To Boldly Go... (a Starfleet quest)

Simon_Jester · Feb 13, 2017

Given his knack for ignoring danger to his own person, I have a sneaking suspicion he managed to get himself killed at some point in the subsequent 45 years between the TOS era and the in-game 'present...'

Night · Feb 13, 2017

Speaking of names, where is the putative Huascar currently, and does it have a twin? (because if so I'm recommending naming that one either Mikasa or something Russian; Ekaterina Velikaya perhaps, the only Russian dreadnought battleship to fight another dreadnaught, much less win)

Finagle007 · Feb 13, 2017

Given the massive hit to our Political Will income (damn the Syndicate), the upcoming snakepit is liable to be... chaotic.

cast2007 · Feb 13, 2017

Finagle007 said:
Given the massive hit to our Political Will income (damn the Syndicate), the upcoming snakepit is liable to be... chaotic.

Most of it was crap we couldn't control. We can always sacrifice Seruk though.

Simon_Jester · Feb 13, 2017

Night said:
Speaking of names, where is the putative Huascar currently, and does it have a twin? (because if so I'm recommending naming that one either Mikasa or something Russian; Ekaterina Velikaya perhaps, the only Russian dreadnought battleship to fight another dreadnaught, much less win)

I'm hoping we can name one of the remaining unnamed Constitution-Bs Huascar (I can never remember how to accent the 'a' while typing). It's all subject to negotiation, no doubt, we'll see what happens. I do NOT favor naming an Excelsior that, or any other Earth warship, because I think we have a legitimate goal of getting at least one Excelsior named for every member species.

Vehrec · Feb 13, 2017

Simon_Jester said:
Given his knack for ignoring danger to his own person, I have a sneaking suspicion he managed to get himself killed at some point in the subsequent 45 years between the TOS era and the in-game 'present...'

The article on him notes that there was a small transport ship named for him that was one of the pair caught in the Nexus in the incident that is primarily remembered for the loss of James T. Kirk. Robert Fox finally did what Khan and all the Klingons and Romulans could not.

UberJJK · Feb 13, 2017

[X][CREW] Explorer Corps
[X][NAME1] Atuin
[X][BUILD] Plan 2 Excelsiors, 3 Miranda-As, 2 Miranda Refits
[X][DEFIANT] Sydraxian Border Zone
[X][VALIANT] Cardassian Border Zone

Void Stalker · Feb 13, 2017

Vote Tally : Sci-Fi - To Boldly Go... (a Starfleet quest) | Page 1163 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.7.6

Task: NAME1

[19][NAME1] Atuin

Briefvoice
AKuz
aledeth
AlphaDelta
Artemis1992
Blackshard
Chaos Blade
DarknessSmiles
Derek58
Gear
Gingganz
Kaze
MS-21H 'Hawke'
NHO
pbluekan
Random Member
tryrar
UberJJK
Void Stalker

[8][NAME1] Rru'adorr

Simon_Jester
aeqnai
Gravitas Hunt
Iron Wolf
Leila Hann
pheonix89
SynchronizedWritersBlock
Vehrec

[5][NAME1] USS Victory

Artemis1992
AKuz
Joshrand1982
Jrin
Night_stalker

[2][NAME1] USS Gagarin

Muer'ci
Mr Tebbs

[2][NAME1] Miracht

Binge-Reader
NullVoid

[1][NAME1] USS Dawn Treader

UbeOne

[1][NAME1] USS Endeavour

Chaos Blade

[1][NAME1] USS Aelin

Shard

[1][NAME1] Borass

anon_user

Total No. of Voters: 40

Only the name votes

KlavoHunter · Feb 13, 2017

[X][NAME1] Rru'adorr

Aeondrac · Feb 13, 2017

[X][CREW] Explorer Corps
[X][NAME1] Atuin
[X][BUILD] Plan 2 Excelsiors, 3 Miranda-As, 2 Miranda Refits
[X][DEFIANT] Sydraxian Border Zone
[X][VALIANT] Cardassian Border Zone

OneirosTheWriter · Feb 14, 2017

Vote is closed now! Can I have a tally?

AlphaDelta · Feb 14, 2017

OneirosTheWriter said:
Vote is closed now! Can I have a tally?

It appears that Briefvoice's vote won. Well, at least Atuin did.

UberJJK · Feb 14, 2017

OneirosTheWriter said:
Vote is closed now! Can I have a tally?

Clear wins in every category:
Vote Tally : Sci-Fi - To Boldly Go... (a Starfleet quest) | Page 1163 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.7.4

Task: BUILD

[X][BUILD] Plan 2 Excelsiors, 3 Miranda-As, 2 Miranda Refits
No. of Votes: 33

[X][BUILD] Plan 2 Excelsiors
No. of Votes: 2

Derek58
NHO

[X][BUILD] Plan 2 Excelsiors, 3 Miranda-As
No. of Votes: 1

Binge-Reader

——————————————————————————————————————————————
Task: CREW

[x][CREW] Explorer Corps
No. of Votes: 39

——————————————————————————————————————————————
Task: DEFIANT

[X][DEFIANT] Sydraxian Border Zone
No. of Votes: 33

[X][DEFIANT] Cardassian Border Zone
No. of Votes: 1

SynchronizedWritersBlock

——————————————————————————————————————————————
Task: NAME1

[X][NAME1] Atuin
No. of Votes: 20

[X][NAME1] Rru'adorr
No. of Votes: 9

Simon_Jester
aeqnai
Gravitas Hunt
Iron Wolf
KlavoHunter
Leila Hann
pheonix89
SynchronizedWritersBlock
Vehrec

[x][NAME1] USS Victory
No. of Votes: 5

Artemis1992
AKuz
Joshrand1982
Jrin
Night_stalker

[X][NAME1] USS Gagarin
No. of Votes: 2

Muer'ci
Mr Tebbs

[X][NAME1] Miracht
No. of Votes: 2

Binge-Reader
NullVoid

[x][NAME1] USS Dawn Treader
No. of Votes: 1

UbeOne

[x][NAME1] USS Endeavour
No. of Votes: 1

Chaos Blade

[X][NAME1] USS Aelin
No. of Votes: 1

Shard

[X][NAME1] Borass
No. of Votes: 1

anon_user

——————————————————————————————————————————————
Task: VALIANT

[X][VALIANT] Cardassian Border Zone
No. of Votes: 34

Total No. of Voters: 42

random_npc · Feb 14, 2017

all hail the mighty spreadsheet!

Gravitas Hunt · Feb 14, 2017

OneirosTheWriter said:
Hmm, yes it should be, I clipped a month off the production rate somewhere along the line. I'll still keep the crew furnishing step here to save doing it all again next turn.

Could that not be attributed to a longer shakedown due to its prototype status? I'd imagine that there's a lot more work on a prototype undergoing testing.

Iron Wolf · Feb 14, 2017

Apex

On the third floor of a ruined mall, in an office littered with the shattered glass of the window that looked down in the store, sat Lieutenant Commander Wolfe. He was in a dusty office chair, leg bouncing. His face was covered in dirt and soot, his excursion jacket with a black and melted streak across his shoulder. His stationary leg was only half-covered by a torn pant leg, the exposed skin bearing the scars of a hastily repaired burn. Wolfe leaned slightly towards the broken window and looked down at the unit milling around on the ground floor, cluttered with debris they were sweeping up. Blue and green faces, intermingling. He smiled.

The door abruptly opened, and an Aerocommando Lieutenant walked in with a folded chair, setting it up briskly before settling herself into it. Lieutenant Zaphas was the Intelligence Officer for the unit that had found him.

"Understandably, I have a few questions," she began, setting down a white noise generator and pushing a bottle of water towards Wolfe.

Wolfe lifted his shoulder slightly, trying to appear nonchalant, "Well, you did sort of drop in on us unexpectedly." He smirked at his own world play, and then wondered if that pun even translated properly and pushed on, "Anyways, I'd have questions too."

Zaphas tapped her fingers together, "Well, why don't we get the obvious out of the way -- why are you here? Start at the beginning of the story."

Wolfe adjusted his jacket slightly, unscrewing the bottled water, "Well, it starts many, many weeks earlier, but those are boring parts. I'm sure what you'd like to know is why we're here. Why we were on--"

Celos - One Week Earlier

It was a crisp, cold day in Celos' Atuerr Highlands, an oblong formation of rugged, tree-sloped mountains near the planet's southern pole. The sun glared off untrammeled white of the snow, bringing no warmth with it -- the thinner air didn't hold any heat, and the bitter cold sapped what little remained. In a nondescript valley, on a peak slightly more separated from the rest, was a small, grey facility. It was one that managed to convey high tech and security at the same time, the central buildings all white and glass puffs of condensation leaving small vents on the roof suggesting industrious things were happening. But below them, was a thick concrete wall in off-grey, reinforced with angled buttresses in the same featureless concrete. It obscured the base of the buildings as it encircled the flattened peak of the mountain.

On the slope of a mountain opposite the peak, part of the forested floor of the valley covered in its shade, Ensign Albina Antonov was hunkered down in the snow, leaning slightly against the trunk of an alien tree. She was dressed for the weather, wearing a white snowsuit, padded and bulky, with a similar pair of heavy white snowpants. But like a greedy ghost the air sucked away the heat from her body, lost in the shade created by the trees and the bulk of the mountain itself. It seemed to suck up all sound as well, everything lost in the snow and the thick canopy of spiky leaves.

"It's goddamn cold." The silence was broken by Antonov's companion, Ensign Schodad Daetud. The Rigellian man was prone on a thick ground cover, his snout barely visible where it poked out beyond the edge of his hood, the rest of his body obscured by a white poncho. A rifle, colored white, was in his hands, "I can't believe Sharizz got my cloak." he whispered, "Of all the cloaks in the task force that could fit them, and mine is the chosen one." He paused, "Apex better be worth it."

"They will be." Antonov whispered back.

"You think they'll actually make a difference?" Daetud shifted slightly, still looking through the sight, "After all the crazy stuff that's gone down?"

Antonov thought about it for a moment. "Yeah," she said finally, "It looked bad there, for a bit, when Wolfe had planning team secretly running scenarios for the Lexington to escape Orion Union forces. But they seem to be working things out. Instead of all-out war we have the Amarki ready to kick ass right alongside the Aerocommandos." She paused. "A lot more people are going to die, though, if we get Apex or not."

"They keep pushing," Daetud said, "No matter how many of them die. But I don't think we could take another Lirohn."

Antonov shivered, and only partially because of the cold. They sat quietly for a few more moments, a slight breeze rustling the leaves.

"It is fucking cold though," Antonov said, as the distinctive sound of two pairs of feet crunching and sifting through deep snow signalled the arrival of the rest of the team.

"Are you two still mad about the cold?" Wolfe asked in a low tone, as he stepped between Daetud and Antonov, dropping to a knee.

"Sir, we are a temperate species," Antonov grumbled.

"Growing up in Singapore just made you soft, Ensign." Wolfe said with a smirk. "This is nothing like some of the trips Ajam would take members of the crew along on -- We're only going to be out here a few hours instead of a week."

Daetud craned his neck to look at Wolfe's companion, a Vulcan Petty Officer, "Sallek, Vulcan's a desert planet. You can't be enjoying this."

"I spent most of my childhood and early adulthood living in Vulcan's polar region. If there is any drawback to the current environment aside from the obvious survival concerns, it is the fact I must be more vigilant to avoid falling into nostalgia."

Antonov blew some snow away from her face, "I wish I got to stay with the hopper, or better yet, the ship."

Wolfe looked at Sallek, who raised an eyebrow at Antonov, "I understand the feeling of bonding you are attempting to create through shared suffering, Ensign. But be mindful this is a sensitive mission, even if we are removed from the infiltration." He turned to Wolfe, "We should limit ourselves to tactical communications."

Wolfe nodded, "With Alpha team so close to the facility now is a good as time as any to suspend fun." He tapped his ear, "Sallek and I have the comm relay up and running. We'll be able to keep in touch with each other if we have to spread out, and more importantly Alpha team even inside the facility." He tilted his head towards the edifice on the far mountain, "What have you seen so far?"

Daetud's report came quickly, "We have them going to a side entrance for foot patrols in the west wall. Hardly any patrols around, it's been easy going for them."

"It's because Oyana scheduled a visit for next week," Wolfe said, as Daetud handed him the glasses. He pressed them to his eyes and continued, "They'll be doubling security the two days leading up to it and then quadrupling it the day of the main event. To keep their bottom line stable they just cut shifts in the preceding and following two weeks." He handed the glasses back, nodding with satisfaction.

There was a pause, then Antonov spoke up, "That is the dumbest thing--"

"It's to our advantage, so I'll take it." Wolfe stepped away from the tree, "Alpha should be arriving at the facility soon. We keep on track and we'll be back on the Lexington in no time."

***

Several kilometers distant, wind blew through a small gully, one side the blank grey of the facility's wall, the other a sharp, chunky collection of boulders on the other. It deposited and then almost immediately picked up small skiffs of snow, which it accelerated down the narrow corridor of rock and concrete. In the midst of this were the three white silhouettes of Alpha team, cloaks billowing in the onslaught. Three faces -- two Orion, one Apiata -- gazed upwards, any exposed skin stung by the hateful force of the snow flung at them.

"Wolfe to Alpha." A distant man's voice crackled in their earbuds, "Status?"

One of the faces, an Orion one, turned downward, tilted out of the wind. "Situation normal, Commander." Lieutenant Holena reported, "The patrol routes and times supplied were right on the money. No trouble with the infiltration here."

"Is Sharizz ready to go over?"

Holena turned back into the stinging wind, glad for the goggles over her eyes. No smart aviators on this mission, "Slight complication."

"The wind is not blowing the direction that was expected." Sharizz commented, still looking upwards, antennae poked out just slightly into the breeze, "I am concerned the angular force will prevent me from reaching the top, or force me into the walls and trigger the pressure sensors. Or, blow me into sight of a patrol." Sharizz's antennae drooped slightly, "I am afraid we may have to abort."

"We could ambush one of the patrols on return after they open the gate." That was the last member of Alpha team, Captain Elisar Tarroi. She was an Aerocommando, a combat medic and the team's Orion liason. "It would be messy, but if we got them by surprise we might be able to move fast enough to secure Apex."

"Noted." Wolfe replied. "Sharizz, prepare for the ascent as planned and then standby."

Wordlessly, Sharizz removed their travel pack and handed it to Tarroi, the shorter woman holding it by the handle and then sliding it under her cloak. Sharizz reached into their robes and checked a belt, which Sharizz clicked on once they were satisfied it was secure. A small green light blinked momentarily and then went solid, and Sharizz tapped a small screen built into a gauntlet to calibrate the settings. Satisfied, Sharizz pulled down the hood of their cloak before turcking their arms inside, and turned the cloak around so the opening ran down Sharizz's back. They shuddered as the wind buffeted their exposed antennae and found its way over the gossamer wings folded to their back.

"Alright," Wolfe said, "Our weather station's saying that the wind will shift in three minutes fifty seconds from... now." A countdown appeared in the corner of Alpha team's goggles, "You'll have a ten-second window of calm. Is that viable?"

Sharizz looked at Tarroi. The aerocommando's eyes weren't visible, but nonetheless Sharizz could feel the quiet desperation she was radiating.

"Yes."

"Break a leg." Wolfe said.

"That's not something you want to hear when you're making a leap that large." Tarroi was on Alpha's comm net now, killing time while the light blue numbers counted down. Sharizz could feel Holena reach over and hold thier cloak closed, tight. Sharizz's wings were immediately grateful.

Sharizz tucked their antennae into their knitted skullcap, "He is saying good luck. It is an ironic Earth tradition that he learned from the theatre, which he was active in before and during his academy days."

Tarroi's mouth curved suspiciously, "You sure do know a lot about the Commander."

Sharizz shook their head. "Hardly. On Apiata under a Queen at his level, I was expected to know much more. Favorite driving speed, precise bath temperature and additive mix. Some habits are difficult to break."

The timer was almost at zero.

"Well bud," Holena said, letting go of the cloak, "Break a leg then."

Sharizz unfolded their wings and leapt upwards. Normally such a leap would be impossible, but Sharizz's antigravity belt -- set just low enough to not trip the sensors -- would let them reach the top.

The buzz of Sharizz's wings was muffled by the snow as they climbed higher, the blank grey slipping past rapidly. From his vantage point across the valley, Daetud looked through his sights at the top of the wall, where the glowing orange domes of two proximity sensors sat. Just before the fluttering form of Sharizz reached the top, he put one dome in his reticule and depressed the firing stud, the light inside the dome flickering and dying. He quickly shifted and did the same with the other, just as Sharizz burst above the walltop and landed softly on the rampart. Daetud watched as Sharizz glanced left and right, cloak billowing in the breeze, before jumping down out of sight behind the wall. Seconds later, the two proximity sensors blinked back to life.

Back on the mountaintop, Tarroi clenched her fist in triumph and Holena whispered, "Bro," her voice ripped away by the returning wind. Holena and Tarroi faced into it and then, bowed slightly, made their way up the gully. They stopped when the reached a portion of the wall with several small seams in the otherwise smooth expanse of wall, the only evidence of a door.

The pair stood there, growing colder by the minute, only reassured by Sharizz's marker slowly making its way closer to them on their HUDs. After what seemed like an eternity, the semi-hidden door unfolded like a concrete flower, Holena and Tarroi stepping gratefully into the room beyond. It was a sizable but spartan equipment and change room, blue-grey lockers lining the walls, exposed conduits and piping for a roof. At the far end was a door, above it glowing red letters that reminded returning teams they worked for the 'Thernos Health Facility'. Just to the right of the door Sharizz had a PADD pressed against a control panel, which they drew it away as soon as Holena and Tarroi crossed the threshold, the outer door folding shut.

Holena grinned and flipped up her goggles with a quick snap, "Looks like the Prez came through on the codes, too."

Tarroi frowned, pushing her own goggles up, "What do you mean? Of course she did."

Holena was about to say something when all three heard the sound of heavy boots stomping towards the opposite door. Without hesitating, Sharizz flew up to the roof, grasping a pipe, and tucked herself out of Holena and Tarroi's sight just as the door slid open. Two suited guards burst in, one of them throwing off a helmet to reveal an Orion man. He and the other guard dropped their rifles to the floor, and his partner laughed and was in the process of reaching for his belt when they stopped, staring at Holena and Tarroi.

"Don't provoke them." Holena muttered to Tarroi as she pulled her hands out from under the cloak. Tarroi did the same.

The gaurd pair bent and grabbed their rifles, "Who the hell are you two?" The woman barked as they crept cautiously towards Holena and Tarroi. Their rifles in a low ready stance; one wrong move and they'd snap up and fire.

"Greetings," Holena said in a clipped, affected tone, "We were just out testing the new survival cloaks we bought from the Rigellians. Acquisition's been kept quiet so…"

"So quiet we haven't heard it in any briefs?" The man asked, suspiciously, taking another step forward.

"Of course." Holena said, willing herself not to look up, to the pipes hanging from the roof, "We are part of the… special… tasks team. In charge of such things."

The other guard tilted their head, "STT ladies? But STT don't do equipment testing, that's up to the shellheads in Procurement."

"Maybe that's what they tell the regulars." Tarroi said with a sickly sweet tone.

The guards looked at each other, the man's face darkening with rage. He stepped forward, his partner following, and held out his hand. "Maybe we could see some ID's, ladies."

Behind the pair, Sharizz dropped down with a barely a whisper. Silently, they pulled a stun baton to full extension.

"I'm calling it in," said the helmeted guard. Sharizz didn't need to hear any more. Without ceremony, they slammed the baton behind the male guard's knee, and he fell forward onto his hands, rifle spinning away. With a smooth motion Sharizz rammed the glowing tip of the baton into the other guard's midsection. There were sparks and a discharge, and they dropped without uttering another word, convulsing. Sharizz flicked the baton around again and lightly tapped the nape of the man's neck with the tip, sending him sprawling.

"Nice, dude," Holena said.

"Ugh," said Tarroi, "Why couldn't you have just used a hypospray in the first place?" She said, rummaging around in her medical kit. Sharizz gave her an apologetic shrug that she'd picked up from Wolfe. A few seconds later Tarroi had finished applying a hypospray to both guards. "That will keep them under for a while," she said, closing her medical kit with a snap.

"The next patrol arrives here in forty minutes," Sharizz said, "That puts a limit on mission time."

"Less if this place is popular for what they were up to." Holena said, pulling off her cloak, and then her snowsuit. Underneath she wore a medical uniform, in the traditional purple preferred for doctors on Orion. The Thernos logo was stiched on the front.

"Do you have access to those lockers?" Tarroi asked, as she pulled her snowsuit off as well, an identical hosptial uniform underneath. She stuffed her outerwear into a pack, as did Holena.

"...Yes." Sharizz said. They also had removed their cloak and snowsuit as well, rummaging in their pack. A few minutes later and the two unconscious guards had been stuffed in two of the lockers. Holena reported the new development to Wolfe while Sharizz pulled on an orange clean suit they pulled from their pack, before stuffing their outerwear in its place. Conveniently, the suit came with a polarized faceplate.

The team left the small room behind, finding an equipment storage room, this time for medical personnel. They grabbed an equipment hover-cart and put their packs on it, before covering them with a long, flowing white cloth. Satisfied, they took a service turbolift up several floors into the hospital proper. They kept to corridors their intel had reported saw little traffic, or ones in low-security areas. The few employees they encountered never questioning their presence. As they entered the secure wings of the hospital it became harder and harder to avoid people, and they had all sweated under particularly penetrating stares as they passed a few doctors and administrators. Time and again doors swung open at a casual tap of Sharizz's PADD.

"Team, we have a complication." That was Wolfe in their ears again.

"What is it?" Holena whispered, smiling at a passing trio of male nurses in their distinctive orange scrubs.

"Our ship and a lot of civilian traffic is being re-routed to a higher orbit. One they can't transfer right to the surface from."

"That's annoying," Tarroi said, "Why?"

"I don't know, and I don't like it," said Wolfe, "Same plan as before, we'll just have the ship dive into transport range and warp out. Ground team will fly to an SSD base and extract from there."

"Gotcha," Holena said, as the trio stopped at an unassuming door -- surprising after having passed through several much more secure, bank-like doors. But this was the door Sharizz approached with the slightest hint of hesitation, a touch of worry that wasn't there before. This was the entrance to the ultra-secure wing. Those with a keen eye, like Sharizz, would have noticed the doors were slightly thicker than the regular doors they were painstakingly made to look like. Indeed, the doors could easily handle the discharge of a phaser at full settings, and had some of the most secure locks on the market.

Sharizz pressed her PADD to the security panel. A few seconds later the door slid open -- no lock was secure if you'd stolen the key -- and Sharizz breathed a sigh of relief as the team rushed in.

The ultrasecure wing was quiet, lit in a washed-out grey from the outside light. Holena knew from the data passed on by the President that there were hardly any patients here at all, the abundance of rooms serving as a decoy, and that doctors had to be thoroughly vetted before being admitted.

They quickly found the room they were looking for, a nondescript room behind a nondescript door that would probably survive a direct orbital strike. A few seconds and a Sharizz PADDing later, and the door slid open, revealing what was beyond.

It was hardly nondescript.

The centerpiece of the room was undoubtedly the metallic cylinder that dominated the center of the room, held on its side by a dedicated cradle that was stembolted into the floor. There was little else in the room -- two stylish plastic chairs, tucked into the corner, a small monitor next to the cylinder, and polarized windows on one wall looking out to the snowy valley and jagged mountainsides beyond.

"Bingo." Holena said, standing to one side as Tarroi and Sharizz pushed themselves into the room. Holena took one last peek down the hall and then closed the door behind them. Tarroi was already at the monitor beside the cylinder. She pressed a button and some of the metal curled back, sliding into a hidden recess, revealing transparent aluminum and a blue glow underneath. Inside was a humanoid figure, suspended in some sort of liquid.

"That's... Apex," Tarroi whispered.

"Run a scan," Holena said, "I'll call it in." She walked over to the window and looked out to the mountain opposite, imagining she could see the other team as she talked to them, "Wolfe? We've confirmed Apex."

"Understood." Wolfe said, "There's something weird going on. SSD stations are going dark. Stay on your toes, we might have to make a change in plans."

"Gotcha." Holena said, ending the call.

Sharizz was running a tricorder's hand-scanner over the tank, "President Oyana was right to be concerned. I am detecting multiple charges built into the tank, ready for remote detonation. Had we shown up in force or had this mission leaked, I have no doubt someone would have killed Apex." Sharizz clicked the scanner back into it's housing on the tricorder, "And taken out most of this floor."

"Nice way to kill the president if you need to," Holena said, her done dark.

Tarroi huffed angrily, "That was probably the plan -- they've been keeping her suspended for years. Most of her critical injuries were fixed by the end of year one of treatment. They're just… holding her like this." She gestured at the tank, at the tubes slipped into flesh, of the squares of exposed muscle and bone.

"Some of the explosives are designed to spoof transporters," Sharizz said, "But I can disable those. The remainder can be removed by the buffer. Some are too dangerous to defuse in this environment."

"Team Alpha, we have a major problem." Wolfe again, "Sounds like Celos has a full-blown uprising on its hands. Syndicate's fucking up the SSD planetwide, and the Army was packed up to secure Duaba. An SSD checkpoint to access the facility just reported fire and then went dark. Forget them finding the guards, I'd say you're having an armed unit arrive in fifteen to twenty."

There was silence in the room. Sharizz shook their head, "Commander, that leaves insufficient time to render the explosives in Apex's container inert, setup transporter enhancers, and make our own exfiltration."

"I know. Our ship was just ordered to an even higher orbit, so diving in isn't an option either." Wolfe sighed, "We're going with plan B. Stay frosty and get ready to improvise."

As soon as the letter B had come over the line Tarroi was moving, typing quickly at the console. The transparent aluminum slid aside, and the viscous, clear gel holding Apex in place oozed out and slithered towards the floor. Tarroi pulled some equipment from her pack and, without even rolling up her sleeves, plunged her hands into the goop, carefully removing the tubes and sealing the holes left behind, and then applying plastiskin bandages to the squares of exposed flesh. Soon, the only thing left was the breathing mask. Tarroi glanced around quickly, "Oh for fuck's sake. We need a transport chair, or a gurney, something."

"I've got it." Holena opened the door, nonchalantly strolling into the corridor beyond. Minutes passed, Tarroi cradling the form in the tank, Sharizz's hand flexing on the stun baton held behind their back. The tension was broken by a polite knock on the door, which Sharizz opened cautiously, relaxing as Holena pushed in a plush hoverchair. Neatly folded on top was a set of orange scrubs and towels.

"Raided the nurses' station. Only the best for our guest." She said, pushing the chair next to Tarroi. The aerocommando nodded and pulled the thin woman from the tank, settling them onto the chair. Holena helped her towel away most of the gel and slip Apex into clothing. The final touch was a sanitary mask placed strategically over much of Apex's face.

Tarroi pulled out a tricorder and nodded with satisfaction, "She's stable enough."

"Let's roll," Holena said. Sharizz pushed the door open and Holena went through first, cart in front.

"Glide would be more accurate," commented Sharizz, as Tarroi pushed Apex past them..

"Timeframe," Tarroi growled.

They didn't take the same path back, forced by time and their best means of escape disappearing to take more crowded and active routes of the hospital. Apex still hadn't woken up, despite a booster shot from Tarroi, and she sat motionless in the chair, her form limp, occasionally starting and jerking in her seat. More than a few nurses gave her a suspicious look, but Holena hustled by them quickly, pushing through the crowded hallways.

They passed through a pair of security doors with a quick tap from Sharizz's PADD, and were all relieved that after the corridor beyond was mercifully empty. They slid Apex through and the door slammed shut behind them. Marble clicked under their heels as they advanced briskly, one doctor turning a corner at her own brisk pace. As she grew closer, Tarroi's hands clenched the handles on Apex's hoverchair so hard they shook. Then the doctor was past them, nothing between them and the end of the hall. Tarroi tensed as she heard the footsteps slow, then stop.

"Excuse me, stop there, please," came the Doctor's voice from behind them. Holena kept walking, but Tarroi came to a halt. She turned the chair around and faced the doctor.

"Fuck you," she said.

The doctor shook her head. "That patient is not yours to take."

Tarroi's expression was dark, her body tense. "You delivered Oyana into this world. You watched her grow up. She trusted you. And this is how you repay her?"

Holena grabbed Tarroi's arm, "Dude, let's-"

"You were on your way to kill her, weren't you?" Tarroi said, her mouth open, panting, "You know about the Syndicate coming. You want to make sure a nice gift is waiting for them."

The doctor sighed. "Please, the patient is not well. Security is expecting me, if they have not found your theft already. You have little chance of success."

Tarroi just smiled, "I'm an Aerocommando. Impossible is our mission statement."

Sharizz reached for their baton.

"I have a message for you, from the President. She wanted me to pass it on to you if we found out you were involved in this." Tarroi glared, "Do you want to hear it?"

The doctor shrugged nonchalantly, "If it makes you--"

Tarroi drew her pistol and fired from the hip, the Doctor's head disappearing in a flash of light. Sharizz and Holena both started, Holena taking a step forward, "What the fuck dude?"

"Executive orders." Tarroi said, as alarm klaxons whooped and orange emergency lights snapped on. "We're only a hundred meters from the ambulance bay anyways." Calmly, she turned the chair around and resumed pushing it down the hall. Holena looked at the roof, hands on her hips.

"Fuckin' Aerocommandos," she muttered, before turning and following, pushing the cart in front of her. She reached her hand under the white cloth and rummaged in her pack.

She was glad for it when through the next set of doors she saw the lights snap off in the corridor ahead, shapeless forms moving quickly, low. She nodded at Sharizz, who quickly ducked into an alcove. Tarroi joined Sharizz, pessing Apex's chair into the wall, before drawing her pistol again.

The doors slid open and a quartet of armored security guards strode through, their suits a pristine white, faceplates mirrored. Bands around their arms carried the letters STT. They raised disruptor carbines, "Halt!" the lead soldier said, "We detected a disruptor discharge."

Holena stopped and sighed, "Are you fuckin' kidding me?" She said, "I got rounds to make." She pointed her finger down at the cart, "I don't deliver these and like, pffft, 100 people die." Over in the alcove, she could see Tarroi wince.

The guard tilted her head, "That's a nurse's job. You're wearing a Doc's uniform. I'm smelling bullshit."

"The only thing you're smelling is the pus spilling from dying patients without me!" Holena screamed. The guards looked at each other, carbines still at the ready.

"Aw, fuck it," Holena said, whipping aside the cover on the cart. She grabbed her rifle with one hand, tossing a stun grenade with the other and she dived for the floor. She landed on her shoulder, pain shooting up her arm, as she squeezed off a single shot, orange beam lancing out and catching a guard on the shoulder. She threw his aim off, but not the aim of the other three, who were tracking her as she slid on the floor.

Holena would have died were it not for Sharizz, leaping from cover into a roll that put them right in the center of the guards. Sharizz slammed their baton into the ribcages of two, then kicked aside the rifle of a third, ducking below one hasty shot before jamming the stun tip into a midsection of one of the guards in the rear, who dropped like he'd been poleaxed. Holena quickly dispatched the two reeling guards in the front with a more accurate pair of shots that hit them in the head, cracking their faceplates but otherwise doing no damage as they dropped in a stunned heap. Tarroi appeared from around the corner and ended the fight by blowing the kneecaps off the remaining guard, who screamed before Sharizz rammed the stun baton into his neck. Tarroi calmly grabbed the hoverchair and pushed it forward, past the motionless guards.

Holena stood up, dusting herself off, and pulled the cart along. "Shouldn't you be helping those guys?" She said, glancing down at the man Tarroi had shot, blood oozing from his smoking legs.

"They're in a hospital." Tarroi said.

A doorway and a turn later, they were in the ambulance bay. The boxy forms stood silent, resting on skids. The closest one had a man in orange and a woman in purple talking in front of the rear doors, so they picked another one slightly down the line and moved towards it. Sharizz went towards the driver's door while Holena and Tarroi went to the rear to load Apex.

"Hey!" Shouted the woman in purple. Her nametag read Gerey, "Hey! We're on lockdown. You can't take that."

Tarroi reached down to grab her pistol. Holena stopped her hand, smiling at the pair. "Emergency transfer, dudes, it comes straight from, uh, whatshername…" Holena nudged Tarroi.

"Dr. Meloz." Tarroi spat, speaking the name of a woman she'd murdered mere minutes before.

Gerey's hands went into a nervous clench, "I mean, maybe, but… we have to follow procedure in this case." She waved at the nurse, "Call it in to security."

Sharizz, meanwhile, had stepped away from the driver's door and pressed against the ambulance opposite, inching towards Gerey and nurse, their baton unfolding with a soft click. Tarroi stepped in front of Apex's hoverchair, her hand tucked into her belt near her pistol holster.

"Of course." The nurse said, pulling out a tablet, and tapping at it with a flourish. "Contacting security right now ma'a-a-am." The last vowel sound was drawn out, stuttering, the man frozen, his eyes fixed. Gerey followed his gaze and then she, too, froze. Holena and Tarroi both turned and saw Apex had risen, her mask removed, leaning heavily on the hoverchair.

"From your reaction, I suppose you know who--." Apex said.

"Shar Ordey!" The man sputtered, "But we thought -- we thought you were…"

Ordey smiled a sad smile, "Not dead. Instead, I was 'merely' held here against my will." Gerey's hand flew to her mouth, and Ordey pressed on, "These friends are here to see my safe return. Will you help them?"

Both Gerey and the nurse nodded enthusiastically.

"Good. Now," she turned to Holena, "I believe I heard that the Syndicate was arriving, correct?"

"Absolutely, bro."

"Hm," Ordey said, "A Rigellian accent. We will have to discuss that." She turned back to Gerey, "I have always believed in the goodness of people, in their desire for liberty. When the Syndicate arrives, you must resist, in whatever way you can. Find all those you know are loyal in their hearts and defend the spirit of our Union. I wish I could help man the barricades, but…" she gestured down at her body, her voice breaking, "I fear I have been weakened."

Gerey put out a hand, and Ordey took it. "There is no shame," Gerey whispered, "There is no shame. You have given everything to the Union and its people. Let us give back."

Ordey nodded, tearing up, as Tarroi put a hand gently on her shoulder, "Miss Ordey?" No need for codenames now, "We're ready for you."

Gerey dropped Ordey's grasp, Tarroi helpling her into the hoverchair. Tarroi adjusted the lift knobs and helped her into the rear of the ambulance, before climbing in with her. Upfront, Sharizz activated the lift engines, the ambulance lifting off the ground slightly, while Holena sat with the rifle in her lap. "Wolfe," Holena reported, "We're making our extraction."

"Understood. Forget a landing zone, we're just going to drop in and pick you up with the hopper ten kilometers down the valley."

Holena flipped on the lights and siren. "Understood." The Ambulance shot out of the hanger, speeding down the off-black expanse of the road surface, white-grey cliffs of rock and ice to either side of them, wisps of snow snaking their way across the roadway. Four kilometers into their trip they were passed by a convoy of three stout, boxy skimmers, unmarked, windows blacked out, going in the opposite direction. As soon as they roared by Sharizz put on more speed. Near the bottom of the road, their scanners picked up disruptor fire. They reached an intersection at the ten kilometer mark and right on time the hopper appeared from a side-valley, dropping quick, ramp open. The ambulance was too big to fit, so Sharizz quickly flipped it around. Holena grabbed her pack and Sharizz's, and then helped Tarroi push Shar up the ramp. One last spot check and then she signaled for the ramp to be raised, and the hopper blasted away. The ambulance was left alone, it's green and yellow lights barely visible in the glare.

In the cargo bay, Daetud and Antonov sat on the side benches, the Rigellian giving them a thumbs up. In the center of the bay stood Wolfe, waiting for them. He was still wearing the snowsuit, albiet zipped down to his waist, grey turtleneck and crimson vest visible underneath. "Good work, team," he said. He reached a hand out. "Madam Ordey, I'm Aaron Wolfe, of the United Federation of Planets. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Ordey nodded, "The same." She rocked awkwardly, "Now, I don't know my level of authority in this operation, but as a concerned citizen of the Union -- could you tell me the situation on Celos?"

"From what we've heard, there's a full-scale coup." Wolfe said, "Paramilitary groups like 1-24, Golden Star League, and the Five Tenets Society have been backed by the Syndicate to overthrow the government." Wolfe looked apologetic, "We haven't been able to determine who managed to unify these groups yet -- but I have my theories. Right now we're focusing on getting out of here."

Ordey nodded. Slowly, "I understand the gist of the situation. Counter-revolution was always a risk, one we tried to plan for. But…" She paused, "I am not sure I recognize any of the names of those movements. Have I suffered any -- any brain damage…?"

"Oh, no, ma'am." Wolfe said, "I guess most of them would have been formed after you were put in suspension'."

A tremor ran through Ordey's hands, "How long?" She said, "I was aware of some time passing, but not… long enough for that many new groups to arise."

Wolfe looked stricken in the face of Ordey's wavering. He looked to Tarroi for guidance. She nodded and he continued, "They kept you in stasis, supposedly 'recovering' for…" He breathed out, "...three years."

Ordey put her hands to her face and let out a muffled howl of anguish. Everyone stood in silence as she sobbed into her hands. Holena opened her mouth at one point but Wolfe held up a hand, and, waving everyone to the forward end of the cabin except for Tarroi. The team shuffled down as respectfully as they could in the cramped space. As Holena went by him, Wolfe grabbed her arm.

"Go into the cockpit and take over comms," Wolfe said in a low tone, looking into her eyes with a sort of cold desperation, "I've been trying to get a handle on the situation ever since that SSD station went down." Wolfe's words were punctuated by Ordey's sobs, sharp notes of grief that would drown out the occasional creaking of the hull and the low thrum of the engines.

"Gotcha," Holena said, casting a glance at Ordey, "What about our ship…?"

"I had to order it to leave," Wolfe whispered back, "Patrol vessels were getting too nosy. Which is why it's imperative you raise Starfleet or find us any allies." His jaw tensed, "I don't want to end my career on a Five Tenants pike."

Holena jerked her head in acknowledgement and walked the length of the cargo bay, quickly stepping into the cockpit with a whoosh. There was not enough room for everyone inside, so Antonov stood with her arms crossed next to the entrance door, Daetud on one of the side benches. Antonov appeared to be studying some intermittent space, while Daetud took the time to carefully clean and calibrate his rifle, then his pistol, then doing it over again. Antonov pulled out her PADD, squinting at it, trying to focus on reading.

Ordey dropped her hands, and seeing Wolfe offer her tissues, took several and dabbed her face. She breathed out, a shuddering sob escaping. She tried again, and this time her breath was steady. She handed the box back, "Okay. There is still work to be done, correct?"

"Yes." Wolfe nodded, "The President's anxious to have you back. She's booted half her cabinet." Wolfe paused, his tone bleak, "But first, we have to survive on a hostile planet, for..." He looked at the cockpit, shrugged.

Ordey pushed her chair forward, placing a reassuring hand on Wolfe's shoulder. "It's lucky then you rescued me. I know how to avoid having my blood run through the streets." Her mouth lifted into a passable attempt at a smile, "and I can teach you."

***

Zaphas looked slightly incredulous, but Wolfe had provided him with the relevant details on his PADD, the testimony of his officers, and of course, the undeniable presence of Shar Ordey herself. Wolfe wondered if the Aerocommando had been expecting to expose her as a clone, Wolfe as a traitor or spy. But half-way through the interview a corporal had walked in with a communique from Commodore T'Lorel, and her mood had relaxed. Soon after that the comm array had been hit by a mortar strike, and Wolfe was certain as soon as it was repaired they'd start receiving a glut of messages bearing the Presidential Seal of the Union.

"Well," she said, after a moment, "That's an interesting tale. But you didn't explain how you ended up here for us to find you."

Wolfe grinned as the door flew open, revealing a nervous-looking sergeant -- and Aerocommando sergeants never looked nervous. "Well, maybe I'll save that little story for another day." He eyed the tablet the Sergeant was turning over in her hands, "Right now, I suspect the President wants her Chief of Staff back. I'd hustle if I were you."

UberJJK · Feb 14, 2017

Iron Wolf said:
"Sallek, Vulcan's a desert planet. You can't be enjoying this."

As someone who grew up in the desert I can assure you that grows up there there gets use to the cold. Hypothermia is actually a serious risk at night in the desert. Depending upon where you are temperatures can easily range from 40C (104F) in the day to 5C (41F) at night.

Leila Hann · Feb 14, 2017

Kinda surprised they had Wolfe on the ground, but his bad luck does have a way of warping reality.

UbeOne · Feb 14, 2017

Leila Hann said:
Kinda surprised they had Wolfe on the ground, but his bad luck does have a way of warping reality.

There's nothing like the glory of personal combat!

Shard · Feb 14, 2017

I maintain that Wolfe is a Klingon.

He just doesn't know yet.

UbeOne · Feb 14, 2017

Check his quarters. He has a bat'leth somewhere.

Shard · Feb 14, 2017

UbeOne said:
Check his quarters. He has a bat'leth somewhere.

A gift from a Klingon friend, that he could not refuse in any polite way.

Leila Hann · Feb 14, 2017

Ato · Feb 14, 2017

UberJJK said:
Clear wins in every category:
Vote Tally : Sci-Fi - To Boldly Go... (a Starfleet quest) | Page 1163 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.7.4

Task: BUILD

[X][BUILD] Plan 2 Excelsiors, 3 Miranda-As, 2 Miranda Refits
No. of Votes: 33

Briefvoice
Aeondrac
aeqnai
AKuz
aledeth
AlphaDelta
Artemis1992
Blackshard
Chaos Blade
cokerpilot
DarknessSmiles
Gear
Gingganz
Gravitas Hunt
Iron Wolf
JesseJ
Joshrand1982
Jrin
Kaze
Mr Tebbs
MS-21H 'Hawke'
Muer'ci
Night_stalker
NullVoid
pbluekan
pheonix89
Random Member
Simon_Jester
SynchronizedWritersBlock
tryrar
UberJJK
Vehrec
Void Stalker

[X][BUILD] Plan 2 Excelsiors
No. of Votes: 2

Derek58
NHO

[X][BUILD] Plan 2 Excelsiors, 3 Miranda-As
No. of Votes: 1

Binge-Reader

——————————————————————————————————————————————
Task: CREW

[x][CREW] Explorer Corps
No. of Votes: 39

UbeOne
Aeondrac
aeqnai
AKuz
aledeth
AlphaDelta
anon_user
Artemis1992
Ato
Binge-Reader
Blackshard
Briefvoice
Chaos Blade
DarknessSmiles
Derek58
Gear
Gingganz
Gravitas Hunt
Iron Wolf
JesseJ
Joshrand1982
Jrin
Kaze
Mr Tebbs
MS-21H 'Hawke'
Muer'ci
NHO
Night_stalker
NullVoid
pbluekan
pheonix89
Random Member
Shard
Simon_Jester
SynchronizedWritersBlock
tryrar
UberJJK
Vehrec
Void Stalker

——————————————————————————————————————————————
Task: DEFIANT

[X][DEFIANT] Sydraxian Border Zone
No. of Votes: 33

Briefvoice
Aeondrac
aeqnai
AKuz
aledeth
AlphaDelta
Artemis1992
Blackshard
Chaos Blade
DarknessSmiles
Derek58
Gear
Gingganz
Gravitas Hunt
Iron Wolf
JesseJ
Joshrand1982
Jrin
Kaze
Mr Tebbs
MS-21H 'Hawke'
Muer'ci
NHO
Night_stalker
NullVoid
pbluekan
pheonix89
Random Member
Simon_Jester
tryrar
UberJJK
Vehrec
Void Stalker

[X][DEFIANT] Cardassian Border Zone
No. of Votes: 1

SynchronizedWritersBlock

——————————————————————————————————————————————
Task: NAME1

[X][NAME1] Atuin
No. of Votes: 20

Briefvoice
Aeondrac
AKuz
aledeth
AlphaDelta
Artemis1992
Blackshard
Chaos Blade
DarknessSmiles
Derek58
Gear
Gingganz
Kaze
MS-21H 'Hawke'
NHO
pbluekan
Random Member
tryrar
UberJJK
Void Stalker

[X][NAME1] Rru'adorr
No. of Votes: 9

Simon_Jester
aeqnai
Gravitas Hunt
Iron Wolf
KlavoHunter
Leila Hann
pheonix89
SynchronizedWritersBlock
Vehrec

[x][NAME1] USS Victory
No. of Votes: 5

Artemis1992
AKuz
Joshrand1982
Jrin
Night_stalker

[X][NAME1] USS Gagarin
No. of Votes: 2

Muer'ci
Mr Tebbs

[X][NAME1] Miracht
No. of Votes: 2

Binge-Reader
NullVoid

[x][NAME1] USS Dawn Treader
No. of Votes: 1

UbeOne

[x][NAME1] USS Endeavour
No. of Votes: 1

Chaos Blade

[X][NAME1] USS Aelin
No. of Votes: 1

Shard

[X][NAME1] Borass
No. of Votes: 1

anon_user

——————————————————————————————————————————————
Task: VALIANT

[X][VALIANT] Cardassian Border Zone
No. of Votes: 34

Briefvoice
Aeondrac
aeqnai
AKuz
aledeth
AlphaDelta
Artemis1992
Blackshard
Chaos Blade
DarknessSmiles
Derek58
Gear
Gingganz
Gravitas Hunt
Iron Wolf
JesseJ
Joshrand1982
Jrin
Kaze
Mr Tebbs
MS-21H 'Hawke'
Muer'ci
NHO
Night_stalker
NullVoid
pbluekan
pheonix89
Random Member
Simon_Jester
SynchronizedWritersBlock
tryrar
UberJJK
Vehrec
Void Stalker

Total No. of Voters: 42

I'm not disputing the vote, because I'm pretty sure Atuin won anyway (and I don't really mind seeing as they are both names I came up with.)
But something has gone very wrong with your tallying program. My name vote has been dropped entirely, and Akuz's has been listed as voting for both Victory and Atuin.

Nix · Feb 14, 2017

Ato said:
I'm not disputing the vote, because I'm pretty sure Atuin won anyway (and I don't really mind seeing as they are both names I came up with.)
But something has gone very wrong with your tallying program. My name vote has been dropped entirely, and Akuz's has been listed as voting for both Victory and Atuin.

Your most recent voting post didn't include a name vote and AKuz proxy voted for Briefvoice in addition to her own name vote, so neither of these is a problem with the talleying program but rather with the votes themselves.

To Boldly Go... (a Starfleet quest)

Widow Null

[Verified Great Old One]

THOU SHALT WORSHIP NO GODS ABOVE ENTERPRISE!

Cabal Core Commander

On one, not scared

Daydreaming CPU

One and Many

Daydreaming CPU

One and Many