"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle." – Sun Tzu, the Art of War
[USS Charon]
Lamont nodded at the captain's statement as indeed the bridge seemed to fall silent around him. "Desperate times called for desperate measures", he mused as the phrase jumped into his consciousness. However the captain's decision was logical. He was the most senior official on the bridge at the moment besides the captain herself and he did have previous bridge experience although out of practice. For a brief moment he pondered the sort of response Lt. Tyrax might offer if she were in his shoes. Words never did seem all that important to the captain; actions on the other hand had a way of speaking to her in ways words could not.
"If we intend to mount any sort of a rescue of the away teams on the planet we will logically need to either lose or disable our pursuers. Captain, might I suggest the following? Assuming tactical and science can isolate thermal, communications, or other emissions I propose we allow them to come to us. The nebula's gaseous discharges will probably hamper cloaking technology so we should have a fair chance of seeing any such ships visually even if it's an outline or a distortion. If we can manage to find them and track them then we can potentially fire on them and at the moment we do have the element of surprise. We could have engineering generate a traceable trail of ions or some other easily detectable footprint for them to pick up while deploying a slow moving sensor probe modified to mimic our power and energy emissions. With a decoy in place we could either slip away and circle back to the planet while our enemies search for us in vain or attempt an ambush although the former would be my recommendation than the latter given our somewhat limited offensive capabilities and the fact that we are outnumbered and out gunned. Fighting is such a dirty business and I would hate to needlessly wrinkle a perfectly pressed uniform. However, I am prepared to roll up my sleeves if needed sir as I doubt any such trickery on our part will last for long. Such subterfuge could buy us some needed time and one might even venture to say it is worthy of a Romulan, but I will defer to you on such matters."
He carefully gauged her cool, nearly expressionless features when a thought occurred to him. "And in case you are wondering, I do not work for the Tal'Shiar. Their methods are far too direct and severe. In addition they are also much too difficult to negotiate with and have no sense of humor from what I have heard. Although if they decided to offer me enough Rennish and Romulan Ale, it is possible I could be tempted", he said with the slightest of smiles. His words were meant as a subtle joke as he hoped to help lighten the mood around them. The crew's tension was evident by their silence. He doubted Rehu would find anything he said amusing, but then again she had to have some tiny spark of humor beneath her iron façade. Then again, he wondered staring at her firm gaze, perhaps she didn't.
Shiarrael studied Lamont for a long intense minute 'could it be he-' she shook the thought away and nodded her head sitting back down in the command chair. "It will be dangerous to involve the Charon in another battle, we must be cautious, the damage to the ship is significant and even one good hit may be enough to undo the seams. However you are correct with one assessment: we must even the odds." Her look became malicious "several of the shuttles were modified to communicate within the nebula. It will be difficult for them to detect much smaller energy signatures with the interference from Yy'a." She looked at Ch'Tan "while you are modifying torpedoes work with engineering to install launchers on the shuttles. If they come for us they will be surprised." She shook her head at Lamont "it is always true in battle- one must remain where one has the advantage. For the moment it will be best for us to wait and see what they do."
"That shouldn't take long Captain," the Klingon replied as he transferred his work to one of his padds and nodded to an officer to come and replace him, "The shuttles should be modular in nature and as long as they are still mostly Starfleet in origin, we should be able to get them fitted in an hour, two maximum per shuttle depending on how many people we can spare from the repair crews,"
"Good." Shiarrael was generally pleased- two hours would give engineering enough time to fully assess the situation, although Calhoun's initial report was bleak. "Get started on it right away."
"Yes sir," the Klingon replied as he stepped into the turbolift, "Shuttlebay," he stated as the doors closed behind him.
Lamont nodded. He wasn't about to argue. Combat was Rehu's exclusive domain. Her experience in this regard was absolute and held his respect. On this issue there was no disagreement. She was a warrior and soldier. He was not nor would he insult her by even suggesting he was. This was her game and her field. He had no place in it.
"Then we should use the time wisely and prepare for any contingency", Lamont stated as the captain made her decision. He could only watch from the sidelines, but he could assist her while she grappled with difficult decisions.
"OPS, assist damage control teams and make restoring shield power a priority. Science, keep a close eye on all sensors. If you see anything out of the ordinary no matter how minute report it immediately." Lamont felt somewhat awkward continuing to stand as the captain seated herself. However sitting down would not exactly alleviate his feelings. With some trepidation, Lamont took a seat next to the captain and turned to the nearby console to bring up the Charon's current status. Given his proximity to the captain and the unusual, awkwardness of the moment, he felt the desire to busy himself with the work at hand. He had much 'catching up' to do on the Charon's basic functions and specifications. He suddenly felt a bit of nostalgia sitting on the bridge, in the tension of combat, with command duties. It had been sometime since he had been on bridge duty and he was suddenly filled with the strong feelings of duty and responsibility one had sitting in the 'hot seat'. He stole a cautious glance at the captain. It would be interesting to see her in action. This experience would no doubt validate if the rumors about her were indeed true. No doubt, Lamont mused, the future would indeed prove to be highly educational.
Quentin and his engineers were running around engineering like bees in a hive. It was chaos. Fire teams were putting out some of the plasma fires from blown out conduits. He slammed his fist down on the 'pool table' as the computer was fluctuating. He needed something to stabilize the power to the ship otherwise the warp core would breach or worse, the hull would buckle. Opening the hatch to the sub-levels he climbed down with a tech team coughing due to the smoke from the fires that were billowing down there. Tapping his combadge he opened a link to the bridge. "Captain, I need to shut down the warp core – it's overheating and one of the warp manifolds was hit destabilizing the singularity field. We'll lose warp power but if I don't do it the ship won't be around much longer. This nebula is playing havoc with the systems. I can get you an extra 50% power to shields and overcharge the forward phaser banks for one shot at 160% above normal operating capacity, but it will blow them out completely so you'll need to use it wisely" he shouted over the din of fire and klaxons.
'One shot?' Shiarrael withheld the curse threatening to burst from her lips. Instead she slowly nodded her head and sat down casually massaging the armrests of her chair as she pondered the situation 'we will need to be careful' her eyes shifted to the view screen and then to Lamont who was shouting orders. 'What a strange sight' she thought and grimaced pressing her commbadge "do what you must Commander to keep this ship together. Keep me informed if your progress."
"Affirmative Captain but I'm an engineer, not a miracle worker. I'm taking the warp core offline now!" Quentin called through his commbadge as he reached the emergency control panel and tapped in the command line. Back in engineering the core whirred and the bright blue light dimmed before eventually being completely extinguished. "Core offline, that will at least prevent a major breach – I'll get to work on the weapons" he said ending the com and heading back up through the access hatch into engineering. He couldn't help but pause and stare out of the gaping hole in the side of engineering. Shaking his head he headed up the ladder to the upper levels of engineering and moved to a console near the back of the room. Weapons control. He begun working on the recalibrations to the phasers and shields diverting some of the power from the now shutdown warp core into the plasma relays and then into the phaser bank manifold. He sighed again wondering how well this would work. He knew that the one shot would be it; after that the starboard bank would be blown out completely. He tapped his combadge again. "She's holding together captain, you've got one shot with the starboard fore bank" he paused for a moment "make it count" he concluded as he ran back to the 'pool table' covered in sweat and grime and blood and after knocking back several pills looked to the engineers. "We need to reinforce the hull… Let's get to work!" he yelled out grabbing tech kits and handing them to engineers to go and repair some of the structural defects in the hull where the ship had been hit the worst.
Lamont finished issuing orders just as he overheard Commander Calhoun's report on available power, damages, and weapons status. "One shot", Lamont mused. "Would it really matter against multiple targets?" Even if they managed to cripple or even destroy one ship there were still two or three more out there with shields, torpedoes, and operational disruptors. A pitched battle now would gain them little and cost much. Lamont did not fancy a cavalry charge given the odds. Glancing at the captain she was obviously up to something. He could see the wheels spinning behind her intense violet eyes. Somehow, despite the dire circumstances, Ian felt almost comfortable with Rehu in command. In fact he couldn't think of anyone more suited to dealing with the crisis. Her experience would no doubt be invaluable given the Romulan threat. However, her Romulan knowledge was only part of the equation. The captain's eyes radiated determination, anger, concern, and trace amounts of other possible emotions. Judging by her expression alone, if this was a poker game, he would be tempted to fold. He couldn't explain it, but his instincts told him not to bet against the captain even if she was bluffing.
Turning to the captain, Lamont informed her of the ship's status. "Captain, damage control teams are on alert and are standing by if needed. Security has also evacuated all non essential personnel from outer deck areas susceptible to damage and relocated them temporarily to the cargo bay. Security is on standby on critical decks in the event we are boarded to repel any such attempts should our adversaries attempt such a foolish tactic. Sickbay has also confirmed its readiness to receive wounded and casualties. All departments stand ready for your orders sir."
This was certainly extremely peculiar. Here he was on the bridge actively reporting to the captain who he had scorned since coming aboard the Charon and doing so no less as her acting executive officer in the absence of Commander Eithne. Destiny and fate never ceased to amaze with their fickle and wily ways. The situation was oddly fascinating and so unbelievable as to defy even Lieutenant Sakara's firm logic that Lamont was forced to relegate such matters for contemplation at another time. He had a duty to perform. The next few moments could very well decide the fate of the ship and crew. Now was not the time for curiosities or subtle musings as tantalizing as they may be. He took a seat next to the captain and awaited Rehu's orders.
"We will wait." Shiarrael said and stood up, her eyes burned with anger but her outward appearance was frozen with determination. 'This will be no easy task,' she reminded herself to be cautious and well prepared. For the moment they were at the mercy of Romulan sensor technology- something she wasn't too concerned about, but even a blind hnoiyoka could find an egg sometimes. Surprise would be their greatest ally and cunning their sharpest blade. No doubt their pursuers were confident- who wouldn't be with such odds in their favor? But confidence was a two edged sword in combat. 'Know your enemy' they say, Shiarrael knew her enemy- but did they know her? If they didn't they would soon find out "let them make the first move, they will certainly regret it."
[End]
Captain Shiarrael Rehu
Commanding Officer
USS Charon
Commander Ian Lamont
Ambassador
USS Charon
Lieutenant Commander Ch'Tan Foster
Chief Tactical Officer
USS Charon
Lieutenant Commander Quentin Calhoun
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Charon
EnArrain Rhiana t'Khellian
Chief Communications Officer
USS Charon
Lieutenant D'Vana Xavier
Assistant Engineering Officer
USS Charon
Ensign Thomas J Clipper
Assistant Science Officer
USS Charon
Ensign M'Riarr
Assistant Helmsman (NPC)
USS Charon
