Star Trek: Inverted Images

[Lord Borg]

Table Of Contents (Links open to new page)
In the interest of the fact I have a great deal of post for the information on this story, I have set this 'Table of Contents' up. Click the link (Which opens to a new window) to get to the appropriate place. To read the 'episodes', go to the episodes page, then click on the appropriate link(s)[if episodes have more then one post, may put them in the list so that you can get to the new area right away)]
Information Post (This Post)
Characters (Page One)
Characters (Page Two)
Timeline
Episodes (Page One)
Episodes (Page Two)

The Story:
It is 2156, over one year sense the events in "In a Mirror, Darkly� The Empire continues its struggle against the rebellion while at the same time expanding it's influence. There are rumors of the end coming close for the rebellion, propaganda says the war goes well, but over a year later from Tau Ceti, where the Empire lost 12 ships, the war is still going on, with the Empire struggling to hold their ground. Talk consists of a ship from the future, one so powerful it could tear though a fleet of ship with out a scratch on its defenses. This is the story of the I.S.S. Hornet NX-12 and it's crew as they explore the newer regions of space and defend the Empire against threats, internal, external, old and new.

I.S.S. Hornet NX-12

Vessel Identification:
I.S.S. Hornet NX-12
Type:
NX Class Scout
Commissioned:
Commissioned: 2156
Decommissioned:
Design and Production Facility:
Warp Five Complex, Earth (Class Designed); Novan Shipyards, Terra Nova (Vessel Constructed)
Mass:
80,000 Metric Tons
Crew:
83
Propulsion:
Two fairing impulse engines, One Warp Core feeding two nacelles
Armament:
Pulsed Phase Cannons; Photonic Torpedoes; Tractor Beam
Defense Systems:
Polarized hull plating
Warp Capabilities:
Normal Cruise: Warp Factor 4.5
Maximum Cruise: Warp Factor 5.06
Maximum Rated: Warp Factor 5.2 (Cochrane scale)
Hull Life:

Refit Cycle:
Minor:
Standard:
Major:
Dimensions:
Length: 225 Meters
Beam: 135.8 Meters
Width:
Height:
Draft: 33.3 Meters
Decks: Seven (7)
Pod Compliment:
Bays: One
Pods:
Deck Layout:
A Deck: Bridge, situation room, situation table, Captain's Ready Room, warp nacelles.
B Deck: Crew quarters, energy distribution systems, sensors, nacelle access tunnels, Access Tube 17 Baker.
C Deck: Crew quarters, upper observation deck, deuterium tanks, plasma chamber, gymnasium, Life Support.
D Deck: Crew quarters, guest quarters, Main Engineering (Upper Section), Transporter room, Decon, Cargo Bays, Section J-15:EPS manifolds, Access tube 7.
E Deck: Main Engineering (Lower Section) Captain's quarters, Crew Quarters, mess hall, executive quarters, Sickbay, launch bays, science labs, navigational deflector, navigation control thrusters, impulse engines, escape pods, docking ports.
F Deck: Armory, forward torpedo room, lower observation deck, escape pods, Pulsed phase cannons/Pulsed Phase Cannon assembly, launch bay doors.
G Deck: Sensor arrays, Tractor Beam, Guest Quarters.
Starship History:


Divisions (Starfleet):
Command, Helm

Engineering, Security

Science, Medical


Patches
Left Arm (Starfleet)

(Knowledge Is Power)
Left Arm (MACO)

Right Arm (Starfleet, MACO)


Uniforms (Starfleet):
Note: Non Commissioned Officers do not have uniform decorations, or officers sashes and shoulder braces. Females also do not wear the shoulder braces, but do wear sashes.
Duty Uniform (Male)


Duty Uniform (Female)


Undershirt (Male)


Undergarment (Male)


Undergarment (Female)


Uniform (MACO)
Duty Uniform


Undershirt


Undergarment (Male)


Undergarment (Female)


Various (Starfleet & MACO)
Spacesuit


Ranks (Starfleet)
Note: None Commissioned Officers (Chiefs Specialist etc..)Wear Rank epaulets, but they do not contain officers rank insignias Crewmen wore none.
Captain


Commander


Lieutenant Commander


Lieutenant


Ensign


Non Commissioned (Chief, Specialist etc..)


Non Commissioned (Crewmen)
None

Ranks (MACO)
Major


Sergeant


Corporal


Private

[Lord Borg]

Characters



Name: Edward Bardem
Affiliation: Starfleet
Species: Terran
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Rank: Captain
Position: Commanding Officer, ISS Hornet



Name: Kira Damas
Affiliation: Starfleet
Species: Terran
Ethnicity: Cherokee/German
Gender: Female
Rank: Commander
Position: Executive/First Officer, ISS Hornet



Name: Lyle Kapelos
Affiliation: MACO
Species: Terran
Ethnicity:
Gender: Male
Rank: Major
Position: Commanding Officer of Hornet MACO Detachment/Chief Tactical Officer ISS Hornet



Name: S'rel
Affiliation: Starfleet
Species: Vulcan
Ethnicity:
Gender: Female
Rank: Commander
Position: Chief Science Officer, ISS Hornet



Name: Emorie Stafford
Affiliation: Starfleet
Species: Terran
Ethnicity:
Gender: Female
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief Medical Officer, ISS Hornet



Name: Michael Walker
Affiliation: Starfleet
Species: Terran
Ethnicity:
Gender: Male
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief Engineer, ISS Hornet



Name: Keral
Affiliation: Starfleet
Species: Andorian
Ethnicity:
Gender: Male
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Chief Navigator, ISS Hornet



Name: D'eras
Affiliation: Starfleet
Species: Orion
Ethnicity:
Gender: Female
Rank: Ensign
Position: Communications Officer, ISS Hornet


(No Epaulets)
Name: T'Chul
Affiliation: Starfleet
Species: Vulcan
Ethnicity:
Gender: Male
Rank: Non-Commissioned-Crewman
Position: Captain's Body Guard

(Picture)
(rank)
Name:
Affiliation:
Species:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Rank:
Position:

[Lord Borg]

(Reserved, Char page 2)

[Lord Borg]

Timeline
2063
April
05
-The First Vulcans make contact with the Terrans. They are shot and killed, and the Vulcan ship is boarded, and salvaged for parts.

2155
January
13-18
-I.S.S. Enterprise departs Gorlan station. When Captain Forrest refuses to follow with Commander Archer's recommendation, he stages a mutiny and takes over Enterprise. The ship is locked on course for Tholian space. A second mutiny places Captain Forrest back in command. The ship arrives in Tholian space, only to be destroyed. The away team on the Defiant (A ship from the alternate universe, and the future), and the few in the escape Pods are the only survivors. A course is set for the Assault fleet.
18-?
-Commander Archer, Declares him self Captain, then states intentions to take over the Empire. After killing Admiral Black, and being warned by Fleet Admiral Gardner, Archer continues on course and removes all non Terrans from the Defiant. A Brief power struggle ensues, and after arriving on earth and betraying Archer, Hoshi Sato declares her self Empress.
May
-I.S.S. Hornet is commissioned.

2156
June
19
-I.S.S. Hornet arrives to Qualor to scout the system after long range scans by probes detect large Dilithium deposits. Unknown Radio transmissions are detected, the ship investigates while continuing with its current mission.

[Lord Borg]

Episodes
Click on the links (They open in a new window) to read a post. IF you can remember how many links were listed the last time you looked, then you will know how many new posts to read. Each post in an episode will have its own link.
Season I
Episode I: "Shadow of the Future" Part One
Post One Post Two Post Three Post Four
Post Five Post Six Post Seven Post Eight
The I.S.S. Hornet arrives to the Qualor system on orders from Command to scout the system for the potential Dilithium deposits detected. Radio transmissions are detected, an investigation reveals it to be an alien vessel, which attacks the Hornet with an aggressive claim to the system. The ship fights back, and eventually boards the ship, capturing the crew.

[Lord Borg]

Episodes (2)

[Lord Borg]

Season I: Episode I: �Shadow of the Future� Part One

Captain's Starlog: June 19, 2156. We've arrived in the Qualor system. Long range scans have detected Dilithium deposits. We've been ordered to investigate after reporting our findings to command. The Hornet is the first Terran Vessel to reach out this far. We are also to scout the surrounding areas for potential expansion, and to patrol for any signs of hidden rebel bases.

Captain Edward Bardem, commanding officer of the I.S.S. Hornet stood in what was supposed to be the first officers ready room off the bridge. However, Bardem took it for himself. Commander Damas of course, was not happy. After an exchange of words, Bardem reminded her that he was in command of the vessel. Bardem was looking out the viewport, watching the stars go by as he had just finished his log entry. He sighed as he took another gulp of the Bourbon. It burned as it went down. Many would wince at the sensations, or maybe even start coughing. Bardem just gritted his teeth. It reminded him he was still alive. He relished the feeling. Bardem spent a fair amount of time in this room; he was constantly reading status reports sent from command on the status of the war with the rebellion. It was still going on, and the Empire was still doing badly. The rebels attacked Terra Nova. It was a gutsy move, one that succeeded. The Rebels managed to destroy eight ships, and two ship yards before they were stopped. This sort of news made Bardem fume, here he was, commanding a powerful vessel, and he's... scouting potential new territory, and not teaching the rebels a painful lesson. Just one year ago, or rather slightly over a year ago, the Hornet was launched. Now, the system was in shambles, almost lost completely, it would be had it not been so deeply in Terran Space. He sighed and took another gulp of the Bourbon. Bardem turned and sat down at the desk, telling the computer to display the next report.

Bardem started reading a report on a Vulcan uprising on their native planet. He sneered at the very mention of it. He hated that desert ball the Vulcans called home. He wondered what would happened if the several Vulcans on this ship were to get wind of this report. They had been treated with some trust in a sort, but they were still slaves to the empire. There were several Vulcans on the ship, including S'rel, his Chief Science officer, whom he had given the rank of Commander to. It was amusing to see her and Damas argue. Of course, Damas was the ships first officer, so what S'rel thought didn't really matter. Then there was T'Chul. He was a strong, large Vulcan. Virtually non-speaking, save for when spoken to, or asked to speak. He would be hard to take down, short of a Phase Pistol, or Rifle. Hand to hand combat, or knifes were not something one wanted to try and match whits with T'Chul with. Bardem took a sip of his Bourbon as he thought back to when he first saw T'Chul...

The noise of the arena was deafening as people cheered on the people in the caged ring. Edward Bardem, Captain to the still new I.S.S. Hornet was arriving into the combat area on the Terran station Overseer, which was located in the Sirius System. An ironic name, considering one of the main attractions to the station, or perhaps even the entire system, was the arena which slaves, or prisoners were pitted against each other for the enjoyment of others. Bardem decided to take a detour from their course to check it out, maybe even have a good time. The crowed cheered at something Edward could not yet see. He was going to a VIP seating area at the top of the Arena, with one of the better views. Commander Kira Damas and Major Lyle Kapelos were with him. The person in charge of the arena, a Terran by the name Jack Wilson led them to the area as they climbed the steps. Edward looked back for a moment at the caged in match ring. There was blood of various colors on the floor from where people got hurt, or killed. Death happened, although that wasn't always the goal. The current match was an Andorian against a Tellarite. Bardem saw the Andorian slam a fist into the Tellarites face, who stumbled backwards onto the floor of the ring. Bardem chuckled and turned to follow Wilson the rest of the way up the floor. They arrived to the VIP area which contained better seating, and was higher then the caged area where the fight was occurring. All action had stopped by the time they had arrived. The Andoian was standing over the Tellarite, who was clearly dead. There were mixes of cheers and jeers, of various reasons. Some were upset the match was so fast; some were upset the Andorian won. Several scantly clad Orion women stepped onto the ring and started dancing as a clean up crew came in to remove the Andorian and the dead Tellarite. The Orions were dancing to the beat of what ever music was playing but Edward didn't care. Not about the music anyways. Wilson leaned over who was sitting next to him from his left. On his right, was Kira, and behind Jack, and over one was Lyle.

"So Captain" Jack started. "What do you think? I could arrange for you to meet one of them, or all of them."

Edwards smirked and shook his head.

"I like it when I am in control of the situation, Administrator."

Jack laughed at the comment. He shook his head to.

"What ever you say Captain, it's your lost."

Beside him he heard Kira scoffed. Bardem looked to see her rolling her eyes.

"Is there something bothering you commander?"

Bardar smirked. She was clearly annoyed.

"No' She responded, it was clear she was being sarcastic. "I just love coming to watch a fight only to instead see and hear talk of green women that only have straps to cover their decency."

Bardar chuckled and looked back down to the ring as the girls were leaving. A mix of cheers and jeers were also accompanying this. Then came two people lead by guards. One was clearly an Orion Male. He was well, green, and quite large. After a moment, Bardem realized that the other one was Vulcan. He shook his head in disbelief, Jack saw it. He leaned over again.

"Careful before you judge Captain, you haven't seen him fight yet."

Bardem looked over at Jack questioningly but decided to take his advice and... Watch. The guards cleared the arena and a bell sounded. The Orion headed for the Vulcan who waited until the last second, then used the Orion's motion against him and threw him into the cage wall as he moved out of the way. The Vulcan then kicked the Orion in the back as he tried to get up, but fell again from the force of the kick. This Vulcan was either really good, or stronger then the typical Vulcan or both. Loud cheers filled the arena as the fight continued, The Orion looked like he was screaming, or perhaps yelling something at the Vulcan, the noise from the crowd was so loud, the Orion probably wasn't hearing what he was saying. The Vulcan did a kick to the chest of the Orion who started to stumble back. The Vulcan then ran forward and tackled the Orion to the ground. The entire ring shook from the force of the Orions fall. Before the Orion could react, the Vulcan slammed his fist into his face. Bardem stared on in awe. Jack leaned in again.

"His name is T'Chul, he's the best one I have here..."

Bardem decided then and there, T'Chul would be the best person, even though he wasn't a Terran to have as his personal guard.

"I want the Vulcan." Bardem said simply.

Jack laughed like he thought it was a joke.

"Please captain, He's my star attraction. I had no idea that Starfleet Captains had a sense of humor."

Edwards sighed, clearly not amused. He reached out with a hand grabbing a hold of Jack's shirt.

"Maybe you didn't hear me the first time" Edwards started. "Allow me to rephrase, but for the last time. 'I...want...the Vulcan.'"

Behind Jack he heard a small noise, he looked back to see that the MACO Major that was with the Starfleet Captain had withdrawn his Phase Pistol. He looked back to the Captain.

"Captain, please, he's the star attraction..."

Edward shrugged, not caring.

"Not my problem. What is your problem, is that if you like breathing, you will do what I say...."

[Lord Borg]

On the Bridge, Commander Kira Damas, the first officer of the I.S.S. Hornet sat almost lazily in the command chair. She was sitting so she was leaning towards the left of the chair with a leg on the floor, and another over the arm of the command chair. She had her dagger in her hands, and was playing with it, twirling it around in her hands with not much else to do. The constant glances that she was receiving from Major Kapelos were not going unnoticed, as much as he thought he was being discreet. Most likely, she thought, he was enjoying the view of what her uniform, or lack thereof, was not covering. In the Empire, Female uniforms did not cover as much. She sighed out of the boredom she was swimming in. She had command for now, as the Captain was in the damned office that he stole from her. The scar on her abdomen was what remained from the fight with Captain Bardem. Why he didn't slit her throat, she never really knew. He must have had plans for her. She noticed that Major Kapelos was staring again. She sighed inwardly, she despised him. He made continuous advances towards her; of course him having no way to help her advance, she never took up on the advances. Then there was the fact he was a MACO Major. It annoyed her greatly that MACO's were on the ship, let alone in the command structure. She glanced up and looked at him.

"Enjoying the view?" She asked sarcastically.

Kapelos stared for a moment longer then let out a sigh and looked back down to his command station. Kira sighed inwardly again. On one hand, she didn't mind if people were going to stare, it showed... an interest. Which, she would of course use to her advantage, if she ever needed to. Major Kapelos how ever, had nothing to offer. That, and Kira also found him repulsive. Not to mention, Kapelos had clearly, shown that he has his own ambitions. Several times, he has shown defiance towards her. Thankfully, there was only one other person on this ship that outranked her, which meant when Kapelos decided to act up, she got to punish him. Seeing him scream in agony was something she quite well enjoyed. Maybe, she could find a way to get him to do that again. It would alleviate some of this boredom. She smiled at the thought; it would actually be a good time even. Although, she couldn't really do it for no reason, Captain Bardem would no doubt, have some sort of problem with that. That annoyed Kira greatly. If random beatings were given to the crew, the status quo might go up, the ship might perform better.

Mmmmmn, She thought. The things I'd do if I was in charge...

She glanced over to the com station and noticed the Orion; Ensign D'eras was working on something. Funny, Kira or the captain had not given her anything to do.

"D'eras!" Kira yelled.

D'eras jumped slightly and looked back to Kira. Her eyes were wide in shock.

"Y---Yes, Commander?"

Kira stood, her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she walked over towards the com station.

"What are you doing?"

D'eras tried to keep her calm, but the first officer of the ship was visibly angry to her. Any moment now, she could get word she was going to be punished for something.

"I...I was checking for confirmation that I heard a radio signal of some kind."

Kira huffed at the thought and responded.

"Out here? Right and why didn't you say something?"

D'eras swallowed nervously. "I wanted to be sure it wasn't random background noise. I mean, that's hardly worth the attention of the ships first officer, or captain."

Kira rolled her eyes and then shook her head.

"That's not for you to decided, Ensign. Perhaps you were right though I would be quite annoyed if you were to bother me over background noise."

Kira stared for a moment with a cold look, she narrowed her eyes again.

"Well? What the hell is it? Is it noise, or not?"

D'eras waited a moment before responding. She was unsure at this time, how it even picked up, was even more baffling.

"I...I don't know. It's to faint to tell at this time, although I do not think it's random it seems to...controlled."

Kira thought on the information. The Orion woman seemed to be useless today, but very well, maybe it could be to faint, if it was coming from far away. She sighed and turned her head towards the navigation consol, speaking to the Andorian Lieutenant that was manning the station.

"Lieutenant, take us out of warp...full stop."

The Andorian, so named Keral nodded and complied with his orders. The stars on the view screen stopped streaming by and eventually stopped moving altogether as the ship came to a full stop. Kira went over to the captain's chair, ready to contact him with a report.

[Founder]

Wow so much information. What is this an RPG? j/p. Good read so far. Keep up the good work.

[Lord Borg]

(Hahaha Yeah I know it's a lot of info, but *Shrugs* Thanks for the Comment)

Several minutes later, Bardem was face to face with T'Chul. The Vulcan that beat the Orion, that was much bigger then him. Bardem was staring at T'Chul judging whether or not this could be wise. No matter, a fighter, was a fighter, whether, Terran, or Vulcan. Commander Damas and Major Kapelos were at the door of the room everyone was currently occupied. Jack Wilson was there to, with a broken arm. He tried to get help, who ever that was, no one had any idea. This is when Major Kapelos taught him the lesson of not cooperating.

"Decent food, actual quarters of your own..."

Bardem paced slightly before T'Chul, explaining the benefits of going with him.

"You get out of this hell hole you wouldn't have to fight for the enjoyment of others."

Bardem stopped and looked at T'Chul in the eyes.

"All you have to do is accept the offer..."

T'Chul stared at the Captain."

"Bridge to Captain Bardem."

Bardem snapped to. He realized he was lost in thought and looked to the com panel for a moment, not realizing that's where the voice was coming from. Bardem stood and went to the panel and pressed the button to respond.

"Go ahead."

Commander Damas's voice came back over the com panel.

"Report to the bridge, we have something requiring you're attention."

Bardem sighed and acknowledged the request as he went to the door. He pressed the control to open it, and nodded to T'Chul, who was standing at the other door. He pressed the control and the doors to the bridge.

"Report" Bardem ordered.

Damas turned and faced Bardem. She took a couple steps over to him. She reported the events of the last several minutes.

"Ensign D'eras detected some sort of radio transmissions. She's sure that they are not fluctuation, or background noise. We don't know where they originate from, as they seem weak or faint. It's possible the Dilithium deposits we are detecting are interfering with our sensors."

Bardem sighed as he went to his chair and sat down. He looked over to the com station, the Orion female was staring at a read out.

"Well?" Bardem asked. "Do you have any idea where they are coming from?"

She looked up, she was not wanting to answer, it was clear she was afraid about the reaction with her answer.

"No..." she said softly. She cringed slightly when Bardem made a slight move in his chair. "I cannot get an exact reading for some reason...."

Bardem sighed and stood. What good was it to have this sort of technology if one wasn't going to be able to use it? He walked over to the com station standing in front of it. D'eras's eyes widen slightly.

"What makes you think it's not random background noise?"

D'eras quickly responded to Bardem's query, hoping not to get punished, she still had bruises from the last time.

"It�s too focused from what I can detect for it to be random background noise. From what I can tell it is nearby. Whether it's in this system or not, that's what I cannot tell."

A voice added to the report from behind Bardem. It was the Vulcan science officer. Commander S'rel.

"The unusually high Dilithium deposits we are detecting are most likely as stated, interfering with our sensors. It is likely we could get clearer readings if we proceeded."

Bardem looked towards the science station.

"You think we should just proceed? With out knowing if it�s a million ships, or a tiny one man craft?"

Bardem rolled his eyes; S'rel did not respond she knew better. Like many others on the crew, especially the senior staff, she either had bruises, or scars, or both from the last time she made the Captain angry. Bardem went back to his chair and sat down. The suggestion he hated to admit, did have merit. While they didn't know what it was out there, if anything, they were under strict orders to scout the system and check out the Dilithium deposits. He looked at a status on his arm rest. They would have been dropping to impulse anyway momentarily if they had continued on course as planed.

"Resume course, impulse power." Bardem ordered.

"Yes, Captain" Keral, the Andorian Lieutenant responded.

Bardem placed his hands on the arm rest of the chair and sighed quietly. It would be several hours before they would get into the planetary area. That could give them plenty of time to approach in quietly and see what the radio signals that D'eras was detecting.

[Lord Borg]

The I.S.S. Hornet flew though space at impulse power. Two hours had passed sense the ship had resumed its course at sublight speeds. It slowly made its way into the system as the crew worked towards discovering what the radio transmissions were.

Bardem was in his quarters, he sat down on the couch with a sigh as he was handed a glass of Bourbon. He looked up as he took the glass.

"Hmmm...." Bardem smirked. "You always know what it is I want..."

The person that handed him the glass was the ships Chief Medical Officer Lieutenant Commander Emorie Stafford. She had the unofficial position of Captain's Woman. She sat down next to him, but placed her legs across lap. She was not on duty, so was not in uniform; instead she was in shorts and a tank top, something that was not wearable with the uniform. She looked to him and touched his cheek.

"It's easy... a good glass of Bourbon"

She paused and leaned closer Bardem looked, a slight smile on his face. What ever perfume she had on, it was one of the best things he had ever smelled.

"Me" she finished.

Bardem grunted in approval. He was enjoying this. One of the few times that he could relax some, was when he was in his quarters. While he would never completely lower his guard, he could relax some. She was quite smaller then him, and no one else was about to get pass T'Chul.

"Hmm... you could be right, my dear" Bardem said.

Emorie moved her eyebrows and smiled as she sighed.

"I always am right..."

She smiled as she placed a hand on his chest. Bardem took a sip of the Bourbon. She enjoyed her position; she had more power then Commander Damas if she wanted to take advantage of her position. She had a few times actually, an Ensign in the security department was very taken with her, and wanted to have her. He was the type that did not take no for an answer. It took six hours for him to die after Captain Bardem got a hold of him. She moved her hand slightly, making sure he was relaxed. One thing she always did was ask questions. She knew more about the current state of affairs then Commander Damas probably did.

"So, we have arrived to the Qualor system?"

Bardem swallowed the mouthful of Bourbon and smirked at Emorie. He sighed quietly, and answered her.

"We have" He said simply.

Emorie nodded and waited before speaking again. She traced a finger over the outer edges of his uniform decorations. Her finger was following the patterns as she moved her finger tip along his chest.

"I noticed we came to a complete stop when we neared the system."

Bardem nodded as he looked into Emorie's eyes.

"Ensign D'eras detected some sort of Radio transmission. She is sure that they were not fluctuations, or random background noises."

Emorie shrugged. It didn't interest her one bit. Especialy as it involved that damned greened skinned woman. Oh how she hated her.

"I see" Emorie started. "Has she detected anything?"

Bardem shook his head.

"No, she hasn't. The Dilithium deposits in the system seem to be interfearing with the sensors."

Emorie shrugged again. None of this really mattered to her; she just wanted to know of it. She sighed and stood and looked back to Bardem.

"It's time for me to go on duty."

Bardem chuckled he set his glass down on the table and looked to Emorie.

"I am the Captain of this ship. I do have a little pull around here."

Emorie smiled at the thought.

"Inviting, but I have things I am looking forward to in Sickbay today."

Bardem chuckled again as Emorie went to the closet as she removed her tank top. She got her uniform and quickly put it on before she came back to Bardem.

"I may keep you to that offer one of these days."

She winked and turned and walked out of their shared quarters. Bardem sighed as he picked the glass back up and finished off the Bourbon that was in the glass.

[Lord Borg]

On the bridge, there was no talking, but plenty of noises. Commander Damas sat in the Command chair again. She was sitting in it at the lazy angle again, but this time her legs were crossed, not with one draped over the arm of the chair. Lieutenant D'eras was at her station listening carefully for any signs of the radio transmission she heard several hours ago. Commander S'rel was running scans, at a stealth setting as to not alert any vessels, stations, or settlements in the area of the approach of the Hornet. Major Kapelos was at tactical, working with security and prepping for battle. At a moments notice, weapons would be brought online, and the hull plating would be polarized.

Kira sat her dagger in hand again, but she was not as bored this time. This time, she was watching over the entire bridge as they prepped for what could be battle. The ship would be victorious. It was the best ship in the fleet. Kira was mad when they did not get the title of flag ship. No other ship seemed to have had it, and over a year ago, the ISS Enterprise was destroyed. Rumors say that Empress Sato made her personal ship the flagship; then again rumors say that the ship is from the future. Kira rolled her eyes at the thought a ship from the future? The thought was rather amusing, but it was, Kira thought nothing more then a rumor.

D'eras held her ear piece close as she listened intently. Kira narrowed her eyes as she watched her. She didn't trust Orions, or Vulcans...or Andorians. In actuality, she didn't trust non Terrans. In her opinion, it should be a rare gift, if it happens at all to give them the rank of crewman, but to give them a commissioned rank, and place them in the command structure? Kira sighed, yet another thing she could change if she was in charge.

D'eras turned to face Kira.

"Commander Damas..."

Kira sighed in annoyance and looked to the Orion at the com station.

"What do you want?"

D'eras hesitated for a moment. She was unsure on how to proceed. She did have something to report, but it was clear Kira either did not care, or did not want to have anything to do with D'eras. It could have been both actually.

"I...found out more of those radio transmissions."

Kira nodded impatiently and motioned for D'eras to continue.

"I have determined that they ARE in fact alien radio transmissions. They could be coming from the system. I believe they are weak due to a coding of some kind."

Kira stood and looked to the science station.

"You Vulcan� She yelled. �Have you detected anything?"

S'rel was staring at a display screen on her station. She closed her eyes, when she opened them, she was looking, no glaring at Kira.

"Indeed, but not very much, Sensors still are not detecting any point of orgin. How ever, I am detecting several planets in the system, two of which are M-Class"

Kira rolled her eyes as she sighed. She looked back to the Vulcan science officer.

"What does that matter?"

The Vulcan replied with out emotion.

"There are no other planets in this system that I can detect that could support life. Nor have I detected alterations to their atmosphere..."

Kira was about to respond when Bardem came out of the turbolift with T'Chul.

"Report" He ordered as he stepped towards his chair.

Kira turned and followed him, moving to stand in front of him. She backed away a few feet in order to protect her self, in case something enraged him.

"Ensign D'eras seems to think the radio transmissions could be coming from the system. They are still weak, but she says that they could be encrypted."

She let the information set in. She continued after a moment of silence.

"Commander S'rel detects several planets, two of which are M-Class. The others do not seem to be inhabitable."

Bardem thought for a moment on the information. He sighed quietly. It would be nice to have more information. He faced the screen,

"Tactical alert, helm, take us in."

The Andorian helms officer nodded and set the ship back on its course as Major Kapelos activated the tactical alert. The weapons came online, and the hull polarized.

[Lord Borg]

The reactor core thrummed as it fed power to the warp nacelles. People were running around, making adjustments, several stayed far away from the core as they possibly could. Not that it would do them much good, if you were in the room of the warp core, you were exposed to some of the Delta Rays radiation. It has been said by some that for every year you spend next to a core; you are going to loose about 10 years off of your life expectancy. That may not be to far off from the truth, many engineers throughout Starfleet died from radiation exposure, or rather, did indeed died at an early age. Rather, those that weren't killed in battle or by their superior officers or by underlings looking to advance.

"Hey!"

A voice echoed loudly thought engineering. It belonged to Michael Walker, chief engineer of the I.S.S. Hornet. Everyone stopped and looked up to the catwalk where Walker was standing watching everyone. He pointed to someone near a diagnostic screen. Everyone but him resumed their work, they knew better then to stand and watch.

"What did I tell you?"

Walker moved towards the side of the second level. He was looking at the officer.

"I said 'Check the sensors and make sure they are within specs!'"

Walker was near the stairs; he started to descend them, and moved towards the officer that was not moving. When one was being yelled at by the chief engineer, you stood there not speaking, and listened. Two weeks ago, someone decided to try something different. Two hours later, after being beaten to near death, he was shot out of an airlock. Walker stopped in front of the man.

"So just what the hell do you think you are doing, running a diagnostic on the flow regulators?"

The officer stood there for a moment, non responsive, even though he was asked a question. He looked to Walker, he was trying to stand proud, not show any fear.

"I noticed that the flow regulators didn't seem to be working within full specifications..."

Walker stepped closer to the man, rage was in his eyes.

"So you ran an unauthorized diagnostic?"

Walker grabbed the man and pulled him close, he spoke with gritted teeth.

"I should beat you senseless!"

Before the man could reply, the sounds of the main doors opening got Walker's attention. He looked back to See Damas walking in. He sighed and tossed the officer backwards.

"I'll deal with you later."

Walker walked over to Damas, she stayed close to the doors, not really wanting to be there in the first place. The thought of delta rays eating at her body didn't appease her at all. Unfortunately, the Captain sent her down here to get a status report. Why he didn't use the com. Probably, he wants her dead, and is using the warp core instead of conventional means. Walker sneered at her as he spoke.

"What the hell do you want?"

Damas narrowed her eyes. It was a good thing he was most likely going to be needed soon; she'd have started using her dagger on him for practice for speaking like that to her.

"The Captain wants a status report." She spat.

Walker rolled his eyes and walked over to a table that had parts spread over it. He picked up a part and some tools and started working as he spoke.

"We're ready down here. Everything�s set if we get into battle."

He looked over to Damas with question. That kind of report...someone was sent for it? He shrugged it off. The parts on the table were a pulsed phase canon assembly. Damas nodded and gestured to the parts.

"What about that?"

Walker looked over to her, and stopped what he was doing.

"It's done when it's done. I don't know if i can change the yield at all. We will at least have another phase canon."

Damas stepped over to Walker, her eyes glanced at the warp core and she stopped.

"Is that what I tell the Captain? It's done when it's done?"

Walker sighed and shook his head.

"No two weeks if that."

Damas scoffed. She glared at him as she spoke.

"You have no more then a week."

Before he could respond, she turned and walked out the doors, leaving engineering. Walker growled slightly and set the tool and part back down on the table. He despised Commander Damas. One of these days, he vowed, he'd see to it she was disposed of. His rising in rank was just a plus. He smiled at the thought and turned back to face the crew in engineering, going about their duties.

[Founder]

Good read. Keep it up. Congrats on being stickied.

[Lord Borg]

(Thanks! I just asked Danni for a Sticky She'll do the same for Zeus if you ask )

Edward Bardem sat in his command chair, looking at the viewscreen as the stars moved, showing that the ship was moving forward. The ship was in a heightened state of alert as they neared the system. The radio transmissions that were detected were coming more often, they were stronger, and some kind of encryption was indeed being used. It was in some sort of coding that has never been encountered before by Terrans. There was no sign of a settlement on any of the planets, sensors were working better now, it was clear it had to be a station or a ship of some sort, but a ship seemed more probable. Bardem looked over to the science station.

"Have you detected anything?"

S'rel looked at the sensor readout then looked back to Bardem.

"No, however I can detect possible engine emissions. We may be dealing with a singular starship. I can not determine the size."

Bardem sighed and looked over to tactical. Kapelos looked to Bardem and with out an order to report, he made his observations.

"They could be using some sort of stealth technology, or a sensor jamming technology."

Bardem nodded and was about to respond when the doors from the turbolift opened. Kira Damas walked in and moved to take her place behind the Captain's chair. Bardem looked to Kapelos.

"Any way we could do a more precise scan?"

Kapelos shook his head. Bardem sighed, when suddenly the com station started beeping. Bardem looked to D'eras who looked to him at the same time.

"We're being hailed...."

Bardem nodded for it to be brought up.

"Audio only" D'eras reported as she opened the com line.

Bardem was about to speak when a male alien voice sounded over the com, he was speaking in a language that no one could understand.

Uhn kan'aganna! Tehca zuhn ruga'noktan!
Uhn Kan'aganna! Tehca zuhn! Neemasta kan'aganna uckwazta!
Kuhn'ukchtacht zuhn vockwadai!
Bar'ak t'stu annankana.

Bardem looked to D'eras she shook her head in frustration.

"The translator matrix is not picking it up..."

Bardem narrowed his eyes as he spoke to the voice.

"This is Captain Bardem of the Terran Starship Hornet-"

Bardem was cut off by the voice, how repeated what was said before, only with a more impatient sound in his voice.

Uhn kan'aganna! Tehca zuhn ruga'noktan!
Uhn Kan'aganna! Tehca zuhn! Neemasta kan'aganna uckwazta!
Kuhn'ukchtacht zuhn vockwadai!
Bar'ak t'stu annankana.

Bardem looked to D'eras again. She had her hand on her ear piece.

"I still can't make it out, but it does sound like some sort of...threat"

Bardem looked to Kapelos.

"Where the hell are they?"

Kapelos shook his head franticly.

"I don't know! I can't find them!"

Bardem was about to respond when the ship shook from being hit with something, the alien ship came into view of the screen and fired some sort of green beam weapon the ship shook again...

[Arellia]

Chris! You rock! Just got to read the first post, need to read the rest... but the writing thus far, looks great.

[Lord Borg]

Bardem griped his char as the ship rocked from the explosion, behind him, Kira healed onto the railing that was behind the Captain�s chair to prevent her self from falling over Bardem looked yelled out to Kapelos.

�Return fire! Return fire now, damn it!�

Lyle made a sound, almost like a grunt and proceeded to follow orders, working at several controls on his station. The ship shook again and Bardem gritted his teeth and looked over to Lyle�s direction.

�Major!�

Lyle looked up, �I can�t get a lock!�

Bardem growled.

�Then get one!�

He looked ahead to helm.

�Evasive maneuvers! Get us out of their weapons range!�

The Andorian helms officer immediately moved to respond, adjusting the ship speed to full impulse to move the ship out of the weapons range of the enemy vessel. The vessel shook again, a calm, cool and collected voice spoke from Edward�s right. It was S�rel, the Vulcan science officer.

�The vessel appears to be using some sort of sensor jamming technology; it�s possible that�s why Major Kapelos cannot get a lock.�

Bardem looked to S�rel.

�Thanks for the obvious! Now, work on a way to get though the �jamming technology�!�

S�rel looked to Bardem, unsure why he stated the obvious, of course she was going to look for a way to break though what ever was jamming the ship�s sensors. However, she didn�t dare state that, for fears of�punishment. The young Vulcan looked down at her display and entered a few commands then turned to look into her viewer. S�rel studied the results and squinted, wondering what it was exactly it was she was looking at. She spoke out.

�I am reading spikes in the theta band. It could be the vessel�s power source or the source of the jamming technology rather.�

With the ship not getting it for the last several seconds, Bardem had wondered what was going on; it was not a good thing when someone who had you in their sights, but you didn�t have them, suddenly backed off. Hull plating was down to 96% in the barrage, and there was minor buckling on C-Deck.

�Transfer the coordinates to tactical,� Bardem turned in his chair towards the station he just mentioned, �Major, target and fire.�

Lyle Kapelos, the MACO Major and Weapons officer on the I.S.S. Hornet nodded and looked down at his station, reading the coordinates he received, and targeted weapons for that area. He pushed a button and looked to the viewscreen, then Bardem.

�Weapons away� he reported.

There was a silence as Bardem, and the other officers awaited the results of the weapons reaching their targets. The Hispanic captain gripped the arms of his chair, impatient for the results. He was about to let Kapelos know of this when several consoles on the bridge suddenly rang warning alarms. Bardem looked over to Kapelos who reported.

�I have it!�

Bardem nodded.

�Then by all means, fire.�

The MACO Major proceeded to fire as the ship was hit. Reports of a hull breach came in, and containment protocols were initiated. Lyle reported weapons away when the ship again shook, sparks flying everywhere on the bridge. Lyle fired the ship�s weapons again, and reported that he had hit the enemy ship�s engines. Bardem nodded.

�Target their weapons, fire!�

Kapelos looked down and targeted where he saw the weapons arrays. He nodded approvingly and looked to Bardem.

�The ship�s disabled.�

Bardem smiled. Victory, over a new enemy has occurred.

�Prepare to dock with the vessel, have the MACO�s take control of the ship.�

The Hornet moved towards the unknown ship as the docking clamps extended. The unknown ship was adrift, disabled from the damage occurred in the battle.

TO BE CONTINUED