Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Coronado, Deck 7; Seven Forward - 1030

The Minister's breath caught in his chest when the Coronado's hull vibrated and hummed as the craft dropped out of warp. His eyes widened as, beyond the lounge's expansive windows, the ethereal streaking of subspace was suddenly stolen from his gaze and replaced with the view of a great swath of asteroids, roiling lazily yet forebodingly over the starscape. "Almost time," he murmured, swallowing the ever-present lump in his throat and reaching for his drink with a faintly trembling hand. Rather than being rewarded with the cool feel of the glass in his fingers, though, his transfixion with the scene beyond the window was broken by a sudden, vice-like gripping of his wrist that stayed his hand's progress. A startled yipping sound almost escaped him, then, but was impeded by that cursed lump he had been unable to swallow,

"Relax, Minister," the Attaché's voice hissed in his ear, "your skittishness draws unnecessary attention."

,The Minister tensed all the more as his eyes ripped away from the view beyond the windows and fell, first, to where the Attaché's grip had pinned his wrist to the table and, then, lifted (hesitantly) in protest to meet the glowering countenance of his partner in this endeavor. "Let. Me. Go." The Minister demanded, trying in vain to wrest his arm from the other man's grasp. "No one in here is paying me a fraction of the scrutiny that you are."

The Attaché's grip tightened all the more, the orangish skin at his knuckles reddening a bit with the force of it. "Sure of that, are you?" he growled in reply, "Everywhere you have gone aboard this ship in the past days, Minister, you have been as flighty and erratic as a schalla moth. You do not think that that hasn't drawn eyes to you? To us?"

"I, I," the Minister stammered impotently, trying not to wince at the pain caused by the Attaché's grip.

"You," the Attaché hissed through clenched teeth masked as a smile, "will finish your drink, Minister. Then, you will return to your quarters where you will remain until this is finished. Should you draw any more attention to yourself than you already have, I swear to you, our brothers aboard the Stormspike will not be the only ones to have given their lives for our cause. Am I clear?"

"Y-yes," the Minister kowtowed, "I,uh.."

"For strength," the Attaché rumbled loosening his grip on the Minster's wrist, "and honor."


"F-for strength a-and," the Minister quietly parroted as his cohort retreated back across the table, "a-and honor." His fingers, at last, found the glass, curled around it, and lifted it to his lips. His nervous gaze flitted away from the Attaché's repulsed glare and, as he poured the scarlet liqueur down his throat in hopes of finally swallowing that lump, returned to the scene beyond the windows, and he wondered, not for the first time, if there was truly any honor in what was about to happen.


Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Peregrine, Deck 1; Bridge - 1053
"Captain" Lt Berk's voice sounded over the Red Alert klaxon, "they're firing disruptors!"

A nano-second following the Tactical Officer's interjection, the interloping ship spewed forth its purplish energy bolts against two of the Rytain ships.

"Intercept initiated, Captain," Tochi called out, his fingers flying over the CONN, "Point and grunt, sir, and we're there!"

"Get us in phaser range, Lieutenant," Drake ordered, "I'd rather not fire torpedoes in this situation if I can help it."

"Phaser range, aye," the Trill acknowledged, adjusting the Peregrine's heading and velocity even as he shunted telemetry data back to TAC for firing solutions,

Lieutenant Lasad spoke up from the Ops station. "Captain, the attacking vessel is transmitting as the KDF Stormspike, a Kuldarian vessel. It seems odd, though - this ship design is at least fifty years out of date - if not more - and the energy signatures make no sense whatsoever. They shouldn't even have the power plant capable of energizing disruptors of that magnitude, let alone operate a cloaking device." Left unspoken was the obvious point that both disruptors and cloaking technology were both beyond everything understood to be with reach of Kuldarian vessels of any type, let alone ancient ones.

"One of the Rytainian vessels has been destroyed, Captain," Dio continued, "The other is badly damaged. The Stormspike is firing another volley!"

Damn! Tochi grimaced as he cued more power from the engines and maneuvered Peregrine into optimum position for a volley from the phaser banks. His eyes ticked from the viewer to his console, absorbing the various data at a glance and overlapping it with what he physically saw on the viewer,

"Open hailing frequencies, again," Drake barked, "KDF Stormspike! Cease and desist your attack at once or you will be destroyed! I will not offer another warning!"

,In that glance at the console and the frenzy of mathematical and tactical equations it had set off in the Trill helmsman's mind, something about the Kuldaran fleet's reaction to the attack struck him as odd. If the Stormspike's attack was part of a planned ambush, it would have made sense for the KDF fleet to have been readied to support and, yet, not a one of the Kuldaran vessels had even hinted at being prepared for such a thing. What are they waiting for?
"Captain," Berk called out as the Stormspike's icon disappeared from the CONN's telemetry and nav displays, "the enemy vessel has recloaked."

Tochi's mind flashed through calculations - bouncing the Stormspike's last recorded location, velocity, and bearing against the vessel's technical capabilities and course adjustment probabilities - in hopes of extrapolating where the insurgent craft might likely appear next. Even as he began to queue the various possibilities into his console, shunting the relevant data to TAC, OPS, and Science as necessary, he heard Ambassador Threel's voice rise above the din of activity.

"You and your treacherous kind! There can be no peace while your murderous species continues to consume oxygen!"

"This is not an official act of my government," the Kuldaran ambassador responded, sounding genuinely shocked, "I am certain of this. We came here in the true hope of peace."

"Liar!" Threel spat. "Yet another Kuldaran ambush!..."

We're not certain that's what this is, Ambassador, Tochi didn't quite manage to say aloud. While both the Kuldar and Rytain fleets had, by this time, begun to react to the Stormspike's incursion, each of them appeared to be taking defensive postures, at least, initially. The Trill entered several more contingencies into his console, hoping to have the quickest response solution at hand when the time came. On the bridge behind him, the inflammatory exchange between Threel and D'Lar had only escalated.

",Can you never speak the truth, you filthy cur? The evidence is before us, borne in the blood of my people, once again spilled for no reason!"

"Captain, please, I beg of you - listen to me," D'Lar implored, "I know that this is not a Kuldarian attack - my grandsire served on the Stormspike, but she was lost with all hands some forty years ago while on field operations in Rytainian territory. All of her crew were given burials when I was a child. We searched for her for months, but she was never found, and her last transmission indicated that life support had been breached, that all lives were lost."

"Field operations??? You mean, an attack run to kill Rytainian children! Do not disguise your bloodlust behind flowery words!"

This is the same disparity in our expectations of the two that's been plucking at our nerves since the reception, Tochi mused, trying very hard to remain focused on his job at the helm as opposed to playing XO and interceding in a situation that Silas would certainly address at any moment.

"Enough, Ambassador Threel," Drake snapped as if on cue, "You will sit down and be silent, or you will be removed from my bridge."

Tochi didn't need to glance back in order to know that Threel had been cowed by the Captain's threat. The Rytain ambassador instantly fell silent.

"Hail the Coronado," Drake ordered once Threel had shrunk back into his seat, "Captain Jacobs will need to be informed of this intel,"

"Captain," Tochi called out, then, prepared to share his observations in regards to the Kuldaran fleet's response to the Stormspike's assault, "We tend to concur with Ambassador D'Lar's estima,"

The sudden blaring of another alarm cut him off and Lasad looked up, wide eyed, from the OPS console. "Captain," the Risian man reported, "I'm detecting a significant explosion aboard the Coronado! I'll need to see the official damage report, but it appears that the explosion may have involved their torpedo launcher! Their shields are holding but are significantly weakened - they are down to sixty-two percent capacity."

"But no one fired," Tochi murmured incredulously, his gaze dancing back and forth between viewscreen and console displays, "What the frill is going on here?!"

"Captain," Asovil's voice called out, then, "With your permission I would like to polarize the hull. If the Stormspike has the means to attack from a cloaked position, we need to insure that we aren't taken by surprise. Polarizing the hull will help sturdy the Peregrine's structure against energy attacks among other things."

As he turned in his own seat to address the Captain, Tochi's eyes met Asovil's for the flickering of an instant and he offered her tight smile and nodded his concurrence with the Andorian woman's suggestion. "We might also add, Captain," he said, his gaze framing Silas and the Ambassadors, now, "Our observations suggest that neither the Kuldaran or Rytainian fleets reacted as if they had any foreknowledge of the Stormspike's attack. Neither have we seen any evidence that the explosion aboard the Coronado is the result of weapons-fire," He scowled as his gaze panned slowly from D'Lar to Threel. ",If you don't mind our saying, sir," the Trill offered, levelly meeting Silas' eyes, now, "We believe that D'Lar is speaking the truth,"

((OOC: Stopping there for the time being, I've got a little something else in the works back aboard the Coronado but this much should give us enough to keep rolling. ))

Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Peregrine, Security Section - 1055

The door to the security room slid open and Ens. Blockmon rushed in grabbing a side arm from the cabinet.

John waved Linda over.

Chief Brooks quickly gave them the early facts.

"An older Kaldarian ship with Cloaking and powerful disruptors uncloaked and fired into two of the Rytain ships."


John looked over the Chief's shoulder. "The Kaldar's technology has not advanced that far. If they had this all along they would have put it in their most advanced ships and conquered the Ryain."

John mused to himself, This is starting to seems familiar.

Tipping in his security code, "We need to keep up on events.. I'm opening the com from the bridge."


=/\= "Enough, Ambassador Threel. You will sit down and be silent, or you will be removed from my bridge." =/\=


=/\= "Hail the Coronado, Captain Jacobs will need to be informed of this intel,..=/\=

Another alarm sounded.

=/\= Captain, I'm detecting a significant explosion aboard the Coronado! I'll need to see the official damage report, but it appears that the explosion may have involved their torpedo launcher! Their shields are holding, but are significantly weakened - they are down to sixty-two percent capacity." =/\=


Standing back Reid turned to Blackmon, "Ensign, take command of the Torpedo Magazines. You're the best Caissons officer we've got. Keep things safe and ready there, this may get hot fast."

Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Peregrine, Security Section - 1055

The door to the security room slid open and Ens. Blackmon rushed in grabbing a side arm from the cabinet.

John waved Linda over.

Chief Brooks quickly gave them the early facts.

"An older Kaldarian ship with Cloaking and powerful disruptors uncloaked and fired into two of the Rytain ships."


John looked over the Chief's shoulder. "The Kaldar's technology has not advanced that far. If they had this all along they would have put it in their most advanced ships and conquered the Ryain."

John mused to himself, This is starting to seems familiar.

Tipping in his security code, "We need to keep up on events.. I'm opening the com from the bridge."


=/\= "Enough, Ambassador Threel. You will sit down and be silent, or you will be removed from my bridge." =/\=


=/\= "Hail the Coronado, Captain Jacobs will need to be informed of this intel,..=/\=

Another alarm sounded.

=/\= Captain, I'm detecting a significant explosion aboard the Coronado! I'll need to see the official damage report, but it appears that the explosion may have involved their torpedo launcher! Their shields are holding, but are significantly weakened - they are down to sixty-two percent capacity." =/\=

Standing back Reid turned to Blackmon, "Ensign, take command of the Torpedo Magazines. You're the best Caissons officer we've got. Keep things safe and ready there, this may get hot fast."

"Aye sir," Blackmon responded, but she paused before going.

"Lt. Reid," she said with a little apprehension, "Sir, from what we just heard there was an explosion on the Coronado, it sounds internal and may be sabotage. May I suggest that we send Security teams to the other critical areas, like Main Engineering and Deflector control. I'll take another crewman with me and secure the Torpedo magazines and launchers."

(Room for response).

Ens. Blackmon nodded, turned and almost bumped into Security Crewman Albert Smith, she signaled him to follow her. He grabbed a phaser rifle from the security cabinet and hurried to catch up with her.

"Crewman Smith," she said as he ran up and matched her pace, "we are to secure the Torpedo Magazine. There was an internal explosion on the Coronado, and it may have been sabotage."

Crewman Smith looked surprised, but then nodded as they entered the turbolift, "Yes Ma am."

Entering the turbolift, Ens. Blackmon directed it to Deck 2 where the Torpedo magazines were located. She knew that not only the Torpedoes were stored there and fed to the Launchers, but there was also the components to build more if needed. These components could easily be turned into a bomb if the person knew their stuff. The Torpedo magazines were a restricted area, but so were they on the Coronado, so she wasn't going to take any chances.

Once she reached the magazine, she would secure it and post Crewman Smith outside the door while she went in and made sure everything there was alright and to make sure the magazine was ready for action.

Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Peregrine, Security Section - 1055

"Lt. Reid," she said with a little apprehension, "Sir, from what we just heard there was an explosion on the Coronado, it sounds internal and may be sabotage. May I suggest that we send Security teams to the other critical areas, like Main Engineering and Deflector control. I'll take another crewman with me and secure the Torpedo magazines and launchers."

John looked over to Ens. Blackmon. "Those stations will have the crewman there as their assigned battle station, but I'll have the Chief do a check... good observation Ensign...and you know the magazine better then any of us and should notice anything out the normal....By the way.. watch your systems...that glitch in the sickbay equipment might be isolated but I'd hate to have the loaders go haywire..be ready to go manual.. take some extra muscle just in case.

Ens. Blackmon nodded, turned and almost bumped into Security Crewman Albert Smith, she signaled him to follow her. He grabbed a phaser rifle from the security cabinet and hurried to catch up with her.

"Crewman Smith," she said as he ran up and matched her pace, "we are to secure the Torpedo Magazine. There was an internal explosion on the Coronado, and it may have been sabotage."
Crewman Smith looked surprised, but then nodded as they entered the turbolift, "Yes Ma am."

Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Peregrine, Security Section - 1100

Haemis stood staring down at the console at the power distribution readings his mind ablaze thinking about the engineering crew and the potential loss of life on the Coronado, then something slowly started to creep into his feelings, dread. He stood erect looking around the engine room his eyes darting from place to place, and to the various nearby consoles. "Caity..." he said.

"Huh?" she asked looking up from her console.

He blinked at her a few times, pondering what he should say. "I want you to do a quick walk of the impulse systems, and life support right now, look for anything out of the ordinary." he said, then pulled one out himself and began configuring it to scan for substances that were not natural to Starfleet technologies. "I'm going to take a look around here." he said.

He activated the scanner, and set it to a short range more precise scan, and walked to the door as Caity exited. Slowly he started walking the length of room, towards the Warp Reactor. He fished a hand up and hit his communicator. "McTavish to..." he had to think of his name. "Crewman Akig!" he said.

There was a momentary pause. "Akig here!"

"Crewman, get a tricorder! I want you to take a scan of our defensive system spaces. Make sure there is nothing out of the ordinary! Quickly"

"Is this because of what happen.." he started but Haemis cut him off.

"Quickly Crewman, no time for chatter Lad!" he said closing the channel with a quick tap. He slowly made the circuit around the engine room, then stepped onto the small elevator to take him to the upper level continuing his scan.

Haemis hit his communicator again. "McTavish to Petty Officer Peers!" he said stopping and adjusting his scanner.

"Peers here chief!" came the young Trills voice.

"Get a tricorder, I want ye to go to the computer core, and scan for anything out of the ordinary!" he said.

"Aye sir, on it!" she said with a hint of determination and excitement. He heard the tell tale beep of the channel closing.

He followed up again, "McTavish to Lieutenant Larson!" he was making an effort to not start a panic but contacting each team member directly and trying to convey the sense of urgency without giving too much away.

It took a moment before the mans deep voice called back. "Larsen, go ahead!"

"Mr. Larson, take a tricorder and visit the Main life support system spaces and take scans looking for anything out of the ordinary!" he said.

"Aye, Larson out!" called back the baritone voice.

Haemis finished his circuit and stopped now looking down at the warp core through the glass floor, his attention on the scanner as it provided him with the results of the scan. "Please be bloody negative!" he said under his breath.

Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Peregrine, Bridge - 1056

Captain Drake barely had time to process Lieutenant Zai beginning his thought when Berk interrupted with news of the explosion aboard the Coronado. Silas felt an inexplicable anger wash over him at the report of the damage, felt his hands ball into fists at his side. While he was certain that the cloaked vessel was not directly responsible for the attack (Tochi again seemed to agree), only a fool would presume that the events were unrelated.

"Captain," the voice of Lieutenant Sh'iraolnas called out. "With your permission, I would like to polarize the hull. If the Stormspike has the means to attack from a cloaked position, we need to ensure that we aren't taken by surprise. Polarizing the hull will help sturdy the Peregrine's structure against energy attacks among other things."

Drake nodded in response to the ingenious suggestion. "I see no evidence that they actually fired on the Corondao, Lieutenant, but discretion would be the better part of valor, here. Make it happen."

With a moment to take a breath, Tochi spoke up again. "We might also add, Captain," he said, his gaze framing Silas and the Ambassadors, now, "Our observations suggest that neither the Kuldaran or Rytainian fleets reacted as if they had any foreknowledge of the Stormspike's attack. Neither have we seen any evidence that the explosion aboard the Coronado is the result of weapons-fire..." He scowled as his gaze panned slowly from D'Lar to Threel. "...If you don't mind our saying, sir," the Trill offered, levelly meeting Silas' eyes, now, "We believe that D'Lar is speaking the truth..."

Drake double checked the displays; Tochi was, of course, correct in assessing the situation. Both fleets were forming as if the attack were unexpected, as if they were the targets of the actions. Why would the Kuldar send one vessel and not follow up with the might of their fleet?

The Captain nodded in assent. "Lieutenant Zai, I believe that you are correct. I won't yet venture to guess who is behind this attack, but it seems highly unlikely to be an act of the Kuldarian government... though I presume that we are, in fact, expected to believe that it is."

The words had barely passed Drake's lips when Threel shot to a standing position. "This is an outrage!" he bleated behind a clenched fist. "My people are savagely attacked, murdered in a filthy Kuldarian sneak attack, and you would absolve them of this crime?"

Crimson rage bubbled across the Captain's countenance for a brief moment. "Ambassador Threel, I am quite certain that I did not stutter when instructed you to sit and be silent. You have become a major distraction, and a lack of focus could cost lives." Drake's gaze settled on Threel's escort. "Petty officer, escort the ambassador to his quarters at once, please, where he will remain until danger has passed. If he resists, stun him and drag him to the brig."

Petty Officer Brady nodded and stepped close to the Ambassador. "Aye, sir," he replied.

Threel was livid enough for spittle to form at his lips. "How dare you! I have status! You have no right! I will see that..." as the escort reached for his arm, Threel jerked away, and Drake nodded. When the security officer reached for his sidearm, Threel blanched, hung his head, and allowed himself to be led to the turbolift.

As the duo stepped off of the bridge, Silas tried to not think of the fact that he had likely just signed the papers forfeiting his command - if not an actual court martial. But now was not the time to worry about hurt feelings, even if they did represent governments - there were lives at stake.

He spoke up. "Mister Lasad, Mister Sh'iraolnas - find me that frakking ship."

Suddenly, Dio spoke up. "Captain, the Coronado is hailing us."

Silas nodded. "Put them onscreen."

The main viewscreen display shifted to that of the Coronado's bridge. Captain Jacobs, looking rather harried, was the focal point.

"Mister Drake," he spat in his icy accent, "what exactly are you doing? You have failed not only to secure the rendezvous zone, but you have also allowed harm to come to my ship!"

For a split second, Silas was rendered speechless by the audacity of the ranking officer. "Sir," he protested, "our sensors indicate that your damage came from an internal explosion, not from an attack. And we were hardly prepared to deal with a cloaked vessel here..."

Jacobs cut him off. "Clearly, you should have been so prepared, Commander. And now, this entire summit is about to devolve into a bloodbath! What is your plan of action?"

Captain Drake took a deep breath before speaking. "Sir, we are en route to the last known position of the attacking vessel, and will deal with her when she decloaks. Given the damage you have suffered, perhaps you should withdraw to a safer location until the threat is dealt with?"

The older officer actually chortled. "Hardly. Let alone the fact that I will not turn tail and flee from the likes of these, where would you have me go? Into the asteroid field and further ambush? To a space station of unknown allegiance? No, we will stay where we are. Form up on us and protect this vessel. Prepare for an attack run against the Kuldarian forces."

Silas actually found himself speechless for a moment. "An attack run? But sir, we have excellent reason to believe that the Kuldar are not behind this attack! If we fire on their vessels, it will be a clear act of war."

Jacobs growled in return. "Mister Drake, don't be an idiot. A Kuldarian vessel has attacked two other ships, to say nothing of the damage we have sustained. Federation lives have been lost, the initial act of war has already been committed. You have your orders, show some respect to the uniform and follow them. Jacobs out."

With that, the connection was cut, and the view returned to the situation outside.

Stardate 2365.02.11 (Thursday - 42143.8 )
USS Peregrine; Deck 1 - Main Bridge - 10:56

"Captain," she turns to face Silas, antennae perched in a forward anticipatory position on the back of her head. "With your permission I would like to polarize the hull. If the Stormspike has the means to attack from a cloaked position, we need to insure that we aren't taken by surprise. Polarizing the hull will help sturdy the Peregrine's structure against energy attacks among other things."

Drake nods in response to the ingenious suggestion. "I see no evidence that they actually fired on the Corondao, Lieutenant, but discretion would be the better part of valor, here. Make it happen."

Asovil dips her head in acknowledgement and turns back to her console just as Tochi speaks up again. "We might also add, Captain," he says, his gaze framing Silas and the Ambassadors, now, "Our observations suggest that neither the Kuldaran or Rytainian fleets reacted as if they had any foreknowledge of the Stormspike's attack. Neither have we seen any evidence that the explosion aboard the Coronado is the result of weapons-fire..." He scowls as his gaze pans slowly from D'Lar to Threel. "...If you don't mind our saying, sir," the Trill offers, levelly meeting Silas' eyes, now, "We believe that D'Lar is speaking the truth."

Fully focusing on her task of polerizing the hull, Lt. Asovil Sh'iraolnas barely registers the logic used by the Trill and the subsequent response from the captain.

"Lieutenant Zai," Silas' level tone drifts past the numbers she's entering into the computer. "I believe that you are correct. I won't yet venture to guess who is behind this attack, but it seems highly unlikely to be an act of the Kuldarian government... though I presume that we are, in fact, expected to believe that it is."

The words had barely passed Drake's lips when Threel objects with a passion. "This is an outrage!" he bleats. "My people are savagely attacked, murdered in a filthy Kuldarian sneak attack, and you would absolve them of this crime?"

Completing the command, the Peregrine's CSO activates the hull polarization and watches intently as the diagram of the ship graphically illustrates the coverage, a section of the screen designated for the charge integrity percentage.

"Ambassador Threel," Captain Drake's temper is kaput. "I am quite certain that I did not stutter when instructed you to sit and be silent. You have become a major distraction, and a lack of focus could cost lives. Petty officer, escort the ambassador to his quarters at once, please, where he will remain until danger has passed. If he resists, stun him and drag him to the brig."

"Aye, sir," the Petty Officer replies. Having served in the Imperial Guard, rubbernecking (as the humans called it) is a known disregard for discipline and Asovil maintains her attention on the screen in front of her with the strictest adherence to the cause.

Threel lividly spits his indignation. "How dare you! I have status! You have no right! I will see that..." Something transpires behind the science officer that silences the ambassador and shortly thereafter the turbolift doors open and close.

Silas speaks into the resounding silence that follows. "Mister Lasad, Mister Sh'iraolnas - find me that frakking ship."

Restraining a wince and flinch through her shoulders, Asovil clenches her jaw and thinks. To her knowledge there's no way to detect a cloaked vessel. She has read discourse containing mounds of supposition but nothing yet has been conclusive. As a matter-of-fact, most scientists in the Federation believe it to be out of reach of their current technology.

Suddenly, Dio informs them, "Captain, the Coronado is hailing us."

"Put them onscreen," Silas responds.

Some of the greatest minds in science and engineering have tackled the problem of revealing a cloaked ship and now Captain Silas Drake wants her to succeed where so many others have failed. Furrowing her brow, Asovil closes her eyes in an attempt to drown out the noise from the Bridge and focus on the problem at hand.

"Mister Drake," Jacobs' icy tone penetrates her thoughts, "what exactly are you doing? You have failed not only to secure the rendezvous zone, but you have also allowed harm to come to my ship!"

"Sir," Drake protests, "our sensors indicate that your damage came from an internal explosion, not from an attack. And we were hardly prepared to deal with a cloaked vessel here—"

Jacobs cuts him off. "Clearly, you should have been so prepared, Commander. And now, this entire summit is about to devolve into a bloodbath! What is your plan of action?"

Captain Drake takes a deep breath, "Sir, we are en route to the last known position of the attacking vessel, and will deal with her when she decloaks. Given the damage you have suffered, perhaps you should withdraw to a safer location until the threat is dealt with?"

The older officer actually chortles. "Hardly. Let alone the fact that I will not turn tail and flee from the likes of these, where would you have me go? Into the asteroid field and further ambush? To a space station of unknown allegiance? No, we will stay where we are. Form up on us and protect this vessel. Prepare for an attack run against the Kuldarian forces."

Silence follows the order and Asovil continues her line of thinking. If standard sensors won't work to detect any deviation in space, perhaps there's another way to indicate the presence of the Stormspike. Space, detection, she suddenly feels very obtuse.

"An attack run?" Captain Drake questions, breaking the stunned silence. "But sir, we have excellent reason to believe that the Kuldar are not behind this attack! If we fire on their vessels, it will be a clear act of war."

Jacobs growls in return. "Mister Drake, don't be an idiot. A Kuldarian vessel has attacked two other ships, to say nothing of the damage we have sustained. Federation lives have been lost, the initial act of war has already been committed. You have your orders, show some respect to the uniform and follow them. Jacobs out."

With that, the connection was cut, and the view returned to the situation outside.

Lt. Sh'iraolnas pulls up her experiment and swipes the screen to duplicate the data file. Fingers fly across the commands activating changes to the telemetry and shape of the detection beam. Conical reduces the range, but expands the volume of space covered, but we already have the last known coordinates, Querying the computer, the science officer immediately receives a number of projected flight path scenarios. Tapping three in sequence she orders the computer to determine the likelihood for each before proceeding to punch in an adjustment to the dark matter detection beam, flattening it and widening the spread. The second flight path proves to have the greatest statistical likelihood. Entering the beam beginning coordinates and the arch of space, Asovil activates the sensors.

Holding her breath as the numbers appear on her monitor, the blue-skinned beauty barely takes notice of the tension in her shoulders. Nothing, it isn't going to work. Two-thirds of the way through the scan the variance occurs. Small enough that she nearly misses it, Asovil taps the series of numbers that are within the range of deviation enlarging them and moving them into a diagram format. With the computer's help, she's beginning to see what isn't there. Or rather, she's seeing what's not there that's supposed to not be there.

"Captain," Asovil hesitates for a moment before finishing. "I believe I have the Stormspike, sir. There's an absence of dark matter at the coordinates I've just shared with Tactical. It has roughly the same displacement factor as the Stormspike's dimensions." Glancing up from her console to meet the captain's gaze, she licks her lips. "There's a forty-eight percent likelihood that my readings are the enemy vessel, sir. According to the computer, that is." The computer says forty-eight percent, but I know this is it. Dark matter does not lie. What isn't there not being there has got to be a sure sign.

The Andorian woman is not sure how much time has passed since Jacobs' orders, but she's desperately hoping that it isn't too late.

Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Peregrine; Deck 1 - Bridge - 1056

"Captain," Lt Sh'iraolnas called out, her antennae tilted expectantly forward, "With your permission, I would like to polarize the hull. If the Stormspike has the means to attack from a cloaked position, we need to ensure that we aren't taken by surprise. Polarizing the hull will help sturdy the Peregrine's structure against energy attacks among other things."

Drake nodded in response to the ingenious suggestion. "I see no evidence that they actually fired on the Coronado, Lieutenant, but discretion would be the better part of valor, here. Make it happen."

With a moment to take a breath, Tochi spoke up again. "We might also add, Captain," he said, his gaze framing Silas and the Ambassadors, now, "Our observations suggest that neither the Kuldaran or Rytainian fleets reacted as if they had any foreknowledge of the Stormspike's attack. Neither have we seen any evidence that the explosion aboard the Coronado is the result of weapons-fire..." He scowled as his gaze panned slowly from D'Lar to Threel. "...If you don't mind our saying, sir," the Trill offered, levelly meeting Silas' eyes, now, "We believe that D'Lar is speaking the truth..."

Drake double checked the displays; Tochi was, of course, correct in assessing the situation. Both fleets were forming as if the attack were unexpected, as if they were the targets of the actions. Why would the Kuldar send one vessel and not follow up with the might of their fleet?

The Captain nodded in assent. "Lieutenant Zai, I believe that you are correct. I won't yet venture to guess who is behind this attack, but it seems highly unlikely to be an act of the Kuldarian government... though I presume that we are, in fact, expected to believe that it is."

The words had barely passed Drake's lips when Threel objects with a passion. "This is an outrage!" he bleats. "My people are savagely attacked, murdered in a filthy Kuldarian sneak attack, and you would absolve them of this crime?"

Tochi's scowl etches itself deeper into his visage at Threel's protest. A seed of uncertainty regarding the Rytain Ambassador had been planted in the Trill's mind at the reception and, over the course of the days that had followed, had been nurtured by the fact that Threel never seemed to miss an opportunity (often even went out of his way) to voice just how violent and unpredictable his Kuldaran counterpart's people could be,

Methinks thou dost protest too much, the ancient quotes echoes (not for the first time) in Tochi's mind. It's all he can do to keep from voicing it aloud, though, and, quite literally biting his tongue, he forces his attentions back to the helm.

,That seed of uncertainty had now bloomed fully into a flower of vibrant distrust but the Trill managed to swallow the accusations he desperately wanted to hurl in Threel's direction. Instead, he eyed his consoles, taking in the updated Tactical feed that now included input from Asovil's station, then let his gaze sweep the viewer in order to correlate the computer and sensor data with what could be physically seen.

"Ambassador Threel," Tochi could only imagine the look on Silas' face, just then, but by the sound of the Captain's voice, it was a look he'd rather not see, imagined or otherwise, "I am quite certain that I did not stutter when instructed you to sit and be silent. You have become a major distraction, and a lack of focus could cost lives. Petty officer, escort the ambassador to his quarters at once, please, where he will remain until danger has passed. If he resists, stun him and drag him to the brig."

"Aye, sir." Threel's escort acknowledged as Tochi maneuvered the Peregrine toward what he now believed might be the most likely intercept course.

The Trill's scowl evolved into something of a smirk as the Rytain diplomat, indignantly screeching like a wounded feather-ape, is all but forcefully escorted from the bridge. Threel's outrage sounds genuine, of course, but Tochi isn't entirely sure that the man's indignation stems from some perceived loss of face or, instead, from no longer being in a position to try and sway opinion,

"Mr. Lasad, Mr' Sh'iraolnas," Drake barks, "Find me that frakking ship!"

Tochi's gaze flits to the left, hoping that either Dio or Asovil will have anything else which might aid in his guiding the Peregrine on an appropriate intercept of the apparently rogue Kuldar ship. The Andorian beauty seems lost in the data cascading across her console, the look of determination and contemplation on her features denoting the fury with which her analytical mind was trying to find a solution to isolating the Stormspike. The Risian Ops Chief, too, seemed to be immersed in his own data-stream but, just before the Trill's gaze let go of him, Lt Lasad's eyes snapped up; "Captain, the Coronado is hailing us."

"Put them onscreen," Drake responds.

"Mister Drake, what exactly are you doing?"

Captain Drake, Tochi managed not to sneer aloud, his smirk relegating itself back to a grimace as Jacobs' image resolved on the viewscreen. He forced himself to scrutinize the various displays on his console, head down, so the expression might go unnoticed. "You have not only failed to secure the rendezvous zone, but you have also allowed harm to come to my ship!"

"Sir, our sensors indicate that your damage came from an internal explosion, not from an attack," Drake remonstrated, "And we were hardly prepared to deal with a cloaked vessel here,"

"Clearly," Jacobs interrupted, "you should have been so prepared, Commander. And, now, this entire summit is about to devolve into a bloodbath! What is your plan of action?"

"Sir," Silas responded following a slow intake of breath that Tochi was sure altered the air pressure on the bridge, "we are en route to the last known position of the attacking vessel and will deal with her when she decloaks. Given the damage you've suffered perhaps you should withdraw to a safer location until the threat is dealt with."

The derisive tone in the chuckle Jacobs offers, then, is enough to snatch Lt Zai's gaze away from his console and level a decidedly unpleasant glare at the viewer. The Trill's mouth even opens as if to interject, at that point, but, just as quickly, closes again - though not before muttering something rather venomous, if indecipherable, under his breath.

"Hardly," the pompous CO of the Coronado rebukes Captain Drake, " Leave alone the fact that I will not turn tail and flee from the likes of these, where would you have me go?..."

"Straight up your own frillin' ch'ola," Tochi grumbled softly, deigning to lift an eye to the viewer, "sir."

",Into the asteroid field and further ambush? To a space station of unknown allegiance? No. We will stay where we are. Form up on us and protect this vessel. Prepare for an attack run against the Kuldarian forces."

"An attack run?!" Zai could no longer affect undue attention to his console and chorused Drake's words (albeit with less restraint than his commanding officer had managed) as his disbelieving gaze snapped to the viewscreen.

",sir," Silas was already protesting, freeing Tochi to chew on his tongue, once more, "we have excellent reason to believe that the Kuldar are not behind this attack! If we fire on their vessels, it will be a clear act of war."

"Mister Drake," Jacobs growled in return, "don't be an idiot,"

It was all Tochi could do, then, to keep from bolting out of his seat and confronting the Coronado's captain, himself, in defense of his own CO and friend. Somehow, he managed, though his jaw and shoulders had set themselves noticeably tighter to those who might have noticed.

",A Kuldarian vessel has attacked two other ships, to say nothing of the damage we have sustained. Federation lives have been lost, the initial act of war has already been committed. You have your orders, show some respect to the uniform and follow them. Jacobs out."

With that, the connection was cut, and the view returned to the situation outside. Tochi doesn't bother glancing up as, in that instant, the TAC mirror on his console lights up due to some new data funneled through by Asovil's science console. Still leveling curses at the arrogant Jacobs under his breath, Lt Zai watches the stream of data, trying to make sense of it as it relates to maneuvering the ship and, as he extrapolates what he sees, keys in course corrections for two possible scenarios.

"Captain," Asovil offers after an instant, "I believe I have the Stormspike, sir. There's an absence of dark matter at the coordinates I've just shared with Tactical. It has roughly the same displacement factor as the Stormspike's dimensions. There's a forty-eight percent likelihood that my readings are the enemy vessel, sir. According to the computer, that is."

"We have course corrections for those coordinates already laid in, Captain," Lt Zai adds, his gaze pausing only for the briefest of instants of the Andorian CSO as his head turns to regard Silas, "Should we proceed with intercept?" He arched a quizzical brow as his eyes met Drake's, then, and he considered his words for a moment, "Or would you rather we form up on the Coronado per Captain Jacobs' orders?"

Silas had less than a breath to have formed a reply but, despite that negligible span of time, Tochi felt it more than enough to interject and offer his own opinion as Drake's Executive officer. "For what it's worth, sir; we believe an assault run against the Kuldaran forces is ill-advised at this point, especially if we might intercept and disable the Stormspike and, thereby, with luck, reinforce any evidence that this is not a coordinated Kuldaran ambush,"

"I assure you, Lieutenant, that it is not," D'Lar offered emphatically, "The Stormspike, as far as any of my people are aware, has been missing and a derelict for generations. If we were to have planned an insurrection such as this, we would have brought more capable ships!"

Lt Zai's gazed skipped from the Kuldaran Ambassador and back to Silas once more, the expression on the Trill's face echoing one that might have appeared on Kasru Zai's when she undoubtedly believed what she was hearing to be true. "We follow your orders, Captain Drake," Tochi said, then, "not Jacobs'. Tell me where to be, sir,"


((OOC: Not the best, but enough to keep us moving, I hope. Tochi's far more willing to put his faith in Asovil's data and Silas' command than he is in blindly following Jacobs' orders (despite what might have transpired with Crane at the Captain's Mast). If Drake says to engage the Stormspike at Lt Sh'iraolnas' coordinates, consider us halfway there already. If, instead, he says to form up on the Coronado, the Trill will (mildly) begrudgingly comply, I think it's pretty obvious which way Tochi's inclined to go, however.))

Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Coronado; Deck 3; VIP Quarters - 1050

The alert klaxon seemed to send vibrations through the ship's hull in much the same way coming out of warp had done, but, where the tremors created by emergence from sub-space had felt like a sigh of relief, those reverberating due to the alarm, now, invoked feelings more akin to panicked anxiety. Staring at the, now, all but empty case on the table before him, the Minister tried to keep his hands clasped together in his lap lest the shakings of the ship seep into his fingers. There was a freshly poured glass of sweet, scarlet nectar sitting next to the case, however, and the longer the klaxon blared, the less the Minister found himself able to resist the liquor's call. With a shuddering breath and a trembling hand, the Minister reached out to claim the glass.

"Strength and honor," he sighed dryly, lifting the glass to his lips, "as if there truly are such things..."

Half the contents of the glass had disappeared down his throat before the door to his stateroom whooshed open, admitting the man whom had been playing the part of the Minister's attaché. "Speaking of strength," the Minister snorted derisively, the glass leaving his lips only for as long as it took to voice the words.

As he strode purposefully through the door, the Attaché shot the Minister a look which straddled the border between annoyance and uncertainty. "Strength and honor," he unknowingly parroted the Minister's words (albeit with more vehemence and conviction) evoking a curt snort from the other man, "The time is upon us."

"Thank you, Pharrul," the Minister sighed in reply, returning the empty glass to the table, "the Coronado's alarms hadn't made that fact quite obvious enough..."

"Are you..?" Pharrul scowled, his eyes narrowing to focus on where the Minister's hand had left the glass and, now, caressed one edge of the case that sat at its side on the low table. The question became an accusation; "You're drunk! Now?!?"

"Hmph," the Minister retorted, his fingers drifting to the case's latch. "Mildly intoxicated, I will admit," he continued, offering Pharrul a not-too-nervous sideways glance as he released the catch, "but suddenly lucid, all at once..."

The attaché's jaw tightened in anger as his mind tried to make sense of any of this. "What in the Sixteen Halls of H'ahsha are you talking about," he growled as he advanced on the Minister, his hands balling into fists. Pharrul wasn't sure if the Minister was simply intoxicated or, perhaps, a bit insane, as well and, at this point, it didn't matter. He'd had enough of the man's flightiness and simpering for the duration of this mission and he would be damned if he would let the fretful little politician derail things at this crucial moment... he'd beat the man stupid first. "I've initiated the timers, Uthrail," he hissed through clenched teeth as he started to draw back a fist, "and I'll not have your sniveling undo any..."

"I know," Minister Uthrail snickered, turning the now open case toward the enraged and advancing Pharrul, "I know you've initiated the timers because, when you did, this made the faintest of chipping noises."

Pharrul stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide and the color rapidly draining from his face - inside the case, its timer rapidly depleting, was a single, puck-shaped charge, identical to the others he had planted in the Coronado's Jefferies Tubes just days ago. "Wha... what have you done?"

"Ensured that our brothers aboard the Stormspike won't be the only ones to martyr themselves for this cause," the Minister smiled, pouring himself another drink as the timer sped toward zero. "There's honor in it, I think."

**********************************************************

Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Peregrine, Bridge - 1102

The bridge had devolved into a flurry of chaos as the crew did their best to carry out a barrage of tasks. Jacobs' typical odious nature had drifted into recklessness that bordered on insanity, and Tochi had apparently nearly lost his self control during the exchange.

What to do? Silas wondered. All of the evidence seemed to support that idea that this was some sort of a false flag, some ruse meant to convince them that the Kuldar had launched an unprovoked attack, but the pieces just simply did not add up to support that conclusion. Unfortunately, the ranking officer for this mission was convinced that this cloaked ship truly was acting on behalf of the Kuldar government, and he had given Silas a direct order.

How ironic that a former chief petty officer had yet to even complete her brig sentence for failure to respect the chain of command, yet Drake found himself in a position to likewise question the chain, himself.

On the one hand, Silas had crystal clear orders. If he followed the attack run, he would be protected by the chain of command; Starfleet would hold him blameless, no matter the outcome. But there would be innocent lives lost of he did so; how could he possibly live with himself, knowing that sentients had died due to his failure to stand up to a bully?

And yet, if he did stand up, Drake knew that his days of command would surely be at an end. There would be no NJP for the commanding officer of the Peregrine; he would instead face a full court marital, and would almost certainly be found guilty and stripped of his command - if not discharged entirely from service en route to a prison sentence. Disobeying a direct order, particularly when the order was received during military conflict, earned an extremely dim view from Starfleet brass.

What if Silas was wrong, and Jacobs was right? What if it was, in fact, as simple of a situation as it appeared - what if this was a Kuldar attack? Refusal to follow a direct order, dereliction of duty, cowardice in the face of the enemy... the list of potential charges went on and on.

And yet...

The new chief science officer shook Silas out of his thoughts.

"Captain," Asovil hesitated for a moment before finishing. "I believe I have the Stormspike, sir. There's an absence of dark matter at the coordinates I've just shared with Tactical. It has roughly the same displacement factor as the Stormspike's dimensions." Glancing up from her console to meet the captain's gaze, she licked her lips. "There's a forty-eight percent likelihood that my readings are the enemy vessel, sir. According to the computer, that is."

"Outstanding work, Lieutenant Sh'iraolnas!" the Captain exclaimed.

"We have course corrections for those coordinates already laid in, Captain," Lieutenant Zai added, his gaze pausing only for the briefest of instants on the Andorian CSO as his head turned to regard Silas, "Should we proceed with intercept?" He arched a quizzical brow as his eyes met Drake's, then, and he considered his words for a moment... "Or would you rather we form up on the Coronado per Captain Jacobs' orders?"

Silas had less than a breath to have formed a reply but, despite that negligible span of time, Tochi felt it more than enough to interject and offer his own opinion as Drake's Executive officer. "For what it's worth, sir; we believe an assault run against the Kuldaran forces is ill-advised at this point, especially if we might intercept and disable the Stormspike and, thereby, with luck, reinforce any evidence that this is not a coordinated Kuldaran ambush..."

"I assure you, Lieutenant, that it is not," D'Lar offered emphatically, "The Stormspike, as far as any of my people are aware, has been missing and a derelict for generations. If we were to have planned an insurrection such as this, we would have brought more capable ships!"

Lieutenant Zai's gazed skipped from the Kuldaran Ambassador and back to Silas once more, the expression on the Trill's face echoing one that might have appeared on Kasru Zai's when she undoubtedly believed what she was hearing to be true. "We follow your orders, Captain Drake," Tochi said, then, "not Jacobs'. Tell me where to be, sir..."

Silas frowned as he stroked his chin. This was easily the most important decision yet of his career. Unfortunately, neither choice seemed to offer smooth sailing - it would appear that he would have to select the lesser of two evils (or, at least, an evil he could live with).

Depth charges. The thought sprung to Drake's mind. In ancient history, when submersible vehicles first came onto the scene, they were the terror of surface ships, which could not detect them beneath the waves. Those ancient navies had discovered that tossing explosives into the water near where a submarine was believed to be located could damage the submersible, force them to surface - if not destroy them outright.

That same concept could work here.

A crooked grin touched the corner of the Captain's mouth. "Depth charges," he spoke simply, vocalizing his inner thought.

Drake took a deep breath. "Lieutenant Zai, lay in a course to form up with the Coronado, and engage at one quarter impulse." The Captain saw the incredulous look begin to creep across his XO's face, so he continued. "In the meantime, Lieutenant Berk, analyze the data from Lieutenant Sh'iraolnas. Compare the last known position of the Stormspike and extrapolate her current speed and vector. Use the computer and come up with the most probable locations, then prepare two full spreads of photon torpedoes to detonate five kilometers from those positions; I think that a ten isoton payload should be sufficient. With any luck, we'll find the Stormspike, and disable rather than destroy her. If this works, we'll adjust the plan as need be."

((OOC: assuming Berk agrees/complies))

Glancing back at Tochi, Drake continued in a firm tone. "Lieutenant Zai, I appreciate your support more than you can know. However, as both your friend and your commanding officer, I cannot allow you to repeat the behavior you exhibited during our last call with Captain Jacobs. Lieutenant, unless you are directly addressed, you will be silent during such communications in the future, is that abundantly clear?" The Captain's expression and voice softened a bit. "I'm a big boy, Tochi; I can fight my own battles. You standing up for me will only end in reprimands or worse for you. Be silent from here on out, that is an order."

That said, Silas looked back to his Tactical Chief. "Mister Berk, assuming you have those firing solutions, you may fire at will."

Stardate 2365.02.11 (Thursday - 42143.
USS Peregrine; Deck 1 - Main Bridge - 11:02

"Captain," Asovil hesitates for a moment before finishing. "I believe I have the Stormspike, sir. There's an absence of dark matter at the coordinates I've just shared with Tactical. It has roughly the same displacement factor as the Stormspike's dimensions." Glancing up from her console to meet the captain's gaze, she licks her lips. "There's a forty-eight percent likelihood that my readings are the enemy vessel, sir. According to the computer, that is."

"Outstanding work, Lieutenant Sh'iraolnas!" the Captain exclaims. She cannot help her involuntary response at the praise. Forty-eight percent is not something she would ever make a perfunctory scientific declaration on were she writing a paper or making a claim to the scientific community and yet her captain—a man she has come to know as dour and taciturn—seems to think the minor percentage of likelihood a thing worthy of praise. Surprise expresses itself as a twitch and retreat of her antennae followed by a very slight rise to her manicured white eyebrows.

"We have course corrections for those coordinates already laid in, Captain," Lieutenant Zai adds, his gaze pausing only for the briefest of instants on the Andorian CSO (who is blinking rapidly as she turns back to her console and studiously subjects her dismay to a barrage of exercises designed to increase the possibility and refine the parameters of her initial scans) as his head turns to regard Silas, "Should we proceed with intercept?" He arches a quizzical brow as his eyes meet Drake's, then, and he considers his words for a moment... "Or would you rather we form up on the Coronado per Captain Jacobs' orders?"

Silas has less than a breath to form a reply but despite that negligible span of time, Tochi feels it more than enough to interject and offer his own opinion as Drake's Executive officer. "For what it's worth, sir; we believe an assault run against the Kuldaran forces is ill-advised at this point, especially if we might intercept and disable the Stormspike and, thereby, with luck, reinforce any evidence that this is not a coordinated Kuldaran ambush..."

"I assure you, Lieutenant, that it is not," D'Lar's emphatic voice bounces off the scientific readings and bounces into Sh'iraolnas' pretty face and yet she manages to remain focused on her work, "The Stormspike, as far as any of my people are aware, has been missing and a derelict for generations. If we were to have planned an insurrection such as this, we would have brought more capable ships!"

Lieutenant Zai's calm voice is quick to support the thought. "We follow your orders, Captain Drake," Tochi says, "not Jacobs'. Tell me where to be, sir..."

If I can tighten the pulse range and increase the rapidity of the ray's rhythm, Asovil considers in the momentary silence that follows, I might be able to increase the effectiveness of the results by two—maybe three—percent. I've been developing this to draw in dark matter, not detect it, Perhaps that's where I've been remiss! Enlightenment dawns. Her own project is taking on new life as she further extrapolates possibilities from the necessity to find a cloaked Stormspike.

"Depth charges," Captain Drake speaks simply, vocalizing his inner thought. Too wrapped up in her own possible discovery, Lt. Sh'iraolnas only just recognizes that the captain's words aren't directed at her.

Drake takes a deep breath. "Lieutenant Zai, lay in a course to form up with the Coronado, and engage at one quarter impulse." The Captain sees the incredulous look begin to creep across his XO's face, so he continues, "In the meantime, Lieutenant Berk, analyze the data from Lieutenant Sh'iraolnas. Compare the last known position of the Stormspike and extrapolate her current speed and vector. Use the computer and come up with the most probable locations, then prepare two full spreads of photon torpedoes to detonate five kilometers from those positions; I think that a ten isoton payload should be sufficient. With any luck, we'll find the Stormspike, and disable rather than destroy her. If this works, we'll adjust the plan as need be."

((OOC: assuming Berk agrees/complies))

Glancing back at Tochi, Drake continues in a firm tone. "Lieutenant Zai, I appreciate your support more than you can know. However, as both your friend and your commanding officer, I cannot allow you to repeat the behavior you exhibited during our last call with Captain Jacobs. Lieutenant, unless you are directly addressed, you will be silent during such communications in the future, is that abundantly clear?" The Captain's expression and voice softened a bit. "I'm a big boy, Tochi; I can fight my own battles. You standing up for me will only end in reprimands or worse for you. Be silent from here on out, that is an order."

Silas looks back to his Tactical Chief, "Mister Berk, assuming you have those firing solutions, you may fire at will."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stardate 2365.02.11 (Thursday - 42143.7)
USS Peregrine; Deck 4 - Sickbay - 10:56
Rocking with the convulsion of the Peregrine, Crewman Toriak deftly retains his footing and shuffles to reposition himself in front of his station once more. Glancing over his shoulder, the Vulcan raises his eyebrows at Cook awaiting orders to rush off to the damaged portion of the ship. Working furiously at her desk, the head nurse is obviously confirming the need for medical personnel. Confident in the woman's abilities and logically assuming that he will receive his orders whether he is looking expectantly at her or not, Toriak returns to his work. From elsewhere in the sickbay, Dr. Moore's instructions to local personnel float assuringly about.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stardate 2365.02.09 (Tuesday - 42137.6)
USS Peregrine; Deck 5 - Security Department - 10:53
As is his duty, Petty Officer 2nd Class Da Zheng focuses his attention on the alien ambassador in front of him and to the right. Perhaps because of the tension on the bridge, the Asian man has not released the grip he has on his phaser as he attempts to take in all of the action taking place before him. He doesn't often get time on the Bridge and watching the senior staff work is awe-inspiring.

"I see no evidence that they actually fired on the Coronado, Lieutenant," Captain Drake states after some consideration, "but discretion would be the better part of valor, here. Make it happen."

With a moment to take a breath, Lt. Zai speaks up again. "We might also add, Captain," he says, turning in his chair to address Captain Drake and the Ambassadors face-to-face, "Our observations suggest that neither the Kuldaran or Rytainian fleets reacted as if they had any foreknowledge of the Stormspike's attack. Neither have we seen any evidence that the explosion aboard the Coronado is the result of weapons-fire..." He scowls as his gaze pans slowly from D'Lar to Threel and Da follows suite. "...If you don't mind our saying, sir," the Trill officer offers, levelly meeting the Captain's' eyes, "We believe that D'Lar is speaking the truth..."

PO Zheng can't help but agree with the second officer's tactical assessment of the situation. He doesn't have the data in front of him, but he can see something of some of the screens at the stations and it does not appear to him that any of the other ships are taking action. One would have to be a cold commander indeed to hold all of your ships in absolute stationary position while an attack is taking place, and these ships aren't appearing powered for assisting in the attack as well.

The Captain nods his agreement. "Lieutenant Zai, I believe that you are correct. I won't yet venture to guess who is behind this attack, but it seems highly unlikely to be an act of the Kuldarian government... though I presume that we are, in fact, expected to believe that it is."

The words barely pass Captain Drake's lips when Ambassador Threel objects with a passionate force enough for PO Zheng to almost unholster his phaser, turning slightly to keep the alternate dignitary in easy view while at the same time keeping himself in a position between the two guests.

"This is an outrage!" the Rytainian bleats. "My people are savagely attacked, murdered in a filthy Kuldarian sneak attack, and you would absolve them of this crime?"


"Ambassador Threel," the Captain's patience has expired judging by the look on his face and the tone he's using, "I am quite certain that I did not stutter when instructed you to sit and be silent. You have become a major distraction, and a lack of focus could cost lives. Petty officer, escort the ambassador to his quarters at once, please, where he will remain until danger has passed. If he resists, stun him and drag him to the brig."

"Aye, sir." Threel's escort acknowledges.

The Rytain diplomat, indignantly screeching like a wounded feather-ape, is all but forcefully escorted from the bridge and Da cannot feel an iota of envy for the poor soul escorting the man.

"Mr. Lasad, Mr' Sh'iraolnas," Captain Drake barks and Zheng is once again grateful he isn't one of those two, "Find me that frakking ship!"

Seconds pass and the Petty Officer allows his brown eyes to drift about the Bridge, watching the officers work feverishly to find the offending vessel. He just returns his attention to the ambassador under his care when Lt. Lasad's eyes snapped up.

"Captain," the Chief Operations Officer declares, "the Coronado is hailing us."

"Put them on screen," Captain Drake orders.

"Mister Drake, what exactly are you doing?" PO Zheng can't help but feel a surge of annoyance at the obvious disregard for his captain's position in the haughty Coronado captain's address. "You have not only failed to secure the rendezvous zone, but you have also allowed harm to come to my ship!"

"Sir, our sensors indicate that your damage came from an internal explosion, not from an attack," Drake remonstrates, "And we were hardly prepared to deal with a cloaked vessel here,"

"Clearly," Jacobs interrupts, "you should have been so prepared, Commander. And, now, this entire summit is about to devolve into a bloodbath! What is your plan of action?"

Should have—How in the hell could we have possibly been prepared for a cloaked vessel? Da adopts a steely expression and becomes more aware of the weight on his hip where his hand rests on the phaser. Honor is no small thing and there was a time when his people would have responded to such affronts of their liege with challenges. In some things, Da thinks that civilization has taken away rather than provided.

"Sir," Captain Silas Drake responds following a slow intake of breath, "we are en route to the last known position of the attacking vessel and will deal with her when she decloaks. Given the damage you've suffered perhaps you should withdraw to a safer location until the threat is dealt with."

The derisive tone in the chuckle Jacobs offers, then, is almost more than the protective security crewman can take.

"Hardly," the pompous CO of the Coronado rebukes Captain Drake, " Leave alone the fact that I will not turn tail and flee from the likes of these, where would you have me go?..."

"Straight up your own frillin' ch'ola," Da is surprised to here Lt. Zai grumbled softly, "sir."

",Into the asteroid field and further ambush? To a space station of unknown allegiance? No. We will stay where we are. Form up on us and protect this vessel. Prepare for an attack run against the Kuldarian forces." Captain Jacobs concludes.

"An attack run?!" Lieutenant Zai's incredulous declaration choruses Captain Drake's and Da has to agree. The maneuver makes no sense. From what Petty Officer 2nd Class Da Zheng can see, not one of the Kuldarian ships have taken an offensive posture.

",sir," Captain Drake continues his protest, "we have excellent reason to believe that the Kuldar are not behind this attack! If we fire on their vessels, it will be a clear act of war."

"Mister Drake," Jacobs growls in return, "don't be an idiot. A Kuldarian vessel has attacked two other ships, to say nothing of the damage we have sustained. Federation lives have been lost, the initial act of war has already been committed. You have your orders, show some respect to the uniform and follow them. Jacobs out."

With that, the connection ends, and the view returns to the situation outside—the rather confused view of ships struggling to come completely online and react to the surprise attack. PO Zheng turns a curious eye towards Ambassador D'Lar. The scaled gray man is expressive in his concern and Da can't help but feel that the man knows nothing of the attack and is, in fact, as surprised as anyone. Of course, that doesn't mean that his government isn't aware. Da can recall many a tale from Starfleet Academy concerning the use of Trojan Horses in the form of peace envoys. He knows that as a member of the security department, he cannot rule out any possibility until it has been officially eliminated. Keep a close eye on D'Lar, he may yet have something up those plain sleeves of his,
"Captain," the blue-skinned beauty in the corner station—science, Da believes—speaks up, "I believe I have the Stormspike, sir. There's an absence of dark matter at the coordinates I've just shared with Tactical. It has roughly the same displacement factor as the Stormspike's dimensions. There's a forty-eight percent likelihood that my readings are the enemy vessel, sir. According to the computer, that is."

"Outstanding work, Lieutenant Sh'iraolnas!" the Captain exclaims.

Da is immediately impressed. He's heard of the Andorian's battle prowess, but the Chief Science Officer assisting in such a manner is completely unexpected. He knows next to nothing about dark matter and the science behind her discovery, but he does know that no advancements in the detection of cloaked vessels has been made throughout all of Starfleet. If this proves accurate, her name could very well go down in history and her method could be taught in Starfleet Academy tactical classes.

"We have course corrections for those coordinates already laid in, Captain," Lt. Zai adds and PO Zheng immediately notices the Trill's gaze pausing only for the briefest of instants on the Andorian CSO as his head turns to regard Silas. The rumors seem to be holding up,, "Should we proceed with intercept?" The second officer arches a quizzical brow as his eyes meet Captain Drake's. Then, he adds, "Or would you rather we form up on the Coronado per Captain Jacobs' orders?

"For what it's worth, sir; we believe an assault run against the Kuldaran forces is ill-advised at this point, especially if we might intercept and disable the Stormspike and, thereby, with luck, reinforce any evidence that this is not a coordinated Kuldaran ambush,"

"I assure you, Lieutenant, that it is not," D'Lar offers emphatically and Da is once again reminded to keep his eye on the ambassador, "The Stormspike, as far as any of my people are aware, has been missing and a derelict for generations. If we were to have planned an insurrection such as this, we would have brought more capable ships!"

Lt. Zai's gazed skips from the Kuldaran Ambassador back to Silas, the expression on the Trill's face echoing one that might have appeared on Kasru Zai's when she undoubtedly believed what she was hearing to be true. "We follow your orders, Captain Drake," the Lieutenant says, voicing what Zheng knows is the rest of the crew's opinion, "not Jacobs'. Tell me where to be, sir,"

Captain Drake frowns as he strokes his chin, thinking. A crooked grin touches the corner of the Captain's mouth. "Depth charges," he says simply, vocalizing his inner thought.

Drake takes a deep breath. "Lieutenant Zai, lay in a course to form up with the Coronado, and engage at one quarter impulse." The Captain witnesses the incredulous look creeping across his XO's face, so he continues. "In the meantime, Lieutenant Berk, analyze the data from Lieutenant Sh'iraolnas. Compare the last known position of the Stormspike and extrapolate her current speed and vector. Use the computer and come up with the most probable locations, then prepare two full spreads of photon torpedoes to detonate five kilometers from those positions; I think that a ten isoton payload should be sufficient. With any luck, we'll find the Stormspike, and disable rather than destroy her. If this works, we'll adjust the plan as need be."

((OOC: assuming Berk agrees/complies))

Glancing back at Tochi, Drake continues in a firm tone. "Lieutenant Zai, I appreciate your support more than you can know. However, as both your friend and your commanding officer, I cannot allow you to repeat the behavior you exhibited during our last call with Captain Jacobs. Lieutenant, unless you are directly addressed, you will be silent during such communications in the future, is that abundantly clear?" The Captain's expression and voice softens a bit. "I'm a big boy, Tochi; I can fight my own battles. You standing up for me will only end in reprimands or worse for you. Be silent from here on out, that is an order."

That said, Silas looks back to his Tactical Chief. "Mister Berk, assuming you have those firing solutions, you may fire at will."

PO Zheng can't help but smile a grim expression of knowing satisfaction. Sure, Lt. Zai has been reprimanded, but the security crewman can only hope that his captain knows that there isn't a person on board the Peregrine who won't stand up for him. Especially once Da shares his version of the Bridge action with his shipmates. Brilliant problem solving and amazing strategy, the Peregrine is in the perfect hands.

Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Peregrine; Deck 1 - Bridge - 1102

",We follow your orders, Captain Drake, not Jacobs'. Tell me where to be, sir."

Tochi's fingers hovered scant microns above his console as Silas, stroking his chin in deliberation, scowled in silence. The Captain's reticence lasted, perhaps, only a second or two but, between the goings on aboard Peregrine and the sleep-deprived fatigue that had begun to settle in as a result, the Trill's patience had already been worn thin these last days. That span of a couple of seconds seemed more like minutes, somehow, and the Trill very nearly found himself prompting Silas, again, with a more emphatic "Captain?!"

"Depth charges," Drake said, a crooked grin beginning to tug at the corners of his mouth. It wasn't a response that Tochi had anticipated, of course, but it had been enough to pre-empt his planned prodding.

"Lt Zai," the Captain ordered in the wake of a deep breath, "lay in a course to form up on the Coronado and engage at one-quarter impulse,"

What?! Tochi heard the incredulous tone in this unspoken reply and hoped that that skepticism hadn't quite made it from his mind to his face before he turned to tend his console. "Aye, sir," was the reply Tochi voiced aloud as his fingers stabbed in the commands, "Forming up on the Coronado. Zero-zero-zero mark four-five, relative; one-quarter impulse." As the Peregrine responded to the Trill's course corrections, Drake continued from behind him.

",In the meantime, Lieutenant Berk, analyze the data from Lieutenant Sh'iraolnas. Compare the last known position of the Stormspike and extrapolate her current speed and vector. Use the computer and come up with the most probable locations, then prepare two full spreads of photon torpedoes to detonate five kilometers from those positions; I think that a ten isoton payload should be sufficient. With any luck, we'll find the Stormspike, and disable rather than destroy her. If this works, we'll adjust the plan as need be."

((OOC: Berk's response, here,))

Tochi was in the midst of both guiding the Peregrine into formation with the Coronado and mentally chastising himself for doubting Silas' decision when he felt the Captain's gaze boring into the back of his head. "Lt Zai," Drake spoke in a firm, no nonsense tone, "I appreciate your support more than you can know. However, as both your friend and your commanding officer, I cannot allow you to repeat the behavior you exhibited during our last call with Captain Jacobs. Lieutenant, unless you are directly addressed, you will be silent during such communications in the future, is that abundantly clear?"

"Yes, sir," Zai responded without turning to face the man, "Our apologies, Captain," He let whatever explanation or excuse he might have conjured up die a silent death in his thoughts and, instead, kept his attentions focused on the viewer and his nav-displays.

"I'm a big boy, Tochi," Silas continued, his tone softer now, "I can fight my own battles. You standing up for me will only end in reprimands or worse for you. Be silent from here on out, that is an order."

We'd just as soon face those reprimands as pilot an attack run on an innocent and grossly outmatched people, for the sake of Jacobs' ego, the Trill mused sullenly. Given the order he'd just received, though, he dared not give the thought voice. Rather, he ensured that his plotted course provided Tactical with feasible firing solutions and answered simply; "Aye, sir."

"Mister Berk," Drake said, then, "assuming you have those firing solutions, you may fire at will."

((OOC: Again, assuming Berk complies, selects his firing solution, and launches Drake's ‘depth charges',))

The familiar whine and thrum of the torpedo tubes deploying their deadly payload coincides with and masks Tochi's apprehensive sigh as his gaze dances from console to viewscreen. He watches the twin volleys of photon torpedoes spread into space, hoping that they'll have the desired effect. Then his eyes take in the still reacting Kuldaran fleet, his mind already calculating the best course options and attack patterns should the Stormspike remain unrevealed,

Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Peregrine, Deck 2, Torpedo magazine - 1058

Ens. Blackmon had found a security guard on station outside the torpedo magazine, Crewman Dommss. As Blackmon entered the security code into the magazine door, she instructed the two security people with her.

"Dommss, we are engaged in battle and the Coronado has possibly been sabotaged, so I want you to maintain a guard out here in the hallway," she told the Bolian, "if you see anyone suspicious, you are to warn them off or stun them if necessary. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," the always stern looking man replied and pulled his phaser from his belt to confirm it was on stun before replacing it in it's place.

Blackmon motioned Crewman Smith to continue to follow her within the magazine. Once they were inside, she secured the door and turned to Smith.

"You stand just inside here next to the door," she said as she gestured to the side of the doorway, "you are the second line. It is unlikely that we will have any problems here, as we only have two diplomats aboard, as far as we know. But we must always be prepared in battle."

Crewman Smith simply nodded to her solemnly and took up his position with his phaser, set to stun, in hand.
Ens. Blackmon stepped up to the magazine console and immediately began checking the inventory and status.

After a few seconds, she saw that all torpedoes were accounted for and the tubes were clear and ready. She saw that the tubes had yet to be loaded, so she pressed the controls that would load the forward tubes and awaited the command to charge the torpedoes for firing. The Peregrine carried Mark XXV photon torpedoes and the updated 2nd generation launchers were capable of firing 3 torpedoes per spread, fore or aft.

It was only a couple minutes later when the commands came down from the bridge to prepare two full spreads for firing. She noted that they requested the 10 IT payloads; she happily tapped in the command to set the charges on the torpedoes in the launcher and her fingers danced over the console as she set up the next spread to match the first.

The launcher was nearby and, when the Bridge Tactical station sent the command to fire the first spread, she felt the deck rumble beneath her feet. She loved that feeling. The first salvo was barely away when she reloaded the tubes as directed and felt the 2nd salvo launch only a second after the 1st.

She immediately loaded another set of torpedoes, but awaited the orders from above, in case they wanted a different load-out than the previous payload.

(OOC: I hope my post and actions are alright with everyone. I'm at a loss of what to do, otherwise. )

Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Peregrine, Deck 4, Sickbay - 1058

Chief Cook looked up from her console and looked over her medical staff; she had no fears towards her nurses that had been with her for a time, the new nurses she had concerns about how they might perform under pressure. She had been through all their records thoroughly and found nothing that might warn of problems, but their was always a first time.

Dana had noticed Toriak eyes upon her a moment ago and knew that, despite being a Vulcan, he was anxious for what was to come. She knew he would do his job and she could count on him, but she had to make sure that the others were paired up properly.

"Nurses," she said as she stood and as they all turned to look at her, "now that you have checked and rechecked the equipment, we will go over your assignments." She lifted her PADD and consulted what she had been working on.

"I will be pairing up some of you for two triage units to go out and retrieve the wounded that are reported to Sickbay," she said firmly, "there will be some staying here in Sickbay to assist the Doctor. The triage units will stabilize wounded if possible, rate them on severity of injuries, sending the most severely wounded here. If there are a lot of wounded, we will take the less injured to the Cargo bay; that is our back up medical location."

"Now to the assignments," she looked down at the PADD, "Toriak & Crewman Reynolds, Triage 1; Petty Officer Adama and Crewman Patel, Triage 2. Petty Officer Miraan will stay here in Sickbay to assist Dr. Moore and myself. Any questions?"

The assembled Nurses looked at each other and then responded with either a shake of their heads or a negative reply. Chief Cook turned to look at the newly assigned Dr. Moore to see if she had anything to add. The Dr. simply smiled slight and nodded approvingly at how her Head Nurse was organizing things before turning to going back into her office where she could monitor the systems and await the need for her well prepared team.

Chief Cook turned back to the nurses and nodded, "Ok. Triage units get your medkits together and stand ready. We will monitor the communications and await any need for our services, and hope we aren't needed."

As the medical team moved to await their need, Cook nodding to herself and thought a little better now. When she had addressed her nurses, she hadn't seen a single sign of fear or apprehension of what might be to come. They would all just have to wait, and she hoped that the Captain could handle this without their help this time.

Stardate 2365.02.11 (Thursday - 42143.
USS Peregrine; Deck 1 - Main Bridge - 10:56

Captain Drake's orders ring in his ears. "Mister Lasad, Mister Sh'iraolnas—find me that frakking ship."

Immediately moving to obey, Dio's screen flashes an indicator that he cannot ignore. "Captain, the Coronado is hailing us."

Silas nodded. "Put them on-screen."

Quickly dragging the incoming communication request to the appropriate box for video feed conferencing, Lasad glances up at the large view screen before his station just as the view of the space station and adjacent ships shifts to that of the Coronado's bridge. Captain Jacobs, looking rather harried, is the focal point.

"Mister Drake," Captain Jacobs spits in his icy accent and Lasad can't help but raise his eyebrows at the omittance of rank, "what exactly are you doing? You have failed not only to secure the rendezvous zone, but you have also allowed harm to come to my ship!"

Returning his attention to the LCAR screen, Dio allows his consternation to show as creases appear just below the decorative emblem center on his forehead. He is sure that the readings show the damage to the Coronado as originating from within the vessel but decides to double check just in case.

"Sir," Silas protests, "our sensors indicate that your damage came from an internal explosion, not from an attack. And we were hardly prepared to deal with a cloaked vessel here..."

Jacobs cuts him off. "Clearly, you should have been so prepared, Commander. And now, this entire summit is about to devolve into a bloodbath! What is your plan of action?"

Again, the origination of the explosion is confirmed. Lt. Lasad scans the various medical and engineering reports that are being sent throughout the accompanying ship and feels a swelling of sadness and anger. So many people lost,

Captain Drake takes a deep breath before speaking. "Sir, we are en route to the last known position of the attacking vessel, and will deal with her when she decloaks. Given the damage you have suffered, perhaps you should withdraw to a safer location until the threat is dealt with?"

Tapping the screen, Dio submits an offer of assistance to the Coronado's COO just as the older officer chortles. "Hardly. Let alone the fact that I will not turn tail and flee from the likes of these, where would you have me go? Into the asteroid field and further ambush? To a space station of unknown allegiance? No, we will stay where we are. Form up on us and protect this vessel. Prepare for an attack run against the Kuldarian forces."

No assistance needed at this time. Will contact if situation changes. The reply appears. Sending a quick acknowledgement, Dio begins the process of adjusting scans. Silas responds incredulously, "An attack run?—" "An attack run?!" Lt. Zai choruses Drake's words (albeit with less restraint than his commanding officer had managed) as his disbelieving gaze snaps to the viewscreen. Drake continues, "—But sir, we have excellent reason to believe that the Kuldar are not behind this attack! If we fire on their vessels, it will be a clear act of war."

Jacobs growls in return, "Mister Drake, don't be an idiot. A Kuldarian vessel has attacked two other ships, to say nothing of the damage we have sustained. Federation lives have been lost, the initial act of war has already been committed. You have your orders, show some respect to the uniform and follow them. Jacobs out."

With that, the connection was cut, and the view returned to the situation outside. Dio doesn't feel the need to inform anyone that the communication has ended and tightly presses his lips together as he filters the many various communications through to the appropriate departments. Quite unexpectedly, another stream of data flows onto his screen; this time from Sci-1 here on the Bridge.

Lieutenant Lasad tilts his head to the side while trying to decipher the cryptic sensor readings. It isn't but the bat of an eyelid before he realizes what it is that he's seeing and his heart beats a little faster. Bless your blue hide, Lieutenant Sh'iraolnas! A slim smile touches his lips and he immediately begins adjusting the sensors to reflect the information that the new Science Officer has provided. Across the Bridge, Tochi doesn't bother glancing up as, in that instant, the TAC mirror on his console lights up due to some new data funneled through by Asovil's science console. Still leveling curses at the arrogant Jacobs under his breath, Lt. Zai watches the stream of data, trying to make sense of it as it relates to maneuvering the ship and, as he extrapolates what he sees, keys in course corrections for two possible scenarios.

"Captain," Asovil offers after an instant, "I believe I have the Stormspike, sir. There's an absence of dark matter at the coordinates I've just shared with Tactical. It has roughly the same displacement factor as the Stormspike's dimensions. There's a forty-eight percent likelihood that my readings are the enemy vessel, sir. According to the computer, that is."

"Outstanding work, Lieutenant Sh'iraolnas!" the Captain exclaims.

"We have course corrections for those coordinates already laid in, Captain," Lt. Zai adds, his gaze pausing only for the briefest of instants of the Andorian CSO as his head turns to regard Silas, "Should we proceed with intercept?" He arches a quizzical brow as his eyes meet Drake's, then, and he considers his words for a moment, "Or would you rather we form up on the Coronado per Captain Jacobs' orders?"

Silas had less than a breath to have formed a reply but, despite that negligible span of time, Tochi feels it more than enough to interject and offer his own opinion as Drake's Executive officer. "For what it's worth, sir; we believe an assault run against the Kuldaran forces is ill-advised at this point, especially if we might intercept and disable the Stormspike and, thereby, with luck, reinforce any evidence that this is not a coordinated Kuldaran ambush,"

"I assure you, Lieutenant, that it is not," D'Lar offers emphatically from where he stands with a protective and guarded PO Zheng nearby, "The Stormspike, as far as any of my people are aware, has been missing and a derelict for generations. If we were to have planned an insurrection such as this, we would have brought more capable ships!"

Dio can't help but agree with the logic behind this statement. All of the available data on the Stormspike that he's been able to pull up from the Starfleet databases indicate that it is supremely inferior. Lt. Zai's gazed skips from the Kuldaran Ambassador and back to Silas once more, the expression on the Trill's face echoing one that might have appeared on Kasru Zai's when she undoubtedly believed what she was hearing to be true. "We follow your orders, Captain Drake," Tochi says, then, "not Jacobs'. Tell me where to be, sir," Agreed, Lasad turns his full attention to his captain and awaits orders.

Silas frowns as he strokes his chin. This is easily the most important decision yet of his career. Unfortunately, neither choice seems to offer smooth sailing—it would appear that he would have to select the lesser of two evils (or, at least, an evil he could live with).

Depth charges. The thought springs to Drake's mind. In ancient history, when submersible vehicles first came onto the scene, they were the terror of surface ships, which could not detect them beneath the waves. Those ancient navies had discovered that tossing explosives into the water near where a submarine was believed to be located could damage the submersible, force them to surface—if not destroy them outright.

That same concept could work here.

A crooked grin touches the corner of the Captain's mouth. "Depth charges," he says simply, vocalizing his inner thought. Dio reflexively twitches his head to the side by a degree or two as his brilliant mind works to decipher Silas' cryptic statement. Risa has a lot of water and marine combat isn't alien, but it still takes the Risian officer a couple of seconds to realize to what Silas is referencing and by that time the Peregrine's commanding officer is explaining himself.

Drake takes a deep breath. "Lieutenant Zai, lay in a course to form up with the Coronado, and engage at one quarter impulse."

What?! Tochi heard the incredulous tone in this unspoken reply and hoped that that skepticism hadn't quite made it from his mind to his face before he turned to tend his console. "Aye, sir," is the reply Tochi voices aloud as his fingers stab in the commands, "Forming up on the Coronado. Zero-zero-zero mark four-five, relative; one-quarter impulse." As the Peregrine responds to the Trill's course corrections, Drake sees the incredulous look begin to creep across his XO's face, so he continues. "In the meantime, Lieutenant Berk, analyze the data from Lieutenant Sh'iraolnas. Compare the last known position of the Stormspike and extrapolate her current speed and vector. Use the computer and come up with the most probable locations, then prepare two full spreads of photon torpedoes to detonate five kilometers from those positions; I think that a ten isoton payload should be sufficient. With any luck, we'll find the Stormspike, and disable rather than destroy her. If this works, we'll adjust the plan as need be."

((OOC: assuming Berk agrees/complies))

Glancing back at Tochi, Drake continues in a firm tone. "Lieutenant Zai, I appreciate your support more than you can know. However, as both your friend and your commanding officer, I cannot allow you to repeat the behavior you exhibited during our last call with Captain Jacobs. Lieutenant, unless you are directly addressed, you will be silent during such communications in the future, is that abundantly clear?"

"Yes, sir," Zai responds without turning to face the man, "Our apologies, Captain," He lets whatever explanation or excuse he might conjure up die a silent death in his thoughts and, instead, keeps his attentions focused on the viewer and his nav-displays.

The Captain's expression and voice soften a bit. "I'm a big boy, Tochi; I can fight my own battles. You standing up for me will only end in reprimands or worse for you. Be silent from here on out, that is an order."

We'd just as soon face those reprimands as pilot an attack run on an innocent and grossly outmatched people, for the sake of Jacobs' ego, the Trill muses sullenly. Given the order he'd just received, though, he dares not give the thought voice. Rather, he ensures that his plotted course provides Tactical with feasible firing solutions and answers simply; "Aye, sir."

That said, Silas looks back to his Tactical Chief. "Mister Berk, assuming you have those firing solutions, you may fire at will."

Let us pray that we can accomplish this with no further loss of life, Dio returns to his feeds and sends out notifications to the various department heads concerning their actions. They all should be informed and it is his duty to make sure that's the case.

The familiar whine and thrum of the torpedo tubes deploying their deadly payload coincides with and masks Tochi's apprehensive sigh as his gaze dances from console to viewscreen. The Risian officer joins the Trill in watching the twin volleys of photon torpedoes spread into space, hoping that they'll have the desired effect. Then, as Tochi's eyes take in the still reacting Kuldaran fleet, his mind already calculating the best course options and attack patterns should the Stormspike remain unrevealed, Dio Lasad expands his sensor readings to include the debris of the damaged vessels and the space surrounding them. Indicators show that the space station has scrambled and rescue shuttles are being scrambled. The other ships in proximity are all responding as would be expected of a surprised retinue and forming up or moving closer within the stations' protective ring. Two ships destroyed, sensor scans have so far found no survivors.

Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Peregrine, Deck 4, CMO's Office- 1058

Doctor Louise Moore entered her office, she sat down but bounded back to her feet again. She hated the waiting and not knowing what was going on. She hit the intercom on her desk, "Chief Cook?"

=/\= Cook here. =/\=

"Chief," Louise said uncertainly, "I'm going to the bridge to ascertain what is going on out there."

The response was delayed a couple moments as the Chief was obviously thrown off by her statement.

=/\= Aye, Doctor. We are ready for when we are needed. =/\=

"I know you are Chief," Louise smiled, "Moore out." She closed the comm and exited her office before she could have a change of heart.

When she was the Assistant CMO aboard the USS Galileo, the CMO was often on the bridge during times of crisis, there to advise the Captain himself. She didn't think she had anything to advise the Captain of at the moment, but she had seen that relationship then and hoped she could develop that sort of work environment here aboard the USS Peregrine.

She stepped into the turbo lift and directed it to the bridge; her heart beating a thousand times a minute it seemed.


Stardate 2365.02.11
USS Peregrine, Deck 1, Main Bridge - 1102

The turbolift doors swished open and an apprehensive looking Dr. Moore stepped out onto the bridge and looked around. She stepped in and away from the door and tried to place herself where she wasn't in the way of any of the important people doing their duties in what was obviously a battle situation.

"Mister Berk," Captain Drake said, then, "assuming you have those firing solutions, you may fire at will."

Louise's eyes were drawn to the screen where she watched as two barrages of photon torpedoes streaked out from the ship towards some target that she strained her eyes to see, but couldn't.

She was hoping that she wasn't breaking some sort of Shipboard regulation about being on the bridge during combat, but she hadn't been informed of such when she came aboard, and she didn't recall reading anything regarding it either. She stood silently, making sure to move out of the way if anyone came her way as they moved from one station to another.