We're Being Watched...

Posted on Mon Oct 14th, 2024 @ 6:48pm by Captain Tristan Faust & Commander Lucy Heartfilia & Lieutenant Commander Darrod Hanous & Lieutenant Azrel Vox & Lieutenant Shinobu Miyake & Lieutenant JG Marcel Knowles & Ensign Jason Reece & Chief Petty Officer Meredith Corden

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Mission: Mission 5: The Price of Paradise
Location: Deck 1: Main Bridge
Timeline: M5 MD09 (2268.08.1) 1245-1300

The Midway continued to circle the Relay Station. It had only been a few minutes since they had beamed back the away team along with the Orion prisoner.

Meanwhile up on the bridge Lucy was scratching her head. Something was showing on her scopes. Any other less experienced Science officer may excuse it as a simple sensor echo. But to her it didn't look right. Plus, that Orion had to have come from a ship somewhere.

"Captain. There's something out there," she reported. "It's on the very edge of our sensor range. It's almost as if it's matching our current speed, but it's not a sensor echo." She said as she switched back to looking through the scanner. "Hardly any resolution to identify it at this range, all I can tell is that something is there. Almost like a ghost."

"Stay with it," Tristan responded as he glanced back, "We may have no other choice than to follow it if we can't get the location of the Xenoderm shipment from the Orion pirate."

"We don't have to 'stay with it'." Lucy said. "Because it's staying with us." She added. She turned away from the scopes. "It knows we are here, and I bet it can see us exactly how we see it. If it's an enemy ship, they know that we can't see them properly until they get closer. That in itself means they know what our sensor range is and probably what class of Starship they're up against."

The Captain looked at the screen, noticing the slight shimmer,"Recommendations?" he asked, "We don't have a heading, all we can really do is bobb around like a cork until we either analyze the data from the relay station or get a location from prisoner..."

"If we launch a sensor probe, I can use it to extend our sensors. However, that ship may detect the probe and move out of range." Lucy suggested. "However, if they do, we know at least they are watching us. If they don't, it might be possible to identify them."

Aze listened intently to the conversation. She kept her earpiece in, scanning the background frequencies for anything related to the ship being discussed. So far, no success. If they were indeed following them and were as informed as the XO surmised, then they would be rigged for silent running.

Sitting at the Helm, Jason over heard everything. He did a quick look at his controls, then turned to face the Captain. "Sir " he began respectively. "If it is a vessel who is shadowing us, by their very actions, they are being hostile. I could change our heading and speed quickly, to head towards them, before they would be able to react. I've been studying this vessel and what she is capable of doing." He paused a beat, then continued, "while she is much bigger, she is capable of performing nearly everything I can do with a shuttle. Sir." He blushed, suddenly realizing that he may have spoken out of turn.

"As much as I'm going to be hating myself in the morning... I think I concur with Ensign Reece's statement, Captain," Shinobu agreed from her seat at the tactical station. "Given that they don't seem to realize that we've already caught onto them, it would stand to reason that we have the element of surprise in our favor."

Jason gave the Lieutenant a quick look, but didn't say anything about the choice of words that had been used.

Darrod nodded and looked at the others, thinking. "Lemaire. Give me a readout of plasma degradation. If they're out-maneuvering us, are they doubled under cloak?"

He looked at Shinobu. "If she says yes, fire every goddamn battery this ship has at her engine exhaust port. It'll blow like a Federation Day firework."

"No need to ask me twice ," Shinobu replied. "Phasers primed; torpedoes are being loaded as we speak."

She looked up at Tristan. "Awaiting your orders, Captain."

The Captain stared intently at the viewer. His face was relatively calm and collected. He resisted the urge to clench the walnut armrests. If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs... "Maintain alert status," he said finally, his blue eyes still staring at the viewer with a steely resolve. "Take no offensive action until provoked," he said, "A fight is what they want... What we need is to keep our eyes on the goal." He stood up.

Jason nodded, as he replied. "Aye, Captain." He then turned back to his condole, and focused on the task at hand.

Darrod glanced back at the Captain and nodded, returning to the second Engineering position on the Bridge. He took a heavy breath, but didn't know what to say about the situation. All he wanted was to see those pirates blown out of space for all they'd done, but he accepted Tristan's judgement.

Aze kept her ears focused on the communication channels on the off chance the vessel out there made a mistake.

With that the Captain left the bridge with Lt. Miyake closely following. They needed answers and they were lurking below deck...

 

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