A Failure to Communicate...

Posted on Sat Apr 27th, 2013 @ 9:30am by Captain Tobias Naros & Lieutenant Commander Joseph Thompson & Lieutenant Commander Robert Hogan & Lieutenant Aniela Darvetti & Lieutenant JG Miranda Blackfur & Lieutenant Amanda Owens
Edited on on Sat Apr 27th, 2013 @ 9:33am

Mission: Episode 1.1 - "MystiQue"
Location: Main Bridge, USS Yorktown
Timeline: Mission Day 04, 1156 Hours

ON: [[Main Bridge, USS Yorktown, Mission Day 04, 1156 Hours]]

There was a definite change in the atmosphere of the entire bridge as Tobias turned his attention back to the forward viewscreen. By now, he could clearly see the Keldon-class warship slowly making its way toward them. Although not as common as the more traditional Galor-class starships, the Keldon-class was considered to be among the most formidable vessels of the Cardassian Union. Its capabilities were said to have been on par in many ways with that of the Federation Galaxy and Sovereign-classes. Despite the Caitan's relatively calm tone of voice, Tobias could tell the sudden appearance of such a vessel had made a definite impact on everyone in the room.

"Helm, maintain position above the asteroid," Tobias said slowly, "Mister Thompson...hail the Cardassian vessel."

Miranda maintained the Yorktown's current position. The added sensor range provided by their network with the fighters was something she was appreciating with each passing moment. Her approval of Lieutenant Darvetti's hard work and the success of the idea that was implemented was something she would probably add to her pass-down log for her relief helm officer when it was time to switch out. For now, however, she stayed at the helm and kept an eye on the Cardassian warship for any change in its direction of travel, ready to move the ship when needed. The tip of her tail gave a sudden twitch in anticipation, showing she was ready and at full alert. Her ears, fully perked, swiveled to catch the nuances of sound around her.

"Aye, Sir," Joe said. "Channel open."

"This is Captain Tobias Naros of the Federation starship Yorktown," the El-Aurian stated in a measured voice, "Please state your identity and your purpose in this region."

Joe waited a few moments, watching his console. "No response to the hail, Sir," he finally said.

"Mr. Thompson can you tell the status of the weapons of that Cardassian vessel?" Xavier silently considered the possibility that they could end up in a battle in the Golden Discontinuity. Even though he knew it was a possibility that he had to be prepared for he was still hoping to avoid it since they were having enough issues due to the region of space they were in.

It seemed odd that the Cardassians weren't responding - they had, after all, come looking for the Yorktown. However, Aniela also had to consider where they were...and doing so brought up a good point. "Captain...just as the Discontinuity would be affecting the Cardassians' sensors, it could just as likely be interrupting, distorting, or blocking their communications. They could be ignoring us, but this is also a possibility..."

"Sir, the Cardassian vessel is entering weapons range now," Joe said. "They've powered up their own weapons." Joe itched to bring the Yorktown's weapons up, but he resisted the impulse and waited for an order to do so.

A lack of response to their hails was one thing. As Aniela had pointed out, the intense plasma and electromagnetic distortions of the surrounding Discontinuity could have somehow affected the communications systems of their ship, preventing the message from getting through. Actively preparing weapons for combat was another matter entirely, one which Tobias could not afford to ignore. "Red alert," he barked out, "full power to shields and offensive weapons."

Robert Hogan redirected a portion of power from auxiliary control to the forward phasers. He hoped it would give the first phaser blast a little bit more sting. "Additional power directed to forward phasers Captain."

Joe kept a sharp eye on the Cardassian ship as he brought the Yorktown up to full combat readiness. He noted the extra power to the phasers and gave a nod of thanks to Hogan. "Shields and weapons at full," he told the captain. "Standing by."

As soon as they went to Red Alert, Miranda rotated the ship on station, keeping the tactical advantage over the Cardassian warship. She did her best to keep the forward phaser arrays aimed at the Cardassian warship. Ears dropped into her hair in a more agressive body posture, yet still open to receiving orders. Eyes became more focused, losing their bored routine glaze. Her tail swished slowly back and forth to signal she was ready to pounce on her unaware prey as her paw-like hands flew across the helm controls in anticipation of return fire from the Cardassian warship.

Amy watched the situation grimly through the lens of the Yorktown's fighter screen. She remembered running through drills on the holodeck in simulations of the Phantoms so she'd know what it felt like; she knew those couldn't ever depict the real feeling of being on the edge of combat with just a few inches of metal and low-powered shields between a pilot and an enemy craft. She hoped that the stealth functions of their starfighters were working as well as they were designed to.

Robert stared at the viewscreen, the Cardassian ship on the viewer. Talking to himself, Robert mused about Cardassian timing. 'Well, they certainly know how to stir up the pot. I wonder how much of a lie their commander will tell Captain Naros'.

"Try hailing them again, Mister Thompson," Tobias said even as he watched the warship's continued advance toward their position. At this point, it was unlikely they would receive any sort of reply, but the El-Aurian was going to be certain it wasn't for lack of trying.

Again, Joe accessed the communications, this time sending out an automated hail to try and get the warship's attention. After another few moments, though, it was clear they weren't answering. "Nothing, Sir," Joe told the captain.

In that instant, a brown-orange beam of highly charged energy leapt across the open distance between the two vessels to impact against the Yorktown's shields. Tobias gripped the arms of his chair just as two more shots followed in quick succession. The Federation starship shuddered from the sudden assault upon her defensive screens but the El-Aurian knew it was going to take more than a few distruptor blasts to have any sort of major impact. He also knew the Keldon-class was fully capable of producing greater firepower and that this was likely only just the beginning.

OFF

A Joint Mission Post by

Captain Tobias Naros
Commanding Officer
USS Yorktown

Lieutenant Commander Joseph Thompson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer & Second Officer
USS Yorktown

Lieutenant Commander Robert Hogan
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Yorktown

Lieutenant Aniela Darvetti
Chief Science Officer
USS Yorktown

Lieutenant Amanda Owens (PNPC)
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Yorktown
Played by: LtCmdr Thompson

and

Lieutenant JG Miranda Blackfur
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Yorktown