Episode 6


Of Tears and Battle


Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

Back to the story


Chapter 1

{U.S.S. Griffin, Bridge}

"Report," Priscilla ordered.

"The ship is on an intercept course," Rinali responded. "It's one of ours. The U.S.S. Berlin."

Everyone relaxed. The last few days had been tense, it seemed the mood on the Bridge was hyper-sensitivity.

"Hail them," Priscilla said.

"Frequencies open," Rinali replied. A couple seconds later the Bridge of the Berlin appeared on the view screen.

"Captain Myst," the Berlin's Captain said with a half nod. "It's good to see you."

"And you, Captain," Priscilla replied, wondering at his odd greeting. "What can I do for you?"

"Is everything alright? We've been attempting to contact you for days but you haven't responded."

"Ah, I see," she replied. "Yes, we haven't been in the galaxy for a few days. I was just finishing up my report to Starfleet on everything that happened."

"Not in the *galaxy*? Never mind, maybe I'll read it all later," the Berlin's Captain replied with a shake of his head.

Priscilla smiled. "That'd probably be best." Then she furrowed her brow slightly and gave the Captain a questioning look. "We haven't been gone so long that I would have thought Starfleet would notice so quickly and be so worried. We weren't due to report in until later today."

"Yes. In fact we probably wouldn't have noticed until then if it wasn't for your Operations Officer," the other Captain answered.

"We don't have an Operations Officer," Priscilla pointed out.

The other Captain laughed. "You're right. We have your Operations Officer." He turned towards someone off screen. "And we've all been worried he no longer had a post to report to!" A brown haired man slightly over 6 feet tall stepped into view.

"Lieutenant Gordon C. Freeman," he said introducing himself.

"Nice to meet you, Lieutenant," Priscilla said to him. "Beam over and report to Commander Ivanof for duty whenever you're ready. We have *a lot* for you to catch us up on." Gordan nodded. Priscilla addressed her counterpart. "Thank you for bringing him. Might it be possible to get your help with something else?"

"How can we help?"

"We need a temporary reassignment of medical staff to help with our injured until I can arrange for permanent replacements from Starfleet..."


{Captain's Ready Room, minutes later}

"Come," Priscilla called out in reply to the door chime. Rinali entered from the other side.

"May I speak with you, Captain?"

"Sure Lieutenant, what's on your mind?"

"I would like to recommend that both Doctor O'Roarke and Tyl-Rowh-Brawr, the man who helped her rescue his neighbors, be considered for posthumous honors for their bravery," Rinali stated.

Priscilla nodded in agreement. "That would be appropriate recognition for their deeds. I'm trying not to overlook anything. Thank you for recommending it."

Rinali nodded to say You're Welcome. "Has her family been informed yet?"

"Commander Ivanof and I are still working to compile the list of notifications," Priscilla replied, meaning 'No.' "Why? Do you want to be the one who does?"


{Hours later}

"There are only two people on board who know the full extent of what the Engines can do," Priscilla replied to the Admiral on the screen on her desk before her. "And one of them is currently unconscious in sickbay for an undetermined amount of time."

"I'm very interested in the upgrades your crew made, and I'm sure many others will be too once they read your report or I inform them," he said. "Please send the schematics and any documentation that has been made on them thus far, including all logs of their operation."

"As soon as I can get them retrieved for you," Priscilla assured him.

"How long did you say they have been in operation?" he asked, checking a console to the side of him.

"They were running for nearly a day, but have not been used since we returned," she answered.

"That's not very much data," he said thoughtfully. After a few moments and a few tappings of commands into his console he looked back up at her. "Captain, I'd like you and your crew to stage a set of War Games to test those Engines," he said. "I'll send a list of things we specifically want to know as to how they perform once the Engineer Corps compile it for me. Until then, you and your First Officer begin preparations."

Priscilla nodded in understanding. She thought the decision was a bit premature, but she understood the interest.


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Chapter 2

{Counselor’s office}

Jaquelle had sat at her desk working with the padd for several hours now. A warm cup of cider with a cinnamon stick just peeking over the rim had kept her going for so long. She was memorializing all she had seen and learned on GemNevenan. She wanted to be sure every part of the report was accurate to the very last detail. Jaquelle glanced at the chronometer, laid the padd down and stood to stretch before heading to the door. By routine she started to go to Sick Bay for her daily consultation with Dr. O’Roarke concerning the medical happenings with the crew. Then she stopped. This always had been more of a friendly visit then a professional one. From the very beginning Marina seemed to need a friend. She could sense from the day Marina had come on board that there was a lost love in her life, one that caused her great pain and anger. Jaquelle knew only a bit of the story from the unintentional comments that Marina would slip and make. It was the reason she left her last ship, there were unanswered letters out there somewhere from him and she refused to resolve the feelings preferring to try to bury them in her mind. Also, Marina had come from such a different background than most others on the ship. Jaquelle came to appreciate that fact most when her family, and the pig came on board. She understood why Marina liked to get her hands, quite literally, into her work, instead of always using the sleek Starfleet medical equipment. But Marina was no longer in sick bay. The fact that she had died wasn’t what caused Jaquelle overwhelming sorrow. It was the fact that Jaquelle had not been there. She had not felt the sense of Marina leaving this plane of consciousness. Jaquelle knew she had a deep-rooted sense of there being other realms of existence and it gave her comfort to know that the leaving of this one was not necessarily an end. It was disconcerting that in a section of Jaquelle’s mind, Marina was not here, but not gone. There was just a void. There would always be just a void. Jaquelle stopped, there was no need to go to sick bay.


{Mariposan Colony}

Jeorge was out with Betsy, the sow on the O’Roarke homestead, when he heard the cries from the house. It was Margery. He ran to the house to find her crying on Heath’s shoulder and Nathaniel reading a padd.

“What is it?” Jeorge asked, helping to comfort his wife.

“It’s Marina. She’s been killed,” said Nathaniel, as he handed the Padd to Jason who had just come in from the barn. “Jason, go to town and contact the nearest Starfleet transport. We’ve got to bring your sister home.”


{USS Griffin. Captain’s ready room. A day later.}

"Come in, Lieutenant," Priscilla said flatly.

As he entered Commander Ivanof was standing off to his left side. Captain Myst was standing behind her desk. Scott walked in quietly, noticing the Commander but not giving him the satisfaction of seeing Scott look less than thrilled.

He stopped before the Captain's desk, a couple of data pads in hand.

Priscilla eyed the data pads suspiciously, then turned her attention back to McInnis.

"You know what this meeting is about," she began in an edged tone.

Scott simply nodded.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Scott stood silent for a good deal of time before responding. "What sort of response are you expecting Captain?"

"How about... an 'I'm sorry' to start with. Or maybe simply an explanation of *what* the *heck* you were thinking!?!"

Scott stood quietly again for a few moments before responding.

"I will apologize for scarring the reputation of the ship and it's crew with my decision, but I won't apologize for my action. My thoughts were rather simple actually, they were not responsible for what transpired a couple months ago, so I saw no reason to not allow them to remain in my confidence."

"First of all," Priscilla began, making it quite evident she had a whole lot to say on the subject and was only just beginning, "I'm not asking for an apology for your action, since you clearly meant to do it, right or wrong. The apology you have given is duly noted, but I'm sure you know that is not enough.

"Secondly," she went on immediately "you have NO right to solely determine who or what stays on this ship!"

Priscilla paused to let her point hang between them. Scott didn't flinch, his expression being as if it were a stone slab of granite. Though he noticed she was starting to become visibly upset. Yuri didn't have to turn to know that, he could sense it in her voice. Scott simply remained quiet until the Captain was quite through.

"The Chain of Command is *not* something to only be used when you *feel* like it. You know procedure, and the difference between what should be and what may not be brought to the attention of your superiors. Or you would not be a commissioned officer, so I'm not going to lecture you on it now. But I want to know *why* you thought you had the right to make the decision you did. It wasn't up to any of us to determine which Nanites were responsible for the deaths and which weren't. That was the reason they were all to be sent to Starfleet Command!"

She stopped for a brief moment, waiting for a reply before remembering something he had said. "And what do you mean 'remain in your confidence?'" Priscilla asked incredulously. "What are talking about?"

Scott waited to make sure the Captain was truly finished and expecting an answer. Then he spoke. "The Nanites came to me with evidence of innocence for a subset of their population..."


{Bridge}

Sable had been placed in command on the bridge while Myst, Ivanof and McInnis had their conversation. She imagined she could almost hear the shouts coming from the other side of the door, even though the room was soundproof.

“What do you think will happen to Chief McInnis?” Travin asked.

“I’m not sure. I mean the Nanites were the reason we made it back in one piece, but it went against the orders of Starfleet and superior officers. I suppose he could be court marshaled if someone higher up requested it. McInnis also could resign if he felt the need. I hope he doesn’t.” Sable replied.

“Agreed.” Travin said watching the door to the ready room with anticipation. “It’d be a shame to loose two senior staff on this ship.”

“Agreed.” Sable said from the command chair.


{Minutes later, Ready Room}

Priscilla sat with her hands steepled and her head bowed. She couldn't believe that in front of her stood someone worse than her sister. They both seemed to do things that could be justified within Starfleet regulations but would be considered blatantly wrong to any officer with common sense. The only difference was her sister never understood why what she did was viewed as such until it was explained out for her. McInnis clearly knew at the time what he was doing.

She inhaled deeply. "Lieutenant," she began slowly. She folded her hands, placed them on the desk in front of her, and looked up at him. "The end does not justify the means. What you did was wrong. A formal reprimand is going on your record. You are hereby confined to your quarters when off-duty for one month. And you will turn over every last Nanite on this ship."

Scott pointed to the larger of the two data pads he had placed on the desk when he first walked in. "They are right here." He paused. "What's going to happened to them?"

Priscilla gently lifted the data pad and looked at it. "They're sentient life forms, as far as I'm concerned. Therefore, pending verification of the evidence they presented you, they will be released outside of Federation space. I'll do everything I can to make sure of it."

Scott nodded then he put his hand on the other data pad and slid it towards Priscilla. She glanced at it then looked back up at him.

"What's this?"

"My resignation."

Priscilla was shocked. "Your resignation?" She picked it up, scanned it briefly, then stood to face him and held it out. "I can't accept this."

"You don't have to," Scott replied emotionless. "I've already sent it to Starfleet."

Priscilla looked over at Yuri. He shook his head.

"Mr. McInnis," she began with resolve in her voice. "You are far too valuable for Starfleet to loose. I'm not going to let you run away just because you found yourself in trouble. But I won't deny your right to choose to leave either. So I propose a compromise. If in one week you do not find any happiness in your work and still wish to resign, we'll send this to Command," she offered, gesturing with the PADD.

Scott thought for a few moments. "Agreed," he said.

"Good," Priscilla said, placing the PADD down. "Dismissed."

Scott turned smartly on his heel and began to head out.

"Scott," Priscilla called after him. Finally caught off guard, he stopped before he reached the door and turned back to face her with a questioning look. She picked up the large data pad and held it out to him. "Please extend my personal thanks to the Nanites for saving us. And as for you, You did well.”

“Thank you sir.” McInnis said as he took the large padd from Myst. He keyed in a few comments and then left.

After McInnis exited the room Ivanof stood waiting to be addressed.

“Something further Commander?” Myst asked.

“Yes. We’ve received information from Starfleet. The O’Roarke family is waiting for us at Starbase 523. They’re joining us for the memorial. I’ve taken the liberty of giving them Ambassador quarters.”

“Makes sense. Anything else?”

“Two other matters relating. Both Dr. O’Roarke and Tyl-Rowh-Brawr have both been given the Starfleet Medal of Honor with Clusters for their actions to save Brawr’s neighbors. The second is the eulogy. Would you like to give it or should I?”

“I will. Now I just have to figure out what to say.”

“Well let me know if you want me to handle it Captain.” Yuri said offering a brief smile of compassion. He turned to leave.

“Yuri,” Priscilla called as the doors opened. Ivanof turned around. “Thanks,” she said. Ivanof nodded and continued onto the bridge.

She then pulled out a padd and a stylus and set to work.


{Bridge}

“Commander. We are approaching Starbase 523.”

“Good. Ivanof to Captain,” he called.

“Myst here. Go ahead Commander.”

“We’ve arrived Captain.”

“Good. See to the docking procedures.”

“Aye captain,” Ivanof said. He smiled. It had been a while since his last duty shift. “Conn you are relieved.” Ivanof said.

“Sir?” Asked the ensign.

“Did I stutter ensign?” Ivanof asked.

“No sir,” the young ensign said standing. Ivanof sat at the helm controls, adjusted for his liking and then motioned to Travin to open hailing frequencies.

“Starbase 523, this is the USS Griffin. Commander Ivanof speaking.”

“This is station Captain Sheridan. Griffin you are clear to dock. We are opening the outer doors. Dock at berth 5.”

“Aye. Griffin out,” Ivanof said.

Yuri set the course and speed, full impulse. The ensign stepped forward.

“Commander. Speeds within Starbase are limited to one Quarter imp-“

“Ensign. I am aware of regulation and your opinion is noted and logged. Now take a seat,” Ivanof said. Travin smiled from the tactical arch. She had known the commander was a skilled pilot and had not had the opportunity to view his skills.

Ivanof brought the ship about to a course which lined up properly with where the doors would be in the rotation, when they reached it. The doors of the base opened right on cue and Griffin slid in at full impulse. A minor course correction swung the nose of the ship about 180 degrees without losing her forward momentum. And traveling backwards Ivanof keyed all stop on the engines and the Griffin’s inertia was just enough to bring her to station keeping. He then engaged the mooring beams and set the docking clamps as the bridge walks clamped onto the sides of Griffin.

“Captain to Ivanof.”

“Ivanof here.”

“Nicely done Commander,” Myst called. Ivanof could hear the smile in her voice.

“Thank you captain. Griffin is powered down and at station keeping.”


{Holodeck one, 0730 hours.}

A green field and a Blue sky greeted Ivanof and Captain Myst as they entered the holodeck for the memorial service for Marina. In the front row was Marina’s Family. Myst and Ivanof walked over to Margery O’Roarke. Pricilla took Ms. O’Roarke’s hands.

“Ms. O’Roarke. I am so sorry for your loss. The Crew of the Griffin shares your loss. I just hope you and your family can take solace in the fact that she gave her life protecting others.”

“Thank you. I understand that another was assisting her when she died.”

“Yes ma'am. His name was Tyl-Rowh-Brawr. He was helping to get his neighbors out of an area that had been flooded with radiation. This is a joint memorial service for the both of them. The people on the right side front row are people they both saved that day. They are going to be acting as honor guard for Tyl-Rowh-Brawr’s burial in space.”

“Captain. I have a small request. I’d like her Father Heath and I to be in his guard as well. As Marina’s body was lost to space, we’d like to help send her comrade to his rest,” she said. Myst was surprised as to the amount of composure the woman had.

“I’m sure Tyl-Rowh would be honored. He had no family on record. The procession will go from here to the forward torpedo bay where his body will be sent into space. But now if you will excuse me, It’s time to begin.” Myst shook the two hands of Margery and then stepped to the podium. Next to her a coffin with a UFP flag was draped across it, as befitted a civilian lost on board a Starfleet vessel. After a moment an ensign blew a single note on a brass navy whistle as had been customary on every vessel since her Majesty’s navy. The assembled quieted and after a moment Pricilla began.

“To the Family of Lieutenant Marina O’Rourke, friends of Tyl-Rowh-Brawr, and other distinguished crew. We are here to pay tribute to two members of the Griffin’s family. The first, Lieutenant Marina O’Roarke, Chief Medical Officer, who was lost to us amongst a far different group of stars than most have seen. The second, Tyl-Rowh-Brawr, was a civilian. But both were heroes to this crew. Without their bravery and courage eight people would also have lost their lives that day. Marina O’Roarke was the first and only choice I could have made in a CMO. Her compassion, attention to detail and sense of humor made her well liked among the entire crew. Born on the Bringloidi colony, and at the age of twelve moved to the Mariposan colony, the work ethic of her Irish heritage served her well as she helped to serve others. Whether it was repairing broken bones or merely a checkup, she never failed in giving the proper dosage of advice, support or love that any in her care needed. Her presence will be missed.

“Tyl-Rowh-Brawr was a physical education teacher on board. His students, many of whom I see here today, were subject to his hard, but fair lessons in many sports, from ambo-jitsu to Greco-Roman wrestling. Known as a hard case, he did have a softer side as many of his friends will tell you. Physically strong, his body was only the shell of the true strength of character he displayed on that day.

“When the deck he occupied was flooded with radiation, he knew he was too far gone when Marina reached him, but he would not allow people he cared for to perish if he could do something about it. Together Marina, and Tyl-Rowh-Brawr rescued eight civilians from what would have been a very painful death, and it was not because someone ordered them to. It was because they chose to do it, knowing they may not survive the ordeal.

“Today we say goodbye to both, and help Tyl-Rowh-Brawr to his rest. A procession will go to our forward torpedo bay and his remains will be sent into space where his gods will greet their comrade home.

“Both Lieutenant Marina O’Roarke and Tyl-Rowh-Brawr have been given Starfleet’s Medal of honor with Clusters for their actions on that day.”

With that Ivanof stood and went to Marina’s mother and placed an open medal box into her hands. Inside a highly polished Medal of honor shone brightly under the holographic sunlight.

Myst looked out then and noticed that many of Tyl-Rowh-Brawr’s students had tears in their eyes. But not tears of sadness, tears of pride, in their teacher. She had not known Tyl-Rowh-Brawr that well, and she regretted not having had the opportunity to know him better. She then nodded to Ivanof who nodded to the assembled officers.

“Attention on Deck!” said Ivanof and the officers snapped to attention. The honor guard, composed of the eight people Marina and Tyl-Rowh-Brawr saved, and Marina’s Mother and Father at the head, followed the casket to the torpedo bay. There it was loaded into the chute. As the casket entered the chute the two officers on the end grasped the flag by the corners as it entered the tube, and folded it.

“Company present arms!” Ivanof ordered.

As one the crew turned to face the coffin and saluted while simultaneously the coffin was launched into space via the open space dock doors.

“Company Dismissed,” Ivanof ordered.

The group of assembled crew and civilian members slowly dispersed. Commander Ivanof turned to Heath O’Roarke.

“Sir. I would like to bestow my personal condolences to you. It was an honor to serve with Marina.”
“Thank you Commander.”

Together the crew began to return to normal. The Griffin had received new orders and unfortunately in Starfleet, there is not much time for grief.


{First officer’s office. 2 days later.}

Yuri began to finish up what he was working on when he noticed it was one minute until his meeting with the Captain.

Three minutes later his door chime rang. "Come," he called out.

Priscilla walked into Yuri's office with a PADD in hand and a spring in her step. "Time to divide up the crew!" she announced. She moved to Yuri's side so he could view the PADD with her. "Since I'm the Captain, I'll choose first," she informed him with a sly smile.

"I suppose," Yuri sighed.

Priscilla raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"I just figured that since you've got the Griffin’s new engines I'd get first pick... but so be it... you're the ranking officer."

Priscilla nodded once. "Good point, you're right, go ahead."

"I want Sable," he said simply.

"Very well," she replied hesitantly, deciding not to challenge the choice even though Sable was the only one who knew how to pilot the new Engines. "I need McInnis."

"I figured that. I'd also like Travin. I'll need her battle tactics."

Priscilla thought for a moment before giving into that choice. "I'll want Freeman and Zosin. Between the two of them we should be able to keep up with Travin," she said with a nod.

Yuri nodded in agreement. He quickly reviewed the PADD once more before speaking. "That's all I'll need for crew... My last request will need to come from Starfleet."

"Oh? That's different," she replied with curiosity evident in her voice.

"I've put in for a special ship," was all he would say.

"Interesting. No advance notice for your Captain?"

"You'll just have to wait and find out when the games begin."

Priscilla shook her head with friendly understanding. Then she tapped her comm badge. "Myst to Commander Daem. Report to my ready room, we have a lot to go over ‘Number One’," she said looking at Yuri with a smile. Then she walked out.

Yuri grinned as he tapped his comm badge and said "Lt. Commander Sable and Lt. Travin to my office."


{Rigenian Nebula. The next day.}

The Griffin came to all stop just inside the battle zone. The Rigenian a nebula filled with charged anestizine gas. Quite enough to sufficiently limit any ships sensors once inside. Ivanof’s “request” was inside. He had received coordinates of his ship’s main bridge from Starfleet. They were intrigued by his choice and agreed to the test. They also allowed him a bit of drama to keep things interesting.

“Captain,” Yuri said to Capt Myst. “Permission to disembark.”

“Granted Commander. Good luck.”

Ivanof nodded and motioned Travin and Sable to the turbolift. They transported over shortly thereafter.

(I wonder what Yuri has up his sleeve?) She thought.

Her answer came in the form of a wedge like hull which pierced the curtain of red and green gasses from the nebula and which came about to face the Griffin. The designation on her hull was NX-59650 U.S.S. Prometheus.

“Captain we are being hailed.” Zosin said.

“On Screen!”

The Face of her first officer appeared before her. He was grinning ear to ear.

“Surprise!”

“Well chosen Commander. I can understand why you chose to keep this a secret. But No matter,” she said respectfully.

“Then shall we?” Ivanof said.

“We shall… En Garde’!”


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Chapter 3

Jaquelle was honored yet a bit surprised to be selected as First Officer. Although she could have entered Starfleet as a doctor or a counselor, the very reason she went to Starfleet Academy and took an assignment as a crew member on the original Griffin was to someday be able to truly qualify for command, and not just have the title. This was her first chance to prove herself. She felt comfortable because she did have to be thrown into the position in an emergency.

Although this would be a simulated combat, Jaquelle wanted to be the best she could, so she sat in her office reviewing schematics of the Prometheus and the nebula. She wanted to devise something that might aid in the success of the Griffin. It was obvious to her why Commander Ivanof selected the Prometheus, it could easily become three ships. But it's speed could be a liability. To be successful the Griffin had to be able to counter three ships...or, it dawned on her, be in three places at once.

The Picard Maneuver, she thought!! A quick short warp jump from one spot to another would make the Griffin appear to be in two places at once. But that in and of itself would not be good enough, the Data Counter had negated the Picard Maneuver.

However, if the Griffin started one step before the maneuver and used it's holo technology it might work. Through it's deflector dish the Griffin could first simulate the Picard Maneuver by projecting two warp jumps to different parts of the nebula. Then the real Griffin could actually jump to another part of the nebula. Jaquelle knew just the person to help her with a simulation.


{Deck 15 Science Lab}

Jaquelle handed Anna Krasinski the padd with her idea. Anna looked it over nodding her head. She then turned to her science panel, entered some calculations, and smiled.

"Not only can this work," Anna said without a stutter, "but we can make it better. If each holo ship also projected two new holo ships, then there would be 6 other Griffins in the nebula. Then they can project two more each. In the end we could have a nebula full of Griffins. The Prometheus would not know where we are."

"It would make them have to initially take more of a guess to try and find us," Jaquelle responded positively. "But those extra Griffins would show up with no warp signatures. What can we do about that to prolong our advantage?"

Anna asked the computer some questions, then thought for a while. "I know just the answer," she said.


{Main Engineering}

McInnis looked over the padd, with a wee bit of a sly smile he said, "We can make this work. Either we mask the warp drive by blocking that band in the Prometheus' sensors...or we can generate a warp noise throughout the nebula to jam their sensors."

"More importantly, when we make our first jump, we can have our weapons take out the Prometheus' main engine. Then we can make two more warp jumps and take out the other two engines," McInnis continued. "It will be stressful on the warp drive, but I can get these engines ready in no time."


{Captain’s Ready Room}

Daem, McInnis, and Krasinski stood around the captain's desk. Captain Myst was studying the padd that Lt. Commander Daem had handed to her.

"Very nice," she said while still concentrating on the padd. "Quite exceptional, actually. So who thought up this idea?"

Before Daem could say that it was a joint effort, McInnis piped up.

"Our first officer thought it up and I'm proud to serve as her chief engineer," he said.

Myst, without moving her head looked up at McInnis. She wasn't sure if his statement was just a compliment for Daem, or an added criticism of Ivanof. Regardless, Myst knew it was important for a crew to have confidence in their first officer, and Lt. Commander Daem had just scored.


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Chapter 4

{U.S.S. Prometheus}

"Travin to Captain Ivanof."

The words came easily to Rinali with only a slight smile accompanying them. Some officers, especially those who tended to be almost overly formal about rank, got extremely flustered by the temporary changes of authority in activities such as war games. But Rinali transitioned with ease. Many holodeck adventures over the years had made her accustomed to calling familiar faces by new names and titles.

"Ivanof here. What is it?"

"I have completed my research on the ship and I wanted to go over tactics with you while we still have time."

"Excellent. Report to the bridge and we'll discuss it."


{Bridge}

"The trick with any strategy," began Rinali, "is to be aware of what your opponent knows about you. They will obviously have access to essentially all the information we do about the Prometheus, so there is not much sense in trying to surprise them with our abilities. We cannot simply rely on the inherent properties of our ship to win the battle. Tactics will be key. I believe you had some suggestions in that area, Captain?"

"Right." Ivanof took over the conversation, addressing Travin and Sable. "The Prometheus's main offensive strength is its ability to split into three independent ships. With our combined piloting abilities, we should be able to attack the Griffin quite effectively."

"But the Griffin has the speed advantage," noted Ryan. "Especially with the new engines."

"I had considered that," Rinali said. "They will most likely try to undermine our three ship advantage by using their speed to give us multiple false targets. And with the additional speed, the Griffin could effectively counter attacks from three ships."

"My thought," Ivanof interjected, "was to use the nebula for a hit and fade attack. It should mask the Griffin's sensors."

"It may deter us from detecting the Griffin though," Rinali said. "Not much of an advantage."

Ivanof shook his head. "Normally, that might be the case. But the new engines are so powerful that we'll almost certainly be able to detect them even from inside the nebula."

Rinali's eyes widened and she nodded in approval. "Excellent strategy, Captain."

Ivanof looked pleased. "Did you want to add anything further, Travin?"

Rinali nodded. "The multiple Griffins could pose a serious problem if we get sidetracked attacking false targets. Communication will be essential. Once we know where the real Griffin is, all three of us need to be firing on it.

"I also worked out a strategy to maximize our simulated firepower while we split the ship. Essentially, we will pick strategic moments, when we are certain that we are targeting the correct Griffin, and concentrate all of our firepower on key areas, such as the engines."

For a moment, Rinali looked slightly less confident than she had for most of the presentation.

"With your permission, Captain, I would like to refer to it as the GodFire attack?"

"Certainly," Ivanof smiled. "Very fitting."

Sable looked slightly confused.

"Human Grecian mythology," Rinali said easily. "Prometheus was responsible for the creation of humans and later brought them fire to help them survive."
"Anything else?" asked Ivanof.

"Yes sir," Rinali said. "The EMH. The Griffin has the slight advantage of crew numbers with both Zosin and Edward on their team. If we need the extra hand or eyes, activating the EMH might even things out. It may not be necessary, or even helpful, but it is something to keep in mind."

"Thank you, Travin," said Ivanof. "You're both dismissed. Prepare yourselves. We should be starting very soon."


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Chapter 5

{Operation Officer's Quarters}

Freeman was sitting in his quarters reading a briefing. He had NO idea that they were going to be doing exercises with the Prometheus until now.

"Hmmm...," he thought aloud, reading the report. (Gonna be hard in a Galaxy... not so bad in a Sovereign, but in a Galaxy... I don't know...) "Hell with it... we'll win," he said, grinning. Gordon Freeman liked a challenge. He was happy to see that he was posted to the Griffin on this exercise, and he thought it would be an excellent time to try and fit in with the crew.

Looking at his chronometer, seeing that he had an hour until he was scheduled to report for duty, he began toying with some advanced tactics to fight a starship with a multi-vectored combat capability.

(The Picard maneuver is useless, but the modification might work, but we have to assume that they will anticipate that. The smaller components of the Prometheus can fly rings around us, but can't outrun us. We hold the advantage in a straight run, and our ship makes far more power. What can we do?...) He thought, staring at the technical readouts of both ships.

He got up and retrieved a cold Coca Cola from the replicator, deep in thought. Taking a sip, he sat back down.

(It appears... that the exact capabilities of the Prometheus have been kept from us to make the simulation all that more real. Maybe... if we refit one of the shuttles as a Wild Weasel, we can jam their sensors enough to pummel a separate component at a time, then run like hell... or we could use some of the massive amount of surplus power to convert the main deflector from a passive scanning device to a powerful active jamming one....)

He shook his head. It would take too much time to reconfigure a shuttle, unless the engineer was fast. However, the deflector could be modified with a keystroke.

(Maybe if we keep it simple... hard hit and run attacks on individual components. An old proverb notes that a single man operating alone, can think faster an coordinate better than a group of men. If we simply think faster than they do, and rely less on the technical side of things, and more on the human side of things, we can carry the fight... plus we'll be jamming the hell out of them so they can't get a clear shot.)

He began jotting notes quickly on a PADD, thinking of individual maneuvers as they appeared in his head.

(Unorthodox and fast... that's the key.)

When he was finished, he rose to his feet, tucking the PADD in his jacket. Exiting his quarters, he took the lift to the bridge, approaching the nearest higher ranking officer.


{Bridge}

"Captain Myst... I thought I would present my angle on possible tactics against the Prometheus sir. She's heavier armed than we are, but she doesn't have the brains, sir," he said cheerfully, hoping he didn't look out of line.

"Thank you Lieutenant. I'll give them a look over. Please take your station," the Captain ordered.

"Yes sir," he replied, taking his position at the OPS console. Looking everything over, and finding it to his satisfaction, he began preparing for the upcoming exercise.

"All departments, submit your reports before we begin the drill," Captain Myst ordered.

A short time later they began pouring into his Operations functions on his console. The same data was being forwarded to the XO and Captains consoles. Freeman was impressed with how fast the orders were carried out.

Everything came up ready, and officially the ship was cleared for combat. It would be difficult with several of her officers away on the Prometheus, but not impossible.

"Go to Yellow Alert and begin diagnostics on all tactical and critical systems," Myst ordered from her seat behind him.

He nodded, flipping the master alarm and setting the ship to Yellow Alert, looking over the diagnostic reports as they began flowing over his screens. All was in order - main systems and their backups.

Switching to a sensor readout, he sat back in his seat and waited with everyone else for the next phase of the operation to begin.


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Chapter 6

"Begin the GodFire attack," the computers on each ship announced.


{Griffin, Engineering}

Scott looked up from his station at the announcement. He sighed and turned back to setting things up so he could all but sleep with the new engines. Something was pulling at the back of his mind. Though he couldn't put his finger on it, he was definitely getting a bad feeling from back there. He wanted to be ready for whatever it might turn out to be.


{Griffin, Bridge}

"Begin reproductions," Myst ordered. "Ensign Zosin, do you have a way of detecting the Prometheus?"

"Yes Captain," he replied. "I'm told the holographic reproductions will not hold up when near their engines. Therefore by monitoring our distractions for them we can get a semi-accurate estimate of their location. Or locations."

"Excellent. Ensign McClain?"

"If I tie into the tactical station I can increase our response time to detection of the Prometheus," the officer at the helm reported.

"Good thinking. Do it," she replied. Then she went and sat in her chair. To her right Daem was sitting in the Executive Officer's chair. Priscilla looked to her. "Are we ready?"

"Yes, Captain," Jaquelle replied. "Both helm and tactical have been set with the several tactics that will best test the new engines' power, efficiency, maneuverability, and endurance. Lieutenant Freeman will be monitoring the engines and the tests, offering changes in what's going on as needed. I'll be monitoring the war games and effectiveness based on the scales Starfleet has given us."


{Prometheus, Bridge}

"Multiple targets detected," Rinali reported.

"As expected," Yuri replied. "Good call Lieutenant. Initiate the scan for their engines. Prepare for multi-vector attack."


{Nebula}

Griffins filled the part of the nebula the games began in as the Prometheus separated. The Griffin made several successful hit and run attacks on each of the other ship's sections, ever moving right from one to another, until the Prometheus managed to trace the movement of the holographic ships. At first all the Griffins moved exactly the same as each other, which quickly gave away the true Griffin's position. Realizing the true Griffin was constantly headed for one of the three sections, Travin was able to program the computer to determine which target was the real one based on the current positions of the Prometheus and the tangent of movement of the Griffins. She would have done the determinations manually herself, but no humanoid had the ability to keep up with the Griffin's current maneuvers.

The course of the battle changed as the Prometheus began scoring against the Griffin. Despite its new speed, the Griffin was still larger and therefore slower in close combat, and the Prometheus outnumbered the Griffin.

Soon the Griffin updated its technique and the holographic reproductions stopped moving. Now only the true ship moved, but within the nebula it couldn't be detected until it was already on top of one of the Prometheus's sections. And by the time any section could begin to head to help the one under attack, the Griffin was gone, moved on to the next target.

Once it was realized the Prometheus was loosing out by giving the Griffin multiple targets to constantly move between, Ivanof ordered the ship back together, an hour after the games had begun.


{Prometheus, Bridge, ten minutes later}

Rinali stood with brows furrowed and Sable at her side. They had gone back to their original plan for finding the Griffin, but it wasn't working. They had spent the last ten plus minutes being rained upon by the Griffin while scoring too few shots in return.

"I'm sure that's the appropriate signature for their engines," Ryan insisted. "We just can't find it."

"They must be jamming our sensors somehow. But I'm not detecting the blanketing field, and without being able to detect that I can't try to break through it," Rinali replied.

"That's a strong sensor blanket if we can't even detect it," Ryan said.

Rinali nodded and continued to stare at the screens. Suddenly she had an idea. "Unless they're not jamming our sensors, but just masking their own engines." She rapidly keyed in a bunch of commands, different screens flying by too fast for Sable to understand.

"What are you looking for?" Ryan asked.

"Instead of trying to find the Griffin's engines amongst all the false ships, if they have a common holographic signature of some kind we can use that to find the Griffin."

"Because the Griffin won't have it," Ryan said as she nodded at the effectiveness of the idea.

"Of course we'll still have to be somewhat close to find the Griffin, but we should still have enough time to separate the ship if you and I beam over to the other Bridges," Travin said, working the plan out aloud as she continued to watch the screens changing before her.

"I'll let the Captain know," Ryan said.


{Griffin, Bridge, fifteen minutes later}

"Holographic reproductions are failing," Zosin suddenly announced from the Tactical station. "We've lost three. Five... seven..."

"Power from the engines is dropping off exponentially," Freeman reported from Ops. His hands danced over his consoles for a moment before he spoke again. "I can't find a cause. No relays are burnt out, there doesn't appear to be anything hindering... anything," he said with a small amount of confusion.

"Bridge to Engineering," Myst called out just as the reverse was heard.

"Engineering to Bridge. We need to talk," McInnis said over the comm.

"Alright, staff meeting in the conference room," Myst announced, and stood to head over to the conference room door.

"With all due respect, I'm not leaving Engineering, Captain," McInnis replied.

Priscilla looked at Jaquelle, and didn't hide the exasperation she was feeling towards him from the Counselor. "You have the Bridge, Commander." Jaquelle nodded and stood to take the Captain's chair as Priscilla left.

"Lieutenant Freeman," Priscilla said on her way past Ops. He immediately relinquished his station and followed the Captain into a turbolift.


{Griffin, Main Engineering, 2 minutes later}

"They're running too hot!" McInnis insisted at the impromptu meeting around the Main Engineering table.

"Cool them off!" Priscilla ordered.

"I can't, not if we're going to keep this level of performance," he replied.

"These tests aren't to push the engines beyond their max, but to determine the full range of their capabilities," Freeman stated. "Running hot isn't going to give the performance or data Starfleet wants, even if it does give us higher returns right now."

"I don't particularly care what Starfleet wants right now!" McInnis snapped back. He immediately forced himself to calm down, reminding himself that only the ship and engines mattered right now, not his personal feelings. He turned to address the Captain. "If we change anything we'll be dead in the water. If we keep running as we are, the engines will burn themselves out."

"So you're saying there's nothing we can do?" she inquired.

"The ship simply wasn't designed for these engines. Sure they'll work relatively well on long straight runs, but only with no maneuvers or excess power usage. In my opinion we're lucky to have gotten as far as we have," McInnis replied.

Priscilla nodded thoughtfully. Then she looked across the table to Gordon. "We're going to have to end the games."

He seemed a bit aggravated, probably over McInnis's attitude, but kept his professional composure. He nodded in agreement with Priscilla's statement. The two of them turned in unison towards the exit and left together. On their way Priscilla tapped her comm badge.

"Myst to Bridge. Hail the Prometheus and suspend the games," she ordered.

"Yes Captain," Jaquelle's voice replied.

"Myst out."

Just as they made it past the threshold of Engineering, alarms begin sounding from behind them. Priscilla turned to see McInnis hunched over the railing next to the engines working feverishly. She could hear him barking out orders but couldn't understand a word of what he said. But it seemed the Engineering staff did as they were running every which way and actually getting things done. Priscilla waited a minute so she could get a report from McInnis when he had a spare moment. Gordon hesitated next to her. He didn't particularly want to be standing where they were. It seemed to him that the middle of the entrance to Engineering during an emergency was a precarious position.

Then an ear-piercingly high whistle began echoing through Engineering. McInnis stood straight up and yelled for everyone to get out. No one made it more than three steps before the ship rocked violently to its side and consoles burst all over Main Engineering.

At McInnis's orders, Gordon had moved to grab his Captain and pull her around the corner to safety, only to find she had quicker reflexes and was already beside him and pushing him in the same direction. They successfully made it into the corridor just before they went down in a tangle of arms and legs. That saved them from serious injury when the ship rocked, as they only received some nasty bruises as they rolled into the wall.


{Prometheus, Bridge, two minutes before}

"I've got a definite target," Travin announced from tactical. "Bearing 043, Mark 280."

"Bring us in, Commander," Ivanof said to Sable. "Multi-vector attack," he ordered. The ship became a hustle of activity for the half minute they had to get everything set. Sable and Travin each stepped away from their stations to prepare for the site to site transport that would place each of them on a different Bridge.

"The Griffin is hailing us," someone announced. Ivanof turned with a look of interest.

"I thought we were observing communications silence," he mused aloud to himself.

Just then something on the console in front of her caught Rinali's eye, and she moved back to take a better look. Immediately she cancelled the transport and called up a better analysis. "Captain," she called for his attention. "Something's wrong with the Griffin's engines. They're-"

In lieu of a description from Travin, the viewscreen explained. The initial bright white flash of light was filtered by the screen's safety mechanisms. When it had cleared, everyone could see the other ship was drifting at a drastically different angle it had been on. All around the Griffin a halo of popping light or fire was slowing expanding.

"Report!" Yuri ordered.

"A few gas ribbons in the nebula have been ignited," Travin replied as Sable jumped back to the Conn. "The Griffin is in one piece, no hull breeches, definite life signs..."

"I can't get much closer to them," Sable replied. "The nebula is very unstable around their position. It's hindering any kind of standard movement."

"Will it settle?" Yuri asked.

"Unknown at this time."

"Hail them."


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Chapter 7

{Bridge}


"Engineering," Commander Daem called out.

"McInnis, here," responded the voice.

"Is the captain still there?" Daem queried.

"No, she is on her way back to the bridge," McInnis answered.

"What's our status?" she continued.

"The new engines are blown, we only have impulse," McInnis explained.

"Well, how long before you can get the old engines on line?" Daem asked.

"If I had the Nanites, less than an hour," McInnis remarked.

"Okay, we're not going there with the Captain," Daem countered.

"Six hours, plus time to repair the nacelles," McInnis acceded.

Turbo lift doors open:

"Well, our fun didn't last long." Captain Myst sighed.

"Captain, an incoming message from the Prometheus," Lt. Freeman interrupted.

"On screen," Myst ordered.

"Captain, is everyone all right there?" Ivanof inquired.

"No causalities, but we've lost those new engines," Myst replied.

"We stand ready to tow the Griffin back to the space station," Ivanof stated.

"I don't think so," Daem intervened.

"Commander?" Myst questioned.

"Captain, I am still acting First Officer, am I not?" Daem submitted.

"Yes," acknowledged Myst.

"Then on my watch, the Griffin will not be towed anywhere," Daem challenged.

"Agreed," Myst declared.

"Commander, I can put together repair teams for the nacelles," Freeman interjected.

"All right, Mr. McInnis, Mr. Freeman I need warp two in four hours." Daem asserted.

"Yes, Ma'am," McInnis and Freeman affirmed simultaneously.

"Captain, we will arrive at the space station for repairs in 36 hours," Daem reported.


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