently kidnapped by Nausicaan pirates. . The Penumbra had followed a trail left by some ship leaking plasma that led directly to this "station". There was no sign of the trail continuing on from the station, so the damaged ship that left the trail was either still there, or had been repaired there before traveling on. It has been speculated that the damaged ship leaking plasma might be the Nausicaan ship that had taken the Gorn Ambassador, under the presumption that the Gorn would not have surrendered without a fight, and since the plasma trail occurred very near the last known whereabouts of the Ambassador, it was our best lead to track him down. . While following that trail, though, the Penumbra had also encountered a damaged freighter issuing a General Distress Call. This ship is named the Canteen of Sparkles and is owned and operated by a Miss Misty Mane. The Canteen is certainly not the ship leaking the plasma (the type of damage her ship suffered would not have caused the same plasma leak). . The Canteen was brought into the Penumbra's Hangar Bay, inspected (no sign of any Gorn on board), and subsequently repaired (well enough to fly anyway) and Misty offered to help us catch the pirates who'd kidnapped the Ambassador, by permitting Marines and Starfleet Officers onto her ship (she insisted she fly it and make contact with her people on the Station). Bridge: MIRAGE

. On the Bridge, Cdre. Zak Taylor was pacing once again. Cmdr. Relok sat at the Secondary Science Station while LtCmdr. T'Lin wrapped up her sensor scan at the Primary Science Station. LtCmdr. Jason Carter sat at the Helm, on stand-by since the ship was essentially parked in empty space. LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris manned the Operations Console, as usual, and LtJG. Jackson Carshel monitored the sensors at the Tertiary Science Station. LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke manned the Tactical Station while SgtMaj. Derek Hines was at the Reconaissance Station trying desperately to make sense out of the layout of the hodge-podge Station. . A call came over the comm system from Col. Travis Patterson down in the Hangar Bay, "T'Lin, you and Den get down to the Hangar Bay and prep for an Away Mission, covert op. Hines, get your team down here in case we need any backup." . Hines tapped his commbadge and responded, "Aye, I'm sending Davies and his team down there now. I'll keep here on Recon." . T'Lin looked up and tapped her commbadge to answer. "I am on my way. Give me two minutes." She needed to stop by her quarters to change into civilian clothing for the mission. . Den didn't answer verbally, he just nodded towards Lt. Standin, the stoic Vulcan Security/Tactical Officer, to cover for him at the Tactical Station and followed T'Lin to the Turbolift. . The Commodore turned to his Operations Manager, "Tabby, we have our MIRAGE up, right?" . "Getting it ready now, sir," Tabby nodded. They'd activated and tested it earlier, but now he put it on full activation. It still wasn't working at 100% since it was still missing many of the emitters necessary to fully cover the ship.

. The Multiphasic Image Redirection And Graphics Emitters, or MIRAGE, essentially worked in pairs where a sensor on one side of the ship relayed an image of space on that side to its corresponding point on the opposite side. The corresponding emitter then projected a holographic image of that space so that from any angle someone looking at the Penumbra would simply see space from the other side of it projected in full 3D high-definition detail, making the Penumbra completely invisible and virtually undetectable. . Only, many sensors and emitters of the MIRAGE system were destroyed in the explosion of the Heart of the Ancients and the subsequent passage through the Rift, leaving gaps in either sensors or emitters. This caused the MIRAGE to be "patchy", non-contiguous. Someone looking carefully could probably detect these distortions. Hiding . Zak turned to the Helmsman, "Carter, is there a place we can hide and still be within sensor range? I don't want to trust our patched-together MIRAGE any more than we have to." . Carter already knew the answer, but he consulted the nav-charts to confirm. He looked up, "Well ... not really, no. Closest we can get would be in the gravity well of the nearby star." He double-checked his navigation systems and then added, "And it's a pretty tight well." . Tabby said, "Ready, sir, to use MIRAGE." . Zak nodded towards the back of Tabby's head, then said, "Standin, engage MIRAGE and take us to Yellow Alert." The klaxon sounded and yellow lights flashed around the ceiling. . Relok turned to Carshel and said, "Carshel, we know there are likely several Gorn on that ... um, station. See if you can focus on where they all are located." . Carshel nodded, "Understood, sir, looking into it." . Then Relok turned to Carter, "Hiding in front of the star might actually help us, I would think." . Carshel muttered, "Local star, huh?" On a gut feeling, he pulled up sensors to take a closer look at the star.

. But Standin, normally quiet, spoke up then. "Sir, hiding in front of the star might not be as effective as you'd like." . Zak turned to the Tactical Officer and said, "Explain, Lieutenant." . The Vulcan was obviously nervous, though suppressing it well enough. He answered, "Just that with MIRAGE not being 100% we might appear visible as a silhouette in front of a star." . Carter nodded, "And behind it we won't see anything. We'd have to hug it pretty tight, and against the grain." . Relok looked at Standin and said, "Standin, your warning is noted. However, I think few people would be looking directly at the local star." . Zak glanced at Relok, then turned back to Standin. "However, Relok, our Tactical Officer thinks it might be a tactical error. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Carter, hold us here, best you can, and keep us out of sight." . "Aye, sir," Carter acknowledged, "Holding her steady." Coming in Hot . Relok moved down to the XO seat. As he walked he asked, "Carshel, how many Gorn lifesigns do we have to choose from?" . Carshel checked his sensors and then answered, "Seven or eight, sir." . Relok nodded as he sat down. "So, seven or eight Gorn, and one of whom might be who we're looking for." . Zak, still standing in the center of the Bridge, said, "Carshel, can you put a schematic of that station on the main viewer and then lay in the locations of the various Gorn lifesigns?" . "On it, sir," Carshel answered. But before he could actually switch the view, a Nausicaan ship dropped out of warp dangerously close to the Penumbra, zipping over the dorsal nacelles by less than a kilometer and hurtling past towards the Station. . Carter barely resisted the urge to go into evasive maneuvers. "Crap! That was too close!" . The Vulcan Tactical officer flinched, "I almost opened fire on him!"

. Tabby commented, "Well ... that guy came in hot! I'm watching him, sir." . Hines swiveled the Recon dish to follow the new arrival. "Scanning now," he reported. . MAX, the Artificial Intelligence, manifested his face on several Bridge pedestals and commented, "Apparently the MIRAGE is working better than anticipated. That, or Nausicaan ships are far more blind than records suggest." . Zak flopped into his chair and cursed, "Damn, if they all come flying into this place that hot, it might be safer further out!" . Carter commented, "Safer, but unable to do any sort of recon. Now that I recall, I don't think we've ever taken the safer option, sir." . Relok agreed, "Sir, we're already at long-range scans ... further out and we wouldn't be able to see much." . "Yeah, yeah," Zak waved them off. "Just ... damn. Standin, stay on top of sensors. If they pop in blind they could ram right into us." . "Aye, sir," he answered. . Relok said, "Mr. Carter, keep your fingers ready on the flight stick, in case we have to jink suddenly out of someone's way!" . "All right, all right," Carter groaned, shaking his head, "Don't get your shorts in a knot!" Not in Kansas . About that time, Misty Mane launched her freighter, the Canteen of Sparkles from the main Hangar Bay. When it left the area included in the Penumbra's MIRAGE it merely "popped" into view as if dropping out of warp like the other ships, and then made its own way towards the Station. . With the Canteen and its passengers underway, Carter said, "I'm bringing us closer to the star. Maneuvering thrusters only." . Carshel had checked the sensor readings on the local star, having an odd feeling about it, but then said, "Nothing interesting about the star, sadly. I had a hunch, since it's singled out, but ... I am wrong."

. The Canteen sped through space and hurtled towards the Station, headed for a docking pylon at a clearly "too fast" speed. Seemingly at the last instant, the reverse thrusters kicked in and it effectively "skidded" to a stop in the docking berth. . Just then a pair of small Gorn ships dropped out of warp dangerously close to the station as well and zipped towards it, again way too fast and stopping almost too late. One docked with the Station while the other docked against its mate. . Standin flinched again as the Gorn ships popped in. He muttered, "Ships around here are quite brave, sir. Not at all like Federation docking protocols." . Relok quipped, "What's the saying ... 'We're not in Kansas anymore'?" . "I guess not, Relok," Zak sighed. "Standin, Carter, stay sharp. Flying like that in such close quarters makes me nervous as hell." . Carshel finally got the Station schematics overlay on the main viewer with the location of Gorn lifesigns indicated on it. . Carter grunted as the flight sticks began to vibrate as they entered the star's gravity well. "MAX, think you can compensate for that so I'm not left fighting it for the next 12 hours?" . "Calculating," MAX responded. "Acknowledged. Adjust trim by 4.28% dorsal, and 2.19% port. Shift COG to 0.4 starboard, 0.8 aft." . Carter made the adjustments, "Trim 4.28% dorsal, 2.19% port, shift center of gravity reference by 0.4 starboard and 0.8 aft." He felt the flight sticks again and commented, "That ... all right, that worked." . Zak said, "Carshel, keep tabs on our Team. Put their transponders on the schematic overlay as well. Now, we just wait and watch and let them do what they do." Hangar Bay, Canteen of Sparkles, the Station: Assembling a Team

. In the main Hangar Bay, the Canteen of Sparkles had been repaired and was ready to be used for their latest mission: infiltrate the hodge-podge "Station", which was almost certainly a hangout for pirates and smugglers, to see if their kidnapped Gorn Ambassador was there, or had been there, or at least to see if anyone had heard about him and where he might be. . Col. Travis Patterson had stopped by his quarters to change into civilian clothing and now stood waiting just outside the Canteen. Misty was already in civilian clothing, being a civilian after all, and after her meeting with the Commodore, had hurried with her Security escort back to her little ship in the Hangar Bay. . Standing by the old freighter, Patterson touched a medallion on a chain around his neck, a modified commbadge, and called, "T'Lin, you and Den get down to the Hangar Bay and prep for an Away Mission, covert op. Hines, get your team down here in case we need any backup." . SgtMaj. Derek Hines was first to answer, "Aye, I'm sending Davies and his team down there now. I'll keep here on Recon." . LtCmdr. T'Lin was standing not far from Hines on the Bridge. She tapped her commbadge to answer, "I am on my way. Give me two minutes." She needed to change into civilian clothing, herself. . Suddenly, Patterson had second thoughts. He tapped the medallion again, "Scratch that, Den. Nausicaans wouldn't take kindly to anyone with Borg implants." He'd just remembered the Borg Invasion a few years back that had wiped out the Nausicaan homeworld and decimated what little society they'd had. He'd have to make do without their Chief of Security. He'd have SSgt. Bill Davies and a couple of Marines, in addition to himself and T'Lin. That should do. . Patterson glanced up as Misty Mane and her escort arrived from one direction just as LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry arrived from the other. He addressed them both, "She about ready?" He waved towards the freighter. Lost in Translation

. Bevin just nodded, then turned to Misty, some kind of object in her hand. She spoke in her thick Scottish Brogue, "Aixkewse me, Caiptin. Ain aimairjincy caill bawttin, iffin ye naid ait, jist praiss tha frawstin." She grinned at Misty. . "Huh?" Misty stared at her in utter confusion. . Bevin showed her the brooch, shaped like a cupcake with sprinkles on it, and explained, "Tais in aimairjincy baikin, iffin ye naid haelp." . Misty stared at the brooch, then back to Bevin, "Uh ... need my help ... for what?" . Bevin shook her head. "Tais fer YE, Misty, ain kais ye gai tain traibbil." . As Misty stood dumbfounded, T'Lin stepped up in civilian clothes, her collapsible spear camouflaged into a pocket in her shorts. "I am ready," she announced. . Patterson smirked at the two of them, noticing T'Lin, as well as Davies and his Pathfinders, filing into the Hangar Bay. He said, "That's everyone, then. Misty, you about ready to fly this thing?" . Misty turned to Patterson. "Yeah, I'm ready." She gestured at Bevin and said, "I'm sorry, can somebody translate? I am unfamiliar with that accent." . A passing Crewman smiled at Misty and explained, "Miss, I think it's an emergency beacon, in case you get into trouble." He waved to show that Misty should take it, so she did, pinning it to her vest. . About that time a klaxon sounded and yellow lights flickered around the Bay as the ship went to Yellow Alert. Patterson tapped Davies on the shoulder. "Keep 'em loaded up and full on ammo. If things go south, we're gonna need it." He tapped the medallion again, "Sandy, you got your Deltas on Alert One?" . The voice of ChfWrnt. Sandy Sandoval came back, "Aye-aye, sir!" He was already aboard Delta One standing by for emergency launch if needed. Another Delta was in similar hot stand-by. Sandy continued, "You got your lover out of bed?"

. Patterson chuckled, knowing exactly what Sandy was referring to. "AEGIS is a terrible lover, Sandy." Patterson's private Raven-class fighter named Cerberus had an advanced artificial intelligence on board called AEGIS that coordinated many aspects of the complex craft. Patterson continued, "But a very protective mother. I'm sure if I need her to come running, she'll have the Dog out without a muzzle." Some of the Marines referred to the Cerberus as "the Dog", owing to the Greek myth of the multi-headed guard-dog of the gates of Hades. . Patterson spun around, tapping Misty on the shoulder and addressing everyone else as well. "All right, let's get going. T'Lin, load up." He waved them aboard. . "Yes, sir," T'Lin said, following Misty into the freighter and taking a seat inside. . "It might be a bit of a rough ride," Misty said as she buckled into the pilot's seat. . Patterson buckled into the co-pilot seat beside her and smirked, "Nothing we ain't used to." . Misty gave a slight shrug, "All right, I warned you." Rough Ride . Misty deftly lifted the freighter from the floor of the Hangar Deck and maneuvered it out through the open doors and the force field, then pressed the throttle forward and the small ship lurched, rattling and clanking, then banking towards the Station. Misty reached and flipped a toggle and upbeat electronica music started blasting throughout the small ship. She bobbed and bounced in her chair as the ship shimmied and rattled its way toward the Station. . After a moment, Misty opened a commlink and called the Station. "I have a supply of 'shrooms to deliver. My client is expecting them. They are of the rarest quality." . A gravelly voice responded, "Is that you, Misty? Damn, you're late. I expect a discount!" . "I do apologize, Gorg. I had a blowout to fix. It delayed me a bit."

. Patterson checked the dak'tagh he'd borrowed from Khal'Gon, as well as the phase pistol on his hip. T'Lin checked her spear was in its pocket. Davies patted his k-bar knife and his own phase pistol. While the gear was obviously of Federation design and manufacture, it was generic enough that any Human (or Vulcan in T'Lin's case) could have acquired any of it anywhere in the Alpha or Beta Quadrants (again, with the exception of T'Lin's collapsing spear). . The Canteen sped through space and hurtled towards the Station, headed for a docking pylon at a clearly "too fast" speed. Seemingly at the last instant, Misty laid into the reverse thrusters and effectively "skidded" to a stop, then made a hard-seal with the air lock with a soft bump. She whispered to her passengers, "I hope I've earned my keep. Sorry for the hot-dock, it's the only way, unless you want to get cut-off." . Just as she said this a pair of small Gorn ships dropped out of warp dangerously close to the station and zipped towards another empty docking berth, again way too fast and stopping almost too late. One docked with the station while the other docked against its mate. . Misty opened her commlink again. "All right, Gorg, I'm here with the good stuff. Where do I bring it?" Main Engineering, Sickbay: Light Duty . LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry was in her usual spot in Main Engineering, coordinating teams who were working to manufacture more of the replacement modules for the damaged MIRAGE system to be installed whenever they had a good opportunity to get on the outside of the ship.

. She'd also, on her own initiative, put together a modified commbadge for their new guest, the freighter captain, Misty Mane, one that wasn't so clearly Federation origin. Instead, it was a communicator and emergency transponder beacon in the form of a brooch shaped like a cupcake covered with sprinkles. She grinned to herself as she left Engineering headed to the Hangar Bay to bring Misty the brooch. . Meanwhile, in Sickbay, Lt. Katarina Hawke moved around, still a bit queasy. Though she'd been sort of up and down, she was suffering with some kind of food poisoning or allergic reaction. She'd taken some medicine for it, and was feeling better, but not at the top of her game. She glanced over to Khal'Gon, who brooded on the biobed, "Everything looks good. I think releasing you to light duty shouldn't have any ill effects on you." . Dr. Shadow K'Trevala glanced over the reading on the biobed once more and nodded his agreement. "Let him go to light duty if he feels up to it." . The Klingon-Nausicaan hybrid Marine dropped off the biobed and stood to his feet, groaning as he did, "Light duty? Pah! I'll be doing equipment checks for the next two weeks!" . Kat bit back a groan of her own and instead said, "It's better than being stuck in Sickbay, no?" . About that time a klaxon rang out once and yellow lights flickered along the ceiling as the ship went to Yellow Alert. Kat groaned again, mostly to herself, "Why did I have the shrimp instead of the chicken?" She quietly wandered around Sickbay straightening up and cleaning up, frequently glancing up at the chronometer to see how long until her shift ended, and sighing when she realized how much longer it still had to go. Planning a Workout . As Khal'Gon readied to leave, Shadow made an offer to spend some time sparring in the holodeck with some "boffer" bat'leths, training weapons made mostly of foam rubber and plastic.

. Khal'Gon growled, "You don't want to put a bat'leth in my hands and expect me to go easy, Doctor." . Shadow grinned at him, "We will go at your tempo then." . Khal'Gon grunted and gave a nod, "It will be painful ... for you, at least." He grinned, then scowled and asked, "Are you certain that it is worth the effort? I would hate to be responsible for injuring our Chief Medical Officer." . "They're made of reinforced foam rubber," Shadow waved him off. "I'll chance it to see how far along you are." . Suddenly, Shadow chuckled at something no-one else heard. It was something his Oath-brother, his Shayana, Cmdr. Relok, had said up on the Bridge. . But Khal'Gon ignored the chuckled and instead nodded at Shadow. "Then I will meet you in Holodeck Two. We shall see how both our honors stand against each other, Shadow." . Shadow nodded, "Sounds good to me. And, I have light-weight bat'leths, too, to lessen injury ... for both of us." . Back in Main Engineering, Bevin had returned after delivering the brooch to Misty and set to work on another out-of-the-box idea she'd had: rotating shields that might be able to actually deflect large incoming projectiles, maybe even as large as a small shuttlecraft or fighter, if she could get the calculations just right for the energy requirements.